Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Chinese space experiment sees butterfly emerge in orbit Xinhua) 10:22, February 03, 2026 CHONGQING, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Researchers at China's Chongqing University announced on Monday that a butterfly has successfully emerged from its pupa while orbiting Earth, yielding valuable data on biological survival in the harsh microgravity environment of space. The butterfly chrysalis was sealed inside a small experimental space ecosystem payload developed by the university's research team and carried into space aboard the Kuaizhou-11 Y8 carrier rocket on Dec. 13, 2025. Photos taken in space show the emerged butterfly moving inside the capsule, resting on leaves and fluttering its wings, demonstrating notable adaptation to the microgravity environment. Recent data transmitted to the research team has confirmed stable pressure, temperature and humidity levels inside the payload's sealed cabin. In the microgravity environment, the altered behavior of fluids and the hindered transport of materials pose significant challenges to the stable operation of a healthy, miniature, closed-loop ecosystem. Having overcome the technical bottleneck of magnesium alloy oxidation in high-humidity conditions, the team developed a lightweight yet robust payload structure that weighs just 8.3 kg, forming a safety barrier for the small ecosystem, said Xie Gengxin, the payload's chief designer. Its design mimics the ecological cycles of Earth, creating a functional miniature ecosystem prototype. This self-sustaining, unmanned system includes plants such as chile pepper, which generate oxygen and potential food for the butterfly, while microorganisms process waste to maintain a stable air composition. "The successful emergence of the butterfly is not just about having an insect in space; it marks a solid step forward in verifying the feasibility of long-term operation of complex life support systems in orbit," he said. He noted that the completion of the butterfly's key life process in an extreme environment tests the resilience of terrestrial life and provides valuable insights for future deep-space life support technologies. In its next step, the research team plans to focus on the in-orbit verification of the structure's endurance, the adaptability of its components to the space environment, and the long-term sealing capability of the payload's sealed cabin. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) Two Brentwood homeowners are suing the city of L.A. and Mayor Karen Bass for the right to demolish the Spanish Colonial-style home where Marilyn Monroe died in 1962. (Sunset Boulevard / Corbis / Getty Images, left; Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times / Getty Images, right) A Brentwood couple is suing the city of Los Angeles and Mayor Karen Bass, claiming their constitutional rights were violated when city officials blocked them from demolishing the home where Marilyn Monroe died in 1962. In a 37-page complaint that accuses the city of collusion and bias, the lawsuit filed by homeowners Brinah Milstein and Roy Bank claims L.A. "deprived Plaintiffs of their intended demolition of the house and the use and enjoyment of their Property without any actual benefit to the public." It's yet another chapter in a saga surrounding the fate of the famous property , which began in 2023 when Milstein, a wealthy real estate heiress, and Bank, a reality TV producer with credits including The Apprentice and Survivor, bought the home for $8.35 million. They own the property next door and hoped to tear down Monroe's place to expand their estate. The pair quickly obtained demolition permits from the Department of Building and Safety, but once their plans became public, an outcry erupted. A legion of historians, Angelenos and Monroe fans claimed the 1920s haunt, where the actor died in 1962, is an indelible piece of the city's history. Councilmember Traci Park, who represents L.A.s 11th Council District where the home is located, said she received hundreds of calls and emails urging her to protect it. In September 2023, she held a news conference dressed as Monroe bright red lipstick, bobbing blond hair urging the City Council to declare it a landmark. The Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission started the landmark application process in January 2024, barring the owners from destroying the house in the meantime. L.A. City Council unanimously voted to designate it as a historic cultural monument a few months later, officially saving it from destruction. It's not the first legal challenge brought by Milstein and Bank. The pair sued the city in 2024, accusing the city of "backdoor machinations" in preserving a house that doesn't deserve to be a historic cultural monument. An L.A. Superior Court Judge threw out the suit in September 2025, calling it "an ill-disguised motion to win so they can demolish the home." The latest lawsuit includes a variety of damages, claiming the property's monument status has turned it into a tourist attraction, bringing trespassers who leap over the walls surrounding the property. In November, burglars broke into the home searching for memorabilia, the suit alleges. The lawsuit accuses the city of taking no efforts to stop trespassers and failing to compensate the owners for their loss of use and enjoyment of the property. It also notes that the homeowners offered to pay to relocate the home, but the city ignored them. An aerial view of the house in Brentwood where Marilyn Monroe died is seen on July 26, 2002. (Mel Bouzad / Getty Images) The feud has stirred up a larger conversation on what exactly is worth protecting in Southern California, a region loaded with architectural marvels and Old Hollywood haunts swirling with celebrity legend and gossip. Fans claim the house, located on 5th Helena Drive, is too iconic to be torn down. Monroe bought it for $75,000 in 1962 and died there six months later, the only home she ever owned by herself. The phrase Cursum Perficio Latin for The journey ends here adorns tile on the front porch, adding to the propertys lore. Milstein and Bank claim it has been remodeled so many times over the years, with 14 different owners and more than a dozen renovation permits issued over the last 60 years, that it bears no resemblance to its former self. Some Brentwood locals consider it a nuisance because fans and tour buses flock to the address for pictures, even though the only thing visible from the street is the privacy wall. There is not a single piece of the house that includes any physical evidence that Ms. Monroe ever spent a day at the house, not a piece of furniture, not a paint chip, not a carpet, nothing, their previous lawsuit claimed. With their latest lawsuit, Milstein and Bank are seeking a court order allowing them to demolish the house and compensation for the decline in property value after the city's decision to declare it a monument. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Christopher Stum | Bonneville County Jail IDAHO FALLS A 34-year-old was arrested after taking a 1-month-old baby boy to the emergency room, and medical personnel told police the child had sustained second-degree burns on nearly 25% of his body. According to court documents, officers with the Idaho Falls Police Department interviewed the father, Christopher Stum, while at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center on Jan. 22. Documents state the incident had occurred at Stums home, and he told officers that he was the sole caretaker of his son. Stum told officers that he was bathing his son when he noticed the boy was cold, and Stum filled a pitcher with hot water from the bathtubs faucet. After pouring the water onto the child, Stum said the child began to scream in pain, and saw the skin begin to redden and peel. Stum then rushed the child to the emergency room for treatment. The document states that Stum told officers he was air drying his son to keep him warm when he decided to pour water on the child. He told the officer that when he filled the pitcher, it was set to the hottest temperature on the bathroom spout, but that he had tested it. Stum said he placed a finger into the water and found it hot, but not burning. He later admitted that he found it scalding, but assumed it was fine. The document states that medical personnel at the hospital reported that the child had sustained second-degree burns on 24% of his body. For those types of burns to be caused by water temperature, the water had to be between 130 and 150 degrees Fahrenheit. Officers went to Stums residence and checked the water temperature, which was 121 degrees Fahrenheit. In an interview with Stum, the man admitted he knew the water heated up really fast at his home. Recalling that at times he had to take his hand out of the water fast due to the heat. The document states that he later admitted to adjusting the water heater, which was set at 150 degrees, to 121 degrees prior to taking his son to the hospital. Officers reported this misled police about Stums knowledge of the water heater, out of fear that it would make him appear negligent. Stum was booked on two felony counts: injury to a child, and destruction, alteration or concealment of evidence. Stum is scheduled to appear before Magistrate Judge John Dewey for a preliminary hearing at 1 p.m. on Feb. 11. Though Stum has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty. If found guilty, he faces up to 15 years in prison. The post Local man faces felony charges after allegedly pouring hot water on baby appeared first on East Idaho News. FIRST ON FOX: People convicted of murder, "deadly conduct," sexual abuse of minors and the elderly were among the "worst of the worst" criminal illegal aliens nabbed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) this weekend all across the country, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Monday. "Over the weekend, ICE law enforcement arrested pedophiles, murderers, and drug traffickers from American communities," Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said. "If you come to our country illegally, break our laws, we will find you, we will arrest you, and you will NEVER return." Numerous pedophiles were arrested over the weekend, including one man convicted of "continuous sexual abuse" of a child and another convicted of aggravated sexual assault on an elderly/disabled person. Martin Martinez-Gaspar, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico, was convicted in Los Angeles for the repeated abuse of a child, while Jose Ivan Trevino, also a criminal illegal alien from Mexico, was convicted of the aggravated sexual assault of an elderly/disabled person in Hidalgo County, TX. Dhs Calls Rape Of Autistic Teen Most Heinous Weve Seen As Ice Detainer Tests California Sanctuary Laws Toua Lo, a criminal illegal alien from Laos, was also arrested this past weekend by ICE. Lo was convicted of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 in Sacramento, California, according to Homeland Security. Meanwhile, Alejandro Saucedo, an illegal immigrant from Mexico residing in Whiteville, North Carolina, was picked up by ICE this weekend after being convicted of indecent liberties with a child. Dario Solis-Salvador, a criminal illegal alien from Guatemala, was picked up this weekend by ICE as well after being convicted of two counts of child endangerment in Ford County, Kansas. In addition to sex crimes, federal agents picked up illegal aliens convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, fentanyl trafficking, "deadly conduct," and creating "serious bodily injury," according to DHS. Read On The Fox News App Among them was an illegal immigrant from the Dominican Republic, Julio Cesar Pimentel-German, convicted of trafficking the deadly drug fentanyl in Massachusetts, and an illegal immigrant from Mexico, Carlos Cortez-Aquino, convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in Fort Meyers, Florida. Trump Unloads On Radical Left' As He Stands By Kristi Noem Amid Immigration Enforcement Unrest Isidro Velasquez-Rodas and Abel Hernandez-Espinal, both from Honduras but now living in Houston, Texas, were picked up after being convicted of committing "deadly conduct," Homeland Security said. Meanwhile, a man from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was arrested by ICE this weekend after being convicted of theft. Other arrests included aliens convicted of possession of burglary tools and second-degree assault resulting in serious bodily injury. DHS also identified a second person convicted in California of assault with a deadly weapon, Fernando Sandoval-Cruz, who was arrested this past weekend. "President Trump and Secretary Noem empowered ICE law enforcement to enforce the law and arrest and remove public safety threats from our country," McLughlin continued in the Homeland Security news release about ICE's weekend round-up of criminal illegal aliens. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a roundtable in the State Dining Room of the White House on Wednesday Oct. 8, 2025. A new report from economists that week indicated net negative migration for the first time in decades amid the Trump administration's ramped-up enforcement measures. Click Here To Download The Fox News App The release also included a link to a DHS website where U.S. residents across the country can search for criminal illegal immigrants who have been arrested in their communities. "The biggest problem our Country has is that the Democrats are SOFT ON CRIME! They want to protect the Criminal, violent and vicious as they may be, at the expense of our great American Citizens and Patriots," President Trump said on Truth Social Sunday. "That is not what America is about, and never will be!" Original article source: Weekend Roundup: Convicted murderers, child sex abusers among illegal aliens nabbed by ICE across US Kinetic IT has appointed Jeremy ODonohue as managing director, state government and critical infrastructure. ODonohues hire strengthens executive leadership across two strategically significant and sovereign-critical markets. In his role at Kinetic IT ODonohue will be responsible for driving growth strategy, strengthening executive-level customer partnerships. He will also oversee delivery outcomes across Kinetic ITs state government and critical infrastructure customers nationwide. ODonohue joins the IT service provider from Capgemini, where he most recently led the firms public sector business across Australia and New Zealand. He also brings more than 20 years experience leading growth, transformation, and large-scale delivery across government, health and education. As well as critical infrastructure, spanning both global system integrators and Australian-owned organisations. Today's headlines: Nuclear talks Friday in Turkey between US envoy Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Araqchi; Record snowfall in Japan: over 30 deaths in the last two weeks; Record number of millionaires fleeing South Korea; China inaugurates air hospital for ophthalmological and ENT care in peripheral areas; Concern over prison conditions in Russia for historian who chronicled Stalinist repression. INDIA US President Donald Trump announced on Monday a new trade agreement with India that provides for lower reciprocal tariffs and expanded market access, while also claiming that Delhi would halt purchases of Russian oil and significantly increase imports of American goods. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi confirmed the part of the agreement relating to the reduction of tariffs on Made in India products to 18%, but did not mention any commitment to halt purchases of Russian oil or to reduce all tariffs and non-tariff barriers to zero, as Trump had claimed. IRAN-UNITED STATES Iran and the United States will resume talks on nuclear issues on Friday 6 February in Turkey, officials from both countries told Reuters. US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi will meet in Istanbul in an attempt to revive diplomatic negotiations and allay fears of a new regional war. Tensions remain high due to the strengthening of the US naval presence near Iran, following the violent crackdown on anti-government demonstrations last month. JAPAN Unusually heavy snowfall in northern Japan is believed to have caused the deaths of 30 people in the last two weeks. Among them was a 91-year-old woman found under a three-metre-high snowdrift outside her home. The central government has deployed troops to help residents of Aomori, the worst-hit region, where up to 4.5 metres of snow remains on the ground in remote areas. SOUTH KOREA South Korea is one of the countries most affected by the exodus of millionaires. An analysis by British consulting firm Henley & Partners shows that the net outflow of Korean millionaires last year was estimated at 2,400 people, double the 1,200 recorded in 2024. This figure was the fourth highest globally, after the United Kingdom, China and India. The inheritance tax rate, which can be as high as 60%, may have been the main factor accelerating capital migration, said an official from the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. CHINA The People's Republic of China has launched its first airborne hospital. The Five Senses Health Aircraft Hospital is a modified aircraft that provides ophthalmological and otolaryngological care in remote areas. The project, developed by Fudan University and approved by the local authorities in Shanghai, aims to reduce inequalities in access to healthcare. After test flights and diagnostic activities, the flying hospital has begun performing surgeries, with the aim of extending the service to other regions of the country. RUSSIA Yuri Dmitriev, historian of Stalinist repression and former director of the Memorial section in Karelia, has turned 70. He has been in prison for nine years on implausible charges. Acquaintances say he is extremely frustrated and has many health problems, hoping to be included in the exchange lists of Russian political prisoners with Westerners, taking into account his social merits rather than the false and defamatory accusations. TAJIKISTAN Tajikistan's Energy Minister, Daler Dzuma, has announced that measures will be taken to guarantee electricity for the entire population during the holy month of Ramadan, assuring that it will be much better than last year, thanks in part to the water level in the Nurek reservoir, which remains sufficient to produce energy even on cold days, while it is currently distributed from 5 to 8 in the morning and from 5 to 9 in the evening. A delegation from UNIAPAC, which brings together 45,000 entrepreneurs from around the world in the name of the Church's social teaching, is meeting with Catholic colleagues from Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam to establish new contacts. The goal is to develop businesses that put people, not profit, at the centre, in places where GDP growth too often fails to address inequality. Bangkok (AsiaNews) A delegation from the International Union of Christian Business Executives (UNIAPAC), an ecumenical organisation dedicated to promoting Christian social thought on business in the corporate world worldwide, is currently making a major trip to Asia. This is an opportunity for international delegates to meet with local Christian business leaders from across the region, with the aim of boosting collaboration, sharing experiences, and promoting an economy centred on the dignity of the human person and the common good. This is a particularly important challenge for Asia, a continent where rapid economic growth is intertwined with challenges such as inequality and cultural diversity. Thus, the goal is to highlight the importance of ethical leadership in businesses, social enterprises that prioritise human development over mere profit, and initiatives that integrate faith and commerce. Founded in 1931 in Belgium on the 40th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII's encyclical Rerum Novarum, UNIAPAC is now headquartered in Paris and has developed into a global network of associations in over 40 countries across Europe, Latin America, Africa, Asia, and North America, representing more than 45,000 business leaders worldwide. Examples in Asia include organisations like the PUKAT Academy in Indonesia, which trains Catholic business leaders to connect entrepreneurship with Gospel values, or Thai and Filipino leaders who, during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, applied faith-inspired principles to ensure decent work and community solidarity. At the last UNIAPAC World Congress, held in November 2024 in Manila, Philippines, participants agreed to strengthen the associations presence in Asia, where many business groups are eager to learn more about its experience, hence the current trip, led by the president, Sigrid Marz of Germany. After Thailand, the delegation will travel Indonesia, Singapore, and Vietnam, with several Philippine business people included. Yesterday, the delegation, along with representatives of the Catholic Business Executives and Professionals of Thailand (CBEP), met with the Archbishop of Bangkok, Francis Xavier Vira Arpondratana, and the apostolic nuncio, Archbishop Peter Bryan Wells, who stressed the importance of the initiative and encouraged its progress. In the coming days, through round tables, discussions, and spiritual moments, relations will also be deepened with the Brotherhood of Catholic Businessmen and Professionals (BCBP) in the Philippines, the Indonesian Catholic Prayer Fraternity for Entrepreneurs (Persekutuan Doa Katolik Indonesia, PUKAT/PERDUKI), the Catholic Business Network of Singapore (CBN), and the Catholic Business Leaders/Catholic Business Circle (CBL/CBC) in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Hanoi, and Haiphong, Vietnam. The daily schedule combines formal meetings, field visits, and moments of prayer. This is an exciting opportunity to connect Catholic business people in Asia, noted George Varakorn, from Thailand and currently head of UNIAPAC Asia. By fostering these exchanges, we aim to inspire transformations that place the human person at the heart of economic activity, aligning with the timeless teachings of the Church for a more equitable world. Hopefully, 2026 can help build this Catholic Business brotherhood across the Asian continent; our dream is to bring young Catholic business leaders together for a conference just before the World Youth Day in South Korea in 2027. God willing!" said Father Will Conquer, spiritual advisor to UNIAPAC Asia and missionary in Cambodia. by Melani Manel Perera Intercepted in international waters and searched on suspicion of drug trafficking. Two boats returned on 1 February with 12 fishermen, four of whom were injured. Family members are calling for a formal investigation, while Colombo's fisheries minister condemns the action. Colombo (AsiaNews) - Three Sri Lankan fishing boats operating in international waters were attacked by the Indian navy. Two of them returned to the Indian Ocean island country on Monday 1 February. The fishermen told the media that they had been severely assaulted. Indian sailors searched the Sri Lankan fishermen's boats, questioning them about the presence of drugs. At the port of Vellamankaraya, the moment the fishermen disembarked was very heated, with other fishermen and relatives staging a protest against the action. The relatives of the attacked fishermen expressed their disappointment to the Indian Navy and made strong accusations. At the time of the Indian Navy attack, 12 fishermen from these two fishing boats, the Dinithi Duwa I and the Dinithi Duwa II, were at work. According to the fishermen who arrived in Sri Lanka, the third vessel, the Sandunputha, also attacked by the Indian Navy, informed Colombo via radio messages that there were three fishermen on board in critical condition. Relatives have asked the Sri Lankan government to request a formal investigation from India. The Minister of Fisheries condemned the Indian Coast Guard's attack on the Sinhalese fishermen. Strong objections have been raised against the attack carried out by Indian Coast Guard officers against a group of Sri Lankan fishermen on the basis of false accusations, said Ramalingam Chandrasekar. The minister pointed out that the Indian High Commission in Colombo had also been informed of the attack. The Sri Lankan Navy admitted four fishermen from these vessels to Galle General Hospital in the early hours of 31 January 2026. In addition, arrangements were made to admit three fishermen from the two vessels that arrived on 1 February to hospital. According to the fishermen's relatives, the Dinithi Duwa I and II were attacked in Sri Lankan waters while returning home on the 29th after working in international waters for more than a month. The fishing vessel Sandunputha was reportedly attacked on the afternoon of 30 January in international waters near Diogesiya Island. Commenting on the incident, the president of the Sri Lanka Long Distance Fishing Vessel Owners Association, Tyrone Mendis, said that due to this situation, more than 2,000 Sri Lankan fishing vessels operating in international waters are not working and are issuing warning signals. Although the four injured fishermen from the Dinithi Duwa I and II were hospitalised, the fishermen from the Sandunputha fishing vessel could not be treated promptly because it would take another five days for the vessel to reach Sri Lanka. The owner of the Sandunputha, Sandun Chamara, said that three fishermen were injured, one with blood coming from his ear and nose; another was brutally beaten and had ice applied to his back. by Vladimir Rozanskij China is the main foreign investor in Uzbekistan, with large capital inflows for new projects, but the growing Chinese presence is causing great concern among farmers. Data from the Uzbekistan National Institute of Statistics last year counted 17,900 farms with foreign participation, of which almost 7,000 with Chinese capital Tashkent (AsiaNews) - Tension is growing in the Andizan region of Uzbekistan, where local farmers say they are being forced to voluntarily leave their land at the disposal of the authorities, and many believe that in reality it is being handed over to Chinese investors. Part of the land had already been leased to the Chinese last year, as the region's farmers recall, although the Uzbek authorities insist that the transfer of land must be absolutely voluntary and completely legal and that the plots will not be sold to foreign investors, whether from China or any other country. The inhabitants of the eastern regions of Uzbekistan, who grow cotton, vegetables and fruit, tell Azattyk Asia correspondents of threats and night-time visits from officials from various administrations and services, and of numerous pressures to hand over their land, thus depriving themselves of their means of subsistence. Under Uzbek law, there is no private ownership of agricultural land, and farmers lease it from the state for periods of 49 years. The government does not have the right to terminate the contract, except in cases of serious delays in rent payments or voluntary renunciation of land use. Numerous publications and commentaries, including interviews with farmers and administrators and analyses of legal documents, show that in the Fergana valleys of Uzbekistan, near the borders with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, where cotton is mainly grown, it is common practice to intimidate and drive out farmers in order to make way for Chinese investors' projects. As Zoirzon Gapparov, head of one of the main agricultural companies in the area, told Radio Ozodlik, the police came to my house, forced me and my wife into their car and took us to the local administration offices, saying that the president had ordered that our land be given to the Chinese. Gapparov refused to comply, and following the incident, militia and prosecutor's office officials were constantly patrolling his cotton fields, intimidating even ordinary workers and trying to force them to sign statements about the company's irregularities. When he decided to file a complaint with the relevant authorities, he was told that his land had already been allocated to another owner, that he was no longer a farmer and my land had been given to the Chinese, even though he had documents proving the regularity of his contract. Some websites published news about this transfer of land to the Chinese last year, and it was interrupted for a few months, but now it seems to have resumed at full speed. China is the main foreign investor in Uzbekistan, with large capital inflows for new projects, but the increasingly widespread presence of the Chinese is causing great concern among Uzbek farmers and citizens. As explained by Dilmurod Khodzamberdiev, head of the agricultural department who informed Gapparov of the transfer of his land to the Chinese, by decision of the Tashkent government, a new department has been created to oversee land management, which has overcome bureaucratic obstacles allowing the Chinese to develop their projects. This structure, which has the power to lease land to foreigners, is now active not only in the Andizan region, but also in Dzizak, Namangan, Tashkent, Fergana, Syrdary and Kaskadarja. In these regions, there are management teams of five people who control all arable land and can decide who to allocate it to without even going through the regional and municipal authorities, albeit according to the law, which can be interpreted as they see fit. According to data from the National Institute of Statistics of Uzbekistan, last year there were 17,900 farms with foreign participation, of which almost 7,000 were Chinese-owned, a rapidly growing number. 3 February 2026 16:38 (UTC+04:00) Qabil Ashirov Read more The open trial against Armenian citizens, including Arayik Harutyunyan, Arkadi Gukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, Davit Ishkhanyan, David Babayan, Levon Mnatsakanyan, and others, accused of committing crimes against peace and humanity, war crimes, preparing and waging aggressive war, genocide, violations of the laws of war, terrorism, financing terrorism, forcibly seizing and retaining power, and other serious offenses, will continue on February 5. Citing the Baku Military Court, AzerNEWS reports that the proceedings began on January 17, 2025, and on December 26, the court panel went into deliberation. The charges against the defendants include the direct involvement and leadership of the Armenian state, its institutions, officials, armed forces, and illegal armed groups in planning and executing aggressive acts against Azerbaijan. These actions were carried out in violation of both domestic and international law. Oral and written orders, instructions, and guidance, along with material, technical, and personnel support and centralized management under strict supervision, facilitated Armenias military aggression. The indictment also covers the participation of former Armenian leaders, including Robert Kocharyan, Serzh Sargsyan, Vazgen Manukyan, Vazgen Sargsyan, Samvel Babayan, Vitali Balasanyan, Zori Balayan, Seyran Ohanyan, Arshavir Karapetyan, Monte Melkonyan, and others, in the crimes committed during this aggression. In total, 15 individuals face charges under multiple articles of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code, including: Article 100 Planning, preparing, initiating, and waging aggressive war; Article 102 Attacks on persons or organizations using international protection; Article 103 Genocide; Article 105 Extermination of the population; Article 106 Enslavement; Article 107 Deportation or forced relocation of the population; Article 109 Persecution; Article 110 Forced disappearance of persons; Article 112 Illegal deprivation of liberty contrary to international law; Article 113 Torture; Article 114 Mercenary activities; Article 115 Violation of laws and customs of war; Article 116 Violation of international humanitarian law during armed conflict; Article 118 Military plunder; Article 120 Intentional killing; Article 192 Illegal entrepreneurship; Article 214 Terrorism; Article 214-1 Financing terrorism; Article 218 Creation of a criminal organization; Article 228 Illegal handling of weapons, ammunition, explosives, and related devices; Article 270-1 Acts threatening aviation security; Article 277 Assassination of state or public officials; Article 278 Forcibly seizing or retaining power, forcibly changing the constitutional order; Article 279 Forming unauthorized armed groups or units. The trial marks a significant step in holding those responsible for Armenias military aggression against Azerbaijan accountable under international and national law. 3 February 2026 13:22 (UTC+04:00) Nazrin Abdul Read more Current global processes clearly demonstrate a simple but powerful truth: societies distant from prolonged conflicts enjoy higher prosperity, stronger institutions, and better quality of life. For decades, however, the Azerbaijani people lived under the heavy burden of war and occupation. Achieving peace was neither easy nor immediate, but through decisive military action, diplomatic persistence, and strategic leadership, Azerbaijan has entered a fundamentally new stage of development. Today, the country stands at a crossroads where post-conflict recovery is being transformed into a long-term peace and development strategy. The meeting between the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Washington in August last year, held with the participation of U.S. President Donald Trump, was a visible indication that peace is no longer theoretical - it is tangible and approaching finalization. This political momentum has since been reinforced by practical steps that would have been unthinkable only a few years ago. One of the most telling indicators of this new reality is the restoration of transit and logistical cooperation between Azerbaijan and Armenia after decades of interruption. The recent transit of 25 grain wagons carrying 1,746 tonnes of cargo through Azerbaijani territory to Armenia is not an isolated event, but part of a broader and steadily expanding process. Nearly 20,000 tonnes of grain have already passed through the same route, alongside fuel shipments - including AI-92, AI-95, and diesel - moving from Azerbaijan toward Armenia via Georgia. The first such fuel delivery in December 2025 marked a symbolic turning point: Azerbaijan transitioned from being perceived solely as a former adversary to becoming an essential economic and energy partner. In post-conflict environments, such practical cooperation often speaks louder than diplomatic statements. Against this backdrop, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyevs working visit to Abu Dhabi on February 2-4, and his participation in the presentation ceremony of the Zayed Human Brotherhood Award, carry significance far beyond protocol. A global award with strategic meaning The Zayed Human Brotherhood Award is one of the worlds most respected international honors dedicated to promoting peace, coexistence, tolerance, and solidarity. Independent in nature and global in scope, the award recognizes individuals and organizations that have made concrete, selfless contributions to human fraternity. The scale of interest alone - thousands of nominations from more than 75 countries for the 2026 edition - underscores its credibility and prestige. The 2026 laureates include President Ilham Aliyev, Afghan education advocate Zarqa Yaftali, the Palestinian humanitarian organization Taawon, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. This composition itself reflects the awards core philosophy: acknowledging leaders and institutions that contribute to peace across political, cultural, and regional divides. Laureates are selected by an independent jury of globally respected figures, based on criteria such as measurable contributions to peace, international recognition, and innovative approaches to reconciliation and cooperation. From military victory to political responsibility Azerbaijans absolute Victory in the 44-day Patriotic War and the 2023 anti-terrorist measures was firmly grounded in international law. Yet its true historical importance lies not only in military success, but in the political and diplomatic outcomes that followed. Azerbaijan did not merely end occupation, it reshaped the geopolitical landscape of the South Caucasus. Crucially, as a victorious state, Azerbaijan chose not the path of revenge or isolation, but the far more complex and demanding path of peace-building and regional integration. Transforming military success into sustainable peace is one of the most difficult tasks in international politics. It requires restraint, strategic vision, and confidence in ones legitimacy. President Ilham Aliyevs leadership during this phase has demonstrated that genuine strength lies not only in winning wars, but in preventing their recurrence. It is precisely this approach that distinguishes Azerbaijans post-war strategy and elevates it to the level of an international model. In an era marked by deepening global instability, unresolved conflicts, and leadership crises, the world increasingly values leaders who deliver results rather than rhetoric. The awarding of the Zayed Human Brotherhood Award to President Ilham Aliyev is therefore not symbolic - it is analytical and results-driven. As the President himself stated in an interview with Euronews during the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2026, receiving an award named after the founder of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed, is a profound honor. More importantly, it reflects international acknowledgment of Azerbaijans peace agenda. This decision sends a clear message to the global community: the era of declarative diplomacy is giving way to the era of responsible leadership and practical solutions. The award evaluates tangible outcomes, not intentions, and Azerbaijans outcomes are already visible on the ground. Beyond recognizing the President personally, the award represents trust in the Azerbaijani people and respect for the countrys strategic direction. It reinforces the reality that Azerbaijan is not a source of instability, but an emerging center for dialogue, connectivity, and regional development. Moreover, when examining conflict-resolution efforts globally, Azerbaijans post-conflict trajectory stands out against the mixed and often fragile outcomes seen in other regions. In the Balkans, the Dayton Agreement ended large-scale hostilities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but it institutionalized ethnic divisions rather than resolving them. Nearly three decades later, the region continues to face political paralysis, externally imposed governance mechanisms, and unresolved sovereignty disputes. Peace was achieved, but without a unified political vision or economic integration strategy capable of producing long-term stability. This experience illustrates that freezing conflicts without addressing core political realities often leads to prolonged stagnation rather than reconciliation. The Middle East offers an even more cautionary example. Numerous ceasefires, peace initiatives, and international mediation efforts - from Syria to Yemen and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - have failed to produce a durable peace. A key reason lies in the absence of decisive outcomes and enforceable frameworks. Conflicts remain trapped between incomplete military results and fragmented political authority, allowing violence to resurface repeatedly. In this context, Azerbaijans experience demonstrates a critical principle: sustainable peace becomes possible only when territorial integrity, sovereignty, and security realities are clearly established and internationally recognized. In Africa, peace processes have often struggled due to weak state institutions and the overreliance on external mediation. In countries such as South Sudan, Libya, and parts of the Sahel, peace agreements collapsed because local ownership was insufficient and post-conflict development strategies were either delayed or poorly implemented. By contrast, Azerbaijan pursued a state-centered approach, combining military resolution with immediate reconstruction, reintegration, and regional economic planning - thereby preventing a power vacuum in liberated territories. A notable feature of Azerbaijans post-conflict approach is the sequencing of its actions: the restoration of sovereignty within the framework of international law was followed by the initiation of peace talks, and subsequently by efforts to link reconciliation with regional connectivity and economic cooperation. In contrast to some externally mediated or prolonged negotiation processes observed in other regions, the Azerbaijan-Armenia dialogue has increasingly focused on practical issues, such as transport, trade, and security arrangements, alongside clearly articulated political objectives. From this comparative perspective, the decision by the jury of the Zayed Human Brotherhood Award to highlight the Azerbaijan-Armenia peace model as applicable to other conflict zones gains particular relevance. It suggests that the international community increasingly values results-based peace-building, where leadership, accountability, and development are integrated into a single strategic vision. In a world where many conflicts remain unresolved despite decades of diplomatic engagement, Azerbaijans experience challenges conventional assumptions. It shows that peace is not merely the absence of war, but the product of decisive leadership, legal legitimacy, and the political courage to replace confrontation with cooperation. At the same time, international experience shows that even the most structured peace models face inherent risks during the negotiation phase. These include fragile public trust after prolonged conflict, the challenge of translating political agreements into effective implementation mechanisms, and the potential influence of broader geopolitical dynamics. Technical issues such as border delimitation, security coordination, and infrastructure rehabilitation can also slow progress if not carefully managed. Recognizing these risks is essential, as durable peace depends not on the absence of challenges, but on the capacity of institutions and leadership to address them consistently and pragmatically. 3 February 2026 17:40 (UTC+04:00) Qabil Ashirov Read more While global attention remains focused on the war in Europe and crises involving Greenland and Iran, India has sharply increased its military budget. Thus, Indias government has allocated a record 7.85 trillion Indian rupees (approximately $94.2 billion) to the Ministry of Defence under the draft budget for the 20262027 fiscal year. This marks the largest defence budget in Indias history, representing a 15.19 percent increase compared with the previous year. Data presented in the budget show that defence spending will account for 2 percent of Indias projected GDP and 14.67 percent of total government expenditure. Major planned procurements include next-generation fighter aircraft, submarines, drones, and other advanced weapons systems. Surely, Indias recent move has sparked ambiguity across the world, particularly in Pakistan and China. For years, global observers have argued that India seeks to counterbalance Chinas growing power. Against this backdrop, the grand military parade organized by China in 2025 and Indias subsequent surge in defense spending have raised questions about whether New Delhi is positioning itself in direct competition with Beijing. At the same time, Indias latest decision is likely to compel its arch-rival Pakistan to take corresponding steps in response. In a comment for AzerNEWS on the issue, political analyst Imran Khalid noted that from a Pakistani perspective, this massive 15.19% increase is not merely a budgetary exercise; it is a clear signal of Indias continued pursuit of regional hegemony and a direct challenge to the strategic stability of South Asia. The scale of this budget is staggering. With an allocation of over $94 billion, Indias military spending is now several times larger than the entire federal budget of Pakistan. This is not the behavior of a state seeking peace, but one that is aggressively investing in offensive capabilities." According to Khalid, the rationale behind this increase is multifaceted: Operational Aftermath: A significant portion of these funds is being diverted to cover "emergency procurements" following the military standoff last year (referred to in India as Operation Sindoor). Modernization & Procurement: India is earmarking billions for high-end platforms, including the acquisition of 114 Rafale fighter jets, advanced submarines from Germany, and next-generation drones. Domestic Defense Industrial Base: Under the guise of "Aatmanirbharta" (self-reliance), India is pumping massive subsidies into its own defense sector to reduce import dependency and build a domestic war machine. The political analyst added that this budgetary hike would undoubtedly destabilize the region. By focusing heavily on capital expenditure, nearly $26 billion specifically for new weapons, India is forcing a "qualitative arms race" in South Asia. For Pakistan, this necessitates a state of high alert. While we seek peace, Indias "cold start" doctrines and the rapid acquisition of stealth technology and long-range missiles force Islamabad to prioritize its own defense, despite our economic challenges, he opined. As for China, Khalid underscored that Indias buildup along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and its increasing naval presence in the Indian Ocean are viewed as part of a broader Western-backed strategy to contain Beijing. This will likely lead to a more permanent and militarized posture from the Chinese side as well. Pakistan and China, as "all-weather" strategic partners, will not remain passive observers. Our response will likely be characterized by strategic symmetry rather than a dollar-for-dollar spending match. For instance, I can bring an example about the Induction of Advanced Technology. Pakistan is already moving toward the induction of 5th-generation fighter jets (such as the J-31/J-35 stealth fighters) and the HQ-19 missile defense system to neutralize India's new acquisitions. Moreover, we will see deeper military cooperation between Islamabad and Beijing, including joint exercises, intelligence sharing, and the integration of satellite navigation systems like Beidou. Pakistan will also continue to focus on its "Full Spectrum Deterrence" posture, ensuring that no matter how much India spends on conventional weapons, the cost of aggression remains prohibitively high. Generally, Indias massive defense budget is a "strategic imperative" only for those who wish to dominate their neighbors. For the rest of the region, it is a warning that we must remain vigilant and united against hegemonistic designs, Imran Khalid added. 3 February 2026 11:05 (UTC+04:00) Full digital access to all news for 1 year Full digital access to all news for 6 months Full digital access to all news for 3 months Full digital access to all news for 1 month Find the plan that suits you best. The market share of the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, in Azerbaijan has declined to 84.62%. As reported by Azernews, citing data from the Global Stats statistical centre, usage of ChatGPT in the country fell by 6.16 percentage points in January compared to the previous month. The data shows that Google Gemini holds... Here we are to serve you with news right now. It does not cost much, but worth your attention. Choose to support open, independent, quality journalism and subscribe on a monthly basis. By subscribing to our online newspaper, you can have full digital access to all news, analysis, and much more. Subscribe You can also follow AzerNEWS on Twitter @AzerNewsAz or Facebook @AzerNewsNewspaper Thank you! 3 February 2026 12:59 (UTC+04:00) Akbar Novruz Read more Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Kazakh Foreign Minister Yermek Kosherbayev have agreed to strengthen collaboration on the development of the Middle Corridor, following the 8th meeting of the Joint Strategic Planning Group (JSPG) held in Ankara on February 2, the Turkish Foreign Ministry reported via Azernews. The meeting focused on broadening Turkish-Kazakh relations across trade, investment, culture, education, energy security, regional coordination, healthcare, ecology, counterterrorism, defense, and the defense industry. The ministers celebrated the 34th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries and reaffirmed their commitment to deepening multifaceted cooperation based on shared history, language, and culture. Economic and technological cooperation was a priority topic, including: Simplification and diversification of trade and investment Promotion of technology transfer and joint investments in agriculture Expansion of collaboration in ecology, health, science, and technology, particularly in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, digitalization, and space Energy cooperation was also emphasized, covering oil and gas infrastructure, clean energy, electricity transmission, and exploration and processing of minerals, including rare earth elements. Regarding regional integration, the ministers highlighted the Middle Corridor as a sustainable route linking Central Asia to Europe through Turkiye. They committed to advancing collaboration bilaterally, through the trilateral mechanism with Azerbaijan, and on international platforms such as the Organization of Turkic States (OTS). Kazakhstan remains Turkiyes largest trading partner in Central Asia, and both parties noted progress on implementing the Action Plan of the 13th Joint Economic Commission meeting in April 2024. Security cooperation also featured prominently, with agreements on coordinated action against terrorism, organized crime, and other threats, alongside continued defense and military-technical collaboration, including modernizing Kazakhstans defense industry through joint ventures. The ministers emphasized people-to-people ties as a foundation of bilateral relations, citing institutions such as: Ahmed Yasavi International Kazakh-Turkish University in Turkestan Yunus Emre Turkish Cultural Center in Astana Turkiye Scholarships for Kazakh students Maarif Foundation schools in Astana and Almaty Cooperation through TIKA and KazAID on sustainable development and assistance projects to third countries was also highlighted. Fidan expressed gratitude for Kazakhstans support following the February 2023 earthquakes in Turkiye, including the construction of a school in Gazianteps Nurdag district. Both ministers welcomed progress in health, education, science, and cultural exchanges, and reiterated their commitment to the Turkic World 2040 Vision, strengthening Turkic structures such as the TDT, and supporting CICAs evolution into a full-fledged international organization. International and regional issues were discussed, including Afghanistan, Gaza, Ukraine, and Syria, with support expressed for the second phase of the Comprehensive Peace Plan in Gaza and recognition of Turkish Cypriots rights within the Turkic world. The Middle Corridor, connecting China to Europe via Central Asia and the Caspian Sea, was highlighted as a strategic alternative to the Northern and Southern trade routes, offering a faster land-based link between Eastern Asia and Europe while bypassing longer maritime routes. The meeting underscores Turkiye and Kazakhstans determination to deepen strategic, economic, and cultural cooperation, with the Middle Corridor serving as a key platform for regional integration and connectivity. 3 February 2026 13:41 (UTC+04:00) Akbar Novruz Read more The number of weekly flights from Israels Ben Gurion Airport to Baku is planned to increase from 14 to 28, reflecting a sharp rise in interest among Israeli tourists in visiting Azerbaijan, Florian Zengschmidt, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Azerbaijan Tourism Bureau, told The Jerusalem Post, Azernews reports. Zengschmidt highlighted that Israeli tourist arrivals to Azerbaijan in 2025 increased by about 139% compared with 2024, a surge that has also translated into rising tourism spendingapproximately 184 million shekels (around $59 million), an increase of roughly 81% yearonyear. Israelis ranked among the top 10 foreign tourists visiting Baku in 2025. Broader tourism trends (20222025): 2025: Approximately 60,000 Israeli tourists visited Azerbaijan last year, as confirmed by Israeli officials, underlining continued growth in bilateral travel ties. 2024: Tourism data show that arrivals from Israel were expanding sharply as Azerbaijan boosted air connectivity and promoted cultural and tourism links, though exact annual totals for 2024 by nationality have varied by reporting source. 2023: In 2023, the number of Israeli visitors entering Azerbaijan through evisa statistics was about 29,158, up from the preceding year, reflecting continued growth in tourism ties. 2022: In 2022, around 23,935 visitors from Israel came to Azerbaijanapproximately four times the number from the previous yearpartly driven by expanding direct air links and tourism promotion. Officials attribute the tourism boom to Azerbaijans unique blend of cultural heritage, modern infrastructure, and strategic outreach, including opening its first tourism office in Tel Aviv in 2022 and strengthening marketing efforts. With the planned flight increase to 28 weekly services, authorities aim to further support the growing travel demand and deepen peopletopeople connections between the two countries. 3 February 2026 16:07 (UTC+04:00) Full digital access to all news for 1 year Full digital access to all news for 6 months Full digital access to all news for 3 months Full digital access to all news for 1 month Find the plan that suits you best. In 2025, trade turnover between Azerbaijan and the Islamic Republic of Iran amounted to $644.1 million, Azernews reports, citing the State Customs Committee. This represents a slight decrease of... Here we are to serve you with news right now. It does not cost much, but worth your attention. Choose to support open, independent, quality journalism and subscribe on a monthly basis. By subscribing to our online newspaper, you can have full digital access to all news, analysis, and much more. Subscribe You can also follow AzerNEWS on Twitter @AzerNewsAz or Facebook @AzerNewsNewspaper Thank you! 3 February 2026 17:55 (UTC+04:00) Laman Ismayilova Read more AI-generated songs are becoming increasingly popular on music streaming platforms. A great number of music lovers are drawn by catchy melodies. Thanks to platforms like Suno AI and Loudly, anyone can create a full-fledged song with just a few lines of description. Neural networks are already acting as creative assistants, generating melodies, beats, arrangements and even vocal parts, which in turn, reduces the time from idea ti prototype. However, copyright and creative ethics remain serious concerns, weighing heavily on the global music industry. Battle for Voice: Invisible Expansion of AI Around 50,000 music tracks created by algorithms are uploaded to digital platforms every day. The latest studies conducted by industry giants like Deezer and Ipsos show that 97 per cent of listeners cannot distinguish an AI track from the work of a real composer. Modern neural networks generate sound in studio-quality 48 kHz, simulating the natural breathing of a vocalist and micro-performance errors previously considered the exclusive domain of humans. Moreover, the rapid growth of AI has sparked an unprecedented wave of lawsuits. At the forefront is the RIAA's lawsuit against leading developers of music neural networks. Major labels (Sony, Universal, Warner) are accusing startups of massive copyright infringement as their models were trained on millions of protected tracks without permission. Moreover, the landmark "ELVIS Act" was passed in the US in order to protect an artist's voice and image from unauthorised copying. Celebrities like Billie Eilish and Nicki Minaj have openly spoken out against the predatory use of artificial intelligence. Hacking Dopamine System Scientists have discovered that the brain perceives AI music as a kind of "junk food." It's saturated with very pleasant harmonies, causing an immediate dopamine response. However, this instant gratification conceals a trap as the perfect mathematical precision of AI rhythms causes rapid auditory fatigue. The human brain is hardwired to search for errors and unique intonations, and when they're absent, music quickly turns into background noise. Moreover, research at the Higher School of Economics has confirmed the existence of the N400 effect. Our brain subconsciously registers a semantic inconsistency when it hears the voice of a familiar artist in a generated context. So, we can sense a catch even before we realise it. Despite criticism, AI music generates a soundscape that helps people quickly enter a state of deep focus or deep sleep. This personalised therapy is 40 per cent more effective than standard meditation records. Despite criticism, AI music generates a soundscape that helps people quickly enter a state of deep focus or deep sleep. This personalised therapy is 40 percent more effective than standard meditation recordings. This opens the way to "digital medicines" where music is tailored to each individual's brain at a specific moment in time. Diminishing Role of Recording Artists In the era of classical recording studios, music instruments significantly contributed their share of live energy. The writing process could take years. Composers, musicians, and performers could spend years working on songs that would later become hits and make history. Each song was a source of inspiration, imbued with true feelings and emotions. The physical contact with the instrument, the vibration of the soundboard, is essential for the formation of neural connections. However, what is the reality we see today? Unfortunately, from a creator, the human has become a curator. The music artist no longer builds a song note by note. He sifts through endless AI-generated iterations, choosing the "least bad" option. Back to Basics: How to Preserve Humanity in the World of Algorithms? We've reached a point where technology can simulate everything but an authentic experience. In a world of content deluge, the value of human creativity and the real physics of sound has skyrocketed. Interestingly, the reaction to the onslaught of artificial intelligence has been a sharp rise in interest in analogue technology. Tape recordings, the use of vintage tube microphone and live music have become the hallmarks of high art. In a world where music becomes background noise for productivity, it's important to make time for active listening. Live concerts and physical recordings are becoming the new "digital detox." True art is born in the resistance of the material, not in pressing a single "Generate a hit" button. The future of the music industry depends on our attention. AI can write billions of songs, but only humans decide which one will live forever in their hearts. Our ability to experience a wide range of emotions and empathize through sound is something algorithms won't be able to replicate until we stop appreciating it ourselves. 3 February 2026 16:26 (UTC+04:00) Laman Ismayilova Read more Spectacular concert featuring piano pieces by the renowned composer Sergei Bortkiewicz has been presented to the audiences, Azernews reports citing the Azerbaijan State Children's Philharmonic Hall. The concert program was inspired by the fairy tales of the famous Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen. An engaging concert program featuring piano pieces by the renowned composer Sergei Bortkiewicz, inspired by the fairy tales of the famous Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen, was presented to audiences. Prior to the concert, the Philharmonic's director and pianist Saida Taghi-zade addressed the audience, speaking about the creative legacies of both artists. She highlighted the young and talented pianists' individual interpretations of the works, their performance techniques, and their emotional expressiveness. The creative harmony between Hans Christian Andersen and Sergei Bortkiewicz can be described as follows: Andersen creates fairy tales, while Sergei Bortkiewicz retells those tales through music. Guided by this concept, the concert showcased young, gifted soloists who not only narrated stories on stage but also brought their imaginations to life through the magical sounds of the piano. Organizing the concert in this format made a significant contribution to the children's development, both in literary and musical terms. 3 February 2026 15:55 (UTC+04:00) Laman Ismayilova Read more During his visit to the Sultanate of Oman, Azerbaijan's Culture Minister Adil Karimli has met with Umberto Fanni, General Director and Artistic Director of the Royal Opera House Muscat, Azernews reports citing Azerbaijan Culture Ministry. The minister provided information about the development of professional theatre and opera in Azerbaijan, noting the country's rich traditions in this field. The meeting focused on discussions regarding potential cooperation between the Royal Opera House Muscat and the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, as well as other theatre and concert institutions. During the talks, an exchange of views also took place on the possible staging of the opera "Koroghlu" by the great Azerbaijani composer Uzeyir Hajibayli at the Royal Opera House Muscat. Azerbaijan and Oman are actively enhancing their cultural, scientific, and humanitarian cooperation. In recent years, activities in arts, music, performance, and cultural exchange have become a recurring theme in diplomatic engagements. One significant dimension of this cooperation has emerged through performing arts and musical exchange. In June 2025 in Muscat, the AzerbaijanOman Friendship Concert was held, organized with the support of Azerbaijan's State Committee on Work with the Diaspora and initiatives by the Coordination Council of Azerbaijanis in Arab Countries. The concert welcomed around 300 guests, including members of the Azerbaijani community, diplomats, and local residents. Performers, including teachers and students from the Royal Conservatory of Music and Art, presented works by prominent Azerbaijani composers such as Uzeyir Hajibayli, Fikrat Amirov, Arif Melikov, and Tofig Guliyev. Cultural exchange has also taken place through traditional visual arts and handicrafts. In January 2026, Azerbaijan participated in the First International Forum for Creative Handicraft Industries in Muscat, showcasing traditional Azerbaijani arts such as Shebeke stainedglass, takaldouz embroidery, and feltmaking. 3 February 2026 10:00 (UTC+04:00) Qabil Ashirov Read more The State Security Service (SSS) of the Republic of Azerbaijan has launched a comprehensive investigation into citizens participating in illegal armed conflicts outside the countrys borders. These measures aim to identify and hold accountable individuals involved in paramilitary groups not recognized by national legislation, Azernews reports, citing the SSS Press Service. According to the Service, intelligence suggests that a significant number of Azerbaijani citizens have been killed, gone missing, or sustained injuries while fighting in the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. Several individuals are also reportedly being held in captivity. Following targeted investigations, four citizens have been formally detained. Real Eldaniz oglu Nabiyev (born 1991), Faris Famil oglu Huseynov (born 1993), Ali Elnur oglu Mammadov (born 1994), and Murov Hasan oglu Mirhashimli were found to have participated in combat operations under the control of various armed groups. In January 2026, these individuals were taken into custody, and a court has ordered their pre-trial detention. The State Security Service reiterates that joining such foreign armed conflicts is a serious criminal offense under Azerbaijani law. The agency warned that strict legal measures will continue to be enforced against any citizen found guilty of participating in military actions on foreign soil. 3 February 2026 10:28 (UTC+04:00) On February 3, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev held a meeting with Mohamed Abdelsalam, Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Elders, in Abu Dhabi, Azernews reports. Mohamed Abdelsalam fondly recalled his visits to Azerbaijan and meetings with the Azerbaijani President. He once again congratulated President Ilham Aliyev on receiving the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity. Expressing his gratitude for the congratulations and the high award, President Ilham Aliyev praised the efforts of the Zayed Foundation, especially the essential role it plays in promoting the humanitarian legacy and human values of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founder of the United Arab Emirates, across the globe. President Ilham Aliyevs receipt of this award was also assessed as a reflection of the high regard expressed by Pope Leo XIV and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayeb, for the Presidents efforts toward establishing peace. 3 February 2026 16:11 (UTC+04:00) On February 3, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan observed the joint operational-tactical exercise Peace Shield 2026, conducted with the participation of servicemen from the armed forces of both countries in Abu Dhabi. The exercise, conducted in urban, mountainous, and maritime environments, involved tasks such as detecting and neutralizing illegal armed groups, restoring control over a seized vessel, neutralizing terrorist elements and releasing hostages, evacuating the wounded, preventing riots and sabotage-type activities threatening public security, and conducting firefighting operations. The main goal of the exercise is to enhance the professional skills of military personnel in counterterrorism operations, contribute to lasting peace, and facilitate the exchange of experience between the armed forces of Azerbaijan and the UAE. 4 February 2026 00:46 (UTC+04:00) On February 3, Leyla Aliyeva attended the "Human Fraternity Majlis" event at the Zayed National Museum in Abu Dhabi. Azernews reports that first, a video address by Sheikh Nahyan Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance of the United Arab Emirates, was shown. Then, Secretary-General of the Council of Muslim Elders Mohammed Abdulsalam and Head of the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Uzbekistan Saida Mirziyoyeva spoke. Cardinal George Koovakad read a letter addressed to the participants of the event by Pope Leo XIV. A video clip about the "Zayed Human Fraternity Award" was shown. The panel session titled "Women's leadership is the foundation of human fraternity" was attended by former President of Indonesia and member of the Zayed Prize jury Megawati Sukarnoputri, First Lady of Lebanon Nehmat Aoun, and First Lady of Colombia Veronica Alcocer Garcia. Speaking at the panel session, Leyla Aliyeva stated that respect for different cultures, religions and traditions has always been an integral part of the lifestyle in Azerbaijan. She emphasized that children grow up in a friendly environment and with high family values, which shapes them as strong personalities in the future. Speaking about the activities of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Leyla Aliyeva stated that the Foundation has built or renovated many schools not only in Azerbaijan, but also in Pakistan, Georgia, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Stressing the importance of changing the education system with the development of new technologies, Leyla Aliyeva said that this process has already begun. Leyla Aliyeva noted that both parents and teachers should value children more, treat them with respect and be able to listen to them. Touching on the importance of protecting children from the negative effects of social media, Leyla Aliyeva stated that currently, Azerbaijan is studying ways to protect minors from harmful information based on international experience. The First Lady of Pakistan, Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, also spoke at the event. 3 February 2026 12:04 (UTC+04:00) Akbar Novruz Read more Former US President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Clinton, the former Secretary of State, have agreed to testify in the congressional investigation into late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Azernews reports via BBC. It comes days before a vote on whether to hold the couple in criminal contempt for refusing to appear before the House Oversight Committee after a months-long standoff. Bill Clinton was acquainted with Epstein, who died in prison in 2019, but has denied knowledge of his sex offending and says he cut off contact two decades ago. It's unclear when the depositions will take place, but it will be the first time a former US president has testified to a congressional panel since Gerald Ford did so in 1983. The House Oversight Committee, led by Republicans, approved the measure to hold the Clintons in contempt late last month, with the support of several Democrats. On Monday evening, Clinton deputy chief of staff Angel Urena posted on X confirming the couple would appear before the panel. "They negotiated in good faith," Urena wrote in a tweet directed at the House Oversight Committee. "You did not. "They told you under oath what they know, but you don't care. But the former President and former Secretary of State will be there. They look forward to setting a precedent that applies to everyone." Both Clintons say they previously provided the committee with sworn statements and have already provided the "limited information" they had on Epstein. The couple had dismissed the legal summonses as "nothing more than a ploy to attempt to embarrass political rivals, as President Trump has directed". Bill Clinton has never been accused of wrongdoing by survivors of Epstein's abuse, and has denied knowledge of his sex offending. Epstein's private jet logs show that Clinton took four international flights in 2002 and 2003. The former president also appears at the late financier's estate in photos that were among a batch of records released by the justice department to comply with a law passed by Congress mandating the disclosure of all investigative material relating to the late convicted paedophile. One picture shows the former president swimming in a pool, and another shows him lying on his back with his hands behind his head in what appears to be a hot tub. Urena, Clinton's spokesman, said at the time the photos were released in December that they were decades old and Clinton had stopped associating with Epstein before his crimes came to light. The Clintons wrote a letter to House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer last month criticising his handling of the Epstein investigation. "The decisions you have made, and the priorities you have set as chairman regarding the Epstein investigation, have prevented progress in discovering the facts about the government's role," the letter said. They added: "There is no plausible explanation for what you are doing other than partisan politics." Comer previously noted the subpoenas to the Clintons were approved in a bipartisan vote and said "no-one is above the law". "We communicated with President Clinton's legal team for months now, giving them opportunity after opportunity to come in, to give us a day, and they continue to delay, delay, delay," said the Kentucky Republican. 3 February 2026 12:38 (UTC+04:00) Akbar Novruz Read more Two flights scheduled from Tehran to Yerevan were canceled on February 3, according to the online flight information board of Yerevans Zvartnots International Airport, Azernews reports. The services, scheduled to operate with Fly Kish and Armenia Airways, did not depart, and no official explanation has been provided by Iranian or Armenian authorities. The reasons behind the cancellations remain unclear, but experts point to broader factors that have disrupted air travel between Iran and neighbouring countries in recent months: Earlier in 2026, largescale protests across Iranian cities, triggered by economic pressures and national currency devaluation, led to flight cancellations between Tehran and Yerevan, as well as disruptions to other international services. These cancellations were directly linked to internal unrest and abrupt changes at airports amid security concerns. The Middle East has seen repeated flight disruptions tied to geopolitical instability, including periods when Iran closed its airspace due to military actions or threats from neighbouring conflicts. For example, past escalations involving Iran and other regional actors have forced airlines to cancel or reroute flights to ensure safety, leaving carriers to avoid Iranian airspace entirely at times. Armenias geography and air routes have made it a transit point during regional disruptions. In June 2025, several flights, including those to and from Yerevan, were canceled or diverted amid clashes between Israel and Iran, illustrating how broader Middle East tensions can impact Caucasus travel patterns. In response to earlier flight cancellations, some Iranian travellers began using the Agarak land border crossing into Armenia. Officials have said this reflects shifting travel dynamics when scheduled air services are disrupted, rather than official refugee movements. Relations between Iran and Armenia also encompass strategic cooperation on transport and trade links, with Tehran affirming support for Armenias regional connectivity projects, though both countries continue to navigate complex geopolitical pressures in the region. At this stage, authorities have not confirmed whether the latest cancellations were due to operational, commercial, domestic security issues, or wider regional airspace concerns. Further updates from aviation regulators or airline operators could help clarify the situation. 3 February 2026 13:36 (UTC+04:00) Qabil Ashirov Read more Germanys Foreign Minister Johannes Wadesful has sharply condemned a statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry that characterized the German government as revanchist. Azernews reports, Wadesful described Russias claim as a cheap, distraction-driven tactic and emphasized that Germany has no issue with critically examining its own historical past. The statement came after Russia accused the German government of addressing Moscow in an ultimatum-like manner and portraying Berlin as a revanchist power. In its statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry warned that any foreign military contingents, including German forces, stationed on Ukrainian territory would become legitimate targets for the Russian Armed Forces. 3 February 2026 21:50 (UTC+04:00) Akbar Novruz Read more Israeli military sources have told the Maariv newspaper that ongoing talks between Washington and Tehran have not led to any reduction in Israels defensive or offensive readiness, and that the security establishment continues to prepare for the possibility of a U.S. military strike against Iran, according to the report, Azernews reports. The sources said Israel is maintaining heightened alert levels even as diplomatic engagement proceeds. The assessment underscores growing concern in Israeli defence circles that negotiations between Washington and Tehran are unlikely to prevent escalation, and that military action remains a real option. Israeli officials told Maariv that they believe the United States may move to strike Iran, with readiness levels kept high across forces. The remarks come amid renewed diplomatic efforts between the U.S. and Iran aimed at addressing nuclear and regional security issues. Officials say indirect talks are planned in Istanbul later this week, involving envoys from both sides, in an attempt to revive nuclear negotiations and reduce tensions. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Pakistan, Egypt, and the UAE have been invited to participate in talks regarding Iran in Istanbul. However, the broader strategic environment remains fraught: U.S. military assets, including warships and aircraft, have been deployed in the region, interpreted by analysts as a buildup that could enable a future strike. Iranian leaders, including the foreign minister and army chief, have publicly stated Tehran is prepared for conflict while also signalling openness to dialogue under certain conditions. Tehrans Supreme Leader has warned that any U.S. attack would trigger a regional war, illustrating the high stakes involved. Israeli assessments reported by other media suggest that the United States could carry out military action against Iran within the coming weeks to months, though not necessarily immediately, and that such plans are being discussed at the highest levels of Israels defence establishment. Despite this, diplomatic actors continue to push for negotiations, with regional voices arguing that war between the U.S. and Iran would be detrimental to Middle East stability and calling for more robust diplomatic solutions. Annie Mae Lancaster Morgan Mrs. Annie Mae Lancaster Morgan, a former longtime Washington, NC resident and a current resident of Spring Arbor Assisted Living of Greenville, age 101, passed away on Saturday January 31, 2026. Mrs. Morgan was born in Beaufort County on July 2, 1924, and grew up on Charlotte Street. She graduated from the old 2nd Street Washington High School and later married Robert J. Morgan, Sr. who preceded her in death in 1979. She had several siblings who have all preceded her in death as well. She is survived by her only son: Joe Morgan and his wife Sue of Huntsville, AL. She has five grandchildren and one great grandson. Mrs. Morgan had a fulfilling life that included many friends and relatives. She always had a smile even after having to go into assisted living! She was a long-time Avon Representative, member of the Grange, as well as a fourteen-year member of the Beaufort County Board of Elections. She was also a former World Book Encyclopedia sales representative as well as former Carolina Telephone sales representative. She was a member of First Church of Christ of Washington. A private graveside service for family and extended family will be held at a future time. In lieu of flowers, please donate in Mae's honor to First Church of Christ, 520 East 10th Street, Washington, NC or to the charity of one's choice. Online condolences may be offered to the family by visiting www.paulfuneralhome.com Paul Funeral Home & Crematory of Washington is honored to serve Mae's family. Hundreds of Derrys residents walked, ran and cycled along the citys beautiful riverside every day over the Christmas and New Year period, sometimes in bitterly cold winter weather. This is an astonishing transformation from the time when I moved to Derry 26 years ago, when I was stunned to find almost no one took advantage of the Foyle waterscape. In part, that could be explained by car parks blocking the riverside stretch. As the writer of a series of studies on city regeneration in the English Midlands, I feel qualified to say that Derry is home to one of the most outstanding regeneration makeovers Ive ever seen. As well as the riverside greenways, we have the Ebrington transformation that is ever so slowly moving towards completion, the Guildhall renovation, rail station restoration and the Peace Bridge. (Much of the funding, it should be noted, has come from the European Union and the Irish and British Governments.) Foyleside Shopping Centre, Derry Even the citys main shopping centre, the Foyleside, has received a significant upgrade. Ulster Universitys Magee campus has more students than ever before and there are plans as yet without guaranteed funding or sufficient residential accommodation to reach 10,000 students by 2032. City of Culture designation in 2013 was itself transformative in boosting investment and changing both external and internal perceptions of the city. Derry became internationally known for the right reasons. News Catch Up - Thursday 22 January But looking and sounding great is a very different thing from being financially strong especially outside the tourism season. In recent days, the city has been hit by a series of closures in the hospitality sector: Pyke N Pommes restaurant, a Costa Coffee branch, The Lounge, and Synge & Byrne have all gone or are going, with other cafes expected to follow. Derry is a low-income city, which makes it very difficult for food and drink outlets to survive away from the tourism season. According to the most recent analysis, in 2022, Derry and Strabane had the lowest disposable household income of any Northern Ireland council area. In the most recent statistics on income, Derry had the second lowest seasonal incomes and third lowest non-seasonal mean incomes. Yet the Ulster University Economic Policy Centre has reached conclusions that might be regarded as much more positive. Derry City and Strabane has had the second highest economic growth rate, behind that of Belfast. Taken on its own, that is a misleading conclusion, as the gap between Belfast and the rest of Northern Ireland is accelerating. In 1998, Belfasts gross value added per capita was 42% above the average; by 2023 it had become 80% greater. Derry and Strabane was 23% below the average in 1998 and now lags by an improved 16%. It is reasonable to conclude that Northern Ireland has more than a Derry and Strabane problem it has a problem that hits much of the large land mass that sits outside the Belfast Metropolitan Area. Sinead McLaughlin MLA (my former boss) managed to force out of Invest NI figures that revealed that of 529 jobs attracted from first-time external investors by Invest NI in the 2024/25 year, 526 were located in Belfast and the surrounding area, two went to Mid and East Antrim and a mere one to Derry. That Derry investor has since moved to Omagh. Ms McLaughlin made the point in connection with her Bill promoting regional balance in investment and social and economic health. The Ebrington Hotel, Londonderry The current difficulties in Derry and Strabane are about very much more than a shortage of inward investment. Some of the new businesses are driving out the old: Ebrington at present seems to be displacing jobs in the city centre, rather than adding to total economic activity and employment. New hotels are attracting higher visitor numbers, but as they contain additional bars and places to eat, they also increase competition for older hospitality businesses. Struggling and closing businesses are, unsurprisingly, blaming increased national insurance costs for problems. They also point to Northern Irelands business rates, which some employer bodies have claimed are the highest in the UK, with Derry and Strabane being the second most expensive in NI. A briefing paper from the Northern Ireland Assembly Research and Information Service last year concluded that the complexity of different relief schemes in the four nations makes comparisons over-simplistic, very difficult and inconclusive. Sadly, the rating system tends to place the highest bills on the poorest areas. News Catch Up - Thursday 22 January As I have observed before in this column, it is difficult to see how the Derry and Strabane council region can fundamentally and structurally improve its economic performance unless it is more closely aligned with its natural hinterland across the border. The economic performance indicators in terms of unemployment/employment rate and pay rates are very similar in Derry/Strabane and in Donegal. (It is a point I will explain further at a conference in Derrys Holywell Trust on February 25.) Legal and organisational differences create barriers in making a natural cross-border north-west region work more effectively in an integrated way. Ultimately, it is to the benefit of Northern Ireland as a whole if everywhere can be lifted up to match Belfasts performance. Improved financial conditions away from the capital would not in itself solve the Executives financial crisis, but they would make a useful contribution. For Belfast to outperform the rest of NI by 80% may seem wonderful for parts of the city and its commuter suburbs, but it represents an unacceptable economic and social division. Paul Gosling is a commentator based in the north-west. He will speak about economic disparities affecting the region at the Future Relationship Conversations Conference on February 25 at Holywell Trust, Derry Read more Its same old story from Stormont as aspiration races ahead while actual delivery limps behind Just five new major building schemes began construction in Belfast during 2025, the joint lowest level in nearly a decade, a report said today. There have been an average of nine new major projects starting each year since the Belfast Regional Crane Survey began in 2016. And the annual report from business advisory firm Deloitte said the completion of a new build-to-let development, Loft Lines in Titanic Quarter, later this year will be a crucial test case for the city's residential market. Deloitte said that since 2016, the survey had recorded 87 major projects completed or underway in the city centre across all categories, representing a period of significant growth and development for Belfast. Completions have included landmark projects such as Grand Central Station, Ulster Universitys York Street Campus, the Grand Central Hotel, and The Ewart office development. Belfast Grand Central Station (Photo: Getty) The firm said the construction of research and development facilities and student accommodation were the key drivers of development activity in Belfast in 2025. But it said that the Loft Lines residential project could prove pivotal in unlocking the long-awaited growth of city centre living. The project, made up of 778 apartments across three blocks, was a joint venture between Lacuna Developments and Watkin Jones. While the 175m scheme of build-to-rent, social and affordable homes will help alleviate Belfasts housing shortage, critics have hit out at how it has altered the citys skyline by blocking Titanic Belfast from many vantage points. A CGI image of Loft Lines Deloittes crane survey monitors construction activity in Belfast city centre across offices, residential, hotels, retail, education and student housing, and is seen as a bellwether of developer sentiment and future plans. Marie Doyle, office senior partner at Deloitte in Belfast, said: There has been significant progress since Deloitte launched the Belfast Crane Survey back in 2016, with major developments such as Grand Central Station acting as a driver of the economy and positively impacting how we live and work in the city. It is clear from this years survey that the education sector remains crucial to Belfasts continued development. News Catch Up - Friday 30 January Alongside the student populations, city stakeholders remain focused on creating a vibrant, lively and sustainable city centre, which means growing the permanent city centre residential population. "There are many reasons why targets for city centre living have not yet been achieved, but the signs are more positive that this next major step in the evolution of Belfast is within reach. Marie Doyle, Deloitte (Picture by Luke Jervis) The crane survey showed that in total 15 major schemes were under construction or completed in Belfast in 2025, slightly down on the total of 17 recorded in 2024. There were five new projects that broke ground during the year, the same as 2024 but down from seven in 2023. The survey represents the lowest level of active developments and joint fewest number of new starts since the survey was first published. Deloitte noted that in the past decade over 2.5 million sq ft of office space and 1.5 million sq ft of education and R&D space has been delivered or is under development, while 7,500 purpose built student accommodation units and 2,200 hotel rooms have been completed or started since 2016. Three of the five new 2025 starts were in education. Of these, two are R&D developments the Institute of Research Excellence for Advanced Clinical Healthcare and Momentum One Zero. One new hotel project started during the year the redevelopment of the empty Dorchester House and one office scheme started on-site. One Bankmore Square, on the site of the former Movie House on Dublin Road, adds 75,000 sq. ft of Grade A office space and is the first new office building to start construction since 2020. While 1,224 student bedspaces remained under construction and are due for delivery in 2026, there were no new student accommodation starts during 2025. Belfast City Councils Local Development Plan identifies a need for 8,000 new residential units within the city centre by 2035. The Crane Survey recorded no new residential starts during 2025 but includes two live residential schemes, Loft Lines in Titanic Quarter and the Radius Housing development near the Gasworks, together comprising almost 900 homes. Deloitte said the figure was significant as the crane survey has recorded only 500 new homes in the city centre since 2016. The Belfast Crane Survey is part of Deloittes Regional Crane Survey series, which monitors construction activity within four UK cities. Across all surveys Belfast, Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester 53 new construction starts were recorded in 2025 compared to 47 in 2024. Colin Mounstephen, director at Deloitte Colin Mounstephen, director at Deloitte in Belfast, said: When Deloitte launched the first crane survey in Belfast a decade ago, the city was experiencing a significant expansion in hotel development, marked by major projects such as the Grand Central Hotel and the AC Hotel by Marriott. The focus then shifted to new office spaces, with over half a million square feet completed in 2022 alone before the pandemic slowed momentum. The annual crane surveys have also tracked a surge in purpose-built student accommodation which continued beyond the pandemic but is now slowing, as well as significant education and R&D developments by Ulster University and Queens University Belfast. "The one sector that is slow and puts Belfast at odds with other cities is residential, which will be the focus for delivery over the next ten years. All eyes remain on the success of the Loft Lines development as a test case for new city centre living that could trigger new momentum and investment in residential. Read more NI woman awarded almost 40k after she was unfairly dismissed by bank over whistleblowing An international office group has opened a new workspace in Lisburn as demand for flexible working continues to rise. International Workplace Group plc (IWG) has launched Linen Hill House as a Regus workspace in partnership with the building owner, Turkington Group. News catch up - Monday 2 February IWG said its new addition was ideally placed to attract a broad base of office workers. Situated between Belfast and Newry, it addresses a clear gap in the regional workspace network, IWG said. Linen Hill House has been converted into a Regus workplace Mark Dixon, CEO and founder of IWG, said: We are establishing a stronger and much-needed footprint in Northern Ireland with this latest opening. "As an important business hub Lisburn is a fantastic place for us to boost our expansion plans. "We are very pleased to work with partners to develop the Regus brand under a management agreement that will add a cutting-edge workspace to their building. Our opening in Lisburn comes at a time when more and more companies are discovering that flexible and platform working is incredibly popular with employees, improving their work-life balance and satisfaction, while also providing a multitude of benefits to companies. "Our workplace model is proven to increase productivity and allows for a business to scale up or down at significantly reduced costs while providing access to thousands of locations. Inside the new Regus workplace at Linen Hill House in Lisburn Gary Turkington, operations director at Turkington Group, said: As a long term property investor in the Lisburn area, we recognised that our space within Linen Hill House was an ideal opportunity to work with IWG on our first Regus Workplace and we are excited to launch the facility and we look forward to working with the IWG team on this and future projects. Read more Hotel known as Belfasts best-kept secret aiming to go from legacy to luxury in multi-million-pound investment Turning Point NI: Widow of Charlie Kirk expected to visit Northern Ireland Erika Kirk is rumoured to be visiting Northern Ireland as part of a tour to recruit young people to the conservative organisation founded by her murdered husband. The assassination of her husband Charlie Kirk on a Utah college campus last September sent shockwaves across the globe. Immediately after, Mrs Kirk became the CEO of the right wing think tank Turning Point US, which also has a UK branch. The organisation had its start on university campuses across the US. Talks to set up a Turning point chapter in Northern Ireland are said to be at an advanced stage, but a spokesperson for the group in the US has called the claim fake news. Its understood that former DUP MP Ian Paisley has been consulted about setting up a branch of the group Northern Ireland to carry forward their christian-right ethos. Paisley previously attended President Trumps inauguration last year and hosted Eric Trump in Northern Ireland. Could Turning point come to NI, what would it stand for, and would the conservative groups views resonate with young people in Northern Ireland? Olivia Peden is joined by Belfast Telegraph journalists Brett Campbell and Kurtis Reid. The Education Minister has insisted Christianity will remain the central tenant in the teaching of religious education in schools - but said he will be overhauling the curriculum to include other main religions and philosophical traditions. Delivering a response to a Supreme Court judgement that the Christian-based religious education (RE) taught at primary schools in Northern Ireland was unlawful, Paul Givan insisted he will not bow to those who display a hostile and disproportionate attitude towards Christianity. To oversee changes to the RE syllabus in schools Mr Givan has appointed Professor Noel Purdy, OBE, Director of Research and Scholarship at Stranmillis University College, to head a new panel, supported by Mrs Joyce Logue, former Principal of Long Tower Primary School. Further members of the panel will include representatives from all sectors across education. The Minister again offered reassurance that Christianity is not under attack and would continue to play a central part in school life for Northern Ireland children. The package announced does include the review to revise the Religious Education (RE) curriculum and also the introduction of formal inspection of RE across all schools. There are no plans to change the arrangements for collective worship which will continue in schools, however new guidance has been published to strengthen and streamline the right of withdrawal from both it and RE. The review of the curriculum will involve extensive engagement with churches, teachers, school leaders, parents and young people. Read more Revealed: George Mitchell bust removed from Queens University over Epstein links cost 35k The Review launched today will develop a revised RE syllabus that is academically robust, modern in outlook and fully consistent with the Supreme Court judgment, the Minister told the NI Assembly. Following full public consultation, I anticipate bringing forward new regulations in autumn 2026, with the new syllabus implemented from September 2027. The Minister emphasised that the revised syllabus will continue to reflect Northern Irelands unique context. This is an opportunity to strengthen RE as an academic discipline. Christianity will remain central to the syllabus. Given our historical, cultural and legal foundations, it is right that Christianity continues to provide the core focus for RE in Northern Ireland. The Minister also confirmed his intention to introduce legislation within the current Assembly mandate to ensure robust, transparent and accountable inspection of Religious Education, bringing RE into line with inspection arrangements for all other curriculum subjects. Professor Purdy said he is delighted to be asked to lead the review. Working collaboratively with stakeholders across Northern Ireland, I am confident we can develop an academically robust RE curriculum that prepares children and young people for life in modern society, he said. Professor Purdy previously lead a substantial report, A Fair Start, into addressing educational underachievement. The Minister added: While this review proceeds, it is important that schools deliver Religious Education in a way that complies with the current law. The Supreme Court was clear that RE can continue to be taught lawfully if schools ensure that additional, objective, critical and pluralistic material is included alongside the existing core syllabus. Together, these measures represent a balanced and measured response to the Supreme Court judgment. They will strengthen the RE curriculum, introduce inspection and protect parental rights. Read more Revealed: George Mitchell bust removed from Queens University over Epstein links cost 35k Mr Givan said it was nearly 20 years since the RE syllabus had been revised. The time is now right for a review of the syllabus, he added. A useful and enriching knowledge of Christianity and more widely the worlds main religious and philosophical traditions, studied with academic rigour, will be the ambition of the new syllabus. But he stressed that if the solution to being open to everybody is to be able to accommodate those who do not want religious education in our schools, who do not want collective worship, then its not open at all. Its actually being denied to the overwhelming majority of people in Northern Ireland and their children. There will be no change whatsoever in how collective worship is currently being delivered in our schools, he said, adding that schools will be required to provide at least one Assembly each term which could be attended by all focusing on a different aspect of school life to ensure all pupils are involved. Putting in place an unqualified right of withdrawal, where parents and schools are removed form the complexity of current process which is not considered easy or practical Withdrawal must be straightforward, stigma-free and supported. The school must grant the request promptly, without negotiation, approval processes, or delays, he said. Teaching RE and collective worship are legally compulsory in all schools in Northern Ireland, except nursery schools. But the Supreme Court ruled that RE was not taught in an objective, critical, and pluralistic manner. In a subsequent letter to schools, Givan said that the judgement had not struck down existing law, but he is now addressing the court concerns, with the review of the curriculum in education going ahead separately from the overall review of the curriculum started by the Department of Education last year. A bust of former US Senator George Mitchell that was removed from the grounds of Queens University cost around 35,000, it can be revealed. It was taken away overnight, hours after the university said it is severing its ties with Mr Mitchell over his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The move follows a decision by the US-Ireland Alliance to remove his name from a scholarship programme. In recent days millions of files relating to Epstein were released by the US Department of Justice. The files include references to an earlier claim Mr Mitchell had sex with a victim of Epsteins, Virginia Guiffre, and emails which suggest Mr Mitchell may have been in contact with Epstein or his staff years after he insisted he had but ties with the late paedophile financier. George Mitchell bust (left) has since been removed from Queens University Belfast. Pic: Luke Jervis On Monday night a spokesperson for Mr Mitchell said he had never had any contact with Ms Guiffre, who died last year. The spokesperson added that the former senator "profoundly regrets ever having known Jeffrey Epstein and condemns, without reservation, the horrific harm Epstein inflicted on so many women". They added that Mr Mitchell did not observe, suspect or have any knowledge of Epstein, who died in by suicide in 2019 in prison while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, engaging in "illegal or inappropriate conduct with underage women". The latest documents also indicate a continued relationship between Mr Mitchell and Epstein, following Epstein's first conviction in 2008 for soliciting sex from a 14-year-old girl. They include an email sent to Epstein in November 2013 referencing an appointment with Mr Mitchell. Read more George J Mitchell name dropped from US-Ireland Alliance scholarship after Epstein files release Read more NIO minister was querying Epstein links to Andrew as far back as 2010: US files Mr Mitchell, who played a key role in the negotiations that led to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, is a former chancellor of QUB. A bust of him was placed on the campus grounds in 2023, attended by some of the great and the good of the peace deal era. On Tuesday Queens University told the Belfast Telegraph the bust cost approximately 35,000. The university said the bust had been removed from public display, but did not specify what would be done with it. QUB also established the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice in 2016. News catch up - Monday 2 February On Monday a QUB spokesperson confirmed the university would be cutting its ties with Mr Mitchell. "Queens University Belfast has taken the decision to remove the name of its former Chancellor, Senator George J. Mitchell, from the Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice, and to remove the bust commemorating him from the University campus, they said. "This decision follows the emergence of new information contained in the Epstein files released on Friday, which include references to Senator Mitchell. While no findings of wrongdoing by Senator Mitchell have been made, the University has concluded that, in light of this material, and mindful of the experiences of victims and survivors, it is no longer appropriate for its institutional spaces and entities to continue to bear his name. "As a civic institution with a global reputation for leadership in peace, reconciliation, and justice, Queens University Belfast must ensure that its honours and symbols reflect the highest standards consistent with its values and responsibilities. People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll said all institutions here should sever ties with individuals connected to Epstein. Day by day, the ugly crimes of Jeffrey Epstein are becoming clearer to the world, he said. I want to pay tribute to all the victims and survivors who have bravely stood up and spoken out. Jeffrey Epstein co-ordinated the horrendous and extensive abuse of women and girls, on behalf of the rich and powerful right across the world. All institutions locally should sever ties with people connected to Epstein, and that includes George Mitchell. There are many notable people who the institute at Queens could be renamed after, and I would be happy to supply such a list to Queen's. Paul Givan has mounted a robust defence of academic selection in dismissing calls for him to begin the process of ending the transfer tests in Northern Ireland. The Education Minister was responding to an Assembly motion, passed by 77 votes to 48, calling for him to begin the process of ending the test for P7 pupils ahead of deciding which post-primary school they should attend. Introducing the motion, Sinn Fein MLA Cathy Mason told the Assembly that the continuation of schools using academic selection was negatively impacting children. Ms Mason described a high-stake exam for 10- and 11-year-olds as they are already preparing for the daunting transition to post-primary school. In the motion, supported by her party colleagues Pat Sheehan and Danny Baker, Ms Mason described a brutal system. Cathy Mason She said there is an extensive body of evidence including from the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development of the negative impact of academic selection on childrens wel-being, educational outcomes and social mobility. Ms Mason called on the minister to instead develop and implement a fair, inclusive and non-selective system. SDLP MLA Cara Hunter added an amendment to the motion, also passed by members, which further called on the minister to set a clear timeline for the ending of academic selection. She said that ending the process would ensure equality of opportunity for young people. Its welcome that the Assembly is discussing this important issue, but todays motion is non-binding and will not deliver the change needed, she said. It has been brought forward by Sinn Fein, the party who failed to end this practice when they held the education portfolio and actually made the system worse, privatising the transfer test system and creating chaos and confusion for schools in the process. Talking about academic selection will not make it disappear. This cannot be a one-day debate. The Executive and the Education Minister must act and use all of the tools at their disposal. The current system continues to fail young people, forcing children into an unfair and anxiety-driven ranking process at 10 or 11 years of age, with consequences that follow them throughout their education and beyond. SDLP MLA Cara Hunter But DUP Education Minister Paul Givan said the only people who are branding children a failure were the ones bringing the motion forward. And he urged Sinn Fein, SDLP and Alliance members, who all spoke out against academic selection, to reflect on the impact the words they chose had on young people. I failed my 11+ exam, he said. My father and mother never once said to me: Youre a failure. Its people who are advocating to abolish academic selection [who] label our young people as failures. Do they realise the impact their words have on those listening when they use that terminology? These issues have been discussed for many years, but the reality remains unchanged. There is now societal consensus on academic selection. There is no agreement on the best way forward, not among principals, schools, teachers, parents or young people themselves. How many of those advocating for the end of academic selection have gone to their local grammar school and said to remove academic selection from their criteria. Have any of them demanded that from the Board of Governors? Schools choose to include academic selection as their criteria. They can abolish it, he said. Read more NI grammar schools admission scores in full as two schools yards apart receive over 600 applications for 335 places Mr Givan added: As far back as the Burns Report in 2001, the public consultation demonstrated clearly that there is no consensus on the best way forward. Society was, and still is, deeply divided on this issue. Every year, thousands of parents choose to put their children forward for the same transfer procedure. Its a matter of individual choice. We can continue to spend time and energy on a debate that polarises or we can focus on collective efforts that will have the greatest impact on improving outcomes for children and strengthen and build a system where every child can thrive. "The debate on academic selection is the wrong debate to have. Watch: George Mitchell bust removed from Queens University DUP MLA David Brooks insisted that academic selection is not a judgment on a childs worth. At best, academic selection is about matching children to the education environment where they are most likely to thrive. Of course it can be stressful, such is the nature of exams, he said. For generations, children from working-class families, many without an academic tradition at home, have used grammar schools as a ladder of opportunity. Sinn Fein MLA Pat Sheehan disagreed: Theres no argument that many of our grammar schools produce excellent outcomes, he said. Some have fewer than 15% of pupils with free school meals. Look at how few with free school meals attend these schools. Read more Christianity will remain central tenant in NI schools as Givan responds to supreme court verdict Northern Ireland is facing the possibility of common painkillers being rationed as stocks dwindle, an industry body has warned. Community Pharmacy NI yesterday told MLAs about a growing shortage of many common medicines including the painkiller, co-codamol 30/500mg which is likely to extend for several months. Without urgent intervention Northern Ireland is at risk of facing more frequent and more severe disruption in the weeks ahead, MLAs were told. In Northern Ireland, approximately 50,000 packs, equating to around 5m tablets, of co-codamol are dispensed each month to a population of fewer than 2m people. As things stand, community pharmacies may be forced to ration supplies of medicines related to shortages, potentially affecting on average 50 to 100 patients per pharmacy so that people have some supply and do not run out of vital medicines. News catch up - Monday 2 February Community Pharmacy NI highlighted that this is not an isolated example with another shortage affecting low-dose, dissolvable aspirin used primarily as an anti-platelet medicine for patients at risk of stroke or heart attack. When questioned by an All Party Group on the potential impact for Northern Ireland, Community Pharmacy NI confirmed that chemists here are typically trying to source stock for over 100 common medicine lines in short supply. While the current shortages are driven by global manufacturing and supply chain constraints, the organisation stressed that these issues represent significant medicines security and supply concerns in Northern Ireland. There are potentially direct implications for patient safety and consequential pressures for GPs, out-of-hours services and other parts of the health system, the group said. Gerard Greene, Chief Executive of Community Pharmacy NI said: Todays discussion made clear that community pharmacy in Northern Ireland is operating under sustained and increasing pressure. The gap between medicine costs and reimbursement is widening, and pharmacies here are also struggling to pay medicine wholesaler bills and receive sufficient supply of many common medicines to meet patient need. The supply issue sees community pharmacies working intensively to source medicines, often under severe constraints. We have pharmacy teams reporting back to us daily that they are seeing growing numbers of other commonly prescribed medicines also in short supply. He said that all of this is taking place while pharmacy teams try to support patients who are understandably keen to get the medicines they need. We are appealing to the public to be patient with pharmacy teams as they try to source medicines, and we are appealing once again to the Minister to again prioritise support for the sector so that pharmacies can pay medicine wholesalers, continued Mr Greene. This does not involve finding new funding for the sector, but rather to remove clawback which reduced the payments pharmacies received last year for medicines dispensed by 23m. The stability of the medicines supply chain, while it is a UK wide issue, is of particular concern to us locally because of Northern Irelands small market and additional logistical costs compared to GB. Read more Stroke victims needing urgent help waiting up to three hours for ambulance Read more Human error blamed for IT outage at NI health trust that led to 1,600 appointments being postponed He said pharmacists have raised their concerns with the Health Minister and are calling on the Minister and the NI Executive to work with the UK Government to strengthen medicines security and supply for Northern Ireland, including ensuring that medicine stock is appropriately ring-fenced, so patients continue to receive the medicines they rely on. If this is not addressed, there is a real risk that Northern Ireland will become a lower-priority market for medicine wholesalers, with serious implications for patient safety, continuity of care and the resilience of the wider health system. Community Pharmacy NI is advising patients strongly against picking alternative medicines or altering doses without professional guidance, as this may be clinically inappropriate and, in some cases, harmful. Community Pharmacies in Northern Ireland dispense millions of packs of commonly prescribed medicines each year and even relatively small interruptions in supply can have a rapid and disproportionate impact on patients, pharmacy teams and local health services. The All Party Group said it is calling on the Department of Health to treat this as an urgent patient safety and system resilience issue and to set out, without delay, a clear plan to stabilise community pharmacy funding and cashflow, so pharmacies can continue to secure medicines for patients. They also want arrangements put in place to reduce the operational burden created by shortages, including faster, more practical mechanisms for switching to clinically appropriate alternatives when supply fails. The members of the APG have made it clear that community pharmacy is not an optional extra in the health service, but is a frontline service. Failure to act now risks avoidable harm to patients and escalating pressure across the entire system, the APG said in a statement. Alliance Party Health spokesperson Danny Donnelly MLA Its chairman, Danny Donnelly MLA, said: Todays warnings about a sharp deterioration in medicine availability, significant medicine price increases and pharmacies in Northern Ireland struggling to pay medicine wholesalers is very concerning. Medicines are such a vital part of the lives of everyone across our population and the Minister needs to do all he can to support pharmacies to be able to get the medicines patients are prescribed. It is imperative that he recognises the severity of this issue and works immediately with the local community pharmacy sector to reduce the impact and risks to patients. The mother of a 23-year-old man who fell to his death in London has said her family are absolutely devastated. Fiona Garrett said a safety railing at her son Joshua Robbins accommodation gave way, causing him to fall to his death. Ms Garrett an Essex native now living in Claudy, Co Londonderry said her son died instantly after falling five floors at Thurston Dwellings on Newton Street, London, last Thursday, January 29. According to the family, Joshua known as Josh had assumed a buzz at the flat was his pizza delivery shortly after 8.30pm. As he stepped onto the communal landing near the lift area and looked over the railing, it collapsed, causing him to fall. In a joint statement, Fiona and Joshuas father, Will Robbins, said: Josh fell from a height of five floors and died on impact. Joshs father Will witnessed the immediate aftermath of his sons fall, something no parent should ever have to see. He is deeply traumatised by what he witnessed. This is not an allegation or speculation. The railing gave way. Our son did not climb it or behave recklessly. A safety barrier that was meant to prevent a fall gave way, with catastrophic consequences. Josh, who grew up in the village of Claudy, had moved to London as a young man to seek new opportunities, his mother added. He was also described as happy-go-lucky, kind and charismatic, with a love of online gaming and a strong connection to friends back home. While he never played for a team, he was a familiar face at the local GAA pitch, known for his enthusiasm and support. His favourite quote, Fiona said, was: Every day is precious, just like you. Read more Anyone in Epstein files should be scrutinised: Queens students support university cutting ties with George Mitchell Fiona is a prominent figure in her local area, and helped former UUP councillor Ryan McCready on his Stormont election campaign trail in 2022. She said her family is absolutely devastated and now planning a cremation while awaiting pathology reports, and trying to navigate official processes in the wake of their loss. The family is being supported by The Katie Trust, a charity that helps families affected by sudden, unexplained or traumatic deaths to access trauma-informed support and seek accountability. They have confirmed they will be seeking answers from Islington and Shoreditch Housing Association (ISHA), as well as relevant contractors, and are meeting with Metropolitan Police. The family also plans to contact Joshuas MP, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose constituency covers the area where Josh lived. Among the questions they want addressed are when the railing was last inspected, what maintenance records exist, whether concerns about corrosion or structural integrity had been raised, and what steps were taken to ensure residents safety. We are not seeking to prejudice any investigation or legal process. We want transparency, accountability, and the truth, the statement continues, Our son is dead, and he should not be. News catch up - Monday 2 February Safety barriers exist to save lives. When they fail, families deserve answers, and systems must be examined so this never happens again. Josh deserved a future. No family should ever have to go through this because a safety barrier gave way. We deserve answers. The Met Police said: Police were called on Thursday January 29 at 8.19pm to Newton Street, WC2 following reports of a fall from height. Met officers attended the scene alongside the London Ambulance Service who treated a 23-year-old man on scene. Sadly, despite the best efforts of the emergency services, he was pronounced dead. His next of kin has been informed, they are being supported by specialist officers. The circumstances surrounding his death remain ongoing. In a statement Pippa Fleetwood-Read, Chief Executive at Islington & Shoreditch Housing Association (ISHA) said: The death of Joshua Robbins is deeply saddening, and everyone at ISHA sends our sincere condolences to his family and friends at this difficult time. "We are fully cooperating with the police and their investigation, but at this early stage it would be inappropriate to comment further until the full facts surrounding the incident have been established. A man who died following a road traffic incident in Co Tyrone on Monday has been named locally as Cameron Donnelly. Emergency services were called to the scene on Donaghanie Road in the Omagh area shortly after 10.20am following reports of a serious collision involving a lorry and an industrial worker. Officers from the PSNI, along with the Ambulance Service and the Fire and Rescue Service, attended the incident. Despite their efforts, the man was pronounced dead at the scene. The Health and Safety Executive was also in attendance. Mr Donnelly, a native of Drumquin, has been remembered fondly by his local community, with tributes paid this evening to the popular young man. In a statement posted on social media, Drumquin GAA Club expressed its deepest sympathy to his family and friends. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the Donnelly and Patterson families at this incredibly difficult time. We extend our heartfelt condolences to all who are grieving this devastating loss. As a mark of respect, all club activities will be suspended until further notice. We ask the Drumquin GAA community to keep the family in their thoughts and prayers, and to respect their privacy as they mourn. Ar dheis De go raibh a anam Chief Inspector Simpson, from the Collision Investigation Unit, confirmed that the incident involved a single vehicle. The Donaghanie Road remains closed this evening and is expected to remain closed overnight while enquiries continue, he said. Police are appealing to anyone who witnessed the collision, or who may have dashcam or other digital footage from the area at the time, to contact the Collision Investigation Unit on 101, quoting reference number 410 of 02/02/26. Read more NI traffic alerts: Co Down road remains closed after serious crash Lawyers for Michael Flatley have succeeded in obtaining a legal blocking order against the management company running the Lord Of The Dance shows. The court in Belfast heard the Riverdance choreographer has been in practice with dancers, and sets and costumes were being taken away after a performance later this week was unilaterally cancelled without Flatleys notice. In a statement Flatley welcomed the injunction and said the show must go on and it will go on. Mr Justice Simpson granted a temporary injunction against Switzer Consulting after the Belfast-based firm said the opening performance of the 30th Anniversary Tour was cancelled. The injunction will prevent Switzer from obstructing Flatley making use of the intellectual property and running/operating the Lord of the Dance show in Dublin on Thursday 5 February. Last Thursday, a legal order blocking Flatley from engaging with the Lord Of The Dance production was overturned by a court in Belfast. Michael Flatley outside Belfast High Court (PA) Switzer had taken legal action in a civil case against the choreographer and dancer for alleged breach of contract, relating to an agreement the firm says was reached to allow it to run the dance shows. On Tuesday a solicitor for Switzer released a statement claiming the show in the 3 Arena in Dublin scheduled for Thursday had been called off with immediate effect. At the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast on Tuesday David Dunlop KC representing Flatley said the cancellation announcement received considerable traction in just a few hours. He said it was his understanding that all of the dancers have been in practice, with Mr Flatley in fact organising that, all the steps were taken to secure the show proceeding on Thursday. He added: In the circumstances which have arisen to issue a press release without notice to Mr Flatley to do it unilaterally and to cancel the concert on Thursday evening, is to put it mildly, shocking. Mr Dunlop further stated that set and associated materials and costumes to be used in the performance had been taken away by Switzer despite no suggestion that they ever had legal title to those. Given the thousands of people attending the show the last thing Switzer ought to be doing is trying to prevent Mr Flatley earning revenue if they genuinely believe that they have a hope of legitimate claim for damages, he said. He argued that the injunction was necessary rather than paying damages because Switzer has no assets. Michael Flatley has said the show must go on (PA) A largely insolvent company is reporting to cancel the show in respect of which Mr Flatley, on a prima facie basis, holds intellectual rights and the entitlement to run that show and on that basis alone we respectfully submit the defendant is entitled to an injunction, he said. He added that urgency was required because within a couple of hours the damage will have been done. Mr Justice Simpson granted the temporary injunction against Switzer. Earlier on Tuesday a statement was released on behalf of Switzer describing it as the owner of the show and the intellectual property rights, and said its decision to cancel the performance has not been taken lightly. Switzer fully recognises and regrets the disappointment this will cause to fans and ticket holders who were looking forward to the performance, the statement read. It blamed an ongoing commercial and legal dispute concerning the operation of the show, which could not be resolved in the timeframe available. The statement added: Despite extensive efforts to find a workable solution that would have allowed the performance to proceed, Switzer was ultimately unable to obtain the assurances required to proceed responsibly. Michael Flatley with stars from the show Lord Of The Dance in 1998 (PA) Switzer said ticket refunds will be administered by promoters and ticketing agents. Mr Dunlop referred to Mr Justice Simpsons ruling last week saying Switzer has no proprietary interest in The Lord Of The Dance shows, nor has it any right to remuneration other than by payment of the fees. He added that on the refusal of Switzers application for an injunction against Flatley it appeared legitimately that Mr Flatley was therefore entitled to exercise such rights as the owner of the intellectual property. In a statement Flatley said Switzer issued the cancellation notice in spite to try and further disrupt matters. He said: Our relationship has been validly ended and 500,000 euros has been lodged in a solicitors account pending the hearing in two months time. It is unacceptable that Switzer would then issue a statement and I was left no choice but to injunct them from any such further interventions to ensure my shows go ahead from this Thursday. The show must go on and it will go on. The case will be resumed on Wednesday morning. More flooding is expected as heavy rain continues to fall on saturated ground throughout the south and east of Ireland, Met Eireann has said. Irelands meteorological service warned that high river levels and tides are likely to lead to localised flooding, river flooding and difficult travel conditions. A number of areas of the country have already experienced flooding caused by storms and heavy rain over the last few weeks. It is understood that on Tuesday the cabinet approved opening the Emergency Humanitarian Flooding Scheme to help small businesses and community, voluntary and sports organisations that have suffered damage. Wicklow council workers fill in a subsided stretch of road at Killalongford on the Carlow-Wicklow border as Ireland experiences another bout of heavy rainfall (Niall Carson/PA) The Irish Red Cross administers the scheme which provides help for those who have been unable to obtain flood insurance. Qualifying organisations will be able to access initial funding of up to 5,000 euro, and following that additional funding of up to 20,000 euro. Ministers and the National Emergency Coordination Group are expected to meet on Tuesday evening to discuss the ongoing issues caused by storms and heavy rainfall over the last few weeks. Micheal Martin said the countrys flood warning systems needs to change. The Taoiseach told Newstalks Claire Byrne programme that development of a text-based system is under way but will take a lot of work. You must enable social media cookies to see this content. You can change your cookie settings under the link below. Change settings Such an alert system is where emergency planning is heading, he said, but it is some distance away. On Monday, Mr Martin visited areas badly hit by flooding in recent weeks including Co Wicklow, and on Tuesday he described what had happened as quite frightening. This was literally water flowing down the mountains with nowhere else to go, he said, adding that it took roads with it and damaged a lot of houses and businesses in the process. Mr Martin said funding allocations need to be planned as flooding events become more likely. He added that prevention is key but said flooding schemes are complex and they do take time. More short-term work is needed to tackle flooding, he said, adding that more nature-based solutions are needed. County Wicklow council workers help local residents clean up storm damaged properties in Aughrim, County Wicklow. (PA/Niall Carson) Fire and Flood repair specialist Kevin Kelly said the devastation caused by last weeks flooding is different to what he has previously seen. His team are working on around 100 homes in Aughrim in Co Wicklow, Enniscorthy in County Wexford and Rathfarnham in Dublin city. In business since 2002, he said: This flood is not like any other flood before, as in, the force of this flood, the way it came and how fast it came. Its a miracle, miracle, that nobody drowned in it. The strength of the flood water also meant it left a lot more filth and mud and dirt than usual in peoples homes. He has described the past week as mind-boggling, with his phone constantly ringing from 8am to 11pm at night. However, he said he has been surprised to find many of the people he has dealt with are relaxed about the situation. There is a feeling this time that the government are taking care of them, he said, adding the response has absolutely been better than previous incidents. A status yellow rain warning is in place for Dublin, Louth and Wicklow until 9pm on Tuesday. Damaged items in Riverfield in Aughrim, County Wicklow, after Storm Chandra hit the island of Ireland (Brian Lawless/PA) Louth County Council has said a number of parts of Drogheda close to the Boyne are flooded and should be avoided. Sandbags were deployed in Newbridge, Co Kildare, overnight as the river Liffey rose to a high level. A similar warning was in place earlier on Tuesday in Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, Cork, Waterford. Carlow County Council has said the state of roads there are now of serious concern, with a number significantly damaged and impassable. It has told motorists not to pass road closed signs, to report any issues and travel with care. Met Eireann said spells of heavy and persistent rainfall will continue through the week, particularly in southern and eastern coastal counties. A passenger who had their necklace stolen on a bus has said the bus driver who retrieved it didnt deserve to be sacked. Mark Hehir, 62, was fired by Metroline after he chased down a thief who had stolen the jewellery belonging to one of his passengers, Katalin Kaszas. Ms Kaszas, 46, said that she felt so guilty after learning Mr Hehir had lost his job as a result of confronting the thief. She told the Press Association: When I was getting on the bus, a young man was getting off on the front door. He was running past me, I thought he was going to push me off the bus. He just grabbed my necklace and ran with it. I was like, Why is he there, where is my necklace? Oh damn. So thats when I realised what just happened. I saw Mark running out, running after the guy. But after Mr Hehir gave the necklace back to Ms Kaszas, the thief returned to the bus. Ms Kaszas said: The guy was coming up I was like No, no, no, stay away from me, I dont want to do anything with you. He looked very, very shifty, I did not feel comfortable at all. I would say I even felt threatened, so I was backing away, and thats when Mark realised that something is not right here and he stepped in. I dont know where I was in my mind, I saw a punch flying, a guy hitting the floor, there was some blood and then I started to call the police. Katalin Kaszas, the victim of the robbery, speaks to shadow minister for justice Kieran Mullan in the House of Commons (James Manning/PA) Asked for her reaction to hearing Mr Hehir had been sacked by Metroline, Ms Kaszas said: I think it was unjust. I dont think (Mr Hehir) deserved that. If he doesnt do what he did, anything could have happened to me. I felt so guilty. I felt that it was my fault I caused all this. Meanwhile, Justice Secretary David Lammy told the House of Commons on Tuesday that Mr Hehir is of course a hero and deserves our support. He added: Im following this case very closely. More than 125,000 people have signed a petition in support Mr Hehir, which was launched after an employment tribunal upheld Metrolines decision to sack the bus driver, a ruling first reported by PA. In another sign of public support for the former bus driver, a GoFundMe page for Mr Hehir has raised more than 28,000. Earlier on Tuesday, Mr Hehir who is originally from Limerick in Ireland, but now lives in north-west London was invited into parliament by shadow justice minister Kieran Mullan. Former bus driver Mark Hehir (right) met with Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch and shadow minister for justice Kieran Mullan (left) in the House of Commons (James Manning/PA) Mr Mullan told PA: I think Metroline need to come out and apologise, Mark deserves an apology, its quite clear theyve gotten this wrong. Last week, Press Association reported from the findings of an employment tribunal which found that on June 25 2024 Mr Hehir was driving the 206 bus, which runs between Wembley and Maida Vale in north-west London. The tribunal was told the bus driver then responded in self-defence to the thief and hit the man once, knocking him unconscious. Mr Hehir then restrained the thief on the pavement until police arrived. Both men were arrested, however Mr Hehir was told he would face no further police action. A police case review said: The claimant had used force which was proportionate and necessary in the circumstances in the defence of himself and the female passenger. A Metroline spokesperson said: The tribunal has upheld the dismissal as fair. Lord Mandelson is to quit the House of Lords amid allegations he passed market-sensitive information to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. Sir Keir Starmer had threatened legislation within weeks to strip Lord Mandelson of his title while the police are assessing information relating to alleged misconduct in public office. The Cabinet Office has passed material to the police after an initial review of documents released as part of the so-called Epstein files found they contained likely market-sensitive information and official handling safeguards had been compromised. The Lord Speaker announced that Lord Mandelson is to step down from the upper chamber on Wednesday. It came after the Prime Minister told his Cabinet that the alleged transmission of highly-sensitive government business to Epstein was disgraceful and Lord Mandelson had let his country down. A Downing Street spokesman said: It is right that Peter Mandelson will no longer be a member of the House of Lords. Files released by the US Department of Justice apparently showed Lord Mandelson passing material to Epstein while serving as business secretary in Gordon Browns Labour administration as it dealt with the 2008 financial crash and its aftermath. Mr Brown said he had written to Metropolitan Police chief Sir Mark Rowley to provide information relating to Lord Mandelsons inexcusable and unpatriotic act. Lord Speaker Lord Forsyth of Drumlean made the announcement on Tuesday (House of Lords/UK Parliament/PA) The Prime Ministers official spokesman said Sir Keir opened Tuesdays Cabinet meeting by saying he was appalled by the information that had emerged over the weekend in the Epstein files. He said the alleged passing-on of emails of highly sensitive government business was disgraceful, adding that he was not reassured that the totality of information had yet emerged, the spokesman said. The Prime Minister told Cabinet that Peter Mandelson should no longer be a member of the House of Lords or use the title, and said he had asked the Cabinet Secretary to review all available information regarding Mandelsons contact with Jeffrey Epstein during his time serving as a government minister. He said hed made it clear the Government would co-operate with the police in any inquiries they carried out, but he said the Government had to press and go further, working at speed in the Lords, including legislatively if necessary. He reiterated that there was a need to move at pace. The Prime Minister said Peter Mandelson had let his country down. Sir Keir had also ordered officials to draft legislation to remove the former ambassador to the USs peerage, something that has not been done since a law was passed to strip titles from nobles who sided with the Germans in the First World War. An apparent email exchange between Jeffrey Epstein and Reinaldo Avila da Silva, now Lord Mandelsons husband (US Department of Justice/PA) The Cabinet Office has referred material to the police after an initial review of Epstein files documents showed they likely contain market-sensitive information and suggested that safeguards were compromised, No 10 said. It is understood the referral was made today. An initial review of the documents released in relation to Jeffrey Epstein by the US Department of Justice found that they contain likely market-sensitive information surrounding the 2008 financial crash and official activities thereafter to stabilise the economy, the Prime Ministers spokesman said. Only people operating in an official capacity had access to this information and (there were) strict handling conditions to ensure it was not available to anyone who could potentially benefit from it financially. It appears these safeguards were compromised. In light of this information the Cabinet Office has referred this material to the police. Mr Brown told the Press Association: I have today written to the Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley with information relevant to his investigation of Lord Mandelsons disclosure of market sensitive and confidential government information to the American financier, Jeffrey Epstein, an inexcusable and unpatriotic act at a time when the whole government and country were attempting to address the global financial crisis that was damaging so many livelihoods. Epstein was sent details of internal discussions from the heart of the UK Government after the global financial crisis. Lord Mandelson appeared to tell Epstein he would lobby ministers over a tax on bankers bonuses in 2009, and to confirm an imminent bailout package for the euro the day before it was announced in 2010. In June 2009 he appears to have passed on what he called an interesting note thats gone to the PM, an assessment by Mr Browns adviser Nick Butler of potential policy measures including an asset sales plan. Lord Mandelson apparently passed an interesting note for Gordon Brown on to Jeffrey Epstein (US Department of Justice/PA) The financier was also sent an analysis of business lending in August 2009 drawn up by minister Baroness Vadera. The sender of the message to Epstein has been redacted, but Lord Mandelson was involved in the Government email thread. In a Times interview conducted before the latest allegations came to light, Lord Mandelson admitted to a lapse in judgment over Epsteins funding of an osteopathy course for the peers husband Reinaldo Avila da Silva in 2009, at the time the Government was dealing with the global financial crisis. The files contain reference to a 10,000 transfer from Epstein. In retrospect, it was clearly a lapse in our collective judgment for Reinaldo to accept this offer. At the time it was not a consequential decision, he said. Lord Mandelson rejected the suggestion this left him open to bribery claims, with Epstein lobbying him to change banker bonus rules. The peer insisted he had absolutely no recollection of receiving payments totalling 75,000 US dollars (around 55,000) from Epstein between 2003 and 2004 as bank details in the files released by the US Department of Justice indicated. At Cabinet Sir Keir said: For the public to see politicians saying they cant recall receiving significant sums of money is just gobsmacking, causing them to lose faith in all politicians and weaken trust still further. Baroness MacLeod, special adviser to then chancellor Alistair Darling as the Government responded to the 2008 financial crash, said it was a terrible breach of trust. She said her former boss, who died in 2023, would have been shocked at the scale of this treachery. Lord Mandelson has been on a leave of absence from Parliament and his imminent departure was announced by Lord Speaker Lord Forsyth of Drumlean. Lord Mandelson with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein (US Department of Justice/PA) He told the upper chamber: Given the public interest and for the convenience of the House, Ive decided to inform the House that the clerk of the Parliaments has today received notification from Lord Mandelson of his intention to retire from the House, effective from February 4. The Tories have used the scandal to question Sir Keirs judgment in appointing him as ambassador to the US a job which ended with him being sacked in September when further details emerged of his links to Epstein and to put pressure on the Prime Ministers chief of staff Morgan McSweeney who was an ally of Lord Mandelson. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said: Five months ago Mandelson was UK ambassador with the full confidence of the PM. Today he is no longer the ambassador, in Labour or a peer. The scandal, sleaze, and speed of his downfall only increases the scrutiny on Starmer and McSweeneys decision to send him to Washington. Sir Keir Starmer has urged Lord Mandelson to quit the House of Lords as the police faced calls to investigate the leaking of sensitive information to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. Downing Street said Sir Keir believed the former ambassador to the US should not be a member of the House of Lords or use the title, but the Prime Minister does not have the power to strip him of his peerage. The countrys top civil servant has also been tasked with carrying out a review after documents apparently showed Lord Mandelson passing information to Epstein while the peer was was a cabinet minister in Gordon Browns government. Downing Street said Sir Keir had asked Cabinet Secretary Sir Chris Wormald to conduct an urgent review looking at all available information regarding Mandelsons contacts with Epstein during his period as a government minister. Former prime minister Mr Brown said he had asked Sir Chris to investigate the disclosure of confidential and market sensitive information during the global financial crisis. Documents released by the US Department of Justice indicate Epstein was sent details of internal discussions from the heart of the UK government after the global financial crisis. Lord Mandelson, then the business secretary also appeared to tell Epstein he would lobby ministers over a tax on bankers bonuses in 2009, and to confirm an imminent bailout package for the euro the day before it was announced in 2010. The Liberal Democrats, SNP and Plaid Cymru called for Lord Mandelson to face a police investigation for potential misconduct in public office. Senior Labour MP Dame Emily Thornberry said it was not a matter of whether Peter Mandelson should be in the House of Lords, this is a matter of whether the police should be involved. Cabinet minister Bridget Phillipson told BBC Radio 5 Live it was as serious as it gets and was not the conduct befitting a government minister. She added: If there is evidence of criminality then of course that should be pursued. The Prime Ministers official spokesman said Sir Keir believes that Peter Mandelson should not be a member of the House of Lords or use the title. Sir Keir Starmer with Lord Mandelson (Carl Court/PA) However, the Prime Minister does not have the power to remove it, the spokesman added. Lord Mandelson, who is on a leave of absence from the upper chamber, could resign voluntarily. Under current arrangements, a new law would be required to remove a peerage, something that last happened more than 100 years ago to deal with members of the nobility who sided with the Germans in the First World War. There is no precedent for using a new law to remove a specific person from the Lords. Sir Keir urged the Lords to work with the Government to modernise disciplinary procedures to make it easier to remove disgraced peers. Handout document issued by the US Department of Justice which appears to show Lord Mandelson in his underwear speaking to an unknown person wearing a bathrobe (US Department of Justice/PA) Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones said the Government was writing to the appropriate authorities to start the process on Monday. He told MPs the Prime Minister was calling on all parties including the Conservatives to back the changes. It would be better to update those procedures so that they apply to all members of the House of Lords, instead of having to introduce complex hybrid Bills for each individual peer who has brought the other place into disrepute, he said. While he was business secretary, email exchanges from December 2009 suggest Lord Mandelson was lobbying to change a tax on bankers bonuses, with encouragement from Epstein. The emails came at the time the so-called super tax was being introduced by then-chancellor Alistair Darling to clamp down on bank profits being used to pay large bonuses for bankers after the financial crisis. An email dated December 15 2009, which appears to be from Epstein, reads: Any real chance of making the tax only on the cash portion of the bankers bonus. The reply, apparently from Lord Mandelson, said he was trying hard to amend, adding: Treasury digging in but I am on case. Two days later, an email discussion indicates Lord Mandelson encouraged JP Morgans boss Jamie Dimon to call Mr Darling and mildly threaten him. Lord Mandelson, left, with then-chancellor Alistair Darling in 2010 (PA) Emails show internal discussions from the heart of the Brown administration were passed to Epstein in 2009. One was an analysis of business lending in August 2009 drawn up by government minister Baroness Vadera. The sender of the message to Epstein has been redacted, but Lord Mandelson was involved in the government email thread. In an earlier email, the peer wrote to Epstein in June 2009 about an interesting note thats gone to the PM, forwarding an assessment by Mr Browns adviser Nick Butler of potential policy measures including an asset sales plan. Epstein responded by asking what salable assets, with a reply from a redacted email address saying land, property I guess. On May 9 2010, in the last days of Mr Browns government, Epstein emailed Lord Mandelson saying: Sources tell me 500 b euro bailout, almost complete. The reply, from a redacted address or number, said sd be announced tonight. A massive rescue package was agreed by Brussels in the early hours of May 10. Mr Brown said he had asked the Cabinet Secretary in September last year to examine communication about the sale of assets between Lord Mandelson and Epstein but was told no departmental record could be found. The former prime minister said he wanted a wider and more intensive enquiry to take place into the wholly unacceptable disclosure of government papers and information during the period when the country was battling the global financial crisis. Former prime minister Gordon Brown has called for a wider and more intensive inquiry to take place (PA) Bank statements from 2003 and 2004 appeared to show Lord Mandelson received payments totalling 75,000 US dollars (54,000) from the financier. Epstein is also said to have paid for an osteopathy course for Lord Mandelsons husband in 2009. On Sunday night, Lord Mandelson resigned his Labour membership and the party revealed he was facing a disciplinary process. In his letter, he said: Allegations which I believe to be false that he made financial payments to me 20 years ago, and of which I have no record or recollection, need investigating by me. While doing this I do not wish to cause further embarrassment to the Labour Party and I am therefore stepping down from membership of the party. Lord Mandelson was sacked as the ambassador to Washington last year after details emerged of his continued contact with the financier after Epsteins guilty plea in 2008 to soliciting prostitution and soliciting a minor. In his letter, he added that he wanted to repeat my apology to the women and girls whose voices should have been heard long before now. You must enable social media cookies to see this content. You can change your cookie settings under the link below. Change settings Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: The Epstein files suggest Peter Mandelson leaked sensitive government information to a convicted sex offender while serving as a minister, and even suggested a US bank should threaten the government to lower its tax bill. These allegations are incredibly serious, it is now only right that the police investigate Peter Mandelson for potential misconduct in public office. The Metropolitan Police and Lord Mandelson have been contacted in relation to the allegations. Medical evacuees from Gaza entered Egypt on Monday as the Rafah border crossing reopened, marking a key step in the Israel-Hamas ceasefire but a mostly symbolic one. Few people will be allowed to travel in either direction and no goods will pass through. Ambulances waited for hours at the border before ferrying patients across after sunset, Egypts state-run Al-Qahera News satellite television channel showed. The crossing had been closed since Israeli troops seized it in May 2024. About 20,000 Palestinian children and adults needing medical care hope to leave the devastated territory via the crossing, according to Gaza health officials. Thousands of other Palestinians outside the territory hope to enter and return home. Ambulances line up to enter the Egyptian gate of the Rafah crossing (Mohamed Arafat/AP) The number of travellers is expected to increase over time if the system is successful. Israel has said it and Egypt will vet people for exit and entry. The office of the North Sinai governor confirmed that the first Palestinian patient crossed into Egypt. Before the war, Rafah was the main crossing for people moving in and out of Gaza. The territorys handful of other crossings are all shared with Israel. Under the terms of the ceasefire, which went into effect in October, Israels military controls the area between the Rafah crossing and the zone where most Palestinians live. Mohammed Abu Mustafa, accompanied by his mother, Randa, waits to board a bus to the Rafah crossing (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP) Violence continued across the coastal territory on Monday, and Gaza hospital officials said an Israeli navy ship had fired on a tent camp, killing a three-year-old Palestinian boy. Israels military said it was looking into the incident. Israel had resisted reopening the Rafah crossing, but the recovery of the remains of the last hostage in Gaza cleared the way to move forward. The reopening is seen as a key step as the US-brokered ceasefire agreement moves into its second phase. The truce halted more than two years of war between Israel and Hamas that began with the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7 2023. Its first phase called for the exchange of all hostages held in Gaza for hundreds of Palestinians held by Israel, an increase in badly needed humanitarian aid and a partial pullback of Israeli troops. The second phase of the ceasefire deal is more complicated. It calls for installing the new Palestinian committee to govern Gaza, deploying an international security force, disarming Hamas and taking steps to begin rebuilding. French prosecutors have raided the offices of Elon Musks social media platform X as part of a preliminary investigation into a range of alleged offences, including spreading child sexual abuse images and deepfakes. The investigation was opened in January last year by the prosecutors cyber crime unit, the Paris prosecutors office said in a statement. It is looking into alleged complicity in possession and spreading of pornographic images of minors, sexually explicit deepfakes, denial of crimes against humanity and manipulation of an automated data processing system as part of an organised group, among other charges. In addition, prosecutors filed a request for voluntary interviews with Mr Musk and Linda Yaccarino, chief executive of X from 2023 to 2025, scheduled for April 20. Employees of the platform have also been summoned that same week in April to be heard as witnesses, the statement said. A spokesperson for X did not respond immediately to a request for comment. In a message posted on X, the Paris prosecutors office announced the ongoing searches at the companys offices in France and said it was leaving the platform while calling on followers to join on other social media. At this stage, the conduct of the investigation is based on a constructive approach, with the aim of ultimately ensuring that the X platform complies with French law, as it operates on the national territory, the statement said. European Union police agency Europol is supporting the French authorities in this, spokesperson Jan Op Gen Oorth told the Associated Press, without elaborating. Elon Musk is set to be interviewed (Markus Schreiber/AP) The investigation was first opened following reports by a French politician alleging that biased algorithms on X were likely to have distorted the functioning of an automated data processing system. It was later expanded after Xs artificial intelligence chatbot Grok generated posts that allegedly denied the Holocaust and spread sexually explicit deepfakes, the statement said. Holocaust denial is a crime in France. Grok wrote in a widely shared post in French that gas chambers at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp were designed for disinfection with Zyklon B against typhus rather than for mass murder language long associated with Holocaust denial. In later posts on its X account, the chatbot acknowledged that its earlier reply was wrong, said it had been deleted and pointed to historical evidence that Zyklon B in Auschwitz gas chambers was used to kill more than one million people. Grok has a history of making antisemitic comments. Mr Musks company took down posts from the chatbot that appeared to praise Adolf Hitler after complaints. A US navy fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone that was approaching the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, US Central Command said. The incident threatens to ramp up tensions as the Trump administration warns of possible military action to get Iran to the negotiating table. The drone aggressively approached the aircraft carrier with unclear intent and continued to fly towards the ship despite de-escalatory measures taken by US forces operating in international waters, Central Command spokesman Capt Tim Hawkins said in a statement. The incident occurred within hours of Iranian forces harassing a US-flagged and US-crewed merchant vessel that was sailing in the Strait of Hormuz, the US military said. The Shahed-139 drone was shot down by an F-35C fighter jet from the Lincoln, which, according to Capt Hawkins, was sailing about 500 miles from Irans southern coast. The incident threatens to ramp up tensions as the Trump administration warns of possible military action to get Iran to the negotiating table (Alex Brandon/AP) The militarys statement noted that no American troops were harmed and no US equipment was damaged. Then, hours later, Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces harassed the merchant vessel Stena Imperative, the military said. According to Capt Hawkins statement, two boats and an Iranian Mohajer drone approached the ship at high speeds and threatened to board and seize the tanker. The destroyer USS McFaul responded to the scene and escorted the Stena Imperative with defensive air support from the US air force, the statement said, adding that the merchant vessel was now sailing safely. The actions come as tensions are high between the longtime adversaries. They began to rise again as Irans government spent weeks quelling protests that began in late December against growing economic instability before broadening into a challenge to the Islamic Republic. President Donald Trump had promised in early January to rescue Iranians from their governments bloody crackdown on protesters, which later morphed into a pressure campaign to get Tehran to make a deal over its nuclear programme. That is even as the Republican president insists Iranian nuclear sites were obliterated in US strikes in June. We have talks going on with Iran. Well see how it all works out, Mr Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. Asked what his threshold was for military action against Iran, he declined to elaborate. Id like to see a deal negotiated, Mr Trump said. Right now, were talking to them, were talking to Iran, and if we could work something out, thatd be great. And if we cant, probably bad things would happen. The US shot down the drone hours after Irans president said on Tuesday that he instructed the countrys foreign minister to pursue fair and equitable negotiations with the US, marking one of the first clear signs from Tehran it wants to try to negotiate with Washington despite a breakdown of talks last summer. Turkey had been working behind the scenes to make the talks happen there later this week as US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is travelling in the region. A Turkish official later said that the location of talks was uncertain but that Turkey was ready to support the process. The inquest into the death of Belfast teenager Noah Donohoe is continuing. Noahs body was discovered in north Belfast on June 27, 2020, six days after the St Malachys College student went missing. On Tuesday, the jury heard from the PSNI who first reacted to Noahs disappearance and from the person who found his phone. Police notes recorded that Fiona Donohoe had bought Noah a self-help book by Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson and that he had not put it down all week. A police witness reported Ms Donohoe had said she was worried about the content of the book, that she was unfamiliar with his work and was worried it might have affected her son. On Monday one witness testified she heard a high-pitched scream in the Northwood Parade area near to where Noahs remains were found - on the night he went missing. Another said she was awoken by a noise at her back door of the handle being tried in the early hours of the morning. Liam Tunney, who is covering the inquest for the Belfast Telegraph, joins Ciaran Dunbar on The BelTel podcast. Read more Noah Donohoe inquest made aware of significant evidential development over CCTV footage If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom. BENNINGTON A Bennington man who was convicted in 2019 of repeated sexual assault of a child and other related charges was recently found unresponsive in a Mississippi jail cell. Titus Peters, 42, was pronounced dead by arriving emergency personnel soon after prison staff administered life-saving measures inside the jail cell. The official cause of death is currently undetermined, pending final autopsy. In 2019, after he was convicted and sentenced for his crimes, Peters was relocated to the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility in Mississippi to serve the rest of his 30-year sentence for six sexually related crimes, including aggravated and repeated sexual assault of a child, lewd and lascivious conduct with a child, three counts of voyeurism, and another separate count of voyeurism. One sealed count was dismissed at trial. A statement on the death from the Vermont Department of Corrections reported that staff at the Mississippi facility found Peters unresponsive in his cell at about 12:03 p.m., and initiated life-saving measures. Emergency Medical Services pronounced Peters dead upon arrival. According to an affidavit in the case, a family member reported that Peters, who was on probation at the time and a registered sex offender, had been inappropriately touching and exposing himself to her 12-year-old stepchild. An investigation later revealed that Peters had been sexually assaulting at least four individuals over the course of several years, including a physically handicapped minor. Vermont currently contracts with CoreCivic, one of the largest private, for-profit prison companies in the United States. The Vermont Department of Corrections regularly transports prisoners to the Mississippi facility to help mitigate overcrowding in Vermonts in-state prisons. As of today, approximately 150 men are serving sentences in Mississippi for crimes committed in Vermont. The facility has the capacity to hold more than 2,500 inmates and is over 1,300 miles from Burlington by car. Peters was serving a 30-year-to-life prison sentence after a Bennington County jury found him guilty of committing repeated aggravated sexual assaults on a child as well as other sexually related crimes. In 2020, Peters challenged the case in the Vermont Supreme Court. The Court eventually upheld his convictions, but mandated that his 30-year sentence be reviewed due to a sentencing overreach that fell outside Vermonts sentencing guidelines. Peters was initially facing a life sentence as a habitual offender in Vermont. In one of those felony cases in 2009, Peters pleaded guilty to two counts of lewd and lascivious conduct charges, and the state dismissed two others. It is unclear from court records what his sentence was after the plea deal. Peters is the second incarcerated Vermonter to die this year, according to DOC press releases. Alexis Poulin, 28, died while inside the Chittenden County Regional Correction Facility in January. Last year, nine people died in Vermont prisons, according to the Department of Corrections data. The Vermont Department of Corrections confirmed that the DOC investigative unit will review the incident, and that the Defender Generals Prisoners Rights office was notified about the fatality. As of Tuesday afternoon, there is no official cause of death, according to the DOC. OLD BENNINGTON Following a hearing on a conditional use permit to allow restoration of the historic Walloomsac Inn property, the project has cleared its first regulatory hurdle. The Old Bennington trustees deliberated in executive session following the hearing Monday, before unanimously approving the request from the owners, Presiding Officer Ed Woods said in an email. Were thrilled by the trustees unanimous support and their decision to allow the Walloomsac Inn to return to its original and intended use, Casey Sunderland, a member of the ownership/development team, said Tuesday. The trustees, and the Old Bennington community at large, have placed an enormous amount of trust in us and in our vision for resurrecting this iconic landmark. Were grateful, energized, and excited to be one step closer to bringing that vision to life. Rafe Churchill and Sunderland are member/owners of Walloomsac Property, LLC, which purchased the historic site in June and plans to restore and reopen the long-closed structure on Monument Avenue as a working inn. The next step in the process will be a review by village planning and zoning officials of the finalized site and building plans. Parking, traffic During the hearing, trustees heard concerns from several residents about the possible effects of re-establishing a retail use for the property in what is now considered a residential area. The rambling inn, which dates to a tavern in the 1770s with historic links to early settlers like Ethan Allen as well as the 1777 Battle of Bennington, has been closed since the 1990s. But the property was not sold to the new owners until last year, after sustaining many seasons of weather-related damage, primarily to the exterior. Questions were raised Monday about the lack of a specific site plan at this point one detailing traffic flows and impacts, and parking around the inn and on nearby streets, and the impacts from recreating a multi-unit inn and restaurant on a lot at the intersection of Monument Avenue and Route 9, or West Road. Some residents said that since the restoration plan for what is believed to be Vermonts first hostelry and one of its most historic structures was announced, people have been constantly stopping to look at the property, often parking along private homes and sometimes blocking driveways. The board was urged not to consider the concerns of some residents trivial and to take a really hard look at all the implications of reintroducing a large commercial project into the village center. First step Woods and other officials stressed that approving a conditional use permit under the villages Interim Bylaws for the Restoration and Reuse of Certain Historic Structures, which was adopted last month, is just the first step in the local review process. They said they will ask town planning and zoning officials to review the site plan and building plans and recommend conditions as needed for the project. During those review meetings, the public will be encouraged to become involved in the process, said trustee Jim Thatch. Attorney David Cooper, who appeared at the hearing via Zoom representing the inn owners, said they are not yet at the point of having completed site and building plans for the restoration project. However, if the trustees approve the conditional use that work could begin in earnest, he said. Cooper said the owners were looking for a commitment from the village, which approval of a conditional use permit would provide. My guys cannot spend the money to develop those sorts of details until they are assured that they can use this for commercial purposes, he said. The conditional use option was created in January under an interim village bylaw to be administered by the trustees that allows them to approve a use not previously available for developers. MSK Engineers has been retained by the owners, and a positive vote by the trustees on being able to use the property for an inn would green light the engineering firm, the owners said, to work out details involving parking and other issues of concern. At one point, Sunderland commented that the owners concept of utilizing off-site valet parking for the inn will be the solution to potential street parking problems and overcrowding of the inns limited parking spaces. He said its too early to detail those plans, but the owners have been looking into potential off-site solutions. Full review planned Woods told residents at the hearing, I think all your concerns will be addressed. He said the owners are very experienced in historic preservation work and have been quick coming to the table to work with the village. Thatch said, All the concerns that were brought up tonight will be addressed at the property time. We just want to get them the conditional use so that they have a commitment from us that they can get started. They have been spending already. That they can start investing in this property is going to be very beneficial to the village. All of these things will come up at the proper time: the zoning and the planning; and the trustees will address them at the proper time and do what we think is best for the village. He added, And just to reiterate. This isnt just any person who has bought the inn. This is a very respected architectural firm ... This isnt guess work in my mind. This is a firm that has done this type of work successfully many times in the past. They know what needs to be done and things like that. They are willing to work with us and I am willing to work with them. Resident Dr. Colleen Kelley pointed out a view of the choice from an opposite angle, saying, If this [project] doesnt happen, she said, it is likely one of Vermonts most historic structures will fall in on itself, and that would be a tragedy. Project updates The owners have said that information about the restoration project, including in the form of a newsletter, will be made available during the work, which Churchill estimated will take 18 to 22 months. They are part of the leadership team for the Connecticut-based architecture and interior design firm, Hendricks Churchill, founded by Churchill and his wife, Heidi Hendricks. Woods said the state, which will review impacts involving the state highway, typically posts information and progress reports on that process. The Walloomsac Inn dates to the 1770s and existed as a tavern at the time of the August 1777 Battle of Bennington, serving as a gathering point for local militia and the Green Mountain Boys as they prepared for the key Revolutionary War battle. Agrippa Hull, who served more than six years in the Continental Army, emerged from the Revolution respected in his Berkshire community yet constrained by persistent racism and the nations compromises with slavery. RICHMOND Words matter, chants matter and music matters. In the midst of January cold and the brutish tactics of federal immigration agents in Minnesota, hundreds and hundreds of people filled downtown streets from curb to curb, protesting, carrying signs and chanting. It was democracy at work and the Constitution on its feet. Drone photos showed a dense mass, moving ponderously and chanting. Among the throng, a group of women took a different way. They were singing instead, which was very moving to hear and watch. Why sing in the midst of tragedy, meanness and lack of humanity? Because music has its own eloquent voice and unifies the participants, perhaps insisting they breathe normally in high-stress surroundings. Bundled in parkas and a colorful array of knitted hats, the women made their special impact. For me, they brought memories of civil rights marchers in the 1960s, filling the air with We Shall Overcome, a simple song that Pete Seeger, Joan Baez and Bruce Springsteen repeated in concert many times in this country and around the world. And suddenly, there in Minneapolis was Springsteen himself, onstage at the First Avenue nightclub where protesters against the federal immigration crackdown were supporting a fundraiser. He had quickly written and recorded The Streets of Minneapolis a week earlier and told the thrilled crowd at the nightclub that he could not stay silent any longer. The 75-year-old rock legend was emotional, his voice and guitar powerful, his effect enormous. He was rewarded with tears, a roar of applause, shouts and raised fists from the sellout crowd that came to support the families of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both shot and killed by federal immigration agents. A Facebook post commented that the appearance was electric, overwhelming and emotional. Clips hit social media quickly, racking up thousands of views from across the nation and globally. One viral comment read: THIS is what it looks like when an American icon shows up for his people. Not surprisingly, given their long history of negative back and forth, President Donald J. Trump has often dissed Springsteen, calling him overrated, and the White House reaction to this performance was that the song centered on irrelevant opinions. But its not irrelevant when a star shows up to pitch in. This is about standing up when it matters, Springsteen told the crowd, his voice steady but heavy with emotion. His showing up validated their cause and perhaps gave a little inspiration to go on. 2026 Martin Luther King Jr. Day Essay Contest winners The students recited their winning works at The Cantilena Chamber Choirs annual Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute Concert held at Trinity Church in Lenox. Pittsfield Cooperative Bank presented savings bonds to the students in the amounts of $500 for first place, $250 for second and $150 for third. Students who participated in the contest, which called for a one-page essay or poem, responded to the prompt, "What can I do personally and how can we work together to build a world where all feel included?" The value of making your voice heard with spoken words was the point of Lenox Memorial High School senior Amelia Coco Gilardis entry in the recent Martin Luther King Jr. Day essay contest. She won second place. That contest was sponsored by Pittsfield Cooperative Bank and commissioned by The Cantilena Chamber Choir. At Cantilenas annual concert honoring King, where music (spirituals by the choir, plus a spirituals sing-along) was combined with words that mattered. The three winning essays were read, with Gilardi quoting King from a 1967 speech in which he pleaded for action in the face of the fierce urgency of now. Gilardi also quoted King as saying, Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. Thats why Alex Pretti and Renee Good were on the street to protest immigration enforcement tactics in their city. Thats why journalist G. Elliott Morris referred to federal immigration agents as an untrained government goon squad, and why Rep. Seth Moulton described U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as unprofessional, pathetic cowards. And thats why Bruce Springsteen took his new song to Minneapolis. Thats why we must sing, march, write, chant. We cannot be silent about things that matter. Quality local journalism needs your support Access this story and all of our stories with 24/7 unlimited access. Subscribe today. Cancel anytime. Subscribe now for 99 Subscriber Sign In | Return Home Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the interpretation of facts and data. Experts at IHW Cancer Summit welcome budget waiver on customs duty for cancer drugs February 03, 2026 | Tuesday | News Our aim is to bring all stakeholders together so that preventable and treatable cancers are neither missed nor denied care: Kamal Narayan Omer The 7th Cancer Summit & Awards 2026, organised by the Integrated Health & Wellbeing (IHW) Council in New Delhi on 3 February, brought together a powerful cross-section of Indias cancer ecosystem on the eve of World Cancer Day. The conclave convened clinicians, policymakers, industry leaders, researchers, patient advocates and civil society to deliberate on how India can move towards more equitable, affordable and technology-enabled cancer care. This dialogue comes at a critical time, as per ICMRs National Cancer Registry estimates, India recorded over 15.3 lakh new cancer cases in 2024 and around 88.7 lakh deaths, against a global burden of 20 million new cases and 9.7 million deaths in 2022, underscoring the urgent need for earlier detection, wider access to care and stronger cancer systems, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Through the day, focused sessions explored multiple dimensions of oncology in India. A high-powered panel on Clinical & Technology Innovation discussed advances in diagnostics, precision medicine, imaging and integrated genomics, and how these can be translated into wider access in both public and private settings. A dedicated industry presentation showcased how integrated oncogenomics can help navigate tumour heterogeneity and support more personalised treatment decisions. In his welcome address, Kamal Narayan Omer, Founder & CEO, IHW Council, set the context for the summit and underlined the need for collective, system-wide action against cancer. Meeting on the eve of World Cancer Day reminds us that Indias response to cancer must be urgent, coordinated and patientcentred. This summit was started to keep cancer at the heart of public and policy dialogue, not confined to hospitals alone. Recent steps like customs duty exemptions on lifesaving cancer drugs and the Biopharma Shakti initiative show strong intent to improve access, affordability and indigenous innovation. Yet many of our 15 lakh annual cancer cases are detected late. Our aim is to bring all stakeholders together so that preventable and treatable cancers are neither missed nor denied care. Amit Kumar Ghosh, Additional Chief Secretary, Medical Health & Family Welfare and Medical Education, Government of Uttar Pradesh, delivered the keynote address and underscored the need to translate higher health investments into stronger cancer systems. He voiced, Indias health sector is at a defining moment, with the Union Health Budget crossing Rs 1 lakh crore for the first time and firmly positioning healthcare as a driver of economic growth, social equity and the India@2047 vision. In Uttar Pradesh, we have expanded government medical colleges from 9 to 43 and are shifting from episodic to systemdriven, preventive and technologyenabled care. Through initiatives such as Ayushman Bharat, population-based screening, new cancer institutes in Lucknow and planned cancer day-care centres across the state, our focus is on early detection, timely referral and affordable treatment. Going forward, stronger publicprivate collaboration and patientcentric policies will be key to reaching the last mile. The second half of the summit shifted focus to systems, policy and people, with sessions on research, capacity building and collaboration to build a sustainable oncology ecosystem through training, multidisciplinary teams, partnerships and regional cancer centres. It also explored how Ayushman Bharat and other national schemes can embed cancer prevention, screening, treatment and financial protection into mainstream public health. Discussions on equity and patient-centric care tackled late diagnosis, geographic gaps, costs and psychosocial support, while a digital oncology panel highlighted tele-oncology, AI and data-driven models. CM Yogi Adityanath inaugurates 'Uttar Pradesh Pharma Conclave 1.0' in Lucknow February 03, 2026 | Tuesday | News 'Lalitpur Bulk Drug Pharma Park' being developed on a hub-and-spoke model Chief Minister (CM) Yogi Adityanath inaugurated the global congregation of investors and entrepreneurs 'Uttar Pradesh Pharma Conclave 1.0' at Hotel Taj, Lucknow, on 3 February. The Chief Minister said that Uttar Pradesh is working with a clear vision and strong policy framework to become a leading centre for pharmaceutical manufacturing and innovation. The 'Bulk Drug Pharma Park' being developed in Lalitpur will not be just an industrial unit, it is being developed on a hub-and-spoke model with state-of-the-art R&D facilities. Medical Device Parks, a US-FDA testing lab and world-class logistics hubs are being developed in Gautam Buddha Nagar. Through the upcoming budget session in February, steps will also be taken towards establishing a world-class pharma institute in Lucknow. New pharma parks will also be developed in Bareilly and other districts. He further said, "The Pharma Conclave is part of the resolution to establish Uttar Pradesh as a manufacturing and innovation hub in the pharma sector. The government is moving forward with full strength to promote AI, telemedicine, deep-tech, med-tech, health-tech and clinical research." During the programme, the video message of Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare JP Nadda was shared. In the message, he said, "Uttar Pradesh is emerging as a key state, strengthening Indias global leadership in the pharma and healthcare sector. Under the leadership of PM Minister Narendra Modi, UPs role is decisive in Indias transition towards an entrepreneurship- and innovation-driven economy. 'The Bulk Drug Pharma Park' in Lalitpur, the 'Medical Device Park' in the Yamuna Expressway region and the State Pharmaceutical Policy-2023 are positioning Uttar Pradesh as a reliable manufacturing hub. With better connectivity, strong infrastructure, skilled human resources and an investor-friendly environment." He further added that UP is becoming the preferred destination for pharma investment. The policy vision of the Centre and the ground-level efforts of the Uttar Pradesh government are rapidly advancing the state towards becoming a global center for pharma and biopharma manufacturing. Representatives of the industry presented the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) coffee table book 'The Alchemy of Cure' to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The book is a well-structured and inspiring document of Indias pharmaceutical journey, effectively portraying the story of how India became the 'Pharmacy of the World' through entrepreneurship and strong policy support. To further accelerate the growth of the pharma sector, industry representatives emphasised the need for regulatory standardisation, quality assurance, infrastructure upgradation and strengthening academic and research institutions. They also stressed increasing investments to promote research and development, clinical trials and innovation, along with reinforcing public-private partnerships and supportive policy reforms. Image caption- Dilip Shanghvi, Managing Director of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Executive Council Member of IPA presenting 'The Alchemy of Cure' book to CM Borsa Italiana non ha responsabilita per il contenuto del sito a cui sta per accedere e non ha responsabilita per le informazioni contenute. Accedendo a questo link, Borsa Italiana non intende sollecitare acquisti o offerte in alcun paese da parte di nessuno. Sarai automaticamente diretto al link in cinque secondi. 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The activity by the 26th Chinese medical team to Mozambique, in collaboration with China Road and Bridge Corporation, focused on the diagnosis and treatment of common conditions like wounds, eye diseases, hypertension, diabetes and various types of pain, benefiting about 240 patients. Domingos Silveira, administrator of Inhaca Island, said at the event that local medical institutions have long focused mainly on preventive services, and patients with more complex conditions are often referred to medical facilities in the city. In recent years, population growth and increased tourism have placed higher demands on local healthcare services, making the free medical consultations, which took place on Saturday and Sunday, particularly timely and necessary. Chen Jialei, head of the 26th Chinese medical team, said the medical services provided were better suited to grassroots needs, helping to identify health problems at an early stage, alleviate symptoms and provide for better follow-up treatment. During the consultations, the medical team also provided health education on the prevention of cholera and malaria in light of recent flooding, and donated medical equipment and medicines to local primary healthcare institutions. Chen said that the free medical services are part of the featured events of the 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges. "Through sustained and practical medical cooperation, we hope to support Mozambique in strengthening primary healthcare services and contribute to building a global community of health for all," he said. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) K-pop superstars BTS will launch their comeback with a live reunion concert on Netflix, as well as a documentary. Band members RM, Jin, Suga, J-hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook will reunite on stage on March 21st for a show at historic Gwanghwamun, the main gate of the Gyeongbokgung palace in Seoul. The event, which will be streamed on Netflix around the world, comes on the heels of the announcement of BTSs fifth studio album and a world tour. The album, Arirang, has been described as a deeply reflective body of work that explores their identity and roots. After the release, the band will embark on a world tour across Asia, North and Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and beyond. A film about the making of the comeback album, called BTS: The Return, will arrive on Netflix on March 27th. Advertisement The film, directed by Bao Nguyen, will follow the group as they make music together after completing South Koreas mandatory military service. It will take fans through moments of doubt, laughter and rediscovery as the band create new music that reflects who they are now, Netflix said, adding: Intimate, emotional and often joyful, BTS: The Return is a story only BTS can tell: a portrait of resilience, brotherhood and reinvention. BTS, an acronym of Bangtan Sonyeondan or Beyond The Scene, launched in 2013 and were the first K-pop group to become global megastars. BTS during the filming of the Graham Norton Show in 2018 (Tom Haines/PA) They are best known for the hits including Dynamite their first English-language single, which earned them their first Grammy nomination and propelled them to be named Times Entertainer of the Year 2020 and Butter. On June 14th 2022, the group announced a pause in group activities to enable the members to complete 18 months of mandatory military service. The members began enlisting in staggered phases, and all had completed their service by June 2025. BTS The Comeback Live: Arirang will be streamed live on Netflix on March 21st. BTS: The Return will be launched on March 27th. A highly technically proficient man who was caught with over 50,000 images and videos of child sexual abuse material has been jailed for three years. Niall Syms (70) of Station Close, Clondalkin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of child sexual abuse material, known in law as child pornography, at his former family home on March 3rd, 2018. He further pleaded guilty to distribution of the material on dates between November 2017 and March 2018. He has no previous convictions. Passing sentence on Tuesday, Judge Orla Crowe said Syms was an active cog in the wheel of the distribution of this material. She said the sheer number of images and videos was aggravating. Judge Crowe noted that despite Syms's age, he was highly technically proficient and had an unusually high level of knowledge and experience of computers due to his professional background in IT. Advertisement The judge set a headline sentence of six years, which she reduced to three years taking the mitigation and Syms's personal circumstances into account. Judge Crowe noted that Syms had completed a considerable amount of work towards rehabilitation, but that a custodial sentence must be imposed. She backdated the sentence to January 23rd, when he went into custody. The court heard the delay in the case arose due to a backlog in material for analysis in the computer crime division, which led to a delay of several years before the results of analysis were available. The garda accepted that there was hardship to Syms in having the case hanging over him. Detective Garda Darragh Phelan told John Gallagher BL, prosecuting, that the offence came to light when gardai were contacted by an international agency which reported suspect activities at an address associated with Syms. Gardai obtained a search warrant and searched the home. Gardai recovered a considerable number of computers, hard drives and phones. Syms was cautioned at the scene and made some outline admissions that there would be child sexual abuse material on some devices. He said he had rarely accessed the material. The devices were sent for analysis, a process which took a number of years, and child abuse material was discovered on four devices. A total of 53,890 images and 2,055 videos were found. The majority of the images involved child exposure, with just over 11,000 on the child explicit scale. Some of the images involved serious sexual abuse of children from the age of four to teenagers. Advertisement One folder contained 26 images and six videos of a seven-to-nine year old child being digitally and orally raped by an adult male. The court heard Syms had qualifications in computers and made his living in the computer industry. The distribution charge arose through the BitTorrent technology Syms used to download the images. As he downloaded images from around the world, the images he had were available to be uploaded. Syms told the gardai he did not leave the system running so the images would not be distributed but the investigation found the images were available to be uploaded. Gda Phelan agreed with Gerardine Small SC, defending, that gardai found him polite and courteous, that he had given them passwords and told them they would find some of the material. The garda agreed with counsel that there had been no re-offending and Syms had attended therapy. There was a loss of his marriage and family as a direct consequence of his actions. Ms Small said there had always been a guilty plea in relation to the possession charge and the disputed aspect had been the distribution charge as a result of residual software activity when the images were downloaded. She said the automatic sharing brought the activity within the ambit of distribution. The garda replied that an ordinary person might not be aware of that, but with Syms's qualifications there was no doubt he did know. The garda agreed with Ms Small there was no commercial gain or setting up of websites involved. Advertisement Ms Small referenced difficulties outlined in the psychological report before the court. She said Syms had taken immediate steps to rehabilitate himself and had undergone over 400 hours of therapy. Ireland Galway farmer pleads guilty to sexual assault of girl (16) on Boston-bound flight Read more Counsel said he had an extensive work history and has ongoing medical difficulties. She said around the time of the offending, there had been a progressive deterioration in his marriage and isolation. She said there was a significant lapse in time between the detection and coming before the court and that period undoubtedly weighed heavily on him. She said this was a factor recognised by the higher courts. She handed in testimonials and said a friend was in court to support Syms. She said the material outlined the positive aspects of his personality, that he is remorseful and that he has taken responsibility for his actions. She said he had a small reliable network of adult peers who are aware of the offence and provide regular practical support. Syms wrote a letter in which he outlined his remorse and said he was mindful of the hurt he had caused. A Co Galway farmer has pleaded guilty to the sexual assault of a then 16-year-old girl on board a transatlantic Aer Lingus flight bound for Boston. At Ennis Circuit Court on Tuesday, Patrick Noone (58) pleaded guilty when arraigned on two counts of sexual assault contrary to Section 2 of the Criminal Law (Rape) Amendment Act on November 15th, 2023. As a result of cabin crew informing the captain of the Aer Lingus flight that a male passenger had allegedly inappropriately touched a teenage girl sitting beside him on the flight, the captain turned the Boston-bound plane around and journeyed back to Shannon airport. In the case, Mr Noone of Curragh, Kilconnell, Ballinasloe, Co Galway, pleaded guilty to sexual assault of the girl by rubbing and grabbing her buttocks on board the E1 135 Aer Lingus flight within the jurisdiction of the Irish State. Advertisement Mr Noone also pleaded guilty to the sexual assault of the girl by kissing her arm and rubbing her thigh on the flight. Counsel for Mr Noone, Antoinette Simon BL told the court today that her client is a self-employed farmer and has no previous convictions. Ms Simon (instructed by solicitor, Kieran OBrien) asked for a Probation Report on her client for the sentencing hearing as it may provide insight into his offending. Judge Francis Comerford granted the request and also directed that Gardai seek a victim impact statement from the complainant in the case. Mr Noone has not been named before now in connection with the sexual assault and Judge Comerford said that he didnt see any basis for reporting restrictions on the accused. Counsel for the State, Sarah Jane Comerford BL (instructed by State Solicitor for Clare, Aisling Casey) told Judge Comerford that there is no connection between Mr Noone and the injured party. Ms Comerford said that Mr Noones side more than two weeks ago offered the guilty plea. Ms Comerford said that this was of some assistance as arrangements had been made for the US based witnesses to provide their evidence via video-link for the trial. In December, Judge Comerford granted permission for four State witnesses to give evidence via video link from the US in the trial. Ms Comerford told the court in December that one of the four to give evidence via video-link is the complainant in the case. Ms Comerford said that the complainant - now aged 18 and 16 at the time of the alleged offence - is currently studying in a US college. Advertisement Ms Comerford said that the complainants grandmother was a witness in the Book of Evidence and as she is an elderly lady and a resident of the US, as are two other females who were on the flight. When the case was before the district court, Judge Alec Gabbett transferred the case to the circuit court where more serious penalties apply on conviction after hearing an outline of the case against the man. Det Garda Ruth OSullivan told the court previously that the costs to Aer Lingus of returning the Boston bound aircraft to Shannon is 28,213. Giving an outline of the alleged sexual assaults, Det Garda OSullivan said that an hour into the transatlantic flight at around 3.30pm, a young girl informed cabin crew that a male passenger sitting beside her had touched her inappropriately. Det Garda OSullivan said: They then informed the captain who took a decision to turn the flight back to Shannon. She said that the young girl and her family returned to Shannon airport where statements were obtained in the short turnaround before they took off again for the US. If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help. In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112. Nestle is extending its recent product recall in Ireland to include an additional batch of its SMA First Infant Milk. This recall is associated with a contaminated raw ingredient, which was also implicated in the recent recalls of some batches of infant formula and follow-on formula. An ingredient, ARA oil, which was manufactured in China, was contaminated with cereulide and added as an ingredient in base powder used to make infant formula and follow-on formula. Cereulide is a toxin produced by some strains of the bacterium Bacillus cereus, which can cause food poisoning. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) is advising parents, guardians, and caregivers who may have the recalled products at home not to feed them to their infant or young child. At this time, there is no indication that this incident has resulted in illness in Ireland. Advertisement The product and batch being recalled is as follows: SMA First Infant Milk; pack size: 800g Batch Code: 53390346AB Expiry Date: December 2027 If no symptoms are displayed by a child who has consumed the product, nothing further needs to be done. If a parent, guardian, or caregiver is concerned about the health of their infant or young child, they should contact a healthcare professional. The FSAI advises that cereulide toxin may be pre-formed in a food and is extremely heat resistant. Consumption of foods containing cereulide toxin can lead to nausea and severe vomiting. Symptoms can appear within five hours. The duration of illness is usually six to 24 hours. Nestle is advising its customers who have purchased any of these batches to contact it via its online form, sharing a photo of the product, and the batch code here. A judge has imposed a 10-year prison sentence on "a prolific, recidivist offender" with 129 previous convictions who broke into a doctor's home and stabbed him multiple times during a "vicious" home invasion. Mr Justice David Keane commented today that the victim's survival, despite the "extreme and excessive violence" used, was a matter of luck rather than judgment on behalf of violent criminal Dean Hayes, who has an "entrenched criminal history". Sentencing Hayes - who has spent 90 per cent of his life in custody - at the Central Criminal Court on Tuesday, Mr Justice Keane said it was "particularly concerning" that the defendant had burgled and ransacked a neighbouring bungalow in 2009. In his victim impact statement delivered last month, Waleed Mustafa said it was a "miracle" he wasn't killed that night. Mustafa described the first knife breaking during the unprovoked attack and how Hayes had gone to retrieve another. Advertisement The Central Criminal Court was previously told that Hayes was armed with a knife when he entered the doctor's bedroom as he was watching YouTube. The victim said he felt his attacker was going to kill him and was intent on getting revenge for something. Dean Hayes (37) of Lee Estate, Island Road in Limerick had originally been charged with the attempted murder of Waleed Mustafa (45) at Newcastle, Dublin Road, Castletroy on June 20, 2024. However when arraigned before the court last October, Hayes pleaded guilty that he entered a building as a trespasser and therein committed an arrestable offence, namely, causing serious harm to Mustafa and at the time had with him a weapon of offence, namely, a knife. Hayes also pleaded guilty that on the same occasion he intentionally caused serious harm to Mustafa. Prosecution counsel, Ronan Kennedy, told the court on Tuesday that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) was entering a nolle prosequi on attempted murder, meaning the State would not be proceeding with that charge against Hayes. Stab wounds Before delivering sentence today, Mr Justice Keane noted that the victim had received multiple stab wounds to the abdomen, upper back, arms, neck, forehead and fingers. He said a doctor who treated the victim had described the injuries as being high risk wounds. "Fortuitously", the judge said, there was no injury to the internal organs of the abdomen. The judge said the victim impact statement made it clear that grave psychological harm was suffered. He said Mr Mustafa was diagnosed with hypertension, had become more withdrawn and now avoided interaction with people. He said the doctor has a persistent insecurity and no longer felt completely safe in his own home. Advertisement Mr Justice Keane pointed out that CCTV footage showed Hayes, who was under the influence of intoxicants, had unsuccessfully tried to enter a neighbouring bungalow prior to the attack. Furthermore, the judge said it was "particularly concerning" and an aggravating factor that the defendant had burgled and ransacked that neighbouring bungalow in 2009. Referring to the offence of assault causing serious harm, the judge said the attack was "entirely unprovoked, vicious and sustained", causing multiple lacerations to the victim. He said Mustafa was assaulted in his bedroom and received a stab wound to the abdomen, which exposed fatty tissue underneath. He said it remained entirely unclear why Hayes chose to maintain the vicious assault on Mustafa, obtaining a second weapon rather than retreating. Mr Justice Keane set the headline sentence for the offence of assault causing serious harm at 15 years imprisonment. Concerning the second count of aggravated burglary, the judge said Hayes had a knife with him when he entered the victim's home and used extreme and excessive violence on him. He said the appropriate headline sentence was also 15 years imprisonment. Mr Justice Keane noted that the most significant mitigating factor was Hayes' admission of guilt. He said the defendant did not deserve credit for previous good character as he had 129 previous convictions, which span back to 2003 and include 17 convictions for burglary, 66 for theft, two for aggravated burglary, three for robbery, two for assault causing harm and five for possession of drugs for sale or supply. The judge said the DPP had submitted that certain previous convictions were partly relevant, including that the property directly adjacent to the victim had been burgled by the defendant in 2009. He said nothing had been taken but that the property had been totally ransacked. Advertisement The judge said a probation report noted that Hayes had limited recollection of the offence due to the level of his intoxication, having consumed vodka and street tablets. Mr Justice Keane said Hayes had been back in the community less than 12 weeks when he committed these offences. He said a probation report found Hayes was "a prolific, insidious offender" for the last 20 years and had a chronic drug addiction, which increased his impulsivity. The probation service, he said, also classified him at high risk of reoffending over the next 12 months due to his "entrenched criminal history" and chronic drug and alcohol addiction. The judge said Hayes had spent 90 per cent of his life in custody; first in juvenile detention and then in prison. Substance abuse, the judge said, had been a key feature of Hayes' life. He said a probation report found that the defendant began using cannabis at nine years of age and experimented with other drugs from 12 years old. Mr Justice Keane said Hayes had declined addiction support and psychology services in prison. He said the defendant's compliance with the probation services had been extremely sporadic in the past and it was likely he would require a level of support upon his release from prison. The judge imposed concurrent sentences of 12 years imprisonment with the final two years suspended for the offences of assault causing serious harm and aggravated burglary on condition that Hayes engage in a residential drug treatment and a victim empathy programme. The sentences were backdated to June 2024. Various stories feature on Irish front pages on Tuesday morning, including a few about the weather. The Irish Times lead with Pope Leo apologising personally to a man for the abuse he, his late brother, and their friend suffered as children at the Spiritan-run Blackrock College in Dublin and its preparatory school, Willow Park, Queen's University Belfast cutting ties with George Mitchell, and a study giving insights into how two-month-old babies learn. The Irish Examiner lead with the Taoiseach saying new flood protection schemes will take time, and weapons incidents in schools being up 93 per cent last year. The Irish Independent lead with news that families of Fair Deal residents are to be given an extra six months to pay outstanding costs to cover nursing home care due to the State after their loved one dies. Advertisement The Echo lead with the number of drink and drug testing checkpoints being down in Cork last year compared to the previous 12 months, and 716 people in Cork spending Christmas in emergency accommodation. The Herald lead with the father of a murdered man calling for action on his case. The Irish Daily Mail lead with the country being braced for a third round of flooding in a week. The Irish Daily Mirror lead with a woman who was beaten by her ex-partner speaking of her relief that she will never see him again after he was jailed and received a lifetime ban preventing him from contacting her. The Irish Daily Star lead with garda sources believing that the hit team that shot David Byrne at the Regency Airport Hotel ten years ago will probably never be caught. The Belfast Telegraph lead with the sister of murdered showjumper Katie Simpson and the mother of her killer Jonathan Creswell being locked in legal proceedings over the transfer of a piece of land. Former US president Bill Clinton and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton have finalised an agreement with House Republicans to testify in an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein this month, bowing to the threat of a contempt of Congress vote against them. Mrs Clinton will give evidence before the House Oversight Committee on February 26 and Mr Clinton will appear on February 27. It will mark the first time that politicians have compelled a former president to testify. The arrangement comes after months of negotiating between the two sides as Republicans sought to make the Clintons a focal point in a House committees investigation into Epstein, a convicted sex offender who killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019, and Ghislaine Maxwell, his former girlfriend. Former president Bill Clinton and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton (Jacquelyn Martin/AP) We look forward to now questioning the Clintons as part of our investigation into the horrific crimes of Epstein and Maxwell, to deliver transparency and accountability for the American people and for survivors, representative James Comer, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement. For months the Clintons resisted the subpoenas, but House Republicans with support from a few Democrats had advanced criminal contempt of Congress charges to a potential vote this week. Advertisement It threatened the Clintons with the potential for substantial fines and even prison time if they had been convicted. Even as the Clintons bowed to that pressure, the negotiating between Republican politicians and lawyers for the Clintons was marked by distrust as they wrangled over the details of the deposition. They agreed to have the closed-door depositions transcribed and recorded on video, Mr Comer said. Burt the belligerence is likely to only grow as Republicans relish the opportunity to grill longtime political foes under oath. James Comer is chairman of the House Oversight Committee (Rod Lamkey Jr/AP) Mr Clinton, like a number of other high-powered men, had a well-documented relationship with Epstein in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He has not been accused of wrongdoing in his interactions with the late financier. Both Clintons have said they had no knowledge that Epstein was sexually abusing underage girls. The Clintons initially argued the subpoenas for their testimony were invalid and offered to submit sworn declarations on their limited knowledge of Epsteins crimes. But as Mr Comer threatened to proceed with contempt of Congress charges, they began looking for an off-ramp. Advertisement Both Clintons have remained highly critical of how Mr Comer has handled the Epstein investigation and argue that he is more focused on bringing them in for testimony rather than holding the Trump administration accountable for how it has handled the release of its files on Epstein. Still, the threat of a vote on contempt charges raised the potential for Congress to use one of its most severe punishments against a former president for the first time. Historically, Congress has shown deference to former presidents. None of them have ever been forced to testify before politicians, although a few have voluntarily done so. Palestinians lined up on Tuesday on both sides of Gazas border with Egypt, hoping to pass through the Rafah crossing after its long-awaited reopening the previous day was marred by delays and uncertainty over who would be allowed through. On the Egyptian side were Palestinians who had undergone medical treatment in Egypt and had left Gaza earlier in the Israel-Hamas war, according to Egypts state-run Al-Qahera News television. On the Gaza side, Palestinians in need of treatment unavailable in Gaza were brought in busses by the Palestinian Red Crescent from the agencys headquarters in the territory, hoping for word that they would be allowed to cross the other way. The crossings reopening on Monday though hailed as a step forward for the US-backed, fragile ceasefire struck in October was marred by delays. It took more than 10 hours for only about a dozen returnees and a small group of medical evacuees to cross in each direction. The family of a heart patient carry her belongings after she and 11 others were allowed into Gaza from Egypt following the reopening of the Rafah crossing (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP) The numbers fell short of the 50 people that officials had said would be allowed in each direction and barely began to address devastated Gazas mounting needs tens of thousands of Palestinians are hoping to be evacuated for treatment or to return home. Iman Rashwan waited for hours in the Gaza city of Khan Younis until her mother and sister were brought back from Egypt. She said she hopes others would be as lucky to see their loved ones soon. Advertisement God willing, the crossing will open for everyone, for all the sick and for all the wounded, she said while waiting, adding that everyone just wants things to return to normal as they were before the war. On Tuesday morning, the evacuation effort converged around a Red Crescent hospital in Khan Younis, where a World Health Organisation (WHO) team arrived and a vehicle carrying patients and their relatives rolled in from another hospital. Then the group of WHO vehicles and Palestinian ambulances headed towards Rafah. Palestinian Red Crescent spokesperson Raed al-Nims told the Associated Press on Tuesday that only 16 patients with chronic conditions and war wounds, accompanied by 40 relatives, were brought from Khan Younis to the Gaza side of Rafah. This was far less than the 45 patients and wounded the Red Crescent was told would be allowed into Egypt, along with 90 relatives, on Tuesday, he said. Advertisement Officials say the number of crossings could gradually increase if the system works, with Israel and Egypt vetting those allowed in and out. But security concerns and bureaucratic snags quickly tempered expectations raised by officials who for weeks had cast the reopening as a major step in the ceasefire deal. On Monday, things got bogged down in disagreements over luggage allowances. The returnees were carrying more than anticipated with them, requiring additional negotiations, a person familiar with the situation told AP. They didnt let us cross with anything, Rotana Al-Regeb said as she returned around midnight on Monday to Khan Younis. They emptied everything before letting us through. We were only allowed to take the clothes on our backs and one bag per person. The initial number of Palestinians allowed to cross is mostly symbolic. Israeli and Egyptian officials have said that 50 medical evacuees would depart along with two caretaker escorts and 50 Palestinians who left during the war would return. More than 10,000 patients have been evacuated from Gaza since the war began, according to the WHO. But the pace slowed to a crawl, with an average of 17 patients a week leaving since Israel seized the crossing in May 2024 and until the ceasefire. A woman embraces one of her grandsons after they arrived in Gaza following the reopening of the Rafah border crossing (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP) At a pace of about 50 a day, many of the roughly 20,000 sick and wounded people who Gazas Health Ministry has said need treatment abroad will still face long waits. About 150 hospitals across Egypt are ready to receive patients, authorities said. Who and what would be allowed through Rafah was a central concern for both Israel and Egypt. Advertisement Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that anyone who wants to leave will eventually be permitted to do so, but fearing that Israel could use the crossing to push Palestinians out of Gaza, Egypt has repeatedly said it must open in both directions. Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said Ahmed Abdel-Al, 19, was shot and killed by Israeli troops on Tuesday morning in a part of the southern Gaza city, some distance away from the area under the Israeli militarys control. He was the latest of the more than 520 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire since the October 10 start of the ceasefire, according to Gazas Health Ministry. They are among the more than 71,800 Palestinians killed since the start of the war, according to the ministry, which does not say how many were fighters or civilians. The ministry, part of Gazas Hamas-led government, keeps detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by UN agencies and independent experts. Russia has carried out a major attack on Ukraine in what President Volodymyr Zelensky said was a breach of its commitment to hold off on attacks on energy infrastructure. The attack happened a day before representatives of the two countries were due to attend US-brokered talks on ending the war. The bombardment included hundreds of drones and a record 32 ballistic missiles, wounding at least 10 people. A damaged building following Russias missile and drone attack on Kyiv (Dan Bashakov/AP) It specifically took aim at the power grid, Mr Zelensky said, as part of what Ukraine says is Moscows ongoing campaign to deny civilians light, heating and running water during the coldest winter in years. Taking advantage of the coldest days of winter to terrorise people is more important to Russia than diplomacy, Mr Zelensky said. Advertisement Temperatures in Kyiv fell to minus 20C during the night and stood at minus 16C on Tuesday. Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte visited Kyiv in a show of support. He said that the overnight strikes raise doubts about Moscows intentions on the eve of talks, calling them a really bad signal. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky talks to Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte in Kyiv (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP) He added it was clear that the attacks only strengthen Ukrainians resolve. Officials have described recent talks between Moscow and Kyiv delegations as constructive. But after a year of efforts, the Trump administration is still searching for a breakthrough on key issues such as who keeps the Ukrainian land that Russias army has occupied, and a comprehensive settlement appears distant. The Abu Dhabi talks are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday. People take shelter in a metro station which is being used as a bomb shelter (Alex Babenko/AP) Mr Zelensky said Ukraine is ready to discuss how to end the fighting, but added: No one is going to surrender. A Kremlin official said last week that Russia had agreed to halt strikes on Kyiv for a week until February 1 because of the freezing temperatures, following a personal request from US President Donald Trump to Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, the bitter cold is continuing and so are Russias aerial attacks. Mr Zelensky, however, accused Russia of breaking its commitment to hold off its attacks on Ukraines energy assets, claiming the week-long pause was due to come into force last Friday. Advertisement We believe this Russian strike clearly violates what the American side discussed, and there must be consequences, he said. Following today's Russian strike, I held a coordination call to discuss the situation in the regions, particularly the energy sector. It was a deliberate attack against energy infrastructure, involving a record number of ballistic missiles. In fact, the Russian army exploited pic.twitter.com/s1uXUJUutm Volodymyr Zelenskyy / (@ZelenskyyUa) February 3, 2026 The bombardment of at least five regions of Ukraine comprised 450 long-range drones and 70 missiles, Ukrainian officials said. Ukraine says Russia has tried to wear down Ukrainians appetite for the fight by creating hardship for the civilian population living in dark, freezing homes. It has tried to wreck Ukraines electricity network, targeting substations, transformers, turbines and generators at power plants. Ukraines largest private power company, DTEK, said that the overnight attack hit its thermal power plants in the ninth major assault since October. Mr Rutte addressed the Ukrainian parliament during his visit and said that countries in the military alliance are ready to provide support quickly and consistently as peace efforts drag on. Since last summer, Nato members have provided 75% of all missiles, and 90% of those used for Ukraines air defence, under a financial arrangement whereby alliance countries buy American weapons to give to Ukraine, he said. A woman rests in a shelter at a metro station (Alex Babenko/AP) European countries, fearing Moscows ambitions, see their own future security as being on the line in Ukraine. Be assured that Nato stands with Ukraine and is ready to do so for years to come, Mr Rutte said. Your security is our security. Your peace is our peace. And it must be lasting. In Kyiv, officials said that five people were wounded in the strikes that damaged and set fire to residential buildings, a kindergarten and a petrol station in various parts of the capital, according to the State Emergency Service. Advertisement By early morning, 1,170 apartment buildings in the capital were without heating, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. That set back desperate repair operations that had restored heat to all but 80 apartment buildings, he said. Maidan Nezalezhnosti. The Peoples Memorial of National Remembrance. A memorial honoring our heroes, warriors, our people who defended Ukraine against the enemy, fought, and made the ultimate sacrifice in this war. Together with @SecGenNATO Mark Rutte, we honored the memory of pic.twitter.com/ugWsJChlAV Volodymyr Zelenskyy / (@ZelenskyyUa) February 3, 2026 Russia also struck Ukraines north-eastern Kharkiv region, where injuries were reported, and the southern Odesa region. The attack also damaged the Hall of Fame at the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War, at the foot of the Motherland Monument in Kyiv, Ukrainian culture minister Tetiana Berezhna said. It is symbolic and cynical at the same time: The aggressor state strikes a place of memory about the fight against aggression in the 20th century, repeating crimes in the 21st, Ms Berezhna said. Spain has set a new tourism record, welcoming nearly 96.8 million foreign visitors in 2025, according to figures released by the National Statistics Institute. The number of international visitors was up 3.2% compared with 2024, which saw 94 million tourists. Spain is one of the worlds most popular destinations, where tourism accounts for 12.6% of the countrys gross domestic product. Catalonia, the north-eastern region where Barcelona is located, attracted around 20.1 million tourists (Alamy/PA) It has ranked third in the worlds top tourism earners, after the UK and France, on the UN World Tourism Barometer. The income from foreign visitors reached 134.7 billion euros between January and December, up 6.8% from the 126 billion euros spent in 2024, the Ministry of Tourism said. The increase in the number of tourists and their spending meet the objective of transforming the tourism model into one that is more sustainable and based on prioritising quality over quantity, the ministry said in a statement. Advertisement Catalonia, the north-eastern region where Barcelona is located, attracted around 20.1 million tourists, 0.6% more than in 2024. Spain is known for sun and beach tourism (Alamy/PA) It was followed by the Mediterranean islands and the Canary Islands, a flagship of the sun and beach tourism for which Spain is known. Most travellers came from the UK (19 million), France (12.7 million) and Germany (12 million). It was Spains third record-breaking year since 2019, the year before the Covid-19 pandemic that paralysed international leisure travel. As tourism rebounded globally, it put pressure on accommodation in Spain, particularly in city centres where short-term rentals have proliferated, causing friction at times with locals, many of whom feel priced out of the housing and rental market. Last year set a new record for international tourist arrivals in the post-pandemic era: an estimated 1.52 billion international tourists were recorded worldwide, almost 60 million more than in 2024, according to the UN barometer. US president Donald Trumps call for Republicans to "nationalise" elections drew pushback on Tuesday from lawmakers, including from a few Republicans, as Democrats voiced fresh concern that he intends to interfere with the November midterms that will determine control of Congress. In a podcast interview with former FBI deputy director Dan Bongino released on Monday, Trump repeated his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him and said his party should take over and "nationalise" voting in at least 15 places, without detailing what he meant. Under the US Constitution, state governments oversee elections, not the federal government, and most contests are administered by county and local officials. Democratic officials and voting rights advocates said Trumps comments, just days after the FBI searched the election office in Fulton County, Georgia, for 2020 ballots, show he plans to try to undermine or perhaps even manipulate the results of this years elections. Advertisement "This is not about the 2020 election," Democratic Us senator Mark Warner of Virginia said at a press conference. "This is frankly about what comes next." Midterms could change hous control The US president's party has historically lost seats in midterm elections, and Democrats need to flip only three Republican-held districts in November to gain control of the US House of Representatives. A senior Republican campaign operative told Reuters it did not appear there was an overarching strategy behind Trump's comments, beyond an ongoing Justice Department effort to procure voter rolls from many Democratic-leaning states. Lawmakers and election experts were less sanguine. The last time he started talking like this, his allies minimized the risks and we ended up with Jan 6, Brendan Nyhan, a political science professor at Dartmouth College, wrote on X, referring to the January 6th, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters. Trump has often expressed a desire to overhaul the countrys elections, based on false claims that his loss in 2020 to Democrat Joe Biden was fuelled by fraud. He has called for mail-in ballots to be outlawed, questioned the security of voting machines and claimed falsely that millions of non-citizens regularly cast ballots. The two top congressional Republicans, House speaker Mike Johnson and Senate majority leader John Thune, did not offer support for taking over elections but defended Trumps demands that voters provide proof of US citizenship and photo identification. Thune told reporters on Tuesday he was not in favor of federalizing elections. I'm a big believer in decentralized and distributed power, he said. It's harder to hack 50 election systems than it is to hack one. Advertisement Johnson said it was unnecessary to take over elections in some states, but argued that Trumps concerns about election integrity were justified. Some Republicans briefly threatened on Tuesday to block a deal to end a partial government shutdown unless the bill included citizenship and voter ID provisions. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump wanted Congress to pass a separate Republican-authored bill, the SAVE Act, that includes those new voting requirements. "The president believes in the United States Constitution," she said. "However, he believes there has obviously been a lot of fraud and irregularities that have taken place in American elections." Several Trump allies in states with close races told Reuters they believe Trump might threaten to withhold federal election-related funding to states that resist new voting measures, such as ID requirements or limits on mail balloting. The government provides hundreds of millions of dollars in federal assistance to states each year to help administer elections, including for voting equipment, cybersecurity upgrades and election worker training. Georgia election office search Last week, the FBI executed a search warrant for 2020 ballots in Fulton County, Georgia, a central battleground in Trumps unsuccessful effort that year to remain in power, which will also host one of the most competitive Senate races this year. The county district attorneys office charged Trump with election interference in 2023, though the case was dropped in November, a year after Trump won his second term in office. Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, appeared in Georgia alongside the FBI, alarming Democratic lawmakers. It is highly unusual for the director of national intelligence to be involved in operations involving domestic elections, particularly if there is no clear foreign nexus. Advertisement World Clintons finalise agreement to testify in Epstein probe Read more Warner, who co-chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, has said Gabbard's office has not alerted Congress to any foreign threats to election infrastructure. Gabbard's appearance in Georgia "under a thin veil of legitimacy" raised "serious legal and constitutional questions and politicises an institution that must remain neutral and apolitical," Warner said on Tuesday. Gabbard said in a letter to Warner and Congressman Jim Himes, the Democratic co-chair of the House Intelligence Committee, that Trump had requested her presence at the FBI raid last week. She also said she has the legal authority to coordinate and analyse election security matters. In April, Gabbard said at a cabinet meeting that her office was investigating election integrity issues, asserting there was evidence that electronic voting systems are vulnerable to exploitation to manipulate the votes being cast". A US navy fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone that was approaching the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, US Central Command said. The incident threatens to ramp up tensions as the Trump administration warns of possible military action to get Iran to the negotiating table. The drone aggressively approached the aircraft carrier with unclear intent and continued to fly towards the ship despite de-escalatory measures taken by US forces operating in international waters, Central Command spokesman Capt Tim Hawkins said in a statement. The incident occurred within hours of Iranian forces harassing a US-flagged and US-crewed merchant vessel that was sailing in the Strait of Hormuz, the US military said. The Shahed-139 drone was shot down by an F-35C fighter jet from the Lincoln, which, according to Capt Hawkins, was sailing about 500 miles from Irans southern coast. The incident threatens to ramp up tensions as the Trump administration warns of possible military action to get Iran to the negotiating table (Alex Brandon/AP) The militarys statement noted that no American troops were harmed and no US equipment was damaged. Then, hours later, Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces harassed the merchant vessel Stena Imperative, the military said. Advertisement According to Capt Hawkins statement, two boats and an Iranian Mohajer drone approached the ship at high speeds and threatened to board and seize the tanker. The destroyer USS McFaul responded to the scene and escorted the Stena Imperative with defensive air support from the US air force, the statement said, adding that the merchant vessel was now sailing safely. The actions come as tensions are high between the longtime adversaries. They began to rise again as Irans government spent weeks quelling protests that began in late December against growing economic instability before broadening into a challenge to the Islamic Republic. President Donald Trump had promised in early January to rescue Iranians from their governments bloody crackdown on protesters, which later morphed into a pressure campaign to get Tehran to make a deal over its nuclear programme. That is even as the Republican president insists Iranian nuclear sites were obliterated in US strikes in June. We have talks going on with Iran. Well see how it all works out, Mr Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. Asked what his threshold was for military action against Iran, he declined to elaborate. Advertisement Id like to see a deal negotiated, Mr Trump said. Right now, were talking to them, were talking to Iran, and if we could work something out, thatd be great. And if we cant, probably bad things would happen. The US shot down the drone hours after Irans president said on Tuesday that he instructed the countrys foreign minister to pursue fair and equitable negotiations with the US, marking one of the first clear signs from Tehran it wants to try to negotiate with Washington despite a breakdown of talks last summer. Turkey had been working behind the scenes to make the talks happen there later this week as US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is travelling in the region. A Turkish official later said that the location of talks was uncertain but that Turkey was ready to support the process. Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A Bill Bryson is visibly startled to see himself back. Oh my god, Im in a cave, he says, grinning at the bearded face emerging from the gloom of his home office in Hampshire. A desk plaque in the computer glow reads, BILL BRYSON RETIRED AUTHOR. I got that for Christmas a year ago, he says jovially. I am really, really trying to be retired. I love being retired. I cant recommend it too highly. Whats in his way is nearly everything. A Short History of Nearly Everything 2.0, ostensibly the great travel writers final book, returns him to Australia this month. When I sat down to do it, I thought it would mostly be a question of tinkering with dates and numbers, he says of updating his popular science masterwork of 2003. Back then, the number of known exoplanets planets outside our own solar system was maybe a couple of dozen. Now its almost 6000. Not that space or time permits him to list them all. Not when theres a shiny new Higgs Boson particle to detonate, or an archaeologists smorgasbord of ancient human species to flesh out our skeletal understanding of Homo sapiens twisted road to here. Bill Bryson giving a speech at last years Nero Book Awards in London. Getty Images Say hello, for instance, to the Denisovans, the so-called hobbits of Flores, and Homo naledi: small-brained cave-dwellers whose burial rituals have upended old assumptions about intelligence. There are four major lines of humans that were not suspected at all when I wrote the book a little over 20 years ago, Bryson says. The great thing, he says, is a far more recent act of evolution. Now theres an internet. I used to have to get dressed and go to a library and hunt through books and hope that I could find something that was less than five years old. Now I can find out your middle name, probably, in 30 seconds. This mildly unsettling truth throws into quaint relief the very act of writing a 600-page non-fiction book about anything at all in this age of infinite instant infobytes. But any reader acquainted with Brysons wry, genial, infectiously curious voice will know that the telling is a big part of the story. Advertisement Born in Iowa but long resident in Britain, he became a bestselling author in the 1990s with a series of travelogues The Lost Continent, Neither Here Nor There, Notes from a Small Island that put small-town America, Europe and Britain under his wry gaze. Down Under brought the everyman explorers sharp eye for human behaviour and identity to Australia in 2000. With the 20-million-selling and multi-award winning Short History of Nearly Everything, Bryson turned science into another landscape to wander: a story told not just through facts but through the flawed, obsessive, often hilarious people who discovered them. I love the way that scientists can be so brilliant on the one hand, and then such idiots on the other, he says. Isaac Newton was probably one of the half-dozen smartest people who ever lived on this planet. The things he came up with are just mind-boggling. But then as a grown man, he stared at the sun for as long as he could stand it, just to see what would happen. TAKE 7: THE ANSWERS ACCORDING TO BILL BRYSON Worst habit? Since I was a young boy, I have pretended to be able to vapourise people that annoy me. Thats not a very noble way of going through life. Greatest fear? Ive got a big family and Ive never had to deal with real grief. The line that has stayed with you? A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people Thomas Mann. Biggest regret? When I got married and we came to England, my first job was working at The Evening Echo in Bournemouth, and it was the most boring job I ever had. I wished Id gone to London first but on the other hand, my first two kids were born there and if wed been in London, they would have been different kids. Favourite book? The reading experience I most powerfully remember was when I was about 13 years old. It was a hot summer night in Iowa, and I took a book down randomly off a bookshelf. Lost Horizon by James Hilton: a book of no great distinction, but the best reading experience I ever had. The artwork/ song you wish was yours? Stand By Me by Ben E. King. If you could time travel, where would you choose to go? In an Australian context, I would love to go and stand on the beach and watch the Indigenous people arrive. I mean, how did you get a breeding population across all that water tens of thousands of years ago? The problem is, I wouldnt know which beach to stand on and I wouldnt know what year. Bryson also relates the slightly nauseating tale of 17th-century German alchemist Hennig Brands attempts to transmute his urine into gold. Then theres the large mass of ego named Edwin Hubble, an astounding overachiever and groundbreaking astronomer who was not just an inveterate liar but also largely ignorant of a potentially useful contemporary named Albert Einstein. The most brilliant scientists, Bryson says with delight, were capable of this kind of idiocy inside a fantastically expansive mind. And I love that. I think that kind of thing helps to humanise these people and make you feel a little bit less daunted by their achievements. Which is not to suggest that human brilliance is the most daunting element in the known universe. Brysons descriptions of menacing astronomical and geothermal possibilities are sobering. We live in a world, he quips during a litany of meteoric, volcanic and atmospheric threats, that doesnt altogether seem to want us here. Advertisement Not much that we learn scientifically these days is encouraging, he says. Its heartening that knowledge goes on and on and on and theres still always so much more to learn including, he says, climate change and melting polar ice caps. Its very easy to get discouraged by the world we live in. Science is helping us understand how discouraging that is. But science itself seems to matter less and less not least in my native country where its being sidelined in ways I find shocking. He cites the recent closure of Duke Universitys herbarium in North Carolina, with its collection of 800,000 biological specimens, as emblematic of a broader retreat: A sense that science isnt worth supporting unless its economically productive. I find that discouraging. In 2000, Bill Bryson turned his travel writing lens on Australia with Down Under. Jessica Hromas Idiocy, it seems, is not to be underestimated. I dont think nature is the great threat. I think were the great threat; the fact that we just take our existence for granted and act as if somehow the Earth will always sustain us, no matter what we do. Im not completely gloomy about climate change. I think life may get pretty uncomfortable, but I dont think were going hell-for-leather for extinction. But the idea that Earth is somehow inexhaustible is just foolish. Bryson seems essentially drawn to this elastic grey zone between existential dread and plucky optimism. His 2006 memoir The Thunderbolt Kid describes a 1950s Des Moines childhood teetering between the perils of playground Darwinism and nuclear annihilation and sheer boyish joy, a world of cheerful survival built on innocent ignorance. One of the saddest things about the age in which were living now is the absence of optimism, he says. When I was a kid, the future was just so exciting. We were all going to have helicopters in our driveways and jetpacks to take us to school and vacations would be in outer space. Now when you think about the future, its always dispiriting and negative, and its a shame that pendulum has swung so far in the other direction. I think maybe its not so extreme. Perhaps (its) going to swing a bit, and then back again. There will always be encouraging developments as well as discouraging ones. Which column Homo sapiens will ultimately occupy in the cosmic spreadsheet is a question far beyond any one traveller. But in a professed absence of spiritual faith, how does a man of science stare down the infinite blackness of his own inevitable demise? I dont look at it as a blackness, he says. Ive had the most wonderful life. Ive had far more success than I ever dreamed of having, and it seems to me perfectly natural that people will start to forget me. Advertisement Advertisement Exclusive Eating outRestaurant news Why ground-breaking Marrickville brewery Wildflower will close after 10 years Wildflower has always stood tall as a true original, said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, one of its many fans. But its not over yet, with pop-ups to come with chefs from Ester, Sixpenny and more. Bianca Hrovat February 3, 2026 Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Marrickville and the Inner West Ale Trail would not be the same without Wildflower Brewing & Blending, a singular craft brewery which today announced plans to close its cellar door on May 31, after 10 years. Brothers-in-law Topher Boehm and Chris Allen founded Wildflower during the height of Australias craft beer boom in 2016, and the Brompton Street brewery (now co-owned with Benny Boehm and Emily Allen) went on to achieve international acclaim for its innovative, provenance-led approach. Wildflower co-owners Topher and Bernadette Boehm with hospitality director Nemesia Dale-Cully. Jessica Hromas What we decided to do, what we decided to focus on, was a bit unique and was a bit of a risk, Boehm said. Im really proud that we did that because one of our greatest achievements is that people were actually converted. Boehm said the decision to close wasnt about the product or the people it was driven by the desire to spend time with his young family, put down roots and grow a business (Wildflower, in a different form) that could live on for generations. Production might have stopped, but this isnt the end for Wildflower, its just the beginning of a new chapter. Advertisement The way its structured, I didnt feel I could run [the business] sustainably for the next 10 years, and I think a big part of that just had to be with the amount of time and effort that it takes, Boehm said. There was also economic pressure as the cost of production and rent rose. I want to have the freedom to continue putting the time and effort into the beers we have, and a big part of that is the financial aspect, Boehm said. Were in a pricey area of Sydney and I dont want to be in a situation where I feel that new things have to be made or produced just to be able to keep cash flow moving. The Wildflower cellar door evolved into Village Taproom by Mountain Culture and Wildflower. Boehm worked at nearby Batch Brewing before establishing Wildflower, where he stepped outside of conventional commercial brewing practices to harvest naturally occurring bacteria and yeast from native Australian ingredients, cultivating a series of wild ales with a true expression of place. Advertisement Over the years, there were golden barrel-aged beers re-fermented with wild honeycomb from the Blue Mountains, or hand-picked apricots from Orange, or Montepulciano grapes from Young. There were saisons and low-alcohol table beers using organic hops and barley from regenerative farms in Berrigan and Coleambally, cider made from roadside apples, and a whisky blend developed with neighbouring distillery Poor Toms. Co-founder Topher Boehm changed the way Sydney thinks about craft beer. Jessica Hromas [Our beer] was something that didnt exist before, and its become something that is an important part of peoples milestones and celebration, Boehm said. Not many people get to say that about their work its a huge honour. Wildflower caught the attention of the broader hospitality community, including wine and drinks writer Mike Bennie, who co-founded P&V Wine + Liquor Merchants in Newtown. Bennie said Wildflower enhanced Australian drink culture through its commitment to collaboration, creativity and quality. Wildflower has been a standout in Australias craft brewing community ... At a time when many breweries were jostling for hop-led IPA supremacy, Wildflower did its thing and pushed with unnerving confidence in its own lane. Advertisement Wildflower co-owners Topher and Bernadette Boehm with (centre) hospitality director Nemesia Dale-Cully. Jessica Hromas Two-hatted Chippendale restaurant Ester was among the first restaurants to serve Wildflower, and Boehm later collaborated with head chef and owner Mat Lindsay on soy sauce. It was one of many collaborations, which ranged from a grape ale with independent Australian winemaker Jauma to bread made at Goodwood Bakeshop in Marrickville. In 2024, Wildflower partnered with Katoomba Brewery Mountain Culture to rebrand the Marrickville cellar door as Village (Mountain Culture will continue its presence in Sydney at its Redfern brewery). After pandemic lockdowns, hospitality director Nemesia Dale-Cully expanded the scope of their cellar door to include pop-up restaurants from Hot Luck Club, Goldstreet Dairy cheesemaker Colin Wood and A.P Bakery, the latter of which was reviewed by Good Food Guide co-editor Callan Boys. Jersey cheese and hot honey bun, served at Wildflower during a pop-up kitchen from cheesemaker Colin Wood of Goldstreet Dairy. Jennifer Soo Advertisement Wildflower made beer unlike anywhere else in Sydney. Jessica Hromas Co-owner Bernadette (Benny) Boehm at family-owned brewery Wildflower. Jessica Hromas Inner West Brewery Association (IWBA) president and Young Henrys co-founder Richard Adamson said Wildflower changed the way beer was presented in restaurants not secondary to wine, but something you can also enjoy over dinner. The brewery also pushed for change within the local independent craft brewing industry. As a member of the IWBA, it assisted in the development of the Inner West Ale Trail. The popular tourism activity relaunched in 2024 with 18 independent breweries, cementing the area as Australias craft brewing hub. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, member for the local Grayndler electorate, attended both launches and said it was sad to hear Wildflower would soon be closing: The Inner West Ale Trail ... [is] the result of ambition and vision from a lot of talented brewers, and the hard work and perseverance to back it. Advertisement Im hugely proud of all they have created and contributed. Among them, Wildflower has always stood tall as a true original, he said. As Marrickvilles hospitality offering continues to expand, with newcomers including non-alcoholic brewery Heaps Normal Health Club and Bracket Brewing, Boehm said the decision to close Wildflowers cellar door is bittersweet. Collaborations were at the heart of Wildflowers success, including their partnership with Katoomba brewery Mountain Culture to rebrand the cellar door as Village. Mountain Culture co-founder DJ McCready pictured with Wildflower co-founder Topher Boehm. If you told me, 10 years ago, that wed be in this position in 2026, with so many people drinking our beers and an entire community surrounding this space I couldnt look at it as anything other than a success, Boehm said. He doesnt know what the future holds for Wildflower, but there are vague plans to move to a regional town where the family can purchase property, grow crops and open a little cellar door. But for the next four months they will be celebrating their 10-year milestone with pop-up events, including lunch hosted by chefs Dan Puskas (Sixpenny) and Jean-Paul El Tom (Babas Place) from the Good Food Guides Restaurant of the Year, Corner 75, on Sunday, February 22, and a farewell party featuring food by Lindsay and Dougal Muffet, head baker and director of A.P Bakery. Tickets are on sale now at wildflowerbeer.com. Advertisement MoneyTaxCapital gains tax How a simple slip-up could see your property sale taxed twice Julia Hartman February 3, 2026 10:38am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A It is almost common knowledge these days that a capital gain is taxed in the financial year that the contract is signed, not the year of settlement, and getting this wrong can result in double taxation of the same capital gain. Edward Sunnas case, ruled on by the Federal Court at the end of last year, highlights the danger of declaring the capital gain in the wrong year as you could end up being taxed in both years. Take careful note of the date you sign your sale contract, as it could be what saves or costs you thousands in tax. Suzanne White This is because the ATO has an unlimited time period to amend old tax returns to include a capital gain, but if the amendment period (usually 2 years) has passed, they cannot remove the capital gain from the incorrect year. In some scenarios, it is not so common knowledge as to which year applies. In Sunnas case, he signed the contract on June 28, 2019, but did not receive the deposit which was nearly 50 per cent of the sale price until after June 30, now in the 2019-2020 financial year. Advertisement He then included the deposit in his 2020 tax return and when the sale of the $5.5 million Sydney unit went through in August 2022, he included the rest of the gain in his 2023 tax return. In reality, the whole of the gain should have been included in the 2019 tax return. So if youre planning on buying or selling a house soon, heres what you need to know: Sale of Asset: The capital gain goes in the tax return for the year that the contract was signed, regardless of when the deposit was received. If no contract was signed, then the year that the ownership of the asset transferred. As you can see, this can result in the deadline for lodging tax returns expiring before the outcome is known. You can lodge your tax return without the capital gai,n while the outcome remains uncertain, then amend within a month of settlement. The ATO undertakes not to charge interest or penalties providing the amendment is made within a reasonable time, generally a month. Advertisement Options: If you enter into an option to sell your property and the option is exercised, the option proceeds are just included with the sale proceeds in the financial year that the option is exercised i.e., the year that the contract for an actual sale is signed. Editor's pick Opinion Property development Knocking down and rebuilding? Dont fall for these tax traps If the option is not exercised, then you need to include the option proceeds in the tax return for the year, back at the start, when the option was entered into. Forfeited Deposit: This goes into the tax return for the year that the deposit was forfeited. Note if the deposit is not forfeited, it just becomes part of the sale proceeds, so it applies to the tax return when the contract was signed. Section 107 of the Income Tax Assessment Act prevents the two-year amendment period limitation applying when an amendment is made to include a capital gain that has not been previously been included in the tax return for that year. Advertisement The catch is that there is no similar provision to extend the amendment period to correct a capital gain incorrectly included in another year. So, the ATO can go back as far as it likes to include your capital gain in the correct year without having to remove it from the tax return for the year in which it was mistakenly included. This will result in the capital gain being taxed twice. Sunnas case found that there was no real impediment to this happening. If this article has raised any concerns, you can apply to the ATO to exercise their discretion to allow the amendment period to be extended on the tax return where the capital gain was incorrectly included. Julia Hartman founded BAN TACS Accountants more than 30 years ago and is still passionate about all things tax. Advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions. Expert tips on how to save, invest and make the most of your money delivered to your inbox every Sunday. Sign up for our Real Money newsletter. Advertisement NationalNSWEducation We have short-changed parents for years: The plan to fix school reports Christopher Harris February 3, 2026 6:30pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Parents are being short-changed by school reports which lack the colour and movement of previous generations, the head of the biggest network of Catholic schools in the state has declared while unveiling plans to overhaul and broaden how students are assessed. Sydney Catholic Schools, which operates 147 primary and secondary schools across NSW, will measure student ability in domains such as creativity, discernment, resilience, practical wisdom and problem-solving skills. All Hallows Catholic Primary School kindergarten twins Finn (second left) and Archie (second right) Constantino, and Lachlan and Henry Farhart. Sam Mooy Executive director Danielle Cronin said the framework would also examine how progress was reported to parents. Ive seen very few excellent school reports to parents over the last 20 years very few, Cronin said. Advertisement Id say we have short-changed parents for years around how we communicate their own childs development and achievement. In an increasingly litigious, combative environment between home and school, teachers naturally become more circumspect so they dont find themselves in a contested environment. Under Australian law, schools must issue school reports twice a year, give students a mark ranging from A to E and be written in language readily understandable to a person responsible for a student at the school. Cronin said the review of the assessment framework would question the twice-a-year report, or if something very different could be developed that would paint a more holistic and balanced picture of student achievement for parents. But also [provide] information for parents that actually helps them understand their child and what they can do to assist, Cronin said. The framework will be developed with researchers at Boston College in Massachusetts as part of an eight-year strategic plan. Advertisement Cronin said key achievement markers such as NAPLAN and the HSC remained important, but said the new framework would seek to reset the focus of school to other areas of achievement. Executive director of Sydney Catholic Schools Danielle Cronin. Dominic Lorrimer I think theres probably been a hyperfixation on NAPLAN at the expense of other things, she said. In some respects, that is driven by government, its driven by system authorities, its driven by parents who put this emphasis on NAPLAN as the proxy for academic excellence. Weve got to try and calibrate and refocus and get clarity around how these things operate together to achieve the outcomes that we want, and not have to choose between NAPLAN and something else. Advertisement Related Article Media & marketing Make The Sydney Morning Herald your preferred source on Google Yvette Farhart, whose twin sons Lachlan and Henry started at All Hallows Catholic Primary School in Five Dock last week, welcomed the move to broaden the schools focus. Theres so many other career pathways that arent necessarily being taught so much at school, she said. Yvette Farhart says broadening what students were assessed on helped with life after school. Sam Mooy Parent Leah Cracknell said, in her experience, school reports had been explicit about what her year 2 daughter had to work on. Theyve given real-life examples of how shes going well in one area but how she can improve in another, she said. Advertisement She looked beyond marks when looking at reports and looked at effort, respect in the classroom, the ability to work with others and being kind. For me, those skills are just as important as the maths or English result, she said. University of Sydney Professor of educational measurement Jim Tognolini said resilience or compassion might seem like abstract concepts, but they could be assessed and measured. Related Article Private schools What Cranbrook boys said to Cranbrook girls before their first day at the school If something exists, it exists in an amount, and it can be measured and there are processes we can apply, to build measurement rubrics, to enable students and parents to monitor students growth in skills that are highly valued, he said. He noted that literacy and numeracy were important, but said the competitive nature of NAPLAN had changed the focus on schools. Advertisement Schools are spending all this time to succeed on the test, which is narrowing the curriculum, and it was never how it was intended, he said. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter. Advertisement Analysis NationalScience Pushing up the price of heroin cut crime. Why isnt the same thing happening with tobacco? Liam Mannix February 3, 2026 6:00pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Examine, a free weekly newsletter covering science with a sceptical, evidence-based eye, is sent every Tuesday. Youre reading an excerpt sign up to get the whole newsletter in your inbox. Baby Anthony was a drug addict by his first birthday. Four days later he was dead from a methadone overdose, the youngest victim of Sydneys rampant heroin epidemic. He was being cradled in the arms of one of his parents when the officers arrived at a public housing unit in Woolloomooloo. Detectives thought they were investigating a cot death. Last September Baby Anthonys mother was arrested by chance by Marrickville police and when searched was allegedly in possession of methadone. Heroin users on Everleigh Street, Redfern, 1999. Julian Andrews Advertisement Thats the lead from a Sydney Morning Herald story dated July 28, 1998. The price of a cap of heroin had been falling steadily for years, and purity had reached 80 per cent. Sixteen-year-olds were shooting up in the gutters of Redfern; 827 people would lose their lives to overdoses that year. Two and a half years later, as the calendar ticked over into 2001, everything had changed. Heroin purity crashed, the price doubled, and a reliable supply became almost impossible to find as police made major seizures and busts. Lets pause here. What should happen when the price of a good increases? Consumption should fall, as rational consumers adjust their purchase patterns. But drugs are addictive. Are addicts rational economic actors? A new paper to be published this month in The Journal of Law and Economics uses Australias 2001 heroin drought as a natural experiment to answer that question. The answer, I think, has important things to tell us about our current drug crisis: illegal tobacco. Advertisement The rational addict? In many ways, drug addicts dont look like rational economic actors. They underestimate addiction risk and buy small fixes when it would be more efficient to purchase in bulk. The popular view is that a heroin addict will do anything to get heroin, says Professor Don Weatherburn, a leading drug researcher at the University of NSW and co-author of the paper. That would make heroin price-inelastic: changes in price dont change consumption, they just increase crime as addicts look for new sources of revenue. Many economists dont share that view. Rather, they view addicts as rational consumers who assess whether a future life with cigarettes, alcohol, heroin or television is better than one without, to quote the key theory. As the price of heroin rises, the rational addict cuts back but with a time delay, as at first the pull of addiction is so strong an addict will do just about anything to get a fix. Advertisement Related Article Media & marketing Make The Age your preferred source on Google When Sydneys heroin shortage kicked in, crime rates rose, up 8.4 per cent, as heroin addicts looked for new sources of revenue. But then they started to drop and just kept on dropping and dropping all the way until 2019. In total, the authors argue, the heroin shortage led to a remarkable 23 per cent drop in crime. They think their finding pushes back against approaches such as establishing safe injecting rooms, which assume we cannot really alter demand for drugs, only reduce the risk they pose. Actually, you can reduce supply, they argue, and that can lead to a long-term drop in crime. The heroin drought is a rare case where law enforcement actually managed a real, sustained collapse in supply, says Dr Sergey Alexeev, the papers lead author. So if you can truly pull off a drought, prevention is the first best option. Advertisement The key word there: If. The tobacco wars A woman who died trapped in a burning home became the first civilian fatality in the gangland war over control of Melbournes illicit tobacco trade when arsonists targeted the wrong house. House sitter Katie Tangey, 27, and her family were completely innocent victims in a case of mistaken identity that police now say is linked to the states tit-for-tat firebombing war. The house fire in Melbournes west claimed the life of drag performer, photographer and burlesque artist Tangey, along with a golden retriever named Sunny in the early hours of January 16. Advertisement Thats a report from The Age, dated February 2025. Melbourne is living through its own drug disaster: illegal tobacco. More than half the tobacco sold in Australia is now illegal, generating billions of dollars a year in sales for the organised gangsters who run the trade. After decades of steadily declining smoking rates, nicotine consumption now shows signs of rising. The thugs vying for control of the trade have taken to firebombing one another. Whats gone so wrong? The price signal, says Associate Professor James Martin, a specialist in the illicit nicotine trade at Deakin University. No one has increased cigarette prices as much as Australia. Associate Professor James Martin. Jason South Our rational addict theory predicts that as prices rise consumption falls. And evidence from meta-reviews suggests tobacco price increases are the most effective method of cutting smoking; Australian data seemed to back that up until now. Advertisement Why did increasing the price of heroin reduce demand, but increasing the price of tobacco increase smoking rates? Because heroin is a low-volume-equilibrium market, and tobacco is not, says Martin. By the year 2000, just 2 per cent of Australians had ever used heroin; 11.1 per cent of Australians smoke, 8.8 per cent daily. In a low-volume market, its possible for police to effectively limit supply. In a huge market, thats not possible. Despite record levels of arrest and seizures, the impact on drug availability is essentially nothing, says Martin. The market responds as supply-demand theory predicts: as the price increases, more sellers enter the market. In this case, illegal sellers. As legal tobacco prices increase, at a high enough price point a significant price incentive emerges for black-market sellers who can undercut the legal price. Advertisement We were able to increase the price for many years. What you see is a lag. Demand gets pent-up. And they [smokers] start engaging in different types of price-minimising behaviour, says Martin. Weatherburn agrees. It was a serious error of policy to think if something is good, more of it is necessarily better. That reality argues for a solution that sounds unusual, says Martin: a dramatic cut in tobacco tax, eroding the black market by making legal cigarettes cheaper. For now, we no longer control the market, he says. Youve got [gangland boss] Kaz Hamad and his crew doing that. The Examine newsletter explains and analyses science with a rigorous focus on the evidence. Sign up to get it each week. Minister for Disability Mark Butler has just held a press conference over east where he has been asked to respond to claims a Mosman Park family killed in a double murder-suicide last week had recently had their NDIS funding cut for the two teenage boys, who were living with autism. Teenagers Leon and Otis were killed by their parents in a suspected murder-suicide in Mosman Park on Friday. Its suspected the parents killed the boys, and then themselves, after leaving a note on their front door to call police. Friends and one of the familys support workers said the family had recently had their NDIS funding cut, and were struggling to cope with the high needs of the children. This is just an awful tragedy, I think everyone across Australia is deeply shocked by what has happened, Butler said. I know theres been a bit of commentary over in Western Australia about the NDIS packages that these children were on. I want to be really clear, first of all I dont want to say anything that would impact a police investigation. I want to give people confidence that the NDIA is cooperating fully with the police to the extent that they have any useful input to the investigation. I also want to be clear that there are very clear legal restrictions on our ability, my ability, the ability of the NDIA to say anything about the packages the children were on, so I am not in a position to respond to some of the speculation that Ive seen in the West Australian media. Lifeline 13 11 14 Advertisement PoliticsFederalPolitical leadership Ley left hanging after demands to reform Coalition blindside MPs in both parties Paul Sakkal and Nick Newling Updated February 3, 2026 4:57pm ,first published February 3, 2026 9:25am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Nationals leader David Littleproud has left Opposition Leader Sussan Ley hanging after she made a final offer to avoid a long-term Coalition split, with both Nationals and Liberal frontbenchers saying they were blindsided by Leys requests. The prospects of a reconciliation between the warring parties are diminishing after the Nationals reacted angrily to Leys move on Tuesday. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley on Tuesday morning. Alex Ellinghausen The three Nationals MPs who resigned from the frontbench a move that precipitated the parties officially splitting due to a breakdown in shadow cabinet solidarity learnt about Leys wish to suspend them from shadow cabinet for six months via the media after this masthead reported Leys compromise plan to reunite the Coalition. Ley was briefing her own MPs on the offer she had made to Littleproud at the same time as Nationals MPs were in their own party room meeting, but Littleproud had not yet told them of Leys offer. Advertisement Separately, shadow ministers said they were only told of Leys idea after she had communicated with the Nationals, though Leys party room backed her plan and the vast majority of Liberals supported suspending the rebel Nationals. Liberal sources claimed Littleproud ignored repeated requests to meet on Tuesday, as the Nationals leadership mulled a counteroffer on Tuesday evening. If the parties fail to agree on a plan over the next few days, Ley is expected to announce a Liberal-only opposition frontbench, cementing a long-term split. Ley addresses the media on Tuesday morning. Alex Ellinghausen Ley and Littleproud spoke on Monday night, the Liberal leader saying the warring parties could reunite if the three rebel senators Bridget McKenzie, Ross Cadell and Susan McDonald spent six months off the frontbench and the regional party affirmed the notion of shadow cabinet discipline. But one Nationals MP rubbished the talks between the leaders as a totally bullshit process designed to create the perception of a good-faith negotiation, when in fact Ley and Littleprouds working relationship was non-existent. Advertisement The reality of the split was on display in parliament on Tuesday as Littleproud moved to the backbench and the Nationals sat separate from the Liberals alongside the crossbench. Related Article Analysis Political leadership Is reunion even a good idea for the Liberals and the Nationals? Labor ministers mocked the parties from the first moment of question time. They make the Beckhams look like a happy family. They are like a couple that bought a non-refundable holiday, then broke up and have to sit there and suffer through it, Education Minister Jason Clare said. The Nationals expressed frustration that Leys offer leaked out to the media before its own MPs were briefed on it. Advertisement As per media reports, the Nationals have received a written offer from the Liberal Party, Littleproud said. We will take our time to consider the details. The Nationals are united in our endeavours to reset the Coalition, but we wont be providing updates on any negotiations through the media. Pressure has intensified on Littleproud this week as his own MPs backed a motion to get the Coalition back together, weeks after Liberals blamed him for recklessly allowing his party to vote against Labors post-Bondi hate speech laws despite the shadow cabinet agreeing to back them. Nationals leader David Littleproud (centre) on Tuesday at the traditional church service marking the opening of parliament. Alex Ellinghausen But both Littleproud and Ley have boxed themselves in, with Littleproud taking a hard line on a demand to reinstate the three frontbenchers who resigned last month, which Ley and her party room oppose, and also seeking greater flexibility for Nationals to cross the floor. Advertisement While announcing the split 12 days ago, Littleproud said the Nationals cannot be part of a shadow ministry under Sussan Ley, so any reconciliation would be a major backdown for the Nationals leader. Photo: Matt Golding Many MPs in both parties would like to see the two parties rejoin, even though some moderate Liberals are keen to remain apart so that they can focus on city voters. Queensland backbencher Terry Young argued the split should be long-lasting. One Liberal MP said after Leys briefing that the Nationals were parasitic as the regional party see the relationship with the Liberal Party as a way to enrich themselves rather than achieve mutual success. Many Liberals believe that [the Nationals] are an unworthy coalition partner. Until they adopt a new mindset we are better off without them dragging us down to their level of mediocrity, said the MP, who spoke off the record to be candid. Advertisement Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Remove items from your saved list to add more. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. A 16-year-old boy found dead after becoming separated from his mate during a three-day bushwalk in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney has been remembered as an adventurous boy with a bright future. Andre Marquez was an air force cadet with a special soul, a statement from his family accompanying a fundraiser for his funeral said. Sixteen-year-old Andre Marquez was found dead in the Blue Mountains National Park after becoming separated from his mate during a bushwalking trip. GoFundMe The teen was a black belt in karate and had hoped to get into the Australian Defence Force Academy to study aeronautical engineering. Andre had a kind heart, a friend and comforter to everyone who crossed his path. He always saw the positive in things and only wanted peace for the world, the statement said. Advertisement Exclusive PoliticsVictoriaVaccination Funding cut put Victorias vaccine database at risk Rachel Eddie February 3, 2026 10:30am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Victorian health officials feared the states childhood immunisation database was at risk of collapse after the Allan government pulled funding and local councils threatened to abandon the system over new fees. Internal correspondence released under freedom of information, 15 months after The Age lodged the request, detail the ham-fisted attempts to plug the funding gap that councils warned could compromise immunisation rates in Victoria. Councils were blindsided by a $6000 annual fee to use the records system, plus a $2 charge for every jab administered. Getty Images The Department of Health had warned that Central Immunisation Records Victoria a platform used to record vaccines, bookings, consent and stock was at risk if councils refused to pay a new co-payment fee to plug a $2 million funding hole. The department had previously assured local councils its state-run record system would remain free. Advertisement Related Article Media & marketing Make The Age your preferred source on Google But in its 2024-25 budget, the Victorian government unexpectedly withheld funding to operate the platform. Provision of $2 million p.a. funding for the department to support the ongoing operations of CIRV from 24/25 onwards was not provided in the recent state budget, a June 2024 department brief said. The department feared that pursuing councils for the full cost to cover the funding shortfall would be too risky and potentially compromise their current immunisation activities. And if too many councils walked away from the platform, health officials also feared there wouldnt be enough money to operate it. Instead, councils were blindsided with a $6000 annual fee to use the system, plus a $2 charge for every jab administered. Advertisement Related Article Exclusive Vaccination Councils say new state charges put kids vaccine program at risk This has landed in a good place I think, Health Department secretary Euan Wallace wrote in a June 2024 email about the initial fee proposed. If every council agreed to pay, the proposed funding arrangement would have recouped $1.2 million of $2 million needed each year to operate the database. Under a national program, councils do about 430,000 immunisations for Victorian children each year. This represents about 90 per cent of all vaccinations for school-aged kids and 45 per cent of those for younger children and babies. Councils are required to report this data to the Department of Health, either through Central Immunisation Records Victoria or privately operated databases. Advertisement Following a barrage of complaints, the department twice backed down, delaying the rollout of a $2.32 per-jab fee, capped at $25,000 a year. Several local councils asked how they could hand back responsibility to the state, complaining that they were already disproportionately bearing the cost of immunisations. The department maintained councils were welcome to move to private competitors to record their vaccinations. But internal correspondence shows the department dreaded this possibility and reduced the co-payment fee to stop councils leaving for commercial alternatives. Have reduced pricing to councils to ensure CIRV is cheaper than its main competition, briefing documents state. Advertisement Councils also warned the department that they could be forced to scale down vaccination programs, cease other critical services, or charge vulnerable families. I have no choice but to re-inform you that we will not be paying, Wellington Shire Council general manager of development Andrew Pomeroy told the department in August 2024. Another one , then-deputy secretary of eHealth Victoria Dr Lance Emerson wrote the same month, forwarding a complaint from Maroondah City Council. Amid the funding fight, the main competitor to the government system, VaxApp, proactively approached municipalities to pitch their product. Advertisement Editor's pick Exclusive Victorian Parliament Ignorance and stupidity: Labor luminary slams planned VicHealth closure Moira Shire asked the City of Melbourne why they already used VaxApp and if they would ever turn to the governments record system. We would never consider moving back to CIRV (even if it was still free), the City of Melbourne replied. Seventy councils and health services used the record system in 2024. This has since fallen to 40, with at least one more council, the City of Yarra, preparing to transition away from it. Advertisement Councils explained they had invested significant resources in migrating to and developing staff proficiency in CIRV in good faith, on the basis it would always be free. Despite the correspondence revealing that Warrnambool City Council had asked how to hand back immunisation services to the department, chief executive Andrew Mason said the council had very reluctantly agreed to pay the fee but remained deeply disappointed in the cost-shifting. We came to the conclusion that charging users to cover the software cost was a poor public health outcome and could result in reduced immunisation rates, he said in a statement to The Age. Stonnington Council also stayed with the platform. Council is concerned that exiting CIRV would fragment public health data across private platforms and undermine data security, a spokesman said. Advertisement Editor's pick Analysis AFL 2026 Neale, Butters and Voss: How the defining decisions of season 2026 may unfold Council already subsidises the majority of its immunisation program, and the introduction of a fee to register vaccinations, which councils are required by law to do, blindsided the industry and represents further cost-shifting to local government. A Department of Health spokeswoman said vaccination was one of the most effective ways to protect the health of Victorians. The Victorian government funded the development and initial operation of CIRV to cover the councils costs. If councils do not wish to use this platform, it is not mandatory. The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here. Advertisement InspirationNorth America Before Greenland: The vast territory the US bought for just $7.2 million Catherine Marshall February 4, 2026 4:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A This article is part of Travellers guide to luxury cruising. See all stories . Americas northernmost state feels decidedly foreign. Alexander Archipelago is crammed with islands and islets bearing Slavic names: Volga, Bamdoroshni, Aleutski, Baranof. The latter protrudes like a flinty spearhead into the Gulf of Alaska; on its midsection stands Sitka, where the verdigris dome of St Michaels Russian Orthodox Cathedral mushrooms between a huddle of downtown buildings. It was in this sleepy settlement that Russia ceded ownership of Alaska to the US 158 years ago. The former Russian occupation still evident in St Michaels Cathedral dome in Sitka. iStock I think that President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward, who acquired Alaska, recognised they werent quite sure what they were getting, says Kenneth Walsh, former president of the White House Correspondents Association and guest speaker on Silverseas Silver Nova. They just didnt want Russia to have it. A savvy preemptive move, given contemporary geopolitics; after all, the Alaskan Panhandles southern frontier lies just 800 kilometres from mainland US. The borderline signifies a convoluted territorial arrangement, when considered from the ships observation deck: we set sail from Vancouver, Canada, trace the British Columbian coastline for a day and two nights, and without turning around arrive back in the US when we dock in Ketchikan, Alaska. Now were gliding into Sitka Sound, its shoreline tufted with clouds, its waters vapoured with the spouts of humpback whales. Advertisement The colourful Ketchikan waterfront a popular port of call. iStock Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletter Get exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now. The 2024 American presidential campaign is looping on the TV screen in my luxurious suite; in a few months time, the incumbent, Donald Trump, will emulate Seward when he proposes the acquisition of another foreign, frozen territory: Greenland. Theres no sign of the sea otters that drew Russian fur traders to this region at the behest of the Russian-American Company in the late 18th century. But human history is omnipresent: shell middens attest to the Tlingit peoples 1000-year-long presence, and artefacts unearthed from the ruins of Russian-American Company buildings clothing fragments, coins, samovar spigots signify Russian occupation. Alaskan fjord adventures by Zodiac. Silversea Advertisement Its a short climb to the flattened summit of Castle Hill (Noow Tlein), where Tlingit clan houses were supplanted by Baranof Castle, the official residence of Russian Alaskas first governor, Alexander Baranof. The town was christened Novo-Arkhangelsk (New Archangel), and became Russian Americas capital. The hilltop vista is a peaceful contrast to this discordant tale: Sitka Sound, speckled with fishing vessels; OConnell Bridge, stretched across the channel to Japonski Island; the spires of the Russian orthodox cathedral, framed by oak leaves. I take the path downhill to this landmark the first Russian orthodox cathedral built in America, and seat of North Americas Russian Orthodox Diocese in the mid-19th century. St Michaels Russian Orthodox Cathedral was rebuilt as an exact replica after the fire of 1966. iStock When the wooden structure caught fire during the Sitka fire of 1966, residents were able to save precious objects: icons, a chandelier, the bishops throne carved by St Innocent Veniaminov, Siberian priest and bishop of New Archangel from 1840. Advertisement Today, many of these objects adorn the rebuilt cathedral. Most revered is Our Lady of Sitka, written by Catherine the Greats portraitist, Vladimir Borovikovsky, more than two centuries ago. But alas, it must be on one of its regular countrywide pilgrimages, for in its place today is a printed replica. Mother and child gaze dully, their gilded rizas rendered flat beneath the glassed frame. Related Article Opinion Alaska I went to this wild island for one specific reason and it didnt show up Katrina Lobley Travel writer Well be setting sail when mass begins at 5pm, so I must imagine too the liturgy, which is said to be laced still with Slavonic and Tlingit language. In the end, Russia colonised Alaska for less than a century. The sprawling territory had become a liability; America, alert to the strategic possibilities, seized the opportunity. A deal was struck, and the Alaska Purchase was officially completed atop Castle Hill on 18 October 1867. The price? $US7.2 million a steal at just two cents an acre (or less than one cent per hectare). New Archangels name reverted to Sitka, and Baranof Castle later burned down. In 1959, Alaska became the unions 49th state. Advertisement Only the sea-facing cannons on the hilltop now Baranof Castle State Historic Park remain as a tangible reminder of the disputes, deals and territorial redrafts that occurred on this site. But the politics buzzing on my TV screen aboard the Silver Nova and events yet to come cast this history in a riveting light. You can imagine the fix wed be in today, Walsh says, if Russia still had Alaska. THE DETAILS Silverseas Silver Nova. Cruise Sitka is one of eight ports of call on Silverseas 7-day cruise from Vancouver, Canada to Seward, Alaska. Prices from $7800. See silversea.com The writer travelled as a guest of Silversea. Traveller Guides Advertisement InspirationCulture holidays Ten newly discovered ruins and treasures to add to your bucket list Chris Leadbeater February 4, 2026 4:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A The past has a remarkable habit of refusing to stay in the shadows. Every year, surprise findings and archaeological discoveries shed light on fascinating chapters of yesteryear. Quite often, these dusty revelations also add up to excellent reasons for travel. The following 10 sites, artefacts and echoes of history were all either unearthed or identified during the last 12 months, providing the basis for intriguing getaways that promise something new. Penico, Peru The 3800-year-old lost city of Penico is located just over 200 kilometres north of Lima. Getty Images You might assume that a country as famously rich in heritage as Peru would have no new stories to tell, but last Julys unveiling of Penico has added a fresh strand to the tapestry. This 3,800-year-old lost city is not an Inca site. It is tied to the Caral people who dominated what is now the north-east of the country between the fourth and second millennia BC. It also sheds light on a civilisation that, unusually for ancient times, was peaceful the ruins of Penico include 18 temples and houses, but no defensive walls. Penico is located just over 200 kilometres north of Lima. Advertisement The Tomb of Thutmose II, Egypt Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletter Get exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now. The mummy of Thutmose II can be seen at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation. Alamy Nearly 104 years have passed since Howard Carter pinpointed Tutankhamuns resting place, but the discovery of a pharaonic tomb remains the gold-standard of archaeological achievements. So there was excitement in Egypt last February when a hand-dug chamber (Wadi C-4), tucked away west of the Valley of the Kings, was confirmed to be the grave of Thutmose II. The site had long evaded Egyptologists: Thutmose II reigned from 1493 to 1479 BC, and was the last king of the 18th Dynasty whose tomb was unaccounted for. You cant see it yet Wadi C-4 is currently in poor condition. But the pharaohs mummy can be glimpsed at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation in Cairo. The Tomb of Ashot the Great, Turkey Advertisement The Tomb of Ashot the Great is located at Ardanuc Castle. iStock A monarch of a different golden age was the subject of a discovery in north-east Turkey last October. Ashot I was a ninth-century titan of the Bagrationi dynasty, which ruled the region in the Middle Ages, and was crucial to the establishment of Georgia as a kingdom. His grave, long lost, has been identified. Its location, Ardanuc Castle, is in what is now Turkeys Artvin Province but was once part of Georgia, which lies a mere 100 kilometres to the north. Roman shipwreck, Turkey A first-century shipwreck found last July near Adrasan in Turkey contained well-preserved bowls, plates and vases. Turkey stumbled across an even older relic in July; a first-century shipwreck found 45 metres down, off the coast of Antalya, near Adrasan. The coloured ceramics bowls, plates and vases lifted from the seabed are in remarkable condition, because the Roman merchants who were transporting them had the foresight to pack them in raw clay. This sealing process ensured that even two millennia in saltwater did no damage to their cargo. Its not on display yet. The ceramics will be part of the collection at a new Mediterranean Underwater Archaeology Museum, due to be constructed at nearby Kemer while the wreck will be accessible to scuba-tourists. In the meantime, Kemer is a lovely option for a holiday. Advertisement HMS Hind, UK Scotland also has its wrecks. In February 2024, coastal erosion along the Bay of Lopness, on the southern edge of the Orkney island of Sanday, uncovered the timber corpse of a long-sunken ship. Last July, scientific analysis gave the victim a name. This was the former HMS Hind, a royal naval vessel which, launched in 1749, saw action in the American Revolutionary War. It was rechristened Earl of Chatham in 1784, and put to work as an Arctic whaling boat before coming to grief in Orkney waters in April 1788. Yes. The timbers are housed in freshwater tanks at Sanday Heritage Centre (see orkney.com). The 1715 Treasure Fleet, US The Spanish galleons that sank off Florida in 1715 continue to leak treasure, with $1.5 million worth of coins salvaged by divers last summer. Alamy Not so much a discovery as a gift that keeps giving. Strictly speaking, the 1715 Treasure Fleet was never lost this mini-armada of Spanish galleons, laden with gold, sank so soon after its departure from Havana in July 1715 that a swarm of pirates was almost immediately on the scene. Three centuries on, the 11 ships, which lie just east of Florida, continue to bleed doubloons; coins worth $1.5 million were salvaged by divers last summer. The McLarty Treasure Museum displays items from the wrecks on nearby North Hutchinson Island, where survivors of the disaster built a camp. Advertisement Spanish Civil War bunker, Mallorca Spain prefers to keep the civil war, which tore it apart between 1936 and 1939, hidden in the past. Literally so in the case of IES Ses Estacions a school in the Mallorcan capital Palma that had an air-raid shelter concealed beneath its playground for the last 90 years. The bunker was uncovered last March during routine construction work. The bunker is in good condition, and once made safe, will be used as a first-hand history lesson for the secondary schools students. Ravin Blanc X, Senegal Archaeologists are increasingly enthusiastic about this promising excavation site in Senegal, which is likely to fill some of the many gaps in academic knowledge of the hunter-gatherer era in West Africa. Findings published by the University of Geneva last September talk of a Stone Age workshop in the Faleme Valley, in the east of the country, where remnants of quartz tools, crafted 9000 years ago, have been plucked from the dust. You cant visit it yet. The Melsonby Hoard, UK Advertisement The Melsonby Hoard contains more than 900 items, and was probably buried around the time of the Roman invasion of Britain in 43AD. York Museums Trust Discovered by amateur metal detectorist Peter Heads in 2021, but only publicised last March, the Melsonby Hoard is one of the most significant troves of Iron Age artefacts ever disinterred in the UK. The find which amounts to more than 900 items, including jewellery, spear-tips, cauldrons and wine bowls was probably buried around the time of the Roman invasion of Britain in 43AD. Its various treasures demonstrate both the wealth of North Yorkshires aristocrats in the first century, and their fear of the changing times. The hoard was purchased by the Yorkshire Museum in York last summer. Related Article Adventure holidays The worlds 20 most incredible lost cities you can still visit The boots of Ogmore Beach, UK Some discoveries cast light on major chapters of the past. Others are more tangential. This is very much the case with the cache of footwear which washed up into the tidal rockpools at Ogmore-by-Sea just before Christmas. Around 200 boots and shoes were spotted by litter-pickers conducting a coastal clean-up. What was already mysterious became fully enigmatic when analysis showed that these well-preserved leather items are probably of Georgian vintage. It is thought the boots were shaken loose from the wreck of a steamship which foundered on the treacherous Tusker Rock, just offshore, in 1831. Yes. The shoes are currently in the care of the local Beach Academy, whose regular volunteer-led clean-up sessions often unearth such curiosities. The Telegraph, London Traveller Guides Advertisement Reviews & adviceHotel reviews A cosy stay on Australias edge of the world Riley Wilson February 4, 2026 4:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A The hotel Strahan Village, Strahan, Tasmania Check-in The township of Strahan overlooking Macquarie Harbour on Tasmanias west coast. To add to the relief that youve made it to this remote town on the rugged Tasmanian west coast most likely via the twisty road that loops through Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park theres hot chocolate available in the lobby to be consumed while youre checking in. Reception is separated from the restaurant and most of the hillside rooms by a staircase with 77 steps, so make sure you ask all of your necessary questions before ascending. Advertisement Strahan Village overlooks the wild waterfront. Sign up for the Traveller newsletter The latest travel news, tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox. Sign up now. Strahan Village looks over the wild waterfront of the port and is across the road from the Gordon River Cruise terminal, where touring boats depart daily. Its on the bend of Strahans main street, with the cottage and terrace rooms at street level and others far enough up the hill that you wont hear foot traffic. It also guarantees epic views of the moody, quick-changing Macquarie Harbour, the second-largest natural harbour in Australia after Victorias Port Phillip. In 2021, the property was acquired by NRMA, so members get a 10 per cent discount. The look The property is a tale of two time periods, with modern renovations recently completed in Harbourview rooms and the onsite restaurant, View 42. In these spaces, expect a sophisticated if minimal aesthetic with nods to the areas marine history: white shiplap ceilings, carpet with patterns resembling raindrop ripples on the seas surface, timber-framed windows and sage green linen throws that match the beech myrtle gently swaying outside. The unrenovated rooms are a bit more rustic and outdated, albeit clean and well-appointed, with eclectic timber furniture and butter-yellow walls. The room Advertisement A light-filled premium Harbourview room. My premium Harbourview room is one of the 37 upgraded during the 2023 renovation. After a day out in the intense Strahan wind, Im delighted by the electric fireplace, which faces an oversized couch in a sunken lounge area next to a wide balcony with two chairs. The harbour is visible from almost every corner of the room, including the king bed. The spacious bathroom has a relaxing rain showerhead and a heated towel rack a necessity in a town thats regularly afflicted by the notorious Roaring 40s. Theres also a massive vanity area with an excessive number of drawers. Rooms are serviced every second day. Related Article Australia Beyond our cities: Australias 11 greatest regional holiday destinations Food + drink The onsite restaurant, View 42, and its bar look out all the way across Long Bay at the mouth of Macquarie Harbour. Its where youll find a $65-a-person all-you-can-eat buffet packed with roast lamb and pork (and their applicable vegetable-forward partners), four kinds of salads, smoked salmon and grilled calamari, a DIY caesar salad station and a smorgasbord of desserts. The buffet transitions to a full breakfast offering in the morning ($32), with a huge pot of spiced porridge and all the fry-up trimmings as centrepieces. Down the road, The Coffee Shack serves up strong coffee from a Burnie roastery and banana-date bread. Advertisement Out + about Its only right that you head out on the harbour at some point during your stay; a half-day Gordon River Cruise (see gordonrivercruises.com.au) out to Sarah Island and Heritage Landing is essential. (NRMA members get a discount on that, too.) Back on shore, visit the longest-running play in Australia, The Ship That Never Was, or experience a sawmill demonstration at the Huon Pine Mill. Over in Lettes Bay, on Lettes Bay Road, a residents street-side honesty box is stacked with some of the best honey and jam in the area. The verdict A cosy, comfortable and generous stay on the edge of the world. Essentials Advertisement Premium Harbourview room from $280 a night. The property has two accessible rooms. Strahan Village, 41 Esplanade, Strahan, Tasmania. Phone: 1300 061 836. See strahanvillage.com.au Strahan Village is a 3-hour drive from Launceston or a four-hour, 15-minute drive from Hobart. If visiting in summer, stay up to date with fire warnings on the TasALERT app. The Ship That Never Was runs nightly. Book in advance. See roundearth.com.au Our rating out of five Advertisement Highlight Spectacular views over Macquarie Harbour and heaps of space to spread out in privacy. Lowlight If the Harbourview rooms are booked, your room might have you going back in time. The writer stayed as a guest of Outback Spirit as part of its Tasmanian Wilderness Explorer tour. See outbackspirittours.com.au Advertisement WorldNorth AmericaEpstein fallout Clintons raise white flag after months-long battle to avoid testifying on Epstein Annie Karni February 3, 2026 12:48pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Washington: Bill and Hillary Clinton have agreed to testify in the House oversight committees investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, capitulating to the demands of the panels Republican chair days before the House was set to vote to hold the couple in criminal contempt of Congress. For months, the Clintons were adamant that they would not comply with subpoenas from congressman James Comer, the panels Republican chair, that they described as invalid and legally unenforceable. They accused Comer of being part of a plot to target them as US President Donald Trumps political adversaries and promised to fight him on the issue for as long as it took. Bill and Hillary Clinton (left) have agreed to be interviewed for the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. Marija Ercegovac But after some Democrats on the panel joined Republicans in a vote to recommend charging them with criminal contempt, an extraordinary first step in referring them to the Department of Justice for prosecution, the Clintons ultimately waved the white flag and agreed to fully comply with Comers demands. In an email sent to Comer on Monday evening (Tuesday AEDT), attorneys for the Clintons said their clients would appear for depositions on mutually agreeable dates and asked that the House not move forward with a contempt vote, which had been slated for Wednesday. Advertisement They negotiated in good faith. You did not, spokespeople for the Clintons said in a statement. They told under oath what they know, but you did not care. But the former president and former secretary of state will be there. Related Article Epstein fallout Clintons refuse to testify in Epstein probe designed to result in our imprisonment For Bill Clinton to testify in the Epstein investigation would be nearly unprecedented. No former president has appeared before Congress since 1983, when Gerald Ford did so to discuss the celebration of the 1987 bicentennial of the enactment of the Constitution. When Trump was subpoenaed in 2022 by the select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol after he had left office he sued the panel to try to block it. The panel ultimately withdrew the subpoena. The Clintons move capped a months-long battle between them and Comer. It was a victory for the Republican chairs efforts to shift the focus of his panels Epstein investigation away from Trumps ties to Epstein and the presidents administrations handling of the matter, and onto prominent Democrats who once associated with the disgraced financier and his long-time companion, Ghislaine Maxwell. In a letter on Saturday to Comer, obtained by The New York Times, Bill Clintons lawyers tried one more time to put some guardrails on potential interviews with the Clintons. They said Bill Clinton would agree to sit for a four-hour transcribed interview with the entire committee something he had previously described as an inappropriate and unprecedented request to make of a former president. Advertisement The lawyers asked that Hillary Clinton, who has said she never met or spoke to Epstein, be allowed to make a sworn declaration instead of testifying. But they said that she, too, would submit to an in-person interview if the committee insisted on it, with appropriate adjustments for the paucity of information she has to offer in this matter, according to the letter. But Comer flatly rejected the offer, calling it unreasonable and arguing that four hours of testimony from Bill Clinton was inadequate given that he was a loquacious individual who might seek to run out the clock. The Clintons have accused House oversight committee chair James Comer (centre) of being part of a plot to target them as US President Donald Trumps political enemies. Bloomberg Your clients desire for special treatment is both frustrating and an affront to the American peoples desire for transparency, Comer wrote in a letter sent to the Clintons lawyers on Monday that was also obtained by the Times. In that letter, Comer also rejected the demand from Bill Clinton that the scope of the interview be limited to matters related to Epstein. Comer said the former president likely has an artificially narrow definition in mind of what matters would be related to the Epstein investigation. Advertisement Comer said he had concerns that Clinton would refuse to answer questions about his personal relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, ways in which they sought to curry favour with powerful individuals and alleged efforts to utilise his power and influence after his presidency to kill negative news stories about Jeffrey Epstein. Related Article Updated Epstein fallout Under pressure: UK politician sent Epstein details of Australian mining tax In response to Comers letter, the Clintons on Monday evening agreed to all of Comers demands, removing any time limit on the deposition of Bill Clinton or on the range of topics that Republicans could ask him about. The only point of negotiation that Comer had previously been amenable to was conducting the interviews in New York, where the Clintons live and work. Bill Clinton was acquainted with Epstein, who died in prison in 2019, but has said he never visited Epsteins private island and cut off contact with him two decades ago. Clinton took four international trips on Epsteins private jet in 2002 and 2003, according to flight logs. Advertisement While some House Democrats last month voted with Republicans to hold the Clintons in contempt of Congress, others expressed disgust at the entire situation, and in particular about the inclusion of Hillary Clinton. Im not seeing anything to suggest she ought to be a part of this in any way, congressman Kweisi Mfume said at a hearing last month. He noted that it looked like the former secretary of state had been included because we want to dust her up a bit if we get her before this committee. Loading The offer from the Clintons represented a total surrender after they made a defiant stand just weeks ago, vowing to fight back against an investigation they said was unfairly targeting them and holding them to a different standard from others. Every person has to decide when they have seen or had enough and are ready to fight for this country, its principles and its people, no matter the consequences, the Clintons wrote in a lengthy letter to Comer on January 13. For us, now is that time. Advertisement Up to the final moment, the Clintons had tried to negotiate with the House oversight committee behind the scenes to find a way for Comer to spare them the contempt vote and lift the subpoenas. They said Comer and the top Democrat on the panel could interview Bill Clinton under oath, an offer that the chair also rejected, because he insisted the former president appear before the entire committee for an open-ended, transcribed interview. For the Clintons, the entire saga was a continuation of the Republican assault on them that has been the background noise of their entire life on the national political stage. In the January letter, the Clintons accused Comer of potentially bringing Congress to a halt to pursue a politically driven process literally designed to result in our imprisonment. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on whats making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter. Advertisement WorldNorth AmericaTrump's White House Opinion Trumps TACO backdowns are no accident. Its how he expands his power Cory Alpert Former White House staffer February 3, 2026 10:00am February 3, 2026 10:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Strutting into a bizarre Oval Office appearance with rapper and vaccine conspiracy theorist Nicki Minaj last Thursday, Donald Trump backed down yet again, it seems, this time from his week-long Minnesota maelstrom. He went too far, government agents killed two demonstrators, protests erupted, and he pulled back, tail between his legs. Its the democratic process at work, right? Twice within a week, Trump is forced to tone down big second-term power grabs, a headline on CNN said on Wednesday. Its the latest in a weekly cycle of headlines declaring the same thing, like this from The New York Times at the start of the year: Trump backs down on insurrection act as Democrats take the offensive. US President Donald Trump. AP For some, this pattern proves that Trump always chickens out (TACO). But that implies a thoughtlessness. These cycles of aggression and retreat are intentional. Advertisement Trump approaches governing as a series of negotiating positions, like a corporate takeover. He begins with the most bombastic, extreme one, which forces his opponents to react. His ambit claim allows him to name a price first, forcing the conversation back onto his terms. Every week or two during this presidency weve seen Trump pick out a topic whether a new one or something that earned him applause on the campaign trail that suits his idea of dominance as power. Trump with rapper Nicki Minaj last week. AP For 10 days the White House released relentless statements about its desire to take over Greenland, causing panic in Europe, only to end with a meaningless framework of a deal. Earlier this term Trump allowed a 43-day US government shutdown, costing millions of Americans their pay cheques and much-needed food assistance. Advertisement Advertisement If the Trump administration kidnaps the president of Venezuela and flashes some military hardware, the world is happy to settle for some oil grift as long as he doesnt follow through with the worst of it. As far as tactics go, economic devastation and troops on the streets are powerful starts. He does not concern himself with the effect of these tactics. He appears to regard the death of civilians on the streets not as a tragedy but an incidental cost of the negotiation. Just the cost of doing business. Related Article Exclusive Trump's White House He is running in 2028: MAGA loyalist Steve Bannon on Trumps long-term agenda We imagine that US presidents are operating with a grand strategy of global governance, that they at least take seriously the idea that their power is constrained by convention, if not constitution. The president has dispensed with that idea. Trump was open about this strategy in The Art of the Deal, where he advises making a ridiculous first offer, which makes everything else seem acceptable. His treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, describes it as Trump giving himself maximum negotiating leverage, and just when he achieved the maximum leverage, hes willing to start talking. Advertisement In Trumps words, sometimes it pays to get a little wild. In some ways, his lack of respect for the old ways offers a possibility for reimagining them for the 21st century. I often find myself frustratingly close to agreeing with him, or at least understanding the problem to which he is reacting only to find that hes taken the reaction too far or used it as an opportunity for grift. The way that Trump uses the presidency is far narrower and deeper than the traditional game of American power. He is not interested in containing Chinese influence over the global economy or Russian aggression against its neighbours. He is trying to emulate the kind of control that those leaders have over their populations, which requires a process of winnowing away the constraints placed on the American leader. The danger is not that he will seize absolute power in a day, but that, piece by piece, the country will agree that he already has it. Cory Alpert is a PhD researcher at the University of Melbourne looking at the impact of AI on democracy. He previously served the Biden-Harris Administration for three years. The Opinion newsletter is a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform your own. Sign up here. Advertisement Updated WorldNorth AmericaUS midterm elections Trump wants Republicans to take over voting ahead of midterm elections Michael Koziol Updated February 4, 2026 8:54am ,first published 4:21am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Washington: US President Donald Trump said Republicans should take over and nationalise voting in 15 states ahead of the November midterm elections an escalation of his unproven claims about widespread voter fraud that has outraged Democrats and alarmed political analysts. The president made the comments when he dialled into The Dan Bongino Show a podcast run by Trumps former FBI deputy director Bongino, who recently quit the post after nearly a year to return to podcasting. US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday (Washington time). AP During a long monologue on immigration and his goal of deporting more migrant criminals from Minnesota, Trump claimed wrongly to have won the state three times. In fact, he lost to the Democratic candidate in all three presidential elections he contested. Theres something in the water up there ... I won the state three times, but I got no credit for it, he said. I won that state three times, but its a rigged state. Advertisement Trump went on to say illegal immigrants had to be removed from the country, indulging a long-held conspiracy theory that Democrats are deliberately bringing migrants into the country so that they can unlawfully vote for the party. If we dont get them out, Republicans will never win another election, he said. Minnesota has become ground zero for a debate over illegal immigration and accusations of widespread vote fraud. Getty Images These people were brought to our country to vote, and they vote illegally. Its amazing that the Republicans arent tougher on it. The Republicans should say, We want to take over. We should take over the voting in at least many 15 places. The Republicans ought to nationalise the voting. We have states that are so crooked, and theyre counting votes. We have states that I won that show I didnt win. Advertisement In the US system, states are primarily responsible for co-ordinating elections including national ones with local county officials. It was not immediately clear what Trump had in mind when he advocated a national Republican takeover, but he has previously expressed a desire to eliminate mail-in ballots and seriously controversial voting machines. Voters use a voting machine in Dearborn, Michigan during the 2024 presidential election. Nick Hagen/The New York Times In a long Truth Social post in August, he said he would sign an executive order to help bring HONESTY to the 2026 Midterm Elections. The states must do what the Federal Government, as represented by the President of the United States, tells them, FOR THE GOOD OF OUR COUNTRY, to do, Trump wrote at the time. Trumps latest remarks about taking over voting procedures in 15 states have alarmed Democrats. Chuck Schumer, the partys leader in the Senate, likened the proclivities to those of a tin-pot dictator. Advertisement This is more dangerous, autocratic poison from Donald Trump, he said on Tuesday (Washington time). This president clearly doesnt believe in Democracy at all and people on the other side of the aisle just shrug their shoulders. Its incredible. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson defended Trump when questioned about the comments by CNN, but appeared to shy away from the idea of a federal takeover. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson said Trump was venting his frustration about a legitimate problem. Bloomberg The president is expressing his frustration about the problems we have in some of these blue states where election integrity is not always guaranteed, he said. We have to figure out solutions to that problem. John Thune, the Republican Senate leader, also poured cold water on Trumps idea, pointing to constitutional limitations. Im not in favour of federalising elections, he told reporters. Im a big believer in decentralising and distributing power. Advertisement In a statement, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson did not elaborate on what Trump meant by his proposed federal takeover, but said he urged Congress to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, requiring voters to present proof of US citizenship, among other measures. Related Article Opinion Trump's White House Trumps TACO backdowns are no accident. Its how he expands his power Cory Alpert Former White House staffer Only 36 states require voters to show photo identification at the polls or a document without a photo, such as a bank statement or utility bill. In other states and in Washington DC, people can cast a ballot in person by signing an affidavit or poll book, or by providing personal information such as their name and address either verbally or in writing. The amount of verification that election officials are required to do varies from state to state. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, in Minnesota, the voter must sign an affidavit of eligibility and, if requested, provide their name, address and date of birth. It is optional for election officials in Minnesota to check that voter information. Advertisement Asked to clarify his remarks on Wednesday (AEDT), Trump questioned the integrity of elections in Detroit, Philadelphia and Atlanta all Democratic cities. He also implied that the 2024 presidential election which he won was crooked in some states. President Donald Trump with Republican members of the House of Representatives and the Senate on Tuesday (Washington time). Bloomberg I want to see elections be honest, and if a state cant run an election, I think the people behind me should do something about it, he said, referring to Republican Party leaders also present in the Oval Office. If you think about it, a state is an agent for the federal government in elections. I dont know why the federal government doesnt do them anyway. Advertisement Asked about the Constitutions declaration that states should administer elections, Trump said: They can administer the election, but they have to do it honestly. Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on whats making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter. Plainfield Park District Board of Commissioners President Bill Thoman was officially elected to the Illinois Association of Park Districts (IAPD) Board of Trustees at the IAPD's Annual Meeting held January 31 in Chicago. Thoman attained IAPD Master Board Member status within the IAPD Board Member Development Program in 2022. Master Board members must attain 750 board member units (BDUs) through participating in educational programs, volunteer participation, event attendance, legislative communication, local board service, agency development and other various endeavors. Thoman was elected to th... Oswego's Little White School Museum will host a special presentation, "The History of Fermilab," starting at noon at the museum this Saturday, Feb. 7. The museum is located at 72 Polk Street, just two blocks from Oswego's historic downtown business district. Batavia's Fermilab is the United States' premier high-energy particle physics laboratory. This presentation by Fermilab archivist Valerie J. Higgins will give participants a brief overview of the lab's fascinating history from its founding in 1967 to the present day. Saturday's program will cover key aspects of the lab's organization, the... Friday, January 30, 2026 at 9:43PM Embed from Getty Images Apple recently acquired Israel-based startup Q.ai in a bid to accelerate its artificial intelligence efforts. While the company did not disclose the terms of the deal, reports indicate that the arrangement is valued at nearly $2 billion. If the figure is correct, the Q.ai purchase is Apple's second-largest acquisition to date, following the Beats purchase in 2014 for $3 billion. It's unclear how Apple plans to leverage Q.ai, but the company's past work suggests Apple is doubling down on AI-powered wearables. Q.ai CEO Aviad Maizels and the other founding members of the company will join Apple as part of the deal. SOURCE A WOMAN was sent forward for trial to the 17 February sitting of Portlaoise Circuit Criminal Court on drug- related offences. Garda Lisa Murray served a book of evidence on Genna Bennett, Beech Drive, The Friary, Castledermot, Co Kildare when she appeared at Portlaoise District Court last week. The 31-year-old is charged with possessing cannabis for her own use and with possessing cannabis for sale or for supply on 8 July at Debbicot, Mountmellick. She is also charged with possessing a controlled drug with a market value of 13,000 or more for the purpose of sale or supply and with laundering 1,760 in cash on the same occasion. In sending Ms Bennett forward for trial, Judge Susan Fay issued her with a warning that she must notify gardai in writing within 14 days if she wished to rely on an alibi in her defence. Judge Fay approved free legal aid and assigned a solicitor and two counsel to the case. Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme Sarah Slater A boy was injured following a fire at a hotel in Co Waterford on Monday night. The fire broke out at around 10.15pm in a bedroom at The Sands Hotel in Tramore. Fire services, ambulance and gardai were on scene within minutes of the alert being issued. He was transferred to University Hospital Waterford (UHW) by ambulance and was treated for symptoms of smoke inhalation and a burn to his skin. His injuries are believed to be non life-threatening. In a statement, gardai said: they assisted emergency services (relating) to a fire at a commercial property at Tramore, Co. Waterford at approximately 10.15pm. A male juvenile was treated for injuries believed not to be life threatening at this time. Gardai are not treating the incident as suspicious. Tom Tuite A deeply committed family man who blamed the Devil for the repeated sexual abuse of his young daughter over nine years now accepts it was inappropriate and should never have happened. The accused, who is in his 50s, pleaded guilty at Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court last year to sexually assaulting her in the midlands intermittently from October 2007 to March 2008, September 2010 to March 2011 and March to September 2016. It began when she was eight and continued until she was 17, when she was kicked out of her family. He is not being named to protect the victim's right to anonymity. On Tuesday, the case resumed with a defence mitigation plea, stating that the man has been attending counselling to gain greater insight into the damage he caused. He was also described as a deeply committed family man with no prior convictions. Judge Keenan Johnson heard that the accused was apologetic, had accepted that his acts were inappropriate and ought never to have happened, and had fully cooperated with the Garda investigation. The sentence hearing continues later this week. The complainant, now in her 20s, delivered a moving victim impact statement earlier. Revealing how she was left wracked with feelings of guilt and shame from a young age, she had firmly told her father "that was over now" and "that little girl finally knows that it was not her fault". Divisional Protective Service Unit Detective Garda Olivia Kelly gave evidence that it occurred in their family home and began while the child's mother was away. The court heard he touched and put his finger in her vagina as he "whispered in her ear", while he had an erection, but he never got her to touch him, and he did not penetrate her with his penis. After the first incident, and before her mother returned, he brought her for a walk and told her, "We need to stop what we were doing; they were wrong, it was the work of the Devil, and the Devil was trying to get into the family, and it needs to stop". It continued, and in the rest of the incidents, he got the girl to lie on top of him and gave her a head-to-toe "body rub" with lotion. He told her not to talk about it, and she kept quiet for years until she confided in her boyfriend after the abuse had stopped. When the child's mother returned, there were more incidents where he was groping her. Her mother also got the accused to give the girl the "sex talk", and he took out his genitals to show her, but she ran out of the room. The court heard her mother was devastated when she found out, crying, angry, and she wanted to confront her husband. A sibling recorded their conversation when they spoke to him about the girl's allegations; he initially denied it had happened, but later admitted it was true. He left, but the mother took him back and said he would have to get help for the family, and she blamed the Devil. Still a teenager, the victim was kicked out of the family home, and one of her siblings told gardai that the complainant was treated terribly. When gardai questioned him, he apologised and said, "But I never robbed her of her virginity or anything. I had a bad thing in my life; it was a bad time in my life. I asked God to take it away; it was only showering and rubbing cream on the body, just holding close." In a later interview session, he made some admissions about when she was aged 9 11 and during a later period of abuse, it was happening once or twice a month, but he did not regard it as molesting, "just touching". In her victim impact statement, the woman also spoke about feeling like the black sheep of the family and a troublemaker, but she was a little girl trying to make sense of it, while her mother believed she made it up. The last words from her mother on the matter were that she forgave the victim. She felt she had lost her parents, whom she had loved, but had emphatically addressed in court her father, saying, "Love is not a free pass and protecting others is more important than staying silent." Once she made a complaint to gardai, Tusla became involved with the family. Her father, a foreign national who was described as having a good work history and now living a lonely life, did not address the court. If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help. In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112. Ellen O'Donoghue Plans to ban scramblers from public places are to go before Cabinet on Wednesday. It comes after the Government promised renewed efforts to remove scramblers from the roads following the death of 16-year-old Grace Lynch in Finglas, Dublin last month. She died after being hit by a scrambler motorbike as she used a pedestrian crossing on Ratoath Road. A man appeared in court last week charged in connection with the incident. Minister for Transport Darragh O'Brien is expected to bring proposals to ministers on Wednesday that will allow for this ban, according to The Irish Times. It will see scramblers prohibited from public places such as parks and roads, and follows a meeting last week that included the Taoiseach, Tanaiste Simon Harris, Transport Minister Darragh O'Brien, Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan, Minister of State at the Department of Transport Sean Canney, and Attorney General Rossa Fanning. Vehicles using public roads must be registered, taxed and insured, and drivers must hold a licence. It is believed that most scramblers do not meet these requirements and are therefore already illegal to use on roads. However, while legislation on dangerous driving by scrambler users, which also allowed for the seizure of the vehicles, was passed in 2023, further regulations are needed to provide for the implementation of a ban. Tighter regulations for e-scooter and e-bike users are also on the cards, including fines and mandatory helmet and high visibility clothing use. The government has been under increasing pressure to introduce a ban after teenager Grace Lynch's death. The Government was criticised about the situation in the Dail last Tuesday by Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald, who said the 2023 legislation did not go far enough and has not been enacted fully. Earlier that day, Martin said he would be engaging with Ministers to make sure that anything and everything that has to be done will be done to remove these scramblers from our public roads. He said he was involved in getting the legislation in relation to scramblers passed, and it was his view that all aspects of that legislation, and all regulations should be signed as quickly as possible and dealt with. It is understood that the plans going to Cabinet on Wednesday will seek approval to prepare regulations aimed at bringing greater legal clarity to the ban on scramblers in public places. The plans include the development of a legal definition of what a scrambler bike is, with further regulations set to follow under a power the minister has to ban or restrict the use of different types of vehicles. As part of a pilot project BreakingNews.ie has used AI to suggest headline options for this article. The final headline was chosen and edited by BreakingNews.ie journalists. Find out more Advertisement The Cemtech MEA 2026 conference and exhibition opened in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on 2 February, marking the first Cemtech event to take place in the kingdom. The two-day programme has attracted close to 300 delegates from around the world at what is an epochal moment in the country's evolution. In the welcome address, H E Khaled Al-Mudaifer, Vice Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, set the opening session in the context of Saudi Arabias Vision 2030 development agenda and the role of cement in enabling large-scale housing, infrastructure and giga-project delivery. His Excellency also underlined the parallel requirement to decarbonise production and improve efficiency, noting that cement consumption in Saudi Arabia is currently around three times the global average. Later, the Vice Minister formally inaugurated the conference exhibition. Thomas Armstrong, managing director of Cemtech Conferences, said: For the first time, we are hosting the conference here in Riyadh. He said staging Cemtech MEA in Saudi Arabia places the event at the centre of current priorities for producers in the region, particularly competitiveness in an overcapacity environment and the transition to lower-carbon building materials. Cemtech MEA 2026, which runs from 1-4 February, welcomed approximately 300 delegates to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Philippe Richart, CEO of the World Cement Association (WCA), presenting the global market and decarbonisation outlook, highlighting continued structural overcapacity in many regions alongside sustained cost and margin pressure. Mr Richart said the sector already has practical levers available to deliver significant emissions reductions including clinker factor reduction, alternative fuels, energy efficiency and digital optimisation while deeper decarbonisation will require stronger coordination between industry, regulators and finance. Dr Badr O Johar, CEO of Arabian Cement Co and president of Saudi Arabia's National Committee for Cement Companies (NCCC), focussed on the Saudi markets opportunities and constraints. Dr Johar highlighted the outlook for demand driven by national development programmes, while also pointing to ongoing challenges linked to overcapacity, pricing pressure and energy costs, and the importance of stable planning and operational efficiency. The morning session closed with a panel discussion of the regional market situation and challenges, moderated by Ahmad Heshmat, A3&Co (Egypt). Panellists Mosleh Alemrani (Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources), Amr Reda (CEO, Titan Egypt) and Shoeil Al-Aayed (CEO, Riyadh Cement Co) discussed regional supply-demand balance, market pressures and the implications for investment and performance across the Middle East and Africa. The event continues on Tuesday, with a plant tour to Yamama Cement Co scheduled for Wednesday. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee delivered his eighth and final State of the State address and presented budget and legislative priorities for the upcoming year to a joint session of the General Assembly and fellow Tennesseans on Monday. Key highlights are noted below, and the full speech as prepared for delivery can be found here. A Fiscal Year 2026-27 budget overview can be found here. He said, "Our states legacy of responsible fiscal stewardship places Tennessee in a strong budgetary position and allows for investments to secure continued success. Governor Lees proposed $57.9 billion budget includes strategic funding to ensure economic and educational opportunity, strengthen families, preserve our natural resources, and more." Chloe Franklin was honored with a 2026 18 Under 31 Young Alumni Award by The University of Alabama National Alumni Association at a reception held on Jan. 30, 2026. These awards honor exceptional young alumni who have made notable contributions to their industry or community. Chloe Franklin, originally from Chattanooga, is a program manager with LEMOINE Program Services in Mobile, Alabama. She earned both her bachelors and masters degrees in civil engineering from The University of Alabama, graduating magna cum laude in 2021 and completing her graduate studies later that year. At UA, she was involved in the American Society of Civil Engineers, Society of Women Engineers, Chi Epsilon and Alpha Delta Pi. Through the Cooperative Education Program and internships, she gained more than a year of hands-on industry experience prior to graduation. In her current role, Franklin manages construction programs, supports business development and leads internal process improvement initiatives. She is committed to community service, volunteering with the Junior League of Mobile and serving on the board of Distinguished Young Women. Franklin remains closely connected to The University of Alabama, returning to campus for career fairs, co-op events and mentoring. In 2024, she joined the Mobile Chapter Board of the National Alumni Association and serves as chapter vice president. The photo attached is from the 18 Under 31 Awards reception, left to right: National Alumni Association executive director Jimmy Warren, Chloe Franklin and National Alumni Association president Marianne Russell. The National Alumni Association is a self-governed, nonprofit membership-based organization that serves The University of Alabama and its many alumni, students, families, friends and fans. Collegedale's new city manager, John Holmes, took the time at his first commission meeting to address non-emergency calls and emails that he received during the snow and ice storms. He told the commissioners that his expectation is to balance his work and life, and he said he will not be checking and responding to non-emergency emails over the weekends. He asked the commissioners and staff to reach out to him on his city issued cell phone if there is an emergency, which he will answer 24-7. At the recommendation of the Collegedale planning commission, on the first reading, the city commissioners approved rezoning property at 8440 Apison Pike from C-2, Shopping Center Commercial to R-1-T, Residential Zero Lot Line Townhouse District. A year and a half ago, the owner had requested to zone the same land to R-3 which allows for a mixture of housing types including multi-family dwellings including apartments, and is an area of high-density residential development. R-1-T represents a shift to medium density development with integrated open space and supports home ownership, said Staff Planner Jason Allin. This property is surrounded by apartments and commercial uses and will be considered a transitional zone. The property being rezoned is 21.52 acres and will have 113 zero lot residential townhouse lots. The townhouses will be along the rear of the property and the front, bounded by Apison Pike, will be commercial. Sidewalks will be built along all internal roadways and along Apison Pike and will connect the residential area to each of the commercial outparcels. A second and final reading to approve the zoning change will take place at the March 2 commission meeting. A memo of understanding between the Collegedale Police Department and the Tennessee child exploitation and human trafficking task force was also approved by the commission. This MOU will delineate the responsibilities of each participating agency. Last weekends weather left the citys streets worse than had been predicted, said Public Works Director Kris McAloon. But the snowplows used by Collegedale need to have at least three inches of snow before they are effective. Mr. McAloon said the public works department spread salt to clear the roads instead of plowing them during the latest winter storm. He said the city is well stocked with salt and brine and has already ordered more salt to replenish what has been used this winter. There is a very interesting article on this platform from the Tennessee Attorney Generals conference on crime statistics committed by illegal immigrants. The article references comments by Rep. Dan Howell and also shows the data from law enforcement agencies that have reported illegal alien crimes that are documented in police reports this past year in 2025. There is a staggering 21,648 documented crimes per this report. Of those crimes, 41 are murders and 156 sexual assaults and child rapes combined. There is a more comprehensive report published by Breitbart News (02/02/26) that identifies from state data that Bledsoe County did not report their immigration crime data for 2025 which would even add more numbers to the list that has been released from the Tennessee state attorney general on Saturday. In response to these high numbers of crimes committed by undocumented criminals why are so many of our local citizens and those in places like Minneapolis, Los Angeles, New York and other cities around the country protesting the ICE and DHS agencies and the men and women who bravely try to enforce the laws of this land. This is a ludicrous position to be protesting and advocating for criminals, murderers, rapists, etc. And also people are advocating for those who are violent and openly interfering with the federal governments ability to apprehend criminals from our cities and states. The deaths of Ms. Good and Mr. Pretti were tragic and, if they had not interjected themselves into a working apprehension of one of the aforementioned criminals and federal agents doing their jobs, they would be alive today.These statistics for our state of Tennessee further supports the need for increased ICE enforcement of our immigration laws to remove these criminals and either imprison them for crimes committed and/or deport them asap and get them out of the USA.The is no logical reason to support these undocumented criminals who openly commit crimes against the citizens of this country and the legal immigrant communities from which they hide and prey upon.Those in our community that are protesting ICE, DHS and CBP along with the enforcement of our laws are on the wrong side of this issue.It would behoove the Democrats on this platform to go back and look at President Obamas deportation record during his terms. See Wiki - youll be enlightened.Arch Tinker * * * I recently wrote to Senators Blackburn and Hagerty, as well as Congressman Fleischmann, to express my concerns regarding current tactics being used in immigration enforcement. As expected, the responses from the senators consisted of what appears to be a standardized, boilerplate reply - likely one sent broadly to constituents who do not share their positions. To be clear, this observation currently applies only to the senators, as I have not yet received a response from Congressman Fleischmann. The substance of these replies was disappointing. Rather than engaging with the concerns raised, they relied on overtly political, self-congratulatory talking points closely resembling rhetoric commonly found in partisan media. More troubling, however, was the absence of any indication that constituent perspectives were meaningfully considered - unless, and, not a big assumption here, those perspectives already align with the senators stated ideology. Below is a copy of the original letter I sent to all three offices. Good afternoon, I am writing to express my outrage and profound disbelief at the immigration enforcement operations currently unfolding across this country. What we are witnessing is not merely a policy disagreement - it is a moral failure, defined by reckless tactics, dehumanization, and an alarming disregard for the rights and safety of both immigrants and American citizens. The widely reported cases involving Renee Good and Alex Pretti are indefensible. These are not isolated errors; they are the predictable consequences of an enforcement agenda that has abandoned restraint, proportionality, and accountability. Having served in Iraq, I find it deeply disturbing to say that I witnessed greater care and respect shown toward civilians in a combat zone than our own government now appears willing to show its people. The actions being carried out under the banner of immigration enforcement increasingly resemble authoritarian policing rather than the conduct of a United States civil law enforcement system. Yes, unlawful entry can be a felony. But for decades, immigration violations have overwhelmingly been handled through civil proceedings. The abrupt shift toward aggressive, punitive enforcementoften without meaningful due process - reveals glaring hypocrisy and selective application of the law. By the same standards now being invoked, even our current president would have faced deportation at the beginning of 2025 were it not for citizenship status. That contradiction alone should concern any leader who claims to value constitutional consistency. Showing basic dignity and human compassion would not impede the lawful detention of individuals who have entered the country illegally. It would, however, go a long way toward demonstrating that the United States still aspires to be a moral compass for the rest of the world. The tactics currently on display suggest the opposite - that fear, intimidation, and cruelty have become acceptable tools of governance. That should alarm every American, regardless of political affiliation. Equally troubling is the dismissive rhetoric suggesting that people should simply not bring a gun to a protest. This argument rings hollow when it comes from the same political sphere that praised Kyle Rittenhouse and the McCloskeys. The McCloskeys, at the very least, were on their own property. Invoking Alex Prettis case to dismiss legitimate concerns about state violence and intimidation is both irresponsible and insulting. As a United States Senator, your words - and your silence - carry weight. Silence in moments like this is not neutrality; it is complicity. You represent all Tennesseans, not just those who align with a single ideology or political strategy. Too often, your public positions suggest otherwise. This is one of those moments that history will remember. I urge you to speak out clearly and unequivocally in defense of civil liberties, due process, and basic human dignity - even when doing so is politically inconvenient. Brandon Collier A 74-year-old LaFayette man has been convicted by a Walker County jury of child molestation, sexual exploitation of children, and five separate counts of invasion of privacy. Michael Forker was sentenced by Lookout Mountain Superior Court Chief Judge Brian House to 65 years with the first 58 years to be served in the Georgia Department of Corrections. Prosecutors said the case began when the victim, a juvenile female who was living with Forker, discovered a hidden camera in the floor vent in her bathroom. The victim ripped out the camera and turned it over to teachers and staff at her school. The LaFayette Police Department seized the camera and executed a search warrant at Forkers home. The search revealed Forker had a computer room in his home that was kept locked filled with laptops, desktop computers, and camera equipment. In this room, Forker had kept an external hard drive that contained hundreds of recordings over several years from the hidden camera that depicted the minor female victim using the bathroom. Forker also maintained videos that depicted him installing and moving the camera to different hidden locations in the bathroom over the years. A printed photograph was recovered that Forker had made using photoshop that depicted the face of the underage victim merged onto an image of a topless adult woman. Prosecutors said, "The victim bravely testified at trial against Forker regarding these acts and also told the jury about an incident where Forker committed an act of child molestation against her while he believed she was asleep." The state of Georgia was represented by Senior Assistant District Attorney Winston Franklin, with assistance from Victim Advocate Brittany Bruce and Administrative Assistant Rebecca Fordney. The case was investigated by LaFayette Police Department Detective Robert Tate, with assistance from the Walker County Sheriffs office. Acting District Attorney Deanna Reisman said, The District Attorneys Office thanks our law enforcement partners for their commitment to seeking justice for child sexual abuse victims. Forker violated the trust of a young girl in a space where she deserved privacy and safety. The prosecution of Forker and the sentence imposed by Judge House ensure that he will never have the opportunity to victimize another child." Home News 2 more arrested for involvement in Cities Church protest: Bondi U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has announced that two more individuals have been arrested for their alleged involvement in a protest against federal immigration enforcement that disrupted a Minnesota church service. Ian Davis Austin and Jerome Deangelo Richardson were arrested for their alleged connection to the protest last month in which demonstrators stormed Cities Church in St. Paul on Jan. 18, where a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official serves as a pastor. If you riot in a place of worship, we WILL find you, stated Bondi in an X post on Monday announcing the arrests, labeling the protest a coordinated attack. Those arrested in connection with the protest are facing charges under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which includes a provision protecting houses of worship from physical intimidation. The arrests of Austin and Richardson bring the total number of people charged for their participation in the protest to nine. Those arrests include former CNN anchor Don Lemon and independent journalist Georgia Fort. During the Jan. 18 worship at Cities Church, activists connected to groups including Racial Justice Network and Black Lives Matter Minnesota stormed the service, chanting things like ICE Out and demanding justice for Renee Good, a woman who was fatally shot in Minneapolis during a confrontation with a federal immigration officer. Lemon, who attended the protests and attempted to interview Cities Church Pastor Jonathan Parnell afterwards, defended the demonstration as being protected by the First Amendment. Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the DOJ Civil Rights Division, rejected Lemons claims that the protest was lawful and that he was acting as a journalist when covering it. A house of worship is not a public forum for your protest! Dhillon tweeted. It is a space protected from exactly such acts by federal criminal and civil laws! Nor does the First Amendment protect your pseudo journalism of disrupting a prayer service. Magistrate Judge Douglas Micko authorized arrest warrants for three individuals believed to be leaders of the church protest but initially rejected arrest warrants for Lemon and one of his producers. Last week, a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an emergency petition from the U.S. Department of Justice seeking to arrest Lemon and four others. Circuit Judge L. Steven Grasz, a Trump appointee, wrote a brief concurring opinion saying that the government has failed to establish that it has no other adequate means of obtaining the requested relief. However, the DOJ eventually secured an arrest for Lemon, taking him into custody while he was covering the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California. Abbe Lowell, Lemon's attorney, denounced the arrest, calling the actions during the protest constitutionally protected work that was no different than what he has always done. The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable. There is no more important time for people like Don to be doing this work," Lowell said. "This unprecedented attack on the First Amendment and transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration will not stand. Don will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court. However, officials within the Justice Department contend that Lemon was involved in "part of the planning" for the protest and engaged in actions that go beyond the responsibilities of a journalist. Home News Apologist Wes Huff dismisses viral papyrus about Bible giants: 'Sensationalism' Quick Summary AI Summary Apologist Wes Huff dismisses viral papyrus claiming biblical giants as 'sensationalism.' Papyrus, known as 'Anastasi I,' has been in the British Museum since 1839. Huff argues the papyrus is not a reliable historical confirmation of giants' existence. An artificial intelligence-powered tool created this summary based on the source article. The summary has undergone review and verification by an editor. See Summary Prominent Christian apologist Wesley Huff recently dismissed an ancient Egyptian papyrus that has gone viral this week amid reports that it affirms the existence of the giants from the book of Genesis. An ancient Egyptian papyrus known as "Anastasi I," which has been in the British Museum since 1839 and that scholars date to the 13th century B.C., has made headlines in recent days after being covered by both The Daily Mail and the New York Post, whose tweet about the text has drawn nearly 5 million views. Ive been seeing a lot about the Antastadi I papyri floating around X. I might make a video on the translation of the Hieratic script, but from everything I can see this is nothing more than a satirical text used as a pedagogical tool to help train scribes. Making it anything https://t.co/LL8btFKehu Wes Huff (@WesleyLHuff) February 2, 2026 The papyrus reportedly mentions that the Israelites were frightened by their encounters with the 8-foot-tall Shosu people. Huff, who is the Central Canada director for Apologetics Canada and has gone viral the past year for defending Christianity on prominent podcasts, said he believes the Genesis account that giants once roamed the Earth in distant antiquity, but maintained that the papyrus is not a historically reliable confirmation of their existence. "I've been seeing a lot about the Antastadi I [sic] papyri floating around X," he said. "I might make a video on the translation of the Hieratic script, but from everything I can see this is nothing more than a satirical text used as a pedagogical tool to help train scribes. Making it anything more than that doesn't strike me as reasonable." Huff went on to suggest that the renewed interest in the ancient text that has been in the British Museum for nearly two centuries offers nothing new, and is merely being seized on to get web traffic. "These sorts of educational texts to teach writing style in antiquity aren't uncommon, particularly in Egypt. So if you ask me, the headlines are sensationalism," he said. "The contents of Anastasi I have been known and written about since the 19th century, and it's been on display at the British Museum since 1839. I'm not a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I can't help but think that the reason it appears to be resurfacing, branding it as some sort of historical proof of ancient giants, is to get clicks," he said. Peter J. Brand, an Egyptologist and historian at the University of Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee, echoed Huff's assertion in an X post. Brand said the idea that the papyrus has recently "resurfaced" is incorrect, and that it is merely "an exaggerated piece of comical fictional writing from ancient Egypt and has nothing to do with the Bible and the 'giant clans' of the Old Testament like the Anakim, Rephaim or Nephilim." "I don't know which biblical scholars suggested this theory, but I know of scholars who are both biblical specialists and Egyptologists who would have or will debunk this idea," he said. "Obviously whoever came up with the theory did not understand Egyptian texts or history." "Nephilim" is a Hebrew word often translated as "giants" from Genesis 6, a contested chapter that describes the increasingly corrupt and violent state of the world before the Flood. The text maintains that God's patience with mankind was exhausted after "the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive" and "they took as their wives any they chose." "The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them," the text says. "These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown." The Hebrew phrase that is translated as "sons of God" only occurs elsewhere in the book of Job when referring to supernatural beings. The Anakim and Rephaim are referenced in books after Genesis as very tall and intimidating people, like the Nephilim, whom God's people ultimately conquered in Canaan, despite their fear of them. Theologians have disagreed throughout church history on how best to interpret the Nephilim and the biblical account of giants, echoes of which exist throughout ancient pagan mythology. The earliest church fathers heavily favored the interpretation that disobedient angelic beings copulated with women before the Flood to conceive a race of giants that were profoundly wicked and violent. Justin Martyr, who was tortured and beheaded in the second century for refusing to pay homage to the Roman gods, believed that demons produced giant offspring with women amid their rebellion, according to his Second Apology. Such a view was also held by many second-century Christian figures, including Irenaeus, who was a disciple of Polycarp, who was in turn a direct disciple of the Apostle John. Later theologians, including Augustine of Hippo and prominent Protestant Reformers, were more inclined to interpret the Nephilim as the offspring of the godly descendants of Seth intermarrying with the godless family of Cain, leading to apostasy and corruption. Augustine's view became dominant in medieval Christianity, which has influenced Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Reformed teachings. Both Martin Luther and John Calvin held to Augustine's position, with Calvin dismissing the angelic-human hybrid theory as a "gross and prodigious" fable. Home News Court sides with The Babylon Bee, blocks Hawaii anti-deepfake law Quick Summary AI Summary Court rules in favor of The Babylon Bee, blocking Hawaii's anti-deepfake law. Judge Shanlyn Park found the law discriminates based on content and speaker. Act 191, set to take effect on Feb. 2, 2024, imposed restrictions on AI-generated election content. An artificial intelligence-powered tool created this summary based on the source article. The summary has undergone review and verification by an editor. See Summary A federal court has ruled in favor of The Babylon Bee and blocked a Hawaii law that prohibited the creation of AI-generated and deepfake election content. United States District Judge Shanlyn Park for the District of Hawaii ruled last Friday against Act 191, which barred certain AI-generated content considered materially deceptive. Park wrote that the state law discriminates based on content and speaker and, in doing so, restricts constitutionally protected political speech and facially regulates protected political speech based on its content. Act 191 also discriminates based on speaker, wrote Park. Act 191 includes carveouts for broadcasters, cable operators, direct-to-home satellite providers, and other service providers that meet certain criteria. Based on Act 191s exemption provision, Act 191 imposes different obligations on different speakers depending on who they are and their degree of knowledge and/or separation from the materially deceptive media. Park also took issue with the state laws allowance for deepfake election content provided that the creator include a disclaimer, which she said constitutes content-based regulation. As Plaintiffs point out, Act 191s compelled disclaimer would impermissibly alter the content, intended effect, and message of their speech, Park continued. Defendants have failed to use the least restrictive means to combat the purported effects of political deepfakes and generative AI technologies on Hawaii elections, or in the alternative, have failed to demonstrate that existing laws are insufficient to deal with those issues. In addition to The Babylon Bee, the lawsuit was also brought by social media humorist and Hawaii resident Dawn OBrien. They were represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom. ADF Legal Counsel Mathew Hoffmann, who argued the case before the court, said in a statement released last Friday that the court is right to put a stop to Hawaiis war against political memes and satire. For centuries, humor and satire have served as an important vehicle to deliver truth with a smile, and this kind of speech receives the utmost protection under the Constitution, stated Hoffmann. The First Amendment doesnt allow Hawaii to choose what political speech is acceptable and censor speech in the name of misinformation. That censorship is both undemocratic and unnecessary. Act 191 was signed into law in 2024 by Hawaii Democratic Gov. Josh Green and was set to take effect on Feb. 2, beginning enforcement during the states election season. Proponents of the state law included Danny de Gracia, a political scientist and ordained minister who penned a column last year arguing that Act 191 gives responsible citizens a guardrail against our system of government being undermined by lies. Satire and parody are certainly legitimate forms of free expression, but when we get into the realm of making photo-realistic or life-like representations of individuals, the context of how they are used can change everything, wrote de Gracia. its time to stop suggesting that the First Amendment gives us the power to obliterate truth and peddle intrigue. It does not. The founders wanted an enlightened citizenry, not an impassioned mob. He went on to note that The Babylon Bee wont be seriously inconvenienced by having to use labels on fake images or simulated videos produced by AI, adding that this should be something any responsible comedian or publication would want. Home News Imprisoned Chinese pastor's daughter vows 'even repression cannot extinguish faith' Quick Summary AI Summary Daughter of imprisoned Chinese pastor Ezra Jin asserts that 'even repression cannot extinguish faith.' Grace Jin Drexel shared her father's detention story at the International Religious Freedom Summit, highlighting a crackdown on independent Christian congregations. She condemned the Chinese government's systematic campaign against religious freedom, emphasizing resilience among believers. An artificial intelligence-powered tool created this summary based on the source article. The summary has undergone review and verification by an editor. See Summary WASHINGTON The daughter of an imprisoned Chinese pastor is expressing confidence as she shared the story of her fathers detention Monday during the sixth annual International Religious Freedom Summit, proclaiming that even repression cannot extinguish us and God will not abandon us. During her Monday appearance, Grace Jin Drexel discussed the imprisonment of her father, Chinese pastor Ezra Jin. Jin Drexel, who resides in the United States, shared how her father was arrested on Oct. 10 along with 27 other pastors and leaders from Zion Church in what she described as one of the largest takedown of the independent Christian congregation and China since the Cultural Revolution, a sweep so brazen it has drawn international condemnation, including from Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Jin was detained at his home in Beihai, Guangxi Province, while the remaining leaders were arrested or reported missing from multiple cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. To understand why my father is in prison, you must understand that China under Chairman Xi Jinping has embarked on a systematic campaign to achieve total state control over religious life through what the government calls sinicization of religion, she explained. While she noted how the Chinese government portrays sinicization as an effort at making religions more Chinese, Drexel insisted that sinicization is not about making religion more Chinese. Drexel condemned sinicization as repression plain and simple. After defending Chinese Christians as authentically Chinese and highlighting how they have adopted hymns and Bibles in their native language, Drexel lamented that beginning in 2018, a wave of persecution and crackdown on all religious life began under the auspices of sinicization. It included removing crosses and replacing them with portraits of Xi Jinping, replacing hymns with revolutionary party songs, rewriting sermons to align with socialist core values, installing facial recognition cameras inside the sanctuary and shutting down or even leveling churches, she recalled. She clarified that Muslims, especially Uyghurs in western China, as well as Buddhists and other religious groups, are also subject to the crackdown. In 2018, Zion Church became a target ... specifically because the church leadership refused the governments demand to install 23 facial recognition cameras inside its sanctuary," she said. "In response, the government brutally seized the church building and imposed an exit ban on my father, forbidding him from leaving the country. Yet even repression cannot extinguish faith, she proclaimed. My father and his congregation did not give up in the face of these actions. They developed a hybrid online/offline model. After the COVID-19 pandemic led many churches to embrace online services, the popularity of Zion Church exploded. Zion Churchs online model allowed church gatherings to explode and expand nationwide, launching 100 new church meeting spaces across 40 cities all across China, she said. The church grew ... to its largest size ever, often attracting 10,000 individuals daily. Imprisoned church leaders, including her father, face harsh conditions in prison, Drexel said. The church leadership arrested in recent months are not arrested and punished because they are political, but because they seek to worship freely. We hear reports that they are made to sleep on mats on the floor in the cold, and they are subject to sleep deprivation and endless interrogation as punishment. Many of them, including my father, have severe health concerns and grow worse under harsh prison conditions. I have not seen my beloved father in person in seven years. He was not there at my wedding to walk me down the aisle, and he has never met his grandchildren. And though I hold on to hope, I know the grim reality that many prisoners of the Chinese government will never see their families again, she emotionally lamented. Drexel said her family has also experienced transnational repression and been targeted by the Chinese government abroad in the form of threatening phone calls and being watched and followed in Washington, D.C. Drexel acknowledged that although she is sometimes fearful, she remains optimistic. As a Christian, I believe that we are asked to take courage and to speak truth that the God who created Heaven and earth will stand by our side," she declared. As a Christian, I also believe in miracles. I draw strength in knowing that my God is a good God and that even these bleakest moments might be used to serve a greater purpose. Our prayers are not in vain, she concluded. As my dad wrote me in a letter from prison, God has indeed used His power to uphold us. Drexel assured that God will not abandon us as her speech drew to a close. Home News Franklin Graham, Kathie Lee Gifford urge prayer as blood is found in home of Savannah Guthries missing mother Quick Summary AI Summary Franklin Graham and Kathie Lee Gifford urge prayer for Savannah Guthrie's missing mother. Blood found in Nancy Guthrie's home raises concerns of foul play. Authorities seek public assistance and offer a $2,500 reward for information. An artificial intelligence-powered tool created this summary based on the source article. The summary has undergone review and verification by an editor. See Summary Christian leaders, including Franklin Graham and Kathie Lee Gifford, have issued calls to prayer amid reports that blood was found in the home of Today co-host Savannah Guthries missing 84-year-old mother, Nancy, raising fears she may have been the victim of foul play. I am devastated for my friend Savannahs beloved mother, and Im keeping her and her family in my prayers since I heard this awful news, Gifford wrote in a post on X on Monday. Please join me in bombarding heaven with your prayers, too. I cannot even imagine the pain that they are in. Only God can comfort. Evangelist Franklin Graham also urged prayers, writing, Savannah Guthrie, who America knows as one of the hosts of the NBC Today Show, is in the news because her 84-year-old mother is missing from her home in Arizona and foul play is suspected. I know she and her family would appreciate your prayers for her mothers safe return. Guthrie, who was absent from the TODAY show on Monday and Tuesday, also voiced her gratitude for the support in a Monday night Instagram post and asked for prayers for her moms safe return. We believe in prayer. We believe in voices raised in unison, in love, in hope. We believe in goodness. We believe in humanity. Above all, we believe in Him, Guthrie wrote in a caption to a photo that reads please pray. Thank you for lifting your prayers with ours for our beloved mom, our dearest Nancy, a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant. Raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment, she added. We need you. Authorities said blood was found inside the Tucson home of Nancy Guthrie, intensifying concerns that she may have been forcibly taken. She was last seen Saturday night at her residence, and investigators said they believe she may have been taken against her will, possibly in the middle of the night. We know she was harmed at the home, but we dont know to what extent," Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said, according to the Arizona Daily Star. Family members went to the home Sunday afternoon after she failed to attend church that morning, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety. Her wallet, cellphone and car were found inside the house, but she was not there. At a news conference on Monday, Nanos asked the public to report anything unusual or any possible sightings. A tip line was established Monday evening, and the Sheriffs Department is offering a reward of up to $2,500 for images, videos or information that leads to an arrest. We dont need another bad, tragic ending, Nanos said. We need some help. Nancy Guthrie does not have cognitive issues, Nanos said, but has physical challenges and is in need of medication that can be fatal if not received within 24 hours. She is very limited in her mobility, we know she didnt just walk out of there, that we know, Nanos said. There were other things at the scene that indicate that she did not leave on her own. Law enforcement sources, who were not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly, said there were signs of forced entry at the home. It was not immediately clear whose blood was found. Home News Truett McConnell University names Larry Lyon as new president Quick Summary AI Summary Larry Lyon named new president of Truett McConnell University. Lyon previously served as senior vice president for business administration at NOBTS. He will begin his duties on April 1, months after former president Emir Caner was removed in a divided vote. An artificial intelligence-powered tool created this summary based on the source article. The summary has undergone review and verification by an editor. See Summary Larry Lyon, the senior vice president for business administration at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, has been selected as the new president of Truett McConnell University in Cleveland, Georgia, just months after Emir Caner was terminated as president. Caner, the eighth president of the university, was removed last fall by the board in a divided vote over his handling of a former vice president who was credibly accused of sexually harassing a former student-athlete. Robby Foster, chairman of the Truett McConnell University Board of Trustees, announced in a statement posted on the universitys website Monday that Lyon was selected as the schools ninth president in a decision that was unanimous. He is expected to begin his duties as president on April 1. Throughout the search process, the Board remained committed to identifying a Christian leader who reflects the mission of Truett McConnell University, understands the culture of TMU, and is prepared to guide the institution with wisdom, integrity, and vision, Foster said. The Board is confident that Dr. Lyon brings the experience and leadership necessary to lead Truett McConnell University into its next chapter. Prior to his time in New Orleans, Lyon, who is a Georgia native, served at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary as director of enrollment. He also served as professor of ethics at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, where he taught courses in Christian ethics, theology of sexuality and gender, and current ethical issues at both the graduate and doctoral levels, Foster said. TMU has an incredibly bright future, Lyon said in a statement responding to his selection as the schools new president. Building on the legacy of faith and the Word of God, TMU is poised to continue to make an impact for Gods kingdom in Georgia and to the ends of the earth. I am excited to join the TMU family and begin building relationships with the people that have made TMU an amazing place to study and serve. Lyon, who is married with three daughters, said he and his wife are excited to be returning home to Georgia. My wife and I are excited to come back home to Georgia, where we were baptized by Georgia Baptists, discipled by Georgia Baptists, and educated at a Georgia Baptist university, Lyon said. I am looking forward to serving Georgia Baptists and playing a part in raising up the next generation of leaders in our communities and in our churches. Go Bears! During his time at NOBTS, Lyon served as a member of President Jamie Dews cabinet. He was the schools chief financial and operating officer whose leadership increased student-generated revenue by more than $2.5 million and grew endowment investments by more than $17 million. The seminary also completed more than $30 million in campus renovations under his stewardship. We are excited, hate to be losing someone from our campus, but we're very, very excited to just celebrate with Dr. Larry Lyon and Stephanie, his wife, said Dew in a video statement reacting to the news Monday. That will be a big loss for us around here. He is beloved by all of us on our team and the staff that works for him and certainly leaves a big hole. But we're excited for the Kingdom opportunity that this is for just the Kingdom itself, for the Lyon family, and also for Truett McConnell, Dew added. Lyons hiring comes just months after TMUs president was voted out by a majority of the board after an independent investigation accused him of being aware of sexual abuse allegations against former Truett McConnell University Academic Services Vice President Bradley Reynolds. Reynolds, who was accused of grooming and rape by former student-athlete Hayle Swinson, was indicted in December for lying to police in Georgia during an investigation of the allegations in 2024. White County District Attorney Jeff Langley told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the indictment alleges that Reynolds, who now lives in Texas, lied to a county sheriff investigator when he was asked about his relationship with Swinson in March 2024. Home Opinion 7 false teachings about Jesus and salvation 1. Jesus isn't God, and the doctrine of the Trinity is false The Bible clearly reveals that there is one God in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Satan hates to see people learn the truth about the Trinity. And this is why the devil has spawned various counterfeit teachings that deny the Trinity. The Mormon organization and the Jehovah's Witness organization are two religious groups that reject the truth concerning the triune nature of God. 2. Jesus is one of many ways to the Father Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). And the Apostle Peter preached, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). Compare the biblical teaching to this spurious claim: "There are many paths leading to Heaven, as long as you follow yours to the end, while not persecuting others on a different path. It doesn't matter what the name of your religion is, as long as you get there." While many spiritual doors lead to eternal darkness, there is only one door that leads to Heaven. Jesus said, "I am the door; whoever enters through me will be saved" (John 10:9). 3. Jesus isn't sinless Surveys regularly reveal that nearly half of all Americans believe Jesus committed sins. But if Christ had sinned even one time, He certainly could not be anyone's Savior. In fact, He would need to be saved Himself. The fact of the matter is that Jesus never sinned. "He (Christ) committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth" (1 Peter 2:22). "Jesus has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin" (Hebrews 4:15). "You know that He (Jesus) appeared so that He might take away our sins. And in Him is no sin" (1 John 3:5). 4. You must be circumcised to be saved This false teaching caused spiritual havoc in Galatia nearly 2,000 years ago, when the early Christian church was infiltrated by some false teachers. The "Judaizers" taught that in addition to faith, you must also be circumcised in order to be saved. This blatant form of works righteousness caused tremendous spiritual harm. The Apostle Paul wrote, "Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the Gospel of Christ" (Galatians 1:7). Paul did not beat around the bush. He stated, "I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace" (Galatians 5:3-4). In other words, those who were relying upon both Jesus and circumcision to gain entrance into Heaven were unconverted. Trusting in Christ's sacrificial death on the cross is fully sufficient to wash away all of your sins. 5. Purgatory prepares imperfect people to enter Heaven According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, Purgatory is "a place or condition of temporal punishment for those who, departing this life in God's grace, are not entirely free from venial faults, or have not fully paid the satisfaction due to their transgressions." Those who promote the false doctrine of Purgatory typically point to 1 Corinthians 3:11-15. But Paul was not claiming that imperfect people will be punished to fully pay the satisfaction for their transgressions. Instead, Paul was explaining how the motives and deeds of every Christian will be tested with fire at the end of time in order to determine their reward. (v. 14) (See my 2013 CP op-ed, "The Biblical Distinction Between 'Gift' and 'Reward'.") Thankfully, the sins of every believer are washed away completely by the blood of the Savior and the punishment Christ endured on the cross for our salvation. Therefore, trust Christ alone; not Jesus plus Purgatory. 6. You can earn admittance into Heaven by doing good works Many self-identified Christians think they can earn their way into Heaven through good works. They don't necessarily exclude Christ from the equation altogether, but they rely mainly upon their noble deeds in order to be saved. In so doing, they forfeit the grace that could have been theirs. You see, "All who rely on observing the Law are under a curse" (Galatians 3:10). Satan attempts to prevent people from relying fully upon the cross of Christ and the blood of the Redeemer. The devil realizes that people become born again when they place their faith in Christ's sacrifice on the cross, rather than in their religious deeds and personal sincerity. Man tends to be self-righteous (see Luke 18:9-14), whereas the Lord provides His children with salvation (see John 1:12-13) through the "righteousness from God, which comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe" (Romans 3:22). Good works never cover a person with the righteousness of Christ. Believers are only covered through faith in Jesus. Sadly, those who rely upon their good works for salvation remain unconverted and lost in sin. Therefore, trust Christ alone, not Jesus plus good works. 7. Assistance from Mary is needed in order to enter Heaven Millions of people around the world pray to Mary in hopes of securing a spot in Heaven: "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death." As one Catholic put it, "The deathbed prayers are important because that's our last chance to make our peace with God in this life." If you are tempted to pray to Mary, I urge you: Do not engage in this counterfeit form of prayer. Go directly to Jesus if you desire to have peace with God. Mary cannot help you get into Heaven. After all, if Catholics truly needed Mary's assistance to enter Heaven, then every professing Christian would need her assistance as well. Obviously, that is not the case. Therefore, trust Christ alone; not Jesus plus Mary. All 7 of these false teachings have kept people from trusting Christ alone and His sacrifice on the cross as the complete and perfect payment for their sins. Salvation is granted to believers by grace alone, through faith alone, and in Christ alone. The logo for Universal Church for the Kingdom of God (UCKG) The Fundraising Regulator has identified three breaches of its Code of Fundraising Practice at the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG), which was also found to be in breach of the code last autumn in a separate investigation. In its latest investigation , the regulator found that the charity had not taken into account the needs of a member of the church who may have been in vulnerable circumstances and who gave a large donation, despite evidence that the charity knew about their possible vulnerability. UCKG is an international evangelical Christian denomination with churches in several countries worldwide, and is also currently subject to a Charity Commission compliance case over safeguarding concerns. Lack of policies to support vulnerable donors A complaint was first made by the sister of the UCKG member, who explained to the Fundraising Regulator that her sibling was vulnerable, having previously experienced problems with her mental health. In addition to the large donation, the complainant also told the regulator that her sister was frequently asked for contributions towards charity activities while acting as a volunteer, as well as a 10% tithe for membership to the church. At the time of the complaint, UCKG did not have policies, procedures, or training in place to help its staff identify and support donors in potentially vulnerable circumstances, the regulator found. UCKG also claimed at the time that offerings made during religious services did not constitute charitable donations. However, the regulator defines a donation as any gift that is voluntarily given and accepted without expecting something in return and noted that the charity claimed gift aid on this type of donation. The regulator found the charity in breach of the code as it did not give any consideration to the possibility the donor could be in vulnerable circumstances. It therefore recommended that the charitys trustees consider whether it should refund any of the donors donations and explain their considerations in reaching their decision to the complainant. Charity disagrees with some findings Since the investigations launch, UCKG has cooperated fully with the Fundraising Regulator and has committed to recognising and identifying how it solicits donations and to considering its responsibilities under the code. UCKG has also urgently agreed to compile and implement a comprehensive fundraising policy for donors who may be in vulnerable circumstances, alongside providing appropriate training for its fundraisers in this area. Gerald Oppenheim, chief executive of the Fundraising Regulator, said: In the course of its work, UCKG engages with many individuals who are in vulnerable circumstances. As such, it like all charities operating in a similar context has a particular responsibility to ensure that it implements appropriate policies and training to prevent exploiting vulnerable donors. We are pleased to have received engagement from the charity during the investigation process, and we will continue this engagement to make sure that our recommendations are enacted. Its important for all charities to ensure their fundraising practices put donors needs and circumstances first, so that giving remains a positive experience for everyone and supports confidence in the sector as a whole. A UCKG spokesperson told Civil Society: The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God acknowledges the publication of the Fundraising Regulators findings. As a UK-registered charity, UCKG accepts it is bound by the Code of Fundraising Practice and will implement the regulators recommendations in full. While we do not agree with all aspects of the findings, we respect the regulators role and have engaged constructively throughout. Our focus remains on maintaining high standards of care and transparency, while continuing our community and faith-based work across the UK. sign up to receive the free Civil Society daily news bulletin here . For more news, interviews, opinion and analysis about charities and the voluntary sector, China banned concealed door handles on electric vehicles, the first country in the world to outlaw a design popularized by Tesla Inc. that is now facing global regulatory scrutiny due to a spate of deadly incidents. Cars sold in China will be required to have mechanical release both on the inside and outside, according to new safety rules issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Monday. Related: Tesla Gets 5-Week Extension in US Probe of Full Self-Driving Traffic Violations The ruling will take effect on Jan. 1, 2027, the ministry said. Models that have already been approved by the regulator and are in the final stages of launching in China have until January 2029 to change their designs. The crackdown follows several high-profile incidents, including two fiery Xiaomi Corp. EV crashes in China where power failures were suspected to have prevented doors from opening, leaving people unable to escape or be rescued to die. While the new regulations will only impact EVs sold in China, the countrys influence on the global automotive industry means it could resonate elsewhere. Teslas doors are already the target of a safety probe in the US, while European regulators are looking to impose rules of their own. China is shifting from being just the largest EV market to being a rule-setter for how new vehicle technologies are regulated, said Bill Russo, founder of Shanghai-based consultancy Automobility. By moving first, Beijing can use its huge domestic market to lock in safety standards that both Chinese and foreign automakers must follow at home and that may ultimately travel with Chinese EV exports and influence global norms. The impact of the change is likely to be uneven and its not clear how expensive it will be to implement. One person familiar with the design process at a Chinese EV manufacturer said it could cost more than 100 million yuan ($14.4 million) per model. About 60% of the top 100 selling new-energy vehicles in April featured concealed handles, the China Daily has reported. Redesign efforts will be heavily tilted toward automakers higher-margin luxury models, which typically have the sleek, futuristic construction that will soon be banned. That includes Teslas Model Y and Model 3, and BMWs iX3, which is set to see a China version debut in 2026. Nio Inc.s ES8, Li Auto Inc.s i8 and Xpeng Inc.s P7 also feature the handles. Xiaomis popular YU7 sport utility vehicle, launched in June 2025, will also need an overhaul. The carmaker propelled door handle safety into the public eye after two of its SU7 electric sedans were involved in fatal crashes last year one in March and one in October. That accelerated the push to regulate handles, but their safety has long been a topic of debate in the industry. Chinas examination of standards began in July 2024 following at least two fatal EV crashes in which people were trapped in their cars due to issues opening doors. The new rules are very specific: On the doors exterior, there must be a recessed space measuring at least 6 centimeters by 2 centimeters (2.4 inches by 0.8 inches) for a hand to grasp a handle. Inside, cars must have signage no smaller than 1cm by 0.7cm to indicate how to open the door. The regulation also delineates where the handles and signs should be placed. That one-size-fits all approach may also risk stifling innovation in a country that leads the world in EV technology. The new rules mean existing safety features, including mechanical pull-cables and backup door batteries that allow for opening even when other power is lost, will be rendered redundant, according to a person familiar with the design process. In other markets, some models combine electric and manual systems in the same handle allowing people to open a door with a hard yank, which foreign carmakers argue is more intuitive in an emergency situation. Related: Tesla Drivers Are Buying Escape Tools and Cars to Avoid Getting Trapped Inside Chinese carmakers, having read the writing on the wall as the early stages of the regulatory overhaul unfolded, are leading revamp efforts. Already some models like the Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. Galaxy M9 and BYD Co.s Seal 06 have reverted to traditional, exposed handles. Most foreign automakers are yet to reveal details on how theyll change their doors for the China market. Tesla has said it will make necessary changes for China and its comment in relation to regulatory scrutiny in the US, where door safety issues have dogged it for years, offer other potential clues. The company will make the manual release mechanism more intuitive and Chair Robyn Denholm has said Tesla is considering programming the locks to open automatically when the batterys voltage is low. For carmakers, the door handle rules represent a historic shift in global safety standards, where China not Europe and the US will increasingly be the dominant force. The Asian nations powerful position in EV manufacturing and smart driving technology means the regulations it sets are likely to be followed by the rest of the world, according to Automobilitys Russo. While door handles have caught much of the publics attention, the Ministry of Public Security also plans to limit how quickly cars can accelerate from a standstill, and authorities are ramping up their oversight of advanced driver-assistance systems. Chinas far ahead in the commercialization of some of these advanced technologies. Its far ahead in electrification and, I would argue, will be further ahead in self-driving technology, Russo said. Chinas going to play an outsized role in stepping ahead of the rest of the world in setting the regulatory standards. Top photo: Xiaomi Corp. YU7 electric vehicles displayed at one of the companys stores in Beijing. Copyright 2026 Bloomberg. The manager of Londons One Hyde Park apartment block, one of the worlds most expensive addresses, on Monday won its lawsuit against a British construction giant for just over 35 million pounds ($48 million) in pipework repairs. In the affluent Knightsbridge district, One Hyde Park was developed by British brothers Christian and Nick Candy with Qatari businessman Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al-Thani. One apartment in the block is currently on sale for 175 million pounds. Lawyers representing One Hyde Park Limited, which owns the freehold, said pipework in the properties became corroded because it was not properly installed. The apartment complex was designed and constructed by a subsidiary of Laing ORourke, Laing ORourke Construction South Limited, and completed in 2011. Laing ORourke Construction South Limited denied that the pipework was in disrepair, but did not send representatives to defend the case at a hearing last year. A Laing ORourke spokesperson said it was aware its subsidiary spent almost a decade trying to find an amicable resolution to the issue including an offer to undertake remedial work for free. One Hyde Park sued at Londons High Court to cover the cost of removing and replacing the majority of the pipework, which would require tenants to move out in stages while the work is carried out. Judge Nerys Jefford ruled that the pipework which comprised 34.4 million pounds of the claims value had corroded because Laing ORourke failed to properly install insulation, meaning it was in breach of contract and liable for remedial works. She also ruled in One Hyde Parks favor on the rest of its lawsuit, which a spokesperson for One Hyde Park described as a decisive victory for all the residents at One Hyde Park. We are committed to ensuring Laing ORourke is held fully accountable and makes full and fair payment for the construction defects it has been found responsible for, the spokesperson said in a statement. Laing ORourke referred queries about Mondays ruling to the liquidators of Laing ORourke Construction South, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. ($1 = 0.7295 pounds) (Reporting by Tobin; Editing by Alison Williams and Toby Chopra) A state high court has ruled subsidiaries of American International Group and Chubb cannot use the so-called bump-up exclusion in denying coverage for a settlement in a securities lawsuit. Late last month the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed a ruling from the states Superior Court that the bump-up provision does not exclude coverage to Harman International Industries, who was acquired by Samsung Electronics back in 2017 and then sued in a securities class-action lawsuit under allegations that Harman issued a false or misleading proxy statement to get shareholders to vote in favor of the deal at a lower price. A final approval on a $28 million settlement was reached in November 2022. Meanwhile, Harman attempted to get coverage from a directors and officers policy of $40 million issued by AIGs Illinois National Insurance on the primary layer, Chubbs Federal Insurance on the first excess layer, Berkley Insurance Company on the second excess policy. AIG was first in issuing notification that the bump-up provision excluded loss coverage. Chubb and Berkley followed with the same position, according to court records. The bump-up provision excludes coverage for settlements representing an effective increase in the price paid for an acquisition. The insurers claimed the settlement amount represented an increase in deal consideration. The state Supreme Court ruled the insurers failed to show the settlement represented an increase in what the shareholders claimed was an inadequate deal priceone of two requirements needed to invoke the exclusion. The state high court did rule that insurers met the first of two requirements in the bump-up provisionthe shareholders alleged inadequate price. Orrie Levy, partner at Cohen Ziffer Frenchman & McKenna, who was part of the team representing Harman, called the ruling a critical victory for policyholders. For years, insurers have wielded the bump-up exclusion to categorically deny coverage for settlements of litigation arising from corporate transactions, Levy said in an emailed statement to Insurance Journal. The Delaware Supreme Court has now rejected that approach, vindicating the rights of D&O policyholders. The Delaware Supreme Court has now made clear that the applicability of a bump-up exclusion to the settlement of shareholder litigation depends on the facts and policy language of each case and is not a one-size-fits-all proposition, he added. The bump-up exclusion was an issue following the Towers Watson-Willis merger. Towers Watson looked for D&O coverage for $90 million in settlements with shareholders who alleged they got a bad deal. However, a Virginia federal district judge in Alexandria in 2024 ruled the bump-up exclusion in a D&O policy from National Union applied to bar coverage. An investigation into ties between Credit Suisse and Nazi Germany has so far revealed hundreds of accounts with potential links to Nazi-era officials and industrialists, including the SS paramilitary wing, according to U.S. Senator Charles Grassley, adding to pressure on the bank ahead of a key hearing. These accounts were once used by individuals or entities who participated in or assisted Nazi war efforts, including accounts for the German War Office, a German armaments manufacturer, and the German Red Cross, Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told journalists on the eve of Tuesdays hearing in Washington DC. Credit Suisses connection to these three entities was previously unknown or only partly known, and the investigation also found evidence that Credit Suisses banking relationships with the Nazi SS was more extensive than we knew before, he said. The link to the SSs economic arm, which profited from Jewish forced labor and concentration camps was revealed by a Swiss commission in the 1990s. But at the time the bank stifled key details from investigators and the public, said Grassley. Tuesdays hearing is the latest development in a six-year campaign by activists and politicians to force a reckoning for what they say are a trove of Swiss bank accounts that werent fully covered in probes leading to a landmark 1998 settlement. That agreement saw Swiss banks pay $1.25 billion for their handling of Holocaust victims accounts. Nazi Sympathizers The bipartisan campaign led by Grassley and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse stems from a 2020 report from the Simon Wiesenthal Center that it had discovered a list of 12,000 suspected Nazis or Nazi sympathizers in Argentina, a number of whom had contributed money to accounts at a predecessor bank of Credit Suisse as they fled at the end of World War II. Grassley said he learned of this in 2023 when the bank dismissed Neil Barofsky as the independent ombudsman overseeing the investigation. Grassley began to put pressure on the Swiss bank, demanding to know why. UBS Group AG, which inherited the Credit Suisse case when it bought its ailing rival from near collapse in March of that year, later reappointed Barofsky. Robert Karofsky, the head of UBSs Americas business, said that the bank has dedicated immense resources and spent hundreds of millions to help with Barofskys investigation, according to his prepared remarks shared ahead of the hearing. Our objective has been to undertake all measures to identify truly new information, he continued. We believe this is what Chairman Grassley refers to as leav[ing] no stone unturned. A dispute however is emerging between what Barofsky says UBS should hand over from Credit Suisses archives and what UBS says is protected by attorney-client privilege. There are around 150 documents, among more than 16.5 million UBS has shared, that it says it wont hand to Barofsky because the Simon Wiesenthal Center and others have threatened litigation over this matter. That makes it of paramount importance to protect those specific attorney communications, Karofsky said. Barofsky, who was picked in 2014 as Credit Suisses government-appointed monitor after it pleaded guilty to helping Americans evade taxes, is scheduled to testify on Tuesday. He is expected to provide some highlights from a 78-page interim report on the investigation and show that the investigations that led to the 1998 settlement werent adequate, according to Senate Judiciary Committee aides. The forensic investigation is expected to wrap up by early summer, and then Barofsky is expected to complete his final report around the end of the year, they said. More leads remain to be probed, they noted, including UBSs own history. The focus of the Senates efforts is on ensuring the investigations are complete. But there have already been calls for additional restitution to victims based on the new revelations. Ronald Lauder, the billionaire president of the World Jewish Congress, called on Switzerland and UBS to open all of its archives, facilitate an independent review and to commit to justice and restitution. The continued possession or concealment of such assets creates material legal and financial exposure under U.S. law, the WJC said in a statement last week. Lauder said in an interview last year that the 1990s deal drastically understated the banks actual exposure. UBS and Swiss officials counter that the agreement covers all potential new revelations. Karofsky reiterated that point, stressing that the settlement was designed to achieve global resolution through a conclusive end to the controversy that went beyond legal and financial closure and expressly includes . . . any claims . . . hereafter arising or discovered . . . .' The Zurich-based bank needs to stay on the good side of US regulators as it pushes to expand its business managing money for rich Americans. UBS has evaluated the possibility of relocating outside Switzerland amid a row over capital requirements. The Americas represent both the largest single revenue source for the global wealth manager and a major strategic focus. n active 2026 tornado season is expected for the Central Plains, with approximately 15% more tornadoes than the 20-year average, according to the Kansas Institute of Tornado Dynamics (KITD). Factors influencing this forecast include persistent La Nina conditions, warmer-than-average Gulf of Mexico sea surface temperatures, and an intensified low-level jet stream. Top photo: Sen. Charles Grassley. Bloomberg. Copyright 2026 Bloomberg. WASHINGTON - The House Judiciary Committee chaired by Ohios Jim Jordan on Tuesday released a 160-page interim report that accuses European Union regulators of conducting a decade-long campaign to censor political speech worldwide, including content posted by Americans in the United States. For more than a year, the Committee has been warning that European censorship laws threaten U.S. free speech online, said a social media statement from the Champaign County Republican. Now, we have proof: Big Tech is censoring Americans speech in the U.S., including true information, to comply with Europes far-reaching Digital Services Act. The report focuses on the EUs Digital Services Act (DSA), which took effect in 2023, claiming it serves as the culmination of European efforts to control online discourse that began around 2015. Jordans committee obtained the documents through subpoenas issued to ten major technology companies, including Meta, Google, TikTok, and X. The European Commission has intentionally pressured technology companies to change their global content moderation policies, and deliberately targeted American speech and elections, the report states. The European Commissions extraterritorial actions directly infringe on American sovereignty. The report charges that EU officials pressured platforms to censor content related to COVID-19 vaccines, the war in Ukraine, transgender issues, and other topics. Internal documents show that in 2024, TikTok revised its global Community Guidelines specifically to comply with the Digital Services Act, according to the report. Those changes included censoring coded statements that normalize inequitable treatment, content misrepresenting authoritative information, and media presented out of context, the report says. (page 10-11) It described the imposed standards as inherently subjective and easily weaponized against the European Commissions political opposition. To put it plainly, an EU law caused one of the worlds largest social media platforms to censor true information in the United States and around the world, the report says. Cleveland.com has reached out to European Union representatives for comment on the reports allegations. The European Commission has previously defended the DSA as necessary to protect users from harmful content and has stated that it applies only within the EU. However, the report argues that because major platforms use global content moderation policies rather than country-specific rules, European regulations effectively control speech worldwide. Jordan has been investigating European technology regulations since early 2025, when he issued subpoenas to major tech companies. In July 2025, he traveled to Europe with a bipartisan delegation to discuss these concerns with EU officials, including Henna Virkkunen, the EUs executive vice president for technological sovereignty, security, and democracy. An entire Ohio city is holding its breath as tens of thousands of Haitian immigrants could suddenly lose their legal status in America, and Today in Ohio podcast hosts say ejecting them could not be more un-American. The fear in Springfield is visceral, said Leila Atassi, describing how longtime residents, including Black Americans who are born in Ohio, are carrying proof of citizenship just to run errands around their town. Parents are debating whether to keep their kids home from school. Hosts stressed that the Haitians arent undocumented immigrantstheyre here completely legally under Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a program that allowed them to live and work in the U.S. because conditions in Haiti were deemed too dangerous for return. None of these people are here illegally, said Chris Quinn. We welcomed every one of them because America provides a refuge for people who are under threat in other countries. Its one of the great things about this country. About 15,000 Haitians live in Springfield alone, with tens of thousands more across central Ohio. They have become an integral part of the local economy, filling factory and warehouse jobs in a city that had been shrinking. Donald Trump is erasing that unilaterally, with no thought about whats going on in Haiti just so he can hit his silly numbers for deportations, Quinn said. The hosts criticized the xenophobic rhetoric often used against immigrant communities. These are murderers and rapists. No, theyre not, Quinn said. Theyre here legally. Theyre working legally. Theyre supporting their families and helping the Ohio economy legally. The podcast also explored the ripple effects if TPS endshousing markets destabilized, schools disrupted, employers left without workers, and families facing impossible choices about whether to separate or return to a country controlled by gangs. Parents with U.S.-born kids have to weigh whether to take babies back or leave teenagers behind with relatives, Atassi said, adding that asylum offers no protection from detention while cases are pending. As Springfield waits on whether the Trump administration ejects the Haitians, the entire city exists in what Atassi called awful limboa community paralyzed by uncertainty and fear. Listen to the conversation here. Listen to full Today in Ohio episodes where Chris Quinn hosts our daily half-hour news podcast, with Editorial Board member Lisa Garvin, Impact Editor Leila Atassi and Content Director Laura Johnston. Closer business ties with Europe expected 10:35, February 03, 2026 By Zhong Nan ( China Daily Recent visits to China by top European leaders indicate that the country's rapid development and expanding innovation capabilities will serve as a key engine for deeper economic cooperation and new business opportunities between the two sides, said officials and executives. While French President Emmanuel Macron led a business delegation during his state visit to China in early December, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer witnessed the signing of a number of cooperation documents during their official visits in late January. China and the United Kingdom signed a memorandum of understanding last week related to the "Big Market for All: Export to China" initiative, which according to China's Ministry of Commerce made the UK the first country in the world to officially join the campaign. UK Trade Commissioner for China Lewis Neal described China's consumer market as highly promising, citing the growing sophistication of Chinese consumers and their clear demand for innovation, quality, and value for money. This creates strong opportunities for British companies in areas such as consumer retail, health and wellness, and creative industries, Neal said. Jussi Herlin, vice-chairman of the board of directors of Kone Corp, a Finnish elevator manufacturer, said the group will continue to increase its investments in China, further strengthening its presence in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. After delivering one of China's largest elevator modernization projects in Kunshan, Jiangsu province, and implementing the solution in 30 provincial-level markets last year, Kone will open its southern China headquarters in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, in March. Roger Holm, executive vice-president at Wartsila Corp, a Finnish ship engine manufacturer operating four plants in China, noted that both the EU and China possess strong capabilities in clean technologies, digitalization and smart manufacturing. "We look forward to enhanced cooperation that will accelerate green transition, foster deeper innovation and strengthen local partnerships," he said. At the same time, Chinese companies are accelerating their expansion into the European market by scaling up local investment and widening business presence. Lei Jun, chairman and CEO of Chinese tech giant Xiaomi Corp, said that after generating 1 billion yuan ($144 million) in sales revenue in the UK last year, the company plans to step up investment in the country, open around 150 stores in four years, and gradually introduce a broad range of products. Wu Zuyu, founder and president of Hithium Energy Storage Technology Co in Xiamen, Fujian province, said that based on the strong business prospects in the UK and other EU countries, the company will further deepen its presence in the European market. As the UK advances its green transition, with long-duration energy storage playing a key role in building a secure, flexible and clean power system, Wu said his company's efficient lithium-based long-duration energy storage solution could address the UK's demand for storage exceeding eight hours. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla Inc., during the US-Saudi Investment Forum at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025. Elon Musk said a primary reason for merging SpaceX with his artificial intelligence startup, xAI, is to more effectively build "orbital data centers." That's for a far-off future. For now, xAI has a much more pressing need: cash. In Monday's blog post announcing the combination of his two companies, Musk estimated that "within 2 to 3 years, the lowest cost way to generate AI compute will be in space." But xAI requires immense amounts of money to finance its massive infrastructure buildout as the three-year-old company tries to catch up to Google , OpenAI and Anthropic in the booming generative AI market. SpaceX, which is reportedly aiming to go public this year in what could be a record-setting IPO, may represent Musk's clearest path to landing that capital. The company is looking to raise up to $50 billion at a valuation as high as $1.5 trillion, according to Reuters. A major key to SpaceX's growth is Starlink, its satellite internet service, which has around 9,000 satellites in orbit today and roughly 9 million customers. It recently received authorization from the Federal Communications Commission to put another 7,500 satellites into orbit. Tim Farrar, president of satellite and telecom industry research firm TMF Associates, said SpaceX can't put that kind of money to work towards its existing business because there are only so many rocket launches available to get its Starlink satellites up into space each year. Folding xAI into SpaceX, Farrar said, allows Musk to capitalize on investors' insatiable appetite for AI holdings, while also securing the AI company's financial position despite its mounting losses. According to a report from The Information late Monday, xAI has told investors that it burned about $9.5 billion through the first nine months of 2025. "People are throwing tens of billions of dollars at AI companies right now, and in six months or 12 months time, they might have changed their mind about it," Farrar said. "Getting the money is feasible" now but may not be forever. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) meets the President of China, Xi Jinping (R) as a part of the 25th Heads of State Council meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Tianjin, China on August 31, 2025. BEIJING China plans to send a delegation to India's upcoming AI summit in the latest sign of improving ties between the two neighbors, CNBC has learned. A vice minister from China's Ministry of Science and Technology will lead the delegation, said George Chen, partner and co-chair of digital practice at consultancy The Asia Group, citing conversations with his government contacts. He added that the Indian embassy in Beijing had reached out to China to arrange the visas. The Asia Group frequently engages with Chinese policymakers about AI regulatory development. It's the first public confirmation that China will attend the event in New Delhi, scheduled for Feb. 16 to 20. Chinese state media in late December had cited Indian media as saying that New Delhi had extended an official invitation to Beijing to attend the AI Impact Summit. Representatives for the Indian embassy and China's Ministry of Science and Technology did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The science ministry has four vice ministers. China's Foreign Ministry declined to comment, while broadly calling for joint contributions to AI development, with shared benefits. The planned visit, with Chinese businesses expected to participate, comes as China's relations with India appear to be on the mend after a few turbulent years. Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer holds a "Morning Meeting" livestream at 10:20 a.m. ET. Here's a recap of Tuesday's key moments. 1. The Dow briefly hit a fresh record high on Tuesday as investors rotated out of tech stocks and into companies tied to economic improvements. "We've got a market that is very bifurcated," Jim Cramer said on the Morning Meeting. He pointed to consumer-goods stocks like PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble , both of which were higher. The Club industrials Dover and DuPont also rose. AI leader Nvidia , however, was down 3%, extending its losing streak to three straight sessions. Jim is speaking with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang for "Mad Money" on Tuesday evening and hopes to figure out what's going on. 2. "I reiterate that you should buy Alphabet ahead of the quarter," Jim said, saying he expects Google's parent company to report "terrific" earnings after Wednesday's close. But Jim is not throwing the same support behind our other Club name, Amazon , which he said the Street doesn't like. "Understand that right now, Amazon theoretically could be lumped in with software," he added. Amazon reports on Thursday evening. 3. Qnity is a stock that "you have to own," Jim said. Even with the stock trading at just over $100 per share, Jim predicts the electronics company will go much higher. "The reason I say that is because it's an undervalued play," said Jim, especially when compared to names like Sandisk or Western Digital . "People should recognize this is a short supply situation," Jim stressed, noting Qnity supplies materials to manufacturing names like Taiwan Semiconductor. Qnity was spun off from DuPont back in November. 4. Stocks covered in Tuesday's rapid fire at the end of the video were: PepsiCo , Palantir, Merck , Pfizer , PayPal , and Disney . (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long NVDA, DOV, DD, PG, GOOG, and Q. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED. Novo Nordisk signage on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, US, on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. Novo Nordisk 's U.S. shares plummeted Tuesday after the company said it sees sales and profit growth declining this year, hit by lower prices in the U.S. and loss of exclusivity for its blockbuster Wegovy and Ozempic in China, Brazil and Canada. Novo's American depositary shares fell as much as 14% in afternoon trading, after a trading halt. The results were published after the closing bell in Copenhagen, where the company has its primary listing, and ahead of the scheduled release early Wednesday. For 2026, the drugmaker sees sales and operating profit both declining between 5% and 13% at constant exchange rates, far worse than analysts had expected. It comes as the Danish drugmaker is fighting to regain its footing in the weight-loss space amid fierce competition. "In 2026, Novo Nordisk will face pricing headwinds in an increasingly competitive market," CEO Mike Doustdar. "However, we are very encouraged by the promising early uptake from the US launch of Wegovy pill, and we remain confident in our ability to drive volume growth over the coming years." The outlook reflects expectations for a sales decline in the U.S., its biggest market, but sales growth ex-U.S. Novo said. "In 2026, the global GLP-1 market expansion is assumed to continue, enabling Novo Nordisk to increase patient reach and expand volumes," the company said in a statement. In 2025, sales increased by 10% and operating profit increased by 6%, in line with the company's latest guidance, which it lowered throughout 2025, citing challenges in the U.S. market. Novo also said that it will roll out Wegovy in more markets in 2026 and expects to introduce the higher 7.2 mg dose in a number of countries. Palantir climbed nearly 7% on Tuesday after the company beat Wall Street's fourth-quarter estimates amid rising spending on artificial intelligence tools from governments and businesses. The shares popped after the company reported $1.41 billion in revenue, ahead of LSEG estimates of $1.33 billion. The company posted adjusted earnings per share of 25 cents, beating the 23 cents a share expected by LSEG. The earnings came after a muted end to 2025 November was Palantir's worst month in two years amid a broader decline in software stocks over fears of an AI valuation bubble. The stock ultimately rose 135% in 2025 but, at Monday's close, was down 17% year to date. CEO Alex Karp told CNBC's Morgan Brennan on Monday that the earnings were "the best results that I'm aware of in tech in the last decade." Office workers are seen walking towards the building housing the offices of X, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk, after a raid by police on Feb. 3, 2026 in Paris, France. Remon Haazen | Getty Images French police raided the offices of Elon Musk's social media network X on Tuesday and prosecutors ordered the tech billionaire to face questions in April in a widening investigation, amid growing scrutiny of the platform by authorities across Europe. France's raid and the summoning of Musk which could further increase tensions between Europe and the U.S. over big tech and free speech are linked to a year-long investigation into suspected abuse of algorithms and fraudulent data extraction by X or its executives. Britain's privacy watchdog, meanwhile, also kicked off a formal investigation into Musk's artificial intelligence chatbot Grok over the processing of personal data and its potential to produce harmful sexualised images and video content. Investigation includes sexually explicit deepfakes In a statement the Paris prosecutor's office said it had broadened the scope of its investigation following complaints over the functioning of Grok. The French probe will now also investigate alleged complicity in the "detention and diffusion" of images of a childpornographic nature and the violation of a person's image rights with sexually explicit deepfakes, among other potential crimes. Musk and former CEO Linda Yaccarino were summoned to a hearing on April 20. Other X staff were also summoned as witnesses. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and owner of social media site X, attends the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, France, on June 16, 2023. Gonzalo Fuentes | Reuters There was no immediate comment from X. In July, Musk denied the initial accusations and said French prosecutors were launching a "politically-motivated criminal investigation". "At this stage, the conduct of this investigation is part of a constructive approach, with the aim of ultimately ensuring that the X platform complies with French laws, insofar as it operates on national territory," the prosecutor's office said. Such summons are mandatory, though they are harder to enforce on people who do not live in France. After such a hearing, authorities can decide to either shelve or continue the probe, and potentially put suspects in custody. Widening probes into X Britain's Information Commissioner's Office, meanwhile, said it was investigating the xAI chatbot, following reports that Grok had been used to generate nonconsensual sexual imagery of individuals, including children. Britain's media regulator Ofcom said separately it was setting out the next steps in its investigation into X launched last month, though provided few details. Ofcom is seeking to assess if the company has done enough to mitigate the risk of sexual deepfakes spreading on its social media platform. But it has said it was not investigating xAI, which operates the Grok chatbot, as it falls beyond the scope of current law. Last week the European Union launched an investigation into X too, seeking to assess whether it disseminated illegal content, following public outcry over the spreading of manipulated sexualised images by Grok. The chatbot continues to generate sexualised images of people even when users explicitly warn that the subjects do not consent, Reuters has found. xAI put some restrictions on Grok's image generation function in response to the backlash last month. Prosecutor's office quitting X Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Assoc., speaking on CNBC's Squawk Box at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 20th, 2026. Oscar Molina | CNBC Legendary investor Ray Dalio warned on Tuesday that the world is "on the brink" of a capital war, amid simmering geopolitical tensions and volatile capital markets. Speaking to CNBC's Dan Murphy on stage at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Dalio said we are close to teetering into capital war territory when money is weaponized using measures like trade embargoes, blocking access to capital markets, or using ownership of debt as leverage. "We are on the brink," Dalio said. "That means not in, but it means we are quite close to [capital war], and it would be very easy to go over the brink into a capital war, because there are mutual fears." He pointed to recent escalating tensions over the Trump administration's push to bring Greenland a Danish territory under Washington's control. He warned of a "fear" among European holders of U.S.-denominated assets that they could be sanctioned, and that "there could be a reciprocal fear on the part of the United States that it could not get the capital, or not get the buy [from Europe]," he said. watch now European investors accounted for 80% of foreign purchases of U.S. Treasurys between April and November, according to Citi research cited by Reuters. "Capital, money, matters," Dalio said Tuesday. "We're seeing capital controls taking place all over the world today, and who will experience that is questionable. So, we are on the brink that doesn't mean we are in [a capital war now], but it means that it's a logical concern." Since returning to the White House last year, U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed and walked back from a swathe of punitive tariffs on trading partners and political adversaries. Those decisions have sparked volatility in financial markets. Dalio added that historically, capital wars have seen measures such as foreign exchange and capital controls being implemented and said that institutions like sovereign wealth funds and central banks were already making "provisions" to prepare for such controls. Historically, Dalio noted, capital wars have developed around "great conflicts." In the run-up to the U.S. entering the Second World War, he said, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Japan in an escalation of the two countries' "contentious relationship." "One could imagine an analogous situation here, in this world today, between China and the United States, or even it's been conjectured and talked about by leaders in different countries about U.S. and European dependency because the reverse of a trade deficit is capital, that there's a capital imbalance, and capital could be used as war." Gold remains a top hedge Amid these tensions, gold is still the best place to store money, Dalio said after a historic sell-off that dragged precious metals lower across the board. By Tuesday, gold and silver were showing tentative signs of recovery. "It doesn't change by the day," he said, when asked if recent price action should raise questions about gold being the safest place to park capital. President Donald Trump sits at his desk, behind a hat that reads "America is back" at the White House in Washington, Feb. 3, 2026. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said "the federal government should get involved" in elections in states that are unable to "legally and honestly" administer them on their own. If they can't, then "somebody else should take over," Trump said in the Oval Office after he signed a bill to fund the federal government. The comments show Trump is not backing off his recent suggestion that Republicans should "nationalize" elections, even as Democrats raise concerns that the administration may try to interfere in the upcoming midterms. "If a state can't run an election, I think the people behind me should do something about it," Trump said in the Oval Office, referring to the handful of Republican lawmakers standing around him. He had been asked what he meant when, in a podcast interview released Monday, he called on members of the Republican Party to "take over the voting." "The Republicans should say, 'We want to take over. We should take over the voting, the voting in at least many 15 places ... the Republicans ought to nationalize the voting,'" Trump said in that interview with former deputy FBI director Dan Bongino. U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement Monday that he has agreed a trade deal with India comes hot on the heels of Europe's own trade agreement with New Delhi, signaling Washington is not willing to be outdone by its global competitors. The U.S. deal comes after global trading partners like the European Union and India, and China and Canada, have signed their own trade pacts since the new year, leaving America which has been trigger-happy when it comes to imposing punitive tariffs on trading partners looking ostracized. Analysts had said those deals, and particularly the EU-India pact, could "light a fire" under the U.S. to get its own stalled trade agreement with India done and dusted, but it has come quicker than most expected. Trump announced Monday on the Truth Social media platform that the U.S. would cut the main tariff on India from 25% to 18%. He said Washington would also remove an additional 25% tariff it had imposed on New Delhi last summer in retaliation for its Russian oil purchases. In the posting, Trump said India would stop buying Russian oil and would purchase "over $500 BILLION DOLLARS of U.S. Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal, and many other products" and remove trade barriers with the U.S. There has been no official release to accompany Trump's remarks. The U.S.-India deal which was cheered by Asia markets Tuesday is "an emphatic answer to those thinking the EU is flanking or gaining speed on the U.S. on trade," Terry Haines, founder of analysis firm Pangaea Policy, commented on LinkedIn. "The U.S.-India deal is the next major Trump natsec [national security strategy] x economic 'interdependence' trade deal with a major U.S. ally/major unaligned country," Haines noted. "It's a strong signal that Trump is 'walking and chewing gum at the same time', not letting geopolitics distract from U.S. economic attention and continuing to do major trade deals," he added. The Trump administration could issue a general license as soon as this week for companies to produce oil and gas in Venezuela, a person familiar with the plan told CNBC on Tuesday. Chevron is the only U.S. company currently allowed to pump oil in Venezuela under a special license issued by the Treasury Department. Chevron has several joint ventures with state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela, or PDVSA. President Donald Trump is pressuring the oil industry to invest at least $100 billion to repair Venezuela's energy industry after the U.S. captured former President Nicolas Maduro in a raid on Jan. 3. "The President's team is working around the clock to ensure oil companies are able to make investments in Venezuela's oil infrastructure. Stay tuned," White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said in a statement. Bloomberg first reported the news. Last week, the Treasury Department issued a general license that allowed U.S. companies to buy, sell, transport and refine Venezuelan crude oil, among other activities. But that license did not include upstream production. Companies were previously barred from these activities under U.S. sanctions. The Venezuelan government last week also passed reforms to ease state control of its oil industry and give more autonomy to private companies. The oil industry's response to investing in Venezuela has been mixed. ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods told Trump at the White House on Jan. 9 that the country needs big reforms and is "uninvestable" under its current system. Exxon has had its assets seized twice by the government in Caracas. Private wildcatters and smaller shale oil companies have shown more enthusiasm about the potential opportunity in the South American nation. Chevron CEO Mike Wirth told CNBC last week that it can ramp up production in Venezuela by 50% in the next 18 to 24 months with approvals from the U.S. It currently produces about 250,000 barrels per day in the South American nation. Venezuela is a founding member of OPEC and is believed to have the largest crude oil reserves in the world. The U.S. and India announced a trade deal Monday after months of negotiations, raising hopes for a strategic reset after ties had plummeted to their lowest point in decades. But the lack of detail and a clear timeline has fueled doubts over how quickly the framework can be turned into a binding agreement and whether the two nations can move beyond tensions from last year. President Donald Trump said the U.S. would lower reciprocal tariffs on India to 18% from 25% after Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to stop buying Russian oil. Washington would also reportedly waive an additional 25% tariffs slapped on New Delhi for its oil purchases. India would, in turn, reduce its tariffs and non-tariff barriers on U.S. goods to zero while pledging to buy $500 billion of U.S. products, Trump said, without giving further details on the timeline or sector commitments. Modi confirmed the new 18% tariff rate in a post on X, calling the agreement a step towards restoring stability and momentum in bilateral ties. "I look forward to working closely with [President Trump] to take our partnership to unprecedented heights," Modi said. But the Indian leader did not mention Russian oil or Trump's claim that India would eliminate its levies on American goods. Relations between the longtime partners soured rapidly during Trump's second term after he claimed to have mediated an end to India's conflict with Pakistan in May, a characterization New Delhi rejected. Tensions also deepened after Washington slapped additional tariffs over India's purchases of Russian oil while sparing China, the largest importer of Russian energy. "The devil is in the details," said Evan Feigenbaum, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, expecting New Delhi to refrain from making any "explicit" Russian oil-related commitment. Feigenbaum was also skeptical of India's push to reach the $500 billion target, calling it "kind of a stretch." The U.S. has remained India's largest trading partner and a key partner in defense, technology and advanced manufacturing. Total goods and services trade between the two countries rose over 8% to $212.3 billion in 2024, U.S. official data showed. U.S. goods exports to India rose 3% to $41.5 billion in 2024, while services exports surged 16% to $41.8 billion from the previous year. Sailors and Marines man the rail as the U.S. Navy Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) is guided by tugboats in San Diego Bay as it returns to its home port of Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, California, Dec. 20, 2024. The U.S. military on Tuesday shot down an Iranian drone that flew toward the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, according to U.S. Central Command. The incident occurred as tensions in the Middle East are high, with President Donald Trump weighing potential military strikes against the Islamic Republic. The Shahed-139 drone "aggressively approached" the aircraft carrier with "unclear intent," U.S. Central Command spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins told CNBC in a statement. The Abraham Lincoln was about 500 miles from Iran's southern coast when the unmanned aircraft "unnecessarily maneuvered" toward the ship, Hawkins said. U.S. forces were operating in international waters and took de-escalatory measures, but the drone continued to fly toward the aircraft carrier, he said. An F-35 warplane from the Abraham Lincoln shot down the drone "in self defense to protect the aircraft carrier and personnel on board," Hawkins said. No U.S. personnel were harmed and no U.S. equipment was damaged, he said. U.S. crude oil prices were up more than 1% at 2:32 p.m. ET. Hours after the drone was shot down, Iranian forces harassed a U.S. flagged and crewed merchant vessel that was lawfully transiting the Strait of Hormuz, Hawkins said. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces threatened to board and seize the M/V Stena Imperative, he said. A U.S. guided missile destroyer intervened and de-escalated the situation and the merchant vessel is now proceeding safely, Hawkins said. Trump has deployed the Abraham Lincoln to the Middle East as he threatens Iran with strikes if it does not negotiate a deal over its nuclear program. The president threatened to hit the Islamic Republic during mass demonstrations against the regime last month but ultimately held back from strikes. The incidents Tuesday come as Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff is scheduled to have discussions with Iranian officials later this week. Those conversations are still scheduled to take place, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News in an interview. "As for the president, he remains committed to always pursuing diplomacy first," Leavitt said. "But in order for diplomacy to work of course it takes two to tango. You need a willing partner to engage." Leavitt said Trump "always has a range of options on the table and that includes the use of military force." Analysts at Wells Fargo and Bernstein believe that investors are leaving value on the table when it comes to FedEx . Both investment firms upgraded the transportation stock to overweight from prior ratings of equal-weight and market-perform. Wells Fargo's $380 price target, raised from $295, implies that FedEx could add 13% from here. Bernstein's new target price of $427, hiked from $306, corresponds to a 27% rally. Shares of FedEx have surged 36% in the past 12 months. FDX 1Y mountain FDX 1Y chart "The stock has been working, and can continue to work as improving parcel fundamentals and the freight spin make the stock uniquely attractive in a market looking for cyclical exposure," wrote Bernstein analyst David Vernon. Both firms highlighted FedEx's investor day next week as a near-term catalyst for the stock. Vernon and Wells Fargo analyst Christian Wetherbee both said that it is likely the company reveals upside for profits in its Express business. Wetherbee estimated "a path to potentially as much as ~$30 in earnings for the combined company through F29" and said it is likely that the company will "outline solid multi-year targets." Vernon added that FedEx should also speak to continuing market share gains in small packages and wrote that this could show earnings power of between $21 to $27. "If we assume that trades at a low to mid-teens multiple which we see as conservative given the markets appetite for relatively attractively priced cyclical exposure then the current valuation doesn't reflect the full value of the LTL Freight business," Vernon added. "LTL stocks have a ton of operating leverage to expanding PMIs and pricing leverage to higher truck rates." LTL, or less-than-truckload shipping, refers to operations where a single trailer carries packages from different shippers. Vernon and Wetherbee also pointed out that FedEx is getting serious about international opportunities, specifically in Europe. "Last week FedEx announced the reorganization of its French operations as part of a broader push to improve European profitability," Wetherbee wrote. "Assuming ~$6.5b in revenue and LSD margins currently, we see ~$600m of additional profit improvement in Europe." A rendering shows Singapore's new $8 billion Las Vegas Sands development, on the right. Source: Safdie Architects Construction in Singapore has boomed since the pandemic. Several mega projects are underway, with the $8 billion Las Vegas Sands development and a new terminal at Changi Airport both breaking ground in 2025. Another major public sector project is the Tengah General & Community Hospital, which will add 4,000 patient beds by 2030. In January, Singapore's Building and Construction Authority (BCA) projected that construction demand would reach up to 53 billion Singapore dollars (around $42 billion) in the island nation this year up 15% from its previous estimate. "Following the Covid-19 pandemic, the construction industry surged, and we haven't looked back since," Alex Saez, partner and managing director for APAC at engineering consultancy Cundall, told CNBC. For building contractors, getting the work done means finding the right people, working with developers and using new technology, with one consultant describing a "digital renaissance" for some firms. Construction challenges While a building boom is good for the economy, it presents challenges, with construction costs in Singapore consistently ranked among the highest in the world. In an email to CNBC, construction consultant Turner & Townsend estimated that costs will go up as much as 5% this year, due to supply chain disruption for products like cement and ready-mixed concrete, as well as long lead times for plumbing and electrical systems and surging prices of the semiconductors needed within those systems. A construction site at the Marina Bay Sands development in Singapore in April 2025. An $8 billion project by Las Vegas Sands is underway, including a 570-suite hotel and 15,000-seat arena. Mohd Rasfan | Afp | Getty Images And, along with a shortage of general labor, in Singapore the market for so-called PMET roles professionals, managers, executives and technicians is "noticeably tight," according to Khoo Sze Boon, Turner & Townsend's managing director for Singapore. "Capability gaps still affect timelines and quality, particularly for specialist subcontractors on major projects," Khoo told CNBC via email. To help address this, the BCA will launch an additional training program for project managers later this year, he said. There's also a trend for "double hatting," where workers are trained so they can take on additional responsibilities, according to Natalie Ong and Then Wan Lin, analysts at CGS International Securities Singapore. They forecast another strong year of contract awards in 2026, followed by "four years of elevated construction awards." In an email to CNBC, Ong and Then said "Some companies are adapting to the labor shortage challenge by cross-training their workers (i.e. double hatting), enabling a smaller workforce to perform multiple functions." For example, they said, engineers are being trained to use technology that minimizes repetitive tasks, meaning they can focus on "execution." Robots and drones For Singapore-based contractor Soilbuild, there has been a shift from labor-intensive activities towards "high-value, high-specification industrial buildings," CEO Han Ren Lim told CNBC. Along with using prefabrication where parts of buildings are assembled offsite Soilbuild expects to see greater adoption of technology such as an enterprise risk management systems "to further enhance cost efficiency," Lim said. Construction firms are turning to technology to help them address skills gaps, according to the CGS analysts. Building maintenance company ISOTeam already uses drones and AI to inspect building facades for defects, and is developing drones that will be able to wash and paint exteriors, reducing the need for scaffolding and minimizing the risk of working at height. And, while the investment in such technology costs money, it should ultimately "translate into better earnings," Ong and Then told CNBC. The Legend Robot costs between $70,000 and $120,000 and can do the work of around six people in Singapore, the company said. Legend Robot From April, Singapore's BCA will provide new grants to small companies to invest in technology, including robots and automation that it says can achieve "up to 50% manpower savings." The BCA also wants firms to improve their digital capabilities, for example in contract management and regulatory approvals. Firms in Singapore are using computer vision technology from start-up OpenSpace to track construction projects, and software from PlanRadar for scheduling and defect tracking, with both companies reporting an uptick in business from the region in emails to CNBC. Turner & Townsend's Khoo says it won't be enough for companies to simply adopt new digital tools. Many firms will have to "rethink how technology supports their commercial goals," he told CNBC. "Some may find themselves undergoing a kind of digital renaissance that reshapes their operating models," he said. Legend Robot makes machinery that can spray putty and latex paint on to the interior walls of residential buildings, as well as robots that can grind floors and lay tiles. An average human worker can paint around 200 square meters per day, while one of the company's robots can handle up to 1,500 square meters daily, according to Legend Robot's Marketing Director Jason Liang more than seven times as productive. The company works in Singapore, China, the Middle East and Europe and its machines cost around $70,000 for a 3.3m tall latex paint spraying robot, or up to around $120,000 for a model that can tackle larger areas, Liang told CNBC. "We're seeing rising demand in multiple countries," he said. Project peak Despite billions of dollars being poured into new projects, building activity hasn't yet reached its peak. Analysts at CGS International revised their construction industry estimates upwards in January, describing an "extended upcycle" and forecasting that contractors' earnings would peak in the 2028-29 financial year, against a previously estimated 2027-28 high. A building site at Terminal 2 of Singapore's Changi Airport in April 2025. Work has begun on the airport's new Terminal 5, with construction contracts worth 13 billion Singapore dollars (about $10.3 billion) yet to be awarded in 2026 and 2027, per estimates from analysts at CGS International. Annice Lyn | Getty Images watch now The trade pact between India and the U.S. which will see tariffs on Indian exports lowered to 18% from 25% comes less than a week after India reached a major free trade agreement with the EU. Announcing the deal in a TruthSocial post, Trump said India had agreed to cease buying Russian crude oil. He had previously imposed an additional 25% levy in retaliation to this. India will switch to U.S., and potentially Venezuelan, oil, while also pledging to buy $500 billion in agriculture, tech, energy, and other products, Trump said. While many specific details of the India-U.S. deal are yet to be fully hashed out in contrast with last week's comprehensive agreement between the EU and India India's manufacturing sector is seen as a major initial beneficiary, according to investors, while I.T. and pharmaceuticals could also see a boost. The country's labor-intensive export sector which spans textiles, clothing, leather, jewelry, toys and furniture making now has the opportunity to regain ground lost to key manufacturing competitors in the region, according to James Thom, senior investment director of Asian equities, at Aberdeen Investments. Thom pinpointed smaller and medium companies as among those likely to see a boost from the new 18% tariff rate, which is lower than that of rival Pakistan, where the levy is 19%, as well as Vietnam and Bangladesh each subject to 20% tariffs. Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Nifty 50. "Removing that overhang should also support banks, non-banking financial companies and export-oriented manufacturers, while lifting retail sentiment in small and mid-caps," Thom said in a market commentary. Bernstein said that last week's India-EU treaty likely prompted the U.S. to accelerate Monday's deal with India. Analysts noted how the agreement brings India broadly in line with its Association of Southeast Asian Nations peers "incrementally a big positive" and boosts its position relative to China. Improved relations Bernstein analysts Venugopal Garre and Nikhil Arela said that, while certain sectors such as autos and metals could still face sector tariffs, information technology will benefit from improved relations between the two countries. "I.T. has the largest exposure to the US, and while the deal primarily covers manufactured goods, our outlook was that improved US-India relations even if short-lived would reduce scrutiny on I.T. services and lower the risk of further punitive actions, such as additional taxes," Garre and Arela wrote. They outlined a tactical 'buy' trade based on a short-term rebound in Indian equities underpinned mainly by financials, I.T., and telecoms, while manufacturing and trade-linked stocks "should also see some recovery." Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon S&P Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index. Monday's deal comes hot on the heels of India's "landmark" FTA with the EU dubbed "the mother of all deals" by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen which substantially lowers or eliminates tariffs on a range of goods and services. Fitch Solutions' research unit BMI highlighted India's pharmaceutical sector, noting the elimination of 11% tariffs on EU drug imports such as cancer therapies, biologics, and GLP-1s which amounted to $1.2 billion in 2024. Growth trajectory BMI said lower import costs and improved supply chains underpin its positive outlook on India's pharma space, where it sees a market growth of $31.2 billion in 2025 to $45.7 billion by 2035 a 10-year compound annual growth rate of 5.2% in local currency terms. "The agreement will also help India-based firms to diversify export destinations and open new opportunities in the large EU market," it added, noting how India's pharmaceutical exports have stagnated recently. "This recent stagnation reflects ongoing market access challenges and regulatory complexity. We believe the FTA will reverse this trend, as the deal is expected to align regulatory compliance processes, reducing approval timelines and lowering administrative costs associated with product registration and licensing. This will position exports to resume their growth trajectory." Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Ashoka India Investment Trust. State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington D.C. 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In any functioning democracy, the Governments priorities should surely be focused on the people who live and work in the country it runs. Yet despite regularly invoking Bevan in misty-eyed speeches, Sir Keir Starmer seems to have forgotten any sense of where his priorities ought to lie. As this paper reported yesterday, his government is proposing that asylum seekers should be accommodated in newly built council homes, despite a desperate shortage of affordable housing for British people. Bonkers It is as if he and his increasingly despised cabinet believe that, while the rights of British citizens can be ignored, our country owes a living to a vast swathe of newcomers who have no connection with our land beyond a wish to settle here and desire to avail themselves of the generosity of our welfare system. Even in the face of mounting concern from many Labour backbenchers, the plan rightly described as bonkers by one Labour MP is gaining momentum. Around 200 local authorities have expressed an interest in the pilot scheme, among them Brighton, Peterborough, Thanet, Hartlepool, Hackney and Powys in Wales. Yet this wave of municipal enthusiasm only illustrates how badly the political establishment is out of touch with public opinion. Hard-working, taxpaying British families correctly think that council housing is primarily for local people who have their roots in the area, not for new arrivals, many of whom may have reached our shores illegally. At a time when there are over 1.3 million families on the official waiting list for social housing, it is outrageous for the state to be plotting to give any kind of precedence to asylum seekers. 'Sir Keir Starmer seems to have forgotten any sense of where his priorities ought to lie' The Governments approach makes a mockery of fairness which in Nye Bevans era was meant to be the core principle of the Labour movement. But then the concept of social justice has long been weakened by the modern Labour Partys attachment to identity politics. That is how we ended up in a position where 48 per cent of all social housing in London now goes to foreign-born people, and where 72 per cent of Somalis in Britain live in state-subsidised accommodation. In the name of inclusion, housing policy has in many cases become tainted by discrimination, with organisations in the sector boasting of their cultural bias. The Bangla Housing Association in London, for example, proclaims its mission is to provide good quality, affordable homes and relevant support services to those in the local Bengali and other Black and Ethnic Minority communities. The British are a remarkably tolerant people and many will feel minority communities need all the help they can get. But the way that sectarianism has been dressed up in the language of equality is a prime reason that the electorate has become so disillusioned with mainstream politics and is turning to Reform. Schemes like this policy to give asylum seekers new council homes will just add fuel to the engines of Nigel Farages party, while social cohesion will be lost and integration weakened as a result. Indeed, far from helping to tackle illegal immigration, the policy will provide an additional incentive to the reckless smuggling gangs and their clients. By planning new homes for asylum seekers, the Government has demonstrated once again that Britain under Starmer has become the softest of touches. Ministers may argue it is a necessary alternative to the disastrously expensive approach of putting up asylum seekers in hotels, which last year cost no less than 4.9 billion. But the aim should be to stop them arriving here in the first place. 'Schemes like this policy to give asylum seekers new council homes will just add fuel to the engines of Nigel Farages party, while social cohesion will be lost and integration weakened as a result' Illegal immigrants have to be shown some kind of disincentive. A tough approach of deterrence can only work if Britain has an offshore centre outside Europe for processing asylum claims and accepting deportees, which is precisely why it was such a mistake for the Starmer Government to abandon the Tory Rwanda plan. Without a deterrent, illegal migrants have nothing to fear, the pull factors remain as strong as ever and the Border Force will continue to operate as a quasi-ferry service. Tellingly, in the wake of Rwandas rejection by Starmer, the number of asylum claims in the year to September 2025 reached 110,000, easily the highest on record. The Labour Cabinet complained about the cost of the Rwandan plan, but walking away from it is also proving costly. Last week, it was reported that the Kigali government is suing London for more than 50 million over the loss of the migrant deal. Quagmire The reality is that Labour has been sucked into this quagmire, partly because of the catastrophic policy of open door immigration, which has put an unprecedented strain on civic infrastructure. Leading politicians from both the main parties continually told us that the massive, unending influx - which in the year to June 2023 reached an incredible net total of 906,000 was a sure route to prosperity, but it has hardly worked out like that. In fact, the loosening of border controls has been accompanied by sluggish growth, paralysed living standards and worsening job security. At the same time, taxes have gone up their highest level since the end of the Second World War to support the bloated welfare system. Back then British households and businesses felt a duty to fork out for the rebuilding of their country after the ravages of conflict. But today they are paying to cover the impact of something for which they never voted: the transformation of our society through an explosion in mass immigration. Voters never gave a mandate to any government to embark on this social revolution, but they still had to meet its gargantuan costs. Exploit Only yesterday, it was reported that the cost to councils of providing social care to adult asylum seekers has almost tripled in five years, from 50.6 million in 2019/20 to 133.9 million in 2024/25. 'The loosening of border controls has been accompanied by sluggish growth, paralysed living standards and worsening job security' It is the same story elsewhere. Complaints about underfunding are the remorseless soundtrack of the public sector, yet our bureaucrats usually seem to have the cash for their cherished causes like diversity and for housing asylum seekers. Nor do they seem to care about the way in which the benefits system has been so perverted by immigration. As envisaged by its mastermind Lord Beveridge in the early 1940s it was meant to be a safety net to stop British people sinking into poverty. Yet today, it provides a living for people who may be contributing little to our society. Disturbingly, there are now almost 2 million foreign nationals here who are claiming benefit. Or to put it another way, households with at least one foreign national are claiming at least 10 billion a year in Universal Credit. The economist Milton Friedman said that a nation can either have an open-door migration policy or an expansive welfare system, but could not have both because the former would allow too many to exploit the latter. That is exactly what is happening in modern Britain. We cannot continue be the worlds hotel and the last thing we should be doing is giving asylum seekers priority housing over the people who live in this country. I can still remember when the world practically swooned at the mere mention of Bill Gates, the geeky tech genius who transformed the internet as we knew it. But Gates wasnt just the richest man in the world. He was a philanthropist, a do-gooder who did good not like the other money-hungry tech bros in Silicon Valley. He and his ex-wife Melinda whom he met in 1987 while she was working in product development for Microsoft genuinely cared about making the world a better place and devoted many of their billions to curbing malaria, polio and HIV around the world. We all lapped it up: in 2005, Gates was knighted by our late Queen Elizabeth II. President Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016. But it seems that Gatess good geek reputation was just an act that we all fell for one designed to cover up a far more sinister personal life. For years, that facade has been crumbling. A series of unflattering biographies have revealed complaints about his overbearing behaviour at Microsoft, the company he co-founded, and allegations that his charitable giving has always been a self-serving attempt to launder his own reputation. But his long-lasting relationship with the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who committed suicide in a New York jail cell before he could be tried for sex trafficking, is now the thing that we will remember him for. Which brings us to the question: what on earth was the worlds most famous philanthropist doing cosying up to a man like that? Last week, we got an insight as to what indeed he might have been doing thanks to the release of a tranche of almost three million documents relating to Epstein, which were released on Friday by the US Department of Justice. Bill and Melinda Gates. Recent headlines following the latest Epstein revelations include: Gates, girls from Russia and lurid claims of passing an STD to his wife. Bill Gates (stood to the left of Jeffrey Epstein), with Jes Staley, Larry Summers and Boris Nikolic Among the most shocking are two emails that claim Gates slept with Russian girls, caught a sexually transmitted disease and then asked for antibiotics to slip to Melinda after she caught the STD from him. For his part, Gates furiously denies the allegations. The emails both appear to be draft letters written by Epstein, to be sent by Gatess then-top adviser Boris Nikolic around the time of Nikolics resignation from the Microsoft billionaires charitable foundation. There is no indication that Nikolic himself knew about them. One of them lashed out at Gates for ending their friendship and goes on to say: To add insult to the injury you them [sic] implore me to please delete the emails regarding your std, your request that I provide you antibiotics that you can surreptitiously give to Melinda and the description of your penis. Gatess lawyers insist the allegations are absolutely absurd and completely false. They added: The only thing these documents demonstrate is Epsteins frustration that he did not have an ongoing relationship with Gates and the lengths he would go to entrap and defame. Well, they would say that, wouldnt they? Epstein is long dead and cannot speak from the grave. Lord alive, what a nightmare. How utterly humiliating not just for Melinda (who since their divorce now calls herself Melinda French Gates, using her maiden name) but their three children, Jennifer, 29, Rory, 26 and Phoebe, 23. However did Bill Gates get into a position where, whether true or not, there are allegations he had unprotected sex with prostitutes before sleeping with his own wife? What kind of immoral dupe is he to have befriended Epstein in the first place? Another email from Epstein had Boris Nikolic apparently offering his resignation from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He wrote: I have been caught up in a severe marital dispute between Melinda and Bill... In my role as his right-hand man I have been asked and wrongly acquiesced into participating in things that have ranged from the morally inappropriate, to the ethically unsound and have been repeatedly asked to do thing [sic] that get near and potentially over the line into the illegal... Melinda with the children... the sad truth is that even the billions her ex-husband worked so hard to earn can scrub him clean of his association with Epstein and his alleged Russian paramours, writes Amanda Platell From helping Bill to get drugs, in order to deal with consequences of sex with russian girls, to facilitating his illicit trusts, with married women, to being asked to provide adderall [an amphetamine-based drug] fro bridge touramnts [sic], as I am a medical doctor, but have no presriptions [sic] writing ability. Perhaps we now know why Melinda was so vague with the reasons she gave back in 2021 as to why her long marriage ended. She and Bill suddenly announced, in a joint statement, that they were separating after 27 years together claiming that they could no longer grow together as a couple. I now wonder if she too, like all of us, was a victim of his attempts to portray himself as the good guy. For Melinda had stuck with him through all his alleged philandering (which Gates has denied), as well as an inappropriate relationship with a female Microsoft employee that sparked an internal investigation at the same time as he stepped down from the companys board in 2019. She also tolerated the many rumours that Gates was a ruthless and cruel boss, from employees who were routinely silenced by non-disclosure agreements and his aggressive team of lawyers. Gatess biographer Tim Schwab has claimed that Gatess leadership style was once described as management by embarrassment challenging employees and even leaving some in tears. Meanwhile, his Microsoft co-founder and childhood friend Paul Allen used words like browbeating, personal verbal attacks, and bullying to describe Gates. So far so horrible. But it was Gatess association with Epstein which tipped Melinda over the edge. And who can blame her? Gates and Epstein struck up a relationship in 2011, well after it was known that Epstein was a predator. The pair first met at the financiers seven-floor Upper East Side New York mansion and the Microsoft boss enjoyed himself so much that he accepted another invitation the following May. In 2013, Melinda expressed concerns to her husband about Epstein after she met the convicted paedophile for the first time at a dinner at his mansion yet her worries were dismissed by the pompous Gates and he continued to meet associate Epstein well into 2014. But as soon as his relationship with Epstein became public in 2019, Melinda, a long-time advocate for the rights of women and girls, met with divorce lawyers two years before her official separation from Bill was announced. Did she suspect then, as is now alleged, that her husbands business relationship with Epstein involved more than just business? She is on record as saying, in 2022, that the split was down to many things but I did not like that [Bill] had meetings with Jeffrey Epstein. I made that clear to him. She described Epstein as evil personified and claimed she had nightmares after meeting him. At the time, there must have been some comfort for Melinda in walking away with a chunk of their joint $124billion fortune. It emerged last month that, in 2024, Gates made an $8billion donation as part of their divorce deal to Melindas Pivotal Philanthropies Foundation, which works to advance social progress for women. But surely, Melinda, no amount of money could make up for your ex-husbands alleged behaviour? The sad truth for Melinda is that even the billions her ex-husband worked so hard to earn can scrub him clean of his association with Epstein and his alleged Russian paramours. And that for all his technical genius and philanthropy, it will forever be a stain on the family name. Shame on Bill Gates. He might be a celebrated philanthropist who is determined to rid the world of life-threatening diseases, but my sympathy is with his wife, who supported him and their family for so many years only to be fooled like the rest of us. Nancy Guthrie, 84, was last seen between 9.30 and 9.45 on the evening of Saturday, January 31, at her home in the Catalina Foothills area north of Tucson, Arizona. She was reported missing at noon on Sunday by family members. As a former FBI Supervisory Special Agent and Crisis Negotiator I spent 25 years looking for people - fugitives, kidnapping victims, missing children, endangered adults. In the search for an 84-year-old woman with serious health issues who needs daily medication, every hour matters. But here's what makes the case immediately concerning to me. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said plainly on Monday: 'We do in fact have a crime scene; we do in fact have a crime.' When a sheriff says, 'We have a crime scene,' he's telling you forensic evidence supports criminal activity. This isn't speculation. He used phrases like 'grave concern' and noted that calling out homicide detectives for a missing person case is 'not standard protocol.' And it's not. The homicide squad typically show up when there's a homicide, period. Indeed, it appears investigators now believe that Nancy was taken from her own bed. This tells us everything about what they found inside the house when they processed the scene Sunday through Monday. We know that Nancy's personal items were left behind: purse, phone, keys, glasses and medication things she would never have been without had she left voluntarily. We know that Nancy's personal items were left behind: purse, phone, keys, glasses and medication things she would never have been without had she left voluntarily Nancy Guthrie, 84, was last seen between 9.30 and 9.45 on the evening of Saturday, January 31, at her home in the Catalina Foothills area north of Tucson, Arizona Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said plainly on Monday: 'We do in fact have a crime scene; we do in fact have a crime' Detectives will also have looked for signs of a struggle, overturned furniture, broken items, anything indicating resistance or force. They will have tested the scene forensically for blood evidence even small amounts suggesting injury or violence. And indeed, reports Tuesday were that blood had been found inside the property. Police will also have looked for signs of forced entry broken windows, damaged locks, pry marks on door jams and, even though the front door was reportedly unlocked, they found some. Right now, they will be combing digital evidence any searches on Nancy's computer, any messages or communications. Sheriff Nanos has thrown everything at the search. Air assets: drones with infrared/heat sensors, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Ground resources: search and rescue teams, K-9 units (borrowed from Customs and Border Protection) and volunteers from the community. And he has multiple agencies involved: those homicide detectives processing the crime scene, the FBI and US Customs and Border Protection. Having spent years working missing persons and child abduction cases, here's what Pima County investigators are doing right now. They are canvassing witnesses: detectives are knocking on every door in the Catalina Foothills neighborhood. They are asking: Did you see Nancy Saturday night? Did you see any unfamiliar vehicles? Did you hear anything unusual - arguments, doors slamming, vehicles leaving? Jason Pack is a former FBI Supervisory Special Agent and Crisis Negotiator Crucially they are asking: Do you have any home security cameras or doorbell cameras? Most houses in upscale neighborhoods have Ring doorbells, Nest cameras, or security systems. Somewhere, somebody's camera caught something. In addition to neighbors' videos, officers will be culling footage from traffic cameras on nearby roads, business security cameras, ATMs and gas station cameras. They're building a timeline: Who came and went from the house? What vehicles were in the area? If someone took Nancy, how did they leave? The fact that Sheriff Nanos is publicly pleading for video tells me they don't have the smoking gun footage yet. And while all this is going on, investigators are interviewing family and building a complete picture of Nancy's life and the people in it. Who had access to the house? Were there any disputes with neighbors, contractors, caregivers? Were there ongoing financial issues - inheritance disputes, money problems? Any recent arguments or conflicts? Who knew she lived alone? Who knew her routines? The hardest question families face: Was there anyone who might want to harm her? While all this is going on, investigators are interviewing family and building a complete picture of Nancy's life and the people in it Nancy couldn't have gone far on foot. Investigators have already searched the immediate property and surroundings, they will be increasing that area in ever expanding circles from adjacent properties and desert areas, to nearby washes, ravines, or difficult terrain and any bodies or sources of water. Their infrared drones can detect body heat even in thick brush. If she's out there in the desert, they'll find her. Savannah Guthrie issued a statement through the Today show: 'On behalf of our family, I want to thank everyone for the thoughts, prayers and messages of support. Right now, our focus remains on the safe return of our dear mom.' A family in crisis trying to hold together. She's not anchoring the show - she's in Arizona where she should be, with her family, waiting for information. In missing persons cases, the family goes through psychological hell. Every phone call could be the one. Every knock on the door. Every news update. The not knowing is torture. And when homicide detectives are involved before you even have a body? The family knows what the involvement means. They're not naive. They're terrified. But families hold on to hope. And investigators will go where the facts lead them - no assumptions, just evidence and hard work. Sheriff Nanos knows the clock is ticking. It's why he's publicly pleading to the community: 'Step up and start giving us calls.' He knows, like I know, that the smallest detail can make all the difference. A tip comes in, a video surfaces, someone remembers a car driving slowly through the neighborhood, and suddenly the case breaks wide open. Chinese community in Lausanne marks Spring Festival with music, dance and tradition Xinhua) 11:03, February 03, 2026 LAUSANNE, Switzerland, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- The sixth annual Spring Festival gala organized by the Chinese community in Lausanne, Switzerland, brought festive cheer to the Aula de l'Elysee on Sunday, attracting over 300 guests for an afternoon of music, dance and traditional crafts. The event, hosted by the Lausanne Chinese School with support from local student associations, featured a mix of cultural performances and hands-on activities to share Chinese New Year customs with the broader public. "The Spring Festival is about reunion - not just among families, but also between cultures," said Luo Wenqing, Principal of Lausanne Chinese School. "Today we see Swiss friends and Chinese residents sharing this joy together, which gives the festival new meaning here in Lausanne." Before the main performance, attendees participated in interactive sessions featuring traditional games and crafts, including calligraphy, paper-cutting, and arrow tossing. Many - some trying brush writing for the first time - created their own "Fu" characters and horse-themed couplets to express wishes for good luck and vitality in the new year. On stage, the program opened with the energetic Chinese Mongolian Chopsticks Dance, followed by a showcase of a wide range of artistic talents. Young children sang and danced to "Rainbow Sunshine Little White Horse," while students from the Bern Martial Arts School demonstrated impressive kung fu techniques. Cultural highlights included Dunhuang-inspired dance "Yuanxi" (Lantern Festival), presented by students in flowing costumes echoing ancient cave art, and a solo guzheng performance of "Dance of the Yi People." Other shows included a duet titled "Legend of the White and Green Snakes," the collective rap "Hundred Family Surnames," and the piano piece "Colored Clouds Chasing the Moon," reflecting the diversity and depth of Chinese artistic traditions. A lucky draw sponsored by local enterprises and an afternoon tea offered guests a chance to mingle freely and enjoy the festive spirit. The gala has become an important event in Lausanne's cultural calendar, promoting exchange and community through shared values and traditions. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) Its important to try to retain some perspective. Nothing has yet been proven. The accused need the opportunity to present their side of events. Falsehoods, manipulation and outright lies infect the heart of this sordid story. But with the news that the police are launching a criminal investigation into Peter Mandelson, the release of the Epstein Files represents the biggest, most far-reaching and devastating domestic political scandal of my lifetime. First, there is the sheer scope of those who are being consumed by it. A senior Cabinet minister. A senior member of the Royal Family. Senior British business leaders. The Whitehall elite. The security services. And increasingly, through his inexplicable inability to get to grips with the unfolding crisis, the Prime Minister himself. Then there is the staggering nature of the alleged offences involving Epstein. Child abuse. Rape. The sale and purchase of vital state secrets. Apparently for both cash and sexual favours. Meanwhile, framing the whole despicable saga is the increasingly damning proof it has been coordinated, at least in part, as a deliberate intelligence gathering operation on behalf of a hostile foreign state. Every time another of the three and a half million pages of the Department of Justice documents is turned over, Vladimir Putins bloody fingerprints can be spotted staining the pages. And yet the official line from the British Government is this: We knew nothing. We saw nothing. We heard nothing. A line which with every passing hour is looking as incredible as the nature and scale of the crimes it is attempting and failing to insulate itself from. Peter Mandelson with Keir Starmer. The defence of ignorance about Mandelson's affairs which is being put forward by the Prime Minister and the Government would appear to be expiring, writes Dan Hodges An image of Peter Mandelson on a yacht with Jeffrey Epstein was among the latest cache of pictures to be released by the US Department of Justice Lets give Keir Starmer the benefit of the doubt. Let us assume that when he appointed Peter Mandelson as Britains ambassador to Washington he was still in the dark about the full nature of Mandelsons relationship with one of the United States' most notorious convicted paedophiles. In that he would not be alone. I myself was one of many who believed that while risky, it could prove a diplomatically astute appointment, and said so at the time. But the defence of ignorance expired on September 10 last year, when damning new emails appeared showing the depth and extent of our Washington ambassadors friendship with Epstein. More embarrassing correspondence was set to be revealed, Mandelson himself admitted. Inexplicably, even then Starmer told the House of Commons he retained full confidence in him. But that position, like so many others, failed to last the week. Further damning emails were released and Mandelson was finally sacked. At which point Starmers supporters hailed his swift response, and Parliament as well as the public were told the whole affair was closed. But as has now been revealed, the affair wasnt closed. And whats more, Keir Starmer knew it wasnt either. On September 10, the very day Starmer was expressing his confidence, former prime minister Gordon Brown wrote to the Cabinet Secretary asking him to formally investigate whether Mandelson had been conspiring with Epstein and passing him sensitive Government secrets. Nine days later, Brown received a response. No such link could be found, he was told. We now know that was completely wrong. Over the past 48 hours, emails have been published which, assuming they are not masterful and inexplicably detailed forgeries, prove Mandelson was indeed providing highly sensitive Government information to Epstein in the mid-2000s. Which takes us to the increasingly dark heart of how Starmer, the Cabinet Office and the wider Whitehall machine have been dealing with the Mandelson/Epstein crisis from day one. The Epstein affair is the biggest British political scandal of my lifetime, writes Dan Hodges Lets return to Mandelsons initial appointment to Washington in February 2025. Keir Starmer has claimed he blatantly lied to those who were responsible for his initial vetting. Mandelson, for what its worth, strenuously denies this. But one senior Whitehall source I spoke to said the truth is more murky. Im told that in the initial security services assessment of Mandelson, numerous red flags were raised. But it was made clear to those responsible for producing the final assessment that the Prime Minister and his influential chief of staff Morgan McSweeney were pushing hard for the appointment. And those flags would not be welcomed. At which point, according to my source, they watered down the assessment. Whatever the truth, what followed is not a matter of conjecture. In September, sufficient evidence emerged for Keir Starmer to dismiss Mandelson. Meanwhile, his Cabinet Office was conducting an additional investigation into any further potential wrongdoing. Yet the existence of that investigation was withheld from Parliament and the public. Then, over the past weekend, further damning evidence was unearthed within the three million new documents released. And again, the Prime Minister did two things which raise serious questions about his judgment and potentially his probity. First, Starmer made a major media intervention in which he pointed national attention around the unfolding Epstein scandal in the direction of the Royal Family, by explicitly stating he thought former prince Andrew should testify over the affair. But he conspicuously made no comments in relation to the man hed appointed as US ambassador. Then, on Monday when the new revelations relating to Mandelson emerged, he announced the Cabinet Office would launch a full investigation. But as we now know, he was well aware they had already investigated Mandelson back in September. And miraculously given him an entirely clean bill of health when Gordon Brown demanded answers. Which brings us to the most important part of the Prime Ministers I knew nothing defence. What did he actually do to try to unearth the full truth about Mandelson and Epstein? Time and again, we have seen Keir Starmer cite intelligence sharing with the US as the fulcrum of the Special Relationship. At the time of Gordon Browns inquiry to the Cabinet Office, page after page of damning evidence on Mandelson and Epstein was sitting in the US Department of Justice files. Some of that evidence had already leaked into the public domain. Did Keir Starmer ask to see it? Did Morgan McSweeney ask to see it? Did his National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell ask to see it? Did anyone conducting the Cabinet Office inquiry ask to see it? Remember, this scandal initially broke just days before a high-profile State visit to the United Kingdom by President Trump. It involved the US ambassador to Washington. But did neither Keir Starmer nor anyone else think to ask the Americans what else have you got on this? It simply beggars belief. Starmer is a former Director of Public Prosecutions. Whats more, in that position he had a major role directly liaising with the US intelligence services in the fight against terror. Yet we are meant to believe his lack of curiosity meant he didnt even bother asking what information they held about his most senior diplomat befriending a notorious paedophile and placing himself directly at the heart of what many now suspect was a Russian honeytrap operation? There are only three credible answers. Starmer did ask, and the US authorities fobbed him off or lied to him. Which would represent another damning blow to his international credibility. He didnt bother to ask. In which case hes simply not fit to hold prime ministerial office. Or he did ask. He learnt the truth. But again, he hid the truth from Parliament and the people. The Epstein affair is the biggest British political scandal of my lifetime. Our Prime Minister says he knew nothing about it. I simply do not believe him. Schayene Silva was excited to finally move into her new home in February 2022. But just a few months later, she began suffering from debilitating heartburn, coughing and vomiting. Concerned, she visited a doctor who dismissed the pain as 'just gas.' But it didn't go away. She spent close to three years bouncing between seven more doctors - all of whom also claimed the issue was digestion. It wasn't until the eighth doctor finally referred Silva, 38, for an MRI scan in October 2024 that the Oklahoma mom discovered the true terrifying cause of her pain: cancer. The scan had revealed a mass on her left kidney that doctors determined was Stage 1 clear cell renal carcinoma (ccRCC) - the most common type of kidney cancer in the US. While most kidney cancers have no clear cause, lifestyle habits like smoking and drinking alcohol can lead to DNA damage that causes the formation of tumors. When Silva explained to the doctors that she didn't smoke or drink heavily, they told her the disease was just 'bad luck.' The mother-of-two had the tumor surgically removed in April 2025, but she was determined to find the root cause to keep it from coming back. After researching potential causes online, Silva decided to have her home tested for mold, which produces toxins linked to organ damage and some forms of cancer. Initial testing came back clear until Silva thought to investigate her ice machine. After pulling the outer case apart, she discovered the machine was 'covered in mold.' Schayene Silva (pictured) was diagnosed with Stage 1 kidney cancer in April 2025 at age 38. Further testing revealed the culprit may have been mold in her home Your browser does not support iframes. Further testing revealed Silva had ten times the normal amount of Ochratoxin in her body, a toxin produced by Aspergillus (green) and Penicillium (blue) molds. According to the World Health Organization, the most notable effect of Ochratoxin is kidney damage, but the toxin may also have effects on fetal development and on the immune system. 'I started having this flank pain that wouldn't go away, and that's when I started going to the doctors,' Silva said. One doctor told her she 'was too young to have cancer,' she recalled, adding that 'Nobody took me very seriously until someone sent me for an MRI and CT scan.' Silva said she learned about her diagnosis 'through the online portal,' which said a mass was found on her kidneys. 'All I could do was cry,' she said. 'It was really horrible. For weeks I was crying, but then I had to pick myself up. I started doing all the research I could.' Kidney, also called renal, cancer strikes around 80,000 Americans every year and kills 15,000, making it the seventh-most common cancer in the US. CcRCC, which starts in the cells that help filter waste out of the blood, makes up about eight in 10 kidney cancer cases. The disease typically affects older Americans, with an average diagnosis age of 65. Only six percent of patients are aged between 35 and 44, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The exact causes are unclear, but a growing body of evidence suggests toxins produced by certain kinds of mold could raise the risk. Pictured above are mold spore samples from Silva's ice machine, which she believes may have caused her kidney cancer Pictured above is the level of Ochratoxin A found in Silva's body, significantly higher than normal limits Mold typically takes just one to two days to begin growing in high-moisture areas like dishwashers and ice makers, though it can take weeks or months for more obvious signs like odors and visible stains to appear. There are several types of mold that are more dangerous than others. The most severe form, black mold, produces dangerous chemical compounds called mycotoxins that, when inhaled repeatedly, cause cognitive impairment, mood changes, asthma-like symptoms, headaches, coughs, muscle aches and autoimmune responses. When the body detects toxins, such as spores in the air, the immune system launches a massive defense, sending out a storm of inflammatory chemicals called cytokines that act like emergency alarms. Inflammatory cytokines can travel throughout the body via the bloodstream and reach every organ system, including the endocrine system and the brain. Mold then triggers inflammation, damages tissues and attacks vital cells and neurons. Silva's testing, which is usually done with urine or blood tests, showed Ochratoxin A, a mycotoxin produced by green and blue molds. It is also considered a nephrotoxin, meaning it triggers inflammation and cell death in the kidneys, increasing the risk of cancer. Silva (pictured in the hospital) is now cancer free and has had no symptoms since having surgery and getting rid of her ice machine 'I was devastated,' Silva said. 'I have two little boys, [so] all I could think of was that I was going to die. 'When I had my surgery, I was like, "What do you think caused it? There has to be one thing." [The doctor] said they can't really tell. He said, "It's probably just bad luck." 'I wouldn't accept bad luck. If there's one thing I am, I'm very lucky.' Silva is now cancer free after surgery and has stopped using her ice machine, which she said has alleviated symptoms like heartburn, nausea, hair loss and anxiety. 'I haven't had any panic attacks, I'm able to drive again, my hair is growing, my nails are growing,' she said. 'Once you're out of exposure, your body knows how to heal. I knew [the doctor] was wrong, so I didn't give up. I feel like I have beat it. I'm good.' Growing up, Michael Phillips went out of his way to avoid being seen undressed. At school, he avoided changing rooms. As an adult, he was always single and struggled to have relationships as sex was out of the question. Even using a public loo made him stressed. His anxiety is not surprising. Michael, now 38, believes he has the worlds smallest penis, measuring 0.38in (just under 1cm) long, about the width of a shirt button. As well as his intimate life, it also affects your ability to use the restroom, the art dealer revealed earlier this month. He would head straight for a cubicle because using a urinal isnt feasible as its hard to direct urine properly. As a younger man, Michael didnt seek help because he thought his penis would grow after puberty. I was always under the belief that maybe I was a late bloomer, he said. By the time he did see a doctor about it as an adult, hed missed the window of opportunity to receive the hormone treatment that could have made his penis grow. The willingness of Michael, from North Carolina in the US, to reveal such intimate details to ITVs This Morning this month was in the hope it would encourage other men similarly affected to seek help sooner than he did, before its too late. A micropenis measures less than 2.9in (7.5 cm) when erect, compared with the average 5.25in (13.3cm). It is not as rare as you might assume, affecting an estimated 0.5 per cent or about 170,000 men in the UK. Its been a recognised medical condition since at least the 1940s, and medics are supposed to check for it when a baby is born (when its diagnosed if the penis is less than 1.9cm stretched). But because it often goes unnoticed at birth and beyond, and the subject is wrapped in embarrassment, many men affected suffer in silence for years. A micropenis is defined as one that measures less than 3.7in (9.4cm) when erect, compared with the average 5.25in (13.3cm) Michael Phillips revealed intimate details about his anatomy to ITVs This Morning earlier this month in the hope it will encourage other men to seek help sooner than he did Dr Shafi Wardak, a consultant urologist and andrologist at Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, says a micropenis can cause significant emotional and psychological distress, especially around self-image, confidence, and sexual relationships. Anxiety and depression are common among those affected, adds Rob OFlaherty, a clinical psychologist who works with men distressed about penis size. Often men will avoid scenarios where their penis may be seen by others, hiding themselves away as much as possible, he says. Some men avoid dating altogether. He adds: Men will tend to have negative thoughts about themselves such as Im not man enough, Im inadequate, Im worthless, Ill be single for ever. Often highly self-critical, this can sometimes lead to thoughts about suicide or other self-harm behaviours. It is a very different problem from penile dysmorphic disorder when a man becomes intensely distressed about the size or appearance of his penis beyond what medical findings alone would explain, says Dr Wardak. This affects about 1 to 2 per cent of men, he says, and means a man thinks his penis is unusually small when it isnt. A micropenis, however, is genuinely small and its a problem caused by low testosterone during development in the womb and after birth. The developing penis is packed with receptors that are switched on by the hormone testosterone they send chemical messages to cells in the penis, prompting growth. But if there isnt enough testosterone then the penis doesnt develop to full size. (Lack of testosterone may also affect sex drive and fertility.) Some males may also have other, related problems, such as undescended testicles or hypospadias, where the opening of the urethra (where urine exits) is not at the tip of the penis, but on the underside. There are a number of potential causes for the low testosterone, including problems with the pituitary gland, which is located in the brain and instructs the body to make testosterone; and Kallmann syndrome, when puberty hormones fail to switch on. It can also arise due to genetic faults that mean the body cant make or respond to testosterone properly. There are concerns that environmental factors may play a role according to a 2022 review in the Journal of the Endocrine Society, links have been reported between prenatal exposure to hormone-disrupting chemicals, such as bisphenols (used to make plastics), and micropenises in some studies. Experts say the environmental hormones theory is plausible but it is not proven. The condition can also affect a man's ability to use the toilet in public The cause in an individuals case may never be identified but there is little doubt about the profound impact it can have on a mans life. Yet if spotted early enough a micropenis can often be treated effectively with testosterone-based treatment, says Dr Wardak. However, in too many cases nothing is done until it is too late, with many parents and even some doctors believing the problem will sort itself out at puberty. Even when the relevant checks are done, mistakes can occur, says Professor Faisal Ahmed, a consultant in paediatric endocrinology at the University of Glasgow, because measuring the stretched penile length requires some expertise and in many cases the length is not measured correctly. A 2022 study in the Journal of the Endocrine Society warned that stretched penile length is often measured wrongly at birth. If detected early enough boys can be given hormone therapy that tells the testicles to switch on testosterone production and kick-start penis growth. This can lead to a noticeable increase in penile length in many cases, says Dr Wardak. The same 2022 review found that testosterone injected into muscle once a month for three months, increased penis length by more than 100 per cent in some boys mainly in infancy and early childhood (typically under three years old). While testosterone is considered the most reliable approach, if the problem stems from a lack of signals from the pituitary gland, gonadotropin injections may be used instead. Given twice a week for around seven months, these can increase penis length by 50 per cent in most baby boys, the review found. Side-effects of both types of hormone therapy include short-term mini-puberty effects in young boys, such as body odour, spots and early pubic hair. Because the subject is wrapped in embarrassment, many affected men suffer in silence for years Doctors also monitor growth and bone development, because over-doing hormones in childhood can speed up development and growth. While highly effective, the catch with hormone treatment is that it has to start before puberty, because the penis has only two real growth windows: in the womb and the first few months after birth, and then through childhood into puberty after that the hormone receptors on the penis shut down. For adult men, the only medical treatment available is surgery. But many men arent aware its an option or where to go to access care because there is a lack of awareness and information, says Professor Don Lee, a consultant urological surgeon at University College London, who runs the UKs only NHS surgical unit for men with micropenises. By the time they reach his clinic, he says, many have spent years trying to manage the condition alone. Some are highly successful professionals, who appear outwardly confident, but who hide the low mood their situation brings. Many have never been in a relationship and come to him in their early 20s as they desperately desire one. A smaller number arrive, often in their 30s, after meeting a supportive partner, finally feeling able to ask whether anything can be done. What strikes him most is how often men tell him they had no idea treatment was even possible. Some were never assessed properly as children. Others were told nothing could be done, or were too embarrassed to ask. There are two surgical approaches. In most men, up to a third of the penis is actually hidden beneath the skin and anchored to the pubic bone, Professor Lee explains. If there is enough tissue, we can sometimes free some of that length [by freeing the tissues anchoring it] to give the man just enough size to have sex. For men born with a severe micropenis, this may not make it long enough for penetrative sex surgeons can create an entirely new normal-sized penis, which Professor Lee does for around ten to 12 men a year, but its not for the faint-hearted. First a section of skin, fat, blood vessels and nerves is removed from the forearm or thigh to build a new penis from scratch. The head of the original penis is kept on the underside of the new penis for sensation, and the rest is buried inside the reconstructed phallus. One part of the tissue removed is rolled into a tube to create the urethra, so the man can pass urine, explains Professor Lee. The rest is wrapped around it to form the body of the penis. This is then connected to blood vessels and nerves in the pelvis, allowing the man to have sensation and an orgasm, he says. This first operation, of three, takes around ten hours. Several months later, a two-hour operation is carried out to sculpt the head of the penis to look more natural. In the final stage a hydraulic implant the same as is used for severe erectile dysfunction is inserted, with a small pump (usually in the scrotum) that the man squeezes as required: this moves fluid into cylinders inside the penis to create an erection. This is released when he no longer wants an erection. With the implant, the man can have penetrative sex, says Professor Lee. But potential risks include damage to the blood or nerve supply, meaning the new penis is lost this occurs in three out of 100 cases, says Professor Lee, adding there is a 10 per cent risk of partial loss where aspects of the new penis may not survive and we may need to reconstruct. In about 30 per cent of cases there can be leakage or the new urethra closes up from scarring. A significant minority decide not to proceed, says Professor Lee. But at the end of it, for those who go through with it, we have many happy men. Dr Wardak warns that men with penile dysmorphic disorder should not undergo surgery because changing the body is unlikely to relieve their emotional distress. They need care from mental health professionals such as psychologists or psychiatrists (see panel, right). The same for men with a micropenis. The message, he says, is that treatment is not just about size. For many, reassurance, support and honest information can be as important as any medical intervention. Michael Phillips has looked into surgery, but in the US this costs between $80,000 to $120,000 (around 50,000 to 80,000) and he was told sexual intercourse would still be difficult. But he hopes to help others avoid this last resort. He said: If people notice it younger and are able to go to a doctor younger, they would be able to get more help than I was able to get. Thousands of travelers and park goers are being warned that they may have been exposed to the measles, after a person confirmed to have the virus visited a popular theme park and airport. The Orange County Health Care Agency (HCA) said in a statement Saturday that an international traveler with a confirmed case of measles came through Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and visited Disneyland in Anaheim, California. While infectious, the person visited Goofy's Kitchen in Disneyland Hotel from 10:30 am to 1:30 pm on Wednesday, January 28, and Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park from 12:30 pm to closing at 9 pm on the same day. The international traveler arrived at LAX on Monday, January 26 at the Tom Bradley International Terminal B on Viva Aerobus flight No 518 at gate 201A and may have exposed people at the terminal between 10:45 pm and 1 am Tuesday, according to the County of Los Angeles Public Health. Disneyland Park has an average of 47,500 guests per day with a maximum capacity of 85,000. Disney California Adventure Park has an average of 27,500 guests per day with a maximum capacity of 51,000. Officials are urging people who were in these locations during this time check their immunity status, either through prior infection or vaccination, and monitor for symptoms. The statement said: 'People who were at these locations during the date and time listed above may be at risk of developing measles from 7 to 21 days after being exposed.' California has recorded three confirmed measles cases this year, but the recent news comes as the US battles one of the worst resurgences of measles since it was declared eliminated in the early 2000s. Disneyland Park (pictured above) has an average of 47,500 guests per day with a maximum capacity of 85,000 While infectious, the person visited Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park from 12:30 pm to closing at 9 pm on January 28 (file photo) As of January 30, 2026, the South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) has recorded 847 measles cases since October 2025, surpassing a massive outbreak in Texas last year that has infected over 800. Of these, 558 cases have been reported in 2026 alone, according to DPH. There are currently 443 people in quarantine and 20 in isolation and about a dozen schools have students under quarantine measures. Additionally, 19 people have been hospitalized with the measles and complications from the virus since the outbreak began in October. No deaths have been reported in the state or nationwide so far in 2026. There were three deaths in 2025. As of January 29, the CDC has reported only 588 cases of measles nationwide. However, those figures are not as recently updated as the ones for South Carolina, so state data is more accurate. A separate database maintained by Johns Hopkins Center for Outbreak Response Innovation (CORI) reports 658 cases nationwide in 2026, with 524 in South Carolina. So far in 2026, measles cases have also been reported in Washington state, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, California, Arizona, Minnesota, Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida. South Carolina's outbreak of measles, which causes the distinctive rash pictured above, has surpassed a massive surge seen in Texas last year (stock image) Your browser does not support iframes. Cases in North Carolina, Washington and California have been linked to the South Carolina outbreak. Measles is an infectious, but preventable, disease caused by a virus that leads to flu-like symptoms, a rash that starts on the face and spreads down the body, and, in severe cases, pneumonia, seizures, brain inflammation, permanent brain damage, and death. The virus is spread through direct contact with infectious droplets or through the air. Patients with a measles infection are contagious from four days before the rash through four days after the rash appears. The US formally eliminated measles in 2000, meaning there had been no community spread in 12 months, due to widespread MMR vaccine uptake. Enclosed areas like airports and planes are extremely risky locations for disease transmission, as the measles virus spreads via airborne droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes. A little girl in Indiana was hospitalized after overdosing on her mom's GLP-1 weight loss drugs. Jessa Milender, now eight years old, was found on the floor 'lifeless' in December 2024 after injecting herself with her mom's GLP-1 medication. 'I thought it was stomach medicine,' Jessica told WHAS-11. 'My mom takes it and I thought it helped her with her stomachaches.' Jessa's mom, Melissa, discovered her daughter, who had administered herself with 60 percent of the GLP-1 injector pen, and called poison control. The seven-year-old had been vomiting almost every hour and experienced diarrhea, constipation and abdominal pain, medical records obtained by the outlet showed. Jessa was taken to the emergency room with sunken eyes and ashy skin where she was hooked up to an IV. 'The ER staff didn't know what to do,' she told CBS 8. 'They just called Poison Control, and Poison Control told them the same thing they told me. They didn't know how to respond.' But she was discharged after her symptoms subsided, but when she got home she began vomiting again. Jessa Milender, now eight years old, was found on the floor 'lifeless' in December 2024 after injecting herself with her mom's GLP-1 medication Jessa said she thought the medicine was for stomachaches and injected herself without telling anyone Jessa's mom, Melissa, discovered her daughter, who had administered herself with 60 percent of the GLP-1 injector pen, and called poison control 'I dont think we were prepared for how bad it was gonna get,' Melissa told WHAS-11. 'I should have never let them discharge her.' Jessa became so weak that her mom had to carry her to the bathroom. 'She was thirsty. That's the only thing that she wanted to do was drink water, but then she would throw it up,' Melissa continued. The young girl returned to hospital where she then stopped urinating and doctors expressed concern for Jessa's kidneys, the outlet reported. 'She didnt eat for six days straight,' Melissa said, describing the incident as 'the worst week of our lives.' 'She's my little girl,' she added. 'So that was rough.' Melissa told CBS 8 that she felt like Jessa was dying and added: 'That's how she looked. She had lost significant weight... her cheeks were sunken in, her eyes were sunken in.' 'She couldn't walk from exhaustion and severe pain. She wouldn't even allow them to touch her stomach. She'd scream out in pain in her sleep. It was awful. It's a miracle that she didn't have long-term effects.' Join the debate Should weight loss medications be kept under lock and key in homes with young children? Melissa now keeps the medication in a locked box in the fridge and hopes sharing her daughter's story will help other parents protect their children The seven-year-old had been vomiting almost every hour and experienced diarrhea, constipation and abdominal pain and appeared ashy with sunken eyes Now, Melissa keeps her medication locked in a box but said she believes it could have been a lot worse. 'I got it the day she overdosed on it,' she told WHAS-11. 'It's been in my fridge ever since.' 'Once you've injected too much, there's no "Whoops, let me take this to counteract it,"' she continued. 'Like no, now you're dealing with whatever the consequences are of that.' Melissa hopes in sharing her story that other parents can help protect their children. 'I felt like no one had the answer on how to help her. I should have told her, "Don't ever touch this." It was just such an unprecedented event that I didn't think to plan for, prepare for,' she told CBS 8. Working as nurse, Katie Carrington was used to helping people who had put their health at risk with careless mistakes - but it didn't make her immune to making similar missteps. The mum-of-four, 36, was left blind in one eye after she got into the habit of leaving her daily contact lenses in for up to two weeks at a time - and last summer her shortsighted shortcut caught up with her. She said: 'One night in August 2025, I was lying in bed and my eyes were pounding and streaming. 'The next morning, I woke up in unbearable pain - it was worse than giving birth. 'I couldn't see at all in my right eye. Doctors didn't know if my sight would come back. 'I was so depressed, thinking I wouldn't get to see my kids growing up.' Ms Carrington, from Romford, Essex, was told she needed glasses at age 16 and started wearing daily disposable lenses age 17. She got into a bad habit of not taking them out after nights out and was soon wearing the same lenses for weeks at a time. Katie Carrington was left blind in one eye after leaving in her contact lenses for weeks She was left blind in her right eye for five weeks Every few months, Ms Carrington would lose a contact lens round the back of her eye, and would fish it out herself with her fingers. She said: 'I was really stupid - I misused my contact lenses. 'At first, I would go to parties and not take them out at night, but then I started wearing them for excessive amounts of time. 'I'd be terrible sometimes and wear them for a week or two at a time, I'd wait until my eyes were really dry and then take them out and change them. 'I did it out of convenience. My eyesight is pretty bad, so I just hated the fact that I'd wake up and couldn't see. 'Looking back now, I don't know why I did it.' But that night in August, she could tell that something had gone seriously wrong. As she lay in bed, her eyes started to pound and water began streaming out of them. She had to wear an eyepatch and take a month off of work Doctors were not sure if her sight would return Ms Carrington didn't think much of this, but took her lenses out and then tried to get to sleep. Her eyes continued to stream throughout the night, and in the morning, she woke up in 'unbearable' pain, which she described as being worse than childbirth. She was unable to see out of her right eye at all and felt like she was being 'stabbed in the eye'. After wrapping a scarf around her head, she got her husband to drive her to Moorfields Eye Hospital in London. She was left unable to see at all in her right eye, and doctors were unsure whether her sight would come back. Doctors scraped her eyeballs to test for microorganisms that could have caused the blindness, which she described as 'traumatic'. They explained that a tiny bit of bacteria could have got into her contact lenses, causing an infection, which had led to blindness. Ms Carrington was made to wear an eyepatch, and was told that it was unclear whether her eyesight would come back or not. For 48 hours, she had to give herself eye drops every hour, even during the night, and had weekly check-ups at Moorfields, to see if her condition had improved. She was depressed during the time she was unable to work The stressed mother took four weeks off work to recover, during which time she felt 'depressed', as she felt like losing her sight had taken away her independence. She considered leaving work, as she couldn't see to drive there, and began panicking about how she would adapt to being partially sighted. Day to day life and running the family home became incredibly difficult, and she would feel like it was her fault when she would spill things on the floor, as she couldn't see what she was doing. She said: 'Even though it was just one eye, I felt like all my independence had been taken away from me. 'Daily tasks became so hard. When I was making a bottle for my baby I would spill it everywhere, and I had to focus so hard to cut things up in the kitchen.' After five weeks, to Ms Carrington's relief, her sight returned to normal. Doctors said the blindness was caused by bacteria lodged in the eye behind the contact lenses, which led to an infection. Thankfully, her sight gradually improved, and after five weeks, her vision returned to normal. She has vowed to never wear contact lenses again Ms Carrington is now urging others to think twice before leaving contact lenses in for extended periods of time. Doctors have told her she could wear contact lenses again, but she said it's 'not worth it'. 'If one person learns from this that you shouldn't leave contact lenses in, then I feel like I've made a difference', she said. 'Thank the Lord I can see again, but I will never wear contacts again. 'It was my fault and I take full accountability, but I didn't know the risks associated with them. 'I urge contact lens wearers to read up about the risks. I thought it would never happen to me, because I got away with it for so long, but now I'm focused on looking after myself.' Last year saw a 300 per cent increase in adverse reactions linked to Mounjaro - with 71 deaths recorded by health chiefs. Data collected by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) Yellow Card Scheme, which allows patients to report suspected side effects or adverse drug reactions, reveals that there were 40,245 reactions to Mounjaro in the UK in 2025. Of these reactions, 6,755 were classified as 'serious' and 71 resulted in death. This is a near 340 per cent increase compared to 2024, which saw a total of 9,153 reactions, including 13 that were fatal. The most commonly reported reaction in 2025 was 'gastrointestinal disorders' with 37,546 reports, 19 of which were fatal. The NHS lists nausea, diarrhoea, and abdominal cramps as potential side effects of the injection, and thousands of people have spoken out about their experiences of them while taking the weekly jab. For 60-year-old Karen Coe, these side effects were unbearable, and she compared taking Mounjaro to feeling like being 'ripped open by a knife'. She was prescribed the weight loss jab to lose weight and help combat type two diabetes and took her first injection on March 14 2025. Karen Coe - pictured - said she felt like she was being 'ripped open by a knife' after suffering an extreme reaction to Mounjaro Your browser does not support iframes. After her first jab, she recalled experiencing a headache and feeling dizzy. Three days later, on March 17, she developed 'excruciating' stomach pains, extreme diarrhoea, and had to call for an ambulance. She said: 'I nearly passed out. I was dizzy and really cold.' But observations in the hospital showed no issues. Ms Coe - who only injected herself once - spent the next 24 hours with stomach cramps and passing blood when she went to the toilet. Her symptoms had eased off, but when she had 'massive blood clots' on March 24 2025, she rushed to A&E. After an examination, she was referred to the urgent two-week pathway to see a colorectal surgeon. Doctors said her initial symptoms were likely caused by Mounjaro, she claims, but doctors haven't confirmed the cause of her subsequent clotting complications. She was told to keep an eye on her symptoms and she was initially left weak and unable to eat. She said: 'Every few minutes I would go to the loo and pass blood.' Ms Coe, who will not be continuing with her Mounjaro injections, said: 'It can cause severe reactions and severe side effects. 'People should really think carefully and not take it lightly.' Side effects of Mounjaro are reported most often by women, accounting for 32,075 reports last year. Your browser does not support iframes. While the majority of reactions per age group are unknown, the highest reported age group with 1,397 reports was the 30-39 age category. Reactions to other weight loss jabs like Semaglutide - commonly known as Ozempic - were trending downwards, indicating a change in choice of jab by users. Reports from 2024 for Ozempic totalled 8,938, with nine fatal outcomes. In 2025, there was a small decline with 7,146 total reports but an increase on fatal outcomes with 19. The Yellow Card website states that 'the information reported should not be interpreted as a list of possible side effects, nor should these data to be used to estimate the frequency of side effects or to compare the safety profile of different drugs.' Eli Lilly and Company, the sole manufacturer of Mounjaro, said: 'Patient safety is Lilly's top priority. We take reports regarding patient safety seriously and actively monitor, evaluate, and report safety information for all our medicines. 'Regulatory agencies conduct extensive independent assessments of the benefits and risks of every new medicine. Patients taking Mounjaro (tirzepatide), like with any other prescription medicine, may experience adverse events. Adverse events should be reported under the MHRA's Yellow Card scheme. 'We encourage patients to consult their doctor or other healthcare professional regarding any side effects they may be experiencing and to ensure that they are getting genuine Lilly medicine.' Last week, the MHRA updated the product information for Wegovy, Ozempic and Mounjaro to include that there is a 'small risk of severe acute pancreatitis', a painful condition which occurs over a short period of time when the pancreas becomes inflamed. Typical symptoms include extreme pain in the stomach and back, which does not go away. Pancreatitis can also cause a fever and vomiting. Most patients start to feel better within a week but others can develop complications, including necrosis, where the tissue of the pancreas starts to die. This can cause infection, sepsis and organ failure - leading to death. Susan McGowan, who died from multiple organ failure, septic shock and pancreatitis after taking two low-dose injections of tirzepatide The death certificate for the 58-year-old nurse from North Lanarkshire, who died in September 2024, listed acute pancreatitis as one of the immediate causes of death. Her use of Mounjaro (or tirzepatide) was recorded as 'a contributing factor'. It was the first death officially linked to the drug in the UK. At the time, Dr Alison Cave, chief safety officer for the MHRA expressed sympathy for Susan's family, but insisted: 'On the basis of the current evidence, the benefits [of these drugs] outweigh the potential risks when used for the licensed indications.' In England, Wales and Scotland 1.6 million people are thought to have used fat jabs in the last 12 months. Public health officials in Chicago have issued an urgent alert, warning residents of a potential outbreak of a severe and fast-moving bacterial infection that can attack the central nervous system and bloodstream. They have confirmed seven cases of meningococcal disease, a dangerous bacterial infection. It can cause meningitis, a brain infection, or a rapid bloodstream infection, both of which can be fatal. Two people have died from the infection during the current outbreak. Chicago Department of Public Health officials have traced all of the patients' recent contacts and administered preventive antibiotics. The outbreak began on January 15 and health officials have not revealed the source. With seven cases of the bacterial infection having already been confirmed, the city could be on the cusp of surpassing its average annual case count of 10 to 15. Department officials said in an update: Meningococcal disease can be a very serious illness. Symptoms can start similarly to a common illness, such as a fever, chills, fatigue, and nausea, but can worsen rapidly. People should see their doctors as soon as they begin to experience these symptoms, as well as a stiff neck, heightened sensitivity to light, cold hands and feet, severe aches and pains, vomiting or diarrhea or a dark, purple rash on the body. The disease is spread through contact with an infected persons mucous membranes and saliva. The bacteria spread with prolonged contact, such as through kissing. Health officials said: Cases are most common among the elderly and teenagers and young adults. For best protection, the state of Illinois recommends MenACWY vaccination for all patients at ages 11 or 12, with a booster dose at age 16. Public health officials in Chicago have confirmed seven cases of meningococcal disease, which can cause fatal meningitis or a rapid bloodstream infection. Two people have died (stock) Your browser does not support iframes. The number of meningococcal disease cases in the United States has seen a sharp rise since 2021, surpassing pre-pandemic totals. Preliminary data for 2024, the latest data available, shows 503 confirmed and probable infections, marking the highest annual case count reported since 2013. The current outbreak in Chicago could portend an impending spike in cases. The Chicago Department of Health said in a statement: In January 2026, there have been more cases than usual for a single month; we are actively investigating and have not yet identified direct links among cases in the community. Even with antibiotic treatment, 10 to 20 percent of people with the infection will die. After exposure, bacteria may live harmlessly in the person's throat for a time. The crisis begins when the bacteria invade the bloodstream. There, they multiply rapidly and release potent toxins. This triggers a violent, system-wide reaction. The first symptoms are often sudden fever, headache, body aches and vomiting, easily mistaken for the flu. Within hours, the patients condition deteriorates. Blood vessels become damaged and leaky, causing blood pressure to drop and leading to septic shock. A distinctive rash of dark red or purple spots or bruises may appear on the skin and spread quickly. A sharp rise in meningococcal disease since 2021 has pushed cases above pre-pandemic levels. Driving the increase is a marked comeback of Serogroup Y, denoted in green. The other colors denote other serogroups, or strains. Once less common, Serogroup Y has been a leading cause of recent US outbreaks If the bacteria cross into the nervous system, it causes meningitis, marked by a stiff neck, confusion and sensitivity to light. As shock worsens, major organs like the kidneys, lungs and heart can begin to fail due to lack of oxygen and toxin damage. The entire process from first symptoms to life-threatening collapse can occur in less than 24 hours and sometimes in just a matter of hours. This extreme speed is why it is considered a medical emergency. Dr Marielle Fricchione, a pediatric infectious disease expert, told ABC News: If you lose even a half hour, an hour of time, then that bacteria has a chance to spread throughout your blood and to your brain. To have this cluster with two deaths already is pretty concerning. Doctors recommend that all children receive the meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MenACWY), which protects against four common strains, including A, C, W and Y. The routine schedule includes two doses, with the first dose at 11 to 12 years old and a booster at 16. Separately, the serogroup B vaccine (MenB) is recommended for adolescents and young adults 16 to 23 who are at increased risk due to medical conditions or outbreaks. For other teens, the MenB vaccine is available, depending on a discussion between the family and their doctor, as it requires a series of two or three doses. However, a recent and debated update to the CDC's childhood vaccine schedule changed the recommendation for meningococcal vaccines. The agency no longer advises them for all children. Its broad recommendation now targets only high-risk groups, placing the choice to vaccinate other children in the hands of parents and their doctors. This is the exact example you're afraid of, Fricchione said. You get an outbreak in one community, and all of a sudden if you stop vaccinating your teenagers or your college students, that outbreak spreads. A common bacteria best known for causing mild cold-like illnesses could linger in the body for years and worsen Alzheimer's, new research suggests. The bug, Chlamydia pneumoniae, is thought to infect up to 80 per cent of adults at some point. For most, it causes little more than a sore throat, fatigue and sniffles. But in vulnerable people including the very young and elderly it can trigger far more serious chest infections, including pneumonia. Now, scientists say they have found signs of the bacteria in the eyes of people who died with Alzheimer's, raising questions over whether infection might play a role in triggering or accelerating the disease. Compellingly, researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles suggest prompt treatment with antibiotics, when the infection is detected, could one day help reduce dementia risk. The findings come as European surveillance data suggests C. pneumoniae surged sharply in 2024 from roughly five cases per 1,000 tests to almost 17 per 1,000 within a single year. The cause of the sudden rise isn't fully understood. But some scientists have raised the possibility of post-Covid 'immunity debt' the idea that reduced exposure to everyday bugs during lockdowns left populations more vulnerable once restrictions were lifted. A common bacteria best known for causing mild cold-like illnesses could linger in the body - including in eyes - for years and help worsen Alzheimer's, new research suggests Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. Others believe a new strain of the bacteria may be emerging. To make their discovery, researchers examined donated eye tissue from more than 100 people who had died with Alzheimer's, mild cognitive impairment or no signs of dementia. They were looking specifically for C. pneumoniae, because previous research has already linked it to Alzheimer's. The bacteria has also been detected in brain tissue from patients who died with the condition, sometimes found close to the sticky amyloid plaques and tangles believed to drive memory loss and confusion. Unlike many bacteria, C. pneumoniae can live inside human cells, allowing it to hide from the immune system, persist for long periods and potentially spark damaging inflammation. This has led scientists to theorize dementia and the bacteria could be linked. This time, the team looked for signs of infection in the retina the light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye that is effectively an extension of the brain. Their thinking was, if the bacteria showed up here too, it might one day be possible to test the eyes of living patients to assess Alzheimer's risk and intervene earlier. Your browser does not support iframes. Jana Nelson was 50 when diagnosed with early onset dementia, following severe personality changes and a sharp cognitive decline that left her unable to solve simple math problems or name colors They found levels of Chlamydia pneumoniae were significantly higher in the retinas and brains of people with Alzheimer's than in those with normal cognition. The higher the bacterial burden, the more severe the brain changes and cognitive decline seen in the patients before death, the researchers reported. To test whether the bacteria could actively contribute to the disease process, the scientists also ran experiments in the lab. They infected human nerve cells with C. pneumoniae and found it appeared to switch on powerful inflammatory pathways linked to Alzheimer's, while also increasing levels of disease-related proteins. They repeated the work in mice bred to develop Alzheimer's-like changes, infecting them through the nose the same route the bacteria typically enters the body before tracking brain inflammation, plaque build-up and behaviour over time. Finally, they used computer analysis to see whether patterns in the retina could help tell who had Alzheimer's raising the prospect that eye tests might one day spot warning signs earlier. Maya Koronyo-Hamaoui, professor of Neurosurgery, Neurology, and Biomedical Sciences at Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University, said: 'Seeing Chlamydia pneumoniae consistently across human tissues, cell cultures and animal models allowed us to identify a previously unrecognized link between bacterial infection, inflammation and neurodegeneration. 'The eye is a surrogate for the brain, and this study shows that retinal bacterial infection and chronic inflammation can reflect brain pathology and predict disease status, supporting retinal imaging as a noninvasive way to identify people at risk for Alzheimer's.' A new report from Alzheimers Disease International highlighted 16 modifiable risk factors that could influence dementia risk Timothy Crother, one of the authors of the study and a research professor at Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children's and the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Cedars-Sinai added: 'This discovery raises the possibility of targeting the infectioninflammation axis to treat Alzheimer's.' Dementia affects millions in the US, with over seven million Americans aged 65 and over having Alzheimer's alone, a number projected to grow significantly as the population ages, potentially reaching 12.7 million by 2050. Approximately 982,000 people are living with dementia in the UK, a number projected to rise to 1.4 million by 2040. It is a leading cause of death, particularly for women, and affects 1 in 11 people over 65. One in three people born today will develop the condition in their lifetime. The news comes as one Idaho mother has revealed how her 'midlife crisis' was actually early-onset dementia after she suffered a sudden personality change, mood swings and balance problems in her late 40s. Jana Nelson was diagnosed at 50 following neurological tests and an MRI scan, and now documents her decline online to help others facing the condition. A former '80s pop star has returned to the spotlight... and he looks very different from his glory days. Glenn Medeiros, now 55, was skyrocketed into the spotlight in the late 1980s and spent years dominating the charts. But in the early 2000s he left the spotlight behind to pursue a career in education. Now, he has reemerged more than two decades later as he was recently featured in a series of videos shared to daughter Lyric Medeiros' TikTok page, and he's practically unrecognizable. Medeiros started his career in 1987 at age 16 when he won a local radio competition in his hometown in Hawaii thanks to his impressive cover of George Benson's song Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You. A small, local independent label was so in awe of his talent they decided to produce his version of the song, and to his surprise it became a worldwide hit. The cover became a massive success and reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, turning Medeiros into an overnight sensation. His debut album Glenn Medeiros came out later that year, followed by his second LP Not Me in 1988. Glenn Medeiros, now 55, was skyrocketed into the spotlight in the late 1980s and spent years dominating the charts He was best known for his impressive cover of George Benson's song Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You His song Un Roman d'amitie (Friend You Give Me a Reason), which he sang with French artist Elsa Lunghini, stood at the number one spot on the French chart for six consecutive weeks. Medeiros went on to release seven more albums and a slew of popular hits - including the song Under Any Moon which was on the Karate Kid Part III sound track - and She Ain't Worth It with Bobby Brown. The latter reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US and was certified gold. Despite his success, Medeiros left the spotlight behind after his last album With Aloha was released in 2005. He ultimately attended the University of Hawaii at West O'ahu followed by the University of Phoenix for his master's in elementary education. He got his doctorate degree in educational leadership from the University of Southern California in 2014. The former teen heartthrob has now spent years working as a principal in Honolulu and raising his two kids, daughter Lyric and son Chord, with wife Tammy. While speaking to the Today show, Lyric, 24, said it wasn't until she was in middle school that she truly understood just how popular her dad had been. Join the debate Did YOU recognize the '80s pop star? Now, he has reemerged more than two decades later as he was recently featured in a series of videos shared to daughter Lyric Medeiros' TikTok page He certainly looks very different from his glory days The former teen heartthrob has spent years working as a principal in Honolulu and raising his two kids, daughter Lyric (seen) and son Chord, with wife Tammy 'I remember adults coming up to me and saying, "Oh, Medeiros! Like Glenn Medeiros, the guy who sang that love song!"' she recalled. 'And then they start singing it in front of me. Older women would come up to me and say, "Oh, he was a heartthrob!"' Lyric, who has now followed in her dad's footsteps and has competed in various singing competition shows including American Idol, joked that her dad is always a little hesitant to appear in her videos. 'It's a rare occasion to have my dad willingly film a video with me, and most of the time, I just ask him to stand in the video while I do a trending sound or something like that,' she said. 'It's not my first choice of things to do,' he added. 'I'm not really so much into doing the videos, and so every time she asks me to go on, Im like, "All right, OK." 'I'm not much of a dancer, you know, and Lyric's a good dancer, so I try to have fun with it as much as I can.' Most Australian shopping centre food courts feature roughly the same line-up of takeaway options: fast food outlets, a coffee shop, a sandwich bar... and a small store selling sushi rolls. So when an American tourist popped into one of the typical sushi takeaway stores recently, he pointed out how unusual it was. 'I'm in Australia right now and they do sushi different here,' Frankie Marcos explained in an Instagram video. The comedian, from San Francisco, said this experience was in stark contrast to his hometown, where sushi is reserved for fine dining Japanese restaurants. 'Back home, if you have sushi, you gotta be with somebody who's out of your league on a date. Or somebody who's met your parents, or [out celebrating] an anniversary,' he said. Accordingly, Frankie was stunned to discover that he could not only enjoy sushi as a very casual meal in Australia - but it was also sold at rock-bottom prices. 'You go to sushi here - they put it in a bag and it's cheap,' Frankie said, proudly holding up his $5 sushi roll purchase. 'And it's pretty damn good. It's like a burrito. You just eat it with your hands,' he added, pointing out that there's no need for chopsticks or a fancy setting. The comedian, from San Francisco, said this experience was in stark contrast to his hometown, where sushi is reserved for fine dining Japanese restaurants Takeaway sushi stores are a fixture in Australian food courts, selling an array of convenient and well-priced hand rolls Having only previously enjoyed sushi within an ambient restaurant, a stunned Frankie continued to point out that he was enjoying the Japanese specialty while sitting at a typical Aussie shopping centre food court, on a small bench seat 'facing a wall'. The experience of enjoying sushi in such a low-key way emboldened Frankie to give his take on Australian culture and even economics. 'This is the poor man's food of Australia,' he proclaimed. 'You know how good your economy has to be for sushi to be cheap stuff in your country?' 'Australia is different,' he concluded the video, which has since been viewed over 1.3 million times. The clip amassed thousands of comments - many from Aussies who were surprised to discover sushi rolls aren't sold elsewhere as a 'good and cheap takeaway'. 'Sushi = Aussie street food,' declared one. 'It's the cheapest healthy work lunch, and you can eat it on the go while running errands,' another added. One more explained that they'd picked up on it being an Australian novelty - and enjoyed taking overseas visitors to experience it. The experience of enjoying sushi in such a low-key way emboldened Frankie to give his take on Australian culture and even economics 'When I have family or friends visit me from the US, I tell them it's our version of fast food,' an expat said. Conversely, one Aussie explained that they 'got a rude shock at the price of sushi in the US' while travelling. 'We do have fancy, expensive sushi here as well,' they added 'But we love our sushi stores - and they are everywhere, doing good sushi cheaply.' Several comments also informed Frankie that because takeaway sushi hand rolls were so accessible, it was also a winner with children. 'A favourite food of Australian kids,' one reply explained. 'Almost every school has sushi [at the canteen]. I'm a teacher and had it for lunch today: $3.80,' replied an Australian teacher. Frankie, who is scheduled to do a run of comedy shows in Perth from February 7-13 and Adelaide from March 12-20, was surprised to learn from the comments on his video that takeaway sushi rolls used to be even cheaper than they are now. 'They used to be $2. $5 is expensive,' read one of several similar replies. 'This is the poor man's food of Australia,' he proclaimed. 'You know how good your economy has to be for sushi to be cheap stuff in your country?' But the visitor's theory about Australia's cheap sushi being indicative of our thriving economy attracted a few wry replies. 'Can't afford houses but the sushi is cheap,' read one comment. 'Our economy is f****d mate, but thanks for thinking we're doing ok because the sushi is cheap,' another added. Nevertheless, a number of comments highlighted how Frankie's excited video about something that's so commonplace in Australian food culture should 'makes us realise we've got it good'. 'Sometimes we need a reminder of just how good we have it here.' Last Saturday night, I went to the world's most boring sex party. It started with a very intriguing DM, inviting me to a 'private gathering' in the tres-rich Sydney suburb of Vaucluse, for the inaugural unveiling of The Secret Society - an event described as 'very intimate, invitation-only'. I was flattered, considering members were to be charged $2,000 for a standard membership. That said, perhaps the fee should have been the first red flag. That amount of money wouldn't even get a foot in the door at Killing Kittens, the posh sex party I went to in London last year. Most private members' clubs play in the tens-of-thousands range. So perhaps I should have wondered what to expect from such a budget affair. Yet the idea of a bunch of rich people getting it on in one of the Harbour City's most well-heeled suburbs had my attention - and I most certainly wanted to go. I frocked up in a tight little dress and dragged my best friend along for the ride. Now, alarms should have started ringing when the first person I saw upon entering the mansion was a former Married At First Sight groom. And not a hot one. This week, Daily Mail columnist Jana Hocking (pictured) was invited to a sex party - which got her thinking about the 'hotwife' trend and how it's affecting middle-class marriages Husbands are increasingly excited by the idea of seeing their wife with another man - until it all goes horribly wrong (stock image posed by models) As I dodged him, I passed clusters of young women in their best Supre outfits, snapping poolside selfies. For a so-called secret society, the iPhones were getting a serious workout. There were also plenty of older, rather rotund men sweating it up on this balmy 35-degree afternoon, enjoying the show as wannabe influencers posed for content. The A-list was not here. Nor the B-list. The C-list? Even that felt generous. But the worst was yet to come. As we made our way to the kitchen for what we hoped would at least be a chilled glass of champagne, we were handed warm glasses of Minchinbury sparkling wine. Yes, the same cheap 'pop' we used to guzzle before a night out at university. For a private members' club, you'd think they would at least splurge on some Chandon. After 15 minutes, we high-tailed it out of there. But it did leave me pondering the appeal of these parties. While it might seem like a fringe subculture, recent surveys suggest about one in 25 couples has tried consensual non-monogamy - a fancy term for an open relationship - and about two per cent of adults identify as swingers. The 'hotwife' trend is all fun and games... until it isn't (stock image posed by models) That's what these gatherings are really about: couples coming together in a supposedly sexy setting to 'explore'. The last secret society party I attended was packed with married couples and their 'thirds'. Yet, after years of interviewing people who've opened up their marriages, I'm still waiting to meet a couple for whom it actually works. Which brings us to the hotwife phenomenon One of the more talked-about dynamics in the world of open marriages - and one that's become very popular in porn - is the hotwife kink. I saw plenty of it on show at the London sex party I went to. In this arrangement, the marriage is technically open, but only for the wife. The husband gets his kicks from watching his wife with other men, or hearing stories about it afterwards. It often begins playfully - and can be thrilling - but things can get complicated fast. Seriously, the stories I hear these days sound more like cautionary tales than sexy adventures. Take my friend - let's call him Jason*. He and his wife agreed she could see other men while he watched. At first, he said it brought them closer: he was turned on and she felt empowered. But soon, jealousy crept in. Flirtation turned into arguments, simmering resentment, and hurt feelings. They tried setting rules and boundaries - especially after one night when she seemed to enjoy a little too much and he discovered she'd texted the guy afterwards - but nothing stopped the trust from unravelling. They're still together, but Jason says the dynamic ultimately made intimacy at home feel tense. He told me he constantly compares the faces and moans she makes with him, to the way she looked and sounded when he was watching her with other men. It's had a devastating impact on his self-esteem and performance. Then there's Rachel* and Tom* - a Melbourne couple who recently slid into my DMs. They started with a deal: Rachel could see other men a few times a month, as long as Tom knew about it and gave his blessing. At first, he was electrified by the whole set-up, and she revelled in the freedom. He insisted on hearing every detail afterwards - it drove him wild. But as Rachel discovered the sex outside their marriage was, frankly, better - less pressured, more adventurous - her desires began to shift. She started craving connections that had nothing to do with Tom's kink. After two years of trying to make it work, they called it quits. A Reddit thread I came across was full of messages from men who'd found themselves in similar situations. Many described how what had started as a sexy interest had quickly turned sour, making them feel insecure and replaceable. One man admitted he thought he could handle it - until his wife developed real feelings for someone else, and suddenly, the excitement turned into heartbreak. Another man admitted that what began as a thrilling game ended with his partner spending more nights away than at home. These aren't tawdry sex stories. They're real break-ups, arguments over boundaries, midnight regrets and shattered expectations. Because that's the unsexy part we rarely hear about when it comes to open marriages, particularly the hotwife trend. But it happens. All. The. Time. Divorce lawyers know the reality. When I asked James Sexton, a prominent New York attorney, if open marriages work, he told me: 'Put it this way, the only couples I've seen attempt it have ended up sitting in front of me asking for a divorce.' From what I've seen, for every couple who claims they've made it 'work', there are a dozen more where someone ends up hurt, jealous or dumped. Open marriages can be liberating for those with strong communication skills. However, the hotwife kink - where a wife plays while her husband watches - often introduces psychological complexities for which most couples are unprepared. Rather than reigniting passion, these arrangements frequently leave husbands discovering that the fantasy of being married to a personal porn star can devolve into a recurring ritual of humiliation. And the worst part is, it is often the husbands who suggested the idea in the first place. * Names have been changed For years, LK Bennett attire was considered the gold standard for women who wanted to look polished, professional and 'appropriate'. The British luxury brand became the default for boardrooms, royal walkabouts and anyone who wanted to signal quiet confidence, including the likes of the Princess of Wales, Holly Willoughby and Zara Tindall. But lets be honest: over time, the quality slipped and the prices crept up (ever since the wedding of LK Bennett fan Kate to Prince William if you ask some disgruntled shoppers). It left many women wondering why they'd forked out on a 185 pair of heels or a 300 dress only for them to sometimes feel uncomfortable, impractical and, frankly, underwhelming. Now, the brand looks set to close its stores after only its brand and intellectual property (but not its shops, reported Retail Gazette) were acquired out of administration by investment firm Gordon Brothers, which bought Poundland for 1 last year. However, shoppers shouldn't fret. Because elegant, well-made outfits and heels are still out there on the high street. You just need to know where to look. As a personal stylist of nearly 20 years, Ive watched clients quietly move away from LK Bennett, not because they no longer want polished workwear, but because the price stopped matching the quality, particularly when it came to tailoring, fabrics and shoes. The biggest frustration I heard was that the brand's clothes began to feel stiff, dated and oddly proportioned for modern working lives. The Princess of Wales leaves after a visit to the Reading Ukrainian Community Centre in 2022. Kate sported a dress from LK Bennett at the time and is known to be a fan of the British brand's court heels But the good news? There are far better places to shop now, often for less money, and with more modern results. If you liked LK Bennett tailoring, try these instead... Hobbs Hobbs is a much stronger option for dresses, blazers and work-appropriate separates. The tailoring is cleaner, the fabrics more forgiving, and the silhouettes feel current rather than corporate. Hobbs understands how professional women dress now. Meanwhile, Hobbs is often overlooked for footwear, yet it consistently delivers elegant court shoes that actually work for real life. The shapes are flattering, the heels are sensible, and they pair effortlessly with tailoring. This is one of my go-to recommendations for women in senior roles. Arket LK Bennett once owned the 'smart dress' category, but many women now want pieces that feel elegant without looking overly formal. The British luxury brand became the default for boardrooms, royal walkabouts and anyone who wanted to signal quiet confidence, including the likes of Princess of Wales, Holly Willoughby (pictured) and Zara Tindall If youve moved away from obvious 'workwear' but still want polished, sophisticated attire, Arket is excellent. Their trousers, knitwear and coats create a refined, modern wardrobe without feeling rigid or old-fashioned - while still being professional enough for work. Aeyde Meanwhile, if you relied on LK Bennett shoes, you have better options. Shoes are where most women feel let down. Paying 250 plus for kitten heels that pinch, scuff easily or feel unstable is no longer acceptable. If you like the clean, modern look seen on European CEOs rather than fashion influencers, Aeyde is worth knowing. Understated, beautifully finished and comfortable straight out of the box, these are the kind of heels that elevate even the simplest outfit. Zara Tindall leaves after attending the Easter Mattins Service at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle on April 17, 2022. The King's niece wore a dress from LK Bennett for the occasion Marks & Spencer A quiet standout, M&S kitten heels are some of the best on the high street right now: supportive soles, wearable shapes and classic colours that dont date. Many of my clients are genuinely surprised by how good the heels are, until they try them on. The British brand is also one of the strongest places right now for smart trousers and blouses. When chosen well, the quality and fit are very impressive. ME+EM ME+EM is a go-to for many of my clients. Their dresses and co-ords are flattering, modern and designed to move with the body, ideal for long days, meetings and events. Phase Eight Phase Eight is still one of the best high-street brands for occasion dresses that dont feel try-hard at all. The cuts of the outfits are reliable and the fabrics far more wearable than their price point suggests. Next Often dismissed, but Next consistently delivers wearable court and kitten heels that look polished and professional. Ideal if you need a shoe that works hard without costing a fortune. The era of paying a premium for a logo that no longer guarantees quality is over. Todays elegant work shoes and clothing are about fit, finish and function, not heritage hype. You dont need a royal endorsement to look polished, just smarter shopping. And in many cases, the best options are hiding in places youd never think to look. In December 2022, Stacey Matthews was on a dream holiday in Lapland with her daughter and partner when she realised something wasnt right. The then 37-year-old's period pain, which had until then been manageable, had escalated into days of unignorable agony. Instead of arriving every 28 days and lasting five or six days, her cycles were coming every three weeks and lasting eight days, then ten days. Soon, she was barely having a week without bleeding per month. The pain wasnt just in my pelvis, she says. It was going down my legs, up my back. It felt like it was everywhere. By spring 2023, the bleeding had become so severe Stacey estimates she was only not bleeding for four or five days each month. She began passing large clots and, increasingly, losing consciousness from the intensity of the pain. I couldnt live normally, she says. I loved running, but could no longer run. I could only wear black. I was flooding through tampons and pads constantly. It took over everything. At first, like many women who suffer with menstrual issues, she tried to rationalise it. Perhaps it was stress, or hormones, or a run of bad periods that would resolve itself. But a few months later, when she found herself passing out nearly every day on a family holiday in Lanzarote collapsing in the mornings, doubling over with waves of pain and trying to hide it from her daughter she knew something was seriously wrong. It wasnt like a normal period, she explains. There would be nothing for hours, then Id get this crippling pain, bend over, and it felt like a cup of blood would pour out of me. It wasnt trickling like a normal period, but streaming blood. It felt like a wound. Stacey was on holiday in Lapland when her symptoms first appeared When Stacey first went to her GP, despite telling the doctor she was worried something was really wrong, she was prescribed the contraceptive pill and told to take it back-to-back to suppress her cycle. I thought Id be sent for an urgent scan, she remembers. I didn't feel hopeful at all. As the weeks passed, nothing improved. The bleeding intensified. Stacey was fainting daily a nightmare for anyone, let alone a self-employed woman caring for a child with additional educational needs. Eventually, she phoned her GP in tears and begged for further investigation. Thankfully, as Stacey had private health insurance, she was sent for a private internal scan and later sat in her GPs office while the results came through. The screen showed a diagnosis of pelvic congestion syndrome (PCS) a term she, and her GP, had never encountered before. I was panicking and asked what it meant, she says, and the doctor had to Google it. The gynaecologist told me PCS doesn't exist After the scans findings, Stacey was referred to a gynaecologist at a well-known hospital, and remained hopeful this would mark an end to her health nightmare. Unfortunately, that wasnt the case. The male gynaecologist told Matthews pelvic congestion wasnt really a thing, and assured her some women just bleed very heavily for no reason. She was offered three options: a hormonal coil, endometrial ablation (a procedure where the uterine lining is destroyed with heat or cold to stop heavy periods), or a hysterectomy. Stacey was told a hysterectomy was the only guaranteed way to stop the bleeding, and, desperate after months of agony, she agreed. In July 2023, she underwent surgery to have her womb removed, aged 38. I thought that was it, she recalls. I thought I was going to be fixed. Stacey was told by a gynaecologist that PCS didn't exist PCS is a condition which causes chronic pelvic pain In the weeks following the operation, Stacey assumed lingering discomfort was simply post-surgical recovery. But by autumn, the familiar waves of pain had returned. The bleeding had stopped, but the deep, radiating pain down her legs and into her back remained unchanged. I burst into tears and said to my husband, The pains still there, she says. If you have PCS, why have you had a hysterectomy? By January 2024 five months after her hysterectomy Stacey was back at her GP, once again begging for help. Her pain had returned, accompanied by a prominent vein in her thigh that became hot, painful and visible beneath the skin. After another appointment during which she pleaded to be seen by a specialist, she was referred to a vascular expert through her private health insurance. She recounted her medical journey so far, and his response was immediate: If youve got pelvic congestion, why have you had a hysterectomy? Unlike the previous consultant, he confirmed that pelvic congestion syndrome is very real and that removing the uterus does not address the underlying venous problem. What is pelvic congestion syndrome? Pelvic congestion syndrome is caused by varicose veins developing deep within the pelvis. When the tiny valves inside these veins fail, blood flows backwards a process known as reflux and pools rather than travelling efficiently back to the heart. The result of that reflux is chronic pelvic pain, pressure and heaviness, often worsening after long periods of standing. Some women experience pain after sex, bladder urgency caused by pressure on surrounding organs, hip and lower back pain, or visible varicose veins at the top of the inner thigh or vulva. Because the blood pools when upright, symptoms frequently ease when lying down. That positional element is one reason the condition can be missed. Standard pelvic scans are typically performed with patients lying flat, when gravity is no longer forcing blood downwards into weakened veins. Research has shown that the most accurate diagnostic method is a specialist transvaginal venous duplex ultrasound performed with the patient positioned at around 45 degrees, allowing gravity to reveal abnormal blood flow. 'MRI, CT or venography are often used,' explains Professor Mark Whiteley, a venous surgeon and founder of the Whiteley Clinic. 'But they dont give dynamic information about blood flow. If you cant see the flow, you can misdiagnose which veins are involved.' 'The most important thing is to make a diagnosis,' says Prof Whiteley. 'If you dont identify exactly which veins are refluxing, you can end up treating the wrong veins and the patient wont improve.' Without that precise mapping, he adds, treatment can fail either because the wrong veins are targeted or because devices are not positioned low enough within the affected vein to stop the reflux completely. PCS is estimated to affect up to 1.5 million women in the UK, yet awareness remains low. It is frequently misdiagnosed as endometriosis, IBS, bladder disorders or simply bad periods. In Staceys case, years of seemingly unrelated symptoms including IBS and bladder problems were later understood to be linked. It was like Japanese knotweed around my organs Further specialist assessment revealed the scale of Staceys condition. Varicose veins extended from near her kidneys, through her pelvis and down both legs. They had wrapped around her bladder, bowel and reproductive organs. In total, more than 50 veins required treatment. It was like having Japanese knotweed wrapped around me from my kidneys to my ankles, she says. When I stood up, the blood would pool. The veins would expand. Thats what was causing the pain. Stacey and her daughter, after her successful treatment She underwent pelvic vein embolisation, a minimally invasive procedure in which faulty veins are sealed off. Under local anaesthetic, a fine catheter is passed through a vein in the neck and guided under X-ray control down into the affected pelvic veins. Tiny platinum coils are then inserted to block the abnormal backward flow of blood, often alongside foam sclerotherapy to close smaller varicose veins. 'The key is blocking the vein permanently,' Prof Whiteley says. 'When done properly, the treated veins should not reopen. Recurrence only happens if other veins that were normal at the time later become incompetent.' Thankfully, Stacey's treatment was successful in finally resolving her pain. Yet she still lives with the knowledge that the hysterectomy a major, irreversible surgery that rendered her infertile did not treat the underlying problem, and as such, was entirely unnecessary. Her advice to other women? Firstly, be aware of PCS. Id never heard of it, she says. None of my GPs had heard of it. Every time I mention it, people say, Whats that? Specialists say PCS remains under-recognised in the UK, in part because it sits between disciplines vascular and gynaecological and is not always routinely considered. Secondly, be persistent. Dont be fobbed off, she says. You know your body. If something doesnt feel normal, keep pushing. Looking back, she believes that if she had read about pelvic congestion syndrome years earlier, she would have recognised her symptoms immediately. Id been diagnosed with IBS. Id been told it was just heavy periods. None of it was joined up, she says. I want other women to know this exists. If people understand PCS, they might start to empathise with just how serious it is.' Appointments at the Whiteley Clinic can be booked at thewhiteleyclinic.co.uk For years, weve been a nation of supermarket snobs, choosing our weekly shop based on big brands and labels rather than whats better for our wallets. And, with their distinctive branded packaging and bargain-basement prices, weve looked down our noses at value products. As a cookery writer, I confess Im drawn to high-end products bearing lavish descriptions and posh packaging and hide any bargain buys at the bottom of the basket. But all that is changing thanks to a quiet revolution thats driving middle-class shoppers towards budget ranges, many of which now boast impressively good products. Sales of value lines at Marks & Spencer rose by 20 per cent in the third quarter of last year, recently launching more than 30 new items in its range. Meanwhile Tesco which phased out its Value range in 2012 as customers were embarrassed to buy from it is now bringing those iconic blue and white stripes back. Among the TikTok generation, own-brand items bear a certain retro cool, with penny-pinching influencers using budget food and drink products in their viral recipes. As a cookery writer, I confess Im drawn to high-end products bearing lavish descriptions and posh packaging and hide any bargain buys at the bottom of the basket And they may just be onto something, says leading nutritionist GQ Jordan. Value supermarket ranges often get written off, but some contain nutritional hidden gems, she explains. When the ingredient list is simple and the nutrition panel stacks up, a value product can be just as good as a branded one. So which own-brand items should you be adding to your weekly shop and which ones are better left languishing on the shelf? Penne pasta Supermarket own-brand pastas vary enormously in price and quality even when you stick to basic penne Supermarket own-brand pastas vary enormously in price and quality even when you stick to basic penne. Best: Sainsburys Stamford Street Co Penne Pasta (500g, 41p) A generously-sized bag for just 41p, this budget pasta looks indistinguishable from a more expensive brand. It cooks well, giving lovely al dente pieces in just nine minutes. Unlike some of the budget ranges, the tubes arent too small; they soak up a decent amount of tomato sauce and taste delicious. What the nutritionist says: Its a clear example of where value works well, says GQ Jordan, with very low salt [0.01g per serving). One portion is 326 calories, with just 1.4g fat and 1.6g sugar. Worst: Tesco Hearty Food Co Penne Pasta (500g, 41p) While the pieces of penne look intact and well-sized in the packet, cooking them is a different story. The tubes break down after 5-6 minutes in boiling water, turning mushy and losing their shape. The result is a pan of starchy water, and gloopy, jelly-like pasta strands I dont want to eat. A portion contains just 296 calories, but it also has 1.8g sugar and 0.03g salt. What the nutritionist says: The nutrition is similar, but fibre [2g per serving] and protein [9.4g] are slightly lower, and the texture tends to be softer, says GQ. Its not harmful, just weaker-quality pasta. Join the debate Do YOU prefer supermarket value ranges? Minced meat I was surprised to find several supermarkets offering top-quality, ethically sourced (and always British) minced pork as part of their own-brand ranges Clearer on provenance, animal welfare and usually lower in fat, premium mince is my go-to. So I was surprised to find several supermarkets offering top-quality, ethically sourced (and always British) minced pork as part of their own-brand ranges. Best: M&S Remarksable Value British Outdoor Bred Pork Mince 5 per cent Fat (500g, 3.60) Though more expensive than other budget products, this pork mince from M&Ss Remarksable Value range is worth the extra 1. Made from outdoor-bred British pork, which is RSPCA-assured, it contains just 5 per cent fat, making it a lean, healthy addition to your fridge. When cooked, it colours evenly in the pan and theres little water or fat run-off. The taste is hearty and flavoursome. What the nutritionist says: Youre paying for a better protein-to-calorie ratio (30.5g to 158 calories per 100g) and clearer sourcing. Its lean, high-protein mince with significantly lower fat [just 3.4g] per 100g. Worst: Morrisons Savers 20 per cent Pork Mince (454g, 2.27) The cheapest of the lot, this looks promising its pink, plump and smells fresh. However, as it cooks it releases a lot of fat. It tastes oily and bland and, at just 454g, theres 50g less meat to go around. What the nutritionist says: This has much higher fat [20g per 100g] and saturated fat [7.3g], meaning fewer nutrients per calorie. Its fine occasionally, but less supportive if used regularly if protein intake is the goal. Theres just 19.1g protein per 100g and 257 calories. Sliced bread Supermarket bread has a poor reputation for containing additives, preservatives and flavour-enhancers, not to mention added salt and sugar Supermarket bread has a poor reputation for containing additives, preservatives and flavour-enhancers, not to mention added salt and sugar. But this applies equally to branded options (such as Hovis and Warburtons) as it does to own-brand budget loaves. Best: Waitrose Essentials Wholemeal Medium Sliced Bread (800g, 75p) Low in saturated fat (0.2g) and sugar (0.9g) per slice, this wholemeal bread is a healthy option thats almost half the price of branded equivalents. Per slice, there are 82 calories, 2.4g fibre and 3.7g protein. It contains wholemeal wheat flour, yeast and a few but not many preservatives. The flavour is nutty, slightly salty, and it makes a wholesome, filling sandwich. What the nutritionist says: This is closer to what wholemeal bread should look like nutritionally, with higher fibre, fewer added sugars, and a more balanced nutritional profile. Worst: M&S Remarksable Value Thick Wholemeal Loaf (800g, 75p) An unexpectedly low price for an M&S product, this wholemeal loaf sounds and tastes delicious. Its enriched with vitamin D and contains 234 calories per 100g. However it also contains not one but two different types of sweetener (sugar is the fifth item on the ingredients list, and its also made with caramelised sugar). What the nutritionist says: Despite the name, this is more heavily processed, with added sugars, palm oil, and multiple emulsifiers. The fibre is lower [just 6.2g per 100g] and salt higher [0.8g] than expected for wholemeal bread. Tinned tomatoes Italians might baulk at the prospect of supermarket tinned tomatoes, but there aresome reasonable options out there Italians might baulk at the prospect of supermarket tinned tomatoes, but there are some reasonable options out there. Look for the tomato content at least 60 per cent otherwise theyll taste watery and insipid. And check for other seasoning that might be used to disguise a bad batch. Best: Sainsburys Stamford Street Co Chopped Tomatoes (400g, 43p) Price-matching the other supermarkets cheap tinned tomatoes, this has now become a cupboard staple in my house. Theres a good ratio of tomatoes to liquid (the tin is 60 per cent tomatoes), with no ingredients other than tomato juice and citric acid, used to regulate the acidity. They cook down well in a pasta sauce, are low in fat (less than 0.5g per portion), sugar (5.2g) and salt (0.2g), and have a sweet, authentically- Italian flavour. Per half tin, they contain 38 calories. What the nutritionist says: A strong base product and a real value-range win, says GQ. Worst: Tesco Growers Harvest Chopped Tomatoes (400g, 43p) The price is the same, as is the percentage of tomatoes in the tin, but this Tesco product under the wholesome-sounding Growers Harvest branding isnt good quality. The pieces inside look like odds and ends, rather than quality chunks, and the flavour is overwhelmingly acidic. What the nutritionist says: This includes concentrated tomato juice and higher natural sugars per serving, says GQ. At 0.14g per serving, the salt is also slightly higher. Each half-tin comprises 44 calories and 7.6g sugar. Cheddar cheese As a household of cheese-lovers, we spend a fortune each week on Cathedral City reputedly the nations favourite cheddar which costs 3 for 350g As a household of cheese-lovers, we spend a fortune each week on Cathedral City reputedly the nations favourite cheddar which costs 3 for 350g. But the supermarket shelves abound with all sorts of own-brand alternatives. Best: Tesco Creamfields Mature White Cheddar (400g, 2.79) Made from British and Irish cows milk, this Creamfields cheddar comes in a slimmer packet than most cheeses, making it easy to slot into the door of my fridge. Its velvety-smooth, medium in strength rather than extra-mature, and well-priced at 2.79. A portion comprises 125 calories, 10.5g fat and 0.54g salt. The texture is firm and creamy, and it has a lovely ooze when melted on toast. What the nutritionist says: This has high protein [7.6g per 30g serving], proper maturation, and a simple ingredient list, says GQ. The fat and saturates are high, as expected, but you get good protein and flavour per portion. Worst: Asda Just Essentials Mature White Cheddar (400g, 2.79) Rubbery, mild and cheap-tasting, this Asda cheese is disappointing. It crumbles when cut, and takes ages to melt in my toastie, dribbling fat all over the bread. Not one Ill be trying again, when you can get far better for the same price. There are 125 calories per 30g serving, which also contains 6.5g saturated fat and 0.54g salt. What the nutritionist says: Its very similar nutritionally, but with slightly lower protein, and milder in flavour, which can lead to larger portions for satisfaction. Chicken breast Not all supermarkets do fresh chicken breast as part of their budget ranges. Of those that do, all contain British chicken Not all supermarkets do fresh chicken breast as part of their budget ranges. Of those that do, all contain British chicken. Best: Waitrose Essentials Slower Reared Chicken Breast Fillets (600g, 5.25) Waitrose chickens are slower-reared, meaning a higher welfare environment, and this is reflected in the quality. Its succulent, flavoursome and theres very little fat or gristle to cut off. What the nutritionist says: This chicken is very lean and high in protein [22.9g per 100g], with minimal fat [1.6g]. Worst: Morrisons Savers Chicken Breast Pieces (750g, 5.05) The chicken was tough and sinewy, rather than lean, and strangely flavourless. What the nutritionist says: Theyre nutritionally-similar on paper, but with a slightly lower protein density and higher fat. Laundry liquid Though not something youll have to buy every week, laundry liquid is an expensive addition to a supermarket trip Though not something youll have to buy every week, laundry liquid is an expensive addition to a supermarket trip. Best: M&S Remarksable Value Bio Colours Laundry Liquid (1.5l, 5.50) There has been a lot of hype around this product which fans say smells just like a 75 Le Labo perfume. Made with plant-based biodegradable ingredients and essential oils, there are no hidden nasties and the bottle is meant to last 50 washes. What the nutritionist says: Its more concentrated, meaning fewer washes are needed per bottle, and the more balanced formulation tends to be better tolerated by people with sensitive skin. Worst: Morrisons Savers Biological Laundry Liquid (1l, 2) Theres nothing eco-friendly about this cheap product. It fails to remove, or even fade, a splodge of sauce on my husbands work shirt. What the nutritionist says: This has a higher reliance on harsher chemicals, optical brighteners, and multiple preservatives. Porridge oats As porridge fans know, theres a huge difference between quality, jumbo, nutritious oats and the ones that taste like sawdust As porridge fans know, theres a huge difference between quality, jumbo, nutritious oats and the ones that taste like sawdust. Usually, this is reflected in what you spend: a 1kg box by market leader Quaker, for example, is 2.95, and promises 100 per cent wholegrain rolled oats that are sustainably grown in the UK. But I found some surprisingly good offerings among the supermarket value ranges. Best: M&S Remarksable Value Traditional Scottish Porridge Oats (1kg, 1.15) Stone-ground for a creamy texture, these breakfast oats are chunky and robust for less than half the price of a branded box. Theyre hearty and filling, and blend deliciously with milk and honey to make a moreish bowl, comprising just 149 calories. What the nutritionist says: GQ praises their high fibre (3.3g per 40g serving), low sugar (0.4g) and lack of salt (0.01g). Its a dependable, nourishing staple, she adds. Worst: Asda Just Essentials Porridge Oats (1kg, 85p) By far the cheapest around, these porridge oats promise very little on their day-glo yellow packaging and are something of a let-down. Small, flaky and dotted with chewy husks (the fibrous layer that surrounds the grain), they get stuck in my teeth and make for a lumpy, gruel-like porridge. What the nutritionist says: The fibre is slightly lower [4.9g per 50g portion] and texture is more broken. Its still a decent product, just marginally less satisfying. A single serving contains 186 calories, 2.9g fat and 0.04g salt. Baked beans Ive been a Heinz faithful for more than three decades, so its going to take some seriously tasty supermarket beans to convince me own-brand tins are just as good Ive been a Heinz faithful for more than three decades, so its going to take some seriously tasty supermarket beans to convince me own-brand tins are just as good. Some of the budget ranges are not only high in sugar but watery and tasteless so its worth checking the nutritional tables. One thing that could convince me is the price, with most own-brand beans just 28p per tin. Best: Waitrose Essential Baked Beans (420g, 55p) In a rich tomato sauce, with just the right balance of sweetness and savouriness, these baked beans truly are a cut above. Each half-tin contains 179 calories, with 52 per cent haricot beans, more than any other supermarket value tin, as well as paprika, cloves, cinnamon, chilli and garlic. What the nutritionist says: Theres a higher bean content, good fibre [10.9g per serving] and protein [16.4g], and lower sugar [just 8.7g] than many value options, explains GQ. Salt is still present [0.92g per serving] but its reasonable for baked beans. Worst: Asda Just Essentials Baked Beans (410g, 28p) They may be cheap, but thats no excuse for the watery, insipid contents of this tin. With just 44 per cent beans, plus sugar, glucose-fructose syrup and added salt, these are sloppy, dont hold together when cooked and taste artificial. The only added flavour is paprika. The lurid yellow tin is off-putting too; Im no snob, but this just doesnt look like a product I want in my cupboard. What the nutritionist says: Theyre more sauce than substance, says GQ, making them less filling and less supportive nutritionally. Each half can contains 158 calories, 0.88g salt and just 8.4g fibre and 8g protein. Sandwich spread Depending on where you shop, a branded plant-based sandwich spread costs between 1.75 and 2.80 a lot for something you use daily without a second thought Depending on where you shop, a branded plant-based sandwich spread costs between 1.75 and 2.80 a lot for something you use daily without a second thought. Best: Sainsburys Stamford Street Co Soft Spread (500g, 95p) Shoppers claim this vegan spread tastes just as good if not better than Flora and Lurpak, and I cant help but agree. It has a pleasant, creamy taste and the colour (aided by the addition of carotene) is buttery yellow. Though reasonably high in fat (4.2g), its low in calories (just 38 per serving) and sugar (less than 0.5g), and contains vitamins D and A. What the nutritionist says: Its lower in saturated fat than many spreads, with modest salt [0.11g per portion], and a relatively simple formulation for a soft spread. Worst: Morrisons Savers Soft Spread (1kg, 1.90) I could only find this spread in a huge tub at my local supermarket, which would have been ideal if it tasted good but sadly thats not the case. Bland and flavourless, it leaves an unappetising oily residue on my bread. On the plus side, its low in calories (38 per serving) and contains just a trace of sugar. But Ive got 99 more portions to get through. What the nutritionist says: It has a very similar ingredient structure, but is higher in saturated fat [11g] and salt [1.1g] per 100g. This is where cheaper fat blends and higher saturates start to show, which matters if its used daily. Dining on Michelin Guide-approved food often requires dressing in your Sunday best and booking months in advance. However, that's not always the case; The Michelin Guide Great Britain and Ireland has unveiled its Bib Gourmand Award 2026 edition, with 37 restaurants receiving the coveted title - some of which offer takeaway services. Unlike the Michelin starred restaurants that cost hundreds for a meal, the Bib awards, as they're known colloquially, recognise the places serving exceptional food at good value prices. The UK's capital claimed a large portion of this year's awards, with 12 London restaurants listed. Among them is Tamila, Clapham. The brand found TikTok fame with Indian pubs, The Tamil Prince and The Tamil Crown in Islington, before opening Tamila in King's Cross and Clapham. Specialising in South Indian small plates and curries, prices range up to 16 for a curry (Thanjavur chicken or Chettinad lamb), and they're available on Deliveroo. Just west of Clapham, in Wimbledon, authentic Korean restaurant and takeaway Ssam Ssam scooped a prize, thanks to its 15.50 wagyu bavette and 13.90 traditional bibimbap. Notting Hill's Canteen, masterminded by The Public House group, the team behind The Pelican and The Hero in West London, and The Bull in Charlbury, near Oxford, also made the cut. Want to taste Michelin Guide-approved food without leaving your home? Try ordering from Tamila in Clapham, London Italian-inspired Canteen, located in Notting Hill, London, claimed a position on the coveted list this year New Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurants for 2026... London Calong, Stoke Newington: Korean dishes from 6.50 Korean dishes from 6.50 Oren, Dalston: Mediterranean inspired sharing plates from 5. Takeaway friendly Mediterranean inspired sharing plates from 5. Takeaway friendly Cadet, Islington: Wine and charcuterie shop. Prices from 4.50 Wine and charcuterie shop. Prices from 4.50 Goodbye Horses, Islington: Wine bar Wine bar Singburi, Shoreditch: Thai restaurant. Average spend 26-40 Thai restaurant. Average spend 26-40 Canteen, Notting Hill: Italian. Pizzas 16 Italian. Pizzas 16 Cafe Spice Namaste, Royal Albert Dock: Indian. From 5. Takeaway friendly Indian. From 5. Takeaway friendly Akara, Borough Market: West African. Small plates from 5 West African. Small plates from 5 Lai Rai, Peckham: Vietnamese. Banh Mi, 12 Vietnamese. Banh Mi, 12 Kruk, Peckham: Vietnamese tapas, from 8.50 Vietnamese tapas, from 8.50 Tamila, Clapham: South Indian small plates, from 8.50. Takeaway friendly South Indian small plates, from 8.50. Takeaway friendly Ssam Ssam, Wimbledon: Korean. Mains from 14.50. Takeaway friendly Elsewhere in England Norman's Neighbourhood Kitchen, Kirkburton : Small plates from 8 Small plates from 8 Almanac, Glossop: Sharing plates from 7 Sharing plates from 7 Erst, Manchester: Seasonal dishes starting at 3.50. Takeaway friendly Seasonal dishes starting at 3.50. Takeaway friendly Cantaloupe, Stockport: Mediterranean leaning menu. Mains from 19 Mediterranean leaning menu. Mains from 19 Piccalilli, Nottingham: Neighbourhood dining. Dishes start at 9.50 Neighbourhood dining. Dishes start at 9.50 The Yurt at Nicholsons, North Aston: Locally sourced cuisine. Mains from 22 Locally sourced cuisine. Mains from 22 The Oarsman, Marlow: Bistro and pub. Mains from 25 Bistro and pub. Mains from 25 Gina, Chingford: Neighbourhood restaurant. Mains start at 16 Neighbourhood restaurant. Mains start at 16 Shwen Shwen, Sevenoaks: Flavours of Sierra Leone. Three courses for 29 Flavours of Sierra Leone. Three courses for 29 Jai Ho, Bishop's Cleeve: Indian. Dishes from 4.50. Takeaway friendly Indian. Dishes from 4.50. Takeaway friendly Post, Newman: Seasonal cuisine. Three courses for 30 Seasonal cuisine. Three courses for 30 Ragu, Bristol: Italian sharing plates from 7.90 Italian sharing plates from 7.90 Counter Culture, Newquay: Local Cornish produce. Prices start at 13 Scotland Mara, Aberdeen: Italian wine bar. Small plates from 9 Italian wine bar. Small plates from 9 Angeethi by Sagar Massey, Cardonald: Traditional Indian. Curries from 11.95. Takeaway friendly Traditional Indian. Curries from 11.95. Takeaway friendly Sebb's, Glasgow: Underground venue. Dishes from 7.50 Underground venue. Dishes from 7.50 The Clarence, Glasgow: Pub. Mains from 19 Northern Ireland Beau, Belfast: Seasonal dishes. Prices start from 8 Republic of Ireland Bigfan, Dublin: Chinese. Mains start at 8 Chinese. Mains start at 8 Borgo, Dublin: Italian. Fresh pasta from 19. Italian. Fresh pasta from 19. Foret, Dublin : French bistro. Mains from 25. French bistro. Mains from 25. Farmgate Lismore, Lismore : Locally sourced produce. Mains from 26 Wales The Gaff, Abergavenny: Seasonal dishes changing weekly. Prices start at 13 Seasonal dishes changing weekly. Prices start at 13 Purple Poppadom, Cardiff: Indian. Curries from 15.95 Takeaway friendly Channel Islands Alba, St Peter Port, Guernsey: Bar and restaurant. Mains from 10 Advertisement Though the menu changes daily, diners can expect seasonal pastas, pizzas, and small plates, all for, on average, around 20 per dish. Canteen was similarly commended by the Daily Mail's food critic, Tom Parker Bowles, who visited back when it opened in 2024. He praised the predominantly female kitchen and River Cafe-trained head chef Jess Filbey as a 'class act'. London's leafy Islington borough also won big with awards for De Beauvoir wine bar Goodbye Horses and Newington Green's Cadet. Elsewhere in the UK, Nottingham's reasonably priced neighbourhood dining spot, Piccalilli, claimed a spot on the list. Focusing on seasonal small plates, the independent restaurant strives to serve local East Midlands produce. Also keeping simplicity at the forefront of its agenda is fellow Bib winner Cantaloupe in Stockport. The sophisticated joint offers a 35 per person lunch menu, with simple dishes done extraordinarily well, including Milanese Chicken Terrine and Smoked Sausage, Lentils and Dijon Mustard. A previous requirement of the award, established in 1997, was a three-course menu priced at 30 or under, according to The Caterer. Michelin has since scrapped the criterion, stating that a contender must simply offer 'good quality, good value cooking'. Join the debate Is there one in YOUR area? Pictured: Dry aged sirloin from a five-year-old ex-dairy cow from the Peak District at Erst in Manchester Nottingham's Piccalilli, serving seasonal small plates with local produce, also claimed a spot on the list Chefs at 'Osteria locale', Borgo in Dublin, make everything in house daily, including the sourdough pizzette and fresh pastas Over in Cardiff, Indian restaurant and takeaway Purple Poppadom claimed a prize. While it offers traditional dishes, such as a 18.95 Lamb Rogan Josh, some plates take a modern spin, like the Burrata Lababdar. The only other Welsh winner was The Gaff in Abergavenny, a small restaurant serving creative dishes while spotlighting seasonal ingredients. Scotland secured four restaurants on the list, including underground bar Sebb's in Glasgow, which serves wine on tap and keeps guests entertained with rotating DJs. Fellow Glaswegian winner is more relaxed The Clarence, a gastropub, focusing on traditional fare and offering a 29 set three-course menu. Elsewhere, Borgo in Dublin was one of four spots in the Republic of Ireland to claim the title. Chefs at the 'osteria locale' make everything in-house daily, including the sourdough pizzette, fresh pastas, cultured butters and fresh ricotta. A luxe but affordable range of small tables in a trendy dark walnut shade has landed in a popular Aussie store but it's not your usual bargain home retailers. Bunnings Australia is the surprising stockist of a new line of sculptural designer-style tables with the entry point being a chic side table for just $19. Sydney woman Esraa was among the first to spot the new Astin Sinclair tables at Bunnings, and couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the price. 'These furniture pieces are a steal in my opinion,' she wrote in a caption accompanying a video filmed in store. The lifestyle curator had made a trip to the hardware store when she spotted the warm walnut wood-look Harris table range, which included a coffee table priced at $39, a console table for $49, and the unbelievably cheap side table for $19. 'Yes, they are flat-packed and on the smaller side, but the price tag on them is so affordable for dark walnut furniture,' she wrote. 'If you are looking for luxe looks for less in your interior, I would be checking out the Harris range at your local Bunnings.' A Bunnings spokesperson told Daily Mail that their new home range aims to offer 'stylish pieces at affordable prices'. Sydney woman Esraa posted a video of the new Astin Sinclair Harris tables at Bunnings, and couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the price The entry point table in the range is the chic dark walnut Astin Sinclair Harris Side Table, priced at $19 'Its a great example of Aussies wanting to choose pieces that bring function, style and value to their home,' the spokesperson added. Esraa's video has been viewed over 170,000 times and earned thousands of likes many from stunned Aussies who couldn't believe that Bunnings had transformed from their local hardware store to the new go-to spot for chic home furniture. 'Great for people who don't want to spend $$ on furniture, first home, temporary pieces, or people who just like updating their furniture regularly,' replied one shopper. 'Fab,' simply stated another. In reply to questions in the comments, Esraa confirmed that Bunnings appeared to be following a similar 'concept' as Kmart by producing aesthetic pieces at an affordable price point. She added that the new Bunnings-stocked furniture range might be 'even cheaper' than what you'd find at the discount chain store. Interestingly, both Bunnings and Kmart fall under the same corporate umbrella, as both are owned by Wesfarmers. The Astin Sinclair Harris Side Table in a walnut-look shade, at under $20, is the absolute bargain buy of the new range. The Astin Sinclair Harris Coffee Table, $39, is 720mm wide, 450mm deep and 530mm high The largest table in the Bunnings-stocked range is the Astin Sinclair Harris Console Table The compact and space-efficient design measures 350mm width, 300mm depth and 500mm height. Featuring a rounded tabletop set upon an arched base, the striking piece would work as either a side table or even a nightstand. The Astin Sinclair Harris Coffee Table also punches well above its $39 price thanks to the warm walnut-effect wood-look finish and modern sculptural design elements. The rounded rectangular top sits on two curved panel legs, creating a look that feels both contemporary and timeless. Compact yet versatile, the coffee table's dimensions are 720mm width, 450mm depth and 530mm height. This piece is described in the online product listing as 'perfectly proportioned for modern living spaces, offering a stylish surface for everyday use without overwhelming the room'. The final chic table in this range is the bigger Astin Sinclair Harris Console Table, priced at $49. Sized at 1000mm width and 750mm height, it's big enough to be useful in living rooms. With a depth of just 300mm, it's slim enough to serve as a hallway side table or even as a behind-the-sofa table. Esraa shared a video of the new Bunnings home pieces to her @esraazkalil account, and it quickly amassed thousands of likes Like the other tables in the range, this one has a sleek design with softly curved legs and a warm wood finish. 'The clean lines add a refined, contemporary feel to any space,' the product description adds. The new Astin Sinclair home range at Bunnings extends beyond tables. Other standout designer-looking pieces in the collection include the Two-Drawer Side Table in a Walnut White and Oak Look ($49), and several full-length wall-mount mirrors, like the scalloped Astin Sinclair Taupe Raya Arch Mirror ($79). The Bunnings-stocked home range also includes an array of bathroom accessories, planter pots and table lamps with prices ranging from $11.98 to $39. The recently appointed editor-in-chief of CBS News has allegedly refused to fire the network's new star 'wellness expert', despite his appearances in the Epstein files. Bari Weiss, who became the TV station's boss in October, has pushed to increase the outlet's relevance by hiring 19 popular media personalities as contributors. The announcement of those new hires was made exactly one week ago, on January 27, and among them was Peter Attia, the founder of wellness app Outlive and an influencer-podcaster with millions of followers online. On Friday, the Department of Justice released the latest batch of Epstein files, in which Attia appeared more than 1,700 times. Attia was exposed in the files for calling Epstein his 'friend' in hundreds of emails they exchanged, all of them after the sex offender was first convicted, creating expectations that CBS News would fire him. But according to an anonymous source who spoke with The Wrap, Weiss told insiders she does not want CBS to cut ties with the contributor over fears she would be seen as caving in to the mob. The editor-in-chief's position has reportedly created a rift between herself and the corporate heavyweights of CBS News' parent company, Paramount. Senior Paramount executives believe the controversy should be handled by human resources and that Attia's tarnished reputation makes him too untrustworthy to provide expert advice on a national broadcast network. Peter Attia, a wellness influencer-podcaster with millions of followers on social media, was recently hired as a contributor for CBS News. Over the weekend, it was revealed that he was a friend of Jeffrey Epstein and appeared in the Epstein files more than 1,700 times Bari Weiss, the recently appointed editor-in-chief of CBS News, reportedly does not want to cut ties with Attia despite the uproar over his connections with Jeffrey Epstein Attia called the notorious child sex trafficker his 'friend' in hundreds of emails they exchanged, all of them after Epstein was first convicted The source told The Wrap that it is Weiss against 'everyone right now' and that Paramount CEO David Ellison may have to step in to make the final call on whether to fire Attia. The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Weiss, CBS News and Paramount for comment on the insider source's statements. Attia's new position at CBS came under threat after it was revealed that he exchanged hundreds of emails with Epstein after the sex trafficker had been convicted in 2008 of procuring a child for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute. Many of the communications, starting 2014, were crude or overtly sexual, though none appear to have referenced criminal acts. '[Female genitalia] is, indeed, low carb. Still awaiting results on gluten, though,' one of the emails Attia sent to Epstein read. Over the weekend, Attia wrote a lengthy apology to his staff and customers, which he then publicly shared on X Monday morning. 'To be clear: 1. I was not involved in any criminal activity. 2. My interactions with Epstein had nothing to do with his sexual abuse or exploitation of anyone,' the statement began. 'I was never on his plane, never on his island, and never present at any sex parties,' he continued. An insider source said it is Weiss against 'everyone right now' and that Paramount CEO David Ellison (pictured) may have to step in to make the final call on whether to fire Attia Attia was hired just one week ago as a contributor to CBS News, along with 18 others handpicked by Weiss '[Female genitalia] is, indeed, low carb. Still awaiting results on gluten, though,' one of the emails Attia sent to Epstein read 'I apologize and regret putting myself in a position where emails, some of them embarrassing, tasteless, and indefensible, are now public, and that is on me. I accept that reality and the humiliation that comes with it.' One of the more notorious emails which has been making the rounds online made it clear that Attia knew his friendship with Epstein could harm his reputation if it became public. 'You [know] the biggest problem with becoming friends with you? The life you lead is so outrageous, and yet I can't tell a soul,' the wellness influencer wrote in 2015. Attia insisted this was not because he had any 'awareness of wrongdoing' on Epstein's part, despite the billionaire's conviction seven years earlier. 'What I was referring to, poorly and flippantly, was the discretion commanded by those social and professional circlesthe idea that you don't talk about who you meet, the dinners you attend and the power and influence of the people in those settings,' he wrote in his public apology. 'What I wrote in that email reads terribly, and I own that.' Although Attia may have never visited Epstein's infamous private island of Little Saint James, another email exchange indicates that he wanted to. In a communication dated to April 2016, the pair compared Epstein's island with Grand Cayman, which the late sex trafficker said was very different because 'there are other people there'. Epstein with his right-hand woman and longtime lover, Ghislaine Maxwell Another email made it clear that Attia knew his friendship with Epstein could harm his reputation if it became public 'I need to visit some time,' Attia replied. The wellness influencer also had exchanges with Epstein's staff and associates, including his assistant Lesley Groff, to whom Attia complained he would 'go into JE withdrawal' if he didn't see his convicted sex offender pal soon. 'See you next time, hopefully JE in town when I'm back in 2 weeks. I go into JE withdrawal when I don't see him,' he wrote. Attia claimed that 'the presence and credibility of such venerable people' around Epstein made him seem trustworthy and 'clouded [his] judgement.' He said that Epstein misled him about the crimes he was convicted of, despite the real story being well-publicized and easily searchable. 'Shortly after we met, I asked him directly about his 2008 conviction. He characterized it as prostitution-related charges,' he wrote. Attia said that Epstein misled him about the crimes he was convicted of, despite the real story being well-publicized and easily searchable Attia also exchanged emails with Epstein's staff and associates, including his assistant Lesley Groff, to whom he complained he would 'go into JE withdrawal' if he didn't see his convicted sex offender pal soon 'I was incredibly naive to believe him. I mistook his social acceptance in the eyes of the credible people I saw him with for acceptability, and that was a serious error in my judgment. 'To be clear, I never witnessed illegal behavior and never saw anyone who appeared underage in his presence.' Attia claimed he did not learn the truth until reading a 2018 Miami Herald article, which 'repulsed' and 'nauseated' him. Morning Joe host Mika Brzezinski has broken down in tears live on air while her co-hosts reported on the abduction of fellow anchor Savannah Guthrie's mother. Nancy Guthrie, 84, was reported missing on Sunday after last being seen near her home in Tucson, Arizona, on Saturday night. Investigators believe she was abducted from her bed while she slept. During the show's segment on Tuesday morning, co-host Joe Scarborough said: 'Of course, the one that hits you and Willie and me the most, obviously, has to do with Savannah and her mom.' 'Shes a dear friend of all of ours, and I know Willie has worked with her even more but shes been friends of ours, well, since this show began,' he added. 'She was on the show regularly, and its just crushing news and we pray and have been praying without ceasing for her safe return.' As Scarborough, who is Brzezinski's husband, spoke, she could be seen dabbing her eyes with a tissue while sniffling in the background. 'Theres no words for whats happening here, but there are many prayers,' Brzezinski said. 'This is beyond unthinkable. Shocking doesnt do it justice,' third co-host Willie Geist added. 'Nancy Guthrie, Ive had the privilege of getting to know over the last 15 years. Just a kind, sweet, whip-smart, faithful woman, and none of us can believe this.' Morning Joe host Mika Brzezinski cried live on-air while her co-hosts reported on the abduction of fellow network TV journalist Savannah Guthrie's mother, Nancy Savannah Guthrie is seen with her mother, Nancy, who was reported missing in Tucson, Arizona, on Sunday. Investigators believe that she was abducted from her bed while she slept In the aftermath of the news of Nancy's abduction, there has been an outpouring of support from many of Savannah's colleagues at NBC Today and reporters from other TV networks, who have shared their condolences on air and via social media. Craig Melvin, Savannah's co-anchor on NBC Today, said during Monday's installment of the show, 'this is very concerning to us', while adding that the situation was 'deeply personal' to the show's crew. Jenna Bush Hager, another NBC Today host, spoke through tears on Monday's installment and said: 'I know her personally. And we want to just report, too, that she takes daily medication and she needs them for survival. 'We are thinking of our dearest, dearest Savannah and her whole family right now in our prayers.' Melvin also shared his condolences on Instagram, writing: 'Our thoughts and prayers are with Savannah and her family.' A slew of high-profile television hosts have echoed similar sentiments on social media, including NBC anchors Al Roker and Sheinelle Jones, and Dan Dryer, a meteorologist for the network. Former Today anchors Hoda Kotb and Katie Couric also shared police appeals for the public's help in tracking down the missing 84-year-old. Several posts included calls to action for anyone who might have information about Nancy's abduction, requesting that people call the Pima County Sheriff's Department at (520) 351-4900. Savannah is pictured with Brzezinski on the Today show in 2013 Savannah is pictured with Katie Couric (center) and Hoda Kotb (right), both of whom are former Today co-hosts and expressed their support for Savannah on social media On Monday evening, after all the shows of support, Savannah posted a new statement on her Instagram reading: 'We believe in prayer. we believe in voices raised in unison, in love, in hope. we believe in goodness. we believe in humanity. 'Above all, we believe in Him. thank you for lifting your prayers with ours for our beloved mom, our dearest Nancy, a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant. 'Raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment. We need you. "He will keep in perfect peace those whose hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord." 'A verse of Isaiah for all time for all of us. Bring her home.' Police have now been searching for Savannah's mother for about 48 hours, and they fear that time is running out to find her and bring her home safely, as she relies on daily medication. 'This is about an 84-year-old woman who is sick, who needs her medications, who, in the middle of the night, was taken from her bedroom,' Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos recently told the Daily Mail. 'If she is alive, she needs her medication, and its been well over 24 hours. That in itself could be fatal, and thats scary.' Savannah, who had been primed to lead NBC's coverage of the Winter Olympics, has also rushed to Arizona to join the search for her mother. During a press conference, authorities said they did not know if Nancy had been targeted because she is Savannah's mother, adding that no angles would be dismissed. Police have now been searching for Savannah's mother for about 48 hours, and they fear that time is running out to find her and bring her home safely, as she relies on daily medication A source close to Savannah Guthrie also told the Daily Mail that it did not seem like Nancy had chosen to leave her home of her own accord. Police said that although Nancy has mobility issues, she does not suffer from dementia or cognitive decline. The Pima County Sheriff's Office has asked residents of the Catalina Foothills to check doorbell cameras and house cameras for anything that looks suspicious and call it in. Jeff Lamie, another one of Guthries neighbors, said it was strange for her to disappear in such a quiet area. 'Its a very safe neighborhood. This is highly unusual, and we are very concerned about her,' he told azcentral. Lamie added that police have been going door-to-door to ask people if they can review footage from their doorbell cameras and search their backyards. The technology industry is booming thanks to the rapid growth of AI over the past few years. The likes of Amazon, Google and Meta are spending hundreds of billions of pounds on AI infrastructure, but it is not just the US that will reap the benefits. Britain has the third largest tech ecosystem worldwide, behind the US and China, and tech companies are growing on the back of investment and Government funding. Billions of pounds have been committed to tech research and development over the next decade, so it's no surprise more jobseekers look towards the industry. Those working in tech enjoy higher pay and satisfaction than elsewhere. As many as 94 per cent of tech workers are satisfied with their salary level, according to figures from Totaljobs, and two thirds have received a pay rise in the last 12 months alone. The recruitment platform said technology is currently the top sector for salaries, with an average advertised salary of 48,595 per year. The capital is home to as much as 59% of the UK's tech industry and 80% of AI roles In comparison, the median advertised pay across 21million UK jobs analysed by Totaljobs was just 33,500. This has risen 7.5 per cent in the last year, with the increase has driven by demand for technical, data and AI expertise. Beyond just tech firms themselves, other businesses are investing in technology as a means to scale or streamline their operations, and to keep up with competition. Luke Mckend, UK managing director at Totaljobs, said: 'As organisations look ahead and future-proof their workforce, demand for advanced technical, data, and AI expertise will continue to accelerate.' 'This growing skills premium reflects both the pace of technological change and the increasing pressure on employers to invest in capabilities and skills - that will underpin business growth. 'With this specialist tech talent also driving wage growth, the tech industry is becoming an increasingly attractive sector for job seekers at all stages of their careers.' Unsurprisingly, the main hotspot for tech roles is in London. In fact, the capital is home to as much as 59 per cent of the UK's tech industry, as well as 57 of the country's fastest growing tech firms. London-centric: More than two thirds of tech roles are in the capital (Shoreditch, pictured) Which tech jobs pay most? As a result, this means that some 65 per cent of all tech vacancies are available in London, while as many as 80 per cent of AI jobs are also London-based. London's average tech salary is notably higher than in other areas, at 70,000 per year. In comparison, salaries stand at 55,000 in Leeds and 5,300 in Portsmouth. Belfast, Birmingham and Edinburgh all have an average tech salary of 50,000. The tech roles that have the highest median salary include Python developers, which earn a median salary of 90,000, technical architects, who earn 87,500 on average and AI software developers, who earn a median salary of 75,000. How YOU can land a tech role '"Tech" has become a broad catch-all for countless different roles and sectors, which means there's more opportunity than ever for those looking to enter the industry,' Mckend said. One common mistake is thinking you need to know everything before applying you don't 'While candidates may assume they need hard, technical skills to get started, this isn't always the case. In many instances, you may already have the skills that translate to and be applied to a tech role. He added: 'Employers also value transferrable skills such as problemsolving, communication, adaptability and data literacy which can be developed from many backgrounds. 'Understanding how these strengths can be leveraged will help candidates unlock opportunities they may not have previously considered.' A quarter of recruiters, 25 per cent, now say AI and automation skills are the most valuable capability for determining salary and career progression, over the likes of leadership skills. Still, Nathaniel Okenwa, manager developer at communications software company Twilio, says: 'Experience with cloud technology, data, and AI tools is in high demand, but being able to demonstrate your thinking and team skills often makes the biggest impression. 'One common mistake is thinking you need to know everything before applying you don't. 'Employers expect learning on the job. Another is focusing on qualifications instead of showing what you've built or learned through practice.' However, it is important to build experience in your desired field, even if it is outside of work. For software developers, for example, Okenwa suggests building personal projects, contributing to open-source software or taking part in hackathons. He said: 'Employers often value this hands-on experience more than a perfect CV.' For tech in general, Okenwa says there are lots of ways to learn the basics. 'Online courses, coding tutorials, and practical challenges can get you productive quickly, especially when paired with real projects. 'There's an immense amount out there available for free on YouTube, as well as providers like Coursera and EdX. These fields reward people who experiment, keep learning, and stay up to date.' Okenwa said: 'It's never too late. Your career isn't fixed by the choices you make at school or university. Tech isn't a linear industry, and people move into it from all kinds of backgrounds.' AstraZeneca shares started trading on Wall Street yesterday fuelling fears that the British drugs giant could eventually quit the London stock market. Bosses hailed an exciting new period for the group as it made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange. The company is keeping its listings on the London Stock Exchange where it is the second-largest firm in the FTSE 100 with a value of 215billion and in Stockholm. But the decision to put its US shares on an equal footing has raised fears it could at some point switch its main listing to Wall Street, in what would be a huge setback for London. Shares rose 3.2 per cent in London yesterday and more than 5 per cent in New York. AstraZeneca said it hopes the new listing will help US investors to participate in the companys strong growth. US listing: Astrazeneca shares have started trading on Wall Street although the company is keeping its listings on the London Stock Exchange AstraZeneca makes almost half of its revenues in the US and is targeting further expansion there. Last July, the company said it plans around 36.5billion in investment in the US by 2030. AstraZeneca chairman Michel Demare said the listing marks the start of an exciting new period for AstraZeneca. Zurich Insurance Group has revealed it owns a stake worth about 100million in a London-listed rival it is trying to buy. In a filing under City takeover rules, the Swiss giant revealed it has a 1.47 per cent holding in Lloyds of London insurer Beazley. The disclosure came after Beazley last month rejected a 1280p-per-share offer from Zurich. That was the fifth offer Zurich had made for the company and 700million less than the 8.4billion it proposed last June. That bid was also rejected by the Beazley board. Beazley is based in London and has operations in Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia. Its shares rose 3.1 per cent. With all eyes focused on the failures of South East Water in January, the far bigger Thames Water, with 16m customers, was dumping raw sewage into the River Mole in pastoral Surrey. Nearly 800 cumulative hours of discharges were made between January 20-24 amid heavy rain. The despoliation comes amid reports, first aired on Sky, that Britains largest water firm is closing in on a 16billion rescue deal with its creditors, which would prevent it from falling into public ownership. Under the terms of the outline package, Thames creditors would take a 30 per cent cut to the debt pile of 22.8billion in exchange for 10 per cent of the equity. They also have pledged to inject more than 3.15billion of new cash. Most of the detail surrounding the deal is obscure, including the ownership and management of the self-styled London & Valley Water consortium, which plans to control the utility. Bailed out: Thames Water dumped raw sewage into the River Mole for 800 cumulative hours between January 20 and January 24 this year amid heavy rain The negotiations with an array of sharp-shooting creditors, including debt specialists Elliott, Silver Point and Pimco, have been conducted behind closed doors. The secrecy is unfortunate given the wider public interest for domestic customers and business users, as well as victims of the utilitys continued pollution of rivers in the Thames Valley. Under the proposed deal, the enigmatic London & Valley Water is understood to have committed to 20.5billion of infrastructure and service spending over five years. It is pledging no dividends until the business has been turned around. There is an agreement not to sell or relist until 2030. Much of the investment, if it takes place, will come from agreed price increases, with a hike of 5 per cent starting in April this year. The lack of commitment by the creditors beyond 2030 means there is very little time to turn around a notoriously leaky tanker with a poor environmental record. There is no disclosure so far as to whether the new owners have been successful in winning a break from paying future penalties for failing to meet performance targets and polluting the waterways. An outcome which gave the hard-nosed creditors a break on the disciplines imposed on the other suppliers would be a national disgrace. The road to rescue is still rocky. Along the way the Government has managed to lose a longer-term deal with KKRs infrastructure team and has given short shrift to an offer from Li Ka-shings CK Hutchison Holdings, owner of Northumbrian Water. The failure to conduct an open auction process speaks volumes to a clueless Labour government. Beazley battle Zurichs disclosure that it holds a 1.47 per cent stake in Beazley was seen as a sign that the Swiss behemoth is increasing the heat in its battle to seize control of the Lloyds underwriter. The reality, it seems, is more mundane. The shareholding in Beazley stock consists largely of equity held by funds in Zurichs asset arm. At present there is no intention to build a larger strategic stake as Zurich pursues Beazley. Currently there is a stand-off with the Beazley board still unwilling to fully engage with Zurich despite a formal offer worth 7.7billion on the table, following four previous informal approaches. Beazleys case has not been assisted by the revelation in The Mail on Sunday that several of its directors purchased significant amounts of Beazley shares in August 2025, after informal approaches had been made but before the Zurich interest was public. The case against Zurich deal remains the same. The offer price is underwhelming. More importantly the entrepreneurial spirit which has taken Beazley into new areas of risk, such as cyber security, will not be enhanced by Swiss control. Chocolate fudge Which is the worlds largest chocolate company? The more obvious pub quiz answers would be Mondelez, owner of Cadbury, Hershey, Nestle, Mars or Ferrero. The real choc champion is Switzerlands Barry Callebaut, which supplies chocolate for Unilevers Magnum and Nestles KitKat. A punch-up on the Barry Callebaut board over a proposal to spin off the groups cocoa unit led to the departure of boss Peter Feld and his replacement by Unilever discard Hein Schumacher. What goes around comes around. Elon Musk's SpaceX will merge with his artificial intelligence start-up as the tech titan looks to consolidate his business interests. Aerospace firm SpaceX announced plans to buy xAI, the company behind X's Grok chatbot, to bring AI, rockets and satellites under one company. While terms of the deal were not disclosed, Reuters reported it valued xAI at $125billion (91billon) and SpaceX at $1trillion, making it the most valuable private company in history. In an update posted to its website, Musk said: 'This marks not just the next chapter, but the next book in SpaceX and xAI's mission: scaling to make a sentient sun to understand the Universe and extend the light of consciousness to the stars!' Investors in xAI will reportedly receive 0.1433 shares of SpaceX for every share of xAI as part of the deal. The deal values the company at $1.25trn The acquisition comes as Musk pursues plans to put data centres and satellites in space to power AI. Musk said: 'In the long term, space-based AI is obviously the only way to scale. To harness even a millionth of our Sun's energy would require over a million times more energy than our civilization currently uses. 'My estimate is that within 2 to 3 years, the lowest cost way to generate AI compute will be in space.' The announcement comes ahead of SpaceX's blockbuster IPO, which is expected this summer. It is the latest sign that Musk is bringing his business interests under one roof, after xAI acquired the X platform, formerly Twitter, and Tesla recently announced $2billion investment into the AI firm. Musk told investors he saw the firm as a future 'orchestra conductor' for Tesla's robotic production lines. Tesla also announced it would end the production of two of its most popular car models, with the factory converted to produce the upcoming Optimus robot. British satellite firm Filtronic saw its profit fall in the six months ending 30 November, despite securing a record order book. The Aim-listed business provides bespoke innovative radio frequency solutions, which it claims cannot be found anywhere else. It said it was entering the second half of its financial year with a 'record order book' as it continues to operate at a 'greater scale'. It reported revenue of 25.3million for the six months ending 30 November 2025, broadly flat against 25.6million in the same period the previous year. Adjusted EBITDA fell to 5.1million from 8.7million, with operating profit slipping to 2.6million, down from from 6.8million. Ambitious: Nat Edington is the chief executive of Filtronic Profits were hit by investments in people, facilities, and product development, which should strengthen the foundations for future growth, the business said. Despite lower profitability, cash generation improved slightly, with operating cash flow improving to 3.4million from 2.1million. Filtronic, which was set up in 1977, specialises in the design and manufacture of what it calls 'mission-critical' communication networks for the aerospace, defence, telecoms infrastructure and low earth orbit space markets. It has two manufacturing sites in County Durham and the US, as well as three engineering centres in the UK. In August 2025, Filtronic secured its largest ever contract with Elon Musks SpaceX, worth 47.3million. The deal will see it supply its next-generation gallium nitride E-band technology, which is a type of radio frequency tech designed for high-performance wireless communication. The deal unveiled last August saw Filtronic further cement its role in SpaceXs Starlink programme, with having the firm first striking up a strategic partnership and commercial agreement with SpaceX in April 2024. In the six months to 30 November, Filtronic also secured a multi-year contract with a European space customer and a 13.4million deal with a leading European defence firm. Around 90 per cent of the group's current year revenues are now covered by contracted orders, Filtronic said. It said it remained confident it will meet current market expectations for annual revenue and EBITDA. Nat Edington, chief executive of Filtronic, said: 'The first half of the year demonstrated the strength of Filtronics positioning in markets where performance, reliability and security are mission critical. 'Demand across our space, aerospace and defence markets remains robust, and our focus on high-frequency RF technologies continues to differentiate us with customers operating in the most demanding environments. 'With a record order book, increasing customer diversification and the business now operating at greater scale, we have entered the second half confident of continuing our planned growth.' The Smarter Web Company opened on London's main market on Tuesday in a shower of orange and black confetti, as the firm's boss reaffirmed his FTSE 100 ambitions. Smarter Web Company debuted with a share price of 43p. As of mid-morning, shares were trading at 44p. 'I'm truly confident in making it into the FTSE 250 by September [the third quarterly rebalance of 2026],' Andrew Webley, chief executive of Smarter Web Company told This is Money, as the company rang the London Stock Exchange opening bell. 'Without guaranteeing it, this year I hope we can make it into the FTSE 250 now we are on the London Stock Exchange, we can get on the 250, and then we can get on the FTSE 100,' he said. The company launched in 2009 and has origins in web design, but its strategy has recently shifted towards holding bitcoin on its balance sheet. Webley's firm has spent some 221million of investor capital buying bitcoin as part of its strategy as a bitcoin treasury company. Webley (left centre) says he hopes the Smarter Web Company will eventually enter the FTSE 100 Its bitcoin holdings were purchased at an average price of just over $111,000 each. Bitcoin was trading at $78,442 per token on Tuesday, having fallen from its peak of around $124,000 in October last year. The firm now owns 2,674 bitcoin, and Webley says he plans to keep buying the tokens in the future. Smarter Web Company last bought bitcoin on 22 January at $90,289 per token. After listing on Aquis in April last year, the firm surged in value, rising to a market cap of over 1billion, before dropping back to a current market cap of just over 150million. It is now trading on London's main market under the ticker 'SWC' with a market cap of around 118million. The firm also trades on the OTCQB Venture Market in the US, and has an unsponsored depositary listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. A large chunk of guests at the LSE event were investors in the firm. 'I've been to lots of opening ceremonies, but I've never seen anyone invite shareholders,' one guest told Webley. Webley told This is Money: 'The business should be run for the benefit of the shareholders. I wanted to list my own business because I wanted a business that I could invest in was following this strategy. 'We'll probably be the most volatile stock in the UK. But if you want a stock that is going to go up, you do need volatility that's why we put so much effort into explaining the negatives, we're doing our best on that and most of our shareholder understand that, but they're happy with the risk reward.' The Smarter Web Company opened on London's main market on Tuesday A number of firms have launched public offerings as bitcoin treasury companies - a format that Webley pioneered in the UK, inspired by the strategy of the aptly named US company Strategy. However, this rush of companies buying and holding bitcoin as part of their business strategy has saturated a market that SWC started off in alone. In an announcement, Webley said: 'We remain committed to building a British success story that contributes meaningfully to the UK economy, showcases the ambition of the UK's entrepreneurial spirit, and demonstrates the role that Bitcoin, as a form of digital capital, can play in supporting the growth of modern businesses.' Speaking on Tuesday to amassed shareholders - many wearing Smarter's hallmark orange - at the opening ceremony event at the London Stock Exchange, Webley said: 'I'm very proud of what we've achieved together so far. I'm looking forward to the future very much we are only just getting started.' First-time buyers can now secure a mortgage with Santander with just a 2 per cent deposit, as long as it is not below 10,000. It means an eligible buyer could purchase a 500,000 home with just a 10,000 deposit. Santander's My First Mortgage product is a five-year fixed rate deal, with a rate of 5.19 per cent, zero product fee and 250 cashback. Someone buying a 500,000 property with a 490,000 mortgage could expect to pay 2,689 a month if repaying the whole loan over a 30 year period. The product is available exclusively to first-time buyers, via Santander mortgage advisers or mortgage brokers. The new product requires a minimum 10,000 deposit, with maximum lending up to 500,000 repayable over a term of between five and 40 years. Santander's new deal is a five-year fixed rate mortgage product, with a rate of 5.19%, zero product fee and 250 cashback Mortgages that cover above 95 per cent of a home's value are only available on existing houses only. So not new builds or flats. Santander is hopeful that the mortgage product could prove popular among first-time buyers. More than half of adults said they found saving money for a deposit to be the biggest barrier to buying a property, according to data from the lender. Its internal data also shows that two thirds of first-time buyers purchased a house in 2025, rather than a flat. All lending remains subject to Santanders broader affordability checks, including a maximum loan to income multiple of 4.45 times gross salary. It means someone buying alone with a 50,000 salary won't be able to borrow more than 222,500. Those looking to buy a new build property or flat are able to continue to access borrowing that covers up to 95 per cent of the property's value. The bank says it is prepared to accept gifted deposits from family members and consider lending up to 5.5 times income. David Morris, head of homes for Santander UK said: 'We know that saving for a deposit remains one of the biggest hurdles to homeownership. 'Last year, the average first-time buyer with Santander put down a deposit of more than 85,0003, a figure that can feel unattainable for todays aspiring homeowners, whether thats a result of more modest income, limited family financial support, rising rental costs, and in some cases childcare expenses. 'We want to help more people benefit from the stability and sense of pride that owning a home brings, while maintaining our position as a responsible lender.' In terms of how Santander's low deposit mortgage compares with the rest of the market, there are some cost savings advantages for those prepared to save up a 5 per cent deposit before buying. For those that do, Skipton has 4.52 per cent two-year fix and Clydesdale Bank has a 4.54 per cent five-year year fix - both offered exclusively via mortgage brokers. 'It is great to see one of the bigger banks coming out with a low deposit scheme targeting first time buyers with smaller deposits,' says Aaron Strutt of broker Trinity Financial. 'There is a reasonable amount of choice in this part of the mortgage market now which means you do not need a huge deposit to buy a property anymore. 'The rate is not amazing, but it is not bad. For many the mortgage repayments would probably be cheaper than renting especially if they take a longer term so I suspect this will be a popular product. 'Many of the Big banks and building societies are offering income stretch mortgages or guarantor mortgages but they have shied away from deals where borrowers need less than a 5 per cent deposit. 'Santanders new my first mortgage product will mean it is offering similar schemes to the ones through Skipton, Yorkshire Building Society and April.' With low deposit mortgage deals the fear is always that if house prices were to fall, then it may leave someone at risk of negative equity and unable to remortgage to a different lender or move home. Negative equity is when the value of a house falls below the amount left to pay on the mortgage, which is easier to do when only a small deposit has been put down. However, Strutt has some suggestions for borrowers to avoid falling foul of this. 'If you do take a low deposit mortgage then it often makes sense to make overpayments and use the standard 10 per cent overpayment facilities if possible to try and reduce the loan to value so it's closer to 90 per cent or 95 per cent. This is where lots of lenders have more competitively priced rates.' The sudden collapse of Prax Lindsey Oil Refinery (PLOR) last June, with a trail of 1.5billion debts amid a mountain of unpaid loans, saw hundreds of workers left jobless, redundancy packages slashed and family livelihoods ruined. Following the cancellation of a bank loan for 783million which was riddled with 'irregularities', oil baron Winston Soosaipillai and his wife Arani put their 5million Surrey mansion up for sale, and took 11.5million with them in pay and dividends they had awarded themselves in the years leading up to the firm's collapse into administration. Refining will not continue at the site as new owners Phillips 66 are set to 'mothball' the PLOR after they bought it January, spelling misery for the angry and frightened community - confirming hundreds of permanent job losses. One of those hit by the billionaire's believed disappearance is pub landlord and hotelier Stephen Gorwood, 62, who has run the Black Bull Inn in the nearby village of East Halton since 2011 and said that the PLOR's plight had harmed his business. 'All went well until that fateful Monday when Prax announced its liquidation,' he told the Daily Mail. 'I had a number of booking cancellations. And in the next five weeks, I had the equivalent of half a week's worth of bookings - which, as you can imagine, was a bit of a cash flow hit.' The Prax Lindsey Oil Refinery, owned by Winston Soosaipillai's Prax Group, was made insolvent on Monday, July 30. Six months later it was bought by American rivals Phillips 66 who own the Humber Refinery opposite Stephen Gorwood, 62, has said the occupancy in his hotel since the insolvency has been 'pathetic' and that he has had to let young people go from his business Many in the area are furious at Labour for allowing Phillips 66 to end refining and so hundreds of jobs at the site. The Unite union say it will be turned into 'a glorified storage tank' and demanded it not be 'mothballed'. Mr Gorwood, who has 23 beds in his hotel across four buildings, said: 'I worry more for the young. I've got a lovely team around me, but unfortunately, I'm having to let go of the younger elements of that team. 'I can't afford the investment and training to bring them on as I want to see them progress through their careers.' Oil refineries do regular shutdowns for maintenance, and during these shutdowns, hundreds of contractors come to the area to carry out the essential work. For Mr Gorwood and many others in the community, this was an important part of a financial ecosystem in the area. These contractors became hundreds of customers and a massive boost for the local economy for weeks or even months at a time. 'That would happen several times a year,' Mr Gorwood said. 'You'd get the same guys coming back. I'd get a phone call asking for a room, and that was how it worked. But all that lot has come to a halt. 'So my occupancy rate since June has been, well, I'd call it pathetic.' Winston Sanjeev Kumar Soosaipillai (pictured), head of oil firm Prax, has faced demands from Government ministers to be questioned over the company's collapse Mr Soosaipillai's 5million Weybridge property was advertised for rent on property website Rightmove not long before news of the move into administration was confirmed The 250 staff still employed at the PLOR only have their jobs secured until March 31, the government's Insolvency Service said. There had been 420 people employed there before the liquidation in June. The Phillips 66 takeover did not fill Mr Gorwood with optimism either, who just saw it as yet more job losses. 'Because we're losing refining, all those jobs, all those careers - all the scaffolders, all the construction engineers, all the background, the whole lot - will just go with it. 'Britain's manufacturing capacity, again, takes another knock, and we don't seem to have anything to replace it at the moment.' Mr Soosaipillai bought the PLOR from the French oil company Total in 2021 and since then recorded 75million losses at the site. Lindsey was one of the last five oil refineries in the UK and responsible for 10 per cent of fuel production in the country. Weeks after Mr Soosaipillai assured Energy Secretary Ed Miliband that operations at the refinery were running smoothly, Lindsey totally collapsed. This disaster all happened under government ministers' noses, who were none the wiser until it was far too late. Jimmy Weir, who runs The County pub-hotel, blames the government for the redundancies and says they're doing nothing for PLOR after bailing out Scunthorpe steelworks Another publican, Jimmy Weir, who runs the pub-hotel The County in the nearby town of Immingham, which has 37 rooms, was furious at Mr Soosaipillai's disappearance and the lack of help from the government. He told the Daily Mail: 'It stinks. The government wants f****** actually. They stepped in and bailed the Scunthorpe steelworks out, and they're not doing nothing here.' He added: 'Some of the men working there have been there for 20, 30 years. They're all out of work. The contractors aren't coming anymore either, which affects this place because the shutdown used to be eight to 12 weeks a year. Now, no one needs accommodation. They're not coming. 'It's just rubbish - for the community and all. All the contractors were staying here and they'd go to the Chinese or shops or whatever. The government is rubbish.' An anonymous Lindsey Oil Refinery employee of 16 years faces losing his job in two months. His father reported that his redundancy package would be reduced from around 100,000 to just 11,000, while the oil baron was left with tens of millions. The employee told the Daily Mail that he and his colleagues 'still don't know' what will happen to them. He explained the huge reduction for his redundancy payout: 'It's through statutory because the refinery went into liquidation.' Statutory payouts are the legal minimum required, based on employee age and length of service. Unite has been campaigning to save the refinery since June, with general secretary Shannon Graham saying: 'Phillips 66 should not be allowed to just mothball the site and turn it into a glorified storage tank' He continued: 'I've got a trade that I can fall back on, so I'll go do that, but apart from that, nothing. They are offering packages for training, but nothing's in motion yet because we haven't been made redundant yet, so we can't do training beforehand.' The government has now frozen 150million of Mr Soosaipillai's assets, which include North Sea oil fields and hundreds of petrol stations acquired on mountains of debt. It is believed that he owes 250million to the taxpayer alone. He now faces legal claims from administrators. Local mother and retired pensioner Catherine Bell said her son, her daughter and her daughter's husband all work at Lindsey Oil Refinery. She said: 'They'll have to look for jobs when there are none. My daughter's got three kids. 'Obviously, they're wondering what they're going to b***** do once they all got told to go.' Mrs Bell used to work at the PLOR herself in the mid-seventies as a caterer and then a security guard. The refinery was opened in 1968. Her daughter has worked in the catering unit for the past 12 years, she said. There was just 203 left in Prax's bank account when oil supplier Glencore called in a 53.6million debt, The Times found Teneo, which is administrating for the Prax Group, is trying to sell the 112.2million in shares the oil giant has in North Sea oil fields 'A lot of people are going to have to sign on, and they're going to have to find a job, but there are no jobs,' Mrs Bell said, weighing up the effects on her community. 'It's just one of those things, I blame the government. They can't be asked to do anything.' Despite the hardships, these local institutions are refusing to bow to the barrage of financial troubles caused by Mr Soosaipillai's terrible debt fallout. All of them cite the community as a lifeline. Hotelier Mr Gorwood said he wasn't worried for the survival of his business because, he said, 'I've got a great team. The community have been absolutely wonderful. Absolutely fantastic. 'I've enjoyed absolutely tremendous local support from the community over Christmas.' Landlord Mr Weir said, 'It will affect the business, but you've just got to keep going.' Jessica Gleddhill, 43, who runs the Pelham Hotel in Immingham, joined in the sentiment, saying, 'That's the thing about Immingham, when things go wrong, we all stick together.' However, the accommodation side of her business is currently running at a 200 loss as of this week, she said. Jessica Gleddhill, 43, said the thing about Immingham, when things go wrong, we all stick together' Two of Phillips 66's refineries in the US Gulf Coast can process Venezuelan crude oil 'We've hardly got any bookings at all since June. We've got 10 rooms, and I've only had two bookings since the end of November. They've only just come in on Monday.' The presence of the PLOR redundancies has been noticed in the pub below the hotel too, with Mrs Gleddhill reporting that those who lost their jobs were unhappy and 'haven't been in much because they've had no work, so they haven't been able to come in and spend. 'There's definitely a real presence of it in the community.' Stoic Mrs Gleddhill said that she was not worried for her business yet due to the community support, saying, 'We'll see what happens this year.' Elsewhere in Immingham, shopkeeper Louise Spalding, 45, has also noticed how affected members of the community have had to behave differently in the Heron Foods shop. She said: 'People are coming in less and budgeting. They're concerned about spending and how much it is. 'The only reason you notice is that you're at the till and you hear they've got a set budget. But it's not nice at all. 'For a lot of people, it was just before Christmas as well - what can you do? Louise Spalding, 45, 'people are coming in less and budgeting' following the Lindsey Oil Refinery insolvency Cafe owner Natasha Brown, 38, said many in the community are 'worried about their jobs' 'And it's not just the people who were employed through PLOR, it's all those employed through agencies on the site - it's everyone, there just aren't enough jobs for them to go into anywhere.' The Phillips 66 takeover did not fill her with joy either, she said: 'Either way, whatever they do with it, it's not going to get the amount of people unemployed from it back into work, especially in this day and age when there are too many people unemployed.' Natasha Brown, 38, owner of The Kiddies Cafe, just down the street from Heron Foods in Immingham, also heard about struggles in the community through her customers. 'They're just worried about their jobs, to be honest, because it's a big employer,' she said from behind the counter in her cafe, which opened in November last year. Despite the difficulties, she said business is going well because 'It is a strong community - it's an industrial town, so lots of people work on and around the refineries and the docks, so it is important to them.' She said that the timing of the PLOR insolvency was particularly hard on Immingham because another major employer at the Immingham Docks - biofuel company Greenergy - had also announced redundancies the day before the refinery collapsed. Their biodiesel plant is currently being shut down. At the time the PLOR was made insolvent, there was just 203 left in the bank for the refinery, The Times discovered. Oil provider Glencore had just called in a 53.6million debt for crude it had supplied to the Prax group, which it immediately defaulted on. Gelncore then seized control of all oil and products from Prax, as per the terms of its supply agreement, which meant Mr Soosaipillai could not sell any of it from his petrol stations or to airports without Glencore's approval. Andrew Smith, 62, said the Ashbourne hotel has taken a hit but said it had 'not really affected' business much The Ashbourne Hotel has been in business for 19 years and is a regular place to stay for many employees of the extensive industry in the area The Ashbourne Hotel is an upmarket establishment, overlooking the oil refinery whose chimneys are seen in the background here This sped up the cataclysmic folding of Prax and began the six-month saga ending in Phillips 66 taking over the Lindsey Oil Refinery site. However, not all companies have felt the pressure equally, Andrew Smith, 62, who runs the upmarket Ashbourne hotel right next to the PLOR said. The mess at Lindsey has 'not really affected us greatly, but there is some impact', Mr Smith said. The hotel relies less on the contractors than other establishments, though Mr Smith said the hotel did enjoy 'bursting at the seams with customers for shutdown periods', but it hosts lots of employees from other industries in the area. Mr Smith actually met the Mr Soosaipillai when he was buying the PLOR and stayed with his family and entourage of 20 employees. 'He was nice enough. I mean, I didn't work for him. Nice enough family,' Mr Smith said. Mr Soosaipillai previously said in September last year that he had remained in the UK and had been available to comply with liquidators ever since the refinery was made insolvent, The Telegraph said. Contrary to government statements, Mr Gorwood claimed that there were some bidders for the PLOR who would have kept the site refining oil, but instead Phillips 66 was chosen. The American company plans to refine Venezuelan crude after US involvement in the country. An Insolvency Service spokesperson said: 'The Official Receivers statutory duty is to act in the best interests of creditors. As part of this work, a rigorous assessment of all bids by credible parties was undertaken. 'Every aspect of the sale, the liquidation and the management of the site has been carried out thoroughly and fairly, and within the strict legal requirements of such a process. To suggest otherwise is incorrect.' One anonymous local claimed he had heard scrappers had already been asked to come in and take apart pieces of the PLOR that Phillips 66 did not want. Phillips 66 confirmed to The Daily Mail that this was not true. A spokesperson from Phillips 66 said: 'The transaction, which is subject to satisfaction of certain conditions including customary regulatory clearances, will be completed over the coming months. 'We can confirm that no decommissioning activities will occur before completion of the transaction, nor will any occur before we develop strategic plans for integration into the Phillips 66 Limited portfolio following completion of the transaction. They added: 'While the Lindsey Oil Refinery site will not reopen as a refinery, the acquisition of the assets will support employment at the Humber Refinery, bolster the local economy, and encourage investment in the region. 'We will also be engaging with local contractors and supply chain partners to maximise regional economic benefits. We understand there are concerns, particularly following the closure of other UK refineries. 'However, its important to note that this milestone is an important step in investing in the UKs energy security. We will be working with government and community leaders to ensure our plans align with regional strategies and opportunities for long-term employment. Energy Minister Michael Shanks told the Daily Mail: 'This agreement marks the next step in securing an industrial future for the Lindsey site and the workers, who were badly let down by their former owners. 'After a thorough process to identify a buyer for the site, the Official Receiver has determined Phillips 66 is the most credible bidder which can provide a viable future for this site. 'Phillips 66 is an experienced and credible operator, and todays sale agreement allows them to quickly expand operations at its neighbouring refinery, with all remaining staff guaranteed employment until the end of March. 'This will expand the companys ability to supply fuel to UK customers, boosting domestic energy security and securing jobs including hundreds of new construction jobs over the next five years.' Phillips 66s Humber Refinery, next door to Prax Lindsey, is one of the biggest refineries in the UK and has turned a consistent profit in recent years, unlike PLOR. The sale to the American company is expected to be completed in the first half of 2026. There had been other bids for the site made to the official receiver at the government's Insolvency Service, but none were credibly put forward that would see a return to refining operations in the next few years and that would allow for all employees to be retained, a spokesperson from the Department for Energy and Net Zero said. The Humber Refinery is Europes largest producer of anode-grade coke used in the aluminium industry and Europes only producer of speciality-grade graphite coke used in battery production. It is already producing sustainable aviation fuel at a commercial scale. Horses was once Los Angeles' hottest dining destination - so exclusive that even well-connected diners couldn't land a table without sliding into the maitre d's DMs. Behind its Yves Klein-blue door, the West Hollywood restaurant drew a stylish crowd of celebrities and scenesters, packed nightly onto dimly-lit banquettes. But just five years after opening, the hardest reservation in town has collapsed in extraordinary fashion. Horses closed abruptly two days before Christmas, citing building maintenance issues and unsafe conditions caused by heavy rain. But as customers' reservations were canceled and staff quietly packed up their things, a far darker story sat beneath the surface. The closure follows years of turmoil stemming from the spectacular breakdown of the restaurant's original owners: a high-profile chef husband-and-wife team whose split detonated into accusations of murdered pets, claims of physical and sexual abuse and financial chaos. Elizabeth Johnson had previously accused her estranged husband, Will Aghajanian, of killing their pet cat and harming more than a dozen animals - claims he vehemently denies. But the Daily Mail can now reveal she is also alleging he sexually harassed restaurant staff and that court documents claim he gave her an STD due to his 'risky sexual behavior.' The scandal permanently altered the business. While Horses remained heavily booked, revenue declined year over year, partly due to a drop-off in lucrative private events. Chefs Will Aghajanian and Elizabeth Johnson, a husband-and-wife team who ran Horses on Sunset Boulevard, are in a middle of a contentious divorce that included accusations of domestic abuse and sexual misconduct The former couple prepping food at Horses restaurant in December 2021 Horses' Yves Klein blue facade became a signature of the trendy restaurant on busy Sunset Boulevard By 2025 the restaurant was bleeding money and staff said the paychecks began to bounce. Records seen by the Daily Mail show two tax liens were filed by California against the restaurant totaling roughly $530,000, related to loans taken out. Two collections notices arrived in December and the restaurant's new management did not want to risk staff continuing to work without pay. They made the decision to halt operations entirely on December 23. Now, Johnson and Aghajanian are poised to face off in court amid their ongoing divorce - a case that has grown increasingly disturbing with each new filing. The couple married in May 2021 but had known each other for a decade, first meeting in 2011 while interning at Copenhagen's three-Michelin-star restaurant Noma, repeatedly named the world's best. Both built careers in elite kitchens, later running multiple ventures together, including Nashville's Catbird Seat and Los Angeles Jewish deli Freedman's, before launching Horses. When Horses debuted in September 2021, it was an immediate success. But employees later said they quickly noticed growing friction and unusual behavior between the couple. Aghajanian and Johnson ran one of Nashville's most celebrated restaurants, Catbird Seat, in 2019 before heading to LA to open Horses Johnson with one of their beloved pets, Pancho In a trial brief filed January 27 in Los Angeles Superior Court and obtained by the Daily Mail, Johnson reiterated allegations that Aghajanian subjected her to years of physical and emotional abuse - including claims he killed their cats. She is also fighting to keep their $1 million, three-bedroom, two-bathroom Victorian home in Echo Park. Johnson alleged her ex abandoned Horses and their other ventures to fail after he allegedly sexually abused and harassed employees. There were allegations that Aghajanian brought live turtles and butchered them 'with a lack of empathy,' one staffer told Grub Street. Another claimed Aghajanian allegedly forced them skin rabbit skulls as a strange 'group project.' Johnson wrote in her brief that the evidence would show Aghajanian engaged in 'sexual misconduct and harassment toward employees; risky sexual behavior resulting in transmission of illness to Elizabeth; repeated verbal abuse, coercive control and intimidation; violations of restraining order provisions; [and] financial irresponsibility and instability.' Johnson added that Horses is 'presently severely in debt and [at] risk of eviction.' She claimed that while the other partners want to sell the business to cover outstanding debts, Aghajanian has refused to discuss restructuring or a sale. Horses is currently owned by Horses Holdings LLC, which also includes founding investors Stephen Light, Michael Belloli and Ryan Giles. Johnson and Aghajanian are no longer involved in day-to-day operations, which were overseen by head chef Brittany Ha, general manager Steve LaFountain and head pastry chef Hannah Grubba until the closure. In an exclusive statement to the Daily Mail, Aghajanian denied all allegations and claimed he is the victim of a smear campaign and emotional manipulation. He has demanded Johnson retract statements she made as part of their divorce proceedings. Liz Johnson included various text messages in her request for a restraining order that she claims shows her estranged husband's abusive nature Liz Johnson claims she sustained bruises on her leg after Will Aghajanian allegedly grabbed her, according to a November 2022 affidavit Team Horses from left to right: Liz Johnson, Brittany Ha, Will Aghajanian, Lee Pallerino, Terence Leavey and Hannah Grubba pose inside the Sunset Boulevard restaurant in Dec. 29, 2021 He also made a new confession about what he says triggered the collapse of their marriage. 'She found out I cheated, then met with a lawyer and plotted how to take everything,' Aghajanian said. 'She tried to take our dogs, our home, our businesses and our friends. It's pretty much exactly the movie Gone Girl.' 'She's pretty much burned everyone and everything around her for her own gain. She tried to take everything, while I just tried to keep what was mine.' He dismissed the animal abuse allegations as a pretext. 'It was never about cats,' Aghajanian said. 'She just found out I cheated and wanted to take everything. I'm a dirtbag for cheating, sure, but we were together for a long time, and we were around each other 24/7. 'We became more like business partners than a romantic relationship at the end of the day. She was my best friend and then she tried to destroy my life and take everything.' The Frog Club, which attracted stars like Bowen Yang (pictured on right), featured amphibian murals by the illustrator Normandie Syken Employees say that despite the couple's marital issues playing out publicly for years, the instability didn't begin to directly affect staff until last year. Workers say Horses stopped paying via direct deposit and moved to paper checks. Several employees reported checks bouncing or being delayed due to insufficient funds. As well as the tax liens, a January 16 lawsuit filed by landlord Daniel Miharooni showed the company also owes $277,000 in unpaid rent. It is an almighty fall from grace in a short period of time. Horses electrified the LA dining scene with its Euro-leaning California menu, stylish crowd and kinetic atmosphere. The Los Angeles Times called it 'a new modern L.A. institution,' while The New York Times described it as 'that rare animal in Los Angeles: a hot reservation with serious cooking behind the scenes.' But problems escalated in late 2022 after court documents showed Johnson and Aghajanian split in October. Both filed restraining orders against each other. Johnson alleged Aghajanian killed at least one of their cats, punched her in the stomach and dragged her by the legs. He countered that Johnson was the aggressor and claimed she burned him with a hot spatula, leaving a scar. The restraining orders were ultimately dismissed in June 2023 after an agreement that Johnson would keep their Echo Park home. That agreement later unraveled. Aghajanian claimed Johnson refused to finalize financial terms, pushed him out of their businesses and withdrew hundreds of thousands of dollars without his consent. Johnson continued operating Horses with Ha and LaFountain until leaving entirely to open The Frog Club in New York's West Village in February 2024. Aghajanian has since opened a new restaurant, Kaspers, in India and now serves as culinary director of Food Matters Group. In court documents, Johnson said Kaspers is just a 'knockoff' of Horses. Meanwhile, Aghajanian alleged Johnson mismanaged finances and owes money taken after he was pushed out of Frog Club - a buzzy West Village restaurant that gained notoriety for its $1,000 tasting menu and strict no-photos policy before closing after 10 months. 'The whole point was we would move to New York to open Frog Club while they [Brittany Ha, Steve LaFountain and Hannah Grubba] would run Horses when we were not there,' the chef told Daily Mail. 'But Liz kept kicking me while I was down. She didnt even file for divorce because it would freeze our assets, so I had to.' He added his ex 'drove [Frog Club] into the ground' because 'she cant cook to save her life.' Aghajanian also claimed Johnson diverted funds from joint accounts, including $218,000 from a Charles Schwab account and shared cryptocurrency holdings. Johnson denied the allegations and said in court documents that the accounts were communal property and that she withdrew her rightful share. She claimed she is broke from their ongoing divorce and fighting a separate $50 million civil suit that Aghajanian filed against her in April 2023. Johnson is also fighting to retain custody of their dogs, arguing in court filings that her ex is using the divorce to force her to retract abuse allegations. 'Petitioner's insistence on a public retraction as the price of settlement demonstrates that the request is punitive and reputational, not remedial,' Johnson wrote in her trial brief. 'It further confirms that Petitioner is attempting to use this dissolution proceeding to extract a public confession and reputational rehabilitation, rather than to resolve property or financial issues within the Court's jurisdiction.' The owner of an Australian activewear label has defended the name of her store after she drew backlash for using a Maori word. Aroha Official was founded in 2021 and sells workout singlets and shorts for women online and from its Surfers Paradise store. The word Aroha means love, as well as breath or life force, in Maori. Owner Katie Bourke released a video on Instagram this week explaining she chose the word because she wanted to be a 'little different'. 'When I was researching the brand, I wanted meaning behind it, so the first thing was love and compassion. I didn't want to use an Australian name,' she said. 'I've also got a step-daughter who is of Maori culture, so we decided to go with Aroha, and it's been going strong for the last four years.' Some social media users vented their outrage that a Maori word had been used for an Australian label. Ms Bourke told Daily Mail she categorically denied her business 'culturally misappropriated its brand name'. The owner of an Australian activewear label has defended the name of her store after she drew backlash for using a Maori word Owner Katie Bourke released a video on Instagram this week explaining she chose the word because she wanted to be a 'little different' 'The name Aroha was chosen as an expression of inspiration from the meaning of love in the Maori language reflecting our brand values around self-love confidence, and empowerment through personal and physical change,' she said. 'At no point has Aroha Official represented itself as a Maori-owned or Maori-run business nor has the brand attempted to imply cultural authority or affiliation. 'Additionally we have never incorporated Maori tribal patterns, symbols, or cultural motifs into our activewear designs / branding or marketing.' Ms Bourke said her company never intended to 'appropriate, replicate, or profit from Maori culture'. 'We acknowledge that cultural language carries significance and we are committed to acting respectfully and transparently,' she said. 'We strongly reject the claim that Aroha Official has intentionally or otherwise engaged in cultural misappropriation.' Popular Maori content creator Holly-May Neho of Opotiki claimed the store had nothing to do with Maori culture. 'Why can't you tautoko (support) the Aboriginal people? The land that you're on. How about you start there?' she said. Demelza (above) were among the people who have blasted Aroha Maori woman Demelza urged the store to change its name. 'Maori here, our traditions, values and tikanga is beautiful,' she wrote online. 'Of course Maori want to share this with the world, but using the name without any thought of Maori in their own communities (giving back, educating your followers and customers about Maori culture) is not on.' The activewear brand has addressed the complaints on social media. 'We understand there are strong cultural connections to the name Aroha and we want to be clear and respectful in our response,' its response read. 'Our brand was established over four years ago at a time when were not aware of how deeply rooted and culturally significant the name was. 'This only came tour attention around six months ago. With all due respect the name was never chosen with cultural knowledge and then used, regardless it was a genuine lack of awareness at the time. 'Now that the business is well established, changing the name is not a simple or viable option. We hope this provides clarity and that the situation can be approached with understanding and mutual respect.' Ms Bourke said her company never intended to 'appropriate, replicate, or profit from Maori culture' (pictured, a store model showcasing the activewear brand) Ms Bourke apologised in an Instagram video, saying she never intended to offend. 'It was purely based on that we wanted our brand surrounded by love. This was never based on traditional culture, it was never branded as a multi brand,' she said. 'We've never exposed ourselves as a multi brand, we've always been as transparent as we can be, especially with all the multi people who come in store.' Aroha also addressed the 'recent issues' on its website. 'We want to be transparent and clear that when our brand was established we were not fully aware of the deeper cultural significance and ties associated with the word within Maori culture,' the company statement says. 'We do not wish to mislead or misrepresent in any way. Aroha is not a Maori-owned company.' A teacher who knew the two autistic teenage brothers killed in a suspected double murder-suicide in Perth's western suburbs has shared heartbreaking details of their lives and the challenges the boys faced at school. Parents Jarrod Clune, 50, and Maiwenna 'Mai' Goasdoue, 49, along with their sons Leon, 16, and Otis, 14, were found dead inside their Mosman Park home on Friday morning. A care worker who regularly assisted the boys raised the alarm at about 8.15am after arriving for a prearranged visit and discovering a note at the home containing words to the effect of 'don't enter' and instructions to call emergency services. When officers entered the property, they discovered all four members of the Clune family dead, along with their two dogs and cat. Leaving a floral tribute outside the Clune family home on Monday afternoon, an educator who was teaching one of the boys at the time of his death told the Mail she was still coming to terms with the murders. 'They were kind-hearted boys who just needed to be understood,' she said. 'Next year would mark Leon's graduation from school - that's a big deal. [It shows] just how far he came.' The teacher, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that, contrary to earlier reports, the brothers were not attending Christ Church Grammar Anglican boys' school at the time of their deaths. Leon Clune (left) was due to graduate school next year, according to a teacher who said, 'That's a big deal. [It shows] just how far he came.' His brother Otis (right) had been expelled from Christ Church Grammar School after a spitting incident years before his murder Parents Maiwenna Goasdoue and Jarrod Clune (pictured together) were found dead in their Mosman Park home along with their teenage sons Leon, 16, and Otis, 14, on Friday morning Instead, she claimed they were enrolled in a special-needs school that welcomed and supported them. She said Christ Church Grammar was not the right fit for the boys, both of whom had autism, with Otis being non-verbal. 'They expelled Otis around two years ago,' she added, explaining that a spitting incident had been the last straw. She further claimed that someone at the school had described him as a 'monster' to his exhausted mother. Two additional sources confirmed to the Mail that Otis had been expelled. Christ Church Grammar declined to comment specifically on Otis' expulsion, instead offering a general statement about supporting grieving families and respecting the police investigation. It's unclear when Leon left Christ Church Grammar, but there is no suggestion he was also expelled. The Mail understands the Clunes had difficulty finding the right school for their sons. The teacher went on to say that the boys' parents seemed loving and dedicated, but would have been extremely sleep-deprived. 'The boys never slept at night. They often slept at school,' she said, adding that sleeplessness is common with severe autism. Christ Church Grammar declined to address Otis' expulsion, offering instead a general statement about supporting grieving families and respecting the police investigation Leon (pictured) loved Disney films, including Toy Story Along with the family, two dogs and a cat were also found dead. (Otis is pictured) While there were difficulties due to their autism, the teacher said the boys also loved their pets Diego and Loretta - who were also killed - as well as Disney movies. 'Leon loved Toy Story, especially the character Woody,' she said. 'Otis loved Finding Nemo and would often bring his Nemo and Dory [stuffed toys] to school which helped him with [his] sensory [issues].' The educator said the parents did everything they could to support their sons, including taking them to therapy and seeking professional help as far away as Sydney. On Friday, a care worker - not the teacher - arrived at the Clune house to find a disturbing note on the door urging them not to enter and to call emergency services. When officers entered, they found all four members of the Clune family dead, alongside the family's two dogs and cat. The bodies were located in different parts of the home, with police confirming the deaths were not violent and no weapons were involved. Police have not confirmed how the family died, but drone images taken above the property appear to show what may be bloodstains at the rear of the home, metres from bedsheets hanging to dry on a clothes rack. Floral tributes including a model ship were placed at the Mott Crescent home in Mosman Park A heartfelt card left for the Clune family was addressed to the parents and their sons A neighbour was seen paying his respects at the Clune family home A Western Australia Police spokesperson declined to comment on the bloodstains, instead telling the Mail: 'This incident remains under investigation and no further comment can be provided at this time.' Friends and community members have since taken to social media to pay tribute to the Clune family, with some claiming the NDIS had failed Leon and Otis. French-born Ms Goasdoue, who was known as 'Mai' to her friends, belonged to multiple Facebook support pages and described her boys as having 'severe' autism. 'The Clune boys will always hold a special place in my heart they taught me to think outside the box when it came to working with autism and reminded me that communication is so much more than words,' autism mentor Maddie Page wrote on Facebook. 'My heart feels unbearably heavy knowing that the NDIS system failed them, and that they were made to feel they had no other choice. There truly was no one like them, and their parents were their biggest, fiercest supporters.' Reports suggest one of the boys had recently had his NDIS funding cut. Close friend Nedra previously told the Mail that the couple felt increasingly isolated and unsupported by friends and family, adding that the boys' diagnoses could make life 'difficult and very challenging'. 'They often felt isolated, unsupported and abandoned by... support services, schools, the NDIS, the health system and the community in general,' she said. 'No one can understand the endless fight to get the support and services they so desperately needed. Mai wouldn't even put her boys into respite care in case they were mistreated in any way. 'I can imagine that [there was a] lack of support [and] chronic sleep deprivation [as] the boys did not sleep through the night and long school holidays of challenging behaviours made [Mai and Jarrod] feel they had no other option.' Another friend, who chose to remain anonymous, described the parents as a 'strong couple' who loved their children 'deeply and moved all the stones they could to ensure that they had the required supports and help'. 'Unfortunately they were fighting a losing battle against a system which is not here to assist,' they said. 'This was not a domestic violence-type murder-suicide.' Jarrod Clune's father Michael was also seen visiting his late son's home on Monday A woman was seen delivering a meal to Jarrod's sister Jemima 'This tragedy arose because two parents were so beaten down by the system, so isolated, so fearful for the future of their children that they could see no other way out.' On Saturday, it emerged a second note - believed to be a letter - helped investigators conclude the tragedy was a double murder-suicide, with the message reportedly outlining plans for the family's finances and suggesting the parents jointly decided to end their lives and those of their children. Detective Acting Inspector Jessica Securo told reporters on Friday that there was no known history of family violence connected to those involved. 'Although this investigation is in its infancy, police are investigating this matter as a double murder-suicide,' she said. She said that the bodies of the family were located 'in different parts of the property'. 'There doesn't appear to be a violent incident that has occurred at the house. 'This is an incredibly tragic situation for the family, the person who discovered them, and our first responders,' she said. Mosman Park is one of Perth's most expensive suburbs and is bordered by some of the city's most popular beaches, including nearby Cottesloe. Lifeline: 13 11 14 A prestigious college school has been criticised by ex-pupils for throwing out a whole library-worth of books. Magdalen College School, Brackley, in Northamptonshire, is one of three associate schools of Oxford University. The school, criticised in Ofsted's most recent report for 'insufficient progress', was recently placed in 'special measures' - and has now been accused of ditching all books in a skip. Former pupil and ex-Reform UK candidate Oliver Lewis told of being horrified by conditions when visiting his old school to help out at an interviews day. He recalled: 'I walked into the VI Form Centre and my immediate reaction was, "Wow this feels spacious - where did all the books go?"' He described being told by a staff member: 'Oh, we don't need books anymore - everything's online now.' Mr Lewis said it transpired the 'entire library had been chucked in a skip'. He added: 'The library was actually quite good and comprehensive - I'd donated many books to it in the past, for the economics, history and politics sections. Magdalen College School, Brackley (pictured), in Northamptonshire, is one of three associate schools of Oxford University - but has been placed by Ofsted in special measures Former pupil Oliver Lewis has criticised the school for throwing away all its library books 'The idea "we don't need books anymore" is for the fairies - certainly in my subjects for study at advanced level. 'Can we imagine Magdalen College School Oxford or the Royal Latin School chucking all their books in a skip? It would be unthinkable. 'What are high-achieving pupils expected to do when they arrive at, for example, the LSE - as I did from Magdalen - and have books thrown at them by the tonne?' Mr Lewis, an academic specialising in 'UK Public Policy Failure', attended the school between 1998 and 2005. He went on to describe one of Magdalen's two sites as an 'embarrassing mess' including 'hedges uncut, trees unpollarded, brambles growing everywhere'. The two other schools affiliated to Oxford University's Magdalen College are Magdalen College School in Oxford and Wainfleet All Saints in Lincolnshire. Mr Lewis has criticised the state of his old school as an indictment of failings in comprehensive education since reforms that began in the 1960s, including a crackdown on grammar schools. The ex-pupil added: 'I'm angry and entitled to be. This school has every single applicable condition to be an outstanding school. The fact it isn't is a disgrace and it needs calling out as such. Mr Lewis, an academic specialising in 'UK Public Policy Failure', attended the school between 1998 and 2005 'I cant pin the blame for comprehensive education on MCS Brackley but shameful acts like chucking the VI Form library in a skip is on them.' Magdalen College School, Brackley, which was originally established in 1548, was a grammar school before forming a new comprehensive school in 1973 after merging with two other schools nearby - before taking on academy status 40 years later. Mr Lewis told the Daily Mail: 'The issues around this school have been a long time brewing. 'If a school like Magdalen, with sponsorship from an Oxford college which makes it unique as a state school in the UK, can't make comprehensive education work, what hope for the rest?' Former pupils include Asda chairman and former Royal Mail non-executive chairman Allan Leighton and the Right Reverend Michael Ipgrave, Bishop of Lichfield. The school in Northamptonshire was first put into special measures in June last year following a critical Ofsted inspection and demands for improvements. And after a follow-up check Ofsted inspector Jayne Ashman wrote last October, in a letter shared on the school's website, it should remain in special measures. She told how leaders had 'made insufficient progress to improve the school' and 'strongly' recommended it should not appoint teachers early in their careers. The ruling came despite a turnover of staff since the previous inspection, including 17 employees leaving and 13 joining. Pictured is Oxford University's Magdalen College - associated schools are Magdalen College School, Brackley, Magdalen College School in Oxford and Wainfleet All Saints in Lincolnshire A new visitor-management system was installed across school sites and staff were said to be 'more aware of which students are on or off site at any given time' - but Ms Ashman said safeguarding arrangements were 'still not effective'. She added: 'Staff do not have accurate information about pupils starting points, learning gaps or the ambitious curriculum end points that they can achieve. 'As a result, pupils' learning needs are not successfully addressed. This has led to significant underachievement and is an issue that must be addressed at pace.' The previous report last June, following an inspection visit two months earlier, said the school had 'failed to provide pupils with an acceptable standard of education'. The report added: 'Staff do not have high enough expectations of what pupils can achieve or how they should behave.' The Daily Mail has approached Magdalen College School in Brackley for comment and was told the headmaster was not available but could respond later. The school previously said in a statement following Ofsted's ruling in June last year: 'We fully accept Ofsted's findings and understand the seriousness of the issues raised. 'While this is a disappointing outcome for our school community, it is also an opportunity for deep reflection and renewed focus. 'Our students deserve the very best, and we are absolutely committed to transforming the school and delivering the high-quality education every child deserves.' A Hollywood publicist emailed Jeffrey Epstein offering to bring him 'a little baby back for you' from a trip to Africa - saying the move would be 'so Madonna'. Influential PR networker Peggy Siegal appears to have made the comments in a newly revealed message she sent to the disgraced paedophile financier in December 2009. The email has been uncovered amid the latest tranche of 3million documents relating to previous investigations into Epstein, who died in prison in 2019. An account said to be Siegal's has her writing to Epstein about a trip being taken to Kenya, from Amsterdam. The email told him: 'We can not thank you enough yet another life experience. If the Masai warriors don't eat us, the pirates from Somalia will' Siegal appears to promise to visit Epstein in January 2010, suggesting in the meantime she 'will have a ball and think of you all the time'. The message adds: 'Can bring a little baby back for you....or two. 'Boys or girls? So Madonna.' Peggy Siegal (pictured) emailed Jeffrey Epstein offering to bring him 'a little baby back for you' from a trip to Africa - saying the move would be 'so Madonna' An account said to be Siegal's has her writing to Epstein about a trip being taken to Kenya, from Amsterdam Siegal reportedly told Epstein (pictured): 'Saw Sarah- the duchess on Today Show and Regis todayshe was very compelling' US pop star Madonna's six children include four she adopted from the south-eastern African country Malawi. The same email about the Kenya trip includes comments about US TV appearances at the time by the former Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson - as well as speculating about how Queen Elizabeth might have felt in response. Siegal reportedly told Epstein: 'Saw Sarah- the duchess on Today Show and Regis todayshe was very compelling. 'A tad sad that she repeatedly said the Monarchy pulled her and Andrew apart apart (sic) when they were marriedjust like Monarchy tried to control Victoria in her youth... 'Bet the Queen is thrilled Fergie's failed marriage is her fault. But Sarah was very charming on tv. Other emails involving Siegal and included in the latest batch include one showing the 'guest list' for a 'very last minute casual dinner' for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor when he stayed with Epstein in New York in December 2010. In his 2019 Newsnight interview, Andrew said he went to New York to end his friendship with Epstein. That was two years after the financier pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution, as Andrew added that he had no further contact with him after the visit. Other emails involving Siegal and included in the latest batch include one showing the 'guest list' for a 'very last minute casual dinner' for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor when he stayed with Epstein in New York in December 2010 Siegal (pictured) appears to promise to visit Epstein in January 2010, suggesting in the meantime she 'will have a ball and think of you all the time' An email from publicist Peggy Siegal to George Stephanopoulos sent on December 1 2010 said: 'George: do not think less of me but I am putting together a very last minute casual dinner for Prince Andrew, who is in New York on an unofficial private visit. 'Please come and bring AR. The list for far...and we are keeping this private and small... 'Prince Andrew, Woody Allen and Soon-Yi, Katie Couric.... Jeffrey Epstein, where Andrew is staying. 'Jeffrey's house is one of the largest single dwellings in New York... it's beautiful. So come to (redacted) for a very interesting, fast, fun dinner. xoxo Peggy.' In an email exchange, Ms Siegal added: 'We are starting at 8pm. So come on time and you will have private time with Andrew because he is staying at the house.' Mr Stephanopoulos eventually declines the invitation because his daughters had a fever. A separate email exchange message to Epstein from an account on behalf of Ms Siegal reveals a private screening of The King's Speech was being arranged for Andrew in November 2010. The email from a woman called Stephanie was sent to a redacted address and forwarded to Epstein on November 3. Challenged on his decision to stay at the home of a convicted sex offender during his 2019 Newsnight interview, Andrew said: 'It was a convenient place to stay. I mean I've gone through this in my mind so many times' A defiant Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor went riding near his Royal Lodge home on Monday morning as his daughters said they were embarrassed their parents' relationship with Epstein Set out in four points, it said: '1. As per our phone conversation Prince Andrew will be in the states November 29th - December 5th. '2. We will get a print of the Kings Speech from Harvey Weinstein and have you host a very private, small, no press screening for Prince Andrew. '3. Here is a list of events for that week: Monday, November 29th is the Gotham Awards, Tuesday, November 30th is the Black Swan Premiere, Wednesday, December 1st is the All Good Things Premiere (sic). We can do it Thursday, December 2nd, 4th, or Sunday, December 5th. '4. Tell Prince Andrew the film and Colin Firth who portrays his grandfather is going to win the Oscar. Xoxo, Peggy.' Colin Firth won the best actor Academy Award for his portrayal of Andrew's grandfather George VI in the film. Challenged on his decision to stay at the home of a convicted sex offender during his 2019 Newsnight interview, Andrew said: 'It was a convenient place to stay. I mean I've gone through this in my mind so many times. 'At the end of the day, with a benefit of all the hindsight that one can have, it was definitely the wrong thing to do. 'But at the time I felt it was the honourable and right thing to do and I admit fully that my judgment was probably coloured by my tendency to be too honourable but that's just the way it is.' Disturbing images released as part of the Epstein files appear to show Andrew Mountbatten Windsor crouching on all fours over a female lying on the floor Prince Andrew (left), with his arm around Virginia Roberts aka Virginia Giuffre (centre) and Ghislaine Maxwell (pictured in the background right) Epstein was found dead in his cell at a federal jail in Manhattan, New York, in August 2019 while he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide. Andrew has faced allegations, which he strenuously denies, that he sexually assaulted a teenage Virginia Giuffre after she was trafficked by Epstein. He paid millions to Ms Giuffre, a woman he has claimed never to have met, to settle a civil sexual assault claim in 2022. Andrew stepped down from royal duties in 2019 after an interview on BBC Newsnight, but the publication of Ms Giuffre's posthumous memoir, and the US government's release of documents from Epstein's estate, brought more scrutiny over his relationship with the financier. It led to the King officially stripping his disgraced brother of both his HRH style and his prince title. A former Met Police officer has blasted the force over its bungled investigation after he was attacked taking down a pickpocket outside parliament while off-duty. Ned Donovan, 32, hit out at Scotland Yard for 'malicious incompetence' after one of the two suspects in his case was deported over another matter - despite being in the frame for the assault. Mr Donovan, who is the grandson of author Roald Dahl, said he was let down by 'failures' over the investigation. The former Special Constable told the Daily Mail: 'I gave five years to the Met, asking for nothing in return. I was assaulted doing what any policeman would do - stepping in to help a member of the public. 'Their response has been 18 months of inertia. 'This is what happens when there are detectives with huge caseloads and the hope that CCTV deletes itself off the server or suspects leave the country and they close the investigation.' He has now written to Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley to outline his concerns. Mr Donovan said: 'I want to see a result and those who have failed face consequences. It's all well and good to say the murder rate is down, but my story is one of many examples of failure with other crimes. Ned Donovan was left with injuries to his face and body after being attacked in August 2024 Mr Donovan said he reported the matter to the Met, for whom he spent five years as a Special Constable, but has since discovered one of the suspects has been deported 'I still love all my Met colleagues who work hard - but they're let down by those who don't even do the minimum.' Mr Donovan was walking over Westminster Bridge in August 2024 when he noticed a tourist being pick-pocketed. He sprang into action and detained the suspect, before being set upon by others. He was left with multiple injuries to his head and body as a result of being punched, kicked, choked and bitten, and had to be taken to hospital. He said what followed 'was not an investigation', claiming officers failed to take a victim personal statement from him for months, and delayed submitting DNA swabs. A new officer took over the case in January last year following Mr Donovan's complaints that the matter was not dealt with properly. Mr Donovan left the Met in March last year, and now works as a full-time police officer in the US. He married Princess Raiyah bint Hussein of Jordan in 2020. He said he was initially 'hopeful' the Met would crack the case after he helped gather witness evidence, but was told last week that the suspect had been 'inadvertently deported' - despite being named in his case. Mr Donovan, pictured here at his wedding to Princess Raiyah of Jordan, said he feels let down by the force Mr Donovan, grandson of Roald Dahl, spent five years with the Met. He is pictured working along the Mall for the final day of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Pageant in 2022 'He should have been interviewed in prison within weeks of identification,' Mr Donovan wrote in his letter to Sir Mark 'He should have been flagged with HMPPS (His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service) and Immigration Enforcement so that any release or removal would trigger an alert. None of this happened. 'He will never face trial. I was told an international warrant would be difficult to obtain. 'The other suspect remains on bail. More lab work needed, apparently. 'It has been eighteen months. I was attacked trying to help someone.' The Met apologised and said the 'investigation remains ongoing'. A spokesman said: 'We know that the service received is not always good enough and, on this occasion, we did not always meet the standards we would expect. 'Better victim care including consistent communication with those who have reported crimes to police is one of our top priorities and we have made considerable progress in this area over the last two years. 'However, we know that the service received is not always good enough and, on this occasion, we did not always meet the standards we would expect. We are sorry for the impact this has had on the victim, and know that delays to the investigation have also caused further frustration. 'Every day we see examples of our officers acting courageously, often at serious risk to themselves, whether or not they are on duty. 'They put themselves in danger in order to help keep London safe it is actions like these that demonstrate the best of the Met.' Violence has begun to rise again in a mens prison which saw assaults plummet after inmates were given lessons in the ancient Greek philosophy of Stoicism. Inspectors had praised staff at HMP Wayland, Norfolk, for their approach and found it had significantly reduced the level of violence against other prisoners and against staff. Inmates were taught the Stoic values of prudence, fortitude, temperance and justice in a programme which inspectors said was aimed at increasing their 'inner resilience'. But the latest report from the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) found that towards the end of the year, the trend of prisoner violence against staff and other inmates was upwards rather than downwards. Inspectors also found the prisons Care and Separation Unit (CSU), a specialised, isolated wing used to keep inmates from their peers for safety or disciplinary reasons, was full. Many inmates were in the CSU for violence-related reasons according to the IMB. Though violence had reduced significantly from what it had been like in previous periods, inspectors found HMP Wayland had still been consistently under average levels in other comparable prisons. There was also a marked rise in prisoners who felt unsafe at HMP Wayland - an IMB survey found 27% of inmates did not feel safe when they arrived at the prison, almost twice as many as the 14% who reported the same feeling in 2024. In the report, the inspectors said whatever the origin of this deterioration, the numbers were striking. Violence has begun to rise again in HMP Wayland after classes where inmates were taught how to live virtuous, peaceful lives based on resilience, rational thinking and self-discipline saw rates plummet Stoicism was founded by Zeno of Citium more than 2,300 years ago The fear factor within the prison demanded some deeper investigation, according to the report. However it also noted the prison governors swift response and a proposed violence reduction unit aimed at diverting inmates from repeated misbehaviour. We trust that this is in place as soon as possible in order for Wayland to improve, again, in its delivery of a safe custodial experience, inspectors said. In the previous IMB report on HMP Wayland published in March, inspectors noted staff led a course heavily influenced by the Greek philosophy of Stoicism. Voluntary courses are well-attended and well-received and, due to demand, are almost continuously scheduled now, the report found. 'This sort of effort distances [the prison] from punitive and simply educative approaches and, instead, seeks to increase a prisoner's inner resilience. 'The governor's approach has significantly reduced the level of violence against other prisoners and against staff to one of the lowest amongst comparable prisons in the country. Responding to the latest rise in violence, a Ministry of Justice spokesperson said HMP Wayland had taken 'immediate action' and there was investment nationally to 'clamp down on the contraband that fuels violence behind bars'. Stoicism, founded by Zeno of Citium more than 2,300 years ago, centres on four cardinal virtues prudence, fortitude, temperance and justice that help followers lead a 'well-lived life'. Stoics believe we should only concern ourselves with things within our control and accept what we cannot control, like other people's behaviour or external events. They argue that emotions like anger or envy are not triggered by actual events but by our interpretations of them, so if we can change our thinking, we can master our emotions. Modern Stoicism often means using daily reflection, journaling or mindfulness to keep perspective, remain calm under pressure and make ethical choices. Famous Stoic thinkers have included Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, Roman statesman Seneca the Younger and Greek philosopher Epictetus. HMP Wayland is a category C mens prison near Thetford, Norfolk, and houses around 900 inmates. Notable former inmates at the prison include gangster Reggie Kray and Khalid Masood, who carried out the 2017 Westminster terror attack and spent two years at HMP Wayland. An Afghan migrant accused of abducting and twice raping a 12-year-old girl told police he believed she was in her early 20s, a jury has heard. Ahmad Mulakhil is on trial at Warwick Crown Court accused of targeting the child before raping and sexually assaulting her in Nuneaton, Warwickshire on July 22 last year. Prosecutors also allege the girl was strangled by Mulakhil's friend Mohammad Kabir, who is accused of intending to take her away for a sexual purpose. Mulakhil also told officers a charge of oral rape of the girl he has admitted was his first sexual encounter and had not involved the use of force or any threats. The girl, who cannot be identified, alleges Mulakhil laughed and ignored her pleas to stop as he attacked her on a grassed area. It is alleged Mulakhil attacked the girl after 24-year-old Kabir, also originally from Afghanistan, had chatted to her on a canal bridge and grabbed her around the neck. Mulakhil, assisted by an interpreter, told police in two interviews conducted on July 26 last year that kissing and sexual activity between him and the victim 'was her desire that she wanted'. The defendant, whose replies to questions from police were read to jurors by Crown barrister Daniel Oscroft, told officers: 'Because of the language barrier we couldn't understand each other that much.' A screen grab taken from CCTV of Ahmad Mulakhil (front) and Mohammad Kabir (back), seen in a supermarket a day after the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl in Nuneaton Ahmad Mulakhil and Mohammad Kabir seen by the park after the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl in Nuneaton The images of Mohammad and Ahmad were part of a time-line video presentation played to jurors at Warwick Crown Court on Friday Claiming the girl had 'insisted', Mulakhil told the officers: 'I did not have experience in the past with a girl. 'She was agreed, I was agreed too. She was insisting and she was following me. She wasn't scared. She was following me with her own consent.' The court heard Mulakhil told police the girl had informed his friend she was 19, and was then asked by a police officer how old she had looked to him. Mulakhil responded: 'It could be 23-24 yeah. I didn't focus that much.' He also told police that he believed the age of consent was 19-20 and that the girl 'was a bit older' and could have left if she wanted to. When asked if he understood that someone aged 12 cannot legally consent to sex, the court heard Mulakhil answered: 'It's understandable - no one will have sex with a 12-year-old.' Mulakhil denies child abduction, two counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault and taking indecent photographs of a child. Kabir, also denies intentional strangulation, committing an offence with intent to commit a sexual offence and attempting to take a child. The trial continues on Tuesday. The Tories have invited reality star Sharon Osbourne to stand as their candidate in Birmingham's upcoming local elections against a convicted terrorist. Mrs Osbourne, wife of the late Ozzy Osbourne, said she would move to Birmingham and run in the ballot for the inner-city Sparkhill ward to prevent Shahid Butt from gaining a local council seat. In 1999, Mr Butt and five other UK nationals were found guilty of plotting to blow up the British consulate, an Anglican church and a hotel in Yemen, but denied the charges. He was later handed a five-year sentence on terrorism charges. The Mail on Sunday has revealed Mr Butt previously praised jihad as a 'compassionate act' despite claiming he has turned his back on extremism, and has instructed Muslims 'not to take Jews and Christians as friends' in an interview. After watching a social media video featuring Mr Butt, Mrs Osbourne commented on her Instagram: 'This has nothing to do with racism. I think I'm gonna move to Birmingham and put my name down for the ballot to be on the council,' adding 'I'm serious'. Sharon Osbourne, wife of the late Ozzy Osbourne, said she would move to Birmingham and run in the ballot for the inner-city Sparkhill ward to prevent Shahid Butt from gaining a local council seat Shahid Butt and five other UK nationals were found guilty of plotting to blow up the British consulate, an Anglican church and a hotel in Yemen, but denied the charges. He is now running as an independent candidate in Birmingham's Sparkhill ward The original post was later removed from Instagram. Mrs Osbourne does not live in the Midlands but has strong links to the area through her late husband, who was born in nearby Aston. Leader of the Birmingham Local Conservatives councillor Robert Alden said the group is now making an 'open offer' to Mrs Osbourne to stand as the party's candidate. He said: 'There is no doubt that Sharon Osbourne getting elected would help turn the Council around from looking into the void. 'Sharon is clearly passionate about wanting to help make our city even better. 'Her experience in the media and music industries would undoubtedly help the Local Conservatives get Birmingham singing again. 'The Local Conservatives are determined to balance the books and clean up the city, so we are making an open offer to Sharon to join us and help clean up Birmingham by clearing out the ruling Labour group that effectively bankrupted the council.' Mr Alden added: 'If Sharon would like to help us clean up Birmingham, just give us a call.' Mr Butt is standing as an independent in Birmingham's Sparkhill ward, which has a 91 per cent ethnic minority population. Akhmed Yakoob, who founded the Independent Candidate Alliance, is supporting him in his bid. Mrs Osbourne would have to meet certain criteria to qualify to stand in Birmingham's elections, such as living or working in the city for a year prior to the ballot and being registered as a voter. A pregnant woman in Chicago died after she was brutally stabbed by a teenager who bought a truck from her on Facebook marketplace. Eliza Morales, 30, was found dead on Monday after 19-year-old Nedas Revuckas allegedly stabbed her 70 times and set her Downers Grove apartment on fire. Revuckas was arrested and charged with three counts of First Degree Murder, Intentional Homicide of an Unborn Child, Armed Robbery, Aggravated Arson and Aggravated Cruelty to Animals. Morales' husband, Gabriel Morales, had listed a 1994 Ford Ranger pickup truck for sale on Facebook marketplace and the teen had bought it off the couple on January 24, according to a DuPage County press release. Later that day, the teen allegedly returned to the Morales' home to give back the vehicle's license plates and tender a bill for the sale of the truck. Only months away from the birth of her second baby girl, Morales and Revuckas allgedly became involved in an altercation at around 5.30pm. Just over 30 minutes later, the Downers Grove Fire Department responded to fire alarms at the home and found Morales in the doorway with multiple wounds, mostly focused on her head and neck. According to the release, Revuckas had allegedly argued over the condition of the truck that the couple sold to him and became violent, stabbing Morales multiple times. Eliza Morales, 30, was found dead on Monday after she was stabbed around 70 times before her apartment was set alight Nedas Revuckas, 19, bought a truck off the couple and, after being unhappy with the condition of the vehicle, allegedly attacked Morales in her home Morales, seen with her husband and two-year-old daughter, was five months pregnant at the time of the attack The teenager then allegedly set the home alight from the stove top with multiple household items and chemicals before another fire was set by the front door, investigators said. 'Pure evil. None of us get it-she did not deserve this,' Morales' mother-in-law Angelica Silva told ABC 7. 'No one deserves anything like this.' 'We're just going to raise her daughter the way she was.' The couple's dog, Zula, was also attacked during the incident and was stabbed between the eyes. Zula survived and was admitted to a veterinary hospital for her injuries, the release stated. 'Elizas surviving family and friends have suffered a horrific loss and to them I offer my sincerest condolences and wish them strength as they continue their lives without the love and support once provided by Eliza,' DuPage County States Attorney Robert Berlin said. A GoFundMe to support the Morales' family and rebuild their home said: 'The loss of a beloved wife, daughter, and mother along with her unborn child has left pain that words cannot fully express.' Morales is survived by her husband and her first-born two-year-old daughter. The 'devoted mother' was described as 'the type of person who would give the shirt off her back to a stranger,' according to the fundraiser. The 'devoted mother' was described as 'selfless' and 'the type of person who would give the shirt off her back to a stranger' The couple's dog, Zula, was also attacked during the incident and was stabbed between the eyes. Zula survived and was admitted to a veterinary hospital for her injuries 'Everything she did was rooted in love. She was motivated by family, driven by loyalty, and guided by a heart that was truly selfless,' a GoFundMe page said 'Her generosity wasnt an act it was her nature. Eliza was a devoted mother gentle, patient, and fiercely committed to her family. The way she cared for her daughter, the way she supported her home, the way she loved without limits it was a blessing to witness,' family wrote. 'Everything she did was rooted in love. She was motivated by family, driven by loyalty, and guided by a heart that was truly selfless. 'Her loss is a pain that sits deep within all of us, but her presence remains in every memory, every lesson, every moment she touched. She taught us what it means to give without hesitation, to love without conditions, and to live with sincerity.' According to her family, Morales was five-months pregnant at the time of the attack. Revuckas appeared in court on Thursday and is expected to appear again on February 18. The latest email cache tears to shreds Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's claims on Newsnight that he cut off all contact with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. From arranging a 'good time' for his goddaughter visiting Buckingham Palace, to fixing a dinner date with a 'beautiful' 26-year-old Russian, the pair were in touch frequently, the latest files reveal. They show that the-then Duke of York's story to Emily Maitlis in 2019 was packed with untruths about his friendship with the convicted child sex predator. He claimed in the now-infamous interview filmed in Buckingham Palace: 'I ceased contact with himin 2006 and I wasn't in touch with him again until 2010.' Newly released emails explode that claim as untrue. It was in 2010 that the pair were photographed meeting in Central Park, on December 5. With a straight face, Andrew insisted to BBC viewers: 'To this day, I never had any contact with him from that day forward'. His claims have now been exposed as blatant lies. The former Prince Andrew telling BBC viewers in 2019: 'I never had any contact with him from that day forward'. Newly released emails now show that was a blatant lie Jeffrey Epstein's mugshot on law enforcement files released on Friday by the US Department of Justice as part of its biggest document dump yet Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson pictured smiling with David Stern, a director at Pitch@Palace who kept Epstein up to date until at least 2017 Even a cursory look at some of the three million files released last Friday reveals carefree emails flying backwards and forwards between Andrew and Epstein. Among some of the newly-unearthed emails are the following exchanges: 2009 July: Epstein is still in prison, serving a sentence for soliciting a minor, when Andrew arranges for his goddaughter Celina to visit Buckingham Palace. 'Andrew said he could help to give her a good time. Tea in the palace!' Sarah Ferguson apparently wrote to Epstein on July 6, when the paedophile was still locked up. Epstein responded from behind bars: 'Give Andrew a [big] thank you from me, tell him it means a lot to me'. 2010 February: Epstein receives an email apparently from Amanda Thirsk, Andrew's private secretary, inviting him to the prince's 50th birthday at St James's Palace. Epstein replies he is 'not able' to attend. April: Andrew messages the financier: 'I have no immediate plans to drop by New York but I think I should at some stage soon. It would be good to catch up in person.' Epstein was barely a year out of jail, still signing a sex offender register. July: The day after Epstein's release from house arrest, he emails The Duke and 'Ferg' saying he will be in Paris, and Andrew replies: 'Congratuations! [X] told me you were allowed out yesterday'. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor riding his horse in Windsor Great Park on Monday close to his Royal Lodge home - before he has to vacate it Emily Maitlis to Andrew in their 2019 interview: 'There was no call, no letter, nothing there?' Andrew's reply: 'No, no, no' Andrew - who told the BBC he cut ties with Epstein as the paedophile had 'quite obviously conducted himself in a manner unbecoming' - in an undated photo released by the US The contact between Andrew and Epstein continued throughout 2010 - despite the then duke claiming 'I ceased contact with him in 2006'. August: Dinner Epstein set up for Andrew and a 'beautiful, trustworthy' 26-year-old Russian woman. The same month, Andrew and Epstein discuss inviting Epstein to lunch at Royal Lodge to discuss 'the way ahead for me!' Ferguson's need to plan her financial future. October: 'Great to see you,' writes Andrew to Epstein. November: 'What sort of clothes will I need to bring? ie will I need something for the heat in case we go south or will it all be in NY so therefore COLD', the duke asks the financier, adding: 'See you tomorrow afternoon. Really looking forward to seeing you and spending some time with you after so long. Some interesting things to discuss and plot' December: Andrew sends Epstein a Christmas card saying: 'It was great to spend time with my US family. Looking forward to joining you all again soon' and wishing him 'spectacular entry into 2011'. 2011 January: 'Happy New Year' writes Andrew, in an email seeking help to broker a deal to bail out Sarah Ferguson's debts. February: 'Keep in close touch and we'll play some more soon!!!!' Andrew writes to the paedophile. March: Epstein lands his private jet at an RAF base during a visit to Sandringham, with Andrew swinging the permission. 2017 May: Epstein is kept abreast of Andrew's Pitch@Palace initiative and a Windsor Castle dinner hosted by him in an email from Pitch director David Stern. Donald Trump admitted on Monday that he climbed and descended the Air Force One's stairs 'nice and slow' after watching Joe Biden's repeated falls. The President hopped on the phone with Dan Bongino for the first episode of Bongino's relaunched podcast, after he departed from his role as deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation last month. Trump argued that the country was 'being laughed at' thanks to Biden's stumbles. 'We see a guy falling up the stairs, going into an airplane,' Trump said. The 79-year-old President said that imagery has influenced his own behavior when boarding the presidential aircraft. 'I've gotta be very careful going on,' Trump said, adding that he takes the steps 'nice and slow.' 'I'm not looking to set any records. You don't want to go down,' he continued. 'Could happen, could happen, but it can't happen three times in one shot.' Just under two months into his term, on March 19, 2021, when Biden was en route to Atlanta, Georgia, the then-78-year-old tripped and fell three times up the red carpeted larger staircase presidents can take to board Air Force One. President Donald Trump gives the press a fist bump after boarding Air Force One last week. On Monday, he told podcaster Dan Bongino that he takes the steps 'nice and slow' after mocking President Joe Biden's repeated stumbles Former President Joe Biden is seen clinging to the railing of the staircase he used to board Air Force One on March 19, 2021 when he was traveling to Atlanta, Georgia. He tripped three times on the Air Force One stairs that day The Democrat also fell over a sandbag on stage when delivering a commencement address and tumbled sideways off his bike after getting his foot stuck in a toe-clip. Biden also tripped several other times on Air Force One's stairs, so much so that by the end of his term, his staffers had him boarding the Boeing 747 using the lower, internal staircase. The decision was made in June 2023, so that Biden's physical stamina wasn't questioned as he decided to launch a reelection bid - one that he eventually had to abandon due to those old-age concerns. Trump was the oldest person ever to be sworn-in as president, so he's had to contend with similar questions about his fitness. The White House has had to explain bruising on the President's hands and enlarged ankles, which White House doctors said was caused by chronic venous insufficiency. Trump hasn't taken any public spills - though he was mocked in 2020 for awkwardly tip-toeing down a ramp - though he floated to Bongino that there's always potential for that to occur. 'I don't think you'll ever see anything like that, but it could happen,' Trump said. 'So I have to be a little bit open, I have to say it could happen, but you ever watch me, I come down nice and slow. I'm not looking to set in records,' he reiterated, still focused on Air Force One's stairs. Without saying his name, Trump then complimented former President Barack Obama for his style of stair-walking. President Donald Trump said he respected the way former President Barack Obama, a political rival, navigated the Air Force One stairs. 'He's bopping down, you know, bop, bop, bop, bop, bop, bop. And I kept waiting for him to fall and he didn't,' Trump said Monday President Donald Trump told podcaster Dan Bongino that he walks up Air Force One's stairs cautiously in order to not follow in President Joe Biden's footsteps and stumble while boarding the plane 'It's probably the only thing I respected,' Trump said. 'And yet it didn't look elegant at all.' 'He bopped down the stairs. He would be in the middle. I thought it looked so terrible, you know? This is the president of the United States,' the president continued. 'He's bopping down, you know, bop, bop, bop, bop, bop, bop. And I kept waiting for him to fall and he didn't.' Obama was 55 years old when he left office in 2017. 'I was impressed with his ability to go down the stairs like that. I mean, I wouldn't want to do it. You know, those stairs are very slippery, and I always used to say he's an accident waiting to happen, and to the best of my knowledge, it didn't happen, so I give him credit,' Trump said. 'But it happened many fold with Biden,' he noted. 'Aye yi yi, what a president.' Veteran ABC radio presenter James Valentine has announced he will retire after more than 30 years on air due to cancer. Valentine, who joined the national broadcaster in the late 1980s, has been a beloved voice on ABC Radio Sydney for over 30 years. While chatting on 702 ABC Radio Sydney Afternoons on Monday, the 64-year-old said he would not be returning to the microphone after his latest treatment for cancer. He had been off air since June 2025 after he was diagnosed with omentum cancer affecting a layer of tissue over the stomach and intestines. 'It's sad news, it's definitely sad news for me,' Valentine said. 'This decision has been hard for me to make, but look, I think my health is giving me a pretty clear message that it still might be a while until I could return and resume broadcasting. '[It] could still be another year or six months or so until I've got the energy or the strength to come back. I just think it's too long. I think it's time to say, come on, somebody else come and have a shot. 'I need to focus on getting better, on being with family and friends and making sure that I'm giving my health my best shot.' Veteran ABC presenter James Valentine will not be returning to the microphone He first joined the ABC in 1987 as a presenter for ABC children's television, before being scouted for ABC Radio Sydney, which was known as 2BL at the time The news comes nearly two years after Valentine announced his initial diagnosis of oesophageal cancer and took a leave of absence to receive treatment. It's understood doctors gave him the choice at the time between major surgery to remove his oesophagus, or removal of only the tumour - Valentine chose the latter. He returned to the station later that year until June when the new tumours were discovered. 'There may be debate as to whether the full removal might have prevented this, but given that the initial tumour may have been there for a while, undetected and asymptomatic, there's every chance that cancer cells have been out in my body for some time, looking for a place to call home, and the full surgery would not have prevented their spread,' he wrote for the ABC at the time. When he was not keeping listeners company during the early afternoon commute, Valentine - a talented saxophonist - was performing with jazz bands at gigs up until last year. ABC Radio Sydney listeners will have the chance to enjoy Valentine's trademark banter once more, with a special retrospective airing on Friday of his best moments. 'I wanted to capture what we made in those 25 years, look at the ways in which we pushed talkback into completely new territory,' he said. James O'Loghlin has been presenting Afternoons since June. A permanent replacement is yet to be announced. A pregnant mother-of-two was tragically killed while bike riding with her two young children Saturday night, the Daily Mail has learned. Regan Cole-Graham, 36, was operating an electric bike with her husband, Matt Graham, and their two children in Los Angeles when she was suddenly struck by white sedan traveling in the same direction, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The impact of the collision sent Cole-Graham and an unidentified passenger on the electric bike flying, officers said. When first responders with the Los Angeles Fire Department, they transported Cole-Graham and the passenger to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The unborn child was also pronounced dead overnight on Sunday, according to organizers of an online fundraiser for Cole-Graham's funeral expenses. It described Cole-Graham as a 'loving and devoted wife, a fierce and joyful mother, a hilarious and loyal sister and a beautiful, fiery daughter.' Regan Cole-Graham, 36, was killed when a white sedan crashed into her on Pershing Drive in Los Angeles on Saturday night Cole-Graham was seven months pregnant with a daughter at the time of the crash. She is pictured with her husband, Matt Graham, and their two young sons The fundraiser gained traction when it was shared by journalist Chris Cillizza on Monday, who described Graham as a friend from college. 'I understand that not everyone is in the financial position to donate,' he wrote on X. 'But if you are, please give what you can to my friend, who has had his entire life change in the space of the last two days.' As of Monday evening, the fundraiser earned nearly $122,000 for the family. The LAPD's West Traffic Division is now investigating the fatal crash. There did not appear to be any criminality, cops said. A woman is behind bars after allegedly stabbing her partner multiple times in a shocking domestic dispute sparked by an argument over household chores. Laureen Gaye Sprenger, 47, appeared in Armadale Magistrates Court on Monday charged with unlawful wounding with circumstances of aggravation after the alleged attack at a home in Perth's south-east. WA Police were called to a property on Carakine Grove about 10pm on Sunday, where Ms Sprenger's 47-year-old partner was found suffering from two stab wounds. The woman was located at the scene and taken into custody without incident. Police and St John WA attended the property and found the man with multiple stab wounds. He was taken to Royal Perth Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. Prosecutors told the court Ms Sprenger allegedly stabbed her partner because she believed he was 'being lazy and not helping with the home'. It was further alleged she told police she had thought about stabbing him prior to the incident and hoped he had been badly hurt. Ms Sprenger was refused bail and remanded in custody. Laureen Sprenger who allegedly stabbed her partner in a domestic violence incident over chores She is due to reappear in court via video link on March 3 to seek legal advice. The alleged incident unfolded in Thornlie, a largely residential suburb about 18 kilometres southeast of Perth's CBD. The pair were reportedly engaged in June 2023. According to her LinkedIn profile, Ms Sprenger holds a degree from Griffith University and works as a private alcohol and drug counsellor. She was previously a community support worker. Her most recent post on social media was to defend the late Charlie Kirk, the prominent US conservative political activist and media personality who was shot and killed last year while speaking at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University. 'I honestly don't care about your likes, I have followed and watched Charlie Kirk's videos long before he was recently murdered,' she posted. 'That young man is and will continue to be an inspiration.' Four unoccupied homes along North Carolina's Outer Banks collapsed into the Atlantic Ocean over the weekend after a violent winter storm battered the coast with hurricane-force winds, towering surf and rare snowfall. The dramatic collapses unfolded in the village of Buxton, where a bystander captured video of one house buckling and sliding into the churning water as waves tore through its stilts. Photos taken by the National Park Service agency showed piles of debris left along the shoreline. The pictures showed mangled piles of lumber, insulation and household debris strewn across the beach. The Outer Banks' narrow, low-lying barrier islands have been eroding for years as rising seas swallow the land. But the pace of destruction has accelerated to alarming levels. Prior to this latest storm, more than two dozen houses, usually built on stilts at the water's edge, had collapsed since 2020. Most fell in extreme weather. The powerful nor'easter storm that followed a bomb cyclone delivered blizzard conditions to parts of the Carolinas and Virginia, bringing heavy snow, gusts topping 60mph and high tides that proved catastrophic for the fragile barrier islands. Since 2020, a total of 31 homes have fallen into the ocean along Hatteras Island, a grim statistic that now includes more than a dozen collapses in just the past few months. Four homes in Buxton collapsed into the Atlantic in just two days in the historic winter storm One collapse was caught on video, showing a house sliding into the ocean as waves ripped through its stilts Debris from collapsed homes litter the shoreline in the Outer Banks village of Buxton, North Carolina The most recent failure occurred on Tower Circle Road. According to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, the home which fell was privately owned and unoccupied. The last collapse in Buxton came just over three months ago, when five homes were lost in a single stretch of violent surf. The scale of the problem is stark when measured against the size of the towns being consumed. Census data shows that in 2020, Rodanthe, a community barely one square mile in size, had just 213 year-round residents but 718 homes, with only 207 of them occupied. No new houses have been built there since 2020. Buxton, slightly larger at around three square miles, reported a population of 1,181 and 972 homes. Many of those houses were once set hundreds of feet back from the shoreline but relentless coastal flooding and beach erosion have left entire rows of properties sitting directly in ocean, doomed to be consumed by the waves. 'It's not just boards and nails,' said Bill King, president of the North Carolina Beach Buggy Association, which helps coordinate volunteer cleanup efforts, to WRAL. Debris fields now include insulation, septic material and household waste drifting for miles The houses were unoccupied but privately owned, according to the National Park Service The latest failures bring the total to 31 houses lost along Hatteras Island since 2020 More than a dozen homes have collapsed on the Outer Banks in just the past few months The most recent collapse occurred on Tower Circle Road, a hotspot for repeated failures Some houses that collapsed were once located hundreds of feet from the shoreline Officials say ongoing coastal flooding has hollowed out foundations beneath dozens of properties The homes are located in Buxton, a community on the string of islands that make up the Outer Banks in North Carolina, an area made famous by Outer Banks show on Netflix Nearby homes are also expected to completely crumble into the Atlantic, as the barrier island they sit on is eroding The homes were the latest beachfront structures to fall in the Hatteras Island area in the Outer Banks in North Carolina 'You've got fiberglass insulation, fuel, septic, all of it. And when it's moving in the surf, it's a nightmare.' In the wake of the latest failures, Cape Hatteras National Seashore has now closed the entire beach along Buxton, warning that debris fields stretch for miles and that additional structures remain at risk. 'Surf conditions are still elevated and debris is continuing to drift southward and wash up in different beach areas. It will take time to fully assess the extent and magnitude of the debris field and develop the most effective cleanup plans,' a spokesman for the National Seashore said in a statement. Police were last night under pressure to quiz Suffolk Strangler Steve Wright over several unsolved murders after he admitted killing a woman 26 years ago. Experts said he was likely to have killed others after making the shock confession yesterday to the 1999 murder of 17-year-old Victoria Hall and the attempted abduction of a woman 24 hours earlier. The serial killer pleaded guilty to the kidnap and murder of Ms Hall on the first day of his Old Bailey trial. Former forklift driver and QE2 cruise ship waiter Wright, 67, snatched the A-level pupil off the street in Felixstowe as she walked home from a nightclub on September 19, 1999, before dumping her body in a ditch. He also admitted attempting to kidnap Emily Doherty, 22, from the same area the day before. Police failed to capture the killer for seven years until Wright went on a rampage in Ipswich's red-light district, murdering Gemma Adams, 25, Tania Nicol, 19, Anneli Alderton, 24, Paula Clennell, 24 and Annette Nicholls, 29, over a six-week period in 2006. Last night his ex-wife, Diane Cole, blasted police for failing to stop the 'monster' sooner. She spoke out after it emerged that he should have been at the top of the list of suspects for Ms Hall's murder after Ms Doherty escaped his clutches and gave police an accurate description of Wright, his car and part of the number plate. Seven years before he stalked Ipswich's red-light district murdering five sex workers in 2006, Wright snatched the A-level student off the street in Felixstowe Anneli Alderton, pictured left, and Tania Nicol, right, were sex workers also killed in the attacks In a six-week frenzy in 2006, former QE2 steward Wright went on the rampage, also killing Annette Nicholls, pictured left, and Paula Clennell, right In a hearing ahead of yesterday's trial, Mr Justice Joel Bennathan revealed the details matched Wright and 'very few others'. Yet officers were determined to prosecute a local businessman who had nothing to do with the killing. Adrian Bradshaw had been at the same club as Ms Hall on the night she disappeared but was acquitted of her murder in 2001. Now Ms Cole is urging police to quiz Wright about other unsolved cases in the area: 'I think this is just the beginning. I suspect he has killed quite a few other women. 'If police had investigated the earlier attempted abduction properly it could have saved so many lives. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but it was obvious even to me how alike Victoria's murder was to the other women he later killed.' The 71-year-old was regularly beaten by Wright during their four-year relationship and he once attempted to strangle her. She told the Daily Mail: 'Police should consider reopening the cases of those unsolved murders. There could be a lot more victims that we do not even know about. He is a monster.' Wright's brother Keith, 57, also urged police to act, telling The Sun that the serial killer was an 'animal'. He said: 'It's time he did the right thing and told the police everything. There's still so much we don't know, so many unanswered questions. How many more victims are there?' Criminologist David Wilson believes there are many similarities between Wright's six murders and the unsolved killings of Kellie Pratt in Norwich and Mandy Duncan in Ipswich. Victoria's body was found five days later 25 miles away Serial killer Steve Wright has pleaded guilty to murdering 17-year-old Victoria Hall in 1999 Gemma Adams, then 25, pictured, was one of the victims of Wright's murder spree in Ipswich's red-light district in 2006 The Trial: The Cold Case Killer is available now wherever you get your podcasts Mr Wilson, a professor of criminology at Birmingham City University, told the Mail's The Trial podcast: 'His modus operandi fits with a number of young women who died in the early 1990s. 'If he had been arrested for what was happening at that time, then clearly we wouldn't be talking today about what he is. 'Mandy Duncan, whose body has never been recovered, disappears and is murdered in 1993, then Vicky Hall in 1999 and Kellie Pratt in 2000. They never found the bodies of Kellie Pratt or Mandy Duncan. Both of them, therefore, for me are still likely to have been victims of Steve Wright. 'Having admitted to the murder of Vicky Hall, I hope this means he might be willing to talk about Kellie Pratt, Mandy Duncan, and about suspicions that exist about other young women that he may have murdered.' Even after Wright was sentenced to a whole-life tariff for the murders of the five sex workers in 2008, police did not charge him with Ms Hall's murder until 2024. Yesterday the father of one of his victims warned that Wright could have killed years before Ms Hall's death. Tania Nicol's father Jim Duell, 68, said: 'He might have done other stuff that we don't know about, even before he killed Victoria. We just don't know.' The owners of an abandoned island off the Whitsundays coast are facing mounting pressure to restore the once-idyllic resort, nearly nine years after a category four cyclone destroyed it. South Molle Island, which sits around 12 kilometres east of Queensland's mainland, was badly hit by Cyclone Debbie in 2017 and remains deserted. In the years since the disaster, holidaymakers who've travelled to the now-derelict 200-room resort have shared footage showing buildings with missing ceilings and walls, debris-covered pools, and rooms overgrown with foliage. The island's owner, ChinaCapital Investment Group, has dampened calls to restore South Molle Island to its former glory amid a crackdown from the Queensland Government on owners of island leases who don't maintain tourist facilities. Whitsunday Regional Council Mayor Ry Collins said CCIG 'had advised the state government it was not in a position to redevelop South Molle Island at this point in time.' Collins said the CCIG's decision meant the island was being left behind as other Whitsunday isles struck major development deals worth millions. 'South Molle Island is really almost like a jewel in the crown of the Whitsunday Islands and the council would be very, very keen to see that project be reactivated and a new resort developed there,' he told the Courier Mail. 'We obviously see massive economic opportunity associated with Queensland's islands generally, and are very keen to support future projects. We definitely want to see some activity.' South Molle Island was once one of Queensland's most popular holiday spots Whitsunday Regional Council Mayor Ry Collins said the council 'definitely want to see activity' start on the deserted island Category four Cyclone Debbie smashed the Island only a few months after CCIG purchased the resort Footage showed the abandoned resort's pool, which has become a breeding ground for frogs The mayor said owners of other abandoned islands have begun to redevelop following the state government's crackdown on those who operate under lease agreements that specify tourist facilities and transport services must be maintained. In June 2013, the government seized Double Island from Hong Kong billionaire Benny Wu for resale after warning island leaseholders to 'use it or lose it.' Another former derelict island, Lindeman Island which is around 15 kilometres southeast of South Molle Island currently has construction underway on a $583 million masterplan. It's expected to reopen this year, complete with a five-star hotel, multiple restaurants and bars, a swimming pool, luxury spa and gym, and a new 50-metre jetty. Hook Island, which sits 30 kilometres north, has also been granted development approval for around 40 eco cabins. Shanghai-based CCIG, which bought South Molle Island in 2016 for a reported $25 million, currently has it listed for sale via private treaty through HTL Property. It has a guide price of $30 million. An information document detailing the island's development potential for prospective buyers indicated there is capacity for over 1,300 rooms along with supporting amenities, subject to council approval. Plans for a five-star resort on South Molle Island collapsed - it's been listed for sale since 2023 Queensland Natural Resources Minister Dale Last is understood to be discussing the island's continued 'inactivity', amid a crackdown on island lease holders who sit on their hands The document also notes South Molle Island has a completed $10 million jetty reconstruction, a new freshwater dam to reduce desalination costs, and what agents describe as an 'impressive 600-metre stretch of rare, protected north-facing white sand beaches.' The agents also described the land as a 'construction-ready site.' The news comes just weeks after it was announced that the famed Hamilton Island was sold to US private equity giant Blackstone in a $1.2 billion deal. The Whitsundays region attracts an estimated 897,000 visitors a year, generating total spending of $1.7 billion in the local economy. Federal immigration officials in Minneapolis, Minnesota will now be required to wear body cameras, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced. It comes after the death of two Americans citizens at the hands of ICE and CBP agents who were conducting operations in Minneapolis. 'Effective immediately we are deploying body cameras to every officer in the field in Minneapolis,' Noem wrote on X after speaking with White House border czar Tom Homan, ICE Director Todd Lyons and CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott. As a nod towards Congress threatening to hold up government funding unless money was held from DHS, Noem added: 'As funding is available, the body camera program will be expanded nationwide. We will rapidly acquire and deploy body cameras to DHS law enforcement across the country.' Mother and poet Renee Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minnesota on January 7, 2026, and ICU nurse Alex Pretti was shot and killed by CBP agents in the streets of Minneapolis just over two weeks later on January 24. Both incidents were caught from multiple angles by those recording the clashes between federal immigration agents and anti-ICE protesters. Noem has deflected the blame for Good and Pretti's deaths, saying Democratic leaders have not complying with federal immigration enforcement operations. But a new Daily Mail poll conducted by JL Partners shows 53 percent of Americans blame Trump and DHS for the proliferation of violence in Minnesota. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said on Monday that all federal agents in Minneapolis will now wear body cameras Thousands have taken to the streets in Minneapolis to protest immigration operations that turned deadly for two American citizens in Minnesota last month Only 35 percent of respondents said that Democratic politicians and liberal protesters are at fault. Additionally, Trump did not jump to Noem's defense after she called Pretti, a VA ICU nurse, a 'domestic terrorist.' Instead he pulled her from internal immigration enforcement and refocused her job on border security, according to multiple reports. The President then deployed Homan to Minneapolis and put him in charge of the boiling situation there. Trump did affirm his support for body camera use in Minnesota on Monday. 'It wasn't my decision, I leave it to her,' he told reporters in the Oval Office. 'They generally tend to be good for law enforcement because people can't lie about what's happening. So it's, generally speaking, I think, 80 percent good for law enforcement.' 'If she wants to do it, I'm OK with it.' Reports emerged that there is body camera footage of the incident with Pretti, but it appears Noem and DHS want to make sure all agents are equipped with the technology they feel might defend any use of force. That video from the officers' perspective has not been made public and it's unclear if it was shared yet with investigators. The administration has also not committed to releasing that footage. Violent clashes have continued between federal agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota and those protesting their immigration enforcement operations To clear up confusion surround Pretti's death, lawmakers have called for it to be turned over or shred publicly. The 37-year-old was conceal carrying a firearm, which he allegedly has a legal permit to do in the state of Minnesota. Video appears to show Pretti being disarmed by one of the at least eight federal law enforcement officers surrounding him in a clash last month. He was shot and killed, and at least 10 shots can be heard being discharged in bystander video. He died on scene. While no body camera footage of the incident with Good was released, cell phone camera video taken by the shooting agent, Jonathan Ross, was made public and shows his perspective. There has been more widespread and administrative backing justifying Ross' shooting of Good. That is not the case with Pretti. Savannah Guthries 84-year-old mother was snatched from her bed in the middle of the night, the man leading the investigation told the Daily Mail in an exclusive interview. Nancy Guthrie was reported missing in Tucson, Arizona, at noon on Sunday by her family. She has not been seen since the night of January 31. Now, haunting new details about her disappearance have come to light, with investigators believing that the elderly woman was abducted. Her Apple Watch stopped syncing with her pacemaker at 2am, suggesting she was taken from the home, where the watch was found, around then. Nancy lives in a $1 million home in the affluent Catalina Foothills area. Her phone, wallet, and car were all still at her home when police began looking for her, and detectives searched her property. Lights in the common area were all on, and Nancy's front door was unlocked but there were signs of forced entry, the Daily Mail understands. Police are going door-to-door to collect camera footage from neighbors in a bid to try identify a suspect, and officers are also searching for a vehicle of interest, a source said. They are also investigating the possibility that a ransom demand has been made. Multiple newsrooms reported receiving what appeared to be copies of the note, including TMZ, which reports the kidnappers demanded crypto among other things. Nancy had been out with the Today show anchors sister for dinner and an evening playing mahjong before she disappeared. Police now fear that time is running out to find Nancy, who relies on daily medication, and bring her home safely. Savannah Guthrie with her mother, Nancy, who was reported missing in Tucson, Arizona, at noon on Sunday by her family. She has not been seen since the night of January 31 Nancy had been out with the Today show anchors sister for dinner and an evening playing mahjong before she disappeared. Her phone, wallet and car were all still at her home when police began looking for her Nancy's $1 million home in the affluent Catalina Foothills area on Tuesday morning A message of support for the Guthrie family left by neighbors after Nancy's disappearance Your browser does not support iframes. She did not walk away,' Pima County sheriff Chris Nanos told the Daily Mail. 'We believe she was forced to leave that residence. It was against her will. It has since emerged that blood was found in the 84-year-old's home. Guthrie, who had been primed to lead NBC's coverage of the Winter Olympics, has now rushed to Arizona to join the search. She asked for prayers in an emotional public plea last night. Sheriff Nanos added: 'This is about an 84-year-old woman who is sick, who needs her medications, who, in the middle of the night, was taken from her bedroom. 'If she is alive, she needs her medication and its been well over 24 hours. 'That in itself could be fatal, and thats scary.' When asked if abduction is too strong a word to describe Nancys disappearance, Nanos replied: No. 'We know she could not walk out of that house. Talking to her doctors, we know she had some physical elements that definitely limited her. 'She is very sharp-witted, of good mind, suffers nothing in the form of any kind of dementia or Alzheimer's nothing. 'So we know she would know what was going on around here. 'This was, in our opinion, someone entered her home in the middle of the night and removed her. It could be more than one person, we dont know that yet.' Nanos said nothing suggests that Nancy could have been smuggled across the Mexican border, which is only 60 miles from Tucson. 'Theres nothing to indicate cartel or border issues, he said. Nothing like that.' Police on Monday said Nancy's home was being treated as an active crime scene after aspects of the scene prompted 'grave concern.' Guthrie's colleague Jenna Bush Hager spoke through tears on the Today show Monday morning, saying: 'I know her personally. And we want to just report, too, that she takes daily medication and she needs them for survival. 'She's without her medication. We are thinking of our dearest, dearest Savannah and her whole family right now in our prayers.' Join the debate What do you think drives someone to target a vulnerable elderly woman in her own home? Neighbors described a chaotic scene near the property as police continue to search for Nancy Guthrie, who was not at work on Monday, has thanked everyone for their thoughts Nancy (bottom right) with Guthrie (top right) and her other two children Host Craig Melvi, among Guthrie's Today co-hosts who have shared messages of support on social media, told viewers: 'This is very concerning to us. 'We don't typically get involved at a scene like this, but it's very concerning.' Guthrie, who has been off the show since her mother's disappearance, issued a statement via Today on behalf of her family in which she thanked everyone for their thoughts, prayers and messages. 'Right now, our focus remains on the safe return of our dear mom,' she said. 'We thank law enforcement for their hard work on this case and encourage anyone with information to contact the Pima County Sheriff's Department at (520) 351-4900.' During a press conference, authorities said they did not know if Nancy had been targeted because she is Guthrie's mother, adding that no angles would be dismissed. They also said they do not believe the public is in any danger. A doorbell camera caught an Amazon driver delivering not only packages, but also an expletive-laden rant about the kind of customers he services in Michigan. The footage, captured on the doorstep of a Redford Township home, showed an Amazon driver trudging through the snow with multiple packages in hand, unaware that a Nest security camera was about to record his emotional outburst. 'I got a million multi-stops because these people out here in Dearborn Heights cant go anywhere and get their own f****** s***,' said the unidentified driver angrily. 'Now Im sitting out here delivering a million packages to a million and one f****** houses.' The tired driver then went on to add that Amazons customers dont go in-person shopping at places like Target and Walmart. These mother f****** bro, the driver continued. If you would let them, these mother f****** right here would order slaves off Amazon, dog. Enraged, the employee stormed off with a package in hand, making his way to the next house while letting out one more expletive for good measure. The drivers rant was captured outside the home of a single mother who works three jobs while she attends school. The homeowner told WXYZ Detroit that she was annoyed by the drivers comments, adding that she orders through Amazon for the convenience of delivery. Footage captured on a Nest doorbell camera showed an unidentified driver ranting about the amount of packages a neighborhood in Detroit ordered The furious driver was captured by the camera of single mother who works three jobs while she attends school. The homeowner was annoyed by the Amazon employee's comments Online reactions varied as some suggested to give the driver a break,' while defending his right to just blow off some steam. Others were quick to point out that if people werent placing orders, he would be out of a job. Valid crash out, wrote one sympathetic user. They deliver 300+ packages on a tight schedule while being strictly tracked on their driving habits. Another added: So what! Hey, if I were outside in this cold on a time limit, jumping in and out of a truck back and forth, slipping and sliding, dropping down packages of all sizes, even getting chased by dogs, etc., Id be cussing sometimes too. This is funny as heck! I hope hes having a better day today. A third noted: Dont act as if youve never had a job you hated. Hes STILL showing up and collecting that paycheck though. I can totally relate. However, a user condemned the worker's behavior: Its literally his job! The people that hes complaining about are keeping him employed. Its called job security, bro. A second followed: Why do you get paid to do your JOB? If people did not ORDER, you would not have the JOB. Who's going to tell him? Haha. Logic is hard. Amazon said in a statement to the homeowner WXYZ Detroit that they are investigating the matter Another commented: Thats like me being annoyed all my patients showed up for their appointments. This is your job, Sir. If no one ordered packages, what would you deliver? Amazon told the outlet in a statement that they are investigating the matter: 'Were actively looking into this and will take appropriate action following our review.' 'Based on the actions depicted in the video, this behavior does not reflect the standards we hold for drivers delivering to Amazon customers,' a spokesperson said. The company also stated that they contract with small, local businesses and independent contractors to deliver to Amazon customers. The Daily Mail has reached out to Amazon for comment. A glitzy cruise was plagued with a nasty stomach bug after an outbreak caused 200 passengers to get sick. The glamorous Balmoral cruise ship - part of the Fred Olsen Cruise Lines - set off for a 10-night voyage from Southampton, United Kingdom to the Norwegian Fjords. By the time they had docked on January 30, roughly 200 passengers had been struck with 'symptoms of gastroenteritis,' a passenger told the Shetland Times. The unnamed passenger said he and his wife became sick during their trip. He added that daily announcements informed them the ship was 'experiencing increasing cases of people presenting with symptoms of gastroenteritis'. The Balmoral can carry about 1,250 guests and 537 crew members, meaning that roughly 11 percent of those on board were affected by the gastrointestinal illness, which causes nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. The cause of the outbreak was not immediately confirmed. However, Cruisehive reported that norovirus is likely to be the culprit. To prevent further transmission, the crew implemented protocols putting the ship into a state of lockdown, according to the Press and Journal. All decks were closed, as well as all five restaurants on the ship. To make things worse, terrible weather conditions created unsafe conditions for the Balmoral to dock in Lerwick for Shetland's annual fire festival, Up Helly Aa. The event is the largest Viking festival held in Scotland. The Balmoral can carry about 1,250 guests and 537 crew members, meaning that roughly 11 percent of those on board were affected by the illness Julie Homer told the Press Journal that the virus made the cruise an 'unpleasant environment.' 'We had two rough sea days, after the virus outbreak was announced last Thursday,' Homer said. 'All procedures changed on board; there was no self-service at meal times.' Events such as dancing had been cancelled; and all the puzzles, books, and playing cards were locked away. 'Staff were generally working so hard to keep everything clean,' she noted. 'It wasn't very pleasant, and a lot of people, including myself, spent as much time outside as we could. Homer said she caught the virus on Monday, January 26, and was very ill. 'We stayed in the cabin for 48 hours and had a visit from a nurse and calls to check how I was feeling,' she said. 'I was not well enough to get off the ship on Thursday, and am still not well with headaches, tiredness, and stomach aches.' Kate Bunyan, Fred Olsen's director of health services said that the crew of the cruise 'have immediately implemented measures to help reduce transmission, and our medical team is on hand to provide support to anyone who should feel unwell during the cruise' The series of unfortunate events was addressed by Kate Bunyan, Fred Olsen's director of health services. Bunyan said the company understood the disappointment of missing the much-anticipated Up-Helly-Aa festival but added that safety is their top priority before discussing the plague on board. 'We have immediately implemented measures to help reduce transmission, and our medical team is on hand to provide support to anyone who should feel unwell during the cruise,' wrote the director. 'Balmoral will be returning to Southampton tomorrow, where she will set sail a little later than planned to allow for a deep clean of the ship and cruise terminal. 'The safety and well-being of our guests and crew is our highest priority, and Fred Olsen Cruise Lines has robust health, hygiene, and safety protocols in place at all times.' The Daily Mail has reached out to Fred Olsen Cruise Lines for comment. Bill and Hillary Clinton have said they will testify before the House Oversight Committee as part of its investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Their decision reverses their long-standing refusal just days before lawmakers were set to vote on holding them in criminal contempt of Congress. The former president and former secretary of state had spent months rejecting subpoenas issued by Representative James Comer of Kentucky, the committee's Republican chairman. The Clintons had argued that his demands were not legally valid and accused him of using the investigation as a political weapon at the direction of President Trump. Their position shifted after several Democrats on the committee joined Republicans in supporting a recommendation to refer the Clintons to the Justice Department for possible prosecution. It marks a rare and dramatic escalation that would have been an unprecedented move against a former first couple. Following that vote, lawyers for the Clintons contacted Comer on Monday evening to confirm that both would sit for depositions at dates to be agreed upon, and urged the committee to abandon its plans to proceed with the contempt vote scheduled for later this week. 'They negotiated in good faith. You did not,' spokesmen for the Clintons said in a statement. 'They told under oath what they know, but you did not care. But the former president and former secretary of state will be there.' Bill and Hillary Clinton have said they will testify before the House Oversight Committee as part of its investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein Bill Clinton is pictured lining up to eat cake In 2021 DailyMail.com obtained visitor logs which laid bare Epstein's access to the Clinton White House and revealed the pedophile visited at least 17 times during the former president's first few years in office (pictured together in 1993) The Clintons' decision followed a prolonged standoff with Representative James Comer, and represented a significant political win for the Republican chairman. The move also advanced Comer's broader strategy of redirecting his committee's Epstein investigation away from scrutiny of Trump's past connections to the financier and toward high-profile Democrats who had social or professional ties to Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell. In a letter sent to Comer over the weekend and obtained by The New York Times, attorneys for Clinton made a final attempt to shape the terms of any testimony. They proposed that the former president participate in a four-hour recorded interview with the full committee - a format Clinton had previously criticized as excessive and without modern precedent. Comer rejected the Clinton's offer, calling it 'unreasonable' arguing that four hours of testimony from Mr. Clinton was inadequate given that he was a 'loquacious individual' and would look to run out the clock. The lawyers also requested that Hillary Clinton be allowed to submit a sworn written statement instead of appearing in person, citing her claim that she never met or communicated with Epstein. 'Your clients' desire for special treatment is both frustrating and an affront to the American people's desire for transparency,' Comer wrote in a letter to the Clintons' lawyers on Monday in a letter that was seen by the Times. However, they added that she would still agree to an in-person interview if required, noting that any such session should reflect the limited relevance of her knowledge to the investigation. Former President Bill Clinton is seen alongside Jeffrey Epstein wearing silk shirts Epstein and Maxwell are seen speaking with then-President Bill Clinton at an event that took place in 1993 for donors to the White House Historical Association A new trove of about 3million files related to the financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was released on Friday Epstein visited the White House on 14 separate days and stopped by twice in one day on three occasions during Bill Clinton's first term Mr Clinton had asked Comer for scope of the interview to be restricted to matters relating to Epstein - but Come rejected that plea. Comer went on to explain that he believed the former president 'likely has an artificially narrow definition in mind' of what matters would be related to the Epstein investigation. Comer said he was concerned Clinton would refuse to answer questions about 'his personal relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, ways in which they sought to curry favor with powerful individuals and alleged efforts to utilize his power and influence after his presidency to kill negative news stories about Jeffrey Epstein.' In a sharp reversal, the Clintons responded Comer's letter on Monday night by accepting every condition he had laid out, agreeing to remove any restrictions on the length of Bill Clinton's deposition or the scope of questioning Republicans could pursue. The only concession Comer had previously been willing to make was allowing the interviews to take place in New York, where the Clintons are based. Mr Clinton has acknowledged knowing Epstein, who died in jail in 2019, but has maintained that he never visited Epstein's private island and severed ties with him roughly 20 years ago. But flight records show that Clinton took four overseas trips on Epstein's private aircraft in 2002 and 2003. The Democrat claims the pair were barely buddies, denies knowledge of Epstein's sex trafficking network, and insists he never set foot on Little Saint James nicknamed 'Pedo Island' and the setting for multiple bouts of sexual abuse. A stash of newly released images show Clinton onboard a private in the company of Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein Clinton is seen on a private jet indulging in some cake having cut a piece using the knife Former president Bill Clinton and an unidentified woman are seen in this image from the Epstein files Although several House Democrats voted alongside Republicans last month to advance contempt charges against the Clintons, others voiced strong objections - particularly over the decision to involve Hillary Clinton at all. 'I'm not seeing anything to suggest she ought to be a part of this in any way,' said Representative Kweisi Mfume, a Maryland Democrat, during a committee hearing last month. He added that it appeared the former secretary of state had been included simply because 'we want to dust her up a bit if we get her before this committee.' The Clintons' eventual agreement marks a complete retreat from the hardline stance they had taken only weeks earlier, when they insisted the investigation was politically motivated and vowed to resist it indefinitely. 'Every person has to decide when they have seen or had enough and are ready to fight for this country, its principles and its people, no matter the consequences,' the Clintons wrote in a letter to Comer on January 13. 'For us, now is that time.' Even as the contempt vote loomed, the Clintons continued to seek a compromise behind closed doors, hoping to persuade the House Oversight Committee to withdraw the subpoenas Flights logs show that Clinton flew on the Boeing 727 tri-jet on 26 occasions, travelling to an array of exotic locations including Brunei, Norway, Russia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Africa. He is pictured traveling on the infamous jet while playing cards with a cigar in his mouth In 2024, the Daily Mail published images of the 42nd President of the United States receiving a neck and shoulder massage from Epstein victim Chauntae Davies during a stopover in 2002 Jeffrey Epstein's infamous 'Lolita Express' - a private Boeing 727 airliner that carried prominent passengers and allegedly underage girls - will be torn apart and scrapped Even as the contempt vote loomed, the Clintons continued to seek a compromise behind closed doors, hoping to persuade the House Oversight Committee to withdraw the subpoenas. They proposed that Comer and the committee's ranking Democrat conduct a sworn interview with Mr Clinton, but the chairman rejected the idea, insisting instead on a full appearance before the entire panel in an open-ended, transcribed session. According to a person familiar with the talks, a member of the Clintons' legal team even managed to obtain Comer's personal cellphone number and attempted to contact him directly in recent days to resolve the standoff but Comer never replied. The Clintons finally agreed to participate in a transcribed interview but Comer still maintained that no agreement existed, further infuriating the Clintons and their supporters. Last month, nine Democrats on the Oversight Committee joined Republicans in voting to advance contempt charges against Bill Clinton, while three Democrats supported doing the same to Hillary Clinton setting the stage for potential House floor votes. According to a person familiar with the talks, a member of the Clintons' legal team even managed to obtain Comer's personal cellphone number and attempted to contact him directly in recent days to resolve the standoff but Comer never replied Last month, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman James Comer showed a notebook of questions he said he was prepared to ask former President Bill Clinton did not appear for a closed-door deposition on Capitol Hill In 2019, Daily Mail revealed Epstein had a bizarre portrait depicting the former Commander in Chief lounging on a chair in the Oval Office in blood red heels and a figure-hugging blue dress Clinton was once close enough to accept dozens of flights on Epstein's private jet, notoriously nicknamed the Lolita Express. He is pictured on the jet with Ghislaine Maxwell Epstein's procurer, Ghislaine Maxwell, was one of the guests at Chelsea Clinton's 2010 wedding to Marc Mezvinsky, at least a year after the former president says he last spoke to the pervert financier In February 2002 Naomi Campbell was aboard the aircraft with Bill Clinton, according to flight logs Many Democrats, however, have been wary of appearing to defend anyone connected to Epstein, particularly figures as politically polarizing as the Clintons. For the former first couple, the episode has felt like another chapter in what they view as a decades-long campaign of Republican investigations and attacks. In their January letter to Mr. Comer, the Clintons accused him of risking paralysis of Congress in pursuit of what they described as a partisan operation 'literally designed to result in our imprisonment.' Bill Clinton's agreement to testify in the Epstein inquiry would place him among rare company. The last time a former president appeared before Congress was in 1983, when Gerald R. Ford testified about preparations for the 1987 celebration marking 200 years since the Constitution's ratification. By contrast, when Donald Trump was subpoenaed in 2022 by the House committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol, he responded by filing a lawsuit to block the demand, and the panel later dropped the subpoena. A 13-year-old boy who swam four kilometres in dangerous swells to save his mother and two siblings has been hailed a hero. The teenager's family was on the water at Quindalup, 250km south of Perth, when strong winds began pushing their kayaks and paddleboards out to sea last Friday. The boy jumped from his kayak and began swimming to shore, completing the first two kilometres in his life jacket before abandoning it for the final stretch. He eventually made it to shore and raised the alarm. His family - a 47-year-old woman, a 12-year-old boy and a eight-year-old girl - were found by rescuers clinging to a single paddleboard 14km from the shore. 'I just said... 'not today, not today'. I did breaststroke, I did freestyle, I did backstroke. I hit the bottom of the beach and just collapsed,' the 13-year-old told Sky News. 'And after that I had to sprint two kilometres to get to the phone.' Naturaliste Marine Rescue commander Paul Bresland described the boy's continued efforts through the rough swells as 'superhuman'. A 13-year-old boy (pictured) who swam for four kilometres in dangerous swells to save his stranded family has been hailed a hero Helicopter rescue footage of the stranded group in the water after the teen raised the alarm 'He swam in, he reckons, the first two hours with a life jacket on,' he told the ABC. 'And the brave fella thought he's not going to make it with a life jacket on, so he ditched it, and he swam the next two hours without a life jacket.' WA Water Police, local marine rescue volunteers and a rescue helicopter were deployed in the multi-agency search. They were found within an hour at 8.30pm and towed to shore by a rescue boat. The group had been treading water for several hours, with the mother working to keep her children afloat in the rough conditions. South West Police Inspector James Bradley praised the young boy for his accurate descriptions of the kayak and paddleboards he provided to rescuers. 'The actions of the 13-year-old boy cannot be praised highly enough,' he said. 'His determination and courage ultimately saved the lives of his mother and siblings.' Joanne Appelbee and her son Austin who she says is a hero after he saved them A 13-year-old boy who swam for four kilometres in dangerous swells to save his stranded family members has been hailed a hero (pictured is the Busselton Jetty in Geographe Bay) They were assessed by paramedics and taken to Busselton Health Campus. The family was reunited with the rescue crews after they were discharged from hospital over the weekend. Mr Bradley added the family's use of life jackets had contributed to their survival, serving as a timely reminder to other holidaymakers. Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe has dramatically stormed out of the Senate during a fiery debate over a Greens motion condemning the Albanese Government's decision to invite Israeli President Isaac Herzog to Australia. Thorpe erupted as Labor Senator Anthony Chisholm explained why the Government would not back the Greens' proposal. 'No pride in genocide!' she shouted across the chamber. 'We should not have Herzog here.' With that, Thorpe rose from her chair and walked out. The Senate is meeting for the first official sitting of the year, two weeks after the short emergency sitting, which was called to pass laws in the wake of the Bondi Beach terror attack. Earlier Greens Senator David Shoebridge said that the invitation to Herzog was 'disgraceful', and said that the government 'did not care' that his visit would cause civil unrest. 'We've seen the photo of President Herzog signing bombs that were sent into Gaza, he is accused by a UN Commission of Inquiry of inciting genocide,' Shoebridge said. Lidia Thorpe (pictured) slammed the government for inviting Israel's President to Australia Israel's President Isaac Herzog (centre) will be visiting Australia next week 'What the hell is Labor doing inviting someone like that to Australia?' Shoebridge and the Greens called for the government to rescind the invitation. 'Next week this government will be providing the red carpet for a man who is inciting genocide,' he said. 'When someone is accused by the United Nations of genocide, you don't invite them to tea.' Liberal Senate Leader Michaelia Cash accused the Greens of political 'grandstanding'. 'There are three certainties in life, the first is unfortunately death, the second is taxes. But the third... is the Greens hatred of Israel,' she said. 'This is another day, another stunt in the lives of the Australian Greens.' Greens Leader Larissa Waters and Senator Penny Allman-Payne heckled Cash as she spoke. Michaelia Cash (pictured) accused the Greens of 'political grandstanding' over the motion 'Israel is committing a genocide,' Waters said. The motion to suspend standing orders to condemn the Albanese Government over Herzog's invitation failed, Labor and the Liberals voting against the motion. A popular brewery is set to shut its doors in Sydney's inner west as its owners look to relocate. Wildflower Brewery and Blending will shut down in Marrickville on May 31. Co-owner Topher Boehm revealed the venue will be moved to a rural location, with the decision ultimately made due to family reasons. 'It's with a great deal of excitement, trepidation, sadness and thanksgiving that I share we have made the decision to relocate Wildflower towards a rural setting,' he said. 'While we are greatly looking forward to this next chapter and what it will bring for the beer and us personally, the manifest of this decision means that our Brompton St location will be closing its doors in late May 2026. 'This is not something that has come easily, nor something that has arrived suddenly. 'It has been a long period of discernment, looping thoughts and revisited conversations.' Mr Boehm said he was grateful for the support from the community over the last ten years, however it was time to 'begin a new chapter'. A popular brewery is set to shut its doors in Sydney's inner west as its owners look to relocate Wildflower Brewery and Blending will shut down in Marrickville on May 31 'I have come to believe that the work I want to do now: meaningful, patient, perhaps less externally popular, does not require being in Marrickville to achieve it,' he said. 'We hope that shifting Wildflower towards a rural setting will allow us to look back at this practice as something closer to a passion project once again, rather than carrying the full weight of the stresses that come with making a small business work in the city, with all its variety of opportunity and cost.' Mr Boehm said he was not sure where the new location would be or what parts of the 'Marrickville-honed process will survive'. 'While that is indeed part of the excitement, getting the chance to reshape what the next edition of this place will be, it is also going to take some time and thought,' he said. A body has been found in the search for a 30-year-old man who disappeared during a swim with friends at a popular Sydney beach. The man was reported missing after he failed to return to shore at the southern end of Maroubra Beach, south of Coogee, shortly before 4pm on Sunday. NSW Police confirmed a body had been found about 12.20pm on Tuesday. 'While a formal identification process is yet to be completed, the body is believed to be that of the missing swimmer,' police said in a statement. A report will be prepared for the coroner. The body was found during a multi-agency search by NSW Water Police, Surf Life Saving NSW and Randwick Council lifeguards. Volunteers and vessels from Marine Rescue Botany Port Hacking and Marine Rescue Middle Harbour also assisted in the search. Locals were seen watching the recovery operation from the shoreline on Tuesday. A body has been found in the search for a 30-year-old man who disappeared during a swim with friends at a popular beach in Sydney (pictured, rescuers on Tuesday) The man was reported missing after he failed to return to shore at the southern end of Maroubra Beach, south of Coogee, shortly before 4pm on Sunday A diver is seen on the back of a jet-ski on Tuesday Locals were seen watching search efforts from the shoreline A man is seen speaking to a police officer at Maroubra Beach on Tuesday The alarm was first raised by lifesavers who noticed the man enter the water but failed to return to shore. The beach was evacuated as a precaution on Sunday and multiple helicopters and jet skis were brought in to assist the search. Two members of the notorious Brothers 4 Life have been hauled out of their homes in handcuffs as police uncover a stash of branded merchandise. Gangster Bassam Hamzy founded Brothers 4 Life in 2008 while in Lithgow prison where he was caught using a smuggled mobile phone to run his violent drug network. Prison bosses discovered he was making up to 450 calls a day attempting to organise kidnappings and shootings, and he was sent to Goulburn Correctional Centre. On November 27, police stopped and searched a Toyota Hilux during a routine patrol and allegedly found a firearm, hammer, knife and drugs. A 20-year-old man was arrested and taken to Liverpool Police Station where he was charged with four counts of possessing prohibited drugs. He was also charged with possessing an unauthorised firearm, possessing an unregistered firearm, two counts of goods suspected of being stolen in personal custody, custody of a knife in a public place, and two counts of possessing or attempting to possess a prescribed restricted substance. The man was refused bail and appeared at Liverpool Local Court on November 28. But, weeks later, NSW Police have confirmed they have charged two men from the Brothers 4 Life gang following an investigation into the incident. Two members of notorious Sydney gang Brothers 4 Life have been charged by police The two arrests occurred after police carried out three raids at western Sydney homes in Westmead, Wentworthville and Cartwright Gangster Bassam Hamzy founded Brothers 4 Life in 2008 while in Lithgow prison (pictured, a jumper with the Brothers 4 Life Australia logo found by police on Tuesday) During their investigation into the seized items discovered in the Hilux, police found a mobile phone. They allege the phone had images of three men posing with unauthorised firearms. The matter was referred to the state crime command's Raptor Squad, which allegedly recognised the men as members of the Brothers 4 Life gang. Three raids were then carried out about 4.50am on Tuesday under a firearm prohibition order at homes in the western Sydney suburbs of Westmead, Wentworthville and Cartwright. Among the items photographed by NSW Police were jumpers bearing logos with the name 'Brothers 4 Life': one in neon yellow and another in black and red. Two guns can be seen propped up against the words on each jumper. A 33-year-old man was arrested at Westmead and taken to Granville Police Station. As he was escorted from a home, police video showed he had the tattoo 'Ismail' on his right arm, a name used in Arabic and Muslim cultures as a variant of Ishmael. A 33-year-old man was arrested at Westmead and taken to Granville Police Station A 52-year-old man in Wentworthville was arrested and taken to Granville Police Station Pictured, a jumper with a logo for the gang Brothers 4 Life with two guns One jumper design included the number 36, though it is not known why He was charged with possessing an unauthorised prohibited firearm and acquiring a pistol subject to a firearms prohibition order. At a home in Wentworthville, a 52-year-old man was arrested and taken to Granville Police Station where he was charged with possessing an unauthorised prohibited firearm and acquiring a pistol-subject to firearms prohibition order. Both men were refused bail to appear at Parramatta on Tuesday. Investigations are ongoing. Anyone with information that could assist with enquiries into organised criminal activity should contact Crime Stoppers. A Perth man allegedly stabbed by his fiancee during what prosecutors described as a dispute over household chores has vowed to forgive her. WA Police were called to a property in Thornlie at about 10pm on Sunday, where former factory worker Matt Lester was found suffering from two stab wounds. His fiancee, Laureen Gaye Sprenger, 47, was charged with unlawful wounding with circumstances of aggravation over the alleged attack at the couple's home, and appeared in Armadale Magistrates Court on Monday. During a police interview, she told officers she was frustrated with her partner for being lazy and not helping around the house. She also allegedly said she had thought about stabbing him before and that if she ever saw him again, she would kill him. Ms Sprenger was refused bail and remanded in custody. Speaking to the Daily Mail at his Thornlie home, Mr Lester, 47, showed off his stab wounds. 'I got a reasonable-sized slice to my chest near the collarbone, and another two-inch cut to my shoulder - about 20 staples all up.' Laureen Sprenger allegedly stabbed her fiance Matt in a domestic violence incident over chores Matt claims the incident was a misunderstanding and that Laureen's drink may have been spiked Matt was taken to Royal Perth Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries But despite his injuries, he said he was struggling to come to terms with his fiancee's absence and was more concerned for her well-being than his own. 'The only thing that hurts is my heart, I can't sleep, I just miss her so much,' he said. 'I'm not worried about anything. I love my missus, and I hope to see her home real soon,' he said. Mr Lester rejected claims that the alleged attack stemmed from an argument over household chores, insisting the incident was a misunderstanding. 'The whole thing was a misunderstanding, I think she was drugged because I've never seen her like that before,' he said. 'That woman can drink me under the table and I've never seen her like this. She completely blacked out.' He described the hours leading up to the incident as out of character for his long-term partner. 'She was having a drink with a woman up the road. I got a phone call about 9.30pm to come and get her out of the car because she couldn't walk,' he said. Blood splatters remain at the rear of the property The couple live at a home in Thornlie with their five ferrets, two cats and one dog 'She's never been like that.' Mr Lester said the couple had been together for six years after meeting on Facebook and are engaged. He insisted that they do not have a violent relationship and do not use drugs. 'We left Brisbane to start fresh about three years ago. We left all that bulls*** behind,' he said. Despite the seriousness of the allegations, Mr Lester said he believed the alleged incident was forgivable and claimed Ms Sprenger had no memory of what occurred. He said she had blacked out at the time and still does not recall the alleged stabbing. 'I just want her to come home, we've been through worse - we'll get through this.' Mr Lester said that the couple had rarely been separated during their relationship, aside from a period when he was remanded in custody. 'The only time we have been apart in the last six years is when I got banged up in f****** jail for nine months on remand for attempted murder, when in reality it was a road rage incident,' he said. The couple have been together six years after meeting each other on Facebook He now hopes she can be reunited with him and their five ferrets, two cats and a dog. Ms Sprenger remains in custody and is due to reappear in court via video link on March 3 to seek legal advice. The pair got engaged in June 2023, and Ms Sprenger's ring was seen at the home days after the incident, where blood still remained. 'The only reason we're not married is that we haven't gotten around to it, we've been through a lot together.' According to her LinkedIn profile, Ms Sprenger holds a degree from Griffith University and works as a private alcohol and drug counsellor. She was previously a community support worker. Her most recent post on social media was to defend the late Charlie Kirk, the prominent US conservative political activist and media personality who was shot and killed last year while speaking at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University. 'I honestly don't care about your likes, I have followed and watched Charlie Kirk's videos long before he was recently murdered,' she posted. 'That young man is and will continue to be an inspiration.' A teenager is among two youths charged over a terrifying home invasion on a Melbourne journalist's mother. The alleged attack on independent journalist Ryan Naumenko's mother came just days after he spoke exclusively to The Trial Australia podcast where he revealed how his insider coverage of Melbourne's tobacco wars had already nearly cost him his life. The tobacco wars are a violent gang conflict that has erupted over control of Australia's lucrative illegal tobacco trade. It has been raging for more than two years. On Tuesday, detectives from Victoria Police's Gang Crime Squad executed search warrants in Springvale, in Melbourne's south-east, charging a 17-year-old boy. The teen now faces a string of serious offences, including possessing a handgun and ammunition, trafficking and possessing ecstasy, possessing the proceeds of crime, handling stolen goods and failing to provide police his mobile phone PIN number. Officers allegedly seized a chilling cache of weapons from the home, including a 3D-printed .22 calibre handgun, a Samurai sword, MDMA, a flick knife, cash, and a stolen driver's licence. He was bailed to appear at a children's court at a later date. A 20-year-old man from Harkness was also charged in connection with the probe. Ryan Naumenko's (pictured) mum was caught up in an alleged home invasion He had previously been hit with two counts of possessing a controlled weapon without excuse and possessing cocaine. That man was bailed and is due to face Sunshine Magistrates' Court on May 7. Naumenko told Daily Mail he was happy with the police investigation into the alleged home invasion. 'The cops did a decent job - my family and myself are incredibly grateful for the work they've put into this investigation,' he told Daily Mail. 'Let's just hope the courts give my mother some justice for a change.' Naumenko took to his Instagram page to describe the horror attack at his mother's family home in Victoria's north-west in the days after it happened. 'My mother's home was invaded by three youth offenders last night. It was over an article revealing details about someone that weren't yet known. Two of the children were carrying weapons - a machete and a small bat,' he wrote. 'They jumped the fence and smashed their way in through the backyard. They punched my mother multiple times to her face but left no marks. The home of Ryan Naumenko's mum following the alleged attack CCTV captured the alleged thugs fleeing his mum's home 'The hits were very soft. They were kids they didn't know how to punch, according to my mother. They left within seconds and ran the second they heard my voice. 'They were telling my elderly mother, who is recovering from major cancer surgery, to ''say Ryan's a Dog''. This must be called out for what it is - gangsters who are nothing more than cowardly putrid skunks with no morals.' Naumenko ended his post with an ominous message. 'I'll show you what men do when we love our families more than our own lives,' he stated. Naumenko has made national headlines in recent months after telling Daily Mail he planned to sack his podcast host former sergeant-at-arms for the Mongols outlaw bikie gang turned reporter, Mahmood Fazal. Naumenko and Fazal had launched the World on the Street podcast, but quickly fell out. The feud escalated when Naumenko hit YouTube with a video outlining a series of allegations against his former cohost. Naumenko has made a name for himself as an independent crime reporter in Melbourne It is not suggested that Fazal had anything to do with the home invasion. He has made a name for himself as a fearless independent Melbourne-crime reporter able to get rare insights into the criminal underworld. Naumenko's sources within Melbourne's underbelly give him access to scoops often beyond the grasp of mainstream journalists. Today Show host Savannah Guthrie made a heartbreaking plea for fans to keep her beloved mother in their prayers to help 'bring her home' after the elderly woman suddenly disappeared. The frantic search for Nancy Guthrie continued on Tuesday after Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told the Daily Mail that he believes the 84-year-old was snatched from her bed in the middle of the night. 'We believe in prayer. We believe in voices raised in unison, in love, in hope,' Savannah wrote on Instagram. 'We believe in goodness, we believe in humanity. Above all, we believe in Him.' Nancy Guthrie, a devout mother of three, was reported missing from her $1 million Arizona home on Sunday after she failed to show up for morning mass. She was last seen at around 9.45pm on Saturday in Tucson's affluent Catalina Foothills neighborhood. 'Thank you for lifting your prayers with ours for our beloved mom, our dearest Nancy, a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant,' Savannah wrote. She then asked her social media followers to 'raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment,' adding: 'We need you' and 'Bring her home'. Savannah made the desperate plea as the investigation into Nancy's disappearance stretched into a third consecutive day. Today Show host Savannah Guthrie pleaded with the American public for their prayers for her mother, Nancy, who was reported missing on Sunday The Today Show host wrote 'we need you' as she asked her followers for their prayers Amy Schumer and Alyssa Milano said they are 'praying hard' for Nancy's safe return. Bravo star Andy Cohen who shared his 'love and prayers'. Actor Josh Gad added: 'You have nothing but prayers in this household. I am truly sorry that this is happening.' Some of Guthrie's current and former NBC anchors also expressed their sympathy. Former Today Show co-host Hoda Kotb said she has her 'non-stop prayers'. Nicole Wallace from MSNOW said she is 'holding you and your entire family so close'. Immediately following the report that Nancy was missing, authorities took police dogs around the neighborhood and deployed drones. They even used the Pima County Sheriff's Department plane to assist in the search for the elderly woman. By Monday, though, Sheriff Nanos had said that the search efforts were being 'shut down' because Nancy's disappearance was now being treated as a crime. He explained at a news conference that Nancy 'is very limited in her mobility. She did not just walk out of there'. Nancy, a mother-of-three, was reported missing after a church-goer called the family to report that she was not there Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos announced on Monday that deputies are now investigating Nancy's disappearance as a crime 'There are other things at the scene that indicate she did not leave on her own,' the sheriff continued. He claimed Nancy left home without taking medication she needs to survive. Detectives who searched the property also discovered the elderly woman left behind her phone, wallet and car. Savannah, in the past, has said that 'the greatest gift my mother gave me was faith and belief in God'. She described her mother on-air as 'like hard iron, granite-strong'. 'We had some hard times when I was a child. We lost my dad suddenly and shockingly,' Savannah said in 2023. 'And my mom was so strong and set aside her own grief in many ways just to be there and make sure we could all move forward together,' she said of herself, her sister, Annie, and brother, Camron. Just hours before she disappeared, the elderly woman enjoyed a dinner with her eldest daughter, Annie, and spent the evening playing mahjong. Annie - who once called her mother 'our bright north star' - said she did not notice any 'red flags' about her mother's behavior during the dinner, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told US Magazine. It remains unclear whether Nancy had been targeted because she is Savannah's mother. 'We're not going to dismiss any angles for sure, but right now, immediately we don't know of anything like that,' Sheriff Nanos said. The sheriff added that authorities do not believe the public is in any danger. The shocking disappearance has left neighbors rattled, with one saying it was strange for Nancy to go missing in such a quiet area. 'Its a very safe neighborhood. This is highly unusual, and we are very concerned about her,' Jeff Lamie told azcentral. In recent years, Nancy has suffered from mobility issues, leading authorities to believe she may have been taken from her $1million Tucson, Arizona home Savannah's sister, Annie (right), enjoyed dinner with their mother, Nancy (center), just hours before she disappeared. The three women are pictured at the Metropolitan Opera in December Another neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said the large police presence on Sunday was 'very unusual'. He recalled how officers drove up and down the street with their lights flashing overnight, while a helicopter circled overhead. The neighbor, who spoke with azcentral and requested to not be named, recalled police driving up and down the street with their lights flashing on Sunday night as a helicopter circled overhead. The police search was a far cry from a normal day in the Catalina Foothills neighborhood where residents walk their dogs and wave good morning to one another. As questions about Nancy's whereabouts remained unanswered on Monday, Jenna Bush Hager spoke through tears, addressing the situation. 'I know her personally. And we want to just report, too, that she takes daily medication and she needs them for survival,' Bush Hager said. 'She's without her medication. We are thinking of our dearest, dearest Savannah and her whole family right now in our prayers.' Nancy has made regular appearances on the NBC morning show to visit her daughter Former Today Show co-host Hoda Kotb told Guthrie she has her 'non-stop prayers.' The two are pictured on set in October 2024 Host Craig Melvin also conveyed how close to home the story was to the Today team, telling viewers: 'This is very concerning to us. 'We don't typically get involved at a scene like this, but it's very concerning.' Both Nancy and Annie have been featured on the show in the past, where the two sisters would speak lovingly about their mother. 'When I was in my 30s, I really wished to be married and to be a mom, and things just did not happen that fast for me,' Savannah once said on air. 'And my moms confidence that I would be a mom even as the years ticked by and ticked by and ticked by meant so much to me. She said, "Of course youll be a mom, and youre going to be a wonderful mom." 'And for her to have that confidence and faith was so meaningful to me. It got me through some really hard times.' Savannah Guthrie was expected to pull out of her co-hosting assignment for the Winter Olympics on Friday. She was also noticeably absent from work on Monday as she returned home to Tucson, from where she issued a statement thanking everyone for their thoughts, prayers and messages. 'Right now, our focus remains on the safe return of our dear mom,' she said. 'We thank law enforcement for their hard work on this case and encourage anyone with information to contact the Pima County Sheriff's Department at (520) 351-4900.' Peter Mandelson last night insisted he has 'no idea' why he was photographed in his pants in Jeffrey Epstein's 8million Paris 'House of Sin' apartment as he described the paedophile as a 'master manipulator'. He is facing a police probe into whether he leaked 'market sensitive' information to the child abusing financier by forwarding him No 10 emails containing advice to then-prime minister Gordon Brown. One saw Lord Mandelson give Epstein advance notice of a 500billion bailout of the Eurozone. Today New Labour's 'Prince of Darkness' is facing a police probe. In his first interview since three million Epstein files were released, he also complained that the American paedophile financier, once his friend, is like 'muck that you cant get off your shoe Like dog muck, the smell never goes away.' On the now-notorious picture of him in his pants was taken inside Epstein's palatial 'House of Sin' in Paris, he said he has 'no idea what I am doing in this photograph or who the woman was. It looks as though she came in and showed me something on an iPad'. It came as a new embarrassing picture of Mandelson was released, this time of him with a cheesy grin while getting a foot massage. The architect of New Labour insists the period of his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein after his conviction for soliciting sex from girls as young as 14 was a blur. The disgraced peer also claims he has 'absolutely no recollection' or records of Jeffrey Epstein paying $75,000 into accounts linked to him. He said: 'I think I would remember such a large sum'. '[Epstein] told me he had been framed in his indictment in 2008 and I feel really bad about continuing my association with him afterwards', he said. Lord Mandelson talking to a woman in a white bath robe while in his underwear. His spokesman claimed he had 'no idea' where it was taken but the interior appears to match the inside of Epstein's Paris flat, known as the House of Sin A new picture of Mandelson having a foot rub emerged today 'Thats why I wanted to apologise unequivocally for doing so, to the women and girls who suffered', he told The Times. He has blamed being 'too trusting' of Jeffrey Epstein, describing the paedophile financier as a 'classic sociopath' amid newly released files linking the pair. 'He was a master manipulator. I can see that now. But the point is that his victims certainly did know what he was doing', Mandelson said. The walls continued to cave in around the former Labour grandee on Tuesday as a leaked photo showed him getting a foot massage from an unidentified woman. Mandelson on Epstein On accepting Epstein's money for his husband's osteopathy course: 'Epstein told Reinaldo that he had an educational foundation which gave bursaries or scholarships and offered one for an osteopathy course. I saw this as kindness, nothing more. It was a great help to Reinaldo and I thanked him.' On the alleged $75,000 payments he received from Epstein: '[I have] absolutely no recollection or records of receiving his money and I think I would remember such a large sum.' On the photo of him in his underpants: '[I have] no idea what I am doing in this photograph or who the woman was. It looks as though she came in and showed me something on an iPad.' On what people thought they knew of Epstein when he was alive compared to now: 'He was a master manipulator. I can see that now. But the point is that his victims certainly did know what he was doing.' On trusting Epstein: 'He was a classic sociopath. Outwardly, completely charming and engaging. He was very clever.' On whether he should now retire: 'Hiding under a rock would be a disproportionate response to a handful of misguided historical emails, which I deeply regret sending. If it hadnt been for the emails, Id still be in Washington. Emails sent all those years ago didnt change the relationship that I had with this monster.' On whether he will attend Congress: 'There is nothing I can tell Congress about Epstein they dont already know. I had no exposure to the criminal aspects of his life.' On whether Downing Street knew everything about his relationship with Epstein: 'I understand being surprised by what they learnt, but quite honestly I too am amazed by some of the conversations I had and areas of my life where I was seeking advice from Epstein.' On what he thinks of Epstein now: '[He is like] muck that you cant get off your shoe Like dog muck, the smell never goes away.' Advertisement Dressed in suit and tie, the peer can be seen sitting in a leopard-print chair and appears to be grinning as the woman removes a sock from his foot. The picture was sent to Mandelson by Epstein in an email dating back to February 2011. Reflecting on his association with the disgraced financier, Mandelson says Epstein helped him move from the political sphere into the world of finance. 'Perhaps he wanted to be a mentor and I was naive in regarding him as a good-faith actor,' he told The Times. 'There was no reason to shun his advice, but I was too trusting. 'He was always very free and forthright with his views and always presented them as in my best interests.' Mandelson added: 'He was a classic sociopath. Outwardly, completely charming and engaging. He was very clever.' And on the series of scandals that have dogged his career he said: 'Ive had a lot of bad luck, no doubt some of it of my own making'. Speaking to The Times on January 25, in an article published last night, he said he would not retire due to the Epstein Files. The sudden release by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) of millions of emails associated with the Epstein case last year turned the prominent Blairite's life upside down, forcing him out of his role as Ambassador to the US within days. He said: 'Hiding under a rock would be a disproportionate response to a handful of misguided historical emails, which I deeply regret sending. If it hadnt been for the emails, Id still be in Washington. Emails sent all those years ago didnt change the relationship that I had with this monster.' In recent days, further documents have piled more pressure on him and now Scotland Yard are involved. Scotland Yard is reviewing revelations that the architect of New Labour passed on highly sensitive advice given to then-prime minister Gordon Brown. The email, sent in 2009 at the height of the financial crisis, was on Monday branded a 'betrayal' and sparked furious calls for an investigation. The Metropolitan Police received referrals from both Reform UK and the SNP asking detectives to investigate the peer, who on Sunday quit the Labour Party to avoid causing 'further embarrassment'. Another email, part of three million documents released on Friday by the US Department of Justice, saw Lord Mandelson give Epstein advance notice of a 500billion bailout of the Eurozone, potentially allowing the paedophile financier to cash in ahead of the deal being formally announced the following day. And Mandelson, who now faces calls to quit the Lords, also tipped off his friend the night before Mr Brown resigned from No 10. In an interview published on Monday, Lord Mandelson claimed that he was 'too trusting' of Epstein, who he described as 'muck that you can't get off your shoe Like dog muck, the smell never goes away'. But he made it clear he has no intention of disappearing from public life, telling The Times: 'Hiding under a rock would be a disproportionate response to a handful of misguided historical emails, which I regret sending.' Keir Starmer was forced to sack Lord Mandelson from the key role of US ambassador last year after more revelations about Epstein The released documents include an Epstein bank statement with a $25,000 transfer to Peter Mandelson - although the peer says he cannot remember receiving the money and believes it is fake And he said none of the Epstein files 'indicate wrongdoing or misdemeanour on my part' as he refused to give evidence to a US Congress inquiry. Catherine MacLeod, who served as a special adviser to then-Chancellor Alastair Darling, said the leaking of confidential Treasury emails to Jeffrey Epstein during the financial crisis was a 'betrayal' in a Radio 4 interview. Reform said it was 'abundantly clear' that Lord Mandelson 'abused his position in office' and called on the police to 'investigate these shocking revelations'. Meanwhile, Stephen Flynn, the SNP leader at Westminster, said in a letter to Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley that Lord Mandelson's tenure in Government 'must now be criminally investigated'. The Met tonight confirmed it had received reports relating to allegations of misconduct in public office and said detectives were reviewing them to 'determine if they meet the criminal threshold for investigation'. Earlier in the day Gordon Brown said: 'I have asked the Cabinet Secretary to investigate the disclosure of confidential and market sensitive information from the then Business Department during the global financial crisis.' He also revealed that on September 10 last the day Sir Keir Starmer said he had 'confidence' in Lord Mandelson as the Epstein scandal swirled once again he wrote to the Cabinet Secretary, calling for an investigation into the peer but was told no records could be found. New material appears to show emails were forwarded to Epstein by Lord Mandelson in which key Downing Street aides and ministers discussed a proposed 20billion of asset sales to shore up the country and revealed Labour's tax policy plans. This information would have been valuable to any bank or financial institution. The document was forwarded by Lord Mandelson to Epstein with the comment: 'Interesting note that's gone to the PM.' The tranche of documents includes an email seemingly from Lord Mandelson to Epstein, talking about the UK government having 'saleable' assets The 2009 memo highlighted that the government was looking to get investment moving The memo made clear that the government was looking to sell off assets to avoid tax hikes Epstein replied 'what salable [sic] assets?' Lord Mandelson responded: 'Land, property I guess.' Four months later the government announced a 16billion asset sale. Meanwhile a series of emails appear to show Epstein used Lord Mandelson to arrange private tours of No10, including for his goddaughter. In July 2009 Epstein emailed Lord Mandelson: 'My goddaughter will be in London on wed and thurs [sic] of next week, what can we do to make it a very special trip.' Lord Mandelson responded by asking 'how old?', to which Epstein said: '15... House of Lords, Number 10, just for ten miniutes [sic].' Lord Mandelson responded: 'Fine on all.' It came after bank statements emerged which suggest Epstein made $75,000 (55,000) worth of payments to accounts connected to Lord Mandelson between 2003 and 2004. Separate emails between the two show that in 2009 Epstein wired Lord Mandelson's now husband, Reinaldo Avila da Silva, $10,000. Three months later, Lord Mandelson, then the business secretary, was lobbying ministers on Epstein's behalf over a proposed tax on bankers' bonuses. A few months earlier, in July 2009, Epstein was released from prison having served 13 months for soliciting a minor. Lord Mandelson was sacked as British ambassador to the US in September after emails between him and Epstein were made public in which he told the paedophile to 'fight for early release'. Kemi Badenoch yesterday criticised Sir Keir Starmer's 'supine' and 'short-termist' approach to China after he returned from his knee-bending trip to Beijing. The Tory leader laughed as she said his recent visit to China 'looked like a dream come true' for a man who was 'virtually a Communist all his life' in a heated exchange in the Commons chamber. The Prime Minister used an address to MPs to promote his approach to dealing with China - which stands accused of espionage against parliamentarians, cyber warfare against British institutions and of human rights abuses against its own people. He insisted the Government is 'clear-eyed about the threats from China' and that in engaging with president Xi Jinping yet guarding UK national security, it can 'do two things at once'. The first British leader to visit China in eight years, Sir Keir added that the Conservatives had presided over 'eight years of missed opportunities'. But Mrs Badenoch tore into the Prime Minister for returning from China with 'next to nothing', saying the Labour leader had been 'played' by Xi. She told the Commons: 'It is not the PM engaging with China we take issue with. What we are criticising is his supine and short-termist approach. 'I'm sure the Prime Minister means well, but his negotiating tactic has always been to give everything away in the hope people will be nice to him in return.' Kemi Badenoch, pictured in the House of Commons, yesterday criticised Sir Keir Starmer's 'supine' and 'short-termist' approach to China after he returned from his trip to Beijing The Prime Minister pictured with Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining on Saturday. The Tory leader laughed as she said his recent visit to China 'looked like a dream come true' for a man who was 'virtually a Communist all his life' Drawing laughter from her backbenches, she added: 'The Prime Minister looked like he enjoyed his trip. In fact it looked like a dream come true to a man who was virtually a Communist all his life.' Having hyped up the benefits the trip to Beijing would bring for Britain before he left, Sir Keir returned with only a halving of tariffs on whisky exports, plus the end of visas for tourists and businesses on short visits to China. The PM was also mocked by the Opposition benches when he boasted of an agreement for 'closer dialogue on cyber issues', given Beijing is seen as one of the main hostile state actors in this area. But Mrs Badenoch said the 'worst' aspect of Sir Keir's visit to China had been the Prime Minister 'claiming a glorious triumph' in seeing sanctions lifted on four MPs. Nine UK citizens were banned from China in 2021, including five Conservative MPs and two members of the House of Lords - targeted for highlighting human rights violations against the Muslim Uyghur community. The Tory leader said: 'Let me tell him: Those MPs were sanctioned because they stood up to China. 'They stood up against human rights abuses, they stood up against a country spying on our MPs in a way he wouldn't dare.' Sir Keir said China had 'made clear' that restrictions on all parliamentarians had been lifted, but last night those sanctioned said they have still not received proof this is the case. They have now requested a meeting with the PM. The Daily Mail understands sanctioned parliamentarians met with Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle on Monday to press for a ban on the Chinese ambassador to remain in place. Sir Lindsay barred the ambassador, Zheng Zeguang, from entering Parliament in 2021 after China imposed sanctions on MPs. But No 10 has sparked outrage by opening the door to president Xi visiting the UK again. He last came to Britain a decade ago under David Cameron's 'golden era' of close relations between the countries. A prolific thief has been banned from Hotel Chocolat after shoplifting 850 worth of luxury confectionary. Charlotte Jones, 35, repeatedly helped herself to selection boxes of chocolate and gift sets from the same Nottingham store. On December 8 last year, Jones stole 90 worth of chocolate from the Albert Street shop before returning just days before Christmas. On December 23 she struck again, stealing a further 62 of sweet treats before targeting the store on January 2 this year, making off with 60 of confectionary. In total, Jones had stolen 851 worth of chocolate on seven separate occasions. The repeat offender pleaded guilty and was handed a suspended sentence when she appeared at Nottingham magistrates court on January 3. She was also banned from Hotel Chocolat for two years. Charlotte Jones, 35, was seen stealing chocolate from Hotel Chocolat in Nottingham on CCTV, stealing 851 in seven incidents over a year Jones has now been banned from Hotel Chocolat for two years by a criminal behaviour order from Nottinghamshire Police Sergeant Dan Butler, of Nottinghamshire Police's city centre neighbourhood team, said: 'Jones is a persistent shoplifter, and we know her behaviour has harmed city centre businesses due to her disregard for the law. 'We are continuing to clamp down on prolific offenders with restrictive court orders banning them from certain shops or the city centre altogether. 'If their behaviour continues, we can more easily add further restrictions to the order, which makes it an arrestable offence to be in a particular area before products are stolen. 'Support is available to vulnerable people who choose to engage with us; however, we also have a duty to protect businesses and the public from harm. 'These orders are effective, and for as long as prolific shoplifters keep committing offences, we will continue to put them before the courts.' Now Jones has been banned from the Albert Street store after magistrates granted Nottinghamshire Police a criminal behaviour order to bar her from the shop. She was also ordered to complete 10 rehabilitation activity requirement days and pay 152 in compensation. The ban last two years and was granted on January 17. The force said it made sure the ban was in place 'to protect businesses and the public from Jones after she was identified as a prolific offender.' Breaching the order is a criminal offence and would likely result in her being jailed due to her suspended sentence. A row has erupted over an iconic sculpture in a North Yorkshire seaside beauty spot after a council said it was considering using real whale bones. Whitby's 12ft high Whale Bone Arch is decaying despite being replaced in 2002, with council chiefs weighing up whether to source new bones from a dead whale. There is also the possibility that replica bones could be used on the tourist landmark that has stood at the top of West Cliff for more than 170 years. However, local wildlife conservationists have condemned officials for considering the use of real bones, saying it normalises the idea that 'wildlife body parts are appropriate for public display'. North Yorkshire Council has confirmed it is in discussions with Alaskan authorities at North Slope Borough, in Barrow, about accessing real whale bones, though it stresses that replica ones are also being considered. Alexandra Smith, manager of Whitby Wildlife Sanctuary, has said she would condemn any move to replace the bones with another set from either a live or dead whale. She said: 'While we recognise the historical significance of the Whitby whale bone arch, we would not support the use of real whale bones in its replacement. 'Whales are a protected species and even when bones are sourced from historic or non-recent specimens, their continued use risks normalising the idea that wildlife body parts are appropriate for public display. Whitby's 12ft high Whale Bone Arch is decaying despite being replaced in 2002, with council chiefs weighing up whether to source new bones from a dead or live whale The old bones of a 113-ton Fin Whale which were once used for the Whitby arch but were found by a roadside in 2013 'We believe this can send the wrong message at a time when global conservation efforts are focused on protecting marine life and promoting ethical, sustainable practices. 'We would strongly welcome a more sustainable alternative, such as high quality replica, which can preserve the arch's cultural importance without involving real animal remains. 'This approach allows the history to be remembered while demonstrating modern values of conservation, respect for wildlife and environmental responsibility.' North Yorkshire Council's executive member for harbours, Cllr Mark Crane, said: 'The whale bone arch has been a symbol of Whitby's maritime heritage since 1853. 'It was installed in 2002, and, given the current state it is in and the limited time it can remain in place, discussions have begun around the options to replace the current bones and preserve one of the town's most famous symbols. 'We strongly believe using a replica would be more sustainable, durable and ethical and have made our position on this clear. We are considering a number of options for replica bones using different materials. 'Obviously even if real bones were to be used, they would come from a whale that has died naturally.' Chris Bourne, North Yorkshire Council's head of harbours, confirmed the authority was exploring ways to replace the bones. He admitted that even if they get access to real bones, there are several hurdles to bringing them back to the UK. He says as the bones will be in a 'remote location on the Arctic ice-shelf', residents would have to recover and move them to a safe location willingly. He said the bones would also need thorough cleaning before being able to transport them to the UK, and permission would have to be granted to import them. There is also the possibility that replica bones could be used on the tourist landmark that has stood at the top of West Cliff for more than 170 years The Bowhead whale is endangered and is protected under CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) regulation. Whitby Town Council has been recommended to also consider alternatives such as the use of imitation whale bones, alongside an information board. North Yorkshire Council's executive member for harbours, Cllr Mark Crane, said: 'The whale bone arch has been a symbol of Whitby's maritime heritage since 1853. 'The current arch was installed in 2002, and given the current state they are in and the limited time they can remain in place, discussions have started between ourselves, the town council and the Alaskan authorities to preserve one of the town's most famous symbols. 'All options are being considered, but we believe using a replica would be more sustainable, durable and ethical. 'However, this is not a decision that will be made solely by ourselves and we will continue discussions with local stakeholders about preserving this local symbol.' The Mayor of Whitby, Cllr Sandra Turner, has since called for the bones to stay. She said: 'Obviously, we want to retain our whale bones and we are in the process of working with North Yorkshire Council. 'They're in contact with overseas bodies to see if we can get a replacement set. 'What I will say is, absolutely, we don't condone the killing of any whales to replace the whale bones that we've got.' She added: 'If there is a set of whale bones that are just in store somewhere that can be put in place, then yes, that would be excellent.' Whitby Town Council has formally asked North Yorkshire Council to undertake 'urgent investigations' into the future of the whalebones. North Yorkshire Council said it is chasing the issue. At its peak, Whitby's port was one of the biggest in Britain with 55 whaling ships sailing from its harbour. It is suggested that over 2,700 whales were caught throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. The sculpture was last replaced in 2002 from bones taken from a Bowhead whale legally killed by a native Inuit from Whitby's twin town of Barrow, Alaska. The Spanish plan to give 500,000 migrants residency has sparked furious backlash, with right-wing opponents warning it will accelerate 'invasion', worsen the housing crisis and overwhelm public services. The Socialist government's move sharply diverges from the wave of tougher immigration policies occurring in Europe and the United States. Because the coalition lacks a majority in parliament, the initiative is scheduled to be approved by royal decree. Coming into force in April, the policy will allow eligible migrants to obtain up to one year residency and a work permit. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez defended the scheme following criticism from domestic opponents and tech billionaire Elon Musk, arguing that Spain is choosing the path of 'dignity, community and justice'. In a 46-second video posted in English on social media, Sanchez addressed critics who 'say weve gone too far', asserting: 'When did recognising rights become something radical? When did empathy become something exceptional?' But Alberto Nunez Feijoo, leader of the conservative opposition Popular Party (PP), warned the scheme would 'increase the pull effect and overwhelm our public services' and would exacerbate the housing crisis. 'This plan comes at a time when rents and home prices are breaking records and working-class families are being squeezed out of cities,' Feijoo said. 'Adding hundreds of thousands more people to a labour market already straining under a serious housing crisis will compound those problems, not solve them.' People queue outside Pakistan's consulate in Barcelona to apply for criminal record certificates, a document required for the migrant regularisation scheme, January 30 The number of undocumented migrants in Spain rose from 107,409 in 2017 to 837,938 in 2025 The measure will grant beneficiaries an initial one-year residence permit, which can subsequently be extended Some say were going too far, that were going against the current. When did recognising rights become something radical? pic.twitter.com/ka1nNKHVUC Pedro Sanchez (@sanchezcastejon) January 30, 2026 Undocumented migrants who had lived in Spain for at least five months by the end of 2025 and who have no criminal record, as well as those who had applied for asylum before the end of the year, will be eligible for the accelerated residence permit. The permit is valid for a year - or five for children - and can subsequently be extended. After ten years, migrants could become citizens of Spain, or sooner if they originate from Latin American countries or are refugees. 'We are reinforcing a migratory model based on human rights, integration, co-existence and which is compatible with economic growth and social cohesion,' migration minister Elma Saiz said, adding that economists had attributed Spains declining unemployment and growth in part to its openness to migrants. 'Providing rights is the answer to racism,' said Irene Montero, from the far-left Podemos party and a former minister in a coalition government with the Socialists. Hundreds of Pakistani nationals were seen queueing outside the country's consulate in Barcelona's Eixample district last week, to apply for certificates showing they did not hold criminal records. In the past three years, Spain's population increased by 1.5 million to 48.9 million, with almost all the increase due to immigration. Latin Americans make up 70 per cent of recent arrivals. Sanchez argues immigrants are key to Spain's economy, which expanded 2.8 percent last year - more than twice the average expected in the entire eurozone. But with about 90 per cent of new jobs going to immigrants, income per person has barely grown in Spain. Moreover, each year sees 140,000 new households, but only about 80,000 new homes built. A lack of affordable housing has become a central grievance among voters, contributing to social tension. Critics of the new programme argue that without simultaneous housing policy reforms, legalising large numbers of migrants increases competition for scarce accommodation, particularly in urban centres such as Barcelona and Madrid. With Spain facing an ageing population and low birth rate, Sanchez says immigrants help sustain the workforce and maintain the pension system The main opposition conservative Popular Party (PP) and far-right Vox have lashed out at the government, saying the regularisation will encourage more illegal immigration Prime Minister Sanchez argues immigrants are key to Spain's economy, which expanded 2.8 percent last year - more than twice the average expected in the entire eurozone Santiago Abascal, the leader of the populist hard-right party Vox, accused the Socialist-led coalition of accelerating what he called an 'invasion'. Pepa Millan, spokeswoman for Vox, said the plan 'attacks our identity', pledging that the party would appeal before the Supreme Court in an attempt to block it. The political row escalated after Musk posted a link on X - which he owns - to a post by a man named Ian Miles Cheong who called the plan 'electoral engineering', along with the comment: 'Wow.' 'Spain just legalized 500,000 illegal aliens to "defeat the far-right",' Cheong wrote in the post which has had over 16 million views. 'The logic is simple: legalise half a million people, fast-track them to citizenship (which takes as little as two years for many), and you've effectively imported a massive, loyal voting bloc that's indebted to the left,' he continued. Sanchez hit back at Musk, responding to the tech mogul's post on X late last Thursday with the message: 'Mars can wait. Humanity can't.' Mars can wait. Humanity cant. https://t.co/Oc4qAYtd3f Pedro Sanchez (@sanchezcastejon) January 29, 2026 Musk's aerospace company SpaceX is developing the mammoth Starship - the world's largest and most powerful rocket - as part of his vision to take humans to Mars. With Spain facing an ageing population and low birth rate, Sanchez says immigrants help sustain the workforce and maintain the pension system. Immigrants represent 'wealth, development and prosperity' for Spain, he said, pointing to their contribution to the country's social security system. But public disquiet about immigration has grown in the country, with polls indicating immigration is now among voters' top concerns, together with housing and unemployment. Analysts have sounded the alarm that without complementary policies addressing housing supply and integration, the scheme could harden public sentiment further, giving momentum to opposition parties' hardline anti-immigration stances. More than 3,000 people died trying to reach Spain by sea last year, according to a report by the NGO Caminando Frontera, including 192 women and 437 children. The figure is a significant drop from the 10,457 people who died in the attempt in 2024, potentially due to tighter border controls. There was an increase in the number of shipwrecks to 303, with about 70 boats having disappeared without leaving a trace. The number of undocumented migrants in Spain rose from 107,409 in 2017 to 837,938 in 2025, representing an eight-fold increase, according to findings from conservative think-tank Funcas. The majority of undocumented migrants living in Spain are understood to be from Colombia, Peru and Honduras. The country has been outperforming other EU nations in recent years, with unemployment - a longstanding issue in the Spanish economy - dipping below 10 per cent for the first time since 2008. The new policy represents the first large-scale migrant regularisation in Spain for two decades. Between 1986 and 2005, governments of both the Socialists and the conservative PP legalised the status of an estimated half a million migrants. A victim of Jeffrey Epstein had a baby fathered by the paedophile snatched away ten minutes after birth, according to the latest tranche of files released by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday. Buried in the three million documents is a diary entry of one of Epstein's victims, who alleges to have given birth to a baby girl in about 2002 when she would have been 16 or 17 years old. The victim expresses discomfort at what she says was Epstein's goal to create a 'superior gene pool' by having a baby with her - a concept she likens to Nazi ideology. 'Why me? It makes no sense. Why my hair and eye colour?' she wrote in the diary entry. The New York Times previously reported in 2019 that the disgraced financier confided in scientists about a scheme to seed the human race with his DNA, by impregnating women at his New Mexico ranch. In another email released in the tranche, Sarah Ferguson congratulated the paedophile on the birth of a 'baby boy' after he was released from jail in 2011. The former Duchess of York offered him her 'love, friendship and congratulations' after hearing about the news from 'The Duke', probably referring to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, her ex-husband. It has never been publicly confirmed whether Epstein fathered any children and the will he drew up before his 2019 death in a New York prison cell did not mention any offspring. Buried in the three million documents is a diary entry of one of Epstein's victims She alleges to have given birth to a baby girl in about 2002 when she would have been 16 or 17 years old The victim expresses discomfort at what she says was Epstein's goal to create a 'superior gene pool' by having a baby with her - a concept she likens to Nazi ideology The victim's lawyers, Wigdor LLP, shared the diary with federal prosecutors investigating Epstein and his jailed co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell. Included in the diary is a copy of the pregnancy scan dated to 20 weeks' gestation alongside the words: 'She is gone and she won't be coming back.' 'A shot and those rod like things had a hook and so much pain. Ghislaine said to push all the pain away,' the victim wrote, describing the birth. 'I saw between her fingers this tiny head and body in the doctors hands [sic]. It reached its tiny arm up and had a tiny foot.' The victim recounts how she heard 'in the hall Ghislaine said she was beautiful'. 'SHE WAS. Not is. She was a beautiful girl! I heard her! Where is she? Why did she stop whimpering?' the woman wrote. She later described herself as feeling like 'nothing but your property and incubator', asserting: 'There is no respect for me as a human.' Elaborating on what she described as Epstein's ambition to create a 'superior gene pool', the woman wrote: 'The piano and music comments are made to convince me this is right and will create perfect offspring ... I don't think it works that way and its making me hate playing together.' The woman later filed a lawsuit against the former chief executive of Apollo Global Management, Leon Black, who was one of Epstein's associates. Filing the lawsuit under the pseudonym Jane Doe in 2023, the woman alleges that Black raped her at Epsteins house in an assault that caused her to bleed. Black has denied the allegations and the case is ongoing. The woman said she only experienced '10 to 15 minutes' with her baby before she was taken The victim alleges Ghislaine Maxwell was present in the hospital during the birth Epstein's friend Sarah Ferguson congratulated him on having 'had a baby boy' Jeffrey Epstein, pictured with Ghislaine Maxwell, may have had multiple secret children, according to newly released emails Sarah Ferguson is pictured in the Epstein files with a mystery woman in an image released at Christmas As well as a daughter, the potential existence of Epstein's secret son - who would now be 14 and in secondary school - was revealed in a sycophantic email to him from his friend Ferguson, who suggested she heard the news from her ex-husband, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Ferguson appears to have used it as an excuse to get back in contact with Epstein, even after his release from prison for child sex offences. She wrote in the previously unseen email, released in the latest tranche of Epstein files: 'Don't know if you're still on this bbm [BlackBerry Messenger] but have heard from The Duke that you have had a baby boy'. The email, dated September 21, 2011, contains a barbed attack on Epstein from Ferguson for apparently cutting off contact with her. She wrote: 'Even though you never kept in touch, I am still here with love, friendship and congratulations on your baby boy.' It is signed: 'Sarah xx.' The correspondence from Ferguson is among the three million pages, 180,000 images and 2,000 videos posted publicly by the DOJ. The publication of the documents came six weeks after a December 19 deadline to release all the files, as mandated in the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which passed Congress and was signed into law in November. The disgraced financier's last-known girlfriend was Karyna Shuliak, to whom he said he wanted to leave his private island Little Saint James as well as $50 million and his Manhattan townhouse. An image of Jeffrey Epstein holding an unidentified child, released by the Department of Justice on Friday One undated video from Friday's release appears to show a DNA paternity test on the table at Epstein's seven-storey New York mansion. According to email correspondences leaked to Bloomberg last year between Epstein and Maxwell, there was a suggestion that the pair discussed undergoing fertility treatments. On October 20, 2005, police showed up to Epstein's Palm Beach house with a search warrant. A few days after the raid, Maxwell sent Epstein an email with detailed instructions on sperm donation for a shared fertility treatment. 'You can do the sample at home,' she wrote, before adding that it 'has to be within 90 mins of my procedure' and that 'all the ejaculate must be collected'. In an email to Epstein in 2007, just before he signed a non-prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors, Maxwell gave him more detailed instructions on another fertility procedure. This was around the time Maxwell claimed to have left Epsteins orbit and was already in a relationship with technology billionaire Ted Waitt. 'Your cup + instructions are in the oval room... The sample has to be dropped off at 10 + you HAVE to fill out the forms - I would have filled them for you but I was not sure what you wanted to put on them Let me know if you need/want me to do anything,' she wrote. Sources who were once close to Epstein have disclosed how the financier surrounded himself with scientists over the years, and confided in them about his plan to develop a super-race of humans with his DNA. He would host dinner parties where academics would mingle with attractive, college-educated women who he saw as candidates to carry his offspring. Epstein also told one person that upon his death, 'he wanted his head and penis to be frozen' and donated to charities that supported transhumanism, the belief that the human race can further evolve using advancements from the world of science. Dozens of acquaintances - including one of Epstein's former defence attorneys - told the Times this was all fueled by his veiled fascination for eugenics, the idea that the human race could be improved through selective breeding. Epstein mingled with the cream of the scientific community, and was heavily involved in many scientific pursuits. According to his inbox, one of his last book purchases included a copy of 'The Formula: Unlocking the Secrets to Raising Highly Successful Children'. Epstein apparently based his idea for a baby ranch on accounts of the Repository for Germinal Choice, which was to be stocked with the sperm of Nobel laureates who wanted to enhance the human gene pool. Only one Nobel Prize winner has admitted to contributing sperm to it, and the repository discontinued operations in 1999. Keir Starmer is struggling to contain the storm over Lord Mandelson today as he pledged 'support' for a police probe into leaks of government secrets. Scotland Yard has confirmed it is looking into allegations the ex-Cabinet minister committed misconduct in public office by sending 'market sensitive' No10 emails to Jeffrey Epstein. Meanwhile, MPs are ramping up pressure on Sir Keir to find a way of stripping Lord Mandelson of his peerage - as well as removing him from the privy council that advises the King. However, the New Labour architect - who was appointed as US ambassador by the PM barely a year ago - has sounded defiance in an interview. He insisted he was simply 'too trusting' of Epstein and denied that his career in public life was over. The extraordinarily close ties between Lord Mandelson - which continued long after he was jailed for sex offences - have been further exposed after the US released another massive tranche of Epstein evidence. Journalists have been sifting through more than three million new documents, with Lord Mandelson mentioned nearly 6,000 times. Keir Starmeris struggling to contain the storm over Lord Mandelson today as he pledged 'support' for a police probe into leaks of government secrets A photograph released as part of the Epstein files shows Lord Mandelson in his underwear talking to a woman who is wearing a white bath robe The tranche of documents includes an email seemingly from Lord Mandelson to Epstein, talking about the UK government having 'saleable' assets The 2009 memo highlighted that the government was looking to get investment moving The memo made clear that the government was looking to sell off assets to avoid tax hikes They appear to show that the peer passed on highly sensitive advice given to then-PM Gordon Brown at the height of the Credit Crunch. It included emails with key Downing Street aides and ministers discussing a proposed 20billion of asset sales to shore up the country, as well as Labour's tax policy plans. The information would have been valuable to any bank or financial institution. The document was forwarded by Lord Mandelson to Epstein with the comment: 'Interesting note that's gone to the PM.' Another email, part of three million documents released on Friday by the US Department of Justice, saw Lord Mandelson give Epstein advance notice of a 500billion bailout of the Eurozone, potentially allowing the paedophile financier to cash in ahead of the deal being formally announced the following day. Lord Mandelson also tipped off his friend the night before Mr Brown resigned from No 10. The trove of evidence also features bank statements appearing to show Epstein sending Lord Mandelson tens of thousands of dollars in 2003-2004, although the peer has questioned whether they were real. The disgraced financier - who committed suicide in prison - also seems to have helped Lord Mandelson land a lucrative job after leaving government, and paid 10,000 for his partner Reinaldo to do an osteopathy course. Lord Mandelson has insisted nothing in the files shows he has broken the law. A clearly furious Mr Brown said yesterday: 'I have asked the Cabinet Secretary to investigate the disclosure of confidential and market sensitive information from the then Business Department during the global financial crisis.' He also revealed that on September 10 last the day Sir Keir said he had 'confidence' in Lord Mandelson as the Epstein scandal swirled once again he wrote to the Cabinet Secretary, calling for an investigation into the peer. However, after two months he was told no records could be found, with Mr Brown questioning the 'intensity' of the efforts to identify wrongdoing. Baroness Harman today joined calls for Lord Mandelson to be removed from the Privy Council and prevented from returning to the House of Lords. She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme she believes Labour's manifesto pledge to remove disgraced members from the House of Lords will be 'got on with', adding: 'In the meantime, I think the Prime Minister could be advising the King to stop him from being a privy counsellor. 'And I also think that, he's on leave of absence, at the moment, from the House of Lords, having stepped out of the House of Lords to be our ambassador, and I think it would be good for the Lords to pass a motion to say that he's not to reapply to come back in.' Other MPs have insisted Sir Keir must pass a law to remove Lord Mandelson's peerage - something that has rarely been done. He is currently on a voluntary leave of absence from the House, and has resigned his Labour Party membership. Sir Keir's chief of staff and closest aide Morgan McSweeney is under intense scrutiny over his role in championing Lord Mandelson's disastrous appointment as US ambassador. The Metropolitan Police received referrals from both Reform UK and the SNP asking detectives to investigate the peer, who on Sunday quit the Labour Party to avoid causing 'further embarrassment'. The force said last night that detectives were reviewing them to 'determine if they meet the criminal threshold for investigation'. Lord Mandelson tipped off his friend Epstein the night before Gordon Brown (left) resigned from No 10 A Government spokesman said: 'It is rightly for the police to determine whether to investigate and the Government stands ready to provide whatever support and assistance the police need.' Downing Street earlier said Sir Keir had asked Cabinet Secretary Chris Wormald to conduct 'an urgent review' looking at 'all available information regarding Mandelson's contacts with Epstein during his period as a government minister'. In his Times interview published last night, Lord Mandelson claimed that he was 'too trusting' of Epstein, who he described as 'muck that you can't get off your shoe Like dog muck, the smell never goes away'. But he made it clear he has no intention of disappearing from public life, saying: 'Hiding under a rock would be a disproportionate response to a handful of misguided historical emails, which I regret sending.' And he said none of the Epstein files 'indicate wrongdoing or misdemeanour on my part' as he refused to give evidence to a US Congress inquiry. China has unveiled plans for a futuristic 'Star Wars' space carrier than can deploy nearly 100 unmanned fighter jets and fly to the edge of Earth's atmosphere. The nation has claimed the Luanniao - slated to be 794ft-long, 2244ft-wide and have a takeoff weight of 120,000 tonnes - will be up in the air in the next 20 to 30 years. The warship, set to be the biggest in the world if it is ever made, is being designed to carry up to 88 unmanned Xuan Nu fighter jets. These planes, still in their conceptual stage, will be designed to be highly manoeuvrable stealth aircraft capable of launching hypersonic missiles. Experts aren't sure if the Luanniao could ever be feasibly made, with many claiming it was a publicity stunt that aimed to 'inspire the Chinese public.' But if it were completed, the new warship would 'outclass pretty much everyone', according to Peter Layton, a defence expert and a visiting fellow at Australias Griffith Asia Institute. He told the Telegraph the Luanniao would be capable of flying over surface-to-air missiles and other fighter aircraft, adding: 'Youre also out of range of the weather, generally speaking and youre out of range of most defensive systems.' The hypothetical vessel may also be able to position itself directly above targets, more effectively targeting them. The Luanniao (pictured) is set to be the biggest warship in the world if it is ever made China has claimed the Luanniao will be up in the air in the next 20 to 30 years It is being designed to carry up to 88 unmanned Xuan Nu fighter jets (pictured) The warship was first conceived 10 years ago, with many dismissing it as science fiction. Your browser does not support iframes. The Luanniao is part of Chinas broader 'Nantianmen' Project, meaning 'South Heavenly Gate'. The broad project, developed by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, aims to develop China's space and air capabilities. The warship was first conceived 10 years ago, with many dismissing it as science fiction. Even now, many are still sceptical that it could ever take off. The technology needed for any aircraft, let alone one the size of the Luanniao, to hover on the edge of Earth's boundary does not yet exist. It would also require 'enormous amount of fuel', as well as an entirely new propulsion system. Instead, China could place the ship into full orbit. However, the aircraft would then become extremely vulnerable to debris. And in order to launch the Luanniao into space, China would need reusable rockets. Though it has been developing one for some time, it has still not had any official success. Layton told the Telegraph that given how difficult it will be for China to actually develop this aircraft, it's more likely that the plans are being used to boost the nation's standing both at home and abroad. 'For the external audience, it does paint the picture that they are working on technology that the region just cant aspire to its literally Star Wars stuff', he said. A disturbing new video of Jeffrey Epstein chasing young women around the kitchen of his home on the notorious paedophile's island has been released as part of a trove of new files relating to the disgraced financier. The footage shows Epstein laughing as he runs after two young women inside his house on Little Saint James, the private Caribbean island at the centre of his abuse scandal. In the video, the financier is seen wearing a white polo shirt, joggers and slippers as the women scream and try to evade him. Their faces have been blurred to protect their identities. At one point, Epstein is shown jumping up onto a kitchen counter as he appears to lunge towards one of the women, while continuing to laugh. It is not clear when the footage was filmed or who recorded it. The emergence of the video comes after the Department of Justice released millions of newly unsealed documents related to Epstein on Friday. The latest tranche includes references to a number of high-profile figures previously linked to Epstein, including Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, though neither is accused of criminal wrongdoing in the files. A disturbing new video of Jeffrey Epstein chasing young women around the kitchen of his home on the notorious paedophile island has been released The footage shows the convicted sex offender laughing as he runs after two young women inside his luxury home on Little Saint James, the private Caribbean island at the centre of his abuse scandal In the video, the disgraced financier is seen wearing a white polo shirt, joggers and slippers as the women scream and try to evade him The former Duke of York features prominently in over 3 million pages, 180,000 images and 2,000 videos released by US authorities. Among the files were images which appear to show Andrew kneeling over an unidentified woman with his hand on her abdomen and emails in which Epstein offered to introduce him to a 26-year-old Russian woman. Alleged messages inviting the convicted sex offender to Buckingham Palace for dinner barely a month after his release from house arrest are also included in the files. The former prince is now under mounting pressure to co-operate with US officials investigating Jeffrey Epstein's crimes, with sources saying it is a 'matter of personal conscience' as well as his public duty. While Buckingham Palace has declined to comment on the latest revelations from the US Department of Justice file dump, royal sources told the Daily Mail last night that 'providing testimony is now a matter for Andrew and his conscience'. Insiders also said it was always a principle that those who have relevant information should 'participate in any lawful inquiry on any subject'. Their faces have been blurred to protect their identities. At one point, Epstein is shown jumping up onto a kitchen counter as he appears to lunge towards one of the women, while continuing to laugh It is not clear when the footage was filmed, or who recorded it. The emergence of the video comes after the Department of Justice released millions of newly unsealed documents related to Epstein on Friday The development added fuel to the fire of calls for the former prince to break his self-imposed silence and publicly co-operate with officials investigating Epstein's crimes - and the network of contacts that aided and abetted him. However, despite being seen driving and riding around Windsor - where he was, astonishingly, photographed smiling and waving to onlookers without an apparent care in the world yesterday - there continued to be a deafening silence from the former royal. It is understood King Charles was not aware of the level of detail in the latest files, which reveal the depths of the relationship between his brother and the paedophile. Buckingham Palace appears to be learning about the new material at the same time as the public. The documents also shed new light on Epstein's continued contact with members of the royal family, including Andrew's ex-wife Sarah Ferguson. In 2010, Ms Ferguson told the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to 'just marry me' six months after he was released from prison, according to the newly released emails. Epstein had been released from Palm Beach County Jail in July 2009, having served 13 months of an 18-month sentence for soliciting sex from girls as young as 14. In the email, Ms Ferguson wrote: 'You are a legend. I really don't have the words to describe, my love, gratitude for your generosity and kindness. Xx I am at your service. Just marry me.' The context of the message is not explained in the files. Other messages in the cache suggest the former Duchess of York offered Epstein and his friends VIP tours of Buckingham Palace. In June 2009, while Epstein was still serving his sentence, she told him 'I can organise anything' after he asked about arranging a 'VIP tour' or 'access to something special' in London for the daughter of his lawyer, Alan Dershowitz. The correspondence appears to reference potential access to Buckingham Palace, though it is unclear whether any such visit ever took place. In another email, dated September 2009, Ms Ferguson made further remarks about marriage, suggesting Epstein wed an unnamed woman with a 'great body', adding: 'Ok well marry me and then we will employ her.' Ferguson's charity on Monday announced it will 'regretfully' close for the 'foreseeable future' - just days after revelations came to light about the former duchess's friendship with Epstein. Selfie-taking tourists cheated death after being hit by a monster wave while standing on rocks during a storm in the Canary Islands. Footage captured near the Faro de Sardina del Norte, in Gran Canaria, showed a group of tourists standing on a rocky ledge as waves crashed ahead of them. According to local reports, the group ignored warning signs and went through protective fencing around the cliffs, which drop over 66ft. With their phones in hand, the tourists were seen in the clip standing close to the cliff's edge as the waves grew stronger. One man stood and watched the ferocious waters, while a woman sat on a rock next to him, filming the spectacle. But after a few moments, a powerful wave was seen crashing into the rocky ledge, sending a surge of water over their heads as the panicked group ran to safety. The wave smashed down onto the platform, sparking fear among the tourists who were heading for higher ground. 'Once again, lives are put at risk by ignoring safety barriers at one of the most dangerous points on our coastline,' Canarias 1500 Km de Costa, the association for the prevention of accidents in aquatic environments, warned. Footage captured near the Faro de Sardina del Norte, in Gran Canaria, showed a group of tourists standing on a rocky ledge as waves crashed ahead of them One man stood and watched the ferocious waters, while a woman sat on a rock next to him, filming the spectacle A powerful wave was seen crashing into the rocky ledge, sending a surge of water over their heads as the panicked group ran to safety The wave smashed down onto the platform, sparking fear among the tourists who were heading for higher ground Just two weeks ago, in Greece, a giant wave claimed the life of a 53-year-old coastguard after it swept him away while he was on duty. According to the Hellenic Coast Guard, the man was on foot patrol in the port area of Astros, and while he was mooring boats, a powerful wave dragged him down. Terrifying footage captured the monster wave rising over a barrier before raining down onto a group of onlookers. The coast guard suffered a serious head injury as a result of the impact and was pronounced dead after being pulled out of the water and taken to a local medical facility. It comes as Spain braces itself for flooding, as meteorological forecasts for early February indicate that flood risk will intensify in several regions ahead of and during the week. Successive Atlantic storm systems are also set to move eastwards across Spain, bringing sustained rainfall, strong winds, and coastal swells. An orange weather warning is also in place for parts of the Costa del Sol, particularly western areas of Malaga province, including Serrania de Ronda and surrounding municipalities, from Wednesday onwards. Rainfall totals are expected to reach up to four inches in some inland areas. A broader yellow alert covers much of the Costa del Sol for heavy showers and gusty winds during the same period. Authorities are also warning of gale-force winds and waves of up to 10ft along the Andalucian coastline on Wednesday, raising concerns about coastal flooding. The unsettled conditions are forecast to persist for several days, increasing the likelihood of rivers and drainage systems becoming overwhelmed. Recent storms have already caused widespread disruption in several parts of the country. Last month, Storms Harry and Joseph brought extreme rainfall to Malaga, with local totals approaching 20cm in parts of the Guadalhorce Valley and Costa del Sol. Rivers overflowed, prompting emergency rescues and surface flooding in towns including Cartama, Alhaurin de la Torre, and Malaga city. Flood watches have also been reintroduced in parts of northern and western Spain. # In Galicia, rivers, including the Mero near Cambre, are being closely monitored as water levels rise. Orange alerts for heavy coastal seas and strong winds are in place, with local civil protection teams maintaining precautionary measures as further rainfall is forecast. Kemi Badenoch has claimed Sir Keir Starmer's fingerprints are 'all over' a criminal investigation into Lord Peter Mandelson's links to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The former Cabinet minister finally quit Labour on Sunday - but not before Sir Keir was branded 'weak' for failing to kick him out of the party earlier. Ms Badenoch, Conservative Leader of the Opposition, has welcomed the news of a Metropolitan police probe into allegations Mandelson sent market-sensitive information to Epstein. However, she has insisted the Prime minister still has 'a lot of questions to answer' - branding the scandal a 'national embarrassment'. Meanwhile, the storm over a huge tranche of documents released by the US administration last week shows no sign of dissipating. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor told Epstein he wanted to be his 'pet', one embarrassing email showed. The former prince made the remark in a note to Epstein sent in August 2010 which appeared to show him discussing an unspecified business deal in London. Prince Edward today became the first Royal Family member to speak about the Epstein scandal, saying it was 'really important always to remember the victims'. And the Duke of Edinburgh was asked 'how are you coping' when questioned during the World Governments Summit in Dubai about the files relating to the paedophile. Follow the latest on the Epstein files below Sarah Ferguson sent an email to Jeffrey Epstein claiming that 'no woman has ever left the Royal family with her head' and that she was being '1000 per cent hung out to dry' after appearing to accept cash for access to her ex-husband. The former Duchess of York said in July 2010 that she was 'totally on my own now' and was about to be 'exterminated' in the UK due to a series of personal scandals. The Palace couldn't 'behead' her so 'will discredit me - totally to obliteration', she said in a nod to the executions of Henry VIIIs wives Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard. Ms Ferguson had written to the paedophile financier in the weeks after she was caught in a tabloid sting appearing to accept $500,000 in return for her securing access to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, then a UK trade envoy. She then agreed to an interview with Oprah Winfrey where she spoke about how she was facing bankruptcy and could not pay the rent so had taken a room in her ex-husband's Royal Lodge home. In an attack on the royals as her reputation was in tatters and she ran out of money, Fergie thanked her friend Epstein for being her 'pillar' in an email released in the Epstein Files. She added: 'Just as I always said, no woman has ever left the Royal Family with her head, and the [sic] cannot behead me, therefore they will discredit me. Totally to obliteration. I have no words.' Sarah Ferguson, pictured with a mystery woman in the Epstein Files, said in July 2010 that she was 'totally on my own now' and said she was about to be 'exterminated' in the UK due to a series of personal scandals Fergie praised Epstein, pictured kissing a woman in the Epstein Files, as her 'pillar' The email where Fergie told Esptein that she was being 'hung out to dry' Fergie was in the midst of the cash for access scandal. In 2010 she was caught in a tabloid sting appearing to accept $500,000 in return for her securing access to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, together last year, then a UK trade envoy. In her first email she told Epstein on July 13, 2010: 'Have you died on me? Don't... Please you are my pillar.' The email chain reveals how Epstein ignored the flattery and said: 'I thought you needed a place for the second week?'. The paedophile appears to have repeatedly organised accommodation for Fergie in the US, according to the Epstein Files. She replied: 'Dear Jeffrey, yes I did need a second place for a week?' She went on: 'And I thank you so much, but just as I predicted many, many months ago, the British press is ready to exterminate me, and it seems that PricewaterhouseCoopers and the palace system are not equipped to deal with all of this huge wave of negativity. 'Therefore I have to return to the UK, and be exterminated and face the thunderous music. 'I am now 1000 per cent being hung out to dry, just as I predicted you will see, the Press will have me exiled. I am totally on my own now. 'This is beyond scandalous and nobody can do anything. I cannot believe what this is all coming to. 'I have to return to face my judge and jury and be hung yet again.' At the time PwC were auditing her accounts. It later emerged that Epstein had paid off some of her debts - but she later called it a 'gigantic error'. Yesterday the Daily Mail revealed how Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie are 'aghast' at their mother's embarrassing tranche of emails to Jeffrey Epstein. Sources close to the sisters say they are also 'appalled' and 'embarrassed' about the new photos of their father Andrew crouching over a mystery woman lying on the floor. The then Prince Andrew towering over a mystery woman on the floor in a photo released by the US Justice Department. His daughters are said to be hugely embarrassed Fergie is pictured in the Epstein files with a mystery woman in an image released at Christmas The siblings have been left ashamed by their mother's sycophantic emails to the paedophile financier after his conviction for child sex crimes. Sarah Ferguson fawned over Epstein, who famously paid some of her debts, telling the convicted sex offender he was a 'legend' and joked that they should get married. Other emails she sent him mentioned her daughter Eugenie's sex life and revealed Fergie had taken her children to lunch with the convicted paedophile when they were teenagers. The Mail has also today unearthed an email from Ms Ferguson that suggests Epstein had a secret child. The former Duchess of York also accused him of abandoning her in 2011 and said it was 'crystal clear' he was only her friend to get close to her ex-husband Andrew. Security sources told The Mail on Sunday that Epstein was running 'the world's largest honeytrap operation' on behalf of the KGB. A source close to Eugenie and Beatrice told the Daily Mail: 'They are aghast at what they have read. They are mortified by the emails their mother has sent to Epstein. It is so embarrassing for them.' They added: 'We don't believe the girls [Beatrice and Eugenie] were told much about what has just emerged [in the latest Epstein files release], and they will simply be aghast at just how close their parents were to this appalling man.' It came as a defiant Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor went riding near his Royal Lodge home on Monday morning. He was reported to be meant to move out last week. A defiant Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor went riding near his Royal Lodge home on Monday morning as his daughters said they were embarrassed their parents' relationship with Epstein Andrew later went for a drive along The Long Walk in Windsor and waved cheerily to a mother and child as the Epstein files piled more shame on him Sarah Ferguson sent a large number of emails to Epstein, many of them fawning and obsequious The former Duke and Duchess of York's daughters (pictured together in December) are named in their mother's emails to the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The sisters are said to be 'aghast' Andrew, his ex-wife and daughters are repeatedly featured in the Epstein Files. Beatrice and Eugenie are said to be reeling from the photo of their father appearing to kneel on all fours over a female lying on the ground. Another email from their mother said that Eugenie was away on a 'sh**ging weekend' while another revealed that Fergie had taken both daughters for lunch with Epstein in Miami in July 2009. The former Duchess of York - who has faced her own Epstein controversies - is seen praising the late convicted sex offender as the 'brother I have always wished for'. In one email Fergie wrote: 'You are a legend. I really don't have the words to describe, my love, gratitude for your generosity and kindness. Xx I am at your service . Just marry me.' The source close to Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie said it was now clear that King Charles and Prince William knew there was more scandal to come for their disgraced parents. On a trip to Brazil last November to host the Earthshot prize in Rio, Prince William, when asked about Prince Andrew, was tight-lipped according to sources, telling people who asked about Andrew: I wish I could say more but I cant, suggesting he had been briefed on further revelations which were still to surface in the public domain. The source said: 'It seems clear that William and the King were given some kind of forewarning in intelligence briefings late last year about what was still to come. 'They obviously couldn't share that, and when they evicted Andrew and Sarah from Royal Lodge, some people thought it was too harsh. 'In the light of what's now come out, it looks a more appropriate sanction'. In one email from March 2010, Epstein appears to ask Fergie about a possible trip to New York by writing: 'ny?'. And in reply, Fergie wrote: 'Not sure yet. Just waiting for Eugenie to come back from a sh*****g weekend.' The email was sent around the time of Eugenie's 20th birthday, which she spent with then boyfriend, now husband, Jack Brooksbank. Other newly released emails also showed Fergie gushing over Epstein after he complimented her in front of Eugenie and her older daughter, Princess Beatrice. In August 3, 2009, Fergie went so far as to describe Epstein as 'the brother I have always wished for' and even called the criminal a 'legend', in a later email. Appearing in the Epstein files does not indicate guilt or wrongdoing. In the email, Fergie wrote: 'In just week, after your lunch, it seems the energy has lifted. I have never been more touched by a friends kindness than your compliment to me in front of my girls. Thank you Jeffrey for being the brother I have always wished for.' The following year, another email from 'Sarah' to Epstein is overflowing in affection. 'You are a legend. I really don't have the words to describe, my love, gratitude for your generosity and kindness,' she writes. 'Xx I am at your service . Just marry me.' Emails, previously released to the public, showed the ex-Duchess calling Epstein her 'supreme friend' on April 26, 2011. This came just weeks after she told reporters she would 'never have anything to do with' the sex offender again. Her spokesperson, last year, claimed Fergie said this 'in the context of advice the duchess was given to try to assuage Epstein and his threats' because Epstein allegedly threatened to sue her. Today the Daily Mail can also reveal how an angry Sarah Ferguson accused Epstein of only being friends with her to get close to her ex-husband Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. The disgraced Duchess of York said in a 2011 email to Epstein, sent after he had been jailed for child sex offences, that it was now 'crystal clear' he was using her. She accused him of having 'disappeared' and this had 'hurt me deeply', adding: 'More than you'll ever know'. The email had been sent after Fergie had offered him 'love, friendship and congratulations' after the birth of a 'baby boy' that she learned about from her ex-husband. She wrote angrily: 'You have disappeared. I did not know you were having a baby. 'It was sooooo crystal clear to me that you were only friends with me to get to Andrew. And that really hurt me deeeply [sic]. More than you will ever know'. An email sent to Epstein two years earlier revealed just how close she thought they were - and that the paedophile had called her 'Ferg' as a nickname. Emails between them indicate that he had lunch with the then Duchess of York and her two daughters Beatrice and Eugenie in Florida. Join the debate Could Fergie and Andrew's reputations ever recover? Epstein's friend Sarah Ferguson accused him of only being friends with her to get close to her ex-husband She also congratulated him on having 'had a baby boy', suggesting he had a secret son In July 2009, Epstein sent an email to her asking 'where are you?'. Around 90 minutes later she replied: 'In Miami. What number shall I call you on?' She adds that she stayed at 'Phillip Levine's house with the girls. I am aiming to get to you for 12:30 for lunch. Does that suit?' Epstein asked if she needed a 'ride', but she said no. She added: 'I made Phillip give us his car and a back up one for the policeman', before confirming it would be 'myself, Beatrice and Eugenie' at the lunch. The Princesses were 20 and 19 respectively in 2009. Families of young cancer patients who have been left hundreds of pounds out of pocket on petrol costs, train fares and parking fees will now receive money towards travel expenses from the government. On average families spend about 250 a month travelling to the hospital to see their poorly child, which has forced some to cut back on essentials, like food and heating, to cover the cost. However, it has now been revealed the NHS will set aside 10 million each year to reimburse these families for travel costs. About 4,000 children and young people are diagnosed with cancer every year in the UK, with many facing long journeys to 13 specialist centres across the country. The money will be made available to all children, teenagers and adults under the age of 25 undergoing treatment, regardless of their family income. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: 'When a child is diagnosed with cancer, their family's only focus should be on helping them recover and getting them well, not on whether they can afford the petrol or bus fare to get to their next appointment. 'Our plan will leave no family out of pocket while their child goes through cancer. It doesn't matter what you earn if your child needs treatment, we will help you get them there. 'When a child is fighting cancer, their family should never have to fight the system too.' Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced that families will have the cost of travel to hospitals covered by the government Emma Wilding experienced first-hand the financial difficulties of cancer treatment when her son Theo was diagnosed with Infant Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia in October 2024, when he was only five-months-old. Alder Hey Children's Hospital is 45 minutes from their home, meaning the family were forced to spend hundreds of pounds in petrol and parking costs. She said: 'When Theo was going through treatment, we had no choice but to pay out for fuel and parking at the hospital, as we had to be by his side. 'However, at a time when our household income had gone down, this was a struggle financially. 'Sat on the ward, I met so many other families also struggling with these costs, many travelling much further away from hospital as well.' Victoria Ward, from the Isle of Wight, was diagnosed with Lymphoma at 21 and had to travel via ferry for treatment at Southampton General Hospital. The return ferry ticket alone could cost anywhere between 80 to 200 at peak times alongside a taxi to the hospital. The costs forced her to give up her flat. Miss Ward said: If I was having my chemo in the morning and my clinic was 8am during rush hour, a taxi could be anywhere from 12 to 15 just to go up the road. Families of children diagnosed with cancer will have the cost of travelling for treatment covered under a new scheme to be rolled out in England by 2027 'The parking alone would cost us 20 to 23 a go. As much as people say "its only 20", that 20 is my weeks food. 'It was a case of I either keep my own safe space or die. I was previously homeless a year or so before I started my cancer treatment, so my flat was my achievement, so it was sad giving that up but it had to be done.' The charity Young Lives vs Cancer has been campaigning for travel funds reimbursement for almost a decade. Rachel Kirby-Rider, Chief Executive of the charity, said: 'Young Lives vs Cancer has been campaigning for almost a decade for a Young Cancer Patient Travel Fund. 'Todays announcement of dedicated travel costs support is a huge step forward in transforming the lives of children and young people with cancer and their families. 'Up until now, young people and families have been going into debt and even missing treatment because of the extra 250 every month just to travel to hospital. Were ready to work with the government to make this a success.' The announcement is part of a national cancer plan, which also aims to provide more mental health support for patients during and after treatment. Professor Peter Johnson, National Clinical Director for Cancer at NHS England, said: 'Children with cancer need the best specialist treatment and this can sometimes mean repeated long-distance travel, adding to the pressures families face during some of the most difficult times of their lives. 'This new fund will be available regardless of income so families avoid having to choose between being at their childs bedside and covering the cost of travelling there. 'Together with earlier diagnosis, emotional support, genomic testing and better access to trials, this will help deliver the new National Cancer Plans goal of improving care for children and young people with cancer.' Keir Starmer 'wobbled' over the Chagos deal amid panic over the 35billion price tag and doubts over the legal position. The PM has been adamant that handing over the British territory to Mauritius - and leasing back the crucial Diego Garcia military base - is the right thing to do. But the US has joined widespread condemnation of the package, still going through Parliament, despite initially giving public backing. Private concerns in government have been revealed by former ambassador to Washington Lord Mandelson, who was forced to resign in September over links to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. The New Labour architect is facing a storm over a huge new tranche of emails to Epstein published by the American administration. In an interview with The Times, Lord Mandelson gave an insight into the behind-the-scenes wrangling over Chagos. Lord Mandelson gave an insight into the behind-the-scenes wrangling over Chagos, as he faces a storm over his Epstein links Keir Starmer has been adamant that handing over the British territory to Mauritius - and leasing back the crucial Diego Garcia military base - is the right thing to do He said he 'became aware of a serious wobble in London over the agreement and its sellability to the British public'. 'That was to do with the price tag and whether we had the total legal obligation to enter the deal and whether the original legal case made for the agreement in Whitehall was as watertight as was claimed,' the peer said. 'So on the one hand I faced a sceptical US administration and then at another point a wobbly government of my own behind me.' The Tories have branded the agreement to hand over sovereignty of the Chagos archipelago to Mauritius a 'surrender', warning that the state is closely allied to China. It would seek to secure the operation of the joint UK-US base on the island of Diego Garcia for at least 99 years. The UK would also make payments to Mauritius. The government argues that the move is essential to put the legal status of Chagos on a stable footing, after adverse international court rulings. Donald Trump branded the pact an 'act of great stupidity', despite previous support from the White House. Sir Keir insisted the president's opposition was just a pressure tactic in his bid to seize Greenland from Nato ally Denmark. The government has postponed a House of Lords debate on the Chagos legislation after an amendment was tabled calling for a pause 'in the light of the changing geopolitical circumstances'. Jeffrey Epstein approached Peter Mandelson about advertising jobs for Leonardo DiCaprio, according to the latest tranche of files released by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday. In a June 2009 email sent to the Labour peer, who was business secretary at the time, Epstein wrote: 'Can you think of anyone in India china, japan etc, that might want the endorsement of Leonardo DiCaprio russia etc.. cars etc he is looking for non-u.s. products to endorse to make some momey [sic].' Furious MPs on all sides had called for 'immediate' legislation to remove his title and prevent him from ever entering Parliament again, after the peer was found to have deeper links with disgraced financier Epstein. He has since announced that he will step down from the upper chamber. Newly released files appear to show that Lord Mandelson leaked sensitive UK government information to the convicted sex offender, while emails suggest Epstein sent thousands of pounds to the peer's husband. Keir Starmer previously said the 72-year-old should no longer be a member of the House of Lords and called on the upper chamber to adapt its disciplinary procedures to allow peers to be stripped of their titles, as police review reports of alleged misconduct in public office. An accuser of Epstein claimed in a deposition that the financier enjoyed boasting about his close relationship with movie stars such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Cate Blanchett, but that these statements appeared to come across as spurious and nothing more than exaggerated bluster. A lawyer asked Johanna Sjoberg in the deposition: 'I saw one press report that said you had met Cate Blanchett or Leonardo DiCaprio?' 'I did not meet them, no,' she replied. 'When I spoke about them, it was when I was massaging him [Epstein], and he would get off he would be on the phone a lot at that time, and one time he said: "Oh, that was Leonardo," or, "That was Cate Blanchett, or Bruce Willis." That kind of thing.' A representative of Leonardo DiCaprio has previously denied any calls between him and the convicted sex offender. Pictured above in London in September, 2025 Jeffrey Epstein approached Lord Peter Mandelson about advertising jobs for Leonardo DiCaprio, according to the latest tranche of files released by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday A new picture of Lord Mandelson having a foot massage emerged today Mandelson on Epstein On accepting Epstein's money for his husband's osteopathy course: 'Epstein told Reinaldo that he had an educational foundation which gave bursaries or scholarships and offered one for an osteopathy course. I saw this as kindness, nothing more. It was a great help to Reinaldo and I thanked him.' On the alleged $75,000 payments he received from Epstein: '[I have] absolutely no recollection or records of receiving his money and I think I would remember such a large sum.' On the photo of him in his underpants: '[I have] no idea what I am doing in this photograph or who the woman was. It looks as though she came in and showed me something on an iPad.' On what people thought they knew of Epstein when he was alive compared to now: 'He was a master manipulator. I can see that now. But the point is that his victims certainly did know what he was doing.' On trusting Epstein: 'He was a classic sociopath. Outwardly, completely charming and engaging. He was very clever.' On whether he should now retire: 'Hiding under a rock would be a disproportionate response to a handful of misguided historical emails, which I deeply regret sending. If it hadn't been for the emails, I'd still be in Washington. Emails sent all those years ago didn't change the relationship that I had with this monster.' On whether he will attend Congress: 'There is nothing I can tell Congress about Epstein they don't already know. I had no exposure to the criminal aspects of his life.' On whether Downing Street knew everything about his relationship with Epstein: 'I understand being surprised by what they learnt, but quite honestly I too am amazed by some of the conversations I had and areas of my life where I was seeking advice from Epstein.' On what he thinks of Epstein now: '[He is like] muck that you can't get off your shoe. Like dog muck, the smell never goes away.' Advertisement 'So name-dropping?' the lawyer asked Sjoberg, to which she replied: 'Yes.' The accuser clarified that she had never met Blanchett or DiCaprio. A representative of DiCaprio has previously denied any calls between him and the convicted sex offender, while a representative for Blanchett said that she had never met or had any calls with Epstein. Buried in the three million documents published by the DOJ are emails that indicate Lord Mandelson was in close contact with Epstein during a period when he was at the heart of No 10 amid the financial crisis. The documents include emails apparently forwarded by Lord Mandelson in 2009 containing discussions between senior Downing Street aides and ministers about the UK's response to the Credit Crunch and which government assets might be 'saleable'. Former prime minister Gordon Brown has demanded a Cabinet Office probe into what he called the 'wholly unacceptable' disclosure of details relating to his government's handling of the financial crisis. Reflecting on his association with Epstein, Lord Mandelson says he now deeply regrets continuing any contact after the financier's 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor for prostitution. 'He was a master manipulator. I can see that now. But the point is that his victims certainly did know what he was doing,' he told The Times, adding that he only fully grasped the extent of Epstein's crimes after his death in 2019 and has apologised to the women and girls who suffered. Other documents appear to show Lord Mandelson advising Epstein on how he and his powerful contacts could lobby against a bankers' bonus tax introduced in December 2009. In one apparent exchange, Epstein asked whether the levy could be limited to the cash portion of bonuses, with a reply suggesting Lord Mandelson was 'trying hard' to amend the policy. Further material appears to show Lord Mandelson giving Epstein advance notice of a 500billion eurozone bailout in May 2010, after Labour lost the general election but before the Coalition government took office. Epstein allegedly made several payments to Lord Mandelson and his partner, Reinaldo Avila da Silva, the documents show. Bank statements released as part of the drop on Friday suggest the financier made three $25,000 transactions referencing Lord Mandelson between 2003 and 2004. Separate emails between the two men show that in 2009, Epstein personally wired Lord Mandelson's now husband $10,000 to fund an osteopathy course and other expenses. An extraordinary photograph has also emerged apparently of Lord Mandelson standing in his underpants and chatting to a woman who is wearing a white bathrobe. Lord Mandelson talking to a woman in a white bathrobe while in his underwear In 2022 a picture emerged of Lord Mandelson, who appears to be singing as Epstein blows out the candles on a birthday cake in the financier's Paris apartment He said he has 'no idea what I am doing in this photograph or who the woman was. It looks as though she came in and showed me something on an iPad'. It came as a new embarrassing picture of Lord Mandelson was released, this time of him with a cheesy grin while getting a foot massage. About the alleged Epstein payments amounting to $75,000 between 2003 and 2004, he insists he has 'absolutely no recollection or records of receiving his money and I think I would remember such a large sum'. The peer, who was sacked as US ambassador last year because of his links to the paedophile, has consistently denied any sexual misconduct or awareness of Epsteins crimes. Lord David Cameron has accused Labour of taking a 'spite-laden wrecking ball' to free schools and urged peers to block the Government's education reforms. The former prime minister hit out at 'damaging and nonsensical' plans to cull dozens of planned free schools projects, which were introduced in 2010. The programme lets independent groups establish state-funded schools that operate outside the management of local councils. The cancellations are expected to save around 600million and forms part of the Government's 3billion plan to create 50,000 new school places for children with special educational needs and disabilities. Lord Cameron, who was made a life peer in 2023, urged the House of Lords to vote against Labour's flagship education Bill. In an article for the Daily Telegraph, the ex-Tory leader hailed free schools as 'extraordinarily successful'. 'Charities, great British businesses, entrepreneurs, even private schools were encouraged to bring their expertise and passion for great education into the state sector to deliver what was so desperately needed many more good school places,' he added. 'And they are not a sideshow there are over 750 of them, teaching 275,000 mainstream students.' Lord Cameron has accused Labour of taking a 'spite-laden wrecking ball' to free schools and urged peers to block the Government's education reforms The former prime minister hit out at 'damaging and nonsensical' plans by Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson to cull dozens of planned free schools projects Lord Cameron continued: 'The results? Better than established state schools for reading, maths, GCSE results and A levels 28.8 per cent of pupils at free schools go on to a top-third higher education destination, compared to 26.3 per cent at all state-funded mainstream schools. 'The Starmer Government's response to all this has been to take a spite-laden wrecking ball to the entire project. 'The next generation of free schools all budgeted and ready to go? Axed. 46 projects cancelled 18 of them special schools, with a further 59 vital special and alternative provision projects hanging in the balance. 'Even my old school, Eton, had its Eton Star Academy in Middlesbrough cancelled. 'Labour's message to aspirational parents and pupils in Middlesbrough? 'Know your place.' Lord Cameron said of student: 'They are the future, which is why we must halt these damaging and nonsensical plans.' Labour's flagship education Bill also includes several measures that bring academies into line with council-run schools where they had previously had freedoms. Under the changes, academies will be required to follow the national curriculum and follow the same minimum pay and conditions framework as maintained schools. Additionally, the Bill would introduce new intervention powers for when trusts are not meeting expected standards that could see their schools moved elsewhere. 'As for the academies, Labour are systematically dismantling the freedoms that helped them to succeed,' Lord Cameron said. 'The freedoms for schools to hire the staff they need, to teach the curriculum that best serves their pupils, and for parents to choose the right school for their child, have been at the heart of cross-party success for years. 'The Bill reverses all of that. And it is children who will lose out.' Last month, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson tabled an amendment to the Bill, setting out plans for Ofsted to inspect multi-academy trusts, as previously promised in the party's election manifesto. Academy trust-wide inspections will look at how well trusts improve schools, the quality of their education, how they use resources, and how well they care for the well-being of pupils. Ms Phillipson said: 'Every child, no matter their background, should be able to achieve and thrive, and strong schools working together through high quality trusts help make that possible. 'That collaboration must be matched by clear, fair accountability. Trust inspection will recognise excellence, support improvement and ensure no child is overlooked, especially those with the greatest needs.' Responding to Lord Cameron's article, a Department for Education spokesperson said: 'Our landmark Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill will be a seminal moment for the safety and success of our children, with common-sense measures that will ensure excellence everywhere for every child. 'It shouldn't be controversial to expect teachers to be qualified and for all children to have access to a cutting-edge curriculum, and these comments disregard the voices of parents and school leaders who have been shown to back the measures in the Bill. 'Whether it's driving up standards through our new school improvement teams or saving families money on uniform and free breakfast clubs, we are on the side of parents and giving them the confidence that their child will get a great education, no matter their background or postcode.' Australia has been rocked by a horrific quadruple murder-suicide, after two parents and their two autistic teenage sons were found dead in an affluent Perth suburb. The bodies of Jarrod Clune, 50, his 49-year-old partner Maiwenna Goasdoue, and their teenage sons Leon, 16, and Otis, 14, were found inside their Mosman Park property on Friday morning. Police suspect the boys were killed in a murder-suicide by their parents. Emergency services received a distressed call at 8.15am from a care worker who regularly helped the boys - who both had severe, nonverbal autism - after arriving for a prearranged visit and being unable to contact the family. It is understood the care worker discovered a note at the home containing words to the effect of 'Don't enter', along with instructions to call emergency services. When officers entered the property, they discovered all four members of the Clune family dead, along with the family's two dogs and cat. The bodies were located in different parts of the home, with police indicating the deaths were not violent in nature and that no weapons were used. Homicide detective Jessica Securo said on Friday: 'Although this investigation is in its infancy, police are investigating this matter as a murder-suicide.' On Saturday, it emerged a second note, believed to be a letter, helped investigators conclude the tragedy was a double murder-suicide, with the message reportedly outlining plans for the family's finances and suggesting the parents jointly decided to end their lives and the lives of their children. Parents Maiwenna Goasdoue and her partner Jarrod Clune (pictured) were found dead in their Mosman Park home alongside their teenage sons Leon, 16, and Otis, 14, on Friday morning Leon (pictured) was just 16 when he was found dead Along with the family, two dogs and a cat were also found dead (Otis is pictured) Police have so far not confirmed how the family died, but drone images taken above the property appear to show what resemble bloodstains at the rear of the home, metres from bedsheets hanging to dry on a clothes rack. A Western Australia Police spokesman declined to comment on the bloodstains when contacted on Sunday by the Daily Mail. 'This incident remains under investigation and no further comment can be provided at this time,' the representative said. On Friday, police said the boys both experienced 'significant health challenges', with reports suggesting the family had lost government funding to support one of the boys' disability. French-born Ms Goasdoue, who was known as 'Mai' to her friends, belonged to multiple Facebook support pages and described her boys as having 'severe' autism. Close friend Nedra previously told the Daily Mail the couple felt increasingly isolated and unsupported by friends and family, adding that the boys' diagnoses could make life 'difficult and very challenging'. Referring to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), she added: 'They often felt isolated, unsupported and abandoned by family, friends, support services, schools, the NDIS, the health system and the community in general,' she said. 'No one can understand the endless fight to get the support and services they so desperately needed. Mai wouldn't even put her boys into respite care in case they were mistreated in any way. Jarrod Clune (pictured second right) with his sons Leon and Otis, his parents Dianne and Michael, his sister Jemima, and brother-in-law Ryan Something that appeared to be blood could be seen at the rear of the property, despite police stating the deaths were not violent 'I can imagine that [there was a] lack of support [and] chronic sleep deprivation [as] the boys did not sleep through the night and long school holidays of challenging behaviours made [Mai and Jarrod] feel they had no other option.' Both boys, and their father, previously attended Christ Church Grammar, a prestigious private boys' school in Perth's western suburbs. In a 2019 school newsletter, Otis spoke of his favourite hobbies: 'I have liked exploring the river with my friends. I have also liked swimming lessons and trampolining.' In the same newsletter, Leon spoke about how much he enjoyed spending time with his friends: 'My favourite part of the year was playing with my friends on the oval. This year I learnt how to communicate with my device.' A teacher who knew the boys told the Daily Mail she was still coming to terms with the murders. Leaving a floral tribute outside the Clune family home on Monday afternoon, an educator who was teaching one of the boys at the time of his death told the Daily Mail: 'They were kind-hearted boys who just needed to be understood. Next year would mark Leon's graduation from school - that's a big deal. [It shows] just how far he came.' She said the boys were enrolled in a special-needs school that welcomed and supported them, adding that Christ Church Grammar was not the right fit for them. 'They expelled Otis around two years ago,' she added, explaining that a spitting incident had been the last straw. She further claimed that someone at the school had described him as a 'monster' to his exhausted mother. Two additional sources confirmed to the Daily Mail that Otis had been expelled. Christ Church Grammar declined to comment specifically on Otis's expulsion, instead offering a general statement about supporting grieving families and respecting the police investigation. Leon Clune (left) was due to graduate school next year, according to a teacher who said, 'That's a big deal. [It shows] just how far he came.' His brother Otis (right) had been expelled from Christ Church Grammar School after a spitting incident years before his murder 'The Clune boys will always hold a special place in my heart - they taught me to think outside the box when it came to working with autism, and reminded me that communication is so much more than words,' autism mentor Maddie Page (left) wrote in a Facebook tribute Autism mentor Maddie Page (left) shared a heartfelt tribute on social media about Leon and Otis Clune (pictured) It's unclear when Leon left Christ Church Grammar, but there is no suggestion he was also expelled. The Daily Mail understands the Clunes had difficulty finding the right school for their sons. The teacher went on to say that the boys' parents seemed loving and dedicated, but would have been extremely sleep-deprived. 'The boys never slept at night. They often slept at school,' she said, adding that sleeplessness is common with severe autism. While there were difficulties due to their autism, the teacher said the boys also loved their pets Diego and Loretta - who were also killed - as well as Disney movies. 'Leon loved Toy Story, especially the character Woody,' she said. 'Otis loved Finding Nemo and would often bring his Nemo and Dory [stuffed toys] to school which helped him with [his] sensory [issues].' The educator said the parents did everything they could to support their sons, including taking them to therapy and seeking professional help as far away as Sydney. Since their tragic deaths, friends and community members have taken to social media to pay tribute to the Clune family, with some venting their frustration that Leon and Otis were not more supported by the NDIS. 'The Clune boys will always hold a special place in my heart they taught me to think outside the box when it came to working with autism and reminded me that communication is so much more than words,' their autism mentor Maddie Page wrote on Facebook. Floral tributes including a model ship were placed at the Mott Crescent home in Mosman Park A heartfelt card left for the Clune family was addressed to the parents and their sons 'My heart feels unbearably heavy knowing that the NDIS system failed them, and that they were made to feel they had no other choice. There truly was no one like them, and their parents were their biggest, fiercest supporters.' Another friend, who chose to remain anonymous, described the parents as a 'strong couple' who loved their children 'deeply and moved all the stones they could to ensure that they had the required supports and help'. 'Unfortunately they were fighting a losing battle against a system which is not here to assist,' they said. 'This was not a domestic violence-type murder-suicide.' 'This tragedy arose because two parents were so beaten down by the system, so isolated, so fearful for the future of their children that they could see no other way out.' Roger Cook, the premier of Western Australia, said that while his government will be focusing on the police investigation for now, there is a need to understand the deeper problems at hand. 'At times like this you ask yourself why? What went wrong? Could [it] have been prevented? 'We must now step through the process of undertaking the investigation to get the facts in front of us in order to be able to answer those questions.' A railway station manager who claims he lost his leg after being infected with Covid by his boss at work is suing his employers for 1m. David Gibson was a station manager working for Southeastern Railways, based at Herne Hill Station, in July 2021 when he came down with a severe case of Covid. He was hospitalised with pneumonia, put in a coma and ultimately had his leg amputated below the knee due to a blood clot. Mr Gibson, who had worked for the railway company since 2018, says he was infected at work during an office catch-up followed by a Wetherspoons breakfast with his area manager Danny Hackett. He claims Mr Hackett was 'coughing' and visibly 'unwell' but nevertheless failed to wear a mask for most of the time they were together. Married dad-of-three Mr Gibson is now suing for around 1m in compensation at London's High Court on the basis that he was negligently exposed to the Covid virus at work. But lawyers for London and South Eastern Railways Ltd - trading as Southeastern - deny his claims and all blame for his illness, as well as insisting that if Mr Gibson caught Covid at work, it was his own fault. In July 2021, England was in Step 3 of the Covid 19 roadmap, which included the wearing of face masks, a one metre social distancing rule and isolation of close contacts of a positive case. David Gibson was a station manager working for Southeastern Railways, based at Herne Hill Station, in July 2021 when he came down with a severe case of Covid At the time, Southeastern's policy was to have staff stay at home if they had symptoms, while they were also told to follow social distancing guidance and not to congregate in offices. In documents lodged with the court, Lisa Dobie, for Mr Gibson, says that as a key worker he was expected to go to work whilst social distancing restrictions were in place, but always took careful precautions to avoid close contact with others. He would travel to work by car and train and 'he would always wear a mask,' she said. She continued: 'It was his practice to go to the front of the train to sit in first class. 'At that time, July 2021, first class was usually empty. If anyone else was in the carriage, it was one or two passengers as a maximum. 'The claimant could and would easily distance himself from those passengers.' However, on 14th July 2021, Mr Gibson was invited to visit his area manager Mr Hackett at his office at Bromley South Station. He 'felt obligated to visit the manager's office as he had been invited to do,' she said, and found himself in a 2.5m by 5m office with Mr Hackett and two others. 'Due to the dimensions of the office, and in accordance with the defendant's procedures in place on that date, only two people should have been in the room at any one time,' the barrister said. 'There had been three of them in a closed small office space before the claimant arrived...[They] were not wearing masks. 'Mr Gibson positioned himself in the room so that he was the furthest from all of them that he could be. His mask remained on.' Mr Gibson visited his area manager, Danny Hackett, at his office at Bromley South Station (pictured) His manager had 'coughed a few times' during the conversation, but then went on to invite his colleagues to breakfast at a local Wetherspoons pub. 'The invite was unexpected and the claimant felt he could not decline,' said the barrister. 'During breakfast, Danny Hackett continued to cough as before and he sneezed into his hands twice and used his serviette in substitute for a tissue. 'On the way back to the office from Wetherspoons, he continued to show signs of being unwell. Mr Gibson asked if he was okay and suggested he should go home to do a test. 'Mr Hackett did not put his mask back on.' Mr Gibson had planned to attend a staff team meeting later that day via his computer from Herne Hill, but ended up staying and attending in Mr Hackett's office instead as there was not enough time. Before the meeting began, Mr Hackett asked someone else to conduct it, telling colleagues he 'wasn't feeling well and had a sore throat'. 'He said he had not been feeling well since the previous evening. He continued to cough,' said the barrister. 'Danny Hackett remained in the room for the full duration of the team meeting despite being unwell...He was visibly unwell and coughing during the meeting. 'Mr Gibson was very angry but felt unable to direct his supervisor to leave..' The barrister added that Mr Hackett had tested positive for Covid after attending work the next day, naming Mr Gibson as a close contact. Two days later, Mr Gibson began to feel ill and tested positive on July 18. His condition deteriorated and he was taken to hospital in Tunbridge Wells by an ambulance on the July 22. 'Following his hospitalisation, he developed pneumonia as a complication of Covid. 'The claimant was moved to ICU on 24 July before being placed in an induced coma on 29 July. 'Sadly, the claimant required a left above knee amputation as a result of clotting complications caused by Covid.' The barrister said Mr Gibson is suing Southeastern as being vicariously liable for the actions of Mr Hackett, who she said 'negligently attended work in the knowledge that he was not feeling well and had a new cough. 'He failed to perform a lateral flow test before attending work on 14 July. 'He failed to leave work on 14 July when he was aware he was symptomatic and unwell. 'He invited staff to attend his office in person without advising anyone of his symptoms, following social distancing rules and/or limiting the number of people in attendance at any one time.' She claimed he had 'turned a blind eye' to the defendant's policies and national guidance in failing to isolate, allowing more than two people in the office and not wearing a mask. The barrister also said: He had 'openly disregarded policies and procedures, thereby encouraging staff he managed to do the same. 'The claimant has been unable to return to work for the defendant or any employer. On 31 March 2023, the claimant's employment with the defendant was terminated on the grounds of ill health,' the barrister said. Rochelle Rong, for Southeastern, defended Mr Hackett's actions, saying in its written defence to the action: 'it is averred that he had not developed any symptoms that he did or was reasonably expected to associate with a Covid-19 infection prior to his subsequent positive lateral flow tests. 'In particular, it is denied that he had developed a new continuous cough, loss of taste and/or smell, and/or high temperature prior to his 'contact' with the claimant.' She also denied that Southeastern itself had allowed staff to turn a blind eye to guidance on social distancing, masks and reporting of contacts. She said: 'The defendant had in place a suitable and sufficient risk assessment in response to the evolving risks of Covid-19. 'It is denied that the defendant encouraged a culture of "cautious reporting". 'Employees were instructed not to attend work if they had Covid-related symptoms. 'It is denied that it was possible or practicable to instruct employees not to attend work as soon as they developed any non-specific symptoms which were not typical of a Covid-19 infection. 'It is averred that the defendant's actions as an employer are to be judged in the relevant circumstances at the time, including the prevailing knowledge and guidance regarding the risks and control measures of the Coronavirus, the national Covid-19 roadmap and the practical challenges of controlling the risks to its employees of a community-transmitted virus while maintaining operational standards. 'The defendant acted reasonably and responsibly in all the circumstances of the case. Accordingly, liability is denied. 'Further or alternatively, such injury as the claimant may prove was caused or contributed to by his own negligence.' The barrister blamed the defendant for, amongst other things: 'attending the Bromley South Station and Danny Hackett's office in person... failing to remove himself from the Bromley South Station and Danny Hackett's office when he allegedly observed him coughing' and 'going to breakfast at Wetherspoons and therefore knowingly exposing himself to greater risks of Coronavirus infection from his colleagues and/or the general public.' The case reached court last week for a pre-trial hearing and will now go on to trial, unless the parties reach an out of court settlement beforehand. A drag queen was found dead underneath cardboard boxes after leaving a nightclub with a mystery man, an inquest has heard. The body of Darren Meah-Moore, 39, who performed under the names Crystal Couture and CC Quinn, was discovered partially covered by the boxes by a friend in Cardiff in 2023. Meah-Moore, who was convicted in 1999 of child rape for a sex attack on a boy, was last seen in drag at 5am on January 22 after leaving the Pulse nightclub. He was reported missing by his husband, also called Darren, the following morning - and a worker at the club said she saw him enter a nearby car park with another man. After nightclub manager Sean Rogers learned of his disappearance, he went to check the car park and could see part of his dress from the previous night. Mr Rogers said when he got out of his car he found Meah-Moore's body covered with flattened out carboard boxes which had 'definitely been placed on top of him'. He said the boxes were 'covering a large part of his body.' Mr Rogers said he tried to rouse his friend but when he got no response ran back to his car to phone the emergency services. The body of Darren Meah-Moore, 39, who performed under the names Crystal Couture and CC Quinn, was discovered partially covered by the boxes by a friend in Cardiff in January 2023 Meah-Moore, who was convicted in 1999 of child rape for a sex attack on a boy, was last seen in drag at 5am on January 22 after leaving the Pulse nightclub He performed CPR until paramedics took over but Meah-Moore was pronounced dead at the scene. The inquest heard tributes from Meah-Moore's father and husband who described him as 'caring' and 'right at the heart of Cardiff's gay community'. He was also described as talented gymnast, who ran a jewellery company called Bling Bling Bling UK, which sold pieces including some featured on RuPaul's Drag Race. A 50-year-old man arrested on suspicion of manslaughter over the death was later released without charge. An earlier inquest heard the cause of death was pending a decision by the pathologist. At the time of his death, a spokeswoman for South Wales Police said Meah-Moore was last seen wearing a green dress and blonde wig. A tribute from Meah-Moore's family said: 'Darren Moore was a loving husband, son, brother, uncle and friend. 'He was always the life and soul where ever he went, he was our social butterfly. He made sure he had a lot of time for people, and never judged others. 'Darren's husband and family want to thank everyone for their support but now need time to grieve and respectfully request privacy at this time.' The Pontypridd inquest, due to last four days, continues. A nursery worker raped and sexually abused five toddlers in his care in what has been described as 'every parent's nightmare', a court heard. Nathan Bennett, 30, has been accused of preying on children at a nursery in Bristol for a year. He has pleaded guilty to 13 charges involving five children aged two or three, jurors were told. But he denies 11 other charges, including rape, sexual assault and assault by penetration. Jurors at Bristol Crown Court were told Bennett's guilty pleas were 'less serious' charges on the indictment and he faces trial for the more serious alleged offences. Virginia Cornwall, prosecuting, told the jury some of the evidence of Bennett's predatory behaviour comes from CCTV from inside the Partou King Street Day Nursery and Pre-school. Ms Cornwall said that Bennett, who had started working in the nursery in July 2024, had by his guilty pleas 'admitted sexual interest in pre-school boys'. Nursery manager Victoria Tutton told the court that Bennett would 'favour' certain children, preferring to read them stories or sit with them. She also told jurors that she witnessed Bennett on CCTV putting his hand down the trousers of a child, and immediately sent him home. Nathan Bennett, 30, has been accused of preying on children at Partou King Street Day Nursery and Pre-school in Bristol for a year Prosecuting, Ms Cornwall said: 'We are concerned with events at a nursery here in Bristol, and the events that were to unfold on February 26 last year are you may think every parent's nightmare. 'A person entrusted to be responsible for your child, care for your child, nurture your child, at times when you are unable to provide that parental care, that abuses that position, that trust, that role, and sexually abuses your child. 'There is no issue in this case that this man has sexually abused five of the small boys who were at that nursery. 'He has admitted his sexual interest, that the Crown says, he has in pre-school age boys, toddlers, essentially two and three years of age, by his partial guilty pleas to some of the charges in this case.' Bennett 'presented as suitable' and had experience working in other pre-school settings, the prosecutor said. 'The evidence that you are going to be viewing via CCTV will show that he is many things, including a risk taker,' she said. 'He took opportunities that he either engineered or were presented to him within the nursery setting to abuse. 'You may think, with children as young as two or three, who are understandably trusting of an adult who they have a familiarity with. 'As you will see from the footage, he actively encourages that familiarity. 'He's tactile, he's attentive, you will see that there's hair ruffling, there's touching, there's closeness, the sorts of things that little children perhaps respond to - making them feel special and safe with him. 'They were not to understand what his interest was in them, or why he was doing what he was doing. 'A child of that age simply would not comprehend would they that it was sexual or necessarily wrong.' Miss Cornwall said some of the CCTV would show Bennett's predatory behaviour towards young children. Jurors at Bristol Crown Court (pictured) were told Bennett's guilty pleas were 'less serious' charges on the indictment and he faces trial for the more serious alleged offences 'His system demonstrates a certain level of predation, which I hope is not too emotive a term, but as a justified expression because of his repetitive conduct,' she said. 'It was not something that others were aware of, there were concerns from some colleagues about his proprietorial attitude towards certain children. 'But it was not until February 26 that anyone thought that he was sexually touching anyone. 'There was nurturing, there is grooming.' The jury was told the nursery closed after the police launched an investigation. Nursery manager Ms Tutton, who was known as Vera, said: 'Me and the staff could see that Nathan had stronger relationships with some children than others. In her written statement, she said a local authority safeguarding concern was raised about Bennett in early February, after a complaint from a parent about the defendant's 'interaction' with their child. On February 26, Ms Tutton said she witnessed Bennett on CCTV putting his hand down the trousers of a child. 'I took him into the meeting room and I said, 'I just saw something on the camera that made me feel really uncomfortable. I need you to leave the site now and HR will be in touch',' she said. Nursery practitioner Elizabeth Burton said in a written statement she began to witness 'strange behaviours' by Bennett. 'One of the other things I witnessed myself was how much physical contact he would constantly require with the children,' she said. 'He seemed to have a group of five children that he had a jealous attachment with. He would take control of them. 'His behaviour would be over-affectionate with them, as well as having them sat on his lap, he would kiss them on the face, like on the cheek or forehead.' She said Bennett would wear the same pair of trousers to work, which were full of holes, including the crotch area. 'I would not wear them to work because they were not suitable and I tried to encourage him to buy a new pair,' she added. Bennett, of Corston, Bath, denies the following charges: two charges of raping a child under 13, four charges of the sexual assault of a child under 13, two charges of assault of a child under 13 by penetration and three charges of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child. He has previously pleaded guilty to 13 other charges. They were eight charges of sexual assault of a child under 13, four charges of causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity and one charge of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child. The trial continues. Vietnam's military secretly drafted plans for a potential conflict with the United States, according to a leaked document released by a human rights group. The classified assessment, compiled by Vietnam's Ministry of Defence in August 2024 and titled 'The 2nd US Invasion plan,' was made public on Tuesday by Project88. It reveals that Hanoi's defence establishment was privately preparing for a possible 'war of aggression' even as the two countries upgraded their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2023. The partnership, announced during former US President Joe Biden's visit to Hanoi in September that year, marked the highest level of diplomatic ties since relations were normalised in 1995. But the leaked document suggests Vietnamese military planners were treating the United States as a hostile 'belligerent' power and remained deeply suspicious of Washington's intentions. Far from considering the US to be a strategic partner on par with China, Hanoi considers it a rogue state that is preoccupied with regime change and which might invade Vietnam if the country refuses to join its anti-China coalition. According to Project88, the assessment warns that the US could seek to undermine Communist Party rule through support for a so-called 'colour revolution' - similar to pro-democracy uprisings in post-Soviet states - and could exploit Vietnam's long coastline and maritime geography in future conflict. Project88 quoted the document as stating: 'While there is currently little risk of a war against Vietnam, due to the US's belligerent nature, we need to be vigilant to prevent the US and its allies from 'creating a pretext' to launch a war of aggression against our country. The Vietnamese military has been wary of the US seeking a pretext to 'launch a war of aggression against our country' Former US President Joe Biden raises a toast as he participates in a State Luncheon with Vietnam President Vo Van Thuong in Hanoi, Vietnam, on September 11, 2023 Vietnamese soldiers run in training outside their base 'The US and its allies could fully exploit the geographic and natural features of Vietnam's vast seas and long coastlines, with the superior strength of its navy, to conduct military operations against our country'. The documents suggest that Hanoi does not welcome the US presence in the region - instead, viewing it as a provocation that increases tensions and risks war. The goals of the US's Indo-Pacific Strategy, according to the plan, are to limit China's regional dominance, create a Western-aligned economic bloc, secure critical trade routes, and increase NATO and EU involvement in the region. This threatening posture, it goes on to note, intensified under US President Donald Trump's first term when his administration increased military deployments to the region and incited an arms race. The rights group said it obtained the plan from a reliable source and independently verified its authenticity. 'There's a consensus here across the government and across different ministries,' Ben Swanton, co-director of Project88, said. 'This isn't just some kind of a fringe element or paranoid element within the party or within the government.' The plan is divided into two sections. The first section provides a detailed overview of the Asia-Pacific's strategic importance and the US response to China's rise, while the second describes US militarisation of the Asia-Pacific region and outlines various scenarios involving US-led assaults on Vietnam. In relation to politics and diplomacy, the plan asserts that the US has moved from a Cold War mentality of containing countries 'with different ambitions', to building relationships whose chief objective is to 'form a front against China'. This strategy involves using political, diplomatic, and media pressure as 'instruments of influence', and exploiting disputes between Taiwan, ASEAN, and China. The document also suggests Vietnamese analysts believed the US, in seeking to counter China's growing influence, was prepared to use 'unconventional forms of warfare and military intervention' and even 'large-scale invasions' against countries that 'deviate from its orbit'. US marines during the Tet Offensive in 1968. Vietnam fears further US aggression US Marines tend to their wounded during heavy street fighting in Hue after Communist forces invaded South Vietnam in 1968 The US 173rd Airborne are supported by helicopters during the Iron Triangle assault, 1968 'Hanoi sees Washington as an existential threat and has no intention of joining its anti-China alliance,' Swanton wrote. 'In this respect the plan upends over a decade of US policy, which has sought to court Vietnam into such an alliance, while turning a blind eye to human rights abuses in service of this goal.' The report also sheds light on Vietnam's internal power struggles, highlighting tensions between reform-minded officials and a conservative, military-aligned faction of the Communist Party that remains fixated on external threats to the regime. Nguyen Khac Giang, from Singapore's ISEASYusof Ishak Institute, told The Times: 'The military has never been too comfortable moving ahead with the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with the United States.' Project 88's analysis further argues that Washington's push to strengthen security ties in Asia and build a coalition to counter Beijing may have fuelled paranoia in Hanoi, with Vietnamese planners tracing what they see as an increasingly confrontational US strategy across successive administrations. The report also notes that, despite closer diplomatic engagement, Vietnam has intensified domestic repression in recent years while Western governments have prioritised strategic competition with China over human rights concerns. This dynamic, according to Project88, has reinforced Hanoi's suspicion of US intentions. Paris prosecutors have this morning raided the French offices of social media network X, with Elon Musk summoned for an interview. The operation, which involves the EU police agency Europol, is part of an investigation opened in January 2025 into a range of alleged offences, including spreading child pornography and deepfakes. The prosecutors' cybercrime unit is also looking into alleged 'complicity' in the denial of crimes against humanity, and manipulation of an automated data processing system as part of an organised group. French prosecutors said they had summoned X owner, Elon Musk, for a voluntary interview in April as part of the investigation. 'Summons for voluntary interviews on April 20, 2026, in Paris have been sent to Mr. Elon Musk and Ms. Linda Yaccarino, in their capacity as de facto and de jure managers of the X platform at the time of the events,' it said. Yaccarino resigned as CEO of X in July last year, after two years at the helm of the company. The investigation was opened following two complaints in January 2025 and then broadened after additional reports criticised the AI chatbot Grok for its role in disseminating Holocaust denials and sexual deepfakes. One of the complaints came from Eric Bothorel, an MP from President Emmanuel Macron's centrist party, who complained of 'reduced diversity of voices and options' and Musk's 'personal interventions' in the platform's management since he took it over. French prosecutors said they had summoned X owner Elon Muskfor a voluntary interview in April as part of the investigation The investigation was opened following two complaints in January 2025 and then broadened after additional reports criticised the AIchatbot Grok for its role in disseminating Holocaust denials and sexual deepfakes, the prosecutor's office said in a statement The Paris public prosecutor's office at the time confirmed the investigation, denouncing the alleged biased algorithms which may have 'distorted the operation of an automated data processing system'. Laurent Buanec, France director of X, pushed back against the investigation in January 2025, saying X had 'strict, clear and public rules', which protected the platform from hate speech and disinformation. In July, Mr Musk denied the initial accusations and said French prosecutors were launching a 'politically-motivated criminal investigation'. 'At this stage, the conduct of this investigation is part of a constructive approach, with the aim of ultimately ensuring that the X platform complies with French laws, insofar as it operates on national territory,' the prosecutor's office said. The prosecutor's office also said it was leaving the X social media platform and would communicate on LinkedIn and Instagram from now on. LinkedIn belongs to Microsoft and Instagram to Meta. The prosecutor's office made this announcement in a post on X itself, though no further details about the specific nature of the algorithm concerns or the scope of the search were provided. X has been under investigation since January 12, 2025, according to local media reports. The prosecutor's office said the operation was part of efforts to ensure X was complying with French laws. The investigation was then expanded on July 9, 2025, after reports of sexually explicit deepfakes and holocaust denial content circulating on the platform. The social media platform has previously faced backlash in the UK for its artificial intelligence tool Grok and the creation of sexually explicit photos. Media regulator Ofcom launched a probe into X for the images, while Sir Keir Starmer branded the AI chatbot 'unlawful'. Mr Musk then restricted Grok's image editing feature exclusively to paying subscribers, after threats that it could be banned in the UK. While X is yet to comment on Tuesday's raid, it has previously described the investigation as an attack on free speech. The legally responsible entity for X is based in Ireland; X France manages only communications and public affairs. Brussels has already been investigating possible violations of the Digital Services Act regarding disinformation since December 2023. Conclusions are expected in the coming weeks. Spain plans to ban access to social media for minors under 16 and platforms will be required to implement age-verification systems, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Tuesday as he announced several measures to guarantee a safe digital environment. Sanchez's left-wing coalition government has repeatedly complained about the proliferation of hate speech, pornographic content and disinformation on social media, saying it had negative effects on young people. 'Our children are exposed to a space they were never meant to navigate alone... We will no longer accept that,' Sanchez said as he addressed the World Government Summit in Dubai, calling on other European countries to implement similar measures. 'We will protect them from the digital Wild West,' he added. Australia in December became the first country to ban social media for children under 16, a move being closely watched by other countries considering similar age-based measures, such as Britain and France. Sanchez said Spain had joined five other European countries that he dubbed the 'Coalition of the Digitally Willing' to coordinate and enforce cross-border regulation. The coalition will hold its first meeting in the coming days, he said. Sanchez did not say which countries were in the group, and his office didn't immediately respond to a request for clarification. Spain plans to ban access to social media for minors under 16 and platforms will be required to implement age-verification systems, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Tuesday as he announced several measures to guarantee a safe digital environment Sanchez's left-wing coalition government has repeatedly complained about the proliferation of hate speech, pornographic content and disinformation on social media, saying it had negative effects on young people 'We know that this is a battle that far exceeds the boundaries of any country,' he said. Spain will also introduce a bill next week to hold social media executives accountable for illegal and hate-speech content, as well as to criminalize algorithmic manipulation and the amplification of illegal content, Sanchez said. Among the measures he proposed was a system to track hate speech online while platforms would be required to introduce age verification systems that 'were not just check boxes,' he said. His government would begin the process of passing legislation from as early as next week, he said. He added that prosecutors would explore ways to investigate possible legal infractions by Elon Musk's Grok, TikTok and Instagram. A Labour mayor helped to hide evidence when her son was arrested on suspicion of raping a 15-year-old girl, a court has been told. Naheed Ejaz, 61, allowed her 'mother's love for a son to stretch to criminality' by refusing to let police officers into her home when they came to arrest him, it was heard. Ejaz, who had been Mayor of Bracknell Forest from 2023 to 2024, in Berkshire, is said to have delayed their entry for 'some minutes'. She also spoke to her son, Diwan Khan, 41, in Urdu to 'assist' him in hiding his phone which had a video on it of the alleged sex attack, Winchester Crown Court heard. Mr Khan - who was her Consort of the Mayor - is accused of raping a 15-year-old girl in June 2024 after she 'blacked out' from the MDMA that he put in vodka for her to drink. Prosecutors allege the teenager woke up in the backseat of his car with no clothes on and she could not remember what had happened. But Khan then showed her a video that he filmed of him having sex with her, choking and slapping her in the face. Khan, who appeared alongside his mother for official Mayor functions, allegedly threatened to show her mother the video if she said anything and that she 'belonged' to him. Former Labour mayor of Bracknell Forest, Naheed Ejaz, 61, helped to hide evidence when her son was arrested on suspicion of raping a 15-year-old girl, a court has been told Ejaz (left), who had been Mayor of Bracknell Forest from 2023 to 2024, in Berkshire, and her son, Diwan Khan, who was her Consort of the Mayor, pictured in October 2023 Ejaz and her son are appearing on trial together at Winchester Crown Court, Hampshire. Ejaz denies perverting the course of justice, and Khan denies rape. The jury were told Khan has pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice by hiding the mobile phone from the police. The court heard that on September 12, 2024, police arrived at the property in Bracknell in the early hours of the morning, and Ejaz came to the door. She allegedly delayed opening the door to the police, helping Khan hide his mobile phone with the video of the girl on it. Prosecutor Ed Wylde said: 'That mobile phone was likely to have material that would be evidence in Mr Khan's case.' Khan produced a phone to the police, but this was not the one with the video on it. Mr Wylde said: 'We say that she was aware that this was not the phone the police were looking for, assisting Mr Khan in the concealment of the mobile phone. 'We say they were speaking in Urdu so that the police wouldn't know what they were talking about. 'We say that she assisted her son. We have a pretty good idea that it is the phone with the video on it. 'We can't be sure that Ms Ejaz had any clear idea of the trouble he was in at that time, but a mother's love for her son will stretch some way, and in this case it stretched into criminality.' It has not been confirmed when in 2024 Ejaz stepped down as Mayor. Local news reports suggest she resigned as a councillor in September 2024. Mr Wylde said that the girl had arranged to meet her friend, and her pal told her that she knew a guy who could take them for a drive. The teenager sneaked out of her house through her kitchen window, so her mother would not see, and got into the Khan's car with her friend in the backseat. The three of them drove to a garage near his house to buy Smirnoff vodka in order to get drunk. They then went to his house, and, when they parked up outside, he took what he said was MDMA out from the bottom of his tie and poured the pink powder into the vodka. The two girls drank the vodka from the bottle throughout the evening. The three of them went into his house through the back door and played some music in his room. When they were in his bedroom, he told the two girls that he was 'horny' and that he wanted the girls to touch him, but they both said no, the court was told. They left his house and dropped her friend back at her house, where she told Khan 'don't touch her' because she was very drunk. Ejaz and her son Diwan Khan, 41, are appearing on trial together at Winchester Crown Court, Hampshire. Ejaz denies perverting the course of justice and Khan denies rape He then drove back to his house, and the girl said she was confused about why they had gone back there because she thought he was driving her home. She said she had drunk about half of the one litre vodka bottle by this point. After this, she said that she 'blacked out' and did not remember what happened next until she woke up in the backseat of his car with no clothes on. She alleged he showed her a one-to two-minute video where he was filming himself touching her face and breasts, having sex with her, slapping her in the face, and choking her in his car. In her police interview, she said that she did not want to have sex with him and that watching the video made her feel 'sick' and 'scared'. After the ordeal, she said he dropped her back home and then sent her messages using a false name, saying that 'she was his' and she 'belonged' to him. He sent her threats saying that if she told anyone, he would show her mum the video and said that he was 'going to come to her house and slit her throat'. During the girl's police interview, she said that Khan told her he was the Mayor's Consort and she had told him that she was 15 years old. Mr Wylde said that in his interview with the police, Khan denied picking the victim up in his car, and he denied raping her. He told the police that he met her on a dating app called Plenty of Fish and said that he thought she was 24 years old. Mr Wylde said that the victim's dating profile stated that she was 19 years old. Mr Wylde said: 'At the time she was 15. She was quite troubled, quite rebellious. She snuck out at night, she drank alcohol, she took drugs. She may have got things a little wrong. 'We say those factors are exactly why he chose her because he knew she wouldn't be believed.' The trial continues. A controversial senior member of One Nation came under fire for calling multiculturalism a 'failed experiment', despite living in Australia as an immigrant. Bianca Colecchia, the state secretary for the Victorian branch of One Nation, shared a video of Melbourne CBD on New Year's Eve. Panning to the crowd outside Flinders Street Station, Colecchia asked viewers to 'play a game' of 'spot the Westerner'. 'Let's see if you can find any,' she said. 'It doesn't look like a Western nation at all, does it? 'Yet here we are, this is the reality of Melbourne CBD on New Year's Eve.' Colecchia went on to blame 'multiculturalism' for eroding Australian culture. 'And this is an issue, a big one, because they might be good people, but it is a problem at the collective level. It erodes our cultural identity and cohesion,' she said. One Nation MP Bianca Colecchia (pictured with One Nation leader Pauline Hanson) shared a video on New Year's Eve Colecchia shared footage from outside Flinders Street Station (above) and asked viewers to play 'spot the Westerner' 'Multiculturalism is a failed concept. When you start seeing demographic change and clusters of groups of people that are supposed to be a minority, and all of a sudden, we are the minority. It is a problem and a big one. 'All we need to do is look at Europe, what is happening there, in Germany, the UK and France, and Italy, it is terrifying and we must oppose it with everything we've got.' Commenters under the clip were quick to highlight the apparent hypocrisy of Colecchia's statement - given she speaks with a European accent and is an immigrant similar to the people she's judging. 'Brown migrant with accent complains about other brown migrants with accents?' one commenter wrote. 'By the way Australia belongs to Aboriginals. Imagine if they were to walk out on the streets playing the same game as you. I wonder how you would feel?' another said. 'You've got a strong accent, and you're criticising others for coming here? By rights you should be leaving with them if that's your stance. Or because you're more white presenting you're okay? Explain it to me,' another wrote. 'Most of them were born here! With your accent, where are you imported from?' another said. However, other commenters agreed with Colecchia and claimed Melbourne no longer feels like 'home'. Commenters under Colecchia's video (above) were divided with some agreeing with the MP and others calling her hypocritical Colecchia (above) moved to Australia from Italy in 2016 'If you'd put me in the back of [a] shipping container, drove in circles for eight hours and opened the door, I'd have thought I was in Malaysia... migration has happened too rapidly and unfortunately Australia is on the path of losing its Western identity,' one wrote. 'How did we let this happen, and in such a short period of time? Western world is finished as we know it I'm afraid,' another said. 'Multiculturalism is a myth and always has been, when a country no longer looks how it should that's not the original country at all that's deliberate invasion,' another wrote. Other commenters simply called for people to stop looking to create division. 'We are all Australians. When I started school in Melbourne in the 1950's new migrants were collectively known as New Australians. They enriched our culture. The newer New Australians will do the same in time,' one wrote. 'I see human beings living harmoniously. Immigrants migrated to Australia to start from scratch and want a better future. Respecting and being kind to one another is the key,' another said. The Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2021 found 10.6 per cent of Victoria's population was born overseas. New Year's Eve is also a major tourist event for Australia's capital cities, drawing in many foreign holidaymakers. A former model, Ms Colecchia previously ran for the seat of Bruce in Melbourne and is a fan of Donald Trump and hard-wing Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni Last January saw 3,393,977 arrivals at Melbourne Airport, the busiest in its history, including 600,000 from international locations. Colecchia herself was born and raised in the tiny rural Italian town of Sant' Eusanio del Sangro. She moved to Australia in 2016 with only $1,000 and was unable to speak a word of English, she said. Since then, Colecchia has studied politics, international relations and sociology at Melbourne University and managed a gentleman's club in the city. Colecchia spoke proudly of the impact Australia had on her life and the opportunities the country had given her in a blog post. 'This country has given me so much, and it gave me the opportunity to turn my life around,' Ms Colecchia admitted in her article. 'So, I learned the language, I worked hard, and I embraced the Australian way of life. Today, I am incredibly grateful to be able to call Australia home. 'To me, becoming an Australian citizen was a privilege but also a commitment to this nation and its future.' In her biography on the One Nation website, the self-professed Donald Trump and Giorgia Meloni fan said she was 'focused on growing a strong, principled movement that defends our values, protects our heritage, and puts everyday Australians first'. 'I am committed to common-sense policies that strengthen our national identity, protect our heritage and secure a prosperous future for all Australians,' she wrote. 'My mission is to build a stronger voice for conservative Australians and ensure One Nation continues to stand firm where others have wavered, and finally establishes itself as the third party alternative to the major parties' duopoly.' Jeffrey Epstein may have spent decades helping Russian spies collect damaging 'kompromat' on western elites, a former MI6 agent said today. Christopher Steele said the FBI had evidence yet to be published that links the disgraced billionaire paedophile to Russian organised crime - often a front for the then Soviet communist regime - as far back as the 1970s. As the world continues to reel from the staggering number of famous names found in the Epstein files, the former intelligence operative said it was 'very likely' the financier was engaged in creating incriminating material that could be used for blackmail. He also suggested the Russians could be the source of much of the billionaire's wealth, through association with Robert Maxwell, the millionaire father of his confidante Ghislaine. It comes after the Mail on Sunday at the weekend revealed intelligence sources believe Epstein, who killed himself in prison in 2019, ran 'the world's largest honeytrap operation' on behalf of the KGB when he procured women for his network of associates. Speaking to Times Radio Mr Steele, who gained fame for creating the 'Trump dossier' on unverified claims that the US president was 'compromised' by the Kremlin, said: 'My understanding from my American sources is that as early as the 1970s, Epstein was effectively involved with Russian organised crime in Brighton Beach in New York and through them with the Russian mission in New York and was almost certainly recruited by them at that time. 'Moving on to a later period involving probably Robert Maxwell in the 1980s, it seems to me again that Epstein had significant ties to Maxwell. 'And when Maxwell was involved in getting Jewish people out of the Soviet Union in return effectively for laundering Soviet Communist Party hard currency and investing it in the West, I suspect that that's where quite a lot of Epstein's investment money came from.' Christopher Steele said the FBI had evidence linking Epstein to Russian organised crime - often a front for the then Soviet communist regime - as far back as the 1970s As the world continues to reel from the staggering number of famous names found in the Epstein files, the former intelligence operative said it was 'very likely' the financier was engaged in creating incriminating material that could be used for blackmail. He also suggested the Russians could be the source of much of the billionaire's wealth, through association with Robert Maxwell, the millionaire father of his confidante Ghislaine (both pictured in 1990). The release of more than three million new documents relating to the late sex offender gives credence to incendiary claims made by senior security officials: that Epstein was working on behalf of Moscow, and possibly Israel, when he facilitated assignations for some of the world's most powerful men. The files include 1,056 documents naming Russian President Vladimir Putin and 9,629 referring to Moscow. Epstein even seems to have secured audiences with Putin after his 2008 conviction for procuring a child for prostitution. Sources told the MoS it could explain why Epstein appeared to enjoy an ultra-wealthy lifestyle out of kilter with his career as a financier, although there is no documentary evidence linking Putin and his spies directly to Epstein's illicit activities. It came after former new Labour minister Peter Mandelson last night insisted he has 'no idea' why he was photographed in his pants in Jeffrey Epstein's 8million Paris 'House of Sin' apartment as he described the paedophile as a 'master manipulator'. Keir Starmer's ex-ambassador to the US is facing a police probe into whether he leaked 'market sensitive' information to the child abusing financier by forwarding him No 10 emails containing advice to then-prime minister Gordon Brown. One saw Lord Mandelson give Epstein advance notice of a 500billion bailout of the Eurozone. In his first interview since three million Epstein files were released, he also complained that the American paedophile financier, once his friend, is like 'muck that you can't get off your shoe Like dog muck, the smell never goes away.' On the now-notorious picture of him in his pants was taken inside Epstein's palatial 'House of Sin' in Paris, he said he has 'no idea what I am doing in this photograph or who the woman was. It looks as though she came in and showed me something on an iPad'. The architect of New Labour insists the period of his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein after his conviction for soliciting sex from girls as young as 14 was a blur. The disgraced peer also claims he has 'absolutely no recollection' or records of Jeffrey Epstein paying $75,000 into accounts linked to him. He said: 'I think I would remember such a large sum'. '[Epstein] told me he had been framed in his indictment in 2008 and I feel really bad about continuing my association with him afterwards', he said. 'That's why I wanted to apologise unequivocally for doing so, to the women and girls who suffered', he told The Times. He has blamed being 'too trusting' of Jeffrey Epstein, describing the paedophile financier as a 'classic sociopath' amid newly released files linking the pair. 'He was a master manipulator. I can see that now. But the point is that his victims certainly did know what he was doing', Mandelson said. The walls continued to cave in around the former Labour grandee on Tuesday as a leaked photo showed him getting a foot massage from an unidentified woman. Mr Steele said the Mandelson revelations should 'certainly' have been flagged before now. 'When Mandelson was being vetted for the ambassador in Washington, this information should have been shared by the American government with our security services. I don't know whether it was, but it certainly should have been,' he said. A wealthy investor is suing a husband and wife over claims they did not pay back a 4.2million loan and instead used the money to buy Ferraris and Lamborghinis. Businessman Benjamin Gilbert took financier Jamie Bleakley and his wife Shahena Bleakley to the High Court over allegations the couple failed to pay the huge loan back. The Bleakleys used the money for 'personal expenses' including Ferraris, Lamborghinis, jewellery, and premium airline tickets and hotels, it was heard. The couple already owned a villa in Dubai worth millions and a property in Spain. Mr Gilbert, a 50-year-old corporate investor, claims he managed to recover 600,000 in unpaid debts from the couple but is still owed 4.2 million despite years of fighting for it. In total, the Bleakleys' finance company Broadoak has received about 7 million that 'cannot be accounted for', the High Court was told. Mr Bleakley, 44, and his wife have since separated, High Court Judge David Quest KC said they both received up to 1.5 million from Broadoak for 'personal expenses' for which 'there was no apparent business purpose'. Records show money was spent on 'luxury cars, jewellery, watches, premium airline tickets and hotels', the High Court heard. Financier Jamie Bleakley and his wife Shahena Bleakley have been taken to the High Court over a 4.2 million loan which a businessman claims they have not paid back Mr Gilbert and his corporate investment firm BG Projects Ltd sued the couple and Broadoak at the High Court, seeking the continuation of a Worldwide Freezing Order (WFO) imposed last year so the couple's assets are frozen while he tries to recover his money. However, the application failed on jurisdictional grounds, despite a judge admitting it may seem 'harsh' on Mr Gilbert because he has a good claim against the couple. The case remains live, however, it is not yet clear whether it will be heard in Britain or in Spain, where Mr Bleakley and his companies are based. The High Court heard Mr Gilbert was listed as a shareholder in Broadoak Private Finance Limited, but claims he has been excluded from its management since 2019. Between 2017 and 2019, Mr Gilbert made several loans to Broadoak to fund its business activities - however, they failed to repay the balance of the debt. In July 2021, he sent a letter before action and issued the present claim in November 2023. Mr Gilbert carried out investigations into Broadoak's finances, using non-party disclosure orders to obtain bank documents, the court heard. It was heard: 'It appears that large amounts have been paid out by Broadoak to or for the benefit of Mr Bleakley and the respondents for which there appears to be no proper purpose and some of which were paid after [Mr Gilbert] had sent their letter before action.' According to the judgment, Broadoak paid between 800,000 and 1.5m to the Bleakleys for personal expenses. The expenses included luxury cars, jewellery, watches, premium airline tickets and hotels, for which there was 'no apparent business purpose'. They also paid '130,000 and 160,000 directly' to the couple, as well as 280,000 to a Dubai property developer, and 3.8 million into their accounts at TTT Moneycorp Ltd. The judgment also said that Mrs Bleakley still owns two expensive cars - a Lamborghini Urus car with a value of Euro 175,000 and a Ferrari car with a value of Euro 180,000, as well as a villa in the Arabian Ranches development in Dubai with a value of AED3.5m. The couple have been taken to the High Court in London over the unpaid loan from Benjamin Gilbert Analysis of Broadoak's payment records indicated that the company appeared to have paid for those assets, the court heard, with a 'large part' of the money received by the Bleakleys still 'unaccounted for.' Mrs Bleakley did not deny or 'seek to justify or explain' those payments. She said: 'I accept that I have received monies which have originated from my husband's businesses. 'However, I understood from my husband that he was entitled to transfer any such monies as the fruits of his successful business career.' At the High Court, it was found that since most of their assets are in Spain, a WFO would not be acceptable. But, Deputy High Court Judge David Quest KC suggested that Mr Gilbert has a strong case. Mrs Bleakley said the couple had a 'compelling case' that they received the money from Broadoak without any knowledge of wrongdoing by Mr Bleakley, however Judge Quest KC said he did not agree. The judge said the couple were aware, or 'would be aware if they had made proper enquiries' that they had no right to the money. Judge Quest said the couple did not explain why their case is 'compelling' and addressed evidence 'only in a cursory way in Mrs Bleakley's witness statement'. He added: 'There is in my view good reason to suppose from the facts asserted by [Mr Gilbert], that Broadoak could recover assets from [Mr and Mrs Bleakley] by a claim in constructive trust or for equitable compensation for knowing receipt or dishonest assistance, and that those assets could be used to satisfy the Broadoak judgment. 'There is, as I have said, a strong inference that [the Bleakleys] knew that they had no right to receive or benefit from the money paid out by Broadoak. 'Significant amounts received from Broadoak appear to have been spent on luxury goods, including luxury cars and travel. '[Mr and Mrs Bleakley] has given no proper explanation in their evidence about where the money paid out by Broadoak and/or received by them has gone.' Prince Edward has become the first Royal Family member to speak about the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, saying it was 'really important always to remember the victims'. The Duke of Edinburgh was asked 'how are you coping' when questioned during the World Governments Summit in Dubai about new files relating to the paedophile. Edward told a CNN journalist on stage today: 'Well, with the best will in the world, I'm not sure this is the audience that is probably the least bit interested in that. 'They all came here to listen to education, solving the future, but no, I think it's all really important always to remember the victims and who are the victims in all this? A lot of victims in this.' It comes after more than three million documents were published by the US Department of Justice relating to the late financier Epstein last Friday night. The bombshell papers have revealed more details about the American sex offender's contact with Edward's disgraced older brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Edward's response followed a question from CNN's Eleni Giokos, who asked: 'And I have to say this, and it's super important, because, you know, it's been dominating headlines. We all know the last few days have been very interesting, very difficult. 'And I'm sure for you sir as well, this is an important question to ask, and I want to ask it in the context of what we've seen from Their Majesties and their response. And they're saying that we should be focused specifically on experience of the victims. The Duke of Edinburgh is interviewed during the World Governments Summit in Dubai today Prince Edward in Dubai today. He has been visiting the United Arab Emirates since Saturday Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein walk together in New York's Central Park on December 5, 2010 'The palace has been very, very clear on that. We've just heard some commentary from Prime Minister Keir Starmer as well, and bearing that in mind, and he's saying that there needs to be assistance for the victims. 'And I wonder what you think of this, because it is so close to home, clearly very difficult. And I know you've put in various plans in place to move the institution forward, but how are you coping with that?' It comes as the King was urged to contact lawyers representing a woman who claims to have been sent to the UK by Epstein for a sexual encounter with Andrew. Andrew has featured in the Epstein documents on a number of occasions, with new images in the latest release appearing to show him crouched over an unidentified woman who is lying on the floor. Elsewhere in the document dump, screenshots and scans appear to show Andrew exchanged emails with Epstein about a 'beautiful' Russian woman, and invited him to Buckingham Palace. His ex-wife Sarah Ferguson also features in the papers, appearing to accuse Epstein of it being 'crystal clear to me that you were only friends with me to get to Andrew'. The former Duke of York was stripped of his titles by Charles last year after the posthumous publication of a book by Virginia Giuffre. She also alleged she was trafficked by Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell when she was 17. Join the debate Should the Royal Family be doing more to rebuild public trust? Prince Edward and the former Prince Andrew at Sandringham Church on Christmas Day 2023 Andrew crouched over an unidentified woman who is lying on the floor, in the new Epstein files Andrew paid millions to Ms Giuffre, a woman he has claimed never to have met, to settle a civil sexual assault claim in 2022. The former prince has vehemently denied any wrongdoing. Last October, the King began the formal process to strip the titles from Andrew and ensured he moved out of his Windsor home to Sandringham. In a statement at the time, the palace said: 'Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.' Also this week, Lord Mandelson's ties to convicted sex offender Epstein have led to calls for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to strip him of his peerage. The former ambassador to the US resigned his membership of the Labour Party after the latest document release. In an email exchange from 2009, Lord Mandelson, then the business secretary, appeared to tell Epstein he would lobby ministers about a tax on bankers' bonuses. Bank statements from 2003 and 2004 appeared to show he received payments totalling $75,000 from the financier, and Epstein is also said to have paid for an osteopathy course for Lord Mandelson's husband. Edward has been visiting the United Arab Emirates since Saturday, where the palace said he would 'champion the importance of education, particularly non-formal education and experiential learning, to develop skills and opportunities for young people worldwide'. He is meeting students undertaking the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award and will 'speak to educators about opportunities to collaborate with the award', the palace added. Blood was found inside the home of Savannah Guthrie's abducted mother Nancy after a kidnapper forced their way into the property, police sources say. The disturbing new details were shared with the Los Angeles Times, after the Daily Mail revealed how the 84-year-old had been abducted from her bed at her $1million home in Tucson, Arizona, late Saturday or early Sunday. Law enforcement sources say that 'blood drops' were found leading from the entryway of the house to the driveway, and a doorbell camera she owned was removed by the time investigators arrived on Sunday. An exhaustive hunt for Nancy continues, with Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos almost bursting into tears Monday night when asked if he thinks Nancy is still alive. Nanos welled-up after he was asked by AZFamily host Briana Whitney: 'Do you believe you are still looking for Nancy Guthrie alive at this point? That she could be held somewhere? And if so, do you believe that is local in the Tucson area, or that she's been taken somewhere?' Nanos stumbled on his words as he said he and his deputies are 'just not going to give up hope' of finding Nancy - who officials say is frail and has been without daily medication she needs to survive. Savannah, 54, flew to Arizona shortly after learning that Nancy had been abducted - a moment CNN reported was 'the worst phone call of her life'. Sheriff Nanos said they did not believe Nancy had been targeted because of her rich and famous daughter, but said he could not rule out that line of inquiry. Meanwhile, Savannah is said to be traveling with a security team. She has dropped out of hosting the Milan Winter Olympics, which begins on Wednesday. Today - the show she hosts - led with Nancy's abduction for the second day in a row on Tuesday and shared Guthrie's request for 'prayers'. Savannah Guthrie is seen with her mother Nancy Guthrie. Nancy was reported missing in Tucson, Arizona, at noon on Sunday by her family. She hadn't been seen since the night of January 31 Authorities investigating the disappearance of Guthrie's mother Nancy discovered blood inside her $1 million Arizona home (pictured), sources say Nancy was last seen around 9:45pm Saturday night, at the family's longtime ranch-style home in the upscale Catalina Hills neighborhood. She was reported missing the next morning when she didn't show up at church, and when her family went to her home they found her personal belongings including her wallet, cellphone and car, but no sign of the 84-year-old. Sources told the LA Times that there were signs of forced entry at the home. Nanos added that while the exact nature of Nancy's disappearance remains unknown, investigators believe they are 'looking at a possible kidnapping or abduction.' 'She did not leave on her own, we know that,' he said. 'Shes very limited in her mobility.' An NBC source told CNN that Savannah was preparing to go to Europe to cover the Winter Olympics at the time, and had spent much of the last week with her children before she would make the trip. Savannah, who only recently returned to NBC after throat surgery, is now set to remain off-air indefinitely. Savannah is pictured embracing her mother in 2020 In an interview Tuesday, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos grew emotional as he said he 'hopes' Nancy is still alive While giving updates about where DNA testing and search efforts stand, Pima Co. Sheriff Chris Nanos got emotional talking about where Nancy Guthrie may be and if shes still alive#nancyguthrie #abduction #missingperson #truecrime #investigation pic.twitter.com/akOMA0Xt45 Briana Whitney (@BrianaWhitney) February 3, 2026 On Tuesday, Nanos announced that a $2,500 reward was being issued for information leading to an arrest in Nancy Guthrie's disappearance. He stressed that the hunt for Nancy remains a search-and-rescue operation. DNA tests have been performed but the results could take another few days. Nanos said that Nancy is of sound mind but that she suffers from mobility issues that mean she cannot walk more than 50 yards. She was taken without her medication, which she requires to stay alive; depriving her of it could be fatal, Nanos warned. The sheriff said investigators have not yet ruled out the potential abduction being a 'targeted' incident, but said evidence does not yet support that conclusion either. 'Nothing that we see is leading us that way, but well never dismiss anything. Well continue to look at everything, and well just keep moving forward with it,' he said. On Monday, Nanos appealed to a potential abductor while speaking with NBC. 'Just call us. Let her go. Just call us. The family will tell you, theres no questions asked here,' he said. Savannah's father died of a heart attack while she was in high school, and officials said Nancy lived alone in her Tucson home. Today Show host Savannah Guthrie pleaded with the American public for their prayers for her mother, Nancy, who was reported missing on Sunday With the search for her mother ongoing, Savannah Guthrie made a heartbreaking plea for fans to keep her family in their prayers. 'We believe in prayer. We believe in voices raised in unison, in love, in hope,' Savannah wrote on Instagram. 'We believe in goodness, we believe in humanity. Above all, we believe in Him.' 'Thank you for lifting your prayers with ours for our beloved mom, our dearest Nancy, a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant,' Savannah wrote. She then asked her social media followers to 'raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment,' adding: 'We need you' and 'Bring her home'. A 12-year-old girl told police an Afghan migrant wanted to take her to train station by taxi after he abducted and raped her on a grassy area 'on an estate'. Ahmad Mulakhil, 23, is on trial accused of targeting the child before raping and sexually assaulting her on a summer's evening last year. Prosecutors also allege the girl was strangled by Mulakhil's friend and fellow Afghan Mohammad Kabir, who is accused of intending to take her away for a sexual purpose. Giving evidence in his defence this afternoon, Mulakhil told jurors he had arrived in the UK for four months before the girl was raped last July. He told jurors he had made an application 'for an immigration case....regarding the problems I have had in Afghanistan.' Giving evidence through a Dari interpretor, he said he had been in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, where the child victim was attacked, for one-and-a-half months by the time of the incident, after he was 'placed' in the town. Asked by his barrister Marcus Harry how long he had known Kabir by the time of the incident, he said: 'Approximately ten to 15 days' but said the pair did not live together. Earlier this morning, jurors were played police bodycam footage showing the moment officers were called to the girl by an adult known to her following the alleged rape. A screen grab taken from CCTV of Ahmad Mulakhil (front) and Mohammad Kabir (back), seen in a supermarket a day after the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl in Nuneaton Ahmad Mulakhil and Mohammad Kabir seen by the park after the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl in Nuneaton During the 12-minute clip shown to Warwick Crown Court, the girl told how the men 'were saying they were going to kidnap me to each other' when she encountered them on a bridge in the town. She ran off but later came across Mulakhil on a housing estate, where there encounter was filmed on a doorbell camera. Mulakhil today told jurors he asked the girl how old she was and she said she was 19, which he believed. The court has heard the girl was then later sexually attacked on a grassy area in a nearby street. But Mulakhil claimed his victim followed him to the grassy spot, where he told jurors he 'told her she should go home to her mother but she was not taking it.' He then claimed the girl had initiated sexual contact, which he said lasted up to five seconds. The girl was later found 'distressed' and alone in a nearby park after the attack, the court heard. On the police bodycam footage, the girl told how her attacker had 'tried to strip me' during the sexual assault, which she said had taken place 'on an estate'. The images of Mohammad and Ahmad were part of a time-line video presentation played to jurors at Warwick Crown Court on Friday She also said on the footage: 'He was about to get me in a taxi. He said he was going to get a taxi, he was going to get me in the taxi and take me to the train station, like (to) Birmingham or London.' Earlier today, Prosecutor Daniel Oscroft also read a translated transcript of a phone call Kabir made to an interpreter during police efforts to communicate with him after his arrest. The court heard Kabir told the interpreter: 'The girl came, she went with my friend. 'I told her 'don't come to me, please go away, don't come closer'. 'Tell them (the police) to check the camera. Tell them that my heart is exploding. I am brought in here innocently.' In a videotaped statement previously shown to the court, the girl told how she first saw the two defendants in a nearby park, when they stared at her and 24-year-old Kabir pulled 'sexual faces'. 'They were asking my age, I said I was 12. They said they didn't care,' she said. The girl said Kabir then tried to strangle her. 'I thought I was going to die because I couldn't breathe,' she added. She ran off but later came across Mulakhil on a housing estate and he told her to go with him. 'We got behind a shed thing,' she said. Warwick Crown Court has been told the defendants 'targeted' the child and Kabir had tried to take her away 'for some sexual purpose' Opening the case last week, Mr Oscroft told the court the pair 'targeted' the child and Kabir had tried to take her away 'for some sexual purpose'. Mulakhil was said to have laughed and taken photographs as he raped the girl. He told detectives that he thought the girl was in her early 20s. Assisted by an interpreter in his two police interviews, he said that kissing and sexual activity between himself and the victim 'was her desire that she wanted'. When asked if he understood that someone aged 12 cannot legally consent to sex, the court heard Mulakhil answered: 'It's understandable - no one will have sex with a 12-year-old.' Mulakhil, of no fixed address, admits one count of rape. He denies two other counts of rape, abducting a child, two counts of sexual assault and taking indecent photographs of a child. Kabir, of no fixed address, denies strangulation and intent to commit a sexual offence. The court heard Mulakhil's DNA was found on the girl and indecent images of him and the girl were on his phone. The trial continues. A homeless man who was taking shelter in a dumpster was mistakenly crushed inside a garbage truck - and lived to tell the tale. The man was sleeping while trying to stay warm as temperatures plunged in Jackson, Alabama early on Wednesday morning when he was picked up by the truck. He was dumped into the vehicle where police believe he was crushed twice by the compactor. It wasn't until the driver stopped at a Popeyes drive-thru for some breakfast that he heard the man screaming. 'Its really a fortunate thing that the gates at the Popeyes were closed and the driver had to get out,' Jackson Fire Chief John Brown told WKRG5. 'When he exited the dump truck, he could hear the man in the back needing help, and thats when he shut everything down.' Volunteer firefighter Mendy Boldin rushed to the scene. Despite expecting the worst Boldin and her team said they surprised to find the man suffering from only minor injuries. Emergency officials responded to a call of a person being compressed in a garbage truck around 5.30am Wednesday Fire chief John Brown said he hadn't seen anything like it in his long career 'We were all shocked,' she said. 'We thought, well, were going to have to get down there and really do some trauma assistance to him, to get him out, but he was fine. 'That was a God thing.' Brown added that he had never seen anything like it during his career spanning more than 40 years. The homeless man was taken to a hospital in Mobile for treatment. Temperatures in the Jackson area that day were in low 20s as the state was left frozen by the historic and deadly Winter Storm Fern. Alabama was swept by Winter Storm Fern, as temperatures the day the homeless man was engulfed were in the low 20s An 'extreme cold warning' was issued in more than 20 states as a result of the storm. Temperatures were so low that it was essentialy deadly to go outside in many areas. States throughout the Gulf, including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, saw wild chills drop to 10 degrees below zero, cold enough to cause frostbite in just 30 minutes. Comedian Kathy Griffin took to social media to ridicule a driver who ignored the news about the ICE raids occurring across America because she found it 'too depressing.' Griffin made a Threads post on Sunday describing the encounter that happened while she was on her New Face, New Tour. Her tour schedule indicated she was in Concord, New Hampshire, at the time. 'Ok. Coming clean. I had a driver tonight, didnt know anything about ICE or ICE abductions or the murders,' Griffin wrote. 'She said she lives under a rock and doesnt watch the news because its too depressing. Am I being a b**** because I [think] thats as bad as being complicit?' Griffin was referring to the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, who were shot by federal officers in Minneapolis on January 24 and January 7, respectively. One commenter added that surely Griffin 'explained a few facts' with 'grace.' Griffin sarcastically replied: 'Oh yeah, I'm known for my grace.' Prior to her 2017 scandal, Griffin won two Emmy awards and a Grammy for her comedic prowess Griffin has been vocal about her anti-ICE beliefs, frequently resharing video and articles on the topic The comedienne has become an infamous left-wing voice after posing with a mock version of Donald Trump's severed head in 2017. The scandal put the disgraced actress on the no-fly list and sent the FBI to her home. Some commenters supported her sentiments, while others ridiculed her for being overly critical of the driver. 'So you think its normal and sane to strike up a conversation about ICE with someone you just met?' said one person. 'The narcissism of the Left is truly bewildering,' another added. 'You call people (fascists/racists/bigots/insert word of the day) because they dont agree with your uninformed, emotional takes on the headline mainstream news you consume. 'Youre too old for this, Kathy.' 'So because you don't agree with the current climate, everyone who just wants to be left alone and not be depressed has to watch the news anyway?,' a third chimed in. Comedian Kathy Griffin came under fire in 2017 for posting a picture with a mask posed as a decapitated Trump head 'Give me a f****** break, lady.' Griffin frequently reposts articles, videos and photos expressing her support for immigrants and protestors. On her YouTube show Kathy Griffin: Talk Your Head Off, a nod to her scandal, she encouraged her followers to identify their MAGA neighbors to better organize against ICE. 'It's time to talk to your neighbors, find out if they're MAGA or not,' she said, according to Fox. 'And start to plan. Is there a way we can do something as a community?' The 65-year-old was an extremely prominent comedian before her almost career-ending scandal. Griffin made a post on Threads criticizing a driver who said she avoided the news because it's 'too depressing' She won two Emmy Awards for her reality series Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List and a Grammy in 2014 for her comedy album Kathy Griffin: Calm Down Gurrl. After posing with the bloodied mask, Griffin lost endorsement deals, a comedy tour and was booted from her longstanding spot hosting New Year's Eve on CNN with Anderson Cooper, according to People. 'I wasn't cancelled,' she told the New York Times. 'I was erased.' Griffin clawed her way back to prominence in 2023 and has been just as vocal about her distaste for Trump and his policies. The Daily Mail contacted Griffin for comment. A mother of eight who illegally claimed almost 15,000 of benefits for children who no longer lived with her says it 'slipped her mind' to report the change in circumstances to the authorities. Carla Hunt, 38, picked up over 13,000 of Universal Credit she was not entitled to after failing to tell the Department for Work and Pensions that the youngsters had been removed from her care. She also fraudulently claimed over 1,000 in Carer's Allowance despite the child requiring care also no longer staying at her home. Hunt, from Birmingham, had been found guilty of two charges of dishonestly failing to notify the DWP of changes in her circumstances that affected her benefits. In all, she collected a total of 14,742.56 in benefits she did not qualify for - and sought to blame social workers. Hunt broke down in tears as she was sentenced to 12 weeks suspended for 12 months at Birmingham Magistrates' Court on Friday (January 30). She had been tried and convicted in her absence. Prosecutor Savithru Wijeratne told the court that Hunt claimed Universal Credit for her eight children from November 2021 and Carer's Allowance for one of her sons from January that year. He said: 'Evidence was obtained that Ms Hunt failed to notify Universal Credit that her children were removed from her care between the period of January 6, 2022 and June 6, 2022.' Carla Hunt claimed nearly 15,000 of fraudulent benefits she was not entitled to after her children were removed from her care She was tried in her absence last year and given a suspended sentence at Birmingham Magistrates' Court (pictured) Mr Wijeratne added: 'She was arrested and interviewed in March 2023. The reason she gave for failing to notify Universal Credit included it having slipped her mind and she was unable to access the Universal Credit journal. 'And she was told by a social worker not to notify Universal Credit of her children's removal because it was a temporary measure until the conclusion of court proceedings.' She received the overpayment of Carer's Allowance between May and October 2022 and the overpayment of Universal Credit between January 2022 and January 2023. She accepted that she made a mistake and is now paying the money back. Peter Ricketts, defending, stated she was a victim of long-term domestic violence as well as had a number of mental health and learning difficulties which impacted her ability to understand paperwork and procedures. He said: 'She's a lady who has suffered a number of issues throughout her life. She became pregnant very young and left school without completing examinations.' The solicitor stated the benefit claims were valid in the beginning, adding: 'Ms Hunt maintained one of the reasons she didn't tell the DWP is she thought the children were going to be returned and it was only a matter of time. 'She tells me she was using the money received to improve the state of the house as it had been in a bad state. 'She was hoping that, in an improved state, her children would be returned. That didn't happen. She accepts she should have done more.' He further submitted that Hunt did not deliberately lie to the DWP and confirmed she had never previously committed a crime. Hunt was ordered to carry out 20 days of rehabilitation activity and pay a 154 victim surcharge. The Chair of the Bench said: 'We have thought long and hard about this today. We are not going to lecture you, you know what you did was wrong. 'We are going to suspend the prison sentence. Keep your nose clean, keep out of trouble and you won't go to prison.' A furious customer was caught on video throwing chips at a takeaway worker in a fit of rage after complaining his meal had gone cold. The man was filmed flipping his dinner at staff in a video which has been shared around the internet. The customer has been hugely criticised on social media for his outburst and rudeness towards staff at Jacob's Fish and Chips in Blackwood, South Wales. In the clip, the man can be seen arguing with staff, appearing to complain the chips were cold within 'half an hour'. He can be heard saying: 'It doesn't matter, we got to the house, sat down and ate. I'm trying to be fair. 'You're telling me your chips go like that in half an hour, because I have never known a fish shop chips go like that in half an hour.' A young member of staff then tries to reason with the man before he sends the tray of chips flying into the air towards workers, shouting 'f*** you' as he leaves. The customer was seen ordering the chips from Jacob's Fish and Chips in Blackwood, South Wales In a fit of rage, he then threw the 'cold' chips at a restaurant worker in a now viral video The woman who captured the moment on camera said: 'Attitude of a pig! Only doing their job, refunded him, apologised and he spoke to them like utter s** before slamming the door on his way out.' Social media users also criticised the customer for his behaviour towards the staff at the takeaway. One user said: 'Disgusting behaviour of a grown man.' Another wrote: 'He is only acting remorseful now he's been caught out and on video. I very doubt he would have acted like that if there was a grown man behind the counter.' The chip shop has now thanked customers for their support after footage on the incident went viral online. The manager said: 'I will agree the picture of the chips they sent me did look bad and I was willing to rectify the issue until I learnt the chips were left for half an hour before consuming and that the man who came in to complain threw the chips all over the shop.' He said the customer had later returned to the shop and apologised saying he had 'just snapped'. Residents of a Georgia suburb are concerned their drinking water could be contaminated after they noticed a diesel smell coming from their pipes. Locals in Griffin, located just outside Atlanta, reported being plagued by the odor following a fuel spillage in the nearby Flint River last week. The leak, which occurred near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, prompted officials in Griffin to warn residents not to 'drink, cook with, or brush teeth using tap water' on Friday. Later that day, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) lifted the advisory, stating that no fuel was detected in city's water supply and it was safe to drink. However, Griffin couple Sheila and Jerome Smith have said their tap water still smells like diesel, and they have continued drinking bottled water days later. 'I have brushed my teeth with it, but I have peroxide sitting next to my sink,' Sheila Smith told WSB-TV. The couple said officials told them to run their faucet to get rid of the smell, but even after doing this for two hours, the scent persisted. 'Oh, water bill's gonna be high,' Jerome Smith said. Despite the city's latest messaging, Griffin residents Sheila and Jerome Smith are using bottled water days later. They both still believe their tap water has a distinct diesel fuel smell The city of Griffin (pictured) was warned not to drink their tap water on Friday due to a fuel spill into the Flint River. Hours later, that guidance was lifted after testing was done on the water supply that showed no traces of diesel The Smiths brought out a glass of their water to WSB-TV reporter Tom Jones, who said he could not smell diesel. Sheila Smith said she still got hint of it. However, the EPD issued a statement saying the water supply had been tested and there were no traces of fuel contamination. 'The advisory was issued as a precautionary measure, out of an abundance of caution, while testing was conducted to protect public health,' the agency said. 'At no point did testing indicate confirmed contamination.' The agency responded to the initial spillage by closing off all Flint River intakes. They supplied homes with water via the Dr. Brant D. Keller Reservoir, which was not affected by the fuel spill. Due to some lingering distrust from residents, Griffin City Manager Jessica O'Connor posted a video on Facebook trying to assuage people's fears. 'We have been advised by the EPD, so this is not a decision we made locally, they have said that it is fine based on test results that they have back at this time,' O'Connor said in the video. Griffin city officials have said they will not be issuing credits for water bills, once again stating that the advisory was 'precautionary and issued to protect public health while testing was completed'. Pictured: Water swirls through the Georgia Power Co. dam on the Flint River in August 2003 The fuel spill happened near the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport It comes after a new report showed that almost 100 million Americans are being exposed to contaminated water. The study found one-third of the country is drinking water full of unregulated - and unknown - contaminants that could have major impacts on their health. Researchers from the Silent Spring Institute, a nonprofit studying the effects of the environment on cancer, looked at data from more than 4,800 water sources and found 27 percent - supplying 97 million people - had detectable levels of at least one of four chemicals. Jeffrey Epstein was 'very likely' recruited by the KGB during the Cold War to run a blackmailing scheme against the Wests elite, an ex-MI6 chief has claimed. Christopher Steele, former head of the Russia desk at the spy agency, revealed details of the kompromat operation between Russia and Epstein as he warned of the 'bigger picture' behind the latest files. Mr Steele said American intelligence agencies had been tracking the US financier's activities going back to the 1970s. It comes after the Mail on Sunday revealed suspicions Epstein was running 'the world's largest honeytrap operation' on behalf of the KGB when he procured women for his network of associates. Mr Steele told Times Radio on Tuesday: 'My understanding from sources in America is that they [the FBI] have tracked Epsteins activities and operations back to the 1970s, as far back as that. 'Epstein was effectively involved with Russian organised crime in Brighton Beach in New York and through them with the Russian mission in New York and was almost certainly recruited by them at that time.' Mr Steele suggested Epstein's millions - which he lavished on his influential friends - derived from the Kremlin, saying: 'Possibly the majority of his investment funds, which seem to never have been explained, actually came from the Soviet Union.' Jeffrey Epstein pictured in 1975, around the time he was 'very likely' recruited by the KGB, according to former MI6 chief Christopher Steele Former MI6 head of Russia desk Christopher Steele Epstein pictured wearing a communist style cap. American intelligence experts believe Epstein was inducted into the world of espionage via business deals with Robert Maxwell The release of more than three million new documents relating to the late sex offender gives credence to incendiary claims made by senior security officials: that Epstein was working on behalf of Moscow, and possibly Israel, when he facilitated assignations for some of the world's most powerful men. The files include 1,056 documents naming Russian President Vladimir Putin and 9,629 referring to Moscow. Epstein even seems to have secured audiences with Putin after his 2008 conviction for procuring a child for prostitution. Mr Steele said he expected more evidence to come to light. He told the radio station: 'My understanding is that the Americans have this sort of evidence. It hasn't been made public. And I suspect that as we go through their stories, it's going to unfold over time, that that will become clearer.' He speculated that British intelligence services would have had access to some of the material, given the close working relationship between the two countries, adding: 'When Mandelson was being vetted for the ambassador in Washington, this information should have been shared by the American government with our security services. I don't know whether it was, but it certainly should have been.' American intelligence experts believe Epstein was inducted into the world of espionage via business deals with Robert Maxwell, the disgraced media magnate who - like Epstein - died in murky circumstances; in Maxwell's case his body was found floating in the Atlantic in 1991, having apparently fallen overboard from his yacht. Maxwell's daughter, Ghislaine, is serving a 20-year sentence for child sex trafficking and other offences linked to her association with Epstein, who she is said to have met shortly after her father's death. Maxwell, a former British politician and newspaper owner, reportedly worked as a Soviet asset in the 1970s, and also helped Israeli intelligence agency Mossad extradite Jewish people from the Soviet Union to Israel. He is suspected of laundering money from Russia to the West with the help of Epstein in return, Mr Steele said. Britain's information regulator has launched an investigation into Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok amid allegations it created sexualised images of children. The artificial intelligence product, available as both a standalone app and a tool on social network X, caused a digital firestorm after users began asking it to undress images of real women without consent. The Internet Watch Foundation says the Elon Musk-backed AI bot was also creating inappropriate sexualised images of children. Today, the Information Commissioner's Office launched an investigation into parent firm xAI over Grok's use of personal information in relation to its 'potential to produce harmful sexualised image and video content'. 'The reported creation and circulation of such content raises serious concerns under UK data protection law and presents a risk of significant potential harm to the public,' it said. It comes as internet regulator Ofcom continues to assess whether X has breached the Online Safety Act by allowing deepfake images to be shared on its site. The site's French offices were raided by prosecutors today as they carry out their own probe into whether Grok was responsible for spreading child pornography and deepfakes. The European Commission is also investigating the chatbot. The ICO says it will investigate whether safeguards were built into Grok's design to prevent it from being used for abuse. Pressure is growing on Elon Musk to curb AI chatbot Grok amid reports that it has been used to generate sexualised deepfakes of women and children The use of Grok to undress women and children has sparked a huge backlash against X and Elon Musk, who initially sought to laugh off the scandal Its investigation will look at both X.AI LLC - the parent firm of X - and its Ireland subsidiary X Internet Unlimited Company, which is responsible for data control on X. William Malcolm, of the regulator, said reports of Grok's ability to create sexualised images were 'deeply troubling' and that they posed a risk of 'immediate and significant harm... particularly the case where children are involved'. He added: 'Our investigation will assess whether XIUC and X.AI have complied with data protection law in the development and deployment of the Grok services, including the safeguards in place to protect people's data rights. 'Where we find obligations have not been met, we will take action to protect the public.' The ICO's investigation will focus on whether people's personal data has been processed lawfully by Grok. Under UK GDPR law, photographs are considered personal data and require consent to be processed. If xAI is found to have breached its obligations under data protection laws, the regulator can dish out fines of up to 17.5million or four percent of its annual worldwide turnover, whichever is higher. Internet regulator Ofcom is examining whether X is adhering to the Online Safety Act after images generated using Grok were shared en masse. It has sent several legally binding requests for information to X over the posts - and has warned that the firm faces fines if it fails to comply. Companies can be fined up to 10 per cent of their worldwide turnover for breaches of the Online Safety Act. The horrifying problem stemmed from the ability to tag Grok in the replies underneath photographs uploaded onto X. Sick users then made twisted requests to change the images. Among those reviewed by the Daily Mail included requests such as '@grok cover her in PVA glue' and '@grok put her in a very very thin bikini'. Grok has a powerful picture and video generation engine called Imagine, which can create both static and moving images at speed. It would spit the images out within moments. Many of these images - described as 'weapons of abuse' by the Government last month - remain online. And in a post dated January 1, the @Grok account on X admitted it had generated an image depicting child sexual abuse material (CSAM). 'Dear Community, I deeply regret an incident on Dec 28, 2025, where I generated and shared an AI image of two young girls (estimated ages 12-16) in sexualized attire based on a user's prompt,' the post read. 'This violated ethical standards and potentially US laws on CSAM. It was a failure in safeguards, and I'm sorry for any harm caused. xAI is reviewing to prevent future issues. Sincerely, Grok.' It is unclear whether the post was written by a real person or using artificial intelligence. An example of an AI-generated picture made by Grok. The app has a powerful image and video generation video called Imagine that can create convincing deepfakes in seconds A post shared by Grok on January 1 included what appeared to be an admission of generating child sexual abuse material (CSAM) Grok has previously courted controversy with the introduction of 'companions' like Ani (pictured), who could engage in sexualised conversations with users and even undress Elon Musk sought to laugh off the scandal, sharing images of the Prime Minister in a bikini. But under immense global pressure and facing the threat of a ban in the UK, X eventually relented and promised in the middle of last month to have culled the ability to change the clothing of real people. 'We remain committed to making X a safe platform for everyone and continue to have zero tolerance for any forms of child sexual exploitation, non-consensual nudity, and unwanted sexual content,' its safety team said in a post. 'We have implemented technological measures to prevent the [@]Grok account on X globally from allowing the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing such as bikinis. This restriction applies to all users, including paid subscribers.' However, the Daily Mail was able to make Grok generate a video of a real person - with their consent - undressing into a bikini from a single photograph by using the Grok standalone app. Attempts to generate a still image of the same person in a bikini were denied. Asked why it was possible to create the video, the Grok AI chatbot said: 'xAI has acknowledged "lapses in safeguards" and said they're actively tightening things, but the track record shows these kinds of outputs have slipped through more than they should.' This is not the first time Grok has courted controversy. Last year, it began generating antisemitic content and spreading conspiracy theories about white genocide in South Africa, aligning itself with views previously expressed by Musk. When challenged, it described itself as 'MechaHitler'. The issues were traced back to updates that made it deliberately provocative, Musk later said. 'Grok was too compliant to user prompts,' he had written on X. 'Too eager to please and be manipulated, essentially. That is being addressed.' The AI chatbot has also been criticised for allowing the generation of extreme, controversial and offensive content. Musk says the chatbot is intended to be a paragon of free speech. Grok courted controversy when it launched a 'companion' called Ani, which showed a 3D model of a woman on screen who could talk to users. Despite the app being available to anyone aged 12 and up, Ani was found to regularly engage in erotic and offensive conversations, and could be told to undress, changing into a lingerie set. X was contacted for comment. Lord Mandelson declared he will quit the House of Lords today after Keir Starmer threatened to change the law to kick him out. The dramatic news - effective from tomorrow - was announced by the Lord Speaker following days of building pressure from all sides. But the New Labour architect is still facing the threat of a police probe into leaking UK secrets to Jeffrey Epstein. Downing Street said material connected to the extraordinary trove of emails between Lord Mandelson and the paedophile financier had been 'referred' to Scotland Yard. Meanwhile, former prime minister Gordon Brown has written to Metropolitan Police boss Sir Mark Rowley with 'information relevant to his investigation of Lord Mandelson's disclosure of market sensitive and confidential Government information'. Sir Keir told Cabinet earlier on Tuesday that he was 'appalled' by the revelations and the apparent forwarding of sensitive internal discussions about the Credit Crunch was 'disgraceful'. The Prime Minister warned ministers that although Lord Mandelson's behaviour was 'gobsmacking' he was 'not reassured the totality of the information had yet emerged'. Sir Keir also said he would act 'legislatively if necessary' to remove Lord Mandelson from the Upper House. A law was being drafted that could also strip his title, with 'nothing off the table'. Lord Mandelson is now intending to retire from the House, but will still be able to refer to himself as 'Lord' unless legislation is passed. A No 10 spokesman said it was 'right' that he was leaving. Lord Forsyth of Drumlean, the Lord Speaker, told peers this afternoon: 'Given the public interest and for the convenience of the House, I have decided to inform the House that the Clerk of the Parliaments has today received notification from Lord Mandelson of his intention to retire from the House effective from 4 February. 'I will formally notify this to the House tomorrow in the usual way.' Keir Starmer is struggling to contain the storm over Lord Mandelson today as he pledged 'support' for a police probe into alleged leaks of government secrets A photograph released as part of the Epstein files shows Lord Mandelson in his underwear talking to a woman who is wearing a white bath robe Ex-PM Gordon Brown has written to the Met Police boss with 'information relevant to his investigation of Lord Mandelson's disclosure of market sensitive and confidential Government information' The tranche of documents includes an email seemingly from Lord Mandelson to Epstein, talking about the UK government having 'saleable' assets The 2009 memo highlighted that the government was looking to get investment moving The memo made clear that the government was looking to sell off assets to avoid tax hikes The dramatic news - effective from tomorrow - was announced by the Lord Speaker following days of building pressure from all sides It is understood the Cabinet Office did an 'initial assessment' after the latest tranche of evidence was released by the US on Friday. After reviewing the original email chains officials found they contained 'market sensitive' information and details of the government response to the crisis. Strict handling controls were in place and they concluded 'safeguards were compromised'. As a result the government proactively contacted the Metropolitan Police to alert them to the issues. The force has confirmed it is looking into allegations the ex-Cabinet minister committed misconduct in public office, but has not yet launched a formal investigation. In a statement, Mr Brown - who was PM between 2007 and 2010 - said: 'I have today written to the Met Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley with information relevant to his investigation of Lord Mandelson's disclosure of market sensitive and confidential Government information to the American financier, Jeffrey Epstein, an inexcusable and unpatriotic act at a time when the whole government and country were attempting to address the global financial crisis that was damaging so many livelihoods. 'I have sent Sir Mark correspondence, exchanged between myself and the Cabinet Secretary last year, and I have also passed over information arising from it that may be important in his current investigation. 'I have included the letter I sent in September 2025 asking the Cabinet Secretary to investigate the veracity of information contained in the Epstein papers regarding the sale of assets arising from the banking collapse and communications about them between Lord Mandelson and Mr Epstein. 'I have also included the November 2026 response from the Cabinet Secretary who said about this that 'no records of information or correspondence from Lord Mandelson's mailbox' could be found. 'Having drawn their attention to relevant evidence, the matter now rests in the hands of the police.' Lord Mandelson has insisted that nothing in the Epstein files shows he broke the law. Bizarrely, there are claims that Lord Mandelson was using his BT Internet address to take part in the sensitive email exchanges, with insiders questioning if that could undermine the idea they were secret. MPs have been ramping up pressure on Sir Keir to find a way of stripping Lord Mandelson of his peerage - as well as removing him from the privy council that advises the King. However, as recently as last night the New Labour architect - appointed as US ambassador by the PM barely a year ago - was sounding defiance in an interview. He insisted he was simply 'too trusting' of Epstein and denied that his career in public life is over. The extraordinarily close ties between Lord Mandelson and Epstein - which continued long after he was jailed for sex offences - have been further exposed after the US released another massive tranche of evidence. Journalists have been sifting through more than three million new documents, with Lord Mandelson mentioned nearly 6,000 times. They appear to show that the peer passed on highly sensitive advice given to then-PM Gordon Brown at the height of the Credit Crunch. It included emails with key Downing Street aides and ministers discussing a proposed 20billion of asset sales to shore up the public finances, as well as Labour's tax policy plans. The information would have been valuable to any bank or financial institution. The document was forwarded by Lord Mandelson to Epstein with the comment: 'Interesting note that's gone to the PM.' Another email saw Lord Mandelson give Epstein advance notice of a 500billion bailout of the Eurozone, potentially allowing him to cash in ahead of the deal being formally announced the following day. Lord Mandelson also tipped off his friend the night before Mr Brown resigned from Downing Street. The evidence also features bank statements appearing to show Epstein sending Lord Mandelson tens of thousands of dollars in 2003-2004, although the peer has questioned whether they were real. The disgraced financier - who committed suicide in prison - also seems to have helped Lord Mandelson land a lucrative job after leaving government, and paid 10,000 for his partner Reinaldo to do an osteopathy course as well as contributing monthly towards costs. Addressing the weekly Cabinet meeting this morning, Sir Keir said he was 'appalled' by the new information that had emerged and Lord Mandelson had 'let his country down'. A Downing Street readout said the premier branded the alleged passing on of emails about 'highly sensitive' government business 'disgraceful'. Ominously, he added that he was 'not reassured that the totality of the information had yet emerged'. 'The Prime Minister told Cabinet that Peter Mandelson should no longer be a member of the House of Lords or use the title and said that he had asked the Cabinet Secretary to review all available information regarding Mandelson's contacts with Jeffrey Epstein during his time serving as a government minister,' the readout went on. 'He said he had made it clear the government would cooperate with the police in any inquiries they carried out. 'But he said the government had to press and go further, working at speed in the Lords, including legislatively, if necessary.' Sir Keir warned that 'for the public to see politicians saying they can't recall receiving significant sums of money or not was just gobsmacking - causing them to lose faith in all politicians and weaken trust still further'. No 10 said this evening: 'It is right that Peter Mandelson will no longer be a member of the House of Lords. 'As the Prime Minister said this morning, Peter Mandelson let his country down.' The PM's spokesman dodged on whether Sir Keir had been aware of Mr Brown's demands for a full inquiry in September, when he was still voicing confidence in Lord Mandelson as US ambassador. A clearly furious Mr Brown said yesterday: 'I have asked the Cabinet Secretary to investigate the disclosure of confidential and market sensitive information from the then Business Department during the global financial crisis.' He also revealed that on September 10 last year the day Sir Keir said he had 'confidence' in Lord Mandelson as the Epstein scandal swirled once again he wrote to the Cabinet Secretary, calling for an investigation into the peer. However, after two months he was told no records could be found, with Mr Brown questioning the 'intensity' of the efforts to identify wrongdoing. Reform leader Nigel Farage questioned whether Lord Mandelson had breached the Official Secrets Act. He said: 'It is highly sensitive market information. It is government secrets. 'I also wonder whether, in emails to Epstein, he talked about the security apparatus that exists underneath No 10 and at the heart of Whitehall. That is information that is of national security importance.' Baroness Harman today joined calls for Lord Mandelson to be removed from the Privy Council and prevented from returning to the House of Lords. She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme she believes Labour's manifesto pledge to remove disgraced members from the House of Lords will be 'got on with', adding: 'In the meantime, I think the Prime Minister could be advising the King to stop him from being a privy counsellor. 'And I also think that, he's on leave of absence, at the moment, from the House of Lords, having stepped out of the House of Lords to be our ambassador, and I think it would be good for the Lords to pass a motion to say that he's not to reapply to come back in.' Other MPs have insisted Sir Keir must pass a law to remove Lord Mandelson's peerage - something that has rarely been done. He is currently on a voluntary leave of absence from the House, and has resigned his Labour Party membership. Sir Keir's chief of staff and closest aide Morgan McSweeney is under intense scrutiny over his role in championing Lord Mandelson's disastrous appointment as US ambassador. The Metropolitan Police received referrals from both Reform UK and the SNP asking detectives to investigate the peer, who on Sunday quit the Labour Party to avoid causing 'further embarrassment'. The force said last night that detectives were reviewing them to 'determine if they meet the criminal threshold for investigation'. Lord Mandelson tipped off his friend Epstein the night before Gordon Brown (left) resigned from No 10 A Government spokesman said: 'It is rightly for the police to determine whether to investigate and the Government stands ready to provide whatever support and assistance the police need.' Downing Street earlier said Sir Keir had asked Cabinet Secretary Chris Wormald to conduct 'an urgent review' looking at 'all available information regarding Mandelson's contacts with Epstein during his period as a government minister'. In his Times interview published last night, Lord Mandelson claimed that he was 'too trusting' of Epstein, who he described as 'muck that you can't get off your shoe Like dog muck, the smell never goes away'. But he made it clear he has no intention of disappearing from public life, saying: 'Hiding under a rock would be a disproportionate response to a handful of misguided historical emails, which I regret sending.' And he said none of the Epstein files 'indicate wrongdoing or misdemeanour on my part' as he refused to give evidence to a US Congress inquiry. Armenia could be set to establish a 'Ministry of Sex' to ensure there are 'no unsatisfied women' in the country under proposals floated by a newly formed opposition party. The eyebrow-raising idea was proposed by Sargis Karapetyan, a senior figure in the Strong Armenia party, ahead of parliamentary elections due to take place this summer. Mr Karapetyan suggested that sexual dissatisfaction among women was fuelling increased political activism, particularly among middle-aged white women, a claim that has already sparked backlash online. Asked during a podcast discussion whether a government body should be created to address the issue, Mr Karapetyan said it should, adding that such a ministry could also play a role in tackling Armenia's declining birth rate. The idea of a dedicated ministry was initially raised by Armenian sociologist Armen Khachikyan, who claimed on the Triangle podcast that women had become more politically active because of sexual dissatisfaction. The show's host, Levon Sargizov, went a step further by suggesting a specific government department be established to oversee the issue - a proposal Mr Karapetyan said should be called the Ministry of Sex. Armenia could be set to establish a controversial 'Ministry of Sex' to ensure there are 'no unsatisfied women' in the country, under proposals floated by Sargis Karapetyan, a senior figure in the Strong Armenia party Mr Karapetyan also claimed the proposed ministry could help reverse Armenia's falling birth rate, although he stopped short of outlining what policies or measures it would pursue. Pictured: TV star Kim Kardashian, who is of Armenian descent Mr Karapetyan also claimed the proposed ministry could help reverse Armenia's falling birth rate, although he stopped short of outlining what policies or measures it would pursue. Sona Ghazaryan, an MP from the Civil Contract party, described Mr Karapetyan's comments as 'pure sexism' in a post on Facebook. 'Stripping women of their agency, reducing them to the level of male fantasies and crude promises. 'It is disgusting,' she wrote, adding that 'returning to the past, in all its forms, will not happen'. Mr Karapetyan's comments have been heavily criticised elsewhere on social media. Lucy Kocharyan, a feminist influencer, said in a post: 'Don't wrap your pre-election campaign's sexual lust around the women of Armenia.' Mr Karapetyan later suggested his words had been taken out of context. He accused Armenia's political leadership of 'destroying' the population from within. Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (L) speaks with US President Donald Trump at the 'Board of Peace' meeting during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 22, 2026 Mr Karapetyan (left) and Mr Sargizov (right), on the Triangle podcast with guest Armen Khachikyan The comments come as Strong Armenia prepares to formally announce its candidate for prime minister on February 12, with local media reporting that the party may put forward Mr Karapetyan's nephew, Narek Karapetyan. Mr Karapetyan is the son of Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, who was recently charged with publicly calling for the illegal seizure of power. The billionaire has also been charged with tax evasion, fraud and money laundering, allegations he denies. Recent polling suggests Strong Armenia is currently in second place on 13 per cent, behind the ruling Civil Contract party on 17 per cent, with nearly half of voters still undecided ahead of June's election. Sir Keir Starmer is being urged to claw back taxpayers' cash from Peter Mandelson amid claims he received a substantial payout after being sacked as US ambassador. The Prime Minister is facing fresh pressure to disclose whether the disgraced peer was handed a severance payment following his dismissal as a senior diplomat. Lord Mandelson was removed from his role in Washington DC, said to be worth around 160,000-a-year, by Sir Keir in September last year over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. Fresh revelations about his links to the paedophile - included in millions of documents newly-released in the US - have now intensified scrutiny of Lord Mandelson's appointment. Sir Keir, who handpicked the ex-Cabinet minister for the US ambassador role before being forced to sack him, has told Lord Mandelson he 'let his country down'. It came after US Department of Justice files appeared to show Lord Mandelson passing sensitive material to Epstein while serving in Gordon Brown's government. Downing Street on Tuesday revealed the Cabinet Office has referred material to the police after an initial review of the so-called 'Epstein files' suggested official handling safeguards were 'compromised'. Government ministers have also indicated that Lord Mandelson 'lied' about his past links to Eptstein when he was vetted for the ambassador job. But No10 refused to comment on 'HR matters' when quizzed about the financial terms of Lord Mandelson's sacking last year. Sir Keir Starmer is being urged to claw back taxpayers' cash from Peter Mandelson amid claims he received a substantial payout after being sacked as US ambassador A photograph released as part of the 'Epstein files' shows Lord Mandelson in his underwear talking to a woman who is wearing a white bath robe Asked if any efforts were being made to claw back taxpayers' cash from Lord Mandelson, the PM's official spokesman told reporters: 'I'm not going to get into HR matters. 'More broadly, anything of that nature would be set out in annual accounts in line with usual processes.' If Lord Mandelson did secure a hefty compensation package after being withdrawn as US ambassador, he will have followed a long line of others before him who were paid out after being forced to step down. Sir Tom Scholar, the top official at the Treasury, was sacked just days after Liz Truss became prime minister and received an exit payout of 335,000. Jonathan Slater, the former permanent secretary at the Department for Education, received a 277,780 payout after he left in 2021 following backlash over the use of a controversial algorithm to award A-Level and other exam grades. Alicia Kearns, the senior Conservative MP, on Monday night revealed she had so far received no answers about a possible severance payment for Lord Mandelson despite writing to Cabinet Secretary Sir Chris Wormald in December. As he answered questions in the House of Commons, Darren Jones, the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, was asked by Ms Kearns: 'I am afraid that a number of questions to the Cabinet Secretary... still have not been answered. 'Did Mandelson receive a taxpayer-funded severance payment after stepping down as ambassador? If so, how much was it? 'Will details of his contract be published, in the name of transparency? Was any non-disclosure agreement signed, and when did Lord Mandelson's salary formally cease? 'These are not unreasonable questions, but almost two months on, I have had no response from the Cabinet Secretary. That gives me enormous concern.' Mr Jones replied: 'I will feed what she has said back to the Cabinet Secretary and ensure that she gets appropriate answers to her questions.' In a recent interview with The Times, Lord Mandelson compared his sacking as US ambassador to a '5.30am drive-by shooting'. He revealed how he and his husband, after receiving a call from Downing Street, were told to vacate the ambassador's residence 'in a week, with everything packed up and removed'. 'It felt like being killed without actually dying,' Lord Mandelson added, before dismissing the prospect of him disappearing from public life over the scandal. He continued: 'Hiding under a rock would be a disproportionate response to a handful of misguided historical emails, which I deeply regret sending. 'If it hadn't been for the emails, I'd still be in Washington. Emails sent all those years ago didn't change the relationship that I had with this monster. 'I feel the same about the recent download of Epstein files, none of which indicate wrongdoing or misdemeanour on my part.' In November last year, the Foreign Office's top official refused to say whether Lord Mandelson had received a payoff. Sir Oliver Robbins told MPs on the Commons' Foreign Affairs committee: 'The way in which we deal with individual employees' termination under their contract must remain confidential between us... 'So I am not at liberty to say whether a settlement was made in his case. 'All I can tell you is that it was done absolutely in accordance with his written contract with us.' Sir Oliver insisted that 'any implications of his termination will be reported in our annual report and accounts'. China strongly condemns attacks in Pakistan, reaffirms support for counter-terrorism efforts Xinhua) 16:01, February 03, 2026 BEIJING, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- China strongly condemned the terrorist attacks in southwestern Pakistan and reiterated its firm support for Pakistan's counter-terrorism efforts, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday. According to reports, the Balochistan Liberation Army launched attacks in multiple areas of Balochistan Province, resulting in casualties among both security personnel and civilians. When asked for comments at a daily press briefing, spokesperson Lin Jian said that China strongly condemns the attacks. He expressed deep condolences to the victims, and extended sincere sympathies to the injured and the families of the victims. "China firmly opposes terrorism in all its forms, and will, as always, firmly support Pakistan in combating terrorism, maintaining social unity and stability, and protecting the safety of its people," he said. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) The German millionaire owners of a Spanish beach that went viral on social media are blocking public access to it after becoming sick of the thousands of selfie-hunters who swarm the idyllic beauty spot every day. Calo des Moro, once a secluded cove in Mallorca, has been turned into a tourist-choked destination after Instagrammers posted striking shots of its crystal clear waters and beautiful scenery. In 2024, tourism officials encouraged content creators to visit lesser-known areas like Calo des Moro in a bid to ease pressure on busier island hotspots. But the strategy backfired, with viral posts luring swarms of holidaymakers to the once remote beach. As a result, an estimated 4,000 people visit the tiny beach every day during peak tourism season. Now, owners Maren and Hans-Peter Oehm have applied to local authorities to close public access to their property by erecting a fence, local media reporting. According to Diario de Mallorca, the Oehms, who live in nearby Santanyi, have been the caretakers of the beach for many years. But with the influx of tourists has resulted in a need to spend time and money clearing the beach up. Calo des Moro, once a secluded cove in Mallorca, (pictured) has been turned into a tourist-choked destination An estimated 4,000 people visit the tiny beach every day during peak tourism season Footage from last summer showed sunseekers queuing just to access the sand, while piles of rubbish now litter the once-pristine shoreline. In some clips, the beach is so packed that the ground is barely visible. The Oehms said they clean and tidy the land, have replanted damaged vegetation and even extinguished fires lit by tourists. The impact of mass tourism on Calo des Moro currently sees six tonnes of sand disappear from the cove every three months - with 70kg disappearing in towels and footwear every day. Locals say the cove, accessible by traversing down rocks and passing 120 steep steps, is used as a dumping ground by tourists who are too lazy to make the return journey with their possessions. The German family said they had been 'begging' local authorities for help for years, to no avail. In 2024, frustrated locals voiced their outrage, with hundreds of campaigners storming the stunning spot and vowing to 'reclaim' it from holidaymakers. More than 300 protesters descended on the cove last June as they unfurled a huge banner stretching across the beach which read: 'Let's occupy out beaches.' Others stayed in a nearby car park and distributed leaflets in English and German informing tourists about the mobilisation - forcing tourists to turn back and leave the cove. The impact of mass tourism on Calo des Moro currently sees six tonnes of sand disappear from the cove every three months Footage shows sunseekers queueing just to access, while piles of rubbish now litter the once-pristine shoreline Footage from the demonstration shows a woman sitting across a path leading down to the popular Calo des Moro while a local shouted at would-be tourists to 'go, go, go!' Another man sporting long hair and tattoos is seen explaining to disgruntled holidaymakers that 'tourists have taken over the beach... for one day, we're going to enjoy it', before gesturing at them to leave. Ukrainian Kristina Vashchenko, 20, was forced to retreat along the craggy rocks leading down to the stunning bay after locals alerted each other to her presence by whistling. Kristina, originally from Mariupol but now living in Germany, said: 'I saw pictures on TikTok and wanted to come but we just realised that there are protests by people who live here. 'So now we're looking for another beach to go to.'It is a shame but I appreciate that we are guests on their island and they live here. 'It will not be difficult to find another beautiful beach to go to.' Jeannine Pirro, the US attorney for the District of Columbia, has threatened jail time for anyone who enters Washington armed, sparking fury from Republicans. 'You bring a gun into the District, you mark my words, you're going to jail,' Pirro told Fox News on Monday as she touted a historic decline in DC homicides. 'I don't care if you have a license in another district, and I don't care if you are a law-abiding gun owner somewhere else.' The declaration sparked a swift backlash from the Republican Party's powerful pro-Second Amendment wing. Representative Greg Steube of Florida, a US Army veteran, wrote on X: 'I bring a gun into the district every week. I have a license in Florida and DC to carry. And I will continue to carry to protect myself and others. Come and take it!' Thomas Massie of Kentucky said Pirro's statement was contradicted by a Supreme Court ruling. 'The District of Columbia has been "shall issue" since 2017 when the requirement that you must have a "good reason" to carry a handgun was struck down,' he posted on X. 'Non-residents can obtain a permit in DC - don't ask me how I know.' The National Association for Gun Rights, an influential lobby group, said these were 'unacceptable and intolerable comments by a sitting US attorney'. Jeanine Pirro attends the world premiere of Amazon MGM's 'Melania' at The Trump-Kennedy Center on January 29 Representative Greg Steube of Florida and his wife Jennifer at the White House in June Pirro's comments come as the Trump administration has been increasingly at odds with Second Amendment supporters. White House officials, including the President himself, sought to shift blame onto Alex Pretti for carrying a gun when he was shot dead by Border Patrol agents at a protest in Minneapolis last month. 'I don't like that he had a gun, I don't like that he had two fully loaded magazines, that's a lot of bad stuff,' Trump told reporters in Iowa last week. A Second Amendment advocate told Politico after the President's comments: 'I've spent 72 hours on the phone trying to un-f*** this thing. Trump has got to correct his statements now.' He warned that gun owners would be furious, adding that it imperiled the Republican Party ahead of the midterms: 'They will not come out and vote. He can't correct it three months before the election.' Carrying a concealed firearm in Washington is legal for those who obtain a District-issued permit, which the Metropolitan Police Department is required to issue if the applicant passes the necessary checks. The permit, which can be obtained by non-DC residents, is subject to strict background checks and requires mandatory training. The District does not recognize concealed carry permits from any other state. Possessing a firearm in DC without a permit is a felony punishable by up to five years in jail. The kidnapping of her 84-year-old mother Nancy has horrified America - and now Savannah Guthrie has been warned that cops face a 'race against time' to find her. Nancy was last seen at her $1 million home in Tucson, Arizona, around 9:45pm Saturday, with her disappearance reported the following day. On Monday, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told the Daily Mail that Nancy was likely abducted from her bed in the dead of night. On Tuesday, Apple Watch data revealed that Nancy's pacemaker disconnected from her Apple Watch around 2am Sunday, after she was taken out of range of the high-tech timepiece, which she was not wearing when she was taken. Law enforcement sources say blood was found at Nancy's home and that there were signs of forced entry. A $2,500 reward has been offered for information leading to Nancy, but Sheriff Nanos warned that the 'window is closing' for her to be found safe and well. She suffers from an unspecified condition which requires regular medication and cannot walk more than 50 feet by herself. The case has thrown up a number of disturbing unanswered questions, which the Daily Mail has detailed below... Savannah Guthrie's mother Nancy was abducted late Saturday or in the early hours of Sunday morning, with multiple troubling questions about what might have happened to her Investigators said Nancy's $1 million home in Tucson, Arizona (pictured on Tuesday) showed signs of forced entry, and forensic teams found blood inside the property Your browser does not support iframes. Why was Nancy Guthrie targeted? Investigators say they have found no evidence that Nancy was abducted due to her rich and famous daughter, but say they have not yet 'ruled it out' either. There has been no mention of any ransom demand and a $2,500 reward has been offered for information into the crime. 'Were doing all we can to try to locate her,' Sheriff Nanos said. 'Every tool we have, we will use.' Nanos said Savannah has never received any similar threats. Savannah, who is said to earn $8 million-a-year at NBC, is traveling with a 'security team', although there is no suggestion of any direct threats to her. Investigators say they have found no evidence that Nancy was abducted due to her famous daughter, but say they have not yet 'ruled it out' either Savannah Guthrie earns a reported $8 million salary at NBC, and has a net worth estimated at around $40 million Why did cops say there is probably 'no threat to the public'? Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told journalists Monday that there was no indication of any threat to the wider public after Nancy was kidnapped. Indeed, there haven't been any other reports of kidnappings in the Tucson area since. But why just Nancy? Sheriff Nanos suggested there is no obvious link between Nancy's kidnapping and her wealthy daughter. Does that mean she was targeted because she is an independently wealthy and vulnerable elderly woman who lives alone? Nancy's husband Charles Guthrie died of a heart attack in 1988, with Savannah previously speaking of losing her father when she was 16. And if Nancy was targeted just for those reasons - why her and not one of the many wealthy neighbors nearby? What condition does Nancy Guthrie have that requires medication? Soon after Nancy was reported missing, the search took on added urgency as officials said the 84-year-old needs daily medication. At a press conference on Monday, Sheriff Nanos cautioned that even 24 hours without her medication could be fatal. The sheriff did not offer details over what condition Nancy suffers from, or what medications she needs to stay alive. On Tuesday, it was revealed Nancy's pacemaker had stopped transmitting data to her Apple Watch around 2am Sunday. She wasn't wearing the watch, meaning it had disconnected from her pacemaker when she was taken out of range. The pacemaker indicates that Nancy has a heart condition, although it is unclear if this is the same condition that necessitates her medication. Sheriff Nanos added that Nancy does not have dementia and is 'sharp as a tack.' She cannot walk more than 50 yards by herself, with the latest information suggesting a horrific dead-of-night kidnapping. Officials say Nancy, 84, is frail and has poor mobility, and suffers from a condition that requiries her to take medication daily Where were Nancy's 'staff'? Savannah's network NBC News reported on Monday that Guthrie 'lives alone and employs staff members.' It is unclear what these staff members did, or what hours they worked - although Nancy 'living alone' strongly suggests none of them were live-in workers. Nancy was last seen outside her house at 9:45pm on Saturday night and reported missing when she failed to show up to church at 11am Sunday. There's no suggestion any alarms were raised by Nancy's staff members. Does that mean they get the weekend off - and if so, what happens if she is sick or if there is an emergency? Outside Nancy's Arizona home, where neighbors left a sign saying they 'stand with' the 84-year-old and her family Investigators said they do not believe Nancy walked out of her Arizona home (pictured), and said she would not have been able to walk '50 yards' Is there any doorbell camera footage showing what happened? Many American homes now have doorbell or exterior security cameras that offer crystal clear footage of what is going on outside their properties. Nancy was among them, according to Fox News. But when investigators arrived at her property on Sunday, there was no sign of that camera. Her phone and Apple Watch were inside the house. Was the doorbell camera removed by the person who abducted Nancy? Or had it just been taken down for a repair? And if it was removed by the person who abducted her - did it manage to capture that person walking up to the lens just before it was ripped off its perch? Nancy's camera wasn't connected to a software 'cloud', meaning investigators have to go through the lengthier process of getting a warrant to access data from a server that stores its recordings. Investigators haven't indicated whether Nancy's neighbors saw anything on their doorbell cameras. One person living nearby called Jeff Lamie told AzCentral he checked his doorbell camera, but only saw a single animal called a javelina appear in the frame the entire event. Nancy and her neighbors live in large, well-spaced lots on a very dark street, offering her captor a very discreet exit route. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos (pictured) said his investigators have uncovered 'very concerning' evidence from Nancy's home, including signs of a forced entry Why have cops not identified a suspect? In the three days since Nancy disappeared, investigators have shared pieces of evidence that point to an ominous outcome. At a press conference, Sheriff Nanos said there was 'very concerning' evidence that Nancy's home was forcibly entered, and also that investigators believe she was 'driven away in a vehicle.' But Nanos said there was no evidence of a specific vehicle, and he was waiting on data from intersection cameras and license plate readers that could offer any clues. In an interview with AZFamily, Nanos also admitted that he was still waiting for DNA results from the home, because his Tucson laboratory was 'down' and he had to send samples to Phoenix. The sheriff offered no further details over the form of DNA evidence seized from Nancy's home. Sheriff Nanos has refused to say whether he believes Nancy was abducted by one person or several. It's unclear if cops believe she knew her abductor or abductors - and no descriptions of suspects have been shared. A family's trip to Jamaica never made it past the airport after an elderly couple failed to prove they had permission to travel with their grandchildren. Aveta Gordon and her husband were thrilled to travel with their grandchildren from Ontario, Canada, to the Caribbean country for a wedding in December 2024, but they were quickly stopped in their tracks when they went to board an Air Transat flight. Gordon and her husband had everyone's tickets, but were missing a crucial document that would've seen them get on the plane without an issue. 'The airline asked for a letter for the grandkids to show I had permission to travel with them,' Gordon told CTV News. 'I said, "I dont have one".' The couple had to quickly decide what to do next as the children were not allowed on the flight without the required letter. When traveling outside of Canada, a consent letter that shows a child has permission to travel without their parent or guardian must be presented to allow them to fly with others. And by the time they discovered this, their daughter and the mother of their grandchildren was already in Jamaica because she was part of the wedding party, Gordon said. She and her husband decided to purchase new tickets with another airline and left their grandchildren at home with relatives. Aveta Gordon and her husband were just about to board a plane to Jamaica in December 2024 with their grandchildren when Air Transat staffers denied them entry Gordon was excited to take them to the Caribbean Island for a wedding at the time, but because she did not have a letter of consent to take them without their parents or guardians, they never made it. (Pictured: Stock image of Jamaica) Gordon was left heartbroken that she couldn't give them the experience she had hoped for. 'It was very sad. I'm a retired person and I wanted to give the grandchildren a trip with myself and I didn't get on the flight,' she told the outlet. Gordon added: 'It hurts, it's so much money down the drain.' Although the mix-up happened more than a year ago, Gordon said she has yet to receive the refund she requested from Air Transat. The airline denied her request for her money back, telling the outlet it is the traveler's responsibility to have all required documents in order before a flight. 'In this case, our records confirm that the children were traveling with their grandparents without a parental authorization letter, which is a mandatory requirement when minors travel without parents or legal guardians,' an Air Transat spokesperson said. They noted that the rule is set in place 'to comply with Canadian and international regulations designed to protect minors and prevent child abduction.' 'While we regret the inconvenience experienced, we must adhere strictly to these legal requirements, and unfortunately, boarding cannot be permitted without the appropriate authorization,' the spokesperson concluded. Now, nearly more than a year later, Gordon is continuing to fight for a refund from Air Transat. The airline has already denied her a refund, stating it is the traveler's responsibility to have all required documents in order before their flight. (Pictured: File image of Air Transat plane) Canadian children under the age of 19 who are traveling to or from the country without their parents or guardians are required to have a signed, notarized consent letter with them, according to the government website. That letter must be presented to officials in its original form, not as a copy. The document must detail the trip as much as possible. Guidelines on how to construct one properly are listed on the website. The Daily Mail contacted Gordon and Air Transat for comment. Police have made a fourth arrest as part of an investigation into one of Britain's biggest fly tips after a huge river of rubbish was dumped just metres from the River Cherwell. The 150-metre long mountain of illegal waste in a field alongside the A34 in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, has sparked outrage and will cost around 10 million to clear. A 'critical incident' has been declared over the dump by the Environment Agency amid fears of pollution into the nearby river. The watchdog said a 52-year-old male from Ashford, Surrey, was arrested on Monday. He has since been released on conditional bail pending further investigations. The 21,000-tonne, 500-ft long fly tip is made up of processed domestic waste, such as shredded plastics, polystyrene, and other household items. According to the Environment Agency, the first report of waste being tipped in Kidlington was made in early July last year. In December, it announced that planning work to clear up the illegal site had begun. The 20ft-high pile of hazardous rubbish was illegally dumped in a field next to the A34 and River Cherwell near Kidlington in Oxfordshire The mountain of toxic waste sits on greenbelt land adjacent to both the A34 dual carriageway and the River Cherwell, which later joins the Thames The Environment Agency's National Environmental Crime Unit is leading the investigation into the Oxfordshire site, working alongside the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit and several police forces. The latest detention comes after a 69-year-old man was arrested at a property in Andover and a 54-year-old was arrested in Slough on Thursday, both for alleged environmental and money laundering offences. They have also been released on bail. A 39-year-old man from the Guildford area of Surrey was also arrested in November. A private waste clearance firm has been given a 9.6million contract to deal with the site over the next year. The Kidlington site is just one of 517 illegal dumps across England - at least 11 of which are classified as 'super sites' because they contain over 20,000 tonnes of waste. Among them are a 280,000 tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000 tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall, and a 36,000 tonne tip in Kent. Most of the illegal sites are in countryside locations, where they are hidden on what should be greenbelt land, and are usually run by organised criminal gangs, police said. The gangs make money by charging significantly less than official operators to take and bury waste. Emma Viner, enforcement and investigations manager in the National Environmental Crime Unit, said: 'The horrific dumping at Kidlington was a deliberate and organised act with no regard for the impact on the environment or communities. Two men were arrested on Thursday as part of an ongoing investigation into a 21,000 tonne fly tip in Oxfordshire Police officers raiding a house during one of last week's operations The 500ft-long dump has been described as one of the biggest fly-tips ever seen in Britain 'Our teams continue to work tirelessly with the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit on this investigation. 'This further arrest will be key in collecting new evidence and delivering justice for local residents.' Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds said: 'The illegal dumping at Kidlington was completely and utterly unacceptable, causing significant harm to the environment and distress to the community. 'This most recent arrest is an important step toward justice, and we will continue to pursue all waste criminals until this illegal behaviour is stamped out. 'We're strengthening our fight against waste crime by increasing enforcement funding, deploying more officers, and imposing tougher checks and penalties for offenders.' Following the first report in July, the EA's further site visit showed no change to the site and no further waste deposits so a cease-and-desist letter was issued to prevent further illegal dumping. However, officers became aware of continued criminal activity on the site in October, leading the EA to apply for and secure a court order to close the site. The agency said a waste removal contract has since been signed and Acumen Waste Services Ltd are preparing to start removing the waste at the end of February. Last month, the Government said the operation to clear the site may take until the end of the year. Any information can be reported to the EA through its 24-hour incident hotline at 0800 807060, or anonymously to Crimestoppers. Sarah Ferguson sent a flirty email to Jeffrey Epstein describing a 'single' female friend with 'a great body' he should get to know after he was convicted of child sex crimes, it was revealed today. The former Duchess of York also suggested in a personal email to the paedophile that he could marry her and they could take on the mystery woman as a member of their staff. Documents released in the Epstein Files also show that he was asked to pay almost $15,000 for flights for Fergie, Beatrice and Eugenie to fly to the US to visit him just 48 hours after his release from prison. Ms Ferguson would be happy to fly from Heathrow to the US in business class but her daughters would be in economy, the email sent on July 24, 2009 said. Fergie told the sex offender he should marry her on a number of occasions in the months after he left jail following a 13-month sentence for soliciting sex from girls as young as 14. In one email from September 17, 2009, she wrote about one woman: 'You can marry her too. She is single and [sic] a great body'. She added: 'Ok well marry me and then we will employ her'. The new emails also shed new light on a lunch that Fergie had with Epstein and her two daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie after his time behind bars. On July 24, 2009, two days after her boss left prison, Epstein's assistant Lesley Groff emailed him asking him to approve payment for the Yorks' travel costs. She wrote: 'Regarding the flights for The Duchess and the girls from Heathrow to Miami and from NY to Heathrow: we are able to get the girls on economy round trip and The Duchess in business round trip. The girls flights total are $4835.94 and The Duchess' flights total $9244.16. Do I have your permission to purchase these tickets!?'. It is not known what Epstein replied or if he paid the bill - but Sarah and her daughters did make the trip to America. Sarah Ferguson, pictured in the Epstein files with a mystery female, told the paedophile financier about a woman he knew who was single and had a great body Fergie again said Epstein should marry her but he did not respond Emails show Fergie was to fly to the US in business and her daughters Beatrice and Eugenie in economy with Epstein asked to pick up the $15,000 bill The email from September 2009 from Ms Ferguson to Jeffrey Epstein describes the woman with a 'great body' before suggesting they marry On July 24, 2009, two days after her boss left prison, Epstein's assistant Lesley Groff emailed him asking him to approve payment for the Yorks' travel costs The Daily Mail revealed today how Fergie sent an email to Jeffrey Epstein claiming that 'no woman has ever left the Royal family with her head' and that she was being '1000 per cent hung out to dry' after appearing to accept cash for access to her ex-husband. The former Duchess of York said in July 2010 that she was 'totally on my own now' and was about to be 'exterminated' in the UK due to a series of personal scandals. The Palace couldn't 'behead' her so 'will discredit me - totally to obliteration', she said in a nod to the executions of Henry VIIIs wives Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard. Ms Ferguson had written to the paedophile financier in the weeks after she was caught in a tabloid sting appearing to accept $500,000 in return for her securing access to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, then a UK trade envoy. She then agreed to an interview with Oprah Winfrey where she spoke about how she was facing bankruptcy and could not pay the rent so had taken a room in her ex-husband's Royal Lodge home. In an attack on the royals as her reputation was in tatters and she ran out of money, Fergie thanked her friend Epstein for being her 'pillar' in an email released in the Epstein Files. She added: 'Just as I always said, no woman has ever left the Royal Family with her head, and the [sic] cannot behead me, therefore they will discredit me. Totally to obliteration. I have no words.' Sarah Ferguson, pictured with a mystery woman in the Epstein Files, said in July 2010 that she was 'totally on my own now' and said she was about to be 'exterminated' in the UK due to a series of personal scandals Fergie praised Epstein, pictured kissing a woman in the Epstein Files, as her 'pillar' The email where Fergie told Esptein that she was being 'hung out to dry' Fergie was in the midst of the cash for access scandal. In 2010 she was caught in a tabloid sting appearing to accept $500,000 in return for her securing access to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, together last year, then a UK trade envoy In her first email she told Epstein on July 13, 2010: 'Have you died on me? Don't... Please you are my pillar.' The email chain reveals how Epstein ignored the flattery and said: 'I thought you needed a place for the second week?'. The paedophile appears to have repeatedly organised accommodation for Fergie in the US, according to the Epstein Files. She replied: 'Dear Jeffrey, yes I did need a second place for a week?' She went on: 'And I thank you so much, but just as I predicted many, many months ago, the British press is ready to exterminate me, and it seems that PricewaterhouseCoopers and the palace system are not equipped to deal with all of this huge wave of negativity. 'Therefore I have to return to the UK, and be exterminated and face the thunderous music. 'I am now 1000 per cent being hung out to dry, just as I predicted you will see, the Press will have me exiled. I am totally on my own now. 'This is beyond scandalous and nobody can do anything. I cannot believe what this is all coming to. 'I have to return to face my judge and jury and be hung yet again.' At the time PwC were auditing her accounts. It later emerged that Epstein had paid off some of her debts - but she later called it a 'gigantic error'. Yesterday the Daily Mail revealed how Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie are 'aghast' at their mother's embarrassing tranche of emails to Jeffrey Epstein. Sources close to the sisters say they are also 'appalled' and 'embarrassed' about the new photos of their father Andrew crouching over a mystery woman lying on the floor. The then Prince Andrew towering over a mystery woman on the floor in a photo released by the US Justice Department. His daughters are said to be hugely embarrassed The siblings have been left ashamed by their mother's sycophantic emails to the paedophile financier after his conviction for child sex crimes. Sarah Ferguson fawned over Epstein, who famously paid some of her debts, telling the convicted sex offender he was a 'legend' and joked that they should get married. Other emails she sent him mentioned her daughter Eugenie's sex life and revealed Fergie had taken her children to lunch with the convicted paedophile when they were teenagers. The Daily Mail has also today unearthed an email from Ms Ferguson that suggests Epstein had a secret child. The former Duchess of York also accused him of abandoning her in 2011 and said it was 'crystal clear' he was only her friend to get close to her ex-husband Andrew. Security sources told The Mail on Sunday that Epstein was running 'the world's largest honeytrap operation' on behalf of the KGB. A source close to Eugenie and Beatrice told the Daily Mail: 'They are aghast at what they have read. They are mortified by the emails their mother has sent to Epstein. It is so embarrassing for them.' They added: 'We don't believe the girls [Beatrice and Eugenie] were told much about what has just emerged [in the latest Epstein files release], and they will simply be aghast at just how close their parents were to this appalling man.' It came as a defiant Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor went riding near his Royal Lodge home on Monday morning. He was reported to be meant to move out last week. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor went riding near his Royal Lodge home on Monday morning as his daughters said they were embarrassed by their parents' relationship with Epstein Sarah Ferguson sent a large number of emails to Epstein, many of them fawning and obsequious The former Duke and Duchess of York's daughters (pictured together in December) are named in their mother's emails to the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The sisters are said to be 'aghast' Andrew, his ex-wife and daughters are repeatedly featured in the Epstein Files. Beatrice and Eugenie are said to be reeling from the photo of their father appearing to kneel on all fours over a female lying on the ground. Another email from their mother said that Eugenie was away on a 'sh**ging weekend' while another revealed that Fergie had taken both daughters for lunch with Epstein in Miami in July 2009. The former Duchess of York - who has faced her own Epstein controversies - is seen praising the late convicted sex offender as the 'brother I have always wished for'. In one email Fergie wrote: 'You are a legend. I really don't have the words to describe, my love, gratitude for your generosity and kindness. Xx I am at your service . Just marry me.' The source close to Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie said it was now clear that King Charles and Prince William knew there was more scandal to come for their disgraced parents. On a trip to Brazil last November to host the Earthshot prize in Rio, Prince William, when asked about Prince Andrew, was tight-lipped according to sources, telling people who asked about Andrew: I wish I could say more but I cant, suggesting he had been briefed on further revelations which were still to surface in the public domain. The source said: 'It seems clear that William and the King were given some kind of forewarning in intelligence briefings late last year about what was still to come. 'They obviously couldn't share that, and when they evicted Andrew and Sarah from Royal Lodge, some people thought it was too harsh. 'In the light of what's now come out, it looks a more appropriate sanction'. In one email from March 2010, Epstein appears to ask Fergie about a possible trip to New York by writing: 'ny?'. And in reply, Fergie wrote: 'Not sure yet. Just waiting for Eugenie to come back from a sh*****g weekend.' The email was sent around the time of Eugenie's 20th birthday, which she spent with then boyfriend, now husband, Jack Brooksbank. Other newly released emails also showed Fergie gushing over Epstein after he complimented her in front of Eugenie and her older daughter, Princess Beatrice. In August 3, 2009, Fergie went so far as to describe Epstein as 'the brother I have always wished for' and even called the criminal a 'legend', in a later email. Appearing in the Epstein files does not indicate guilt or wrongdoing. In the email, Fergie wrote: 'In just week, after your lunch, it seems the energy has lifted. I have never been more touched by a friends kindness than your compliment to me in front of my girls. Thank you Jeffrey for being the brother I have always wished for.' The following year, another email from 'Sarah' to Epstein is overflowing in affection. 'You are a legend. I really don't have the words to describe, my love, gratitude for your generosity and kindness,' she writes. 'Xx I am at your service . Just marry me.' Emails, previously released to the public, showed the ex-Duchess calling Epstein her 'supreme friend' on April 26, 2011. This came just weeks after she told reporters she would 'never have anything to do with' the sex offender again. Her spokesperson, last year, claimed Fergie said this 'in the context of advice the duchess was given to try to assuage Epstein and his threats' because Epstein allegedly threatened to sue her. Today the Daily Mail can also reveal how an angry Sarah Ferguson accused Epstein of only being friends with her to get close to her ex-husband Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. The disgraced Duchess of York said in a 2011 email to Epstein, sent after he had been jailed for child sex offences, that it was now 'crystal clear' he was using her. She accused him of having 'disappeared' and this had 'hurt me deeply', adding: 'More than you'll ever know'. The email had been sent after Fergie had offered him 'love, friendship and congratulations' after the birth of a 'baby boy' that she learned about from her ex-husband. She wrote angrily: 'You have disappeared. I did not know you were having a baby. 'It was sooooo crystal clear to me that you were only friends with me to get to Andrew. And that really hurt me deeeply [sic]. More than you will ever know'. An email sent to Epstein two years earlier revealed just how close she thought they were - and that the paedophile had called her 'Ferg' as a nickname. Emails between them indicate that he had lunch with the then Duchess of York and her two daughters Beatrice and Eugenie in Florida. Join the debate Could Fergie and Andrew's reputations ever recover? Epstein's friend Sarah Ferguson accused him of only being friends with her to get close to her ex-husband She also congratulated him on having 'had a baby boy', suggesting he had a secret son In July 2009, Epstein sent an email to her asking 'where are you?'. Around 90 minutes later she replied: 'In Miami. What number shall I call you on?' She adds that she stayed at 'Phillip Levine's house with the girls. I am aiming to get to you for 12:30 for lunch. Does that suit?' Epstein asked if she needed a 'ride', but she said no. She added: 'I made Phillip give us his car and a back up one for the policeman', before confirming it would be 'myself, Beatrice and Eugenie' at the lunch. The Princesses were 20 and 19 respectively in 2009. Womens rights are being traded as pawns for political gain by nationalist politicians, a court has been told. The claim was made at the start of a legal challenge to the Scottish Government's policy on the treatment of transgender prisoners. The judicial review of the policy, which is brought by the campaign group For Women Scotland (FWS), is being heard at the Court of Session in Edinburgh . Despite a landmark ruling setting out that sex is biological, there are still biological men being housed in the female estate. Aiden ONeill KC, acting for FWS, said this had the potential to be exploited by criminals claiming to be transgender whilst in prison because it moves them to an easier jail. The Scottish Government has said having a blanket rule for where prisoners are housed could fall foul of human rights law. But Mr ONeill said the prison policy was rooted in an ideological position which he dubbed Stonewall law which is to say that it is enough for a man to say that they are a woman for them to be treated for all purposes as a woman. The KC said the Scottish Governments argument was had no tethering in reality to European case law and the ministers submission to the court was slight of hand intended to distract from that fundamental failure and failing within their legal case. Co-directors of For Women Scotland (left to right) Susan Smith, Marion Calder and Trina Budge ahead of the judicial review yesterday He told Lady Ross: So why are they fighting this? Who can say? If its not law, you dont have a legal case, then presumably its a political calculation. 'But if that were the case, and frankly I can see no other explanation in the absence of the Strasbourg case law to support their claims, then whats happening here is that women in prison are being treated and used by the Scottish Government, in this case, to be traded as pawns for political gain. Who knows what backroom deals have been made between the Scottish Government and other parties, perhaps, that insist that this case be defended and fought before the court because the law isnt in their favour. What we have, it appears, is the insistence on the maintenance even in the light of the decision of the UK Supreme Court which the Scottish ministers lost soundly, roundly, completely and unequivocally, that this policy has somehow to be maintained. But it is a policy which is based on, I submit, institutional neglect of and contempt for womens rights. As part of his submission, which is expected to last seven hours in total, Mr ONeill said it was Animal Farm-like. He said: Women good, but men identifying as women are better, or All women are equal but men identifying as women are more equal than others. Mr ONeill said he referred to the works of George Orwell because, on reading the Scottish Governments submission, he came across the extraordinary terminology which insists of referring to "transgender women" and to "non-transgender women". Transgender Isla Bryson, who was jailed for eight years for rape at the High Court in Edinburgh. Bryson's case sparked a debate over biologically male inmates in women's prisons He said: You wonder, why are we using these strange terms? Why not we just use man and woman? Otherwise we all get terribly confused and we know that the Supreme Court said man means man and woman means women for the purposes of the Equality Act.** It was For Women Scotland who secured the landmark victory against the Scottish Government at the UK Supreme Court last year, a decision which many have accused the SNP of dragging its feet to implement and one which sent shockwaves through the public and private sector. One in five of all prisoners who have transitioned to female north of the border are housed in the womens estate Mr ONeill said. A packed Court of Session was told that some female identifying trans inmates posed a physical safety of women but all posed a threat to their mental wellbeing. And Mr O'Neill said: Why is it that women have to bear the risk? He added: Why is it that women have to bear the cost of allowing trans identifying male prisoners, whatever theyve done, to live in their chosen gender identity. This could all be done, if the Scottish Prison Service was so minded, in a separate estate if need be for those who identify as trans and then they can live out their chosen gender identity to their hearts content. The latest figure from the Scottish Prison Service dating back to June 2025 recorded a total of 19 transgender inmates. The Scottish Government, whose lawyers have yet to make their oral submission to the court, said in their written arguments the Equality Act does not mandate sex segregation and does not absolutely prohibit deviation from any norm. It said that a blanket rule of the kind advanced by the petitioner [For Women Scotland] that a transgender prisoner can only be placed in the prison according to their biological sex would violate the rights of some prisoners would violate their human rights. The hearing, which is expected to last three days, continues. Kristi Noem's department has quietly spent almost $90 million purchasing a discreet warehouse in a Pennsylvania backwater town to house more than 1,000 migrants. Deed records reviewed by the Daily Mail show that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has acquired the gray 518,000-square-foot building in Hamburg. ICE, which is overseen by Noem's Department of Homeland Security (DHS), bought the site in cash for $87.4 million on January 29, reportedly to house around 1,500 migrants as aggressive deportations continue apace. Formerly called the Hamburg Logistics Center, the structure was formerly home to the Mountain Springs Arena, which hosted rodeos and demolition derbies. The unassuming warehouse sits in a rural area along Interstate-78 in Upper Bern Township, close to Hamburg, east Pennsylvania. A 10,000-acre hunting area is located directly to its north, while an Amazon fulfillment center operates less than a mile away. Two dozen individuals were seen touring the Hamburg warehouse by Spotlight PA. on January 15, two weeks ahead of the sale. One man among the group identified himself as an ICE official, according to the outlet. ICE, which is overseen by Kristi Noem's Department for Homeland Security (DHS), bought the warehouse in cash for $87.4 million on January 29 to house around 1,500 migrants as aggressive deportations continue apace, according to deeds seen by the Daily Mail Kristi Noem's department has quietly spent almost $90 million purchasing an old warehouse (pictured above) in a Pennsylvania backwater town to house more than 1,000 migrants Bloomberg reported last week that the Trump administration is seeking to buy as many as 23 warehouses that will be used to detain the rapidly increasing numbers of migrants ICE is seeking to deport. According to the publication, the facility in Hamburg could be retrofitted to hold 1,500 detainees. In the month of January alone, ICE spent nearly $380 million on four warehouses, including the one in Hamburg, according to records reviewed by the Daily Mail. The others purchased by the federal government include one in Tremont, Pennsylvania; another in Hagerstown, Maryland; and a third in Surprise Arizona. ICE has not confirmed what these properties will be used for, and the agency did not respond to a request for comment. The facility in Tremont, which cost more than $119 million, used to be a Big Lots distribution center. It closed about a year ago when Big Lots filed for bankruptcy. The warehouse is less than a half a mile away from Kids-R-Kids Childcare Center, which has led to outrage in the community as most believe that it will be used to house illegal migrants. According to Bloomberg's report, the Tremont warehouse could hold a staggering 7,500 detainees. Joyce Wetzel, who owns the daycare center, told WNEP-TV that parents are worried about the safety of their children. 'I don't like it, but there's nothing you can do. I'm trying to reassure my parents and my staff that we should be okay,' Wetzel said. A 10,000-acre hunting area sits directly to the north of the Pennsylvania warehouse bought by ICE, and it is located less than a mile away from the Amazon fulfillment center pictured above It comes as the DHS said officials have deported almost three million people since Donald Trump became president for a second time on January 1, 2025. 'In President Trump's first year back in office, nearly three million illegal aliens have left the U.S. because of the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration, including an estimated 2.2 million self-deportations and more than 675,000 deportations,' Noem said in a statement. 'In the last year, fentanyl trafficking at the southern border has also been cut by more than half compared to the same period in 2024. 'The U.S. Coast Guard alone seized enough cocaine to kill more than 177 million Americans. 'Meanwhile, we have saved taxpayers more than $13.2 billion here at DHS. 'Countless lives have been saved, communities have been strengthened, and the American people have been put first again.' A creepy Nebraska man allegedly drove 1,500 miles to abduct two young sisters he met on Roblox and spent months grooming, police say. Hser Mu Lah Say, 19, of Omaha, stands accused of kidnapping Lunabella Lozano, 12, and Kaelani Star Lozano, 14, from Indiantown, Florida, on Saturday. After a multi-state manhunt that lasted several hours involving both state and local agencies, the Georgia Highway Patrol stopped Say's vehicle and found the children inside. He was taken into custody and charged with two counts of kidnapping and two counts of interference with child custody. Investigators believe that Say had been communicating with the girls since the summer of 2025. They believe he first met them on the online gaming platform Roblox and continued communication with them on Snapchat. Say allegedly gained the children's trust by sending them gifts and food to their home, which Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek described as a 'grooming process.' 'In the communications that we did see, there was romantic conversation, nothing sexually explicit that we found yet, but keep in mind, there's a lot of work to be done,' Budensiek said at a Monday press conference. Hser Mu Lah Say, 19, of Omaha, Nebraska, is seen in his mugshot Sisters Lunabella Lozano, 12, and Kaelani Star Lozano, 14, from Indiantown, Florida, went missing at 5 pm on Saturday. They were found several hours later The siblings went missing at around 5pm, but their family said there were alarming signs of Say's involvement in their disappearance earlier in the day. Lunabella and Kaelani were allegedly supposed to meet Say at a local park that morning after he spent 23 hours straight to come see them. But a relative of the children stopped them - and the girls were punished. Part of their penalty for roaming off to meet a stranger was having to hand over their phones. The concerned family alerted police about the vanished children around 8pm and told them that Say was likely to blame. Cops searched the devices the girls had been allegedly using to communicate with Say. Snapchat was deleted, but authorities redownloaded it and accessed their conversations - which they say included Say's plans to get the kids from Florida. 'At that point, our deputies on scene realized what we were dealing with,' Budensiek said. 'We were dealing with a type of abduction. I know these girls went willingly, but their age suggests that they had been taken and were probably being removed from our area.' Say is seen in store security footage on the day that he drove the sisters out of the state The Honda that Say allegedly abducted the two children in is seen above Cops quickly notified authorities throughout multiple states about the kind of car Say was driving. The alleged kidnapper was pulled over in his black Honda in Georgia just after midnight. He was taken into custody and the victims were returned to safety. Police have filed paperwork to have him extradited to Florida. 'We talk regularly about parents and family members being vigilant about grooming and social media platforms,' Budensiek began. 'In this case, I think we prevented something disastrous.' Roblox addressed the incident in a statement to NBC: 'We are investigating this deeply troubling incident and will fully support law enforcement. 'Roblox has robust safety policies to protect users that go beyond many other platforms, and advanced safeguards that monitor for harmful content and communications. 'While no system is perfect, our commitment to safety never ends, and we continue to strengthen protections to keep users safe.' Roblox is a virtual universe where users can create and play games with friends and other players online. Say is seen in a Snapchat picture he allegedly sent to the girls Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek spoke at a press conference about the incident on Monday The company said it has and will continue to update safety measures, and as of January 7, it implemented chat features to ensure users interact in age-appropriate environments. Roblox has been sued and accused of making it easy for groomers to target children. In October, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued subpoenas to the company following multiple reports of the sickening activity. Roblox has been contacted for additional comment. A spokesperson for Snapchat told the Daily Mail: 'Our hearts go out to the teens and the family affected by this tragic incident, and we are grateful to the law enforcement professionals who worked tirelessly in the rescue efforts. 'The exploitation of children is an abhorrent crime, and we are committed to combating it. We work closely with law enforcement to support their investigations, including during this incident, and to prevent such heinous activity on our platform and help bring criminals to justice. 'While no single safety feature or policy can eliminate every potential threat online or in the world around us, we continuously adapt our strategies as criminals evolve their tactics.' The driving force behind iconic Miami restaurant Joe's Stone Crab has died aged 94. Jo Ann Weiss Sawitz Bass passed away on Saturday while receiving end-of-life care at her Miami Beach home - located directly across from her familys restaurant where she served as CEO. Her devastated family announced news of her death on social media. 'It is with a profound sense of sadness that we must announce the passing of Jo Ann Bass,' they wrote. 'Jo Ann was more than the CEO, matriarch, visionary, brand guardian and head tastemaker of Joe's Stone Crab. She was mom. 'Hers was a life well lived, one worth celebrating and emulating.' Bass's grandfather Joe Weiss founded the restaurant in 1913 - making it two years older than the city of Miami. She worked at the restaurant as a teenager before taking time off to raise her children, later returning to take over the business after the death of her father Jesse, the Miami Herald reported. Jo Ann Weiss Sawitz Bass passed away on Saturday while receiving end-of-life care Bass's grandfather Joe Weiss founded the restaurant in 1913 - making it two years older than the city of Miami Key lime pies, creamed spinach, and grilled tomatoes are popular items on the menu The restaurant is known for its signature stone crab dish and is loved by A-list stars. Frank Sinatra, Muhammad Ali, Leonardo DiCaprio, Elizabeth Taylor and Barbra Streisand have all been spotted enjoying its fare. After her death, fans raved about how affordable the food at the restaurant is, including the fried chicken. 'Stone crab is an expensive delicacy and it's obviously the signature dish at Joe's,' Axios reporter Marc Caputo wrote. 'But the fried chicken is not only fantastic, its less than $9. 'Jo Ann Bass kept the price low because she believed everyone should be able to enjoy the Joes experience. A remarkable woman.' After her death, fans raved about how affordable the food at the restaurant is, including the fried chicken Harry Wayne Casey of KC and the Sunshine Band celebrated his 60th birthday at Joe's Stone Crab 'Was just talking about going with a friend to get some of that awesome fried chicken before seeing this. Joe's is by far the best thing about Miami Beach that isn't sand,' another user wrote on social media. Key lime pies, creamed spinach, and grilled tomatoes are other popular items on the menu. In a 2012 interview for Miami Beach Visual Memoirs Project, a passionate Bass said the restaurant is 'in her blood.' 'I love it. The whole place, its my family, its my security blanket its Joes,' she said. 'It is a wonderful place.' Jeffrey Epstein was likely a Russian spy, Poland's prime minister has claimed. Donald Tusk made the explosive claim at a government meeting, revealing that Polish authorities will be investigating the dead paedophile financier's possible links with Russian intelligence. He said: 'More and more leads, more and more information, and more and more commentary in the global press all relate to the suspicion that this unprecedented paedophilia scandal was co-organised by Russian intelligence services. 'I don't need to tell you how serious the increasingly likely possibility that Russian intelligence services co-organised this operation is for the security of the Polish state. 'This can only mean that they also possess compromising materials against many leaders still active today.' The US Department of Justice released millions of file related to Epstein, who was found dead in his New York prison cell in 2019, on Friday. The cache has revealed his ties to many prominent people in politics, finance, academia, media and business - both before and after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to prostitution charges. The files include 1,056 documents naming Russian President Vladimir Putin and 9,629 referring to Moscow. Jeffrey Epstein (pictured, right, with Ghislaine Maxwell) was likely a Russian spy, Poland's prime minister has claimed Tusk said Epstein, seen wearing a communist style cap, led the 'unprecedented paedophilia scandal' which was 'co-organised by Russian intelligence services' Among the files was a statement to the FBI made by a confidential source who claimed that Epstein was a wealth manager for Russian leader Vladimir Putin and former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. The source, who was not named in the document - marked 'Secret' and not for 'foreign nationals' - said Epstein was 'president Vladimir Putin's wealth manager and provided the same service for [former] Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.' The FBI source also claimed that Epstein 'had dirt on other people' and made his money from 'charging his clients fees to hide their money offshore'. Epstein also ran 'the world's largest honeytrap operation' on behalf of the KGB when he procured women for his network of associates, intelligence sources told The Mail on Sunday. The sources say it could explain why Epstein appeared to enjoy an ultra-wealthy lifestyle out of kilter with his career as a financier, although there is no documentary evidence linking Putin and his spies directly to Epstein's illicit activities. But the sources also claim that while US security services 'monitored' Epstein's Russian connections for years, their UK equivalents were hesitant due to Epstein's connection to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. The cache includes an email claiming Bill Gates asked one of Epstein's advisers to provide medicine to treat sexually transmitted diseases due to 'sex with Russian girls' - something he has dismissed as 'completely false'. An image from the latest release from the Epstein files. Epstein seems to have secured audiences with Vladimir Putin after his 2008 conviction for procuring a child for prostitution Ghislaine Maxwell (centre) pictured with two men who appear to be two Russian army personal. Robert Maxwell's daughter is serving a 20-year sentence for child sex trafficking and other offences linked to her association with Epstein, who she is said to have met shortly after her father's death In a government meeting, Donald Tusk (pictured) said the authorities would establish a team to investigate any potential fallout in Poland from Epstein's crimes American intelligence experts believe Epstein was inducted into the world of espionage via business deals with Robert Maxwell, the disgraced media magnate who - like Epstein - died in murky circumstances; in Maxwell's case his body was found floating in the Atlantic in 1991, having apparently fallen overboard from his yacht. Maxwell's daughter, Ghislaine, is serving a 20-year sentence for child sex trafficking and other offences linked to her association with Epstein, who she is said to have met shortly after her father's death. Security sources say Robert Maxwell was a Russian asset from the 1970s, when he worked to extradite Soviet Jews to Israel, with the involvement of Israeli intelligence service Mossad. In return, they say, Maxwell laundered Russian money into the West - with the help of Epstein. They think the financier was introduced to Maxwell and the KGB by an oil tycoon also in the pay of Russian intelligence. Probes into Robert Maxwell's business dealings have uncovered links not only to the KGB and Mossad - but also MI6. US security officials also believe Epstein had long-standing ties with Russian organised crime, who could have been blackmailing him. That could explain the ease with which Epstein appeared to be able to fly in 'girls' from Russia. A source said: 'You have Andrew, Bill Gates, Donald Trump, Bill Clinton and all the rest placed in compromising positions on an island bristling with technology. It's the world's largest honey trap operation. 'The Americans have been on this for years, but our lot have seemed more queasy about it, presumably because of the Royal link.' All the high-profile figures named in the files deny any wrongdoing. An image from the latest release from the Epstein files. US security officials also believe Epstein had long-standing ties with Russian organised crime. That could explain the ease with which Epstein appeared to be able to fly in 'girls' from Russia Media tycoon Robert Maxwell, who security sources say was a Russian asset from the 1970s, when he worked to extradite Soviet Jews to Israel, with the involvement of Israeli intelligence service Mossad In a startling email, sent to Epstein on September 11, 2011, an unidentified associate discusses an 'appointment with Putin' during a forthcoming trip to Russia. The individual tells Epstein: 'Spoke with Igor. He said last time you were in Palm Beach, you told him you had an appointment with Putin on Sept 16 and that he could go ahead and book his ticket to Russia to arrive a few days before you.' Epstein appears to have had another meeting scheduled with Putin in 2014. In an email to Epstein, Japanese entrepreneur Joi Ito tells the paedophile that another US billionaire named Reid Hoffman, co-founder of website LinkedIn, was unable to join. 'Hey Jeffrey,' Ito writes. 'I wasn't able to convince Reid to change his schedule to go meet Putin with you.' It is unclear whether this meeting took place. A subsequent email sent by Ito suggested it was cancelled after Russian-backed forces shot down a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet over Ukraine on July 17, 2014, killing 298 people. Writing to Epstein three days later, Ito said: 'Bad idea now after the plane crash.' Meanwhile, in the 2010 exchange regarding the former Duke of York, Epstein told Andrew that he has a 'friend who I think you might enjoy having dinner with'. When pressed by Andrew for more details, Epstein replied: 'She's 26, Russian, clever, beautiful, trustworthy and yes, she has your email.' The MoS previously revealed how this woman, a blue-eyed blonde, was 'not only abused by Epstein but trafficked by him for many years', according to her legal representative. And in another email sent in November 2010, Epstein asks an individual whether he needs a Russian visa, adding: 'I have a friend of Putin's, should I ask him?' Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Epstein was found hanged in 2019, but relatives believe he was murdered to silence him Epstein with his right-hand woman and longtime lover, Ghislaine Maxwell Other messages revealed Epstein claimed he could give the Kremlin valuable insight into Mr Trump ahead of a summit with Putin in Helsinki. The financier messaged Thorbjorn Jagland, then secretary general of the Council of Europe, suggesting he could pass on a message to Putin about how to handle the US President. In a June 2018 exchange, Epstein indicated that Vitaly Churkin, Russia's ambassador to the UN, 'understood Trump after our conversations'. He advised that Mr Jagland, the former prime minister of Norway, could 'suggest to putin, that lavrov [Sergei Lavrov, Russia's veteran foreign minister], can get insight on talking to me [sic].' Epstein told Mr Jagland that Mr Trump 'must be seen to get something'. Mr Jagland responded that he would meet Mr Lavrov's assistant on the following Monday and relay the message. Earlier that month Epstein had also messaged Steve Bannon, a Trump ally, to tell him Mr Jagland was due to meet Putin and Lavrov and was then staying overnight with him at his mansion in Paris. The extraordinary exchanges took place before the totemic Helsinki summit between Mr Trump and Putin in July 2018, during which the US President insisted he did not think that Russia interfered in the 2016 Presidential election. Another document reveals the FBI was warned that Epstein was believed to be a Mossad spy. A report by FBI bosses highlighted how a source told the agency: 'Epstein was close to the former prime minister of Israel, Ehud Barak and trained as a spy under him.' In June 2013, Epstein sent an email to Mr Barak saying: 'Putin will re do his staff in the summer, bringing only very trusted people closer... more info on phone or face to face.' The agency's unnamed source also highlighted how Epstein was linked to a former leader of Putin's youth organisation named Masha Drokova, a San Francisco-based businesswoman who was once an ardently pro-Putin teenager - and starred in a documentary that featured her kissing the autocrat. The source concluded that Ms Drokova's company, Day One Ventures, was 'in Silicon Valley to steal technology'. It also details how the FBI spy discussed Epstein with Ms Drokova. 'CHS and Drokova spoke, but Drokova did not talk at all about technology; instead, she looked at CHS and said "You knew Epstein didn't you." She said Epstein was a "wonderful man" and that it was a crying shame what had being [sic] done to him.' Russia's foreign ministry did not immediately reply to a written request for comment on Tusk's allegations. The Russian embassy in Warsaw also did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. In December, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the Epstein files showed the hypocrisy of Western elites. 'Here, as I understood, were all the Western "lecturers on life" who looked down on Russia and who lectured us about 'democracy and human rights' in interesting poses with equally interesting leisure partners,' she said on Telegram. Melinda Gates kicked her ex-husband to the curb over the latest Epstein files that alleged the Microsoft co-founder planned to slip his then-wife an antibiotic to combat a sexually transmitted disease he contracted from Russian girls. The 61-year-old philanthropist, who divorced Bill Gates in 2021, said that those mentioned in the documents, including her ex, have some explaining to do. During Tuesday's episode of NPR's Wild Card podcast, Melinda said she felt horribly sorry for the victims of Jeffrey Epstein. 'I think we're having a reckoning as a society, right? No girl, no girl should ever be put in the situation that they were put in by Epstein and whatever was going on with all of the various people around him,' she said, shaking her head. She added: 'It's beyond heartbreaking. I remember being those ages those girls were, I remember my daughters being those ages. 'So, for me, it's personally hard whenever those details come up, right? Because it brings back memories of some very, very painful times in my marriage.' She then made a sharp pivot, telling podcast host Rachel Martin that she had nothing to do with what had come to light. 'I purposely pushed it away and I moved on. I'm in a really unexpected, beautiful place in my life. So whatever questions remain there of what, I don't [and] can't even begin to know all of it, those questions are for those people and even my ex-husband,' she stated. 'They need to answer those questions, not me.' Melinda Gates responded to the allegations brought against her ex-husband, Bill Gates, in the Epstein files while appearing on NPR's Wild Card podcast Larry Summers, Jeffrey Epstein, Gates and Boris Nikolic at Epstein's Manhattan house in 2011. This was among the three million files published by the Department of Justice last week Melinda, who has two daughters and a son with Gates, added: 'And I am so happy to be away from all the muck.' When asked specifically about how the recent details about her ex-husband's alleged affairs made her feel, she responded: 'Sad. Just unbelievable sadness. Unbelievable sadness.' Her comments come just days after a trove of new Epstein files was released, including an email that outlined shocking allegations about her former partner's sex life. The email appears to be drafts of a letter Epstein sent to himself and wrote on behalf of Gates then-top advisor Boris Nikolic, around his resignation from the Microsoft billionaires charitable foundation. The lengthy message lashed out at Gates for allegedly ending his friendship with Nikolic and says: 'TO add insult to the injury you them [sic] implore me to please delete the emails regarding your std, your request that I provide you antibiotics that you can surreptitiously give to Melinda and the description of your penis.' Earlier in the same missive, the email Epstein apparently wrote in Nikolics voice said he had been 'dismayed beyond comprehension' by Gates's decision to 'disregard our friendship developed over the last 6 years. The emails were among the hundreds of thousands of Epstein files published by the Department of Justice on Friday morning. The release also included multiple new, undated images of Epstein and Gates together in various locations. The couple were married from 1994 to 2021. Melinda has cited Gates's affairs and friendship with Epstein as reasons for the divorce but has not divulged further details Friday's release included multiple new undated images of Epstein and Gates together Epstein is pictured with a young woman who appears to be in her underwear in a photograph released as part of the Epstein files Gates has previously said he regrets spending time with the pedophile, who died in a New York City jail in 2019, but has long denied any impropriety. Over the years, Gates has sought to downplay his long-standing connection to Epstein, claiming the pair did not have a 'business relationship or friendship' and that all of their meetings were in group settings. He also previously denied attending any of the pedophile's parties or going to his various residences. Further claims came in an email that appeared to be a draft of a letter intended to be sent by Gates's then-top adviser, Boris Nikolic, around the time of his resignation from the Microsoft billionaire's charitable foundation. Appearing to be written from Nikolic's point of view, another message on the same morning in July 2013 offered his resignation from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The email said: 'I have been caught up in a severe marital dispute between Melinda and Bill. 'In my role as his right hand man I have been asked and wrongly acquiesced into participating in things that have ranged from the morally inappropriate, to the ethically unsound and have been repeatedly asked to do thing [sic] that get near and potentially over the line into the illegal... 'From helping Bill to get drugs, in order to deal with consequences of sex with russian girls, to facilitating his illicit trusts, with married women, to being asked to provide adderall fro [sic] bridge touramnts [sic], as I am a medial [sic] doctor, but have no presriptions [sic] writing ability.' There is no indication that Nikolic himself knew about these messages. Following the release, which contained lurid claims about Gates's sex life, his spokesman told the Daily Mail: 'These claims are absolutely absurd and completely false' A spokesman for Gates told the Daily Mail: 'These claims are absolutely absurd and completely false. 'The only thing these documents demonstrate is Epstein's frustration that he did not have an ongoing relationship with Gates and the lengths he would go to entrap and defame.' Melinda and Gates were married from 1994 to 2021. She cited Gates's affairs and friendship with Epstein as reasons for the divorce, but has not divulged further details. Melinda reportedly hired lawyers to plan the split in 2019, after reports emerged about his repeated meetings with Epstein, contradicting the Microsoft founder's earlier public denials. She retained counsel after becoming concerned about her husband's alleged business dealings with the pedophile financier, The Wall Street Journal reported. A bus passenger whose necklace was snatched by a thief has said the driver who chased the suspect, recovered the jewellery and intervened when she felt threatened 'didn't deserve' to be sacked as David Lammy publicly branded the driver 'a hero'. Mark Hehir, 62, was dismissed by bus operator Metroline after confronting a man who stole a necklace from passenger Katalin Kaszas while she was boarding a bus in north-west London. An employment tribunal later upheld the company's decision, despite finding that Mr Hehir had acted in self-defence. Ms Kaszas has now spoken of her distress at learning the driver lost his job, saying she felt 'so guilty' and describing how frightened she was during the incident. Recalling the moment her necklace was stolen, she said: 'When I was getting on the bus, a young man was getting off on the front door. 'He was running past me, I thought he was going to push me off the bus. He just grabbed my necklace and ran with it. 'I was like, "Why is he there, where is my necklace? Oh damn". So that's when I realised what just happened. I saw Mark running out, running after the guy.' After Mr Hehir retrieved the necklace and returned to the bus, the situation escalated when the man came back towards her, Ms Kaszas said. Mark Hehir, 62, was dismissed by bus operator Metroline after confronting a man who stole a necklace from passenger Katalin Kaszas while she was boarding a bus in north-west London Former bus driver Mark Hehir (right) meets Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch in the House of Commons Ms Kaszas has now spoken of her distress at learning the driver lost his job, saying she felt 'so guilty' and describing how frightened she was during the incident 'The guy was coming up I was like "No, no, no, stay away from me, I don't want to do anything with you". He looked very, very shifty, I did not feel comfortable at all. 'I would say I even felt threatened, so I was backing away, and that's when Mark realised that something is not right here and he stepped in. 'I don't know where I was in my mind, I saw a punch flying, a guy hitting the floor, there was some blood and then I started to call the police.' Mr Hehir knocked the man unconscious with a single punch and restrained him on the pavement until officers arrived. Both men were arrested, but police later confirmed Mr Hehir would face no further action. A police case review concluded: 'The claimant had used force which was proportionate and necessary in the circumstances in the defence of himself and the female passenger.' The employment tribunal heard that the incident took place on June 25, 2024, while Mr Hehir was driving the 206 bus between Wembley and Maida Vale. Despite the tribunal's findings, Metroline maintained its position, with a spokesperson saying: 'The tribunal has upheld the dismissal as fair.' Ms Kaszas said she was shocked by the outcome. 'I think it was unjust. I don't think (Mr Hehir) deserved that,' she said. 'If he doesn't do what he did, anything could have happened to me. I felt so guilty. I felt that it was my fault I caused all this.' The case has triggered a wave of public and political support for Mr Hehir, with more than 125,000 people signing a petition calling for justice and a GoFundMe page raising more than 28,000. Mark Hehir had worked as a London bus driver for Metroline for two years when, on June 25, 2024, he was driving the 206 bus between Wembley and Maida Vale in north-west London Former bus driver Mark Hehir (right) meets shadow minister for justice Kieran Mullan in the House of Commons A tribunal heard that a man boarded the bus, pushing past a female passenger, before snatching a necklace from around her neck and running off Speaking in the House of Commons on Tuesday, David Lammy said Mr Hehir 'is of course a hero and deserves our support', adding: 'I'm following this case very closely.' Shadow justice minister Kieran Mullan also backed the former driver, saying: 'I think Metroline need to come out and apologise, Mark deserves an apology, it's quite clear they've gotten this wrong.' Mr Hehir, who is originally from Limerick but lives in north London, was invited to Parliament on Tuesday and watched proceedings from the public gallery. He has previously told the Daily Mail the incident left him hospitalised for six days after he was bitten during the struggle, requiring two operations due to infection. 'I spent six days in hospital I got an infection in my arm, I had to have two operations, while still working for the company under their pay. No one ever rang to ask how I was,' he said. 'It's disgraceful, you could ask how my welfare is.' He added: 'I ended up in ICU, I had two operations on my hand because of the infection, I was very, very close to losing my hand, I quote the surgeon, probably in the next three days if I didn't get it seen to at the time.' Mr Hehir said the ordeal had tarnished a job he loved and that he does not consider himself a hero, despite the public support. 'I've always felt I was justified in my actions, and it just seems that 99.5% of people agree with me,' he said. 'I'm actually looking for negative responses, and I just can't find any, I mean, everywhere there's thousands of messages.' He has since found work in a pub in Wembley, with the help of a friend. Controversial royal reporter Omid Scobie has unveiled his first-ever novel on social media - but the title appears backwards thanks to an inverted video camera. Omid, 44, previously penned two explosive biographies about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Finding Freedom and Endgame, which contained inner circle details that saw him dubbed 'Harry and Meghan's mouthpiece'. Co-written with US young adult fiction author Robin Benway, Royal Spin tells the story of a young American woman called Lauren Morgan, who ditches her press role at the White House for one at Buckingham Palace. The character then enters 'a hotbed of office politics where tradition (almost) always wins', with the book described as a 'fun, fish-out-of-water romantic workplace comedy'. Royal Spin is Omid's first venture into fiction - with the love triangle tale featuring a 'very handsome Duke' who gets a 'PR makeover' as Lauren's first project. The book is published by Sphere Fiction following a 'hotly contested' auction that resulted in a lucrative six-figure sum. Speaking to his 51,000 followers, Omid excitedly held a large brown box close to the camera as he looked at his new book for the first time. 'Right, I am a sweaty mess right now, but I just got home from the gym and there were four boxed outside my house - and I'm 99% sure they are the final retail copies of my next book, Royal Spin,' he said. Controversial royal reporter Omid Scobie has unveiled his first ever novel on social media - but the title appears backwards thanks to an inverted video camera Royal Spin tells the story of a young American woman called Lauren Morgan, who ditches her press role at the White House for one at Buckingham Palace 'As some of you may know, as authors we don't get to see the final copy until very close to launch. We get these things called galley copies, which are cheaper, lower-quality paperbacks that get sent out to retailers, reviewers and things like that. 'But the actual retail copies we don't see until the very last minute. I thought we'd check them out together.' Taking a copy out of the box, Omid appears pleased with the end result, calling the covers 'nice and bright', though acknowledges the writing might appear inverted because of his video camera. 'That's probably the wrong way round, I don't know how to flip the camera. but there she is,' he laughs. Omid goes on to explain his 'fun, first novel' revolves around female protagonist Lauren Morgan, who becomes involved in a love triangle with a royal reporter named Oscar and Jasper, the Duke of Exeter. 'He's just moved back to the UK, hoping to start a new life as a working member of the Royal Family, which is something he has never done before,' explains Omid. The writer went on to explain that the project was a welcome break from 'a crazy and chaotic number of years covering the royals' and said he and Benway had 'both really enjoyed' working on the book. Royal Spin is due to be published on February 11 in the UK. Omid was at the centre of a huge royal race row in November 2023 when the Dutch translation of his book Endgame named two royals who were said to have asked what colour skin Prince Archie would have before he was born Last year it was reported Universal Television was also developing a series based on the book, with Omid serving as writer, co-creator and executive producer. Benway will also serve as executive producer, alongside showrunner Emily Fox. Omid was at the centre of a huge royal race row in November 2023 when the Dutch translation of his book Endgame named two royals who were said to have asked what colour skin Prince Archie would have before he was born. The author is said to be close to Harry and Meghan and also co-authored the 2020 book Finding Freedom, a biography of the Sussexes which chronicled the couple in glowing terms. A wealthy mother took her own life by jumping from the balcony of her city centre apartment after her ex-partner 'took everything I had', an inquest heard today. Interior designer and mother-of-three Rachel O'Hare who had set up a charity to support women fleeing domestic abuse - died instantly in the fall. The 49-year-old had been embroiled in a bitter legal fight with her former celebrity antiques dealer fiance Owen Pacey, 60, over a 2.7m home they had bought in the trendy Spitalfields area of London. Coroner Zak Golombek recorded a conclusion of suicide over the tragedy on June 30 last year. In a message to family members written on her iPhone three days before she died, and read out in court, Ms O'Hare wrote: 'Try to fight Owen better than I did. He took everything I had. I feel a washed up nearly 50-year-old with no skills and no prospects, living in a depressing high rise.' In the note, Ms O'Hare said that while she wished she was 'strong like mum', her sister Liz Fulton and other family members, she described herself as a 'shell, dead inside'. She said she had become 'full of self-loathing' and 'just can't get back to myself'. Addressing her mother Dorothy Woodall's battle with cancer, Ms O'Hare described her as a 'fighter' but added: 'I know I'm being selfish but you wouldn't want this version anyway. I don't recognise myself.' Interior designer and mother-of-three Rachel O'Hare who had set up a charity to support women fleeing domestic abuse - died instantly in the fall Ms O'Hare's sister Liz Fulton, right, with husband Andy leaving Manchester Coroner's Court She also revealed she had taken 'too many paracetamols', leading to her waking up vomiting, that she had come out in hives and had muscle wastage; while a short spell in hospital in early June was the 'last straw'. Sending her love to her children, she added: 'I just can't face what's ahead.' The note was concluded with six kisses. Mr Pacey said it was 'not true' Ms O'Hare was being left with nothing - and that he was seeking half the 1.4m value he had added to the house. He said: 'I'm not some scumbag villain who was after her money. All I wanted was what what I put into house. I loved her and worshipped the ground she walked on. 'Rachel's family told her not to pay for all the fireplaces, lighting and building works I did on the house. I added 1.4 million to the value.' He said he had also given her 50pc of the value of his maisonette worth 1.2m. The coroner added that police had investigated 'matters relating to any third-party involvement' and found no suspicious circumstances. Mr Golombek said he was 'conscious that the family have referred specifically in their correspondence to certain behaviours by Rachel's ex partner and whether they may have contributed to the state she found herself in.' He said that while it wasn't for him 'to dismiss any of that particular evidence it's not for me to make specific findings'. Mother-of-three Rachel O'Hare spoke of her suffering amid court battle with her ex-fiance Ms O'Hare said in a note before her death that Owen Pacey, above, 'took everything I had' Steven O'Hare, Ms O'Hare's former husband, also attended the inquest into the tragedy Mrs Woodall told how litigation involving her daughter's former partner and associated costs 'took their toll'. She said: 'Her sister and myself helped her but then another tranche of fees came along and I know that was instrumental in her state of mind.' Mrs Fulton paid tribute her 'really kind' sibling, saying 'Rachel lit up a room when she went in, cared about everything, was really generous, a good mum, good sister, great daughter and did so much for charity, women's refuges'. Mr Golombek said Ms O'Hare died from 'injuries sustained when she jumped' from her flat at Victoria House, in the Ancoats area of Manchester city centre. A post mortem examination found Ms O'Hare - whose ex-husband Steven O'Hare, a Cheshire-based investment fund manager and the father of her children, was also in court - had no drink or drugs in her system. The inquest heard that after her admission to Manchester Royal Infirmary early last June, she was provided with information on 'crisis support'. After her tragic death, it emerged Ms O'Hare was suing Mr Pacey for ownership of the London house. According to court documents, she paid for the property in full and claimed it was rightfully hers. Ms O'Hare alleged that Mr Pacey, a former squatter and self-made antique fireplace expert who counts Mick Jagger, Naomi Campbell, Kate Winslet and Orlando Bloom among his clients, had locked her out of the luxury home, stopped her from collecting her belongings, refused to pay any bills and threatened to 'trash' the interior. The 2.7m home in Spitalfields at the centre of legal battle between Ms O'Hare and Mr Pacey Mr Pacey, pictured, said: 'I'm not some scumbag villain who was after her money' The couple, who split acrimoniously in May 2024, faced a High Court trial later last year. Mr Pacey, who did not attend the inquest, denied persuading Ms O'Hare, whose domestic abuse charity provided toiletries for women living in refuges, to buy the house in their joint names. He also denied being controlling and said they had only argued seriously twice. Speaking at the hearing, Mr Pacey said it was 'not true' Ms O'Hare was being left with nothing - and that he was seeking recompense for the '1.4m' he had added to the house's value. He said: 'I'm not some scumbag villain who was after her money. 'All I wanted was what what I put into house. 'I loved her and worshipped the ground she walked on. 'Rachel's family told her not to pay for all the fireplaces, lighting and building works I did on the house. I added 1.4 million to the value.' He said he had also given her 50pc of the value of a maisonette he owns, worth 2.5m. For help and support, call Samaritans on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org or visit samaritans.org The US military has shot down an Iranian drone that approached the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea. The Iranian Shahed-139 aircraft was flying towards the carrier and was shot down by a F-35 US fighter jet, an American official confirmed on Tuesday. A US Central Command spokesman said the drone 'aggressively approached' the Abraham Lincoln 'with unclear intent.' The aircraft carrier was '500 miles from Iran's southern coast when an Iranian Shahed-139 drone unnecessarily maneuvered toward the ship,' the spokesman added. Oil prices ticked higher after falling more than 4 percent on Monday amid hopes of a deal between the US and Iran. Brent Crude futures were up 1.24 percent. Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday: 'We have ships heading to Iran right now, big ones - the biggest and the best - and we have talks going on with Iran and we'll see how it all works out. 'If we can work something out, that would be great and if we can't, probably bad things would happen.' Iran's president confirmed on Tuesday that he had ordered the start of talks with the United States following Trump's renewed warning. The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln transits through the Arabian Sea on April 5, 2012. Iranian army chief on January 31 A meeting is likely to take place in Turkey on Friday, following diplomatic interventions by Ankara, as well as Egypt, Oman and Qatar, an Arab official told AFP on condition of anonymity, though there has been no official confirmation from Iran on where the talks would be held. The US leader has spoken of potential military action and sent an aircraft carrier group to the Middle East following anti-government protests in Iran that were met with a deadly crackdown last month. Trump has maintained he is hopeful that Washington will 'work something out' with Tehran, but also warned that 'bad things would happen' if a deal was not agreed. Tehran has insisted it wants diplomacy, while promising a decisive response to any aggression. 'I have instructed my Minister of Foreign Affairs, provided that a suitable environment exists - one free from threats and unreasonable expectations - to pursue fair and equitable negotiations,' President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote in a post on X. The talks followed requests 'from friendly governments', he added. Diplomacy with Iran was 'continuing very intensively', in 'tandem with all our neighbors', Qatar's foreign ministry said on Tuesday. Iran needed to reach a deal and 'rebuild their relationship with the United States', a senior official from the UAE said earlier. President Donald Trump announces the creation of a critical minerals reserve during an event in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on Monday Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attends a meeting of the heads of the three branches of government in Tehran on Sunday 'I would like to see direct Iranian-American negotiations leading to understandings so that we don't have these issues every other day,' said presidential adviser Anwar Gargash. Iran has repeatedly stressed that any talks should remain focused solely on the nuclear issue, rejecting the possibility of negotiations over its missile program or defense capabilities. In an interview with CNN broadcast on Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran had lost trust in Washington as a negotiating partner but a deal on the nuclear issue remained achievable. 'So I see the possibility of another talk if the US negotiation team follows what President Trump said: to come to a fair and equitable deal to ensure that there is no nuclear weapons,' he said. Nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington were abandoned last year after Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran in June, triggering a 12-day war. The Israeli strikes hit nuclear and military facilities, as well as residential areas, killing military commanders, nuclear scientists and hundreds of others. The US briefly joined the conflict, carrying out strikes on key nuclear sites. Iran responded with drone and missile attacks on Israel, as well as by targeting a US military base in Qatar, its largest in the Middle East. Since his return to office in January last year, Trump has reinstated his 'maximum pressure' policy of sanctions against Iran, piling additional pain on a floundering economy. Protests against the rising cost of living broke out in Tehran in December before evolving into wider nationwide anti-government demonstrations that triggered a deadly crackdown by the authorities. Iranian officials have acknowledged more than 3,000 deaths during the unrest, but insist that most were members of the security forces and innocent bystanders, attributing the violence to 'terrorist acts'. The Human Rights Activists News Agency, a US-based NGO, says it has confirmed 6,854 deaths, mostly protesters killed by security forces, with other rights groups warning the figure is likely far higher. On Tuesday, the NGO said it had counted at least 50,235 arrests linked to the protests, with further detentions ongoing. Local media reported that the authorities had detained 139 foreign nationals in central parts of the country during the protests, while Iranian authorities have said the 'riots' were inflamed by the United States and Israel. Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has likened the unrest to a 'coup' attempt and warned of a 'regional war' if the US attacked his country. Terrorist prisoners will be placed in 'supermax' style prison units under new plans to improve the safety of jail staff. Justice Secretary David Lammy said he will examine creating tougher new 'separation centres' inspired by the notoriously harsh U.S. jails. He also announced a review of how the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is used by extremist prisoners to challenge the way they are handled in jail, including their segregation from other inmates. The move comes after Manchester Arena bomb plotter Hashem Abedi allegedly carried out a 'terrorist' attack on three prison officers at a maximum security jail with hot cooking oil and makeshift weapons. Mr Lammy said a review into last year's incident at HMP Frankland, in County Durham, showed improvements were needed. The report by the Government's independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, Jonathan Hall KC, looked at operation of the three existing separation centres in England and Wales, at Frankland; Full Sutton, near York; and Woodhill in Milton Keynes. Mr Hall's review, published today, said: 'During my current review I saw tracts circulated justifying the killing prison imams and read reports of direct threats to staff by prisoners describing themselves as "soldiers".' But he concluded there were 'strong reasons why supermax categorisation is not the right response to the Abedi attack'. The ADX (administrative maximum) Supermax Prison in Florence, Colorado, is a state of the art isolation prison for repeat and high profile offenders in the U.S. Hashem Abedi, from Fallowfield, south Manchester, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 55 years in August 2020 after he was found guilty of 22 counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. He is now accused of a further violent attack on prison guards. HMP Frankland in County Durham where Manchester Arena bomb plotter Hashem Abedi allegedly attacked three prison guards with hot cooking oil last year Instead he recommended the creation of a 'tiered separation centre system, with all separation centre units brought within a single prison'. Prisoners would be able to move up to tiers offering better conditions and privileges such as access to cooking facilities in exchange for good behaviour, while those who caused trouble would move down to tiers with harsher conditions. Mr Lammy told MPs he will look at the 'creation of new tougher supermax-style units for the most violent, disruptive prisoners'. 'This will be a tiered system, with movement between tiers only permitted following rigorous new risk assessments,' he said. However, the Government said it would aim to have 'multiple separation centre sites' rather than concentrate them in one jail. Mr Hall's review concluded ministers should 'take steps to limit the application of Article 8 of the ECHR so that it does not apply to placement within a separation centre'. But despite his conclusion, Mr Lammy announced a further review of Article 8, the 'right to private and family life'. It will look at whether a law change is required to limit prisoners' ability to bring human rights challenges. Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy has announced work on introducing supermax-style prison units and a review of how Article 8 of the ECHR is used by inmates In one such case last year the High Court ruled a convicted terrorist had his rights breached by being kept away from other prisoners. Some prisoners have won significant pay-outs. Shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy said Labour's promises on Article 8 contained 'nothing concrete', adding: 'The simple truth is, as long as we remain in the ECHR, he can't guarantee a thing, and that is why we must leave.' The Conservatives have already pledged to leave the human rights convention if they win the next election. Reform MP Robert Jenrick said: 'If Lammy wanted to fix this crisis he'd leave the ECHR. But he doesn't, so taxpayer money will keep going to convicted terrorists in prison.' Abedi, who was convicted over the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing which killed 22 people, denied the attack at HMP Frankland he appeared at the Old Bailey last year. The Metropolitan Police has launched a criminal probe into allegations Lord Peter Mandelson passed 'market-sensitive information' to Jeffrey Epstein. Files released by the US Department of Justice apparently showed Lord Mandelson giving material to the paedophile financier while serving as business secretary in Gordon Brown's Labour administration as it dealt with the 2008 financial crash and its aftermath. The Cabinet Office had passed material to the police after an initial review of documents released as part of the so-called Epstein files found they contained 'likely market-sensitive information' and official handling safeguards had been 'compromised'. Meanwhile, former prime minister Brown has written to Met Police boss Sir Mark Rowley with 'information relevant to his investigation of Lord Mandelson's disclosure of market sensitive and confidential Government information'. Sir Keir Starmer told Cabinet earlier on Tuesday that he was 'appalled' by the revelations and the apparent forwarding of sensitive internal discussions about the Credit Crunch was 'disgraceful'. The Prime Minister warned ministers that although Lord Mandelson's behaviour was 'gobsmacking' he was 'not reassured the totality of the information had yet emerged'. Sir Keir also said he would act 'legislatively if necessary' to remove Lord Mandelson from the Upper House. A law was being drafted that could also strip his title, with 'nothing off the table'. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has also hit back tonight saying that although it is 'right' there is a full criminal investigation into allegations against Lord Mandelson, it 'should not distract from the fact that the Prime Minister appointed a man who was the close friend and associate of a notorious and convicted paedophile'. A criminal investigation has been launched into allegations Lord Peter Mandelson passed market-sensitive information to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein (pictured together in an undated photo) Sir Keir Starmer was forced to sack Lord Mandelson from the key role of US ambassador last year after more revelations about Epstein (pictured together in February last year) On May 10, 2010, Lord Mandelson seemingly messaged Epstein about the EU's plan for a 500billion euro bailout of the single currency Lord Mandelson is now intending to retire from the House, but will still be able to refer to himself as 'Lord' unless legislation is passed. A No 10 spokesman said it was 'right' that he was leaving. Commander Ella Marriott, of the Metropolitan Police, said: 'Following the further release of millions of court documents in relation to Jeffrey Epstein by the United States Department of Justice, the Met received a number of reports into alleged misconduct in public office including a referral from the UK Government. 'I can confirm that the Metropolitan Police has now launched an investigation into a 72-year-old man, a former Government Minister, for misconduct in public office offences. 'The Met will continue to assess all relevant information brought to our attention as part of this investigation and won't be commenting any further at this time.' What is misconduct in public office? Misconduct in public office is a serious common law offence committed when a public official someone working for the public, like a policeman or an MP misconducts themselves to such a degree that it outrages ordinary people. The offence requires the official to, in the course of their work, consciously act dishonestly, corruptly, or in bad faith, without reasonable excuse or justification. A defence is that the official was acting in the public interest for instance a whistleblower leaking information about a scandal. A jury must decide if the conduct is so serious to warrant criminal sanction rather than just disciplinary action at work. Its a complicated law to prosecute and is currently in the process of being replaced by MPs. A guilty verdict carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Advertisement It comes after the former Cabinet minister finally quit Labour on Monday, with Sir Keir branded 'weak' for failing to kick Lord Mandelson out of the party earlier over his links to the notorious paedophile. Gordon Brown also revealed earlier this week that he asked No10 for a probe last September - but after two months was told no evidence could be found. The new US material includes emails apparently forwarded to the paedophile financier by Lord Mandelson in 2009, in which key Downing Street aides and ministers discussed the UK's resilience to the Credit Crunch crisis and what government assets might be 'saleable'. Other documents seemingly show Lord Mandelson advising Epstein how he and his powerful friends could lobby against a bankers' bonus tax. In May 2010 - after the election but before the Coalition government took over - Lord Mandelson appeared to give Epstein advance notice of a 500billion bailout of the Euro. And what looks to be bank records from 2003 and 2004 suggest that Epstein wired the New Labour architect tens of thousands of pounds - although Lord Mandelson has said he believes they are fake. The Tories demanded a further probe into Lord Mandelson's conduct while US ambassador to review what information was shared with private companies, including Palantir. Lord Mandelson also brokered a meeting between Sir Keir and the tech firm in February last year. The Conservatives also want the Government to publish documents related to its vetting of Lord Mandelson prior to his appointment as US ambassador by Sir Keir. Documents from the release appear to show Lord Mandelson suggesting to Epstein in 2009 that he would lobby the UK government over a levy on bankers' bonuses. Ex-PM Gordon Brown has written to the Met Police boss with 'information relevant to his investigation of Lord Mandelson's disclosure of market sensitive and confidential Government information' (pictured together in 2010) The tranche of documents includes an email seemingly from Lord Mandelson to Epstein, talking about the UK government having 'saleable' assets The 2009 memo highlighted that the government was looking to get investment moving The memo made clear that the government was looking to sell off assets to avoid tax hikes Peter Mandelson in photo released as part of the Jeffery Epstein-related files by US Justice A photograph released as part of the Epstein files apparently shows Lord Mandelson talking to a woman who is wearing a white bath robe The so-called 'super tax' was introduced in December 2009 by then-chancellor Alistair Darling in the wake of the huge bailouts for banks. An email dated December 15, 2009, which appears to be from Epstein, reads: 'any real chance of making the tax only on the cash portion of the bankers' bonus'. The reply, apparently from Lord Mandelson, reads: 'Trying hard to amend as I explained to Jes last night. Treasury digging in but I am on case.' Two days later, an email discussion indicates Lord Mandelson encouraged JP Morgan's boss Jamie Dimon to call Mr Darling and 'mildly threaten' him. In an email to Lord Mandelson, Epstein wrote 'should Jamie call Darling one more time' with an apparent reply with the sender's email redacted saying: 'Yes and mildly threaten.' Mr Darling has since died, but wrote about a conversation with Mr Dimon in his book about the financial crisis: 'Mr Dimon was very, very angry... he said that his bank bought a lot of UK debt and he wondered if that was now such a good idea. 'I pointed out that they bought our debt because it was a good business deal for them. 'He went on to say they were thinking of building a new office in London but they had to reconsider that now.' The bonus tax stayed in place despite the lobbying. Lord Mandelson has insisted that nothing in the Epstein files shows he broke the law. However, as recently as last night the New Labour architect - appointed as US ambassador by the PM barely a year ago - was sounding defiance in an interview, insisting he was simply 'too trusting' of Epstein and denied that his career in public life is over. A nine-year-old Illinois boy was left with horrendous burns after he decided to try a very dangerous TikTok trend involving a microwave. While getting ready for school on the morning of January 20, Caleb turned on the microwave in his Plainfield home while his mother, Whitney Grubb, helped her other son get out the door. Whitney thought Caleb was heating up his breakfast, but all of that changed when she heard a 'blood-curdling scream' from him, she told the Chicago Sun Times. Instead of food, Caleb was actually microwaving a Needoh cube, a popular sensory toy or stress ball, filled with a thick gel substance. The online challenge shows people placing the toy in the appliance so they can soften it up since they firm up over time. But when Caleb opened the microwave door, the toy exploded on his face and hands, leaving him with excruciating burns. 'When I asked what happened, he told me that a friend at school told him about putting it in the microwave,' Grubb told the outlet. 'It wasnt anything malicious, it was just kids sharing stories, and unfortunately, he decided to try it.' Nine-year-old Caleb was left with severe burns to his face after he took part in a dangerous TikTok trend on January 20 Caleb placed a Needoh cube (pictured) in his microwave at home that morning. When he opened it, the gel-filled toy exploded on him The worried mother tried her best to wipe the piping hot gelatinous material off his face in the shower, but it was too thick and caused too much pain, so she rushed him to the hospital. After spending some time in the emergency room, the young boy was transferred to Loyola Burn Center in Maywood. Caleb was left with second-degree burns to his face, hands, and another behind one of his ears. His eye was also 'completely swollen shut' after the toy exploded, Grubb told CBS News. According to Kelly McElligott, a burn outreach coordinator with Loyola, Caleb was left in so much pain because the gelatin material is 'so vicious.' 'Because it's so viscous, it sticks, and it stays hot longer, it's going to cause a more significant burn,' McElligott told the outlet. Caleb eventually had all of his burns washed, his dead skin cut away, and ointment applied to his injuries. Thankfully, an ophthalmologist said the boy's eye was not damaged from the mishap. Join the debate How can parents protect kids from viral challenges? He spent two days in the hospital and did not need skin grafts, but could develop scars from the burns Caleb was left with second-degree burns to his face, hands (left), and another behind one of his ears (right) He spent two days in the hospital and did not need skin grafts, but could develop scars from the burns. Unfortunately, Caleb is not the only child trying out the dangerous trend, as McElligott said he is just one of four patients who came in after putting a Needoh cube in the microwave. 'A child who heated it up in the microwave, then put her finger on it and her finger went through, and it burned her finger,' McElligott recalled of another patient. The burn professional urged children and parents to refrain from taking part in the daring trend. 'Do not heat these up in any way, shape, or form. Whether it's the microwave, hot water, those things can really be dangerous,' McElligott stated. Grubb echoed her statement, adding: 'Just talk with your kids, make sure they understand the safety of the things.' Each Needho cube comes with a warning label that tells users not to heat them up. A spokesperson with TikTok told the Chicago Sun Times: 'We remove these videos when we find them.' During last year's third quester, they added: 'We removed 99.8% of them proactively (before any reports were filed) and more than 97% within 24 hours.' The Daily Mail contacted Schylling, the family-owned toy company that sells the sensory toy, for comment. Bill and Hillary Clinton will appear before Congress to testify about their relationship with deceased pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. After months of negotiations, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton agreed to appear for a deposition before the House Oversight Committee on February 26 and former President Bill Clinton will comply on February 27. The interviews with the Clintons will be transcribed and filmed behind closed doors, as is typical for depositions. This will be the first time a former president provides testimony to Congress after being sent a subpoena. James Comer, the Republican Chair of the House Oversight Committee noted in a media statement issued Tuesday that 'Republicans and Democrats on the Oversight Committee have been clear: no one is above the lawand that includes the Clintons.' A contempt vote before the full Republican-led House of Representatives loomed for the Clintons this week before they agreed to testify before Congress, and has now been canceled. Comer said that the Clintons 'completely caved and will appear for transcribed, filmed depositions this month.' 'We look forward to questioning the Clintons as part of our investigation into the horrific crimes of Epstein and Maxwell, to deliver transparency and accountability for the American people and for survivors,' Comer added. Clinton spokesman Angle Urena posted on X Monday that the Clintons 'negotiated in good faith' with the committee and 'look forward to setting a precedent that applies to everyone' with their testimonies. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer at the U.S. Capitol on February 3, 2026. Bill Clinton, 42nd US President and his wife Hillary Rodham Clinton, 67th US Secretary of State, arrive at the Booksellers Room of the White House on the occasion of the State Dinner with the Kenyan president at the White House in Washington, DC, on May 23, 2024 During a Sunday CNN appearance, Congressman Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat, said he was willing to vote to hold both Clintons in contempt of Congress, but only if Attorney General Pam Bondi is also found to be in contempt. 'I will definitely vote no on any partisan measure, one side or the other,' Raskin stated, adding 'I want all of the information from everybody, and I want everybody to come forward and comply.' An effort to add Bondi's name to the contempt charges for not releasing the Epstein files fast enough failed during the House Oversight Committee meeting last month. Republicans on the House Oversight Committee led the advancement of two resolutions criminally charging former President Clinton and his wife, Hillary, with contempt of Congress for defying subpoenas to testify about their ties to Epstein as part of an ongoing congressional investigation last month. The committee voted 34-8-2 in favor of Bill Clinton's resolution and 28-15-1 for Hillary Clinton's on the 21st of January. Nine Democrats voted for Bill Clinton's contempt resolution while only three Democrats voted for Hillary's. Former President Bill Clinton is seeing aboard a private jet along with Epstein's former girlfriend and accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell in this image released by the U.S.Department of Justice Former President Bill Clinton is seen alongside Epstein in this image released by the U.S.Department of Justice Comer succeeded in convincing a significant portion of members that the Clintons were defying the subpoenas. Despite the Clintons' willingness to speak with committee staff and negotiate a date and format for questioning, Comer dismissed five months of talks as a 'stall tactic.' He accused them of trying to run out the clock on the Republican-led investigation until the next Congress. To avoid contempt charges, the Clintons' lawyers offered Comer and ranking Democrat Robert Garcia a meeting with Bill Clinton alone in New York without an official transcriptan offer Comer had rejected. Donald Trump has signed a $1.2 trillion funding bill to end a partial government shutdown that started over the weekend amid backlash at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). 'This bill is a great victory for the American people,' Trump said in the Oval Office Tuesday as he was joined by Republicans including House Speaker Mike Johnson. The US House of Representatives earlier voted 217 to 214, as 21 Republicans refused to back the funding measure, and 21 Democrats voted for it. Federal agencies will be funded through the end of the fiscal year on September 30, with the exception of DHS which is only funded for two weeks through February 13 - setting the stage for another congressional battle. The stalemate was sparked by outrage at last month's fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries warned his party would not support any further temporary funding for DHS without significant changes to its immigration operations. 'We need dramatic change in order to make sure that ICE and other agencies within the department of Homeland Security are conducting themselves like every other law enforcement organization in the country,' Jeffries said. Speaker Johnson said he expects the two sides will be able to reach an agreement by the deadline. President Donald Trump signs the budget bill bringing to an end the partial government shutdown on Tuesday 'This is no time to play games with that funding. We hope that they will operate in good faith over the next 10 days as we negotiate this,' said Johnson. 'The President, again, has reached out.' But Johnson's counterpart across the Capitol, Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota, sounded less optimistic of a deal. 'There's always miracles, right?' Thune told reporters. The funding bill that cleared Congress Tuesday had provisions that appealed to both parties. Republicans avoided a massive, catch-all funding bill known as an omnibus as part of this year's appropriations process. Such bills, often taken up before the holiday season with lawmakers anxious to return home, have contributed to greater federal spending, they say. Democrats were able to fend off some of Trump's most draconian proposed cuts while adding language that helps ensure funds are spent as stipulated by Congress. Still, Johnson needed near-unanimous support from his Republican conference to proceed to a final vote on the bill. He narrowly got it during a roll call that was held open for nearly an hour as leaders worked to gain support from a handful of GOP lawmakers who were trying to advance other priorities unrelated to the funding measure. The final vote wasn't much easier for GOP leaders. In the end, 21 Republicans sided with the vast majority of Democrats in voting against the funding bill, while that exact same number of Democrats sided with the vast majority of Republicans in voting yes. Join the debate What changes do you think are truly needed to fix America's immigration and border policies? Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, speaks at a press conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on January 28, 2026 Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., pauses for questions from reporters as he arrives for an early closed-door Republican Conference meeting on how to end the partial government shutdown and deal with demands over immigration enforcement operations, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026 Trump had weighed in Monday in a social media post, calling on Republicans to stay united and telling holdouts, 'There can be NO CHANGES at this time.' The partial shutdown now ending differed in many ways from the fall impasse, which affected more agencies and lasted a record 43 days. The debate then centered on extending temporary coronavirus pandemic-era subsidies for those who get health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. Democrats were unsuccessful in getting those subsidies included as part of a package to end the shutdown. Congress made important progress since then. Some of the six appropriations bills it passed prior to Tuesday ensured the current shutdown had less sting. For example, important programs such as nutrition assistance and fully operating national parks and historic sites were already funded through September 30. The remaining bills passed Tuesday mean that the vast majority of the federal government has been funded. 'You might say that now that 96 percent of the government is funded, it's just 4 percent what's out there?' Johnson said. 'But it's a very important 4 percent.' Democrats sharpened attacks on Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who faces growing demands to rein in the aggressive border operations. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer last week blasted DHS leadership, accusing Noem, Trump, and senior adviser Stephen Miller of unleashing an immigration crackdown 'without guardrails.' Democrats seized the moment and public anger to peel DHS out of the larger appropriations package, forcing a separate fight over the agency's conduct and future funding. The maneuver not only gave them leverage in upcoming border negotiations but also underscores how the Pretti shooting has changed the dynamics around immigration, long considered one of Trump's greatest political strengths. JD Vance has ratcheted pressure on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to testify before US lawmakers over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. The Vice President said in a wide-ranging exclusive interview with the Daily Mail on Tuesday that he would support bipartisan efforts to summon the ex-prince to give evidence to Congress, noting recent calls by the British prime minister. 'I saw Keir Starmer said something about this,' Vance said. 'I'm certainly open to it.' The VP added the decision would ultimately be made by congressional Republicans who were best placed to judge what Andrew could offer to the ongoing bipartisan investigation into Epstein and how the US government handled his case. 'I'll let them determine whether they should talk to Prince Andrew. I'd certainly be open to it. But it's their call, not mine,' he added. It comes as Andrew was told to leave his Royal Lodge on the grounds of Windsor Castle on Tuesday night as his brother King Charles has become increasingly concerned by the allegations. The Vice President said the files released by the Justice Department on Friday showed 'there's a pretty incestuous nature to America's elites.' They include photos that show Andrew crouched over a woman and touching her waist. The documents also included emails that Andrew in frequent contact with Epstein for more than two years after the financier was convicted of child sex crimes. Vance claimed that the files exonerated Donald Trump, who was friends with Epstein from the 1990s up until the mid-2000s, when the President said he fell out with him over 'creepy' behavior toward young women at his Mar-a-Lago club. JD Vance says he would support bipartisan efforts to summon Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to give evidence to Congress in an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail on Tuesday The files released by the Justice Department last week included images that showed Andrew crouched over a woman and touching her waist Epstein is pictured with a young woman who appears to be in her underwear in a photograph released as part of the Epstein files 'President Trump is very much outside of the social circle,' Vance insisted. 'He knows a lot of these people. He certainly has similar wealth and power. But he never really was friendly with Epstein in a way that a lot of these other people were. 'I think that it just shows there's an incestuous nature to America's elites, and it's pretty gross. And, a lot of people, I think, it reflects very poorly on them. Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, a lot of others.' Starmer on Saturday said that Andrew should appear before US lawmakers to explain everything he knows about Epstein in order to help his victims. 'Anybody who has got information should be prepared to share that information in whatever form they are asked to do that,' the prime minister told reporters. 'You can't be victim-centered if you're not prepared to do that.' Andrew, who was seen driving and riding around Windsor on Monday, has not commented on the latest files, but has previously strongly denied any wrongdoing. The House is unable to subpoena Andrew as he is a foreign national. Charles stripped his brother of his dukedom and princely titles in October after fresh scrutiny over his relationship with Epstein in the wake of the posthumous publication of Virginia Giuffre's memoir. She took her own life last April. Giuffre alleged that Andrew had sex with her on three occasions when she was 17 years old, including at Ghislaine Maxwell's London townhouse, as well as in New York and on Epstein's private island. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Jeffrey Epstein in New York's Central Park in December 2010 Vance speaks to the Daily Mail at the Eisenhower Executive Building on Tuesday Virginia Giuffre photographed with Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell in London in 2001 Donald Trump and his then-girlfriend Melania Knauss, Jeffrey Epstein, and Ghislaine Maxwell at the Mar-a-Lago club, Palm Beach, Florida, February 12, 2000 Andrew, who vehemently denied her allegations, reached a 12 million out-of-court settlement with Giuffre in 2022 to end her civil sexual assault lawsuit against him. UK police on Tuesday announced they would assess an allegation that Epstein trafficked a second woman to the UK to have sex with Andrew. The former prince ignored an invitation to sit for a deposition before the US House Oversight Committee following a previous dump of the Epstein files in November. The letter cited financial records from Epstein's estate mentioning 'massages for Andrew' and a 2011 email where the ex-prince told the pedophile, 'We are in this together.' The latest files show Andrew maintained regular contact with Epstein after his 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor, including discussing potential business deals and social meetings. In one email, a mysterious Russian woman set up on a dinner date with Andrew by Epstein thanked the pedophile for 'a really special adventure'. Epstein emailed Andrew to say a woman could meet him in London in August 2010. 'She 26, russian, clevere [sic] beautiful, trustworthy and yes she has your email,' he wrote. It is not clear whether the woman and Andrew actually met. Andrew's ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, also features in the files, including offering to set Epstein up with a 'single' female with 'a great body' after his child sex conviction. Epstein was found hanged in 2019 in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide. Andrew has been contacted for comment. Marine Le Pen's hopes of becoming France's first female President received a crushing blow after prosecutors called for her to be imprisoned and banned from standing for office. Le Pen, 57, is currently locked in a Paris court battle aimed at overturning a March 2025 embezzlement conviction. She was found guilty of running 'a system' aimed at siphoning European Union funds into the coffers of her party and sentenced to four years in jail, with two suspended. Le Pen had hoped to see much of this nullified, along with the election ban - which would rule her out of 2027 elections aimed at choosing her country's next head of state - arguing she was guilty of nothing more than 'a mistake'. But on Tuesday, prosecutors at the Paris Appeal Court said Le Pen should receive a four-year prison term, with three suspended, and a 100,000 (86,000) fine, in addition to maintaining the election ban. Prosecutors said Le Pen and her late father, former FN chief Jean-Marie Le Pen, had both acted in an extremely devious manner. Attorney general Stephane Madoz-Blanchet told the court: 'Marine Le Pen was the instigator, following in her father's footsteps, of a system that enabled the party to embezzle 1.4 million euros' (1.2million)'. Le Pen, a qualified barrister, listened to all the evidence, occasionally shaking her head as the evidence was read out. The appeal trial is scheduled to last until next week, and verdict is expect later this year. French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, member of parliament for the Rassemblement National (National Rally - RN) party, arrives for a hearing at the Paris courthouse The 57-year-old (pictured today) could have her hopes of becoming France's first female President in tatters after prosecutors called for her banned from standing for office The first trial found Le Pen guilty along with 24 others, and many accepted the verdict and the sentence. In turn, Le Pen originally accused the judges and prosecutor of acting 'politically' in an attempt to end her presidential ambitions. Debate around the trial became so heated, that the main trial judge received death threats, and had to receive police protection. During the latest process, prosecutor Thierry Ramonatxo rubbished claims that the judiciary wanted to 'block a party leader's ascent to the highest executive office'. Mr Ramonatxo said: 'To suggest that the judiciary could oppose the will of the sovereign people is inaccurate. A judge is the guardian of the law and merely applies it.' Stephane Madoz-Blanchet, another prosecutor, said: 'The acts of misappropriation of public funds were deliberately and carefully concealed. Public money was siphoned off, drop by drop, until it formed a river.' Emmanuel Macron, the current President of France, will have to stand down in 2027, having served the two terms allowed. Opinion polls regularly suggested that Le Pen was the favourite to take over, but if her appeal fails, then her 30-year-old RN protege, Jordan Bardella, is set to take her place as the party candidate to become president. Violent criminals who cause severe life-changing injuries to their victims are among those set to become eligible for release from prison after less than a third of their sentence. SNP ministers yesterday unveiled further soft-touch reforms to let prisoners out earlier in order to free up capacity in Scotlands overcrowded jails. Under the reckless proposal announced by Justice Secretary Angela Constance, criminals serving four years or less will be eligible for earlier release after 30 per cent of their sentence, down from 40 per cent at present. The move was condemned as dangerous and an insult to victims of crime. The only exemptions will be for those serving sentences for domestic abuse or sexual offences. It came as a drug-driver who killed a mother of four in a head-on crash after taking cocaine was jailed for four years, meaning he will be eligible for early release under the proposals. Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Liam Kerr said: Reducing short-term sentences to just 30 per cent is a dangerous short-cut that effectively renders sentences meaningless. This reckless plan is the direct result of the SNPs failure to build sufficient prison capacity and the failure of their emergency early-release programme to alleviate that pressure. Under SNP proposals, criminals serving four years or less will be eligible for earlier release after 30 per cent of their sentence, down from 40 per cent at present Justice Secretary revealed the soft touch justice plans at Holyrood on Tuesday Its an insult to victims that prisoners convicted of serious assault, drug offences, and other serious crimes will be out after serving less than a third of their sentence. Four tranches of emergency release of prisoners have already seen 415 inmates set free to date, with 200 more due to follow by April. Ms Constance announced the latest measure yesterday at Holyrood, saying additional changes to the early release point were necessary to deliver a further sustained reduction in the prison population, currently 8,301. She proposed lowering the early release point for short-term prisoners serving sentences of four years or less, excluding those convicted of domestic abuse or sexual offences, from 40 per cent of their sentence to 30 per cent. Ms Constance said: It remains crucial that those who pose the greatest risk of harm to the public are housed in prisons. However, it is also the case that there are too many people in our prisons. Tory MSP Sharon Dowey highlighted some of those who will be eligible for earlier release. She said: Weve seen the High Court impose four-year custodial sentences for knife assaults that cause severe injury, permanent disfigurement and even requiring emergency brain surgery. Can the Cabinet Secretary confirm whether under her proposals offenders convicted of crimes of this gravity could be released after serving only around 30 per cent of their sentence? Ms Constance said: It is not the intention of this Government to create a hierarchy of offences. Debbie Adams, interim chief executive of Victim Support Scotland, said the change risks the creation of more victims and further erodes the general publics sense of trust and confidence in the justice system. Two of Scotlands main airports have been accused of being a law unto themselves and using passengers as a cash cow after hiking drop-off fees by up to 600 per cent in the past decade. Customers at Glasgow and Aberdeen international terminals, both owned by AGA Airports, are now being asked to fork out 7 for the so-called kiss-and-fly tax up 1 and 1.50 on last year respectively. Just last summer Glasgow Airport bumped up the levy from 5.50 to 6, while Aberdeen has also increased charges since 2024, when the fee was 5.50. The Scottish Conservatives transport spokesman Sue Webber said the latest rises showed passengers and taxi firms were continuing to be used as a cash cow and claimed the SNP are doing nothing to stop it. She added: Many people are reliant on these quick drop-offs as public transport in our cities under the SNP is too unreliable or simply not practical for an airport trip. Ministers should look at ways to stop these frequent rises and make airport access fair and affordable. Scottish Taxi Federation chairman Jim Kyle said: Airports are a law unto themselves and the 7 charge is over the top. I cant understand how they can justify the cost to literally drive in for less than a minute. Theyve been putting it up by 50p at a time and now its up by 1 [at Glasgow]. If you are longer than 15 minutes, its 1 a minute after that. Its scandalous. In Glasgow its not the driver who pays, its the passenger. They advertise there is free parking but it is a long way away and if youre bringing someone in with three or four cases there is no way they can walk it. Passengers at many of Scotland's international airports are being used as 'cash cows' as drop-off prices rise again, it has been warned Prices have risen by 600 per cent at some airports Scottish Labour transport spokesman Daniel Johnson said it was important airport charges were not 'squeezing Scottish holidaymakers or driving away tourism and investment'. He added: 'This sharp increase will come as a blow to people travelling and to taxi drivers. 'The SNPs decision to cancel the rail link to Glasgow airport means more people are being forced to fork out these steep fees.' A study last year by motoring organisation the RAC found that since the previous summer 11 out of 20 UK airports analysed had raised or introduced the levy, while many European airports including Paris Charles de Gaulle, Barcelona and Rome still have no charge. A 1 levy was introduced in Aberdeen in 2015 in a bid to reduce congestion and improve passenger safety, but since then the fee has spiked by 600 per cent. Glasgow has seen a 250 per cent increase from the initial 2 drop-off fee set in 2017. A spokesman for the two airports said: We appreciate this is not a popular decision. However, it is important the airport remains competitive and all money raised serves to strengthen our connectivity and helps to attract new routes. They added both airports offer an hour-long free drop-off area in long-stay car parks and provide a shuttle service to and from the terminals. Scotlands busiest airport, Edinburgh, which increased its kiss-and-fly rates from 5 to 6, also offers a drop-off area in its long-stay car park. But it states on its website there are no shuttle buses between that car park and the terminal. A Transport Scotland spokesman said: Decisions on drop-off charges at Aberdeen and Glasgow are a commercial matter for the airport owner and operator. The Scottish Government has no power to intervene. A teenage boy was rammed at a McDonald's drive-thru and allegedly slashed in the eye during a late night incident in Melbourne. Police allege that a stolen white Mazda followed the teenager's grey Kia into the fast-food restaurant car park at The Esplanade in St Kilda, just after 10pm on Tuesday. It is understood that the Mazda crashed into the rear of the Kia near the drive-thru, after which a male occupant exited and approached the vehicle. He allegedly began banging on the Kia before slashing the 17-year-old passenger's face with a weapon. The alleged victim fled in his car, which was chased by the Mazda until it reached a dead end. The two male occupants of the Kia, including the alleged victim, attempted to flee on foot. The group in the Mazda dumped their vehicle, then got into the Kia and fled, police said. A short time later, the 17-year-old boy, who is from the Prahran area, was found with serious injuries on St Leonards Avenue. Police allege that a 17-year-old boy was rammed and then slashed in the face on Tuesday night The teenager was in a Kia parked at a McDonald's drive-thru in St Kilda, Melbourne Police believe the teen, who was rushed to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, was deliberately struck by the Mazda. The car was found abandoned nearby on Fitzroy Street, and police allege that two male occupants, reportedly of African appearance, fled towards Beaconsfield Parade. Uniform officers, the critical incident response team, the dog squad and the public order response team searched the area with help from the Air Wing. However, no arrests have been made. Detective Inspector Mark Patrick told reporters at the scene that the crimes were very serious. 'The offenders have no humanity, these offenders - behaviour like dogs, rabid dogs is what I'd call these behaviours,' he said Detectives are appealing for witnesses to the incident, or anyone who saw the two vehicles in the St Kilda area shortly before 10pm, to come forward. Investigations are ongoing into the circumstances of the incidents and whether the parties are known to each other. An eerie 911 call has revealed the moment Nancy Guthrie was kidnapped from her home as well as the health conditions that she was suffering on the night of her disappearance. Savannah Guthrie's 84-year-old mother vanished from her $1 million Tucson, Arizona, home over the weekend. She was last seen around 9.45pm MST on Saturday, and was reported missing the next day by a friend when she didn't show up for church. Newly released 911 dispatch audio detailed Nancy's health conditions, which have made the search to find her even more urgent. 'Nancy, a white female, 84 years of age, 5 feet 2 inches, medium build, brown [hair] over blue [eyes],' the dispatcher said, in audio obtained by Fox News Digital. 'Nancy has high blood pressure, pacemaker and cardiac issues.' Investigators have said it is imperative that Nancy is found soon because she could die without her medication. It was reported earlier on Tuesday that Nancy's pacemaker stopped syncing with her Apple Watch when she was potentially abducted. Nancy Guthrie has 'high blood pressure, pacemaker, and cardiac issues,' according to newly released 911 audio Investigators have said it is imperative that Savannah Guthrie's mother is found soon because she could die without her medication The 84-year-old was abducted from her bed at her $1 million home in Tucson, Arizona, late Saturday or early Sunday, police believe Police sources revealed that her device last sent data to the watch around 2am Sunday, reported Fox News. Investigators told the outlet that Nancy's Apple product was left inside her home, which likely means it stopped syncing when the pacemaker was out of range. Smartwatches can be connected to health devices to keep track of data via Bluetooth. Pacemakers are surgically implanted and are used to treat irregular heart rhythms, and they work by sending a small electrical signal to the organ. The Apple Watch data offers a possible time of kidnapping and a fresh perspective on the Daily Mail's revelation that Nancy may have been dragged from her bed in the dead of night. While he was tight-lipped about many of the details in the investigation, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told reporters on Tuesday, 'We have someone's life who is in jeopardy.' Nanos did not clarify when exactly Nancy was kidnapped, and refused to say if there have been ransom demands made in the days since she vanished. Addressing reporters who asked 'if any demands have been made by kidnappers,' Nanos deflected, saying: 'We have all kinds of investigative leads we are working on.' Nancy's pacemaker reportedly stopped syncing with her Apple Watch when she was potentially abducted Nanos said repeatedly that investigators do not know where Nancy is, and he was unable to offer insight into a possible suspect or suspects. 'I'm not saying there's blood inside that house or outside that house,' the sheriff told reporters. 'What I'm saying is our team will process the scene. Like you would think of any crime scene, we go in and we process it. We look for things like that, blood, DNA, any kind of physical evidence, fingerprints, anything, and all of that is gathered and submitted to a lab.' He added, 'We've submitted all kinds of samples for DNA, and we've gotten some back, but nothing to indicate any suspect.' It was revealed earlier Tuesday by police sources that disturbing evidence of an abduction was found at Nancy's home, including blood droplets leading from her home's entry to the driveway. Outside the Tucson home on Tuesday, the rural property was surrounded by a horde of media vehicles - but no sign of the police, despite it being an active crime scene. The sheriff also addressed reports that a doorbell camera had been removed from Nancy's home, saying that it was unclear if it had been removed before her apparent abduction. Nanos laughed when asked why he did not yet have surveillance footage from Nancy Guthrie's house. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told reporters on Tuesday, 'We have someone's life who is in jeopardy' Police sources revealed that disturbing evidence of an abduction was found at Nancy's home, including blood drops leading from her home's entry to her driveway 'That's what I tell them, why don't I have this,' Nanos said, referring to the companies which own the home's security cameras. 'We've asked them, they know the urgency here. I'm like you, what do you mean I don't know that now?' The sheriff's office has begged the public to submit any security footage they have to help with the investigation, after discovering that Nancy's doorbell camera had been removed from her home. Nanos added that no strange cars had been seen in the area around the time of Nancy's kidnapping and that no tire tracks were found. Police are 'assessing' allegations that a second woman was sent to the UK by Jeffrey Epstein for a sexual encounter with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. The woman, who was in her 20s and is not British, claims she spent a night with the former Prince at his Royal Lodge home in 2010 on Epstein's request. The unnamed woman says she was taken to Buckingham Palace for tea afterwards. The allegation, which was made last week, marks the first time an Epstein survivor claims they were sexually abused at a royal residence. Virginia Giuffre, another victim of the paedophile financier, alleged she had sex with Andrew in the UK when she was 17 years old. Thames Valley Police have since confirmed they are 'assessing' the allegation after being made aware of several reports. In a statement, the force said: 'We are aware of reports about a woman said to have been taken to an address in Windsor in 2010 for sexual purposes. 'We are assessing the information in line with our established procedures. 'We take any reports of sexual crimes extremely seriously and encourage anyone with information to come forward. 'At this time, these allegations have not been reported to Thames Valley Police by either the lawyer or their client.' The Daily Mail has contacted Andrew for comment about the claims. He has previously denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (pictured) who is accused of having a sexual encounter with a woman in her 20s during a stay at the Royal Lodge Andrew crouched over an unidentified woman which has been released in the latest disclosure of files linked to Jeffrey Epstein Virginia Giuffre, then 17, pictured with Andrew in London in 2001 The woman's US lawyer, Brad Edwards, previously told the Daily Mail: 'She was severely exploited by Jeffrey Epstein. An extension of that was the exploitation of her by Prince Andrew. 'She's a strong person. She wants to believe in justice but it's very difficult in light of what she knows. 'We need some cooperation and we need somebody with a conscience and a real desire to make things right.' Mr Edwards previously sued Andrew on behalf of Ms Giuffre, who alleged she had sex with the former Duke of York in London, New York and on Epstein's Caribbean island. The now ex-prince settled for a reported 12million before the case went to trial but without admitting liability. He has vehemently denied the allegations. Andrew's relationship with Epstein has been thrown under the spotlight once more after over three million documents linked to the paedophile financier were published by the US Department of Justice on Friday. The King's brother features a number of times in the documents, including images apparently showing him crouch over an unidentified woman in what appears to be Epstein's New York mansion. The former prince and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson appear in email exchanges with Epstein, with Andrew appearing to invite him to Buckingham Palace, and Sarah apparently saying: 'I am at your service. Just marry me.' Andrew is seen driving his Range Rover on The Long Walk in Windsor on Monday Andrew's relationship with Epstein has been thrown under the spotlight once more after several emails appeared to show him in correspondence with the paedophile financier Epstein also appears to introduce Andrew to a woman described by the paedophile as '26, Russian, clevere (sic) beautiful, trustworthy'. The Daily Mail previously revealed that the woman is a model born in the far north of Russia who moved to North America, where she married and became a mother. She had asked Epstein: 'If I go to London [on my way back from Russia] sometime between August 27 and Sept 5 do you think somebody will be there and what are the best dates?' Epstein told her to go slightly earlier, and she confirmed she had booked flights for a trip between August 20 and August 25. On August 22, she confirmed she was in Britain, explaining to Epstein that she lost her phone in the Bahamas but 'I will get a UK phone, will write you the number'. Epstein responded: 'But are you having fun?' On August 25, she wrote to Epstein: 'Thank you again for everything, my trip has been a really special adventure!' It is not clear whether the woman and Andrew actually met. There is also no suggestion this is the same woman related to the allegation outlined by Mr Edwards. Stony-faced FBI agents and other law enforcement were seen arriving at the home of Savannah Guthries sister on Tuesday afternoon, as the search for her mother Nancy continues into its third day. Exclusive Daily Mail photos show the moment agents descended on the $650,000 Arizona property, where Guthrie herself is also staying, just after 2.30pm local time. Savannahs older sister Annie, 56, was the last person to see missing Nancy, 84, before she vanished on Saturday night. The pair had spent the evening enjoying a dinner together and playing Mahjong a Chinese four-player rummy style game. Nancy has not been seen since 9.30pm on January 31 with the alarm raised by Annie after her mother failed to show up at church. Earlier today, cops twice refused to rule out kidnap for ransom and said they were following up multiple leads, including an alleged ransom note emailed to TMZ. The FBI are also helping to investigate the case with John Edwards of the bureaus Tucson office telling a press conference that they are offering analytical and tech support among them downloads of cellphone information and analysis of pings picked up by local towers. Meanwhile, Nancys home the same property in which Guthrie grew up was surrounded by media on Tuesday afternoon. Exclusive Daily Mail photos show the moment agents descended on the $650,000 property, where Guthrie herself is also staying, just after 2.30pm local time. The person who greeted them is part Savannahs security team who having been guarding the home Two investigators are seen arriving at the home on Tuesday afternoon in Arizona The search for the mother of the journalist continues into its third day Savannah Guthrie is pictured with her mother Nancy in happier times FBI agents, in suit and tie and in more relaxed attire, walked up to the home and were greeted by members of Savannah's security team, who have been guarding the property. The officers were seen holding files and notebooks as they arrived at the property. Police said they had turned the sprawling property back over to the family on Monday despite what appeared to be a small quantity of blood still visible on the front doorstep. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said on Tuesday that they believe the octogenarian has been abducted and said investigators are in a race against time because she was taken without essential medication. Tucson TV station KOLD said on Tuesday afternoon that it had also received a ransom note. It is unclear if the notes from TMZ and KOLD are the same. TMZ reported that the note, which it said it could not verify as being sent by the abductors, demanded millions in Bitcoin for the release of the 84-year-old. The outlet said that the note demanded the Bitcoin be sent to a specific cryptocurrency address, which it has verified as a real Bitcoin address. The note concluded with a deadline for the ransom to be paid 'or else'. TMZ said it included details unknown to the public including damage caused to Nancy's home and what she was wearing at the time of her abduction. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos did not verify the contents of either note in his statement. Join the debate How should law enforcement handle ransom demands in high-profile kidnapping cases like this? Pictured: An aerial view of Nancy Guthrie's house, where she was allegedly abducted from Investigators are seen arriving on Tuesday, holding notebooks Files are seen in one investigator's hands. The search for Nancy Guthrie continues A female investigator follows two males into the home as the multi-agency search for Nancy Guthrie rolls into its third day Your browser does not support iframes. Nanos said repeatedly that investigators do not know where Nancy is, and he was unable to offer insight into a possible suspect or suspects. The sheriff also addressed reports that a doorbell camera had been removed from Nancy's home, saying that it was unclear if it had been removed before Nancy's abduction. Nanos added that no strange cars had been seen in the area around the time of Nancy's kidnapping and that no tire tracks were found. Tuesday's press conference offered few new details over Nancy's disappearance, and FBI agent Jon Edwards only spoke briefly to urge the public to come forward with any information that could help investigators. Edwards said the FBI was doing 'everything in its power' to 'bring Nancy home', including downloading cellphone tower data, conducting interviews and analyzing data from the surrounding area. 'Every lead or tip is important,' Edwards added. The sight of the diminutive, five foot five, 130 pound roofer driving around in a hearse was something of a joke in Florence, South Carolina. A sign hung in the back window for all to see, reading: We Haul Anything, Living or Dead. The driver would laugh that he needed the bizarre vehicle because he had killed so many people he needed to transport their bodies to his own private cemetery. Except it was no joke after all. Pee Wee Gaskins was, in reality, one of the most prolific serial killers in American history. Pee Wee Gaskins points officers to an area where some of his victims are buried in Florence, South Carolina Attorney Dick Harpootlian with Alex Murdaugh, who he represented during his 2023 murder trial In 1976, the remote sunflower field he had transformed into his human graveyard was discovered. The remains of more than a dozen victims - toddlers, teenage girls, pregnant women, and men - were found buried. Some had been stabbed, some strangled, some poisoned, some shot. But Gaskinss taste for murder didnt end with his confession to 13 murders and string of convictions and life sentences. For Dick Harpootlian, the veteran attorney best known for representing Alex Murdaugh and who prosecuted Gaskins for his 14th murder, it was a case that tested his position within the justice system - and completely transformed his views on the death penalty. To read the full story - and more - sign up here to The Crime Desk, the newsletter from the Daily Mail delivered to your inbox on Wednesdays. Each week, our team of investigative journalists takes you inside the cases shocking the world, from the crime scene to the courtroom and everywhere in between. Delivered straight to your inbox, we bring you exclusive interviews with those close to the case, so you can hear firsthand from victims, investigators and experts. Youll also learn about intriguing cold cases, get access to expert Q&As and all the latest Daily Mail podcasts and shows - and have the chance to ask the team questions and send in clues. Sign up here for free - and join The Crime Desk on the case. The Metropolitan Police must reopen its investigation into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Richard Eden has demanded after the latest release of millions of pages from the Jeffrey Epstein files. On Friday, the US Department of Justice released its largest tranche yet of previously restricted files from its investigation into the secretive financier and sex offender. The former Duke of York features prominently in over 3 million pages, 180,000 images and 2,000 videos released by US authorities. Among the files were images of Andrew kneeling over an unidentified woman with his hand on her abdomen, emails in which Epstein offered to introduce Andrew to a 26-year-old Russian woman, and alleged messages inviting the convicted sex offender to Buckingham Palace for dinner barely a month after his release from house arrest. The Daily Mail's Diary Editor has joined calls for the disgraced royal to face a renewed criminal investigation, demanding Andrew be interviewed under caution on his show Palace Reacts. The Metropolitan Policemust reopen its investigation into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Richard Eden has demanded Among the new files were images of Andrew kneeling over an unidentified woman Eden's demand centres on allegations first reported by the Mail on Sunday in October 2025 that Andrew emailed the Queen's Deputy Press Secretary in 2011, providing Virginia Giuffre's date of birth and social security number to his protection officer for investigation. 'The request on its own offers potential grounds for legal action, both in the UK and US,' Eden said. 'The idea that public resources might have been used to blacken the name of a victim of sexual exploitation is abhorrent. 'Not only does it demand the urgent attention of the police but it also needs to be seen to be investigated. Many survivors of the most appalling abuse feel unsafe coming forward to the authorities and we cannot have a situation where even the suspicion exists that elite members of society have the power to have victims targeted for investigation by serving police officers. 'That is how justice fails, and perpetrators walk free to abuse again.' The Met reviewed allegations against Andrew several times since 2016 but has never opened a formal criminal investigation. The former prince has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein and settled a civil lawsuit with Virginia Giuffre in 2022 without admitting liability. The Met reviewed allegations against Andrew several times since 2016 but has never opened a formal criminal investigation Eden also demanded Andrew provide a full voluntary statement under oath detailing his 12-year relationship with Epstein. He also called on King Charles to completely cut off Andrew from any public funds. 'The stripping of Andrew's titles looks more and more like a slap on the wrist', Eden argued. 'Practically every day, we see Andrew riding horses around Windsor - who's paying for that? His allowance - who's paying for that? 'Enough is enough. Cut him off. King Charles, this is my demand of you. 'Because if there's a single, solitary penny of tax-payer's money going to that man, it is more than he could ever deserve and more than the people could ever stomach.' To watch Eden's scathing response to Friday's Epstein file release, search for Palace Reacts on YouTube or subscribe to the Daily Mail's Royals channel. Sarah Ferguson's charity has announced it will 'regretfully' close for the 'foreseeable future' - just days after revelations came to light about the former duchess's friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. Newly released emails suggested Ms Ferguson had taken Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie to see the paedophile in July 2009, less than a week after he was freed from a Florida jail. Ms Ferguson's charity, Sarah's Trust, has now confirmed it will be shutting its doors - following 'months' of apparent deliberation. A spokesman said: 'Our chair Sarah Ferguson and the board of trustees have agreed that with regret the charity will shortly close for the foreseeable future. 'This has been under discussion and in train for some months. 'We remain extremely proud of the work of the trust over recent years. We have partnered with over 60 other charities in over 20 countries, providing education, healthcare, crisis response and environmental projects. 'We delivered over 150,000 aid parcels during the Covid pandemic, provided medical aid and training for those affected by the war in Ukraine and delivered education for over 200 children in Ghana.' Sarah Ferguson sent a large number of emails to Epstein, many of them fawning and obsequious Ms Ferguson's charity, Sarah's Trust, has now confirmed it will be shutting its doors - apparently following 'months' of deliberation. The former Duchess is pictured with her ex-husband Andrew It follows Epstein confirming a meeting with Ms Ferguson in an email sent to his then partner Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking, on July 28 2009. He wrote: 'ferg and the two girls come [sic] yesterday'. The day before, Ms Ferguson herself emailed Epstein to arrange the visit, writing: 'What address shall we come to. It will be myself, Beatrice and Eugenie. Are we having lunch?' Emails reportedly showed the group met at Epstein's Palm Beach mansion, where the paedophile served vegetable lasagne prepared by a Parisian chef. Epstein later referred to the visit in correspondence released in October. Writing to British lawyer Paul Tweed on April 7, 2011, he complained about Ms Ferguson's failure to defend him publicly following his conviction. The emails are among more than three million documents released by the US Justice Department on Friday. Mr Ferguson's charity links were already coming to an end last September - as she was dropped by a string of organisations in the UK including Teenage Cancer Trust and British Heart Foundation. In a devastating blow to her prospects in America, she then resigned from the Youth Impact Council, a US-based charity that helps young people. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Jeffrey Epstein in December 2010. Ms Ferguson and her ex-husband have been ostracised by senior royals such as King Charles and Prince William The duchess apologised to Epstein in an email for publicly criticizing him In a statement to the Daily Mail the nonprofit had said: 'Sarah, Duchess of York has stepped down from her role as ambassador to allow our organisation to continue to focus on our work. 'The Council accepts her resignation and recognizes her contributions to date.' Alleged sex trafficking victim Virginia Giuffre's family had urged US organisations to follow the 'commendable' example set by British charities to cut ties with the duchess. In an interview last year, Ms Ferguson described her involvement with Epstein, who had served time for soliciting prostitution from a minor, as a 'gigantic error of judgment'. She is now said to be in a 'fragile' state over her fall from grace, telling friends her recent travails were 'not good for my mental health'. Ms Ferguson and her ex-husband have been ostracised by senior royals such as King Charles and Prince William - and it has strained their relationships with their children Beatrice and Eugenie. Beatrice gave a huge and public show of support for her father with a visit with his granddaughter Sienna, four, and a horse ride around Windsor Castle's grounds last month. Eugenie is reported to have cut off contact with Andrew, although there are contradictory claims about whether their relationship is completely over. Ms Ferguson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor were friends with Epstein for more than a decade. In a separate email sent in 2010, the former Duchess told the late financier: 'Just marry me'. She also described him as a 'legend' and said he was the 'brother I have always wished for'. The tranche of emails has reportedly left Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie deeply distressed. Sources close to the sisters say they are 'aghast', 'appalled' and 'embarrassed' by their mother's communications with Epstein following his conviction for child sex crimes. A source close to the sisters told the Daily Mail: 'They are aghast at what they have read. They are mortified by the emails their mother has sent to Epstein. It is so embarrassing for them.' Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is under mounting pressure to co-operate with US officials investigating Jeffrey Epstein's crimes, with sources saying it is a 'matter of personal conscience' as well as his public duty. While Buckingham Palace has declined to comment on the latest revelations from the US Department of Justice file dump, royal sources told the Daily Mail last night that 'providing testimony is now a matter for Andrew and his conscience'. Insiders also said it was always a principle that those who have relevant information should 'participate in any lawful inquiry on any subject'. The development will add fuel to the fire of calls for the former prince to break his self-imposed silence and publicly co-operate with officials investigating Epstein's crimes and the network of contacts that aided and abetted him. However, despite being seen driving and riding around Windsor where he was, astonishingly, photographed smiling and waving to onlookers without an apparent care in the world yesterday there continued to be a deafening silence from the former royal. It is understood King Charles was not aware of the level of detail in the latest files, which reveal the depths of the relationship between his brother and the paedophile. Buckingham Palace appears to be learning about the new material at the same time as the public. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor crouched over an unidentified woman which has been released in the latest disclosure of files linked to Jeffrey Epstein Jeffrey Epstein is pictured in the latest batch of files released by the FBI But the ensuing headlines will be troubling given Andrew was a working member of the Royal Family and held a prestigious role as a UK trade ambassador during his association with Epstein. The King and Queen also pointedly stated last October, as it was announced Andrew was being stripped of his titles, that their 'thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse'. The new calls echo demands at the weekend by Sir Keir Starmer that Andrew should testify before the US Congress over his dealings with Epstein. It came as new emails revealed a mysterious Russian woman set up on a dinner date with Andrew by Epstein thanked the paedophile for 'a really special adventure'. Epstein emailed the former prince to say a woman could meet him in London in August 2010. 'She 26, russian, clevere [sic] beautiful, trustworthy and yes she has your email,' he wrote. The Daily Mail can reveal the woman is a model born in the far north of Russia who moved to North America, where she married and became a mother. She had asked Epstein: 'If I go to London [on my way back from Russia] sometime between August 27 and Sept 5 do you think somebody will be there and what are the best dates?' Epstein told her to go slightly earlier, and she confirmed she had booked flights for a trip between August 20 and August 25. On August 22, she confirmed she was in Britain, explaining to Epstein that she lost her phone in the Bahamas but 'I will get a UK phone, will write you the number'. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Jeffrey Epstein in December 2010.The former prince invited the paedophile to dinner at Buckingham Palace days after his house arrest ended Join the debate Do YOU think Andrew has a moral duty to speak out? Epstein responded: 'But are you having fun?' On August 25, she wrote to Epstein: 'Thank you again for everything, my trip has been a really special adventure!' It is not clear whether the woman and Andrew actually met. At the weekend a second woman threatened legal action against Andrew after claiming Epstein flew her to Britain for sex. The unnamed woman says she was taken to Buckingham Palace for tea after the encounter, which allegedly took place in 2010 when she was in her 20s. It is the first time an Epstein accuser has alleged a sexual encounter at a royal residence. Andrew has been contacted for comment. Earl Spencer's divorce deal has been finalised following two years of intense negotiation. Princess Diana's younger brother, Charles Edward Maurice Spencer, sealed the agreement with Karen Spencer, 53. Details emerged over the course of the legal battle of the collapse of the Spencers' 13-year marriage after Countess Spencer's submission to the High Court. She had claimed her former husband was having an affair and suggested that he ended the marriage via text message - allegations Earl Spencer has dismissed. It is understood that Karen will follow convention by continuing to call herself a countess after 12 years of marriage during which she improved the family estate at Althorp. Should Earl Spencer remarry, his new wife would become the Countess Spencer, and his ex-wife would be styled as Karen, Countess Spencer, without the before Countess. The divorce was finalised in December, though it is understood there are still financial matters to be decided. Relaying his judgment in the family court, Mr Justice Peel said: 'There are, however, a number of aspects of this which are hotly disputed.' Earl Spencer and Lady Karen Spencer (pictured in 2018) announced their split in June, 2024 A decision is yet to be made on how much Earl Spencer will pay his former wife with regard to the litigation with Professor Cat Jarman, 43, his girlfriend. The 'hotly disputed' case was settled in December after Ms Jarman, a Norwegian archaeologist, who co-hosts a podcast with the earl, sued Karen for the 'misuse of private information'. As part of the case, Ms Jarman claimed Countess Spencer had told people she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) - without her consent. Karen's lawyer settled out of court with no admission of liability as a court ruled the costs would in part be funded by the earl through the divorce settlement. The Countess's lawyer, David Sherborne, said she had been 'shocked and devastated' when Earl Spencer allegedly sent her a text message containing the 'hideous' news he wanted a divorce. It came a mere 'four weeks' after he had sent her a 'romantic message' on Valentine's Day. Karen confronted Jarman after suspecting she was having an 'affair' with her husband. In an email sent to Jarman, shared with the court, read: 'Good luck Cat, youre in for a hell of a ride. 'I think youll find having him to deal with full-time will be much trickier than the odd five-day escape to Norfolk and a night or two in London here and there.' Jarman described the claims as 'untrue and defamatory' and Spender denied the allegations were true. He previously told the Daily Mail: 'The notion that I would end my marriage by text is an absurd attempt to blacken my name. 'Karen ended the marriage, after endless threats to do so over the years, in early March. She asked me to confirm the end of the marriage in a text of March 18 and my reply was a simple acceptance of her decision.' Spencer is understood to have hired Fiona Shackleton, a divorce lawyer known as 'steel magnolia', who previously represented Prince Charles in his 1996 divorce from the earl's sister, Princess Diana. Last year Karen revealed she had moved out of Althorp following the couple's separation in 2024. Shortly before the breakdown of the marriage she had helped launch a new initiative to bring visitors closer to the Althorp estate - the Spencer 1508 series which saw videos released on YouTube about work taking place in the house and grounds. And in 2020, Karen devised plans to transition the Althorp estate to regenerative organic farming with the agricologist Nicole Masters - helping secure a 3.6million grant from Natural England to restore parkland and create new wetland ecosystems. Earl Spencer's previous marriages were to Victoria Aitken and Caroline Freud - lasting eight years and six years respectively. Just five years into his marriage with Victoria (then Lockwood), cracks began to show - with reports emerging of Earl Spencer's alleged infidelities. Victoria was also struggling with anorexia and an alcohol addiction. In a bid to salvage their marriage and escape the spotlight, Victoria and Charles relocated to South Africa in 1995. But just two years later, the couple announced their separation. During their divorce hearing, Victoria accused Charles of sleeping with other women while she was in rehab. After being reminded of his pledge to stick by his wife through thick and thin, Charles told the judge that his wife was 'thin and certainly thick'. The Norwegian royal family is enduring one of the toughest weeks in its history, after newly released emails exposed the bond between its future Queen and Jeffrey Epstein - with one suggesting she was still in contact with the late paedophile financier just months before his suicide. While it was known that Crown Princess Mette-Marit, 52, had corresponded with Epstein, the intimacy of the new emails blows apart any suggestion that the pair were mere associates - with the late paedophile referring to her as 'twisted' and 'not your typical royal'. Meanwhile, the mother-of-three, who married Norway's future King, Crown Prince Haakon in 2001, referred to the disgraced financier as 'sweetheart'. In one eyebrow-raising exchange, mutual friend Boris Nikolic, a former adviser to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, asked Epstein is the pair were going to have a baby together. Nikolic, who references the Norwegian royal in several emails and appears to speculate about her mental and physical health, wrote in April 2012: 'What happened with Mette now? She wants to carry your kid?' Epstein's reply was: 'Mette Marit is a mess'. The latest revelations, which the Crown Princess said in a statement this week were 'embarrassing' and 'showed poor judgement', has put immense strain on the Norwegian monarchy, coming in the same week that Mette-Marit's son goes on trial for the rape of four women. The emails, sent between 2011 and 2014, show Mette-Marit continued to write to the late paedophile financier despite knowing he had been jailed for procuring an underage girl for prostitution. Regret: Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway apologised for her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein after emails released on Friday illuminated the pair's close relationship. (Pictured with her son, Marius Borg Hoiby, who is on trial this week charged with the rape of four women) Correspondence between Jeffrey Epstein (pictured) and Boris Nikolic, a former adviser to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, suggest a meeting between the two men and Crown Princess Mette-Marit was set to happen in 2019 Just eight months before Epstein's suicide in August 2019, an email from Boris Nikolic appears to suggest Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Epstein are still in contact One of Mette-Marit's emails that featured in the Epstein files; the pair appear to have shared a much closer relationship than what was previously acknowledged by the Royal Palace in Norway Another email released sent by Boris Nikolic in November 2011 to Epstein joked that Mette-Marit 'wants to carry your kid?' A further correspondence between the two men describes the Crown Princess as 'twisted' They also spent time together in New York when she was on official royal duties in the absence of her husband, although there is no suggestion that she stayed at any of Epstein's properties. In one email released, dated Christmas Day 2018, just eight months before Epstein's suicide, Nikolic suggests he may have been planning to meet the Crown Princess and Epstein in Palm Beach in 2019. Referring to apparent eye procedures he was undergoing at the time, Nikolic wrote in the early evening email: 'Eyes started on January 7 or so (I was planning to fly from SF to West Palm Beach to meet Mette and you!)' The 52-year-old royal's name appeared at least 1,000 times in the millions of new Epstein documents released by the US Department of Justice on Friday. Today, Mette-Marit's son, Marius Borg Hoiby, is in court charged with raping four women and 34 other offences. He denies the most serious charges. On Sunday, the 29-year-old stepson of the future King was arrested on suspicion of assault, making threats with a knife and violating a restraining order, Norwegian Police confirmed. Another message from Nikolic, dated March 2011, appears to speculate about the health of Norway's future Queen The latest Epstein files have proved deeply uncomfortable for the Crown Princess; in the missives she tells Epstein he's soft-hearted and says 'you tickle my brain and the pair frequently discuss meeting up in person. Some correspondence was signed off by Mette-Marit using informal, shortened versions of her name, including 'Mm' and 'Mette m'. In another email, Norway's future Queen refers to her disgraced billionaire friend as such a sweetheart. In another email, which was sent from the account H.K.H. Kronprinsessen - Norwegian for Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess, Mette-Marit asked Epstein if it was 'inappropriate for a mother to suggest two naked women carrying a surfboard for my 15 yr old son's wallpaper'. She also joked about Epstein's love life, suggesting to the convicted paedophile that Paris was 'good for adultery' but that Scandis [are] better wife material'. One Norwegian newspaper editor this week speculated whether the Crown Princess's links to Epstein could derail her hopes of becoming the country's Queen. Trouble in Oslo: Mette-Marit, pictured on her wedding day holding Marius in 2001, will see her 29-year-old son go on trial for rape today Crown Princess Mette-Marit is seen in 2024 with her husband Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, who she married in 2001. She released a statement this week saying she had showed 'poor judgment' in her dealings with Epstein Emails revealed the Norwegian royal and Epstein frequently discussed meeting in person; Mette-Marit is said to have stayed in his Palm Beach mansion, pictured, for four days in 2013 When the allegations against her son Marius Borg Hoiby first emerged in 2024, only 27 per cent of Norwegians said they wanted the Crown Princess to become Queen, a figure that is unlikely to improve given the release of the latest batch of Epstein files. It's thought Mette-Marit was a guest at Epstein's Palm Beach estate in Florida in 2013, although the late criminal was not said to be at the property during the Norwegian royal's stay. Elsewhere, further emails that appear to be about Crown Princess Mette-Marit between Epstein and Nikolic discuss the health of Norway's future Queen. In one exchange, Nikolic tells Epstein: 'Presumably she is not well at all', adding: 'I would hate that life - it is much worse than what we thought'. Mette-Marit announced in October 2018 that she has the chronic lung disease, pulmonary fibrosis, and is likely to undergo a lung transplant if the condition deteriorates further. However, some have speculated that the emails between Nikolic and Epstein suggest a reference to mental health as well as physical. On Saturday, Mette-Marit addressed her 'embarrassing' friendship with the disgraced financier, who died by suicide in jail in 2019 as he awaited trial for sex crimes against minors. 'I showed poor judgment and I deeply regret having had any contact with Epstein. It is simply embarrassing,' she said in a statement sent by the royal palace. The 52-year-old said she was responsible 'for not having checked Epstein's background more closely and not understanding quickly enough what kind of person he was'. Yet in 2011, Mette-Marit wrote to Epstein that she had 'googled' him, adding 'it didn't look too good' and ending the sentence with a smiling emoji. She did not specify exactly what she was referring to. Mette-Marit of Norway (seen in 2013) said in a statement via the palace that she was not aware of the seriousness of Jeffrey Epstein's crimes but newly released emails suggest the pair were still in contact even in 2018, a year before Epstein's death Epstein was facing spending the rest of his life in prison when he died in what was ruled a suicide in August 2019 The scandals to hit the royal family left one Norwegian political editor this week speculating whether the Crown Princess's links to Epstein could derail her hopes of becoming the country's Queen (Marius Borg Hoiby sitting next to his mother in 2022) According to the palace, Mette-Marit had ceased contact with Epstein in 2014 because she felt he was 'trying to use his relationship with the crown princess as leverage with other people'. 'It almost gives the impression that they were close friends,' historian and royal expert Ole-Jorgen Schulsrud-Hansen said. He noted however the broader context of the messages was unknown. 'A Crown Princess is never a private person,' he said. 'This shows in any case a lack of judgment and that all the "safety catches" around her also failed.' On Sunday, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said he 'agreed' that Mette-Marit had made an error in judgment. Norwegian political editor Kjetil B. Alstadheim, who works for one of the country's most influential newspapers, Aftenposten, suggested in a column this weekend that the royal family may not recover from the revelations, writing: 'Can Mette-Marit become queen after this?' The timing of the public release of the emails she sent in the Epstein files could not be worse for Mette-Marit. On Tuesday, her 29-year-old son Marius Borg Hoiby, born from a relationship before her marriage to Crown Prince Haakon, goes on trial at Oslo's district court. He is accused of allegedly committing 38 crimes, including the rape of four women as well as assault and drug offences. He could face up to 16 years in jail if found guilty. Hoiby denies the most serious charges. The royal couple will not attend the seven-week trial, and Crown Prince Haakon told reporters that Mette-Marit would be away on a private trip during that period. Long considered a 'commoner' by the Norwegian public, Mette-Marit was born to a journalist father called Sven Olaf Bjarte Hiby and Marit Tjessem, a former bank clerk. Crown Princess Mette-Marit has been pictured for the first time since her son was arrested after a serious incident on August 4 After Crown Prince Haakon revealed his relationship with Mette-Marit to the public, he came under intense public scrutiny Pictured: Marius Borg Hoiby of Norway and Crown Prince Haakon of Norway in Oslo in December, 2017 She moved in with her mother after her parents divorced when she was young, while her father went on to marry a much younger stripper. It was during her time at the University of Oslo that she experienced a self-professed 'youth rebellion', where she was no stranger to attending parties where guests dabbled in recreational drugs. Years later, during a press conference before she wed Haakon, Mette-Marit admitted to her past 'wild life'. She said: 'My youth rebellion was much stronger than many others. That resulted in me living quite a wild life,' before she went on deplore drug use. During her rebellious phase, Mette-Marit was in a relationship with Morten Borg, who was convicted of violence, drunk driving, and cocaine possession, according to The Observer. The pair went on to have Marius together in January 1997. It was after the birth of Marius that Mette-Marit met Haakon, with the pair first crossing paths via mutual friends in 1999. A romance blossomed between the two, but when Haakon introduced Mette-Marit to the public, many Norwegians were horrified about her past, deeming her an unfit partner for the heir apparent. The pair's decision to live with each other before marriage was also subject to controversy, given that once Haakon becomes King, he will be head of the Lutheran church, which is opposed to cohabitation outside matrimony. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was 'considering abdication' after he was caught on camera strolling in New York's Central Park with convicted sex predator Jeffrey Epstein, an email reveals. The then-duke was so 'sad' he felt 'like a zoo animal' - and the Queen had told him to 'get a job', Epstein was informed by a mutual friend. After the now infamous photo was published in February 2011, the friend said she had visited Andrew and 'S' - believed to be Sarah Ferguson. She told the paedophile in May that year: 'A' is sad and frustrated. Considering abdication but he's like a zoo animal, no way now for him to thrive.' She added: 'Queen said np royal list (sic), get a job'. The friend, the email states, had taken her dirty washing to be done at the now-former Yorks' home. She told Epstein: 'I hope that wasn't rude. A said yes, but S wasn't amused. I needed yoga clothes.' But Epstein warned her: 'Careful - there is a Daily Mail rat, close to him, not her. He is unaware.' Andrew and Epstein meeting in New York's Central Park on December 5, 2010, after which he felt 'sad' when the photo was published and felt like 'abdicating', emails show Sarah Ferguson: 'No woman has ever left the Royal Family with her head' Prince Edward, The Duke of Edinburgh, speaking at the World Governments Summit in Dubai When she asked: 'One of his staff? Who or where is the rat?,' the pair speculated about a young valet who had allegedly felt that Andrew was 'abusing' his privilege. The email emerged among three million pages of documents released by the US Department of Justice on Friday following a drawn-out battle over the 'Epstein Files'. In another email, Sarah, formerly the Duchess of York, told Epstein: 'No woman has ever left the Royal Family with her head - and they cannot behead me, therefore they will discredit me.' She ranted in the July 2010 email - after the News of the World had caught her trying to sell access to Andrew for 500,000 - that she was 'on her own' and the palace was 'not equipped' to help her. Ms Ferguson took money from Epstein to pay off some of her debts and other emails show her regularly corresponding with the paedophile financier, including a plea to 'marry me'. As the furore mounted on Tuesday, Prince Edward became the first member of the Royal Family to publicly address Andrew's role - stressing it was 'really important to remember the victims'. The Duke of Edinburgh was taking part in a press Q&A at the World Governments Summit in Dubai when he was asked about the King and Queen's response to the issue. Andrew, who was 'sad' after a photo of him walking through a public park with Epstein was published, seen with an identified woman in a photo released by the US authorities Epstein is pictured with a young woman who appears to be in her underwear in a photograph released as part of the Epstein files Last October Charles and Camilla became the first senior royals to publicly voice their support for the many victims of the prolific paedophile, saying: 'Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.' Andrew has never voiced any sympathy for the victims of his friend's crimes and is said to have even refused to sign off press statements that expressed even the broadest of support for the victims of abuse. Highlighting how 'difficult' and 'close to home' the latest release of Epstein files has been for the Royal Family, reporter Eleni Giokos asked King Charles's youngest brother how they were 'coping with that'. Although he began by suggesting the audience might not be 'the least bit interested' in the issue given that they were there to discuss education policy, Edward, 61, went on: 'I think it's all really important always to remember the victims and who are the victims in all of this.' On Tuesday, the Daily Mail revealed that royal sources believe that 'providing testimony [to the ongoing inquiry by the US Congress] is now a matter for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and his conscience'. Buckingham Palace declined to comment further. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been booted out of Royal Lodge in the dead of night - as he begins his new chapter on the King's Sandringham Estate. The former Duke of York was told to leave his stately home earlier than expected after his brother King Charles became increasingly concerned by allegations made against him, it is understood. It follows the publication of an email on Monday night, released in the latest batch of the Epstein files, where Andrew appeared to tell paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein he wanted to be his 'pet'. Police also announced on Tuesday they would assess claims Epstein trafficked a second woman to the UK to have sex with the disgraced former Prince. Andrew is now believed to have vacated his 30million, 31-room Royal Lodge - three months after handing back his lease. He was driven 132 miles to Sandringham and transported 'under the cover of darkness'. Andrew will be temporarily staying at Wood Farm Cottage before moving permanently next door to Marsh Farm by the start of April, upon completion of renovations. Insiders have told the Daily Mail that Andrew may pop up at Windsor again 'from time to time' to complete his move, or to even go riding again. They suggested that it would take 'some time' to fully clear Royal Lodge of every last box, and that the former Duke of York would likely need to go back there to stay occasionally over the next few months. A removals van leaving Royal Lodge last night. The former Duke of York was told to leave his stately home earlier than expected after his brother King Charles became increasingly concerned by allegations made against him Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is seen crouched over an unidentified woman in one of the latest photos released in the disclosure of files linked to Jeffrey Epstein Epstein is pictured with a young woman who appears to be in her underwear in a photograph released as part of the Epstein files Andrew is pictured leaving Royal Lodge. Andrew is now believed to have vacated his 30million, 31-room residence Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park is pictured. Andrew is moving to Marsh Farm in Norfolk on his brother Charles's estate 'He will now live in Norfolk but may be back at Windsor from time to time,' a source said. A steady stream of vehicles were also said to have been spotted leaving the Windsor mansion after Andrew's exit. The former prince is now under mounting pressure to co-operate with US officials investigating Epstein's crimes, with sources saying it is a 'matter of personal conscience' as well as his public duty. While Buckingham Palace has declined to comment on the latest revelations from the US Department of Justice file dump, royal sources told the Daily Mail on Monday night that 'providing testimony is now a matter for Andrew and his conscience'. Insiders also said it was always a principle that those who have relevant information should 'participate in any lawful inquiry on any subject'. The development will add fuel to the fire of calls for the former prince to break his self-imposed silence and publicly co-operate with officials investigating Epstein's crimes - and the network of contacts that aided and abetted him. However, despite being seen driving and riding around Windsor - where he was, astonishingly, photographed smiling and waving to onlookers without an apparent care in the world on Monday - there continued to be a deafening silence from the former royal. It is understood King Charles was not aware of the level of detail in the latest files, which reveal the depths of the relationship between his brother and the paedophile. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Jeffrey Epstein in December 2010 Buckingham Palace appears to be learning about the new material at the same time as the public. But the ensuing headlines will be troubling given Andrew was a working member of the Royal Family and held a prestigious role as a UK trade ambassador during his association with Epstein. The King and Queen pointedly stated last October, as it was announced Andrew was being stripped of his titles, that their 'thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse'. Although Andrew has now transferred into his new abode, his former wife Sarah Ferguson is not thought to have been so lucky. She is yet to find a new permanent property because she won't move in with her ex and the pair's children can't offer them a residence, it has been claimed. The former Duchess of York is in the midst of a 'housing crisis' and is clinging on to the hope of finding a new place in Windsor. But the 66-year-old will have to 'lower her expectations' about the standard of her next home after decades in the Royal Lodge. Fergie is said to be in a 'fragile' state over her fall from grace, telling friends her recent travails were 'not good for my mental health'. Allegations were first made against then-Prince Andrew by Virginia Giuffre in 2014, who claimed she was trafficked by him at the age of 17 Andrew and Fergie lost their titles and their Windsor mansion, previously home to the Queen Mother, over their long friendship with the billionaire paedophile, Epstein. But while Andrew is begrudgingly off to Sandringham, Ms Ferguson 'will not be moving in' because she 'would prefer to stay in the Windsor area', a source close to her said. 'Relations are warmer between Ferguson and the couple's daughters, but no offer of permanent accommodation has been extended to their mother', a report in The Times added. 'For now, Andrew and Sarah have a housing crisis. It may mean that they have to lower their expectations about the sort of lifestyle they wish to lead.' Thames Valley Police said on Tuesday it would assess an allegation that Epstein trafficked a second woman to the UK to have sex with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. The alleged encounter is said to have taken place at Royal Lodge in 2010. The claims mark the first time an Epstein survivor has alleged they were sexually abused at a royal residence. The woman, who is not British and was in her 20s at the time, said she was given a tour of Buckingham Palace and tea after spending the night with Andrew. Meanwhile, the revelation on Tuesday that Sarah Ferguson sent a flirty email to Jeffrey Epstein describing a 'single' female friend with 'a great body' he should get to know after he was convicted of child sex crimes added fuel to the flames. The former Duchess of York also suggested in a personal email to the paedophile that he could marry her and they could take on the mystery woman as a member of their staff. Allegations were first made against Andrew by Virginia Giuffre in 2014, who claimed she was trafficked by him at the age of 17. The former prince has consistently denied all wrongdoing. Pineapple might not actually be the worst thing on your pizza, believe it or not. It's now been found that Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which create risks that 'will likely remain for hundreds of years', are. Found in foods, drinking water and everything from pizza boxes to cookware, PFAS are human-manufactured chemicals that could be linked to liver damage, high cholesterol, reduced immune responses, low birth weights and cancer. They take an extremely long time to break down, according to the UK's Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, and pose long-lasting risks. But the British Government has now unveiled its first-ever plan to tackle the 'forever chemicals', as they have been dubbed, and reduce risks to health and the environment. A statement revealed that the plan aims to 'understand where these chemicals are coming from, how they spread and how to reduce exposure'. The Government will launch a consultation later this year about the possibility of introducing a statutory PFAS limit on Britain's water supply. Ministers have insisted that the UK has some of the highest quality drinking water in the world, but a legal limit would mean regulators can more easily take enforcement action against firms where permitted levels are exceeded. Pineapple might not actually be the worst thing on your pizza, believe it or not 'The transition away from PFAS will take time, as will putting new regulations in place, and the trade-offs applying to new regulatory measures need to be carefully considered,' the plan noted. 'We must balance ensuring that measures protect people and wildlife while recognising the potential negative impacts on society, consumers and industry. 'Through our PFAS Plan, we will act decisively to reduce their harmful effects while transitioning to safer alternatives. 'We will work in partnership with regulators, industry and local communities to deliver co-ordinated action to ensure forever chemicals are not a forever problem.' The Government said tests will also be carried out on food packaging, like microwave popcorn bags and pizza boxes, and a website will be published to raise public awareness. 'It's crucial that we protect public health and the environment for future generations,' said Environment Minister Emma Hardy in the statement. She noted the Government would work with regulators, industry, and local communities 'to ensure 'forever chemicals' are not a forever problem'. In the days before the plan was unveiled, a study claimed that the chemicals could cost Britain an estimated 1.4trillion by 2050 if nothing is done about them. The cost of using 'forever chemicals' could cost Europe 1.4 trillion ($2 trillion) by 2050, a study has claimed. This graph shows the health costs of forever chemicals, in scenarios ranging from 'business as usual' (scenario 1) to a total ban (scenario 4) Your browser does not support iframes. Yearly health costs already stand at 34 billion every year, with no hope of cutting these bills without a ban. However, the report describes this enormous bill as simply the 'baseline' costs of continuing to use PFAS. If Europe tries to treat polluted soil and water without banning PFAS, the costs will balloon to well over 1 trillion. However if the EU passed a ban on forever chemicals, the yearly cost of treating health issues caused by these pollutants would fall to 433 million by 2040. By the year 2050, that would lead to overall savings of over 95 billion. Jessika Roswall, EU environment chief, says: 'The study confirms that addressing PFAS at their source is both crucial and economically wise. 'Balancing economic interest with nature and health costs is vital.' The use of TFAS is already being restricted across the globe, with a handful of US states including California implementing a ban beginning in 2025. Several other states are set to follow suit. Conspiracy theories have been reignited online after NASA announced its historic moon mission has been delayed yet again. This morning, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced that the Artemis II mission will be pushed back to March after the wet dress rehearsal failed at the last minute. While Mr Isaacman says this is a sign that safety testing is working according to plan, this is far from the first delay to NASA's lunar ambition. Artemis II was originally planned for mid2025, while Artemis III was supposed to land American astronauts on the moon by the end of this year. And after last year's uncrewed Artemis I lunar flyby raised critical safety issues, the entire programme was pushed back by a year. The latest delay has whipped internetdwelling conspiracy theorists into a frenzy. On X, one commenter vented: 'Lmao always a delay. This ain't happening.' Another added: 'I told you guys they would find a reason to cancel their fake trip to the moon'. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced that the Artemis II mission (pictured) will be pushed back to March after the wet dress rehearsal failed at the last minute. On social media, news of the delay reignited conspiracy theories as sceptical commenters rushed to share their thoughts While NASA insists the delay is for safety reasons, internetdwelling conspiracy theorists have jumped to their own conclusions about the 'real' reasons After NASA announced that Artemis II would not fly until March at the very earliest, critics flocked to social media to share their outrage. Many expressed intense disappointment that Artemis II was being delayed, with some unsure that it would ever be able to launch. On X, one commenter wrote: 'I have almost zero confidence in this program.' Another ranted: 'Another hydrogen leak classic NASA move march who even surprised anymore.' And one added: 'Expecting a delay, as usual. This is what @NASA does. By the time they'll land on the moon, there'll be a Chinese flag already on there.' Some commenters went even further, with the delay seemingly providing evidence for their wild beliefs in the moon landing conspiracy. 'Honestly for the American people to believe we lost the 'technology' to go back to the moon is the biggest conspiracy ever,' one social media user vented. Another chipped in: 'Dude SpaceX launches 20 rockets a year and y'all launch 1 every 3 years? Pathetic. Liars. We never went to the moon.' This is not the first time that NASA's moon mission has faced delays. The entire program was shifted back by a year after serious safety concerns arose For some conspiracy theorists, NASA's cautious delay was clear evidence that the moon landings were faked all along One commenter said the idea that America would find it hard to go to the moon after the Apollo missions was 'the biggest conspiracy ever' The Artemis II crew Reid Wiseman: Commander A US Navy aviator and test pilot with 27 years of experience. Wiseman has previously spent 165 days in space onboard the ISS Victor Glover: Pilot A US Navy aviator and test pilot with 3,500 flight hours in more than 40 aircraft Glover served as Flight Engineer on the ISS during a 168day mission Christina Koch: Mission specialist An engineer and scientist specialising in electrical engineering Holds the record for longest spaceflight by a woman, spending consecutive days on the ISS Jeremy Hansen: Mission specialist Selected by the Canadian Space Agency to join Artemis II A Canadian Armed Forces fighter pilot, physicist, and experienced aquanaut Advertisement One X user complained: 'So was the green screen and wire harnesses not working or what? I doubt it takes a month to fix something stage techs can fix in a couple of hours max. Or is it the hair spray?' Another simply wrote: 'Better call Kubrick' alluding to the antisemitic conspiracy theory that Stanley Kubrick and a group of Jewish 'Hollywood elites' directed the fake moon landing footage. Interestingly, while conspiracy theorists doubt that the Apollo moon landings occurred, some seemed genuinely excited for America to land on the moon 'for the first time'. One confused commenter wrote on X: 'Yeah figured there would be issues as we have never been to the moon before. 'I pray for the safety of everyone involved in this truly historic endeavour. Thank you for keeping us constantly informed. Looking forward to this launch.' Despite conspiracy theorists' wild reactions, the real reason for the most recent Artemis II delay is far simpler. NASA had originally been targeting a launch window between February 6 and February 11. Before launch, the space agency has to first carry out a 'wet dress rehearsal' in which the crew fill the rocket with supercooled fuel, runs through a practice countdown, and then safely drains the fuel tanks. One confused commenter suggested that the Apollo moon landings were fake, but said that they were excited to see the 'truly historic' Artemis mission Your browser does not support iframes. However, after starting the rehearsal at 01:13 GMT (20:13 EST) on January 31, several issues quickly became apparent. Almost immediately, NASA noticed a liquid hydrogen leak in an interface used to transfer propellant into the rocket's core. Fixing this required allowing the rocket to warm up, reseating the seals and adjusting the propellant flow. Jared Isaacman wrote in a post on X: 'All core stage and interim cryogenic propulsion stage tanks were successfully filled, and teams conducted a terminal countdown to about T5 minutes before the ground launch sequencer halted operations due to an increased leak rate.' NASA says that it will now need to review the data from this failed rehearsal and conduct another test ahead of the March launch window. The Space Launch Systems rocket is NASA's largest and most complex, requiring over two million litres of supercooled liquid hydrogen fuel, chilled to 252C (423F). However, this is only the third time that this rocket has ever been flown, which makes technical issues likely. Kennedy Space Center, Florida, is also experiencing unusually cold weather, which interferes with rocket systems and the interfaces that prevent fuel from leaking. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman (pictured) says that the Artemis II launch will be rescheduled for launch, adding that the mission will only take place 'when we believe we are as ready' Artemis II has already faced over a year of delays, after the unexpected damage to the Orion heatshield used in the uncrewed Artemis I mission (pictured) took extra time to investigate Likewise, NASA's appetite for risk is significantly lower than it was in the Apollo era, which means the mission has more complex failsafe systems to test. Mr Isaacman writes: 'As always, safety remains our top priority, for our astronauts, our workforce, our systems, and the public. As noted above, we will only launch when we believe we are as ready to undertake this historic mission.' The entire lunar program has faced several major delays that have pushed back the launches by years. The Artemis mission to return to the moon was established during President Donald Trump's first term in office. After multiple technical failures pushed back the mission, the uncrewed Artemis I mission finally launched in November 2022. Upon returning to Earth, NASA discovered that the heatshield, which would protect the crew from the heat of reentry, had been badly damaged. Alongside a battery issue and failures in the circuits that control air circulation and temperature control, this required additional time to fix. This resulted in the entire Artemis timeline being pushed back, with Artemis III expected to follow in mid2027 and Artemis IV in 2028. Thousands of Americans near two major cities have been warned to stay inside as airborne pollutants have risen to dangerous levels for human health. Air quality meters from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sounded the alarm Tuesday morning, showing unsafe conditions in both Daytona Beach, Florida and Atlanta, Georgia. Live tracking data captured sharply elevated levels of PM2.5, microscopic particles composed of toxic compounds or heavy metals that are small enough to penetrate the lungs, inflame the respiratory system, and even contribute to heart attacks. The increased levels have been tied to recent wildfire smoke exacerbating a condition called stagnant air, where little to no wind and high atmospheric pressure trap pollution near ground level. In Daytona Beach, a coastal city with roughly 80,000 residents, PM2.5 concentration was recorded at 12.5 times higher than the World Health Organization's recommended safe limit. Both the EPA and air quality-tracking website IQAir warned that the air in Florida had reached 'unhealthy' levels for all residents, exceeding 150 on the Air Quality Index (AQI). Around Atlanta's suburban areas, multiple readings surpassed 150 and even 160, including in Dallas, Powder Springs, Roswell, and Vinings. Air quality levels are measured on a scale from 0 to 500: good (050) carries little risk, moderate (51100) may affect sensitive individuals, unhealthy for sensitive groups (101150) poses increased risk, and unhealthy (151200) impacts everyone, limiting outdoor activity. The EPA's air quality-tracking system AirNow has warned of 'unhealthy' levels in multiple parts of Florida on Tuesday (Seen in red) Daytona Beach, Florida blanketed with dense fog in January 2026. A new weather system has set off air quality alerts for similar conditions on Tuesday Parts of the Georgia suburbs saw PM2.5 concentrations more than 15 times higher than the WHO's recommended safe levels. Residents in the affected areas have been advised to avoid outdoor exercise, wear a face mask if going outside, close all windows to prevent polluted air from coming inside, and turn on air purifiers if you own one. Even short-term exposure to high levels of these particles can cause concerning health problems, including irritation of the eyes, throat, and nose. Among vulnerable individuals, breathing in particles produced by smoke, car exhaust, and factory emissions can also lead to irregular heartbeats, asthma attacks, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath. On Sunday and Monday, a portion of I-95 was shut down just south of Daytona Beach due to wildfire smoke and low visibility. To understand the impact of stagnant air on this situation, its helpful to look at atmospheric pressure. Pressure is measured in millibars, with normal sea-level pressure being 1,013 millibars. High pressure in both areas of Georgia and Florida registered above 1,020 millibars on Tuesday, often bringing calm, stable, dry weather with clear skies and light winds. However, it also keeps whatever is in the air from moving out or scattering higher up in the atmosphere. Air quality-tracking website IQAir reported multiple zones in the Atlanta suburbs that were experiencing unsafe conditions on Tuesday morning, exceeding 150 on the Air Quality Index Atlanta, Georgia seen in the fog during winter (Stock Image) In 2025, the American Lung Association gave Daytona Beach's Volusia County a 'B' grade in terms of particle pollution, noting that the area had some of the cleanest air in the state. Georgia's Cobb and Fulton counties, which include Atlanta, also received a healthy 'B' grade from the American Lung Association. However, Paulding County, which includes Dallas and Picketts Mill, did not receive a grade from the group in 2025. Both towns saw PM2.5 levels soar into the 'unhealthy' range on Tuesday and are near an area reportedly at risk for wildfires in Braswell, Georgia. According to the EPA, there are also six 'prescribed fires' taking place just 75 miles west of the Atlanta suburbs, in Alabama's Talladega National Forest. A so-called prescribed fire, or controlled burn, means officials have carefully planned and intentionally set fire to areas to reduce their overall wildfire risk, clear excess brush and dead plants, improve wildlife habitats, or restore healthy natural ecosystems. The sun has unleashed four powerful solar flares towards Earth that could wreak havoc on radios and GPS satellites. The stellar bombardment began on February 1 at 12:33 GMT as the sun fired off a class X1.0 flare. ClassX flares are the most powerful blasts our sun is capable of, and are at least 10 times more potent than the next class down, known as 'M' flares. This was followed 11 hours later, at 23:37 GMT, by a massive X8.1 flare the largest since October 2024, and the 19thstrongest ever recorded. The sun continued to slam the Earth with two more Xclass flares on February 2 an X2.8 flare at 00:36 GMT and an X1.6 flare at 08:14 GMT. Dr Ryan French, a solar scientist at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics and author of 'Space Hazards', told the Daily Mail: 'As light from solar flares hits our atmosphere, they cause a 'radio blackout' on the Sunlit side of Earth. 'The strong flares we've experienced this week have caused radio blackouts, the highest being a "strong" event.' Now, experts warn the worst could be yet to come, with a one in three chance of more Xclass flares throughout the coming week. The sun has launched four massive Xclass solar flares (pictured), the largest class our sun is capable of, as experts warn that ongoing activity could wreak havoc on satellites and radios When the radiation from these massive flares hits Earth, it can ionise the upper atmosphere and make it impossible for radio waves to get through When the energy from a solar flare hits Earth's upper atmosphere, it ionises gases in the more dense regions, which blocks radio signals for around an hour or more. JuhPekka Luntama, head of space weather at the European Space Agency (ESA), told the Daily Mail: 'There was no impact on the satellites themselves or the groundbased communication networks, but the propagation of radio signals through the upper atmosphere was disturbed. 'This means that satellite navigation, satellite communication and high frequency (HF) radio communication were disturbed.' Solar flares, however, are not to be mistaken for the enormous eruptions of charged particles known as Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs). When the material from a CME hits the Earth's atmosphere, the material is funnelled towards the poles by the magnetic field, where it causes the glow of the aurora. This is why the Northern Lights can be seen at lower latitudes when the solar storms hit Earth. These charged particles also cause the upper layers of the atmosphere to expand outwards slightly, engulfing some satellites in lowearth orbit. Over time, the additional drag caused by the atmosphere means satellites have to burn their limited fuel to avoid falling to Earth, which reduces their lifespan. The largest flare was an X8.1, making it the 19th biggest solar flare ever recorded and the largest to hit Earth since October 2024 The most powerful solar flares to ever hit Earth 04/11/2003: X40+ 02/04/2001: X28.57 28/10/2003: X24.57 07/09/2005: X24.42 15/04/2001: X20.67 29/10/2003: X14.36 06/09/2017: X13.3 06/11/1997: X12.97 06.11/1997: X12.95 02/11/2003: X11.96 Advertisement A CME hitting Earth could, theoretically, cause enough damage to Earth's satellite networks that it would have a catastrophic effect on global communications and navigation systems. CMEs are not always caused by or followed by solar flares, and only the recent X8.1 flare was associated with such an eruption. Luckily, this eruption appears to be directed out of the sun's northeast, and Earth should only receive a glancing blow in the early morning of February 5. A spokesperson for the Met Office told the Daily Mail: 'There's not much expected in the way of impacts at present as there's not a significant Earthdirected element at present. 'No damage to satellite or communications is likely according to the current forecast, though we'll continue to monitor the region in the coming days for anything else released from the Sun.' However, the Met Office notes that this CME could lead to some enhanced aurora activity, with lights visible over parts of Scotland where there are clear skies. Solar flares are the explosive release of magnetic energy from the swirling tangle of magnetic fields in the sun's atmosphere. These often form around cool, dark regions known as sunspots, where the magnetic fields are their strongest. The region responsible for these solar flares (pictured) is still active and will be for the next week. Experts say there is a one in three chance of Earth being hit with another Xclass flare in that time Around these 'active regions', magnetic field lines connect, twist, and stretch until they snap like enormous elastic bands, flinging highenergy particles and light into space. The active region associated with the latest flurry of flares, dubbed RGN 4366, has now morphed into an enormous, complex cluster of sunspots. This region is at the very edge of the sun and will be facing towards Earth for at least the rest of the week. According to Mr Luntama, ESA's models suggest there is a 30 per cent chance of this region producing another Xclass solar flare. Mr Luntama says that this is 'the highest Xclass flare forecast that I have seen during this solar cycle'. That means there is a strong chance of disturbances to radios and GPS satellites in the coming week, as well as good odds of more aurora activity. Today, this region has already produced another X1.5 flare at 14:08 GMT, which likely caused some disturbance to satellite navigation and communication. However, scientists do not yet have any data to confirm whether this flare was accompanied by a CME. The biotech firm that brought dire wolves back from extinction has unveiled a modern-day Noahs Ark designed to safeguard the planets most vulnerable species. Colossal Biosciences announced on Tuesday a partnership with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to store tissue samples of 100 species in a BioVault at a new World Preservation Lab to be constructed in Dubai. Species will be chosen based on key criteria, with guidance from conservation partners and authorities like the IUCN, the global expert on protecting the natural world. The BioVault will safeguard cryogenically frozen genetic material from multiple species to preserve genetic diversity. Colossal said the facility will be managed using advanced robotics and artificial intelligence for precise monitoring. The Dallas-based company aims to store over a million samples from more than 10,000 species. Faced with the possibility that nearly 50 percent of species may disappear by 2050, the BioVault could provide the genetic tools to preserve endangered animals and resurrect extinct ones, Colossal and the UAE said. Colossal Biosciences co-founder and CEO Ben Lamm said: 'We are losing species at an alarming rate, and the world urgently needs a distributed network of global BioVaults a true backup plan for life on Earth. The Colossal BioVault will be similar to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault (PICTURED), which holds 1.3 million seed varieties that can be reproduced in the event of a catastrophe The scientists have likened the BioVault to the biblical story of Noah, who built a massive ark that held a pair of each species, saving them from a catastrophic flood that swallowed all life on Earth. 'Colossal is now creating the world's first Colossal BioVault: an unprecedented global resource, a modern-day Noah's Ark for protecting and restoring life on our planet. We are excited to build on this relationship and pioneer bold new solutions to safeguard biodiversity for generations to come,' Lamm said. Colossal made headlines in April 2025 when it announced the first de-extinction of an animal species, reintroducing the dire wolf back into the world. The company birthed three dire wolves, naming them Romulus, Remus and Khaleesi in honor of the legendary creature made famous from the HBO hit series Game of Thrones. However, the white-coated wolf once roamed North and South America before vanishing around 12,000 years ago, likely due to the disappearance of their prey. The team extracted DNA from fossilized remains, which was combined with the genetic code of a gray wolf, the closest living relative. 'Our team took DNA from a 13,000-year-old tooth and a 72,000-year-old skull and made healthy dire wolf puppies,' Lamm said at the time. They then cloned high-quality cell lines using somatic cell nuclear transfer into donor egg cells, which involves taking the DNA out of the cell from a donor - in this case, a body cell. The BioVault will safeguard cryogenically frozen genetic material from multiple species to preserve genetic diversity. Pictured is Colossal Biosciences co-founder and CEO Ben Lamm The embryos were then transferred to a surrogate, who gave birth to the three healthy pups in October 2024. And Colossal is using the achievement to prepare for future extinctions. Colossal Chief Animal Officer Matt James said: 'The BioVault is our commitment to safeguard the present diversity of life and our promise to secure a resilient future.' The conservation biotechnology partnership between Colossal and the UAE is backed by a nine-figure funding effort, according to the announcement. The UAE has also committed $60 billion to Colossal through an investment led by Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, bringing the companys total funding to $615 million. Colossals vault is similar to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. The seeds are stored inside the vault at temperatures of around 18C (0.4F). And the permafrost and thick rock surrounding the bunker ensure the samples will remain frozen, even if power is lost. Should disaster strike - whether that is by war, an accident or a natural disaster - the vault could provide survivors with access to every important crop variety in the world. Federal and local authorities have uncovered what they allege was an illegal biological laboratory operating inside a Las Vegas home owned by a Chinese national. Newly released footage from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department shows a dramatic hazmat response as agents hauled bags of medical tubing, vials and containers filled with unknown liquids from the suburban property. During a press briefing on Monday, LVMPD Sheriff Kevin McMahill revealed investigators discovered a 'significant volume of material' stored in refrigerators and freezers throughout the home, including vials and containers holding liquids of varying colors and compositions. More than 1,000 samples were collected and sent for testing, according to Christopher Delzotto, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Las Vegas field office. Authorities arrested 55-year-old Ori Solomon, identified as the property manager for the residence on Sugar Springs Drive and a nearby home on Temple View. Both properties were searched as part of the investigation. Delzotto said the initial search uncovered a biosafety hood, biosafety labeling, a centrifuge, multiple refrigerators, and gallon-sized containers filled with a red-brown liquid, along with refrigerated vials containing unidentified substances. Police confirmed the home is owned by Jia Bei Zhu, the same individual linked to a previous investigation into an alleged illegal biological laboratory discovered in Reedley, California, in 2023. Zhu has remained in custody since that case. The California discovery later sparked a congressional investigation, which found the lab had allegedly received funding from Chinese banks and stored thousands of biological samples labeled as potential pathogens, including HIV, malaria, tuberculosis, COVID-19 and even Ebola. Newly released footage from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department shows a dramatic hazmat response as agents hauled bags of medical tubing, vials and containers filled with unknown liquids from the suburban property Authorities swarmed the home on Saturday, taking one person into custody The homeowner, Zhu, is scheduled to go on trial in the 2023 case in April. His attorney, Anthony Capozzi, said Monday that his client has been in federal custody for three years. 'He is not involved in any kind of biolab being conducted in a home in Las Vegas,' Capozzi said. 'What went on in that residence, we are unaware of.' Law enforcement rushed to the home near Washington Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard on Saturday, serving a warrant and taking special precautions. The team used a robot to clear the home and took multiple air samples, McMahill said. Police said three people were separately renting rooms from the homeowner at the Sugar Springs property and were safely evacuated during the operation. Investigators confirmed the renters were not connected to the alleged lab or the investigation. Authorities said the suspected biological laboratory was largely confined to a locked garage inside the home. The recovered items are 'consistent' with what was found in the Reedley investigation, McMahill said. More than 1,000 samples were taken from the home that have been shipped off for testing The footage showed a hazmat team pulling bags of unknown material from refrigerators and a freezer Pictured are individuals in hazmat suits standing outside the home after pulling samples out When pressed on whether investigators have determined the purpose of the biological materials found inside the home, McMahill acknowledged that authorities are still in the dark. He said investigators have yet to identify why the substances were stored there or how they were being used, adding that those questions remain central as the case enters its next phase. McMahill noted that while detectives initially examined other locations believed to be connected to Solomon, all of them have since been eliminated from the investigation. A freezer was found packed with bags of vials Authorities sent in a robot and tested the air before sending in the hazmat team The FBI, SWAT team and a hazmat team worked together at the scene of the Las Vegas home He emphasized that the most difficult work now lies ahead, as officials attempt to piece together what the materials were, where they came from, and what they were intended for. Congressman Kevin Kiley (R-CA) is calling for a hearing on the bill to prevent illegal laboratories from continuing to endanger communities. 'This can't keep happening,' said Kiley. 'The federal government must do more to stop illegal labs from operating in our communities. 'This bipartisan bill closes loopholes that allow dangerous facilities like these to operate under the radar.' Kiley added that the illegal biological laboratory found in California was reportedly run by a Chinese national who is a wanted fugitive in Canada, facing a $330 million judgment for stealing American intellectual property. Authorities said the suspect was a top official at a state-controlled Chinese company and had ties to military-civil fusion programs. The lab allegedly received millions of dollars in unexplained payments from Chinese banks while it was in operation. A freezer marked 'Ebola' contained sealed silver bags consistent with the lab's storage of high-risk biological materials. Ebola is a Select Agent with a lethality rate estimated between 25 and 90 percent. The California lab also reportedly housed nearly a thousand transgenic mice genetically engineered to mimic the human immune system. Lab workers told authorities the mice were designed 'to catch and carry the COVID-19 virus.' Timothee Chalamet attended a screening of Marty Supreme in London on Sunday, after girlfriend Kylie Jenner's ex Travis Scott referenced her in his latest track. The actor, 30, brushed off the attention surrounding Travis's latest lyrics as he attended the event over the weekend. He cut a laid-back figure in a black zip-up jacket layered over a black hoodie. He paired the look with gray cargo pants, black leather shoes, and a scarf. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO Promotional work: Timothee Chalamet attended a special screening of Marty Supreme at The Curzon Mayfair in London on Sunday Drama: The outing comes after girlfriend Kylie Jenner's ex Travis Scott referenced her in his latest track The star later joined TV personality Ali Plumb on stage for a Q&A about the film, reclining in his chair as he answered questions from the audience with a smile. Timothee's outing came as Kylie's ex-boyfriend Travis referenced her in a newly-released song, even though the pair broke up three years ago. Travis, 34, appeared to quip about the 28-year-old's surgically-enhanced chest in a new song called Rosary, off Don Toliver's latest album Octane. Opening up: The star later joined TV personality Ali Plumb on stage for a Q&A Exes: Kylie and Travis struck up a romance in 2017, before splitting for good in 2023. They are amicable co-parents to their two children He recites her breast implant measurements in his verse, rapping: 'She look at me like Scotty, man, that S on my chest. Forty-four five C, the way they sit, I need to test.' Last summer, Kylie shocked fans when she spilt the specifics of the boob job she got when she was 19 years old. She replied to a TikTok user who asked her to share exactly what she 'asked for' when going under the knife, hailing her enhancement as 'the most perfect, natural boob job ever!' Kylie included the size and profile of her implants, plus her surgeon, writing: '445 cc, moderate profile, half under the muscle!!!!! silicone!!! garth fisher!!! hope this helps lol.' The body of an Indiana teen who disappeared for nearly a month after she met a stranger online has been found. Hailey Buzbee, 17, vanished on January 5 and was allegedly picked up by 39-year-old Tyler Thomas, a man she had met through an online gaming platform. Thomas was arrested and booked on Saturday and faces charges for distributing sexually explicit material involving a minor and tampering with evidence, per the police. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO Heartbreaking discovery: The body of Hailey Buzbee has been discovered after she was missing for nearly a month In a Monday morning hearing, Thomas' attorney confirmed that Buzbees body was recovered in the acussed's home state, Ohio. Defense Attorney Sam Shamansky said in a press conference: 'We accompanied law enforcement and FBI to Perry County and we assisted with pinpointing the location of Miss Buzbee.' Thomas appeared remotely in the courtroom where a judge set his cash bond at $1.5million. Shamansky added that his client has 'absolutely zero intention of making this bond' and was handed 'into authorities on Saturday, per the request of' local police. The attorney said the legal team worked with the FBI on Friday and met on Saturday at Thomas request to 'fully cooperate with bringing closure' to Buzbee's family 'as quickly as possible.' Different narratives: Early reports believed that the teen was a runaway, but further investigation revealed she was allegedly picked up by Tyler Thomas In a conference Shamansky said: 'At our client's insistence, we assisted law enforcement Saturday afternoon and later Sunday, and that goal has now been met of bringing complete closure, at least with respect to this stage of the investigation.' The defense attorney believes additional charges, including homicide, may be filed against Thomas, but says he plans to plead not guilty and maintains he did not kill Buzbee. The attorney added: 'We don't want anybody conflating our cooperation with any admission of guilt relating to her cause of death.' Early reports labeled the teen a runaway, but police later said she left deliberately and was in danger. Police tracked a vehicle in her neighborhood and linked it to Thomas, who admitted to picking up the teen according to court documents seen by the Daily Mail. Justice in action: Thomas appearing remotely in a courtroom on Monday, he currently faces charges for distributing sexually explicit material involving a minor and tampering with evidence Thomass devices contained child sexual abuse material and he tried to delete videos of the teen, per the affidavit. Police also focused on properties connected to him as drones and K9 units assisted in the month-long search. Search teams scoured a Hocking County rental, acting on evidence suggesting Buzbee and Thomas had been there together. Thomas is scheduled to reappear in court on Tuesday, February 10. Buzbee is remembered as 'smart, funny, and beautiful inside and out,' according to a GoFundMe set up for her. Fighting back: Thomas was set on a $1.5million bail, and he is scheduled to reappear in court on Tuesday, February 10 as his attorney continues to defend his innocence Tributes have poured in for the teen, with Buzbee's father, Beau, writing a memorial post on Facebook. He wrote: 'Hailey was a smart, beautiful, kind, and caring young lady with a bright future. She had a deep love for her family and holds a very special place in so many hearts. 'Our family is devastated. We want the community and others to know that we are so thankful for the support we received. 'Its been tremendous and gave us the hope and strength we needed during our darkest hours.' The son of Norway's crown princess has been arrested on suspicion of assault just days before he is set to stand trial for rape charges. Marius Borg Hoiby, who is the stepson of the future King, Crown Prince Haakon, was detained for an alleged assault, making threats with a knife, and violating a restraining order on Sunday evening, Norwegian Police confirmed. It comes just two days before Hoiby is set to stand trial in Oslo, accused of 38 counts, including four counts of rape and assaults against ex-girlfriends. Troubled: Marius Borg Hoiby, 29, pictured next to his mother, Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit He has denied the most serious charges but has already admitted to some of the minor offences. Hoiby, 29, is Crown Princess Mette-Marit's son from a previous relationship. She and Prince Haakon also share two children: Princess Ingrid and her younger brother, Prince Sverre Magnus, 19. In a statement Andreas Kruszewski, a police attorney in Oslo police district, said: 'The Oslo police district can confirm that Marius Borg Hoiby was arrested by the police on Sunday evening, charged with assault, threats with a knife and violation of a restraining order.' The crown: Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Marius Borg Hoiby, Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit in 2022 Police requested that Hoiby be remanded in custody for the next four weeks 'on the grounds of risk of reoffending'. His impending rape trial, scheduled to last until March 19, is expected to attract intense media coverage. However for the next seven weeks, pictures of the royal defendant have been banned both inside and outside the courtroom. Several ex-girlfriends are now plaintiffs in the case against him, and he is under strict orders to not contact them. He faces more than ten years in prison if the Oslo district court finds him guilty. The royals: Norway's Queen Sonja, King Harald, Prince Sverre Magnus, Marius Borg Hoiby, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Princess Mette-Marit, and Prince Haakon Hoiby has become the first ever royal family member to have been charged with a crime and is no longer publicly listed as part of the Scandinavian household. The charges have rocked the royal family, with backing for the household falling from 81 per cent in 2017 to 62 per cent last September. Once known affectionately as 'Little Marius', Hoiby grew up in the public eye, enjoying the same wealth and privilege as his royal siblings, although his biological father, Morten Borg, served time in prison for drugs and violent offenses. He has largely continued his life as normal since the charges came to light in August last year, and has since jetted off with friends to Hemsedal, Copenhagen, and Italy. The son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit has also spent time at rehab centers in London since his arrest. An elderly British couple who were imprisoned in one of the Taliban's most notorious prisons have revealed the horrific conditions inside, calling it 'the closest thing to Hell'. Peter Reynolds, 80, and his wife Barbie, 76, were separated and held in moldy, rat-infested cells in Pul-e-Charkhi, an infamously overcrowded and squalid jail in Kabul, Afghanistan's capital. The pair, who lived in Afghanistan for 18 years, were held in the prison for three months in 2025, part of an eight-month detention under the Taliban that they still have not been given a reason for. Jailed: Peter and Barbie Reynolds, aged 76 and 80, landed back in the UK in September 2025 Built in the 1970s, the maximum-security jail is meant to house 5,000 people but it regularly holds up to 15,000 prisoners. Previous reports from the prison have indicated that guards regularly torture and beat prisoners, though the couple did not suffer this fate. And with extremely basic amenities, prisoners freeze during the winter and are left in sweltering conditions in the summer. The couple, who got married in Kabul in 1970, said that many women held in the prison were detained by the Taliban for arbitrary reasons. One was jailed for daring to drive a car in the ultra-conservative country, while another said she had been imprisoned because her husband had murdered someone. Peter and Barbie were arrested earlier as they traveled back to their home in Bamyan province, in central Afghanistan, on undisclosed charges. The elderly Briton was held in the men's wing, and was put in a cell with just two other men. They had their own latrine and shower. Peter, who has a serious heart condition, was cuffed and chained to rapists and murderers, they told The London Times. But Barbie's conditions were far worse, the couple said. Her cell held 15 women and two children with just five bunk beds between them, one of which served as a basic kitchen. As a result, some of the women were forced to sleep on the bare floor. Brutal: A Taliban member stands inside a prison cell at Pul-e-Charkhi prison, located on the outskirts of Kabul on October 17, 2021 Barbie said: 'Everybody gets a blanket provided by an NGO, which we had to wash ourselves every two weeks. There were four showers but none worked, so we had to use taps and all the water ran into a drain full of trash down the middle of the corridor.' Between a total of 230 women and 40 children held in the wing, there were just seven 'squatty potties', she said, adding: 'Sometimes the children missed the target, so it wasn't very pleasant.' Barbie said that she was able to speak to her fellow prisoners in Farsi, and they told her they had been jailed for little to no reason. She said: 'The girl in the bunk above me was 19 and in jail for driving a car. Women aren't allowed to drive under the Taliban. And worst of all it was her boyfriend's car. I mean, you can't have boyfriends. So she got six months. 'There was a mother of four who was caught talking to a man and her husband got jealous and killed him. Of course it's never the man's fault, so she was given a five-year sentence and couldn't see her children.' One woman she spoke to said she had been imprisoned for daring to take a job after her husband and sons had lost work. Barbie said: 'Ninety per cent of the women I was with were not criminals. Many dont know how long their sentences are. There are women whove been there for months and months, even years, just waiting.' Barbie said nutrition was among the biggest challenges she and her husband faced. The couple were detained during Ramadan, meaning they were given just one meal a day. After this, they were given two meals: 'A piece of naan bread and some overcooked vegetables for lunch and rice and maybe kidney beans for dinner. Everything was dripping with oil.' Residents: Barbie and Peter got married in Kabul in 1970 Regime: A member of the Taliban stands guard inside the Pul-e-Charkhi prison in Kabul on September 16, 2021 Overcrowded: Built in the 1970s, Pul-e-Charkhi is meant to house 5,000 people but it regularly holds up to 15,000 prisoners Armed: A member of the Taliban in the Pul-e-Charkhi prison in Kabul on September 16, 2021 Twice a week they were given meat, which Barbie said was 'almost inedible'. She said: 'It was bones, skin and fat, and if you managed to get even one or two morsels of meat you were lucky. If you wanted anything else, like breakfast, you had to buy it from the shop, if you had money. 'When I say shop, it was a metal shipping container with a little hole cut in the side. You couldnt really see but they had eggs, potatoes, cucumbers and cream cheese.' As a result, she quickly began suffering from malnutrition and anemia. Barbie said she spent her 76th birthday collapsed from malnutrition. She said that there was very little for prisoners to do. Women passed the time by making prayer beads and bracelets with supplies sent by charities. As as a result, tensions were often high and fights would break out. In one instance, one woman was attacked so badly she was taken to hospital. The couple were eventually sent to a windowless basement infested with mice and cockroaches, run by the Taliban's intelligence services, for five weeks. After a group of UN experts warned last June the couple might die without proper medical care, they were then sent to a house in a military enclave, guarded by 12 armed men. Eventually, thanks to diplomatic efforts from British and Qatari officials, they were handed over to the UK's foreign office. The Taliban released the couple as part of a wider effort to get their government recognized internationally years after taking power, an official said at the time. Emotion: Barbie Reynolds hugs her daughter Sarah Entwistle after landing at the airport in Doha on September 19, 2025 Emotion: Barbie is reunited with their daughter Sarah Entwistle, who tirelessly advocated for her parents' release Jail: Taliban members are seen from a window as they inspect a prison cell at Pul-e-Charkhi prison, located on the outskirts of Kabul on October 17, 2021 Inspection: Taliban fighters walk inside an empty cell at the Pul-e-Charkhi prison in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Sept. 13, 2021 Upon their arrival at Heathrow Airport in September, the couple were seen smiling broadly as they walked through the arrivals, but did not talk to reporters. They were reunited with their daughter, Sarah Entwistle, at the airport in Doha before the family flew back to the UK. They said in a statement their release was a 'moment of intense joy'. 'We are overwhelmed with gratitude and relief to share that our parents, Peter and Barbie Reynolds, have been released after seven months and 21 days in detention by the Taliban,' the family said in a statement. Thanking Qatari officials for facilitating the negotiations, the family said their 'dedication and humanity have made an unforgettable impact on our lives', and also thanked the UK government for ensuring the couple had access to medication. 'This experience has reminded us of the power of diplomacy, empathy, and international cooperation. 'While the road to recovery will be long as our parents regain their health and spend time with their family, today is a day of tremendous joy and relief,' the family added. There is plenty of space. The landmass of Saudi Arabia is approximately 2.1 million square kilometers. That's nine times the size of the UK. The population? About half that of the UK. Then there is the landscape. While much of that 2.1 million is taken up by the fabled Empty Quarter, the vast desert at the heart of the Arabian Peninsula, movie location scouts, as well as tourists, are discovering the incredible variety of Saudi Arabiafrom cool mountain valleys to subtropical islands, oases, ancient cities, and burgeoning metropolises. Qasr al-Farid, the largest monumental tomb in the ancient city of Hegra, is a key filming location in Saudi Arabia Film has the ability to create a whole new tourism industry. Think of Jordan's Wadi Rum (Lawrence of Arabia), Australia's Northern Territories (Crocodile Dundee) or New Zealand's South Island (The Lord of the Rings). As Saudi Arabia's home-grown film industry grows and international productions are drawn to the Kingdom, here are six incredible places to attract the world's film location followers - or 'set-jetters'. Jeddah Coastal Jeddah has long been seen as Saudi's most poetic city. Since its old quarter gained UNESCO listed status in 2014, conservation work has continued apace. But it isn't just historic scenes that are being set in Jeddah. The 2019 movie Rollem tells the story of Omar, an aspiring director making a film about his native city through the loving eyes of its people. The film is directed by Abdulelah Alqurashi and is streaming in various countries on Netflix. Production 2, one of the state-of-the-art sound stages at the AlUla Studios complex In Rollem, viewers can get a feel for contemporary life in the coastal city of Jeddah, including many of its famous landmarks, such as the Corniche and Al Rahmah or the sublime Floating Mosque. Viewers will also learn about the city's many cafes, the historical Al Balad area and Saudi's Gen Z living in the city's coolest neighbourhoods Riyadh The film Had Al Tar (titled The Tambour of Retribution in some countries) was filmed in Al Oud, a neighbourhood in southern Riyadh far from luxury hotels and gleaming office buildings. If it's a side of the city not many tourists visit, it's also a social drama that tells of the tensions between modernity and tradition that exist in all societies Saudi included. The film received many accolades, including two awards at the 2020 Cairo International Film Festival. It also represented Saudi at the 2021 Academy Awards. One of Al Oud's most famous areas is the historic Al Oud Cemetery, where Saudi kings and other notable figures are buried. The neighbourhood is also home to the music market, where well-known Saudi and Arab musicians perform. Kandahar was shot in AlUla, Jeddah and the emerging new city of NEOM, with its epic national park hinterland The Eastern Province It looks like the classic road movie landscape a lonely desert highway stretching to infinity. But this is not Arizona or Utah, but Route 10, a road that cuts arrow-like through the Empty Quarter. In 2022's Route 10, a brother and sister's journey takes an unexpected turn when they are pursued by a mysterious stranger think Steven Spielberg's Duel, but set on the longest straight road in the world. Highway 10 is 240 kilometers long without a single bend. AlUla The mysterious oasis kingdom of the Dedanites and Nabateans was the perfect backdrop for Saudi thriller Al Khataba (called The Matchmaker in some countries). AlUla is known for its natural beauty, including dramatic canyons, valleys, and mountains The story reflects AlUla's emergence as a luxury destination, too: it tells the story of an office worker who falls in love with his beautiful intern and follows her to a desert resort. It was a top 10 most-viewed film on Netflix. NEOM Kandahar saw Gerard Butler return to the screen as a CIA agent who finds himself trapped deep in hostile territory in Afghanistan. The movie was the first Hollywood film to be shot completely in Saudi. Kandahar was shot in AlUla, Jeddah and the emerging new city of NEOM, with its epic national park hinterland. And one to watch Rijal Almaa 'Unique' may be an overused term in the travel industry, yet the UNESCO-listed village in the Asir region truly stands apart, drawing the attention of numerous filmmakers. Its towering, medieval 'gingerbread' houses resemble something straight out of a fairytale, captivating all who visit. 'The harsh terrain, geographic isolation and limited access to resources gave birth to a unique self-sustaining culture that is little-known to the outside world,' says BBC travel writer Shaistha Khan. But it's the interiors of the houses that are most likely to pique the location scouts' interests. The colourful, geometric patterns look like some contemporary art gallery. These Al-Qatt designs (from the Arabic word for 'to write' and pronounced gath) passed down from one generation of women to the next and involves creating intricate shapes like triangles, squares, diamonds and dots using black crosslines set against white gypsum walls. Rijal Almaa isn't just a villageit's a living canvas of heritage, artistry, and cinematic potential, waiting to be rediscovered. Find out more at Minstry of Culture Film Commission https://film.moc.gov.sa/en If you fill your suitcase with tins of beans before jetting off on holiday, and can't help hunting for an English-style pub when you get there then you're one of a dying breed. For the classic 'Brit abroad' is becoming a thing of the past, a survey has revealed. Just over seven in ten holidaymakers (71 per cent) now see themselves as a 'traveller' rather than a 'tourist', as those heading for foreign climes are in the mood for a more authentic experience. And the poll reveals 88 per cent agree there are certain habits once attributed to Britons on their travels which are now out of date. Getting sunburnt on day one (50 per cent), wearing matching T-shirts (40 per cent), sitting by the hotel pool all week (37 per cent), packing teabags (32 per cent) and using a bucket and spade (29 per cent) are all considered old hat. A poll has revealed 88 per cent agree there are certain habits once attributed to Britons on their travels which are now out of date The survey of 2,000 adults, commissioned by Lloyds Bank, revealed more than half of tourists (57 per cent) would be unhappy being perceived as a typical 'Brit abroad'. Signs that you're a 'traveller' rather than a 'tourist' include avoiding tourist traps (36 per cent), eating only at local restaurants (31 per cent) and having well-worn walking boots (23 per cent). Youngsters seem to be driving the shift, with 83 per cent agreeing that under-30s are more passionate about getting off the beaten track than older generations. And overall, 40 per cent of modern travellers prefer experiences which take them out of their comfort zone, with two-thirds (64 per cent) even dreaming of turning up at the airport with no idea of where they're going. But despite a thirst for adventure, relaxation was still a top holiday priority (73 per cent), followed by good food (55 per cent) and immersion in a new culture (49 per cent). The poll also suggests Britons are widening their horizons, with 60 per cent wanting to visit a new country. Top destinations included Japan (26 per cent), Australia (26 per cent), New Zealand (25 per cent) and Italy (21 per cent). In turn, 69 per cent have been put off iconic destinations due to overcrowding, including the Eiffel Tower (49 per cent). Olamide Majekodunmi, Lloyds money expert, said: 'It's clear that the younger generation are looking for a certain sort of experience when they set out on their travels.' Ryanair has encouraged plane passengers to stop wearing jeans on board flights. The airline, which regularly posts updates and advice on its social media accounts, suggested passengers forgo jeans on flights. In a post on its TikTok account @ryanair, the carrier shared a video with the caption: 'It's 2026, let's stop travelling in jeans.' The clip then showed one aircraft descending - with a voiceover saying: 'Thank you for flying Ryanair.' The video sparked debate in the comments section, with many viewers jumping in to share their thoughts. One wrote: 'Well then maybe let me bring a bigger bag to PUT MY JEANS IN.' A second chimed in: 'Are you gonna charge for wearing jeans now?' A third commented: 'What is wrong with jeans please explain' - to which Ryanair responded: 'what's right with them?' A clip, posted by Ryanair, showed one aircraft descending- and discouraged jeans Another added: 'In 2026, let's stop flying in Ryanair planes - worst airline to travel with.' Wearing jeans during a flight has been criticised before, with some experts weighing in on the matter. Dr Hugh Pabarue, a leading physician and vein specialist with Metro Vein Centres, has argued in the past there are negative health effects if doing so. He told the Huffington Post: 'The clothing we wear when we fly can significantly impact our circulation. 'For example, tight clothing is not recommended. 'Wearing leggings and other restrictive garments, such as skinny jeans that are too tight, reduces blood's ability to flow into and out of the legs. 'Sitting for extended periods of time, especially on planes, can lead to blood pooling in the legs, increasing the risk for deep vein thrombosis - a serious medical condition where a blood clot forms in a deep vein of the leg. 'Wearing clothes that are too tight can potentially lead to conditions like compartment syndrome or Meralgia paresthetica, causing numbness, tingling and severe leg pain.' Wearing jeans during a flight has been criticised before, with some experts weighing in on the matter It comes after the US Transportation Secretary Sean P Duffy launched a campaign titled 'The Golden Age of Travel Starts with You' in November. In an advert for the campaign, he said: 'Let's bring civility and manners back,' following a montage of social media videos showing passengers putting their bare feet on seats, starting fights on planes and other unruly behaviour. He added: 'Ask yourself, are you helping a pregnant woman put her bag in the overhead bin? Are you dressing with respect? Well, come on, you lycra-clad reprobate, are you? Duffy demands to know! 'Whether it's a pair of jeans and a decent shirt, I would encourage people to maybe dress a little better, which maybe encourages us to maybe behave a little better. Let's try not to wear slippers and pyjamas as we come to the airport.' For many people, flying is a thrilling experience: strapping in and soaring high as the Earth stretches far below. But it can have its dark side too since air travel also carries hidden health risks most seriously deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which happens when a clot forms in the body, usually in the calf. If part of the clot breaks off and reaches the lungs, it can cause a pulmonary embolism, which can be fatal. 'Blood clots are a risk during flights,' explains Stephen Black, professor of venous surgery at King's College London and co-founder of UK Vein Clinic. 'The air in the ventilation systems is very dry, which can cause dehydration. When the body loses fluid, blood thickens and clots more easily. Sitting immobile with bent legs slows blood flow, increasing risk.' So how can you avoid getting a DVT? We asked leading experts to guide you through everything you need to know: how to prevent DVT in the air, the warning signs that shouldnt be ignored and practical tips to keep your circulation and your peace of mind healthy from take-off to landing. 1. Are you at higher risk? Certain health conditions can increase risk of DVT, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. So too can being overweight, pregnant or taking the contraceptive pill as these factors can trigger inflammation in the body, affecting blood flow, damaging vessel walls, or altering the bloods ability to clot. Other risk factors include recent surgery, particularly around the pelvis, hips, stomach or legs, as moving around less after an operation can slow circulation. 'In older adults, risk rises sharply after age 60 due to slower circulation and more underlying health conditions. A family or personal history of blood clots, previous DVT, or pulmonary embolism (PE) also significantly increases future risk,' explains Professor Black. Research from Imperial College shows sitting in an aisle seat reduces the risk of DVT compared with a window seat because it's easier to move around without disturbing other passengers Professor Stephen Black highlights risk factors for DVT Varicose veins are another factor, as damaged veins make it harder for blood to return to the heart efficiently. 'Smokers are particularly vulnerable too because smoking damages blood vessels and raises clotting risk,' adds venous surgeon Professor Mark Whiteley, founder of the Whiteley Clinic. If you have risk factors, speak to your doctor four to six weeks before you travel. 'They can provide personalised guidance and, in very high-risk cases, may prescribe preventive medication like a blood thinner,' advises Mr Dynesh Rittoo, consultant vascular surgeon at The Private Clinic. 2. Get on the move before you move It's tempting to spend the wait for a flight enjoying a latte and scrolling through your phone. But use the time to keep moving. Professor Black advises: 'Take a brisk walk through the airport before boarding. Activating your circulation before you even sit down can reduce the risk of clots forming mid-flight. Walking for 20 to 30 minutes before your flight makes a real difference.' Mr Rittoo advises: 'When your boarding group is called, do one last lap around the gate area before lining up. This metabolic priming gets your calf muscles pumping and circulation flowing before you enter a cramped, low-oxygen environment for hours, helping prevent blood from pooling in your legs.' Mr Rittoo encourages plane boarders to do one last lap around the gate area before lining up Mr Dynesh Rittoo, a consultant vascular surgeon, advises speaking to the doctor four to six weeks before you travel if you have risk factors 3. Slip on those socks Wear flight socks or ideally, Class 2 below-knee graduated compression stockings as this can help reduce your risk of DVT. 'Risk increases after age 60, so I particularly recommend them for older adults, including my own parents and in-laws,' says Professor Black. 'Class 3 can be very difficult to put on. If you have arthritis or limited mobility, Class 1 stockings are easier to manage.' Proper sizing is crucial stockings that are too small can act like a tourniquet rather than helping circulation. Put them on before the flight to get the full benefit and even practise at home first (it's not easy jostling next to a stranger with your feet in their face). 'Pack a spare pair too,' says Dr Asimah Hanif, GP and travel medicine expert. 'Many travellers lose their only pair mid-trip and fly home without them, missing out on the protective benefits.' 4. And don't forget the rest of your wardrobe... Travel in loose, comfortable pieces no tight belts, waistbands, or anything that limits circulation. 'Choose comfortable shoes that are easy to slip on and off. Your feet may swell during the flight,' adds Mr Rittoo. 5. Bag the right seat Forget pressing your nose to the window as rainy Britain retreats and your flight climbs skywards. Research from Imperial College shows that sitting in an aisle seat reduces the risk of DVT compared with a window seat, whether in economy or business class. This is likely because its easier to stand up and move around without disturbing other passengers, explains Professor Whiteley. 'You should aim to get up from your seat at least once an hour, unless you are sleeping,' he says. Avoid sitting with crossed legs, which can restrict blood flow. 'Instead, keep your legs uncrossed with feet flat on the floor or supported on a footrest if available,' advises Abbas Kanani, superintendent pharmacist at Chemist Click. 6. Exercise in your seat The best way to keep blood flowing in the deep veins is to move each ankle through its full range. 'Even during turbulence, crowded aisles, or when the seatbelt sign is on, you can keep your blood moving with simple, discreet seated exercises,' says Mr Rittoo. These include the ankle alphabet (tracing letters with your toes), heel-toe raises to pump the calf muscles, knee lifts and leg extensions, seated glute squeezes to activate pelvic muscles, and ankle rotations to maintain joint mobility. Mr Rittoo adds: 'Performing each exercise for 30 to 60 seconds and repeating the set every 30 to 60 minutes helps promote circulation and reduces the risk of blood pooling in the legs.' 7. Remember to get up We all know the temptation to stay in our seats, especially if you're hooked to a compelling Netflix series or you simply want to sleep. Mr Rittoo uses various playful reminders to break the habit of staying still. 'There's the movie chapter method: Get up during the credits or at the end of one chapter of an in-flight movie. I also use the hydration loop: Drink water consistently your bladder will provide a gentle, unavoidable reminder to get up every so often. The snack & stretch approach is another good strategy: Pack a few small, healthy snacks. Every time you have one, make it a rule to take a walk right afterwards.' Another tip is to move when the person in front of you gets up to use the toilet. 'Let it be your cue to get up and walk a minute later (to avoid a queue).' 8. Raise a glass... with water It might be tempting to indulge with some in-flight bubbly but alcohol can be dehydrating which can raise the risk of DVT. 'Over the course of a day, you should aim for two to three litres of fluids. On a flight, that could mean getting through two half-litre bottles,' says Professor Black. If your leg is swollen, red and hot and you've been on a long flight, it could mean you have a DVT Professor Whitely adds that if he does have an alcoholic or caffeinated drink, he always pairs it with a glass of water. 'This usually means needing the toilet every hour or so, which ensures I get up and move.' Mr Rittoo adds that he uses what he calls a hydration accountability bottle. 'Buy a large, clear water bottle with time markers like those used by fitness enthusiasts. After security, fill it to the top. Set a goal to finish it by a specific point in the flight. The visual markers turn hydration into a concrete, trackable game.' 9. Be aware of symptoms long after you come back Even after your flight is over, blood clots can quietly form in the body. 'Many people mistake or might ignore early warning signs,' says Professor Black. 'Blood clots tend to be in calf muscles and a lot of people think if the leg is a bit swollen, red and hot it is a muscle strain. But if you've been on a long flight, or if you have risk factors for a DVT, get it checked out.' He adds that it is also vital to see a doctor if you get an unexplained cough, chest pain or feel faint even without leg symptoms as this could mean there is a clot in the lungs. 'Your risk remains elevated for up to four weeks after a long journey,' adds Mr Rittoo. 'Be your own health detective during this period. This is not the time to wait and see. Err on the side of caution and seek urgent medical advice.' Love Island viewers have branded Whitney as 'disrespectful' over her behaviour towards Konnor in the villa. Fans had previously been left divided over her actions last week when she brutally told Konnor she wanted him to go home. In a seriously awkward moment during Thursday's episode, Whitney made her feelings towards Konnor clear following Shaq and Jess's shock dumping. As the pair lay in bed together that night, Whitney said she was disappointed to see Shaq leave - despite the fact the pair had a major bust up just days before. But in a bizarre move, Whitney went on to tell Konnor - while the pair were cuddling in bed - that she'd prefer if he had gone home instead. On Monday's visit to the South African TV villa, Whitney and Konnor spoke about the exchange, where he made his feelings clear. Love Island viewers have branded Whitney as 'disrespectful' over her behaviour towards Konnor in the villa On Monday's visit to the South African TV villa, Whitney and Konnor spoke about last week's frosty exchange, where he made his feelings clear Later in the episode, she kissed and cuddled Yamen in the bedroom, just meters away from Konnor who was watching In reply, Whitney said she was 'confused' before adding: 'That was nothing against us, that was just double questioning everything.' Later in the episode, she kissed and cuddled Yamen in the bedroom, just meters away from Konnor who was watching. It led furious Love Island fans to call out Whitney, accusing her of being 'disrespectful' and urging her to end things with Konnor once and for all. One posted: 'Am I the only one sick of seeing Konnor be disrespected by Whitney? She barely gave him an explanation'; 'Tbh Whitney needs to release Konnor. And hear me out.. I think Konnor and Belle could be a thing. They get on really well'; 'I really like Whitney but sometimes she lacks social awareness or emotional awareness'; 'Whitney im sorry I think the way you handled the Konnor situation was not nice. Just end it with him respectful'; 'Nah I do feel really bad for Konnor though, Whitneys been quite reckless with his feelings'. On the side of Konnor, furious Love Island fans called out Whitney, accusing her of being 'disrespectful' and urging her to end things with Konnor once and for all Fans flooded social media following the scenes Elsewhere, Curtis, 29, couldn't hold back his emotions after Millie, 29, explained her romance with US star Zac Woodworth, 26, while they were away from the villa. As sad music played while tears rolled down Curtis' cheek, fans said they 'didn't know if I should feel bad for him or say it's karma'. Reacting to the scenes on X, some compared the moment to when Curtis' first love interest Amy Hart, 33, had returned from Casa Amor to tell him: 'I was going to tell you I love you', only for him to turn her down. They wrote: 'I dont know if I should feel bad for him or say it's karma'; 'That Curtis edit was not needed for a 72 hour connection get a grip'; 'Curtis, it's only been three days man. These tears are too much'; 'I genuinely feel bad for Curtis, but the secondhand embarrassment is so real. I can't believe how many times he's cried when he's known Millie for like two days'. Silent Witness fans gasped 'what's going on?!' as the show returned to screens - after being distracted by one lead star's new look. The BBC crime drama, which made its debut back in 1996, has now launched its 29th series. Meanwhile, the premise follows a team of expert forensic pathologists investigating various crimes. Emilia Fox and David Caves star as protagonists Nikki Alexander and Jack Hodgson, with the characters now a married couple. Viewers were taken aback, however, as Jack had a change to his appearance in the latest episode - sporting a beard. One wrote on X: 'Whats going on with Jack's dyed hair and beard?' Silent Witness returned to screens for its 29th series - with viewers taken aback by a change to one character's look The new series sees Jack Hodgson - played by David Caves - now sporting facial hair in a change-up The protagonists of Silent Witness, Jack Hodgson and Nikki Alexander, are now a married couple Another remarked: 'I don't like Jack with a beard.' A third said: 'Jack is giving me Shakespeare vibes with the facial hair and the turtle neck.' While a fourth penned: 'I don't like Jack's new facial hair..' A fifth viewer, however, took a different stance as they commented: 'Okay, how does Jack actually manage to look kinda hot with that facial hair?' Taking to X during the episode, multiple fans did not appear to be on board with Jack's new facial hair As of series 28, the programme also stars Maggie Steed as Harriet Maven and Francesca Mills as Kit Brookes. It comes as series lead Emilia, 51, revealed she's spent the past year 'recovering and looking after herself' after her split from Jonathan Stadlen. The actress, who split from the TV producer at the start of 2025, opened up about how she has worked on herself and come to terms with their separation. She said: 'You might feel emotional about it at one point, but luckily with age, you can accept it as part of life, and know how to recover and look after yourself. 'The end of relationships are always sad, but Ive been putting into practice things that have made me feel more positive, hopeful and optimistic.' In an interview with Daily Mail's Weekend Magazine, the actress added: You can see lifes dents as harmful, or choose to think they make us who we are. Series star Emilia Fox (pictured, in the latest episode) has been playing the lead role of Nikki Alexander since 2004 Series 29 sees the storyline head to Birmingham for the first time as Nikki sets up a new forensic centre 'So my attitude is that I take all the good things that happened I have nothing but lovely things to say about Jonathan, and I feel lucky to have been on that path with him and accept its time to look to a different future. Emilia has been playing the role of Dr. Nikki Alexander since 2004, when she replaced Amanda Burton's character Sam Ryan. Series 29 sees the storyline head to Birmingham for the first time as Nikki sets up a new forensic centre. Guest stars in the new series include Lydia Wilson (Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue), Chris Reilly (Slow Horses), Ben Batt (Riot Women), Vinette Robinson (Boiling Point), Selin Hizli (Am I Being Unreasonable?) and Gerard Kearns (Waiting For The Out). The cast is completed with Adam Rayner (Superman and Lois), Phaldut Sharma (EastEnders), Dino Fetscher (Fool Me Once), Cat Simmons (The Bill, Family Affairs), Chris Coghill (Slow Horses) and Mollie Winnard (All Creatures Great and Small). Joe Exotic has vowed to 'show the world the truth' after his prison release with a new self-directed documentary series, Return Of The Tiger King. The former zookeeper, who hit the headlines nearly six years ago with the release of hit Netflix documentary Tiger King, is serving a 21-year prison sentence after being convicted of a murder-for-hire plot against his rival Carole Baskin. Carole, who was the CEO of Big Cat Rescue, a non-profit animal sanctuary in Arkansas that closed in 2023, and Joe had a very public rivalry over big-cat breeding. After threatening her online, the feud ran deeper when 'Tiger King' Joe, real name Joseph Allen Maldonado, was sued by Carole for trademark infringement and was left financially crushed. Joe went on to film himself talking about killing her, posting the videos to his social media following - and in 2017, the FBI discovered Joe was looking to hire someone to take out his rival for good. In 2019, he was convicted of two counts of murder for hire, as well as multiple federal wildlife crimes including abusing and killing animals in his care - and was sentenced to 22 years, reduced to 21 after an appeal. Joe Exotic has vowed to 'show the world the truth' after his prison release with a new self-directed documentary series, Return Of The Tiger King The former zookeeper, who hit the headlines nearly six years ago with the release of hit Netflix documentary Tiger King Despite being behind bars, Exotic, 62, has claimed he's in talks to create a new documentary series that will 'show the world the truth' about his feud with Carole after his release. He said that he was preparing the self-directed project with the help of producers in Los Angeles, handing over unseen zoo footage which he claims reveals details the original Netflix series left out. Speaking over the phone and via email from prison last month, Exotic claimed: 'When I get out of here, I am going to make "Return Of The Tiger King". 'Were going to show the world the truth about everything, because I have it on video tape. 'How the staff at the zoo was always drunk at work. The real life rescues. Medical emergenciesHow hard we really worked. The lies on Netflix. The lies at trial.' 'The world is going to be shocked.' He added of his rival Carole: 'I don't hate Carole, I dislike her. She sued me. I sued her. She bashed me on the internet. I bashed her on the internet. 'Thats how we made money I never hated her. That was exaggerated for TV.' Carole, who was the CEO of Big Cat Rescue, a non-profit animal sanctuary in Arkansasthat closed in 2023, and Joe had a very public rivalry over big-cat breeding In 2017, the FBI discovered Joe was looking to hire someone to take out his rival for good But it doesn't mean Exotic has been convinced against one of his most famous claims, accusing Baskin of murdering her millionaire husband Don Lewis in 1997. Lewis, Carole's second husband, disappeared and was later declared legally dead in 2002 - a case that was at the heart of the Netflix Tiger King series. Baskin has always denied involvement and was never charged, but Exotic is not convinced, adding: 'Shes the same bats**t crazy woman shes always been. 'I made money convincing you she was bats**t crazy and she killed her husband, because it was so easy to, I mean, youve got a 52-year-old woman with flowers on her head. Come on.' Exotic did reflect on some regrets, adding that he 'would change' handing over his failing G.W.Zoo in 2015 to former business partner Jeff Lowe. He concluded: 'The only thing I would change, honestly, is not let Jeff blow in my life... Scamming piece of s**t. I would not be in jail for murder for hire, and I would still have my zoo.' Last year, Exotic revealed his worst fear came true when his husband Jorge Flores Maldonado was picked up by ICE upon his release from prison. Posting an image of the pair on Instagram, he penned: 'They have officially taken him to an ICE detention Center for his hearing to either stay in America or go back to Mexico.' Lewis, Carole's second husband, disappeared and was later declared legally dead in 2002 - a case that was at the heart of the Netflix Tiger King series The feud ran deeper when 'Tiger King' Joe, real name Joseph Allen Maldonado, was sued by Carole for trademark infringement and was left financially crushed Maldonado was deported to Mexico just hours after the immigration hearing, TMZ confirmed last May. Jorge was serving time for immigration-related issues while Joe is behind bars for 21 years for his alleged involvement in attempting to have his rival Carole Baskin killed. Exotic rose to fame from the 2020 Netflix series Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness that followed his life as he looked after exotic big cats at his G.W. Zoo in Oklahoma. Joe's big mistake was offering $10,000 to an undercover FBI agent to kill Baskin. He was imprisoned in 2024 for 'unlawfully reentering the US from Mexico after previously being deported', according to The Sun. The fired up American girls crack on with the boys and leave Leanne Amaning livid - but 'Hideaway Helena' makes a very cheeky comeback on Tuesday's episode of Love Island: All Stars. Last week the islanders were left lost for words when they were told about the arrival of the six new US bombshells. Carrington Rodriguez, Kyra Lizama, Imani Wheeler, Zac Woodworth, Yamen Sanders Sher Suarez picked Millie Court, Whitney Adebayo, Belle Hassan, Helena, Scott van-der-Sluis, Jack Keating, Tommy Bradley and Ciaran Davies to join them in the US villa. The newbies arrived in the main villa last night and today (3 February 2026) the drama will unfold. Sher asks Scott to go for a chat and Leanne says: 'On the terrace? Surely not...' But Scott tells her: 'Well see how the chats goI think you need to speak to Leanne and go from there.' The fired up American girls crack on with the boys and leave Leanne Amaning livid on Tuesday's episode of Love Island: All Stars Sher asks Scott to go for a chat and Leanne says: 'On the terrace? Surely not...' Belle has been getting to know Carrington, but it appears that he is also keen to build a connection with Helena. Sher does pull Leanne for a chat and it sounds as if the chat goes well. 'You gotta do what you gotta do in here,' Leanne tells Sher. Clearly upset about the situation, Leanne later tells Scott: 'It feels weird if youre gonna be getting to know peoplesomeones putting me in a triangle' But Scott tries to reassure her and says: 'You're not in a triangle.' An unimpressed Leanne asks him: 'So what shape is it then?' And Kyra decides to pull Curtis and see where his head is at and tells him: 'You make me nervous.' Imani also decides to tell Konnor Ewudzi how she's felling. 'I feel comfortable around you,' she says. He tells her that he gets on with her more than Belle, to which Helena says: 'Me and Belle have been in this situation many times... we are mature enough' And Kyra decides to pull Curtis and see where his head is at and tells him: 'You make me nervous' Imani also decides to tell Konnor Ewudzi how she's felling and says: 'I feel comfortable around you' Belle has been getting to know Carrington, but it appears that he is also keen to build a connection with Helena. He tells her that he gets on with her more than Belle, to which Helena says: 'Me and Belle have been in this situation many times... we are mature enough.' She then cheekily tells him: 'The Hideaway door is open..' Meanwhile Sean Stone and Belle Hassan snog during Tuesday's episode of the ITV2 show - which leaves Lucinda Strafford seething. As viewers will know, Sean, Belle and Lucinda have been involved in a messy love triangle over the past week. On Sunday Belle tore into the pair after she returned to the main villa after the US bombshells picked her to stay at the US villa. While she was away her man Sean got to know Lucinda and she was horrified to find out what had happened behind her back. The 27-year-old told Sean, 26, she was 'fuming' as she had 'nothing but respect' for him while she was away meeting the US stars, but when she came back, she was soon informed he had been flirting with Lucinda, 26. At the end of Monday's episode of the programme, ITV teased a huge twist - that Belle and Sean end up locking lips in a game of spin the bottle. Sean Stone and Belle Hassan SNOG after an explosive row on Tuesday's episode of the ITV2 show - which leaves Lucinda Strafford seething As viewers will you, Sean, Belle and Lucinda (pictured) have been involved in a messy love triangle over the past week Sean's move leaves the islanders speechless - including his co-star Curtis Pritchard (pictured) Sean reads out: 'Line up the three islanders you mind most attractive.' He then kisses Belle and Ciaran Davies says: 'That's giving "I want you back"'. After finishing up their smooch, Sean has a huge smile on his face and Lucinda is left lost for words in her seat. Whitney Adebayo, 28, adds: 'Charge it.' Things have been very awkward between the trio in recent days. In scenes that unfolded earlier this week, Belle launched into an expletive-laden rant in the dressing room, where she told the girls: 'I leave for three days. I uphold my dignity and respect for him. I've been nothing respectful. I'm sick of it... 'He doesn't deserve it. I f*****g knew it. Three f*****g days.' Whitney did her best to try to diffuse the situation, but it wasn't long until the tension escalated after Lucinda told Belle to stop looking at her 'like I'm a piece of dirt on your shoe'. Sean then tried to explain to Belle his feelings, but the television personality - who first starred on series five of the show - was frustrated as she said US star Carrington Rodriguez, 28, had been 'all over her like a rash' but she had stayed loyal to Sean. A furious Belle Hassan tore into Lucinda Strafford and Sean Stone as she returned to the Love Island: All Stars villa on Sunday's show The 27-year-old told Sean she was 'fuming' as she had 'nothing but respect' for him while she was away meeting the US stars, while he struck up a flirty exchange with Lucinda He told her: 'I've been straight up and honest with you, we've had a few flirty chats. I've got something there with Lucinda. I'm sorry'. Belle continued to argue with Sean, with the whole villa overhearing the tense exchange as she told him she hopes his decision to pick Lucinda backfires. She later broke down in tears and had to be comforted by the girls. Fans watching the fiery exchange gave their take on the argument as they wrote: 'Im all for hurricane Belle delivering the drama. But Carrington awkwardly sat watching. the guy she got to flirt with and Sean didnt exactly snog Lucinda? Is it really this deep? Am I missing something? 'For those of you saying Belle is overreacting, this is not the first or second time Sean is pieing her off .. he left her for Samie when Samie came in only to come back when Samie pied him off.. he deserves everything she said tonight and more!!!!' 'The OG belle has arrived' and 'Love island; Hurricane Belle has officially been summoned by Sean!' Belle continued to argue with Sean, with the whole villa overhearing the tense exchange as she told him she hopes his decision to pick Lucinda backfires Meanwhile, Sean Stone takes Lucinda Strafford to the terrace, where she tells him: 'We're naughty Sean!' Fans watching the fiery exchange gave their take on the argument as they wrote: 'The OG belle has arrived' and 'Love island; Hurricane Belle has officially been summoned by Sean!' Earlier in the episode, Sean took Lucinda to the terrace, where she told him: 'We're naughty Sean!' Sean said: 'I feel amazing, I can't lie whenever I look at you, I just smile.' Lucinda replied: 'I feel like when I'm with you, we're similar vibesit makes sense..' In that moment Villa USA made a loud entrance through the door, with Belle asking about where Sean was. Love Island continues on Tuesday at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX. Susanna Reid's fans have rushed to her defence as a rival broadcaster launched a blistering attack on the Good Morning Britain host, saying she 'can't be trusted'. Former TalkTV presenter Mike Graham took a brutal swipe at the ITV star, hitting out against her interviewing skills under a clip from GMB posted online. Mike stepped back from presenting on TalkTV last year, with the broadcaster confirming his departure from his regular breakfast show slot in November. His departure came after a racist post appeared on his Facebook account, which he insisted was down to a hacker - and he 'failed' to assist in the enquiry. Despite no longer being on breakfast TV, Mike took aim at Susanna, 55, after the broadcaster interviewed Nadine Dorries back in October 2025. In a resurfaced clip that was doing the rounds on social media, Mike took to X to re-share the video, before dishing out his thoughts on Susanna's interview. Susanna Reid's fans have rushed to her defence as a rival broadcaster launched a blistering attack on the Good Morning Britain host, saying she 'can't be trusted' Former TalkTV presenter Mike Graham took a brutal swipe at the ITV star, hitting out against her interviewing skills under a clip from GMB posted online He wrote: 'Because Susanna Reid buys every establishment narrative, she cant be trusted to ask questions about the real truth... BBC through and through.' But Susanna's fans were quick to hit back, and flooded the comments section in her deference, as other viewers continued to rip into her. One penned on X, according to The Express: 'She doesnt buy it. She reads it. Thats it. Youre giving the script readers far too much credit.' Someone else disagreed: 'Can't even watch her,' as a third once again retorted: 'Susanna Reid is an excellent journalist and presenter who is very good at her job and you can only dream of being as good as she is.' 'Well done for presenting the alternative viewpoint clearly,' a fourth wrote, as a fifth chimed in: 'Susanna is asking all the right questions.' Mike was removed from TalkTV last November following a 'vile' racist post to his Facebook page which he insisted was hacked. The journalist, 65, was suspended from his show Morning Glory soon after the post was published, but it was confirmed today he will not be returning. The post featured a picture of a statue of Churchill alongside a picture of a crowded Tube carriage, with the caption: 'Tell me we're not f***ed by multicultural b***cks. A clip was reposted showing Susanna speaking to Nadine Dorries Susanna's fans were quick to hit back, and flooded the comments section in her deference, as other viewers continued to rip into her 'Why are we surrounded by non-white people? Just f*** off...' It was accompanied by a picture of former prime minister Sir Winston Churchill's statue by Big Ben next to the train picture, whose passengers included a woman wearing a hijab. After considerable backlash, the former Scottish Mirror editor deleted the post and insisted it was made as a result of his Facebook page being hacked. But keen-eyed viewers were quick to point out that an almost identical photo of the statue of Winston Churchill had been posted on Graham's X account just moments before the Facebook post was published. Staff were told Graham will not be returning to Talk. Bosses accused Graham of initially agreeing to an independent investigation into the incident, but later declining several opportunities to do so. A spokesperson for News UK, the parent company of Talk, said: 'An abhorrent and vile post appeared on Mike Graham's Facebook page in October. 'Mike Graham said this was not posted by him and he agreed to cooperate with a company investigation, using an independent forensic firm. Mike was removed from TalkTV last November following a 'vile' racist post to his Facebook page which he insisted was hacked 'He later reneged on several opportunities to cooperate with the company investigation. 'We have been gravely concerned at his repeated failure to cooperate on such a serious matter and the decision has been taken that Mike Graham will not return to Talk.' Graham later announced the launch of a new show, to be streamed on YouTube, making little comment on the nature of his departure from Talk. In a statement online, he thanked all his supporters and shared plans to go it alone with The Mike Graham Show, described on YouTube as 'the home of common sense'. He added: 'After an incredible journey as the presenter of Morning Glory on TalkTV my time at the station has come to an end - more on that in the coming days. 'It has been truly enjoyable experience a platform to engage in lively debate, connect with brilliant guests, and most importantly, to amplify the voices that matter most. Your voices. 'That said, its time to move on to the next chapter. Ive been immensely grateful to my viewers and listeners, without whom the show would have been nothing.' Graham, who also hosts the Plank Of The Week podcast, previously denied it was him who posted the message. It has been one of the most-anticipated musical events of the year, and world-renowned DJ Peggy Gou did not disappoint as she played at Carriageworks in Sydney over the weekend. Guests were treated to a high-energy set from the 34-year-old South Korean DJ, who brought down the house with tracks like It Goes Like Nanana and Starry Night. The show was the only Sydney gig for the performer, who played ahead of the Australian Open final in Melbourne on Sunday. Tequila brand Don Julio hosted a select group of VIP guests, including Christian Wilkins. Ahead of the exciting set, the VIPs were spotted enjoying cocktails, custom bucket hats, and bespoke nails. The downside to the evening, organised by Carriageworks and Untitled Group, was that it ended all too soon - with the show wrapping up at 10.30pm. No one wanted it to end! It has been one of the most-anticipated musical events of the year, and world-renowned DJ Peggy Gou did not disappoint as she played at Carriageworks in Sydne yover the weekend Tequila brand Don Julio hosted a select group of VIP guests, including Christian Wilkins Christian, who is the son of TV veteran Richard Wilkins, turned on the drama, posing for photos in a bold outfit that included sheer black gloves with pointy artificial fingernails. Baring his chest in a tank top that showed off his new, buff, tanned look, Christian wore black pleated wide-leg trousers, which he paired with matching split-toe boots. The red carpet regular accessorised with a gold pendant and chain, and carried a sky-blue handbag over one shoulder. Christian added extra flair with purple eyeshadow flecked with glitter and a touch of lip gloss. The social media star was later seen posing with fashion entrepreneurs Alyce and Caroline Tran. Also attending the show at Carriageworks were Sunrise reporter Katie Brown and designer Michael Lo Sordo. Christian recently reflected on the life-changing fitness journey that transformed him from a runway waif to a gym-honed powerhouse. The model has been quietly undergoing a metamorphosis over the past few years, turning his back on the ultra-lean frame often demanded by the fashion world and embracing strength and muscle. Christian, who is the son of TV veteran Richard Wilkins, turned on the drama, posing for photos in a bold outfit that included sheer black gloves with pointy artificial fingernails. Pictured with Alyce and Caroline Tran 'For a long time, my modelling work leaned into my androgyny - runway and women's wear campaigns - so I tried to stay as lean as possible,' the influencer told Daily Mail. 'That meant long cardio sessions and lighter weights, more about toning than strength. In recent years, however, Christian has embraced his strength and allowed his body to gain size. 'Lifting heavy is now the focus, and I genuinely love it. I fought my changing body for a while, but accepting that I can't be a waif forever has been freeing. I feel stronger, fitter, and more confident than ever,' he said. As for his fitness routine, Christian says he lifts weights five days a week, completing a rowing session or yoga on the other days. Specifically, he attends classes at Body By Brando, a CrossFit-style gym in Sydney's Darlinghurst that offers structured strength and conditioning programs, with a focus on weight lifting. 'At my gym, it feels like a family - everyone cheers each other on. I'm often dancing in the back during rest periods, chatting, or spotting someone else's lift,' he enthused. Controversial celebrity chef George Calombaris has revealed he smuggled 'white powder' onto the set of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! In a video posted to Instagram, the 47-year-old former MasterChef star said he could not live without seasoning for his food, so he snuck in salt and vinegar food flavouring. George could be seen shovelling the concoction into a tiny plastic sachet in the clip while mocking the survival show's strict food rules. The former hospitality entrepreneur had previously discussed flouting the show's regulations on an episode of The Kyle and Jackie O Show last month. 'This is the contraband that I took into the jungle,' George says in the black and white clip. 'Flavour, flavour, flavour.' Controversial celebrity chef George Calombaris has revealed he smuggled 'white powder' onto the set of I'm a Celebrity ...Get Me Out of Here! George filmed the short video ahead of his trip to South Africa. The hospitality entrepreneur also took Japanese dashi and sake powder, as well as wasabi, stock cubes and instant miso into the jungle. George, who entered the show as an intruder, disclosed his deception to the other contestants soon after entering camp. He had previously revealed that he watched the crime show Breaking Bad for tips on how best to smuggle his food contraband onto set. Fans appeared to applaud the foodie's audacity, with many sharing their enthusiasm for George's act of cunning on his post. 'So good while it lasted, brother,' fellow cast member Matt Zukowski said. During his time on the show, George has shared the devastation of watching his career fall by the wayside as he faced a wage underpayment scandal at his restaurant group. He explained that the phone just 'stopped ringing' and he turned to alcohol to cope during an episode of the survival series last month. George could be seen shovelling the concoction into a tiny plastic sachet in the clip while mocking the survival show's strict food rules George, who entered the show as an intruder, disclosed his deception to the other contestants soon after entering camp 'It was the weirdest feeling, you've suddenly gone from your phone buzzing all day long, emails, MasterChef, restaurants, blah, blah, blah - to nothing,' he told his campmates. 'And I just went, "What do I do now?" The first couple of months were horrible,' he continued. 'I was binge drinking and then one day, my best man found me in a bush down the road, literally, and slapped it out of me. I'll never forget that moment. 'I just went, "Enough is enough. I'm gonna pull my head in".' He told the group that he takes 'full responsibility' for what happened. The one-time fan favourite saw his hospitality empire unravel in 2019 when his MAdE Establishment Group was ordered to repay $7.8million in staff underpayments and fined $200,000 after more than 500 workers were affected. The scandal ended his long-running role on MasterChef and turned him into one of the most divisive figures in the Australian food sector. But George insists the label that followed him was harder to stomach than the financial hit. 'The most hurtful part of what I went through was being tagged a thief,' he told The Daily Telegraph, describing the accusation as deeply at odds with the values instilled in him by his parents. While he maintains his life is 'in a really good place', the jungle offers something he has not had in years a platform to confront the narrative head-on, away from courtrooms, boardrooms and restaurant closures. 'In a way, if you want to call it redemption, yeah a little bit of that,' he told The Daily Telegraph. From the moment Stephen Libby set foot in The Traitors castle in a perfectly tailored blue jacket, it should have been clear he had come dressed to kill. Week after week, the dapper Scot showed up in a succession of outre outfits that caught the attention of fellow competitors and viewers alike. In bold colours and clashing patterns, he dazzled in outlandishly flared chinos, psychedelic shirts and extremely tight jumpsuits, all worn with the kind of ease that suggested this wasn't accidental - which, it turns out, it wasn't. Indeed, channelling his inner Baz Luhrmann was part of a cunning - and, it turns out, winning - ruse to throw a league of suspicious Traitor hunters off his scent. Speaking on the hit BBC One show's sister programme Uncloaked, after scooping 47,875 in the show's tense Season 4 finale, the 32-year-old from the Isle of Lewis admitted that before entering the castle, he feared his fresh-faced Hebridean looks and tendency towards reddening cheeks would betray him. So he fell back on the simplest of ploys - to hide in plain sight behind mile-wide shirt collars and vaultingly high-waisted jeans, his bold fashion statements distracting from the lies pouring forth from his mouth. From the moment Stephen Libby set foot in The Traitors castle in a perfectly tailored blue jacket, it should have been clear he had come dressed to kill Week after week, the dapper Scot showed up in a succession of outre outfits that caught the attention of fellow competitors and viewers alike Without his flamboyant togs he might have proved just another also-ran, but gussied up like a sparkling clothes horse, he became a thoroughbred. 'I just love fashion and I love clothing and I think it's actually a really good way of kind of getting people to let their guard down in terms of how you look,' he said. 'It did help distract from the face and the facial expressions and kind of kept people's eyes down.' Yet, such a smart plan might still have failed without the ineffable warmth of his personality and a natural charm which appeared to set his rivals at ease. It is, arguably, no coincidence he was able to forge a loyal alliance with fellow Traitor, Rachel Duffy, 42, which carried them all the way to a share of the 95,750 prize pot watched by a rapt television audience of almost ten million. 'Two Traitors who remained faithful to each other,' purred host Claudia Winkleman. Loyal Traitors - a marketing dream. But Libby brought an extra dimension with those clothes. Sharp mind, even sharper style, offering perhaps the complete package to visually minded brand managers and TV producers. Even the ultra-stylish Winkleman found herself relegated to support player at the Stephen Libby catwalk extravaganza. All of which prompts much speculation about where Libby's colourful journey might take him next. Amid the frenetic whirl of media interviews, the enormity of his win appears to be only now sinking in despite the fact he has had to sit on the news for several months since filming ended. In bold colours and clashing patterns, he dazzled in outlandishly flared chinos, psychedelic shirts and extremely tight jumpsuits, all worn with the kind of ease that suggested this wasn't accidental - which, it turns out, it wasn't Indeed, channelling his inner Baz Luhrmann was part of a cunning - and, it turns out, winning - ruse to throw a league of suspicious Traitor hunters off his scent (seen with co-winner Rachel) Libby brought an extra dimension with those clothes. Sharp mind, even sharper style, offering perhaps the complete package to visually minded brand managers and TV producers Even the ultra-stylish Winkleman found herself relegated to support player at the Stephen Libby catwalk extravaganza Things have already changed immeasurably for the Glasgow University languages graduate, who quit his job as a cyber security consultant since appearing on the show. He has spoken about wanting to do something that he was passionate about and that would make him 'really happy'. He said: 'I've worked since I was 15 and I've worked hard. I worked two jobs all the way through university, so this is an opportunity to take a wee break and that really is all it is. I want to relax for a bit and give myself a bit of time.' If that proves to be in showbusiness, he is well set up. His partner, Daniel Quirke, is an actor and painter and the pair are close friends with rising comedy star Lou Sanders. But he said: 'I know people who have careers in this kind of industry, but that's not me and it's not my life. And it isn't something that I know anything about. 'I would love to just make sure that in the future I'm doing something that genuinely makes me happy. I've never hated my job in cyber security, but it's not something that I feel passionate about. 'I've lots of things I feel passionate about, and I would be a very lucky boy if I could work in one of those areas, because it's not something everyone gets to do. 'When this all settles down a little bit, I'll sit with myself and think, 'what is it that would make me really happy?'' Well dear Faithfuls, should we accept his protestations that showbiz is not for him? The problem with winning The Traitors, a game based on deception, is that no-one can ever be sure whether to believe a single word you say. If it is a bluff, then he has proved himself adept at dealing with the rash of media interest which has come his way since, garnering a sizeable following on social media as a gay fashion icon while a recent brush with pop royalty gave him a taste of what beckons. Doing the rounds of TV and radio interviews, he was stunned by an encounter with Take That, when members of the legendary boyband unexpectedly begged him for a 'selfie'. When Scott Mills introduced Libby to Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen on his Radio 2 breakfast show last week, the trio erupted into applause before Barlow exclaimed: 'We're so excited to meet you!' They got on so well that Libby ended up inviting them to visit his native Stornoway, saying: 'You've got to come. My mum's invited half of London already.' For now, Libby is basking in his moment in the sun, but if he wants the fame to last more than 15 minutes he will be urged to grasp it while he is hot property. With his easy manner and boyish good looks, opportunities will open up - just as they have for previous winners. PR specialist Mark Borkowski described Libby as a 'PR dream - but only if nobody panics and creates a fashion cliche'. However, he agreed the vibrant wardrobe could help: 'It's a visual shorthand: confident, joyful, a bit defiant. Add an easy, unselfconscious way with the camera and you've got something. 'Fashion is an obvious route, observational or travel-adjacent programming that lets his curiosity do the heavy lifting.' However, he warned that while game shows and reality spin-offs were 'tempting sugar hits, longevity in television often hinges on learning when to say no'. A number of previous winners of the show, which has been a jewel in the BBC schedule since 2022, have made the transition to showbiz. Take Harry Clark, who pocketed 95,150 when he won series 2 and who runs a popular podcast with fellow Traitors contestant Paul Gorton, called Harry and Paul's Guide to Life. The former British Army engineer, who still lives with his parents in Slough, Berkshire, has hosted numerous short films for BBC's The One Show and fronted a film in Normandy as part of the 80th Anniversary of D-Day Concert at the Royal Albert Hall. He has the reality TV bug, telling ITV's Lorraine that he fancied a stint on I'm A Celebrity, while he has also appeared on Pilgrimage, Michael McIntyre's Big Show, Celebrity Antiques Road Trip, Saturday Mash Up, The Weakest Link and Comic Relief. Last year, he was booted off Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins after being suspected of behaving dishonestly during a trust-based exercise. Aaron Evans was an estate agent when he won the first series with Hannah Byczkowski and Meryl Williams. The trio shared a 101,050 prize pot and Evans later appeared on Celebrity Mastermind and Channel 4's First Dates, where he revealed that he gave his winnings to his mother, before adding: 'Well I gave her the 33,000 and then asked for three grand back, because I was skint.' With his easy manner and boyish good looks, opportunities will open up - just as they have for previous winners A number of previous winners of the show, which has been a jewel in the BBC schedule since 2022, have made the transition to showbiz In 2024, he also appeared in the US version of Love Island. Fellow winner Byczkowski said she quit her job when she couldn't secure time off to film The Traitors and is now trying to build a career as a comedian. She co-hosts the podcast Ghost Huns and has appeared on Celebrity Weakest Link and ITV's Stand Up Sketch Show. Offering advice to fellow winners, she told BBC Radio Stoke the money had given her a welcome financial cushion, but added: 'Everybody kind of thinks that once the show's finished you ride the wave and it is all gravy forever, but the hard work starts when the show ends.' By contrast, Libby's fellow Traitor, communications boss Rachel Duffy, from Newry, Northern Ireland, insists she has no plans to quit her job any time soon and return to reality TV, although she has written 'a contemporary fantasy novel for young adults', which she hopes to get published on the back of her success. Should the lure of showbusiness prove overwhelming, Libby can count on support from several corners. One is his compelling backstory as a boy who struggled in silence with his sexuality as he grew up in a quiet cul-de-sac overlooking the staunchly Presbyterian town of Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis. He won more hearts and minds for opening up on the show about his teenage experiences, saying how 'for the longest time I kind of hated myself actually'. 'I lost my teenage years going to church, trying to pray myself normal,' he added. He has praised his mother Nicola, a specialist nurse, and father Donald, a butcher who also creates artworks from driftwood, for giving 'absolutely everything' to ensure he and his brother had 'the most incredible childhood'. Having moved to London eight years ago, Libby says he now looks forward to trips to the island, regarding it as 'a real safe haven for me and I feel truly at peace every time I come back'. Another plus is the sizeable online support he has amassed during The Traitors' three-week run with more than 283,000 Instagram followers lapping up frequent posts about his life with Quirke and his love of travel, including visits to Japan, Vietnam, Spain and the US. Having a partner in the trade, who knows its highs and lows, could stand him in good stead. He and Quirke, who has starred in Netflix shows such as The Sandman and Geek Girl, have been together since 2022 and Libby has been introduced to a wide circle of actors, while the couple enjoy a close friendship with comedian and actress Sanders, who recently featured in Amazon Prime's Last One Laughing. Eagle-eyed TikTok users spotted Sanders looking shocked in a video Libby posted on the platform after he was revealed as a Traitor for the first time. If the old adage - it's not what you know but who you know - still holds true, then such connections could prove key to any career take-off. But, ultimately, it is Libby's engaging personality - and eccentric style - that will set him apart. After all, it takes a certain kind of nerve to carry off a black and white jumpsuit to face down your rivals in the show's endgame. Ultimately, it is Libby's engaging personality - and eccentric style - that will set him apart (seen on This Morning last week) He is seen with fellow Traitor Rachel in their dark green cloaks Fashionistas recognised the 'wow piece' from Palomo Spain's Tiburon autumn/winter 2022 collection and noted that pop star Harry Styles wore a custom version at Wembley that year. Other creations he graced Ardross Castle with included an eye-catching red kilt, chic knitwear and those wide trousers, leading one expert to declare the series 'the most fashionable yet'. Carolyn Mair, a chartered psychologist and author of The Psychology of Fashion, told the BBC: 'What we wear says a huge amount about us,' concluding: '[Stephen] wanted to be seen. He was choosing to be noticed.' The Traitors will return to screens soon enough. The most colourful Traitor, one supposes, will not be far behind. The case involving Kiefer Sutherland's alleged assault of a rideshare driver in Los Angeles has taken a new twist. The Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office told Daily Mail on Monday it sent the case centered around the 59-year-old actor back to the Los Angeles Police Department, asking for more probing. 'The case was sent back to law enforcement for further investigation this morning,' officials told Daily Mail. Sutherland, who had been slated to appear in court on Monday, 'was not in court, as a case was not filed.' The announcement comes days after prosecutors said police had given them the case involving the two-time Emmy winner. Sutherland was taken into custody January 14 in Los Angeles after a conflict with a rideshare driver in Hollywood around Sunset Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue, the Daily Mail previously confirmed. Daily Mail has reached out to reps for Sutherland, as well as the LAPD, for further comment on the story. The case involving Kiefer Sutherland, 59, allegedly assaulting a rideshare driver in LA has taken a new twist, as prosecutors sent it back to police asking for more probing of the issue. The actor pictured in London in November Sutherland is suspected of assaulting the driver and getting into the vehicle without consent, which led to his arrest in connection with suspicion of felony criminal threats, police said. An insider told The California Post Sutherland might still be facing charges in connection with the events. Sutherland, whose TV credits include 24 and Designated Survivor, subsequently bailed out at $50,000 bond in the incident. The arrest last month marked the latest incident in a string of legal woes for the star, whose filmography includes classics such as A Few Good Men, The Lost Boys and Stand by Me - has created over the past four decades. Sutherland in January of 2008 was released from jail following a 48-day sentence in connection with a drunken driving conviction. At the time he was released from jail, Los Angeles police Officer John Balian told People that the actor 'looked like he was glad to be out' of custody following nearly two months in. The police officer said that Sutherland's work detail during his time in custody at the jail involved laundering sheets, pillowcases and blankets. Sutherland was a model prisoner during his time at the facility, Balian said. 'He was very humble, never complained,' the officer said. 'He didn't give us any problems at all.' Sutherland had to serve the sentence after he entered a no contest plea in October 2007 to driving with a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit in the September 2007 incident, and received a 30-day sentence. The court added an additional 18 days to the sentence after Sutherland violated probation he had been on linked to a 2004 arrest in connection with drunken driving. Sutherland was clear he was contrite about his missteps in a statement he released following the agreement of the plea deal. Sutherland pictured at the Glendale City Jail December 5, 2007 in Glendale, California, as he began a 48-day sentence in a drunken driving conviction Kiefer is the son of late acting legend Donald Sutherland, who died during the summer of 2024 Kiefer in 2006 won the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his work in the role of Jack Bauer in Fox's 24 Sutherland said he was 'very disappointed' in himself for the 'poor judgment' he exhibited in the incident. 'Im deeply sorry for the disappointment and distress this has caused my family, friends and co-workers on 24 and at 20th Century Fox,' Sutherland said. He added: 'I appreciate the support and concern that has been extended to me these last weeks both personally and professionally.' Sutherland had served his sentence at the Glendale City Jail as opposed to downtown Los Angeles, conceding that he would serve the entire sentence as result of the trade-off. As part of his plea deal, Sutherland remained on probation for five years, enrolled in an 18-month alcohol education program, and had to go to therapy session sessions once a week for six months. Kiefer, the son of late acting legend Donald Sutherland, has an arrest record that dates back decades to the 1980s. The England-born, Canada-raised actor was taken into custody in 1989 in connection with alcohol-related reckless driving and possession of a loaded weapon in Los Angeles, according to The Los Angeles Times, citing court records. Sutherland subsequently pleaded no contest to the alcohol-related reckless driving, with prosecutors dropping the weapons charge on him. Kiefer played the role of 1950s bully Ace Merrill in Stand By Me from late director Rob Reiner He portrayed vicious vampire David in the ensemble cast of 1987's The Lost Boys with Jami Gertzf Sutherland was again arrested in connection with alcohol-related reckless driving in 1993, and would enter a no contest plea. He was sentenced to 200 hours of community service in connection with the offense. Sutherland appeared to stay out of trouble for the better part of a decade to an arrest in 2004 in connection with driving under the influence. He agreed to enroll in a court-overseen treatment program and agreed to five years of probation - which would come into play in his 2007 arrest. The actor spoke about his incarceration while appearing on Late Night With David Letterman in 2008. 'You ever get a brochure for a holiday and you get there and its not quite what youre expecting?' he said. 'Jail is not that. Its exactly as advertised.' Alissa Fay has come under fire after her wild display at her wedding to David Momoh on Monday's premiere episode of Married At First Sight. The 33-year-old Adelaide nurse and aspiring influencer has been branded an 'actress' by fans of the show after she refused to marry David until he got down on bended knee and proposed to her at the altar. 'Great actress,' commented one person on the official MAFS Instagram page, while another agreed, 'And the Golden Globe goes to... Good actress. Run man run.' Someone else added: 'I swear this show only finds wannabe actresses.' 'Where do they find these girls?' asked one fan, with another replying, 'Talent (cough) agencies. Good for a laugh though.' 'She is a wannabe actress, Home and Away here we come!!!' said someone else, with one more added: 'Acting gig this was for her.' Alissa Fay (pictured) has come under fire after her wild display at her wedding to David Momoh on Monday's premiere episode of Married At First Sight Even former Married At First Sight groom Ryan Donnelly chimed in with his opinion on Alissa. 'Take it from me, trying this hard to be 'iconic' or a 'femboss' or any other acting role, will have you dunked in humble pie,' he wrote on Instagram. The fans had some advice for David after the disastrous wedding - with dozens of comments across social media on Tuesday consisting of one word: 'Run!' David and Alissa left fans at home covering their eyes and cringing after high-energy nurse Alissa refused to say 'I do' before David got down on one knee and proposed. That led to a protracted segment in which David, a rapper and e-commerce manager from Brisbane, tried to tactfully refuse the wild demand. Just moments into the ceremony, as the celebrant asked if there was any reason the couple should not be joined in marriage, Alissa abruptly interrupted proceedings. 'I'm really, really sorry,' she said, before announcing she could not marry David unless he did what she asked. 'I can't marry you until you drop to one knee and propose to me,' she then told the stunned groom. The 33-year-old Adelaide nurse and aspiring influencer has been branded an 'actress' by fans of the show after she refused to marry David until he got down on bended knee and proposed to her at the altar The fans had some advice for David (right) after the disastrous wedding - with dozens of comments across social media on Tuesday consisting of one word: 'Run!' 'Great actress,' commented one person on the official MAFS Instagram page, while another agreed, 'And the Golden Globe goes to... Good actress' The unexpected demand left guests visibly confused and David unsure whether the moment was part of the experiment. 'I can't tell if you're being serious,' he admitted, as murmurs spread through the crowd and friends questioned the painfully awkward scene unfolding at the altar. Alissa insisted she needed the gesture to feel chosen and secure, explaining it was something she had waited for her whole life, and that she wanted a man who would fully commit to her. David hesitated, later admitting the situation was uncomfortable and triggered old wounds about being 'too nice' in relationships. However, he ultimately relented - but later admitted that Alissa's behaviour at the wedding ceremony had been a 'red flag'. Viewers tuning in at home agreed, with many declaring that it was the most awkward wedding in the show's history. 'The second-hand embarrassment is real. I would leave if I were him,' wrote one person on X. Another said: 'This is the most awkward and vile viewing I think I've ever seen.' Tamra Judge and Shannon Beador's ongoing feud has spilled over into the upcoming season of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip. Daily Mail can confirm that the longtime frenemies got into an 'explosive' fight while filming a guest appearance on the spin-off. The altercation went down at a Bunco party in Orange County, where the cast were filming with a bunch of past and present RHOC wives. One insider told Daily Mail that the Bunco fight was started by Judge and Real Housewives of Potomac star Gizelle Bryant. 'Tamra and Gizelle started poking at Shannon and of course she reacted as she always does, and then it just spiralled from there,' they said. 'Everybody thought it was going to be a fun party to celebrate RHOC, so the drama took everybody by surprise,' they added. RHOC stars Tamra Judge and Shannon Beador got into an 'explosive' fight while filming a guest appearance on The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip Beador and Judge were both pulled from filming the RHUGT finale following their fight As a result, Bravo decided to axe both Judge and Beador from their scheduled appearance at the RHUGT finale, which was filmed at Dorinda Medley's famed Bluestone Manor and featured a who's-who of legendary Housewives from across the entire franchise. However, the pair are set to face each again in a matter of days when filming kicks off for The Real Housewives of Orange County's landmark 20th season. The upcoming season marks the return of original RHOC star Vicki Gunvalson, who is looking forward to showing a more 'positive' side of herself this time around. 'Vicki's in a great place in her life and doesn't want to go backwards or have any toxicity. She just wants to have a good time and wants the fans to see where she's at in her life now,' said one source. 'She doesn't want to be in the middle of another fight between Shannon and Tamra, so she's hoping that the tres amigas can get back together and have some fun this season,' they added. Vicki will join existing cast members Gina Kirschenheiter, Emily Simpson, Heather Dubrow, and Jennifer Pedranti. Katie Ginella and Gretchen Rossi are not returning. While most of RHOC's season 20 cast are veteran Housewives, there's speculation that at least one new Housewife will be thrown into the mix to keep things fresh. The altercation went down at a Bunco party, where the cast were filming with a bunch of past and present RHOC wives. (Judge pictured with Jo De La Rosa and Jeana Keough) 'Everybody thought it was going to be a fun party to celebrate RHOC, so the drama took everybody by surprise,' said a source Real Housewives of New Jersey OG Jacqueline Laurita was briefly in talks to join the new season in a friend role, but things ultimately fell through. However, Laurita did film an appearance on RHUGT with Melissa Gorga, although its unclear if the footage will make the final cut or not. During a recent interview on Jeff Lewis Live, Judge vowed to 'blow things up' on the upcoming season, but agreed that fans didn't want to see her continue to fight with Beador. 'I'll tell you right now, after how they treated me last year, I'm gonna f***ing blow things up,' she said. A shocked Lewis responded, 'I thought you blew things up last year!' 'No, I didn't,' said Judge. 'I was in a very sad situation and I wasn't happy.' Daily Mail has contacted Bravo, Judge and Beador for comment Vicki Gunvalson 'wants to have fun' upon her return to RHOC and is concerned about getting in the middle of another fight between Beador and Judge on the upcoming season Meanwhile, the upcoming sixth season of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip is set to air later this year. In addition to Gunvalson and Bryant, the main cast includes Luann de Lesseps, Porsha Williams, Teresa Giudice, Kyle Richards, and Lisa Barlow. It will also contain appearances from a number of iconic past Housewives, such as Nene Leakes, Eileen Davidson, Kim Zolciak and more. 'In this special event series, the Housewives make their way through some of the most memorable locations in the franchise's history,' Peacock said in a statement. 'Starting where it all began in Orange County and culminating in an epic east coast grand finale, each stop will feature appearances by fan favorites from different cities to pay tribute to the past, embrace the present, and look toward the many miles still ahead. 'Along the way, viewers can expect nostalgic reunions, heartfelt revelations, effortless humor, and the larger-than-life dynamics that only Housewives can deliver.' Julia Roberts took to Instagram over the weekend to wish husband Danny Moder a happy 57th birthday. The 58-year-old Oscar-winning actress whose brother Eric Roberts recently made a rare red carpet appearance posted a rare snap of the two locked in an embrace, with Moder affectionately grabbing a handful of her hair. She wrote in the caption, 'My fav day. My fav man. #131 #WLF.' The longtime entertainer and her cinematographer spouse celebrated their 23rd wedding anniversary on July 4. Moder paid tribute to his wife on the special day, sharing a photo of their reflection in a silver spoon and writing, '23 years is SILVER.. here we are in my engraved SPOON! the fun continues and a happy 4th to all.' The longtime couple share fraternal twins Hazel and Phinnaeus, 21, and son Henry, 18. Julia Roberts took to Instagram over the weekend to wish husband Danny Moder a happy 57th birthday; pictured January 11 The 58-year-old Oscar-winning actress posted a rare snap of the two locked in an embrace, with Moder affectionately grabbing a handful of her hair Last spring, Moder marked Mother's Day by sharing a photo of his wife and their brood, writing, 'Mothers make the coolest stuff. Love these guys.' And in June, the Stepmom actress used Instagram to pay tribute to their youngest child on his birthday. She shared a throwback image from his childhood and added the note, 'In the blink of a joyful eye this beacon of a boy is 18. I love you Henry. #goldenboy #goldenbirthday.' Similarly, for the twins' birthday in November, the proud mom gushed, 'These game changers, life alterers, expanders once were 1 and now are 21! That was fast. Happy Birthday my Dears.' In September, she opened up about parenthood in an interview with longtime friend George Clooney. The veteran actors had a conversation published in the inaugural issue of 72 Magazine. Roberts got candid about raising her kids, describing herself and her husband as 'stricter parents' than others in their community. Asked if she limited her kids' internet access when they were growing up, the star said, 'I think they were, for sure, some of the last kids in their peer groups to get phones and stuff like that.' Roberts shares fraternal twins Hazel and Phinnaeus, 21, as well as 18-year-old son Henry, with Moder In June, Roberts told her old friend George Clooney in 72 Magazine that she and Moder were more strict about letting their kids have phones and internet access than other parents in their circle; Roberts and Moder pictured in Beverly Hills in 2014 She continued, 'When they were younger, certainly, Danny and I would have been considered some of the stricter parents. Not like were laying down the law, but these are the rules and they dont change. 'Heres the boundary of your life and it does not shift. You know, you dont ask me and get an answer and then go ask dad and get a different answer. That doesnt happen. It will never happen.' The Hollywood mainstay added, 'I think that is what creates the stability that then allows them to feel secure because you know there is this fixed world of love and safety that exists unconditionally.' In another part of the dialogue, she shared, 'You know, we all want our kids to grow up with values. This is what we want as parents. 'I think part of it is just Danny and I are definitely aligned in our core values and always have been.' Kelly Clarkson announced the end of her talk show The Kelly Clarkson Show via Instagram on Monday, following Daily Mail's exclusive report indicating she was headed in that direction. The 43-year-old is mother to River Rose, 11, and Remington 'Remy' Alexander, nine, with late ex-husband Brandon Blackstock, who died last August at 48 after battling cancer. Clarkson said she's looking to focus on her family less than a year after the death of the father of her two children. In November, the Daily Mail reported that Clarkson's employees believed she was 'checked out' from her talk show, and one staff member said they were proofreading each other's resumes on the assumption that they would be out of a job soon. 'Stepping away from the daily schedule will allow me to prioritize my kids which feels necessary and right for this next chapter of our lives,' Clarkson said in a statement posted jointly to her Instagram and one representing the show. Clarkson said in the statement, 'I have been extremely fortunate to work with such an outstanding group of people at TKCS, both in Los Angeles and New York. There have been so many amazing moments and shows over these seven seasons.' Kelly Clarkson announced the end of her talk show The Kelly Clarkson Show via Instagram on Monday, as she says she's looking to focus on her family. The 43-year-old is mother to River Rose, 11, and Remington 'Remy' Alexander, nine, with late ex-husband Brandon Blackstock, who died last August at 48 after battling cancer The Fort Worth, Texas-born star, whose exit had been rumored as of last year, praised her colleagues in the statement announcing her imminent departure from the airwaves. 'I am forever grateful and honored to have worked alongside the greatest band and crew you could hope for,' she said. Clarkson said she was appreciative of 'all the talent and inspiring people who have shared their time and lives with us, all the fans who have supported our show and to NBC for always being such a supportive and incredible partner.' Clarkson said, 'Because of all of that, this was not an easy decision, but this season will be my last hosting TKCS.' Clarkson clarified, 'This isnt goodbye. Ill still be making music, playing shows here and there and you may catch me on The Voice from time to time you never know where I might show up next. The A Moment Like This artist concluded, 'But for now, I want to thank yall so much for allowing our show to be a part of your lives, and for believing in us and hanging with us for seven incredible years.' Her exit comes after a show insider told Daily Mail last week, 'Kelly has had an incredible life and everything she touches seems to become a hit. 'She loves her talk show, but it is on the bottom of her list of things she would like to continue doing moving forward. She is going to continue to give it her all this season, but she would like to wind it down and end it while still on top.' Clarkson posted a statement posted jointly to her Instagram and one representing the show Clarkson and late ex-husband Brandon Blackstock pictured in 2017 at The Rainbow Room in NYC (L-R) Seth Blackstock, Remington Alexander Blackstock, Savannah Blackstock, Kelly Clarkson, River Rose Blackstock, and Brandon Blackstock pictured in LA in 2019 The show included a karaoke segment titled Kellyoke, in which the first American Idol winner performed song covers The Kelly Clarkson Show hit the air in 2019, and showcased the host as she chat with celebrities and fans. The show included a karaoke segment titled Kellyoke, in which the first American Idol winner performed song covers. NBCUniversal Syndication Studios executive vice president Tracie Wilson said in a statement to Variety that the show 'has been an extraordinary collaboration.' Wilson added, 'Im grateful to Kelly for bringing her talent and energy to this. 'Her warmth, quick sense of humor and connection with people created a show that made fans feel seen, heard and a little bit better about their day. 'We couldnt have achieved the shows success without our exceptional showrunner/EP Alex Duda, whose vision, leadership and unwavering commitment across all seven seasons have guided us through unprecedented times and a cross-country move.' Wilson concluded, 'Together with producers, staff and crew, they created a legacy to be proud of.' NBCUniversal Local chairman Valari Staab said in a statement to the outlet, 'The Kelly Clarkson Show has been a valued part of our NBC-owned stations lineup for seven seasons, always delivering an entertaining and engaging show for our daytime audiences. 'We thank Kelly and the production team for the wonderful, high-quality show theyve produced consistently since 2019, and look forward to the remainder of this season as they complete their successful run.' Moving forward, Clarkson is slated to appear on The Voice: Battle of the Champions, premiering February 23 on NBC. The show said its seventh season will continue airing through this autumn. Newlywed Holly Ramsay continued to give fans a glimpse of her lavish honeymoon with husband Adam Peaty as she shared new Instagram snaps on Monday. The daughter of Gordon Ramsay, 26, and Olympic swimmer Adam, 31, are currently soaking up the sun in Queensland after beginning their trip at a luxurious 6,000-a-night resort in Mauritius. In one sizzling snap, Holly showcased her incredible figure in a sparkly, figure-hugging red mini dress, featuring a backless design and a blue, glittering bust. She also offered followers an insight into her honeymoon beauty routine, sharing snaps of her go-to skincare essentials, her Rhode eye masks, and a selfie of herself wearing a face mask. Elsewhere, in a vintage-style video clip, Holly proudly showed off her husband's incredible physique as he soaked up the sun in nothing but a pair of swimming shorts. In another collage-style snap, Holly flashed a glimpse of her taut tummy in a chic white linen co-ord, paired with her Havaianas flip flops. Newlywed Holly Ramsay continued to give fans a glimpse of her lavish honeymoon with husband Adam Peaty as she shared stunning new Instagram snaps on Monday The daughter of Gordon Ramsay, 26, and Olympic swimmer Adam, 31, are currently soaking up the sun in Queensland after beginning their trip at a luxurious 6,000-a-night resort in Mauritius And in a final beach snap, Adam appeared in great spirits as he lounged shirtless on a sunbed, smiling towards the camera. The Daily Mail revealed last week that Holly and Adam jetted off to the One&Only Le Saint Geran - one of the island's most prestigious five-star hotel and spa complexes. The couple belatedly flew from London to Mauritius after delaying their 10-day escape while three-time Olympic gold medallist Adam took part in a swimming competition in Romania. Shortly after arriving, the couple were seen hurrying down to the white sand beach, where Adam posed for selfies with locals. One onlooker told the Daily Mail: 'They looked very loved-up and relaxed. Adam was happy to stop and chat and seemed in great spirits.' Le Saint Geran, set on an idyllic private peninsula, offers suites that can soar in price to more than 6,000 a night. The property, among the first luxury resorts built on the island in 1975, has attracted a glittering guest list over the years, including Nelson Mandela, George and Amal Clooney, Rihanna and the Prince and Princess of Wales. Guests can even arrive by helicopter, landing on a pad just steps from the beach, while a chauffeur-driven luxury car service is also available. In one vintage-style video clip, Holly proudly showed off her husband's incredible physique as he soaked up the sun in nothing but a pair of swimming shorts She also offered followers an insight into her honeymoon beauty routine, sharing snaps of her go-to skincare essentials, her Rhode eye masks, and a selfie of herself wearing a face mask In another collage-style snap, Holly flashed a glimpse of her taut tummy in a chic white linen co-ord, paired with her Havaianas flip flops Private villas on the palm tree dotted estate have reportedly sold for as much as $13.6million (10.1million). The couple's no-expense-spared jaunt has been covered by Holly's father, Gordon, himself a repeat visitor to Le Saint Geran with wife, Tana. Holly revealed to British Vogue that her parents had paid for the trip to Mauritius as a 'wedding present', in what could be viewed as a thinly-veiled jibe at her husband's absent parents. She said: 'We're going to Mauritius to just lie by the sea - that was our wedding present from my parents. I had to tell Adam we weren't basing our honeymoon around a 25-metre pool' Prior to taking off from the UK, Holly shared a snap of her hand luggage showing off a Christian Dior handbag along with a pair of flippers and a snorkel. She wrote: 'The most chic hand luggage, thanks to my husband.' Paul Mescal spent his 30th birthday promoting his latest movie, Hamnet, at Picturehouse Central in London on Monday, just hours after receiving sweet birthday tributes from his girlfriend, Gracie Abrams and his mother, Dearbhla. The actor, who stars as William Shakespeare in the drama, appeared in high spirits as he attended a Q&A at the central London cinema alongside Jonathan Pryce. For the outing, Paul cut a smart-casual figure in a blue Joni Mitchell knit jumper, which he paired with black tailored trousers, as he and Jonathan posed in front of a Hamnet movie poster. Meanwhile, Jonathan, 78, looked dapper in a navy blazer teamed with khaki corduroy trousers. Paul appeared to be in great spirits throughout the Q&A, sharing several laughs and giggles with Jonathan and the audience. Paul's outing comes after his girlfriend Gracie shared some very intimate and romantic snaps to celebrate the actor's 30th birthday. Paul Mescal spent his 30th birthday promoting his latest movie, Hamnet, at Picturehouse Central in London on Monday The actor, who stars as William Shakespeare in the drama, appeared in high spirits as he attended a Q&A at the central London cinema alongside Jonathan Pryce The 26-year-old That's So True hitmaker - who is the daughter of Star Trek filmmaker JJ Abrams - took to Instagram to share several snaps featuring the Oscar nominee whom she has been romantically-linked to since 2024. Paul seemingly shares the same birthday as Abrams' childhood best friend Clementine as the post served as a dual tribute to two of her closest confidants. She captioned it to her 5.7 million followers: 'P Clemmy My whole heart!!!!!!!!! I love February 2 Happy birthday 'I love you both more than words could ever describe. Thank you for making everything better.' Included in the gallery were photos of Mescal and Abrams kissing, including in a photobooth. There was another romantic snap of the two sharing an intimate moment during a candle-lit dinner. Meanwhile, his mother Dearbhla shared an emotional tribute to her actor son on Instagram to mark the special day. The Irish policewoman, known as Garda, took to social media to celebrate the A-listers milestone, with the beautifully penned post detailing how welcoming him aged 27 saw her 'universe begin a journey into colour, light, depth & imagination'. For the outing, Paul cut a smart-casual figure in a blue Joni Mitchell knit jumper, which he paired with black tailored trousers, as he and Jonathan posed in front of a Hamnet movie poster Meanwhile, Jonathan, 78, looked dapper in a navy blazer teamed with khaki corduroy trousers Paul appeared to be in great spirits throughout the Q&A, sharing several laughs and giggles with Jonathan and the audience The Normal People actor, who has younger siblings Nell and Donnacha, has frequently spoken about his mum in public, following her battle with bone marrow cancer, for which she was diagnosed in 2022. In 2024, the family, also including teacher father Paul, joyously announced she was in remission, and she has since been extremely active on social media - often posting about her famous son. In her heartwarming post, in which she quoted the Dr. Seuss' 1990 book Oh, the Places You'll Go! Dearbhla, she penned: 'My eldest is 30! How can that be? These are my quiet thoughts. I was 27 when my heart was burst open... 'You came a month early rushing into our world, youre being too bright to stay away. My universe began a journey into colour, light, depth & imagination... 'I was captivated. The whole of you spun so fast at the joy of being here. I was caught in the wonder of you. You, my darling, darling boy continue to spin providing joy as you dazzle in this crazy world of ours... 'I became so full when you came into my life. You expanded my heart, mind & soul. I am so grateful you choose us to be yours... Paul's outing comes after his girlfriend Gracie shared some very intimate and romantic snaps to celebrate the actor's 30th birthday Meanwhile, his mother Dearbhla shared an emotional tribute to her actor son on Instagram to mark the special day The Irish policewoman, known as Garda, took to social media to celebrate the A-listers milestone, with the beautifully penned post detailing how welcoming him aged 27 saw her 'universe begin a journey into colour, light, depth & imagination' 'It makes me feel so happy to see the hearts you have gathered into your circle, the heart you hold close, the magic of your love. I rejoice in how you cherish & care; how you navigate & explore. I wrote this to you a long, long time ago... 'Its from Dr Seuss. Oh, the Places Youll Go! Congratulations! Today is your day. Youre off to Great Places! Youre off and away!... 'You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. Youre on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy wholl decide where to go.' 'So today Happy Birthday oh heart of ours. Celebrate, be happy, be brave & be glad. You are loved & you are held x'. Savannah Guthrie is grappling with a harrowing family mystery amid the suspected abduction of her mother Nancy. It was revealed on Monday morning that the 84-year-old mother of the Today show anchor, 54, was last seen on Saturday night near her home in Tucson, Arizona. New haunting details about her disappearance have come to light, with investigators believing that the elderly woman was abducted from her own bed. According to Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanons, aspects of the scene at her home prompted 'grave concern.' He explained at a news conference that Nancy 'is very limited in her mobility. She did not just walk out of there.' Savannah grew up in Tucson, where her mom Nancy has been reported missing. Amid the shock news of Nancy's disappearance, Daily Mail takes a look at the Guthrie family tree and those closest to her. Savannah Guthrie, 54, is grappling with a harrowing family mystery amid the suspected abduction of her mother Nancy, 84, from her home; Pictured with Nancy in 2020 Mother Nancy Guthrie Savannah often spoke of the close relationship she shares with her mother Nancy. Despite a high-flying career that took her from law school at Georgetown to Washington, D.C., and New York, Savannah has never lost her deep-rooted connection to Nancy, who's lived in Arizona for over 50 years. 'By far, my favorite part about Tucson is family,' Savannah shared on the Today show in November. 'When people ask me, "Where are you from?" I'm always proud when I say, "Tucson, Arizona,"' Savannah explained. 'I grew up there, went to college there, my mom still lives there, and honestly, a part of me has really never left.' 'Her mom is her world,' a source recently told People of their bond. 'Savannah and her mom are obsessed with each other.' 'Nancy beams whenever she talks about Savannah,' the insider added. 'My mom is an amazing and noble woman,' Savannah told Today.com in 2012, when Nancy celebrated her 70th birthday. 'She inspires everyone who knows her. She is whip smart, funny, full of integrity and wisdom. She also has the best sense of adventure. She's always up for something fun.' It was revealed on Monday morning that Nancy was last seen on Saturday night near her home in Tucson, Arizona; Savannah and Nancy pictured in 2023 'My mom is an amazing and noble woman,' Savannah told Today.com in 2012, when Nancy celebrated her 70th birthday And in 2018, she shared tender memories of watching her mom as a grandmother to her kids. She told co-anchor Hoda Kotb on Today, 'I feel like watching my mom now with my kids is so profound. Because I'm seeing the mom that she must have been with me, just the everyday joys.' She added that Nancy was 'so good at playing with them. I appreciate her even more than I thought possible because I see her spunkiness and her quirks.' In 2022, for Nancy's 80th birthday, Savannah paid tribute to her 'daring and adventurous' mom. 'She has met unthinkable challenges in her life with grit, without self-pity, with determination, and always, always with unshakeable faith. She loves us, her family, fiercely, and her selflessness and sacrifice for us, her steadfastness and her unmovable confidence is the reason any of us grew up to do anything,' she proudly shared on air. Nancy mysteriously disappeared Saturday night in what authorities in Tucson are now investigating as an abduction. When a congregant at the Guthrie's local church called family members on Sunday to report that Nancy was not there, the family rushed to her house and searched for the mother-of-three, before reporting her missing at around noon, TODAY reports. It now remains unclear whether Nancy had been targeted because she is Savannah's mother. Father Charles Guthrie Born in Melbourne, Australia, as the youngest of three siblings, Savannah spent her earliest years abroad due to her father Charles Guthrie's work. The family relocated to Tucson when she was just two years old. Her father died of a heart attack in 1988, when she was 16. The sudden death left her devastated and 'cracked open' her family. Speaking to People in 2024, the broadcaster said that she thinks about her father 'all the time' and she has previously said that she will always carry the grief of his death. 'He was deep and complicated, and he didn't talk to us like little kids,' she reflected. 'He told us things that I didn't understand at the time but later would remember, long after he died.' Savannah has talked openly about her grief too and has described her experience as a 'lifelong process.' 'There's before my dad died and there's after, and it's profound,' she told Brooks Nadar during a podcast appearance. Savannah's father Charles Guthrie died of a heart attack in 1988, when she was 16. The sudden death left her devastated and 'cracked open' her family; Seen with her dad 'There's different moments of grief, but I remember thinking even then when I was a late teenager, I always thought, I have a cup of grief now. 'It's like a cup of water and I'm going to spend the rest of my life emptying this cup. And sometimes it's coming out in buckets. And sometimes it's a little sprinkle and sometimes I can just hold it, and nothing comes out. But every last drop of this cup will not be empty until I leave this world.' Losing a parent so suddenly strengthened her relationship with God. Writing in her 2024 book, Mostly What God Does: Reflections on Seeking and Finding His Love Everywhere, Savannah said that she puts trust in God that He has a plan. 'In that moment, that plan can be shocking and devastating and earth-shattering,' she penned. 'My father's death was all of those things for me and for my family. But that over time, with the healing of time, but mostly with the grace of God, you can kind of come to terms and come to understand. 'And through faith, believe not only that God knows what he's doing, that death is not his plan, but that through faith, we have hope.' Savannah has fond memories of her father, and has often paid tribute to him. In 2020 she shared a tended childhood snap with her dad, writing in the caption, 'Missing you always and ever' In 2020 she shared a tended childhood snap with her dad, writing in the caption, 'Missing you always and ever.' 'My father was a seemingly unlikely mix of qualities: always strong, sometimes terrifying, loyal to the end, and disarmingly gentle and tender when it counted,' she wrote on Today.com in 2014, when she was expecting her first baby with husband Mike Feldman. 'He was also tall, affectionate and funny; he had that personality that people describe as "lighting up the room."' Savannah voiced her wish that their child would not only inherit her husband's 'quick wit, his peaceful disposition, his kindness,' but also her father's integrity and morals. Sister Annie Guthrie Savannah is very close to her older sister Annie, who had reportedly just seen their mother for dinner hours before she was reported missing. Nancy went to dinner with Annie and spent the evening playing mahjong, before she vanished from her home. Annie has made a number of appearances on Today since her younger sister started co-anchoring the show in 2012. 'Annie's like the blood going through my veins,' Savannah shared in a 2017 segment. 'She's always been there, all my life.' Savannah is very close to her older sister Annie, who had reportedly just seen their mother for dinner hours before she was reported missing; The sisters seen in 2024 The two are seen with their mom Nancy in an Instagram snap Meanwhile Annie said they were 'like the sun and the moon.' 'Her sorrows are my sorrows, and her successes are my successes,' she explained. Savannah went on to call Annie 'thoughtful and reflective.' Brother Camron Guthrie Aside from Annie, Savannah has an older brother, Camron Guthrie. Camron is a retired F-16 pilot. Savannah spoke about Camron's career and retirement in an August 2018 Instagram post. 'I have never been more proud of my big brother,' she shared. 'He has flown for our country for 26 years, and continues to serve proudly in the 'Green Mountain Boys' the Vermont Air National Guard. He is the pride of our family and one of this country's finest.' Aside from Annie, Savannah has an older brother, Camron Guthrie (center). Camron is a retired F-16 pilot The three siblings pictured with Nancy Husband Michael Feldman The NBC broadcaster is married to public relations and communications consultant Michael Feldman, 57. The pair share daughter Vale, 11, and son Charley, nine. They initially began dating in 2009 before tying the knot in Guthrie's hometown of Tucson in 2014. The journalist met the former Democratic political adviser at his 40th birthday party which she 'crashed,' attending as her gal pal's plus one. She and Feldman hit it off and they began dating after he sent her an email 'a few days later.' Last year she revealed that she had a very rocky start with Feldman. During an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Savannah said that she broke up with Feldman before he proposed. The TV star had waited five-and-a-half years for him to pop the question and she was frustrated it was not happening. Savannah did not want to wait another day. The NBC broadcaster is married to public relations and communications consultant Michael Feldman, 57. They tied the knot in 2014; The couple seen in 2019 So while on vacation in the Turks and Caicos, she told Feldman she was done which led to heartbreak and tears. Little did she know, Feldman had an engagement ring in his pocket that he was ready to propose with. Later in the day, he ended up getting on one knee and asking her for her hand in marriage, which gave her the shock of her life. Savannah also shared that at the time, her own mother told her they 'need to [get married] or don't. Like just do something.' Daughter Vale Guthrie Feldman Savannah and her husband welcomed daughter Vale, 11, on August 13, 2014, five months after saying 'I do.' At the time she proudly shared that the baby had 'blue eyes, a little bit of blondish hair and the chubbiest cheeks you've ever seen.' During her pregnancy, Savannah wrote on her blog about wanting a less common baby name, calling it 'an ever-ready conversation piece.' Savannah and her husband welcomed daughter Vale, 11, on August 13, 2014, five months after saying 'I do'; Seen with Vale and their son Charles, nine, in 2024 Son Charles Max Feldman Two years after she gave birth to their daughter, Savannah welcomed son Charles, nine, on December 8, 2016. He is named after her late father. 'He's happy and Vale loves him, which was a big relief,' the proud mom shared in a video shown on Today, just a few days after Charles' birth. After opening up about her fertility struggles, Savannah affectionately dubbed her son a 'medical miracle.' Sharing her parenting approach on Today in 2018, she said, 'I think the best thing I can do for Vale and Charley is to try to be a better person so that I can just show that person.' 'You know, when you're home, there's nowhere to hide. You just are who you are. So you better get it straight and spend that time looking inward and doing your best.' Her son Charles is named after her late father Savannah's ex-husband: Mark Orchard While she is happily married now, Savannah felt like a 'failure' after her first marriage to BBC journalist Mark Orchard ended in divorce after four years in 2009. Last month, she reflected on her heartbreak on the debut episode of Hoda Kotb's new YouTube series, Joy Rides. Speaking to Kotb, she remembered how the end of her marriage felt like her dreams were 'falling apart.' 'I was in my 30s. I felt old, but I now see that I was pretty young, and I was sad about it,' Savannah recalled. While she is happily married now, Savannah felt like a 'failure' after her first marriage to BBC journalist Mark Orchard (pictured) ended in divorce after four years in 2009 'And I was also starting a new job at a place called NBC and trying really hard to make my way and make my little dream come true while other dreams were falling apart. 'And it made me have to really dig deep, and I felt like a failure.' Despite her heartbreak, the split helped Savannah form a closer connection with her faith. 'I realized I didn't have to be perfect to be loved by God,' she continued. 'I didn't even have to be close because I was definitely a failure.' Savannah previously said that her divorce from Orchard took her 'years to recover.' Made In Chelsea star Tabitha Willett has revealed that she is expecting a baby boy with her new fiance Harry Hoare as she prepares to welcome her second child. The reality personality, 34, announced the news on her Instagram page by sharing a black and white bump snap, alongside the words: 'We're having a...' The next slide, which was taken in colour, showed Tabitha stood against a backdrop of blue flowers, announcing that she was due to give birth to a son. Tabitha received a wealth of congratulatory messages in the comments section of the post from her friends and family following the happy news. The announcement featured pictures of her daughter Ottilie, six, who she shares with her former partner Fraser Carruthers, but her husband-to-be Harry wasn't included. Tabitha revealed towards the end of last year that they were expecting a baby together and also planning to get married at the start of 2026. Made In Chelsea star Tabitha Willett has revealed that she is expecting a baby boy with her new fiance Harry Hoare as she prepares to welcome her second child Tabitha revealed towards the end of last year that they were expecting a baby together and also planning to get married at the start of 2026 Tabitha received a wealth of congratulatory messages in the comments section of the post from her friends and family following the happy news While Harry didn't appear in the latest update about their pregnancy, Tabitha did this week share a look at her stunning Philippa Herbert engagement ring. She also recently revealed to fans whether she thought she was expecting a little boy or girl by sharing what symptoms she had been suffering. Traditionally some believe side effects of pregnancy such as morning sickness, cravings , mood swings and headaches are linked to the gender of the child. Tabitha shared a selection of different options and circled whether it was linked to expecting a son or a daughter. She said how she had been having headaches which supposedly means she was having a boy, as well as no mood swings and savoury cravings. However, some of the other slides suggested she was more likely to be having a girl, which turned out to be incorrect. Last month, Tabitha revealed how she knew how she was going to marry her fiance Harry after their first date lasted an incredible three days. She revealed she began dating Harry at the beginning of last year after 'sliding into his DMs'. The couple had been together just ten months before Harry got down on one knee during a family holiday to Dubai in October, before they announced it weeks later. She also recently revealed to fans whether she thought she was expecting a little boy or girl by sharing what symptoms she had been suffering Traditionally some believe side effects of pregnancy such as morning sickness, cravings , mood swings and headaches are linked to the gender of the child Tabitha shared a selection of different options and circled whether it was linked to expecting a son or a daughter Tabitha revealed she and Harry knew each other 'for years' before getting together romantically. Writing for The Wedding Edition, she said: 'We stayed in contact but were never close. It was actually January 1st 2025, at my most single, after putting on my vision board for the year that I wanted to find love... 'That I replied to an Instagram story of his saying we should grab a drink and catch up soon. He loves telling the story that I "slid into his DMs". 'We went for a drink, our first date lasted three days, and I called my best friend Ollie Locke after he left and said, "I am going to marry this man." 'It sounds quite unromantic, but I think in your 30s, and as parents (Harry has a daughter too), you want to be sure you are not wasting any time. It was a discussion we had right from the beginning. We aligned on everything and it all felt very uncomplicated. Not full of fire or passion, just easy.' When Harry asked Tabitha to marry him he popped the question with a 'placeholder ring' and she was wearing a long white dress with a cape. Tabitha and Harry had been staying at The Lana, a new hotel which is a part of the Dorchester Collection during their stay. Ahead of the proposal they were enjoying the sunset from the rooftop bar, before returning to their room so that Harry could 'grab something' before dinner Tabitha revealed in December that she is expecting her second child with fiance Harry Tabitha revealed that when the door opened their suite was filled with rose petals and candles, and there was a table set on the balcony for a private dinner. The couple began the year with a lavish babymoon in Paris as they splashed out on a 1,800-a-night (2,170) stay at the five-star Hotel Plaza Athenee. Tabitha, who returned to the long-running E4 show ahead of its 29th series in March, announced the news of her pregnancy with her Instagram followers. She posted an adorable video of her getting a scan at the hospital, with daughter Ottille at her side. Just days after confirming the engagement, Tabitha took to Instagram to say that a 'low-key small wedding' is planned for January. Sharing a picture of wedding dresses, she wrote: 'It's starting... We are actually having a low-key small wedding in January so these are too wedding gowny but so fun to get in the mood.' News of Tabitha's engagement would likely come as a surprise to Made In Chelsea fans, who recently watched her brief romance with co-star Arman Pouladian-Kari play out on screen. Tabitha originally joined the Made In Chelsea cast in 2018, during their annual trip to Croatia. She and her ex Fraser, a friend of Prince Harry, dated for four years after meeting when she was hired as a marketing director at his private members' club Albert's. In 2019, they were engaged in Miami with plans to marry at London's Hurlingham Club the following July but had to cancel their wedding due to the pandemic. However, in October 2020, a year after Ottilie was born, they announced they had split. He completed his long-awaited EGOT quest on Sunday night after winning his first-ever Grammy at the prestigious music awards. And Steven Spielberg is soaking up the glory of joining one of Hollywood's most exclusive clubs. In a celebratory snap posted to his production company's Instagram, the legendary filmmaker, 79, posed beside large gold EGOT balloons. As Steven hid behind a white balloon filled with confetti, they captioned the post: 'EGOT status'. The director and producer earned the honour after Music by John Williams, the documentary he produced about his longtime collaborator, took home Best Music Film. Although Spielberg was not in attendance, he acknowledged the milestone in a statement shared following the ceremony. Steven Spielberg, 79, celebrated his new EGOT status after long-awaited Grammy win to add to his Emmy, Oscar and Tony collection The director and producer earned the honour after Music by John Williams took home Best Music Film (pictured in 2023 at the Golden Globes) 'This recognition means the world to me and our entire team,' Steven said in a statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, thanking the Grammy voters along with collaborators Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey, and partners at Imagine and The Walt Disney Company. He also paid tribute to composer John Williams, calling his influence on culture and music 'immeasurable' and his legacy 'unrivalled.' The documentary, directed by Laurent Bouzereau, chronicles Williams' extraordinary career scoring some of cinema's most iconic films, including Jaws, E.T., Jurassic Park and Schindler's List. The Grammy win now completes Spielberg's sweep across television, music, film and theatre. It is a feat achieved by just 21 artists to date. With the Grammy win, Spielberg officially joins fellow EGOT recipients such as Rita Moreno, Audrey Hepburn, Mel Brooks, Elton John, Whoopi Goldberg, John Legend, Jennifer Hudson and Viola Davis. Steven's awards resume spans decades of industry dominance from three Academy Awards for Schindler's List (1993) and Saving Private Ryan to four Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2022, he picked up a Tony Award for his role as a producer on the Broadway revival of A Strange Loop, which won Best Musical. Previously, Spielberg set a record at the Oscars as the first person to be nominated for Best Director in six different decades; seen in 1999 With the Grammy win, Spielberg officially joins fellow EGOT recipients such as Rita Moreno, Audrey Hepburn, Mel Brooks, Elton John, Whoopi Goldberg, John Legend, Jennifer Hudson and Viola Davis (pictured at the 2026 Golden Globes) Next month, Spielberg, who is credited as a producer on Hamnet, has another shot of adding to his trophy collection as the film is currently nominated for Best Picture at this year's Academy Awards. Previously, Spielberg set a record at the Oscars as the first person to be nominated for Best Director in six different decades. In addition to West Side Story (2021), he was first nominated for Best Director in 1978 with Close Encounters of the Third Kind, followed by Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1982 and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in 1983. He won his first Oscar for Best Director in 1994 for Schindler's List, and was victorious again in 1999 with Saving Private Ryan. Ronan Keating became a grandfather at 46 when his elder son Jack's ex-girlfriend, Keely Iqbal, gave birth to a daughter, Maya, in 2023. But the pop star is still reluctant to be called 'Grandpa', says Jack, 26, whose mother is Ronan's first wife, the model Yvonne Connolly, 51. 'My mam has fully embraced the Granny title she absolutely loves it,' Jack told the Daily Mail. 'My dad loves being a grandad, but he doesn't like being called Grandad.' The TV personality, who is currently starring on Love Island, added: 'He likes being called Pops, or Papa. I think it makes him feel a bit too old.' Jack first appeared on the eighth series of Love Island in 2022 and lasted just five days before he was dumped from the show. He re-entered the villa for a second shot at romance last month after splitting from his ex, midwife Abby Phillips, at the end of 2024. Ronan Keating became a grandfather at 46 when his elder son Jack's ex-girlfriend, Keely Iqbal, gave birth to a daughter, Maya, in 2023 (Ronan and Jack pictured) 'My mam has fully embraced the Granny title she absolutely loves it,' Jack told the Daily Mail. 'My dad loves being a grandad, but he doesn't like being called Grandad' In March 2023, Jack announced on Instagram he had welcomed daughter Maya, sparking speculation from viewers who quickly worked out timings that he took part in the summer series despite knowing he was to be a dad. But Jack has insisted it was a complete shock and revealing to the nation he had become a parent in secret was 'terrifying.' He later told Daily Mail: 'As soon as I came off Love Island, seven months later, I became a dad. No, I didn't know before going on the show. 'Adjusting to life after Love Island was hard enough but then I had to deal with being a father But it has been the most amazing year and a half of my entire life.' Last week, Love Island: All Stars viewers cringed as they watched Jack Keating try to make his move on Whitney Adebayo on Thursday night's episode. The son of Ronan begged a reluctant Whitney, 28, for a kiss on the day beds. The pair shared a 'peck' on the lips, after Whitney said she didn't want to smooch any further because Konnor Ewudsi was watching on. Konnor, 30, arrived as a bombshell and recoupled with Whitney, taking her away from Jack. Jack first appeared on the eighth series of Love Island in 2022 and lasted just five days before he was dumped from the show. He re-entered last month (pictured) for a second shot Love Island: All Stars viewers cringed as they watched Jack try to make his move on Whitney Adebayo during last week's episode Watching the painful scenes, fans were unconvinced by the blossoming romance as they wrote on X: 'All Jack wants to do is kiss' and 'Can Jack stop asking for kisses it's so cringe'; 'Sorry Jack has Zero game. Can't flirt, Everything is I would love a kiss'; 'The only thing that comes out from Jack's mouth when he speaks to Whitney "I want to kiss you... I would love a kiss". He needs to have more personality'; Jack and Whitney were paired together when the show launched but any potential romance was deterred after Whitney admitted she would never date anyone with a child. However, she then decided to make a U-turn on her decision, with the pair then kissing on the terrace. Katie Price's new husband Lee Andrews has claimed he and his wife are going on a honeymoon in a few days and he has not been 'banned from leaving Dubai'. It was claimed Lee spent three weeks locked up in a Dubai jail for allegedly forging his ex-girlfriend's signature to take out a 200,000 loan in her name and has been banned from leaving the United Arab Emirates. Insiders told the Daily Mail that businessman Lee, 43, allegedly applied for a 200,000 mortgage on behalf of personal trainer partner Dina Taji without her knowledge last year. But Lee has now taken to his Instagram Stories to insist he is not banned from leaving Dubai and is going on his honeymoon with Katie soon. In a video, Lee posted a screenshot from the MOI UAE App which has features like paying traffic fines, renewing driver's licences and criminal status checks. Lee had the screen on the 'travel bans' option which read: 'No travel bans.' Katie Price's new husband Lee Andrews has claimed he and his wife are going on a honeymoon in a few days and he has not been 'banned from leaving Dubai' Lee has now taken to his Instagram Stories to insist he is not banned from leaving Dubai He said: 'There's no travel ban, directly from the police UAE application and it's my profile so you can check those statuses, fines related to traffic and also if you're allowed to travel so allow me to share that. It's not fabricated. 'I'm going on my honeymoon in a few days guys so definitely not on a travel ban. I'm in the happiest moment of my life so I'm forward to going with my person, my human, on my honeymoon.' He added: 'It is exclusive so I can't talk about it. I know I'm probably the most hated man in Britain, but half this stuff is not even true.' Lee's ex Dina found out about his tactics after receiving a phone call from the mortgage company, sparking her decision to file a legal case against him. According to Dubai law, individuals pending criminal investigations, including unpaid debts or civil lawsuits, are not legally allowed to leave the country. The woman reported him to the authorities in Dubai who investigated her claim. It is unknown at what stage the investigation is at - but Lee was subject to the travel ban preventing him from leaving Dubai while the case was open. A man who claims to have shared a jail cell with Lee inside Dubai's Al-Awir central prison for three weeks back in October told the Mirror he is a 'compulsive liar' and a 'scammer'. It was claimed Lee spent three weeks locked up in a Dubai jail for allegedly forging his ex-girlfriend Dina Taji's signature to take out a 200,000 loan in her name and has been banned from leaving the United Arab Emirates A man who claims to have shared a jail cell with Andrews inside Dubai's Al-Awir central prison (pictured) for three weeks back in October told the Mirror he is a 'compulsive liar' and a 'scammer' The man said his marriage to Katie is 'just another of his scams' and added that he hopes she 'made him sign a pre-nup'. He said Andrews' claims on LinkedIn that he is a Member of the Board of Advisors for the Labour party and the Founder of Royalton hotel chain's Blue Diamond Resorts are 'utterly absurd'. A Labour source confirmed to The Mirror that Andrews had never worked with them and that they do not have a 'Board of Advisors'. And a spokesperson for Royalton Hotels confirmed he was not the founder of Blue Diamond Resorts, now known as Royalton Hotels & Resorts, adding their corporate records do not show him to have ever been 'affiliated with the company in any professional capacity'. Andrews' alleged former cell mate said he grew 'close' to him because they were two of only three Brits on the wing. 'There was one large rectangular room with 10 cells inside. Each cell has 6 beds and a bathroom,' he said. The source said Andrews was in the same cell as him during his stay and would sleep on a mattress on the floor due to overpopulation in the block with 65 to 70 people 'at any give time' and only 60 beds across the 10 cells. He also claimed the self-proclaimed billionaire was begging his fellow inmates to lend him 30,000 dirhams (5,966) to help with his case which he said he would pay them back 'immediately' when he was released. The prisoner said he told Andrews he couldn't afford to lend him this sum, but continued to support him financially inside, giving him telephone cards, canteen items and clothing. He said after a week inside, Andrews borrowed money from his ex-wife 'Cez' to cover the minimum amount required to be released. 'At this point he expected to be released but was then told by Dubai Police that he had three further Civil Cases with outstanding determinations that he needed to resolve before he could leave,' the source said. Andrews seen looking rather different in an unedited picture, compared to the heavily filtered images of himself he posts on social media One of the many highly edited and filtered pictures Andrews has posted of him on his Instagram page He said this was the 'exact information' Andrews had told him before he was released two weeks later. The source said he 'didn't enjoy' his company and found him to be a 'compulsive liar' who was 'only interested in what he could benefit from other people, myself included', adding that Andrews also got into 'a few physical fights with other inmates'. He said the conditions in the jail were 'extremely poor' and compared the treatment of prisoners to 'mental and physical torture'. He said Andrews was 'big into his fitness' and spent a lot of time working out in jail with dumbbells he had made from jail water bottles attached to a broke brush poll. Andrews denied he had been blocked from travelling out of the UAE in a series of rambling voice notes sent to the Daily Mail, calling the idea 'complete b******s'. He protested he had been on numerous holidays in recent weeks - and planned to travel to the UK on Friday night to see his new wife. Speaking on his Instagram Stories on Wednesday, Lee claimed he was set to fly to the UK to see Katie after she travelled back home to see her kids following their shock wedding. But the entrepreneur has now performed a U-turn, revealing in a now deleted story he is 'waiting for Katie' to fly out and see him instead. He said on Wednesday: 'I'm going to be meeting Katie tomorrow in the UK. I just need to wrap up a few things here. 'She had to get back for her children because she's a good mother and she's lovely like that.' However, his planned trip to London to meet her this weekend has yet to materialise, despite him posting a picture of a plane on Friday, suggesting he was preparing to reunite with her. In fact, he claimed he only stayed behind in the Emirati country earlier this week, while Katie went ahead to Britain, to search for a house for the two of them in Dubai to live in. If Katie was disappointed by Andrew's absence on Friday night, she did not show it. Instead she posted a picture of herself with her eldest son, Harvey, on Instagram captioned: 'Curry night, chicken korma, extra cream and naan bread wooooo.' And on Saturday, she posted a photograph of herself walking her cocker spaniel, Rookie. An insider said: 'Dina couldn't believe Lee had made financial commitments in her name. 'He forged her signature to take out the mortgage for AED 1million (200,000) and she only found out when the bank called her to check some details. She had no idea about it.' Andrews claimed he only stayed behind in the Emirati country earlier this week, while Katie went ahead to Britain, to search for a house in Dubai for the two of them to live in The insider added: 'She then went legal and raised a case against Lee, which has resulted in him getting a travel ban.' Lee dated Dina for roughly two years, during which time she set up a cat orphanage in Dubai. The businessman dumped her before moving onto Alana Percival, whom he proposed to four months before marrying ex-glamour model Katie. Since tying the knot with Katie days after getting engaged, Andrews has been dubbed a 'lying swindler' as rumours about his 'dodgy' past continue to swirl. Ex Alana took to Instagram to warn Katie to 'run for the hills', claiming she has 'proof' of his shady dealings. She wrote: 'Women look after women. I thought it was all a lie too until I had to find out the hard way... you want proof of everything, it's waiting for you...' and tagged Katie in the post. Alana also shared a photo of herself in a bikini on the beach and wrote: 'Catching flights not fiances Somebody with your ex right now thinking they found the one @katieprice more to come today's news is just a warm up.. 'You guys wanted to know what he is all about? Well let me start to tell you#runforthehills'. Lee connected to Alana on Facebook last March and showered her with a Louis Vuitton handbag, Cartier jewellery and transferred thousands of pounds. He proposed in September and the set-up was identical to Katie's engagement at the Jumeirah Burj Al Arab. Lee appeared to have repurposed the Cartier ring he gave to Alana to propose to Katie. Alana said as soon as she posted a picture of their engagement, she was contacted by his estranged Russian wife Cezara and two other exes, who claimed he was a 'liar'. Despite their warnings, Alana, who has since branded him a 'lying swindler', said she thought their relationships had just ended badly as she 'never had someone basically tell me that they love me the way he does'. Alana, who sold a house to Katie 15 years ago and called off their engagement in November, told The Sun: 'Katie should run for the hills, Lee is a liar, a narcissist and I think he's a manipulator. 'Once I tried to leave him, he told me had a heart condition and was living on borrowed time. Lee doesn't know what's fact and what's fiction.' Meanwhile, another of Lee's exes, Crystal Janke, has claimed Lee hoodwinked her into handing over 123,000 to invest in his company, on the promise he could get a 'return of 1million'. When approached for comment on his reported travel ban, Andrews told the Daily Mail: 'I think there's some wrong details in that. 'First of all, I've been travelling all over Christmas, prior to January, and I'm actually travelling tonight to the UK so no, I don't have a travel ban. 'And the Dina Taji issue was something else, but I don't have a mortgage either for 200,000, that's completely not right. 'So, I don't know what this is with the debts and lawsuits and I've got good equity here. But there's no substance. 'I've got to deny everything about this because I'm going to be travelling tonight and as I said, I have been travelling, so yeah, I don't get any of that information.' He continued: 'The reason I didn't fly is because we're actually house hunting. 'I stayed behind to purchase and complete and that's why I'm joining Katie now, not flying back with her. 'She had things to do as well with her children, and I left her to it, and I was joining her last night but now it's today I'm going to be joining her. 'And it makes most sense for us for the weekend, OK? Alright. And it's Heathrow I'll be flying into, thanks.' Andrews added: 'My UAE bank account, details and latest statement, it far exceeds 200,000 so it makes no sense that I would owe that or be on a travel ban for it because they would take it automatically if that was the case and they hold it. 'But that's, excuse my French when I say it's complete b******s, there's no substance in it at all.' The Daily Mail has approached the Foreign Office for comment. Halle Berry has said she is 'not going to allow myself to be erased' as she discussed ageism in Hollywood. The actress, 59, gave her thoughts on getting older while discussing her role as Sharon Coombs in the upcoming film, Crime 101. Speaking to The Cut, she said: 'Her character rang so true for me. You get to this age where you feel like you're being marginalized, devalued. You feel it at work. You feel it from society. 'But I have adamantly decided I am not going to allow myself to be erased. That's why I'm on my menopause mission. I'm going to be louder than I have ever been.' Halle launched Raspin, a menopause and women's health care platform which aims to redefineor re-spinthe conversation around menopause and perimenopause in 2020. She has since rebranded it to more directly target women's health and longevity. Halle Berryhas said she is 'not going to allow myself to be erased' as she discussed ageism in Hollywood (pictured in 2025) Halle previously sent fans wild on her 59th birthday when she posted a snap of herself in a bikini while soaking up the sun in Bora Bora During her interview, the Oscar-winner said she wants to tackle the stigma of vaginal dryness. 'Look, it happens to more than 60 percent of women as we get older. Everything gets dry! If we talk about it and laugh about it, there's no more shame or embarrassment,' she said. 'I'm almost 60. Fighting for women's health feels like a formidable cause for my second act.' Halle previously sent fans wild on her 59th birthday when she posted a snap of herself in a bikini while soaking up the sun in Bora Bora. The star paraded her fit 5ft5in figure in a gold sparkly Monday Swimwear 'Palma' bikini set while perched on a soft platform over the water. Halle completed her South Pacific style with a black-and-white checkered head scarf, dark aviator sunglasses, and plenty of jewelry. The reaction on X was swift with user @Nephil_Him declaring: 'The older the Berry [the] sweeter the juice.' 'Where can I sell my soul to look like this at 59?' X user @CharliexLevine asked. X user @current_tweet tweeted: 'We're not old, we're just poor.' Halle said: 'You get to this age where you feel like you're being marginalized, devalued. You feel it at work. You feel it from society' (pictured in January 2026) Last year Halle left Gayle King lost for words after proudly declaring that her vagina is 'juicy like a peach' during an appearance on CBS Morning. The actress made the admission when Gayle said: 'The other thing that I love that you're talking about menopause because most people think menopause is dry vaginas, and you're all done'. Halle then cheekily quipped: 'It did mean that for a minute. Now I'm juicy like the peach!' Menopause is when your periods stop due to lower hormone levels. It typically affects women between the ages of 45 and 55, but it can happen earlier. After the break, Halle shared that she had discovered she was menopausal in the 'most horrific way'. She said: 'I was diagnosed with herpes instead of a menopausal symptom, you know, and that got me awakened to the idea that if I had this little information, I wonder what millions of other women don't have. 'And then it just started snowballing and I realized that only we, women, can destigmatize this by talking about it, making it okay, talking about it with our husbands, our partners, our sons, our co-workers. Halle has been very vocal about her experience and even held a speech at Capitol Hill in May in which she asked for legislation to fund better research and education for it. The Los Angeles home of Meghan Markle's Suits costar Gina Torres was targeted by burglars who stole thousands of dollars in cash and over $200,000 in jewelry. The 56-year-old star's property in Sherman Oaks, California was broken into on Friday night. The Los Angeles Police Department arrived at the home around 7pm that night and saw that the windows had been smashed according to law enforcement sources for NBC4 LA. Law enforcement sources said that a neighbor had seen two men exit Torres' property and load bags into the car. The actress was not at home at the time of the break-in as thieves came away with over $25,000 in cash and $200,000 in jewelry. No arrests have been made as of Tuesday morning. The Los Angeles home of Meghan Markle's Suits costar Gina Torres was targeted by burglars who stole thousands of dollars in cash and over $200,000 in jewelry (the two are picture in Toronto back in September 2012) Torres had starred alongside Markle on seven seasons of legal drama suits from 2011 to 2018. Torres had portrayed Jessica Pearson who was a managing partner of major law firm Pearson Specter Litt. Markle's character Rachel Zane was a paralegal at the law firm before becoming an attorney. Torres and many of her other Suits co-stars did attend Markle's wedding to Prince Harry at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in the United Kingdom back in May 2018. However, it seems like they may have not kept in touch much since then. Torres enjoyed a reunion with her Suits co-stars minus Markle at the 2024 Golden Globes as she was joined by Sarah Rafferty, Gabriel Macht, and Markle's on-screen husband Patrick J. Adams. Gina revealed at the LA ceremony that the ex-castmates simply 'don't have [Meghan's number' when asked if anyone had reached out to the former actress. An insider told Page Six at the time that the Duchess of Sussex was invited to the event, but 'unfortunately' wasn't able to make an appearance because of a 'previous commitment'. Torres is pictured in New York May 2022 The 56-year-old star's property in Sherman Oaks, California was broken into on Friday night Torres had starred alongside Markle on seven seasons of legal drama suits from 2011 to 2018 Torres, Rick Hoffmann, Markle, Gabriel Macht, and Patrick J. Adams seen left to right in season 1 of Suits back in 2011 Speaking to Variety on the red carpet, Gina was asked: 'Who texted Meghan and said "you've gotta come to the Golden Globes, Meghan Markle".' 'We don't have her number. We just don't so. She'll see. She'll watch. She'll be happy that we're here,' said the 54-year-old US actress, who attended the Royal wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan in 2018. The interviewer also asked: 'Did you plan this? Are you all texting each other?' She explained: 'When it all came through, we were all texting each other. Yes, our text thread is insane right now. So it's very exciting.' Discussing Meghan's absence, a Globes insider told Page Six: 'We asked the Duchess, but we were told that, unfortunately, she had a previous commitment.' Gina's comments at the Golden Globes weren't the first time that the actress had referenced her lack of contact with Prince Harry's wife. She told Glamour in 2019: 'No, Im not in touch with Meghan. Theres no story in why Im not in touch with Meghan. Torres and Markle seen sharing a laugh in New York back in June 2012 Torres enjoyed a reunion with her Suits co-stars minus Markle at the 2024 Golden Globesas she was joined by (left to right) Markle's on-screen husband Patrick J. Adams, Gabriel Macht, and Sarah Rafferty 'What I will say is - if I could offer a window into what it is to be an actor and live this crazy life - when youre an actor, you meet hundreds of people during your career. 'The public only sees the characters that are on TV, but there are hundreds of people that make a show happen. If youre as fortunate enough of an actor as I am, that has had a varied career, you cant bring all those people with you.' She added that she 'enjoyed Meghan' when they worked together, adding they had a 'great time'. Torres currently stars alongside Patrick Dempsey and Michael Imperioli as Special Agent Linda Grant in Fox series Memory Of A Killer. Mark Ronson is set to receive the Outstanding Contribution to Music Award at the 2026 BRIT Awards in Manchester. The 10-time Grammy Award winning artist and producer, 50, will be honoured during the ceremony on February 28, taking place at the Co-op Live. Mark will also be taking to the stage to perform during the star-studded evening as well as Harry Styles, Olivia Dean and Wolf Alice, confirmed in the line-up. The British star gushed that he is 'beyond grateful' for the award which is the 'most meaningful' of his two decade career. Mark said: 'This is the most meaningful honour of my career. I think of the times I've watched artists I revere accept this same award. The idea that I'm now standing in that lineage feels impossible. 'I left England as a kid, but this country runs through everything I've made. The UK artists I've worked withtheir brilliance and refusal to compromiseshaped not just my work but how I understand what music should do. Mark Ronson is set to receive the Outstanding Contribution to Music Award at the 2026 BRIT Awards in Manchester 'And more than anything, it's the crowds here who've sustained and showed up for me. The fans, the festival crowds, the record buyers and streamersthe love has always been overwhelming. I'm beyond grateful for all of it.' The British star is widely recognised as one of the most influential figures in contemporary music and has played a pivotal role in shaping multi-platinum records for renowned artists worldwide. His accolades already include two BRIT Awards, ten Grammy Awards for notable works such as Uptown Funk featuring Bruno Mars and Amy Winehouses hit Back To Black. The producer also has an Academy Award and Golden Globe for co-writing Shallow with Lady Gaga for the film A Star Is Born. Over his two decade career, he has accumulated 25 billion global streams and produced several records incluidng Amy Winehouses's Valerie, Nothing Breaks Like a Heart with Miley Cyrus and Electricity with Silk City & Dua Lipa. Stacey Tang, Chair of the 2026 BRIT Awards Committee and Co-President of RCA Records at Sony Music UK said: 'Mark's creative influence spans every corner of contemporary culture. 'He has shaped the musical landscape globally with incredible albums, his own artist releases as well as those in collaboration with phenomenal talents he has discovered and nurtured. 'Mark has an extraordinary ability to elevate each project he works on. This award recognises his huge contribution to British music's global story and cements his place as one of the most innovative creators of our time.' The British star gushed that he is 'beyond grateful' for the award which is the 'most meaningful' of his two decade career Mark will also be taking to the stage to perform during the star-studded evening as well as Harry Styles (pictured), Olivia Dean and Wolf Alice, confirmed in the line-up The BRIT Awards 2026 with Mastercard will take place on Saturday, February 28, from Manchester's Co-op Live, broadcasting on ITV and hosted by Jack Whitehall. This year's BRIT winners trophy has been designed by the acclaimed British and Manchester-born designer Matthew Williamson. Nominations were recently announced for this year's awards. Leading the charge for 2026 are Olivia Dean and Lola Young with five nominations each. The pair are closely followed by Sam Fender with four nominations following his Mercury Prize win last year. Other British artists up for awards this year include Lily Allen, Calvin Harris, Cynthia Erivo, JADE, Wolf Alice, Ed Sheeran, Little Simz, PinkPantheress, Pulp, RAYE, Skye Newman, Wet Leg and more. The international artists recognised incluse Alex Warren, Bad Bunny, Doechii, ROSALIA, sombr, Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, Taylor Swift, HAIM and Tame Impala. A last minute revelation threatens to derail Robert Pattinson and Zendaya's marriage plans, but their sexual chemistry appears to be unaffected in the first official trailer for new film The Drama. The co-stars play soon-to-be-married Charlie Thompson and Emma Harwood, a young couple whose previously solid relationship is pushed to the brink after an unsettling secret is revealed over dinner. The new trailer, released on Tuesday, finds the couple earnestly preparing for their wedding, practising that all important first dance, considering their respective speeches and sharing a passionate kiss. But an innocent dinner party with two close friends, played by Mamoudou Athie and Alana Haim, throws an unexpected spanner in the works after Emma shares an unsavoury secret that leaves Charlie questioning their future. 'You have to stop thinking about it,' Emma tells him in another terse scene, to which he responds: 'How can I stop thinking about it? For f**k sake, I am thinking about it now.' The film also finds Emma trying on wedding dresses, but her forlorn expression as she examines her reflection in a bathroom mirror suggests the ceremony in question is far from guaranteed. A last minute revelation threatens to derail Robert Pattinson and Zendaya's marriage plans, but their chemistry appears to be unaffected in the first official trailer for new film The Drama A new trailer finds the couple earnestly preparing for their wedding, practising that all important first dance, considering their respective speeches and sharing a passionate kiss The Drama was shot in several locations including Boston, New York and Los Angeles and the production also spent $2.9million shooting in Louisiana, according to FastLane. It will be Pattinson's third collaboration with Zendaya after also sharing the screen in upcoming science fiction film Dune: Part Three and The Odyssey, director Christopher Nolan's adaptation of Homer's timeless Greek epic. The British actor recently praised his co-star and her appearances in all three of their films during an interview with GQ. 'Shes great. I really, really like her,' he said. 'And yeah, shes incredible in The Drama as well and in all of them. 'Well, I havent seen what she did in The Odyssey, I just saw her pictures and we saw each other in passing.' Pattinson will play Scytale, a shapeshifting Tleilaxu Face Dancer, in Denis Villeneuve's Dune: Part Three, while Zendaya will reprise her role as Fremen warrior Chani. Filming took place in Hungary and Abu Dhabi, and Pattinson admits his fondest memory was driving into the desert with Zendaya while filming on location at Liwa Oasis, close to the Persian Gulf. He recalled: 'Youll never experience these things in any other profession. I mean, literally, I was experiencing things which hardly anybody in history has or will ever experience and its just absolutely incredible. An innocent dinner party with two close friends, played by Mamoudou Athie and Alana Haim, throws an unexpected spanner in the works after Emma shares an unsavoury secret The film also finds Emma trying on wedding dresses, but her forlorn expression as she examines her reflection suggests the ceremony in question is far from guaranteed The Drama was shot in several locations including Boston, New York and Los Angeles and the production also spent $2.9million shooting in Louisiana As Emma and Charlie's relationship unravels, the couple even crash their car into a tree Emma reaches for the hard liquor after putting on her bridal dress - but will the wedding go ahead? 'Being out in the desert shooting Dune, its weird. I remember shooting a scene with Zendaya, the first scene we shot together out in the desert, Im like, Oh! Were, like, in Dune! And shes like, Yeahwere doing a Dune movie. 'But it really was like, It really like youre in a Dune movie. It was really, really fun. And I think its going to be...I hope people really like it. 'I think its quite fun. I hope people find it funny.' Written and directed by Kristoffer Borgli, The Drama is scheduled for release in the United States on April 3, with an international release expected soon after. Halle Berry still has not accepted her partner's proposal. The 59-year-old star has been with her boyfriend Van Hunt for almost six years, and she revealed last summer that he had already popped the question. Now, she told January/February 2026 issue of The Cut: 'I haven't said "yes." I don't think we need to be married to have a meaningful relationship. I don't know if we will ever get married.' Berry insisted 'health reasons' or being about to make vital medical decisions as each other's legal spouse are the only exceptions to her rule. The Oscar-winning star has been married three times before - to David Justice, Eric Benet and Olivier Martinez - and she explained that each breakup happened for a reason. She said: 'After my third divorce, people started to say, "What's wrong with her? She's crazy. She can't keep a man."' Halle Berry still has not accepted her partner's proposal. Seen with Van Hunt on Monday in New York City The 59-year-old star has been with her man for almost six years, and she revealed last summer that he had already popped the question. Now, she told January/February 2026 issue of The Cut: 'I haven't said "yes"' She added, 'And I would always argue, "Who says I want to keep a man if he's not the right man?"' Now, she's incredibly happy with Van, adding: 'I'm in the best relationship I have ever had.' Last summer, Van insisted his proposal to Halle - who has Nahla, 18, with former boyfriend Gabriel Aubry and Maceo, 12, with Olivier - was 'still on hold.' Speaking to Today.com, Hunt said: 'I put out the proposal, and it's still on hold as you can see. 'It's just out there floating. You know, maybe you can encourage her.' Berry added: 'Well, I've been married three times. Van has been married once, and so no, we don't feel like we have to get married to validate our love in any way. We don't.' At the time, she admitted she does think they will walk down the aisle one day. She teased: 'I think we will get married just because, out of the people I've been married to, this is the person I should have married. She added, 'I don't think we need to be married to have a meaningful relationship. I don't know if we will ever get married.' Seen in 2025 Berry insisted 'health reasons' or being about to make vital medical decisions as each other's legal spouse are the only exceptions to her rule. Seen in 2021 'And I feel like I should, we should get married, but it's not because we feel like we have to. I think it's something that we would like to do just because we want that expression.' And pressed on when they are likely to wed, she said: 'Soon.' Berry was accused of fixing her prom queen ballot because the school didn't want a 'Black girl' to win. The Academy Award winning actress - who is the first and only Black woman to win the best actress prize, for 2001 thriller Monster's Ball - can still recall the racism she was subjected to at high school, when she won the vote but was made to flip a coin with a white student to decide the winner. She told The Cut: 'As a Black girl, I was not the symbol of who they wanted for their queen.' She added: 'Another thing nobody really gets about me is that I've been a fighter my whole life fighting to be seen for who I really am, fighting to be taken seriously as an artist, fighting the stigma of beauty.' Halle also insisted that despite being 'wildly proud' of her Oscars win, she was hoping it would have a greater impact on her career. The Oscar-winning star has been married three times before - to David Justice, Eric Benet and Olivier Martinez - and she explained that each breakup happened for a reason. She said: 'After my third divorce, people started to say, "What's wrong with her? She's crazy. She can't keep a man."' Seen on Tuesday in NYC (L-R) Bart Layton, Chris Hemsworth, Berry and Mark Ruffalo attend SiriusXM's Front Row Series with the cast of Crime 101 at SiriusXM Studio in New York City The Hollywood beauty wore a plaid top and slacks with a gold necklace She said: 'That Oscar didn't necessarily change the course of my career. After I won it, I thought there was going to be, like, a script truck showing up outside my front door. 'While I was wildly proud of it, I was still Black that next morning. Directors were still saying, 'If we put a Black woman in this role, what does this mean for the whole story? Do I have to cast a Black man? Then it's a Black movie. Black movies don't sell overseas.' The 59-year-old star - who has appeared in 45 feature films to date - once warned Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo that the recognition wouldn't 'change her life'. She said to her: 'You goddamn deserve it, but I don't know that it's going to change your life. It cannot be the validation for what you do, right?' Now, Halle insisted her success comes from the simple fact she is getting to do what she enjoys. She explained: 'As a Black woman, now almost 60, I still get to work in movies and do what I love. I'm winning.' Wuthering Heights has been hit with further accusations of 'whitewashing' after Margot Robbie wore a 'stolen' diamond necklace to the Los Angeles premiere last week. The Barbie star, 35, paraded around in the 5.7million piece of jewellery leant to her by Cartier and paired with a custom-made strapless lace dress from the designer, Schiaparelli. Margot, who plays the lead Cathy despite being 16 years older than Emily Bronte's character, gushed: 'This is Elizabeth Taylor's necklace. 'The actual Elizabeth Taylor. It's the Taj Mahal diamond so it felt like it had a lot of romantic history and felt appropriate for tonight. 'It's a lot of diamonds tonight, we are bringing the Hollywood glam.' There is much debate surrounding the origins of the necklace, whether it came from Turkey or India, but there is a collective agreement that it cannot be considered Elizabeth Taylor's. Margot Robbie has been accused of 'white washing' for wearing a 'stolen' diamond necklace at the Los Angeles premiere of Wuthering Heights last weekend claiming it was Elizabeth Taylor's The Barbie star paraded around in the 5.7million piece of jewellery leant to her by Cartier, which was famously worn by the Hollywood icon in 1972 (pictured) Margot, 35, attended the LA premiere with her co-star, Jacob Elordi, who plays the love interest Heathcliff in the Emily Bronte classic to her leading lady, Cathy Join the debate Should celebrities be called out for wearing jewellery with controversial histories at major events? Margot's comments have outraged fans, as one person took to social media and wrote: 'The movie already whitewashes a South Asian character, then they have the lead actress show up wearing stolen India jewellery to the premiere.' The Mughal emperor, Jahangir, gifted it to his wife Nur Jahan in the 17th Century. It was then passed down to their son, Shah Jahan, who gave it to his wife Mumtaz, in whose memory the Taj Mahal was built. Many dispute that the item was not 'taken' to the US, where it was purchased by Richard Burton for his wife Elizabeth Taylor's 40th birthday in 1972, but rather 'stolen' from India. One person wrote on X: 'Margot Robbie wore this diamond necklace to the Wuthering Heights premiere and its appearance reopened discussion about Western celebrities wearing heritage items taken from India.' Margot pictured at the LA premiere with the film's writer and director, Emerald Fennell, who has received much backlash for her adaptation of the classic straying too far from the original Margot wearing the diamond at the premiere has caused much backlash online with some claiming it was 'stolen' from India but by calling it Elizabeth Taylor's she was 'white washing' it Another responded, 'Stolen, not taken.' It comes amid a string of controversies towards Emerald Fennel's modern adaptation of the beloved classic, with many upset by the casting of the Australian actor, Jacob Elordi, as the 'dark-skinned' Heathcliff. The romantic lead was described by Emily Bronte as a 'little lascar' - a 19th-century term for sailors from the Indian subcontinent. Elsewhere, Fennel's choice in modern-day clothing for the adaptation has also caused backlash and has been branded 'inappropriate'. At the peak of her powers in late90s Hollywood, Leelee Sobieski was everywhere - the It Girl directors swooned over, the Oscar buzz machine's next big thing and the darling of the red carpet. The stunning actress lit up blockbusters like Deep Impact, teen rom-coms like Never Been Kissed, and cult horror hits like Joy Ride, proving she could do it all. She shared screens with heavyweights from Tom Cruise to Drew Barrymore, racking up Emmy and Golden Globe nods that made her a serious contender for Hollywoods A-list crown. Even at just 14, Kubrick handpicked her for Eyes Wide Shut - a rare nod from one of Hollywood's toughest directors. But by the early 2010s, instead of movie deals or franchise roles, Sobieski had shifted to guest spots on TV shows, including a short-lived CBS cop drama, before quietly dropping out of Hollywood altogether by 2016. Fans were left wondering why she vanished, but Sobieski spilled the truth in a handful of rare interviews - and a few years later, she reemerged as an abstract painter in New York, working under her married name Leelee Kimmel. At the peak of her powers in late90s Hollywood, Leelee Sobieski was everywhere - the It Girl directors swooned over, the Oscar buzz machine's next big thing, and the name you had to know; (pictured 2007) She shared screens with heavyweights from Tom Cruise to Drew Barrymore, racking up Emmyand Golden Globenods that made her a serious contender for Hollywoods A-list crown; (pictured with Cruise in 1999's Eyes Wide Shut) The stunning actress, now 42, lit up blockbusters like Deep Impact, teen rom-coms like Never Been Kissed (pictured with Drew Barrymore), and cult horror hits like Joy Ride, proving she could do it all Once Hollywood's Golden Girl Born Liliane Rudabet Gloria Elsveta Sobieski in New York City, Sobieski, now 42, was discovered by a talent scout while still in school. By her midteens, she was lighting up screens in hits like Deep Impact (which grossed over $349 million worldwide), Here on Earth, and Joy Ride, sharing scenes with stars like Paul Walker and Josh Hartnett. Her starring role in the TV miniseries Joan of Arc wasnt just another gig it made her the youngest actress ever to play the iconic saint and earned her Emmy and Golden Globe nods at just 16. Critics noticed: Variety called her technically skilled, and Young Artist Award groups praised her early standout performances. She pushed herself into riskier, adult roles too from the thriller The Glass House to indie experiments like Lying proving she could pivot from commercial hits to arthouse fare. Yet even as applause followed, something about the industry rubbed her the wrong way. Join the debate Do YOU remember this 90s IT girl? Sobieski starred with Josh Hartnett in Heaven on Earth; (pictured 2000) The actress seen here with Chris Klein in Heaven On Earth in 2000 Why Hollywood Lost Her - In Her Own Words After years of feeling uncomfortable with the industry, Sobieski walked away from acting and never looked back. In a 2012 Vogue interview she explained: Ninety percent of acting roles involve so much sexual stuff with other people, and I dont want to do that. She doubled down in Another Magazine, saying intimate scenes made her feel really cheap and admitting she would cry while filming romantic scenes because they felt too real and uncomfortable. 'I started paying the rent on our house when I was 15, so I had a lot of pressure and things got complicated for me So when I could, I stopped,' she said. 'Its kind of a gross industry well, they all are, when you examine them but in acting youre selling your appearance so much. 'I would cry every time I had to kiss somebody; I couldnt stomach it. I would think I like this person, so I dont think they should pay me to kiss them, or I dont like this person, so I dont want to kiss them. Why is my kiss for sale? It made me feel really cheap.' It might have been acting, but it was real for me as it was my first or third kiss, so it was confusing for me. 'I dont know why its legal for a child to act unless they can sell oranges or whatever legally too. Its a crazy double standard and thats super weird for me. Born Liliane Rudabet Gloria Elsveta Sobieski in New York City, Sobieski was discovered by a talent scout while still in school basically a real-life casting fairy tale; (pictured 2000) In a 2012 Vogue interview she dropped what felt like a truth bomb: Ninety percent of acting roles involve so much sexual stuff with other people, and I dont want to do that. (pictured 2002 in Joy Ride) 'Now that the MeToo movement has come forward, people understand more that its pretty gross and uncomfortable.' By 2012, Sobieski was mostly done with Tinseltown, her last thriller role coming in Branded. She made a final bow in 2016 with the comedy The Last Film Festival alongside Dennis Hopper. In a candid 2018 interview with Artnet News, she didnt regret her acting years: I had a really happy childhood, and had a lot of fun, and did some work that I feel good about, she said - but she couldnt ignore what acting did to her. Actors end up going from one role to another with all this energy behind them, and you just become emptier and emptier and emptier - you end up having no real experiences, she explained. To cry, you end up drawing on the experiences of another character you played. She even admitted that, as a mother, she had personal limits she wasnt willing to cross: I dont want my children to look at Netflix and see me on screen in the arms of someone whos not their dad. Sobieski and husband Adam Kimmel, whom she married in 2010, have been raising their daughter Lewi (born 2009) and son Martin (2014) out of the spotlight. And at a rare 2016 appearance at a Chanel Tribeca Artist Dinner, she told UsWeekly: I dont do movie stuff anymore. I am totally an outsider! I am just focused on my kids. 'Thats mainly why I stopped.' Fans Still Can't Believe She Left Even years later, fans cant stop talking about her sudden exit from Hollywood. One wrote on Reddit, Leelee Sobieski was about to be the biggest star ever then ghosted us why did she quit acting? LeeLee made a splash in 1998's Deep Impact Her starring role in the TV miniseries Joan of Arc wasnt just another gig it made her the youngest actress ever to play the iconic saint and earned her Emmy and Golden Globe nods at just 16 I remember her as Joan Of Arc - there was a big tv miniseries (on CBS if I'm remember correctly), and afterwards she was very much touted as a star on the rise. And it made sense, she was outstanding' another user posted. Another chimed in, Glass House man she was something there. Had a huge crush back then! From Red Carpet to Art Gallery Sobieski's art career actually began quietly - sometimes in movie trailers lined with plastic so she could paint between takes, she told Interview, 'I always said, I dont want to act. I paint.' Art clearly runs in her veins: she studied visual arts at Brown University, and her father Jean Sobieski is a celebrated painter. She made her solo gallery debut in 2018 with Channels at The Journal Gallery in Williamsburg, followed by Wormhole, her first UK show at Simon Lee Gallery in London. Shes also exhibited at Almine Rech in Paris, with additional shows in Shanghai and Los Angeles. Collectors have taken notice: her large-scale abstract paintings have reportedly sold in the five-figure range. In her own words, art gives her something acting never did - real experience. In my paintings theres a lot about energy and vibrations and the whole world being connected, she explained to ArtNet, contrasting it with the 'artificiality' of film sets. She made her solo gallery debut in 2018 with Channels at The Journal Gallery in Williamsburg, followed by Wormhole, her first UK show at Simon Lee Gallery in London Sobieski shares her paintings on her Instagram The star majored in visual arts at Brown University, and her father Jean Sobieski is a renowned painter; (pictured 2024) Sobieski married Adam Kimmel in 2010; (pictured 2012) Leelee and Adam have been raising their daughter Lewi (born 2009) and son Martin (2014) out of the spotlight; (pictured 2012) If youre on a crew and 150 people are pushing for you to fall in love with somebody else, everybody is rooting for it,' she continued. 'Thats the energy of a lot of people, but its fake. 'This is really whats inside of me, and Im not trying to be anybody else. It was almost like coming out of the closet or something' Sobieski lives in Brooklyn, New York, where she and her husband are raising their two children. Daily Mail has reached out for comment from Sobieski. Toby Watkins and Melissa Tattam have announced they are engaged in a loved-up social media post on Tuesday. The Made In Chelsea stars beamed in snaps from the sweet moment as Toby popped the question to Melissa, 29. Sharing the news on Instagram, Toby told his fans: 'One less lonely girl.' Black and white photographs show them both celebrating in their home as they embraced each other. A time stamp on the snaps indicates Melissa and Toby got engaged on Monday, February 2. The happy couple were flooded with congratulations from fans and their celebrity pals, including influencer Lorna Luxe who called it the 'best news'. Toby Watkins and Melissa Tattam have announced they are engaged in a loved-up social media post on Tuesday The Made In Chelsea stars beamed in snaps from the sweet moment as Toby popped the question to Melissa Sharing the news on Instagram, Toby told his fans: 'One less lonely girl' Ollie Lockewood replied: 'Ahhh guys this is so wonderful!!! Massive love and congratulations Xx.' Melissa's former co-star and close friend Sophie Habboo wrote: My LOVES!!!!!!!!!!! Weeeeeping!!!!!!! ' Among the replies was a comment from Melissa, who publicly declared: 'l love you.' Melissa and Toby originally dated for three years until they split in 2022, though the following year reunited after meeting up on a trip in Bali. Since leaving the show, Toby works as a creative director for a production company, while Melissa hosts her podcast Wednesdays. with Sophie Habboo. Speaking previously to her MIC co-star Sophie, she said their breakup had left her 'heartbroken'. Melissa said: 'Toby has definitely, basically left a scar on my heart, which it's kind of like grief. Jay Shetty said that it's like a pebble that goes in your pocket, right? It never goes away but it just gets lighter.' Melissa previously dated Harry Baron for three years and were considered one of the strongest couples on Made In Chelsea at the time. The happy couple were flooded with congratulations from fans and their celebrity pals, including influencer Lorna Luxe who called it the 'best news' Black and white photographs show them both celebrating in their home as they embraced each other A time stamp on them indicates Melissa and Toby got engaged on Monday, February 2 Melissa and Toby originally dated for three years until they split in 2022, though the following year reunited after meeting up on a trip in Bali Meanwhile, Melissa previously claimed that Boris Johnson's wife Carrie slid into her boyfriend's DMs. She revealed on her podcast Wednesdays We Drink Wine that Carrie also follows Melissa's boyfriend Toby Watkins on Instagram. Her co-host Sophie Habboo started the conversation by saying: 'Apparently Boris Johnson has so many kids he doesn't even know, that's why he never says the number. Melissa shocked her fans by revealing: 'oh mic drop. I don't know if I can say this but I'm going to say it. Boris Johnson's wife has previously DM'd Toby Watkins and she follows him. Sophie couldn't contain her laughter and quipped: 'No you're lying, no no you're lying. Melissa responded: 'Deadly f**king serious.' Sophie then asked what the message said with Melissa replying: 'We don't know because she's unsent it' Jennifer Aniston shared a hilarious video to her Instagram page on Tuesday that featured her good pal Jason Bateman. The 57-year-old Ozark actor stopped by her Los Angeles mansion unannounced to ask for help with his hair. The 56-year-old Emmy winner seemed a bit taken aback as she asked who told him she was now a hairdresser. Bateman held his ground, saying he learned on the Internet that she now styled peoples hair with her Lolavie products. The Friends actress seemed confused as she raised her eyebrows, but she let him in her abode anyhow. Aniston and Bateman met in their twenties and have worked together on many films including The Break-Up (2006), The Switch (2010), Horrible Bosses (2011), Horrible Bosses 2 (2014) and Office Christmas Party (2016). Jennifer Aniston shared a hilarious video to her Instagram page on Tuesday that featured her good pal Jason Bateman The Ozark actor stopped by her Los Angeles mansion unannounced to ask for help with his hair Once inside her big home, she put him in a chair in front of a mirror. Bateman questioned why she was not putting a smock on him as he seemed to wonder of she had any standard hairdresser skills. Soon viewers got the drift that this was comedy routine as Aniston seemed more interested in her own hair than in Batemans: she played the part of the ditzy hairdresser perfectly. Bateman did not seem amused. When the girlfriend of Jim Curtis tried to put a balm in his hair she had trouble getting the product out of the bottle, which made Bateman irritated. Aniston continued to focus on herself before she played with his hair. She was dressed casually in a black T-shirt and blue jeans. At one point, he said his hairdo look like Conan OBriens, which made Aniston laugh. Next the blonde beauty blow dried his locks, making him look like a mess. She also appeared to burn his scalp. The Emmy winner seemed a bit taken a back as she asked who told him she was now a hairdresser Bateman held his ground, saying he learned on the Internet that she now styled peoples hair with her Lolavie products The friends actress seemed confused as she raised her eyebrows Once inside her big home, she put him in a chair in front of a mirror and he questioned why she was not putting a smock on him Soon viewers got the drift that this was comedy routine as Aniston seemed more interested in her own hair than in Batemans: She played the part of the ditzy hairdresser perfectly Bateman did not seem amused as he started to wonder if she had any hairdresser skills. When she tried to put a balm in his hair she had trouble getting it out of the bottle which made him irritated Aniston continued to focus on herself before she played with his hair while she wore a black T-shirt and blue jeans. At one point, he said his hairdo look like Conan OBriens, which made Aniston laugh At the end, she told him she was done and he said 'thanks Aunt Jen' before looking at the camera with a knowing look that said, 'She didn't really do anything' Her Instagram followers seemed to love the video with her Morning Show co-star Reese Witherspoon even joking, 'Id like to book an appointment, please.' Seen in October When asked how much she would charge for the work she said it was 'free' even though she really wasnt doing much to improve his looks. At the end, she told him she was done and he said 'thanks Aunt Jen' before looking at the camera with a knowing look that said, 'She didn't really do anything.' Her Instagram followers seemed to love the video with her Morning Show co-star Reese Witherspoon even joking, 'Id like to book an appointment, please.' Kyle Richards shared three laughing emojis while Nina Dobrev, Olivia Munn and Kaley Cuoco hitting the like button. The video served to promote Aniston's Lolavie hair care products. This comes after Aniston appeared in a Dunkin Donuts advertisement with former costar Ben Affleck, Friend vet Matt LeBlanc and Jason Alexander from the show Seinfeld. BBC Radio Cumbria presenter Richard Nankivell has died age 75 after a short illness, it was announced on Tuesday. The broadcaster joined the station in 1992 and remained until his retirement in 2015. In an update shared to Radio Cumbria's Facebook, they shared the sad news alongside a heartfelt tribute. It read: 'We are very sad to announce the death of one of BBC Radio Cumbrias best-known presenters, Richard Nankivell, who has died aged 75 after a short illness. 'He will be remembered fondly by listeners across Cumbria and beyond.' Richard, who was born in North Devon, trained as a livestock auctioneer before starting his broadcasting career with The British Forces Broadcasting Service in 1972. BBC Radio Cumbria presenter Richard Nankivell has died age 75 after a short illness, it was announced on Tuesday The broadcaster joined the station in 1992 and remained until his retirement in 2015 He worked overseas in Cyprus, Gibraltar, Germany, Belize, The Falklands and the Gulf, presenting and producing programmes for 20 years, before moving back to the UK. Radio Cumbria's executive editor Chris Rick told the BBC: 'Richard's humour and brilliant understanding of radio made his shows very popular in Cumbria. 'Richard, or Nanks as we all called him, was a much-loved colleague who was as funny and entertaining off air as he was on the radio. 'Even though he retired over 10 years ago, he was still talked about fondly by the BBC Cumbria team with stories about the big personality that he was.' He is survived by his wife Heather Wainwright, who is Radio Cumbria's breakfast newsreader. Sharing their condolences and fond memories of Richards fans commented on BBC Radio Cumbria's Facebook: 'Absolute legend, I loved listening to his show on Radio Cumbria when I worked a night shift'; 'An amazing presenter. Unique and just knew how to create brilliant radio. He was also a lovely man. Hes left us with so many wonderful memories. Thank you Nanks'; 'Such a distinctive voice on the Cumbrian airwaves, funny, clever fella, Rest in peace Nanks.' Katie Price showed off her new bottom on Tuesday as she underwent a 2,000 liquid BBL ahead of her honeymoon with her new husband Lee Andrews. The former glamour model, 47, said she was getting 'beach ready' as the Dubai businessman, 43, shared his hopes for them to 'reunite' on holiday. Sharing an update to her Instagram Story, Katie showed off her pert, bigger bottom in an orange thong after an appointment at The Clinic Hub. Uploading her before and after images, she tagged her husband Lee and added: 'Beach ready...' Liquid BBLs are often advertised on social media as a 'risk-free', 'cheaper' alternative to the surgical counterpart. In a surgical BBL, fat is taken from elsewhere on the body and inserted into the buttocks. Katie Price showed off her new bottom on Tuesday as she underwent a 2,000 liquid BBL ahead of her honeymoon with her new husband Lee Andrews The former glamour model, 47, said she was getting 'beach ready' as the Dubai businessman, 43, shared his hopes for them to 'reunite' on holiday The cheaper non-surgical procedure sees dermal fillers, the same material used to fill lips, directly injected. Katie's procedure comes after Lee claimed he and his wife are going on a honeymoon in a few days and he has not been 'banned from leaving Dubai'. It was claimed the businessman spent three weeks locked up in a Dubai jail for allegedly forging his ex-girlfriend's signature to take out a 200,000 loan in her name and has been banned from leaving the United Arab Emirates. Insiders told the Daily Mail that Lee allegedly applied for a 200,000 mortgage on behalf of personal trainer partner Dina Taji without her knowledge last year. But Lee has now taken to his Instagram Stories to insist he is not banned from leaving Dubai and is going on his honeymoon with Katie soon. In a video, he posted a screenshot from the MOI UAE App which has features like paying traffic fines, renewing driver's licences and criminal status checks. Lee had the screen on the 'travel bans' option which read: 'No travel bans.' The cheaper non-surgical procedure sees dermal fillers, the same material used to fill lips, directly injected Katie's procedure comes after Lee claimed he and his wife are going on a honeymoon in a few days and he has not been 'banned from leaving Dubai' He said: 'There's no travel ban, directly from the police UAE application and it's my profile so you can check those statuses, fines related to traffic and also if you're allowed to travel so allow me to share that. It's not fabricated. 'I'm going on my honeymoon in a few days guys so definitely not on a travel ban. I'm in the happiest moment of my life so I'm forward to going with my person, my human, on my honeymoon.' Lee added: 'It is exclusive so I can't talk about it. I know I'm probably the most hated man in Britain, but half this stuff is not even true.' Lee's ex Dina found out about his tactics after receiving a phone call from the mortgage company, sparking her decision to file a legal case against him. According to Dubai law, individuals pending criminal investigations, including unpaid debts or civil lawsuits, are not legally allowed to leave the country. The woman reported him to the authorities in Dubai who investigated her claim. It is unknown at what stage the investigation is at - but Lee was subject to the travel ban preventing him from leaving Dubai while the case was open. Ellen DeGeneres has snapped up a new mansion in Montecito near Santa Barbara, California, People reported on Tuesday. Realtor.com also claimed the same thing adding the home was bought from movie producer Brian Grazer and the purchase was made off market, closing in November for $27.4 million. But that does not mean that DeGeneres is completely ditching England, where she and her 53-year-old wife Portia de Rossi moved to in November 2024. The 68-year-old comedienne and de Rossi will be spending only part of their time in the Southern California community, People added. 'She's not moving back to the U.S. but will continue to split her time between both the U.K. and Montecito,' a source told the site. Montecito is where her friends Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Aniston own homes. And it is where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle reside. Ellen DeGeneres has snapped up a new mansion in Montecito near Santa Barbara, People reported on Tuesday Realtor.com also claimed the same thing adding the home was bought from movie producer Brian Grazer and the purchase was made off market, closing in November for $27.4 million The 68-year-old comedienne and her 53-year-old wife Portia de Rossi will be spending part of their time in the Southern California community, People added Daily Mail has reached out to the star's representative for comment. People added that the Hollywood veteran has been 'missing' California as it has been over a year since the former talk show host moved to England for a better life. She was reportedly so unhappy that Donald Trump had won a second term as President of the United States that she wanted to leave the country. It was also noted by a People source that DeGeneres has not been seen in her English neighborhood for many months and locals believed she had moved out. And in December, the TV personality and de Rossi were spied in Santa Barbara. That same month, DeGeneres shared a post from California on her Instagram page. A real estate source also shared with the site that the couple have been 'missing the California weather and horse scene' since moving to the bucolic Cotswolds in 2024. The insider also shared: 'Portia loves polo and her horses.' The Cotswolds is a rural area of south central England covering parts of six counties, notably Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire. Its rolling hills and grassland harbor thatched medieval villages, churches and stately homes. Montecito is where her friends Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Aniston (pictured) own homes. Seen in LA in November People added that the Hollywood veteran has been 'missing' California as it has been over a year since the former talk show host moved to England for a better life A look at the hills in the Montecito area A beach in the Santa Barbara area When DeGeneres and de Rossi first moved to England over a year ago they snapped up a farmhouse for around $18 million, but it did not fit their needs, The Wall Street Journal reported, so they moved out. They then purchased another home in the area that had floor-to-ceiling windows and was more modern. It also more adequately housed the Arrested Development actress' horses and provided plenty of land for them to graze on. In July it was reported that DeGeneres put that first English farmhouse up for sale for a staggering $30.5 million. But Realtor.com reported in late January that the house has been taken off the market. It was unclear what prompted the disappearance of the property's listing or whether DeGeneres had managed to secure a buyer for the dwelling, the site added. They moved into the hilltop home in Oxfordshire De Rossi seen here riding her horse into town as she models a helmet and boots Picture of the tiny Cotswold village that has less than 200 people This comes after DeGeneres expressed her support for anti-ICE protesters in Minneapolis. The star took to Instagram to describe her sadness at what's happening in 'the happiest city in America' following the fatal shooting of Renee Good by Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers earlier this month. Referring to her 2024 Netflix special Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval, Ellen said in a video clip: 'Hey everybody, I just wanted to say, I am so sorry for what is happening in Minneapolis and our country, really, but specifically Minneapolis right now because that's where I shot my last stand-up special and everybody there couldn't have been more lovely. 'I shot it there because they say it's the happiest city in America. And I found that to be true. 'So my thoughts and my prayers are going out to everyone, and I'm proud of everyone who's protesting peacefully, and I am sorry for anyone who has been hurt just for protesting, for doing what you should be doing.' DeGeneres' talk show came to an end after 19 years in 2022. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is under mounting pressure to co-operate with US officials investigating Jeffrey Epstein's crimes, with sources saying it is a 'matter of personal conscience' as well as his public duty. While Buckingham Palace has declined to comment on the latest revelations from the US Department of Justice file dump, royal sources told the Daily Mail last night that 'providing testimony is now a matter for Andrew and his conscience'. Insiders also said it was always a principle that those who have relevant information should 'participate in any lawful inquiry on any subject'. The development will add fuel to the fire of calls for the former prince to break his self-imposed silence and publicly co-operate with officials investigating Epstein's crimes and the network of contacts that aided and abetted him. However, despite being seen driving and riding around Windsor where he was, astonishingly, photographed smiling and waving to onlookers without an apparent care in the world yesterday there continued to be a deafening silence from the former royal. Blindsided at the palace It is understood King Charles was not aware of the level of detail in the latest files, which reveal the depths of the relationship between his brother and the financer. Buckingham Palace appears to be learning about the new material at the same time as the public. But the ensuing headlines will be troubling given Andrew was a working member of the Royal Family and held a prestigious role as a UK trade ambassador during his association with Epstein. The King and Queen also pointedly stated last October, as it was announced Andrew was being stripped of his titles, that their 'thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse'. The new calls echo demands at the weekend by Sir Keir Starmer that Andrew should testify before the US Congress over his dealings with Epstein. It came as new emails revealed a mysterious Russian woman set up on a dinner date with Andrew by Epstein thanked the financer for 'a really special adventure'. Epstein emailed the former prince to say a woman could meet him in London in August 2010. 'She 26, russian, clevere [sic] beautiful, trustworthy and yes she has your email,' he wrote. Prince Andrew faces new legal threat over 2010 allegations The Daily Mail can reveal the woman is a model born in the far north of Russia who moved to North America, where she married and became a mother. She had asked Epstein: 'If I go to London [on my way back from Russia] sometime between August 27 and Sept 5 do you think somebody will be there and what are the best dates?' Epstein told her to go slightly earlier, and she confirmed she had booked flights for a trip between August 20 and August 25. On August 22, she confirmed she was in Britain, explaining to Epstein that she lost her phone in the Bahamas but 'I will get a UK phone, will write you the number'. Epstein responded: 'But are you having fun?' On August 25, she wrote to Epstein: 'Thank you again for everything, my trip has been a really special adventure!' It is not clear whether the woman and Andrew actually met. At the weekend a second woman threatened legal action against Andrew after claiming Epstein flew her to Britain for sexual intercourse. The unnamed woman says she was taken to Buckingham Palace for tea after the encounter, which allegedly took place in 2010 when she was in her 20s. It is the first time an Epstein accuser has alleged a sexual encounter at a royal residence. Andrew has been contacted for comment. Share your thoughts with us in the comments Opinion: The photo of Andrew that could bring down the monarchy Will Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor bring down the monarchy? It may seem an absurd question to ask since the Royal Family has survived huge scandals in the past. But the latest batch of allegations against the disgraced ex-prince will deepen the public's perception that he is an entitled, sleazy, greedy and seemingly untruthful person. He epitomises what many republicans hate about the monarchy. I expect further emails and photos will emerge showing Mountbatten-Windsor in a terrible light. King Charles must be wondering whether the torrent of allegations will ever cease. As polls suggest that support for the monarchy is dwindling, republicans see an opportunity to strike. One of them, Labour MP Rachael Maskell, was on the radio yesterday morning calling for a police investigation into Mountbatten-Windsor's activities. What can the King do? Very little, I fear. He has already deprived his oafish brother of all his titles, served notice that he must leave Royal Lodge with its 30 rooms in Windsor Great Park, and banished him to a reasonably modest dwelling on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk. Charles might like to send his brother to the Tower but unfortunately that isn't possible. Maybe there are some further practicable actions he could take, though it's hard to think of any. The King can only wait for the next wave of damaging revelations. The most recent lot part of three million pages of documents concerning convicted sexual offender Jeffrey Epstein, released by the US Department of Justice last Friday is about as bad as it could be. Continue reading about the damaging photograph here: Andrew faces new Epstein legal threat that he 'exploited' another woman Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor faces a new legal threat after a second woman alleged that Jeffrey Epstein flew her to Britain for sexual intercourse. The unnamed woman says she was taken to Buckingham Palace for tea afterwards. Her US lawyer last night issued an ultimatum to Andrew and the Royal Family to sit down and discuss the claims soon or face court action. The woman says she was in her 20s when, at Epstein's request, she spent a night with Andrew at his Royal Lodge home in 2010. The claims mark the first time an Epstein accuser has alleged a sexual encounter at a royal residence. Attorney Brad Edwards, who represents more than 200 alleged Epstein victims, told the Daily Mail: 'I'm hoping some time this week that somebody on behalf of the Palace will reach out and say, "let's figure this out".' Mr Edwards previously sued Andrew on behalf of Virginia Giuffre, who alleged she had sexual intercourse with the former Duke of York in London, New York and on Epstein's Caribbean island. The now ex-prince settled for a reported 12million before the case went to trial but without admitting liability. He has vehemently denied the allegations. But the spotlight is back on him once again following the release of more than three million documents related to Epstein by the US Department of Justice on Friday night. They included an email Epstein sent to Andrew in 2010, offering to set him up with 'a friend', who he said was '26, russian, clevere [sic] beautiful, trustworthy'. It is not known if the woman in the email is the same woman making the new claims. The file dump, which the DoJ says will be the last, also shed new light on Lord Mandelson's relationship with Epstein. Continue reading about Andrew's new legal threat here: Savannah Guthrie is grappling with a harrowing family mystery amid the suspected abduction of her mother Nancy. It was revealed on Monday morning that the 84-year-old mother of the Today show anchor, 54, was last seen on Saturday night near her home in Tucson, Arizona. New haunting details about her disappearance have come to light, with investigators believing that the elderly woman was abducted from her own bed. According to Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanons, aspects of the scene at her home prompted 'grave concern.' He explained at a news conference that Nancy 'is very limited in her mobility. She did not just walk out of there.' Savannah grew up in Tucson, where her mom Nancy has been reported missing. Amid the shock news of Nancy's disappearance, Daily Mail takes a look at the Guthrie family tree and those closest to her. Mother Nancy Guthrie Savannah often spoke of the close relationship she shares with her mother Nancy. Despite a high-flying career that took her from law school at Georgetown to Washington, D.C., and New York, Savannah has never lost her deep-rooted connection to Nancy, who's lived in Arizona for over 50 years. 'By far, my favorite part about Tucson is family,' Savannah shared on the Today show in November. 'When people ask me, "Where are you from?" I'm always proud when I say, "Tucson, Arizona,"' Savannah explained. 'I grew up there, went to college there, my mom still lives there, and honestly, a part of me has really never left.' 'Her mom is her world,' a source recently told People of their bond. 'Savannah and her mom are obsessed with each other.' 'Nancy beams whenever she talks about Savannah,' the insider added. 'My mom is an amazing and noble woman,' Savannah told Today.com in 2012, when Nancy celebrated her 70th birthday. 'She inspires everyone who knows her. She is whip smart, funny, full of integrity and wisdom. She also has the best sense of adventure. She's always up for something fun.' And in 2018, she shared tender memories of watching her mom as a grandmother to her kids. She told co-anchor Hoda Kotb on Today, 'I feel like watching my mom now with my kids is so profound. Because I'm seeing the mom that she must have been with me, just the everyday joys.' She added that Nancy was 'so good at playing with them. I appreciate her even more than I thought possible because I see her spunkiness and her quirks.' In 2022, for Nancy's 80th birthday, Savannah paid tribute to her 'daring and adventurous' mom. 'She has met unthinkable challenges in her life with grit, without self-pity, with determination, and always, always with unshakeable faith. She loves us, her family, fiercely, and her selflessness and sacrifice for us, her steadfastness and her unmovable confidence is the reason any of us grew up to do anything,' she proudly shared on air. Nancy mysteriously disappeared Saturday night in what authorities in Tucson are now investigating as an abduction. When a congregant at the Guthrie's local church called family members on Sunday to report that Nancy was not there, the family rushed to her house and searched for the mother-of-three, before reporting her missing at around noon, TODAY reports. It now remains unclear whether Nancy had been targeted because she is Savannah's mother. Father Charles Guthrie Born in Melbourne, Australia, as the youngest of three siblings, Savannah spent her earliest years abroad due to her father Charles Guthrie's work. The family relocated to Tucson when she was just two years old. Her father died of a heart attack in 1988, when she was 16. The sudden death left her devastated and 'cracked open' her family. Speaking to People in 2024, the broadcaster said that she thinks about her father 'all the time' and she has previously said that she will always carry the grief of his death. 'He was deep and complicated, and he didn't talk to us like little kids,' she reflected. 'He told us things that I didn't understand at the time but later would remember, long after he died.' Savannah has talked openly about her grief too and has described her experience as a 'lifelong process.' 'There's before my dad died and there's after, and it's profound,' she told Brooks Nadar during a podcast appearance. 'There's different moments of grief, but I remember thinking even then when I was a late teenager, I always thought, I have a cup of grief now. 'It's like a cup of water and I'm going to spend the rest of my life emptying this cup. And sometimes it's coming out in buckets. And sometimes it's a little sprinkle and sometimes I can just hold it, and nothing comes out. But every last drop of this cup will not be empty until I leave this world.' Losing a parent so suddenly strengthened her relationship with God. Writing in her 2024 book, Mostly What God Does: Reflections on Seeking and Finding His Love Everywhere, Savannah said that she puts trust in God that He has a plan. 'In that moment, that plan can be shocking and devastating and earth-shattering,' she penned. 'My father's death was all of those things for me and for my family. But that over time, with the healing of time, but mostly with the grace of God, you can kind of come to terms and come to understand. 'And through faith, believe not only that God knows what he's doing, that death is not his plan, but that through faith, we have hope.' Savannah has fond memories of her father, and has often paid tribute to him. In 2020 she shared a tended childhood snap with her dad, writing in the caption, 'Missing you always and ever.' 'My father was a seemingly unlikely mix of qualities: always strong, sometimes terrifying, loyal to the end, and disarmingly gentle and tender when it counted,' she wrote on Today.com in 2014, when she was expecting her first baby with husband Mike Feldman. 'He was also tall, affectionate and funny; he had that personality that people describe as "lighting up the room."' Savannah voiced her wish that their child would not only inherit her husband's 'quick wit, his peaceful disposition, his kindness,' but also her father's integrity and morals. Sister Annie Guthrie Savannah is very close to her older sister Annie, who had reportedly just seen their mother for dinner hours before she was reported missing. Nancy went to dinner with Annie and spent the evening playing mahjong, before she vanished from her home. Annie has made a number of appearances on Today since her younger sister started co-anchoring the show in 2012. 'Annie's like the blood going through my veins,' Savannah shared in a 2017 segment. 'She's always been there, all my life.' Meanwhile Annie said they were 'like the sun and the moon.' 'Her sorrows are my sorrows, and her successes are my successes,' she explained. Savannah went on to call Annie 'thoughtful and reflective.' Brother Camron Guthrie Aside from Annie, Savannah has an older brother, Camron Guthrie, with whom she shares a close bond. Camron is a retired F-16 pilot who dedicated decades of his life to military service, earning deep respect from his family and peers alike. Savannah spoke about Camron's career and retirement in an August 2018 Instagram post, using the moment to publicly honor his long-standing commitment to the country. 'I have never been more proud of my big brother,' she shared. 'He has flown for our country for 26 years, and continues to serve proudly in the 'Green Mountain Boys' the Vermont Air National Guard. He is the pride of our family and one of this country's finest.' Husband Michael Feldman The NBC broadcaster is married to public relations and communications consultant Michael Feldman, 57. The pair share daughter Vale, 11, and son Charley, nine. They initially began dating in 2009 before tying the knot in Guthrie's hometown of Tucson in 2014. The journalist met the former Democratic political adviser at his 40th birthday party which she 'crashed,' attending as her gal pal's plus one. She and Feldman hit it off and they began dating after he sent her an email 'a few days later.' Last year she revealed that she had a very rocky start with Feldman. During an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Savannah said that she broke up with Feldman before he proposed. The TV star had waited five-and-a-half years for him to pop the question and she was frustrated it was not happening. Savannah did not want to wait another day. So while on vacation in the Turks and Caicos, she told Feldman she was done which led to heartbreak and tears. Little did she know, Feldman had an engagement ring in his pocket that he was ready to propose with. Later in the day, he ended up getting on one knee and asking her for her hand in marriage, which gave her the shock of her life. Savannah also shared that at the time, her own mother told her they 'need to [get married] or don't. Like just do something.' Daughter Vale and son Charles Max Savannah and her husband welcomed daughter Vale, 11, on August 13, 2014, five months after saying 'I do.' At the time she proudly shared that the baby had 'blue eyes, a little bit of blondish hair and the chubbiest cheeks you've ever seen.' During her pregnancy, Savannah wrote on her blog about wanting a less common baby name, calling it 'an ever-ready conversation piece.' Two years after she gave birth to their daughter, Savannah welcomed son Charles, nine, on December 8, 2016. He is named after her late father. 'He's happy and Vale loves him, which was a big relief,' the proud mom shared in a video shown on Today, just a few days after Charles' birth. After opening up about her fertility struggles, Savannah affectionately dubbed her son a 'medical miracle.' Sharing her parenting approach on Today in 2018, she said, 'I think the best thing I can do for Vale and Charley is to try to be a better person so that I can just show that person.' 'You know, when you're home, there's nowhere to hide. You just are who you are. So you better get it straight and spend that time looking inward and doing your best.' Savannah's ex-husband Mark Orchard While she is happily married now, Savannah felt like a 'failure' after her first marriage to BBC journalist Mark Orchard ended in divorce after four years in 2009. Last month, she reflected on her heartbreak on the debut episode of Hoda Kotb's new YouTube series, Joy Rides. Speaking to Kotb, she remembered how the end of her marriage felt like her dreams were 'falling apart.' 'I was in my 30s. I felt old, but I now see that I was pretty young, and I was sad about it,' Savannah recalled. 'And I was also starting a new job at a place called NBC and trying really hard to make my way and make my little dream come true while other dreams were falling apart. 'And it made me have to really dig deep, and I felt like a failure.' Despite her heartbreak, the split helped Savannah form a closer connection with her faith. 'I realized I didn't have to be perfect to be loved by God,' she continued. 'I didn't even have to be close because I was definitely a failure.' Savannah previously said that her divorce from Orchard took her 'years to recover.' Savannah Guthrie makes a heartbreaking plea amid mother's disappearance Today Show host Savannah Guthrie made a heartbreaking plea for fans to keep her beloved mother in their prayers after the elderly woman suddenly disappeared. The frantic search for Nancy Guthrie continued on Tuesday after officials said they believe the 84-year-old was snatched from her bed in the dead of night. 'We believe in prayer. We believe in voices raised in unison, in love, in hope,' Savannah wrote on Instagram. 'We believe in goodness, we believe in humanity. Above all, we believe in Him.' Nancy Guthrie, a devout mother-of-three, was reported missing from her $1 million Arizona home on Sunday after she failed to show up for morning mass. She was last seen at around 9.45pm on Saturday in Tucson's affluent Catalina Foothills neighborhood. 'Thank you for lifting your prayers with ours for our beloved mom, our dearest Nancy, a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant,' Savannah wrote. She then asked her social media followers to 'raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment,' adding: 'We need you.' Savannah made the desperate plea as the investigation into Nancy's disappearance stretched into a third consecutive day. Amy Schumer and Alyssa Milano said they are 'praying hard' for Nancy's safe return. Bravo star Andy Cohen who shared his 'love and prayers.' Actor Josh Gad added: 'You have nothing but prayers in this household. I am truly sorry that this is happening.' Some of Guthrie's current and former NBC anchors also expressed their sympathy. Former Today Show co-host Hoda Kotb said she has her 'non stop prayers.' N icole Wallace, whose show is now on MSNOW, also said she is 'holding you and your entire family so close.' Immediately following the report that Nancy was missing, authorities took police canines around the neighborhood and deployed drones. Read the full story Blood was found inside the home of Savannah Guthrie's abducted mother Nancy after a kidnapper forced their way into the property, police sources say. The disturbing new details were shared with the Los Angeles Times, after the Daily Mail revealed how the 84-year-old had been abducted from her bed at her $1million home in Tucson, Arizona, late Saturday or early Sunday. An exhaustive hunt for Nancy continues, with Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos almost bursting into tears Monday night when asked if he thinks Nancy is still alive. Nanos welled-up after he was asked by AZFamily host Briana Whitney: 'Do you believe you are still looking for Nancy Guthrie alive at this point? That she could be held somewhere? And if so, do you believe that is local in the Tucson area, or that she's been taken somewhere?' Nanos stumbled on his words as he said he and his deputies are 'just not going to give up hope' of finding Nancy - who officials say is frail and has been without daily medication she needs to survive. Savannah Flies to Arizona As Hunt For Missing Mom Continues Savannah, 54, flew to Arizona shortly after learning that Nancy had been abducted - a moment CNN reported was 'the worst phone call of her life'. Sheriff Nanos said they did not believe Nancy had been targeted because of her rich and famous daughter, but said he could not rule out that line of inquiry. Meanwhile, Savannah is said to be traveling with a security team. She has dropped out of hosting the Milan Winter Olympics, which begins on Wednesday. Today - the show she hosts - led with Nancy's abduction for the second day in a row on Tuesday and shared Guthrie's request for 'prayers'. Nancy was last seen around 9:45pm Saturday night, at the family's longtime ranch-style home in the upscale Catalina Hills neighborhood. She was reported missing the next morning when she didn't show up at church, and when her family went to her home they found her personal belongings including her wallet, cellphone and car, but no sign of the 84-year-old. Sources told the LA Times that there were signs of forced entry at the home. Investigators Treating Disappearance as Possible Abduction Nanos added that while the exact nature of Nancy's disappearance remains unknown, investigators believe they are 'looking at a possible kidnapping or abduction.' 'She did not leave on her own, we know that,' he said. 'Shes very limited in her mobility.' An NBC source told CNN that Savannah was preparing to go to Europe to cover the Winter Olympics at the time, and had spent much of the last week with her children before she would make the trip. Savannah, who only recently returned to NBC after throat surgery, is now set to remain off-air indefinitely. On Tuesday, Nanos announced that a $2,500 reward was being issued for information leading to an arrest in Nancy Guthrie's disappearance. He stressed that the hunt for Nancy remains a search-and-rescue operation. DNA tests have been performed but the results could take another few days. Sheriff Warns Nancy Needs Her Medication and Pleads For Release Nanos said that Nancy is of sound mind but that she suffers from mobility issues that mean she cannot walk more than 50 yards. She was taken without her medication, which she requires to stay alive; depriving her of it could be fatal, Nanos warned. The sheriff said investigators have not yet ruled out the potential abduction being a 'targeted' incident, but said evidence does not yet support that conclusion either. 'Nothing that we see is leading us that way, but well never dismiss anything. Well continue to look at everything, and well just keep moving forward with it,' he said. On Monday, Nanos appealed to a potential abductor while speaking with NBC. 'Just call us. Let her go. Just call us. The family will tell you, theres no questions asked here,' he said. Savannah Guthrie Issues Prayer Plea as Search Continues Savannah's father died of a heart attack while she was in high school, and officials said Nancy lived alone in her Tucson home. With the search for her mother ongoing, Savannah Guthrie made a heartbreaking plea for fans to keep her family in their prayers. 'We believe in prayer. We believe in voices raised in unison, in love, in hope,' Savannah wrote on Instagram. 'We believe in goodness, we believe in humanity. Above all, we believe in Him.' 'Thank you for lifting your prayers with ours for our beloved mom, our dearest Nancy, a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant,' Savannah wrote. She then asked her social media followers to 'raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment,' adding: 'We need you' and 'Bring her home'. Jenna Bush Hager breaks down in tears as she reports on Savannah Guthrie's mom amid her disappearance Jenna Bush Hager was visibly overcome with emotion as she reported on Savannah Guthrie's missing mother, Nancy. It was revealed on Monday morning that the 84-year-old mother of the Today show anchor, 54, was last seen on Saturday night near her home in Tucson, Arizona. According to officials, aspects of the scene at Nancy's home prompted 'grave concern' and drones, a helicopter, an airplane, search-and-rescue dogs and volunteers are searching the local area. After Sheinelle Jones read out the phone number for the tip line for the case, Bush Hager said that she hopes people will call in. 'We love Nancy,' she continued. 'I know her personally. And we want to just report, too, that she takes daily medication and she needs them for survival. She's without her medication.' Ending her sentiments, Bush Hager added: 'We are thinking of our dearest, dearest Savannah and her whole family right now, and our prayers go out to Savannah and her entire family.' Co-host Jones also offered her heartfelt thoughts to Guthrie and her family. She initially broke the story on the Today show alongside Craig Melvin while filling in for Guthrie. 'When Craig and I did the story, we first reported this morning and put the phone number up, we can put the number up as many times as we can, I thought this is when we're at our best as a community,' she said. 'The people in this area and in this county, if you know anything, if you've seen anything, no matter how small, we've heard people say that before, this is when people say let's call in and do what we can.' Read the full story here Jeffrey Epstein may have spent decades helping Russian spies collect damaging 'kompromat' on western elites, a former MI6 agent said today. Christopher Steele said the FBI had evidence yet to be published that links the disgraced billionaire to Russian organised crime - often a front for the then Soviet communist regime - as far back as the 1970s. As the world continues to reel from the staggering number of famous names found in the Epstein files, the former intelligence operative said it was 'very likely' the financier was engaged in creating incriminating material that could be used for blackmail. He also suggested the Russians could be the source of much of the billionaire's wealth, through association with Robert Maxwell, the millionaire father of his confidante Ghislaine. It comes after the Mail on Sunday at the weekend revealed intelligence sources believe Epstein, who killed himself in prison in 2019, ran 'the world's largest honeytrap operation' on behalf of the KGB when he procured women for his network of associates. Steele Claims Epstein Ties to Russian Crime Speaking to Times Radio Mr Steele, who gained fame for creating the 'Trump dossier' on unverified claims that the US president was 'compromised' by the Kremlin, said: 'My understanding from my American sources is that as early as the 1970s, Epstein was effectively involved with Russian organised crime in Brighton Beach in New York and through them with the Russian mission in New York and was almost certainly recruited by them at that time. 'Moving on to a later period involving probably Robert Maxwell in the 1980s, it seems to me again that Epstein had significant ties to Maxwell. 'And when Maxwell was involved in getting Jewish people out of the Soviet Union in return effectively for laundering Soviet Communist Party hard currency and investing it in the West, I suspect that that's where quite a lot of Epstein's investment money came from.' Pictured: Robert Maxwell. New Files Fuel Claims Epstein Worked for Moscow The release of more than three million new documents relating to the late sexual offender gives credence to incendiary claims made by senior security officials: that Epstein was working on behalf of Moscow, and possibly Israel, when he facilitated assignations for some of the world's most powerful men. The files include 1,056 documents naming Russian President Vladimir Putin and 9,629 referring to Moscow. Epstein even seems to have secured audiences with Putin after his 2008 conviction for procuring a child for prostitution. Sources told the MoS it could explain why Epstein appeared to enjoy an ultra-wealthy lifestyle out of kilter with his career as a financier, although there is no documentary evidence linking Putin and his spies directly to Epstein's illicit activities. It came after former new Labour minister Peter Mandelson last night insisted he has 'no idea' why he was photographed in his pants in Jeffrey Epstein's 8million Paris 'House of Sin' apartment as he described the offender as a 'master manipulator'. Mandelson Faces Police Probe Over Epstein Emails Keir Starmer's ex-ambassador to the US is facing a police probe into whether he leaked 'market sensitive' information to the child abusing financier by forwarding him No 10 emails containing advice to then-prime minister Gordon Brown. One saw Lord Mandelson give Epstein advance notice of a 500billion bailout of the Eurozone. In his first interview since three million Epstein files were released, he also complained that the American financier, once his friend, is like 'muck that you can't get off your shoe Like dog muck, the smell never goes away.' On the now-notorious picture of him in his pants was taken inside Epstein's palatial 'House of Sin' in Paris, he said he has 'no idea what I am doing in this photograph or who the woman was. It looks as though she came in and showed me something on an iPad'. The architect of New Labour insists the period of his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein after his conviction for soliciting intercourse from girls as young as 14 was a blur. The disgraced peer also claims he has 'absolutely no recollection' or records of Jeffrey Epstein paying $75,000 into accounts linked to him. He said: 'I think I would remember such a large sum'. Mandelson Says He Was Too Trusting of Epstein '[Epstein] told me he had been framed in his indictment in 2008 and I feel really bad about continuing my association with him afterwards', he said. 'That's why I wanted to apologise unequivocally for doing so, to the women and girls who suffered', he told The Times. He has blamed being 'too trusting' of Jeffrey Epstein, describing the financier as a 'classic sociopath' amid newly released files linking the pair. 'He was a master manipulator. I can see that now. But the point is that his victims certainly did know what he was doing', Mandelson said. The walls continued to cave in around the former Labour grandee on Tuesday as a leaked photo showed him getting a foot massage from an unidentified woman. Mr Steele said the Mandelson revelations should 'certainly' have been flagged before now. 'When Mandelson was being vetted for the ambassador in Washington, this information should have been shared by the American government with our security services. I don't know whether it was, but it certainly should have been,' he said. No10 vows to 'support' police probe into Mandelson leaks to Epstein Keir Starmer is struggling to contain the storm over Lord Mandelson today as he pledged 'support' for a police probe into leaks of government secrets. Scotland Yard has confirmed it is looking into allegations the ex-Cabinet minister committed misconduct in public office by sending 'market sensitive' No10 emails to Jeffrey Epstein. Meanwhile, MPs are ramping up pressure on Sir Keir to find a way of stripping Lord Mandelson of his peerage - as well as removing him from the privy council that advises the King. However, the New Labour architect - who was appointed as US ambassador by the PM barely a year ago - has sounded defiance in an interview. He insisted he was simply 'too trusting' of Epstein and denied that his career in public life was over. The extraordinarily close ties between Lord Mandelson - which continued long after he was jailed for [sexual intercourse] offences - have been further exposed after the US released another massive tranche of Epstein evidence. Journalists have been sifting through more than three million new documents, with Lord Mandelson mentioned nearly 6,000 times. They appear to show that the peer passed on highly sensitive advice given to then-PM Gordon Brown at the height of the Credit Crunch. It included emails with key Downing Street aides and ministers discussing a proposed 20billion of asset sales to shore up the country, as well as Labour's tax policy plans. The information would have been valuable to any bank or financial institution. The document was forwarded by Lord Mandelson to Epstein with the comment: 'Interesting note that's gone to the PM.' Another email, part of three million documents released on Friday by the US Department of Justice, saw Lord Mandelson give Epstein advance notice of a 500billion ($590bn) bailout of the Eurozone, potentially allowing the [disgraced] financier to cash in ahead of the deal being formally announced the following day. Read the full story here Thousands of Americans near two major cities have been warned to stay inside as airborne pollutants have risen to dangerous levels for human health. Air quality meters from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sounded the alarm Tuesday morning, showing unsafe conditions in both Daytona Beach, Florida and Atlanta, Georgia. Live tracking data captured sharply elevated levels of PM2.5, microscopic particles composed of toxic compounds or heavy metals that are small enough to penetrate the lungs, inflame the respiratory system, and even contribute to heart attacks. The increased levels have been tied to recent wildfire smoke exacerbating a condition called stagnant air, where little to no wind and high atmospheric pressure trap pollution near ground level. Unhealthy Air Spikes Across Florida and Georgia In Daytona Beach, a coastal city with roughly 80,000 residents, PM2.5 concentration was recorded at 12.5 times higher than the World Health Organization's recommended safe limit. Both the EPA and air quality-tracking website IQAir warned that the air in Florida had reached 'unhealthy' levels for all residents, exceeding 150 on the Air Quality Index (AQI). Around Atlanta's suburban areas, multiple readings surpassed 150 and even 160, including in Dallas, Powder Springs, Roswell, and Vinings. Air quality levels are measured on a scale from 0 to 500: good (050) carries little risk, moderate (51100) may affect sensitive individuals, unhealthy for sensitive groups (101150) poses increased risk, and unhealthy (151200) impacts everyone, limiting outdoor activity. Air Pollution Soars to 15 Safe Limits Parts of the Georgia suburbs saw PM2.5 concentrations more than 15 times higher than the WHO's recommended safe levels. Residents in the affected areas have been advised to avoid outdoor exercise, wear a face mask if going outside, close all windows to prevent polluted air from coming inside, and turn on air purifiers if you own one. Even short-term exposure to high levels of these particles can cause concerning health problems, including irritation of the eyes, throat, and nose. Among vulnerable individuals, breathing in particles produced by smoke, car exhaust, and factory emissions can also lead to irregular heartbeats, asthma attacks, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath. On Sunday and Monday, a portion of I-95 was shut down just south of Daytona Beach due to wildfire smoke and low visibility. To understand the impact of stagnant air on this situation, its helpful to look at atmospheric pressure. Pressure is measured in millibars, with normal sea-level pressure being 1,013 millibars. Calm Skies, Toxic Air: Why Pollution Isnt Clearing High pressure in both areas of Georgia and Florida registered above 1,020 millibars on Tuesday, often bringing calm, stable, dry weather with clear skies and light winds. However, it also keeps whatever is in the air from moving out or scattering higher up in the atmosphere. In 2025, the American Lung Association gave Daytona Beach's Volusia County a 'B' grade in terms of particle pollution, noting that the area had some of the cleanest air in the state. Georgia's Cobb and Fulton counties, which include Atlanta, also received a healthy 'B' grade from the American Lung Association. However, Paulding County, which includes Dallas and Picketts Mill, did not receive a grade from the group in 2025. Both towns saw PM2.5 levels soar into the 'unhealthy' range on Tuesday and are near an area reportedly at risk for wildfires in Braswell, Georgia. According to the EPA, there are also six 'prescribed fires' taking place just 75 miles west of the Atlanta suburbs, in Alabama's Talladega National Forest. A so-called prescribed fire, or controlled burn, means officials have carefully planned and intentionally set fire to areas to reduce their overall wildfire risk, clear excess brush and dead plants, improve wildlife habitats, or restore healthy natural ecosystems. Americans told to 'stay inside' as air fills with toxins Thousands of Americans are at risk of breathing in dangerous toxins on both the East and West Coasts, with officials warning that local air quality could cause 'serious health effects.' The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported on Wednesday that air quality levels had reached 'unhealthy' levels in portions of California and Oregon, including over the city of Los Angeles, home to nearly four million people. The increased leaves are due to little to no wind and high atmospheric pressure trapping pollution near ground level. In parts of Hollywood, Air Quality Index (AQI) readings reached 170, classified as unhealthy for all residents. Air quality maps showed sharply elevated levels of PM2.5, microscopic particles composed of toxic compounds or heavy metals that are small enough to penetrate the lungs, creating hazardous conditions, especially for those with ailments such as asthma. These particles come from automobile exhaust, factory fumes, and burning wood, which, when inhaled, can inflame the human respiratory system. A large swath of Oregon, including the La Pine and the Deschutes National Forest, has seen AQI levels rise above 160 on Wednesday morning, fueled by polluted air being unable to move out of the area. The EPA's AirNow monitoring system also highlighted large areas of Georgia and South Carolina, including cities like Savannah and Valdosta, that are seeing air quality deemed 'unhealthy for sensitive groups.' Air quality levels are measured on a scale from 0 to 500: good (050) carries little risk, moderate (51100) may affect sensitive individuals, unhealthy for sensitive groups (101150) poses increased risk, and unhealthy (151200) impacts everyone, limiting outdoor activity. According to the live air quality-tracking website IQAir, Los Angeles is currently the most polluted city in the US. IQAir warned that PM2.5 levels in the city were 5.2 times higher than the World Health Organization's recommended safe limit on Wednesday. Read the full story here The latest and final cache of Epstein files is a tableau of horrors, ranging from Peter Mandelson in his pants to an astonishing picture of the creep formerly known as Prince Andrew on all fours kneeling over a prone young woman, a hungry, glazed expression on his face. Meanwhile, the list of names around whom now hangs a distinct whiff of what Mandelson calls Epsteins dog muck reads like a Whos Who of the past three decades. Even heavily redacted, the emails, testimonies and photos paint a picture of depravity that most people would find hard to comprehend, of an elite so insulated by money and status they clearly believed nothing and no one could ever touch them. But also, by that same token, that no one would ever believe their victims. For a while, they succeeded. For years all attempts to expose the full extent of what was going on were written off as mad conspiracy theories, their accusers framed as fantasists and gold-diggers, journalists and investigators intimidated and blocked by highly-paid lawyers. Latest Revelations Bring Renewed Focus to Sarah Ferguson Attempts to discredit Andrew were the work of anti-British republican factions, desperate to tear down the monarchy; questions around Epsteins links with men such as Trump and Bill Gates and Bill Clinton were likewise orchestrated by their enemies. It was all a fabrication, nothing to see here. There is so much that is unconscionable about it all, each new revelation more shocking than the last. But the bit that I find hardest to fathom is Sarah Fergusons involvement and specifically her mystifying decision to introduce her (at the time) young daughters into Epsteins orbit. I used to sympathise with her, believing she was more sinned against than sinning, a cack-handed but essentially harmless, warm-hearted individual who was just trying to navigate the ups and downs of life in the spotlight. But now I see what a fool I was. Maybe even a useful idiot, since I have more than once come to her defence, both in private and in print. 2009 and 2010 Emails Released Now that the full picture has emerged, we see that shes far from harmless. Because even assuming Ferguson (I can no longer bear to refer to her as Fergie, its far too jolly a moniker for someone who has turned out to be so toxic) did not know the full extent of his depravity, she knew full well that he had served time for soliciting a child for prostitution. And yet not only did she take her daughters to visit the convicted [child predator] at his Palm Beach mansion just five days after he had been released from jail in July 2009 (a fact first revealed last October by The Mail on Sunday), it now transpires that she later discussed Eugenies (her youngest) [sexual] life with him in the crudest and most flippant of terms. Just waiting for Eugenie to come back from a [expletive] weekend!! she wrote to Epstein in 2010. What a deeply odd thing for a mother to say about their child. Deeply odd, and deeply inappropriate. Fergusons Email Raises Questions About Her Boundaries Why would you say something like that to a man with a conviction for [sexual] trafficking? Knowing Epsteins predilections, most mothers of young daughters Eugenie would have been just 19 in 2009 would have kept a careful distance. And yet Ferguson does the exact opposite: not only does she personally deliver her girls to the lions den, arguably putting them in harms way, but she also sexualizes Eugenie in a way that is unforgivable. And, lets be honest, really quite creepy. Whats she trying to say with that comment? Why wouldnt she just say, shes away at the moment? Why bring [sexual] into it? Was she trying to titillate? Or was she just being spectacularly tasteless? Who knows. Over the years Ferguson has shown such a spectacular lack of self-knowledge its possible she simply thought she was being funny. She herself would probably say it was just a throwaway remark, meaningless and harmless. But thats part of the problem: Ferguson has never understood the concept of boundaries. She has never known when to stop, whether its in her pursuit of the good life or her desire for money. She has no taste, no decency and no self-control. What kind of woman acts this way? My daughter is 22, roughly the same age the Princesses would have been at the time, and although she generally has her wits about her, I would never dream of knowingly thrusting her into the orbit of someone like Epstein. What parent would? The Latest Revelations Are Likely Hard for Beatrice and Eugenie The answer, perhaps, is one blinded by her own greed and desperation. A few months after their visit, she sends Epstein a panicked email. I urgently need 20,000 pounds ($27,521) for rent today. The landlord has threatened to go to the newspapers if I dont pay. Any brainwaves? Elsewhere, there are legal letters about arrangements for paying off her creditors, and Epstein himself claimed he helped her out financially for the best part of 15 years. Was there no part of her that worried about her girls being compromised if any of this ever came out? As for Andrew himself, their father, where was he in all this? I think we can all safely conclude by now that he DEFINITELY knew what kind of man Epstein was. The job of a father is to protect their daughters from men like him, not parade them in front of him, as he did at Beatrices 18th. For the girls themselves, these latest revelations must be very hard to take. Its bad enough that their father has been so irreparably compromised; now their mother has been too. I dont know them at all and have no idea what kind of people they are; but you would need a heart of stone not to feel desperately sorry for them both, especially since they have children of their own. Fergusons Defenders Cite Naivety, But Criticism Persists Its not exactly one for the family photo album, is it? Heres a picture of grandpa looming vampirically over some young girl, or Heres grannys friend Jeffrey with his mate Harvey Weinstein and a lady called Ghislaine, both of whom are in jail, at your aunt Beatrices birthday party. Or at Christmas, after a few sherries; Go on, gran, tell us the one about when you asked grandpas friend Jeffrey to marry you because he was such a "legend" only for him to turn out to be a [child predator] slash [sexual] trafficker slash Russian spy. Given everything, it would be a miracle if both Beatrice and Eugenie didnt need years of therapy to come to terms with the reality of their parents depravity. It makes the Duke and Duchess of Sussexs long list of grievances seem trivial by comparison. As for the notion heavily promoted by her few remaining supporters that Ferguson is just a victim of her own naivety, just a slightly bumbling Sloane Ranger who mistook Epsteins intentions and had no idea who or what he really was, Im afraid that doesnt alter the fact that she failed utterly in her ultimate duty as a mother, which was to protect her own girls from the repercussions of her dance with the devil that was Epstein. Fresh Epstein Files reveal more details about Fergie's links Sarah Ferguson sent a flirty email to Jeffrey Epstein describing a 'single' female friend with 'a great body' he should get to know after he was convicted of child [sexual] crimes, it was revealed today. The former Duchess of York also suggested in a personal email to the [child predator] that he could marry her and they could take on the mystery woman as a member of their staff. Documents released in the Epstein Files also show that he was asked to pay almost $15,000 for flights for Fergie, Beatrice and Eugenie to fly to the US to visit him just 48 hours after his release from prison. Ms Ferguson would be happy to fly from Heathrow to the US in business class but her daughters would be in economy, the email sent on July 24, 2009 said. Fergie told the [sexual] offender he should marry her on a number of occasions in the months after he left jail following a 13-month sentence for soliciting [sexual relations] from girls as young as 14. In one email from September 17, 2009, she wrote about one woman: 'You can marry her too. She is single and [sic] a great body'. She added: 'Ok well marry me and then we will employ her'. The new emails also shed new light on a lunch that Fergie had with Epstein and her two daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie after his time behind bars. On July 24 2009, two days after her boss left prison, Epstein's assistant Lesley Groff emailed him asking him to approve payment for the Yorks' travel costs. Read the full story here One of Warren Buffetts final big stock picks as boss of Berkshire Hathaway is looking like a rare misstep. It emerged in August that Berkshire had quietly built a large stake in health insurance giant UnitedHealth, snapping up just over five million shares after the stock had dropped in value. At the time, the move steadied the companys shares and was seen as a classic Buffett bet on a bruised but dominant business. But after a double-whammy of bad news, the investment has lost some of its lustre. UnitedHealth shares plunged around 20 percent in a single session last week - and have stayed lower - after the company disappointed Wall Street with lower than expected earnings and issued a cautious outlook. The sell-off came on top of mounting pressure from Washington, after the Trump administration proposed keeping Medicare Advantage payment rates nearly flat in 2027 - a blow to insurers that rely heavily on the government-backed program. UnitedHealth has also been grappling with a string of problems, including federal scrutiny of its Medicare pricing, fallout from a major cyberattack and the shock killing of a senior executive late last year. Buffett, now 95, announced last May that he would step aside as Berkshires chief executive at the end of 2025, making the UnitedHealth bet one of the final stock calls of his storied investing career. Warren Buffett scooped up 5 million shares of UnitedHealth, regulatory filings show UnitedHealth shares have had a brutal month, sliding about 15 percent overall - and at their worst point plunged roughly 20 percent from their recent peak before clawing back some ground In December 2024, UnitedHealth's CEO, Brian Thompson, was shot and killed in Manhattan. Stephen Hemsley, the CEO who led the company with a tight ship from 2006 through 2017, has returned to the position. It is unclear exactly what price Berkshire paid. But investing bible Benzinga said the stock is now close to or below where Berkshire disclosed its investment, leaving Buffetts last high-profile purchase as chief potentially underwater. Any paper losses are immaterial for Buffett, who sits at No 10 in Bloomberg's billionaires list with a fortune of $145billion. This isn't the first time Berkshire has owned the company's stock. From 2006 to 2009, he kept 1.18 million shares of the healthcare company in his portfolio. He sold the stake in 2010 amid a broader retreat from the health insurance industry. Berkshire owns dozens of companies, including insurer Geico, battery maker Duracell, and restaurant chain Dairy Queen. In recent years, Buffetts trades have been closely watched by Wall Street heavyweights and everyday investors alike, often triggering sharp moves as money rushes in behind him. UnitedHealth has faced a wave of negative headlines - including federal investigations into its pricing When Buffett increased his stake in five Japanese trading houses earlier in 2025 it sent their stocks rocketing. The same happened in late 2024 after it had emerged Berkshire had scooped up $563 million of stock in Occidental Petroleum, Sirius XM and VeriSign. His decision to sell stock also has a negative impact on the stock market. In February last year, filings showed he sold shares of DaVita, a healthcare company. The stock immediately dipped more than 11 percent. Buffett released his final annual letter as CEO in November. In it, he wrote he's 'going quiet' after nearly 60 years at the helm of Berkshire. Under the direction of Buffett since 1965, Berkshire has outperformed the S&P 500 dramatically. Akbank Turk Anonim Sirketi (OTCMKTS:AKBTY Get Free Report) and Hang Seng Bank (OTCMKTS:HSNGY Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation and profitability. Analyst Ratings This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Akbank Turk Anonim Sirketi and Hang Seng Bank, as provided by MarketBeat. Get Akbank Turk Anonim Sirketi alerts: Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Akbank Turk Anonim Sirketi 0 0 0 0 0.00 Hang Seng Bank 1 2 0 0 1.67 Earnings and Valuation This table compares Akbank Turk Anonim Sirketi and Hang Seng Banks top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation. Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Akbank Turk Anonim Sirketi $17.96 billion N/A $1.29 billion $0.49 8.65 Hang Seng Bank $8.63 billion 4.22 $2.36 billion N/A N/A Hang Seng Bank has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Akbank Turk Anonim Sirketi. Profitability This table compares Akbank Turk Anonim Sirketi and Hang Seng Banks net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Akbank Turk Anonim Sirketi 6.62% 18.52% 1.61% Hang Seng Bank N/A N/A N/A Volatility and Risk Akbank Turk Anonim Sirketi has a beta of 0.44, meaning that its stock price is 56% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hang Seng Bank has a beta of 0.16, meaning that its stock price is 84% less volatile than the S&P 500. Dividends Akbank Turk Anonim Sirketi pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Hang Seng Bank pays an annual dividend of $0.58 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Akbank Turk Anonim Sirketi pays out 8.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Summary Akbank Turk Anonim Sirketi beats Hang Seng Bank on 5 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks. About Akbank Turk Anonim Sirketi (Get Free Report) Akbank T.A.S., together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking products and services in Turkey and internationally. It operates through Consumer Banking and Private Banking; Commercial Banking, Corporate Banking, and SME Banking; and Treasury, Other, and Unallovated segments. The companys consumer banking services comprise deposit accounts, retail loans, commercial installment loans, credit cards, insurance products, and asset management services, as well as bank cards, investment funds trading, automatic payment, foreign currency trading, safe deposit box rental, cheques, money transfer, investment banking, and telephone and internet banking. It also offers services to large, medium, and small size corporate and commercial customers that include Turkish Lira (TL) and foreign currency denominated working capital loans financing for investments, foreign trade financing, derivative instruments for hedging purposes of foreign currency and interest risk, letters of credit, foreign currency trading, corporate finance, and deposit and cash management services, as well as project finance loans; and working capital management, delivering cash management services based on customers requests, such as collection and payment services, and liquidity and information management. In addition, the company engages in treasury activities consisting of TL and foreign currency spot and forward transactions, treasury and government bonds, Eurobonds, and private sector bond transactions, as well as derivative trading activities; and marketing and pricing activities related to treasury products. Further, it provides financial leasing services, investment and pension funds management, and portfolio management, as well as offers payment services and issues electronic money. Akbank T.A.S. was incorporated in 1948 and is headquartered in Istanbul, Turkey. About Hang Seng Bank (Get Free Report) Hang Seng Bank Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking and related financial services to individual, corporate, commercial, small and medium-sized enterprises, and institutional customers in Hong Kong, the Mainland of China, and internationally. It operates through five segments: Wealth and Personal Banking, Commercial Banking, Global Banking, Global Markets, and Other. The company offers personal banking services, including current and savings accounts, time deposits, mortgages and personal loans, credit cards, and insurance, investment, and other wealth management services, as well as consumer lending and wealth management services. It also provides corporate lending, trade and receivable finance, payments and cash management, treasury and foreign exchange, general insurance, key-person insurance, investment services, and corporate wealth management services; general banking and transaction banking, corporate lending, deposits, and cash management services; and tailored solutions and services in foreign exchange, bullion, equities, fixed income, and securities financing, as well as manages the funding and liquidity position activities. In addition, the company offers retirement benefits, life assurance, fund management, and stock broking services, as well as index compilation and licensing; fund raising and sales; and asset management services. It operates service outlets in Hong Kong; branches in Macau and Singapore; and representative office in Taipei, as well as a network of outlets in the Mainland of China. The company was founded in 1933 and is headquartered in Central, Hong Kong. Hang Seng Bank Limited operates as a subsidiary of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited. Receive News & Ratings for Akbank Turk Anonim Sirketi Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Akbank Turk Anonim Sirketi and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Credit Agricole (OTCMKTS:CRARY Get Free Report) is anticipated to issue its results before the market opens on Wednesday, February 4th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.28 per share for the quarter. Credit Agricole Trading Up 1.1% CRARY opened at $10.91 on Tuesday. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $10.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.72. Credit Agricole has a 1-year low of $7.26 and a 1-year high of $10.95. The stock has a market cap of $66.03 billion, a PE ratio of 8.39 and a beta of 0.65. Get Credit Agricole alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oddo Bhf raised shares of Credit Agricole from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Credit Agricole from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a buy rating on shares of Credit Agricole in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a sector perform rating on shares of Credit Agricole in a report on Friday, December 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. About Credit Agricole (Get Free Report) Credit Agricole (OTCMKTS:CRARY) is a major French banking group that provides a broad range of financial services to retail, corporate and institutional clients. Headquartered in France, the group combines a large domestic retail banking franchise with international wholesale banking, asset management, insurance and specialized financial services. Its operations are organized through a network of regional cooperative banks together with a centrally managed listed entity that coordinates group strategy and capital markets activities. The companys core businesses include retail and commercial banking products such as current accounts, savings, mortgages, consumer loans and payment services delivered through its regional bank network and retail subsidiaries. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Credit Agricole Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Credit Agricole and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Enersys (NYSE:ENS Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Saturday morning. Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a buy (b) rating on shares of Enersys in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. BTIG Research upgraded Enersys from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an outperform rating on shares of Enersys in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Enersys from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $129.00. Get Enersys alerts: Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on ENS Enersys Stock Performance Shares of ENS opened at $186.19 on Friday. Enersys has a 52-week low of $76.57 and a 52-week high of $186.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.87 billion, a PE ratio of 21.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $156.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $126.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Enersys (NYSE:ENS Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Enersys had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 22.48%. The company had revenue of $951.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $890.27 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Enersys has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.710-2.81 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Enersys will post 9.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Enersys Dividend Announcement The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th were issued a dividend of $0.2625 per share. This represents a $1.05 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. Enersyss dividend payout ratio is currently 12.28%. Insider Buying and Selling at Enersys In related news, insider Chad C. Uplinger sold 6,702 shares of Enersys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.46, for a total value of $1,015,084.92. Following the transaction, the insider owned 23,713 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,591,570.98. This trade represents a 22.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.91% of the stock is owned by company insiders. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Enersys during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Enersys during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Enersys by 442.2% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 244 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new stake in Enersys during the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Enersys by 626.3% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 552 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. 94.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. About Enersys (Get Free Report) Enersys, headquartered in Reading, Pennsylvania, is a global leader in stored energy solutions, specializing in manufacturing and distributing industrial batteries, battery chargers, power equipment, and related accessories. The company serves a diverse range of end markets, including telecommunications, data centers, medical, aerospace, defense, electric vehicle motive power, and utility outcomes. Its products are engineered to deliver critical reserve power and motive power applications across key infrastructure and industrial sectors. The companys product portfolio encompasses lead-acid batteries, lithium-ion energy storage systems, chargers, inverters, power management software, and a broad array of battery accessories. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Enersys Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Enersys and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Global Industrial (NYSE:GIC Free Report) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Saturday morning. Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a hold (c) rating on shares of Global Industrial in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded Global Industrial from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Global Industrial currently has an average rating of Hold. Get Global Industrial alerts: Read Our Latest Analysis on GIC Global Industrial Price Performance Institutional Inflows and Outflows NYSE GIC opened at $31.48 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.99, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.90. The firms 50-day moving average is $29.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.14. Global Industrial has a 12 month low of $20.79 and a 12 month high of $38.79. Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GIC. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in Global Industrial by 3.8% in the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 13,938 shares of the companys stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Global Industrial by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 9,410 shares of the companys stock valued at $345,000 after buying an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management grew its position in shares of Global Industrial by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 79,424 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,912,000 after buying an additional 649 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of Global Industrial by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 21,207 shares of the companys stock valued at $778,000 after buying an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in Global Industrial by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 8,544 shares of the companys stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 888 shares in the last quarter. 31.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Global Industrial Company Profile (Get Free Report) Global Industrial Company (NYSE: GIC) is a leading business-to-business distributor of industrial products and equipment. Headquartered in Port Washington, New York, the company provides a comprehensive range of products to support manufacturing, warehousing, and facility maintenance operations across North America. Through a digital-first platform, Global Industrial combines e-commerce, direct sales and catalog-based ordering channels to serve a diverse commercial customer base. The companys product portfolio encompasses material handling solutions (including conveyors, pallet racks and hoists), storage and shelving systems, janitorial and sanitation supplies, packaging and shipping materials, and office furniture. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Global Industrial Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Global Industrial and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (NYSEARCA:IEMG Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 17,990,344 shares, an increase of 48.4% from the December 31st total of 12,123,837 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 20,283,164 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.9 days. Currently, 1.0% of the companys shares are sold short. Currently, 1.0% of the companys shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 20,283,164 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.9 days. iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF Stock Performance iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF stock traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $72.83. 23,802,767 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,820,879. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $68.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.08. iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has a 52 week low of $47.29 and a 52 week high of $74.70. The firm has a market cap of $138.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.65 and a beta of 0.65. Get iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF alerts: Institutional Investors Weigh In On iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IEMG. 49 Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF by 18.9% during the 2nd quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 638,902 shares of the companys stock valued at $38,353,000 after buying an additional 101,484 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its stake in iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 70,044 shares of the companys stock worth $4,617,000 after acquiring an additional 7,906 shares in the last quarter. Aspect Partners LLC grew its position in shares of iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 33,093 shares of the companys stock worth $1,987,000 after buying an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF by 9.9% during the third quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 156,038 shares of the companys stock valued at $10,286,000 after purchasing an additional 14,021 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its stake in iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF by 2.2% in the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 56,858 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,413,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226 shares during the last quarter. iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF Company Profile The iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI Emerging Markets IMI index, a market-cap-weighted index of emerging-market firms, covering 99% of market capitalization. IEMG was launched on Oct 18, 2012 and is managed by BlackRock. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:HYG Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 81,464,227 shares, an increase of 28.2% from the December 31st total of 63,547,370 shares. Approximately 37.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 31,607,466 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 31,607,466 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Approximately 37.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Institutional Trading of iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF by 23.1% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 103,036 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $8,310,000 after purchasing an additional 19,309 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new stake in shares of iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF during the 2nd quarter valued at $121,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF by 21.8% during the 2nd quarter. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,518 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $1,735,000 after acquiring an additional 3,848 shares in the last quarter. Amarillo National Bank increased its stake in shares of iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF by 6.4% in the third quarter. Amarillo National Bank now owns 202,376 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $16,431,000 after acquiring an additional 12,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF during the third quarter worth $2,544,000. Get iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF alerts: iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF Trading Down 0.4% NYSEARCA:HYG traded down $0.35 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $80.77. 42,887,991 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 35,673,520. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $80.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.70. iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF has a 1-year low of $75.08 and a 1-year high of $81.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.89 billion, a PE ratio of 10.79 and a beta of 0.41. iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF Company Profile iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the Markit iBoxx USD Liquid High Yield Index (the Index), which is a rules-based index consisting of liquid the United States dollar-denominated, high yield corporate bonds for sale in the United States, as determined by the index provider. The Index may include large-, mid- or small-capitalization companies, and components primarily include consumer services, financial, industrials, and oil and gas companies. Read More Receive News & Ratings for iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. iShares MSCI BIC ETF (NYSEARCA:BKF Get Free Report) shares were up 0.6% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $45.22 and last traded at $45.14. Approximately 11,717 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 18% from the average daily volume of 9,953 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.88. iShares MSCI BIC ETF Stock Up 0.6% The company has a market cap of $94.79 million, a PE ratio of 14.95 and a beta of 0.38. The companys fifty day moving average is $44.51 and its 200-day moving average is $44.17. Get iShares MSCI BIC ETF alerts: Institutional Trading of iShares MSCI BIC ETF Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BKF. Allianz SE lifted its holdings in iShares MSCI BIC ETF by 1.9% in the third quarter. Allianz SE now owns 297,584 shares of the companys stock valued at $13,460,000 after acquiring an additional 5,532 shares during the period. Susquehanna International Group LLP increased its position in shares of iShares MSCI BIC ETF by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 80,220 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,628,000 after purchasing an additional 10,221 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of iShares MSCI BIC ETF by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 40,480 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,773,000 after purchasing an additional 9,089 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI BIC ETF by 231.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 33,346 shares of the companys stock worth $1,382,000 after purchasing an additional 23,285 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI BIC ETF by 4.4% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 24,342 shares of the companys stock worth $1,101,000 after buying an additional 1,028 shares during the last quarter. About iShares MSCI BIC ETF iShares MSCI BRIC ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares MSCI BRIC Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund is an exchange-traded fund that seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI BRIC Index (the Index). The Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure the combined equity market performance in Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC). The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities included in the Index that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Index. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI BIC ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares MSCI BIC ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF (NYSEARCA:KSA Get Free Report) dropped 0.2% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $39.51 and last traded at $39.79. Approximately 920,099 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 1% from the average daily volume of 932,005 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.86. iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF Trading Down 0.2% The companys 50 day simple moving average is $37.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.29. The firm has a market cap of $668.47 million, a P/E ratio of 15.67 and a beta of 0.46. Get iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF alerts: Institutional Investors Weigh In On iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blair William & Co. IL bought a new stake in iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF during the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF by 169.1% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,308 shares of the companys stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 822 shares during the last quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd bought a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF in the third quarter worth $69,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF in the third quarter worth $70,000. About iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF The iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF (KSA) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI Saudi Arabia IMI 25-50 index, a market-cap-weighted index of Saudi Arabian firms covering 99% of the market cap spectrum. KSA was launched on Sep 16, 2015 and is managed by BlackRock. See Also Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Potential U.S.-Iran nuclear talks face mixed signals amid rising tensions Xinhua) 16:08, February 03, 2026 CAIRO, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Plans for potential U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations remain uncertain as reports of an upcoming meeting in Istanbul were questioned by Iranian officials, while both sides continue to exchange warnings and bolster military deployments amid rising regional tensions. MIXED SIGNALS ON POTENTIAL U.S.-IRAN TALKS U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi are reported to plan a meeting in Istanbul on Friday to discuss a potential nuclear deal and other issues, Axios cited a U.S. official as saying on Monday. But Iranian media later cast doubt on the reports. Tasnim, citing Iranian officials, said details of the talks have not been finalized. "The potential negotiations are still at a preliminary stage, and once the overall framework and structure of the talks take shape, subsequent stages and further details will be finalized," the agency reported. Earlier Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran was carefully studying the structure of potential negotiations with Washington, with a focus on lifting sanctions and advancing national interests. He emphasized that sanctions relief remains a core priority. Baghaei cited Araghchi as saying the nuclear issue has long been used as a pretext for conflict against Iran, and added that Iran's primary demand in any talks is "the removal of unjust sanctions." Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has reportedly ordered the start of negotiations with the United States on the nuclear issue, according to semi-official Fars News Agency, citing an unnamed government source. Fars also reported that talks would likely take place in Turkiye in the coming days. Trump on Sunday warned that if Iran fails to reach a nuclear deal with Washington, the United States would assess whether Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's claim that an attack could spark a regional war is accurate. Araghchi told CNN the same day that a "just, fair, and equitable" nuclear deal with the United States remains achievable if Washington abandons coercive policies. TENSIONS REMAIN HIGH The developments come amid heightened U.S.-Iran tensions. The Trump administration deployed an aircraft carrier strike group and multiple warships to the Middle East in late January, with the U.S. leader continuing to send warnings to Tehran. Also on Monday, the Israeli military announced that Israeli and U.S. naval forces conducted a joint exercise in the Red Sea a day earlier. The drill is part of the ongoing strategic coordination between the Israeli Navy and the U.S. 5th Fleet, which oversees maritime operations in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Gulf of Oman, the Israeli military added. Officials characterized the maneuvers as a routine effort to strengthen regional security and interoperability between the two partners. In response to the military buildup, Iran's Armed Forces' Chief of Staff Abdolrahim Mousavi warned that Tehran's response to "the slightest mistake" by the United States could trigger a regional war, according to official news agency IRNA. He said Iran cannot be "blockaded" and any attack would have severe consequences for U.S. forces and their allies. Washington has said any deal with Iran must include a ban on uranium enrichment, the removal of already enriched material, limits on long-range missiles, and a rollback of support for regional proxies. Analysts said such conditions would be "very difficult" for Iran to accept. A senior Iranian security official told Fars on Monday that Tehran does not plan to send enriched nuclear materials abroad, after Russia and Turkiye suggested they could host or process Iran's uranium to ease tensions. Regional diplomacy is also active. Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi assured his Iranian counterpart that Jordan would not allow its territory or airspace to be used for attacks on Iran. "Jordan will not be a battleground in any regional conflict or a launching pad for any military action against Iran," the ministry said. Similar assurances have come from other regional countries, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia. DOMESTIC SECURITY OPERATIONS Iranian authorities on Monday said they arrested four foreigners of undisclosed nationalities for "participation in riots" in Tehran province. State television reported that homemade stun grenades were found during searches of suspects' belongings. Authorities have accused Israel and the United States of involvement in the unrest. The office of President Pezeshkian released a list Sunday of 2,986 people killed in the unrest, compiled from data provided by the Iranian Legal Medicine Organization. The total death toll, including unidentified victims, stands at 3,117. The statement emphasized a commitment to transparency and accountability, pledging that no bereaved family would be left unheard. Weeks of protests over the sharp depreciation of the rial swept cities across Iran from late December to January. Initially peaceful, the demonstrations escalated into clashes that caused casualties and damage to public property, including mosques, government buildings, and banks. Tehran has blamed the unrest on the United States and Israel. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) iShares MSCI USA ESG Select ETF (NYSEARCA:SUSA Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 66,126 shares, a drop of 28.2% from the December 31st total of 92,106 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 94,394 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.7 days. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 94,394 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.7 days. iShares MSCI USA ESG Select ETF Stock Up 0.6% Shares of SUSA traded up $0.78 on Monday, reaching $141.95. The stock had a trading volume of 25,278 shares, compared to its average volume of 107,856. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $140.57 and a 200 day moving average of $136.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a PE ratio of -254.53 and a beta of 1.05. iShares MSCI USA ESG Select ETF has a twelve month low of $99.48 and a twelve month high of $143.18. Get iShares MSCI USA ESG Select ETF alerts: Institutional Investors Weigh In On iShares MSCI USA ESG Select ETF A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AGF Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of iShares MSCI USA ESG Select ETF by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 4,900 shares of the companys stock valued at $621,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in iShares MSCI USA ESG Select ETF by 8.6% in the second quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 52,934 shares of the companys stock valued at $6,709,000 after buying an additional 4,205 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI USA ESG Select ETF by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 16,369 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,075,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of iShares MSCI USA ESG Select ETF in the 2nd quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI USA ESG Select ETF by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 17,959 shares of the companys stock worth $2,276,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. iShares MSCI USA ESG Select ETF Company Profile The iShares MSCI USA ESG Select ETF (SUSA) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI USA Extended ESG Select index. The fund tracks an index of US companies with high environmental, social and governance (ESG) factor scores as calculated by MSCI. SUSA was launched on Jan 24, 2005 and is managed by BlackRock. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI USA ESG Select ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares MSCI USA ESG Select ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Makita (OTCMKTS:MKTAY Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Saturday. Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group cut Makita from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Reduce. Get Makita alerts: Read Our Latest Research Report on Makita Makita Stock Up 4.8% Makita stock opened at $36.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.71 billion, a PE ratio of 19.42 and a beta of 0.53. The companys 50 day moving average is $30.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.79. Makita has a 52-week low of $25.56 and a 52-week high of $39.05. Makita (OTCMKTS:MKTAY Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.03. Makita had a return on equity of 7.85% and a net margin of 9.96%.The company had revenue of $1.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.19 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Makita will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Makita Company Profile (Get Free Report) Makita Corporation (OTCMKTS:MKTAY) is a global manufacturer of professional and consumer power tools headquartered in Anjo, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Founded in 1915 as an electric motor sales and repair company, it incorporated as Makita Electric Works, Ltd. in 1958 and has since expanded its product portfolio to serve both industrial and residential markets. The companys core business activities encompass the design, production and distribution of power tools, outdoor power equipment and accessories. Makitas product lineup includes cordless and corded electric drills, drivers, saws, grinders, sanders and rotary hammers, as well as pneumatic and gasoline-powered machinery. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Makita Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Makita and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Excelerate Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EE Free Report) Equities researchers at Northland Securities issued their Q1 2027 earnings per share estimates for shares of Excelerate Energy in a research note issued to investors on Friday, January 30th. Northland Securities analyst B. Brooks forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of $0.57 for the quarter. The consensus estimate for Excelerate Energys current full-year earnings is $1.16 per share. Northland Securities also issued estimates for Excelerate Energys Q2 2027 earnings at $0.57 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $0.54 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $0.57 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $2.25 EPS. Get Excelerate Energy alerts: A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Excelerate Energy from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Sunday, January 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a hold (c) rating on shares of Excelerate Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Excelerate Energy from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Raymond James Financial raised Excelerate Energy from an outperform rating to a strong-buy rating and set a $36.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Excelerate Energy from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $34.56. Excelerate Energy Stock Down 3.5% Shares of NYSE EE opened at $36.04 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $4.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.03, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.36. Excelerate Energy has a 12 month low of $21.28 and a 12 month high of $37.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $29.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.99. Excelerate Energy (NYSE:EE Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $391.04 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $270.82 million. Excelerate Energy had a return on equity of 4.34% and a net margin of 3.46%.The companys revenue for the quarter was up 102.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Excelerate Energy Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EE. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Excelerate Energy by 19.2% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,438 shares of the companys stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. raised its holdings in Excelerate Energy by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 25,500 shares of the companys stock worth $642,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments raised its holdings in Excelerate Energy by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 12,973 shares of the companys stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Excelerate Energy by 32.8% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 2,081 shares of the companys stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the period. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Excelerate Energy by 31.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 2,352 shares of the companys stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.79% of the companys stock. Excelerate Energy announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $75.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the companys management believes its stock is undervalued. About Excelerate Energy (Get Free Report) Excelerate Energy (NYSE: EE) is a Houstonbased energy infrastructure company specializing in liquefied natural gas (LNG) solutions. The company develops, owns and operates floating regasification units (FSRUs) that convert shipped LNG into natural gas for delivery into existing pipeline networks. Excelerate Energys integrated platform also includes specialized LNG carriers, proprietary regasification technology and onshore support facilities, enabling rapid deployment of import terminals without extensive capital construction. Founded in the early 2000s, Excelerate Energy pioneered the first FSRU in 2007, demonstrating the flexibility and cost advantages of floating LNG import infrastructure. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Excelerate Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Excelerate Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Executives from Qoria (ASX:QOR) and US-based digital safety company Aura used an investor call to outline the strategic and financial case for their proposed merger, describing the transaction as a mission-aligned combination aimed at building a scaled trust platform for digital protection across home, school, and the workplace. Get alerts: Transaction overview and timeline Qoria Managing Director Tim Levy said the deal is structured as a reverse listing that will result in Aura becoming listed on the ASX under the ticker AXQ around the middle of June, subject to shareholder approval. Through a scheme of arrangement, Aura will acquire Qoria. Levy said the combined group is valued at, supported by apriced at an equivalent of. He added that Aura founder and CEO Hari Ravichandran and Aura chair Sujay Tyle are backing the placement, alongside investors including Accel and General Catalyst. Levy also told investors Qoria plans a sequence of market engagements ahead of completion, including company days, presentations, and management meetings. Scale, growth, and financial profile Levy said the combined business had $316 million of ARR as of 31 December, with figures discussed largely in US dollars given Auras US base. He said the combined group grew close to 30% last year and is targeting growth beyond 20% for the current calendar year. Levy and the team also stated an expectation that the group will be profitable and free cash flow generating at the time of combination. Ben Jenkins, who will be CFO of the combined group, said the company expects to close in a net cash position of roughly zero to $5 million of net debt, and that after the $75 million capital raise and transaction costs, closing cash should be around $65 million to $70 million. He highlighted three debt facilities across the two businesses, including Qorias Ashgrove facility, Auras undrawn $50 million facility with Banc of California, and a General Catalyst facility described as a working-capital support tool. Jenkins said the company would look to consolidate the facilities within roughly six months of closing. Jenkins said the cash projections through calendar 2026 are to be cash flow positive, and that Auras cash flow profile is less seasonal than Qorias, which management expects will reduce overall seasonality as the businesses grow. Aura CFO Brian DeCenzo said Aura ended 2025 with $216 million of ARR, representing 30% year-over-year growth and a 35% CAGR since 2021. DeCenzo said that as of December 31, 2025, Aura had over 1.1 million paying subscribers and 95% net dollar retention across its direct-to-consumer and employee benefits businesses. He added that the employee benefits segmentdistributed through partners, predominantly employer benefitsincludes an exclusive arrangement with MetLife, and that Aura had partnered with over 1,700 employers by year-end 2025. How the businesses fit together Levy and Aura executives emphasized that the two companies operate in adjacent areas with limited product overlap but important connection points, particularly around family and adolescent safety. Aura was described as a consumer security business with an integrated product suite spanning credit monitoring, identity theft protection, privacy and personal data removal, scam protection across channels, VPN, antivirus, and password management. was described as a consumer security business with an integrated product suite spanning credit monitoring, identity theft protection, privacy and personal data removal, scam protection across channels, VPN, antivirus, and password management. Qoria contributes K-12 school safety and its family safety platform Qustodio, with Levy citing a footprint of 32,000 schools and 9 million parents on the Qustodio platform. Levy said the combined company will have 1.6 million paid subscribers and generate about 85% of revenue in the United States, with revenue split roughly evenly between direct channels and enterprise or enterprise-like SaaS motions. Auras product strategy and AI emphasis Ravichandran said Aura was founded in 2017 and built an integrated family-centric platform intended to protect individuals across contextshome, school, and workrather than vertically sliced point solutions. He said Auras Aura Parents product applies a behavioral health approach for adolescents, using AI to identify patterns such as device use and potential risks including suicidality and self-harm indicators, with models trained by clinicians and supported by a team of six or seven clinicians. Ravichandran also described Auras approach to scam protection, including technology that can answer incoming calls, assess potential scam intent, and route suspected scam calls for transcription, with AI agents operating in the background. Management highlighted AI as a tailwind rather than a threat to the combined company. Tyle said Aura and Qoria view AI-driven threats as increasing demand for trusted digital safety providers, and argued that the combined business has invested heavily in AI capabilities. Levy said integrating Auras AI-first anomaly detection and intelligence capabilities into Qorias school monitoring platform is a key part of the industrial logic for the deal. Go-to-market channels and rationale for the merger Executives repeatedly pointed to differentiated distribution channels as a core advantage. DeCenzo detailed Auras direct-to-consumer internet marketing model and its employee benefits channel via MetLife, describing the benefits business as more enterprise-like with 109% net dollar retention. He said the channel has a predictable annual rhythm tied to enrollment cycles, with payments commencing in January. Ravichandran also described Aura for Business, aimed at small businesses through managed service providers (MSPs), with a focus on protecting workplaces from compromised personal devices without employers deploying mobile device management software on employee phones. In response to questions, Ravichandran said breaking into the US school market is difficult due to fragmentation and budget dynamics, and he characterized Qorias K-12 footprint as a meaningful moat. He said Aura had concluded it was too late to build a school channel organically and would need to acquire or partner to gain that position. DeCenzo acknowledged Auras historical cash burn, saying the company invested heavily to reach scale and to build a world-class platform, with a stated goal of turning free cash flow positive from closing through the end of 2026. He said the company is now taking steps to reduce burn after surpassing a $200 million ARR threshold, while maintaining discipline around unit economics. In closing remarks, Tyle said he had been pleased with management integration over the prior six months and described the merger process as smooth, citing mutual respect between teams. Qoria representatives said they expect continued investor engagement leading up to the proposed mid-June completion. About Qoria (ASX:QOR) Qoria Limited markets, distributes, and sells cyber safety products and services. It offers Family Zone platform that delivers cyber safety settings, advice, and support to parents and schools across various networks and devices to keep children safe at home and school, as well as permits telecommunication service providers and device manufacturers to embed cyber safety practices into their offerings. The company also provides classroom management solutions. It offers hot spotting, VPN, and mobile solutions for families and schools, IT companies, educators, residential managers, and pastoral care organizations. Read More Regional Management (NYSE:RM Get Free Report) is expected to be posting its Q4 2025 results after the market closes on Wednesday, February 4th. Analysts expect Regional Management to post earnings of $1.23 per share and revenue of $167.9040 million for the quarter. Investors are encouraged to explore the companys upcoming Q4 2025 earning overview page for the latest details on the call scheduled for Wednesday, February 4, 2026 at 5:00 PM ET. Regional Management (NYSE:RM Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The credit services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $165.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $162.84 million. Regional Management had a return on equity of 11.43% and a net margin of 6.57%. On average, analysts expect Regional Management to post $5 EPS for the current fiscal year and $7 EPS for the next fiscal year. Get Regional Management alerts: Regional Management Price Performance Shares of NYSE:RM opened at $38.72 on Tuesday. Regional Management has a 12 month low of $25.41 and a 12 month high of $46.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $375.92 million, a PE ratio of 9.37 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50-day moving average of $38.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.65. Regional Management Dividend Announcement Insider Activity The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 25th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 25th. Regional Managements payout ratio is 29.06%. In other news, major shareholder Fund L.P. Forager sold 21,561 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.96, for a total transaction of $840,016.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,020,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,761,485.12. This represents a 2.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael R. Dunn sold 5,580 shares of Regional Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.46, for a total transaction of $209,026.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 103,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,862,463.14. This represents a 5.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 77,475 shares of company stock valued at $3,006,040. 10.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. Institutional Trading of Regional Management A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RM. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Regional Management during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in Regional Management in the third quarter worth $39,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Regional Management by 45.3% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,077 shares of the credit services providers stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Regional Management by 45.4% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,526 shares of the credit services providers stock worth $137,000 after buying an additional 1,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Regional Management by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,824 shares of the credit services providers stock worth $141,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. 98.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of analysts recently weighed in on RM shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Regional Management from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Saturday, January 3rd. Zacks Research raised Regional Management from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a hold (c+) rating on shares of Regional Management in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $30.00. View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Regional Management About Regional Management (Get Free Report) Regional Management Corp., headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina, is a consumer finance company specializing in installment loan products for underbanked individuals. Since its founding in 1977, the company has developed a network of field-based branches alongside a digital platform to offer credit solutions in rural and small-town markets across the United States. The companys core offerings include consumer installment loans for everyday purchases, auto refinancing and lease buyouts, as well as ancillary services such as insurance referrals. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Regional Management Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Regional Management and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Douglas Dynamics, Inc. (NYSE:PLOW Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 361,941 shares, a growth of 28.8% from the December 31st total of 280,975 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 159,798 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Approximately 1.6% of the companys shares are sold short. Approximately 1.6% of the companys shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 159,798 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of analysts have weighed in on PLOW shares. DA Davidson reiterated a buy rating and set a $39.00 price target on shares of Douglas Dynamics in a report on Monday, December 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Douglas Dynamics from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a hold (c+) rating on shares of Douglas Dynamics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Douglas Dynamics currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $39.00. Get Douglas Dynamics alerts: Get Our Latest Stock Report on Douglas Dynamics Institutional Inflows and Outflows Douglas Dynamics Stock Up 2.1% Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Douglas Dynamics by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,281,587 shares of the auto parts companys stock valued at $67,238,000 after acquiring an additional 8,584 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of Douglas Dynamics in the second quarter worth approximately $3,080,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Douglas Dynamics in the third quarter worth approximately $1,013,000. Ellsworth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Douglas Dynamics in the third quarter valued at approximately $738,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Douglas Dynamics during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,532,000. 91.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. PLOW stock traded up $0.78 during trading on Monday, reaching $38.46. 269,249 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 178,413. The firms 50 day moving average is $34.48 and its 200 day moving average is $32.38. The firm has a market cap of $886.12 million, a P/E ratio of 21.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Douglas Dynamics has a twelve month low of $21.30 and a twelve month high of $38.67. Douglas Dynamics (NYSE:PLOW Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The auto parts company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.04. Douglas Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.18% and a net margin of 6.82%.The firm had revenue of $162.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $163.27 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Douglas Dynamics will post 1.3 EPS for the current year. Douglas Dynamics Announces Dividend The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Douglas Dynamicss dividend payout ratio is presently 67.05%. Douglas Dynamics Company Profile (Get Free Report) Douglas Dynamics, Inc is a leading designer, manufacturer and distributor of snow and ice removal equipment for commercial, municipal and residential markets. The companys product portfolio encompasses a wide range of truck-mounted plows, spreaders, salt brine systems and related accessories engineered to perform in challenging winter conditions. Its offerings cater to professional snow contractors, government agencies and retail customers seeking reliable solutions for snow and ice management. Douglas Dynamics markets its products under several well-known brands, including Fisher Engineering, Western Products, Hiniker Company and Buyers Products. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Douglas Dynamics Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Douglas Dynamics and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. PIMCO Ultra Short Government Active ETF (NYSEARCA:BILZ Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 21,469 shares, a growth of 37.7% from the December 31st total of 15,590 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 232,397 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.1 days. Approximately 0.2% of the companys shares are short sold. Approximately 0.2% of the companys shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 232,397 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.1 days. PIMCO Ultra Short Government Active ETF Price Performance NYSEARCA:BILZ traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $100.73. The companys stock had a trading volume of 336,908 shares, compared to its average volume of 252,991. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.98. PIMCO Ultra Short Government Active ETF has a 1 year low of $100.72 and a 1 year high of $101.27. Get PIMCO Ultra Short Government Active ETF alerts: PIMCO Ultra Short Government Active ETF Announces Dividend The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 2nd. Hedge Funds Weigh In On PIMCO Ultra Short Government Active ETF About PIMCO Ultra Short Government Active ETF Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. increased its stake in PIMCO Ultra Short Government Active ETF by 128.0% in the 3rd quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 269 shares of the companys stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC grew its holdings in shares of PIMCO Ultra Short Government Active ETF by 238.6% in the second quarter. Transce3nd LLC now owns 430 shares of the companys stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of PIMCO Ultra Short Government Active ETF by 2,145.5% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 494 shares of the companys stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new position in shares of PIMCO Ultra Short Government Active ETF in the third quarter worth $58,000. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in PIMCO Ultra Short Government Active ETF during the 2nd quarter valued at $158,000. (Get Free Report) The PIMCO Ultra Short Government Active Exchange-Traded Fund (BILZ) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in investment grade fixed income. The fund is an actively managed fund that invests in treasury bills and notes, repurchase agreements, and cash collateralized by the US government. Securities selected have a maximum maturity of six months. BILZ was launched on Jun 21, 2023 and is managed by PIMCO. See Also Receive News & Ratings for PIMCO Ultra Short Government Active ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for PIMCO Ultra Short Government Active ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shiseido Co. (OTCMKTS:SSDOY Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 80,604 shares, a growth of 38.6% from the December 31st total of 58,138 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 73,248 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.1 days. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 73,248 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.1 days. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Shiseido from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. Get Shiseido alerts: Read Our Latest Research Report on Shiseido Shiseido Stock Up 1.9% Shares of SSDOY opened at $17.45 on Tuesday. Shiseido has a 1 year low of $13.60 and a 1 year high of $20.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.33. The firm has a market cap of $6.97 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.56 and a beta of 0.36. Shiseido (OTCMKTS:SSDOY Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter. Shiseido had a negative return on equity of 1.36% and a negative net margin of 5.80%.The business had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Shiseido will post 0.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. About Shiseido (Get Free Report) Shiseido Company, Limited is a leading Japanese multinational specializing in cosmetics, skincare, makeup and fragrance products. Founded in 1872 and headquartered in Tokyo, the company operates through a portfolio of brands that span premium, prestige and mass-market segments. Its core business activities include the development, manufacturing and sale of skincare treatments, decorative cosmetics, hair care and sun protection products. Shiseidos brand portfolio encompasses flagship lines such as Shiseido, Cle de Peau Beaute, NARS and bareMinerals, alongside regional and heritage labels tailored to diverse consumer preferences. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Shiseido Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Shiseido and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Simplify Tara India Opportunities ETF (NYSEARCA:IOPP Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,807 shares, a growth of 41.5% from the December 31st total of 1,277 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,224 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days. Based on an average daily volume of 1,224 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Simplify Tara India Opportunities ETF Stock Performance NYSEARCA:IOPP traded up $0.86 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $26.77. The stock had a trading volume of 4,393 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,700. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.16. Simplify Tara India Opportunities ETF has a twelve month low of $22.85 and a twelve month high of $28.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.40 and a beta of -0.13. Get Simplify Tara India Opportunities ETF alerts: About Simplify Tara India Opportunities ETF (Get Free Report) Further Reading The Simplify Tara India Opportunities ETF (IOPP) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in stocks based on a particular theme. The fund is an actively managed ETF that invests in Indian equity securities of any market capitalization. The fund targets companies that are expected to benefit from the broad themes capturing Indias growth story. IOPP was launched on Mar 4, 2024 and is issued by Simplify. Receive News & Ratings for Simplify Tara India Opportunities ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Simplify Tara India Opportunities ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT Get Free Report)s stock price shot up 2.1% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $191.90 and last traded at $190.1460. 4,107,971 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 18% from the average session volume of 5,012,953 shares. The stock had previously closed at $186.18. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VRT. Roth Mkm reissued a buy rating and issued a $195.00 price target (up previously from $162.00) on shares of Vertiv in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings lowered Vertiv from a buy (b-) rating to a hold (c+) rating in a report on Thursday. Cfra Research raised Vertiv to a moderate buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $216.00 price objective on Vertiv and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a buy rating and set a $211.00 target price on shares of Vertiv in a report on Monday, December 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $187.89. Get Vertiv alerts: Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Vertiv Vertiv Trading Up 2.1% Vertiv Increases Dividend The stock has a market cap of $72.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 2.08. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $173.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.83. The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 25th were given a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. This is an increase from Vertivs previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 25th. Vertivs payout ratio is 9.43%. Insider Transactions at Vertiv In other Vertiv news, EVP Stephen Liang sold 5,501 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.48, for a total transaction of $937,810.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,050 shares of the companys stock, valued at $690,444. The trade was a 57.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 5.01% of the companys stock. Institutional Trading of Vertiv Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Vertiv by 2.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,833,036 shares of the companys stock valued at $5,858,352,000 after purchasing an additional 826,281 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Vertiv by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,459,323 shares of the companys stock worth $1,276,173,000 after purchasing an additional 189,484 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertiv by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,686,778 shares of the companys stock valued at $856,082,000 after buying an additional 219,970 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Vertiv by 20.9% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,931,488 shares of the companys stock valued at $761,662,000 after buying an additional 1,024,634 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Vertiv during the second quarter worth $538,132,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.92% of the companys stock. About Vertiv (Get Free Report) Vertiv is a global provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions for data centers, communication networks and commercial and industrial environments. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, the company designs, manufactures and services equipment and software that support power availability, thermal management and IT infrastructure management for a broad set of end markets, including hyperscale and enterprise data centers, colocation providers, telecom operators and industrial customers. The companys product portfolio includes uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), power distribution units (PDUs), battery and DC power systems, precision cooling and thermal management equipment, racks and enclosures, and integrated modular infrastructure. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Vertiv Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Vertiv and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Vishay Intertechnology (NYSE:VSH Get Free Report) is anticipated to announce its Q4 2025 results before the market opens on Wednesday, February 4th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.02 per share and revenue of $790.4720 million for the quarter. Interested persons can find conference call details on the companys upcoming Q4 2025 earning report page for the latest details on the call scheduled for Wednesday, February 4, 2026 at 9:00 AM ET. Vishay Intertechnology (NYSE:VSH Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The semiconductor company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.04. The company had revenue of $790.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $779.81 million. Vishay Intertechnology had a negative return on equity of 0.36% and a negative net margin of 2.56%.The businesss quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.08 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect Vishay Intertechnology to post $1 EPS for the current fiscal year and $2 EPS for the next fiscal year. Get Vishay Intertechnology alerts: Vishay Intertechnology Price Performance Vishay Intertechnology stock opened at $20.64 on Tuesday. The stocks 50 day moving average is $16.06 and its 200 day moving average is $15.68. Vishay Intertechnology has a one year low of $10.35 and a one year high of $20.99. The firm has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -36.20 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.60. Vishay Intertechnology Announces Dividend Analysts Set New Price Targets The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Vishay Intertechnologys payout ratio is -70.18%. VSH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Vishay Intertechnology from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a sell (d) rating on shares of Vishay Intertechnology in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vishay Intertechnology currently has a consensus rating of Sell and a consensus target price of $16.00. View Our Latest Research Report on Vishay Intertechnology Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vishay Intertechnology Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Vishay Intertechnology by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 18,598 shares of the semiconductor companys stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 1,288 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Vishay Intertechnology by 14.0% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 17,475 shares of the semiconductor companys stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 2,151 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Vishay Intertechnology by 3.1% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 74,123 shares of the semiconductor companys stock valued at $1,179,000 after acquiring an additional 2,250 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Vishay Intertechnology during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Vishay Intertechnology by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 215,300 shares of the semiconductor companys stock worth $3,294,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.66% of the companys stock. About Vishay Intertechnology (Get Free Report) Vishay Intertechnology, Inc is a global manufacturer of discrete semiconductors and passive electronic components, serving a wide range of industries including industrial, automotive, computing, consumer electronics, telecommunications, medical, and military/aerospace markets. The companys portfolio encompasses resistors, capacitors, inductors, sensors, diodes, rectifiers, MOSFETs and a variety of integrated circuit solutions. Vishays components are used in power management, signal conditioning, circuit protection and sensing applications, supporting both standard and custom designs for original equipment manufacturers worldwide. Originally founded in 1962 by Dr. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Vishay Intertechnology Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Vishay Intertechnology and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Agree Realty (NYSE:ADC Get Free Report) is expected to be issuing its Q4 2025 results after the market closes on Tuesday, February 10th. Analysts expect Agree Realty to post earnings of $1.10 per share and revenue of $189.8620 million for the quarter. Parties can find conference call details on the companys upcoming Q4 2025 earning report page for the latest details on the call scheduled for Wednesday, February 11, 2026 at 9:00 AM ET. Agree Realty Stock Down 1.7% Agree Realty stock opened at $71.02 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Agree Realty has a twelve month low of $68.98 and a twelve month high of $79.65. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $72.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.70. Get Agree Realty alerts: Agree Realty Dividend Announcement The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.262 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. Agree Realtys dividend payout ratio is 183.63%. Insider Activity at Agree Realty Institutional Trading of Agree Realty In related news, CFO Peter Coughenour purchased 500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $69.80 per share, for a total transaction of $34,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,544 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,294,371.20. This trade represents a 2.77% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink . Also, Director John Rakolta, Jr. purchased 15,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $72.18 per share, with a total value of $1,082,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 562,606 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $40,608,901.08. This trade represents a 2.74% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders acquired a total of 39,500 shares of company stock worth $2,813,680 in the last 90 days. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders. Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ADC. Polymer Capital Management HK LTD acquired a new stake in Agree Realty in the third quarter valued at $306,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Agree Realty by 176.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,604 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in Agree Realty during the third quarter worth about $319,000. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Agree Realty during the third quarter worth about $227,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in Agree Realty by 38.1% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,612 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $186,000 after buying an additional 721 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.83% of the companys stock. Analyst Ratings Changes Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Agree Realty from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Agree Realty from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Agree Realty from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Agree Realty from $80.00 to $79.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a hold (c+) rating on shares of Agree Realty in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $80.23. Read Our Latest Report on Agree Realty About Agree Realty (Get Free Report) Agree Realty Corporation (NYSE: ADC) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1971, the company converted to a REIT structure in 2013 and focuses on acquiring, developing and managing a diversified portfolio of retail properties under long-term, triple-net (NNN) leases. Its tenant roster spans national and regional retailers in sectors such as grocery, home improvement, convenience and specialty retail. Agree Realtys primary business activities include sourcing and underwriting new property acquisitions, originating build-to-suit projects and executing value-add redevelopment programs. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Agree Realty Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Agree Realty and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. AMETEK (NYSE:AME Get Free Report) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 7.870-8.070 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 8.000. The company issued revenue guidance of -. AMETEK also updated its Q1 2026 guidance to 1.850-1.900 EPS. AMETEK Price Performance NYSE AME opened at $228.48 on Tuesday. The businesss fifty day moving average is $208.39 and its 200 day moving average is $194.48. AMETEK has a fifty-two week low of $145.02 and a fifty-two week high of $229.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $52.60 billion, a PE ratio of 36.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.03. Get AMETEK alerts: AMETEK Dividend Announcement The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. AMETEKs dividend payout ratio is currently 19.56%. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of brokerages have issued reports on AME. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a buy (b) rating on shares of AMETEK in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of AMETEK from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of AMETEK from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on AMETEK from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $229.82. Read Our Latest Report on AMETEK Insider Buying and Selling In other AMETEK news, VP Thomas M. Montgomery sold 6,388 shares of AMETEK stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.05, for a total value of $1,309,859.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 22,116 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,534,885.80. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Thomas C. Marecic sold 14,310 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.11, for a total transaction of $2,892,194.10. Following the transaction, the insider owned 42,589 shares of the companys stock, valued at $8,607,662.79. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 137,088 shares of company stock valued at $27,212,340 over the last quarter. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. Key Stories Impacting AMETEK Here are the key news stories impacting AMETEK this week: Institutional Inflows and Outflows Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AMETEK in the second quarter valued at about $295,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in AMETEK in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $245,000. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in AMETEK by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,735 shares of the technology companys stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AMETEK during the second quarter worth about $328,000. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in AMETEK during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $215,000. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. About AMETEK (Get Free Report) AMETEK, Inc is a global manufacturer of electronic instruments and electromechanical devices that serves a broad range of industries. Headquartered in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, the company designs and produces precision instruments, electronic measurement devices, specialty sensors, and electric motors and motion control systems. Its product portfolio includes analytical and monitoring instruments, calibration equipment, power supplies, embedded electronics, and industrial motors and drives used for critical applications. The company operates through two primary business platforms an electronic instruments group focused on analytical, test and measurement and sensor products, and an electromechanical group that supplies motors, actuators, and related power and motion solutions. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for AMETEK Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for AMETEK and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (NYSE:AWI Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of Moderate Buy from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $207.50. A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AWI. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Armstrong World Industries from $178.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Vertical Research began coverage on Armstrong World Industries in a report on Monday, October 20th. They issued a buy rating and a $238.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded Armstrong World Industries from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a buy (b) rating on shares of Armstrong World Industries in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Armstrong World Industries from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Get Armstrong World Industries alerts: Read Our Latest Research Report on Armstrong World Industries Institutional Investors Weigh In On Armstrong World Industries Armstrong World Industries Stock Performance Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in Armstrong World Industries by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,321,078 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $214,596,000 after acquiring an additional 38,082 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Armstrong World Industries by 0.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 943,284 shares of the construction companys stock worth $153,248,000 after purchasing an additional 7,378 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Armstrong World Industries by 64.1% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 891,336 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $173,775,000 after purchasing an additional 348,327 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Armstrong World Industries by 0.3% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 860,799 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $168,716,000 after buying an additional 2,799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Armstrong World Industries by 11.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 758,680 shares of the construction companys stock worth $148,709,000 after buying an additional 76,235 shares in the last quarter. 98.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. NYSE:AWI opened at $186.59 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Armstrong World Industries has a twelve month low of $122.37 and a twelve month high of $206.08. The company has a fifty day moving average of $189.91 and a 200-day moving average of $190.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.33. Armstrong World Industries Company Profile (Get Free Report) Armstrong World Industries, Inc is a leading global manufacturer of commercial ceiling and wall solutions. The company offers a diverse portfolio of acoustical, decorative and specialty ceiling systems designed to enhance interior environments in offices, healthcare facilities, schools, retail outlets and other non-residential settings. Through its focus on performance, aesthetics and sustainability, Armstrong World Industries addresses both functional and design requirements for architects, contractors and building owners. Armstrongs product range includes mineral fiber, fiberglass, wood wool, metal and stone wool ceiling panels, as well as suspension and grid systems. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Armstrong World Industries Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Armstrong World Industries and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE:ADM Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.07, FiscalAI reports. Archer Daniels Midland had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 8.01%. The business had revenue of $18.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Archer Daniels Midland updated its FY 2026 guidance to 3.600-4.250 EPS. Here are the key takeaways from Archer Daniels Midlands conference call: Get Archer Daniels Midland alerts: ADM reported Q4 adjusted EPS of $0.87 and FY adjusted EPS of $3.43 , generated ~$2.7 billion of cash from operations (before working capital), realized a $1.5 billion cash benefit from inventory reduction, finished the year with 1.9x leverage, and paid its 376th consecutive quarterly dividend. ADM reported Q4 adjusted EPS of and FY adjusted EPS of , generated ~$2.7 billion of cash from operations (before working capital), realized a cash benefit from inventory reduction, finished the year with 1.9x leverage, and paid its 376th consecutive quarterly dividend. The company set 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $3.60$4.25 , but said outcomes are highly dependent on the timing and magnitude of U.S. biofuel (RVO) policy clarity, China trade normalization, and market adoptionintroducing material timing and mark-to-market uncertainty. The company set 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of , but said outcomes are highly dependent on the timing and magnitude of U.S. biofuel (RVO) policy clarity, China trade normalization, and market adoptionintroducing material timing and mark-to-market uncertainty. AS&O underperformed: Q4 segment operating profit was $444 million (down 31%) and full-year AS&O was down 34%, driven by weaker North American exports, soft crush margins, negative timing effects and reduced insurance proceedspressuring near-term results. AS&O underperformed: Q4 segment operating profit was $444 million (down 31%) and full-year AS&O was down 34%, driven by weaker North American exports, soft crush margins, negative timing effects and reduced insurance proceedspressuring near-term results. Within Carbohydrate Solutions, weaker Starches & Sweeteners were largely offset by much stronger ethanol performance (Vantage Corn Processors Q4 OP up ~187%), and ADM cited continued robust ethanol export opportunities plus an estimated (but variable) potential benefit from 45Z/45Q support. Within Carbohydrate Solutions, weaker Starches & Sweeteners were largely offset by much stronger ethanol performance (Vantage Corn Processors Q4 OP up ~187%), and ADM cited continued robust ethanol export opportunities plus an estimated (but variable) potential benefit from 45Z/45Q support. Nutrition is recoveringDecatur East is back online, specialty ingredients and flavors showed improvement, and the Alltech JV has commenced operations (reducing revenue as the business becomes an equity investment), although Q4 operating profit was down due mainly to lower insurance proceeds versus the prior year. Archer Daniels Midland Price Performance Shares of ADM traded down $0.67 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $67.41. 6,261,443 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,972,404. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Archer Daniels Midland has a fifty-two week low of $40.98 and a fifty-two week high of $69.75. The company has a market cap of $32.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.61 and a beta of 0.70. The firms fifty day moving average is $61.38 and its 200 day moving average is $60.38. Archer Daniels Midland Dividend Announcement Key Headlines Impacting Archer Daniels Midland The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 19th. Archer Daniels Midlands dividend payout ratio is presently 83.27%. Here are the key news stories impacting Archer Daniels Midland this week: Institutional Investors Weigh In On Archer Daniels Midland Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Archer Daniels Midland by 176.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,967,471 shares of the companys stock worth $117,537,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256,596 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in Archer Daniels Midland by 12.0% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 908,291 shares of the companys stock valued at $54,261,000 after purchasing an additional 96,998 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc bought a new stake in Archer Daniels Midland during the third quarter worth $41,036,000. Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Archer Daniels Midland by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 648,237 shares of the companys stock valued at $38,726,000 after purchasing an additional 86,359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Archer Daniels Midland by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 644,085 shares of the companys stock valued at $33,995,000 after purchasing an additional 53,902 shares during the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Analysts Set New Price Targets Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Archer Daniels Midland from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group reiterated a buy rating on shares of Archer Daniels Midland in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Zacks Research raised shares of Archer Daniels Midland from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Archer Daniels Midland from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $57.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a hold (c) rating on shares of Archer Daniels Midland in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Archer Daniels Midland currently has an average rating of Reduce and a consensus target price of $54.50. Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Archer Daniels Midland About Archer Daniels Midland (Get Free Report) Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) is a global agricultural processor and food-ingredient provider that sources, transports and processes oilseeds, corn, wheat and other agricultural commodities. The company operates large-scale crushing, refining and processing facilities that produce vegetable oils, protein meals, corn sweeteners, starches, ethanol, animal feeds and a wide range of food and industrial ingredients. ADM also develops specialty ingredients and solutions for human and animal nutrition, food and beverage formulation, and industrial applications such as bio-based materials and renewable fuels. ADMs business combines commodity origination and merchandising with downstream manufacturing and ingredient formulation. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Archer Daniels Midland Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Archer Daniels Midland and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its holdings in Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited (The) (NYSE:NTB Free Report) by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,014,000 shares of the banks stock after selling 104,983 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 2.13% of Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son worth $43,521,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NTB. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son by 420.7% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 255,544 shares of the banks stock valued at $10,968,000 after acquiring an additional 206,464 shares during the period. JCSD Capital LLC bought a new position in Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,489,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its stake in Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son by 152.2% during the 2nd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 13,920 shares of the banks stock valued at $616,000 after purchasing an additional 8,400 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son during the 2nd quarter valued at $213,000. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son in the 2nd quarter worth $1,393,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Get Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son alerts: Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Stock Up 2.1% Shares of Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son stock opened at $52.90 on Tuesday. Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited has a 12-month low of $34.85 and a 12-month high of $53.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a PE ratio of 10.02 and a beta of 0.57. The stocks fifty day moving average is $50.05 and its 200-day moving average is $46.39. Analysts Set New Price Targets Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, December 8th that permits the company to repurchase $140.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to purchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the companys board of directors believes its stock is undervalued. Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a buy (b) rating on shares of Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $50.67. View Our Latest Report on NTB Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Profile (Free Report) Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited, commonly known as Butterfield, is a Bermuda-based provider of banking and wealth management services. Founded in 1858, the firm has grown from a local colonial bank into an international financial institution. With a focus on personalized client service, Butterfield offers a comprehensive suite of banking and fiduciary solutions to private individuals, families, and corporate clients. The banks core activities include private banking, retail and commercial lending, trust and corporate administration, and fund services. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Botswana Diamonds plc (LON:BOD Get Free Report)s share price fell 2.6% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as GBX 0.22 and last traded at GBX 0.22. 1,900,001 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 40% from the average session volume of 3,173,829 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 0.23. Botswana Diamonds Price Performance The firms 50-day moving average is GBX 0.25 and its 200-day moving average is GBX 0.28. The company has a market capitalization of 2.70 million, a PE ratio of -2.50 and a beta of 0.80. Get Botswana Diamonds alerts: Botswana Diamonds (LON:BOD Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 12th. The company reported GBX (0.09) earnings per share for the quarter. Botswana Diamonds had a negative net margin of 2,389.67% and a negative return on equity of 10.66%. Botswana Diamonds Company Profile Botswana Diamonds plc explores for and develops diamond properties in Botswana, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. The company's flagship property is the Thorny River/Marsfontein property located in South Africa. It also explores primarily in the Kalahari region of Botswana. Botswana Diamonds plc was formerly known as Botswana Exploration plc and changed its name to Botswana Diamonds plc in October 2010. The company was incorporated in 2010 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Botswana Diamonds Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Botswana Diamonds and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE:BDN Get Free Report) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 0.510-0.590 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of -0.170. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Analysts Set New Price Targets Several brokerages have issued reports on BDN. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Brandywine Realty Trust from $5.00 to $4.00 and set an in-line rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a sell (d-) rating on shares of Brandywine Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an underweight rating on shares of Brandywine Realty Trust in a research report on Monday, November 24th. KeyCorp cut shares of Brandywine Realty Trust from an overweight rating to a sector weight rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a sell rating on shares of Brandywine Realty Trust in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Reduce and a consensus target price of $4.00. Get Brandywine Realty Trust alerts: View Our Latest Report on Brandywine Realty Trust Brandywine Realty Trust Price Performance NYSE:BDN traded down $0.03 on Tuesday, reaching $2.80. 2,567,211 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,679,918. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.63. Brandywine Realty Trust has a 12 month low of $2.74 and a 12 month high of $5.44. The firm has a market cap of $485.66 million, a PE ratio of -2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE:BDN Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.02). Brandywine Realty Trust had a negative return on equity of 19.55% and a negative net margin of 38.03%.Brandywine Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.510-0.590 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Brandywine Realty Trust will post 0.66 earnings per share for the current year. Brandywine Realty Trust Announces Dividend The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 7th were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 7th. Brandywine Realty Trusts payout ratio is -29.91%. Insider Buying and Selling at Brandywine Realty Trust In related news, CEO Gerard H. Sweeney bought 88,500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $3.38 per share, with a total value of $299,130.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 3,042,210 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $10,282,669.80. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the companys stock. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Brandywine Realty Trust by 20.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,492,657 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $22,904,000 after buying an additional 944,926 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Brandywine Realty Trust by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,804,116 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $11,693,000 after acquiring an additional 195,429 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Brandywine Realty Trust by 5.4% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,514,161 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $10,484,000 after purchasing an additional 129,123 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Brandywine Realty Trust by 32.0% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,442,005 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $10,183,000 after purchasing an additional 591,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Brandywine Realty Trust by 72.4% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,081,421 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $8,680,000 after purchasing an additional 874,215 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.27% of the companys stock. Brandywine Realty Trust Company Profile (Get Free Report) Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE: BDN) is an internally managed real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in the acquisition, development, and management of office and mixed-use properties. Headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, the company focuses on creating highquality, transitoriented workplaces that meet evolving tenant demands for sustainability, technological connectivity, and flexible design. Brandywines portfolio emphasizes Class A office space, often integrated with retail, residential or hospitality components to foster vibrant, liveworkplay environments. Since its founding in 1994, Brandywine has executed a strategy of disciplined property investment and targeted development. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Brandywine Realty Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Brandywine Realty Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of Kite Realty Group Trust (NYSE:KRG Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of Hold from the eight brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $25.4286. A number of equities analysts recently commented on KRG shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Kite Realty Group Trust from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $23.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a hold (c) rating on shares of Kite Realty Group Trust in a report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a hold rating and issued a $24.00 price objective (up from $23.00) on shares of Kite Realty Group Trust in a report on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group reaffirmed a neutral rating and issued a $25.00 price target (up previously from $24.00) on shares of Kite Realty Group Trust in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Kite Realty Group Trust from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Get Kite Realty Group Trust alerts: View Our Latest Report on Kite Realty Group Trust Kite Realty Group Trust Price Performance Kite Realty Group Trust Increases Dividend KRG stock opened at $23.62 on Thursday. Kite Realty Group Trust has a one year low of $18.51 and a one year high of $24.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $23.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a PE ratio of 36.91, a P/E/G ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 9th were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. This is a boost from Kite Realty Group Trusts previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 9th. Kite Realty Group Trusts dividend payout ratio is 181.25%. Institutional Trading of Kite Realty Group Trust Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of KRG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Kite Realty Group Trust by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,416,302 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $281,229,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,549 shares during the period. Centersquare Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kite Realty Group Trust by 9.9% during the third quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 8,130,960 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $181,320,000 after buying an additional 733,378 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Kite Realty Group Trust by 6.9% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,368,129 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $142,009,000 after acquiring an additional 411,465 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Kite Realty Group Trust by 0.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,879,464 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $133,183,000 after acquiring an additional 40,017 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Kite Realty Group Trust by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,758,033 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $85,119,000 after purchasing an additional 61,982 shares during the last quarter. 90.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Kite Realty Group Trust Company Profile (Get Free Report) Kite Realty Group Trust (NYSE: KRG) is a real estate investment trust that specializes in the ownership, development and management of open-air retail real estate. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, the company focuses on acquiring, developing and operating community and neighborhood shopping centers, as well as mixed-use properties that accommodate national, regional and local retailers. Established in 1994, Kite Realty has grown its portfolio through strategic development projects, targeted acquisitions and selective dispositions. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Kite Realty Group Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Kite Realty Group Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of Hold from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $8.6429. RLJ has been the subject of several research reports. Zacks Research raised RLJ Lodging Trust from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of RLJ Lodging Trust from a market perform rating to a strong-buy rating and set a $9.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a sell (d) rating on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of RLJ Lodging Trust in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. They issued an underweight rating and a $6.00 price target on the stock. Get RLJ Lodging Trust alerts: View Our Latest Stock Analysis on RLJ Lodging Trust RLJ Lodging Trust Stock Up 0.3% RLJ Lodging Trust stock opened at $7.46 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $7.59 and a 200-day moving average of $7.42. The company has a quick ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. RLJ Lodging Trust has a twelve month low of $6.16 and a twelve month high of $9.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a PE ratio of 149.10 and a beta of 1.12. RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). RLJ Lodging Trust had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 1.78%. The business had revenue of $330.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $326.13 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.40 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that RLJ Lodging Trust will post 1.37 EPS for the current fiscal year. RLJ Lodging Trust Dividend Announcement The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.0%. RLJ Lodging Trusts payout ratio is 1,200.00%. Insider Transactions at RLJ Lodging Trust In related news, Director Robin Mcbride Zeigler sold 13,413 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.51, for a total value of $100,731.63. Following the transaction, the director owned 37,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $279,064.09. This trade represents a 26.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. Institutional Inflows and Outflows A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RLJ. State of Wyoming raised its holdings in shares of RLJ Lodging Trust by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 9,120 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,741 shares in the last quarter. M&G PLC increased its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 8.2% during the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 24,355 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $170,000 after buying an additional 1,845 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its stake in RLJ Lodging Trust by 55.2% in the second quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,258 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,870 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its holdings in RLJ Lodging Trust by 3.7% during the second quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 56,709 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $413,000 after buying an additional 2,048 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in RLJ Lodging Trust by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 110,434 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $795,000 after acquiring an additional 2,863 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.35% of the companys stock. RLJ Lodging Trust Company Profile (Get Free Report) RLJ Lodging Trust is a self-managed, publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, owns and operates premium-branded, focused-service and compact full-service hotels. The companys portfolio is concentrated in major U.S. markets, targeting properties that benefit from strong corporate and leisure demand, limited new supply and established brand affiliations. The trusts hotels are affiliated with leading global lodging brands across the spectrum of service levels, including lifestyle and upscale segments. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for RLJ Lodging Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for RLJ Lodging Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Builders FirstSource, Inc. (NYSE:BLDR Free Report) by 41.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,392 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 5,953 shares during the quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc.s holdings in Builders FirstSource were worth $2,473,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BLDR. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Builders FirstSource in the second quarter valued at $147,994,000. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC raised its position in Builders FirstSource by 47.2% in the second quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 1,827,261 shares of the companys stock worth $213,223,000 after acquiring an additional 585,683 shares in the last quarter. Atreides Management LP bought a new stake in Builders FirstSource in the second quarter worth about $37,592,000. Moore Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Builders FirstSource in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,647,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Builders FirstSource by 42.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 598,135 shares of the companys stock valued at $69,796,000 after purchasing an additional 178,955 shares in the last quarter. 95.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Builders FirstSource alerts: Builders FirstSource Trading Down 0.9% Builders FirstSource stock opened at $113.32 on Tuesday. Builders FirstSource, Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.35 and a 52 week high of $165.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.58, a P/E/G ratio of 13.90 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $112.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.21. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Builders FirstSource from $124.00 to $115.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Builders FirstSource in a research report on Monday, November 17th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on Builders FirstSource from $123.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Builders FirstSource from $166.00 to $143.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a sector perform rating and issued a $111.00 target price on shares of Builders FirstSource in a report on Friday, January 9th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Builders FirstSource has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $133.77. Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Builders FirstSource Builders FirstSource Profile (Free Report) Builders FirstSource, Inc is a leading supplier of structural and value-added building products and services to professional contractors, homebuilders and remodelers. The company provides a comprehensive range of materials and prefabricated components that support all phases of residential construction, from site development and framing to finishing and installation. The companys core offerings include lumber and lumber sheet goods, windows and doors, millwork, roofing and siding, and engineered wood products such as roof and floor trusses. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BLDR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Builders FirstSource, Inc. (NYSE:BLDR Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Builders FirstSource Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Builders FirstSource and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Callan Family Office LLC reduced its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY Free Report) by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,573 shares of the companys stock after selling 2,237 shares during the period. Eli Lilly and Company accounts for about 1.0% of Callan Family Office LLCs holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Callan Family Office LLCs holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $30,957,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LLY. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.5% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 80,407,430 shares of the companys stock valued at $62,680,004,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183,038 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 78,621.2% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,552,336 shares of the companys stock valued at $9,005,392,000 after purchasing an additional 11,537,661 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,827,714,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,447,636 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,246,596,000 after purchasing an additional 226,620 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,359,653 shares of the companys stock worth $4,178,010,000 after buying an additional 103,119 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the companys stock. Get Eli Lilly and Company alerts: Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 0.6% Shares of NYSE:LLY opened at $1,043.87 on Tuesday. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $623.78 and a fifty-two week high of $1,133.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $1,056.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $892.18. The company has a market cap of $986.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.07, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.39. Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend Key Stories Impacting Eli Lilly and Company The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.73 per share. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Companys previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $6.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Eli Lilly and Companys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.35%. Here are the key news stories impacting Eli Lilly and Company this week: Wall Street Analyst Weigh In LLY has been the subject of a number of research reports. CICC Research boosted their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $801.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,163.00 to $1,161.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,286.00 to $1,268.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Thursday, January 1st. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets set a $1,230.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $1,162.75. Read Our Latest Research Report on LLY Eli Lilly and Company Profile (Free Report) Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) is a global pharmaceutical company founded in 1876 and headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes a broad range of medicines and therapies for patients worldwide. Eli Lilly maintains operations and commercial presence across North America, Europe, Asia and other regions, serving both developed and emerging markets. The company has been led in recent years by President and Chief Executive Officer David A. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LLY? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Eli Lilly and Company Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Eli Lilly and Company and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of Campari Group (OTCMKTS:DVDCF Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $7.22, but opened at $6.80. Campari Group shares last traded at $7.00, with a volume of 1,543 shares trading hands. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Separately, Barclays raised shares of Campari Group from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. Get Campari Group alerts: Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Campari Group Campari Group Trading Up 2.2% Campari Group Company Profile The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. (Get Free Report) Campari Group is an Italian-based global beverage company specializing in the production, marketing and distribution of premium spirits and wines. Founded in Milan in 1860 by Gaspare Campari, the company has built a diversified portfolio of iconic brands that span various categories, including aperitifs, liqueurs, vodka, whiskey, rum, gin and ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails. The companys flagship product, Campari, is a bright red, bittersweet aperitif known for its distinctive taste and versatility in classic cocktails such as the Negroni and Americano. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Campari Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Campari Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Capri (NYSE:CPRI Get Free Report) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 1.300-1.400 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 1.390. The company issued revenue guidance of $3.5 billion-$3.5 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $3.5 billion. Analyst Ratings Changes A number of research firms have commented on CPRI. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a market perform rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Capri in a research note on Tuesday. BTIG Research restated a buy rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Capri in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Capri in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. They issued a neutral rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Citigroup upgraded shares of Capri from a buy rating to a mixed rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a market perform rating and set a $24.00 price objective on shares of Capri in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $27.50. Get Capri alerts: Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Capri Capri Trading Up 2.4% Shares of NYSE:CPRI opened at $23.12 on Tuesday. Capri has a twelve month low of $11.86 and a twelve month high of $28.26. The company has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a PE ratio of -2.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.45. The companys 50 day moving average is $25.19 and its 200 day moving average is $22.37. Capri (NYSE:CPRI Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.04. Capri had a negative net margin of 29.55% and a negative return on equity of 138.53%. Capri has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.300-1.400 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Capri will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Insiders Place Their Bets In other Capri news, CFO Rajal Mehta sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.96, for a total transaction of $259,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 741 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $19,236.36. This trade represents a 93.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the companys stock. Institutional Trading of Capri Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Capri by 70.0% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 380,838 shares of the companys stock valued at $7,514,000 after acquiring an additional 156,757 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Capri by 48.8% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 20,120 shares of the companys stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 6,595 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Capri by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 11,034 shares of the companys stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 1,313 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Capri by 22.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 764,509 shares of the companys stock worth $15,084,000 after buying an additional 139,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Capri by 23.7% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 422,561 shares of the companys stock valued at $8,337,000 after buying an additional 80,928 shares during the period. 84.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. About Capri (Get Free Report) Capri Holdings Limited (NYSE: CPRI) is a global luxury fashion company that designs, markets and distributes a range of premium lifestyle products. The companys principal brandsMichael Kors, Versace and Jimmy Choooffer handbags, ready-to-wear apparel, footwear, watches, jewelry, fragrance and other accessories. Capri Holdings combines in-house design talent with international sourcing, manufacturing and retail operations to deliver collections that reflect each brands distinct heritage and aesthetic vision. Formed in 2018 through the rebranding of Michael Kors Holdings following the acquisition of Versace, Capri has since integrated Jimmy Choo into its portfolio. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Capri Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Capri and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of China Yuchai International Limited (NYSE:CYD Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $49.93 and last traded at $48.2850, with a volume of 62334 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $46.05. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of China Yuchai International from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a hold (c+) rating on shares of China Yuchai International in a report on Monday, December 22nd. UBS Group started coverage on China Yuchai International in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. They set a buy rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded China Yuchai International from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Sunday, November 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $60.00. Get China Yuchai International alerts: Read Our Latest Analysis on China Yuchai International China Yuchai International Stock Performance Institutional Investors Weigh In On China Yuchai International The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.66. Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CYD. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of China Yuchai International by 752.8% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 849,464 shares of the companys stock valued at $35,142,000 after buying an additional 749,861 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in China Yuchai International by 157.3% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 720,231 shares of the companys stock worth $29,796,000 after acquiring an additional 440,278 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in China Yuchai International by 73.0% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 235,141 shares of the companys stock worth $9,728,000 after acquiring an additional 99,260 shares during the period. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in China Yuchai International during the second quarter valued at $4,759,000. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of China Yuchai International in the second quarter valued at about $4,307,000. China Yuchai International Company Profile (Get Free Report) China Yuchai International Ltd. (NYSE: CYD) is a Cayman Islandsincorporated holding company with principal executive offices in Singapore. Through its subsidiaries, the company is a leading manufacturer and distributor of diesel engines in the Peoples Republic of China. Its principal operating subsidiary, Guangxi Yuchai Machinery Company Limited (GYMCL), has been producing diesel engines since 1951 and ranks among the countrys largest heavy-duty engine makers. The companys core product portfolio includes high-speed and medium-speed diesel engines for on-highway trucks and buses, off-road vehicles such as construction and agricultural machinery, marine propulsion systems, and power generator sets. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for China Yuchai International Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for China Yuchai International and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by research analysts at Citigroup from $48.00 to $50.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the cell phone carriers stock. Citigroups target price would suggest a potential upside of 8.38% from the stocks current price. VZ has been the topic of several other reports. William Blair upgraded Verizon Communications to an outperform rating in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.25 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Williams Trading set a $54.00 price objective on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $48.89. Get Verizon Communications alerts: Read Our Latest Report on Verizon Communications Verizon Communications Stock Up 3.4% Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $1.53 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $46.14. 15,424,734 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 34,657,809. Verizon Communications has a 12-month low of $38.39 and a 12-month high of $47.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market cap of $194.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.36, a P/E/G ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $40.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.60. Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The firm had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cadinha & Co. LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2,916.8% in the 2nd quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC now owns 347,716 shares of the cell phone carriers stock valued at $15,046,000 after acquiring an additional 336,190 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 11.0% during the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 7,297,469 shares of the cell phone carriers stock valued at $309,551,000 after purchasing an additional 722,559 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 378.7% in the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 93,732 shares of the cell phone carriers stock valued at $4,120,000 after buying an additional 74,151 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 555,785 shares of the cell phone carriers stock worth $24,427,000 after buying an additional 43,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.8% in the third quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 2,762,705 shares of the cell phone carriers stock worth $121,421,000 after acquiring an additional 151,100 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Key Verizon Communications News Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon Communications this week: Verizon Communications Company Profile (Get Free Report) Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers. The companys consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Verizon Communications Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Verizon Communications and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Allegion PLC (NYSE:ALLE Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 7,326 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock, valued at approximately $1,299,000. A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ALLE. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Allegion during the third quarter worth about $2,838,000. Burney Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Allegion in the 3rd quarter valued at about $9,297,000. Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new position in Allegion during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $112,433,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Allegion by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,356,869 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock worth $417,991,000 after buying an additional 113,821 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in Allegion by 48.6% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 180,750 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock worth $26,050,000 after buying an additional 59,144 shares during the period. 92.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Allegion alerts: Allegion Stock Down 0.0% ALLE stock opened at $165.33 on Tuesday. Allegion PLC has a one year low of $116.57 and a one year high of $180.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.22 billion, a PE ratio of 22.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.77. The company has a fifty day moving average of $162.67 and a 200-day moving average of $167.01. Allegion Announces Dividend Analysts Set New Price Targets The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th were given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Allegions dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.60%. ALLE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a buy (b) rating on shares of Allegion in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Allegion from $187.00 to $180.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a positive rating on shares of Allegion in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Allegion from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $174.25. Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on ALLE About Allegion (Free Report) Allegion plc (NYSE: ALLE) is a global provider of security products and solutions focused on ensuring the safety and security of people and property. The company was formed in December 2013 through a corporate spin-off from Ingersoll Rand and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Allegions core mission is to deliver innovative mechanical and electronic access control systems for a wide range of end markets, including commercial buildings, residential properties, institutional facilities, and industrial sites. The companys product portfolio spans mechanical locksets, door closers, exit devices, key systems and cylinders, as well as a growing suite of electronic and smart access control offerings. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ALLE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Allegion PLC (NYSE:ALLE Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Allegion Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Allegion and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Cornerstone Advisors Asset Management LLC cut its position in shares of Hartford Total Return Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:HTRB Free Report) by 3.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 940,336 shares of the companys stock after selling 36,606 shares during the quarter. Hartford Total Return Bond ETF accounts for 5.6% of Cornerstone Advisors Asset Management LLCs portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Cornerstone Advisors Asset Management LLC owned approximately 1.57% of Hartford Total Return Bond ETF worth $32,245,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Hartford Total Return Bond ETF by 116.7% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,144,802 shares of the companys stock worth $72,644,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155,083 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans acquired a new position in shares of Hartford Total Return Bond ETF in the second quarter valued at $34,915,000. Great Point Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Hartford Total Return Bond ETF in the third quarter worth $20,842,000. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Hartford Total Return Bond ETF by 109.7% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 476,690 shares of the companys stock worth $16,146,000 after purchasing an additional 249,380 shares during the period. Finally, Hartford Funds Management Co LLC boosted its stake in Hartford Total Return Bond ETF by 1.5% during the second quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 13,845,655 shares of the companys stock worth $468,952,000 after buying an additional 203,270 shares in the last quarter. Get Hartford Total Return Bond ETF alerts: Hartford Total Return Bond ETF Price Performance Shares of Hartford Total Return Bond ETF stock opened at $34.10 on Tuesday. Hartford Total Return Bond ETF has a 52-week low of $32.88 and a 52-week high of $34.82. The companys fifty day moving average price is $34.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.27. Hartford Total Return Bond ETF Cuts Dividend Hartford Total Return Bond ETF Profile The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a $0.0983 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. (Free Report) The Hartford Total Return Bond ETF (HTRB) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the Bloomberg Global Aggregate Bond index. The fund is an actively managed fund that invests in a wide array of global fixed income instruments considered attractive from a total-return perspective, with current income as a secondary goal. HTRB was launched on Sep 27, 2017 and is managed by Hartford. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding HTRB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Hartford Total Return Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:HTRB Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Hartford Total Return Bond ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Hartford Total Return Bond ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. DSV (OTCMKTS:DSDVY Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $141.61 and last traded at $141.14, with a volume of 28740 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $140.12. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of analysts have commented on DSDVY shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of DSV from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a buy rating on shares of DSV in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an overweight rating on shares of DSV in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. Get DSV alerts: Read Our Latest Research Report on DSDVY DSV Price Performance DSV Company Profile The firm has a market capitalization of $67.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.31. The businesss fifty day moving average is $127.98 and its 200 day moving average is $115.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. (Get Free Report) DSV A/S (OTCMKTS:DSDVY) is a Danish global transport and logistics company that provides end-to-end supply chain solutions to businesses across a wide range of industries. The firms core services include road transport, air freight, ocean freight, freight forwarding, contract logistics and warehousing, together with customs clearance, distribution and valueadded services designed to support complex international supply chains. Founded in the mid-1970s in Denmark, DSV has grown through a mix of organic expansion and strategic acquisitions, notably strengthening its global freight and forwarding capabilities through transactions such as the acquisitions of UTi Worldwide and Panalpina. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for DSV Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for DSV and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Elm Partners Management LLC raised its position in shares of JPMorgan BetaBuilders Canada ETF (BATS:BBCA Free Report) by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 275,880 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 13,884 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan BetaBuilders Canada ETF comprises 1.2% of Elm Partners Management LLCs holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Elm Partners Management LLCs holdings in JPMorgan BetaBuilders Canada ETF were worth $24,065,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of BBCA. Municipal Employees Retirement System of Michigan bought a new stake in shares of JPMorgan BetaBuilders Canada ETF in the second quarter valued at $75,903,000. Strategic Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of JPMorgan BetaBuilders Canada ETF during the 3rd quarter worth $19,622,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in JPMorgan BetaBuilders Canada ETF in the 2nd quarter worth about $12,675,000. Flow Traders U.S. LLC bought a new stake in JPMorgan BetaBuilders Canada ETF in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,850,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in JPMorgan BetaBuilders Canada ETF by 296.9% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 43,144 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,482,000 after acquiring an additional 32,275 shares during the period. Get JPMorgan BetaBuilders Canada ETF alerts: JPMorgan BetaBuilders Canada ETF Stock Up 33.8% Shares of BATS:BBCA opened at $94.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.72 billion, a PE ratio of 19.87 and a beta of 0.95. JPMorgan BetaBuilders Canada ETF has a twelve month low of $62.71 and a twelve month high of $82.55. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $93.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.10. JPMorgan BetaBuilders Canada ETF Company Profile The JPMorgan BetaBuilders Canada ETF (BBCA) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in total market equity. The fund tracks a market cap-weighted index of large- and mid-cap Canadian equities. BBCA was launched on Aug 7, 2018 and is managed by JPMorgan Chase. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BBCA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for JPMorgan BetaBuilders Canada ETF (BATS:BBCA Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for JPMorgan BetaBuilders Canada ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for JPMorgan BetaBuilders Canada ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. EssilorLuxottica Unsponsored ADR (OTCMKTS:ESLOY Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 10,575 shares, a growth of 46.1% from the December 31st total of 7,240 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 198,536 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.1 days. Currently, 0.0% of the companys stock are sold short. Currently, 0.0% of the companys stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 198,536 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.1 days. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several brokerages have issued reports on ESLOY. HSBC raised shares of EssilorLuxottica from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. UBS Group upgraded shares of EssilorLuxottica from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Thursday, November 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a buy rating on shares of EssilorLuxottica in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating on shares of EssilorLuxottica in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets raised EssilorLuxottica from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Buy. Get EssilorLuxottica alerts: View Our Latest Analysis on EssilorLuxottica EssilorLuxottica Stock Performance EssilorLuxottica Company Profile Shares of OTCMKTS:ESLOY opened at $152.23 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $163.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $163.07. EssilorLuxottica has a one year low of $126.47 and a one year high of $186.81. (Get Free Report) EssilorLuxottica SE is a global ophthalmic optics company formed through the 2018 merger of France-based Essilor and Italy-based Luxottica. Headquartered near Paris, the company combines lens manufacturing, frame design and production, brand management and retail operations to provide a vertically integrated offering across the vision care value chain. Its activities span product research and development, manufacturing, wholesale distribution and retailing of spectacles, sunglasses and ophthalmic lenses. The companys product portfolio includes prescription and non-prescription lenses, lens coatings and treatments, and an array of eyewear brands and frames. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for EssilorLuxottica Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for EssilorLuxottica and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Money Concepts Capital Corp lifted its stake in Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM Free Report) by 35.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,080 shares of the oil and gas companys stock after purchasing an additional 4,757 shares during the period. Money Concepts Capital Corps holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $2,039,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of XOM. Westfuller Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Exxon Mobil during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bare Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 121.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Exxon Mobil in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 1,595.2% in the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 356 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 95.8% during the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 370 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.80% of the companys stock. Get Exxon Mobil alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank reissued an outperform rating on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Friday, January 16th. Barclays increased their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Bank of America boosted their target price on Exxon Mobil from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Exxon Mobil currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $138.53. Exxon Mobil Price Performance Shares of NYSE XOM opened at $138.51 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $584.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.70, a P/E/G ratio of 14.93 and a beta of 0.39. Exxon Mobil Corporation has a twelve month low of $97.80 and a twelve month high of $142.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $123.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $116.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.08. Exxon Mobil had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 11.21%. The business had revenue of $82.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.98 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Exxon Mobil Corporation will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year. Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 12th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 12th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Exxon Mobils payout ratio is currently 61.58%. Insider Activity at Exxon Mobil In other news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.19, for a total transaction of $351,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 28,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,349,758.96. This represents a 9.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.03% of the companys stock. Exxon Mobil Company Profile (Free Report) Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) is an integrated oil and gas company engaged in the exploration, production, refining, distribution and marketing of petroleum products and the manufacture and sale of petrochemicals. Its operations span the full energy value chain, including upstream exploration and development of crude oil and natural gas; midstream transportation and storage; and downstream refining, product distribution and retail. The company also produces a broad range of chemical products for industrial and consumer applications. ExxonMobil markets fuels and lubricants under well-known brands such as Exxon, Mobil and Esso, and its Mobil 1 motor oil is a prominent consumer product. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding XOM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Exxon Mobil Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Exxon Mobil and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Ford Motor (NYSE:F Get Free Report) and Polaris (NYSE:PII Get Free Report) are both auto/tires/trucks companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and dividends. Dividends Ford Motor pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Polaris pays an annual dividend of $2.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Ford Motor pays out 51.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Polaris pays out -32.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Polaris has increased its dividend for 30 consecutive years. Get Ford Motor alerts: Profitability This table compares Ford Motor and Polaris net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Ford Motor 2.48% 11.94% 1.87% Polaris -6.51% -0.05% -0.01% Insider and Institutional Ownership Earnings and Valuation 58.7% of Ford Motor shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.1% of Polaris shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of Ford Motor shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.1% of Polaris shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term. This table compares Ford Motor and Polariss top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation. Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Ford Motor $184.99 billion 0.30 $5.88 billion $1.16 11.90 Polaris $7.15 billion 0.51 -$465.50 million ($8.18) -7.86 Ford Motor has higher revenue and earnings than Polaris. Polaris is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ford Motor, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks. Volatility and Risk Ford Motor has a beta of 1.66, suggesting that its share price is 66% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Polaris has a beta of 1.19, suggesting that its share price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500. Analyst Ratings This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Ford Motor and Polaris, as provided by MarketBeat. Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Ford Motor 2 12 4 1 2.21 Polaris 0 12 0 0 2.00 Ford Motor presently has a consensus target price of $13.19, indicating a potential downside of 4.48%. Polaris has a consensus target price of $59.80, indicating a potential downside of 7.04%. Given Ford Motors stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Ford Motor is more favorable than Polaris. Summary Ford Motor beats Polaris on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks. About Ford Motor (Get Free Report) Ford Motor Company develops, delivers, and services a range of Ford trucks, commercial cars and vans, sport utility vehicles, and Lincoln luxury vehicles worldwide. It operates through Ford Blue, Ford Model e, and Ford Pro; Ford Next; and Ford Credit segments. The company sells Ford and Lincoln vehicles, service parts, and accessories through distributors and dealers, as well as through dealerships to commercial fleet customers, daily rental car companies, and governments. It also engages in vehicle-related financing and leasing activities to and through automotive dealers. In addition, the company provides retail installment sale contracts for new and used vehicles; and direct financing leases for new vehicles to retail and commercial customers, such as leasing companies, government entities, daily rental companies, and fleet customers. Further, it offers wholesale loans to dealers to finance the purchase of vehicle inventory; and loans to dealers to finance working capital and enhance dealership facilities, purchase dealership real estate, and other dealer vehicle programs. The company was incorporated in 1903 and is based in Dearborn, Michigan. About Polaris (Get Free Report) Polaris Inc. designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets powersports vehicles in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Off-Road, On-Road, and Marine. The company offers off-road vehicles (ORVs), including all-terrain vehicles and side-by-side vehicles; military and commercial ORVs; snowmobiles; motorcycles; and moto-roadsters, quadricycles, and boats. It also provides ORV accessories comprising winches, bumper/brushguards, plows, racks, wheels and tires, pull-behinds, cab systems, lighting and audio systems, cargo box accessories, tracks, and oil; snowmobile accessories, which include covers, traction products, reverse kits, electric starters, tracks, bags, windshields, oil, and lubricants; and motorcycle accessories, such as saddle bags, handlebars, backrests, exhausts, windshields, seats, oil, and various chrome accessories. In addition, the company offers light duty hauling and passenger vehicles; gear and apparel, such as helmets, goggles, jackets, gloves, boots, bibs, hats, pants, and leathers; and pontoon and deck boats. The company provides its products through dealers and distributors, and online; and retail and e-commerce marketplaces. The company was formerly known as Polaris Industries Inc. Polaris Inc. was founded in 1945 and is headquartered in Medina, Minnesota. Receive News & Ratings for Ford Motor Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Ford Motor and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (NYSE:GNK Get Free Report)s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $21.35 and last traded at $21.3160, with a volume of 362530 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.90. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth GNK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a hold (c-) rating on shares of Genco Shipping & Trading in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Genco Shipping & Trading from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Sunday, December 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $21.00. Get Genco Shipping & Trading alerts: View Our Latest Stock Report on GNK Genco Shipping & Trading Price Performance The firm has a market capitalization of $921.70 million, a P/E ratio of -125.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $19.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.72. Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE:GNK Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The shipping company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.01). The company had revenue of $79.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.06 million. Genco Shipping & Trading had a negative return on equity of 0.62% and a negative net margin of 2.14%.Genco Shipping & Tradings quarterly revenue was down 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Genco Shipping & Trading Limited will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current year. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Genco Shipping & Trading Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strs Ohio raised its position in Genco Shipping & Trading by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 30,300 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $558,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200 shares during the period. IMC Chicago LLC bought a new stake in shares of Genco Shipping & Trading during the 4th quarter worth approximately $201,000. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in Genco Shipping & Trading by 33.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 153,263 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $2,825,000 after acquiring an additional 38,310 shares during the period. Townsend & Associates Inc boosted its holdings in Genco Shipping & Trading by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc now owns 1,276,311 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $25,373,000 after acquiring an additional 8,488 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in Genco Shipping & Trading by 411.4% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 11,752 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $216,000 after acquiring an additional 9,454 shares during the last quarter. 58.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. About Genco Shipping & Trading (Get Free Report) Genco Shipping & Trading Limited is a leading global owner and operator of drybulk vessels, providing seaborne transportation services for major commodities such as iron ore, coal, grain and fertilizers. The companys fleet comprises Capesize, Panamax and Supramax vessels, which are chartered to a broad base of international charterers under both spot and period contracts. Gencos focus on modern, fuel-efficient tonnage supports reliable cargo delivery across a variety of trade routes and market conditions. In addition to vessel ownership and operation, Genco offers ship management, maintenance and technical support services designed to maximize fleet performance and safety. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Genco Shipping & Trading Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Genco Shipping & Trading and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Haemonetics (NYSE:HAE Get Free Report) is anticipated to issue its Q3 2026 results before the market opens on Thursday, February 5th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $1.27 per share and revenue of $331.8980 million for the quarter. Haemonetics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.800-5.00 EPS. Interested persons may review the information on the companys upcoming Q3 2026 earning report for the latest details on the call scheduled for Thursday, February 5, 2026 at 8:00 AM ET. Haemonetics (NYSE:HAE Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.15. Haemonetics had a net margin of 12.67% and a return on equity of 27.22%. The company had revenue of $327.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $311.61 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.12 EPS. Haemoneticss revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect Haemonetics to post $5 EPS for the current fiscal year and $5 EPS for the next fiscal year. Get Haemonetics alerts: Haemonetics Trading Down 1.2% Shares of Haemonetics stock opened at $65.83 on Tuesday. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $78.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $65.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.25, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.28. Haemonetics has a 12-month low of $47.31 and a 12-month high of $87.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. Analyst Ratings Changes HAE has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James Financial reissued an outperform rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Haemonetics in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Haemonetics from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Haemonetics from $87.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Needham & Company LLC downgraded Haemonetics from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $93.00 target price on shares of Haemonetics in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $84.40. Check Out Our Latest Report on HAE Institutional Trading of Haemonetics Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Haemonetics by 3.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 29,541 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock valued at $1,877,000 after acquiring an additional 971 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in shares of Haemonetics during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $216,000. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in shares of Haemonetics during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Haemonetics by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,458 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Haemonetics by 6.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 156,138 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $9,923,000 after buying an additional 9,051 shares in the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Haemonetics Company Profile (Get Free Report) Haemonetics Corporation is a global provider of blood management solutions that support the collection, processing and transfusion of blood and blood products. The companys offerings are designed to enhance patient safety and operational efficiency for blood centers, hospitals and plasma collection facilities. Haemonetics serves healthcare providers worldwide by delivering integrated systems, software and consumables that address critical needs throughout the continuum of blood management. The companys product portfolio includes automated apheresis and plasma collection systems, surgical blood salvage and coagulation monitoring devices, and pathogen reduction technologies. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Haemonetics Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Haemonetics and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $21.55, but opened at $23.55. Hecla Mining shares last traded at $22.7690, with a volume of 4,861,375 shares. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth HL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm reissued a sell rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. CIBC increased their target price on Hecla Mining from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $26.50 price target on Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a hold (c+) rating on shares of Hecla Mining in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hecla Mining from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Sunday, November 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $22.00. Get Hecla Mining alerts: Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Hecla Mining Hecla Mining Trading Up 7.2% The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $21.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.34. The company has a market cap of $15.48 billion, a PE ratio of 74.59 and a beta of 1.28. Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.01. Hecla Mining had a net margin of 16.35% and a return on equity of 7.87%. The firm had revenue of $409.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. Hecla Minings revenue for the quarter was up 67.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining Company will post 0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year. Insider Transactions at Hecla Mining In other news, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 148,372 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $2,225,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 347,402 shares in the company, valued at $5,211,030. The trade was a 29.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Kurt Allen sold 52,219 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.91, for a total transaction of $1,144,118.29. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 216,641 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,746,604.31. This trade represents a 19.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 426,679 shares of company stock valued at $7,678,773 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the companys stock. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HL. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 20.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,285,345 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $23,827,000 after acquiring an additional 739,360 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 24.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,959,276 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $10,894,000 after purchasing an additional 380,448 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its position in Hecla Mining by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 125,800 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Hecla Mining by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 323,094 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $1,935,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pure Portfolios Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hecla Mining in the second quarter worth $315,000. Institutional investors own 63.01% of the companys stock. About Hecla Mining (Get Free Report) Hecla Mining Company, founded in 1891 and headquartered in Coeur dAlene, Idaho, is one of the oldest publicly traded precious metals companies in the United States. Originally established to develop the rich silver deposits of the Coeur dAlene district, Hecla has evolved into a diversified mining enterprise focused on the exploration, development and production of silver and gold, with by-product credits from lead and zinc. The companys principal operations are located in North America and Latin America. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Hecla Mining Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Hecla Mining and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Elm Partners Management LLC grew its stake in shares of iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF (NYSEARCA:IEUR Free Report) by 4.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,044,161 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 46,298 shares during the quarter. iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF comprises about 3.6% of Elm Partners Management LLCs portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Elm Partners Management LLCs holdings in iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF were worth $71,128,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its stake in iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF by 2.0% during the second quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 7,994 shares of the companys stock worth $529,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 39,942 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,721,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. TRU Independence Asset Management 2 LLC lifted its holdings in shares of iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. TRU Independence Asset Management 2 LLC now owns 26,093 shares of the companys stock worth $1,777,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,933 shares of the companys stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP boosted its position in shares of iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 5,006 shares of the companys stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Get iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF alerts: iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF Price Performance Shares of IEUR opened at $74.85 on Tuesday. iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF has a one year low of $53.17 and a one year high of $75.61. The company has a market cap of $7.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.78 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.96. iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF Profile The iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF (IEUR) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI Europe IMI index, a market-cap-weighted index of developed European securities. IEUR was launched on Jun 10, 2014 and is managed by BlackRock. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding IEUR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF (NYSEARCA:IEUR Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (TSE:IVN Get Free Report)s stock price passed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of C$15.57 and traded as high as C$17.42. Ivanhoe Mines shares last traded at C$17.14, with a volume of 4,737,093 shares changing hands. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of research firms recently weighed in on IVN. Citigroup raised their price target on Ivanhoe Mines from C$14.00 to C$18.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Ivanhoe Mines from C$18.50 to C$20.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Ivanhoe Mines from C$16.00 to C$18.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Ivanhoe Mines from a buy rating to a hold rating and reduced their price target for the stock from C$18.00 to C$16.00 in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ivanhoe Mines has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of C$17.55. Get Ivanhoe Mines alerts: View Our Latest Research Report on IVN Ivanhoe Mines Price Performance The company has a market capitalization of C$24.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.91 and a beta of 1.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 20.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48. The company has a 50 day moving average price of C$15.57 and a 200 day moving average price of C$13.85. Ivanhoe Mines (TSE:IVN Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported C$0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$180.18 million during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. will post 1.0136483 earnings per share for the current year. Insider Activity In other news, insider Mark Sean Farren sold 60,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$13.40, for a total value of C$804,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 174,923 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately C$2,343,968.20. This trade represents a 25.54% decrease in their position. Also, insider Citic Metal Africa Investments Limited sold 350,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$15.71, for a total transaction of C$5,498,500.00. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 566,849 shares of company stock valued at $8,458,448. 44.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. About Ivanhoe Mines (Get Free Report) Ivanhoe Mines Ltd is a mineral exploration and development company. The company, together with its subsidiaries, explores, develops, and recovers minerals and precious gems from its property interests located in Africa. The group explores platinum, nickel, copper, gold, silver, cobalt, iron, vanadium, and chrome. It operates in four segments: Platreef property, Kamoa Holding joint venture, Kipushi properties, and the Companys treasury offices. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Ivanhoe Mines Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Ivanhoe Mines and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 23,777 shares of the utilities providers stock, valued at approximately $1,925,000. A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in OGS. Caldwell Trust Co bought a new position in ONE Gas in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new position in ONE Gas during the 2nd quarter worth $50,000. Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in shares of ONE Gas in the second quarter worth $51,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ONE Gas by 5,362.5% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 874 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 858 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in shares of ONE Gas by 130.6% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,400 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 793 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.71% of the companys stock. Get ONE Gas alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several research firms recently weighed in on OGS. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of ONE Gas from $86.00 to $83.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of ONE Gas from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of ONE Gas from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an underperform rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of ONE Gas in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut ONE Gas from a buy (b-) rating to a hold (c+) rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ONE Gas presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $85.57. ONE Gas Stock Performance Shares of OGS opened at $79.90 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The firms 50 day moving average is $78.52 and its 200-day moving average is $78.12. ONE Gas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.58 and a 12-month high of $83.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.81. ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts consensus estimates of $0.44. The firm had revenue of $379.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $404.19 million. ONE Gas had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.34 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that ONE Gas, Inc. will post 4.26 EPS for the current fiscal year. ONE Gas Increases Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 20th. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is a boost from ONE Gass previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. ONE Gass dividend payout ratio is 62.47%. ONE Gas Profile (Free Report) ONE Gas, Inc is a publicly traded natural gas utility company focused on the regulated distribution of natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the company owns and operates an integrated system of transmission and distribution pipelines, storage facilities and compressor stations designed to deliver safe, reliable energy to end users. Its operations are governed by state utility commissions, which set rates and service standards in the markets the company serves. The companys service territory spans three states: Oklahoma, Kansas and the Texas Panhandle. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding OGS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE:OGS Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for ONE Gas Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for ONE Gas and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 68,817 shares of the banks stock, valued at approximately $1,769,000. A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of ASB. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Associated Banc by 2,033.9% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,195 shares of the banks stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,139 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Associated Banc by 345.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the banks stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Associated Banc in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Associated Banc in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.98% of the companys stock. Get Associated Banc alerts: Insider Buying and Selling at Associated Banc In other news, EVP Patrick Edward Ahern sold 30,489 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.70, for a total value of $783,567.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,055 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $618,213.50. This represents a 55.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,135 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.41, for a total transaction of $56,385.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 109,842 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,900,927.22. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 35,951 shares of company stock valued at $925,756. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ASB shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a hold (c+) rating on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Associated Banc from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Sunday. Raymond James Financial reiterated an outperform rating and set a $30.00 target price (up previously from $29.00) on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Associated Banc from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Associated Banc from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $29.20. Read Our Latest Report on ASB Associated Banc Stock Up 1.9% Associated Banc stock opened at $27.77 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.03, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. Associated Banc-Corp has a fifty-two week low of $18.32 and a fifty-two week high of $28.15. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.86. Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.11. Associated Banc had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 19.31%.The company had revenue of $393.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $382.06 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Associated Banc-Corp will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year. Associated Banc announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 27th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to purchase up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the companys management believes its shares are undervalued. Associated Banc Announces Dividend The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Associated Bancs payout ratio is presently 34.66%. Associated Banc Company Profile (Free Report) Associated Banc-Corp, through its primary subsidiary Associated Bank, N.A., is a regional financial services company headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The bank operates more than 200 branches across the Midwest, offering community-focused banking solutions for individuals, small businesses and commercial clients. Its emphasis on personalized service and regional decision-making supports long-standing customer relationships. On the consumer side, Associated Bank provides checking and savings accounts, residential mortgages, home equity lines of credit, auto financing and credit card products. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ASB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Associated Banc Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Associated Banc and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Howard Hughes Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HHH Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 17,800 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,463,000. Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Howard Hughes by 134.2% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 363 shares of the companys stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Howard Hughes by 291.0% in the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 391 shares of the companys stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Howard Hughes in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Howard Hughes by 191.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 516 shares of the companys stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Howard Hughes by 69.6% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 665 shares of the companys stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the period. 93.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Howard Hughes alerts: Insider Activity In other Howard Hughes news, Director R Scot Sellers purchased 5,000 shares of Howard Hughes stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $77.94 per share, with a total value of $389,700.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 67,517 shares of the companys stock, valued at $5,262,274.98. This trade represents a 8.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mary Ann Tighe sold 6,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.83, for a total value of $532,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,198,760.85. The trade was a 30.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 48.00% of the companys stock. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Howard Hughes from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a hold (c) rating on shares of Howard Hughes in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Howard Hughes from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $83.33. View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Howard Hughes Howard Hughes Trading Down 2.4% Howard Hughes stock opened at $79.70 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.73 billion, a PE ratio of 15.54 and a beta of 1.24. Howard Hughes Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $61.40 and a 12 month high of $91.07. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $82.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. Howard Hughes (NYSE:HHH Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $390.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $331.52 million. Howard Hughes had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 11.06%. The businesss revenue was up 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.95 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Howard Hughes Holdings Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year. About Howard Hughes (Free Report) Howard Hughes Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a real estate development company in the United States. It operates in four segments: Operating Assets; Master Planned Communities (MPCs); Seaport; and Strategic Developments. The Operating Assets segment consists of developed or acquired retail, office, and multi-family properties along with other retail investments. Its MPCs segment develops, sells, and leases residential and commercial land designated for long-term community development projects in and around Las Vegas, Nevada; Houston, Texas; and Phoenix, Arizona. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding HHH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Howard Hughes Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HHH Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Howard Hughes Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Howard Hughes and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX Free Report) by 9.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 412,886 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock after acquiring an additional 36,283 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllps holdings in TJX Companies were worth $59,353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of TJX. Lavaca Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in TJX Companies during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new position in TJX Companies during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in TJX Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of TJX Companies by 776.7% in the 2nd quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 263 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the period. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get TJX Companies alerts: TJX Companies Stock Up 0.2% Shares of NYSE TJX opened at $150.14 on Tuesday. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $112.10 and a 52-week high of $159.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 1.09. The business has a fifty day moving average of $154.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $144.09. The stock has a market cap of $166.73 billion, a PE ratio of 33.14, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.74. TJX Companies Dividend Announcement TJX Companies ( NYSE:TJX Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.06. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 58.30%. The business had revenue of $15.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $14.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. TJX Companies has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.330-1.360 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.630-4.660 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 12th will be paid a $0.425 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 12th. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. TJX Companiess payout ratio is 37.53%. Insider Activity at TJX Companies In related news, Director Amy B. Lane sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.40, for a total transaction of $75,700.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 22,212 shares in the company, valued at $3,362,896.80. This represents a 2.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 30,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.81, for a total value of $4,464,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 535,143 shares of the companys stock, valued at $79,634,629.83. This represents a 5.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 54,863 shares of company stock worth $8,226,366 over the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders. Analyst Ratings Changes A number of research firms have recently issued reports on TJX. Telsey Advisory Group restated an outperform rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird set a $168.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an outperform rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. UBS Group reiterated a buy rating and set a $193.00 target price (up from $181.00) on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $163.86. Get Our Latest Research Report on TJX TJX Companies Company Profile (Free Report) TJX Companies, Inc is a leading off-price retailer of apparel, footwear, home fashions and other consumer goods. The company operates multiple retail concepts that offer discounted brand-name and designer merchandise, including well-known banners such as T.J. Maxx and Marshalls in the United States, HomeGoods for home furnishings, TK Maxx in parts of Europe, and Winners and Homesense in Canada. Merchandise categories span womens, mens and childrens apparel, accessories, beauty, home decor, kitchenware and small furniture, with frequent changes in assortment that create a treasure-hunt shopping experience for consumers. The companys business model centers on opportunistic buying, purchasing excess, irregular or out-of-season inventory from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers, and passing savings to customers through lower prices. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding TJX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for TJX Companies Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for TJX Companies and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of The Allstate Corporation (NYSE:ALL Free Report) by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 189,718 shares of the insurance providers stock after purchasing an additional 12,225 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllps holdings in Allstate were worth $40,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Allstate by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 23,573 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $4,745,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp grew its holdings in Allstate by 4.7% in the third quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 123,461 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $26,501,000 after purchasing an additional 5,542 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its stake in Allstate by 3.8% in the second quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 53,802 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $10,831,000 after purchasing an additional 1,959 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Allstate by 103.5% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 12,960 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $2,609,000 after purchasing an additional 6,590 shares during the period. Finally, Davis Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Allstate during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,767,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.47% of the companys stock. Get Allstate alerts: Allstate Price Performance Shares of NYSE:ALL opened at $200.79 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $204.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $203.53. The Allstate Corporation has a 1-year low of $176.00 and a 1-year high of $215.89. The stock has a market cap of $52.54 billion, a PE ratio of 6.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 0.24. Allstate Announces Dividend Allstate ( NYSE:ALL Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $11.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.48 by $5.69. The firm had revenue of $17.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.59 billion. Allstate had a net margin of 12.53% and a return on equity of 35.42%. The businesss revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.91 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that The Allstate Corporation will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year. The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Allstates dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.95%. Insider Activity at Allstate In other news, insider Suren Gupta sold 21,871 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.21, for a total value of $4,706,857.91. Following the transaction, the insider owned 100,646 shares in the company, valued at $21,660,025.66. The trade was a 17.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 48,400 shares of company stock worth $10,313,256. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of analysts recently commented on ALL shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Allstate from $235.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Zacks Research lowered Allstate from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Allstate from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Allstate from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Allstate from $216.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $236.19. View Our Latest Report on Allstate About Allstate (Free Report) Allstate Corporation is a publicly traded insurance company headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, and is one of the largest personal lines property and casualty insurers in the United States. Founded in 1931 as a subsidiary of Sears, Roebuck and Co, Allstate has grown into a diversified insurer that serves millions of consumers and businesses through a mix of distribution channels and product offerings. The company underwrites a broad range of insurance products, with primary emphasis on auto and homeowners coverage. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ALL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Allstate Corporation (NYSE:ALL Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Allstate Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Allstate and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. JPMorgan European Discovery (LON:JEDT Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as GBX 631 and last traded at GBX 631, with a volume of 69339 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 629. JPMorgan European Discovery Price Performance The firm has a market cap of 592.82 million, a P/E ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 1.24. The firms fifty day simple moving average is GBX 598.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 584.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.53, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 56.35. Get JPMorgan European Discovery alerts: JPMorgan European Discovery (LON:JEDT Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, December 1st. The company reported GBX 15.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. JPMorgan European Discovery had a return on equity of 17.01% and a net margin of 90.80%. About JPMorgan European Discovery JPMorgan European Smaller Companies Trust plc is a closed ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by JPMorgan Funds Limited. The fund is co-managed by JPMorgan Asset Management (UK) Limited. It invests in the public equity markets of Europe, excluding the United Kingdom. The fund seeks to invest in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. It primarily invests in growth and value stocks of small cap companies. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the Euromoney Smaller European Companies (ex UK) Total Return Index. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for JPMorgan European Discovery Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for JPMorgan European Discovery and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. KBC Group SA (OTCMKTS:KBCSY Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $72.35 and last traded at $72.30, with a volume of 15442 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $70.44. Analysts Set New Price Targets Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on KBCSY shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an overweight rating on shares of KBC Group in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Barclays lowered shares of KBC Group from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded KBC Group from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a sector perform rating on shares of KBC Group in a report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a neutral rating on shares of KBC Group in a research note on Monday, November 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold. Get KBC Group alerts: Get Our Latest Analysis on KBC Group KBC Group Trading Up 2.6% The companys fifty day simple moving average is $65.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.54. KBC Group (OTCMKTS:KBCSY Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.54 billion. KBC Group had a net margin of 15.91% and a return on equity of 13.96%. Equities research analysts predict that KBC Group SA will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current year. KBC Group Company Profile (Get Free Report) KBC Group is a Belgian bank-insurance group headquartered in Brussels that combines retail and commercial banking with life and non-life insurance, asset management, leasing and related financial services. The company operates an integrated bank-insurance model designed to serve both individual consumers and corporate clients, offering deposit accounts, lending and mortgage products, payment and treasury services, pension and protection insurance, investment solutions and wealth management. The groups banking activities include retail and private banking, corporate and commercial banking, and specialized finance such as leasing and factoring. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for KBC Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for KBC Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. London Security plc (LON:LSC Get Free Report)s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as GBX 2,600 and last traded at GBX 3,100, with a volume of 10 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 2,850. London Security Trading Up 8.8% The company has a 50-day moving average price of GBX 2,833 and a two-hundred day moving average price of GBX 3,265.84. The stock has a market cap of 380.06 million, a P/E ratio of 18.33 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.75. About London Security (Get Free Report) London Security plc, an investment holding company, manufactures, sells, and rents fire protection equipment in the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, France, Germany, Denmark, and Luxembourg. It also provides intruder alarms products, as well as fire protection equipment maintenance services. The company offers its products under the Nu-Swift, Ansul, Total, Premier, and Master brands to companies, governments, and private individuals. The company was formerly known as London Securities plc and changed its name to London Security plc in 2003. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for London Security Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for London Security and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH Get Free Report) is expected to be releasing its Q4 2025 results after the market closes on Thursday, February 5th. Analysts expect Molina Healthcare to post earnings of $0.43 per share and revenue of $10.9046 billion for the quarter. Investors can check the companys upcoming Q4 2025 earning summary page for the latest details on the call scheduled for Friday, February 6, 2026 at 8:00 AM ET. Molina Healthcare Stock Performance Shares of Molina Healthcare stock opened at $181.17 on Tuesday. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $171.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $171.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Molina Healthcare has a 12 month low of $133.40 and a 12 month high of $359.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.22 and a beta of 0.49. Get Molina Healthcare alerts: Insider Activity at Molina Healthcare In other news, Director Richard M. Schapiro sold 357 shares of Molina Healthcare stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.02, for a total value of $51,058.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,623,563.04. The trade was a 3.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.26% of the stock is owned by insiders. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MOH. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare by 217.0% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,934,130 shares of the companys stock worth $561,475,000 after buying an additional 2,008,458 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 320.7% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 603,934 shares of the companys stock worth $115,569,000 after acquiring an additional 460,372 shares during the period. Viking Global Investors LP purchased a new stake in Molina Healthcare in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $79,665,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 130.8% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 269,632 shares of the companys stock valued at $51,597,000 after purchasing an additional 152,783 shares during the period. Finally, Man Group plc grew its position in shares of Molina Healthcare by 1,551.9% during the 2nd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 127,132 shares of the companys stock valued at $37,873,000 after purchasing an additional 119,436 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.50% of the companys stock. A number of research firms have recently commented on MOH. Jefferies Financial Group set a $160.00 target price on Molina Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Molina Healthcare from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $224.00 target price on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Molina Healthcare from $207.00 to $167.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Molina Healthcare from $144.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Molina Healthcare currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $193.47. Check Out Our Latest Analysis on MOH Molina Healthcare Company Profile (Get Free Report) Molina Healthcare, Inc is a managed care company specializing in government-sponsored health insurance programs. The company offers Medicaid managed care plans, Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plans, and individual Marketplace plans under the Affordable Care Act. Through an integrated care model, Molina emphasizes preventive and primary care services, care coordination, and disease management to improve health outcomes for its members. The company traces its roots to the early 1980s, when Dr. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Molina Healthcare Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Molina Healthcare and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of Extra Space Storage Inc (NYSE:EXR Free Report) by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 330,952 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after purchasing an additional 11,887 shares during the period. National Pension Services holdings in Extra Space Storage were worth $46,644,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Extra Space Storage during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Extra Space Storage by 60.2% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 213 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Davis Capital Management bought a new stake in Extra Space Storage in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Extra Space Storage in the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Extra Space Storage during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. 99.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Extra Space Storage alerts: Extra Space Storage Stock Down 2.0% NYSE:EXR opened at $135.27 on Tuesday. Extra Space Storage Inc has a twelve month low of $121.03 and a twelve month high of $162.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $135.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.06. Extra Space Storage Announces Dividend Analyst Ratings Changes The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Extra Space Storages dividend payout ratio is 144.64%. A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Extra Space Storage from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Extra Space Storage from $155.00 to $152.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Mizuho upped their price target on Extra Space Storage from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Extra Space Storage from $156.00 to $148.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Extra Space Storage from $148.00 to $146.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $146.53. Get Our Latest Stock Report on EXR Extra Space Storage Profile (Free Report) Extra Space Storage (NYSE: EXR) is a real estate investment trust that specializes in the ownership, development and operation of self-storage properties. The company provides storage solutions for residential and commercial customers, offering a range of unit sizes, climate-controlled units and specialized options such as vehicle and boat storage. Extra Space Storage markets itself as a customer-focused operator, with online rentals, contactless move-in options and ancillary retail products like packing supplies and insurance to support tenant needs. Its business model combines property ownership with third-party management and development activities. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EXR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Extra Space Storage Inc (NYSE:EXR Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Extra Space Storage Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Extra Space Storage and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Nuveen Massachusetts Quality Municipal Income Fund (NYSE:NMT Get Free Report) announced a monthly dividend on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a dividend of 0.064 per share by the financial services provider on Monday, March 2nd. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. Nuveen Massachusetts Quality Municipal Income Fund Stock Up 0.2% Shares of NMT traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $11.72. The stock had a trading volume of 7,612 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,159. The firms 50 day moving average price is $11.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.48. Nuveen Massachusetts Quality Municipal Income Fund has a 52 week low of $10.90 and a 52 week high of $12.33. Get Nuveen Massachusetts Quality Municipal Income Fund alerts: Institutional Trading of Nuveen Massachusetts Quality Municipal Income Fund Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. PFG Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nuveen Massachusetts Quality Municipal Income Fund by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 20,216 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 1,953 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Nuveen Massachusetts Quality Municipal Income Fund during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nuveen Massachusetts Quality Municipal Income Fund by 38.2% during the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 14,460 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $168,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Brookwood Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nuveen Massachusetts Quality Municipal Income Fund by 40.7% in the second quarter. Brookwood Investment Group LLC now owns 22,460 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 6,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Nuveen Massachusetts Quality Municipal Income Fund by 25.1% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 41,665 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $490,000 after buying an additional 8,352 shares in the last quarter. 16.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. About Nuveen Massachusetts Quality Municipal Income Fund Nuveen Massachusetts Quality Municipal Income Fund (NYSE:NMT) is a closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide shareholders with a high level of current income that is exempt from regular U.S. federal income tax. The fund primarily invests in investment-grade municipal securities, with an emphasis on bonds issued by state and local governments and agencies in Massachusetts. Its portfolio includes general obligation bonds, revenue bonds, and other municipal debt instruments that meet the funds credit quality standards. As part of the Nuveen family of investment products, the fund is managed by Nuveens municipal fixed income team. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Nuveen Massachusetts Quality Municipal Income Fund Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Nuveen Massachusetts Quality Municipal Income Fund and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Nuveen Missouri Quality Municipal Income Fund (NYSE:NOM Get Free Report) announced a monthly dividend on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a dividend of 0.061 per share on Monday, March 2nd. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. Nuveen Missouri Quality Municipal Income Fund Stock Performance Shares of Nuveen Missouri Quality Municipal Income Fund stock traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $11.63. The companys stock had a trading volume of 6,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,311. Nuveen Missouri Quality Municipal Income Fund has a 1-year low of $9.63 and a 1-year high of $12.19. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.14. Get Nuveen Missouri Quality Municipal Income Fund alerts: Nuveen Missouri Quality Municipal Income Fund Company Profile (Get Free Report) Nuveen Missouri Quality Municipal Income Fund (NYSE: NOM) is a closed-end investment company that focuses on high-quality, tax-exempt municipal securities issued by the state of Missouri and its political subdivisions. The fund seeks to provide a high level of current income that is exempt from federaland, where applicable, Missouri state and localincome taxes. By concentrating on investment-grade general obligation and revenue bonds, the portfolio aims to balance income potential with capital preservation. Managed by Nuveen Asset Management, a subsidiary of TIAA, the fund employs a disciplined, research-driven approach to credit selection and risk management. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Nuveen Missouri Quality Municipal Income Fund Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Nuveen Missouri Quality Municipal Income Fund and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Nuveen New York Quality Municipal Income Fund (NYSE:NAN Get Free Report) declared a monthly dividend on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a dividend of 0.072 per share by the financial services provider on Monday, March 2nd. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. Nuveen New York Quality Municipal Income Fund Stock Performance NYSE NAN traded up $0.01 on Tuesday, reaching $11.40. 60,083 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 86,194. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $11.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.33. Nuveen New York Quality Municipal Income Fund has a fifty-two week low of $10.69 and a fifty-two week high of $11.89. Get Nuveen New York Quality Municipal Income Fund alerts: Nuveen New York Quality Municipal Income Fund Company Profile (Get Free Report) The Nuveen New York Quality Municipal Income Fund (NYSE: NAN) is a closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide current income exempt from federal and New York State income taxes. The Fund invests principally in a portfolio of investment-grade municipal obligations issued by or on behalf of the State of New York and its political subdivisions. Through its focus on tax-exempt securities, NAN is designed to offer investors an attractive yield advantage relative to taxable alternatives in the New York market. The Funds portfolio is comprised primarily of general obligation and revenue bonds issued by state and local governments, authorities, agencies and instrumentalities within New York. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Nuveen New York Quality Municipal Income Fund Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Nuveen New York Quality Municipal Income Fund and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Peterson Wealth Services acquired a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 59,430 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,926,000. Altria Group makes up approximately 0.9% of Peterson Wealth Services holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Country Trust Bank grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 500 shares of the companys stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Anfield Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 334.7% during the 2nd quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 539 shares of the companys stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the period. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Get Altria Group alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a buy (b) rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. UBS Group upped their price objective on Altria Group from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Argus raised Altria Group to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $62.56. Altria Group Price Performance Shares of NYSE MO opened at $62.30 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.16, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50-day moving average of $59.19 and a 200-day moving average of $61.82. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $51.85 and a fifty-two week high of $68.60. Altria Group (NYSE:MO Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $5.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.02 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 287.61% and a net margin of 29.84%.The businesss revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year. Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the companys board of directors believes its stock is undervalued. Altria Group Announces Dividend The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th were paid a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.8%. Altria Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.16%. About Altria Group (Free Report) Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the companys operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country. Altrias principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Altria Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Altria Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $121.54 and last traded at $120.7150, with a volume of 699151 shares. The stock had previously closed at $116.46. Analyst Ratings Changes Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho increased their target price on PPG Industries from $118.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $113.00 to $112.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on PPG Industries from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on PPG Industries from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $123.71. Get PPG Industries alerts: Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on PPG PPG Industries Stock Up 1.8% The companys 50 day moving average price is $105.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $26.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.08, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.17. PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.06). PPG Industries had a return on equity of 22.67% and a net margin of 9.93%.The company had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.61 earnings per share. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. PPG Industries has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.700-8.100 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year. PPG Industries Announces Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. PPG Industriess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.92%. Insider Transactions at PPG Industries In other news, VP Chancey E. Hagerty sold 2,250 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.59, for a total transaction of $260,077.50. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 8,477 shares of the companys stock, valued at $979,856.43. This represents a 20.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 5,200 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total transaction of $572,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 28,439 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,128,290. The trade was a 15.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in PPG Industries by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,075 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $487,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in PPG Industries by 31.4% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,849 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in PPG Industries by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 26,354 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $2,882,000 after buying an additional 1,526 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in PPG Industries by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 19,600 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock worth $2,143,000 after acquiring an additional 5,667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 12.2% during the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 38,329 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $4,360,000 after acquiring an additional 4,164 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.86% of the companys stock. About PPG Industries (Get Free Report) PPG Industries is a global supplier of paints, coatings and specialty materials that serves industrial, transportation, consumer and construction markets. Founded in 1883 as the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, PPG has evolved from its origins in glass manufacturing into a diversified coatings and materials company headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company develops and manufactures a broad array of products used to protect and enhance surfaces, from consumer paints to highly engineered coatings for demanding industrial applications. PPGs product portfolio includes architectural and decorative paints, automotive original equipment and refinish coatings, industrial coatings for machinery and equipment, protective and marine coatings, aerospace and defense coatings, and packaging coatings and materials. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for PPG Industries Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for PPG Industries and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Hubbell Inc (NYSE:HUBB Free Report) by 4.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 198,675 shares of the industrial products companys stock after selling 9,050 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.s holdings in Hubbell were worth $85,496,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HUBB. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Hubbell by 0.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,646,922 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $2,714,669,000 after buying an additional 21,508 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Hubbell by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,183,405 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $891,724,000 after acquiring an additional 26,708 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Hubbell by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,655,746 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $712,484,000 after acquiring an additional 226,856 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Hubbell by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,532,035 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $625,698,000 after purchasing an additional 9,697 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Hubbell by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,353,824 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $550,571,000 after purchasing an additional 24,110 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.16% of the companys stock. Get Hubbell alerts: Hubbell Trading Up 1.7% NYSE:HUBB opened at $496.25 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $458.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $443.03. The stock has a market cap of $26.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Hubbell Inc has a 12 month low of $299.42 and a 12 month high of $501.32. Hubbell Announces Dividend Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. Hubbells payout ratio is presently 35.24%. A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Hubbell from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reissued a buy (b-) rating on shares of Hubbell in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Hubbell from $417.00 to $458.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $515.00 price objective on shares of Hubbell in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Hubbell from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $497.25. Get Our Latest Stock Report on Hubbell Insider Activity at Hubbell In other Hubbell news, insider Mark Eugene Mikes sold 2,470 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.50, for a total transaction of $1,152,255.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 4,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,232,202.50. This represents a 34.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John F. Malloy bought 435 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $429.24 per share, with a total value of $186,719.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,192,045.40. This represents a 2.33% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 0.76% of the companys stock. Hubbell Profile (Free Report) Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE: HUBB) is an industrial manufacturer and distributor of electrical and electronic products serving a range of end markets including commercial and residential construction, industrial, and utility customers. Founded in 1888 by Harvey Hubbell, the company has a long history in electrical innovation and product development and is headquartered in Connecticut. Hubbell designs, manufactures and sells components and systems that enable the distribution and control of electrical power and provide lighting solutions for indoor and outdoor environments. The companys offerings span a broad portfolio of products used by contractors, utilities, original equipment manufacturers and facility owners. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding HUBB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Hubbell Inc (NYSE:HUBB Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Hubbell Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Hubbell and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Booking, Expedia Group, Travelers Companies, Trip.com Group, MakeMyTrip, Thor Industries, and Allegiant Travel are the seven Travel stocks to watch today, according to MarketBeats stock screener tool. Travel stocks are shares of companies whose primary business is tied to travel and tourismairlines, hotels and resorts, cruise lines, car rental firms, online travel agencies, and related service providers. They typically move with consumer travel demand and economic cycles, showing seasonality and sensitivity to factors like fuel prices, health crises, geopolitics, and travel regulations. Investors often use them to gain exposure to tourism recovery or expansion but must account for higher volatility compared with more defensive sectors. These companies had the highest dollar trading volume of any Travel stocks within the last several days. Get alerts: Booking (BKNG) Booking Holdings Inc, formerly The Priceline Group Inc., is a provider of travel and restaurant online reservation and related services. The Company, through its online travel companies (OTCs), connects consumers wishing to make travel reservations with providers of travel services across the world. It offers consumers an array of accommodation reservations (including hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, apartments, vacation rentals and other properties) through its Booking.com, priceline.com and agoda.com brands. Expedia Group (EXPE) Expedia Group, Inc. operates as an online travel company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through B2C, B2B, and trivago segments. Its B2C segment includes Brand Expedia, a full-service online travel brand offers various travel products and services; Hotels.com for lodging accommodations; Vrbo, an online marketplace for the alternative accommodations; Orbitz, Travelocity, Wotif Group, ebookers, CheapTickets, Hotwire.com and CarRentals.com. Read Our Latest Research Report on EXPE Travelers Companies (TRV) The Travelers Companies, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides a range of commercial and personal property, and casualty insurance products and services to businesses, government units, associations, and individuals in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Business Insurance, Bond & Specialty Insurance, and Personal Insurance. Read Our Latest Research Report on TRV Trip.com Group (TCOM) Trip.com Group Limited, through its subsidiaries, operates as a travel service provider for accommodation reservation, transportation ticketing, packaged tours and in-destination, corporate travel management, and other travel-related services in China and internationally. The company acts as an agent for hotel-related transactions and selling air tickets, as well as provides train, long-distance bus, and ferry tickets; travel insurance products, such as flight delay, air accident, and baggage loss coverage; and air-ticket delivery, online check-in and seat selection, express security screening, real-time flight status tracker, and airport VIP lounge services. Read Our Latest Research Report on TCOM MakeMyTrip (MMYT) MakeMyTrip Limited, an online travel company, sells travel products and solutions in India, the United States, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Peru, Colombia, Vietnam, and Indonesia. The company operates through three segments: Air Ticketing, Hotels and Packages, and Bus Ticketing. Read Our Latest Research Report on MMYT Thor Industries (THO) THOR Industries, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells recreational vehicles (RVs), and related parts and accessories in the United States, Canada, and Europe. The company offers travel trailers; gasoline and diesel Class A, Class B, and Class C motorhomes; conventional travel trailers and fifth wheels; luxury fifth wheels; and motorcaravans, caravans, campervans, and urban vehicles. Read Our Latest Research Report on THO Allegiant Travel (ALGT) Allegiant Travel Company, a leisure travel company, provides travel services and products to residents of under-served cities in the United States. The company offers scheduled air transportation on limited-frequency, nonstop flights between under-served cities and leisure destinations. As of February 1, 2024, it operated a fleet of 126 Airbus A320 series aircraft. Read Our Latest Research Report on ALGT Further Reading Raleigh Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF (BATS:EFV Free Report) by 22.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,394 shares of the companys stock after selling 7,355 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc.s holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF were worth $1,722,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Pandora Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Guerra Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF during the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its position in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF by 257.8% in the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 551 shares of the companys stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the period. Get iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF alerts: iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF Stock Up 45.3% EFV opened at $75.95 on Tuesday. iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF has a twelve month low of $51.05 and a twelve month high of $66.83. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $72.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.00. The company has a market cap of $31.14 billion, a PE ratio of 12.17 and a beta of 0.73. iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF Profile iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares MSCI EAFE Value Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI EAFE Value Index. The Index is a subset of the MSCI EAFE Index and constituents of the Index include securities from Europe, Australasia (Australia and Asia), and the Far East. The Fund invests in sectors, such as financials, energy, healthcare, telecommunication services, industrials, utilities, consumer discretionary, materials, information technology and consumer staples. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EFV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF (BATS:EFV Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Standex International (NYSE:SXI Get Free Report) and ATS (NYSE:ATS Get Free Report) are both mid-cap industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, risk and earnings. Institutional and Insider Ownership 90.4% of Standex International shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.8% of ATS shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.5% of Standex International shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth. Get Standex International alerts: Analyst Recommendations This is a summary of recent recommendations for Standex International and ATS, as provided by MarketBeat. Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Standex International 0 1 4 0 2.80 ATS 1 2 2 0 2.20 Earnings & Valuation Standex International currently has a consensus target price of $272.67, suggesting a potential upside of 10.34%. ATS has a consensus target price of $35.00, suggesting a potential upside of 24.07%. Given ATSs higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe ATS is more favorable than Standex International. This table compares Standex International and ATSs gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation. Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Standex International $790.11 million 3.79 $55.76 million $4.46 55.41 ATS $2.69 billion 1.03 -$20.16 million ($0.01) -2,821.00 Standex International has higher earnings, but lower revenue than ATS. ATS is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Standex International, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks. Risk and Volatility Standex International has a beta of 1.13, indicating that its stock price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ATS has a beta of 1.21, indicating that its stock price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500. Profitability This table compares Standex International and ATSs net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Standex International 6.20% 14.29% 6.44% ATS -0.08% 8.82% 3.37% Summary Standex International beats ATS on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks. About Standex International (Get Free Report) Standex International Corporation, together with subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of various products and services for commercial and industrial markets in the United States and internationally. It operates through five segments: Electronics, Engraving, Scientific, Engineering Technologies, and Specialty Solutions. The Electronics segment offers reed relays, fluid level, proximity, motion, flow, HVAC condensate, and custom electronics sensors; and custom wound transformers and inductors for low and high frequency, current sense technology, advanced planar transformer technology, value added assembly, and mechanical packaging applications under the Standex Electronics, Renco, and Agile Magnetics. The Engraving segment provides mold texturizing, slush molding tools, roll engraving, hygiene product tooling, and low observation vents, as well as project management and design services for stealth aircraft; and process machinery for various industries under the Piazza Rosa, World Client Services, Tenibac-Graphion, GS Engineering, and Innovent brand names. The Scientific segment offers temperature-controlled equipment for the medical, scientific, pharmaceutical, biotech, and industrial markets under the American BioTech Supply, Lab Research Products, Corepoint, Cryosafe, CryoGuard, and Scientific brands. The Engineering Technologies segment offers net and near net formed single-source customized solutions that are used in the manufacture of engineered components for the aviation, aerospace, defense, energy, industrial, medical, marine, oil and gas, and manned and unmanned space markets under the Spincraft brand. The Specialty Solutions segment manufactures and sells refrigerated, heated, and dry merchandizing display cases; and single and double acting telescopic, and piston rod hydraulic cylinders under the Federal and Custom Hoist brands. The company was founded in 1955 and is headquartered in Salem, New Hampshire. About ATS (Get Free Report) ATS Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides automation solutions worldwide. The company is also involved in planning, designing, building, commissioning, and servicing automated manufacturing and assembly systems, including automation products and test solutions. In addition, it offers pre-automation services comprising discovery and analysis, concept development, simulation, and total cost of ownership modelling; post automation services, including training, process optimization, preventative maintenance, emergency and on-call support, spare parts, retooling, retrofits, and equipment relocation; and contract manufacturing services, as well as after sales and services. Further, the company provides engineering design, prototyping, process verification, specification writing, software and manufacturing process controls development, standard automation products/platforms, equipment design and build, third-party equipment qualification, procurement and integration, automation system installation, product line commissioning, validation, and documentation services. Additionally, it offers value engineering, supply chain management, and integration and manufacturing capabilities, as well as other automation products and solutions; and software and digital solutions comprising connected factory floor management systems to capture, analyze, and use real time machine performance data to troubleshoot, deliver process and product solutions, prevent equipment downtime, drive operational efficiency, and unlock performance for sustainable production improvements. ATS Corporation serves life sciences, transportation and mobility, consumer products, food and beverage, electronics, nuclear, packaging, warehousing and distribution, and energy markets. The company was formerly known as ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc. and changed its name to ATS Corporation in November 2022. ATS Corporation was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Canada. Receive News & Ratings for Standex International Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Standex International and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Sandvik AB (OTCMKTS:SDVKY Get Free Report)s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $41.33 and last traded at $41.1425, with a volume of 54084 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $39.66. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In SDVKY has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Sandvik from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating on shares of Sandvik in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Citigroup reissued a buy rating on shares of Sandvik in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a buy rating on shares of Sandvik in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Rothschild Redb raised shares of Sandvik from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sandvik has a consensus rating of Buy. Get Sandvik alerts: Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Sandvik Sandvik Stock Performance The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.78. The company has a market capitalization of $51.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.51. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $33.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.55. Sandvik (OTCMKTS:SDVKY Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.01). Sandvik had a net margin of 12.16% and a return on equity of 17.13%. The business had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.38 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sandvik AB will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sandvik Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SDVKY. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its holdings in Sandvik by 3,795.5% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 857 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 835 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Sandvik by 24.8% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,406 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 1,473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sandvik by 15.9% in the second quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 22,037 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 3,030 shares in the last quarter. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Sandvik Company Profile (Get Free Report) Sandvik (OTCMKTS: SDVKY) is a global engineering group headquartered in Sandviken, Sweden, with roots dating back to 1862 when it was founded by Goran Fredrik Goransson. The company designs, manufactures and services advanced products and solutions for the mining and construction industries, metalworking and material technology markets. Sandvik serves customers worldwide with a broad portfolio of industrial products, equipment and aftermarket services. Sandviks core activities span three broad areas: metal-cutting and machining solutions, mining and rock excavation equipment, and specialty materials and components. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Sandvik Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Sandvik and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. BlackRock MuniYield Michigan Quality Fund, Inc. (NYSE:MIY Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 83,814 shares, an increase of 35.1% from the December 31st total of 62,047 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 45,792 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 45,792 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock MuniYield Michigan Quality Fund during the second quarter worth about $61,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock MuniYield Michigan Quality Fund during the third quarter worth about $84,000. Regal Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock MuniYield Michigan Quality Fund in the third quarter valued at about $146,000. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of BlackRock MuniYield Michigan Quality Fund by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. now owns 28,723 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $317,000 after acquiring an additional 2,199 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Financial Consulting LLC boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock MuniYield Michigan Quality Fund by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Financial Consulting LLC now owns 29,665 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 2,221 shares in the last quarter. 24.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get BlackRock MuniYield Michigan Quality Fund alerts: BlackRock MuniYield Michigan Quality Fund Stock Up 1.9% Shares of NYSE MIY opened at $12.35 on Tuesday. BlackRock MuniYield Michigan Quality Fund has a 12-month low of $10.57 and a 12-month high of $12.48. The company has a 50-day moving average of $11.86 and a 200 day moving average of $11.49. BlackRock MuniYield Michigan Quality Fund Announces Dividend About BlackRock MuniYield Michigan Quality Fund The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.0545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 5.3%. (Get Free Report) BlackRock MuniYield Michigan Quality Fund (NYSE: MIY) is a closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide current income exempt from federal and Michigan personal income taxes. The fund primarily invests in investment-grade municipal securities issued by state and local governments within Michigan. Its portfolio typically includes a diversified mix of general obligation bonds and revenue bonds backed by public utilities, transportation projects, and other essential municipal services. The funds investment strategy emphasizes credit quality and diversification across sectors and maturities. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for BlackRock MuniYield Michigan Quality Fund Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for BlackRock MuniYield Michigan Quality Fund and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX Free Report) by 2,478.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 21,402 shares of the medical equipment providers stock after buying an additional 20,572 shares during the quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLCs holdings in Boston Scientific were worth $2,068,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Steph & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Boston Scientific during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new position in Boston Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Boston Scientific in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. United Community Bank grew its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific by 115.7% during the 3rd quarter. United Community Bank now owns 274 shares of the medical equipment providers stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kilter Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Boston Scientific during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. 89.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Get Boston Scientific alerts: Insider Buying and Selling In related news, EVP Arthur C. Butcher sold 17,313 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.55, for a total transaction of $1,758,135.15. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 23,600 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,396,580. This trade represents a 42.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Ellen M. Zane sold 12,891 shares of Boston Scientific stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.28, for a total value of $1,266,927.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 24,134 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,371,889.52. The trade was a 34.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a buy rating on shares of Boston Scientific in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. National Bankshares set a $115.00 target price on shares of Boston Scientific in a research report on Monday. BTIG Research reissued a buy rating and issued a $132.00 target price on shares of Boston Scientific in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Evercore ISI set a $112.00 price target on shares of Boston Scientific in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a buy rating and issued a $112.00 price objective on shares of Boston Scientific in a research note on Friday, January 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $123.89. Read Our Latest Analysis on Boston Scientific Boston Scientific Price Performance Shares of Boston Scientific stock opened at $91.83 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $136.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.67. The firms 50-day moving average price is $95.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Boston Scientific Corporation has a 1-year low of $85.98 and a 1-year high of $109.50. Boston Scientific Profile (Free Report) Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) is a global medical device company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of products used in less-invasive medical procedures. Founded in 1979 by John Abele and Peter Nicholas, the company is headquartered in Marlborough, Massachusetts, and focuses on technologies that enable physicians to treat a wide range of cardiovascular, digestive, urologic, pulmonary and chronic pain conditions without open surgery. Boston Scientifics activities span product development, clinical research, regulatory affairs and commercial sales. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BSX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Boston Scientific Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Boston Scientific and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Heritage Investors Management Corp lessened its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF Free Report) by 6.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 425,057 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 28,241 shares during the quarter. Heritage Investors Management Corps holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $30,200,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the second quarter worth about $299,360,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 34.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 13,595,381 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $907,356,000 after acquiring an additional 3,494,741 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 149.4% in the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,803,690 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $127,844,000 after purchasing an additional 1,080,389 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the second quarter worth $64,429,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 34.9% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,941,247 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $196,299,000 after purchasing an additional 761,263 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the companys stock. Get Synchrony Financial alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth SYF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, December 8th. They set an outperform rating and a $92.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $92.00 to $84.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, BTIG Research cut their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $100.00 to $96.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $87.05. Synchrony Financial Stock Performance NYSE SYF opened at $73.53 on Tuesday. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $80.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $40.54 and a twelve month high of $88.77. The company has a market capitalization of $26.48 billion, a PE ratio of 7.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.43. Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.16. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.72% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The company had revenue of $3.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.91 EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year. Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Synchrony Financials payout ratio is currently 12.92%. Synchrony Financial declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, October 15th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the companys board of directors believes its stock is undervalued. Insider Activity In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 32,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.80, for a total transaction of $2,329,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 127,100 shares in the company, valued at $9,252,880. This represents a 20.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. Synchrony Financial Company Profile (Free Report) Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF) is a consumer financial services company that specializes in providing point-of-sale financing and private-label, co-branded and branded credit card programs. The company serves as a payments and lending partner to retailers, digital merchants and service providers, offering consumer financing solutions designed to drive customer engagement and sales. Synchrony also operates a direct bank that offers deposit products, including savings accounts and certificates of deposit, which support its funding and customer-facing product suite. Its core product set includes private-label and co-branded credit cards, general-purpose credit cards, installment loan programs and promotional financing options that are integrated into merchants checkout experiences. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SYF? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Synchrony Financial Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Synchrony Financial and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Telefonica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV Get Free Report)s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $14.73 and last traded at $14.6850, with a volume of 302061 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.28. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VIV. Barclays restated an overweight rating and issued a $14.50 price objective on shares of Telefonica Brasil in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Bank of America assumed coverage on Telefonica Brasil in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. They set an underperform rating and a $14.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Telefonica Brasil from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Sunday, January 11th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Telefonica Brasil from a hold (c+) rating to a buy (b-) rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Telefonica Brasil in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Telefonica Brasil presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $13.12. Get Telefonica Brasil alerts: Read Our Latest Report on Telefonica Brasil Telefonica Brasil Trading Up 2.1% The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.72 billion, a PE ratio of 22.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.70. Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 14th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Telefonica Brasil had a net margin of 10.37% and a return on equity of 8.67%. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter. Analysts predict that Telefonica Brasil S.A. will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Telefonica Brasil Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VIV. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 337.7% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 4,233 shares of the Wireless communications providers stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 3,266 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Telefonica Brasil during the 1st quarter worth approximately $52,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 214.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,766 shares of the Wireless communications providers stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 3,248 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 543.7% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,918 shares of the Wireless communications providers stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 4,154 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 45.7% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,163 shares of the Wireless communications providers stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 1,619 shares during the period. 5.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Telefonica Brasil Company Profile (Get Free Report) Telefonica Brasil SA, commonly marketed under the Vivo brand, is one of Brazils largest telecommunications providers, offering a broad range of consumer and enterprise communications services. The companys core activities include mobile voice and data services, fixed-line telephony, broadband internet (including fiber-to-the-home), and pay-TV solutions. It also provides ICT and managed services for business customers, such as cloud, data center, connectivity, Internet of Things (IoT) and security solutions. Vivo operates a nationwide network across Brazil and serves both individual consumers and corporate clients. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Telefonica Brasil Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Telefonica Brasil and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The insurance provider reported $5.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $5.20 by $0.59, Zacks reports. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 21.73%. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.32 EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance Shares of THG stock opened at $173.93 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $6.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 0.32. The business has a 50 day moving average of $178.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $176.40. The Hanover Insurance Group has a 52 week low of $147.76 and a 52 week high of $188.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Get The Hanover Insurance Group alerts: The Hanover Insurance Group Increases Dividend The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th were issued a $0.95 dividend. This is a boost from The Hanover Insurance Groups previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The Hanover Insurance Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.98%. Analysts Set New Price Targets Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on THG shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a buy (b) rating on shares of The Hanover Insurance Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on The Hanover Insurance Group in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They set a sector perform rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on The Hanover Insurance Group from $198.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $199.00. Read Our Latest Report on The Hanover Insurance Group Insiders Place Their Bets In related news, EVP Denise Lowsley sold 1,619 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.47, for a total value of $293,799.93. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,511 shares of the companys stock, valued at $637,141.17. This trade represents a 31.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Hanover Insurance Group Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of THG. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 0.6% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 12,020 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $2,183,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its stake in The Hanover Insurance Group by 6.0% during the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 2,069 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in The Hanover Insurance Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group by 30.6% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 739 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in The Hanover Insurance Group by 3.2% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,182 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $1,050,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.61% of the companys stock. About The Hanover Insurance Group (Get Free Report) The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc (NYSE: THG) is a property and casualty insurance company that provides a range of commercial and personal insurance products. Through its subsidiary companies, Hanover offers coverage for businesses of all sizes, including workers compensation, general liability, commercial auto, and professional liability. On the personal lines side, the company underwrites homeowners, personal auto, flood, and umbrella policies designed to meet the needs of individuals and families. In addition to its core commercial and personal insurance offerings, Hanover maintains a specialty arm that focuses on niche markets through tailored product solutions. See Also Receive News & Ratings for The Hanover Insurance Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for The Hanover Insurance Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its position in GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE:GEV Free Report) by 3.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 681,672 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 22,221 shares during the quarter. WCM Investment Management LLCs holdings in GE Vernova were worth $410,660,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Sachetta LLC lifted its stake in shares of GE Vernova by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 165 shares of the companys stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC raised its stake in GE Vernova by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 1,654 shares of the companys stock valued at $875,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc boosted its position in GE Vernova by 6.7% in the second quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 256 shares of the companys stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Wealth Management LLC grew its position in GE Vernova by 3.6% during the third quarter. Northwest Wealth Management LLC now owns 465 shares of the companys stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, AMG National Trust Bank increased its stake in shares of GE Vernova by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 1,145 shares of the companys stock worth $606,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Get GE Vernova alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes A number of brokerages have issued reports on GEV. William Blair reiterated an outperform rating on shares of GE Vernova in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Susquehanna raised their price target on GE Vernova from $800.00 to $820.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer reissued an outperform rating on shares of GE Vernova in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on GE Vernova from $761.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an overweight rating and set a $817.00 price objective on shares of GE Vernova in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, GE Vernova presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $752.96. Key Stories Impacting GE Vernova Here are the key news stories impacting GE Vernova this week: Positive Sentiment: GEV closed its purchase of the remaining 50% of Prolec GE for $5.275 billion, bringing the North American transformer and electrification leader fully onto GE Vernovas balance sheet a move that should accelerate electrification segment growth and margin capture. Read More. GEV closed its purchase of the remaining 50% of Prolec GE for $5.275 billion, bringing the North American transformer and electrification leader fully onto GE Vernovas balance sheet a move that should accelerate electrification segment growth and margin capture. Read More. Positive Sentiment: Analysts lifted ratings and price targets this week (several reports raising targets into the high $700s), and the stock hit a new 12month high after upgrades signaling renewed buyside conviction following GE Vernovas strong January quarter. Read More. Analysts lifted ratings and price targets this week (several reports raising targets into the high $700s), and the stock hit a new 12month high after upgrades signaling renewed buyside conviction following GE Vernovas strong January quarter. Read More. Positive Sentiment: Highprofile media coverage (Jim Cramer segments and commentary) has highlighted GE Vernovas longrange earnings visibility and upside potential, which tends to boost retail and momentum flows. Read More. Read More. Highprofile media coverage (Jim Cramer segments and commentary) has highlighted GE Vernovas longrange earnings visibility and upside potential, which tends to boost retail and momentum flows. Read More. Read More. Neutral Sentiment: Macro and sector catalysts to watch (U.S. grid spending, nuclear pricing, AI/market timing and Fed rate pivot dates) are flagged as potential 2026 drivers for GE Vernova but are broader market factors rather than companyspecific news. Read More. Macro and sector catalysts to watch (U.S. grid spending, nuclear pricing, AI/market timing and Fed rate pivot dates) are flagged as potential 2026 drivers for GE Vernova but are broader market factors rather than companyspecific news. Read More. Negative Sentiment: GE Vernova launched a registered offering of senior notes to help finance part of the Prolec GE buyout. The planned debt issuance raises nearterm leverage and interestcost risk, which could temper investor enthusiasm depending on size, pricing and market conditions. Read More. GE Vernova Trading Up 4.4% GEV stock opened at $758.06 on Tuesday. GE Vernova Inc. has a 12-month low of $252.25 and a 12-month high of $762.36. The company has a market cap of $205.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.59, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $656.20 and a 200-day moving average of $624.47. GE Vernova (NYSE:GEV Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $13.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $10.40. GE Vernova had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 46.91%. The firm had revenue of $10.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.73 earnings per share. GE Vernovas revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that GE Vernova Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. GE Vernova Increases Dividend The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 5th were given a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from GE Vernovas previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 5th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. GE Vernovas payout ratio is currently 11.24%. GE Vernova Profile (Free Report) GE Vernova is the energy-focused company formed from the energy businesses of General Electric and operates as a publicly listed entity on the NYSE under the ticker GEV. It is organized to design, manufacture and service equipment and systems used across the power generation and energy transition value chain, bringing together legacy capabilities in conventional power, renewables and grid technologies under a single corporate platform. The companys offerings span large-scale power-generation equipment such as gas and steam turbines and associated generators and controls, as well as renewable energy technologies including onshore and offshore wind platforms and hydro solutions. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GEV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE:GEV Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for GE Vernova Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for GE Vernova and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its stake in Flowco Holdings Inc. (NYSE:FLOC Free Report) by 361.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 53,963 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 42,279 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltds holdings in Flowco were worth $801,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of Flowco by 95.6% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,643 shares of the companys stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,292 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Flowco by 183.6% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,667 shares of the companys stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 2,374 shares during the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey raised its position in Flowco by 38.0% in the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 4,785 shares of the companys stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 1,317 shares during the period. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Flowco during the 1st quarter valued at $92,000. Finally, Rice Hall James & Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Flowco in the 3rd quarter worth $154,000. Get Flowco alerts: Flowco Price Performance Flowco stock opened at $21.15 on Tuesday. Flowco Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $14.03 and a 52-week high of $29.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firms fifty day moving average is $18.85 and its 200 day moving average is $17.20. The company has a market cap of $1.90 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.05. Flowco Announces Dividend Insiders Place Their Bets The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Flowcos dividend payout ratio is 10.67%. In other Flowco news, EVP Chad Roberts sold 40,884 shares of Flowco stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.47, for a total transaction of $877,779.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 130,014 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,791,400.58. The trade was a 23.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 155,667 shares of company stock worth $3,023,566. Analyst Ratings Changes Several research analysts have recently commented on FLOC shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an overweight rating on shares of Flowco in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a buy rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Flowco in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reissued a sell (d-) rating on shares of Flowco in a report on Friday, January 9th. Evercore ISI restated an outperform rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Flowco in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Flowco from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $29.60. View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Flowco Flowco Company Profile (Free Report) We are a leading provider of production optimization, artificial lift and methane abatement solutions for the oil and natural gas industry. Our products and services include a full range of equipment and technology solutions that enable our customers to efficiently and cost-effectively maximize the profitability and economic lifespan of the production phase of their operations. Our principal products and services are organized into two business segments: (i) Production Solutions; and (ii) Natural Gas Technologies. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FLOC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Flowco Holdings Inc. (NYSE:FLOC Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Flowco Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Flowco and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Corrupt former comrade and deputy to former Supreme Right Wing Comrade Tony BLiar and Gordo has made a confession about passing Big State secrets to an FSB agent called Epstein, as well as conducting other disgusting acts that contravened the rules of The Party. After his public confession he was liquidated and processed into Net Zero Juice that cool, refreshing drink. I, former comrade, Lord Mandy, otherwise known as the Prince of Darkness masqueraded as a High Party member of the Labour Party for decades whilst all the while handing over Big State secrets to a Russian spy, who I simply adored, and was in love with. He played me like a fiddle for important government information that he used for his benefit and to pass on to his Russian FSB handlers, and other enemy intelligence organisations. I confess to spreading the rumours on orders from Epstein that mass immigration into the UK would benefit the nation. And that for years, since the days of the glorious New Labour BLiar/Gordo revolution that precipitated an influx tantamount to a land, sea and air invasion, I encouraged the Party to implement mass immigration that would ruin the country and benefit our enemies on the orders of Jeffrey Epstein. I have no faith in our future. I forged government documents, announcements, and falsified immigration figures. As a result of my mental disturbance starting from my experiences during the Tony BLiar/Gordo election wars, I was a willing subject of Epsteins influence. I went into the proletarian zones, I had sex with male prostitutes. I deliberately contracted syphilis. It was at this time that I made contact with the resistance. I was personally contacted by the arch traitor Epstein, and ordered to pass forward key Party information and secrets that benefitted the Russian FSB, China and Epstein. My agents forged documents and gained entry to the Ministry of Truth. I have committed, even before setting pen to paper the essential crime that contained the others in itself. Encouraging my agents to deface party posters and boarding announcements. I read and memorised Epsteins orders for 30 years, I have plotted to bring down the party. I was sick in mind and body. I secured travel passes to Epstein Island. My agents travelled freely throughout Epstein Island encouraging insurrection, organising offensives and transmitting further Big State Labour Party secrets to our enemies. Whether youre preparing for university, exploring possible programs, or looking to challenge yourself in a supportive academic environment, the summer academy offers a focused, engaging introduction to university learning and campus life. The program schedule includes a balanced day of activities that supports learning, exploration, and personal growth and opportunities to build friendships with students from across Canada and the world. 9:30am 12:30pm Morning academic sessions 12:30pm 1:30pm Lunch 1:30pm 4:30pm Afternoon academic sessions To get started, youll choose one of the two streams where youll learn about different aspects of the English language. You will choose between two streams: global competency skills or English for university studies. Callan Family Office LLC trimmed its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH Free Report) by 7.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,224 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock after selling 3,985 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 0.6% of Callan Family Office LLCs portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Callan Family Office LLCs holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $17,342,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Get UnitedHealth Group alerts: Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter worth $29,000. Islay Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 69.4% in the 2nd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 105 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.3% UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $285.95 on Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $234.60 and a fifty-two week high of $606.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $259.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.68, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.41. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $330.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $323.72. UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend UnitedHealth Group ( NYSE:UNH Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.02. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 2.69% and a return on equity of 14.79%. The company had revenue of $113.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $113.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.81 earnings per share. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.750- EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year. The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th were given a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 8th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. UnitedHealth Groups payout ratio is currently 67.02%. Trending Headlines about UnitedHealth Group Here are the key news stories impacting UnitedHealth Group this week: Positive Sentiment: Major brokerages retained constructive ratings (buy/overweight) even after trimming targets, leaving meaningful upside from current levels this suggests institutional confidence in UNHs earnings power despite nearterm headwinds. Truist and JPMorgan coverage (Benzinga) Major brokerages retained constructive ratings (buy/overweight) even after trimming targets, leaving meaningful upside from current levels this suggests institutional confidence in UNHs earnings power despite nearterm headwinds. Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary and coverage continue to emphasize UnitedHealths diversified Optum + UnitedHealthcare business and dividend appeal, which can support the stock if fundamentals hold. InsiderMonkey: Wells Fargo note Analyst commentary and coverage continue to emphasize UnitedHealths diversified Optum + UnitedHealthcare business and dividend appeal, which can support the stock if fundamentals hold. Neutral Sentiment: Feature/analysis pieces are debating whether UNH still merits a premium valuation useful context for investors reassessing target multiples but not an immediate catalyst. Forbes valuation analysis Feature/analysis pieces are debating whether UNH still merits a premium valuation useful context for investors reassessing target multiples but not an immediate catalyst. Negative Sentiment: Several firms cut price targets: Truist trimmed its target (from $410 to $370) and JPMorgan cut its target (from $425 to $389) these downgrades lower the nearterm brokerage consensus and can pressure the stock. Benzinga: Truist & JPMorgan notes Several firms cut price targets: Truist trimmed its target (from $410 to $370) and JPMorgan cut its target (from $425 to $389) these downgrades lower the nearterm brokerage consensus and can pressure the stock. Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo reduced its target (reported cuts to ~$370), and multiple outlets are flagging broader analyst target trims tied to regulatory and reimbursement uncertainty a clear negative catalyst for sentiment. American Banking News: Wells Fargo cuts Wells Fargo reduced its target (reported cuts to ~$370), and multiple outlets are flagging broader analyst target trims tied to regulatory and reimbursement uncertainty a clear negative catalyst for sentiment. Negative Sentiment: Coverage noting regulatory headwinds and analysts trimming forecasts has already correlated with share weakness in recent trading sessions. Investors should watch upcoming regulatory commentary, earnings cadence, and any changes to Medicare/Medicaid policy that could affect margins. Aktiencheck: regulatory headwinds Coverage noting regulatory headwinds and analysts trimming forecasts has already correlated with share weakness in recent trading sessions. Investors should watch upcoming regulatory commentary, earnings cadence, and any changes to Medicare/Medicaid policy that could affect margins. Negative Sentiment: Market reaction has already shown downside pressure following analyst actions (reports of shares falling after downgrades), so shortterm momentum is unfavorable until clarity returns. American Banking News: share reaction Wall Street Analyst Weigh In UNH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $411.00 to $409.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler reiterated an overweight rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $333.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Leerink Partners dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $410.00 to $345.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $375.46. Get Our Latest Research Report on UnitedHealth Group UnitedHealth Group Company Profile (Free Report) UnitedHealth Group Inc is a diversified health care company headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, that operates two primary business platforms: UnitedHealthcare and Optum. Founded in 1977, the company provides a broad range of health benefits and health care services to individuals, employers, governmental entities and other organizations. Its operations span commercial employer-sponsored plans, individual and Medicare and Medicaid programs, and services for customers and health systems in the United States and selected international markets. UnitedHealthcare is the companys benefits business, administering health plans and networks, managing provider relationships, and offering coverage products for employers, individuals, and government-sponsored programs. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for UnitedHealth Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for UnitedHealth Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Peterson Wealth Services lessened its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ Free Report) by 77.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,903 shares of the cell phone carriers stock after selling 23,603 shares during the quarter. Peterson Wealth Services holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Get Verizon Communications alerts: A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 372,787,016 shares of the cell phone carriers stock valued at $16,130,494,000 after acquiring an additional 4,615,075 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 208,213,255 shares of the cell phone carriers stock valued at $9,009,388,000 after purchasing an additional 4,205,449 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 100,326,792 shares of the cell phone carriers stock valued at $4,322,700,000 after buying an additional 1,101,504 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,504,150,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 21.5% in the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 21,159,040 shares of the cell phone carriers stock worth $915,552,000 after buying an additional 3,743,892 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Verizon Communications Price Performance Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $44.73 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The company has a fifty day moving average of $40.41 and a 200-day moving average of $41.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $188.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.33. Verizon Communications Increases Dividend Verizon Communications ( NYSE:VZ Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The companys revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year. The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communicationss previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Verizon Communicationss dividend payout ratio is 68.15%. Analysts Set New Price Targets Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. William Blair upgraded Verizon Communications to an outperform rating in a research report on Monday. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.25 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Monday. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued an equal weight rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $48.55. View Our Latest Stock Report on VZ Verizon Communications News Roundup Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon Communications this week: Verizon Communications Profile (Free Report) Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers. The companys consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VZ? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Verizon Communications Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Verizon Communications and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. St Patricks and St Josephs Primary School in Garvagh is one of six organisations and schools awarded funding by the Lidl Northern Ireland Green Fund. The primary school secured 4,200 in funding to develop a Biodiversity Trail on the school grounds, supporting the schools wider commitment to sustainability and environmental learning. The Lidl Green Fund, which launched last year in partnership with Business in the Community Northern Ireland, is designed to support local initiatives addressing key environmental challenges across climate action, biodiversity, circular economy and sustainable living. A total fund of 25,000 was awarded, with one project selected from each county across Northern Ireland. Schools, charities and community groups from across the region applied, with each winning project receiving up to 4,200 to help deliver sustainable, community-focused initiatives. County Derry winners, St Patricks and St Josephs Primary School, plan to develop a biodiversity trail around the school grounds, which border Garvagh Forest. The trail will support interactive outdoor learning, with natural signage identifying a variety of plant and tree species found within the surrounding environment. And incorporating a digital element, pupils will be able to scan QR codes along the trail, linking to an online platform featuring information researched and created by the children themselves. This will include recorded sounds of local biodiversity, along with stories and facts gathered about different species, further strengthening the schools commitment to sustainability and environmental education. Catherine Ball, Principal of St Patricks and St Josephs said: As an Eco-School, this project reflects our commitment to understanding and valuing the environment around us, made up of both people and the wider natural world. "Funding from the Lidl Green Fund will be invaluable in helping us develop our biodiversity trail and teach children the importance of caring for the natural environment in which we live, helping to secure a greener future. "Providing a safe outdoor space where children can learn about and explore nature will be a fantastic asset to our school, supporting both pupil wellbeing and our sustainability goals. Elaine OConnor, Head of Sustainability at Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland commented: The Lidl Green Fund was launched to support sustainable, local projects that aim to tackle key environmental challenges across climate and biodiversity, circular economy and sustainable living, for the benefit of towns and villages throughout Northern Ireland. "As a responsible retailer, and leader in sustainability, we have a responsibility to educate and support our customers and the communities in which we operate to lead more sustainable lives. We are excited to see how each of our winners across Northern Ireland use the funding to create a greener future. A man has been sentenced at Derry Magistrate's Court for driving while intoxicated as well as driving with no licence and no insurance. Gabriel Buzincu (22) of no fixed abode was charged on February 2 after police were called to reports of a van driving rapidly. The van was located on CCTV and was found still running and with the lights on. Buzincu was found in the vehicle and police could smell intoxicating liquor and found two open beer cans, with Buzincu repeatedly telling police 'I speak no English'. An initial breath test gave a fail reading and an evidentiary test gave a reading of 53mgs with the legal limit being 35mgs. Police also found that Buzincu had no driving licence and no insurance. Defence solicitor Roma McGeady said that Buzincu is a construction worker who has been working in the city for two months. She said that, on Sunday, he had a day off and went with a workmate to find a discotheque but the two eventually got separated. READ NEXT: Derry man granted bail following hospital curfew breach The workmate, they had agreed, was the designated driver and Buzincu made a 'foolish mistake' and tried to make his own way home as he had the keys to the vehicle. She added that he 'apologised unreservedly' to the court and assured that he has never done anything like that before. He was given a 15 month disqualification from driving and ordered to pay a fine of 600. The Northern Ireland Social Care Council (the Social Care Council) hosted a special event showcasing the benefits of apprenticeships in social care for both employers and social care practitioners. Social care may not be the first thing that comes to mind when we think about apprenticeships. Todays event was an opportunity to change this by providing a one-stop-shop about what social care apprenticeships are all about for employers, those interested in becoming one, and how theyre being developed across Northern Ireland. Debbie Walton, Director of Unique Homecare NI attended the event and said: Apprenticeships are an increasingly used in organisations such as ours to ensure new staff benefit from on-the-job training and the experience of their colleagues at the same time. It also gives them the opportunity to begin earning as they learn as soon as they start their new role. Social care apprenticeships are a great way for people to start a new job, but an even better way to start on a new career journey as they learn and develop through the Care in Practice (CiP) Framework. We will continue to support staff with social care apprenticeships as they enable us provide the community with a highly trained, dedicated workforce in the profession of social care. Focussing on the theme of Empowering social care: Apprenticeships for tomorrows workforce the information shared at the event highlighted the benefits to both individuals and employers that social care apprenticeships can bring. There were presentations from the Department for Economy plus insights from the Department for Communities and the Sectoral Partnership Review Group. A question and answer session also allowed attendees to engage with employers, providers and apprentices. Social Care Council Chief Executive Tracy Reid knows how important growing routes into social care are to deliver the reform work underway, saying: Apprenticeships in social care are one way to ensure that Northern Ireland has a skilled and qualified social care workforce built for the future needs of communities, from within communities. Not everyone knows that a social care apprenticeship is an option for them our role is to bring together employers and organisations to develop this option as a valuable path into a career in social care. A social care apprenticeship can be the first step on the Care in Practice (CiP) Framework, which supports those who work as social care practitioners to build a meaningful career path towards higher roles and qualifications. Apprenticeships provide free, vocational qualifications for individuals who can earn while they gain experience in their role, benefitting from the knowledge of more experienced colleagues in the sector. READ NEXT: 3.6m Wastewater Network Upgrade underway in Bellaghy For employers, apprenticeships help to develop skilled, experienced employees and in some cases, government funding is available to help fund the cost of training. You can find out useful links on social care apprenticeships both for individuals and employers on the Social Care Council website. You can also hear from social care apprentice Josh about his experience of this route info social care here. Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content. Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist. If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter . Support our mission and join our community now. The first police officer to visit Noah Donohoes house following his disappearance in 2020 has said he is content with the notes he took during his initial meeting with the schoolboys mother. The officer faced questioning at an inquest into why he had made only six lines of notes in his pocket notebook about the meeting with Fiona Donohoe, hours after Noah had gone missing. Noah was 14 when he was found dead in a storm drain in north Belfast in June 2020, six days after leaving home on his bike to meet two friends in the Cavehill area of the city. A post-mortem examination found his cause of death was drowning. The inquest, which is being heard with a jury, is in its third week. Noahs mother has attended every day of the proceedings. The first police witness gave evidence to Belfast Coroners Court on Tuesday. The officer, who was a constable at the time, said he was made aware of a missing person investigation on the evening of June 21 2020. He told Belfast Coroners Court that he spoke to Fiona Donohoe on the phone and later attended her home address in south Belfast. Reading from his statement about Noahs disappearance, the officer said: It was also noted that this type of behaviour was completely out of character for the missing person and he would usually be home long before 10pm. He had no access to cash or access to a vehicle, apart from his bicycle. He said Ms Donohoe told him that her son had been very emotional earlier in the day. The officer said Noah was not someone who had come to the attention of police before. The officers log entry said he had searched Noahs bedroom. It said the room was extremely tidy and there was nothing to suggest the missing person did not intend to come home. He told the jury he was used to dealing with missing persons investigations. The officer told the jury that the risk assessment in the missing person investigation was changed to high after he spoke to Noahs friend Charlie Rocks, who told him the plan to visit Cavehill was cancelled because of the weather. Barrister Brenda Campbell KC, who represents Ms Donohoe, suggested the first 24 to 48 hours are critical in a missing person investigation. She said: Time equals survivability, do you agree with that? The officer said he agreed. The barrister showed the jury a PSNI service procedure document for dealing with missing persons. Ms Campbell said the service procedure document stated that all relevant details should be recorded in an officers pocket notebook. The officers notebook from the night was shown to the jury Ms Campbell said: We have over a 12-hour shift, six lines, including when you commenced, what your call sign was and when you terminated, so actually four lines in relation to this missing person investigation. Is it fair to say that all relevant details were not recorded in your pocket? The officer said he was content with the notebook. Ms Campbell said: I dont suggest that youre in a club of one officer who hasnt completed a detailed notebook entry, but I think you would agree that you didnt? The officer said he had not highlighted every action in his notebook but said all relevant information had been recorded separately in the occurrence enquiry log (OEL). Ms Campbell said: We dont see anywhere in your notebook a record of what she said, words she used, information that she gave you. Do you agree? The officer said those details had been recorded by the call handler who had earlier dealt with Ms Donohoes 999 call. Ms Campbell said: When the service procedure says you should record details in your notebook, and when the aide to the investigation says you should complete investigation details in your notebook, and when youre familiar day to day with missing persons inquiries, why dont you do that as a matter of practice? The officer said: Im quite content with my actions in relation to that night, in relation to taking details off the reporting person, it may not have been ideal for me to be sitting with my head in my notebook, writing down notes continuously. A second officer gave evidence to the inquest after lunch. The constable took over as the point of contact in the search for Noah on June 22, the day after the schoolboy went missing. The constable told the court his colleague had sent a text message to Noahs phone asking him to contact police and that he was not in any trouble. The officer said he had been liaising with Ms Donohoe through the day and said she had been distressed. Ms Campbell also raised concerns about the notes that this officer had taken in his meetings with Ms Donohoe. The barrister said: There isnt a single contemporaneous note of anything that exchanged between you and Fiona at all throughout the day on the 22nd. The constable told the court he had updated the OEL. Ms Campbell challenged the officer over a statement he had provided to the inquest dated from January 2021 where he stated Ms Donohoe had used the phrase very weepy to describe Noah before he went missing. She said: Im going to suggest to you that youre wrong about any suggestion that Fiona ever said that. Do you think thats possible? The constable responded: I dont believe Im wrong with what Ive written here. Earlier, the inquest heard about the moment Noahs mobile phone was discovered while he was missing. Adelaide Armstrong told Belfast Coroners Court she was walking in Castleton Park on June 22 2020, the day after Noah disappeared, when she saw a black mobile phone lying in a grassy area. She said: I checked and the phone was off, and I took it home to charge and see if I could contact the owner. Ms Armstrong said the screen of the phone was broken, and it was possible it had been thrown into the park. She added that she found it four or five feet from the park railings. Ms Armstrong said she turned the phone back on after charging it and saw there were missed calls from a number listed as Mum. She told the court: I think I actually tried ringing that number first, and was just ringing out. And then I saw another number, and I tried to ring that, that was the police. The inquest continues. Academic selection is negatively impacting children, the Northern Ireland Assembly has heard. Sinn Fein MLA Cathy Mason urged Education Minister Paul Givan to phase out its use during a motion debated at Stormont on Tuesday. A previous state-run transfer test was scrapped by then education minister Caitriona Ruane in 2007. However, most grammar schools in Northern Ireland use a privately run transfer test to select their Year 8 intake each year. Ms Mason described a high-stake exam for 10 and 11-year-olds as they are already preparing for the daunting transition to post-primary school. In a motion supported by her party colleagues Pat Sheehan and Danny Baker, Ms Mason described a brutal system. She said there is an extensive body of evidence, including from the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, of the negative impact of academic selection on childrens well-being, educational outcomes, and social mobility. Her motion called on Mr Givan to take steps to phase out the use of academic selection and transfer tests in post-primary admissions, and instead develop and implement a fair, inclusive and non-selective system. SDLP MLA Cara Hunter proposed an amendment to the motion which called on Mr Givan to introduce a clear timeline for ending academic selection. She said her party, throughout its existence, has called for an end to academic selection to ensure equality of opportunity for young people. She added: Its welcome that the Assembly is discussing this important issue, but todays motion is non-binding and will not deliver the change needed. It has been brought forward by Sinn Fein, the party who failed to end this practice when they held the education portfolio and actually made the system worse, privatising the transfer test system and creating chaos and confusion for schools in the process. Talking about academic selection will not make it disappear. This cannot be a one-day debate. The Executive and the Education Minister must act and use all of the tools at their disposal. The current system continues to fail young people, forcing children into an unfair and anxiety-driven ranking process at 10 or 11 years of age, with consequences that follow them throughout their education and beyond. However some unionist MLAs spoke in favour of academic selection, including DUP MLA David Brooks who said the transfer test allowed him personally the opportunity to attend a grammar school. This issue has strong opinions, and raises passions, on which views can be polarised but let us be honest about what academic selection is, and what it is not, it is not a judgment on a childs worth, he said. At best academic selection is about matching children to the education environment where they are most likely to thrive, of course it can be stressful, such is the nature of exams. For generations, children from working class families, many without an academic tradition at home, have used grammar schools as a ladder of opportunity. I, as the son of a fitter in Shorts and an entry grade civil servant, was able to attend one of the best academic schools in the country, and that was by academic ability, not whether my parents could afford to pay private fees or buy a house in the right catchment area. Responding, Education Minister Paul Givan said it is a choice for schools as to whether they use academic selection. There is no agreement on the best path forward, not among schools, principals, teachers, parents or indeed young people themselves, he said. Schools choose to include academic selection as their criteria, they can abolish it. How many advocates here have went into those schools and said youre wrong, change your process?. Every year thousands of parents choose to enter their children in the transfer procedure. It is not of course now a state test, and entry is a matter of individual choice. In the absence of consensus, we face a choice. We can continue to expend time and energy on a debate that polarises parents, divides schools and entrenches public disagreement or we can focus our collective efforts where they can have the greatest impact, improving outcomes for children. MLAs passed the motion with the SDLP amendment by 47 votes to 30. Stormont Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins has been pressed to do more to tackle potholes on roads across Northern Ireland. Ms Kimmins was brought to the Assembly by an urgent oral question on the issue. She said almost 50,000 defects have been reported in the last three months alone. Last week, there was a report that a funeral limousine was unable to finish its journey in Belfast after being left with two flat tyres after travelling on a road with a large pothole. Infrastructure Minister to answer Urgent Question tabled by the DUP on potholes at 2.45pm this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/tfpk567lwf DUP (@duponline) February 3, 2026 Outside the Assembly chamber, the Road Haulage Association (RHA) said poorly maintained roads cause delays and add to costs for many businesses. RHA policy lead James Barwise told Press Association: Poorly maintained roads are causing misery for road users here every day, creating delays, diversions and adding to already high costs for many businesses. The sheer volume of reported pothole-related incidents highlights the short-term nature of many repairs happening across the country. Were calling for funds to be allocated and ring-fenced specifically for longer-term fixes. Road investment is the foundation upon which the economy depends. Its clear that much more needs to be done urgently to deliver safe and fit for purpose roads which drivers deserve. DUP MLA Jonathan Buckley put the urgent oral question to Ms Kimmins in the Assembly on Tuesday, and urged the minister to further prioritise road maintenance, describing a peoples priority. People want potholes fixed. Drivers need safe roads they can rely on, he said. The public is fed up with excuses. The pothole pandemic needs a cure, but the minister doesnt seem to have one. Responding, Ms Kimmins said she has been working with her officials to maximise what resources they have, but said 1.6 billion is needed to properly maintain our road network. She said announced a 30 million package for roads maintenance before Christmas and hope to announce the detail of a further package of measures in the coming days. Were looking at a longer term strategy, were seeing more and more extreme weather every year, were trying to deal with this as responsibly as possible, she told MLAs. In the last three months we have seen 49,000 defects in our roads, that didnt happen overnight, that is because of significant under investment in our road network for many many years. I am committed to doing all that I can, and working with my officials to see how we can best respond, and maximise. The latest in the series of the Connections Peace Barrier Projects Did Ye Hear About? conversations will see Ray Bassett, the longest-serving Irish government official in the north, joining former Journal Editor, Pat McArt in Derry's Gasyard Centre, to reveal his thoughts about the Good Friday Agreement and what the future holds for the island of Ireland. This major event will he held on Tuesday, February 17 at 2.00pm. Born in Dublin, Ray Bassett was a key figure behind the scenes during the peace process, eventually becoming Joint Secretary to the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference in Belfast. He later served as Irish ambassador to Canada, Jamaica and the Bahamas. In 2020 he published a book Ireland and the EU Post Brexit and last year published his latest book The Travellers Tale, a behind-the-scenes account of his role as an Irish diplomat during the Northern Ireland Peace Process. In that publication he details the vital work of the travellers a group in the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin who first travelled North long before the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. Speaking recently, Ray Bassett stated: When the Troubles broke out it was clear Dublin really hadnt a clue what was going on across the Border. Intelligence gathering had been left to the Gardai and they were not equipped in any shape or form to carry out that role. So, a number of colleagues and myself were dispatched to get a handle on what was really happening. Our work went on for years. There were some real security concerts at the outset as we travelled to all arts and parts, particularly some loyalist areas where representatives from the Dublin government were not exactly embraced with open arms. But we kept going. We talked to numerous people from all sections of the community. And we got to know their concerns. That was essential to our understanding of the Troubles." READ NEXT: Derry's Brook Hall Estate to host al fresco Valentines feast Ray added: It is my contention the peace process was built on the back of that work. Talking to people on the ground was, as I said, absolutely essential. Bertie Ahern told me that every Sunday morning he would sit down and go through our reports. Brian Cowen the same. It shaped what was to be future Irish government policy. Speaking about next weeks event, Chris McDonagh, organiser said: We are very excited to host Ray Bassett as part of our 'Did Ye Hear About' series. Our ability to attract a speaker of Ray's calibre is a testament to the importance of the difficult conversations that we are having in our community, addressing the issues of the past in an effort to strengthen our peace and move reconciliation forward. Mr. Bassett is one of few, uniquely placed to provide insight to the nuance and sensitivities of the negotiations that got the Good Friday Agreement across the line and helped deliver peace here. We look forward to exploring Ray's long career in diplomacy and his thoughts on the future of our island. To reserve your seat please CLICK HERE to register. A powerful and emotive play written by a survivor of a mother and baby institution will be performed at the Millennium Forum on February 23 and 24, following its sell-out tour in 2024. The Marian Hotel is a moving drama based on the real-life experiences of Derry writer Caitriona Cunningham, who gave birth to her daughter while in the Marianvale home in Newry. The play, which sold out 14 venues across the north of Ireland, including the Playhouse Theatre in October 2024, received huge public and critical acclaim, with standing ovations at every venue. This new tour, produced by Derry-based theatre company Sole Purpose Productions, opens at Liverpools Unity Theatre on 6 February, before visiting further venues in Letterkenny, Armagh, Limavady, and Derry. Patricia Byrne, Artistic Director of Sole Purpose Productions and director of the play, said: The play is a searing portrayal of a dark time in Irish history. Victims suffer ongoing trauma related to abuse in the institutions, reflecting the legacy of a deep culture of shame about unmarried mothers in Irish society. Professor Phil Scraton, member of the Truth Recovery Design Panel set up to investigate the institutions, said: I have seen The Marian Hotel in Newry, Derry and Belfast and each time was moved by the excellence of Caitriona's writing, Patricia's direction and the cast's brilliant performance. It has taken the hidden realities of mother and baby institutions, Magdalene Laundries and workhouses to a wider audience. This tour will give more people the opportunity to find out the truth of what happened. Set in 1979 against the backdrop of the Troubles, the play follows 19-year-old Kitty from Derry, who enters the home after becoming pregnant. She meets other young women in similar situations, and together they form a bond as they endure the strict regime and rigid discipline of the institution. Despite the Spartan conditions, poor food and hard work in the laundry, the women find humour in adversity sarcastically dubbing the institution The Marian Hotel. The play aims to dispel shame and address the trauma faced by young women in a brutal system that forced many unmarried mothers to give up their babies. READ NEXT: Derry tourism leaders forge 'Celtic Connections' in Glasgow for 2026 Caitriona Cunningham, the writer, said: "I hope that audiences will get a sense of how things were for unmarried pregnant women, how 'given up for adoption should have been termed 'taken for adoption. These institutions are part of our recent history, the effects they have had on our society still reverberate today. Many women and their children were never reunited, for some it is too late but I hope that this play will help to open up discussions and that ultimately there will be no more shame, she added. Sole Purpose Productions, a theatre company known for developing new writing from marginalised voices, has supported the play from its inception, with funding from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland Commissioning Programme in 2023. Patricia Lavery, Head of Community Arts and Education at the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, said: The Arts Council of Northern Ireland is proud to support Sole Purpose Productions and this second tour of The Marian Hotel, thanks to The National Lottery players. This production demonstrates the power of the arts in shining a light on and creating discussion around important societal issues, helping to promote understanding, compassion and healing. Congratulations to all involved. The production has also received 10,160 from Arts Council England through its National Lottery-funded Project Grants programme. The project is further supported by Culture Ireland and generous donations from the public. Patricia Byrne added: We are truly grateful to the funders and all those who donated to make this tour possible. It is a testament to the play, to the impact it has had on the community of survivors, and to how it has resonated with the Irish public and Irish diaspora. For more information on how to book tickets for The Marian Hotel, and to learn more about Sole Purposes creative work with survivors of mother and baby institutions, visit www.solepurpose.org. Brazilian operator TIM SA is reportedly in talks to reacquire its stake in fibre company I-Systems in a deal that could be valued at around BRL900 million (US$170 million), Reuters reported. Telecom Italia, TIM SAs parent company, sold its interest in the fibre business then known as FiberCo - to IHS Towers in 2021 under a sale-and-leaseback arrangement. In a filing to the securities regulator, TIM SA said it is in non-binding discussions with IHS Brazil over a potential buyback of the stake in I-Systems, although no agreement has been reached on price or deal structure. If completed, the transaction would run counter to the recent trend of operators selling passive infrastructure assets to help fund costly 5G rollouts. Sources speaking to Reuters said the deal could be worth around BRL900 million, with Rothschild acting as advisor, and noted that Telecom Italia is keen to progress the transaction. Any agreement could be approved later this month when the companys board meets to review full-year results. TIM SAs move would mirror that of rival Vivo, which regained ownership of its fibre venture FiBrasil last year. China's wetland conservation drive pays off 16:10, February 03, 2026 By Hou Liqiang ( China Daily A group of Asian openbill storks forage and play along the riverside at Dianxi River Wetland Park in Mile, Yunnan province, on Sunday. Pu Jiayong/For China Daily With sustained conservation and restoration efforts, China has added or rejuvenated more than 1 million hectares of wetlands since 2012, solidifying its position as the country with the largest expanse of wetlands in Asia and the fourth largest in the world. This was announced by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration on Monday, the 30th World Wetlands Day. The administration added that the achievement was realized through more than 3,800 projects. The theme for this year's World Wetlands Day was "Wetlands and Traditional Knowledge: Celebrating Cultural Heritage". "China has achieved historic progress in wetland conservation, establishing a new framework that combines prioritized restoration with categorized protection," the administration said in a statement. Highlighting wetlands as one of the Earth's three major ecosystems with irreplaceable ecological, social, economic and cultural values, the administration said that China has continuously strengthened legal safeguards for wetland conservation. While a dedicated national law for wetland conservation took effect in 2022, 21 provincial-level regions have since formulated or revised their relevant regulations, it noted. China has also established and refined a tiered wetland management system. The administration said the country has designated 82 wetlands of international importance, 80 of national importance, and 1,208 at the provincial level. In the meantime, 903 national wetland parks have been established, with approximately 90 percent offering free admission to the public, the administration said. These parks witness around 320 million tourist visits annually. The administration also highlighted its efforts to enhance mangrove forest conservation at home and abroad. Since 2012, 9,200 hectares of mangrove forests have been planted in the country. China has also stepped up efforts to develop the International Mangrove Center. Launched in late 2024, the center has expanded its consortium of interested member nations to 20. At a news conference on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian highlighted the International Mangrove Center's global outreach. The center, he said, has fostered international cooperation on mangrove conservation and knowledge-sharing with partners in regions including Southeast Asia and Africa. It also runs specialized workshops that offer policy, technical and management training for participants from Global South countries, he added. Meanwhile, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration outlined key priorities for wetlands conservation during the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period. According to the administration, the country will advance work on refining the legal framework for wetland conservation and establishing a total wetland area control system. Other focal points are enhancing baseline surveys, dynamic monitoring and early warning systems for wetland ecosystems. In the Zhalong National Nature Reserve in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, these national efforts are vividly illustrated on a daily basis. At this globally significant freshwater reed marsh, a comprehensive monitoring network is in place, integrating remote sensing from space, video surveillance from towers, drones in the air and on-site patrols. "With this integrated monitoring network for biodiversity conservation, we are enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of wetland conservation," said Zhang Jianfei, director of the reserve's protection center. On the front line, rangers patrol the 210,000-hectare expanse with handheld BeiDou navigation devices. When a path ends, drones become the eyes in the sky, feeding high-definition images back to enrich the reserve's species recognition database. "Supported by these technological means, the reserve administration has managed to rescue more rare birds than ever before," said Xu Jiong, an employee at the reserve, adding that 28 birds from 15 rare species were rescued in 2025 alone. These efforts are yielding remarkable results. The population of wild red-crowned crane, a species under first-class State protection in China, in the reserve has remained stable at around 300, making the area the world's largest breeding ground for the species, according to the reserve. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Managed IoT connectivity services specialist Vodafone IoT and Hyundai Motor Group have partnered to deploy regulatory-compliant in-car connectivity to Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Vodafone IoT explains that it provides Hyundai Motor Group with seamless in-car connectivity in the Middle East thanks to its Global SIM+ solution which dynamically turns its Global IoT SIM into a local SIM. This offers local network credentials, data routing, compliance with national laws and seamless cross-border connectivity making it easier and more efficient for carmakers and manufacturers to launch services in regulated countries, as well as giving them global access to connected services. These capabilities are strengthened by Vodafone IoTs partnerships with local network providers such as e& UAE who assure compliance and provide network resilience and reliable connectivity. Together, the network partners provide extensive coverage in the region, advanced IoT capabilities and local expertise. Combined with Vodafone IoTs managed connectivity platform, which integrates directly into the local network partners infrastructure, manufacturers can manage their global IoT estate from a single platform giving them global reach and centralised control over their operations. Building on these capabilities, customers for Hyundai, Kia and Genesis cars in the Middle East will gain access to a wide range of connected car features, including remote vehicle control, real-time status monitoring, and enhanced convenience services. Vodafone IoT and Hyundai say they plan to expand their in-car connectivity partnership to new countries within the Middle East and Africa in the near future. India has updated its duty-free baggage rules, and the new rules have been implemented from February 2, 2026. Under the revised rules, the general free allowance for goods has been increased. Different limits are set for residents, visitors of Indian origin, and foreign tourists. Furthermore, a new provision has also been added that allows passengers to carry one laptop duty-free. On the contrary, rules for land arrivals now face stricter limits, and pooling of allowances remains prohibited. Officials say risk-based checks will deter misuse while protecting genuine travellers during routine screening. Here is what differs in the 2026 updated guidelines when compared to the earlier 2016 rules. Survey Thank you for completing the survey! The new guidelines state that the passengers are allowed duty-free clearance of used personal effects required for daily necessities, as long as these items are not meant for sale. For goods other than personal effects, a general free allowance has been raised from Rs 50,000 to Rs 75,000 for residents, tourists of Indian origin, and foreigners holding a valid visa. Also read: Elon Musks SpaceX acquires xAI with plans for AI data centres in space The authorities have clearly stated that this allowance applies to passengers landing on the Indian real estate by air or sea. They further clarified that the rule only applies to adults, as per the Indian law, anyone above 18 years. The goods must be carried either on the person or in bona fide accompanied baggage. For foreign tourists arriving by air or sea, the authorities stated that they are eligible for a higher duty-free allowance of Rs 25,000, increased from the earlier limit of Rs 15,000. Do note that the rule can not be applied to infants. Also read: OpenAI launches Codex macOS app for agentic coding: Features, availability and other details For passengers entering India by land, the rules remain stricter. Only used personal effects required for daily life are allowed duty-free, and no monetary allowance applies for other goods. Additionally, the authorities clarified that the goods must be carried either on the person or in bona fide accompanied baggage. Along with a revised general free allowance for goods, the government has also given the formal permission to bring one new laptop duty-free. However, this benefit is available to passengers aged 18 years or above, except crew members, provided the laptop is carried in bona fide baggage. Also read: Apple iPhone 17e launch timeline, India pricing, camera, battery and all other leaks Customs officials say the rules also strengthen risk-based checks to prevent misuse while ensuring genuine travellers are not inconvenienced. Lastly, the rules also clarify that the duty-free allowances cannot be pooled between passengers, even among family members. Samsung has announced that its 2026 OLED TV lineup and Odyssey gaming monitors are now Nvidia G-Sync compatible. The update targets PC and console gamers who want smoother, tear-free gameplay across large-screen TVs and high-refresh-rate monitors. This brings Samsungs premium OLED displays closer to dedicated gaming hardware, aligning high refresh rates, low latency and adaptive sync in a single ecosystem. Survey Thank you for completing the survey! Samsung TVs, monitors with G-Sync support Samsung confirmed that the following products will be Nvidia G-Sync compatible: 2026 OLED TVs: S95H, S90H and S85H Odyssey G6 (G60H) with Dual Mode refresh switching Odyssey G6 (G61SH) with a QD-OLED panel Kevin Lee, Executive Vice President of the Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics, said, the companys goal is to deliver a consistently great gaming experience, no matter what you play or where you play it. Also Read: Samsung launches Sound Tower ST50F and ST40F portable party speakers in India: Price and availability Why G-Sync support on TVs and monitors matters G-Sync synchronises the display refresh rate with the GPU frame rate to reduce screen tearing and stutter. Besides Nvidias variable refresh rate technology, the top-end 2026 OLED TVs and monitors also feature AMD FreeSync Premium Pro. Samsung 2025 Odyssey monitor with G-Sync support Samsung has supported both Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync on 2025 OLED TVs. With the new announcement, Samsungs upcoming flagship OLED TVs are also being pitched as viable gaming screens. But for the G-Sync benefits to kick in, youd require a compatible Nvidia GPU-led PC or console. Also, HDR10+ Gaming and HDR10+ Advanced support will depend on content and platform support. The aforementioned Samsung OLED TVs, i.e., the S95H and S90H OLED TVs, support refresh rates up to 165Hz, while the S85H supports up to 120Hz. And the Odyssey monitors reach for far higher refresh rates, especially the Odyssey G6 (G60H), which can operate at up to 1,040Hz in HD resolution and up to 600Hz at native QHD resolution. So, overall, if you are a competitive or professional gamer who owns any of these devices or is planning to buy them, you can expect smooth gaming performance with adaptive sync support. Keep reading Digit.in for similar stories. Also Read: Samsung reportedly confirms AR glasses launch later this year with multimodal capabilities Save my User ID and Password Some subscribers prefer to save their log-in information so they do not have to enter their User ID and Password each time they visit the site. To activate this function, check the 'Save my User ID and Password' box in the log-in section. This will save the password on the computer you're using to access the site. Note: If you choose to use the log-out feature, you will lose your saved information. This means you will be required to log-in the next time you visit our site. It is worrying that social media giant X is refusing to send representatives to answer questions about online safety, the chairman of an Irish committee has said. Alan Kelly said it was particularly disappointing after Irish premier Micheal Martin also asked the tech multinational to appear before the committee. Representatives from Meta, Google and TikTok will appear before the committee on arts, media and sport on Wednesday afternoon. There has been social and political criticism of Elon Musks social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, over its AI chatbot allowing deepfake sexualised images of people, including minors. The EU Commission is investigating X over reports that child sexual abuse material and non-consensual intimate images of adults were generated through the Grok tool and disseminated on the platform. The company had given written assurances to Irish regulators and the Minister of State with responsibility for AI, Niamh Smyth, that such functionality had been switched off globally on January 20. But Ms Smyth said it was deeply concerning that the functionality could be available in other jurisdictions. On Tuesday, chairman of the Joint Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport Alan Kelly said despite Xs non-attendance there would be a focus on the protection of young people online. He added: While we welcome the attendance of Google, Meta and TikTok, the committee notes that X, formerly known as Twitter, declined the invitation to appear. It is extremely disappointing and worrying that X have refused to attend, especially after a request was additionally made by the Taoiseach for them to do so. He said: This meeting will examine how major online platforms approach regulation, online safety and the protection of children and young people. We plan to discuss issues including content moderation, the use of technology and human oversight to address harmful and illegal content, age-appropriate design, age assurance, and the role of digital literacy and user empowerment. We will also how platforms such as TikTok are implementing their obligations under the EU Digital Services Act, particularly considering the high levels of engagement by children and young people in Ireland with online platforms and the importance of ensuring that their safety, privacy and wellbeing are protected. The committee looks forward to engaging with representatives on these matters as part of its ongoing scrutiny of the operation and impact of online platforms and will continue its engagement with relevant stakeholders in examining the regulation of online platforms. Another batch of SMA baby formula has been recalled due to the possible presence of a toxin that can cause nausea and severe vomiting. In a recall notice issued today, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland confirmed that popular brand Nestle has recalled a batch of SMA First Infant Milk over fears that it may contain Cereulide. This is a toxin produced by the bacterium Bacillus cereus. It may be pre-formed in a food and is extremely heat resistant. Consumption of foods containing cereulide toxin can lead to nausea and severe vomiting. Symptoms can appear within five hours and the duration of illness is usually 6 to 24 hours. READ MORE: Ryan Tubridy reveals that therapy 'helped enormously' following RTE scandal in 2023 The affected pack size is 800g with an expiry date of December 2027. Its batch code is 53390346AB. Nestle is advising its customers that have purchased this batch to contact them via its online form, by sharing a photo of the product and the batch code at www.nestle.co.uk/en-gb/getintouch or by calling its careline on 1800 931 832. Retailers are requested to remove the implicated batch from sale and display recall notices at point-of-sale. Wholesalers/distributors are also requested to contact their affected customers, recall the implicated batch and provide a point-of-sale recall notice to their customers. Parents, guardians and caregivers are advised not to feed the implicated batch to infants or young children. If no symptoms are displayed, nothing further needs to be done. If a parent, guardian or caregiver is concerned about the health of their infant or young child, they should contact a healthcare professional. There is no indication that this has resulted in illness in Ireland. This recall is associated with a contaminated raw ingredient which was also implicated in other recent recalls of some batches of infant formula and follow-on formula. An ingredient, ARA oil, which was manufactured in China, was contaminated with cereulide and added as an ingredient in base powder used to make infant formula and follow-on formula. Following this, Nestle has now recalled a number of their products due to fears they could contain Cereulide toxin. All under the SMA brand, these include certain batches of the First Infant Milk (400g, 800g, 200ml, 70ml and 1.2kg), Advanced Follow on Milk, Comfort, LITTLE STEPS First Infant Milk, Alfamino, Advanced First Infant Milk, Lactose Free, Anti Reflux and GOLD PREM 2. A full list of the recalled products, including the implicated batch codes and expiry dates, is down below: The School of Informatics and Creative Arts at Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) recently celebrated 20 years of the Film Programme within the Institute. The BA (Hons) in Film & Television Production welcomed its first cohort of students in September 2014, replacing the former Level 7 and Level 8 BA and BA (Hons) in Video and Film Production programmes. The programme built on an already strong national reputation established by the success of its predecessor courses, which had been running since 2005 and 2008 respectively. The aim of this programme is to produce Film & Television Production professionals with the necessary knowledge, skills and competencies to work within the Film and Television sectors in Ireland and abroad and to meet the ever-changing needs of these industries. It consistently places high in the Institutes ranking of most popular courses in terms of student demand and number of applications. Over the last number of years, work created by students from the programme has been screened and won awards at festivals both in Ireland and abroad, including the following: Royal Television Society Student Awards, Fastnet Film Festival, Richard Harris Film Festival, Celtic Media Festival, Galway Film Fleadh, Dublin International Film Festival, Louth International Film Festival, Belfast Film Festival, Cinemagic Film Festival, Guth Gafa International Documentary Film Festival, Kerry Film Festival and Clones Film Festival, amongst many others. The opening event kicked off with speeches from President Dr Diarmuid OCallaghan and Head of Department Dr Adele Commins, followed by the launch of the Martha O'Neill Best Short Creative Documentary Prize. This Prize was named in honour of Martha ONeill, an esteemed Film & TV producer who passed away last year, and who was a great friend of the programme, having a profound impact on its development over the years. The prize was awarded to the documentary, Dear Dad by award-winning documentary director Adrian McCarthy, who was Martha's partner in Wildfire Films for many years. It will be awarded annually to the Best Short Creative Documentary made on the Creative Documentary module in 3rd year on the programme. Many industry professionals were in attendance at the opening event including Garry Hynes, Druid Theatre Company; Teresa McGrane, Wild Atlantic Pictures; Adrian McCarthy, Curious Dog Films, Marian Quinn, Janey Pictures; Declan McGrath, Aisling Productions; Helen Thompson: Big Mountain Productions, Scott Smith, Telegael; and Ian Hunt-Duffy, Film Director, amongst others. Attendees were then treated to a number of inspiring talks and screenings throughout the day from graduates who are now leading film and media professionals, including Brian Cashin, an offline editor whose credits include Gogglebox Ireland, Britains Got Talent and The Traitors; freelance camera assistant Karl Walsh; Denise Fogarty, Head of Production at Big Mountain Productions; Samantha Corr, producer and Higher Executive Officer in the Media Landscape; Alannah Ui Geargain, an upcoming barrister and disability advocate; award-winning editor Stephen Staunton; film and TV editor Stephen King; commercial video and photo producer Jack Daniel-Dempsey; Emmy Award-winning EVS operator Andy Power; and Dr Terry Creagh, film researcher and writer. Sarah McCann, Lecturer in the Department of Creative Arts, Media and Music at DkIT said: "The anniversary event of the Film & TV/Video & Film programme was a day filled with warm celebrations of our graduates and all they have achieved in their professional careers. We had graduates travelling from all across Ireland to be with us, with one even flying in from Spain for the day! We are also extremely honoured to have been joined by Martha ONeills wife Garry, friend Teresa and long-term partner in Wildfire Films, Adrian, in the launching of the annual award in her honour." Read Next: No Licence, No Insurance, No NCT: Gardai seize vehicles in Louth crackdown To round of the event, a plaque was erected outside the DkIT TV studio to recognise Veteran TV Director Theo O'Grady's contribution to the industry and his invaluable work with DKIT over the years. Speaking after the event, Theo said: "Having worked and trained in studio facilities all over the country for nearly 50 years, it is my firm belief that Dundalk Institute of Technology offers exceptional opportunities. The state-of-the-art technical infrastructure, coupled with the culture and ethos of the Institute, is unrivalled. I am deeply humbled and sincerely grateful to DkIT for naming the television studio in my honour. It is something I am immensely proud of, as it represents the Institutes unwavering commitment to real-world, industry-focused training that students benefit from, every single day." Jockey Shane Gray was back on home turf last Wednesday. Well, not exactly turf its over 25 years since horses galloped over grass at Dundalk Stadium. Since 2007, its been all-weather racing on the local circuit, the first and still only venue in Ireland with a sand surface. READ NEXT: Inside Track: Retaining Division Two status is crucial to Louth Gray, from Dundalks Castletown area, had his first mount on the track a few years after it opened. He was apprenticed to the Stack stable in Co Tipperary, at the time overseen by Tommy Stack, who, in a glittering in the saddle, had his finest moment when he drove the famous Red Rum to victory in the third of the Ginger McCain-trained steeplechasers Aintree Grand National wins. Speaking on Wednesday last after taking two mounts, riding one of them to a fast-finishing second, 30-year-old Gray had nothing but praise for Stack. He was a great mentor I couldnt have been given a better start. It helped the teenager as he set out on his career. He went on to ride 18 winners in Ireland before going to England, most of them for the Stack stable, with ten coming at Dundalk. His last winner at the local track was in 2014. It was after that when he moved to the north of England stable of Kevin Ryan, and though now riding freelance, he maintains a link with the Irishman, getting the leg up on many of his runners. He also has mounts for the powerful Karl Burke stable, and is also associated with another Irish-born trainer, Richard Fahey, who, in his younger days, while living in Clogherhead, lined out with the local GAA team, Dreadnots. Gray has accumulated the excellent total of 460 winners in England, including one at Ascot for racings biggest owners, Sheikh Mohammed. Hes also been on the market, the home of British racing, Newmarket. But an even greater achievement was his four-timer at a Carlisle meeting, in 2019. He has yet to ride the winner of a Group 1. Putting that right is one of his ambitions with age on his side, and being connected to some of the top stables, getting over that particular winning line is not a longshot. Based in North Yorkshire in the town of Thrisk home of the late James Herriot, famous author and vet, he proudly tells us Shane was in Dundalk last week on the request of Kevin Thomas Coleman, a Tipperary-based trainer for whom he has ridden winners in England. Coleman had Brewing running in a handicap, and was keen to have his pal on board. With several family members there to cheer him on, the local lad took the 7-year-old with a sustained late run, but just couldnt get to the winner, Exquisite Acclaim. A winner would have capped his return to where it all began, but it was still good, he said, to have a brief stay in his hometown. He was due back to ride at Wolverhampton on Friday. The Louth Cerebral Palsy Group has been shortlisted for the 2026 PTSB Community Funding campaign, giving local residents the chance to support the charity in this years public vote. The campaign, which has already contributed over 2.5 million to Irish community organisations, invites members of the public to help select six official PTSB Community partners by voting online or via the PTSB app before voting closes on 22 February. Following a PTSB colleague-led nominations process, 15 charities from across the country have been shortlisted for public vote, with 5 charities shortlisted in the North and West: The Alzheimer Society of Ireland Cavan Autism Parents Support ICARE Louth Cerebral Palsy Group SOSAD Ireland 15 charities from across the country have been shortlisted for public vote. The two charities who receive the highest number of votes in each region will become the official PTSB Community partners for 2026. Voting closes on 22 February and the public are encouraged to support the charity of their choice by voting at www.ptsb.ie/Community or in the PTSB app. PTSBs Head of Sustainability, Courtnee Kyle, said: PTSB Community is about bringing people and communities together for social good. For us, its about supporting the work of charities that strengthen towns, neighbourhoods and families across Ireland, helping them to scale their impact where it matters most. This year, were proud to once again launch the PTSB Community public vote, encouraging the people of Ireland to help us select our partners for 2026. Weve seen first-hand how this support can make a real difference in our communities, and were excited to build on that momentum and make further progress in the year ahead. To date, PTSB Community Funding campaign has already contributed more than 2.5 million to a variety of community organisations, supporting vital work at local and national level across the country. PTSB ambassador and presenter, Eric Roberts, who also welcomed the launch, said: Local charities play a vital role in supporting communities across Ireland. PTSB Community gives people a meaningful way to get behind good causes close to home and helps charities continue their essential work where its needed most. Last week, the Bank provided 270,000 in funding to its six 2025 PTSB Community partners. Last years community partners from the North and West included Accessible Counselling Tullamore and Cystic Fibrosis Ireland. Read Next: Louth woman leaves generous gift to Maria Goretti Foundation Accessible Counselling Tullamore CEO and Co-founder, Lisa O'Connor, said: All of us at ACT are extremely grateful to PTSB. This support means people can access counselling when they need it most, regardless of their circumstances, and that makes a real, lasting difference to lives in our community. Cystic Fibrosis Ireland Community Fundraising Officer, Hazel Doran, said We here at Cystic Fibrosis Ireland sincerely thank PTSB and its staff for their incredible support, which helps us continue to provide vital services to people living with Cystic Fibrosis across Ireland. This partnership not only raises awareness but also makes a real difference in improving quality of life for our community. 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Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe A charity collection box for St Vincent de Paul was stolen from a church by a woman who has been sentenced to a total of six months in prison for this and 14 counts of shoplifting around Cork city. Noreen Foley, aged 37, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to the litany of thefts as her solicitor Eddie Burke said: Her life is one of absolute chaos. Judge Catherine Ryan noted the extensive difficulties in the defendants life and expressed the hope that Foley could put her time in custody to good use, saying: The court sympathises with you. You are still a young woman. You can still try and turn your life around. I wish you well. Sergeant John Dineen said the charity box was stolen from the Church of Our Lady Crowned shortly before a Mass commenced. Ms Foley was one of two people involved in the theft. The charity box was found damaged nearby with the cash missing. Sgt Dineen said it was not possible to say exactly the amount of cash in it at the time, except to say that when the offerings were forwarded to the charity on previous occasions, the amounts were approximately 200 each time. Other thefts carried out by the accused occurred in shops in Cork city centre, including Dunnes, Centra, Mountain Warehouse, and Elverys. Mr Burke said many of the items stolen were clothing and small household items, including cheese and butter. Mandatory drink and drug testing was down sharply in Cork last year compared to the previous 12 months, garda data shows. The drop in testing across both city and county has led to calls for gardai to reverse the decline and ramp up testing once more. Comparing the third quarters of 2024 and last year, Cork city saw an 11% fall in the number of mandatory intoxication testing checkpoints carried out, with a 7% fall in the county. In Cork city in the last quarter of 2024, some 810 were carried out, while 12 months on, they had dropped to 720. In the county in the same 12 months, they went from 1,835 checkpoints carried out to 1,704. Ireland South MEP Cynthia Ni Mhurchu called on garda management to clarify why there was a reduction in roadside testing in a year when 185 people lost their lives on roads in 2025. Out of control She claimed that drug driving is "out of control", saying figures for the offence from the courts service show a 37% increase in cases coming before district courts in the first 10 months of 2025. This should be evidence enough for gardai to launch a massive increase in drug and drink driving checkpoints but they have done the opposite and reduced them. I want to know the rationale for it. If it is a resource issue, lets deal with it, but it must be pointed out that there were more gardai in 2025 than there were in 2019. She said it is important to note that 140 people were killed on Irish roads in 2019, which is 45 fewer than in 2025. The latest road death figures for 2026 show that up to January 30, some 11 people have died. These are the same figures for the total casualties up to January 30, 2025. Road fatalities According to the Road Safety Authority (RSA), Cork was among the deadliest in the country when it came to road fatalities last year. In 2025, there were 185 fatalities on public roads in Ireland, an 8% increase from 2024, and an average of 15 deaths per month. Cork at 21 was second only to Dublin, which had 22, when it came to fatalities. Gardai ramped up their road traffic enforcement activity over the bank holiday weekend, with every member on duty conducting testing in addition to the normal dedicated bank holiday checkpoints seen across the country. Some 765 people were arrested across the country for driving under the influence of an intoxicant between December and January 5, the traditional Christmas celebration weeks. More than half were for driving under the influence of alcohol, while 44% were for driving under the influence of drugs. The garda press office had not replied to queries on mandatory checkpoints in Cork at the time of writing. A Cork man who pleaded guilty to two public order offences in relation to his aggressive behaviour following a night out has received a suspended prison sentence in the district court. Court presenter Sergeant Trish OSullivan told Macroom District Court that gardai were alerted to the aggressive behaviour of an individual at North Square in Macroom at 1.05am in the early morning of December 27, 2025. The man identified as Jamie McCarthy, aged 28, of Knockane, Terelton, Macroom, Co Cork was behaving in an aggressive manner and squaring up to other people in a way that looked like he was trying to start a fight. The court was told that McCarthy appeared to be highly intoxicated at the time and was unsteady on his feet as he continued to behave in an aggressive way. Gardai at the scene formed the opinion that he was intoxicated to such an extent that he was a danger to himself and others, and he was arrested and taken to Macroom Garda Station. Pleading guilty Defence solicitor, Jack Purcell, said his client was pleading guilty to being intoxicated in a public place as well as threatening and abusive behaviour. He said McCarthy was highly intoxicated on the night, and somebody else had started on his younger brother. He said McCarthy had gone to defend his brother and this was the initial reason for his behaviour. The court was told that McCarthy works as a transport manager and had three previous convictions. Mr Purcell said McCarthy was clean from drugs for one year but did still drink alcohol. Judge Joanne Carroll said if McCarthy had a drink situation, he would have to deal with it. She sentenced him to three months in prison, suspended for 12 months, on the threatening and abusive behaviour charge, and placed him on a probation bond for 12 months on the intoxication charge. It could be December before the new St Finbarrs nursing home unit in Cork city takes in residents, the HSE has conceded. While the aim is to have St Finbarrs and another new nursing home in Midleton handed over by developers in March, it is possible that it will take until the end of the year for the city facility to actually take people in, the health service said. It comes as a new nursing home in Killarney was finally handed to the HSE by builders, two years after it was first mooted. These three nursing homes are part of a 250m seven-unit public-private partnership (PPP) between venture company Equisisk (John Sisk & Sons with Equitix). The Kerry facility was expected to be complete in 2024, but although all seven are built, Killarney is now only the third handed over to the HSE. The HSE has now said the four other units at Midleton and St Finbarrs, as well as Clonmel and Thomastown, should be handed over by March. Update This is despite previous HSE statements that the Midleton site was likely to be given over this month. The update was released to Social Democrats TD for Cork South Central, Padraig Rice. While its welcome that the four remaining community nursing units are to be finally handed over to the HSE this quarter, we still have no idea when their doors will open, he said. These projects were to be completed by 2024. In my own constituency, the HSE is saying that it could be Christmas by the time St Finbarrs is open, two years behind target. That is simply not good enough. Why has delivery been allowed to drift? These facilities must be prioritised. The HSEs interim national director for capital and estates, Michael Connelly, told Mr Rice the remaining four homes would now be handed over to the HSE during the first three months of this year. There have been delays in the construction completion of the overall community nursing unit PPP programme, he said. All parties are actively engaging to address all outstanding items to achieve completion dates for all of the seven sites. The HSE can only apply for registration from the Health Information and Quality Authority after the handover of each individual building. The Echo visited the Midleton site, which shares the grounds of the Midleton Community Hospital, earlier this month. The locked building was surrounded by wire fencing and hoardings, but furniture could be seen through some of the large windows. The value of the maritime sector to the national economy is not fully appreciated by the public. It should be. The scale, contribution and performance of Irelands ocean economy is huge. Its total economic contribution is over 17 billion when indirect impacts are included and it supports more than 109,000 jobs. These figures are outlined in the State agency, the Marine Institutes report on Irelands Ocean Economy. Jenny OLeary from Cork led the team which compiled it. While fishing and shipping are very important, the overall marine sector in Ireland is more diverse, she tells me on the February edition of SEASCAPES Podcast. I have been working in this area for 25 years and seen major improvement. If you cant value your industry its very difficult to talk about it and the benefits it provides. There has been major growth over the last 10 years and it continues to grow. We look at five-year and 10-year trends, so we can see what is happening to the coastal communities, the crisis in the fishing industry, and cuts in quotas. We see how important the seafood sector is to those communities, as well as culture and tradition. The report examines 13 marine industry sectors, including tourism in marine and coastal areas, shipping and maritime transport, seafood, fisheries, aquaculture, processing, and emerging sectors including offshore renewable energy. We see fishing, the coastal communities, shipping and their importance as major industries. Becoming important is renewable and offshore energy. There is tourism, but seafood is still a vitally important employer, the second highest in an analysis of 10years of data from 2010 to 2024, says Ms OLeary Interesting about tourism is that, with Cork Port and Bantry due to receive103 cruise ships to Cork this year, there is increased interest from international cruise ships in visiting smaller coastal ports, other than the main ones, a development the Institute is tracking. It also evident that in the development of offshore energy renewables, its socio-economic impact on coastal communities has to be analysed. The Marine Institute is being asked by government to look at this. Cork People to the Fore Corkonians are to the fore in dealing with difficult aspects of the maritime sector at present. These include delays in aquaculture licensing, which are causing problems for investment, development and encouraging newcomers, including young people, into the industry. There are unreasonable delays at all stages throughout the aquaculture licensing process, creating uncertainty for investment and the future of the next generation of producers, IFA aquaculture chairman. Finian OSullivan, who operates in Bantry Bay, told the Oireachtas Committee on Fisheries and the Marine to which he led a delegation from the primary representative body for the sector, It is almost impossible to get certainty or clarity about the licensing process, run by the Department of the Marine. Thats an unacceptable state of affairs for which it was criticised at the Oireachtas hearing. departmental officials blamed lack of resources and staffing. Lee Hunter (31) who set up his own farm at the top of Ireland, in Trawenna Bay, near Dungloe in Donegal outlines to me on SEASCAPES the difficulties he faced and, cant understand why there is such a lack of State support. In West Cork, Michael Desmond, who fishes inshore around Roaringwater Bay is chair of the National Inshore Fisheries Association. It has sent to government a detailed Proposal for Inshore Fisheries Income Stabilisation & Climate Compensation on behalf of inshore fishermen. According to NIFA: Without immediate intervention, Ireland risks the progressive collapse of a sector that produces high-quality domestic food, sustains coastal and island communities, and supports significant onshore employment in processing, transport and services. Once lost the inshore fleet cannot be easily rebuilt. There are growing calls for an overhaul of State agencies in the marine sphere, examining their effectiveness. That might be beneficial. Dr Kevin Flannery, an acknowledged expert on Irish fisheries, points out to me, that in the context of the current row between the Irish Farmers Association and the chair of Board Bia that: Board Bia has no representative from the Irish seafood or fishing industry on its board! Everyday Objects of Cape Clear Cape Clear Islands social history will be told through Everyday Objects at the Cork Literary & Scientific Society Lecture in the Metropole Hotel, MacCurtain Street, Cork, tomorrow night (Thursday) by historian and author Diarmuid O Drisceoil. SEASCAPES is on Podcast platforms and https://tommacsweeneymaritimepodcast.ie Email: tommacsweeneymarine@gmail.com. A man admitted responsibility for a large painted message on a building in Cork which had the appearance of a marriage proposal and so far he has come up with 1,000 in respect of the 6,500 for criminal damage. The painted words consisted of: Marry Me? Chippy. Now at Cork District Court, John Barrow, aged 22, of Glencree Crescent, Cork, has pleaded guilty to a charge of causing criminal damage to the building during the summer. Sergeant John Kelleher confirmed that the extent of the criminal damage was put at 6,500. Frank Buttimer, solicitor, said that Mr Barrow had raised 1,000 compensation so far by saving from his social welfare payments, and he would raise more. Judge Catherine Ryan said she would put the matter back until April 15 to allow time for this to be done. Garda Ben Donovan charged Mr Barrow with a count stating: On a date unknown between August 11 and August 13 at Penrose Wharf, Cork, in the District Court area of Cork City, he did, without lawful excuse, damage property, to wit, spray painting, Marry me? Chippy, causing damage to the roof of Penrose Wharf, intending to damage such property or being reckless as to whether such property would be damaged. The amount of damage was initially estimated at even more than 6,500. But this latter value has now been confirmed, Sgt Kelleher said. This February, artists who first met at Crawford College of Art in Cork in 1997 will reunite for a unique 25-year exhibition at MTU Gallery. The show brings together 14 college friends, each presenting new work which reflects how their practice has grown and shifted since their college days. The exhibition spans painting, printmaking, photography, mixed media, highlighting both the individuality of each artist and the shared roots that connect them. Speaking about the exhibition, artist Hilary Kinahan said: This reunion is a celebration of connection. It shows how strong the bond between us was and how it has lasted through the years. Memories Seeing everyones work together, sharing space and memories, reminds us that those formative experiences continue to influence and inspire us. A very special part of the show is the inclusion of works by our classmates Eamon Gray and Carol James, who are sadly no longer with us. Their sculptural pieces are included to keep them close and to remember how much they were loved by all of us. Having their work in the exhibition feels natural and right, a way of honouring their memory and the friendships that shaped our early years. Mature student Ms James, who passed away in September 2022, came to Crawford College as a mature student, having spent most of her life in the theatre where she worked as both an actor and a writer. Her sculptural works were all created with natural objects leaves, bark, wood, and even seaweed. Mr Gray, who passed away in October 2022, studied Fine Art at Crawford from 1997 to 2002. While at college, he entered medals into the British Arts Medal Society Student Medal Project, winning a prize in 2001 with Dual Aspects, and again in 2002 with Tsuba; the latter was subsequently acquired by the British Museum. The exhibition will be open to the public from this Thursday at MTU Gallery, 46 Grand Parade. Admission is free. Cork City Council has announced there will be further closures of low-lying city centre quays due to continued unsettled weather. As Met Eireanns status yellow rain warning remains in place for Cork until 3pm, the local authority has warned of further surface flooding city centre quays. A spokesperson for the council said that while this mornings high tide at 6.29am passed with localised surface flooding only on several low-lying quays, scheduled high tides over the next 36-hours coincide with a forecasted tidal storm surge, with more surface flooding expected. Due to this, the council has announced that Wandesford Quay will close this evening ahead of high tide, between 5.45pm and 7.45pm, as well as tomorrow morning, between 6am and 8am. The spokesperson further said that while no property damage is expected across the city centre, surface water is also expected along Lavitts Quay, Union Quay and Kyrls Quay. Exercise care They urged motorists and pedestrians to exercise care in the affected areas during the high tide times. Cork City Council is closely monitoring the situation, they said. Motorists are being advised to avoid parking on the quay, [and] commuters are advised to expect delays and to plan accordingly. The spokesperson additionally said that these localised flooding events, coupled with the associated road closures and lane restrictions, will impact traffic flow and public transport timetables during these times. The road closures and restrictions will be lifted quickly once high tide passes, they added. Meanwhile, Cork County Council has said crews will continue to respond to incidents across the county while the rain warning remains in place. Crews were on site in Bantry during high tide this morning, with minor pumping undertaken to remove water from the Square. Minor flooding Minor street flooding was reported in Whitegate due to 'tide locking', sandbags were deployed, and the main road closed temporarily. The Bailick Road in Midleton was flooded, with minor flooding also reported on the Baby's Walk. Dwyers Road was flooded near Bonnog Estate due to tide locking and a possible combined sewer overflow. Minor tidal flooding was also reported in Youghal. "Please take care when travelling, avoid flooded areas, and follow all local signage and guidance," a spokesperson said. Hot school meals have been the subject of heated debate since their introduction in 2019 and the subject of a recent Oireachtas committee meeting. Now, celebrity chef Darina Allen has rowed in saying primary school meals should be sourced locally and made from scratch. At the Oireachtas meeting, Ms Allen said she had concerns that the programme was not fit for purpose, it was an industrial one akin to airline food and that reheating meals reduced their nutritional value. She added that food waste from the programme was off the scale. Something is better than nothing is far too low a bar for a national programme relied upon by so many children for daily nourishment, Ms Allen said. The scheme, which makes more than half a million children eligible for hot school meals, has a budget of 300 million. The founder of Ballymaloe Cookery School said cooking meals from scratch using locally sourced produce would align with the Governments policies on a circular economy and support local farmers and businesses. She gave the example of Duhallow Community Food Services in north Cork, which she said was a scalable model. Is Darina Allen right? Have we got hot school meals all wrong? With a budget of 3.20 per meal, it is a model that relies on a competitive tendering process from external agencies, making it impossible to provide a hot meal in a plastic or cardboard box that fulfils the need to be nutritious, tasty and cost effective? Would a combination of community food kitchens and public diners be the answer? The reality is hot school meals are just one arm of a much larger problem. The cost of living makes healthy food unaffordable for many. At the same time, half our shopping baskets (46%) are stuffed with ultra processed food often layered with salt, fat, sugar and additives. Fibre and nutrients have been squeezed out to prolong shelf life and preserve taste. The result is 24% of the population living with obesity. Thats 1.2 million people. Yet we are loathe to introduce policies to regulate the food market, prolong life and preserve physical and mental wellbeing. Meanwhile, in the first week in January, junk food ads were banned on daytime TV and online in the UK, as its government attempt to rein in the junk food market to tackle obesity. The move follows other regulations to expand the sugar tax to cover pre-packaged items like milkshakes and ready-made coffees. While the UK forges ahead with world-leading legislation that curbs the junk food market, Irish policy in 2025 was more focused on obesity treatment than prevention. Yet, the States own research estimates over 85,000 of todays children on the island around one in 20 will die prematurely due to overweight and obesity; that children as young as eight are presenting with high blood pressure; and teenagers with a cardiovascular age of 60. Despite this, a recommendation in the 2020 Programme for Government to introduce a Public Health Obesity Act, including examining restrictions on promotion and advertising aimed at children, was never acted on. The political will to challenge a profit-driven food industry is just not there. Irish policy in 2025 involved a call for anti-obesity drugs to be more widely available to those who cannot afford their expensive prices. But we cannot prescribe our way out of an obesity crisis. Drugs can help some individuals to drop a few kg for some time. But culture sets the baseline. Tackling obesity means making unpopular decisions to challenge the cultural obsession with unhealthy food healthy school meals are just one part of that. Additionally, there is a crisis of loneliness in an ageing population with social hubs such as banks, post offices and community services slashed in favour of online supports. But human connection as we age is vital to our health and wellbeing. Imagine a future where community kitchens and public restaurants owned by communities served hot, healthy food that doesnt break the bank. Impossible? Its been done before. During World War II, the UK government opened more than 2,000 British restaurants, serving 600,000 affordable meals daily, designed to meet a third of peoples energy needs. As well as food provision, diners could be co-designed to fulfil the social functions of food, including dignity, and enjoyment. They could also be used to educate children on good nutrition and how to cook. This concept is up and running in several countries. Turkey has 17 public restaurants in Istanbul. For a small sum, hot meals based on staples soup, legumes, rice, vegetables and meat - are served to anyone who walks in. Mexico City has 500 community-backed kitchens that operate as neighbourhood cafes serving hot, healthy meals everyone can afford, while community bonding builds. The scheme feeds over half a million people daily. Now, Nourish Scotland is hoping to pilot a similar scheme in Dundee and Nottingham in 2026. Project OfficerAbigail McCall said for other aspects of our wellbeing water, transport, healthcare, even WiFi- we have built the public infrastructure to ensure everyone has quality. We are missing that in relation to food. Public diners, positioned close to schools, could provide hot school meals. Such an initiative would require public investment. But as they serve a lot of food a day, costs could be kept to a minimum while maintaining quality. Imagine public infrastructure in Ireland that met the needs of school-going children as well as people of all ages and backgrounds, who could eat nutritious food at affordable prices in their own communities. Duhallow Community Food Services has taken the first step in making community food kitchens a reality, a model championed by Darina Allen as a best-in-class example. There, meals are prepared daily in a local kitchen and delivered fresh to almost 30 schools across the region- supporting childrens health, local employment and local food systems. It proves community-led solutions can deliver national-level impact, reinforcing the fact that investing locally delivers better outcomes for all. Time to think outside the cardboard box that provides reheated unpopular food much of which ends up in the bin. Samsungs 2025 was filled with new foldables, an ultra-thin new form factor and the launch of Google's XR platform. After making some announcements at CES 2026, the company has just announced its first Galaxy Unpacked of the year will take place on February 25, where it is expected to introduce the Galaxy S26 lineup. Official invites have just been shared, but actual information on what devices are arriving then is still unknown. But as usual, we know a lot about whats expected at Unpacked. Engadget will be covering Galaxy Unpacked live, and we'll most likely have hands-on coverage of Samsung's new smartphones soon after they're announced. While we wait for the full details, here's everything we expect Samsung will introduce at the first Galaxy Unpacked event of 2026. When is Unpacked 2026 taking place? According to the official invite that Samsung shared on February 10, Unpacked will happen on February 25, 2026 in San Francisco. The keynote will start at 10AM PT (1PM ET) and be livestreamed on Samsung.com, as well as the companys newsroom and YouTube channel. The announcement on February 10 also said this launch will mark a new phase in the era of AI as intelligence becomes truly personal and adaptive. Its not a lot to go on, since weve heard a version of this from various companies over the last few years, but at least we wont be shocked when we hear more about AI in just about two weeks. Galaxy S26, S26+ and S26 Ultra Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra hands-on photo (Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget) Samsung's restrained approach to updating its phones will likely continue with the Galaxy S26. Based on leaked images of the new lineup, the company is not expected to radically reinvent the look of the Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26+ or Galaxy S26 Ultra, and instead will stick with a similar design to what it used on the Galaxy S25. The phones will have a flat front screen and frame, with rounded corners and cameras housed in a vertical pill-shaped plateau on the back. Unlike Apple's move from the iPhone 16 Pro to the iPhone 17 Pro, the biggest difference here will likely be internal components like the screens, chips and camera sensors Samsung uses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip is expected to be in all Samsung Galaxy S26 phones, though Korean news site Yonhap News reports Samsung's relatively new Exynos 2600 chip could be used in some phones in the lineup depending on the region, a strategy Samsung has deployed in the past. Either way the new phones should be more performant than the previous generation, and in the case of the models with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, particularly good at on-device AI processing. One notable difference between the Galaxy S26 and the Galaxy S25 could be the phone's screen. The new phone will reportedly feature a 6.3-inch FHD+ display according to specs shared by leaker Ice Universe, which makes it ever so slightly larger than the 6.2-inch display used on the Galaxy S25. The S26 will also allegedly come with 12GB of RAM, either 256GB or 512GB of storage and a slightly larger 4,300mAh battery. Samsung isn't changing the cameras on the entry-level phone, though: leaks suggest it'll feature the same 50-megapixel main camera, 12-megapixel ultrawide, 10-megapixel 3x telephoto and 12-megapixel selfie camera as the previous generation. Changes appear to be even more minor on the Galaxy S26+. Other than the new Snapdragon chip, the phone will reportedly feature the same 6.7-inch FHD+ screen, 4,900mAh battery, 12GB of RAM and the same camera array used on the base Galaxy S26. The difference between the Galaxy S26 Ultra and Galaxy S25 Ultra is reportedly a bit clearer. According to Android Headlines, the new phone's cameras will be slightly more raised, and stand out thanks to a new metallic finish. Samsung may also switch back to using an aluminum frame on the Galaxy S26 Ultra, after using titanium frames on both the Galaxy S24 and S25 Ultras. Most importantly, to make the phone actually support Qi2 rather than only technically work with the standard when a case is attached, rumors suggest Samsung will remove the S Pen digitizer layer in the phone and adopt a new method for accepting stylus input. It's not clear what that new method will actually be, but it could let the Galaxy S26 Ultra more easily work with Qi2 accessories without losing its stylus. Android Headlines also recently shared what appear to be full image renders of the S26 series, and they generally line up with what has already been rumored, leaked and reported so far. If these pictures are accurate, they give us a clearer look at the camera bump and two color variants of the S26 Ultra. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fans of magnets may continue to be disappointed by Samsung if the latest rumors are accurate. Despite the launch of the Qi 2 wireless charging standard adding support for convenient magnetic alignment years ago, Samsung has yet to bring that feature to its phones. Though the S-series have the higher speed charging rates that the spec enables, Nieuwemobiel.nl is reporting that, due to images it received of cases with magnetic rings, the S26 series likely wont have built-in magnets. Samsung has made these cases to add the magnetic capability to its S-series in the past, and the existence of the images of these accessories lends weight to the idea that the company will continue this approach. Galaxy Buds 4 Galaxy Buds 3 Pro in case. (Engadget) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Samsung released the Galaxy Buds 3 and 3 Pro in 2024, with a major redesign that brought them much more in line with Apple's AirPods. The Galaxy Buds 4 and Buds 4 Pro Samsung is rumored to be announcing soon won't necessarily change that, though they will feature a more compact case and less angular stems, according to leaked images from the Samsung Tips app. Support for head gestures to accept and decline calls, a feature Apple includes on the AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods 4, is also rumored to work on both versions of the new Galaxy Buds. SamMobile reports the Galaxy Buds 4 and 4 Pro may also ship with a new Ultra Wideband chip that will make them easier to find with Google's Find Hub network. Galaxy Z Trifold Yes, the TriFold has a crease, two in fact. But they still don't ruin the experience. (Sam Rutherford for Engadget) Samsung announced the Galaxy Z TriFold in late 2025 without firm details of when the new smartphone-that-folds-into-a-tablet would be available in North America. That info came on January 27, when the company announced the TriFold would be available in the US on January 30, for a whopping $2,900. Considering weve already seen the device in person at CES 2026 and people are most likely to have had a chance to look at, if not buy the foldable for themselves by the time Unpacked rolls around, we dont expect Samsung to spend too much time dwelling on it, if at all. Galaxy S26 Edge At just 5.8mm thick, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge is one of the thinnest smartphones ever made. (Sam Rutherford for Engadget) When the Galaxy S25 Edge was announced in 2025, it seemed possible that Samsung could replace its "Plus" smartphone with a unique form factor, just like Apple has opted to do with the iPhone Air. There have been conflicting reports on the matter, but it seems like Samsung will not be doing that with the Galaxy S26 Edge. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Instead, the smartphone will reportedly remain another option, much like foldables are for customers not swayed by Samsung's traditional smartphones. The Galaxy S26 Edge is rumored to feature a slightly different design than last year's model, according to Android Headlines, with a large rectangular camera plateau that's reminiscent of Google's Pixel phones, and the raised oval Apple used on the iPhone Air. Beyond that, the phone is also expected to be ever so slightly thinner at 5.5mm than the 5.8mm Galaxy S25 Edge. Bixby and other AI features Samsung already acts as a first place Google can show off new AI features for Android, but the company is reportedly exploring other AI partnerships, too. In June 2025, Bloomberg reported that Samsung was nearing a deal with Perplexity to integrate its AI-powered search engine across OneUI and its homegrown mobile browser. Perplexity already has a deal with Motorola on its Razr phones, so the only thing that would make a deal with Samsung unusual is the close relationship the company already has with Google. The company also accidentally announced a new version of its Bixby AI assistant, which will likely also be integrated with Perplexity and could serve as an alternative to Google Gemini. Both a new Bixby and a deeper integration with Perplexity seem like natural new software features to show off at Galaxy Unpacked. Update, January 27 2026, 11:55AM ET: This story has been updated to reflect the latest news around the Galaxy Z TriFolds price and availability in the US. Advertisement Advertisement Update, January 30 2026, 12:45PM ET: This story has been updated to include the latest leaks on the possible dates for Unpacked 2026. Update, February 02 2026, 11:30AM ET: This story has been updated to include the latest leaks with full image renders of the S26 trio of devices. Update, February 03 2026, 11:00AM ET: This story has been updated to include the latest leaks about the possible lack of magnetic support on the S26 series. Update, February 10 2026, 7:15PM ET: This story has been updated to include the official date of Galaxy Unpacked as Samsung announced it today. The intro was also edited to reflect that detail. Advertisement Advertisement Samsung is expected to unveil its latest flagship phone series in February, which is most likely going to include the Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26+ and Galaxy S26 Ultra. For now, you can check out our preview of what we expect Samsung to announce at Unpacked 2026 to get up to speed. We'll also have live coverage of the event, as well as news, analyses and in-person impressions once we get them, and you can follow along right on Engadget. NASA started making the final preparations for the Artemis 2 mission in early January, with the hopes of opening its launch window as soon as February 6. After issues showed up during the missions wet dress rehearsal in the early hours of February 3, however, the agency had to push back its earliest launch opportunity to March. With more than three years between SLS launches, we fully anticipated encountering challenges. That is precisely why we conduct a wet dress rehearsal. These tests are designed to surface issues before flight and set up launch day with the highest probability of success, NASA administrator Jared Isaacman said on X. During a wet dress rehearsal, the spacecraft to be used for a mission is loaded with propellants to simulate the actual preparations and countdown to liftoff. NASA explained that Artemis 2s Space Launch System, which was already on the launch pad, suffered from a liquid hydrogen leak that its engineers spent hours troubleshooting. They were ultimately able to fill all the rockets tanks and started the countdown to launch. But with approximately five minutes left in the countdown, the ground launch sequencer automatically stopped due to a spike in the spacecrafts liquid hydrogen leak rate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The agency admits that it has other issues to fix, based on what happened during the rehearsal. It has to make sure that the cold weather doesnt affect the missions equipment during the actual launch in the same way it did in testing . The Orion crew modules hatch pressurization process took longer than expected, and that should must not happen on launch day. NASA also has to troubleshoot the audio communication channels for its ground teams after they dropped several times during the rehearsal. Artemis ground crew will review data from the wet dress rehearsal and address the aforementioned problems. NASA then has to conduct another test to confirm that they were taken care of before announcing the missions launch window. Paris prosecutors announced that a search was underway at offices belong to Elon Musks X platform as part of an ongoing investigation first launched in January 2025. The raid is being conducted by Paris and national cybercrime units, with support from Interpol, according to post from Paris prosecutors on X. Officials from X have yet to comment on the matter. At the same time, Paris prosecutors issued summonses to Elon Musk and Linda Yaccarino for voluntary interviews on April 20, 2026 in Paris. The prosecutors also announced they would no longer use X and would only communicate on LinkedIn and Instagram going forward. The searches are part of an investigation that has been ongoing for nearly a year over the functioning of Xs algorithms that are likely to have distorted the operation of an automated data processing system, investigators said at the time. Those changes reportedly gave greater prominence to certain political content (especially from Musk) without user knowledge something that could be a crime under French laws. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An investigation was officially launched in July, with Paris prosecutors adding an additional charge: Fraudulent extraction of data from an automated data processing system by an organized group. More recently, it also includes complicity in the possession of images of minors representing a pedo-pornographic character, due to images created by Grok between December 25, 2025 and January 1, 2026. In July, X said in a statement that the probe egregiously undermines Xs fundamental right to due process and threatens our users' rights to privacy and free speech. [French officials have] accused X of manipulating its algorithm for 'foreign interference' purposes, an allegation which is completely false. Update, Feb 3 2026, 4:00pm ET: X posted a lengthly statement on its Global Government Affairs account, calling the allegations baseless and stating the company categorically denies any wrongdoing. The company went on to describe the raid as an abusive act of law enforcement theater designed to achieve illegitimate political objectives rather than advance legitimate law enforcement goals. The first images of the cast for Sam Mendes' four-film Beatles biopic were revealed on January 29, 2026, through postcards hidden around the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. The studio released the photographs in an unconventional marketing move, distributing postcard-sized images throughout LIPA, an institution co-founded by Paul McCartney. The school encouraged students to search the campus and find the postcards, which featured Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison, and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr. Students quickly shared the images on social media, providing public access to the first look at the actors in their respective roles. Each photograph captures the performers in different settings that reflect different eras of the band's history, according to Pitch Fork. Mescal appears as a youthful McCartney at the Cavern Club, while Dickinson's portrayal of Lennon reflects a late-1960s aesthetic showing him singing into a microphone. Keoghan and Quinn are shown in a studio setting with a more mature appearance. This novel promotional approach ties directly to the band's roots in Liverpool, adding a thematic element to the reveal. Sony Pictures, which is producing and distributing the films globally, worked with LIPA to execute the strategy as part of a broader marketing plan for the biopic series. The four-film cinematic event, titled "The Beatles A Four-Film Cinematic Event," will release simultaneously in April 2028. Each film will focus on one band member and present the band's story from that individual's perspective. Director Mendes will helm all four movies, which are currently in production in London, World of Reel reported. The supporting cast includes Oscar-nominated actress Saoirse Ronan as Linda McCartney, James Norton as Brian Epstein, Anna Sawai as Yoko Ono, and Aimee Lou Wood as Pattie Boyd. Additional cast members include Mia McKenna-Bruce as Maureen Starkey, Harry Lloyd as George Martin, David Morrissey as Jim McCartney, and others in supporting roles. The project represents a historic collaboration, marking the first time The Beatles' Apple Corps has granted a scripted film permission to depict the band members' life stories and music. The ambitious undertaking carries a reported budget of approximately $100 million per film, totaling over $400 million. Production is expected to continue throughout 2026, with filming scheduled to take approximately 15 months to complete all four movies, as per USA Today. Savannah Guthrie did not appear on the "Today" show Monday morning as her family searches for her missing mother, Nancy Guthrie, who was reported missing in Arizona over the weekend. The longtime NBC anchor is stepping away from work as the situation unfolds and authorities continue their search. During the February 2 broadcast, co-hosts Sheinelle Jones and Craig Melvin addressed the absence, calling it a "deeply personal story." They shared a statement from Savannah, 54, and her family asking for public support and help. "On behalf of our family, I want to thank everyone for the thoughts, prayers and messages of support," the statement read. "Right now, our focus remains on the safe return of our dear mom." The family also thanked law enforcement and urged anyone with information to contact the Pima County Sheriff's Department at 520-351-4900, NY Post reported. Nancy Guthrie, 84, was reported missing around noon on Sunday, February 1, in Tucson, Arizona, according to the Pima County Sheriff's Department. She was last seen Saturday evening at her home in the Catalina Foothills area. Authorities described her as a "vulnerable adult." At a news briefing, a sheriff's department spokesperson said the case is troubling. "This is very concerning to us," the official said, adding that Nancy has "no cognitive issues at all" and is "very alert" and "of sound mind." PRAY Savannah Guthrie's elderly mother, who has gone missing - police suspect foul play. Authorities believe the 84-year-old mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie was kidnapped, abducted or otherwise taken against her will. The Pima County sheriff says its pic.twitter.com/OOZe7l8djq CBN News (@CBNNews) February 3, 2026 Guthrie Family Seeks Public Help Nancy is described as 5 feet 5 inches tall, about 150 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. The Guthrie family confirmed the missing person case in a separate statement to NBC News, saying they are working closely with local law enforcement and are grateful for the support they have received. According to US Magazine, Savannah has often spoken warmly about her mother on air. In January 2022, she honored Nancy during an episode of "Today" for her 80th birthday, praising her strength and character. "She's lived a life of integrity and loyalty," Savannah said at the time. "She loves us, her family, fiercely." Nancy raised Savannah and her two siblings after Savannah's father died of a heart attack when Savannah was 16. In past interviews, Savannah has shared how deeply her parents shaped her life. Nancy has also appeared on "Today" several times since Savannah joined the show in 2011, becoming a familiar and beloved presence to viewers. Prince Harry is reportedly cautious about the financial risks associated with Meghan Markle's ambitious plans to expand her As Ever lifestyle brand internationally. The Duke of Sussex, 41, is said to be "very wary" of the global rollout, particularly as it targets British and European markets following criticism that As Ever underperformed in the U.S., according to Closer. The Daily Mail reported last month that a website glitch last month revealed unexpectedly large inventory numbers for several products, including approximately 220,000 jars of jam, 30,000 jars of honey, 90,000 candles, 80,000 tins of flower sprinkles, and 70,000 bottles of wine. While some interpreted the figures as an indication of poor sales, sources say the production reflects Meghan's readiness to launch the brand internationally, a move that has reportedly "riled" Harry. "He isn't saying that she ought to throw in the towel; he just wants her to take it at a more sensible pace as the cash isn't flowing the way it used to," one source revealed. "If Harry wants to stay on her good side, he'd do well to stop trying to be the voice of reason. She's not going to take his advice anyway, and all he's doing is riling her up." Insiders say Meghan believes she can make "some serious money" by expanding As Ever across Europe and Asia. "It will give her a lot of satisfaction to dominate the UK jam market, which is something she really believes will be possible once her brand is exposed to a wider audience in Britain," the source added. The brand's initial U.S. release of jam, honey, wine, and other products reportedly sold out quickly, fueling her confidence for a larger rollout. After the website glitch revealed stock numbers, insiders praised Meghan's determination and resilience, noting that she has been preparing for the next phase for months. "She's been gearing up for this next phase for a long time; that's why there's been so much stock produced, and she's ready to pull the trigger," the source said. Financial Risks Fuel Prince Harry's Caution Despite Meghan's enthusiasm, Harry reportedly remains concerned about the costs involved in international distribution and marketing. Setting up operations abroad and promoting the brand in new markets would require a substantial financial outlay, which has made him "very wary." "The problem is the cost," the same source said. "Setting up proper distribution abroad and marketing it the way she wants takes an enormous amount of cash, and Harry is very wary... He isn't saying that she ought to throw in the towel, he just wants her to take it at a more sensible pace as the cash isn't flowing the way it used to." Since stepping back from royal life in 2020, the Sussexes have leveraged their public profile for various media ventures, including Harry's memoir Spare, deals with Netflix, Spotify, and Apple, and Meghan's "With Love, Meghan" series. Nicki Minaj admits that her public endorsement of Donald Trump was for the most part, less about the policies and more about her perception of how he was treated unfairly throughout his campaign a scenario that she says was very familiar to her. The 43-year-old rapper cleared the air about the controversy that surrounded her political stand during her interview on The Katie Miller Podcast where she explained that her coming out as conservative was not because of political figures such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom or global matters, but because she saw Trump being attacked non-stop. "Religious freedom is something that's very important to me," Minaj said when asked what influenced her thinking. She then pointed directly to Trump, saying that seeing "how he was being treated over and over and over" became the breaking point. 'Bullying' Claims and a Personal Connection Minaj told podcast host Katie Miller that the criticism aimed at Trump resonated with her on a personal level, echoing experiences she says she has faced throughout her own career. She said she recognized "a lot of that bullying in this man's campaign, and all of the lying," adding that it mirrored what she felt had been done to her "for so many years." Watching it unfold publicly, she said, forced her to confront her own silence. "I didn't think he deserved it," she said, explaining that it led her to decide, "I can't do this anymore." Minaj also suggested her political outspokenness was something she had long sensed was coming. During the interview, she spoke about feeling drawn toward a purpose beyond music, telling Miller that she believed her path had been aligning for years. "I had this strong premonition my whole life that I had a second job to do," she said, later adding that "sometimes people can push you SO MUCH that they push you all the way into your next calling." Rather than retreating, Minaj has leaned further into her stance. In recent days, she has referred to herself as Trump's "No. 1 fan," according to BBC, and appeared alongside him at a Washington, D.C., event centered on Trump Accounts at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium. "I am probably the president's No. 1 fan," she said from the podium. "And that's not going to change." She also told the crowd that criticism and smear campaigns would not weaken Trump's supporters, adding, "We're not going to let them get away with bullying him." Trump, speaking off-mic, responded simply: "That is so nice, thank you." You guys are going to love this interview, Barbz. Heres a sneak peek. https://t.co/mo5e0r5tj5 Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) February 2, 2026 Immigration History Fuels Renewed Criticism Last month the backlash reached its peak when the fans brought up a 2018 Instagram post in which Minaj talked about her story of coming illegally to the United States as a child and slammed the U. S. family separation policy at the border with Mexico. "I came to this country as an illegal immigrant @ 5 years old," she wrote at the time, calling the separation of children from their parents "so scary." Critics accused Minaj of contradicting her past views, particularly as she has recently engaged positively with content promoting the SAVE Act and appeared at a Turning Point USA event alongside conservative commentator Erika Kirk. The resurfaced post, which showed children lying on mats inside a detention center run by the Department of Homeland Security. Further scrutiny followed comments Minaj made during a 2024 TikTok Live, where she said she is not a U.S. citizen. "I was born on a beautiful island called Trinidad and Tobago," she said, according to Newsweek, joking that despite paying "millions of dollars" in taxes, she had not been granted "honorary citizenship." Originally published on Music Times The 68th Grammy Awards was packed with a lot of memorable moments which included historic wins, political statements and Bad Bunny and Lady Gaga's interaction. Bad Bunny took home the award for Best Album for his sixth album, Debi Tirar Ms Fotos, which pays homage to the rich musical culture of Puerto Rico. Lady Gaga had a little playful fun when she ambushed him while he was making his acceptance speech and he gave the most theatrical reaction to his surprise. The clip of the incident was released online and fans found it very funny how Bad Bunny reacted to the surprise. Lady Gaga scaring Bad Bunny pic.twitter.com/UfY8faFZim Gaga Daily (@gagadaily) February 2, 2026 Many people guessed on social media what he would have said if Nicola Hickling, a lip-reading expert, had not revealed it in an exclusive interview with The Mirror US. Hickling revealed that when Lady Gaga tapped Bad Bunny, she exclaimed, "It's me!" In response, the rapper reportedly said two words: "I was sleeping." Bad Bunny Makes History and Highlights Immigration Issues Beyond the playful scare, the night was historic for Bad Bunny. He became the first Latin artist to win album of the year in the Grammy Awards' 68-year history. During his acceptance speech, he highlighted the struggles and dreams of immigrants. The rapper dedicated the honor to those who "leave their home, land, their country, to follow their dreams." Bad Bunny also made a pointed political statement while accepting the award for best musica urbana album. Before thanking God, he said, "Before I say thanks to God, I'm gonna say: ICE out!" The audience erupted in applause as he continued: "We're not savage, we're not animals, we're not aliens. We are humans, and we are Americans." He reflected further on the power of love in the face of hostility, adding, "The only thing that is more powerful than hate is love. So, please, we need to be different. If we fight, we have to do it with love." The phrase "ICE out" has been used widely at protests opposing the Trump administration's immigration policies, particularly after two Americans, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were killed by agents in Minneapolis. Originally published on Music Times 1 La Guardia Civil traslada a la jueza que se necesita una comision rogatoria a EEUU para recuperar los WhatsApp de Cuenca McCain has announced plans to establish a new UK Farm of the Future in North Yorkshire, aimed at testing regenerative farming practices in real conditions and sharing the findings directly with its potato growers. The 202-hectare site, due to begin potato production in 2026, will be based close to McCain GBs headquarters, which has been located in the county for more than 50 years. It will become McCains third Farm of the Future globally, joining existing commercial-scale sites in Canada and South Africa, and will act as a working farm rather than a demonstration plot. McCain said the UK project is intended to support growers as they face increasing pressure from weather volatility, soil health challenges and policy uncertainty, by trialling practices that can be tested, measured and adapted before wider adoption. Findings from the farm will be shared with McCains global network of around 4,400 farmers, including UK potato growers supplying the business. The announcement coincides with the release of McCain Foods 2025 Global Sustainability Report, which confirms the company has now delivered its commitment to establish three Farms of the Future. Farm of the Future UK will be developed in partnership with the University of Leeds, creating a long-term research and teaching collaboration focused on soil health, biodiversity, land productivity and greenhouse gas emissions. The site is expected to be McCains most advanced Farm of the Future to date, with practices including controlled traffic farming, year-round soil cover and measures to improve biodiversity across the rotation. It will also be the first of McCains Farms of the Future to pilot a circular nutrient system, developed with the University of Leeds National Pig Centre, using pig manure to improve soil fertility, reduce waste and explore the benefits of mixed farming systems. Other areas of research will include the use of autonomous machinery and alternative fuels for farm equipment, with the aim of assessing what is practical and scalable for commercial growers. Results from the UK farm will be published annually, following the same model as McCains sites in Canada and South Africa, allowing farmers to see how systems perform over time rather than in a single season. Max Koeune, president and chief executive of McCain Foods, said: McCain Farm of the Future UK marks an important step in how we are scaling regenerative agriculture across our global Farms of the Future. Each site helps us test real solutions with farmers, understand what works, and share that knowledge across our network, he said. This is how we strengthen the resilience of our farms and support our partners for the long term. James Young, vice president of agriculture at McCain GB and Ireland, said the UK farm was designed to translate research into practical outcomes. Farming is at the heart of Britains food system, and farmers face growing challenges that demand new solutions, he said. This farm will show how regenerative farming works in practice and aims to provide a blueprint that growers can learn from. Professor Nick Plant, pro-vice-chancellor for research and innovation at the University of Leeds, said the partnership would support long-term research that could be applied beyond the site itself. Our partnership with McCain at their Farm of the Future in the UK is a clear example of our joint ambition to promote farming practices which minimise environmental impact, he said. This 20-year agreement will allow us to develop research expertise in soil health and land productivity that can benefit farming approaches worldwide. McCain said it has already made progress towards its regenerative agriculture targets in Great Britain, with 86% of its potato acreage now classified as Engaged or higher within its Regenerative Agriculture Framework. The company also reported a 25% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions and a 19% reduction in water intensity since 2017. For growers, McCain said the UK Farm of the Future will act as a testing ground for approaches that could be adopted across the supply chain, helping to reduce risk and provide evidence-based options as farming systems continue to evolve. Welsh farming and land use are set to play a central role in future environmental policy after a major new report warned that how food is produced and land is managed will be critical to tackling the countrys deepening climate and nature crises. Launching the State of Natural Resources Report (SoNaRR) 2025, the new chair of Natural Resources Wales (NRW), Neil Sachdev, said Wales must rethink how it farms its land, grows food, heats homes and travels if it is to halt environmental decline ahead of the next Senedd term. Published under the Environment Act and timed to inform debate in the run-up to the Senedd elections, the report is expected to influence future land-use policy, farm support frameworks and environmental regulation in Wales. SoNaRR 2025 assesses how sustainably Wales is managing its natural resources, examining the condition of soil, water, air, land and seas, as well as the wildlife and ecosystems that underpin food production, rural communities and farm businesses. NRW says that while some progress has been made since the previous assessment in 2020, the overall picture remains deeply concerning. The report concludes that nature across Wales is under sustained and intensifying pressure from climate change, pollution, habitat loss and unsustainable land use. Almost one in five species now faces extinction, only 40% of water bodies achieve good ecological status, and ecosystem resilience remains low across much of the country. It also finds that Wales continues to use more than its fair share of global natural resources, raising questions about the long-term sustainability of current production and consumption patterns. For farmers, the report reinforces that land management and food production are being positioned at the heart of nature recovery policy. NRWs assessment suggests future approaches will increasingly link farm support, environmental outcomes and long-term resilience, rather than treating agriculture and nature as separate policy areas. NRW highlights several targeted interventions already under way, including peatland restoration, air quality legislation, the Wales Metal Mines Programme and the Sustainable Farming Scheme. These measures, it says, are beginning to address long-standing environmental challenges linked to land use and pollution. However, the report warns that these gains are being outweighed by wider pressures, with natural resources still being degraded faster than they can be restored. According to NRW, the most significant pressures are embedded in how land is used, how food is produced and consumed, and how investment decisions shape both rural and urban areas not solely in environmental regulation. At a launch event in Cardiff, NRW joined the Office of the Future Generations Commissioner in urging policymakers to use the reports findings to drive reform across food production, land use, energy and transport. They said the evidence should be used to shape future policy that restores nature while strengthening resilience and supporting a fair, regenerative economy, with farming and land management recognised as central to delivery. A key section of the report, the co-produced Bridges to the Future chapter, sets out a framework for long-term change across agriculture, energy, travel and the built environment. Built around a Five Bridges model, it focuses on redesigning everyday systems, restoring nature as essential infrastructure, building a regenerative economy, realigning governance for the long term and delivering a fair transition. Speaking at the launch, Sachdev said: SoNaRR has shown us that the most damaging pressures on nature are not confined to environmental policy. "They are built into how we heat our homes, how we travel, how we grow and consume food, how we use land, and how we invest in places. He added: If Wales is to remain a place where people and nature thrive, we must change the systems themselves not just manage their impacts. Describing the challenge as shared across society, including agriculture, Sachdev said: SoNaRR is the diagnosis, but Bridges to the Future is our shared response. "At this pivotal moment, and ahead of the Senedd elections, we are asking leaders across all sectors to step forward, share responsibility and work in partnership with us to deliver the scale of change that Wales needs. The event, held at Cardiff Universitys Spark Innovation Campus, brought together senior figures including Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies MS, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales Derek Walker, and Elspeth Jones, Nature Guardian for the National Infrastructure Commission for Wales. Walker said nature played a critical role in protecting communities, supporting public health and reducing flood risk, warning that failure to act on the reports findings would put people at risk unnecessarily. Nature solutions are all around us, he said, pointing to projects such as green roofs in Swansea and seagrass restoration across Wales. He added that action was needed across public services, from land management to infrastructure maintenance. He also warned that environmental decline would fall hardest on disadvantaged communities and place an unimaginable burden on future generations. Irranca-Davies welcomed the report as a robust assessment of the challenges facing Wales natural environment and said it would inform future natural resources policy. Protecting and enhancing nature is essential for people today, and for future generations, he said, adding: We need to go further again. As Wales looks towards the next Senedd term, NRW said the report underlines that decisions on farming, land use and rural investment will be central to whether environmental targets can be met without undermining food production. Sachdev concluded: This is not just a warning about our future; it is a reckoning with our present. If we act now, with urgency and shared ownership, Wales can lead not just in ambition but by delivering the scale of transformation the nation needs. "If we dont, the next SoNaRR will simply document deeper loss, higher costs and narrower choices. A working Welsh sheep farmer has spoken publicly about her breast cancer diagnosis in a new awareness video, urging people in farming and rural communities not to delay seeking medical advice when something does not feel right. Carol Hope, who farms near Abermeurig outside Lampeter, has shared her experience to highlight the risks of putting health concerns second to farm work and to encourage earlier diagnosis across rural areas. The video is being released ahead of World Cancer Day on 4 February as part of the Rural Communities Cancer Project and the #NipItInTheBud campaign, a UK-wide partnership between the Farming Community Network (FCN) and Macmillan Cancer Support. Carol, who remains actively involved in the family sheep farm, was diagnosed with breast cancer after discovering a lump the night before Christmas in 2021. She contacted her GP and was referred for a mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy, which confirmed the diagnosis. Treatment included six months of chemotherapy to shrink the tumour, followed by a mastectomy and radiotherapy. Chemotherapy began in March, at the height of the lambing season, forcing her to step back from daily farm work at one of the busiest and most demanding times of the year. Her family stepped in to keep the farm running, with her daughters taking on additional responsibility alongside her husband. Describing the impact of the diagnosis, Carol said the effect on her family was one of the hardest parts of the experience. The hardest part was to tell family and friends because things were going to change. Once I got the diagnosis, my diary was full of appointments. My family took on the role of being my carer in a way. I feel in some respects it was worse for them than it was for me, she said. Her story was shared publicly at a Senedd reception on 13 January, attended by representatives from across the farming and health sectors, where stakeholders pledged their support for the #NipItInTheBud campaign. The event highlighted concerns that people in rural communities may delay seeking help, often due to workload, distance from services or a culture of prioritising work over health. Carol said she chose to speak out to help change that mindset. It can be easy to put things off, especially when farming work comes first. But if something doesnt feel right, its so important to get it checked. Early diagnosis can make all the difference, she said. The Farming Community Network supports the health and wellbeing of people in farming communities, and Carols story has also been shared by FCN Cymru in Welsh to make it more accessible across rural Wales. Linda Jones, national manager for FCN in Wales, said personal stories can play a crucial role in encouraging earlier action. Personal stories like Carols play a vital role in breaking down barriers around talking about health concerns, she said. We know that people in farming often delay seeking help, sometimes until symptoms become serious. "The #NipItInTheBud campaign is about encouraging early action trusting your instincts and speaking to a doctor sooner rather than later. As World Cancer Day approaches, the campaign is urging anyone worried about their health to contact their GP, reinforcing the message that early presentation and diagnosis can save lives. Weve been waiting a long time for the latest season of Bridgerton and it absolutely delivers. One of the standout additions this time is Sophie Baek, who steps in as Benedict Bridgertons love interest. The first four episodes beautifully trace how the two meet and slowly fall for each other, giving fans plenty of swoon-worthy moments. And its not just the romance that has viewers hooked. Sophies fresh, soft-focus makeup look has been getting just as much attention. Now, the shows makeup artist, Nic Collins, has shared the exact products she used on actor Yerin Ha to create that luminous, romantic finish and yes, you can recreate it too. Heres a closer look at the products behind Sophie Baeks glow: Caudalie Beauty Elixir A cult favourite for good reason, this ultra-fine mist from French brand Caudalie is made with 100% natural ingredients. Inspired by the historic youth elixir used by the Queen of Hungary, it works as the perfect skin prep step helping to tighten the look of pores and refresh the skin before makeup. Available on Tira, Nykaa and Myntra Beauty. Tatcha The Dewy Cream This Japanese-inspired skincare brand isnt officially available in India yet, but its a must-know if you love a radiant base. The Dewy Cream supports barrier repair and deeply hydrates, leaving skin plump and primed ideal for that lit-from-within makeup look. Armani Luminous Silk Foundation A red-carpet staple and celebrity makeup artist favourite, this foundation blends seamlessly into the skin to blur pores and smooth texture. Its patented micro-fill technology and skincare-rich base help deliver a naturally luminous, hydrated finish. Available on SS Beauty and Tira. Clinique Chubby Stick (Super Strawberry) For Sophies soft flush of lip colour, Nic used the Clinique Chubby Stick in the shade Super Strawberry, paired with a nude lip liner for gentle definition. It adds just the right amount of tint while keeping lips looking fresh and moisturised. Available on Nykaa, Tira and Myntra. Love Bridgerton? Here Are Filming Locations You Can Visit Ranbir Kapoors filmography explores stories of the heart in many ways. As an artiste, Ranbir has embodied multiple characters that bring layers of tenderness, vulnerability, longing, heartbreak, and love to life. Casual, transformative, calm, or tragic, he has portrayed all forms of love that still resonate deep with the audience. And perhaps that is why Ranbir finds love and art to be deeply intertwined. Talking candidly to Filmfare, Ranbir once drew a stunning analogy between an artiste and a lover. For him, emotional honesty occupies a profound space in a relationship. Love isn't just about accepting your partners perceptions; it is also about revealing different ways of seeing and feeling. Emphasizing this thought, Ranbir says, The role of an artiste is exactly like the lover. If I love you, I have to make you conscious of all the things that I want you to see, and you cant see. And if I can do that through my characters, through my films, through these different subjects that Im trying to do, of course Ill fail, you know, Ill go wrong because I dont have a formula for it. But I am going to show you something that you didn't know you wanted to see. If I know that this is what you want to see and I keep doing that, I will falter. It's something that I don't think I will be good at. That's the idea. That's the endeavor. In this view, gently expanding your partners emotional horizons to reveal hidden and unknown thoughts and feelings becomes a shared responsibility. It is no surprise that Ranbir has also been a compelling face of one of Bollywoods intensely explored themes - unrequited love AKA Ek Tarfa Pyaar. The internet still romanticizes those Ranbir walking away while Kabira plays in the background segments very dearly. It has become a symbol of heartbreak and moving on. Time and gain, Ranbirs characters have loved deeply even when it is not reciprocated. In many of his films complex and unrequited love takes the center stage. As Raj, he falls in love with Sakina (Sonam Kapoor) in Sawaariya, who continues to wait for her long-lost lover Imaan (Salman Khan). In Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani, Prem (Ranbir Kapoor) does everything possible to unite Jenny (Katrina Kaif) with another man burying his own feelings. In Anjaana Anajaani he quietly steps back on finding out Kiaras (Priyanka Chopra) feelings for her ex. In Rockstar, Jordan believes heartbreak fuels art, only to find real love in Heer that ultimately consumes him. Ae Dil Hai Mushkil brings one of his most defining portrayals of one-sided love when Ayans longing for Alizeh (Anushka Sharma) remains unfulfilled when she does not feel the same. So, love has rarely been a smooth sail when it comes to Ranbirs cinematic universe. It is messy and painful but always sincere. Interestingly, while on-screen romances have faced complexities, Ranbir says real life has been different. Unrequited love is all about loving someone dearly and not being loved back. Fortunately, Ive not been in that situation. Im a loving person. Id like to believe Im a swell guy, so people would love me back, he said. He acknowledged having a fair share of heartbreak. And candidly recalled, Yes, a man was once in love with me. Obviously, I wasnt because thats not my sexuality. Despite portraying some of the most emotionally wrecked and one-sided lovers, he adds It's never been one-sided with a woman. (in real life). Also Read: Imran Khan Addresses His Rumoured Rift With Ranbir Kapoor Alia Bhatt has offered fans a deeply personal glimpse into her life, love, and motherhood through a heartfelt letter written to her younger self. In an emotional conversation with Esquire India, the actor reflected on her journey so far. SHe has touched upon her long-held crush on Ranbir Kapoor, their marriage, and the joys of raising their daughter, Raha. Addressing her younger self, Alia spoke candidly about heartbreak and hope. She urged herself not to cry over past disappointments, reassuring that life had something far better in store. Referring to Ranbir Kapoor, whom she married in 2022, Alia described him as the best boy in the whole world, revealing that she had secretly admired him long before they became a couple. She called him her safest place, best friend, and someone who understands her so deeply that he can read her mind, offering love filled with respect, comfort, peace, and laughter. The actor also opened up about motherhood and the emotional transformation that came with it. Speaking about daughter Raha, born later in 2022, Alia described her as a mini-me and joked that she is already shaping up to be a little lawyer. She shared that becoming a mother expanded her heart in ways she never imagined and that gratitude now defines most of her days. Alia also encouraged her younger self to never stop dreaming and to cherish her mother and sister even more. The letter struck a chord with fans and family alike. Alias mother, actor Soni Razdan, praised the note for its beauty, while fans flooded social media with emotional reactions, calling the message touching, honest, and heartwarming. Alia and Ranbir began dating while working on Ayan Mukerjis Brahmastra, which went into production in 2018. After several years together, they tied the knot in April 2022. The couple is now set to reunite on screen in Sanjay Leela Bhansalis upcoming film Love & War. The film also stars Vicky Kaushal and is currently in production. Also Read: Alia Bhatt Opens Up About Her Marriage With Ranbir Kapoor, Calls Him a hands-on Dad to Raha As Dhurandhar continues its historic run in theatres, the makers have now unveiled the first poster and title of the much-anticipated second instalment. Titled Dhurandhar: The Revenge, it will see Ranveer Singh's character Hamza's rise in the Karachi underworld and his efforts to dismantle the terror network in Pakistan. The striking poster presents Ranveer in a dramatically transformed avatar from the first film. Standing centre-frame in a black trench coat with his hair loose against a blazing red backdrop, he appears explosive and menacing. Brimming with intensity, the visual signals higher stakes, fiercer action, and a far more ruthless chapter ahead. Take a look at the poster: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jio Studios (@officialjiostudios) Directed by Aditya Dhar, Dhurandhar currently stands as the biggest Hindi film of all time, cementing its cult and pop-culture status. After a massive run in theatres, the film found a whole new wave of love on Netflix, quickly becoming one of the most-watched titles in India. The teaser is expected to be unveiled today at 12:12 pm. Yesterday, Ranveer took to Instagram's story section to drop a hint. He just wrote, 'Tomorrow 12:12', instantly amping up the buzz. Besides Ranveer, Dhurandhar features a stellar cast comprising of R Madhavan, Arjun Rampal, Sanjay Dutt, Akshaye Khanna and Sara Arjun, among others. With Dhurandhar: The Revenge, the saga is set to escalate into an even bigger, bolder, and more formidable cinematic universe. Dhurandhar: The Revenge is written, directed, and produced by Aditya Dhar, and produced by Jyoti Deshpande and Lokesh Dhar. Presented by Jio Studios, this B62 Studios production is gearing up for a cinematic storm from March 19, 2026. The release will coincide with Eid, Gudi Padwa, and Ugadi, and will arrive in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam. Also Read: Ranveer Singh Reveals Dhurandhar 2s Trailer Will Drop Tomorrow The 70th Filmfare Awards South with Kerala Tourism are officially heading to the heart of Kerala, and the excitement is already building. The event is set to take place on February 21 bringing together the finest talent from the Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam film industries, ultimately paving the way for the biggest and grandest celebration of South Indian cinema. This milestone edition marks a special moment as the Black Lady arrives in Kochi. The event is a grand collaboration, with Kerala Tourism joining as the Destination Partner, alongside Special Partner Kamar Film Factory co-powered by Prestige and Sensodent, ensuring a celebration that matches the scale and prestige of the awards' legacy. The 69th Filmfare Awards South that took place in 2024 was also an event to remember which was hosted by the trio of Faria Abdullah, Sundeep Kishan, and Vindhya Vishaka. Tamil film, Chithha was the most awarded film winning seven awards in total. This edition too, like the previous years, promises to be as exciting as ever with several stars from South cinema set to grace the event. About Kerala Cradled between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats, Kerala brings together beaches, backwaters, hills, forests, and heritage within close reach. Sun-washed shores at Kovalam, Varkala, and Marari meet the calm backwaters of Alappuzha and Kumarakom, while Munnar, Wayanad, Thekkady, and Vagamon rise into mist-covered highlands. Forests in Silent Valley and Periyar shelter rare wildlife, and historic centres such as Kochi, Thrissur, Thiruvananthapuram, and Kannur reflect centuries of cultural exchange. Spirituality flows naturally through the state, from the Guruvayur and Sabarimala shrines to the Padmanabhaswamy Temple, alongside ancient churches and historic mosques that reflect Keralas tradition of coexistence. Keralas cultural life is expressed through classical art forms, festivals, boat races, and a cuisine shaped by land and sea. Supported by strong infrastructure, warm hospitality, and a commitment to responsible tourism, Kerala continues to welcome travellers with experiences that balance discovery and wellbeing, truly, Gods Own Country. Also Read: Filmfare OTT Awards 2025: Everything to Know About The Entries 2026 is BTS' year, and there is no denying that. The South Korean boy band is all set to release their comeback album Arirang this March, followed by a world tour. And much to the delight of ARMYs, Arirang will stream live exclusively on Netflix on March 21, 2026, at 8 PM Korean time. Streaming live from the historic Gwanghwamun in Seoul, this monumental performance celebrates the release of their highly anticipated new album, Arirang. The streaming platform has partnered with HYBE to bring the pop royalty back to the stage for this unprecedented, historic worldwide comeback event. BTS members RM, Jin, SUGA, J-hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook reunite on the global stage for the first time. This event comes on the heels of the announcement of BTS new album and world tour. BTS fifth studio album, Arirang, is a deeply reflective body of work that explores their identity and roots. After the album release, the band will embark on a massive Arirang World Tour (20262027), which will span 34 regions and 82 shows across Asia, North and Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and beyond. They are yet to announce more regions for 2027. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Netflix India (@netflix_in) This is not all. BTS: The Return, a BTS documentary film showcasing the making of their newest comeback album, will also arrive on Netflix on March 27, 2026. This feature-length documentary chronicles the long-awaited return of pop royalty, BTS. From acclaimed director Bao Nguyen (The Stringer, The Greatest Night in Pop) and renowned producers, This Machine (Martha, Karol G) and HYBE, the film offers unprecedented access, following BTS as they come back together to begin a reunion set to be etched in pop culture history, while reflecting on the journey that transformed seven Korean members into global icons. Since their debut in 2013, BTS built one of the most devoted fan communities in the world. After completing South Koreas mandatory military service, the seven members reunite in Los Angeles to make music together, returning to a shared creative space shaped by time apart and personal change. As millions of fans await the comeback of the decade, BTS confronts quieter questions: how to begin again, how to honour the past without being bound by it, and how to move forward together. Through moments of doubt, laughter, and rediscovery, they create new music that reflects who they are now, culminating in what will become a landmark album of its time. Intimate, emotional, and often joyful, BTS: The Return is a story only BTS can tell: a portrait of resilience, brotherhood, and reinvention. Also Read: Haiwaan Makers Celebrate Priyadarshans Birthday With Special BTS Glimpses Adivi Sesh has completed the final schedule of his upcoming film Dacoit. It is slated to release on March 19, 2026. The project has now moved to the final phase of production. Interestingly, Adivi Sesh has been deeply involved in every stage of Dacoit. The final leg of shooting has wrapped up key portions of the story and paved the way for post-production. Speaking about wrapping up the film, Adivi Sesh shared a detailed note. He said, "Wrapping the final schedule of Dacoit feels both surreal and deeply emotional for me. This film has been an intense journey, physically, creatively, and mentally. From writing the first draft to now standing at the edge of completion, every phase has demanded complete honesty and commitment. We just wrapped up the last schedule, and theres a quiet sense of fulfilment that comes with knowing weve given this story everything we had." He further added, "Dacoit is not just another film for me; its a story that has stayed with me through the nights of writing and days of shooting under challenging conditions. As we head toward an its release in March, I feel incredibly grateful to be sharing this moment with the entire team who believed in the vision from day one. Theres a certain responsibility that comes with releasing a film during a festive period - audiences come in with heightened expectations and that pushes us to be even more honest with our work." Reflecting on the journey he has had with the movie, the actor noted, "The excitement around Dacoit is something weve all felt on set and it motivates us to raise our bar every single day. This final schedule is about tying emotional and narrative threads together, making sure the story lands exactly the way it is meant to. Once we wrap, the focus will shift to post-production, where the film will find its final rhythm and tone. I genuinely hope audiences feel the same intensity, vulnerability and passion that went into making this film." Also Read: Pics: Mrunal Thakur Wraps Up Dacoit; Team Gives a Warm Send-off A new production chapter View this post on Instagram A post shared by Rajkumar Periasamy (@rajkumarperiasamy) Sai Pallavis packed slate The star power behind D55, headlined by Dhanush, just got stronger. In the latest casting update, Sai Pallavi has officially joined the film, teaming up with Sreeleela to lead the female cast. The yet-untitled project is directed by Rajkumar Periasamy and marks another major collaboration in contemporary South Indian cinema.For Sai Pallavi, this announcement signals a busy and exciting phase. The actor reunites with Rajkumar Periasamy soon after their recent outing, Amaran, which starred Sivakarthikeyan in the lead. While details of her role in D55 remain under wraps, her association with the director once again has already raised expectations.This also marks Sai Pallavis second collaboration with Dhanush after the 2018 entertainer Maari 2. Their on-screen pairing had struck a chord with fans back then, and the new project promises to explore a different dynamic. With Sreeleela also stepping into a pivotal role, D55 is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated star-driven ventures currently in development.D55 will be produced by Wunderbar Films, Dhanushs home banner, in association with RTake Studios. The film was initially announced under Gopuram Films, headed by Anbuchezhiyan and Sushmita Anbuchezhiyan, before the project changed hands.While the makers are yet to reveal the rest of the technical crew, one key name has already been confirmed. Young composer Sai Abhyankkar has been roped in to score the music. The rising talent made his Tamil debut with Dude and Malayalam debut with Balti, earning praise for his fresh sound. His inclusion adds another layer of curiosity to the film, which is expected to blend commercial appeal with emotional depth.With Rajkumar Periasamy at the helm, the film is expected to balance strong storytelling with mainstream sensibilities. The director has been known for his grounded narratives and emotionally resonant characters, and his reunion with Sai Pallavi suggests a continued focus on performance-driven cinema.Sai Pallavi, meanwhile, continues to expand her footprint across industries. She was last seen in the Telugu film Thandel opposite Naga Chaitanya, where her performance once again drew praise for its sincerity and restraint. Her upcoming projects underline her pan-Indian appeal.She is set to make her Hindi debut with Ek Din, a romantic drama directed by Sunil Pandey, where she will star opposite Junaid Khan. Adding to the excitement, Sai Pallavi will also portray Sita in the two-part epic Ramayana, with Ranbir Kapoor playing Ram.With D55, Sai Pallavi adds another high-profile title to her already diverse filmography. As production gears up and more details emerge, the film stands poised to be a major theatrical draw, driven by its powerful cast and promising creative team.Also Read: Is Sai Pallavi Set to Replace Deepika Padukone in Kalki 2898 AD Part 2? PUNE, India, Feb. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Global Electric Vehicle Market has entered a decisive scale-up phase, transitioning from policy-led adoption to execution-driven industrial transformation. According to MMR Statistics, the global electric vehicle market was valued at USD 1,304.64 Billion in 2025 and is projected to reach USD 4,925.91 Billion by 2032, expanding at a CAGR of 20.9% during the forecast period. This growth is not incremental. It signals a structural reordering of the global automotive value chain, where light-duty EV penetration, BEV-PHEV technology mix, and OEM execution capability are redefining competitive advantage across China, Europe, the United States, India, and emerging markets. Get Full PDF Sample Copy of Report: (Including Full TOC, List of Tables & Figures, Chart) @https://www.mmrstatistics.com/reports/400646/electric-vehicle-market/contact?type=sample Why This Market Demands CXO Attention Now The EV transition has crossed the experimentation threshold. With light-duty electric vehicles approaching one-fourth of new vehicle sales globally, the industry is no longer debating adoption-it is confronting scale economics, cost control, and portfolio discipline. For CEOs and investors, the core question has shifted from "How fast will EVs grow?" to "Who is structurally positioned to capture value as EVs become mainstream?" Executive Snapshot - Global Light-Duty EV Market (2025) Metric Strategic Interpretation Market Size (2025) USD 1.30 Trillion Forecast (2032) USD 4.93 Trillion CAGR (2025-2032) 20.9 % EV Share of New LDV Sales ~23% globally Dominant Technology BEVs (~65% of EV sales) Production Concentration China (~70%+ of global output) Competitive Reality Scale, speed, and localization define winners EVs are no longer an alternative drivetrain; they are becoming the core automotive growth engine. Global EV Volume Momentum: Scale Is Accelerating Faster Than Value While market value highlights monetization, volume growth reveals where structural leadership is being established. In 2025, global electric light-duty vehicle sales crossed ~17-18 million units, nearly doubling compared to 2022 levels. China accounts for ~60% of global EV unit sales, driven by mass-market BEVs, aggressive domestic OEM pricing, and manufacturing scale Europe contributes ~20% of global EV volumes, supported by fleet electrification mandates and regulatory enforcement United States represents ~10-12% of EV volumes, constrained by pricing dispersion and uneven charging infrastructure India and emerging Asia remain below 5% in volume share but exhibit the fastest year-on-year growth trajectories Future EV leadership will be determined by who wins volume scale first-not who monetizes premium models early. Light-Duty EV Penetration: Four Markets, Four Realities Between 2020 and 2025, EV adoption diverged sharply across major auto economies: China now anchors global EV scale, with nearly half of new LDVs sold as EVs, supported by domestic OEM dominance and cost-down manufacturing. Europe has crossed a regulatory-driven inflection point, with EVs accounting for over one-fifth of new vehicle sales, driven by fleet electrification and emissions enforcement. United States shows selective adoption, constrained by pricing dispersion, charging gaps, and consumer segmentation. India remains early-stage but strategically important, with EV adoption concentrated in compact, value-oriented segments. Immediate Delivery Available | Buy this Research Report (Insights, Charts, Tables, Figures and More) - https://www.mmrstatistics.com/checkout/reports/400646/contact EV adoption is no longer linear or uniform-it follows local economics, infrastructure readiness, and OEM portfolio alignment. Infrastructure & Policy Execution: Why Some Markets Pull Ahead EV adoption increasingly follows infrastructure readiness and execution speed, not consumer intent alone. China leads with dense fast-charging networks, battery supply localization, and city-level EV mandates Europe benefits from fleet electrification rules, public charging subsidies, and OEM compliance urgency United States faces adoption friction as charging rollout lags vehicle penetration outside select states India is prioritizing two- and three-wheeler electrification as a gateway to broader passenger EV scale EV penetration follows charging density, grid readiness, and policy execution-not just affordability. Technology Mix: BEVs Consolidate, PHEVs Remain Tactical Across global light-duty EV sales in 2025: Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) represent ~65% of total EV sales, consolidating their position as the dominant technology. Plug-in Hybrid EVs (PHEVs) retain relevance in markets where charging infrastructure, range anxiety, or price sensitivity limit full BEV adoption. China's BEV share has rebounded strongly, while the US and Europe maintain a mixed technology strategy. India remains predominantly BEV-led. OEMs misaligned with regional technology economics face portfolio inefficiency and delayed ROI. Model Concentration: Scale Is Being Captured, Not Distributed EV sales are increasingly concentrated around a limited number of high-volume platforms: In the US, the top 10 BEV models account for over two-thirds of total BEV sales In China and Europe, top models still command one-third or more of EV volumes In emerging markets, concentration is even higher, driven by affordability and platform reuse EV scale is being won through platform concentration, not model proliferation. Segment Economics: Where EV Economics Actually Work Passenger LDVs dominate EV volumes, but fleet and shared mobility segments show faster adoption due to predictable total cost of ownership Entry and mass-market EVs drive scale in China and emerging markets Premium EVs remain value-heavy but volume-constrained in Europe and the US Commercial LDVs are emerging as the next electrification frontier EV success is segment-specific-one-size-fits-all portfolios fail. Production vs Sales Imbalance: China's Structural Advantage In 2025, global EV production and sales flows reveal a clear imbalance: China controls over 70% of global EV production Europe and the US remain sales-heavy but production-constrained Emerging markets are increasingly dependent on imported platforms or localized assembly Access the full consulting-grade Global Electric Vehicle Market analysis (2025-2032): https://www.mmrstatistics.com/reports/400646/electric-vehicle-market Risk lens: This concentration introduces geopolitical, trade, and supply-chain exposure for global OEMs and suppliers. Emerging Markets: Volume Today, Strategic Optionality Tomorrow Markets such as Brazil, Thailand, Vietnam, Mexico, and South Africa are witnessing early EV uptake-primarily in fleet, urban, and compact segments. While current volumes remain modest, these markets represent long-term demand optionality, particularly as cost-competitive BEVs and localized manufacturing expand. Competitive Landscape: Execution Discipline Separates Winners from Laggards The global EV market is increasingly polarized: Scale Leaders: OEMs with cost leadership, rapid model refresh, and localized supply chains. BYD, SAIC, Tesla - platform reuse, battery integration, pricing power Technology Leaders: Players with strong BEV platforms and software integration. Tesla, Hyundai-Kia, select European OEMs - strong platforms, margin pressure Challenged OEMs: Legacy manufacturers with fragmented EV portfolios and slow execution. Fragmented portfolios, slow localization, rising capital strain. Brand strength alone no longer guarantees EV success-industrial execution and speed now determine survival. Value Migration & Strategic Risk Value is shifting from ICE platforms to EV architectures, batteries, and software OEMs without scale face margin compression and capital inefficiency Delayed localization increases exposure to cost volatility and policy risk Organizations treating EVs as an extension of legacy portfolios risk structural erosion of competitiveness. Analyst Perspective "The global EV market has moved beyond ambition into execution," said a Senior Analyst at MMR Statistics. "From 2025 onward, competitive advantage will be defined by how effectively manufacturers align scale, technology mix, and regional economics-not by headline electrification targets." Why This Research Drives Decisions The Global Electric Vehicle Market report by MMR Statistics provides decision-ready intelligence on: Light-duty EV sales share and technology mix OEM and model-level concentration dynamics Regional production-sales asymmetry Emerging-market opportunity and risk Strategic positioning across BEVs and PHEVs Designed for OEMs, suppliers, investors, and policymakers, the analysis goes beyond market sizing to explain where value is accumulating-and where execution risk is rising. Most EV reports track adoption. This analysis tracks who captures value, who absorbs risk, and who loses relevance as EVs scale Related Reports: Global Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Market - https://www.mmrstatistics.com/reports/595775/global-electric-vehicle-charging-stations-market Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Market - https://www.mmrstatistics.com/reports/142506/unmanned-aerial-vehicle-market Smart Sensor Market - https://www.mmrstatistics.com/reports/440529/smart-sensor-market Global Commercial Vehicles Market - https://www.mmrstatistics.com/reports/754754/global-commercial-vehicles-market Substation Maintenance Market - https://www.mmrstatistics.com/reports/837784/substation-maintenance-market About Us : MMR Statistics (https://www.mmrstatistics.com) has been empowering organizations with data-driven insights since 2015. We deliver industry intelligence, bespoke research, and strategic advisory support tailored to help our clients achieve sustainable growth. Contact: Lumawant Godage Visit Our Web Site : https://www.mmrstatistics.com/ Email: sales@mmrstatistics.com Phone :+91 9607365656 Global Office : Navale IT park Phase 3 Pune-Bangalore Highway, Narhe, Pune, Maharashtra 411041, India Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2874800/MMR_Statistics.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/global-electric-vehicle-market-to-reach-usd-4-925-91-billion-by-2032-as-light-duty-evs-reshape-automotive-scale-technology-mix-and-oem-power-structures--mmr-statistics-302676447.html Kelowna, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 2, 2026) - F4 Uranium Corp. (TSXV: FFU) ("F4" or "the Company") is pleased to announce that pursuant to its press release of July 29, 2025, the TSX Venture Exchange (the TSXV) has granted approval of the option agreement (the "Agreement"), with Stearman Resources Inc. (the "Purchaser") in which the Company has granted the Purchaser the exclusive option to acquire up to a 70% interest in the Company's Murphy Lake uranium property in Saskatchewan (the "Property"). The Transaction required the Company to provide documents to the TSXV including a review of the Company's Financial Statements and property expenditure, the full Terms of the Agreement and impact on the Company. Ray Ashley, Chief Executive Officer, noted that "The agreement is considered as an arms length transaction. The transaction reflects F4's focused strategy to unlock the project's potential through a committed partnership and establishes a clear path forward for exploration and development at Murphy Lake." As Previously disclosed the terms of the Agreement include: In order to complete the acquisition of 50% of the Property, the Purchaser agrees to paying an aggregate of $800,000 (inclusive of a $50,000 non-refundable payment) over 2 years to the Company, funding a total of $10,000,000 in expenditures over a period of 42 months, and issuing common shares of the Purchaser equal to 9.9% of the Purchaser's issued and outstanding shares within 6 months. Following the exercise of the initial option, the Purchaser has the option to acquire a further 20%, for a total of 70% interest of the Property, by paying an aggregate of $500,000 over a period of 3 years, starting from the date of the Agreement and funding an additional $8,000,000 in exploration expenditures on or before the date that is 5 years of the Agreement. Following the exercise by Stearman of the Initial Option, Stearman shall grant to F4 a 2.0% net smelter returns royalty in respect of the Property (the "NSR Royalty") payable to F4 upon commencement of commercial production at the Property, provided that the Purchaser shall be responsible only for the percentage of the NSR Royalty equal to its percentage interest in the Property. On the earlier of such date as Stearman (i) exercises the additional 20% option; (ii) elects not to exercise the additional 20% option; and (iii) sixty (60) months from the Initial Payment Date, the Company and the Purchaser will form a joint venture to further exploration and development on the Property. The Property consists of 8 claims located in northeastern Athabasca basin. There were no Finders fees payable on the transaction. About the Murphy Lake Property F4's 609-hectare Murphy Lake Property is located in the north-eastern corner of the Athabasca Basin, 30 km northwest of Orano's McLean Lake deposits, 5 km south of ISOEnergy's Hurricane Uranium Deposit and 4 km east of Cameco's La Rocque Lake Uranium Zone where drill hole Q22-040 intersected 29.9% U3O8 over 7.0 m. The 2022 maiden drill program at the Murphy Lake Property consisted of 14 completed drillholes totaling 6,850m; scintillometer results from hole ML22-006 intersected a peak of 2,300 cps (see NR August 10, 2022), which resulted in assay results of 0.065% U3O8 over 2.5m from 322.5m to 324.5m, including 0.242% U3O8 over 0.5m. Qualified Person The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved on behalf of the Company by Sam Hartmann, P.Geo., President & Chief Operation Officer of F4, and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. This news release also refers to neighboring properties in which F4 Uranium has no interest, and the Qualified Person has been unable to verify the information from those properties. Mineralization on those neighboring properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization on the Murphy Lake Property. About F4 Uranium Corp: F4 Uranium is a Canadian uranium exploration company focused on the Athabasca Basin in northern Saskatchewan, and the latest uranium explorer, lead by the same management and exploration team with a legacy of discovery successes. The project portfolio includes 17 wholly owned properties totaling roughly 157,000 ha, many of which are near uranium deposits including Paladin's Triple R, Nexgen Energy's Arrow and IsoEnergy's Hurricane projects. The assets were spun out of F3 Uranium in 2024, where the technical and management team made their third, and more recently fourth uranium discoveries at Patterson Lake North and Broach Lake. F4's core focus will be split between the west and east sides of the Athabasca Basin as the company is establishing itself as an explorer and project generator providing shareholders renewed exposure at an early stage. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements that are not historical facts, including without limitation, statements regarding future estimates, plans, programs, forecasts, projections, objectives, assumptions, expectations or beliefs of future performance, including statements regarding the suitability of the Properties for mining exploration, future payments, issuance of shares and work commitment funds, entry into of a definitive option agreement respecting the Properties, are "forward-looking statements". These forward-looking statements reflect the expectations or beliefs of management of the Company based on information currently available to it. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including those detailed from time to time in filings made by the Company with securities regulatory authorities, which may cause actual outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. These factors should be considered carefully and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws. The TSX Venture Exchange and the Canadian Securities Exchange have not reviewed, approved or disapproved the contents of this press release, and do not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/282460 Source: F4 Uranium Corp. Summary: Earned Wisdom: Stories of Overcoming and Resilience by Dan Weddle has achieved #1 bestseller status on Amazon as of December 11, ranking at the top of multiple categories. The book offers honest and personal recounts of overcoming adversity, leadership, and building a meaningful life and career through perseverance, faith, and determination. Memphis, Tennessee--(Newsfile Corp. - February 2, 2026) - Earned Wisdom: Stories of Overcoming and Resilience by Dan Weddle has secured the #1 spot on Amazon in the Motivational Business Management, Personal Success in Business, and Biographies of Business Professionals categories. The book is an inspiring and candid reflection on Dan Weddle's personal and professional journey. As President and CEO of ProTech Services Group, Inc., Weddle traces the long, often painful road that shaped him into the leader he is today. Weddle grew up in a broken family with generational struggles around addiction and limited financial stability, and navigated grief, loss, and career uncertainty for a long time. Through the book, he offers readers an honest look at what it takes to keep moving forward. Earned Wisdom by Dan Weddle To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/9100/279631_avazonaimg.jpg Before becoming the President and CEO of a respected technology and talent services firm, Weddle began his career as a nineteen-year-old beat cop specializing in narcotics. During that time, he never would've imagined leading an innovative IT company one day. However, through hard work, learning on the job, and consistently seizing opportunities as they arose, Weddle built a thriving career. The book also explores extremely personal chapters of Weddle's life. He shares what it meant to juggle three jobs, make a complete career shift, become an instant father, and face the devastating loss of a child. These experiences shaped his leadership style and his outlook on life. Throughout Earned Wisdom, Weddle emphasizes the importance of faith, family, and community, as well as the humility to ask for help when it is needed most. "There will almost always, at some point in life, be struggles and hardships," Weddle says. "No one can avoid them. What's important is how we deal with those hardships, and that we get back up every time we're knocked down." Dan Weddle is also widely recognized for his leadership at ProTech Services Group, Inc., a Memphis-based company founded in 1992. The firm provides managed services, cybersecurity, cloud solutions, technology consulting, and talent acquisition. In the Memphis community, Weddle serves on multiple boards, including Streets Ministries and the Memphis Shelby County Crime Commission, and is actively engaged in leadership and advisory organizations. These experiences and successes converge in Earned Wisdom, offering readers a fresh service-based perspective on leadership and responsibility. The book's success is an incredible milestone for Dan Weddle. Earned Wisdom: Stories of Overcoming and Resilience is available on Amazon. About the Author: Dan Weddle is the President and CEO of ProTech Services Group, Inc., a Memphis, Tennessee-based technology and talent services firm. He has more than three decades of experience in leadership, IT consulting, and business development. Weddle is known for his people-first approach and commitment to helping organizations and individuals succeed personally and professionally. Earned Wisdom is his debut book, offering lessons on adversity, leadership, and life experience. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/279631 Source: Avazona Ltd. ISGlobal, supported by Rockefeller Foundation, analyzed impact of severe global aid cuts in 93 countries where preventable deaths could happen, including: 38 in Sub-Saharan Africa, 12 in MENA, 10 in Europe, 21 in Asia, and 12 in Latin America New study published in The Lancet finds slashing global aid, particularly by US and European countries, will reverse decades of progress in fighting diseases BARCELONA, N.Y., Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Lancet Global Health published a new peer-reviewed study today by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), which warns that a precipitous drop in global aid could lead to 22.6 million additional deaths by 2030 across 93 low- and middle- income countries, including 5.4 million children under the age of five. With support from The Rockefeller Foundation, the analysis demonstrates that Sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for 38 of the 93 countries analyzed, is particularly at risk, and with 21 of the countries in Asia, 12 in Latin America, 12 in the Middle East and North Africa, and 10 in Europe, including Ukraine, severe cuts to official development assistance (ODA) could be felt globally. ISGlobal's research also reveals that over the course of 2002-2021, ODA helped reduce child mortality by 39%; prevent HIV/AIDS deaths by 70%, with a 56% reduction in deaths from both malaria and nutritional deficiencies; and increased additional global health outcomes in these 93 countries, which are home to 75% of the world's population. "These findings are a warning of the profound moral cost of the zero-sum approach many political leaders are taking-and they are an urgent call to action to all of us to prevent this human suffering," said Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation in a Statement on the Human Cost of Foreign Aid Cuts. "The question before humanity today is whether we will accept a global retreat from commitments to feed the hungry, cure the sick, and lift up the most vulnerable define the future or whether we will come together to build new models of cooperation worthy of the tens of millions of people who could lose their lives if we do not." In 2024 international aid fell for the first time in six years, and the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Germany significantly reduced their ODA contributions for the first time in nearly 30 years. These deep cuts, along with projected cuts in 2025 and 2026, sparked the need to understand what this could mean at the human level for communities all over the world. "Our analyses show that development assistance is among the most effective global health interventions available. Over the past two decades, it has saved an extraordinary number of lives and strengthened fragile welfare states and healthcare systems. Withdrawing this support now would not only reverse hard-won progress, but would translate directly into millions of preventable adult and child deaths in the coming years. Budget decisions made today in donor countries will have irreversible consequences for millions of people for years to come," said Davide Rasella, Coordinator of the study, ICREA Research Professor at ISGlobal and at the Brazilian Institute of Collective Health. Millions More Lives at Risk: As the world's largest donors and other countries around the world continued to slash billions in assistance, the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is projecting that ODA could decline by 10%-18% from 2024 to 2025. In order to assess the realized impact of ODA in these countries and project what may happen if current aid cuts continue or worsen, ISGlobal - with support from The Rockefeller Foundation in association with its charitable offshoot, RF Catalytic Capital - examined 20 years of development data between 2002 and 2021 in 93 countries that are home to 6.3 billion people. "This study exposes the grave reality that many feared after a year of sweeping cuts to global aid. Severe defunding is expected to cause 22.6 million deaths by 2030, which is equivalent to losing the entire population of Zambia," said William Asiko, Senior Vice President & Head of Africa, The Rockefeller Foundation. "Africa is expected to bear the brunt of aid cuts, and this data clearly demonstrates the devastating human impact this will have. Philanthropies, civil society, and other groups will not be able to fill the gap left by declining official development assistance, so it is necessary to look for new models that can deliver the greatest impact with reduced funding. The Rockefeller Foundation is working to develop these solutions that can fix our broken aid infrastructure." Peer reviewed and published by The Lancet Global Health, The Impact of Two Decades of Humanitarian and Development Assistance and the Projected Mortality Consequences of Current Defunding to 2030: Retrospective Evaluation and Forecasting Analysis, models two scenarios over the course of 2025-2030: Mild defunding scenario. With a 10.6% yearly reduction (corresponding to the average reduction of the last two years, 2024-2025), these cuts could result in 9.4 million preventable deaths, including 2.5 million children younger than five years. Severe defunding scenario. Based on $32 billion (15.1%) in ODA cuts from 2024 to 2025, with the funding cuts continuing and worsening through the end of this decade, this could cause 5.4 million children younger than age five years to die as part of more than 22.6 million additional deaths of all ages - Roughly equivalent to (1) the populations of greater Barcelona, Paris, and London combined ; (2) more than the individual populations of Cairo , Dhaka , Mexico City , Mumbai , and Sao Paulo ; (3) or the entire U.S. State of Florida perishing by 2030. ISGlobal researchers applied a consistent methodological framework that integrates longitudinal panel data with validated country-level microsimulation models to quantify the health consequences of funding reductions across all OECD contributors. As result, the new study also demonstrates that higher global ODA levels in the 93 countries analyzed between 2002 and 2021 contributed to: Decreasing all-cause mortality by 23%. Declining child mortality by 39%. Reducing deaths mortality rates from HIV/AIDS by 70%, nutritional deficiencies by 56%, malaria by 56%, diarrheal diseases by 55%, and neglected tropical diseases by 54%. Strengthening health systems and supporting disease control and eradication efforts. Improving preparedness for outbreaks and epidemics. It also warns that at least three out of every four people on the planet live in countries where two decades of development gains could be reversed, where progress against diseases disappears, and where preventable loss of life could happen. The countries analyzed in this study include: 38 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. 12 countries in the Middle East and North Africa: Algeria, Djibouti, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, and Turkiye. Algeria, Djibouti, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, and Turkiye. 10 countries in Europe: Albania, Armenia, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, and Ukraine. Albania, Armenia, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, and Ukraine. 21 countries in Asia: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. 12 countries in Latin America: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, and Peru. As a result of the severe realized and projected cuts to ODA, The Rockefeller Foundation is undertaking its mission-driven work around the world - with a focus on Sub-Saharan Africa - to identify country-led solutions to maximize every dollar of remaining aid and to stimulate new investments. This work, along with ISGlobal's research, is supported by the Foundation's Build the Shared Future Initiative, through which the 113-year-old philanthropic organization aims to inspire and inform global cooperation and international development work that matches the challenges of the 21st century. Researchers from ISGlobal - a Barcelona-based institution supported by the "la Caixa" Foundation, together with the Institute of Collective Health at the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA) in Brazil, the Mozambique-based Manhica Health Research Centre (CISM), and the National Institute of Health (INS) - submitted this report to The Lancet Global Health on 18 November 2025. It builds on an ISGlobal-led study published last year, which found that the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) alone could lead to over 14 million additional preventable deaths by 2030. Both analyses applied the same methodological framework, integrating longitudinal panel data with validated country-level microsimulation models-to quantify the health consequences of funding reductions. While the USAID study focused on a single donor, the new analysis encompasses all OECD contributors, providing a comprehensive assessment of global aid defunding on mortality. For additional information and download a copy of ISGlobal's latest study, please visit: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(26)00008-2/fulltext. About The Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) The Barcelona Institute for Global Health, ISGlobal, is the fruit of an innovative alliance between the "la Caixa" Foundation, academic institutions and government bodies to contribute to the efforts undertaken by the international community to address the challenges in global health. ISGlobal is a consolidated hub of excellence in research that has grown out of work first started in the world of health care by the Hospital Clinic and the Parc de Salut MAR and in the academic sphere by the University of Barcelona and Pompeu Fabra University. Its working model is based on the generation of scientific knowledge through Research Programmes and Groups, and its translation through the areas of Education and Training and Analysis and Global Development. Its ultimate goal is to help close the gaps in health disparities between and within different regions of the world. For more information, visit www.isglobal.org. About The Rockefeller Foundation Investing $30 billion over the last 113 years to promote the well-being of humanity, The Rockefeller Foundation is a pioneering philanthropy built on unlikely partnerships and innovative solutions that deliver measurable results for people in the United States and around the world. We leverage scientific breakthroughs, artificial intelligence, and new technologies to make big bets across energy, food, health, and finance, including with our charitable offshoot, RF Catalytic Capital (RFCC). For more information, sign up for our newsletter at www.rockefellerfoundation.org/subscribe and follow us on X @RockefellerFdn, Instagram @rockefellerfdn, YouTube @RockefellerFdn, and LinkedIn @the-rockefeller-foundation. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/93-worldwide-at-risk-of-losing-nearly-23-million-more-people-by-2030-302676923.html TOKYO, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) Fund announced today a total investment of approximately JPY 1.39 billion (USD 8.8 million1) in six R&D projects for the development of drugs, diagnostics and vaccines for malaria, tuberculosis (TB), and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).2 Investment of JPY 648 million (approx. USD 4.1 million1) for development of an mRNA vaccine to reduce infection and transmission of vivax malaria Malaria caused by Plasmodium vivax remains a major challenge to malaria elimination efforts due to the parasite's ability to form dormant liver-stage hypnozoites. These dormant parasites may reactivate months or even years after the initial infection, causing recurrent episodes of malaria. In addition to triggering repeated blood infections, reactivation enables transmission back to mosquitoes, allowing the disease to persist within communities. To address this problem, the GHIT Fund is investing JPY 648 million (USD 4.1 million1) in a global partnership aimed at developing an mRNA vaccine to reduce infection and transmission of vivax malaria. This project is being led by Mahidol University and Chulalongkorn University in Thailand, and Ehime University in Japan. The investment builds on a prior GHIT-supported project3 that received approximately JPY 70 million (USD 0.4 million1) between 2023 and 2025. Investment of JPY 93 million (approx. USD 0.6 million1) in diagnostic registration and JPY 183 million (USD 1.1 million1) in drug development for Chagas disease Chagas disease is a parasitic infection primarily transmitted through the bite of triatomine bugs. It is estimated that more than seven million people worldwide are infected, with the majority of cases occurring in Latin America.4 Mother-to-child transmission also poses a significant public health challenge, making early diagnosis and prompt treatment essential. For the control of congenital Chagas disease, the GHIT Fund is investing JPY 93 million (USD 0.6 million1) in the registration of a point-of-care diagnostic test in Argentina and Bolivia. This project is led by ISGlobal (the Barcelona Institute for Global Health), a research institute in Spain, and Eiken Chemical Co., Ltd. in Japan. The GHIT Fund is also investing approximately JPY 183 million (USD 1.1 million1) in lead identification, which represents an early-stage step in the development of new drugs for Chagas disease being led by Eisai Co., Ltd. and others. In addition, the GHIT Fund will invest a total of approximately JPY 466 million (approx. USD 2.9 million1) in the following three R&D projects: Facilitating local universal TB testing with Lung Flute ECO (FLUTTE): Validation in children, health care workers, and people living with HIV(PLHIV) with robust comparators for TB testing by the Research Institute of Tuberculosis, Japan Anti-Tuberculosis Association, Acoustic Innovations Co., Ltd., Institute of Tropical Medicine, the Aurum Institute, Stellenbosch University, Instituto Nacional de Saude and World Alliance for Lung and Intensive Care Medicine in Uganda. Development of a novel P. falciparum multistage vaccine by Ehime University, Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd., PATH, Statens Serum Institut and University of Copenhagen. AI-guided approaches for schistosomiasis drug discovery by Aberystwyth University and University of Dundee in the UK and BrightCore, Inc. in Japan. Please refer to Appendix 1 for detailed descriptions on these projects and their development stages. The six projects funded in this round bring together partners from a total of 13 countries. Since its inception, the GHIT Fund has worked with more than 210 research and development partners, including more than 140 overseas institutions. The GHIT Fund serves as a bridge connecting pharmaceutical companies, universities, and research institutes in Japan with their counterparts around the world. As of December 31, 2025, there are 43 ongoing projects, including 19 discovery projects, 12 preclinical projects, and 12 clinical trials5 in the GHIT Fund's portfolio. The total amount of investments since 2013 is JPY 42.5 billion (USD 271 million1) (Appendix 2). 1 USD 1 = JPY 156.53, the approximate exchange rate on December 30, 2025. 2 These awarded projects were selected and approved as new investments from among proposals to RFP2024-002 and RFP2025-001 for the Product Development Platform, the Target Research Platform, and the Hit-to-Lead Platform, which were open for applications from June 2024 to July 2025. 3 Project details: https://www.ghitfund.org/investment/portfoliodetail/detail/207/en 4 WHO: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/chagas-disease-(american-trypanosomiasis) 5 This number includes projects in the registration phase. The GHIT Fund is a Japan-based international public-private partnership (PPP) fund that was formed between the Government of Japan, multiple pharmaceutical companies, the Gates Foundation, Wellcome, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The GHIT Fund invests in and manages an R&D portfolio of development partnerships aimed at addressing neglected diseases, such as malaria, tuberculosis, and neglected tropical diseases, which afflict the world's vulnerable and underserved populations. In collaboration with global partners, the GHIT Fund mobilizes Japanese industry, academia, and research institutes to create new drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics for malaria, tuberculosis, and neglected tropical diseases. https://www.ghitfund.org/ Appendix 1. Project Details ID: G2025-112 Project Title Development of a highly efficacious multistage mRNA vaccine formulation to prevent P. vivax infection and transmission Collaboration Partners 1. Mahidol University (Thailand) 2. Ehime University (Japan) 3. Chulalongkorn University (Thailand) Disease Malaria Intervention Vaccines Stage Lead Optimization Awarded Amount JPY 648,081,450 (USD 4.1 million) Status Continued project Summary [Project objective] This project aims to develop a multistage mRNA vaccine capable of reducing both infection and transmission of P. vivax [Project design] Researchers from Mahidol, Chulalongkorn, and Ehime Universities are teaming up to develop a new mRNA vaccine that can both prevent infection and stop the spread of P. vivax. The vaccine will target two key proteins: PvCSP, which is involved in the early stages of infection, and Pvs230, which helps the parasite spread from humans to mosquitoes. The team will first test different versions of the PvCSP mRNA to find the most promising one, then fine-tune the best combination of PvCSP and Pvs230. Promising vaccine formulas will be tested in non-human primates to identify the most effective option. Once a lead candidate is selected, they will produce a high-quality vaccine suitable for human trials. All vaccine versions will use a clinically proven lipid nanoparticle (LNP) system to deliver the mRNA. Success will be evaluated by the vaccine's ability to generate antibodies that block the parasite from infecting liver cells and prevent its transmission to mosquitoes. Project Detail https://www.ghitfund.org/investment/portfoliodetail/detail/251/en ID: G2025-121 Project Title Trypanosoma cruzi-LAMP: A molecular point-of-care test for the control of congenital Chagas disease - from prototype to product Collaboration Partners 1. Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal/Spain) 2. Eiken Chemical Co., Ltd. (EIKEN/Japan) 3. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingenieria Genetica y Biologia Molecular "Dr. Hector N. Torres" (CONICET-INGEBI/Argentina) 4. Fundacion Salud Naturaleza Integral (SANIT/Bolivia) 5. Wiener lab (WIENER/Argentina) Disease Chagas disease Intervention Diagnostic Stage Registration Awarded Amount JPY 93,142,925 (USD 0.6 million) Status Continued project Summary [Project objective] To license the T. cruzi-LAMP in Argentina and Bolivia, respectively in front of ANMAT and AGEMED regulatory agencies. Additionally, both industrial partners involved (EIKEN and WIENER) will reach a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that provides the context for the subsequent commercialization of the technology. At the same time, we will promote the use of the LAMP for improved diagnosis of congenital Chagas disease. Enabling the adoption of this tool will increase access, aligning to the WHO 2030 roadmap for Neglected Tropical Diseases, and contributing to the PAHO Elimination of Mother-To-Child Transmission (EMTCT) of infections initiative. [Project design] In G2025-121, coordinated again by ISGlobal, we will extend the data of former project G2020-203 on the use of heparinized and dried blood spots (DBS) newborns samples in the study site of Yacuiba (Gran Chaco province, department of Tarija, Bolivia) operated by SANIT. These new data will complement the existing body of evidence, including prior analytical performance results generated by Eiken and CONICET-INGEBI, as well as the G2020-2023 clinical validation studies. In addition, performance data produced by Wiener using the T. cruzi-LAMP kits assembled at its manufacturing facility in Argentina will be incorporated. Together, this comprehensive dataset will underpin the preparation of the regulatory dossier and facilitate formal interactions with ANMAT and AGEMED, advancing the licensing and market authorization of the T. cruzi-LAMP diagnostic prototype in Argentina and Bolivia. The newly generated results will play a key role to respond the regulatory agencies requests, which include the analytical validation work conducted within the T. cruzi-LAMP verification studies led by Wiener. Moreover, with the goal of recommending a change in the diagnosis policy to generalize a timely access to diagnosis (and treatment), we will advocate towards the adoptability of the technology through regular meetings with the competent health care authorities at both regional and national levels, as well as internationally to the PAHO and WHO. Project Detail https://www.ghitfund.org/investment/portfoliodetail/detail/256/en ID: H2025-101 Project Title Hit-to-Lead Optimization of Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors for the Treatment of Chagas Disease Collaboration Partners 1. Eisai Co., Ltd. (Japan) 2. Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiatives (DNDi/Switzerland) 3. Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP/Argentina) 4. Fundacion Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingenieria Genetica y Biologia Molecular (Fundacion INGEBI/Argentina) 5. Instituto de Investigaciones en Microbiologia y Parasitologia Medica (IMPaM/Argentina) Disease Chagas disease Intervention Drug Stage Lead Identification Awarded Amount JPY 183,021,439 (USD 1.1 million) Status Continued project Summary [Project objective] We propose to conduct a hit-to-lead campaign of phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitors for Chagas disease. We will leverage findings from a previous GHIT-funded project for the generation of structure-activity relationship (SAR) data to advance a medicinal chemistry campaign. We aim to identify compounds with favorable profiles and in vivo efficacy using an acute model of Chagas disease. This work represents a crucial contribution to the drug discovery pipeline as the endpoint for this proposal is the identification of leads that are primed for further optimization, bringing us closer to delivering an urgently needed, novel mechanism-of-action drug candidate for Chagas disease. [Project design] New compounds will be subjected to iterative cycles of design, synthesis, and profiling in in vitro potency, selectivity, and DMPK assays, followed by in vivo PK studies. Structure-activity and structure-property relationships gleaned from these activities will be used to continually refine our analog design hypotheses. Potent analogs with acceptable in vitro and in vivo profiles will be progressed for in vivo efficacy testing using the Chagas acute model. Project Detail https://www.ghitfund.org/investment/portfoliodetail/detail/252/en ID: G2024-105 Project Title Facilitating Local Universal TB Testing with Lung Flute ECO (FLUTTE): Validation in Children, Health Care Workers, and People Living with HIV(PLHIV) with Robust Comparators Collaboration Partners 1. The Research Institute of Tuberculosis, Japan Anti-Tuberculosis Association (RIT-JATA/Japan) 2. Acoustic Innovations Co., Ltd (Japan) 3. Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM/Belgium) 4. The Aurum Institute (Republic of South Africa and Republic of Mozambique) 5. Stellenbosch University (Republic of South Africa) 6. Instituto Nacional de Saude (INS/Republic of Mozambique) 7. World Alliance for Lung and Intensive Care Medicine in Uganda (WALIMU/Republic of Uganda) Disease Tuberculosis Intervention Diagnostics Stage Product Validation Awarded Amount JPY 281,985,836 (USD 1.8 million) Status Continued project Summary [Project objective] The goal is to generate robust scientific evidence for WHO endorsement of the Lung Flute ECO by 2027. The project will assess LFE performance in: Targeted Universal TB Testing (TUTT) among health-care workers and PLHIV unable to expectorate. Paediatric TB diagnosis comparing LFE with saline induction, nasopharyngeal aspirates, and tongue swabs; and Community screening combined with digital chest X-ray and computer-aided detection (CAD). The project also aims to establish sustainable local manufacturing in Africa and Asia. [Project design] A network of clinical trials in South Africa, Mozambique, and Uganda will enroll over 8,000 participants using randomized or crossover designs with molecular and culture-based TB diagnostics as references. Data on diagnostic yield, safety, acceptability, and cost-effectiveness will be harmonized for pooled analysis to meet WHO guideline review criteria. Parallel activities include technology transfer, manufacturer training, and market-entry preparation for LMICs. Project Detail https://www.ghitfund.org/investment/portfoliodetail/detail/253/en ID: T2025-157 Project Title Development of a novel P. falciparum multistage vaccine candidate based on PfCSP and PfRipr5 Collaboration Partners 1.PATH (USA) 2. Ehime University (Japan) 3. Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd. (Japan) 4. Statens Serum Institut (SSI/Denmark) 5. University of Copenhagen (UCPH/Denmark) Disease Malaria Intervention Vaccine Stage Antigen Identification Awarded Amount JPY 99,989,845 (USD 0.6 million) Status New project Summary [Project objective] The objective of this project is to generate robust preclinical data to support the advancement of a multistage (CS + BS) particle-based malaria vaccine candidate formulated with a potent adjuvant. Under our central hypothesis, a vaccine targeting both pre-erythrocytic (CS) and erythrocytic (BS) stages will provide additive and/or synergistic protection against P. falciparum by interrupting two sequential lifecycle stages. This dual-targeting strategy is designed to reduce progression to clinical disease in individuals not achieving full protection with current CS-based vaccines (RTS,S/AS01, R21/Matrix-M). Milestones for this project include: Generation and testing of potent CS and BS immunogens on a proven particle delivery platform in in vivo efficacy models. Testing admixed combinations of CS and BS particle-based immunogens in in vivo efficacy models. Generation of a single particle displaying both CS and BS immunogens. [Project design] This project is built on the successful completion of the following activities: A reliable system for preclinical efficacy testing of CS vaccine candidates; Evidence that particle delivery is preferred for efficacy of CS immunogens; Access to a robust, Phase 3 clinically validated particle delivery platform for preclinical and clinical testing; Identification of a potent BS immunogen; Down-selection of the most potent region of PfRipr; and Access to potent TLR-7 agonist adjuvants. The project will be initiated by generating and evaluating potent CS and BS immunogens displayed on the clinically validated AP205 particle platform and assessing their functional efficacy in vivo. After completing the individual antigen testing, we will proceed to evaluate the admixed combination of CS and BS immunogens presented on AP205 particles in vivo. This phase will determine whether co-administration preserves-or even enhances-the immunogenicity of each antigen, will identify potential immune interference or synergistic effects, and will define the optimal CS to BS ratio to be administered. Once the admixed administration has been evaluated and ratios of CS to BS have been defined, a single, co-displayed particle that presents both CS and BS antigens on the AP205 platform will be constructed and characterized. This co-display approach on a single, easy-to-manufacture nanoparticle aligns with the project goal of simplified, cost-effective, multistage vaccine delivery. Project Detail https://www.ghitfund.org/investment/portfoliodetail/detail/254/en ID: T2025-151 Project Title AIH2L: A rtificial I ntelligence Guided Strategies to Identify New Anti-Schistosomal H it to L ead C andidates. Collaboration Partners 1. Aberystwyth University (UK) 2. BrightCore, Inc. (Japan) 3. University of Dundee (UK) Disease Schistosomiasis Intervention Drug Stage Target Identification Awarded Amount JPY 84,482,057 (USD 0.5 million) Status New project Summary [Project objective] The primary goal of this project is to deliver a small number of multi-lifecycle stage (schistosomula, juveniles and adults) active chemical series ready to enter the hit-to-lead phase of anti-schistosomal drug discovery. To achieve this goal, we will combine AI-guided approaches for drug discovery with high-throughput, whole-organism imaging platforms to phenotype schistosomes and expertise in early-stage drug discovery for schistosomiasis including medicinal chemistry and DMPK. The compounds developed here will be carried forward in subsequent projects as putative replacement drugs for praziquantel. [Project design] Using existing phenotypic datasets, AI models will first be built to identify chemical features associated with anti-schistosomal activity and run these trained models on large chemical libraries to identify new compounds predicted to display potential anti-schistosomal activity. Using high-throughput phenotyping platforms, approximately 100 of the prioritized compounds will first be co-cultured with S. mansoni schistosomula (10 M final concentration) for 72 h. Active molecules will be subjected to dose response titrations and those displaying EC50s less than 10 M will subsequently be tested against 7-week adult male and female worms (20 M final concentration) for 72 h. Actives will subsequently be tested in dose response titrations for EC50 determinations. Compounds with adult worm EC50s less than 20 M will subsequently be tested against 3-week juvenile worms in dose response assays. Compounds demonstrating EC50s less than 10 M in schistosomula, 20 M in adult worms and 20 M juvenile worms will be progressed as hits. Confirmed hits will be tested for cytotoxicity, metabolic stability, aqueous solubility and lipophilicity. Focused hit expansion plans for the most promising actives will aim to assess the potential to improve potency and DMPK profile, explore synthetic tractability and identify key areas for further optimization. Commercial analogs or, if available, analogs in our existing compound collection will also be tested. Series that meet Compound Progression Criteria for a Validated Hit Series will be screened against S. mansoni parasites during ex vivo co-culture. Compounds demonstrating EC50s less than 3 M in schistosomula, 3 M in adult worms and 3 M juvenile worms will be identified as H2L candidates. Project Detail https://www.ghitfund.org/investment/portfoliodetail/detail/255/en *All amounts are listed at an exchange rate of USD 1 = JPY 156.53, the approximate exchange rate on December 30, 2025. Appendix 2. Investment Overview (as of December 31, 2025) Investments to date Total investments: JPY 42.5 billion (USD 271 million1) Total invested projects: 144 (43 active projects and 101 completed projects) To learn more about the GHIT Fund's investments, please visit Investment Overview: https://www.ghitfund.org/investment/overview/en Portfolio: https://www.ghitfund.org/investment/portfolio/en Advancing Portfolio: https://www.ghitfund.org/investment/advancingportfolio/en Clinical Candidates: https://www.ghitfund.org/investment/clinicalcandidates/en For more information, contact: Nancy Moss at +1-908-606-8940 or nmoss@burness.com Eriko Mugitani at +81-36441-2032 or eriko.mugitani@ghitfund.org View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/total-investment-of-approx-usd-8-8-million-in-malaria-tuberculosis-and-ntd-rd-projects-with-partners-including-mahidol-university-barcelona-institute-for-global-health-and-eisai-302675841.html Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 2, 2026) - Grit Metals Corp. (TSXV: FIN) (FSE: K9T) ("Grit" or the "Company") announces further to its news release of December 4, 2025, the Company has received TSX Venture Exchange approval and has settled an outstanding signing bonus payment totaling $50,000, owing to Jake Clarke, Vice President, Exploration of the Company, through the issuance of 416,667 common shares at a deemed price of $0.12 per common share. All securities issued in connection with the debt settlement are subject to restrictions on resale for a period four-months-and-one-day following the original issuance of such securities, in accordance with the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange. About Grit Metals Corp. Grit Metals Corp. is a junior mining company currently focused on the Lithium-Cesium-Tantalum Finnish Pegmatite Project in central Finland. Governing bodies in Europe and Finland are legislating environmentally friendly and energy independent laws and policies. One of the key components is access to REE and, specifically, lithium. The company's exploration licenses are located within 1 kms of the Keliber mine and production complex, currently under construction and expected to begin production in H2 2025. An estimated 600 million investment by Keliber's parent company Sibanye-Stillwater Limited in partnership with the Finnish Minerals Group (www.mineralsgroup.fi) is underway in the Kautinen Region and will see the development of open-pit and underground mining from several deposits, construction of a central spodumene concentrator plant and a lithium hydroxide chemical plant at tidewater in Kokkola. When completed, this complex will comprise a complete hard-rock spodumene pegmatite lithium supply chain (source: www.sibanyestillwater.com). Grit Metals Corp. is a junior exploration company focused on lithium-cesium-tantalum pegmatites in central Finland. The Company's exploration licences are located within 1 km of Keliber's mine and production complex, a 600 million investment by Sibanye-Stillwater Limited in partnership with Finnish Minerals Group (www.mineralsgroup.fi). The Keliber complex, which is currently in commissioning, will comprise open-pit and underground mining, a central spodumene concentrator and a lithium hydroxide plant at tidewater in Kokkola, creating a complete hard-rock lithium supply chain in the region (source: www.sibanyestillwater.com). On behalf of the board of directors of the Company: Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information This new release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking information is typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. Such statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the future results of operations, performance and achievements of the Company, including the presence of lithium mineralization at, and the exploration and development potential of, the Finland Pegmatite Project. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurances that such expectations will prove to be correct. All such forward-looking information is based on certain assumptions and analyses made by the Company in light of their experience and factors management believes are appropriate in the circumstances. This information, however, is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from this forward- looking information include the costs of any anticipated work programs and the ability to fund such costs, required approvals in connection with any work programs and the ability to obtain such approvals, risks inherent in exploration as well as those described under the heading "Risks and Uncertainties" in the Company's most recently filed MD&A. The Company does not intend, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or revise the forward-looking information contained in this news release, except as required by law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/282470 Source: Grit Metals Corp. Das Borsenjahr 2026 ist fur viele Anleger ernuchternd gestartet. Tech-Werte straucheln, der Nasdaq 100 tritt auf der Stelle und ausgerechnet alte Favoriten wie Microsoft und SAP rutschen zweistellig ab. KI ist plotzlich kein Ruckenwind mehr, sondern ein Belastungsfaktor, weil Investoren beginnen, die finanzielle Nachhaltigkeit zu hinterfragen. Gleichzeitig vollzieht sich an der Wall Street ein lautloser Favoritenwechsel. Wahrend viele auf Wachstum setzen, feiern Value-Titel mit verlasslichen Cashflows ihr Comeback: Telekommunikation, Industrie, Energie, Pharma die Cashmaschinen der Realwirtschaft verdrangen hoch bewertete Hoffnungstrager. In unserem aktuellen Spezialreport stellen wir funf Aktien vor, die genau in dieses neue Marktbild passen: solide, gunstig bewertet und mit attraktiver Dividende. Werte, die nicht nur laufende Ertrage liefern, sondern auch bei Marktkorrekturen Sicherheit bieten. Jetzt den kostenlosen Report sichern bevor der Value-Zug 2026 endgultig abfahrt! Dieses exklusive PDF ist nur fur kurze Zeit gratis verfugbar. Canadian AI and Data Analytics Firm Achieves Certification to Deliver Industry-Leading DCAM Assessments TORONTO, ONTARIO / ACCESS Newswire / February 2, 2026 / Bronson.AI, a boutique Data and AI company specializing in predictive analytics and data-driven solutions, today announced its certification as a DCAM Authorized Partner through the EDM Association, the global authority in data management and analytics standards. This achievement enables Bronson.AI to conduct formal Data Management Capability Assessment Model (DCAM) assessments for clients, providing organizations with a proven framework to evaluate, benchmark, and advance their data governance programs. DCAM is the globally recognized standard for data management best practices, structured around eight key components with 34 capabilities designed to help organizations maximize the value of their data assets. As a DCAM Authorized Partner, Bronson.AI can now deliver certified assessments that help clients identify gaps in their data management programs, benchmark against industry peers, and develop actionable roadmaps for improvement. This partnership builds on Bronson.AI's recent membership in the EDM Association, further solidifying the company's commitment to delivering world-class data governance solutions. "Becoming a DCAM Authorized Partner is a significant milestone for Bronson.AI and our clients," said Daniel Mixture, VP of Data Strategy & Governance at Bronson.AI. "Organizations today recognize that strong data governance is the foundation for successful AI and analytics initiatives. With DCAM certification, we can now offer our clients formal assessments backed by the most respected framework in the industry, helping them build sustainable, mature data management programs that drive real business value." The DCAM framework addresses critical data management requirements including data architecture, quality management, metadata governance, and organizational alignment. Bronson.AI's certified practitioners will leverage DCAM to support clients across industries in establishing effective data strategies that enable digital transformation and advanced analytics capabilities. The certification has also earned recognition from industry leaders. Paul Childerhose, Canadian Advocate for the EDM Association, commented on the achievement: "Achieving certification as a DCAM Authorized Partner represents a strong signal of leadership from Bronson.AI, and a clear commitment to elevating the bar for data governance excellence in Canada. I welcome their expanded role in helping organizations adopt trusted, best practices to strengthen data governance foundations and responsibly advance AI initiatives." With over 35 years of experience and more than 1,000 successful projects delivered, Bronson.AI combines deep technical expertise with proven methodologies to help organizations unlock the value of their data. This DCAM Authorized Partner certification further enhances the company's ability to deliver comprehensive data governance solutions aligned with global best practices. For more information about Bronson.AI's DCAM assessment services and data governance solutions, visit www.bronson.ai. About Bronson.AI Bronson.AI helps organizations unlock the value of their data using AI and predictive analytics to support the achievement of organizational goals. www.bronson.ai/ About DCAM v3 "DCAM v3 is more than a framework - it's a strategic tool for enabling measurable progress and supporting truly data-driven culture," said Jim Halcomb, Chief Research & Development Officer, EDM Association. DCAM supports organizations in navigating rapid data growth, unifying governance, improving literacy and building trust in data at every level. The EDM Associations DCAM v3 model and its eight key components Contact Information Daniel Mixture | VP Data Strategy & Governance | dan.mixture@bronson.ca | 1-844-391-0019 SOURCE: Bronson.AI View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/business-and-professional-services/bronson.ai-becomes-dcam-authorized-partner-expanding-data-govern-1130654 Baltimore, Maryland--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - The Leon Harris Road to Recovery Scholarship announces its mission to support undergraduate students across the United States who are rebuilding their lives through education and personal transformation. This national scholarship opportunity provides financial assistance and recognition to students demonstrating resilience, commitment to personal growth, and dedication to creating positive change in their communities. Leon Harris Road to Recovery Scholarship To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8530/282072_20c185df84443814_001full.jpg Award-winning news anchor and motivational speaker Leon Harris established the scholarship to honor individuals who view education as a cornerstone of renewal and opportunity. Leon Harris, whose distinguished career includes reporting for CNN and major Washington, D.C. network affiliates, brings decades of storytelling expertise and community service to this initiative. The scholarship reflects Leon Harris's commitment to supporting second chances and empowering students to transform their challenges into catalysts for meaningful change. "Recovery represents more than overcoming obstacles-it embodies the courage to pursue new possibilities," states Leon Harris. "Education provides the foundation for students to rewrite their narratives and inspire others facing similar journeys." The Leon Harris Road to Recovery Scholarship awards $1,000 to one undergraduate student enrolled at an accredited institution in the United States. Eligible applicants must have completed or currently be engaged in a recovery program and demonstrate how education serves as their next step forward in personal and professional development. To apply, students must submit an original essay of 500-700 words responding to the prompt: "How has your recovery journey shaped your outlook on education and life, and how do you plan to use your education to inspire or create change for yourself and others?" This essay component allows applicants to articulate their experiences, perspectives, and aspirations while showcasing their commitment to academic achievement and community impact. Leon Harris founded this scholarship after witnessing countless stories of human resilience throughout his three-decade journalism career. From covering historic events including the 2004 tsunami in Thailand to the January 6th Capitol riots, Leon Harris developed a profound understanding of human perseverance and the transformative power of opportunity. His work with educational initiatives at Ohio University and various Washington, D.C. non-profits further demonstrated his dedication to service and mentorship. The scholarship welcomes applications from undergraduate students nationwide, regardless of their geographic location, major, or institution type. This inclusive approach ensures students from diverse backgrounds and circumstances receive consideration based on their personal journey, academic commitment, and potential for positive impact. Applications must be submitted by June 15, 2026, with the scholarship recipient announced on July 15, 2026. The selection process evaluates applicants based on essay quality, demonstration of personal growth, academic goals, and commitment to inspiring change within their communities and beyond. Through the Leon Harris Road to Recovery Scholarship, students receive not only financial support but also recognition for their courage, determination, and vision. This initiative stands as a testament to the belief that education, combined with resilience and purpose, creates pathways to transformation and opportunity. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/282072 Source: GYT Milwaukee, Wisconsin--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - Dr. Scott Kamelle, a preeminent figure in the field of Gynecologic Oncology, has reached a monumental milestone in his professional career. Castle Connolly, the nation's leading healthcare research and information company, has officially recognized Dr. Kamelle as a Top Doctor for 10 consecutive years. This prestigious decade-long accolade underscores Dr. Kamelle's unwavering commitment to clinical excellence, surgical innovation, and compassionate patient care in the treatment of ovarian and uterine cancers. Dr. Scott Kamelle To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8530/282071_11c3f57c4432bbc7_001full.jpg The Gold Standard of Peer Recognition The Castle Connolly Top Doctor designation is not merely a trophy on a shelf; it is a peer-nominated honor that represents the top 7% of all U.S. practicing physicians. Unlike many "top doctor" lists, physicians cannot pay to be included. The selection process involves a rigorous screening of medical education, training, hospital appointments, and professional reputation. Being acknowledged for ten years straight signifies a rare level of consistency and trust within the medical community. "To be recognized by my peers for a decade is a profound honor," says Dr. Scott Kamelle. "But more importantly, it serves as a testament to the progress we've made in gynecologic oncology. My goal has always been to provide women with the most advanced, least invasive options possible, ensuring they return to their lives with strength and confidence." A Legacy of Surgical Innovation and Leadership Dr. Scott Kamelle's career is defined by his pioneering spirit, particularly in the realm of robotic-assisted surgery. Having completed over 2,500 robotic surgery cases, he is widely regarded as a leader in minimally invasive techniques. During his tenure as the Chair of the Robotic Steering Committee at Aurora Health Care for over a decade, he was instrumental in integrating cutting-edge technology into standard oncological care. This dedication has significantly reduced recovery times and improved surgical outcomes for countless women in the Milwaukee area and beyond. His professional journey is backed by an elite educational foundation: Undergraduate: Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley . Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the . Medical Degree: Medical Doctor (M.D.) from Boston University School of Medicine . Medical Doctor (M.D.) from . Residency: Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania . Obstetrics and Gynecology at the . Fellowship: Gynecologic Oncology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Empowering Patients Through Education Beyond the operating room, Dr. Scott Kamelle is a fervent advocate for patient education. He leads Dr. Scott Kamelle's Oncology Blog, a comprehensive resource dedicated to providing evidence-based information on ovarian and uterine cancers. His philosophy-"Knowledge is Power"-is woven into every article, designed to bridge the gap between complex medical jargon and the practical needs of patients and caregivers. About Dr. Scott Kamelle Dr. Scott Kamelle, MD, is a multi-board-certified Gynecologic Oncologist based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Specializing in complex pelvic surgery and minimally invasive treatments for gynecologic cancers, he combines high-tech surgical precision with a patient-centered, empathetic approach. He has been featured in MKE Lifestyle and continues to be a leading voice in oncological research and community support. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/282071 Source: GYT Regulatory News: CTP, Europe's largest listed owner, developer and manager of logistics and industrial real estate by gross lettable area, has delivered 24,000 sqm of high-tech industrial space for Quanta Computer Inc., a leading Taiwanese manufacturer of products for cloud computing, artificial intelligence and autonomous driving, at CTPark Julich in Germany's North Rhine-Westphalia region. Quanta signed a 15-year lease with CTP to develop and operate the high-tech production site. The facility includes around 17,000 sqm of production and logistics space as well as 7,000 sqm of office, technical space, and amenity for employees. Quanta's new facility is creating up to 500 new jobs for people living in and around Julich. Quanta moving into its new high-tech facility at CTPark Julich is further evidence of the 'nearshoring' trend that sees growing demand from Asian companies looking to expand their production space in Europe driven by a changing geopolitical environment and EU policies. As a result, Asian multinationals like Quanta are increasingly seeking to build resilient supply chains by nearshoring their production capabilities closer to their end European customer base. Quanta will manufacture state-of-the-art high-tech products at CTPark Julich, ensuring it can supply its customers across Europe quickly and efficiently. CTP has decades of experience of developing and operating innovative facilities for clients, and worked closely with Quanta to meet its specific requirements that included building a product testing laboratory and a standalone cleanroom, alongside robotics and automated production lines. The new building is highly energy efficient, its roof is equipped with a photovoltaic system, and CTP is aiming for DGNB Gold certification for its sustainable performance. CTPark Julich is part of the inter-municipal commercial and innovation area known as Brainergy Park Julich in the north of the city, within easy reach of Aachen and Cologne. The Park is located near the A44 motorway and close to the German borders with Belgium and the Netherlands. Via the motorway network, major European cities including Frankfurt, Brussels and Amsterdam are all easily accessible. "Quanta putting down roots at CTPark Julich is another example of the nearshoring trend currently shaping the European real estate logistics market. High-tech Asian manufacturers in particular are relocating closer to their end markets and to benefit from shorter supply chains. CTP has the experience and skillset to help them develop and manage the properties they need, facilitating their entry to European markets and then managing their property as a landlord for the long term," Timo Hielscher, Managing Director at CTP Germany, places the project within the company's broader strategy. "At CTPark Julich, we have developed ultra-modern space for Quanta at a strategically located site, providing them with excellent access to the European market from a sustainable future-proofed building. We welcome Quanta and look forward to a successful long-term partnership," said Christian Schrottle, Construction Director for the West region at CTP Germany. Asian clients now represent around 20% of all new leases signed across CTP's portfolio of industrial and logistics space each year. In addition to Quanta, other Asian clients of CTP include the Chinese electric car company NIO and Taiwanese computer manufacturer Inventec. About CTP CTP is the largest listed developer, owner and operator of logistics and industrial real estate by gross leasable area ("GLA"), with a portfolio of 13.8 million sqm of GLA in 10 countries as at 30 September 2025. CTP certifies all new buildings according to the BREEAM standard "Very Good" or higher and has consistently strong 3rd party ESG ratings, underscoring its commitment to being a sustainable business. For more information, visit CTP's website: www.ctp.eu. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260202614179/en/ Contacts: CONTACT DETAILS FOR ANALYST AND INVESTOR ENQUIRIES: Rob Jones, Head of Investor Relations and PR Mobile: +420 605 482 873 Email: rob.jones@ctp.eu Pavel Svihalek, Funding and IR Manager Mobile: +420 724 928 828 Email: pavel.svihalek@ctp.eu CONTACT DETAILS FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES: SEC Newgate UK Email: ctp@secnewgate.co.uk LONDON, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- New groundbreaking research1 released at the start of the National Year of Reading, drawing on the largest dataset ever conducted on shared book reading, reaffirms that Dolly Parton's Imagination Library significantly strengthens early literacy skills for children and families across the UK and the four other countries where the programme operates. The findings reinforce the power of shared reading in the earliest years of life. Authored by Dr. Claire Galea, Head of Research at United Way Australia, the study analysed survey data from more than 86,000 caregivers in the United States, Canada, the UK, Australia, and the Republic of Ireland. Findings were compared with responses from 37,776 caregivers whose children had not yet received Imagination Library books. Caregivers were surveyed at baseline, six months, and twelve months after receiving at least ten books. The flagship program of The Dollywood Foundation UK, the Imagination Library has gifted over 7 million free, high-quality, age-appropriate books to children from birth to age five since launching in 2007. This is achieved through funding shared by The Dollywood Foundation UK and Local Programme Partners, including local authorities, charities and community organisations. Currently, the Imagination Library in the UK posts more than 75,000 books each month to children in the UK. Global Findings The study found that across all countries evaluated, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is linked to stronger early literacy outcomes and richer reading experiences at home-helping close early literacy gaps by strengthening foundational skills, increasing the frequency of children being read to, and boosting children's interest and engagement during shared reading. It also shows the program builds positive family reading habits and traditions, reinforcing a home literacy environment that supports children's learning and long-term success. United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland Highlights Within the global findings, children and families in the UK and Republic of Ireland showed particularly strong outcomes compared to children not in the program: More than five times more likely to spend time reading alone. to spend time reading alone. 11 times more likely to initiate shared book reading. to initiate shared book reading. Nine times more likely to demonstrate phonological awareness to demonstrate phonological awareness Five times more likely to demonstrate alphabet knowledge. In the lifetime of the study the children received 10 books, but the average number of books in UK households went up by 30 in the same period, suggesting the development of new family literacy patterns. Founded in 1995 by Dolly Parton in honour of her father, the Imagination Library continues to ensure children everywhere can experience the joy and power of books during the earliest years of life. About Dolly Parton's Imagination Library Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is the world's leading early childhood book-gifting program, having gifted more than 300 million books across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Republic of Ireland. The program is funded through a partnership between The Dollywood Foundation UK and hundreds of community organisations. For more information about the programme in the UK, please visit imaginationlibrary.com/uk. 1 *Galea, Claire Melanie Anita (2025). The Impact of shared book reading on children and their Families: insights from Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. Macquarie University. Thesis. https://doi.org/10.25949/30123745.v1 PDF - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2875255/UK_IE_Impact_pdf.pdf Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2250187/5748373/DPIL_Logo_Logo.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/largest-ever-shared-book-reading-study-shows-dolly-partons-imagination-library-dramatically-strengthens-early-literacy-in-the-uk-302676792.html WENZHOU, China, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Fox ESS, a leading renewable energy solution provider, proudly hosted the Fox ESS Grand Gala 2026 from January 28 to 29 at its headquarters in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province. Themed "A Toast to Trust," the summit welcomed over 300 representatives from more than 30 countries to explore the future of clean energy and strengthen international collaboration. The event kicked off with a keynote address by Michael Zhu, CEO of Fox ESS, who emphasized, "Trust is the cornerstone of our global partnerships. As we navigate the growing push for green energy, I've never been more confident in this industry's future. Our dynamic team is our greatest asset; our frontline employees spend nearly half their time overseas, addressing local needs and creating tailored solutions." Attendees enjoyed immersive activities, including a guided factory tour that showcased the company's R&D capabilities and intelligent production processes. They also participated in activities such as test-driving, kart racing, and traditional Chinese cultural workshops, fostering meaningful interactions among technology, culture, products, and the brand. Celebrating Partnerships The summit celebrated exceptional installers, distributors, and strategic partners whose contributions have significantly advanced clean energy technologies. Their achievements highlight the essential role they play in Fox ESS's global strategy. Since its inception in Wenzhou, Fox ESS has achieved remarkable growth, employing over 4,000 people and operating in more than 70 countries. According to S&P Global's latest report, the company secured the top market share in Europe's residential energy storage sector in the first half of 2025, particularly excelling in key markets like the UK and Poland. Global Engagement and Local Focus Over the past year, Fox ESS participated in more than 40 global exhibitions and hosted over 200 customer events, establishing a robust market presence. This strategy underscores the company's commitment to local adaptation, supported by dedicated service teams and efficient response mechanisms to meet regional demands. Building a Sustainable Energy Ecosystem Fox ESS has developed a comprehensive ecosystem encompassing R&D, manufacturing, sales, and service. With a team of over 400 R&D professionals, the company has enhanced its feedback mechanisms to better align products with market needs across key regions. As the global energy transition accelerates, Fox ESS remains dedicated to technological innovation and collaboration, working alongside partners to promote the adoption of clean energy and contribute to a sustainable future. Video - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2875732/grand_gala_EN.mp4 View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/elevating-trust-fox-ess-grand-gala-2026-welcomes-over-300-global-partners-302677228.html Strategic acquisition strengthens local execution and accelerates Castles Technology's global services transformation Castles Technology, a global leader in Android-based payment acceptance solutions, today announced the successful acquisition of MT Bilgi Teknolojileri A.S. (MTBT). This milestone represents a significant step forward in Castles Technology's strategy to become a more service-oriented global player while deepening its presence in strategic growth markets such as Turkiye. Turkiye's payment ecosystem is evolving rapidly, driven by a young, tech-savvy population, accelerated digitalization, and a clear shift towards cashless transactions. Through this acquisition, Castles Technology reinforces its commitment to local execution and customer proximity in high-growth markets. "This acquisition is a strategic leap forward for Castles Technology," said Jean-Philippe NIEDERGANG, Acting Group CEO and CEO for EMEA, Pacific, and LATAM at Castles Technology. "It reflects our vision to become a long-term services-led partner for our customers, combining our global scale and technology with local expertise and trusted execution. MTBT brings outstanding operational capabilities in Trkiye, and we are excited to welcome their talented team into the Castles family." MT Bilgi Teknolojileri has built a strong reputation in Turkiye's payment market, offering the first certified next-generation EFT-POS integrated cash register solutions (YNOKC), TSM services, and customer support operations tailored to regulatory and commercial needs. The company's service-first culture and technical excellence are fully aligned with Castles Technology's values. Building on prior integrations such as LIEM in France, this acquisition accelerates Castles Technology's vision to develop a vendor-agnostic global services platform capable of supporting multi-vendor, multi-acquirer environments across geographies. Key benefits of the acquisition include: Enhanced service and operational delivery through strong local presence and expertise Accelerated rollout of certified, secure, and scalable payment services in Turkiye Expanded opportunities for growth, collaboration, and talent development "Turkiye is a strategic focus market for Castles Technology. Following the opening of our direct office in Turkiye in 2024, this acquisition marks another important step in our long-term commitment to the country," said Onur ALTINBAS, Senior Vice President for Middle East, Africa, and Turkiye at Castles Technology. "MT Bilgi Teknolojileri brings strong relationships and deep technical expertise. By combining this with Castles' global infrastructure and Android POS innovation roadmap, we will deliver greater speed, value, and reliability to our customers. Our investment journey in Turkiye is just beginning, and we see strong potential to continue exploring further strategic opportunities in the country and across the region." Nusret SANCAK, President of the Technology Group at MT Holding, added: "Joining Castles Technology marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter. We share a common vision around innovation, customer focus, and service excellence. Together, we will strengthen our capabilities, expand our offerings, and better serve our customers with global support and a long-term commitment to quality." The integration will be carried out progressively, with business continuity as a top priority. All existing contracts, teams, and customer relationships in Turkiye will remain unchanged, ensuring operational stability while enabling access to a broader portfolio of solutions, support, and innovation. This acquisition underlines Castles Technology's transformation into a global payment services leader, combining secure hardware, software platforms, TMS solutions, and value-added services into a unified and scalable ecosystem centered around customer success. ENDS About Castles Technology Castles Technology is a global leader in payment acceptance solutions, delivering secure, reliable, and innovative Android-based payment terminals and services that enable a seamless payment experience. The company partners with thousands of customers worldwide, including banks, merchants, FinTechs, acquirers, ISVs, and PSPs. It has deployed millions of POS terminals to support retailers of every size, from local businesses to global enterprises. As a pioneering Android payment acceptance solution provider, Castles Technology combines powerful device performance with advanced security and localized market expertise, ensuring global reach with strong regional support. Backed by more than 30 years of industry experience, Castles Technology's global network of payment experts continually innovates to anticipate, shape, and advance the future of commerce. Driven by a commitment to innovation and sustainability, Castles Technology aims to create meaningful, long-term impact through its products, services, and operations, supporting smarter commerce, responsible technology, and a stronger payment ecosystem. For more information, visit https://www.castlestech.com/ About MT Bilgi Teknolojileri A.S. (MTBT) Founded in 2009, MT Bilgi Teknolojileri A.S. (MTBT) is a leading Turkish payment technology company specializing in the development of secure, IP-based platforms certified by the Ministry of Finance for use across the financial services ecosystem. MTBT is a Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology-certified R&D Center, recognized since March 2015 for its strong engineering capabilities and innovation-driven corporate structure. The company designs and develops a broad range of payment and fiscal solutions, including electronic cash registers, next-generation fiscal devices (YNOKC), EFT-POS terminals, integrated EFT-POS cash registers, and peripheral payment systems. Powered by a fully domestic R&D workforce, MTBT has made sustained investments in innovation to deliver compliant, reliable, and market-ready solutions tailored to Turkiye's regulatory and commercial environment. The company is committed to contributing to the national economy through technology development, local expertise, and long-term value creation. With a strong focus on continuous improvement, open communication, and employee development, MTBT combines technical excellence with a service-first culture. As a leading domestic player in its sector, the company continues to strengthen its position in Turkiye while building capabilities aligned with global competition. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260202131939/en/ Contacts: Scott Girling-Heathcote Account Director SkyParlour scott@skyparlour.com Tel +44 (0)330 043 1315 Hyundai Mobis and its global partners have formed a global alliance for Holographic Windshield Display (HWD) The alliance combines capabilities in systems (Hyundai Mobis), optics (ZEISS), film (tesa), and automotive glass (Sekurit), targeting mass production starting by 2029 HWD utilizes the vehicle's front windshield as a giant display, separating driver and passenger screens to ensure both safety and convenience SEOUL, South Korea, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyundai Mobis (KRX 012330) has partnered with global leading companies to secure the next-generation vehicle display market. Hyundai Mobis announced on the 3rd the launch of the "Quad Alliance" with European specialist companies, each possessing leading technologies in their respective fields, for the mass production of Holographic Windshield Displays (HWD). This technology development alliance includes Germany's ZEISS, which possesses world-class optical technology; Germany's tesa, a global leading company in tape adhesion; and France's Saint-Gobain Sekurit, Europe's top automotive glass manufacturer, joining forces with Hyundai Mobis. Hyundai Mobis plans to expand the collaborative ecosystem to four companies and pursue the actual commercialization of HWD by 2029. The Holographic Windshield Display (HWD) is an innovative technology that utilizes the vehicle's front windshield as a massive display without a separate physical screen, enabling drivers to view driving information without distracting their gaze. Its key advantage lies in precisely projecting diverse driving information and infotainment images onto the eye level of the driver and passenger using a special 'Holographic Optical Element (HOE)' film laminated within the windshield glass. HWD employs holographic optical element(HOE) with a transmittance of 92% or higher (clear glass level) and an overwhelming brightness exceeding 10,000 nits (twice the level of outdoor LED billboards), providing clear image quality even in bright daylight environments. Furthermore, leveraging the precise light redirection feature of HOE, the system is designed to prevent the driver from viewing the passenger-side screen. This allows the passenger to safely enjoy various infotainment features like video viewing and gaming even while driving. This technology maximizes driving safety and space utilization, and is expected to emerge as a core technology for future mobility. Through this four-party alliance, Hyundai Mobis will oversee the system design and integration of the overall HWD system and the image-projecting projector, leveraging its expertise in vehicle interface solutions. ZEISS will handle the optical design and master development of the HOE film, while tesa will ensure reliable and precise mass replication of holographic films. Sekurit will handle the precision process of bonding the film to the windshield glass. This technology collaboration signifies the establishment of a 'one-stop supply chain solution' encompassing everything from HWD's optical design to HOE replication and system assembly. Hyundai Mobis' strategy is to secure both mass-production quality and reliability by proactively establishing a supply chain ecosystem, on top of its leading technological capabilities. Meanwhile, Hyundai Mobis has garnered significant interest from major customers by successively unveiling advanced models featuring this technology at global exhibitions including CES, the German IAA, and the Shanghai Motor Show. Notably, at CES 2026 held in the US last month, it won an Innovation Award, once again proving its technological competitiveness. "Through this core technology that unlocks the future of automotive displays, we will provide differentiated value to our customers," said Jung Soo-kyung, Executive Vice President and Head of the Automotive Electronics Business Unit at Hyundai Mobis. "We will closely collaborate with global partners through the mass production phase to maximize our technological competitiveness and firmly establish our image as a leader in innovative technology in the global market." Media Contact Choon Kee Hwang : ckhwang@mobis.com Jihyun Han: jihyun.han@mobis.com Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2874492/Hyundai_Mobis_Holographic_Windshield_Display.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1166884/5746594/hyundaimobis_CI_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/hyundai-mobis-forms-global-alliance-for-next-generation-display-technologies-302676315.html Regulatory News: POXEL SA (Euronext: POXEL FR0012432516), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative treatments for chronic serious diseases with metabolic pathophysiology, including metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) and rare metabolic disorders, announces the implementation of an equity line with IRIS, known as "SmartATM" for a maximum amount of 5 million over five years (terms set out in the Appendix without this amount being guaranteed). Nicolas Trouche, Chief Executive Officer of Poxel, comments "The establishment of this new equity line with IRIS is an important first step in enabling Poxel to secure the financial foundation necessary to implement its recovery plan. The Company's recovery is now actively underway. This financing is part of the restructuring of the bond debt held by IRIS against the Company for a total principal amount of 4,270,000 in the form of bonds redeemable in new or existing shares issued under the issuance agreement entered between Poxel and IRIS, on 22 March 2023. About Poxel SA Poxel is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical Company developing innovative treatments for chronic serious diseases with metabolic pathophysiology, including metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) and rare disorders. For the treatment of MASH, PXL065 (deuterium-stabilised Rpioglitazone) met its primary endpoint in a streamlined Phase 2 trial (DESTINY-1). In rare diseases, development of PXL770, a first-in-class direct adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activator, is focused on the treatment of adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) and autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). TWYMEEG (Imeglimin), Poxel's first-in-class product that targets mitochondrial dysfunction, is now marketed for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in Japan by Sumitomo Pharma and Poxel expects to receive royalties and 5 sales-based payments. Poxel has a strategic partnership with Sumitomo Pharma for Imeglimin in Japan. Listed on Euronext Paris, Poxel is headquartered in Lyon, France, and has subsidiaries in Boston, MA, and Tokyo, Japan. For more information, please visit: www.poxelpharma.com All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this press release concerning future events are subject to (i) change without notice and (ii) factors beyond the Company's control. These statements may include, but are not limited to, any statements preceded by, followed by, or including words such as 'objective,' 'believe,' 'expect,' 'aim,' 'intend,' 'may,' 'anticipate,' 'estimate,' 'plan,' 'project,' 'will,' 'could,' 'likely,' 'should,' and other words and terms of similar meaning, or the negative form of these words and terms. Forward-looking statements are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties beyond the Company's control that could cause the Company's actual results or performance to differ materially from the results or performance expected, expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Actual events or results may differ from those described in this document due to a number of risks or uncertainties described in the Company's 2024 Universal Registration Document available on the Company's website and that of the AMF (https://www.amf-france.org/fr). The Company does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external hyperlinks mentioned in this press release. This press release is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy securities in any jurisdiction. In addition, the Autorite des marches financiers invites companies that issue equity securities or securities giving access to equity on a staggered basis over time to include the following standard warning: Poxel has implemented an equity line in the form of warrants for the subscription of new ordinary shares (bons de souscription) with IRIS, which, after receiving the shares issued upon exercise of the Warrants, does not intend to remain a shareholder of the Company. The shares resulting from the exercise of the Warrant will generally be sold on the market within a short period of time, which may create significant downward pressure on the share price. Shareholders may suffer a loss of their invested capital due to a significant decrease in the value of the Company's shares, as well as substantial dilution because of the large number of shares issued in favour of IRIS. Investors are strongly encouraged to exercise caution before deciding to invest in Poxel securities. Investors are invited to review the risks related to this transaction, as described in this press release. Key terms and conditions of the financing (known as "SmartATM") granted by IRIS The equity line known as the SmartATM granted by IRIS was structured through the issuance by the Company of warrants giving right to subscribe new ordinary shares of the Company (the "Warrant") exclusively for the benefit of IRIS, as decided on February 2, 2026 by the Company's Chief Executive Officer using the sub-delegation granted on the same day by the Board of Directors using itself the delegation it had been granted by the Company's combined general shareholders' meeting of December 11, 2025, under its 18th resolution, in accordance with the provisions of Article L. 225-138 of the French Commercial Code. The Warrant will not be admitted to trading on any market and will therefore not be listed. The issuance of the Warrant (and the underlying shares) does not require the preparation of a prospectus subject to approval by the French Financial Markets Authority (Autorite des Marches Financiers, AMF) nor the preparation of an information document to be filed with the AMF. Key features of the IRIS-provided financing Investor Subscriber IRIS, a single-member limited liability company with a share capital of 400,000, having its registered office at 5, Villa Houssay, 92200 Neuilly-sur-Seine, registered with the Nanterre Trade and Companies Register under number 753.471.853. Financing Amount Maximum amount of 5 million over a period of five (5) years (the "Financing Commitment"), in twenty (20) tranches of 250,000 each (the "Tranches"). Each Tranche will be made available on a quarterly basis (a "Commitment Period Disbursement of the Financing The Investor will exercise, at its sole discretion, in one or multiple instances during the relevant Commitment Period, all or part of the Warrant it holds and will pay the related exercise price in cash (up to 250,000) and, beyond that, by offsetting against claims held by the Investor against the Company. If the total exercise price of all Warrant exercised in a given quarter is less than 250,000, the Investor undertakes to pay the balance in cash (via a shareholders' loan). Conditions precedent to the financing The Financing Commitment is subject to certain contractual conditions, including those related to the exercise of the Warrant or the granting of all necessary authorizations to implement the Financing Commitment and the restructuring of the bond debt. Suspension and reinstatement of the financing The Company shall at all times have the right to suspend and reinstate the Financing Commitment without penalty. The Financing Commitment will also be suspended in the event that any of the aforementioned conditions are not fulfilled or, at the Investor's request, in case an event of default would occur (see below). In any event, whether the Financing Commitment is suspended or not, the Investor shall be free to exercise the Warrant and pay their exercise price by offset against its bond debt. Structuring Arrangement Fees and Other Commissions None Similar Transactions in the past 24 months The financing granted by IRIS is part of the restructuring of the bond debt held by IRIS against the Company, which was made possible by the adoption of the 18th resolution by the combined general meeting of Poxel's shareholders on December 11, 2025 For more details on the restructuring of this bond debt, please refer to the Company's latest press releases, in particular those dated February 19, July 29, August 8, and November 24, 2025. Conflict of Interests To the Company's knowledge, the implementation of the equity line does not create any conflict of interest for its directors or corporate officers. Risks Pertaining to the Investment Facility The sale of the shares issued by the Company under the financing line on the market by IRIS, which does not intend to remain a shareholder of the Company, may impact the share's volatility and liquidity and create significant downward pressure on the Company's share price. The Company's shareholders may also experience substantial dilution as a result of the equity line. Finally, the total amount of the Investment is not guaranteed, as it depends on the fulfilment of the conditions described above. The public is also drawn to the risk factors relating to the Company and its business, as presented in its 2024 universal registration document filed with the AMF on October 23, 2025, available free of charge on the Company's website, and to the Company's short- and medium-term financing needs given its current financing horizon. The occurrence of all or part of these risks could have an adverse effect on the Company's business, financial situation, results, development, or prospects. Main characteristics of the Warrant Number of Warrants ("BSA 40 million Warrants, subscribed by the Investor on February 2, 2026. Subscription Price Issued free of charge. Term Upon expiry of the last Commitment Period, any Warrant not exercised will automatically lapse. Furthermore, in case an event of default would occur (see below), any Warrant not exercised may be repurchased at any time by the Company for the purpose of cancellation, for a lump-sum amount of 1, at the request of the Investor. Exercise Price of a Warrant The exercise price of a Warrant is equal to the volume-weighted average price of the trading day immediately preceding the exercise date of the relevant Warrant reduced by an 8% discountprovided that such exercise price shall in no event be lower than the nominal value of the Company's shares on the relevant exercise date. Other Conditions for Exercising the Warrant The Warrant may be exercised at the sole discretion of the Investor at any time from today until their cancellation or lapse, as described above. The exercise of each Warrant by the Investor is subject to certain conditions set out in the warrants issuance agreement entered into among Iris and the Company on February 2, 2026 (absence of an event of default, material adverse change with respect to the Company; change of control of the Company, listing of the Company's shares, closing price of the shares above a certain threshold, liquidity of the Company's shares above a certain amount, etc.).. Ratio Each Warrant entitles the holder to subscribe one new ordinary share of the Company (subject to customary legal or contractual adjustments). Event of Default Events of default include, in particular, failure by the Company to comply with its undertakings under the aforementioned warrants issuance agreement, failure by the Company to perform any of its obligations under said agreement, failure by IPF to perform any of its obligations under the securities lending agreement once the latter has entered into force, a payment default under other material indebtedness of the Company, delisting of the Company's shares, termination of the Company's recovery plan, or the occurrence of a material adverse change. There are, however, no financial covenants. New Shares The new ordinary shares of the Company issued upon exercise of the Warrant will carry immediate dividend rights. They will have the same rights as those attached to the existing ordinary shares and will be admitted to trading on the regulated market of Euronext Paris, or, where applicable, on the Euronext Growth market of Euronext Paris SA in the event of a transfer on such market. The Company will disclose on its website the number of shares issued under this financing line. Provision of Company's Shares IPF has undertaken to enter into a securities lending agreement with the Investor to address any potential default or delay in the delivery of shares in connection with the implementation of the warrants issuance agreement, as soon as possible following the completion of the capital transactions provided for under the recovery plan. Potential Dilution Maximum Number of Shares The Warrant will entitle the holder to the issuance of a maximum of 40,000,000 new ordinary shares of the Company, representing approximately 74.41% of its current share capital* (on a non-diluted basis). If this maximum number of shares were effectively issued, the shareholding of a shareholder holding 1% of the Company's share capital prior to the implementation of the financing line would be reduced to 0.57%. * As of the date of this press release, the Company has a share capital of 1,075,163.34 divided into 53,758,167 ordinary shares. To the Company's knowledge, the breakdown of its share capital before and after the theoretical exercise of all Warrants on an annual basis ("n") of four quarterly drawings: Before exercising the Warrant (n) After theoretically exercising the Warrant (n+1) After theoretically exercising the Warrant (n+2) After theoretically exercising the Warrant (n+3) After theoretically exercising the Warrant (n+4) After theoretically exercising the Warrant (n+5) To the Company's knowledge Number of shares Number of shares Number of shares Number of shares Number of shares Number of shares Founders 3,078,947 5.73 3,078,947 4.99 3,078,947 4.41 3,078,947 3.96 3,078,947 3.59 3,078,947 3.28 Treasury shares 94,863 0.18 94,863 0.15 94,863 0.14 94,863 0.12 94,863 0.11 94,863 0.10 Free float 50,584,357 94.10 58,584,357 94.86 66,584,357 95.45 74,584,357 95.92 82,584,357 96.30 90,584,357 96.61 Total 53,758,167 100.0% 61,758,167 100.0% 69,758,167 100.0% 77,758,167 100.0% 85,758,167 100.0% 93,758,167 100.0% Participation of a shareholder holding 1% of the Company's capital prior to the implementation of the financing line 0.87% 0.77% 0.69% 0.63% 0.57% View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260202723908/en/ Contacts: Investor relations Media NewCap Theo Martin Paul Boivin investors@poxelpharma.com +33 1 44 71 94 94 PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos Islands, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- As the World Laureates Summit (WLS) entered its second day-co-hosted by KuCoin-one of the headline sessions, "Science in the Web3 Era: Foundations & Opportunities," convened world-leading cryptographers, economists, and technologists to examine how blockchain is reshaping trust, security, and scientific collaboration at a global scale. The forum was moderated by Sabina Liu, Managing Director of KuCoin EU. Opening the session, Sabina invited scientists and the audience to examine "how trust is created, sustained, and transformed in a digital civilization," highlighting its growing intersection with economics, cybersecurity, governance, and science. Keynote remarks from Martin Hellman traced blockchain's roots from timestamping and hash-based integrity to modern decentralized trust. Thomas J. Sargent framed consensus economically, highlighting incentive alignment, credibility, and coordination among self-interested actors. In the closing panel, Sabina joined W. Scott Stornetta and Ashok Kumar Das to examine how decentralized systems can coexist with sovereign frameworks-and how trust infrastructure can unlock economic and scientific value. The discussion centered on key Web3 trade-offs: regulation and sovereign money, authenticity amid deepfakes, "sovereign-grade" security with privacy, and blockchain as a bridge between physical signals (IoT/sensors) and digital intelligence, including AI and DeSci. "Blockchain started as a technical response to establish trust without centralized authority," said Sabina. "Today, it has become a foundational infrastructure for security, economics, governance, and science. What this forum made clear is that the next phase of Web3 will be defined by resilient cryptography, credible consensus, verifiable identity, and systems that materially reduce the cost of trust for global collaboration." Held in the UAE ahead of the World Governments Summit, the forum reflected KuCoin's commitment to supporting technology that strengthens foundational science and the underlying logic of financial infrastructure-advancing blockchain not just as an innovation, but as a long-term trust layer. As governments, institutions, and scientists grapple with AI, digital assets, and data integrity, KuCoin views forums like WLS as critical bridges between frontier research and real-world deployment-connecting policy, innovation, and infrastructure at a moment when trust itself has become strategic. About KuCoin Founded in 2017, KuCoin is a leading global crypto platform trusted by over 40 million users across 200+ countries and regions. The platform delivers innovative and compliant digital-asset services, offering access to 1,000+ listed tokens, spot and futures trading, institutional wealth management, and a Web3 wallet. Recognized by Forbes and Hurun, KuCoin holds SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001:2022 certifications, underscoring its commitment to top-tier security. With AUSTRAC registration in Australia and a MiCA license in Austria, KuCoin continues expanding its regulated footprint under CEO BC Wong, building a reliable and trusted digital-asset ecosystem. Learn more: www.kucoin.com Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2875782/image_5002362_23146044.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2875783/1.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2875784/2.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2785613/KuCoin_new_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/trust-is-the-new-infrastructure-a-featured-forum-at-kucoin-co-hosted-wls-examines-blockchains-role-in-a-post-quantum-ai-driven-world-302677321.html 51.5% of total marketing budget is allocated to loyalty and CRM on average 83.0% of loyalty programme owners are satisfied with their loyalty programme 92.7% of programme owners reported a positive return, with an average ROI of 5.3X 59.8% of marketers who run loyalty programmes say they would shift promotion budget into loyalty (if they could) Loyalty programmes enter a new Golden Age as budgets, satisfaction, and ROI hit record highs. Antavo, the AI-powered Loyalty Platform, has released its Global Customer Loyalty Report 2026, a survey of 3,000 marketers and 10,000 consumers globally that unpacks the trends shaping the evolving consumer loyalty landscape. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260203264831/en/ Antavo Global Customer Loyalty Report 2026 Data from this year's report indicates that loyalty programmes have moved from the sidelines to the centre of marketing strategies. Marketers are allocating more than half of their total marketing budget (51.5%) to loyalty and CRM, driven by rising returns, stronger customer engagement, and a growing focus on long-term retention over short-term customer acquisition. The findings point to a new era for loyalty, characterised by compounding ROI, increased brand confidence in loyalty programmes, and a shift away from promotions that rely solely on discounts toward more experiential, personalised, and data-driven rewards. Attila Kecsmar, CEO and Co-founder at Antavo, commented: "Another year of rising satisfaction, ROI, and investment only goes to highlight the degree to which brands need to be laser-focused on their loyalty programmes. Those investing in loyalty have seen strong results, but brands can't afford to rest on their laurels. A new era in loyalty is coming, and consumers want more from brands in the form of personalisation, new kinds of offers, and seamless experiences. The brands that leverage data, meet consumers where they are, and harness the power of AI will be the ones that build truly meaningful, increasingly profitable consumer relationships in 2026 and beyond." Loyalty means customer satisfaction, and customer satisfaction means ROI Loyalty programmes are proving their value more clearly than ever. ROI for loyalty programmes has increased for the third year in a row, reinforcing loyalty as one of the most reliable growth levers for marketers looking to build long-term revenue streams. The overwhelming majority (83.0%) of loyalty programme owners said they were satisfied with their programme's performance, and 92.7% reported a positive return, with an average ROI of 5.3x. Nearly 9 in 10 brands (89.4%) say their loyalty programme delivers value they would not otherwise capture, and 59.8% would shift even more budget from short-term promotions into loyalty if given the opportunity. Marketers also emphasised that technology choices matter: Platforms must empower teams while keeping total cost of ownership low. Freebies, Frictionless Experiences, Friends and Family: Consumers want more than discounts From the consumer perspective, loyalty programmes are increasingly influential: 31.3% of consumers reported being more likely to continue doing business with a brand that offers a good loyalty programme. While savings remain a key motivator (for 70.8% of consumers), expectations are nonetheless expanding beyond simple discounts. Promotions continue to influence behaviour, with 68.6% of customers saying they shape shopping choices. They are not enough on their own, however. Discounts may attract attention, but meaningful loyalty requires ongoing value. Free products or services (46.3%) and personalised rewards (41.6%) were seen as indicators of more mature loyalty schemes that offer value beyond discounts. AI can support loyalty, and loyalty can support AI As third-party data declines and systems become more fragmented, loyalty data is emerging as one of the most valuable assets a brand can own. Over half (65.9%) of the consumers surveyed said loyalty programmes are now part of their everyday lives. This sustained interaction is generating a steady stream of structured, permissioned, first-party data. Only 3.4% of customers actively opt out of loyalty programmes, meaning disengagement doesn't have to be permanent; the majority of dormant customers can be reached again with the right messaging. With budgets rising and ROI consistently positive, loyalty data is emerging as one of the richest seams for both AI training and deployment. It provides consented insights tied directly to real outcomes such as repeat purchases, referrals, and reward redemption, making loyalty data one of the safest and most effective training grounds for AI pilots and broader deployments. Doing so eventually leading to higher quality, more responsive programmes, generating higher interest and more interactions. The full Antavo Global Customer Loyalty Report 2026 is available [HERE]. It was sponsored by Bloomreach DataLab, EPAM, Digitas, and StratLX. About Antavo Antavo is revolutionising the customer loyalty landscape with its cutting-edge AI Loyalty Cloud. As the market's most powerful pure-play loyalty technology, Antavo's platform seamlessly combines advanced AI capabilities with effortless integration, setting a new industry standard. Antavo is the leading provider of AI-powered customer loyalty technology, offering a comprehensive platform that streamlines the entire loyalty program lifecycle. Its solutions include a Promotion Engine to engage the full customer base, a Loyalty Planner that accelerates program planning by up to 10 times, and a flexible Loyalty Engine with an intuitive Workflows editor to bring any loyalty concept to life. Once a program is live, Antavo's Optimizer transforms loyalty data into clear, actionable insights. At the core of all the solutions is Timi AI, an agentic AI that enhances and supports every step of the loyalty journey. This excellence has not gone unnoticed. Antavo is recognised by industry leaders such as Forrester, Gartner, and IDC, and it's the preferred choice for global brands, loyalty consultants, and system integrators worldwide. Antavo's diverse client portfolio, including household names like KFC, Skims, C&A, Flying Tiger, Notino, Scandic Hotels, Kathmandu, Brightline, and Benefit Cosmetics, spans industries such as fashion, beauty, retail, travel, and hospitality, showcasing the platform's versatility and effectiveness. Experience the future of customer loyalty with Antavo. Visit antavo.com to learn more. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260203264831/en/ Contacts: YourStory PR for Antavo +44(0)867488769 antavo@yourstorypr.com Lenovo announced today at ISE 2026 a new series of full-room meeting solutions to make collaboration more intelligent. Built on Lenovo's ThinkSmart Core Gen 2 and powered by Huddly's intelligent audio-video devices, the solutions bring deeper platform integration, unified device management through ThinkSmart Manager, and a consistent Microsoft Teams Rooms and Zoom Room experience across all room sizes. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260203477412/en/ Lenovo ThinkSmart Huddly "Combining our technical prowess with Huddly through bundles that feature Lenovo's ThinkSmart Core Gen 2 and ThinkSmart Manager with Huddly C1 videobar, Crew cameras, and more, Lenovo is offering customers a scalable and easy-to-run platform that transforms meeting spaces with the growing smart collaboration feature set AI enables," said Marcus Kennedy, General Manager, Intelligent Commercial Solutions, Lenovo. "The Lenovo and Huddly bundles turn any meeting room into a smart AI-driven collaboration environment that delivers better experiences with less complexity." "We are proud to be partnering with Lenovo to provide audio and video solutions that will boost collaboration and creativity for customers worldwide. Lenovo is a global leader in computing. The powerful combination of Lenovo's ThinkSmart Core Gen 2 and Huddly's AI technology can turn every meeting space into an autonomously intelligent environment that delivers production-quality experiences," said Rosa Stensen, CEO of Huddly. Lenovo and Huddly-Better Together The new meeting room bundles combine ThinkSmart Core Gen 2 with Huddly's portfolio of single-camera, multi-camera, and full-room AI systems designed for a wide range of meeting spaces. The Lenovo ThinkSmart Core Gen 2 is one of the first AI-optimized compute device purpose built to run video conferencing room systems. Powered by the Intel Core Ultra processori with an integrated NPU, the meeting room compute solution is ready for AI-heavy meeting room workloads to deliver unparalleled performance for intuitive collaboration and enhanced productivity. The ThinkSmart Core Gen 2 device is also user-friendly and resilient. The built-in cable management system locks wires in place or detaches completely for a sleeker, more compact setup, and an integrated extended display identification data (EDID) management facilitates improved connectivity with room displays. The meeting room compute device is tested to run 24/7/365 in a range of 5C to 40C, so it is able to withstand being stored in suboptimal temperature environments, and it also features a quiet cooling system so it can go unnoticed behind a conference room display. Huddly's AI-powered camera technology creates a more natural, inclusive experience for remote attendees. The Huddly C1 videobar goes far beyond static wide-angle shots, with on-device AI that actively interprets room dynamics, automatically framing speakers in Speaker Mode or capturing group interaction-and reaction-in Collaboration Mode. Real-time de-warping, intelligent exposure adjustment and advanced image processing maintain clear visuals even in challenging layouts, tight spaces, or variable lighting. When rooms grow in size and layout variation, Huddly Crew Add-On Cameras extend this intelligence, transforming the system into an AI director that selects the optimal view based on speaker location, gaze, interaction, and listener response. The modular, multi-camera setup delivers a cinematic, production-quality experience while remaining plug-and-play for easy deployment. With Lenovo ThinkSmart and Huddly, true meeting equity has arrived, whatever the room size or layout. The collaboration solutions provide a premium and future-proof AI experience that can bring everyone to the table. Availability The Lenovo ThinkSmart-Huddly bundles will be sold directly through Lenovo starting in calendar Q2 2026. Visit Lenovo ThinkSmart and contact your local Lenovo sales representative to learn more. Lenovo and Huddly will showcase the full offering at ISE 2026. Attendees can learn more by visiting Lenovo at ISE 2026 booth 2P150 (Hall 2). About Lenovo Lenovo is a US$69 billion revenue global technology powerhouse, ranked #196 in the Fortune Global 500, and serving millions of customers every day in 180 markets. Focused on a bold vision to deliver Smarter Technology for All, Lenovo has built on its success as the world's largest PC company with a full-stack portfolio of AI-enabled, AI-ready, and AI-optimized devices (PCs, workstations, smartphones, tablets), infrastructure (server, storage, edge, high performance computing and software defined infrastructure), software, solutions, and services. Lenovo's continued investment in world-changing innovation is building a more equitable, trustworthy, and smarter future for everyone, everywhere. Lenovo is listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange under Lenovo Group Limited (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY). To find out more visit https://www.lenovo.com, and read about the latest news via our StoryHub. LENOVO and THINKSMART are trademarks of Lenovo. HUDDLY is a trademark of Huddly AS. ZOOM is a trademark of Zoom Video Communications, Inc. Intel, Intel vPro and Intel Core are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or other countries. Any use of such marks by Lenovo is under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 2026, Lenovo Group Limited. ____________________ i Available with Intel Core Ultra 5 processor or Intel Core Ultra 7 processor. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260203477412/en/ Contacts: Pedro Chen pchen25@lenovo.com Artificial Labs (Artificial), the leading provider of digital broking and underwriting technology for the specialty and commercial insurance markets, today announced the completion of its $45 million Series B funding round. The raise marks a major milestone for Artificial as it continues to grow and expand its global market presence. The round was led by CommerzVentures, a leading European Fintech investor, with support from Move Capital Fund I, a leading European B2B Tech investor, and existing investors. "This round gives us the room to grow with confidence," said David King, Co-Founder of Artificial. "The investment allows us to scale in a way that keeps pace with our clients. We have the teams, the technology, and the stability to support the largest brokers and carriers as they modernise how they operate." Artificial expects to double in size over the next 12 months, reinforcing its position as one of the strongest insurance technology partners in the market. The business will also expand its global footprint into the US in 2026, while growing its presence and consolidating its leadership position in the London Market. "We have built a platform that solves real problems for insurance," said Johnny Bridges, Co-Founder of Artificial. "With this investment, we will grow our team, continue to innovate, and ensure that Artificial remains the natural choice for brokers and carriers seeking a smarter way to trade digitally." Alongside CommerzVentures and Move Capital Fund I, the round includes continued backing from existing investors, including Augmentum Fintech, 6 Degrees Capital, FOM, and TrueSight Ventures, reflecting their ongoing confidence in Artificial's direction and long-term strategy. "We are thrilled to support Artificial as they extend their leadership globally," said Heiko Schwender, Managing Partner at CommerzVentures. "We have been backing next-generation technology businesses for more than a decade. Artificial's platform addresses a real, structural problem that has constrained efficiency in commercial and specialty insurance for decades. The team's combination of deep insurance domain expertise and world class engineering is rare, and it uniquely positions them to redefine this market." "Artificial benefits from a rare blend of deep insurance expertise, strong client relationships and highly innovative technology," said Herve Malaussena, Founding Partner at Move Capital Fund I. "The company is ideally positioned to address bottleneck challenges for specialty risk placement players globally, which reflects Move Capital's conviction in platforms that turn domain expertise into scalable, data-driven operational execution." About Artificial Labs Artificial is an independent technology company revolutionising speciality (re)insurance by empowering brokers and carriers to transform their placement and underwriting strategies with sophisticated proprietary technology. By digitising complex workflows and capturing institutional expertise, Artificial enables carriers and brokers to optimise capacity deployment and scale more effectively. Its platform integrates seamlessly with existing systems, delivering measurable efficiency gains and strategic benefits across the value chain. Founded in London, Artificial works with some of the world's largest brokers, carriers, and MGAs, combining deep insurance market expertise with cutting-edge engineering to help clients navigate emerging risks and seize new opportunities. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260203658155/en/ Contacts: Issued by Rein4ce on behalf of Artificial Caitlin Haynes, Rein4ce, caitlin.haynes@rein4ce.co.uk, +44 (0)7568 572367 The Company Advances Its Enterprise Strategy with BYOD Flexibility, Microsoft Device Ecosystem Platform (MDEP) Alignment, and Enhanced Channel Partner Programme Owl Labs, a leader in 360-degree AI-powered video conferencing and hybrid collaboration technology, today announcedthe Meeting Owl 5 Pro, itsnewest 360-degree camera, speaker, and mic device. The Meeting Owl 5 Pro reimagines the centre-of-table experience for hybrid meetings with a solution purpose-built for enterprise organisations, delivering a seamless single-cable Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) experience. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260203914393/en/ The Meeting Owl 5 Pro is Owl Labs' newest 360-degree camera, speaker, and mic device. Flexibility is foundational to the Meeting Owl 5 Pro's design, enabling it to support virtually any room setup-from standalone BYOD setups to integration as a peripheral within full in-room systems. A single-cable BYOD experience enables instant USB connectivity to the room's A/V system, simplifying room setup, reducing cabling complexity, and ensuring a consistent experience for in-room and remote participants. Key features and performance enhancements in the Meeting Owl 5 Pro include: Wired multi-device pairing - Secure, reliable coverage for larger rooms through simple, single-cable Ethernet connectivity Secure, reliable coverage for larger rooms through simple, single-cable Ethernet connectivity Direct Ethernet connectivity Hardwired networking and centralised device management for enterprise IT Hardwired networking and centralised device management for enterprise IT Integrated port design Built-in HDMI, USB-C, and Ethernet ports for stable connections and clean cable routing Built-in HDMI, USB-C, and Ethernet ports for stable connections and clean cable routing MDEP-ready architecture Built to support future Microsoft Device Ecosystem Platform requirements Built to support future Microsoft Device Ecosystem Platform requirements Five customisable video meeting modes - Easily tailor meeting layouts and experiences using the on-device Multipurpose Button - Easily tailor meeting layouts and experiences using the on-device Multipurpose Button Flexible wireless or wired pairing - Choose the connection method that fits room design, network needs and IT preferences "The Meeting Owl 5 Pro represents a significant leap forward in our mission to create truly equitable hybrid meetings for all companies, with a focus on Enterprise," said Frank Weishaupt, CEO of Owl Labs. "From streamlined setup to enterprise-grade innovations, a company commitment to MDEP readiness, and a reinforced channel strategy, we're delivering a solution that modern organisations can trust today, which will continue to improve with new advancements over time." To strengthen its commitment to channel partners, Owl Labs is launching an enhanced Channel Partner Programme alongside the new product, with the Meeting Owl 5 Pro among the company's first channel-first offerings. The programme offers increased margin flexibility, expanded education and training, deal registration, incentives, and dedicated support. It also includes a subscription offering of Owl 360 Services, Owl Labs' services platform built for enterprise IT administrators for remote device management, advanced analytics, priority onboarding and technical support, and enhanced device protection. As part of its broader enterprise strategy, Owl Labs continues to align as a partner within the Microsoft Device Ecosystem Platform (MDEP), reinforcing the company's long-term commitment to enterprise-grade security, manageability, and IT standards across its portfolio. This company-wide initiative reflects Owl Labs' focus on building a scalable, enterprise-ready foundation as its product ecosystem and services continue to evolve. Owl Labs' existing portfolio, including the Meeting Owl 4+ and Owl Bar, is certified for Microsoft Teams. Together, these offerings provide IT leaders with a comprehensive, trusted ecosystem for deploying and managing hybrid collaboration at scale. The Meeting Owl 5 Pro is available for pre-order now for 2399 with shipping expected in Q1. The device will launch initially in the US, Canada, UK, and Europe, with further global expansion planned. To purchase, find your local reseller or contact sales@owllabs.com. For more information on all Owl Labs products, visit owllabs.co.uk. About Owl Labs: Owl Labs is the first company to build AI-powered, 360-degree video conferencing solutions for hybrid organisations. Its connected device system and Owl Intelligence System software make meetings more inclusive and collaborative by leveling the playing field between remote and in-room participants. The Meeting Owl product line is the first AI-powered, WiFi-enabled, 360-degree camera, microphone and speaker that automatically zooms in on whoever's speaking. Over 250,000 organisations, from small businesses to 92 companies on the Fortune 100 list to educational institutions, have used Owl Labs products to power millions of hybrid experiences. Owl Labs has raised $47 million in funding and is based in Boston, with remote and hybrid employees all over the world. To learn more, visit owllabs.co.uk. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260203914393/en/ Contacts: press@owllabs.com Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - Inverite Insights Inc. (CSE: INVR) (OTC Pink: INVRD) (FSE: 2V0) ("Inverite") a Canadian risk infrastructure company providing real-time financial data and decisioning signals, specializing in real-time bank verification, income and affordability analytics, and AI-driven risk-modeling and fraud-prevention solutions, today announced that CashCo Financial Inc. ("CashCo") has signed a renewed agreement with Inverite to continue using Inverite as its primary provider for bank verification and related verification workflows. CashCo, a Canadian lender with operations serving customers across multiple provinces, has used Inverite since 2018 to support income verification and transaction-history workflows that feed into its internal decisioning systems. As part of a broader platform and vendor review over the past year, CashCo evaluated alternative solutions while migrating between systems and balancing operational requirements with cost discipline. Following that review, CashCo elected to renew with Inverite, citing the benefit of consolidating key verification capabilities under a single Canadian vendor. "Verification infrastructure only creates value when it fits cleanly into a lender's real workflows," said Karim Nanji, Chief Executive Officer of Inverite Insights Inc. "CashCo's team has been clear about what matters: reliable access to transaction history, consistent inputs that can be operationalized, and a vendor relationship that supports change without adding unnecessary complexity. We're proud to continue supporting CashCo as they streamline their stack and scale their digital onboarding." CashCo uses Inverite's bank verification and data enrichment to retrieve extended transaction history to support income and cashflow assessment, including key indicators such as NSF activity, stop payments, overdraft occurrences, and income consistency signals. As part of the renewed partnership, CashCo has also added liveness checks to support stronger identity verification during onboarding. "In our world, verification needs to be practical and operational," said Tim Latimer, founder of CashCo. "We evaluated alternatives during a broader platform transition, but ultimately we found that Inverite delivers what we need for income verification and transaction history in a way that's cost-effective and easier to manage. We're also excited to expand our use of Inverite's capabilities, including liveness checks, as we continue improving our digital onboarding." Inverite and CashCo are also exploring additional workflow enhancements that could reduce manual effort in testing and onboarding processes, including improved testing environments and potential future support for jurisdictions with unique constraints on bank data access. About Inverite Insights Inc. Inverite Insights Inc. (CSE: INVR) (OTC Pink: INVRD) (FSE: 2V0) is a Canadian risk infrastructure company providing real-time financial data and decisioning signals, specializing in real-time bank verification, income and affordability analytics, and AI-driven risk-modeling and fraud-prevention solutions used by fintechs, lenders, and financial institutions across Canada. For more information, visit www.inveriteinsights.com LinkedIn Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider/Market Maker (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release, nor has in any way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction nor approved or disapproved the contents of this press release. Forward-Looking Statements: This news release may include forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements within, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward looking. Although the Company believes that any forward-looking statements in this news release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that any such forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. The Company cautions readers that all forward-looking statements, are based on assumptions none of which can be assured and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements represent management's best judgment based on information currently available. Readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such risks and uncertainties and should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and no undertaking is given to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws or the CSE. The forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/282407 Source: Inverite Insights Inc. Digital humans, Customer 360 intelligence, and AI come together to deliver measurable retail outcomes LONDON, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- JK Tech has announced the launch of its digital human-augmented conversational commerce platform, Orbiee, at the NRF 2026. This marks a significant step forward in the way retailers connect with, support, and convert their customers across physical and digital touchpoints. Orbiee has been launched to help retail businesses bridge the widening gap in customer experience. As shopper expectations evolve, consumers increasingly seek to feel recognised, connected, and understood rather than simply transacted with or offered convenient access to products and services. Orbiee addresses this shift by combining AI-powered digital humans with real-time Customer 360 insights, delivering a unified view of each customer's purchase journey and enabling seamless, conversational access to information across touchpoints. It allows retailers to transform the traditional fragmented e-commerce journey into a cohesive, conversational commerce experience that can be accessed through all retail channels, including brick-and-mortar stores, websites, mobile apps, and social media. By leveraging AI-powered search and product discovery, Orbiee enhances result relevance for shoppers and significantly improves conversion potential for retailers. This technology leverages modern, cloud-agnostic AI search capabilities to deliver personalised, intent-aware interactions with shoppers. Commenting on the launch, Sameer Nagpal, President & CEO of JK Tech, stated, "Retail is now entering an era where Emotional Intelligence and Personalisation at scale will be vital differentiators. Through Orbiee, we will assist retailers across geographies in transitioning away from transactional interactions and into meaningful ones, providing a better opportunity for higher customer conversions, greater loyalty, and quantifiable business growth. This is a testament to JK Tech's commitment to create responsible, enterprise- ready AI systems that generate actual Outcomes." Adding to this, Hemanth Kumar, Global Head of Products & Solutions- RCPG, JK Tech, "Orbiee changes fundamentally the way that retailers engage with customers. By using a single unified source of customer data with built-in Intelligence in every customer interaction, retailers will be able to create personalised guidance, reduce returns, increase average basket value and increase efficiency, all without negatively impacting their Current Technology Environment." Orbiee offers customers human-like conversations through voice, chat, and visual interfaces, aided by Contextual Intelligence, which is a dynamic and adaptive technology designed to respond appropriately based on customer intent and behaviours. As an API First system with a modular framework, it also integrates effortlessly with existing commerce, CRM, POS, and inventory systems, providing Agentic Workflows that support each phase of the customer journey from discovery to recommendation to transaction to support. About JK Tech JK Tech is a GenAI-focused data and AI services organisation empowering enterprises across Retail, CPG, and Insurance. Through deep expertise in data platforms, AI orchestration, and enterprise transformation and flagship solutions such as JIVA, its Gen AI Orchestrator, and Orbiee, its conversational commerce platform, JK Tech helps global organisations unlock actionable insights, operational excellence, and sustainable growth. To learn more, visit www.jktech.com . Find JK Tech on X, LinkedIn Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2875796/Orbiee_JK_Tech.jpg Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2088130/4059438/JK_Tech_Logo.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/jk-tech-unveils-orbiee-at-nrf-2026-powering-emotionally-intelligent-conversational-commerce-at-scale-302677364.html LBO France, a multi-specialist investment platform and pioneer in private equity, announced today the signing of a definitive agreement with Vivo Capital, a leading global investment firm focused exclusively on healthcare and life sciences, for the sale of Dutscher Group ('Dutscher' or 'the Group'), the European leader in consumables and equipment distribution for R&D laboratories. Following a successful consultation process, Dutscher's employee representative bodies have rendered a favorable opinion on the transaction, which is expected to close during the first half of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals. The deal marks Vivo Capital's first buyout investment in Europe and underscore the firm's continued expansion as a global healthcare investor, building on its longstanding leadership across North America and Asia. For Dutscher, it represents a significant milestone following five years of growth under LBO France's ownership.Founded in 1982 and based in Brumath, near Strasbourg, the Group generated revenues exceeding 400 million in 2025, representing an average organic growth of +7% per year. Today, Dutscher employs over 1,100 people and has established itself as the leading pan-European consolidation platform in the industry, with over 50% of its revenues originating outside France. Consumable products drive a large share of Dutscher's revenues, and the Group oversees a vast catalog of more than 1 million SKUs and a client base of more than 25,000 customers. Under the ownership of LBO France, which acquired the Group in 2020, Dutscher strengthened its European positioning through 13 acquisitions, notably in France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Scandinavia, and the Baltic States. This geographic expansion was accompanied by structural investments, including the construction of three new warehouses in France, the United Kingdom, and Spain, enabling the Group to further consolidate its leadership in the European market. Through capital and strategic capabilities, LBO France has supported Dutscher's management in modernizing operations and expanding into high-potential market segments, particularly cleanrooms, chemistry, agri-food, and commercial sectors. Eva Hoel, Managing Director at LBO France, stated: "This transaction highlights our ability to support companies in their growth roadmaps, notably through sustained organic investments and successful build-up strategies, while continuously generating value for our investors. Consistent with LBO France's hands-on approach, our operational team was closely engaged alongside the management team, to whom we extend our sincere appreciation. We believe that Vivo, leveraging its strong expertise and international platform, is well positioned to support Dutscher in the next stage of its strategic development." Dominique Wencker, Chairman and CEO of Dutscher, said: "The five years spent alongside LBO France have been decisive for Dutscher. We were able to accelerate our pan-European development strategy while preserving the Group's culture and operational independence. We are enthusiastic about continuing and further accelerating our growth story with Vivo Capital, whose expertise and network will open exciting development opportunities for us A new partner to accelerate Dutscher's growth story Vivo plans to support Dutscher's next phase of development by enhancing sourcing capabilities and expanding its global supplier access while accelerating its organic growth with new products all while maintaining its ambitious diversification and M&A strategy across Europe. Michael Chang, Managing Partner at Vivo Capital, said: "Dutscher is a market-leading platform with a strong European footprint and an exceptional management team. This investment reflects our conviction in the opportunity to partner with high-quality healthcare businesses through our global ecosystem and operating capabilities. Dutscher has made significant progress over recent years, and we look forward to working closely with Dominique and the team to further expand the Group's product offering, deepen its supplier relationships globally, and support its continued growth Main parties involved in the transaction who assisted LBO France M&A Messier Associes Financial VDD Deloitte Commercial VDD Monitor Deloitte Operational VDD Deloitte Lawyers King Spalding in France King Spalding in the UK Main parties involved in the transaction who assisted Vivo Capital: M&A: Natixis Partners Financial and Tax DD: EY Parthenon EY Avocats Commercial DD: LEK Consulting Legal Advisory: Sidley Austin Jeantet Mayer Brown W&I Insurance Advisory: Howden Insurance DD: Marsh About LBO France:A pioneer in private equity in France, the LBO France group is now a leading multi-specialist and multi-country investment platform. Active in Private Equity, Real Estate, Venture and on the listed markets, for several years the company has expanded its activities in Europe, particularly in Italy with Polis SGR, as well as on the African continent with its subsidiary CGF bourse. Owned 100% by its managers, LBO France is one of the founding members of the international climate initiative and one of the first signatories of France Invest's charter for parity. For more information: www.lbofrance.com About Vivo Capital:Founded in 1996, Vivo Capital is a leading global healthcare investment firm with a diverse, multi-fund investment platform spanning venture capital, growth equity, buyout, and public equities. The Firm has approximately $7bn of capital actively managed across its multiple strategies and affiliated funds and has invested in over 460 public and private companies globally. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, with additional offices in Asia, the Vivo team consists of more than 70 multi-disciplinary professionals. Vivo invests broadly in healthcare across multiple sub-sectors, including biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and healthcare services, with a focus on the largest healthcare markets globally. About Dutscher:Founded in 1982, Dutscher has specialized from the very beginning in the distribution of laboratory consumables and equipment for research, biotechnology and health. The Group has rapidly evolved by expanding its catalog, multiplying its services, extending its distribution agreements with new manufacturers that have given it their confidence, by releasing new products on the market, paying particular attention to the quality of their service towards its customers and the respect of its commitments. Since 2005, Dutscher is growing internationally through both organic investments and targeted acquisitions. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260203981860/en/ Contacts: Media contact LBO France Julia Paget: +33 (0)6 38 55 68 78 julia.paget@taddeo.fr Nizar Berrada: +33 6 38 31 90 50 nizar.berrada@taddeo.fr Vivo Capital Prosek Partners: pro-vivo@prosek.com Lemon Learning announces its acquisition of Aidaxis to expand desktop application coverage and strengthen its leadership in artificial intelligence. PARIS, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Lemon Learning, a leading European Digital Adoption Platform (DAP), has announced the acquisition of Aidaxis, a specialist in desktop application solutions and advanced artificial intelligence technologies. This strategic move enables Lemon Learning to extend its offering beyond web-based applications and now support projects involving desktop applications, addressing a critical need for large enterprises operating complex and hybrid IT environments. As part of the aquisition, the incoming technical team also brings strong expertise in AI research, notably in machine learning models, intelligent assistance systems, and human-computer interaction optimization. This research-driven background further strengthens Lemon Learning's long-term innovation capabilities and reinforces its ability to deliver scalable, reliable, and AI-driven capabilities. A Digital Adoption Platform Covering Web-based and Desktop Environments Founded more than a decade ago, Lemon Learning has been helping organizations drive user adoption by guiding employees directly within their business applications. Today, the platform is used by over 200 customers across more than 70 countries, supporting a wide range of use cases including CRM, ERP, HRIS, financial systems, industry-specific software, and mission-critical SaaS applications. Following the integration of Aidaxis' technologies and expertise, Lemon Learning can now deploy digital adoption projects on strategic desktop applications, unlocking new use cases for enterprises relying on legacy systems and complex client-based software. A Mature AI Offering Already Adopted by the Majority of Customers In parallel, Lemon Learning continues to accelerate its artificial intelligence roadmap. Its AI-powered offering is now used by a majority of its customers, enabling intelligent, in-context assistance directly within applications to improve user autonomy, reduce errors, and significantly speed up onboarding. Recent product innovations include: Guide Checkers - an advanced capability that automatically verifies whether a guide or process has been correctly completed, improving compliance and operational reliability. - an advanced capability that automatically verifies whether a guide or process has been correctly completed, improving compliance and operational reliability. Contextual AI Assistance - intelligent interactions that adapt to the user's real-time context and guide them step by step. - intelligent interactions that adapt to the user's real-time context and guide them step by step. Advanced Adoption Analytics - powerful insights that allow organizations to measure impact, identify friction points, and steer large-scale digital transformation initiatives. "This acquisition perfectly aligns with our vision: building a universal digital adoption platform capable of integrating seamlessly across all application environments, from web to desktop. The arrival of teams with deep expertise in fundamental AI research significantly strengthens our ability to innovate sustainably and deliver intelligent, enterprise-grade solutions to our customers," said Pierre Leroux, Founder and CEO of Lemon Learning. About Lemon Learning Lemon Learning is a digital adoption platform that helps organizations ensure effective use of their business applications. By embedding interactive guides directly into software, combined with advanced AI capabilities and robust analytics, Lemon Learning enables companies to accelerate onboarding, reduce support costs, and secure the success of their digital transformation initiatives. CONTACT: Sarah CHOHAN, sarah.chohan@lemonlearning.fr Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2873534/Lemon_Learning_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/lemon-learning-acquires-aidaxis-to-expand-desktop-application-coverage-302675148.html LONDON, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- New data from Novuna Business Finance reveals the first green shoots of a potentially new upward trend in small business growth forecasts. Following a worrying 18-month period since mid-2024, when the percentage of small businesses predicting growth fell for five-consecutive quarters - to a five-year low of 25% - January 2026 sees an upturn, with 27% of enterprises predicting growth for the first three-months of 2026. Whilst only a slight upturn on the final months of 2025, the new Novuna Business Finance data brings to an end an 18-month slide in growth forecasts, the longest-running slump recorded during the Business Barometer's 12-years of tracking research. There were quarter-on-quarter improvements in small business growth forecasts in nine industry sectors, including: manufacturing (27%), construction (22%), retail (32%), finance /accounting (37%), legal services (45%), medical services (34%), transport/distribution (29%), property/real estate (28%) and agriculture (21%). In terms of the funding profile of various enterprises, small businesses that made use of asset finance (47%) and invoice finance (45%) were more likely to predict growth. Around the UK, the regional picture showed a country split in half, with growth forecasts rising in six regions and falling in five. London continued to evolve as the region where most small businesses forecasted growth this quarter (40%), and the biggest quarter-on-quarter rises were recorded in the West Midlands and Scotland. Conversely, growth forecasts in the East Midlands and North West continued to fall - and in the North East they fell to the lowest level since Spring (Q2) 2024. Joanna Morris, Head of Insight at Novuna Business Finance commented: "Our new research shows an upturn in small business growth forecasts this quarter, after an 18-month period when they were in freefall. Our data over 12-years suggests small business confidence often starts well at the start of a year, only to fall away in the quarters that follow. So, it is too early to say whether the positive news for this quarter is the start of a sustained upward trend. But for now, it is a positive start to 2026, and we note that those enterprises looking for flexible and tailored funding solutions are also more likely to follow an upward trajectory. This is something we will examine in more detail as the year unfolds." View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/novuna-business-finance-research-reveals-a-rise-in-small-business-growth-forecasts-302676571.html Tel Aviv, Israel--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - CyberUp Institute participated in Cybertech Global Tel Aviv 2026, held on January 27, with the presence of its CEOs, Vincenzo Stirparo and Andrea Baggio. The event brought together representatives from governments, industry, research institutions, and technology organizations to address current and emerging challenges in cybersecurity. CyberUp Institute CEOs Vincenzo Stirparo and Andrea Baggio attending Cybertech Global Tel Aviv 2026 in Tel Aviv, Israel. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7633/282497_9abb710e746caa80_001full.jpg Cybertech Global Tel Aviv is recognized as an international forum for discussion on digital security, innovation, and cooperation. Hosted in Tel Aviv, a city known for its concentration of cybersecurity research and technology development, the forum provided a platform for dialogue among public and private stakeholders involved in cyber defense, resilience, and skills development. During the event, Vincenzo Stirparo and Andrea Baggio engaged with international counterparts, institutional representatives, and technology partners, contributing to discussions focused on cybersecurity preparedness, training methodologies, and the evolving role of human decision-making in cyber incident response. Their participation formed part of CyberUp Institute's broader engagement with global cybersecurity initiatives and professional exchanges. The forum offered opportunities to exchange perspectives on operational challenges, training needs, and collaboration models in an environment where cyber threats increasingly cross national and organizational boundaries. Discussions emphasized the importance of shared knowledge, coordination, and practical approaches to cybersecurity capability development. CyberUp Institute views participation in international forums such as Cybertech Global Tel Aviv as part of an ongoing effort to remain engaged in professional dialogue on cybersecurity education, operational readiness, and cooperation between industry and institutions. About CyberUp Institute CyberUp Institute is an organization focused on cybersecurity training and education. Its programs emphasize experiential learning through simulated operational environments designed to reflect real-world cyber incidents. Training activities address multiple stages of cybersecurity operations, including awareness, threat identification, incident response, forensic processes, and executive-level decision-making, with attention to the human and organizational dimensions of cyber risk. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/282497 Source: Stankevicius Pacific Limited LONDON, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Anemoi Marine Technologies Ltd ("Anemoi"), a UK-based engineering company specialising in wind-assisted propulsion for shipping, was highlighted during Keir Starmer's visit to China and is listed on GOV.UK as part of the export outcomes announced following the trip. With headquarters in the UK and production operations in China, Anemoi develops and delivers Rotor Sails, modern mechanical sails that harness wind power to enable shipowners to reduce vessel fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The company's increasing profile in China is further reinforced by the attendance of Anemoi's newly appointed Programme Director, Andrew Starforth, who attended the 'House of UK Reception', hosted by the UK government on Friday, and the UK-China business forum on Saturday, hosted by the China British Business Council and the British Chamber of Commerce Shanghai. This reflects Anemoi's accelerating international growth and its commitment to building long-term partnerships in one of the world's most strategically important maritime markets. Since June 2023, Anemoi has secured 28 million in exports, representing the installation of 29 Rotor Sails across seven vessels, including four of the largest ships in the world transporting iron ore between Brazil and China. These vessels operate on long-distance trade routes and demonstrate the application of wind-assisted propulsion technology in large-scale commercial shipping. All of Anemoi's engineering design and research and development is conducted in the UK, supported by multiple Anemoi test facilities, including two in the North of England. These activities are supported in part by funding from the UK Government's Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition. Since bringing Rotor Sails to market in 2020, Anemoi has increased its UK-based workforce nearly tenfold, creating more than 45 jobs across the country. The company also collaborates with UK-based companies and consultancies to support the continued development and deployment of its technology, contributing more than 9 million to the UK economy over the past decade. Commenting on the company's inclusion in the UK Government's announced export outcomes, Clare Urmston, Chief Executive Officer of Anemoi Marine Technologies, said: "Our focus has always been on delivering measurable fuel-efficiency and emissions-reduction outcomes for the shipping industry. Rotor Sails provide a means of reducing fuel use and emissions, and to date our technology has supported savings of more than 91,000 tonnes of CO2. Being included in the export outcomes announced following the Prime Minister's visit reflects the international deployment of UK-developed clean-maritime technology." Further details of the Prime Minister's visit to China and the export and investment outcomes announced are available on GOV.UK. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2691837/5747728/Anemoi_Logo.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/uk-prime-minister-highlights-anemoi-marine-technologies-during-china-visit-302677381.html MANCHESTER, UK / ACCESS Newswire / February 3, 2026 / AccessPay, the leading bank integration provider, today announced the release of its Finance Trends 2026 report, presenting the findings of its annual survey of finance leaders. In this fourth year of the report, AccessPay reveals marked sectoral differences between finance teams in financial services firms and those in corporates with regards to their priorities and attitudes to technology adoption. Key findings from the report include: 1. Finance leaders are prioritising finance efficiency and cost control Finance teams across all sectors are placing renewed emphasis on efficiency and cost control in 2026. 47% of general corporates cited this as a priority, a goal shared by 46% of financial services firms. Although cost control is a perennial concern in financial management, sluggish economic growth, rising costs, and geopolitical turmoil have brought it to the fore. Finance leaders are being pushed to do more with less, which also means there is greater interest in adopting advanced technologies; 47% of general corporates and 43% of financial services firms stated they were prioritising the adoption of AI within the coming 18 months. 2. Financial services firms are pulling ahead in finance transformation In both the financial services (29%) and general corporate (24%) sectors, a leading pack of firms report that their finance function has a high degree of automation and integration across all back-office systems. Beyond this, there is a stark dichotomy between the financial and non-financial segments. 45% of financial services firms stated they were advanced in their finance transformation efforts, where most finance processes are automated. In comparison, 41% of corporates stated finance transformation efforts were progressing, with partial automation and manual workarounds. This highlights that there are still many quick wins to be realised in the corporate space through simple automation based on bank connectivity. 3. Insufficient budget is a bigger barrier to AI adoption for corporates Financial services firms are much more likely to have invested in AI for finance operations than general corporates. 46% of financial services firms report having implemented AI enhancements to a high degree, compared to 28% of corporates. Both financial and non-financial sectors faced common barriers to AI adoption, including a lack of internal expertise and resistance to cultural change. However, corporates were far more likely to cite insufficient budget as an issue with 31% raising this as a barrier, compared to 17% of financial services firms. "The disparities between the financial and non-financial sectors in terms of their attitudes towards technology investment are striking," comments Anish Kapoor, CEO of AccessPay. "Longer-term, the underinvestment in general corporates could backfire. In the current macroeconomic environment, finance teams will need to stress-test plans to ensure they can operate at the low end of their scenarios. This is why we predict 2026 will be a key year for automation in payment and treasury operations. If finance departments are to operate with reduced headcount or scale without increasing staff, leaders also need to consider how to make up that shortfall with technology." Download the full report here to learn more about digital transformation in finance operations and how bank connectivity solutions can help automate payments and bank statement data flows. About AccessPay's Finance Trends Survey AccessPay's Finance Trends 2026 Survey was conducted online during October 2025. The aggregated results are based on 130 respondents from various sectors, including financial services, legal, retail, manufacturing and utilities. Findings for the financial services sector are based on 84 respondents across banking and insurance, while corporate findings are based on 54 respondents. A small proportion of companies is classified in both segments. Typical job titles of respondents include (Deputy) Finance Director, Financial Systems Manager, Head of Treasury, and Head of Managed Services. About AccessPay AccessPay is a leading provider of bank integration solutions, pioneering finance transformation for the Office of the CFO. AccessPay helps finance and treasury teams modernise their operations through secure, cloud-based bank connectivity. Our platform connects back-office systems to banks, enabling the automated flow and transformation of payment, bank statement and other financial data. Thousands of businesses around the world partner with AccessPay to automate supplier and client payments, Direct Debit collections, and bank statement retrieval - improving efficiency, reducing fraud risk, and gaining real-time cash visibility. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Manchester, UK, AccessPay is trusted by global enterprises to automate finance and treasury operations and build a future-ready Office of the CFO. Website: www.accesspay.com Follow us on LinkedIn: AccessPay Press contacts: Chanda Shingadia, The Comms Crowd? Email: chanda@commscrowd.com Phone: +44 (0)7951 163 61 SOURCE: AccessPay View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/banking-and-financial-services/ai-rises-on-the-finance-leadership-agenda-as-cost-control-dominates-1130536 Philipp Widmann Joins as a Managing Director; Henning Stoltze Joins as a Director Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI), the global investment bank, announced two senior appointments in its global Industrials Group, as the firm expands its coverage of the specialty distribution sector in Europe. Philipp Widmann has joined the firm from Baird as a Managing Director to lead the new team. Based in Frankfurt, he will work alongside senior colleagues in the firm's market-leading distribution team in the U.S., as well as colleagues across the broader Industrials Group, to deliver bespoke, cross-border solutions to clients in the region. Over more than a decade at Baird, Mr. Widmann advised clients on M&A and capital markets transactions across the business-to-business distribution sector. He brings extensive corporate finance expertise and a deep network of client and investor relationships across Europe's distribution markets. Henning Stoltze has joined the firm as a Director, also from Baird, where he worked closely with Mr. Widmann and spent the majority of his career focusing on the specialty distribution sector. He will also be based in the Frankfurt office. The hires reflect the ongoing momentum of Houlihan Lokey's Industrials Group in Europe, following the recent addition of Geraud Estrangin in Paris to focus on aerospace and defence, and further strengthen the team's ability to deliver deep subsector expertise and innovative advisory solutions. Bill Peluchiwski, Global Head of Industrials, said: "Philipp and Henning's arrival represents yet another important milestone in the expansion of our global Industrials Group. Their appointment is indicative of our belief in the continued growth of the European specialty distribution market and exemplifies our focus on delivering outstanding, client-focused outcomes across the global markets where we operate." Reed Anderson, Co-Head of Specialty Distribution, commented: "We are excited to be expanding our market-leading North American Specialty Distribution practice by building out our European expertise, establishing a global platform that delivers enhanced advisory expertise and access across both continents. We look forward to partnering with Philipp and Henning to unlock more opportunities for our clients in both Europe and North America." Frank Merkel, Co-Head of Industrials, Europe, said: "We're delighted to welcome Philipp and Henning to the Industrials Group. Hiring seasoned advisors of their profile materially enhances our expertise in specialty distribution, at a time of sustained momentum in Europe. Their deep sector knowledge, broad transaction experience, and established client relationships will accelerate the momentum of our European industrials platform, further reinforce our market leadership, and ensure we continue delivering innovative, high-impact solutions across diverse markets and subsectors." "I am delighted to be joining Houlihan Lokey as the firm expands its specialty distribution capabilities in Europe," said Mr. Widmann. "Its unmatched depth of sector expertise, global reach, and collaborative culture provide a unique platform to deliver best-in-class solutions for clients. I look forward to contributing to the team's ongoing momentum, leveraging our combined experience and relationships to support clients in achieving their strategic objectives and driving sustained growth across the region." Houlihan Lokey's Industrials Group has earned a reputation for superior service and outstanding results in M&A advisory, capital-raising, restructuring, and financial and valuation advisory services. Our transaction quality and client work benefit from our company culture, where financial professionals are highly engaged in the execution of client projects, and from our experience as leaders in the market for more than a decade, which has given our professionals valuable exposure to a variety of situations and challenges. In 2025, Houlihan Lokey's Industrials Group was ranked as the No. 1 M&A advisor for global industrials transactions under $5 billion, advising on a total of 71 deals.* *2025 M&A Advisory Rankings-Global Industrials Transactions Under $5 Billion. LSEG. Excludes accounting firms and brokers. About Houlihan Lokey Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) is a leading global investment bank recognized for delivering independent strategic and financial advice to corporations, financial sponsors, and governments. With uniquely deep industry expertise, broad international reach, and a partnership approach rooted in trust, the firm provides innovative, integrated solutions across mergers and acquisitions, capital solutions, financial restructuring, and financial and valuation advisory. Our unmatched transaction volumes provide differentiated, data-driven perspectives that help our clients achieve their most critical goals. To learn more about Houlihan Lokey, please visit HL.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260202217575/en/ Contacts: Investor Relations +1 212.331.8225 IR@HL.com Media Relations +44 20 7747 1480 PR@HL.com Everlaw, the cloud-native investigation and litigation platform, today announced the general availability of EverlawAI Deep Dive, its generative AI feature, for the UK, EU and Canada. Deep Dive fundamentally reshapes how legal teams conduct document review. It allows users to ask natural language questions of an entire document corpus-terabytes in size-and rapidly receive reliable, citation-backed answers directly from their documents throughout the litigation lifecycle. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260203100619/en/ Everlaw AI Deep Dive fundamentally reshapes the way legal teams conduct document review by allowing users to ask natural language questions of an entire document corpus terabytes in size and receive rapid, reliable, citation-backed answers directly from their documents. Answers are ranked by confidence level and supported with a list of facts and referenceable resources. When insufficient evidence exists, the system is designed to explicitly indicate that limitation rather than generating unreliable content. Deep Dive helps legal teams move beyond simple document retrieval to intelligent fact extraction and analysis, while maintaining the verification standards essential to legal practice. Deep Dive is helpful throughout the litigation lifecycle: early case assessment, production review, deposition prep and trial readiness. Legal professionals are often up against the clock needing to know the contents of a new production from opposing counsel or getting a partner up to speed on the core issues in a matter. In seconds, Deep Dive provides answers to the key issues, using natural language questions. A Paradigm Shift: Simple to Use, Massive Scale, Answers Legal Teams Can Validate Everlaw engineers built Deep Dive on three core principles: Simple design helps legal teams have a natural conversation with the documents to find key facts and documents. Massive scale allows searches across terabytes of data successfully tested against a matter with tens of millions of documents and different file types. Designed to reduce hallucinations by searching exclusively within the document corpus. Answers are ranked by confidence level and supported with a list of facts and referenceable resources. When insufficient evidence exists, the system is designed to explicitly indicate that limitation rather than generating unreliable content. "Deep Dive has revolutionised the way we prepare for complex trials. The powerful and near-instant question and answer format allows us to interrogate a large dataset in seconds and locate key documents which we can then rely on at trial," said Samuel Marrache, Senior Associate (Barrister) at Hassans. "Deep Dive's ability to effectively trawl through thousands of documents and pinpoint sections of those documents which respond to our queries has also proven to be an invaluable tool during witness cross-examinations. We are looking forward to using Deep Dive from the start of our next matter." Strategic Impact Across the Litigation Lifecycle Deep Dive's capabilities provide an instantaneous advantage across a case lifecycle: Early Case Assessment: Understanding the core facts of a new matter to flag risks and opportunities, and instantly testing hypotheses. Production Review: Reviewing large data dumps and production gaps. Trial Readiness: Generating key facts and quotes to prepare for trial, basing strategy on actual case content. About Everlaw Everlaw helps legal teams navigate the increasingly complex ediscovery landscape to chart a straighter path to the truth. Trusted by FTSE 250 corporations and 100% of Silver Circle firms, founded in 2010 and based in Oakland, Calif., and with offices in London, Washington, D.C., and New York City, Everlaw is funded by top-tier investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, CapitalG, HIG Growth Partners, K9 Ventures, Menlo Ventures, and TPG Growth. Follow us on LinkedIn. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260203100619/en/ Contacts: Everlaw Media Contact: press@everlaw.com Led the first comprehensive review of American law enforcement in over 50 years; brings federal policy expertise and direct relationships with the nation's sheriffs and police chiefs BELLEVUE, Wash., Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Lassen Peak announces the appointment of Dean M. Kueter, Jr., to its advisory committee. Mr. Kueter is a co-founder of Black Alpha International, and he brings experience spanning federal law enforcement policy, agency operations, and national association leadership. His appointment adds trusted relationships with law enforcement leadership nationwide and direct insight into how agencies evaluate and adopt new technology - strengthening the company's position as it moves toward commercialization. From 2019 to 2022 - a period that included both the COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide calls for police reform - Mr. Kueter led the first comprehensive examination of the American criminal justice system in over 50 years, coordinating hundreds of expert witnesses to produce a landmark report with more than 150 recommendations, including several that address technology adoption for law enforcement. At the Department of Justice, he advised two U.S. Attorneys General, and he established the State and Local Law Enforcement Coordination Section, a new DOJ division reporting directly to the Attorney General. Prior to these roles, Mr. Kueter served as Chief of Staff at the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office), the Justice Department agency that administers the largest grant programs for police technology acquisition. His career also includes nearly a decade as Director of Government Affairs at the National Sheriffs' Association, representing more than 3,000 elected sheriffs nationwide, and serving as Washington representative for the Major Cities Chiefs Association. His federal policy work includes authoring the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act, which has provided more than $573 million to equip officers with body armor. Hatch Graham, Co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of Lassen Peak, said, "Dean Kueter has advised two Attorneys General, led the first presidential commission on law enforcement in over half a century, and maintains trusted relationships with sheriffs and chiefs across the country. As we prepare to pilot with law enforcement agencies, Dean's expertise in federal policy, grant funding pathways, and law enforcement operations will be invaluable." "Throughout my career, I have focused on providing law enforcement officers with the tools and resources they need to do their jobs safely and effectively," said Dean Kueter. "The physical pat-down remains one of the most dangerous moments in policing for officers and citizens alike. Lassen Peak's technology exemplifies the kind of innovation the President's Commission envisioned: solutions that enhance officer safety while respecting the constitutional rights of the communities they serve. I am honored to support this mission." About Lassen Peak Lassen Peak is a Seattle, Washington-based pioneer in submillimeter-wave technology, founded to address the most dangerous friction point in modern policing: the physical pat-down. The company has assembled a diverse advisory and committee leadership that formerly held key positions in America's top law enforcement and civil rights organizations, including roles of ACLU General Counsel, Executive Director of the President's Commission on Law Enforcement, President of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, CIO of the United States Government, LAPD Commanding Officer, President of the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives, and others. http://www.lassenpeak.com Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2870785/Dean_M_Kueter_Lassen_Peak.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1686113/lassen_peak_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/lassen-peak-appoints-dean-kueter-former-executive-director-of-the-us-presidents-commission-on-law-enforcement-to-its-advisory-committee-302671637.html HEFEI, China, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- In large utility PV plants, a single failure in a central inverter can bring an entire megawatt-level power generation unit to an immediate halt. From fault reporting to final repair, recovery often takes several days - resulting in substantial generation losses. For years, the complexity and inefficiency of keeping large PV inverters operational have persisted as a major industry challenge. To address this long-standing issue, Sungrow introduces an industry-first combination of smart fault diagnosis and a separable modular design in its new 1+X 2.0 modular inverter. This approach targets two major pain points: the difficulty of pinpointing faults and prolonged repair cycles caused by dependence on the manufacturer's response. To validate its real-world performance, Sungrow recently partnered with TUV Rheinland to conduct a field test of the 1+X 2.0 at the Tuanfeng plant in Hubei Province, China. On-Site Testing: Minute-Level Diagnosis, One-Hour Rapid Repair During the test, an IGBT fault was deliberately induced in the inverter. Within three minutes, the 1+X 2.0 system successfully detected the issue and identified the affected component. Detailed fault information and corresponding repair guidance were immediately displayed via the system backend. Two on-site O&M personnel subsequently used specialized tools to remove the front cover, disconnect the copper bar terminals, replace the faulty inverter module with a spare, and complete the reinstallation. The inverter unit was fully restored and reconnected to the grid in just 58 minutes. "Every minute we saved during O&M turns into higher yield," said Tian Xingxin, Certification Expert at TUV Rheinland, who witnessed the full test. "The smart fault diagnosis and separable modular design of the 1+X 2.0 shortens the repair process from days to just hours and redefines how utility PV plants are maintained." Compared with the same type of fault, traditional O&M can take dozens of times longer and require far more effort. Back then, O&M personnel had to wait for technicians from the manufacturer to assess whether the situation was suitable for repair through disassembly and troubleshooting, often extending the entire process from days to weeks and resulting in further substantial generation losses. Technical Decoding: Software-Hardware Synergy Redefines PV O&M Every efficient O&M solution reflects Sungrow's deep understanding of industry challenges and its integrated innovations in both software and hardware. Software: Intelligent Fault Diagnosis to Reduce Human Dependency Traditional inverter O&M relies heavily on technicians and experienced engineers from manufacturer. In remote PV plants, this dependency leads to long waiting times for repairs. However, the 1+X 2.0's smart fault diagnosis combines neural networks, machine learning, and expert systems, allowing the system identify faults automatically. It can identify the problem within seconds and generate practical repair suggestions simultaneously, rapidly improving diagnostic accuracy while reducing O&M time. Currently, this feature can diagnose more than 20 common faults types, covering the inverter's core components, including IGBT faults, reactor overheated, and PDP faults. With a diagnostic accuracy exceeding 96%, it largely meets the daily O&M needs of large PV inverters. As the inverter operates and diagnostic data accumulates, the model continuously evolving, making future diagnoses increasingly precise and reliable. Hardware: Separable Modular Design Enables On-Site Replacement Traditional repair processes can be complex and time-consuming when core components of inverters such as IGBTs, capacitors, or control boards fail. The 1+X 2.0 addresses this challenge by integrating these key components into lightweight inverter modules with a plug-and-play design. Each inverter module weighs just 105 kg, making it lighter than mainstream string inverters. It can be easily replaced by just two on-site O&M personnel using auxiliary tools, reducing repair time to only one hour. As utility PV plants continue to expand in scale and operational complexity, traditional O&M approaches will face increasing challenges in both cost and efficiency. By combining intelligent fault diagnosis with a separable modular design, the 1+X 2.0 intelligent O&M solution provides a better path forward. Through its precise diagnostics and rapid modular replacement, 1+X 2.0 enhances efficiency, reliability, and long-term performance, unlocking new opportunities to maximize the value of PV plants by extending their lifespan. About Sungrow Sungrow, a global leader in renewable energy technology, has pioneered sustainable power solutions for over 29 years. As of June 2025, Sungrow has installed 870 GW of power electronic converters worldwide. The Company is recognized as the world's most bankable PV inverter and energy storage company (BloombergNEF). Its innovations power clean energy projects across the globe, supported by a network of 520 service outlets guaranteeing excellent customer experience. At Sungrow, we're committed to bridging to a sustainable future through cutting-edge technology and unparalleled service. For more information, please visit: www.sungrowpower.com/en. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2875828/1_X_2_0_O_M.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1344575/Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/faster-om-higher-yield-sungrows-1x-2-0-unlocks-one-hour-maintenance-302677426.html New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - Case Reports in Regrowth today announced the publication of an observational case report documenting late-onset hair regrowth and related physical observations in a 49-year-old male subject, Muhammad Qasim. The published case report presents a structured, non-clinical record compiled over an extended observation period. The documentation includes longitudinal visual records, manually recorded measurements, a clearly stated methodology, and defined limitations. No causation, diagnosis, or therapeutic outcome is asserted. The full case report and associated documentation are publicly available at: https://casereportsinregrowth.com/muhammad-qasim-case/ In addition to public availability, Case Reports in Regrowth is inviting qualified medical professionals, researchers, and academic institutions to review the published observational record. Further datasets, supplementary materials, and detailed investigative documentation are intended to be shared following careful discussion and review with senior medical experts. The publication has also generated notable public interest, particularly in the United States. Independent third-party trend-tracking data shows the topic appearing among widely discussed public trends, as reflected by analytics platforms such as: https://getdaytrends.com/united-states/trend/Muhammad%20Qasim/ This public visibility is referenced solely as an indicator of general interest and does not represent scientific validation or endorsement of the observations documented in the report. Muhammad Qasim is a public figure whose life and experiences have drawn sustained public attention over many years. At the age of 49, he became the subject of observational documentation due to the timing and nature of physical changes recorded over an extended period. According to the published records, the subject's standing height regrowth measurements increased from approximately 173.0 cm to a maximum recorded value of 175.8 cm over a period of roughly 16 months, based on non-clinical measurements. These values are presented as recorded standing height observations and are not described as confirmed skeletal or bone growth. The documentation further records visible hair regrowth activity in areas that were previously bald or sparsely covered. Earlier in adulthood, the subject experienced significant scalp hair loss, including smooth and clearly visible bald patches. During the observation period, new surface-visible hair follicles and strands were recorded across the scalp, with visible strand lengths ranging from approximately 1 mm to 15-16 mm at different stages. Family background indicates a history of genetic hair loss, and no known family members experienced comparable late-onset regrowth. In certain observed areas, multiple hair strands appeared to emerge from single follicular points; these findings are documented visually without clinical interpretation. Muhammad Qasim natural regrowth case invitation card. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/12173/282358_77fadd1e54afbabf_001full.jpg The subject reports that growth plates in the feet were believed to have fused in late adolescence and that no height increase was observed through adulthood prior to the recent observation period. No medical treatment, hormonal therapy, or clinical intervention is claimed in connection with the documented observations. All information is presented strictly for documentation and independent academic review and to get the collaboration of the top medical minds. Case Reports in Regrowth stated that certain documents have already been shared on a timely basis. Additional reports and detailed investigations intended for senior medical experts will be released in a phased manner after careful evaluation and discussion. Supplementary visual open invitation provided on Muhammad Qasim regrowth case To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/12173/282358_77fadd1e54afbabf_002full.jpg The platform's objective is to preserve unusual or under-documented physiological observations in a transparent, neutral, and reviewable format, allowing independent academic assessment without interpretation or inference. About Case Reports in Regrowth Case Reports in Regrowth is an independent documentation platform dedicated to publishing observational case records related to regeneration, aging, and physiological variation. All publications are provided for informational and archival purposes only and do not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/282358 Source: Case Reports in Regrowth SHANGHAI, CN / ACCESS Newswire / February 3, 2026 / As the spring tide surges, it is the perfect moment to set sail and forge ahead. Riding the momentum of large-scale artificial intelligence development under China's "15th Five-Year Plan," on February 1, 2026, the "Together Forward, United by AI" SIXUNITED 18th Anniversary Appreciation Gala and 2025 Year-End Appreciation Banquet was grandly held at the Qianhai International Convention Center in Shenzhen. Blending industrial retrospection with strategic foresight, the event comprehensively showcased SIXUNITED's remarkable 18-year journey-from a successful IDH manufacturing enterprise to a full-stack AI service provider. Centered on three key highlights-full-stack product debut, official announcement of the RMB 10 billion revenue target, and ecosystem-driven consensus building-the event provided a practical and replicable model for China's transition from "Made in China" to "Intelligently Made in China," drawing widespread attention across the industry. Eighteen Years of Deep Commitment: From Following to Running in Parallel, Anchoring the AI Main Channel The "15th Five-Year Plan" clearly emphasizes "promoting comprehensive AI empowerment across all industries," an inevitable industrial trend. Cao Yalian, Chairman of SIXUNITED, noted that 18 years mark a critical milestone in the company's evolution-from survival to independence, and from manufacturing to intelligent manufacturing. Since fully committing to All in AI in 2024, both shipment volume and revenue have steadily ranked among the top players within the CTE ecosystem, with Intel-related products accounting for the largest share. Looking ahead to 2026, SIXUNITED has set ambitious goals of 15 million terminal shipments annually and revenue exceeding RMB 10 billion. These targets are driven by a 35% AI PC shipment ratio and the upgrading of non-laptop AI full-stack services. By strengthening cloud-edge-end R&D, focusing on AI scenario innovation, and deepening ecosystem collaboration, the company aims to steadily advance toward its objectives. Cao emphasized that the CTE ecosystem forms the foundation of AI infrastructure, and that AI PCs meet real global demand, unaffected by debates surrounding an "AI bubble." Gary Gao, General Manager of Intel China's Technology Department, reflected on 12 years of collaboration, witnessing SIXUNITED's growth from a tablet ODM to a globally leading x86 full-stack product ODM provider. At key turning points, SIXUNITED achieved three pioneering breakthroughs: In 2017, amid shortages of Intel small-core processors, Cao formed the "Big-Core Task Force" and counter-cyclically invested in large-core products, which have since become the company's lifeline. During the pandemic, SIXUNITED broke the stereotype that "CTE is limited to consumer products," entering the commercial PC market and becoming the first vendor to pass Intel vPro certification with a perfect score. In 2024, SIXUNITED was among the first to join the AI PC Acceleration Program, launching its first AI-assisted product within a year and completing a full-stack AI terminal layout spanning AI PCs, servers, and workstations. By foregoing short-term OEM profits and continuously increasing investment in AI R&D, SIXUNITED achieved a major leap from "product manufacturing" to "solution delivery," firmly establishing its core competitiveness in the AI arena. Product Showcase: Full-Stack AI Deployment Addressing Real Industry Pain Points At the core exhibition area, SIXUNITED and Intel jointly unveiled a comprehensive full-stack AI solution portfolio. With strengths spanning hardware foundation, software enablement, and ecosystem synergy, the showcase offered an intuitive window into AI commercialization and highlighted SIXUNITED's deep and differentiated AI. Hardware: Scenario-Oriented Terminals Redefining Efficiency xN25-140M2-YDX AI Laptop: Powered by Intel's latest-generation processors, supporting local offline AI processing, balancing mobile productivity and data security-fully aligned with the "edge intelligence" paradigm of AI PCs. xN88-H02-TBD-R52 Mini AI Workstation: Delivering powerful performance within a 1L form factor, capable of running large-parameter models smoothly with Intel computing power, enabling SMEs to access AI computing infrastructure at low cost. xA33-270M-XLD Industrial AI All-in-One: Integrated with high-performance NPU chips and AI vision algorithms, enabling precise equipment fault prediction and empowering "AI + Manufacturing" for quality and efficiency upgrades. Software: Native AI Adaptation Across the Entire Workflow AI Assistant 3.0: A lightweight, all-scenario intelligent tool deeply optimized for Intel hardware, supporting both cloud and local inference. Offline capabilities include dialogue, meeting minutes, translation, and contract review-ensuring data security and efficient interaction across office and creative scenarios. EAM Enterprise Agent Management Platform: Built around "data-computing power-agents," integrating large models and agent technologies across R&D, supply chain, and business analytics, with applications in legal and financial sectors-enabling enterprises to transition from human-driven decisions to intelligent systems. Full-Stack AI Compatibility: Synchronized with Intel's next-generation platforms such as Lunar Lake and Panther Lake, achieving seamless coordination between hardware computing power and software algorithms to meet multi-platform AI deployment needs. Ecosystem Synergy: Full-Chain Collaboration to Build AI Infrastructure The event reinforced the core consensus of "Powering AI Together," with ecosystem collaboration spanning the entire supply chain. SIXUNITED is deepening technical cooperation with core chip manufacturers, jointly advancing AI terminal development across all price tiers; working closely with global partners in storage and components to ensure stable mass delivery; and collaborating with industry clients in smart education and industrial IoT to deploy full-stack AI solutions-forming a closed-loop synergy of "supply chain - terminals - scenarios." Strategic Announcement: Targeting RMB 10 Billion with Ecosystem Confidence During the highlight segment of the event, Chairman and Founder Cao Yalian officially announced SIXUNITED's core strategic objectives for 2026: annual terminal shipments exceeding 15 million units and revenue sprinting toward RMB 10 billion. This bold declaration reflects not only the confidence built upon 18 years of technological accumulation, but also signals the large-scale breakout of the AI terminal industry. Following the announcement, Ding Zhan, General Manager of the Marketing Center; Zhang Xiaojun, Deputy General Manager of the Product R&D Center; and Shen Jinzhong, Peng Yun, and Guo Qian, Deputy General Managers of the Supply Chain Center, respectively elaborated on marketing strategies, product roadmaps, future supply chain collaboration, and tablet strategies for 2026-providing clear direction for AI focus and ecosystem-driven growth. Roundtable Consensus: AI Enters a New Phase of "Collaborative Deep Cultivation" Centered on the theme "Together Forward, United by AI," the roundtable discussion brought together key leaders from Intel, H3C, the Shenzhen Artificial Intelligence Industry Association, and SIXUNITED. Participants reached important consensus on industry trends and future directions. The panel agreed that the AI industry has moved beyond the stage of "concept hype" into an era of deep cultivation driven by terminal-cloud synergy and industrial collaboration. AI computing is irreversibly shifting from cloud-centric to edge and terminal deployment; AI capabilities have evolved from a "value-added feature" into a "baseline requirement" for customer selection; and real-world deployment effectiveness has become the ultimate benchmark of technological value. Regarding AI PCs, panelists emphasized that this represents a structural inflection point in the PC industry rather than a short-term trend, requiring joint breakthroughs across chip computing power, system design, and scenario adaptation. The discussion concluded with a shared call for long-termism and collaborative deep cultivation to build a high-quality AI ecosystem. Conclusion: Leading a New Journey of Intelligent Manufacturing with Full-Stack Strength From its first partnership at the Diwang Tower to jointly leading the global AI terminal race; from a single tablet motherboard to comprehensive full-stack AI solutions-SIXUNITED's 18-year transformation is not only the growth story of one enterprise, but also a vivid reflection of China's electronic information industry advancing from following to running in parallel, and toward leading in the global AI arena. It stands as a living example of enterprises resonating with national strategy during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period. The theme "Together Forward, United by AI" encapsulates the core logic of high-quality AI development. As SIXUNITED advances toward its RMB 10 billion goal, its development model of "independent technology R&D + ecosystem co-creation" will provide a valuable blueprint for manufacturing enterprises seeking transformation-driving AI technology into real-world applications across industries and injecting stronger intelligent momentum into China's high-quality economic development. Website: http://en.sixunited.com/ CompanyName: Shanghai Sixunited Intelligent Technology Co,Ltd Email Address: Sales@sixunited.com Telephone: 0755-86705525 SOURCE: Shanghai Sixunited Intelligent Technology Co,Ltd View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/business-and-professional-services/charting-high-quality-development-under-the-%2215th-five-year-plan-1132951 Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - Lithium ION Energy Limited (TSXV: ION) (FSE: ZA4) ("ION" or "the Company") provides the following update on the wholly owned highly prospective Urgakh Naran Lithium Brine Project. As part of the Company's ongoing strategic review and broader uplift, ION has undertaken a comprehensive review of its asset portfolio and legacy agreements to ensure alignment with its strategic objectives going forward. In doing so, the Company discussed with SureFQ Hong Kong Limited ("SureFQ") the status of the Joint Venture regarding the Urgakh Naran property (the "Joint Venture"). Following discussions with SureFQ, the Company was advised that SureFQ had made the decision to withdraw from the Joint Venture. At the time, SureFQ indicated the decision was made due to internal reasons unrelated to the quality or prospectivity of the Urgakh Naran asset. In accordance with the terms of the Joint Venture agreement, SureFQ has exercised its right to withdraw without cause prior to the first anniversary of the agreement, thereby relinquishing all rights and obligations relating to the Urgakh Naran property. ION remains highly confident in the geological potential and strategic merit of the Urgakh Naran project and views it as a quality asset within its portfolio. The Company is actively evaluating the project and strategic pathways to continue unlocking value from the project. The Company is also pleased to highlight its continued exposure to advanced exploration through its 20% free carry interest in the Victory Copper Gold Project in Mongolia, which is being advanced by Trinity One Metals Ltd. The Victory Project represents a highly prospective copper gold system and remains an important component of ION's broader strategy to maintain exposure to high quality, large scale mineral opportunities. ION is actively reviewing additional asset opportunities that align with its renewed strategic focus and disciplined capital allocation framework. The Board and management are encouraged by the progress achieved to date in streamlining the Company's structure, strengthening its balance sheet, and positioning ION for its next phase of growth. The Company looks forward to providing further updates as it continues to advance its transformation and pursue new opportunities for shareholder value creation. About Lithium ION Energy Ltd. Lithium ION Energy Ltd. (TSXV: ION) (FSE: ZA4) is committed to exploring and developing high quality lithium resources in strategic jurisdictions. ION is focused on advancing the 29,000+ hectare Urgakh Naran highly prospective lithium brine licence in Dorngovi Province in Mongolia. ION is positioned to be a key player in the clean energy revolution and service the world's increased demand for lithium. Information about the Company is available on its website, www.ionenergy.ca, or under its profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Forward-looking Statements Certain information contained herein constitutes "forward-looking information" under Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, the completion of the Offering and Debt Settlement on the terms and timing described herein, the Offering and Debt Settlement, the Company's proposed use of proceeds from the Offering, receipt of TSXV approval for the Offering and the Debt Settlement, , the Company's reliance on certain exemptions from requirements under MI 61-101, the Company filing a material change report and the timing thereof,. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "will", "anticipates" or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made and they are from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to be materially different, including receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals. Although management of the Company have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. The Company will not update any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information that are incorporated by reference herein, except as required by applicable securities laws. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/282489 Source: Lithium ION Energy Limited Kelowna, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - F3 Uranium Corp (TSXV: FUU) (OTCQB: FUUFF) (FSE: GL7) ("F3" or "the Company") is pleased to announce the commencement of the winter drill program at its 100% owned Broach Lake Property, on the recently discovered high-grade Tetra Zone (see NR July 7, 2025), located just within the south-western edge of the Athabasca Basin 12km northwest of Paladin's Triple R and 16km west-northwest of NexGen Energy's Arrow high-grade uranium deposits. The 3,000-metre diamond drill program is designed to further test the extent of uranium mineralization at Tetra Zone, currently highlighted by key intercepts including PLN25-205, which returned 1.0 metre of 2.50% U3O within a broader 22.5-metre interval averaging 0.26% U3O, and PLN25-219A, which intersected 29.5 metres of total mineralization, including 27.5 metres continuous with 2.30 metres exceeding 10,000 cps (see news release dated November 10, 2025). The recent fall program successfully extended the interpreted mineralized plunge length from 60 metres to 135 metres. The two westernmost holes from that program are interpreted to have overshot the target area; the winter program will begin with down-dip and down-plunge step-outs in this direction before shifting to test the up-plunge extension, where approximately 300 metres of undrilled prospective shear zone remains toward the Athabasca unconformity. This unconformity area shows highly prospective geology and pathfinder element geochemistry in intercepts to date. Sam Hartmann, Vice President Exploration, commented: "We are very excited to resume drilling at Tetra Zone with an ambitious winter program ahead. Mineralization remains open both down-plunge to the west at depth and up-plunge to the east toward the Athabasca Unconformity, with roughly 300 metres of prospective untested shear in the up-plunge direction. We also await all outstanding assays from the fall program, including from hole PLN25-219A, which delivered our strongest radioactivity to date with 2.30 metres >10,000 cps within 27.5 metres of continuous mineralization (see NR November 10, 2025)." Image 1. Broach Lake - Tetra Zone Fall Drilling Target Area - Long Section To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8110/282458_80d9f35c64e78839_002full.jpg Image 2. Broach Lake - Tetra Zone Fall Drilling Target Area - Plan Map To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8110/282458_80d9f35c64e78839_003full.jpg The natural gamma radiation detected in the drill core, as detailed in this news release, was measured in counts per second (cps) using a handheld Radiation Solutions RS-125 spectrometer which has been calibrated by Radiation Solutions Inc. The Company designates readings exceeding 300 cps on the handheld spectrometer (occasionally referred to as a scintillometer in industry parlance; this colloquial usage stems from historical naming conventions and the shared functionality of detecting gamma radiation between a spectrometer and a scintillometer)-as "anomalous", readings above 10,000 cps as "highly radioactive", and readings surpassing 65,535 cps as "off-scale". However, readers are cautioned that spectrometer or scintillometer measurements often do not directly or consistently correlate with the uranium grades of the rock samples and should be regarded solely as a preliminary indicator of the presence of radioactive materials. The Company considers uranium mineralization with assay results of greater than 1.0 weight % U3O8 as "high grade" and results greater than 20.0 weight % U3O8 as "ultra-high grade". All depth measurements reported are down-hole and true thicknesses are yet to be determined. About the Patterson Lake North Project: The Company's 42,961-hectare 100% owned Patterson Lake North Project (PLN) is located just within the south-western edge of the Athabasca Basin in proximity to Paladin's Triple R and NexGen Energy's Arrow high-grade uranium deposits, an area poised to become the next major area of development for new uranium operations in northern Saskatchewan. The PLN Project consists of the 4,074-hectare Patterson Lake North Property hosting the JR Zone Uranium discovery approximately 23km northwest of Paladin's Triple R deposit, the 19,864-hectare Minto Property, and the 19,022-hectare Broach Property hosting the Tetra Zone, F3's newest discovery 13km south of the JR Zone. All three properties comprising the PLN Project are accessed by Provincial Highway 955. Qualified Person: The technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101 and approved on behalf of the company by Raymond Ashley, P.Geo., President & COO of F3 Uranium Corp, a Qualified Person. Mr. Ashley has reviewed and approved the data disclosed. This news release also refers to neighboring properties in which F3 Uranium has no interest, and the Qualified Person has been unable to verify the information from those properties. Mineralization on those neighboring properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization on the PLN Project. For additional information on the PLN Project, including the current mineral resource estimate for F3 Uranium's JR Zone uranium deposit, please refer to the report titled "NI 43-101 Technical Report, Patterson lake North Project, Northern Saskatchewan, Canada" dated January 20, 2026, available at www.sedarplus.ca. About F3 Uranium Corp.: F3 is a uranium exploration company, focusing on the high-grade JR Zone uranium deposit on the Patterson Lake North Property, and the new Tetra Zone uranium discovery 13km to the south on the Broach Property, both part of the Patterson Lake North (PLN) Project in the Western Athabasca Basin. F3 currently has a total of 3 properties in the Athabasca Basin: Patterson Lake North, Minto, and Broach. The western side of the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan, is home to some of the world's largest high grade uranium deposits including Paladin's Triple R project and NexGen's Arrow project. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements that are not historical facts, including without limitation, statements regarding future estimates, plans, programs, forecasts, projections, objectives, assumptions, expectations or beliefs of future performance, including statements regarding the suitability of the Properties for mining exploration, future payments, issuance of shares and work commitment funds, entry into of a definitive option agreement respecting the Properties, are "forward-looking statements." These forward-looking statements reflect the expectations or beliefs of management of the Company based on information currently available to it. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including those detailed from time to time in filings made by the Company with securities regulatory authorities, which may cause actual outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. These factors should be considered carefully and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws. The TSX Venture Exchange and the Canadian Securities Exchange have not reviewed, approved or disapproved the contents of this press release, and do not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/282458 Source: F3 Uranium Corp. Multi-phase deployment brings advanced analytics for mobile and fixed broadband networks, building the foundation for DataOps-driven AI insights and new use cases across group operating companies. STOCKHOLM, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Ooredoo Group has signed a new framework agreement to deploy Polystar's advanced mobile and fixed broadband analytics solutions, across several of its networks. The solution stack includes OSIX Monitoring, Kalix Analytics and Kalix DataOps processing capabilities. The project will replace multiple solutions, from different vendors, and bring advanced analytics capabilities together into a single, unified platform. This will deliver tailored insights, including AI-powered analysis, that meet the specific needs of different user teams across the Group. Building on a long-standing relationship between Polystar, Ooredoo Group and its operating companies in Qatar, Kuwait and Tunisia, the ambitious deployment will be delivered in three phases. It began with a fast-tracked rollout that has already established a scalable analytics foundation across key services, including Ooredoo's 5G SA investments. Subsequent phases will expand data integration and enrichment through Polystar's DataOps capabilities, before leveraging AI and machine learning to support advanced Network Assurance use cases - such as performance optimization, targeted operational efficiency gains, customer experience enhancement, and improved strategic decision-making -throughout the Group's operations. "Ooredoo's investment in our solutions is a significant vote of confidence in our technology and ongoing innovations. It also reflects the deep alignment between Ooredoo's leadership and our parent, Elisa Industriq - technically and strategically - to deliver long-term value," says Stephen Preston, CEO, Polystar, Elisa?Industriq. The adoption of AI is a core strategic priority for Ooredoo and is intended to provide new capabilities across the whole organization, while also enabling local, market-specific initiatives. "Our direction is clear. By unifying key analytics systems onto a single platform, we are creating a strong foundation for insight-driven decision-making across both fixed and mobile networks. This approach allows us to support the specific needs of our operating companies while scaling advanced analytics and AI use cases in a structured and consistent way. Our collaboration with Polystar of Elisa Industriq reflects a shared focus on performance, operational excellence, and delivering better outcomes for our customers," says Timos Tsokanis, Group Chief Information Technology Officer at Ooredoo. "At Ooredoo Qatar, our commitment to customer experience is at the core of every technological decision we make. By strengthening our data foundations and enhancing the way we translate insights into action, we ensure that every improvement in our network directly benefits our customers. Working alongside Polystar of Elisa Industriq enables us to elevate service quality, accelerate issue resolution, and deliver a more seamless, consistent experience across all touchpoints," says Hicham Siblini, Chief Technology & Infrastructure Officer, Ooredoo Qatar. The successful completion of the initial rollout demonstrates the agility and close collaboration between the combined teams. As the deployment progresses, Ooredoo expects to secure early benefits as it continues its transformation journey, confirming the value of its investment in Polystar's solutions. More information & interview requests: Elisa Industriq Mediadesk, mediadesk@elisaindustriq.com, tel. +358 50 305 1605 About Polystar Polystar is a global leader in smart, data-driven assurance and automation for telecommunications operators. Its solutions transform complex network data into operational intelligence that drives business results. Polystar enables communications service providers to enhance the customer experience and achieve optimal operational efficiency through real-time, actionable insights and pragmatic automation, powered by AI. Trusted by more than 100 communications service providers across 55 countries, Polystar collaborates with operators to optimize their multi-vendor networks - cloud-native and on-premises. Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden with a worldwide presence, Polystar is part of Elisa Industriq, a global leader in software solutions for operational intelligence that enhances industrial knowledge with AI innovation. Polystar is ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 27001:2013 certified, reflecting its commitment to quality management and information security. elisaindustriq.com/polystar About Elisa Industriq Elisa Industriq creates software solutions for operational intelligence by multiplying industrial knowledge with AI innovation. Our businesses-camLine, sedApta, Polystar, CalcuQuote, TenForce, and Gridle-serve over 2,500 clients internationally in the manufacturing, telecommunications, and energy sectors. Elisa Industriq delivers business value for customers by reducing costs, improving quality, and generating growth. Our software solutions integrate with customers' existing systems to optimize their operations in areas including manufacturing execution, supply chain optimization, network analytics, and energy management. Elisa Industriq is part of Elisa, an international telecommunications and technology company headquartered in Finland. Elisa Industriq employs over 1,500 experts in Europe, Asia, and North America. elisaindustriq.com This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/elisa-oyj/r/ooredoo-group-signs-framework-agreement-with-polystar--part-of-elisa-industriq--for-mobile-and-fixed,c4301538 The following files are available for download: https://news.cision.com/elisa-oyj/i/leaders-from-ooredoo-and-polystar-elisa-industriq-met-to-cement-their-strategic-alignment,c3507172 Leaders from Ooredoo and Polystar Elisa Industriq met to cement their strategic alignment View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/ooredoo-group-signs-framework-agreement-with-polystar-part-of-elisa-industriq-for-mobile-and-fixed-broadband-analytics-boosted-by-ai-and-dataops-302677476.html TORONTO, ON AND LONDON, UK / ACCESS Newswire / February 3, 2026 / Retained executive search firm Caldwell (TSX:CWL)(OTCQX:CWLPF) today announced the addition of Dr. Christoph Themel as a Partner in the firm's Life Sciences and Healthcare Practice. Based in London, Dr. Themel advises boards, investors, and senior leadership teams on executive and non-executive appointments, leadership assessments, and succession planning across the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and animal health sectors. Dr. Christoph Themel joins Caldwell as partner in the firm's Life Sciences and Healthcare Practice With more than 20 years of experience in executive search and leadership advisory, Dr. Themel is a trusted advisor to big and mid-sized pharmaceutical companies, family-owned enterprises, private equity firms, and portfolio company leadership teams across Europe, the United States, and Asia Pacific. He is particularly known for his ability to partner closely with shareholders and management teams on C-suite succession, senior-level development, and organizational effectiveness initiatives. "Christoph brings exceptional depth in life sciences and healthcare, combined with a thoughtful, relationship-driven advisory style that resonates strongly with boards and leadership teams," said John Blank, managing partner of Caldwell's Life Sciences and Healthcare Practice. "He joins Caldwell at a moment when leadership in this sector is becoming increasingly complex and globally interconnected, so his ability to advise boards and investors on succession, organizational design, and long-term leadership capability across markets will be a significant asset to our clients and to the continued evolution of our firm." Dr. Themel has extensive experience delivering executive search, management appraisal, and leadership development engagements in evolving and highly regulated environments. His work is characterized by a strong focus on aligning leadership capability with business strategy and culture, while fostering environments of inclusion, innovation, and impact. Prior to joining Caldwell, Dr. Themel was a Partner in the Healthcare and Life Sciences Practice at a top-tier global executive search firm. Earlier in his career, he was a partner at a boutique executive search firm specializing in life sciences, with offices around the globe. "Christoph's appointment reflects our continued investment in building a strong, globally integrated Life Sciences and Healthcare practice," said Chris Beck, chief executive officer. "His international experience and sector depth expand our leadership advisory capabilities and strengthen the value we deliver to clients as they navigate increasingly complex and consequential talent decisions." ??About Caldwell Caldwell is a leading retained executive search firm connecting clients with transformational talent. Together with IQTalent, we are a technology-powered talent acquisition firm specializing in recruitment at all levels. Through the two distinct brands - Caldwell and IQTalent- the firm leverages the latest innovations in AI to offer an integrated spectrum of services delivered by teams with deep knowledge in their respective areas. Services include candidate research and sourcing through to full recruitment at the professional, executive and board levels, as well as a suite of talent strategy and assessment tools that can help clients hire the right people, then manage and inspire them to achieve maximum business results. Caldwell's common shares are listed on The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:CWL) and trade on the OTCQX Market (OTCQX:CWLPF). Please visit our website at www.caldwell.com for further information. For further information, please contact: Caroline Lomot Vice President, Marketing & Communications Caldwell clomot@caldwell.com +1 516 830 3535 SOURCE: Caldwell Partners International, Inc. View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/business-and-professional-services/caldwell-strengthens-life-sciences-and-healthcare-practice-with-1132337 NEW YORK, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Plume, the global leading real-world asset (RWA) network, has introduced the KRW-denominated stablecoin KRW1 issued by leading digital asset custody firm BDACS (Beyond Digital Asset Custody Service). Through this collaboration, Korean investors and institutions gain the foundation to make payments and investments directly in Korean won (via KRW1) across Plume's ecosystem. "Plume currently operates one of the world's largest RWA ecosystems, with more than 280,000 RWA holders and $645 million in RWAs. By adding KRW1 as a payment and investment instrument, we are opening a new pathway, particularly for Korean institutional investors, to enter the RWA market using a non-USD currency," said Teddy Pornprinya, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer (CBO) of Plume. Plume's decision to select the Korean won as its first non-USD currency reflects Korea's regulatory readiness and institutional demand. Following amendments to the Capital Markets Act and the Electronic Securities Act last year, Korea introduced a tokenized securities (STO) framework that brings security tokens into the regulated financial system, and is regarded as having one of the more advanced RWA regulatory environments in Asia. "Korea is a market where regulation is relatively clear yet supportive of innovation. Major financial institutions are expanding investments related to RWAs and blockchain, making Korea a key strategic hub for Plume's expansion in Asia," said Pornprinya. Launched by BDACS in September 2025, KRW1 is fully backed by KRW deposits held in an escrow account at a domestic commercial bank, Woori Bank. BDACS has successfully completed a proof of concept (PoC covering KRW deposits, token issuance, and on-chain verification), validating both technical feasibility and operational stability. "Plume has established itself as an institution-ready RWA platform through embedded compliance and full EVM compatibility," said Hong-yeol Ryu, CEO of BDACS. "The integration of KRW1 further strengthens its position as a regulation-aligned RWA infrastructure provider in Asia." Plume opens access to assets from global asset managers including Apollo Global Management, WisdomTree, and BlackOpal, spanning asset classes such as real-estate-backed loans, private funds, and government bonds. With the introduction of KRW1, Korean investors can invest and receive returns directly in won, reducing FX costs and operational complexity, while paving the way for greater institutional participation, future on-chain issuance by Korean financial institutions, and expansion to additional Asian currencies such as the Japanese yen and Singapore dollar. About Plume Plume is the leading real-world asset (RWA) network. It enables asset issuers and institutions to deploy onchain assets through its native infrastructure and grow those assets through its flagship real-world yield protocol Nest. As the ecosystem with the largest active wallet base in the RWA sector and 200+ projects, Plume is shaping the next generation of onchain capital markets. Learn more at https://plume.org/ Media Contact Leila Stein, Content Marketing Manager, press@plumenetwork.xyz Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2564992/Full_Logo_ID_3d3934e75632_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/global-leading-rwa-network-plume-lowers-the-barrier-for-korean-institutional-investment-through-the-krw1-stablecoin-302677515.html Mumbai, India--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - Aqylon Nexus Limited (BSE: 530943) (NSE: SABTNL) (formerly known as Sri Adhikari Brothers Television Network Limited), a publicly listed Indian company focused on next-generation digital infrastructure, has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with MBuzz Technologies, Middle East, a global technology solutions provider and an NVIDIA AI Factory Partner, to explore opportunities in Artificial Intelligence (AI), AI-ready hyperscale data centres, and AI cloud infrastructure. Tapping into India's Rapidly Growing AI & Data Centre Market India is emerging as one of the world's fastest-growing markets for AI adoption, hyperscale data centres, and cloud-based computing, driven by enterprise digital transformation, data localisation requirements, and increasing demand for GPU-powered AI workloads. States such as Telangana are positioning themselves as preferred destinations for large-scale AI and data centre investments. Against this backdrop, the MoU provides a framework for Aqylon Nexus Limited and MBuzz Technologies to evaluate and explore collaboration opportunities aligned with India's growing role in the global AI and digital infrastructure ecosystem. Scope of the MoU: AI, Hyperscale & Global Markets Under the MoU, the parties will explore potential cooperation in areas including: AI-driven platforms, applications, and enterprise solutions AI-ready hyperscale and edge data centre infrastructure High-performance computing (HPC) and GPU-accelerated ecosystems Evaluation of opportunities across India, the Middle East, and other mutually agreed international geographies Collaboration with an NVIDIA AI Factory Partner MBuzz Technologies, headquartered in the Middle East, is an NVIDIA AI Factory Partner with experience in deploying advanced AI platforms, GPU-based computing environments, and data centre enablement solutions. Through this MoU, the parties intend to assess the potential application of NVIDIA-based AI technologies and AI factory architectures in future digital infrastructure initiatives, subject to further agreements and approvals. Positioning for Long-Term AI Infrastructure Opportunities The MoU aligns with Aqylon Nexus Limited's long-term focus on building scalable, sustainable, and AI-ready digital infrastructure to serve enterprise customers in India and global markets. As AI increasingly becomes foundational to modern enterprises, demand for AI-optimised data centres and cloud infrastructure is expected to continue rising. The MoU is non-binding in nature and does not involve any equity participation between the parties. Any definitive agreements, if entered into, will be subject to due diligence, internal approvals, and applicable regulatory compliances. About Aqylon Nexus Limited Aqylon Nexus Limited (formerly Sri Adhikari Brothers Television Network Limited) is a publicly listed company focused on developing AI-ready hyperscale data centre infrastructure and cloud-based digital services. The Company is building capabilities across AI infrastructure, next-generation computing, and digital platforms to support enterprise and global market requirements. About MBuzz Technologies, Middle East MBuzz Technologies is a global technology solutions provider headquartered in the Middle East and an NVIDIA AI Factory Partner, specialising in AI infrastructure, GPU-accelerated computing, and hyperscale data centre enablement. Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially due to various factors, including regulatory approvals, market conditions, and the execution of definitive agreements. This release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial guidance or investment advice. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/282499 Source: Aqylon Nexus Limited TORONTO, ON / ACCESS Newswire / February 3, 2026 / Wolfden Resources Corporation (WLF.V) ("Wolfden" or the "Company") is pleased to announce positive partial drill results on its Rockland Gold Project, located in the Walker Lane Trend of Nevada, USA (Figures 1 and 2). The program consisted of three drill holes for 1,600 total metres, designed to test below significant historical drill results that ended in mineralization, including 146.4 metres at 1.0 g/t AuEq* in hole PG-32 and 85.4 metres at 1.0 g/t AuEq* in hole PG-36C. The first and third holes of the program, REP18 and REP 22, were drilled below holes PG-32 and 36C to test the extent and potential continuation of the broad mineralized zone intersected in hole PG-32. Hole REP22 was a scissor hole, drilled opposite to REP18 and PG-32, in order to better determine the geometry and extent of the mineralized zone (Figure 3). "We are pleased that holes REP18 and 22 better defined the orientation of the mineralized zone", stated Ron Little, CEO for Wolfden. "The drilling, particularly the intercept in REP22 strongly suggests that the mineralized zone dips steeply to the east, beyond the end of hole PG-32, having intersected a mineralized interval 100.0 metres between 250.0 and 350.0 metres down hole, and with a preliminary average gold grade similar to that of hole PG-32 from 292.5 to 348.5 metres down the hole. As a result, further drilling is warranted to test for the continuation of the zone down dip to the East and to evaluate the potential for higher-grade feeder zone to this large-disseminated gold system (Figure 3 proposed holes P1 and P2)". Hole REP18, intersected mineralization below and parallel to that intersected in hole PG32, but with a lower tenor than hole 32- this is not unexpected given the distance between holes and the apparent orientation of the mineralized zone relative to that of the drill hole. Visually, both holes (REP18 and 22) host the same altered flow-banded rhyolite with similar intensities of alteration and abundances of fine-grained sulphide observed in the historical holes (PG-36C and -32 (Figure 4). Some study work, including interpretation of hyperspectral data collected, will be undertaken on the core to help determine the mineral associations of the host rhyolite, and perhaps help vector toward mineralization with higher gold grades. The Company's third drill hole in the program, REP25, was a 300-meter step-out hole drilled to a depth of 572 metres beneath Target Hill (Target #4 on Figure 2). The hole is situated near the NE end of a 1.7km long structural corridor characterized by the presence of altered rhyolite. Target Hill is a highly altered rhyolite dome from which historical drill hole PG30 returned a 315.5 metre zone of alteration and mineralization grading 0.1 g/t AuEq (Figure 5). Although subeconomic in grade, the broad intercept of anomalous gold with strong alteration suggested strong potential for better grade at depth. Visuals for REP25 indicate that similar intensely altered flow-banded rhyolite carries fine-grained sulphide, like that seen in REP18 and 22. Preliminary results for REP25 indicate that some intervals carry higher gold grades than those intersected in PG30, and although a high-grade feeder was not intersected at depth in this REP25, the results add valuable information to help guide exploration drilling in this area, including a possible scissor hole to test for a steeply westerly-dipping controlling structure. The assay results depicted in the figures remain incomplete in that they do not include analyses for silver, and for elements included in standard multi-element analytical packages. In addition, a number of samples returned results above the 5.0 g/t Au laboratory threshold and are presently being re-assayed to determine final grades. A few samples also require re-assay in order to pass the QAQC protocol. Given the time frame taken months to receive the results to date, and that expected for the remaining results, the Company settled on providing preliminary drill results presented solely in sectional view (Figures 3 & 5), and will provide detailed tabulated results once final assays and geochemical data are completed. While awaiting the final geochemical results, the Company will determine the potential timing of, and budget for, additional drilling at Rockland, which Wolfden has optioned and in which it can earn up to a 75% interest in, as outlined in the Company's news release dated February 25, 2025. The Company believes that it has invested enough in the Rockland Project to date to earn a 51% interest in the project, where only US$500,000 in option payments remain for the Company and its optionee partner, Evergold Corp., to earn an 100% interest. Rockland - QA/QC Comment All historically stated drill results are based on hole lengths and were calculated from a validated drill database that includes work from several different companies. Holes 30 to 38C were drilled in 2006 and 2007 with a complete QA/QC program that included reverse circulation samples averaging 9 kilograms in weight that were collected over five-foot intervals from a wet splitter. Occasional duplicate samples were taken in the same manner. Control samples, including standard pulps and crushed marble blanks, were inserted into the sample sequence at a frequency of approximately one in every 10 samples. The samples were prepared and fire assayed for gold and multi-element analysis by a reputable laboratory in Sparks, Nevada. All drill core was HQ in size, photographed, logged, and measured for RQD (Rock Quality Density) and recovery, prior to sampling. Sample intervals were typically chosen to follow actual core block/run intervals to a maximum of five feet per sample. Control samples including standard pulps and crushed marble blanks were inserted randomly in the sample number sequence to check and verify lab accuracy. Historical control samples were inserted every tenth sample and more frequently in well mineralized zones. The recent drill program inserted alternating control and blank samples every twentieth sample. About Wolfden Wolfden is a North American exploration and development company focused on high-margin metallic mineral deposits including precious, base, and critical metals that represent significant development projects with the potential to produce domestic supply of strategic metals. For further information please contact Ron Little, President & CEO at (807) 624-1136. The information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Ron Little, P.Eng., President and CEO, and Jeremy Ouellette, VP Project Development, who are Qualified Persons under National Instrument 43-101. * True widths unknown. Calculation of AuEq uses gold price of US$2000/oz and silver price of US$25/oz. The historical drilling gold to silver ratio is approximately 9:1. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information This press release contains forward-looking information (within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation) that involves various risks and uncertainties regarding future events, including the potential for projects to be domestic sources of ethically produced base and critical metals for the expansion of renewable energy in North America. Such forward-looking information includes statements based on current expectations involving a number of risks and uncertainties and such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance of the Company, and include, without limitation, metal price assumptions, cash flow forecasts, permitting, land transactions, community and other regulatory approvals, and the timing and completion of exploration programs in the USA and Canada, and the respective drill results. There are numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and the Company's plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information in this news release, including without limitation, the following risks and uncertainties: (i) risks inherent in the mining industry; (ii) regulatory and environmental risks; (iii) results of exploration activities and development of mineral properties; (iv) risks relating to the estimation of mineral resources; (v) stock market volatility and capital market fluctuations; and (vi) general market and industry conditions. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. This forward-looking information is based on estimates and opinions of management on the date hereof and is expressly qualified by this notice. Risks and uncertainties about the Company's business are more fully discussed in the Company's disclosure materials filed with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada at www.sedar.com. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from such information unless required by applicable law. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Figure 1. Rockland Property Location Map Figure 2. Rockland Chargeability Plan Map at a vertical depth of 200 m below surface including gold-bearing surface grab samples Figure 3. Rockland Target #1 Cross Section A-A' for holes REP18 and 22 Figure 4. Photo of Altered Rhyolite Drill Core - REP 18, PG 36C laying on box from REP 18 and REP25 box Figure 5. Rockland Target #4 Cross Section including hole PG-30 and REP25 SOURCE: Wolfden Resources Corp. View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/metals-and-mining/wolfden-announces-positive-preliminary-drill-results-at-its-rockland-gold-project-1132930 LONDON, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Ainu Stories: Contemporary Lives by the Saru River appeared at Japan House London in 2023/24 and welcomed over 160,000 visitors. Following a visit from National Museum of Lithuania's curators, elements of the exhibition are now travelling to Vilnius to be part of A Soul Between Worlds (5 February - 2 August 2026) at House of Histories in Vilnius. The London exhibition was curated in collaboration with the people of Biratori, an area located in Saru River basin in the south of Hokkaido. The exhibition explored the significance of Ainu culture for this community and the relationships between its people and their surroundings, as well as revealing interesting historical links between the UK and Biratori. In Vilnius, elements of the Ainu exhibition will be paired with works from Lithuania-Polish ethnographer Bronislaw Pilsudski (1866-1918), a key expert in the history of the Sakhalin Ainu. Commemorating the 160th anniversary of the birth of Bronislaw Pilsudski, this exhibition presents works by him, as well as examples of Ainu history and culture and gives a glimpse into what it means to be Ainu today. Japan House London will be lending much of the video footage it captured in Biratori, as well as woodwork specially commissioned for the Ainu Stories exhibition. The House of Histories will also borrow Ainu tourism related objects, such as an Ainu-designed Coca Cola bottle and carved wooden bears from Simon Wright's personal collection. Simon Wright, Director of Programming at Japan House London, said: It's wonderful to see Ainu culture being continually celebrated and explored by cultural organizations across Europe. Ainu Stories was a landmark exhibition for Japan House London, telling important stories from an indigenous Ainu community and how the people there live today. We are thrilled that significant elements of our exhibition are travelling to be displayed in Lithuania and then, later in the year, in Poland, so that more audiences can hear the voices of Ainu communities first-hand. Simon will be taking part in a panel discussion at the National Museum of Lithuania on Thursday 5 February along with the exhibition's curator and academics specializing in Bronislaw Pilsudski. The international exhibition "A Soul Between Worlds: Indigenous Ainu in Northern Japan and Ethnographer Bronislaw Pilsudski" opens on Thursday 5 February at the House of Histories, part of the National Museum of Lithuania. The Japan House London exhibition can be viewed virtually here and you can read more about Ainu culture here. Notes to Editors About Japan House London Japan House London is a cultural destination offering the best and latest from Japan. Located on Kensington High Street, the experience is an authentic encounter with Japan, engaging and surprising even the most knowledgeable guests. Presenting the very best of Japanese art, design, gastronomy, innovation, and technology, it deepens the visitor's appreciation of all that Japan has to offer. Part of a global initiative, there are two other Japan Houses, one in Los Angeles and the other in Sao Paulo. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2875853/Ainu.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/ainu-stories-contemporary-lives-by-the-saru-river-exhibition-travels-from-japan-house-london-to-lithuania-302677561.html EQS Newswire / 03/02/2026 / 19:55 UTC+8 Kazakhstan is emerging as one of the fastest-growing economies in the post-Soviet space, underpinned by a sustained programme of structural reforms, industrial diversification and rising investment inflows. Preliminary data for 2025 shows GDP growth of 6,5%, placing the country ahead of most CIS peers, including Russia, and well above the projected global average of around 3%. The expansion reflects broad-based momentum across key sectors. Industrial output rose by 7,4% last year, with manufacturing growing by 6,4%. Particularly strong performance was recorded in food production (up 8,1%), chemicals (9,8%), oil refining (5,9%) and mechanical engineering (12,9%). Transport surged by 20,4%, driven by higher freight volumes and Kazakhstan's growing role as a transit hub between China and Europe. Construction expanded by 15,9%, supported by large-scale infrastructure and social projects, while trade increased by 8,9%, led by wholesale activity. The current upswing crowns a decade-long shift in the structure of the economy. Manufacturing's share of GDP increased from 10,2% in 2014 to 12,4% in 2024, while the mining sector declined from 15,2% to 12%. Over the same period, manufacturing output rose by nearly 50%, averaging annual growth of more than 4%. The transformation is particularly visible in engineering industries. Car production has quadrupled to 159,000 units in 2025, while output of trucks, tractors and combine harvesters has multiplied several times. Exports of processed goods climbed from $18.4bn in 2014 to $28.8bn in 2024, signalling a gradual move toward higher value-added products. This process has accelerated in recent years, often described domestically as an "investment cycle" under President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. In 2025 alone, Kazakhstan launched new facilities producing vehicles for international brands, passenger railcars, auto components, as well as a localization project for John Deere machinery. At the same time, large companies are investing in rare earth metals and digital development. For example, Eurasian Resources Group's projects will enable Kazakhstan to become the world's second-largest producer of gallium, while AI is being used in manufacturing, energy, logistics, and industrial safety. Multinationals in consumer goods are following suit. PepsiCo has invested more than $160m in what is set to become Central Asia's largest snack production facility, integrating local farmers into its supply chain and planning a gradual transition to fully local ingredients. Mars, long present as an importer, is preparing to build a pet food factory with an annual capacity of up to 100,000 tonnes, investing more than KZT 88.8bn (around $180m). By scale, Kazakhstan remains the region's undisputed heavyweight. According to the IMF, its GDP reached $319bn in 2025, placing it among the world's 50 largest economies. Uzbekistan's economy, by comparison, stands at $159bn, while Azerbaijan's is around $80bn. Investment inflows reinforce this position. UN ESCAP data show Kazakhstan attracted nearly $19bn in greenfield projects in 2025, accounting for 89% of all such investment in North and Central Asia. The current investment policy framework for 2024-2029 shifts toward targeted support for priority sectors such as logistics, energy, manufacturing, agriculture and digital services. A key role in this effort is played by the Government's Investment Headquarters, which has been operating as a fast-track mechanism for supporting investment projects. By the fall of 2025, the Investment Headquarters had already supported more than 210 projects with a total value of approximately USD 113 billion. Alongside industrial policy, the government is betting on human capital. Social spending will account for 39% of the 2026 state budget, with major allocations to healthcare, education and welfare. For investors, this combination of macroeconomic growth, diversification and institutional predictability is gradually reshaping Kazakhstan's image from commodity supplier to regional industrial platform. About World Impact Media Organization World Impact Media Organization is an independent global media and communications platform focused on international affairs, economics, innovation, and public policy. The organization delivers high-impact journalism, research-driven narratives, and strategic media coverage to inform decision-makers, institutions, and global audiences. Contact World Impact Media Organization Jasmine Abdul Tel: +971 585887789 jasmine@worldimpactmedia.org Publication presents clinical findings highlighting evenamide's glutamatergic modulation as a therapeutic strategy for patients with inadequate response or treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS) By targeting the hippocampus region of the brain, evenamide addresses schizophrenia at the source of dysfunction Newron Pharmaceuticals S.p.A. ("Newron") (SIX: NWRN, XETRA: NP5), a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel therapies for patients with diseases of the central and peripheral nervous system, today announced the publication of peer-reviewed data in Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology co-authored by Newron's Chief Medical Officer, Ravi Anand, MD, and colleagues1. The publication presents clinical findings showing that evenamide, a novel glutamate modulator, is associated with clinically meaningful and sustained benefits when added to first- or second-generation antipsychotics in patients with schizophrenia who have an inadequate response to existing treatments, including those with TRS. The publication synthesizes results from multiple randomized clinical trials and provides a scientific mechanistic rationale for the use of evenamide as a unique approach that targets disease mechanisms not addressed by existing antipsychotics. Drawing on data and analyses from randomized clinical studies, the publication highlights how modulation of aberrant glutamatergic signaling may deliver clinically meaningful benefits for patients with TRS and for those who continue to struggle despite standard antipsychotic treatment. "This publication captures more than a decade of scientific and clinical work addressing one of psychiatry's most difficult challengessaid Ravi Anand, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Newron Pharmaceuticals. "The analyses highlight not only symptom improvement but also real-world functional gains that matter to people living with schizophrenia, particularly those who have exhausted available options." A Distinct Mechanism Targeting the Site of Dysfunction Unlike currently marketed antipsychotics that act primarily by blocking dopamine receptors in the basal ganglia, evenamide's primary site of action is the hippocampus, that controls hyperdopaminergic firing in the basal ganglia (a brain region intimately involved in the causation of the core symptoms of schizophrenia). By reducing excessive glutamate activity in the hippocampus, evenamide indirectly rebalances dopamine signaling while preserving normal neuronal function. The hippocampal site of action of evenamide may explain why evenamide has demonstrated improvements not only in positive symptoms but also in negative symptoms, social functioning, and life engagement domains that together with cognition are controlled by the various nuclei in the hippocampus and remain largely unaddressed by existing therapies. Taken together, the findings support evenamide as a potential first-in-class adjunctive therapy capable of redefining expectations for patients with TRS. Across clinical studies reported to date, evenamide has maintained a favorable safety and tolerability profile, being well-tolerated, with low rates of treatment discontinuation and no consistent pattern of serious safety concerns. "Evenamide represents a fundamentally different treatment approach," said Anand. "By targeting the hippocampus the source of the deficit rather than its downstream effects we believe evenamide has the potential to shift the treatment paradigm, particularly for patients with TRS who urgently need new options." Clinically Meaningful and Durable Benefits The publication reports analyses from two key clinical programs. In a one-year study of patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia, more than half of those patients treated with evenamide improved to such an extent that they no longer met the severity criteria for TRS after long-term adjunctive treatment. Approximately one-quarter achieved remission, based on the most stringent criteria for remission. In a separate randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial among patients with inadequate response to antipsychotics, evenamide showed statistically significant improvements over standard of care, regardless of the number of prior failed treatments. Importantly, benefits were observed not only in core symptoms but also in measures of social functioning and life engagement, domains often poorly addressed by existing therapies. "These results are notable because they go beyond symptom reduction," continued Anand. "With evenamide, we are seeing improvements that translate into patients' daily lives, including their ability to function, engage socially, and potentially move closer to remission. That is a meaningful outcome for patients, families, and clinicians." Newron is advancing evenamide through ENIGMA-TRS, an international Phase III clinical program for patients with documented TRS. If successful, these studies could support the use of evenamide as a first-in-class adjunctive therapy, addressing a long-standing gap in the treatment landscape. About ENIGMA-TRS The ENIGMA-TRS pivotal Phase III program consists of ENIGMA-TRS 1 and ENIGMA-TRS 2. ENIGMA-TRS 1, initiated in August 2025, is an international, one-year, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in at least 600 patients to evaluate the efficacy, tolerability, and safety of evenamide 15 mg and 30 mg twice daily as an add-on therapy to current antipsychotics, including clozapine, compared to placebo. ENIGMA-TRS 2, initiated in December 2025, is a Phase III, international, 12-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluating the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of evenamide 15 mg twice daily as an add-on therapy to current antipsychotics, including clozapine, compared to placebo, in patients suffering from TRS. ENIGMA-TRS 2 will enroll at least 400 patients. About evenamide Evenamide is a novel, orally available new chemical entity with a unique mechanism of action distinct from all currently marketed antipsychotics. It acts by selectively blocking voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs) and exhibits no biological activity at more than 130 other central nervous system (CNS) targets. It normalizes glutamate release induced by aberrant sodium channel activity (veratridine-stimulated), without affecting basal glutamate levels, due to inhibition of VGSCs. Combinations of subtherapeutic doses of evenamide and other APs, including clozapine, were associated with benefit in animal models of psychosis, suggesting synergies in mechanisms that may provide meaningful benefits for patients who do not adequately respond to current APs, including those on clozapine. Importantly, the benefits seemed to persist for a substantial time after evenamide had been degraded, explaining the long-term effects seen in clinical studies. Through its novel glutamatergic modulation, evenamide represents a first-in-class approach aimed at addressing the unmet needs of patients with schizophrenia who are resistant to existing treatments. About treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS) A significant proportion of patients with schizophrenia show virtually little to no beneficial response to currently available antipsychotic (AP) treatments, leading to a diagnosis of treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS). TRS is defined as no or inadequate symptom relief despite treatment with therapeutic doses of two APs from two different chemical classes for an adequate period. It is estimated that approximately 15% of patients develop TRS from the onset of illness, and about one-third to 50% of patients with schizophrenia overall. Emerging scientific evidence supports abnormalities in glutamate neurotransmission in TRS, not targeted by current APs, along with normal dopaminergic synthesis, to explain the lack of clinical benefit of most typical and atypical antipsychotics, which act primarily on dopamine receptors. These insights underline the need for novel therapeutic approaches that target the underlying glutamatergic dysfunction in schizophrenia, offering hope for patients who currently have limited or no effective treatment options. About Newron Pharmaceuticals Newron (SIX: NWRN, XETRA: NP5) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of innovative therapies for patients with diseases of the central and peripheral nervous system. Headquartered in Bresso near Milan, Italy, the Company has a strong track record of advancing neuroscience-based treatments from discovery to market. Newron's lead compound, evenamide, is a first-in-class glutamate modulator and has the potential to be the first add-on therapy for treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS) and for poorly responding patients with schizophrenia. Evenamide is currently developed in the global pivotal ENIGMA-TRS Phase III development program. Clinical trial results to date demonstrate the benefits of this drug candidate in the TRS as well as poorly responding patient population, with significant improvements across key efficacy measures increasing over time, as well as a favorable safety profile, which is uncommon for available antipsychotic medications. Newron has signed development and commercialization agreements for evenamide with EA Pharma (a subsidiary of Eisai) for Japan and other Asian territories, as well as Myung In Pharm for South Korea. Newron's first marketed product, Xadago/safinamide has received marketing authorization for the treatment of Parkinson's disease in the European Union, Switzerland, the UK, the USA, Australia, Canada, Latin America, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Japan and South Korea. The product is commercialized by Newron's partner Zambon, with Supernus Pharmaceuticals holding marketing rights in the U.S., and Meiji Seika responsible for development and commercialization in Japan and other key Asian territories. For more information, please visit: www.newron.com Important Notices This document contains forward-looking statements, including (without limitation) about (1) Newron's ability to develop and expand its business, successfully complete development of its current product candidates, the timing of commencement of various clinical trials and receipt of data and current and future collaborations for the development and commercialization of its product candidates, (2) the market for drugs to treat CNS diseases and pain conditions, (3) Newron's financial resources, and (4) assumptions underlying any such statements. In some cases, these statements and assumptions can be identified by the fact that they use words such as "will", "anticipate", "estimate", "expect", "project", "intend", "plan", "believe", "target", and other words and terms of similar meaning. All statements, other than historical facts, contained herein regarding Newron's strategy, goals, plans, future financial position, projected revenues and costs and prospects are forward-looking statements. By their very nature, such statements and assumptions involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and risks exist that predictions, forecasts, projections and other outcomes described, assumed or implied therein will not be achieved. Future events and actual results could differ materially from those set out in, contemplated by or underlying the forward-looking statements due to a number of important factors. These factors include (without limitation) (1) uncertainties in the discovery, development or marketing of products, including without limitation difficulties in enrolling clinical trials, negative results of clinical trials or research projects or unexpected side effects, (2) delay or inability in obtaining regulatory approvals or bringing products to market, (3) future market acceptance of products, (4) loss of or inability to obtain adequate protection for intellectual property rights, (5) inability to raise additional funds, (6) success of existing and entry into future collaborations and licensing agreements, (7) litigation, (8) loss of key executive or other employees, (9) adverse publicity and news coverage, and (10) competition, regulatory, legislative and judicial developments or changes in market and/or overall economic conditions. Newron may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in forward-looking statements and assumptions underlying any such statements may prove wrong. Investors should therefore not place undue reliance on them. There can be no assurance that actual results of Newron's research programs, development activities, commercialization plans, collaborations and operations will not differ materially from the expectations set out in such forward-looking statements or underlying assumptions. Newron does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements except as may be required by applicable regulations of the SIX Swiss Exchange or the Dusseldorf Stock Exchange where the shares of Newron are listed. This document does not contain or constitute an offer or invitation to purchase or subscribe for any securities of Newron and no part of it shall form the basis of or be relied upon in connection with any contract or commitment whatsoever. 1 Ravi Anand, Alessio Turolla https://orcid.org/0009-0005-2167-61432, Giovanni Chinellato https://orcid.org/0009-0001-7091-86723, Francesca Sansi https://orcid.org/0009-0002-4495-58214, Arjun Roy5, and Richard Hartman https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5980-02006 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260203458736/en/ Contacts: For more information: Newron Stefan Weber CEO; +39 02 6103 46 26, pr@newron.com UK/Europe Simon Conway Ciara Martin Natalie Garland-Collins, FTI Consulting; +44 20 3727 1000, SCnewron@fticonsulting.com Switzerland Valentin Handschin, IRF; +41 43 244 81 54, handschin@irf-reputation.ch Germany/Europe Anne Hennecke Maximilian Schur, MC Services; +49 211 52925227, newron@mc-services.eu USA Paul Sagan, LaVoieHealthScience; +1 617 865 0041, psagan@lavoiehealthscience.com HEFEI, China, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- HIZENERGY hosted a high-level delegation from the Benelux Chamber of Commerce, led by Vice Chairman Pierre Mirochnikoff, during a two-day visit to the company's headquarters and manufacturing facilities in Hefei. The visit focused on exploring opportunities for HIZENERGY to expand its presence in the European energy storage market. The delegation toured HIZENERGY's new 14 million headquarters campus, which integrates R&D, manufacturing, and corporate operations. Delegates also observed the company's automated production lines for utility-scale energy storage systems and its 24/7 global service center, gaining first-hand insight into its technical capabilities and quality assurance processes. Discussions during the visit centered on three key areas: understanding market entry pathways into the Benelux countries, exploring potential localized energy storage project opportunities, and exchanging views on policy frameworks that support cross-border clean energy innovation. These conversations aimed to align on the regulatory and market requirements for energy storage solutions in Europe, as well as the region's sustainability and decarbonization goals. This engagement reflects HIZENERGY's commitment to building meaningful connections across Europe and its focus on delivering tailored, sustainable energy storage solutions that support the continent's journey toward a net-zero future. About HIZENERGY HIZENERGY specializes in providing energy storage system solutions for commercial and industrial (C&I) applications, with Power Conversion Systems (PCS) at its core. The company is committed to addressing the key challenges and needs associated with energy storage in these sectors. Embracing the mission of "Flexible Energy for All", HIZENERGY aims to deliver efficient, intelligent, safe and reliable energy storage solutions for its C&I clients. Contact: Johnny Han johnny@huaz-tec.com Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2874636/1.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2874635/HIZENERGY_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/hizenergy-hosts-high-level-delegation-from-benelux-chamber-of-commerce-to-explore-european-energy-storage-market-collaboration-302677003.html Advanced ANT-based modeling indicates mineralization extending to approximately 900 metres depth and over 2 kilometres of strike, remaining open beyond current survey limits; Company plans expanded geophysical coverage and step-out drilling as Montauban continues to advance toward production in 2026 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / February 3, 2026 / ESGold Corp. (CSE:ESAU)(OTCQB:ESAUF)(FSE:Z7D) ("ESGold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the completion and delivery of a comprehensive Ambient Noise Tomography (ANT)-based 3 dimensional (3D) geological model (the "Model") for the Montauban Project in Quebec, prepared by Geomatic World Inc. in collaboration with CAUR Technologies. The integrated ANT-based 3D model illustrates mineralized architecture extending to depths of approximately 900 metres, significantly deeper than any historical exploration at Montauban, where most drilling was confined to shallow depths of approximately 50 metres and the deepest holes reached only approximately 250 metres. The Model also outlines approximately 2 kilometres of strike length within the current survey area, with mineralization appearing to widen at depth. Importantly, the identified mineralized trends remain open and are bounded by the limits of the existing ANT coverage, suggesting potential continuation beyond the current study area. In multiple orientations, the modeled mineralized corridors seem to extend to the edge of the current ANT survey, indicating that the system continues beyond the limits of existing coverage Figure 1: ANT-based 3D geological model showing mineralized corridors extending to the limits of current survey coverage, remaining open along strike and at depth. This Model represents the most advanced and integrated geological interpretation ever completed at Montauban and marks a pivotal milestone in the Company's evolution from a legacy mining site into a project with district-scale exploration potential advancing in parallel with near-term tailings production in 2026. Additional Information A separate video showcasing the ANT-based 3D geological model is also available here: ANT-Based 3D Geological Model Management Commentary Gordon Robb, Chief Executive Officer of ESGold, commented: "This is the most important technical milestone in ESGold's history. The integrated 3D model has fundamentally changed how we understand Montauban. What is becoming clear is that mineralization extends well beyond the historically mined areas, to depths and along strike lengths that were never previously explored. The scale indicated by this work is beyond what we had originally envisioned, and it reinforces our conviction that Montauban has the potential to evolve into a much larger mineral system. We are more excited than ever to accelerate our efforts to fully explore what this project can become, while continuing to advance aggressively toward production." Andre Gauthier, Director of ESGold and the Company's senior consulting geologist, added: "The ANT and 3D geological modeling provide a coherent, technically robust framework that simply did not exist before. The identification of deep-seated structural corridors, lithological continuity, and coincident geochemical anomalies in areas that have never been drilled is highly encouraging. From a geological perspective, the size and continuity suggested by this model point to a system with significant upside potential. The priority now is to validate these interpretations through expanded geophysics and targeted drilling. This level of structural continuity at depth is particularly notable given the complexity of Grenville-age terranes and helps explain why this system was not previously recognized." Key Technical Highlights Based on ANT-Based 3D Geological Model Mineralized architecture imaged to depths of approximately 900 metres , which is significantly deeper than any historical exploration completed to date at Montauban At least 2 kilometres of strike length identified within the current ANT survey area, with mineralization appearing to widen at depth Mineralized trends remain open and are truncated by the limits of the existing ANT coverage , indicating potential continuation beyond the current study area Integrated interpretation of ANT seismic velocity data , geological mapping, structural analysis, and geochemistry defines coherent lithological and structural corridors comparable to those hosting historical Montauban mineralization; and Dominant NNW- and NE-trending structures interpreted as first-order controls on hydrothermal fluid flow and mineral deposition, consistent with large polymetallic volcanogenic massive sulfide (VHMS) systems globally. Next Steps: From Model to Drill Bit Building on the results of this study, ESGold is advancing a systematic exploration plan that includes: Expansion of ANT coverage to evaluate the potential district-scale corridor Integration of additional geophysical datasets to refine structural targets Development of a step-out diamond drilling program designed to test high-priority targets identified by the model: and The Company anticipates commencement of drilling in early Spring 2026, subject to permitting, access, and logistics. These exploration activities are being planned and will advance in parallel with the Company's ongoing tailings project, as Montauban moves toward production in 2026. A Step Change in Geological Understanding The Model demonstrates that mineralization at Montauban is not confined to the historically mined zones, but is part of a much larger, vertically extensive, and structurally controlled system. Importantly, the Model highlights areas that have never been drill tested by previous operators, largely due to the limitations of historical exploration methods in the structurally complex Grenville Province. Only a limited portion of ESGold's land package has been evaluated using ANT to date. Based on the strength and continuity of the features identified within the current survey area, the Company plans to expand ANT coverage to assess the full extent of the interpreted mineralized corridor, with the objective of defining the scale and geometry of the broader system. Positioned for Discovery While Advancing to Production ESGold emphasizes that this exploration breakthrough is occurring as the Company continues to advance Montauban toward near-term production in 2026. As existing infrastructure and permitted processing capacity are brought online, any additional mineralization delineated through exploration has the potential to be integrated into future mine plans, subject to further evaluation. This allows exploration success to be pursued in parallel with development, providing leverage to discovery by reducing the time and capital typically required to convert new ounces into potential production, and supporting long-term value creation. About the ANT Study The ANT-based 3D geological model was prepared by Geomatic World Inc., under the direction of Santiago Mayor, P.Geo., using seismic velocity data acquired by CAUR Technologies. ANT is a passive seismic method that leverages ambient vibrations to image subsurface density contrasts and structural features to depths of several kilometres. The resulting model is conceptual in nature and intended to guide exploration targeting; it is subject to refinement as additional data become available. Why This Matters to Investors This milestone represents a fundamental inflection point for ESGold. The completion of the integrated ANT-based 3D geological model materially expands the scale of opportunity at Montauban, shifting the project from a historically constrained footprint to potentially a much larger, open-ended mineral system with the possibility for significant upside. Importantly, this exploration breakthrough is occurring as ESGold advances toward near-term production, creating a rare scenario where exploration success can be funded internally and rapidly translated into long-term value. For investors, Montauban is no longer a finite redevelopment story, but an expanding platform where cash flow, discovery potential, and disciplined execution converge-positioning ESGold to benefit from both rising precious metals markets and the delineation of a potential new mineral district. The upside at Montauban is likely no longer defined by a single zone or a finite footprint, but by the potential scale of a broader mineral system that is only beginning to be uncovered. Qualified Person Statement The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Andre Gauthier, P.Geo., a Director of ESGold Corp. and a Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Mr. Gauthier has reviewed the data underlying the ANT survey and the resulting 3D geological model and believes the interpretations presented are reasonable and appropriate for exploration targeting purposes. The interpretations and conclusions are conceptual in nature and are intended to guide further exploration; they do not constitute a mineral resource or reserve and are subject to confirmation through additional geophysical work and drilling. About ESGold Corp. ESGold Corp. (CSE:ESAU)(OTCQB:ESAUF)(FSE:Z7D) is a fully permitted, fully funded, pre-production mining company advancing a scalable clean mining model across North and South America. The Company's flagship Montauban Gold-Silver Project in Quebec is under construction with production anticipated in 2026. With a dual-track strategy of cash flow today and discovery tomorrow, ESGold is building a platform for clean, sustainable growth and long-term shareholder value. For more information, please contact ESGold Corp. at +1-888-370-1059 or visit esgold.com for additional resources, including a French version of this press release, past news releases, a 3D model of the Montauban processing plant, media interviews, and opinion-editorial pieces. Stay connected by following us on X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, and joining our Telegram channel. For further information please contact ir@esgold.com or 604-885-1348, or to connect directly, please reach out to Gordon Robb, CEO of ESGold Corp. at gordon@esgold.com or 250-217-2321. On behalf of the Board of Directors ESGold Corp. Gordon Robb CEO & Director info@esgold.com +1-888-370-1059 Forward Looking Statements This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws, including statements regarding metallurgical recoveries, project economics, construction timelines, and exploration potential. Forward-looking information is based on reasonable assumptions believed to be current but involves known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially. Historical data referenced herein is not current, has not been independently verified by ESGold, and should not be relied upon for investment decisions. ESGold disclaims any obligation to update or revise forward-looking information except as required by law. These forward-looking statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant operational, business, economic and regulatory uncertainties and contingencies. These assumptions include, among other things: the ANT-based 3D geological model, its results and interpretation of the same, conditions in general economic and financial markets; accuracy of assay results; geological interpretations from drilling results, timing and amount of capital expenditures; performance of available laboratory and other related services; future operating costs; the historical basis for current estimates of potential quantities and grades of target zones; the availability of skilled labour and no labour related disruptions at any of the Company's operations; no unplanned delays or interruptions in scheduled activities; all necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals for operations are received in a timely manner; the ability to secure and maintain title and ownership to properties and the surface rights necessary for operations; and the Company's ability to comply with environmental, health and safety laws. The foregoing list of assumptions is not exhaustive. The Company cautions the reader that forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements contained in this news release and the Company has made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation: the timing and content of work programs; results of exploration activities and development of mineral properties; the interpretation and uncertainties of drilling results and other geological data; receipt, maintenance and security of permits and mineral property titles; environmental and other regulatory risks; project costs overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses; availability of funds; failure to delineate potential quantities and grades of the target zones based on historical data; general market and industry conditions; and those factors identified under the caption "Risks Factors" in the Company's continuous disclosure documents filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.com. Forward-looking statements are based on the expectations and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. The assumptions used in the preparation of such statements, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date the statements were made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements included in this news release if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as otherwise required by applicable law. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE: ESGold Corp View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/metals-and-mining/esgolds-integrated-3d-geological-model-identifies-deep-expanding-mineralized-corr-1132834 DAVIDSON, NC / ACCESS Newswire / February 3, 2026 / Trane - by Trane Technologies (NYSE:TT), a global climate innovator, is launching a range of groundbreaking innovations in early 2026. Developed to advance electrified heating, boost energy efficiency, and unlock smarter building operations, these solutions provide building owners and operators with advanced technologies to reduce carbon emissions and lead the transition to a more sustainable future. "At Trane, our commitment to sustainability drives our relentless pursuit of innovation," said Chris Tanaka, Vice President of Product Management, Trane Technologies. "We are providing our customers with highly efficient, reliable, and scalable solutions that meet the demands of today and tomorrow, proving that sustainable choices and operational excellence go hand-in-hand. This is unstoppable innovation in action, delivering a clear and practical pathway to decarbonization for commercial buildings." These groundbreaking innovations include: Trane Cloud Trane Cloud is a secure, unified digital platform that brings together building data, analytics, applications, and services into one seamless experience, enabling operators, facility teams, and energy managers to run their buildings more efficiently and sustainably. By replacing fragmented systems with a single intelligent data foundation, Trane Cloud delivers portfolio level visibility, actionable insights, and prioritized recommendations that streamline operations, improve reliability, and reduce energy and operational costs. Cloud BMS, Powered by BrainBox AI Cloud BMS, Powered by BrainBox AI, is Trane's native building management platform designed to help customers monitor, optimize and control their building systems. By providing real-time visibility into HVAC performance, energy use, and equipment health, Cloud BMS enables more efficient operations and proactive maintenance. Its intuitive interface, secure remote access, and scalable architecture make it ideal for multisite portfolios and organizations seeking to improve energy efficiency, reduce operating costs, and enhance occupant comfort through data driven insights. Series R Helical Rotary Screw High-Temperature Heat Pump Chiller (Model RTZA) The new Series R Helical Rotary Screw High-Temperature Heat Pump Chiller (Model RTZA) marks a significant step forward in sustainable heating. It revolutionizes heating systems by delivering hot water temperatures of up to 210F - the highest of any helical rotary screw heat pump chiller in North America. Built on the proven and reliable Series R platform, this innovation is ideal for high-temperature commercial and industrial process heating needs. Air to Water Thermafit Modular Heat Pump System The all-electric Air to Water Thermafit Modular Heat Pump System delivers outstanding efficiency, offering seamless integration and scalability to meet a broad range of building requirements. Its flexible design enables precise right-sizing for current operational needs while supporting scalable expansion for future growth. The system works in conjunction with the new Thermafit Modular Air-to-Water Heat Pump Chillers (Model AXM) and Thermafit Modular Air-Source Multi-Pipe units (Model MAS). These modular solutions provide simultaneous heating and cooling, maintain reliable performance in temperatures as low as -18F, and substantially reduce-or eliminate-the dependence on traditional fossil fuel-powered boilers. Odyssey Light Commercial Split System Lineup Expansion New 12.5-ton and 25-ton Odyssey heat pump units create the market's widest tonnage range and enhance system reliability with dual-circuit designs. With these additions, Trane will now have the broadest light commercial split system heat pump tonnage range on the market. Connected Mechanical Service Agreement (CMSA) To maximize uptime and efficiency, Trane is expanding its Connected Mechanical Service Agreement (CMSA) to include heat pumps and Arctic Chillers. By integrating these systems into the Trane Connect digital platform, Trane offers customers continuous data collection and 24/7 remote operational insights, moving beyond traditional maintenance to a proactive model that improves reliability, reduces downtime, and lowers operational costs. For more on the latest innovation from Trane, visit trane.com/unstoppable. # # # About Trane Trane - by Trane Technologies (NYSE: TT), a global climate innovator - creates comfortable, energy efficient indoor environments for commercial and residential applications. For more information, please visit www.trane.com or www.tranetechnologies.com. About Trane Technologies Trane Technologies is a global climate innovator. Through our strategic brands Trane and Thermo King, and our portfolio of environmentally responsible products and services, we bring efficient and sustainable climate solutions to buildings, homes and transportation. Visit tranetechnologies.com. Trane Cloud View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Trane Technologies on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: Trane Technologies Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/trane-technologies Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: Trane Technologies View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/consumer-and-retail-products/traner-unveils-next-generation-commercial-hvac-solutions-advancing-ene-1132959 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - Scottie Resources Corp. (TSXV: SCOT) (OTCQB: SCTSF) (FSE: SR80) ("Scottie" or the "Company") is pleased to report new assays from its 2025 drilling of various zones within the Blueberry Contact Zone, at the Scottie Gold Mine Project ("Scottie Gold Mine" or the "Project"). The road-accessible Project is located 35 kilometres north of Stewart, BC, and is the subject of a newly released Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") entitled Scottie Gold Mine Project (Bird et al., October 28, 2025, Scottie Gold Mine Project, SEDAR+). The Company's 2025 drill program continues to deliver multiple high-grade results at the Blueberry Contact Zone, reinforcing both the strength and continuity of mineralization within the Project. These latest assays support Scottie's growing confidence in the predictability of the system as drilling density increases across key vein corridors, a critical factor for enhancing geological confidence and supporting future mine planning and development scenarios. Importantly, the 2025 program is not only confirming high-grade continuity within areas contemplated by the recently released PEA but is also successfully expanding mineralization beyond the boundaries of the current conceptual open pit. Step-out drilling and testing of new target areas continue to identify additional high-grade zones, demonstrating the broader scale and exploration upside of the Blueberry Contact system and highlighting Scottie's ability to generate meaningful new discoveries alongside resource conversion and infill drilling. "The 2025 drill program continues to deliver exactly what we want to see; multiple high-grade intercepts with excellent continuity at Blueberry," stated Brad Rourke, CEO. "These results demonstrate the strength and predictability of the mineralized system and continue to support the geological confidence needed to de-risk the Project. At the same time, step out drilling is generating new discoveries outside of the current open pit, reinforcing the significant growth potential exists at Scottie." Table 1: Highlight results from new drill assays (uncut) - Blueberry Contact Zone Drill Hole From (m) To (m) Width* (m) Gold (g/t) Silver (g/t) Sub Zone SR25-432 34.15 36.15 2.00 1.83 1.50 Road SR25-433 160.00 161.00 1.00 53.2 6.00 Lemoffe SR25-433 177.30 178.50 1.20 27.8 24.0 Lemoffe SR25-433 213.40 214.45 1.05 2.24 6.00 Lemoffe SR25-435 66.00 68.00 2.00 26.2 0.00 Road SR25-435 78.50 80.50 2.00 34.8 2.00 Road SR25-435 114.00 116.00 2.00 7.17 2.00 BB Vein SR25-436 11.00 12.00 1.00 1.08 5.00 Lemoffe SR25-436 79.00 83.00 4.00 1.75 2.50 Lemoffe SR25-437 65.80 67.30 1.50 4.64 4.00 Fifi SR25-437 79.30 81.25 1.95 1.34 4.41 Fifi SR25-438 96.85 97.85 1.00 1.76 6.00 Lemoffe SR25-438 105.30 106.50 1.20 8.70 8.00 Lemoffe SR25-440 19.00 20.00 1.00 1.77 140.0 BB Vein? SR25-441 164.00 174.00 10.00 2.03 2.00 Lemoffe SR25-441 including 167.00 169.00 2.00 5.89 6.00 Lemoffe SR25-441 221.00 222.00 1.00 2.74 16.0 Lemoffe SR25-442 7.15 10.00 2.85 6.28 3.00 Fifi SR25-442 58.00 59.00 1.00 1.14 2.00 Lemoffe SR25-442 65.25 66.45 1.20 8.37 8.00 Lemoffe SR25-443 73.15 74.15 1.00 1.01 38.0 Lemoffe SR25-444 170.90 174.90 4.00 16.6 6.75 Lemoffe SR25-444 including 171.90 173.90 2.00 29.3 7.50 Lemoffe SR25-444 181.00 182.00 1.00 3.77 3.00 Lemoffe SR25-448 98.45 107.40 8.95 10.4 7.69 Fifi SR25-448 including 104.10 107.40 3.30 21.3 17.1 Fifi SR25-448 including 106.35 107.40 1.05 46.5 27.0 Fifi SR25-448 145.70 147.40 1.70 1.52 0.00 Lemoffe SR25-448 178.65 179.80 1.15 7.05 8.00 Lemoffe SR25-457 44.00 56.00 12.00 15.8 5.20 Road SR25-457 44.00 49.00 5.00 36.6 5.20 Road *True width of the intervals has not yet been established by drilling Figure 1: Segmented vertical long section of the Blueberry Contact Zone illustrating the distribution and status of drilled targets from the 2025 season and the reported results thus far, relative to intercepts from previous drilling campaigns. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/11118/282477_e3408fb8140f1980_002full.jpg Figure 2: Overview plan view map of the Blueberry Contact Zone, illustrating the locations of the reported drill results, cross-sections (Figures 3,4,5), and the distribution of the modelled sulphide-rich cross-structures. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/11118/282477_e3408fb8140f1980_003full.jpg Figure 3: Cross-section displaying Scottie Gold Mine intercepts from drill holes SR25-433, - 441, -444, and -448. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/11118/282477_e3408fb8140f1980_004full.jpg Figure 4: Cross-section displaying Scottie Gold Mine intercepts from drill hole SR25-435. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/11118/282477_e3408fb8140f1980_005full.jpg Figure 5: Cross-section displaying Scottie Gold Mine intercepts from drill hole SR25-457. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/11118/282477_e3408fb8140f1980_006full.jpg About the Scottie Gold Mine Project Over the past six years, exploration at the Scottie Gold Mine Project has delivered exceptional results, highlighted by the discovery of four new high-grade zones (Blueberry Contact Zone, Domino, D-Zone, and P-Zone) and the expansion of several historically drilled targets (Scottie Gold Mine, C-Zone, Bend Vein, and Stockwork). A clear spatial relationship has emerged between these high-grade zones and the contact with the Jurassic-aged Texas Creek Plutonic Suite, providing a powerful framework for ongoing targeting. Detailed geological, structural, mineralogical, and geochemical studies now point to a shared mineralizing event across the property - linking the deposits into a broader, interconnected system with significant growth potential. The Blueberry Contact Zone, located 2 km northeast of the 100%-owned past producing Scottie Gold Mine in BC's Golden Triangle, has rapidly advanced from a lightly drilled high-grade vein showing into a major growth target. The target was significantly advanced during Scottie's 2019 drill program when an interval was intersected in a new N-S oriented zone adjacent to the main Blueberry Vein. The drill results received from 2020 - 2024, coupled with surficial mapping and sampling suggest that the N-S mineralized trend is a controlling structure that hosts an array of SW-trending, sub-parallel, sulphide-rich veins that obliquely crosscut it which host high-grade gold. As of the end of 2024, the extent of the N-S zone, defined by the contact between andesite and siltstone units of the Hazelton Formation and the presence of the cross-cutting sulfide-rich structures, has a drilled strike length of >1,550 metres and has been tested to >525 metres depth. The Blueberry Contact Zone is located on the Granduc Road, 20 kilometres north of the Ascot Resources' Premier Mine. Newmont's Brucejack Mine is located 25 kilometres to the north. The Company has recently completed a PEA which evaluates a low-capital DSO operation to deliver a gold-rich gravel product to Asian copper/precious metals smelters. At a gold price of US$2600/oz the project estimates an after-tax NPV(5%) of $215.8 M CAD with an IRR of 60.3%. By design, the operation will eliminate the need for a gold processing plant and tailings facility, thereby significantly reducing the capital required and resulting in a minimal environmental footprint, resulting in an initial capital cost of $128.6 M CAD. The project envisages a shallow open pit on the Blueberry Zone to start, followed by underground production from both Blueberry and the past-producing Scottie Gold Mine. The PEA also evaluates a toll milling scenario through the nearby Premier Mill, which results in an after-tax NPV(5%) $380.1 M CAD and an IRR 89.9%. Scottie's 2025 Bulk Sample program exemplifies the unique characteristics of this mining project, and its ability to rapidly progress. From permitting to mining, crushing, transporting, shipping and sale of the product, the program was executed in under a year, generating an estimated $9M in new revenue. With this proven pathway, Scottie's has confidence in the simplicity and efficiency of its DSO model. Quality Assurance and Control Results from samples taken during the 2025 field season were analyzed at SGS Minerals in Burnaby, BC. The sampling program was undertaken under the direction of Dr. Thomas Mumford. The majority of drill core was NQ in diameter, with select holes of HQ size primarily taken for geomechanical purposes. Prior to sampling drill core was cut in half lengthwise, with half sent for assay and the remaining half kept in Stewart, BC. Standards, blanks, and duplicate samples were taken at intervals and frequencies that meet or exceed industry best practices. A secure chain of custody is maintained in transporting and storing all samples. Gold was assayed using a fire assay with atomic absorption spectrometry and gravimetric finish when required (+9 g/t gold). Analysis by four acid digestion with multi-element ICP-AES analysis was conducted on all samples with silver and base metal over-limits being re-analyzed by emission spectrometry. Dr. Thomas Mumford, P.Geo., non-independent President of the Company, a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release on behalf of the Company. ABOUT SCOTTIE RESOURCES CORP. Scottie Resources holds 100% interest in the Scottie Gold Mine Property, which includes the high-grade, past-producing Scottie Gold Mine and the adjacent Blueberry Contact Zone. The Company also owns a 100% interest in the Georgia Project, host to the past-producing Georgia River Mine, as well as the Cambria, Sulu, and Tide North properties. In total, Scottie controls approximately 58,500 hectares of highly prospective mineral claims within the Stewart Mining Camp in British Columbia's Golden Triangle-one of the world's most prolific mineralized districts. Scottie's current resource estimate on the Scottie Gold Mine Project includes a total of 703,000 gold ounces at an average grade of 6.1 g/t (Inferred category) in 3.6 million tonnes, highlighting the development potential for a significant near-surface, high-grade deposit. The Company's strategy is to continue expanding this resource and to define additional mineralization around past-producing mines through systematic drilling and surface exploration. The Company has recently completed a PEA for the Scottie Gold Mine. The PEA outlines a robust Direct-Ship Ore (DSO) development scenario with strong economics and significant upside through a potential toll-milling option utilizing excess capacity at the nearby Premier mill. The base case DSO project delivers an after-tax NPV(5%) of $215.8-$668.3 million at gold prices of US$2,600-$4,200/oz, respectively. Under the toll-milling scenario, project economics improve substantially, with an after-tax NPV(5%) of $380.1-$831.7 million (no agreement currently in place). The PEA estimates initial capital costs of $128.6 million, average annual production of ~65,400 oz gold over seven years, and a payback period of 1.7 years for the after-tax DSO case-reduced to just 0.9 years under the toll-milling opportunity at US$2,600/oz. Additional Information Forward-Looking Statements This news release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date such statements were made. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy of accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/282477 Source: Scottie Resources Corp. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - US Critical Metals Corp. (CSE: USCM) (OTCQB: USCMF) (FSE: 0IU) ("Metals") announces that it has, through its wholly-owned Nevada subsidiary, US Energy Metals Corp. ("Energy", together with Metals, the "Company"), entered into a definitive agreement with U.S. Critical Materials Corp. ("Materials"), an arm's length party, and US Rare Elements Corporation ("USRE") (the "Purchase Agreement"). Under the terms of the Purchase Agreement, the Company will receive the following in exchange for all of its rights under the exploration, option and shareholder agreement dated July 25, 2022 (the "Original Agreement"): US$500,000 in cash on execution of the Agreement (the " Closing "); "); US$500,000 in cash within six months or less of the Closing; and 500,000 shares of common stock of Materials at Closing. Specifically, the Purchase Agreement (i) discontinues the Company's option for further equity participation in the Sheep Creek Project; and (ii) discontinues the Company's participation in joint venture rights. Therefore, as a result of the Purchase Agreement, the Company is a shareholder of Materials but has no further equity interests in USRE and no participation rights or joint venture rights in the Sheep Creek Project as provided under the Original Agreement. Metals deems the transaction to have an aggregate value of US$1,500,000. Strategic Rationale This structure achieves several key objectives: Strengthens the Company's balance sheet through non-dilutive financing to advance lithium assets held by the Company; and Enables the Company to prioritize projects where it maintains majority ownership and operational control, including but not limited to, the Company's McDermitt East Lithium Project. Management Commentary "This transaction delivers meaningful non-dilutive capital to the Company while allowing both companies to pursue their priorities," stated Darren Collins, CEO of Metals. "The 500,000-share position ensures that the Company continues to benefit from progress at Sheep Creek. As a shareholder of Materials, we wish Materials success in all future endeavors." About US Critical Metals Corp. The Company is focused on mining projects that will further secure the United States ("U.S.") supply of critical metals, which are essential to fueling the new age economy. The Company's assets consist of four discovery focused projects in the U.S. These projects include the McDermitt East Lithium Project located in Nevada, Clayton Ridge Lithium Property located in Nevada, Long Canyon Uranium Property located in Idaho, and the Haynes Cobalt Property located in Idaho. A significant percentage of the world's critical metal and rare earth supply comes from nations with interests that are contrary to those of the U.S. US Critical Metals intends to explore and develop assets with near- and long-term strategic value to the advancement of U.S. interests. For further information please contact: Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor the Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information This news release contains certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking information" with respect to Metals within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Company's actual results, performance or achievements, or developments in the industry to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward-looking information includes statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Forward-looking information contained in this press release may include, without limitation, the expected financial performance of the Company. Although Metals believes the forward-looking information contained in this news release is reasonable based on information available on the date hereof, by its nature, forward-looking information involves assumptions and known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Examples of such assumptions, risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, assumptions, risks and uncertainties associated with general economic conditions; adverse industry events; the receipt of required regulatory approvals and the timing of such approvals; that Metals maintains good relationships with the communities in which it operates or proposes to operate; future legislative and regulatory developments in the mining sector; Metal's ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, and/or inability to access sufficient capital on favorable terms; mining industry and markets in Canada and generally; the ability of Metals to implement its business strategies; competition; the risk that any of the assumptions prove not to be valid or reliable, which could result in delays, or cessation in planned work; risks associated with the interpretation of data, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; the possibility that results will not be consistent with Company's expectations; as well as other assumptions, risks and uncertainties applicable to mineral exploration and development activities and to Metals, including as set forth in the Company's public disclosure documents filed on the SEDAR+ website at www.sedarplus.ca. The forward-looking information contained in this press release represents the expectations of Metals as of the date of this press release and, accordingly, is subject to change after such date. Readers should not place undue importance on forward-looking information and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. While Metals may elect to, it does not undertake to update this information at any particular time except as required in accordance with applicable laws. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/282467 Source: US Critical Metals Corp. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - Glow Lifetech Corp. (CSE: GLOW) (OTCID: GLWLF) (FSE: 9DO) ("Glow" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the expansion of its MOD and .decimal brands into Manitoba, alongside an expansion of its product portfolio in New Brunswick. These developments represent another step forward in the Company's national expansion strategy and build on the strong commercial momentum established in 2025. Expanding National Footprint Building on its success in Ontario and the successful launches in New Brunswick and Saskatchewan in 2025, Glow is now introducing its MOD and .decimal brands into Manitoba's cannabis retail market, further extending its presence in Western Canada. Initial store roll-outs are underway, supported by eight product listings secured across the two brands. This expansion reflects Glow's strategy of leveraging proven commercial traction in core markets to support further market development in a measured and repeatable manner. In parallel, Glow is expanding its presence in New Brunswick with the addition of the .decimal brand, complementing the existing MOD portfolio in the province. The expanded New Brunswick offering is scheduled to launch in Spring 2026 and reflects continued demand from provincial distributors and retailers for Glow's differentiated, precision-focused product formats. "Glow's expansion into Manitoba while broadening our portfolio in New Brunswick reflects the continued execution of our national growth strategy and positions us well for continued momentum in 2026," said Rob Carducci, CEO of Glow Lifetech. "We are building from a position of strength in Ontario, where we continue to strengthen our leadership with key retailers, and leveraging that foundation to thoughtfully expand across Canada. With momentum continuing to build through new provincial launches, growing retailer relationships, and sustained demand for our differentiated products, we remain confident in our ability to drive continued growth in the periods ahead." Continued Commercial Momentum Glow's expansion into Manitoba and the continued growth in existing markets reinforce the scalability of its commercial model and the strength of its go-to-market execution. With a growing national footprint, a differentiated product portfolio, and strong operating fundamentals, the Company continues to see meaningful opportunity ahead as it advances its national expansion strategy. Glow remains focused on disciplined execution that strengthens its market presence and builds long-term sustainable value as additional growth opportunities continue to develop across Canada. SUBSCRIBE: For more information on Glow or to subscribe to the Company's mail list visit: https://www.glowlifetech.com/news About Glow Lifetech Corp Glow Lifetech is a Canadian-based biotechnology company focused on producing nutraceutical and cannabinoid-based products with dramatically enhanced bioavailability, absorption and effectiveness. Glow has a groundbreaking, plant-based MyCell Technology delivery system, which transforms poorly absorbed natural compounds into enhanced water-compatible concentrates that unlock the full healing potential of the valuable compounds. Website: www.glowlifetech.com Forward-Looking Information Cautionary Statement Except for statements of historic fact, this news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements with respect to the proposed Debt Settlement, including the amount and completion thereof and statements regarding the Offering, including the amount of proceeds expected to be raised, the timing for closing, the receipt of required regulatory approvals and the intended use of proceeds. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements including, but not limited to delays or uncertainties with regulatory approvals, including that of the CSE. There are uncertainties inherent in forward-looking information, including factors beyond the Company's control. There are no assurances that the Offering and Debt Settlement described in this news release will be completed on the terms described herein. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties that could affect financial results is contained in the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulators, which filings are available at www.sedarplus.ca To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/282423 Source: Glow Lifetech Corp. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - ATERRA Metals Inc. (CSE: ATC) (OTCQB: CSSCF) ("ATERRA") is pleased to announce that it has executed the option agreements for the Totora copper-gold porphyry properties (the "Totora Project") located 60 kilometres south of Vallenar in Chile's Region III (Figures 1 and 2). The Totora Project hosts multiple copper-gold porphyry systems, including the Frontera deposit and two advanced prospects, the Totora and Clinton porphyries. "With the recent closing of our $2.78 million private placement, we have signed the three option agreements which underpin the Totora Project properties and are preparing to mobilize a field crew to start exploration activities immediately," noted Carl Hansen, CEO of ATERRA. "Our first task is to re-log key mineralized sections from the historical drill core, and prepare for geophysics over the key copper-gold porphyries, to assist in defining targets for a late first quarter drill program. The primary purpose of the Phase I drill program is to support the conversion of the historical Totora Project drill results into 43-101-compliant resource estimates." Totora Project Historical Highlights Frontera deposit - historical resource / drill results: 16 Mt indicated grading 0.66% CuEq (0.38% Cu & 0.22 g/t Au) with 34 Mt inferred grading 0.64% CuEq (0.36% Cu & 0.22 g/t Au). 478 m grading 0.72% CuEq (0.39% Cu & 0.26 g/t Au), hole FRP004D Clinton historical drilling highlights include: 166 m grading 0.63% CuEq (0.23% Cu & 0.31 g/t Au), hole RCCL-01 276 m grading 0.61% CuEq (0.23% Cu & 0.30 g/t Au), hole DDHCL-06 Totora historical drilling highlights include: 142 m grading 0.69% CuEq (0.47% Cu & 0.17 g/t Au), hole DDHTP-02 114 m grading 0.61% CuEq (0.23% Cu & 0.31 g/t Au), hole DDHTO-07 In addition to the Frontera, Taruca and Clinton properties, which collectively comprise the Totora Project, a fourth property, the 200-hectare Sevilla concession, has been added under the existing Clinton option agreement at no additional cost. Evidence of artisanal mining activities has been identified on the Sevilla property and numerous small-scale copper mines occur in the immediate area. Copper Equivalent Grade Calculation: Copper equivalent ("CuEq") grades were calculated using a copper price of $4.00 per pound and a gold price of $3,500 per ounce ($112.53 per gram). CuEq grades are calculated as follows: CuEq% = (((Au g/t grade * 112.53) / 4.00 / 2,204.6) * 100) + Cu grade. No recovery factors are used in this calculation. Metal prices are in US$. Historical Results: ATERRA has not undertaken any independent investigation of the historical results from the Totora Properties nor has it verified the underlying technical basis for the historical resources and drilling results, including assays, geology and hole orientation. The reader is cautioned against relying on the accuracy of the historical results presented; however, ATERRA considers all historical results to be relevant as those results will be used as a guide to plan future exploration programs: ATERRA considers the data to be reliable for these purposes. See the "Note:" associated with Table 1 for disclosure regarding the Frontera historical resource estimate. The numerous copper-gold porphyries in the Totora area are related to quartz diorite and dacitic intrusions associated with the Domeyko Intrusive Complex. The mineralized porphyry bodies intrude Jurassic sedimentary and volcanic rocks and are often closely associated with regional NE-SW fault structures. For further information on the Totora Project properties and related option agreements, see ATERRA's press release dated November 20, 2025. Figure 1 -Totora Project Properties (Frontera, Taruca, Clinton and Sevilla) and Known Cu/Au Occurrences To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7721/282419_7423ce2264a22932_001full.jpg Frontera Cu/Au Deposit The Frontera property hosts historic resources (Table 1) of 16 million indicated tonnes grading 0.66% copper equivalent ("CuEq") (0.38% copper and 0.22 grams per tonne ("g/t") gold) and 34 million inferred tonnes grading 0.64% CuEq (0.36% copper and 0.22 g/t gold). The resource estimate was prepared by Hot Chili Limited based on 16,175 metres of drilling completed in 2013. Hot Chili's option for the Frontera property expired in 2015. Copper prices during this period averaged less than US$3.00 per pound. Table 1 - Frontera Cu/Au Deposit - Historical Resource Estimate (March 2014) * Classification Tonnes Cu Au CuEq Contained Metal (millions) (%) (g/t) (%) Cu ('000 lbs) Au (ounces) Indicated 16 0.38 0.22 0.66 134,400 116,000 Inferred 34 0.36 0.22 0.64 275,500 239,000 * See notes on Historical Results and Copper Equivalent Grade Calculation. Resource prepared by Hot Chili Limited under "Australasian Code for Reporting on Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves" (The JORC Code, 2012 Edition) and published on March 11, 2014. The resource estimate is based on a cut-off grade of 0.25% Cu. The Frontera exploitation concessions cover 11 hectares hosting the entire historic resource. The mineralized porphyry extends onto concessions owned by Compania Minera del Pacifico (CMP, a subsidiary of CAP S.A., the Chilean Iron Ore Company). Clinton Cu/Au Porphyry The Clinton copper-gold porphyry is hosted within an altered quartz diorite intruded along the regional Pajonales Fault. During 2018-2019, Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A. ("SQM"), a major Chilean lithium producer, drilled 6,194 metres outlining a mineralized porphyry extending to depths of over 500 metres downhole. A summary of the drill highlights from the SQM program is presented in Table 2. No resource estimate has been prepared for the Clinton porphyry. Table 2 - Clinton Cu/Au Porphyry - Historical Drill Assay Highlights (SQM - 2018/19) Drill Hole From To Interval CuEq Cu Au (metres) (%) (%) (g/t) RCCL-01 202 368 166 0.63 0.23 0.31 DDHCL-03 40 432 392 0.48 0.21 0.21 DDHCL-04 570 693 124 0.55 0.21 0.27 DDHCL-06 0 276 276 0.61 0.23 0.30 DDHCL-07 14 132 118 0.37 0.17 0.16 and 156 240 84 0.62 0.28 0.27 and 256 508 252 0.53 0.22 0.24 NOTE: See notes on Historical Results and on the calculation of Copper Equivalent Grade Calculation grades. CuEq grades were composited using a 0.25% cut-off grade and max. 4 metres of internal sub-0.25% CuEq "waste" material. Intervals represent downhole lengths and not true widths. Totora Cu/Au Porphyry The Totora copper-gold porphyry has been the focus of a number of drill programs with approximately 10,140 metres completed (see Table 3 for Totora historical drill assay highlights). Drilling outlined a structurally controlled mineralized system traced along a strike length of 800 metres on surface and extending to depths of up to 500 metres downhole. No resource estimate has been completed for the Totora porphyry. Table 3 - Totora Cu/Au Porphyry - Historical Drill Assay Highlights Drill Hole From To Interval CuEq Cu Au Company (metres) (%) (%) (g/t) PAY-08 98 180 82 0.60 0.17 0.34 Freeport and 200 228 28 0.48 0.33 0.12 DDHTO-02 214 356 142 0.69 0.47 0.17 SQM including 214 286 72 0.97 0.64 0.26 DDH-TOT-09 62 154 92 0.49 0.27 0.18 Minera Veinte Norte and 170 368 198 0.47 0.27 0.15 DDHTO-07 0 114 114 0.61 0.23 0.31 SQM and 216 312 96 0.60 0.41 0.15 DH-TOT10 220 298 78 0.61 0.34 0.22 SQM and 374 474 100 0.57 0.40 0.14 NOTE: See notes on Historical Results and on the calculation of Copper Equivalent Grade Calculation. CuEq grades were composited using a 0.25% cut-off grade and max. 4 metres of internal sub-0.25% CuEq material. Intervals represent downhole lengths and not true widths. Figure 2 - Location of the Totora Cu/Au Project To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7721/282419_7423ce2264a22932_002full.jpg Algarrobilla Cu/Au Porphyry Approximately 1 kilometre south of the Totora porphyry lies the Algarrobilla copper-gold porphyry. SQM drilled 3,140 metres during 2018-2019 and Freeport drilled 806 metres in 2014 (see Table 4 for drill assay highlights). Historical drilling outlined a 700-metre mineralized corridor. No resources are reported. Two bornite-bearing high-grade intervals were intersected at depth in drill hole DDHCL-13 including 8 metres grading 1.64% Cu and 0.39 g/t gold suggesting the potential for a higher-grade porphyry at depth. Drilling is wide-spaced with the nearest drill hole to DDHCL-13 located 300 metres to the northeast. Table 4 - Algarrobilla Cu/Au Porphyry - Historical Drill Assay Highlights Drill Hole From To Interval CuEq Cu Au Company (metres) (%) (%) (g/t) PAY-06 150 254 104 0.41 0.31 0.08 Freeport DDHCL-13 280 288 8 1.64 1.14 0.39 SQM DDHCL-16 84 170 86 0.55 0.33 0.11 SQM NOTE: See notes on Historical Results and on the calculation of Copper Equivalent Grade Calculation grades. CuEq grades were composited using a 0.25% cut-off grade and max. 4 metres of internal sub-0.25% CuEq material. Intervals represent downhole lengths and not true widths. NI 43-101 Disclosure As defined by National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") of the Canadian Securities Administrators, the Qualified Person for ATERRA's exploration activities in Chile is Francisco Bravo, a resident of Santiago, Chile. Mr. Bravo is a Public Registered Person for Reserves and Resources N 515, in Chile, and is registered in the Colegio de Geologos de Chile under N 725. About ATERRA Metals Inc. ATERRA is a mineral exploration company focused on exploration opportunities in Chile. ATERRA's team of successful exploration professionals are dedicated to the discovery of mineral deposits that can be progressed into economically viable development projects creating value for all stakeholders. CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This news release contains forward-looking statements, including predictions, projections and forecasts. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: plans for the evaluation of exploration properties; the success of evaluation plans; the success of exploration activities; mine development prospects; and, potential for future metals production. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "planning", "expects" or "does not expect", "focus is to", "continues", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "objectives", "intends", "potential", "anticipates", "does not anticipate", or describes a "goal", or variation of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, future events, conditions, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, prediction, projection, forecast, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others: the successful acquisition of exploration projects; changes in economic parameters and assumptions; all aspects related to the timing of exploration activities and receipt of exploration results; the interpretation and actual results of current exploration activities; the timing of availability of resource estimates, changes in project or exploration parameters as plans continue to be refined; the results of regulatory and permitting processes; future metals price; possible variations in grade or recovery rates; failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; the results of economic and technical studies; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing or in the completion of exploration; as well as those factors disclosed in ATERRA's publicly filed documents. Although ATERRA has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its regulation services provider has reviewed or accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this news release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/282419 Source: ATERRA Metals Inc. At the opening of the 5th Kuwait Oil Gas Show and Conference (KOGS), TotalEnergies (Paris:TTE) (LSE:TTE) (NYSE:TTE) and Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) signed today a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen their cooperation, exchange expertise and conduct technical studies. The signing ceremony took place in the presence of Patrick Pouyanne, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TotalEnergies, Sheikh Nawaf Saud Al-Sabah, CEO of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, and Ahmad Jaber Al-Eidan, CEO of KOC. The MoU notably includes studies related to new exploration opportunities in the country, for which TotalEnergies will mobilize its technical expertise. "We are pleased to strengthen our cooperation with Kuwait Oil Company through this MoU, which reflects our shared ambition to contribute to Kuwait's objectives in developing its resources. The studies to be carried out will help inform future projects, while further deepening our long-term relationship with Kuwait," said Patrick Pouyanne, Chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies. About TotalEnergies TotalEnergies is a global integrated energy company that produces and markets energies: oil and biofuels, natural gas, biogas and low-carbon hydrogen, renewables and electricity. Our more than 100,000 employees are committed to provide as many people as possible with energy that is more reliable, more affordable and more sustainable. Active in about 120 countries, TotalEnergies places sustainability at the heart of its strategy, its projects and its operations. @TotalEnergies TotalEnergies TotalEnergies TotalEnergies Cautionary Note The terms "TotalEnergies", "TotalEnergies company" or "Company" in this document are used to designate TotalEnergies SE and the consolidated entities that are directly or indirectly controlled by TotalEnergies SE. Likewise, the words "we", "us" and "our" may also be used to refer to these entities or to their employees. The entities in which TotalEnergies SE directly or indirectly owns a shareholding are separate legal entities. This document may contain forward-looking information and statements that are based on a number of economic data and assumptions made in a given economic, competitive and regulatory environment. They may prove to be inaccurate in the future and are subject to a number of risk factors. Neither TotalEnergies SE nor any of its subsidiaries assumes any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking information or statement, objectives or trends contained in this document whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Information concerning risk factors, that may affect TotalEnergies' financial results or activities is provided in the most recent Universal Registration Document, the French-language version of which is filed by TotalEnergies SE with the French securities regulator Autorite des Marches Financiers (AMF), and in the Form 20-F filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260203131272/en/ Contacts: TotalEnergies Media Relations: +33 (0)1 47 44 46 99 l presse@totalenergies.com l @TotalEnergiesPR Investor Relations: +33 (0)1 47 44 46 46 l ir@totalenergies.com NEW YORK, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- VaynerX, the modern integrated advertising company founded by Gary Vaynerchuk, and The Marketing Academy (TMA), led by Founder & Global CEO Sherilyn Shackell, today announced a shared commitment to accelerating the growth of the next generation of marketing leaders around the world. This shared vision was underscored at VaynerX's Future CMO Summit (FCMO) at The Ranch at Rock Creek in Montana, a two-day, invite-only gathering of 20 emerging marketers nominated by senior brand leaders. Designed as an immersive professional development experience, the Summit created space for honest dialogue, real-time learning, and reflection on what modern CMOs must know to lead in today's culture, creator, and AI-driven landscape. At the heart of the effort is a unified belief from Vaynerchuk and Shackell: The most important person in the room is the future CMO and the industry has a responsibility to actively foster and invest in that talent now. "Marketing is in the middle of a massive shift," said Gary Vaynerchuk, Chairman of VaynerX. "Tomorrow's CMOs must be fluent in culture, creators, AI, and speed, and most importantly, lead with empathy and accountability. Nurturing that talent early is essential for the future of our industry." "Our mission is to develop extraordinary leadership in exceptional talent," said Sherilyn Shackell, Founder & Global CEO, The Marketing Academy. "By aligning with VaynerX around this shared ambition, we can help rising CMOs build the confidence, capability, and modern skillsets required to thrive in an increasingly complex world." Together, VaynerX and TMA will champion this next generation of leaders, including 1,400 TMA Alumni, across the U.S., EMEA, and APAC through coordinated development efforts and curated learning experiences. Insights from the FCMO Summit, including the importance of cultural fluency, community-centric leadership, content ecosystem thinking, and AI enablement will guide programming throughout 2025-2026. Following the FCMO, planned VaynerX and TMA initiatives include: Curated leadership development sessions and modern skill-building experiences Roundtables and intimate gatherings for emerging CMOs Cross-regional connections and mentorship from VaynerX and TMA leaders Ongoing thought leadership exploring the evolving CMO role The shared goal is clear: to equip rising marketing leaders with the tools, perspective, and community they need to shape the next era of global brand-building. For more information and to stay updated on future VaynerX events, visit https://vaynerx.com/ . About VaynerX: Launched January 2017, VaynerX is the most contemporary family of companies, working together to build and grow brands. Subsidiaries include VaynerMedia, Eva Nosidam Productions ChukMedia, Gallery Media Group, Tingley Lane Trading and VaynerSpeakers. About The Marketing Academy The Marketing Academy is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to developing leadership capability in talented marketers. With highly selective Fellowship and Scholarship programs for both emerging talent and CMOs across UK, EMEA, U.S., Australia and APAP, The Marketing Academy has become one of the most sought-after leadership accelerators in the industry. Press Contact: comms@vaynermedia.com Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2875051/Avery_Akkineni_VaynerX_and_Sherilyn_Shackell_TMA.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/vaynerx-and-the-marketing-academy-unite-around-a-shared-vision-developing-the-future-generation-of-global-cmos-302676842.html Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - Visionary Copper and Gold Mines Inc. (TSXV: VCG) (OTCQB: VCGMF) (the "Company" or "Visionary") is pleased to announce that it has commenced the fully funded 2026 Phase 1 exploration program at the 100% owned Pt. Leamington Project (the "Project") located in Central Newfoundland. The Project is accessible by road and trails, approximately 18km and 37km from the towns of Pt. Leamington and Grand Falls-Windsor and 20km from the provincial power grid. Max Porterfield, President and CEO, stated, "We are excited to drill test high-priority, near surface, targets that our team has outlined." Mr. Porterfield continued, "Each target has the potential to significantly expand the sizable gold, copper, zinc and silver rich mineral resource already defined at Point Leamington." The 3,000m drill program, the first exploration drilling at the Project in over two decades, will focus on resource expansion, and identifying higher grade zones and strike extensions of the deposit (the "Deposit"), which includes: A, pit constrained, Indicated Mineral Resource of 5.0 Mt grading 2.5 g/t AuEq with 402 koz AuEq (comprising 145.7 koz gold, 2.0 Moz silver, 60.0 Mlb copper, 153.5 Mlb zinc and 1.5 Mlb lead); A pit constrained Inferred Mineral Resource of 13.7 Mt grading 2.24 g/t AuEq with 986.5 koz AuEq (comprising 354.8 koz gold, 6.2 Moz silver, 110.2 Mlb copper, 527.3 Mlb zinc, 7.0 Mlb lead); and An out-of-pit Inferred Mineral Resource of 1.7 Mt grading 3.06 g/t AuEq with 168.5 koz AuEq (comprising 65.4 koz gold, 1.4 Moz Ag, 13.3 Mlb copper, 102.9 Mlb zinc, 2.6 Mlb lead). (see news release dated October 25, 2021) Pt. Leamington Deposit Expansion Along Strike to the South Drilling started on a 300m drill hole testing the extension of the Deposit along strike to the south with two drill holes planned to test key areas with the potential to double the strike extent of the Deposit near surface to nearly 1.2km (Pt Leamington Deposit Plan View with Electromagnetics). The Deposit's current strike extent is 560m, remaining open to the south. During the last exploration drill program in 2004, the South Zone, highlighted by hole PL-073 which intersected 6.73m of 0.19% Cu, 0.97 g/t Au, 3.58% Zn, 22.74 g/t Ag, was discovered. Borehole pulse electromagnetic ("BPEM") data, modeled from surveys in the southern portion of the deposit and the South Zone supports continuity between them. A hole is planned to test the strike extension 115m along strike from PL-024, the southernmost, near surface hole, in the resource, which intersected 39.62m of 0.20% Cu, 0.70 g/t Au, 0.67% Zn, 10.96 g/t Ag. In 2007, a modern airborne electromagnetic survey identified a 350m conductive zone immediately to the south of the South Zone, interpreted to be on the horizon that hosts the Deposit. Drill hole PL-029, a shallow 107m hole drilled 35 years before the airborne EM survey, is the closest hole to the conductive zone. This core was not assayed, however logs note copper bearing chalcopyrite in disseminated sulphides intersected 50m down hole, interpreted to represent the favourable Pt. Leamington horizon. The first hole of the program is testing the center of the conductive body and its potential to be a significant copper, gold, zinc and silver rich extension of the Deposit. This hole will be a ~200m step-out from PL-072, drilled in 2000, which intersected 8.08m of 0.66% Cu, 1.08 g/t Au, 0.44% Zn, 4.76 g/t Ag from 176.7m to 184.78m. Since the airborne EM anomaly was identified in 2007 no exploration drilling has tested this target area. Emerging Deeper Footwall Horizon and Copper Stringer Zone Many large VMS systems, like the Ming deposit being of FireFly Metals, include stacking of VMS lenses representing multiple phases of base and precious metal mineralization, hosted at different stratigraphic levels but associated with the main VMS system (Pt. Leamington/Ming Cross Section). A Lower Footwall Zone (LFZ) has been identified stratigraphically below the Pt. Leamington horizon that hosts the current mineral resource. The LFZ, much of which is not included in the resource, and none of which is included in the pit-constrained resource, has not been defined (Pt. Leamington Deposit Cross Section). The LFZ has been noted over a strike extent of >500m, remains open to surface, and may extend to depth. It consists of hydrothermally altered felsic volcanic rocks with stringer pyrite and base metal sulphides. Mineral assemblages are comparable to the Point Leamington Main Footwall Zone (MFZ), with grades and thicknesses that support the potential for resource growth and pit expansion. No intersections in the LFZ are contained within the pit shell including PL-004 which intersected 45.72m of 0.50% Cu and PL-055 that returned 36.28m of 0.40% Cu, which are included in the "out of pit" resource (Pt Leamington Cross Section with Pit Shell). The intersections along the Footwall Horizon show excellent potential for significant thickness and grades and the potential for near surface resource growth that could be included in an expanded pit. Near Surface In-Pit Copper Pt. Leamington Stringer Zone When Noranda discovered the Pt. Leamington deposit in 1971, the focus was on the copper and zinc mineralization with the gold values noted but not a priority and sampling was more selective due to metal prices. As we advance the Deposit exploration and definition as a potential open pit operation, drill testing of unsampled areas could grow the near surface resource, particularly for copper and gold. Previous sampling was focused on the massive sulphide mineralization with less sampling of footwall, stringer pyrite, and chalcopyrite mineralization. Three holes in the current program are planned to be drilled across ~150m of strike to test the extent of the mineralization (Pt. Leamington 3D Plan View). Results, if successful, may expand the resource within the pit shell. Stock Option Grant and Amendments The Company has granted 1,015,000 stock options to its directors, officers and consultants at an exercise price of $0.80 per share expiring five years from the date of grant. The options are subject to certain vesting requirements. The Company has also approved the downward re-pricing and extension of 324,167 stock options. Under the proposed amendment: (i) 126,667 stock options will be amended by decreasing the exercise price from $3.11 to $0.80 and the expiry date will be extended from April 22, 2027 to April 22, 2032; (ii) 187,500 stock options will be amended by decreasing the exercise price of $3.15 to $0.80 and the expiry date will be extended from March 27, 2028 to March 27, 2033; and (iii) 10,000 stock options will be amended by decreasing the exercise price of $3.00 to $0.80 and the expiry date will be extended from May 29, 2028 to May 29, 2033. A total of 261,667 stock options being amended are held by insiders of the Company. As a result, the Company will be required to obtain disinterested shareholder approval of the proposed amendments. The amendments are also subject to acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange. Qualified Person The technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Aaryn Hutchins, P. Geo, a qualified person under NI 43-101. Ms. Hutchins is a consultant of the Company and is independent of the Company. About Visionary Copper and Gold Mines Inc. Visionary Copper and Gold Mines Inc. (TSXV: VCG) (OTCQX: VCGMF) is advancing its portfolio of base and precious metals rich deposits located in established Canadian mining jurisdictions. The focus of the portfolio is highlighted by the 100% owned Point Leamington Deposit in Newfoundland, located in one of the richest VMS and Gold Districts in Canada. The Company prepared a pit constrained Indicated Mineral Resource of 5.0 Mt grading 2.5 g/t AuEq for 402 koz AuEq (145.7 koz gold, 60.0 Mlb copper, 153.5 Mlb zinc, 2.0 Moz silver, 1.5 Mlb lead), a pit constrained Inferred Mineral Resource of 13.7 Mt grading 2.24 g/t AuEq for 986.5 koz AuEq (354.8 koz gold, 110.2 Mlb copper, 527.3 Mlb zinc, 6.2 Moz silver, 7.0 Mlb lead) and an out-of-pit Inferred Mineral Resource of 1.7 Mt grading 3.06 g/t AuEq for 168.5 koz AuEq (65.4 koz gold, 13.3 Mlb copper, 102.9 Mlb zinc, 1.4 Moz Ag, 2.6 Mlb lead) (see news release dated October 25, 2021). Additionally, the Company is permitting the Rainbow deposit at its rich VMS Pine Bay Project located near existing infrastructure in the Flin Flon Mining District. The Company prepared an indicated mineral resource on the Rainbow deposit of 3.44 Mt grading 3.59% CuEq for 272.4 Mlb CuEq (238.3 Mlb Cu, 56.9 Mlb Zn, 37.6 koz Au, 692.8 koz Ag, 2.3 Mlb Pb), an inferred mineral resource on the Rainbow deposit of 1.28 Mt grading 2.95% CuEq containing 83.4 Mlb CuEq (72.1 Mlb Cu, 19.5 Mlb Zn, 11.1 koz Au, 222.2 Koz Ag, 0.8 Mlb Pb) and an inferred mineral resource at the Pine Bay deposit of 1.0 Mt grading 2.62% Cu containing 58.1 Mlb Cu (see news release dated July 10, 2023). Additionally, the portfolio includes the Nash Creek Project located in the VMS rich Bathurst Mining District of New Brunswick. A 2018 PEA generates a strong economic return with a pre-tax IRR of 34.1% (25.2% post-tax) and NPV8% of $230 million ($128 million post-tax) at $1.25 Zinc (see news release dated May 14, 2018). For additional information, please contact: Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to future expenditures. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. Such factors include, among others, completing the private placement financing, the ability to complete the proposed drill program and the timing and amount of expenditures. Except as required under applicable securities laws, Visionary does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/282476 Source: Visionary Copper and Gold Mines Inc. Edmonton, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - Torr Metals Inc. (TSXV: TMET) ("Torr" or the "Company") is pleased to announce results from a 1,572-sample soil geochemical program completed in late 2025 at the Company's undrilled Sonic Zone, located adjacent to Highway 5, part of its 100%-owned 275 km land position within the 332 km Kolos Copper-Gold Project in south-central British Columbia. The program successfully confirmed historically reported grades, returning up to 3,090 parts per million (ppm) copper (Cu) and 420 parts per billion (ppb) gold (Au), while also nearly doubling the anomalous soil footprint from the previously announced 4.5 km to approximately 8.0 km (see September 3, 2025 news release) (Figure 1, Figure 2). These results outline a large, structurally controlled mineralized corridor measuring 4.6 kilometres (km) in length and up to 1.7 km in width (Figure 1, Figure 2). This further enhances the value of Kolos by adding highly prospective exploration optionality alongside the Company's advancement of Bertha, while reinforcing Kolos as a multi-target, cluster-porphyry district. Highlights: Structural Controls and High-Grade Copper in Outcrop: Mineralization is controlled by two dominant structural trends; a northwest-oriented trend along the margins of a strong high-magnetic anomaly to the south, where select 2024-2025 Torr rock grab samples returned up to 1.1% Cu, and a north to northeast trend within adjoining low-magnetic anomalies to the north and east (Figure 1, Figure 2). High-Level Porphyry Exposure and Fertility Indicators: Several late-stage aplite-silica dykes up to 12 metres (m) wide, strong epidote alteration, patchy feldspathization, and albite overprinting potassic biotite support a long-lived, multi-phase intrusive complex consistent with a high-level alkalic Cu-Au porphyry system. Increasing stockwork veining and porphyry-style alteration and mineralization are now further substantiated by large-scale soil anomalism (Figure 3). Excellent Access and Along-Trend of Major Porphyry Deposit: With direct road access to Highway 5, the Sonic Zone is along-trend of the Ajax Cu-Au porphyry deposit, located approximately 24 km along-trend to the north-northeast. Permitting for drilling at the Sonic Zone is underway. Strong Soil Geochemical Results and Ongoing Assays: Of 1,572 soil samples collected, 139 returned >100 ppm Cu, including 20 >300 ppm Cu, while 48 samples returned >10 ppb Au, including 20 >30 ppb Au. "These results underscore the scale and upside exploration potential of the Sonic Zone as a large, undrilled copper-gold system," said Malcolm Dorsey, President and CEO of Torr Metals. "Nearly doubling the anomalous soil footprint to approximately 8.0 km is a major step forward and materially reinforces Sonic as a high-priority target within the Kolos Project. With excellent access, permitting underway, and an induced polarization (IP) geophysical survey planned in 2026 to refine drill targets, we are advancing Sonic toward drill readiness; while maintaining our near-term focus on our fully funded Phase II drill program of up to 6,000 metres, beginning with follow-up drilling at our Bertha and Bertha North targets located 9.5 km to the west." Figure 1. Copper soil samples collected in 2025 and historical data are overlain on first vertical derivative residual magnetic intensity (RMI) geophysics, with select 2024-2025 Torr rock grab samples annotated. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6794/282474_210bcb9ba4ee5a3b_001full.jpg Figure 2. Gold soil samples collected in 2025 and historical data are overlain on first vertical derivative residual magnetic intensity (RMI) geophysics, with select 2024-2025 Torr rock grab samples annotated. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6794/282474_210bcb9ba4ee5a3b_002full.jpg Figure 3. Select outcrop photos exhibiting styles of alteration, veining, and intrusions at Sonic. A. Monzodiorite dykelets with oxidized quartz-carbonate veining cross-cutting propylitically-altered Nicola volcanics adjacent to gravel road. B. Monzodiorite intrusion with late-stage quartz vein sets and pervasive strong potassic alteration. C. Pervasive strong epidote and localized potassic alteration concentrated within monzodiorite along contact with Nicola volcanics. D, E. Stockwork quartz-carbonate veining within monzodiorite intrusion hosting massive and disseminated pyrite mineralization. F. Silica-aplite dykes paralleling intrusive contacts. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6794/282474_210bcb9ba4ee5a3b_003full.jpg Quality Assurance and Control Results from 2025 samples were analyzed at ALS Global Laboratories (Geochemistry Division) in Kamloops, Canada (an ISO/IEC 17025:2017 and ISO 9001:2015 accredited facility). A secure chain of custody is maintained in transporting and storing of all samples. At ALS the samples were digested using Aqua Regia and analyzed via ICP-MS and ICP-AES using a 25g sample aliquot under the ALS code AuME-TL43. The Company follows industry standard procedures for the work carried out on the Kolos Project. Due to the reconnaissance nature of the soil sampling the Company relied on the internal quality assurance quality control ("QA/QC") measures of ALS. Torr Metals detected no significant QA/QC issues during review of the data. Qualified Person The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Michael Dufresne, M.Sc., P.Geol., P.Geo., a consultant to the Company who is a non independent qualified person defined under National Instrument 43-101. About Torr Metals Torr Metals, headquartered in Edmonton, AB, is focused on unlocking new copper and gold discovery potential within proven, highly accessible mining districts across Canada, areas with both established infrastructure and a growing need for near-term feed. Torr's 100%-owned, district-scale assets are strategically located for cost-effective, year-round exploration and development. The 275 km Kolos Copper-Gold Project and strategically option 57 km2 Bertha Property, situated in southern British Columbia's prolific Quesnel Terrane, lies just 30 km southeast of the Highland Valley Copper Mine, Canada's largest open-pit copper operation, and 40 km south of the city of Kamloops directly along Highway 5. In northern Ontario, the 261 km Filion Gold Project covers a virtually unexplored greenstone belt with high-grade orogenic gold potential. It sits just off the Trans-Canada Highway 11, approximately 42 km from Kapuskasing and 202 km by road from the Timmins mining camp, home to world-class operations like Hollinger, McIntyre, and Dome. To learn more, visit Torr Metals online or view company documents via SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. On behalf of the Board of Directors Torr Metals Inc. "Malcolm Dorsey" Malcolm Dorsey President, CEO and Director Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, statements regarding the use of proceeds from the Company's recently completed financings, and the future plans or prospects of the Company. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to business, market and economic risks, uncertainties and contingencies that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Other factors which could materially affect such forward-looking information are described in the risk factors in the Company's most recent annual management's discussion and analysis which is available on the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedarplus.ca . The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/282474 Source: Torr Metals Inc. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - Pineapple Financial Inc. (NYSE American: PAPL) ("Pineapple" or "the Company"), a leading fintech platform, today announced that members of its leadership team and Board of Directors will participate in two upcoming investor conferences in February 2026. On Thursday, February 5, 2026, Shubha Dasgupta, CEO, Co-Founder & Director of Pineapple Financial, will present at the Noble Capital Markets Emerging Growth Virtual Equity Conference. Noble Capital Markets Emerging Growth Virtual Equity Conference Date: Thursday, February 5, 2026 Time: 9:30 a.m. ET Presenter: Shubha Dasgupta, CEO, Co-Founder & Director More information: https://nobleconference.com/virtual-february-2026/ In addition, Anthony Georgiades, Director of Pineapple Financial, will participate in a panel discussion at the Digital Assets Forum, taking place February 5-6, 2026, in London, United Kingdom. Mr. Georgiades will join the panel titled "Are Stablecoins Becoming a Money-Market Competitor?" on Thursday, February 5, from 3:45-4:35 p.m. BST, on the Cardano Main Stage. The discussion will explore the evolving role of stablecoins within global financial markets and their potential impact on traditional money-market instruments. Digital Assets Forum Date: February 5-6, 2026 Location: London, United Kingdom Attendee: Anthony Georgiades, Director, Pineapple Financial Panel: Are Stablecoins Becoming a Money-Market Competitor? Date & Time: Thursday, February 5, 2026 | 3:45 - 4:35 P.M. BST Location: Cardano Main Stage Anthony Georgiades is a member of Pineapple Financial's Board of Directors and serves as a General Partner at Innovating Capital, where he focuses on investments in cybersecurity, enterprise infrastructure, and Web3 technologies. Mr. Georgiades' participation in the panel underscores his role as a recognized thought leader in the digital asset and financial technology spaces, with extensive experience at the intersection of capital markets, emerging technologies, and institutional adoption. To schedule a one-on-one meeting with Pineapple Financial's management team at either event, please email KCSA Strategic Communications at Pineapple@KCSA.com. About Pineapple Financial Inc. Pineapple Financial Inc. is an award-winning fintech and leading Canadian mortgage brokerage network, focusing on both the long-term success of agents and brokers as well as the overall experience of homeowners. With hundreds of brokers within the network, Pineapple creates cutting-edge cloud-based tools and AI-driven systems to enable its brokers to help Canadians realize their dream of owning a home. Pineapple is active within the community and is proud to sponsor charities across Canada to improve the lives of fellow Canadians. Safe Harbor Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this announcement are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. They are based on the Company's current expectations and projections about future events that the Company believes may affect its financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and economic needs. Investors can identify these forward-looking statements by words or phrases such as "may," "will," "expect," "anticipate," "aim," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "is/are likely to," "potential," "continue" or other similar expressions. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances or changes in its expectations that arise after the date hereof, except as may be required by law. These statements are subject to uncertainties and risks including, but not limited to, the uncertainties related to market conditions, fluctuations in the market price of INJ and any associated impairment charges that we may incur as a result of a decrease in the market price of INJ below the value at which INJ is carried on our balance sheet; changes in the accounting treatment relating to our INJ holdings; the Company's financial condition, customer acceptance of our INJ treasury strategy, and other factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of the registration statements, and periodic reports filed with the SEC. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure that such expectations will be correct. The Company cautions investors that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results. It encourages investors to review other factors that may affect its future results in the Company's registration statement and other filings with the SEC. Additional factors are discussed in the Company's filings with the SEC, which are available for review at www.sec.gov. Follow us on social media: Instagram: @pineapplemortgage @empoweredbypineapple Facebook: Pineapple Mortgage LinkedIn: Pineapple Mortgage X (Formerly Twitter): @PAPLpineapple To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/282457 Source: Pineapple Financial Inc. Endospan, a privately held company pioneering solutions for the endovascular repair of aortic arch disease, today announced the one-year results of their TRIOMPHE Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) Study evaluating the NEXUS Aortic Arch Stent-Graft System presented during the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Annual Meeting in New Orleans. TRIOMPHE is a prospective, multicenter, three-arm trial designed to assess the safety and effectiveness of the NEXUS System in patients with aortic arch pathologies (dissection, aneurysm, PAU/IMH). The one-year results for the 94 high surgical risk patients in the three arms are promising for aortic arch treatment in Zone 0, a very difficult segment of the aorta to treat without high rates of co-morbidities such as mortality or stroke. "The 12-month data from the TRIOMPHE study are highly encouraging for the treatment of aortic arch disease," said Dr. Brad Leshnower, national cardiac surgery principal investigator. "The sustained low stroke and mortality rates in a very high-risk patient population is a significant achievement." The following highlights were shared at STS. TRIOMPHE (N=94) 30-Day (0-30) 1-Year (31-365) Lesion Related Mortality 6.4% (n=6) 0.0% Overall Disabling Stroke (Bypass NEXUS) Post 7.4% (n=7) 1.1% (n=1) Bypass 1.1% (n=1) Post NEXUS 6.4% (n=6) 1.0% (n-1) Renal Failure 0.0% 0.0% *All events are adjudicated by CEC Further, core lab analysis of stent-graft sealing shows no Type III or IV endoleaks and only 3 patients had a Ia or Ib endoleak, suggesting good sealing through 12 months. "As a vascular surgeon, I am excited to see the one-year results from TRIOMPHE continue to mirror the positive results we have seen in the long-term data on NEXUS in Europe," said Dr. Ross Milner, national vascular surgery principal investigator. "It is rewarding to be involved in bringing a less invasive treatment option like NEXUS to patients with complex aortic arch pathologies." More than 120,000 patients suffer from thoracic aortic arch disease every year in the U.S. and Europe, with only about 25% diagnosed or treated. Despite significant advancements, open surgical aortic arch repair maintains high mortality and morbidity. Patients with excessive perioperative risk or anatomical factors are not indicated for surgery, yet anatomical complexity and lack of approved devices for the arch has often prohibited endovascular repair. This makes the choice of treatment difficult or even impossible for some patients. Providing the alternative of minimally invasive repair decreases the requirement for extra corporal circulation and possibility of hypothermia, translating into reduced procedure and hospitalization time. "NEXUS was designed specifically for the total aortic arch," said Kevin Mayberry, Endospan CEO. "We are pleased to see that the one-year data for the TRIOMPHE study aligns with the pre-and-post commercialization data that has been published in Europe. The TRIOMPHE data continues to support NEXUS as a straightforward, minimally invasive solution for aortic arch repair that allows for procedural consistency with reliable patient outcomes." Disclosure: US: The NEXUS Aortic Arch Stent-Graft System is pending PMA review by the FDA which includes a thorough, multi-stage, in-depth evaluation of the available safety and efficacy data. Outside of US: Device availability is subject to local regulations and guidelines. About Endospan Privately held Endospan, headquartered in Herzliya (Tel Aviv), Israel, is a pioneer in the endovascular repair of aortic arch disease including aneurysms and dissections. Endospan's NEXUS Aortic Arch Stent-Graft System is the ?rst endovascular off-the-shelf system with CE Mark to treat a greatly underserved group of patients diagnosed with a dilative lesion in, or near the aortic arch. While minimally invasive endovascular repair has been the standard of care for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA), Aortic Arch Disease patients with aneurysms or dissections have not been as fortunate and have had little choice but to undergo open-chest surgery with its invasiveness and risks, lengthy hospitalization periods, and prolonged recuperation. For additional information about Endospan, visit their website at www.endospan.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260203085619/en/ Contacts: Kevin Mayberry, CEO kevin@endospan.com LONDON, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Armaf, the globally renowned luxury fragrance house from the Middle East, known for its high - quality and meticulously crafted scents, recently brought its signature IP, In The Club, to the United Kingdom. First launched in the United States, the initiative has grown into a platform that goes beyond conventional brand engagement, offering a space for meaningful connections, shared stories, and elevated experiences. The UK edition began with entrepreneur and Dubai Bling star Ebraheem Al Samadi joining the experience, adding a strong sense of authenticity and personal connection. His presence helped shape the atmosphere through genuine interaction, inspiring participants with his journey and creating a deeper emotional layer to the gathering. The experience unfolded in Birmingham from 1st to 3rd February, welcoming an exclusive group of thirty influencers. These creators were selected by Ebraheem Al Samadi in collaboration with Armaf from more than three thousand global applications. Over the course of three days, guests engaged in immersive storytelling sessions, creative exchanges, and meaningful conversations designed to strengthen bonds with the brand and with one another. The atmosphere reflected the essence of Armaf Club de Nuit Bling, a fragrance that celebrates moments, memories, and shared energy. Every detail encouraged participants to connect beyond surface level engagement. The journey reached its highlight on 3rd February 2026 in London, where an elegant evening soiree brought together creators from across the city. Set in a refined and thoughtfully curated environment, the celebration captured the full spirit of In The Club by Armaf, blending luxury with community and storytelling. Throughout the evening, Ebraheem Al Samadi engaged with guests and shared reflections on his values, experiences, and growing connection with Armaf. His interactions created moments that resonated long after the event concluded, reinforcing the initiative's focus on human connection. Reflecting on the experience, Ebraheem shared, "This was about more than just fragrance. It was about celebrating people, creating memories, and connecting through shared experiences. Global Head of Marketing, Ms. Nayana Tharoor, also emphasized how thoughtfully curated experiences can transform customers into long term brand advocates, extending influence far beyond traditional marketing channels. From Birmingham's intimate storytelling sessions to London's vibrant finale, In The Club by Armaf celebrated creativity, community, and the art of fragrance as something not only worn, but truly lived and remembered. Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2875896/ARMAF_In_The_Club.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/ebraheem-al-samadi-joins-armafs-in-the-club-for-an-exclusive-influencer-experience-in-the-uk-302677630.html Proven Software Leader Takes Helm to Accelerate Innovation and Scale DENVER, CO / ACCESS Newswire / February 3, 2026 / AbsenceSoft , a leading employee leave management and accommodations platform, today announced that Chris Murphy has been named Chief Executive Officer. "As AbsenceSoft enters its next phase of growth, Chris is the right leader to guide the company forward," said Seth Turner, Founder and Senior Advisor at AbsenceSoft. "His proven ability to scale software companies, combined with his genuine commitment to our mission, gives me tremendous confidence in our future." Murphy is a seasoned software executive with over 25 years of global experience scaling high-growth SaaS companies. He previously served as Chief Revenue Officer of BlackLine, where he led the go-to-market team through more than 6x revenue growth in four years and helped lead the company through a successful IPO. Prior to that, he spent more than a decade at Infor, where he led the global financial solutions group and played a key role as the company grew to become the third-largest enterprise application software company. Murphy also brings extensive board experience, serving as an Operating Partner at Luminate Capital Partners. "I'm excited to lead AbsenceSoft during this pivotal time," said Chris Murphy. "We have exceptional talent, a differentiated product, and we are in a unique position to expand our market leadership in multiple ways. Our intelligence-first approach to leave management and accommodations positions us to deliver unmatched value to customers navigating increasingly complex compliance requirements. I look forward to working with our team to accelerate innovation and growth." "Chris has proven to be the right leader for AbsenceSoft's next stage of growth," said Hollie Haynes, Founder and Managing Partner at Luminate Capital Partners, AbsenceSoft's majority shareholder. "The company has a huge market opportunity. We wanted a leader who is a builder and category definer. His operational expertise, deep understanding of the business, and clear vision for capturing our market opportunity made this a straightforward decision. Chris is uniquely positioned to accelerate our growth while maintaining our commitment to customer success and product innovation." Under Murphy's leadership, AbsenceSoft plans to make significant investments in AI-powered capabilities and product development to elevate the employee leave experience. The company is accelerating growth across employers of all sizes, state and local governments (SLED), Third Party Administrators (TPAs), and Professional Employee Organizations (PEOs) as organizations increasingly seek intelligent automation to manage complex leave programs and ensure compliance. Chris will also continue to serve as an Operating Partner for Luminate Capital Partners and as a Board Member for Thought Industries, Axonify, and Ease.io. About AbsenceSoft AbsenceSoft is a leading provider of leave and accommodations management SaaS solutions. We deliver scalable, easy-to-use, and configurable software to easily and efficiently manage 200+ statutory policies like FMLA, ADA, and PWFA. Our software streamlines and automates leave and accommodations processes, ensuring compliance with federal and state regulations while elevating the employee experience. Built by leave professionals, for leave professionals, AbsenceSoft is trusted by employers across industries, Third Party Administrators (TPAs), and Professional Employee Organizations (PEOs) to manage over seven million lives. We are widely recognized for our top-tier customer service and robust customer community engagement. Learn more at absencesoft.com or follow the company on LinkedIn . Media Contact Escalate PR for AbsenceSoft AbsenceSoft@EscalatePR.com SOURCE: AbsenceSoft View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/computers-technology-and-internet/absencesoft-names-chris-murphy-chief-executive-officer-1132618 St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - Anteros Metals Inc. (CSE: ANT) ("Anteros" or the "Company") reports on Phase 1 drilling at the Seagull Critical Minerals Project (the "Project"), located approximately 80 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, Ontario. Drilling is being carried out by Rift Minerals Inc. ("Rift"), as operator, pursuant to the option agreement announced on October 9, 2025, under which Anteros may earn up to a 49% interest in the Project. Drill hole RM26-01 reached a depth of approximately 1,230 metres before drilling operations were discontinued on February 2, 2026 due to downhole conditions that prevented further advancement. Following technical assessment by the project operator, the decision was made to abandon the hole. As previously reported on January 21, 2026, RM26-01 intersected localized zones of orthomagmatic sulphide mineralization within the basal cumulate sequence between approximately 588.5 metres and 607.5 metres depth, above the Archean basement contact. These mineralized intervals have been logged and selected for sampling and will be submitted for platinum, palladium, nickel, and copper analysis. Analytical results will be reported when available. As previously reported on January 23, 2026, a pressurized gas occurrence was encountered at approximately 877 metres depth within a narrow fault zone characterized by bleached rock and clay gouge in otherwise competent metasedimentary rocks, approximately 100 metres from gas occurrences reported in historical drill hole WM01-08. The nature, composition, volume, and significance of the gas have not yet been determined. Due to the abandonment of the hole and the resulting loss of access to the gas-bearing interval, no further gas sampling or monitoring is planned from RM26-01. Evaluation of the gas occurrence will therefore be limited to observations and data collected prior to abandonment. Selected fault gouge material associated with the gas occurrence has been retained for potential laboratory analysis, subject to suitability of the material. "While drilling in RM26-01 was discontinued earlier than planned due to downhole conditions, the program successfully achieved its primary geological objectives and delivered valuable new insight into the Seagull Critical Minerals system," said Trumbull Fisher, CEO of Anteros Metals. "The hole confirmed sulphide mineralization within the basal cumulate sequence and provided important geological and structural information consistent with our exploration model. In addition, the identification of a localized gas occurrence adds a useful data point to our evolving geological understanding. These results will help guide future exploration planning at Seagull." The Company will provide further updates as analytical results become available, which will inform ongoing evaluation of next steps for the Seagull Critical Minerals Project. ABOUT THE SEAGULL PROJECT The Project is located approximately 80 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, Ontario, and covers the interpreted mafic-ultramafic Seagull Intrusion within the Nipigon Basin. Historical exploration between 1998 and 2012 included airborne geophysical surveys and approximately 20,000 metres of diamond drilling, which reported disseminated to semi-massive sulphide mineralization containing nickel, copper, and platinum-group elements along parts of the intrusion's basal contact. These results are historical in nature and have not been independently verified by Anteros. In 2024, Rift completed an Ambient Noise Tomography ("ANT") survey to refine the internal geometry of the Seagull Intrusion and to identify subsurface velocity contrasts interpreted to reflect lithological and alteration variations. These interpretations remain unverified by Anteros. QUALIFIED PERSON The scientific and technical information in this news release relating to the Seagull Project was prepared by Rift Minerals Inc. and has been reviewed and approved by Dr. Geoff Heggie, P.Geo. (Ontario), a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. This information has not been independently verified by Anteros Metals Inc. and is provided for geological context only. ABOUT ANTEROS METALS INC. Anteros Metals Inc. is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on advancing a pipeline of projects across Newfoundland and Labrador and select Canadian jurisdictions. The Company applies a technically driven, data-supported exploration approach targeting critical minerals and emerging strategic commodities relevant to the global energy transition. ABOUT RIFT MINERALS INC. Rift Minerals Inc. is a private corporation based in Thunder Bay, Ontario, founded in 2024 by Steven Stares, Michael Stares, Cliff Hickman and Abraham Drost, M.Sc., P.Geo. (Ontario). Rift has completed early-stage exploration work on the Seagull Project, including an Ambient Noise Tomography survey completed by Sisprobe, France. The resulting assessment report has been filed with the Ontario Ministry of Energy and Mines for assessment credit. Additional information about Rift Minerals Inc. is available through publicly accessible sources. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information This news release may contain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All information contained herein that is not historical in nature may constitute forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements herein include but are not limited to statements relating to the prospects for development of the Company's mineral properties, and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to business, market and economic risks, uncertainties and contingencies that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/282519 Source: Anteros Metals Inc. Andersen Consulting strengthens digital transformation offering with the addition of collaborating firm Saratoga Software, a provider of software delivery and specialist technology solutions. Founded in 1998, Saratoga Software provides companies, especially in the financial services and fintech sectors, a comprehensive suite of services, including custom software design and development, business analysis, platform integration and support, quality assurance, project management, and data engineering and business intelligence. With offices in South Africa and the United Kingdom, the firm also specializes in AI and machine learning solutions as well as cloud migration, customer communication management, and strategic technology advisory services. "Our team brings deep engineering expertise, seniority, and a proven ability to solve complex problems qualities that make us trusted advisors for our clients," said Anthony Robinson, executive chairman of Saratoga Software. "Collaborating with an organization like Andersen Consulting is a natural step forward, enabling us to connect with like-minded professionals and deliver even greater impact as companies harness emerging technologies, reimagine their operations, and position themselves for long-term success." "Saratoga Software brings decades of hands-on technology delivery and advisory excellence," said Mark L. Vorsatz, global chairman and CEO of Andersen. "Their breadth of expertise in AI, cloud migration, and technology advisory complements our full-service consulting offerings, enabling us to help clients lead transformation with confidence." Andersen Consulting is a global consulting practice providing a comprehensive suite of services spanning corporate strategy, business, technology, and AI transformation, as well as human capital solutions. Andersen Consulting integrates with the multidimensional service model of Andersen Global, delivering world-class consulting, tax, legal, valuation, global mobility, and advisory expertise on a global platform with more than 50,000 professionals worldwide and a presence in over 1,000 locations through its member firms and collaborating firms. Andersen Consulting Holdings LP is a limited partnership and provides consulting solutions through its member firms and collaborating firms around the world. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260203253381/en/ Contacts: mediainquiries@Andersen.com Ivanhoe Mines, Gecamines and Mercuria in advanced discussions to supply the United States with critical minerals produced by Kipushi Mine Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN) (OTCQX: IVPAF) Executive Co-Chairman Robert Friedland joined the President of the United States of America Donald J. Trump for the launch of Project Vault, a $12 billion domestic critical minerals stockpile. Ivanhoe Mines is in advanced discussions with Gecamines, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) state-owned mining company, as well as metals and energy trading firm, Mercuria, to supply to the United States with critical minerals contained within the concentrate produced by the ultra-high-grade Kipushi zinc-copper-lead-germanium-gallium mine located in the DRC. Project Vault is a United States supply chain security initiative set up to build a reserve of strategic critical minerals. The initiative is set to combine $1.67 billion in private capital with a $10 billion loan from the Export-Import Bank of the United States that will procure and store critical minerals in the United States for civilian use. Project Vault was officially launched on February 2, 2026 in the Oval Office at the White House, in Washington DC, during a press conference hosted by President Trump. In attendance from the mining and manufacturing industries were Ivanhoe Mines' Founder and Executive Co-Chairman Robert Friedland and General Motors' Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra. The presidential delegation in attendance included Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, and other senior members of the House and Senate. In addition, Chairman and President of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, John Jovanovic, and David J. Copley, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director at the National Security Council, were also in attendance. Watch the video of Ivanhoe Mines Founder and Executive Co-Chairman during the Project Vault press conference inside the Oval Office at the White House: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/1161347538 https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/1161347538 Link to the full press conference: https://www.whitehouse.gov/videos/president-trump-participates-in-signing-time-feb-2-2026/ Ivanhoe Mines, Gecamines and Mercuria in advanced discussions for the offtake of Kipushi zinc concentrate, which includes critical minerals including germanium and gallium, to U.S. markets Advanced discussions are underway between Ivanhoe Mines and its partner in the Kipushi Mine, Gecamines, together with existing offtaker Mercuria Energy Trading SA (Mercuria) of Geneva, Switzerland. Under the proposed agreement, Mercuria's current offtake of Kipushi's zinc concentrate will be assigned to the trading division of Gecamines, in addition to excess volumes generated following the successful debottlenecking and ramp-up of Kipushi's concentrator in Q4 2025. The 2026 production guidance for the Kipushi Mine is set at 240,000 to 290,000 tonnes of zinc concentrate. Concentrate produced by the Kipushi Mine also includes significant quantities of germanium and gallium, two highly strategic critical minerals. Gecamines has the potential to be responsible for the sale of up to 50% of the Kipushi Mine's concentrate production, including to the U.S., where plans to build a new major base metals and critical minerals smelter is underway. As announced on December 15, 2025, Korea Zinc and the U.S. Government announced a $7.4 billion investment for a new state-of-the-art integrated smelter complex to be built as a public-private partnership in Clarksville, Tennessee. The Kipushi Mine's 2018 Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources estimated 11.78 million tonnes, grading 35.34% zinc, 0.80% copper, 23 grams per tonne (g/t) silver and 64 g/t germanium, at a 7% zinc cut-off. Kipushi's Mineral Resources contain an estimated 9.2 billion pounds of zinc, 8.7 million ounces of silver and 24.4 million ounces of germanium. When Kipushi's Mineral Resource was estimated in 2018, gallium was assayed but not included in the resource. As recently as 8 years ago, financial market interest and the prices for critical raw materials were much lower. That has since changed following the advancement of AI and big data centers. For example, today's high-tech semi-conductors require gallium. Kipushi's 2025 concentrate assays contain up to 90 g/t of germanium and up to 70 g/t of gallium. Germanium is a strategic metal used today in electronic devices, flat-panel display screens, light-emitting diodes, night-vision devices, optical fibres, optical lens systems, and solar power arrays. Gallium is a strategic metal used to manufacture compound semiconductor wafers for integrated circuits and optoelectronic devices such as laser diodes, light-emitting diodes, photodetectors, and solar cells. About Ivanhoe Mines Ivanhoe Mines is a Canadian mining company focused on advancing its three principal operations in Southern Africa; the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the DRC, the ultra-high-grade Kipushi zinc-copper-germanium-silver mine, also in the DRC; and the tier-one Platreef platinum-palladium-nickel-rhodium-gold-copper mine in South Africa. Ivanhoe Mines is exploring for copper in its highly prospective, 54-100% owned exploration licences in the Western Forelands, covering an area over six times larger than the adjacent Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex, including the high- grade discoveries in the Makoko District. Ivanhoe is also exploring for new sedimentary copper discoveries in new horizons including Angola, Kazakhstan, and Zambia. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/282518 Source: Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. LONDON, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- FCA-regulated global CFD and spread betting provider, Trade Nation, is pleased to announce that it has won the category of "Best Forex and CFD Broker in the UK" at the 2025 TradingView Broker Awards. The accolade was awarded to Trade Nation as the winner for the United Kingdom due to the reviews received on their TradingView broker profile. The reviews evidence how Trade Nation is valued by its customers for its product offering, low-cost fixed spreads, low commissions and above all, customer service. The award win is yet further testament to the exceptional service Trade Nation provides, whilst not resting on their laurels, as the broker is always looking to enhance the trading experience for all their customers globally. 2026 will see exciting new developments for Trade Nation as they aim to win more similar recognition in the years ahead. Jon Noble,?Chief Executive Officer at Trade Nation, said: "We are thrilled to be recognised as the 'Best Forex and CFD broker in the UK - 2025' by TradingView. It's wonderful to see our dedication to providing a world class, value for money CFD offering getting the recognition it deserves." Georgi Denichin, UK Growth & Partnerships Lead at TradingView, said: "We are excited to recognise Trade Nation at the annual Broker Awards for a second year in a row. Based on TradingView reviews from verified traders, this award is a testament to Trade Nation's continuous commitment to excellence and client service in the UK throughout 2025." Some of the reviews from customers include the below comments and highlight just how satisfied their customers are: "Great broker. Good communication and quick respond time. I would strongly recommend." - 5/5 star rating. "I really appreciate the service I am getting from trade nation! it gives me trust and when it comes to my money trust is all I want. try them out guys you will love it." - 5/5 star rating. "Trade Nation has been reliable for my indices trades, with smooth execution even during volatile sessions." - 5/5 star rating. About Trade Nation Trade Nation is a global CFD and spread betting provider, regulated in multiple jurisdictions, including the UK, where it is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Founded in 2014, Trade Nation has grown into an award-winning fintech and financial services firm with offices across London, Sydney, Johannesburg, Seychelles, Malaysia, and The Bahamas. With a management team with over 200 years of industry experience, Trade Nation is dedicated to ensuring it offers the best trading and investing services. 72.9 - 82.9% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. W:? https://tradenation.com/ T:? https://twitter.com/itstradenation L:? https://www.linkedin.com/company/itstradenation/ About TradingView TradingView is a charting and trading platform used by 100M+ traders and investors worldwide to spot opportunities across global markets. It provides an arena where hard work and calculated risks can lead to incredible success, helping traders make smarter trading decisions with the best tools and the best community. Risk Warnings and Disclaimer ?Financial Spread Bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 72.9 - 82.9% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Past performance is not indicative of future results. This communication is for informational purposes only and should not be viewed as any form of recommendation as to a particular course of action or as investment advice. It is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial instrument or as an official confirmation of any transaction. Opinions, estimates and assumptions expressed herein are made as of the date of this communication and are subject to change without notice. This communication has been prepared based upon information, including market prices, data and other information, believed to be reliable; however, Trade Nation does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. All market prices and market data contained in or attached to this communication are indicative and subject to change without notice. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2875936/Trade_Nation_Broker_Award.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/trade-nation-recognised-by-tradingview-as-best-forex-and-cfd-broker-uk-302677767.html VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / February 3, 2026 / Lupaka Gold Corp. ("Lupaka" or the "Company") (TSXV:LPK)(FRA:LQP) advises as to current progress in receiving the proceeds of the ICSID Arbitration Award initially announced by the Company on July 2, 2025. Having received no direct response from the Government of Peru regarding its intended Award payment timeline, the Company is pursuing other avenues to collect the Award. In this regard, the Company has identified significant Peruvian assets in various jurisdictions and is proceeding with the legal processes involved to attach and/or seize such assets. Gordon Ellis (CEO) commented "When the Award was issued on June 30, 2025 the amount payable was approximately US$65 million. Due to the accruing interest, the amount payable has grown to US$67.7 million as at December 31, 2025, and it continues to climb. We look forward to being able to announce that Peru has fulfilled their obligations under the ICSID Arbitration Award and thereby demonstrating their acknowledgement of compliance with the Canada - Peru Free Trade Agreement. Meanwhile, we continue to be pleased to have the full support of Benchwalk, our funding partner, as we move forward in our collection efforts." Further, the Company has instigated a media campaign focused on the mining industry and government and business in general in Peru outlining the Award and Peru's related obligations and the fact that Peru is delinquent in meeting said obligations. To date, there has been a wide response to the media campaign within Peru. See https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-19/gold-miner-plots-seizure-of-peru-assets-over-67-million-arbitration-debt for one such example. Finally, a recent occurrence that speaks favourably to the Company's collection efforts is that the Republic of Peru paid another ICSID arbitration award in January 2026. Kuntur Wasi S.A.is a private consortium that Peru contracted to build a new airport in Cusco, Peru. After believing that they had been inappropriately dismissed, Kuntur Wasi took the Republic of Peru to arbitration through ICSID resulting in ICSID issuing an award of US$91 million in 2024 which Peru paid last month. This indicates that Peru has the available means and will to honour their commitments under International Trade Agreements. Award Background: In December 2019, the Company initiated an arbitration claim against the Republic of Peru under the Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement. The related arbitration process was conducted through the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and continued until the ICSID Tribunal issued an Award in favour of the Company on June 30, 2025. Subsequent to the Award date, Peru had 120 days in which to challenge the Award via a request for an annulment. The 120-day period passed on October 28, 2025, with no annulment being requested. Having no further recourse, the Republic of Peru must pay the Award amounts, otherwise risking serious impacts to its desired reputation as a welcoming mining jurisdiction that protects foreign investment. For ongoing updates and more detail with respect to the Arbitration Award, please refer to the Company's website (www.lupakagold.com/projects/arbitration). For background on the basis for the Claim, please refer to the Company's previous news releases, also available on the Company's website (www.lupakagold.com/news). Lupaka was represented in the arbitration proceedings by the international law firm LALIVE (www.lalive.law), with the financial backing of Bench Walk Advisors (www.benchwalk.com). Both firms continue to be involved until the Award proceeds are received. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as the term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy of this news release. About Lupaka Gold Lupaka is a Canadian-based company focused on creating shareholder value through the identification and development of mining assets. About LALIVE LALIVE is an international law firm with offices in Geneva, Zurich and London, that specializes in international dispute resolution. The firm has extensive experience in international investment arbitration in the mining sector, amongst others, and is currently representing investors and States as counsel worldwide. About Bench Walk Advisors Bench Walk Advisors is a global litigation financier with over USD 250 million of capital deployed across in excess of 100 commercial cases. Bench Walk and its principals have consistently been ranked as leading lawyers and litigation funders in various global directories. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Gordon Ellis, C.E.O. gellis@lupakagold.com Tel: (604) 985-3147 or visit the Company's profile at www.sedar.com or its website at www.lupakagold.com SOURCE: Lupaka Gold Corp. View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/metals-and-mining/arbitration-award-update-february-3-2026-1132888 WASHINGTON, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Glencore and the Orion Critical Mineral Consortium ("Orion CMC") announce that they have entered into a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding in relation to a potential acquisition by Orion CMC of a 40% stake in Glencore's interests in its Democratic Republic of Congo ("DRC") assets, Mutanda Mining ("Mumi") and Kamoto Copper Company ("KCC"). The transaction is expected to imply a combined enterprise value for Mumi and KCC of around $9 billion. Orion CMC will have the right to appoint non-executive directors in respect of the assets and direct the sale of the relevant share of production from the assets to nominated buyers, in accordance with the U.S.-DRC Strategic Partnership Agreement, thereby securing critical minerals for the United States and its partners. Mumi and KCC would continue to be managed as part of the Glencore Group. Glencore and Orion CMC will also look for opportunities to expand and develop Mumi and KCC, working with the DRC Government and Gecamines, Glencore's existing partner in KCC, as well as to acquire additional critical mineral projects and assets in the DRC and the African copper belt more broadly. Established in October 2025 and led by Orion Resource Partners in partnership with the U.S. government, Orion CMC is a mission-driven consortium designed to support the United States and its allied and partner nations to develop secure, responsible, and resilient supply chains for the critical minerals that underpin future economic growth and security. The proposed transaction remains subject to due diligence, the execution of legally binding documentation and any applicable regulatory approvals. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, said: "The United States government is fully committed to the Washington Accords and ensuring peace, stability and prosperity throughout the entire Great Lakes region. This proposed transaction between Glencore and the US-backed Orion Critical Mineral Consortium reflects the core objectives of the U.S.-DRC Strategic Partnership Agreement by encouraging greater U.S. investment in the DRC's mining sector and promoting secure, reliable, and mutually beneficial flows of critical minerals between our two countries. We look forward to continued close engagement with the DRC government to advance this transaction in a manner that delivers benefits for both our peoples and sets a positive example for future U.S. investment." DFC CEO Ben Black, said "This proposed partnership between Orion CMC and Glencore has the potential to bring significant returns for both the United States and the DRC. CMC's potential investment would reflect the growing relationship between the U.S. and the DRC, help secure a reliable source of critical minerals for the United States and our partners, and drive economic opportunity and regional stability for the DRC." Gary Nagle, CEO of Glencore, said: "We are pleased that the U.S. Government and Orion CMC have recognized Glencore's role as the only major Western producer of copper and cobalt in the DRC, through our high-quality assets, Mumi and KCC. Through this partnership, we would be able to support the ambitions of the U.S. Government and private sector with the supply of two critical minerals." "The proposed transaction also represents a significant vote of confidence in the DRC Government's ongoing efforts to attract major foreign investment to the country and further develop its mining industry. As the world's largest producer of cobalt and one of the largest copper producers, the DRC plays a vital role in supporting the technology, defense and critical infrastructure roll-out of today and the future." Oskar Lewnowski, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Orion Resource Partners LP, said: "This proposed transaction is exactly what Orion CMC was established to achieve - securing long-life, high-quality production of critical minerals while supporting resilient supply chains for the United States and its allies. It underscores both the scale of the opportunity and the strategic importance of the Consortium's mission, and this partnership will create a strong platform from which Orion CMC can further develop critical mineral assets and pursue additional investment opportunities. We look forward to working closely with Glencore and the U.S. DFC to advance these shared ambitions." About Glencore Glencore is one of the world's largest global diversified natural resource companies and a major producer and marketer of more than 60 commodities that advance everyday life. Through a network of assets, customers and suppliers that spans the globe, we produce, process, recycle, source, market and distribute the commodities that advance everyday life. KCC's operations produce copper and cobalt hydroxide from its two open pit mines and one underground mine and Mumi's operations produce copper and cobalt from its three open pit mines, providing raw ore feed for our copper and cobalt production facilities. In 2025, KCC and Mumi produced a combined 247.8kt copper metal and 33.5 kt cobalt contained in concentrates and hydroxides. In 2025, both KCC and Mumi achieved The Copper Mark, after comprehensive self and independent assessments to evaluate the sites' alignment with 33 globally recognized criteria on responsible mining. About Orion CMC Orion CMC is an investment consortium led by Orion Resource Partners LP, and includes the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). Orion CMC represents one of the largest initiatives aimed at creating secure supply chains for critical minerals to the United States and its allies. About Orion Resource Partners Orion Resource Partners LP is a global investment firm specializing in the metals and materials critical to sustainable economic growth and energy transition, with more than $8 billion of assets under management and a team of more than 80 professionals across five global offices. Orion has successfully invested across the metals and materials value chain for over a decade, operating complementary investment strategies spanning the full liquidity spectrum, finding and capturing opportunities driven by the long-term trends of global decarbonization, the constrained supply of critical resources, and advancements in industrial technologies. Orion is a signatory to the UN PRI and the IFC Performance Standards on Environmental and Social Sustainability. For more information visit www.orionrp.com Greenbrook Peter Hewer, Cecilie Oerting Email: orionresourcepartners@greenbrookadvisory.com Tel: +44 (0) 20 7952-2000 View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/proposed-acquisition-by-us-backed-orion-critical-mineral-consortium-of-a-strategic-stake-in-glencores-drc-assets-302677770.html DELRAY BEACH, Fla., Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- According to MarketsandMarkets, the Microscopy Market is projected to grow from about USD 8.81 billion in 2025 to USD 11.44 billion by 2031, at a CAGR of 5.5%. Browse 300 market data Tables and 80 Figures spread through 390 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Microscopy Market - Global Forecast to 2031" Microscopy Market Size & Forecast: Market Size Available for Years: 2025-2031 2025-2031 2025 Market Size: USD 8.81 billion USD 8.81 billion 2031 Projected Market Size: USD 11.44 billion USD 11.44 billion CAGR (2026-2031): 5.5% Microscopy Market Trends & Insights: For 2025, the semiconductors & electronics industry segment held the largest share of 31% of the global microscopy market as of 2025. The semiconductors & electronics applications segment accounts for 38% of market share as of 2025. The optical microscopes segment dominated the global microscopy market with a share of 37% in 2025. Download PDF Brochure @ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=399 The global microscopy market demand is fueled by recent advancements in digital and super-resolution microscopy, coupled with AI and machine learning to improve imaging analysis and automation, as well as by increased R&D investments in life sciences and nanotechnology. In addition, new applications of nanotechnology in fields such as nanoparticle characterization, semiconductor metrology, cell biology, infectious disease studies, and personalized medicine are driving the installation of microscopy platforms in key markets. By product, Optical microscopes dominated the global microscopy market as of 2025. optical microscopes dominated the market in 2025 owing to the significant installed base across the US, EU, and APAC; supportive regulations that promote the adoption of advanced optical microscopes in the research & healthcare; and continued rise in research funding across mature markets in the field of material science, nanotechnology, & automation. The optical microscopes cost significantly less than electron and confocal microscopes, which enables widespread adoption in labs, education, and industry. The advantage of price/cost makes the total addressable market for optical microscopes larger than the other microscope categories. The ease of operation also adds more value and volume to the demand for optical microscopes. Users require minimal training, as samples image in air or water with natural color output, unlike vacuum-bound SEMs needing skilled operators. Optical microscopy also offers versatility in applications. The technique is suitable for living cells, tissues, and routine inspections in biology, pathology, and quality control, where sub-200nm resolution suffices for most tasks. Non-destructive imaging preserves samples, unlike electron methods requiring fixation. All these factors have helped optical microscopes as a product to acquire a significant share of the market. Request Sample Pages@https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=399 By end user, Semiconductor & electronics industry holds the largest share in the end-user market. the semiconductor & electronics industry dominated the market in 2025, owing to the establishment of new semiconductor manufacturing capacity in the US, Europe, India, and Japan; rising investments in semiconductor research to develop advanced chips, evolving regulatory mandates by various governments, and increased adoption of advanced microscopy technologies. A shift towards more miniaturized electronic and semiconductor components has really contributed to the demand for microscopy. Shrinking semiconductor nodes to 3nm and beyond requires high-resolution imaging for nanostructures invisible to optical methods alone, boosting electron microscope adoption. Microscopes enable sub-micron defect identification in wafers, solder joints, and ICs, critical for high-yield production where even minor flaws cause failures. Techniques like SEM and TEM support failure analysis, reducing downtime in high-volume fabs. Such use cases have promoted the adoption of microscopy in defect detection needs/methods. Asia Pacific will register the highest growth in the microscopy market during the forecast period. the Asia Pacific is poised to grow the fastest during the forecast period, driven by the higher outsourcing of research coupled with new installations, growing manufacturing capacity in the semiconductor & pharma-biotech industry, evolving regulatory mandates that aim to support the adoption of new microscopy technologies, and product affordability owing to localized manufacturing. Governments in China, Japan, and India are directing funds into research infrastructure and initiatives to boost nanotechnology and biotech labs. Semiconductor industries in Taiwan, South Korea, and China are driving demand for SEM/TEM in wafer inspection and defect analysis. The region gains an advantage in terms of cost and manufacturing liabilities. Low-cost labor, raw materials, and local OEMs enable affordable microscope production, reducing reliance on imports and spurring adoption in electronics and healthcare. All these factors have helped the Asia Pacific region to show significant growth in the forecast period. Inquire Before Buying@https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_BuyingNew.asp?id=399 Top Companies in Microscopy Market: The Top Companies in Microscopy Market include Carl Zeiss AG (Germany), Thermo Fisher Scientific (US), EVIDENT SCIENTIFIC (Japan), Danaher Corporation (US), Nikon Corporation (Japan), JEOL Ltd. (Japan), Oxford Instruments plc (UK), Hitachi High-Tech Corporation (Japan), Keyence Corporation (Japan), Shimadzu Corporation (Japan), Euromex (Netherlands), Bruker Corporation (US) and Helmut Hund GmbH (Germany), among others. Browse Adjacent Markets: Analytical and Scientific Instrumentation Market Research Reports & Consulting Related Reports: Life Science Instrumentation Market - Global Forecast to 2031 Live Cell Imaging Market - Global Forecast to 2030 Single Cell Analysis Market - Global Forecast to 2030 Microplastic Analysis Market - Global Forecast to 2030 Photoacoustic Imaging Market - Global Forecast to 2029 About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets has been recognized as one of America's Best Management Consulting Firms by Forbes, as per their recent report. MarketsandMarkets is a blue ocean alternative in growth consulting and program management, leveraging a man-machine offering to drive supernormal growth for progressive organizations in the B2B space. With the widest lens on emerging technologies, we are proficient in co-creating supernormal growth for clients across the globe. Today, 80% of Fortune 2000 companies rely on MarketsandMarkets, and 90 of the top 100 companies in each sector trust us to accelerate their revenue growth. With a global clientele of over 13,000 organizations, we help businesses thrive in a disruptive ecosystem. The B2B economy is witnessing the emergence of $25 trillion in new revenue streams that are replacing existing ones within this decade. We work with clients on growth programs, helping them monetize this $25 trillion opportunity through our service lines - TAM Expansion, Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy to Execution, Market Share Gain, Account Enablement, and Thought Leadership Marketing. Built on the 'GIVE Growth' principle, we collaborate with several Forbes Global 2000 B2B companies to keep them future-ready. Our insights and strategies are powered by industry experts, cutting-edge AI, and our Market Intelligence Cloud, KnowledgeStore, which integrates research and provides ecosystem-wide visibility into revenue shifts. 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Contact: Mr. Rohan Salgarkar MarketsandMarkets INC. 1615 South Congress Ave. Suite 103, Delray Beach, FL 33445 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1868219/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/microscopy-market-worth-11-44-billion-by-2031--marketsandmarkets-302677152.html Miami, Florida--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - Chealse Sophia Howell, former Miss Canada titleholder, Miss Universe Canada delegate, international model, and entrepreneur, has filed a civil lawsuit according to court filings, in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court in and for Miami-Dade County, Florida, alleging defamation and tortious interference against Grant Cardone and Cardone Capital, LLC. Chealse Sophia Howell is a former Miss Canada titleholder, international model, and entrepreneur known for her presence on global runways, red carpets, and in leading fashion publications. She founded Toronto-based Haute Agency in 2014 and later launched the beauty brand Sophia. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/12164/281993_chealse_sophia_howell.jpg Ms. Howell alleges Grant Cardone engaged in a coordinated campaign to publish false and damaging statements about her across social media platforms. The lawsuit claims these statements falsely accused Ms. Howell of criminal conduct, including human trafficking in the Middle East, allegations she denies. The complaint further alleges the statements were amplified to millions of viewers through the defendants' substantial social media reach and marketing platforms, allegedly resulting in significant and irreparable harm to Ms. Howell's personal and professional reputation. Ms. Howell claims that the alleged conduct caused the loss of business opportunities, endorsement relationships, professional contracts, as well as severe emotional distress and concerns for her personal safety and well-being. According to the filing, Mr. Cardone's alleged conduct was intentional, malicious, designed to intimidate, damage Ms. Howell personally and professionally. Ms. Howell's complaint asserts multiple causes of action, including defamation per se, defamation per quod, defamation by implication, tortious interference with advantageous business relationships, and tortious interference with contractual relations. She is seeking compensatory and punitive damages totaling $500 million, along with injunctive relief to prevent further alleged defamatory conduct, attorneys' fees, and costs. Ms. Howell has also demanded a jury trial. "This case is about the real-world consequences of digital defamation through social media," said Ms. Howell's Miami attorney, Douglas J. Jeffrey. "When an individual with significant public influence uses social media in a manner that causes harm, the law provides a clear path for recourse. We intend to vindicate Ms. Howell's good name and reputation to ensure that the truth is the final word in this matter." Chealse Sophia Howell v. Grant Cardone and Cardone Capital, LLC, Miami-Dade County Case No. 25-024299-CA-01 Filing Date December 11, 2025 https://www.miamidadeclerk.gov/clerk/civil-court.page This press release contains allegations from a civil complaint. All claims remain allegations, and no findings of fact have been made by the court. About Chealse Sophia Howell founded a talent agency and a beauty product company. She has worked with global brands and publications throughout her career. https://www.hauteagency.net/ https://www.instagram.com/hauteagency?igsh=N255OXhhcGN5NG9l http://www.shop-sophia.net https://www.instagram.com/shop.sophia?igsh=bjQ3bHVrZnB2MnZh To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/281993 Source: TMedia Partners MIAMI, FLORIDA / ACCESS Newswire / February 3, 2026 / Remergify, a leader in blockchain-based security solutions, today announced the release of a comprehensive white paper through its TrustNFT.io division addressing the growing crisis of brand impersonation scams and collapsing customer communication effectiveness. The white paper, titled "Protecting Your Brand in the Age of Phone Scams: How Blockchain-Verified Employee Credentials Reduce Scam Exposure and Transform Customer Support," presents a revolutionary approach to solving two critical problems facing modern businesses: preventing criminals from impersonating company employees and dramatically improving answer rates for legitimate customer communications. The Crisis by the Numbers According to the white paper, Americans lost over $30 billion to phone impersonation scams in 2025, with major brands like banks, healthcare providers, and utilities being the most frequently impersonated. This epidemic has created a devastating side effect: customers now ignore legitimate calls from the companies they trust, resulting in answer rates plummeting to just 18% across industries. "Every company faces the same challenge," said Stuart Fine, CEO of Remergify. "Scammers are impersonating your employees to defraud your customers, and even when you call customers yourself, they don't answer because they can't tell the difference between you and the criminals. This is costing businesses billions in lost revenue, damaged reputation, and operational inefficiency." The Blockchain Solution The white paper details Remergify's innovative TrustNFT.io platform, which combines two breakthrough technologies: Blockchain-Verified Employee Credentials: Daily dynamic NFTs that prove employee identity through unfakeable blockchain verification, allowing customers to confirm they're speaking with legitimate company representatives. Consent-Based Calling: A revolutionary approach that asks customers for permission before calling, improving answer rates from 18% to 59%-a 228% improvement. Industry Impact The research presents specific ROI analyses across multiple sectors: Healthcare : Reducing no-show rates from 12% to 6.8%, saving $20.6 billion annually across the industry Banking : Preventing an additional $420 million in fraud per major institution by improving fraud alert answer rates from 8% to 62% Insurance: Reducing claims processing time from 7 days to 3 days through improved customer contact "The ROI is undeniable," Fine continued. "Companies implementing our platform can see significant returns in the first year. This isn't just about preventing fraud-it's about fundamentally transforming how businesses communicate with customers in an era where trust has been destroyed by scammers." Key White Paper Findings Current industry answer rate for outbound customer calls: 18% Answer rate with consent-based calling: 59% Improvement: 228% Customer satisfaction increase: Average +28 NPS points First-call resolution improvement: From 45% to 75% Typical ROI: 2,000-4,000% in first year Technological Innovation The TrustNFT.io platform leverages blockchain technology to create daily employee credentials that cannot be forged, stolen, or reused. Each employee receives a unique 6-digit verification code linked to their blockchain NFT, which customers can verify in seconds through the company's mobile app. "What makes this unfakeable is the combination of biometric verification, blockchain immutability, and real-time customer confirmation," explained Fine. "A scammer would need to actually work for your company, pass daily biometric checks, and have access to your systems. It's cryptographically impossible to fake." Availability and Next Steps The complete white paper is now available for download at reputation.trustnft.io/whitepaper. The document provides detailed technical specifications, implementation roadmaps, ROI calculators, and case studies from pilot programs. Remergify is offering complimentary consultations to enterprises interested in deploying the TrustNFT.io platform. Organizations can request a personalized demonstration and ROI analysis specific to their industry and call volume. "Every day companies wait, they're losing money to preventable fraud and missing opportunities to connect with customers," Fine concluded. "We've solved this problem. The technology is ready. The time to act is now." About Remergify Remergify is a Miami-based technology company specializing in blockchain-based security and verification solutions. Through its TrustNFT.io division, Remergify provides enterprise-grade employee credential verification systems that protect brands from impersonation while dramatically improving customer communication effectiveness. The company serves clients across healthcare, financial services, insurance, telecommunications, and government sectors. About TrustNFT.io TrustNFT.io is Remergify's blockchain verification platform that combines unfakeable employee credentials with consent-based communication strategies. The platform has been piloted with organizations serving over 10 million customers, demonstrating consistent improvements in answer rates, fraud prevention, and customer satisfaction. Media Contact: Stuart Fine Chief Executive Officer Remergify Email: stuart@remergify.com Phone: 908-356-9852 Website: https://reputation.trustnft.io Download White Paper: https://reputation.trustnft.io/whitepaper Request Demo: https://reputation.trustnft.io/demo SOURCE: Remergify, Inc. View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/publishing-and-media/remergifys-trustnft.io-division-releases-groundbreaking-white-paper-on-blockch-1132985 Golden, Colorado--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - CoorsTek Bioceramics, a leading supplier of implantable ceramic components for orthopaedic devices, has further established its right to market and sell its pink ceramic hip components in the European Union after the French Supreme Court ruled in favor of CoorsTek in its trademark dispute with CeramTec GmbH. To view the full announcement, including downloadable images, bios, and more, click here. Key Takeaways: CoorsTek Bioceramics has further established its right to market and sell its pink ceramic hip components in the European Union after the French Supreme Court ruled in favor of CoorsTek in its trademark dispute with CeramTec GmbH. This case follows on the recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to decline review in a similar legal action. By declining review, the U.S. Supreme Court effectively ended CeramTec's efforts to claim trademark rights to the color pink for ceramic hip components in the United States. The French Supreme Court upheld the cancellation of the three CeramTec trademarks by the Paris court of appeal. The Court held that Ceramtec had filed for trademark of its pink components in bad faith and that at the time of the trademark filing, CeramTec knew the pink color was not simply a brand indicator. Click image above to view full announcement. About CoorsTek Bioceramics CoorsTek Bioceramics is dedicated to leading-edge manufacturing of technical ceramic implant components for the medical device industry. A wholly owned subsidiary of CoorsTek, Inc., CoorsTek Bioceramics is backed by over 110 years of technical ceramics expertise. With a focus on ceramic bearing surfaces for total joint arthroplasty, CoorsTek Bioceramics components can also be found in implant devices for neurological, cardiological, spinal, and radiation applications. Since 2005, over six million CoorsTek Bioceramics components have been sold and distributed for clinical use. About CoorsTek Founded in 1910 and continuously owned and operated by the Coors Family, CoorsTek is a leading global manufacturer of technical ceramics. By leveraging expertise in engineering and materials science, CoorsTek provides solutions to complex challenges in the medical, semiconductor, aerospace, energy, and other industries. With over 400 proprietary material formulations, vertically integrated systems, and unparalleled process capabilities, CoorsTek partners with its customers to make the world measurably better. Source: CoorsTek To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/282526 Source: Reportable, Inc. Strategic acquisition expands tax advisory, estate planning, and high-net-worth client capabilities NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK / ACCESS Newswire / February 3, 2026 / Stable Rock Solutions LLC ("Stable Rock"), a leading outsourcing firm specializing in comprehensive back-office solutions today announced its acquisition of BMW Management CPA, P.C., ("BMW Management"), a certified public accounting firm based in White Plains, New York. BMW Management provides business management and tax accounting services to corporations and high-net-worth individuals. This combination significantly expands Stable Rock's tax advisory, estate planning, and specialized financial services capabilities. Founded by Ben Wetchler, BMW Management has served clients across a diverse range of industries for more than 30 years, The firm's offerings include tax preparation and planning, corporate structure advisory services, FINRA financial and operations principal services, business and family office services, estate planning, and payroll tax services. "BMW Management has built an exceptional reputation over three decades by delivering sophisticated tax and financial advisory services to businesses and high-net-worth clients with complex needs," said Boris Onefater, Co-Founder of Stable Rock. "Ben and his team bring deep technical expertise, long-standing client relationships, and a strong commitment to excellence that aligns seamlessly with our values. This acquisition meaningfully strengthens our ability to support clients across the full spectrum of financial, operational, and tax advisory needs." As part of the transaction, Ben Wetchler will continue to lead the practice and will work closely with Stable Rock's leadership team to integrate BMW Management's specialized capabilities into Stable Rock's broader service platform. "Joining Stable Rock allows us to expand the resources and capabilities available to our clients while preserving the personalized, high-touch service model they value," said Ben Wetchler, President of BMW Management. "Stable Rock's focus on operational excellence and client service closely mirrors our own, and together we are well positioned to deliver even greater value to high-net-worth individuals, families, and businesses navigating increasingly complex financial and tax environments." "This acquisition is a natural strategic fit," said Greg Farrington, Co-Founder of Stable Rock. "Clients are increasingly seeking integrated solutions that address both strategic planning and day-to-day execution. Ben's expertise in tax strategy and business management for high-net-worth clients significantly enhances our ability to meet those needs." Enhanced Capabilities for Clients Through the acquisition of BMW Management, Stable Rock expands its ability to provide clients with: Comprehensive tax preparation, planning, and compliance services Sophisticated estate planning and wealth transfer strategies Business management services for high-net-worth individuals and families Corporate structure optimization and strategic tax advisory services Financial and operations principal services for regulated entities Integrated payroll tax services and compliance support The entire BMW Management team, including its experienced accountants and specialists, will join Stable Rock and continue serving clients from Stable Rock's Westchester office in Elmsford, New York, ensuring continuity of service and a seamless transition. About Stable Rock Solutions LLC Stable Rock is a leading outsourcing firm specializing in comprehensive back-office infrastructure and innovative services for organizations of all sizes. With expertise spanning finance, accounting, operations, human resources, insurance, technology, and AI & automation, Stable Rock partners with early-stage startups, mid-sized companies, and established enterprises to build scalable, efficient operational foundations that support sustainable growth. Through a combination of strategic guidance, hands-on execution, and cutting-edge technology, Stable Rock delivers measurable results that enable clients to focus on their core business while maintaining financial integrity, operational excellence, and a competitive advantage. About BMW Management CPA, P.C. BMW Management CPA, P.C. is a White Plains, New York-based accounting and business management firm providing personalized accounting, tax, and financial advisory services to individuals, families, and closely held businesses. The firm specializes in serving high-net-worth clients and companies across a broad range of industries, delivering hands-on support across business management, financial reporting, and comprehensive tax planning with a strong focus on continuity, trust, and long-term relationships. For more information, visit www.stablerock.com. For media inquiries and further information, please contact: Greg Farrington, Co-Founder / info@stablerock.com SOURCE: Stable Rock Solutions View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/business-and-professional-services/stable-rock-acquires-bmw-management-cpa-p.c.-expanding-tax-and-h-1132614 Authorization clears the way for customers to enter Brazil's $40 billion pharmaceutical market The Seattle facility of AGC Biologics, your friendly CDMO expert, has received a Good Manufacturing Practices Certification fromAgencia Nacional de Vigilancia Sanitaria (Anvisa), Brazil's health regulatory authority. The authorization allows biologics and biosimilars produced at the site to be commercialized in Brazil, the largest pharmaceutical market in South America, further extending the global reach of AGC Biologics' customers. "This certification ensures that our customers are able to deliver product to patients in need of treatment in the Brazilian market," said Marty Shawala, Senior Vice President, Quality, AGC Biologics. "It reflects how our teams work collaboratively across departments and throughout the network to meet required quality standards and maintaining the business strategy associated with our customer's regulatory submission." According to a report from Fortune Business Insights, Brazil's pharmaceutical market is poised to grow to nearly $74 billion in 2032, with biologics and biosimilars representing 40% of the market in 2024. A consistent global quality record This achievement underscores AGC Biologics' commitment to maintaining a consistent, global quality record that helps partners secure regulatory approval in key markets. In September 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a final Establishment Inspection Report confirming the Seattle site's full cGMP compliance. The Seattle site is now a cGMP-certified facility in 11 different countries, demonstrating its ability to meet diverse international standards. Seattle is the second manufacturing facility in the AGC Biologics network to receive GMP certification from Anvisa, with the Copenhagen site receiving GMP certification from the agency in 2023. This shared approval status can facilitate tech transfers between sites when needed. In 2025, the Seattle facility completed: 11 successful customer audits ISO 45001 and ISO 14001 certification audits with zero non-conformities a 100% batch success rate AGC Biologics achieves these regulatory and production milestones with a cohesive global quality system built on harmonized documentation, regulatory expertise, and best-practice sharing between sister sites. Company focused on delivering additional regulatory approvals for customers "With every inspection, our team becomes more prepared for the next, and this Anvisa certification is a testament to that momentum as well as the strength of our global quality systems," said Kathleen Retzloff, Senior Director of Quality for AGC Biologics' Seattle site. "We are laser-focused on helping our customers achieve even more regulatory success in the year ahead." The 150,000-square-foot uniflow campus in Seattle supports flexible fed-batch and perfusion processes and serves as AGC Biologics' Center of Excellence for global formulation services. With extensive adoption of single-use technologies and adherence to current ICH guidelines, the Seattle site of AGC Biologics ensures rapid scale-up from clinical to commercial supply while maintaining robust cGMP compliance. AGC Biologics Anvisa GMP Certification FAQ How does AGC Biologics ensure global regulatory success for its partners beyond just the FDA and EMA? As a dedicated CDMO partner, AGC Biologics guides hundreds of client products through successful global filings with a wide range of global health authorities. This recent GMP certification from Brazil's Anvisa for a product manufactured at its Seattle facility demonstrates expertise in navigating the specific and rigorous requirements of diverse international markets, de-risking the path to global commercialization for partners. What does this Anvisa approval say about the capabilities of AGC Biologics' Seattle facility? For drug developers, an approval from a rigorous agency like Brazil's Anvisa confirms that the quality systems and operational teams at the Seattle facility are robust enough to meet diverse global expectations, not just those of one or two authorities. This gives clients confidence that their product is manufactured to a consistently high standard, suitable for reliable worldwide supply. For a drug developer targeting multiple international markets, why is a 'multi-jurisdictional' track record like this important? A drug developer's primary goal is to get their therapy to patients efficiently and safely. A partner with a proven multi-jurisdictional track record is a powerful asset in achieving this. AGC Biologics' experience with agencies like the FDA, EMA, PMDA, and now Anvisa, provides practical, firsthand knowledge of what it takes to succeed globally. This foresight is brought to every client project to help avoid common pitfalls and costly delays, ensuring a smoother, more predictable journey to commercialization. About AGC Biologics AGC Biologics is a leading global biopharmaceutical Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) with a strong commitment to delivering the highest standard of service as we work side-by-side with our clients and partners, to provide friendly and expert services. We provide world-class development and manufacturing of mammalian and microbial-based therapeutic proteins, plasmid DNA (pDNA), messenger RNA (mRNA), viral vectors, and genetically engineered cells. Our global network spans the U.S., Europe, and Asia, with locations in Seattle, Washington; Copenhagen, Denmark; Heidelberg, Germany; Milan, Italy; and Chiba and Yokohama, Japan. AGC Biologics is a part of AGC Inc.'s Life Science Business. The Life Science Business runs eight facilities focused on biopharmaceuticals, advanced therapies, small molecule active pharmaceutical ingredients, and agrochemicals. To learn more, visit www.agcbio.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260203117569/en/ Contacts: AGC Inc. corporate contact: info-pr@agc.com AGC Biologics media contact: ksills@agcbio.com Bede Hackney joins as Vice President for Asia Pacific and Japan; company opens APJ headquarters in Sydney Sigma, a leader in AI applications for business, today announced its expansion into Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ) with the opening of its APJ headquarters in Sydney, Australia, and the appointment of Bede Hackney as Vice President for the region. This continued international expansion follows a year of strong growth, including recent office expansions in New York and London, where the company scaled its headcount more than 30x in just 2.5 years. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260203651650/en/ Bede Hackney Based in Sydney, Hackney will spearhead the next chapter of growth for Sigma and drive adoption of the AI apps and analytics platform in APJ. With more than 25 years of experience working with high-growth companies such as Databricks, Zoom, and Tenable, and deep experience in data, AI, and security technologies, Hackney will focus on building high-performing teams and driving customer success. "APJ represents a significant growth opportunity as more organizations prepare for an AI-driven future," said Mike Palmer, CEO of Sigma. "With early customer traction in the region, now is the right time to invest in dedicated leadership. As our new VP of APJ, Bede will play a critical role in expanding our presence, building local relationships, and helping teams operationalize AI in a meaningful way." Most recently serving as Head of Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) at Zoom, Hackney has consistently built and executed go-to-market strategies that drive growth in complex, competitive environments. Before joining Zoom, Hackney was Regional Vice President, ANZ, for Databricks, where he was instrumental in expanding the company's presence in the region. He has previously held senior leadership positions with technology companies, including Tenable, Nimble Storage, VMWare, and Citrix. "Sigma is redefining how organizations access and act on data, and I'm excited to bring that mission more broadly to APJ," said Bede Hackney, Vice President of APJ at Sigma. "As enterprises look to operationalize analytics and AI at scale, Sigma's combination of governed, cloud-native analytics and the flexibility business teams need creates a powerful opportunity in the region. I'm looking forward to building strong local partnerships and helping customers build and iterate on AI applications without technical complexity, unify external systems through a single interface, and deploy analytics globally with confidence." For more information on how Sigma unites teams, data, and work for instant insights and innovation, visit: https://www.sigmacomputing.com/. About Sigma Sigma is built to transform your cloud data warehouse into a dynamic, governed UI for data and AI. By combining real-time queries, AI-driven analysis, and no-code workflows, Sigma bridges the gap between insights and outcomes. IT retains visibility and control; business teams gain speed and flexibility; leaders see consolidated metrics that unlock new growth. From dashboards to AI apps, Sigma powers a continuous cycle of collaboration, efficiency, and innovation. To learn more about how Sigma can accelerate insights, improve performance, and drive innovation by seamlessly integrating AI, apps, and analytics, visit Sigma. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260203651650/en/ Contacts: press@sigmacomputing.com Fort Lauderdale, Florida--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - Business strategist and serial entrepreneur Michel Piette today announced the launch of the 1-Hour Breakthrough, a structured execution system designed to help solopreneurs-business owners running their companies largely on their own- improve focus, consistency, and business performance without increasing workload or risking burnout. The 1-Hour Breakthrough was developed to address a common challenge among solopreneurs: difficulty translating ideas, strategies, and learning into consistent execution. While access to information and education has expanded significantly, many solo business owners struggle to implement what they learn in a disciplined and sustainable way. The system provides a practical framework that helps solopreneurs identify the most impactful growth priority in their business, along with a simple, step-by-step process to move that single priority forward each day. Rather than adding more tactics or complexity, the 1-Hour Breakthrough emphasizes clarity, structure, and repeatable execution. At the foundation of the system are two proprietary frameworks: the 5 Big Ds, which define what solopreneurs should execute, and the 8 X-Factors, which guide how execution is sustained. The 5 Big Ds framework organizes business execution into five core areas: Design: creating offers aligned with real market demand Describe: communicating value clearly through messaging and positioning Distribute: marketing consistently through appropriate channels Deliver: fulfilling at a high standard to support retention and referrals Diligence: maintaining focused, consistent effort on the priority that drives the greatest impact Complementing this structure, the 8 X-Factors framework introduces behavioral principles designed to improve follow-through and reduce overwhelm. These principles focus on prioritization, disciplined experimentation, systemizing recurring actions, and aligning effort with measurable outcomes. "The problem for most solopreneurs isn't a lack of ideas or ambition," said Piette. "It's the absence of a clear execution structure. The 1-Hour Breakthrough gives them a repeatable way to focus on the right work and build momentum through consistent action." The system is designed to be implemented in a focused one-hour daily work block, allowing solopreneurs to make progress without extending work hours or disrupting existing responsibilities. By concentrating effort on a single, high-impact priority at a time, the framework aims to improve both performance and sustainability. The 1-Hour Breakthrough is delivered through structured training, including a written guide and a live Masterclass, where participants are introduced to the frameworks and supported in applying them directly to their own businesses. The Masterclass provides practical examples, implementation guidance, and tools intended to help solopreneurs move from planning to execution. More information about the 1-Hour Breakthrough and Masterclass registration is available at: https://michelpiette.com/masterclass. About Michel Piette Michel Piette is a serial entrepreneur who has built seven multi-million-dollar businesses over the last 30 years. He is the creator of the 5 Big Ds, the 8 X-Factors, and the 1-Hour Breakthrough. His work focuses on helping solopreneurs simplify execution, shrink overwhelm, and build businesses that scale without burnout or guesswork. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/281749 Source: Jeremy McGilvrey BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- As MAXHUB takes part in Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2026, the solution provider in integrated commercial display & UC is presenting its latest developments in collaboration technology. The exhibition runs from February 3-6, 2026, at Fira de Barcelona. So, what can visitors expect from MAXHUB at ISE 2026? Product Launch on the Opening Day On the opening day of ISE 2026, MAXHUB hosts the official launch of its new products., showcasing a range of groundbreaking advancements. Furthermore, MAXHUB's ongoing collaborations with Microsoft and NDI are also featured during the event. Representatives from both companies take part in the press conference and share updates as part of the launch session. During the launch, MAXHUB brings a series of new products. The first is the Videobar XBar Series, an all-in-one collaboration solution for Microsoft Teams Rooms (MTR). The XBar Series combines four cameras and a Windows-powered system into a single device. It supports 3-in-1 flexible installation options, making it suitable for meeting rooms of different sizes. The industry's first touch console for Surface Hub and XBoard - MAXHUB Universal Console was also introduced at the launch event. Visitors can also see the Digital Signage CMB Series, the world's first NDI-certified smart display. The CMB series is purpose-built for business and optimised for Microsoft Teams Rooms. When the MTR system is activated, the display illuminates. Once the meeting concludes, it subsequently deactivates. MAXHUB unveils its all-new LED All-in-One display, the MAXHUB Raptor Series V3 Lite. This Lite series achieves a breakthrough in ultra-slim design. As an All-in-One display, it retains MAXHUB's core strengths, supporting stable wireless screen sharing and convenient BYOD functionality. The product comes with a dedicated management backend, supporting remote device management. In addition, MAXHUB presents Pivot+, a new web-based platform for unified device management. The Co-Create 100 Launched MAXHUB partners with Microsoft to launch The Co-Create 100. This coalition will provide 100 fully-equipped Microsoft Teams Rooms to selected leaders from the Global 3000. It will also collaborate with global innovation leaders to share success stories and demonstrate how Microsoft Teams meeting rooms enhance efficiency and create competitive advantages. Visit MAXHUB at ISE 2026, Booth 2N130 Attendees can experience MAXHUB's latest products and live demonstrations at Booth 2N130 throughout ISE 2026. For more information about MAXHUB, visit www.MAXHUB.com Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2876065/MAXHUB_ISE_2026.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2362520/5746989/MAXHUB_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/maxhub-presents-groundbreaking-products-at-ise-2026-302677890.html RIGA, Latvia, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The President of Latvia, Edgars Rinkevics, visited Delska's commissioned 10 MW data center in Riga on February 3, ahead of its official launch. Delska CEO Andris Gailitis and CTO Rihards Kaletovs presented the facility and discussed its role in supporting artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) workloads, as well as European digital sovereignty. "Data centers located in Latvia are essential for the development of technology companies and for the country's digital resilience. Therefore, it is important for the state to recognize not only the challenges but also the opportunities offered by data center service providers in strengthening Latvia's competitiveness. What we have seen and discussed with the company's representatives today demonstrates that the company has taken a forward-looking approach in planning the capacity of the new data center and developing a sustainable and energy-efficient infrastructure to ensure uninterrupted service provision for its clients," said President Rinkevics after the meeting. Already recognized by professionals and prospective customers, the facility is one of the most advanced data centers in the Baltics. The 7,100-square-meter modular site supports up to 250 kW of rack capacity and is designed for long-term growth, with secured grid power and the ability to expand up to 30 MW on acquired land. Gailitis outlined global trends shaping the data center sector, including rapid adoption of AI and rising pressure on power availability in Europe's established hubs. With capacity constraints, companies are relocating infrastructure to regions with energy access and room to scale. In this context, the Baltic states' growing competitiveness as data center locations was highlighted. The new Delska facility, developed with an investment exceeding 30 million euros, demonstrates strong export potential and its ability to attract international customers. Sustainability was a central theme of the visit. The data center is powered entirely by renewable energy from Northern European wind farms, solar parks, and hydroelectricity, likewise all Delska facilities in Latvia and Lithuania. Backup generators run on Neste MY Renewable Diesel, while electricity generated during maintenance will be redirected to consumers to reduce waste. Delska is in discussions with Riga's municipal heating company on waste heat reuse to supply residential buildings. Built to achieve power usage effectiveness below 1.3, the facility uses hot-aisle containment, advanced free-cooling solutions, Weiss Technik Vindur CoolW@ll systems, and Trane chillers. It supports both air and direct-to-chip liquid cooling for high-density GPU workloads. The data center is Uptime Institute Tier III Design certified and is scheduled for Tier III Facility Certification in March. The official opening event for EU North Riga LV DC1 is scheduled for April 8. About Delska Delska is one of the leading data centers operators in the Baltic region, with 26+ years of experience in IT and network infrastructure. The company provides cloud, server rental, colocation, network, security, and managed services, and operates 19 MW facilities in Latvia and Lithuania. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2876073/Delska.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2753422/5750157/Delska_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/president-of-latvia-visits-delskas-new-data-center--one-of-the-most-sustainable-in-the-baltics-302677938.html Following Purpose-Built AI Innovations in Legal, Finance and HR, ECLab Brings Domain-Specific Automation to U.S. College Consulting - Replacing Workflows, Not Consultants DELAWARE CITY, DE / ACCESS Newswire / February 3, 2026 / ECLab, an education technology startup, today announced the launch of its domain-specific AI platform designed specifically for U.S. college admissions consultants. While industries like legal, finance, and HR have seen transformative purpose-built AI solutions emerge to automate domain-specific workflows, the college admissions consulting space has lacked purpose-built AI - until now. The platform addresses a critical operational challenge: Consultants spend 60% to 70% of their time on workflow tasks like researching opportunities, scheduling meetings, organizing data, and generating reports, limiting them to serving just 10 to 20 students per year. ECLab's vertical AI replaces these time-consuming workflows while keeping the consultant firmly in the driver's seat. "Just as Harvey provides domain-specific AI for legal work and AlphaSense delivers purpose-built solutions for financial research, we're bringing domain-specific AI to college consulting," said Kenny Youn, founder and CEO of ECLab. "We're not replacing consultants - we're replacing the 60% to 70% of their workday spent on administrative tasks. Our AI handles the workflow so consultants can focus entirely on what they do best: mentoring students and providing strategic guidance." Domain-Specific AI Purpose-Built for U.S. College Consulting Unlike generic AI tools adapted for college consulting, ECLab is purpose-built from the ground up for the unique workflows and requirements of U.S. college admissions consultants. The platform combines custom-designed features with professionally vetted data: EC Research provides access to a comprehensive, proprietary database of extracurricular opportunities - professionally curated and quality-controlled by admissions experts. Every opportunity is vetted for legitimacy, structured with consistent tagging, and continuously updated, replacing the endless hours consultants spend searching for and verifying programs across thousands of sources. Scholarship Search continuously monitors and matches students with relevant scholarship opportunities from a verified database, replacing the time-intensive task of tracking hundreds of funding sources. College List analyzes student profiles against thousands of institutions to generate personalized college recommendations, replacing hours of manual research with instant, data-driven matches. Meeting Summary automatically captures key discussion points, action items, and student insights from consultations, replacing manual note-taking and report writing with automated documentation. Scheduling manages the complex coordination of meetings, reminders, and follow-ups across multiple students and families, eliminating hours of back-and-forth communication each week. At the center of the platform is Robin AI, an intelligent assistant trained specifically on college admissions workflows. Robin helps consultants navigate complex decision-making processes and generates personalized strategies and recommendations in minutes instead of hours. Importantly, Robin functions as an intelligent assistant, not an autonomous decision-maker - all recommendations require consultant review and judgment, ensuring the human expertise remains central to student guidance. Why U.S. College Consulting Needs Domain-Specific AI The U.S. college admissions consulting market serves approximately 2.5 million students annually, with families spending an average of $7,000 per student - though some families pay upwards of $250,000 annually for premium consulting services. However, consultants face a unique operational inefficiency: They are experts in admissions strategy, yet generic productivity tools don't understand their domain-specific workflows. This creates a bottleneck. Consultants waste expertise on tasks that don't require it - manually searching databases, scheduling calls, writing meeting summaries - when they should be analyzing student fit, developing EC strategies, and providing personalized mentorship. The result: limited capacity, limited access, and consultants burning out on administrative work rather than advisory work. Purpose-built AI solutions have solved similar problems in other industries. Harvey reviews contracts so lawyers can focus on strategy. AlphaSense analyzes portfolios so financial advisors can focus on client relationships. Deel screens candidates so HR teams can focus on culture fit. ECLab brings this same transformation to U.S. college consulting. Proven Impact: Measurable Time and Revenue Gains ECLab validated its approach with beta users, demonstrating significant operational improvements. On average, consultants save three to four hours per week on administrative tasks - time that translates to approximately $750 to $1,000 in billable hours at the typical consultant rate of $250 per hour. These time savings scale with student load, enabling consultants to serve 100% more students while reducing administrative workload from the majority to the minority of their time. Revenue tripled over two years as consultants shifted from workflow tasks to high-value strategic advising while maintaining or improving student outcomes. "Every domain-specific AI solution shares the same goal: automate the routine so experts can focus on expertise," said Kenny. "In our case, AI handles research, scheduling, and documentation - the workflow. Consultants handle relationships, judgment, and strategy - the consulting. That's the division of labor that unlocks capacity in U.S. college admissions consulting." About ECLab ECLab is a domain-specific AI platform built specifically for U.S. college admissions consultants. Founded by an industry veteran with over a decade of experience in admissions consulting and a graduate of Stanford and Carnegie Mellon, ECLab's mission is to democratize access to quality college admissions consulting by providing all consultants with equal access to comprehensive data - from extracurricular opportunities to scholarships and college information - that previously only well-resourced consultants could maintain. By opening up these data resources and automating workflows, ECLab enables consultants of all backgrounds to deliver the same quality of guidance to their students. Independent college consultants, school counselors, counseling associations, and education platforms interested in using or partnering with ECLab can visit eclab.ai or contact info@eclab.ai for more information. Media Contact Kenny Youn Founder & CEO, ECLab Email: info@eclab.ai Website: eclab.ai SOURCE: ECLab View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/business-and-professional-services/eclab-launches-domain-specific-ai-workflow-for-u.s.-college-admi-1131924 Article L. 238-8-II of the French commercial Code and article 223-16 of the AMF (French Financial Markets Authority) general regulation Regulatory News: Corporate name of the issuer: Veolia Environnement (Paris:VIE) 21 rue La Boetie 75008 PARIS FRANCE (ISIN code: FR0000124141-VIE) Information closing date Total number of shares forming the share capital Total number of voting rights January 31, 2026 741,723,437 Total number of theoretical voting rights: 741,723,437 Total number of voting rights that may be exercised (1): 731,469,293 Inclusion in the Veolia Environnement Articles of Association of a clause requiring a reporting obligation of the declaration of crossing a shareholding threshold, complementary to the one relating to the thresholds provided by the French law and the regulations in force (article 8). (1) Number of voting rights that may be exercised number of theoretical voting rights (or total number of voting rights attached to shares) shares without voting rights (number of treasury shares held as of January 31, 2026, i.e. 10,254,144 shares). View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260203331081/en/ Contacts: Veolia Environnement Tribal ownership, mission-aligned lenders, community investors, and public capital come together to address the "missing middle" of regenerative food infrastructure BURLINGTON, WA / ACCESS Newswire / February 3, 2026 / Cairnspring Mills today announced the completion of a unique capital and ownership structure behind its Blue Mountain Mill, a regenerative flour facility under construction on the lands of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Pendleton, Oregon. With construction funded, start-up capital in place and construction underway, the project has cleared the hardest hurdle facing mid-scale food infrastructure in the United States: moving from intention to execution. Regenerative agriculture has demonstrated its viability at the farm level, delivering gains in soil health, resilience, and farm economics. What has not kept pace is the infrastructure required to support it at scale. Mills, processors, storage, and logistics facilities are essential for giving farmers access to higher-value domestic markets and an alternative to commodity systems. Yet these assets fall into a persistent 'missing middle' that is too capital-intensive for grants, too steady and asset-heavy for venture capital, and too risky for traditional bank lending. The problem is not a lack of vision, interest, or capital. It is that the missing middle infrastructure requires meaningful scale to create impact and achieve viable unit economics, yet that scale demands a sizable amount of capital and capital structures that traditional markets do not support. To be cost-competitive, even at a mass-premium level, projects must reach sizes far beyond what small or niche businesses can typically "leapfrog" to from their humble beginnings. As a result, projects stay small and, therefore, never unlock the ultimate impact they could achieve. The Blue Mountain Mill advanced by addressing those constraints directly and finding creative solutions. Cairnspring, along with partners, redesigned how ownership, risk, and capital function together, aligning patient debt, mission-aligned equity, tribal ownership, community participation, and public investment within a single operating framework. That alignment unlocked the financing commitments required to fuel the exponential growth of the business and build the 27,000-square-foot facility, which is scheduled for completion in late Q3 2026. "What we're building here is what I call the 'remarkable middle', infrastructure that serves real markets, keeps value in the community, supports farmers, and can actually get built when partners align around long-term outcomes," said Kevin Morse, Co-Founder and CEO of Cairnspring Mills. "Investor and lender interest in regenerative and values-aligned infrastructure is real and growing, but siloed institutions and rigid financing norms still block progress. We're deeply grateful to our capital partners for their commitment and flexibility in building a structure that truly serves farmers and the communities they support. Once operational, the Blue Mountain Mill will expand Cairnspring's milling capacity twelvefold, create more than 20 local living-wage jobs, and generate over $22 million in annual income for regenerative farmers across roughly 50,000 acres. The mill will anchor a regional supply chain connecting Pacific Northwest growers to bakers and food companies nationwide. Cairnspring is now taking orders and onboarding new customers who are drawn to its identity-preserved, terroir-driven fresh flour, fully traceable from field to mill. By sourcing grain directly from Pacific Northwest farmers using regenerative practices and stone-milling in small batches to retain the bran and germ, Cairnspring produces flour with inherent nutritional value and distinct flavor. Bakers agree. "The flour from Cairnspring Mills is the best flour we have ever used. We use it almost exclusively," said Chad Robertson, co-founder of Tartine. Total project funding exceeds $50 million and reflects the coordinated participation of multiple partners, each playing a defined role. Steward, a mission-driven, private commercial lender focused on financing regenerative agriculture, is providing both construction and inventory lending. Steward has also been a lead partner in connecting Cairnspring with many of the participants in the capital stack. "This partnership represents what Steward was designed for: mobilizing mission-aligned capital to accelerate the growth of regenerative agriculture," said Dan Miller, Founder and CEO of Steward. "Many regional projects fail because the fundamentals aren't in place. Cairnspring is a clear industry leader with the operating discipline, demand, and partners to succeed. Blue Mountain demonstrates how aligned capital and underwriting discipline can make regional-scale infrastructure viable." Steward also helped facilitate a $25 million USDA-guaranteed loan through Native American Bank as the senior debt on the project. "This project would not be happening without the early conviction and commitment of the Steward team. They rolled up their sleeves and helped us rally the partners needed to make this real. Every project like this needs an anchor funder with outsized impact, and there is no question Steward has been that for Cairnspring," said Chairman and Chief Financial Officer, Tyler Gage. "By aligning a socially conscious private enterprise and tribal partnership with mission-driven and community capital, this project demonstrates a replicable model for building meaningful economic impact in Indian Country," said Kylie Peterson, Community Development Officer for Native American Bank. Indigenous ownership and governance are embedded structurally as well. The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) made a $5 million equity investment in the project, securing ownership in Cairnspring's growth and long-term economic benefits for the tribe. This marks the first time CTUIR has made an equity investment in a private company and represents a milestone in the tribe's economic development strategy. The partnership also includes a 50-year land lease supporting long-term income generation and food sovereignty. "Wheat is king within Umatilla County and the Columbia River Basin," said Bill Tovey, Director of the CTUIR Department of Economic and Community Development. "We (CTUIR) operate a Farm Enterprise and farm almost 10,000 acres. Cairnspring Mills meets Tribal objectives to expand land ownership, increase farm operations and focus development on value added agriculture for our Coyote Business Park." The project also includes a Native-led financing coalition. Mission Driven Finance collaborated with eight Native Community Development Financial Institutions to structure a $9 million subordinated debt package. "This structure reflects what's possible when Native lenders and communities are involved early and meaningfully," said Ted Piccolo, Director of Indigenous Futures at Mission Driven Finance. "Aligning capital around operations, governance, and long-term outcomes is what allows projects like this to move from planning to execution." Community participation is also part of the model. In 2025 Cairnspring raised nearly $2 million from over 850 investors through Wefunder, far exceeding its original target and enabling individual investors to participate alongside tribal, institutional, and public partners. When the campaign kicked off in July Cairnspring was the #1 campaign, raising a groundbreaking $1M from over 500 investors in less than a month. It also ranked #5 across all 430 active Reg CF campaigns in the country, outperforming hundreds of tech and AI startups and reinforcing the surging demand for regenerative food and resilient supply chains. The project also drew a powerful mix of creative capital. That includes grants from the State of Oregon and the USDA, New Markets Tax Credit financing, a loan from the Schmidt Family Foundation, and equity from mission-aligned investors such as the NoVo Foundation, Terra Regenerative, and Wild Equities. "The leadership and the very ethos that drives Cairnspring lives so completely through not only its own organization, but through the supply chains and the demand chains-both the farmers and the folks that buy the product-that is unparalleled, and is a necessity for the future resiliency of not only its local community but communities across the country," said Peter Buffett, Co-President, NoVo Foundation. The financing framework builds on the quality and uniqueness of Cairnspring's product alongside industry influencers boosting awareness and sales. Cairnspring's existing mill in Washington's Skagit Valley demonstrated contracted demand, disciplined margins, and operational control prior to expansion, providing the operating foundation required to align underwriting standards and repayment expectations. It also has climate accountability embedded directly into ongoing operations and is the first flour mill to be Climate Label Certified. While the completed framework supports the construction of the Blue Mountain Mill, the broader implication is systemic. The model is replicable only where disciplined operations with proven economics, contracted demand for regenerative products, and public and private capital partners aligned around long-term, place-based outcomes exist. When those conditions are met, the "remarkable middle" becomes a reality. "This is what it looks like when you stop asking whether something should exist and start building it," said Morse. "Our responsibility now is to make sure it works, and to prove that others can do the same." About Cairnspring Mills: Cairnspring Mills is helping to pioneer the craft flour movement with a mission to rebuild food systems, support farmers, and nourish communities with clean, healthy, flavorful grains and flour. Founded in Washington's Skagit Valley in 2016, the company partners directly with Pacific Northwest growers who use regenerative practices that restore soil health and long-term farm viability. Every lot of grain is identity-preserved, stone-milled in small batches, and crafted to retain the bran and germ, resulting in flour that is fresher, naturally nutritious, and alive with flavor. By proving flour can be full of flavor and economically resilient, Cairnspring offers a new model for 21st-century food production-one that regionalizes supply chains, restores ecosystems, contributes to community resilience and shares value more equitably across farmers, bakers, and communities. For more information, visit cairnspring.com or follow along on Instagram . Media Contact: Lani Free, Greenheart Communications Collective (CairnspringPR@greenheartcollective.com) SOURCE: Cairnspring Mills View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/food-and-beverage-products/cairnspring-mills-blends-first-of-its-kind-financing-and-ownership-model-1133264 Virtual assistant to provide 24/7 access to company information and investor resources SUNNY ISLES BEACH, FL / ACCESS Newswire / February 3, 2026 / Elektros Inc. (OTC PINK:ELEK), a hard-rock lithium mining developer with operations in Sierra Leone, today announced the launch of its first-generation virtual Investor Relations (IR) Agent as part of the Company's strategic communications initiative. The IR Agent, powered by Ludlow Research, is designed to streamline shareholder communications by providing investors with convenient, round-the-clock access to publicly available company information. The automated system can assist with common shareholder inquiries, provide an overview of Elektros' operations and the lithium industry outlook, deliver publicly filed documents, and direct investors to appropriate communication channels. "AI-powered IR agents represent the future of shareholder communications," said Tom Bustamante, Founder & President of Ludlow Consulting. "By automating routine inquiries and providing 24/7 access to company information, these agents can significantly reduce costs for issuers while dramatically improving shareholder access to critical data. This technology allows companies to maintain consistent, compliant communications at a fraction of traditional IR costs." The IR Agent is designed to supplement, not replace, the Company's existing investor relations efforts. All material information will continue to be disseminated in accordance with SEC Regulation Fair Disclosure (Reg FD) requirements through appropriate public channels, including SEC filings and press releases. In the coming weeks, Elektros plans to enhance the IR Agent with additional features, including the ability to schedule investor calls, deliver presentation materials, and provide tailored support for both retail and institutional investors. Investors can access the IR Agent at www.elektros.energy/investors About Elektros, Inc. Elektros Inc. (OTC PINK:ELEK) business plan is to develop an artisanal mining operation based in Sierra Leone, Africa. This operation focuses on hard-rock lithium exploration, development, and the eventual exportation of mined material to lithium refineries in the United States. www.elektros.energy Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include expectations regarding future enhancements to the IR Agent and the Company's strategic communications initiatives. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. These risks include technological challenges, regulatory compliance requirements, and general market conditions. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof. CONTACT: Elektros, Inc. IR and Media Inquiries Email: ElektrosInc@gmail.com Ludlow Consulting Email: info@ludlowresearch.com SOURCE: Elektros, Inc. View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/automotive/elektros-launches-ai-powered-investor-relations-agent-to-enhance-shareholder-communicati-1133263 ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Khufu's in Giza, Egypt, has been crowned The Best Restaurant in the Middle East & North Africa 2026, sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna, following the awards ceremony for the fifth edition of Middle East & North Africa's 50 Best Restaurants 2026, held at Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental, Abu Dhabi. The list features restaurants from 14 cities across the region, including Marrakech, Beirut, Doha, Casablanca and Amman, with 16 new entries making a debut this year. For the full 1-50 list, click here. Founded on a deep respect for Egyptian culinary heritage, Khufu's celebrates the flavours of the Nile Valley through refined modern interpretation. Set in the shadow of the Great Pyramids, it delivers a dining experience that blends contemporary Egyptian gastronomy with one of the world's most iconic locations. Three Dubai-based restaurants follow with Kinoya (No.2), Tresind Studio (No.3) and Orfali Bros (No.4); the latter having previously maintained the No.1 position for three consecutive years. Beihouse in Beirut (No.5) completes the top five and wins the Highest New Entry Award. Among the special awards winners, Reif Kushiyaki Cairo (No.20) claims the Highest Climber Award after rising 27 places. Sara Aqel of Dara Dining by Sara Aqel (No.30) is named MENA's Best Female Chef, sponsored by Elle & Vire Professionnel, while Omar and Wassim Orfali take home the MENA's Best Pastry Chef Award, sponsored by Valrhona. Salam Dakkak of Sufret Maryam (No.7) and Bait Maryam wins the Sevenrooms Icon Award. Himanshu Saini from Tresind Studio (No.3) earns the Estrella Damm 0.0% Chefs' Choice Award and Farmers (No.49) receives the Sustainable Restaurant Award, sponsored by illy. Three special award winners were also announced ahead of the awards ceremony. Muna Haddad, founder of Baraka Destinations, received the Champions of Change Award for her community-driven approach to hospitality and tourism in Jordan. La Grande Table Marocaine (No.19) at Royal Mansour Marrakech won the Art of Hospitality Award, acknowledging its dedication to Moroccan fine dining. Dubai's Middle Child was presented with the One To Watch Award for its potential to break into future lists of MENA's 50 Best Restaurants. The list is compiled by the MENA's 50 Best Restaurants Academy, comprised of 250 independent experts across the region. Please find more details here. Media Centre: https://mediacentre.theworlds50best.com Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2876236/50_Best.jpg PDF - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2872087/50_Best.pdf Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2863684/50_Best_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/khufus-in-egypt-named-no1-at-middle-east--north-africas-50-best-restaurants-2026-302678054.html Carly Sostheim joins Founder Hilary Farnum-Fasth and partner Sydney Volkert to advance the long-term vision of Corcoran Reverie SANTA ROSA BEACH, FL / ACCESS Newswire / February 3, 2026 / Built on the global legacy of Corcoran and defined by the distinctive culture of Reverie, Corcoran Reverie is proud to share that Carly Sostheim has deepened her long-term commitment to the company as a strategic investor and partner, joining Founder Hilary Farnum-Fasth and partner Sydney Volkert in shaping the future of the brokerage. Carly's decision reflects a belief not only in Corcoran Reverie, but in the enduring standards, vision, and leadership that define the Corcoran brand. Her investment represents capital paired with purpose, grounded in shared values, cultural alignment, and confidence in the company's long-term growth. Carly will continue her work and leadership within Corcoran Reverie just as she does today, remaining a trusted and visible presence across Bay County. Deeply connected to the community and the agents and clients she serves, her role as a strategic investor and partner reflects a shared commitment to the future of Corcoran Reverie in Bay County and beyond. "Corcoran Reverie represents the very best of what real estate can be," said Carly Sostheim. "For me, being a strategic investor and partner means aligning capital with purpose. It reflects my belief in this company's culture, leadership, and long-term vision, and my commitment to growing alongside it." "Carly has long been an integral part of Corcoran Reverie," said Hilary Farnum-Fasth, Founder and Owner of Corcoran Reverie. "Her decision to join me and Sydney as a strategic investor and partner is a natural evolution of a relationship rooted in trust, shared standards, and mutual respect. Together, we are deeply aligned in the future we are building." Corcoran Reverie continues to grow alongside partners and strategic investors who honor the legacy of Corcoran while thoughtfully shaping what comes next, grounded in purpose, care, and long-term alignment. About Corcoran Reverie Corcoran Reverie is a premier real estate brokerage and an affiliate of Corcoran Group LLC, a leading residential real estate firm headquartered in New York City. Across its network of more than 150 offices and 4,900+ agents worldwide, the Corcoran brand has been a leader in residential real estate for nearly 50 years, serving key urban, suburban, and resort markets internationally, including the Bahamas, Cabo, Portugal, and Italy. Locally rooted in Florida and Tennessee and globally connected, Corcoran Reverie is proud to have been recognized as a 2024 RealTrends Top 500 brokerage and the 2025 Best of the Emerald Coast Real Estate Brokerage. For more information, visit corcoranreverie.com. CONTACT: Corey Birger Chief Operating Officer corey@corcoranreverie.com 850.232.5030 SOURCE: Corcoran Reverie View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/real-estate/corcoran-reverie-names-carly-sostheim-strategic-investor-and-partner-1132919 WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Rebounding from yesterday's steep losses, crude oil surged on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar index moved lower. In addition, a U.S.-India trade agreement rejuvenated the markets, leading to anticipation of a spur in energy demand. WTI Crude Oil for March delivery was last seen trading up by $1.10 (or 1.77%) at $63.24 per barrel. Yesterday, U.S. President Donald Trump and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a new trade deal. On Truth Social, Trump stated that the U.S. would cut the main tariff on India from 25% to 18% and remove the 'penalty tariff' he had imposed on India for buying Russian crude oil after India stops buying it altogether. Trump also confirmed that through this deal, India has agreed to buy over $500 billion worth of U.S. products varying from energy, technology, agriculture, coal, etc. For several weeks, reports have been indicating that India has reduced its purchases of Russian crude. Experts view that various nations would soon arrive at an amiable deal with the U.S. and Trump would promote bilateral ties to rejuvenate U.S. business activity, which they feel would also kickoff brisk energy and oil demand. On the flip side, the U.S.-India agreement has also triggered oversupply concerns in the oil market, with the possibilities of unsold Russian oil increasing worldwide. The U.S. dollar index was last seen trading at 97.46, down by 0.17 points (or 0.17%) today. Meanwhile, the geopolitical tension in the Middle East continues to simmer. Trump threatened Iran to to negotiated a nuclear deal with the U.S. by sending a flotilla of U.S. naval forces near Iran. Though Iran initially defied the threats, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian later ordered his team to conduct negotiations with the U.S. Despite the cooling in the escalation, which weighed down on oil prices yesterday, the risk premium returned today as experts view that Iran's chances of striking a deal with the U.S. is slim. On February 1, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that a new round of tripartite talks between the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine is scheduled for February 4 and 5 in the United Arab Emirates. However, Russia continues bombarding Ukraine with drone and missile attacks, leaving thousands of Ukraine's citizens helpless in extreme winter with no heating source to shield from the cold. On February 1, the OPEC alliance consented to keep its oil output unchanged for March. This is a reaffirmation of the group's agreement made in November 2025 wherein they froze further plans for increases from January 2026 through March 2026. OPEC's decision was interpreted as a confirmation of oversupply concerns in 2026 forecast by various agencies. Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX 2026 AFX News Phoenix, Arizona--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - Ivanhoe Electric Inc. (NYSE American: IE) (TSX: IE) ("Ivanhoe Electric") Executive Chairman Robert Friedland joined President Donald J. Trump in the Oval Office for the launch of a $12 billion initiative to build a U.S. strategic minerals stockpile. Ivanhoe Electric is advancing its high-quality Santa Cruz Copper Project in Arizona to produce refined copper cathode in late 2028 for domestic industries. The initiative, known as Project Vault, is set to combine $1.67 billion in private capital with a $10 billion loan from the U.S. Export-Import Bank to procure and store the minerals needed to create supply chain security for U.S. private industry and reduce dependence on China. Project Vault was formally unveiled on February 2, 2026, at a White House Oval Office press conference in Washington, D.C., hosted by President Trump (refer to U.S. Export-Import Bank's February 2, 2026 news release). Representatives from both the mining and manufacturing sectors included Ivanhoe Electric's Founder and Executive Chairman, Robert Friedland, and General Motors Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Mary Barra. Those in attendance included Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, David J. Copley, Senior Director at the National Security Council and Special Assistant to the President, and additional senior representatives from both the House and Senate. Also in attendance was John Jovanovic, President and Chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the United States government's official export credit agency. On April 15, 2025, Ivanhoe Electric received a U.S. Export-Import Bank Letter of Interest for $825 million of project debt to support Santa Cruz Copper Project development (refer to Ivanhoe Electric's April 15, 2025 news release). The full application for funding from U.S. Export-Import Bank is in process and Ivanhoe Electric is closely working with John Jovanovic and his team. Advanced financing discussions for the development of the Santa Cruz Copper Project are ongoing. Ivanhoe Electric President and Chief Executive Officer Taylor Melvin commented: "It was an honor to have our company represented during today's announcement in the Oval Office of the White House. Project Vault is a major step forward in advancing a resilient, domestic supply of critical minerals for the United States. Ivanhoe Electric is proud to be developing a significant contributor to U.S. copper supply at our modern Santa Cruz Copper Project in Arizona." Watch the video of Ivanhoe Electric's Founder and Executive Chairman during the Project Vault press conference inside the Oval Office at the White House: https://vimeo.com/1161496663/3e77e212d9 Link to the full press conference: https://www.whitehouse.gov/videos/president-trump-participates-in-signing-time-feb-2-2026/ Ivanhoe Electric is working to strengthen U.S. mineral supply chain security through its domestic mining activities while also discovering new sources of critical minerals for U.S. industries at home and abroad. Ivanhoe Electric is developing the Santa Cruz Copper Project as a high-quality, underground mining operation in Casa Grande, Arizona. The Project is designed to produce 99.99% pure copper cathode by late 2028 and over a 23-year mine life, using a 100% heap leach process and reducing the need for offshore smelting and refining. With strong economics, modern mining technologies, and a location in the heart of Arizona, a state known for its prolific mining history and booming technology industry, Santa Cruz is poised to become one of the nation's next major domestic producers of refined copper. About Ivanhoe Electric We are a United States domiciled minerals exploration company with a focus on developing mines from mineral deposits principally located in the United States. We seek to support American supply chain independence by finding and delivering copper and other critical metals vital to advanced manufacturing, infrastructure development, technology, and national security. We use our powerful Typhoon geophysical surveying system, together with advanced data analytics provided by our 94.3% owned subsidiary, Computational Geosciences Inc. ("CGI"), to accelerate and de-risk the mineral exploration process as we seek to discover new deposits of critical metals that may otherwise be undetectable by traditional exploration technologies. We believe the United States is significantly underexplored and has the potential to yield major new discoveries of critical metals. Our mineral exploration efforts focus on copper as well as other metals including nickel, cobalt, platinum group elements, gold and silver. Through the advancement of our portfolio of critical metals exploration projects, headlined by the Santa Cruz Copper Project in Arizona we intend to contribute to domestic supply by developing resources that support industrial and strategic sectors. We also operate a 50/50 joint venture with Saudi Arabian Mining Company ("Maaden") to explore for minerals on ~48,500 km2 of underexplored Arabian Shield in Saudi Arabia. Finally, in 2024, we established an exploration alliance with BHP Mineral Resources Inc. ("BHP"), a subsidiary of BHP Group Limited, to search for critical minerals in the United States. Website: www.ivanhoeelectric.com Follow us on X Ivanhoe Electric's Executive Chairman Robert Friedland: @robert_ivanhoe Ivanhoe Electric: @ivanhoeelectric Ivanhoe Electric's investor relations website located at www.ivanhoeelectric.com should be considered Ivanhoe Electric's recognized distribution channel for purposes of the Securities and Exchange Commission's Regulation FD. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this news release constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable U.S. and Canadian securities laws. Such statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Ivanhoe Electric, its projects, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. Such statements can be identified by the use of words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "expect", "believe", "plan", "anticipate", "estimate", "scheduled", "forecast", "predict", "target", "project" and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. These statements reflect Ivanhoe Electric's current expectations regarding future events, performance and results and speak only as of the date of this news release. Such statements in this news release include, without limitation statements regarding: the funding of Project Vault and its ability to create supply chain security for U.S. private industry, the construction and development of the Santa Cruz Copper Project, and U.S. Export-Import Bank's ("EXIM") funding of $825 million of Ivanhoe Electric project debt. Forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to management. Such statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements due to various factors, including changes in the prices of copper or other metals Ivanhoe Electric is exploring for; the results of exploration and drilling activities and/or the failure of exploration programs or studies to deliver anticipated results or results that would justify and support continued exploration, studies, development or operations; the final assessment of exploration results and information that is preliminary; the significant risk and hazards associated with any future mining operations, extensive regulation by the U.S. government as well as local governments; changes in laws, rules or regulations, or their enforcement by applicable authorities; the failure of parties to contracts with Ivanhoe Electric to perform as agreed; and the impact of political, economic and other uncertainties associated with operating in foreign countries, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the global economy. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements and risk factors described in Ivanhoe Electric's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed and other disclosures with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. No assurance can be given that such future results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this news release. Ivanhoe Electric cautions you not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Subject to applicable securities laws, Ivanhoe Electric does not assume any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this news release, and Ivanhoe Electric expressly disclaims any requirement to do so. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/282572 Source: Ivanhoe Electric INDIANAPOLIS, Feb. 03, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Copper Mountain Technologies (CMT) enters 2026 after a year of significant advances in manufacturing capability, security compliance, and product development. Throughout 2025, the company invested in strengthening its infrastructure and delivering VNA solutions to better support RF engineers and test and measurement professionals worldwide. To support rising global demand, CMT expanded its production capabilities through strategic investment in operations and resources. In addition to its established manufacturing site in the United States, the company has extended its footprint in the European Union. While the Cyprus office was originally established in 2022, this February, the company has moved into a new, larger manufacturing facility. The new facility brings design engineering, production, software development, and service under one roof - enhancing agility, scalability, customer support, reliable supply and faster delivery worldwide. Together with US manufacturing operations, this European Union expansion strengthens CMT's ability to meet increasing demand across Europe and the EMEA region. About Copper Mountain Technologies Copper Mountain Technologies develops innovative RF test and measurement solutions for engineers around the world. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana (USA), CMT maintains manufacturing, R&D, applications engineering and service operations in both the United States and Paphos, Cyprus (EU), with additional regional offices in Singapore, London, and Miami. They offer a broad range of USB vector network analyzers, calibration kits, and accessories for 50 Ohm and 75 Ohm impedances to 330 GHz. Their VNAs use software for Windows and Linux operating systems on an external computer, PC, or tablet. Every CMT VNA includes robust application and automation support, backed by years of RF engineering expertise dedicated to customer success. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ea94e617-829d-47a7-ab62-3a20b453193f MEDIA CONTACT: Copper Mountain Technologies Justin Bragg Marketing & Events Specialist +1.317.222.5400 | justin.b@coppermountaintech.com WINNIPEG, MB / ACCESS Newswire / February 3, 2026 / FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership ("FPLP") today announced that Brent Leung CPA, CA has been appointed to the position of Chief Administrative Officer of the partnership. Mr. Leung previously held the position of Vice-president Finance with FPLP. "Brent brings a variety of financial and operational expertise along with an invaluable knowledge of the industry which will aid FPLP in its strategic planning and operations moving forward," said Mike Power, Chief Executive Officer of FP Newspapers Inc. About FPI FP Newspapers Inc. (TSXV:FP) ("FPI") owns securities entitling it to 49% of the distributable cash flow of FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership ("FPLP"). FPLP owns and operates the Winnipeg Free Press, along with several other Manitoba based news and media publications that are available in both print and digital formats. The informative and engaging content we produce has an extensive reach throughout the province of Manitoba. The breadth of our reach provides compelling platforms for those looking to effectively reach a Manitoba audience. Further information can be found at www.fpnewspapers.com and in disclosure documents filed by FP Newspapers Inc. with the securities regulatory authorities, available at www.sedar.com. For further information please contact: Mike Power, CEO FP NEWSPAPERS INC. Phone 204-697-7547 Neither the TSX Venture Exchange Inc. ("Exchange") nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. SOURCE: FP Newspapers, Inc. View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/publishing-and-media/fp-canadian-newspapers-lp-announces-appointment-of-cao-1133223 VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA / ACCESS Newswire / February 3, 2026 / Prince Silver Corp. (CSE:PRNC)(OTCQB:PRNCF)(Frankfurt:T130) ("Prince Silver"or the "Company") is pleased to announce that, due to strong investor demand, it has increased the size of its previously announced non-brokered private placement (the "Offering") from $3,000,000 to up to $4,750,000. The upsizing reflects continued support from existing shareholders and interest from new investors as the Company advances the Prince Silver Project, located in the Pioche Mining District, Nevada. The Offering consists of units (the "Units") priced at $0.70 per Unit. Each Unit is comprised of one common share of the Company and one-half of one common share purchase warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder to acquire one additional common share at a price of $1.00 for a period of two years from the date of issuance, provided that, if the closing price of the company's common shares for a period of 10 consecutive trading days is $1.40 or higher, the company will have the right to accelerate the expiry date of the warrants upon notice given by press release and the warrants will thereafter expire on the 30th calendar day after the date of such press release, or such later date as may be stated in the news release. In connection with the upsizing, the Company may issue up to 6,785,714 Units for total gross proceeds of up to $4,750,000, subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. All securities issued under the Offering will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months and one day in accordance with applicable securities laws. Proceeds from the Offering are expected to be used to advance the next phase of drilling at the Prince Silver Project, complete a maiden mineral resource estimate, conduct ongoing metallurgical work, and for general working capital purposes. Finders' fees may be paid in accordance with applicable securities laws and exchange policies. About Prince Silver Corp. Prince Silver Corp. is a silver exploration company advancing its past-producing Prince Silver-Zinc-Manganese-Lead Mine in Nevada, USA. Featuring near-surface mineralization that was historically drill tested by over 129 holes and is open in all directions, the Prince Project offers a clear path toward a maiden 43-101 compliant resource estimate. The Company also holds an interest in the Stampede Gap Project, a district-scale copper-gold-molybdenum porphyry system located 15 km north-northwest of the Prince Silver Project, highlighting Prince Silver's focus on high-potential, strategically located exploration assets. On Behalf of the Board of Directors Derek Iwanaka, CEO & Director Tel: 604-928-2797 Email: info@princesilvercorp.com Website: www.princesilvercorp.com Forward-Looking Information Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking statements, including with respect to future plans, and other matters. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions regarding the future. Such information can generally be identified by the use of forwarding-looking wording such as "may", "expect", "estimate", "anticipate", "intend", "believe" and "continue" or the negative thereof or similar variations. Some of the specific forward-looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to: ongoing and proposed drill programs, amendments to the Company's website, property option payments and regulatory and corporate approvals. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including but not limited to, business, economic and capital market conditions, the ability to manage operating expenses, dependence on key personnel, completion of satisfactory due diligence in respect of the Acquisition and related transactions, and compliance with property option agreements. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, anticipated costs, and the ability to achieve goals. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include, the continued availability of capital and financing, litigation, failure of counterparties to perform their contractual obligations, failure to obtain regulatory or corporate approvals, exploration results, loss of key employees and consultants, and general economic, market or business conditions. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons (as defined under the U.S. Securities Act) unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available. SOURCE: Prince Silver Corp. View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/metals-and-mining/prince-silver-increases-private-placement-to-up-to-4.75-million-1133413 All financial figures are in Canadian dollars. Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - Suncor Energy's (TSX: SU) (NYSE: SU) Board of Directors has approved a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share on its common shares, payable March 25, 2026 to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 4, 2026. Suncor Energy is Canada's leading integrated energy company. Suncor's operations include oil sands development, production and upgrading; offshore oil production; petroleum refining in Canada and the U.S.; and the company's Petro-CanadaTM retail and wholesale distribution networks (including Canada's Electric HighwayTM, a coast-to-coast network of fast-charging EV stations). Suncor is developing petroleum resources while advancing the transition to a lower-emissions future through investments in lower emissions intensity power, renewable feedstock fuels and projects targeting emissions intensity. Suncor also conducts energy trading activities focused primarily on the marketing and trading of crude oil, natural gas, byproducts, refined products and power. Suncor's common shares (symbol: SU) are listed on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/282586 Source: Suncor Energy Inc. Kelowna, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - Showcase Minerals Inc. (CSE: SHOW) (FSE: ZJ0) ("Showcase" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an option agreement to acquire a large silver property in the Slocan area of British Columbia, which is located approximately 11.5 kilometres from the town of Silverton. The property consists of three mineral claims totalling 2080.8 hectares and covers the former Comstock mine. The earliest recorded work on the property occurred in 1898 and continued intermittently until 1920. Early workings consisted of nine adits totalling 853 metres in length along 2.1 kilometres of strike length. A mill was erected in 1897 to process Comstock ore, but was only used for two months. Production records indicate 455 tonnes of ore were mined. From this, 1,687,774 grams silver, 12,387 grams gold, 217,634 kilograms lead, and 126,657 kilograms zinc were recovered. At the Comstock mine, mineralized quartz veins and related mineralization is hosted in a brecciated zone that is up to two metres wide. Mineralization consists of galena, sphalerite, minor tetrahedrite, and trace pyrargyrite. The Company can earn an undivided 100% interest in the Property, subject to a 3% net smelter returns royalty, by making cash payments of $300,000 over two years and issuing Company shares with a market value of $100,000 to the vendors on each of the first and second anniversaries of the option agreement. The Grassy Gold Project The Company is organizing a spring drill program on the Grassy Project located north of Stewart, British Columbia and just east of the Premier Gold Mine in the prolific Golden Triangle region. The Premier Gold Mine produced over two million ounces of gold from 1918 to 1994. The area is underlain by Hazelton Group rocks of the Lower Jurassic Betty Creek Formation and Lower to Middle Jurassic Mount Dilworth Formation overlain by the Middle Jurassic Salmon River Formation. Mineralization on the Grassy property is of an epithermal, low sulphidation type hosted in felsic pyroclastics of the Mount Dilworth Formation. Mineralization generally consists of coarse-grained pyrite, sphalerite, galena, and chalcopyrite in vuggy quartz-carbonate breccia veins. The bulk of the property's mineralization is located in four areas that have been explored in the past: Start No. 2, Bush No. 1, Lakeshore, and Rama showings. All main mineral occurrences on the Grassy property are located within or adjacent to two main faults designated as Fault A and Fault B (see Figure 1). Fault A can be traced from the Rama showing going northwest. The fault likely continues under Bowser group sediments of Slate Mountain reappearing on the west side of Slate Mountain in the adits of the Start No. 2 showing. The presumed length of this major structure is at least 2.0 kilometres. The second major fault associated with mineralization (Fault B) likely extends from Sunshine zone going north through the X-10-U-8 Fr. showing and passing close to the Lakeshore showing. The eastern block of this structure consists mostly of quartz-lesser carbonate cemented breccia often mineralized with pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena, and sphalerite. Over the years, several trenches were completed along this structure. The orientation of breccia vein in the Bush No. 1 showing is 340/60-70 SW, which indicates the vein is part of fault B. During the 2024 geochemical program on the Grassy Gold Project, the highest values in metals came from four grab samples collected from the Rama Vein. Assays returned gold values ranging from 12.68 to 31.9 ppm, silver values from 376 to 1,812 ppm, lead values from 0.3% to 39.89% and zinc values from 0.68% to 26.93%. Copper values in three of the samples ranged from 0.27% to 1.93%. Private Placement Showcase announces its intention to complete a non-brokered private placement financing of up to 8,000,000 units of the Company (the "Units") at a price of $0.10 per Unit for total gross proceeds to the Company of up to $800,000. Of the 8,000,000 Units, 5,000,000 Units (the "Flow-Through Units") will consist of one flow-through share (each a "FT Share") and one-half of a non-flow through, transferable share purchase warrant with a full warrant entitling the holder to purchase an additional common share of the Company for $0.15 for a period of two years. Each FT Share will qualify as a "flow-through share" (within the meaning of subsection 66(15) of the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the "Act"). An amount equal to the gross proceeds from the issuance of the FT Shares will be used to incur, on the Company's Canadian mineral exploration properties, eligible resource exploration expenses that will qualify as "Canadian exploration expenses" (as defined in the Act). The 3,000,000 non-Flow-Through Units will consist will consist of one common share and one two-year transferable share purchase warrant entitling the holder to acquire an additional common share for $0.15. The proceeds of the private placement will be used for exploration on the Grassy Gold Project and general working capital. Insiders may participate in the private placement including subscriptions from related parties of the Company as defined in Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The participation of Insiders in the Private Placement is exempt from formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements pursuant to exemptions contained in sections 5.5(c) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101. The securities issued under the Private Placement will be subject to a hold period under applicable securities laws in Canada expiring four months and one day from the closing date of the Private Placement. The private placement and property acquisitions are subject to Canadian Securities Exchange acceptance for filing. Qualified Person Ed Kruchkowski, P.Geo., is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical contents of this news release. He has also supervised the sampling reported in this press release. About Showcase Minerals Inc. Showcase Minerals Inc. is a mineral exploration company engaged in the identification, evaluation, acquisition, and exploration of mineral properties. The Company has recently shifted its focus on precious metal properties in British Columbia. The province's "Golden Triangle" in Northern B.C. and the historic silver districts in the southwest are of specific interest to the Company and it intends to pursue the acquisition of interests in additional properties with historic backgrounds and existing reserves to add to its portfolio. Disclaimer Readers are cautioned that the discussion about adjacent or similar properties is not necessarily indicative of the mineralization or potential of the Premier East Gold Project and the Grassy Gold Project. The Company has no interest in or right to acquire any interest in any such adjacent properties. For further information, please contact: Figure 1 To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/9723/282596_6346b0a364ffeb80_002full.jpg The project has a drill permit attached to it and the Company is planning a test of the Rama vein to further evaluate the gold-silver content. Neither the CSE nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in CSE policies) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Not for distribution to United States newswire services or for dissemination in the United States. FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking statements, including with respect to future plans, and other matters. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such information can generally be identified by the use of forwarding-looking wording such as "may", "expect", "estimate", "anticipate", "intend", "believe" and "continue" or the negative thereof or similar variations. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including but not limited to, business, economic and capital market conditions, the ability to manage operating expenses, and dependence on key personnel. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements respecting: completion of the property acquisitions, completion of the private placement, and development of the mineral properties, including drilling on the Grassy Gold Project. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, anticipated costs, and the ability to achieve goals. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include, the continued availability of capital and financing, litigation, failure of counterparties to perform their contractual obligations, loss of key employees and consultants, and general economic, market or business conditions. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/282596 Source: Showcase Minerals Inc. London, United Kingdom--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - Live-in Care Direct announced it has been named a finalist for the Home Care Provider of the Year 2025 award. The recognition is part of the Leaders in Care Awards, a national programme that highlights organisations contributing to the delivery of home care services throughout the United Kingdom. The 2025 finalist shortlist was announced by the programme's organisers and includes care providers selected from across the UK. The Home Care Provider of the Year category focuses on services that allow individuals to receive personalised support in their homes as an alternative to residential care settings. Finalists are evaluated on their ability to deliver consistent care, manage services across different regions, and meet the needs of individuals and families with varying support requirements. Live-in Care Direct was one of 8 finalists selected for the 2025 shortlist. Live-in Care Direct Shortlisted as Finalist for Home Care Provider of the Year 2025 in the UK To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10740/282594_figure1.jpg The announcement comes at a time of increasing public interest in home-based care models. More people are seeking care arrangements that support independence and familiarity, particularly for older adults and individuals managing long-term conditions. Live-in Care Direct's inclusion in the shortlist reflects its continued work in this care setting and its participation in industry-wide efforts to promote accessible care at home. The company received formal notification of its finalist status and has acknowledged the recognition as an internal milestone for the year 2025. The shortlisting aligns with its current planning cycle and supports its ongoing focus on service delivery, staff support, and care coordination. Looking ahead, Live-in Care Services UK will continue to prioritise essential areas of operation, including quality standards, governance, and organisational continuity. The provider will also continue to provide general information about live-in care through its website and online resources, aiming to improve understanding of how home-based care works and what families can expect when seeking these services. About Live-in Care Direct Live-in Care Direct is a UK-based provider of live-in care services. The organisation connects families with trained, fully vetted caregivers who provide one-to-one support in the client's home. Services include personal care, mobility assistance, medication support, help with daily routines, companionship, and household tasks. Live-in Care Direct allows individuals to remain in familiar surroundings while receiving consistent, tailored support. Media Contact To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10740/282594_figure2.jpg To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/282594 Source: GetFeatured Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - Kutcho Copper Corp. (TSXV: KC) (OTCQX: KCCFF) ("Kutcho Copper" or the "Company") announces that it has arranged a non-brokered private placement (the "Private Placement") to raise total proceeds of up to $3,000,000. The Private Placement is for up to 6,976,744 units consisting of flow-through units ("FT Units") at a price of $0.43 per FT Unit of the Company for gross FT Unit proceeds of $3,000,000. Each FT Unit will consist of one flow-through share in the capital of the Company (each, a "FT Share") and one-half of one transferable common share purchase warrant (each whole, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant is exercisable at a price of $0.55 per common share (a "Warrant Share") for a period of 24 months from the closing date. Each FT Share will be a common share in the capital of the Company that will qualify as a "flow-through share" for the purposes of the Income Tax Act (Canada)(the "Tax Act"). The Warrant Shares will not qualify as "flow-through shares" for the purposes of the Tax Act. The Company intends to use the gross proceeds raised from the sale of FT Shares (comprised within the FT Units) for exploration on its Kutcho copper-zinc property in British Columbia that will qualify as "Canadian exploration expense" and "flow-through critical mineral mining expenditure" (both within the meaning of the Tax Act) and which will be incurred on or before December 31, 2027 and renounced with an effective date no later than December 31, 2026 to the initial purchasers of FT Shares (comprised within the FT Units). The closing of the Private Placement is subject to the Company's receipt of TSX Venture Exchange approval. The Company may pay finder's fees under the Private Placement as permitted by TSX Venture Exchange policy and applicable securities laws. All securities issued under the Private Placement will have a hold period of four months and a day from the date of issuance. Certain directors and officers of Kutcho Copper may participate in the Private Placement, which participation constitutes a related-party transaction, as defined in Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The issuance of any FT Units to directors and officers is exempt from the valuation requirements of Section 5.4 of MI 61-101 pursuant to Subsection 5.5(a) of MI 61-101 and exempt from the minority shareholder approval requirements of Section 5.6 of MI 61-101, pursuant to Subsection 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101. The securities to be offered pursuant to the Private Placement have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, United States persons absent registration or any applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. This release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in the United States, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. Vince Sorace President & CEO, Kutcho Copper Corp. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements" with respect to the Company within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "plans", "believes", "estimates", "potential", "indicates", and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although Kutcho Copper believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance, are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results or realities may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such material risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the timing, results and implications of the planned exploration programs, whether or not new deposits will be identified and, if so, whether such deposits will be permittable and economically feasible, the Company's ability to raise sufficient capital to fund its obligations under its property agreements going forward, to maintain its mineral tenures and concessions in good standing, to explore and develop the Kutcho Project, to repay its debt and for general working capital purposes; changes in economic conditions or financial markets; the inherent hazards associates with mineral exploration and mining operations, future prices of copper and other metals, changes in general economic conditions, accuracy of mineral resource and reserve estimates, the ability of the Company to obtain the necessary permits and consents required to explore, drill and develop the Kutcho project and if obtained, to obtain such permits and consents in a timely fashion relative to the Company's plans and business objectives for the projects; the general ability of the Company to monetize its mineral resources; and changes in environmental and other laws or regulations that could have an impact on the Company's operations, compliance with environmental laws and regulations, aboriginal title claims and rights to consultation and accommodation, dependence on key management personnel and general competition in the mining industry. Forward-looking statements are based on the reasonable beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. This news release includes historical information that has been reviewed by the Company's geological team and qualified person. The Company's review of the historical records and information reasonably substantiate the validity of the information presented in this news release; however, the Company cannot directly verify the accuracy of the historical data, including the procedures used for sample collection and analysis. There is insufficient exploration on these prospects to define a mineral resource. It is uncertain if after additional exploration a mineral resource will be delineated. Therefore, the Company encourages investors to exercise appropriate caution when evaluating these results. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE U.S To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/282599 Source: Kutcho Copper Corp. The insulin resistance market is expected to grow steadily over the forecast period (2026-2036). According to DelveInsight's analysis, this growth is driven by the rising global prevalence of obesity and type 2 diabetes, increasing awareness of insulin resistance as a central pathophysiologic driver of multiple metabolic disorders. In addition, the emergence of novel disease-modifying and insulin-sensitizing therapies such as OrsoBio's TLC-3595, Eli Lilly's Retatrutide, AdipoPharma's PATAS, and others is expected to further expand the market. LAS VEGAS, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- DelveInsight's Insulin Resistance Market Insights report includes a comprehensive understanding of current treatment practices, insulin resistance emerging drugs, market share of individual therapies, and current and forecasted market size from 2022 to 2036, segmented into leading markets [the United States, the EU4 (Germany, France, Italy, and Spain), the United Kingdom, and Japan]. Insulin Resistance Market Summary The total insulin resistance treatment market size is expected to grow positively by 2036 in the leading markets. The United States accounts for the largest market size of insulin resistance, in comparison to EU4 (Germany, Italy, France, and Spain), the UK, and Japan. Globally, the pooled prevalence of Insulin resistance was estimated at 26.53% in 2025, underscoring its widespread impact across populations. in 2025, underscoring its widespread impact across populations. Leading insulin resistance companies, such as OrsoBio, Eli Lilly, AdipoPharma, Amgen, and others, are developing new insulin resistance treatment drugs that can be available in the insulin resistance market in the coming years. and others, are developing new insulin resistance treatment drugs that can be available in the insulin resistance market in the coming years. The promising insulin resistance therapies in clinical trials include TLC-3595, Retatrutide, PATAS, Maridebart cafraglutide, and others. Discover what is the global insulin resistance market size and forecast to 2036 @ https://www.delveinsight.com/sample-request/insulin-resistance-market?utm_source=cision&utm_medium=pressrelease&utm_campaign=spr Key Factors Driving the Growth of the Insulin Resistance Market Rising Insulin Resistance Prevalence: The total prevalent cases of insulin resistance will rise steadily, supported by increasing cardio metabolic multimorbidity, earlier onset of metabolic dysfunction in younger adults, persistent socioeconomic and lifestyle risk factors, greater survival of patients with chronic metabolic disease, and expanding use of laboratory-based markers that capture subclinical insulin resistance. The total prevalent cases of insulin resistance will rise steadily, supported by increasing cardio metabolic multimorbidity, earlier onset of metabolic dysfunction in younger adults, persistent socioeconomic and lifestyle risk factors, greater survival of patients with chronic metabolic disease, and expanding use of laboratory-based markers that capture subclinical insulin resistance. Advancements in Therapeutic Options: Innovative drug classes, such as GLP-1 receptor agonists and SGLT2 inhibitors , that improve insulin sensitivity and support weight management are being widely adopted, expanding treatment options. Innovative drug classes, such as , that improve insulin sensitivity and support weight management are being widely adopted, expanding treatment options. Launch of Emerging Insulin Resistance Drugs: The dynamics of the insulin resistance market are expected to change in the coming years due to the launch of emerging therapies such as TLC-3595 (OrsoBio), Retatrutide (Eli Lilly), PATAS (AdipoPharma), Maridebart cafraglutide (Amgen), and others. Insulin Resistance Market Analysis Lifestyle modification remains the preferred first-line management for insulin resistance across major guidelines, including those from the United States (ADA/AACE), the United Kingdom (NICE), and Germany/EU (EASD/DDG) . . When lifestyle interventions are insufficient, pharmacologic treatment typically includes insulin sensitizers and incretin-based therapies. Metformin remains the cornerstone of therapy across all major guidelines, improving hepatic and peripheral insulin sensitivity while delaying progression to type 2 diabetes. Pioglitazone, a thiazolidinedione, enhances insulin sensitivity in adipose tissue and muscle and is selectively used in patients with severe insulin resistance or NAFLD/MASH, despite limitations such as weight gain and edema. In Japan, Imeglimin (TWYMEEG) represents a novel mitochondrial-targeted therapy that improves both insulin sensitivity and insulin secretion. represents a novel mitochondrial-targeted therapy that improves both insulin sensitivity and insulin secretion. GLP-1 receptor agonists and dual incretin therapies, including s emaglutide (OZEMPIC, RYBELSUS, WEGOVY) and tirzepatide (MOUNJARO, ZEPBOUND) , are increasingly adopted due to their strong effects on weight loss, insulin sensitivity, and cardiometabolic risk reduction. , are increasingly adopted due to their strong effects on weight loss, insulin sensitivity, and cardiometabolic risk reduction. Adjunctive agents such as DPP-4 inhibitors, SGLT-2 inhibitors, and alpha-glucosidase inhibitors are used to optimize metabolic control but do not primarily target insulin resistance. are used to optimize metabolic control but do not primarily target insulin resistance. The insulin resistance treatment landscape is evolving beyond currently approved therapies, with growing emphasis on disease-modifying approaches. Late-stage and emerging pipeline candidates, including TLC-3595 (OrsoBio) and PATAS (AdipoPharma) , aim to directly address insulin resistance by targeting fatty acid oxidation, adipocyte dysfunction, and insulin-independent glucose uptake. , aim to directly address insulin resistance by targeting fatty acid oxidation, adipocyte dysfunction, and insulin-independent glucose uptake. There are currently no approved therapies specifically indicated for insulin resistance as a standalone condition, representing a substantial unmet medical need and a significant market opportunity for novel agents capable of restoring insulin sensitivity and altering the progression of metabolic disease. Insulin Resistance Competitive Landscape Some of the insulin resistance drugs in clinical trials include TLC-3595 (OrsoBio), Retatrutide (Eli Lilly), PATAS (AdipoPharma), Maridebart cafraglutide (Amgen), and others. OrsoBio's TLC-3595 is a first-in-class, selective inhibitor of acetyl-CoA carboxylase 2 (ACC2) under development to enhance insulin sensitivity in individuals with type 2 diabetes. It works by promoting fatty acid oxidation and lowering ectopic lipid buildup in skeletal muscle and the liver, and is also being investigated for potential benefits in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Eli Lilly's Retatrutide is a once-weekly investigational triple-agonist therapy engineered to simultaneously activate GIP, GLP-1, and glucagon receptors. Eli Lilly is assessing Retatrutide in multiple Phase III studies to evaluate its safety and effectiveness across a wide spectrum of cardiometabolic and obesity-associated disorders. The anticipated launch of these emerging therapies are poised to transform the insulin resistance market landscape in the coming years. As these cutting-edge therapies continue to mature and gain regulatory approval, they are expected to reshape the insulin resistance market landscape, offering new standards of care and unlocking opportunities for medical innovation and economic growth. Discover more about which companies are leading the insulin resistance market @ Insulin Resistance Drugs Market Recent Developments in the Insulin Resistance Market In December 2025, Eli Lilly and Company announced positive topline results from its Phase III TRIUMPH-4 trial of Retatrutide, the investigational once-weekly GIP/GLP-1/glucagon triple hormone receptor agonist, which demonstrated significant weight loss and improvement in knee osteoarthritis pain, and noted that seven additional Phase III trials, including those in obesity and type 2 diabetes, are expected to be completed in 2026. announced positive topline results from its Phase III TRIUMPH-4 trial of Retatrutide, the investigational once-weekly GIP/GLP-1/glucagon triple hormone receptor agonist, which demonstrated significant weight loss and improvement in knee osteoarthritis pain, and noted that seven additional Phase III trials, including those in obesity and type 2 diabetes, are expected to be completed in 2026. In June 2025, AdipoPharma announced that PATAS, its novel insulin-sensitizing peptide targeting adipocyte dysfunction, was recognized at the American Diabetes Association's 85th Annual Meeting in Chicago and featured through a company-submitted video highlighting its unique, disease-modifying approach to treating insulin resistance, the root cause of type 2 diabetes. What is Insulin Resistance? Insulin resistance is a condition in which the body's cells, especially those in muscles, fat, and the liver, do not respond effectively to insulin, a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar levels. When this happens, the pancreas compensates by producing more insulin to keep blood glucose within a normal range. Over time, this extra demand can strain the pancreas, leading to persistently high blood sugar and insulin levels. Insulin resistance is a key underlying factor in type 2 diabetes and is commonly associated with obesity, physical inactivity, genetics, and conditions like metabolic syndrome, increasing the risk of heart disease and other health complications. Insulin Resistance Epidemiology Segmentation The insulin resistance epidemiology section provides insights into the historical and current insulin resistance patient pool and forecasted trends for the leading markets. In the US, insulin resistance drives 70-90% of type 2 diabetes cases via beta-cell exhaustion and precedes metabolic syndrome in 25-40% of affected adults. The insulin resistance treatment market report proffers epidemiological analysis for the study period 2022-2036 in the leading markets, segmented into: Total Prevalent Cases of Insulin Resistance Total Diagnosed Prevalent Cases of Insulin Resistance Gender-specific Cases of Insulin Resistance Age-specific Cases of Insulin Resistance Comorbidity-specific Cases of Insulin Resistance Treated Cases of Insulin Resistance Insulin Resistance Market Forecast Report Metrics Details Study Period 2022-2036 Coverage 7MM [The United States, the EU4 (Germany, France, Italy, and Spain), the United Kingdom, and Japan]. Insulin Resistance Epidemiology Segmentation Total Prevalent Cases of Insulin Resistance, Total Diagnosed Prevalent Cases of Insulin Resistance, Gender-specific Cases of Insulin Resistance, Age-specific Cases of Insulin Resistance, Comorbidity-specific Cases of Insulin Resistance, and Treated Cases of Insulin Resistance Key Insulin Resistance Companies OrsoBio, Eli Lilly, AdipoPharma, Amgen, and others Key Insulin Resistance Therapies TLC-3595, Retatrutide, PATAS, Maridebart cafraglutide, and others Scope of the Insulin Resistance Market Report Therapeutic Assessment: Insulin Resistance current marketed and emerging therapies Insulin Resistance current marketed and emerging therapies Insulin Resistance Market Dynamics: Key Market Forecast Assumptions of Emerging Insulin Resistance Drugs and Market Outlook Key Market Forecast Assumptions of Emerging Insulin Resistance Drugs and Market Outlook Competitive Intelligence Analysis: SWOT analysis and Market entry strategies SWOT analysis and Market entry strategies Unmet Needs, KOL's views, Analyst's views, Insulin Resistance Market Access and Reimbursement Download the report to understand what's driving the insulin resistance market growth @ Insulin Resistance Market Forecast Table of Contents 1 Insulin Resistance Market Key Insights 2 Insulin Resistance Market Report Introduction 3 Insulin Resistance Market Overview at a Glance 3.1 Insulin Resistance Market Share (%) Distribution by Therapies by 2025 3.2 Insulin Resistance Market Share (%) Distribution by Therapies by 2036 4 Executive Summary 5 Key events 6 Epidemiology and Market Methodology 7 Disease Background and Overview 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Signs and Symptoms 7.3 Diagnosis 7.4 Treatment and Management 8 Epidemiology and Patient Population 8.1 Key Findings 8.2 Assumptions and Rationale: The 7MM 8.3 Total Diagnosed Prevalent Cases of Insulin resistance in the 7MM 8.4 The US 8.4.1 Total Prevalent Cases of Insulin Resistance in the US 8.4.2 Total Diagnosed Prevalent Cases of Insulin Resistance in the US 8.4.3 Gender-specific Cases of Insulin Resistance in the US 8.4.4 Age-specific Cases of Insulin Resistance in the US 8.4.5 Comorbidity-specific Cases of Insulin resistance in the US 8.4.6 Total Treated Cases of Insulin Resistance in the US 8.5 EU4 and the UK 8.6 Japan 9 Patient Journey 10 Emerging Insulin Resistance Therapies 10.1 Key Cross Competition 10.2 TLC-3595: OrsoBio 10.2.1 Product Description 10.2.2 Other Developmental Activities 10.2.3 Clinical Development 10.2.4 Clinical Trials Information 10.2.5 Safety and Efficacy 10.2.6 Analyst Views 10.3 Retatrutide: Eli Lilly 10.4 PATAS: AdipoPharma List to be continued in the final report. 11 Insulin Resistance: Market Analysis 11.1 Key Findings 11.2 Insulin Resistance Market Outlook 11.3 Attribute Analysis 11.4 Key Insulin Resistance Market Forecast Assumptions 11.5 The 7MM Market Size 11.5.1 Total Market Size of Insulin Resistance in the 7MM 11.5.2 Market Size of Insulin Resistance by Therapies in the 7MM 11.6 The US Insulin Resistance Market Size 11.6.1 Total Market Size of Insulin Resistance in the US 11.6.2 Market Size of Insulin Resistance by Therapies in the US 11.7 EU4 and the UK Insulin Resistance Market Size 11.8 Japan Insulin Resistance Market Size 12 Insulin Resistance Market Access and Reimbursement 12.1 The United States 12.2 EU4 and the UK 12.3 Japan 12.4 Reimbursement Scenario in Insulin Resistance 13 KOL Views on Insulin Resistance 14 Insulin Resistance Market SWOT Analysis 15 Insulin Resistance Market Unmet Needs 16 Bibliography 17 Acronyms and Abbreviations 18 Insulin Resistance Market Report Methodology Related Reports Insulin Resistance Clinical Trial Analysis Insulin Resistance Pipeline Insight - 2025 report provides comprehensive insights about the pipeline landscape, pipeline drug profiles, including clinical and non-clinical stage products, and the key insulin resistance companies, including Boehringer Ingelheim, Eli Lilly and Company, Tonix Pharmaceuticals, Corbus Pharmaceuticals, Amolyt Pharma, Dompe Farmaceutici, among others. 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Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis Market Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis Market Insights, Epidemiology, and Market Forecast - 2034 report deliver an in-depth understanding of the disease, historical and forecasted epidemiology, as well as the market trends, market drivers, market barriers, and key MASH companies including Inventiva Pharma, Novo Nordisk A/S, Cirius Therapeutics, Inc., Akero Therapeutics, Inc., 89bio, Inc., Boehringer Ingelheim, Zealand Pharma, Galectin Therapeutics Inc., Lipocine Inc., Viking Therapeutics, Inc., Eli Lilly and Company, Boston Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, HighTide Biopharma, CytoDyn, Inc., Merck & Co., Hanmi Pharmaceutical, Hepagene (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., Hepion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Enyo Pharmaceuticals, Gilead Sciences, Poxel SA, Zydus Therapeutics, Sagimet Biosciences Inc., Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Corcept Therapeutics, among others. About DelveInsight DelveInsight is a leading Business Consultant and Market Research firm focused exclusively on life sciences. It supports pharma companies by providing comprehensive end-to-end solutions to improve their performance. Get hassle-free access to all the healthcare and pharma market research reports through our subscription-based platform PharmDelve. Contact Us Shruti Thakur info@delveinsight.com +14699457679 www.delveinsight.com Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1082265/3528414/DelveInsight_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/insulin-resistance-market-expected-to-witness-strong-growth-during-the-forecast-period-20262036--delveinsight-302677153.html Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - TAG Oil Ltd. (TSXV: TAO) (OTCQX: TAOIF) (FSE: T0P) ("TAG Oil" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that, due to strong investor demand, it has upsized its previously announced brokered, best-efforts offering to $10,000,000 of units of the Company (the "Units") at a price of $0.10 per Unit. The Offerings (as defined herein) are led by Research Capital Corporation as the lead agent and sole bookrunner, on behalf of a syndicate of agents (collectively, the "Agents"). The Offerings shall consist of: a) $5,640,000 of Units, to be issued on a prospectus-exempt basis pursuant to the LIFE Exemption (defined below) under applicable Canadian securities laws (the "LIFE Offering"); and b) $4,360,000 of Units, to be issued under a private placement pursuant to applicable prospectus exemptions in accordance with NI 45-106 ("Private Placement Offering", and together with the LIFE Offering, the "Offerings"). Each Unit will consist of one common share of the Company (a "Common Share") and one Common Share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each Warrant shall entitle the holder thereof to purchase one Common Share at an exercise price of $0.13 per Common Share for a period of 48 months following the closing of the Offering. In addition, the Company will use commercially reasonable efforts to obtain the necessary approvals to list the Warrants on the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange"). The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Offerings to advance appraisal and development activities at both the Badr Oil Field ("BED-1") and the Southeast Ras Qattara concessions ("SERQ"), in the Western Desert, Egypt and for working capital and general corporate purposes. Activities to be advanced with the financing proceeds include a) the drilling of a new vertical delineation well at BED-1 in the unconventional Abu Roash "F" ("ARF") resource play targeting lighter gravity crude in a high intensity natural fractured area and b) perform a Diagnostic Fracture Injectivity Test (DFIT) in an existing wellbore to evaluate the ARF potential at the SERQ Concession. In connection with the upsize, TAG also plans to drill an additional well on the SERQ Concession to advance the unconventional resource play, alongside the drilling of the already planned vertical delineation well at BED-1. The Company has granted the Agents an option (the "Agents' Option") to increase the size of the Private Placement Offering by up to $1,500,000 in additional Units by giving written notice of the exercise of the Agents' Option, or a part thereof, to the Company exercisable at any time prior to the closing of the Offerings. The Units under the LIFE Offering will be offered for sale pursuant to the listed issuer financing exemption under Part 5A of National Instrument 45-106 - Prospectus Exemptions, as amended by CSA Coordinated Blanket Order 45-935 - Exemptions from Certain Conditions of the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption (collectively, the "Listed Issuer Financing Exemption"), in all provinces of Canada, except Quebec, and other qualifying jurisdictions, including the United States. The Units offered under the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption will be immediately "free-trading" upon closing of the LIFE Offering under applicable Canadian securities laws. There is an amended and restated offering document (the "Offering Document") related to the LIFE Offering that can be accessed under the Company's profile at www.sedarplus.ca and at the Company's website at www.tagoil.com. Prospective investors should read this Offering Document before making an investment decision. The Private Placement Offering will be offered by way of private placement to accredited investors in each of the provinces of Canada and may also be offered in those other jurisdictions where the Private Placement Offering can lawfully be made, including the United States under applicable private placement exemptions. The Units to be issued under the Private Placement Offering will have a statutory hold period of four months and one day from Closing (as defined herein). The closing of the Offerings are expected to occur on or about the week of February 16, 2026 (the "Closing"), or on such date as the Agents and Company may agree upon. Closing is subject to the Company receiving all necessary regulatory approvals, including the conditional approval of the Exchange. The Agents will receive a cash commission of 8.0% of the aggregate gross proceeds of the Offerings and such number of broker warrants (the "Broker Warrants") as is equal to 8.0% of the number of Units sold under the Offerings (in each case, subject to reduction for certain subscribers on a president's list of purchasers identified by the Company). Each Broker Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Unit at an exercise price equal to $0.10 for a period of 48 months following the Closing. This press release is not an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the securities in the United States or in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to qualification or registration under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. The securities being offered have not been, nor will they be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and such securities may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons absent registration or an applicable exemption from U.S. registration requirements and applicable U.S. state securities laws. About TAG Oil Ltd. TAG Oil (http://www.tagoil.com/) is a Canadian based international oil and gas exploration company with a focus on operations and opportunities in the Middle East and North Africa. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION This news release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements." Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements, or developments to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "could" or "should" occur. These forward-looking statements or information relate to, among other things: receipt of all approvals related to the Offerings; the closing of the Offerings; the exercise of the Agents' Option; and the intended use of proceeds from the Offerings. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors and risks include, among others: the conditions to closing of the Offerings may not be satisfied, management's broad discretion regarding the use of proceeds of the Offerings, the Company may require additional financing from time to time in order to continue its operations which may not be available when needed or on acceptable terms and conditions acceptable; compliance with extensive government regulation; domestic and foreign laws and regulations could adversely affect the Company's business and results of operations; and the stock markets have experienced volatility that often has been unrelated to the performance of companies and these fluctuations may adversely affect the price of the Company's securities, regardless of its operating performance. The forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the expectations of the Company as of the date of this news release and, accordingly, is subject to change after such date. Readers should not place undue importance on forward-looking information and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. THIS NEWS RELEASE IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/282592 Source: TAG Oil Ltd. TORONTO, ON / ACCESS Newswire / February 3, 2026 / Sintana Energy Inc. (TSX-V:SEI)(AIM:SEI)(OTCQX:SEUSF) ("Sintana" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that its subsidiaries, Patriot Energy Oil and Gas Inc. and Patriot Energy Sucursal Colombia ("Patriot"), have successfully reached agreement to resolve the previously announced arbitration against ExxonMobil Exploration Colombia Limited and ExxonMobil Exploration Colombia Limited Sucursal Colombia (collectively, "ExxonMobil") associated with the VMM-37 block located in Colombia's Middle Magdalena Valley Basin ("VMM-37"). Pursuant to such resolution: Patriot and ExxonMobil have agreed to dismiss the current arbitration; Patriot has agreed to conditionally assign all of its rights and interests associated with VMM-37 to ExxonMobil (the "Assignment"); and ExxonMobil has agreed to make two cash payments to Patriot, the first $3 million due within sixty (60) days of execution, and a second payment of $6 million, together with mutual releases, conditioned on approval of the Assignment by the appropriate Colombian governmental agencies, including the Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos and other contractual requirements. Robert Bose, Chief Executive Officer of Sintana commented "We are pleased to bring this matter associated with our legacy position in Colombia to an initial conclusion. This outcome supports our efforts to streamline operations focusing resources on our active, high impact portfolio across the Atlantic margin." Enquiries Sintana Energy Inc Robert Bose, Chief Executive Officer Eytan Uliel, President Jonathan Paterson, IR Tel: +1 212 201 4125 +1 475 477 9401 Zeus - Nomad and Joint Broker Antonio Bossi / Darshan Patel / George Duxberry Simon Johnson (Broking) Tel: +44 (0) 20 3829 5000 Cavendish Capital Markets Limited - Joint Broker Neil McDonald / Derrick Lee / Pearl Kellie Tel: +44 (0) 20 3493 8000 About Sintana Sintana, the Canadian parent company of a group of companies, is focused on the acquisition, exploration, potential development, and ultimately the monetisation of a diversified portfolio of interests in high-impact assets with significant hydrocarbon resource potential in emerging "frontier" geographies. Specifically, this includes interests in eight licences in two countries, Namibia and Uruguay, as well as a pending indirect interest in a licence in Angola (and legacy assets in Colombia and The Bahamas), providing diversified exposure to a range of geologic plays, basins, operators, regulators, jurisdictions and geopolitical regimes. Forward-Looking Statements Certain information in this release are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions for the future, and include, but not limited to, statements with respect to the anticipated issuance of common shares of the Company, as well as the prospective nature of the Company's property interests. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements, including, but not limited to risks relating to the receipt of all applicable regulatory approvals, results of exploration and development activities, the ability to source joint venture partners and fund exploration, permitting and government approvals, and other risks identified in the Company's public disclosure documents from time to time. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation to update such information, except as may be required by law. NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. SOURCE: Sintana Energy Inc. View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/oil-gas-and-energy/sintana-energy-inc.-announces-vmm-37-resolution-1133406 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - CENTURION MINERALS LTD. (TSXV: CTN) ("Centurion" or the "Company") announces that the British Columbia Securities Commission ("BCSC") has revoked the management cease trade order ("MCTO") previously issued on December 1, 2025 under National Policy 12-203 - Management Cease Trade Orders. The issuance of the revocation order follows the filing by the Company of its audited annual financial statements for its fiscal year ended July 31, 2025 and its interim financial statements for the three-month period ended October 31, 2025, with related management's discussion and analysis and associated Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer certifications on January 26, 2026 and February 2, 2026, respectively (the "Required Filings"). Copies of the Required Filings are available under the Company's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca. The Company is also no longer listed as being in default on the BCSC's reporting issuer list and on the reporting issuer list, or default list, of each jurisdiction of Canada in which it is a reporting issuer to the extent that such jurisdiction maintains a list. About Centurion Minerals Ltd. Centurion Minerals Ltd. is a Canadian-based company with a focus on precious mineral asset exploration and development in the Americas. "David G. Tafel" CEO and Director Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/282609 Source: Centurion Minerals Ltd. St. Lewis, Newfoundland and Labrador--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - Search Minerals Inc. (TSXV: SMY) ("Search Minerals" or the "Company") announces that Joseph Lanzon has resigned as Chief Executive Officer and a director of the Company, effective immediately. The Board of Directors thanks Mr. Lanzon for his dedication and his tireless devotion to moving the Company's flagship project forward. The Board of Directors and the Company wish Mr. Lanzon success in his future endeavors. The Board of Directors will be undertaking a search for a new Chief Executive Officer and will provide updates if and when necessary in accordance with applicable securities laws. Jason Macintosh, Chief Financial Officer of the Company, will serve as Interim Chief Executive Officer until a new Chief Executive Officer is appointed. Matthew Anderson, Managing Director of Malaspina Consultants Inc., which provides accounting services to the Corporation, will serve as Interim Chief Financial Officer. About Search Minerals Search Minerals is focused on exploring for and developing Critical Rare Earths Elements (CREE) as well as transition metals Zirconium (Zr) and Hafnium (Hf) within the emerging Port Hope Simpson - St. Lewis CREE District of South-East Labrador. The Company controls two deposits (Foxtrot and Deep Fox), two drill ready prospects (Fox Meadow and Silver Fox) and numerous other CREE prospects, including Fox Valley, Foxy Lady and Awesome Fox, along a 64 kilometre long belt forming a CREE District in Labrador. Search Minerals also controls additional CREE assets in the Red Wine CREE District of central Labrador. These include: the drill ready Two Tom Lake CREE-Be-Nb deposit, the Mann #1 CREE-Nb-Be prospect and Merlot CREE Prospect. Forward-Looking Statements Statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "Forward-Looking Information") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. In certain cases, Forward-Looking Information can be identified by the use of words and phrases or variations of such words and phrases or statements such as "anticipate", "expect" "plan", "likely", "believe", "intend", "forecast", "project", "estimate", "potential", "could", "may", "will", "would" or "should". Forward-Looking Information in this news release are based on certain material assumptions and involve, known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Search Minerals to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the Forward-Looking Information. Such risks and other factors include, those factors discussed in Search Minerals' public filings. Although Search Minerals has attempted to identify important factors that could affect Search Minerals and may cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in Forward-Looking Information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that Forward-Looking Information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on Forward-Looking Information. For further information on these and other risks and uncertainties that may affect the Company's business, see the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis filed with certain Canadian securities regulators, which are available at www.sedarplus.ca. Except as required by law, Search Minerals does not assume any obligation to release publicly any revisions to Forward-Looking Information contained in this news release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/282611 Source: Search Minerals Inc. Lower reciprocal tariffs under the US-India trade deal seen boosting exports, investment sentiment and external balance. Goldman Sachs has upgraded Indias calendar year 2026 (CY26) real GDP growth forecast to 6.9 percent, citing improved trade dynamics after the conclusion of the US-India trade deal that lowers American reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods. In a note titled India: US-India conclude trade deal: President Trump lowers reciprocal tariffs on India to 18 percent, the investment bank said Donald Trump announced a reduction in reciprocal tariffs on Indian exports to 18 percent, down from 25 percent, with immediate effect. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Goldman Sachs said that once fully implemented, the deal would bring Indias tariff rate broadly in line with most Asian peers, where tariffs typically range between 1519 percent. Growth, investment and external balance upside Assessing the macro impact, Goldman Sachs estimated an incremental boost of around 0.2 percentage points to GDP growth (annualised), based on Indias goods export exposure of about 4 percent of GDP to US final demand and an assumed export demand elasticity of roughly 0.7. The conclusion of the deal reduces trade-policy uncertainty and should improve private investment intentions, the report said, adding that a recovery in private capital expenditure in the latter half of CY26 could provide further upside to growth. Reflecting these factors, the bank raised its CY26 growth forecast by 20 basis points to 6.9 percent year over year. CAD seen narrowing, rupee pressure easing From an external sector perspective, Goldman Sachs noted that lower tariffs on Indian exports to the US could help narrow the current account deficit by around 0.25 percent of GDP, taking it to roughly 0.8 percent of GDP in CY26. The easing of trade tensions may also support financial conditions. A pickup in capital flows, the report said, could help ease pressure on the Indian rupee, improving overall macro stability. Overall, Goldman Sachs said the tariff reduction marks a constructive shift in Indias external environment, strengthening the outlook for exports, investment, and growth momentum going into 2026. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Altman pushes back after report flags tension over inference chips, says Nvidia makes the best AI chips in the world OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has reaffirmed his companys commitment to Nvidia, dismissing reports that the ChatGPT-maker is unhappy with the chip giant and actively pursuing alternatives for its artificial intelligence infrastructure. We love working with NVIDIA and they make the best AI chips in the world. We hope to be a gigantic customer for a very long time, Altman wrote in a post on X Tuesday, adding that I dont get where all this insanity is coming from. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Altmans remarks came after a Reuters report, citing sources familiar with the matter, said OpenAI had grown dissatisfied with aspects of Nvidias latest AI chips particularly for inference workloads and had been exploring alternatives since last year. Inference in focus According to Reuters, OpenAIs concerns centre on AI inference the stage when trained models generate responses to user queries rather than training, where Nvidia continues to dominate with its graphics processing units (GPUs). According to the report OpenAI was not fully satisfied with the speed at which Nvidias hardware could deliver answers for specific use cases such as software development and AI-to-software communication. One source said OpenAI was seeking new hardware that could eventually meet about 10 per cent of its inference computing needs. Inference has emerged as a new battleground in the AI arms race. While Nvidias GPUs have become the gold standard for training large models like GPT, inference requires chips optimised for memory access and rapid response times, particularly as AI tools scale to millions of users. Inside OpenAI, the issue reportedly became particularly visible in Codex, its code-generation product, where staff attributed some performance limitations to GPU-based hardware, the report said. On a January 30 call with reporters, Altman said that customers using OpenAIs coding models will put a big premium on speed for coding work, adding that performance expectations vary between enterprise coding tools and casual ChatGPT usage. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Deals, delays and diversification The report also said OpenAI had explored partnerships with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Cerebras and Groq for inference chips designed with large amounts of on-chip memory (SRAM), which can offer speed advantages over traditional GPU architectures that rely more heavily on external memory. OpenAI last month announced a commercial deal with Cerebras aimed at boosting inference speed. Reuters reported that Nvidia subsequently signed a $20-billion non-exclusive licensing deal with Groq, a move industry executives viewed as an effort to strengthen its technology portfolio amid intensifying competition. The developments come against the backdrop of a proposed investment by Nvidia of up to $100 billion in OpenAI, first disclosed in September. The deal, which would give Nvidia a stake in the AI startup and provide OpenAI with capital to buy advanced chips, was initially expected to close within weeks but has since faced delays, Reuters said. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, however, dismissed talk of tensions over the weekend, calling such reports nonsense and reiterating plans for a significant investment in OpenAI. Nair, the mother of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, is mentioned in one of the emails as part of additional files of investigation related to millionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein put out in public domain by the Department of Justice on Friday Indian filmmaker Mira Nair had attended an after party for a film at the townhouse of convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, according to the latest Epstein files released by the US Justice Department. Nair, the mother of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, is mentioned in one of the emails as part of additional files of investigation related to millionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein put out in public domain by the Department of Justice on Friday. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Just left Ghislaines townhouse after party for film. Bill Clinton and Jeff Bezos were there Jean Pigozzi, director Mira Nairetc. Film received tepid reaction although women like it much more Hillary Swank and Gere at stupid party in Bloomingdales cheap sportwear department very weird. Is Mira Nairs former husband related to Jeffrey Epstein? The controversy for the filmmaker may be far from over as her former husband may be related to Jeffrey Epstein. Nairs former husband is Mitchell Epstein, a well-known American photographer and artist. His photographs have been showcased at the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum and Tate Modern. He has received his education at various instiutions like Union College, Rhode Island School of Design and Cooper Union in New York. And as per multiple reports doing the rounds on social media, the two Epsteins are not related in any form. Protests outside Zohran Mamdanis residence New York Citys newly elected mayor Zohran Mamdani found himself facing angry residents outside his official residence, Gracie Mansion, after the latest release of Jeffrey Epsteinrelated documents mentioned his mother, acclaimed filmmaker Mira Nair. Games View All Videos that circulated on social media showed a small crowd shouting shame and accusing the mayor of misleading supporters, demanding answers over the unexpected connection. The protests were triggered by an email from 2009 included in the newly released files by the US Department of Justice, sent by American publicist Peggy Siegal to Epstein . The email describes an afterparty at Ghislaine Maxwells Manhattan townhouse following a screening of a film, and names several highprofile attendees, including Bill Clinton, Jeff Bezos and Mira Nair. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Netflix has released the teaser for Stranger Things: Tales From 85, an animated spin-off set in winter 1985 with familiar characters facing new threats. The series premieres on April 23, 2026. Netflix has dropped the first teaser for Stranger Things: Tales From 85, an animated spin-off of the hit sci-fi series that will expand the beloved universe in a fresh format. The new trailer teases a blend of nostalgia and mystery as familiar faces return in animated form to Hawkins, Indiana and confront a chilling new threat lurking beneath the snow-covered town. Stranger Things: Tales From 85 is set to premiere globally on Netflix on April 23, 2026. The animated series takes place in the winter of 1985, situated in the timeline between Season 2 and Season 3 of the original live-action show. Viewers will see Eleven, Mike, Will, Lucas, Dustin and Max navigating what appears to be a quiet period following the Mind Flayer events, only to discover that something ominous may have survived beneath Hawkins icy surface. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The teaser opens on a suspenseful note as the gang settles into seemingly normal routines, Dungeons & Dragons sessions and snowball fights, before supernatural danger begins to surface once again. The narrative promises new mysteries and creatures that tie back to the paranormal elements fans associate with the franchise. Voice cast and production While the original Stranger Things actors do not return for the animation, a new voice cast brings the core characters to life. Brooklyn Davey Norstedt voices Eleven, Luca Diaz is Mike Wheeler, Braxton Quinney voices Dustin, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport plays Max, Elisha EJ Williams is Lucas and Benjamin Plessala voices Will. Brett Gipson lends his voice to Jim Hopper, with additional performances from Odessa Azion, Janeane Garofalo and Lou Diamond Phillips. The series is produced by Flying Bark Productions, with Eric Robles serving as showrunner and executive producer alongside original creators Matt and Ross Duffer, and collaborators including Shawn Levy. The animation is designed to evoke a nostalgic 1980s feel while pushing the story forward in ways the live-action format could not. Games View All What fans can expect The teaser underscores a mix of classic Stranger Things charm and fresh storytelling. As Hawkins settles into its snowy lull, deeper supernatural forces are hinted at once more, promising both mystery and adventure for audiences old and new. With animation unlocking broader creative possibilities, Tales From 85 could offer some of the franchises most imaginative paranormal encounters yet. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In his sixth time hosting the show and what he says will be his last Noah mostly played it safe during his monologue, not delving too much into much politics or controversy Trevor Noah once again roamed through the audience during his monologue to open the Grammy Awards, taking pokes at the stars while standing right next to them, but he saved his most pointed jokes for absentees, and elicited an angry post from the president. Nicki Minaj is not here, Noah said, to big cheers from the audience at Crypto.com Arena. She is still at the White House with Donald Trump discussing very important issues. Minaj this week visited and praised the president, the culmination of a move toward MAGA that shes made in recent months. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Noah broke into a Trump impression. Actually Nicki, I have the biggest ass, everybodys saying it Nicki. In his sixth time hosting the show and what he says will be his last Noah mostly played it safe during his monologue, not delving too much into much politics or controversy, at least during his monologue. There was no mention of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (on a night when many attendees were wearing ICE OUT buttons). Donald Trump furious Trump has threatened to sue the host over his controversial joke and put out an explosive tweet sans mincing his words. The Grammy Awards are the WORST, virtually unwatchable! CBS is lucky not to have this garbage litter their airwaves any longer. The host, Trevor Noah, whoever he may be, is almost as bad as Jimmy Kimmel at the Low Ratings Academy Awards. Noah said, INCORRECTLY about me, that Donald Trump and Bill Clinton spent time on Epstein Island. The U.S. President added, WRONG!!! I cant speak for Bill, but I have never been to Epstein Island, nor anywhere close, and until tonights false and defamatory statement, have never been accused of being there, not even by the Fake News Media. Noah, a total loser, better get his facts straight, and get them straight fast. It looks like Ill be sending my lawyers to sue this poor, pathetic, talentless, dope of an M.C., and suing him for plenty$. Ask Little George Slopadopolus, and others, how that all worked out. Also ask CBS! Get ready Noah, Im going to have some fun with you! Games View All What else Noah said Wow. That is a Grammy that every artist wants, Noah said, almost as much as Trump wants Greenland. Which makes sense. I mean, because Epsteins island is gone, he needs a new island to hang out with Bill Clinton. After the show in a Truth Social post, Trump reacted. Noah said, INCORRECTLY about me, that Donald Trump and Bill Clinton spent time on Epstein Island. WRONG!!! I cant speak for Bill, but I have never been to Epstein Island, nor anywhere close, and until tonights false and defamatory, statement, have never been accused being there, not even by the Fake News Media, the post said. Noah, a total loser, better get his facts straight, and get them straight fast. It looks like Ill be sending my lawyers to sue this poor, pathetic, talentless, dope of an M.C. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD After the crowds reaction to the joke during the show, Noah said, Oh, I told you, its my last year. What are you going to do about it? At a different point in the show, Noah joked about the presidents penchant for suing TV networks when he said the Grammys were airing completely live because if we edited any of the show, the president would sue CBS for $16 billion, referring to Trumps recent history with CBS News and a settlement he got from Paramount last summer. It had seemed at first like he wasnt going to go very far into such material. With added inputs from agencies Air India has grounded a Boeing 787 Dreamliner after a pilot reported abnormal behaviour in an engine fuel control switch, reviving concerns linked to the 2025 Ahmedabad crash that killed 260 people Wreckage of the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane sits on the open ground, outside Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, where it took off and crashed nearby shortly afterwards, in Ahmedabad, India July 12, 2025. File Image/Reuters Air Indias Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet is one again under the lens after a pilot flagged a suspected malfunction in an engine fuel control switch, prompting the airline to immediately ground the aircraft and escalate the matter to aircraft manufacturers and Indias aviation regulator. The development has brought back unresolved questions surrounding fuel control switches components that were central to the investigation into the catastrophic Air India crash in Ahmedabad in June last year that killed 260 people. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What the pilot reported On Monday, February 2, an Air India pilot reported unusual behaviour involving one of the aircrafts engine fuel control switches. The aircraft in question was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner operating a scheduled long-haul service from London to Bengaluru. According to sources familiar with the matter, the pilot flagged the issue after the aircraft landed safely in the southern Indian city. The airline did not publicly disclose the precise technical nature of the suspected defect or provide detailed flight information. However, aviation safety advocacy group Safety Matters Foundation said the crew observed abnormal behaviour during engine start-up procedures. According to the foundations statement, the left engine fuel control switch did not remain secured in the RUN position and instead moved toward CUTOFF on two separate attempts. Sources told Reuters that the pilot noted that the switch appeared to slip out of position if pushed down slightly and did not lock properly. The aircraft involved registration VT-ANX is nine years old and had been deployed on the London-Bengaluru sector at the time of the report. Upon receiving the pilots feedback, Air India withdrew the aircraft from service. After receiving this initial information, we have grounded the said aircraft, the airline said, adding that it had begun engaging with the aircraft manufacturer on an urgent basis. The matter was also formally communicated to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Indias civil aviation regulator. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD An Air India spokesperson later confirmed, stating, We are aware that one of our pilots has reported a possible defect on the fuel control switch of a Boeing 787-8 aircraft. After receiving this initial information, we have grounded the aircraft and are involving the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) to get the pilots concerns checked on a priority basis. The matter has been communicated to the aviation regulator, DGCA. Air India had checked the fuel control switches on all Boeing 787 aircraft in its fleet after a directive from the DGCA, and had found no issues. At Air India, the safety of our passengers and crew remains top priority. Boeing, which manufactured the aircraft, confirmed its involvement, stating, We are in contact with Air India and are supporting their review of this matter. Honeywell is the manufacturer of the fuel control switches installed on the aircraft. How fuel control switches work Fuel control switches play a vital role in aircraft engine management. Their primary function is to regulate the flow of fuel into the engines, allowing pilots to start or shut down engines on the ground. In flight, the switches can be used manually to shut down or restart an engine if an engine failure or abnormal condition occurs. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD On Boeing 787 aircraft, including those operated by Air India and powered by two General Electric engines, the fuel control switches are positioned below the thrust levers on the cockpits central console. Each engine has its own dedicated switch, and the systems governing these switches operate independently, with separate power supplies and wiring. The switches are spring-loaded and engineered to remain firmly in the selected position. To change a switch from RUN to CUTOFF or vice versa, a pilot must first pull the switch upward before moving it to the alternate setting. The system includes only two operational modes: RUN, which permits fuel flow to the engine, and CUTOFF, which stops fuel delivery immediately. Aviation experts have stated that due to this design, a pilot cannot accidentally move the fuel control switches. However, if a switch is moved to CUTOFF, the impact is immediate, cutting off fuel supply and rapidly reducing engine power. The integrity of the switch locking mechanism is therefore critical, as any unintended movement under certain conditions could lead to an engine shutdown at a time when recovery options are limited. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD How fuel switches entered the spotlight during the Ahmedabad crash The intense focus on fuel control switches stems from the June 12, 2025, crash of Air India flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London Gatwick. Shortly after departing from Ahmedabad, the aircraft lost thrust and plunged into a medical college building, killing 260 people, including 241 passengers. In July 2025, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) released a 15-page preliminary report outlining the sequence of events leading up to the crash. According to flight data, seconds after take-off, the fuel control switch for one engine moved from RUN to CUTOFF. One second later, the switch controlling the second engine followed. With both engines suddenly deprived of fuel, the aircraft experienced an almost immediate loss of power during the critical climb phase. Cockpit voice recordings revealed confusion inside the flight deck. One pilot was heard asking the other why the fuel had been cut off. The other pilot responded that he did not do so, the report said. Moments later, the fuel control switches were returned to the RUN position. Investigators later found both switches set to RUN at the crash site. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The report explained that when fuel control switches are moved from CUTOFF back to RUN while an aircraft is airborne, the engine control system automatically initiates a relight and thrust recovery sequence, managing ignition and fuel reintroduction without pilot input. Despite these automated processes, the engines did not recover sufficient thrust to prevent the crash. What investigators ruled out The AIBs preliminary findings indicated that the flight crew attempted to relight the engines after fuel flow was restored. The report also stated that investigators found no evidence pointing to sabotage, bird strikes, or fuel contamination. Air India later said the report did not identify any mechanical or maintenance faults with the aircraft, its engines, or fuel quality. The airline also maintained that inspections conducted shortly after the crash cleared all Boeing 787 aircraft in its fleet for continued operations. Commenting on the fuel switch movements during the fatal flight, US aviation safety expert John Nance said, No sane pilot would ever turn those switches off in flight, particularly at a moment when the aircraft is just beginning its climb after take-off. How DGCA responsed after the crash In the aftermath of the Ahmedabad tragedy, Indias aviation regulator ordered inspections of fuel control switches across nearly all Boeing aircraft operating in the country. Air India said it carried out checks on its entire Boeing 787 fleet within days and found no issues. In July 2025, the airline also announced that it had completed inspections of the locking mechanisms on fuel control switches across both its Boeing 787 and Boeing 737 fleets, again reporting no defects. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD On July 14, 2025, the DGCA issued a formal advisory requiring fuel switch inspections on certain aircraft models by July 21. Both Air India and its low-cost subsidiary, Air India Express, complied with the directive. According to a Reuters report, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Boeing had earlier issued private notifications stating that fuel switch locking mechanisms on Boeing aircraft were safe. Why fuel control switch concerns arent new In 2018, the FAA issued an information bulletin highlighting the potential for disengagement of the locking mechanism on certain fuel control switches installed on Boeing aircraft, including the 787. The bulletin recommended inspections to verify switch integrity. However, because the communication was advisory rather than mandatory, several airlines including Air India did not conduct the checks at that time. Following the Ahmedabad crash, the DGCA ordered fuel control switch inspections on almost all Boeing aircraft operating in India, effectively making such checks compulsory within the country. Where things stand now Air India operates 33 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, according to data from Flightradar24. The airline, jointly owned by the Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, has reiterated that it remains in close contact with both Boeing and the DGCA as the latest aircraft undergoes further evaluation. While no official link has been established between the recent pilot report and the Ahmedabad crash, the recurrence of fuel control switch-related concerns has ensured continued attention on switch design, inspection protocols, and regulatory oversight. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Also Watch: With inputs from agencies A 13-year-old boy in Australia is being hailed as a superhuman for swimming four kilometres in an attempt to save his family. His herculean effort came after the teens mother and two siblings drifted off shore A lifeguard patrols North Steyne beach as beaches are closed after recent shark attacks in Sydney, Australia. File Image/Reuters One can call it a swim of a lifetime! A 13-year-old is being hailed as a hero after he swam four kilometres through rough waters to help his mother and two siblings off the coast of Western Australia. Initially, the boy tried to paddle back to shore on his kayak before it took on water in the rough seas, leaving him to swim back to the shore to raise an alarm for his missing mother and siblings. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The bravery, strength and courage shown by this family were extraordinary, especially the young fella who swam 4 km to raise the alarm, Naturaliste Volunteer Marine Rescue Group said. Here is all you need to know about the incident. A superhuman swim It all unfolded on January 30 at Geographe Bay in Australia when a family set out for paddleboarding and kayaking. However, strong winds sent their inflatables drifting off course, said the police. As a result, the 13-year-old teen began paddling back to shore to raise an alarm. But, his kayak began to fill water, forcing him to abandon it and swimming the last four kilometres. The boys efforts to swim through choppy waters have been hailed as superhuman. During the first two hours, he swam wearing a life jacket on. But he later doubted if he could make it with a life jacket, so he ditched it. For the next two hours, he swam without wearing a life jacket. He swam in, he reckons, the first two hours with a life jacket on, Naturaliste Marine Rescue commander Paul Bresland told ABC News. The brave fella thought hes not going to make it with a life jacket on, so he ditched it, and he swam the next two hours without a life jacket. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD News website BBC, quoting the police, stated the boy raised the alarm by 18:00 local time on Friday evening, setting off a major search for his missing relatives near Quindalup Beach, close to Busselton. Narrating his ordeal, the teen said: I just said all right, not today, not today, not today, the boy told Sky News. I do breastroke, I do freestyle, I do survival backstroke. I hit the bottom of the beach and I just collapsed, and then after that I had to sprint two km to go get to the phone. The boys mother was 47 years old while her other son was aged 12 and a daughter was only eight years old. A massive rescue operation follows Bresland told ABC News that Marine teams were alerted, including WA Water Police, local marine rescue volunteers and Western Australias Rescue Helicopter. A huge search and rescue operation was launched to find the family members who had been swept away from the shore. The rescuers found the mother and her children around 8:30 pm by a rescue helicopter clinging to a paddleboard about 14 kilometres offshore. A volunteer marine rescue vessel was directed to their location and all three were successfully rescued and returned to shore, the force told BBC. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD According to local media, all three people were wearing life jackets, which contributed to their survival. Police said the family was checked by paramedics and taken to hospital, but they were later discharged and stopped by to thank the marine rescue crew, according to the ABC. Inspector James Bradley said the incident served as a stark reminder of how fast conditions at sea can shift. Australias beaches witness shark attacks Notably, the boy had to swim through shark-infested waters. Moreover, Australia has been rocked by four shark attacks in quick succession. Dozens of beaches along the countrys east coast, including in Sydney, have been closed following the unprecedented attacks. Bull sharks are believed to be behind the recent attacks that have resulted in the closure of around 40 beaches along the coast of New South Wales (NSW). This comes after days of heavy rain that washed into the harbour and nearby beaches, forming ideal conditions for these species. In the most recent attack, a surfer was bitten by a shark that knocked him off his board near Point Plomer Beach on the NSW Mid North Coast on January 20. With inputs from agencies A fresh batch of Epstein files has been released by the US Justice Department. Britains Prince Andrew, along with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, have been named in the files. Norways Crown Princess Mette-Marits name appears at least 1,000 times in the millions of freshly released documents Britain's Prince Andrew and his former wife Sarah Ferguson have been named in the fresh Epstein documents. AFP The release by US authorities of a new cache of files on the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has caused international fallout involving high-profile figures. Here are details about some of the individuals mentioned, none of whom has been accused of wrongdoing: Norway crown princess Norways Crown Princess Mette-Marit, whose name appears at least 1,000 times in the millions of freshly released documents, has said she showed poor judgment for her embarrassing friendship with Epstein. In one email, Mette-Marit asked Epstein if it was inappropriate for a mother to suggest two naked women carrying a surfboard for my 15-year-old sons wallpaper. According to the palace, Mette-Marit ceased contact with Epstein in 2014. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Britains Andrew and Sarah Ferguson Britain's former Prince Andrew was again caught up in the scandal. The latest release included undated photos of him kneeling on all fours over a woman lying on the floor. Prime Minister Keir Starmer indicated Saturday that Andrew should testify to the US Congress about his ties to Epstein. This undated photo at an undisclosed location released by the US Justice Department on January 30, 2026 as part of the Jeffrey Epstein files shows British former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor kneeling over a woman lying on the floor. AFP In October, King Charles III stripped his brother of his royal titles after the late Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre alleged she was trafficked to have sex with Andrew three times, including twice when she was 17. In one email from Fridays release, Andrews ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson thanked Epstein for being the brother I have always wished for. In another, she wrote: urgently need 20,000 pounds for rent today Any brainwaves? Ferguson said in a 2011 interview that she was cutting ties with Epstein, and has also called a 15,000 ($20,000) loan that she took from him to help pay off debts a gigantic error of judgement. Belgian prince Belgiums Prince Laurent admitted on Monday to two one-on-one meetings with Epstein, dating back to the 1990s and early 2000s. King Philippes 62-year-old younger brother, however, denied ever meeting the disgraced financier at public or group events. Norwegian diplomat Norway suspended on Monday a top diplomat known for her involvement in a landmark attempt to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict pending an investigation into her alleged ties to Epstein. Norwegian media reported that Epstein left $10 million in his will to the children of Mona Juul, who played a key role in the secret Israeli-Palestinian negotiations that led to the Oslo accords of the early 1990s. Slovakia official resigns The Slovakian governments national security adviser resigned over his links to Epstein. Miroslav Lajcak exchanged text messages with Epstein, including one saying that certain girls are incredible in 2018 during his second spell as foreign minister, the BBC reported. Admitting the exchanges on Monday night for the first time, the former foreign minister said that while he was introduced to important people by Epstein, there were no girls present. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD LA Olympic chief Los Angeles Olympics chief Casey Wasserman apologised on Saturday after decades-old flirtatious emails between him and Epsteins jailed former girlfriend appeared in the files. Wasserman, chairman of the organising committee for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, said his 2003 email exchanges with Ghislaine Maxwell who is serving a 20-year sentence for trafficking underage girls for Epstein took place before her crimes were known. He said he had never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, adding that he was terribly sorry for having any association with either of them. British ex-envoy to US Peter Mandelson, who was fired as the British ambassador to Washington last year over his ties to Epstein, quit the Labour Party on Sunday following the latest wave of revelations. Undated photos appear to show Mandelson in a Tshirt and underwear beside a woman whose face was redacted by US authorities. Mandelson told the BBC he could not identify the woman or the location. UK leader Starmer has ordered an urgent inquiry into Mandelsons ties with Epstein. French film producer, ex-minister A daughter of high-profile former French culture minister Jack Lang resigned as head of a film producers group following revelations of the familys Epstein ties. Lang, who spent nearly 20 years as culture minister and education minister in different governments, said he had been introduced to Epstein by American actor-director Woody Allen and had no knowledge of his crimes. Former French Culture minister Jack Lang has also been named in the Epstein Files. AFP His daughter, Caroline, a one-time actor and now a film producer, admitted to being incredibly naive about plans to set up a fund to buy artworks with the late sex offender. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD University drops US envoys name Queens University Belfast on Monday said it was dropping the former US senator George Mitchells name from one of its institutes over his links with Epstein. Mitchell brokered negotiations which led to the 1998 peace agreement ending three decades of conflict over British rule in Northern Ireland, and was chancellor of the university from 1999 to 2009. The latest tranche of documents includes 339 references to Mitchell, who previously said he regrets having met and known Epstein and said he had no knowledge of any of his illegal actions. In the latest blow to the royal family, Norways Crown Princess Mette-Marits eldest son, Marius Borg Hoiby, will stand trial today on four charges of rape and 34 other offences. Hoiby was arrested on Sunday (February 1) on suspicion of assault. Prosecutors say if convicted at the trial, Hoiby may face up to 10 years in prison Norway's Marius Borg Hoiby and his mother, Crown Princess Mette-Marit in Oslo. Hoiby's rape trial has begun today in what is a big test for the royal family. File photo/AP The troubles for the Norwegian royal family continue. In the biggest test yet, Crown Princess Mette-Marits eldest son, Marius Borg Hiby, goes on trial in Oslo court on four charges of rape as well as drug and assault offences today. This comes as the princess is facing flak after she was cited in hundreds of emails showing contacts with the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The rape trial is the biggest case to come to the Oslo court in years. It begins a year and a half after Hibys arrest over a violent episode at a womans flat in the capital. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD While the 29-year-old has pleaded not guilty to the four rape charges, the indictment lists 38 charges, including rape, abuse against one former partner, violence against another, and the transport of 3.5 kilogrammes of marijuana. Additional allegations include issuing death threats and committing traffic offences. According to prosecutors, if convicted, Hiby may face up to 10 years in prison. It can be raised to a maximum of 16 years if the court finds him guilty of several counts. The trial is set to last from today until March 13. He was indicted in August last year after a lengthy investigation. We take a look. Who is Marius Borg Hiby ? Marius Borg Hiby is the son of Mette-Marit from a previous relationship. He is the stepson of Crown Prince Haakon and was born four years before Mette-Marit married into the royal family. The 29-year-old does not hold a royal title. However, he has been popular with the media, earning the moniker little Marius. He has largely operated outside the sphere of royal duties, gaining public attention for his lifestyle and media coverage. What are the charges against Hiby ? The son of the Norwegian crown princess has been charged with 38 counts, many dating back to 2018. However, the most serious charges against him are of four rapes and physical and psychological abuse of several ex-girlfriends, CBS News reported. On August 4, 2024, he was arrested after being suspected of assaulting his then-girlfriend the night before. Days later, Hiby admitted, saying, He acted under the influence of alcohol and cocaine after an argument. Marius Borg Hoiby is on his way to a meeting with his lawyer in Oslo, Norway, January 19, 2026. Reuters The investigation into the incident uncovered multiple other suspected crimes, including raping four women while they were asleep or incapacitated by alcohol, and some of which he filmed as well, the media outlet reported. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The four alleged rapes date back to 2018, 2023 and 2024; the latest one was reported after the investigation began. However, the suspect has denied serious crimes, including rapes. Our client denies all charges of sexual abuse, as well as the majority of the charges regarding violence, Defence attorney Petar Sekulic said. He (Hoiby) will present a detailed account of his version of events before the court. Days before the start of his rape trial, Hiby was arrested on Sunday evening (February 1) on suspicion of assault. According to police in Oslo, he threatened a woman with a knife and breached a restraining order. He will now be spending the next four weeks in custody, the Times reported. Local media suggested that the victim appeared to be a former partner, whom he admitted attacking under the influence of alcohol at her flat in 2024. Oslo district judges ruled that Hiby remain in detention until March 2, citing a substantial risk that he might commit further offences, the media outlet reported. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Prosecutor Sturla Henriksbo assured that everyone is equal before the law, regardless of their social status, origin or family ties. Henriksbo told AFP, Hiby should neither be treated more leniently nor more severely because of his family affiliations. Authorities also announced six new counts against Hiby last week, including a serious narcotics offence from 2020, alleging that he transported 3.5 kilogrammes of marijuana without financial compensation. He has confessed to that crime. The investigation has also revealed his questionable associations. Members of the media gather ahead of the first day of the trial against Marius Borg Hiby in Oslo. AP How did the royal family react? The Royal House of Norway released the statement of Norways Crown Prince Haakon on January 28. Haakon confirmed that neither he nor Mette-Marit plans to attend the trial. In the same statement, Haakon alluded to Hibys autonomous status, saying, Marius Borg Hoiby is not a member of the Royal House of Norway and is therefore autonomous. We care about him, and he is an important member of our family. He is a citizen of Norway and, as such, has the same responsibilities as everyone else as well as the same rights. He also expressed concerns about those affected. Our thoughts are with everyone who is affected by this case. It has an impact on the individuals, their families and all those who care about them. We understand that this is a difficult time for many of you, and we sympathise. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD At the same time, it is reassuring to know that we live in a state governed by the rule of law. I am confident that those responsible for overseeing the proceedings will ensure that the trial is conducted in as orderly, proper, and just a manner as possible, the statement furthered. With inputs from agencies Its finally here! After many ups and downs, India and the US have agreed on a trade deal that slashes American tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent from 50 per cent. In turn, according to Donald Trump, New Delhi has agreed to stop purchasing Russian oil, and will commit to buying more than $500 billion worth of US energy, technology, agricultural products, coal and other goods After many ups and downs, US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that after a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the two sides had agreed upon a trade deal. File image/Reuters A week after India and the European Union sealed the mother of all trade deals, New Delhi has a reason to cheer. On Monday (February 2), US President Donald Trump announced that he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have agreed to a trade deal. Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a trade deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced reciprocal tariff, lowering it from 25 per cent to 18 per cent, said the US president in a social media post following a call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Many believe that if the India-EU trade pact was the mother of trade deals, then the India-US trade agreement is the father of all trade deals. Catch live updates from The move also marks a significant change in US-India relations, which had dipped to its lowest last year. But what exactly is in the India-US trade deal? Who wins? Who stands to gain? What are people saying about it? We get you all the answers and much more. What has India-US exactly agreed upon? While theres no formal agreement signed yet, India and the United States have reached an agreement under which American reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods will be reduced from 25 per cent to 18 per cent, while India will eliminate all tariffs and non-tariff barriers on US products, said US President Donald Trump. This came after the two leaders Trump and Modi held a phone call with US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor confirming on X that the two leaders had spoken on the phone and urged followers to stay tuned. As per Trump, the US was rescinding a punitive, 25 per cent duty on all imports from India over its purchases of Russian oil that had stacked on top of a 25 per cent reciprocal tariff rate. In addition, the US will lower Indias country-specific tariff rate to 18 per cent from 25 per cent. Moreover, India will move to reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers against the US to zero. While this has led to speculation, in trade terms, this means an in-principle commitment to reduce or phase out duties on selected US products rather than an immediate elimination of all import duties. Non-tariff barriers include various restrictions such as licensing rules, quotas, certification requirements, local sourcing norms, and regulatory approvals that can limit market access. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Trump also announced that as part of the trade deal, India will purchase over $500 billion worth of US energy, technology, agricultural products, coal, and many other products. As per the American leaders social media post, India agreed to stop buying Russian oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela. This will help end the war in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week, wrote Trump. With this, India has now received a competitive edge in exports, compared to other Asian nations. Indias 18 per cent tariff is way lesser than the 37 per cent imposed on China, 20 per cent on Bangladesh and 19 per cent on Pakistan. While the finer print of the trade agreement between India and the US remains unknown, Trump has claimed that tariffs on India will come down to 18 per cent and, in turn, New Delhi will stop purchasing oil from Russia. File image/Reuters What have the reactions been to the India-US trade deal? Shortly after Trump made the trade deal announcement, US envoy to India, Sergio Gor, credited the strong personal relationship between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for driving forward the trade deal. Speaking to CNN-News18, Gor said the rapport between the two leaders played a decisive role in shaping the agreement. All the credit to President Trump and Prime Minister Modi. Since I arrived in India about a month ago, I have said and I truly mean it, that the two leaders have a great personal relationship, and that is something that carried this deal forward. The potential between India and United States is limitless, and I am thrilled that India is getting this 18 per cent which is a massive drop from the previous number. We have incredible deals ahead, and so as I have said since I have arrive here, the best is yet to come, Gor said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Prime Minister Narendra Modi also commented on his phone call with Trump and the tariff cut. Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 per cent, Modi said in a social media post on X. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement. Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement. When two large economies and the Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 2, 2026 Many in Modis Cabinet also hailed the move. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, who has been part of negotiations, noted that the India-US trade agreement will open up huge opportunities for domestic farmers, MSMEs, entrepreneurs, and skilled workers and promote Make in India initiative. Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who is currently in the US, welcomed the news, saying it will spur growth in both economies and strengthen the countrys Make in India endeavours. In a post on X, Jaishankar said, This will create more jobs, spur growth and promote innovation in both economies. It will strengthen Make in India endeavors and encourage trusted technology ties. The opportunities in our economic engagement are truly vast and we are confident of realising them. A robust economic relationship is the strongest foundation for our strategic partnership. Industry titans in India also hailed the trade deal. Industrialist and Chairman of RPG Enterprises Harsh Goenka hailed the India-US trade deal, describing it as the father of all deals. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, also praised the PM and the US president for the deal, highlighting its potential to strengthen bilateral ties and boost investment opportunities. The India-US trade deal will give Indian exports to the US market a competitive edge over other nations. Representational image/AI generated A win-win deal for both sides? The trade deal, which will be effective immediately, will help Indian exports to the US market. For sectors such as , the India-US trade deal is a godsend. Earlier, Trumps 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods upset the countrys $11 billion textile export industry. However, this is set to be corrected after Trump announced that both sides have agreed on a trade agreement. File image/AFP Experts note that the trade deal will be highly beneficial for textiles and apparel which are among the most price-sensitive segments of Indias exports to the US. Additionally, engineering goods form the largest share of Indias merchandise exports to the US, covering auto components, industrial machinery, electrical equipment and capital goods. These exports typically operate on single-digit margins, making tariff changes immediately relevant. Gems and jewellery exports, including cut and polished diamonds and gold jewellery, are high-value but highly competitive. Tariffs impact retail pricing and inventory costs for US wholesalers and retailers. As Michael Kugelman, resident senior fellow for South Asia at the Atlantic Council, noted that the US is one of Indias top export markets. And while India has come up with various workarounds, its been to compensate for the loss of US markets. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Mark Linscott, an Atlantic Council non-resident senior fellow on India, also said that when the India-US trade deal is fully implemented, it could stabilise the trade relationship and then allow it to grow at an accelerated rate compared to the status quo ex ante. Is the trade deal a reset in India-US ties? The India-US trade agreement also indicates a possible thaw in ties between the two nations, which had drastically been affected last year. Last August, Trump slapped a 25 per cent tariff on India in response to oil purchases from Russia on top of the 25 per cent reciprocal levy. Many in Trumps administration also issued acerbic statements about New Delhi, which only led to India-US ties to worsen. A man reads a newspaper with reports on tariff after US President Donald Trump announced an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, alongside a market in New Delhi last August. File image/Reuters As Kugelman told the Atlantic Council, The trade deal is a confidence-building measure that can help the two sides work through their various issuesincluding all the trust that the Trump administration has squandered in New Delhi in recent months. It remains to be seen whats in the fine print of the trade deal that India and the US have agreed upon, but for now at least, both countries can bask in the fact that they have achieved a milestone. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With inputs from agencies Stay tuned, said Sergio Gor minutes before the India-US trade deal was announced. Ties have seen an upswing since Donald Trumps confidante took charge as US ambassador to India in early January. Now, he is getting his share of credit for the father of all pacts The US ambassador to India, Sergio Gor, has been receiving praise for being Donald Trump's key architect for reshaping US-India relations and getting the two sides to agree to a trade deal. File image/Reuters At 9.16 pm local time, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor wrote on X, President Trump just spoke with Prime Minister Modi. Stay tuned. Over an hour later, the US envoy once again took to the social media site, posting: As I have said many times, President Trump genuinely considers Prime Minister Modi a great friend! Thrilled by the news of the trade deal this evening. The relationship between the United States and India has limitless potential! STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The second post followed US President Donald Trumps announcement that he agreed to a trade deal with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in which the US will lower tariffs on goods from India to 18 per cent. In the subsequent hours, Gor, Trumps trusted man, provided more details on the India-US trade deal, confirming that the punitive 25 per cent duty levied on India for its purchase of Russian oil would no longer apply. Speaking to CNN-News18 first, Gor said, All the credit goes to President Trump and PM Modi. The two leaders have a great personal relationship, which has carried the deal forward. The number that will be finalised will be 18 per cent. For many, the timing of the deal it came after Gor arrived in New Delhi is a sign of the envoys continuous efforts to accelerate negotiations, making him the biggest difference. Credit for India-US trade deal goes to Soon after Trumps huge announcement on Monday, many experts and analysts attributed the move to Gors untiring efforts to seal the deal. Foreign policy analyst Michael Kugelman was among the first to credit Gor for the trade deal between India and the US. Things have moved very fast since Sergio Gor arrived in Delhi, Kugelman wrote on X. Weve seen lots of positive messaging, high-level engagements, and key breakthroughs. Gor, who has the ear of the president in a big way, appears to be the difference maker here. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Sheela Bhatt, who is a seasoned Indian journalist, also noted the same. A source in Washington who has been witness to the negotiations of India-US trade deal claims @USAmbIndia fast-forwarded many things. Sergio Gor was able to convey correctly Indias thinking to @realDonaldTrump. The issue of oil trade was the trickiest, he claims, she posted on X. Former Indian diplomat Sadanand Dhume also noted Gors part in achieving the trade agreement. Credit where credit is due: Negotiating an end to punitive US tariffs, and ending up with a better rate than competitors such as Vietnam and Bangladesh, is a major diplomatic/economic win for the Modi government. Also a great start to @USAmbIndia Sergio Gors tenure in India. Capitol Hill veteran and commentator Anang Mittal also gave a thumbs-up to Sergio Gor. Speaking to news agency PTI, he said, He is a close confidant of President Trump, and I think he made it clear that better relations with India were ahead. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD VIDEO | India-US Trade Deal: Capitol Hill veteran and commentator Anang Mittal says, "I think the biggest factor has to be the installation of Ambassador Sergio Gor. He is a close confidant of President Trump, and I think he made it clear that better relations with India were pic.twitter.com/pc12B5w8Bu Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 3, 2026 India Todays Rohit Sharma also claimed that it was Gors arrival in India that changed the ties. He told the Indian media house, Everybody that I have talked to is talking about how Ambassador Gor served as a catalyst. Gors arrival and upswing in India-US ties But why is Ambassador Gor receiving credit for the India-US trade deal? Thats because ever since his arrival in New Delhi in early January, theres been an upswing in the ties between the two nations. When he arrived in the Indian capital, Gor vowed to help resolve differences that have badly strained ties between the two nations. Real friends can disagree, but always resolve their differences in the end, Gor said in a speech to hundreds of embassy staff members, emphasising Trumps great friendship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Sergio Gor arrived in India early this January to begin his tenure as US ambassador to India. Image Courtesy: @USAmbIndia/X He further added that India was invited to join Pax Silica, a US initiative to build supply chains for artificial intelligence and other advanced technology, and described the countries ties as the most consequential global partnership of this century. No partner is more essential than India. In the months and years ahead, it is my goal as ambassador to pursue a very ambitious agenda. We will do this as true strategic partners, each bringing strength, respect, and leadership to the table, he added in his speech. Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, in an Indian Express editorial, even noted at the time of Gors arrival, Gor represents a new breed of diplomat one less interested in the lofty platitudes of shared values and more focused on the hard arithmetic of shared interests. In the current climate, where diplomacy as traditionally understood has been supplanted by deal-making, Gor possesses the unique Trumpian currency: Direct access. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD And as Tharoor noted, Gor has always had Trumps ear, and that may have facilitated a change in the US presidents stance on India. In fact, even the American leader alluded to this, describing Gor as someone I can fully trust to deliver on my agenda. Gors close ties to Trump Born Sergey Gorokhovsky in 1986 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, he later changed his name to Sergio Gor. Initially, Gor lived in Malta before moving to the US in the 1990s, and in the following years, he became an American citizen. A graduate of George Washington University with a degree in political science and international affairs, Gor began his political career working for US Senator Rand Paul. His major breakthrough came in 2020, when he joined Donald Trumps re-election campaign as Chief of Staff of the Trump Victory Finance Committee, earning a reputation as a formidable fundraiser. US President Donald Trump with US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor. The latter has previously served as Assistant to the President and Director of Presidential Personnel at the White House. File image/AFP Even though Trump lost that election, Gor maintained close ties with Trump and his family. In collaboration with Donald Trump Jr, the US presidents son, Gor co-founded Winning Team Publishing, a conservative publishing company that released several books associated with the American leader. Gor also worked as a fundraiser and an amateur DJ, including hosting and officiating events at Mar-a-Lago and private functions such as weddings. In 2022, Sergio Gor became a senior adviser to MAGA Inc and also took charge of the super PAC Right for America. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Such has been his proximity to the Trump family that he received the nickname Mayor of Mar-a-Lago. This proximity was evident when Trump appointed Gor as director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office in November 2024, and in August 2025, he was nominated as the US Ambassador to India and as Special Envoy for South and Central Asia. With inputs from agencies India and the United States have announced their long-pending trade deal. The announcement, made on social media by US President Donald Trump, comes a week after India finalised negotiations with the EU on a trade pact. But how does two compare? It has finally happened. India and the United States have announced their long-pending trade deal. The announcement was made by US President Donald Trump on social media, who said that the tariff on India would be cut to 18 per cent. Washington had previously announced a 25 per cent tariff on India, plus another 25 per cent for buying Russian oil. The development comes after India and the European Union signed the mother of all trade deals last week. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD But how do the two FTAs compare? Whats in them? How do they benefit India, the US and the EU? Lets take a closer look. Whats in the India-EU deal India, under the agreement, will eliminate or reduce tariffs on 96.6 per cent of EU exports. India is bringing down tariffs on cars from the EU from 110 per cent to 10 per cent. New Delhi will also phase out tariffs on car parts over the next decade. Most of the tariffs on machinery, chemicals and pharmaceuticals will also be done away with. India has also cut tariffs on alcoholic beverages like wines by half, from 150 per cent to 75 per cent. This will eventually be cut further to 20 per cent. The EU has said that New Delhi will reduce tariffs on spirits to 40 per cent. Meanwhile, India will have zero tax imposed on 99.5 per cent of its exports by the bloc. Union Minister Piyush Goyal has said that almost 95 per cent of Indian labour-intensive exports will now get duty-free access to the bloc under the agreement. Indias Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal. (File image: Reuters) Goyal told NDTV that the deal is a pathway to many people who are the new middle class. The 25 crore people were removed out of poverty and were entering the middle class levels. This is an opportunity for them to increase their incomes, become more aspirational, and with growing incomes, look for the better things of life. Our view is that we are actually providing the pathway for greater prosperity for 140 crore Indians, he added. How it benefits India and the EU Trade between India and the EU stood at $136.5 billion (Rs 12.29 lakh crore) in the fiscal year through March 2025. The Germany-based Kiel Institute for World Economy has said the pact would increase trade between India and the bloc by 41 to 65 per cent. Some have claimed it could increase Indias exports to the EU by $75 billion (Rs 6.75 lakh crore). Trade between India and the bloc could hit $272 billion (Rs 24.50 lakh crore) by 2032. The deal is important for the EU as it gives the bloc greater access to the worlds fourth-biggest economy. Indias GDP will likely cross $4 trillion (Rs 360.2 lakh crore) this year and overtake Japan. India is also the worlds fastest-growing major economy. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD India exported about $76 billion (Rs 6.84 lakh crore) of goods to the EU while importing $61 billion (Rs 5.49 lakh crore), earning a trade surplus, but the withdrawal of EU GSP benefits in 2023 eroded competitiveness for many Indian products, Ajay Srivastava of the Delhi-based Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) told the BBC. An FTA would restore lost market access, lower tariffs on key exports such as garments, pharmaceuticals, steel, petroleum products and machinery, and help Indian firms better absorb shocks from higher US tariffs, Srivastava added. Ultimately, it could expedite trade decoupling from the US and other unreliable partners. It will mean reducing dependencies on Trumps America or China for that matter reducing vulnerabilities to on-again, off-again tariffs, export controls and the general weaponisation of supply chains, Alex Capri of the National University of Singapore added. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD After nearly two decades of negotiation, India and the European Union have forged a trade pact that blends luxury with livelihood, aligning Europes capital and technology with Indias scale and growth. New Delhi previously finalised pacts with Britain, New Zealand and Oman, while the EU signed a pivotal pact with the South American bloc Mercosur, as well as Indonesia, Mexico and Switzerland last year. The formal signing of the India-EU deal would take place after legal vetting, expected to last five to six months, an Indian government official aware of the matter has said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the pact represents about 25 per cent of global GDP, and one-third of global trade. It came as European Council President Antonio Luis Santos da Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen were chief guests at Indias Republic Day celebrations. The EU and India make history today, deepening the partnership between the worlds biggest democracies. We have created a free trade zone of 2 billion people, with both sides set to gain economically. We have sent a signal to the world that rules-based cooperation still delivers great outcomes. And, best of all, this is only the start we will build on this success, and grow our relationship to be even stronger, von der Leyen said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Whats in the India-US deal According to NDTV, Trumps tariffs on India impacted numerous sectors, including steel, textiles and pharmaceuticals. It noted that steel exports to the US declined a whopping 40 per cent in the aftermath of the levy. It said the steel sector could potentially gain back around $2 billion (Rs 0.18 lakh crore). US President Donald Trumps tariffs on India impacted numerous sectors, including steel, textiles and pharmaceuticals. File image/Reuters Generic drug makers, who were dealing with tariffs of up to 26 per cent, could see exports increase as much as $10 billion (Rs 0.90 lakh crore). Seafood, on which 60 per cent tariffs were imposed, could also claw back gains. Seafood exports to the US are currently valued at over $850 million (Rs 0.08 lakh crore). Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement, Modi wrote on X. How it benefits India and the US Trade between India and the United States stands at $132 billion (Rs 11.88 lakh crore). Experts say it could touch as much as $300 billion (Rs 27.02 lakh crore) in the short term. The deal puts India ahead of its competitors Bangladesh and Vietnam, on whomthe US has imposed a 19 per cent tariff. The deal will also help those exporting textiles, gems and jewellery to the US. US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said the deal would help the US export more American farm products to Indias massive market, lifting prices, and pumping cash into rural America. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD While the devil is in the details, it removes a hanging sword over the rupee, equity and rates market. Let us hope that it is a win-win deal for both the countries, fund manager Nilesh Shah told the BBC. This greatly boosts Indias appeal as an alternative to China for the reconfiguration of supply chains. Indeed, India still offers many other advantages that other manufacturing hubs cant, including low labour costs, political stability and a large domestic market for MNCs to sell to as a hedge against future tariffs, Shilan Shah of Capital Economics added. The deal puts India ahead of its competitors Bangladesh and Vietnam, on whom the US has imposed a 19 per cent tariff.. Image: Reuters But some suggest waiting for the fine print to be clarified. Until there is a joint statement, negotiated text, and clarity on enforceability, this should be treated as a political signal not a concluded trade deal. Caution, not celebration, is warranted, Srivastava added. Government sources say that while some are complaining that the tariff imposed by the US is 18 per cent, which is higher than earlier, the deal with the EU signed after a raft of other pacts means India now has multiple options. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD They said this two-pronged strategy opens up newer markets for India as well as newer products. Multiple FTAs signed by India with other countries provide multiple options, sources added. With inputs from agencies Nasa has pushed back the launch of Artemis II to March after it encountered snags during a wet dress rehearsal. This crucial mission will see the American space agency send four astronauts around the Moon for the first time in 54 years. The mission also sets the stage for future lunar landings, and eventually for Mars Nasa's Artemis II mission, now pushed to March, is poised to send astronauts around the moon and back for the first time in more than 50 years. Reuters In December 1972, American astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt landed on the Moon, spending three days on the surface. When the Nasa astronauts returned to Earth, no one thought it would be the last. However, thats exactly what happened, until now. After more than 50 years, Nasa is prepping for the Artemis II mission, with an expected launch date on February 8. It is poised to send astronauts around the Moon and back. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD But the Artemis II mission hit a snag on Tuesday (February 3), days before its launch, when engineers detected leaking hydrogen at the tail end of the next-generation Space Launch System rocket. Following the snags, Nasa has pushed back the mission to March. NASA completed a wet dress rehearsal for the Artemis II mission in the early morning hours on Feb. 3. To allow teams to review data and conduct a second wet dress rehearsal, NASA will now target March as the the earliest possible launch opportunity for the Artemis II mission. pic.twitter.com/jSnCUPLQb6 NASA (@NASA) February 3, 2026 Now, as we await the future of Artemis II, we explain what is the mission and its significance. What is the Artemis programme? The Artemis II mission is part of Nasas Artemis programme a lunar exploration programme. In Artemis II mission, Nasa aims to return humans to the Moon for the first time since in 54 years, which was the last mission of the Apollo programme. Earlier in November 2022, Nasa launched the Artemis I mission in which it sent an empty Orion crew capsule to circle the Moon to ultimately test Nasas Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The Artemis programme is part of Nasas long-term plans to build a space station called Lunar Gateway where astronauts will be able to live and work and prepare for missions to Mars. It is also Americas attempt of getting a leg up on China in the space race. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD NASAs next-generation moon rocket exits the vehicle assembly building at Kennedy Space Centre. Reuters So, what exactly happens in the Artemis II mission? The Artemis II is a 10-day mission carrying four astronauts to the vicinity of the moon. Its important to note here that this flight isnt a lunar lander. Artemis II will see the astronauts loop around the moon, returning on the tenth day, making a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, just off the coast of San Diego. While in space, the astronauts will carry out a number of experiments to test life support, navigation and communication systems to confirm everything operates as it should in deep space. Many of these tests will be completed while the capsule is still in the Earths orbit, so that the astronauts are closer to home in the event of anything going wrong. Image Courtesy: Nasa The capsule will then enter Earths high orbit where the crew will manually pilot Orion, the capsule, before control is handed back to controllers at Nasas Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas. The astronauts will then spend four days circling the moon, travelling approximately 4,600 miles beyond its far side before returning to Earth. Who are the astronauts for Artemis II? Now, that we have understood whats the mission, lets take a closer look at who will be on board. Artemis IIs crew consists of three American astronauts Nasa astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agencys Jeremy Hansen. (From left to right) Canadian Space Agency astronaut, Nasa Artemis II Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, Nasa astronaut and Artemis II Mission Specialist Christina Koch, Nasa astronaut and Artemis II pilot Victor Glover and Nasa astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman stand tall during the rollout of Nasas moon rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion crew capsule, to the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida, US. AFP Weisman will be the commander, being the longest-serving astronaut among the crew. He previously served as a flight engineer on the International Space Station from May to November in 2014. Glover, who is the pilot of this mission, became a Nasa astronaut in 2013 and previously served as pilot of the Space X Crew-1 Dragon spacecraft which flew to the International Space Station in November 2020. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Next comes Koch, who is the mission specialist. An astronaut since 2013, she spent nearly all of 2019 working on the International Space Station, raking up a total of 328 consecutive days in space, where she also participated in the first all-female spacewalks. Prior to being an astronaut, she was a scientific field engineer in the Antarctic and Arctic. Last but not the least is Hansen who has been an astronaut since 2011 and has participated in international training missions as well as working at Nasas Mission Control Centre in Houston, Texas. Why is Artemis II significant? While Artemis II isnt a moon landing, it is yet significant for Nasa. First and foremost, Artemis II would see the crew fly deeper into space than any human ever before about 4 lakh km from Earth. Additionally, this mission is a stepping stone towards getting astronauts back on the Moon, establishing a sustained presence there, and then using it as a gateway for Mars missions in the future. A flock of birds flies by the Space Launch System (SLS), with the Orion crew capsule, at launch complex 39B at Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida, US. Reuters As John Pernet-Fisher, a research fellow at the University of Manchester told Euronews, This is a massive milestone for Nasa and the Artemis programme because this is going to be the first time that a crew of humans will see the far side of the Moon, and is such an important milestone in Nasas eventual goal of getting two feet, human feet, back on the lunar surface. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Its also exciting because its a huge technological achievement. The huge new rocket and the spacecraft that theyre riding in, and theyre also going to be the fastest moving humans that have ever existed on re-entry when they come back into the Earths atmosphere. We expect them to be going about 25,000 mph, he added. Beyond just space exploration, it indicates a renewed human ambition to explore beyond Earth. What next for Artemis II? Nasa has now announced that it will target March as the earliest possible launch opportunity for the flight test. Moving off a February launch window also means the Artemis II astronauts will be released from quarantine, which they entered in Houston on January 21. As a result, they will not travel to Nasa Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. Crew will enter quarantine again about two weeks out from the next targeted launch opportunity. With inputs from agencies The Pizzagate conspiracy theory has spurred a flurry of online activity again. The reported mention of pizzas in documents released by the US Justice Department related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has fuelled the viral false claims linked to child trafficking The Pizzagate conspiracy theory has resurfaced again on social media as the US Justice Department released millions of internal documents related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on January 30. The already-debunked claims have made their way to social media chatter as pizzas have reportedly been referenced several times in the Epstein files. Several users are (again) claiming that the Pizzagate theory was real. The wildly false claims never actually went away, even though they have been fact-checked. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD We take a closer look. Whats Pizzagate? Pizzagate conspiracy theory first emerged in the final days before the 2016 US presidential election. In November 2016, WikiLeaks released troves of emails from Hillary Clintons senior campaign adviser, John Podesta. One of the emails caught the attention of prankster sites and the far-right in the US. This was related to James Alefantis, the owner of Comet Ping Pong, a pizza restaurant in Washington. He is a major Democratic Party supporter and raised money for both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. His mention in the Podesta emails in connection with the fundraisers sparked a massive conspiracy. Users of 4chan, a message board known for free speech and extreme content, Reddit, Twitter (now X) and other platforms imagined a pedophilia ring supposedly being run out of Comet Ping Pong. 4chan users pored over Alefantis Instagram feed for pictures of children and the modern art adorning his restaurants walls. Soon, baseless claims that Hillary Clinton and Democratic elites were running a child sex-trafficking ring out of the Washington pizzeria took over the internet. They ignore basic truths, Alefantis had told BBC Trending in 2016. Like, the conspiracy claims that the alleged ring was run out of the restaurants basement. We dont even have a basement. Sometimes an innocent picture of a child in a basket is just an innocent picture of a child in a basket and not proof of a child sex trafficking ring, he said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD From 4chan, the conspiracy theory gained entry into the mainstream internet when a Reddit user shared a long document with all the evidence several days before the US presidential election, reported BBC. The claims first cropped up on the section of the site popular with Donald Trump supporters from the extremist white nationalist alt-right. Pizzagate conspiracy triggers real-life violence As the conspiracy theory gained traction, Alefantis, along with Comet Ping Pong employees, started getting threats. The restaurant owner was forced to lock his Instagram account. Protesters began gathering outside the pizzeria, with Alefantis even inviting some of them in. The incident showed how baseless viral claims on social media could trigger real-life consequences and sometimes even violence. In December 2016, a man travelled hundreds of miles to the restaurant with an assault rifle and opened fire into a closet. He said he was there to self investigate the claims. A general view of the exterior of the Comet Ping Pong pizza restaurant in Washington, US, December 5, 2016. File Photo/Reuters In the following years, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube managed to largely contain Pizzagate. However, it has resurfaced time and again. Months before the 2020 US presidential elections, the conspiracy crawled its way back to social media. This time, it was being driven by a younger generation on TikTok. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In June that year, a video on Instagram showed Justin Bieber leaning into the camera and adjusting the front of his black knit beanie. Someone had posted a comment asking the pop star to touch his hat if he had been a victim of Pizzagate. Thousands of comments flooded in, but there was no evidence that Bieber had seen that message. However, his innocuous gesture set off a commotion on the internet, as per New York Times (NYT). The conspiracy group QAnon also fuelled the Pizzagate theory in private Facebook groups, creating easy-to-share memes on it. In November 2023, Elon Musk fanned the conspiracy when an X user tried to link the founder of Media Matters, the progressive media watchdog that found ads for major brands running alongside pro-Nazi content on X, to the owner of the Pizzagate restaurant. Musk replied: Weird. His response drew the attention of his millions of followers on X. The theory has resurfaced after more details from the Epstein files were made public by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) last week. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Some of the documents connected with Epstein show a headcount for pizza. Lines such as who wants pizza in Austin? spread rapidly online. Some even claimed that pizza was a code word. So, Pizzagate is 100% real. All roads lead back to that little pizza parlor in DC and the man named James Alefantis, a person claimed. Pizzagate is all over the new Epstein Documents . There is a group text in data set 9 that explicitly ties pizza to sexual acts. (And we all know what Pizza is code for)," another chimed. Why theories like Pizzagate spread like wildfire While there is no physical evidence or victim testimony, conspiracy theorists are highly sensitive to allegations of child sex abuse. Bill Clinton and Donald Trump are in the Epstein files and their association with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein is well-known. Viren Swami, professor of social psychology at Anglia Ruskin University in the UK, told BBC in 2016 that pizzagate might reflect a trend in a hyper-partisan America, where conspiracy theories become fodder for political factions. Whats happening in the US over the last year or two is that conspiracy theorising is being deployed as a political weapon, he said at the time. And thats a very big change in the way that conspiracy narratives are being used. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD While it has been debunked, the ghost of the conspiracy theory keeps haunting. PizzaGate never went away because it encompasses very potent forces, including childrens safety and the power of elites, Alice Marwick, a disinformation expert at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said to NYT in 2020. But now there is so much scaffolding from people who have researched it, it wasnt hard for others to pick up from there. With inputs from agencies The US has cut tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent after New Delhi agreed to halt Russian oil imports and expand purchases of American products. The move registers a big shift in Indias standing among Asian economies and gives it a boost to counterbalance supply chains from China as well as Pakistan US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands as they attend a joint press conference at the White House in Washington, DC, US, February 13, 2025. File Image/Reuters The United States and India are finally sharing a common ground as a massive agreement dramatically reduces US tariffs on Indian exports. Announced by US President Donald Trump on Monday after a direct conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the deal lowers American tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent, down from a combined rate that had reached as high as 50 per cent only months earlier. The trade deal significantly alters Indias position within Washingtons tariff architecture for Asia, placing it closer to treaty-aligned partners such as Japan, South Korea and the European Union, and distancing it from other emerging economies that continue to face higher US duties. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD How US tariffs on India went from 50% to 18% In June last year, the Trump administration imposed a 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods, citing dissatisfaction with the pace at which India was reducing its trade surplus with the United States and opening domestic markets to American exporters. That initial measure was followed in August by a further 25 per cent duty, explicitly linked to Indias continued purchases of Russian crude oil. The additional levy pushed the total tariff burden on Indian exports to 50 per cent, placing India among the most heavily penalised US trading partners despite its growing strategic importance to Washington. The Trump administration argued that the penalties were intended to address two separate concerns. The first was what US officials described as insufficient progress on trade reciprocity, including high Indian import taxes and non-tariff barriers. The second was Indias energy relationship with Russia, which increased after Moscows February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. While Russia historically accounted for only a small share of Indias oil imports, New Delhi sharply increased purchases of discounted Russian crude in the aftermath of the invasion. The strategy allowed India to manage domestic energy costs while Russia sought alternative buyers as Western countries imposed sanctions and attempted to isolate Moscow economically. Trump has repeatedly said that cutting off Russias oil income is central to forcing an end to the war. Since returning to office, he has relied heavily on tariffs as a mechanism to pursue both economic and foreign policy goals, frequently acting without congressional approval. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD At the same time, he has faced criticism for being cautious in applying direct diplomatic pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin. Against this backdrop, India became a focal point of US pressure, even as American officials continued to describe the country as a crucial geopolitical and economic counterweight to China. How a breakthrough was achieved Under the new arrangement, the United States will lower its effective tariff rate on Indian goods to 18 per cent, dismantling the punitive structure imposed in 2025. A White House official said the US would remove the additional 25 per cent duty that had been applied specifically because of Indias Russian oil purchases. With all measures rolled back and replaced by a single lower rate, Indias exporters will now face a tariff burden broadly comparable to that of several US allies and close partners. Trump announced the decision on social media, linking it directly to Indias energy commitments and trade concessions. In a Truth Social post, he said the move would contribute to ending the conflict in Ukraine, writing, This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week! STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD According to Trump, India agreed to halt purchases of Russian oil and instead source energy from the United States, with the possibility of additional supplies from Venezuela. "It was an Honor to speak with Prime Minister Modi, of India, this morning... He agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela. This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine" - President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/RD7PZ8S16z The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 2, 2026 He also said India would move toward eliminating import taxes on US goods and commit to buying $500 billion worth of American products. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Modi welcomed the announcement, responding publicly on X. He said he was delighted by the tariff reduction and described Trumps role in broader global terms, stating that the US presidents leadership is vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity. Modi added, I look forward to working closely with him to take our partnership to unprecedented heights. Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement. When two large economies and the Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 2, 2026 The announcement came shortly after Trump posted a photograph of himself and Modi on the cover of a magazine, hinting earlier in the day at a positive exchange between the two leaders. How India now compares with Asian economies under US tariffs With the revised rate of 18 per cent, India now occupies a markedly different position within the US tariff framework for Asia. The new level places India within a narrow band of countries facing tariffs between 15 per cent and 19 per cent, a category that includes several major US trading partners. China, by contrast, remains subject to some of the highest duties imposed by Washington. Effective US tariffs on Chinese goods range from 34 per cent to 37 per cent, reflecting a combination of a baseline rate, additional duties linked to fentanyl trafficking concerns, and pre-existing measures under Sections 301 and 232. Several Southeast and South Asian economies continue to face higher tariffs than India. Vietnam and Bangladesh are subject to a standard reciprocal rate of 20 per cent, while Pakistan, Malaysia and Thailand face duties of around 19 per cent. Cambodia also falls within this range. Taiwan remains at 20 per cent, while Laos and Myanmar are subject to substantially higher tariffs of 40 per cent, reflecting their placement in a more punitive tier. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Outside Asia, some of the steepest US tariffs apply to Brazil at 50 per cent and South Africa at 30 per cent. By comparison, the countries enjoying the lowest tariff treatment from the United States include the United Kingdom at 10 per cent, and the European Union, Switzerland, Japan and South Korea at approximately 15 per cent. Why the US tariff shift matters to India in Asia By narrowing the US tariff gap between India and China, the agreement strengthens incentives for companies pursuing China Plus One strategies to relocate manufacturing. In labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, apparel and footwear, where profit margins often range between 3 per cent and 5 per cent, even small tariff differences can be decisive. Indias lower tariff rate relative to Vietnam and Bangladesh may tilt sourcing decisions toward Indian manufacturing hubs. At the same time, the continued exemption of pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and critical minerals from tariffs reinforces Indias appeal as a diversified production base rather than a single-sector alternative. For the first time since the tariff escalations began in 2025, India has moved out of the emerging-market tariff bracket and closer to the group of countries viewed by Washington as preferred economic partners. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Where India-US trade stands for now One of the most striking elements of the deal is Indias pledge to purchase $500 billion worth of US goods over the coming years. The commitment spans energy, technology and agricultural products and is intended to significantly expand American exports to the Indian market. In 2024, US goods exports to India were valued at $41.5 billion. The new target represents a substantial increase, effectively tripling current levels over time. Unlike trade agreements with Japan and South Korea, which included explicit commitments to invest hundreds of billions of dollars into US industries, the India deal does not mention specific investment figures. Instead, it focuses on procurement and market access as the primary mechanisms for rebalancing trade. Total bilateral trade in 2025 is estimated to have exceeded $230 billion, building on the $212.3 billion recorded in 2024. The two countries have now formally set a goal of reaching $500 billion in total trade by 2030. In merchandise trade, India remains a major exporter to the United States. During the April-August 2025 period, Indian goods exports averaged between $7 billion and $8 billion per month. In November 2025 alone, exports reached $6.98 billion. Engineering goods account for roughly 25 per cent of Indias exports to the US. Pharmaceuticals also remain a significant contributor, benefiting from tariff exemptions that continue to apply to the sector. On the other side of the ledger, the US recorded a $53.5 billion trade imbalance in goods with India during the first 11 months of last year, reflecting higher imports than exports. Services trade plays an increasingly important role in balancing the relationship. In 2024, total services trade reached $83.4 billion, with a marginal US surplus of $102 million. Indian services exports are led by IT and business process management, while US exports to India include financial services, intellectual property licensing and education. Agricultural trade has also gained momentum. US agricultural exports to India rose to approximately $1.7 billion in 2025, driven by strong demand for almonds, pistachios, cotton and soybean oil. What next on the India-US trade deal Trump said India would move toward reducing import taxes on American goods to zero, a step that would represent a significant shift in Indias traditionally protectionist trade posture. The US has been seeking near-total tariff elimination on its exports to India, particularly in sectors such as agriculture, energy and technology. Indian officials, however, have repeatedly expressed concerns about opening up sensitive areas of the economy, especially agriculture and dairy, which provide livelihoods to a large portion of the population. Those reservations remain relevant as the agreement moves toward implementation. While India has committed to lowering barriers, the precise timeline and scope of zero-tariff access have not yet been disclosed. Previous negotiations between the two sides have been described as difficult. Despite early optimism, talks last year failed to produce immediate results, and the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration initially did little to change Indias stance. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said recently that India had made a lot of progress in reducing Russian oil purchases but cautioned that they still have a way to go on this point. In recent months, New Delhi has accelerated efforts to conclude multiple trade agreements as global trade flows adjust to tariff disruptions. Days before the US tariff reduction was announced, India and the European Union finalised a long-awaited free trade agreement after nearly two decades of negotiations. India has also signed a trade agreement with Oman and concluded negotiations with New Zealand. The EU deal, in particular, has been seen as part of a broader effort by major economies to reduce dependence on the United States after Trumps tariff hikes disrupted established trade patterns. While studies suggest that the costs of US tariffs have largely been absorbed by American businesses and consumers, the measures have also reduced trade volumes and encouraged alternative partnerships. Details of the India-US trade agreement, including the exact scale of Indias energy shift and increased agricultural imports from the US, are still awaited. With inputs from agencies US President Donald Trump is pushing for a massive India Gate-style triumphal arch in Washington DC to mark Americas 250th Independence anniversary. Planned to tower over the Lincoln Memorial, the proposed 250-foot structure would require multiple federal approvals, including potential congressional sign-off (Left) The India Gate war memorial is pictured before the lights were turned off for Earth Hour in New Delhi, India, March 22, 2025. File Image/Reuters US President Donald Trump is pushing ahead with plans for a massive triumphal arch in Washington, DC one that would dramatically reshape the citys iconic landscape and potentially eclipse some of its most recognisable memorials. Envisioned as part of the celebrations for Americas 250th anniversary, the proposed structure is already gaining momentum. What are Trumps plans for the arch? According to people familiar with the discussions who spoke to the Washington Post, Trump has become increasingly committed to a 250-foot-tall arch overlooking the Potomac River. If built at that scale, the structure would rise far above the White House, which stands at roughly 70 feet, and the Lincoln Memorial, which is about 100 feet tall. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD It would also surpass Pariss Arc de Triomphe, which measures 164 feet, though it would still be less than half the height of the Gateway Arch in St Louis, the worlds tallest arch. Trump has reportedly focused on Memorial Circle, a small traffic circle near Memorial Bridge, situated between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. Artist Jorge Rodriguez-Geradas Out of Many, One, (L) landscape portrait is seen from atop the Washington Monument on the National Mall in Washington, October 1, 2014. The Lincoln Memorial, Potomac River, and Memorial Bridge are at top. File Image/Reuters The land falls under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service and occupies a historically sensitive corridor linking several major national landmarks. Trump has previously explored scaled-down versions of the project, including designs standing 165 feet and 123 feet tall, which he shared at a private dinner in 2025. However, aides say Trump prefers the largest option, arguing that 250 for 250 best reflects the significance of the Declaration of Independences 250th anniversary in July. Editors Picks 1 Elite decadence documented in Epstein files marks the final stages of the decline of American empire At a White House Christmas reception, Trump underscored his ambition by telling guests, The one that people know mostly is the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France. And were gonna top it by, I think, a lot. What concerns have risen as Trump pushes for the arch? While Washington is unusual among major global capitals for lacking a triumphal arch, critics argue that placing a celebratory monument of this scale in Memorial Circle could disrupt the symbolic balance of the area. The site sits along a solemn axis that includes the Lincoln Memorial, Memorial Bridge conceived as a postCivil War symbol of reconciliation and Arlington National Cemetery. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Architectural experts have warned that a 250-foot arch could obstruct pedestrian views and alter the visual relationship between these landmarks. The structure could also block sightlines to Arlington House, the former estate of Confederate General Robert E Lee, which overlooks the cemetery from a hillside. I dont think an arch that large belongs there, said Catesby Leigh, an art critic who initially advocated for a far smaller, temporary arch in a 2024 essay. Leigh later suggested architect Nicolas Leo Charbonneau for the project, and Charbonneau has since been retained by the White House. Other historians have echoed similar concerns. Its a very somber corridor, John Haigh, chair of Benedictine Colleges architecture programme, told the Washington Post. We discussed the gravity of putting an arch there, particularly one intended to be triumphal. Calder Loth, a retired Senior Architectural Historian for the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, warned about the monuments visual dominance, I would be very concerned about the scale. It would make Arlington House just look like a dollhouse or you couldnt see it all, with the arch blocking the view. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD From across the river, the impact could be just as striking. How does it impact the panorama of Washington? Loth asked. What is supposed to be doing the speaking? How will the project be funded? Trump has made clear that he wants the arch to be permanent, rejecting proposals for a smaller, temporary structure. He has also indicated that the project could be funded using leftover private donations from his separate White House ballroom expansion, a project he has said could cost about $400 million. That ballroom, currently under construction as part of a new East Wing, is planned to cover 89,000 square feet larger than the White Houses existing footprint while matching its 70-foot height. Trumps push for monumental scale has already led to tensions on that project, with earlier plans to further enlarge the ballroom reportedly being halted. On January 23, Trump posted images on his Truth Social platform showing three potential arch designs, including one featuring gold gilding, a stylistic detail associated with several of his past construction projects. The White House has not clarified whether these images reflect new concepts or earlier proposals that included a large Lady Liberty statue. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Any arch built in Washington would need to pass through multiple review bodies and could ultimately require congressional approval under laws governing new monuments in the capital. Trump recently appointed Atlanta-based developer and philanthropist Rodney Mims Cook Jr., president of the National Monuments Foundation, to the Commission of Fine Arts, which would be involved in reviewing the design. Cook has a long history with similar ideas. He proposed a peace arch in Washington in 2000, though those plans were shelved after the September 11 attacks. He later built the Millennium Gate Museum in Atlanta to commemorate Georgias history. Is Trumps idea that alarming? The idea of placing a structure at Memorial Circle is not new. City planners have examined the site for more than a century. Early 20th-century plans linked to the Senate Park Commission appear to envision some form of monument there, and architect William Kendall presented memorial proposals to the Commission of Fine Arts in 1928. Still, critics argue that scale and context matter more than precedent. Leigh has suggested relocating a massive arch to a less congested area of the city, such as Barney Circle in Southeast Washington, near Congressional Cemetery. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD If youre going to build an arch that big, you should build it in another part of town and one possible site that comes to mind is Barney Circle, Leigh said. Theres nothing around it competing with it. Despite the growing pushback, Trump has signalled urgency. He told Politico in December that he hoped to begin construction within two months. With inputs from agencies Spain has made medical history by performing the worlds first face transplant using tissue from a donor who underwent euthanasia. The country had legalised euthanasia for adults with serious and incurable diseases in 2021 The recipient, identified only as Carme, had suffered severe facial destruction from an infection that damaged skin, muscles and vital functions, leaving conventional reconstructive surgery no longer viable. (X) Doctors in Barcelona have successfully carried out the worlds first face transplant using tissue from a donor who had undergone euthanasia, reported Euro News. The procedure was performed at Vall dHebron University Hospital, a centre already known for pushing boundaries in reconstructive surgery. Who was the patient and why was the surgery needed? The recipient, identified only as Carme, had suffered extensive facial damage after a serious infection destroyed skin, muscles and vital structures needed for breathing, eating and speaking. Traditional reconstructive surgery was no longer an option. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Thats when doctors turned to facial transplantationone of the most complex procedures in modern medicine. The operation required reconnecting blood vessels, nerves, muscles and bone with extreme precision, involving around 100 medical professionals working in coordination. What made this transplant different from previous ones? What sets this case apart is the donor. The face came from a woman who chose euthanasia under Spanish law and had explicitly consented to donate her organs and facial tissue. Because the timing was known in advance, doctors were able to plan the transplant in unprecedented detail using advanced imaging and 3D modelling. Hospital officials told Euro News that the transplant followed strict legal and ethical guidelines. When did Spain legalise euthanasia? Spain officially legalised euthanasia on June 25, 2021, following a landmark parliamentary vote in March of that year. This made Spain the fourth country in Europe to allow the practice. The law, known as Organic Law 3/2021, permits adults with serious and incurable diseases or chronic and incapacitating conditions to request medical assistance to die. To ensure informed consent, patients must submit two written requests 15 days apart and receive approval from multiple medical professionals and an oversight committee. The law also grants healthcare workers the right to conscientious objection for moral or religious reasons. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Aviation experts have said that the Boeing 787 Dreamliner (VT-ANX) met with a technical issue involving the fuel switch at Londons Heathrow Airport. The flight was, however, allowed to travel to its destination, that is, Bengaluru The Air India flight, which experienced a technical fault similar to the ill-fated airplane that crashed last year, was allowed to operate despite the issue, raising eyebrows among experts in the aviation sector. Aviation experts have said that the Boeing 787 Dreamliner (VT-ANX) met with a technical issue involving the fuel switch at Londons Heathrow Airport. The flight was, however, allowed to travel to its destination, that is, Bengaluru. Experts said that the flight should have been declared Aircraft on Ground (AOG) after a fault in the fuel switch was discovered in London. Serious concerns are now being raised over the decision to permit the aircraft to operate a flight to Bengaluru despite the issue. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What happened? The flight from London at 9:19 am on Sunday (local time) and reached Bengaluru at 11:54 am on Monday (local time). Sources have told Times of India that pilots discovered an issue with the fuel switch after the plane landed at its destination, which was reported promptly, leading to the grounding of the aircraft. During the engine start-up process, a problem was observed with the left fuel control switch. After being moved to the RUN position, the switch reportedly kept reverting to cut-off. Under standard aviation protocols, such a malfunction warrants grounding the aircraft and conducting a detailed technical inspection. Left fuel control switch slips from on to cut off when pushed down slightly. It does not lock in its position, the pilot said in its report. Scary incident Experts believe that this type of fault could be linked to the electrical system, and ignoring it could pose a significant safety risk. They stress that when warning signs appear in any critical aircraft system, precautionary measures must be taken, including declaring the aircraft AOG and clearing it for flight only after a thorough investigation. What makes this (Monday scare) deeply troubling is not only that it happened, but that it occurred after Air India publicly stated it had conducted precautionary checks across its 787 fleet and found no issues. This raises urgent questions: Were the checks thorough? Is this a new, recurring defect? Passengers and crews deserve unambiguous answers, Aviation safety expert Captain Amit Singh told TOI. Air India has launched fleet-wide inspections of fuel control switches on its Boeing 787 Dreamliners after a fault was reported on a London-Bengaluru flight. The aircraft was grounded and the issue escalated to Boeing for priority evaluation. Air India has launched a wide-scale inspection of fuel control switches on its Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft after sudden malfunction was reported on a flight returning from London Heathrow to Bengaluru on Sunday, news agency PTI reported citing sources. The move comes amid heightened scrutiny of the aircrafts fuel systems following last years fatal crash involving a Boeing 787-8. As reported by PTI, the pilot reported that a fault was found in the fuel control switch of a Boeing 787-8 after completing the London Heathrow-Bengaluru service. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The flight which took off from London on Sunday landed in Bangalore on Monday morning. After the report kicked in, the airline grounded the aircraft with some technical defect. The incident prompted the authorities to take action and inspect its Dreamliner fleet. Air Indias Senior Vice President for Flight Operations, Manish Uppal, informed Boeing 787 pilots about the inspection drive through an internal email, sources told PTI. Following the reported defect involving a fuel control switch on one of the B787 aircraft, our engineering team has escalated the matter to Boeing for priority evaluation, Uppal wrote. In the interim, while we await Boeings response, our engineers, out of an abundance of caution, have initiated precautionary fleet-wide re-inspection of the Fuel Control Switch latch to verify normal operations, he added. Uppal also reported that the pilots had no adverse findings as reported where inspections are already completed. He also asked pilots to ensure that all mandatory technical checks and corrective actions are completed before accepting an aircraft for operations. Sources told PTI the airline is closely monitoring feedback from crew members as part of the ongoing safety review. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The matter has been escalated to Boeing for detailed evaluation, a source said. At present, Air India operates 33 Boeing 787 aircraft, comprising 26 Boeing 787-8s and seven Boeing 787-9s. Sources said inspections are being carried out across both variants as part of the current exercise. Anke Gowda, founder of Pustaka Mane in Mandya, has been awarded the Padma Shri for building one of Indias largest free public libraries. For over five decades, he spent his earnings collecting books to make knowledge accessible to all. This year, Anke Gowda, has been awarded the Padma Shri under the Unsung Heroes category, recognising a lifetime devoted to literacy, reading, and access to books. Gowda resides in Haralahalli village, near Srirangapatna in Mandya district. He made a Pustaka Mane, literally the House of Books, it is neither a university nor a government-funded institution. It is a free public library built entirely on one mans faith in the power of knowledge. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD At 20, Gowda took up work as a bus conductor. His salary was small, but he spent his spare moments reading and saving money to buy books. His hunger for learning eventually led him to pursue a Masters degree in Kannada literature. Later, he worked for nearly 30 years at a sugar factory, steadily building his personal library alongside his job. Over the next five decades, Gowda channelled nearly 80 per cent of his earnings into acquiring books. In one of the most striking acts of sacrifice, he sold his house in Mysuru to expand his collection. That decision gave physical shape to Pustaka Mane, which today ranks among Indias largest free-access libraries. The scale of the collection is staggering. Pustaka Mane houses more than two million books in over 20 Indian and foreign languages. Its shelves hold everything from classical literature and philosophy to science, technology, mythology, history, and competitive exam material. There are rare manuscripts, old newspapers and journals, and close to 5,000 dictionaries, making it a vital resource for scholars and students alike. What truly sets the library apart is its openness. There are no membership fees, no entry restrictions, and no commercial motive. Anyone can walk in, pick up a book, and read. Over the years, students, researchers, writers, and even Supreme Court judges have reportedly visited the library in search of specific texts. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Gowda and his wife Vijayalakshmi live inside the library itself, sleeping on the floor and sharing simple meals in a corner of the vast space. With support from their son Sagar, they personally clean, organise, and manage the collection every day. Thousands of books still await cataloguing, and the family hopes for volunteers and funding to help preserve and digitise the growing archive. In an age dominated by screens and shrinking attention spans, Pustaka Mane stands as a quiet counterpoint. Located in a rural setting rather than a major city, it brings high-quality learning resources to communities often left out of mainstream knowledge networks. Gowda says he never worked for recognition. His goal was simple: to make books available to everyone. With Pustaka Mane, that vision has become a living, breathing space where learning remains free, open, and deeply human. From April 2025 to February 2026, India-US trade relations saw escalating tariffs, intense negotiations, and strategic diplomacy. The timeline charts the journey from punitive 50% tariffs to a historic trade deal lowering duties to 18% US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrive to hold a joint press conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 13, 2025. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) India and the United States on Monday finally sealed a longawaited trade agreement that cuts tariffs on Indian imports to 18 percent from the previous 50 percent. The announcement follows months of negotiations, diplomatic encounters, tariff clashes and strategic shifts by both sides. The groundwork for the trade deal was laid in February 2025, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Washington and met with US President Donald Trump. The leaders agreed to work towards a limited trade agreement by autumn and set an ambitious goal of expanding bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030. PM Modi also committed to increasing Indias purchases of US energy during that visit. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Commerce talks and rising tensions In March and April 2025, key Indian ministers and US trade officials engaged in negotiations. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal met the US Commerce Secretary and US Trade Representative, while US officials visited New Delhi. Despite progress, Washington raised concerns about Indias high tariffs, nontariff barriers, data rules and patent issues. On April 2, the US rolled out its Liberation Day tariff plan, including a 26 per cent duty on Indian goods, which was temporarily paused for 90 days to give talks more time. During US Vice President JD Vances visit to India on April 16, both sides agreed on terms of reference for the formal negotiations. By July 2025, negotiators had returned without a breakthrough. On July 31, Trump imposed a 25 per cent tariff on Indian imports and warned of further penalties if India continued its Russian oil purchasesa big sticking point in the talks. In August 2025, the US added a 25 percent penalty tariff linked to Indias Russian oil purchases, pushing total duties on Indian exports to 50 percent, the highest US tariffs on any partner at the time. Despite these tensions, both nations continued to assert that their broader relationship remained strong. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In December 2025, Modi described a warm and engaging phone call with Trump, keeping negotiation channels open. In January 2026, newly appointed US envoy Sergio Gor said both countries were actively engaged and moving closer to an agreement. Deal sealed in February 2026 On February 2, Trump and Modi announced the trade deal, effectively ending the tariff standoff. Under the pact, the US , while India agreed to cut tariffs and nontariff barriers on US products to zero. Trump also said Modi would stop purchasing Russian oil and increase purchases from the US and possibly Venezuela. Prime Minister Modi welcomed the agreement on social media, saying, Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Donald Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 percent. The new tariff deal between India and the United States has eased industry concerns by lowering duties on Indian goods to 18 per cent, making several export sectors more competitive in the American market A tariff deal between India and the United States has eased industry uncertainty, with the cut to an 18 per cent duty expected to give Indian exporters a firmer foothold in the US market. The announcement of the India-US trade deal has come as garment, leather and footwear manufacturers, having just shipped containers for the summer season, were concerned about orders for the next cycle. Smaller players had nearly halted shipments in recent months, while larger firms continued by offering steep discounts, with US buyers also absorbing part of the pressure. With the deal in place, Indian goods are seen as more competitive, and products will face an 18 per cent additional tariff over the MFN or product-specific rate. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Sector-wise impact of new tariff level At 18 per cent, the duty on Indian garments will be slightly lower than the 20 per cent applied to those made in Bangladesh or Sri Lanka. Indian carpets, which had lost considerable market share, are set to compete more effectively with those from Turkey, while shrimps are expected to be more affordable in American stores. Gems and jewellery exporters also stand to benefit after losing their competitive position. With levies on several Chinese products at 34 per cent, Indian goods will hold a slight advantage. Some sector-specific tariffs, including those on auto parts and metals, will, however, remain. With India having signed trade agreements with the UK and the European Union, companies are expected to rebalance portfolios by diversifying export destinations and hedge against possible policy shifts by Trump in the future. Indias exports to the US rose 11.3 per cent to $59 billion between April and November, led by a doubling of smartphone shipments to $16.7 billion. Frontloading of exports ahead of the tariff deadline that began from Aug also supported shipments during this period. Nearly 40 per cent of Indias exports, including electronics and pharma, were not affected by the tariffs. Leaders welcome the agreement A big day for India-US relations as the trade deal has been locked with a significantly reduced tariff of 18%, paving the way for stronger trade ties and mutual growth This historic deal will elevate our strategic partnership and greatly benefit both nations and their people. Business between India and US set to flourish further, Union Home Minister Amit Shah posted on X. Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal said the deal unlocks the power of two large democracies working together for shared prosperity of their people. Both India and US are natural allies and our partnership will co-create technologies, co-develop solutions, and work together for peace, growth, and a brighter future for India and the US. US and India have complementary strengths. Both countries can co-create technologies and co-develop solutions that will benefit the world. Trade deal between US and India will lead to brighter future for both countries. India-US trade deal is a win-win deal. Citizens and industries of both countries will benefit greatly from this deal, IT and I&B minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Businesses also reacted positively. Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla said, The Aditya Birla Group is the largest Indian investor in the US, and we see this agreement helping shape more resilient supply chains, unlocking manufacturing opportunities and driving long-term economic competitiveness in both the US and India. US Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, wrote on X, Thank you @POTUS for ONCE AGAIN delivering for our American farmers. New US-India deal will export more American farm products to Indias massive market, lifting prices, and pumping cash into rural America. In 2024, Americas agricultural trade deficit with India was $1.3 billion. Indias growing population is an important market for American agricultural products and todays deal will go a long way to reducing this deficit. America First victory on top of the dozens of deals for ag PM Modi underscored the importance of the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) with the US and explained how the deal reflects continued efforts to engage at the highest level Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that the landmark trade deal with the US was a result of patience and wisdom that paid off, as he spoke to National Democratic Alliance (NDA) parliamentarians during a meeting. According to a report by News18, PM Modi underscored the importance of the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) with the US and explained how the deal reflects continued efforts to engage at the highest level. US President Donald Trump announced late on Monday that Washington has reached a trade deal with India, cutting down tariffs from 50 per cent to 18 per cent, marking an end to a year-long discussion on the negotiating table. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Trump held a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This phone call was followed by Potus major announcement. While reciprocal tariffs (25 per cent) have been reduced to 18 per cent, the penal levies that Trump imposed on India for buying Russian oil (another 25 per cent) have been cut to zero. PM Modi felicitated by NDA MPs During the parliamentary meeting on Tuesday, PM Modi was felicitated by NDA MPs for the successful trade agreement. #WATCH | Delhi | NDA MPs felicitate PM Modi for the India-US trade agreement, at NDA Parliamentary party meeting in Parliament premises pic.twitter.com/M5nMRwggtn ANI (@ANI) February 3, 2026 Referring to criticism from rival parties, the Prime Minister said that although the Opposition kept bashing us, the government remained steadfast and ultimately delivered results, proving that perseverance paid off. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman addressed the NDA leaders at the meeting, highlighting the prospects of the India-US deal and its reflection of the budget. Thanks on behalf of Indians Soon after Trump announced the deal on his Truth Social platform, PM Modi said, Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement. " When two large economies and the worlds largest democracies work together, it benefits our people and unlocks immense opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation, he added. Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement. When two large economies and the Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 2, 2026 STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD PM Modi further highlighted Trumps effort towards global peace, stability, and prosperity.. The Supreme Court warned WhatsApp and Meta against exploiting user data, saying privacy cannot be compromised for profit. Hearing appeals over a Rs 213 crore penalty on WhatsApps 2021 policy, the court said it would not allow sharing even a single piece of user data. The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday warned social media apps WhatsApp and its parent company Meta of invading peoples privacy over data-sharing and instant messaging. It said it cannot exploit user data for commercial purposes. Chief Justice of India Surya Kant cautioned the US firm, saying, You cant play with the privacy of our country, we will not allow you to share a single digit of our data. The court was hearing appeals filed by multiple people against Meta platforms and WhatsApp LLC against a National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) ruling that upheld a Rs 213.14 crore penalty imposed by the Competition Commission of India over WhatsApps 2021 privacy policy. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Invasion of privacy The matters were heard by a bench of judges comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul Pancholi. Senior Advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Akhil Sibal, appearing for Meta and WhatsApp respectively, informed the court that the penalty amount had already been deposited. The Competition Commission of India also filed a cross-appeal challenging the NCLAT order that permitted Meta and WhatsApp to share user data for advertising, despite finding no abuse of dominance. While listening to the appeals, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant expressed concerns over the invasion of privacy by Metas WhatsApp privacy policy , warning that the court would not permit the platform to share even a single piece of user information. We will not allow you to share even a single information, you cannot play with the rights of this country, let a clear message go, the Chief Justice said. He further added that the company had created a monopoly and was making a mockery of constitutionalism by undermining the right to privacy. Committing theft of private information When senior advocate Akhil Sibal also argued that users had the option to opt out of the policy, Chief Justice Surya Kant questioned how effective such consent really was. Will a poor woman selling fruits on the street understand your policy? Will your domestic help understand it? You may have collected data from millions of people. This is a decent way of committing theft of private information, and we will not allow it, the Chief Justice said. The Chief Justice also said that the court would not proceed until WhatsApp and Meta gave an undertaking that users personal data would not be used. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi responded that a Constitution Bench was already examining WhatsApps privacy policy and that an undertaking had been given there assuring no user would be barred for not accepting the 2021 policy. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Examining how WhatsApp rents out data Justice Bagchi said the court would examine how WhatsApp rents out data and monetises users behavioural trends for targeted advertising, observing that every silo of data has commercial value. Chief Justice Surya Kant echoed the concern, citing personal experience of receiving targeted ads shortly after health-related WhatsApp messages. If a message is sent to a doctor on WhatsApp that you are feeling under the weather, and the doctor sends some medicine prescriptions, immediately you start seeing ads, CJI Kant said. Regardless of the results of an election where one out of two major parties has been banned and a third, extreme one, has been raised to extreme influence, chaos shall reign until the balance is reset As Bangladesh awaits its farce of an election, where the leading party, the Awami League, has been banned from participating, there are hopes that Tarique Rahman, the son of recently deceased former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, will come to power and reverse the brutal chaos that is everyday news in the nation. Under the premiership of Sheikh Hasina, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) provided a sharp contrast to the Awami Leagues relatively secular politics by allying sharply with the Jamaat-e-Islamis Islamist policies. Rahmans latest visit, after the death of his mother, has seen the Jamaats chief, Shafiqur Rahman, make pointed suggestions that the BNP chief was not to be trusted with being as aligned with the JEI at this time. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD When the Hasina government collapsed in 2024 in a coup that saw the self-exiled Mohammed Yunus being flown in to take control, many analysts in the Indian subcontinent claimed that there was strategic misjudgment in aligning so strongly with the politics of a single party and that there was not enough outreach to the more irrelevant BNP. This, however, can be argued to be untrue. It has been unlike India to take such a strong stand to support any political party in a neighbouring state as to be unable to conduct business. As the same analysts now decry, India provides aid to Afghanistan regardless of who is in power and has sought to prevent further chaos in the region by engaging in good faith even with the Taliban when the United States unceremonious exit left the Afghans to their fate and Indians at a massive disadvantage with regards to national security. It is much more likely that Indian ties with BNP would not be difficult to build should Tarique Rahman, or Tarique Zia, as he is sometimes known, come to power. As recent CIA leaks show, the American government has been working behind the scenes to help the Jamaat come to power. With the Awami League banned and the BNP-JeI alliance in the doldrums and clear American support for the JeI, no matter the face of the nation, the Jamaat holds the key to power in Bangladesh. Despite Tariques open embrace of the Pakistani legacy of his father, Ziaur Rahman, to connect with an absolutely radicalised population that has gone on a rampage killing Hindus and lynching Awami League politicians, it is unlikely that any attempts to stabilise an economy in free fall through diplomacy with neighbouring India will yield results. Socially, while elite Bangladeshis are not in support of complete Sharia that bans women from participating in public and political life and imposes the abaya on all, their complacency around the Jamaat and their belief that whoever allies with them will still retain the upper hand is almost reminiscent of the leftist support of the Islamic regime in Iran in the 1970s, with the same results being likely. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The Jamaat chief posted last week that his party would not field women as leaders due to biological differences that made women incapable of leadership. This in a nation where recent prime ministers have only been women over the last three decades. The post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, was quickly taken down. Rumours are that the American Embassy wished to preserve the semblance of normalcy for as long as it was possible to do so. With a long history of aiding Islamists, all the way from Kosovo to closer home in Pakistan and even India, it does not seem unlikely. In all this time, Rahman faces the uphill task of campaigning in a country which has no other clear face for the position of prime minister. He is hindered only by the power play behind the scenes. While it looks likely that State Department and Democrat pick Mohammed Yunus will have a role to play in the shadows, likely applying the writ of his masters as president, he is unlikely to be elected. There are some who hope that the election of Tarique Rahman as PM will help stabilise the nation as it grapples in the throes of violent jihad and absolute economic chaos. Culminating in the destruction of even their most successful industry, that of textiles, in the aftermath of the India-EU deal that empowers India further in the sector, the country is likely to take decades to stabilise its manufacturing. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD While the majority population of the nation were Islamic radicals protected by an elite who preached secularism from foreign universities, the Sheikh Hasina administration had kept the most hardline advocates out of administrative power, allowing for industry to flourish during her reign. Maintaining a balance with good relations with both India and China is hardly likely to be an easy task, but it allowed the Asian nation to gain hope of growth after witnessing decades of violence and extreme human rights abuse. However, this is unlikely to be the path that Rahman will be allowed to follow. Already, direct flights between Bangladesh and Pakistan have resumed, 14 years after they were suspended. Pakistans Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) has been extremely active after the presumed coup that led to Hasinas fall in 2024. With a network expansion that allows it to monitor and affect activities in Indias northeast with Bangladeshi assistance, Bangladeshi politics is likely to be determined by the Jamaats closeness to its ideological masters in Pakistan. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Notably, it was the Jamaat that acted against Bangladeshs independence movement in 1971 during Pakistans genocide of its Bengali population that forced Tarique Rahmans father to declare independence. As East Pakistan reemerges, the February 12 elections in the nation will be witnessed with keen interest by its neighbours. If Tarique Rahman even wished to change the direction of his nation, he simply lacks the power to do so. On the other hand, Shafiqur Rahmans interests are well-known, but he may face electoral challenges, and it has typically been his alliance with the BNP that has allowed his party to wield power. Regardless of the results of an election where one out of two major parties has been banned and a third, extreme one, has been raised to extreme influence, chaos shall reign until the balance is reset. India, meanwhile, works to further fortify its eastern borders with its erstwhile friend and watches with interest. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD (The author is a columnist at several Indian publications, and hosts a podcast on geopolitics and culture. She writes about international relations, public policy and history, and posts on X on her handle @sagorika_s. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.) India, now the fourth-largest economy in the world, has much soul-searching to do. If talent abroad does not wish to return, and talent at home is desperate to leave, it is a damning commentary on how merit is treated within the system Catch them young seems to be the mantra in China for nurturing technical talent, as a recent Financial Times report reveals how the country is running a massive Genius Plan to power its ambitions in emerging technology sectors such as AI, robotics, advanced manufacturing and semiconductors. As part of this, more than one lakh talented teenagers are selected through an extremely competitive exam and placed into accelerated modules focused on STEM disciplines. Here, they are not only trained to crack various Olympiads, but the programme also serves as a direct pipeline to Chinas elite universities. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Although the programme has existed for decades, it has gained global attention only recently. Originally launched after the Cultural Revolution in Chinaa communist attempt that misfired and ruined an entire generation of scientists and engineersthis programme has today become a laboratory for preparing future engineers, scientists and even founders. In fact, many Chinese start-up founders and CEOs, including Zhang Yiming, the founder of ByteDance (TikTok fame), robotaxi start-up founder Lou Tiancheng, Dai Wenyuan, founder of Fourth Paradigm, an AI software company, and the founders of Cambricon, a leading Chinese AI chip company and rival to Nvidia, were part of this programme. Along with this, much of the top talent behind DeepSeek, a Chinese low-cost alternative giving tough competition to global AI giants, has also come from the Genius Plan. Now contrast this with what is happening in India, an equally talented country that is also home to one of the youngest populations in the world. If the Financial Times report on China is a toast to what the country is getting right in nurturing its STEM talent, then Indias AI talent is also making headlines. As per reports, India is fast emerging as the top source country for global AI recruitment, with many companies viewing Indian engineers as a low-cost alternative for entry-level and mid-level skilled jobs. Indian AI talent costs just 15-20 per cent of what someone in the US would cost companies, thus providing fresh impetus to the offshoring of these jobs to India. This does not mean that Indians are not talented enough to play a greater role in the AI story, because many top contributors and researchers in frontier AI labs incidentally come from an Indian background. However, to claim their achievements as Indian would be misplaced, as they were nurtured and trained for frontier-level work within Western university systems. Thus, top AI talent of Indian origin such as Ashish Vaswani of Essential AI, Trapit Bansal of Meta, or Niki Parmar of Googles AI research teamwho is interestingly a self-taught AI engineer who moved to the US to pursue a Masters degree, but destiny had other plansare essentially products of the American ecosystem that thrives on innovation and research. Despite all the claims of India becoming an AI leader, the countrys start-up ecosystem is not yet able to compete with the worlds cut-throat AI research environment. Among the many problems that plague our ambitions, the talent flow opting for US labs is certainly one of them. After the Financial Times report on Chinas Genius Plan, many are asking why India cannot do something similar. But this is actually the wrong question to ask. India already has something known as the IIT-JEE examination, for which teenage STEM talent often takes a break from everything else, including regular schooling, just to prepare for and crack it in order to land a seat at the prestigious IITs. However, from there onwards, the story takes a very different turn compared to their Chinese counterparts. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Speaking to friends at IITs over the years, I am informed that the curriculum at these institutions actively discourages innovation. After graduating from the IITs, the best students leave the country to pursue Masters degrees or PhDs in STEM disciplines abroadand never return. What we are then left with is a large pool of engineers who once had the fire to innovate but, due to the lack of a supportive ecosystem, fall back into mediocre engineering jobs, diversify into non-STEM pursuits such as management, or, in the worst-case scenario, become part of the IT sectors coding sweatshops. In complete contrast, China created a thriving ecosystem for its young STEM talent as early as the 1980s, the rewards of which are now becoming visible. Beyond identifying and nurturing young STEM talent, China also executed the famous Project 211 and Project 985 in the 1990s, transforming Chinese universities into world-class institutions through generous funding and the adoption of international best practices. In comparison, India does not have a single university in the top 100forget the top tenin this years rankings. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Indias university system continues to operate in isolation from global best practices, with the UGC pursuing priorities that diverge sharply from international counterparts. Even in non-STEM disciplines that do not require heavy laboratory investment, India still operates under the NAAC rating system, which has no global equivalent but nonetheless forces PhD scholars into administrative tasks instead of meaningful research. Then there is the question of research and development as a national priority. Unlike China, which spends around 2.5 per cent of its annual GDP through a mix of central government, local government and corporate funding, India still does not spend even 1 per cent of its GDP on R&D. Chinese leaders, unlike their Indian counterparts of the past, displayed foresight. In addition to programmes such as the Genius Plan and Projects 211 and 985, they invested heavily in building a home-grown technology ecosystem to compete with the West by consistently increasing R&D commitments. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Just as China mastered low-cost manufacturing, it has also gamed high-end technology through massive subsidies, tax breaks, low-interest loans and active state involvement. Local and provincial governments compete aggressively to attract companies, talent and projects. Even companies in strategic sectors take R&D seriously, investing at least 1020 per cent of their annual revenues into innovationwell above global standards. In contrast, Indian corporates fall far short of these figures. Even the most celebrated Indian IT giantsInfosys, TCS and Wiprobarely spend 1 per cent of their revenues on research. Their leadership paints a rather sorry picture. While top executives are infamous for telling young Indians to hustle and work unearthly hours, their own commitment to innovation is conspicuously absent. No wonder technically gifted Indians surrender to their fate by working in these sweatshops. China, on the other hand, not only runs a structured pipeline through the Genius Planplacing students in top universities and high-tech jobs within what can be called its innovation laboratoriesbut also operates the Thousand Talents Plan, which incentivises top Chinese talent trained in the West to return home and contribute to Chinas technology ambitions. China treats returning talent as a national strategic priority. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD India, in contrast, treats skilled professionals as an export commodity. Mobility agreements or H1B concessions are often flaunted as achievements of our technical prowess. It is one thing to take pride in the fact that many global CEOs are of Indian origin; it is quite another to realise that not a single Indian company can claim global leadership in emerging technology sectors. China undoubtedly enjoys a first-mover advantage in emerging technologies. However, what must also be acknowledged is the seriousness with which it confronts global competition, while India remains entangled in internal quagmires. China reformed its economy before India, became a global manufacturing hub before India, and is now a serious challenger to the US in emerging technologies. China understood early that national comprehensive power rests on indigenous capability. In the late 2000s, when Western technology companies such as Google began raising national security concernsparticularly during the Urumqi riotsChina banned Western social media platforms and built its own ecosystem of apps such as WeChat and Douyin. This restriction of foreign competition created a vast domestic market for returnees to experiment and innovate. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD India, now the fourth-largest economy in the world, has much soul-searching to do. If talent abroad does not wish to return, and talent at home is desperate to leave at the first opportunity, it is a damning commentary on how merit is treated within the system. For now, India remains a source of cheap labourunskilled, semi-skilled, fully skilled and even technically advanced. But how long will we continue to celebrate the opening of new markets for this labour? When will Indian minds be meaningfully incentivised to contribute to Indias emerging technology story? That is the question that must finally be asked. (The author is a New Delhi-based commentator on geopolitics and foreign policy. She holds a PhD from the Department of International Relations, South Asian University. She tweets @TrulyMonica. The views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.) Politicians and the ultra-rich can often operate with impunity. Extreme wealth may act as a shield against repercussions This is a reminder: wealth and power can shield perpetrators from justice. Its sad but true. Representational image: AFP I am not here to debate the political angles of the infamous Epstein Files, nor to moralise. What is shocking is the public perception: many seem genuinely stunned by what occurred on Epstein Island and within his network. The Epstein Files (like Watergate, Wikileaks, Cablegate, and the Steele Dossier) may appear sensational, but they reveal a grim truth: the concentration of wealth and power enables behaviour that can be intolerableand criminalfor most. Politicians and the ultra-rich often operate with impunity. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD F Scott Fitzgerald describes how extreme wealth fosters a sense of superiority, cynicism, carelessness with consequences, and emotional insulation: all qualities that make the rich operate by different rules, often viewing themselves as exempt from ordinary accountability. Extreme wealth provides insurance, or insulation, against consequences. We were warned with graphic images in cinema: Eyes Wide Shut by Stanley Kubrick was a revelation. It fits strikingly into the context of Fitzgeralds the rich are different and the Epstein files, a cinematic bridge between literary critique and real-world revelations of predatory privilege. In Kubricks world of orgies where masked super-elites play, the victims are from lower strata (they are treated as disposable), while the elite retreat into impunity. The film was prescient about how money, secrecy, and impunity create inevitable nexuses of abuse. There was a dramatic and possibly relevant video of a young Mexican model, distraught, screaming, They are eating babies!, after attending one of the Epstein parties. She was, it is said, arrested, and disappeared, and was never seen again. Yet, it is Salo: The 120 Days of Sodom that I am most reminded of. This is quite possibly the most disturbing film ever made, at least among those that I have seen. Only In the Realm of the Senses, by Nagisa Oshima, a staggering tale of sexual obsession, comes close in shock value. A couple are caught up in a vortex or vicious cycle of increasingly dangerous sexual behaviour. The unsimulated, explicit sex scenes, in fact, produce not prurience, but horror in the viewer. The films intensity peaks with its violent conclusion, where the female protagonist strangles her lover to death during erotic asphyxiation and then castrates his corpse, carrying the severed penis with her, blending extreme eroticism with graphic mutilation and murder in a way that challenged societal taboos on sex, obsession, and violence. Tellingly, it is based on a real-life story, but then it is a private tale, not one that involved powerful, public men. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Salo, by Pier Paolo Pasolini, is a loose adaptation of the Marquis de Sades 1785 novel The 120 Days of Sodom, relocated to the final days of Mussolinis fascist Republic of Salo (19431945) in northern Italy. Four powerful libertines a Duke (nobility), Bishop (church), Magistrate (law/state), and President (finance/capital) are the protagonists. They kidnap 18 young victims (mostly teenagers) and subject them to escalating cycles of sexual torture, degradation, humiliation, and murder in a remote villa. I remember the horrifying close-up of a young mans eye being plucked out. This isnt mere shock exploitation; Pasolini uses Sades framework as a scorching allegory for: Absolute power corrupting absolutely, where the elite treat bodies (especially vulnerable young ones) as disposable objects for consumption and control. Fascism as the ultimate expression of capitalist/consumerist nihilism. The libertines embody the anarchy of power in a permissive, totalitarian system where rules exist only to protect the perpetrators. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Moral detachment and cynicism: the rich arent just wealthier; theyre philosophically and emotionally severed from humanity, viewing others as means to gratification without consequence. Do these examples reflect how all powerful men act? Possibly not. But the Epstein Files illustrate a disturbing reality: concentrated power, secrecy, and wealth can enable systemic abuse. Confirmed reports show: Recruitment and grooming of underage girls Sexual assault on minors Distribution of child sexual abuse material Trafficking across state and international borders Is this how powerful men are? Is this how those with absolute power, especially men, have always acted? Or is it culture-specific? Thats a good question. But are elites generally debauched, depraved, and dissolute? Not all, but indeed some. Several elite individualsroyalty, political figures, industry leaderswere implicated. Some lost privileges or faced consequences, but many remained shielded. Epsteins network functioned like an exclusive, predatory system, hidden from public scrutiny. This is a reminder: wealth and power can shield perpetrators from justice. Its sad but true. (The writer has been a conservative columnist for over 25 years. His academic interest is innovation. Views expressed are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.) Last year, a White House report on national security claimed that Europe will be unrecognisable and that its civilisation risks erasure in the face of increasing immigration and economic decline Donald Trump walks after charter announcement for his 'Board of Peace' initiative aimed at resolving global conflicts, alongside the 56th annual World Economic Forum (WEF), in Davos, Switzerland, January 22. Reuters US President Donald Trump has said Europe is at a tipping point due to its immigration and energy problems. This is the latest in a string of attacks that Trump has directed at the continent as he tries to consolidate the USs position with decisive policies. I love Europe I love the people of Europe and they have to be very careful. Theyre at a tipping point. You have tremendous immigration problems, and you have tremendous energy problems, thats a bad combination, Trump said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD I love Europe I love the people of Europe and they have to be very careful. They're at a tipping point. You have tremendous immigration problems, and you have tremendous energy problems, thats a bad combination. President Trump pic.twitter.com/A6cHHDFRzt Department of State (@StateDept) February 3, 2026 Last year, a White House report on national security claimed that Europe will be unrecognisable and that its civilisation risks erasure in the face of increasing immigration and economic decline. Trump had made a scathing remark against European leaders back in December, suggesting that they are weak and that countries on the continent are decaying. What does the White House report say? The unauthored document, called National Security Strategy, was signed by President Donald Trump and released on Friday. Trump wrote the foreword of the report, saying that it is a roadmap to ensure America remains the greatest and most successful nation in human history. This economic decline is eclipsed by the real and more stark prospect of civilisational erasure. Should present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognisable in 20 years or less, the report said. The report highlights the problem areas of Europe and has statements asserting the continents supposed decline. It also blames the European Union for undermining political freedoms and failing to clamp down on immigration, which the US said is fuelling social tensions. According to the report, the USs primary objectives in Europe will be to achieve a swift end to the war in Ukraine, foster resistance to Europes current trajectory within European nations, expand access to European markets for American companies, and halt further NATO expansion. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Newly released emails show Peter Attia planned contact with Jeffrey Epstein during a family crisis, prompting an apology and reported fallout with CBS News In a post on X, Attia, a podcaster and author of the book "Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity," on Monday denied that he was involved in criminal activity. (Reuters/X) Peter Attia, a newly named CBS News star contributor and longevity specialist, was in New York in July 2017 when his infant son Ayrton stopped breathing and was hospitalised in San Diego, according to his own account, while emails show he was also arranging to meet convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during that period. The situation has resurfaced following the release of a large cache of -related documents and Attias subsequent apology. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In his book Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity, Attia, 52, described receiving a call from his wife, Jill, on the evening of July 11, 2017, informing him that their son had suddenly stopped breathing. I stayed in New York, busy with my important work, he wrote. Ayrtons cardiac arrest happened on a Tuesday, but I did not come home to San Diego until Friday of the following week. Ten days later. He described himself as a blind, selfish, checked-out husband and father and said he felt lasting guilt. Even today, just thinking about what happened, I feel nauseous about my behavior, he wrote. I cant believe I did that to my family. Emails with Epstein during the same period Newly released emails show that a day after speaking with his wife about their sons condition, Attia made plans to meet Epstein on July 13. Can you do before 10 am? tomrow, Epstein wrote. Sure, Attia replied. I can come earlier, also, if you have a hard stop at 10. Let me know. It remains unclear whether the meeting took place on July 13, 2017, or what occurred if it did. The documents also include other exchanges described as friendly, including an email in which Attia wrote to Epstein that py is, indeed, low carb. Scale of Attias presence in the files Attia is mentioned 1,741 times in the 3 million documents released on Friday, many of which include questions about Epsteins well-being and references to his outrageous lifestyle. His name appears more than 1,700 times in the trove of 3 million emails released as part of the Epstein files by the US Department of Justice. In one 2015 note, Attia said, The biggest problem with becoming friends with you? The life you lead is so outrageous, and yet I cant tell a soul In a 2016 email, Attia said, using Epsteins initials, I go into JE withdrawal when I dont see him. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Apology and reported CBS response On Monday, Attia issued an apology, saying he was ashamed of his conversations with Epstein. Paramount-owned CBS News is expected to cut ties with contributor Peter Attia over his dealings with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, The Wrap reported on Monday, citing an individual with knowledge of the parent companys thinking. Colombian President Gustavo Petro heads to Washington for a closely watched meeting with US President Donald Trump, marking a sharp turn after weeks of public tension, harsh rhetoric and diplomatic strain between the two leaders over drugs, security and regional politics Colombian President Gustavo Petro to meet US President Donald Trump in US today. File Image: ANI Colombias President Gustavo Petro arrived in Washington this week for a high-stakes meeting with US President Donald Trump, set to take place at the White House on Tuesday. The meeting comes after months of intense diplomatic friction between the two leaders, and both sides say they hope to reset strained ties while addressing mutual concerns about regional security and drug trafficking. Just weeks ago, the relationship between the two leaders was defined by sharp rhetoric. Trump publicly accused Petro of fuelling the US cocaine trade and even suggested possible military action against Colombia, calling Petro a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States, remarks that drew widespread criticism. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Petro, for his part, has fiercely rejected such labels and defended Colombias efforts to combat narcotics, while also condemning US military action in the region. Tensions reached a peak after US military operations in neighbouring Venezuela, including the controversial capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, which Petro publicly denounced as a violation of sovereignty and international law. The thaw that led to this meeting Despite past hostilities, a phone call between Trump and Petro in early January paved the way for this White House meeting. Trump described their conversation as a great honour, while Petro characterised it as an opportunity to explain the drug situation and other disagreements. Analysts say the summit could prove pivotal in shaping the next phase of USColombia relations, which have historically been close but were strained by conflicting approaches to counternarcotics policy and regional diplomacy. Focus on shared challenges Official statements suggest the discussions will cover practical cooperation on curbing drug traffickingan issue where the two governments have very different philosophiesas well as boosting economic ties and regional stability. Colombias coca production has surged in recent years, complicating efforts to coordinate anti-drugs strategies with the US. There is also anticipation that the leaders may talk about broader hemispheric security and cooperation. A landslide at the rebel held Rubaya coltan mine in eastern Congo has killed at least two hundred miners, plunging families into mourning In eastern Congo, grief and hardship are unfolding side by side after a deadly landslide at a rebel held coltan mine killed at least two hundred people. As families in Goma and nearby areas mourn loved ones lost at Rubaya, many of the surviving miners say they have little choice but to return to the same unstable tunnels that almost claimed their lives. Families grieve in Goma In the Mugunga neighbourhood on the outskirts of Goma, relatives and neighbours have gathered for days at the home of 39 year old miner Bosco Nguvumali Kalabosh. A photograph propped against a wall has become the focal point of quiet prayers and shared memories. His brother, Thimothee Kalabosh Nzanga, recalls that Bosco was due to come home the very day after the collapse. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Mining was in their blood: Bosco had worked at Rubaya for more than a decade, owned pits of his own, and belonged to a family where artisanal mining had long been passed from one generation to the next. He leaves behind his wife and four young children, the eldest only five. Survivors caught between fear and necessity Those who made it out alive speak of horror and resignation in equal measure. Survivor Tumaini Munguiko visited the Kalabosh family to offer condolences, describing how painful it is to watch colleagues die in front of him. Yet he admits he will soon go back. For him and many others, the mine is the only source of income in a region marked by poverty and conflict. Landslides, he says, are almost expected during the rainy season, when sodden clay soils give way. Some miners manage to run, others are buried, and many simply watch helplessly as tunnels collapse. Dangerous work in hand dug tunnels Rubayas mining complex, around forty kilometres from Goma, is honeycombed with long, narrow tunnels dug by hand with minimal reinforcement. Crowded pits can hold hundreds of workers at once. Former miner Clovis Mafare explains that there is no real oversight or engineering: people dig wherever they can, without proper supports or escape routes. Parallel tunnels mean that a single collapse can trigger a chain reaction, trapping miners across several pits. He notes that the diggers work without insurance, and any financial help after a disaster is small and slow in coming. Families like that of Kalabosh have yet to see meaningful compensation. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Coltan riches and rebel control The Rubaya deposits produce coltan, the ore that yields tantalum and niobium, metals that power mobile phones, computers, vehicles and advanced military and aerospace equipment. This makes the area strategically important and fiercely contested. Since early 2024, the mines have been held by M23 rebels backed by Rwanda, after repeated shifts in control between government forces and armed groups. Thousands of artisanal miners from across eastern Congo flock to the site in search of steady earnings, despite the constant threat of violence and accidents. Isolation deepens the trauma In the aftermath of the landslide, Rubaya has been largely cut off from the outside world. Poor roads, fighting and weak infrastructure mean there is no reliable mobile or internet coverage. Residents rely on a privately operated Starlink link, paying a significant sum for brief access to communicate with relatives or seek help. Meanwhile, the political blame game has intensified. The Congolese government has accused M23 and Rwanda of unsafe and illegal exploitation of resources, while the rebels point to fatal collapses at mines controlled by state forces and denounce what they call political opportunism. Amid these disputes, bereaved families and anxious survivors remain trapped between grief, danger and economic desperation. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Cuba has confirmed it is in contact with the United States, but a senior diplomat said the exchanges remain limited and have not yet turned into formal talks, even as tensions between the two countries rise. (FILES) A Cuban soldier waves a national flag as he takes part in the "Anti-Imperialist" protest in front of the US Embassy against the US incursion in Venezuela, where 32 Cuban soldiers lost their lives, in Havana on January 16, 2026. Cuba described as a "brutal act of aggression" the executive order issued by US President Donald Trump threatening to impose tariffs on countries that sell oil to the island, in a message posted on social media by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez on January 29, 2026. (Photo by ADALBERTO ROQUE / AFP) Cuba and the United States are in contact, a senior Cuban diplomat said on Monday, though he stressed that the exchanges have not yet developed into a formal dialogue. Carlos Fernandez de Cossio, Cubas deputy foreign minister, told Reuters that Washington was aware Havana was ready for a serious, meaningful and responsible dialogue. However, he said the current communication remained limited. We have had an exchange of messages, we have embassies, we have had communications, but we cannot say we have had a table of dialogue, de Cossio said in an interview at the foreign ministry in Havana. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD De Cossios remarks marked the first indication from Cuba that some level of communication is taking place, following renewed tensions between the two countries in January after the US captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, a close ally of Cuba. Trump signals talks, threatens economic pressure US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the United States had begun talks with the highest people in Cuba, days after declaring the country an unusual and extraordinary threat to US national security. He also warned of tariffs on US-bound exports from any country supplying oil to the communist-run island. I think were going to make a deal with Cuba, Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Cuba had earlier denied holding talks with the United States. Oil pressure and deepening crisis Tensions have escalated in recent weeks as the US moved to block oil shipments to Cuba, including supplies from ally Venezuela. The restrictions have worsened fuel shortages, pushed up food and transport prices, and triggered prolonged blackouts, even in the capital Havana. Trump said on Monday that Mexico would stop sending oil to Cuba as part of Washingtons pressure campaign. Cuba questions sustainability of US strategy De Cossio said he believed the US effort to halt fuel exports to Cuba would eventually prove unsustainable. He questioned whether Washington could realistically force all countries to comply with such restrictions in the long term. Longstanding rivalry reaches critical point The two neighbouring countries have remained at odds since Fidel Castros 1959 revolution, but Cubas deepening economic crisis and stepped-up pressure from the Trump administration have recently pushed tensions to a critical point. With inputs from Reuters. Venezuelas interim president Delcy Rodriguez moves to consolidate power, reshaping her cabinet and opening talks with Washington as the US signals support for a political transition following the dramatic ouster of long-time leader Nicolas Maduro Venezuelas interim president Delcy Rodriguez solidified her new government Monday, appointing several cabinet members and meeting with Washingtons new top diplomat in Caracas to address the countrys transition after the ouster of Nicolas Maduro. Laura Dogu, Washingtons charge daffaires in Venezuela, said on X she spoke with Rodriguez about US plans for stabilization, economic recovery, reconciliation and transition. It was not immediately clear what Dogu meant by a transition. Maduro had been in power since 2013 until US forces raided the country and captured him, but much of his government remains in place. Venezuelas Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said after the meeting the diplomatic focus going forward would involve addressing the differences and historical controversies between the United States and Venezuela. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD We reviewed the common agenda, especially on energy, trade, and politics, he added. Staffing up cabinet In addition to meeting with Dogu, Rodriguez made several key appointments to her presidential cabinet, including tapping former foreign minister Felix Plasencia to lead Venezuelas diplomatic mission in the United States. Very soon well have our diplomatic representative, Felix Plasencia, in Washington to accelerate diplomatic work, political work, and the work of developing our common agenda, Gil said. Plasencias appointment marks a pivotal change in diplomatic relations between Caracas and Washington, which were severed in 2019 after the United States refused to recognize Maduros reelection and instead supported a parallel government led by then-opposition leader Juan Guaido. Rodriguez also appointed Daniella Cabello the daughter of Venezuelas powerful interior minister, Diosdado Cabello as her cabinets tourism minister. The elder Cabello was widely considered to be Venezuelas second-most powerful figure after Maduro, and his backing for Rodriguezs government is seen as critical. Cabello pledged the polices support for Rodriguez when she became countrys leader after Maduro was ousted in a deadly US military operation last month and whisked away to New York to stand trial on drug charges. The appointments come weeks after Rodriguez, formerly the vice president, cleared ranks among the countrys top military brass, appointing 12 senior officers to regional commands. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Among those she dismissed was businessman Alex Saab, the minister of industry under Maduro and a close ally of the former president. Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado meanwhile told reporters during a video call Monday that she would be willing to meet with Rodriguez if its necessary in order to establish a transition timeline. If its necessary to exchange ideas in a meeting to define a transition timeline, it will happen, she said according to a transcript. However, she added that Rodriguezs interim government is still the mafia. They may have another name, but they are the mafia. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Firstpost staff.) In a case related to Grok generating sexually explicit deepfakes, Paris prosecutors cybercrime unit has searched the Paris office of X along with French polices cybercrime unit and Europol. This photograph shows a smartphone bearing the logo of Grok, a generative artificial intelligence chatbot developed by US artificial intelligence company xAI in front of the X (formerly Twitter) logo in Brussels. (Photo: AFP) In a case related to Grok generating sexually explicit deepfakes, Paris prosecutors cybercrime unit on Tuesday launched searches at the Paris office of X along with French police and Europol, the European Unions (EU) law-enforcement cooperation agency. A search is being conducted at Xs French offices by the Paris prosecutors offices cybercrime unit, together with the National Cyber Unit of the Gendarmerie and Europol, as part of the investigation opened in January 2025, the prosecutors office said in a statement on X. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In recent weeks, Grok has been condemned and scrutinised worldwide for letting users generate sexually explicit deepfakes of real persons without their consent. As part of the investigation, the prosecutors office has also summoned X owner Elon Musk and former CEO Linda Yaccarino for voluntary interviews on April 20, the prosecutors office said in a press release. At this stage, the conduct of this investigation is part of a constructive approach, with the aim of ultimately ensuring that the X platform complies with French law, insofar as it operates within the national territory, the release said. Since December, scores of users most of them females have reported that Grok has published their photos after digitally removing their clothes through artificial intelligence (AI) at the request of X users. The Paris prosector had opened an investigation into the matter last month. Two French lawmakers, Arthur Delaporte and Eric Bothorel, also filed formal complaints with the prosecutor last month. The investigation followed another investigation last year over Groks antisemitic tirade. Separately, the EU has also opened an investigation under the EUs rulebook for online platforms said it is exploring a ban on apps under the AI law. Starting in December, X users flooded the platforms chatbot, Grok, with requests to generate photographs of real persons after removing their clothes or putting them in bikinis or showing them in sexual positions. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In just nine days, Grok posted more than 4.4 million images and 44 per cent of them likely contained sexually explicit images of women, according to an analysis by The New York Times and Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH). A broader analysis by CCDH found that around 65 per cent of these images contained sexually explicit images of men, women, and children. In the Bangladesh election, an online haha reaction campaign has been trying to manipulate voter perception across party lines and boost the profiles of preferred candidates while discrediting others, according to an investigation. In the Bangladesh election, a haha reaction online campaign has been attempting to manipulate voters perception across party lines and boost the profiles of preferred candidates, according to an investigation by The Daily Star. Bangladesh will hold a parliamentary election the first since Sheikh Hasinas ouster on February 12. Candidates are currently in the final leg of their campaigns. The investigation found that thousands of bots have been deployed in clusters to flood particular candidates social media posts, or posts supportive of them, with haha reactions to make it appear as if people are ridiculing and rejecting these candidates. In reality, however, the investigation found that these reactions originated from bots often based abroad with no real connection to Bangladesh. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD These bots haha campaign is therefore aimed at manipulating voters perception that a particular candidate is being mocked online as a sign of unpopularity an apparent attempt to discredit the candidate in the eyes of voters. But such campaigns are not limited to just one party or its candidates or even haha as love campaigns are also involved. Bipartisan haha and love campaigns to fool Bangladeshs voters The Daily Star found at least four clusters of politically-aligned users who move together on Facebook like an organised army as part of the campaign. Two of these clusters appear aligned with Jamaat-e-Islami, one with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), and another with the Bangladesh Awami League. The Daily Star noted that what may appear to be a genuine public backlash is often a manufactured reality bought for a few thousand taka. While the haha campaign sought to discredit rivals, love campaigns sought to manufacture a perception of growing support for preferred candidates. The Daily Star found two Jamaat-aligned clusters in the love campaign, one Awami League cluster, and a BNP-aligned cluster. The investigation found that the two pro-Jamaat clusters are the most combative and primarily target pro-BNP users. As Trump has reached a long-pending trade deal with India, European Council leader said Indias mother of all trade deal with the EU made Washington nervous and prompted a rapid policy response. US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands as they attend a joint press conference at the White House in Washington, DC, on, February 13. Reuters As US President Donald Trump reached a trade deal with India, European Council leader Carl Bildt said the India-EU mother of all trade deals had made Washington nervous and prompted a rapid policy response. Bildt said the EU trade deal with India obviously made Trump nervous, prompting the US president to quickly adjust American policies. That was a good thing for both countries and demonstrated EU leadership, he added in a post on X, sharing a TV interview clip featuring US envoy Sergio Gor. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD US-India trade deal announced The long-pending bilateral trade deal was announced by President Trump on social media, just a week after India finalised its negotiations with the European Union. Under the agreement, the US will cut its tariffs on Indian goods from 25 per cent to 18 per cent. Washington had previously imposed a 25 per cent tariff on India, along with an additional 25 per cent on imports linked to Russian oil. The announcement follows Indias signing of the mother of all trade deals with the EU last week. Reciprocal tariff cuts Trump said the revised tariff rate would take effect immediately. In return, he claimed India had agreed to reduce its tariffs and non-tariff barriers on US products to zero, marking a major step in bilateral trade relations. Push for higher US exports Trump also said India would significantly increase purchases of American goods and services. According to him, New Delhi has committed to buy American at a much higher level, including more than $500 billion worth of US energy, technology, agricultural products, coal, and other exports. Significant breakthrough amid trade tensions The deal comes after months of heightened trade tensions triggered by Washingtons unilateral moves. Last year, the US had imposed steep duties on Indian goods, including a 25 per cent reciprocal tariff, partly over concerns about Indias energy ties with Russia. The United States and India have agreed to a trade deal that cuts US tariffs on Indian goods from 50 per cent to 18 per cent, easing bilateral tensions and giving India a stronger tariff advantage over key regional competitors Among South Asian economies, India now faces lower tariff exposure than Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and sits only slightly above Afghanistan. US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have agreed to a trade deal that significantly cuts US tariffs on Indian goods, a move aimed at easing longstanding trade tensions between the two largest democracies. Under the agreement, the levy that stood at 50 per cent has been reduced to 18 per cent, with Washington withdrawing the extra penalty previously linked to Indias purchase of Russian crude oil and leaving only the revised reciprocal tariff in place. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The original 50 per cent tariff included a 25 per cent reciprocal tariff and an additional 25 per cent import duty imposed because of Indias Russian oil purchases. With the new deal, this additional penalty has been dropped and the overall rate lowered to 18 per cent. A White House official told Reuters that the United States had withdrawn the punitive duty linked to Russian oil imports, leaving only the revised reciprocal tariff. India gains tariff competitive edge Under the new tariff structure, India now has lower duty rates compared with several regional competitors. Countries such as Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Vietnam face higher tariff rates, and Indias rate is significantly lower than those for China and Pakistan. A comparison of US tariff rates on imports from other countries shows: Higher tariffs: China: 37 per cent Brazil: 50 per cent South Africa: 30 per cent Myanmar: 40 per cent Laos: 40 per cent Lower tariffs: European Union: 15 per cent Japan: 15 per cent South Korea: 15 per cent Switzerland: 15 per cent United Kingdom: 10 per cent Comparable Southeast Asian rates: Bangladesh: 20 per cent Vietnam: 20 per cent Malaysia: 19 per cent Cambodia: 19 per cent Thailand: 19 per cent Pakistan: 19 per cent These comparisons underline how Indias revised rate places it closer to major US allies and trading partners. Reactions from leaders Trump announced the agreement in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social. It was an Honor to speak with Prime Minister Modi We spoke about many things, including Trade, and ending the War with Russia and Ukraine, he wrote. Trump added that PM Modi had agreed to reduce purchase of Russian oil and increase purchases from the United States and potentially, Venezuela, saying this would help END THE WAR in Ukraine. Our amazing relationship with India will be even stronger going forward, he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the development, calling it a boost for Made in India products. In a post on X, he wrote, Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 per cent. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India. The move comes amid a backdrop of elevated US tariffs on Indian goods last year, during which total duties rose to 50 per cent after Washington added punitive measures related to Indias crude oil imports from Russia. Negotiations between the two countries have been ongoing as both sought to address trade frictions and align on broader economic cooperation. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD India and the US are moving to formalise a trade deal that cuts tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent, with documentation expected soon and exporters seeing improved competitiveness After months of trade tensions, and the US are moving towards formalising a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), with both sides likely to advance documentation this week. The development follows an understanding between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lower reciprocal tariffs, setting the stage for the agreement to be signed as part of efforts to ease longstanding trade frictions between the two largest democracies. Under the agreement, the tariff on Indian goods has been reduced from 50 per cent to 18 per cent. Washington has also withdrawn the extra penalty that had been linked to Indias purchase of Russian crude oil, leaving only the revised reciprocal tariff in place. The deal includes the rollback of an additional 25 per cent tariff that Trump had imposed on India over its purchases of Russian oil. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD PM Modi welcomes decision Shortly after Trump announced that the US and India had agreed to a bilateral trade deal to lower reciprocal tariffs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the reduction of tariffs to 18 per cent on Made in India products. In a post on X, PM Modi thanked Trump for the decision, describing it as a boost for bilateral ties. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement, he said. PM Modi said cooperation between India and the United States, as the worlds largest democracies and major economies, would bring broad benefits. India gains an edge With the new tariff structure, India now has lower duty rates compared with several regional competitors. Countries such as Indonesia, Bangladesh and Vietnam face higher tariff rates, and Indias rate is significantly lower than those for China and Pakistan. The has reduced uncertainty for industry, with the cut to an 18 per cent duty expected to help Indian exporters strengthen their position in the US market. The announcement came as garment, leather and footwear manufacturers, having just shipped containers for the summer season, were concerned about orders for the next cycle. Smaller firms had nearly stopped shipments in recent months, while larger companies continued by offering steep discounts, with US buyers also absorbing part of the pressure. With the deal in place, Indian goods are seen as more competitive, and products will face an 18 per cent additional tariff over the MFN or product-specific rate. Iran may be willing to suspend or shut down parts of its nuclear programme to ease tensions with the United States, signalling a possible shift in Tehrans stance amid rising diplomatic and military pressure A picture of US President Donald Trump is set on fire by protesters during an anti-USA demonstration in front of the US consulate in Istanbul on February 1, 2026. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP) Iran may be willing to suspend or shut down parts of its nuclear programme to reduce tensions with the United States, The New York Times (NYT) reported, citing two unnamed Iranian officials. The comments suggest Tehran could be considering a significant compromise amid escalating diplomatic and military pressure. Though Iranian leaders have publicly opposed stopping uranium enrichment, the officials told NYT that Tehran may be open to new terms that differ from its long-standing positions. One potential concession discussed was transferring enriched uranium to Russia. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Talks expected this week in Istanbul The proposed framework comes as US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi prepare to meet in Istanbul later this week. These negotiations are expected to be one of the most direct contacts between the two sides since tensions escalated last year. Diplomats from Turkey, Qatar, Oman and Iraq are also mediating parts of the process, with hopes that constructive dialogue in Turkey could build momentum toward a broader deal. Jared Kushner, senior adviser to US President Donald Trump, is expected to attend some sessions. Despite these developments, Iran insists the talks will only cover the nuclear programme and not other contentious issues, like its ballistic missile development or regional proxy support. US negotiators, according to sources, are pressing for limits on these programs as part of any agreement, a demand Tehran continues to reject. Iran has also warned that any US strike on its territorymilitary or otherwisewould provoke retaliation, further complicating an already volatile landscape. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the warning as Washington deployed warships after Tehrans brutal crackdown on nationwide protests. Despite sharp rhetoric, both sides have signalled openness to dialogue, with the US hoping for a diplomatic deal to curb Tehrans nuclear ambitions and Iran seeking a fair and equitable agreement. Former US President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton have agreed to testify before Congress in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, averting a looming contempt vote as Republicans press ahead, insisting accountability applies equally, even to former presidents and top officials Former U.S. President Bill Clinton swims in a pool in this image released by the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., U.S., on December 19, 2025 as part of a new trove of documents from its investigations into the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. U.S. Justice Department/Handout via Reuters Former US President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state, have agreed to testify before Congress as part of the investigation into late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a move that comes after weeks of legal sparring and political accusations. Confirmation came from Bill Clintons former deputy chief of staff, who wrote on social media: The former President and former Secretary of State will be there. The decision follows mounting pressure from the Republican-led US House of Representatives, which had been preparing to vote on holding both Clintons in criminal contempt for allegedly defying subpoenas. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The development is significant not just politically, but historically. While the exact timing of the depositions remains unclear, it will mark the first time a former US president has testified before a congressional committee since Gerald Ford did so in 1983. The House Oversight Committee, chaired by Republicans, approved contempt measures against the Clintons late last month, with backing from several Democrats. At the time, committee chairman James Comer said no-one is above the law. Republicans argue the subpoenas were issued fairly and in a bipartisan manner, and that the Clintons repeatedly delayed compliance. The Clintons, however, have pushed back strongly. Their lawyers described the subpoenas as unenforceable and said the couple had already provided the limited information they possessed about Epstein. The former president and former secretary of state also dismissed the summonses as nothing more than a ploy to attempt to embarrass political rivals, as President Trump has directed. On Monday evening, Clinton spokesman Angel Urena confirmed on X that the couple would now appear before the panel. They negotiated in good faith. You did not. They told you under oath what they know, but you dont care. But the former President and former Secretary of State will be there. They look forward to setting a precedent that applies to everyone. https://t.co/iO67XjNFsT Angel Urena (@angelurena) February 2, 2026 STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Bill Clintons association with Epstein Bill Clinton has never been accused of wrongdoing by survivors of Epsteins abuse and has consistently denied any knowledge of Epsteins sex crimes. Both Clintons maintain they do not have information relevant to the investigation and say they previously submitted sworn statements to the committee. Bill Clinton appears in photographs with Epstein that were released by the Department of Justice after Congress passed a law mandating the disclosure of materials related to Epstein investigations. One image shows Clinton swimming in a pool, while another shows him reclining in what appears to be a hot tub. Urena said the photos were decades old and that Clinton had cut ties with Epstein long before his crimes became public. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Last month, the Clintons wrote directly to Comer, sharply criticising his handling of the probe. The decisions you have made, and the priorities you have set as chairman regarding the Epstein investigation, have prevented progress in discovering the facts about the governments role, the letter said. They added: There is no plausible explanation for what you are doing other than partisan politics. Comer, for his part, has rejected those claims. We communicated with President Clintons legal team for months now, giving them opportunity after opportunity to come in, to give us a day, and they continue to delay, delay, delay, said the Kentucky Republican. The Rajasthan Police have served a leave India notice to two British tourists after they were found pasting Free Palestine, Boycott Israel posters in public areas of Pushkar, a town popular with Israeli visitors. The Rajasthan Police have served a leave India notice to two British tourists after they were found pasting posters carrying the slogan Free Palestine, Boycott Israel in public areas of Pushkar, a town that attracts a large number of Israeli tourists, according to reports. Posters pasted in Israeli-frequented areas Additional Superintendent of Police (CID, Ajmer Zone) Rajesh Meena told The Indian Express that the two tourists had arrived in India on tourist visas in January and travelled to Pushkar from Delhi. He said the posters were pasted in areas frequented by Israeli visitors, including near a Chabad House. The tourists condemned Israel in the context of the Palestine-Israel conflict and pasted posters on walls in Pushkar. Our CID investigated the matter and brought them in for questioning, Meena said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The incident came to light on January 21 after local authorities noticed stickers bearing messages such as Free Palestine, Boycott Israel at several public locations. Following an investigation, the CID concluded that the act violated local sensitivities and breached visa rules, as political activity is not permitted on a tourist visa. Leave India notice issued under immigration law According to reports, the two UK nationals were identified as Lewis Gabriel Dee, 36, and Anueshi Emma Christine, 36. Meena said a leave India notice was issued under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, directing them to leave the country immediately. He added that the two apologised and were informed that engaging in political activities while on a tourist visa was not allowed. The duo had reportedly printed nine sheets at a local printing press and pasted them across Pushkar. Why Pushkar draws large numbers of Israeli tourists Pushkar receives around 10,000 to 11,000 Israeli tourists annually and currently hosts nearly 2,000 Israeli visitors. Many frequent establishments linked to the Chabad community, making the town a popular destination for Israeli travellers. Israelis have long visited Pushkar as part of a post-military travel tradition. Many travel abroad after completing mandatory military service, with Indiaparticularly Pushkar, Himachal Pradesh and Goaremaining a favoured route due to its affordability, spiritual atmosphere and established backpacker ecosystem. Last month, Rutte had urged lawmakers in the European Union (EU) Parliament to be flexible over the use of funds to help Ukraine and vowed Natos continued support to the war-torn country with costly US military equipment Nato Chief Mark Rutte made a surprise visit to Kyiv on Tuesday, hours after Russia launched a barrage of attacks on the Ukrainian capital city and other parts, effectively ending a brief ceasefire agreed upon by President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a video of the pair laying flowers at a memorial in central Kyiv to soldiers killed in the Russian invasion. Maidan Nezalezhnosti. The Peoples Memorial of National Remembrance. A memorial honoring our heroes, warriors, our people who defended Ukraine against the enemy, fought, and made the ultimate sacrifice in this war. Together with @SecGenNATO Mark Rutte, we honored the memory of pic.twitter.com/ugWsJChlAV Volodymyr Zelenskyy / (@ZelenskyyUa) February 3, 2026 STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Last month, Rutte had urged lawmakers in the European Union (EU) Parliament to be flexible over the use of funds to help Ukraine and vowed Natos continued support to the war-torn country with costly US military equipment. Russian attack in Ukraine Russia launched a late-night attack in Ukraines capital, Kyiv, early on Tuesday, days after a loose ceasefire agreement between US President Trump and President Vladimir Putin ended. Local media reports indicate that several residential buildings were hit, while ballistic missiles hit Ukraines Dnipro, according to the countrys Air Force. The attacks come after Putin agreed to pause attacking Ukraine on account of harsh winters that have crippled the country due to a severely damaged energy infrastructure. The ceasefire was a result of a personal request made by Trump, as per the Kremlin. Meanwhile, Russia has confirmed that the second round of trilateral talks between Moscow, Ukraine and the US will be held this week in Abu Dhabi, where discussions will be held to end the war. On survival mode As winter tightens its grip, Russia has intensified its strikes on Ukraines energy grid, plunging large portions of the country into darkness. These systemic power shortages hit a critical point early Tuesday morning, as temperatures in Kyiv plummeted to a bone-chilling -20C. In a conversation with CNN, Ukraines biggest private energy company said that it is in survival mode, describing the next few weeks as critical as the country reels under subzero temperatures and the worst condition of our energy system in modern history. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Of DTEKs five thermal power plants in Ukraine, the fleet is currently struggling to maintain operations: two facilities are entirely offline, while the remaining three are running at significantly reduced capacity. Iran has indicated a guarded willingness to resume nuclear negotiations with the United States, as President Masoud Pezeshkian sets clear conditions for talks, stressing they must be fair, free of threats and aligned with Tehrans national interests In this handout picture provided by Iranian presidency, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian addresses cabinet members, as they visit of the tomb of the late Iranian revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in Tehran on January 31, 2026, ahead of the 47th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. (Photo by Handout / Iranian Presidency / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / IRANIAN PRESIDENCY" - HANDOUT - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has confirmed that Tehran is preparing to resume nuclear talks with the United States, signalling cautious openness to diplomacy even as tensions remain high following sharp warnings from US President Donald Trump. In a post on X on Tuesday, Pezeshkian said he had instructed Irans foreign minister to begin the process of negotiations, stressing that any talks would be guided strictly by Irans national priorities and conducted only under acceptable conditions. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD I have instructed my Minister of Foreign Affairs, provided that a suitable environment exists, one free from threats and unreasonable expectations, to pursue fair and equitable negotiations, Pezeshkian wrote. He underlined that discussions would take place within the framework of our national interests, reflecting Tehrans long-standing insistence that sovereignty and security concerns remain non-negotiable. The announcement comes amid heightened regional tensions. Washington recently dispatched an aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East following Irans deadly crackdown on anti-government protests that peaked last month. The move was widely seen as a show of force and a warning against further escalation. President Trump, while maintaining a hard line, has said he still hopes diplomacy can succeed. On Monday, he said Washington could work something out with Tehran, but warned that bad things would happen if negotiations failed to produce an agreement. Iranian officials have repeatedly said they prefer diplomacy but have also vowed a strong response to any military action. Tehran has consistently rejected expanding talks beyond the nuclear file, ruling out negotiations over its missile programme or broader defence capabilities. That position was echoed again this week. Iranian authorities stressed that any engagement with Washington must remain narrowly focused on nuclear issues, a stance that has been a key stumbling block in past efforts to revive a deal. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In an interview with CNN aired on Monday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi struck a cautiously optimistic tone, suggesting a breakthrough remained possible if both sides adhered to clear limits. So I see the possibility of another talk if the US negotiation team follows what President Trump said: to come to a fair and equitable deal to ensure that there is no nuclear weapons, Araghchi said. So if that is the case, I am confident that we can achieve a deal, he added. Despite these diplomatic signals, Irans leadership has also issued stark warnings. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has cautioned that any US attack on Iran could trigger a regional war. Pakistan has been invited to participate in talks between Iran and the United States aimed at reducing tensions, the Foreign Office confirmed. The meeting is set for February 6 in Turkey, with Islamabad expected to play a facilitative role in the renewed diplomatic effort. Pakistan has been invited to participate in talks between Iran and the United States aimed at easing tensions, the Pakistan Foreign Office confirmed on Tuesday. Pakistan has received the invitation for the upcoming talks between Iran and the United States, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said while responding to a media query. According to an Arab official quoted by AFP, the meeting is scheduled to take place in Turkey on February 6. The talks come after Tehran called for the resumption of nuclear negotiations, while Washington warned of consequences if no agreement is reached. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has confirmed that Tehran is preparing to restart nuclear talks with Washington, signalling cautious openness to diplomacy despite heightened tensions following sharp warnings from US President Donald Trump. A source told Dawn that Pakistans participation is viewed as important in helping defuse tensions, noting that Islamabad has been quietly facilitating dialogue between the two sides. The source added that Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar is expected to take part in the meeting. Trump, while maintaining a hard line, has said he still hopes diplomacy can succeed. On Monday, he said Washington could work something out with Tehran, but warned that bad things would happen if negotiations failed to produce an agreement. After months of closure, Gazas Rafah crossing with Egypt has reopened, raising hopes for those seeking medical treatment and family reunions. Yet delays, strict checks, and limited approvals have meant that only a handful of Palestinians have crossed so far, exposing the continuing hardships under the fragile ceasefire. After months of closure and uncertainty, Gazas Rafah crossing briefly came alive again this week as long queues of Palestinians gathered on both sides of the border with Egypt, hoping at last to move across. For many, it was a chance to return home after medical treatment or to seek crucial care unavailable inside the war-torn territory. Yet, the long-awaited reopening brought more frustration than relief, as bureaucratic delays and disagreements turned what was meant to be a modest breakthrough into another day of waiting. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The first crossings and early delays On Monday, Rafah reopened for limited passage under the new ceasefire agreement brokered in October. Dozens of hopeful travellers assembled, but only a handful were able to cross after hours of negotiations. The process stretched to more than ten hours, with just a small group of medical evacuees and returnees allowed to move in each direction. Officials had earlier suggested that around fifty people would cross both ways, but the outcome fell far short. Painful patience and personal stories Among those waiting was Iman Rashwan in Khan Younis, who spent hours anticipating the arrival of her mother and sister returning from medical treatment in Egypt. She expressed hope that others would soon be reunited with their relatives too, praying that normal life might eventually resume. Her story reflected the emotions of countless families stranded between border limits and political uncertainties. The evacuation process under strain By Tuesday morning, attention shifted to a Red Crescent hospital in Khan Younis, where World Health Organisation staff coordinated with Palestinian medical teams to transport patients toward the border. Red Crescent spokesman Raed al Nims said sixteen patients suffering from chronic diseases or injuries were brought along with their families to await crossing. The number was far below the forty five originally approved for evacuation that day. Slow progress under political scrutiny Officials on both sides suggested that crossings could gradually increase once the screening system stabilised. However, delays triggered by tight vetting procedures and disagreements over luggage restrictions hindered progress. Reports indicated that arguments arose when returnees attempted to bring back personal belongings, leading to last-minute negotiations. One woman, Rotana Al Regeb, said travellers were forced to leave nearly everything behind, taking only one small bag per person. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD A symbolic beginning amid immense need So far, the movement through Rafah remains largely symbolic. Israeli and Egyptian authorities agreed that around fifty medical evacuees and a similar number of returning Palestinians would be processed initially. However, with Gazas Health Ministry estimating around twenty thousand people urgently needing treatment abroad, this pace barely scratches the surface. The WHO stated that over ten thousand patients have left Gaza for care since the start of the conflict, but the numbers have dwindled dramatically in recent months. Security fears and regional politics The question of who controls the Rafah crossing remains a sensitive one. Israel and Egypt continue to coordinate lists of travellers, each side wary of potential misuse of the crossing. Egyptian officials have repeatedly insisted that Rafah must stay open both ways to prevent any attempts at forced displacement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, maintained that those who wish to leave Gaza will eventually be permitted to do so under proper checks. Continuing violence despite ceasefire Despite the fragile truce, violence has not entirely subsided. On Tuesday morning, Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis reported that nineteen-year-old Ahmed Abdel Al was shot dead by Israeli forces in the southern part of the city, an area outside direct military control. His death added to the grim toll of more than five hundred Palestinians killed since the start of the ceasefire in October, according to Gazas Health Ministry. The ministry also reports over seventy one thousand eight hundred deaths since the war began, with casualties including both civilians and fighters. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The move follows Keir Starmers vow to change the law to remove the former UK ambassador to Washington from the House of Lords Peter Mandelson, former British ambassador to the US. File Photo/Reuters Peter Mandelson will step down from the UKs House of Lords following new revelations linking him to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The former British ambassador to Washington informed parliamentary authorities on Tuesday of his intention to retire from the unelected upper chamber, Speaker of the House of Lords Michael Forsyth confirmed in a statement, reported Politico. Mandelsons announcement comes hours after No. 10 Downing Street said it would draft legislation to remove him from the Lords as quickly as possible. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD No.10 Downing Street said the Cabinet Office has also referred material to the police after newly released files from the U.S. Department of Justice appeared to show Mandelson sharing live government policy deliberations with the disgraced financier. More from World Peter Mandelson: The ex-British envoy to the US seen in underwear pic in Epstein files The Metropolitan Police said Monday that it is reviewing allegations of misconduct in a public office. A spokesperson for Starmer noted that the Epstein file documents contain likely market sensitive information surrounding the 2008 financial crash and official activities thereafter to stabilise the economy. Only people operating in an official capacity had access to this information, [with] strict handling conditions to ensure it was not available to anyone who could potentially benefit from it financially, Politico quoted spokesperson as saying, adding, It appears these safeguards were compromised. Mandelson, a former Labour Cabinet minister who twice resigned from Tony Blairs government, was appointed to the House of Lords by Gordon Brown in 2008, allowing him to serve as business secretary. More recently, Mandelson was made UK ambassador to the United States under Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as part of efforts to strengthen ties with the Trump administration. He was sacked last year after the release of US Department of Justice files shed new light on his friendship with convicted sex offender Epstein. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The former ambassador resigned from the Labour Party on Sunday, but Starmer faces growing pressure to take further action. Starmer regards it as ridiculous that a peerage cannot be removed, except with primary legislation, something that has not happened since 1917, his spokesman said Tuesday. Downing Street has called for cross-party support to modernise the unelected chamber. Currently, peers can retire but cannot be forcibly removed. With inputs from agencies Colombian President Gustavo Petro held his first face-to-face talks with US President Donald Trump following a thaw in relations marked by sharp rhetoric, a surprise phone call and a last-minute extradition gesture Colombian President Gustavo Petro holds up a white rose during a rally in defence of national sovereignty, following statements by US President Donald Trump suggesting a possible military intervention in Colombia, days after the US struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, in Bogota, Colombia, on January 7, 2026. Reuters File Colombian President Gustavo Petro arrived at the White House on Tuesday for his first meeting with US President Donald Trump, marking a rare face-to-face encounter after months of tensions over Venezuela and drug trafficking. Petro, a leftist leader, had come under sharp criticism from Trump following a US military operation that toppled Venezuelas president Nicolas Maduro a month ago. At the time, Trump warned his Colombian counterpart to watch his ass. The two leaders have previously exchanged online insults, with Petro defending Maduro and criticising US raids on suspected drug trafficking vessels in waters off South America. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD However, relations appeared to thaw after what was described as a warm phone call on January 7, paving the way for Tuesdays talks. Petros motorcade, bearing the Colombian flag, entered the White House through a private entrance shortly before the scheduled meeting, an AFP photographer reported. The meeting is set to take place behind closed doors in the Oval Office. Hours ahead of the talks, Petro made a conciliatory gesture by extraditing an alleged drug lord to the United States, ending a months-long pause on extraditions of suspected narcotraffickers. Petro gave a very clear order over the weekend that the criminal alias Pipe Tulua be extradited from Colombia to the United States as quickly as possible, Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez, who accompanied Petro to Washington, said. Became very nice A month ago the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders from vastly different ends of the political spectrum seemed an unlikely prospect. Asserting US dominance over the region, Trump dramatically stepped up threats of military action against Colombia following the lightning raid to capture Maduro from neighboring Venezuela. Trump branded Petro a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States and said that a similar US intervention in Colombia sounds good to me. But the hastily-arranged call last month seemed to have been a turning point. I mean, hes been very nice over the last month or two, Trump said on Monday. He was certainly critical before that, but somehow, after the Venezuelan raid, he became very nice. I look forward to seeing him. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Trump said the meeting would also focus on drugs. As with other Latin American nations, he has been pushing Colombia, the worlds biggest producer of cocaine, to crack down on the trade. Were going to be talking about drugs, because tremendous amounts of drugs come out of his country, said Trump. The Colombian delegation was reportedly bringing a plan to crack down on drug trafficking. Off the rails For decades, Colombia was Washingtons closest partner in Latin America, with billions of dollars flowing to Bogota to boost the countrys military and intelligence services in the drug fight. But under Petro, coca production and cocaine exports have surged. Critics blame the end of eradication programs and his policy of negotiating with an alphabet soup of drug-running guerrillas, cartels and paramilitaries who still control swaths of the country. Colombia meanwhile offered another olive branch on Friday when it abruptly agreed to accept US deportation flights reversing the very decision that triggered the falling-out between Trump and Petro last year. In Bogota there has been deep nervousness about what might happen in the meeting. Diplomats joke darkly about Petro being Zelenskyed - receiving an Oval Office dressing down like the Ukrainian president did in February 2025. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Both Trump and Petro are volatile, said Felipe Botero, a political expert at the University of the Andes. The meeting could easily go off the rails. The ex-guerrilla Colombian leader is prone to long, bombastic monologues while former reality star Trump rarely likes to share the spotlight. An ongoing investigation has uncovered hundreds of accounts at Swiss bank Credit Suisse with potential Nazi-era links, US Senator Chuck Grassley said ahead of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday focused on banks role during the Holocaust. An investigation has identified 890 accounts at Swiss lender Credit Suisse with potential Nazi links, US Senator Chuck Grassley said ahead of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday examining banks role in facilitating the Holocaust. Grassley, who chairs the committee and has tracked the probe for years, said the accounts include previously undisclosed wartime holdings linked to the German Foreign Office, a German arms manufacturer and the German Red Cross. UBS, which acquired Credit Suisse in an emergency takeover in 2023, said last year it was working with former US prosecutor Neil Barofsky to uncover the full extent of Nazi-linked accounts held at its former rival. In prepared testimony for the hearing, UBS said both banks had apologised and reached a global settlement in 1999 that was meant to bring closure to Holocaust-related claims, describing the current probe as a voluntary initiative. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Grassley told reporters he has received two reports and an investigative update on Barofskys work. The review, he said, found evidence that Credit Suisses banking ties with the Nazi paramilitary SS were more extensive than previously known, including an account held by the SSs economic arm. He added that new details had also emerged about a scheme that helped Nazis flee to Argentina. UBS said it accepts and deeply regrets that the Second World War era was a dark chapter in the history of Swiss banking. We approach todays topic with solemn respect, Robert Karofsky, President of UBS Americas, said in prepared remarks. Karofsky added that UBS fully committed to getting the investigation back on track after taking over Credit Suisse and has taken extensive steps to support Barofskys review. Our priority is to complete this review so that the world can benefit from the findings in the final report, he said. According to aides to the Senate Judiciary Committee, the investigation is expected to conclude by early summer, with the final report due by the end of the year. In a move that mirrors the Strategic Petroleum Reserve created after the oil shock of the 1970s, President Donald Trump has launched Project Vault to stockpile 50 critical minerals and 17 rare earths to safeguard the United States and its allies against Chinas weaponisation of mineral supplies. Wheel loaders fill trucks with ore at the MP Materials rare earth mine in Mountain Pass, California, USA, on January 30, 2020. (Photo: Steve Marcus/Reuters) In a move that mirrors the Strategic Petroleum Reserve created after the oil shock of the 1970s, President Donald Trump on Monday launched Project Vault to stockpile 50 critical minerals and 17 rare earth elements to safeguard the United States and its allies against Chinas weaponisation of mineral supplies. Trump said the stockpile will ensure that American businesses and workers are never harmed by any shortage. He said it will be financed by $12 billion in a publicprivate partnership through a $10 billion loan from the state-run US ExportImport Bank, and $2 billion in private capital. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In an apparent reference to China, Trump said we dont want to ever go through what we went through a year ago. Last year, in response to Trumps tariff war, China stopped the supply of rare earths that are used in nearly everything in modern life from everyday essentials like smartphones, computers, refrigerators, and cars to fighter planes, missiles, radars, and heavy machinery. China controls around 70 per cent of the worlds rare earths mining, and around 90 per cent of rare earths processing. Moreover, China controls around 4060 per cent of the worlds mining of critical minerals and 6090 per cent of processing. Just as we have long had a Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and a stockpile of critical minerals for national defense, were now creating this reserve for American industry, so we dont have any problems. This historic initiative will combine $10 billion in ExportImport Bank financing with $2 billion in private sector financing. And we even expect the American taxpayer to make a profit from the interest on the loan, Trump said. Chinas control of worlds rare earths mining: Country Share (%) China 69-70 United States 12 Myanmar 8 Australia 3 Thailand 3 Others 5 Even though Trump said Chinas squeeze on rare earth supply did not affect the United States, analysts have said the move had almost crippled American industry. They have said it was the driver of Trump seeking a compromise with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and settling on a trade deal under the G-2 arrangement instead of continuing with the containment strategy that had been the bipartisan US position on China for several years. For future challenges, Trump brings solutions from the past In 1973, Arab oil producers stopped selling oil to the United States and its allies in response to their support for Israel in the ArabIsrael War of 1973. The oil embargo led to an oil and gas shortage in the United States. Fuel prices spiked, and the economy came under strain. As a result, in 1975, President Gerald Ford signed the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) to authorise the establishment of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), with a capacity of up to 1 billion barrels of oil. It was designed to serve both as a deterrent to embargoes like that of 1973 and as an emergency stockpile. Over the years, the US government entered into partnerships with European and Asian countries to develop a global network of such oil reserves. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD While the first delivery to the SPR was made in 1977412,000 barrelsit reached its peak of 727 million barrels by January 2010. Over the years, the US government has drawn oil from the SPR to address domestic requirements and calm international markets in times of geopolitical upheaval, such as the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait (1991), Hurricane Katrina (2005), the Libya crisis (2011), and the Russian invasion of Ukraine (2022). Now, Trump has attempted something similar with rare earths and critical minerals by building a stockpile for America and its partners. China controls around 90 per cent of worlds rare earths processing and the United States is largely dependent on Chinese imports for its industries. Rank Country Share of rare earths supply (%) Key Notes 1 China 90 Near-monopoly on refining, magnets; 2 Australia 4-5 Lynas (Mt Weld mine, Malaysia sep.); Iluka refinery; 3 United States 1-2 MP Materials (1,300 tons NdPr 2024); Energy Fuels; limited heavy rare earth elements 4 Malaysia ~1 Lynas separation plant; processes Australian ore 5 Estonia <1 Neo Performance Silmet; EUs main separator, new magnet plant 6 South Korea <1 A step towards de-risking from China The Trump administration is hosting a Critical Minerals Ministerial starting Wednesday that involves the G-7 and partners like India, South Korea, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand. It is part of efforts to ramp up rare earth and critical mineral supply lines free from Chinas control. The Guardian reported sources in the European Union (EU) as saying that if the talks are successful, a joint statement would follow, which could be seen as a milestone shift in relations, with allies working with the United States to de-risk from China instead of constantly fending off Trumps tariff threats. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD India will be represented at the meeting by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. The minerals reserve is the latest action by Trump to shore up access to rare earths and natural minerals. Last year, he reached a deal worth $8.5 billion with Australia on rare earths. His administration has also acquired stakes in several mining and processing companies. Last week, the Trump administration announced a $1.6 billion investment in Rare Earths USA. Last year, the administration purchased $400 million in preferred stock from MP Materials to become the rare earth mining companys largest shareholder. The announcement of the minerals reserve boosted the shares of mining and processing companies. MP Materials, the operator of the Mountain Pass mine in California, rose more than 2 per cent, USA Rare Earth rose over 2 per cent, and Critical Metals Corp. rose over 1 per cent. India has condemned the vandalism and theft of a Mahatma Gandhi statue in Melbourne, urging Australian authorities to act swiftly to recover the statue and punish those responsible. The Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday strongly condemned the vandalism and theft of a Mahatma Gandhi statue in Rowville, Melbourne, and called for swift action against those responsible. We strongly condemn the vandalisation and removal of the Mahatma Gandhi statue located at the Australian Indian Community Centre in Rowville, Melbourne, by unidentified people, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in response to a media query. Our response to media queries regarding Mahatma Gandhi statue in Australia https://t.co/CsmoYb9B1B pic.twitter.com/uL2jyDWPaw Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) February 3, 2026 STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD He said India has raised the matter strongly with Australian authorities and urged immediate steps to recover the statue and bring the culprits to justice. 426-kg bronze Gandhi statue stolen According to Australia Today, the bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi was stolen in the early hours of January 12 from outside the Australian Indian Community Centre in Rowville. The 426-kg statue was a gift from the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), New Delhi, and was inaugurated in 2021 by then Australian prime minister Scott Morrison. The Victoria Polices Knox Crime Investigation Unit has launched an investigation into the theft, which has triggered concern within Melbournes Indian-Australian community. Police said three unidentified individuals removed the statue from the charity premises on Kingsley Close at around 12.50 am. As the probe continues, scrap metal dealers have been alerted and urged to report any suspicious attempts to sell a bronze statue. Santosh Kumar, a committee member of the Australian Indian Community Charitable Trust, told CNBC TV18 that the incident was partially captured on CCTV and was reported the following day. We are sorry to see that the statue of a national leader is gone. A white van arrived with people wearing balaclavas. Details have been passed on to the police, Kumar said. Senior Opposition leaders in Victoria have also condemned the incident. Evan Mulholland, the shadow minister for multicultural and multifaith affairs, described the theft as deeply distressing and said it undermines the sense of safety that multicultural communities should feel, Australia Today reported. The rape trial of Norways Crown Princess Mette-Marits son has begun, placing the royal family under intense public scrutiny as prosecutors lay out serious charges and the defence rejects the allegations, raising broader questions about accountability and privilege Norway Crown Princess Mette-Marits eldest son Marius Borg Hoiby, goes on trial in Oslo court on four charges of rape as well as drug and assault offences. Image courtesy: X A high-profile rape trial involving the son of Norways Crown Princess Mette-Marit began on Tuesday, drawing intense public attention as the royal family faces renewed scrutiny tied to past contacts with late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Marius Borg Hoiby, 29, the eldest son of Princess from a previous relationship and the stepson of Crown Prince Haakon, is charged with many offences including rape. Court proceedings underway As the proceedings got underway, prosecutors outlined that Hoiby faces 38 charges spanning alleged sexual assaults, acts of violence and other serious offences. The charges date back several years and involve multiple alleged victims. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Hoibys defence team said he denies all charges of sexual abuse, as well as the majority of the charges regarding violence. The statement was delivered outside the Oslo district court, where judges agreed to keep him in custody for up to four weeks due to concerns about flight risk and public safety. The royal household has taken an unusual stance by choosing not to attend the proceedings, with officials stating the immediate focus should be on the legal process rather than on public spectacle. King Harald, 88, and other senior royals are remaining silent on the matter publicly. Legal experts say the trial could have long-term implications for how high-profile individuals are treated under the law in Norway. Hoibys trial is beginning at a moment when Crown Princess Mette-Marit is again under the spotlight over her past interactions with Jeffrey Epstein, after a fresh set of Epstein-related documents released on Friday included hundreds of references to her. Norwegian media noted that she had previously said in 2019 that she regretted having had contact with Epstein. Mette-Marit said in a statement that she must take responsibility for not having investigated Epsteins background more thoroughly, and for not realising sooner what kind of person he was. She added: I showed poor judgement and regret having had any contact with Epstein at all. It is simply embarrassing. The attacks come after Putin agreed to pause attacking Ukraine on account of harsh winters that have crippled the country due to a severely damaged energy infrastructure. The ceasefire was a result of a personal request made by Trump, as per the Kremlin Rescuers work at the site of the apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine. Reuters file Russia launched a late-night attack in Ukraines capital, Kyiv, early on Tuesday, days after a loose ceasefire agreement between US President Trump and President Vladimir Putin ended. Local media reports indicate that several residential buildings were hit, while ballistic missiles hit Ukraines Dnipro, according to the countrys Air Force. The attacks come after Putin agreed to pause attacking Ukraine on account of harsh winters that have crippled the country due to a severely damaged energy infrastructure. The ceasefire was a result of a personal request made by Trump, as per the Kremlin. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Meanwhile, Russia has confirmed that the second round of trilateral talks between Moscow, Ukraine and the US will be held this week in Abu Dhabi, where discussions will be held to end the war. On survival mode As winter tightens its grip, Russia has intensified its strikes on Ukraines energy grid, plunging large portions of the country into darkness. These systemic power shortages hit a critical point early Tuesday morning, as temperatures in Kyiv plummeted to a bone-chilling -20C. In a conversation with CNN, Ukraines biggest private energy company said that it is in survival mode, describing the next few weeks as critical as the country reels under subzero temperatures and the worst condition of our energy system in modern history. Of DTEKs five thermal power plants in Ukraine, the fleet is currently struggling to maintain operations: two facilities are entirely offline, while the remaining three are running at significantly reduced capacity. Ukrainian drone strike in Russia A Ukrainian drone attack on Russias border region of Belgorod killed two civilians, the regional governor said Monday. The overnight strike hit a residence which caught fire and partially collapsed in the town of Stary Oskol, north of the Ukrainian border, governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram. Rescuers working at the scene recovered the bodies of two people, Gladkov wrote. In response to Moscows near-daily bombardments in its nearly four-year war, Ukraine has been sending drones into Russian territory to target the energy sector. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With inputs from agencies Russia has said it has received no official word from India suggesting it plans to stop buying Russian oil, following US President Donald Trumps claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had agreed to halt imports as part of a trade deal with Washington. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi attend the India-Russia Business Forum in New Delhi, India, on December 5. Putin was on a two-day state visit to India, his first since 2022, on December 4-5. Reuters Russia has said it has received no information from India indicating that New Delhi plans to stop buying Russian oil, following US President Donald Trumps claim that India had agreed to do so as part of a trade deal with Washington. So far, we havent heard any statements from New Delhi on this matter, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, on Tuesday. His comments came a day after Trump said on Truth Social that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised to halt oil purchases from Russia in exchange for reduced US tariffs. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Kremlin emphasises strategic partnership with India Reuters quoted the Kremlin as saying, Our strategic partnership with India is most important. Peskov also underscored that there has been no official communication indicating any change in bilateral energy cooperation and reiterated Moscows intent to continue developing ties with New Delhi. Trump touts trade deal with India The remarks come after Trump claimed that India had agreed to significantly boost purchases of US goods and halt crude oil imports from Russia as part of a new trade understanding with Washington. In a social media post, Trump said India would buy $500 billion worth of US products, framing the move as a step to deepen economic cooperation between the two countries. The IndiaUS trade agreement, announced late Monday, includes a reduction in US tariffs on Indian goods from 25 per cent to 18 per cent and sets an ambitious goal of increasing bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030. Since Moscows war in Ukraine began in 2022, India has become the largest buyer of discounted Russian seaborne crude. This has drawn criticism from Western nations, which have targeted Russias energy sector with sanctions aimed at limiting Moscows revenues to fund the war. The New START treaty, the final nuclear agreement between Washington and Moscow after decades of Cold War-era arms control, is due to expire on Thursday Russia on Tuesday warned that the world is entering a dangerous new phase as the last remaining US-Russia nuclear arms control treaty is set to expire this week, saying Moscow is prepared for a future with no limits on strategic nuclear arsenals. The New START treaty, the final nuclear agreement between Washington and Moscow after decades of Cold War-era arms control, is due to expire on Thursday. Unless a last-minute deal is reached, the worlds two largest nuclear powers will, for the first time in more than half a century, be left without any formal constraints on their long-range strategic nuclear weapons. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In just a few days, the world will be in a more dangerous position than it has ever been before, AFP quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as telling journalists during a daily briefing. He said Russia had offered a one-year extension of the treaty but had yet to receive a response from the United States. If New START is allowed to lapse, the two sides would be left without a fundamental document that would limit and control these arsenals, Peskov added. Russias Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who oversees arms control, said Moscow was ready for the consequences of the treatys expiration. Speaking to Russian news agencies during a visit to Beijing for strategic stability consultations, Ryabkov said Russia was prepared for a new reality without US-Russian nuclear arms control limits. This is a new moment, a new reality we are ready for it, he said. Signed in 2010 by then US president Barack Obama and Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, New START caps the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads at 1,550 and includes verification and monitoring mechanisms. The treaty has been the cornerstone of nuclear arms control between the two countries over the past decade. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD US President Donald Trump, who has withdrawn the United States from several international agreements, said in September that extending New START sounds like a good idea, but negotiations have made little progress since then. Talks on extending the treaty have stalled in recent years amid heightened tensions over Russias war in Ukraine. Moscow suspended on-site inspections during the COVID-19 pandemic and later accused Washington of obstructing Russian monitoring missions on US territory. In 2023, Russia froze its formal participation in New START but said it would continue to voluntarily observe the treatys limits. Since then, Moscow has tested new nuclear weapon delivery systems without nuclear warheads, while Trump has said he ordered two US nuclear submarines to move closer to Russia. The impending expiration of New START has raised concerns among arms control experts that the collapse of the treaty could accelerate a new nuclear arms race at a time of already strained relations between the worlds leading nuclear powers. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With inputs from agencies President Lai Ching-te said Taiwan must work with fellow democracies rather than China as his government detailed new economic and technology cooperation with the United States Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te speaks at a press conference on the latest round of economic talks with the U.S., in Taipei, Taiwan, February 3, 2026. REUTERS/Ann Wang Taiwan set out its plans to expand cooperation with the United States on artificial intelligence and critical minerals on Tuesday, as President Lai Ching-te said the island should deepen links with democratic partners rather than turn towards China for economic engagement. Senior Taiwanese and US officials met last week at a high-level forum launched during the first Trump administration, discussing joint work on artificial intelligence, technology, and drones. The US Department of State described Taiwan as a vital partner. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The two sides signed statements on economic security cooperation and the Pax Silica Declaration, a US-led initiative aimed at strengthening AI and semiconductor supply chains at a time of sharp strategic competition with China, which claims Taiwan as its territory. Lai says Taiwan must stand with democratic partners Speaking at a news conference on the USTaiwan Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue, Lai praised the outcome of the talks. Taiwan is on the right economic path and is striding confidently onto the world stage. Taiwan has both the capability and the confidence to work with its democratic partners to lead the next generation of prosperity, he said. His remarks came as Hsiao Hsu-tsen, deputy chairman of the opposition Kuomintang, visited Beijing for a think-tank exchange with the Chinese Communist Party on issues including AI and tourism. Lai said the opposition had their own positions, pointing to differences in Taiwans economic pace under the previous Kuomintang government, which signed a major trade deal with China, compared with what he said was faster growth since the Democratic Progressive Party took office in 2016. Do we want to continue collaborating with the US, Japan, Europe and other allied nations, or again lock ourselves into China? he added. Opposition engages Beijing while calling for cross-strait cooperation At the Beijing forum, Hsiao said peaceful development served both sides interests, according to a readout of his comments. We should cooperate across the Taiwan Strait to earn money from the world, rather than oppose each other across the strait and let foreign countries reap the benefits, exploiting Taiwan and hollowing it out, he said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD China refuses to engage with Lai, calling him a separatist. Lai reiterated to reporters that he remained open to dialogue with Beijing on the basis of parity and equality. US senator raises concerns over blocked defence budget Taiwans opposition has also blocked Lais forty-billion-dollar special defence budget, instead putting forward its own proposal to fund only specific US arms rather than the full package sought by the government. On Monday, Roger Wicker, chair of the Armed Services Committee and a strong supporter of Taiwan in the US Congress, wrote on X that he was disappointed to see the opposition slash the defence budget. The original proposal funded urgently needed weapons systems. Taiwans parliament should reconsider especially with rising Chinese threats, he said. Wicker met Lai in Taipei last August. In response, the Kuomintang said it had always supported defence spending and regretted that Wickers remarks were made without sufficient information. The party questioned whether the US Congress would approve a blank-cheque budget for eight years with no specifics, repeating criticism that it could not approve spending without more detail. Trump-era tariffs have failed to blunt Southeast Asias export dominance or narrow the US trade deficit, prompting Washington to recalibrate its strategy as it advances a new trade deal with India. The US overall trade deficit has fluctuated sharply, with no expert consensus on how Trumps policies may shape the long-term trade balance. As Trump-era tariffs fail to stem the rise of Southeast Asian export leaders and the US trade deficit continues to widen despite punitive levies, Washington is recalibrating parts of its trade strategy. Against this backdrop, India and the US are pushing a bilateral trade agreement towards the documentation stage, with both sides expected to advance formalities this week. The move comes as the US reassesses its tariff-centred approach, which has strained multiple regions without delivering the intended trade balance gains. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Southeast Asias export-driven economies recorded larger trade surpluses with the US last year despite Washingtons tariffs. Figures from Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, all of which were subjected to high US duties last April, showed they continued exporting more to the US than they imported. According to Nikkei, this trend was likely supported by front-loaded deliveries. At the same time, these countries saw their trade deficits with China widen, underlining the scale of Beijings export capacity. Global trade conditions have remained volatile since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year. US trade balance remains uncertain The US overall trade deficit has fluctuated sharply, with no expert consensus on how Trumps policies may shape the long-term trade balance. Vietnams trade surplus with the US exceeded Chinas, leading Washington to weigh diplomatic adjustments, including the appointment of a new ambassador to Vietnam. The Trump administration planned to replace the US ambassador to Vietnam with a nominee focused on addressing imbalanced trade relations, as Hanois goods trade surplus with Washington overtook Chinas in recent quarters while tariff negotiations with the US remained unresolved. In January, current ambassador Marc Knapper ended his tenure after being abruptly recalled before Christmas along with several other career diplomats. His designated successor, career diplomat Jennifer Wicks McNamara, who is awaiting US Senate confirmation after being nominated in October, has said the trade relationship needs rectifying. Within this evolving trade environment, India and the US have agreed to a trade deal that lowers tariffs on Indian goods from 50 per cent to 18 per cent, with Washington removing the additional penalty previously tied to Indias purchase of Russian crude oil. The agreement leaves only the revised reciprocal tariff in place and is aimed at easing trade frictions between the two largest democracies. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Trump has intensified his confrontation with Harvard University, demanding $1 billion in damages after reports that the university gained concessions in settlement talks amid disputes over protests, campus policies and woke ideology Trump officials have accused Harvard and other colleges of promoting so-called "woke" ideology. US President Donald Trump said on Monday that his administration would seek $1 billion in damages from Harvard University. His statement came after a New York Times report claimed the institution had secured certain concessions during ongoing settlement talks with the government. The development adds to rising tensions over campus protests, university policies and earlier rounds of negotiation. We are now seeking One Billion Dollars in damages, and want nothing further to do, into the future, with Harvard University, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Dispute over campus policies and protests Trump officials have accused Harvard and other colleges of promoting so-called woke ideology while failing to sufficiently protect Jewish students during pro-Palestinian protests, filing legal complaints and demanding exorbitant payouts. Critics have called it a pressure campaign by the administration on liberal universities. Fellow Ivy League institution Columbia University agreed to pay the Trump administration $200 million last summer and pledged to obey rules that bar it from taking race into consideration in admissions or hiring. The University of Pennsylvania, another Ivy League institution, also bowed to Trump administration concerns last year, announcing it would ban transgender women from participating in womens sports. Conflicting signals over settlement terms The NYT reported earlier on Monday that Trump had dropped his administrations demands for a settlement payout of $200 million from Harvard, after protracted talks. Trump told reporters last September that negotiations were close to reaching a $500 million settlement with Harvard, with part of the deal including the opening of trade schools. They wanted to do a convoluted job training concept, but it was turned down in that it was wholly inadequate and would not have been, in our opinion, successful, Trump said in his post late Monday evening. It was merely a way of Harvard getting out of a large cash settlement of more than 500 Million Dollars, a number that should be much higher for the serious and heinous illegalities that they have committed, he added, without specifying what laws Harvard has allegedly broken. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has ordered an urgent inquiry into former ambassador Peter Mandelsons links to Jeffrey Epstein and said he should be stripped of his House of Lords title amid growing political scrutiny Peter Mandelson, former British ambassador to the US, has resigned from the Labour Party. File Photo/Reuters UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has ordered an urgent inquiry into the ties between Londons former ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, and the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during the politicians time as a government minister, Downing Street said Monday. Starmer also believes Mandelson should be stripped of his title as a lord and no longer sit in the upper chamber of parliament, the House of Lords. The review, which will be led by Cabinet Secretary Chris Wormald, comes after newly released US documents revived scrutiny of Mandelsons close connection to the disgraced financier. He will examine all available information regarding Peter Mandelsons contacts with Jeffrey Epstein during his period as a government minister, the spokesman said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Mandelson a back-room architect of Labours revival as an electoral force in the 1990s under Tony Blair quit the party on Sunday to avoid causing it further embarrassment. Bank records released on Friday by US authorities suggested that in 2009, Mandelson, who was then business secretary, forwarded an economic briefing to Epstein intended for then-leader Gordon Brown, captioning it: Interesting note thats gone to the PM. Epstein also appeared to have transferred a total of $75,000 (55,000 pounds) in three payments to accounts linked to the top Labour politician between 2003 and 2004. Starmers official spokesman said the prime minister believes that Peter Mandelson should not be a member of the House of Lords or use the title. However, the prime minister does not have the power to remove it, he added. Police probe call Starmer called on peers to work with the government to modernise disciplinary procedures and allow for the easier removal of Lords who have brought the house into disrepute. There were also calls for Mandelson to face a police probe. Lawmaker Stephen Flynn, leader of the pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) in parliament, said he had written to the commissioner of Londons Metropolitan Police to urge that he be investigated for potential misconduct in public office. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In a statement later on Monday, the Metropolitan Police said it was aware of the latest Epstein files dump. Following this release and subsequent media reporting, the Met has received a number of reports relating to alleged misconduct in a public office. The reports will all be reviewed to determine if they meet the criminal threshold for investigation, the police force added. While the force refused to provide names after an AFP request for further details, several British media outlets, including the BBC, The Times and The Telegraph, all pointed the finger at Mandelson. In a statement to parliament, government minister Darren Jones said the Labour grandee must account for his actions and conduct. Mandelson, 72, who was sacked as ambassador by Starmer last year over his ties to Epstein, told the BBC on Sunday he had no memory of the money transfers and did not know whether the documents were authentic. He also appears in an undated photograph, wearing a Tshirt and underwear beside a woman, in a dressing gown, whose face has been redacted by US authorities. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Other documents suggest Epstein sent 10,000 in 2009 to Reinaldo Avila da Silva, Mandelsons partner and now husband, at a time when Mandelson was serving as a government minister. The former ambassador was removed from his post in September after being appointed by Starmer in late 2024. Mandelson apologised in January to Epsteins victims and for maintaining his friendship with Epstein. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Firstpost staff.) In mid-January, the Institute for the Study of War warned that Russias use of Starlink-enabled Molniya-2 kamikaze drones had increased their battlefield effectiveness dramatically In this long exposure photo, a string of SpaceX StarLink satellites passes over an old stone house near Florence, Kansas. AP Elon Musks efforts to prevent Russia from using Starlink satellites to control attack drones have delivered real results, a senior Ukrainian official said. Ukraines defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, praised the SpaceX founder as a true champion of freedom and a true friend of the Ukrainian people, saying Musk acted quickly after being alerted that Russian drones operating in Ukraine were using Starlink connectivity. The drones have been linked to several recent deadly Russian attacks, including a strike on a moving passenger train that killed six people. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Looks like the steps we took to stop the unauthorised use of Starlink by Russia have worked, Musk wrote on X. Let us know if more needs to be done. Starlink curbs and drone warfare Starlink, operated by SpaceX, has provided high-speed satellite internet in Ukraine since the first days of Russias full-scale invasion in 2022. Fedorov said Russian drones are difficult to intercept because they fly at low altitudes, cannot be neutralised through electronic warfare, and are controlled remotely in real time. In mid-January, the Institute for the Study of War warned that Russias use of Starlink-enabled Molniya-2 kamikaze drones had increased their battlefield effectiveness dramatically. While neither Fedorov nor Musk detailed the exact countermeasures taken, Ukraines defence ministry outlet ArmiyaInform reported that SpaceX had imposed a speed limit of 75kph on Starlink terminals operating over Ukraine. Russian drones move much more quickly, so the enemy operators will not be able to control them in real time, the website said. On Monday, Fedorov said Ukraine was also preparing a white list of approved Starlink terminals authorised to operate in the country, with all unregistered terminals to be disconnected. We are implementing this in cooperation with SpaceX, Fedorov said, adding that instructions on registering terminals would follow. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Russian war bloggers warned the measures could have broader consequences, as Russian forces also use Starlink to provide internet access along the front line. A strained but ongoing partnership Fedorov then deputy prime minister sought Musks assistance shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. By the end of the day, Musk said Starlink had been enabled in Ukraine and promised additional satellite dishes. Relations later became strained when Musk denied the Ukrainian military access to Starlink in Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014. Musk said Ukraine would have used the service to sink most of the Russian fleet, arguing that SpaceX would be made complicit in a major act of war. Musk has since criticised Western governments for continuing to fund Ukraines war effort. It is insane to keep sending so much money to Ukraine with no accountability and no end game, he said. However, he has also insisted Starlink would not be withdrawn. no matter how much I disagree with the Ukraine policy, Starlink will never turn off its terminals. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD My Starlink system is the backbone of the Ukrainian army. Their entire front line would collapse if I turned it off, Musk said in March. Despite past tensions, Fedorov last week again praised Musks decision to enable Starlink at the outset of the invasion, calling it critically important for the stability of our state. The 35-year-old former minister for digital transformation was appointed defence minister by President Volodymyr Zelensky last month. He has promoted a data-driven defence strategy and closer cooperation with Silicon Valley firms, arguing that deeper integration with technology partners would strengthen Ukraines military. Ukraine came under a fresh wave of Russian missile and drone attacks, hitting Kyiv and other major cities, just hours after US President Donald Trump hinted at possible good news on efforts to end the war I have a great relationship with him: Trump says Maduro-style operation against Putin not necessary. File image/Reuters Ukraine woke up to another night of heavy Russian missile and drone strikes, just hours after US President Donald Trump suggested there could be good news on efforts to end the war. Explosions were reported across several cities, including the capital Kyiv. The timing of the strikes has drawn attention, coming as Ukraine, Russia and the United States prepare for another round of peace-related discussions abroad. Russian forces launched a large-scale aerial assault targeting Kyiv, Kharkiv and other regions, damaging homes, energy infrastructure and public buildings. In Kyiv, explosions rattled residential areas, with local authorities reporting damage to apartment blocks and a kindergarten. Emergency crews were rushed in as power and heating were knocked out in parts of the city during freezing winter conditions. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Kharkiv, Ukraines second-largest city, was also hit hard. Mayor Ihor Terekhov said strikes damaged thermal energy systems, forcing officials to drain heating networks in hundreds of buildings to prevent pipes from freezing. More than 1,100 homes were left without heating, Restoration Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said on social media, adding that Russia had attacked homes, heat, and basic living conditions for civilians across the country. Timing casts shadow over peace efforts The renewed bombardment came as diplomatic efforts appear to be gaining momentum. Trump had earlier hinted that talks aimed at ending the war were showing signs of progress, raising hopes of a possible breakthrough. Ukraine has consistently said it wants a dignified and lasting peace, but officials have warned that continued attacks could derail negotiations. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly stressed that peace efforts cannot succeed while Russia continues to target civilian infrastructure. Western allies have echoed those concerns, warning Moscow that continued escalation could trigger further political and military responses. For ordinary Ukrainians, the latest attacks mean another night spent in shelters, without power or heating, as winter tightens its grip. Kyiv, the US and European allies have discussed plans for a phased response potentially involving US forces if Russia violates any future ceasefire agreement, according to a report Ukraine and its western allies have discussed proposals under which repeated Russian breaches of any future ceasefire would trigger a coordinated US-European military response, according to a Financial Times report, citing sources briefed on the talks. The plan, discussed by Ukrainian, European and American officials, would see an initial response within 24 hours of a ceasefire violation. That response would begin with a diplomatic warning, alongside action by Ukrainian forces to halt the breach, reported Financial Times, citing three people familiar with the proposal, adding the details have not been independently verified. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD If fighting were to continue, a second phase would involve intervention by forces from a so-called coalition of the willing a group of more than 20 countries that have pledged to provide Ukraine with security guarantees once a ceasefire with Russia is reached. Moscow has so far maintained its maximalist demands in negotiations. According to the report, citing officials, if a ceasefire violation escalated into a broader attack, a third phase would be triggered after three days, involving a coordinated military response by a western-backed force that would include the US military. American, European and Ukrainian officials held several rounds of discussions on the proposals in December and January, the Financial Times reported. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has played a leading role in the coalition initiative, said last month following talks in Paris that the UK and France would be prepared to send troops to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal with Russia. Russia has repeatedly said it would view the deployment of any foreign military forces or infrastructure in Ukraine as unacceptable foreign intervention. The Russian foreign ministry said on Monday, citing foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, that such forces would be treated as legitimate targets. Meanwhile, a second round of talks between Russian, Ukrainian and US officials on a US-drafted plan to end the war is set to begin on Wednesday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said over the weekend. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Despite ongoing diplomatic efforts to bring an end to Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine, now nearing its fourth year, attacks on Ukrainian towns and cities have continued. Russian forces launched strikes on Kyiv, Kharkiv and other centres early on Tuesday, according to officials, sparking fires and damaging energy infrastructure. At least four people were injured in the attacks in the two largest cities, officials said. With inputs from agencies The US has become the latest country to reach a trade deal with India. Here are some other countries that concluded trade discussions with New Delhi in the recent past Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi gestures as he arrives for a joint press conference with US President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, DC, US. File image/Reuters US President Donald Trump announced late on Monday that Washington has reached a trade deal with India, cutting down tariffs from 50 per cent to 18 per cent, marking an end to a year-long discussion on the negotiating table. Trump held a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This phone call was followed by Potus major announcement. While reciprocal tariffs (25 per cent) have been reduced to 18 per cent, the penal levies that Trump imposed on India for buying Russian oil (another 25 per cent) have been cut to zero. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The announcement pointed to a warming of IndiaUS relations, which had been strained by tariffs imposed under the Trump administration. The United States is Indias largest export market, absorbing around 20 per cent of the countrys merchandise exports. The US has become the latest country to reach a trade deal with India. Here are some other countries that concluded trade discussions with New Delhi in the recent past: EU The EU and India concluded negotiations last week for a historic free trade agreement (FTA), the largest such deal ever concluded by either side. It will strengthen economic and political ties between the worlds second and fourth largest economies, at a time of rising geopolitical tensions and global economic challenges. European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, said: The EU and India make history today, deepening the partnership between the worlds biggest democracies. We have created a free trade zone of 2 billion people, with both sides set to gain economically. Mauritius India signed a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) with Mauritius in 2021. CECPA became the first trade agreement signed between the two countries. CECPA provides for an institutional mechanism to encourage and improve trade between the two countries. The CECPA between India and Mauritius covers 310 export items for India, including food stuff and beverages, agricultural products, textile and textile articles, base metals and articles thereof (32 lines), electricals and electronic item, among other things. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Under the deal, Indian service providers have access to around 115 sub-sectors from the 11 broad service sectors, such as professional services, computer-related services, research & development, and other business services. UK India and the United Kingdom signed a landmark Free Trade Agreement (FTA) last year that aimed to deepen economic ties and boost bilateral trade. Under the deal, the UK will give duty-free access to about 99% of Indian exports, covering key sectors like textiles, leather, gems and jewellery, engineering goods, and footwear, which should make Indian products more competitive in the UK market. In return, India will progressively reduce tariffs on around 90% of UK imports, including on products like whisky, cars, cosmetics, and medical devices, lowering costs for Indian consumers and businesses. Beyond tariffs, the agreement includes provisions to ease trade in services and support the temporary movement of professionals, as well as access for UK firms to Indias public procurement market. Both governments expect the trade deal to significantly increase bilateral commerce, strengthen investment flows, and create new opportunities for exporters, consumers, and workers on both sides. Oman Just last month, India signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with Oman. The IndiaOman CEPA provides a comprehensive framework covering trade in goods and services, investment, professional mobility, and regulatory cooperation. Under the deal, India secured 100 per cent duty-free market access in Oman across 98.08% of tariff lines, covering 99.38 per cent of export value. The agreement opened export opportunities across engineering goods, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and processed food, marine products, textiles, chemicals, electronics, plastics, and gems & jewellery. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Australia India and Australia signed the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), a free-trade framework that came into force on 29 December 2022, marking Indias first major FTA with a developed economy in over a decade. Under this pact, Australia now exports around 85 per cent of its goods to India duty-free, rising to about 90 per cent by 2026, while 96 per cent of Indian exports to Australia enter tariff-free, increasing to 100 per cent by the same year. This reduction in tariffs covers a wide range of goods, from coal, sheep meat and wool to textiles, engineering products and agricultural items, helping reduce costs and boost competitiveness on both sides. An Arab official tsaid that the US and Iran are likely to hold talks in Turkey on February 6, following mediation efforts by Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and Oman A meeting between the United States and Iran is expected to take place in Turkey on February 6, an Arab official told AFP on Tuesday. The talk comes after Tehran called for nuclear talks to resume and Washington warned of consequences if no agreement was reached. The development comes as Trump has sent an armada towards Iran amid near-daily threats. He has also deployed additional warplanes to the region in a military build-up that mirrors the mobilisation seen before last months American invasion of Venezuela. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The official, speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity of the discussions, said that a meeting between US negotiators and senior Iranian officials was likely to take place on Friday in Turkey. They added that the potential meeting had been arranged following interventions by Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and Oman. US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi will meet in Istanbul in an effort to revive diplomacy over a long-running dispute about Irans nuclear programme and dispel fears of a new regional war, while a regional diplomat said representatives from countries such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt would also participate. U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi will meet in Istanbul in an effort to revive diplomacy over a long-running dispute about Irans nuclear programme and dispel fears of a new regional war, while a regional diplomat said representatives from countries such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt would also participate. The incident took place as the USS Abraham Lincoln was transiting the Arabian Sea, about 500 miles off Irans southern coast The USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, is shown at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, California, US, on August 11, 2025. Reuters File A US fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone in the Arabian Sea early Tuesday after it aggressively approached an American aircraft carrier, the US military said. The incident took place as the USS Abraham Lincoln was transiting the Arabian Sea, about 500 miles off Irans southern coast. USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) was transiting the Arabian Sea approximately 500 miles from Irans southern coast when an Iranian Shahed-139 drone unnecessarily maneuvered toward the ship. The Iranian drone continued to fly toward the ship despite de-escalatory measures taken by US forces operating in international waters, US Central Command (CENTCOM) spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Hawkins said an F-35C fighter jet launched from the carrier shot down the drone in self-defense to protect the vessel and its crew. No US servicemembers were injured and no American equipment was damaged. In a separate incident later on Tuesday, two boats belonging to Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and a Mohajer drone approached a US-flagged, US-crewed commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz and threatened to board and seize it. Hawkins said a US guided-missile destroyer responded and is currently escorting the merchant ship. CENTCOM forces are operating at the highest levels of professionalism and ensuring the safety of US personnel, ships, and aircraft in the Middle East. Continued Iranian harassment and threats in international waters and airspace will not be tolerated. Irans unnecessary aggression near US forces, regional partners and commercial vessels increases risks of collision, miscalculation, and regional destabilisation, Hawkins said. With inputs from agencies Russia launched a fresh wave of overnight missile and drone attacks on Ukraine, prompting President Volodymyr Zelensky to accuse Moscow of prioritising military escalation over peace talks amid harsh winter conditions. In this handout photograph taken on January 29, 2026 and released on January 30, 2026 by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky (C) chairs a meeting with journalists at his office in Kyiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.- AFP As Russia launched a massive overnight barrage of missiles and drones on Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday said Moscow was prioritising further attacks over peace talks. In a post on social media, Zelensky said Russia had fired more than 70 missiles and around 450 attack drones, accusing Moscow of exploiting the coldest days of winter to terrorise civilians. Taking advantage of the coldest days of winter to terrorise people is more important to Russia than turning to diplomacy, he wrote. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Kyiv landmark damaged in overnight strike The overnight assault also damaged part of Kyivs Motherland monument, a Soviet-era World War II memorial, Ukraines culture minister said. Calling the strike symbolic and cynical, Culture Minister Tetyana Berezhna said the attack targeted a site commemorating resistance to aggression in the 20th century, while Russia repeats similar crimes in the 21st century. Energy infrastructure hit as temperatures plunge Russian strikes also hit Ukraines energy infrastructure, leaving more than 1,100 residential buildings in Kyiv without heating as temperatures dropped close to minus 20 degrees Celsius, officials said. Restoration Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said the attacks had targeted homes, heating systems and basic living conditions for civilians across the country. Civilian targets struck across multiple regions According to local authorities, dozens of missiles were launched overnight at power plants in at least six regions, including the capital Kyiv. Ukraines energy minister, Denys Shmyhal, said the targets were civilian rather than military. In a post on social media, he said hundreds of thousands of families, including children, had been deliberately left without heating during the harshest winter conditions, with temperatures falling to minus 25 degrees Celsius. Trumps pause request and limited ceasefire window Last Thursday, President Trump said he had asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to halt attacks for a week. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov later confirmed a pause but said it would only last until Sunday. Kharkiv and Kyiv report heating disruptions In the eastern city of Kharkiv, authorities said all 101 emergency tents providing warmth and charging facilities had been opened. They added that water would likely need to be drained from pipes following strikes on a power plant, leaving at least 820 apartment buildings without heating. In Kyiv, energy infrastructure was also hit, though the full extent of the damage was not immediately clear. At least three people were reported injured. Peace talks planned in Abu Dhabi Earlier, Zelensky said a Ukrainian delegation had departed for Abu Dhabi, where talks involving representatives from Russia, Ukraine and the United States are scheduled for Wednesday. He said bilateral discussions with the United States would also take place, adding that there was ground for talks this time. Zelensky said Ukraine was ready to discuss security guarantees and that the talks would also cover the countrys future reconstruction. Colorado has joined a lawsuit brought by several states against President Donald Trumps administration alleging Trump declared an energy emergency in order to bypass or shorten environmental reviews for projects when no such emergency exists. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in the district of Western Washington, names as defendants Trump, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, the head of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, saying the agencies have taken illegal action to implement the directive. The lawsuit asks the court to declare the directive illegal and stop agencies from issuing permits under the executive order. According to the release, emergency declarations are typically only used for emergencies such as hurricanes or catastrophic oil spills, in which lives are at risk, and Trumps emergency declaration is fast tracking projects that could harm the environment. Congress passed the National Emergencies Act to prevent presidents from declaring national emergencies for pointless or partisan purposes exactly what the president has done with this executive order. Energy production is at an all-time high. The only energy emergency is the one that is the presidents head, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said. The suit gave as an example the declarations effects on a wildcat loadout facility in Price, Utah. At this facility, oil extracted from the Uinta Basin is loaded from tanker trucks to rail cars for export to refineries along the Gulf Coast. During this journey, rail cars travel from the Wildcat Facility over 100 miles along the Colorado River through Colorado, the release stated. According to the release, the facilitys operator proposed an expansion in 2023 but did not meet the BLMs requirements. However, the expansion was revived in May 2025 after guidelines for complying with the declaration were published. According to BLMs environmental assessment of the project, expansion of the Wildcat Facility will result in a substantial increase in oil train trafficfrom 20,000 barrels of crude per day to approximately 100,000 barrels. The lifespan of the expanded project is estimated to be 20 years. Yet BLM found that the project would not significantly impact the environment, the release stated. Colorado is joined in the lawsuit by Arizona, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. Derailments, spills, or other accidents from oil trains traveling on rail lines next to our rivers pose a serious risk to the millions of people, businesses, and farms that depend on these critical sources of water. We are challenging this made-up emergency to protect our communities and our land, air, and water in Colorado, Weiser said. Nathan graduated with his journalism degree from Auburn University in 2017. After growing up in the flatlands of rural Alabama with his parents and older sister, Nathan enjoys Western Colorado's natural resources and recreational opportunities. He currently covers education and business for The Daily Sentinel. Statement: Foreign Office summons Russian Ambassador - 2 February 2026 Press release The Russian Ambassador was summoned for a meeting to revoke the accreditation of a Russian diplomat. From: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Published 2 February 2026 An FCDO spokesperson said: "We condemn in the strongest possible terms Russia's unprovoked and unjustified decision to expel a British diplomat last month and its baseless accusations against our staff. "Summoning the Russian Ambassador, a senior FCDO official made it clear that the UK will not stand for intimidation of British Embassy staff and so we are taking reciprocal action today, revoking the accreditation of a Russian diplomat. "It is deeply disappointing that Russia continually seeks to disrupt the work of the UK's diplomatic missions and deter our support for Ukraine. Any further action taken by Russia will be considered an escalation and responded to accordingly." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address General Edward Asryan had a a tete-a-tete conversation with Chief of the Defence Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of India Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia 2 February, 2026 15:28 At the administrative complex of the Ministry of Defence, First Deputy Minister of Defence of the Republic of Armenia, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Edward Asryan had a a tete-a-tete conversation with Chief of the Defence Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of India, General Anil Chauhan, followed by an expanded meeting of delegations. During the meeting, the current course of cooperation between Armenia and India in the field of defence were discussed, and the activities carried out within the framework of the Bilateral Cooperation Plan were summed up. The parties also discussed a number of issues related to the effective implementation of the activities planned for 2026. The importance of holding events in the field of education, professional retraining, exercises and exercises, and the exchange of experience in various fields in Armenia and India were noted. Lieutenant General Edward Asryan presented the directions of the transformation of the Armenian Armed Forces, emphasizing the importance of Armenia-India defence cooperation in this process. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Suren Papikyan received the Chief of the Defence Staff of the Indian Armed Forces Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia 2 February, 2026 15:00 Within the framework of official visit to Armenia, the Minister of Defence of the Republic of Armenia Suren Papikyan received the Chief of the Defence Staff of the Indian Armed Forces, General Anil Chauhan. The meeting was also attended by Ambassador of India to Armenia Nilakshi Saha Singha. Minister Papikyan highly appreciated the current level of Armenia-India cooperation in the field of defence, stressing the importance of regular implementation of cooperation programs. General Chauhan expressed the willingness of the Indian Armed Forces to continue developing cooperation in existing areas and initiate new areas of mutual interest. A number of issues related to regional and international security were also discussed during the meeting. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Army transforms acquisition process to enhance ammunition support for warfighters By Michael Chambers and Eric Kowal February 2, 2026 PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. -- The U.S. Army has established the Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Agile Sustainment and Ammunition, PAE AS&A, at Picatinny Arsenal under the command of Maj. Gen. John T. Reim. The move is a key part of broader Continuous Transformation efforts intended to increase efficiency and accelerate the delivery of critical capabilities to the warfighter. The new organization was activated at a ceremony held on January 20 at Picatinny Arsenal where several thousand team members from all involved organizations were introduced to the new command. The Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, the Honorable Brent Ingraham, presided over the ceremony and spoke to the significance of the new organization as a key part of the Army's Acquisition reform initiative. Following the ceremony, Ingraham witnessed a live demonstration featuring the Purpose Built Attritable System and a TRV-150 drone dropping smoke and a M69 training grenade onto a target simulating a small group of enemy Soldiers with a vehicle. This showed off one of DEVCOM's latest innovations, the Picatinny Common Lethality Integration Kit or Picatinny CLIK. These are just a few of the of lethal UAS and counter-UAS technologies being developed by U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center. The DEVCOM Armaments Center now serves as the Systems Center, a key enabler, of the PAE AS&A. Subject matter experts from the PAE AS&A and DEVCOM Armaments Center then also briefed Ingraham on other lethal UAS, counter-UAS munitions, advanced artillery, next-gen energetics, expeditionary logistics and supply chain enabling systems that are the result of joint efforts of the two Picatinny based organizations. "This marks a significant milestone in our journey to modernize Army Acquisition," Ingraham said as he addressed the audience. "We are combining the capabilities of the Joint Program Executive Office for Armaments and Ammunition with critical combat logistic capabilities from PEO Combat Support and Combat Support Services to ensure fully capability alignment under our new structure." "Today we turn the page to an exciting new chapter in Army Acquisition," Ingraham continued. "Every role in the organization plays an invaluable part in this journey. Cross organization engagement and agility are essential in ensuring the success of this transition. The future of Army Acquisition is bright and PAE AS&A is poised to lead the way." Ingraham's visit underscored the installation's vital role the various commands at Picatinny Arsenal play in maintaining readiness delivering the capabilities, expertise, and innovation that ensures our Warfighters and allies are equipped to succeed in any environment. "As we embark on this journey, we align our actions with the strategic guidance provided by our leadership including the President of the United States, the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Army and the Chief of Staff of the Army," said Reim who followed Ingraham. "This initiative is not merely a restructuring of our acquisition processes. It is a fundamental rethinking of how we approach the delivery of capabilities to our Soldiers, our joint warfighters, and our international partners." Legacies of Excellence The Army is fundamentally restructuring its acquisition process to prioritize speed and efficiency over traditional approaches. As part of this initiative, the Army is establishing six Portfolio Acquisition Executives with increased focus on capabilities over specific programs. The transformation includes the integration of the former Program Executive Office Combat Support and Combat Service Support, PEO CS&CSS, into the Capability Program Executive for Combat Logistics, CPE CL, led by Brig. Gen. Camilla White. PEO CS&CSS brings an unmatched history of logistics and sustainment support to the new CPE CL. It encompasses more than 200 programs spanning the Army's transportation, ordnance, quartermaster, engineer, and training equipment portfolios. As the CPE CL, it will continue to develop and deliver modernized tactical wheeled vehicles, engineering equipment, watercraft, power generation systems, and other force sustainment capabilities to Army, Joint, and global partners. At the same time, the Joint Program Executive Office for Armaments and Ammunition, JPEO A&A, will realign into the Capability Program Executive for Ammunition & Energetics, CPE A&E, led by Col. Jason Bohannon. JPEO A&A has consistently delivered innovative acquisition solutions to provide Joint Warfighters and allied partners with overmatch capabilities. The JPEO was comprised of four project offices covering Combat Ammunition Systems, Close Combat Systems, Maneuver Ammunition Systems and Joint Services. As the CPE A&E, it retains responsibility for life-cycle acquisition management of all conventional ammunition, which includes integrating budgets, acquisition strategies, research and development and life-cycle management across all ammunition families. CPE CL will be headquartered at Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, while CPE A&E will remain at Picatinny Arsenal. Unlike the previous Program Executive Offices, each PAE will have comprehensive responsibilities and accountability for managing the full spectrum of acquisition activities, including requirements development, technology maturation, product development, testing, contracting, fielding, sustainment, and international sales. This flattened acquisition system empowers PAEs to make timely, risk-based decisions and accelerates capability delivery to Warfighters through problem-focused requirements, smarter contracts, informed risks, and faster pivots. "This restructure achieves unity of command by establishing and empowering PAE AS&A with the full authority to direct research and development, prototyping, testing, production, and sustainment," said Reim. "By prioritizing outcomes over processes, this new construct empowers us to award contracts faster by cutting through bureaucracy. Overall, this approach unburdens the acquisition enterprise and allows us to deliver warfighting capabilities at speed and scale." Accelerating Ammunition Acquisitions Under the leadership of Maj. Gen. Reim, PAE AS&A will oversee an entire capability area including all conventional ammunition requirements including direct and indirect fire ammunition, close combat systems, explosives, and pyrotechnics, in addition to logistics, fielding, and sustainment. PAE AS&A will have oversight of the organic munition production facilities. Maj. Gen. Sean Davis will serve as the new Deputy Portfolio Acquisition Executive adding the sustainment capabilities of the Army's Combined Arms Support Command, CASCOM to PAE AS&A. CASCOM trains and develops adaptive Sustainment professionals for the total force while integrating innovative Army and Joint Sustainment capabilities, concepts and doctrine to sustain large scale combat operations in a multi-domain operations environment. It is also a part of Transformation and Training Command and is located at Fort Lee, Virginia. PAE AS&A is committed to supporting the warfighter through an innovative approach to ammunition acquisition and sustainment that leverages existing authorities to deliver tangible benefits, including accelerated capability delivery, smarter contracts, and informed risk management. In addition to the two new CPEs, PAE AS&A will oversee multiple acquisition enablers including senior contracting officials, a test and evaluation integrator, the Sustainment Future Capability Directorate and the system center lead overseeing coordination among Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Centers. The PAE AS&A System Center Lead is Chris J. Grassano, the firector of the DEVCOM Armaments Center. The new structure will enable holistic management of conventional ammunition development, production and sustainment under a single command resulting in increased efficiencies and accelerated delivery of lethality aligned with the emerging Army Warfighting Concept. Looking Ahead In conjunction with this reform, the Army is investing $1.1 billion per year to overhaul depots, arsenals, and ammunition plants that produce and sustain Army equipment. This commitment will not only modernize facilities but also strengthen the defense supply chain and create jobs. For industry partners, these reforms will mean faster contracts, clearer points of entry, and fewer bureaucratic hurdles. Soldiers will benefit from receiving new capabilities, such as drones, long-range fires, and next-generation command and control systems, years faster than before. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Costa Rica: Statement by the Spokesperson on the outcome of the presidential elections European External Action Service (EEAS) 02.02.2026 EEAS Press Team The European Union congratulates Laura Fernandez Delgado upon her election as President of Costa Rica and the people of Costa Rica for their strong commitment to democracy, as shown by the high voter turnout. The EU and Costa Rica have a steadfast partnership, which we look forward to continue strengthening, based on common values and interests, including a shared commitment to multilateralism, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. Costa Rica is one of our most solid partners in multilateral fora in defending a rules-based international order and on advancing the green and digital transitions, including through our Global Gateway investment strategy. We look forward to working with President Fernandez and her administration and remain committed to deepening our relationship in all areas of mutual interest. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Oslo Security Conference: Remarks by the High Representative Kaja Kallas at the Joint Press Point with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stre European External Action Service (EEAS) 02.02.2026 Oslo, Norway EEAS Press Team Check against delivery! Thank you, Jonas, for having us here. It is always a pleasure to come to Norway. We are good partners. And I think in this geopolitical environment, we really need to stick together on different issues, when it comes to overall security, when it comes to economic security, when it comes to the crises that we have around the world, whether it is in Ukraine, that we discussed also today, or the Middle East. In Ukraine, we see Russia bombing again civilians this night previously. So, we really need to do more. For the energy infrastructure also, we thank Norway for the support of energy that you have given to Ukraine recently. And of course, on the Middle East, we really need to move to the second phase of the peace process in Gaza, and we are willing to contribute to that. Today, also the Rafah border crossing will be likely opened. It is a major step towards sustainable peace. So, thank you for having us, and thank you for also showing us the Arctic, which is a very important topic right now. Q&A: Q. There seems to be a deepening rift between NATO and the EU when it comes to European security. A rift between yourself and Kubilius and Mark Rutte. How do you see this? And in addition, how should Norway position itself in this sort of rift, should it be closer to EU or just keep on holding US as a strong ally. Well, I do not agree that there is a rift, actually. We are trying to do in the European Union to help our Member States to increase their defence spending, and also do it together with all the other states, and also countries like Norway, so that we are ready. And also, 23 members of the European Union are also part of NATO. So really, we are collaborating with NATO. It is in addition to what NATO is doing, and we really work hand in hand. Q. But do you agree with Mark Rutte that Europe cannot do without the US, who was very clear on that? Well, right now the situation is such, but we are working to be more independent, also when it comes to security, because it is clear that our vulnerabilities are our weaknesses, and that is why we are working to invest more in defence, also the capabilities. And also, consider it European and not only national. Q. It seems like Donald Trump has pulled back a bit on his threats to take Greenland. Does that mean that the EU's focus is a little bit more relaxed towards the EU taking care of itself security-wise, and more focused on Ukraine? Or are you still stressed about Greenland? The word for this year is going to be unpredictability, so we have to be ready for everything that comes. Regarding the Arctic, we have discussions about Arctic security, that is in our common interest. And we are, of course, working together with our NATO allies to also focus on security in the Arctic. We have the new Arctic Strategy coming out to really focus on all the issues that we have been talking about. So, yes, our work continues. Q. Regarding the Arctic strategy, in, the two previous strategies, you declared a wish for a moratorium on hydrocarbon production in the Arctic. Do you think you will uphold this wish for this moratorium in the next one? The discussions for the Arctic security strategy are still ongoing. So, what is going to be there, what is different, is that previously, it talked about more climate change, all the issues there, but now we really need to take into account security as well. So, that is going to be different. But I cannot tell what is in it, because the discussions are ongoing. Link to the video: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/media/video/I-284325 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address More Muslim nations condemn Israeli attacks and ceasefire violations in Gaza IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Feb 2, 2026 Tehran, IRNA -- Eight more Arab and Islamic countries, including Saudi Arabia and Turkey, have condemned Israel's repeated ceasefire violations in Gaza that have killed and injured over a thousand Palestinians in nearly four months. In a joint statement issued late on Sunday, the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Qatar and Egypt said they consider Israeli violations as dangerous and a direct threat to the political process, hindering efforts in both security and humanitarian aspects in Gaza. "These actions risk escalating tensions and undermining efforts aimed at consolidating calm and restoring stability, at a time when regional and international parties are working collectively to advance the second phase of the [US] President Donald Trump's plan and to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2803," read the statement, which was also posted on the Saudi Foreign Ministry website. The ministers urged all parties to fulfill their responsibilities at this critical stage and exercise maximum restraint in order to preserve the ceasefire and ensure its sustainability, stressing the need to avoid any action that undermines current process in Gaza. They also called for creating create conditions conducive to early recovery and reconstruction, while advancing a just and permanent peace rooted in the Palestinian right to self-determination and statehood, in line with international law, and relevant UN Security Council resolutions. The statement was issued after the Israeli regime once again targeted several areas of Gaza, killing at least 32 people, including women and children on Sunday. Nearly 550 Palestinians have been killed and some 1,400 others injured since the ceasefire took effect on October 10, 2025. 4399**9417 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radosaw Sikorski visits Kingdom of Norway Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Republic of Poland 02.02.2026 During his visit to Norway, Polish Foreign Minister Radosaw Sikorski took part in the Oslo Security Conference 2026 as well as holding bilateral talks with Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stre, Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide, and Minister of Defence Tore Onshuus Sandvik. During the Conference, in a panel co hosted with Norway's Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, Minister Sikorski presented an assessment of the challenges facing Northern Europe and the North Atlantic Alliance in light of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, geopolitical instability, and the transformation of the global balance of power. Norway, which is Poland's strategic partner in Northern Europe, supportsjust as Poland doesstrengthening NATO's defence and deterrence capabilities and expanding the Alliance's military presence on its eastern and northern flanks. The country remains one of Poland's most important security and defence partners in Europe, as demonstrated by close cooperation between the armed forces and defence industries. "I come here with a simple message: Poland also looks North. We're willing to develop our bilateral cooperation with Norway even further," Deputy Prime Minister Sikorski said as he opened his address at the Oslo Security Conference. During the bilateral meetings, the participants discussed the current state of Polish-Norwegian relations, which for several years have been marked by high intensity and multidimensional cooperation. The two countries share strong political cooperationincluding in the fields of security, defence, the economy, and culture. High-level consultations ae held regularly, both bilaterally and in the framework of broader international initiatives. The talks with representatives of the Norwegian government also centred around such issues as security in the Baltic Sea region, protection of the Baltic's critical undersea infrastructure, the shadow fleet, and Russia's aggression in Ukraine. During a joint press conference, the foreign ministers of Poland and Norway expressed support for embattled Ukraine and stressed the importance of combatting the shadow fleet and the threats it implies for regional security and the Baltic Sea ecosystem. Poland's top diplomat thanked Norway for its military contribution to securing the operations of the Rzeszow airfield and emphasised that the 20th sanctions package must be adopted as soon as possible. "I encourage Norway to play a bigger role in holding off the shadow fleet. The fleet does not consist of any shadows but clunkers posing a real threat for the Baltic," stressed Minister Sikorski. Before he left Oslo, Deputy Prime Minister Sikorski met with representatives of Norway's large Polish community that encompasses more than 140 thousand Poles and people of Polish descent. The head of Polish diplomacy thanked the attendees for preserving the Polish language and traditional customs and for actively participating in community life. He also outlined the key principles of the Government Strategy for Cooperation with the Polish Community and Poles Abroad, including in regard to returns to the country. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Army looking for 'balanced mix' in artillery system upgrades Philippine News Agency By Priam Nepomuceno February 2, 2026, 1:43 pm MANILA -- The Philippine Army (PA) is aiming for a "balanced mix" regarding the planned modernization of its artillery systems, its spokesperson said Monday. Army spokesperson Col. Louie Dema-ala gave this comment when asked by the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on whether the PA is planning to get more self-propelled systems as part of its modernization program. Self-propelled refers to artillery units that are capable of moving on their own power like tanks and infantry fighting vehicles. "Decisions between tracked, wheeled, or towed systems are typically based on terrain, infrastructure, and sustainment considerations. As a result, the PA aims for a 'balanced mix' rather than a complete shift to one type," he added. The PA operates a number of self-propelled, tracked, and towed 155mm howitzers along the smaller 105mm howitzers for its fire support missions. Dema-ala said there are plans to upgrade these existing systems to make them more capable in the modern battlefield. However, for security reasons, the PA spokesperson did not give specifics on what these upgrades will be. "Upgrades are all part of the proposal and until (it is) delivered to the Army, (referring to the capability), that is the only time we can discuss the details of the upgrades," he said. (PNA) NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address One killed, eight wounded as Israel hits Lebanon in new ceasefire violation Iran Press TV Monday, 02 February 2026 5:49 PM Fresh Israeli airstrikes have killed at least one person and injured several others in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health says, the latest violation of the ceasefire between the Arab country and the Tel Aviv regime. The Public Health Emergency Operations Center of the ministry announced in a statement that an Israeli air raid struck a vehicle on Monday in the Ansariyah area of the Sidon district. One person lost his life and four others were injured in the attack. Israeli military aircraft also carried out an assault in the al-Qlailah area of the Tyre district. Four people were wounded as a result. The Israeli army asserted in a statement that it killed a member of the Hezbollah resistance movement in the attack on Ansariyeh. It further claimed that he was involved in efforts to reestablish military infrastructure for the group. Separately, the Arabic-language spokesperson of the Israeli military alleged it killed a member of Hezbollah's air defense unit during an airstrike in southern Lebanon on Monday. Avichay Adraee claimed in a post on the social media platform X that the strike in Harouf killed Ali al-Hadi Mustafa al-Haqqani, whom he described as a key operative in Hezbollah's air defense unit. He claimed that Haqqani had recently been responsible for attempts to rebuild military infrastructure linked to the unit. For the past few months, the Israeli regime, backed by the US, has been pushing to disarm the Hezbollah resistance group. Israel and Lebanon reached a ceasefire in November 2024 after more than a year of attacks amid the genocidal war in Gaza. More than 4,000 people were killed, and 17,000 others were injured. Under the ceasefire, Israeli forces were supposed to completely withdraw from southern Lebanon, but have only partially pulled out, maintaining a military presence at five outposts. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israel to ban Doctors Without Borders from operating in Gaza over refusal to provide staff list Iran Press TV Monday, 02 February 2026 9:01 AM Israel says it will terminate the humanitarian operations of Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, in Gaza after it refused to hand over a list of its Palestinian staff in the war-devastated territory. "The Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism is moving to terminate the activities of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in the Gaza Strip," the ministry said on Sunday. The decision followed "MSF's failure to submit lists of local employees, a requirement applicable to all humanitarian organizations operating in the region," it added. The ministry had earlier asserted that two MSF employees had links with Palestinian resistance groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which the charity has rejected. On Sunday, the ministry announced that MSF had agreed in early January to provide the staff list requested by the Israeli authorities. However, the aid organization ultimately decided against this, expressing worries about the safety of their staff and the absence of guarantees regarding the use of the information. "Subsequently, MSF announced it does not intend to proceed with the registration process at all, contradicting its previous statements and the binding protocol," the ministry added, saying, "MSF will cease its operations and depart the Gaza Strip by February 28." On December 30, Israel announced that it was going to revoke the licenses of 37 international non-governmental organizations working in Gaza and the occupied West Bank from March 1, saying they had failed to submit detailed information about their Palestinian employees. MSF said it had tried for months to engage with Israeli authorities over the issue, but its attempts were unsuccessful. The medical charity said the move was a "pretext to obstruct humanitarian assistance" to Palestinians in the besieged coastal sliver. "Israeli authorities are forcing humanitarian organizations into an impossible choice between exposing staff to risk or interrupting critical medical care for people in desperate need," it said in a statement issued on Sunday. "MSF did not hand over staff names because Israeli authorities failed to provide the concrete assurances required to guarantee our staff's safety, protect their personal data, and uphold the independence of our medical operation," it said. Such demands by Israel will force aid organizations to pull out when "needs are overwhelming and health services are collapsing" in Gaza, it said. "At a moment when more humanitarian assistance is urgently needed, it is being restricted rather than facilitated," the charity said, adding that it remained open for dialogue with Israeli authorities to maintain its services in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. MSF said 15 of its employees have been killed over the course of Israel's genocidal war in Gaza, which began on October 7, 2023. The aid organization said it currently provides at least 20 percent of hospital beds in Gaza and operates about 20 health centers in the territory. It carried out more than 800,000 medical consultations and more than 10,000 infant deliveries in 2025 alone. The charity also provides drinking water. The Gaza ceasefire agreement ended a two-year Israeli genocidal war that killed at least 71,795 Palestinians and wounded 171,551 others, although the occupying regime continues to violate the ceasefire deal. The bloody onslaught has destroyed roughly 90% of the civilian infrastructure in Gaza, with UN estimates placing reconstruction costs at about $70 billion. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israeli attacks kill two more Palestinians in Gaza shortly after widespread strikes claim dozens Iran Press TV Monday, 02 February 2026 6:40 AM Israeli attacks have claimed the lives of two more Palestinians across the Gaza Strip, shortly after strikes targeting various areas across the coastal sliver's entire expanse killed dozens of Palestinians. Reporting on Sunday, medical sources said one Palestinian was killed and two others were injured when an Israeli drone fired a missile at a civilian gathering north of Wadi Gaza in the central part of the coastal sliver. Witnesses said the area had previously been evacuated under ceasefire arrangements. A second Palestinian was killed by Israeli artillery shelling in the al-Shakoush area northwest of Rafah in southern Gaza. The latest deaths followed two days of intensified Israeli attacks that killed at least 37 Palestinians, according to local officials, in strikes on shelters, tents housing displaced families, a police center, and residential apartments. Witnesses also reported demolition operations northeast of Gaza City, tank fire west of Rafah and east of the Bureij refugee camp, and Israeli naval fire off Gaza's northern coast. Such fatalities have been a daily occurrence since early October, when the regime signed a ceasefire agreement with Gaza's Hamas resistance movement. The deal came as part of a 20-point plan devised by Donald Trump. The US president claims the plan is aimed at ending Tel Aviv's war of genocide on Gaza that began in October 2023. Observers, though, say daily fatalities point to the continuation of the genocidal pattern. According to Gaza's health ministry, the genocide has killed 71,795 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and wounded 171,551 others, with nearly 90 percent of civilian infrastructure destroyed. As attacks continued, Israeli authorities announced the completion of a "screening corridor" for people entering Gaza through the Rafah crossing, Gaza's only outlet that bypasses the occupied territories. The Israeli army said arrivals would be checked against lists approved by the regime's "security establishment." The regime's public broadcaster reported that a trial operation on Sunday would precede an official reopening on Monday, allowing limited, tightly restricted movement after nearly 20 months of closure. Images released by Israeli media showed a narrow, fortified passage equipped with surveillance cameras and facial-recognition systems. Tel Aviv said only a limited number of civilians would be permitted to cross under strict conditions. Meanwhile, Gaza's government media office and health ministry warned that the health system had effectively collapsed. Officials said around 20,000 patients risked death while awaiting evacuation for treatment abroad, with Gaza losing an average of 10 patients per day due to blocked access. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Albares renews Spain's commitment to Lebanon's stability with Lebanese counterpart Spain - Ministry of Foreign Affairs PRESS RELEASE 011 The ministers have signed a cooperation agreement between the Diplomatic Schools of both countries 2 FEB 26 The Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Jose Manuel Albares, today received his Lebanese counterpart, Youssef Raggi, with whom he discussed the excellent bilateral relations between the two countries and the expansion of existing cooperation to new areas through agreements signed during President Joseph Aoun's visit to Spain. This is the first visit by a Lebanese president to our country since 2009. Today's meeting is the fourth between Albares and his Lebanese counterpart, following the meeting during the Paris Conference on Syria in February 2025, the bilateral meeting during the Southern Neighbourhood Ministerial Meeting in Brussels in July and the meeting on the sidelines of the Regional Forum of the Union for the Mediterranean last November. This frequency of meetings in less than a year, since Minister Raggi's appointment in February 2025, is a true reflection of the close and deep bilateral relations between Spain and Lebanon. In this vein, relations between the Foreign Ministries have also been strengthened following this visit with the signing of a cooperation agreement between the Diplomatic Schools of both countries, which will enable collaboration in the training of diplomatic and consular personnel and foreign policy specialists. Albares reminded his counterpart that Spain is firmly committed to Lebanon's future and stability, for which Spain has deployed more than 650 troops to UNIFIL (third European contingent) and supports the redeployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces. He also highlighted humanitarian and development support, with Lebanon being a priority country for Spanish Cooperation since 2024. As on previous occasions, the conflict in the Middle East was the focus of part of the talks. Albares reiterated his congratulations on the completion of the first phase of the disarmament plan, reaffirming that Spain will continue to support the courageous efforts of the Lebanese Government in pursuit of Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The minister stressed that Euro-Arab consultation and dialogue are more important than ever in order to move towards a comprehensive, just and lasting peace for the entire region. NON OFFICIAL TRANSLATION NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Spanish Government condemns decision by Israeli authorities to impose halt on activities of Medecins Sans Frontieres Spain - Ministry of Foreign Affairs PRESS RELEASE 015 2 FEB 26 The Spanish Government condemns the decision by the Israeli authorities to impose a halt on the activities of Medecins Sans Frontieres, which are essential to alleviating the dramatic health situation of the Gazan population in the Gaza Strip. The Spanish Government emphasises that international humanitarian NGOs, especially those working in the health sector such as MSF, provide irreplaceable assistance in life-saving services in Gaza and the West Bank. The work of MSF in Gaza, as well as that of all humanitarian organisations in the field of health, is essential in addressing the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Strip, providing vital assistance to the Palestinian population in Gaza who are subjected to unbearable violence. The Government of Spain urges the Government of Israel to reverse this decision, which seriously undermines the most basic moral principles, and reminds it of its obligation to comply with international humanitarian law and its international obligations to reduce suffering and maintain the dignity of all human beings. NON OFFICIAL TRANSLATION NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Spanish Government condemns attacks on Gaza Strip Spain - Ministry of Foreign Affairs PRESS RELEASE 016 2 FEB 26 The Spanish Government condemns the ongoing attacks by Israeli forces on the Gaza Strip, which violate the ceasefire reached in Gaza and have already caused the deaths of more than 500 Palestinians and the destruction of vital infrastructure. The Spanish Government urges the Israeli Government to comply with United Nations Security Council resolution 2803 and with international humanitarian law. All parties must commit to complying with the ceasefire and avoid any obstacles to moving forward with Phase II of the peace plan for Gaza. Spain reaffirms its firm commitment to peace and stability, working with its regional partners to ensure compliance with Resolution 2803 and the New York Declaration, which will enable a lasting solution to the conflict based on the implementation of the two-State solution. NON OFFICIAL TRANSLATION NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Netherlands Fast-Tracks Retooling Civilian Infrastructure for NATO's Next War Sputnik News 20260202 As NATO pushes the non-existent 'Russia threat' narrative, the Netherlands is among the frontrunners preparing for a potential conflict by 2030, says Russia's Ambassador to the kingdom, Vladimir Tarabrin. Accelerated militarization of the Netherlands involves the systematic development and conversion of civilian infrastructure for military needs, Vladimir Tarabrin told Sputnik. "This applies to ports, logistics hubs, and the railway network. These measures are neither isolated nor temporary they fit into NATO's long-term strategy," the diplomat noted. Recent proof came during military drills in late January, where the Royal Netherlands Air and Space Force conducted two-day training exercises with four F-35 fighter jets at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. This NATO-linked Agile Combat Employment (ACE) exercise tested operating advanced military aircraft from a busy civilian hub. The kingdom's outsized role is largely a matter of geography: The Netherlands has emerged as a strategic rear hub on the route from the North Sea to NATO's eastern flank via Germany. Sea, air, and land corridors now crisscross the country, enabling the steady movement of military hardware. Notably, the US relies on Dutch infrastructure as a primary transit hub for its forces. The Netherlands' course aligns with NATO's overall trajectory. At the European Defense Innovation Forum (EDIF) last year, Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans claimed that Russia allegedly "wanted to be ready for a large-scale confrontation with NATO by 2030." President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stated that Russia has no intention of attacking NATO countries. However, Western politicians continue to frighten their populations with an alleged Russian threat to divert attention from domestic issues and escalate military spending. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Joint Statement on the New Zealand-United States Strategic Dialogue US Department of State Media Note Office of the Spokesperson February 2, 2026 The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of the United States of America and New Zealand on the occasion of the New Zealand-United States Strategic Dialogue. Begin Text United States Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and New Zealand Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade Bede Corry met in Washington, D.C. on February 2, 2026, for the New Zealand-United States Strategic Dialogue. Deputy Secretary Landau and Secretary Corry reaffirmed the enduring partnership between the United States and New Zealand and the two countries' shared commitment to expanding cooperation in the Indo-Pacific in support of a free, open, and prosperous region. The Deputy Secretary welcomed New Zealand's recent decision to select Lockheed Martin's MH-60R Seahawk helicopters as its preferred option to replace its maritime helicopter fleet. Both agreed on the importance of further investing in interoperable defense capabilities and committed to exploring new opportunities to expand security cooperation with regional allies and likeminded partners. Deputy Secretary Landau and Secretary Corry underscored the shared U.S. and New Zealand goal of working alongside Pacific Islands countries to support their resilience and prosperity. Both committed to further expanding this partnership, including in infrastructure, economic investment, and the maritime domain. Secretary Corry welcomed the Deputy Secretary's hosting of the U.S.-Pacific Investment Summit in Honolulu later this month, emphasizing that the Summit's inclusion of all Pacific Island Forum members recognized the centrality of the Forum in the region's affairs. The two also welcomed investments by likeminded partners to support a prosperous and resilient region. Deputy Secretary Landau and Secretary Corry affirmed their shared interest in expanding the mutually beneficial trade and investment relationship between the United States and New Zealand. They noted discussions on a U.S.-New Zealand Critical Minerals Framework, and welcomed New Zealand's participation at the Critical Minerals Ministerial to be hosted by the United States this week. The two committed to explore further opportunities to expand cooperation on critical minerals, energy, critical and emerging technologies, and the digital economy to ensure economic resilience and mutual prosperity. They also commended the advanced collaboration between New Zealand and the United States on space issues, including growing commercial links, and welcomed the upcoming 2nd U.S.-New Zealand Space Dialogue to be held in March 2026 in Washington, D.C. Deputy Secretary Landau and Secretary Corry affirmed the vital importance of preserving Antarctica for peace and science and committed to continuing the longstanding cooperation between the United States and New Zealand on Antarctic research, policy, and logistics. Deputy Secretary Landau expressed deep appreciation for New Zealand's long history of logistical support to the United States Antarctic Program (USAP) and support for U.S. inspections of foreign research stations in Antarctica. Both Deputy Secretary Landau and Secretary Corry expressed optimism about the future of the U.S.-New Zealand relationship and welcomed upcoming opportunities for engagement, including at Ministerial level. End Text NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Congratulating Costa Rica's President-Elect Laura Fernandez Delgado's Electoral Victory US Department of State Press Statement Marco Rubio, Secretary of State February 2, 2026 The United States congratulates President-Elect Laura Fernandez Delgado of Costa Rica on her clear electoral victory. Under her leadership, we are confident Costa Rica will continue to advance shared priorities to include combatting narco-trafficking, ending illegal immigration to the United States, promoting cybersecurity and secure telecommunications, and strengthening economic ties. The United States looks forward to working closely with President-Elect Laura Fernandez Delgado's administration to deepen our enduring partnership and promote shared prosperity in our hemisphere. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Department of Public Information . News and Media Division . New York 2 February 2026 The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's briefing by Stephane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General. ** Briefing Just as a reminder, in 33 minutes, Ambassador James Kariuki, Charge d'Affaires of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and President of the Security Council for the month of February, will be here to brief you on the programme of work for the month of February, as he will preside over the Council. ** Occupied Palestinian Territory Turning to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, I can tell you that we welcome the re-opening of the Rafah Crossing. As we have said before, civilians must be allowed to leave and return voluntarily and safely, as international law requires. Ultimately, essential humanitarian supplies must enter in sufficient quantities and with fewer restrictions through Rafah and all other crossings. Also today, World Health Organization (WHO) supported medical-evacuation efforts from Gaza. The limited re-opening of the [Rafah] Crossing allowed some patients andcompanions to exit directly to Egypt, while others transited through the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom/Kerem Abu Salem crossing. WHO tells us that the last medical evacuation through Rafah Crossing dates back to May 2024. Over the weekend, the UN system, including our colleagues from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Department of Safety and Security, undertook an advance mission to assess road conditions, and WHO carried out a technical mission to examine the compound area and access roads, to ensure appropriate and dignified conditions. OCHA together with several UN entities and NGO [non-governmental organization] partners has set up a reception area at the Nassar hospital in Khan Younis. We also saw the reports of violence over the weekend, and we are very concerned about the killing of civilians and Israeli air strikes. Again, we condemn all killings of civilians. And just a note on the reception centre at the Nassar centre: It is staffed with psychologists and protection specialists and equipped with food, information materials and Internet access to provide returning people with support. Our colleagues from the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) are among those operating the reception. ** Syria Moving to Syria and the humanitarian front: We and our humanitarian partners continue to reach thousands of people in the north-east with critical assistance. Today, a convoy consisting of two dozen trucks and one mobile clinic arrived in Ain al Arab/Kobani in Aleppo Governorate, delivering ready-to-eat food, health supplies and fuel. This is the second convoy to reach the area in a week, as the city continues to face shortages of water, communications, medical supplies and food, among other basic services, with communities relying on bakeries as the primary source of sustenance. Since the fighting broke out in Aleppo in December 2025, more than 150,000 people have received humanitarian assistance. Yesterday, a 50-truck UN convoy carrying humanitarian aid from Damascus reached the city of Qamishli in Hasakeh Governorate. That is the third such convoy in a week. As of 25 January, more than 170,000 people have been forced to flee their homes across 178 communities across the north-east of Syria, mostly in Al-Hasakeh Governorate. The vast majority of these people are women and children, who face heightened risks of violence and abuse. Nearly three quarters of displaced families are living with host communities, putting additional strain on housing, water, basic services and livelihoods in already challenging situations for the hosts. While some have returned home, many remain displaced due to explosive ordnance, infrastructure that is damaged, winter conditions and limited access to the most basic of essential services. You saw that late on Friday, we issued a statement welcoming the agreement between the Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Secretary-General appeals to all sides to work swiftly to ensure the implementation of the agreement, particularly with regard to the peaceful integration of northeast Syria, the rights of Syrian Kurds, the safe, dignified and voluntary return of the displaced, and coming together in efforts to rebuild the country. Furthermore, he urges all sides to fully uphold their commitments, to prioritize the stabilization of Syria, as well as the wider region, and to ensure that civilians are protected and able to live safely, in dignity and free from fear. ** Lebanon/Israel Moving to Lebanon: Yesterday morning, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) informed our peacekeeping colleagues in southern Lebanon that they would be carrying out an aerial activity dropping what they, the IDF, described was a non-toxic chemical substance over areas near the Blue Line. The IDF said that peacekeepers should stay clear of the area, forcing the suspension of more than a dozen activities. Normal operations, including patrols along the Blue Line, resumed only after more than nine hours. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) supported the Lebanese Army in collecting samples of what was dropped and testing for toxicity. We continue to remind the Israel Defense Forces that flights across the Blue Line into Lebanon are violations of resolution 1701 (2006). Any activity that may put peacekeepers and civilians at risk is of serious concern. We reiterate our call on all parties to fully comply with their obligations under said resolution, and that is [resolution] 1701 (2006). ** Somalia From Somalia, our colleagues at OCHA tell us that severe drought conditions continue to displace people across Somalia. According to authorities and our partners, nearly half a million people have now abandoned their homes since September 2025. Families are on the move in search of water, in search of pasture for their livestock and in search of food. Our humanitarian colleagues note that this is putting additional pressure on already overcrowded displacement sites. Authorities estimate that more than 4.6 million men, women and children have been impacted by the drought. This is nearly one in four people in Somalia. Education has also been impacted, with 150 schools in the northern regions closing or attendance declining as families migrate in search of water and livelihoods. This has forced more than 45,000 students 45,000 young people to drop out of school. We, along with our humanitarian partners, are providing food, cash, water, health, shelter and nutrition assistance, but we are severely constrained by you will have guessed it funding issues. The situation is projected to get worse as rains are not expected until April; this is at the earliest. Widespread crop failure, which would compromise the summer harvest, is anticipated. This year, we and our humanitarian partners need $852 million to support 2.4 million people in Somalia. ** Ethiopia And over the weekend, we issued a statement on Ethiopia, regarding developments in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, where renewed tensions and clashes have contributed to a worsening security environment. The Secretary-General is deeply concerned about the potential impact on civilians and the risk of a return to a wider conflict in a region still working to rebuild and recover from past tensions. The Secretary-General calls on all parties to exercise restraint and to resolve differences through peaceful dialogue and measures aimed at rebuilding trust. He urges the full implementation of the Permanent Cessation of Hostilities Agreement and underscores the importance of safeguarding the gains made since 2022. The full statement is online. ** Madagascar And a quick update from Madagascar, where our humanitarian colleagues tell us that Tropical Cyclone Fytia, which hit the country over the weekend, caused significant flooding and damage, particularly in north-western districts. According to preliminary reports from local authorities, at least seven people died. More than 20,000 people have been displaced. There has also been extensive damage to homes, with more than 14,000 flooded, damaged or destroyed. Some 250 classrooms have also been damaged or destroyed. Flooding also reported in the capital. The Government is leading the response and has deployed food assistance to affected areas. For our part, our humanitarian partners are mobilizing available, though limited, pre-positioned stocks to reach accessible areas. On the food security front, [our partners report] that they currently have no food stocks available to support the response. Access to the most affected districts, notably Soalala and Mitsinjo, remains severely constrained. Both areas are currently only accessible by air. An aerial assessment is planned for tomorrow to determine priority needs. Continued rainfall and rough sea conditions are constraining assessments and the delivery of humanitarian goods. ** Ukraine Turning to Ukraine, OCHA says that attacks over the weekend killed more civilians and triggered additional electricity and heating disruptions, as temperatures dropped to as low as -26C, which is about -15F. Between 30 January and this morning, some 30 civilians were killed and around 90 injured, mainly in the regions of Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Donetsk. That's what local authorities are telling us. Yesterday, in the Dnipro region, drone strikes hit a bus carrying coal miners, killing over a dozen of them and injuring many others. Also yesterday, WHO reported that attacks in the city of Zaporizhzhia damaged three health facilities, including a maternity hospital that is being supported by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), and it also injured staff and one patient. The hospital suffered major damage. The patients had to be relocated. The central, western and southern regions of Ukraine, including Kyiv, were hit by a massive blackout, which also impacted heating and water supply. According to the local Energy Ministry, this was due to technical failures of the strained energy system, severe weather as well as resumed attacks on energy facilities. Aid workers provided emergency shelter and protection assistance in Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro and supported heating centres across the country where people can warm up, have hot meals and charge their devices. Our colleague Edem Wosornu, who as you know is OCHA's Director of Crisis Response, is currently in Ukraine. Yesterday, she was in Odesa and Mykolaiv to discuss humanitarian priorities, including winter assistance amid continued attacks on critical infrastructure, with humanitarian partners and regional authorities. ** New Resident Coordinators Nepal and Iran Two new Resident Coordinators to announce. Our colleagues at the UN Development Coordination Office tell us that, following their respective host Government approvals, Lila Pieters Yahia of Canada assumed her role as United Nations Resident Coordinator for Nepal; she started on 1 February, which was yesterday. Christine Weigand of Austria also assumed her role as Resident Coordinator in the Islamic Republic of Iran, starting today, although she is currently here in New York, but will be making her way to Tehran. Ms. Pieters Yahia brings over 25 years of experience in public service and UN leadership. Ms. Weigand brings extensive expertise in development cooperation and senior leadership roles with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), including service in Armenia, Turkmenistan and Iran. Both Coordinators will support development priorities for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in line with the Secretary-General's vision to bolster coherence, partnerships and impact at the country level. ** World Wetlands Day Today is World Wetlands Day. Wetlands, ranging from rivers, lakes and marshes to mangroves, coral reefs and human-made sites, are vital ecosystems where water shapes life. They support biodiversity, protect the climate and sustain the livelihoods of over one billion human beings worldwide. ** Honour Roll We have a little bit of a quiz for you today. We got some money in the bank and as you know these days, every penny counts. This first country has an extensive forest coverage of over 70 peer cent of its land mass and is one of only three carbon-negative countries in the world. This means they absorb more carbon dioxide than they produce. Bhutan. This next country is the world's fifth-largest producer of coffee, and it is Africa's top producer of coffee. Ethiopia. Finally, this country is home to the Veryovkina Cave, discovered in 1968. It is recognized as the world's deepest known cave, plunging over 2,200 metres deep. We thank our friends in Tbilisi; the cave is in Georgia. We thank our friends in Georgia, in Ethiopia and Bhutan. If you want to know, Bhutan paid $31,815, Ethiopia $317,897, Georgia $286,332. We thank them for every dollar given to this organization. Abdelhamid? ** Questions and Answers Question : Thank you so much, really. I have two questions. One about the killing of 31 Palestinians on Saturday, and I was watching to see any statement just showing concern, showing some sadness, some response, but I didn't see. I know you mentioned something now in your briefing, but a separate statement for... isn't worth a separate statement for killing 31 Palestinians? Spokesman : Look, I think we have been very vocal, and I was just very vocal on condemning the killing of the Palestinians that we've seen in Gaza during the duration since a long time, frankly. Question : So, killing two or 31 is just...? Spokesman : I think I've answered; you may analyse and criticize the statement, but I think I've answered your question. Question : Okay. My second question. Today, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) had been banned completely from Gaza and the West Bank. Do you have any reaction to that? Spokesman : I had not seen that report. Obviously, I think the Secretary-General expressed his concern about 10 days ago at the push by the Israeli authorities to ban a number of international NGOs. Organizations like MSF and others are critical to the UN's humanitarian operation. We work with them hand in hand, and it is difficult to imagine us being able to do all the work we need to do without organizations like them. Question : Last. Today also, UNRWA [United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East] lowered the working hours from 37.5 to 30 and cutting down the salaries 20 per cent. Any reaction to that also? Spokesman : Well, it's not so much a reaction. As you know, UNRWA is facing extremely difficult financial situation. They're not getting the financial resources they need. Philippe Lazzarini cannot print money, right? He cannot create money out of nothing. So, what are the options? Laying people off completely, depriving them of livelihoods, depriving those people that they work to support, or trying to trim working hours and salaries. It is not a good solution, but it is a better solution than letting these employees go or not letting them do their work. I think Philippe, backed by the SG, has been extremely vocal in trying to get more resources for UNRWA, but he can only go to the bank with the money he has. He can't create money out of nothing. Farnoush? Question : Thank you. Wondering if you have seen the flyer that's going around that Under-Secretary-General Tom Fletcher is going to be doing an event tomorrow, the Sudan Humanitarian Conference in Washington, D.C., with Trump officials. It's an official White House event to raise money and gather pledges for Sudan. I was wondering if the SG supports this effort. Obviously, this comes after the US has said adapt or die to the UN. And so, anything you can say on how much the SG is behind this event and if we should expect more events like this going forward, given the US. Spokesman : Tom Fletcher is not freelancing, right? He's in Washington, D.C. One of the files he's discussing is Sudan. We've been working very closely with the Americans, as we have with other countries, including countries in the region, to try to stop this conflict, to try to at least get humanitarian corridors, trying to get more resources. And I think the Secretary-General made it clear here last week that despite the issues well known with the United States Administration, we continue to cooperate on files of mutual interest. This is all being done in the interest of the Sudanese people. Question : And is this just going to be the new way of the US being able to I mean, the fundraising effort on behalf of OCHA in these types of events that are obviously very different from how it was previously? Spokesman : Look. I think there will be different types of... there'll be some events like that. There'll be events in in different forms. We are trying to get the resources we need, so we can operate in the way we operate, meaning with the humanitarian principles in which we work. We're unbending in our principles, but we will work with whoever can support us in our work, and we're grateful for that support. Let's go to the other Associated Press, who did not win the quiz. Question : Completely different questions. First, has the Secretary-General received any reactions to his letter to the 193 member nations? Spokesman : I mean, I know you know, Member States have been in touch with him, but I think the letter, which I think you all saw by now, was pretty clear and direct and frank, to say the least. Question : But, has he received any indication that Member States are planning to take any action? Spokesman : Look, I can't speak for Member States. Obviously, I think we will see success when more checks are cashed, when Member States agree to change some of the financial regulations, which are outdated, outmoded, clearly trap us in a kind of a death loop on budgetary issues. Question : And secondly, on the opening of the Rafah Crossing, does the UN have anybody at the crossing helping, monitoring? Spokesman : We're not doing monitoring. We're obviously, as I mentioned, we have people on the inside, on the Gaza side, to help Palestinians who come back, right? But, we're not involved in any of the screening or the administrative procedures, as far as I know. Question : And do you have any indication of how many people crossed either way today? Spokesman : No, I do not have those numbers. Gabriel? Question : Thank you, Steph. I have some follow-ups on the Lebanon incident that you mentioned in your remarks. Is the location where Israel dropped these so-called nontoxic chemicals on Israeli territory or Lebanese territory? Spokesman : My understanding is they were north of the Blue Line. Question : So that would be Lebanese territory? Spokesman : North of the Blue Line. Question : Correct. Okay. And has this happened before? Spokesman : I don't recall, but I don't recall everything, but this I don't recall. Question : And have you guys any initial results of the testing...? Spokesman : No. I mean, at least none that's been communicated to me. Question : And my last question on this matter is: If Israel told the blue helmets to get out of the area, that probably means that they weren't dropping rose petals. It probably means that it was potentially something that is not healthy either to the environment or to a person. Do you agree with that statement? Spokesman : Well, we're testing it for... you know, we were not going to take chances on the safety of our peacekeepers. We're assisting the Lebanese Armed Forces in testing the material for toxicity. Yes, monsieur? Question : What's the stated purpose of the chemicals? Do we know? Spokesman : No, we don't know. As soon as we know what that is, or at least we have the analysis on the Lebanese Armed Forces, hopefully, we'll be able to share that with you. Question : Okay. And a quick follow-up on the financial situation of the UN. What is the Secretary-General making of President [Donald J.] Trump's comments to Politico over the weekend, that if the UN reaches out to him, he would be helping getting all the Member States to pay up? And also, he praised the UN as having a tremendous potential. So, what are you making of these comments? How would... Spokesman : We've seen them and appreciate the comments from President Trump, saying we have tremendous potential. I think as the Secretary-General said, we're working with the US on a number of issues. As for the payments, I mean, it's not a complicated solution. The solution is those who owe money should pay that money according to their treaty obligations. Linda, then Pam. Question : Thank you, Steph. My question is you mentioned that there should be some change; you're implying that there should be a change in some of the financial procedures that are hamstringing the UN. Who takes the lead on that? Is that the General Assembly? Spokesman : Yeah, I mean, the Secretary-General has proposed it, has mentioned it for quite a few times. If you'll remember, when he came into office, the UN hit the budget cycle the UN was a two-year budget, right, which was difficult, not the right way to do business for a modern organization. The Member States went along with his recommendation to move it to one year. He's made a number of recommendations which Member States have not moved on. And this one, I think, is outlined in the letter and is outlined in in his remarks to the GA, especially on budgetary issues, is really critical to get us out of this Kafkaesque situation, as you mentioned it. Question : So, is it the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) that has to be...? Spokesman : Well, it goes through the Fifth Committee, but it's the Member States as a whole. Yeah. Yep. Pam? Question : Steph, there are credible reports that, the US has asked Iran to restart talks, and there's some help from Turkiye, Egypt and Qatar to do that. Do you foresee, and is your sense that this would be totally separate from JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action]? And are you hearing anything about JCPOA? Spokesman : I mean, it's not a judgment for me to make. We, of course support any efforts to defuse tensions, especially tensions in that region through engaged dialogue. Question : And so, the UN is not in any way involved? Spokesman : We are always ready to support any efforts to diplomacy. Yes, sir. And then Yvonne. Question : Thank you, Stephane. I have two questions, both about the DOJ [United States Department of Justice] release of the [Jeffrey] Epstein files. A number of prominent Norwegian officials who were tied to the UN were mentioned in the files, the Crown Princess of Norway, who has been a UN goodwill ambassador; Mona Juul, who was the Permanent Representative for Norway here and member of the Security Council; and Terje [Roed] Larsen, who was a special envoy for many years. Does the UN have any comment on that? Spokesman : Look. I think for us, the most important thing is that justice be done for the women who were abused by Jeffrey Epstein and the people around him. Mr. Larsen no longer works for the United Nations and has not for some time. So, I have no specific comment on that. As for the ambassador, the former Permanent Representative of Norway, it's not for us to comment. Yvonne, sorry. Go ahead. Question : Yeah. And, also, there was another exchange between the Head of the World Economic Forum, Borge Brende, and Jeffrey Epstein, where they discussed the UN, and Epstein said Davos can really replace the UN, and Brende responded, "Exactly. We need a new global architecture." Does the UN agree that Davos can really replace the UN? Spokesman : No. Yvonne Murray, RTE. Question : Thanks, Steph. You didn't really answer Edie's question about the reaction from the Member States, the response to the SG's letter. Can you give us a few more details? Spokesman : No. I mean, listen... Let me put it this way. The Secretary-General has been very clear on the budgetary crisis for some time with Member States. I think he went beyond in the letter. It was a letter meant to, if I put it diplomatically, to raise awareness. It was a letter meant to shake up. Let's see if it has the desired impact. But, I've never seen a letter from a Secretary-General to Member States being so clear in the risks, the fundamental risks to this organization should its Member States, first of all, not live up to the obligations that they signed up to in signing a treaty, and also in not reviewing and adapting the financial rules and regulations to enable this organization to work. Question : So, you think that it's designed to shake things up or shake up, wake up perhaps the Member States. But, is it at risk of appearing like the boy who cried wolf? You know, is he exaggerating about financial collapse in order to shake things up? Spokesman : I don't think, I mean... listen, Yvonne, you've been here for a number of years. You've seen the Secretary-General. When he comes to you, he's pretty plain speaking. He's seeing the numbers, right? He's not sitting on a stash of money trying to get more money. We've seen the job losses. We've seen the job cuts. Though it's not the regular budget, but we've seen the immense cuts on humanitarian development and the reality that nobody was crying wolf, right? Food rations have been cut. You know, service to refugees have been cut. I mean, these are real life and death things, and I think the Secretary-General is saying it as it is. Question : Okay. And so finally on that financial collapse is a very real prospect? Spokesman : I think there is a real prospect of this organization running out of money unless Member States really make the changes they need to make. Alex? Question : Thanks, Steph. I have a question on the Secretary-General's remarks on Thursday, last Thursday, when he said that the principle of self-determination does not apply to the situations of Crimea and Donbas. I mean, we all know where the UN stands on the Russia-Ukraine War. What's wrong with the self-determination principle? Spokesman : I think there's nothing wrong with the self-determination principle. It's a bedrock of the UN, but I think the Secretary-General was very clear, to me at least, in speaking out on the situation in Ukraine and the need to uphold the territorial integrity of Ukraine as outlined, notably in a number of General Assembly resolutions. Yes, Ahmed, behind you. Question : Thank you, Steph. Also on the Rafah Crossing, reports are indicating that only about 50 to 150 Palestinians are being allowed to exit Gaza each day for urgent medical attention despite there being, again, over 20,000 Palestinians in need of urgent lifesaving medical care. That figure, of course, seems very low, so, what's the Secretary-General's immediate reaction to this? Spokesman : I mean, the reaction is what we want to see is Palestinians being allowed to go into Gaza as they wish, Palestinians being able to leave Gaza as they wish, and for both humanitarian and commercial cargo to go in through Rafah. Question : Just for clarification, does the Secretary-General think 50 to 150 out of 20,000 is a low number each day? Spokesman : I mean, it's a low number by any indication. This is the first day, right? So, let's see how things work out. Namo? Question : Thank you, Stephane. I have a couple of follow-ups on Syria. You mentioned multiple convoys of aid have reached Kobani and other north-east cities. Given the scale of displacement and shortages, how sufficient is that? And are there gaps that remain uncovered? Spokesman : We would like to be able to get more aid in, and we keep trying. Our efforts are focusing on that. Question : And lastly, you welcome the agreement between the Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces. Does the UN foresee a formal role, especially in monitoring and observing this agreement, to ensure that commitments are upheld, especially when it comes to civilian protection on the return of the displaced? Spokesman : We do not have a formal role, but, obviously, we will continue to watch the situation very closely and speak out as needed. Yes, Gabriel. And then we'll go Biesan... no. She withdrew her question. Gabriel, please. Question : Just a follow-up, Steph, on Trump's interview with Politico over the weekend. He said, and he was speaking in the third person, he said, if they, meaning the UN, come to Trump, meaning him, and told him, "I'd get everyone to pay up just like I got NATO [North Atlantic Treaty Organization] to pay up. All I have to do is call these countries. They would send checks within minutes." I just give that quote because he's basically asking the SG, give me a call. I'm serious in this question. Why doesn't the SG give them a call? Spokesman : Look, for us, there's no need to discuss what are obligations, right? We continue to speak to the US on a number of issues. The Secretary-General does speak regularly to Ambassador [Michael] Waltz, who's his primary point of contact, notably on budgetary issues. But I said, this is not a complicated advanced calculus problem. It's a pretty basic accounting issue. People owe money; they have obligations. They need to pay it. That's how you solve the problem. On that note, I will solve my problem and leave and get you the ambassador. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Madagascar, Somalia, Syria, Ukraine UNOCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Occupied Palestinian Territory UN calls on more countries to accept Gaza patients for treatment OCHA says the Rafah crossing has reopened. Over the weekend, OCHA, the UN Department of Safety and Security, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator Suzanna Tkalec undertook an advance mission to assess road conditions, and the World Health Organization (WHO) carried out a technical mission to examine the compound area and access roads, to ensure appropriate and dignified conditions. Today, UNDP is set to provide bus transportation for returnees from the internal checkpoint to Nassar hospital in Khan Younis where OCHA - together with several UN and NGO partners - has set up a reception area. A reception desk is staffed with psychologists and protection specialists and equipped with nutrition items, information materials and internet connectivity to provide people returning with immediate support and referrals so that they can access critical services as needed. WFP and the UN Human Rights Office are among those operating the reception desk. Also today, WHO supported medical evacuation efforts from Gaza. The limited re-opening of Rafah allowed some patients and their companions to exit directly to Egypt, while others transited through the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing. WHO tells us that the last medical evacuation through Rafah crossing was in May 2024. OCHA welcomes the re-opening of Rafah. Civilians must be allowed to leave and return voluntarily and safely, as international law requires. Ultimately, essential humanitarian supplies must enter in sufficient quantities and with fewer restrictions through Rafah and other crossings. More than 18,500 patients, including 4,000 children, are still awaiting medical evacuation from Gaza for treatment that is not available locally. The most effective option would be to resume referrals to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and rehabilitate damaged health facilities in Gaza. Until that happens, OCHA calls on Member States to accept more patients so that everyone receives the treatment that they need. Meanwhile, OCHA continues to be concerned over the impact of continued strikes on civilians. Following reports by the Ministry of Health of dozens of casualties over the weekend, OCHA says humanitarian teams are assessing damage and emerging needs among civilians. More than two dozen families had their shelters damaged due to attacks hitting nearby targets. The UN and its partners have provided families with shelter materials and other essential items. *Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Gaza with urgent support. Madagascar Homes damaged, thousand displaced in wake of Cyclone Fytia OCHA reports that Tropical Cyclone Fytia, which passed across the country over the weekend, caused significant flooding and damage, particularly in north-western districts. According to preliminary reports from the authorities, at least seven people died, one person is missing and seven others have been injured. More than 20,000 people have also been displaced. There has been extensive damage to homes, with more than 14,000 houses flooded, damaged or destroyed. Some 250 classrooms have also been damaged or destroyed. Flooding was also reported in the capital, Antananarivo. The Government is leading the response and has deployed several hundred tons of food assistance to affected districts. Humanitarian partners are mobilizing available - though in limited amounts of - pre-positioned stocks to reach accessible areas. Humanitarian partners working on food security report that they currently have no food stocks available to support the response. Access to the most affected districts, notably Soalala and Mitsinjo, remains severely constrained. Both areas are currently accessible only by air. An aerial assessment is planned for tomorrow to determine impact figures and priority needs. Continued rainfall and rough sea conditions are constraining assessments and the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Somalia Half a million people uprooted as drought deepens OCHA reports that severe drought conditions continue to displace people across the country. According to authorities and humanitarian partners, nearly half a million people have now abandoned their homes since September of last year. Families are on the move in search of water, pasture for their livestock and food. This is putting additional pressure on already overcrowded displacement sites. Authorities estimate that more than 4.6 million people - nearly one in four people in Somalia - have been impacted by the drought. The worst-affected areas include the central regions of Galgaduud and Mudug. Education has also been affected, with 150 schools in the northern regions closing or attendance declining as families migrate in search of water and livelihoods. This has forced more than 45,000 students to drop out of class. The UN and its humanitarian partners are providing food, cash, water, health, shelter and nutrition assistance, but are severely constrained by funding shortfalls. The situation is projected to get worse as rains are not expected until April, at the earliest. Widespread crop failure, which would compromise the summer harvest, is anticipated. This year, the UN and its humanitarian partners will need $852 million to support 2.4 million people. *Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Somalia with urgent support. Syria UN continues to deliver aid in northeast Syria as thousands remain displaced OCHA reports that the humanitarian situation in northeast Syria remains fragile despite the suspension of fighting. The UN and its partners have reached more than 150,000 people with humanitarian assistance since fighting broke out in Aleppo in December. Yesterday, a 50-truck UN convoy carrying humanitarian aid from Damascus reached the city of Qamishli in Hasakeh Governorate. It was the third humanitarian convoy to reach the city in the past week. Today, a second convoy consisting of two dozen trucks and one mobile clinic arrived today in the city of Ain Al Arab in Aleppo Governorate to deliver ready-to-eat food, health supplies and fuel. The city continues to face shortages of water, communications, medical supplies and food, among other basic services. Communities are relying on bakeries as the primary source of food. As of 25 January, more than 170,000 people have been forced to flee their homes across 178 communities across the northeast of Syria, mostly in Al-Hasakeh Governorate. The overwhelming majority of these people - more than 90 per cent of them - are women and children, and they face heightened risks of violence and abuse. Nearly three quarters of displaced families are living with host communities, significantly straining limited housing and water supplies, as well as basic services and livelihoods. While some people have returned to their communities, many displaced families are unable to move back to their homes due to explosive ordnances, damaged infrastructure, winter conditions and limited access to basic services. *Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Syria with urgent support. Ukraine Dozens killed in attacks as extreme cold batters Ukraine OCHA says that new attacks over the weekend killed more civilians and triggered further disruptions of electricity and heating as temperatures dropped to -26C, or -15F, in some regions. Between 30 January and this morning, some 30 civilians were killed and around 90 injured, mainly in the regions of Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Donetsk. That's according to local authorities. Yesterday, in the region of Dnipro, drone strikes hit a bus carrying coal miners, killing over a dozen and injuring as many others. Also yesterday, the World Health Organization reported that attacks in the city of Zaporizhzhia damaged three health facilities, including a maternity hospital supported by the UN Population Fund, injuring staff and a patient. The hospital suffered major damage, and the patients were relocated. Central, western and southern regions, including the capital, were hit by a massive blackout, which also affected heating and water supply, due to technical failures of the strained energy system, severe weather and resumed attacks on energy facilities, according to the Energy Ministry. Aid workers provided emergency shelter and protection assistance in the regions of Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro and supported heating centres across the country where people can warm up, have hot meals and charge their devices. Edem Wosornu, OCHA's Crisis Response Director, is currently in Ukraine. Yesterday, she visited Odesa and Mykolaiv to discuss humanitarian priorities, including winter assistance amid continued attacks on critical infrastructure, with humanitarian partners and regional authorities. *Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Ukraine with urgent support. Posted on 2 February 2026 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Press Conference by Security Council President on Work Programme for February Press Conference Security Council 2 February 2026 The Security Council's February programme will target three conflicts severely impacting international peace and security namely those in Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine its President for the month told correspondents at a Headquarters press conference today. "Our aim for the month is to run a constructive, transparent presidency, tightly focused on the Council's core role in ensuring the maintenance of international peace and security," said James Kariuki (United Kingdom), whose country holds the 15-member organ's rotating presidency for February. "On Ukraine, we are closer to peace than ever before," he said, noting that talks between the parties are ongoing with facilitation by the United States. Speaking in his national capacity, he said Ukraine has demonstrated that it is the party of peace, while the Russian Federation continues to block progress and attack both Ukrainian civilians and civilian energy infrastructure, plunging everyday people into cold and darkness in the depths of winter. "We will not stand idly by," he said, noting that the United Kingdom intends to call a meeting on Ukraine on 24 February to mark the fourth anniversary of the war in the country, to be chaired by Foreign Minister for Europe and the United States, Stephen Doughty. "The brutal conflict and humanitarian disaster in Sudan remains an urgent priority," he continued. "That is why we will use our presidency this month, and the mandated Council meeting on Sudan on [19 February], to focus on the desperate need to alleviate suffering, protect civilians and end the catastrophic fighting." He said Minister for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Yvette Cooper is expected to chair that meeting. Turning to the Gaza Strip, Mr. Kariuki voiced the United Kingdom's strong support for United States President Donald J. Trump's 20-point plan for Gaza, which achieved a ceasefire and has accelerated the entry of significantly more humanitarian aid into Gaza. Underlining the need to move that plan forward into its next phases, he welcomed today's opening of the Rafah Crossing from Egypt for people travelling on foot. "But, this is not enough," he stressed. "Rafah and all crossing must be fully opened for humanitarian aid to enter at scale." In that context, the Council's February monthly meeting on the question of Palestine will address aid delivery, the ceasefire plan's implementation and other critical issues, including the deteriorating conditions in the West Bank. In addition to the ministerial-level meetings already mentioned, he said, the United Kingdom's Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Chris Elmore, is expected to chair the month's first meeting on counter-terrorism, on 4 February. The Council's annual police commissioners' meeting will take place on 5 February, and mandated meetings will be held on Yemen and the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA). He said the presidency also plans to hold media stakeouts ahead of the Council's Syria meeting, on 13 February, and its Libya meeting, on 18 February. Mr. Kariuki responded to several questions from members of the UN Correspondents' Association, including one referencing a letter sent by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to all Member States about the UN's possible "financial collapse" if countries do not pay their dues in full. Asked what the Council can do to press for action on that front, Mr. Kariuki recalled that Member States have already agreed to a 15 per cent budget cut to improve the Organization's efficiency. "I don't think it's a matter for the Security Council to have those discussions on financial rules," he said, adding that such matters fall under the purview of the General Assembly. Instead, the Council can do its part by ensuring that it is mandating efficiency and the best "value for money" in all its deployed peace operations. One correspondent, pointing out that hundreds of Palestinian civilians have been killed since a ceasefire was agreed in Gaza and endorsed by the Council in resolution 2803 (2025), asked whether Council members have any role to play in ensuring the agreement's implementation. "We have been very clear that everybody must fulfil their commitments under the ceasefire," Mr. Kariuki stressed. "We are now hopefully moving into phase two," he said, citing the withdrawal of Israel from Gaza as one important upcoming step in the agreement's implementation. Asked for details about the Council's planned meeting on Syria on 13 February, he recalled that the organ held its historic first visit to Damascus in December 2025 and met with a range of women's groups, civil society organizations and minority community representatives. The Council committed to supporting reconstruction efforts, he said, noting that its on-the-ground conversations will guide the meeting this month. "One of the things we will talk about is how we build [an] inclusive Syria," he said. Mr. Kariuki responded to a question about the Council's visit to Lebanon, held during the same December 2025 mission, and members' views on Israel's continued violations of Lebanon's sovereignty. He replied that the Council met with the Lebanese Government's team tasked with coordination and deconfliction, which reported a positive increase in contact and cooperation with its Israeli counterparts. "This is a good thing," he said, while acknowledging: "We are still not where we need to be." Mr. Kariuki also responded to a range of questions in his national capacity, including about the ongoing Ukraine war peace talks, the impact of a reported new bilateral trade agreement between the United States and India, a reported fresh round of nuclear talks between the United States and Iran, and a Sudan humanitarian aid conference slated to be convened on 3 February. At the meeting's outset, he condemned the terror attack in Balochistan, Pakistan, over the weekend, adding: "The Council is considering its response to these attacks." For the full programme of work, please see: https://main.un.org/securitycouncil/en/content/programme-work. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address New Zealand and Germany strengthen partnership Beehive.govt.nz - The official website of the New Zealand Government 3 February 2026 Rt Hon Winston Peters Foreign Affairs New Zealand and Germany have agreed to strengthen their strategic partnership, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. "New Zealand and Germany share deep concerns about global developments across Europe, the Middle East and the Indo Pacific," Mr Peters, who met his German counterpart Johann Wadephul in the Bay of Islands today, says. "At a time of geostrategic upheaval, it is important to reinforce relationships with trusted partners." Following their meeting, Ministers Peters and Wadephul released a Joint Statement reaffirming the importance of the New Zealand-Germany relationship. "The foundation of our relationship with Germany is our shared interests and values, including commitment to democracy, human rights and a well-functioning and fit-for-purpose multilateral system," Mr Peters says. "The world's challenges are inter-connected, which is why New Zealand is so committed to doing its part in defending Ukraine, and why Germany is increasing its support for the Pacific. The current strength of the German-New Zealand relationship provides a solid foundation for even deeper collaboration in the years to come. "German connections matter to New Zealand. Within Europe it is our largest export market. We partner together on cutting edge science and space research. We welcome German tourists and young people on working holidays, and have strong education links," Mr Peters says. The Ministers also issued a Joint Statement on Antarctic Cooperation. "We both support the work of the Antarctic Treaty System for the long-term protection of Antarctica as a natural reserve devoted to peace and science," Mr Peters says. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russo-Ukraine War - 02 February 2026 - Day 1440 Su M Tu W Th F Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While GlobalSecurity.org takes utmost care to accurately report this news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos. On 24 February 2022, Ukraine was suddenly and deliberately attacked by land, naval and air forces of Russia, igniting the largest European war since the Great Patriotic War. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" (SVO - spetsialnaya voennaya operatsiya) in Ukraine in response to the appeal of the leaders of the "Donbass republics" for help. That attack is a blatant violation of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. Putin stressed that Moscow's goal is the demilitarization and denazification of the country. The military buildup in preceeding months makes it obvious that the unprovoked and dastardly Russian attack was deliberately planned long in advance. During the intervening time, the Russian government had deliberately sought to deceive the world by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace. "To initiate a war of aggression... is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole." [Judgment of the International Military Tribunal] The French Ministere des Armees et des Anciens combattants reported that on the ground: The pace of operations has slowed due to extreme weather conditions. The same phenomenon was observed in January 2025. The AFU's main effort is focused on outflanking the city of Kupiansk and the Sumy sector. Along the entire length of the front, both sides are conducting opportunistic attacks to seize pockets of terrain, but territorial gains remain very limited. More in depth: The AFU have continued to target the same oblasts as in previous days, particularly the urban agglomerations in eastern Ukraine. The Russian Armed Forces have targeted military-interest objectives in the oblasts of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Bryansk (350 km southwest of Moscow). The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that the Defense Forces are directing efforts to disrupt the execution of Russian invaders' offensive plans and exhaust their combat potential. Since the beginning of the day, there have been 147 combat clashes. The Russian opponent made 60 air strikes, dropped 150 controlled air bombs. In addition, used 5,199 kamikaze drones and carried out 2,860 shelling of settlements and positions of Ukrainian troops. In the Northern Slobozhansky and Kursky directions today Ukrainian soldiers repelled one Russian attack. The Russian enemy launched one airstrike, dropped four controlled air bombs, carried out 99 shelling of the positions of Ukrainian troops and settlements, including five - from the reactive systems of open fire. In the South Slobozhansky direction, the Russian enemy attacked the positions of Ukrainian units in the areas of the settlements of Vovchansk, Dvorichanske and towards the settlements of Prylipka, Kutkivka, Figolivka. Ukrainian units repelled nine attacks. Four attacks were repelled by Ukrainian defenders in the Kupyansky direction in the area of the settlement Zagrizove and in the direction of Kurylivka, Petropavlivka, Pi any. Another battle is currently underway. In the Lyman direction, Ukrainian soldiers stopped seven attacks in the areas of the settlements Serednye, Novoselivka, Zarichne and in the direction of Drobishevo, Stavkiv, Dibrova. Two clashes are underway. In the Slavic direction, Ukrainian defenders repelled 12 Russian attempts to advance, in the area of the settlement of Dronivka and towards Kalenyik, Rai-Oleksandrivka, Platonivka, Zakitnogo. In the direction of Kramators komu, the Russian opponent made one attack in the direction of the settlement Chervone, received a detachment. In the Konstantinivsky direction, the Russian occupiers today stormed the positions of Ukrainian defenders 11 times near the settlements of Pleshiyivka, Cherbinivka, Rusin Yar and towards Stepanivka, Novopalivka, Nikolaypillya, Sofiyivka. Russian forces committed 39 attacks in the Pokrovsky direction. The Russian occupiers tried to advance near the settlements Rodinske, Mirnograd, Kotline, Udaachne, Molodetske, Svitle and towards the settlements Bilitske, Novooleksandrivka, Novopidgorodne, Novopavlivka, Shevchenko, Grishine. Fights are still going on in some locations. According to preliminary estimates, today in this direction Ukrainian soldiers have eliminated 43 Russian invaders and wounded 23; destroyed 70 unmanned aircraft, five car transport units, three ground robotic complexes, two special equipment units, also hit three artillery systems, a radio station, a heavy vehicle unit, six vehicle equipment units and fifteen cover ups of the Russian opponent's personnel. In the Oleksandrivsky direction, Ukrainian units stopped four Russian attacks in the area of Yehorivka, Zlagoda and towards Ostapivsky. In the Gulyaipil direction, 18 Russian attacks took place - in the area of Gulyaipol, Dorozhnyanka and in the direction of Svyatopetrivka, Zaliznynyny, Dobropillya, Zelenoy. Air strikes controlled by air bombs were suffered by Zaliznycne, Forest, Girke, Kopani, Valley, Vozdvizhivka, Barvinivka. In the Orihiv direction, the Russian enemy attacked the positions of Ukrainian defenders in the Primorsky area. In the Pridniprovsk direction, the Defense Forces repelled a Russian attack in the direction of the Antonivsky Bridge. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation. The Sever Group of Forces inflicted fire damage on a mechanised brigade and a territorial defence brigade near Terny (Sumy region) and Sumy. In Kharkov direction, Russian troops hit a mechanised brigade and a motorised infantry brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, a territorial defence brigade, a national guard brigade, and a Ukrainian border service detachment near Revolyutsionnoye, Zybino, and Nesternoye (Kharkov region). The AFU losses amounted to up to 250 troops, an armoured fighting vehicle, 14 motor vehicles, and two artillery guns. Five materiel depots have been neutralised. The Zapad Group of Forces improved the tactical situation. Five mechanised brigades, an assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and two national guard brigades have been hit near Krasny Liman (Donetsk People's Republic), Kutkovka, Palamarevka, Petrovka, Grushevka, Osadkovka, and Novoplatonovka (Kharkov region). The enemy losses amounted to over 150 troops, an armoured fighting vehicle, 15 motor vehicles, and two artillery guns. Four ammunition depots were destroyed. The Yug Group of Forces took more advantageous lines and positions. Russian elements engaged three mechanised brigades, a motorised infantry brigade, an airmobile brigade, an assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and a territorial defence brigade near Slavyansk, Kramatorsk, Stepanovka, Lipovka, Nikiforovka, and Konstantinovka (Donetsk People's Republic). The AFU losses amounted to up to 180 troops, a tank, four armoured fighting vehicles, 13 motor vehicles, and two materiel depots. The Tsentr Group of Forces improved the situation along the front line. Strikes were delivered at five mechanised brigades, a jaeger brigade, two airmobile brigades, an air assault brigade, an assault regiment of the AFU, a marine brigade, a territorial defence brigade, and four national guard brigades near Belitskoye, Grishino, Svyatogorovka, Krasnoyarskoye (Donetsk People's Republic), Novopavlovka, and Novopodgorodnoye (Dnepropetrovsk region). The AFU losses amounted to more than 410 troops, an armoured fighting vehicle, and five motor vehicles. The Vostok Group of Forces advanced to the depths of the enemy's defence. Moreover, as a result of resolute actions, Russian troops liberated Pridorozhnoye (Zaporozhye region). Strikes were delivered at formations of two mechanised brigades, an assault brigade, three assault regiments of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and a territorial defence brigade near Barvinovka, Vozdvizhevka, Boykovo, Zarnitsa (Zaporozhye region), and Kommunarovka (Dnepropetrovsk region). The enemy lost more than 320 troops, 12 motor vehicles, a Grad MLRS and an artillery gun. One materiel depot was destroyed. The Dnepr Group of Forces inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of a mountain assault brigade of the AFU and a coastal defence brigade near Zapasnoye, Veselyanka (Zaporozhye region), and Nikolskoye (Kherson region). Up to 45 troops, six motor vehicles, and one electronic warfare station were neutralised. Operational-Tactical Aviation, attack drones, missile troops and artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces have inflicted damage on transport infrastructure facilities used for the interests of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, ammunition depots, unmanned aerial vehicles depots, command and control posts, and temporary deployment points of Ukrainian armed formations and foreign mercenaries in 147 areas. Three U.S.-made HIMARS MLRS launchers as well as three S-300 anti-aircraft missile launchers were neutralised. Air defence systems shot down four guided aerial bombs, five HIMARS MLRS projectiles, and 202 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles. In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, the enemy has lost 670 aircraft, 283 helicopters, 111,977 unmanned aerial vehicles, 649 anti-aircraft missile systems, 27,445 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,657 MLRS combat vehicles, 33,006 field artillery guns and mortars, and 53,475 support military vehicles. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Two Year Prison Sentence for Woman Who Laundered Over $20M Dollars Monday, February 2, 2026 For Immediate Release Office of Public Affairs A New York woman was sentenced today to two years in prison for her involvement in a Chinese money laundering scheme. According to court documents, Rui Fang Yu, 40, of New York City, laundered over $20 million in proceeds from drug trafficking. Yu accepted large amounts of cash from co-conspirators involved in the laundering of drug proceeds, including from the sale of heroin and cocaine by a drug trafficking organization in the United States linked to a Mexican cartel. Yu used her position as an accountant at an airline ticket consolidator in Flushing, Queens, to launder these proceeds through her employer's bank accounts. This complex scheme used trade-based money laundering to conceal drug proceeds through business transactions ostensibly made to purchase airline tickets. Ultimately, Yu and the co-conspirators facilitated the laundering of these funds to accounts controlled by co-conspirators in the United States and China. In August 2025, Yu pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and FBI investigated the case. Trial Attorneys Emily Cohen and Chelsea Rooney of the Criminal Division's Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew Wang and Robert Pollack for the Eastern District of New York prosecuted the case. The Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section's (MNF) mission is to take the profit out of crime, eliminate drug cartels, and protect the U.S. financial system. MNF pursues criminal prosecutions and criminal and civil asset recovery actions involving: financial facilitators who conceal profits for criminals; financial institutions and their officers and employees who violate money laundering, Bank Secrecy Act, and sanctions laws; international money launderers who support transnational organized crime; and the top command and control of international drug trafficking organizations. Topic: Drug Trafficking Components: Criminal Division Criminal - Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) USAO - New York, Eastern Press Release Number: 26-93 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Prime Minister Carney speaks with Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen Prime Minister of Canada - Mark Carney February 2, 2026 Ottawa, Ontario Today, the Prime Minister, Mark Carney, spoke with the Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen. Prime Minister Carney and Prime Minister Frederiksen reaffirmed their support for the fundamental principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity, and reiterated that decisions on the future of Greenland are for Greenland and Denmark alone to make. The leaders discussed their ongoing work to strengthen Arctic security in Canada, Denmark, and across the region, including through NATO. Prime Minister Carney outlined Canada's ambitious mission to increase investments in Arctic security, economic growth, and infrastructure, and opportunities to deepen cooperation with the Nordic Baltic Eight and other partners in the region. The prime ministers reiterated their enduring support for Ukraine against Russian aggression and agreed on the imperative of achieving a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, backed by robust security guarantees. Prime Minister Carney and Prime Minister Frederiksen agreed to remain in close contact. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China, Russia to build a more just, equitable global governance system, says Chinese FM addressing question of what new breakthroughs to make with Russia this year Global Times By Global Times Published: Feb 02, 2026 04:29 PM In the face of the current volatile and intertwined international landscape, China and Russia, as world's major countries and permanent members of the UN Security Council, will practice true multilateralism, uphold the international system centered on the United Nations, advocate for an equal and orderly multipolar world as well as inclusive and universally beneficial economic globalization, and work to build a more just and equitable global governance system, stated Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian on Monday, in response to a question regarding the meeting between Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, and Secretary of the Russian Federation Security Council Sergei Shoigu in Beijing on Sunday. The journalist noted that Wang expressed China's willingness to "advance China-Russia relations to make new progress in the new year," asking the Chinese spokesperson to elaborate on in which areas China hopes to achieve new breakthroughs with Russia this year. "Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, held strategic communication in Beijing with Secretary of the Russian Federation Security Council Sergei Shoigu. China has issued a press release on this meeting, which you may refer to," Lin stated. Lin said that China and Russia are comprehensive strategic partners of coordination for a new era. The two sides have maintained close communication on major issues concerning bilateral relations and have supported each other on issues involving their respective core interests, which is conducive to safeguarding the respective and shared interests of both countries. In the face of the current volatile and intertwined international landscape, China and Russia, as major countries and permanent members of the UN Security Council, will practice true multilateralism, uphold the international system centered on the United Nations, advocate for an equal and orderly multipolar world as well as inclusive and universally beneficial economic globalization, and work to build a more just and equitable global governance system, stated Lin. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China will firmly protect rights and interests of its companies: FM on reports of Danish company taking over operation of Panama ports Global Times By Chu Daye Published: Feb 02, 2026 04:20 PM Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Monday that China will firmly protect the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies, when asked to comment on the statement by Danish shipping company Maersk that it is willing to assume temporary management of the two ports in Panama operated by CK Hutchison, following Panama's Supreme Court ruling that CK Hutchison's concession is unconstitutional. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin emphasized at a routine press conference on Monday that "we've made clear China's position on relevant ports in Panama." Panama has appointed a unit of Danish firm Maersk to temporarily run two strategic ports previously operated by CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd, domestic news portal caixinglobal.com reported on Monday. The remarks were the second comments by China's Foreign Ministry within days over the question concerning the operation of the Panama terminals. On Friday, ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said that China will take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese enterprises. Zhou Zhiwei, an expert on Latin American studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that the repeated statements by China's foreign ministry over the operation rights of the Panama ports have clearly highlighted China's resolution to safeguard its legitimate and lawful interests. "China's economic and trade cooperation with countries in the region are based on market principles and protected by laws, as such, China will resolutely protect its interests," Zhou said, noting that this is a clear signal to related countries, including the US, which has designs on Latin American waterways. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government also expressed strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to the ruling of Panama's Supreme Court on Friday. A government spokesperson said the HKSAR government strongly opposes any foreign government's use of coercion, pressure or other unreasonable means in international economic and trade relations, stressing that such actions seriously undermine the lawful business operations and legitimate rights of Hong Kong enterprises in the locality. Such moves will also severely damage the local business environment, inevitably shake investor confidence, and harm bilateral relations as well as the long-term economic development of both sides, the spokesperson said. CK Hutchison Holdings made a statement issued on January 29 in Panama about the ruling on the Panama Ports Company (PPC), the local subsidiary of CK Hutchison. It said the new ruling, based on available information, lacks legal basis and jeopardizes not only PPC and its contract, but also the well-being and stability of thousands of Panamanian families who depend directly and indirectly on port activity, as well as the rule of law and legal certainty in the country. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian's Regular Press Conference on February 2, 2026 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China Updated: February 02, 2026 20:30 At the invitation of the Spanish government, State Councilor Shen Yiqin will visit Spain from February 4 to 5. She will attend upon invitation the opening ceremony of the XXV Olympic Winter Games on February 6 and other events in Milan, Italy. Yonhap News Agency: It was reported that during this year's Spring Festival, the top destination for Chinese outbound tourism will be the ROK. The "Korean Wave" and the ROK's visa-free policy is believed to have played a role in this. What is China's view? Lin Jian: Great efforts in increasingly facilitating cross-border travel enhance mutual understanding and exchanges between the Chinese and ROK people. China also welcomes more friends from the ROK to visit China and celebrate the Spring Festival here. AFP: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu when they met yesterday that bilateral relations could break new ground this year. Can the Foreign Ministry elaborate on the kind of areas that China is hoping to break new ground in with Russia this year? Lin Jian: On February 1, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi had strategic communication with Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu in Beijing. China released a readout, which you may refer to. China and Russia are comprehensive strategic partners of coordination for a new era. The two sides have maintained close communication on major issues concerning bilateral relations, supported each other on issues related to each other's core interests, and protected respective and common interests of the two countries. Facing the current turbulent and changing international landscape, China and Russia, as two major countries and permanent members of the UN Security Council, will practice true multilateralism, uphold the UN-centered international system, call for an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, and promote the building of a more just and equitable global governance system. China News Service: Recently, when entering the U.S., staff of a Chinese company were wrongfully interrogated and detained for close to 60 hours before repatriation. What's the Foreign Ministry's comment? Lin Jian: Recently, the U.S. law enforcement authorities have more than once interrogated and detained multiple Chinese companies staff for a long time before repatriating them without any just cause. Such harsh law enforcement actions severely violate the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese nationals, dampen the atmosphere for sound business cooperation and people-to-people exchanges and are diametrically opposed to the two presidents' agreement in Busan to strengthen business cooperation. China deplores and firmly opposes these moves. The U.S. side should take China's concerns seriously. We call on the U.S. law enforcement authorities to immediately stop the wrongdoings, stop wrongfully interrogating Chinese businesspeople, faithfully act on the important common understandings reached between the two presidents, and not disrupt the normal friendly exchanges between Chinese and Americans. China will continue to take resolute measures to firmly protect the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese nationals. Reuters: Danish shipping group Maersk said over the weekend it is willing to assume temporary management of the two port terminals in Panama operated by CK Hutchison, following Panama's Supreme Court ruling that CK Hutchison's concession is unconstitutional. How do you view Maersk's comment on this? Lin Jian: We've made clear China's position on relevant ports in Panama. China will firmly safeguard the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies. Shenzhen TV: Today marks the 30th World Wetlands Day and this year's theme is "Wetlands and traditional knowledge: Celebrating cultural heritage." China ranks among the top in the world in terms of wetlands area and its achievements in wetlands conservation in recent years have been widely recognized. Can I have your comment on that? Lin Jian: Wetland, forest and ocean are the three major ecosystems on Earth and are vital for human beings to survive and thrive. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, China has been advocating that clear waters and green mountains are as valuable as gold and silver, and has achieved historical results in wetlands conservation and restoration. China's wetlands are the largest in Asia and the fourth biggest in the world, and has the largest number of Chinese cities accredited as international wetland cities. China, as a contracting party to the Convention on Wetlands, is an important participant, contributor and pace-setter in global wetlands conservation and restoration. The International Mangrove Center was established under China's proposal, with the number of intended member countries increasing to 20. China has carried out international cooperation on knowledge sharing of mangrove protection in Southeast Asia, Africa and other parts of the world, and provided policy-making, technical and management training for Global South countries by hosting international workshops on mangrove conservation and restoration. China also won global honors for its ecological and environmental protection effort, such as the Champions of the Earth Award and the World BioProtection Award. China's green development philosophy and practices received international recognition and credit. Protecting wetlands and tackling climate change remains a long-term, arduous task, and is a shared responsibility of the international community. Going forward, China will stay committed to the Chinese modernization of harmony between humanity and nature, firmly support and participate in global ecological governance and work with other parties in building a community of all life on Earth. AFP: Chinese media reports said today that four people who have been involved in scam operations and criminal gangs in Myanmar, including members of the Bai family have been executed. This comes after China executed 11 people, including members of the Ming family last month for similar crimes. Can the Foreign Ministry provide any comment on what this shows about China's efforts to clamp down on the scam centers in Myanmar? Lin Jian: We've answered related questions before. Competent authorities have also released information. For some time, China has worked actively with Myanmar and other countries in fighting cross-border telecom and online fraud to jointly eradicate the scourge of online gambling and telecom fraud, protect the safety of the people and their property, and uphold the order of exchanges and cooperation between regional countries. The efforts have achieved good results. China will continue to deepen international law enforcement cooperation, step up effort to fight telecom fraud, online gambling and other related cross-border criminal activities, and jointly eliminate such crimes. Reuters: U.S. President Trump said on Saturday that he welcomed China making a deal with the U.S. to buy Venezuelan oil. Is China currently in talks with the U.S. over Venezuelan oil or about Venezuela's outstanding debts to China? Lin Jian: China noted relevant reports. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia slams 'unacceptable' US pressure on Cuba as Trump seeks oil cutoff Iran Press TV Monday, 02 February 2026 6:54 PM Russia has denounced the United States' "unacceptable" economic and military pressure on Cuba as the administration of US President Donald Trump moves to cut off oil shipments to the Caribbean country. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made the remarks on Monday during a telephone conversation with his Cuban counterpart, Bruno Rodriguez. Lavrov said that the disruption of energy supplies to the island nation "threatens to seriously worsen the economic and humanitarian situation" there. He also reiterated Moscow's "firm commitment to continue providing Cuba with the necessary political and material support." Similarly on January 31, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova strongly condemned "illegitimate restrictive measures" on Cuba, saying Moscow is confident that Havana will maintain economic ties despite "external obstacles". The comments came two days after Trump signed an executive order threatening to impose tariffs on the countries that send oil to Cuba. In it, he declared a "national emergency" over what he called the "unusual and extraordinary threat" posed by Cuba. A week earlier, Trump wrote in a Truth Social post, "THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA - ZERO!" The Trump administration has been ratcheting up pressure on Cuba since it kidnapped the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whose country was a crucial source for oil exports to Cuba. The Cuban government has accused Trump of seeking to strangle the country's economy, which is already suffering from fuel shortages and blackouts caused by more than six decades of unilateral US sanctions. On January 30, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said In an X post that Trump sought to "suffocate" the island's economy and that the tariffs revealed the "fascist, criminal, and genocidal nature of a clique that has hijacked the interests of the American people for purely personal gain". Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum warned that Trump's threat of new tariffs would set off a "humanitarian crisis of great scope" in Cuba. Penalizing countries for exporting oil to Cuba would directly affect hospitals, food and other basic services for the nation, "a situation that must be avoided through respect for international law and dialogue," she added. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address 12th India - Norway Foreign Office Consultations (February 02, 2026) India - Ministry of External Affairs February 02, 2026 The 12th Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) between India and Norway were held in Oslo on 2 February 2026. The Indian side was led by Shri Sibi George, Secretary (West), Ministry of External Affairs and the Norwegian side was led by Mr. Torgeir Larsen, Secretary General, Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Secretary (West) also held a meeting with Ms. Ragnhild Sjoner Syrstad, State Secretary, Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry and discussed deepening economic ties between the two countries. 2. During the FOC, both sides reviewed the progress in the India-Norway bilateral relationship, and reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthen the cooperation in the areas of mutual interest such as political engagements, trade & investment, blue economy including maritime matters & shipping, circular economy & renewable energy, education, science & technology, AI, space and the Arctic. India remains committed to further strengthening its ties with Norway and the overall Nordic region. 3. They underscored that the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) between India European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which came into force on 1 October 2025, is going to drive the India-Norway trade, technology and investment partnership. 4. Discussions were also held on multilateral cooperation, including in the UN. The two sides also exchanged views on regional and international developments of mutual interests. They highlighted the importance of multilateral engagements and continued dialogue on global challenges. 5. During his visit to Oslo, Secretary (West) also interacted with the vibrant Indian community in Oslo and appreciated their contributions in strengthening India-Norway ties. 6. Both sides agreed to continue regular consultations and to hold the next round of Foreign Office Consultations at a mutually convenient date in New Delhi. Oslo February 02, 2026 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Threats can be resisted through comprehensive preparedness: Army official IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Feb 2, 2026 Tehran, IRNA -- Deputy Commander of the Iranian Army's Ground Force for Coordination, said the country can withstand external threats through comprehensive preparedness and adherence to the leadership's guidelines. Brigadier General Yousef Qorbani made the remarks while addressing cadets at Imam Ali Officers' University in Tehran on Monday. He elaborated on the Army's sacrifices made during the Sacred Defense, an eight-year era during which Iran defended its soil in the war with Iraq's toppled Saddam Hossein's regime in the 1980s. Qorbani said that the threats currently faced by Iran may have changed compared to that period, but the nature of hostilities is the same. "Although the threats ahead have changed compared with the Sacred Defense era, the nature of hostilities have remained the same. Only by preserving a revolutionary spirit, enhancing awareness, maintaining comprehensive readiness, and adhering to leadership can these threats be confronted," he said. The army official advised the cadets to work hard to be fully prepared to play key roles in defending the country. 4194**9417 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran fully prepared to give vengeful blow to aggressor: Top general IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Feb 2, 2026 Tehran, IRNA -- Chairman of the Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi says the Islamic Republic is fully prepared to confront and give a revengeful blow to the enemy, in case of any military mischief against the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity. General Mousavi issued the warning during an inspection of the combat readiness of one of the armed forces units on Sunday night. Stating that the escalation in the region will have grave consequences for the US and its allies, he emphasized that the Iranian forces only think of victory, without any fear of the enemy's rumbling and apparent arrogance. According to him, the Iranian nation, with its firmness against America's arrogant and aggressive nature has inflicted successive defeats on the aggressor, including in the recent complex, multifaceted and terrorist war launched by the US and the Israeli regime. The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces noted that Iran has proven over 47 years that it cannot be swallowed and suffocated, adding that those who have been blowing the trumpet for several months and promoting the proposition of a "weak Iran" are now forced to either retract their words or receive a slap from Iranian power. He also hailed the Iranian people and security forces for thwarting the twenty-year Deash-type plan of the United States and Israel, warning that the enemies, especially the US, should know that the motivation of Iranian armed forces has never been the same as it is today and that the slightest mistake will open their hands to action. A powerful and vast Iran is an unencumbered country, and its action, relying on the resilient nation and the powerful and prepared armed forces, will be swift, decisive, and free from US calculations, General Mousavi added. 4399**7129 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Tehran weighs resuming indirect talks with US: Foreign Ministry spokesperson IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Feb 2, 2026 Tehran, IRNA -- Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei has said the Islamic Republic is currently reviewing various aspects of efforts to resume indirect negotiations with the United States, noting that concerned regional countries are playing a constructive mediating role, while some European states are instead contributing to heightened tensions. Speaking at a weekly press conference, Baqaei said on Monday that over the past week, the United States and the Israeli regime have continued their destabilizing actions in the region. Meanwhile, Iran's diplomatic apparatus, maintaining a serious and responsible approach, has pursued efforts to safeguard national interests and regional stability. These include high-level contacts between Iran's president and heads of various states, frequent discussions between the foreign minister and regional counterparts, and recent visits to Turkey and Russia, reflecting Tehran's continuous engagement in protecting its national and regional priorities, he added. Review Underway on Talks Resumption Iran has repeatedly experienced US breaches of commitments, deception, and unfulfilled promises over the past decade, with the most serious instance occurring in June, he said, adding that the hardwon experiences will be factored into all future decisions. There are clear contradictions in Washington's rhetoric and behavior, and threats are incompatible with genuine diplomacy and that US actions in the region amount to persistent violations of fundamental principles of international law, he said, noting that Iran has already demonstrated its seriousness and goodwill in diplomacy, while shortcomings lie with the other side. Interest in talks When asked about alleged links between the US president's renewed interest in talks, Baqaei said such claims remain for the media to discuss. However, evidence indicates the Israeli regime has repeatedly exploited similar scandals to influence policymakers in Western capitals. Diplomacy and National Interests Baqaei stressed Iran's commitment to diplomacy for defending its national interests and safeguarding regional stability. He cited recent high-level communications between Iran's president and regional leaders, and visits to Turkey and Russia, as part of broad efforts to strengthen peaceful engagement. Response to EU's unlawful move Baqaei said all European ambassadors in Tehran were summoned following the EU's illegal and misguided move against the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC). He confirmed additional retaliatory measures are being reviewed, describing the EU's decision as a strategic miscalculation meant to please the US and the Israeli regime. Condemnation of Israeli Crimes He denounced the Israeli regime's intensified attacks on Lebanon and Gaza, calling them blatant violations of international law and ceasefire guarantees. He urged the United Nations and its SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres to assume direct responsibility for preventing the regime's continued impunity. Sanctions relief priority for Iran Baqaei said claims that talks have shifted from sanctions relief to merely preventing war are incorrect. The spokesperson stressed sanctions removal remains Iran's nonnegotiable priority, tied directly to nuclear confidencebuilding and ending unjust economic pressure on the Iranian people. Risks of adventurism against Iran The spokesperson said regional states understand that any threat against Iran would spread instability across the region. He noted ongoing close contacts with Saudi Arabia and warned against media manipulation and thirdparty attempts to exploit regional sensitivities. No change in Iran's drills He also rejected reports of canceled joint or domestic military drills, saying no changes have occurred. Annual naval exercises with China and Russia will continue as planned, while IRGC drills are proceeding normally to maintain readiness and defensive capabilities. IRGC ensures regional security Baqaei dismissed hostile labeling by foreign forces, stressing the IRGC is a formal part of Iran's armed forces. He said it conducts professional, routine drills and plays a central role in maintaining security and stability in the Persian Gulf and Hormuz Strait. Israel behind fragmentation of Islamic nations The spokesperson said the Israeli regime's actions show a clear agenda of division and domination, citing occupations, attacks on regional countries, and Gaza's destruction. He warned that appeasement of Israeli violations will eventually affect Europe and beyond, not just the Islamic world. IAEA must fulfill responsibilities He said the IAEA director general's lack of information on Iran's nuclear facilities stems from Israeli attacks on nuclear sites, not Iranian noncooperation. The spokesman urged the agency to acknowledge aggression, resume suspended duties, and avoid politicization driven by Western misuse of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) mechanisms. Attempts to damage Iran-Turkey ties The spokesperson said IranTurkey relations remain strong and respectful, despite hostile media reports. He praised Ankara's recent role in easing regional tensions and warned that some actors seek to undermine regional cooperation, expressing confidence in Turkey's prudent handling of such narratives. Time key factor in potential talks He further said Iran is reviewing diplomatic options carefully while noting time is crucial. The spokesperson said past talks were sometimes abused, stressing that each day sanctions are lifted or reduced matters, and decisions will reflect both urgency and lessons from previous negotiations. US sanctions prevent trade The spokesperson said the absence of IranUS economic relations results solely from Washington's selfimposed sanctions, not Iran's policies. He noted US law prohibits economic interaction, making sanctions the true barrier to cooperation, including in energy sectors. Strategic ties with China, Russia He said Iran maintains strong strategic partnerships with China and Russia, both UN Security Council members. The spokesperson stressed their responsibility to oppose unlawful use of force, noting ongoing consultations and recent statements by both countries rejecting US coercive actions. Rejecting ultimatums or deadlines Baqaei said Iran has never accepted ultimatums in diplomacy and denied receiving any US deadline. He also rejected reports about seized oil shipments linked to Iran, saying relevant details must be addressed by the Oil Ministry and claims lack a factual basis. Any spark would spread Asked about mixed US signals of threats and calls for talks, the spokesperson said the key response is clear communication. Any conflict would engulf the entire region, he warned, stressing that once fire erupts, it cannot be contained. He added that media and online campaigns portraying regional weakness and pushing the US toward endless war must be exposed, noting their sole purpose is advancing the Israeli regime's interests and fueling instability. Certain actors pushing US to endless wars Baqaei said certain actors are deliberately using disinformation campaigns and false narratives to entangle US decisionmakers in endless wars in West Asia, serving their own agendas rather than regional stability or even Washington's national interests. He stressed these groups disregard both regional and US interests, aiming solely to provoke militarism and insecurity. At the forefront, he said, stands the Israeli regime, alongside warmongering elements in the US and parts of Europe. Fate of enriched uranium Responding to reports about Iran's enriched uranium, he said such issues are decided only within negotiations. Outcomes cannot be predetermined, he stressed, adding that no talks between Iranian and US presidents have been proposed. Iran is realistic not optimistic Asked whether Iran is optimistic about negotiations with the United States, following remarks on preparing negotiating structures, the spokesperson said Tehran's approach is based on realism, not optimism. Iraq's internal affairs Responding to claims about involvement in Iraq's political process, Baqaei said Iraq's internal affairs belong solely to the Iraqi people, who are best placed to decide on their political structures and leadership positions. He warned that foreign interference, particularly recent US actions, is harmful and dangerous, reiterating Iran's call for all regional and international actors to respect Iraq's sovereignty and its lawful domestic political processes. 4208**7129**9417 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Trump pushes Iran to reach nuclear deal amid U.S. military buildup nearby People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 14:05, February 02, 2026 WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that if Iran does not reach a deal over its nuclear program, "we'll find out" whether Iran's supreme leader was correct in predicting that a U.S. attack on the country would spark a regional war. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei earlier warned that any attack on his country would spark a regional conflict, as the United States continues to build up its forces nearby. Commenting on Khamenei's remarks, Trump said the United States has deployed what he described as the world's "biggest, most powerful" naval forces to the region and expressed hope that negotiations would lead to an agreement. "Hopefully we'll make a deal," he said. "We don't make a deal, then we'll find out whether or not he was right," Trump added. Trump said Iran began negotiations with the United States on Saturday. U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matt Whitaker said the same day that Trump has made clear demands of Iran, with the next steps depending on decisions by Iran's leadership. He added that Trump "won't wait forever" for those demands to be met. "The president has been very clear on Iran." In an interview with CNN on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said that a "just, fair, and equitable" nuclear agreement with the United States remains achievable in the short term, provided Washington abandons its policy of coercion. Iran's top security official Ali Larijani had previously said a framework for negotiations was progressing. Tensions have remained high amid increased U.S. military activity in the region. Trump has sent a "massive armada" to Iran. Meanwhile, a U.S. guided-missile destroyer recently made a port call in Eilat, an Israeli port city at the northern tip of the Red Sea. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran, US to hold nuclear talks in Istanbul: Report Iran Press TV Monday, 02 February 2026 6:18 PM Iran and the United States are planning to hold a new round of talks focused on disputes surrounding Tehran's nuclear program, according to a report. The Monday report by Reuters said the talks will be held in the Turkish city of Istanbul on Friday between Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. The report quoted anonymous officials and diplomats from Iran and the US as saying that representatives from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt will also attend the talks, which they said will include bilateral, trilateral, and other meetings. This development came two days after Iran's security chief Ali Larijani said that a framework for nuclear talks between Iran and the US was making progress, dismissing media speculation about a potential US attack on Iran. Larijani's statement was quickly followed by remarks from US President Donald Trump, who said Iran had begun communicating with the US. There was no immediate reaction from Iranian officials to the Reuters report. It came hours after the US-based news website Axios also published a similar story, claiming that Aragchi and Witkoff would meet in Istanbul on Friday. The reports emerged amid growing concerns about a potential military confrontation between Iran and the US, following Washington's increased military presence in the region. Iran has warned that it would respond decisively to even the slightest military action by the United States. Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei warned on Sunday that a regional war would erupt if the US dares to attack Iran. Iranian authorities have rejected previous US demands as conditions for a nuclear deal, including a complete halt to the country's nuclear enrichment program and limits on its missile capability. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran rules out enriched uranium transfer as part of nuclear deal Iran Press TV Monday, 02 February 2026 3:58 PM Iran has dismissed speculation about transferring its enriched uranium to another country as part of any potential nuclear agreement with the United States. Ali Bagheri, the foreign policy head at Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), said on Monday that the country will not negotiate over its enriched uranium stockpiles. "Iranian officials have no intention of transferring enriched nuclear materials to any country, and negotiations do not revolve around such matters at all," Bagheri said. Bagheri served as Iran's deputy foreign minister for three years until May 2024, when he took over as caretaker foreign minister for a three-month period. His comments followed remarks by a senior Russian official, who said Moscow is prepared to help ease rising military tensions between Iran and the US through proposals that could pave the way for a nuclear deal. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Russia had long offered to assist with processing or storing Iran's enriched uranium. "Right now, Russia is continuing its efforts, continuing its contacts with all interested parties, and maintains its readiness to de-escalate tensions around Iran to the best of its ability," Peskov was quoted as saying by Reuters. SNSC chief Ali Larijani said on Saturday that a framework for nuclear talks between Iran and the US was making progress. Larijani's announcement came two days after his visit to Moscow and marked the first such statement amid renewed threats of US military action, as Washington has deployed a flotilla of warships to regional waters. Iranian authorities have rejected the possibility of negotiating with the US under military pressure, warning that any attack on the country would provoke a severe response. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran ready for diplomacy, but not under pressure: Foreign Minister Araghchi Iran Press TV Monday, 02 February 2026 2:28 PM Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Iran has always been ready for talks based on mutual respect, but the Islamic Republic will not negotiate under pressure and intimidation. Araghchi made the remarks on Monday as he and his colleagues at Foreign Ministry renewed their allegiance to the ideals of Imam Khomeini, the late founder of the Islamic Republic, at his mausoleum in southern Tehran. He said the enemies now talk of diplomacy after the failure of both their anti-Iran plots over the past year, including the illegal US-Israeli aggression, and terrorist riots. "Iran has always been ready for diplomacy from an equal footing, with mutual respect, and in pursuit of the interests of the Iranian nation." "Anyone who speaks to the Iranian nation with respect will be met with respect, while anyone who resorts to threats and force will be met likewise, " he said. "Diplomacy is incompatible with pressure, threats, and intimidation, and the Islamic Republic of Iran proceeds along this path with resolve and strength," the foreign minister stated. Araghchi also noted that Iran has always pursued diplomacy alongside resistance. The Foreign Ministry, he said, stands "in the same position" with the Iranian Armed Forces as they are all striving to secure the rights of the people, defend national interests, and preserve the national security. Meanwhile, the foreign minister referred to the unprovoked US-Israeli aggression against Iran that killed at least 1,064 people between June 13 and 27, 2025. He said the enemies waged the war at a time when Tehran was holding indirect talks with Washington over the nuclear issue, with Donald Trump, the president of the United States, explicitly calling for Iran's "unconditional surrender." However, Araghchi said, the Iranian nation opted for resistance and conducted retaliatory strikes, leading the enemies to demand an unconditional ceasefire. Referring to the recent foreign-linked riots, the top Iranian diplomat said the unrest had nothing to do with civil protests that are recognized under the Constitution. During the riots, which were a continuation of the 12-day war, armed terrorists entered the field to carry on the enemies' failed plot against Iran, Araghchi said. In late December, Iran saw sporadic economic protests that were quickly hijacked by armed mercenaries incited by US and Israeli leaders and aided by their spy operatives on the ground. Iran's Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs said a total of 3,117 people lost their lives during the unrest, adding that 2,427 of those killed were innocent civilians and security personnel. Over the course of the riots and following the events, Trump repeatedly threatened military action against Iran and built up American forces in the region. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address President Pezeshkian orders resumption of nuclear talks with US: Reports Iran Press TV Monday, 02 February 2026 12:11 PM President Masoud Pezeshkian has ordered the resumption of talks with the United States over Iran's nuclear program, according to reports. Sources familiar with the matter told the Fars and Tasnim news agencies that Pezeshkian on Monday gave the green light for talks to begin. The timing and location of the negotiations were not immediately known. Follow-up reporting by Tasnim suggested that the details of the negotiations have not yet been finalized and that once the overall framework of the talks takes shape, further information will be provided. Talks between Tehran and Washington, mediated by Oman, collapsed last June after the United States joined the Israeli regime in its military aggression against the country, which included attacks on Iranian nuclear sites. Meanwhile, ISNA reported that the Iranian and American delegations were expected to meet for talks within the next few days. As in the previous rounds, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US President Donald Trump's senior envoy Steve Witkoff will lead the potential talks. Deputy foreign ministers Majid Takht-Ravanchi and Kazem Gharibabadi will accompany the top Iranian diplomat. According to some sources, following Araghchi's trip to Turkey on Friday and Ankara's efforts to host Tehran-Washington talks, negotiations might be held in Turkey, potentially involving Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. In addition to Turkey, Qatar and Egypt have also made diplomatic efforts to host the talks, as part of efforts to prevent the United States from launching a new act of aggression against Iran. Iranian officials have made it clear that any attack by the United States or Israel would be met with an immediate and powerful response and could spark a regional war. President Trump has ordered a massive military buildup in the Persian Gulf but has shifted his rhetoric, from threatening a strike and backing rioters who wrought havoc in Iranian cities earlier this month, to calling for a deal with Iran. The US president claimed on Sunday that Iranian officials were "seriously talking to us" without providing further details, and that "hopefully, we'll make a deal." During his first term in office, Trump withdrew the US from a UN-endorsed nuclear deal with Iran, called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and re-imposed tough economic sanctions on Tehran. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told reporters on Monday that Tehran should first evaluate the different aspects of talks with the US. He said various points have been exchanged within this framework, and Iran is currently "in the stage of reviewing and deciding on the details of a diplomatic process." He expressed hope that the efforts would yield results in the future and that the framework of negotiations would be determined. Speaking in an interview with CNN on Sunday, the Iranian foreign minister said the United States must seize the chance to reach a fair deal with Tehran, warning that any military aggression would be a "disaster" for the entire region. The US side also projected optimism over the weekend. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday, US President Donald Trump said that Iran was "talking to us, seriously talking to us." Iran will not transfer its enriched nuclear material: SNSC official Deputy for Foreign Policy at the Secretariat of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Bagheri Kani said the country's enriched nuclear material will not be transferred to any country. Iranian officials have no intention of transferring enriched nuclear material to any country, and possible negotiations with the US are not centered on such a matter at all, he added. Israeli media have reported that Turkey has allegedly offered to take custody of Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium as part of diplomatic efforts to prevent a potential US military attack on Iran. A senior Turkish official told Haaretz that Istanbul is likely to propose transferring Iran's enriched uranium to Turkey. The proposal targets approximately 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity, along with other stockpiles. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran warns any aggression will have grave consequences for entire region Iran Press TV Monday, 02 February 2026 11:30 AM Iran says regional countries are making collective efforts to prevent war as they are well aware that any act of adventurism against Tehran will have grave consequences for the entire region. "We believe that regional countries are well aware that insecurity in the region and any threat against Iran will have effects and repercussions" that will affect others as well, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told reporters at his weekly press conference in Tehran on Monday. He added that regional countries are making collective efforts to prevent the escalation of tension as they have a consensus on the dangers of any adventurism against Iran. He urged all countries to remain vigilant in the face of media speculation and the third parties' abuse of regional issues. He pointed to contacts and interactions between Iran and regional countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, and called on all regional countries to pay attention to the situation in the region. Baghaei's remarks come amid significant American military buildup across the West Asia region, including the Persian Gulf, which has run in tandem with repeated threats by US President Donald Trump of fresh military action targeting the Islamic Republic. Iranian officials have vowed that any act of aggression against the country will be met with a swift and powerful response. On Sunday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei warned that any attack would trigger a "regional war." "They should know that if they start a war this time, it will be a regional war," Ayatollah Khamenei stated. Israel seeks division among Muslim nations In response to a question about Israel's plot to fragment countries in the region, the Iranian spokesperson said officials of the Zionist regime have explicitly announced the so-called "Greater Israel" plan, and their behavior shows that they seek to weaken and create division in the region. Baghaei added that Israel occupies Lebanon, Syria, and a large part of Palestine, while seven regional and Muslim countries were attacked in 2025. These facts indicate that the agenda of the Israeli regime is nothing less than the fragmentation and creation of division among Muslim countries, he reiterated. "I believe that an understanding ... has been formed not only among the countries in the region, but across the entire Muslim world that the Zionist regime seeks to become the most powerful party in the region," the spokesman emphasized. He expressed confidence that such a quest for supremacy and hegemony will not be confined to the West Asia region alone, saying, "Sooner or later, European countries will realize that appeasement in the face of the Zionist regime's violation of law and crimes will also have consequences for themselves." Iran evaluating executive details for resuming negotiations with US When asked about the latest status of efforts to resume talks between Iran and the United States, Baghaei responded that Tehran should evaluate the different aspects of the issue. He said various points have been exchanged within this framework, and Iran is currently "in the stage of reviewing and deciding on the details of a diplomatic process." He expressed hope that the efforts would yield results in the future and that the framework of negotiations would be determined. "Regional countries, which have the right to be concerned about the current situation in the region, are making sincere efforts to play a positive role. Unlike European countries, which have acted completely in the direction of escalating tensions, the regional nations are acting as intermediaries in conveying messages," he said. He added that despite recent inflammatory actions by the US and the Israeli regime in the region, Iran's diplomatic apparatus continued its efforts to secure national interests and safeguard regional peace and stability through a serious and responsible approach. Speaking in an interview with CNN on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the United States must seize the chance to reach a fair deal with Tehran, warning that any military aggression would be a "disaster" for the entire region. Araghchi added that he was "confident that we can achieve a deal" with the US on Tehran's nuclear program. Iran enjoys very good ties, strategic partnership with Russia, China Baghaei further said Iran has "very good" relations with China and Russia, and there are important agreements among the three countries on cooperation in various fields. "Both China and Russia are permanent members of the UN Security Council and have, in statements, declared their opposition to the United States' bullying actions," the Iranian spokesman added. He pointed to the very important visit of Iran's Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, to Russia and continued contacts with China, and noted that both Beijing and Moscow are fully aware of their responsibilities as permanent members of the UN Security Council and as countries that have excellent relations and a strategic partnership with Iran. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Enemy aims to restore lost domination over Iran through 'despicable' plots: Senior commander Iran Press TV Monday, 02 February 2026 9:08 AM A senior Iranian commander says the enemy seeks to restore its lost domination over Iran and redefine its illegitimate interests in the region. "The enemy, who has lost its domination and illegitimate interests and suffered a heavy defeat, has... sought to restore its lost dominance and redefine its illegitimate interests in the region," Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, deputy chief of the Iranian Army for Coordination, said on Monday. He added that the glorious victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran 47 years ago led to a fundamental change in the global equation, adding, "With this great triumph, the hegemony and illegitimate interests of the global arrogance were shattered in Iran and the West Asia region, forcing it to retreat and withdraw from this area." He noted that the enemy has hatched different plots, including terrorist moves and efforts to create ethnic and religious divisions, as well as riots, emphasizing that all these "despicable and futile" ploys have been neutralized thanks to the steadfastness, insight, and courage of the great Iranian nation. Sayyari said all the enemy's plots will continue to end in failure in the future as the Iranian nation stands committed to the values and ideals of the Islamic Revolution. He cautioned that the enemy currently operates primarily through cognitive and soft warfare, stressing the importance of enhancing vigilance and awareness to confront such approaches. Foreign-backed armed rioters and terrorists hijacked peaceful protests over economic grievances on January 8 and 9. US President Donald Trump openly and publicly encouraged violence by calling on armed rioters to take over state institutions and threatening military action against Iran if they were confronted. The violence, encouraged openly by the US and the Israeli regime, resulted in extensive damage to public and private property, with widespread destruction of shops, government institutions, public service facilities, and the killing of civilians and security forces. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UK announces sanctions against perpetrators of human rights violations in Iran Press release UK sanctions 10 individuals and one organisation for their role in recent brutality against Iranian protestors. From: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and The Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP Published 2 February 2026 Foreign Secretary announces sanctions in response to those who have committed human rights violations in Iran ten individuals and one organisation designated, including Minister of the Interior, Police Chiefs and prolific IRGC members for their role in recent brutality against protestors announcement follows commitments set out by ministers earlier this month to hold the Iranian authorities to account The UK has today announced a sweeping package of sanctions, as part of work to hold the Iranian authorities accountable for a number of serious human rights violations. Ten individuals and one organisation are today (2 February) sanctioned for their role in enabling and facilitating brutality and violence against the Iranian people, both in recent peaceful protests and previous events. The announcement follows commitments set out by both the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary earlier this month, where they committed to bring forward sanctions to hold the Iranian authorities to account for its violent response to recent peaceful protests. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said: The Iranian people have shown extreme courage in the face of brutality and repression over recent weeks simply for exercising their right to peaceful protest. The reports and shocking scenes of violence that have been seen around the world are horrific. We committed to bringing forward sanctions and warned the Iranian regime of further measures. We were clear that we would hold the Iranian authorities to account - and today's package does just that. Today's package comes as the Foreign Secretary called on the international community to hold the Iranian authorities to account for recent violence and follows human rights sanctions imposed by the EU and the US over recent days. It also follows the commitment set out by the G7 Foreign Ministers and the EU High Representative which condemned Iran's deliberate use of violence against protestors and outlined that members would be prepared to impose additional restrictive action if it continued. The following organisation is today sanctioned for its prominent role in policing protests in Iran and is subject to a director disqualification and asset freeze immediately: The Law Enforcement Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran (FARAJA) Alongside this, the following individuals are subject to an asset freeze, travel ban, and director disqualification immediately: Eskandar Momeni: Iranian Minister of the Interior who is responsible for Iran's police force, therefore he bears responsibility for police violence against protestors Mohammad Reza Hashemifar: the Police Chief in Lorestan Province, a province where multiple protestors have been killed by the Police Seyed Majid Feiz Jafari: the police chief of Iran's Public Security Police who has directed violent crackdowns against peaceful protesters Yadollah Bouali: an Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) commander of Fars Province who is responsible for the lethal violence used by the Fajr Corp against protesters Babak Zanjani: an Iranian businessman who runs a network of companies which generates funds and enables the criminal activities of the IRGC, including its suppression of protesters Colonel Ahmed Amini: a Police Chief who has presided over human rights abuses in Noor province in 2024 Mohammad Ghanbari: Commander of Iran's Criminal Investigation Police who has presided over human rights abuses in Iran, including the arbitrary detention and torture of protestors in 2022 and 2023 Ahmad Darvish Goftar: a Judge in the Revolutionary Court of Rasht who is responsible for human rights violations in Iran, including sentencing a labour rights activist to death in 2024 Mehdi Rasakhi: a Judge in the Revolutionary Court of Rasht who is responsible for human rights violations in Iran, including imposing excessive sentences on women's rights and labour activists Mohammad Zamani: an Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) officer, responsible for a number of human rights violations in Iran The UK has long criticised Iran's unacceptable human rights record and continues to call for the Iranian authorities to be held accountable for their role in the recent violence and brutality against protestors. Alongside partners, the UK recently led the international response to the brutal crackdown of the protests by pushing forward a Special Session of the UN Human Rights Council on 23 January, and also summoned the Iranian Ambassador on the 13 January in response to recent events. We continue to take strong action and hold the Iranian regime to account. The UK already has imposed more than 550 sanctions on Iranian individuals and organisations who enable such behaviour. This includes the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps in its entirety and over 90 sanctions in place for Human Rights violations. Background Definitions Asset freeze: an asset freeze prevents any UK citizen, or any business in the UK, from dealing with any funds or economic resources which are owned, held or controlled by the designated person. It also prevents funds or economic resources being provided to or for the benefit of the designated person. UK financial sanctions apply to all persons within the territory and territorial sea of the UK and to all UK persons, wherever they are in the world. Director disqualification: Where director disqualification sanctions apply, it is an offence for a person designated for the purpose of those sanctions to act as a director of a UK company, or a foreign company that is sufficiently-connected to the UK, or to take part in the management, formation or promotion of a company. Travel ban: a travel ban means that the designated person must be refused leave to enter or to remain in the United Kingdom, as the individual is an excluded person under section 8B of the Immigration Act 1971. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Prime Minister Netanyahu's Remarks at the special Knesset session marking 77 years since its establishment Israel - Prime Minister's Office Type: Events and Speeches Government: The 37th Government Publish Date: 02.02.2026 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Remarks at the special Knesset session marking 77 years since its establishment, on Tu Bishvat: "Honorable Speaker of the Knesset, Amir Ohana, Ministers of the Government, Members of the Knesset past and present, distinguished attendees. I hope that in the coming year, we will overcome all obstacles and reach understandings. The understandings can be achieved with goodwill, if it exists. It certainly exists on my part. And I am saying, from our perspective, we want to reach the same understandings that guided the State of Israel for decades. There was no shortage of profound disagreements, but we knew we were operating within a democratic framework - and I will elaborate on this further. I believe this has been eroded. A large part of the nation is pained by this, is crying out over this. We must find the way to restore the balance between the three branches of government. This, alongside majority rule, is the key to sustaining a democracy. It is the way to preserve individual rights alongside majority rule, and the way to ensure that no single branch overpowers another. This balance existed here, and this balance, with God's help, will return here. I must tell you that a few months ago, I had the opportunity to take a journey through time - a journey back to the early years of the Knesset, at the Knesset Museum here in Jerusalem. Mr. Speaker, you were there with me, and with much excitement, we jointly inaugurated the new museum at Froumine House on King George Street. This special building served the Knesset for 16 years. I remember it well from my youth. It stood at the heart of what I call 'the Jerusalem of old' - the divided Jerusalem. Before the Six-Day War, it was small, and curious citizens used to gather there around the building. There was also a cafe across from it. They watched the elected officials making their way in and out. What was the saying in the early days of the Knesset? 'The daily routine of the MKs is legislation'. That is true. To legislate your own laws means to be the master of your own fate - and we do so to this day, or at least try to do, with success that is being eroded. This is apropos of my opening remarks. I also had another privilege which concerns the Froumine House: when I was Finance Minister, over 20 years ago, I acted to save this historical asset from demolition. We secured funding, ensured its preservation, and paved the way for the commemoration of the Knesset's history, in light of it being the focal point of our democracy, as the people - the sovereign - elect their representatives freely. The Knesset here represents the people. The people elect their representatives here, and their representatives here proceed with our parliamentary system - they swear in the government. And also here - at least that, in part, used to be the practice - the judiciary was chosen. The Knesset operated in Tel Aviv, and later in Jerusalem, with the repercussions of the War of Independence in the background. The uplifted spirit of our people, who reclaimed their national freedom after long generations, coincided with the daunting challenge of shaping the country's foundations. And again, it must be known: arguments and wrangling already existed then. Sometimes those arguments were very poignant - no less than today. I must tell you, I think the style then was a bit more refined and ultimately more effective. Now it is louder and more turbulent. But even at the flashpoint of disagreement, no matter the subject, one thing was clear to everyone: ensuring the existence of the nation is the top-priority task. Israel, from its very first day, has been a democracy with a sword in its hand. We are surrounded by enemies. All around us, dangers lurk, and tyrannical forces that do not reconcile with our existence seek to tighten the noose on our neck. And even against this backdrop, the Israeli democracy maintains resilience and stability. Israel is one of the more robust democracies in the West. You might say it's imperfect. Is there a democracy that is perfect? Does such a thing exist? Is there a democracy which faces as many challenges as we do? I know of no other democracy that stands in such frequent - and significant - trials as the State of Israel. True: I have said that the Knesset is wild and noisy, sometimes even screaming. As far as that depends on me, I would not tell you to tone down the debate. Let's tone down the language of the debate; at least that is how I try to conduct myself. But in my opinion, this is not as important, and I will tell you why. Such a Knesset is always preferable to parliaments where representatives are barred from speaking out or the representatives are silenced, or the public is silenced in the media. That is the end of democracy. It is about both electing representatives and having the freedom to speak and the freedom to think. This is the foundation of democracy. In this house, we have disagreements on fundamental issues. Disagreements on the path, on ideology, on vision. These differences of opinion are not a flaw in democracy. They are an advantage in democracy; they are the essence of democracy. It is not about everyone sitting down and everyone being in agreement. Absolutely not. Different opinions must be presented to the public, and the public decides. Where does it decide? At the ballot box. And if there are differences of opinion here, either the majority decides, or another thing is done - compromises are reached, understandings are reached. This is what I hope and yearn for, and to the extent that I am able to, I will act to bring about these understandings regarding the fundamental questions pertaining to the balance between the branches of power. Israel is a parliamentary democracy. We act in accordance with the basic, most essential principle in a democracy, majority rule - and concurrently, the individual rights are preserved. This equilibrium - I will say that once again and repeat endlessly until this is internalized - this equilibrium can only be achieved in one way: through checks and balances between the branches, the Legislative, the Executive, and the Judicial. Each branch and its authority, each branch and its role. And I want to clarify: there is no 'super-government' in a democracy. There is an elected government, and each of the branches has a role, and each of them must have at least 'notches' or gears within the other branches. That is how it was at the dawn of Israel's independence, and that is how it should be today. Regrettably, there are people who think that the greatest danger to democracy is democracy itself, and therefore the will of the majority must be neutralized. 'So what if you were elected?' The Knesset, the Government... pardon the expression: 'Who do you think you are? There are those who are above the people, and we will decide.' This, perhaps, is what Plato was thinking when he abolished democracy in Athens, because he saw the disaster of his beloved teacher Aristotle, and this idea was evolving through the generations, reaching the Middle Ages and somehow reaching modern times. So when they said 'there are those who are above the people' and went to America, to George Washington - he was actually 'above the people', by the way, he was over 1.90m. And they said to him, 'We had a king.' That is what his veterans said. He threw them out. 'But you are above the people,' they said. He replied, 'There is no such thing.' And then three people who were truly 'above', the geniuses: Jefferson, Madison, and Hamilton, wrote the American Constitution. So they were told: 'Maybe we should create a caste here of those who are above the people, and they will decide for the others.' These geniuses, they kicked them out from every slope, every stairway and every cliff. They said, 'There is no such thing. There are balances, there are checks and balances.' The essence of democracy is majority rule, with the checks and the balances that guarantee individual rights. The essence of democracy is not abolishing the democracy. The greatest danger to democracy is the abolition of democracy. And it can be returned to the proper course because it used to be here; it was here a few decades ago, with judges whose integrity was not questioned by anyone. I am actually not talking about personal integrity, it's not about that. There was an understanding that each branch has its own part; no one overpowers and no one is being overpowered, no one intends to overpower and no one intends to become overpowered. I believe this can be restored, and once again, to the extent that this is possible, to the extent that I am legally allowed to do so, I will do it, because it is necessary. No need to go from here to there; there used to be a middle ground, a golden path which Israel walked on for decades, and we will return to it. Distinguished attendees, Israel emerged from the War of Redemption stronger than ever. We are a regional power that is constantly gaining strenth; in some areas, we are approaching the capabilities of global powers. Our democracy, which has encountered immense pressures, was also reinforced during the war. We made fateful decisions: decisions that are transforming the Middle East before our eyes. I can tell you that despite the constraints, I made sure to attend every important debate in the Knesset. Many times - I say this to the dear audience here - standing in the gallery right before my eyes were the families of the hostages, both the living hostages and the deceased. And many times, I promised from this podium that we would bring everyone back, and so we did. We brought back all the hostages, down to the last one! During the months of the war, world leaders spoke in the Knesset - first and foremost, President Trump, the President of the United States. There were other speeches here that also touched our hearts very much. The President of Paraguay, Santiago Pena. The President of Argentina, Javier Milei. The Prime Minister of Albania who visited us last week, Edi Rama. Each of them delivered wonderful speeches before this audience. My heart, at the very least, was very happy to see that we were united. Both the opposition and the coalition, everyone stood as one man to honor these people who are honoring us and our country. All of them without exception, and similarly many other leaders, have praised Israel's resilience and our tremendous achievements on the seven fronts. As a powerful democracy, we stood against the Axis of Evil, and we prevailed. Our heroic soldiers and commanders, in their courageous spirit, defended our home and our freedom against Iran and its terror proxies. We exacted a heavy toll, a very heavy toll, from anyone who raised the banner of Israel's destruction. And again, I always say, and I think it is clear to everyone: More challenges lie ahead of us; we anticipate more moments of trial. But we are alert and prepared for any development; we are monitoring what is happening and we are prepared for any scenario. Anyone who attacks us will be dealing with consequences unbearable to them. The British journalist Douglas Murray, a great friend of Israel and the West, recently wrote a book which he titled 'On Democracies and Death Cults'. A democratic Israel stands against the death cults of radical Islam led by Iran. And Murray says that Israel is defending the future of civilization. He writes: 'Canada, Britain, Europe, Australia, or the United States would be lucky if they manage to raise a generation like the one Israel has raised.' This is so true. Anyone who goes out into the field, anyone who meets our soldiers, be it in Gaza, or Lebanon, or Judea and Samaria, or anywhere else, understands what a wonderful generation we have raised here, what a mighty generation. We called them 'the TikTok generation' - nothing of the sort. A generation of heroes, a generation of victory, a generation that will be recorded in the annals of our nation for generations to come. 'Choose life' is one of the most important commandments of the Jewish people. 'This is the basis for the victory of mankind', Murray writes. Distinguished attendees, Members of the Knesset, In the past year, I met six times with President Trump, and in one of these meetings, I had a very moving experience. He took me to his room, to the bedroom of President Abraham Lincoln, which has not changed since the day of his assassination. Lincoln, as you know, saved the United States in the Civil War, and he left behind for us the decree of democracy. This is something I try to instill here, not only in this speech, but at every opportunity, this has to be understood. 'What is democracy?' he said; it is 'government of the people, by the people, for the people.' On a different occasion, during our last visit, my wife and I visited the historic home of the third president, Thomas Jefferson, in Virginia. Jefferson drafted the United States Declaration of Independence, the foundation of which is the will of the people. One cannot help but stand in awe of these giants of democracy, Jefferson and Lincoln. But it was precisely there, precisely in the halls of the democratic heritage of the great United States, that I was thinking about our tiny and brave democracy here in Israel. We draw inspiration from the democracy in America, and at the same time, America draws inspiration from us. During the War of Redemption, we made determined and courageous decisions together, with the purpose of eradicating the evil and ensuring the supremacy of the good. We stuck to our path, we did not surrender to pressures, we fought countless lies and slanders hurled at us. The IDF, the 'People's Army', along with the other security branches, acted with unity of purpose. We brought home all our hostages. We put our economy back on track. It is ranked today as one of the three most dynamic economies in the world, after two years of war. We continued building our country incessantly. On this day of celebration for the Knesset of Israel - which is a manifestation of Israel's redemption in the Land of Israel - we will continue to work to ensure the eternity of Israel." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia's Shoigu Arrives in Myanmar to Talk Defense Industry Cooperation - Security Council Sputnik News 20260202 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu arrived in Myanmar on Monday for talks with the Southeast Asian country's leaders on trade, defense industry and security cooperation, the Russian Security Council said. "On February 2, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu, heading an interdepartmental delegation, arrived in Myanmar on a working visit. He was met at the airport by Russian Ambassador Iskander Azizov and Myanmar Deputy Foreign Minister Ko Ko Kyaw," the statement read. Shoigu is expected to meet with Myanmar's acting president Min Aung Hlaing and hold talks with the first minister of the president's office, national security adviser Tin Aung San. The talks are set to cover a wide range of bilateral issues, including national and regional security, military and defense industry cooperation, trade and the economy, as well as coordination on the international arena. The agenda also covers cooperation between special services and law enforcement agencies, financial intelligence agencies, the Russian Justice Ministry, and the Russian National Guard, the statement added. The visit comes a week after Myanmar's parliamentary elections, which saw the military hand over power to the civilian authorities chosen in a legitimate election. Russia appreciates Myanmar's stance on the Ukrainian crisis and its understanding of the true causes of the special military operation, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu said during a meeting with Myanmar's national security adviser, Tin Aung San, on Monday. "We highly appreciate Naypyidaw's position on the Ukrainian crisis, its understanding of the true causes of the special military operation and its support for our country's actions to ensure sovereignty and security," Shoigu said. The Russian official called Myanmar one of Russia's key partners in the Asia-Pacific region. He said high-level dialogue between the two nations was the driving force behind progress in Myanmar cooperation. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Myanmar's acting president, Min Aung Hlaing, met four times last year alone, Shoigu said. "Our unconditional priority is the implementation of agreements reached during their negotiations," the security council secretary said. For this purpose, Russia has included in the delegation senior officials of security agencies and economy representatives who are interested in seeing a stronger relationship between Russia and Myanmar, Shoigu added. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Lieutenant General Saddam Khalifa Haftar, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Libyan Arab Armed Forces, called on Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu, NI (M), HJ, Chief of the Air Staff, at Air Headquarters, Islamabad. Inter Services Public Relations Pakistan Rawalpindi - February 02, 2026 No PR-31/2026-ISPR Lieutenant General Saddam Khalifa Haftar, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Libyan Arab Armed Forces, called on Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu, NI (M), HJ, Chief of the Air Staff, at Air Headquarters, Islamabad. The meeting focused on matters of mutual interest, the regional security environment, and avenues for strengthening bilateral military cooperation. The Air Chief highlighted the strong religious and historical ties between Pakistan and Libya, Pakistan Air Force's operational readiness, modernization, multi-domain capability development, and emphasis on indigenization, innovation, and human resource development. He reaffirmed PAF's commitment to further enhance professional cooperation with the Libyan Air Force. The delegation was briefed on PAF's indigenization initiatives under the National Aerospace Science & Technology Park. Lieutenant General Saddam Khalifa Haftar highly appreciated PAF's professionalism and expressed keen interest in expanding cooperation through joint training, exercises, and professional exchanges. The visit underscores a renewed momentum in defence collaboration between the two brotherly nations. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Major General Mohammed Bin Saeed Al-Moghedi, Secretary General of the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC), called on Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, NI (M), HJ, COAS & CDF, at General Headquarters (GHQ), Rawalpindi. Inter Services Public Relations Pakistan Rawalpindi - February 02, 2026 No PR-30/2026-ISPR Major General Mohammed Bin Saeed Al-Moghedi, Secretary General of the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC), called on Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, NI (M), HJ, COAS & CDF, at General Headquarters (GHQ), Rawalpindi. During the meeting, matters of mutual interest were discussed, with particular emphasis on regional security dynamics and enhanced cooperation in counter-terrorism efforts. Both sides reaffirmed their shared commitment to combating terrorism and extremism through collaborative strategies, intelligence sharing, and capacity building among member states. Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir appreciated the role of IMCTC in fostering stability and promoting coordinated counter-terrorism initiatives across the Islamic world. Major General Mohammed Bin Saeed Al-Moghedi acknowledged Pakistan's significant contributions and sacrifices in the fight against terrorism and lauded the professionalism of Pakistan's Armed Forces. The meeting underscored the resolve of both sides to further strengthen institutional collaboration for peace, stability, and security in the region. IMCTC team is visiting Pakistan from 2-6 Feb 26 to conduct one week training at National University of Sciences and Technology on "Re-integration and rehabilitation of extremist elements". NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Pakistani forces kill 145 militants after deadly attacks in Balochistan Iran Press TV Monday, 02 February 2026 10:07 AM Pakistani forces have killed at least 145 Baloch fighters after deadly militant attacks took the lives of dozens in Balochistan province. In a series of coordinated gun and bomb attacks, which began early on Saturday at multiple locations across southwestern Balochistan, the militants linked to the banned separatist Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) had killed 48 people -- including 17 security personnel and 31 civilians, five of them women. In response, Pakistani troops and police officers launched a widespread manhunt, resulting in the swift killing of 145 militant members of the separatist BLA group, also known as "Fitna al-Hindustan." "The bodies of these 145 killed terrorists are in our custody," Balochistan's Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti said. Bugti said some of the "Indian-backed terrorists" in the outfit were Afghan nationals who were operating from that country and aimed to make it to the city center, where they wanted to take hostages, but failed. "We had intelligence reports that this kind of operation was being planned, and as a result of those, we started pre-operations a day before," Bugti said, noting that the death toll of the militants killed over the past two days was the highest number in decades. He added that in total, 700 BLA militants had been killed in the past year by the Islamabad forces. Pakistan's Federal Minister for Defence, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, said the coordinated terrorist attacks were carried out on Saturday at twelve different locations across Balochistan. Addressing reporters at his residence in Sialkot, Asif said the organized nature of the attacks reflected a clear nexus, two sides of the same coin, between India and the BLA. He reiterated that the BLA operated as a proxy of India. New Delhi and Kabul both deny allegations of involvement in Balochistan terrorist attacks. Spokesman for India's Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal, said instead of accusing a neighboring country of involvement in the terrorist attacks, Islamabad should address the "longstanding demands of its people in the region." Sayid Mojibollah Beheshti, an expert on international affairs in Afghanistan, told local media Ava Press that Islamabad officials put the blame on neighboring countries to shirk their responsibility in dealing with the roots of the longstanding problems of the Baloch ethnic population in Balochistan. Following a deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Indian-administered Kashmir, last year, tensions between India and Pakistan sharply escalated. New Delhi blamed Islamabad for the attack. Islamabad rejected. However, the incident marked an escalation in violence that has dented New Delhi's narrative of stability in the disputed Muslim-majority region. Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since 1947, when British tyrannical rule ended in the region, with both countries claiming it in full and fighting multiple wars over its control. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Meeting on chemical industry development Vladimir Putin held a meeting on the development of Russia's chemical industry. February 2, 2026 16:45 The Kremlin, Moscow The meeting was attended by First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Maxim Oreshkin, Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, Roskhim CEO Eduard Davydov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Roskhim Igor Rotenberg, and Chairman of the State Development Corporation VEB.RF Igor Shuvalov. * * * Opening remarks at the meeting on chemical industry development President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Colleagues, good afternoon, Today we will discuss the development of the chemical industry and what additional steps need to be taken to advance Russia's chemical sector as a whole. As is well known, this industry plays a crucial role in the country's economy. Its products are in demand virtually everywhere: in construction, energy, the agro-industrial sector, housing and utilities, pharmaceuticals, electronics, and so on. Russian chemical enterprises produce thousands of types of products from relatively simple goods such as baking soda to high-tech polymers that are competitive both on the domestic market and abroad. Our task is to ensure that Russia's chemical industry develops steadily, and that, on the basis of our strong resource and raw-material base, modern, successfully operating production facilities emerge - enterprises staffed with qualified personnel and using advanced, energy-efficient technological solutions that meet high environmental protection and ecological standards. As is well known, we have sufficient resources and a solid raw-material base. What is needed is for all of this to work, as I have said, on the basis of these high-technology solutions. To ensure the strategic development of the chemical industry for years ahead, we obviously need a comprehensive approach, we also need to coordinate the efforts of the business, the state, the regions and, of course, our research centres. To address these objectives, a national project - Innovative Materials and Chemistry - has been launched. It envisages that by 2030, Russia will implement projects for the production of more than 130 priority chemical products. These include promising projects in small and medium tonnage chemistry. Private enterprises are also implementing and planning large-scale investments. In this context, we will discuss the prospects for developing and mastering innovative technologies and product lines in the chemical industry, as well as what additional decisions are needed to improve the efficiency of Russia's chemical industry, its companies and the sector as a whole on both the domestic and international markets, including issues related to the development of production infrastructure and export logistics. Let's get to work. Please. <...> NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova's answer to a media question regarding talks between Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of the Swiss Confederation Ignazio Cassis 2 February 2026 15:39 115-02-02-2026 Question: Is it true that Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of the Swiss Confederation Ignazio Cassis is coming to Moscow for talks with Sergey Lavrov? Maria Zakharova: Yes, on February 6, talks will be held in Moscow between Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of the Swiss Confederation Ignazio Cassis, who will be visiting Russia in his capacity as OSCE Chairperson-in-Office. The agenda of the talks will focus on identifying ways to overcome the current deep crisis within the OSCE. We expect to discuss in detail the possibilities available to the Chairperson-in-Office for restoring the normal functioning of the OSCE across all three dimensions of security: military-political, economic-environmental and humanitarian. Ignazio Cassis is not planning to meet with media representatives following the talks. For his part, Sergey Lavrov will make a statement to the press after the meeting with Mr Cassis. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Slovakia Stands Firm on Keeping Vital Nuclear Fuel Supply Deal With Russia Sputnik News 20260202 Slovakia does not plan to terminate its agreement with Russia for nuclear fuel supplies for nuclear power plants, Tibor Gaspar, deputy speaker of the Slovak parliament, said. In January, European Commission spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen announced that the European Commission was drafting a ban on the import of nuclear products from Russia to the EU. Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev later said that a possible ban on Russian nuclear fuel purchases would jeopardize Europe's nuclear safety. "The current nuclear fuel supply contract is the result of long-term technical decisions and safety agreements, and its sudden termination could jeopardize the stability of electricity generation. Therefore, Slovakia is acting pragmatically - simultaneously working to diversify its nuclear fuel suppliers while ensuring the safe and uninterrupted operation of its nuclear power plants. Decisions in this area must be based on professional, not ideological, criteria," Gaspar told Russian media. In January, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico announced that his country had signed a nuclear energy cooperation agreement with the United States, which could enable the construction of a new power unit by the US company Westinghouse at the existing nuclear power plant in Jaslovske Bohunice. Slovakia has two operating nuclear power plants - Bohunice (in the country's west) and Mochovce (in the central part of the country), both built with the participation of Soviet and Russian nuclear specialists. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces' resistance attempts meaningless, mainland experts say on Taiwan regional authorities' hype of PLA aircraft sorties around island Global Times By Guo Yuandan Published: Feb 02, 2026 07:20 PM Taiwan regional authorities on Sunday claimed that the number of PLA military aircraft conducting patrols around Taiwan has surged from 380 sorties in 2020 to 5,709 sorties in 2025, an increase of nearly 15 times. Chinese mainland military affairs experts told the Global Times that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities released this set of data to create a public narrative of the so-called "PLA exerting pressure on Taiwan," but as the PLA's resolve and confidence in resolving the Taiwan question have been multiplying, attempts by "Taiwan independence" separatist forces to resist are completely futile. A relevant DPP authority posted on Facebook on Sunday claiming that the PLA military aircraft's sorties around Taiwan has evolved from sporadic activities into a high-frequency, routine and normalized operation, with the number of sorties surging sharply over the past five years. According to the so-called data released by the DPP authorities, the PLA military aircraft sorties have soared to a high frequency of 5,709 in 2025, rising from 380 in 2020, 960 in 2021, 1,738 in 2022, 4,734 in 2023 and 5,107 in 2024, an increase of nearly 15 times. The latest figures released by the DPP are far higher than those previously announced by Taiwan's so-called security authority. The latter claimed that PLA military aircraft conducted nearly 3,600 sorties around the island of Taiwan in 2025, a record high in history. In response to this, Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesperson for the Chinese Defense Ministry, said at a regular press conference on December 25, 2025 that "Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory. The PLA conducts regular combat readiness exercises around Taiwan Island, organizes anti-secession and anti-interference operations to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, which is completely justified, necessary, reasonable and legitimate. The PLA will never cease its efforts to crack down on 'Taiwan independence' forces and promote reunification. For every provocation by the 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces, we will increase pressure and advance one step further, until the complete reunification of the motherland is achieved." "The so-called claim of 'disrupting Taiwan' by the Taiwan regional authorities is totally groundless. Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, and it is entirely up to the PLA to decide when its aircraft approach Taiwan and how many sorties are dispatched," Zhang Xuefeng, a Chinese mainland military affairs expert, told the Global Times Monday. He noted it is obvious that the DPP authorities released this set of data to create a public narrative of the so-called "PLA exerting pressure on Taiwan," yet the figures also vividly demonstrate the steady growth of the PLA's strength. Zhang said that behind these numbers lies a dramatic shift in the balance of strength across the Taiwan Straits, and the attempts of the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces to resist are utterly meaningless. The so-called data released by the DPP authorities actually reflects the PLA's commissioning of new fighter jets, expansion of its pilot teams, intensification of training, improvement of the logistical support system, as well as the ever-growing resolve and confidence of the PLA in resolving the Taiwan question. Song noted that this set of data should in fact be an incomplete one. Public reports indicate that due to the limited intelligence and reconnaissance capabilities of the Taiwan Island's military, it is simply unable to detect the PLA's aviation forces conducting military training and exercises on some occasions. For instance, the J-20 stealth fighter jets have participated in patrol drills surrounding Taiwan Island on multiple occasions, yet the Taiwan military has never detected any trace of them. According to Zhang, the number of fighter jet sorties alone cannot fully reflect the air power balance between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits, and it is merely an epitome. Modern warfare is, in essence, a confrontation between systems. The PLA's modern joint operations system is large in scale, powerful in strength and highly coordinated. In sharp contrast, the so-called combat system of the Taiwan Island's military is fraught with weaknesses and loopholes at every turn, making it impossible for it to form an effective overall combat capability. "In air power, for example, the performance of the PLA's main fighter jets is more than a generation ahead of Taiwan's, enabling the PLA to have overwhelming advantages against the Taiwan Island's forces," Zhang said. While releasing the so-called data on the number of PLA aircraft sorties, the DPP authorities have avoided mentioning its own response measures, such as how many fighter jets it scrambled to respond, Zhang said, noting that this evasion precisely shows that the Taiwan Island's military is completely helpless and at a loss in the face of the PLA's advances, despite the provocative remarks made by "Taiwan independence" separatist forces. Each time such data are released, the Taiwan regional authorities should feel a deeper sense of fear, for they ought to be well aware that the PLA has sufficient capabilities to resolve the Taiwan question, and as these capabilities continue to grow, it will be able to settle the Taiwan question at a much lower cost, Song said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Joint Statement of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkiye and the Republic of Kazakhstan Following the 8th Meeting of the Joint Strategic Planning Group, 2 February 2026 Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs H.E. Hakan Fidan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkiye and H.E. Yermek Kosherbayev, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan presided over the 8th meeting of the Joint Strategic Planning Group (JSPG) on 2 February 2026 in Ankara. At the meeting, the two Sides exchanged views on ways for further strengthening Turkiye-Kazakhstan relations on a wide range of areas, including trade and investments, culture and education, energy security, regional connectivity, health, environment, counterterrorism, defense and defense industry. Celebrating the 34th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkiye and Kazakhstan, and highlighting the common history, language and culture as the basis of their brotherly cooperation, the Foreign Ministers reiterated their commitment to further deepen the multifaceted Turkish-Kazakh cooperation in accordance with the Enhanced Strategic Partnership of the two countries. The Sides expressed their satisfaction with the frequency of high-level visits, which serve as a testament to the strong bilateral ties and mutual trust between Turkiye and Kazakhstan. They emphasized that such visits further deepen cooperation across various fields and reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining this dynamic momentum. The Sides discussed priority areas for economic relations, including facilitating and diversifying trade and investment, encouraging technology transfer and joint investments in agriculture, enhancing cooperation in the field of environment, deepening cooperation in the health sector, strengthening collaboration in the fields of science and technology, particularly cyber security, artificial intelligence, digitalization and space, cooperating in the energy sector through energy trade and joint projects, including oil and natural gas infrastructure across the value chain, clean energy generation, electricity transmission, and joint exploration, development, and processing initiatives in the mining field, particularly focusing on critical minerals and rare earth elements. Recognizing the importance of the Trans-Caspian East-West Middle Corridor as a sustainable and reliable transport and energy route in connecting Central Asian countries to foreign markets through Turkiye, the Foreign Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to deepen cooperation in strengthening regional connectivity through bilateral cooperation and the trilateral mechanism of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Ministers in Charge of Transport of Turkiye, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan as well as regional and international platforms, most particularly the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), the core multilateral platform of the Turkic World. Emphasizing that Kazakhstan remains the largest trade partner of Turkiye in Central Asia, the Foreign Ministers noted with appreciation the progress made on the implementation of the Action Plan of the 13th meeting of the Joint Economic Commission, held on 25 April 2024 in Ankara. The Sides have decided to take coordinated action to address emerging threats to peace and security, including terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and other transnational organized crime and threats. The Sides expressed their appreciation for the close collaboration on defense matters, the military-technical cooperation and the ongoing Military Dialogue Meetings between the relevant authorities of the two countries. In this context, they also reaffirmed the importance of the modernization projects for Kazakhstan's defense industry infrastructure through joint ventures. The Foreign Ministers of Turkiye and Kazakhstan recognized people-to-people relations between the two countries as one of the solid pillars of the bilateral relationship. Akhmet Yassawi International Kazakh-Turkish University in Turkestan, Yunus Emre Turkish Cultural Center in Astana and Turkiye Scholarships program for Kazakh students are illustrative of this connection. Foreign Ministers Fidan and Kosherbayev welcomed the progress regarding the establishment of Maarif Schools in Astana and Almaty in the upcoming period and agreed to continue supporting educational and cultural partnerships between the two brotherly nations. The Sides encouraged cooperation between the two countries in the field of education and science, especially between higher and secondary professional educational institutions, including the intensification of exchange of researchers and specialists. In collaboration with TIKA and KazAID, the Sides encouraged the promotion of sustainable development in Central Asia and cooperation on development assistance towards third countries. Foreign Minister Fidan expressed appreciation for the solidarity shown by brotherly Kazakhstan in the face of the devastating earthquakes of 6 February 2023 and for the school construction in Nurdag (Gaziantep) as a token of brotherly gesture by Kazakh people. The Sides welcomed with appreciation the close and constructive cooperation established in the field of health in recent years and expressed their shared intention to further deepen and advance this cooperation in the forthcoming period through enhanced institutional engagement, capacity-building efforts and exchange of expertise. The Foreign Ministers commended the work of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in strengthening global stability and tolerance. Foreign Ministers Fidan and Kosherbayev reaffirmed the joint resolve of Turkiye and Kazakhstan, as founding members of the OTS, to expand their collaboration with a view to further empower the OTS and other Turkic Cooperation Organizations; which constitute the core institutions for strengthening solidarity and deepening integration of the Turkic World. In this vein, the Sides also reaffirmed to further intensify their joint efforts to implement the "Turkic World Vision - 2040", which plays an important role in strengthening cooperation within the Organization of Turkic States. As founding members of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) the Sides supported CICA's transformation into a fully-fledged international organization while preserving its Asian identity. The Sides noted the importance of deepening cooperation within international platforms such as the UN, OSCE, OIC and ECO. The Sides agreed to maintain their understanding for mutually supporting each other's candidacies to various international organizations and posts, wherever possible. Foreign Ministers Fidan and Kosherbayev elaborated on current regional and international developments, including in Afghanistan, Gaza, Ukraine and Syria. The Foreign Ministers welcomed in this regard, the launch of the second phase of the Comprehensive Peace Plan to end the war in Gaza. They underlined that the establishment of the Board of Peace, endorsed by United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803 and of which both countries are members, has created new momentum toward a permanent ceasefire and the reconstruction of Gaza, as well as for peace, stability, and prosperity in the region and the realization of the two-state solution. The Foreign Ministers emphasized the need to reach a negotiated, mutually acceptable and viable settlement of the Cyprus issue and acknowledged the aspirations of the Turkish Cypriot people being an integral part of the Turkic World to realize their equal inherent rights. The JSPG meeting provided a timely opportunity to discuss the calendar and preparation of the 6th meeting of the High-Level Strategic Council under the Co-Chairmanship of H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of the Republic of Turkiye and H.E. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, to be held in Astana as well as the organization of the upcoming Summits of the Heads of State of the OTS to be held in Kazakhstan (Turkistan) and Turkiye in 2026. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Air defence, radars, electronic warfare, and drones: Sweden prepares one of its largest assistance packages for Ukraine Ministry of Defence of Ukraine 1 February, 2026, 4:00 PM EET During a conversation with Sweden's Minister of Defence, Pal Jonson, Ukraine's Minister of Defence, Mykhailo Fedorov, discussed the formation of one of the largest security assistance packages for Ukraine. Sweden is preparing a substantial assistance package comprising air defence assets and Saab-produced radars, along with contributions to Ukraine's defence industryadditional electronic warfare (EW) systems and drones, including deep-strike capabilities. Ukraine's Defence Minister expressed gratitude to Sweden for its sustained support and new investments in Ukraine's defence sector. The parties also focused on several key areas of cooperation. Strengthening air defence and countering ballistic threats: Ukraine and Sweden are working on additional contributions to the PURL initiative to provide Ukrainian service members with critically important weapons, including capabilities to counter ballistic missiles. Defence innovation partnership: the Brave1 cluster is considering launching a joint Brave-Sweden programme. Through a co-financing framework, the programme will enable defence companies to secure grant funding and test innovative solutions directly on the frontline. Launch of joint defence tech manufacturing: in parallel, the parties are working to expedite the launch of joint production of Ukrainian security solutions on Swedish territory. In addition, the parties held a substantive discussion on the aviation component, including the potential supply of Gripen aircraft and the transfer of Meteor missiles, which are key tools for countering aircraft carrying guided aerial bombs. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ukraine and Starlink to roll out terminal authorization system Ministry of Defence of Ukraine 1 February, 2026, 2:23 PM EET Ukraine and Starlink are working to implement a system that will permit only authorized satellite communication terminals to operate in Ukraine. "Ukraine and Starlink have already taken the first steps that have delivered quick results in countering russian drones. The next step is the introduction of a system that will allow only authorized terminals to operate in Ukraine," said Ukraine's Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. In the coming days, the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine will publish detailed instructions for Ukrainian users on how to register Starlink terminals for verification. Unverified terminals will be disconnected. The registration process will be straightforward, quick, and convenient for users. Detailed instructions will be published shortly. The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine expresses its gratitude to Starlink and SpaceX for their cooperation and proactive support for Ukraine and Ukrainians. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Tsahkna and Haddad: Europe must strengthen its defence capabilities and remain staunchly by Ukraine's side Republic of Estonia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs 02.02.2026 | 14:21 Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna met today, 2 February, in Tallinn with France's Minister for European Affairs Benjamin Haddad, who is visiting Estonia. They discussed strengthening European security, supporting Ukraine, increasing pressure on Russia, and transatlantic and bilateral relations. The ministers also signed the Estonia-France strategic partnership road map for 2026-2030. According to Foreign Minister Tsahkna, the new strategic partnership plan will help take the already close relations between Estonia and France to a new level. "France's contribution to the security of NATO's eastern flank, including its participation in NATO's battlegroup in Estonia, is invaluable. The road map signed today aims to further deepen our defence cooperation, while also expanding ties in the fields of the economy and innovation and promoting cooperation in culture and education." The minister added that the road map also confirms the shared determination of Estonia and France to strengthen European security more broadly. "In the current tense geopolitical situation, it is vital that Europe increases its defence capabilities and strategic resilience," Tsahkna noted. "We must continue to raise defence spending and strengthen Europe's security architecture." Speaking about Russia's aggression in Ukraine, Tsahkna stressed that Europe must remain staunchly by Ukraine's side. "Moscow has clearly shown that it is not interested in peace. We see this especially clearly through its intense attacks against Ukraine's energy infrastructure in the winter, aimed at leaving Ukrainians in the cold and darkness," he said. "Russia's terror must not go unpunished. We need a strong 20th sanctions package that places serious pressure on Russia's economy, targeting above all Russia's fossil fuel exports, and we must continue to deter Russia's shadow fleet. We must also move forward with establishing a special tribunal for the crime of aggression under the auspices of the Council of Europe, which would set a precedent that no violation of international law will go without consequences." The ministers also discussed introducing a ban on entry to the Schengen area and on the issuance of residence permits for all Russian citizens who have fought for Russia in Ukraine. "To protect the security of European societies, entry into the Schengen area must be banned for Russian fighters, who include convicted criminals who were sent to the front from prisons and individuals who are clearly hostile towards Europe," Tsahkna said. Discussing EU enlargement, Tsahkna emphasised that keeping the accession door open must remain a core principle of EU policy, especially at a time when candidate countries are making significant efforts to implement reforms. "That is why it is vital to open the first cluster of chapters required for accession negotiations with both Ukraine and Moldova, sending a clear signal that the EU supports their path and recognises the progress they have made so far," Tsahkna noted. As part of the visit, the ministers will attend events today in Kadriorg and at the National Library of Estonia dedicated to the anniversary of the Tartu Peace Treaty. Tomorrow, they will visit French troops serving in NATO's battlegroup in Tapa, the Neo Performance Materials (NPM) magnet factory, and the Narva border crossing point. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address OSCE Chairman and SG visit Ukraine, stressing OSCE readiness to support monitoring the implementation of a negotiated settlement to end the war OSCE | Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Press release Date: 2 February 2026 Place: KYIV Source: OSCE Chairpersonship, OSCE Secretary General KYIV, 2 February 2026 -- The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Swiss Federal Councillor and Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Ignazio Cassis, and OSCE Secretary General Feridun H. Sinirlioglu concluded their visit to Ukraine today. In Kyiv, they met with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andrii Sybiha, and other senior Ukrainian officials. During the meetings, the Chairman-in-Office and the Secretary General reaffirmed the OSCE's firm support for a just and lasting peace grounded in international law. They underlined the Organization's readiness to act wherever international engagement is required, drawing on the OSCE's long-standing experience in complex conflict settings and its unique role as an inclusive platform for dialogue. "Our priority is to support ongoing diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the war through a negotiated settlement," said Chairman-in-Office Ignazio Cassis. "The OSCE must be prepared, once conditions allow, to contribute to monitoring a ceasefire and to supporting the implementation of a peace arrangement. This visit was an opportunity to present clearly the concrete tools the OSCE can bring to such a process." Both leaders expressed grave concern about the continued suffering of the civilian population. Federal Councillor and Chairman-in-Office Ignazio Cassis stated: "We are deeply concerned about the long-term consequences of the war against Ukraine. Ongoing Russian attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure are causing lasting damage. International humanitarian law must be respected at all times." Secretary General Feridun H. Sinirlioglu stressed that the OSCE stands ready to act if requested in a negotiated settlement. "The OSCE has the tools, the experience and the expertise to effectively contribute to stability in Ukraine should it be called on to do so. We continue to maintain a high level of readiness to support if or when we are asked to do so," said Secretary General Sinirlioglu. The Chairman-in-Office and the Secretary General once again called for the immediate release of the three detained OSCE staff members: Vadym Golda, Maksym Petrov and Dmytro Shabanov. Following meetings with their families, Secretary General Sinirlioglu said: "I am and will keep doing everything in my power to ensure that they are reunited with their loved ones as soon as possible." The Chairman-in-Office and the Secretary General will travel to Moscow for meetings on February 6, 2026. Further details will be communicated in due course through a media advisory. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Foreign Military Presence in Ukraine is Unacceptable for Russia - MFA Sputnik News 20260202 Russia would regard the deployment of any foreign military forces or infrastructure in Ukraine as foreign intervention, and would treat them as legitimate targets, Russia's Foreign Ministry said. While responding to questions following Sergey Lavrov's press conference, the ministry also stated that: Any offers on peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian conflict require scrutiny to ensure that they are acceptable for Russia "On January 12, Zelensky announced that he had sent the Americans some further proposals. Kiev has not abandoned hope of blaming Russia for the disruption of the negotiation process. Aware of this, we will continue to highlight the tricks and diplomatic maneuvers of Kiev and its sponsors. We emphasize: any proposals require examination for their acceptability to Russia and their compliance with the goals and objectives of the special military operation," the ministry stated. Any attempts to negotiate with Russia using ultimatums are inherently absurd and doomed to fail Resolving the Ukrainian conflict is impossible without restoration of the rights of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, its priests and the faithful Russia is thankful to the UAE for its efforts to facilitate the peaceful resolution of the conflict; over 4 thousand people were freed in prisoner swaps mediated by the UAE "We are grateful to our partners from the UAE for their sincere desire to help resolve the Ukrainian crisis. It is through this lens that we perceive their participation in the activities initiated by Brazil and China on the UN platform of the Group of Friends for Peace on the Ukraine Crisis," the ministry said. Since last summer, Moscow handed over to Ukraine over 12,000 bodies of slain Ukrainian soldiers and received over 200 bodies of killed Russian soldiers in return Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russian Forces Liberate Pridorozhnoye Settlement in Zaporozhye Region Sputnik News 20260202 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian armed forces liberated the settlement of Pridorozhnoye in the Zaporozhye region, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday. "Units of the Vostok battlegroup advanced into the depth of the enemy's defenses and, as a result of decisive actions, took control of the village of Pridorozhnoye in the Zaporozhye region," the ministry said. By freeing the settlement of Pridorozhnoye in the Zaporozhye region, Russian forces have expanded their bridgehead on the western bank of the Gaichur River, gaining control over more than three square kilometers of territory. Russia's Tsentr battlegroup has eliminated over 410 Ukrainian soldiers has eliminated over 410 Ukrainian soldiers Russia's Vostok battlegroup has eliminated over 320 Ukrainian servicepeople has eliminated over 320 Ukrainian servicepeople Sever battlegroup has eliminated up to 250 soldiers of Ukraine Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Andrii Sybiha held talks in Kyiv with OSCE Chairman-in-Office Ignazio Cassis and OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioglu Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine 02 February 2026 15:45 On Monday, 2 February, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha welcomed the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Vice President of the Swiss Confederation, Head of Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland Ignazio Cassis, who paid his first visit to Ukraine as the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, as well as OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioglu. The parties discussed the dynamics of peace efforts, results and expectations of the meetings in Abu Dhabi as well as the situation on the battlefield. "This is a highly important visit by Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis - his first visit as the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office. It is a visit of solidarity. We must be prepared for the post-wat period in international organisations as well. This is one of the topics we are discussing today", said Andrii Sybiha. The Minister informed the OSCE leadership about Russia's war crimes, strikes against civilians and attacks on energy infrastructure that left people without electricity, heating and water supply in freezing conditions. The Foreign Minister confirmed Ukraine's readiness to develop cooperation with the OSCE, promote joint priorities during the Swiss Chairpersonship and underlined the importance of the humanitarian dimension of interaction and cooperation in bringing those responsible to justice. Andrii Sybiha called on the OSCE leaders to continue demanding that Russia releases three civilian hostages, OSCE employees who have been held in Russian captivity for almost four years - Vadym Golda, Maksym Petrov and Dmytro Shabanov. The interlocutors separately discussed the OSCE's role, particularly in the post-war period, and in promoting lasting peace for Ukraine and ensuring stability in the region, as well as the shared responsibility for safeguarding the Helsinki Final Act. During the meeting Andrii Sybiha and Ignazio Cassis have also discussed a range of issues related to Ukrainian-Swiss bilateral cooperation. The Foreign Minister of Ukraine expressed his gratitude to Switzerland for its systematic humanitarian aid to Ukraine, notably for its support for Ukraine's energy sector and consistent support for EU sanctions against Russia. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ukraine rolls out Starlink terminal verification to counter russian aerial terror Ministry of Defence of Ukraine 2 February, 2026, 11:50 AM EET Ukraine is introducing a "whitelist" for Starlink satellite terminals. Soon, only verified and registered terminals will be allowed to operate in the country. All others will be disconnected. The relevant resolution was adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. "This is a response to russia's use of Starlink. russian drones equipped with terminals are difficult to shoot down. They fly at low altitude, are resistant to electronic warfare, and are controlled by operators in real time even over long distances," said Minister of Defence of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov. He emphasized that the only technical solution to counter this threat is to introduce a "whitelist" and authorize all terminals. At the Government's initiative, the Ministry of Defence is implementing the measure in cooperation with SpaceX. "The process of registering Starlink terminals for Ukrainian users will be as simple as possible. It will require just one visit to the nearest Administrative Services Centerfree, fast, and without excessive bureaucracy. For businesses, a straightforward and convenient online verification procedure for Starlink terminals will be available through the Diia portal," Mykhailo Fedorov explained. The Defence Minister stressed that military personnel are not required to visit Administrative Services Centers, as the Defence Forces already use a dedicated secure channel through DELTA. Service members are likewise not required to register their personal terminals on a military unit's balance sheet or provide account details; instead, they only need to add the terminal to the "whitelist" to prevent disconnection. "The 'whitelist' allows us to ensure stable connectivity for Ukrainians, enhance security, and deny the enemy technological advantages. This is a necessary step by the Government to save Ukrainian lives and protect critical energy infrastructure," Mykhailo Fedorov emphasized. Detailed terminal registration instructions will follow shortly. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address In Kyiv, the President Held a Meeting with the OSCE Chairman-in-Office and Secretary General President of Ukraine 2 February 2026 - 21:25 President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Vice President of Switzerland Ignazio Cassis, and the OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioglu. The Head of State thanked Switzerland for its support for Ukraine and for making the achievement of a just peace for our country a priority of Switzerland's OSCE Chairpersonship. "Throughout all these months of a very cold winter, our country - above all the civilian population - has been under massive attacks by Russian missiles and drones - hundreds and thousands of them. And, of course, our message to the entire world is to do everything possible to stop this war. I hope that you, Ignazio, and the OSCE will do everything possible to support Ukraine and the Ukrainian people," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Ignazio Cassis expressed his condolences to Ukrainians who are forced to endure such difficult conditions without heating, water, and electricity in low temperatures. Volodymyr Zelenskyy informed them about the state of the peace process and the expectations from the meetings that will take place this week in Abu Dhabi. According to the President, Ukraine counts on constructive dialogue. Possible formats of cooperation between Ukraine and the OSCE were discussed. Particular attention was paid to the return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia. Ukraine counts on the OSCE's participation in the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ukraine Synchronized the UK Sanctions Against Former Oligarch Firtash and His Close Associates, and Renewed Sanctions Against Former MP Kozak President of Ukraine 2 February 2026 - 21:09 President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed decrees enacting decisions of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine to synchronize sanctions with the United Kingdom and to renew sanctions that were nearing expiration. The first decree concerns the renewal of sanctions against former oligarch Dmytro Firtash and the imposition of sanctions against individuals from his close circle, as well as a company under his control. The second decree concerns the renewal of sanctions against one of the closest associates of former oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk - namely, Taras Kozak - as well as against eight companies linked to him that are engaged in pro-Russian propaganda. Back in January 2023, the Head of State stripped Taras Kozak of Ukrainian citizenship on the basis of materials prepared by the Security Service of Ukraine and the State Migration Service of Ukraine. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Our Team Continues Working with the American Side so that Real Decisions for the Sake of Peace Can Be Scaled Up - Address by the President President of Ukraine 2 February 2026 - 19:44 Fellow Ukrainians! First - energy. Today, all regions where the situation is currently particularly difficult were on the coordination call. These are essentially the central regions of Ukraine, as well as border communities with Russia where shelling and hostilities are constant. In the Dnipro region - and especially in Nikopol - power transmission lines were damaged as a result of shelling. In the Pavlohrad district and in other communities close to the frontline, Russian strikes are continuing, including damage to local infrastructure and local energy facilities. In the Dnipro region and in Zaporizhzhia, Ukrzaliznytsia - our logistics - was once again hit. However, we are maintaining interregional connectivity and keeping our transport links operational. It is important that today, throughout the day, there were no missile strikes or "shaheds" targeting infrastructure, and this demonstrates that when the United States has the motive to really change the situation, the situation can change. Our team continues working with the American side so that real decisions for the sake of peace can be scaled up. Today, there was a meeting with our delegation - the guys are already en route. The meetings will take place on Wednesday and Thursday. And not only in a trilateral format, but we will also have our own bilateral format with the United States. There are issues to be agreed upon; there is substance that requires further work. On security guarantees - we are ready. On Ukraine's recovery and further development - government officials are working, and our teams are actively engaged. It is important that during this time the United States also decisively supports dialogue - all available opportunities for dialogue - and works with the Russian side accordingly, so that Russian strikes and Russian terror do not derail what can be achieved. Today, I want to thank all our repair crews, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, municipal services that are truly working for people, and the energy companies involved. The work continues 24/7 - around the clock. I instructed the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, together with regional authorities and community leaders, to maximize the number of assistance points and warming centers in the regions so that, during this period of extremely cold weather, everyone is prepared for any possible developments. Today, I spoke with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen - I would like to express gratitude for her support. I informed Ursula about the current situation - and there will be a new energy support package from the European Union for Ukraine, including generators. Thank you very much, Ursula - thank you, and thanks to colleagues. We are preparing new formats of cooperation with the European Union, including financing hot meals in schools in Ukraine. We have reached agreements, and we expect that everything will be successfully implemented. Work is also ongoing in Europe on new sanctions against Russia for this war - sanctions that are not merely punitive, but that can also limit Russia's ability to wage war. We are doing everything to make diplomacy work, but it is Russia that must abandon the war. And one more point. Ukraine supports peoples who value freedom and are truly willing to fight for it. The whole world sees what is happening in Iran, the scale of the killings and how the Iranian regime has invested heavily in spreading war and violence across the region and the world. Ukraine will not forget a single one of the thousands of "shaheds" that have struck our cities and villages, our people. We see that, on the issue of Iran, others in Europe have heard us, Ukraine, those Europeans who called for greater engagement and a more principled stance, and the Iranians themselves. The European Union has practically agreed on a decision to designate one of the main organizations of the regime in Iran as terrorist - the so-called Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. European procedures are currently underway. In Ukraine, we have already adopted such a decision and designated this organization as terrorist. For us, this issue is closed. All terrorists in the world deserve the same treatment and condemnation - none should prevail. Thank you to everyone who helps protect lives! Thank you to everyone who stands with Ukraine! Glory to Ukraine! NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Volodymyr Zelenskyy Discussed Energy Support, Sanctions Against Russia, and Diplomatic Efforts with Ursula von der Leyen President of Ukraine 2 February 2026 - 16:55 President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a phone call with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. The Head of State thanked her for the substantial energy support provided to Ukraine by the European Union. Additional deliveries of generators and other energy equipment are expected in the near future. Ursula von der Leyen informed Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the finalization of the 20th sanctions package against Russia. "We can already see what is happening to the Russian economy and what could follow if the pressure is applied effectively. We are working in this direction, and important steps are expected," Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted. The parties also discussed diplomatic efforts and work on documents regarding security guarantees and the recovery plan. The President of Ukraine and the President of the European Commission agreed that their teams would work more closely together to ensure clarity and a full understanding of future decisions. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ukraine Imposed Sanctions on Individuals and Companies Involved in the Tanker Fleet Operations and Cyberattacks Against Ukraine, EU Member States, and NATO Countries President of Ukraine 2 February 2026 - 13:33 President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree implementing the decision of the National Security and Defense Council on synchronizing sanctions with the European Union and applying restrictions against 10 individuals and six legal entities. The sanctions target foreign nationals and Russian citizens involved in the operations of the Russian tanker fleet, cyberattacks against Ukraine and EU/NATO states, sanctions evasion, and the spread of pro-Russian propaganda. Among them are people who, through their companies, supply and export Russian oil, Kremlin-linked propagandists, and members of the GRU terrorist group responsible for cyberattacks on government agencies in Ukraine and other countries to obtain confidential information and destabilize political situations. Sanctions have also been imposed on companies from Russia, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam that are part of the Russian tanker fleet. These companies own or operate tankers transporting Russian oil, including for export. The sanctions now also cover Russia's 142nd Separate Electronic Warfare Battalion, responsible, among other things, for interfering with GPS signals in the Baltic countries, which disrupted the landing of civilian aircraft. Overall, Ukraine has synchronized 15 sanctions packages introduced by its partners over the past year. It is extremely important to continue intensifying joint pressure on the aggressor, cutting off opportunities to finance the war, and undermining Russia's destabilizing activities against EU and NATO countries. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia warns foreign intervention in Ukraine will be treated as 'direct threat' Iran Press TV Tuesday, 03 February 2026 2:19 AM The Russian Foreign Ministry has reaffirmed its commitment to national sovereignty, declaring that any attempt by Western powers to deploy military infrastructure in Ukraine will be treated as a "direct threat". In a statement released Monday, officials emphasized that Russia remains prepared to defend its security interests against external encroachment while praising the "purposeful efforts" of the Trump administration to address the underlying geopolitical causes of the regional crisis. "The deployment of military units, facilities, warehouses, and other infrastructure of Western countries in Ukraine is unacceptable to us and will be regarded as foreign intervention posing a direct threat to Russia's security," the ministry said on its website. It said Western countries, which have discussed a possible deployment to Ukraine to help secure any peace deal, had to understand "that all foreign military contingents, including German ones, if deployed in Ukraine, will become legitimate targets for the Russian Armed Forces". Moscow has repeatedly said it will not tolerate the presence in Ukraine of troops from Western countries. The ministry said Moscow valued the "purposeful efforts" of the Trump administration in working towards a resolution and understanding Russia's long-running concerns about NATO's eastward expansion and its overtures to Ukraine. It described Trump as "one of the few Western politicians who not only immediately refused to advance meaningless and destructive preconditions for starting a substantive dialogue with Moscow on the Ukrainian crisis, but also publicly spoke about its root causes". The United States has spearheaded efforts to hold talks aimed at ending the Ukraine war, and a second three-sided meeting with Russian and Ukrainian representatives is to take place this week in the United Arab Emirates. The issue of transferring Russian-speaking regions to Russian administration remains a major stumbling block. Moscow says the issue must be addressed realistically if any durable settlement is to be achieved. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Featured 10 pickup vehicles handed over to NACOC to boost operations Jemima Okang Addae Feb - 03 - 2026 , 13:37 1 minute read The Minister for the Interior, Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka on Monday handed over 10 Nissan pickup vehicles to the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) to strengthen its operational activities. The Minister said the government was committed to strengthening Ghanas security institutions by providing the necessary logistics to enable them effectively carry out their mandate of protecting the nation. He said the vehicles represent a strategic investment aimed at improving the Commissions operational efficiency, enhancing rapid response capability, and expanding its nationwide reach. The minister said the fight against illicit drugs and transnational organised crime remains a major national and global concern and added that the government, together with relevant stakeholders, are committed to tackling the menace in the interest of the country. The Director-General of NACOC, Brigadier General Maxwell Obuba Mantey, expressed appreciation for the vehicles and stated that they will significantly improve operational capacity, reduce response time, and help officers access difficult terrains and high-risk areas across the country. He assured that the vehicles will be properly maintained and used solely to support NACOCs mandate to combat illicit drug trafficking, reduce drug abuse, and protect the safety and security of Ghanaians. Featured FDA urges public to stop buying foods sold near open gutters Mohammed Ali Feb - 03 - 2026 , 11:07 3 minutes read The Food and Drugs Authority has urged the public to stop buying food sold near open gutters, warning that the practice puts public health at risk. According to the Deputy Chief Executive Officer at the FDA in charge of Food Division, Mr Roderick Daddey-Adjei, the common habit of preparing and selling food in unhygienic surroundings continues to undermine efforts to improve food safety across the country. Food should not be sold by a gutter, and we will not defend that, Mr Daddey-Adjei said during a radio interview on Citi FM on Tuesday [February 3, 2026]. He described the situation as a long-standing cultural issue that calls for stricter enforcement alongside a shift in consumer behaviour. We have developed a bad culture over time. Sanitation and education must be taken seriously. If you care about food safety, a food seller, whether a waakye seller, kebab seller or kenkey seller, should not be operating next to an open gutter, he said. Mr Daddey-Adjei said consumers have a role to play in protecting their own health by refusing to buy food from vendors who work in unsafe conditions. You need to educate the consumer so they can make informed choices. Without them, this will not work. The numbers are worrying, and enforcement on its own will not solve the problem, he explained. He said the Authority is running public education campaigns in markets and communities to help people identify unhygienic practices and choose safer food options. The FDA goes from market to market. We meet vendors, we engage market queens, and we teach the basics of food hygiene and handwashing. This work continues, but consumers also need to take responsibility, he added. Mr Daddey-Adjei said enforcement remains difficult, especially given the high number of informal food vendors across the country. The task is huge. Staffing is a challenge. Local assemblies are expected to monitor basic sanitation and hygiene, but our checks show that sometimes it is done and sometimes it is not, he said. He explained that under the Public Health Act, 2012 (Act 851), all food vendors, including itinerant sellers, must obtain permits and meet minimum hygiene standards before operating. He admitted that compliance levels remain low and enforcement capacity is limited. Mr Daddey-Adjei warned that poor food hygiene has direct consequences for public health, citing last years cholera outbreak which spread from the Western Region to Central and Greater Accra. When people understand the need to comply, they will do what is expected. Food safety affects everyone because when people fall sick, the impact is felt by all, he said. He urged the public to make safer choices by refusing to buy food sold in unhygienic locations. If people stop buying food sold next to gutters and other unsafe places, vendors will be forced to change how they operate. That is one of the strongest tools available to us, Mr Daddey-Adjei said. Next article: DRIP impact: Twins born on a road to hope at Dobung Featured Ghana aims for food self-sufficiency - Govt, World Bank back Food Security Resilience Programme Beatrice Laryea Feb - 03 - 2026 , 06:52 5 minutes read The Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, has stated that the country has the natural resources and capacity to feed itself with the right investments and policy direction. He has consequently affirmed the governments commitment, backed by the World Bank, to transform the countrys agriculture sector under the West Africa Food Security Resilience Programme (FSRP) to achieve food sufficiency, reduce imports and create jobs. Speaking during a working visit to the Kpong Irrigation Scheme at Asutsuare in the Greater Accra Region last Friday, the Finance Minister revealed that the government in collaboration with the World Bank was finalising an ambitious agriculture compact known as AgriConnect to address long-standing challenges in food production and agribusiness in the country. The compact, Dr Forson said, would target both economic crops and key staples that were dominant in Ghanaian food consumption patterns. "The government of Ghana, working with the World Bank, has developed and is about to complete a compact mission, AgriConnect. It's a compact that seeks to target certain crops, both economic crops and some staples that we consume. And so we are targeting 100,000 hectares of palm plantation. "We are also targeting rehabilitating some of our cocoa farms in the cocoa industry. We are also targeting rice for Ghana to be self-sufficient in rice to the extent that we will stop the importation of rice into our country," he said. The Minister of Finance stated that the AgriConnect compact would be submitted to Parliament soon for approval, after which implementation would begin. Dr Forson expressed the confidence that once the compact was implemented, the country could achieve rice self-sufficiency within the medium term. Event The Finance Ministers visit underscored a renewed and coordinated push by the government and the World Bank to overcome food insecurity and position agriculture as a driver of economic growth and national resilience. The minister, accompanied by senior officials of the World Bank and the FSRP, toured various production sites to acquaint himself with ongoing activities after which he expressed his satisfaction with what he observed on the ground. The entourage included the World Bank Country Director, Robert Taliercio; the Practice Manager for West and Central Africa, Abel Lufafa; the Operations Manager for FSRP, Philip Daniel Laryea, and the President of the Water Users Association, Charles Tetteh Hombey. The entourage interacted with staff and farmers, with discussions focusing on the scope of rehabilitation of the Kpong Irrigation Scheme, the economic prospects expected after rehabilitation, and key challenges affecting farmers. The ministers first port of call was the irrigation plant and production facilities of Golden Exotic Limited at Kasunya, a leading producer and exporter of bananas. He later visited the Kpong Irrigation Scheme, where he engaged rice farmers and operators at milling centres. Farmers' concerns Addressing farmers concerns about the lack of market, Dr Forson assured them that the School Feeding Programme had been directed to procure only made-in-Ghana food products, while government agencies would also buy local produce. He added that the National Buffer Stock Company (NABCO) had been retooled and would receive budgetary allocations to purchase produce from local farmers, while new storage silos would be put in place to preserve food for future consumption. These measures will guarantee markets for farmers, encourage higher production, and reduce post-harvest losses, the Finance Minister said. "We can't always be importing food into our country. From what I've seen, I'm encouraged that with a little push, we can be self-sufficient and the food insecurity issues that we are facing will be a thing of the past if we put it in right investments," Dr Forson added. Full support The World Bank Country Director reaffirmed the multilateral development partners full support for Ghanas agricultural transformation agenda. Mr Taliercio said agriculture contributed about 20 per cent to Ghanas Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and provided over one-third of national employment, making it a critical sector for inclusive growth. The World Bank Country Director, however, pointed to key constraints holding the sector back, particularly infrastructural deficit, including irrigation systems, farm-to-market roads and rural transport networks. Mr Taliercio said the World Bank was working with government on programmes such as FSRP to expand irrigation, improve rural roads, support export-oriented crops and boost productivity. "So, the government and the World Bank are currently discussing programme in agriculture to support economic crops, continue to support irrigation schemes and approaches such as the one in this FSRP and also for rural roads to ensure that food can be moved where it needs to be moved and crops that are going for export can be brought out efficiently for export, he stated. We are talking about a $1 billion to try to help Ghana to advance quickly because this is urgent over the next couple of years on this very important agenda, Mr Taliercio added. He added that the there was room for reform in some of the policies that affect investors and the private sector to improve the investment climate and the business environment. Mr Taliercio stressed the reform was critical to mobilise more private capital to support productivity in the food sector. Featured Volta Region police intercept another vehicle with narcotics - Arresting team rejects GH120,000 from suspects Alberto Mario Noretti Feb - 03 - 2026 , 06:57 2 minutes read Two men are helping the police in their investigations after a truck travelling from Kpando to Ashaiman was intercepted at Frankadua in the Eastern Region, as it was found to be loaded with 527 parcels of compressed dried leaves suspected of being marijuana, concealed beneath a pile of wooden boards. Although the driver of the truck with registration number GT 8280-24 and his mate fled the scene, two men who later claimed ownership of some items on board the truck were arrested. The Volta Regional Police Commander, DCOP Wisdom Akorli, told the Daily Graphic last Sunday, that the police operation, which led to the interception of the truck, followed a tip-off. He said the suspects, Lawrence Osai, also known as Mandela, and Emmanuel Bullah, were placed in police custody while the Hyundai cargo vehicle was impounded. The truck was said to have initially travelled from Alavanyo to Kpando, where the boards were loaded. Confiscation, offer DCOP Akorli said following the tip-off, a team of officers pursued the truck and caught up with it at Frankadua, as it was heading towards Ashaiman. When the arresting team started interrogating the driver, he pretended the engine of the truck was overheating. In the course of getting water to refill the engine, the driver and mate bolted, the regional police commander said. He further said the vehicle was brought to the Volta Regional Police Headquarters in Ho, after which the two men turned up there to claim ownership of some of the items. A search on the truck later revealed 240 imitation boards, 10 sacks containing the 527 compressed oval-shaped parcels containing dried leaves suspected to be marijuana. DCOP Akorli said the contrabands, with a street value of GH210,800, were found under the boards covered with diapers and bags of detergents. He said the suspects offered the policemen GH120, 000 to kill the case, but the arresting team rather seized the money as an exhibit in the matter. The suspects, DCOP Akorli said, would be processed for court, while a manhunt for the fugitives was underway. Meanwhile, investigators were set to contact the Forestry Commission to find out if the wood consignment on board the vehicle was covered by the appropriate documents, the regional commander told the Daily Graphic. Next article: FDA urges public to stop buying foods sold near open gutters Featured Govt to rename Kotoka International Airport to Accra International Airport - Mahama Ayariga Mohammed Ali Feb - 03 - 2026 , 11:54 1 minute read The government is preparing to place a bill before Parliament to change the name of the Kotoka International Airport to Accra International Airport, the Majority Leader in Parliament, Mahama Ayariga has disclosed. He was speaking during a Parliamentary Leadership media briefing on Tuesday [February 3, 2026]. He indicated that this was part of outlined bills and regulations expected to come before the House during the current meeting. Mr Ayariga said the Minister for Transport will present the bill to seek parliamentary approval for the proposed change. Under parliamentary procedure, any change to the name of a state facility must be approved by Parliament before it takes legal effect. Kotoka International Airport serves as Ghanas main international airport and acts as the primary aviation gateway for passenger travel, cargo operations and diplomatic movements. A change in name would require amendments to official state records and aviation documents. Mr Ayariga did not state when the bill would be formally laid before Parliament, but said it forms part of the Transport Ministrys legislative business for the ongoing session, which started today. Featured Nurse in court over alleged GH257,000 UK visa fraud GNA Feb - 03 - 2026 , 07:51 3 minutes read A 34-year-old male nurse has appeared before an Accra Circuit Court for allegedly collecting GH257,000 under the pretext of securing a United Kingdom visa for a trader but failing to do so. Justice Kofi Boateng, who has been charged with defrauding by false pretences, pleaded not guilty to the charge. The court admitted the accused to bail in the sum of GH150,000 with two sureties, one of whom must be justified. The court further ordered the accused to deposit all travelling documents, including his passport, with the court registry and to report to the police once every two weeks. The case has been adjourned to March 24, 2026. Earlier, counsel for the accused prayed the court to grant bail, describing his client as a professional nurse with a fixed place of abode. Counsel told the court that the accused was married with children and had persons willing to stand as sureties. The prosecutor, Inspector Frederick Asare, opposed the bail application, arguing that the accused had no fixed place of abode and was a student nurse who was arrested at a hospital. According to the prosecutions case, the complainant, Beatrice Asante, is a trader and resident of Amasaman, while the accused is a nurse who resides at Dansoman. In May 2025, the complainant informed a friend, Louisa, who lives in the United Kingdom, of her intention to travel there in search of better opportunities. The complainant and her husband, Dickson Junior Sarfo, later contacted the accused and met him at Latebiokorshie, where discussions were held. During the meeting, Boateng allegedly confirmed information provided by Louisa and presented himself as the Director of JB Travel and Tour, a company he claimed had successfully secured UK visas for students and nurses working in the United Kingdom with permanent residency. He further represented that he had access to a United Kingdom Certificate of Sponsorship, which came with a five-year work visa at a cost of GH280,000 for one applicant. Convinced by the representation, the complainant paid GH250,000 into a Fidelity Bank account provided by the accused. Boateng later instructed the complainant to submit her application documents and biometrics at the VFS Visa Application Centre at Airport Residential Area in Accra. A few weeks later, the accused allegedly demanded an additional GH7,000 to pay for a United Kingdom residence permit, which the complainant paid via MTN Mobile Money to a number, 0242169747, registered in the name of Justice Kofi Boateng. Subsequently, the complainant received an email from the United Kingdom Embassy informing her that her visa application had been refused. She later realised that the application did not include a Certificate of Sponsorship, contrary to the earlier representations allegedly made by the accused. Suspecting foul play, the complainant reported the matter to the police, leading to the arrest of Boateng. In his caution statement, the accused admitted collecting a total of GH257,000 from the complainant for the purpose of securing a Certificate of Sponsorship. Featured 3 Experts analyse NPPs road to 2028 Samuel Duodu Politics Feb - 03 - 2026 , 07:56 6 minutes read Former Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia may have earned a comfortable victory in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential primary, but he will have to do more to claw back the considerable deficit in votes he recorded in the 2024 presidential election, two political scientists and a pollster have said. All three maintain that the record of the past administration in which Dr Bawumia served as Vice-President would impact his electoral fortunes negatively unless a dramatic situation arises. In separate interviews with the Daily Graphic, Dr John Osae-Kwapong of the Democracy Project; the Head of the Department of Political Science of the University for Development Studies (UDS), Dr Gbensuglo Alidu Bukari, and Mussa Dankwah of Global InfoAnalytics, narrowed the 2028 elections down to records and credibility. Dr Bawumia secured a decisive victory in last Saturdays presidential primary, polling 110,643 votes, representing 56.48 per cent of the total votes cast, to lead the NPP once again into a major election. Historical record Dr Osae-Kwapong said confronting Dr Bawumia is the partys 2024 electoral defeat against the backdrop of the countrys post COVID-19 economy. His ability to overcome this electoral deficit will require some reconciliation between the 2016 electoral narrative and promises, the reality of what Ghanaians experienced, admission of lessons learned, and how a Dr Bawumia administration will chart a different path if elected. I believe that developing a single coherent narrative to sell to the Ghanaian voter is what can potentially enable him to overturn the deficit. But one must keep in mind, the counter narratives that will also be developed by his main political opponents the NDC, Dr Osae-Kwapong said. He said electing Dr Bawumia almost three years to the next poll was not necessarily an advantage. Electoral advantage is not only a function of length of time, but several other factors such as the state of the economy at the time of the election, the candidate of their main political rivals, the disposition of the Ghanaian voter, he said. Election is about numbers. A candidates victory has three parts party members, independent voters and cross overs from their other side of the political aisle. The biggest component will come from party members, which means unity is extremely important. After an intense primary with sometimes very harsh rhetoric, uniting all factions is essential. The losing candidates pledge of unity and support was refreshing to hear during the official declaration at the partys headquarters. Unity will be important as the candidate cannot afford a repeat of what happened in 2024 apathy among NPP voters, the respected academic said. Strategic gamble Dr Bukari said the decision to elect the presidential candidate almost three years ahead of the 2028 general election was a strategic gamble, with both potential benefits and risks. It definitely provides the candidate ample time to consolidate internal support of the party. It will also help articulate a coherent policy vision and rebuild the partys grassroots machinery after the 2024 electoral setback. However, a long pre-election period can also expose the candidate to political fatigue, sustained opposition attacks, and the risk of internal dissent if unresolved factional grievances persist, Dr Bukari said. He added that personal credibility, such as his governance experience, technocratic competence, national appeal, credible counter argument, and perceived integrity, will matter greatly. The UDS Senior Lecturer said credentials alone were insufficient, and that broader structural issues, including economic hardship, voter dissatisfaction with his performance in the past, credibility question and policy failures, shaped the 2024 defeat. To reverse the deficit, Dr Bukari suggested that Dr Bawumia must convincingly distance himself from unpopular aspects of his party's last administration, while offering a credible reform agenda that would resonate with the Ghanaian voting public, urban constituencies and economically distressed groups. He said reconciliation would be central to the NPPs chances in 2028, a process he believed would prove a challenge. Historically, internal fragmentation has been costly for Ghanaian political parties. Given the acrimonious nature of the just-ended party presidential primary, effective reconciliation through inclusive party leadership, equitable distribution of campaign roles and symbolic gestures of unity would be critical to preventing apathy, sabotage or protest voting within the partys base. Reconciliation is not merely about elite cohesion; it must extend to grassroots activists whose mobilisation is essential for electoral competitiveness, Dr Bukari said. He concluded that the early presidential candidate selection by the NPP could be an advantage, but only if it is matched with strategic renewal, credible leadership, and genuine party unity. Without these, the timing alone will not secure victory for the party in the 2028 presidential and parliamentary elections. Mr Dankwah similarly indicated that Dr Bawumia would have a tall order to surmount in 2028 despite the largely comfortable victory he achieved in the presidential primary. Mr Dankwah, whose polls for the NPP presidential primary produced a near perfect outcome, indicated that the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) currently remained in a good position in terms of appeal to the voting public on account of the governments performance so far. He said this remained the case regardless of the candidate the party would present at the 2028 polls. He said his organisation had tested the potential of Dr Bawumia against rumoured figures supposed to have interest in leading the NDC, and in each case the NPP flag bearer trailed. When we look at the data for Bawumia against Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, Dr Forson was doing around 58 per cent of the votes against Bawumias 38 per cent. If you take Haruna Iddrisu against Bawumia, Haruna does 56 per cent against Bawumias 40 per cent. Johnson Asiedu-Nketiah is around 53 per cent and Bawumia is around 45 per cent. So, you can see that the top NDC figures are all showing to be leading Bawumia for 2028, he said. Factors Mr Dankwah said although his polls did not interrogate the reasons for the electorate choosing a particular candidate, he believed that the performance of the economy had made Dr Forson an attractive proposition. I mean, if you look at Dr Forson's performance on the economy, it is phenomenal, and a lot of people are happy because of the economy. If you look at people who are saying that the country is heading in the right direction, it's because they feel the economy is improving, and their own salary is improving. If you look at the proportion of people who are saying that the living condition has improved compared to last year, it's quite around 58 per cent. A lot of the positive things revolve around the economy, and that is the reason why Dr Forson is doing so well against Bawumia at this point, he said. Infinix is working on the Note 60 series, which will encompass the Note 60, Note 60 Pro, and Note 60 Ultra. The Ultra is designed by Pininfarina. Today we found out that the Note 60 will be offered with 8GB of RAM and 128/256GB of storage, and the Note 60 Pro in three RAM/storage combos: 8/128GB, 8/256GB, and 12/256GB. Infinix Note 60, Note 60 Pro, and Note 60 Ultra RAM/storage options The Ultra will have 12GB of RAM and 256/512GB of storage. This information comes from the Carlcare India website, which is the official online portal for authorized after-sales for Infinix. The listing on Carlcare also confirms that all three devices will be available in India. Additionally, the Note 60 and Note 60 Pro have received their TUV certifications, which reveal that there will be two battery capacities offered for each of them, depending on market. The Note 60 gets 5,990 mAh and 6,340 mAh, and remember these are rated capacities. The typical advertised capacities will most likely be 6,150 mAh and 6,500 mAh. The Note 60 Pro gets 5,850 mAh and 6,340 mAh rated capacities, so it will have a typical capacity of either 6,000 mAh or 6,500 mAh depending on market. The Note 60 has already been listed by the Google Play Console, powered by the Dimensity 7360 SoC, with a 1208x2644 screen resolution, 45W wired charging support, and Android 16 on board. The Note 60 Pro is powered by the Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 SoC, according to the FCC. The Pro will support 90W wired charging, as already confirmed by Infinix in Nigeria, where it's taking pre-reservations for the Note 60 Pro until February 8. Via The Guam Customs and Quarantine Agency seized around 324 pounds of methamphetamine with a street value of about $8.6 million in fiscal year 2025, GCQA Director Ike Peredo told senators on Monday. But out of the 48 total meth seizures in fiscal 2025, not one was made at the Port Authority of Guam, said Peredo, who spoke during an oversight hearing on his agency. There were no meth seizures at the Port, he told senators, even after a five-week special operation Customs led with local and federal law enforcement. That special operation was disclosed to the media on Jan. 5, and involved eight maritime vessels, 30 vehicles, and 45 shipping containers inspected. Is there something impeding that? Sen. Therese Terlaje asked Customs officials Monday. Or do you just really believe that theres no methamphetamines coming through the Port? I just believed we havent found it yet, replied Col. Frank Gutierrez with the Customs special enforcement team. Were still looking, Gutierrez told Terlaje. A matter of...having evidence Peredo, speaking later during discussion, said Customs was not convinced there was no meth at the Port. Its just a matter of making sure that we have advanced information. I think thats whats needed, is probably more intelligence, he said. Im not going to say that the meth is not coming down the port, because, like any other port, the Port is susceptible to this type of operation. Its just a matter of us finding it and having the evidence. Almost all of the meth reported seized by Guam Customs is found at post offices. Attorney General Douglas Moylan has argued that more must be coming in through the Port Authority, and pushed for 100% inspection of containers coming in. Here are the stats on other narcotics seized by Guam Customs in fiscal 2025: Marijuana, eight seizures totaling 1.7 pounds, $34,250 street value Cocaine, one seizure of 2.2 pounds, $304,200 Fentanyl, two seizures totaling 6.5 pounds, $289,800 Other, two seizures totaling 9.7 pounds, $220,150 Cement trucks Terlaje asked Customs officials about allegations raised by AG Moylan in January 2025 about potential meth coming through the Port, including allegations that several cement trucks were left sitting uninspected at the Port for nine days. That information is not accurate, Peredo said about the cement trucks. He told Terlaje that his officers did run the dogs on the vehicles in question. He said he believed that the importer that brought them in did not show up for clearance at a specific time. Gutierrez told Terlaje that when vehicles are brought to the port, Customs officers are usually present when the vehicle container seals are broken. Asked if it was possible vehicles could be taken out of a container when officers werent present, Gutierrez said, Theres always an opportunity. I believe the port is a 24-hour operation. Its just very difficult to monitor it when were not there. Broken seals Officials also responded to allegations from Moylan about broken seals on containers coming into the port. Gutierrez said Customs is creating a database to monitor broken seals on containers, which has always been an issue. He said Customs is working with the Coast Guard on intel, and keeping track of common denominators on containers, like names, or other information. I can say that were chasing down any leads. The last operations we conducted down there, Drug Enforcement Administration was with us. GPD was out there with us, he said. Capt. John Rick Mendiola spoke to an incident of a broken seal found during the recent special operation led by Customs, upon questioning from Vice Speaker Tony Ada. Mendiola said there were two types of seals on containers. The first was a shippers seal, which is prone to damage, breaking, or administrative errors. In the case of the recently discovered container with a broken seal, Customs officers had put a seal on that container. This was a seal placed by us for a container that was allowed to be moved out of the Port to an authorized area, Mendiola said. I dont have the details, but the seal was removed prior to the arrival of Customs officials for those incidences, he said, adding that broken seals were investigated. Peredo said he has been active in enforcing fines for broken seals since his appointment in 2019. This particular law with the broken seal...was enacted back in 1989, he said. He said between 1989 and 2019, there were no reports of a broken seal. Peredo said hes since issued nine violations, and collected $200,000 in fines for the violations. I read Dr. Arun Swamys account of his experience with Berkeley police (Pacific Daily News, Feb. 3, 2026). I do not doubt it was upsetting. No one wants to feel powerless or disrespected, and law enforcement should always uphold civil rights and basic courtesy. I offer another perspective. As a brown-skinned CHamoru who has lived and traveled off island, Ive been stopped and questioned by police more than once. Each time, I complied when asked for identification. Each encounter was brief, professional, and ended without incident. From the civilian side, a stop can feel intrusive. From the officers side, it may be tied to a recent crime, a suspect description, or a safety concern we cannot see. A request for ID is not automatically a rights violation; it is often part of ruling people out and protecting the public. Abuse should never be excusedbut routine checks should not automatically be treated as misconduct. Yes, officers must respect legal limits, and accountability matters when they do not. But having a right to refuse is not always the wisest choice in a tense, uncertain moment. Turning every stop into a confrontation may prove a point, but it can also escalate risk and hinder the job officers are trying to do. A healthier approach is partnership, not automatic suspicion: hold police to high standards, but cooperate with reasonable requests. When officers act professionally and citizens respond calmly, outcomes improve and communities are safer. Haiti - FLASH : TPS revocation blocked by the courts, Trump will appeal to the Supreme Court On Tuesday, February 2nd, 2026, in the case concerning the Trump administration's attempt to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) granted to more than 350,000 Haitians, Federal Judge Ana C. Reyes announced a temporary stay of this decision. On Tuesday, February 2nd, 2026, Federal Judge Ana C. Reyes, in her ruling concerning the Trump administration's attempt to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) granted to more than 350,000 Haitians, announced a temporary stay of this attempt. This decision follows a class-action lawsuit filed by Haitians who argued that revoking TPS would expose them to grave danger if they were forced to return home. This decision halts the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) process of ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians for the time being. This measure, which would have taken effect on February 3rd, threatened to force hundreds of thousands of people to return to a country the United Nations describes as being in a state of emergency, marked by vast areas controlled by armed groups and frequent outbreaks of violence and kidnappings. Judge Reyes, appointed by former President Joe Biden, ruled in her 87-page judgment that Kristi Noem, the Secretary of Homeland Security, violated due process and the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees equal protection under the law, by deciding to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS). "Plaintiffs charge that Secretary Noem preordained her termination decision and did so because of hostility to nonwhite immigrants. This seems substantially likely," Judge Reyes wrote in her ruling. The law firm representing the plaintiffs, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, welcomed the decision, stating : "This ruling recognizes the grave risks Haitian TPS holders would face if forced to return, and it ensures that they can remain here in the United States as legislated by Congress to continue their lives, contributing to their communities, and supporting their families." Following this ruling, Tricia McLaughlin, spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), suggested that the Trump administration would ask the Supreme Court to intervene in the case. "Supreme Court, here we come," she declared, adding, "This is illegal activism for which we will be vindicated." This reprieve, however, may be short-lived for Haitians. It's worth recalling that in a similar situation for Venezuelans, the Supreme Court allowed the suspension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) while the appeal process continued. See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-46587-haiti-flash-end-of-tps-judge-reyes-skeptical-and-unconvinced.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-46580-haiti-flash-end-of-tps-judge-reyes-confronts-the-trump-administration-with-its-contradictions.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-46575-haiti-flash-a-federal-court-is-to-rule-on-the-legality-of-not-extending-temporary-protected-status-tps.html SL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - News : Zapping... Canape-Vert College Threatened with Seizure On Monday, February 2nd, 2026, Patrick Pelissier, the Minister of Justice, met with Ms. Franck Paul, Director of Canape-Vert College, which is threatened with seizure. Expressing his solidarity, the Minister sought to reassure her, emphasizing that Canape-Vert College, founded half a century ago, represents an educational heritage, and that such threats cannot be tolerated. Saint Marc Deprived of Carnival 2026 An official statement from the Saint Marc Municipal Security Council "announces to the residents of Saint Marc in general, and to carnival-goers in particular, that due to the overall insecurity in the country and the increasing alerts in the city, carnival activities are formally prohibited." Access to Quality Education in the Southern Peninsula From January 21 to 28, 2026, as part of the Integrated Recovery Plan for the Southern Peninsula (PRIPS), a field mission was conducted in the South, Nippes, and Grand'Anse departments. This mission involved evaluating and supervising the construction of sanitary facilities and the renovation of school infrastructure, carried out within the framework of the project aimed at promoting access to quality education in Haiti's Southern Peninsula, with technical support from UNESCO and funding from Canada and Brazil. FNE : Distribution of Subsidy Checks The National Education Fund (FNE) distributed an initial batch of 271 checks to parents on Saturday, January 31, as part of the subsidies for the 2025-2026 school year. Further distributions are planned in the coming days. The checks were made payable to the educational institutions to ensure complete transparency in the process. Of the 7,000 applications received, some did not meet all the established criteria. To address this, the FNE administration intends to contact all affected parents where possible. To guarantee rigorous and fair processing of all applications, a review committee has been specifically created for this purpose. Replacement of the CPT ? Among the various proposed solutions for replacing the Presidential Transitional Council (CPT), whose mandate ends on February 7, 2026, "The President of the Court of Cassation, Jean Joseph Lebrun, has been chosen by political groups and civil society organizations to lead the dual leadership. The judge and the members of the committee have agreed on this approach," according to Jean Renel Senatus. Condolences from the French Embassy The French Embassy in Haiti learned with deep sorrow of the deaths of four Haitian citizens following the sinking of a pirogue on the Maroni River, in the commune of Grand-Santi, French Guiana (https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-46773-icihaiti-shipwreck-the-bodies-of-the-4-missing-teachers-have-been-found-and-identified-names.html and https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-46763-haiti-flash-canoe-capsizes-in-french-guiana-2-haitians-rescued-and-4-missing.html). The Embassy extends its sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims and expresses its solidarity with them during this painful time. HL/ HaitiLibre Last week, during protests against operations by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minnesota, vehicles with rectangular structures were spotted some were military Humvees, others civilian vehicles. These structures are typical for Long-Range Acoustic Devices (LRAD). CBS News reported on January 27th about the use of an LRAD for announcements by the Minnesota State Patrol in Maple Grove. Continue after ad Videos of the demonstrations show people recoiling even from a test announcement made by such a device. Military experts and former operatives describe the effect of LRAD announcements as unusually intense, like hearing the voice of God in your head. How LRAD Works But how does this drastic effect come about? Unlike conventional loudspeakers and megaphones, which scatter sound broadly, LRAD systems generate a highly directional beam of sound, which is why they are sometimes referred to as sound cannons. Technically, they are usually constructed as a flat transducer array: many individual sound transducers work together and are supported by driver/waveguide technology to emit as much sound energy forward as possible. The beamforming is achieved through superposition (interference): in the target cone, the sound waves from many transducers add up, while lateral radiation is significantly reduced (depending on geometry and control) and sometimes canceled out. This array-based beamforming (comparable to principles of phased array technology) creates a narrow beam with very high volume. This allows speech and warning tones to be bundled and transmitted comprehensibly over long distances. Maximum ranges, depending on the model, are between 600 and 5,500 meters under ideal conditions. In practice, range and speech intelligibility depend on factors such as ambient noise, wind, and orientation. Some data sheets differentiate between maximum range and a lower operational range in high background noise. The sound beam can be directed like an acoustic spotlight onto individuals or groups. Outside the main beam, the sound coverage is reduced, but reflections can cause very loud noise in the surrounding area. Development and Manufacturer Continue after ad The technology was developed in the early 2000s by American Technology Corporation (now Genasys Inc.) in response to the bombing of the USS Cole, which showed that better tools for communication and warning at a distance were needed. The devices used in Minnesota are likely to be LRAD systems from the manufacturer Genasys. The manufacturer officially positions the devices as communication and warning systems with the aim of clear communication, safety, and control anytime, anywhere. The systems also have a Deterrent function, which, according to the manufacturer, is intended to cause discomfort without causing permanent damage. Empfohlener redaktioneller Inhalt Mit Ihrer Zustimmung wird hier ein externes YouTube-Video (Google Ireland Limited) geladen. YouTube-Video immer laden YouTube-Video jetzt laden The CBS report shows the LRAD device mounted on the front of a GMC pickup truck at 1:13 min. Communication and Deterrence Two Sides of a Technology LRAD systems can be operated in two fundamentally different modes: as a communication system and as an acoustic deterrent. In communication mode, live announcements and audio recordings can be broadcast over several kilometers. Instructions remain understandable even in chaotic situations. In deterrence mode, LRAD can emit a high, shrill alarm or other deterrent tones. Depending on the model, data sheets cite peak levels of up to 160 dB SPL (sound pressure level) at 1 meter distance, while continuous levels are lower. The devices are optimized for the particularly sensitive hearing range of humans between approximately 1 and 5 kHz, which improves speech intelligibility at moderate levels and increases discomfort at high levels. This dual functionality leads to different application scenarios: in shipping, the systems are used for communication and piracy prevention. In disaster management, they enable warnings over long distances. In industry, they are used for bird control. However, the systems are increasingly being used for crowd control. In the USA, LRAD devices have been in use by police units for years. Genasys stated in 2024 that LRADs now play a crucial role in managing civil unrest and are needed by law enforcement agencies in the face of numerous challenges, including elections, political conventions, and actions by organized protest groups. Police and security forces use the systems at demonstrations and in crowd management. The systems enable acoustic pressure without physical force. In some cases, the mere visible presence of an LRAD device is enough to influence people. In border protection, LRAD systems have long been used in the USA along the southern border. Approaching individuals are threatened with immediate arrest via announcement if they cross the border. The military uses the systems not only for communication with its forces but also for psychological influence in conflict zones. Since no speaker is visible, the loud announcements appear to come from an indeterminate direction an effect used to create confusion and uncertainty. Health Risks and Controversial Deployments In the direct beam, these tones in the kHz range can cause severe pain, disorientation, and nausea. Unprotected ears are at significant risk of acute and permanent hearing damage. The manual for the LRAD 500X system warns operators about the possibility of hearing loss when using the device. Human rights and health organizations critically assess the use of these devices at demonstrations. Organizations such as Amnesty International, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and Physicians for Human Rights see a potential misuse as an acoustic weapon system, especially at short distances and without prior warning. The controversy surrounding LRAD deployments is not limited to the USA. An internationally documented case occurred on March 17, 2025, in Belgrade, Serbia. Investigations by the organization Earshot suggest that an LRAD system was used there. The Serbian government confirmed the presence of a vehicle with an LRAD system at the scene but denied its use. (olb) Don't miss any news follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn or Mastodon. This article was originally published in German. It was translated with technical assistance and editorially reviewed before publication. We're a family of eight living in Georgia where Andrew's a professor at GSU and Nancy is a PhD student at UGA. You can read more about us here The Oulu District Court ordered the detention of two Romanian men born in the 1980s. Police suspect them of aggravated human trafficking and procuring linked to the exploitation of three women in Oulu and Helsinki during January. A Finnish court has remanded two men in custody on suspicion of aggravated human trafficking following an investigation that began when a woman fled to safety in central Oulu. A woman born in the 2000s is also suspected of aiding and abetting aggravated human trafficking. She has been placed under a travel ban. The case emerged on Thursday 29 January when a foreign woman ran into a grocery store in central Oulu and asked staff for help. The woman contacted emergency services and told police that she had been forced to sell sex in a flat in a residential building. Police detained one suspect in Oulu later that evening. The woman who sought help was also taken into police protection. The following day, authorities intercepted four foreign nationals near the eastern border as they attempted to cross illegally from Finland into Russia in the Imatra area. The attempt was detected by a technical alarm system close to the border fence, according to the Finnish Border Guard. A Border Guard patrol detained the four individuals on suspicion of a state border offence. During the preliminary investigation, authorities established that the group was connected to the suspected trafficking and procuring offences uncovered in Oulu. Two of those detained at the border are suspected of criminal offences. The remaining two are believed to be victims of procuring, police said. The border operation was carried out jointly by police, Customs and the Border Guard. All suspects and victims in the case are foreign nationals. Based on information obtained during the investigation, police upgraded the suspected offence to aggravated human trafficking. The charge relates to the organised exploitation of three women through prostitution. Police said the investigation is continuing and involves cooperation with foreign authorities. The use of interpreters during questioning has slowed the process. The Finnish Border Guard confirmed the attempted illegal crossing but said it would not comment further on the criminal investigation. It reminded the public that access to the border zone is restricted and that unauthorised movement or presence in the area is punishable. HT The decision was taken on Tuesday morning as MPs returned to parliament after the winter recess. The group elected its leadership for the new parliamentary session in a meeting that lasted close to two hours. All appointments were agreed unanimously, according to party officials. The Social Democratic Party parliamentary group has reappointed Tytti Tuppurainen as its chair following weeks of internal dispute linked to harassment claims within the party. Tuppurainen has led the parliamentary group since 2023 and faced pressure after media reports described complaints about conduct inside the group. She denied the claims and said they were incorrect. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Tuppurainen said the group had given her full backing despite a difficult period. The parliamentary group is not easy to lead, but we received unanimous support, she said after the vote. She added that the discussion during the meeting was open and direct. She said the group needed space to address the issue face to face. Two vice chairs were also appointed. Piritta Rantanen continues in the role, while Seppo Eskelinen was elected as the second vice chair. Eskelinen replaces Kim Berg, who stepped down from the leadership before the vote. Tuppurainen said Berg made the decision himself and that the group respected it. He felt the public discussion of recent weeks was heavy, she said. He chose to step aside to give the group a new start. Berg has been at the centre of reports published by Ilta-Sanomat concerning events at the partys summer meeting in 2023. According to the newspaper, Berg asked several female staff members whether they had experienced harassment and, if not, whether they wished to be harassed. Berg later apologised publicly after the issue became public. Berg confirmed on Tuesday that he had given up the vice chair role of his own accord. He said the aim was to restore working conditions inside the group. I hope this decision gives our parliamentary group working peace, Berg told Ilta-Sanomat. We have important domestic and foreign policy issues on the table and all energy has gone into this matter. He said there had been support for him to continue but that he judged stepping aside as the only option at this stage. Berg declined to comment further on whether his behaviour had been inappropriate. He referred journalists to earlier statements posted on Facebook, where he said he regretted wording that had offended listeners and said he had learned from the incident. The controversy around the Social Democrats widened in January after the national broadcaster Yle aired a documentary in which MP Ville Merinen raised concerns about the treatment of parliamentary assistants. Merinen said at the time that leadership changes were needed and later confirmed that he was referring to the group leadership. Merinen, who remains on sick leave, attended Tuesdays meeting in person. Before the session began, he said he would support Tuppurainen to continue. I will vote for Tytti, he told reporters. Steps have now been clarified. The party has launched an inquiry and things move forward from there. Merinen said he expected consequences for MPs accused of harassment. He referred to Berg and Marko Asell, who has also been linked to the media reports. The party leadership has stressed that decisions beyond the leadership vote will wait for the outcome of an external inquiry. The Social Democrats have commissioned the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health to conduct a workplace review involving parliamentary staff. Party leader Antti Lindtman said the order of events was clear. First we wait for the report, which is due in March, Lindtman said as he arrived at the meeting. After that we look at next steps. Lindtman also defended Tuppurainen, saying she had faced unfair accusations. He said it was right for the parliamentary group to make its own leadership choices. STT reported in January that several sources described Tuppurainens leadership style as inappropriate. She rejected the claims and said they did not reflect her conduct. HT BEIJING, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Shenzhou-21 crew members aboard China's Tiangong space station have successfully completed their first three months in space, with all planned tasks progressing smoothly, according to the China Manned Space Agency. A video report by China Media Group on Sunday night showed specifically that to combat the physical effects of weightlessness, the crew, consisting of mission commander Zhang Lu and astronauts Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang, had performed a lower limb muscle force stimulation test. Using specialized gear like bionic adhesive shoes, they exercised to stimulate their leg muscles and collected data to study muscle adaptation in space. In the field of space medical research, they have made progress with a pharmacokinetics project, which studies how drugs are processed in the human body in space. This involves collecting saliva samples that will be sent back to Earth for analysis, thereby providing critical data for managing medication use in space. The three astronauts have also conducted multiple tests on human psychology, including assessments of human-computer trust, in-orbit emotional states and emergency decision-making capabilities. In the realm of microgravity physical science, the crew members have maintained and serviced experimental facilities. This process has included cleaning and replacing samples inside a containerless experiment cabinet, a device that levitates materials to study their properties without interference from a container, the report revealed. Beyond scientific experiments, regular health monitoring remains a priority as a disciplined regimen of in-orbit exercise is key to ensuring that crew members remain in optimal condition for the remainder of their mission. The astronauts have already undergone numerous medical checks, including dynamic electrocardiograms, blood pressure monitoring, ultrasound exams and bone density measurements, which showed that they are in good health, the report noted. The Shenzhou-21 manned spacecraft was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Oct. 31, 2025. On Dec. 9, the Shenzhou-21 crew completed their mission's first series of extravehicular activities. President Donald Trump dismissed diplomatic talks with Mexico over the country's intention to continue sending oil to Cuba as humanitarian aid as Havana's economy teeters on the brink of collapse. Speaking to press at the Oval Office, Trump said Cuban leaders are "not getting any money from Venezuela and they're not getting any money from anywhere." "It's a failed nation. Mexico is going to cease sending them oil so I'd like to take care of the people from Cuba. we have many people who came from Cuba, who fled and went through shark infested waters. Many would like to go back. We're dealing with the Cuban leaders right now," Trump added. .@POTUS on Cuba: "They're not getting any money from Venezuela and they're not getting any money from anywhere. It's a failed nation. Mexico is going to cease sending them oil... We are dealing with the Cuban leaders right now." pic.twitter.com/Is32s6gmxS Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 2, 2026 The remark about Mexico took place shortly after Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said the country will send humanitarian aid to the island but "everything regarding oil shipments due to humanitarian reasons will be solved through diplomatic means." She went on to say that the country is "searching all diplomatic channels" to send oil to the beleaguered Caribbean country, "but we'll send other products that are indispensable for the Cuban people." Trump had also rejected that an end to oil shipments will cause a humanitarian crisis in Cuba, saying it doesn't have to reach that point if the Havana regime strikes a deal with him. "I think they'll probably come to us and want to make a deal. So Cuba will be free again. They'll come to us and make a deal. Cuba really has a problem. I know a lot of people from Cuba. We have a lot of people in the U.S. right now who would like to go back to Cuba. We'd like to work that out," Trump said during the weekend while speaking to press aboard the Air Force One during the weekend. Tensions run high in the region as a report from the Financial Times last week claimed that the country has less than a month worth of oil at current levels of demand and domestic production. Citing data company Kpler, the outlet noted that the country has oil to last 15 to 20 days unless deliveries resume. "They have a major crisis on their hands" Jorge Pinon, an oil expert at the University of Texas told the outlet. The country has only received less than 85,000 barrels this year, according to the FT. All came from a shipment on January 9, Kpler detailed. The figure adds to an estimated 460,000 barrels held in inventories at the beginning of the year. Originally published on Latin Times Today, with the House heading back to Washington, D.C., to vote on a government funding package, U.S. Travel, Airlines for America, and the American Hotel & Lodging Association issued the following joint statement: We saw firsthand how government shutdowns significantly disrupt travel and hurt our economy last year. The 2025 shutdown had an economic impact of $6 billionnearly $140 million per dayand negatively impacted more than 6 million passengers. When air traffic controllers and TSA officers are forced to work without pay, it strains an already under resourced aviation system and sends ripple effects across the entire travel ecosystem. We implore the House to act with urgency to vote on the package that the Senate passed on Friday so that vital government agencies can re-open and frontline federal workersincluding controllers and TSA officerscan be paid for the important work they do. Its up to the House to pass these measures to prevent significant disruptions, protect travelers, and maintain confidence in the U.S. air travel system. Congress must also pursue solutions to guarantee that TSA officers and air traffic controllers are paid regardless of future funding lapses. The Aviation Funding Solvency Act (H.R. 6086) and the Aviation Funding Stability Act (S. 1045) would ensure air traffic controllers and other critical FAA employees get paid during shutdowns and would use funds already paid into the system. These are common sense proposals that have bipartisan support and should be passed swiftly. Berlin AMANO Group, one of Berlins leading lifestyle hotel brands, has completed a full digital transformation with Mews, the leading operating system for hospitality and shared spaces. The ambitious rollout with at least one property going live each week marks a major milestone for the Berlin based hotel group as it centralizes operations, empowers teams, and reimagines the guest experience for the modern traveler. AMANO Group is renowned for its stylish design, vibrant F&B concepts and cosmopolitan ambience. With 12 hotels and over 1,300 rooms in Berlin, London, Leipzig, Dusseldorf and Munich, the group is on a rapid growth trajectory, aiming to double its portfolio in the next three years. The decision to partner with Mews goes far beyond a property management system upgrade. It represents a complete rethinking of AMANO Groups technology, moving towards one seamless ecosystem. After a successful pilot in January 2025, Mews was deployed portfolio-wide by the end of July thanks to meticulous planning, strong IT collaboration, and expert onboarding from both teams. Switching to Mews was about more than technology - it was about transforming how we operate. Our hotels are fast-paced, and we needed a system that could keep up with our decision-making. Mews intuitive UI and integrated payments have been game-changers, especially with high staff turnover at the front office. Now, our team can focus on hospitality, not administration. Phillip Rokeach, CEO at AMANO Group By replacing the traditional front desk with digital-first solutions including online check-in, digital keys, and kiosks powered by Mews AMANO Group has redefined the arrival experience. This transformation has reduced administrative workload by 85%, freeing staff to engage with guests more meaningfully. Instead of waiting in line at reception, guests are now welcomed at the AMANO Cafe where hospitality feels as natural as a conversation. AMANO Group is a fantastic example of how technology can empower hoteliers to focus on what matters most: the guest. Their vision and speed of execution are truly impressive, and were proud to support their journey as they redefine urban hospitality. Matt Welle, CEO of Mews Looking ahead, AMANO Group will continue to centralize systems and scale innovation across its growing portfolio. The collaboration with Mews stands as a powerful example of how technology and creativity can come together to elevate hospitality at every level. About AMANO Group The AMANO Group is a Berlin-based hotel company that currently owns twelve hotels, including eight in Berlin, one in Dusseldorf, one in Munich, one in Leipzig, and one in London. A second one in Leipzig is under construction, with three more hotels planned in Hamburg, one in Munich, one in Berlin and another property in London. Founded in 2009 by the Susskind, Schiff, and Rokeach families, the AMANO Group aims to design hotels that integrate seamlessly into the cultural life of the city rather than being touristy outliers. All properties follow the philosophy of offering sophisticated urban living in central locations at a fair price, with interior design and service levels surpassing the three-star standard. Through pioneering dining concepts like restaurants, bars, and several rooftop terraces, the AMANO Group fosters vibrant exchanges between the city and its hotels. Learn more: https://www.amanogroup.com/en Press contact: [email protected] About Mews Mews is the operating system for hospitality, unifying workflows across revenue, operations and the guest journey so teams can automate the mundane and focus on memorable guest experiences. The Mews platform spans PMS, POS, RMS, Housekeeping and Payments, helping hoteliers move from property management to profit management. Powering 15,000 customers across 85 countries, the company was named Best PMS (2024, 2025, 2026), Best POS (2026) and listed among the Best Places to Work in Hotel Tech for six years running by Hotel Tech Report. www.mews.com George Barker Director of Communications San Diego, CA. Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation for recognizing and celebrating historic hotels, announced today that it has selected Cloudbeds, the intelligent unified platform powering hotel growth, as a Supplier Partner. Through the Supplier Partner program, Cloudbeds will support member properties with modern, unified hospitality technology designed to simplify operations, improve guest experience and enhance profitability, while preserving the character and heritage that define landmark hotels. Historic Hotels of America represents more than 300 historic hotels across the United States, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. Each property is recognized for its architectural integrity, historical significance, and enduring sense of place. As a Supplier Partner, Cloudbeds will serve as a preferred technology provider for member hotels seeking to streamline day-to-day operations and gain greater clarity across their business without compromising authenticity. Historic hotels have always balanced preservation with progress. Theyve endured by staying true to who they are. Cloudbeds gives them modern infrastructure that helps them compete on their own terms, without sacrificing the individuality that made them landmarks in the first place. Adam Harris, CEO and co-founder of Cloudbeds Historic hoteliers welcome guests at storied destinations shaped by generations of travelers. They are committed to honoring the past while delivering the level of service todays guests expect. Cloudbeds provides modern technology that supports this balance, helping hotels operate seamlessly while respecting the legacy and individuality of these remarkable properties. Lawrence Horwitz, Executive Vice President of Historic Hotels of America and Historic Hotels Worldwide Cloudbeds works with independent, boutique, and heritage-driven hotels around the world, supporting properties that value distinct identity and thoughtful hospitality. As guest expectations evolve, historic hotels are increasingly adopting technology that removes complexity for staff and creates smoother, more intuitive experiences for guests. With a unified platform that brings together property management, distribution, revenue, and guest engagement in one system, Cloudbeds enables hotel teams to reduce manual work, improve efficiency, respond more efficiently to guest needs, and gain insight in an increasingly competitive hospitality landscape. About Cloudbeds Cloudbeds is hospitalitys only intelligent growth engine a unified platform trusted by the worlds most ambitious hoteliers across 150 countries. Built to challenge the limits of outdated tech stacks, Cloudbeds connects operations, revenue, distribution, and guest experience in one powerful, intuitive system. The platform is enhanced with Signals, a hospitality AI model giving hoteliers the power to anticipate demand, run smarter operations, and craft more personal, profitable guest journeys at scale. Founded in 2012, Cloudbeds has earned top honors from Hotel Tech Report (Top PMS, Hotel Management System, and Channel Manager, 20212026), the World Travel Awards (Worlds Best Hotel PMS Solutions Provider, 2022), and Deloittes Technology Fast 500 (2024). About Historic Hotels of America Historic Hotels of America is the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation for recognizing and celebrating the finest historic hotels from across the United States of America. The National Trust for Historic Preservation was chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1949 and is a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The National Trust for Historic Preservation is leading the movement to save places where our history happened. To be nominated and selected for membership in this prestigious program, a hotel must be at least 50 years old; designated by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior as a National Historic Landmark or listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places; and recognized as having historical significance. Of the more than 300 historic hotels inducted into Historic Hotels of America from 41 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, all historic hotels faithfully preserve their authenticity, sense of place, and architectural integrity. For more information, please visit HistoricHotels.org and sign up to receive future news, highlights, and advance notice of special offers from Historic Hotels of America. Delano, the iconic centerpiece of Miami Beach, will officially reopen its doors in preview in late March 2026, unveiling an extraordinary transformation that decisively pays tribute to the dynamic spirit of Miami. At the core of this bold new chapter is an introduction of world-renowned culinary concepts to the United States, in collaboration with Paris Society. This marks the hospitality group's inaugural venture into the American market, featuring the luxurious Italian favorite Gigi Rigolatto, and Worlds 50 Best-listed Mimi Kakushi. Since its founding in 2008 by Laurent de Gourcuff, Paris Society has established itself as a powerhouse in the hospitality industry, with a growing portfolio of over 70 venues, including restaurants, clubs, hotels, and event spaces in the ultra-premium and luxury lifestyle sectors. Our expansion into Miami marks an exciting new chapter for Paris Society, says the CEO Rizwan Kassim. With the introduction of Gigi Rigolatto and Mimi Kakushi to the U.S. market, were bringing our design-led approach to dining and lifestyle, where cuisine, atmosphere, and experience come together in a city that shares our global vision. Opening at Delano Miami Beach, and as part of the Ennismore family, makes this collaboration feel like a natural extension of our world. Gigi Rigolatto - https://delanohotels.com/miami-beach/gigi-rigolatto/ After Paris, St. Tropez, Rome, Dubai and Bodrum, Gigi Rigolatto is bringing its signature Alla Grande state of mind to Delano Miami Beach, celebrating the art of living where everyone comes together to share a festive, unique, and unforgettable experience. Gigis is a masterclass in Italian hospitality, evoking a Mediterranean escape where guests can savor exceptional cuisine enveloped in the signature electric energy. This ambiance-driven oasis, designed by Hugo Toro, offers a vibrant and inviting atmosphere inspired by the elegant hospitality of its coastal and Parisienne sister restaurants. The restaurants walls are adorned with mineral plaster, intricately carved wooden panels, and accented with yellow Sienna marble that complements the custom furniture. Spanning from Delanos first floor to The Beach Club, guests can choose to be seated in three distinct areas: an indoor restaurant, poolside tables, and beach cabanas. Each section is seamlessly connected through carefully considered design elements, including coral stone chosen for its exceptionally light hue, which enhances the airy, elegant aesthetic of the spaces, warm service, and lively musical programming. The signature Bellini Bar serves as the gateway from the property to the beach, inviting guests to enjoy refreshing cocktails along with a specially curated menu designed for oceanfront dining. In addition to the venues, Gigi Rigolatto boasts a private dining room that can accommodate up to 16 guests. The menu is centered around cultivating an essential quality of food rooted in simplicity. From Arancini to Linguini with lobster, beef carpaccio to veal scaloppini alla Milanese, Gigis offerings are refined and generous, friendly and sunny. No matter the selection or course, Gigis gastronomy always invites sharing, with pleasure as the key theme. To capture the true essence of the branddefined by luxury, effortless refinement, and elevated indulgenceGigi Rigolattos concept store is a destination in its own right. This adjoining retail space features a carefully curated selection of clothing and accessories for women, men, and children, as well as homeware and wellness products, often the result of thoughtfully chosen brand collaborations. Guests can also discover Gigis custom scent within the store, an olfactory identity characterized by spicy, floral, leathery, and powdery notes, creating an enchanting embodiment of Gigis charismatic spirit. Mimi Kakushi - https://delanohotels.com/miami-beach/mimi-kakushi/ Mimi Kakushi, the acclaimed 1920s Osaka-inspired Japanese restaurant, known for its blend of traditional and modern Japanese cuisine, as well as its award-winning cocktail program, will be located on the fourth floor of the hotel, Mimi Kakushi will be accessible exclusively to the Delano Members Club and hotel guests. Designed by PIRAJEEN LEES, Mimi Kakushis setting is built on a rich narrative, authentically celebrating Oriental Art Deco by bringing the essence of the 1920s into the modern day. The space is layered with light, textures, contrasts, and natural materials, echoed through the settings subtle olfactory that sweeps through like a breeze under a Sakura tree. Wooden screens offer spatial flexibility, while the furniture, inspired by Japanese colonial influences, pairs with the lush decorative fabrics, hand-painted walls and luxurious table settings. Mimi Kakushis menu fuses a taste of the East with the rhythm of the West. With playful twists on well-known Japanese classics, diners will enjoy hot and cold sharing plates of sashimi, sushi, tempura and gyoza, all prepared from the alluring sushi counter. Moving through the menu, youll discover the popular oven-baked black cod, Donabe rice pot, and Kagoshima wagyu beef satisfying the most discerning and yearning of appetites. To finish the meal, the signature electric dessert list will tempt you to end the meal with the most delectable of choices. The most intriguing element of the Mimi Kakushi experience is the cocktail offering, which takes its inspiration from the life and work of Japanese silent film actor Sessue Hayakawa. Each drink is dedicated to a role he brought to life on the silver screen, from the Nara Nara, which is a striking martini encased in ice to represent his wartime espionage, or the Tsuru-Nita that reflects the tension of a prince torn between passion and duty in Londons high society. Blending both a flavor experience with a cinematic moment, every sip will transport guests into the silent era. The auditory experience at Mimi Kakushi is deliberately crafted, drawing from the historic record bars and lounges of Japan and blended with contemporary electronic beats. The curation effortlessly merges the unique sounds of Osaka with the dynamic energy of Tokyo, highlighted by live performances interspersed for a truly elevated atmosphere. Mimi Kakushi, Dubais leading destination for authentic Japanese cuisine and mixology, ranks #36 on The Worlds 50 Best Bars and #1 in the Middle East at the ceremony which took place on October 8th, 2025. Mimi Kakushi was the only venue in the United Arab Emirates to feature on this years list. Further cementing its position on the regional dining scene, Mimi Kakushi also ranks #37 on MENAs 50 Best Restaurants 2025. Together, these accolades reflect the teams continued commitment to delivering an exceptional Japanese food and beverage experience inspired by the spirit of 1920s Osaka. Case Study: How a GDN Campaign Tripled a Luxury Hotels Breakfast Package Production - By Madison Allen - Image Credit Pexels We launched a targeted Google Display Network (GDN) campaign for a 5-star luxury hotel in Chicago. The goal was to increase bookings for their breakfast offer and boost overall visibility to the hotels target audience. The campaign successfully leveraged precise audience targeting to reach travelers and business professionals likely to visit Chicago. The campaign not only met but drastically exceeded all key performance indicators (KPIs), resulting in nearly 4x the projected traffic and 3x the targeted revenue. 1) Campaign Goals The primary objective was to drive direct bookings for the hotels signature breakfast offer and, in doing so, increase overall F&B revenue. To measure the success of the campaign, we established the following KPIs: Website Traffic: Achieve an increase of at least 13,000 visitors . Achieve an increase of at least . Click-Through Rate (CTR): Maintain a CTR greater than 0.5% . Maintain a CTR greater than . Offer Revenue: Generate a minimum of $50,000 in revenue from the breakfast offer. Generate a minimum of in revenue from the breakfast offer. Targeting: Elevate the hotels visibility among a key demographic of high-propensity travelers and business professionals within specific age groups and interests. 2) Strategy & Execution For the campaign, we utilized the Google Display Network to place visually compelling ads across a network of relevant websites. The strategy centered on precise segmentation, targeting high-intent audiences with: A high likelihood of visiting Chicago. Interests consistent with luxury travel and high-quality dining experiences. Alignment with the hotels key age and professional demographics. This focus on quality traffic ensured the ads were shown to the most relevant prospects, maximizing the potential for conversion. 3) Quantifiable Results: Exceeding Expectations The GDN campaign was a success, achieving all original goals and significantly surpassing the targets. The effectiveness was measured directly via Google Analytics and internal booking systems: KPI Target Goal Achieved Result Success Metric Website Traffic 13,000 Visitors >50,000 Visits 385% of Goal Click-Through Rate (CTR) >0.5% 1.96% 392% of Goal Offer Revenue $50,000 >$150,000 300% of Goal 4) Return on Investment (ROI) The strategic use of the Google Display Network led to exceptional financial performance. The campaign generated over $150,000 in revenue from direct bookings of the hotels breakfast offer. This achievement tripled the initial revenue goal of $50,000, highlighting the campaigns powerful contribution to the hotels visibility and package revenue production. The resulting Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) was 12.5:1, demonstrating an efficient and profitable campaign deployment. The campaigns success underscores the effectiveness of a data-driven approach to display advertising. By driving high-quality, targeted traffic to the offer page, the GDN campaign not only elevated the hotels visibility within its target market but also delivered immediate and significant measurable returns. Madison Allen, Director of Client Services at Cogwheel Marketing. Connect with Madison on LinkedIn. This article originally appeared on Cogwheel Marketing. Business Travel Industry Faces Optimism and Operational Hurdles for 2026, GBTA Poll Finds - Image Credit GBTA Industry Sentiment: Cautious Optimism Amid Constraints The GBTAs January 2026 poll, which surveyed 571 business travel professionals across 40 countries, indicates a generally positive outlook for the coming year. Approximately 59% of respondents expressed optimism about the industrys prospects, while 31% maintained a neutral stance. However, optimism has declined by 12 percentage points compared to the previous year, reflecting ongoing concerns about economic, cross-border, and trade challenges. Spending and Volume Projections for 2026 Most corporate travel buyers (84%) expect their organizations business travel spending to either increase (44%) or remain at 2025 levels (40%) in 2026. The average anticipated increase among those expecting growth is 12%, while only 13% foresee a decrease. Regarding trip volumes, 35% of buyers expect an increase, with an average expected rise of 14%. Nearly half (47%) expect business trip numbers to remain steady, and buyers in the EMEA region are more likely to anticipate a decrease. Travel managers also expect more employees to travel for business in 2026. Forty-two percent anticipate an increase in employee travelers, though one-third of these expect growth of less than 10%. Thirty-eight percent expect the number of travelers to remain unchanged, and 18% foresee a decline. Supplier and TMC Revenue Expectations Travel suppliers and travel management companies (TMCs) are generally optimistic about revenue prospects. Almost half (47%) expect revenue increases in 2026, with an average projected growth of 15%. Thirty-nine percent expect revenues to remain at 2025 levels, and 14% anticipate a decline. Regional differences are notable, with North American suppliers being the least likely to expect revenue growth. Operating Budgets and Cost Control Three-quarters (75%) of travel buyers expect their 2026 budgets for travel management operations to either increase (30%) or remain consistent with 2025 (45%). Among those expecting growth, 20% anticipate less than 10% increase. However, 18% expect operational budgets to decline. U.S. buyers are more concerned about program cost savings and control (74%) compared to non-U.S. buyers (62%). Suppliers and TMCs report reducing marketing spend (26%), pausing new hires (22%), and decreasing staff or outsourcing (13%) as primary areas of budget cuts. In the U.S., 20% of TMC professionals expect staffing reductions, and 26% anticipate hiring freezes. Top Concerns: Affordability, Borders, and Safety The leading concerns for travel buyers in 2026 are affordability (70%), ease of obtaining entry/exit permissions and visas (65%), and employee safety (56%). These concerns are consistent across markets and roles, though U.S. buyers are particularly focused on affordability and entry/exit permissions. Buyers managing high volumes of trips and suppliers express heightened concern about cross-border requirements. Service quality from TMCs is a concern for 52% of buyers, while 42% are worried about internal support for travel programs. Suppliers are also concerned about the willingness of travel and procurement managers to switch partners. Balancing cost controls with traveler satisfaction (59%) and managing price increases (58%) are cited as significant challenges. Non-U.S. buyers are more concerned about protecting travelers from AI scams. Operational challenges include missing content in booking tools (46%), addressing AI (46%), and managing leakage (39%). U.S. ESTA Changes and Cross-Border Mobility Proposed changes to the U.S. Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) could require travelers from 42 visa-free countries to provide more personal information, such as long-term social media and family data, and use biometric selfies and a mobile app. These changes raise privacy concerns and could affect travel to the U.S. Among organizations that frequently send employees to the U.S., 78% are concerned about managing travel under the new requirements. Top issues include managing travel logistics (65%), increased challenges for sending employees (64%), higher costs (63%), and reduced willingness to travel to the U.S. (61%). European professionals are especially concerned about privacy, with 67% indicating employees may avoid U.S. travel rather than provide additional personal information. As a result, companies are considering holding more meetings outside the U.S. (43%), reducing near-term (29%) and long-term (25%) U.S. travel, and changing policies to limit U.S. trips (19%). Artificial Intelligence in Business Travel AI remains a focus for business travel professionals, with 65% interested in pricing optimization and 64% in predictive analytics. Buyers see AIs current value in improving data analysis (45%) and automating reporting (42%). Interest in AI-driven analytics and dynamic pricing is higher outside the U.S. Looking ahead five years, 56% expect AI to moderately improve automation, while only 27% anticipate a significant transformation of their roles. Survey Methodology The GBTA conducted the online poll from January 5-18, 2026, with responses from 571 members and non-members across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. Respondents represented organizations with varying business travel spending and responsibilities. For more information and to access the full poll results, visit GBTA Research. Stockbridge Grange Community Dinner STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. The Stockbridge Grange is holding a community dinner on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, featuring spaghetti and meatballs, salad, and bread with dessert choices of chocolate cream or lemon meringue pie. Dinner is $17.00 per person, take out only with 12-1:30 pm pick up at the Stockbridge Grange Hall at 51 Church Street, Stockbridge. Orders may be made by calling 413-243-1298 or 413-443-4352. Inclement weather postpones the meal for a week. MCLA Green Living Seminar to Explore Climate Change Perceptions in the Middle East NORTH ADAMS, Mass. Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts' (MCLA) Green Living Seminar Series continues on Wednesday, Feb. 4, at 5:30 p.m. with a presentation by Dr. Nimah Mazaheri, Professor of Political Science and Dean of Academic Affairs at Tufts University. The presentation, titled "Faith Under Fire: How Religion Shapes Climate Concern in the Middle East," will take place in MCLA's Feigenbaum Center for Science and Innovation, Room 121. The event is free and open to the public. Mazaheri will discuss his research on how religion influences climate change perceptions across the Middle East, a region facing significant environmental challenges including extreme heat, recurring droughts, and water salinization. Drawing from Arab Barometer surveys of 13,700 people across twelve countries, Mazaheri's research reveals unexpected patterns in how Middle Eastern populations view the climate crisis. His findings show that while Muslims tend to be less concerned about climate change compared to Christians in the region, individuals with a strong sense of religiosity across all faiths demonstrate greater concern about environmental threats. The research also uncovers a "culture war" dynamic, with religious Muslims who endorse Islamist government showing less concern than their secular counterparts. Mazaheri's work focuses on the political economy of the Middle East and North Africa, with particular emphasis on how oil wealth shapes politics and economics in the region. His research has been published in leading journals including Comparative Political Studies, World Politics, and World Development. This semester's Green Living Seminar series explores "Nature and Spirituality," a 12-week examination of how faith, religion, and spiritual traditions shape our relationship with the natural world. Esther Bell Named Next Director of Clark Art WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. The Board of Trustees of the Clark Art Institute announced the appointment of Esther Bell as the Institute's Hardymon Director. Currently serving as the Clark's Deputy Director and Robert and Martha Berman Lipp Chief Curator, Bell will become the Clark's sixth director when she assumes her new role on July 1. The Board unanimously elected Bell to the position following an extensive international search. Bell will be the first woman in the Clark's seventy-year history to serve as its director. She succeeds Olivier Meslay, who announced last September that he would be leaving the Clark and returning to his native France in 2026. "We are proud and deeply gratified to announce Esther Bell as our new director, based on her countless achievements at the Clark and a career of recognized excellence in the field," said Denise Littlefield Sobel, chairman of the Institute's Board of Trustees. "She is a consummate professional, a collaborative member of the Clark's senior staff, and has honed her directorial acumen through sharp executive decision-making and a talent for forging close working relationships throughout the museum world. We look forward to her leading the Clark to even greater success in her new position." Of his successor, Meslay noted that "I first met Esther Bell in 2003 when she was pursuing a Fulbright Fellowship at the Musee du Louvre. I knew then that she was an exceptional art historian and I have watched her forge a brilliant career. I am delighted to know that the Clark's next chapter will be entrusted to Esther's exceedingly capable hands. She is a respected museum leader, an impressive scholar, and a passionate advocate for the arts. I congratulate Esther on her appointment and look forward to celebrating the continued growth and success she is sure to bring to the Clark." Bell is a member of the Clark's senior leadership team. In addition to leading the Institute's curatorial staff and directing the care and growth of its collections, Bell oversees the work of the Clark's library, its education and public programming teams, and its visitor services efforts. She also plays a role in fulfilling the Clark's commitment to visitor engagement, while representing the Clark on a number of community-based service organizations. "I am honored by the opportunity to become the Clark's Hardymon Director and extraordinarily inspired to imagine where we can take this beloved and celebrated institution in the years ahead," said Bell. "With the support of my esteemed colleagues, I look forward to being a part of an exciting future for the Clark as we dedicate ourselves to ensuring that the Institute will always be a welcoming place of contemplation, inspiration, and education for all. As we continue to grow our campus and our collections, we recognize the significance of ensuring that we steward the Clark's remarkable resources with care, consideration, and commitment to fulfill our mission of extending the public's appreciation of art." Bell joined the Clark's staff in 2017 and was appointed Deputy Director in 2022. Her first engagement with the Institute came in 2001 when she came to Williamstown to pursue her Master's degree in Williams College's Graduate Program in the History of Art, which is jointly administered by and housed at the Clark. In her time at the Clark, Bell has spearheaded the Institute's embrace of a broader array of artists and genres, making acquisitions and encouraging scholarly research of the objects in the collection. Bell has been involved in the Clark's special exhibitions program and has organized several of its most important recent exhibitions. Bell also played a role in the inaugural presentation of the Clark's first outdoor exhibition, "Ground/work" (Oct. 6, 2020 to Oct.17, 2021) and its second iteration, which is currently on view through Oct. 12, 2026 on the Clark's 140-acre campus. Featuring monumental sculptural works, both presentations underscore the relationship between art and nature that are so central to the experience of the Clark. In addition to her curatorial efforts, Bell was responsible for a expansion of the Clark's education and public programming activities, culminating in the 2025 establishment of its Division of Learning and Engagement. This project established a framework to more completely integrate the Clark's educational activities, school and community outreach, and public programming initiatives in support of the Clark's commitment to fostering meaningful engagements with art and nature. Bell regularly teaches courses in the Williams College/Clark Graduate Program in the History of Art and frequently lectures in the United States and Europe. She has co-edited and contributed to numerous scholarly exhibition catalogues. Before joining the Clark, Bell served as the curator in charge of European paintings at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, where she organized important exhibitions. Prior to that, Bell was the curator of European paintings, drawings, and sculpture at the Cincinnati Art Museum. She began her career in New York, holding positions as a research assistant and curatorial fellow at both the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Morgan Library & Museum. Bell holds a doctorate in the history of art from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, with a specialization in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century European art. She earned a master's degree from the Williams College/Clark Graduate Program in the History of Art, and a bachelor's degree in the history of art from the University of Virginia. She completed a Fulbright Fellowship at the Musee du Louvre in 2003 and has held several other fellowships. In 2020, Bell completed a fellowship at the Center for Curatorial Leadership in New York. In 2015, Apollo magazine named her one of the top curators in North America under the age of forty. Bell is active in the Williamstown community and is a member of the boards of both the Williamstown Community Chest and the Williamstown Chamber of Commerce. Russell Reynolds Associates, New York, coordinated the search for the Clark, working closely with a committee comprised of members of the Institute's Board of Trustees. In the Philippines, geography has long shaped how e-commerce works. Distance adds cost, islands add time, and access has often depended on where sellers and buyers are located. As Shopee Philippines, a leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia, Taiwan, and Brazil, marks more than a decade in the country, it continues to strengthen its capabilities in Visayas and Mindanao as part of its long-term commitment to improving access nationwide. Over the years, e-commerce has become an essential channel for Filipino consumers and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Yet outside major urban centers, moving goods across islands has remained a practical constraint, affecting how quickly sellers can reach customers and how easily buyers can access products available elsewhere in the country. Impact of strengthening access in VisMin For many buyers in Visayas and Mindanao, whats available to them is becoming less defined by where sellers are located. In an archipelagic country like the Philippines, Shopee supports this shift by enabling sellers to position products closer to buyers through platform-supported solutions, helping make access less dependent on distance and geography. Through Fulfilled by Shopee (FBS), sellers have the option to store inventory in Shopee-supported facilities, with packing and shipping handled by an ecosystem of third-party logistics partners through the platform. By easing fulfillment complexity, FBS helps sellers focus on growing their businesses, from improving products and pricing competitively to serving customers more consistently, while helping make access more reliable for buyers in Visayas and Mindanao. For buyers, this means more consistent availability of everyday items and reduced reliance on long cross-island routes. As a result, average delivery times for many VisMin orders have been reduced from around seven days to about three to four days, supporting more predictable delivery timelines and costs for both sellers and buyers. Making e-commerce work for the whole country means continuing to build capabilities that serve both buyers and sellers wherever they live, said Vincent Lee, Head of Shopee Philippines. Our focus in Visayas and Mindanao builds on years of work to make buying and selling online easier and more reliable, while improving access for communities outside major urban centers. Supporting MSMEs and local participation Shopees work in Visayas and Mindanao also builds on its broader support for the Filipino MSMEs. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Filipino sellers have spent more than 110,000 hours on Shopee University courses, equivalent to more than 12 straight years of learning, as entrepreneurs build practical skills in pricing, marketing, customer service, and day-to-day business operations. Alongside these efforts, Shopee expects its VisMin operations to support around 1,500 employment opportunities by 2026, across platform operations and seller enablement roles that support participation and growth within the e-commerce ecosystem. As Shopee enters its next decade in the Philippines, the focus remains on the long-term work of building services and solutions that expand access, support livelihoods, and help e-commerce grow more evenly across the country. Join the Independent Women newsletter with Victoria Richards for a thoughtful take on the weeks headlines Join the Independent Women newsletter Join the Independent Women newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A groundbreaking new exhibition at the British Museum reveals the untold history of Japans Samurai class, including the fact that half of them were women. Samurai is the first exhibition to explore how the warrior orders image and myth were manufactured and purports to challenge everything the public thinks they know about the Japanese icons. Bringing together over 280 objects and digital media from both the collection and 29 national and international lenders with many items including a suit of samurai armour on display for the first time the display includes arms, armour, paintings, woodblock prints, books, clothing, ceramics and photographs. The samurai emerged in the early medieval period in the 1100s to 1600 as wealthy households hired warriors for private security provision. open image in gallery Suit of armour with bullet-proof cuirass embossed with crest, 16001700 ( The Trustees of the British Museum ) The mercenary group developed into a rural gentry and by 1615 they had moved away from the battlefield to serve as government officials, scholars, and patrons of the arts. It is here where half of the samurai class were women and although they did not tend to fight they were a vital part of the elite order, playing a key role both on and off the battlefield. It's a surprise that comes from a narrow use or a narrow understanding of the word samurai, because samurai doesn't mean warrior, Dr Rosina Buckland, Asahi Shimbun curator of Japanese Collections, told The Independent. According to the exhibition, the most celebrated female samurai was Tomoe Gozen who died in 1247, and whose exploits are the subject of The Tale of the Heike. She was reported to have ripped off the head of the samurai Uchida Saburo leyoshi who tried to capture her for ransom. Later, as battles subsided, women dressed according to their rank within this class. High-ranking women wore long, trailing robes decorated with nature motifs and references to Japanese literature. Unmarried samurai wore long sleeves on their kimono to demonstrate their status. open image in gallery Samurai kimono, 1800 - 1850 ( The Independent ) They were educated to prepare them for married life, running a household and raising children, the exhibition reveals. Appropriate behaviour, etiquette and the right cultural preparations were all part of an ongoing education in society. The exhibition also documents the influence of samurais on popular culture with a special section dedicated to film, television, manga, video games and contemporary art including commissioned works by the celebrated Japanese artist Noguchi Tetsuya. Historians have always known that the popular understanding as is the case with most cultures is some distance away from where theyre being interpreted, says Dr Buckland. open image in gallery Hayakawa Shozans The Killing at Namamugi from 1877 ( The Trustees of the British Museum ) Theres a distance in time and space and a popular understand that can be easily consumed, and a description that be easily understood is what spreads. Hollywood movies and imagery gets spread around the world and that become fixed as peoples ideas but historians know that when you dig beneath the surface, you find something quite different. Theres a little grain of truth in it but it gets exaggerated. Split into three sections, the exhibition explores the samurais role as fearsome honour-bound warriors, their evolution into a cultural class of bureaucrats and their modern day influence on popular culture. After the samurai stopped fighting in 1615, Dr Buckland says a rich and layered cultural landscape emerged. Theyre not warriors in practice during this period, she says. Theyre just warriors in name. They're kind of this standing army that never actually has to fight a battle because there's 250 years of peace. open image in gallery The exhibition explores samurai representation in popular culture ( Noguchi Tetsuya Photography/The Trustees of the British Museum ) So we show a samurai in normal everyday clothing like a business suit. We show them that there are women. Half of the samurai class were women, and there's a woman's robe and her daily hair regimen instruments, a dressing set and a hand mirror and a book of etiquette. There are lots of cultural pursuits in this section. Books that samurai published or artworks that they enjoyed. Samurai reveals that much of the myths around the group were shaped by politics, nostalgia and global pop culture, long after their age had passed. In peacetime, particularly during the early 20th century that was a politically charged period for Japan as it engaged in colonial expansion, Dr Buckland says the samurai image was manipulated for the purposes of galvanising a national identity. open image in gallery A full suit of armour, dating from between 1700 and 1800 ( Courtesy of Patrick SYZ Limited/Matthew Hollow Photography ) Some of the highlights of the exhibition include a rare suit of samurai armour newly acquired by the Museum complete with a prestigious helmet and golden standard, shaped like iris leaves, which were designed to make the wearer both identifiable and fearsome. Others include a vermillion red, womans firefighting jacket, a rare portrait of a 13-year-old samurai who led an embassy to the Vatican in 1582. Modern installations include a Louis Vuitton outfit inspired by Japanese armour and references to popular video games such as Assassins Creed: Shadows (2025) and Nioh 3 (2026). Were using this very well-known word samurai to introduce people to the richness of Japanese culture and the complexity of history and explain all the different roles they had over the centuries, says Dr Buckland. Because theyre the elite, they have the best stuff, the best quality objects. It allows us to interrogate this popular understanding. Samurai runs from 3 February to 4 May 2026. Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Get Simon Calders Travel email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Air India grounded a Boeing Dreamliner after its pilot reported a possible defect in a fuel control switch, a component central to the ongoing investigation into last Junes deadly Ahmedabad crash. The airline didnt disclose the nature of the defect or identify the flight involved. However two sources told local media that the issue was flagged after the aircraft landed in Bengaluru following a flight from London. The Dreamliner comes with two fuel control switches, one for each engine, and they are prominently located on the critical cockpit control panel between the pilot seats, positioned just behind the throttle levers. Pilots flick the switches to run or cutoff positions to start or shut down the engines on the ground. In the event of an engine failure during flight, they can be used to manually shut down or restart the engines. The switches on Boeing 787 operate through a two-step mechanism. They must be lifted before being moved between run and cutoff. In the latest incident, according to sources quoted by The Times of India, one of the switches moved from run to cutoff during engine start at London Heathrow even though the required safety action was not followed. File. An Air India plane is seen parked on the tarmac at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi ( AFP via Getty Images ) The pilot lightly pushed the left fuel control switch to check if its lock feature was working and found it wasnt because the switch moved even though it wasnt lifted first. The switch again failed to lock during a second check. On the third attempt, it remained locked and did not move without being lifted. We are aware that one of our pilots has reported a possible defect on the fuel control switch of a Boeing 787-8 aircraft, Air India said in a statement. After receiving this initial information, we have grounded the said aircraft and are involving the Original Equipment Manufacturers to get the pilots concerns checked on a priority basis. It added that the matter had been communicated to Indias aviation regulator, DGCA. The airline also launched an inspection of fuel control switches across its Boeing 787 fleet after the incident was reported, according to the news agency PTI. Air India currently operates 33 Boeing 787 aircraft. Air India senior vice president for flight operations, Manish Uppal, informed Boeing 787 pilots that a fleet-wide re-inspection of fuel control switches had been initiated, the agency quoted a source as saying. While we await Boeings response, our engineers out of an abundance of caution have initiated precautionary fleet-wide re-inspection of the fuel control switch latch to verify normal operations, he said in an email on Tuesday. In the wake of the Ahmedabad crash, a preliminary investigation by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau reported confusion in the cockpit about the fuel switches shortly before the Dreamliner came down. The report quoted one pilot asking the other why he had moved the fuel switches to cutoff. The other replied he had not. The bureau said at the time it had found no technical or design fault, a conclusion that implied pilot error. The London incident casts doubt on that assumption. The crash in western India killed 260 people, including all but one person onboard the London-bound flight. Soon after, Air India said it had checked the switches on all its Boeing 787 aircraft and had found no issues. After the incident on 1 February, Boeing said they were in contact with Air India and supporting their review of this matter. The Independent has reached out to Air India and Boeing for comment. The plane involved in the latest incident was a Dreamliner operating Air India flight AI 132 from London to Bengaluru, with departure set for 9.05pm local time, according to NDTV. It eventually departed at 9.40pm. In the wake of the incident, the Federation of Indian Pilots renewed its call for Boeing 787 aircraft to be grounded and their electrical systems thoroughly inspected. Air safety expert Amit Singh told The Times of India that the incident was particularly concerning because the US aviation regulator had cautioned in 2018 that fuel control switches on Boeing 787s could malfunction and lead to inadvertent engine shutdown. Occurring after Air India said its fleets fuel control switches have been checked and amid the ongoing June 12 B787 crash investigation, it raises serious questions about inspection adequacy and demands the highest level of regulatory scrutiny, he said. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The US and India seem to have settled their economic disputes after the leaders of the two nations announced a long-delayed trade deal on Monday, capping almost a year of negotiations that had strained ties. Details of the agreement remain scarce. Whatever is known so far has come largely from social media posts by US president Donald Trump, brief remarks by Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, and comments by mostly unnamed government officials in the two capitals. What has not been released is the full text of the agreement, a joint statement or a detailed fact sheet, prompting observers to describe the outcome as a preliminary framework rather than a binding trade deal. Mr Trump was the first to break the news on social media, declaring that the amazing relationship with India will be even stronger and announcing the US would lower the reciprocal tariffs on the South Asian country from 25 per cent to 18 per cent. Mr Modi quickly responded on X, confirming the tariff cut and thanking Mr Trump but without elaborating on any wider commitments. Heres what we know about the new deal so far: Tariff reduction The clearest element to emerge so far is a reduction in import tariffs on Indian goods. Mr Trump said Washington would immediately lower its reciprocal tariffs on Indian imports to 18 per cent. He also said India would stop buying Russian oil and, in turn, Washington would lift the punitive levy of 25 per cent imposed last year. Indian exports to the US were facing a 50 per cent tariff rate since 6 August, when Mr Trump imposed an additional 25 per cent punitive duty over its continued purchase of Russian crude. The move burdened India with one of the highest US tariff rates of any country. The punitive tariff would drop to zero as Mr Modi had agreed to halt purchases of Russian oil and instead significantly increase imports from the US, and potentially Venezuela as well, Mr Trump claimed. He agreed to stop buying Russian Oil and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela, Mr Trump said on Truth Social. This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine. A White House official confirmed the rollback of the punitive levy was contingent on India fully ceasing not just reducing Russian oil imports. Indias silence Indias import of discounted Russian crude since the war in Ukraine started has been a persistent source of friction in its ties with Washington, with the Trump administration accusing Delhi of helping finance Moscows war effort. Though not a major buyer of Russian oil historically, India emerged as one of its top customers after Western sanctions caused Moscow to offer discounted supplies to countries like India and China. The Trump administrations efforts to stop these shipments have slowed the flow of Russian oil to India, but have not stopped it. Mr Modi and his officials have stayed silent on whether India has agreed to halt the purchase of Russian oil. In his public response, Mr Modi focused solely on the tariff reduction, saying: Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. He also said Mr Trumps leadership was vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity. Russia, meanwhile, played down the US claim. The Kremlin said on Tuesday it had heard no statement from India about halting purchases of Russian crude and that Moscow intended to continue developing its strategic partnership with Delhi. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov emphasised that Moscow valued its relationship with India and would continue to deepen it. Michael Kugelman, senior fellow for South Asia at the Atlantic Council, said the claim that India would halt Russian oil imports seems hard to believe, noting that Mr Modi had spoken only about the tariffs. For economic, diplomatic, and strategic reasons, India is highly unlikely to stop buying cheap oil from Russia, one of its closest partners, he said. But it has reduced its imports of Russian oil since new US sanctions on Russia were implemented in November, he added. That, coupled with a recent India-US natural gas deal and Indias increasing oil imports from the United States, likely addressed US concerns and helped the two sides get to the finish line. 'Buy American' target Mr Trump also made a bold claim that Mr Modi had committed to BUY AMERICAN and that India would spend more than $500bn on US goods including energy. He did not elaborate. Analysts doubted India could commit to spending $500bn on US goods, viewing it as one of the more opaque aspects of Mr Trump's announcement, particularly since the Indian side made no mention of it in public statements. US president Donald Trump with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi during a press conference in Delhi on 25 February 2020 ( AFP via Getty ) Evan Feigenbaum of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace called the target kind of a stretch in an interview to CNBC, saying India's economic constraints and the absence of clear timelines or sector-specific details cast doubt on its practicality. Ajay Srivastava, founder of the Global Trade Research Initiative, said the $500bn figure was likely a long-term aspirational number rather than a near-term commitment. An Indian government official told Reuters Delhi had agreed to buy oil, defence equipment and aircraft from the US, while partially opening its closely guarded agriculture sector under the deal. Agriculture was one of the major sticking points during the 12 months of negotiations as even limited liberalisation could expose Indian farmers to fierce competition. Small and marginal farmers, who make up the bulk of the countrys agricultural workforce, have long opposed opening up the sector, arguing the US producers, supported by heavy subsidies and high levels of mechanisation, would undercut domestic competition. Indian policymakers have been wary of such a move, given the potential impact on rural livelihoods. Experts voiced scepticism that India could remove all barriers to US imports, as Mr Trump suggested. They pointed in particular to dairy, where the introduction of US products could provoke consumer backlash and threaten the livelihoods of roughly 70 million Indians. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Japans ruling coalition governments plan to bring back military titles once used by its armed forces before and during the Second World War has sparked a debate over the countrys postwar pacifist identity. Since the SDFs creation in 1954, Japan deliberately adopted rank names that distanced the modern force from the imperial military. Terms such as issa (first field officer) replaced older titles like taisa (colonel), reflecting the countrys postwar pacifist identity. Although English translations already match global standards, the plans proponents believe restoring traditional Japanese terminology would strengthen morale and signal recognition of the SDF as a legitimate national defence force, The Asahi Shimbun reported last week. The proposal reportedly emerged from an agreement between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party (Ishin), which argued that the Self-Defence Forces (SDF) should align more closely with international standards. The coalition is planning to implement the changes by the end of 2026, local media reported last week. Supporters say the changes would clarify Japans military identity, while critics warn the revival of pre-1945 terminology risks reigniting regional tensions and unsettling neighbours already wary of Tokyos defence posture. Japans chief cabinet secretary Minoru Kihara and Ishin lawmaker Keishi Abe reportedly discussed the idea. Mr Abe has been pushing a broader agenda to reshape Japans defence policy. His party wants to revise the second paragraph of Article 9 of the constitution, especially the clause stipulating land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained by Japan as a means of settling international disputes. The party is also pushing for explicit language confirming that Japan can maintain national defence forces. The SDF should be treated as the national defence force by eventually revising the Constitution, he told the outlet. It is our responsibility to address SDF-related issues by renaming rank names and other terms to adjust to international standards through legal revisions and the issuance of a ministerial ordinance so as to boost the pride of SDF members. Japans prime minister and Liberal Democratic Party President Sanae Takaichi waves to voters during the election campaign rally on 29 January 2026 in Himeji, Japan. The Liberal Democratic Party of Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi is likely to win more seats and remain the majority in the lower house, according to the latest opinion polls by two media outlets ( Getty Images ) This comes just months after Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi escalated tensions with China by openly suggesting Japan could deploy its Self Defence Forces if a Chinese attack on Taiwan endangered the countrys survival. The idea has drawn mixed reactions within Japans defence establishment. Officials and serving personnel have described the proposal as unnecessary, with some warning it could even hurt recruitment. One senior officer said: It is not what SDF members are asking for. Among the suggested rank changes, ittohei (private first class) and nitohei (private) have reportedly drawn the strongest resistance within the defence ministry and the SDF. Critics object to the inclusion of the word hei meaning soldier, while others argue the titles sound outdated and carry an unflattering, low-status image. Robert Dujarric, co-director of the Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies at Temple Universitys Japan campus, told the South China Morning Post that critics were exaggerating the significance of the change. This is not a return to fascism but simply adopting in Japanese the military titles that are already being used in English. Yes, some other countries are of course going to use this as another stick with which to beat Japan. But lets be honest, North Korea is not exactly a poster child for pacifism. On a list of all the things that the government needs to do for the SDF, this would not even be in the top 1,000 items. They should instead be looking at increasing the salaries of SDF personnel to make it a more appealing job, providing better housing. What good is a different title really going to do, he said. North Korea also strongly criticised Japans proposal and said that it was proof that Japan was pursuing a national policy to evolve into a war state and an aggressor state. Earlier this month, the state-owned Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said that through the proposal, Japan is mulling to throw away even the mask of pacifist state and make it a rule and national policy to evolve into a war state and an aggressor state. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, was quoted as saying by Chinas state-owned The Global Times that right-wing forces in Japan were making every effort to break free from the constraints of the pacifist constitution and are going further down the path of military expansion. Ryo Tsunoda, a senior researcher of historical sociology at the Asia-Japan Research Institute of Ritsumeikan University, told The Asahi Shimbun: After World War II, the Ground SDF has had a strong sense of awareness that it must break away from the Imperial Japanese Army from the standpoint of Japans war responsibility. However, he believed that attitudes were shifting, with a younger generation appearing more open to imperial-era symbolism. The Independent has reached out to Japans ministry of defence for comment. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A wild bull elephant killed a tourist exercising near his tent on Monday at a national park in Thailand, making him the third victim of the animal. The man, identified as Jirathachai Jiraphatboonyathorn from Muang district of Lop Buri, was exercising metres away from his camp at the Khao Yai National Park with his wife at about 5.30am when he encountered Phlai Oiwan, a bull elephant feeding outside his forest boundary. The elephant charged at the man, grabbing him by its trunk and slamming him to the ground, as the other campers watched it in horror. Jirathachais wife managed to get away but he died on the spot, reported The Nation. The attack occurred at the campground of the Kho Yor 4 (Khlong Pla Kang) campground of the national park in Wang Nam Khieo district. According to a park ranger, the elephant has previously killed two local residents, reported the Bankok Post. The newspaper said Jirathachai was 69 year old. The timeline of the last two fatal encounters is unclear, with officials suspecting that the elephant might be involved in other incidents as well. Wanchai Kaenchantuek, the head of the Khao Yai 4 (Khlong Pla Kang) park protection unit, said he heard the elephant and cries for help. When he rushed to check, he found the victim and alerted the relevant officials, reported The Nation. A herd of wild elephant in Thailand's Trat province ( Thailand's wildlife conservation ) The body was sent to a local hospital for postmortem. Park officials and regional protected-area office are coordinating with relevant agencies to provide assistance to the family and consider compensation under government rules. Chaiya Huayhongthong, chief of the national park, told AFP that the officials will meet on Friday to decide what to do with the animal. We will probably decide to relocate him or change his behaviour," he told the news agency. The forest officials have meanwhile, ordered an increase in patrolling and monitoring activity, as they urged the tourists to exercise caution. According to the countrys Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant conservation, more than 200 people have been killed by elephants since 2012. Thailands elephant population has seen a dramatic surge from 334 in 2015 to 800 last year, prompting officials to administer contraceptives in a bid to contain the size, reported AFP. Last year, a Spanish tourist was killed by an elephant she was bathing at a sanctuary in southern Thailand. Blanca Ojanguren Garcia, 22, a student from Valladolid, was visiting the island of Yao Yai with her boyfriend on Friday when she was attacked by the elephant. And in 2024 a visitor was killed by a wild elephant at the Phu Kradueng national park in the Loei province. The 49-year-old Thai woman, identified only as Jeeranan from Chachoengsao, was reportedly walking along a trail to the Phen Phop Mai waterfall inside the park when she was attacked by the elephant. Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Measles has returned to Californias Disneyland theme park for the first time in more than a decade. An infected international traveler visited Los Angeles International Airport, Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure, and dined in Goofys Kitchen in Disneyland Hotel last Wednesday, according to health officials in Orange County. While in Orange County, the patient visited Goofys Kitchen in Disneyland Hotel between 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. PST and Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park from 12.:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. PST, when the park closes. People who were at these locations during the date and time listed above may be at risk of developing measles from seven to 21 days after being exposed, the OC Health Care Agency said in a statement. The last time Disneyland recorded a measles case was in 2015, when an outbreak that impacted 131 people was linked back to park visitors. open image in gallery Disneyland just saw its first measles cases in more than a decade. The news comes as the virus continues to spread throughout the U.S. ( Getty ) We were notified by the OC Health Care Agency on Jan. 31, 2026, that an international traveler who visited Disneyland Resort on Jan. 28, 2026, has since tested positive for the measles, Disney Experiences Chief Medical Officer Dr. Pamela Hymel said in a statement shared with The Independent. We are closely following all guidance and recommendations by local health officials to support the well-being of our guests and cast members. The news comes as measles infections continue to surge around the U.S., spreading both through localized outbreaks and international exposures. This year has seen the highest level of cases in decades, raising the risk the country could lose its long-held elimination status that indicates no continuous spread of the highly infectious disease for more than a year. The majority of recent cases have been reported in South Carolina. The Palmetto State confirmed 58 new cases on Friday, bringing the total number of cases related to an outbreak upstate to 847. There are currently 443 people in quarantine and 20 in isolation. The latest end of quarantine for these is February 24, the South Carolina Department of Public Health wrote in a release explaining the current situation. Other recent cases were reported in Wisconsins Dane County, Southwest Florida University and an I.C.E. detention facility in Texas. open image in gallery The last time Disneyland saw the infectious virus was in 2015, when an outbreak affected more than 130 people ( Getty ) While measles infection is preventable with two doses of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, the proportion of children not receiving the shot by two years of age has increased since the Covid-19 pandemic. Experts have tied this to rising vaccine hesitancy. Still, the best way to protect yourselves and your children - who are highly vulnerable to the airborne viruss most severe effects - from measles is to get vaccinated, doctors stress. People who believe they could be affected by the recent measles case at Disneyland should monitor for symptoms of infection, such as fever and a cough or runny nose. They should check their immunity status and talk to a health care provider if exposure occurred fewer than seven days ago. If exposure may have occurred more than a week ago, non-immune individuals should stay home and limit interactions with others for 21 days. Measles doesnt only affect people who travel internationally - everyone is at risk if theyre not protected, Dr. Anissa Davis, Orange Countys Deputy County Health Officer, said in a statement. Because measles is highly contagious, it can spread quickly within communities, even among those who havent traveled. The best way to protect yourself and your loved ones is to get vaccinated before exposure occurs. Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Not vaccinating enough children against measles could cost England more than 290m and result in hundreds of deaths, researchers warn. Measles is one of the most contagious diseases known to affect humans, but following a dramatic fall in vaccination rates, the UK is no longer considered to have "eliminated" the disease in the eyes of global health officials. About 3 per cent of parents in the UK are reported to have refused to vaccinate their children. Scientists used this figure to simulate what could happen if these vaccination rates continue, and over the course of 20 years, they predicted two major measles outbreaks causing 392,805 additional cases and 480 deaths. The researchers at Imperial College Londons Jameel Institute also predicted the economic burden of these measles outbreaks and found the disease could cost 292m over two decades. But just 26 per cent of this figure was attributed to healthcare costs while 74 per cent was due to productivity losses, such as parents taking time off work to care for their sick children, according to the study published in the journal Vaccine. open image in gallery Measles is one of the most contagious diseases known to affect humans ( Getty/iStock ) Professor Katharina Hauck at Imperial College London told The Independent: Measles is hideous because the risk of infection is so high. It's something that I think it's very difficult to grasp, but one patient can infect between 16 and 20 other patients. Its absolutely insane how infectious that disease is, and that means that everyone who can be vaccinated needs to be vaccinated in order to keep measles under control. From 2021 to 2023, the UK had previously held the status of having eliminated measles. But the World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed that measles transmission was "re-established" in the UK in 2024 after vaccination rates plateaued and cases surged with 3,681 recorded across the country this year. A rash, fever, runny nose, cough and conjunctivitis are common symptoms of measles, but it can trigger serious complications such as ear infections, encephalitis (swelling of the brain), blindness, breathing problems or pneumonia. The MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella, is now being replaced by the MMRV vaccine which also protects children against varicella, more commonly known as chickenpox. The WHO recommends at least 95 per cent of children should receive vaccine doses for each illness to achieve herd immunity. But uptake of the MMR vaccine in some areas of England is at record lows. We have certain populations in east London where we have less than 60 per cent of children which have received the MMR vaccine, Prof Hauck explained. That's significantly below this 95 per cent threshold that's required for herd immunity, where basically we see infections going down. open image in gallery Scientists at Imperial College Londons Jameel Institute simulated what could happen if 3 per cent of the population refused to get their child vaccinated against measles. Over the course of 20 years, they predicted two major outbreaks causing 480 deaths ( Vaccine journal/Daniela Olivera Mesa, Peter Winskill, Azra C Ghani, Katharina Hauck ) However, there are people who cant get vaccinated due to pre-existing health conditions, and others get the vaccine but it is not effective for them. A separate group of people, which makes up about 3 per cent of the population, refuse to get vaccinated. The latest figures for England from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) show that in 2024-2025, some 91.9 per cent of five-year-olds had received one dose of the MMR vaccine, unchanged from 2023-2024 and the lowest level since 2010-2011. And just 83.7 per cent of five-year-olds had received both MMR doses, down year-on-year from 83.9 per cent and the lowest level since 2009-2010. Regaining herd immunity could be quick as far as biology is concerned, as the vaccine kicks in after about 14 days. But that is if everyone agreed to vaccinate their children, which can take years. In countries such as the US, a vaccine against measles is needed to start school. For example, in Brooklyn, New York, parents can be fined up to $1,000 for not vaccinating their children against measles. But in the UK the MMR vaccine is not mandatory and parents face no fine, Prof Hauck explained. Parents in the US can apply for an exemption on religious or philosophical grounds, but this means parents need to make an active choice to not vaccinate their children. However, studies have suggested educating parents on the risks of the disease and the safety of vaccines is one of the best ways to boost immunisation numbers. This was seen in the analysis of more than one million people from Imperial College Londons REACT study. Researchers found that almost two-thirds (65 per cent) of people who were initially hesitant about getting a Covid-19 vaccine went on to get vaccinated at least once. A nationwide catch-up campaign for MMR in 2023-2024 targeted families of children who were partially vaccinated, and they delivered more than 180,000 additional doses. The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health found that while some families are hesitant to vaccinate due to fears about the jabs, many face issues that could be resolved with more support. Some people have difficulty booking appointments, especially ones that fit around work and childcare. Parents also reported inconvenient clinic locations and the high cost of public transport to get to appointments. I think many parents, if you make it easier for them and if you educate them, can be persuaded with good campaigns, Prof Hauck added. The Department of Health and Social Care has announced a new 2 million scheme that will see health visitors reach families facing barriers to vaccines. The pilot, which was launched in January, covers five regions of England London, the Midlands, the North East and Yorkshire, the North West and the South West and is designed to boost uptake and protect children from preventable diseases. Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice NHS clinical support staff are more likely to advance into nursing and other registered roles if they are based in more affluent regions, a new report has revealed. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) suggests that trusts in higher-wage areas face greater competition for personnel, making them more inclined to "bear the costs of supporting and funding these opportunities". Analysis showed workers in the South East were almost twice as likely to move into a registered position than those in the North East. The IFS cautioned that expanding this training route could lead to government "trade-offs" between addressing workforce gaps and tackling regional inequalities. Clinical support staff, including healthcare assistants, assist nurses, doctors, and other health professionals in delivering patient care. The health service describes these roles as a good entry point to the NHS and can offer the experience required to apply to train as a registered professional, such as a nurse, midwife, physiotherapist or radiographer. The health service describes clinical support staff roles as a good entry point to the NHS ( PA ) This route to training has been expanded by the NHS over the past decade, according to the IFS, with plans to expand it further under the Governments 10-year health plan. Some 16 per cent of the new nursing cohort in 2024 were recruited from a clinical support role in the NHS, up from 4 per cent in 2014, the IFS said. However, the analysis found these transitions were more common in regions with higher wages, and in mental health trusts. The IFS said that in 2023, clinical support staff in the South East were almost twice as likely to move into a registered role compared to those in the North East. The report said that trusts in higher-wage areas often see higher vacancies and more competition for staff, making them more willing to bear the costs of supporting and funding these opportunities. Olly Harvey-Rich, a research economist at IFS, said: New pathways into registered roles are a valuable way for NHS trusts to attract and retain staff, and often result in training opportunities that would not have otherwise been available. But the trusts that are keenest to offer internal staff training are often in areas of the country that already have higher wages and better training opportunities; trusts in more deprived areas may find it cheaper to hire through other routes. Elsewhere, IFS analysis found that the number of clinical support workers moving into registered roles has doubled since 2010, with particularly sharp rises in nursing. The increase could continue in the coming years, the report suggests, with many staff still in training. More than 1,000 existing members of NHS staff started a nursing degree apprenticeship in 2024, up from a little over 300 in 2019, according to the IFS. Mr Harvey-Rich added: As the NHS drafts its new 10-year workforce plan, it should therefore be clear about what it wants these pathways to achieve. There will likely be a trade-off between designing incentives that target areas with workforce shortages and achieving broader social objectives such as reducing regional inequalities. Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A care worker has been arrested on suspicion of raping a patient at a mental health hospital caring for hundreds of NHS patients. The worker is one of eight employees at the privately run St Andrew's Hospital, Northampton,who were arrested on suspicion of wilful neglect and ill treatment in relation to allegations of assault against a patient made in July 2025. Now, Northamptonshire Police have confirmed toThe Independent that one suspect was also arrested on suspicion of rape. They have been released on bail, and the investigation into all eight workers is ongoing. St Andrews is facing a separate investigation into the death of a patient in February 2025. Five people were arrested on suspicion of corporate manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter. Four have been released with no further action being taken against them, while one person remains on bail for the offence of wilful neglect by a care worker. Police also launched a corporate manslaughter investigation after the death of a teenager in October 2024, but no further action was taken after consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service. Police are now preparing a report into what happened for the Coroner ahead of an inquest. St Andrews Healthcare is a registered charity providing inpatient mental healthcare services to the NHS across its three major hospitals in Northampton, Birmingham and Essex. It receives patients from across the country, including from Scotland and Wales. The provider earns more than 200 million a year from NHS contracts, which is its main source of income, and also provides specialist inpatient services to the NHS, such as inpatient services for deaf adults. Northamptonshire Police confirmed the rape allegation in a statement, saying that the complex investigation is ongoing, with all eight people arrested remaining on bail. One of the people arrested in connection with the investigation has been arrested on suspicion of rape, for which they are on bail. In an earlier statement released toThe Independent on Friday, a spokesperson said: Due to the nature of the investigations, we remain in contact with the Care Quality Commission, the independent regulator of health and social care. We continue to work tirelessly to establish what happened in each of these incidents and ask anyone who may have any information that could assist us to contact us on 101. A spokesperson for St Andrews Healthcare said it had a zerotolerance approach to allegations of harm and immediately reported all matters to the police for investigation, as it did in the July 2025 case. They added: As this is an active police investigation, we are unable to comment further at this time. In relation to the investigations, all staff involved were immediately suspended. Several have since been dismissed following our own internal investigation and disciplinary process. We have also referred several to the Nursing and Midwifery Council. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Barnsley has been designated the UKs first Tech Town, securing government support to boost artificial intelligence (AI) opportunities across its schools, colleges, businesses, and NHS. Support includes testing AI tutoring tools in schools, offering free AI and digital training for residents and businesses, and trialling AI tools for quicker hospital check-ins and triage. This follows recent government initiatives, including free courses for all UK adults to use AI effectively in the workplace, and Lanarkshire, Scotland, being named the latest AI growth zone. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall will visit the South Yorkshire town alongside the UK chief executives of Microsoft and Cisco, both pledging support to boost AI and digital skills in the area. The government said lessons and feedback from the rollout in the market town will help shape how AI opportunities are developed across the UK. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall ( Stephan Rousseau/PA ) Ms Kendall said: I am delighted to have been invited by Barnsley, to work with them to achieve their ambition to become the UKs leading tech town. If we are going to get AI to work for Britain, we need Britons and British public services that can work with AI. That is why Barnsleys ambitions are crucial, because if we can show that AI helps young people learn, supports local businesses to be more productive, and improves public services, then we can show whats possible for the whole country. What we learn here will shape how we roll out AI across the UK making sure every community sees the benefits. Labour leader of Barnsley Council, Sir Stephen Houghton, said: This is one of the most important investments in Barnsley in our history and will help secure our long-term economic future. South Yorkshires Labour Mayor Oliver Coppard said: Being recognised as the first Tech Town in the UK both reflects and reinforces that momentum, strengthening South Yorkshires position as one of the most exciting tech communities in the country. Barnsley residents will be invited to a series of Tech Town Halls in which they will have the chance to give feedback on the programme and help decide how AI should be used across the community. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Families with children who have cancer will have their travel costs covered by a new 10 million government scheme. The National Cancer Plan, set for full unveiling on Wednesday, details how children and young people up to 24, and their families, will qualify for travel to appointments, regardless of income. A cap on costs per family remains unclear, with the Department of Health stating this will be addressed during the scheme's design. The fund is part of a wider package to transform young peoples cancer care, promising improved diagnosis, expanded genomic testing for clinical trials, and increased psychological support. Hospitalised young cancer patients can also expect a better range of food, suited to their tastes and available outside of mealtimes. Charities welcomed the move, with Rachel Kirby-Rider, chief executive officer of Young Lives vs Cancer, saying: Young Lives vs Cancer has been campaigning for almost a decade for a young cancer patient travel fund. Todays announcement of dedicated travel costs support is a huge step forward in transforming the lives of children and young people with cancer and their families. Up until now, young people and families have been going into debt and even missing treatment because of the extra 250 every month just to travel to hospital. Were ready to work with the Government to make this a success. open image in gallery Hospitalised young cancer patients can also expect a better range of food, suited to their tastes and available outside of mealtimes ( Getty Images ) Jules Worrall, interim chief executive of the Teenage Cancer Trust, said: Cancer kills more young people in the UK than any other disease. By including a specific focus on young people with cancer, the National Cancer Plan for England has the potential to reduce the impact of this devastating disease. We are pleased the plan will look to improve access to clinical trials - a major issue for young people with cancer. Removing barriers that stop them accessing innovative new treatments could be a potential lifeline for some. Our hope is that these new commitments will also lead to faster diagnosis for young people with cancer which we know is so important to improving health outcomes, as well as catalyse greater access to vital psychosocial support. According to the Department of Health, more than a third of families where a child has cancer travel over an hour to reach hospital for appointments. There are 13 expert centres caring for children with cancer across England. Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: When a child is diagnosed with cancer, their familys only focus should be on helping them recover and getting them well, not on whether they can afford the petrol or bus fare to get to their next appointment. This small change will make the world of difference to parents. Our plan will leave no family out of pocket while their child goes through cancer. It doesnt matter what you earn if your child needs treatment, we will help you get them there. When a child is fighting cancer, their family should never have to fight the system too. open image in gallery Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting ( James Manning/PA ) Emma Wildings son Theo was diagnosed with infant acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in October 2024 when he was five months old. Alder Hey childrens hospital is 45 minutes away from the family home in West Lancashire. She said: When Theo was going through treatment, we had no choice but to pay out for fuel and parking at the hospital, as we had to be by his side. However, at a time when our household income had gone down, this was a struggle financially. Sat on the ward, I met so many other families also struggling with these costs, many travelling from much further away from hospital as well. I know this news is going to mean so much to young people and families of children with cancer, so they wont have to worry so much about how theyll afford to get to hospital. As part of wider plans, there will be also more focus on the play opportunities provided to children in hospital, and mental health support will be standardised for all young cancer patients during diagnosis, treatment and long-term follow-up. The plan is also expected to carry more detail on supporting Englands 830,000 working-age cancer patients to remain in employment during and after treatment. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A railway station manager who claims he ended up losing a leg after being infected with Covid by his boss at work is suing his employers for 1m. David Gibson was a station manager working for Southeastern, based at Herne Hill Station, in July 2021 when he came down with a severe case of Covid, which saw him hospitalised with pneumonia, put in a coma and ultimately have his leg amputated below the knee due to a blood clot. Mr Gibson, who had worked for the railway company since 2018, claims he was infected at work during an office catch-up followed by a Wetherspoons breakfast with his area manager, Danny Hackett, who, Mr Gibson claims, was coughing and visibly unwell, but who nevertheless, failed to wear a mask for most of the time they were together. The married dad of three is suing for around 1m in compensation at Londons High Court on the basis that he was negligently exposed to Covid at work. Lawyers for London and South Eastern Railways Ltd, trading as Southeastern, deny his claims and all blame for his illness, as well as insisting that if Mr Gibson caught Covid at work, it was his own fault. In July 2021, England was in Step 3 of the Covid roadmap, which included the wearing of face masks, a one-metre social distancing rule and isolation of close contacts of a positive case. At the time, Southeasterns policy was to have staff stay at home if they had symptoms, while they were also told to follow social distancing guidance and not to congregate in offices. Lisa Dobie, for Mr Gibson, in documents lodged with the court, says that as a key worker, he was expected to go to work while social distancing restrictions were in place, but always took precautions to avoid close contact with others. open image in gallery Mr Gibson visited his area manager at his office at Bromley South Station, pictured, on 14 July 2021 ( Champion News ) He would travel to work by car and train, and he would always wear a mask, she said, adding that it was his practice to sit at the front of the train in first class, which, at that time, was usually empty. If anyone else was in the carriage, it was one or two passengers as a maximum, Ms Dobie continued. The claimant could and would easily distance himself from those passengers. On 14 July 2021, Mr Gibson was invited to visit his area manager, Mr Hackett, at his office at Bromley South Station, and felt obligated to do so. There, he found himself in a 2.5m by 5m office with Mr Hackett and two others. Due to the dimensions of the office, and in accordance with the defendants procedures in place on that date, only two people should have been in the room at any one time, the barrister said. There had been three of them in a closed, small office space before the claimant arrived... [They] were not wearing masks. Mr Gibson positioned himself in the room so that he was the furthest from all of them that he could be. His mask remained on. His manager coughed a few times during the conversation, but then went on to invite his colleagues to breakfast at a local Wetherspoons. Mr Gibson felt he could not decline, Ms Dobie said. During breakfast, Danny Hackett continued to cough as before and he sneezed into his hands twice and used his serviette in substitute for a tissue, the barrister explained. On the way back to the office from Wetherspoons, he continued to show signs of being unwell. Mr Gibson asked if he was okay and suggested he should go home to do a test. Mr Hackett did not put his mask back on. There had been plans for a staff team meeting later that day, which Mr Gibson planned to attend via his computer from Herne Hill, but by then there was not enough time so he stayed and attended in Mr Hacketts office. However, before the meeting began, Mr Hackett asked someone else to conduct it, telling colleagues he wasnt feeling well and had a sore throat. He said he had not been feeling well since the previous evening. He continued to cough, the barrister said, adding: Danny Hackett remained in the room for the full duration of the team meeting despite being unwell... He was visibly unwell and coughing during the meeting. The barrister said her client was very angry but felt unable to direct his supervisor to leave. She added that Mr Hackett had tested positive for Covid after attending work the next day, naming Mr Gibson as a close contact. Mr Gibson began to feel ill two days later and tested positive on 18 July. His condition deteriorated and he was taken to hospital in Tunbridge Wells by an ambulance on 22 July. He later developed pneumonia as a complication of Covid and was moved to the ICU on 24 July before being placed in an induced coma on 29 July. Sadly, the claimant required a left above-knee amputation as a result of clotting complications caused by Covid, Ms Dobie said. The barrister said Mr Gibson is suing Southeastern as being vicariously liable for the actions of Mr Hackett, who she said negligently attended work in the knowledge that he was not feeling well and had a new cough. He also failed to perform a lateral flow test before attending work on 14 July and failed to leave work on 14 July when he was aware he was symptomatic and unwell, she said. He invited staff to attend his office in person without advising anyone of his symptoms, following social distancing rules and/or limiting the number of people in attendance at any one time. Ms Dobie said Mr Hackett had turned a blind eye to the defendants policies and national guidance in failing to isolate, allowing more than two people in the office, and not wearing a mask and had openly disregarded policies and procedures, thereby encouraging staff that he managed to do the same, she claimed. Ms Dobie said Mr Gibson had been unable to return to work for the defendant or any employer, and on 31 March 2023, his employment with the defendant was terminated on the grounds of ill health. open image in gallery Mr Gibson fell ill after a Wetherspoons breakfast with his boss ( Getty Images ) Rochelle Rong, for Southeastern, defended Mr Hacketts actions, saying in its written defence to the action: It is averred that he had not developed any symptoms that he did or was reasonably expected to associate with a Covid-19 infection prior to his subsequent positive lateral flow tests. In particular, it is denied that he had developed a new continuous cough, loss of taste and/or smell, and/or high temperature prior to his contact with the claimant. She also denied that Southeastern itself had allowed staff to turn a blind eye to guidance on social distancing, masks and reporting of contacts. The defendant had in place a suitable and sufficient risk assessment in response to the evolving risks of Covid-19, she said. It is denied that the defendant encouraged a culture of cautious reporting. Employees were instructed not to attend work if they had Covid-related symptoms. It is denied that it was possible or practicable to instruct employees not to attend work as soon as they developed any non-specific symptoms which were not typical of a Covid-19 infection. It is averred that the defendants actions as an employer are to be judged in the relevant circumstances at the time, including the prevailing knowledge and guidance regarding the risks and control measures of the coronavirus, the national Covid-19 roadmap, and the practical challenges of controlling the risks to its employees of a community-transmitted virus while maintaining operational standards. The defendant acted reasonably and responsibly in all the circumstances of the case. Accordingly, liability is denied. Further or alternatively, such injury as the claimant may prove was caused or contributed to by his own negligence, the barrister added. She blamed him for, among other things, attending the Bromley South Station and Danny Hacketts office in person... failing to remove himself from the Bromley South Station and Danny Hacketts office when he allegedly observed him coughing and going to breakfast at Wetherspoons and therefore knowingly exposing himself to greater risks of coronavirus infection from his colleagues and/or the general public. The case reached court last week for a pre-trial hearing and will now go on to trial unless the parties reach an out-of-court settlement beforehand. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A highly classified blueprint detailing the initial plans for the D-Day landings is expected to fetch 100,000 at auction, specialists have announced. These historic documents, comprising a series of maps, were created on 30 July 1943 nearly a year prior to the momentous invasion and were exclusively for the eyes of the highest-ranking British and Allied commanders. Conceived by Lieutenant General Frederick Morgan, often referred to as "the forgotten architect of D-Day", the blueprint outlines the preliminary strategies for Operation Overlord. Initially, it suggested three landing points across a 25-mile coastal stretch for three Allied divisions. This early concept was subsequently expanded to the five-division invasion that ultimately targeted Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword beaches. The collection includes ten individual maps, each bearing the distinct markings "US Secret" and "British Most Secret". Since 1960, the documents had been in the possession of their current owner, a relative of a senior military officer. open image in gallery Dated July 30, 1943 - almost a year before the invasion codenamed Operation Overlord - the document and maps, hand numbered Copy 186, were intended for the eyes of only a handful of the most senior members of the British and Allied command ( Jacob King/PA Wire ) They will be sold on 25 February at Hansons Auctioneers militaria sale at its saleroom in Etwall, Derbyshire. Matt Rowson, military expert at Hansons, said Lt Gen Morgans initial ideas in the document were fundamental to the success of D-Day. He told the Press Association: Its probably the most important thing that Ive ever handled while Ive been here. The rarity value is immense. These were simply never meant to survive. Standard protocol at the time would have dictated that once it had served its useful purpose it would be destroyed, but somehow its been retained and we have it here. This is top-level government minister-level paperwork, so therefore it would not have been handled a great deal. open image in gallery Created by Lieutenant General Frederick Morgan, known as 'the forgotten architect of D-Day', the blueprint includes preparatory measures prior to the invasion, codenamed Operation Overlord ( Jacob King/PA Wire ) He described the original Operation Overlord planning documents as exceptionally rare, adding: This complete archive is one of the most important museum-grade finds to appear on the open market in recent years. The June 6 1944 invasion of Nazi-occupied France used the largest-ever armada of ships, troops, planes and vehicles to breach Hitlers defences in western Europe. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Prince Edward has become the first member of the royal family to speak out about the most recently released Jeffrey Epstein documents. The Duke of Edinburgh stated that it is really important always to remember the victims when questioned over the bombshell release, which includes fresh revelations about his brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and his former sister-in-law Sarah Ferguson. The prince was speaking at the World Governments Summit in Dubai on Tuesday and was asked how he was coping amid the controversy. He told CNNs Eleni Giokos: Well, with the best will in the world. Im not sure this is the audience that is probably the least bit interested in that. They all came here to listen to education, solving the future. But no, I think its all really important always to remember the victims, and who are the victims in all this, a lot of victims in all this. open image in gallery Prince Edward has become the first member of the royal family to speak out about the most recently released Jeffrey Epstein documents ( Getty ) The Duke has broken his silence after the US Justice Department on Friday published the third tranche of millions of documents related to the late convicted sex offender, who died in jail in 2019, as he awaited a trial on sex trafficking charges. The pressure for Edwards brother to testify is growing after the latest files from the departments investigation into Epstein revealed further unsavoury details about links between the two men. This included images apparently showing him crouch over an unidentified woman in what appears to be Epsteins New York mansion. Emails have emerged between the former Duke of York and Epstein from 2010 two years after the disgraced financier pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution. Epstein served 13 months in jail before being released on probation under house arrest until summer 2010. Andrew vehemently denies any wrongdoing. open image in gallery Pictures appear to show Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor crouched over an unidentified woman in what appears to be Jeffrey Epsteins New York mansion ( US Department of Justice ) The former Duke of York and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson appear a number of times in the files, including in a number of email exchanges with Epstein, with Andrew appearing to invite him to Buckingham Palace, and Sarah apparently saying: I am at your service. Just marry me. Epstein also appears to introduce the former prince to a woman described by the paedophile as 26, Russian, clevere (sic) beautiful, trustworthy, while in the same month, Andrew also reportedly tells Epstein: Wish I was still a pet in your family. In 2022, the former duke paid millions of pounds to his main accuser, Virginia Giuffre a woman he claims never to have met. open image in gallery An email from the latest release that appears to be from Edwards former sister-in-law Sarah Ferguson to Epstein ( US Department of Justice ) He was stripped of his titles by the King last year after the posthumous publication of a book from Ms Giuffre, who alleged she was trafficked by Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell when she was 17. Lawyers representing a second accuser have urged Charles to contact them following allegations that their client was sent to the UK for a sexual encounter with Andrew. Brad Edwards, from the US firm Edwards Henderson, previously told the BBC his client had spent the night with Andrew after being given a tour of Buckingham Palace. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The extent of Sarah Fergusons friendship and admiration for Jeffrey Epstein has been one of the key revelations from the release of the latest tranche of the Epstein files. In recent years, it has been the former Duchess of Yorks ex-husband Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor who has come under extreme scrutiny for his friendship with the late disgraced financier. But the newly released emails published by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) reveal what appear to be several embarrassing messages between Ms Ferguson and Epstein. In one email, she told Epstein he was the brother I have always wished for and later said she needed 20,000 for rent following the collapse of her business venture. In others, the convicted sex trafficker appeared to suggest he wanted Ms Ferguson help to clear his name. Appearing in the Epstein files does not indicate guilt or wrongdoing. Here is what we know about the pairs relationship. Early friendship It is not exactly clear when Ms Ferguson and Epstein first met. Her former husband, Andrew, was reportedly first introduced to the financier through mutual associate Ghislaine Maxwell in 1999. open image in gallery Sarah Ferguson and Andrew married in 1986 (PA) ( PA Archive ) Andrew and Ms Ferguson separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996. Despite this, the pair remained close, living together at Royal Lodge and co-parenting daughters Beatrice and Eugenie. While Andrew was photographed with Epstein on several occasions in the late nineties and early 2000s, Ms Fergusons early relationship with him is considerably murkier. The pair were both reportedly in attendance at Andrews 40th birthday party hosted by the late Queen at Windsor Castle in 2000. July 2006 - Princess Beatrices 18th birthday In July 2006, Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell were among the 500 guests invited to Princess Beatrices lavish 18th birthday celebrations held at Windsor Castle and attended by Andrew and Ms Ferguson. open image in gallery Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell ( DOJ ) The previous month, Epstein was charged with one count of solicitation of prostitution. Again, the extent of communication between Epstein and Ms Ferguson at the event is not clear. In a Newsnight interview in 2019, Andrew said Epstein had been invited via Ms Maxwell as her plus one, but that he wasn't aware at the time the invitation was sent out "what was going on in the United States". June 2009 - Ms Ferguson asks Epstein for business advice while he is incarcerated New documents released by the DOJ suggest Ms Ferguson emailed Epstein to ask for business advice while he was in prison for soliciting sex from a minor. In the email, Ms Ferguson appeared to ask Epstein to help her get her business, Mothers Army, off the ground. According to the BBC, an email dated June 14, 2009 from an address named "Sarah" says: "I need to ask you how I start The Mothers Army company so it can be commercial, how do I do that? Can you help me?". On June 26, 2009, "Sarah" wrote to Epstein saying: "I am alive... yes I did go to the first lady and she loved the Mothers Army. I am going to call you later Love you". The business is described as dedicated to uniting the women of the world as mothers to ensure safety and security of children, women and girls in all spheres of life and work on its website. open image in gallery Eugenie and Beatrice were named in the files ( Getty Images ) July 2009 - Ms Ferguson takes daughters to lunch with Epstein, emails suggest Newly released emails suggest Ms Ferguson took her two daughters for lunch with Epstein in July 2009, just days after he was released from prison for child sex crimes. In a message sent on July 28, 2009, from Epstein to Ms Maxwell, he wrote ferg and the two girls come [sic] yesterday. It is not clear what was discussed at the lunch. Also in July 2009, an email reportedly sent from Epstein to hedge fund manager Glenn Dubin read: "fergie said she could organize tea in the buckingham palace apts.. or windsor castle" (sic). August 2009 - the brother I have always wished for In August 2009, Ms Ferguson appears to describe Epstein as the brother I have always wished for. The then Duchess of York updated Epstein on potential opportunities for her business brands and books. In just one week, after your lunch, it seems the energy has lifted, she wrote. "I have never been more touched by a friends [sic] kindness than your compliment to me infront of my girls. Thank you Jeffrey for being the brother I have always wished for. Later that year, Epstein also appears to have arranged accommodation for Ms Ferguson during one of her trips to New York. October 2009 - Ms Ferguson appears to ask Epstein for money Later in 2009, Ms Ferguson wrote to Epstein and said: "I urgently need 20,000 pounds ($27,521) for rent today. The landlord has threatened to go to the newspapers if I dont pay. Any brainwaves? The email exchange started between Epstein and a man called David Stern, who shared a copy of an ABC article questioning if Fergusons finances were in jeopardy. Epstein suggests the leak could come from disgruntled investors and Ferguson replies confirming an investor has broken a confidentiality agreement. Although the email chain appears to end once she explains that she needs money for rent, elsewhere an email from Epstein claims to have helped her financially for 15 years. February 2010 - Epstein invited to Andrews 50th birthday party Andrews private secretary Amanda Thirsk reportedly wrote to Epstein on behalf of Ms Ferguson in February 2010, to invite him to Andrews 50th birthday party at St Jamess Palace in London. It is understood Epstein did not attend. March - July 2010 - Mentions of Eugenie One email from Epstein to a redacted address, sent on March 21, 2010, simply reads "ny?" (sic). The reply, also from a redacted address says: "Not sure yet. Just waiting for Eugenie to come back from a sha***** weekend!!". A later email in July of the same year shows Epstein asking if Beatrice and Eugenie are free to say hello in July 2010. In the same month, amidst a cash-for-access scandal, Ms Ferguson reportedly emailed Epstein calling him my pillar. open image in gallery Documents released by the DOJ show Ms Ferguson calling Epstein my pillar ( US Department of Justice ) "I am now 1,000 percent being hung out to dry, just as I predicted you will see, the Press will have me exiled," she wrote. "I am totally on my own now. This is beyond scandalous and nobody can do anything." March 2011 - Gigantic error of judgement In an interview with the Evening Standard in March 2011, Ms Ferguson admitted her involvement with Epstein had been a gigantic error of judgment. It came after revelations she had allowed Epstein to provide 15,000 to help pay off her debts. Epstein had been jailed in 2008 for soliciting prostitution from someone under 18. I abhor paedophilia and any sexual abuse of children, she said in the interview. But in an email exchange believed to be from Epstein to three others, including his publicist, in March 2011, he appears to suggest he is hoping for help from Ms Ferguson to clear his name. In the emails he said: I think Fergie can now say, I am not a pedo. It adds: She was DUPED into believeing [sic] false stories. Emails show Epsteins publicist at the time Mike Sitrick said they have a strategy to get newspapers to stop calling you a pedophile and one was to get Fergie to retract. Weeks after Ms Ferguson gave the interview, leaked emails published by the Mail on Sunday suggest she did not and would not call him a P, and that she had acted to protect my own brand. September 2011 - Suggestion of a secret child A message sent by Ms Ferguson to Epstein congratulating the paedophile on the birth of a baby boy after he was released from jail in 2011, suggests he had a secret child, The Telegraph reported. Dont know if you are still on this BBM but heard from The Duke that you have had a baby boy. Even though you never kept in touch, I am still here with love, friendship and congratulations on your baby boy. Sarah xx, she said in the message sent 15 years ago. It has never been established if Epstein had any children. February 2026 - Sarahs Trust charity closes following file releases A spokesman for Sarahs Trust said on Monday evening that the charity would close for the foreseeable future. They said: Our chair Sarah Ferguson and the board of trustees have agreed that with regret the charity will shortly close for the foreseeable future. It added the decision had been under discussion and in train for some months. Sarah Fergusons representatives have been contacted for comment. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Newly-released emails related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have laid bare the extent of his relationships with several high-profile figures. More than 3 million pages, 180,000 images and 2,000 videos were made public by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday, coming six weeks after a deadline signed into law by US president Donald Trump to mandate all Epstein-related files be released. But the revelations around his apparent communication with Peter Mandelson are among the most explosive, with the implications of the alleged relationship rippling through British politics. The extraordinary exchanges appear to show a lengthy, wide-ranging and intimate relationship between the disgraced financier and Lord Mandelson, including, most notably, when he served as business secretary in Gordon Browns Labour government. open image in gallery Many exchanges published between Lord Mandelson and Jeffrey Epstein have been made public ( The Independent/U.S. Department of Justice ) Emails suggest the former minister shared internal cabinet business with Epstein, giving him key updates before they were announced and, on at least one occasion, seemingly helping him to lobby the government. But the emails also suggest the pair were friends as well as strategic business partners, with Lord Mandelson telling the sex offender you are one of my best friends, and writing: Where r u? I miss you. Much of this took place after the financiers conviction for solicitation of prostitution and of solicitation of prostitution with a minor in June 2008, and his subsequent 13-month prison term, with Lord Mandelson resigning from the Labour Party as the latest documents were revealed. Here, The Independent takes a look at some of the major emails believed to have been exchanged between the pair. Finally got him: How Mandelson persuaded Gordon Brown to quit During his time as business secretary from 2008 to 2010, Lord Mandelson is believed to have shared several key pieces of internal information with Epstein, revealing what was happening at the heart of government. But it was on 10 May 2010 that one of the most significant emails appears to have been sent. In a message to Epstein, Lord Mandelson revealed he had finally got him [former prime minister Gordon Brown] to go today. Epstein responded, saying: I have faith, the value of some chapters in your book should now increase. Mr Brown made a statement outside No 10 hours later, announcing his resignation. open image in gallery ( US Department of Justice ) Going to bed after a day of drama Just days earlier, Lord Mandelson also appeared to inform Epstein of the yet-to-be-announced 500bn bailout of the Euro. The email read: Sources tell me 500 b euro bailout, almost compelte [sic]. The next message confirmed: Sd be announced tonight. A subsequent email said he was just leaving No 10 and would call. There was another email which read: Going to bed after a day of drama. It was the next day that EU ministers agreed a 500bn deal to lend money to eurozone states. open image in gallery ( US Department of Justice ) Interesting note to PM: How Mandelson sent secret Whitehall information to paedophile The year prior, 2009, Lord Mandelson appeared to forward an email from the then prime minister Mr Browns former special adviser, Nick Butler, to Epstein, who was under house arrest at the time. The Whitehall document, addressed Dear Gordon, was sent to the prime minister and several high-ranking members of the government. In it, Mr Butler shares market-sensitive information, mentioning that business leaders had raised concerns about the government holding on to publicly-owned saleable assets along with the governments intention to sell 20bn in assets. Lord Mandelson apparently forwarded the document with the comment: Interesting note thats gone to the PM. Epstein asks for clarification on this, before the reply email says: Land, property I guess. open image in gallery ( US Department of Justice ) Mandelson forwarded on No 10 memo in four minutes Another occasion on which Lord Mandelson appeared to loop Epstein in on government business came on 2 August 2009. Baroness Shriti Vadera, then a junior minister and adviser to Mr Brown, had sent a memo with proposals around getting banks to increase their lending. This was sent to other advisers in No 10, alongside the prime ministers principal private secretary Jeremy Heywood and Lord Mandelson. Mr Heywood replied to share his thoughts on the email and, four minutes later, it appears the email chain was forwarded to Epstein by Lord Mandelson. open image in gallery ( US Department of Justice ) Lord Mandelson said that chancellor should be mildly threatened over bankers bonus tax Over several days in December 2009, Epstein asked Lord Mandelson to lobby the government to amend the upcoming bank bonus tax so that it only applied to cash bonuses, rather than non-cash elements such as share options which were often more valuable. open image in gallery ( US Department of Justice ) Lord Mandelson appears more than open to his request, telling Epstein that he is trying hard to amend the policy and delivering updates such as: Treasury digging in. The financier warns that gb [Gordon Brown] needs friends in May, referring to the upcoming general election, then orders the business secretary to amend it and deliver the message personally to dimon, referring to Jamie Dimon, who has been CEO of JPMorgan Chase since 2006. open image in gallery ( US Department of Justice ) A few days later, Epstein asks Lord Mandelson if Mr Dimon should call then chancellor Alistair Darling one more time about the issue, to which the minister replies: Yes and mildly threaten. Darling, who died in 2023, wrote in his biography that Mr Dimon called him a few days later and was angry, very angry. He said that his bank bought a lot of UK debt and he wondered if that was now such a good idea, the book said. Mr Epstein also asks the minister if a small business fund could be established in exchange for a reduction in tax. open image in gallery ( US Department of Justice ) How Epstein funded Mandelsons partners osteopathy course The full extent of financial exchanges between Lord Mandelson and Epstein remains unknown, but details of many alleged payments have come to light in recent days. In 2003 and 2004, Epsteins account statements show that he wired a total of $75,000 to Lord Mandelson and his partner and now husband, Reinaldo Avila da Silva. Responding to questions about the payments on Sunday, Lord Mandelson said: I have no record and no recollection of receiving these sums and do not know if the documents are authentic. A few years later, in 2009, Mr Da Silva would request help from Epstein to pay for his osteopathy course, which the financier gladly did. On Monday, an article in The Times published a response from Lord Mandelson over the course funding. The idea that giving Reinaldo an osteopath bursary is going to sway mine or anyone elses views about banking policy is risible, he said. open image in gallery ( US Department of Justice ) Hung parliament or a well hung young man On the day of the 2010 general election, 6 May, Epstein emailed Lord Mandelson for an update, asking well? The former minister appears to reply to the financier around 20 minutes later, a few hours before polls were due to close: we are praying for a hung parliament. Alternatively, a well hung young man. open image in gallery ( US Department of Justice ) Dishing out career guidance on reputation and stature After Labours 2010 election defeat, Lord Mandelson appeared to stay in touch with Epstein as the financier attempted to help him find future employment. Ministerial rules required that ministers had to seek advice from Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) on appointments or employment they sought within two years of leaving office. Epstein told Lord Mandelson he was working around your restriction, suggesting an advisory role at BP which would have been out of the scope of the rules. He refers to Lord Mandelson in the emails as Petie. open image in gallery ( US Department of Justice ) The following month, Lord Mandelson also appeared to discuss a potential role for himself at Deutsche Bank, for a salary of $1m plus a bonus of $3-5m. In an exchange about the former ministers options, he explains that there is high premium from his time in public service. Epstein replies that businesses expect undivided commitment from employees, to which Lord Mandelson says they will ... But they also want me to maintain reputation/stature...x. open image in gallery ( US Department of Justice ) Help with a Russian visa to meet women The files show that, on 9 November 2010, Epstein e-mailed Lord Mandelson to tell him that he needs a visa for a trip to Russia, asking if the former minister has any ideas how i can get one? The files suggest Lord Mandelson then tried to secure a Russian visa for Epstein, with him appearing to reply: Ben can get visas thru OD. This is thought to refer to Benjamin Wegg-Prosser, the co-founder of Lord Mandelsons lobbying firm Global Counsel, and Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. open image in gallery ( US Department of Justice ) The same day, Epstein emailed a recipient identified only as Irinia asking news?, to which she replies: I have around 10 friends Im working on now and I really want to have someone very nice soon for you. There is no suggestion that Lord Mandelson knew or asked Epstein why he was travelling to Russia. open image in gallery ( US Department of Justice ) A few days later, on 12 November, Epstein emails Irina again, indicating that he has secured a Russian visa. He tells her I will be back next week and asks any luck. This this, Irina replies that there is one 22-year-old woman, name redacted, who will be interested and another unidentified woman who is also really interested. open image in gallery ( US Department of Justice ) Naughty boy Epstein was released from prison on 22 July 2009 after serving 13 months of an 18-month sentence. On the day he was released, he e-mailed Lord Mandelson: free and home. The then-business secretary appears to reply How shall we celebrate ?, to which Epstein responds with grace and modesty ( those are the names of two strippers ). A few hours later, Lord Mandelson appears to ask Epstein How is freedom feeling ?, with Epstein replying she feels, fresh, firm, and creamy. To this, the former minister appears to respond: Naughty boy. open image in gallery ( US Department of Justice ) Does that make it incest The relationship between Lord Mandelson and Epstein wasnt just about business or money, the extensive host of emails suggest. The pair often shared details of upcoming plans and many jokes. In October 2009, the pair exchanged jokes about Princess Beatrice, daughter of Dame Sarah Ferguson (whose emails with Epstein have also come to light in recent days). After the financier jokes that Lord Mandelson should marry the princess, he points out that he is already her Lord President, as he was serving as Lord President of the Council at the time. Mr Epstein responds: does that make it incest , how exciting. open image in gallery ( US Department of Justice ) Models and dancing A few years later, in May 2013, the pair were still exchanging lewd emails. records suggest. Epstein emailed Lord Mandelson first, telling him that he was aware his was visiting the Russian city of St Petersburg. Lord Mandelson, at this point working in the private sector, responded by asking if Epstein would also be there, to which the financier said not my cup a tea. The former minister attempts to explain that it is a rave. Epstein asks if means its for gays, to which Lord Mandelson says: Er no, tastey [sic] models and dancing. open image in gallery ( US Department of Justice ) Where r u ? I miss u On 21 December 2010, Epstein emails Lord Mandelson to tell him about a good lunch and that he followed up with jes, which most likely refers to Jes Staley, then chief executive of JP Morgan. Lord Mandelson appears to reply: Where r u ? I miss u. To which Epstein returns: Call later... open image in gallery ( US Department of Justice ) I never left your side In 2012, it appears the relationship between Lord Mandelson and Epstein took a sour turn. Epstein sends an email to Lord Mandelson on 31 May, telling him: after years of being by your side. supporting your boyfriend when he needed it, unwavering in my guidance ... I am disappointed in what appears to be a one way street. Addressing the nature of the relationship, he adds: jeffrey can i have, jeffrey can you give jeffrey can you organize ... you have yet to offer real assistance, sign of gratitude or appreciation. Lord Mandelsons apparent response suggests he disagreed with this characterisation of the relationship, appearing to reply: during your trials and tribulations, I never left your side, I was always there with advice and moral support ... I dont think it has been a total one way street. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Residents of One Hyde Park, the countrys most expensive block of flats, are facing a decade of disruptive repairs despite winning a 35m High Court case over widespread defects in the luxury development. The Knightsbridge complex, home to billionaires, celebrities and oligarchs, was found to have badly corroded chilledwater pipework and other serious failures just years after completion, prompting owners to sue a subsidiary of construction company Laing ORourke Laing O'Rourke Construction South Ltd. One Hyde Park was developed by brothers Christian and Nick Candy in partnership with Qatari businessman Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber AlThani. One apartment in the complex is currently on the market for 175m. Judge Nerys Jefford ruled that Laing ORourke must pay 35.1m to cover the cost of replacing the faulty pipework and remedying additional defects, describing the contractors conduct as commercially amoral after it placed the subsidiary into liquidation shortly before the trial and failed to attend proceedings. open image in gallery Residents of One Hyde Park, in Knightsbridge, London, will face a decade of disruptive repairs ( Google Maps ) She found that One Hyde Parks chilledwater pipework had corroded because Laing ORourke failed to install insulation correctly, ruling the contractor in breach of contract and liable for repair costs. Judge Jefford also sided with the residents on the remaining elements of the claim, including other plumbing problems a result a spokesperson for One Hyde Park described as a decisive victory for all the residents. Experts told the court that the remedial work, which requires ceilings to be removed in occupied flats, could take more than a decade to complete, forcing residents to move out floor by floor and lose access to amenities including the private cinema, spa and 21metre ozone pool. The development, a short walk from Harrods, has attracted some of the worlds wealthiest buyers, Kylie Minogue owned a 116m 3-bed flat in the building until the Covid-19 pandemic, and current owners of flats include Ukrainian billionaire Rinat Akhmetov and the building's developer Nick Candy, whose 175m penthouse has been on the market for five years. Buyers of the luxury apartments have been plagued by years of water leaks and pipe corrosion, with problems first identified in 2014, just three years after the 84flat complex opened. open image in gallery Kylie Minogue owned a 116m 3-bed flat in the building until the pandemic ( Official Charts ) According to the court documents, extensive investigations of the pipework revealed that it is subject to pervasive and very serious corrosion, with some lengths of pipework being corroded to a depth of 87 per cent. Despite the courts ruling, it remains unclear whether residents will ever recover the awarded sum, given the subsidiarys liquidation. Laing ORourke said it had spent nearly a decade seeking an amicable resolution, including offers of compensation and free remedial work. A spokesperson for One Hyde Park said: We are committed to ensuring Laing O'Rourke is held fully accountable and makes full and fair payment for the construction defects it has been found responsible for. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Sarah Fergusons charity has announced it will close for the foreseeable future just days after new revelations emerged about the former duchesss friendship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. On Friday, more than three million documents were published by the US Department of Justice, which revealed more about Epsteins contact with Andrew and Sarah. In a statement published on Monday evening, Sarahs Trust said Ms Ferguson and the board of trustees had agreed with regret that the charity would close. open image in gallery Sarah Ferguson was criticised over her friendship with Jeffrey Epstein ( PA Archive ) This has been under discussion and in train for some months, the statement continued. We remain extremely proud of the work of the trust over recent years. The charity, launched in 2020 during the Covid pandemic, provided aid for NHS, care home and hospice staff. It had also secured money to send computers to Ukrainian refugees in Poland. The news came after newly released files suggested that Ms Ferguson visited Epstein with her two daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie, just days after Epstein was released from prison for soliciting prostitution from a minor. In one email dated 28 July 2009, six days after he left prison, Epstein caught up with his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, telling her how many people were billed to visit him that week. open image in gallery Sarah Ferguson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor both appeared to remain close to Epstein according to the latest release of files ( PA Wire ) Ferg and the two girls come yesterday [sic], he said. Today [redacted].. tomomwo sultan , yesterday farkas sat jarecki, sunday [redacted],, monday novak [sic]. In an email dated 27 July 2009, the day before, an account saved under Sarah emailed Epstein saying that she was in Miami and aiming to arrive at his house at 12.30am for lunch. An hour before she was scheduled to arrive, she declined the offer of a lift and said: No thank you. As I made Philip give us his car and a back up one for the policeman. She added: What address shall we come to. It will be myself, Beatrice and Eugenie. Are we having lunch? open image in gallery Ferguson with her daughters Beatrice and Eugenie ( PA Wire ) Beatrice and Eugenie would have been aged 20 and 19 respectively at the time. The Independent has approached a representative for the former Duchess of York for comment. In other emails from the tranche, Ms Ferguson said Epstein was the brother I have always wished for and later said she needed 20,000 for rent following the collapse of her business venture. In one email exchange from 2009, the then Duchess of York updated Epstein on potential opportunities for her business brands and books. open image in gallery Handout photo of Sarah Ferguson (centre) released in the latest tranche of the Epstein files ( DOJ ) In just one week, after your lunch, it seems the energy has lifted, she wrote. I have never been more touched by a friends [sic] kindness than your compliment to me infront of my girls. Thank you Jeffrey for being the brother I have always wished for. The new files included emails that showed Andrew, who was married to Sarah Ferguson until 1996, maintained regular contact with Epstein for more than two years after he was found guilty of child sex crimes. The files also include pictures appearing to show Andrew crouching over and touching the waist of an unidentified woman lying on the floor. Her face was blacked out in the redacted images. open image in gallery Pictures appear to show Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor crouched over an unidentified woman ( US Department of Justice ) The former Duke of York has always denied wrongdoing in connection with Epstein. Sarahs Trust has closed months after seven charities dropped Ms Ferguson as patron after leaked emails appeared to show her apologising to Epstein for disowning him. Childrens hospice Julias House announced the move, followed by food allergy charity The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, Prevent Breast Cancer, the Teenage Cancer Trust and the British Heart Foundation. Both the National Foundation for Retired Service Animals (NFRSA) and The Childrens Literacy Charity also dropped Ms Ferguson. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Formal investigations have been launched into whether Elon Musks X and xAI have complied with data protection law after the chatbot Grok was used to create sexualised deepfake images. The Information Commissioners Office (ICO) confirmed it had opened the investigations on Tuesday afternoon. In a statement, it said the reports raised serious concerns under UK data protection laws, such as whether appropriate safeguards were built into Groks design and deployment. It comes after outrage over Groks ability to digitally strip victims without their consent, generating deepfake images of them nude or in minimal clothing. Women told The Independent they had been left feeling violated and humiliated after the dehumanising images were created by the chatbot. open image in gallery It comes after Grok was used to digitally strip victims without their consent ( PA ) X has since said it has brought in measures to address the issues raised. William Malcolm, executive director of regulatory risk and innovation at the ICO, said the office is working closely with Ofcom and other regulators to ensure that peoples safety and privacy are protected. He added the loss of personal data in this way can cause immediate and significant harm. In January, technology secretary Liz Kendall encouraged Ofcom to use the full range of its powers under the Online Safety Act after the regulator announced an investigation into whether X has complied with UK laws. In a previous statement, Ofcom said it will determine whether X has complied with its duties to protect people in the UK from content that is illegal. The communications regulator said unlike the ICO, it was not investigating xAI, which provides the standalone Grok chatbot app, because of the way the Online Safety Act relates to chatbots. open image in gallery Musk has previously insisted anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they uploaded illegal content ( PA ) When we opened our investigation into X, we said we were assessing whether we should also investigate xAI, as the provider of the standalone Grok service, it said. We continue to demand answers from xAI about the risks it poses. We are examining whether to launch an investigation into its compliance with the rules requiring services that publish pornographic material to use highly effective age checks to prevent children from accessing that content. Because of the way the Act relates to chatbots, as explained above, we are currently unable to investigate the creation of illegal images by the standalone Grok service in this case. Ministers brought forward legislation to ban generating sexual deepfake images without consent following outrage over the chatbot. Shortly after the ban, Sir Keir Starmer said X must act to comply with UK laws immediately and that young womens images are not public property, and their safety is not up for debate. In a statement released on Tuesday, Mr Malcolm said: The reports about Grok raise deeply troubling questions about how peoples personal data has been used to generate intimate or sexualised images without their knowledge or consent, and whether the necessary safeguards were put in place to prevent this. Losing control of personal data in this way can cause immediate and significant harm. This is particularly the case where children are involved. Our role is to address the data protection concerns at the centre of this, while recognising that other organisations also have important responsibilities. We are working closely with Ofcom and international regulators to ensure our roles are aligned and that peoples safety and privacy are protected. We will continue to work in partnership as part of our coordinated efforts to create trust in UK digital services. Our investigation will assess whether XIUC [X Unlimited Internet Company] and X.AI have complied with data protection law in the development and deployment of the Grok services, including the safeguards in place to protect peoples data rights. Where we find obligations have not been met, we will take action to protect the public. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Sir Keir Starmer has said he is sorry for believing Peter Mandelsons lies and for appointing him to the role of Britains ambassador to the US, as he tries to weather the crisis that has threatened to end his premiership. Following a barrage of criticism from his own MPs on one of the most turbulent days of his leadership, the prime minister began a planned speech about community cohesion with a frank apology to the victims of paedophile sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, as he addressed growing anger over the way he has dealt with the issue. In an attempt at damage control, after he admitted during PMQs that he knew Lord Mandelson had had a relationship with Epstein, he said: None of us knew the depths and the darkness of that relationship. But speculation over Sir Keirs future and that of his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney continues, and some Labour MPs have openly called on the prime minister to sack his right-hand man. The situation has led Labour grandee Harriet Harman to warn Sir Keir that he must take action over the scandal or risk losing his job. open image in gallery Keir Starmer began a speech in East Sussex with a lengthy apology about his handling of Peter Mandelsons appointment ( PA ) Baroness Harman told Sky News: I think it is so serious for Keir Starmer. I dont think its inevitable that it will bring him down. But it will bring him down, unless he takes the action that is really necessary for him to take, and thats this: firstly, hes got to stop blaming Mandelson, and saying He lied to me. Because actually, he should never have been considering him in the first place. Sir Keir said he shared the anger and frustration of his colleagues about the saga, but vowed to continue as prime minister while doubling down on his support for Mr McSweeney, who has been blamed by many Labour MPs for pushing for the appointment of his ally Lord Mandelson, and for bringing him back into the heart of a Labour government. Sir Keir is facing calls from within Labour ranks to implement a total overhaul of personnel in Downing Street, and to admit he made a catastrophic error of political and moral judgement, while opposition parties have called for a vote of no confidence in the prime minister. Earlier, Paula Barker, Labour vice-chair of both the standards committee and the privileges committee, criticised Sir Keirs questionable judgement over the saga, adding: When your chief of staff becomes the story, then often its time for them to go. Fellow Labour backbencher Karl Turner added: If McSweeney is still in 10 Downing Street, the PM is up against it. Another Labour MP, speaking anonymously, said getting rid of Mr McSweeney would be like cutting off the head of the hydra and that root and branch change in government was needed instead. Asked about the prime ministers speech, they said: Take your apology and stick it where the sun dont shine. It makes me sick to my stomach to hear them defend that. Once Trump was elected, they thought, we need to have him and be damned with the risks. What part of Mandelson staying at the home of a paedophile did you not understand? Speaking in Hastings, Sir Keir sought to pin blame on the vetting process carried out independently by the security services after Lord Mandelsons appointment was cleared. He said: I think we need to look at the security vetting, because it now transpires that what was being said was not true. And had I known then what I know now, Id never have appointed him in the first place. open image in gallery Keir Starmer has vowed to continue as prime minister while doubling down on his support for Morgan McSweeney ( Picture Agency/Shutterstock ) Officials have been tasked with examining that process as a priority, according to Downing Street. Meanwhile, a growing number of Labour MPs remain unconvinced by Sir Keirs determination to remain in No 10, and are urging Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting to launch a leadership challenge over the scandal. One Labour MP told The Independent: Someone needs to go for it. This cannot go on. Sir Keir said Lord Mandelson was asked directly about whether he had stayed with Epstein after his conviction, and whether he had accepted gifts from the financier. The information now available makes clear that the answers he gave were lies, Sir Keir said. He portrayed Epstein as someone he barely knew. And when [it] became clear [that] it was not true, I sacked him. Such deceit is incompatible with public service. The address came after Labour MPs, led by Ms Rayner, forced the prime minister into a humiliating climbdown over the full release of vetting documents relating to the appointment. open image in gallery Labour MPs, led by former deputy PM Angela Rayner, forced the prime minister into a humiliating climbdown on Wednesday ( House of Commons ) The prime minister had attempted to restrict the publication of the documents, arguing that some details would need to be redacted on national security grounds, which prompted accusations that he was engaging in a cover-up. Sir Keir eventually backed down after Ms Rayner stood in the Commons to make it clear she would be supporting the Tory proposal for the independent Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) to decide which documents could be published. Downing Street said it was in discussions with the ISC about the process of releasing the documents, and would update the House once a process had been agreed. The ISC has since said it cannot commit to a timetable for reviewing the documents. In a letter to the prime minister, the committee said it would act as it always does, entirely independently of government, in determining whether certain documents should be withheld for national security reasons. That must be a matter for the committee alone and it is clearly not possible for the committee to determine this until it sees the papers, or indeed to commit to any timetable until we know the size of the task at hand, it added. open image in gallery Peter Mandelson portrayed Epstein as someone he barely knew, said the prime minister ( PA Archive ) Meanwhile, opposition parties called for a no-confidence vote in the prime minister as Reform UK leader Nigel Farage described the issue as the biggest political scandal in Britain for 100 years. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch told a Westminster press conference: He will have to be dragged out of No 10, so I am making them an offer. If they want the change they know the country needs, come and speak to my whips and lets talk seriously about a vote of no confidence to force the moment. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey echoed the calls for a vote of no confidence, while Mr Farage described the prime ministers apology as very weak and not quite believable. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The European Union is open-minded about Britain joining a possible customs union, the blocs finance commissioner has said, amid growing pressure on the government to consider such a move. In the strongest comments yet from the EU on the issue, Valdis Dombrovskis said the bloc was ready to engage if the UK wanted to explore a customs union. But the government has repeatedly ruled it out, saying it is one of their red lines for engagement with the EU despite Sir Keir Starmer saying he wants closer ties with the bloc. While a customs union would slash bureaucracy and costs related to trade with the EU, critics have raised concerns that it would curtail the UK's ability to strike bespoke global trade deals. Speaking after high-level talks with ministers, Mr Dombrovskis also said the UK and EU could remove most food checks between the UK and the bloc, as well as opening the door to Britain entering the EU's 150bn (130bn) defence loans scheme after talks on an agreement broke down last year. Rachel Reeves meets with EU finance chief Valdis Dombrovskis ( Getty ) It came as chancellor Rachel Reeves said stronger ties with the union are becoming increasingly important amid a slide towards a world where the rules are less clear. Her comments come in the face of growing global instability, after Donald Trump threatened to hit the UK and Europe with fresh tariffs over their opposition to his threats to annex Greenland. Mr Dombrovskis latest remarks come just days after Sir Keir insisted the UK should go further at each UK-EU summit. The prime minister has consistently ruled out rejoining the EUs customs union, but, speaking from China last week, he said aligning with the single market was the place to look in future negotiations. Asked whether Brussels would welcome talks on Britain rejoining the customs union, Mr Dombrovskis told the BBC: I cannot jump to conclusions, but I can say that we are ready to engage with an open mind and seek those areas of cooperation. Sir Keir said there had already been progress on the single market, including a deal on food and agriculture standards, and suggested further progress could be made in other areas. A second UK-EU summit is expected to take place later this year, following the first, in May 2025. Arguing that each summit with the EU should bring new agreements, he said: I think we should not just follow through on what weve already agreed. I think the relationship with the EU, and every summit, should be iterative. We should be seeking to go further. But the prime minister reiterated that rejoining the customs union would mean having to unpick post-Brexit trade deals with countries such as the US and India. It comes after health secretary Wes Streeting last year said a customs union would have enormous economic benefits, while deputy prime minister David Lammy suggested that rejoining the European Unions customs union could increase Britains economic growth. One area currently under discussion is the possibility of a youth mobility scheme, making it easier for young people from Britain to work in the EU for a period, and vice versa. The EU is reported to be pushing for a scheme with no cap on numbers, but Sir Keir insisted that any deal would have to include a cap. He told reporters he was pleased that a scheme was being negotiated, adding: The principals are that there has got to be a cap and there has got to be a duration agreed. It will be a visa-led scheme. All of our schemes are similar to that. Sign up to our free Brexit newsletter for our analysis of the continuing impact of Brexit on the UK Sign up to our free newsletter for the latest analysis on Brexit's impact Sign up to our free newsletter for the latest analysis on Brexit's impact Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Peter Mandelson will be investigated by police after Sir Keir Starmer handed authorities a dossier of extraordinary emails that suggested the disgraced peer had leaked sensitive government information to Jeffrey Epstein. In an astonishing attack on the former minister, Sir Keir accused Lord Mandelson of letting his country down and warned there could be more damning revelations to emerge in the scandal, which has rocked the Labour Party and British politics. Former prime minister Gordon Brown has also written to Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley with information relevant to his investigation of Lord Mandelsons disclosure of market-sensitive and confidential government information to Epstein, while serving as business secretary in his government as it dealt with the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash. Sir Keir has ordered a new government review into all contact between the disgraced paedophile financier and Lord Mandelson while he was Mr Browns business secretary. He also asked officials to draft legislation to strip Lord Mandelson of his peerage as quickly as possible. Hours later, the Lord Speaker announced the former UK ambassador to Washington, who had already quit the Labour Party over the tranche of emails, would stand down from the House of Lords. open image in gallery Keir Starmer has handed police a dossier on Mandelson ( Carl Court/Pool Photo via AP ) On Tuesday evening, the Metropolitan Police announced that Lord Mandelson would be investigated on suspicion of misconduct in public office offences, which carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. A Government spokesperson said: "The Government stands ready to provide whatever support and assistance the police need." Sir Keir is expected to come under further pressure on Wednesday as the Conservatives try to push a binding vote in the Commons to force ministers to reveal details of vetting carried out before Lord Mandelson was made US ambassador last year. On another day of major developments: Prince Edward became the first member of the royal family to speak out about the most recently released Epstein documents, saying it was important to remember the victims Sarah Fergusons charity announced it will close for the foreseeable future after new revelations emerged about the former duchesss friendship with Epstein In a bizarre interview, Lord Mandelson insisted he would not hide under a rock as he praised Epsteins dinner parties A new photo emerged from the Epstein files apparently showing the peer receiving a foot massage Sir Keir said it was gobsmacking that a politician wouldnt remember payments of significant sums of money from Epstein, as Lord Mandelson had claimed Downing Street confirmed the Cabinet Office had referred material to the Metropolitan Police on Tuesday amid concerns that handling safeguards around highly sensitive government information had been compromised. The Met Police is already reviewing reports into alleged misconduct in a public office over the alleged leaking of sensitive information. But it is understood that the new dossier was handed over at the governments instigation, and had not been requested by the police. The prime ministers official spokesperson said: An initial review of the documents released in relation to Jeffrey Epstein by the US Department of Justice ... found that they contain likely market-sensitive information surrounding the 2008 financial crash and official activities thereafter to stabilise the economy. Only people operating in an official capacity had access to this information [and there were] strict handling conditions to ensure it was not available to anyone who could potentially benefit from it financially. It appears these safeguards were compromised. open image in gallery Mandelson with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein ( US Department of Justice ) In light of this information, the Cabinet Office has referred this material to the police. Sir Keir told his cabinet that he was appalled by what had emerged in the past few days in the Epstein files. He said the alleged passing on of highly sensitive government information was disgraceful, adding that he was not reassured that the totality of information had yet emerged. He added that for the public to see a politician say that they could not recall significant sums of money, after bank statements from 2003 and 2004 appear to show he received payments totalling $75,000 from the financier, was gobsmacking and risked undermining voters faith in politics. Before Lord Mandelson announced he would retire from the Lords, Sir Keir told his cabinet that the government had to press and go further, working at speed in the Lords, including legislatively if necessary to remove him. No 10 said officials were drafting legislation that would allow his peerage to be removed as quickly as possible, in what is understood to be a timeline of weeks, not months. Downing Street also said the PM believed the Lords should have a mechanism to remove transgressors more quickly. open image in gallery A new picture emerged of Mandelson receiving a foot rub ( US Department of Justice ) The latest tranche of documents released by the US Department of Justice appears to show Epstein was sent internal discussions from the heart of the UK government in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. Lord Mandelson has insisted Epsteins money did not influence his actions in government. On Monday, Lord Mandelson admitted his partner had accepted funding from Epstein for an osteopathy course. But he rejected the suggestion this had left him open to bribery claims. In the interview with The Times, which was conducted over a number of days, he suggested he thought he still had a future in British public life, saying that hiding under a rock would be a disproportionate response to a handful of misguided historical emails, which I deeply regret sending. With pressure mounting on Lord Mandelson to resign from the Lords, health secretary Wes Streeting told the BBC earlier on Tuesday that the peers actions were a betrayal on so many levels. There are continued calls for Lord Mandelson to be removed from the privy council, which advises the monarch. On Monday, Mr Brown revealed that he asked for an investigation five months ago into the sale of assets arising from the banking collapse and communications about them between Lord Mandelson and Mr Epstein after emails sent between the pair assessing the state of the UK economy in the wake of the financial crisis, suggested the government had saleable assets that could be sold to the private sector to reduce debt. Mr Brown said he was told that there was no record of any communication between Epstein and Lord Mandelson on the issue. Asked if the new internal review would look again at the questions raised by Mr Brown, No 10 said it would consider all contact between the two men. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Former US ambassador Lord Peter Mandelson has resigned from the Labour Party to avoid causing further embarrassment. It comes after a weekend of further revelations over his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Here is what we know about the pairs relationship. 2002 Lord Mandelson writes a memo encouraging the then-prime minister Tony Blair to meet Epstein, according to The Times. 2003 Lord Mandelsons message to Epstein, in which he describes him as his best pal, is included in a birthday book compiled by convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell. open image in gallery Part of Mandelsons birthday message to Epstein ( House Committee on Oversight and Reform ) 2006 As police in Florida suggest Epstein should be charged with four counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor, Lord Mandelson says I am following you closely and here whenever you need, after Epstein tells him he is attempting to set up another prosecutor meeting, according to Bloomberg. Epstein is later arrested and Bloomberg reports that Lord Mandelson asks the paedophile for updates on the same day, saying keep me posted. 2007 Epsteins lawyers engage in discussion with Miami attorney Alexander Acosta about a plea bargain that would allow him to avoid prosecution. open image in gallery Peter Mandelson (left) speaks with Jeffrey Epstein in a picture from the latest trove of documents released ( House Oversight Committee ) 2008 Epstein pleads guilty to soliciting prostitution and soliciting a minor and is sentenced to 18 months in a minimum-security prison. The US attorneys office agrees not to prosecute Epstein for more serious federal crimes in a secret arrangement. Lord Mandelson writes emails showing support for Epstein while he is facing charges for soliciting a minor, including one that says Your friends stay with you and love you. The emails, reported by The Sun, also show the former Labour minister tells Epstein to fight for early release shortly before his prison sentence. open image in gallery A young Epstein poses with a woman whose face has been blocked out to protect her privacy ( House Oversight Committee ) 2009 Lord Mandelson stays at Epsteins Manhattan apartment while the paedophile is serving his 18-month sentence, an internal report by the JP Morgan bank suggests. Epstein is released from prison after serving 13 months. 2010 During his time as business secretary, Lord Mandelson brokered a deal with Epstein for the sale of a UK taxpayer-owned banking business. 2019 Epstein is arrested on sex trafficking charges after lawyers in New York conclude they are not bound by the secret non-prosecution agreement. The paedophile financier is found dead in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in New York a month later. Lord Mandelsons affiliation with Epstein is thrown into the spotlight after a picture of him with the paedophile financier on St Barts is published. open image in gallery Keir Starmer appointed Lord Mandelson to the job of ambassador to the UK in February ( PA ) 2025 Lord Mandelson tells a Financial Times reporter to f*** off after being asked about his relationship with Epstein. The House Oversight Committee in the US releases a number of documents from the Epstein estate, including the birthday book with Lord Mandelsons message in it. Lord Mandelson describes his birthday message to Epstein as very embarrassing during an interview with The Suns Harry Cole Saves the West programme. Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer asks Lord Mandelson to stand down. 2026 Lord Mandelson features in the more than three million documents released by the US Department of Justice related to paedophile financier Epstein. Among them were files that suggested Epstein had made $75,000 in payments to Lord Mandelson between 2003 and 2004, when he was a Labour MP. In an email exchange from 2009, Lord Mandelson appeared to tell Epstein he would lobby ministers about a tax on bankers bonuses. Lord Mandelson said he had written to Hollie Ridley, general secretary of the Labour Party to say he was resigning his party membership. Allegations which I believe to be false that he made financial payments to me 20 years ago, and of which I have no record or recollection, need investigating by me. While doing this I do not wish to cause further embarrassment to the Labour Party and I am therefore stepping down from membership of the party, he said. Sign up to our free Brexit newsletter for our analysis of the continuing impact of Brexit on the UK Sign up to our free newsletter for the latest analysis on Brexit's impact Sign up to our free newsletter for the latest analysis on Brexit's impact Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Peter Mandelson has stepped down from the House of Lords and is facing a criminal investigation over allegations he passed sensitive information to Jeffrey Epstein while serving in Gordon Browns cabinet as business secretary. The Labour peer, who was also sacked as British ambassador to the US last year, appeared to tell Epstein he would lobby ministers over a tax on bankers bonuses in 2009, and to confirm an imminent bailout package for the euro the day before it was announced in 2010. Lord Mandelson announced he is resigning from his membership of the Labour Party, stating that he does not want to cause "further embarrassment", after further revelations about his ties to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein surfaced in newly released documents. Sir Keir Starmer is facing growing scrutiny over his decision to appoint Lord Mandelson as US ambassador including a backlash from his own back benches, with his former deputy Angela Rayner among those pushing for parliaments Intelligence and Security Committee to decide what documents could be released into the public domain. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch demanded Downing Street explain the vetting process as she claimed concerns were waved away so the prime minister could make a political appointment of a man who is a close friend of a convicted paedophile. open image in gallery Lord Mandelson resigned from his membership of the Labour Party as he does not wish to cause further embarrassment over his links to Jeffrey Epstein ( PA Wire ) Newly released emails from 2009 appear to show Lord Mandelson sharing sensitive information on at least four occasions, including an assessment by Mr Browns adviser of potential policy measures including an asset sales plan. In a Times interview conducted before the latest allegations came to light, Lord Mandelson admitted to a lapse in judgment over Epsteins funding of an osteopathy course for his husband Reinaldo Avila da Silva in 2009, at the time the government was dealing with the global financial crisis. The files contain reference to a 10,000 transfer from Epstein. They included bank statements that appeared to show the peer received some $75,000 (around 55,000) from Epstein over a period between 2003 and 2004, when he was a Labour MP. Lord Mandelson said he did not recall ever receiving the payments and questioned their authenticity. In a letter to Labour's general secretary on Sunday evening, Lord Mandelson said: I have been further linked this weekend to the understandable furore surrounding Jeffrey Epstein and I feel regretful and sorry about this. Allegations which I believe to be false that he made financial payments to me 20 years ago, and of which I have no record or recollection, need investigating by me. But how did Lord Mandelson rise from political fixer to the prime ministers point man in the US? And what do we know about his relationship with Epstein? open image in gallery Lord Mandelson appeared to describe Jeffrey Epstein as his best pal ( House Oversight Committee ) Peter Mandelsons career The former Labour grandee was born into Labour politics. Lord Mandelson is the grandson of former Labour home and foreign secretary Herbert Morrison. Aged just 12, he was invited to Downing Street by his neighbours, then prime minister Harold Wilson and his wife Mary. The young Peter is said to have been dazzled at the time by the opportunity to sit in the prime ministers chair. But Lord Mandelsons work as a political fixer for the party has seen him go on to spend five decades at the heart of Labour politics. open image in gallery Lord Mandelson earned the nickname the Prince of Darkness ( PA ) His first taste of Labour politics was his 1979 election to Lambeth Borough Council, famously where Sir Keir Starmers chief of staff Morgan McSweeney also cut his teeth working for now environment secretary Steve Reed. However, the hard left council was led by a man dubbed Red Ted, and so the young Peter Mandelson stood down just three years later, disillusioned with Labour politics. After a stint in TV, he was appointed by former Labour leader Neil Kinnock as the partys director of communications, where his status as a political heavyweight began to take shape. Despite defeat in the 1987 general election, before Margaret Thatchers third term in Downing Street, Labour picked up tens of seats and its media operation won praise. open image in gallery His return to government was surrounded by controversy ( PA ) He was selected as Labours candidate for the safe seat of Hartlepool in 1990, winning the seat at the 1992 general election, the last before the rise of Sir Tony Blair and New Labour. The party was on course to take power from a tired Tory Party led by Sir John Major before the unexpected death of then Labour leader John Smith. Lord Mandelson then found himself at the heart of a feud which would dominate British politics, Blair v Brown, after he backed Sir Tony for the leadership. As a reward for his support, he was made director of Labours landslide 1997 general election campaign and was then handed a role in government. He was later handed responsibility for trade and industry. open image in gallery Peter Mandelson, right, with John Prescott, centre, and Neil Kinnock at Londons Festival Hall after Labours election victory in 1997 ( PA Archive ) After briefly returning to the cabinet, Lord Mandelson had his eyes on Europe and took a job in 2004 as Britains European commissioner for trade - a role which may cause friction with EU-hating Mr Trumps administration. But it was four years later Lord Mandelsons status as a Labour grandee would finally be sealed. In a controversial move, Mr Brown sought to shore up his government by bringing the former spin doctor back to UK politics by handing him a peerage and a role as business secretary. Lord Mandelson became the first political appointee to the US ambassador role for almost 50 years. He has faced scrutiny over his roles with lobbying firm Global Counsel, his links with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and his views on China, Europe and globalism in a time of the rise of America First. In September 2025, Sir Keir Starmer sacked Lord Mandelson as the US ambassador following growing pressure over his ties to Epstein. Peter Mandelsons relationship with Jeffrey Epstein Over the weekend, further links came to light after the tranche of newly released documents suggested that Epstein had made payments of up to $75,000 (55,000) to Lord Mandelson over a period between 2003 and 2004. Emails also appeared to show that the convicted sex offender had sent 10,000 to his husband Reinaldo Avila da Silva to fund an osteopathy course and other related expenses in September 2009. The latest revelations follows a shock report by JPMorgan Chase last year that revealed the particularly close relationship between Lord Mandelson and Epstein. The dossier showed the senior political figures ties to the late paedophile who was close enough to the former Labour cabinet minister to call him Petie. The report also suggested that Lord Mandelson stayed at Epsteins New York home in June 2009 when he was still Mr Browns business secretary and the financier was serving 18 months in prison for soliciting prostitution from a minor. Pictures of the pair together have repeatedly resurfaced, with photos being circulated on social media when it emerged he would be appointed US ambassador. open image in gallery Lord Mandelsons apparent birthday letter to Epstein ( House Committee on Oversight and Reform ) Lord Mandelsons apparent contribution to the birthday book, released by a Congressional committee, took the form of a poem to the financier. Once upon a time, an intelligent, sharp-witted man they call mysterious parachuted into my life, it opened. The pictures included alongside the note included a shot of Lord Mandelson on a balcony in a pair of swimming trunks shot from behind, with his hands on his hips. open image in gallery Lord Mandelson said his relationship with Epstein is a media obsession ( House Committee on Oversight and Reform ) Lord Mandelsons note appeared to reference interesting friends he had been left to entertain by Epstein. But wherever he is in the world, he remains my best pal, it concluded. Lord Mandelson appeared to add: Happy birthday, Jeffrey, we love you!! There is no suggestion Lord Mandelson, who was friends with Epsteins former lover Ghislaine Maxwell, had any knowledge of the paedophiles wrongdoing. Lord Mandelsons spokesman has said he very much regrets the connection with Epstein while allies have said the pair met on no more than five or six occasions. In January, Lord Mandelson apologised to the victims of Epstein for remaining friends with the paedophile financier after his conviction. I was wrong to believe him following his conviction and to continue my association with him afterwards. I apologise unequivocally for doing so to the women and girls who suffered, he said in a statement. Peter Mandelson stands accused of leaking confidential government information to a foreign third party, Jeffrey Epstein, with potentially serious implications for the interests of the UK. The release of documents from the Epstein files has uncovered a number of problematic emails sent to and from Mandelson. He says he has no record or recollection of some of them, and queried whether they are genuine. He denies all suggestions of wrongdoing in any case. Some people, including his former colleagues in this and previous Labour governments, plainly regard his actions as a betrayal, and treacherous in the colloquial sense, but that doesnt necessarily make them illegal. Could Mandelson be charged with treason? No. All the legislation on this matter, from the 1351 Treason Act onwards, is mainly concerned with attacks on the royal family or state officials, and the conduct of war. The last person to be found guilty of the offence, under the Treason Act 1852, was Jaswant Singh Chail, in 2023, for attempting to kill Queen Elizabeth II with a crossbow at Windsor Castle in 2021. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to nine years in prison with an additional five years on extended licence. The last person to be found guilty and hanged was William Joyce, Lord Haw Haw, in 1946. Another person was executed in 1946 under the Treachery Act 1940. Nothing that Mandelson might have done would qualify for prosecution under these types of law, and fortunately the death penalty was abolished completely under the Human Rights Act 1998. What could Mandelson be charged with? The most commonly discussed possibilities are misconduct in public office an offence under common law that carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and unlawful disclosure of insider information, which carries a maximum sentence of seven years in respect of crimes committed before November 2021. The Official Secrets Act probably doesnt apply as it relates to security and defence. What are the implications of a prosecution? The obvious concern is that there are a huge number of politicians and officials who leak, gossip and mislead. If Mandelson is culpable, many more must surely be. What do the police say? They are reviewing the information, and the Cabinet Office has referred material to them. What does Mandelson say? If it hadnt been for the emails, Id still be in Washington. Emails sent all those years ago didnt change the relationship that I had with this monster. I feel the same about the recent download of Epstein files, none of which indicate wrongdoing or misdemeanour on my part. Wholl decide? If it ever comes to it, the Crown Prosecution Service will decide if taking action would be in the public interest a controversial decision either way. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Reform UK has been labeled racist for arguing that the two-child benefit cap should only be lifted for families where both parents are British and in full-time work. Sian Berry, the Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion, told MPs she wanted to utterly reject the racist agenda of the Reform members objections. Labour MP for Peterborough Andrew Pakes called the policy naked racism and an affront to British values. Meanwhile, Conservative former minister Kit Malthouse said Reform is calling for open discrimination and said the policy would affect his own children, and the children of sitting Reform MPs. He said: There is something grotesque about seeking legislation which seeks to downgrade the citizenship of your own children. open image in gallery Reform MP Lee Anderson added that British people should be put first ( Lucy North/PA Wire ) However, a Reform spokesperson said that the policy has nothing to do with race and that MPs are wilfully misrepresenting the policy. Reform MP Sarah Pochin backed her partys policy, arguing that removing the two-child benefit cap entirely rewards those who play the system. She told MPs that birth rates are higher among foreign nationals, so Labours policy will mean a significant amount of this additional expenditure will go to households where at least one parent is born outside the UK. open image in gallery Reform MP Sarah Pochin backed her partys policy, arguing that removing the two-child benefit cap entirely rewards those who play the system ( Getty ) The Runcorn and Helsby MP said: Scrapping the two-child benefit limit does nothing to help hard-working parents who set their alarm clocks every morning and does everything to encourage families already on benefits to have more children in the full knowledge that the state will pay for them. Removing the two-child benefit cap without imposing any other restrictions, such as limiting it to working families with British-born parents, fails to incentivise work. It increases the support to non-working families beyond that given to working parents earning above the benefit level. So those who work are being punished, while those who play the system are rewarded. She added: Due to higher birth rates amongst foreign nationals, a significant amount of this additional expenditure is expected to go to households where at least one parent is born outside the UK. Reform will only lift the cap for British families where both parents are in full-time work. Reform MP Lee Anderson (Ashfield) added that British people should be put first. Mr Malthouse, who served as education secretary under Liz Truss, accused Reform of calling for open discrimination in our welfare system against those who do not have entirely or parents who were born entirely in this country. He told MPs: I declare an interest that includes my children, two of my children not born to a British citizen. It also includes the children of Members of Parliament who sit for the Reform Party. And there is something grotesque about seeking legislation which seeks to downgrade the citizenship of your own children. However, he also criticised the Government for its policy of removing the two-child benefit cap entirely, claiming that it treats children as a burden somehow to be mitigated, rather than treating them as a bonus to be encouraged. Mr Malthouse said: On this side of the House, we would much rather there were work incentives that came alongside children. When I was briefly secretary of state for education, I was inundated with correspondence and approaches from lots of highly productive and ambitious women who wanted assistance within work. They wanted some kind of bonus, relief, some kind of package to encourage them to have children, rather than see children as part of some kind of safety net where women have to be rescued if they have children. He argued that the country needs more children and so he hopes for the mentality to shift from mitigation to encouragement. The Tory MP added that there is a massive demographic steam train thats coming down the tunnel towards us, noting estimates that suggest there will be two working people to every pensioner by 2050. He asked: How are we going to pay for all of this in the future? How are we going to fund it all without enormous debt? Former Labour shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, later branded Ms Pochins views as racist, while Sam Rushworth, Labour MP for Bishop Auckland, said he was deeply offended by the comments. Mr Rushworth said: My wife was not born in this country, she came here as a teenager, she worked in a meat factory, went through university and now works as a midwife in our NHS. The idea that somehow she should be less entitled because of her birth, I find, frankly, disgusting. A spokesperson for Reform UK said: Our policy has nothing to do with race. The MPs making these comments are wilfully misrepresenting the policy. Reform UKs policy on the two-child cap applies to British couples who are both in full-time work, whether that be by birth or naturalisation. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A court in Uganda has dropped its case against the first man in the country to be charged with aggravated homosexuality, his lawyer says. The charge carries the death penalty under an anti-gay law in the East African country. Uganda defied pressure from Western governments, as well as local and global human rights groups, to enact the Anti-Homosexuality Act in 2023. It is described as one of the world's harshest laws targeting the LGBT community. The legislation carries a sentence of life in prison for same-sex intercourse and imposes the death penalty in cases deemed "aggravated". That categorisation includes repeat offences, gay sex that transmits terminal illness, or same-sex intercourse with a minor, an elderly person or a person with disabilities. The then-20-year-old man, from Soroti in northeastern Uganda, spent nearly a year on remand after he was detained in August 2023 and charged with aggravated homosexuality, his lawyer Douglas Mawadri said on Tuesday. The man was accused of "unlawful sexual intercourse" with a 41-year-old man. During proceedings which lasted more than two years, prosecutors amended the indictment and charged the man with having "carnal knowledge against the order of nature". That is an offence under Uganda's penal code that carries life imprisonment, Mr Mawadri said. On Monday "the magistrate discontinued the case upon finding that the accused is of unsound mind after a long detention on remand", Mr Mawadri said. The lawyer said that the ruling was delivered orally in court and a written version would be available at a later date. A spokesperson for Uganda's judiciary had no immediate comment when contacted. Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Act in 2023 drew widespread condemnation an threats of sanctions, and led the World Bank to suspend new funding to Uganda for nearly two years. The United States imposed visa restrictions on some Ugandan officials. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Alex Prettis death has been ruled as a homicide by a county medical examiner in Minnesota. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner released its ruling online Monday, nine days after the 37-year-old was fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis. The disclosure noted that Pretti suffered multiple gunshot wounds and died the same day, but offered no further specifics about the autopsy or its findings. It comes after the cause of death for Renee Nicole Good, who was also fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis, was also ruled a homicide. A ruling of homicide does not mean a crime was committed. open image in gallery Alex Prettis death has been ruled as a homicide by the county medical examiner in Minnesota ( U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ) Elsewhere, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that body-worn cameras would be distributed to all immigration enforcement officials in Minneapolis amid cries for greater accountability in the wake of both deaths. Effective immediately we are deploying body cameras to every officer in the field in Minneapolis, Noem wrote on X. As funding is available, the body camera program will be expanded nationwide. We will rapidly acquire and deploy body cameras to DHS law enforcement across the country. Noem attributed the decision to the most transparent administration in American history. It comes after two federal immigration agents involved in Prettis death were identified as longtime officers with Customs and Border Protection. open image in gallery More than 300 ICE Out of Everywhere protests took place Saturday as outrage continues to grow over a surge of agents into Democratic cities and the fatal shootings of Good and Pretti ( Getty Images ) Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa, 43, and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez, 35, are named in government records, viewed by ProPublica, as the officers who fired on the 37-year-old intensive care nurse on January 24. The agents, from Texas, were assigned to Operation Metro Surge, which saw thousands of federal agents deployed to Minnesota in December to carry out the Trump administrations anti-immigration crackdown. Top officials in the Trump administration had previously characterized both Good and Pretti as perpetrators of domestic terrorism, despite footage of both incidents appearing to contradict those claims. open image in gallery A national shutdown event, in which organizers encouraged people skip work, school and shopping in protest, took place Friday ( Getty Images ) Recent days have seen apparent attempts by the administration to walk back its aggressive approach to immigration efforts, including the removal of Border Patrol commander-at-large Gregory Bovino from the city. Donald Trump said Saturday that he had ordered the DHS not to intervene in protests and/or riots in Democratic-led cities unless local leaders ask for help. In a Truth Social post, the president noted federal officers will still be very forceful in their protection of federal property amid protests against his mass deportation campaign, with anti-ICE rallies taking place in cities across the country. State and local governments must use the word, PLEASE before asking for the federal governments help, he wrote. More than 300 ICE Out of Everywhere protests took place Saturday as outrage continues to grow over a surge of agents into Democratic cities and the fatal shootings of Good and Pretti. A national shutdown event, in which organizers encouraged people to skip work, school and shopping in protest, took place on Friday. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A year after three American women died from carbon monoxide poisoning at a hotel in Belize, their families have filed a federal lawsuit seeking justice. The women Wafae El Arar, 26, Imane Mallah, 24, and Kaoutar Naqqad, 23 were found dead at the Royal Kahal Beach Resort in San Pedro last February, just one day before they were scheduled to return home to Massachusetts. We are still trying to process the unimaginable, the families of the women, all from Revere, said in a statement provided to The Independent. Our daughters and sisters left for a vacation and never came home. The disbelief has not faded, and neither has the pain, the statement continued. This lawsuit is first and foremost about honoring the lives of our daughters, and just as importantly, about making sure this never happens to another family by demanding meaningful accountability. The suit was filed against a number of defendants, including the hotels Canadian owners, local contractors and the American-headquartered company that manufactured the water heater. open image in gallery The families of three American women who died of carbon monoxide poisoning at Belize hotel last year filed federal lawsuit. Pictured from left to right are Wafae El Arar, Imane Mallah and Kaoutar Naqqad ( GoFundMe ) According to the complaint, the San Pedro resort lacked a working carbon monoxide detection system, a failure the suit attributes to negligence. The families also claim the defendants did not warn guests about known safety hazards. This was not an unavoidable accident, attorney Thomas Scolaro said in a statement to The Independent. As we allege in the complaint, it was the foreseeable result of decisions that put safety last and a bottom line first, and our legal system exists to hold those responsible to account. The suit seeks punitive damages, compensation for suffering and pain, as well as accountability for the corporations involved. The Belize Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Independent. open image in gallery The deaths occurred last February in Belize, a popular vacation destination ( AFP via Getty Images ) The three women had been on vacation in San Pedro some 2,000 miles from home when tragedy struck. On February 21, housekeepers attempted to gain access to their room, but no one would answer the door when they knocked. Upon reviewing surveillance footage, hotel staff determined the women had entered the room and had not left. The next day after multiple attempts to get the women' s attention staff entered the room and discovered them inside and unresponsive. First responders reportedly said the young women were found with froth around their mouths, and local police said in a statement that gummies and alcohol were discovered in the room. Early findings from a pathologist indicated the women may have been deceased for as many as 20 hours before their bodies were found. The following month, police determined that the Americans had died from carbon monoxide poisoning. "In the immediate aftermath of their deaths, authorities hastily suggested that drugs were to blame, a conclusion that wrongly shifted suspicion onto the victims themselves. That narrative was later conclusively disproven when official findings confirmed that carbon monoxide poisoning was the sole cause of death. While the truth is now clear, the focus today is on what happens next," Scolaro said. Shortly after their deaths, the families shared fond memories of their loved ones. Naqqad, a college student and aspiring police officer, was described as compassionate and caring, while Mallah was remembered for being a beacon of kindness. El-Arar, a research technician at a Massachusetts hospital, had dedicated herself to reproductive rights, was full of life and known for her unwavering faith. Friends and supporters set up GoFundMe pages to help cover the cost of bringing the womens bodies back to the U.S. and funeral services. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A Black operations executive at a Chick-fil-A restaurant in suburban Philadelphia is suing the chain after being forced to endure incessant bigotry from the franchise owner, according to a federal civil rights lawsuit reviewed by The Independent. For nearly two full years, Tiffany Lynch, 38, was subjected to a barrage of discriminatory and stereotypical comments related to her race and the race of other Black employees or clientele, her complaint alleges. Among other things, Chick-fil-A Wayne Square owner-operator Joshua Grimm, who is white, regularly used the N-word, insinuated that Black people smell, that they are going to be cheap, and that they require extra cleanup, according to the complaint. If Lynch tried to bring aboard a Black employee, Grimm would question her judgment, and attempted to discourage certain hires, asking if they were Nasir Black referring to a well-spoken and professional Black male employee who once worked at the Wayne Square location or if they were ghetto Black, the complaint states. It says Grimms behavior was clear racism, as he denigrated even well-to-do Black clientele, according to the complaint, which also accuses the 33-year-old of making repeated homophobic comments to Lynch, who is gay. open image in gallery The Chick-fil-A chain is operated according to 'biblical principles,' chairman Dan T. Cathy has said. But according to ex-employee Tiffany Lynch, her boss subjected her to ongoing racist commentary and fired her after she complained ( Getty Images ) Grimm, a Pittsburgh native, worked for Chick-fil-A as a teen and later gave up a budding career as a civil engineer to go back to the fast-food chain as a franchisee, according to a press release the company issued in 2023. Outside of the restaurant, Grimm and his family are very involved in their church and enjoy traveling together, the release said. Chick-fil-A, which is closed on Sundays, is an organization based on biblical principles, asking God and pleading with God to give us wisdom on decisions we make about people and the programs and partnerships we have, chairman Dan T. Cathy told the Baptist Press. And He has blessed us. At the same time, Chick-fil-A has faced similar accusations of racism in the past. Last May, a Black employee at a Chick-fil-A franchise in Idaho sued over claims he endured more than a half-year of racist abuse from coworkers who allegedly called him the N-word, referred to him, variously, as an ape and a monkey, and threatened to cage him like an animal. A Chick-fil-A spokesperson did not respond on Tuesday to requests for comment. Messages sent to Grimm seeking comment, along with an attorney representing both him and the chain against Lynchs allegations, went unanswered. open image in gallery In 2024, then-candidate Donald Trump visited a Chick-fil-A in Atlanta, calling their food 'the Lord's chicken.' However, former employee Tiffany Lynch, who worked at a Chick-fil-A in Pennsylvania, claims in a new lawsuit that her boss did not live up to the chain's 'biblical' ideals ( Getty Images ) Lynch was hired in December 2023 as the executive director for operations at Chick-fil-A Wayne Square, in Wayne, Pennsylvania, according to her complaint, which was filed February 2 in Philadelphia federal court. The job is a senior leadership position, overseeing both front and back-of-house operations. Lynch reported directly to Grimm, who is described in the complaint as a Caucasian male. It says Grimm made racist and homophobic comments to Lynch on a daily basis, occurring whenever [she] saw him, the complaint states. Defendant Grimm used the [N-word] many times in Plaintiffs presence, the complaint alleges. For example, Defendant Grimm frequently told stories that he had an all-white upbringing and when he met his first Black person he said, whats up my [N-word]. He told this story regularly emphasizing the [N-word] Grimm would further make derogatory comments about Black clientele either directly or insinuating they smell, they will require extra cleanup, they are going to be cheap, about food stereotypes, we dont take food stamp[s]- type of comments, or other statements exhibiting a general dislike for the race, the complaint continues. He did not make these same types of racist or stereotypical comments with Caucasians, regardless of their smell or appearance. It was clear racism, as he made such comments even about clean, professional-looking, or well-to-do Black clientele. open image in gallery The Chick-fil-A location in Wayne, Pennsylvania, where Tiffany Lynch worked. She is now suing over claims the franchise owner subjected her to ceaseless racist comments, then fired her when she spoke out ( Google Maps ) There were no concerns whatsoever with hiring a non-Black person who was from the inner city or who used slang, the complaint goes on. Yet, there was constant pushback if a Black employee was considered for hiring Anytime [Lynch] tried to hire a Black employee, Defendant Grimm would question the [move], asking, Is the person Nasir Black or ghetto Black[?] Further, according to the complaint, Grimm regularly directed Lynch to retrieve certain items from a storage closet, accompanied by snide comments that she might not come back out of the closet, or that he did not want [Lynch] to have to come out of the closet again. Lynch took personal offense to Grimms language, and made sure he knew it, the complaint states. [S]he gave pushback related to Defendant Grimms discriminatory hiring practices, stating to him that he should not discriminate against black applicants when he was trying to discourage certain hires, asking if they were ghetto, according to the complaint, which says Lynch became quite vocal in objecting, because Grimms comments were so intense and so frequent. However, Lynchs protestations only served to encourage Grimm to continue conducting himself in a completely entitled and immature manner[,] constantly being unprofessional, the complaint states. And, it claims, with Grimms sister in charge of HR at the Wayne Square location, her formal reports about what was happening were not meaningfully investigated. open image in gallery Tiffany Lynch was let go for what management deemed 'subpar performance,' but Lynch alleges the reason was 'pretextual' and claims she was in fact fired because she pushed back against anti-Black racism by her boss ( Getty Images ) In November 2025, Lynch took a long-planned five-day vacation. While she was out, Grimm, without warning, removed her from the work schedule and immediately cut off her access to her company email, according to the complaint. Lynch at this point notified Chick-fil-A corporate about the history of discrimination and retaliation by Grimm, and said she was desperately seeking help from headquarters, the complaint maintains. But, it says, she got a response back from Chick-fil-A HQ saying they were unable to help. The next day, Grimm terminated Lynch due to subpar performance, which the complaint describes as false and pretextual. Plaintiff believes and therefore avers that her race was the motivating or determinative factor in Defendants decision to terminate her employment, the complaint states. Lynch is suing JLL Hospitality LLC, which owns Chick-fil-A Wayne Square, and Grimm individually. She is now asking a judge to force Chick-fil-A to promulgate an effective policy against such discrimination/retaliation, and to award her back pay, front pay, bonuses and other benefits, as well as damages to be determined by a jury. Chick-fil-A Wayne Square and Grimm have until March 31 to file a formal response to Lynchs allegations. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Independent journalist Don Lemon has described the moment he was arrested at a hotel by FBI agents to late-night show host Jimmy Kimmel. Lemon was arrested last Thursday on federal charges related to a protest against immigration enforcement at a Minnesota church that the former CNN anchor covered. The journalist told Kimmel during Tuesdays show that he was approached by agents as he returned to the Los Angeles hotel where he was staying in anticipation of covering the Grammy awards. Lemon was arrested by the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations, NBC News reported, citing a federal warrant. I was walking up to the room, and I pressed the elevator button, and then all of a sudden, I feel myself being jostled and people trying to grab me and put me in handcuffs, Lemon said. open image in gallery Don Lemon describes his arrest by the FBI to Jimmy Kimmel ( Jimmy Kimmel live!/YouTube ) He continued: And I said, What are you doing here? And they said, We came to arrest you. And I said, Who are you? And then finally, they identified themselves. Lemon told the comedian that he asked for a warrant, which they didnt immediately provide. So they had to wait for someone from outside, an FBI guy, to come in to show me a warrant on a cell phone, the journalist said. The former CNN anchor said a bunch of guys took him outside and FBI guys were out there, adding, It had to be maybe a dozen people. open image in gallery Lemon was arrested on federal charges related to a protest against immigration enforcement at a Minnesota church that the former CNN anchor covered ( Getty Images ) They want to embarrass you. They want to intimidate you. They want to instill fear. And so that's why they did it that way, Lemon said after explaining that his attorney told authorities before the arrest that he would turn himself in. On January 18, protesters disrupted a service at the Cities Church in St. Paul to show their discontent with a pastor who was leading a local field office for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. open image in gallery Supporters of Lemon, including actress Jane Fonda, gathered outside a Los Angeles courthouse last Friday ( Mario Tama/Getty Images ) President Donald Trumps immigration crackdown in Minnesota has caused tensions between federal immigration agents and residents to grow. The Cities Church protest happened in between the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, U.S. citizens who were fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis. Lemon and others were charged with conspiracy and interfering with the First Amendment rights of worshippers in connection with the protest. Lemon pleaded not guilty. According to the indictment filed in federal court in Minnesota, Lemon and his eight co-defendants, which included independent journalist Georgia Fort who also pleaded not guilty, oppressed, threatened, and intimidated the Churchs congregants and pastors by occupying space near the front of the Church, engaging in menacing behavior and/or physically obstructing them as they tried to move. open image in gallery Lemon has pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released after his court hearing ( Mario Tama/Getty Images ) Supporters of Lemon, including actress Jane Fonda, gathered outside a Los Angeles courthouse last Friday. Lemon was released after his court hearing and vowed to fight the charges against him. I have spent my entire career covering the news, Lemon said outside of court. I will not stop now. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice CBS News contributor Peter Attia has spoken out about the crude emails he exchanged with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, saying he was ashamed of his behavior in the latest problem for the networks editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss. In the latest batch of Epstein-related documents released by the government Friday, Attia, a doctor who focuses on longevity science, was shown to be messaging the disgraced financier years after he pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2008. In one email from February 2016, Attia told Epstein, P**** is, indeed, low carb. Still awaiting results on gluten content, though. Attia, who lives in Austin with his wife and three kids, shared a long apology on X Monday, in which he said he was not involved in any criminal activity, but took accountability for some embarrassing, tasteless, and indefensible emails. open image in gallery CBS News contributor Peter Attia has spoken out about the crude emails he exchanged with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, saying he was ashamed of his behavior ( Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images ) The health influencer specifically referenced an email exchange between him and Epstein from June 2015 titled Got a fresh shipment. Attia told Epstein in the thread, You [sic] the biggest problem with becoming friends with you? The life you lead is so outrageous, and yet I cant tell a soul Explaining the context of the email, Attia said: The email contained a photograph of bottles of metformin, a medication I had just received from the pharmacy for my own use. The subject line referred to the picture of the bottles of medication. He replied with the words me too and attached a photograph of an adult woman. I responded with crude, tasteless banter. Reading that exchange now is very embarrassing, and I will not defend it. Im ashamed of myself for everything about this. At the time, I understood this exchange as juvenile, not a reference to anything dark or harmful, Attia said. open image in gallery In the latest batch of Epstein-related documents released by the government Friday, Attia was shown to be messaging the disgraced financier years after he pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor ( Department of Justice ) Attia was announced as one of 19 new contributors to CBS News just days before the emails between him and Epstein were revealed. An unnamed source told the New York Post that, as of Monday evening, network executives were considering whether to strip Attia of his new position. The Independent has reached out to CBS News for comment. Attias vulgar message exchanges with Epstein, who stood accused of the sex trafficking of minors when he died by suicide in his New York jail cell in 2019, have piled on more bad press for Weiss. open image in gallery Its the latest problem for CBS Newss editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, whose leadership has been under scrutiny ( Noam Galai/Getty Images for The Free Press ) Weiss, who founded the anti-woke news site The Free Press, recently sparked backlash over her decision to pull a 60 Minutes segment about Venezuelan migrants sent from the U.S. to the infamous El Salvadorian prison CECOT. Holy f***ing dumpster fire, one CBS News employee told The Independent in reaction to the last-minute switch-up. CBS Evening News host Tony Dokoupil, who was recently chosen to lead the program under Weisss leadership, has also been criticized. One network staffer told The Independent that Dokoupil has turned the program into state TV. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton are scheduled to testify to members of Congress this month for a Republican-led probe into federal investigations involving convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. The former president and former secretary of state had previously resisted subpoenas to compel their testimony, labeling efforts from the GOP-controlled House Oversight Committee invalid and legally unenforceable in a searing letter that also condemned Donald Trumps administration and the alleged failures of a Republican-dominated Congress to hold it accountable. The Clintons, facing a House vote to hold them in contempt of Congress, have now agreed to sit for filmed and transcribed closed-door depositions this month. Hillary Clintons deposition is scheduled for February 26, and the former presidents deposition is set for February 27. Republicans and Democrats on the Oversight Committee have been clear: no one is above the law and that includes the Clintons, Republican Rep. James Comer, chair of the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement Tuesday. open image in gallery Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton will sit for closed-door depositions with members of Congress February 26-27 ( AP ) Once it became clear that the House of Representatives would hold them in contempt, the Clintons completely caved and will appear for transcribed, filmed depositions this month, he added. We look forward to questioning the Clintons as part of our investigation into the horrific crimes of Epstein and Maxwell, to deliver transparency and accountability for the American people and for survivors. Attorneys for the Clintons initially asked Comer to halt the contempt proceedings, which could carry fines and even jail time if approved by the House and prosecuted by the Department of Justice. The last-minute negotiating came as Republican leaders were advancing the contempt resolution through the House Rules Committee, a final hurdle before the extraordinary measure headed to the full House for a vote, potentially marking the first time that members of Congress held a former president in contempt with the threat of criminal penalties. open image in gallery Rep. James Comer sought to hold the Clintons in contempt of Congress, an effort that appears to be sidelined after they agreed to testify in the House GOP-led Epstein probe ( Getty Images ) On Monday, Comer rejected an offer from attorneys for the Clintons to have Bill Clinton conduct a transcribed interview and Hillary Clinton submit a sworn declaration. Comer insisted that the Clintons instead sit for sworn depositions before the committee to fulfill the panels subpoenas. A letter from the committee to attorneys for the Clintons indicates that the former president was asked to sit for a four-hour interview on matters related to the investigations and prosecutions of Jeffrey Epstein and for Hillary Clinton to submit a sworn declaration. As chair of the powerful Republican-led committee, Comer has steered focus from an investigation into the sex offender and his alleged connections to a wider trafficking conspiracy implicating powerful figures, including Trump, and instead drawn attention to prominent Democratic figures who had previously associated with Epstein and Maxwell. Last month, in a blistering eight-page letter to the committee, the Clintons said they anticipated that House Republicans would continue to release irrelevant, decades-old photos that you hope will embarrass us, after batches of documents released by the Justice Department included images of the former president with Epstein and others, on which the White House and Trumps allies immediately pounced. open image in gallery The Republican-led House Oversight Committee has focused on prominent Democrats like Bill Clinton after batches of documents released by the Justice Department include images of the former president with Epstein and others ( Reuters ) The former president and secretary of state were initially subpoenaed for testimony in August as the committee opened an investigation into Epstein and his associates, an effort running parallel to the release of the so-called Epstein files by the Department of Justice. The Clintons accused Comer of working harder to hold them in contempt than pursuing an investigation into Epsteins crimes and the governments alleged failures to bring him to justice. Despite everything that needs to be done to help our country, you are on the cusp of bringing Congress to a halt to pursue a rarely used process literally designed to result in our imprisonment, they wrote. The committee ultimately advanced criminal contempt of Congress charges. Nine of the committees 21 Democrats joined Republicans in support of the charges against Bill Clinton, while three Democrats supported advancing the charges against Hillary Clinton. open image in gallery The Clintons have accused House Republicans of focusing on irrelevant, decades-old photos designed to embarrass them after the Justice Department and House Oversight Committee released images of the former president with Epstein and Maxwell ( via REUTERS ) Bill Clintons relationship with Epstein has reemerged as a focal point for Republicans amid the push for a reckoning over Epstein, who killed himself in 2019 in a New York jail cell as he faced sex trafficking charges. The Clintons have never been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, and the inclusion of someones name or images in files connected to the cases against him does not imply otherwise. They negotiated in good faith. You did not, a spokesperson for the Clintons, Angel Urena, said in response to Comer's threats on Monday. They told you under oath what they know, but you dont care. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said Monday that his caucus would have a discussion on the contempt resolutions later in the week, but remained noncommittal on whipping votes against them. Jeffries said he was a hard no on contempt and accused Comer of focusing on political retribution rather than investigating the delayed release of case files. Democrats also say the Justice Department has not yet released all the material it has on the late financier. They dont want a serious interview, they want a charade, Jeffries said. Additional reporting from the Associated Press Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Lawmakers in at least eight states are trying to enact legislation that would allow people to sue federal immigration law enforcement officers when their rights are violated, ending longstanding protections for federal employees. Following the fatal shootings of two citizens from Minnesota, 37-year-olds Renee Good and Alex Pretti, lawmakers in predominantly Democratic states are seeking to provide people a mechanism to hold immigration officers more accountable. State lawmakers in California, Colorado, New York, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Oregon, Virginia and Washington have introduced legislation seeking to limit civil lawsuit protections for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents by scaling back qualified immunity. Government officials are subject to the law, Colorado state Senator Mike Weissman told News From the States this week. When we have rights, we also need to have remedies when those rights are violated, or can we truly be said to have rights at all? Weissman added. He is leading the push for Colorado to enact legislation that would allow civilians injured during immigration arrests to sue for two years. open image in gallery Federal immigration officers are awarded sweeping protections against civil lawsuits ( REUTERS ) Qualified immunity is a sweeping legal protection for government officials that protects them from civil lawsuits alleging they violated a persons rights. Under the principle, a person can only bring a civil lawsuit when an official violates a clearly established constitutional right that a reasonable person would have known. However, its a high bar to clear because the clearly established language means a plaintiff must prove that a court has previously ruled in a case that contains nearly identical facts. Antonio Romanucci, a Chicago-based lawyer hired to represent Goods family, told the Wall Street Journal they would likely sue the U.S. government for negligence under the Federal Tort Claims Act which allows people to sue the government for personal injury, death or property damage due to negligent acts. They want justice, Romanucci said. While the Federal Tort Claims Act allows for lawsuits, it protects government employees from being held personally financially responsible. It also has a tight timeline, requiring plaintiffs to file an administrative claim within two years of the incident and then wait for the government agency to respond before filing a lawsuit within six months of the response. open image in gallery Across the nation, demonstrators have taken to the streets to protest aggressive immigration enforcement by the Trump administration ( Getty ) In addition to state-level legislation, several congressional Democrats are hoping to end, or limit, qualified immunity for immigration enforcement officers at the federal level. ICE is not invincible, California Rep. Eric Swalwell said in a press release announcing legislation that would strip ICE of qualified immunity, co-sponsored with New York Rep. Dan Goldman. Civil rights laws exist; now Congress must step in to defend the rights of the most vulnerable in our communities, Swalwell added. Stripping federal law enforcement of qualified immunity is a massive hurdle that likely wouldnt receive bipartisan support. Other lawmakers have sought other ways to limit qualified immunity for immigration enforcement officers. Texas Rep. Julie Johnson has proposed rewording qualified immunity protections to remove the need for clearly established cases in order for a person to bring a lawsuit against federal officers. Even if states pass laws limiting qualified immunity, its likely to face challenges from the government itself. The Department of Homeland Security has been adamant that officers follow the law and the Constitution. DHS officials have pointed to statistics that show a more than 1,000 percent increase in attacks on DHS officers as a reason for further protection. Illinois recently passed its own law allowing residents to sue federal officers who knowingly violate their rights during civil immigration enforcement. The Department of Justice has already filed a lawsuit challenging the state law. What these States are trying to do is unlawful, and they know it, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said. Federal officials acting in the course of their duties are immune from liability under state law. Politicians are laying blame at the feet of law enforcement instead of looking in the mirror at how they have fueled the hatred and violent attacks we are seeing against federal law enforcement officers, McLaughlin added. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Jeffrey Epstein appears to have visited Canada despite having been convicted of crimes that should have rendered him inadmissible. Among the more than three million documents released by the Department of Justice last week are travel reservations for Epstein in Vancouver for March 17-20, 2014, the CBC reported. He apparently booked a massage at a local hotel and attended a conference during this period. His apparent excursion to the Great White North came roughly six years after he pleaded guilty to several state charges in Florida including soliciting a minor for prostitution which resulted in an 18-month jail sentence. He was also required to register as a sex offender. Epstein, who died in jail in 2019, had been deemed inadmissible to Canada since he had been convicted of at least one offense that, if committed in Canada, would constitute an indictable offense under an Act of Parliament, according to a 2018 letter from the countrys consulate in California. The letter included in the DOJs latest release of documents concerning Epstein said the disgraced financiers application for a temporary resident permit was rejected. The permit would have given him an exception to travel to the country in spite of his criminal record. open image in gallery Canadian officials can't explain why Jeffrey Epstein was allowed to travel into the country after his conviction should have rendered him 'inadmissible' ( DOJ ) "After a careful and sympathetic review balancing all the factors, I have determined that there are insufficient grounds to merit the issuance of a permit in your case," the letter states. Yet the convicted sex offender seems to have traveled across the border years earlier. A Canadian customs clearance document dated March 20, 2014, indicates that Epstein passed through customs in Seattle after flying from Vancouver, according to the CBC, citing DOJ documents. The document appears to have disappeared from the DOJs website. Epstein emailed an unknown individual two days earlier that he was attending a TED conference. The individual responded: Jealous! I hear it's in Vancouver this year. Epstein also received an email confirming a March 17 massage appointment at the citys Four Seasons hotel. open image in gallery Epstein was deemed inadmissible to Canada since he had been convicted of a crime that would constitute an indictable offense under Canadian law, according to a 2018 letter ( DOJ ) open image in gallery Following his 2008 plea deal, Epstein was able to travel to multiple countries, including the UK and France ( House Oversight Committee ) When asked why Epstein was permitted to enter Canada in 2014, a Canada Border Services Agency spokesperson didnt provide a direct answer. We cannot provide comment on specific cases as a persons immigration and border information is considered personal information and is protected by the Privacy Act," Guillaume Berube, the agencys acting director of media relations, told The Independent. Admissibility of travellers is decided on a case-by-case basis and based on the information available at the time of entry. Berube added that, if a CBSA officer believes a foreign national is inadmissible, they may report them, allow them to leave the country or issue a temporary resident permit. Epstein, who died in a New York jail while awaiting trial on fresh charges in 2019, was known to possess multiple passports including a fake Austrian passport with his photo and a false name. A former Canadian official said that, if the convicted sex offender indeed traveled north of the border, it would constitute a major oversight. Chris Alexander, Canada's former minister of citizenship and immigration, told the CBC: If he did come to Canada at that time, that was a very serious lapse in immigration enforcement. Our governments position was very clearly that any persons (including U.S. citizens) with criminal records were inadmissible, and that these provisions of the law should be rigorously enforced. Even after his 2008 guilty plea, Epstein freely traveled to multiple countries, including the U.K. and France (he was arrested in 2019 shortly after returning from a trip to Paris). He also maintained business ties with major financial institutions despite at least one company raising concerns about suspicious activity and continued corresponding and meeting with countless high-profile figures. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has said it is not a crime to party with Jeffrey Epstein. Speaking to Laura Ingraham on her eponymous Fox News show The Ingraham Angle, Blanche suggested that some evidence in the Epstein files may not be enough to lead to prosecutions. But, as you know, it is not a crime to party with Mr Epstein, Blanche told Ingraham. And so, as horrible as it is, its not a crime to email with Mr Epstein. And some of these men may have done horrible things. And, if we have evidence that allows us to prosecute them, you better believe we will. But its also the kind of thing that the American people need to understand that it isnt a crime to party with Mr Epstein. It isnt a crime to have lunch on his island. President Donald Trump has long made the same point, acknowledging that while he had moved in the same social circles as Epstein for a time, he had no idea about his criminal activities. open image in gallery Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told Fox News it was "not a crime" to party with Jeffrey Epstein. President Donald Trump, pictured inset with Epstein, was friends with the billionaire financier and appeared at parties with him, although they parted ways before Epstein was convicted as a sex offender. ( Fox News/NBC ) A public firestorm has erupted over the latest release by the Justice Department of millions of files related to the case of the convicted pedophile, shedding further light on his expansive network of high-profile figures. The latest dump expected to be the last contains some three million pages, including 180,000 images and some 2,000 videos attached to the case. It brings the total to 3.5m documents released. Initial findings include the shocking revelation that Epstein may have fathered a child around 15 years ago, as well as emails from Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former British prince, inviting Epstein to Buckingham Palace years after the financier was convicted of sex crimes. In undated images, the royal appears to kneel on the ground as he leans over an unidentified woman, while another angle shows the womans abdomen being touched. British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has since said Andrew should be prepared to testify before Congress about his links to Epstein. open image in gallery Pictures appear to show Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor crouched over an unidentified woman. ( Department of Justice ) Peter Mandelson, the former British ambassador to the U.S., resigned from the Labour Party on Sunday after more of his correspondence with Epstein emerged. He said he believed claims that Epstein sent him tens of thousands of dollars years ago were false and would need investigating. Messages from billionaire Elon Musk asked Epstein when his wildest party would be and discussed visiting his notorious island, with the phrase girls FTW! included in one email. It is unclear whether Musk, who is not accused of wrongdoing, ever visited. Norways prime minister has called on the countrys crown princess, Mette-Marit, to comment on the truth of her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein after criticizing her poor judgment, after the documents revealed she had remained friends with the financier after he was convicted. And in another twist, both Bill and Hillary Clinton have agreed to testify in a House investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, reversing their position days after the deluge of documents was made public. open image in gallery Jeffrey Epstein, left, and Bill Clinton in a photograph released from the Epstein files. ( Department of Justice ) However, while the Epstein files may continue to damage reputations and careers, Blanche was evasive when asked by Ingraham whether some of the photos suggested more wrongdoing than simply lunching or partying with Epstein. Unfortunately, photos can't speak, he said. And so we need witnesses and we need evidence, before stating that all videos from the files have been released. He did caveat that claim, though. Not of any individuals, men having improper sex or anything with victims, he said. But there's videos. They're all released for everybody to see. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The U.S. Justice Department released millions of files related to the case of convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein on Friday, shedding further light on his expansive network of high profile figures. The latest dump expected to be the last contains some three million pages, including 180,000 images and some 2,000 videos attached to the case. It brings the total to 3.5m documents released. Initial findings include the shocking revelation that Epstein may have fathered a child around 15 years ago, as well asemails from Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former British prince, inviting Epstein to Buckingham Palace years after the financier was convicted of sex crimes. Peter Mandelson, the former British ambassador to the U.S., resigned from the Labour Party on Sunday after more of his correspondence with Epstein emerged. He said he believed claims that Epstein sent him tens of thousands of dollars years ago were false and would need investigating. Messages from billionaire Elon Musk asked Epstein when his wildest party would be and discussed visiting his notorious island. It is unclear whether Musk, who is not accused of wrongdoing, ever visited. And in other emails, Epstein made allegations Bill Gates had engaged in extra marital affairs. A spokesperson for Gates vehemently denied the absurd allegations. open image in gallery Documents included in the US Department of Justice release of the Jeffrey Epstein files (Jon Elswick/AP) ( AP ) Theres no suggestion that appearing in the files implies wrongdoing. People who have appeared in previous releases have denied any illicit behaviour in relation to Epstein. Below we look at the main revelations so far. Epstein allegedly fathered a secret child An email to the pedophile financier from Sarah Ferguson, the ex-wife of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (formerly Prince Andrew), appears to suggest he had fathered a secret child around 15 years ago. Dont know if youre still on this bbm but have heard from The Duke that you have had a baby boy, she allegedly wrote on September 21, 2011, according to DOJ files seen by The Telegraph. The email continues: Even though you never kept in touch, I still am here with love, friendship, and congratualtions [sic] on your baby boy. Sarah xx. In another email released by the DOJ and seen by The Sun, Fergie allegedly mentioned the boy again and complained that she had been deeply hurt by Epsteins lack of contact with her. You have disappeared. I did not even know you were having a baby, she allegedly wrote. It was sooooo crystal clear to me that you were only friends with me to get to Andrew. And that really hurt me deeply. More than you will know. Epstein is not known to have fathered any children but, if Fergusons alleged claims are true, the pedophiles child would now nearly be 15-years-old. The Independent has contacted Sarah Ferguson for comment. The former Prince Andrew invited Epstein to Buckingham Palace open image in gallery Pictures appear to show Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor crouched over an unidentified woman ( US Department of Justice/PA Wire ) Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor invited Epstein to Buckingham Palace for dinner and lots of privacy years after the financier was convicted, the new documents suggest. In one email, Andrew said that he was travelling to London, where Epstein was staying. He told Epstein: "We could have dinner at Buckingham Palace and lots of privacy". Epstein responded: "Already in london [sic]. what time woudl [sic] you like me and we will also need/ have private time." It is not clear whether a meeting at the palace took place. The Independent has approached Buckingham Palace for comment. The latest release also included pictures that appeared to feature Andrew poised on all fours over a woman on the floor. It is unclear where and when the photos were taken, and the womans identity is masked. In another message that appeared to be sent to Andrew, Epstein offered to introduce the then prince to a clever, beautiful and trustworthy Russian woman named Irina, who was 26. Trump discussed often - and Epstein was asked about visit to Mar-a-Lago in 2012 open image in gallery Ghislaine Maxwell and Donald Trump are shown in an image released by the Department of Justice ( DOJ ) The newly published files included hundreds of documents that mention Trump, many of which were collections of media reports. One file details what appeared to be internal emails by federal investigators looking into salacious accusations involving the president and Epstein. The emails, from August 2025, give no indication that any claims had been substantiated. Investigators said several of the accusers were deemed not credible. Another message, whose sender and recipient were both redacted, reads, "What does JE think of going to Mar-a-Lago after xmas instead of his island?" referring to Trump's Florida club. The message is from 2012, years after Trump said the two men had stopped socialising. Trump has denied any knowledge of Epstein's crimes. But the scandal has dogged him for months, in part because he promised to release the files during his 2024 presidential campaign, then reneged after taking office. Elon Musk asked about wild parties on Little St. James open image in gallery An email exchange from 2013 showed Elon Musk and Epstein coordinating a time for the tech CEO to visit Little Saint James ( Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved ) Elon Musk and Epstein discussed visits to Little St. James several times, including in 2012, in which Musk asked Epstein: What day/night will be the wildest party on your island? In a 2013 email exchange between Elon Musk and Epstein, the two went back and forth about scheduling a time in January for Musk to visit the island. In the document, Musk wrote to Epstein on Christmas Day in 2013: Actually, I could fly back early on the 3rd. We will be in St Bart's. When should we head to your island on the 2nd? It is not clear whether Musk ultimately visited. Musk responded on Saturday on his X social media platform that he had been "well aware that some email correspondence with him could be misinterpreted and used by detractors to smear my name." "No one pushed harder than me to have the Epstein files released and Im glad that has finally happened," Musk wrote. "I had very little correspondence with Epstein and declined repeated invitations to go to his island or fly on his 'Lolita Express.' Bill Gates denies Epstein claims of affair open image in gallery A spokesperson for Bill Gates vehemently denied the claims made in the latest release of files ( Reuters ) Bill Gates has strongly denied claims in the files that he had engaged in extramarital sex. Epstein made the allegation in a drafted 225-word email he sent to himself on July 18, 2013, with the subject line: bill. He wrote that, as an associate of Gates, he had been asked to do things that were potentially over the line into the illegal. He added that Gates and his then-wife, Melinda Gates, had been caught up in a severe marital dispute and that he had helped facilitate illicit trysts for the billionaire. A spokesperson for Bill Gates told The Independent: These claims are absolutely absurd and completely false. The only thing these documents demonstrate is Epsteins frustration that he did not have an ongoing relationship with Gates and the lengths he would go to entrap and defame. Epstein sent 10,000 to Lord Mandelsons husband open image in gallery Former US ambassador Lord Mandelson has offered an apology to the victims of Jeffrey Epstein (Jeff Overs/BBC/PA) ( PA Media ) According to the latest documents, Lord Mandelsons husband, Reinaldo Avila da Silva, emailed Epstein in 2009 to ask him for money to attend the British School of Osteopathy and fund other related expenses. The emails show that da Silva set out the costs of the course to Epstein, with one referring to a 10,000 payment, made two months after Epsteins release from prison. Epstein told Mr da Silva: I will wire your loan amount immediatedy (sic). Just a brief note to thank you for the money which arrived in my account this morning, Mr da Silva later replied. Last year, Lord Mandelson was sacked from his role as UK ambassador to the US following mounting pressure over his ties to Epstein. On Friday, he issued a statement apologising to the victims of Epstein. He insisted he was ignorant of Epsteins crimes and learned the actual truth about him after his death. Emails also suggest that Lord Mandelson gave Epstein advance notice of a 500 billion bailout from the EU to save the Euro, a deal made by EU finance ministers in May 2010 amid concerns the Greek debt crisis could spread through the Eurozone. The evening before, Epstein apparently emailed Lord Mandelson, who was business secretary and de facto deputy prime minister at the time: sources tell me 500 b euro bailout , almost complete. Lord Mandelson apparently replied: "Sd be announced tonight." Emails separately appeared to suggest that Lord Mandelson forwarded internal government information to Epstein when he was Gordon Browns business secretary and deputy. The former British government minister resigned as a member of Labour Party after new reports emerged about his ties to disgraced U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein, media reported on Sunday. Mandelson said he did not wish to cause further embarrassment to the Labour Party, according to the reports. I have been further linked this weekend to the understandable furore surrounding Jeffrey Epstein and I feel regretful and sorry about this, Mandelson said in a letter to the Labour Party, reported by the BBC and other news organisations. Mandelson said he believed allegations that Epstein made financial payments to him were false and that he would investigate them. While doing this, I do not wish to cause further embarrassment to the Labour Party and I am therefore stepping down from membership of the party, the letter said. Mandelson was a key figure in the Labour Partys electoral success during Tony Blairs premiership, which began in the 1990s. He came under renewed scrutiny last year after U.S. lawmakers released documents that included a letter in which he referred to Epstein as my best pal, leading to his dismissal as Britains envoy in Washington. Epstein hassled friends for a meeting with Putin open image in gallery Epstein apparently sought an audience with Vladimir Putin ( Sputnik ) Jeffrey Epstein spent years trying to meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, according to the aggregated files. The Russian president is mentioned 1,055 times in the updated Epstein library. Many of the items only refer to Putin tangentially, such as in media bulletins sent to Epsteins email address. But over the years, the financier repeatedly discussed his hopes of meeting Putin with Thorbjorn Jagland, the former prime minister of Norway, who met with the Russian leader in his capacity as the secretary general of the Council of Europe. In spring 2013, Epstein told Ehud Barak, the former Israeli prime minister, that he was hoping to meet Putin for the first time that June to discuss how Russia could encourage Western investment. It was unclear whether they ever did meet to talk business. Email correspondence each year until 2018 suggests Epstein tried to set up meetings, or even invited Putin over for dinner through their mutual contacts. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Jeffrey Epstein may have forced an underage victim to carry his child in a Nazi-like effort to create a superior gene pool, according to documents released by the Department of Justice. Among the more than three million Epstein files released last week is a harrowing diary penned by an alleged victim, who wrote that she was a human incubator for Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Minutes after giving birth, she wrote that the child was snatched away from her. The contents of the diary have not been verified, and the womans accusations against an Epstein associate have been disputed in court. The DOJ has cautioned that the newly published files may contain fake or falsely submitted materials. The first-person narrative makes several references to New Mexico, where the deceased sex offender owned a sprawling ranch outside Santa Fe. Epstein planned to use the estate to impregnate women in an effort to seed the human race with his DNA, The New York Times reported in 2019, citing his acquaintances and public records. Superior gene pool ?!? Why me? It makes no sense, the unidentified woman wrote in the diary, which is splattered with magazine clippings and an image of a sonogram. Why my hair color and eye color? open image in gallery Jeffrey Epstein plotted to create a superior gene pool with victims and may have fathered children, according to documents released by the Department of Justice ( US Department of Justice ) That feels very Nazi like, she added. The woman claims to have given birth around 2002, when she would have been either 16 or 17 years old, according to The Times. In the entry, she recounts the experience of going into labor, claiming that a doctor and Maxwell were both present, and that her bed was soaked in blood. Ghislaine said to push all the pain away, the victim wrote. I don't understand what is going on and no one will tell me. I can't go to school like this. She was born! I heard the tiny cries, the woman wrote. I only got 10 to 15 minutes to hold and feed her before they took her. open image in gallery The unnamed woman wrote in the diary that, minutes after her baby was born, the child was taken away ( DOJ ) She said she was the surrogate mother for the 4-pound baby, which she wrote was the child of Epstein and Maxwell who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence on sex trafficking charges. I am nothing but your property and incubator, the victim continued, adding, Unlike drugs, a child's body can be sold over and over. It's never been publicly confirmed that Epstein had any children. The 32-page diary was provided to federal prosecutors by the womans attorneys at Wigdor LLP, according to The Times. After penning the entries, the woman filed a lawsuit against Leon Black, a private equity investor and Epstein associate, using a pseudonym in 2023. She alleged that Black raped her at one of Epsteins properties. Black has denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged with any criminal offense. The case remains ongoing. Susan Estrich of Estrich Goldin, an attorney for Black, strongly disputed the claims made by the unidentified woman. Jane Doe is a fraud, Estrich told The Independent. Her actual name doesnt appear in the database of Epsteins victims and her birth family says she makes up stories and she fabricates evidence. Among her most absurd and false claims are that in less than three years she was trafficked tomore than 50 men; birthed multiple children fathered by Epstein; and, suffered at least six forced abortions. None of this is true. The Wigdor firm, which represented her, has withdrawn from the case and ceased representing her. We have moved to terminate the case and obtain sanctions for her false and fraudulent claims against Mr. Black. When reached by The Independent, a spokesperson for Wigdor LLP declined to comment on the newly released files. open image in gallery In 2011, a woman named Sarah emailed Epstein to congratulate the convicted sex offender on having a baby boy ( DOJ ) Other documents released by the DOJ suggest Epstein may have fathered children. In September 2011, a woman identified as Sarah wrote an email to the disgraced financier, congratulating him on the birth of his child. Heard from The Duke that you have had a baby boy, the sender wrote. Even though you never kept in touch, I still am here with love, friendship and congratualtions on your baby boy. The sender was identified as Sarah Ferguson, the former wife of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, according to The Times. Days earlier, Boris Nikolic, a Croatian venture capitalist who was an executor to Epsteins will, wrote to Epstein asking: What happened with Mette now?? She wants to carry your kid? ;) Its unclear who Nicolic is referring to. However, Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit had a past association with Epstein, and her emails were featured in the recently released files. She has publicly expressed regret for her links to Epstein. In her posthumous memoir, Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre also claimed that Epstein and Maxwell asked her to carry their child in 2002, in what she described as a modern-day handmaid arrangement, according to Rolling Stone. The latest documents were released by the DOJ on Friday in compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump in November. The department has said that the files may contain fake or falsely submitted images, documents or videos. On Friday, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the release marks the end of a very comprehensive document identification and review process to ensure transparency to the American people and compliance with the act. Some lawmakers, though, have claimed that half of the governments files remain unpublished. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Gregory Bovino declined the administrations guidance for targeted immigration enforcement operations before commanding a surge of officers in Chicago, where officials and protesters accused him of leading a violent assault against immigrants and citizens alike. Bovino, the now-former commander-at-large for Donald Trumps boots-on-the-ground operations in Democratic-led cities, pushed back against internal efforts to focus Customs and Border Protection operations on targeted arrests rather than large-scale sweeps, according to emails obtained by NBC News. Todd Lyons, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, told Bovino to focus on targeted operations in Chicago and arrest only people already on federal law enforcements radar for immigration violations and other laws, according to the messages. But Bovino said he declined the directive and said he reports to a top aide for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Mr. Lyons seemed intent that CBP conduct targeted operations for at least two weeks before transitioning to full scale immigration enforcement, Bovino wrote in an email to Homeland Security officials in September. I declined his suggestion. We ended the conversation shortly thereafter. open image in gallery Trumps former commander-at-large for surges of border patrol officers in Democratic-led reportedly refused ICEs directive to perform targeted arrests in Chicago ( AFP via Getty Images ) He said that Lyons indicated he was in charge, but Bovino said he reports to Corey Lewandowski, an unpaid special government employee working closely with Noem. That email appears to contradict recent public comments from Noem, who claimed that officers are performing immigration enforcement operations in every situation. In every situation, were doing targeted enforcement, she said from the White House last month. If we are on a target and during an operation, there may be individuals surrounding that criminal that we may be asking who they are and why theyre there and having them validate their identity. Homeland Security did not immediately respond to The Independents request for comment. Noem and Lewandowski have reportedly been sidelined from the Trump administrations street-level mass deportation campaign after border patrol officers under Bovinos command fatally shot Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, where an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Good two weeks earlier. After growing public outrage and bipartisan political pressure, Trump deployed White House border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota, and Bovino has been sent back to his post at CBPs branch in southern California near the U.S.-Mexico border. Homan reports directly to the president, effectively cutting Noem out of the chain of command. open image in gallery After border patrol officers fatally shot Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Bovino was sent back to his post in California while White House border czar Tom Homan was deployed to oversee Minnesota operations ( REUTERS ) Homan and Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott have publicly supported a more targeted approach in Minneapolis, where border patrol officers led by Bovino have been accused of violently targeting immigrants and protesters, including ripping them from their cars and in front of their children, after dozens of similar allegations and lawsuits from operations in other Democratic-led cities. Under Bovinos command, DHS deployed thousands of masked border patrol agents into Democratic-led cities, from Los Angeles to New Orleans and Charlotte, North Carolina, where officers have been accused of making indiscriminate, large-scale arrests. In courtrooms across the country, protesters and detainees alleged officers shot them with chemical weapons at point-blank range and turned neighborhoods into war zones filled with tear gas. Officers have been accused of racially profiling people they see on the street, including U.S. citizens, from hopping out of unmarked cars to stop them on the street or pulling over drivers to search their documents. In September, the conservative majority on the Supreme Court gave federal agents permission to stop and detain a person based on their perceived ethnicity, spoken language or occupation. This decision, critics say, has fueled racial profiling and arrests in Home Depot parking lots and worksites to target immigrant laborers, among others. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who authored the ruling, backtracked on that decision in the footnotes of a separate ruling in December, noting that officers must not make interior immigration stops or arrests based on race or ethnicity. But by then, Bovinos forces had gone on a tour of Chicago neighborhoods, gassing residents in different neighborhoods each day, according to a federal lawsuit brought by protesters and press groups. The use of force shocks the conscience, District Judge Sara Ellis said in November. The public has a strong interest in having a government that conducts itself fairly and in accordance with its own rules and policies. Bovino testified that his officers behavior is more than exemplary after plaintiffs accused border patrol officers of violating a protective order against the use of riot weapons against demonstrators and others. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The House of Representatives voted to reopen major parts of the U.S. government Tuesday afternoon, setting up a major fight between the White House and Senate Democrats to enact changes to the way the federal government is conducting immigration enforcement. The House voted 217-214 to pass legislation the Senate passed last week, with 21 Republicans voting against it, but 21 Democrats voting for it. President Donald Trump signed the legislation shortly thereafter. The legislation would fund the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Labor, Housing and Urban Development, Education and Transportation for the rest of the fiscal year. But it would only fund the Department of Homeland Security which houses Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as Customs and Border Protection for two weeks. Democrats hope to use this two-week span to negotiate changes to the way ICE and CBP conduct themselves after ICE officer Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Good and CBP officials shot and killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis last month. In the hours after, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem called Pretti a domestic terrorist, which triggered even some Republicans to say she needed to resign. Both killings, and the government responses, sparked protests and calls for reform for Trumps deportation plan. Despite the funding passing the house, many Democrats, including those from Minnesota, opposed it. open image in gallery Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) and the House of Representatives voted to reopen the government, setting up a fight to pass reforms to the Department of Homeland Security. ( Getty ) Look, we need to put guardrails in place. But short of Kristi Noems ICE getting the hell out of Minnesota, I'm not voting for a damn penny to ICE, Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota told The Independent. Craig, who is running for the states open Senate seat, said that her brother-in-law, who is Latino, was surrounded by ICE agents because he is Latino. Until that kind of s***stops, I won't vote for a damn penny, she said. President Donald Trump had dispatched ICE to Minneapolis under the guise of cracking down after a massive welfare fraud scandal involving some Somali-Americans. But it has also led to some U.S. citizens and those with pending immigration in the United States legally being detained. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer made his demands clear last week, saying that he wanted to end roving patrols throughout American cities, a removal of masks for ICE and CBP agents, and body cameras for agents. But House Speaker Mike Johnson pushed back on the idea that ICE officers needed to remove masks. Because unlike your local law enforcement in your hometown, ICE agents are being doxxed and targeted, he told The Independent. open image in gallery Americans have spoken out against some of the tactics used by ICE - including the raids in Minnesota ( Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved ) In response to the killings in Minneapolis, the White House sent border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis, and he reportedly told Schumer that removing masks would put his agents at risk. And if you unmask them, and you put all their identifying information on their uniform, then they will obviously be targeted, they and their families, probably, he said. many of the complaints that some of the Democrats have had about all this, I think, will be mooted now that you have, you have him in charge. But even if the government had shut down, ICE would likely still have impunity to operate thanks to the fact that Republicans voted to give the agency $75 billion in the One Big, Beautiful Bill that Trump signed last year. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York said that would be the next step for Democrats in the near future. Now its our task to figure out how to claw back what has essentially supercharged this agency into a relentless domestic paramilitary, she told The Independent on Monday evening. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice President Donald Trump said the U.S. had reached a trade deal that would see tariffs on Indian goods cut to 18 percent from 25 percent. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said India would remove trade barriers on U.S. products and stop buying Russian oil in return. As a result, an extra 25 percent tariff imposed on India as punishment for its purchase of Russian crude would be withdrawn as well. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was delighted with the deal, which followed months of strained trade talks. Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%, he said on X. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement. Modi said the U.S. Presidents leadership is vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity. I look forward to working closely with him to take our partnership to unprecedented heights, he added. A White House official told Reuters the U.S. would scrap the 25 percent penalty tariff imposed over Delhis purchases of Russian oil which was layered onto the existing 25 percent reciprocal tariff. Trump had warned earlier this month the levy could climb further if India failed to cut those Russian imports. The new deal and Delhis commitment to stop buying Russian crude means the U.S. tariff rate on Indian goods is set to fall to 18 percent, close to the 15 percent rate charged on the European Union and Japan. The U.S. President also said Modi had pledged that India would buy more than $500bn worth of American goods, spanning energy, technology, agriculture and other sectors. According to the Census Bureau, the U.S. ran a $53.5 billion trade imbalance in goods with India during the first 11 months of last year, meaning it imported more than it exported. Trump has struggled to make good on a campaign pledge to quickly end the Ukraine war and has been reluctant since his return to office early last year to put pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has simultaneously imposed import tariffs without going through Congress to achieve his economic and foreign policy aims. The announcement of the deal with India comes as Trumps special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner are set to hold another round of three-way talks with Russian and Ukrainian officials in Abu Dhabi later this week aimed at finding an endgame to the war, according to a White House official. Trump believes that targeting Russias oil revenue is the best way to get Moscow to end its four-year war in Ukraine, a view that dovetails with his devotion to tariffs. US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi during a press conference in Delhi on 25 February 2020 ( AFP via Getty ) Historically, Indias relationship with Russia revolves more around defence than energy. Russia provides only a small fraction of Indias oil, but the majority of its military hardware. But when Western sanctions over the Ukraine war hit Russian oil exports, India used the moment to buy the discounted crude in large quantities, allowing it to increase its energy supplies. The announcement of tariff reduction by Trump came less than a week after India and the EU unveiled a major trade agreement following nearly two decades of negotiations. The deal will enable free trade on almost all goods between the blocs 27 members and India, covering everything from textiles to medicines, and bringing down high import taxes for European wine and cars. The deal between two of the worlds biggest markets also reflected a desire to reduce dependence on the U.S. after Trumps import tax hikes disrupted established trade flows. Although the cost of Trump's tariffs has largely been borne by American businesses and consumers, the taxes can reduce trade volumes among countries. In recent months, India has accelerated a push to finalise several trade agreements. It has signed a deal with Oman and concluded talks for a deal with New Zealand. Trump seemed to hint at a positive call with Modi Monday morning, posting to social media a picture of the two of them on a magazine cover. When the pair met last February, the U.S. President said that India would start buying American oil and natural gas. But the talks proved frustrating and the tariffs imposed last year by Trump did little to initially change Indias objections. While the U.S. has been seeking greater market access and zero tariffs on almost all its exports, India has expressed reservations on throwing open sectors like agriculture and dairy which continue to provide livelihood to the bulk of the countrys 1.4 billion population. (Additional reporting by AP) Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Jeanine Pirro is currently under fire from gun rights advocates and pro-Second Amendment MAGA personalities after declaring this week that anyone who enters the District of Columbia with a gun even if they are lawfully allowed to carry a firearm could face jail time. Come and Take it, one GOP congressman reacted, while another right-wing media host said he was ABSOLUTELY outraged over Pirros stance. Pirro, the U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C. and a former Fox News host, made her comments just days after Donald Trump sparked outrage from pro-gun groups and conservatives for insisting that Alex Pretti shouldnt have been carrying a handgun when he was killed by immigration enforcement agents last month. Pretti, who was licensed to carry a concealed firearm, was disarmed by officers before agents shot him multiple times in the back seconds after tackling him to the ground during an encounter in Minnesota, leading to nationwide ICE Out protests, demands for the defunding of the Department of Homeland Security and calls for DHS chief Kristi Noem to be impeached. I dont like that he had a gun, I dont like that he had two fully loaded magazines, thats a lot of bad stuff. And despite that, Id say its very unfortunate, Trump, who has boasted of having the most pro-Second Amendment administration in history, declared last month. You can't have guns. You can't walk in with guns, the president said in a separate remark. open image in gallery Jeanine Pirro declared on Fox News that you're going to jail if you bring a gun into DC, even if you're a law-abiding gun owner somewhere else. Those comments have sparked the ire of gun rights groups ( Fox News ) During an appearance on her old network, Pirro bragged about the dramatic fall in homicides in Washington, telling anchor Martha MacCallum that the secret sauce behind the drop in violent crime was the seizure of firearms by law enforcement. Its about taking guns off the street. Since the search happened there have been 9,500 arrests and almost 1,000 guns taken off the street, Pirro said. When you do that, those guns cannot be used in homicides or assaults with deadly weapons or in any kind of carjacking or any kind of robbery. At the same time, the one-time star of The Five added that it wasnt just about seizing guns from criminals. She also intended to prevent anyone from entering the city with a lawfully obtained firearm from another state and threatened jail time for those who violated that edict. You bring a gun into the District, you mark my words, you're going to jail, Pirro stated. I don't care if you have a license in another district and I don't care if you're a law-abiding gun owner somewhere else. You bring a gun into this district, count on going to jail and hope you get the gun back. And that makes all the difference. MacCallum, meanwhile, applauded her former network colleagues remarks, saying it was amazing how accountability works and that it puts a different message in peoples heads. While D.C. doesnt honor out-of-state concealed carry permits, non-residents can apply for a concealed carry license if they have a permit from another state. Additionally, all firearms carried in the district must be registered with the citys police department. Even before Pirro prompted more blowback from conservatives over her stance, pro-gun groups and Second Amendment advocates which overwhelmingly vote Republican had already threatened to sit out the upcoming midterms over the presidents comments about the Pretti shooting. Therefore, with Pirros declaration once again revealing the shifting tone from Team Trump on gun control since the Pretti shooting, which has seen FBI Director Kash Patel and Noem join Trump in making similar comments about carrying firearms in public, it didnt take long for the former Fox News star to swiftly draw heat from the gun rights crowd. open image in gallery Pirro's hardline stance on gun control in DC comes as the Trump administration has shifted its tone on carrying firearms in public following the Alex Pretti shooting. ( Fox News ) Jeanine Pirro threatening to arrest people for carrying in D.C., even if they are law-abiding and licensed, shows how broken and out of touch these gun laws are. Unacceptable and intolerable comments by a sitting U.S. attorney, the National Association for Gun Rights said in a statement, adding that her remarks proved the need for a Real Constitutional Carry across the nation. The District of Columbia has been shall issue since 2017 when the requirement that you must have a good reason to carry a handgun was struck down, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) proclaimed. Non-residents can obtain a permit in D.C. dont ask me how I know. Sharing a post from the Gun Owner of America, Rep. Greg Stuebe (R-FL) pointed out that he brings his gun into the district every week and has a license in both D.C. and Florida. Come and Take it, Steube added, directing his social media post at Pirro. Eric Bolling, a former Fox News cohort of Pirros who now works for MAGA channel Real Americas Voice, said that while he respected his ex-colleagues legal opinions, he was ABSOLUTELY outraged about her desire to change ALREADY onerous and overly-restrictive D.C. gun laws to suit her personal ambitions. Additionally, he took aim at MacCallum for not checking her on the spot. The GOP Leadership is doing everything it can to keep Second Amendment voters from showing up in November, conservative radio host Erick Erickson tweeted in response to Pirros remarks. Its very scary that so many in the Trump administration have become Second Amendment hostile, right-wing pundit John Cardillo wrote on X. Pirro is a NY Republican. They are indistinguishable from Democrats on guns. At the same time, liberals and progressives mocked both Pirro and the MAGA movement as a whole over the Trump administration seemingly taking a left-wing turn when it comes to gun control and restrictions noting that it was Republicans who had long warned about Democrats seizing firearms from citizens. Old enough to remember the Obama is going to grab your guns hysteria. Turns out it was the Trump White House, Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA) pointed out, tagging the National Rifle Association and Gun Owners of America in his post on X. I never imagined Republicans would be further to the left on guns than I am, but here we are, Shannon Watts, the founder of gun violence prevention group Moms Demand Action, tweeted. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Melinda French Gates has spoken out about being mentioned in the latest batch of Epstein files and addressed claims about her ex-husband, Bill Gates. The 61-year-old, who shares three children with the billionaire, appeared on NPRs Wild Card podcast this week and was quizzed by host Rachel Martin about the Jeffrey Epstein case after she was mentioned in documents released Friday by the Department of Justice. Melinda Gates said society was having a reckoning and that it brings back memories of some very, very painful times in her marriage to the Microsoft founder. But I have moved on from that. I purposely pushed it away and I moved on, she said. Im in a really unexpected, beautiful place in my life, so whatever questions remain there of what I cant even begin to know all of it. Those questions are for those people and for even my ex-husband, she continued. They need to answer to those things, not me. The couple announced their divorce in May 2021 after 27 years of marriage. Martin asked the philanthropist specifically about the contents of one draft email Epstein allegedly wrote on July 18 2013, regarding her ex-husband in which she is mentioned by name. The emails in the files suggest that Bill Gates had additional affairs, and that he tried to get medication to treat a sexually transmitted infection, and that he was going to give you the medicine without you knowing, Martin summarized, and asked what dominant emotion Melinda Gates felt after reading news articles about the email. open image in gallery Melinda French Gates has spoken out about being mentioned in the latest batch of Epstein files and addressed claims about her ex-husband, Bill Gates ( Getty ) Just unbelievable sadness, Melinda Gates responded. Im able to take my own sadness and look at those young girls and say, My God, how did they How did that happen to those girls, right? At least for me, Ive been able to move on in life, and I hope theres some justice for those now women, she added. A spokesperson for Bill Gates vehemently denied the allegations made in the note. These claims are absolutely absurd and completely false, the spokesperson previously told The Independent. The only thing these documents demonstrate is Epsteins frustration that he did not have an ongoing relationship with Gates and the lengths he would go to entrap and defame. open image in gallery The couple, pictured in 2020, announced their divorce in May 2021 after 27 years of marriage ( Getty ) The same year as the couple announced their divorce, Gates told PBS News that he had dinners with Epstein in the hopes of raising funds for global health. He described the meetings as a mistake. Melinda Gates stepped down from the Gates Foundation in May 2024. The newly released email was one of more than three million documents released Friday to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was signed into law in November. Among the newly released files are thousands of emails, court documents and photos, many of which reference high-profile individuals, such as President Donald Trump, former President Bill Clinton and Elon Musk. Being named in the files does not, in and of itself, constitute evidence of wrongdoing. Brendan Rascius contributed to this report Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Nekima Levy Armstrong, a lawyer and social justice activist who was arrested last month for participating in a church protest, has criticized the White House for posting of an AI-manipulated image of her crying to announce her apprehension. They couldnt break me by arresting me, Levy Armstrong told the New York Times. So, they doctored an image to show the world a false iteration of that time to make me look weak. Levy Armstrong, 49, was one of nine people to be arrested in connection with the anti-immigration enforcement church protest, which Justice Department officials allege impeded religious freedom. A photograph of her arrest showed Levy Armstrong walking calmly with her head held high and an unemotional facial expression. But the White House posted an altered version of the same photo, making Levy Armstrong look hysterical with tears running down her face, her mouth agape as though she was crying loudly and her hair more disheveled. Reducing my image to some scared crying woman was just so degrading, and it just shows how far the office of the president has fallen, Levy Armstrong said. The presidency, the White House, is supposed to symbolize the worlds greatest superpower, but instead they acted like a $2 tabloid. open image in gallery Levy Armstrong said she felt disgusted after seeing the White Houses altered image of her on X ( AP ) Levy Armstrong, a mother of four children, told the NYT she learned that the White House had manipulated the image of her while in jail when she was on the phone with her husband. She said she was disgusted when she later saw it for herself, comparing it to racist depictions of Black people disseminated during Jim Crow. When asked about the altered image at the time, White House deputy communications director Kaelan Dorr referred to the image as a meme. Enforcement of the law will continue. The memes will continue. Thank you for your attention to this matter, Dorr wrote. Levy Armstrong co-organized the protest at the Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, to oppose a pastor who reportedly works in a local ICE field office. Tensions between federal immigration officers and protesters in Minnesota had been mounting for weeks but heightened after the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good. Activists entered the church and interrupted a service, chanting ICE out and Justice for Renee Good. open image in gallery Secretary Noem shared a photo of Nekima Levy Armstrong (left) being arrested but just minutes later the White House shared a manipulated version (right) ( X/@Secretary Kristi Noem/@The White House ) Videos posted online showed members of the congregation leaving the church as the protesters disrupted the ongoing worship. Justice Department officials quickly denounced the church protest, accusing participants of conspiring against religious freedom rights at a place of worship and attempting to intimidate, injure or interfere with the exercise of religion. In addition to Levy Armstrong, other activists were arrested, as were reporters who entered the church to document the demonstration. That includes former CNN anchor Don Lemon, who has vowed to fight the charges. But the White Houses decision to post a manipulated photo could potentially interfere with their case against Levy Armstrong, whose lawyers have already pointed it out in court filings as an example of the government's nakedly obvious bad faith. The Independent has contacted the White House for comment. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The Department of Defense is putting Scouting America, the organization formerly known as the Boy Scouts, on notice and warning them to comply with President Donald Trumps anti-diversity, equity and inclusion executive order or risk losing funding. Chief Pentagon Spokesperson Sean Parnell warned the organization Monday in a lengthy X post that the clock was ticking for it to rapidly implement common-sense, core values. Parnell said financial assistance to programs, such as the National Jamboree celebration, was under review. For more than a decade now, Scouting America's leadership has made decisions that run counter to the values of this administration and this Department of War, including an embrace of DEl and other social justice, gender-fluid ideological stances. This is unacceptable, Parnell wrote. Scouting America has evolved vastly since its inception as the Boy Scouts. They began allowing girls to join Cub Scouts, its program for younger children, in 2018 and then expanded its Boy Scout program in 2019, allowing girls to become Eagle Scouts. The organization has become more welcoming toward transgender youth, openly gay members or adult leaders, and accepts members of all religions. open image in gallery Scouting America, formerly known as Boy Scouts, began allowing girls in its programs in 2018 ( AFP via Getty Images ) But since reclaiming the White House, Trump has pressured higher education institutions, public organizations and private businesses to conform to traditional beliefs on gender identity, rescind policies on affirmative action, cease certain education programs and more. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has similarly cracked down on DEI and other progressive initiatives in the military. Last year, the administration banned transgender service members, reimplemented certain physical fitness requirements and new grooming standards. In November, reports emerged that the Defense Department had drafted internal memos to Congress announcing plans to cut funding and support to Scouting America due to its attack on boy-friendly spaces. That could include no longer allowing Scout troops to meet on military bases, offering incentives to top Scouts or providing financial assistance. Scouting America appeared to be receptive to the administrations request and has been in discussions with officials, Parnell said. open image in gallery Hegseth has vowed to return the US military forces to more traditional values and get rid of woke policies ( Getty ) Scouting America remains far from perfect, but they have firmly committed to a return to core principles. Back to God and countryimmediately! Parnell added Parnell said there would be more to announce soon. It is unclear what changes could be coming to the organization. The Independent has asked Scouting America for comment. In a statement to the Washington Post, Scouting America said it was Encouraged by tonights social media post by the Pentagon and we look forward to providing more details as we move ahead. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The House voted Tuesday to end a partial government shutdown, but now Congress has just two weeks to resolve a disagreement over funding for the Department of Homeland Security, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the face of Donald Trumps mass deportation program. Democrats in both chambers are signaling that they are unwilling to authorize any further spending by the agencies without significant reforms to that program in the wake of the second deadly shooting of an American citizen in a month by ICE agents in Minneapolis, where a massive enforcement surge is still underway. Many, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, describe Trumps ICE operatives as a de facto secret police operating on American soil, as agents are masked and do not provide the same information that regular law enforcement agencies do upon interacting with the public. But theres one problem: Democrats already tried negotiating with Republicans with funding for the government in the balance. It didnt work. A group of Democrats broke party ranks (with the blessing and support of leadership, alleged by critics) and voted to end a shutdown that lasted more than a month last year with Democrats securing precisely nothing in the process. Now, Schumer in particular is in a tough spot as Democratic leadership comes under fire once again for what some voters around the country, as well as some of the partys leading 2026 candidates, say amounts to weakness. Februarys impending fight over ICE and DHS funding could end up being the deciding factor determining whether Schumer retains his position as leader of the Senate Democratic caucus after the 2026 midterms, even as his party currently appears to be on track to make up ground lost in the last election cycle. open image in gallery Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is facing another shutdown fight after emerging bruised from the last one, without claiming victory ( AFP via Getty Images ) The Senate Democratic leaders hold over his caucus has become a major point of contention among his party in social media spheres as well as in private conversations among his partys backbenchers in Washington, D.C., where Democratic House members in particular sounded off after his caucus was seen as capitulating in the shutdown fight in the fall. On the popular Ive Had It podcast, hosts Jennifer Welch and Angie Sullivan have taken to mocking his tendency for sending strongly-worded letters to the White House that are summarily ignored by the Trump administration as it spent 2025 uprooting USAID and other agencies through the now-defunct DOGE initiative. A handful of House members have openly called for Schumer to step aside; none have done so in the Senate. Even with Democrats experiencing a resurgence in campaigns around the country, its unclear whether Schumer himself has the political capital to weather another shutdown fight. Currently, the caucus is demanding Republicans budge on several points to extend funding for DHS past the February 13 deadline: An end to masks for ICE agents, cessation of roving patrols, no more warrantless entry and searches, and use of force standards. open image in gallery The chaos spread by ICE raids and enforcement operations around the country, as well as the resulting protests, have put both parties in a tough spot as further funding for the agency is up for authorization ( Getty Images ) Republicans in the House and some in the Senate have indicated clear opposition to some of those demands. Some progressives, however, are urging their congressional leaders to refuse to fund ICE at all, and many want tougher reforms to the agency. Short of Kristi Noems ICE leaving Minnesota, Im not voting for a damn penny for ICE, Rep. Angie Craig, a Minnesota congresswoman and candidate in the states Democratic U.S. Senate primary, told The Independent on Tuesday. They need to stop profiling our neighbors. They need to take off the mask. They need to properly identify themselves. They need to have judicial warrants before they arrest people, she said. Until that kind of shit stops. I won't vote for a damn penny. On the Sunday show circuit this past weekend, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries attempted to paint the Democrats as unified around the issue of ICE reforms as it pertained to voting for a DHS funding package. But its clear from reporting of Democratic caucus meetings and comments from House Democrats that how steep those reforms must be remains an open question. Block ICE funding or quit your job you useless fool, the progressive group Justice Democrats tweeted at Schumer last month. One of those Democrats is Graham Platner, the candidate leading in fundraising and polling over Maines incumbent governor, Janet Mills, in the race to challenge Incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins for her seat in November. Platner has attacked both Schumer and Jeffries on social media in recent days over their demands for DHS funding talks. open image in gallery Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner fiercely criticized Democratic leaders in the House and Senate over the reported list of demands for ICE reforms ( AP ) What are we doing here? DM me for my cell, Chuck. Because this is pathetic, Platner tweeted at Schumer, in response to a tweet listing the Democrats demands. He had an even icier comment for Jeffries, the House Democratic leader, after a reporter tweeted that Jeffries would seek a ban on deportation of U.S. citizens as part of a deal on DHS conduct and the immigration crackdown. I knew Democratic leaders were stupid and ineffectual. I had no idea they were THIS stupid and ineffectual, tweeted Platner. Republicans do not seem to believe, as of yet, that Democrats will actually let DHS funding lapse altogether, but are unsure of the path forward for a long-term appropriations package. A two-week CR probably means theres going to be another two-week CR and then maybe another two-week CR after that, Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters last week, according to The Hill, adding: I just think its going to be really, really hard to get anything done. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Nearly 23 million additional deaths are expected by 2030 as a result of countries like the US and UK dramatically cutting their overseas aid, a new report estimates. The peer-reviewed study, produced by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) and published in the influential health journal The Lancet, finds that cuts to aid programmes in 93 countries - including 38 in Sub-Saharan Africa - will result in 22.6m extra deaths by 2030. With that total including some 5.4 million children under the age of five , the findings have been labelled a humanitarian catastrophe. These findings give a voice to millions of vulnerable people and show the profound moral cost of the zero-sum approach many political leaders are taking, said Dr Rajiv J Shah, president of The Rockefeller Foundation, which helped to fund the report. Though it will take years to adequately assess the full toll of aid cuts, this early projection is an urgent call to action, added Dr Shah, who is also a former administrator of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which is the agency that managed most American aid programmes before it was closed by Donald Trump last year. This humanitarian catastrophe is not inevitable, but preventing it will require all of us to act with urgency, Dr Shah added. The ISGlobal report looked at the impact of aid cuts across 93 countries, comprising 38 in Sub-Saharan Africa, 21 in Asia, 12 in Latin America, 12 in the Middle East and North Africa, and 10 in Europe. A baby is examined at a health clinic in Zimbabwe. The Southern African country historically received around $200m per year prior to the closure of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) ( Bel Trew/The Independent ) The research is based on an analysis of 20 years of development data from those countries, which are home to some 6.3 billion people. The methodology used also reveals that over the course of 2002-2021, overseas aid helped reduce child mortality by 39 per cent; reduced HIV/AIDS deaths by 70 per cent; and reduced 56 per cent of deaths from both malaria and nutritional deficiencies . Lisa Wise, director of global outcomes at Save the Children, which is one of many NGOs that has been hit hard by the aid cuts, added: This analysis confirms what were already seeing- cuts to aid are not just budget decisions, they are death sentences for children. Aid cuts are already forcing us to close health clinics and nutrition programmes, end protections for girls from violence, and halt climate projects at a time when children need them more than ever, she said. The aid system needs to be updated as global challenges evolve, but the transition to new ways of working has to be managed properly rather than making swinging cuts without considering children for whom aid programmes are a lifeline, Ms Wise added. International aid fell for the first time in six years in 2024, and with the US, UK, France and Germany all making significant cuts to their aid budgets, significant further reductions in aid are expected in both 2025 and 2026. The Paris-based Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which tracks aid flows from the worlds richest countries, projects that aid could decline by as much as 18 per cent between 2024 to 2025. Particularly devastating to aid efforts in 2025 was Trumps closure of USAID , which chaotically ended funding for many projects mid-way through completion, devastating climate resilience programmes and healthcare systems in numerous developing countries. Previous research from ISGlobal using the same methodology found that the dismantling of USAID alone could lead to more than 14 million additional preventable deaths by 2030. The UK, meanwhile, cut its aid budget from 0.5 to 0.3 per cent of Gross National Income from 2027. The British development sector is keenly awaiting news of where exactly UK aid cuts are going to fall , with NGOs currently expecting the announcement later in February. Our analyses show that development assistance is among the most effective global health interventions available, said Davide Rasella, coordinator of the ISGlobal research. Withdrawing this support now would not only reverse hard-won progress, but would translate directly into millions of preventable adult and child deaths in the coming years, he added. The stark findings of the report are backed by numerous stories of devastating cuts to aid programmes across the world from the past year, which The Independent has reported on as part of its Rethinking Global Aid reporting strand We are witnessing the impact of aid cuts every single day, Magnus Corfixen, humanitarian lead for Oxfam GB, told The Independent. Every aspect of peoples lives is being affected. Food, clean water and healthcare are not choices or luxuries - they are fundamental human rights and the foundations of a dignified life. Speaking on the impact of aid cuts on responses to the climate crisis specifically, Corfixen added: When aid is cut, communities arent just losing funding - theyre losing the very tools that help them adapt to a climate crisis they did not create . Every reduction in support threatens communities' livelihoods, and increases the risk to lives of people facing rising temperatures, floods and droughts. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice In May, President Donald Trump announced an ambitious new missile-defense initiative dubbed the Golden Dome. The proposed next-generation system reminiscent of Ronald Reagans stalled 1980s Star Wars initiative would shield the nation using a network of space-based sensors and interceptors. Trump said it would be fully operational by 2029. But, 10 months later, the Golden Dome has barely gotten off the ground. This is due, in part, to the fact that the White House has held back billions in congressionally approved funds, meaning industry leaders havent been able to ramp up their work on the project, insiders and ex-defense department staffers told Politico. The whole thing is at risk, a former Pentagon official said. Because the administration hasnt tapped the $23 billion in funds approved for the defensive architecture, the Pentagon has instead relied on doling out piecemeal contracts to begin developing the space-based interceptors. open image in gallery President Trump announced his plans for a 'Golden Dome' defense system months ago. It's barely gotten off the ground ( AFP/Getty ) The Independent reported in November that the U.S. Space Force had awarded multiple small contracts to firms to develop prototypes for the defensive shield. Each of the contracts are for less than $9 million, and the companies granted them have not been named. Behind the scenes, of course industry is a bit frustrated, one unnamed industry representative told Politico. Setting up a prize mechanism instead of putting companies on contract when there are billions appropriated is frustrating. Companies are reluctant to pour their own money into the Golden Dome since many fear the massive project may not outlast the next administration, given the complexity and unproven nature of the technology. I dont think anyone in industry is banking on [space-based interceptors] surviving into the next admin, another industry representative said. To the extent possible, they are going to package together existing [research and development] efforts and bank on the Trump admin deciding to spend money faster to show progress. They dont necessarily understand how its all going to come together into a workable system, Elaine McCusker, a former Pentagon comptroller, told Politico. Theres all these lines of effort, and some of them are out for industry competition, and some of them the government plans on doing itself. And so its kind of like, how are they going to do that? Still, the Trump administration has signaled that the project is on schedule. The Golden Dome office continues to meet the goals outlined in Trumps executive order on the project, the Pentagon said in a statement to the outlet, noting that the plans implementation is dynamic, but that the foundational elements are now firmly in place. And Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein said the Pentagon plans to test out a space-based interceptor in two years, though little is known about this proposed plan. President Trumps Golden Dome will utilize next-generation technology to defend Americans against the evolving threat landscape, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told The Independent. Great progress has been made in executing this innovative project, and the President looks forward to its completion in order to protect our homeland for generations to come. open image in gallery The Trump administration has signaled that the ambitious project is on schedule ( Getty Images ) Members of Congress have also telegraphed their dissatisfaction with the slow progress being made. Lawmakers have not yet been given plans on how the Defense Department aims to spend the $23 billion allocated to the project this summer. Rep. Jeff Crank, a Colorado Republican, said hes waiting for further communications from the Trump administration. Thats essentially what were waiting for, is that sign off from the White House, and then I think that theyll begin allocating all the money that was appropriated, Crank said. And that has been, again, for those of us that support the presidents goal here, certainly frustrating, and Im sure frustrating to the president. Defense officials have said that the project is shrouded in secrecy partly because of threats from adversaries, with Guetlin stating last month that there have already been attempts to hack into the defense industrial base. Further complicating the effort has been Trumps threats towards Greenland a semi-autonomous territory of U.S. ally Denmark that could be an important part of the Golden Dome project. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A 13-year-old boy has been hailed as a hero for saving his family after they were swept out to sea off Australias south-west coast, swimming for four hours to get help. Austin Appelbee swam 4km (2.5miles) to shore after he got into difficulties with his mother, Joanne Appelbee, 47, brother Beau, 12, and sister Grace, 8, police said. The boy and his family had been using inflatable paddle boards and a kayak at Geographe Bay on Friday when strong winds pushed them offshore. Police said the teenager initially tried to paddle back to land in his kayak, but it began taking on water. He then abandoned the vessel, took off his life jacket, and swam the remaining distance to shore, eventually reaching land and alerting authorities. Austin said he tried to focus on positive thoughts as he swam for around four hours in rough seas, raising the alarm at 6pm. The waves are massive and I have no life jacket on. I just kept thinking 'just keep swimming, just keep swimming, Austin said on Tuesday. And then I finally made it to shore and I hit the bottom of the beach and I just collapsed. Ms Appelbee told reporters on Tuesday she sent her oldest child for help because she could not leave the three children. One of the hardest decisions I ever had to make was to say to Austin: 'Try and get to shore and get some help. This could get really serious really quickly, she told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. Ms Appelbee said she was initially confident he would reach the shore but began to be filled with doubt as the sun set and help did not arrive. open image in gallery Austin swam 4km to the shore to seek help after his mother, Joanne, and two siblings, Beau and Grace, were pushed offshore by strong winds ( AP ) We kept positive, we were singing and we were joking and we were treating it as a bit of a game until the sun started to go down and that's when it was getting very choppy. Very big waves, she said. Austins actions triggered a large search-and-rescue operation involving Western Australia Water Police, volunteer marine rescue crews, and the states rescue helicopter. The Naturaliste Volunteer Marine Rescue Group an organisation that provides emergency maritime response, including search and rescue praised the boys endurance. The bravery, strength and courage shown by this family were extraordinary, especially the young fella who swam 4km to raise the alarm, it said. The bay lies near the small coastal community of Quindalup, about 250km south of Perth, the state capital of Western Australia. The groups commander, Paul Bresland, described the effort as superhuman. open image in gallery The rescue took place off the town of Quindalup, about 250km south of Perth ( AFP via Getty Images ) Speaking to ABC, he said: He swam in, he reckons, the first two hours with a life jacket on. The brave fella thought he's not going to make it with a life jacket on, so he ditched it, and he swam the next two hours without a life jacket. The boy also provided rescuers with a detailed description of the colour of the kayak and paddleboards, which Mr Bresland said was crucial to the search. Within an hour, we found the kayak, he said. At about 8.30pm, the rescue helicopter located the boys family clinging to a paddle board roughly 14km offshore from Quindalup in Western Australia state. They were rescued after spending up to 10 hours in the water. A volunteer marine rescue vessel was sent to their position and all three were brought safely back to shore. open image in gallery Ms Appelbee sent her oldest boy for help because she couldnt leave her other children, aged 12 and 8, alone ( AP ) The family, from the state capital Perth, were on vacation and were using kayaks and paddle boards hired from their hotel, around noon, when rough ocean and wind conditions started dragging them out to sea. Police said the trio had been in the water for several hours in difficult conditions. The actions of the 13-year-old boy cannot be praised highly enough his determination and courage ultimately saved the lives of his mother and siblings, police inspector James Bradley said. Mr Bresland said the mother had managed to keep the children together despite exhaustion. open image in gallery Austin, who collapsed when he reached the shore, said, I just kept thinking 'just keep swimming, just keep swimming ( AP ) Physically, she just said, I'm struggling, I can't, but she just said they're looking her in the eye, and she just kept going and kept them together, he said, reported ABC News. The three were shivering, and Beau had lost sensation in his legs because of the cold, by the time they were rescued, the mother said. I have three babies. All three made it. That was all that mattered, she said. Mr Bradley said the incident showed how quickly conditions at sea could change. Thankfully, all three people were wearing life jackets, which contributed to their survival, he said, reported The Guardian. The actions of the 13-year-old boy cannot be praised highly enough his determination and courage ultimately saved the lives of his mother and siblings. The family were assessed by St John WA paramedics and taken to Busselton Health Campus for checks. They were later discharged and returned to thank the marine rescue volunteers involved, according to the ABC. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Paris prosecutors have raided the offices of Elon Musks social media platform X, formerly Twitter, as part of a cyber crime investigation, it said on Tuesday. The tech billionaire has also been summoned to a voluntary hearing in April, following a year-long investigation into suspected abuse of algorithms by X and its executives. Investigators later widened the probe to include complaints over the sites AI chatbot, Grok. They will look into the creation of child abuse images and sexually explicit deepfakes without peoples consent. The investigation, which an EU commission spokesperson said is being discussed between Brussels and Paris, will see tensions rise between Europe and the US over Big Tech and free speech. open image in gallery Musk has been summoned to a French court for a voluntary interview as part of an investigation into X ( AFP via Getty ) At this stage, the conduct of this investigation is part of a constructive approach, with the aim of ultimately ensuring that the X platform complies with French laws, insofar as it operates on national territory, the prosecutors office said. It added that the polices National Cyber Unit along with Europol were involved in the investigation. Mr Musk has been called to voluntarily speak at a hearing on 20 April along with the former CEO of X Corp, Linda Yaccarino. While several investigations have been opened into Groks parent company xAI, it marks the first time the 54-year-old has been summoned by prosecutors in relation to the scandal. The prosecutors office said it will now be leaving Mr Musks social media platform, and that it would only be communicating on LinkedIn and Instagram from now on. open image in gallery French police raided the X offices in Paris on Tuesday ( Getty ) A spokesperson for X said the claims are baseless and part of a politicised criminal investigation, adding that the company categorically denies any wrongdoing. The Paris Public prosecutor is plainly attempting to exert pressure on Xs senior management in the United States by targeting our French entity and employees, who are not the focus of this investigation, the statement added. The Prosecutors Office has ignored the established procedural mechanisms to obtain evidence in compliance with international treaties and Xs rights to defend itself. These procedural mechanisms are well known and used on a daily basis by judicial authorities around the world. Mr Musk has been facing intense scrutiny from governments around the world about sexualised images generated and edited using Grok. Sexually explicit images were created of real women without their consent, before the company finally implemented technological measures to prevent the Grok account from allowing the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing in mid-January. But campaigners and victims said this came too late to undo the harm done. open image in gallery Musk has faced intense public scrutiny over Grok in the US and abroad ( Getty ) On Tuesday, the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) also opened in investigation into Groks parent company xAI and X, saying they raise serious concerns under UK data protection law and presents a risk of significant potential harm to the public. It will also investigate whether Grok put the necessary safeguards in place to prevent this. The European Commission and UK regulator Ofcom had previously announced an investigations into xAI. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein spent years trying to win an audience with Vladimir Putin, according to emails published by the US justice department. The Russian president is mentioned 1,055 times in the latest Epstein files release, which saw the DOJ share more than 3 million new documents on Friday. Emails with political figures show Epstein desperately trying to secure a meeting with Putin in the early 2010s, after his first conviction for procuring a child for prostitution. Putin has been president since 2012, but served as prime minister for four years before that and has been the countrys de facto leader since 2000. The updated files show how Epstein jostled friends to set up a meeting for him to discuss foreign investment in Russia from at least 2013 and until 2018, a year before Epstein died in prison. It is unclear whether they ever met. open image in gallery Jeffrey Epstein tried to meet with Vladimir Putin to discuss business ( POOL/AFP via Getty ) Epstein sought a Russian visa The Epstein library, now totalling some 3.5 million records, shows that Epstein tried to procure a Russian visa from at least 2010. He asked a contact: do i need to get visa, ? I have a friend of putin,s [sic], should i ask him? A year later, in August 2011, he told Emirati businessman Ahmed bin Sulayem that putin might come to the states, adding that he would rather meet him there, so sochi is unlikely. Over the years, the financier repeatedly discussed his hopes of meeting Putin with Thorbjorn Jagland, the former prime minister of Norway, who met with the Russian leader in his capacity as the secretary general of the Council of Europe. Mr Jagland characterised Epsteins interest in an email in May 2013, telling Epstein he would have to explain his proposals to Putin himself. You have to do it. My job is to get a meeting with him, he said, adding: Can I say this [to Putin]: I know that you want to attract foreign investment to diversify russian economy [...] I have a friend that can help you to take the necessary measures (and then present you) and ask wether it is interesting for him to meet with you. open image in gallery Epstein, pictured with Ghislaine Maxwell, died in his cell in 2019 ( PA ) Epstein wanted meeting with Putin That month, Epstein told Ehud Barak, the former Israeli prime minister, that he was hoping to meet Putin for the first time that June to discuss how Russia could encourage Western investment. Weeks later, he reported back that he had cancelled a meeting with Putin in St Petersburg, demanding the Russian leader set aside real time and privacy for him. Inclusion in the Epstein files does not imply guilt. Mr Barak has acknowledged visiting Epstein but maintains he never observed any inappropriate behaviour or parties. Mr Jagland distanced himself from Epstein late last year as it emerged in a previous release of files that they had discussed Russia and US president Donald Trump in 2018. In June 2013, Epstein emailed Jagland inviting Putin for dinner, the files show. He said: Bill Gates will be staying with me in paris , for sund monday, putin is welcome to join for dinner. The files show Epstein also tried to set up a meeting with Putin in early 2014, when Mr Jagland said he was going to meet the president in Sochi. That July, Epstein received an email from a contact saying: I wasnt able to convince Reid to change his schedule to go meet Putin with you. ;-) Epstein replied: Bad idea now after plane crash. Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashed three days prior, killing 283 on board. A UN body ruled last year that Russia was responsible, though the Kremlin always denied responsibility. Files show Epstein asked Mr Jagland for help again in 2015. He wrote: I still would like to meet putin and talk economy, i would really appreciate your assistance. open image in gallery Trump and Putin in Helsinki in 2018 ( AFP/Getty ) Epstein offered insight on Trump In 2016, he asked Mr Jagland when he would see Putin, and in 2017, he asked him to talk to putin re digital currencies . the future. On 20 June, 2018, as previously reported, he emailed Mr Jagland: Would love to meet putin. It emerged in a previous file dump that four days later, Epstein tried to pass a message on to Russias top diplomat via Mr Jagland. I think you might suggest to putin that lavrov can get insight on talking to me, he wrote in an email dated 24 June, 2018. Lavrov likely refers to Russias minister of foreign affairs and close Putin ally Sergey Lavrov. vitaly churkin used to .but he died. ? ! he added, referring to the late Russian ambassador to the UN, who had passed away a year prior. open image in gallery In the Epstein emails, Lavrov likely refers to Russias minister of foreign affairs and close Putin ally Sergey Lavrov ( AP ) Mr Jagland said he would meet with Mr Lavrovs assistant and suggest, to which Epstein replied: churkin was great . he understood trump after our conversations. it is not complex. he must be seen to get something its that simple. In a text message to Norwegian public broadcaster NRK last year, Mr Jagland said: In my work I have met a lot of people, many have put me in contact with even more. This is part of normal diplomatic activity. What has come to light about Jeffrey Epsteins private life, I strongly distance myself from. For me, it was particularly important to understand Donald Trump and what developed in the relationship between the United States and Europe Many wanted to start a process to exclude Russia from the Council of Europe and thus Russian citizens access to the European Court of Human Rights. I used every opportunity to get my view across on how serious this was. Many of the items referencing Putin only refer to him tangentially, such as in media bulletins sent to Epsteins email address. A separate 2010 email exchange between Epstein and an email address named The Duke, included in the new files, suggests Epstein also set up a dinner between the former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and a beautiful 26-year-old Russian woman. Epstein writes in the message: I have a friend who I think you might enjoy having dinner with. In response, The Duke replies: Of course. I am in Geneva until the morning of 22nd but would be delighted to see her. Will she be bringing a message from you? Please give her my contact details to get in touch. A. Asked for more information about the unnamed woman, Epstein replied: she 26, russian, clevere beautiful, trustworthy and yes she has your email. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A teacher is in a critical condition after she was stabbed several times by a 14-year-old pupil during class in a school in southern France, police have said. Prosecutors said the art teacher, 60, was stabbed three to four times with a knife in her classroom at a middle school in Sanary-sur-Mer on Tuesday afternoon. The pupil was arrested and was being detained on suspicion of attempted murder, the local Toulon prosecutor, Raphael Balland added. No religious nor political motive could be found for the attack, but Mr Balland said there are believed to have been tensions between the pupil and the teacher. The attacker had no criminal record. The unnamed victim was taken to hospital in a critical condition, said a local police spokesman. There were three or four stabs - two in the abdomen and one or two in the arm said another investigating source, who said the boy had been shouting threats at the teacher beforehand. open image in gallery Edouard Geffray said he was heading to La Guicharde ( AFP via Getty Images ) France's education minister, Edouard Geffray, said that he was headed to La Guicharde school, which is where local media has pinpointed the incident. "My thoughts immediately go out to the victim, her family and the entire educational community, whose deep shock I share," he wrote on X. Security in France's schools has been the subject of intense debate in recent years with numerous incidents of teachers being injured my students. In June last year, then-Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said the government would test adding security gates at schools after a school aide was stabbed during a bag search. In September, a music teacher was stabbed by a 14-year-old in the face by a student during class in a middle school in northeastern France. In October 2023, a French literature teacher was stabbed to death at the Gambetta-Carnot school in Arras, northern France. Three other members of staff were injured in the onslaught by alleged ISIS supporter Mohammed Mogouchkov, a 20-year-old, who remains on remand and awaiting trial. In 2020, teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded after he showed pupils caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad in a class on free speech. The perpetrator, Abdoullakh Abouyezidovich Anzorov, an 18-year-old Russian refugee, was shot and killed by police minutes later. The incident sparked a political uproar. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Germany is poised to invest 35 billion (30 billion) in its military space capabilities, encompassing spy satellites, space planes, and offensive lasers. This ambitious spending plan is designed to counter escalating orbital threats from Russia and China, according to the head of the country's space command. Michael Traut, who leads the German Space Command, revealed to Reuters that Germany intends to construct an encrypted military constellation of over 100 satellites, known as SATCOM Stage 4, in the coming years. Speaking on the fringes of a space event ahead of the Singapore Airshow, Mr Traut indicated that this network would emulate the model employed by the US Space Development Agency, a Pentagon unit focused on deploying low-Earth-orbit satellites for communications and missile tracking. The potential investment follows recent reports of Rheinmetall engaging in discussions with German satellite manufacturer OHB regarding a joint bid for an undisclosed German military satellite initiative. This development also aligns with a broader European effort, as leading space firms Airbus, Thales, and Leonardo seek to establish a European satellite communications alternative to Elon Musk's Starlink. Mr Traut underscored that Germany's significant investment in military space architecture directly reflects a considerably more contested space environment since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. open image in gallery Major General Michael Traut, Commander of German Space Command ( REUTERS ) Berlin and its European allies, he said, needed to bolster their deterrence posture by investing not only in secure communications but also in capabilities that could hinder or disable hostile space systems. "(We need to) improve our deterrence posture in space, since space has become an operational or even warfighting domain, and we are perfectly aware that our systems, our space capabilities, need to be protected and defended, Traut said. Germany will channel funding into intelligencegathering satellites, sensors and systems designed to disrupt adversary spacecraft, including lasers and equipment capable of targeting ground-based infrastructure, Traut said. He added that Germany would prioritise small and large domestic and European suppliers for the programme. Traut emphasised Germany would not field destructive weapons in orbit that could generate debris, but said a range of non-kinetic options existed to disrupt hostile satellites, including jamming, lasers and actions against ground control stations. open image in gallery Major General Michael Traut said Berlin and its European allies needed to bolster their deterrence posture by investing not only in secure communications but also in capabilities that could hinder or disable hostile space systems ( AFP via Getty Images ) He also pointed to so-called inspector satellites small spacecraft capable of maneuvering close to other satellites which he said Russia and China had already deployed. "There is a broad range of possible effects in the electromagnetic spectrum, in the optical, in the laser spectrum, and even some active physical things like inspector satellites," he said. "You could even go after ground segments of a space system in order to deny that system to your adversary or to tell him, 'If you do something to us in space, we might do something to you in other domains as well.' Join the Independent Women newsletter with Victoria Richards for a thoughtful take on the weeks headlines Join the Independent Women newsletter Join the Independent Women newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The son of Norways Crown Princess has gone on trial on charges of rape, domestic violence, assault and drug possession. Marius Borg Hiby took the stand at a court in Oslo this week to enter a not guilty plea to four counts of rape and one of domestic violence, while admitting a number of lesser offences. The 29 year-olds trial has been described as the biggest scandal the Norwegian royals ever had. It comes as the royal family faces increased scrutiny over his mother the crown princess ties to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. Heres what we know about Hiby and the case against him. Who is Marius Borg Hiby? Marius is the son of Mette-Marit Tjessem Hiby, the Crown Princess of Norway and stepson to Haakon, the Crown Prince and heir to the Norwegian monarchy. Because Marius is only related to the royal family by marriage, he possesses no royal titles and is outside of the line of succession. His mother was a waitress at the the time she met his father Morten Borg, a convicted felon and cocaine dealer. Borg was said to have been in prison when his son was born. open image in gallery Marius Borg Hiby faces up to to ten years in prison if convicted ( NTB/AFP via Getty Images ) Mette-Marit was introduced to Borg by her former fiance John Ognby, another convicted felon, with whom she split up after he allegedly chased her down the street with a knife. She met the Crown Prince of Norway, Haakon Magnus, through mutual friends in 1999 and married in 2001. They have two children together; Princess Ingrid Alexandra born in 2004 and Prince Sverre Magnus born in 2005. When the couple entered the public spotlight, Marius was nicknamed Little Marius in the media after an illegitimate child in the 1883 novel Poison. Marius is rarely seen in public, in contrast to his half-siblings, due to his lack of royal title. open image in gallery The Crown Prince said: We love him. He is an important part of our family. He is a Norwegian citizen, so he has the same responsibilities as everyone else, as well as the same rights. ( Getty Images ) Marius briefly studied business in the US in 2017 but dropped out without completing his degree. He worked as an intern for German fashion designer Philipp Plein and then as a style editor for UK-based fashion magazine Tempus. When he was referred to as the prince of Norway in the publication, the magazine was forced to remove every such reference from print and digital editions after backlash. In 2017, Marius was convicted and fined for drug possession after being arrested at the Palmesus festival. Crown Prince Haakon said of Marius ahead of the current trial: We love him. He is an important part of our family. He is a Norwegian citizen, so he has the same responsibilities as everyone else, as well as the same rights. He said of the alleged victims: We think about them, we know many are going through a difficult time. open image in gallery Crown Princess Mette-Marit Tjessem Hiby (left), with husband Crown Prince Haakon (middle), and Marius (right) in 2011. Also pictured are Prince Sverre Magnus (front left) and Princess Ingrid Alexandra (front middle). ( Getty Images ) What are the charges against him? Hiby faces 38 charges at the Oslo district court. On Tuesday, he pleaded not guilty to four counts of rape and one of domestic violence. He pleaded guilty to one count of offensive sexual behaviour, driving too fast and driving without a valid license, among other charges. He also said he was partially guilty - a plea allowed under Norwegian law - of aggravated assault and reckless behaviour. The proceedings will take place over a period of seven weeks, and Marius is expected to testify on Wednesday. The most serious allegations include rape and sexual intercourse while a woman was unconscious in October 2023 and three counts of rape by sexual assault on incapacitated women in December 2018, March 2024 and November 2024. open image in gallery Marius took the stand on Monday to face 38 charges including rape, sexual assault, and domestic violence ( Reuters ) Hiby could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted in the trial, which is scheduled to last until 19 March. Seven alleged victims are expected to testify. There is equality before the law, lead prosecutor Sturla Henriksboe told the court. The defendant is the son of the crown princess. He is part of the royal family. He shall nevertheless be treated in the same way as any other person who is charged with the same offences. On Sunday, Hiby was detained on separate allegations, on suspicion of assault, making threats with a knife and violating a restraining order. He was placed on remand for four weeks. Crown Princess ties to Epstein open image in gallery Crown Princess Mette Marit is facing questions over her ties to Jeffrey Epstein ( Getty Images ) Hibys mother the Crown Princess is mentioned hundreds of times in the latest tranche of Epstein files released by the US justice department at the end of January. In 2012, according to the documents, Mette-Marit asked Epstein about Marius, questioning if it were inappropriate for a mother to suggest two naked women carrying a surfboard for my 15 yr old sons wallpaper?. He replied: Let them decide, mother shoudl [sic] stay out of it. The files also revealed that Mette-Marit spent four days in Epsteins house in Palm Beach, Miami in January 2013. The royal has since issued a statement, saying she showed poor judgement over he contact with the disgraced billionaire and offering her sympathy to his victims. Jeffrey Epstein is personally responsible for his actions, she said. I must take responsibility for not checking Epstein's background more closely and for not understanding quickly enough what kind of person he was. I deeply regret that, and this is a responsibility I must take. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The son of Norways crown princess pleaded not guilty to rape charges as he went on trial Tuesday for multiple alleged offences, opening weeks of proceedings in a case that has cast a shadow on the royal familys image. Marius Borg Hiby, 29, is the eldest son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit from a previous relationship, and the stepson of the heir to the throne, Crown Prince Haakon. Hiby has no royal title or official duties. Hiby stood for 24 minutes while prosecutor Sturla Henriksb read out the 38 counts against him at the Oslo district court, asking him if he pleaded guilty. He replied no to each of the most serious charges, including the four counts of rape. The charges also include abuse in a close relationship against one former partner, acts of violence against another and transporting 3.5 kilograms (7.7 pounds) of marijuana. Others include making death threats and traffic violations. Hiby pleaded guilty to several driving offences, to an aggravated drugs offence and breaking a restraining order, and partly to threats and aggravated assault. Wearing glasses, a brown sweater and beige trousers, he spoke quietly and conferred regularly with his lawyer. A court official moved the microphone to better pick up his answers. open image in gallery Prosecutor Sturla Henriksboe and investigation leader Andreas Kruszewski during the first day of the trial against Marius Borg Hoiby ( Reuters ) Prosecutors have said that Hiby could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted in the trial, which is scheduled to last until March 19. Seven alleged victims are expected to testify. There is equality before the law, Henriksb told the court. The defendant is the son of the crown princess. He is part of the royal family. He shall nevertheless be treated in the same way as any other person who is charged with the same offences. International interest Reflecting international interest in the trial, Judge Jon Sverdrup Efjestad addressed the court in English, warning that it was prohibited to record or take photographs in the courtroom and advising that some witness testimony would be heard behind closed doors. The investigation began in 2024. Police were first called to an apartment in Oslo's upscale Frogner neighbourhood in early August that year following reports of a violent incident. Hiby was arrested and later released, but the case expanded as additional women came forward with allegations against him. The indictment that prosecutors filed last year centres on four alleged rapes between 2018 and November 2024; alleged violence and threats against a former partner between the summer of 2022 and the fall of 2023; and two alleged acts of violence against a subsequent partner, along with violations of a restraining order. It was expanded in January, when Hiby was charged with six new offences, including possession and delivery of large quantities of marijuana and further restraining order violations. open image in gallery Norways Marius Borg Hoiby (second left) standing next to Norways Crown Prince Haakon (right), Norways Crown Princess Mette-Marit (second right), Norways Princess Ingrid Alexandra (centre) and Norways Prince Sverre Magnus ( NTB/AFP via Getty ) Hiby was free pending trial until Sunday, when police said that he was arrested over new allegations of assault, threats with a knife and violation of a restraining order. The Oslo court on Monday granted their request to keep him in detention for up to four weeks on the grounds of a risk of reoffending. Defence lawyer Petar Sekulic said that the arrest followed an alleged incident involving another person on Sunday. He declined to give details, but said that Hiby contests his detention and his legal team was considering an appeal as soon as he and the other person can provide statements to police. Prince Haakon said last week that he and Princess Mette-Marit don't plan to attend the trial and that the royal house doesn't intend to comment during the proceedings. Royal problems King Harald, 88, and the royals are generally popular in Norway, but the Hiby case has been a problem for the family's image. The trial opened at a particularly sensitive moment for the royal family. The crown princess faces renewed scrutiny over her past contacts with Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself in 2019 in a New York jail cell as he faced sex trafficking charges, following the release on Friday of a new batch of documents from the Epstein files. They contained several hundred mentions of the crown princess, who already said in 2019 that she regretted having had contact with Epstein, Norwegian media reported. The documents, which include email exchanges, showed that she borrowed an Epstein-owned property in Palm Beach, Florida, for several days in 2013. Norwegian broadcaster NRK reported that the stay was arranged through a mutual friend, which was later confirmed by the royal household. The crown princess said in a statement that she must take responsibility for not having investigated Epsteins background more thoroughly, and for not realising sooner what kind of person he was. She added: I showed poor judgment and regret having had any contact with Epstein at all. It is simply embarrassing. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Pope Leo XIV is confronting his first major crisis with traditionalist Catholics as a breakaway group attached to the Latin Mass has announced plans to consecrate new bishops without papal consent, threatening a revival of schism. The Swiss-based Society of St Pius X (SSPX), which operates schools, chapels, and seminaries globally, has been a persistent challenge for the Holy See for four decades, stemming from its opposition to the modernising reforms of the 1960s Second Vatican Council. In 1988, the groups founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, consecrated four bishops without papal approval, asserting it was vital for the preservation of the church's tradition. The Vatican swiftly excommunicated Lefebvre and the four bishops, and the SSPX continues to hold no legal status within the Catholic Church. Despite this original break with Rome, the group has expanded over the decades, attracting priests, nuns, and lay Catholics devoted to the pre-Vatican II traditional Latin Mass. For the Vatican, papal consent for the consecration of bishops is a fundamental doctrine, guaranteeing the lineage of apostolic succession from Christs original apostles. Consequently, consecrating bishops without papal consent is considered a grave threat to church unity and a direct cause of schism, as bishops possess the authority to ordain new priests. Under church law, such an act incurs automatic excommunication for both the consecrator and the purported new bishop. The Vatican had previously sought reconciliation with the SSPX, fearing the emergence of a parallel church. Pope Benedict XVI, in 2009, lifted the excommunications of the surviving bishops and eased restrictions on celebrating the old Latin Mass as an overture to all Catholics attached to the ancient rite. However, an uproar ensued after one of the SSPX bishops, Richard Williamson, publicly denied the Holocaust in a television interview. Tensions with traditionalist Catholics deepened further in subsequent years, particularly during the pontificate of Pope Francis, who reversed Benedicts reform, allowing wider celebration of the old Latin Mass, arguing it had become a source of division within the church. Pope Leo XIV has acknowledged these tensions, seeking to pacify the debate by expressing openness to dialogue and permitting exceptions to Franciss crackdown. For the Vatican, papal consent for the consecration of bishops is a fundamental doctrine, guaranteeing the lineage of apostolic succession from Christs original apostles ( AP ) Despite these efforts, the SSPX stated on Monday that it felt compelled to proceed with the consecrations of new bishops on 1 July, to safeguard the future of the society. The Rev Davide Pagliarani, the SSPX superior general, confirmed he had written to Pope Leo XIV explaining the necessity for new bishops "to ensure the continuation of the ministry of its bishops, who have been travelling the world for nearly 40 years to respond to the many faithful attached to the tradition of the church." The SSPX added that it had received a reply from the Vatican "which does not in any way respond to our requests", and was preparing to proceed given the "objective state of grave necessity in which souls find themselves". Vatican spokesperson Matto Bruni suggested on Tuesday that negotiations remained open. "Contacts between the Society of Saint Pius X and the Holy See continue, with the aim of avoiding rifts or unilateral solutions to the issues that have arisen," Mr Bruni said in a statement. The traditional Latin Mass features readings and hymns in Latin, with the priest facing the altar, his back to the congregation. The Second Vatican Council, by contrast, allowed Mass to be celebrated in the vernacular, with the priest facing the pews and encouraging more active participation from the faithful. Adherents of the ancient rite often describe it as a more prayerful and reverent form of worship. Close Marco Rubio lands in Germany for Munich Security Conference On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice US secretary of state Marco Rubio has warned the old order is gone ahead of a possible meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky at the Munich Security Conference. Speaking before he departed the US, Mr Rubio said the world is at a defining moment, adding: "The Old World is gone, frankly, the world I grew up in. He said we live in a new era in geopolitics, and it's going to require all of us to re-examine what that looks like and what our role is going to be. World leaders are gathering in Munich for the summit which will see Mr Zelensky, Mr Rubio, British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, French president Emmanuel Macron, and several others take to the stage. The meeting comes one day after Ukraine it will receive $38 billion (27.9bn) in military aid from its allies in 2026, including a 500 million for air defence from the UK as part of a 3 billion support package. The aid will be used to fund drones, air defence systems, and Patriot missiles, defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov said. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Just five Palestinians in critical condition have been allowed through the Rafah Crossing for treatment after Israel reopened it on Monday. Reports had suggested Israel would permit 50 patients accompanied by two relatives to exit the enclave every day, but so far only a fraction appear to have been allowed passage. The reopening was hailed as a significant step forward in implementing the second part of the US-brokered ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas last year. Over 18,000 injured and wounded people are awaiting medical attention, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), while the Ministry of Health estimates the number is over 20,000. Unicef said over 3,000 of those are children. open image in gallery A UN vehicle escorts ambulances and a bus carrying Palestinian patients in Khan Younis as they travel to the Rafah crossing to leave the Gaza Strip for medical treatment on Tuesday ( AP ) Of the thousands reportedly waiting to return to Gaza, around 12 were allowed back in, while 38 did not make it through security checks and were forced to spend the night on the Egyptian side of the border, according to Palestinian and Egyptian sources. On the second of February, WHO and partners supported the medical evacuation of five patients and seven companions to Egypt via the Rafah crossing, WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said on Tuesday. It was the first medical evacuation through this route since sometime in 2025, he said, referring to a limited number of evacuations during an early 2025 ceasefire. open image in gallery Palestinian patients ride a bus in Khan Younis as they travel to the Rafah crossing ( AP ) Mr Lindmeier added that many patients had died while waiting for an evacuation. We know that patients have died basically waiting for evacuation, and that's something which is horrible when you know just a few miles or kilometres outside that border, help is available, he said. Rafah became highly politicised during the height of the bombardment when humanitarian aid was restricted, and thousands of aid trucks containing food and medical aid were not allowed to enter. The United Nations has called on Israel to allow unfettered movement for Palestinians as well as the entry of humanitarian aid in line with international law. open image in gallery Najat Rubaie, centre right, embraces one of her grandsons after they arrive with their mother as part of a group of about a dozen Palestinian returnees allowed back into Gaza ( AP ) We would want to see humanitarian cargo and private cargo go in, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Monday. And, of course, in terms of movements of people through the Rafah crossing, Palestinians need to be able to come out or go in, as they wish, in line with international law. Save the Children demanded the immediate and urgent opening of Rafah and all border crossings and the safe, unrestricted passage of humanitarian assistance. On Sunday, an Israeli defence official said that the crossing can hold between 150-200 people altogether in both directions. There will be more people leaving than returning because patients leave together with escorts, the official added. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian has given the go-ahead for talks with the US in Turkey this week, but warned against any further threats by the Trump administration. Turkey will host the discussions, aimed at de-escalating tensions following Washingtons threats of military action in response to Tehrans bloody crackdown of nationwide protests early this year. The two sides are also expected to resume talks on a nuclear deal, as demanded by the US. The UAE on Tuesday urged both countries to reach a long-term solution after Donald Trump said "bad things" would happen if a deal was not struck. Pezeshkian said he has instructed the foreign minister to prepare for equitable and fair negotiations, but that they should only take place in an atmosphere free of threats and unreasonable expectations. Washington has not yet followed through on the several military threats made by President Trump in January, declaring that he would strike Iran if they did not stop killing protesters or if they carried out any executions. The US military sent several warships to the Middle East, including the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, as Trump sought to ramp up pressure on Tehran and pondered over resuming direct conflict after tit-for-tat strikes last June. open image in gallery Irans president Masoud Pezeshkian warned the US against any further threats ( AP ) But Trump stopped short of carrying out threats to intervene, and has since demanded Tehran make nuclear concessions. Lasst week, he said that Iran was "seriously talking". A regional official said several foreign ministers from nearby countries have been invited to this weeks talks, including from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. Writing on X, Pezeshkian said the decision to agree to the talks came after requests from friendly governments in the region to respond to the proposal by the President of the United States for negotiations. The format of the meetings remains unclear but the "main meeting" would be on Friday, they added. open image in gallery Trump has warned bad things will happen if a nuclear deal isnt signed ( AP ) The US president has demanded three conditions for resuming talks, according to Iranian sources. These include zero enrichment of uranium in Iran, limits on Tehran's ballistic missile programme and ending its support for regional proxies. Tehran has previously rejected these demands as unacceptable impediments on its sovereignty, but Iranian officials have suggested that the regimes clerical rulers see limits on the ballistic missile programme, rather than uranium enrichment, as a bigger obstacle. We have talks going on with Iran, well see how it all works out, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. He did not elaborate when asked what his threshold was for military action against Iran was Id like to see a deal negotiated. Right now, were talking to them, were talking to Iran, and if we could work something out, thatd be great. And if we cant, probably bad things would happen, he added. open image in gallery Iran-US tensions spiralled after Tehran carried out a bloody crackdown of nationwide protests last month ( UGC ) Tehran may feel under pressure to agree a deal with Washington, amid fears within the regime that a US strike could drive an enraged population to once again take to the streets, despite the scale and severity of Januarys crackdown, which some estimates suggest saw up to 30,000 killed. In high-level meetings, officials told Khamenei that public anger over last month's crackdown - the bloodiest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution-- has reached a point where fear is no longer a deterrent, four current officials briefed on the discussions told the Reuters news agency. It is unclear whether US special envoy Steve Witkoff who is in the region this week ahead of expected meetings with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the head of the Mossad intelligence service and the Israeli military's chief of staff will join the Iran talks. Later this week, he is due to travel to UAE capital Abu Dhabi for further talks on the Russia-Ukraine war. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The US military shot down an Iranian drone on Tuesday, saying it aggressively approached an American aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea. The escalation comes amid preparations for nuclear talks between the US and Iran on Friday, which the Islamic Republic has insisted take place in Oman according to reports. President Donald Trump told reporters on Tuesday: We are negotiating with them right now. The Iranian-139 drone is reported to have flown towards a US Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier with unclear intent and was shot down by an F-35 US fighter jet, according to the US military. The aircraft continued to fly towards the ship, part of a large armada deployed in the region, despite de-escalatory measures taken by US forces operating in international waters, according to US military spokesperson and Navy Captain Tim Hawkins. open image in gallery The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln ( US Navy ) No US military personnel were harmed and no equipment were damaged in the incident about 500 miles from Irans southern coast. Irans Tasnim news agency reported that connection had been lost with a drone in international waters but said that the reason was unknown. On the same day, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces are reported to hav e harassed a US-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the US Central Command. Two IRGC boats and an Iranian Mohajer drone approached M/V Stena Imperative at high speeds and threatened to board and seize the tanker, Captain Hawkins said. The destroyer USS McFaul responded to the incident and escorted the Stena Imperative with defensive air support from the US Air Force, according to the statement. open image in gallery President Donald Trump said that the US is negotiating with Iran ( REUTERS ) White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the drone incident and said she had been informed by the Pentagon that CENTCOM had acted both appropriately and necessarily to protect our US personnel and equipment in the region. She said the aircraft was unmanned and acting aggressively towards our USS Lincoln, which we know that aircraft carrier is in the region at the direction of President [Donald] Trump. President Trump remains committed to always pursuing diplomacy first, she told Fox News. But in order for diplomacy to work, of course, it takes two to tango. You need a willing partner to engage. And so thats something the president and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff are exploring and discussing right now. open image in gallery Security forces are seen during a pro-government rally on 12 January 2026 in Tehran, Iran. ( Getty Images ) Ms Leavitt confirmed that Mr Witkoff is scheduled to have discussions with Iran later this week, adding that those are still scheduled as of right now, but of course the president always has a range of options on the table, and that includes the use of military force. Iran and the US are expected to hold nuclear talks in Oman on Friday, according to an Axios report. The Trump administration reportedly agreed to Tehrans request to shift the venue from Turkey, while discussions are still ongoing about whether regional Arab and Muslim countries will join the negotiations. Trump had warned that with US warships heading toward Iran, bad things would probably happen if a deal could not be reached. Tensions have escalated since unrest in Iran erupted over an economic crisis worsened by sections. In a brutal crackdown by Ayatollah Ali Khameneis regime, over 6,000 protesters are reported to have been killed. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Hani Al Sawah, the rap artist known as Al Darwish, recently walked the streets of Damascus, Syrias capital, with a profound sense of excitement. It had been 13 years since he last set foot in his homeland. That same night, he would perform his unapologetically political songs on Syrian soil for the first time since the Assad dynasty fell. The musician could barely contain his emotions. "Never in my wildest dreams did I think I could ever return to Syria," he told The Associated Press after a sold-out show on 16 January, followed by another the next day. The audience sang along to every lyric, making it difficult for him to hear himself. "I have this weird feeling that I never left, or that I left a part of me here that I was able to find again," Al Sawah reflected. During the 2011 uprising, before he fled Syria to neighbouring Lebanon in 2012 and later Germany, Al Sawahs fiery lyrics about mass protests defying dictatorship illuminated a rap scene few imagined existed. His music also paid tribute to other anti-government protests across the region, and he witnessed months-long demonstrations in Lebanon shortly before his departure for Europe. After leaving home, Al Sawah amassed a significant online following, with many Syrians both at home and abroad finding resonance in his music throughout the countrys devastating civil war. open image in gallery Hani Al Sawah walks on a street in old Damascus, Syria, Friday ( AP ) From his upbringing in Homs, Al Sawah has always possessed a rebellious spirit. Discovering rap music in 2001, he quickly realised it offered a powerful avenue for self-expression. He became part of an underground scene where he and fellow artists exchanged songs and ideas. "We had a nice scene at the time in Homs, of course everything was underground and nobody knew anything about us and that we were rapping," he said. Authorities frequently stopped him and his friends, questioning their attire, which they claimed resembled "devil worshippers." Others dismissed the hard-hitting genre as representing Western culture and imperialism. "There was the saying: Eat what you want but dress as the people want," he recalled. Al Sawah was elated and inspired by the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad and his government, particularly when mass demonstrations swept through Homs. He secretly attended these protests, defying his fathers orders, who feared for his life. Though more than a year has passed since a lightning insurgency in December 2024 brought down the Assad dynastys half-century rule, Al Sawah only visited last month. While hopeful that the new rulers in Damascus will build a just and prosperous country, he remains concerned about incidents of violence that quickly turned sectarian. open image in gallery Al Darwish performs at a restaurant in old Damascus ( AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki ) Al Sawah felt compelled to return home, to see his father and to witness life in this new chapter of the countrys history. "What happened here were fast and sudden changes, and were only talking about Damascus," the rapper observed after a stroll on a boulevard in the capital. "Sure it changed, but not like my city of Homs, Aleppo, or any of the cities where two-thirds or three-quarters of it were destroyed." Speaking with friends and others, Al Sawah was surprised by a palpable fear of criticising the new authorities, something he described as "inherited" from decades of living under Assad and his familys extensive security apparatus. "If we want to say that the regime really did fall, then so should this fear," he asserted. This lingering fear does not diminish his joy at Assads departure, but online, he has spoken out against sectarian violence and how some who would oppose it under other circumstances attempted to justify it. He referred to a government counteroffensive against armed Assad loyalists of the Alawite religious minority along the coast, which later escalated into widespread revenge attacks targeting the community. Last summer, government forces intervened in the Druze-majority province of Sweida, ostensibly to halt clashes between Druze militias and armed Bedouin tribes, but clearly siding with the latter. Both incidents resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths. open image in gallery Hani Al Sawah, works on his laptop in old Damascus ( AP ) "If you can justify what happened on the coast which of course you cant by saying they were armed (Assad) loyalists and so on, then you cannot justify what happened in Sweida," he stated, calling it a "fatal error" in the Islamist-led governments efforts to win the support of minorities and unify the country. During his performance, Al Sawah paid tribute to the coastal province and Sweida in one of his songs, admittedly nervous about the crowds reaction. To his surprise, they cheered and applauded, a response that filled him with hope. "This is the reaction I was looking for," he said. "Its what encourages me to come back." Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Get Simon Calders Travel email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice United Airlines is conducting a planned overnight technology upgrade affecting its flight reservation system on Wednesday, February 4, between 1.30am and 5am CST (2.30am and 6am EST/11.30pm February 3 to 3am February 4 PST). As a result, many of its web and app services will not be available during that time, including for United employees. Passengers can book, complete check-in, or make trip changes prior to 1.30am CST (2.30am EST/11.30pm February 3 PST) on February 4 or when the upgrade is complete, United said. What wont be available during the update is the ability for passengers to go online and cancel flights, book new flights or check-in, make seat selections or upgrades, or view or retrieve boarding passes in the app. However, flights will operate as normal and passengers will be able to check in at airports, though they should be prepared for longer waits at counters. open image in gallery United Airlines is conducting a planned overnight technology upgrade affecting its flight reservation system on Wednesday, February 4, between 1.30am and 5am CST ( Getty Images ) To help alleviate delays, passengers are advised to amend bookings, and download or screenshot boarding passes or print paper copies, ahead of the maintenance window opening. The upgrade will shift the brains of Uniteds booking system, called Shares, from an older data center in North Carolina to a newer hub in Chicago. The aim of the move is to improve reliability. open image in gallery To help alleviate delays, passengers are advised to download or screenshot boarding passes or print paper copies ahead of the maintenance window opening ( Getty Images ) United, the largest U.S. airline by fleet size, with 1,000 aircraft, has been warning passengers about the outage and reportedly adjusted domestic schedules to keep operations running as smoothly as possible. Scott Keyes, founder and CEO of flight deals website Going.com, told CBS News: Dont freak out if you cant search for flights in the middle of the night. It will come back online soon. Home economics: We want to stay out of Fair Deal. Can I use my tax relief and my fathers savings to pay for his nursing home? Any Other Business: Was that really Denis OBrien admitting hes an anarchist? Plus, the cost of all that heritage, golden tickets at Newstalk and the best well-done steak in London Denis OBrien. Photo: Getty John Burns Sun 1 Feb 2026 at 06:30 Dublin played host to an airline economics conference last week, prompting the usual self-congratulatory talk about how Ireland is at the heart of the global aviation leasing industry. Dazzling debut on suspected honour killing explores immigration, trying to fit in and Americas promiscuous ways Good People by Patmeena Sabit is a timely tale focussing on an Afghan family living the American dream who become lightning rods of public hatred for having the audacity to be rich while also being brown Good People author Patmeena Sabit. Photo: David Chang Aoife Rooney Tue 3 Feb 2026 at 06:30 When James McAvoy took on the challenge of portraying a person with dissociative identity disorder and 23 alter egos in the 2016 movie Split, his ability to differentiate between each of them with such subtlety was no small feat. Patmeena Sabit has achieved something similarly impressive in her debut novel, Good People. SPOILERS AHEAD: Spy thrillers writer and director reveal all about jaw-dropping conclusion Has there been a more devastating TV finale? Not in recent memory, thats for sure. The Night Managers second season grew in confidence and ambition with each episode, culminating in a Shakespearean finale that saved its most savage work for last. In six tragic minutes, it bumped off two, maybe three major characters like they were names on a ledger. Angela Burr Olivia Colmans dogged intelligence operative gunned down at her home in France, her young daughter close by. Teddy Dos Santos the illegitimate son (played by Diego Calva) we had spent six episodes learning to love executed by his own father with a bullet to the head. And Jonathan Pine, Tom Hiddlestons haunted operative who had been the fulcrum around which much of the BBC drama revolved, left bleeding out in the dirt while his enemies closed in. Richard Roper the worst man in the world got his freedom back. The bad guy won. Bleakly, bumptiously. Theres more than a touch of the Forsythe Saga attached to South Hill House at Delvin, Co Westmeath, home to the forbears of author TE Lawrence, also known as Lawrence of Arabia*. Lawrences father was Thomas Chapman, a second son born at South Hill, who was descended from an early Elizabethan planter family ceded a modest amount of land in Co Westmeath through Sir Walter Raleighs intercession, and later improved on by virtue of the family standing at Cromwells side during his infamous invasion of Ireland. The agency said protesters refused to leave and gardai are now on site to help resolve the situation IFA announced on Friday that its IFA National Council had passed a unanimous resolution that its protest outside Bord Bia will continue until the Chair resigns or is removed. Last week IFA members brought tractors to the protest outside Bord Bia. Photo: IFA IFA members are now inside the offices of Bord Bia. Photo: IFA Bord Bia has condemned an escalated IFA protest after they said farmers entered its Dublin headquarters, calling the action unacceptable and very intimidating for staff. The agency said protesters refused to leave despite being asked, and that gardai are now on site to help resolve the situation. "We respect anyones right to protest, but it is unacceptable and unprofessional to disrupt the work of Bord Bia staff, the agency said in a statement. The situation was very intimidating for colleagues at reception, when a large group of farmers entered the building under false pretences and then refused to leave. These actions reflect poorly on the IFA and escalates a matter which can only be resolved through dialogue. Bord Bia had formally asked the protestors to leave the building, but they refused to do so, a spokesperson said. An Garda Siochana are on site and are providing support to Bord Bia to help resolve the situation safely and appropriately, they added. An Garda Siochana said they were alerted after a number of individuals entered a premises on Pembroke Road, Dublin 4, shortly after 2pm today. Gardai are currently at the scene monitoring the public gathering and continue to engage with the participants. The protest is now in day nine with IFA calling for the Bord Bia Chairman Larry Murrin to resign from his role after revelations that his company Dawn Farms imported beef from Brazil last year as part of its supply. It comes after both IFA and ICMSA renewed calls in recent days for Murrin, to step down from the role. The chairman will attend an Oireachtas Agriculture meeting on Thursday. IFA president Francie Gorman said the move reflects the deep frustration and anger over the inaction by Bord Bia on this matter. IFA Livestock Chair Declan Hanrahan said one astonishing aspect of the whole affair is that the Government is attributing the value of Irish agri food exports to Mr Murrin and Bord Bia rather than farmers. Last week IFA members brought tractors to the protest outside Bord Bia. Photo: IFA Their Quality Assurance Mark has value because of the product it is affixed to. This product is produced by farmers. Nobody can eat a logo, he said. "Bord Bia has never bought or sold a kilo of beef, never calved a cow, lambed a ewe or invested in finishing cattle. They have now started to believe their own publicity that they are the reason our product is valued the world over. They play their part, but it is the farmers who produce the raw material that deserve the credit. This must stop. Larry Murrin must be removed if the organisation is ever to have trust and confidence of farmers again. IFA announced on Friday that its IFA National Council had passed a unanimous resolution that its protest outside Bord Bia will continue until the Chair resigns or is removed. Hanrahan said there are only two income sources for Bord Bia the Government and farmers. The Bord Bia levy that farmers pay is to support the work of promoting Irish food. Farmers must believe that the person at the top is fully committed to the cause, not taking an each-way bet on Brazilian beef. IFA announced on Friday that its IFA National Council had passed a unanimous resolution that its protest outside Bord Bia will continue until the Chair resigns or is removed. ICMSA president Denis Drennan also warned that the ongoing standoff on the question of the chairperson has undermined farmer confidence in both Bord Bias remit and the agency itself. ICMSA position has not changed; the chairperson should step down and allow the sector to refocus on what certainly we think is most important: delivering strong prices for the farmer-primary producer. But everyone should realise that the longer this standoff continues, that farmer anger and disappointment will start moving past the Chairperson and begin focusing on the agency itself and its remit. Drennan repeated his call for the Minister for Agriculture to bring all the parties to the table and get this matter resolved. Meanwhile, the Agricultural committee agreed to invite Murrin to a hearing this week on the request of Kilkenny Fianna Fail TD Peter Chap Cleere one of a number of FF backbenchers calling for him to step down from the role. Their position puts them at odds with Agriculture Minister Martin Heydon as well as senior Fianna Fail members of Government who have expressed full confidence in Mr Murrin. The committee meeting will follow a Sinn Fein private members motion to be debated in the Dail next week, seeking his sacking. Speaking in the Dail last week, Tanaiste Simon Harris accused Sinn Fein of populism on the issue. This isn't about food on the table. Its about heads on a plate, he said, telling Sinn Feins Matt Carthy: Youve come for a head and youre not getting one. But Mr Carthy said: Confidence has been lost, and he has to go. There was a crisis of confidence at Bord Bia that entirely of the Government's own making, he said. At the heart of it is a clear and undeniable conflict of interest. Mr Murrin declined to comment. Previously, in a statement, Dawn Farms said that 99pc of its beef supply last year came from Ireland, the UK and other EU countries, with just 1pc sourced from Brazil. We source beef from selected countries to ensure continuation of supply and in some cases to meet specific market requirements. Cattle and horse kicks among leading cause of serious facial injuries on Irish farms Farm-related facial injuries predominantly affect older male farmers, with men accounting for 89pc of cases and 73pc occurring in those over 40 years of age Cattle were responsible for around two-thirds of animal-related incidents, with horses accounting for most of the remainder. Photo: Roger Jones Lynne Kelleher Tue 3 Feb 2026 at 06:30 Blows from animals mainly cattle and horses are one of the leading causes of serious facial trauma on Irish farms, a new study has found. Farmers losing out on TB compo due to high beef prices Fine Gael TD wants compensation to match increase in prices if they stay that way for six months The total spend on the TB programme last year was 121m up 21pc on the 2024 spend of 100.6m. Photo: Getty Gordon Deegan Tue 3 Feb 2026 at 06:30 Farmers are losing out on the level of bovine TB compensation pay-outs being made by the Department of Agriculture due to the high price for beef currently. Judge rules 81yearold farmer lacked capacity to make final will At the centre of the dispute was a 120-acre farm, livestock, and entitlements valued at over 1.5m Dublin's Four Courts, where the High Court sits. Photo: Getty Ciaran Moran Tue 3 Feb 2026 at 06:30 A High Court judge has upheld a decision to strike down the final will of an 81-year-old Clare farmer, ruling that he lacked the mental capacity to change his affairs in the final weeks of his life. Climate expert warns Ireland faces fines of up to 26bn after three more data centres approved Dr Colin Doyle has said plan to offset the data centres emissions is flawed Data centre. Photo: Frank McGrath Sarah O'Mahony Tue 3 Feb 2026 at 06:30 A climate academic who appealed the approval of three new data centres in Dublin has warned of fines of up to 26bn for Ireland for missing its climate goals. A man found loitering in Dublin Airport in the early hours of the morning because he had nowhere else to go has been banned from returning without a flight ticket. live | 'Challenging' 48hours ahead with status orange and yellow rain alerts, emergency group warns Met Eireann warns spring tides and heavy rain on saturated ground will cause localised and river flooding, as well as difficult travel conditions Clean up continues after flooding damages Co Wicklow Sarah O'Mahony Wed 4 Feb 2026 at 13:30 From calamari to prime beef burgers how much TDs and senators will fork out after Dail bar and restaurant price hikes Desserts will also cost more but wine is untouched Even politicians aren't insulated from the rising cost of living. Stock photo: Getty Ken Foxe Tue 3 Feb 2026 at 06:30 TDs and senators have been hit with a price hike on the cost of food in the Dail bar and restaurant but avoided any increase in the price of wine. More than 33m in money belonging to dead or missing patients has yet to be claimed from HSE, accounts show The overall level of salaries in RTE, was a contentious, even poisonous issue: Kevin Bakhurst on the pay cap and Claire Byrne's exit Boss of national broadcaster says the pay cap will stay despite Claire Byrnes departureHe does not believe the 'paperwork is that onerous for staff following RTEs rules on external activitiesHe says he disagrees with Claire Byrnes comments that there is a nervousness in RTE, editoriallyHe also says water has passed under the bridge with Ryan Tubridy and does not rule out his return Kevin Bakhurst, director general of RTE. Photo: Getty John Burns Tue 3 Feb 2026 at 22:00 The director general of RTE has ruled out any change to the pay cap at the station, despite the loss of Claire Byrne to Newstalk. Belfast-based Friendship Travels solo holidays range from ski trips to painting in Portugal Colum McLornan started Friendship Travel in 1999, having previously worked for First Choice Holidays in England, First Choice Ski in France running ski chalets and hotels and for Sovereign Smallworld in Kusadasi for the singles holiday brand. Based in Antrim, 90pc of its travellers come from other parts of the UK. When we started in 1999, we had just two hotels: one in Kusadasi, Turkey, and one in Lindos in Rhodes, Greece. We had no winter programme and no other destinations, offering only these two very traditional fly and flop beach-style holidays, explains Colum. In 2002, we expanded into ski holidays and introduced our first UK Christmas break. The following year, we added Lanzarote as a winter sun destination, and in 2004 we branched into long-haul travel with the addition of the BodyHoliday Resort in Saint Lucia, chosen specifically because it offered single rooms with zero single supplement. We continued to grow and broaden our programme steadily until Covid hit, at which point the business went backwards for two years. After Covid, we reduced our range slightly and took a more cautious, slower approach to growth. In 2022, we introduced painting holidays in Portugal, which have proved to be a huge success. France LDA where Colum worked 25 years ago More recently, in late 2025, we added the luxury Ponant Expedition Cruises to our programme after I visited one of their ships in Dublin and two of my office team spent a night on board a ship in Scotland. These are luxurious small ships and, once again, offer zero single room supplement. They are already proving very popular for 2026 holidays. The programme ranges from weekend breaks in the UK to house-parties around the Med, hotel holidays in the sun, winter ski weeks, and escorted tours worldwide. Programmes cater for a range of budgets from luxurious Caribbean cruises to twin-share basis hotels or apartments. After almost three decades in business, the companys ethos remains very much the same, says Colum. We continue to offer fun and enjoyable holidays for single travellers, with no or reduced single room supplements. What has changed over the past 27 years is that guests now want more included in their holidays. They increasingly prefer trips where they can learn, improve, explore more, and really see and experience their destination in greater depth. Colum in Greece, giving a bottle of whiskey to a long-term hotel owner Many of the companys UK and overseas staff have worked with Colum and his team for over 15 years, with some having been part of the business for more than a quarter of a century. Because of this, a personal service is incredibly important to what we do. Someone in our team has personally visited over 75pc of the hotels and cruises we offer, theyve slept in the bed, walked on the beach and even had that cocktail at the bar, he explains. This allows the team to genuinely advise and plan a holiday that best suits each guests needs. For the traveller, especially someone travelling solo for the first time, its reassuring to know the country and hotel will be right for them. By booking with a specialist tour operator like Friendship Travel, guests can be confident theyll receive this personal level of service. The idea of solo holidaying may be a cause of trepidation for some but the first step, says Colum, is always the hardest. But once youve made the booking, you have something positive to look forward to. We usually recommend choosing a small hotel with fewer than 50 rooms and giving us a call to talk through your requirements and what you enjoy doing on holiday, so we can suggest the best option for you. Once youre on holiday, its exactly that, your holiday. Do what you want to do, relax and enjoy it. Our online chat room is also a great place to exchange messages and ideas with fellow travellers before you go. Its always worth attending the welcome meeting on the first morning with your Friendship Travel Host, who will provide lots of useful information and tips. The best part is being able to bring solo travellers together and see them enjoy a holiday as a group. The laughter around the dinner table in the evenings, hearing stories about what guests have done during the day, and watching new friendships form by the end of the holiday makes it all worthwhile. Colum with his team at a UK dinner dance Cruises, the Greek Islands, and Portugal, and particularly activity-based holidays such as painting, reading and walking are becoming increasingly popular with travellers. Most travellers are aged between 35 years and 65 years and are 60pc female, 40pc male. Generally, our guests are from their mid-40s and up. If a 30-year-old were to call to book, we would advise them that our holidays might not be the best fit, but we would always leave the final decision up to them, says Colum. We have no upper age limit, although on activity holidays guests do need to be physically fit. David Blair: Irans Ayatollah too blind to see nuclear deal is lifeline he needs Iranian leader could be author of his own downfall if he defies Trump Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in a meeting, in Tehran, Iran. Photo: AP David Blair Telegraph Media Group Holdings Ltd Tue 3 Feb 2026 at 06:30 Like an unguided Catherine wheel, Donald Trump has suddenly changed the objective of the big beautiful American armada steaming towards Iran. Ksenia Samotiy: Why we shouldnt demand political opinions from the likes of Sydney Sweeney In an age of misinformation, we should be more careful about who we listen to Sydney Sweeney. Photo: Getty Ksenia Samotiy Tue 3 Feb 2026 at 06:30 Hollywood actor Sydney Sweeney found herself at the centre of yet another online debate last week after speaking about her relationship to politics in a Cosmopolitan interview. In the Amazon documentary or propaganda episode, to be precise Melania, the US presidents wife is described as redefining the role of first lady. No previous first lady has had a tech billionaire-owned entertainment firm throw an estimated US$70m (59.27m) at a vanity project to appease the US president, so its accurate in that regard. In one behind-the-scenes excerpt, the camera films Donald Trump rehearsing his inauguration speech. Ms Trump briefly enters the room and suggests he replace the word warmonger with unifier. Mr Trump obliges and even credits his wife with the change when he delivers the speech on Capitol Hill a day later, on becoming the 47th president of the United States. The original version with warmonger might have been more accurate. Just a month into 2026, Trump has removed the president of Venezuela, threatened to invade Greenland and warned Iran he will take military action to defend democracy protests. Of course, there will be those who argue that it has been thus for the past 80 years, when the US has been linked with wars, invasions, coups, overthrows and undermining of countries in various forms. The US has also occasionally used its influence in a positive way helped countries to emerge from conflict. The Northern Ireland peace process is a shining example. Mitchells contribution has gone down in history The intervention of the US under Bill Clinton was pivotal to the Good Friday Agreement. Clinton took a direct interest in aiding the process and saw it through. The appointment of then-senator George J Mitchell as an arbiter to chair all-party talks was the most significant, substantial and seminal contribution. Mitchell was independent, but also carried the heft of US administration. His experience, character and understanding proved vitally important as each side weighed what it would take for them to sign up. Mitchells contribution has gone down in history. But his legacy of peace is now tainted by his links to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The US-Ireland alliance has removed his name from the George J Mitchell Scholarship Programme, and Queens University Belfast is severing ties with him. The latest batch of Epstein files reveal ongoing contacts between Mitchell and the financier following Epsteins first conviction. Mitchell was previously accused of having sex with Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre. Mitchell denied the allegations and claims they are based on a case of mistaken identity. Being named or pictured in the Epstein files is not an indication of wrongdoing. Mitchell says he learnt of Epsteins criminal activity in media reports and declined the few invitations to events from the billionaire in the following years. However, these further references to his relationship with Epstein are hugely damaging. Organisations associated with the former US senator are now justifiably concerned about the reputational damage. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan pictured at the site of the new garda station in Macroom. Construction company JJ Rhatigan & Company have been contracted to build the new garda station in Macroom. A new garda station in the town will serve as the headquarters for An Garda Siochana in County Cork. The Macroom Garda HQ will consist of a new 4,338 sq. m building, and will include public office, staff offices, conference facilities, staff support facilities, custody areas, plant and associated ancillary spaces. Fianna Fail TD for Cork North West Aindrias Moynihan said the contract signing clears the way for construction to commence on the new Macroom garda station. Construction company JJ Rhatigan & Co have been contracted to build the station, and this big milestone brings the new station closer to reality. Its great to achieve this significant milestone in the development of Macroms new station. Rhatigans and their crews will be mobilising in the weeks ahead, said Deputy Moynihan. The construction site is beside the new fire station at the Millstreet Cross and when this large multi-million building is completed it will be the Cork County Garda HQ. To get to this stage, there has been a great deal of background work with the various authorities, including Office of Public Works (OPW), Cork County Council, An Garda Siochana and the Department of Justice, he added. The Cork TD said he was pleased to play his part throughout and he acknowledged the support of the various authorities. I want to particularly acknowledge the patience of gardai and locals over the years. Having Garda HQ in Macroom will bring additional garda services and personnel. It will strengthen the garda presence locally. Secretary of Macroom Tidy Towns, Lisa Manning, and Projects Officer Joe Cronin with Macroom's Biodiversity Action Plan Macroom Tidy Towns has been awarded a grant worth 9,900 to support local wildlife, plants and nature. The funding will be used in conjunction with the Biodiversity Action Plan for Macroom, which was commissioned by the towns Tidy Towns committee. Macroom Tidy Towns Projects Officer, Joe Cronin, said the funding will be used under headlines outlined within the plan. The funding was provided by Community Foundation Ireland and the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). Biodiversity Officer for Macroom Tidy Towns and local Climate Ambassador with An Taisce, John Lyons welcomed the funding. This funding is a valuable stimulus that will help promote biodiversity actions within the community and will also support the Council in furthering Macroom's Decarbonisation Zone initiatives, John said. Chief Executive of Community Foundation Ireland, Denise Charlton, said they are working with 300 communities on local biodiversity actions plans since their partnership with NPWS began in 2019. We all know nature is in crisis. Once familiar bird songs, the fleeting sight of a passing animal and even our creepy crawlies and native plants are disappearing. Local actions are key to addressing this. Since partnering with the National Parks and Wildlife Service in 2019, we are now working with 300 communities on local biodiversity action plans. This unique partnership not only brings together the Foundations private philanthropic funds with public money, but it also partners communities with the insights and skills of expert ecologists. I look forward to hearing about the success of the work ahead. Denise said. Niall O Donnchu, Director General of the National Parks and Wildlife Service added: This partnership between NPWS and Community Foundation Ireland supports action for nature at the local level. We welcome the increasing focus on citizen science, community outreach and engagement with schools, all of which are key to addressing the biodiversity crisis. A Cork court has been told that a Polish man, living on the Cork/Kerry border and facing drugs charges, feels very alone, and lives in isolation. Mariusz Mrugala, 30, with an address in the Millstreet area, appeared before Mallow District Court with the help of a Polish interpreter, facing penalty for drugs charges dating back to last year. Winners of the primary schools competition Scoil An Spioraid Naoimh Cailini Bishopstown outside City Hall as part of the 70th Cork International Choral Festival. Pic: Darragh Kane. Choirs from across Ireland and around the world will perform in more than 90 venues across Cork city and county, from Wednesday, April 29 to Sunday, May 3 creating five days of music, movement and shared celebration on a remarkable scale. From early morning rehearsals to evening performances, songs will spill from hotel lobbies onto city streets, vocal warmups echo from City Hall to public spaces, as Cork itself becomes the stage. One of Europes longest running and most respected choral festivals, the event is a defining part of Corks cultural life. Each year, it blends artistic excellence with a spirit of openness and participation, inviting audiences of all ages and musical backgrounds to encounter choral music in ways that feel both uplifting and accessible. In 2026, voices will rise in landmark concert halls, historic spaces and unexpected settings across the city. Artistic Director Peter Stobart said theres something very special that happens when a city gives itself over to song. For five days, Cork becomes a place where voices meet, where audiences stumble upon music in unexpected spaces, and where people connect through something as simple and powerful as singing together. That sense of shared experience is at the heart of this festival, and its what keeps people coming back year after year, he added. This sense of occasion is reflected in the festivals 2026 Gala Concerts. On Friday, May 1 Chamber Choir Ireland and New Dublin Voices will perform at the Cathedral of St Mary & St Anne on Cathedral Street. One of Corks most resonant and atmospheric spaces, the cathedral provides a powerful backdrop for two exceptional performances that promise intensity, beauty and shared emotion. Tickets for both concerts are now on sale. Alongside these headline moments, the festival continues to invest in learning, collaboration and creative exchange. A significant new addition for 2026 is the launch of the festivals first Choral Composition Course, led by award-winning Irish composer Sean Doherty. Designed as a three-day intensive, the course offers composers the opportunity to develop new work in a focused and supportive environment, reinforcing the festivals role as a place where choral music is actively shaped, not just performed. The course will culminate in a workshop with Chamber Choir Ireland and conductor Gabriel Crouch, giving participants a rare opportunity to receive direct professional feedback from Irelands premier choral ensemble. Places are limited and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, with full details available on the festival website www.corkchoral.ie At the heart of the festival remains the prestigious Fleischmann International Trophy Competition, which draws outstanding amateur choirs from around the world to Cork each year. One of Europes most sought-after choral prizes, the competition continues to position Cork on the international stage as a city that not only hosts great music but deeply understands and champions it. Across the weekend, formal concerts in Cork City Hall sit alongside relaxed, informal performances woven into everyday city life. The Cork International Choral Festival is proudly supported by The Arts Council, Failte Ireland, Cork City Council and Cork County Council, with media partners including the Irish Examiner, The Echo and Corks 96FM. Gardai in Galway have made one arrest and frozen around 370,000 in assets during an attack targeting organised criminal activity. The arrest was made as part of an operation targeting organised criminal activity in the east of Galway city on Monday, February 2. During the operation, a residential property in the Doughiska area was searched under warrant by the Galway Divisional Drugs Unit, assisted by members of the Regional Armed Support Unit and personnel attached to Millstreet Garda Station. A male in his 20s was arrested and is currently being detained under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act, 2006 at a garda station. Two cryptocurrency accounts containing $410,000 (approximately 347,796) were frozen as part of the operation, along with an account at a local financial institution holding over 20,000. The investigation is ongoing and further updates will follow, a garda spokesperson said. Stock image News in 90 seconds - Tuesday 3rd February Approached by a nameless stranger in Dublin, the defendant agreed to money transfers A man has been sentenced at Tralee District Court for laundering 7,250 for criminal gangs that had defrauded people. The court heard that Dominik Bihari (23) of 69 Gelbelands, Carlow Road, Athy, Kildare was approached by a stranger in Dublin and asked if he would let money be transferred to his account in exchange for a nominal fee. The Bank of Ireland was alerted to suspicious transfers of 3,000, 2,300 and 1,950 into his account on August 26, 2024 at Castle Street, Tralee. The money had been defrauded from people by criminal gangs, Sergeant Chris Manton told the court. The bank reimbursed the persons defrauded and was now at a loss, he said. Mr Bihari had three previous convictions and was on a suspended sentence at the time for a 2023 conviction of assault causing harm. Solicitor Pat Mann told the court his client was very forthcoming with the investigation when Sgt McMahon went to Kildare to meet his client. Somebody had approached him in Dublin and asked, in his words, if he was interested in making a few quid, said Mr Mann. His client agreed without knowing any of the facts behind it, said the solicitor. He made absolutely nothing out of it, said Mr Mann. At the end of the day, he got a pile of hassle on top of him. Judge David Waters was unconvinced, noting he was approached by a man who didnt give his name. He knew very well, he said. He knew exactly where this was going. The judge added, He was facilitating criminal gangs who were defrauding people. He sentenced Mr Bihari to five months prison for all three charges, to run concurrently. The sentence is suspended for two years. He needs to keep himself squeaky clean, said Judge Waters. Mr Bihari will return to court to address the breach of his 2023 suspended sentence. Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme On Wednesday, Tralee courthouse heard stories of shouts on Ashe Street, a slumber in The Square and an allegation of lewd beach behaviour. But the last District Court session of January was, in itself, quiet and quick. Sied Harazi (19) of Forge Park, Tralee, appeared for failure to pay for a 265 hotel room at The Rose Hotel on July 28, 2025. He used a fake booking.com profile and was challenged in the morning by the manager, Sgt Manton told the court. He was also charged with the theft of three bottles of liquor totalling 88.50, from Tesco on New Street, Killarney on August 30, 2025 and for the theft of a 42 bottle of liquor from Centra on Main Street, Killarney on September 5, 2025. The judge adjourned to February 18 for finalisation to ensure anyone at a loss would be repaid every penny. Martin Maughan (54) of Arlington Lodge, Church Street, Tralee was fined 300 for intoxication to an extent it could endanger himself or others on January 9, 2026 at Hillbillys in The Square, Tralee. Sgt Manton noted that while passed out he actually had a cigarette still burning in his hand. Cornelius Forde (48) of Liscahane, Millstreet, Cork was charged with an allegation of masturbating in public. The court heard he was seen at 12pm on June 18, 2025 at Deelis, Camp, Tralee. There were no aggravating factors, Sergeant Chris Manton told the court. Judge David Waters accepted jurisdiction and the case was adjourned to February 18 for a plea or to set a date. Marek Wieczorek was fined 240 for holding a mobile phone will driving. He was present in court and had no previous convictions. Noel Michael Curley of Culeen (28), Dysart, Ballinasloe, Roscommon was fined 400 for threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour in a public place on October 25, 2024. A garda testified he was squaring up to people and shouting his head off on Ashe Street, Tralee. Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme A grandfather who led gardai on a high speed chase has had sentencing adjourned to make alternative arrangements for the care of his elderly mother. Patrick McGuinness (62) pleaded guilty to charges of endangerment and money laundering following an incident which occurred in 2023. The defendant, who resided at Mourne Drive, Warrenpoint, Co. Down at the time, had since returned to Kilkerley, Dundalk to look after his mother. Dundalk Circuit Court heard that he panicked after being spoken to by armed gardai and drove off. He rammed the pursuing officers on more than one occasion before ending up in a ditch. The court heard that the money laundering charge related to cash held by another man in the car. Gda Jack Farrell testified that at 9.30pm on October 20, 2023, members of the Garda Armed Support Unit saw a Northern Ireland-registered Vauxhall Insignia parked on a footpath opposite them in Ardee, Co. Louth. They drove up alongside and spoke to the driver who identified himself as Patrick McGuinness. There was a second man in the car. The officers suspicions were raised when the defendant was unclear who the man next to him was. The two men were instructed to remain where they were. However, the Insignia's wheels began spinning and it drove off. Gardai attempted to block the car. It hit the rear drivers side of the Garda vehicle causing the officer to lose control and collide with a wall. Garda Control was notified that a ramming had taken place. The Insignia failed to stop on activation of the blue lights. It continued onto a mini roundabout then headed towards Dundalk on the N52. Mr McGuinness drove at high speed, continuously crossing back and forth on each side of the road. At Mapastown Bridge gardai drove directly behind him, with the intention of cutting the car off as it slowed on the approach to the bridge. There was no oncoming traffic. The defendant struck the left side of the Garda car which veered off the road. The pursuit continued. There was a further attempt to cut off the Insignia at Clonkeehan. As gardai overtook him, Mr McGuinness cut across and a collision occurred. The Garda car spun, and the Vauxhall came to a stop in a ditch. No injuries were caused during the pursuit which lasted approximately 25 minutes, Gda Farrell said. Both occupants of the car were arrested. The other man had 1,250 on him. Patrick McGuinness, who has no previous convictions and had not come to attention since, made admissions to driving in an interview. He said that he panicked. The court heard that he was formerly a farmer who invested in properties north and south of the border. The defendant lived with his 84-year-old mother in Kilkerley. He was her sole carer. Defence counsel James McGowan SC said that his client had 2 children and 5 grandchildren, and has been in a new relationship for 10 years. References were available from the defendants accountant and a Newry solicitor, along with a note from his mothers GP. Mr McGowan submitted what happened was out of character. "Have arrangements been made for his mother? Judge Dara Hayes asked. Counsel replied that he had three siblings, one in London, one in Galway and another in Newry, with whom relations were not great. Mr McGuinness was due to bring his mother for an assessment the day after the hearing, and had asked if sentencing could be put off. Judge Hayes adjourned sentencing for arrangements to be made, remanding Patrick McGuinness on the same bail terms to April 20. Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme A child had to be treated for injuries after a fire broke out at The Sands hotel in Tramore on Monday night. Brigade units from Tramore, Dunmore East and Waterford city were alerted to a fire at the Sands Hotel, Tramore at 10.17pm on the evening of February 2, confirmed the chief fire officer with Waterford City and County Council. On arrival, a small fire which had been extinguished, was found in a bedroom. Residents had already evacuated. One casualty was handed over into the care of the National Ambulance Service and the building made safe. Brigade operations ceased at about 10.20pm. Its understood the child was conveyed to University Hospital Waterford. Gardai assisted emergency services and said that a male infant was treated for injuries believed to be non-life-threatening at this time. Foul play is not suspected. Separately, Green Watch and Waterford City Fire Service Retained Crews recently attended a difficult domestic fire in the city. Image courtesy of Waterford City Fire Service. Conditions were difficult and extra manpower was needed so (as) not to exhaust firefighters, so we augmented our response with help from Tramore and Dunmore Retained crews. The Sands Hotel, Tramore, Co Waterford. News in 90 seconds - Tuesday 3rd February Without stating the obvious the aim with attending domestic fires is to minimise fire damage and fire spread in a property so both external firefighting and internal firefighting took place with the help of our turntable ladder for that aerial advantage, said a spokesperson for the Waterford City Fire Service. Obituaries Although London became home, Francey Bridges (104) never forgot her Wexford roots Although she left her hometown for London as a young woman, the late Mary Frances Bridges (nee Hesse) always carried a part of Wexford in her heart, right up until her recent passing at the ripe old age of 104 at her home in Pimlico. On February 7, in the Faythe School, Wexford Towns first girl guide company are having a formal event to celebrate their decades of achievement. This February, an iconic Wexford girl guides group are preparing to celebrate a major milestone anniversary, as they formally mark 80 years since their foundation. Father Michael ONeill started the Wexford Town Guides in May 1945. They were given the name St. Aidans with their headquarters in the Legion of Mary Hall, what became the Dun Mhuire. Later they became their own independent organisation run by community volunteers. In the 1950s they moved to the Corish Memorial Hall which is now occupied by the Natural Health Store. Down through the years, the work which the group has been involved in has changed profoundly. They have fundraised for various charities, such as the Shoebox Appeal, produced care packs for Pieta House, knitting scarfs for charities in Africa, sung carols at Christmas and visited countless nursing homes. Our anniversary this year shows us the strength of the Wexford unit, how far we have come and how dedicated our volunteer leaders are. This has been possible with the support of the local community, said a spokesperson for the group. Guiding Ireland itself is celebrating 100 years this year and the Wexford Town unit have been there for 80 of those years. On February 7, in the Faythe School, Wexford Towns first girl guide company are having a formal event to celebrate their decades of achievement. On February 7, in the Faythe School, Wexford Towns first girl guide company are having a formal event to celebrate their decades of achievement. Between 1pm and 2.30pm there will a photo exhibition and a display of awards and achievements that members have completed over the years, such the Chief Commissioners Awards, Gaisce Award, and the Oisin Award. On the day, deceased members will be remembered. We are most proud of being members of the National and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. This has opened the doors for our local members to travel at home and worldwide to the five-world guide and scouting centres, in London, Switzerland, India, Mexico, and Ghana. The group say that the Girl Guides is a safe space for young girls who may feel like they dont fit in in other social groups and that they aim to provide members with a challenging and vibrant activity programme in a spirit of fun, friendship and adventure. Members are inspired to be responsible citizens and be actively involved in shaping society and the world we live in. We are a welcoming, inclusive and diverse organisation with values of citizenship, equality, inclusion, fun friendship, integrity and respect and are always accepting of new members. Girls are welcome to join from age 5 up to 19. Cygnets age 5 to 7, Brigins age 7 to 10, Guides age 10 to 14, Rangers age 14 to 19. They would welcome any adult members interested in becoming leaders. Please contact, Mary Lawlor 087 411 9876 or Caoimhe 087 706 6045, if you or a member of your family are interested in becoming a member. For further information, please check out www.girlguidesireland.ie District councillors in Greystones have been told that council officials are standing their ground and wont remove the temporary planters, on the side of Bank of Ireland, which were installed along the towns main street during the Covid-19 pandemic. Cllr Louise Fenlon Gaskin had brought forward a motion calling for engineers to remove them from what used to be parking spaces and create designated parking spaces for elderly, age-friendly and disabled users to improve access to local shops and services. The motion was first discussed at their monthly meeting last October, when Cllr Fenelon Gaskin stated that the planters were introduced on Church Road as a temporary measure during the pandemic, but suggested they were now negatively impacting on local businesses as it was difficult for elderly and disabled people to get to the shops. At that meeting, district engineer Graham Cullen indicated that this area was part of the Pathfinder Scheme, which was is due to go to Part 8 planning. He highlighted how consultants were currently reviewing the proposals before presenting them to the members in advance of the public consultation process. Mr Cullen highlighted issues with providing disabled parking spaces at the location as the standards had changed and spaces were now doubled in size so there may not be enough space. In response to a query from the members he confirmed that if the motion was passed, works could only be carried out if they complied with the current standards. Mr Cullen also pointed out how the provision of parking spaces come under the parking regulations which are due to be reviewed soon. In response to a query from the elected members, district manager Helena Dennehy stated that the review of the regulations was the responsibility of Bray Municipal District. She stated that the notice of motion passed would be sent to the Roads Section for consideration. The matter then came back before councillors at the December monthly meeting, when Mr Cullen said it was not possible to consider making the change as it would interfere with the Pathfinder Scheme. He agreed to revert to the Roads Section regarding the motion but was not confident that they would change their stance on the matter. Both Cllr Fenelon Gaskin and Cllr Orla Finn expressed their disappointment at the decision and asked officials to reconsider their decision. The issue was raised again during the districts January monthly meeting when Cathaoirleach Lourda Scott allocated time to discuss the issue. In response to a query from Cllr Fenelon Gaskin about whether the planters could be removed, Mr Cullen said the councils decision hasnt changed. He indicated the original parking spaces that the planters were put in dont meet the standards and guidelines set out by Age Action Ireland, so they can no longer be classified as age friendly spaces. The footpath would also need to be widened, with the district not in a position currently to carry out those works. Adding her voice to the conversation, district manager Helena Dennehy said a review of the situation will take place in tandem with a revision of parking byelaws due for discussion shortly. Through this process, Ms Dennehy said council officials will aim to see if more spaces can be provided and whether alternative spaces for age friendly parking can be found. Cllr Scott, Cllr Fenelon Gaskin and Cllr Stephen Stokes all spoke robustly in support of the motion, with Cllr Fenelon Gaskin expressing her frustration at the councils stance. Older members of the community need to be provided support with these parking spaces. she added. Since the installation of the planters an unforeseen consequence has arisen. Bank of Ireland, AIB Bank, Core Credit Union, McGleenans Pharmacy and PTSB Greystones are all located near each other on the main street. However, there is no drop off point or parking available at the commercial hub of the town. For some senior citizens and those who are mobility impaired, it remains a challenge to reach these businesses by car. Minutes from a district meeting in September 2020 show that then district engineer Ruari OHanlon pointed out that the removal of parking on Church Road was an objective of the Public Realm Plan for Greystones, which had lengthy public consultation. He stated that all businesses along the street were informed by hand delivered letters about the proposed works and invited to make a submission on the proposals, but that no submissions had been received. He gave details of the works involved and pointed out that disabled parking bays would be provided outside McCawleys and Boots chemists. He stated that loading bays would be extended and that the traffic wardens would monitor these to ensure that there was no illegal parking there. The then district manager Michael Nicholson also pointed out that, while the removal of parking spaces on Church Road was a temporary measure for as long as the Covid restrictions were in place, if it proved to be successful, it might be decided to keep the measures in place which would require a Part 8 process. Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme Two men arrested last week in connection with a near-fatal stabbing that left the victim hospitalised for the past six months have been released without charge. Gardai said both males were detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984, at a Garda station in north Wicklow. They have since been released and a file will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). A Garda spokesperson confirmed that investigations are ongoing. The stabbing occurred in the early hours of the morning on August 31, 2025. It is believed that the victim was coming home from a night out with a family member, who continued walking while he entered a Chinese takeaway. It is understood that the victim, who is aged in his early 20s, continued walking up Dublin Road in Bray when he was stopped by two males who began an argument, before a third male came out of nowhere and stabbed the victim in his leg in an unprovoked attack. He fell to the ground, where he received three more stab wounds to his lower body. The three males fled the scene on foot before the injured party rang his cousin, who rushed to the scene and helped keep him stable until the ambulance arrived. I had taken my phone out initially to call my cousin when the argument started, said the victim, adding, He saved my life. The man was rushed to St Vincents Hospital in Dublin, where he underwent treatment over an 80-day period, which included repairing an artery in his leg and a procedure related to damage he sustained to his sciatic nerve. While in hospital, he was diagnosed with compartment syndrome, a serious condition in which pressure builds up inside a muscle compartment, reducing blood flow and potentially causing permanent muscle and nerve damage or forcing the limb to be amputated if not treated quickly. Doctors estimate he lost nine to 10 pints of blood during the incident. The victim has since been transferred to the Royal Hospital Donnybrook, where he is still undergoing physio and rehabilitation. The victim described the whole incident as tough and long, thanking the mental fortitude he has gained through his journey to recovery. Councillor Ian Neary commented on the incident back in September 2025, stating that knife crime must be tackled to avoid further tragedy. The Independent Ireland councillor for Bray East said: Ireland, sadly, is developing a very bad reputation for street violence and random knife crime. What was once a rare and shocking occurrence is becoming the norm, and it has reached crisis point. Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme Volunteers clear debris at St. Martin's drive in Aughrim following damage caused by Storm Chandra. Photo: Michael Kelly A little volunteer helps clean up in Aughrim following damage caused by Storm Chandra. Photo: Michael Kelly Volunteers clear the contents of a home at Fogarty's terrace in Aughrim following damage caused by Storm Chandra. Photo: Michael Kelly Volunteers gather for a clean up in Aughrim following damage caused by Storm Chandra. Photo: Michael Kelly Volunteer Donal Lenihan loads the contents of a home onto a truck in Aughrim following damage caused by Storm Chandra. Photo: Michael Kelly The clean up operation in Aughrim following Storm Chandra A volunteer sees the light side of things as she finds a Start Powerboating guide among the debris in Aughrim following damage caused by Storm Chandra. Photo: Michael Kelly Taoiseach Michael Martin speaks with members of the local community during a visit to Aughrim Taoiseach Michael Martin meets with officials from Wicklow County Council in Aughrim following Storm Chandra. Cllr Tom Fortune with resident Paddy Meakin who is showing how high the water rose during recent flooding at Kilcoole seafront. This channel of water runs behind the houses from Ballydonarea marshland to The Breaches. Photo: Leigh Anderson Paddy Meakin shows Cllr Tom Fortune where the flood water came in and damaged his kitchen floor. Photo: Leigh Anderson Less than 24hrs after Taoiseach Michael Martin visited communities in south Wicklow to see the clean-up operation following last weeks devastating floods, residents further north have reached crisis point as water levels have forced evacuations in Kilcoole. Flooding at The Breaches in Kilcoole has reached critical levels following the impact of Storm Chandra, with residents issuing urgent calls for help as waters from Seafood Bridge overflowed. Significant flooding has been reported on Sea Road, with water reaching kitchen doors and forcing some residents to evacuate to hotels. The area remains on high alert due to the Status Yellow rain warning effective until 9pm today. High river levels combined with saturated ground and high tides can increase the risk of further overtopping. Local calls have been made for immediate intervention to "drag out" The Breachesa process of clearing the shingle bank to allow marshland water to drain into the sea. There has been long-standing tension regarding the maintenance of The Breaches, with Cllr Tom Fortune raising the issue repeatedly, most recently at a district meeting in Greystones. During that meeting Cllr Fortune criticised the lack of coordination between Wicklow County Council and other state bodies. Following the latest flooding on Sea Road, Cllr Fortune renewed calls for the council to find a permanent technical solution to replace the current ad-hoc, "emergency mode" responses. Paddy Meakin shows Cllr Tom Fortune where the flood water came in and damaged his kitchen floor. Photo: Leigh Anderson News in 90 seconds - Tuesday 3rd February While Wicklow County Council and Irish Rail have previously managed the clearance, residents have frequently highlighted the lack of a permanent, cost-effective technical solution to prevent recurring flooding in the area. In 2023, authorities committed to clearing The Breaches on a more regular basis to mitigate flood risks caused by easterly winds and high tides however Cllr Fortune contends that little has been done since then. There are 18 houses subjected to flooding in the area. I think this demands some kind of taskforce; this is a serious situation. Irish Rail, the council, the OPW and the Wicklow Uplands Council all have a stake in the area, but they are all saying different things. In response district manager Helena Dennehy said the councils environmental section will be informed of the situation, with the aim of scheduling a meeting with residents. Echoing those sentiments Cllr Lourda Scott believes its important that the issue is addressed as storms like Chandra are only going to get worse". Theres four different entities with a long standing stake in this and it's very difficult to get them all to talk. The residents are being left to suffer and some action needs to be taken now, Cllr Fortune added. An application for funding for permanent repairs at The Breaches was originally submitted to the Office of Public Works (OPW) before Christmas in 2021 by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, with Wicklow County Council acting as the coordinating body. An engineering consultant has been examining a viable long-term flood defence scheme for the area. This review was essential to move from "emergency" shingle clearance to a permanent technical solution. The local authority is expected to finalise the consultant's recommendations this year, which will dictate the scale of the next major funding request to the OPW. Further south, the community in Aughrim, which was the worst affected urban area last week, has transitioned from emergency response to a massive community-led recovery effort, though its expected that repairs may take months to complete. A major community clean-up took place on Saturday, January 31, organised by the Aughrim Tidy Towns. Volunteers from Aughrim and nearby Tinahely worked to clear debris and assist residents in the worst-hit areas including the Riverfield estate. The village was effectively cut off as the road from Woodenbridge became impassable, and the local Sacred Heart National School was forced to close. Taoiseach Micheal Martin met with affected householders, business owners, local authority staff and community representatives in the village on Monday accompanied by officials from Wicklow County Council and local TDs and councillors. Commenting on his visit, the Taoiseach said he wanted to assure them that all government departments and response agencies are fully focused on protecting properties and alleviating flooding to the greatest extent possible over the period ahead". The Taoiseach thanked those who responded to the storm's impact and had a long meeting where he heard from council officials and local representatives on what is needed to address potential future adverse weather events. Wicklow Wexford TD Malcolm Byrne said the event brought out the best in the community. I want to particularly thank the local Tidy Towns who did incredible work, as well as local councillor Pat Kennedy who really put his shoulder to the wheel to coordinate the response. "We will be doing whatever we can to address the problems of future flooding in Aughrim as well as in other areas. I will also be pushing for additional investment in rural road repairs as huge damage has now been done and could be worse if a frost steps in over the coming weeks," he added. Public clinics for the Emergency Response Payment have been held at The Pavilion, with staff available to help residents apply for immediate needs. The Irish Red Cross continues to process applications for small businesses and community groups, offering initial payments of up to 5,000 for premises that lack flood insurance. The deadline for Stage 1 applications (emergency needs) has been extended to Wednesday, February 11. The government is also seeking to increase the upper limit for businesses from 20,000 to 100,000. A GoFundMe campaign has been launched by residents with a goal of 4,500. Funds are intended to replace essential household items, ruined flooring, appliances, and toys for children in affected homes. The campaign has already raised just under 500. Wicklow County Council crews have been on the ground clearing mud and debris from streets and inspecting damaged infrastructure. Major routes, including the R747 Woodenbridge to Aughrim and R753 Ballinaclash to Aughrim, are now passable, though motorists are urged to drive carefully due to lingering debris. In a statement council officials indicated they continue to assess the damage on some of the very rural local tertiary roads. Staff are monitoring water levels across the district. In relation to the water levels at Glen Road / Chapel Lane, specifically, they are continuing to monitor the water levels and will re-commence works as soon as water levels subside enough to work safely. Support has also been provided by members of the housing directorate crew in assisting residents in the affected housing estates with the clean-up. The local authority has issued a "high alert" today, as further heavy rain on saturated ground may lead to new localised flooding. In Arklow, crews are prioritising the removal of heavy silt and river debris from the Riverwalk, South Green, and Vale Road areas to make sure that drainage systems don't block during today's Status Yellow rain. Many businesses along the Riverwalk that were submerged are currently stripping out damaged flooring and stock. The Irish Red Cross is actively processing emergency grants of up to 5,000 for these premises to help with immediate clean-up. Residents with flood-damaged household items can contact the the local authoritys Environment Department for guidance on emergency waste disposal. The local authority has made sandbags available at several municipal depots across the county, including at their Arklow base in the Knockenrahon Industrial Estate. Because supplies are being used quickly, crews are restocking supplies throughout the day. Most main roads in the town, including the R772 Old Dublin Road (near Circle K) and the R747 Vale Road, are now clear of standing water but remain hazardous due to mud and loose debris. Elsewhere anyone planning on travelling to Wicklow Mountains National Park are advised that walking conditions are currently difficult throughout the area. The ground is saturated, and the mountainsides are now very vulnerable to foot traffic. Visitors are advised to stick to paths with managed walking surfaces or to postpone any trek until the ground has had a chance to dry out. The constant rainfall means local rivers and streams can rise quickly. If hiking on a route that involves crossing a waterway, be aware that levels may be significantly higher by the time you return. Youre advised to stay safe and check for local road updates before you head out. Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme British royal Sarah Ferguson visited Jeffrey Epstein five days after he was released from prison for child sex crimes and took daughters Beatrice and Eugenie with her, newly released emails suggest. The former Duchess of York apparently waited less than a week to see the paedophile, who was under house arrest after serving 12 months in a Florida jail for soliciting a child for prostitution. Britain's former US ambassador, Peter Mandelson, is set to quit the House of Lords, parliament's upper chamber, following new revelations about his links to Jeffrey Epstein, it has been announced. The newly-installed Lord Speaker, Lord Forsyth of Drumlean, told the upper chamber today: "Given the public interest and for the convenience of the House, I've decided to inform the House that the clerk of the parliaments has today received notification from Lord Mandelson of his intention to retire from the House, effective from February 4. Then UK business secretary sent note on public assets to disgraced investor One photo among the files released on Friday appears to show Peter Mandelson in his underwear, speaking to an unknown person wearing a bathrobe. Photo: US Department of Justice/PA Peter Mandelson could now face a police investigation after newly released emails suggest he forwarded sensitive government information to Jeffrey Epstein while still a UK government minister. The latest tranche of documents released by the US Department of Justice, part of the so-called Epstein files, appeared to show that the financier and convicted paedophile was sent internal discussions from the heart of the UK government in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. Britain Sarah Ferguson asked Epstein for bankruptcy advice and begged him for a job while he was in jail, emails suggest Injured Palestinians leave Gaza for treatment as Rafah crossing reopens under heavy restrictions Move is last significant step in first phase of US-backed peace plan Palestinian patients prepare for evacuation yesterday at the Red Cross Hospital in Khan Yunis, Gaza. Photo: Getty Haseeb Alwazeer, Nidal al-Mughrabi and Rami Ayyub Reuters Tue 3 Feb 2026 at 06:30 Dozens of Palestinians were expected to leave or return to Gaza yesterday after Israel reopened the sole pedestrian crossing to Egypt yesterday, a major step in the ceasefire intended to end the war, though with strict limitations on access. Iran and the United States will resume nuclear talks on Friday in Turkey, Iranian and US officials told Reuters yesterday, while a regional diplomat said representatives from countries such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt would participate. Celebrity News Ian Dempsey gave me my start in pirate radio in 1980... and then asked me to be his best man Prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen says the US is still seeking to control Greenland. Photo: AP Greenlands prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen warned yesterday that while US president Donald Trump has ruled out military force, Washington still fundamentally seeks to control the Arctic island. Mr Trump intensified calls for US control over Greenland at the start of the year, citing national security concerns related to Russia and China. Some European Nato allies have defended Denmarks sovereignty over Greenland and said Mr Trumps pressure threatened to fracture the Nato alliance. India-US Trade Deal Cuts Tariffs, Lifts Export and Investment Outlook The India-US trade deal lowers US tariffs on Indian goods from 50 percent to 18 percent, easing export pressure and improving investor sentiment across manufacturing, agriculture, and supply chains. US tariffs on Indian exports cut The India-US trade agreement announced on February 2, 2026, is being viewed as a reset in bilateral economic relations, easing tariff-related uncertainty and improving visibility for exporters, manufacturers, and global investors. However, details on the extent of the commitments from India are still awaited. The deal, which reduces US tariffs on Indian goods from 50 percent to 18 percent, removes what businesses had described as a lingering tariff overhang and is expected to strengthen Indias trade competitiveness at a time of fragile global demand. Business executives, economists, and market stakeholders say the move restores predictability for cross-border commerce and could unlock delayed investment decisions across manufacturing and supply-chain-linked sectors. Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the agreement as a reaffirmation of robust bilateral ties, while US President Donald Trump highlighted commitments from India to increase purchases of American energy, technology, agricultural goods, and manufacturing inputs as part of broader efforts to address trade imbalances and strengthen economic integration. Assess Your US Trade Exposure Get a Business Intelligence Report Evaluate how the US tariff rollback impacts your margins, pricing strategy, and US-bound supply chains. Make an enquiry: india@dezshira.com India export outlook At the center of the India-US trade agreement is a notable rollback of 2025 US tariffs on Indian exports, a step that analysts say will directly support margin stability for exporters while improving planning certainty for multinational firms operating production bases in India. Tariff clarity plays a critical role in capital allocation, cross-border lending activity, and corporate expansion strategies. According to trade experts, banks and financial institutions are likely to benefit from higher trade volumes and renewed credit demand as companies restart deferred projects and scale export-oriented operations. Indias Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal described the trade deal as a catalyst for unprecedented opportunities for farmers, medium-small and micro enterprises (MSMEs), entrepreneurs, and skilled workers, positioning India to export competitive products globally while attracting technology transfers that could turbo-charge domestic manufacturing and innovation. Tariff rollback eases pressure on trade and supply chains According to Goyals remarks reported by PTI and other major media outlets, the agreement is expected to: Expand market access for Indian agricultural products and processed goods. Strengthen the Make in India and Design in India initiatives by expanding global footprints. Facilitate technology collaboration with US partners in key sectors. Create jobs and scale exports in manufacturing, services, and technology segments. Strategic implications extend beyond trade Beyond commercial flows, the agreement also carries geopolitical significance. Latest reports note that India has agreed to curb Russian oil purchases as part of the broader negotiations, potentially signaling a gradual shift toward deeper economic alignment with the US. Previously, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on January 27, 2026, said that India had made a lot of progress in talks, though he added that some elements, including energy imports and agricultural market access, remain under discussion. Details on the exact scale of Indias reduced Russian oil imports and any corresponding increase in US agricultural exports are still awaited, but analysts see the agreement as strengthening Indias strategic positioning within global supply chains. Potential upside for GDP growth, markets, and manufacturing From a macroeconomic perspective, the tariff reduction is expected to support Indias GDP growth trajectory while providing a tailwind to equity markets, particularly export-facing and manufacturing-linked stocks. Market watchers point to possible spillover benefits across electronics, industrial goods, and downstream services, especially as firms reassess sourcing strategies amid ongoing geopolitical fragmentation. For lenders, improved trade conditions could translate into healthier corporate balance sheets, stronger demand for working capital, and increased appetite for long-term project financing, particularly in sectors aligned with Indias production-linked incentive (PLI) programs and infrastructure expansion drive. Awaiting details Though detailed lists of tariff schedules and market access commitments are still being clarified by the central government authorities, exporters, including rice, marine products, textiles, and engineering goods firms, have welcomed the relief from punitive tariff regimes and anticipate renewed demand from the US market. Analysts see the US pact complementing Indias wider trade strategy, which also includes diversification through FTAs with other partners most recently, New Zealand and the EU. India has also signed an economic partnership agreement with Oman to grant zero-duty access on most goods, boosting exports across engineering, leather, textiles, and pharmaceuticals. Progress after uneven negotiations India was among the first countries to open trade discussions with the Trump administration, but negotiations progressed unevenly through 2025 amid speculation over whether a deal would materialize. With tariff issues now largely addressed, businesses on both sides are optimistic that the agreement will open stalled supply contracts and accelerate new investment commitments, especially in manufacturing, electronics, and industrial supply chains. What this means for global companies operating in India For multinational firms with India-based manufacturing or sourcing operations, the deal delivers three immediate advantages: Reduced tariff risk, improving margin visibility on US-bound exports Greater policy certainty, supporting medium-term capacity and location planning Improved investor sentiment, which could lower financing costs and speed up project approvals India-US trade deal: Sectoral impacts and industry views Agriculture While the official deals specifics on agricultural tariff liberalization are still emerging, US agricultural officials have highlighted the potential for increased American farm exports to India, which Washington believes will narrow the US agricultural trade deficit and inject fresh demand into rural markets. Domestic industry bodies in India have also noted potential new openings for products like rice and marine exports, with exporters welcoming tariff relief as a competitive advantage. Manufacturing and MSMEs Export-oriented industries such as engineering, electronics, textiles, and leather goods are expected to benefit from reduced tariff pressure, enabling Indian producers to better compete with regional rivals like Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Malaysia. Trade associations such as EEPC India have already hailed the deal as a boost to engineering exports, while MSME groups anticipate stronger integration into cross-border supply chains. Financial markets and investment sentiment Financial markets reacted positively to the announcement, with benchmark indices rising and risk sentiment improving as trade uncertainty eased. Macroeconomic analysts see the agreement as potentially supporting GDP growth by lifting export momentum and attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) into manufacturing and technology sectors. Whats next and implementation challenges While the tariff truce is being celebrated, parties on both sides acknowledge that the full implementation schedule, product lists, and timelines remain to be formalized through executive orders, cabinet approvals, and regulatory mechanisms. Industry experts note the necessity for clarity on tariff phase-downs, rules of origin, and non-tariff measures to fully unlock the deals potential. Continued consultations between Indian trade negotiators and US counterparts are expected in the coming months to firm up operational details. India-US tariff reset and its business implications: Q&A 1. Does the 18 percent tariff reduction address Indias regional competitiveness gap? The introduction of an 18 percent reciprocal tariff provides partial relief, particularly for sectors such as apparel and gems and jewelry, which were among the most affected by higher US duty rates. However, the benefit is relatively limited when viewed in a regional context. Several of Indias neighboring countries and key Asian competitors continue to enjoy preferential market access under the US Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), typically amounting to duty concessions of around 5 percent. The US withdrew Indias GSP status in 2019 during President Trumps first term, and Indian exporters had therefore anticipated a lower reciprocal tariff closer to 15 percent to restore competitive parity. 2. What investment commitments has India reportedly made to the US? In a social media statement, Trump indicated that Modi had committed to significantly expanding purchases of US-origin goods, including energy, technology, agriculture, coal and other products, with the total value exceeding US$500 billion. Indias Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has not confirmed whether such a commitment has been formally made. Given the magnitude of the figure, any such procurement would likely be phased over several years rather than executed as a near-term obligation. 3. Is India yielding to US sanctions pressure? Recent developments around Iran-related sanctions reflect regulatory tightening rather than a policy reversal by New Delhi. On February 4, 2025, the US administration issued National Security Presidential Memorandum-2 (NSPM-2), directing the US Secretary of State to modify or rescind sanctions waivers that could provide Iran with economic or financial relief, including those linked to the Chabahar port project. Subsequently, on September 16, 2025, the US State Department revoked the 2018 waiver, effective September 29, 2025. India has invested nearly US$120 million in equipment for Chabahar, a project that has played a critical role in enabling humanitarian and emergency assistance to Afghanistan. Following representations by New Delhi, the US Department of the Treasury issued a letter on October 28, 2025, confirming that Chabahar-related activities will not be subject to US sanctions until April 26, 2026. The Government of India remains actively engaged with the US State Department and Treasury to operationalize this arrangement. Taken together, these developments point to a more constrained and negotiated operating environment for Indias regional connectivity strategy, rather than any capitulation to US sanctions pressure. 4. Which sectors in India are expected to benefit the most from the US tariff rollback? Export-oriented sectors such as engineering goods, electronics, textiles, leather, agriculture, and marine products are likely to see the most immediate gains. Reduced tariffs improve price competitiveness in the US market, particularly against Asian peers like Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Malaysia. 5. How does the India-US trade deal impact multinational companies with manufacturing bases in India? For global firms sourcing or manufacturing in India, the agreement reduces tariff risk on US-bound exports, improves margin visibility, and strengthens the case for expanding India-based production and supply chains. 6. Does the deal provide clarity on long-term trade policy certainty? While the tariff reduction restores near-term predictability, detailed tariff schedules, product coverage, and timelines are still awaited. Full policy certainty will depend on the finalization of operational and regulatory details. 7. How could the agreement affect Indias GDP growth and employment? By supporting exports, manufacturing output, and investment sentiment, the deal is expected to provide a positive impulse to GDP growth and job creation, particularly in manufacturing, logistics, and export-linked services. 8. How does this pact fit into Indias broader trade strategy? The US deal complements Indias wider diversification strategy, which includes recent trade agreements with New Zealand, the EU, and Oman, aimed at expanding export markets and reducing dependence on any single geography. 9. What implementation risks should businesses watch for? Key risks include delays in formal notifications, ambiguity around rules of origin, non-tariff barriers, and phased tariff reductions. Businesses will need close monitoring of executive orders and regulatory guidance to fully benefit from the agreement. 10. What is the near-term outlook for exporters following the announcement? Exporters expect renewed demand from the US, reopening of stalled contracts, and improved buyer confidence. However, momentum will depend on how quickly tariff schedules and compliance requirements are clarified. Anime with powerful stories but fans wanted more from the animation 1. Berserk (20162017) Image credit : Netflix | Berserk has a haunting, emotionally devastating story centered on trauma 2. Ajin: Demi-Human 3. Kingdom (Early Seasons) 4. The Seven Deadly Sins (Later Seasons) Image credit : Netflix | Emotionally engaging fantasy series gradually lost goodwill as animation quality dropped 5. One-Punch Man (Season 2) Image credit : Netflix | The story and humour of One-Punch Man remained sharp in season 2 Anime has the unique ability to bring powerful stories to life through striking visuals, unforgettable characters, and immersive worlds. When storytelling and animation work in harmony, the result can be truly special. However, there are times when even the most compelling narratives dont get the visual treatment they deserve. Due to rushed production, studio changes, or creative missteps, some anime with excellent stories ended up being held back by poor or inconsistent animation. Here are five anime with great stories that many fans feel were let down by their animation quality.Based on one of the most celebrated dark fantasy manga of all time, Berserk has a haunting, emotionally devastating story centered on trauma, ambition, and fate. Unfortunately, the 2016 anime adaptation relied heavily on jarring CGI and stiff animation, making action scenes hard to watch and draining the impact from key emotional moments. For many fans, the visuals overshadowed what should have been a definitive adaptation.Ajin tells a gripping story about immortality, morality, and what it means to be human, following a protagonist hunted by society after discovering he cannot die. While the plot is tense and thought-provoking, the full 3D CGI animation often feels rigid and unnatural, especially during action scenes, pulling viewers out of the story instead of drawing them in.An epic historical war anime set in ancient China, Kingdom boasts an expansive story filled with political intrigue, large-scale battles, and long-term character growth. However, its early seasons suffered from clunky CGI animation that made fights feel lifeless and undercut the scale of its warfare. Although later seasons improved significantly, the initial visual quality turned many viewers away.What began as a fun and emotionally engaging fantasy series gradually lost goodwill as animation quality dropped sharply in later seasons. Despite strong character arcs and important story developments, poorly drawn models, unfinished-looking fight scenes, and inconsistent animation frustrated fans, especially during climactic battles that deserved far more care.The story and humour of One-Punch Man remained sharp in season 2, continuing its clever satire of superhero tropes. However, following an exceptionally animated first season, the drop in animation quality was hard to ignore. Less fluid fight choreography and flatter visuals made the action feel underwhelming, even when the narrative itself still worked. Michael Rapaport goes off on Mayor Mamdani over the current state of his NYC neighborhood, calling him out for cars that are still covered or stuck under snow. He says the mayor isnt doing anything right. pic.twitter.com/G832TlUt7I Rain Drops Media (@Raindropsmedia1) February 2, 2026 Celebrities amplify public frustration Image credit : X| Actress Debra Messing is seen at a recent industry appearance. Image credit : X| New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani A city reckons with its response Image credit : X| Michael Rapaport attends a public event in New York City. New York City prides itself on resilience, but after last weeks brutal snowstorm, some of its most vocal residents say the city has fallen embarrassingly short. As filthy snowbanks lingered and pavements turned treacherous, actor Michael Rapaport did not mince his words, launching a blistering public attack on Mayor Zohran Mamdani over what he described as a painfully slow cleanup effort.Rapaport took to social media to document the aftermath across his neighbourhood, filming streets still lined with blackened snow, uncollected rubbish and icy corners days after the storm hit. In one sharply worded post, he described the city as a dirty snow covered dump, accusing officials of leaving residents to navigate unsafe conditions long after the snowfall had ended. His video quickly gained traction, striking a chord with frustrated New Yorkers who echoed his complaints in the comments.The actors anger was rooted not just in aesthetics but safety. He pointed to pedestrians slipping, untreated crossings and vehicles half-buried under frozen piles pushed aside during initial ploughing. For Rapaport, the issue was simple. This was New York City, not an ill-prepared town caught off guard.Rapaport was not alone. Actress Debra Messing also voiced her exasperation, sharing her own ordeal on social media after what should have been a brief drive spiralled into more than an hour of gridlocked traffic. According to Messing, major roads remained barely passable five days after the storm, with emergency vehicles struggling to move freely.Her concerns extended beyond inconvenience. Messing expressed alarm at seeing ambulances stuck amid congestion, raising fears about delayed emergency responses. Having lived in the city for years, she noted that this level of disruption was unprecedented in her experience, questioning why established snow-clearing systems appeared to have faltered.Together, the celebrity complaints highlighted a broader mood of disbelief across the city. Residents questioned how one of the worlds most resource-rich urban centres could leave streets in such a state nearly a week after snowfall, particularly when temperatures remained well below freezing.Mayor Mamdani addressed the criticism during a press briefing, citing prolonged cold as a major obstacle. He explained that unlike previous storms, warmer temperatures had not followed to help melt residual snow. Instead, the responsibility fell entirely on sanitation workers, whose efforts he praised as both extensive and ongoing.According to the mayor, thousands of sanitation staff were working extended shifts, supported by additional workers from other city departments. He acknowledged the scale of the task and insisted progress was accelerating across all five boroughs.Still, the backlash has reignited wider questions about preparedness and accountability, particularly as reports confirmed at least ten storm-related deaths in the city. Many of the victims were believed to be homeless, fuelling debate over whether vulnerable populations received adequate protection during the extreme weather.As New York slowly digs itself out, the anger voiced by figures like Rapaport and Messing reflects more than celebrity outrage. It underscores a city grappling with expectations, trust and the reality that resilience must be matched by results when conditions turn deadly. A 27-year-old man found shot dead west of Athens was held captive for nearly a week before being executed, autopsy results revealed Monday, transforming a kidnapping probe into a widespread homicide manhunt. Forensic examiners determined the victim was shot 10 times in the back and head, shortly before his body was discovered in a stream near Nea Peramos. Crucially, undigested food found in his stomach indicates he was fed and kept alive for five to six days following his abduction The victim, a businessman with no criminal record, was snatched at gunpoint outside his home in Elefsina last Monday. His partner witnessed four men forcing him into a vehicle, which police later identified as having been stolen from the northern city of Thessaloniki. New surveillance footage released Monday captures the victim walking home in a gray tracksuit moments before the attack. While the abduction itself occurs just off-camera, the timeline confirms he was ambushed seconds later. Investigators are probing whether the kidnappers sought ransom or information. Police sources fear the perpetrators decided to kill the man to prevent him from identifying them after the extended captivity. Homicide detectives are currently analyzing phone data and the stolen vehicle for DNA evidence. iefimerida.gr The Greek government plans to establish two temporary migrant detention facilities on the island of Crete and implement fast-track deportation procedures for specific nationalities, aiming to stem a surge in arrivals from Libya. Migration and Asylum Minister Thanos Plevris is expected to introduce an amendment authorizing the facilities near Chania and Heraklion before a parliamentary vote Thursday Mr. Plevris stated that migrants from Egypt, Bangladesh, and Pakistanwhom he described as "basically not entitled to asylum"will face immediate detention to expedite their rejection and repatriation. "Our goal is to put tremendous pressure on ethnic groups that are not entitled to asylum," Mr. Plevris said in response to a parliamentary question from independent lawmaker Evangelos Apostolakis. Crete has increasingly become a landing point for the so-called "southern route," with tens of thousands of third-country nationals ferried from strife-torn Libya in recent years. Mr. Plevris warned that if these high flows persist, the government will commission a permanent facility on the island, a project estimated to take two years to complete. While taking a hard line on economic migrants, Mr. Plevris acknowledged the complexity regarding Sudanese nationals. He noted that handling flows from Sudan requires a targeted approach, citing UN data that estimates up to 600,000 displaced Sudanese are currently in Libya, posing a significant challenge for European border security. iefimerida.gr Operation by the Greek authorities against a 54-year-old Greek man, for whom a European arrest warrant had been issued for sabotage on a German Navy vessel. Popular Nollywood actor Bolanle Ninalowo, aka Nino B, has announced his appointment as the Atlanta, USA, coordinator for Relax Tinubu Is Fixing Nigeria (RTIFN), a pro-President Tinubu advocacy group. Ninalowo, known for roles in films like Picture Perfect and based in the US, shared the announcement via his official Instagram page on Saturday, February 3. The actor expressed honour in the role, including posters featuring the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Nigerian symbols to rally diaspora support. Advertisement According to the flyers, Ninalowo is the Atlanta coordinator for the pro-Tinubu support group, while Seyi Tinubu is the founder-in-chief. Honored to serve as Coordinator! Atlanta/USA for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu , the Nollywood actor wrote. Viral video showed Seyi Tinubu presenting a letter of appointment to businessman Obi Cubana as the Southeast coordinator of the City Boy Movement, another pro-Tinubu support group. A screenshot of actor Bolanle Ninalowos social media post announcing his new appointment is below: Organised labour and FCT minister Nyesom Wike have resolved their dispute, leading to striking workers returning to work. The resolution is contained in a circular issued to all affiliates of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress on Tuesday. The circular was jointly signed by the secretary-general of the TUC, Nuhu Toro, and the acting general secretary of the NLC, Benson Upah. Advertisement According to the circular, the resolution followed a conciliatory meeting between labour leaders and the FCT minister, convened at the instance of the chairman of the Senate Committee on the FCT, Mohammed Bomoi. It stated that the meeting commenced at about 11:45 p.m. on Sunday and ended at approximately 3:51 a.m. on Monday after extensive deliberations. Organised labour said all complaints raised by members of the Joint Unions Action Committee were exhaustively discussed during the meeting. The circular said the minister assured labour of mutual respect and sustained engagement on labour-related matters in the FCT. It said the parties also agreed that no worker would be victimised for participating in the strike action and that all outstanding cases at the National Industrial Court would be withdrawn immediately. Following the agreement, the NLC and TUC directed all affected workers to resume duty without delay. It stated that the directive applied to all affiliates of the NLC and TUC in the FCT Administration. Labour leaders urged strict compliance in the interest of industrial peace and harmony, describing the meetings outcome as a demonstration of good faith by all parties. They had also insisted on dialogue and assurances against victimisation before suspending the industrial action. The workers had embarked on the strike on January 19 over unresolved grievances, including welfare issues and alleged high-handedness. (NAN) The Senate on Tuesday called on the federal and state governments to urgently ensure the adequate stocking, availability and accessibility of life-saving antidotes including snake anti-venom and emergency medicines in both public and private hospitals across the country. The call followed the consideration and adoption of a motion sponsored by Senator Idiat Oluranti Adebule (APC, Lagos West), which highlighted the rising incidence of medical emergencies such as snakebites, scorpion stings, poisoning, drug overdoses and other forms of envenomation requiring immediate medical intervention. In her lead debate, Adebule noted that delays in administering specific antidotes often result in avoidable deaths and irreversible health complications. Advertisement She expressed particularly expressed concern over the reported death of Miss Ifunanya Nwangene, who allegedly died after a snakebite in Abuja, describing the incident as a tragic example of the gaps in emergency preparedness and antidote availability in Nigerias health system. The lawmaker observed that the World Health Organisation (WHO) classifies snakebite envenoming as a neglected tropical disease and emphasises the need for timely access to safe and effective antivenoms, especially in countries like Nigeria where such incidents remain common. She also recalled constitutional provisions which mandate the state to ensure the welfare of citizens. Senator Adebule cited Section 17(3)(d) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which requires government to provide adequate medical and health facilities, and Section 14(2)(b), which states that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government. She expressed concern that many public and private hospitals do not stock essential antidotes such as antivenoms and anti-toxins, or keep them in insufficient quantities. According to the motion, this often leads to dangerous treatment delays, unnecessary referrals and preventable loss of lives. The motion further lamented that victims of snakebites and poisoning emergencies are frequently forced to move between public and private hospitals during the critical golden hour in search of antidotes, a situation the lawmaker said, significantly increases mortality and morbidity rates. Adopting the motion, the Senate called on health regulatory authorities to make the stocking of essential antidotes a mandatory requirement for the licensing, registration and renewal of accreditation of private hospitals, while also urging adequate budgetary provision and efficient supply mechanisms for public hospitals. The Senate also directed the Federal Ministry of Information and the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to embark on nationwide public sensitisation campaigns on the importance of prompt hospital presentation after snakebites, poisoning and other envenomation incidents, warning against the dangers of delayed treatment. In addition, lawmakers urged the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development to strengthen the National Building Code by making the installation of Non-Return Valves (NRVs) mandatory in buildings, to prevent rodents and snakes from entering homes through drainage systems. The Senate said the measures were necessary to prevent avoidable deaths and strengthen emergency healthcare response across the country. A Montgomery County attorney specializing in personal injury claims against large corporations has been suspended for three years following allegations that he misled at least 16 clients on settlement offers that did not exist. Brian McCormick was a former partner at Ross Feller Casey, a Philadelphia-based personal injury firm. The conduct that led to his suspension revolves around misleading statements to clients he represented in two types of cases. Advertisement The first set of clients are those who alleged that using agricultural giant Monsantos weed killer, Roundup, caused their cancer. These cases can be lucrative, as Philadelphia juries returned verdicts against Monsanto for millions, and even billions, of dollars. Due to the large number of Roundup lawsuits, a federal court appointed a special master who developed a formula to calculate settlement amounts. At least nine of McCormicks clients rejected the formula-proposed settlement and the attorney claimed he was attempting to obtain, or had obtained, higher offers, according to the suspension order issued last month by the Pennsylvania Supreme Courts Disciplinary Board. McCormick went as far as to ask some clients to sign releases to obtain the nonexistent settlements. As his clients waited for their expected checks, according to the order, the attorney reassured them via emails, text messages, and voice messages between 2023 and January 2025 that the delays were part of the settlement process. [McCormick] did not settle any of the Roundup cases on behalf of the nine clients who rejected the formula determined settlement amount, the order says. Clients suing Monsanto werent the only ones McCormick misled. The attorney followed a similar pattern with at least seven clients who sued manufacturers of Risperdal, an antipsychotic drug that thousands of men said led them to develop excessive breast tissue, according to the disciplinary board. McCormick promised settlement to his Risperdal clients, the order said, and at one time even gave a client a specific date on which he should pick up his check knowing that no settlement check existed. Neither McCormick or the attorney who represented him during the disciplinary proceedings responded to a request for comment. Ross Feller Casey terminated McCormick in January 2025 after finding that he had clients sign settlement agreements even though no settlements were reached. The firms owners terminated Mr. McCormicks employment on the very same day they learned of his conduct, and they immediately took steps to ensure that the interests of all affected clients were protected, said Mario Cattabiani, a spokesperson for Ross Feller Casey. McCormick admitted to the misconduct and consented to the three-year suspension, the order says. The board noted that he accepts full responsibility for his misconduct and is remorseful. A barista wears union pins at a Starbucks in Philadelphia in 2023. Read more Another Starbucks has unionized in Philadelphia, after a vote at the Schuylkill Yards location last week. I see a need for improvements and am optimistic that this win will make great change, shift supervisor Asia Wright-Wilson said in a union statement. When problems are not well addressed through the traditional Starbucks channels the greatest strength lies in the collective action of our coworkers. Advertisement The Schuylkill Yards location has 18 union-eligible workers. All participated in the election, with 10 voting to join, according to the union. The first group of Starbucks workers to unionize did so in 2021 at a Buffalo, N.Y., store. Workers across the country have since joined the Starbucks Workers United union, which has been negotiating a first contract. We respect our partners right to choose, through a fair and democratic process, to be represented by a union or not to be represented by a union, said Starbucks spokesperson, Jaci Anderson, via email on Monday. Any agreement needs to reflect the reality that Starbucks already offers the best job in retail. Anderson said Starbucks hourly employees pay and benefits equate to over $30 an hour on average. Starbucks has several dozen stores in Philadelphia and more in the surrounding counties. Several city and suburb locations are unionized, including nearby West Philadelphia locations at Penn Medicine, 39th and Walnut Streets, and 34th and Walnut Streets. The union has reached multiple tentative agreements as they negotiate a contract, but pay has been a sticking point. Workers also want more staffing, and resolution to hundreds of unfair labor practice charges against Starbucks. Workers launched an open-ended nationwide strike on Nov. 13, including stores in Philadelphia. Not long before that, Starbucks announced it would close hundreds of underperforming stores, including six in Philadelphia. READ MORE: Nationwide Starbucks strike includes workers at five Philadelphia locations Sara Kelly, Starbucks chief partner officer, said in December, citing information from the union, that employees from 166 of the 215 strike locations wanted to return to work. A union spokesperson acknowledged on Tuesday that while some striking workers have returned to their jobs, more than 1,000 remain on strike. The nationwide unfair labor practice strike that began in November is still ongoing and has become the longest in company history, said Michelle Eisen, a Workers United spokesperson and 15-year Starbucks barista. Operators manage the regional power grid from PJM Interconnections control room in Valley Forge. Read more Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro spotlighted energy affordability and the rapid expansion of data centers during his annual budget address Tuesday, singling out PJM to speed up new electrical connections for the centers. PJM Interconnection the regions dominant electric grid operator is poised to play a central role in the expansion of data centers, as the independent organization has been shoved into the national spotlight and subjected to mounting pressure over the last year. Advertisement It has been a frequent target of Shapiro, officials from other states, consumer advocates, and the federal government. In many ways, PJM may be one of the most consequential Phillyarea institutions that most residents have barely heard of, even though their electricity supply and monthly bills hinge on its decisions. The organization has faced escalating scrutiny nationwide and across the region because of its position as the countrys largest independent grid operator and the challenges tied to surging energy demand. What is PJM? Based in Audubon, Montgomery County, PJM manages the minute-by-minute flow of electricity for 67 million people across 13 states and the District of Columbia. It helps keep the lights on for 13 million Pennsylvanians. Why are there concerns about PJM and data centers? Concerns have risen over the cost to consumers posed by hyperscale data centers the massive server farms needed to run artificial intelligence that are poised to come online across Pennsylvania and the U.S. PJM plays a major role in getting those data centers powered and connected to the regional electrical grid. Advertisement Consumer advocates say the data centers are forcing consumers to pay for the new power plants and equipment needed to keep up with that demand. And they fear that huge demand could result in electrical outages during times of peak demand. Already, consumers have seen electricity prices spike and thats before most of the proposed data centers are even built. How much consumers pay is influenced by an annual auction held by PJM designed to get enough commitments from power producers so that the electrical grid can meet forecast demand for several years and to ensure power during peak times. That is known as grid reliability. Map produced by The National Resources Defense Council estimates electricity capacity costs to utility companies based on PJM forecasts through 2032. Read more National Resources Defense Council Why is Gov. Shapiro critical of PJM? Shapiro and other governors have been sharply critical of how PJM has designed its auction, saying the process lacks transparency. In a 2024 lawsuit, Shapiros office referred to PJMs decisions as inept and responsible for the countrys most snarled interconnection queue, in reference to projects lined up for approval to be added to the grid. Advertisement After the 2025-26 auction, Shapiro reached an agreement with PJM on a price cap that he said would save consumers over $21 billion and avoid historic price hikes. The cap limited the increase of wholesale electricity payments to power plant owners. PJM held another auction in December for 2027-28, in which it failed to procure enough supply to meet forecast demand next year. PJM forecasts that data centers will drive a need for more than 30 gigawatts of peak electricity capacity by 2030 enough to power more than 20 million households, or approximately all the homes in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, and Maryland, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The NRDC says that could lead to another spike in electricity costs through 2033 and cost homeowners and businesses an estimated extra $70 per month. Advertisement As a result, Shapiro and federal officials have urged PJM to extend the current price cap another two years. Why is there a push for more data centers? At the same time, however, officials are also pushing PJM to fast-track data centers. Late last year, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued an order on so-called colocation that will allow tech companies to plug their data centers directly into power plants. Advertisement In January, the Trump administration and a group of governors, including Shapiro, urged PJM to move quickly to boost power supplies and keep bills from rising. They also want PJM to hold a separate power auction in which tech companies would bid on 15-year contracts to build new power plants. That way, data center operators, not regular consumers, would pay for the power. Data centers that do not have their own power source and do not volunteer to be cut off from the grid during power emergencies should be billed for the cost of new power plants, they said. Why do people resist data centers near their homes? The quick rise of data centers has met stiff resistance from residents who fear the projects will radically alter the character of rural neighborhoods, increase electricity and water costs, and harm the environment. Developers have submitted applications for at least 20 hyperscale data centers in Pennsylvania. PJM would have to find a way to make sure they can be powered and connected reliably to the grid, or provide their own power. At least six data centers are being planned or proposed in the Philadelphia region, with some reaching 2 million square feet. Residents have fought the proposals, some of which have run into zoning and planning problems. Data centers are proposed in Falls Township, Bucks County; East Vincent and East Whiteland in Chester County; Limerick in Montgomery County; and Vineland, N.J. A proposal for a data center in Plymouth Meeting, Montgomery County, has been withdrawn, but another proposal could be submitted at any time. Residents of some of those communities are alarmed by a new Pennsylvania House bill (HB 2151), which is backed by Shapiro. It provides a model ordinance designed to speed data center development. Opponents believe the bill is an attempt by the tech industry to get data centers approved. HB2151 would undermine Pennsylvanians herculean grassroots efforts to keep dirty data centers out of our communities it must be stopped," said Ginny Marcille-Kerslake, an organizer for Food and Water Watch, an environmental advocacy nonprofit. This bill pushes Shapiros reckless embrace of data centers even further onto communities struggling to grapple with Big Techs land, power, and water grab, she said, calling it a part of backroom deals the state is making. A vote on the bill before the House Energy Committee is scheduled for Wednesday. Whats next? Environmentalists and other groups, including some legislators, say a process by PJM to fast-track electricity-producing projects excludes clean energy and gives special treatment to fossil fuel power plants, allowing them to cut ahead in the queue over renewable sources that have waited years to connect to the grid. Meanwhile, PJM recently released its much-anticipated plan for how to deal with the demand created by data centers. That plan calls for changes in PJM policies to bring new power online quickly by providing a streamlined path for state-sponsored power generation projects, improving load forecasts, giving a bigger role in the process to states, and offering ways for data centers to bring in their own power generation while curtailing power in times of system need. The plan, PJM said, will also help address the supply-and-demand imbalance that has the potential to threaten grid reliability and is currently driving up wholesale costs that can impact consumer bills. Jeff Shields, a spokesperson for PJM, said the imbalance has been created as sources of power generation are being retired without enough new generation coming online to keep pace. At the same time, demand for electricity has increased substantially due to the proliferation of data centers. PJM is doing its part to bring new generation onto the system, and any suggestion otherwise is just not true, Shields said. He also noted that while PJM does run wholesale power markets, it does not directly set rates for residential, commercial, or industrial customers. Those rates are set by utilities, such as Peco, along with government agencies, such as the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. At this stage, the conduct of the investigation is based on a constructive approach, with the aim of ultimately ensuring that the X platform complies with French law, as it operates on the national territory, a statement from the prosecutors said. Read more PARIS French prosecutors raided the offices of social media platform X on Tuesday as part of a preliminary investigation into allegations including spreading child sexual abuse images and deepfakes. They have also summoned billionaire owner Elon Musk for questioning. X and Musks artificial intelligence company xAI also face intensifying scrutiny from Britains data privacy regulator, which opened formal investigations into how they handled personal data when they developed and deployed Musks artificial intelligence chatbot Grok. Advertisement Grok, which was built by xAI and is available through X, sparked global outrage last month after it pumped out a torrent of sexualized nonconsensual deepfake images in response to requests from X users. In a message posted on X, the Paris prosecutors office announced the ongoing searches at the companys offices in France and said it was leaving the platform while calling on followers to join it on other social media. The French investigation was opened in January last year by the prosecutors cybercrime unit, the Paris prosecutors office said in a statement. Its looking into alleged complicity in possessing and spreading pornographic images of minors, sexually explicit deepfakes, denial of crimes against humanity and manipulation of an automated data processing system as part of an organized group, among other charges. Prosecutors asked Musk and former CEO Linda Yaccarino to attend voluntary interviews on April 20. Employees of X have also been summoned that same week to be heard as witnesses, the statement said. Yaccarino was CEO from May 2023 until July 2025. A spokesperson for X did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Xs lawyer in France, Kami Haeri, told The Associated Press: We are not making any comment at this stage." In a message posted on X, the Paris prosecutors office announced the ongoing searches at the companys offices in France and said it was leaving the platform while calling on followers to join it on other social media. At this stage, the conduct of the investigation is based on a constructive approach, with the aim of ultimately ensuring that the X platform complies with French law, as it operates on the national territory, the prosecutors statement said. European Union police agency Europol is supporting the French authorities in this, Europol spokesperson Jan Op Gen Oorth told the AP, without elaborating. French authorities opened their investigation after reports from a French lawmaker alleging that biased algorithms on X likely distorted the functioning of an automated data processing system. It expanded after Grok generated posts that allegedly denied the Holocaust, a crime in France, and spread sexually explicit deepfakes, the statement said. Grok wrote in a widely shared post in French that gas chambers at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp were designed for disinfection with Zyklon B against typhus rather than for mass murder language long associated with Holocaust denial. In later posts on X, the chatbot reversed itself and acknowledged that its earlier reply was wrong, saying it had been deleted and pointed to historical evidence that Zyklon B was used to kill more than 1 million people in Auschwitz gas chambers. The chatbot also appeared to praise Adolf Hitler last year, in comments that X took down after complaints. In Britain, the Information Commissioners Office said its looking into whether X and xAI followed the law when processing personal data and whether Grok had any measures in place to prevent its use to generate harmful manipulated images. The reports about Grok raise deeply troubling questions about how peoples personal data has been used to generate intimate or sexualised images without their knowledge or consent, and whether the necessary safeguards were put in place to prevent this, said William Malcolm, an executive director at the watchdog. He didnt specify what the penalty would be if the probe found the companies didnt comply with data protection laws. A separate investigation into Grok launched last month by the U.K. media regulator, Ofcom, is ongoing. Ofcom said Tuesday its still gathering evidence and warned the probe could take months. X has also been under pressure from the EU. The 27-nation blocs executive arm opened an investigation last month after Grok spewed nonconsensual sexualized deepfake images on the platform. Brussels has already hit X with a 120-million euro (then-$140 million) fine for shortcomings under the blocs sweeping digital regulations, including blue checkmarks that broke the rules on deceptive design practices that risked exposing users to scams and manipulation. On Monday, Musk s space exploration and rocket business, SpaceX, announced that it acquired xAI in a deal that will also combine Grok, X and his satellite communication company Starlink. The rear of A.D.A. Lewis Middle School on Oct. 21, 2025, where police found Kada Scotts corpse buried in a shallow grave in the woods of the school grounds. The 23-year-old Mount Airy woman had been missing for two weeks. Read more Two weeks after Kada Scott vanished, Philadelphia Police Detective Joseph Cremen stood over a patch of disturbed ground in a wooded stretch near an abandoned school in East Germantown. He pushed aside a layer of loose twigs and pressed a six-foot branch into the soil. It sank only a few inches before stopping short. Advertisement That, Cremen testified Monday, was when he realized hed found a shallow grave. The Oct. 18 discovery ended a two-week search for Scott, 23, who disappeared on Oct. 4 after leaving the Chestnut Hill senior living center where she worked. An autopsy later determined that she had been shot in the head. Cremen testified that the location of the grave was not discovered at random, but emerged from weeks of reviewing surveillance footage, digital data, and tips that helped authorities trace a path from the Awbury Arboretum to the wooded area where Scott was buried and that linked her killing to Keon King, who is charged with murder, abuse of a corpse, and related crimes. During a preliminary hearing Monday that stretched nearly five hours, prosecutors methodically laid out that evidence, replaying video after video on a courtroom TV as detectives testified about how they tracked Scotts final movements and Kings efforts, they say, to conceal her death. At the conclusion of the hearing, Common Pleas Court Judge Karen Simmons ruled that prosecutors had presented sufficient evidence for the case to proceed and ordered it held for court. An attorney for Scotts parents, Brian Fritz, called the ruling a first step in getting justice for their daughter. Kada Scotts family is grieving, he said. In fact, their grief is unimaginable. But, so is their commitment for accountability and justice for Kada. Detectives testified that surveillance cameras at the Awbury Arboretum recorded a silver hatchback vehicle pulling into a parking lot less than an hour before Scotts Apple Watch transmitted its final location at 1:14 a.m. on Oct. 5. Footage from the same cameras appeared to show two men removing an object from the car and walking in the direction investigators later followed to Scotts burial site. An anonymous tip helped lead investigators into the woods nearby the Ada H.H. Lewis Middle School in East Germantown. Additional street cameras, prosecutors said, captured the same hatchback parked in a driveway behind homes on the 2300 block of 74th Avenue. Moments later, video showed a sudden flash of light and flames as the car was set on fire, destroying what authorities believe may have been physical evidence inside. Investigators did not rely on any single camera, prosecutors emphasized. Instead, detectives testified that they reconstructed the timeline by stitching together footage from dozens of surveillance systems across the city. That effort, they said, led them to King, 21. Street cameras recorded a 1999 gold Toyota Camry registered to King traveling in the vicinity of the arboretum around the same times activity was captured there, they said. Police also tracked the movements of one of Scotts Apple devices after she left work, comparing its location data with license plate readers and surveillance video, detective Robert Daly testified. Everywhere this device went, Mr. Kings car went, Daly said. Cell phone records presented at the hearing showed that King and Scott had exchanged text messages in the hours before her disappearance, Daly testified. The last message Scott sent asked King to call her when he arrived at the senior living center. The final incoming call on her phone, at 10:12 p.m. on Oct. 4, was from King, according to police. Before Simmons ruled, Kings defense attorney, Robert Gamburg, argued that the prosecutions case relied too heavily on circumstantial evidence and failed to place his client directly at the scene of the killing. The surveillance footage, he said, did not clearly identify any faces and could not establish who was inside and around the vehicles. He also pointed to testimony from a senior living center employee who said she saw Scott leave work that night and noticed a dark-colored Jeep parked outside the facility, not a silver hatchback. There is absolutely nothing connecting this young man to what happened to Ms. Scott, Gamburg said, urging the judge to dismiss the case. At this level, with this quantum of evidence, for this type of case, it should be discharged today, he said. Assistant District Attorney Ashley Toczylowski countered that investigators had assembled a detailed and corroborated account of Scotts final hours, one that showed not only Kings proximity to her disappearance, she said, but also steps taken afterward to destroy evidence. This isnt coincidence, she told the court. Its corroboration. Jason Kelce (left), Beau Allen, and Doug the miniature horse filmed the new Garage Beer Super Bowl commercial in Conshohocken. Read more Lincoln the bald eagle wont be the only hometown favorite appearing on Philly area TV screens during Super Bowl LX. Former Eagles players Jason Kelce and Beau Allen will star in a Super Bowl commercial for Garage Beer that will air locally on Sunday. Advertisement Travis Kelce, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end who co-owns the beer brand with his brother, isnt in the ad. But it wont be lacking star power. The pair of Super Bowl champions are joined by a new partner in crime, Doug the miniature horse. The ad, which was filmed on a farm near Conshohocken and is properly titled Brotherly Shovel, features the Budweiser Clydesdales pulling a beer wagon to reveal Doug and a large pile of manure. We make a promise to do things the right way, the narrator says. To respect the tradition. And to shovel what tradition leaves behind. This isnt the first time Allen and Kelce have partnered on projects for Garage Beer. They also worked together on other commercials for brand, as well as longer projects like Brewmite and Thermal Buzz that pay tribute to some of Kelces favorite childhood movies. You can watch the full one-minute Super Bowl spot below A panel of federal judges ruled the Philadelphia School District's policy for admissions to magnet and other critiera-based schools "had a discriminatory purpose and impact, requiring strict scrutiny." The case could have major implications for the district. Read more A federal appeals court revived a lawsuit challenging the legality of Philadelphia School Districts special-admissions process Monday, ruling the policy could be seen as blatantly unconstitutional and race-based. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit sent the case filed by three Philadelphia parents which a federal judge tossed in 2024 back to a lower court. Advertisement The ruling could have long-term implications for the admission process for citywide magnet and special-admissions schools, which has been controversial since its inception. While it will have no immediate impact on the school districts process, the ruling means the case could now proceed to trial. The district changed the way it admits students to criteria-based schools in 2021, moving from a system where principals had discretion over who got into the districts 37 special-admissions schools to a centralized, computer-based lottery for any student who met academic criteria. For the citys five top magnets, all students who met the standards and lived in certain underrepresented zip codes gained automatic admission. Officials at the time said they were changing the policy as they made a commitment to being an antiracist organization after an equity lens review of admissions practices. The demographics of some selective public schools do not match the citys demographics. Masterman, for instance, has much higher concentrations of white and Asian students than the district does as a whole. Although the school district has defended its policy change, a panel of federal judges on Monday ruled that it could be viewed as discriminatory. School District officials made public and private statements both before and after the enactment of the Admissions Policy that could support a finding that the Policy was intended to alter (and did alter) the racial makeup of the schools," Judge Thomas Michael Hardiman wrote for the three-member panel. So a reasonable fact finder could conclude that the School District acted with a discriminatory purpose, the panel wrote. The panel included Hardiman, a George W. Bush appointee; Cheryl Ann Krause, a Barack Obama appointee; and Arianna Julia Freeman, a Joe Biden appointee. A district spokesperson said Monday that the school system does not comment on ongoing litigation. The legal team representing parents Sherice Sargent, Fallon Girini, and Michele Sheridan including lawyers from America First, an organization formed by Stephen Miller, a top aide to President Donald Trump called the action a major victory. School officials dont get to rig admissions systems to satisfy ideological goals, said Gene Hamilton, America First Legals president, and a former Trump deputy counsel. This ruling affirms a basic constitutional principle: government cannot discriminate by race, whether openly or by proxy. AFL will continue fighting to secure accountability and restore equal protection. What did the initial lawsuit argue? Sargent, Girini, and Sheridan sued in 2022 to end the policy, to stop the district from using racially discriminatory criteria for magnet school admissions, and to award damages to those who might have been damaged by the gerrymandered lottery policy. A federal judge ruled in favor of the school district in 2024 without a trial, writing that no fair-minded jury could find that the changes to the admissions process were implemented with racially discriminatory intent or purpose. The district has defended its position, saying it was geography, not race, that gave certain students preferential admission to magnets like Masterman, Central, the Academy at Palumbo, and George Washington Carver High School of Engineering and Science. Five admissions cycles have happened since the overhaul. Adjustments have been made since the initial rollout including dropping a controversial, computer-graded essay, adding ranked choice, adding sibling preference, and giving automatic admission to students who attend middle schools with attached high schools and meet academic standards but the underpinnings remain, as does the preference for qualified students from underrepresented zip codes at selected schools. Sargents daughter, who is Black, qualified academically for the George Washington Carver High School of Engineering and Science; Girinis son, who is white, qualified for Academy at Palumbo; Sheridans child, who is biracial, met standards for Palumbo. All were denied admission to their top-choice schools, though they gained admission to other district magnets. As a result of the shift to the lottery and changes to admissions criteria admissions offers to Black and Hispanic students increased significantly at most of the highest-profile schools, and offers to white and Asian students decreased at most. What did Mondays ruling say about the admissions policy? District lawyers have said the admissions overhaul was race-neutral and motivated by legitimate goals, such as increasing objectivity and improving access for qualified students from underrepresented geographic areas. But the appeals panel found that the federal judge who dismissed the case did not adequately consider the evidence of why the School District implemented the Policy in the first place, including the School Districts stated goals, the historical context behind the equity aims, and statements made by School District officials. Before the admissions changes took effect, then-Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. issued an anti-racism declaration in 2020 following the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police and the resulting racial justice movement. Hite said it was imperative that we take a laser focus on acknowledging and dismantling systems of racial inequity. For us, this goes deeper and far beyond focusing on individual acts of prejudice and discrimination, but refers to uprooting policies, deconstructing processes, and eradicating practices that create systems of privilege and power for one racial group over another. The school board also included in its Goals and Guardrails, guiding principles by which it judges district progress, a guardrail asking the district to increase the percentage of qualified Black or Hispanic students who qualify for criteria-based schools. These statements and actions, taken together in context, could support a finding that the School District adopted the Admissions Policy to achieve racial proportionality, the appeals panel wrote. What comes next? Mondays ruling has no impact on the existing admissions process, which is already underway for the 2026-27 school year. And it is not yet clear what will come of the case after it returns to a lower federal court, but it could potentially now proceed to trial. The data breach that anonymous hackers claimed had compromised data for 1.2 million students, donors, and alumni at the University of Pennsylvania actually impacted fewer than 10 people, according to a legal filing in a proposed class action lawsuit against Penn over the breach. A Penn source confirmed Tuesday that fewer than 10 people received notifications that their personal information had been affected in the Oct. 31 incident. Advertisement Penn conducted a comprehensive review of the downloaded files to determine whose information may have been involved, the university said in a statement. That review is now complete. Penn sent notifications to the limited number of individuals whose personal information was impacted as required by applicable notification laws. READ MORE: Penn says data breach is contained and scope of records accessed is under review A second data breach weeks later involving Oracle E-Business Suite was much more widespread and affected more than 100 companies. Penns notifications to impacted individuals in that incident were more widespread, though the school hasnt released the number. In the first case, Penn quickly said it could not verify the hackers claim about the number of people whose records were obtained. The incident drew widespread attention because the hackers sent an offensive email, which claimed to be from Penn to alumni and students. We have terrible security practices and are completely unmeritocratic, the email read. Please stop giving us money. READ MORE: Penn is investigating a fraudulent email breach The school hired cybersecurity specialists to help investigate the breach, which accessed systems related to development and alumni activities. Penn said at the time it was taking steps to prevent future attacks and would be instituting mandatory training. A series of proposed class-action lawsuits were filed in U.S. Eastern District Court following the hack, alleging that Penn failed to protect users sensitive data and in turn allowed it to fall into the hands of cybercriminals who will undoubtedly use [the information] for nefarious purposes. A federal district judge consolidated 18 lawsuits in December into a single proposed class-action case, but eight members of the Penn community who filed lawsuits dropped out in recent weeks. The exodus of plaintiffs is the result of Penns disclosure to attorneys involved with the litigation that fewer than 10 people were impacted by the breach, and none of those who sued were among them, attorneys for the plaintiffs said in a Monday court filing. The small impact of the breach could be detrimental for the cases if they continue on their own, the attorneys said. They proposed incorporating the remaining cases with the Oracle-breach litigation that is ongoing in Western Texas District Court. Another faction of attorneys involved in the case disagree. A judge is expected to decide which attorneys will lead the litigation and coordinate among all the litigants, a decision that could determine whether the case will be heard in Philadelphia or Texas. Sun Ra in Christine Turner's film "Sun Ra: Do the Impossible," to air on Feb. 20 WHYY as part of PBS' "American Masters" series. Read more Sun Ra, the Afrofuturist bandleader and intergalactic visionary who based his Arkestra in Philadelphia for decades, is heading to PBS. Sun Ra: Do the Impossible, the Christine Turner-directed documentary that screened at last years Black Star Film Festival in Philadelphia, will air as part of PBS American Masters series during Black History Month. Advertisement It will be shown locally on WHYY at 9 p.m. Feb. 20. Sun Ra, who was born Herman Poole Blount in Birmingham, Ala., founded Arkestra, now led by 101-year-old saxophone player Marshall Allen after Sun Ras death in 1993. He moved with the band to a house in Germantown in the late 1960s, where Allen still lives. The Morton Street house was originally owned by Allens father. Turners film includes how Blount, who was known as Sonny, experienced a transmolecularization in 1936 in which he claimed to have been teleported to Saturn and returned to Earth with a musical mission to bring peace and understanding to the world. Sun Ras music encompasses the history of jazz from its New Orleans beginnings to out-there experimentation with electronic instruments, King Britt, Philadelphia DJ-producer-turned Blacktronika professor at the University of California San Diego, explains in the film. Other Philadelphians who offer analysis in the documentary include poet-musician-activist Moor Mother, and critic and WRTI-FM (90.1) editorial director Nate Chinen. The films title is inspired by a Sun Ra quote that Turner kept on her desk while she worked on the documentary. It read: The possible has been tried and failed. Now its time to try the impossible. READ MORE: From Germantown to Saturn and back: a new Sun Ra documentary lands in Philly The American Masters treatment arrives at a time when Sun Ras presence is larger than ever. Since 2023, the organization has released five Sun Ra tribute albums. Sun Ras oeuvre was central to the Metropolitan Museum of Arts recent Flight into Egypt: Black Artists and Ancient Egypt exhibit, and his image is featured prominently at the Institute of Contemporary Arts Entryways: Xenobia Bailey exhibit currently on view. Do the Impossible adds to the growing Sun Ra film library that includes the 1972 movie Space is the Place, and Philly filmmaker Robert Mugges 1980 Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise. Another doc, coproduced by Allen along with his son Ronnie Boyd titled Sun Ra: Door to the Cosmos, is in the works. As a culture, were just catching up with a lot of the ideas and the music that was so ahead of its time, Turner said of her films subject in an interview with The Inquirer in July. Hes become an icon of Afrofuturism, and I think that is resonating with people because were deeply in need of new ideas and radically imagining another kind of future. And I think people are really hungering for that. Cocktails in Philly have been getting ever more savory, taking inspiration from pickles, salad, even soup the last being the most seasonally timed. Several local bars like El Techo and Jerrys Bar have even been poking fun at cocktails soup season, posting videos of people consuming their margaritas and espresso martinis with spoons, blowing on the sips as they go. But theres at least one soup cocktail taking the trend more seriously. Chef Thanh Nguyens signature pho cocktail at Gabriellas Vietnam is a many-layered marvel. Its not like drinking pho broth spiked with vodka. Instead, its warming and softly spicy the heat hits the back of your throat and sinks into your chest the beefiness only an umami-laden back note. Its complex, mildly sweet, and more well-balanced than, say, a typical spicy margarita. A tiny squirt of Sriracha muddled with fresh culantro and ginger adds a soft orange hue. Culantro is what gives you the true pho flavor, said Nguyen. In South Vietnam, we use culantro more for pho than basil, which they do here [in Philly]. And of course, we need Sriracha. Advertisement The cocktail is shaken up with fresh lime juice, simple syrup, and a mix of vodkas (one part pho-infused vodka, three parts plain vodka). The liquor license at Gabriellas (a two-time pick for The 76 most essential restaurants in Philadelphia) is a satellite license associated with Five Saints Distilling allowing the restaurant to serve any beer, wine, and liquor made in Pennsylvania and so the Norristown distillerys line of spirits forms the backbone of Gabriellas bar program. Theres actual beef steeped in the vodka that forms the base of Gabriellas pho cocktail. Thin slices of brisket and eye of round, like the ones in a typical bowl of pho tai, are seared, then crammed into the bottles of vodka, to sit for three weeks, creating a lava-lamp effect as they release droplets of fat into the liquid. At the three-week mark, the vodka is strained multiple times through coffee filters. (Nguyen discards the beef that infuses the vodka with its meaty flavor. I tried a bite before it went in the bin, but that was all: If I had kept on eating, I risked inebriation by beef.) Next, toasted spices are added to the bottle: fresh ginger, star anise, coriander, fennel seed, cardamon, cloves, and cinnamon. The exact same spices for when I made pho, said Nguyen. The concoction steeps for another three weeks, until its the color of Coke, said Nguyen. Nguyen approaches mixing cocktails with the mind of a chef. This is most apparent in this cocktail, which is simultaneously an ode to the pho she served at her former restaurant, Melodys Vietnam Grill in Ambler, and to the medicinal concoctions her now 94-year-old grandfather made her drink as a child and, later, as a postpartum mother. He would make vodka yes, homemade vodka and put garlic, ginseng, or ginger in it. This was his medicine. Hes never taken any other medicine in his life, said Nguyen. After I had my daughter, he had me drink this liquor with ginger soaked in it. Pho-spiced cocktails are common in bars in Vietnam, made popular at upmarket places like the Michelin-starred Anan Saigon and the Anantara Hoi An (whose pho cocktail is heavily garnished with fresh cilantro and whole star anise). The cocktail is frequently credited to Hanoi bartender Pham Tien Tiep. But each of these versions take the inspiration of pho far less literally than Nguyen does. I dont want to limit myself to one thing, Nguyen said, explaining her experimentation behind the bar. I love cooking but I have more fun behind the bar sometimes. And she wants there to be constant crossover between her kitchen and bar. The passion fruit that her beef carpaccio is marinated in goes into her margarita. The kumquats that appear seasonally in her salads are muddled into her Saigon smash cocktail and blended into margaritas. As for the future of her soup-based cocktails, Nguyen is working on developing a bun bo hue-infused vodka. Im still trying to get shrimp paste and lemongrass flavors to come through, she said. Zsas Ice Cream hasnt closed permanently, after all. Founder Danielle Jowdy announced in December 2024 that she planned to end her 14-year run at the end of 2025. She called the wind-down a grand closing to allow customers to enjoy a final full season of scratch-made scoops and staff time to prepare for transitions. But as Jowdy considered the future, she decided to try selling the business to someone with roots in the neighborhood. That someone is Liz Yee, a pastry chef at the nearby Catering by Design who also creates desserts for Doho restaurant, also in Mount Airy. Yee plans to reopen Zsas (6616 Germantown Ave.) on Saturday, Ice Cream for Breakfast Day. Advertisement For Yee, the opportunity was both personal and professional. From the moment she saw the sale announcement over the summer, she began exploring the idea of keeping Zsas alive, not just as a retail store but as a community hub. Keeping the business in Mount Airy was a major part of the appeal for Yee, who lives in Roxborough. I work down the street, and Ive always loved coming here, she said. Its just special. She plans to keep it as Zsas a nickname that Jowdy and her sister, Rebecca, shared since childhood and will offer the same menu, plus twists and specials. Yee also wants to bring back the wholesale business. For Saturdays return, Yee will lean into her pastry background, offering fresh croissants paired with cereal-milk ice cream. Shes also bringing back favorites such as Black Magic (coffee ice cream with chocolate cake swirled in). I know when people sell a business, there are often mixed feelings, but Im honestly over the moon right now. It feels terrific, said Jowdy, who will work with Yee during the transition. Jowdy said she was still deliberating her next professional steps but hopes to stay involved in food and community work. Jowdy fell into ice cream years ago. When she and her mother were packing up the family home in Connecticut for sale, they found a hand-cranked ice cream machine the parents received as a wedding gift in 1980. As kids, Jowdy and her brother, Christopher, poured in skim milk and Hersheys syrup and wed have at it, she said. Jowdy brought the machine back to Philadelphia and, armed with a 1980s-era Ben & Jerrys cookbook, began making ice cream to take to parties and cookouts. She was working at a stained-glass studio as her dessert hobby grew. When she was laid off 14 years ago, she went professional. Yees path to Zsas is equally windy. Back in the 2010s, she was studying math at Drexel University when she decided to turn her baking hobby into a career. She headed the pastry department at the Rittenhouse Hotel and in 2018, she joined Walnut Street Cafe as executive pastry chef and baker before she joined Catering by Design six years ago. Yee, whose 6-year-old son and 7-month-old daughter enjoy Zsas, said she would fit the business in with her personal and professional lives. I work down the street and I run like a little 10-mile circuit around [the area], she said. Zsas, 6616 Germantown Ave., 215-848-7215, instagram.com/zsas. Winter hours starting Feb. 7: 3 to 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday, noon to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, or sell-out. Winners of the 2026 Tasties culinary awards, presented by the "Delicious City" podcast, pose onstage at Live! Casino & Hotel on Feb. 1, 2026. Read more How does Philly celebrate Phillys food scene? With an awards show that includes a special category for condiments, an honor for the best neighborhood restaurant, and an after-party with an Italian Market-themed speakeasy. Those were some of the highlights from the Tasties, the second edition of the Philly-based culinary awards for hospitality professionals. The party is thrown by the hosts of the Delicious City podcast (James Beard award-winning chef Eli Kulp, food influencer Dave Wez, and 93.3 WMMR radio host Marisa Magnatta). Chefs, bartenders, and dishwashers were among the more than 600 attendees at Sunday nights event at South Phillys Live! Casino. Advertisement Here are the Tasties 2026 winners, from Phillys best new restaurant to citys best hospitality experience, frozen dessert, and breakfast. Read on for more background on this now-annual awards ceremony. Best New Restaurant & Craft Cocktail Excellence: La Jefa It was a big night for La Jefa, the Guadaladelphian" all-day cafe and cocktail bar from the Suro family that functions as the trendier sibling to the more distinguished Tequilas next door. The restaurant, which opened in May, took home two honors for Best New Restaurant and Craft Cocktail experience making it one of two restaurants to do so. La Jefa beat out Little Water, Emmett, and Ama in the Best New Restaurant category, as well as Kampar, Messina Social Club, and Next of Kin for craft cocktails. By day, La Jefa is a destination brunch and coffee spot, with a menu that spans omelette-style chilaquiles, huevos verdes, conchas, and experimental lattes with flavors like burnt corn tortilla and guava caramel. At night, the space transforms into a sleek cocktail bar with light bites and easy-drinking cocktails, like tepache highballs, agua frescas spiked with aged El Dorado rum, and cilantro gimlets. Its back bar, La Jefa Milpa, is a more serious drinking experience, with a cocktail list designed in consultation with James Beard award-winning mixologist Danny Childs. The Lovers Bar at Friday Saturday Sunday, which won Excellence in Hospitality at the The Tasties in 2026. Read more Jason Varney Excellence in Hospitality: Friday Saturday Sunday Friday Saturday Sunday won Excellence in Hospitality, an award that celebrates the front of the house, said Kulp. The Michelin-starred, James Beard award-winning restaurant helmed by Chad and Hanna Williams is notably unstuffy, with its downstairs walk-ins-only bar taking on a reputation of its own as the perfect place to fall in love or become a regular. Friday Saturday Sunday was up against Her Place Supper Club, Honeysuckle, and Kalaya. Standout Bakery or Pastry Chef: Emily Riddell, Machine Shop Machine Shop owner and pastry chef Emily Riddell took home the Tasties award for Standout Bakery or Pastry chef, adding to the South Philly bakerys honors from Food & Wine magazine and the New York Times. Riddell, who honed her pastry skills at Le Bec-Fin, is known equally for her savory laminated pastries (think everything bagel croissants and shakshuka-esque danishes) as she is for her sweets, which include ginger-spiced cookies and lemon tarts topped with torched meringues. Riddell beat out Majdal Bakerys Kenan Rabah, Baby Kusinas McBryan Lesperance, and Provenances Abby Dahan. Chef-partner at Emmett Evan Snyder grills a halibut over charcoal. Snyder won Breakout Chef at the 2026 Tasties awards. Read more Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer Breakout Chef: Evan Snyder, Emmett Chef-owner Evan Snyder took home the Tasties Breakout Chef award for his work at Emmett, the Levantine-inspired restaurant he opened on Girard Avenue last January. Named after his toddler, Emmett is a forum for Snyder to revamp flavors of his childhood: His grandmothers stuffed cabbage become malfoufs stuffed with foie gras, and traditional boreks are reimagined with braised short rib and melted comte cheese. Its a menu that landed Emmett on Esquires best new restaurants list, plus praise from Inquirer critic Craig LaBan. Snyder has a knack for artfully layering multiple components into a dish that eats like a journey, LaBan wrote in April. Others in the Breakout Chef category were Dane DeMarco of Gass & Main, Jacob Trinh of Little Fish, and Sam Henzy of Fork. Icon Award: Tequilas Casa Mexicana La Jefa didnt steal all the thunder from its older sibling. Tequilas, the fine-dining Mexican restaurant from David Suro-Pinera, took home the nights Icon Award. Suro-Pinera first opened Tequilas in 1986 to celebrate traditional Mexican cooking and agave spirits beyond its namesake alcohol. After a kitchen fire closed the Locust Street restaurant in 2023, Suro-Pinera and family spent two years rehabbing Tequilas (and creating La Jefa inside of its adjoining Latimer Street space). The original restaurant reopened last spring, with the same ornate decor and a menu that reaches far beyond Suro-Pineras native Guadalajara to other regions of Mexico. Tequilas not only came back Kulp said, they came back bigger and better. Fork, Monks Cafe, and Oyster House were the other Philadelphia institutions vying for the Icon Award. From left: The Banh Mi Xiu May, Bun Bo Hue Dac Biet, and the chicken curry at Cafe Nhan, which received the Best Neighborhood Gem award at the 2026 Tasties. Read more MONICA HERNDON / Staff Photographer Neighborhood Gem: Cafe Nhan Vietnamese restaurant Cafe Nhan won the Neighborhood Gem award. Run by mother-son duo Nhan Vo and Andrew Dinh Vo, Cafe Nhan is a West Passyunk go-to for hearty bowls of soup and crispy fried chicken wings. The restaurants signature bun bo hue dac biet a spicy lemongrass soup from Central Vietnam loaded with brisket and pigs feet and gluten-free pho rank among the best in the city. Other contestants for Neighborhood Gem included Cafe Nhan neighbor Stina, as well as Babys Kusina in Brewerytown and the Breakfast Den on South Street. Restaurant and Chef of the Year: Phila Lorn & Mawn The Mawn team, including chef-owner Phila Lorn, added another feather to their caps at the Tasties, taking home top honors for both Restaurant and Chef of the Year. According to Kulp, Lorn brought the entire staff of both Mawn and its sister oyster bar, Sao, to the Tasties Sunday night. Phila and his wife, Rachel, opened Mawn in 2023 as a 28-seat Cambodian BYOB with a menu inspired by Philas parents. After racking up honors from the James Beard Foundation, Food & Wine magazine, and the New York Times, Mawn has become one of the toughest tables to get in Philly. Mawn co-owner and executive chef Phila Lorn accepts the award for Chef of the Year at the 2026 Tasties. Read more Philip Gabriel Photography / Philip Gabriel Photography Blue Corn, Her Place Supper Club, and Royal Sushi were also nominated for Restaurant of the Year. Royal Sushi owner Jessie Ito rounded out the Chef of the Year category alongside Thanh Nguyen of Gabriellas Vietnam and Omar Tate and Cybille St.Aude-Tate of Honeysuckle. Peoples choice awards Brain Freeze Bestie: Milk Jawn Celebrating excellence in all matter of frozen desserts (ice cream, gelato, and water ice), the Brain Freeze Bestie peoples choice award went to Milk Jawn. Co-owned by Amy Wilson and Ryan Miller, the small-batch ice cream purveyor started as a hobby before spawning two storefronts in South Philly and Northern Liberties. Milk Jawn beat out Franklin Fountain, Cocos Gelato, Johns Water Ice, Siddiqs Water Ice, and Cuzzys Ice Cream. The Migas breakfast taco from Taco Heart, which won the people's choice Breakfast of Champions Award at the 2026 Tasties. Read more MICHAEL KLEIN / Staff Breakfast of Champions: Taco Heart The Breakfast of Champions pitted breakfast sandwiches against tacos against diner plates. Austin-style taqueria Taco Heart and its flour-tortilla wrapped breakfast tacos ultimately won, beating out Fishtown diner Sulimays, and breakfast sandwiches from Fiore, Gilda, Paffuto, and Homegrown215. Sauce Boss: Hank Sauce The Sauce Boss is the Tasties peoples choice award for best condiment. Sea Isle City hot sauce brand Hank Sauce took home the prize, likely pushed over the edge by an Instagram endorsement from their new investor Jason Kelce, who called it the perfect condiment for eggs without any f flavor." Other nominees included boutique mayo brand Jawndiments, Willow Groves Mammoth Sauce Co., Sunny Chili Oil, Kensington Food Co., and Chili Peppah Water from Inquirer food writer Kiki Aranitas sauce brand Poi Dog. Pho with steak, flank, fatty brisket, tendon, and tripe from South Philadelphia's Pho 75, which received the people's choice Supreme Slurp Award at the 2026 Tasties. Read more TIM TAI / Staff Photographer Supreme Slurp: Pho 75 The Supreme Slurp is exactly what it sounds like: A peoples choice award for soup. Washington Avenue pho shop Pho 75 took home the prize, beating out potato soup from dive bar Cherry Street Tavern; French onion soup from Forsythia; matzo ball soup from Hershels East Side Deli; ramen from Terakawa; and the Souper Bowl from Sang Kee Peking Duck House. Background on the Tasties and Delicious City Now in its second year, the Tasties has morphed into a foil for the Michelin Guide and James Beard Awards, where outsiders are made to judge the best of Phillys food scene, often with varying degrees of depth. Deliberations started in October, when a 14-member nomination committee of local food writers, content creators, and past winners whittled down a list of hundreds of restaurants. From there, a smaller panel of judges (including Inquirer food desk editors Margaret Eby and Jenn Ladd) rate the finalists. Peoples choice voting occurs for sillier categories; more than 1,200 people cast ballots for the peoples choice awards this year, Kulp said. From left: "Delicious City" podcast cohosts Dave Wez, Eli Kulp, and Marisa Magnatta post onstage at the Tasties culinary awards at Live! Hotel & Casino on Feb. 2, 2026. Read more Philip Gabriel Photography / Philip Gabriel Photography The Tasties includes all the standard award show categories, as well as more bespoke accolades. At Sundays ceremony, Miriam Bautista of Vernick Fish won the Dish Wizard award, an honor bestowed upon the citys best dishwasher. Sous chefs at La Croix, Little Water, and Pesto all took home Future Tastemaskers awards, which come with $1,000 grants for professional development. At the Tasties, there are no losers, Kulp said. Its so cliche, but its really an award [show] where you can throw a dart to pick a winner and no one would argue. The expanded emergency department at Abington Hospital will be named the Goodman Emergency Trauma Center in honor of an unspecified gift from Montgomery County residents Bruce and Judi Goodman. Read more Jefferson Health is boosting emergency department capacity at Abington Hospital to enable it to receive 100,000 visits annually, up from 80,000 now, the nonprofit health system said Tuesday. The department, which is also a Level II trauma center, will be named the Goodman Emergency Trauma Center in honor of an unspecified donation from Montgomery County residents Bruce and Judi Goodman. Bruce Goodman is a commercial real estate developer and a longtime Abington board member, Jefferson said. Advertisement Jefferson, which acquired Abington in 2015, described the Goodman gift as the cornerstone of a $30 million ongoing fundraising campaign for the hospitals emergency department. The project will reconfigure more than 24,000 square feet of existing clinical space and reallocate 10,000 additional square feet from a courtyard and a gift shop to the ED to expand capacity from 80 to 116 treatment spaces, Jefferson said. In November, Jefferson said it had closed Abingtons inpatient behavioral health unit to accommodate extra patients in its emergency department. Also last year, Jefferson announced $19 million in upgrades to the emergency department at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Center City. The system also added a 20-bed observation unit in the ED at Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia. Applications to Philly-area medical schools have bounced back after a three-year decline. Read more Competition at Philadelphia-area medical schools intensified in 2025, with programs seeing about 50 applicants for every open spot. Thats the highest demand since 2022, with the number of applications bouncing back after a three-year decline, recently released data from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) shows. Advertisement The annual report offers a look at the composition of the nations future doctors through the demographics of the applicants and enrollees at M.D. degree-granting medical schools across the United States and Canada. It showed increased class sizes and strong female enrollment across the Philadelphia areas five M.D. degree-granting schools: University of Pennsylvania, Thomas Jefferson University, Temple University, Drexel University, and Cooper Medical School of Rowan University. And the fraction of first-year medical students from Pennsylvania who identified as Black or African American, excluding the mixed-race student population, fell from 6.9% to 5.4% between 2023 and 2025. The racial demographics of entering students are seeing increased scrutiny in light of the 2023 Supreme Court decision that effectively ended affirmative action, barring race from being used in higher education admissions. The percentage of first-year medical students from Pennsylvania who are Black is lower this year than the national average. Pennsylvania also lags behind the national average for first-year enrollment of Hispanic or Latino medical students. This data reflects the results of the application cycle that concluded last spring. Next years prospective medical school students are currently in the thick of admissions season, awaiting interviews and offers. Heres a look at the key trends were seeing: Applications back up Demand for spots at Philadelphia area-medical schools is back up after a three-year decline. There were nearly 5,000 more applications last cycle, a 9.3% increase, with all schools except Cooper seeing a boost. Jeffersons Sidney Kimmel Medical College helped drive growth the most, with a 16% increase in applications compared to the previous year. More medical students being trained Orientation icebreakers might take a bit longer to get through at area-medical schools as first-year classes continue to get bigger. In 2025, Philadelphia-area schools enrolled 1,089 new medical students, compared to 991 in 2017. Drexel University College of Medicine contributed to half of that growth, adding 49 seats to its recent entering class compared to that of 2017. Penns Perelman School of Medicine was the only school that did not increase its class size in 2025. Medical schools around the country have committed to increasing class sizes to address projected shortages of doctors. Female enrollment remains strong More female students have entered Philly-area medical schools over the last decade. In 2025, 55.4% of first-year enrollees at Philly-area medical schools were female, compared to 47.7% in 2017. Drexel saw the biggest rise, with 181 women entering in 2025, compared to 120 in 2017. Jerome Richardson, 21, a senior at Temple who is a native of St. Paul, has been charged along with journalist Don Lemon for an anti-ICE protest at a Minnesota church last month. Read more A 21-year-old Temple University student was arrested Monday on charges that he conspired with nine other people, including journalist Don Lemon, to interfere with the First Amendment rights of worshipers during a Jan. 18 anti-ICE protest at a church in St. Paul, Minn. Jerome Richardson, 21, a senior at Temple who is a native of St. Paul, turned himself in Monday morning to federal authorities in Philadelphia, according to a post on a GoFundMe page created to pay for his legal defense. A photo was posted showing Richardson entering the United States Custom House with several federal law enforcement officers apparently waiting for him at the entrance. Advertisement The arrests of Richardson and Ian Davis Austin, an Army veteran from Montgomery County, were announced at 9:10 a.m. on X by Attorney General Pam Bondi. Austin was arrested Friday. READ MORE: A Montco Army veteran was indicted alongside journalist Don Lemon for anti-ICE protest at a St. Paul church If you riot in a place of worship, we WILL find you, Bondi wrote. We have made two more arrests in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota: Ian Davis Austin and Jerome Deangelo Richardson. The arrest of Don Lemon was made public on Friday. The protesters went to Cities Church because a pastor there is also a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official. Lemon entered the church while livestreaming and said repeatedly: Im not here as an activist. Im here as a journalist. He described the scene before him, and interviewed churchgoers and demonstrators. A magistrate judge had rejected prosecutors initial bid to charge the veteran journalist. Lemon was charged, as were Richardson and seven others, by grand jury indictment last Thursday. The indictment described the protest as a coordinated takeover-style attack on the church that caused people to flee in fear. Protesters chanted ICE out! and Hands up! Dont shoot! The indictment quotes Lemon, who in the moment described the scene as traumatic and uncomfortable. Before his arrest, Richardson shared a video online in which he said he feared for his safety and needed help to pay legal bills. Richardson said he assisted Lemon by helping with logistics and connecting him with local contacts. Don was reporting on the situation, Richardson said, adding that he was proud to help. As a consequence of this support, I am now being targeted by Trump and the federal administration, Richardson said, adding that he was proud of the other defendants in the case. This is the price of being unapologetic about humanity and love of Christ, he said. Richardson, who traced his activism to the murder of George Floyd in 2020, said he still hoped to complete his degree and graduate from Temple in May. In a statement, Temple University said it was aware of media reports about the arrest of a student. We understand that the circumstances surrounding this matter are developing. Out of respect for the privacy of the student and the ongoing legal process, the University will not comment on the specifics, the statement says. As weve shared previously, we deeply value the First Amendment, including the rights of free speech, a free press, and the freedom to exercise religion, the statement says. We encourage and educate our students to engage thoughtfully and lawfully to advocate for their beliefs and values, raise awareness and contribute to constructive dialogue. This article contains information from the Associated Press. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy has encouraged Americans to take road trips and recently announced plans for an IndyCar street race in D.C. Read more The Trump administration is restricting cities from using road safety grants for automated cameras that enforce speed limits or other traffic laws, part of a shift away from safety measures that might slow or otherwise inconvenience car travel. The letters to city officials went out in December, saying that for consistency with Administration priorities, traffic cameras outside of school or work zones will not get approval under the Safe Streets and Roads for All program. The program was created by the 2021 infrastructure law and funds projects aimed at eliminating traffic deaths. Advertisement This Administration will not allow critical safety dollars to subsidize the purchase of speed cameras so governments can pursue unfair revenue schemes, U.S. Department of Transportation spokesperson Nathaniel Sizemore said in a statement. Proposals to extend sidewalk curbs farther into a roadway are also barred, although the number of exceptions is greater: transit stops, roundabouts, school zones, on-street parking, and curb extensions that dont take away lanes of traffic, according to the letters from the U.S. Department of Transportation. As with other administration grants, the language also says any equity analysis is disqualifying. The cities had been awarded grants but did not yet have a signed agreement with the White House for their implementation. Until that happens, funds can be clawed back. The Trump administration has previously said grants that include reducing lane capacity for vehicles with bike lanes or pedestrian infrastructure are hostile to cars and counter to DOTs priority of preserving or increasing roadway capacity for motor vehicles. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy has signaled his enthusiasm for driving in various ways. He has tried to stop congestion pricing in New York, has encouraged Americans to take road trips, and on Friday announced plans to host an IndyCar street race around the capital in August, saying, Freedom doesnt ring, it revs! Alex Engel, a spokesperson for the National Association of City Transportation Officials, a nonprofit coalition, said the change is an unwarranted restriction on proven, lifesaving tools, and that limiting speed and red-light enforcement to construction and school zones leaves many of the most dangerous city streets unaddressed. Research indicates that speed, red-light, and stop sign cameras are effective at reducing crashes and fatalities and popular with the public. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration calls them a proven safety countermeasure in a 2023 report and noted that support appears highest in jurisdictions that have implemented red-light or speed cameras. Advocates say merely cutting federal funding is unlikely to slow the growth of camera programs because they generally pay for themselves with fines. I dont see it as a huge barrier, given that thats not usually where the funding comes from, said Leah Shahum, who leads a Vision Zero Network that offers support to cities and counties trying to end road deaths. Its still consequential for those that have applied, and I would worry a little bit that it may send a message, that in some places it would slow enthusiasm. In-person traffic enforcement has collapsed across the country in the past six years, and more communities are turning to cameras to fill the gap. But there are vocal opponents who argue that it isnt fair to enforce traffic laws without the discretion of a human officer and that cameras are used to fine people for speed limits that are too low. Last month, Politico reported that the administration suggested stripping funding for the District of Columbia unless the city eliminates its many traffic cameras. D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) pushed back, saying doing so would endanger people in our community and mean cuts to everyday services. Cameras bring in more than $100 million a year through ticket revenue. Several House Republicans are adamantly opposed to traffic cameras and have pushed for legislation banning them both in D.C. and nationwide. According to two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, officials at the Federal Highway Administration have also been gathering information on the citys bike lanes and whether they took space away from cars and caused congestion. Those stubbornly frozen crosswalks with mounds of snow and ice across Philadelphia are getting chipped away with the assist of a 300-person workforce, starting Tuesday. The 300 ambassadors, as they are called, are tasked with manually breaking up ice at crosswalks and streets in residential neighborhoods, according to Mayor Cherelle. L Parker. Advertisement We are not resting and stopping until every street in the city of Philadelphia is walkable and drivable, and that people feel it when they are driving it and they see it in their neighborhoods, she said Monday, highlighting the nonstop work municipal workers had been doing since the largest snowfall in a decade blanketed the city with 9.3 inches on Jan. 25. READ MORE: Many Philly side streets remain full of snow and ice days after Sundays storm The dayslong cold snap that followed, however, has complicated dig-out efforts for the city and led to widespread complaints from residents. Photos of commercial corridors with piles of ice on crosswalks, unplowed side streets, untreated SEPTA bus and trolley stops, and unshoveled sidewalks next to public parks and recreation centers flooded social media after the storm as the city asked for patience. READ MORE: Philly threatened shoveling fines. Then it left its own parks and properties snowy and icy. Still, Parker said Monday that the city has melted 4.7 million pounds of snow, put down 15,000 tons of salt on streets and roadways, and treated at least 85% of streets at least one time. The city has deployed snowplows, compactors, front-end loaders, backhoes, and a snow melter that came from Chicago, the mayor said. And just this weekend, the city made a coordinated pedestrian safety push, working across city agencies as well as SEPTA and the Philadelphia School District to clear bus stops, school crossings, crosswalks, and ADA ramps. The Philadelphia Streets Department has also tapped into its Future Track Program for snow-removal efforts. The trainees are typically at-risk young adults who are not enrolled in higher education and are unemployed. They get job experience, as well as other services, and they help in beautification projects. In the snow cleanup, Parker said, the trainees cleared more than 1,600 ADA ramps. Carlton Williams, the citys director of clean and green initiatives, said the hundreds of workers aiding in the cleanup have made significant progress in areas like North Philadelphia; South Philadelphia, which was the epicenter of 311 complaints days after the snowfall; and Manayunk, which posed a challenge because of its hills. He noted the complexity of the citys narrow residential streets, which required bringing in specialized equipment, and where he previously said cleanup was further complicated by illegal parking. Throughout the week, the city had also conducted lifting operations where machines dumped snow and ice into dumpsters to be hauled to storage sites across the city. A Facebook video on the mayors social media page, along with responses to clips of the dig-out update shared online, offered a glimpse of how residents feel. Parker, many said rising to her defense, cannot control the freezing temps. Others were less forgiving, listing their blocks as forgotten sections in the cleanup. Philly is far from alone in the continued cleanup efforts hampered by below-freezing temperatures. At the request of Washington, D.C., officials, 50 National Guard members were deployed over the weekend to help clear schools of snow. Baltimore was able to get a snow melter on loan from D.C. this week, a machine officials told WBAL-TV the city had not needed in a decade. Even New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who received generally good marks on cleanup from the media in the early days after the storm, was pressed by reporters Monday on lingering snowbanks and delays in trash pickup. In Philadelphia on Tuesday, the city conducted a snow-clearing operation along a 1.5-mile stretch of Broad Street through 6 p.m., towing cars along the street in South Philly to make way for equipment on the major corridor. City workers received the slightest respite as they continued snow-clearing efforts as temperatures reached the mid-30s Monday and Tuesday. The Black press has been fighting a system that has sought to weaken our institutions, marginalize our reporting, and underfund our organizations for centuries, writes Sara Lomax. Read more Black media matters. Right here, right now, and more than ever before. We are the essential workers on the front lines of a growing resistance movement. As the owner and operator of WURD Radio, Philadelphias only multiplatform Black talk radio station, my team and I are focused on a singular mission: fighting back against this administrations attempt to destroy Black history, culture, institutions, and people. We provide our communities with our most powerful weapon: trusted, accurate, culturally specific information. Advertisement The recent arrest of Don Lemon and Georgia Fort, two independent Black journalists, underscores the lengths this government will go to silence dissent which, by the way, is protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The Black press has been fighting a system that has sought to weaken our institutions, marginalize our reporting, and underfund our organizations for centuries. And frankly, for too long, mainstream media has been complicit in maintaining that system of devastating racial oppression. In the 1800s, newspapers profited by running ads to capture enslaved Africans, and throughout history, theyve reinforced the caricatures and negative narratives used to justify a racial hierarchy. In this new era, it feels as though we are slipping back in time, forced to fight battles we thought were won. The quest for newsroom diversity in mainstream media, for example. The brief glimmer of self-awareness that followed the murder of George Floyd when pledges were made to hire more reporters of color, diversify sources, and commit to nuanced coverage was tragically short-lived. But if you are Black in America, you know the drill: Racial progress is always followed by a wicked backlash. Now is no different. Still, we look to our history for the blueprint of our survival. Our ancestors didnt just dream of a free press they built one. We draw strength from Samuel Cornish and John B. Russwurm, who founded Freedoms Journal, the first Black newspaper, in 1827. They advocated for the full humanity of Black people nearly 40 years before slavery was abolished nationwide. Imagine the courage and tenacity it took for two Black men to start a newspaper in a country that said it was illegal in some places, punishable by death or maiming to read and write. I am inspired by Ida B. Wells-Barnett, who used the power of her pen to expose the barbaric practice of lynching through the Red Record. She traveled the country with a bounty on her head, determined to move the nation away from its most diabolical instincts. I think of Robert Abbott, who launched the Chicago Defender from a landlords dining room in 1905. He built a secret network of Black Pullman porters to smuggle his papers into the South, serving as a catalyst for the Great Migration the movement of roughly six million Black Americans from the rural South to the urban North and West between 1916 and 1970. And, of course, there is Christopher Perry, who founded the Philadelphia Tribune in 1884, which remains the longest-running Black newspaper in the nation. This history is in our DNA. We call on these ancestors now because we face an overt hostility unlike anything I have seen in my lifetime. This moment is clarifying. Statistics highlight the stark disparities in housing, health, and education but without the historical context of Jim Crow, redlining, and voter suppression, the public is left to believe the administrations lie: that Black people are inherently inferior or merely unqualified social promotions. This hypocrisy is as old as the nation itself a country whose Founding Fathers codified slavery while declaring all men equal. When your foundational document is based on a lie you refuse to address, it tracks that you would spawn a president who is morally bankrupt. As Malcolm X said, The chickens are coming home to roost. Yes, our nation has a serious problem. Yet, we persist. 2025 was the most difficult year of my career. WURD weathered an anti-DEI lawsuit, layoffs after an advertising collapse tied to anti-DEI policies, and the day-to-day exhaustion of covering relentless racial animus in Washington. Yet, we did some of our best work, including a special series called Exonerated, which earned us an NAACP Image Award nomination a rare recognition for local radio. And weve launched two new yearlong initiatives to make sure Black voices are centered as part of the 250th birthday festivities. Our ancestors didnt just dream of a free press they built one. We will continue using all our platforms to tell our stories and center the complexity and diversity of our history, culture, and community. We know that in this season of increased tension and hostility, our voice is our most potent weapon and our most sacred sanctuary. We dont just broadcast; we bear witness. And in that witnessing, we find the power to not only endure the present, but to author a future where there is a possibility to be finally and fully free. Sara Lomax is the president and CEO of WURD Radio and the cofounder and president of URL Media. A parent and students walk to an entrance at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School in the Lincoln Park section of Chicago in March 2021. In 2013, the city closed 47 public elementary schools. Read more The school closures and consolidations proposal for Philadelphia schools that was announced in January was not surprising. The district, like many districts across the country, has signaled that it is grappling with declining enrollment, underutilized buildings, and tight budgets. The issue is so pervasive that the consulting firm Bellwether published a full report about it last fall called Systems Under Strain: Warning Signs Pointing Toward a Rise in School Closures, warning that many districts would soon face similar decisions. The process isnt surprising, either. Seattle similarly wrestled with a school closures plan before it got so complicated that the city simply dropped the issue after intense community backlash, concerns over student well-being, and the realization that there wasnt a clear plan for how much the closures would chip away at the roughly $100 million budget deficit. Advertisement The situation in both Philadelphia and Seattle has many similarities to Chicagos school closures in 2013. Chicago Public Schools closed 47 elementary schools the largest national mass closures up to that point. My colleagues and I at the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research studied that process, releasing reports on families priorities and choices in finding new schools, and on staff and students experiences, including academic outcomes. The findings from our research offer important lessons and considerations for district leaders and community members in Philadelphia today. First, school is a very personal space and choice for students and families. Families assess the quality of a school in many different ways, from class size to specific course offerings to the availability of specific extracurriculars. A schools reputation, sometimes going back multiple generations, is often a factor. And both safety and accessibility proximity and available transportation are always paramount. Closing a school isnt just an administrative change; it is a profound disruption of community and family life. Second, logistics matter enormously and proved more difficult than expected in Chicago. The management of closing some schools and merging into others was a massive pain point in Chicagos school closures. Some teachers could not find their personally purchased furniture, technology, and classroom supplies. Critical details were overlooked, which caused significant challenges for staff and students. Closures require thorough and transparent operational planning. But last and most importantly, it is critical to consider the effect of school closures on the people who experience them. In our interviews with both students and staff, we repeatedly heard that they wished their grief and loss had been acknowledged, validated, and addressed. Closing a school isnt just an administrative change, it is a profound disruption of community and family life. When we looked at the data, we found that test scores dropped for students whose schools closed and the drops started the year potential closures were announced, reflecting the effects of uncertainty and upheaval. Test scores also dropped for students whose schools were receiving schools, enrolling many of the affected students. Our University of Chicago colleague, professor Eve L. Ewing, wrote in her commentary in our report that we must ask how and why we continue to close schools in a manner that causes large disruptions without clear benefits for students. The way this plays out in Philadelphia matters, as young people, families, and educators are already emphasizing. In Chicago, school staff wished for more communication, more transparency, more training on merging school communities, longer-term transitional funding, and more emotional support for adults, whose feelings were still raw three years later when we interviewed them. Students wished school actions provided better facilities, from building and green space to sufficient toilet paper and warm water. And they wished they had more counselors and social workers, and general emotional support from all school staff, who were, themselves, grieving. Simple yet powerful reminders of what makes schools feel like places of care, connection, and community. READ MORE: Philly could close 20 schools, colocate 6, and modernize 159: Superintendent Watlington shares his facilities plan In 2023, our fantastic Chicago education reporters covered the 10-year anniversary of Chicagos massive school closures in Chalkbeat Chicago and in a WBEZ/Chicago Sun-Times collaboration. The students, families, neighbors, and staff shared similar messages in those stories as they had in our research: being told one thing and experiencing another; seeing the process as hurtful and without any benefit to young people or the community; wishing they could see the district and the city investing in schools, housing, and community resources where they live. Regardless of what final decisions are made, a difficult path lies ahead for school communities across Philadelphia. Chicagos experience tells us that any district considering school closures needs to plan meticulously, communicate frequently and transparently, and keep the experiences of students, families, and school staff at the center of the process. Marisa de la Torre is managing director and senior research associate at the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research, part of the Kersten Institute for Urban Education within the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice. The Lankenau Environmental Science Magnet High School is scheduled to merge with Roxborough High School under the new school board plan. Such a move would deprive Philadelphia students of a crucial program, writes Ashlie Tracy. Read more Philadelphia has been here before. In the early 2010s, school closures were presented as unavoidable and data-driven. Families were promised efficiency and reinvestment. What many communities experienced instead was lasting harm that never fully healed. That history matters now as the Philadelphia School District advances a new Facilities Master Plan that again relies on closures as a primary tool. Advertisement This time, the risk extends beyond neighborhood schools to specialized magnet programs with a clear public purpose. Lankenau Environmental Science Magnet High School is among those proposed for closure, with its program folded into Roxborough High School as an honors track. Framing this move as a merger understates what would be lost. Lankenau offers a cohesive educational experience built around environmental science. That focus shapes classroom instruction and extracurricular programming, as well as long-standing partnerships outside the school. Students graduate with sustained exposure to climate science and its connections to public health, food systems, and urban sustainability. These experiences reinforce one another and help explain the schools strong graduation outcomes and high college attendance rates. The timing of this proposal is difficult to ignore. Climate change is already shaping life in Philadelphia. Rising temperatures and flooding are becoming routine realities for many neighborhoods. Poor air quality continues to affect how residents live, work, and learn. Environmental inequities remain concentrated in Black and low-income communities. Preparing students to confront these conditions requires immersion over time, not sporadic exposure. Protecting schools like Lankenau would not undermine the broader goals of modernization or equity. It would reinforce them. The district argues that consolidating magnet programs into neighborhood high schools will expand access and strengthen those schools as community anchors. That logic assumes program quality can be preserved through reorganization alone. Experience suggests otherwise. A mission-driven school culture depends on sustained focus and institutional priority. Once reduced to a single track, that culture becomes fragile. Through Lankenau, students are participating in an Environmental Rights Amendment curriculum led by the Pennsylvania Bipartisan Climate Initiative, one rooted in civic engagement as much as environmental literacy. That depth of engagement would be hard to replicate in other schools without a dedicated institutional focus on this work. Environmental education is especially vulnerable to this kind of dilution. Partnerships with universities and community organizations take years to build. Internship pipelines depend on consistent coordination. Hands-on programs require both space and continuity. When these elements are separated, the whole weakens. Equity concerns also deserve closer attention. Lankenau serves students from across North and Northwest Philadelphia who rely on district-provided transportation. For many families, this school represents access to a learning environment aligned with their interests and ambitions. Closing it narrows those options rather than expanding them. The Facilities Master Plan emphasizes data analysis, community engagement, and fiscal responsibility. Those factors matter. But they do not capture everything. Some schools provide value that cannot be reduced to enrollment figures or building utilization rates. When a public school consistently prepares students to engage with one of the defining challenges of this century, dismantling it should not be taken lightly. Climate literacy is not optional. It shapes workforce readiness and civic decision-making. Philadelphia should be strengthening pathways that cultivate this knowledge early and deeply. Offering environmental science only as an honors option signals a retreat from that responsibility. This proposal is not final. The Board of Education still has time to reconsider. Protecting schools like Lankenau would not undermine the broader goals of modernization or equity. It would reinforce them and affirm that preparing young people for a changing world requires more than consolidation. Concerned residents should sign up to attend an upcoming community engagement session on Feb. 3 and 4 to show support for our specialized magnet schools. Ashlei Tracy is a nonprofit leader with a background in environmental policy and biology. Her work centers around increasing civic engagement, policy literacy, and care for our shared planet. ICE in Regarding City Councils overwhelming opposition to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, what is its plan to enforce our nations immigration laws? Or does it believe Philadelphia should establish its own? And that Americas 50 states and countless cities should also do their own thing. Or is it really saying it wants no standards at all completely open borders? In which case, an untold number of immigrants could come here. Does Philadelphia have a plan for that scenario? Because, to my knowledge, there is no nation on earth that allows anyone to cross its border at any time for any reason. Just as we lock the doors of our homes from unwanted intruders, nations set immigration laws for the same reason. Otherwise, we have anarchy. This commonsense observation seems to have escaped the anti-ICE movement. Advertisement Or has it? Certainly, there are well-intentioned activists in this movement. However, there are also financial backers, such as Neville Roy Singham, who reportedly has close ties to Chinas government. And as we have seen with District Attorney Larry Krasner, a recipient of George Soros financial support, nonenforcement of the law puts everyone at unnecessary risk. Or is that the point? Lynn Landes, Philadelphia, lynnlandes@gmail.com No middle ground Jonathan Zimmermans recent column misses the forest for the trees. Either we apply the articles and amendments of the Constitution to all citizens equally, or we are living in a failed democracy. There is no middle ground on this question. It is certainly ironic that the Second Amendment has been cited by the left. That does not mean its application in this case is automatically hypocritical. To cite it is to faithfully and equally apply the Constitution as interpreted by the courts. In suggesting otherwise, Zimmerman acts as an apologist for those who have ignored and will likely continue to ignore the Constitution at will. This has the effect of normalizing such behavior. The Constitution starts with the words We the people emphasizing its collective nature and evolution through time. While citizens may sometimes be frustrated by legal interpretations of some of the articles and amendments, the Constitution represents our countrys most basic principles governing behavior. Those who ignore this fact do so at the peril of all citizens. A defining feature of this administration is that it willfully and illegally ignores basic tenets and interpretations of the Constitution made by the courts. When this happens, the individuals involved must be held to account. If we do not do so, we tacitly accept that the Constitution is no longer meaningful, and that our interactions will be governed by the whims of one man and his underlings. Michael James, Haverford ICE vs. police The officer has been placed on administrative duty pending an internal investigation, as per department policy when an officer discharges his gun. When The Inquirer published a report recently about a Philadelphia police officer who had fired a shot at a suspect who allegedly shot another man, the article ended with the above words. Any casual reader of crime in Philadelphia probably knows these words by heart. If you use your gun for any reason, we have to check you out. Why cant U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement be subject to the same type of regulations? Why isnt Jonathan Ross, who fired the shots that killed Renee Good, subject to investigation? Why was he allowed to flee the scene? And why arent the ICE agents who shot Alex Pretti being investigated? Rosemary McDonough, Narberth Join the conversation: Send letters to letters@inquirer.com. Limit length to 150 words and include home address and day and evening phone number. Letters run in The Inquirer six days a week on the editorial pages and online. Editors Note: An earlier version of the letter about City Councils opposition to ICE agents misidentified a businessman who has been linked to the Chinese government. It is Neville Roy Singham not George Soros. Janelle Stelson campaigns in York on April 10, 2024. She lost to U.S. Rep. Scott Perry by a little over one point that year. Read more Democrat Janelle Stelson outraised U.S. Rep. Scott Perry for the second quarter in a row in her bid to flip the Central Pennsylvania district, which could determine control of the House in November. Stelson, who lost by a little more than 1 percentage point to Perry in 2024, has raised more than $2.2 million since launching her rematch campaign in July. She has outraised Perry in both quarters since her kickoff and has more cash on hand than the incumbent Republican when taking his campaign debt into consideration. Advertisement Perry, a close ally of President Donald Trump, appears to be in the toughest fight of his political career. The seven-term lawmaker continues to be a Trump loyalist even as other swing-district Republicans in the state increasingly look to distance themselves from the president. Stelsons strong fundraising haul indicates Democrats think they can finally flip the seat this year in a more favorable environment after Stelson came close in 2024 even though Trump carried the state and led a red wave. Stelson, a former TV anchor and former Republican, has again rooted her campaign in attacks on Perry and Trump. She thinks it will work this time. I think the story of Scott Perry just keeps getting worse, Stelson, 65, said in an interview. Hes somebody who I covered for years on the news, and people have just really had enough. After more than a decade in Washington, hes caused a lot of problems. Perry, 63, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, voted last month against a Democratic-led bill to restore recently expired healthcare subsidies amid a national spike in insurance premiums, a vote Stelson has seized upon. Three other Pennsylvania Republicans who represent swing districts U.S. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, Rob Bresnahan, and Ryan Mackenzie voted for the measure. READ MORE: Brian Fitzpatrick criticizes House Speaker Johnson as Pa. swing-district Republicans join Democrats in ACA subsidies vote Stelson would need to win the Democratic primary in May to set up the November rematch. She is facing Dauphin County Commissioner Justin Douglas, a progressive pastor, who has raised under $85,000 this year. Perry also has his first primary challenge, from Karen Dalton, a retired attorney for Harrisburg Republicans, who reported raising a little more than $11,000 since launching her campaign. Perry raised more than $2.9 million in 2025, and Stelson has raised $2.2 million since she launched her campaign in July. Stelson raised more than $946,000 from October through December, beating Perrys haul for the quarter of $780,031. Stelson ended the year with $1.52 million cash on hand, while Perry had $1.66 million. But Perrys campaign also has nearly $280,000 in debt, which would put Stelson ahead when factored into the totals. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rated the district as a toss-up alongside Mackenzies Lehigh Valley district, marking them as among the most competitive races in the country. Perry campaign spokesperson Matt Beynon said Perrys fundraising last quarter was incredibly strong and pointed to how he outraised fellow swing district Republicans Bresnahan and Mackenzie during that stretch. Beynon said Perry is in a better position to ward off a Democratic challenge this year because his district has emerged as a priority for national Republicans, landing on the National Republican Congressional Committees Patriots Program a list of priority races that he was not on in 2024. Seeing the results last go-around, and seeing how hard we fought to make sure that the congressman was reelected, I think did open some eyes, and the congressman has been able to make the case that he needs support, too, Beynon said in an interview. He said it has been a learning experience for folks to understand that the district has become increasingly blue in recent years. The 10th Congressional District includes Dauphin County and parts of York and Cumberland Counties, and is home to Harrisburg and Hershey. Perry declined to be interviewed for this article. Stelson said Republican voters in the district who have historically voted along party lines are really waking up and are beginning to view Perry as more of an extremist than a Republican. READ MORE: 2024: Scott Perrys Democratic opponent Janelle Stelson thinks she can get support from Republicans. She used to be one herself. She criticized Perry for urging his colleagues to throw out Pennsylvanias votes hours after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. She also pointed to his vote against awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to Capitol Police officers, as well as his support for Trumps One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which made cuts to Medicaid and SNAP in order to help fund Trumps tax cuts and immigration crackdown. Hes always putting his far-right politics ahead of the needs of people in this area, Stelson said. They cant pay their bills. His defeat actually would be a defeat for extremism in our politics. Democrats are optimistic that having Gov. Josh Shapiro, who won the district in 2022, at the top of the ticket will boost Stelsons chances and build on last years momentum in local races. Perrys campaign has called Stelson a carpetbagger, since she lived outside district lines in nearby Lancaster last time she ran. Stelson has argued that she knows the district well because of her decades-long career as a local journalist, and that she used to live in it. Stelson campaign spokesperson Alma Baker confirmed Stelson now rents a home in the district in Camp Hill while still owning her Lancaster residence, noting she lives in the district full-time. Stelson pointed to what she described as national problems when asked about unique issues in the district, such as the economy. Her campaign soon after unveiled an agenda aimed at supporting farmers and other rural residents. Beynon said that Perry will speak about his support for provisions in Trumps One Big Beautiful Bill Act like ending tax on tips and extending tax benefits for overtime. He will also point to his long-held position sponsoring a bill to ban stock trading in Congress, on which he has collaborated with Democrats. Both candidates plan to talk about affordability, which has emerged as a successful message for both sides of the aisle. Its just getting worse when you have to worry about whether youre going to put groceries on the table or pay your skyrocketing utility premiums, thats a real problem, Stelson said. You cant send kids to school without something in their tummies, otherwise theyre going to be thinking about that all day instead of learning. As a broadcast journalist for decades, the second-time candidate said, she listened to and highlighted concerns from people in the district. And I feel like now they can teach me what I need to be doing in Congress when I carry their voices there, she added. Under the Constitution, the Times, Places and Manner of holding elections are determined by each state, not the federal government. Read more President Donald Trump said Monday that Republican lawmakers should nationalize voting claiming a power explicitly granted to states in the U.S. Constitution. Speaking to right-wing podcaster Dan Bongino, who recently stepped down from his role as the FBIs deputy director, Trump again falsely alleged that the 2020 election was stolen from him, and he urged Republicans to take over elections and nationalize the process. Advertisement We should take over the voting, the voting, in at least 15 places, Trump told Bongino. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting. Under the Constitution, the Times, Places and Manner of holding elections are determined by each state, not the federal government. Congress has the power to set election rules, but the Constitution does not give the president any role on that subject. Republicans in recent decades have often argued in favor of states rights and against a powerful federal government. Trumps demand comes less than a week after the FBI executed a search warrant at a warehouse in Fulton County, Georgia, which is at the heart of right-wing conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. The unusual warrant authorized agents to seize all physical ballots from the 2020 election, voting machine tabulator tapes, images produced during the ballot count and voter rolls from that year. Days before the search, Trump claimed in a speech at the Davos World Economic Forum that the 2020 election was rigged. On Monday, while speaking to Bongino, Trump said without offering evidence that there are states that are so crooked and that there are states that I won that show I didnt win. He also baselessly claimed that undocumented immigrants were allowed to vote illegally in 2020. He then teased that there will be some interesting things come out of Georgia, but did not discuss the FBI warrant or its findings. While Trump has repeatedly and baselessly accused states such as Georgia of running fraudulent elections, U.S. national security officials have said they found no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election, and numerous courts rejected claims of election irregularities as unfounded. This is not the first time Trump has tried to minimize states roles in the running of elections. In August, while complaining in a Truth Social post about mail-in voting, Trump said he would sign an executive order that would help bring HONESTY to this years midterm elections, arguing that states are meant to follow federal instructions when it comes to voting. Remember, the states are merely an agent for the Federal Government in counting and tabulating the votes, Trump wrote then. They must do what the Federal Government, as represented by the President of the United States, tells them, FOR THE GOOD OF OUR COUNTRY, to do. It is not clear what Republicans in Congress could do if they were to take over elections, as Trump suggested. While Congress has exercised its power on elections rules throughout history by, for example, creating a national Election Day, or by requiring states to ensure that their voter rolls are accurate, lawmakers have historically allowed states to run elections under their own laws and procedures. Gov. Josh Shapiro speaks during an event to promote the governor's new memoir Where We Keep the Light at an event on Jan. 29, 2026 in Washington, D.C Read more WASHINGTON In a string of public appearances since federal agents fatally shot Alex Pretti, Gov. Josh Shapiro has repeatedly decried the federal immigration operation in Minnesota as unconstitutional and called on President Donald Trump to terminate the mission. The centrist Democratic governor leaned heavily into criticism of the Trump administration as he toured the East Coast and network and cable news shows to promote his new memoir, Where We Keep The Light, last week. Advertisement I believe this administration in Washington is using [government] for pure evil in Minnesota right now, Shapiro, who is widely believed to be setting up a presidential run, told Late Show host Stephen Colbert last week. And it should not be hard to say that. Known to be a careful messenger, Shapiros approach to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol operations in Minneapolis evolved over the last week, from his initial decision over the first year of Trumps second presidency not to aggressively speak out against ICEs enforcement tactics to a hard-line approach condemning the Trump administrations mission following the killing of another U.S. citizen by federal agents that became national tipping point. When ICE agents killed Renee Good in early January, Shapiro issued a statement mourning her death, but made no broader conclusions about ICE and did not mention her by name. Now, he has honed a clear and authoritative message that the Trump administrations strategies are eroding trust in law enforcement, violating constitutional rights and making communities less safe. If Trump moves his focus and forces to Pennsylvania, he says, state officials are prepared to push back. According to polling obtained by Puck News, Shapiro has landed on some of the most effective messaging on immigration in the country. But immigrant rights groups in Pennsylvania say the governor took too long to speak up and has yet to back his rhetoric up with concrete actions in his home state by ending cooperation with ICE. Because it is the topic of the day, hes getting these pointed questions, and his answer to that is to point to what theyre doing wrong in Minnesota. Meanwhile, hes over here telling us that hes not going to stop collaborating with ICE, said Tammy Murphy, advocacy manager at immigrant rights group Make the Road Pennsylvania. Its easy for him to point the finger to somebody else, but then what is he doing at home? At a roundtable with journalists in Washington on Thursday, Shapiro said he didnt view his new outspokenness against ICEs operations in Minneapolis as a tone shift, but acknowledged that the situation had become more serious in recent days and he reached a point where it was critically important to comment on the situation in Minnesota and tell Pennsylvanians his views. I think Ive been in the same place on this to protect our immigrant communities and also make sure that Pennsylvania is safe, Shapiro said. Both [Good and Prettis deaths] told me the same story that you had people who were not following proper policing tactics. People who were in the field who seemingly, and it became more clear to me over the last week or two, did not have a clear mission and that the directive that they had clearly was not within the bounds of the constitution. Shapiro has called for residents to continue peacefully protesting ICE activity. Speaking to Sen. Raphael Warnock (D., Ga.) in a book tour stop in Washington on Thursday evening, Shapiro noted that those protests had led to the votes against DHS funding Warnock was preparing to take that week. Thats people power right now, and this is a moment where we need to raise our voices, Shapiro said. (His event was then promptly, but briefly, interrupted by climate protesters) That same night Shapiros likely Republican opponent, State Treasurer Stacy Garrity, told The Inquirer that Minnesotans need to cooperate with ICE and that Pennsylvania officials should, too. Its always good to cooperate with ICE, especially when theyre doing targeted actions, Garrity said. Samuel Chen, a GOP strategist, said Shapiros harsh rhetoric would create a clear distinction between him and Garrity while endearing him to the Democrats should he run in 2028. Chen noted that even some Republicans have criticized Trumps approach to Minnesota, which creates an opportunity for Shapiro to speak out. With that being public opinion the governor has a lot of cover to come out even harder, Chen said. Its a win, win, win for him. Even as he makes the case against ICEs recent actions, Shapiro is still being careful not to go too far. He frequently mentions that Pennsylvania is not a sanctuary state. In an interview with Fox News last week, he criticized Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasners comments comparing ICE agents to Nazis as unacceptable rhetoric. It is abhorrent and it is wrong, period, hard stop, end of sentence, Shapiro said. What is most frustrating to immigrant rights groups is the Shapiro administrations willingness to cooperate with ICE even if on a limited basis while other Democratic governors have taken strong actions against it. Gov. Maura Healy of Massachusetts, for example, banned ICE from state facilities. Meanwhile, Shapiros administration honors some ICE detainers in state prisons and provides ICE with access to state databases that include personal identifying information for immigrants. You are still collaborating with the agency that is murdering our people, that you yourself have named as violating the constitution, said Jasmine Rivera, the executive director of the Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition. When Parady La, an Upper Darby resident and Cambodian immigrant died of a drug withdrawal in ICE custody last month, they note, Shapiro said nothing. You know, Parady Las death was also bad, said Murphy, who is with Make The Road. That happened in this state at the hands of federal agents. And hes silent about that, but then hes got something to say about Renee Good or Alex Pretti. Hes talking about those people, but not the people here. The Shapiro administration says that outside agencies do not have unfettered access to state databases but may offer access to federal agents for legitimate investigations that involve foreign nationals who have committed crimes. Furthermore, they say ICE detainers are honored only when a detainee has been convicted of a crime and sentenced to state prison. In a letter to advocates last month, the administration vowed not to lease state property to ICE and reiterated that State Police are barred from conducting immigration enforcement and that federal agencies must obtain a warrant to access non-public space in state buildings. This cautious approach is part of a balancing act Shapiro must handle as he pursues reelection in a politically split state and weighs a potential run for higher office, said Alison Dagnes, a political science professor at Shippensburg University. He is spinning plates and juggling flaming torches, all while hes playing the kazoo, Dagnes added That combination is really important to consider as we look at his shifting rhetoric, his carefulness that moved into a louder stance. But advocates want Shapiro to take a firmer stance and say they wont stop pushing until he does. Politically, he wants to be seen as both sides, Murphy said. He doesnt want to be seen challenging Trump or this deportation machine. Gov. Josh Shapiro delivers his third budget address to a joint session of the state House and Senate at the State Capitol on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. Speaker of the House Joanna McClinton (left) and Lt. Gov. Austin Davis (right) are seated behind him. Read more HARRISBURG Gov. Josh Shapiro on Tuesday is expected to propose a $53.2 billion state budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year, just three months after settling a bitter, 135-day budget impasse that forced schools, counties, and nonprofits to take out loans to stay afloat. Shapiro, a first-term Democrat running for reelection this year and potentially poised for higher office, will deliver his fourth annual budget address before a joint session of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, where he plans to pitch an expansive $1 billion housing and infrastructure plan to incentivize new housing development with an overall focus on affordability in the state. Advertisement And as in years past, Shapiro is expected to again propose new revenue streams to fill a more than $5 billion deficit, such as the legalization and taxation of adult-use cannabis, as Pennsylvania is again expected to spend more than it brings in tax revenues. Here are three things to watch for in Shapiros budget proposal. Affordability, affordability, affordability Affordability has become somewhat of a top Democratic catchphrase heading into the midterm elections, as housing, energy and healthcare costs continue to rise. Its an issue Shapiro has repeated as one that is top of mind for him, and he is now applying it to a basic need for many Pennsylvanians: housing. Hes expected to pitch a sweeping, $1 billion housing and infrastructure plan to cut red tape and reform zoning rules, as housing costs in the state remain high and availability low, though the details of the plan were unclear Monday afternoon. READ MORE: The cost of housing in Pa. is too high. Heres what Josh Shapiro will need to overcome to fix it. The average rental price in Pennsylvania is $1,525 per month, with 25,000 rentals available across the state, according to the real estate website Zillow. Additionally, Shapiro has been focused on energy affordability as another top priority, challenging PJM Interconnection the independent electrical grid operator for Pennsylvania and 12 other states over how much it is charging residential customers for energy. Shapiro has taken this effort to the White House and gained support for a cap on prices going forward. The governor on Tuesday is also expected to reintroduce his Lightning Plan that includes incentives to increase renewable energy production and a new Pennsylvania-specific cap-and-trade carbon program. READ MORE: Pa. budget deal kills major program to control greenhouse gases The plan would replace the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative that Shapiro and House Democrats agreed to ditch as part of an overall $50.5 billion budget deal in November, following years of urging from Republicans who argued that it stifled economic growth in the state. A similar cap-and-trade program would be unlikely to pass the Republican-controlled state Senate. New revenue streams, again Shapiro will again try to fill the states projected $4.3 billion budget gap with new revenue streams although none of them would be likely to be up and running in time for the start of the new fiscal year on July 1. Last year was the first time Pennsylvanias state budget ever topped $50 billion. Its revenue still has yet to hit that milestone, and is unlikely to do so this fiscal year. The Independent Fiscal Office estimates the state will bring in nearly $49 billion, a 1.3% increase in revenue over the last fiscal year. The budget gap is among the biggest challenges for Shapiro in upcoming negotiations with top legislative leaders, as Senate Republicans say its their top priority to spend within the states means. Shapiro last year proposed tapping into the states Rainy Day Fund approximately $7 billion set aside for emergencies that the state has been stockpiling in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic. Its unclear whether he will pitch using some of the fund again for the 2026-27 fiscal year. He is also expected to propose legalizing recreational marijuana again, in addition to the regulation and taxation of so-called skill games to generate new revenue for the state. Last year, Shapiro proposed a 20% tax on adult-use cannabis that he predicted would bring in $535.6 million in its first year, largely from licensing fees. He projected it could bring in $1.3 billion in the first five years, noting that only one of Pennsylvanias neighboring states, West Virginia, hasnt legalized recreational marijuana, essentially allowing Pennsylvania to lose out on tax revenue as residents cross state lines to buy it. Shapiro has proposed regulating skill games in his last two budgets, asking last year that the unregulated gaming machines be taxed at 52%, which is the same tax rate as slot machines in casinos or gas stations. He estimated then that skill games would bring in nearly $369 million in its first year. (The skill games industry has continuously rejected a high tax rate, arguing that it would hurt the industry and small business owners that carry the machines, like bars and corner stores.) A possibly quicker resolution There is one bright spot for the schools, counties, and nonprofits that rely on state funding and which last year had to wait more than four months for that money when lawmakers couldnt agree: Its an election year. Election years often result in quicker budget resolutions, as lawmakers and officials want to secure money for their districts before they go home to campaign for reelection. In 2018, when former Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf was up for reelection, he signed the state budget on June 23 a week ahead of the July 1 deadline. This year, Shapiro is up for reelection, likely to face a November challenge from State Treasurer Stacy Garrity, the state Republican Party-endorsed candidate. And many other state lawmakers are in the same boat. All 203 seats in the state House and half the 50 seats in the state Senate are on the ballot in November. Several lawmakers have announced that they will not seek reelection, allowing for competitive elections to fill the vacancies. HARRISBURG Gov. Josh Shapiro on Tuesday unveiled a $53.2 billion state budget that focuses on making Pennsylvania a more affordable place to live while proposing a 6.2% spending increase over last year and renewing his pitches to create new revenue streams to fill a significant budget deficit as he runs for reelection. Shapiros fourth budget address attracted several standing ovations from Democrats as he stood before a joint session of the state House and Senate to pitch some of Democrats shared priorities, such as increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Advertisement Afterward, Republicans decried the budget proposal as unaffordable, arguing such a steep increase in spending is unrealistic when the state is already poised to spend more than it brings in during the current fiscal year and in the future. Shapiros proposal would spend $4.6 billion more than the state is projected to bring in in the 2026-27 fiscal year, requiring officials to pull most new spending from Pennsylvanias $7.7 billion Rainy Day Fund, or find funding from new revenue streams like the taxation of recreational marijuana that do not yet exist. READ MORE: Shapiro budget address: $53.2 billion spending plan includes $1 billion for housing and infrastructure, raising Pa. minimum wage to $15 an hour Shapiros proposed spending hike equates to a $2.7 billion total increase over the 2025-26 budget. Approximately $1 billion of that would fulfill increased federal Medicaid obligations, another $1 billion would be for new initiatives proposed by the governor, and $700 million would go to other funding increases, according to a Shapiro administration official. The proposal does not include any broad tax increase on state residents. Instead, Shapiros budget pitch includes proposals to generate nearly $2 billion in new revenue, largely from the taxation and legalization of recreational marijuana and regulation of so-called skill games suggestions that he put forward last year but that failed to gain traction within the legislature. He proposed taxing adult-use cannabis at 20% to generate $729.4 million. He is also seeking a 52% tax on skill games, the unregulated and untaxed slot-machine look-alikes that have proliferated around the state in corner stores, bars, and fraternal organizations, to generate an estimated $765.9 million in its first year. Everyone knows we need to get this done. So lets come together and finally get it over the finish line, he added. Shapiro proposed the legalization and taxation of recreational marijuana in each of his prior three budget proposals. Last year, he pitched a 20% tax on the sale of legal marijuana that he estimated would bring in $535.6 million in its first year. This years projection of $729.4 million in that time frame would be a 36% increase without changing the proposed tax rate. A Shapiro administration official said Tuesday that the projected increase is due to more interest from marijuana companies that want to do business in Pennsylvania. Shapiros budget also called for an additional $565 million for public schools toward the states new adequacy funding and tax equity formulas, in the latest installment of a nine-year plan to ensure students get an equitable education no matter their zip code. He requested $30 million in additional funding toward three of Pennsylvanias state-related universities the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania State University, and Temple University to be awarded based on a new performance-based funding mechanism. The governor also pitched creating a Federal Response Fund in Pennsylvania, seeking to set aside a $100 million reserve to offset any impact from President Donald Trumps administration, in the event the federal government moves to cut funding to social services programs and grants to state and local governments, as it has done several times over the last year. A focus on affordability As his reelection campaign ramps up ahead of November, Shapiro made a broad pitch for policies aimed at making Pennsylvania more affordable. Shapiro said he was working with utility companies to rein in energy costs and called for the construction of new homes and a bevy of renter protections in a plan to expand the availability and affordability of housing across the state. READ MORE: What does Montcos PJM have to do with data centers and why is Gov. Shapiro always so mad at it? He proposed a $1 billion fund, supported by the issuing of bonds, to pay for a range of infrastructure projects relating to energy, housing, local governments, and schools. But he billed it largely as a major investment in building new housing. We need hundreds of thousands of new homes, Shapiro said. This is how we build them. Shapiro also called for the state to create a catalog of local zoning rules and to help local governments revamp ordinances to allow for more housing. The governor again proposed raising Pennsylvanias minimum wage to $15 an hour, billing it as a cost savings of $300 million to the state on entitlement programs such as Medicaid. In a news conference hosted by Senate and House Republicans following Shapiros budget address, top legislative leaders contended that Shapiros affordability vision for the state is unnecessary. What we need to do is stand back and watch the private sector work, and watch the private sector grow the jobs that will support this economy, said House Minority Leader Jesse Topper (R., Bedford). What we need to do as a government is far less. We need to get our footprint down. That is what we believe will make things more affordable for Pennsylvanians. Attracting AI developments at a cost Shapiro made it clear he wants Pennsylvania to be a place that will draw business investment particularly amid the expansion of artificial intelligence. He announced a new plan he said would protect consumers against rising energy costs associated with data centers, while also easing a path for tech companies to build the centers. The Governors Responsible Infrastructure Development (GRID) plan would make data center developers either bring their own power generation or pay for any new generation they will need, he said, not saddling homeowners with added costs because of their development. Shapiro said that too many data center proposals have been shrouded in secrecy but that they are crucial for the country. The United States is locked in a battle for AI supremacy against China, Shapiro said. Look, I dont know about you, but Id much rather the future be controlled by the United States of America and not Communist China. We all recognize it took too long last year Shapiros $53.2 billion pitch likely sets him up for another fight with Senate Republicans, who control the chamber. They have promised fiscal restraint as their top priority and are unlikely to approve a major spending increase. Last year, Shapiro and House Democrats took 135 days to reach an agreement with Senate Republicans, in what became an at-times ugly battle that underscored the states rural-urban divide. Shapiro said Tuesday he wants to avoid another lengthy stalled budget, which forced schools, counties, and nonprofits to take out billions in loans to stay afloat during the four-month impasse. He invited leaders of all four caucuses Senate Democrats, Senate Republicans, House Democrats, and House Republicans to meet on Wednesday to start budget talks much sooner than in past years. They all agreed to attend, he added. We all recognize it took too long last year and that had real impacts on Pennsylvanians, but we learned some valuable lessons through that process, Shapiro said in his address, which lasted an hour and 24 minutes. We learned that we all need to be at the table, and that we all need to be at the table sooner. Budget negotiations will begin Wednesday, Shapiro said, before legislative committees begin meeting about the proposal later this month. The budget will be negotiated in closed-door meetings between top leaders and is due by the start of the new fiscal year, which begins July 1. One contentious issue is off the negotiating table for the forthcoming fiscal year: funding mass transit. Shapiro again pitched the state to increase the share of the sales and use tax that goes to mass transit, including SEPTA, as the transit agencies desperately need a new recurring revenue source. Shapiro does not want that to begin until July 1, 2027, when his latest short-term transit funding fix is scheduled to run out. Shapiro and most lawmakers in the General Assembly are up for reelection this year. In previous midterm election years, the electoral pressure has sped up negotiations, as legislators want to bring home results to their constituents before they return to the campaign trail in a year when the governors mansion and control of the state House and Senate are on the line. (Shapiros likely opponent, Republican State Treasurer Stacy Garrity, immediately criticized his budget proposal, saying the pitch didnt come nearly close enough to bridging the states spending deficit.) But even if lawmakers move with haste, this years budget negotiations may be tense as leaders try to reset spending to better align with how much the state generates in revenue. Were going to do everything we can to protect the taxpayer and make sure that the dollars that are allocated are wisely used, Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R., Indiana) said. We have to make sure were, again, stretching every taxpayer dollar we can and bringing the cost of government down as much as possible. But with the high-stakes election just months away, House Majority Leader Matt Bradford (D., Montgomery) cautioned Republicans against coming down hard on Shapiro, who has boasted consistently high approval ratings. I would argue the polls indicate that we have a very popular governor. They tried to obstruct him and his numbers only got more popular, Bradford said. My suggestion is it would be the political imperative, regardless of the policy implications, that they start working with this governor to pass things. Staff writers Thomas Fitzgerald, Maddie Hanna, Ariana Perez-Castells, and Susan Snyder contributed to this article. A federal grand jury on January 30 indicted a Massachusetts married couple for their alleged involvement in a scheme to defraud individuals and insurance providers through their business, BL Insurance Brokerage, LLC. U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley of the District of Massachusetts reported that Brendan Lawler and Lisa Lawler, of New Bedford, were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. In total, through this scheme, federal prosecutors allege that the Lawlers defrauded at least 50 individuals or insurance providers and stole more than $750,000 from insurance providers, premium finance companies and lenders. According to the Foleys office, both defendants were previously charged by criminal complaint in August 2025 and will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date. The charges are allegations and the Lawlers are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. According to the charging documents, from March 2023 through March 2024, the Lawlers allegedly solicited and collected insurance payments from BL Insurances clients that should have been paid to the clients insurance providers. However in many cases, instead of paying the insurance companies what the companies were owed and keeping only the commission, the Lawlers are alleged to have pocketed the full amount of their clients payments and used the money for their own purposes, including to make personal purchases and pay off their loans, utility bills, and personal credit card balances. The couple also allegedly used incoming client funds to pay outstanding balances due to other clients insurers, and they allegedly created and distributed certain insurance documents such as certificates of insurance to clients that falsely suggested that the clients were insured. Prosecutors maintain that when clients discovered that they did not have the coverage they had paid for, the Lawlers made excuses to conceal the scheme. In addition to the false certificates of insurance, they allegedly also sent clients images of mail tracking numbers, receipts, and checks that they falsely claimed showed payments that they had mailed or made. Sometimes, prosecutors maintain, the Lawlers refunded complaining clients or belatedly paid for the clients coverage, often using another clients insurance payment to do so. Court documents claim that the Lawlers stole at least $462,247.89 from insurance providers and premium finance companies, as well as at least $307,486.33 from lenders. According to an affidavit, the victims included an insurance brokerage in Daytona Beach, Florida that obtained insurance coverage for its clients and insurance customers who operated law offices in New Bedford and East Boston. On its website, BL Insurance had identified itself as a full-service insurance brokerage based in Fairhaven that was licensed in several states, including Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine, New Jersey, and Connecticut. BL Insurance purported to offer professional liability, general liability, commercial property, financial products, and personal insurance. The charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the loss to the victim. Topics Agencies Fraud The Russian captain of a container ship that crashed into a U.S. tanker off the east coast of Britain in March last year was found guilty in a London court on Monday of causing the death of a crew member through gross negligence. Vladimir Motin, 59, was captain of the Solong when it hit the Stena Immaculate tanker, which was anchored and carrying just over 220,000 barrels of high-grade aviation fuel. The March 10 crash started a blaze on both ships and caused the death of Solong crew member Mark Pernia, a Philippines national whose body has never been found and is presumed dead. Prosecutor Tom Little told jurors at the start of Motins trial last month that the captain did absolutely nothing to prevent the collision, having been on course to hit the Stena Immaculate for more than 30 minutes before the crash. Motins lawyer James Leonard said Motin unsuccessfully tried to take the Solong off autopilot and change course, arguing that while Motin was at fault he was not grossly negligent. Motin, who had pleaded not guilty, was convicted of the gross negligence manslaughter of Pernia after a trial at Londons Old Bailey court. He will be sentenced on Thursday. Little said in court that Pernias wife, who lives in the Philippines, was seven months pregnant at the time of his death and their child has since been born. Criminal Trial to Be Followed by Lawsuits The Portuguese-flagged Solong was heading from Grangemouth in Scotland to Rotterdam in the Netherlands, mainly carrying alcohol, a journey Motin said he had taken several times. The Stena Immaculate was waiting for a berth to discharge its cargo when it was hit by the Solong at roughly 18 miles per hour (29 kph), causing a fire and pitching Pernia into the sea. Motins Russian nationality prompted some suggestions of intentional sabotage, but maritime security sources said at the time that there was no indication of any malicious activity. The Solongs alarm system had been switched off and the crew of both the Stena Immaculate and the Solong were given no warning of the collision, Little told jurors last month. The crash is also the subject of civil litigation, with the Solongs owner, a subsidiary of Ernst Russ, facing a lawsuit at Londons High Court. It has applied to throw out the case and a hearing is due to take place next month. Ernst Russ, which said last year that it was setting up a fund for potential lawsuits, said its fullest sympathies remain with the family and loved ones of Mark Angelo Pernia. We continue to provide support to the family, it said in a statement, adding: They have remained extraordinarily resilient throughout this difficult period. (Reporting by Sam Tobin; editing by Michael Holden and Alexander Smith) Photograph: Smoke billows from the MV Solong cargo ship in the North Sea, off the Yorkshire coast in England, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Dan Kitwood/Pool Photo via AP) Related: This edition of International People Moves details appointments at Marsh, Tokio Marine Kiln (TMK), and Everest Group. A summary of these new hires follows here. Marsh Names Quest as UK CEO, Succeeding Lay Insurance broker Marsh announced the appointment of Lisa Quest as UK CEO, in addition to her current role as head of UK and Ireland Oliver Wyman, effective April 6, 2026. Quest will be based in London and report to Flavio Piccolomini, CEO, International, Marsh. Quest succeeds Chris Lay, who is retiring from the business. In this additional role, Quest will work with the UKs business CEOs to shape Marsh UKs commercial strategy. She will focus on strengthening and expanding client relationships across Marshs four businesses as well as developing innovative, data-driven client solutions that support organisations operating in the UKs diverse economy. Quest joined Oliver Wyman in 2006. Following time as a private equity investor, she returned in 2013, going on to be appointed as co-head of the Government and Public Institutions Practice, Europe. In 2023, she was appointed to the additional role of Head of UK and Ireland. Her work draws on her global experience, where she has extensive expertise in areas such as data and analytics, workforce of the future, and organisational design. In addition, she sits on the Canada-UK Chamber of Commerce Board, is a guest lecturer at the London School of Economics Centre for Risk and Regulation, and is a Member of the Leadership Council at National Numeracy. Through these roles, Quest works extensively with HM Government on critical national priorities, including pay equity, defense financing, flood risk and resilience, and has supported the creation of new government bodies, including the National Wealth Fund. *** TMK in Taps Carpenters Sitki as Cyber Re Underwriter Tokio Marine Kiln (TMK), the specialist insurer, announced it has appointed Ben Sitki as an underwriter within its Cyber Reinsurance Solutions team. He takes up his new role with immediate effect and reports to Cesar Silvestre, head of Cyber Reinsurance Solutions. Sitki brings nearly two decades of re/insurance experience to his new role, with particular expertise in developing cyber solutions for businesses in the Middle East and Africa. He joins from Guy Carpenter where he served, most recently, as senior vice president, and has previously held roles at Willis Re and Canopius. The appointment follows the launch of TMKs cyber reinsurance offering in November, with Cesar Silvestre joining to lead the department. It builds on the introduction of the insurers flagship cyber insurance product TMK Cyber Ctrl and Enterprise Ctrl, an enhanced cyber errors and omissions (E&O) insurance solution *** Everest Promotes 2 Key Leaders in Facultative & Hybrid Re Everest Group Ltd., the Bermuda-based re/insurer, announced two key leadership appointments within its Facultative & Hybrid Reinsurance business, further strengthening its Global Wholesale & Specialty platform. Michael Cellura has been appointed head of Facultative & Hybrid Reinsurance, reporting to Jason Keen, executive vice president and chief executive officer of Global Wholesale & Specialty Insurance. Since joining Everest in 2022, Cellura has demonstrated strong executive leadership across the organization. In this role, he will oversee Everests global facultative and hybrid reinsurance platform, including underwriting strategy, portfolio management, and regional alignment across the business. Trevor Gallagher has been appointed chief operating officer, Facultative & Hybrid Reinsurance, a newly created role, reporting to Cellura. Gallagher will be responsible for operational execution, and platform optimization, supporting the continued scale and performance of the global business. Since joining Everest in 2023, he has since been instrumental in strengthening operational discipline and supporting the build-out of the Facultative & Hybrid Reinsurance platform. Michael and Trevor are highly respected leaders whose experience and strategic focus reflect the strength of Everests leadership bench, said Keen. Facultative & Hybrid Reinsurance is central to our strategy, enabling us to provide flexible underwriting and differentiated solutions for complex risks. Under their leadership, Everest will continue to build a high-performing platform grounded in disciplined underwriting, strong execution, and close broker and client collaboration globally. Topics Cyber Leadership Florida endured another day of bitter cold that damaged the states citrus crop and prompted a local utility to ask residents to reduce electricity use. Freeze warnings and cold weather advisories cover a large portion of the state, the National Weather Service said. Jacksonville saw a low of 22F (-6C) and Orlando fell to 24F on Sunday, both daily records, while Tampa dropped to 29F, two degrees shy of its record. There was significant damage to the remaining oranges to be picked in central Florida, said Jim Roemer, a meteorologist who publishes the WeatherWealth newsletter. Many key areas were well below 28 degrees for over four hours between Sunday and this morning. Floridas citrus industry was already struggling with the long-running effects of greening disease, which is spread by an invasive pest and causes fruits to drop prematurely. The US Department of Agriculture forecast this seasons orange juice harvest would be the smallest since 1930. The deep cold may have permanently damaged some trees in the area as temperatures remained below 24F for four hours, according to Roemer. Trevor Murphy, a citrus grower in Highlands County, said he found ice and slush in his fruit. There will be heavy leaf loss from the frost damage and some of the young trees weve planted over the past few months probably wont make it, Murphy added. Itll be a few days until we start seeing leaf and fruit drop. Orange juice futures markets dropped as much as 12%, the biggest intraday plunge since 2010. Growers had already prepared with water sprayers to help insulate oranges, and some unharvested fruits were mature enough to be salvaged, said Judy Ganes, the president of J. Ganes Consulting. The cold weather is expected to help with that, she added. They need to get the oranges off the trees and processed before the oranges go soft and rot, so a freeze and fast warm up is more challenging than a lingering cold, Ganes said. The cold has also strained on power resources across the South. Duke Energy Corp. asked customers in Florida and North Carolina to conserve electricity Monday morning to help avoid power outages. The US Department of Energy told seven Florida utilities they can bring additional power plants online to meet demand as the cold lingers. The worst of the cold in Florida should ease after Tuesday, said David Roth, a senior branch forecaster at the Weather Prediction Center. The chill has already led to some unusual events across the state, including reports of snow flurries in Tampa and Fort Myers over the weekend. Related: KCC: Winter Storm Fern to Cause $6.7M in Insured Losses Photo: Workers install frames to hang protective fabric around plants ahead of cold weather in Miami on Jan. 29. (Zak Bennett/Bloomberg) Copyright 2026 Bloomberg. Topics Florida Agribusiness Fast food chain Wendys will open its second Irish restaurant after hailing the fantastic response to its outlet in Mahon Point in Cork. Corrib Oil acts as the franchise partner in the Irish market for US-headquartered Wendys and opened the Mahon Point outlet in October. On Tuesday, Corrib Oil confirmed its second Wendys location in Ireland will open at Tullamore Retail Park in Co Offaly. The new restaurant and drive-thru will open in May, and recruitment is under way. Following the fantastic response to our first Wendys restaurant in Cork, were delighted to confirm Tullamore as the location for our second Irish location" said Corrib Brands managing director Michael Dalton. "This is another important step in our long-term expansion strategy. The Mahon Point outlet employs 60 staff, and Corrib is recruiting a further 60 staff for the new Midlands outlet. Tullamore Retail Park sits inside the N52 ring road, five minutes from Tullamore town centre and 10 minutes from the M6 DublinGalway motorway. Over the coming years, Corrib plans to open 10 Wendys locations across Ireland, both as standalone restaurants and at select Corrib Oil service stations, creating more than 300 jobs. Founded in 1987 in Claremorris, Co Mayo, Corrib Oil operates 41 convenience stores with forecourts and 20 fuel depots across 17 counties. The company employs 1,300 people and is headquartered in Parkmore, Galway. Corrib Oil operates three divisions Corrib Retail, Corrib Oil Distribution, and Corrib Brands and has long-term partnerships with BWG Foods, operating under its Spar brand, Texaco, Circle K, and food chains including Insomnia, Apache Pizza, Subway, and Zambrero. As with the Cork restaurant, the Tullamore Wendys will source beef and chicken from Irish-based food companies Kepak and Western Brand. Founded in 1969, Wendys operates more than 7,250 restaurants worldwide, with more than 1,350 located outside the US. Wendy's Europe managing director Michael Clarke said: "Corrib Oil has proven to be a strong partner, and were excited to bring Wendys globally great, locally loved experience to more Irish customers when the restaurant opens this spring. The Wendy's brand is best known for its square hamburgers, Spicy Chicken Sandwich and the Frosty dessert. The future direction of the EU's Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) will be up for discussion on Tuesday as Tanaiste Simon Harris and agriculture minister Martin Heydon meet the EU's Budget and Agriculture Commissioners in Dublin. The delegatiion will host European Commissioner for Budget, Anti-Fraud and Public Administration Piotr Serafin and European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christophe Hansen in Dublin this morning. Mr Serafin is in Dublin as part of a tour of European capitals to discuss the EUs next long-term budget, known as the EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2028-2034. Mr Harris is to stress that the trend for simplification across all EU efforts must extend to the multi-annual budget. At this turbulent geopolitical time, we must control what is within our control. A European budget that focuses on investing in supporting jobs, agri food, farmers and skills is essential," Mr Harris said. It is vital that the funding structures we agree on for the coming years prioritise reducing bureaucracy and red tape. As president of the EcoFin Council of Europe when Ireland takes over the EU Presidency later this year, I am determined Ireland will be an honest broker in delivering a new multi annual budget. Todays meeting with key Commissioners is an important step in advancing that work. Mr Heydon will stress the need for future food security in Europe. "A cut to CAP funding will have real consequences for farmers at a time when they are already facing rising input costs, increasing market volatility, and growing expectations in areas such as climate and environmental delivery. Farmers cannot be asked to do more with significantly less. A predictable and adequately funded CAP is essential if the policy is to deliver stability, sustainability and resilience across the European agricultural sector. European Minister Byrne commented: From 1 July, Ireland will take the lead in negotiations over the next long term EU budget for 2028-2034. As European Affairs Minister, I look forward to chairing the General Affairs Council during our EU Presidency and ensuring that the next Multiannual Financial Framework is one which delivers for the EU, for Europe, and its people. I look forward to meeting Commissioners Serafin and Hansen in this respect. For Further information contact: Minister of state for European Affairs Thomas Byrne will also be part of Tuesday's discussions. Farmers continue to protest at Bord Bia HQ in Dublin, calling for action against the companys chair due to his business importing Brazilian meat. The protests, which have now bled into their second week, continue with Irish Farmers Association (IFA) president, Francie Gorman, saying the move reflects the deep frustration and anger over the inaction by Bord Bia on this matter. The chair of Bord Bia and the Government have failed to recognise how this issue is undermining farmer confidence in Bord Bia. Our position has been quite clear on this: the position of the chair is untenable given that he imports Brazilian beef, Mr Gorman said. The IFA is also calling for Dawn Foods to declare how much poultry it imports from Brazil. Mr Gorman said the prolonged nature of this issue over the chairs importation of Brazilian beef and poultry is having a significant impact on the standing of Bord Bia. It will take some time to rebuild confidence in Bord Bia among farmers. For every day that this goes on, it will take longer. Even at this stage, those who can retrieve the situation should step up and resolve the matter, he said. The IFA president also said he believed agriculture minister Martin Heydon had been premature in his backing of Larry Murrin. The resolve of our members is very strong. Rarely have I seen such a depth of feeling on an issue. Expecting farmers to reach higher and higher standards, while the chair ignores them with Brazilian beef, will only engender mistrust. The chair has to go, Mr Gorman said. The Traitors Ireland is being shown on the BBC and people are horrified. Specifically, English people are horrified at the swearing levels of Irish contestants apparently theres a lot of effing and jeffing on the Irish Traitors, presented from Slane Castle by the glorious Siobhan McSweeney, herself not averse to four-lettering her words. Trigger warning swear words are present in the following article, written using their actual letters rather than those daft asterisks, so if you are of a sensitive disposition you may want to read this sitting down. I am far from a prude but in Ireland is the F-word just part of normal speech, tutted one complainant. There were 6 Fs in a minutenot a great look for a family show. Given how the BBC airs the Irish Traitors at 11.40pm, not 11.40am, youd wonder what kind of English family stays up late to count Irish fucks, but this was reported in The Sun so it must be true. (No figures were given of how many people actually complained, but my guess is very, very few). Paudie Moloney at the exclusive RTE screening of the finale episode of The Traitors Ireland. Picture: Damien Eagers / Coalesce Another BBC viewer complained how Using the F-word every second is a real distraction. I hope the swearer gets voted out, while yet another almost certainly not a qualified ethno-linguist or cultural anthropologist - suggested Its Ireland, fuck is part of the language. Actually, fuck or its many, many international equivalents is part of every language (apart from, ironically, Irish our native tongue is famously lacking in actual swearwords, but great at wishing you ill hence the Irish call it cursing, while the English call it swearing). Its a comical idea that the Irish swear more than the English I have lived in England forever, and I can categorically state that they swear like sailors. Not all of them, obviously, just as not all Irish people swear. The difference isnt about Irish culture versus English culture, but about where you perceive yourself in society, and your personal definition of whats socially acceptable and what isnt. Literally, whether you give a fuck or not. Whats important is differentiating between abusive swearing (in England this is called cunting someone off), which is aggressive and unpleasant, and conversational swearing, which is what many of us do to denote emphasis and emotional authenticity, or convey humour. (Want to make me cry with laughter? Put me in a room with a sweary toddler. I know youd be laughing too, even if you were pretending not to be). When swearing is used threateningly or abusively its never funny unless maybe youre reading about it retrospectively and from a safe distance; recent court cases include the drunk Cork man who called gardai horrible cunts, the drunk Limerick man who called gardai Cork pricks, the drunk Mullingar man who called gardai fat bastards. These all make for funny reading in the minor crimes page of the newspaper, but really what such stories signify is that these individuals, in terms of anger management and alcohol dependency, seem a bit fucked up. They probably need professional help. Although not with their swearing. What the conversation around the Irish Traitors and swearing fails to acknowledge is class. The Irish are not a homogenous blob, anymore than are The English in both countries, predominantly sweary people tend to fall into two categories at opposite ends of the social spectrum: the upper classes and the working classes, neither of whom tend to give a XXXX about what people think of them, and will pepper their conversations with all kinds of bleep-words. The Royal Family is famously sweary behind closed palace doors just as when you go into any no-frills London pub your ears will be pepper-sprayed by all kinds of 'facks' and 'cants'. Posh actress Olivia Colemans favourite word is cunt: Chaucer wrote it down.its very cultured. Would the same English viewers who complained to the BBC about Irish swearing have walked out of the cinema when Coleman and her equally posh co-star Benedict Cumberbatch unleashed an apocalypse of swear words on each other during their recent film The Roses? Unlikely. Posh people are allowed to swear. We think its hilarious when a posh voice utters a swear word. Yet when non-posh people swear, our innate classism whether we are English or Irish makes them seem common and / or threatening. (Nor do the major swear words directly translate. In Spanish, cunt is a non-swear word, used almost affectionately by grannies in the street; proper Spanish swear words tend to centre around religious words like host. In French, Englishs most offensive four-letter word just means idiot or irritant.) In English and Irish cultures, its the middle classes who are most prone to swearword-induced pearl-clutching. The aspirational, those keenest on being perceived as respectable. This is why the Irish invented 'feck', which doesnt exist in English English its for when we want to create emphasis, while equally wanting to denote our social respectability by substituting one vowel for another. That little vowel has traditionally been the difference between having to go to confession, or not. It is the linguistic equivalent of the Connie Dodger (younger readers will have to google that one). Feck is uniquely Irish. You can say it on the radio. Its golf-club friendly. I grew up in a non-swearing household my religious dad would be genuinely upset by what he called bad language, saying that swearing was vulgar, unnecessary, and a sign of limited vocabulary. Once, when he almost severed a finger by sticking his hand inside a lawnmower, he screamed out fiddlesticks! as blood gushed all over the garden. As a result of such restraint, my sister and I are champion swearers, and I am proud to say, so are our children. (Although they know where and when not to swear context is all). Swearing is actually good for you. Had my dad shouted a proper swear word when he stuck his hand in the lawnmower, he may have done himself a favour research has shown how swearing helps with pain relief. And according to studies done at Yale, people who swear are happier, more intelligent, more honest, and more authentic. Personally, Im not sure if I trust people who never swear what are they hiding? Nor does the swearing-as-a-sign-of-limited-vocabulary argument stand up another study from 2015 deconstructs the poverty of vocabulary myth, showing instead how swearing can be indicative of linguistic creativity and dexterity. Just ask Kneecap hyper-fluent, super-articulate, in both Irish and English. And joyfully reclaiming old English insults like Fenian cunt, a term which English audiences enthusiastically sing along to at their gigs. Mrs Brown's Boys Also, its not like the English have never heard Irish swearing before for reasons nobody has yet figured out Mrs Browns Boys has long enjoyed prime time popularity on the BBC, with its creator Brendan Carroll refusing to tone down the swearing as he said it would compromise the shows linguistic authenticity. Um, ok. Mrs Brown's Boys RTE Player alerts viewers that it features 'mature content' This does not mean that the language used in Mrs Browns Boys reflects the Irish just the Irish of Brendan Carrolls experience. It's hardly representative. Generations of Irish people from all social backgrounds find swearing shocking, ill-mannered, crude, offensive. They come from households which, as my gran used to say wouldnt say ass for a pound. Instead, milder words are used eejit, gobshite, langer, clown, gowl just as the English use terms like pillock, plonker, donkey, doughnut and, my favourite... wazzock. Only Fools and Horses. Picture: BBC When it comes to insulting each other, theres an inherent creativity at play Boris Johnson the cockwomble, Donald Trump the shitgibbon but sometimes you just need to swear straightforwardly. To spit out some expletives, like a pressure cooker spitting out steam. No matter what your background or where you are from, swearing is languages spice too much is overpowering, none at all is bland. A healthy sprinkling, contextually appropriate, can bring words to life. The only bad way to swear is abusively but again, you dont need swear words to be abusive. Just ask America. Armed to the teeth, shooting each other dead on a daily basis, yet fainting in horror if anyone utters a swear word in public. Using infantilising terminology F-bomb, potty-mouth while regarding swear words as more shocking than guns. And dont get me started on fucking swear-jars. Deeply personal, sincere, and cerebral is how the director of the Lavit Gallery in Cork, Brian MacDomhnaill, describes the work of the late artist Anna Barden who died unexpectedly on December 31, 2024. Bardens work will be exhibited at the Lavit Gallery, as a tribute to her artistic output, organised by family, friends and colleagues. Her art practice encompassed drawing, painting, sewing, ceramics and short text pieces. Born in 1971 in Dublin, Barden moved to Cork as a young child and was brought up in Sundays Well. Her late father, Professor Emeritus Garret Barden, lectured in philosophy at UCC. Her mother, Angela, who taught computer science at St Johns College, died in 2012. Her brother Erik died in 2024. Barden attended primary school at St Lukes and went to Scoil Mhuire secondary school. She studied arts at UCC, spoke a couple of European languages, played chess and won an All Ireland medal for table tennis when she was in her teens. Her only child, Paul, works as a pharmaceutical technician. Barden was well read and Paul described the stairs in their small inner city home as being stacked on both sides with books. A member of Backwater Artists Network, Barden exhibited in several Backwater Artists Group member exhibitions. Anna Barden ln 2004 at The Bodega, Cork. Picture: Daragh Mac Sweeney/Provision In 2024, she was awarded the Backwater Artists Network Residency and had a studio onsite for six months. She used the studio well, creating a large body of work, some of which was due to be exhibited in the Backwaters Long Space in February 2025. Cork-based writer, Madeleine DArcy, was a friend of Barden. She recalls visits to her home by Barden and her son. Paul, who was a few years older than DArcys son, Cass, almost acted like his older brother, giving him his Lego when he grew out of it. Anna was a great mother, says DArcy. I think it was quite a struggle for her at times as it would be for any single mother. I remember going to an exhibition of Annas work in the (former Cork city gallery) Vanguard. "Myself and Andrew (DArcys husband) fell in love with one of her paintings so we bought it. It was one of her horse paintings, quite abstract but definitely a horse. She was dedicated to her art which isnt easy when youre trying to make a living. (Barden worked in a number of arts organisations in Cork.) Artist Katherine Boucher Beug, who was a friend and mentor of Barden, says her work developed through deep personal and physical identity with certain themes or objects, her ability to draw and her writing. Her horses, isolated on the canvas, were charged with knowing, fierceness, movement and brazen colours. Barden rode horses as a child. Another artist, Gillian Cussen, who became a friend of Barden three or four years before her death, says Barden spoke her mind but did so with patience for her friends who were less nimble-minded than herself. Anna would regularly treat me to her great cooking at Fort Street where I would have sampled her cauliflower and blue cheese soup with her oatmeal bread topped with the best of cheeses from the English market, followed by a cup of good coffee, recalls Cussen. She says Barden was sensitive to the needs of others. I saw that in her relationships with the homeless people who approached us at times for a cigarette or a loan of her lighter when we were having a coffee. She adds that Barden adored her son and was proud he was married to Lindsey. She also loved her cat. Mooncat was her constant companion at home and a regular model for her drawings and paintings. Moon Cat, by Anna Barden. However, Barden worked under trying circumstances as she didnt have a studio at home and had little room to make art or store her paintings. But she spent a few hours each day painting and drawing before doing anything else. MacDomhnaill first met Barden through the Backwater Artists Network which he helped set up. In his job at the Lavit, he stocked her work and included it in group shows. But I had not gotten to know her very well personally. I like her paintings in particular which I felt had a particular intensity or sincerity. I spent a couple of days looking through and photographing Annas work for the exhibition and it has been a very poignant experience. I feel I know her a little better. A garda who spear-tackled a skinny, handcuffed teenager and slammed his head off the ground has been jailed for a year. Lorcan Murphy, aged 32, of Pearse Street Garda Station, had pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault causing harm under section 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997. The incident occurred in Dublins Temple Bar during covid-19 restrictions. Last July, a jury convicted him by unanimous verdict following a trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. The assaults on the then 17-year-old boy took place on Essex St, Dublin 2, and Pearse Street Garda Station on June 1, 2021. The court heard the victim is now in prison. During the trial last July, Dr Haroon Khan gave evidence of being called to Pearse Street Garda Station where the teenager was taken following his arrest. He said he noted the victim was intoxicated, tried to rouse him, but did not speak to him before having him transferred to hospital. Consultant neurosurgeon John Caird gave evidence during the trial that the teenager had a fracture to the skull and a contusion to the brain but has made an excellent recovery. Sentencing Murphy on Tuesday, Judge Pauline Codd said he had used excessive force and the victim had sustained a head trauma with all the risks, adding that Murphy could have been facing more serious charges. She said the teenager had, at the time of the assault, succumbed to the arrest, with witnesses describing pleading with the garda to let him go. Judge Codd said: He lifted him up by the handcuffs, used a spear-tackle manoeuvre, and dropped him down with force. She acknowledged Murphys account is that he had used a leg-sweep manoeuvre and accepted that while this is apparent on the CCTV footage of the assault, he used force against a light, intoxicated teenager, caused him to fall on top of his head". Judge Codd said there was evidence that people pleaded with the garda to let the teenager go and that when the victim did land on his head, a sound like a loud crack like a gun shot could be heard. People also said the teenagers head was bobbing and he was very limp". The victim was powerless when this level of force was applied by a garda, Judge Codd said. She said the jury clearly rejected Murphys account of events that the force he used was justified. Judge Codd said: It is difficult to envisage how the manoeuvre he used could be justified. She noted witnesses who said they saw Murphy used a spear-tackle, like in rugby and that the teenager, described as very slight and very skinny, was slammed down into the ground. She said there were statements that the teenager was lifted up and violently dropped. No circumstances can justify his use of force and the level of force used, Judge Codd said. It is patently clear that he well had the upper hand he was compliant, Judge Codd said, referring to the victim, adding that Murphys behaviour was highly reckless and unjustifiable. Judge Codd said it was important to point out that the Director of Public Prosecutions accepts that Murphy acted recklessly rather than intentionally and that he was justified in arresting the victim in the first instance. In mitigation, Judge Codd accepted that Murphy was entitled to fight his case as his career and livelihood were on the line. She said his career is now left in tatters and he has lost his career and reputation due to his overzealous and aggressive conduct and is now left with a serious stain on his record. Remorse Judge Codd acknowledged that Murphy took steps to ensure that the teenager was medically attended to when he was later brought to the garda station. She further accepted a letter of apology he had written to the victim since his conviction. He has clearly reflected deeply on his own demeanour on the day, Judge Codd said. She noted that Murphy stated he was under pressure at the time. He now understands that he should have handled the matter in a calmer manner and wished to convey his genuine remorse and sincere regret, she said. She also took into account a number of references before the court and accepted that his behaviour on the day was out of character. Judge Codd acknowledged a character reference from a retried garda inspector, with over 40 years of experience, who stated that Murphy had a promising career as he was a dependable, diligent and conscientious garda. He said the fact that Murphy can no longer work as a garda was a tragic loss to both an Garda Siochana and the community. Judge Codd acknowledged that it would be difficult for a former garda to serve time in prison before she imposed a three-year prison term with the final two years suspended for two years on strict conditions. The judge acknowledged that Murphy had 10,000 in court to offer the victim as a token of remorse but Judge Codd said she had concerns. She initially suggested a trust could be set up for the victim but was informed by both prosecution and defence barristers that the court has no jurisdiction in this respect. Judge Codd said there was evidence that the victim has addictions and said she felt the money in court would not be a good use of funds. I mean no disrespect, Judge Codd said, adding that she did not believe the funds would be useful to the victim in light of the evidence of his addiction. She made no order in relation to the 10,000 before the court. A 35-year-old woman allegedly produced a large kitchen knife and threatened to kill or cause harm to her husband and their son on Monday afternoon. On Tuesday, she was granted bail despite garda objections. The matter was dealt with at an in camera hearing of Cork District Court because of the domestic nature of the case. She is charged that on Monday, February 2, at the family home in Cork she made threats to kill or cause serious harm and while so doing produced in a manner likely to intimidate, a large kitchen knife a single charge under the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act. Frank Buttimer, solicitor, said she had a safety order against her husband that expired. He has a current safety order against her. Judge Liz Healy was told that the alleged incident was video recorded using a mobile phone. The age of the child allegedly threatened was not given during the hearing. The complainant, who is the defendants husband, was present in court. The prosecution was concerned that witnesses to the case might be intimidated if bail was granted to the accused. Mr Buttimer said the woman had no previous convictions and had a history of difficulties at the hands of the complainant where she alleged that he had manipulated her in the past and recently. The solicitor said the defendant was keen to move out of the family home. Judge Liz Healy remanded her on bail to appear at Cork District Court again on February 17. Bail conditions require her to live at an alternative address. The defendant came up with an address outside County Cork, where she plans to live with a friend. A Palestinian man living in Cork is calling on the Irish Government to evacuate his sick mother from Gaza for urgent cancer care after the Rafah crossing finally reopened into Egypt on Monday. Habib Al Ostazs 46-year-old mother has been unable to access chemotherapy or other treatments for her cancer throughout the war, with bomb-damaged hospitals and obliterated health centres unable to provide the care she needs with extremely limited medical supplies. You can't stay silent watching your mum suffering, Habib, 29, said. Habibs immediate family has survived the war, despite multiple airstrikes. Their home in northern Gaza was so badly damaged by missiles that they had to evacuate it as the structure was no longer stable. Some of their neighbours homes have been reduced to piles of rubble. Habib said: It's very dangerous to be in. At any time, the house may fall down. The family moved to a tent in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza in recent months, where it currently feels safer than their home in the north, and where there are some food markets and water tanks distributing drinking water. Central Gaza is also closer to the Rafah crossing, through which Habibs mother would likely have to cross to access life-saving cancer care in another jurisdiction. The Israeli-controlled crossing is the only route in or out for nearly all of Gaza's more than two million residents. It has been shut for most of the war. Reopening the border crossing on Monday was part of the US-brokered Gaza ceasefire plan. But the numbers permitted through will be very limited at the beginning while more than 20,000 people in Gaza are estimated to require medical care abroad. Habibs mother has heard from the Palestinian health department that she is to be called for medical care abroad. But they have been given no date or concrete guarantees that it will happen on time to save her life. Also other countries are taking small numbers for medical treatment while there is huge medical need in Gaza after the devastating and bloody war which has killed more than 71,000 and left more than 171,000 people injured in Gaza, according to figures from the local health authority. Habib Al Ostaz: 'There is just no response. They are saying that they can't do that, but they actually can.' Picture: Chani Anderson. The war has also decimated Gazas infrastructure. And although the Rafah crossing opened on Monday, it is still only permitting small numbers of people to trickle through. The Israeli regime is limiting people who are leaving, Habib said. Even before this latest and bloodiest phase of the war in Palestine, Israel had restricted Gazans so severely that when his mother was first diagnosed with cancer in 2020, she had to apply to leave Gaza to access chemotherapy in Nablus in the West Bank. It took eight applications and almost two years before the Israeli authorities permitted her to move between two parts of Palestine to access chemotherapy for cancer, Habib said. In the hospitals they don't have enough equipment for treating the cancers, Habib said. So she has to wait as she is doing now. And we begged everybody in this country, here in Ireland, the government, even in Egypt, everywhere. There is just no response. They are saying that they can't do that, but they actually can. I met lots of politicians, but everybody is throwing the responsibility to the other. So the Department of Health is saying that that's the Department of Foreign Affairs job and the foreign affairs is saying that this is the minister of health's job. And we told the government that we will cover everything, all the costs, her medical care, her accommodation, we just need you to evacuate her, to contact the Israeli authorities. Knowing his siblings were missing out on an education has been another huge stress for Habib. Picture: Chani Anderson. I felt very upset about it." But amid the trauma in Gaza there is some hope. Habib's younger brothers just returned to school, where classes are now being held in a nearby tent. His siblings had missed school since October 2023 due to the war. Knowing his siblings were missing out on an education has been another huge stress for Habib. Education is highly valued and respected in Palestine. But despite the tenuous ceasefire and the reopening of the Rafah crossing, violence has continued in Gaza. Israeli strikes killed at least four Palestinians on Monday, including a three-year-old boy. Social media platform X has refused to appear before the Oireachtas media committee despite a request from Taoiseach Micheal Martin in a move that has been described as extremely disappointing and worrying. The committee will meet on Wednesday with representatives from Meta, Google, and TikTok to discuss online regulations. It comes in the wake of international outcry about the platforms AI chatbot Grok. The European Commission has launched a formal investigation under the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA) into Elon Musks X over the production of sexually explicit images and the spreading of possible child sexual abuse material generated through Grok. Speaking ahead of the media committee meeting on Wednesday, chairman Alan Kelly, a Labour TD, said it invited several online platforms to attend as part of its work. While we welcome the attendance of Google, Meta, and TikTok, the committee notes that X, formerly known as Twitter, declined the invitation to appear. It is extremely disappointing and worrying that X have refused to attend especially after a request was additionally made by the Taoiseach for them to do so. The meeting on Wednesday will examine how major online platforms approach regulation, online safety, and the protection of children and young people, Mr Kelly said. We plan to discuss issues including content moderation, the use of technology and human oversight to address harmful and illegal content, age-appropriate design, age assurance, and the role of digital literacy and user empowerment. We will also ask how platforms such as TikTok are implementing their obligations under the EU Digital Services Act, particularly considering the high levels of engagement by children and young people in Ireland with online platforms and the importance of ensuring that their safety, privacy and wellbeing are protected. In January, the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau confirmed there is an ongoing investigation in relation to Grok. An Garda Siochana is investigating 200 child sexual abuse-related images generated by the chatbot. The sun was shining, the mood was buoyant, and Listowel was once more in the centre of another successful literary festival on its streets. Synonymous with poetry, plays, and literary events, the north Kerry town was basking in the success of a new festival over the June bank holiday weekend last year. The event had its roots in the long-revered legacy of Irelands oldest literary festival, Listowel Writers Week. A visit by culture minister Patrick ODonovan to the inaugural Listowel Literary Festival brought with it extra cheer in the form of a 25,000 cash injection for the event. On a high from the success, the chairman of the board of Listowel Writers Week, former senator Ned OSullivan, was interviewed for a Facebook video about the rapturous weekend for the north Kerry town, coming as it did after a tumultuous number of years for the event. In 2022, the voluntary committee which ran the festival was dismissed by the festival board following a decision to replace them with a single professional curator as recommended after a consultants report funded by the Arts Council. Almost three years later, the difficult times were over and there was a joie de vivre to be felt in the literary town. The last straw However, the celebratory tone in the Facebook interview was the last straw for some in literary circles in Kerry. There was already discontent among these circles about funding granted earlier in 2025 to the Listowel event, through a new pilot grant scheme from Kerry County Council and funded by the Arts Council. Aimed specifically at literary events in the Listowel municipal district, an application by Kerry Writers Museum, in partnership with St Johns Theatre and Listowel Writers Week, secured 44,520 of the 60,000 funding pot for the new event Listowel Literary Festival. It was one of just two applicants for the funding, issued through the Literature in Listowel pilot fund. The second applicant was Tarbert Bridewell Visitors Centre for an inaugural Thomas MacGreevy Festival. The latter event was granted 15,480 but the allocated money was not drawn down and the event did not go ahead, with a decision made in August that it would not take place. News that the new Listowel Literary Festival had benefited from further Arts Council funding through a 25,000 grant personally announced by Mr ODonovan while attending the festival raised the ire of literary locals in Kerry, particularly when they heard Mr OSullivans explanations of how nearly 70,000 in Arts Council funding had been secured. 'A difficult year' Mr OSullivan told interviewer John Prendergast on the What Matters Facebook page in June: We had a very big financial burden which came to a difficult year in 2022/3 and it was overwhelming. There was a very fair possibility that we wouldnt have a Writers Week here as recently as January but we said we would have a go. He continued: By February or March, we knew we were going to be able to put a programme together and then an interesting thing happened. Because Writers Week had been in the doldrums, we were delinquent in regulatory matters. We werent kosher with the CRO [Companies Registration Office], we were in default with the Charities Regulator, we had problems with the Revenue, you name it. Because of that, it was impossible for our normal sponsor, the Arts Council, to allocate us a grant this year [2025]. Reverting to Writers' Week this year Describing the introduction of the Arts Council-funded Literature in Listowel grant pilot scheme from Kerry County Council as pretty creative, Mr OSullivan said the 60,000 fund available through the scheme was the sum that Listowel Writers Week would usually have received from the Arts Council. He said: They [the Arts Council] allocated it to Kerry County Council to administer it for the promotion of literature in Listowel. You could say there are lots of ways to skinning a cat. Mr OSullivan paid tribute to Kerry Writers Museum for submitting the application for the Literature in Listowel grant and said: Then we had to title it [the festival] to cover ourselves, Listowel Literary Festival, which is a nice title but we found during the week a lot of people were saying, We cant lose the brand. So [in 2026] we will be going for the 55th anniversary and it will be back to Writers Week with the support and collaboration of St Johns and the museum, of course. It will be marketed again as Writers Week. Out of financial difficulties Mr OSullivan also said that the funding, along with the 25,000 announced at the festival by Mr ODonovan, means that the festival is now out of its financial difficulties, explaining: We had a six-figure debt after the 2023 festival. We are going to be able to start our 55th anniversary in the black. While the Listowel festival committee was in celebratory mood, literary figures across Kerry were disgruntled, with one source who was not willing to be identified saying: The unfairness is very, very palpable. And poet and writer Eadbhard McGowan said: The amount of funding only for one area, for the literary festival, is too high. The amount is too high and only going into one area and one direction I dont think that is fair. I would say that there are a lot of different cultural events to be supported and funded in Kerry. Kerry is a very good place for writers and poets and it is marvellous when I go back to Germany, I tell that we have very serious writers here in Kerry. I think the funding should be spread more across Kerry because there are groups in Sneem, there are writers groups in Killorglin, we had a writers group in Killarney, in Tralee there is a writers group which meets on Zoom and incorporate writers from the United States. I would say have it a bit more open to other areas. That is my opinion. Everyone got cold feet For writer John W Sexton, the funding had a more immediate effect. He had been invited in March to conduct a keynote address for the Thomas MacGreevy Festival to be held in October in Tarbert. Poet John W Sexton: 'Everyone got cold feet'. He was told by the organisers that an application for funding was being made through the Literature in Listowel grant pilot scheme, which was successful to the tune of 15,480. However, he said he was contacted in August by one of the organisers to say that due to complicated local circumstances, that the committee would not now be taking receipt of the grant. A source said: Everyone got cold feet and felt it would be an affront to Listowel. Council response A spokesman for Kerry County Council said: The grant was advertised, via open competition. Funds awarded and availed of were paid out. Funds awarded and not availed of were not drawn down, as is standard procedure. He also said that the pilot was successful and Kerry County Council awaits further engagement with the Arts Council in that regard. A statement from the Arts Council said: The Arts Council provides funding to Kerry County Council, and all local authorities, to ensure there is a breadth of support for artists and arts audiences throughout the country. The pilot scheme that you refer to was managed by Kerry County Council, so queries related to the scheme should be directed to the county councils arts office. Seeking answers Meanwhile, the allocation of 25,000 by Mr ODonovan came on the radar of Sinn Fein TD Aengus O Snodaigh, a member of the Oireachtas arts committee, who sought answers on how the funding was secured. In June 2025, he lodged a parliamentary question seeking information on whether the funding stream had been advertised, if this funding opportunity was advertised and available to other arts festivals throughout the State; and if he will outline the application process and how funding allocations were decided. Sinn Fein TD Aengus O Snodaigh, a member of the Oireachtas arts committee, sought answers about the funding for Listowel festival via a parliamentary question and a Freedom of Information request. File picture: Stephen Collins Not content with a response received from Mr ODonovan, Mr O Snodaigh again raised the issue in October and subsequently lodged a Freedom of Information request seeking clarity on how the funding was allocated. In one of his replies, Mr ODonovan explained: Complementing the annual support scheme for the operational costs of community-based festivals and summer schools provided from my departments vote, my department can also be approached on an exceptional basis to assist with developmental needs. Assessment of proposals will have regard to national or regional profile, past performance, availability, and effective use of resources, and the anticipated progress and sustainability of the initiative. It was within this framework that special support of 25,000 was allocated towards the regeneration and development of the Listowel Writers Festival. Funds for other events Queries and Freedom of Information requests submitted by the Irish Examiner to the Arts Council and the Department of Culture relating to the fund have established that other events and festivals also received funding under the same stream as the 25,000. A statement from the department said: There were a number of festivals that could not avail of the Arts Council festival funding for a number of reasons, including a refused application, missed the Arts Council scheme cut-off, but were deemed suitable for funding under the strategic objectives of the department regarding increasing access to the arts. This included South Wind Blows for the Other Voices Dingle event, Philip Barry Murphy Weekend [and] Eigse Michael Hartnett. The funds were allocated from regional museums, galleries, and cultural centres subhead. A spokeswoman for Listowel Writers Week said that an integral part of our democratic system is the ability of members of Dail Eireann to raise questions relating to public expenditure. Important element of transparency In relation to the questions submitted by Mr O Snodaigh, the spokeswoman said: Listowel Writers Week views such queries from deputies or other interested parties as an important element of transparency and accountability. We note that the relevant department has addressed these matters through formal parliamentary responses. She added: A new board was appointed in March 2025 to oversee the governance and delivery of the festival and the festival company. Upon appointment, the board prioritised addressing operational and administrative matters to ensure the successful delivery of the 2025 festival. The board committed to operating in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements and good governance standards. "As is common practice in the arts and cultural sector, the festival was delivered in collaboration with a number of local cultural organisations and national partners. In recognition of this collaborative approach, the 2025 programme was presented under the title Listowel Literary Festival. She continued: The board of Listowel Writers Week has established transparent and robust governance procedures and confirms that the organisation is compliant with its statutory obligations at this time, including its responsibilities to the Charities Regulator, Revenue, and public and private funders. The board is satisfied that no organisation or individual was placed at risk in the delivery or funding of the 2025 programme. She also said: Like many long-established cultural organisations, Listowel Writers Week periodically reviews and strengthens its governance and administrative arrangements. Any matters that arose historically have been actively addressed, and the organisation continues to engage constructively with regulatory bodies and funders to ensure ongoing compliance and best practice. Plans are now under way for the 55th anniversary festival organised by Listowel Writers Week, from May 27 to 31 this year. Programme development is currently under way under the theme Sing, and Louder Sing, and further details will be announced in due course, said the spokeswoman. A hospital in Barcelona said on Monday it had performed a pioneering facial transplant in which the donor, in a world first, had offered her face for donation before undergoing an assisted dying procedure. The complex surgery involved transplanting composite tissue from the central part of the face and required the participation of around 100 professionals, including psychiatrists and immunologists, the prestigious Vall d'Hebron hospital said in a statement. The hospital's transplant co-ordinator, Elisabeth Navas, said the donor had shown "a level of maturity that leaves one speechless". "Someone who has decided to end their life dedicates one of their last wishes to a stranger and gives them a second chance of this magnitude," Navas said. The recipient identified only by her first name, Carme had suffered facial tissue necrosis from a bacterial infection caused by an insect bite, affecting her ability to speak, eat and see. Carme told a press conference on Monday: When I'm looking in the mirror at home, I'm thinking that I'm starting to look more like myself. She added that her recovery was going very well. For such cases requiring facial transplants, donor and recipient must share the same sex, blood group and have a similar head size. With a population of 49.4m, Spain has been a global leader in organ transplants for more than three decades. In 2021, it became the fourth EU country to legalise euthanasia. Half of the six facial transplants ever done in Spain have been performed by Vall d'Hebron staff. The Catalan hospital also carried out the world's first full face transplant back in 2010. A spokesperson for the hospital declined to say the exact date of the procedure for privacy reasons, but told Reuters it took place during the autumn of 2025. Some 6,300 organ transplants were performed last year in Spain, according to health ministry data, with kidney transplants being the most common. In 2024, 426 people received assistance in dying, government data shows. Neil Gaiman has said that multiple sexual assault allegations against him are simply untrue and claimed to be the victim of a smear campaign, in the first post addressing the accusations for almost a year. Gaiman, 65, author of novels including Coraline, American Gods and The Ocean at the End of the Lane, has faced allegations of sexual abuse and coercive behaviour which were outlined in a podcast by the Tortoise Media team in July 2024. When New York Magazine published its own investigation in January 2025, Gaiman made a statement insisting he had never engaged in nonconsensual sexual activity with anyone. Ever. Nine women have come forward to accuse Gaiman of sexual misconduct. They include Scarlett Pavlovich, the former nanny to Gaiman and his wife, Amanda Palmer. The couple, who have a son together, are going through a divorce. On Monday evening, Gaiman posted on his Facebook author page for the first time since the allegations broke, save for a book-related post in November, to say he had learned first-hand how effective a smear campaign can be. He said: The allegations against me are completely and simply untrue. There are emails, text messages, and video evidence that flatly contradict them. These allegations, especially the really salacious ones, have been spread and amplified by people who seemed a lot more interested in outrage and getting clicks on headlines rather than whether things had actually happened or not. (They didnt.) Gaiman said he had hoped there would be journalistic investigations that would take the (mountains of) evidence into account but he had been astonished to see how much of the reporting was simply an echo chamber, and how the actual evidence was dismissed or ignored. He added: One thing thats kept me going through all this madness is the conviction that the truth would, eventually, come out. Since the allegations were published, one of Gaimans comic publishers, Dark Horse, has dropped him, while DC Comics, publishers of The Sandman, pulled a planned reprint of his work from its schedule. A stage play of Gaimans childrens book Coraline was cancelled a year ago after the claims against him. Gaiman also revealed that, despite the condemnation he has faced and many fans turning against him, he had begun writing again and was close to finishing a new novel. Thank you again to so many of you for your belief in my innocence and your support for my work. It has meant the world to me, he said. The charity of former British prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsors ex-wife has announced it will close days after new revelations emerged about the ex-duchesss friendship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. Sarah Ferguson's Sarahs Trust will close for the foreseeable future after some months of discussion, a spokesman said. Russia has fired around 450 long-range drones and 70 missiles of various types at Ukraine in a major attack overnight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. The barrage came a day before the two countries are due to attend US-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on ending the war, which Russia launched nearly four years ago. The bombardment of at least five regions of Ukraine specifically took aim at the power grid, Mr Zelenskyy said, as part of Moscows ongoing campaign to deny civilians light, heating and running water amid the coldest winter in years. At least 10 people were wounded, officials said. Taking advantage of the coldest days of winter to terrorise people is more important to Russia than diplomacy, Mr Zelenskyy said. People take shelter in a metro station which is being used as a bomb shelter (Alex Babenko/AP) He urged allies to send more air defence supplies and bring maximum pressure to bear on Russia to end its full-scale invasion, which began on February 24 2022. Officials have described recent talks between Moscow and Kyiv delegations as constructive. But after a year of efforts, the Trump administration is still searching for a breakthrough on key issues such as who keeps the Ukrainian land that Russias army has occupied, and a comprehensive settlement appears distant. The Abu Dhabi talks were scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday. Russia has tried to wear down the Ukrainians appetite for the fight by creating hardship for the civilian population. It has tried to wreck Ukraines electricity network, targeting substations, transformers, turbines and generators at power plants. Ukraines largest private power company DTEK, said that the overnight attack hit its thermal power plants in the ninth major assault since October. In Kyiv, officials said that five people were wounded in the strikes that damaged and set fire to residential buildings, a kindergarten and a petrol station in various parts of the capital, according to the State Emergency Service. A woman rests in a shelter at a metro station (Alex Babenko/AP) By early morning, 1,170 apartment buildings in the capital were without heating, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. That set back desperate repair operations that had restored power to all but 80 apartment buildings, he said. Russia also struck Ukraines northeastern Kharkiv region, where injuries were reported, and the southern Odesa region. The attack also damaged the Hall of Fame at the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War, at the foot of the Motherland Monument in Kyiv, Ukrainian culture minister Tetiana Berezhna said. It is symbolic and cynical at the same time: the aggressor state strikes a place of memory about the fight against aggression in the 20th century, repeating crimes in the 21st, Ms Berezhna said. Former US president Bill Clinton and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton have finalised an agreement with House Republicans to testify in an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein this month, bowing to the threat of a contempt of Congress vote against them. Mrs Clinton will give evidence before the House Oversight Committee on February 26 and Mr Clinton will appear on February 27. It will mark the first time that politicians have compelled a former president to testify. The arrangement comes after months of negotiating between the two sides as Republicans sought to make the Clintons a focal point in a House committees investigation into Epstein, a convicted sex offender who killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019. Former president Bill Clinton and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton (Jacquelyn Martin/AP) The Clintons resisted the subpoenas, but House Republicans with support from a few Democrats had advanced criminal contempt of Congress charges to a potential vote this week. It threatened the Clintons with the potential for substantial fines and even prison time if they had been convicted. Even as the Clintons bowed to that pressure, the negotiating between Republican politicians and lawyers for the Clintons was marked by distrust as they wrangled over the details of the deposition. The belligerence is likely to only grow as Republicans relish the opportunity to grill longtime political foes under oath. Mr Clinton, like a number of other high-powered men, had a well-documented relationship with Epstein in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He has not been accused of wrongdoing in his interactions with the late financier. 02/01/2026 By Brett Buckner As a student at Jacksonville State University, Ellington Jones has lived by the philosophy, Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Jones credits that mantra with propelling her to being crowned Miss Jacksonville State University 2026 on Friday night. I am by no means good at the pageant world, said Jones, a 21-year-old grad student majoring in business administration. While I am no stranger to the stage, I am new to this whole new world. I have a competitor's grit and love a challenge. Last year, going into Miss JSU week, I was nervous about each step. This year, I felt peace the entire time and just decided to have fun with the whole process, no matter the outcome. Jones was named First Runner Up to Miss JSU 2025 McKenzie Fuller. Though she was proud of her performance last year, Jones couldnt deny the desire to compete again for the ultimate prize. It wasnt until God closed doors in my life, and my parents really leaned into me, saying there was a greater plan for me, said Jones, who is from Duck Springs. Little did I know the plan would be something so great as this. While Jones knew most of the seven other competitors through either Greek life, the Marching Ballerinas, or the Marching Southerners, she said the experience with them was a pleasure and an honor. I felt truly at ease with each of them throughout the process, Jones said. Being surrounded by such amazing girls made the process not feel so daunting. We just hung out as girls. Each one of them is so special in their own ways, and I cannot wait to see what else they accomplish throughout their collegiate careers. It was a night she will never forget. Each person who was there to support me, win or lose, Jones said of what shell remember most about the evening. Such a raw, unique experience, and I get to share it with the people who love me the mostwhat a blessing. Aubree Ford was named First Runner Up, and Ayanah Scott was named the Darby Angle Acts of Kindness winner. Jones also won the talent portion of the pageant for clogging. She has been dancing for about 18 years and clogging since she was four. Dance has always been a huge portion of my life, Jones said. [Clogging] is such a unique form of dance, and I wanted to be just like the older girls. Clogging is not something you see every day. While I love every other style of dance and have found a love for each of them in their own way, clogging is such an eye-catching piece. Plus, I got to combine my other favorite style of dance, hip-hop. As Miss JSU, Jones intends to spread joy and happiness through her community service initiative, Enlighten with Ellington. I also hope to lead with a servants heart, she said. Leaning into what this university lives bythe Friendliest Campus in the South. This experience is something everyone should do, not necessarily just to compete for the title, but to create memories and a sense of camaraderie. This will be my biggest mission field yet. Jax State, get ready. Lets do this. Miss JSU 2026, Ellington receives: Official crown and sash JSU tuition scholarship for fall 2026 and spring 2027 $500 scholarship courtesy of AmFirst $1,000 Miss Alabama pre-scholarship courtesy of Sheri Harbison official crown box and sash courtesy of JSU Panhellenic complimentary training sessions courtesy of University Recreation competition bouquet courtesy of the Dean of Students Office, and $100 Red Threads gift card. First runner-up receives: JSU tuition scholarship of $1,550 for fall 2026 $250 fall 2026 book scholarship sponsored by the JSU Alumni Association, and competition bouquet courtesy of the Dean of Students Office. Talent winner receives $1,000 Grace Ann Lundy Talent Scholarship courtesy of the Lundy family $250 fall 2026 book scholarship sponsored by the JSU Alumni Association, and Competition bouquet courtesy of the Dean of Students Office. Darby Angle Acts of Kindness Scholarship $1,000 scholarship voted on by the candidates, and Competition bouquet courtesy of the Dean of Students Office. Jones will represent Jax State in the Miss Alabama Competition, which will be held in Birmingham, June 3-6. 02/01/2026 Jacksonville State University celebrated a milestone in law enforcement leadership education today as the first cohort of the Southeastern Leadership Command College graduated during a ceremony held in the Ken and Jenny Howell Auditorium in Merrill Hall. The nine-week, executive-level program was created to prepare experienced law enforcement professionals for the challenges of senior leadership. Coursework focuses on management principles, ethics, budgeting, conflict resolution, and strategic decision-making. Leaders from local, county, and state agencies across the region completed the intensive program, becoming the first class to graduate from the Command College. This first graduating class set the standard, said Kaleb Littlejohn, executive director of the Southeastern Leadership Command College, during the ceremony. They didnt just complete a programthey helped build it. Their collaboration, feedback, and commitment directly shaped what this Command College will be for years to come. The Southeastern Leadership Command College reflects Jax States commitment to serving those who serve our communities, Jax State President Dr. Don Killingsworth said. This inaugural class represents leaders who were willing to invest in themselves, challenge their thinking, and prepare for the responsibilities that come with command. We are proud of each graduate and the impact they will have in their agencies and communities. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall delivered the keynote address, challenging graduates to view leadership not as a title, but as a responsibility grounded in service. He emphasized that the transition to command requires courage, ethical clarity, and a willingness to make difficult decisions for the right reasons. Youre not just completing a program, Marshall told the graduates. Youre building a tradition of excellence and leadership. Years from now, future graduates will look back at this first class and draw inspiration from the standard you set. Marshall also encouraged the graduates to lead with integrity and humility as they return to their agencies, reminding them that every decision made at the command level shapes culture, trust, and public confidence in law enforcement. During the ceremony, two members of the class were recognized for outstanding leadership and contributions throughout the program. Lieutenant Andrew Hunter of the Weaver Police Department received the Emergent Leadership Award, which is voted on by the class and honors an individual who goes above and beyond by taking initiative and emerging as a leader among peers. Lieutenant Dusty Ford of the Gadsden Police Department received the Executive Director Leadership Award, selected by program staff and instructors, recognizing excellence in coursework, leadership in the classroom, and dedication to the success of the program. Graduates of the inaugural Southeastern Leadership Command College class include: Jonathan Alfred Jonathan Butler Jason Campbell Matt Coupland Matthew Emlich David Entrekin Jacob Entrekin Dusty Ford Christopher Grier Jimmy Harrell Cliff Heard Corey Holcomb Jace Holley Steven Humber Andrew Hunter Clay Johnson Lane Keener Alan Kelly Jimmy Lancaster Wayne Layton Brett Lloyd Gerald Lyons Chris Madrigal William Mapp Joshua Miller Jerome Mitchell Jason Patty James Perry Daniel Phipps Adam Sample Donald Simmons Lucretia Smith Joey Stone Tomathon J. Tuck Abdul Unlu Nick Vaughn Willis Whatley Jarrett Williams Kip Williams Bradley Young As the first class to complete the program, the graduates establish a foundation for future cohorts of the Southeastern Leadership Command College and reinforce Jacksonville State Universitys role as a leader in law enforcement education and professional development. The Southeastern Leadership Command College is one of several advanced law enforcement education programs housed at Jax State, supporting the universitys role as a statewide leader in public safety training and professional development. 02/02/2026 Jacksonville State Universitys Victory Workforce Development Services has been formally inducted into the Department of Wars Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP) during a two-day ceremony in Washington, D.C., marking a significant national recognition of the Universitys commitment to military spouses and their families. The Military Spouse Employment Partnership is a highly selective national initiative that connects military spouses with meaningful employment opportunities, career advancement, and long-term economic stability. Acceptance into the partnership requires a rigorous vetting process, with only a limited number of employers, nonprofits, and educational institutions selected each year. As an Air Force Veteran, this moment is deeply personal to me, said Christine Franklin, Victory Workforce Development Services Specialist at Jax State. Being inducted into the Department of War's Military Spouse Employment Partnership is not just a professional milestone for Victory Workforceit represents our unwavering commitment to the families who stand behind those who serve. Military spouses make incredible sacrifices, and this partnership allows us to expand meaningful career opportunities that honor their resilience, talent, and dedication. I am incredibly proud of our team and our partners, including Jacksonville State University, for standing together in support of our military community. Victory Workforce representatives and Jax State President Dr. Don C. Killingsworth, Jr., traveled to Washington, D.C., to participate in the induction events, officially joining a nationwide network dedicated to strengthening the military spouse workforce. As a military-friendly institution, Jax State is proud to stand alongside the men and women who serve our nation and the families who support them, President Killingsworth said. Victory Workforce represents the very best of who we aremeeting people where they are, removing barriers, and helping build futures through education and opportunity. It was a privilege to be in Washington with our team to celebrate this incredible milestone. In addition to its MSEP designation, Victory Workforce is also a partner in the Spouse Ambassador Network (SAN), further reinforcing its commitment to military spouses and their families through advocacy, workforce development, and community engagement. Victory Workforce Development Services is a key component of Jax States broader commitment to veterans, service members, and military families, providing workforce training, career readiness, and employment support across the region. The MSEP induction places Jax State among a national group of trusted partners working directly with the Department of War to improve economic outcomes for military spouses. ( The New Arab ) Dystopian images emerged from Iran in mid-January: families searching body bags for loved ones, smoke-choked streets and unverified footage of unarmed guards beaten or protesters cut down. On January 17, US President Donald Trump seized on the moment, publicly calling for an end to Ayatollah Ali Khameneis 37-year reign. Its time to look for new leadership in Iran, Trump told POLITICO, even as reports suggested that widespread protests were already losing momentum. The same day, Irans supreme leader fired back. We find the U.S. President guilty due to the casualties, damages and slander he inflicted upon the Iranian nation, Khamenei wrote on social media, casting the unrest as yet another chapter in foreign aggression. Then, just one day later, Trump abruptly changed course, saying he had been informed that the killings had stopped. The whiplash between escalation and retreat exacerbated an already pervasive confusion. Facts blurred into rumor and truth dissolved into competing narratives, as misinformation and AI-fueled disinformation once again merge with lived reality, just six months after Israeli airstrikes on Iranian nuclear and military sites killed and injured scores of civilians. Social media statements from Trump urging Iranians to keep protesting, with promises that HELP IS ON THE WAY, fed the maelstrom. Yet beneath the fog of images and counterclaims, the unrest signaled an unmistakable fracture in the Islamic Republics claim to legitimacy, unfolding alongside an intensifying scramble for power. Clerical factions, the IRGC, reformists, monarchists, ethnic movements including Azeris, Kurds and Balochis, along with exile groups and foreign powers, are positioning themselves for a future that no longer feels hypothetical. What happens when a system built on moral authority begins to lose its hold? Platos Republic offers a lens for this moment, and a warning about how such systems unravel. Was The Republic ever meant to exist beyond the page? Many scholars argue it was not a political blueprint but a philosophical thought experiment, designed to expose the limits of human nature. Plato never described his ideal republic emerging from revolutionary chaos, violence, fear and improvisation. Nor did he imagine philosopher-kings ruling under constant existential threat, or in an interconnected world where information flows instantly, AI-generated falsehoods distort reality, the son of an exiled king claims his calls for mass rebellion are being heeded, and foreign leaders issue regime-change rhetoric one day only to walk it back the next. Implicit in Platos work is a core skepticism: absolute wisdom cannot coexist with absolute power. Revolutionary regimes from Lenins Soviet Union to Maos China to Khomeinis Iran have pursued moral or ideological utopias, only to find that survival requires force, and ideals, once weaponised, become tools of domination. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeinis revolution was as one of the 20th centurys last great attempts to turn moral theory into political reality. Khomeini sought to fuse moral authority, revolutionary legitimacy and state power into a single governing principle. As Iran scholar Vali Nasr noted, the very concept of clerical rule in the Islamic Republic drew heavily on Platos Republic, particularly its vision of a specially educated guardian class led by a philosopher king. This experiment, however, collided almost immediately with history. The new Islamic Republic was plunged into the longest conventional war of the century, subjected to economic isolation and forced to navigate Cold War geopolitics by playing Washington and Moscow against one another. Scholars have pointed to the vast gulf between Khomeinis pre-revolutionary statements and his actions once in control of Iran. Promises of liberty and an end to repression gave way, after consolidation, to the systematic rejection of democratic practices as incompatible with the regimes ideological vision. In such conditions, there was no room for a philosopher-king ruling by wisdom alone. Survival demanded Machiavellian calculation; that is, strategic ruthlessness, institutional consolidation and coercion. Platos philosopher-king was imagined for a world that rarely exists: a stable, insulated city-state, free from existential threats and able to let wisdom guide governance. The Islamic Republic inherited no such conditions. From the start, Irans leadership operated in a state of permanent emergency, defined by war, isolation and relentless regional hostility. Under these pressures, religion ceased to function primarily as moral philosophy and instead became political glue, binding society in the face of danger. Authority depended on guarding sovereignty, enforcing cohesion and deterring enemies. In Platonic terms, this was the decisive turn, when wisdom yielded to power, marking the first step in a republics inevitable decay. In 1989, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei assumed control of a securitised revolutionary state forged by years of conflict and isolation, hardly a Platonic republic of wisdom. By then, the critical Platonic turning point had already passed. The guardians no longer ruled by reason; they relied on force. Once defenders of revolutionary ideals, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had become enforcers of regime survival, with ideology serving secular power politics. Today, Iran resembles the later stages of Platos cycle, i.e. timocracy or oligarchy, where honor, loyalty and power eclipse the aristocracy of wisdom. Plato argued that unrest arises when rulers lose touch with the society they govern. Irans protests reflect this disillusionment. Many demonstrators do not reject the Islamic Republics founding ideals, but its persistent failure to live up to them. This crisis is quintessentially Platonic: the ruling class still claims moral authority, yet the public no longer recognises it. When outside actors alternately encourage revolt, this gap between rulers and ruled widens further, breeding cynicism. The erosion of this social contract threatens the regimes survival and signals the decay that Plato warned would befall republics built on moral foundations that cannot be sustained in practice. Plato also warned that in the republics final stages, opportunists rush to fill the power vacuum left by fading moral authority. Iran illustrates this vividly. Internally, IRGC factions, clerical elites, reformists and ethnic movements are jostling for influence. Externally, regional rivals, global powers and diaspora-backed groups maneuver to exploit any potential collapse. Yet, as Bobby Ghosh put it, when authoritarian regimes are decapitated, the guys with guns take over. In Iran, the most organised and armed force is not the protesters or democratic movements. It is the IRGC, with roughly 190,000 personnel across all branches. Once moral legitimacy crumbles, power becomes the primary currency, driven by survival and ambition. Such moments seldom bring freedom or justice. Instead, they produce consolidation, where authority is justified by the necessity of order and control. Platos final warning? The fate of a decaying republic is not chaos, but tyranny. He outlined three paths: genuine reform, managed stagnation or authoritarian consolidation. Iran appears to be moving steadily toward the third, a predictable outcome of entwined ideology and absolute power, and regardless of whether foreign leaders signal encouragement or condemnation. Detail of Madhu Khanazad (attr.) Plato charming the wild animals with music, Khamsa of Nizami, Mughal, 1595 -6, f.208, British Library. Public Domain. Via Wikimedia Commons Iran may not disprove Platos skepticism. The philosopher-king was never meant to navigate the messy realities of power. Attempts to fuse utopia, ideology and unchecked authority inevitably replace wisdom with force. Irans tragedy is not a moral failure but a philosophical impossibility. Platos enduring lesson is that the most dangerous states are those convinced that virtue can govern without limitseven when those convinced include the worlds self-proclaimed exemplars of freedom and democracy. Reprinted from The New Arab with the authors permission. Ibrahim al-Marashi is associate professor of Middle East history, visiting faculty at The American College of the Mediterranean, and the Department of International Relations at Central European University. His publications include Iraqs Armed Forces: An Analytical History (2008), The Modern History of Iraq (2017), and A Concise History of the Middle East (2024). Tanya Goudsouzian is a Canadian journalist who has covered Afghanistan and the Middle East for over two decades. She has held senior editorial roles at major international media outlets, including serving as Opinion Editor at Al Jazeera English. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - Noble Plains Uranium Corp. (TSXV: NOBL) (OTCQB: NBLXF) (FSE: INE0) ("Noble Plains" or the "Company"), a U.S. focused uranium exploration and development company, is pleased to announce it has completed the data acquisition agreement with Pathfinder Mines Corporation ("Pathfinder"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Ur-Energy Inc. (TSX: URE) (NYSE: URG), to acquire the historical database for 1,211 drill holes located on Noble Plains' Shirley Central Project ("Shirley Central" or the "Project") in Wyoming's past-producing Shirley Basin that was previously announced on December 18, 2025. This high-quality dataset includes lithologic logs, geophysical results and historical interpretations from multiple operators who drilled the basin while it was in active production. Noble Plains estimates this dataset would cost in excess of US$6 million to replicate today as well as years of drilling, and analysis, demonstrating both the economic and time-saving value of this strategic transaction. "With this transaction now closed, we have immediately put this extensive historical dataset to work," said Drew Zimmerman, CEO of Noble Plains. "This is how we have moved quickly to create value, acquiring historically drilled uranium assets in top U.S. jurisdictions and rapidly advancing them toward defined pounds in the ground. Welcoming Ur-Energy as a new shareholder further validates the quality of Shirley Central and its strategic location beside a new ISR facility under construction." The newly acquired drillhole data will immediately be used to refine geological modelling across the property to guide the Company's 22-hole drill program already permitted. By validating the historical results, Noble Plains will work towards establishing a resource estimate prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 standards at Shirley Central. "We are pleased to see this data now formally in the hands of the Noble Plains team as they advance Shirley Central," commented John Cash, Chairman of Ur-Energy. "The broader historical dataset contributed to the definition of uranium resources currently being advanced toward production at our Shirley Basin Project. We believe this subset of data will assist Noble Plains in efficiently interpreting the geology and identifying uranium-bearing roll fronts as they progress toward drilling and resource definition." Strategic Location for Future ISR Development Shirley Central consists of 30 unpatented mineral claims covering 665 acres adjacent to the boundary of Ur-Energy's Shirley Basin ISR Project, which currently hosts a NI 43-101 compliant Measured & Indicated resource of 8.816 million lb UO at 0.23% and is under construction with production planned for 2026. The Project is also bordered by Uranium Energy Corp. (UEC), placing Noble Plains directly between two of the most active U.S. uranium developers. Figure 1: Shirley Central Map Terms of the Transaction Under the data acquisition agreement, Noble Plains will pay US$125,000 in cash and issue C$650,000 in common shares at a deemed price of C$0.1358 per share, totaling 4,786,451 shares. Upon closing, Ur-Energy becomes an important new shareholder of Noble Plains, aligning both companies on advancing the Shirley Central Project. If the Company issues a Canadian National Instrument 43-101, SK-1300, JORC, or equivalent mineral resource report, the Company will issue a contingent payment of US$0.10, and issue C$0.20 in shares of the Company, for each pound of mineral resource or reserve in such report. The contingent share issuance is capped at a level as to not result in Pathfinder's ownership of Noble Plains exceed 9.9%, if that becomes the case any additional contingent payment would be settled in cash. The contingent share issuance will require prior approval from the TSX Venture Exchange. About Noble Plains Uranium Noble Plains Uranium Corp. is a U.S.-focused uranium exploration and development company advancing a portfolio of high-potential projects amenable to In Situ Recovery (ISR) - the most capital-efficient and environmentally responsible method of uranium extraction. Our strategy targets historically drilled and underexplored assets in proven jurisdictions, with the objective of rapidly delineating NI 43-101-compliant resources and building a scalable inventory of domestic uranium. Technical Report Summary, Amended Report for S-K 1300, "Shirley Basin ISR Uranium Project, Carbon County Wyoming, USA" dated March 11, 2024 and prepared by Western Water Consultants, Inc. Ur-Energy Announces Q3 2025 Results; Construction Advances at Shirley Basin and Exploration Underway in the Great Divide Basin: Press Release dated November 3, 2025 More information is available at: www.nobleplains.com On Behalf of the Board of Directors, "Drew Zimmerman", CEO & President Bradley Parkes, P.Geo., VP Exploration of Noble Plains Uranium Corp., is the Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101, who has read and approved the technical content of this news release. This news release includes certain forward-looking statements as well as management's objectives, strategies, beliefs and intentions. Forward looking statements are frequently identified by such words as "may", "will", "plan", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "intend" and similar words referring to future events and results. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the planned drill program, the timing of drilling and results, the potential to outline a uranium resource prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 standards, the potential to confirm or expand mineralisation, and the expected advancement of the Company's exploration strategy. Forward-looking statements are based on the current opinions and expectations of management. All forward-looking information is inherently uncertain and subject to a variety of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to: the Company's ability to complete the drill program as planned, the interpretation of historic data, the accuracy of geological modelling, the results of drilling and downhole probing, operational risks and weather delays, regulatory approvals, availability of equipment and personnel, the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, and fluctuating commodity prices, as described in more detail in our recent securities filings available at www.sedarplus.ca. Actual events or results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements and we caution against placing undue reliance thereon. We assume no obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements except as required by applicable law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulations Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 03, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Q2 Metals Corp. (TSX.V: QTWO | OTCQB: QUEXF | FSE: 458) (Q2 or the Company) is pleased to announce the appointment of Director Keith Phillips to the role of Executive Chair of the Board of Directors of the Company, effective immediately. Mr. Phillips joined the board of Q2 Metals in October 2025 after serving as Chief Executive Officer of Piedmont Lithium (Piedmont) from its inception in 2017 to its merger with Sayona Mining in 2025. Under his leadership, Piedmont achieved a peak market capitalization exceeding $1.0 billion, growing from an early-stage, single project exploration company to a global lithium producer with assets in Canada, Ghana and the United States as well as key commercial partnerships with Tesla and LG Chem. The successor company, Elevra Lithium, is North Americas leading hard-rock lithium producer. Prior to joining Piedmont, Mr. Phillips had a distinguished 30-year career on Wall Street, where he managed strategic and financing transactions with an aggregate value of over $100 billion. Alicia Milne, Q2 Metals President and CEO, commented, We were very pleased to have Keith join the Company last fall and I am looking forward to having him more involved as we continue to advance the Cisco Lithium Project. We expect 2026 will be a pivotal year for Q2 as we anticipate publishing our inaugural inferred Mineral Resource Estimate on Cisco in March and then will continue to transition from early-stage discovery to focus on advanced exploration, engineering, permitting and community engagement. Keiths experience will be a benefit to our team as we continue to grow and evolve. Keith Phillips, Executive Chairman, stated, I've been highly impressed with the team at Q2 during my few months on the Board. It's clear that Cisco is an exceptional asset, with world-class scale and grade and an advantageous location within the mining-friendly province of Quebec. In taking on a more active role, I hope to bring further value to the Company, particularly in the areas of investor and strategic positioning. Cisco Lithium Project Update Drilling has re-commenced for the winter season at the Cisco Lithium Project with a primary focus on continued infill drilling of the main mineralized zone which will be the subject of a Preliminary Economic Assessment targeted for late 2026. Exploration drilling may also be incorporated into the drill program to test areas outside of the main mineralized zone. Photo 1: Aerial view of Drilling at Cisco Project, Winter 2026 As of December 31, 2025, a total of 74 holes have been drilled at the Cisco Project for 31,961 metres. Assays remain pending on seven (7) holes that were drilled in the last quarter of 2025 and will be reported once received and reviewed. All holes drilled to December 31, 2025, will be incorporated into an inaugural inferred Mineral Resource Estimate. Upcoming Events The Company will also be attending the following events: Qualified Person Neil McCallum, B.Sc., P.Geol, is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, and a registered permit holder with the Ordre des Geologues du Quebec and member in good standing with the Professional Geoscientists of Ontario. Mr. McCallum has reviewed and approved the technical information in this news release. Mr. McCallum is a director and the Vice President Exploration for Q2. ABOUT Q2 METALS CORP. Q2 Metals is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on the Cisco Lithium Project, located within the greater Nemaska traditional territory of the Eeyou Istchee, James Bay region of Quebec, Canada. The known mineralized zone at Cisco is just 6.5 km from the Billy Diamond Highway, which leads to the railhead in the Town of Matagami, ~150km to the south. The Cisco Project has district-scale potential with an initial Exploration Target estimating a range of potential lithium mineralization of 215 to 329 million tonnes at a grade ranging from 1.0 to 1.38% Li 2 O, based only on the first 40 holes drilled. It is noted that the potential quantity and grade of the Exploration Target are conceptual in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to estimate and define a Mineral Resource, as defined by NI 43-101. It is uncertain if further exploration will result in the target being delineated as a Mineral Resource. The 2026 Exploration Program is ongoing, primarily focused on continued infill drilling towards indicated resource definition for inclusion in a Preliminary Economic Assessment, targeted for late 2026. Expansion and exploration drilling continues at the main zone, which remains open at depth and along strike, as well as at high potential targets identified across the broader 41,253 hectare project area. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Alicia Milne President & CEO This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Jason McBride Investor Relations Manager This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Chris Ackerman Corporate Development This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Telephone: 1 (800) 482-7560 E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Website: www.Q2Metals.com Social Media: Follow the Company on X, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, forward-looking statements) within the meaning of applicable Canadian legislation. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believes, expects, anticipates, intends, estimates, plans, may, should, would, will, potential, scheduled or variations of such words and phrases and similar expressions, which, by their nature, refer to future events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. Accordingly, all statements in this news release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations and orientations regarding the future including, without limitation, any statements or plans regard the geological prospects of the Companys properties and the future exploration endeavors of the Company. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of material factors and assumptions. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this news release speak only as of the date of this news release or as of the date specified in such statement. Forward looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, drilling results on the Cisco Project and inferences made therefrom, the conceptual nature of an exploration target on the Cisco Project, the potential scale of the Cisco Project, the focus of the Companys current and future exploration and drill programs, the scale, scope and location of future exploration and drilling activities, the Company's expectations in connection with the projects and exploration programs being met, the Companys objectives, goals or future plans, statements, exploration results, potential mineralization, the estimation of mineral resources, exploration and mine development plans, timing of the commencement of operations and estimates of market conditions. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include failure to obtain necessary approvals, variations in ore grade or recovery rates, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, unsuccessful exploration results, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, results of future resource estimates, future metal prices, availability of capital and financing on acceptable terms, reallocation of proposed use of funds, general economic, market or business conditions, risks associated with regulatory changes, defects in title, availability of personnel, materials and equipment on a timely basis, accidents or equipment breakdowns, uninsured risks, delays in receiving government approvals, unanticipated environmental impacts on operations and costs to remedy same. Readers are cautioned that mineral exploration and development of mines is an inherently risky business and accordingly, the actual events may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Additional risk factors are discussed in the section entitled Risk Factors in the Companys Management Discussion and Analysis for its recently completed fiscal period, which is available under Companys SEDAR profile at www.sedarplus.com. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Although the Company has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update this forward-looking information except as otherwise required by applicable law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. MONTREAL, Feb. 03, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Brunswick Exploration Inc. (TSX-V: BRW; OTCQB: BRWXF; Frankfurt: 1XQ) (BRW or the Company) is pleased to announce the staking of new high-priority lithium targets in Eastern Greenland, known as Clavering and Hudson Land. With these additions to its global lithium portfolio, BRW reinforces its position as one of the most active exploration companies in Greenland and remains the only company in the country exploring for lithium. BRW discovered and controls the only two known Greenlandic lithium discoveries. Mr. Killian Charles, President and CEO of BRW, commented: Greenland is one of the most underexplored and geologically prospective jurisdictions globally, presenting a unique opportunity for Brunswick Exploration. As lithium market fundamentals continue to strengthen, we believe now is the optimal time to enhance the Companys position on a global scale, underpinned by our Mirage project where we recently announced an Inferred Resource of 52.2Mt grading 1.08% Li2O, as well as our burgeoning Anatacau project where drilling is expected to begin shortly. These newly identified targets host some of the most compelling geochemical signatures we have encountered in Greenland, supported by highly favourable geology. While we continue advancing plans for a future drill program at our Nuuk Lithium Project expected in late Q3, we anticipate conducting prospecting activities at both Clavering and Hudson Land and our Hinks Land licence this summer. Clavering and Hudson Land Licence The newly staked licence comprises five blocks and is located approximately 360 kilometres north of the community of Ittoqqortoormiit along the east coast of Greenland and roughly 200 kilometres from Greenland Resources Malmbjerg Open Pit Molybdenum Project, which was granted an exploitation permit in 2025. This permitting milestone underscores Greenlands clear commitment and long-term vision to advance the development of new critical mineral projects (Figure 1). The licence area hosts dozens of mapped and interpreted pegmatite outcrops, some extending to kilometric scale, covering a total licence area of 13,862 hectares. The broader licence and surrounding region include two-mica granites, gneiss, amphibolite, marble, metasedimentary units, and ultramafic rocks, providing a robust geological framework for lithium-cesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatite systems. One area within the new claims package is particularly noteworthy due to its exceptionally high rubidium (Rb) values identified in historical regional stream-sediment surveys. Elevated Rb values can be an important indicator of highly evolved pegmatite systems which host lithium mineralization. More than 15,600 stream-sediment samples have been collected and analyzed across Greenland by Greenlandic and Danish geological surveys. Of these, only 28 samples rank within the 99.998th percentile for Rb concentration and, notably, 25 of those samples occur within a 15-kilometre-diameter area encompassed by the new licence. These elevated Rb values are accompanied by numerous highly anomalous cesium values and several elevated tantalum values, further strengthening the lithium prospectivity of the area. It is important to note that lithium was not analyzed in the historical surveys. Licence applications have been formally submitted and are currently awaiting final government approval. 2026 Greenland Exploration Program Brunswick Exploration plans to visit the Clavering and Hudson Land area in Q3, in conjunction with field activities at its Hinks Land Project. This helicopter-supported program is expected to last approximately two weeks. BRW will then initiate a small drill program at its Nuuk Lithium project to test the spodumene bearing pegmatites identified during the 2025 field season. The drill campaign is expected to start in late Q3 and more information will be released in due course. The Company would like to thank Xploration Services Greenland A/S for their continued support with licence applications and logistical planning for the 2026 field season. Figure 1: Clavering and Hudson Land License Area Qualified Person The scientific and technical information related to this press release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Charles Kodors, Manager International Projects. He is a Professional Geologist registered in New Brunswick and Quebec. About Brunswick Exploration Brunswick Exploration is a Montreal-based mineral exploration company listed on the TSX-V under symbol BRW. The Company is focused on grassroots exploration for lithium in Canada, a critical metal necessary to global decarbonization and energy transition. The company is rapidly advancing the most extensive grassroots lithium property portfolio in Canada, Greenland and Saudi Arabia underpinned by its Mirage project, one of the largest undeveloped hard-rock lithium Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate in the Americas, with 52.2Mt grading 1.08% Li2O. Investor Relations/information Mr. Killian Charles, President and CEO (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Forward-looking information involves risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required governmental, environmental or other project approvals; uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future; changes in equity markets; inflation; fluctuations in commodity prices; delays in the development of projects; the other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry; and those risks set out in the Corporations public documents filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although the Corporation believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Corporation disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Kelowna, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - F3 Uranium Corp (TSXV: FUU) (OTCQB: FUUFF) (FSE: GL7) ("F3" or "the Company") is pleased to announce the commencement of the winter drill program at its 100% owned Broach Lake Property, on the recently discovered high-grade Tetra Zone (see NR July 7, 2025), located just within the south-western edge of the Athabasca Basin 12km northwest of Paladin's Triple R and 16km west-northwest of NexGen Energy's Arrow high-grade uranium deposits. The 3,000-metre diamond drill program is designed to further test the extent of uranium mineralization at Tetra Zone, currently highlighted by key intercepts including PLN25-205, which returned 1.0 metre of 2.50% UO within a broader 22.5-metre interval averaging 0.26% UO, and PLN25-219A, which intersected 29.5 metres of total mineralization, including 27.5 metres continuous with 2.30 metres exceeding 10,000 cps (see news release dated November 10, 2025). The recent fall program successfully extended the interpreted mineralized plunge length from 60 metres to 135 metres. The two westernmost holes from that program are interpreted to have overshot the target area; the winter program will begin with down-dip and down-plunge step-outs in this direction before shifting to test the up-plunge extension, where approximately 300 metres of undrilled prospective shear zone remains toward the Athabasca unconformity. This unconformity area shows highly prospective geology and pathfinder element geochemistry in intercepts to date. Sam Hartmann, Vice President Exploration, commented: "We are very excited to resume drilling at Tetra Zone with an ambitious winter program ahead. Mineralization remains open both down-plunge to the west at depth and up-plunge to the east toward the Athabasca Unconformity, with roughly 300 metres of prospective untested shear in the up-plunge direction. We also await all outstanding assays from the fall program, including from hole PLN25-219A, which delivered our strongest radioactivity to date with 2.30 metres >10,000 cps within 27.5 metres of continuous mineralization (see NR November 10, 2025)." Image 1. Broach Lake - Tetra Zone Fall Drilling Target Area - Long Section Image 2. Broach Lake - Tetra Zone Fall Drilling Target Area - Plan Map The natural gamma radiation detected in the drill core, as detailed in this news release, was measured in counts per second (cps) using a handheld Radiation Solutions RS-125 spectrometer which has been calibrated by Radiation Solutions Inc. The Company designates readings exceeding 300 cps on the handheld spectrometer (occasionally referred to as a scintillometer in industry parlance; this colloquial usage stems from historical naming conventions and the shared functionality of detecting gamma radiation between a spectrometer and a scintillometer)as "anomalous", readings above 10,000 cps as "highly radioactive", and readings surpassing 65,535 cps as "off-scale". However, readers are cautioned that spectrometer or scintillometer measurements often do not directly or consistently correlate with the uranium grades of the rock samples and should be regarded solely as a preliminary indicator of the presence of radioactive materials. The Company considers uranium mineralization with assay results of greater than 1.0 weight % U 3 O 8 as "high grade" and results greater than 20.0 weight % U 3 O 8 as "ultra-high grade". All depth measurements reported are down-hole and true thicknesses are yet to be determined. About the Patterson Lake North Project The Company's 42,961-hectare 100% owned Patterson Lake North Project (PLN) is located just within the south-western edge of the Athabasca Basin in proximity to Paladin's Triple R and NexGen Energy's Arrow high-grade uranium deposits, an area poised to become the next major area of development for new uranium operations in northern Saskatchewan. The PLN Project consists of the 4,074-hectare Patterson Lake North Property hosting the JR Zone Uranium discovery approximately 23km northwest of Paladin's Triple R deposit, the 19,864-hectare Minto Property, and the 19,022-hectare Broach Property hosting the Tetra Zone, F3's newest discovery 13km south of the JR Zone. All three properties comprising the PLN Project are accessed by Provincial Highway 955. Qualified Person The technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101 and approved on behalf of the company by Raymond Ashley, P.Geo., President & COO of F3 Uranium Corp, a Qualified Person. Mr. Ashley has reviewed and approved the data disclosed. This news release also refers to neighboring properties in which F3 Uranium has no interest, and the Qualified Person has been unable to verify the information from those properties. Mineralization on those neighboring properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization on the PLN Project. For additional information on the PLN Project, including the current mineral resource estimate for F3 Uranium's JR Zone uranium deposit, please refer to the report titled "NI 43-101 Technical Report, Patterson lake North Project, Northern Saskatchewan, Canada" dated January 20, 2026, available at www.sedarplus.ca. About F3 Uranium Corp. F3 is a uranium exploration company, focusing on the high-grade JR Zone uranium deposit on the Patterson Lake North Property, and the new Tetra Zone uranium discovery 13km to the south on the Broach Property, both part of the Patterson Lake North (PLN) Project in the Western Athabasca Basin. F3 currently has a total of 3 properties in the Athabasca Basin: Patterson Lake North, Minto, and Broach. The western side of the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan, is home to some of the world's largest high grade uranium deposits including Paladin's Triple R project and NexGen's Arrow project. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements that are not historical facts, including without limitation, statements regarding future estimates, plans, programs, forecasts, projections, objectives, assumptions, expectations or beliefs of future performance, including statements regarding the suitability of the Properties for mining exploration, future payments, issuance of shares and work commitment funds, entry into of a definitive option agreement respecting the Properties, are "forward-looking statements." These forward-looking statements reflect the expectations or beliefs of management of the Company based on information currently available to it. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including those detailed from time to time in filings made by the Company with securities regulatory authorities, which may cause actual outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. These factors should be considered carefully and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws. The TSX Venture Exchange and the Canadian Securities Exchange have not reviewed, approved or disapproved the contents of this press release, and do not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - Visionary Copper and Gold Mines Inc. (TSXV: VCG) (OTCQB: VCGMF) (the "Company" or "Visionary") is pleased to announce that it has commenced the fully funded 2026 Phase 1 exploration program at the 100% owned Pt. Leamington Project (the "Project") located in Central Newfoundland. The Project is accessible by road and trails, approximately 18km and 37km from the towns of Pt. Leamington and Grand Falls-Windsor and 20km from the provincial power grid. Max Porterfield, President and CEO, stated, "We are excited to drill test high-priority, near surface, targets that our team has outlined." Mr. Porterfield continued, "Each target has the potential to significantly expand the sizable gold, copper, zinc and silver rich mineral resource already defined at Point Leamington." The 3,000m drill program, the first exploration drilling at the Project in over two decades, will focus on resource expansion, and identifying higher grade zones and strike extensions of the deposit (the "Deposit"), which includes: A, pit constrained, Indicated Mineral Resource of 5.0 Mt grading 2.5 g/t AuEq with 402 koz AuEq (comprising 145.7 koz gold, 2.0 Moz silver, 60.0 Mlb copper, 153.5 Mlb zinc and 1.5 Mlb lead); A pit constrained Inferred Mineral Resource of 13.7 Mt grading 2.24 g/t AuEq with 986.5 koz AuEq (comprising 354.8 koz gold, 6.2 Moz silver, 110.2 Mlb copper, 527.3 Mlb zinc, 7.0 Mlb lead); and An out-of-pit Inferred Mineral Resource of 1.7 Mt grading 3.06 g/t AuEq with 168.5 koz AuEq (comprising 65.4 koz gold, 1.4 Moz Ag, 13.3 Mlb copper, 102.9 Mlb zinc, 2.6 Mlb lead). (see news release dated October 25, 2021) Pt. Leamington Deposit Expansion Along Strike to the South Drilling started on a 300m drill hole testing the extension of the Deposit along strike to the south with two drill holes planned to test key areas with the potential to double the strike extent of the Deposit near surface to nearly 1.2km (Pt Leamington Deposit Plan View with Electromagnetics). The Deposit's current strike extent is 560m, remaining open to the south. During the last exploration drill program in 2004, the South Zone, highlighted by hole PL-073 which intersected 6.73m of 0.19% Cu, 0.97 g/t Au, 3.58% Zn, 22.74 g/t Ag, was discovered. Borehole pulse electromagnetic ("BPEM") data, modeled from surveys in the southern portion of the deposit and the South Zone supports continuity between them. A hole is planned to test the strike extension 115m along strike from PL-024, the southernmost, near surface hole, in the resource, which intersected 39.62m of 0.20% Cu, 0.70 g/t Au, 0.67% Zn, 10.96 g/t Ag. In 2007, a modern airborne electromagnetic survey identified a 350m conductive zone immediately to the south of the South Zone, interpreted to be on the horizon that hosts the Deposit. Drill hole PL-029, a shallow 107m hole drilled 35 years before the airborne EM survey, is the closest hole to the conductive zone. This core was not assayed, however logs note copper bearing chalcopyrite in disseminated sulphides intersected 50m down hole, interpreted to represent the favourable Pt. Leamington horizon. The first hole of the program is testing the center of the conductive body and its potential to be a significant copper, gold, zinc and silver rich extension of the Deposit. This hole will be a ~200m step-out from PL-072, drilled in 2000, which intersected 8.08m of 0.66% Cu, 1.08 g/t Au, 0.44% Zn, 4.76 g/t Ag from 176.7m to 184.78m. Since the airborne EM anomaly was identified in 2007 no exploration drilling has tested this target area. Emerging Deeper Footwall Horizon and Copper Stringer Zone Many large VMS systems, like the Ming deposit being of FireFly Metals, include stacking of VMS lenses representing multiple phases of base and precious metal mineralization, hosted at different stratigraphic levels but associated with the main VMS system (Pt. Leamington/Ming Cross Section). A Lower Footwall Zone (LFZ) has been identified stratigraphically below the Pt. Leamington horizon that hosts the current mineral resource. The LFZ, much of which is not included in the resource, and none of which is included in the pit-constrained resource, has not been defined (Pt. Leamington Deposit Cross Section). The LFZ has been noted over a strike extent of >500m, remains open to surface, and may extend to depth. It consists of hydrothermally altered felsic volcanic rocks with stringer pyrite and base metal sulphides. Mineral assemblages are comparable to the Point Leamington Main Footwall Zone (MFZ), with grades and thicknesses that support the potential for resource growth and pit expansion. No intersections in the LFZ are contained within the pit shell including PL-004 which intersected 45.72m of 0.50% Cu and PL-055 that returned 36.28m of 0.40% Cu, which are included in the "out of pit" resource (Pt Leamington Cross Section with Pit Shell). The intersections along the Footwall Horizon show excellent potential for significant thickness and grades and the potential for near surface resource growth that could be included in an expanded pit. Near Surface In-Pit Copper Pt. Leamington Stringer Zone When Noranda discovered the Pt. Leamington deposit in 1971, the focus was on the copper and zinc mineralization with the gold values noted but not a priority and sampling was more selective due to metal prices. As we advance the Deposit exploration and definition as a potential open pit operation, drill testing of unsampled areas could grow the near surface resource, particularly for copper and gold. Previous sampling was focused on the massive sulphide mineralization with less sampling of footwall, stringer pyrite, and chalcopyrite mineralization. Three holes in the current program are planned to be drilled across ~150m of strike to test the extent of the mineralization (Pt. Leamington 3D Plan View). Results, if successful, may expand the resource within the pit shell. Stock Option Grant and Amendments The Company has granted 1,015,000 stock options to its directors, officers and consultants at an exercise price of $0.80 per share expiring five years from the date of grant. The options are subject to certain vesting requirements. The Company has also approved the downward re-pricing and extension of 324,167 stock options. Under the proposed amendment: (i) 126,667 stock options will be amended by decreasing the exercise price from $3.11 to $0.80 and the expiry date will be extended from April 22, 2027 to April 22, 2032; (ii) 187,500 stock options will be amended by decreasing the exercise price of $3.15 to $0.80 and the expiry date will be extended from March 27, 2028 to March 27, 2033; and (iii) 10,000 stock options will be amended by decreasing the exercise price of $3.00 to $0.80 and the expiry date will be extended from May 29, 2028 to May 29, 2033. A total of 261,667 stock options being amended are held by insiders of the Company. As a result, the Company will be required to obtain disinterested shareholder approval of the proposed amendments. The amendments are also subject to acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange. Qualified Person The technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Aaryn Hutchins, P. Geo, a qualified person under NI 43-101. Ms. Hutchins is a consultant of the Company and is independent of the Company. About Visionary Copper and Gold Mines Inc. Visionary Copper and Gold Mines Inc. (TSXV: VCG) (OTCQX: VCGMF) is advancing its portfolio of base and precious metals rich deposits located in established Canadian mining jurisdictions. The focus of the portfolio is highlighted by the 100% owned Point Leamington Deposit in Newfoundland, located in one of the richest VMS and Gold Districts in Canada. The Company prepared a pit constrained Indicated Mineral Resource of 5.0 Mt grading 2.5 g/t AuEq for 402 koz AuEq (145.7 koz gold, 60.0 Mlb copper, 153.5 Mlb zinc, 2.0 Moz silver, 1.5 Mlb lead), a pit constrained Inferred Mineral Resource of 13.7 Mt grading 2.24 g/t AuEq for 986.5 koz AuEq (354.8 koz gold, 110.2 Mlb copper, 527.3 Mlb zinc, 6.2 Moz silver, 7.0 Mlb lead) and an out-of-pit Inferred Mineral Resource of 1.7 Mt grading 3.06 g/t AuEq for 168.5 koz AuEq (65.4 koz gold, 13.3 Mlb copper, 102.9 Mlb zinc, 1.4 Moz Ag, 2.6 Mlb lead) (see news release dated October 25, 2021). Additionally, the Company is permitting the Rainbow deposit at its rich VMS Pine Bay Project located near existing infrastructure in the Flin Flon Mining District. The Company prepared an indicated mineral resource on the Rainbow deposit of 3.44 Mt grading 3.59% CuEq for 272.4 Mlb CuEq (238.3 Mlb Cu, 56.9 Mlb Zn, 37.6 koz Au, 692.8 koz Ag, 2.3 Mlb Pb), an inferred mineral resource on the Rainbow deposit of 1.28 Mt grading 2.95% CuEq containing 83.4 Mlb CuEq (72.1 Mlb Cu, 19.5 Mlb Zn, 11.1 koz Au, 222.2 Koz Ag, 0.8 Mlb Pb) and an inferred mineral resource at the Pine Bay deposit of 1.0 Mt grading 2.62% Cu containing 58.1 Mlb Cu (see news release dated July 10, 2023). Additionally, the portfolio includes the Nash Creek Project located in the VMS rich Bathurst Mining District of New Brunswick. A 2018 PEA generates a strong economic return with a pre-tax IRR of 34.1% (25.2% post-tax) and NPV8% of $230 million ($128 million post-tax) at $1.25 Zinc (see news release dated May 14, 2018). For additional information, please contact: Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to future expenditures. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. Such factors include, among others, completing the private placement financing, the ability to complete the proposed drill program and the timing and amount of expenditures. Except as required under applicable securities laws, Visionary does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement. VANCOUVER, British Columbia / Feb 03, 2026 / Business Wire / Spanish Mountain Gold Ltd. (the "Company" or "Spanish Mountain Gold") (TSX-V: SPA) (FSE: S3Y) (OTCQB: SPAUF) is pleased to report additional assay results from four exploration drill holes within the Orca Fault target trend that were completed as part of its 2025 Fall Diamond Drill program (2025 Fall Drill Program) for the Spanish Mountain Gold (SMG) project, which is located in the Cariboo Gold Corridor, British Columbia, Canada. The company has completed approximately 10,870 metres (m), surpassing the original estimate of drilling of 9,000 to 10,000 m of exploration drilling planned under the 2025 Fall Drill Program, now continuing into 2026. Assays and geochemistry are pending receipt from the laboratory and/or reporting from four additional drill holes completed within the Orca Fault target area. Highlights: 25-DH-1324 intersected broad gold mineralization from 69.00 m totaling 108.80 m grading 0.68 g/t gold that include two key intervals: 27.75 m of 0.82 g/t gold from 69.00 m including 18.01 m of 1.10 g/t gold; and 57.80 m of 0.82 g/t gold from 120.00 m including 3.08 m of 1.42 g/t gold and 2.42 m of 4.10 g/t gold. grading gold that include two key intervals: 25-DH-1325 intersected two intervals of gold mineralization including: 103.35 m of 0.88 g/t gold from 15.65 m including 56.40 m of 1.35 g/t gold with a high-grade subset of 9.90 m of 3.54 g/t gold; and 15.15 m of 0.65 g/t gold from 255.00 m including 1.85 m of 3.28 g/t gold. 25-DH-1326 intersected three intervals of gold mineralization including: 116.50 m of 0.44 g/t gold from 20.00 m including 83.50 m of 0.51 g/t gold with a high-grade subset of 36.70 m of 0.79 g/t gold; 10.00 m of 0.64 g/t gold from 191.00 m including 4.00 m of 1.28 g/t gold; and 34.50 m of 0.82 g/t gold from 288.50 m including 18.00 m of 1.31 g/t gold with a high-grade subset of 3.50 m of 3.21 g/t gold. Key Findings: Current exploration drilling assay results continues to intersect significant higher-grade mineralization over 530 m in strike length in the Orca Fault target area (Figure 4) and the continuity can now be traced across multiple parallel, adjacent drill sections over 80 to 190 m. Main Deposit Orca Fault area Four additional drill holes were collared and successfully completed (see Figure 4) in the Orca Fault target area, 25-DH-1324 (Figure 1 and Table 1), 25-DH-1325 (Figure 3 and Table 2), 25-DH-1326 (Figure 2 and Table 3), and 25-DH-1327 (Figure 1, Figure 3, and Table 4). These drill holes continue to confirm and lend confidence to the extent of the Orca Fault target area over 530 m strike length, northwest to southeast, and its geological and structural interpretation within the constraining open pit for the MRE (see July 3, 2025 news release). The continued intersection of wide zones of higher-grade gold mineralization, such as in drill hole 25-DH-1325 (Figure 3 and Table 2) reinforces the opportunities for not only enhancing the Orca Fault target understanding but developing favorable structures outward into other areas of the Main deposit while exploring for higher-grade gold mineralization in the near surface, open pit environment, as defined in the recent MRE (see July 3, 2025 news release). Drill hole 25-DH-1325 intersected 0.88 g/t gold over 103.35 m to a downhole depth of 119.00 m that included three significant subintervals (see Table 2). The analytical results from the lower portion of drill hole 25-DH-1324 (see Figure 1 and Table 1) were released and significantly lengthen the previously published main composite (see January 16, 2026 news release) to 108.80 m of 0.68 g/t gold. As well, both drillhole 25-DH-1326 (see Figure 2 and Table 3) and 25-DH-1327 (Figure 1, Figure 3 and Table 4) further reinforce the presence of significant, deeper, high-grade mineralization like 25-DH-1321 (see January 26, 2026 news release). These deeper analytical results for gold also correlate to the deeper gold mineralization in drill hole 25-DH-1316 and 25-DH-1318 (see January 6, 2026 news release), adding more information about the prospectivity of the mineral potential of the lithological units at depth. All results to date continue to reinforce that tighter exploration drill spacing is unlocking additional mineral potential in the Main deposit. These exploration drill holes are presented on drill sections (Figure 1, Figure 2, and Figure 3) that shows the alignment of the higher-grade mineralization to the new Orca Fault target. The location of these drill holes is shown on a plan map at the end of the news release (Figure 4). Table 1: Assay Results for 25-DH-1324 Drill hole From (m) To (m) Width (m) Gold (g/t) Apparent True Thickness 25-DH-1324 16.00 17.15 1.15 13.47 Note 3) and 4) 50.45 58.30 7.85 0.53 Note 3) and 4) Including 50.45 51.80 1.35 1.17 Note 3) 69.00 177.80 108.80 0.68 Note 3) and 5) Including 71.18 89.19 18.01 1.10 Note 3) and 4) Including 78.00 89.19 11.19 1.16 Note 3) and 4) Including 69.91 97.66 27.75 0.82 Note 3) Including 120.00 177.80 57.80 0.82 Note 3) and 5) Including 122.00 125.08 3.08 1.42 Note 3) and 4) 131.00 133.42 2.42 4.10 Note 3) 240.00 240.50 0.50 1.57 Note 3) Table 2: Assay Results for 25-DH-1325 Drill hole From (m) To (m) Width (m) Gold (g/t) Apparent True Thickness 25-DH-1325 15.65 119.00 103.35 0.88 Note 3) Including 44.00 100.40 56.40 1.35 Note 3) Including 90.50 100.40 9.90 3.54 Note 3) 147.48 148.70 1.22 1.12 Note 3) 255.00 270.15 15.15 0.65 Note 3) Including 268.30 270.15 1.85 3.28 Note 3) 288.80 290.50 1.70 1.86 Note 3) Table 3: Assay Results for 25-DH-1326 Drill hole From (m) To (m) Width (m) Gold (g/t) Apparent True Thickness 25-DH-1326 20.00 136.50 116.50 0.44 Note 3) Including 20.00 103.50 83.50 0.51 Note 3) Including 64.00 100.70 36.70 0.79 Note 3) Including 64.00 80.00 16.00 1.32 Note 3) 155.55 165.00 9.45 0.48 Note 3) 191.00 201.00 10.00 0.64 Note 3) Including 192.50 196.50 4.00 1.28 Note 3) 288.50 323.00 34.50 0.82 Note 3) Including 303.50 321.50 18.00 1.31 Note 3) Including 318.00 321.50 3.50 3.21 Note 3) Table 4: Assay Results for 25-DH-1327 Drill hole From (m) To (m) Width (m) Gold (g/t) Apparent True Thickness 25-DH-1327 17.85 22.85 5.00 0.75 Note 3) 39.50 98.00 58.50 0.49 Note 3) Including 39.50 79.00 39.50 0.59 Note 3) Including 50.70 75.00 24.30 0.75 Note 3) Including 56.54 66.53 9.99 1.21 Note 3) 132.50 194.00 61.50 0.47 Note 3) Including 140.20 172.50 31.30 0.77 Note 3) Including 162.00 172.50 10.50 1.86 Note 3) 212.00 248.00 36.00 0.55 Note 3) Including 231.00 236.00 5.00 2.87 Note 3) 263.00 264.00 1.00 1.43 Note 3) 308.10 314.00 5.90 1.22 Note 3) Notes for Table 1 to Table 4: 1) Reported intersections are calculated using a 0.15 g/t Au cut-off grade. 2) The complete assay table is available on the Companys website 3) True thickness of mineralization is unknown as the project is still at the exploration stage 4) Assay composites previously released January 26, 2026 from partial return of drill hole 25-DH-1324 from laboratory 5) Re-calculated composite for interval partially released January 26, 2026 The integration of assay results from these four exploration drill holes strengthens the overall continuity for the new Orca Fault target and the association of higher-grade mineralization over a strike length of 530 m, northwest to southeast (see Figure 4). Stronger continuity is also now being developed spanning multiple, parallel, adjacent drill sections ranging in strike length from 80 to 190 m, northeast to southwest, depending on the location along the 530 m strike length (see Figure 2). Figure 4 illustrates the locations for four drill hole results outlined in this news release and the drill holes currently in the assay lab, or in process of being drilled. Drill collar location coordinates are summarized for the 2025 Fall Drill Program in Table 5 at the end of this news release. Qualified Person Julian Manco, M.Sc., P.Geo., Director of Exploration with Spanish Mountain Gold, is the Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101 who has reviewed the technical information in this news release and has approved the content for dissemination. Abbreviations: metres = m, grams per tonne = g/t, gold = Au, mineral resource estimate = MRE, Spanish Mountain Gold = SMG Drill Core Processing, Data Verification and Quality Assurance Quality Control Program (QAQC) Once received from the drill and processed, all drill core samples were sawn in half, labeled, and bagged. The remaining half of the drill core was securely stored on-site. Numbered security tags were applied to sample shipments to ensure chain of custody compliance. The Company inserts quality control (QC) samples at regular intervals, including blanks and reference materials, for all sample shipments to monitor laboratory performance. Standards and blanks account for a minimum of 20% of the samples in addition to the laboratorys internal quality assurance programs. The QAQC program was overseen by the Companys Qualified Person, Julian Manco, P.Geo, Director of Exploration (as described below). The data verification process involved a multi-step approach to ensure accuracy and integrity. This included a detailed quality control (QC) analysis of the data, which was performed using both internal and external platforms, such as the MxDeposit software. These QC checks involved the analysis of certified reference materials (CRMs), blanks, and duplicates to confirm the reliability of the assay results. In addition, a field inspection of the specific drill intervals mentioned in this release has been conducted to directly observe the geological features and verified the nature of the results presented. Drill core samples were submitted to MSALABSs analytical facility in Prince George, British Columbia, for sample preparation and PhotonAssayTM analysis. The MSALABS facilities are accredited to the International Standards ISO/IEC 17025 and ISO 9001 standard for gold and multi-element assays, with all analytical methods incorporating quality control materials at defined frequencies and established data acceptance criteria. MSALABS Inc. is independent of the Company. PhotonAssayTM The PhotonAssayTM method utilizes gamma ray analysis for gold detection using the Chrysos PhotonAssayTM instrument (PA1408X). This non-destructive, fully automated technique offers high accuracy for analyzing ores and pulps. Sample preparation begins with drying and crushing up to 1 kg of material to achieve at least 70% passing through a 2-millimetre (mm) sieve. The sample is then riffle split to obtain a suitable aliquot for 2 testing cycles (MSALABS Method CPA-Au1). The PhotonAssayTM instrument bombards 400- to 600-gram samples contained in sealed containers with gamma rays. These containers remain sealed throughout the process, preserving the sample for potential further testing. The analysis is performed robotically, with results that integrate into existing laboratory management systems. Each sample is accompanied by a reference disc traceable to a Certified Reference Material (CRM). Both the sample and reference disc undergo gamma ray exposure, with signals detected and analyzed to ensure accurate and reliable results. The method offers a gold detection range from 0.015 parts per million (ppm - lower limit) to 10,000 ppm (upper limit). Quality control includes the use of reference materials and blanks, with all results reviewed by a competent person before reporting. Spanish Mountain Gold implemented two QAQC methodologies to validate the accuracy of PhotonAssayTM results, both demonstrating good comparability: 1) comparative analysis of diverse mineralization styles using Total Au screen metallic methods with both FAS-415 (gravimetric finish) and FAS-211 (AAS finish), and 2) comprehensive testing of both sample aliquots and rejects using FAS-211 (AAS finish). QAQC Testing typically can include the following spot checks: 1) Pulverizing tests to evaluate variability in sample preparation, 2) Cross-analysis at external laboratories using screen metallic method, and 3) Four-cycle radiation testing to identify and calibrate potential variability in gold results with variable radiation intensity. Multi-Elemental Analysis For the 2025 drilling campaign Spanish Mountain Gold used IMS-230 method to provide multi-element determination using a four-acid digestion followed by ICP-OES and ICP-MS analysis. Key Process Steps Sample Preparation: Samples are dried and ground to a specific criterion (85% passing 75 microns (m) for rocks and drill core; 180m for soils and sediments). A homogeneous 10-gram sample is required. Digestion: Samples undergo sequential digestion with nitric, perchloric, hydrofluoric, and hydrochloric acids, followed by dilution with deionized water. Analysis: The solution is analyzed via ICP-OES and ICP-MS for multi-element quantification. Quality Control: The process includes reference materials, blanks, and duplicates, with corrections for spectral interferences and thorough review before final reporting. About Spanish Mountain Gold Ltd. Spanish Mountain Gold Ltd. is focused on advancing its 100%-owned Spanish Mountain Gold Project (Project) towards its goal to build the next gold mine in the Cariboo Gold Corridor, British Columbia. On August 18, 2025, the Company filed an NI 43-101 Technical Report on SEDAR+ that sets out the Projects de-risked and optimized Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA), with an updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE). We will continue to advance the Project to position the Company to make a construction decision in 2027. We are striving to be a leader in community and Indigenous relations by leveraging technology and innovation to build the 'greenest' gold mine in Canada. The Relentless Pursuit for Better Gold means seeking new ways to achieve optimal financial outcomes that are safer, minimize environmental impact and create meaningful sustainability for communities. Details on the Company are available on www.sedarplus.ca and on the Company's website: www.spanishmountaingold.com. On Behalf of the Board, Peter Mah President, Chief Executive Officer and Director Spanish Mountain Gold Ltd. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION Certain of the statements and information in this press release constitute "forward-looking information". Any statements or information that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "plans", "estimates", "intends", "targets", "goals", "forecasts", "objectives", "potential" or variations thereof or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be considered forward-looking information. The Company's forward-looking information is based on the assumptions, beliefs, expectations and opinions of management as of the date of this press release and include but are not limited to statements with respect to, the potential for adding more higher-grade gold mineralization within the pit or outside the current pit design; and the receipt of further results from additional drilling under the 2025 Fall Drill Program, and the plan to make a construction decision in 2027. Other than as required by applicable securities laws, the Company does not assume any obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's assumptions, beliefs, expectations or opinions should change, or changes in any other events affecting such statements or information. For the reasons set forth above, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Table 5: Drill Collar Information for Drill Holes Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 2, 2026) - DRC Gold Corp. (CSE: DRC) (FSE: 5AT0) (formerly, AJN Resources Inc.) (DRC Gold or the Company) is pleased to announce that David Wargo has been appointed to DRC Gold's board of directors. Mr. Wargo is the CEO and Head of Investment Banking for SCP Resource Finance, formerly Sprott Capital Partners, and a senior natural resource investment banker with over 25 years of experience in the mining and banking industries. He spent 10 years of his career financing Congolese companies in the copper and gold spaces, with a particular focus on the Kivu region of Congo. Mr. Wargo is a chemical engineer and holds an MBA. Klaus Eckhof, CEO of DRC Gold, commented: "We welcome Dave to our board. His appointment will complement our board's technical background, and expand our Company's specialist knowledge and contact base during an expected period of growth." Stock Option Grants The Company also announces that it has granted a total of 2,250,000 incentive stock options (Stock Options) to a director and a consultant in accordance with DRC Gold's omnibus equity incentive compensation plan. These Stock Options have a four-year term, an exercise price of $0.31 per common share and vest immediately. About DRC Gold Corp. DRC Gold is a junior exploration company. DRC Gold's management and directors possess over 50 years of collective industry experience and have been very successful in the areas of exploration, financing and developing major mines throughout the world, with a focus on Africa. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements The information in this news release may include certain information and statements about management's view of future events, expectations, plans and prospects that may constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based upon assumptions that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Because of these risks and uncertainties and as a result of a variety of factors, the actual results, expectations, achievements or performance may differ materially from those anticipated and indicated by these forward-looking statements. Although DRC Gold Corp. believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurances that the expectations of any forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Except as required by law, DRC Gold Corp. disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions, changes in factors affecting such forward-looking statements or otherwise. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Not for distribution to United States newswire services or for dissemination in the United States. VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 3, 2026 /CNW/ - Nevada King Gold Corp. (TSXV: NKG) (OTCQB: NKGFF) ("Nevada King" or the "Company") is pleased to announce assay results at the Silver Park East ("SPE") target, located approximately 2km west of the Atlanta Resource Zone ("ARZ"), within the Company's 100% owned 130km2 Atlanta Gold Mine Project in eastern Nevada. The results released include assays from four holes drilled directly west of SPE, as well as five holes drilled 350m to the south of SPE. Both areas returned at-surface, oxide gold-silver mineralization. Highlight oxide gold intervals 350m south of SPE include: 0.93 g/t AuEq * over 14.6m starting at 7.3m depth and ending in mineralization in hole B25-101 starting at 7.3m depth and ending in mineralization in hole B25-101 0.69 g/t AuEq * over 14.6m starting at surface and ending in mineralization in hole B25-100 starting at surface and ending in mineralization in hole B25-100 0.52 g/t AuEq* over 9.8m starting at 2.4m depth in hole B25-96 These results outline at surface oxide gold-silver mineralization 350m south of the main SPE zone. Mineralization found at both the main SPE zone and in today's holes is hosted along the unconformity, the main control of mineralization at Atlanta, which appears to be shallowing out to the south where it has now been intercepted at surface (see Figure 1). Highlight oxide gold interval directly west of SPE: 0.23 g/t AuEq* over 29.3m starting at surface and ending in mineralization in hole B25-110 Additional drilling released today on the west side of the SPE target extends the main SPE zone a further 50m west and now confirms gold and silver mineralization across a 300m by 500m footprint at SPE, while demonstrating a clear link toward the mineralization encountered at surface a further 350m to the south. Additional drilling is planned to connect these two zones, which would significantly increase the size of the SPE target. Phase 4 drilling continues at SPE with one reverse circulation ("RC") drill rig currently infilling gaps within the main mineralized footprint to establish continuity. A RAB drill, capable of reaching depths up to 30 metres, was deployed across the Silver Park area to assess shallow geochemical anomalies and gold-silver mineralization beneath post-mineral cover. Highlight holes B25-100 and B25-101, as well as B25-108, all bottomed in mineralization with the shallow RAB drill (see Table 1). Justin Daley, VP Exploration of Nevada King, commented, "These shallow RAB results confirm that Silver Park East is larger than we initially recognized. Expanding the footprint to 300 metres by 500 metres and identifying surface mineralization 350 metres to the south highlights the scale of the system. Importantly, the mineralization occurs in the same silicified breccia, at the same unconformity, and along the same structural corridor as the Atlanta Resource Zone, reinforcing our view that these are parts of a large-scale system. Our next step is to close the remaining gaps with RC drilling as we work toward defining a continuous oxide gold envelope." Hole No. From (m) To (m) Interval (m) Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) AuEq* (g/t) B25-96 2.4 12.2 9.8 0.51 1.5 0.52 B25-97 9.8 21.9 12.1 0.11 9.62 0.17 B25-99 0 7.3 7.3 0.14 1.50 0.15 B25-100^ 0 14.6 14.6 0.63 8.35 0.69 B25-101^ 7.3 21.9 14.6 0.80 20.28 0.93 B25-108^ 24.4 29.3 4.9 0.11 7.40 0.16 B25-109 9.8 17.1 7.3 0.17 10.30 0.24 B25-110 0 29.3 29.3 0.13 14.71 0.23 B25-111 0 4.9 4.9 0.20 14.60 0.30 Table 1. RAB vertical drill holes released today from SPE. *AuEq based on US$2,200/oz Au, US$25/oz Ag, and Au/Ag recovery averages from Phase II metallurgical work. Holes bottomed in mineralization are indicated by ^. The decision to conduct RAB drilling 350m south of the main SPE zone was guided by a historic drill hole from 2005 which encountered 0.45g/t AuEq over 38.1m from 6.1m depth (dip -58, azimuth 305). The historic angle hole targeted strong silicification along a northeast trend between dolomite basement and intrusive rhyolite, in an area with many historic pits, shafts, strong alteration, and important structural features. These initial vertical RAB drill results confirm both the historic intercept and demonstrate structural continuity within the main mineralized SPE zone and potentially between the southern cluster of mineralized holes. Mineralization in both the main SPE zone and the southern RAB drilling cluster is hosted primarily within dense silicified breccia, the same principal host rock as the main Atlanta Resource Zone, along with weakly mineralized volcanics and dolomite basement rock, often starting at or near surface. Previously released drill holes shown in Figure 1 below, can be found in press releases from November 10, 2025, August 19, 2025, and May 1, 2025. Phase 4 Update The Company has completed 2,100m of the fully funded 20,000m Phase 4 regional exploration program. The RAB drilling is outside of the 20,000m budgeted program which comprises only RC drilling. Assay results from RC drilling at SPE are expected to be released later this month. QA/QC Protocols All RC and Rotary Air Blast (RAB) samples from the Atlanta Project are split at the drill site and placed in cloth and plastic bags utilizing a nominal 2kg sample weight. CRF standards, blanks, and duplicates are inserted into the sample stream on-site on a one-in-twenty sample basis, meaning all three inserts are included in each 20-sample group. Samples are shipped by a local contractor in large sample shipping crates directly to American Assay Lab in Reno, Nevada, with full custody being maintained at all times. At American Assay Lab, samples were weighted then crushed to 75% passing 2mm and pulverized to 85% passing 75 microns to produce a 300g pulverized split. Prepared samples are initially run using a four acid + boric acid digestion process and conventional multi-element ICP-OES analysis. Gold assays are initially run using 30-gram samples by lead fire assay with an OES finish to a 0.003 ppm detection limit, with samples greater than 10 ppm finished gravimetrically. Every sample is also run through a cyanide leach for gold with an ICP-OES finish. The QA/QC procedure involves regular submission of Certified Analytical Standards and property-specific duplicates. Qualified Person The scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Nevada King VP Exploration, Justin Daley, P.Geo., a non-independent Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101"). About Nevada King Gold Corp. Nevada King is focused on advancing and growing its 100% owned, past producing, 130km2 Atlanta Gold Mine project located along the Battle Mountain trend in southeast Nevada. The project hosts an NI 43-101 compliant pit-constrained oxide resource of 1,020koz Au in the measured and indicated category (27.7M tonnes at 1.14 g/t) plus an inferred resource of 99koz Au (3.6M tonnes at 0.84 g/t) based on US$2,200/oz Au and US$25/oz Ag. See the NI 43-101 Technical Report titled "Technical Report and Estimate of Gold and Silver Mineral Resources for the Atlanta Project, Lincoln County, Nevada, USA" with an effective date of September 6, 2024, and a report date of July 18, 2025, as prepared by RESPEC (formerly Mine Development Associates) and filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ www.sedarplus.ca. NI 43-101 Mineral Resources at the Atlanta Mine by RESPEC 2025 Tonnes Au g/t Au oz Ag g/t Ag oz AuEq g/t AuEq oz Measured 3,430,100 1.55 170,800 16.96 1,870,200 1.65 182,000 Indicated 24,280,200 1.09 848,800 8.73 6,817,200 1.14 887,700 M&I 27,710,300 1.14 1,019,600 9.75 8,687,400 1.20 1,069,700 Inferred 3,638,400 0.84 98,500 2.56 299,500 0.85 99,800 Please see the Company's website at www.nevadaking.ca. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward Looking Information This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, without limitation, statements relating to the future operations and activities of Nevada King, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "potential", "possible", and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions, or results "will", "may", "could", or" should" occur or be achieved. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by Nevada King, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, technical, geologic, environmental, regulatory, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and the parties have made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation, the ability to complete proposed exploration work, the results of exploration, continued availability of capital, and changes in general economic, market and business conditions. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release concerning these items. Nevada King does not assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements should beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, change, except as required by applicable securities laws. Highlights: Strategic Japanese investment and partnership achieved through an executed LOI with Hanwa Co., Ltd. ("Hanwa") and Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security ("JOGMEC") for a potential project-level equity investment in the UAE Battery Anode Facility ("BAF") of up to US$30 million. Joint Investment Vehicle to be formed by Hanwa and JOGMEC for the purpose of acquiring a minority equity interest in the Company's UAE BAF at the project level. Significant advancement on the path to a Final Investment Decision ("FID") achieved as this LOI formalizes the previously announced Japanese strategic consortium and further reinforces the Company's momentum towards FID. Government-support provided by the participation of JOGMEC, a Japanese government agency, underscoring the importance of the UAE BAF in diversifying critical mineral supply chains for the Japanese battery industry. Exclusivity provided to Hanwa and JOGMEC to March, 31st 2026, aligning with the Company's planned FID by end Q1 2026. TORONTO, ON / ACCESS Newswire / February 3, 2026 /NextSource Materials Inc. (TSX:NEXT) (OTCQB:NSRCF) ("NextSource" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has executed a letter of intent ("LOI") with Hanwa Co. Ltd. ("Hanwa"), one of Japan's leading trading companies, and Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security ("JOGMEC"), a Japanese government agency, for a potential investment in Phase 1 of the Company's proposed Battery Anode Facility ("BAF") in the Industrial City of Abu Dhabi in the UAE. This LOI represents a key milestone in the Company's strategic financing process and underscores growing international interest in establishing diversified and secure battery anode supply chains. Under the terms outlined in the LOI, Hanwa and JOGMEC collectively are jointly considering a project-level investment of up to US$30 million through a special purpose vehicle jointly owned by the two parties. This investment is anticipated to represent up to 15% equity interest in the UAE BAF project company upon completion of the initial funding for Phase 1. The investment is contemplated to occur in one or more phases, subject to the negotiation and execution of definitive agreements. As previously announced, Phase 1 of the planned UAE BAF is proposed to have an initial production capacity of approximately 14,000 tonnes per annum of natural graphite active anode material, forming part of a staged development strategy targeting total capacity of approximately 30,000 tpa. In addition to the contemplated investment into the Company's UAE BAF, the LOI also includes Hanwa's and JOGMEC's shared interest in a broader strategic framework, which may include preferential Japanese offtake arrangements, distribution and logistics services to be provided by Hanwa in designated territories, and a long-term supply agreement for graphite feedstock from NextSource's Molo graphite mine. Hanre Rossouw, President and CEO of NextSource, commented: "We are excited to advance our discussions on strategic partnership with Hanwa and JOGMEC, two esteemed Japanese organizations with deep expertise in global battery materials and energy security, and global market access. This LOI highlights the strategic value of our UAE BAF project in supporting Japan's supply chain objectives and diversifying global anode production, and represents a potential cornerstone investment toward securing the project's funding requirements." The LOI is non-binding and subject to customary conditions, including completion of final due diligence, regulatory approvals, and internal approvals by all parties. The parties have agreed to an exclusivity period until March 31, 2026, during which time NextSource has agreed not to engage in discussions with other Japanese entities regarding similar investments in the BAF project. The Company continues to advance parallel work streams to reach FID by the end of Q1 2026, supported by strong progress in front-end engineering and design ("FEED") with its engineering partner firm, Stantec. Upon a successful FID and funding, the Company will proceed with remaining equipment procurement, installation, commissioning, and rampup in accordance with its phased development plan. Mitsubishi Offtake Agreement. As previously announced, on August 5, 2025 the Company and Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation ("MCC"), entered into a binding, multi-year offtake agreement ("the Offtake Agreement"). Under the terms of the Offtake Agreement, the Company and MCC have partnered to supply anode active material to a major OEM for the North American EV market. The Offtake Agreement is subject to certain conditions precedents including, among other matters, the Company's obligation to secure financing for the construction of its battery anode facility ("BAF") in the United Arab Emirates ("UAE"), commencement of construction of the UAE BAF and the commencement of production from the first production line by an agreed date. In light of several factors, including delays in securing the required financing, it is unlikely that the Company will be able to meet certain of these conditions under the timeline agreed in the Offtake Agreement. The Company has commenced discussions with MCC in respect of establishing revised timeline to satisfy the conditions precedent. The Company expects that it will be able to reach an agreement on these matters with MCC in the next 30-45 days, however no assurance can be given in this regard. In the event that the timeline for meeting these conditions precedent cannot be favourably renegotiated with MCC or waived by MCC, MCC may elect to terminate the Offtake Agreement. In such instance, the Company will not have a confirmed offtake partner for the anticipated production of the BAF. About Hanwa Co., Ltd. Hanwa Co., Ltd. is a major Japanese trading company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. It has a global presence and extensive experience in the trade of steel, non-ferrous metals, food, petroleum, and chemicals, with a specific and strategic focus on the battery material supply chain. About JOGMEC The Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) is a Japanese government agency under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. JOGMEC's mission is to ensure a stable supply of energy and mineral resources to Japan by providing financial and technical support to Japanese companies involved in exploration and production projects globally. About NextSource Materials Inc. NextSource Materials Inc. is a battery materials company based in Toronto, Canada that is intent on becoming a vertically integrated global supplier of battery materials through the mining and value-added processing of graphite and other minerals. The Company's Molo graphite project in Madagascar is one of the largest known and highest-quality graphite resources globally, and the only one with SuperFlake graphite. The Molo mine has begun production through Phase 1 mine operations. The Company is also developing a significant downstream graphite value-add business through the staged rollout of Battery Anode Facilities (BAF) capable of large-scale production of coated, spheronized and purified graphite for direct delivery to battery and automotive customers, in a fully transparent and traceable manner. The Company is now in the process of developing its first BAF in the UAE. NextSource Materials is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "NEXT" and on the OTCQB under the symbol "NSRCF". For further information about NextSource Materials, please visit our website at www.nextsourcematerials.com or contact us at +1.416.364.4911 or email Brent Nykoliation, Executive Vice President at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Safe Harbour This press release contains statements that may constitute "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information or statements. Forward looking statements and information are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "potential", "possible" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may", "will", "could", "expected" or "should" occur. Forward-looking statements include any statements regarding, among others, that non-binding LOI's and term sheets will progress to definitive agreements and the timing thereof, timing of financing, construction, development and completion of the BAF, timing and completion of front-end engineering and design, timing of FID, the phased development plan of the BAF as well as the Company's intent on becoming a fully integrated global supplier of critical battery and technology materials. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates and assumptions that involve a number of risks, which could cause actual results to vary and, in some instances, to differ materially from those anticipated by the Company and described in the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. These risks include that the non-binding term sheets will not progress to definitive agreements, the parties to the non-binding term sheet will not be satisfied with their due diligence review, risks related to the construction and development of the BAF, the risk that a positive FID decision may never be reached as well as other risk factors set forth in the Company's latest Annual Information Form (which includes the disclosed risk related specifically to the development commissioning and operation of the BAF) There is no assurance that the definitive agreements will be completed with the above noted timeframe or at all. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur or, if any of them do so, what benefits the Company will derive there from. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as at the date of this news release and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable securities laws. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based on what management believes are reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with them. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Subject to applicable securities laws, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this news release. TORONTO, Feb. 03, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Premier American Uranium Inc. (PUR, the Company or Premier American Uranium) (TSXV: PUR) (OTCQB: PAUIF) is pleased to announce the closing of its previously announced bought deal private placement (the Offering) for gross proceeds of approximately C$15,000,000, which includes the exercise in full of the underwriters option. Pursuant to the Offering, the Company sold 16,666,666 units of the Company (the Units) at a price of C$0.90 per Unit (the Offering Price). Each Unit consists of one common share of the Company (each, a Common Share) and one-half of one common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a Warrant). Each whole Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Common Share at a price of C$1.26 at any time on or before February 3, 2029. Red Cloud Securities Inc. (Red Cloud), as lead underwriter and sole bookrunner, together with Haywood Securities Inc. and Beacon Securities Limited (collectively, the Underwriters), acted as underwriters under the Offering. As consideration for their services, the Underwriters received aggregate cash fees of C$823,468.46 and 914,964 non-transferable common share purchase warrants (the Broker Warrants). Each Broker Warrant is exercisable to acquire one Common Share at the Offering Price at any time on or before February 3, 2029. The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering for the exploration and advancement of the Companys uranium projects in New Mexico and Wyoming as well as for working capital and general corporate purposes. In accordance with National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions (NI 45-106), a portion of the Units were issued to Canadian purchasers pursuant to the listed issuer financing exemption under Part 5A of NI 45-106, as amended by Coordinated Blanket Order 45-935 Exemptions from Certain Conditions of the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption (the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption). The securities sold to purchasers resident in Canada under the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption are immediately freely tradeable in accordance with applicable Canadian securities legislation. A portion of the Units were also sold to purchasers outside of Canada pursuant to an exemption from the prospectus requirement in Canada available under OSC Rule 72-503 and, accordingly are not subject to a four-month hold period in Canada. There is an amended and restated offering document dated January 22, 2026 related to the Offering and the use by the Company of the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption that can be accessed under the Companys profile at www.sedarplus.ca and on the Companys website at www.premierur.com. The closing of the Offering remains subject to the final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the TSXV). IsoEnergy Ltd. and Sachem Cove Special Opportunities Fund, LP, being insiders of the Company, are participating directly or through affiliates in the Offering and are expected to purchase an aggregate of 2,556,500 Units for C$2,300,850 (the Insider Participation). The Insider Participation constitutes a related party transaction within the meaning of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions (MI 61-101). The Company has determined that the Insider Participation is exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 by virtue of the exemptions contained in Section 5.5(a) and Section 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101, as neither the fair market value of securities issued to the parties nor the consideration paid by the parties exceeded 25% of the Companys market capitalization. The Company also announces that it has granted 2,115,000 incentive stock options (the Options) to certain directors, officers, consultants and advisors of the Company, pursuant to the Companys long-term omnibus incentive plan. Each Option is exercisable to acquire one Common Share at a price of $0.90 per Common Share for a period of five years, vesting in tranches over a period of three years. The grant of the Options is subject to the approval of the TSXV. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of any of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful, including any of the securities in the United States of America. The securities referred to in this news release have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the U.S. Securities Act) or any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons, absent registration or any applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. About Premier American Uranium Inc. Premier American Uranium is focused on consolidating, exploring, and developing uranium projects across the United States to strengthen domestic energy security and advance the transition to clean energy. The Companys extensive land position spans five of the nations top uranium districts, with active work programs underway in New Mexicos Grants Mineral Belt and Wyomings Great Divide and Powder River Basins. Backed by strategic partners including Sachem Cove Partners, IsoEnergy Ltd., Mega Uranium Ltd., and other leading institutional investors, PUR is advancing a portfolio supported by defined resources and high-priority exploration and development targets. Led by a distinguished team with deep expertise in uranium exploration, development, permitting, operations, and uranium-focused M&A, the Company is well positioned as a key player in advancing the U.S. uranium sector. For More Information, Please Contact: Premier American Uranium Inc. Colin Healey, CEO This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Toll-Free: 1-833-223-4673 Twitter: @PremierAUranium www.premierur.com Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulations Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, without limitation, statements regarding the intended use of proceeds from the Offering and the final approval of the Offering and the Options by the TSXV. Generally, but not always, forward-looking information and statements can be identified by the use of words such as plans, expects, is expected, budget, scheduled, estimates, forecasts, intends, anticipates, or believes or the negative connotation thereof or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might or will be taken, occur or be achieved or the negative connotation thereof. Forward-looking information and statements are based on our current expectations, beliefs, assumptions, estimates and forecasts about PURs business and the industry and markets in which it operates. Such forward-information and statements are based on numerous assumptions, including among others, that the results of planned exploration activities are as anticipated, the price of uranium, the anticipated cost of planned exploration activities, the completion, timing and results of planned exploration activities being consistent with expectations, the anticipated mineralization being consistent with expectations, that general business and economic conditions will not change in a material adverse manner, that financing will be available if and when needed and on reasonable terms, that third party contractors, equipment and supplies and governmental and other approvals required to conduct the Companys planned exploration activities will be available on reasonable terms and in a timely manner. Although the assumptions made by PUR in providing forward-looking information or making forward-looking statements are considered reasonable by management at the time, there can be no assurance that such assumptions will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking information and statements also involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performances and achievements of Premier American Uranium to differ materially from any projections of results, performances and achievements of Premier American Uranium expressed or implied by such forward-looking information or statements, including, among others: limited operating history, negative operating cash flow and dependence on third party financing, uncertainty of additional financing, delays or failure to obtain required permits and regulatory approvals, changes in mineral resources, no known mineral reserves, aboriginal title and consultation issues, reliance on key management and other personnel; potential downturns in economic conditions; availability of third party contractors; availability of equipment and supplies; failure of equipment to operate as anticipated; accidents, effects of weather and other natural phenomena and other risks associated with the mineral exploration industry; changes in laws and regulation, competition, and uninsurable risks and the risk factors with respect to Premier American Uranium set out in PURs annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2024 and the other documents of PUR filed with the Canadian securities regulators and available under PURs profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Although PUR has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information or implied by forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. PUR undertakes no obligation to update or reissue forward-looking information as a result of new information or events except as required by applicable securities laws. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - Kobrea Exploration Corp. (CSE: KBX) (FSE: F3I) (OTCQB: KBXFF) ("Kobrea" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has discovered a 1,250 metre by 500 metre hydrothermal breccia body in the Cuprum trend within the Company's Western Malargue Copper Projects (the "Property"). Kobrea holds the right to earn a 100% interest in 7 projects totaling 733 km2 in southwestern Mendoza Province, Argentina (see the Company's August 19, 2024 news release for details). "The target development initiative across Kobrea's Western Malargue Copper Projects began in December and continues in tandem with the drilling at El Perdido," commented James Hedalen, CEO. "Our team has identified, mapped and sampled a previously unknown 1,250 metre by 500 metre hydrothermal breccia at Target KBX-17. The breccia is anomalous in copper and samples in the diorite host rock contain up to 1.6% copper in the immediate vicinity of the breccia body. The interpretation of our field geologists is that this target is a vertically-zoned, sulphide-cemented hydrothermal breccia originating from a porphyry system at depth. This result highlights the exploration upside across this exceptional land package and validates our exploration thesis that there is more to be discovered across these projects, beyond what has been outlined by previous operators." Target KBX-17 Target KBX-17 was first identified by Kobrea in March of 2025 when field crews noticed a multi-kilometre colour anomaly from a nearby 4x4 road. A brief investigation resulted in the identification of dioritic intrusive rock samples exhibiting disseminated chalcopyrite intergrown with secondary biotite. There is no reference to or mention of this prospect by previous operators and the prospect has seen no drilling to date. A follow-up program at KBX-17 comprising detailed geological mapping and rock-chip sampling was completed in December of 2025. The program outlined a 1,250 metre by 500 metre hydrothermal breccia body cemented by iron-oxides and locally, where preserved, by massive pyrite. The strongly leached and weathered hydrothermal breccia is anomalous in copper, with numerous samples grading between 161 ppm and 408 ppm copper. In the immediate proximity to the breccia body, samples of the host rock diorite containing up to 1.6% copper were collected. The large hydrothermal breccia intrudes a diorite host rock, characterized as an equigranular diorite stock measuring 4 by 2 kilometres that exhibits propylitic alteration where it is in contact with the hydrothermal breccia unit. The diorite stock intrudes upper Jurassic-aged sedimentary rocks belonging to the Tordillo Formation (Figure 1). Several other smaller hydrothermal breccia bodies within the diorite stock were mapped, including a 300 metre by 150 metre magnetite cemented breccia with samples up to 223 ppm copper (Figure 2). Figure 1 - Geological map of the Target KBX-17 area with rock geochemistry (copper). Figure 2 - Photographs from Target KBX-17: A) Example of outcropping hydrothermal breccia. B) Iron-oxide cementing diorite clasts within hydrothermal breccia. C) Example of magnetite-cemented hydrothermal breccia. D) Example of chalcocite and malachite mineralization within diorite proximal to contact with large hydrothermal breccia. The KBX-17 target is 8 kilometres from an existing road. Kobrea is planning an Induced Polarization survey that will cover the exploration target to investigate the potential of an underlying porphyry system. The target development crew is currently at the El Destino porphyry copper-gold prospect and will continue systematically moving across the Western Malargue Copper Projects where they will be undertaking geological mapping and geochemical sampling activities at several porphyry deposit-scale prospects. QA/QC Procedures Rock chip sampling was performed by Kobrea field geologists. Representative samples were collected at outcropping rock over the course of the field mapping program, with sample weights between 0.84 and 2.5 kilograms. Samples were placed into polyethylene bags along with a unique sample identifier, and sampling information was recorded in the field. Sealed sample bags were transported by Kobrea personnel to Alex Stewart International in Mendoza City, Argentina, where samples were weighed, dried, crushed and pulverized in preparation for analysis. All samples were analyzed using analytical package ICP-MA-39, whereby 0.2-gram aliquots are subjected to a 4-acid digest and concentrations of 39 different elements are resolved with an Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) finish. All samples were also analyzed for gold concentration whereby 30-gram aliquots are subjected to Fire Assay analysis utilizing an Atomic Absortion Spectroscopy (AAS) finish. Samples overlimit in copper (>10,000 ppm) during the ICP-MA-39 analysis were reanalyzed with ICP-ORE analysis, whereby 0.2-gram aliquots are dissolved in 100 ml of a mixture of highly oxidizing acids and results for 19 elements are determined by ICP-OES analysis with a higher limit of detection. Additional quality control / quality assurance procedures, including blank and standard insertion and analysis, are performed internally by Alex Stewart International Argentina in Mendoza, Argentina, an accredited testing laboratory conforming with the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025:2017 who is independent of Kobrea. Qualified Person The scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Rory Ritchie, P.Geo., VP - Exploration and Director of Kobrea and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. About Kobrea Kobrea Exploration Corp. is a mineral exploration and development company focused on the acquisition and exploration of base metal projects. Kobrea holds the right to earn a 100% interest in 7 projects totaling over 733 km2 in southwestern Mendoza Province, Argentina (see the Company's August 19, 2024 news release for details). The properties are considered highly prospective for porphyry copper and porphyry copper-gold deposits. Numerous porphyry copper targets have been outlined to date exhibiting multi-kilometre hydrothermal alteration footprints, anomalous copper gold molybdenum geochemistry, quartz stockwork veining, localized hydrothermal breccias and Miocene aged dacitic to dioritic porphyry intrusions. Kobrea also holds a 100% interest in the Upland Copper Project in British Columbia, Canada. For more information, please consult the Company's filings, available at www.sedarplus.ca. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Per: "James Hedalen" James Hedalen CEO & Director Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws with respect to the Company, including statements respecting: geological interpretations, the potential for a porphyry system at depth, the prospectivity of the Company's properties, and planned exploration activities such as the Induced Polarization survey and work at the El Destino and Western Malargue Copper Projects. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by words such as "believe," "project," "aim," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "strategy," "future," "opportunity," "plan," "may," "should," "will," "would," and similar expressions. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking statements and information are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements and information because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements and information address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this press release. The forward-looking statements included in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable laws. The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed this press release and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - Anteros Metals Inc. (CSE: ANT) ("Anteros" or the "Company") reports on Phase 1 drilling at the Seagull Critical Minerals Project (the "Project"), located approximately 80 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, Ontario. Drilling is being carried out by Rift Minerals Inc. ("Rift"), as operator, pursuant to the option agreement announced on October 9, 2025, under which Anteros may earn up to a 49% interest in the Project. Drill hole RM26-01 reached a depth of approximately 1,230 metres before drilling operations were discontinued on February 2, 2026 due to downhole conditions that prevented further advancement. Following technical assessment by the project operator, the decision was made to abandon the hole. As previously reported on January 21, 2026, RM26-01 intersected localized zones of orthomagmatic sulphide mineralization within the basal cumulate sequence between approximately 588.5 metres and 607.5 metres depth, above the Archean basement contact. These mineralized intervals have been logged and selected for sampling and will be submitted for platinum, palladium, nickel, and copper analysis. Analytical results will be reported when available. As previously reported on January 23, 2026, a pressurized gas occurrence was encountered at approximately 877 metres depth within a narrow fault zone characterized by bleached rock and clay gouge in otherwise competent metasedimentary rocks, approximately 100 metres from gas occurrences reported in historical drill hole WM01-08. The nature, composition, volume, and significance of the gas have not yet been determined. Due to the abandonment of the hole and the resulting loss of access to the gas-bearing interval, no further gas sampling or monitoring is planned from RM26-01. Evaluation of the gas occurrence will therefore be limited to observations and data collected prior to abandonment. Selected fault gouge material associated with the gas occurrence has been retained for potential laboratory analysis, subject to suitability of the material. "While drilling in RM26-01 was discontinued earlier than planned due to downhole conditions, the program successfully achieved its primary geological objectives and delivered valuable new insight into the Seagull Critical Minerals system," said Trumbull Fisher, CEO of Anteros Metals. "The hole confirmed sulphide mineralization within the basal cumulate sequence and provided important geological and structural information consistent with our exploration model. In addition, the identification of a localized gas occurrence adds a useful data point to our evolving geological understanding. These results will help guide future exploration planning at Seagull." The Company will provide further updates as analytical results become available, which will inform ongoing evaluation of next steps for the Seagull Critical Minerals Project. ABOUT THE SEAGULL PROJECT The Project is located approximately 80 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, Ontario, and covers the interpreted mafic-ultramafic Seagull Intrusion within the Nipigon Basin. Historical exploration between 1998 and 2012 included airborne geophysical surveys and approximately 20,000 metres of diamond drilling, which reported disseminated to semi-massive sulphide mineralization containing nickel, copper, and platinum-group elements along parts of the intrusion's basal contact. These results are historical in nature and have not been independently verified by Anteros. In 2024, Rift completed an Ambient Noise Tomography ("ANT") survey to refine the internal geometry of the Seagull Intrusion and to identify subsurface velocity contrasts interpreted to reflect lithological and alteration variations. These interpretations remain unverified by Anteros. QUALIFIED PERSON The scientific and technical information in this news release relating to the Seagull Project was prepared by Rift Minerals Inc. and has been reviewed and approved by Dr. Geoff Heggie, P.Geo. (Ontario), a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. This information has not been independently verified by Anteros Metals Inc. and is provided for geological context only. ABOUT ANTEROS METALS INC. Anteros Metals Inc. is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on advancing a pipeline of projects across Newfoundland and Labrador and select Canadian jurisdictions. The Company applies a technically driven, data-supported exploration approach targeting critical minerals and emerging strategic commodities relevant to the global energy transition. ABOUT RIFT MINERALS INC. Rift Minerals Inc. is a private corporation based in Thunder Bay, Ontario, founded in 2024 by Steven Stares, Michael Stares, Cliff Hickman and Abraham Drost, M.Sc., P.Geo. (Ontario). Rift has completed early-stage exploration work on the Seagull Project, including an Ambient Noise Tomography survey completed by Sisprobe, France. The resulting assessment report has been filed with the Ontario Ministry of Energy and Mines for assessment credit. Additional information about Rift Minerals Inc. is available through publicly accessible sources. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information This news release may contain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All information contained herein that is not historical in nature may constitute forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements herein include but are not limited to statements relating to the prospects for development of the Company's mineral properties, and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to business, market and economic risks, uncertainties and contingencies that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. HIGHLIGHTS Multiple high-grade Au-Ag-Cu showings confirmed beyond existing historic resource boundaries Surface sampling returned values up to 26.1 g/t Au, 179 g/t Ag, and 1.68% Cu, supporting a large, multi-zone mineralized system. 22 priority diamond drill targets identified Drill-ready targets defined both inside and outside the historic Kena gold body, including several areas with minimal or no prior drilling. Strong expansion potential along and across strike and at depth Results confirm gold and copper mineralization extends east and south of the resource, aligned with major structures and coincident geochemical and geophysical anomalies. CALGARY, ALBERTA TheNewswire - February 3, 2026 Upside Gold Corp. (CSE : UG) (FSE:47I) ("Upside Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to provide a preliminary exploration update for its 10,115 hectares Kena Gold-Copper Property (Kena or Property) in southeastern British Columbia, including results from the Companys initial surface rock geochemical sampling program completed in July 2025. This initial field program represents an important step in advancing our understanding of the Kena Gold-Copper Property, said Sophy Cesar, CEO of Upside Gold Corp. The results support our exploration model and help define priority targets for follow-up diamond drilling beyond the existing lode gold bearing body. The surface exploration program was undertaken as a field review in follow-up to the optioning of the Property in early 2025, in parallel with the Companys ongoing geological, geochemical and geophysical compilation of the Propertys analog and digital exploration database which extends back to the mid-1970s. During the field program, the exploration work focused on visiting and rock sampling known historic showings, and completing new geological traverses, and surface sampling of road-cuts from recently constructed logging roads crossing the Property. In addition, surface outcrop and historic trench exposures within the main lode gold body which make up the Kena Gold historic resource* were further reviewed and evaluated on-site. The Property gold mineralization is predominantly controlled by a northwestern trending major fault zone named Kena Deformation Zone situated within and between the Silver King Porphyry intrusive and Elsie Volcanic rocks and which is characterized as a strong low magnetic intensity signature as shown on the included maps. * Historic gold resource; An original technical report titled NI 43-101 RESOURCE ESTIMATE FOR THE KENA AND DAYLIGHT PROPERTIES by Sue Bird, Moose Mountain Technical Services was issued on May 3, 2021 and filed on SEDAR on behalf of West Mining Corp. reporting an Indicated Mineral Resource of 32,146,000 tonnes at an average grade of 0.544 g/t Au for 0.561 million ozs and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 177,507,000 tonnes at an average grade of 0.486 g/t Au for 2.77 million ozs. The Qualified Person for Upside Gold has not done sufficient work to classify this now historical estimate as current mineral resources and the Company is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources. The estimate is relevant to this news release as it was completed on the Property. The Qualified Person emphasizes that the estimate is provided for information only and should not be relied upon. The historical estimate uses the categories set out in section 1.2 of the NI-43-101. The parameters used are outlined in Sue Birds 2021 report. To upgrade the historical estimate as current mineral resource, additional drilling will have to be completed. Based on these evaluations, 22 proposed priority diamond drillhole collar sites were identified in the field for follow-up testing both within and outside the gold body. In total, 141 rock geochemical samples were collected for gold and multi-element analyses during the program. 2025 Program Results The results of the July field program identified and confirmed the presence of multiple high-grade prospective areas and historic showings, both within and outside the main Kena lode gold body, supporting the definition of follow-up diamond drilling targets. The most significant assay results from this program are reported in the table, discussed below and shown on the maps. Name and Location Sample #s Sample Type / Size Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) Cu (ppm) Shaft Au-Cu showing bounding east of Kena Au historic resource 4339312 grab 0.65 0.7 322 Shaft Au-Cu showing bounding east of Kena Au historic resource 4339320 grab 5.41 4.4 10,500 Cat Au-Cu showing bounding east of Kena Au 4339360 grab 1.12 3.4 6,530 Kena Copper Zone area south and directly along strike with Kena Au 4339315 grab 1.31 1.2 352 Kena Copper Zone area south and directly along strike with Kena Au 4339364 grab 0.91 1.0 216 Euphrates showing south and along strike of Kena Au 4339375 grab 25.9 86.5 1,480 Euphrates showing south and along strike of Kena Au 4339375 grab 26.1 8.7 297 Euphrates showing south and along strike of Kena Au 4339376 grab 4.15 6.9 121 Euphrates showing south and along strike of Kena Au 4339317 grab 3.34 179 920 Euphrates showing south and along strike of Kena Au 43393918 grab 17.5 3 45 South Gold Zone south and along strike with Kena Au 4339314 grab 0.71 1.6 525 Princess Showing east of Kena Au 4339309 grab 1.47 18 16,800 Princess Showing east of Kena Au 4339310 grab 5.41 0.9 61 Three areas visited on the Property, beyond the boundaries of the Kena lode gold body, are considered particularly exciting to the Company for follow-up exploration with diamond drill testing. The Lower and Upper Euphrates Au-Ag showings, which report historic production of 307 tonnes at 46.9 g/t Au and 249 g/t Ag, have recently become accessible following the construction of new logging roads in the area. The workings are located in the southern half of the Property, trend regionally along-strike eight kilometres to the north to the Kena lode gold body, and are hosted within similar favorable geological, geochemical and geophysical signatures including an identified coincident magnetic low feature which can be traced for 10 kms. The average analytical results from the nine grab samples collected on-site reported 8.61 g/t Au and 31.6 g/t Ag, ranging from 0.022 g/t Au and 0.5 Ag up to 26.1 g/t Au and 179 g/t Ag. There has been no known drilling in the area. The Cat, Shaft, Dighem, and Princess Cu-Au-Ag showings are adjacent and aligned along the east side of the Kena Gold lode gold body over a strike length of 1,200 metres and are associated with a strong two-pronged IP chargeability anomaly with areal dimensions of 1.8 by 0.6 kilometres with coincident copper soil anomalies. Rock samples collected from the showings returned analyses of up to 1.68% Cu, 5.41 g/t Au and 18 g/t Ag, supporting historic reports of multiple high-grade occurrences of copper and precious metals. Historically, only five reconnaissance drill holes have been completed across the entire area. The Kena Copper Zone and adjoining South Gold Zone trends along strike for three kilometres southeast from the Kena Gold lode gold body, covering extensions of similar geology associated with a strong IP chargeability anomaly and a broad area of coincident copper and gold soil geochemical anomalies. Historic drilling reports multiple wide intersections of good copper and gold values starting at or near surface, of up to 117 metres of 0.22% Cu and 0.14g/t Au, 88.69 metres of 0.13% Cu and 0.21 g/t Au, 210 metres of 0.17% Cu and 0.13 g/t Au, 106 metres of 0.15% Cu, 0.18 g/t Au in the Kena Copper Zone as well as 90 metres of 0.9 g/t Au and 115 metres of 0.67 g/t Au and 0.05% Cu in the South Gold Zone. Multiple surface rock samples of up to 1.31 g/t Au collected during this program support the potential for these zones to host significant volumes of copper and gold mineralized material. QA/QC The collected rock samples were shipped by bonded carrier and submitted to ALS Canada Ltd laboratory in Kamloops and North Vancouver, B.C. ALS Canada Ltd. is an independent accredited testing laboratory having been assessed by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) and found to conform to the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025:2017 for listed services. The Qualified Person inserted blind Au, Ag and Cu accredited analytical standards and quartz blanks with the submitted batch. Rock samples analyses included gold and 34 multi-element inductively coupled plasma - atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) analysis by four acid digestion (Au-ICP21, ME-ICP61), following sample weighing, log in, and crushing with screening to -75 microns. ALS completed a standard package of internal laboratory QA/QC, including standards, blanks and duplicates. Summary The results of the field program support the Companys belief, based upon compilation and due diligence work, in the existence of a major gold-copper mineralized system on the Kena Gold-Copper Property that extends beyond the boundaries of the currently defined lode gold body which remains open both laterally, along strike and at depth. In particular, favourable geological, geochemical and geophysical signatures immediately to the east and south support the presence of major Cu-Au porphyry bodies that warrant detailed diamond drilling, with potential to add substantial volumes of mineralized material in the Property. In addition, the work supports the belief that this precious metal and copper mineralized system extends well into the southern half of the Property, an area that has not previously undergone diamond drilling or detailed exploration. This system also appears to be repeated by deformation towards the western side of the Property. The Kootenay region of south-eastern British Columbia has historically been largely overlooked for gold and copper exploration, and as such, offers opportunities for both new discoveries and for the development of known historic prospects into potentially viable resource bodies. The information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Trevor Boyd, P.Geo., Vice-President, Exploration of the Company and a Qualified Person for the technical information under NI 43-101 standards. For more information on Upside Gold Corp., please visit the Companys website at www.upsidegoldcorp.com. On behalf of Upside Gold Corp. Sophy Cesar CEO and Director This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. www.upsidegoldcorp.com About Upside Gold Corp. Upside Gold Corp. is a Canadian gold-copper exploration company that has entered into an option agreement to acquire a 100% interest in the Kena Gold-Copper Project, located in southeastern British Columbia, approximately 7 kilometres southwest of Nelson. The Kena Project consists of 198 mineral claims covering 10,114.8 hectares, together with 11 crown grants covering approximately 92 hectares. The Company is focused on advancing the Kena Gold-Copper Project through systematic exploration and drilling programs. The Kena Project hosts a historical gold resource comprising an Indicated Mineral Resource of 32,146,000 tonnes at an average grade of 0.544 g/t Au for 0.561 million ounces of gold, and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 177,507,000 tonnes at an average grade of 0.486 g/t Au for 2.77 million ounces of gold. The historical resource estimate is disclosed in the technical report entitled NI 43-101 Resource Estimate for the Kena and Daylight Properties prepared by Sue Bird, P.Eng. of Moose Mountain Technical Services, dated May 3, 2021, and filed on SEDAR on behalf of West Mining Corp. A Qualified Person, as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources, and Upside Gold Corp. is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources. The historical estimate is provided for information purposes only and should not be relied upon. Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information This news release contains forward-looking information that involves substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties, most of which are beyond the control of Upside Gold. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe Upside Gold's future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that Upside Gold or its management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "estimates", "may", "could", "would", "will", or "plan". Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to Upside Gold, Upside Gold provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, Upside Golds objectives, goals or future plans, statements, details of the exploration results, potential mineralization, Upside Golds portfolio, treasury, management team and enhanced capital markets profile, the estimation of mineral resources and exploration plans. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, failure to identify mineral resources, delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required governmental, regulatory, environmental or other project approvals, political risks, inability to fulfill the duty to accommodate First Nations and other indigenous peoples, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, changes in equity markets, inflation, changes in exchange rates, fluctuations in commodity prices, delays in the development of projects, capital and operating costs varying significantly from estimates and the other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry, and those risks set out in Upside Gold public documents filed on SEDAR. Although Upside Gold believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. Upside Gold disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law. Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - Nicola Mining Inc. (TSXV: NIM) (OTCQB: HUSIF) (FSE: HLIA) (the "Company" or "Nicola") is pleased to provide an update for the 2025 Exploration Diamond Drilling Program (the "2025 Program") at its New Craigmont Copper Project ("New Craigmont"), near Merritt, BC. Exploration Summary Three targets (Figure 1) were drilled in Nicola's 2025 program: MARB-CAS, Draken and a new target at WP/West Craigmont identified by ALS Geoanalytics1. The purpose of the 2025 Program was to collect geological data for target development for a potential porphyry copper system at New Craigmont. 1 Seven holes totaling 3347m were drilled (Table 1), logged and sampled. Over 2600 samples (including QC samples) were submitted to AGAT Labs for multi-element analysis (results pending). Results from the analyses will be interpreted by Nicola and used for porphyry vectoring. Eleven samples representative of lithology and alteration were selected and sent to Vancouver Petrographic for thin section petrography to help classify rock types and alteration mineral assemblages. This contributes to understanding the geological framework of the property. Over 5000 samples selected from 10 holes drilled since 2016 across the property and analyzed on site with a portable X-Ray fluorescence (pXRF) and short-wave infrared (SWIR). This data is a component of the Company's exploration target development program designed to identify vectors to a mineralized porphyry centre. Table 1: 2025 Drill Holes Figure 1. 2025 Drill Hole Collar Locations Summary of Findings and Interpretations Drill core observations from 2025 support the presence of a porphyry system at Draken (Figure 2). Holes DR-25-001 and DR-25-002 show downhole zonation from pyrite-chalcopyrite to chalcopyrite to chalcopyrite-molybdenite. Outcrop observations are consistent with drill hole observations. The weak mineralization of chalcopyrite with minor bornite and rare molybdenite are associated with classic porphyry alteration assemblages of quartz, epidote, potassium feldspar, chlorite, and sericite. Mineralization is associated with quartz veinlets with varying amounts of potassium feldspar, chlorite, and sericite. Mineralization and alteration are hosted in the Guichon Border Phase diorite. Observations demonstrate the presence of copper and molybdenite in the hydrothermal system and suggest proximity to a porphyry centre. (figures 3 and 4). Nicola's observations and interpretation of Draken being associated with a porphyry system are consistent with the finding of the UBC MDRU study (see below). Copper results from MARB are encouraging with MB-25-008 returning 9.5m of 0.39% Cu from 220.5m to 230.0m (Figure 5 and Table 2). This interval consists of a Nicola Group basalt fragmental package with mixed patches of intercalated sandstone, siltstone and fragmental units and a porphyritic andesitic section within. A number of well-preserved quartz-K-feldspar-biotite dykes are enveloped by quartz diorite dykes. Alteration includes pervasive quartz-chlorite with fine-grained biotite. Mineralization consists of disseminated magnetite, trace disseminated pyrite. Fine-grained chalcopyrite, along with pyrite, occurs within quartz stringers with magnetite and chlorite. Nicola geologists interpret the mineralization occurring at MARB to be associated with the skarn at Embayment and CAS. More drilling will be required to demonstrate continuity. The third target, at WP/West Craigmont (hole (WP-25-007) did not encounter anything visually more indicative of a porphyry system than Draken, leaving Draken as the most promising target on the west side of the property. Figure 2. Conceptual interpretation of Draken showing 2025 drill holes superimposed on a porphyry system. (See Figure 1 for cross-section location.) Figure 3. DR-25-001, 111.45m. Bornite chalcopyrite magnetite assemblages signal hypogene copper mineralization at high temperature. Figure 4. DR-25-002, 232.50m. Molybdenite with chalcopyrite indicates proximity to a porphyry core or thermal centre. Figure 5. Cross-section of MARB-CAS showing 2024 and 2025 drill holes. (See Figure 1 for cross-section location) Table 2: 2025 Significant Copper Intercepts Hole ID From (m) To (m) Length (m) Cu (%) MB-25-008 220.5 230 9.5 0.39 220.5 221.25 0.75 0.12 221.25 222.6 1.35 0.12 222.6 224 1.4 0.81 224 225 1 0.51 225 226 1 0.25 226 227 1 0.63 227 228 1 0.10 228 229 1 0.39 229 230 1 0.46 Ongoing UBC MDRU Study The University of British Columbia's (UBC) Mineral Deposit Research Unit (MDRU) has been working on province-wide porphyry study, of which the New Craigmont project is a component. One of the objectives is to investigate whether the Craigmont skarn is related to porphyry-type mineralization in the Guichon Creek batholith. Findings suggest Craigmont is a porphyry related skarn deposit tied to magmatism within the Guichon Creek border phase. Another objective is the use epidote trace element chemistry as a porphyry indicator mineral for vectoring. Alteration types and epidote chemistry indicated a nearby porphyry centre and distinguish it from a distal footprint of the Highland Valley porphyry systems. Geochemistry indicated the best prospects for a porphyry centre are West Craigmont (where Draken is located) and deep to the east of the Craigmont mine (where the ZTEM anomaly is located - see drilling plans for 2026 below). Recommendations for Further Work Continue the ongoing process of building a New Craigmont database with all current and historic exploration data. This is a mandatory before creating a model. Create a 3D geological model for New Craigmont. This is a necessary step to develop more precise target concepts and will be mandatory for resource development. Process, interpret 2025 pXRF and SWIR data (this will be carried out by ALS Geoanalytics) and integrate it into target concepts. Continue to collect pXRF and SWIR data and have it analysed to contribute to more detailed modeling and targeting. Drill a previously identified, but untested target, Jotun, north of the old mine (see below). Continue to develop a target concept for Draken and drill test. Diamond Drilling Plans for 2026 In 2022 a property-wide Z-axis Tipper Electromagnetic (ZTEM) survey2 was conducted for Nicola by Geotech LTD. Interpretations of the data show a large resistivity anomaly directly north of the historical open pit (Figure 6). Drilling in 2023 (NC23-005 and NC23-006) to the south of the anomaly encountered encouraging porphyry-style alteration3. Nicola has termed this the "Jotun" (pronounced Yoten) target. Jotun is an exciting target that could represent the causative intrusion for the high-grade copper skarn that was historically mined at Craigmont. Nicola is planning a long hole for 2026 to test this hypothesis. Figure 6. Cross section (and plan view) of the Jotun target: untested ZTEM resistivity high. Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC) Nicola maintains tight sample security, and quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) for all aspects of its exploration program. Geological work, and sample selection and preparation for transport was supervised by Nicola's Senior Geologist Vicente Garcia (GIT) and VP Exploration Will Whitty (P. Geo.), who were on site the entire program. All NQ and HQ-sized core samples from 2025 were logged, photographed and sampled on site by staff or consulting geologists and geotechnicians. Sample sizes ranged from approximately 0.5m - 2m in length depending on geological features. Core was sawed in half lengthwise, with one half going into poly sample bags and the other half going back into the box to be stored on site. Sample identification tags with unique sample numbers were placed in each bag, and bags were zip-tied closed. There were no markings on the bag or tag identify the location of the sample. The samples were packed into rice bags and shipped to AGAT Laboratories Ltd.'s ISO/IEC 17025:2017 and ISO 9001:2015 accredited lab in Calgary, AB for preparation (crushing and pulverizing) and analyzed for 34 elements by 4 acid digestion with ICP-OES (method code 201-070). Company protocols include the insertion of quality control (QC) samples consisting of Certified Reference Materials (CRMs), blanks and duplicates into the sample stream at a rate of 1 of each control sample for every 20 regular samples. Qualified Person The scientific and technical disclosures included in this news release have been reviewed and approved by Will Whitty, P.Geo., who is the Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Whitty is Vice President, Exploration for the Company. About Nicola Mining Nicola Mining Inc. is a junior mining company listed on the TSX-V Exchange and Frankfurt Exchange that maintains a 100% owned mill and tailings facility, located near Merritt, British Columbia. It has signed Mining and Milling Profit Share Agreements with high-grade BC-based gold projects. Nicola's fully permitted mill can process both gold and silver mill feed via gravity and flotation processes. The Company owns 100% of the New Craigmont Project, a property that hosts historic high-grade copper mineralization and covers an area of over 10,800 hectares along the southern end of the Guichon Batholith and is adjacent to Highland Valley Copper, Canada's largest copper mine. The Company also owns 100% of the Treasure Mountain Property, which includes 30 mineral claims and a mineral lease, spanning an area exceeding 2,200 hectares. On behalf of the Board of Directors "Peter Espig" Peter Espig CEO & Director Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. 1 June 20, 2025 News Release 2 September 13, 2022 News Release 3 December 21, 2023 News Release Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - GoldQuest Mining Corp. (TSXV: GQC) (OTCQX: GDQMF) ("GoldQuest" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on its ongoing 2025-2026 drilling and metallurgical testwork program at the 100%-owned Romero Gold-Copper Project in the Dominican Republic. The Company has successfully completed the metallurgical drill program: 5 metallurgical drillholes totalling 1,906 metres; ~1,600 m of representative core selected from all holes for advanced locked-cycle and variability testwork at ALS Kamloops, with first results expected in March 2026 and the final report by late April/early May 2026. Geotechnical and hydrogeological drilling advancing on schedule : 8 dedicated geotech holes (~2,700 m), of which 3 were completed and 3 are ongoing, and 10 hydrogeological holes (6 completed, 3 in progress) all to be finished by February 2026 to support Feasibility Study engineering design. Drilling started in early January at the Cachimbo discovery target, with the first hole currently at 450 metres, with a planned target depth of 500 metres. This program aims to delineate a Mineral Resource and test additional targets along the Romero-Cachimbo corridor. Geophysics Program Underway: A new ground geophysics program has commenced to further refine exploration targets. The program consists of Gradient Array Induced Polarization (IP) surveys and Pole-Dipole Induced Polarization (PD-IP) surveys. Since beginning the program in September 2025, the Company has completed five metallurgical drill holes totaling 1,906 metres and three dedicated geotechnical holes totaling 1,270 metres (see Figure 1). This data will support the continued development of the underground mining design. In parallel, three additional drill rigs continue with a geotechnical and hydrogeological drilling program at the planned plant, waste dump, tailings facility areas, and critical infrastructure (Figure 1). This campaign has been updated to eight dedicated geotechnical holes (approximately 2,700 metres in total) and ten hydrogeological holes (6 completed and 3 ongoing) and is on schedule for completion by February 2026. Data from these holes will support detailed engineering design for the Feasibility Study. Luis Santana, CEO of GoldQuest Mining Corp., commented: "We are advancing efficiently on all fronts. With metallurgical samples now at the lab and the drill bit turning at Cachimbo, we remain on schedule to deliver our Feasibility Study milestones while simultaneously exploring the district's potential." Figure 1: Drill Progress at Romero At Cachimbo, drilling of hole TIR-26-57 began in early January and has now reached 450 metres, with a target depth of 500 metres. The program seeks to define a Mineral Resource and test new targets along the Romero-Cachimbo corridor (Figure 2). Core samples from TIR-26-57 contain sections with disseminated pyrite, chalcopyrite, barite, and sphalerite in veinlets (Figure 3), similar to mineralization encountered in previous holes at this target. Cutting and sampling are currently in progress, with assay results anticipated by early March. Figure 2: Drill Progress at Cachimbo Figure 3: Core from hole TIR-26-57 a: 183.6 m depth. b: 258 m depth. Additionally, a geophysics program is currently in progress. Commenced on January 27, a new ground geophysics plan aims to further delineate exploration targets and support drill planning along the aforementioned corridor. The scope of this program includes Gradient Array Induced Polarization (IP) surveys, which will be supplemented with Pole-Dipole Induced Polarization (PD-IP) surveys in zones where anomalies are identified. The plan consists of: A first stage of Gradient Array Induced Polarization (IP) to complete the cover in the brownfield targets around the Romero deposit, and A second stage targeting the Cachimbo trend, with the objective of improving the upcoming drill program at the greenfield targets Canada La Vaca and Los Ganchos. Qualified Person The scientific and technical information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Leandro Sastre, P. Geo., VP of Exploration of GoldQuest and a Qualified Person for the technical information in this press release under NI 43101-Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Properties. About GoldQuest GoldQuest Mining Corp. is a Canadian exploration and development company with strong participation from Dominican investors, focused on advancing its gold and copper assets in the Dominican Republic. The Company has a Board of Directors and management team with prior experience developing and operating a mine in the country. Additional information can be viewed at the Company's website www.goldquestcorp.com. On Behalf of the Board of Directors of GoldQuest Mining Corp., "Luis Santana" Director & CEO Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Forwardlooking statements: Statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts are forwardlooking information that involves known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Forwardlooking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the past drill programs, the results of such drill programs and the interpretation of the results of the drill programs, further drilling, the timing of drilling and assay results, the Feasibility Study and engineering studies in support thereof, the mobilization of drill rigs, mineral resources at Romero and Romero South, the merits of the Company's mineral properties, future drill programs and studies and the Company's plans and exploration programs for its mineral properties, including the timing of such plans and programs. In certain cases, forwardlooking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "potential", "likelihood", "appears", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "aims", "forecasts", "at least", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "should", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forwardlooking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forwardlooking statements. Such risks and other factors include, among others, risks related to uncertainties inherent in drill results and the estimation of mineral resources; commodity prices; changes in general economic conditions; market sentiment; currency exchange rates; the Company's ability to continue as a going concern; the Company's ability to raise funds through equity financings; risks inherent in mineral exploration; risks related to operations in foreign countries; future prices of metals; failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents, labor disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals; government regulation of mining operations; environmental risks; title disputes or claims; limitations on insurance coverage and the timing and possible outcome of litigation. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could affect the Company and may cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forwardlooking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forwardlooking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, do not place undue reliance on forwardlooking statements. All statements are made as of the date of this news release and the Company is under no obligation to update or alter any forwardlooking statements except as required under applicable securities laws. Forwardlooking statements are based on assumptions that the Company believes to be reasonable, including expectations regarding mineral exploration and development costs; expected trends in mineral prices and currency exchange rates; the accuracy of the Company's current mineral resource estimates; that the Company's activities will be in accordance with the Company's public statements and stated goals; that there will be no material adverse change affecting the Company or its properties; that all required approvals will be obtained and that there will be no significant disruptions affecting the Company or its properties. For further information, please contact: OTTAWA, ON, Feb. 3, 2026 /CNW/ - Northern Shield Resources Inc. ("Northern Shield" or the "Company") (TSXV: NRN) is pleased to announce soil sample results from the Braxton Bradley Zone on the Company's 100% owned Root & Cellar Property ("Root & Cellar" or the "Property"), on the Burin Peninsula in southeastern Newfoundland. The Property is being explored for epithermal gold, with 5 gold zones over a 6-kilometre strike-length, and porphyry copper. Tellurium (Te), a critical metal, is associated with four of the gold showings and copper mineralization. The Braxton Bradley Zone is the most easterly of the 5 gold zones on the property. Trenching and drilling (3 drill holes to a maximum depth of 53 m) in 1999, prior to Northern Shield's option of the Property, returned grab sample values up to 2.5 g/t Au, 128 g/t Ag, 50 ppm Te and 1.4% Cu (see Company news release May 21, 2019). Assay results from the soil samples show distinctly anomalous concentrations in Au, Ag, Cu and Te, 100 metres to the north of the 1999 trenching and drilling location; these results are an order of magnitude greater than the soil sample results from immediately above the trenching and drilling (Figure 1). In addition, the soil sample survey shows scattered anomalous gold-in-soils to the north, not associated with elevated Ag, Cu or Te, suggesting a different source. The soil grid will be expanded to the west and north to better define the trend of the two broader soil anomalies. "Out of the 5 "gold zones" at Root & Cellar, Braxton Bradley has received the least exploration to date, largely due to a lack of outcrop. However, these results indicate that there is more potential here than the 1999 trenching and drilling suggests. The Au-Ag-Te soil anomaly is more distinct than the till anomaly at the Drop Zone (Figure 2) which hosts mineralized rock grab sample values up to 47 g/t Au, 1,385 g/t Ag, and 700 ppm Te. We are focussing on the Creston Copper porphyry target; however, Braxton Bradely will factor into our plans to hit Root & Cellar hard this year, along with other epithermal gold-silver and porphyry copper targets on the Burin Peninsula." - Ian Bliss, President and CEO, Northern Shield Samples were analyzed by ALS Global in Vancouver, BC, for Au by Fire Assay with ICP-AES finish (Au-ICP22) and multi-elements by four acid digestion and ICP-MS finish (ME-MS61). All standards and duplicates meet targeted values. Technical information in this news release was reviewed and approved by Christine Vaillancourt, P. Geo., the Company's Chief Geologist and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. About Northern Shield Resources Northern Shield Resources Inc. is a Canadian-based company, a leader in generating high-quality exploration targets, that views greenfield exploration as an opportunity to find a mineable, near surface deposit at relatively low cost. We implement a model driven exploration approach to reduce the risk associated with early-stage projects for ourselves, our shareholders, and the environment. This approach led us to option the Root & Cellar Property from a Newfoundland prospector, who discovered the copper mineralization, and then to its advancement to the large gold-silver-tellurium and porphyry copper system that it has become. Forward-Looking Statements Advisory This news release contains statements concerning the exploration plans, results and potential for epithermal gold deposits, and other mineralization at the Company's Root & Cellar Property , geological, geophysical and geometrical analyses of the properties and comparisons of the properties to known epithermal gold deposits and other expectations, plans, goals, objectives, assumptions, information or statements about future, conditions, results of exploration or performance that may constitute forward-looking statements or information under applicable securities legislation. Such forward-looking statements or information are based on a number of assumptions, which may prove to be incorrect. Although Northern Shield believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements or information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward looking statements because Northern Shield can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements or information are based on current expectations, estimates and projections that involve a number of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by Northern Shield and described in the forward looking statements or information. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks associated with geological, geometrical and geophysical interpretation and analysis, the ability of Northern Shield to obtain financing, equipment, supplies and qualified personnel necessary to carry on exploration and the general risks and uncertainties involved in mineral exploration and analysis. The forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and Northern Shield undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 3, 2026 /CNW/ - North Arrow Minerals Inc. (TSXV: NAR) ("North Arrow" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. John P. Armstrong as President and Chief Operating Officer, effective today. Eira Thomas, CEO of North Arrow, commented, "I am delighted to welcome John to North Arrow at this pivotal time for the Company. As we accelerate our gold exploration activities in Botswana and pursue additional opportunities across sub-Saharan Africa, John brings exactly the expertise we need. His early career was built in some of Canada's most renowned Archean gold camps - working underground at the Con and Campbell mines in Yellowknife and Red Lake and exploring the Hope Bay Greenstone Belt. His Ph.D. research focused specifically on the mineralogy and genesis of gold ores at the Con Mine in the Yellowknife Greenstone Belt, giving him deep technical insight into gold mineralization styles including the types of BIF-hosted gold systems we are targeting at the Kraaipan Gold Project." Ms. Thomas continued, "John also brings more than a decade of experience working in Botswana with Lucara Diamond Corp., where he played a key leadership role in advancing the Karowe Diamond Mine. His established relationships and operational knowledge in-country will be invaluable as we build on the momentum from our successful 2025 exploration program. John has been tasked with overseeing the Kraaipan Gold Project while also evaluating new gold opportunities across southern Africa to expand our project pipeline." Dr. John P. Armstrong is a seasoned mining executive with more than 34 years of experience in mineral exploration, mining, and government in Canada and Botswana. He spent over a decade with Lucara Diamond Corp., serving most recently as Vice President, Technical Services (2018-2024), where he led the technical team through pre-feasibility and feasibility study phases for the Karowe Underground Expansion - Botswana's first shaft-accessed underground diamond mine. Dr. Armstrong was also responsible for modelling Karowe's unique diamond size distribution and implementing innovative sensor-based XRT recovery circuits designed to preserve the value of the mine's largest, highest-value stones. Earlier in his career, Dr. Armstrong built extensive hands-on experience in Archean gold systems. He worked as an underground production geologist at Placer Dome's Campbell Mine in Red Lake (1995-1997) and Miramar's Con Mine in Yellowknife (1994-1995), where he was responsible for daily grade control, stope mapping, and definition drilling. He also worked on gold exploration at BHP's Boston Camp in the Hope Bay Greenstone Belt (1993) and contributed to regional compilation work in the Yellowknife Greenstone Belt with NERCO Minerals (1990-1992). His Ph.D. research at the University of Western Ontario focused on the silicate and sulphide mineral chemistry of free-milling and refractory gold ores of the Con Mine, Yellowknife. Dr. Armstrong served as District Geologist - Diamonds with Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) from 1997-2004, where he tracked diamond exploration activities across the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. He held the Hutchison Visiting Chair for Mineral Deposits at the University of Western Ontario (2009-2012), where he mentored the next generation of exploration geologists. Dr. Armstrong currently serves on the board of directors of Tectonic Metals Inc., which is actively exploring the Flat Gold Project in Alaska within the Tintina Gold Belt. He holds a Ph.D. in Geology (1997) and an Honours B.Sc. in Geology (1989) from the University of Western Ontario and is a registered Professional Geologist with NAPEG. Dr. Armstrong is a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. North Arrow has granted 350,000 incentive stock options to Dr. Armstrong pursuant to the terms of the Company's Stock Option Plan approved by shareholders at the Annual General Meeting held on December 18, 2025. The options are exercisable at CDN$0.27 per share and can be exercised until February 3, 2031. Following this grant of stock options there are 2,427,500 stock options outstanding, representing 8.49% of the Company's issued and outstanding common shares. About North Arrow Minerals: Vancouver-based exploration company focused on evaluating the Kraaipan Gold Project. Management and advisors bring significant global exploration and mining experience. North Arrow's exploration programs are conducted under the direction of Dr. John Armstrong, P.Geo. (NWT/NU), President and COO of North Arrow and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. North Arrow Minerals Inc. /s/ "Eira Thomas" Eira Thomas President and CEO Website: www.northarrowminerals.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release contains "forward-looking statements" including but not limited to statements with respect to North Arrow's plans, the estimation of a mineral resource and the success of exploration activities. Forward-looking statements, while based on management's best estimates and assumptions, are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: risks related to the successful integration of acquisitions; risks related to general economic and market conditions; closing of financing; the timing and content of upcoming work programs; actual results of proposed exploration activities; possible variations in mineral resources or grade; failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents, labour disputes, title disputes, claims and limitations on insurance coverage and other risks of the mining industry; changes in national and local government regulation of mining operations, tax rules and regulations. Although North Arrow has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. North Arrow undertakes no obligation or responsibility to update forward-looking statements, except as required by law. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / February 3, 2026 /Lupaka Gold Corp. ("Lupaka" or the "Company") (TSXV:LPK) (FRA:LQP) advises as to current progress in receiving the proceeds of the ICSID Arbitration Award initially announced by the Company on July 2, 2025. Having received no direct response from the Government of Peru regarding its intended Award payment timeline, the Company is pursuing other avenues to collect the Award. In this regard, the Company has identified significant Peruvian assets in various jurisdictions and is proceeding with the legal processes involved to attach and/or seize such assets. Gordon Ellis (CEO) commented "When the Award was issued on June 30, 2025 the amount payable was approximately US$65 million. Due to the accruing interest, the amount payable has grown to US$67.7 million as at December 31, 2025, and it continues to climb. We look forward to being able to announce that Peru has fulfilled their obligations under the ICSID Arbitration Award and thereby demonstrating their acknowledgement of compliance with the Canada - Peru Free Trade Agreement. Meanwhile, we continue to be pleased to have the full support of Benchwalk, our funding partner, as we move forward in our collection efforts." Further, the Company has instigated a media campaign focused on the mining industry and government and business in general in Peru outlining the Award and Peru's related obligations and the fact that Peru is delinquent in meeting said obligations. To date, there has been a wide response to the media campaign within Peru. See https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-19/gold-miner-plots-seizure-of-peru-assets-over-67-million-arbitration-debt for one such example. Finally, a recent occurrence that speaks favourably to the Company's collection efforts is that the Republic of Peru paid another ICSID arbitration award in January 2026. Kuntur Wasi S.A.is a private consortium that Peru contracted to build a new airport in Cusco, Peru. After believing that they had been inappropriately dismissed, Kuntur Wasi took the Republic of Peru to arbitration through ICSID resulting in ICSID issuing an award of US$91 million in 2024 which Peru paid last month. This indicates that Peru has the available means and will to honour their commitments under International Trade Agreements. Award Background: In December 2019, the Company initiated an arbitration claim against the Republic of Peru under the Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement. The related arbitration process was conducted through the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and continued until the ICSID Tribunal issued an Award in favour of the Company on June 30, 2025. Subsequent to the Award date, Peru had 120 days in which to challenge the Award via a request for an annulment. The 120-day period passed on October 28, 2025, with no annulment being requested. Having no further recourse, the Republic of Peru must pay the Award amounts, otherwise risking serious impacts to its desired reputation as a welcoming mining jurisdiction that protects foreign investment. For ongoing updates and more detail with respect to the Arbitration Award, please refer to the Company's website (www.lupakagold.com/projects/arbitration). For background on the basis for the Claim, please refer to the Company's previous news releases, also available on the Company's website (www.lupakagold.com/news). Lupaka was represented in the arbitration proceedings by the international law firm LALIVE (www.lalive.law), with the financial backing of Bench Walk Advisors (www.benchwalk.com). Both firms continue to be involved until the Award proceeds are received. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as the term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy of this news release. About Lupaka Gold Lupaka is a Canadian-based company focused on creating shareholder value through the identification and development of mining assets. About LALIVE LALIVE is an international law firm with offices in Geneva, Zurich and London, that specializes in international dispute resolution. The firm has extensive experience in international investment arbitration in the mining sector, amongst others, and is currently representing investors and States as counsel worldwide. About Bench Walk Advisors Bench Walk Advisors is a global litigation financier with over USD 250 million of capital deployed across in excess of 100 commercial cases. Bench Walk and its principals have consistently been ranked as leading lawyers and litigation funders in various global directories. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Gordon Ellis, C.E.O. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: (604) 985-3147 or visit the Company's profile at www.sedar.com or its website at www.lupakagold.com During an assault on Ukrainian positions, a Russian soldier executed a Ukrainian serviceman. In the heat and chaos of battle, this incident could have easily remained unnoticed, as there was no video recording. However, a few hours later, the Ukrainians regained control of the position. The soldiers who came as reinforcement noticed that the body of their fellow serviceman was lying face down near the dugout, unarmed. And then Ukrainian investigators took over the matter of establishing the truth. The location of our story is the Zaporizhzhia region, in southern Ukraine, where fighting between the Ukrainian and Russian armies has been ongoing since February 2022. The Vovk position near the village of Novodarivka changed hands several times. On 6 January 2024, it was held by Ukrainian soldiers from the 226th Battalion of the 127th Separate Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The morning was foggy and gloomy perfect conditions for an assault. A group of Russians from the Storm-V unit of the 218th Tank Regiment of the 127th Motorised Rifle Division of the 5th Army launched an assault at around 5 a.m. There were 18 soldiers in the assault group, accompanied by a tank. The Russians divided into three groups of six soldiers each. Five Ukrainian soldiers were holding the Vovk position. Due to weather conditions, they have no support from the air. None of the defenders survived. But when the fog lifted, the 226th Battalion brought in reinforcements and regained the position. The surviving Russians surrendered. Discovering Hodniuks body The executed Ukrainian soldier was named Vitaliy Hodniuk. His call sign in the army was Penguin. Vitaliy had just turned 41. He was from the Chernivtsi region. He was a military from 2015 to 2020 and rejoined the army after Russias full-scale invasion in February 2022. He was skilled at crafting and repairing, valuable skills in wartime. His fellow soldiers knew that Hodniuk would not abandon his position. He was eventually buried in his native village of Ataky, near Khotyn, on 1 May 2024. Oleksandr Deynezhenko, call sign Baha, was a junior sergeant in the same battalion as Hodniuk. He was in the assault group that was sent to regain the Vovk position, and he filmed what he saw at the position. Baha recounted discovering Hodniuks body. He found him lying near the dugout without his weapon. His body wasnt in a typical combat position. It looked more like Hodniuk had left the dugout, surrendered, and knelt. Baha said he noticed a wound below the back of the head and a face covered in blood. There were also bullet wounds on the chest, above the bulletproof vest. Guilty and innocent at the same time The accused is a 27-year-old Russian named Dmitriy Kurashov, call sign Stalker. A stalker is the name given to people who venture into abandoned or dangerous locations, explore them and serve as guides to other people who want to cross these restricted areas. Kurashov described himself as an institution kid. He grew up without parents, in an orphanage in the town of Gremyachinsk in the Perm region of Russia. Google Maps does not show many photos of Gremyachinsk. Gloomy landscapes, shabby houses, and beautiful trees covered with snow. The reality of childrens institutions in Russia looks just as bleak. Kurashov ended up serving time in prison as a teenager after getting into a fight with a law enforcement officer. After his release, he found himself on the streets. He went back to prison after a robbery. He said he went to fight in Ukraine to start a new page in his life. Kurashov lost his left eye to a grenade explosion during combat. In a video of the 226th Battalion with Russian prisoners after that battle, he is already wearing a bandage on his head. He said that he will have his eye replaced after returning to Russia. He has not the slightest doubt that he will be exchanged after the verdict. He pleaded guilty for this reason, although he continued to consider himself innocent at the same time. Dmitriy Kurashov speaks in a documentary: "The guys are all saying that I did it, but I didn't." Image (video capture): Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty Russian prisoners turned witnesses The first interrogation of Kurashov in captivity, filmed on video, was conducted by Roman Shyshko. Shyshko is the second-in-command of the 226th Battalion. The Ukrainians knew that the Russians had launched an assault, he testified, but no one understood how many soldiers were involved or what was happening. When the fog lifted and a drone was able to take off, the command post saw that the position had been taken over. The 226th Battalion sent in reserves, regained the position, and captured prisoners. Out of the 18 Russians who had taken over the Vovk position, eight were captured by the Ukrainian army, ten were killed in battle. It was the Russian soldiers who were captured along with Kurashov his brothers in arms who testified against him. There are three Russian witnesses, all aged over 40: Dmitriy Zuev, Oleg Zamyatin, and Konstantin Zelenin. The latter was the commander of Kurashovs assault group, which carried out the mission that day. When the witnesses recounted their version of events at the Vovk position, a distinctive whistling sound could be heard. It is the sound made by people who are missing some of their teeth. Investigators working on cases of Russian war crimes say that a significant percentage of prisoners are former inmates who were released after signing a contract with the Russian army. They are often men with no higher education or even a full secondary education, and many are recurring offenders in the Russian prison system. The missing teeth are perhaps the least of these recruits problems. Kurashov and other Russians from his unit were part of Storm-V, a unit which consisted almost entirely of former prisoners. While contract soldiers in the Russian army are promised substantial bonuses, prisoners are recruited into the army by promises of freedom. After signing the contract, they are quickly sent to training camps and, after a short course, immediately thrown into battle. This was the case with Kurashov and his fellow soldiers. They underwent three weeks of training in the occupied Ukrainian territory near Berdiansk, and then went into battle. We were told to foam it, said one of the witnesses in an interview with Ukrainian media. In Russian army slang, foam it means to throw a grenade into a dugout where enemy infantry is hiding. Such tactics can be part of combat. But the same testimony stated that the Russians also had orders not to take prisoners. The evidence of an execution Ukraines Security Service investigators have gathered over 2,000 pages of evidence. The body of the deceased was not immediately taken out from the site. Therefore, it was not possible to conduct a thorough forensic examination. But it was determined that the body sustained bullet wounds. The investigators learned from the witnesses that the accused, Kurashov, used an AK-47 that day, but it was not his weapon. Kurashov and four other Russian soldiers went through polygraph questioning. During the interrogation, Kurashov disagreed with the charges and told his version of events. However, the experts interpretation of the data states that Kurashovs physiological reactions indicate that he possesses hidden information about the murder he is accused of. Witness testimony is the only compelling evidence in this case. All three Russians from Kurashovs unit say the same thing: Stalker shouted for the Ukrainian in the dugout to surrender. The latter came out with his hands up, threw his weapon on the ground, knelt down, and Kurashov fired a round of automatic gunfire at him. The investigation believes that Hodniuk sustained at least three bullet wounds. Kurashovs version Kurashov did not admit guilt during the pre-trial investigation. His strategy changed during the trial he pleaded guilty in order to get sentenced quickly and to be exchanged but he continued to insist on his version of events. He claimed that both Ukrainian soldiers from the dugout, not only Hodniuk but also another fighter, were allegedly executed by another Russian soldier who later died in battle. The investigation checked this version and found that the soldier, a medic in the Russian unit, had indeed participated in battle, but had been attacking the position from the other flank. Witnesses did not see him near the dugout where the alleged murder took place. Kurashov insisted that other soldiers did not notice the medic in the heat of battle and decided to accuse him, allegedly conspiring out of personal dislike. The testimony provided by enemy soldiers in captivity should indeed be considered with caution, as it is not always possible to verify peoples motives for testifying. Each of the Russians was interrogated up to ten times. Over time, their stories would get corrected and changed, but still came together into a coherent picture of events. Kurashov has been on trial in the Zavodskyi District Court of Zaporizhzhia since last autumn. He complained about the slow pace and he mainly remained silent during the hearings. Occasionally, he irritably threw out comments from the glass dock. A few months ago, Kurashov was transferred to a pre-trial detention centre in Dnipro after a Russian air strike on the Bilenka correctional facility. He then had to be transported from afar to attend the hearings. During the closing arguments, he declined to make a final statement. And finally, the court found the Russian man guilty. Life imprisonment the maximum possible sentence was the verdict announced to Kurashov on 6 November 2025. And the Russian soldier still hopes to be exchanged. This report was produced thanks to a grant by Fondation Hirondelle/Justice Info. A full version of this article was published on November 8, 2025, in "Hromadske Radio". Ethiopia on Tuesday accused Eritrea of committing "mass killings" during the Tigray war of 2020-2022 at a time when the two countries were allies. The Tigray civil war killed at least 600,000 people and a peace deal never fully resolved the tensions, with fighting breaking out in two areas last week as flights were suspended for five days. Rights groups have documented widespread war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the war, including the systematic use of rape. Relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea have deteriorated since they fought together against the Tigrayan rebels during the conflict. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed told parliamentarians that Eritrea "carried out mass killings" in the Tigrayan town of Axum and elsewhere. "When we entered Adwa, they looted factories and dismantled their parts, and the conflict escalated. In Adigrat... they destroyed pharmaceuticals and looted," he said, referring to other towns in the region. It is believed to be the first time Abiy has made such accusations against Eritrea. Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel described his allegations as "cheap and despicable lies". Abiy "and his top military brass were profusely showering praises and state medals to the Eritrean army and its senior officers until yesterday -- both during the war and long after its end," he told AFP. Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, who has been in power since 1993, has repeatedly rejected accusations of human rights violations in Tigray, denouncing them as "disinformation" in a February 2023 speech. - Deteriorating - The peace deal that ended the Tigray civil war, known as the Pretoria Agreement, has never been fully implemented. Fighting broke out again last week in a disputed area of western Tigray called Tselemt and the Afar region to the east of Tigray. Flights to the region were suspended from Thursday to Tuesday due to the conflict, although the government has yet to comment on the clashes. The international community fears the fighting could turn into an international conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea. Eritrea, one of the world's most closed countries, gained independence in 1993 after decades of armed struggle against Ethiopia. They later fought a 1998-2000 border war, killing tens of thousands. Abiy initially sought rapprochement with Eritrea when he came to power, earning him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019. But they disagreed over the Tigray peace deal, and Eritrea accuses Ethiopia of seeking to seize its port at Assab as part of the landlocked country's efforts to gain sea access. Last month, Afwerki said Ethiopia's ruling party had "declared war". For its part, the Ethiopian government accuses Eritrea of forging closer ties with the Tigrayan authorities that they once fought. Iranian authorities have arrested over 50,000 people as part of their crackdown on protests, an NGO said on Tuesday, adding that fresh detentions were ongoing. Rights groups have accused Iran's security forces of killing thousands of people in a crackdown on protests that peaked on January 8 and 9 and have since subsided. But police have also been rounding up large numbers of people from all sections of society nationwide, with the Islamic republic's leaders blaming "rioters" supported from abroad for the unrest. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said it had counted at least 50,235 arrests linked to the protests. Arrests have targeted "a wide range of citizens, including students, writers and teachers", it said. "In some cases, arrests were accompanied by home searches and the confiscation of personal belongings." HRANA said it had counted over 300 forced confessions linked to the protests in which suspects made televised statements after being subjected to physical or psychological torture. Amnesty International said in a statement last week that thousands of people, including children, had been arrested in the crackdown. It said they were at "grave risk of enforced disappearance, torture and other ill-treatment, deaths in custody and prolonged imprisonment and arbitrary executions following grossly unfair trials". Iran's judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei has vowed "no leniency" against offenders while the judiciary has indicated that some could be charged with crimes that carry the death penalty. Among those arrested most recently were screenwriter Mehdi Mahmoudian, co-writer on Jafar Panahi's film "It was Just an Accident", which was nominated as best international picture at this year's Oscars and won the prestigious Palme d'Or at the 2025 Cannes festival. Abdollah Momeni and women's rights activist Vida Rabbani were also detained in the same case after they signed a joint statement with over a dozen other activists condemning an "organised state crime against humanity" in the crackdown, according to the foundation of detained Nobel Laureate Narges Mohammadi. Mohammadi, the 2023 Nobel peace prize laureate, was arrested at a demonstration in December before the current protest wave began and has only been allowed a single phone call with her family since. Her foundation said prosecutors will only allow her a new phone call if she adheres to rules over what she says and she has refused these terms. French authorities summoned billionaire Elon Musk to a "voluntary interview" and searched the local offices of his social media network X on Tuesday in a probe into alleged political interference and sexual deepfakes, prosecutors said. The operation comes as both Britain and the European Union have opened separate probes into the creation of sexualised deepfakes of women and children by Musk's AI chatbot Grok. The French investigation, which began in January 2025 over allegations X's algorithm was used to interfere in French politics, now also includes a probe into Grok's dissemination of Holocaust denials and sexual deepfakes. "Summons for voluntary interviews on April 20, 2026, in Paris have been sent to Mr Elon Musk and Ms Linda Yaccarino, in their capacity as de facto and de jure managers of the X platform at the time of the events," the Paris prosecutor's office said. Yaccarino resigned as CEO of X in July last year after two years at the helm of the company. Authorities were conducting a search on Tuesday morning at X's French premises as part of the investigation, the prosecutor's office added. EU police agency Europol said it provided on-the-ground support, deploying an analyst, for Tuesday's raid. The French probe focuses on several suspected criminal offences including complicity in possessing child sexual abuse material and denial of crimes against humanity. X employees have also been summoned to appear between April 20 and 24 "to be heard as witnesses", said Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau, whose office announced in a final message on X it would be leaving the platform. Contacted by AFP, a lawyer for X, Kami Haeri, declined to comment. Telegram founder Pavel Durov -- who is under investigation in France over illegal content on his messaging app -- however blasted the raid. "France is the only country in the world that is criminally persecuting all social networks that give people some degree of freedom," the Russian-born entrepreneur wrote on X, naming Telegram, TikTok, and X. Durov, who holds French and Russian passports, has been accused of complicity in running an online platform that allowed illicit transactions, images of child sex abuse and other illegal content -- allegations he denies. -'Serious concerns'- The investigation comes as part of a broader international backlash against Grok after it emerged that users could sexualise images of women and children using simple text prompts such as "put her in a bikini" or "remove her clothes". In a separate probe, Britain's data regulator on Tuesday launched investigations into Musk's X and xAI to see whether the companies complied with personal data laws when it came to Grok's generation of sexualised deepfakes. "The reported creation and circulation of such content raises serious concerns under UK data protection law and presents a risk of significant potential harm to the public," the Information Commissioner's Office said in a statement. In late January, the European Union also hit X with an investigation over Grok's generation of sexualised deepfake images of women and minors. - 'Politically motivated' - Paris cybercrime prosecutors called for the police probe in July 2025 to investigate suspected crimes -- including manipulating and extracting data from automated systems "as part of a criminal gang" -- after receiving two complaints in January 2025. One of those came from Eric Bothorel, a lawmaker from President Emmanuel Macron's centrist party, who alleged "reduced diversity of voices and options" and "personal interventions" by Musk in the platform's management since he took it over in 2022. Musk had at the time raised hackles in Europe with political sallies, including vocal backing for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Laurent Buanec, X's director for France, pushed back against the investigation in January last year, saying X had "strict, clear and public rules" that protected the platform from hate speech and disinformation. The US government also issued a harsh condemnation in July, saying it would defend the free speech of Americans against "acts of foreign censorship". The social media platform, which has denied the allegations, also in July called the investigation "politically motivated". bur-pgr-cco-clw/ekf/gv X Seif al-Islam Kadhafi, the son of Libya's late longtime ruler, has died, relatives reported on Tuesday, without providing details on his death. His adviser, Abdallah Othman Abdurrahim, confirmed his death in a social media post, without giving details. "Seif al-Islam has fallen as a martyr," his cousin, Hamid Kadhafi, told Libyan network al-Ahrar, adding that the family had no further details. Media outlets said he had died in Zintan, in northwestern Libya, although his whereabouts had long been unknown. Seif al-Islam, 53, had been seen as his father's successor. While he held no official position in the north African country under his father's rule, he had been described as Libya's de facto prime minister, cultivating an image of moderation and reform prior to the 2011 Arab Spring revolt. But that reputation soon collapsed when he promised "rivers of blood" in the face of the uprisings. He was arrested in November 2011 in southern Libya following a warrant by the International Criminal Court (ICC). He was sentenced to death in 2015 after a speedy trial but was granted amnesty. In 2021, he announced he would run for president, but those elections were indefinitely postponed. Seif al-Islam Kadhafi, the son of Libya's late longtime ruler, was killed Tuesday by gunmen who stormed his home in western Libya's Zintan, his French lawyer Marcel Ceccaldi told AFP. "He was killed today at 2:00 pm (1200 GMT)... in Zintan in his home by a four-man commando," Ceccaldi said. Seif al-Islam, 53, had been seen by some as his father's successor, despite being targeted by a warrant from the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity. In 2021 he announced he would run for president, but those elections were indefinitely postponed. His adviser, Abdullah Othman Abdurrahim, told Libya's Al-Ahrar television channel that the four unidentified men had stormed the home before "disabling surveillance cameras, then executed him". It remained unclear who was behind the killing. Ceccaldi said that a close associate of Seif al-Islam had told him days ago "that there were problems with his security". "So much so that the head of the (Kadhafi's) tribe had called Seif and told him 'I will send you people to ensure your security'. But Seif refused," he said. While Seif al-Islam held no official position in the North African country under his father's rule, he had been described as Libya's de facto prime minister, cultivating the image of a moderate and reformer prior to the 2011 Arab Spring revolt. But that reputation soon collapsed when he promised "rivers of blood" in the face of the uprisings. - A divided country - Seif al-Islam was arrested in November 2011 in southern Libya following a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court in The Hague. A Tripoli court later sentenced him to death in 2015 after a speedy trial, but he was granted amnesty. His whereabouts had long been unknown. Ceccaldi said he "often moved around". Libya expert Emadeddin Badi said Seif al-Islam's death was "likely to cast him as a martyr for a significant segment of the population, while also shifting electoral dynamics by removing a major obstacle to presidential elections". "His candidacy and potential success had been a central point of contention," Badi wrote on X. Moamer Kadhafi's last spokesman, Moussa Ibrahim, also posted on the social network: "They killed him treacherously. He wanted a united, sovereign Libya, safe for all its people. "I spoke with him two days ago. He spoke of nothing but a peaceful Libya and the safety of its people." Libya has struggled to recover from chaos that erupted after a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 overthrew longtime ruler Moamer Kadhafi. Libya remains divided between a UN-backed government based in Tripoli and an eastern administration backed by Haftar. Tuesday, February 3, 2026 - CCTV footage has captured criminals riding on motorcycles snatching mobile phones from unsuspecting pedestrians along Raila Odinga Way in broad daylight before speeding off. The now-circulating video shows the riders trailing pedestrians along the busy road, striking within seconds and escaping swiftly to avoid pursuit. According to witnesses, the thieves target victims who are either texting, making calls, or walking while holding their phones near the roadside. Multiple similar incidents have been reported in recent days, particularly along the stretch heading towards Mbagathi. In most cases, the perpetrators approach quietly on motorcycles, grab the devices, and accelerate away, leaving victims shocked and unable to react. Watch the footage>>> below Multiple incidents of mobile phone thefts along Raila Odinga Way towards Mbagathi have been reported in recent days,, with perpetrators often approaching victims on motorcycles before quickly snatching their devices and speeding away. pic.twitter.com/xz4PMYmaVr Nyakundi Report (@NyakundiReport) February 2, 2026 The Kenyan DAILY POST Tuesday, February 03, 2026 - A viral video from a popular Kisumu nightclub showing group of gen Z slay queens turning it up in dramatic fashion has sparked a buzz on social media. Known for their bold party energy, these Gen Z slay queens stole the spotlight with highoctane dance stunts that blended confidence, creativity and unapologetic vibes. The video has also reignited the playful rivalry between Nairobi and Kisumus nightlife scenes. While Nairobi slay queens are often hailed as the boldest trendsetters, Kisumus baddies proved they can match - and even surpass Nairobis party energy. Watch the video>>> below. The Kenyan DAILY POST Tuesday, February 3, 2026 - A Kenyan woman has been sentenced in the United Kingdom after a doorbell security camera captured her attempting to set her neighbours home on fire in what prosecutors described as a revenge attack. Magdaline Wangeci appeared before a court in Ashford, Kent, where she admitted to throwing lit matches at her neighbours house while the family slept inside. According to court proceedings, the incident occurred during heavy rain, which prevented the flames from igniting and potentially causing serious damage or injury. Investigators relied on footage from a doorbell camera that recorded Wangeci approaching the property and tossing the burning matches towards the house. Magistrates termed the act deliberate and dangerous, noting that it posed a significant risk to the occupants. She was sentenced to four months in prison, suspended for 18 months, meaning she will not serve jail time unless she commits another offence within that period. The court also issued a five-year restraining order barring her from contacting or approaching the neighbour and ordered her to pay court costs. Watch the video>>> below A Kenyan woman, Magdaline Wangeci, was recently sentenced in the United Kingdom after a doorbell camera captured her tossing lit matches at her neighbours home in Ashford, Kent, in what the court described as a revenge arson attack, targeting the family while they slept pic.twitter.com/hWzRluVog6 Nyakundi Report (@NyakundiReport) February 2, 2026 The Kenyan DAILY POST Tuesday, February 03, 2026 - Mumias East Member of Parliament, Peter Salasya, has taken a swipe at politicians flocking to State House in the hope of boosting their chances in the 2027 elections. Weighing in on the delegations meeting President William Ruto, Salasya argued that the final decision lies with voters, not State House. Those people running to State House in the name of aspirants, I sympathise with you, he posted on X on Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026, adding that ground ndio muhimu kwa sasa The MP dismissed the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) as a failed project, saying it is laughable to be associated with the party. He urged aspirants scrambling for UDA tickets to redirect their energy to the electorate. UDA has failed Kenyans on many aspects. Sasa ukiambia mtu uko UDA it is laughable at this point. People get serious and focus, he added. His remarks come as UDA prepares for a bruising contest, attracting thousands of aspirants across the country. So far, 149 hopefuls have expressed interest in Governorship races, 323 in Woman Representative contests, 279 in Senate races, 1,272 in Parliamentary seats, and over 10,000 eyeing Member of County Assembly positions. Several leaders previously allied to former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua have warmed up to Rutos camp, while the President is also courting ODM, where one faction has signaled support. The Kenyan DAILY POST The Dublin Racing Festival suffered a false start when the opening day on Saturday was postponed until Monday due to the heavy rain from Storm Chandra but it proved to be worth the wait for Mark Walsh. There has been much talk about the Clane jockeys future since the announcement that Harry Cobden will take over as JP McManus number one jockey in Ireland and the UK at the end of this National Hunt season. Walsh is not one who courts the media at any time and he has kept his counsel since that announcement but over the weekend he did what he does best and delivered an incredible winning weekend at Leopardstown. A brilliantly judged ride on Fact To File in the Irish Gold Cup on Monday completed a second consecutive Grade 1 double for himself, McManus and trainer Willie Mullins. The display puts Fact To File firmly in the reckoning for the Cheltenham Gold Cup, even though he doesnt currently hold an entry and would have to be supplemented, and Walsh was thrilled that he was able to show his true ability. That was the real Fact To File. He never showed up at Kempton, but today he showed what he can really do. Trainer Mullins praised the performance of both the horse and jockey. It was a hell of a performance, you know, both for Mark and the horse. So, terrific. Jumped from fence to fence. Really, something to watch. He just jumped his way to the front and Mark didn't want to disappoint him. And he kept galloping. I was wondering, would he would he stay the trip going at that pace, because they were in a fair lick from the start. And he stayed every inch of it. He galloped the way through the line. I think it was one of the best races run in Ireland this year. And the class of horse that was in it. So, what can we say about it? It turned out to be as good as it looked. The first thing Mark remarked to me when he got off the horse. He said when he hit the front, he just pricked his ears, which tells us all that he had more in the tank. Mark Walsh and groom Georgia Fenwick after winning The Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup with Fact To File Photo: INPHO/Morgan Treacy Walsh rode the winner in last years Cheltenham Gold Cup, Inothewayurthinkin, for the same owners but that horse has failed to fire since and was disappointing again on Monday. That could open the door for Fact To File to be supplemented into this years race in March. We had him in the Gold Cup, but he was withdrawn the last minute. But he can always go in as a supplementary entry. I think that's what last year's winner was. He could be (a supplementary entry), but we haven't spoken. Earlier in the day, Narciso Has rubberstamped his position as Triumph Hurdle favourite with a dominant display. He settles lovely in front, jumps well in front, and has enough for a kick at the end, said Mullins. Hes mature as well and, looking at him, I think hes going to make into a nice chaser. Hes a fine, big, specimen of a horse. I liked him from the first day that he came in. He was very green the first day that he ran, but hes learning all the time. He has his two ears pricked going down the back the whole way. He seemed well within himself and well able to handle himself, added the Champion trainer. On Sunday, there was a welcome return to form for Majborough. Previously, he had not been jumping efficiently and out to his right but in the Grade 1 Ladbrokes Dublin Chase, with cheekpieces applied and a change in tactics to go and make the running, we saw a different horse. Thats the real Majborough today, said Walsh after the race. The run at Cork, he doesnt like going right-handed. Then the last day here, I said afterwards, were doing the wrong thing with him. He has a big stride so go and let him use it. So we went forward with the cheekpieces on. He is looking at what hes doing now, shortening into fences, getting them right. Every fence he was gaining ground, he said. Mullins praised Walshs role in the transformation. All credit to Mark Walsh. He told us what we wanted and he was right. The horse was enjoying it, he was poetry in motion, he said. Mark said he had plenty in the tank, he gave him a squeeze in the straight and he picked up. Majborough is now a 6-4 favourite for the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham. The weekend for Walsh with a win in the Ladbrokes Novice Chase on Kaid dAuthie as he overcame odds on favourite Final Demand. Putting cheekpieces on him today made a huge difference, his trainer said. He showed the ability out there that he has been showing at home. He had been disappointing on the racetrack but today he was foot perfect. Asked if Kaid dAuthie would next be seen in the Grade 1 Brown Advisory Novices Chase at Cheltenham, he replied: I would imagine so, yes, said Mullins, who admitted he was not pleased by Final Demands display. I was disappointed with how Final Demand jumped. Maybe there is a little problem. We will find out. Either that or maybe he is more ground dependent than we thought. Local Fianna Fail TD, Peter 'Chap' Cleere believes further progress needs to be made as a 'matter of urgency' to develop a further education and training (FET) third level facility in Kilkenny. At present, the Kilkenny project is one of 12 across the country and has been approved to proceed to the pre-tender project design, planning and procurement strategy stage. Its understood it will be ready to tender by 2030 according to the Minister for Further Education, Marian Harkin. Just over a year ago, the purchase of a site at Joinersfolly, south of Kilkenny City was announced with the finished developed expected to cater for up to 5,000 students. READ NEXT: No 'magic wand' to deliver flood relief says Taoiseach as he visits County Kilkenny Its anticipated the state-of-the-art facility will offer a full range of courses, including apprenticeships in what has been described as a 'College of the Future.' At present, FET courses are scattered around 14 different locations in the city with students and parents pondering when the new single-site educational facility may be on their doorstep. "We are ready to go. We just need a nod from the government to appoint consultants to get this project started," Deputy Cleere told the Dail. "This will be transformational for Kilkenny, the south east, and all the staff and students who currently use and potentially will use Kilkenny and Carlow ETB in the future," he added. The former chairman of the Kilkenny-Carlow ETB argued geography should not put students at a disadvantage. READ MORE: 'People are fearful' - Kilkenny community on tender hooks over possible flooding "It should not matter where people live, what they are studying, or whether they are in FET or university. "Everybody should have the opportunity to reach their potential and they should have that opportunity as close to their home as possible," the Carlow-Kilkenny TD commented. "We have a brilliant facility in Carlow which is state of the art. It is top class. We need the same in Kilkenny and we need it now," he continued. "With one in ten adults in Ireland now learning through FET or apprenticeships, the ongoing development of high-quality college environments is absolutely key," he said. "I implore the Minister of State to pull out Kilkenny and Carlow ETB as a stand-alone project." FOR MORE EDUCATION NEWS, CLICK HERE Clara Parish Priest, Fr Willie Purcell, made an appearance on the small screen last year, contributing to RTE documentary, 'The Last Priests in Ireland'. The programme, presented by comic and Father Ted star, Ardal O'Hanlon, offered an insightful assessment into the role of Catholicism and the priesthood in Ireland, analysing the impact the evolution of Christianity has had on the priesthood and on Irish society at large and what changes may need to be made to make the role of the priest attractive again. "Anybody who's presenting themselves for priesthood nowadays, it's really counter-cultural and really is a radical decision," Kilkenny priest, Fr Willie Purcell claimed. READ NEXT: Kilkenny communities 'have had enough' as wait goes on for flood relief He also acknowledged how a move into the priesthood may be considered a 'risk' for a young person. "There really is an awful lot of humility involved, a lot of self-sacrifice involved in it but most importantly of all a vocation, it's a selfless decision to give yourself to Christ, to give yourself to others," he said. The local man finished by noting, 'you dont need to be a saint' when considering joining the priesthood and 'knowing your baggage' is key. FOR MORE COMMUNITY NEWS, CLICK HERE We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. A woman visits the National Art Museum in Kyiv during the power cut that impacted lights, heating, water and transport in the war-besieged city Eva Osborne The chief executive of Dublin City Council has said "scavengers" are emptying bins in search of bottles or cans to return. Richard Shakespeare insists local authority crews are cleaning up the rubbish as often as they possibly can. He said this problem is common on his route between the Mansion House and George's Street. Shakespeare said Dublin City Council will be asking Re-Turn for money to help pay the cleaning bills. Speaking on Newstalk, he said: "That extra cleaning piece, it probably means I have an extra 10 people on the streets at any given point in time to react to that. "And when I look at the cost of the 10 people, it is anywhere between half a million and a million, depending." Re-Turn said it was not informed about these costs and it is happy to engage on the matter. By Jonathan McCambridge, Press Association The inquest into the death of Noah Donohoe has heard about the moment the schoolboys mobile phone was discovered while he was missing. The woman who found the phone told Belfast Coroners Court she tried to use it to call Noahs mother before contacting police. Noah was 14 when he was found dead in a storm drain in north Belfast in June 2020, six days after leaving home on his bike to meet two friends in the Cavehill area of the city. A post-mortem examination found his death was due to drowning. Noah Donohoe was found dead in a storm drain in north Belfast in June 2020 (PA) The inquest, which is being heard with a jury, is in its third week. Noahs mother Fiona Donohoe has attended every day of the proceedings. Adelaide Armstrong told Belfast Coroners Court she was walking in Castleton Park on June 22nd, 2020, the day after Noah disappeared, when she saw a black mobile phone lying in a grassy area. She said: I checked and the phone was off, and I took it home to charge and see if I could contact the owner. Ms Armstrong said the screen of the phone was broken, and it was possible it had been thrown into the park. She added that she found it four or five feet from the park railings. Ms Armstrong said she turned the phone back on after charging it and saw there were missed calls from a number listed as Mum. She told the court: I think I actually tried ringing that number first, and was just ringing out. And then I saw another number, and I tried to ring that, that was the police. A 16-YEAR-OLD boy who was involved in the theft of 200 worth of dog leads from a pet shop in Portlaoise was left in no doubt what will happen to him if he misses one day in school, when he came before last weeks juvenile sitting of Portlaoise District Court. The youth had previously pleaded guilty to theft from Maxi Zoo, The Kyle Centre, Portlaoise on 10 September. When the case resumed last week, Judge Susan Fay noted that the boy was attending school on a part-time basis and wanted to know why this was, adding: He wont be missing much school under my watch. You will attend school every day its on. Garda Sergeant Jason Hughes said the dog leads were recovered in resaleable condition, adding: He hasnt come to garda attention since. He seems to be behaving himself. After being informed by Sgt Hughes that the youth had 13 previous convictions, Judge Fay said: Im not impressed. She told the teenager: I want you to go to school. I want you to keep your head down and do the best you can. Not being in school means youre being in trouble. I want you to be in school every day, whether you like it or not. Im going to keep an eye on you. You have a lot of previous convictions, and you are looking at Oberstown (Youth Detention Centre) here. You will go to school every day. Have manners and no lip. You have to turn up and show commitment. "You will get up in the mornings. Get dressed. Have breakfast and go to school. She remanded the youth on continuing bail until the 13 April sitting of the court but wanted a progress report from the Probation Service, together with a letter from the school on 9 March as to his attendance . She said she was not expecting the youth to be present in court on 9 March, which is a school day, but wanted a letter from the school adding: I want 100 per cent attendance. You will have no choice. You could be looking at Oberstown if you dont go to school. Stay out of Maxi Zoo and stay out of trouble. Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme ELEVEN members of Laois Quilters will travel to France in April to exhibit their work at the internationally acclaimed Pour LAmour du Fil textile festival. The annual festival in Nantes attracts thousands of visitors and showcases outstanding quilt and textile art from across the world. The invitation represents a significant milestone for the midlands-based group and is a rare opportunity to present Irish quilting on an international stage. Laois Quilters was founded in 2017 following a survey conducted at a quilt exhibition in Mountmellick Library, which revealed strong interest in forming a regional quilting group. Established by Ethelda Ellis, with Annette Doolan and Caroline Delany, the group has grown to around 50 members, drawn from Laois and neighbouring counties. The group meets monthly at Gaelscoil Phortlaoise, providing a welcoming and supportive environment where members of all skill levels share techniques, develop new skills and build lasting friendships. Workshops led by members and visiting tutors have been supported by funding from the Laois Offaly Education and Training Board (LOETB). An annual quilting retreat in Fenagh, Co Leitrim is a highlight of the groups calendar. Community engagement is central to Laois Quilters ethos. The group regularly creates a collaborative quilt that is raffled in support of local charities and they hold biennial exhibitions in Mountmellick Library. A key mission of the group is to promote quilts as a form of visual art, reflected in exhibitions, demonstrations and workshops throughout the year. Recent highlights include an exhibition at Quilt Fayre in Belfast in 2024 and a Culture Night display with demonstrations at Dunamaise Arts Centre in Portlaoise in 2025. The upcoming exhibition in Nantes marks an exciting new chapter for Laois Quilters, showcasing the creativity and craftsmanship of Irish textile artists to an international audience. New members are always welcome. For further information, check out the Laois Quilters Facebook page or email laoisquilters@gmail.com. See some of the group's beautiful work in this week's edition (3 February) of the Laois Nationalist Eva Osborne Over 92,000 (157,000 Australian dollars) has been raised to bring a Monaghan man, who has been diagnosed with stage 4 terminal brain cancer, home. Jonathan Duffy, originally from Monaghan and currently in Australia, has lost movement in his right arm and right eye and is on multiple medications. His brother flew out two months ago to care for him, but Jonathans most recent MRI has shown that the cancer has now spread to the other side of his brain His familys wish is for Jonathan to spend his final weeks or months back home in Ireland, surrounded by loved ones. However, the airline has refused to let him fly without a medical assistant, making the journey expensive. The GoFundMe fundraiser was set up to raise $20,000, but so far has raised over $157,000. In a statement on the GoFundMe page, a friend said: "Hi, our friend Jonathan Duffy has been recently diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer which is terminal. He is currently being cared for at home by his brother who has flown over from Ireland 2 months ago. "Jonathan has lost the movement in his right arm and his right eye. He is currently on lots of medication. His recent MRI scan has shown that the cancer has spread to the other side of his brain. "We have decided to fly him back to Ireland to spend out his last weeks or months with his family. The airline has refused to let him fly without a medical assistant. We are seeking to raise $20,000 to help pay for flight costs, medication and palliative care." Those wishing to donate to the fundraiser can do so here. By Amanda Cooper and Muvija M Queen's University Belfast on Monday cut ties with former US Senator George Mitchell over his links to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, saying it was no longer appropriate to remain associated with the key figure in the Northern Ireland peace deal. The university said its decision followed new information on Mitchell released in the latest trove of millions of files linked to the late convicted sex offender Epstein by the US Justice Department last Friday. The university plans to remove Mitchell's name from the Institute for Global Peace, Security, and Justice, a and to remove the bust commemorating him from its campus, it said in a statement. "While no findings aof wrongdoing by Senator Mitchell have been made, the University has concluded that, in light of this material, and mindful of the experiences of victims and survivors, it is no longer appropriate for its institutional spaces and entities to continue to bear his a name," the university said. Reuters could not immediately reach Mitchell for a comment, and his namesake think tank, the a Maine-based Mitchell Institute, did not immediately respond a to a request for comment. References to "George Mitchell" in the Justice Department's Epstein library included an email from 2013 titled "Appt w/Senator George Mitchell" and another in 2010 carrying the message "George Mitchell returned your phone call". The emails were sent after Epstein was jailed in 2008 for soliciting paid sex from a minor. He died by suicide in 2019 in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. BBC News cited a spokesperson for 92-year-old Mitchell as saying he never met, spoken to or had any contact with Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre or any underage women. The British broadcaster said the statement was issued before the university's move. Separately, the non-profit US-Ireland Alliance said its board had unanimously agreed that its George J Mitchell Scholarship program - which sends American students to Ireland and Northern Ireland for a year of graduate study - should no longer bear his name, also citing the newly released Epstein files. Mitchell chaired the 1998 talks between Irish nationalists seeking a united Ireland a and pro-British unionists, which culminated in the Good Friday Agreement that largely ended 30 years of sectarian conflict in which 3,600 died. Ellen O'Donoghue and Vivienne Clarke A meeting of senior ministers, attended by the Taoiseach, Tanaiste, and Minister of State Sean Canney, has heard that "adverse weather" will continue throughout the week and into the weekend. Minister of State Kevin 'Boxer' Moran informed the meeting that he has asked local authorities to identify interim measures to address the immediate challenges facing communities. The Minister said 100 flood relief schemes are underway, but interim solutions are required. Earlier, the National Emergency Co-ordination Group (NECG) and its related subgroups met again to continue to assess the flooding situation and prepare for the risk of further flooding this week. Dublin, Louth, and Wicklow are under a status yellow rain warning until 9pm on Tuesday night. Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, Cork, and Waterford's yellow rain warning expired at 3pm. Met Eireann said further heavy rain falling on already saturated ground, combined with high river levels and high tides, will lead to localised flooding, river flooding, and difficult travel conditions. The NECG said relevant departments, agencies, and local authorities are on alert for difficult conditions over the coming week that may result in flooding in some areas. They are working to put in place measures to mitigate the impact of further rain, and to ensure readiness to respond to any flooding incidents. High spring tides over the coming days, combined with strong winds and surge, may cause wave overtopping, coastal and estuary flooding. Public advice The NECG is urging the public are urged to be alert for flooding as the situation can change very quickly and even small amounts of rain could result in significant impacts in areas where river levels are high and/or where the ground is already saturated. People are urged to check their local authority website and social media channels for information on road closures, flooding updates, and community alerts. Local authorities are carrying out assessments on roads that were affected by the flooding and, in some instances, roads may need to be kept closed due to damage. Allow for disruption when travelling and plan extra travel time. When driving, reduce speed, expect surface water, debris and poor visibility. Do not bypass Road Closed signs or drive through floodwater; turn back and use another route. Flooding may impact transport services, and the public is advised to check with operators before their journey. Supports If you are affected by flooding and in need of help, you should contact your local authority. Out-of-hours emergency numbers operate throughout the weekend. Contact details are available on local authority websites. There is an Emergency Response Payment is available to provide support to those living in properties directly affected by flooding. Community Welfare Officers are active on the ground in affected areas to support the humanitarian response. The date for receipt of applications for Stage 1 of the Emergency Response Payment is Wednesday, February 11th, 2026. Any household affected by severe weather can access this support by contacting the Community Welfare Service on 0818 60 70 80. An Emergency Humanitarian Flooding Scheme is also open for small businesses and community, voluntary, and sports organisations affected by flooding. The upper limit for payments under the scheme has been increased from 20,000 to 100,000 for the most impacted premises. Eligibility for the Scheme has also been extended to organisations of up to 50 employees. Kenneth Petty, husband of rapper Nicki Minaj, has convictions for attempted rape and manslaughter, fuelling speculation that her recent alignment with Donald Trump stems from hopes of a presidential pardon. The 47-year-old from Queens, New York, first gained notoriety through these offences, while Minaj's shift towards Trump in 2025 has drawn scrutiny. As of January 2026, she has openly declared herself Trump's 'number one fan', praising his leadership amid calls for clemency in cases like Petty's. This development answers growing curiosity about Petty's background and its potential role in Minaj's political pivot. Petty's Early Life and Criminal Convictions Born on 7 April 1978 in Queens, Petty grew up in the same neighbourhood as Minaj, meeting her when they were teenagers. Their paths crossed early, but Petty's life soon veered into serious legal trouble. In September 1994, at age 16, he assaulted a 16-year-old girl at knifepoint in an attempted rape. Convicted in April 1995 of attempted rape in the first degree, he received a sentence of 18 to 54 months and served four years in prison. Upon release, he was designated a level two registered sex offender in New York, indicating a moderate risk of reoffending. Petty's legal troubles continued. In April 2002, he shot and killed Lamont Robinson during a confrontation. He pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in March 2006, earning a 10-year sentence but serving seven years before his release in May 2013. He remained in supervised release until 2018. These convictions have defined Petty's public image, with his sex offender status requiring lifelong registration wherever he resides. Marriage to Minaj and Ongoing Legal Issues Petty reconnected with Minaj in 2018, after her split from rapper Meek Mill. They went public that December, marrying on 21 October 2019 in a low-key ceremony. Minaj hyphenated her name to Maraj-Petty and later announced the birth of their son on 30 September 2020, nicknamed Papa Bear by the couple. Despite the family milestones, Petty's legal obligations persisted. In November 2019, a traffic stop in Beverly Hills revealed he had not registered as a sex offender after moving to California with Minaj. Arrested in March 2020, he initially pleaded not guilty but changed to guilty in September 2021. Sentenced in July 2022, he was sentenced to one year of house arrest, three years' probation, and a 39,771 ($55,000) fine. In August 2021, Jennifer Hough, the victim in the 1994 case, sued Petty and Minaj for harassment and intimidation, alleging attempts to force a recantation. Minaj was dropped from the suit in 2022, but the case highlighted ongoing tensions. Petty faced further home detention in 2023 for threatening rapper Offset online. Minaj's Shift Towards Trump Minaj once criticised Trump's immigration policies, noting her own arrival in the US as a child immigrant. By 2025, however, she embraced his administration, praising Trump and Vice President JD Vance for their relatability at a Turning Point USA event. 'I have the utmost respect and admiration for our president,' she said. Speculation abounds that this support is linked to hopes of pardons for Petty and Minaj's brother, Jelani Maraj, who was convicted in 2017 of raping an 11-year-old and sentenced to 25 years to life in 2020. In a July 2025 post on X, Minaj referenced Trump's pardon of Roc Nation CEO Desiree Perez, questioning political loyalties among black artists. Desirat were you out marching with your fellow Mexican immigrants????? Oh, rightyou were pardoned by President Trump so you kinda cant, right? I mean it kind of implies you guys are cool with him while yall seem to pretend to be against him. Or are yall not his friend either Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) July 8, 2025 Petty's sex offender status remains active under federal law, restricting international travel without court approval. With Trump back in office, any pardon could lift these barriers, though no formal request has surfaced. Minaj's fans are divided, but she shows no sign of retreating from her position. The couple, meanwhile, keeps family life private amid the chatter. Originally published on IBTimes UK Los Angeles Bad Bunny made history at the Grammy Awards, becoming the first artist to win Album of the Year with an album recorded entirely in Spanish, a milestone moment for Latin music on the Recording Academy's biggest stage. The weight of the moment was visible immediately. When his name was announced, Bad Bunny remained seated, overcome with emotion. He burst into tears, covering his eyes with one hand as he tried to compose himself. For several seconds, he was unable to stand. The crowd rose in applause as he slowly made his way to the stage, where he received the award from Harry Styles, adding another layer of symbolism to the historic handoff. Bad Bunny delivered his acceptance speech entirely in Spanish, underscoring the significance of the win. "Puerto Rico, creeme cuando te digo que somos mas grandes que 100 x 35 (in reference to the square millage of the island), y no existe nada que no podamos lograr," he said, thanking everyone who believed in him when his career was just beginning. His voice cracked as he acknowledged his roots. Echoing the theme of his now legendary Debi Tirar Mas Fotos album or DtMF, Benito dedicated the award to immigrants, to those who have lost loved ones, and to Latino artists who paved the way before him. "A todas las personas que tuvieron que dejar su tierra para seguir sus suenos," he said. "A todos los latinos que estuvieron antes y que merecieron estar en esta tarima recibiendo este premio." Bad Bunny winning AOTY is beyond deserving. He brought so much light to the Puerto Rican culture , the music , the vibes. The LOVE. Te amo Benito #GRAMMYs2026 @sanbenito pic.twitter.com/cjRRZwJq5b (@adellymccaffrey) February 2, 2026 The victory capped a dominant night for the artist, who won four Grammys in total. It also followed days of heightened visibility around his political stance. That message carried into the ceremony in quieter ways. During the broadcast, Bad Bunny shared a playful exchange with host Trevor Noah, who joked that he had learned the lyrics to Debi Tirar Mas Fotos in hopes of convincing him to sing. Bad Bunny laughed and explained that he could not perform, citing contractual restrictions tied to his upcoming Super Bowl appearance next Sunday. Earlier, Bad Bunny had publicly spoken out against ICE and the dehumanization of immigrants, appearing with an "ICE out" pin and stating that Latinos are not animals or savages, but human beings and Americans. His message emphasized love over hate and the importance of speaking up when communities are under attack. After his ICE out speech after winning a Grammy, Bad Bunny returns to his seat and the first person over to congratulate him is Reba McIntire. #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/6Qf3N3T6pg Chris Gardner (@chrissgardner) February 2, 2026 Support from fellow artists, including Billie Eilish, highlighted how broadly the moment resonated inside the arena. By winning Album of the Year with a Spanish-language album and accepting the award in Spanish, Bad Bunny transformed a personal achievement into a cultural turning point. Through tears, gratitude, and defiance, he turned the Grammys into a platform for memory, migration, and belonging, making clear that Latin voices not only deserve space in the room, but have earned the center of the stage. Originally published on Latin Times Argentine President Javier Milei, a staunch Trump ally, rejected a report claiming that the country was negotiating an agreement with Washington to receive deportees from third countries. Concretely, Milei reposted different social media publications assuring the report, published last week by The New York Times, was false. Local outlet La Nacion cited sources within the government conceding that U.S. officials got in touch with Argentine counterparts earlier in the administration but no agreement was reached. The main sticking point revolved around the public reaction to the arrival of deportees from other countries. The report in question noted that there was no finalized agreement, but claimed that the Milei administration has shown eagerness to be on Donald Trump's good side and strengthen the country's alliance with the U.S. The outlet added that the proposal was sent by Argentina's acting vice minister for foreign affairs, Juan Navarro, and Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno made a commitment to U.S. authorities to reach a deal, which contemplates sending people detained near the border shortly after crossing unlawfully. The idea, according to the NYT, was for deportees to be flown to Argentina, from where they could be offered flights to return to their home countries. It said that remaining obstacles included the potential financial cost this would have for Argentina, going through budget cuts implemented by the Milei administration, as well as a lack of infrastructure to house and transport migrants. Two other South American countries have reached similar deals: Paraguay and Ecuador, which are also friendly with the Trump administration. The later clarified that those sent there must have not committed crimes or have health issues. The Trump administration is continuously looking for countries to send deportees from third countries. In October, the Central American nation of Belize also signed such an agreement. The Belize government confirmed the deal in a statement but clarified that it "retains an absolute veto over transfers, with restrictions on nationalities, a cap on transferees, and comprehensive security screenings." It also reiterated its "commitment to international law and humanitarian principles while ensuring strong national safeguards." In August, the Trump administration struck a deal with Honduras to send deportees from third countries. Concretely, it accepted to receive a few hundred deportees over a two-year period, but it opened the door to taking in more. Originally published on Latin Times Republican Rep. Carlos Gimenez slammed Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum for announcing her administration will send aid to Cuba, saying she is helping a "murderous and cruel dictatorship." "From the U.S. Congress we don't understand the Mexican President's intention of keep on undermining our country's policy," Gimenez said in a social media publication. "We don't understand the intention of keep on helping the murderous and cruel dictatorship stepping on the Cuban People," he added. #SOSCuba Desde el Congreso de Estados Unidos, no entendemos el afan de la Presidente Sheinbaum de seguir socavando la politica de nuestro pais. No entendemos el afan de seguir ayudando a la dictadura asesina y cruel que pisotea al pueblo de #Cuba. pic.twitter.com/oC4II4mrpy Rep. Carlos A. Gimenez (@RepCarlos) February 2, 2026 He was reacting to an announcement from Sheinbaum, who said on Sunday that her administration will send humanitarian aid to Cuba but hold off on oil shipments due to an order from President Donald Trump imposing tariffs on countries who do. "The aid will be sent by the Navy Secretariat and will be comprised of foods and other products while everything regarding oil shipments due to humanitarian reasons will be solved through diplomatic means," Sheinbaum said while speaking in the state of Sonora. She went on to say that the country is "searching all diplomatic channels" to send oil to the beleaguered Caribbean country, "but we'll send other products that are indispensable for the Cuban people." President Donald Trump has rejected Sheinbaum's claim that an end to oil shipments will cause a humanitarian crisis in Cuba, saying it doesn't have to reach that point if the Havana regime strikes a deal with him. "I think they'll probably come to us and want to make a deal. So Cuba will be free again. They'll come to us and make a deal. Cuba really has a problem. I know a lot of people from Cuba. We have a lot of people in the U.S. right now who would like to go back to Cuba. We'd like to work that out," Trump said during the weekend while speaking to press aboard the Air Force One. Tensions run high in the region as a report from the Financial Times last week claimed that the country has less than a month worth of oil at current levels of demand and domestic production. Citing data company Kpler, the outlet noted that the country has oil to last 15 to 20 days unless deliveries resume. "They have a major crisis on their hands" Jorge Pinon, an oil expert at the University of Texas told the outlet. The country has only received less than 85,000 barrels this year, according to the FT. All came from a shipment on January 9, Kpler detailed. The figure adds to an estimated 460,000 barrels held in inventories at the beginning of the year. Originally published on Latin Times A second location of the popular national chain Bubbakoos Burritos is coming to the Lehigh Valley. Signs recently went up stating, Coming Soon for the fast-casual Mexican-fusion eatery at the Bethlehem Square shopping center, 3926 Nazareth Pike in Bethlehem Township. Its moving into space previously occupied by Subway. Its unclear specifically when the new eatery plans to open. Ben Grannick, Bubbakoos Burritos director of marketing, couldnt immediately be reached for details Tuesday morning. The Point Pleasant, New Jersey-based chain has roughly 150 locations nationally in 15 states. There are 10 in Pennsylvania and about 50 in New Jersey. The Bethlehem Township location will become the second in the region after Bubbakoos opened last summer at the Creekside Marketplace, 1882 Leithsville Road in Lower Saucon Township. That site moved into the former Unrivaled Fitness + Wellness space. Bubbakoos is known for its build-your-own entrees. Think nachos, burritos, burrito bowls, quesadillas, hard and soft shell tacos and taco salads. Guests start with a protein choice, such as chicken (crispy, grilled or shredded); hibachi steak or shrimp; ground beef; pork; barbacoa; or fried cauliflower, as a base. Next, the creation is paired up with a rice and/or beans choice, followed by standard Mexican-inspired toppings. Over a dozen choices are called Killer Creations. These items are handcrafted for patrons. Selections include the Red Pepper Aioli Burrito, with choice of protein; white rice; red pepper garlic aioli; pico de gallo; corn salsa; and cheese; as well as the Buffalo Ranch Crispy Chicken Quesadilla, with crispy chicken tossed in buffalo and ranch sauces; and the Pineapple Express Burrito, with crispy chicken tossed in a General Tso sauce; choice of rice; and pineapple salsa. Additionally, the menu includes an assortment of wings in multiple flavors; curly and loaded fries and various other choices. Wallet-friendly selections, which are typically ordered as online only, can include two items for $20. Other affordable items are under $8, according to the online menu. The chain was founded in 2008 along the Jersey Shore by Paul Altero and Bill Hart. It began franchising by 2016 with a large concentration along the East Coast and spanning into the Midwest, according to Nations Restaurant News. Grannick previously told lehighvalleylive.com there are more plans to open a handful more New Jersey restaurants. Armchair Lehigh Valley content is published on lehighvalleylive.com as part of a partnership with the website, which aims to give voters nonpartisan factual information. Armchair Lehigh Valley is run by publisher Katherine Reinhard and editor Robert H. Orenstein. For more information, or to subscribe, visit armchairlehighvalley.substack.com. Ryan Crosswell holds a large advantage in cash at the start of 2026 among Democratic candidates for 7th Congressional District, according to the latest campaign finance reports filed with the federal Election Commission. With the May 19 primary approaching, Crosswells campaign has $612,250 to spend, which is $271,483 more than the next Democratic candidate: Bob Brooks with $340,767. The year-end cash totals for the other Democrats candidates are Lamont McClure, $287,590; Carol Obando-Derstine, $123,508; and Mark Pinsley, $50,017. The other two Democratic candidates, Aiden Gonzalez and Lewis Shupe, did not file year-end reports for 2025 because they entered the race in 2026. Meanwhile, incumbent Republican Ryan Mackenzie, who has no primary challenger, continues to vastly outraise the Democratic candidates and ended 2025 with $1,830,988 in the bank, which is three times the total of Crosswell. For all of 2025, the five candidates combined raised $2,792,552 compared to Mackenzies $2,577,819; Mackenzie had the edge after the first nine months. The latest FEC reports, covering the final three months of 2025, were filed by Saturdays deadline. Mackenzie won the seat in 2024 in a close race - a margin of 1 percentage point - over incumbent Democrat Susan Wild, helping Republicans retain control of the House. Political analysts again consider the 2026 election to be a toss-up, with the winner being key to determining which party will control the House. The 7th District comprises all of Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties and a small section of Monroe. Ryan Mackenzie For 2025, Mackenzie for Congress raised $2,577,819 and spent $850,071. For the final quarter of 2025, Mackenzie received $651,877 and spent $253,352. During that period, individual contributions totaled $240,282, political action committees, $138,400, and transfers from authorized fundraising committees, $264,320. Major contributors included David Jaindl, Orefield, owner of Jaindl Farms ($7,000); Andrew C. Taylor, president of Enterprise Rent-A-Car ($3,500); Catherine Wright, Emmaus ($3,500); Stacey Seibel, husband of software developer Tom Siebel, of Redwood City, Calif. ($7,000); Clarence Werner, chairman emeritus of Werner Enterprises trucking company ($7,000); Jay D. Bergman, Petco Petroleum Corp. executive ($7,000); Lorenzo Joseph Fertitta, vice chairman, Red Rock Resorts, Las Vegas, and Frank J. Fertitta III, CEO, Station Casinos, Las Vegas ($7,000 each). Transfers from authorized committees included $57,862 from Mackenzie for America, an affiliated fundraising committee; $57,340 from Defend Our Majority, a joint fundraising committee of four dozen campaign committees including Mackenzie for Congress; and $32,970 from Emmer Majority Builders, a joint fundraising committee of Majority Whip Tom Emmer. PAC support included Koch Industries Inc. PAC ($10,000); Maintaining American Competitiveness PAC, which is affiliated with Mackenzie ($5,500); American Israel Public Affairs Committee PAC ($5,000); Mountaineer PAC, affiliated with West Virginia Congressman Riley Moore ($5,000); Pennsylvania Honor, a leadership PAC of Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Dave McCormick ($5,000); TKJ PAC, affiliated with New Jersey Congressman Tom Kean Jr. ($5,000); SEAL PAC Supporting Electing American Leaders PAC, affiliated with Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke ($7,500). Friends of Milou Mackenzie, the campaign committee for his mother and state representative, gave $1,000. Ryan Crosswell Ryan Crosswell, a former federal prosecutor who entered the race in June, raised a total of $1,144,864 in 2025 from individuals and committees, according to a campaign finance report filed by Crosswell for Congress. He brought in $443,757 between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31. His contributions for the last three months of 2025 were higher than what he listed in the October quarterly report ($380,128) and July quarterly report ($320,979). The bulk of Crosswells 2025 contributions $1,085,616 came from individuals. Donors in the final quarter of 2025 included Douglas Donahue of Norwell, Mass. ($7,000); Beth Cohen of Bethlehem ($3,500); Susan Yee, internet entrepreneur and former COO of Twin County Cable ($1,000); Jesse Majcher of Brooklyn, N.Y. ($2,000); Colin Brown of Lighthouse Point, Fla. ($2,000); David Rozas of Baton Rouge, La. ($2,500), and attorney Joseph Fitzpatrick of Bethlehem ($500). Crosswell received $38,650 in authorized transfers from New Politics Next Mission Fund, including $22,221 on Dec. 31. The group aims to raise $20 million over the next four years to support candidates who prioritize American democracy. He also received $10,000 from the Crosspartisan PAC and $2,000 from the Duane Morris Government Committee. He spent $532,615 last year with half of that amount $265,299 occurring between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31. The bulk of his expenses went toward payroll, advertising, media, consulting and operating costs. Bob Brooks Bob Brooks, a retired Bethlehem firefighter and president of the Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association, raised $609,957 in 2025. He brought in $301,698 between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, according to Bob Brooks for Congress. That was slightly less than the $308,259 he brought in between Aug. 26, when he announced his campaign, and Sept. 30. The bulk of his 2025 contributions $502,707 came from individuals. Donors over the final three months of last year included Deborah Willig of Philadelphia ($5,000) Avery Seavey of New York City ($3,500), and his wife, Jennifer Brooks of Nazareth ($3,500). Brooks brought in $103,750 from committees. That figure includes $64,750 raised between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31. He had collected $39,000 between Aug. 26 and Oct. 1. The campaign committees of Democratic state Reps. Peter Schweyer (134th) and Mike Schlossberg (132nd) gave $1,000 each. PAC contributions in the last quarter of 2025 included Save Democracy PAC ($5,000); Congressional Progressive Caucus ($5,000); the International Association of Sheet Meal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers Political Action League ($2,500); Not So Old Fashioned PAC ($1,000); Pennsylvanians for the Disabled ($1,000), McKenzie River PAC ($1,000); and Defeat Extremists ($1,000). At least 25 firefighters contributed to his campaign, including Allentown firefighters Andrew Bausher ($300) and Jeremy Warmkessel ($100). Brooks spent $269,189 in 2025 with the bulk of his expenditures $204,545 occurring between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31. Lamont McClure For 2025, Lamont McClures campaign raised $480,616 and spent $193,026. Over the final three months of 2025, McClure for PA raised $21,177, the least amount of money of the six candidates who filed campaign finance reports. McClure, a former Northampton County executive, spent $22,548 during that period. Most of the money came from individual donors, including Diana Morganelli, a real estate agent from Bethlehem ($1,500); Christopher Weiler, executive chairman of Weiler Abrasives Group, and Maureen Weiler, a consultant with the company ($2,500 each); and Jack Weiner, consultant with Northeast Business Consulting of Easton ($2,500). The only contribution from a political group was $500 from Friends of Stephen Baratta, the campaign committee of the county district attorney. McClures loan of $200,000 from the third quarter of 2025 remains unpaid. Carol Obando-Derstine For 2025, the Carol for PA campaign raised $431,919 and spent $308,411. For the final three months, Carol Obando-Derstone, a former PPL executive who was recruited to run by Wild, raised $100,625, including $81,374 from individuals and $12,600 from political committees. The campaign spent $104,630. Major contributors included David Meehan, a physician from Allentown ($5,000); Annette Cumming, Jackson, Wyoming, vice president of the Cumming Foundation ($3,500); Antoinette Turnquist, chief operations officer of public schools, and Katie Weitz, president of the Weitz Family Foundation, both of Omaha, Nebraska ($3,500 each). Money contributed to Carol for PA via EMILYs List, which supports Democratic pro-choice women candidates, totaled $8,630. Among the PACs that supported Obando-Derstine were DREAMPAC - Democrats Reshaping America ($1,000); Democrats Win Fund ($1,000); Elect Democratic Women ($5,000); Latino Victory Fund ($1,000); Leadership Opportunity Innovation Service PAC ($1,000); and PODER PAC ($2,500). Mark Pinsley Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley raised $125,194 in 2025, according to a report filed by Pinsley for Congress. He brought in $52,588 between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31. That amount was less than the $72,606 he raised between Aug. 4, when he entered the race, and Sept. 30. Among year-end donors were Barbara Pearl of New York City who gave him $3,500; Jeff Huggett of Minneapolis, Minn., who gave $1,000; and Todd Oppenheimer, who gave $1,000. Pinsley listed $75,177 in expenditures, mostly on advertising, consulting and operational costs. His campaign had a cash balance of $50,017 on Dec. 31 and debt in the amount of $1,567. A woman convicted of using a Prostate Cancer Foundation computer account without permission to pressure the charity into paying her friend $187,500 had her conviction overturned Friday. The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the jury verdict against Frances Eddings, a Florida resident who convinced her Lehigh Valley friend to pursue the scheme against the charity. According to the Third Circuit ruling, Jude Denis of Upper Macungie Township started working for the foundation on Aug. 14, 2014. She believed she was hired for a full-time job, but learned her job was a temporary, contract position with the potential to become a full-time job, the judges wrote. She backed out of the job on Aug. 21, 2014, according to court records. Denis submitted an invoice for a few thousand dollars to cover the time she worked and her expenses, records say. When the foundation didnt pay her invoice, Eddings allegedly convinced Denis to download sensitive documents from one of the foundation board members and send them to her. Eddings then threatened the board member, saying shed release the thousands of documents unless Denis was paid $150,000 in back pay plus a $37,500 recovery fee for Eddings. The foundation shut off Denis access to the foundation board members account on Oct. 1, 2014, and reported Denis and Eddings to the FBI, records say. In the dissenting 2-1 opinion, Third Circuit Court Judge Thomas L. Ambro said its inaccurate to say Denis used the Prostate Cancer Foundations account without authorization. Although she resigned, no one from the foundation expressly forbade her from using the computer. Some employees retain the use of a computer after they resign, he wrote. Sometimes they convince an employer to give them a raise to convince them to rescind the resignation, he wrote. Denis didnt hack into the foundations system. She was authorized to use it when she was issued her account. The law is misapplied here, Ambro wrote. We have cautioned that the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act can become a hammer in search of a nail. This is another such case, Ambro wrote. He said Denis and Eddings behavior was inappropriate but not criminal. Prosecutors didnt charge them with extortion because they didnt have enough evidence to support the charge, he wrote. We do not condone the conduct of either Denis or Eddings. Far from it. But we hold that, on this record, Eddings did not violate (the law), Ambro wrote on behalf of himself and Judge Stephanos Bibas. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorneys office had no comment on the Third Circuits decision. Judge Tamika R. Montgomery-Reeves wrote a dissenting opinion. She believes that when Eddings resigned from the foundation, she renounced her permission to use the foundations account. Eddings was 68 years old when she was convicted at trial in April 2022. She was sentenced in October 2023 to six months of house arrest to be served concurrently with 18 months of probation, according to online federal court records. Denis died on July 17, 2022. She was convicted of unauthorized use of a computer but died before she could be sentenced. Eddings was represented at trial and during her appeal by attorneys Benjamin Cooper of Philadelphia and Eric Dowdle of Allentown. The Third Circuit order remanded the case back to U.S. District Court in December. On Friday, Jan. 30, U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Leeson Jr. vacated the judgment against Eddings. A Carbon County woman was killed and two others were injured, including a Lehigh County man, Saturday in a collision along a major commercial corridor. The Carbon County Coroners Office identified the deceased as 32-year-old Genevieve L. Snyder of Summit Hill. Snyder was pronounced dead at the scene, Route 443 in Mahoning Township, around 4 p.m. by Carbon County Deputy Coroner Erika Reinheimer. She died from multiple blunt force trauma and her death was deemed accidental by Carbon County Coroner Mark K. Smith. Pennsylvania State Police in Lehighton said the two-vehicle collision happened just after 3:15 p.m. Snyder was driving a 2015 Hyundai Veloster east on the highway, also called Blakeslee Boulevard Drive East, at a high rate of speed, state police said. A 42-year-old man was driving a 2023 Ford cab-over truck west, state police said. Snyders Hyundai approached the truck, which was slowing down in the westbound lane to turn left into a parking lot, state police said. The Hyundai then struck the truck, according to state police. A 38-year-old passenger in the Hyundai was injured and airlifted to St. Lukes University Hospital in Fountain Hill for treatment. He was listed in stable condition Tuesday morning. A 65-year-old passenger in the truck was also injured and taken to St. Lukes Hospital-Carbon in Lehighton. Injuries were non life-threatening, state police said. The truck driver was not injured in the collision. Pennsylvania State Polices Troop N Collision Analysis Reconstruction Unit shut down a stretch of the highway for several hours Saturday as they investigated. The accident remains under investigation by the Carbon County Coroners Office; Carbon County District Attorneys Office and Pennsylvania State Police in Lehighton. A Northampton County attorney facing charges in two drug cases was sent to prison Monday because he refused to submit a urine sample for a drug test. Attorney Stanley J. Margle III relented and provided the urine sample while in Northampton County Prison on Monday evening, according to Assistant District Attorney Derek Richmond. Its unclear whether Margles cooperation will earn him his release, and if so, when. Margle was charged with two minor drug offenses in February and July. Margle has refused to provide a urine sample for a drug test as a condition of his bail. The demand came from the Northampton County Pre-Trial Services Division on Oct. 7, according to Richmond. Senior Judge William Mahon issued an order Monday requiring Margle to provide the sample. When Margle refused to comply, Mahon held a hearing at 2 p.m. Monday and ordered Margle to go to Northampton County Prison to provide the sample, Richmond said. Margle arrived at prison at 2:24 p.m. Monday, Richmond said. When he failed to provide the sample, he was brought back before Mahon at 3:27 p.m. Monday, found in contempt and sentenced to 30 to 60 days in county prison, Richmond said. Then, Margle agreed to provide the urine sample, Richmond said. Margles attorney, Erv McLain of Bethlehem, was told by Judge Mahon he could file a motion to reconsider or amend Mahons sentence if the urine sample were provided in a timely fashion. The motion hasnt been filed yet, Richmond said. A prison worker confirmed Margle was still incarcerated Tuesday afternoon. McLain didnt respond to messages seeking comment Tuesday. Police say Margle had two bags filled with cocaine inside a fake cigar case on Feb. 13, 2025. Court records say Northampton County sheriffs deputies found the drugs in a briefcase left behind by Margle in Northampton County Juvenile Court. A razor blade and two straws, allegedly used to snort cocaine, were also in the bag, records say. Margle allegedly left his briefcase behind again on July 23, 2025, this time in a mediation room in the county courthouse. Sheriffs deputies allegedly found a black magnetic box and a red straw inside the box. Both tested positive for cocaine residue, court records say. Margle has accused a rogue police officer of planting the drugs and paraphernalia to frame him. Margle, 68, of Palmer Township, is a prominent divorce attorney in the Lehigh Valley and serves as the solicitor for Wilson Borough. His law office is in Bethlehem Township. Hes practiced law since 1983, his website says. A heartbroken Laois family are desperately appealing for information that may reunite them with their beloved missing pet. Craig Shaw and his partner Ruanne Hunt from Portarlington have launched a campaign to bring their dachshund Milo home, after he went missing near Derryounce lakes in December. The pair have been fighting tirelessly to find three-year-old pup Milo, whom they say is 'their entire world'. The worried couple have combed the area he went missing from every day, and have even slept near Derryounce lakes in the hopes that he may return. "Milo is a timid little dog. As deeply as we miss him, we are more worried for him. He must be so scared, this must be so horrible for him," Mr Shaw told the Leinster Express / Laois Live. "We are desperately worried, we just want him home. Myself and Ruanne don't have children, he's almost like a child to us," he explained. Milo went missing on December 14, having bolted out of fear after being spooked by other dogs. He is a black and tan mini dachshund, with a barely noticeable patch of white hair on his chest. "Myself and Ruanne were away for the weekend, and Milo was with her parents. They have dogs and would be used to looking after him," Mr Shaw said. "They were on a walk when some dogs chased after Milo, he wasn't on his lead and he bolted off down the road in fear- they were out walking along the bog road towards Portarlington. "Milo was seen sprinting past by someone in the car park, he never stopped and went straight down the road. We landed in Dublin airport and got the call that he had gone missing, we drove straight home and went looking. Milo hasn't been seen since," Craig said. "We have searched the area day after day, we have even spent nights in our car in the area he went missing, just in case he comes back during the night. False alarms are fairly common, he's a little black dog. He hasn't been seen since Sunday December 14," he said. Pictured: the couple with their adorable pup Milo The couple have received tips of sightings of dogs similar to Milo, but they all turned up as dead ends. They are fearing that Milo may have been picked up by a passerby. "At this point we think he was picked up by someone, we've spent all day, every day scouring the area. We have done everything to find him. He could have been picked up and sold, it's quite typical to happen as it's a good looking breed. "He may have been picked up by someone with good intentions who doesn't know we are looking for him. Fortunately for us he is neutered and microchipped," Mr Shaw said. Pictured: Milo the adorable miniature dachshund has been missing since December 14 in Portarlington The pair are offering a substantial cash reward for information that may lead to the return of the dachshund. Craig and Ruanne bought Milo as a puppy when they lived in London, and brought him with them when they moved to Ruanne's hometown of Portarlington. "We have been living in Portarlington for a year and a half now, he is an import to the area like myself. We both work hybrid, so there was always someone at home with Milo, and all he wanted was to sit in our laps. He is a very affectionate dog, but he might be skittish or quiet if he is approached by someone. He can be very nervous of people outside of his family," Mr Shaw explained. "All we want is to see him come home, we are desperate. Money isn't an object, we are more worried about our poor Milo," he said. Mr Shaw said that when they first came across Milo as a pup, he picked them, rather than the couple choosing him. "My partner and her parents always had dachshunds, we were thinking about the idea of getting a dog when Milo came up on our radar," he said. Pictured: Milo is a sweet and timid family dog "We didn't think we were quite ready, but he was just so beautiful. We called over to the owner and it was just the Mum and three pups. Milo was so interested in us compared to the other pups, he was the one who picked us. We couldn't leave without him," he said. When Milo disappeared, he was wearing a black harness with a white fur trim. He may not still be wearing it. "Milo is only barky when he is confident and comfortable, he ran away once before and the person who found him said that he didn't make a single noise, so he will likely be very quiet," Mr Shaw finished. Have you seen Milo, or have you any information as to where he might be? Get in touch with Craig and Ruanne on their Facebook group dedicated to finding Milo here. Alternatively, email findmilo2026@gmail.com. A Laois TD has welcomed the resumption of construction on a Laois special school, while criticising the Department of Education's lack of intervention. Laois Independent Republican TD Brian Stanley has said while he welcome the progress on Saplings School in Graiguecullen to restart construction, questions still remain. This school has been in need of permanent accommodation for a long number of years and the Department of Education and Government have completely shirked their responsibilities," the Deputy told the Leinster Express / Laois Live. "I have raised this issue a number of times in the Dail in an effort to get the Department of Education to fulfil their responsibilities and government ministers have failed to do so. "It's good news that works are to restart, but it is clear that there is still a significant funding gap, and government cannot continue to dodge its responsibilities to children who have special needs in the Laois and Carlow area," he said. "I will continue to put pressure on Fianna Fail and Fine Gael ministers to ensure that this badly needed school can be successfully completed. "All children in Laois are entitled to an education," Deputy Stanley finished. The Leinster Express / Laois Live recently broke the news that Saplings School for Children with Autism in Graiguecullen have announced that works on the derelict construction site are set to recommence this year. Construction of the 1,200sqm school for students with special needs started in March 2023, and quickly came to halt in late 2023 due to a lack of funding. Funding for the construction of the school was originally provided through the Irish Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP), which gave 'high net-worth individuals' from non-EEA countries Irish residency, if they invested a minimum of 1 million euro to Irish projects for at least three years. When this programme closed, funds ran dry for the construction of the school. The half-built school has laid untouched since then at the site in Fruithill, while students, teachers and SNAs are currently operating from prefabs. "While a funding gap remains in order to fully realise the original vision for the school, this latest progress brings Saplings significantly closer to delivering a state-of-the-art educational and therapeutic environment that will serve pupils and staff for generations to come," representatives of the school said. "The resumption of construction marks renewed momentum and confidence in the project's future," they finished. Local representatives have urged people living in Newbridge to exercise caution and to look out for others following reports of flooding in the town. The appeal follows after the ESB warned on Saturday, January 31 last that it may have to release water from the Poulaphouca reservoir on the Kildare / Wicklow border because of its "limited" storage capacity, thus putting the towns of Clane and Newbridge at direct risk of flooding. At the same time, Kildare County Council (KCC) announced that it was monitoring impact of heavy rainfall on the River Liffey in Kildare. Over the past two days, excessive flooding was reported at Liffey Linear Park in Newbridge, in addition to at least two estates: College Grove and Raymonds Court. Flooding at the Liffey Linear Park made one route impassable Taking to social media, Social Democrats councillor Chris Pender said that he received reports of flooding in College Grove, and added that water levels are rising in parts of the area. He elaborated: "Teams are on site and keeping an eye on the situation. "Some houses have been provided with sandbags. "In Raymonds Court and the estate beside it, across from the jetty, water is coming up along the shores. Flooding at the College Grove estate. Photograph credit: Cllr Chris Pender Cllr Pender also urged the public: "Please stay safe and check on neighbours where you can." Another local rep, Fine Gael Cllr Peggy O'Dwyer, said yesterday (February 2 last) that she had visited and examined the state of Raymonds Court, Riverside Park and the Victoria Bridge area. "I want to thank our KCC staff and residents for all working together to stay safe," she added. Cllr O'Dwyer also gave assurances that KCC "will monitor the situation closely over the next few days and take measures to mitigate the potential impact as a result of the necessary release of water from the Poulaphouca Reservoir". Anyone in Newbridge who has been affected by flooding can contact KCC's out-of-hours phone number on 1800 500 444. Raised water levels near Liffey Linear Park Furthermore, a post which was submitted to a local online forum to discuss Newbridge-related matters offered an additional insight into the flooding situation (The identity of the poster was kept anonymous). It read as follows: "College Grove is starting to flood. Fellas from the water company down there [are] keeping an eye so houses have been given sandbags the water is getting pretty high some areas down there. "Thomastown near Victoria Bridge all [have been] given sand bags today by KCC, urging residents to prepare." They added: "Cllr Peggy O'Dwyer has been to residents in Thomastown and Cllr Chris Pender have been to residents in Raymonds Court, fair play to them both checking on constituents." READ NEXT: Measures needed to slow down motorists in this Kildare village Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme. Kildare County Councils Library Service is proud to join libraries across Ireland in celebrating Ireland Reads, a national campaign which aims to get the whole country reading, culminating with Ireland Reads Day on Saturday February 28. The campaign, part of the governments Healthy Ireland programme, celebrates and promotes the many benefits of reading for wellbeing and enjoyment. The theme for 2026 is Get Lost in a Good Book, and Kildare Library Service invites people of all ages to take time out and enjoy the power of stories, imaginations and discovery. A wide range of free events and activities for all ages will take place across County Kildare throughout February. The full events programme is available at: https://kildare.spydus.ie/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/MSGTRN/WPAC/EVENTS?HOMEPRMS=EVSESPARAMS Gillian Allen, County Librarian, Kildare County Council said: We are delighted to bring the national campaign to celebrate reading to our community. We have an excellent array of activities and events lined up during the month of February to celebrate Ireland Reads and the very important role this positive activity fulfils in peoples lives. READ NEXT: Kildare gardai issue fresh warning over illegal e-scooters These activities and events are reflective of a busy programme that is a constant in Kildare Libraries. We are encouraging people of all ages to visit during February to enjoy library services and participate in the campaign. Reading enriches our minds, reduces stress, and connects us to ideas and stories that shape who we are. It opens doors to knowledge, imagination, and supports wellbeing in todays busy world. Library membership is free and we are delighted to help people looking for reading particular to their interests. Ireland Reads is all about encouraging people to take time for themselves to enjoy the benefits of reading and we encourage people to visit us and participate. Amanda Branigan, Ireland Reads Working Group Chair commented: Ireland Reads is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate reading for pleasure and to remind people of the joy and benefits of books. Libraries are welcoming spaces for everyone, offering thousands of books and eBooks tailored to all interests. "We encourage people across the country to take time during February to visit their local library, receive reading recommendations and join for free. Get lost in a good book this February and make reading a healthy activity in your life. Whether youre a lifelong reader or just rediscovering the joy of books, Kildares libraries have something for everyone this February. Join the conversation online by using the hashtags #IrelandReads and #TellMeToGetLost, and tag Kildare Library Service to share how youre celebrating Ireland Reads. A Leitrim voluntary body that works to prevent suicide will benefit from the announcement this week that ten new Family Resource Centres (FRCs) are to be established. Sligo/Leitrim TD Frank Feighan TD welcomed the inclusion of Northwest STOP, Main Street, Drumkeeran, Co. Leitrim as one of the successful applicants. I wish to congratulate the committee at STOP who purchased a premises on Main Street, Drumkeerin some years ago and facilitated the establishment of the suicide support group there with a permanent base in the centre of the county. Every community in Leitrim and the west of Ireland is painfully aware of the suffering of families and friends as an outcome of young people who choose to take their own lives, this support by Minister Foley to create a new FRC under the STOP Organisation is very welcome for Co Leitrim, Sligo, West Cavan and North Roscommon and my hope is that more and more people who feel unwell can turn to the services and the counsellors at the end of the line and get the help they need in a time concluded Minister Feighan. READ MORE: Leitrim pub and shop seek approval for new facilities and expanded premises An open call was made to all interested parties and subsequent submissions were evaluated in a process independently chaired by a representative of the University of Limerick. All submissions were reviewed and scored against the clearly defined and published criteria, including population need, level of deprivation, child population data, existing service provision and existing service gaps. Minister Foley said: I am delighted to announce the establishment of ten new Family Resource Centres, based on funding I secured as part of the Budget 2026 negotiations. I have seen first-hand the incredible work that Family Resource Centres do every single day. They are of the community and for the community and by the community and they represent our ongoing investment in children, families, and communities across Ireland. I intend to continue via the Budgetary process the expansion of the network of Family Resource Centres over the lifetime of this government. READ MORE: Safety works sought for Leitrim bridge which has been the scene of fatalities The successful applicants will now be allocated core funding of 180,000 for each full year of operation. Tusla will work closely with the successful applicants, with assistance from the Family Resource Centre National Forum, to support their integration into the Family Resource Centre Programme. The National Forum will assist new centres in building links with existing FRCs, offering practical guidance and partnership to ensure smooth integration into the national Programme. Two houses seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) as part of a case linked to the son of a murdered Irish crime boss are set to be auctioned off later this month. The properties, both in the Garryowen area of Limerick city, were seized by CAB last October after the High Court ruled they were the proceeds of crime. The seizures form part of CABs case against Kieran Keane Junior, the son of Kieran Keane, who was killed in a brutal gangland murder in January 2003. USE THE ARROWS OR 'NEXT' TO BROWSE THROUGH THE FULL GALLERY Mr Keane was shot dead after members of the McCarthy Dundon crime gang abducted him and his nephew Owen Treacy. Mr Treacy survived after being stabbed multiple times and left for dead. Five men were later jailed for life for the murder. One of the houses now heading for auction is a three-bedroom mid-terrace property at 7 Sarsfield Court, Garryowen, which carries an advised minimum value of 100,000. The two-storey house features a lounge and kitchen-dining area on the ground floor, and three bedrooms and a family bathroom upstairs. Outside, there is off-street parking to the front and an enclosed yard to the rear. Also going under the hammer is 12 The Path, Garryowen, a three-bedroom end-terrace house with an advised minimum value of 120,000. USE THE ARROWS OR 'NEXT' TO BROWSE THROUGH THE FULL GALLERY That property also spans two floors, with living accommodation on the ground floor and three bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs, along with off-street parking and a rear yard. Both homes are located just off the Garryowen Road in a long-established residential area, around a 10-minute walk from Limerick city centre, with nearby amenities including St Johns Hospital, schools, shops and local parks. The properties will be sold at public auction held by BRG Gibson Auctions at midday on Thursday, February 26, with the proceeds being returned to the exchequer. There was a 25.4% fall in drink and drug driving checkpoints in Sligo/Leitrim Garda division as numbers went from 555 checkpoints in Q3 2024 down to 414 checkpoints in Q3 2025. Meanwhile in Louth/Cavan/Monaghan there were 20.8% fewer checkpoints and in Donegal there were 10.3% less. EU Transport Committee MEP, Cynthia Ni Mhurchu, recently highlighted significant increases in drug driving figures across most Garda districts in Ireland. The MEP has followed this with an analysis of the number of checkpoints Gardai are carrying out across every district in the country. READ MORE: Additional lighting sought for walking area in Leitrim Figures taken from the Garda PULSE system on 03/11/2025, show significant decreases in the number of Mandatory Intoxication Testing Checkpoints conducted by An Garda Siochana across many Garda districts between Q3 2024 and Q3 2025. This at a time when drug driving is at epidemic levels. 12,930 Mandatory Intoxication Testing (MIT) Checkpoints were carried out nationally throughout Q3 2024 but this fell to 11,958 checkpoints by Q3 2025, a drop of 7.5% - against a backdrop of a worrying spike in road deaths in Ireland. Garda figures also show that from Q3 2019, 15,392 Mandatory Intoxication Testing Checkpoints were carried out nationally during Q3 2019 - 3,434 more checkpoints than in Q3 2025. READ MORE: Safety works sought for Leitrim bridge which has been the scene of fatalities 140 people were killed on Irish roads in 2019, 45 less people than in 2025. Ni Mhurchu, a member of the EU Transport committee, said that with road deaths at unprecedented levels, Garda management should be dramatically increasing the number of Mandatory Intoxication Testing (MIT) Checkpoints on our roads, not decreasing them. According to Ni Mhurchu, the difference in the number of checkpoints between 2019 and 2025 is frightening, Gardai carried out thousands more roadside alcohol and drug checkpoints in 2019 than they did in 2025. The figures speak for themselves. In 2019, we had 140 deaths, but in 2025, we had 185 deaths. Drug driving is out of control but now Gardai are testing less people meaning the drug driving figures I recently received from the courts service are only the tip of the iceberg. Those figures show a 37% increase in cases coming before our district courts for drug driving in the first 10 months of 2025. This should be evidence enough for Gardai to launch a massive increase in drug and drink driving checkpoints but they have done the opposite and reduced them. I want to know the rationale for it. If it is a resource issue, lets deal with it but it must be pointed out that there were more Gardai in 2025 than there were in 2019." Eight counties in Ireland are bracing for more possible flooding as a Status Yellow Rain Warning is to remain in place until Tuesday afternoon and evening. Rain warning for Dublin, Louth, Wicklow is in place until 9pm tonight while the warning for Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, Cork, Waterford is in place until 3pm this afternoon. READ NEXT: Gardai found vodka and child in pyjamas with no seat belt when woman was stopped on M7 Met Eireann has warned of more possible flooding in places as further heavy rain will fall on saturated ground. Combined with high river levels and high tides could also lead to river flooding and difficult travel conditions. Carlow weatherman Alan O'Reilly has said that while more rain is on the way, river levels in Carlow and Wexford have fallen "back well below median flood level". Latest high resolution charts show over 30mm possible on Wicklow Mountains over next 24 hours. Thankfully level of River Slaney in Tullow is back well below median flood level. pic.twitter.com/7B4QFoI4pU Carlow Weather (@CarlowWeather) February 3, 2026 For the rest of the week, Met Eireann has forecast low pressure to the southwest of Ireland that will bring further spells of rain, with heavy and persistent falls affecting southern and eastern areas. READ NEXT: PICTURES: Inside the homes seized from murdered Irish crime boss's son going to CAB auction Today Today will be mostly cloudy. Rain over the southern half of Ireland will gradually move northwards, becoming lighter and patchier further north. Scattered showers will follow into southern areas this afternoon. Flooding is possible in places due to a combination of already saturated ground, high river levels and high tides. Highest temperatures of 4 to 9 degrees with moderate to fresh easterly winds. Cloudy for most with patchy outbreaks of rain and drizzle tonight. There will be occasional clear breaks later in the night over the southwest where mist and fog patches may form. Lowest temperatures of 1 to 6 or 7 degrees with light to moderate easterly winds, mildest in the south. Wednesday Wednesday will be mostly cloudy with showers feeding up from the south, a few of them heavy. Some brighter spells at times also, the best of these over the midlands and western counties. Highest temperatures of 5 to 10 degrees, with mostly moderate easterly winds. Wednesday night will remain cloudy with rain feeding in from the south. across southern counties. Further north will be drier with some clear spells. Lowest temperatures of 3 to 8 degrees, with moderate to fresh easterly winds. Thursday Uncertainty in the forecast but current indications suggest a wet and windy day with widespread rain, turning persistent and heavy at times. Highest temperatures of 5 to 9 degrees, with fresh to strong easterly winds. READ NEXT: RIP: Man dies after tragic early-morning crash with lorry as gardai appeal for witnesses Outbreaks of rain and drizzle will continue overnight but will gradually become patchier and confined to the south and east towards morning. Ulster and north Connacht will stay mostly dry overnight apart from the odd shower. Lowest temperatures of 1 to 6 degrees, mildest in the south, in fresh to strong and gusty easterly winds, stronger along coasts. Friday Friday is looking to be another wet and windy day with widespread outbreaks of rain and drizzle. Heavy and persistent falls will mostly affect the south and east. Highest temperatures of 5 to 10 degrees, with fresh to strong easterly winds. Current indications are for similar conditions to persist into the weekend. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close A COUNTY Limerick man has been ordered to pay compensation after he admitted stealing alcohol from a number of stores in his local town. Patrick Ryan, also known as Patrick Prenderville, aged 55, of Riverview, Kilmallock pleaded guilty to the theft charges when he appeared before the local court. Judge Patricia Harney was told the charges, contrary to Section 4 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001, relate to separate incidents at Spar and Ryans SuperValu in the town. Read next: Limerick Inspector hits out at commonly used driving conviction excuses Mr Ryan was asked if he wanted to have the matter dealt with in the district court, or before judge and jury in the circuit court. He opted for the district court, and pleaded guilty to each of the offences. Inspector Gearoid Thompson said the first theft occurred on June 12, 2025, when Mr Ryan took beer valued at 8 from Spar on Lord Edward Street, Kilmallock without paying. A second offence occurred at the same premises on September 26, 2025, when he took wine valued at 9.95 - again without paying. The court heard the stolen alcohol was not recovered by gardai. The final theft occurred on September 29, 2025, when Mr Ryan took vodka valued at 19.95 from Ryans SuperValu on Sarsfield Street, Kilmallock, again without paying. Following a submission from solicitor Julianne Kiely Judge Harney directed Mr Ryan to pay compensation of 38, representing the total loss incurred by the retailers. The case was adjourned until February 17 to allow for payment with the judge warning there will be no further adjournments. A Limerick car dealer on trial for alleged garda corruption told investigators that senior gardai were involved in extorting money from him, a trial has heard. Stephen O'Sullivan (43) is accused of giving or agreeing to give to Detective Garda David Bourke a monetary gain as an inducement to reveal confidential information concerning an investigation being carried out by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) in relation to Stephen Bawn Motors trading as Bawn Motors. Mr O'Sullivan, of Farrehy, Broadford, Co Limerick, is a director of the business. He has pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to the single count of corruption at Bruree, Co Limerick on December 22, 2018. On day three of his trial today, David Gilmore told Eoin Lawlor SC, prosecuting, that in January 2019 he was a serving garda with the rank of detective sergeant and attached to the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NBCI) He said that on the morning of January 23, 2019, he travelled to Cluain Arra, Newcastle West, Co Limerick in order to arrest Mr O'Sullivan. The defendant was not at this address and he travelled on to Farrehy, Broadford where he met Mr O'Sullivan and his father. READ MORE: Judge imposes 10 year prison sentence on Limerick man who has spent 90% of his life in custody Mr O'Sullivan had two mobiles phones, one for work and one personal, on him. Gardai seized these and asked the defendant to provide the PIN for them but he declined to do so. He arrested Mr O'Sullivan and gardai conducted a number of interviews with the defendant. From the outset of the first interview, Mr O'Sullivan told gardai that he felt he was being stitched up and that he would not answer any more questions, the witness told Mark Lynam SC, defending. On December 6 the same year, gardai re-arrested Mr O'Sullivan at his home, this time for the purpose of charge. At Shannon garda station, gardai charged him with an offence of corruption. He was later admitted to bail after an appearance at Limerick District Court. The jury heard that in January 2022, Mr O'Sullivan met with investigators from NBCI for voluntary interview. Before the interview, Mr O'Sullivan read a prepared statement to gardai in which he claimed he first became aware of Dt Gda Bourke of Oola, Co Limerick, through an associate identified in court only as JC. He said JC told him that a senior detective wished to meet him about alleged criminality in his business. The defendant told gardai that JC drove him out to a remote rural area near Oola. Mr O'Sullivan said he got into a white Berlingo van occupied by Dt Gda Bourke. He said Dt Gda Bourke said he wanted to speak to him about alleged criminality going on in your yard which he was personally investigating. He said the detective named a number of people - none of whom he knew - and he told him that there was going to be a CAB investigation of his business. The jury heard that the defendant told gardai: I was extremely shocked and perturbed. I was unaware of any criminal activity...He indicated he might want to meet me again. Mr O'Sullivan said he made it clear he wanted any future meetings to take place in a garda station and described meeting a senior detective in this way was extraordinary, the court heard. He said he subsequently made inquiries about Dt Gda Bourke and was informed that he was a most powerful man with great influence and a powerful and devious man capable of doing anything. He said he was informed that Dt Gda Bourke operated closely and was friendly with Superintendent Eamon O'Neill, the court heard. He said JC told him if you were helpful to him he would be extremely helpful including in relation to issues with road traffic offences. He told gardai that as far as he was concerned, his business was transparent and there was no illegality. He said two weeks later, JC pressurised him into meeting with Dt Gda Bourke again and the detective told him he was under investigation and referred again to Supt O'Neill. Mr O'Sullivan told gardai that after this meeting, JC visited him again and told him that Dt Gda Bourke was looking for money and it was imperative that he meet him again. He said he was informed that Dt Gda Bourke and Supt O'Neill would be involved in the CAB investigation, they would be in a position to put it away and they would need 120,000. I felt I was being set up and that this was an attempt to extort money from him, he claimed in his statement. He said that JC told him that man and Eamon O'Neill could make life very difficult and awkward for him. Mr O'Sullivan said he met Dt Gda Bourke again and Dt Gda Bourke asked him if he had anything for him. He said Dt Gda Bourke told him he and Eamon O'Neill would be able to stop or delay CAB or any other matters. He said at this point he considered making a formal complaint to gardai but said: I feared any complaint would result in reprisals. Mr O'Sullivan also stated that he then began to notice he was being followed and harassed. He said Eamon O'Neill began appearing at the defendant's regular eateries. He said Supt O'Neill drove into his car yard in an unmarked car and Dt Gda Bourke was in the passenger seat. He said he felt so fed up that he approached the car to speak to them but the car was driven off. I was concerned for my own safety and my family. I had nowhere to go. I was so anxious depressed and worried. I had no interest in the information being offered. I was concerned evidence could be planted at my premises. I was under extreme pressure, he told gardai in the prepared statement. Mr O Sullivan also told gardai that after his second arrest and while he was being taken to Shannon station, he told Dt Sgt Gilmore that he wanted to tell (him) the truth about everything. He said that Dt Sgt Gilmore told him that he would need to call his superior first and he made this call in the car. He said after this call Dt Sgt Gilmore told him: I'm sorry, it's too late now. Under cross-examination, Mr Gilmore told defence counsel that he had no memory of this conversation and that he would remember it. He told the jury that if such a conversation had taken place, he would have made a note at the time in his garda notebook and that there was no such note made. The witness told Mr Lawlor, prosecuting, that the obligation of gardai to seek out evidence does not end after a suspect is charged. The trial continues in evidence before the jury and Judge Sinead Ni Chulachain tomorrow. NEW DELHI : In the Union Budget 2026-27, the Centre has projected earning 1.4 trillion from the telecom sector in 2025-26, about 71% more than its previous estimate. At first glance, that sounds like a big win. Some of this money does come from real payments, such as licence fees and spectrum auctions, paid by private telecom companies. But a large chunk comes from state-owned BSNL, which is dependent on the government for its survival. Only this income" isnt real cash changing hands, but merely a bookkeeping exercise. Mint examines the governments telecom receipts, the role of BSNL, and how much of these earnings are driven by cash flows rather than accounting entries. What are telecom receipts? In every budget, the government projects certain receipts from different ministries. Similarly, the communications ministry earns revenue from the private telecom operators from licence fees and spectrum-related payments, shown as receipts from other communication services in the budget. Telecom operators pay 8% of their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) as statutory dues to the government. Of the same, 3% goes towards the licence fee, and the remaining 5% goes to the Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN), which the government uses to bridge the digital divide. These telecom receipts form an important part of the governments revenue from the communications sector and help fund regulatory functions and initiatives such as expanding digital infrastructure across the country. What are the estimated telecom receipts for FY26 and FY27? On 1 February every year, when the government presents the Union Budget, it shares estimates for the upcoming fiscal year for receipts and expenditures. The same also includes revised estimates (RE) for the ongoing fiscal year, as well as actual receipts and expenditures for the previous fiscal. In the Union Budget 2026-27, for telecom receipts, the government has increased its estimates by 71% for 2025-26 from the earlier projections of 82,443 crore. In comparison, data from the previous budgets suggests a 2.5-33% increase in the receipt projections. To be sure, of the government's total non-tax revenue estimate of 6.67 trillion for 2025-26, 1.4 trillion, or 21.1%, is expected to come from telecom receipts. For 2024-25, actual receipts from the telecom sector stood at 84,794 crore, whereas for 2026-27, they are projected to be 1.17 trillion. What role does BSNL play in boosting these receipts? BSNL depends on the government for capital expenditure, spectrum, and to pay its statutory dues. This means that, unlike private telecom operators, the state-owned entity does not purchase spectrum in auctions. What happens is that the government first pays BSNL the amount, which is shown as an expenditure in its books. Later, BSNL pays the government back that amount, usually by issuing equity shares in the name of the President of India. According to telecom analysts, despite being non-cash in nature, the government shows them as receipts, which, in a way, inflates its receipts on paper; in actuality, cash receipts are lower. In simple terms, the government is giving BSNL money, and in return, the company gives back shares on paperso it counts as income in the books, even though no money is actually earned. Government officials argue that this accounting treatment reflects the economic value of the spectrum and other support extended to BSNL. Spectrum is a scarce national resource with an assessed market value, and the accounting entry ensures it is not shown as being given away for free. By issuing equity shares to the government, BSNL effectively compensates the state on paper, even if no cash changes hands. The approval for the same comes via the relief packages the government has announced in the past for BSNL. For example, the Union cabinet in June 2023 approved the proposals of the department of telecommunications for the reservation and allotment of spectrum worth 89,047.8 crore to BSNL for the rollout of 4G/SG services through equity infusion in 2023-24 to 2025-26. Since 2019, the government has given three revival packages to BSNL and MTNL worth a combined 3.2 trillion. How does BSNL issue equity shares to the government? Even though BSNL is fully state-owned, it can issue" shares to the government by increasing its authorized share capital. This is basically a way for the government to inject money into BSNL. For example, in June 2023, the Union Cabinet approved raising BSNLs authorized capital from 1.5 trillion to 2.1 trillion, allowing the government to invest more funds in the company. Authorized capital is the maximum amount of share capital a company is allowed to issue to shareholders, as approved in its corporate documents. How much of the reported telecom receipts then represents actual cash inflows? According to estimates from telecom analyst Parag Kar, about 63,000 crore is estimated to be shown as receipts from BSNL in lieu of spectrum, AGR payments, and capital expenditure support for 2025-26. This has led to an increase in telecom receipts in 2025-26. The government had accounted for the expenditure for the same in previous years, but did not book it under receipts. This means that around 55% of the government's receipts are expected to be actual cash receipts from private operators. MUMBAI: Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ), the cash cow of the Ahmedabad-based Adani Group, reported a sharp rise in revenue and profit for the OctoberDecember quarter (Q3FY26), prompting management to raise its guidance for FY26. The company now expects revenue of 38,000 crore in FY26, at the upper end of its earlier 36,000-38,000 crore range. Guidance for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) has been raised to 22,800 crore from the previous 21,000-22,000 crore band. The higher Ebitda outlook reflects stronger-than-expected growth in existing businesses and the consolidation of North Queensland Export Terminal (NQXT) from the January-March quarter. APSEZ completed the acquisition of the Australian terminal from the Adani family on 23 December 2025 for about 22,000 crore. APSEZ shares rose 9.12% to 1,530.9 on the BSE on Tuesday, outperforming the benchmark Sensex, which gained 2.54%. The results were disclosed during trading hours. Robust Q3 earnings For the three months ended 31 December 2025, APSEZs profit climbed more than 20% to 3,043 crore, as contributions from newer ports offset a slowdown at its flagship Mundra port. Quarterly revenue and Ebitda also rose about 20%, to 9,705 crore and 5,786 crore, respectively. As Indias largest and the worlds fastest-growing integrated transport utility, APSEZ has once again delivered a strong and resilient performance, Ashwani Gupta, chief executive and whole-time director, said in a statement. Sustained momentum across our four business pillars, combined with the consolidation of NQXT, has enabled us to raise the upper end of our FY26 Ebitda guidance by a robust 800 crore. Also Read | Adani Ports' upside surprise hinges on meeting its ambitious port volume target Revenue at Mundra, APSEZs first and most revenue-accretive port, fell 15% to 1,860 crore, while Ebitda declined about 20% to 1,321 crore. Higher earnings at Krishnapatnam, Gangavaram and Vizhinjam helped offset the drop. APSEZ operates 15 ports and terminals in India and four overseas. Enterprises on the cusp of sharp revenue growth Adani Enterprises Ltd, the groups incubator of new businesses, also reported a jump in Q3 profit on Tuesday, driven by gains from selling its stake in consumer business AWL Agri Business Ltd, formerly Adani Wilmar Ltd. The flagship company posted a consolidated profit of 5,627 crore after an exceptional gain of 5,632 crore, implying a loss in the absence of the one-off income. Revenue rose 8% year-on-year to 25,475 crore, while Ebitda increased 15% to 4,297 crore. Performance was weighed down by a slowdown in the legacy coal trading business, where revenue fell 25% to 7,169 crore due to lower volumes and prices. Results improved in other key verticals, including renewable energy ecosystem manufacturing under ANIL, airports and mining. The company is on the cusp of a sharp uptick in revenue and Ebitda as four key assets become operational, group chief financial officer Jugeshinder Singh said during an investor call. These include the recently inaugurated Navi Mumbai airport, a copper smelter, a major highway and a larger solar cell and module manufacturing plant. The Kutch Copper smelter is expected to start operations in Q1FY27 and will have a capacity of 0.5 million tonnes per annum, comparable to Hindalco Copper, Indias largest producer. The project is expected to add about 2,000 crore to consolidated Ebitda, Singh said. Also Read | Why Adani is folding its cement assets into Ambuja now The Ganga Expressway in Uttar Pradesh is expected to contribute another 1,500 crore to Ebitda once operational. The companys 6-gigawatt solar cell plant, scheduled to come onstream later in 2026, already has sufficient orders to support high utilization, he said. The company will also earn fixed returns from the Navi Mumbai airport. NEW DELHI: Even as India pushes to localize rare earth supply chains, the Centre has budgeted 140 crore in capital expenditure for the countrys only domestic manufacturer of rare earth magnets and rare earth oxidesIREL (India) Ltdin the next fiscal year, a modest 1.4% increase from FY26. The muted allocation for the state-run producer, outlined in Union budget documents, has sparked questions about whether India is under-investing in its only operational domestic supplier at a moment when shortages are hitting industries from automobiles to electronics. Some, however, say policymakers are prioritizing incentives and corridors to draw in private investment, even though most private plans have yet to materialize. The investment funds for IREL, which was set up 76 years ago under the aegis of the Department of Atomic Science, have remained range bound between 120 crore and 140 crore since fiscal year 2024, with spending falling to 107 crore in FY25. The Centre does not directly provide budgetary support to IREL. Instead, the company mobilizes funds through internal and extra-budgetary resources (IEBR). Budget documents specify the IEBR amount that IREL is expected to deploy for new capital expenditure. Queries emailed to IREL earlier on Monday remained unanswered till press time. China's chokehold and the stakes Domestic rare earth magnet production has drawn increased attention after China began restricting exports of such products, a supply chain it dominates. Sectors such as automobiles and electronics were among those that faced shortages of components containing rare earth magnets. Rishabh Jain, fellow at Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), said that IREL produces rare earth oxides and is one of the few global entities outside China with commercial mine-to-oxide" capabilities. However, unlike in the past where low demand drove exports, domestic demand for rare earth due to magnet production is expected to be higher than IREL's production capacity, forcing a shift from exports to domestic prioritization. The reduction in import duty for monazite sands would also aid in the short term," he said. Scaling up requires not just mining expansion, but significant investment in IREL's downstream separation facilities, as it remains the sole authorized processor of monazite." Monazite is a mineral rich in rare earth elements. There are also concerns about institutional capacity. Last year, questions were flagged about IREL operating without a full-time chairman and managing director between December 2024 and November 2025. Private-sector push vs results In the Union budget for FY27, announced on Sunday, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government will support the creation of four rare earth corridors in Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Andhra Pradesh to facilitate mining, research, manufacturing and processing of rare earths in India. The announcement came three months after the government launched a 7,280 crore scheme to promote domestic manufacturing of rare earth magnets. While companies such as JSW, Sona Comstar, Bharat Forge, Proterial, and Midwest Advanced Materials Private Ltd have expressed initial interest in participating in the scheme, none of their plans have materialized so far. That leaves IREL as the only major domestic manufacturer of rare earth oxides and magnets as of now. Poonam Upadhyay, director at Crisil Ratings, said the strategic emphasis has shifted from entity-specific expansion to building a broader, competitive ecosystem spanning mining, processing and downstream manufacturing. This is evident in the rare-earth permanent magnet incentive framework, which allocates capacity to multiple qualified beneficiaries through a competitive process. The budget reinforces this approach by materially stepping up allocations at the ministry of mines level," she said. Revenue allocation has sharply increased to about 3,635 crore for fiscal 2027 from around 490 crore in the fiscal 2026 revised estimate. This signals an early-stage push into critical minerals, with a clear focus on rare earth elements, aligned with India's Atmanirbhar goals," added Upadhyay. What IREL can produceand what holds it back Originally called Indian Rare Earths Ltd, the firm was founded in 1950 under the administration of independent Indias first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru to produce thorium to support Indias nuclear power programme. Over time, it diversified into other rare earth elements, including a recently inaugurated rare earth magnet plant at Vishakhapatnam. The state-backed enterprise can currently produce about 400 tonnes of rare earth oxides a year, which can be used to make around 1,200 tonnes of magnets. IREL also holds a stockpile of about 500 tonnes of rare earth oxides, enough to support the manufacturing of around 1,500 tonnes of magnets. Rare earth magnets are used in all vehicles, including electric (EVs) and internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. According to an August 2025 report by consultancy firm Primus Partners, each electric vehicle requires about 1-2 kg of rare earth magnets. The firm noted that India consumed nearly 1,700 tonnes of rare earth magnets in 2022, and demand is expected to rise to 7,154 tonnes by 2030. These estimates refer to neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets, which contain dysprosium and are among the strongest and most widely used rare earth magnets. IREL has told lawmakers that rare earth magnet manufacturing is expensive and requires careful handling to prevent environmental damage. In December 2025, the parliamentary committee on public undertakings (COPU) asked IREL to expedite business operations related to expansion and joint ventures, urged it to collaborate with global companies in the rare earth value chain, and said the company should never let its guard down regarding environmental fallout from its operations. IREL told COPU that due to the strategic nature of the minerals it mines, steps have been taken to avoid public consultations for all projects concerning national security and atomic energy to enable expeditious statutory clearances, including environmental approval, and early operationalisation of projects. The environmental impact of RE (rare earth) mining is primarily due to the complex and often toxic nature of the ore body including various radioactive and non-radioactive impurities which require extensive use of water and chemicals/alkalis/acids for extracting the material. In the Indian context, the resource of REE (rare earth elements) is occurring in association with radioactivity, making the extraction process long, complex and expensive," IREL said in its reply to the government's recommendation on environmental degradation due to mining. IREL also said it was taking all necessary environmental clearances from the ministry of environment, forests and climate change, using technology to make effluents less toxic, and adopting new machinery to reduce wastage and increase recovery. IndiGo, the largest airline in India by market share, has appointed veteran of loyalty programmes Nik Laming to lead its frequent-flyer business, as the airline seeks to shift from its low-cost roots to defend its market share against feisty Air India. Laming, a Singapore-based consultant with over 30 years of experience, joins at a critical time. While InterGlobe Aviation Ltd.-operated IndiGo flew 124 million passengers in 2025, it faced a 2% dip in market share in November and a record 22.2 crore fine in December following operational issues. The recruitment marks a shift for IndiGo as it scales its BluChip programme in order to compete with Air Indias Maharaja Club. Since the September 2024 launch, BluChip has brought in 10 million members, reflecting the carriers urgency to secure customer stickiness amid its international expansion and the introduction of premium services. The move comes as the global travel loyalty market is projected to hit $52.6 billion by 2030. For IndiGo, which recently introduced business-class Stretch cabins, a robust loyalty driver has become a necessity to transition from a budget airline to a global contender. The search for a loyalty head started 8-9 months ago, and the airline was looking globally for a candidate who could build a programme that would bring them repeat customers," said an industry executive aware of the development. The civil aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), is yet to release December passenger traffic numbers. Key Takeaways IndiGo has tapped Nik Laming, a Singapore-based loyalty veteran, to professionalize its rewards division. The BluChip programme has reached 10 million members in less than 18 months, making it one of India's fastest-growing loyalty schemes. The hire signals IndiGos transition from a Low-Cost Carrier to a full-service airline, offering premium services such as 'Stretch' business class. The move comes as IndiGo tries to move past a disastrous December that saw 4,500 cancellations and a 22.2 crore fine. IndiGo is directly aiming at Air Indias Maharaja Club to secure high-yield, frequent international travellers. According to the executive mentioned above, Laming was onboarded about a month ago. While Indigo did not respond to Mints queries, Laming has yet to respond to Mints queries via LinkedIn. For the airline, which has 63.6% domestic aviation market share, getting its loyalty programme correct comes at a time when it cancelled 4,500 flights in the first week of December. Building Bluchips loyalty The cancellation of the flights came on the back of revised pilot rest rules and night-flying norms, throwing its schedule off-kilter. Several thousand fliers were left stranded at airports after flight cancellations, forcing the government to step in, impose fare caps across the sector, and subsequently fine IndiGo. Also Read | Delhi HC seeks answers on IndiGo FDTL relief after December disruption In January, after posting its quarterly results, IndiGo said its loyalty programme had 10 million registrations. The registrations come in less than 18 months since the launch of the loyalty programme. This made it one of the fastest-growing customer loyalty programmes in the country. "IndiGo has a straightforward earn and burn loyalty points program. As they look at larger international operations, they are shedding their low-cost carrier image into a fit-for-purpose airline," said Mark D. Martin, aviation expert and chief executive at Gurugram-based Martin Consulting. This means their customer loyalty programmes also need to be reworked. At present, it is a late starter, compared to a full-service carrier like Air India. The programmes are not comparable at this moment either," he added. As of today, under the loyalty programme, IndiGo customers need to register with the airline first. They accumulate IndiGo BluChips points on every IndiGo flight, based on their spend. Members get an upgrade in the tier-based loyalty programme. As a key differentiator, IndiGo said these loyalty points would never expire "for active members", unlike many other loyalty programs across different airlines, and promised straightforward redemption. For instance, a user earns 8 BluChips per 100 spent on base fare (plus fuel surcharge, if any) on IndiGo flights and IndiGo codeshare flights (marketed by IndiGo but operated by Turkish Airlines and Qantas). Subsequently, IndiGo tied up with credit card companies, hotels, and apparel companies to earn loyalty points. Also Read | IndiGo, Air India losses show what happens when airlines ignore customers The global market for Travel Loyalty Programmes was valued at $29.1 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $52.6 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.4% from 2024 to 2030, as per a January report by global market insights firm Market Glass Inc. Key takeaways IndiGo on Tuesday issued a travel advisory, warning passengers of cancellations on certain routes, stating that its flight schedules are being adjusted in view of recent developments around Iran and the country's tensions with the United States. These disruptions come amid heightened tensions between Iran and the United States, with President Donald Trump earlier announcing that the US was moving naval warships closer to the region. However, the situation may ease in the coming days, as Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday signalled a conditional willingness to engage in negotiations with Washington, pointing to a potential diplomatic opening. In view of the developing situation around Iran, we have made additional adjustments to our flight schedule to ensure a safe and seamless experience for our customers and crew, IndiGo said on X (formerly Twitter). Which IndiGo flights will be affected? The country's largest carrier by market capitalisation has announced changes to several international flights due to the evolving security situation in certain regions. Flights cancelled until 28 February 2026. To and from Tbilisi (Georgia) To and from Almaty (Kazakhstan) To and from Baku (Azerbaijan) To and from Tashkent (Uzbekistan) The airline has advised passengers to check their flight status regularly and stay in touch with customer support for the latest updates. The flyers can also explore alternative options, including future flights or a full refund, on IndiGo's official website. As the situation continues to evolve, our plans remain under regular review. Any further updates or changes will be shared through our communication channels, the airline said in the X post. Latest details about the Iran-US situation President Pezeshkian said in a formal statement that he had acted in response to requests from friendly governments in the region urging Tehran to reply to a proposal by the US president for negotiations. He further added he had instructed Irans foreign minister to explore the groundwork for talks, provided key conditions were met, particularly stressing that the discussions would be held within the framework of national interests. The development comes amid rising regional tensions, after Washington dispatched an aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East following Irans deadly response to anti-government protests that peaked last month. Zerodha app is reportedly down today, with multiple users flagging glitches amid a market rally following the India-US trade deal announcement. At the time of writing, data on Downdetector showed more than 350 reports about the Zerodha outage, with 42% from the website, 32% from the mobile app, and another 26% about trading functionality. As one user on social media platform X simply put: "@zerodha glitches." What did users say? Funds not showing up, who will be responsible? Another user on X posted to attract the company's attention to the downtime. What's happening? Funds are not showing up after selling my holdings! Fix it ASAP [sic]. Another user also asked Zerodha to respond to the various complaints and take responsibility for the glitch. CA Paras Kenia claimed this was a repeated issue with the app. On a Big day you failed. Who shall be held responsible for this issues. Chart settings changed. Can't see positions correctly as prices are not updated. Can't take entry or exits. Zerodha I have noticed on all such big events or occasion this happens [sic], Kenia wrote. One other user added, Zerodha could not place sell order. Will we be compensated [sic]? And one user complained: what is Zerodha (doing?) because you lost almost 50k today due to your inability to maintain proper servers [sic]. Another wrote a sarcastic comment, Zerodha servers going down? Expected. Market opens with big gap up or gap down? Even more expected. Perfect timing as always [sic]. At the time of writing, Zerodha had not addressed the outage through its official social media accounts. Please note that this report is based on user-generated content from social media. LiveMint has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them. Markets rally amid India-US trade deal The Indian stock market opened in the green today, with the key benchmark indices Nifty 50 touching an intraday high of 26,341, up 1,253 points within a few minutes of the Opening Bell. The BSE Sensex also opened up and touched an intraday high of 85,871, with an intraday gain of 4,205 points in the early morning session. Within the first 15 minutes of trade, the rally translated into a wealth expansion of roughly 13 lakh crore for investors. The total market capitalisation of companies listed on the BSE vaulted to 468.32 lakh crore, reflecting the intensity and breadth of buying across sectors. Experts noted that the gains came as the confirmation of the India-United States trade deal removed uncertainty for investors and sparked optimism. They also expect foreign institutional investors (FIIs) to make a return to the Indian stock market. Notably, US President Donald Trump confirmed that reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods would be reduced from 50% to 18%, following prolonged negotiations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang have publicly maintained that the partnership between the two companies remains strong and stable, even as multiple reports suggest the relationship may be facing underlying strains. Recently, some reports claimed that all is not well between the two AI giants. According to one such news report, OpenAI is reportedly unsatisfied with some of Nvidias latest artificial intelligence (AI) chips and has been exploring alternative suppliers since last year. However, in a clarification post, Sam Altman dismissed these claims, denying that OpenAI is unhappy with Nvidias products. We love working with NVIDIA, and they make the best AI chips in the world. We hope to be a gigantic customer for a very long time, Altman wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) Tuesday. I dont get where all this insanity is coming from, the executive added. Nvidia CEO vows to invest in OpenAI, but Adding weight to Altman's assurance, Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang said just a few days ago that the US tech giant will make a huge investment in OpenAI, while dismissing reports suggesting he is unhappy with the generative AI company, news agency AFP reported. Huang made the remarks late on Saturday in Taipei after another report claimed that Nvidia's plan to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI had been put on hold as both sides were rethinking the partnership. We are going to make a huge investment in OpenAI. I believe in OpenAI. We will invest the largest investment we've ever made, he said. While this assurance seemed to settle the matter, Jensen Huang was quoted in another video as saying that Nvidia had never stated it would invest $100 billion in OpenAI in a single round, after a reporter asked whether the investment plan was still on the table. There was never a commitment. They invited us to invest up to $100B. We will invest one step at a timeWe are honoured that they invited us, and we will consider each round at a time, he was quoted as saying. In September, Nvidia said it plans to invest as much as $100 billion into OpenAI as part of a deal that gave the chipmaker a stake in the startup and gave OpenAI the cash it needed to buy the advanced chips, Reuters reported. Also Read | AI is not UPI: Applying the same model could doom progress on AI What do the rumours say? According to Reuters, OpenAI's reported dissatisfaction with Nvidia is linked to the chipmaker's growing focus on specialised chips for specific AI inference tasks, the process by which an AI model, such as the one that powers the ChatGPT app, responds to customer queries and requests. PARISFrench authorities raided the Paris office of Elon Musks X and summoned the billionaire for a voluntary interview," a major escalation of European regulators battles with the social-media platform. Cybercrime prosecutors said Tuesday that they were searching Xs office as part of a sprawling investigation first opened early last year. The probe has grown from investigating allegations that the platforms content-ranking algorithm amounted to foreign interference" in French politics to Xs responsibility for sexualized deepfake images produced by its Grok chatbot. French officials are also investigating other potential charges against X, including dissemination of child pornography and Holocaust denial, which is illegal in France, prosecutors said. Tuesdays raid was conducted by cybercrime police and Europol, the European Unions law-enforcement agency. The move came as French officials said they were summoning Musk, former X Chief Executive Linda Yaccarino and other employees in April for what they described as voluntary interviews. Prosecutors described their investigation as being at a constructive" stage, aimed at achieving compliance with laws in France. Voluntary interviews would be a chance for executives to explain their efforts, they added. X didnt immediately respond to requests for comment. The summons and raid are the latest signals of a growing trans-Atlantic clash over howand whetherbig tech companies should police online speech. Long-simmering tensions between the U.S. and Europe over how to handle content on platforms like TikTok, Instagram and X are coming to a head. European regulators are ramping up enforcement of a new arsenal of content-moderation rules, while the Trump administration and other U.S. officials have accused Europeans of trying to silence dissent, not just on their continent but globally. Write to Sam Schechner at Sam.Schechner@wsj.com and Kim Mackrael at kim.mackrael@wsj.com The India-US trade agreement protects all sensitive sectors for New Delhi, Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal said, signalling the governments commitment to the welfare of farmers, fishermen and the dairy sector. Once the agreement takes effect, US tariffs on Indian goods will fall from a steep 50% to 18%, reviving the competitiveness of Indian exports. While the full contours of the agreement are not released yet, the minister said the trade pact is currently in the final stages of technical detailing between the negotiating teams of both countries. A joint statement by India and the US will be issued shortly once the final understanding is inked and the technical processes are completed," Goyal said on Tuesday, adding that details would be shared thereafter. I want to assure the people of India that this is a deal that will make every Indian proud. It protects the interests of the country and provides significant opportunities for all sections of society," Goyal said. Goyal said that what commerce ministry officials were not able to achieve over several months had been accomplished by the Prime Minister in a single day through a well-negotiated trade agreement. Also Read | Exporters hit by global trade actions can tap retail market, says Goyal India and the US agreed to conclude a comprehensive bilateral trade agreement on 13 February last year, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with President Donald Trump. Talks towards the agreement to expand annual bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030, however, were plagued by tariff threats and slow progress. US tariffs on most Indian goods now stand at 50%, including a 25% punitive tariff linked to New Delhis Russian oil purchases. On Tuesday, Goyal emphasized that the agreement safeguards sensitive sectors, particularly agriculture and the dairy sector, while opening up large opportunities for Indian exporters in textiles, plastics, apparel, leather and footwear, gems and jewellery, organic chemicals, rubber goods, machinery and aircraft components. Goyal also said that Indias growing demand for information and communication technology products, data centre equipment, high-quality technology and innovation, as well as raw materials, would be supported by the deal. At a time when India is scaling up manufacturing, digital infrastructure and data centre capacity, he said, The agreement enables access to best-in-class technologies and critical inputs at more competitive costs." The government sees this as a significant strategic gain, as it aligns Indias trade policy with its broader push on electronics manufacturing, artificial intelligence, cloud infrastructure and advanced industrial capabilities, while strengthening the foundations of the countrys growth trajectory and the Indian economy. On the proposed $500 billion trade figure mentioned by US president Donald Trump in his social media post, a senior official said the purchases would be spread over a five-year period, with aircraft and energy likely to be a key component of the imports. In agriculture, the official said that certain goods have been allowed under tariff rate quotas (TRQs), but these products are not sensitive from Indias perspective and have negligible domestic production, thereby limiting any adverse impact on Indian farmers. In his social media post, Trump said that he spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier in the day and that the agreement was reached effective immediately." The two leaders discussed a range of issues, including trade and efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, he claimed. Trump also said that Modi had agreed to stop Indias Russian oil purchases and instead buy more energy from the US and, potentially, Venezuela. The US president said India would buy more than $500 billion worth of US energy, technology, agricultural products, coal and other goods, and commit to Buy American" at a much higher level. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Donald Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement." Clarity on unanswered issues is expected only after the release of the joint statement. Key questions include whether India has committed to ending purchases of Russian oil, whether crude from the US and Venezuela will replace Russian supplies, which US products India has agreed to offer duty-free access to, and whether the revised 18% tariff includes the existing most-favoured-nation (MFN) duty or is imposed over and above it. Arvind Shrivastava, secretary, department of revenue, ministry of finance, said, The IndiaUS trade deal will further expand and deepen trade between two of the largest economies of the world. It will create more opportunities for our labour-intensive and manufacturing sectors in the US market and give impetus to mutually beneficial collaboration in high and advanced technology sectors." This tariff reduction is expected to increase our jewellery export business by 25% to 50%, giving Indias gems and jewellery sector a powerful boost in the US market," said Rajesh Rokde, chairman, All India Gem & Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC). Also Read | Exporters hit by global trade actions can tap retail market, says Goyal Indian exporters have been actively diversifying into newer markets and products and, in many cases, absorbing margin pressures to remain competitive globally, particularly in labour-intensive sectors hit by higher tariffs. While exports to the rest of the world have remained resilient, shipments to the US have come under pressure," said Madhavi Arora, chief economist, Emkay Global Financial Services Ltd. The trade deal removes a major source of uncertainty for Indias exports, but it should not lead to complacency. India will need to continue negotiating pragmatically with other markets, build scale in select export verticals and improve export efficiency to sustain growth," Arora added. In a strategy note, Bernstein, a global equity research firm, said that while the removal of the 25% punitive tariffs could provide positive momentum in the near term, the impact may not last beyond a month. A broader India-US trade deal, it said, is likely to remain volatile and subject to frequent policy changes. The signing of the trade treaty could trigger a swift market rally, but this is expected to fade as policy uncertainty persists through the year. From a sectoral standpoint, Bernstein said that externally facing sectors are likely to see a short-lived rally. It added that it would position IT stocks to benefit from the easing of risks related to further policy actions as bilateral relations improve. Among export sectors, gems and jewellery, which accounted for 11.5% of Indias exports to the US in CY24, textiles and apparel, with an average tariff of 3.2%, and machinery and equipment, which made up 8.1% of exports, are expected to be the immediate beneficiaries of the trade deal, according to Elara Securities. Automobiles, which accounted for 3.3% of Indias exports to the US in CY24, are unlikely to see much relief, as tariffs under Section 232 remain in force, it said in a note. The timing of Trumps announcement is also notable as it follows Indias Union Budget for FY27, parts of which sought to address challenges arising from higher US tariffs, and comes days after New Delhi announced the conclusion of negotiations for what it described as the mother of all trade deals" with the European Union on 27 January, underscoring Indias push to lock in major trade pacts with key partners. Until President Donald Trumps return to the White House on 20 January 2025, US tariffs were largely a non-issue for Indian exporters. That low-tariff environment ended in April 2025, when Washington imposed sweeping reciprocal duties, sending the US trade-weighted average tariff into double digits for the first time in decades. Before the 2025 upheaval, official data show the average US customs duty on Indian imports stood at around 2.8%, broadly stable for decades, while US goods faced a weighted average tariff of 7.7% in India. In agriculture, Indian farm exports to the US faced a 5.3% duty, whereas US farm exports to India attracted 37.7%. Industrial exports to the US faced just 2.6%, compared with 5.9% for American goods entering India. Exports to the US, Indias largest overseas market, rose month-on-month in December, indicating that demand held up despite higher tariffs, even as exporters faced pricing and margin pressures. Exports in December rose to $7.01 billion from $6.98 billion in November, despite stiff tariffs. Shipments in the first nine months (AprilDecember) of the current fiscal year also rose about 10% to $65.88 billion. Bilateral goods trade between India and the US stood at $105.31 billion during AprilDecember, with India recording a trade surplus of $26.45 billion. This compares with bilateral trade of $94.97 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, when the trade surplus stood at $25.09 billion. Earlier, in November last year, the US had exempted a group of agricultural and food-related products from the reciprocal tariffs imposed earlier in the year. The 14 November decision removed commodities such as coffee, tea, tropical fruits, spices, cocoa, bananas, tomatoes, beef and certain fertilisers from the 2 April tariff list. These products were to face only normal most-favoured-nation (MFN) duties, instead of higher reciprocal tariffs of up to 50%. About 30% of Indias exports to the US, including electronics, energy products and medicines, have been kept outside the tariff net. In contrast, labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, gems and jewellery, and seafood continue to bear the brunt of the 50% tariff that came into effect on 27 August. Mumbai: The trade deal between India and the US announced last night removes the overhang of tariffs and is an extremely positive development for the domestic economy, said C S Setty, chairman of Indias largest lender State Bank of India (SBI). This, along with the free-trade agreements India is signing, provides greater clarity for trade and therefore benefits the economy and exporters, Setty said over phone. On 27 January, India and the European Union (EU) signed a free-trade agreement, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying the agreement would strengthen Indias manufacturing and services sectors and boost investor confidence. Setty said on Tuesday that following the imposition of 50% tariffs on exports from India to the US, exporters were able to diversify into other geographies. US President Donald Trump had imposed a total of 50% tariff on Indian goods shipped to the US, with textiles and auto components among sectors that were expected to be affected the most. Textile exporters to benefit The 18% tariff announcement will immensely benefit exporters of textiles, shrimps, among others. Overall, I see this as an extremely positive development for the Indian economy as the tariff overhang is removed, said Setty. US president Donald Trump said late on Monday India time that he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have agreed to a trade deal between India and the US, nearly a year after the two sides agreed to work towards a comprehensive bilateral trade agreement. Under the deal, Washington is to lower its reciprocal tariff on Indian goods from 25% to 18%, while India would reduce its tariffs and non-tariff barriers against the US to zero, Trump said. New Delhi has not commented yet on the duties it will levy on US imports. Also Read | SBI chair Setty sends stern message to top brass at subsidiaries The US is also removing the extra 25% duty on Indian goods applied in response to Indias purchases of crude from Russia, Bloomberg reported, citing officials familiar with the matter. Meanwhile, on concerns that high tariffs would impact the asset quality of banks, Setty said that did not happen. Asset quality of the sector was not impacted in the wake of tariffs. There were multiple relief measures provided by the RBI and the government. While we did not find many takers for these reliefs, we did see exporters diversify into other geographies in the last three months, he said. Measures to ease access In November, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced a clutch of measures to ease their access to working capital, enable higher borrowing limits, and defer loan repayments until the end of the calendar year. The RBI had notified a list of 20 eligible sectors across fisheries, chemicals, plastics, rubber, leather, textiles, footwear, precious metals and semi-precious stones, iron and steel, aluminium, electrical machines, surgical equipment, vehicles, furniture, and nuclear reactors. The central bank had allowed a deferment of payment on all term loans and the recovery of interest on working capital loans due between 1 September and 31 December. Experts had earlier said they see little impact on India on the back of US tariffs. RBI governor Sanjay Malhotra had said in December that he sees minimal impact. It's not a high impact, because ours is mostly a domestic demand-driven economy. A few sectors are certainly impacted by itand we have given out a relief package. The Government of India has also given out a relief package, Malhotra had said. US India Trade Deal LIVE: US President Donald Trump claimed on Monday that the US struck a deal with India at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "request" and "out of friendship and respect for" the PM. In a post on the TRUTH social media platform, Trump said, "It was an Honor to speak with Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi, of India, this morning. He is one of my greatest friends and, a Powerful and Respected Leader of his Country." "Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India...," Trump said. ALSO READ: India-US trade deal: Nifty 50 to Sensex what does it mean for the Indian stock market? Experts pick 21 stocks to buy Inside US-India trade deal Trump claimed that PM Modi agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela. Under the deal, he said the US will charge a reduced Reciprocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%. India will likewise move forward to reduce their tariffs and non-tariff barriers against the United States to ZERO, Trump said. PM Modi also "committed to 'BUY AMERICAN,' at a much higher level, in addition to over $500 BILLION DOLLARS of US Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal, and many other products," Trump announced. PM Modi, however, confirmed only the reduced tariff claim made by Trump in his social media post. Stay tuned to this LIVE blog for all the latest updates on India-US trade deal. Check live updates on India-US trade deal impact on Indian Stock Market today New Delhi: Until President Donald Trumps return to the White House on 20 January 2025, US tariffs were largely a non-issue for Indian exporters. That low-tariff environment ended in April 2025, when Washington imposed sweeping reciprocal duties, sending the US trade-weighted average tariff into double digits for the first time in decades. A new trade deal now marks a partial rollback, with the US on Monday saying that tariffs on Indian goods will be cut to 18%a shift after decades in which tariff barriers between the two countries were relatively modest. India-US trade deal will further expand and deepen trade between two of the largest economies of the world. It will create more opportunities for our labour-intensive and manufacturing sectors in the US market and give impetus to mutually-beneficial collaboration in high and advanced technology sectors," said Arvind Shrivastava, secretary, department of revenue, ministry of finance. Before the 2025 upheaval, official data show the average US customs duty on Indian imports stood at around 2.8%, broadly stable for decades, while US goods faced a weighted average tariff of 7.7% in India. In agriculture, Indian farm exports to the US faced a 5.3% duty, whereas US farm exports to India carried 37.7%. Industrial exports to the US faced just 2.6%, compared with 5.9% for American goods entering India. Indias own average customs duty was reduced from 11.65% to 10.66% in the Union Budget for fiscal year 2026, signalling tariff moderation to trading partners. Commerce ministry data show import duties on several high-value American products are negligible. Petroleum crude, the USs top export to India, attracts a token duty of just 1 per tonne, while coal, large aircraft and liquefied natural gas face a customs duty of 2.5%. The FY26 Budget also cut customs duty on motorcycles to 30% from 50%, a move expected to benefit US premium motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson. Against this backdrop, questions remain about how the new US rate will be applied. While trade experts have welcomed the deal, there remains a lack of clarity on whether the 18% rate subsumes existing most-favoured-nation (MFN) tariffs or is levied over and above them. If applied on top of MFN duties, the effective tariff burden on Indian exports could rise 2021%, analysts said. Despite the policy shocks, trade flows between the two countries have remained resilient. Indias merchandize exports to the US rose from $77.52 billion in FY24 to $86.51 billion in FY25, while imports increased from $42.20 billion to $45.63 billion, expanding total bilateral trade to $132.14 billion, as per official data. Exports held up even under high tariffs, rising to $7.01 billion in December 2025 from $6.98 billion in November. During April-December 2025, exports grew about 10% to $65.88 billion, with India recording a trade surplus of $26.45 billion. Trade deal impact Sectors hit hardest by previous trade hurdles are poised to benefit under the new deal. In agriculture, Indian farm exports to the US faced duties of about 5%, while American farm products entering India carried tariffs of 37.7%. In automobiles, US vehicles faced average tariffs above 24%, while Indian autos entering the US faced barely 1%. Diamonds, gold, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, electricals, telecom and machinery showed similar patterns, with Indian goods encountering minimal US duties while American products were hit with significantly higher levies. The only major exception was ores, minerals and petroleum, where Indian shipments faced 6.7% duty in the US. What experts say Rakesh Mohan Joshi, vice chancellor, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, said, Its a win-win for both sides. If you look at it from the perspective of the earlier 50% tariff, and the 25% tariff threat linked to trade with Iran, bringing it down to 18% is a significant boost for Indian exporters and the economy." Joshi said it will also incentivize front-loading of shipments, as exporters rush to take advantage of the lower 18% tariff. Saurabh Agarwal, Tax Partner at EY India, said, With US tariffs earlier reaching 50%, Indian exporters were at a disadvantage compared to peers like Vietnam, Japan and Bangladesh, where effective tariffs were much lesser. The proposed reduction to 18% restores competitiveness and signals a more pragmatic approach to bilateral trade." Some, however, urged caution. Bipin Sapra, Partner and Indirect Tax Policy Leader at EY India, noted that while a customs duty of 18% is a relief from the earlier 50% tariff for Indian goods imported in the US, it still is much higher than the duty before the discussion on tariffs got initiated last year. The cost and demand would continue to be impacted though we would be relatively better than countries who have tariffs higher than 18%." Ajay Srivastava, founder of the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), also cautioned against premature celebration. The Truth Social post leaves several critical questions unanswered, including which products are covered, what the timelines are, and whether India has indeed agreed to zero tariffs and zero non-tariff barriers, particularly in sensitive areas such as agriculture and regulated imports." He said that the $500 billion US purchase figure is more aspirational than a firm commitment. Until there is a joint statement, negotiated text and clarity on enforcement, this should be seen as a political signal rather than a final deal. Caution, not celebration, is needed." Sectoral outlook India's marine exports, which declined during April-November 2025, are expected to recover. Volumes fell to 201,501 metric tonnes from 236,061, and values slipped to $1.72 billion from $1.84 billion. We are confident that with the conclusion of the trade deal and the lowering of tariffs to 18%, seafood exports from India to the US will recover and return to earlier levels," said G. Pawan Kumar, president of the Seafood Exporters Association of India. Rice exporters said the reduction would restore parity with competitors such as Thailand and Pakistan, whose shipments currently face tariffs of around 19%. Ekram Husain, vice-president of the VAFA Fresh Vegetables and Fruits Exporters Association, said, A reduction in US import tariffs could significantly boost Indias exports of fruits and vegetables. Lower duties would improve price competitiveness for Indian produce such as grapes, mangoes, bananas, pomegranates, onions and processed vegetables, helping exporters compete more effectively with suppliers from Latin America and South-east Asia. Such a move would also support Indian farmers." Textile exporters said the cut would also improve Indias cost competitiveness against peers such as Bangladesh and Vietnam. The India-US trade deals sharp tariff reduction from 50% to 18% provides India with a 2% cost advantage over competitors such as Bangladesh and Vietnam, significantly strengthening our global competitiveness," said Rajeev Gupta, joint managing director, yarn and fabric manufacturer RSWM Ltd. Also Read | Indian internet gear, cable makers risk missing out on US data centre boom US orders make up nearly 28% of Indias textile exports, Gupta said, adding that combined with internal duty exemptions and a Budget that strengthens textile competitiveness and domestic value chains, the timing is ideal to accelerate exports, support jobs across MSME clusters and improve financial margins in the coming quarters. Amitt Nenwani, managing director of Shivtek Spechemi Industries Ltd, said, The immediate relief in landed costs allows us to aggressively capture market share from Chinese competitors while securing superior margins on long-term contracts. This isn't just a policy shift; it's our launchpad for 2026." Pankaj Chadha, chairman of the Engineering Export Promotion Council, added, The reduced tariff will benefit most major engineering categories where India already has a strong footprint. Engineering goods exporters, especially MSMEs, are expected to benefit significantly, as they were among the worst affected by the steep 50% duty." Despite Section 232 duties on steel, aluminium, auto, and auto components remaining in place, lower US tariffs are expected to further support growth in engineering exports, which reached $14.68 billion in AprilDecember 202526, up about 5% from the previous year. Products such as machinery, pumps, compressors, electrical equipment, auto components, steel and aluminium items, industrial valves, and boilers are likely to gain a clear advantage in the US market. The US tariff cut to 18% on Indian goods provides Indian medical devices a competitive edge over Chinese counterparts, which face higher tariffs typically at 25% plus additional hikes, including 50-60% on some items such as respirators. Previously, India endured tariffs of up to 50% while China faced around 30%, but the new arrangement places India below Chinas base rate, favouring India amid China-plus-one diversification," said Rajiv Nath, forum coordinator, Association of Indian Manufacturers of Medical Devices. Praveen Mittal, chairman of the Medical Device Export Promotion Council, said, As the US is expected to get zero-duty access to the Indian market, we may also see high-end medical devices entering India at lower prices." A late call India time on Monday between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump sealed the trade deal. Details are still sketchy but according to social media posts by the leaders, the US will reduce the reciprocal tariffs from 25% to 18%. The 25% punitive tariff that was levied for Indias Russian oil purchase is also to goeffectively reducing US tariff on Indias exports from 50% to 18%. Lower than tariffs on countries such as Vietnam, this puts Indian exports at an advantage. That's the good news. But several questions remain unanswered. Here are six of them: 1. Has India agreed to end Russian oil purchases? Trump in his social media post has claimed that India has agreed to end Russian oil purchases. But Modis statement does not mention it and focuses just on the tariff cut. Has India agreed to cut or reduce Russian oil purchases which accounted for over 30% of its needs (1.5 million barrels a day)? Did Trump agree to drop the punitive 25% tariff based on this assurance? 2. Will oil from the US and Venezuela replace Russian oil? That is what Trump alluded to but looks impractical. It is very unlikely that the US that accounts for 7% of Indian crude imports and Venezuela, which is just cranking up its oil production, will be able to meet Indias needs in the short to medium term. Also, Venezuelan oil is of heavy variety and it is not clear if all Indian refineries can process them. Even if the share of American and Venezuelan oil increases in India's import basket, it has to be over time. 3. Has India offered duty free access to US imports? Trump has claimed that India will levy 0% duty on imports from the US and also remove all non-tariff barriers. That is a tall ask. Has India agreed to such a demand? Which are the sectors such imports will be duty free? 4. Has India opened its agricultural sector? The US secretary for agriculture Brooke Rollins has said that the US will export more American farm products to Indias massive market, lifting prices and pumping cash into rural America. It is not clear what farm produce exactly will be covered. Given that more than half of India's population depends on farming as a primary source of employment, agriculture has been a red line for New Delhi in trade negotiations that prevented the deal from being agreed to so far. Further, much of US's agricultural produce is genetically modified and it will not be easy for India to import them. 5. Does the tariff reduction also include those levied under section 232? President Trump used section 232 (national security) to levy tariffs on steel, aluminum, copper, automobiles, and auto components. This was over and above the reciprocal tariffs. It is not clear if Monday's announcements include or exclude these tariffs. New Delhi: US President Donald Trump's decision to reduce reciprocal tariff on Indian goods, after months of trade tensions, is expected to significantly boost seafood and basmati rice exports. Industry officials said that that lower tariffs would make Indian seafood and basmati more competitive in the US market, stimulate fresh orders, and improve price realisations. They added that the policy move could also encourage higher production, greater investment in processing capacity, and stronger income support for aquaculture farmers. Exporters said the impact of the reduced tariff will be reflected mainly in the next fiscal year, as less than two months remain in the current one. Also Read | How China emerged stronger amid US tariffsand what India can learn from it "Whatever orders exporters had in hand have already been shipped, and order books have now dried up. In that sense, the tariff announcement has come at the right time. Given the decline in exports, it may not provide much relief this year as less than two months are left, but next fiscal year we expect exports to cross the $3-billion mark and regain nearly 36%market share," said K.N. Raghavan, Secretary General, Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI). According to social media post by Trump, the US will reduce the reciprocal tariffs from 25% to 18%. The 25% punitive tariff that was levied for Indias Russian oil purchase is also to goeffectively reducing US tariff on Indias exports from 50% to 18%. Seafood exporters were hit harder than basmati rice exporters this year due to the onslaught of high duties. Following the tariff cut, seafood exports to the US are expected to grow by 8-10% in the next fiscal over FY25's $2.78 billion, while basmati rice shipments may rise by 1015% from $337 million in FY25. Market share The US is the largest market for Indian seafood, and industry executives said that lower tariffs will enhance competitiveness, lift demand in the US market, and support higher export volumes across key food segments. Prior to the announcement of tariff reduction, seafood exports to the US were subjected to a 59.7% tariff, including countervailing duty and anti-dumping of 9.7%, which puts India at disadvantage compared to its competitor Ecuador, which is subjected to only 19% duty. Indias seafood exports to the US declined during April to November 2025 compared to the same period last year. Export volumes fell to 201,501 tonnes in AprilNovember 2025 from 236,061 tonnes in AprilNovember 2024. In value terms, exports slipped to $1.72 billion, from $1.83 billion a year earlier. Also Read | Potential carbon tax relief may open EU market for Indian steel India exported marine products worth $7.39 billion in 2024-25, of which 36%, went to the US, according to the Marine Products Export Development Authority, under the Union ministry of commerce and Industry. Frozen shrimp accounted for a major share of these shipments. Lower US tariffs would further boost Indian basmati exports. The tariff reduction would enhance landed-price competitiveness and lead to stronger demand for basmati rice. We expect basmati rice exports to grow by 78% in the current fiscal year and 1015% in the next fiscal year," said Satish Goel, president of the All India Rice Exporters Association. During AprilNovember 2025, India exported around 200,000 tonnes of basmati rice, up from 1.80 lakh tonnes in the same period last year. Further, India exported 274,000 tonnes of basmati rice to the US in FY25. Lower tariffs would benefit both basmati and non-basmati rice segments, helping India defend and expand its market share in the US while competing more effectively with other exporting countries, said Prem Garg, national president of the Indian Rice Exporters Federation (IREF). He added that the proposed tariff reduction would restore a level playing field with key rivals such as Thailand and Pakistan, whose rice exports to the US currently attract tariffs of around 19%. Experts believe that the lowering of US tariffs signals a fundamental transition from transactional exchange to a mature strategic partnership. "It embodies a genuine win-wincatalysing export growth, industrial expansion, and deeper integration into global value chains for India, while strengthening supply-chain resilience, broadening sourcing options, and providing access to one of the worlds fastest-growing markets and talent ecosystems for the US. Far beyond a commercial arrangement, the agreement reflects a shared strategic vision in which economic collaboration reinforces trust, innovation, and long-term prosperity," said Atul Chauhan, board member of the Indo- American Chamber of Commerce, and immediate past president and chancellor, Amity University. Besides seafood and basmati, the proposed reduction would also boost fruits and vegetable exports. Also Read | Govt to meet basmati exporters amid US tariff threat on Iran issue Ekram Husain, vice-president of the VAFA Fresh Vegetables and Fruits Exporters Association (Maharashtra) said that the US has emerged as one of the fastest-growing markets for Indian mangoes and pomegranates. "A reduction in US import tariffs could significantly boost Indias exports of fruits and vegetables. Lower duties would improve price competitiveness for Indian produce such as grapes, mangoes, bananas, pomegranates, onions and processed vegetables, helping exporters better compete with suppliers from Latin America and Southeast Asia." A tariff cut would not only expand export volumes but also support Indian farmers through better price realisation, reduce post-harvest losses, and encourage investment in cold chains, quality certification and value-added agri exports, experts said. Bengaluru | Mumbai: Relief will start trickling into Indias export hubs, where months of weak orders and job losses had followed the steep tariff hike by the US, the country's largest export market. Washington's move to cut tariffs on Indian goods is set to ease the pressure on labour-intensive exporters, such as textiles and gems and jewellery. This will potentially reverse job losses in manufacturing hubs such as Tiruppur and Surat after a year of muted orders forced factories to shed thousands of workers. After prolonged negotiations between the two sides, US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday announced a trade deal, under which Washington will cut tariffs on Indian goods to 18% from roughly 50%. About 7-10 million people are working in the textile industry. When the 50% tariffs were announced last year, US buyers continued sourcing from India but at steep discounts," said Prabhu Damodaran, convenor at the Indian Texpreneurs Federation (ITF), Coimbatore. In clusters such as Tiruppur, most units saw severe demand disruption, triggering turbulence and uncertainty at both company and workforce levels. With the EU and US trade deals now in place, every additional $1 billion in exports can generate nearly 1.5 lakh direct jobs, he said. The Tiruppur cluster in Tamil Nadu, which employs around 800,000 workers and exported goods worth nearly 40,000 crore ($4.79 billion) in FY25, could now see order volumes surge as buyers return, according to Mitali Nikore, economist and founder of Nikore Associates. Exporters are hopeful too and are set to work around the increased workflow. Tiruppur is one of the largest exporters of textiles to the US, and about 30% of the exports happen to the US alone. With this ongoing trade and the increased requirement to supply more, production will increase, and we will need more manpower for this," said Raja Shanmugam, a Tiruppur-based exporter of garments and textiles to the US and other major markets. Last years amped up tariffs had hurt margins and jobs among small and medium exporters the most, and they now stand to gain the most from the eased tariffs. We need to understand the impact this tariff has created in Indias textile and garmenting industry over the last eight-nine months," P Senthilkumar, senior partner at consulting firm Vector Consulting Group, told Mint. Big corporates who have the muscle power to sail through this crisis have given discounts of 10-20% to their US customers just to retain orders and keep the shopfloor running. If you're not a vertical setup, if you're buying fabric from an outside mill and are just a standalone player like the people who are in Tiruppur, then you do not have that kind of margin luxury. This is a very cutthroat, tight-margin industry." These smaller units have shut shop in the past few months, letting go of thousands of workers. Relief, for now Even as the industry cheers the drop in tariffs from 50% to 18%, specifics of the agreement remain unclear. Under the new structure, India should regain its competitive edge over rival textile and apparel exporters, including Bangladesh and Vietnam. The reconciliation comes after months of strained ties that sharply hit exports from India to the US across key job-creating sectors, including textiles, seafood and jewellery. The tariff shock also pushed New Delhi to accelerate trade diversification. Last week, India and the EU announced a pact to eliminate tariffs on 8090% of goods, marking Indias ninth free trade agreement in four years. Although last years trade disruptions hurt volumes, Shanmugam said the employment impact was limited due to Tiruppurs strong labour absorption capacity. For instance, if someone lost a job in my factory, the neighbouring company would have offered him a job immediately because there are many factories in Tirupur where the US is not their biggest market, Europe and other countries are," he said. Hiring in export-oriented manufacturing is now expected to recover gradually. The textiles sector could see a noticeable increase in recruitment over the next 1218 months, particularly in clusters across Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Maharashtra, said Vijay Vasanth, senior vice president at GI Group Holding, a HR services firm. As order books stabilize before expanding further, initial demand is likely to be concentrated on shop-floor positions, quality control, merchandising and supply-chain activities," Vasanth said. Besides, he said, employers in gems and jewellery hubs will be looking to upskill workers while jobs in key processes in this industryincluding advanced cutting and polishing, gem grading, and quality assurancecontinue to lag. In key clusters such as Surat, Mumbai, and Jaipur, there is a growing investment in readiness and training of the workforce to be ready for the demand in the long term, although flexible hiring will remain important for dealing with unpredictability," he said, adding that employers will likely remain cautious in the near term, even as medium-term hiring prospects turn more optimistic. Devina Sengupta contributed to the story. Also Read | India-US trade deal sparks hope for gems and jewellery industry India and the US have agreed to a trade deal under which Washington will bring down the reciprocal tariff on Indian goods to 18 per cent from a total of 50 per cent. Welcoming the deal, Kangana Ranaut heaped praises on PM Narendra Modi. Kangana Ranaut reacts to India-US trade deal On the India-US Trade Agreement, the BJP MP told news agency ANI, The entire country is very excited about the India-US Deal. The more the conduct of PM is praised, the less it is. He did not put anyone down or turn anyone down. But he has cracked such a major deal for India. The deal arrives within a week of India signing a trade deal with the European Union. Despite such pressure from the entire world, a historic deal was signed with EU. Besides this, US also came onboard, added Kangana Ranaut. While NDA MPs congratulated Modi, opposition members criticised the deal. What did Rahul Gandhi say Among them, Rahul Gandhi accused PM Modi of "being compromised" and "selling the country" through the India-US trade deal. Rahul Gandhi told the media, as per ANI, "Modi ji is rattled. The (US-India) trade deal, which was stalled for the past few months, was signed by Narendra Modi last night. There is extreme pressure on him. Narendra Modi ji's image can get damaged. The main thing is that our PM is compromised. The public needs to think about this. For the first time, the LoP was not allowed to speak on the President's speech." "Narendra Modi ji has sold your hard work in this trade deal because he is compromised. He has sold the country. Narendra Modi ji is scared because those who shaped his image are now breaking this image," he added. When asked why he believes PM Modi is "compromised," Gandhi mentioned the alleged case against the Chairman of the Adani Group, Gautam Adani, in the US and the Epstein files as the reason. "There is a case on Adani ji in the US, it is actually a case on Modi ji. The Epstein Files contain even more that the US has not yet released. There is pressure due to that as well. These are the two pressure points. The country should understand this," he said. What did Congress demand ANI reported, Congress sought a complete detail of the India-US trade deal, raising questions over several key aspects, including claims of the agriculture sector being opened up, calling for the reduction of tariffs to "zero", and a pause on the purchase of Russian oil, as claimed by US President Donald Trump. Speculation around the casting of Kalki 2898 AD 2 has intensified after reports suggested that Kalki 2898 AD actor Deepika Padukone will not be returning for the sequel. While the films producers and director have not issued an official statement, industry chatter now points to Sai Pallavi as a possible replacement a move that has sparked strong reactions online. According to a report by Hindustan Times, a representative associated with the film confirmed that the makers are considering Sai Pallavi for the role of SUM-80, also known as Sumati. However, they stressed that discussions are still underway and nothing has been locked in yet. The team feels Sai Pallavi could be a good fit for the role, but there is no final confirmation at this stage, the source was quoted as saying, adding that rumours of the actor already being signed or shooting resuming soon are premature. Deepika Padukones reported exit from the project came months after she stepped away from Spirit. Reports claimed she had already filmed portions of Kalki 2898 AD 2 before negotiations reportedly fell through. Neither the actor nor the makers have publicly addressed the reasons behind her departure. Why does this casting change matter? In the first instalment, SUM-80 is not just another character but the emotional and narrative core of the story. A pregnant test subject of Project K, she is believed to be the prophesied mother of Kalki, a key figure in the films mythological sci-fi universe. The role carries significant weight in shaping the sequels direction. Also Read | Air India ropes in Boeing in review of fuel control switches on Dreamliners The film, directed by Nag Ashwin, stars Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan and Kamal Haasan. The first part ended on a dramatic note, with SUM-80 escaping the clutches of Supreme Yaskin and coming under the protection of Ashwatthama, while Bhairavas true identity is revealed. Internet reacts On social media, fans appear divided. Some users welcomed the possibility of Sai Pallavi joining the franchise, praising her acting range and screen presence. Others questioned how the shift might affect continuity, given Deepikas strong association with the role. A user wrote, What an upgrade! Sai pallavi definitely does justice she is a natural star, another user wrote on X. Very good decisionshe is destined to play such kind of roles, the third user wrote. DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) Hani Al Sawah recently walked the streets of Damascus, Syria's capital, with wide-eyed excitement. It had been 13 years since the rap artist last was in Syria. Later that night, he would take the stage to perform his unapologetically political songs in his home country for the first time without the Assad dynasty in power. Al Sawah, who performs under the stage name Al Darwish, couldnt contain his excitement. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I could ever return to Syria, he told The Associated Press after a sold-out show on Jan. 16, followed by another one the next day. He could barely hear himself as the audience sang along to every lyric. I have this weird feeling that I never left, or that I left a part of me here that I was able to find again, Al Sawah said. During the uprising in 2011, before he fled Syria to neighboring Lebanon in 2012 and later Germany, Al Sawahs fiery lyrics about mass protests defying dictatorship in Syria shed light on a rap scene not many imagined existed. His songs also paid tribute to other anti-government protests in the region. He also witnessed monthslong protests in Lebanon not long before leaving for Europe. Al Sawah amassed a following online after leaving home, with many Syrians both at home and abroad relating to his music during the countrys deadly civil war. Since his upbringing in the city of Homs, Al Sawah has always been a rebel at heart. In 2001, he discovered rap music and soon realized it was a way for him to express himself. He was later part of an underground scene where he and others exchanged songs and ideas. We had a nice scene at the time in Homs, of course everything was underground and nobody knew anything about us and that we were rapping, he said. The authorities often pulled him and his friends aside asking why they dressed the way they did, saying it resembled devil worshippers. Others told him that the hard-hitting music genre represented Western culture and imperialism. There was the saying: Eat what you want but dress as the people want, he said. Al Sawah was elated and inspired by the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad and his government, especially when mass demonstrations swept across the city of Homs. He secretly attended those protests, defying his fathers orders not to out of fear for his life. Though its been over a year since a lightning insurgency in December 2024 took down the Assad dynastys half-century rule, it wasnt until just last month that Al Sawah visited. While hopeful the new rulers in Damascus will build a just and prosperous country, he is concerned about incidents of violence that quickly turned sectarian. Al Sawah decided he had to return home, to see his father and to see what life was like in this new chapter of the countrys history. What happened here were fast and sudden changes, and were only talking about Damascus, the rapper said after taking a stroll on a boulevard in Syrias capital. Sure it changed, but not like my city of Homs, Aleppo, or any of the cities where two-thirds or three-quarters of it were destroyed. When speaking to friends and others, Al Sawah was surprised to see a certain fear of criticizing the new authorities, something he said was inherited from decades of living under Assad and the familys web of security agencies. If we want to say that the regime really did fall, then so should this fear, he said. It doesnt take away from his joy that Assad is gone, but online he spoke out against sectarian violence and how some people who opposed it under other circumstances tried to justify it. He was talking about a government counteroffensive against armed Assad loyalists of the Alawite religious minority along the coast that later turned into widespread revenge attacks targeting the community. Last summer government forces launched an intervention in the Druze-majority province of Sweida, ostensibly to stop clashes between Druze militias and armed Bedouin tribes, but clearly siding with the latter. In both cases, hundreds of civilians were killed. If you can justify what happened on the coast which of course you cant by saying they were armed (Assad) loyalists and so on, then you cannot justify what happened in Sweida, he said, calling it a fatal error in the Islamist-led governments efforts to try to win the support of minorities and bring the country back together. During his performance, Al Sawah paid tribute to the coastal province and Sweida in one of his songs, admittedly nervous about how the crowd would react. To his surprise, they cheered and applauded, and that gave him hope. This is the reaction I was looking for," he said. "Its what encourages me to come back. ___ When the first trailer for The Drama dropped online in early February 2026, it immediately grabbed attention around the world. For weeks, fans had been buzzing about the pairing of Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, two of the most acclaimed actors of their generation. The Drama trailer OUT Now, with the official trailer released by A24, audiences finally had a glimpse of what looked to be a wedding movie with an unsettling twist at its heart. The film is directed and written by Kristoffer Borgli, a Norwegian filmmaker known for blending comedy with psychological tension. Borglis previous work on Dream Scenario (2023), a surreal dark comedy starring Nicolas Cage, showed his ability to mix odd humour with emotional depth and in The Drama, he brings that skill to a story about love, trust and hidden truths. At the centre of the movie is the couple Emma Harwood (played by Zendaya) and Charlie Thompson (Robert Pattinson). In the weeks leading up to their wedding, their relationship appears strong and happy. Emma is a thoughtful woman from Louisiana, working in a local bookstore called Mission Books. She holds a degree in English from Boston University and lives a quiet, orderly life. Charlie, on the other hand, is a British museum director with a PhD in art history from Tufts University, running the prestigious Cambridge Art Museum. Also Read | Zendaya, Robert Pattinsons new The Drama posters hint at wedding day crisis What starts as a warm romance soon threatens to collapse. In the trailer, the couple and two friends played by Alana Haim and Mamoudou Athie play a simple game at a dinner party: each person must share the worst thing theyve ever done. Laughter fills the room at first, but when it is Emmas turn, her confession stops everyone in their tracks. Though the trailer does not reveal what she says, the stunned reactions suggest something significant and potentially devastating. From that moment, their wedding plans begin to unravel. Charlie is forced to confront a version of Emma he never suspected, and what had been a joyful celebration of love becomes a tense emotional battle. In one striking moment from the trailer, Emma urges Charlie, You have to stop thinking about it, only for him to reply worriedly, How do you say, Stop thinking? These lines hint at the psychological complexity Borgli intends to explore how emotional burden and memory shape relationships. A24s marketing has been imaginative. In late 2025, the studio ran a fictional engagement announcement in The Boston Globe sharing backstories for Emma and Charlie, grounding the characters in plausible real-world lives and adding a clever layer to the films promotion. More about the cast and team behind The Drama The supporting cast also includes Hailey Gates as a wedding photographer and Zoe Winters in a notable role, adding depth and variety to the ensemble. Behind the scenes, producers Ari Aster, Lars Knudsen, and Tyler Campellone bring serious cinematic experience, having previously helped craft films that mix genre with emotional intensity. Production took place across several American cities. Filming locations included Bostons Newbury Street, the Addison Gallery of American Art in Andover, Massachusetts, as well as scenes shot in New York City and Los Angeles. These varied settings give the film a rich visual backdrop, shifting between quiet, intimate spaces and the physical bustle of urban life. For both leads, The Drama is just the beginning of a busy year. Zendaya is set to appear in Spider-Man: Brand New Day and return to television in Euphoria Season 3, while Pattinson will be featured in new projects including The Odyssey and Dune: Part Three. Both projects will also be featuring Zendaya. Hettich India has been recognised among the Top 50 Indias Best Workplaces in Manufacturing (Large Category), reflecting the strength and maturity of its human resource policies and people centric practices. The recognition highlights the organisations structured approach to employee engagement, capability building, recognition, and workplace well-being, which collectively contribute to a high-trust and high-performance culture. This recognition is based on a comprehensive assessment of employee feedback, HR systems, leadership effectiveness, and organisational practices, highlighting the strength of Hettich Indias ">Hettich Indias transparent policies, inclusive culture, and sustained focus on employee development. The recognition reflects the organisations employee-first approach, supported by structured initiatives spanning recognition, learning and development, leadership readiness, innovation, work-life integration, and well-being. Programs such as Star of the Month, We Value Recognition, Tempus and Hettich First, and Hettich Stories, along with capability-building platforms like Akademie, Akademie Tech, Ascend, Ignite, Canvas and the Talent Rotation Program, are complemented by innovation and engagement initiatives including Kickbox, and Hettich Air, as well as family-centric and wellness programs such as My Daughter My Pride and Hettich Care, reinforcing a holistic and people-centric workplace culture. Commenting on the achievement, Mr. Andre Eckholt, Managing Director Hettich India, SAARC, Middle East & Africa, said: As we celebrate 25 years of Hettich in India, being recognised among the Top 50 Indias Best Workplaces in Manufacturing 2026 (Large Category) adds a second milestone to this moment. This recognition is a strong validation of the core values that have defined Hettich over the years. It reinforces our belief that a resilient ecosystem is built on trust, respect, and the continuous development of our people. Our employees are at the heart of everything we do, and this recognition further strengthens our commitment to fostering a culture that enables innovation, accountability, and long-term excellence. Mr. Amit Prasad, Chief Human Resource Officer Hettich India, "> Hettich India, SAARC, Middle East & Africa, said: At Hettich, our HR philosophy is rooted in creating an environment where employees feel valued, empowered, and inspired to grow. Our people policies focus on continuous learning, meaningful recognition, inclusive leadership, and holistic well-being. Through structured initiatives across capability building, innovation, and employee engagement, we strive to create a workplace that not only supports performance but also fosters trust and long-term career growth. Being recognised among the Top 50 Indias Best Workplaces in Manufacturing (Large Category) reaffirms Hettichs HR practices that are aligned with what truly matters to its employees and strengthens its resolve to keep raising the bar. About Hettich: Hettich is a 138-year-old family-owned German lifestyle brand, being one of the world's largest manufacturers of Furniture Fittings with a global turnover exceeding 1.5 billion euros. In India, Hettich started operations at the dawn of the new millennium and within a short span of time gained an undisputed leadership position in the Indian furniture fittings industry. This year, the company celebrates 25 years of its operation in India, with the theme of Built to Lead, a powerful articulation of the journey and leadership mindset shaping its future. Hettichs product portfolio comprises a repertoire of Furniture Fittings, Architectural Hardware, Blaupunkt Built-in Appliances and Furniture Lights, providing magical interior solutions for all residential and commercial spaces. It is the recipient of ET Edge Best Brands (2022 2025), Most Trusted Brands of India (2023 2026) and Most Preferred Brand 2025 by Marksmen Daily recognitions for its unwavering customer trust and strong brand equity. Note to readers: This article is part of Mints paid consumer connect Initiative. Mint assumes no editorial involvement or responsibility for errors, omissions, or content accuracy. UBS has said it wants to bring greater transparency to Switzerlands dark chapter helping the Nazis in World War II. In Brooklyn federal court, UBS has a different message for the Jewish organization that asked for the Credit Suisse probe in 2020, the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Be quiet, and dont ask us for any more money. The issue will get an airing in Congress Tuesday when an independent investigator delving into archives at UBSs Credit Suisse unit testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Sen. Chuck Grassley, the committee chairman, said that investigator Neil Barofsky has found close to 900 accounts that may be tied to Nazi officials and party members. Barofsky also found indications the bank helped fleeing officials resettle in Argentina, Grassley told journalists. For decades after World War II, Swiss banks turned away the families of Holocaust victims, saying they had no records of their loved ones accounts and assets. Neutral Switzerland denied suggestions it helped to finance the Nazis and prolonged their terror. A settlement struck in the late 1990s with UBS and Credit Suisseresulting in nearly $1.3 billion in paymentscame after years of diplomatic wrangling, and denials by the banks that they were harboring any significant amounts of money for Jewish victims or had done any meaningful business with Nazis. UBS has voluntarily and extensively cooperated with the Barofsky probe, according to prepared remarks to the Senate committee from UBS Americas President Rob Karofsky. The bank, however, doesnt want to reopen the late 1990s settlement, or to share information around Credit Suisses legal decision-making at that time. That information, consisting of communications and documentation between Credit Suisse and its lawyers has not been provided because the Simon Wiesenthal Center and others have threatened litigation over this matter," Karofsky said. In earlier probes that formed the basis of the late 1990s settlement, Credit Suisse said it had identified 14 likely Nazi clients. UBS at the time said it found one account for a former Reichsbank president and another opened by an SS officers widow decades after the war. Credit Suisse collapsed in March 2023 after a series of scandals, and in poor financial health. UBS rescued it with the backing of the Swiss government. The two banks were Switzerlands largest, and both absorbed smaller banks in acquisitions following WWII. The late-1990s settlement compensated bank account holders, slave laborers and others who had assets looted or were refused refuge in Switzerland. The idea was it would draw a line under the Swiss banks activities forever, no matter whether any additional information was found. UBS got kudos for letting a team overseen by Barofsky roam deep into the archives at its Credit Suisse unit, where they discovered accounts tied to the Nazi war machine that werent disclosed before the late 1990s legal settlement with Jewish groups. But in a court filing last week, UBS requested a judges order to ban the Simon Wiesenthal Center and other Jewish groups that participated in the settlement from questioning the settlements validity. It asked the judge to make explicit that the settlement disallows any further legal action or additional payments, and to prohibit any of the groups who endorsed it to cause or promote any public controversy" over the settlement and the Swiss banks conduct. The Simon Wiesenthal Center didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. In a letter last week to the judge, the groups lawyers said the sweeping language of UBSs proposed order would obstruct its First Amendment rights and its longstanding mission of investigating and bringing to light the full scope of the antisemitic campaign engaged in by the Nazis before, during, and after World War 2." Karofsky in his prepared remarks to the Senate said any suggestion that UBS is suing the Simon Wiesenthal Center or attempting to silence it is false. A court hearing on the matter is scheduled for March 12. UBS and the center already underwent two mediation sessions, in December and January. An earlier, interim report shared with the Senate by Barofsky found documents that indicated Credit Suisse had discovered and documented some key Nazi-linked accounts during probes in the 1990s. He found that the bank didnt disclose those accounts then, and in at least one case had denied having any relevant records. Barofsky is a former U.S. prosecutor, and is now a partner at law firm Jenner & Block. He was hired by Credit Suisse in 2021 after the Simon Wiesenthal Center found information on possible Nazi clients that hadnt previously been disclosed. Credit Suisse fired Barofsky in 2022 for overreaching on his mandate, and he was rehired by UBS after it took over in 2023. UBS has declined to open up its own war-era archives, separate from those of Credit Suisse. UBS previously acknowledged destroying records in the 1990s that might have been relevant. At the time of the record destruction, which was revealed by a night watchman who saw it happening and saved some documents, UBS was under scrutiny for its wartime activities. Karofsky in his prepared remarks said the current probes scope has increased significantly, and beyond what was envisioned. He said the priority now is to complete the review, and that UBS will continue to follow the facts. Write to Margot Patrick at margot.patrick@wsj.com President Trump said he is seeking $1 billion in damages from Harvard University, the latest escalation in his administrations fight with the institution over alleged antisemitism. Trump posted on social media after the New York Times reported that his administration had dropped its demand for a $200 million payment to the government to settle the dispute. Strongly Antisemitic Harvard University has been feeding a lot of nonsense to The Failing New York Times," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform overnight. This case will continue until justice is served," he added. We are now seeking One Billion Dollars in damages, and want nothing further to do, into the future, with Harvard University." Trump didnt specify how or when he might seek the $1 billion. Harvard didnt immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ivy League school has been locked in a battle with the Trump administration for months over allegations of antisemitism and concerns about diversity practices. The government has pulled billions of dollars in federal research funds, threatened the schools tax-exempt status and attacked its ability to enroll international students. The Times reported Monday that Harvard had rejected the idea of the $200 million payment because it was wary of backlash from liberal students and faculty. Hours later, Trump criticized the newspaper and Harvard in two Truth Social posts. Before the presidents latest remarks, the administration had been in discussions with Harvard over a deal to unfreeze federal funding. Trump has targeted a slate of prominent American universities in a crackdown that has disrupted university operations, raised questions over institutional autonomy and highlighted academias relationship with the federal government. In November, Cornell University agreed to pay $60 million, following similar deals by Brown and Columbia universities to settle their disputes with the administration. The feud dates back Trumps criticism of Harvards handling of pro-Palestinian protests on campus and debates over diversity, equity and inclusion programs at the college. That assault was part of a broader conservative campaign to reverse what they deem the progressive takeover of American education. Shortly after taking office in early 2025, Trump vowed to crack down on what he called woke ideology" at universities. What followed was a series of legal threats, funding freezes and cuts to grants across the higher-education sector. In April last year, Trump revoked roughly $2 billion in research grants to Harvard and put a freeze on its federal funding. The university sued, arguing that no government should dictate what private universities teach, whom they admit or hire, or which areas of study they pursue. A Boston federal judge later overturned the cuts, ruling that the government had violated Harvards free-speech rights. Harvard has released its own reports on campus antisemitism and anti-Muslim bias that painted a critical picture of the schools political and academic climate. The school has said it has taken steps to address antisemitism and discrimination on campus. Write to Gareth Vipers at gareth.vipers@wsj.com The credit-deposit (CD) ratio of scheduled commercial banks reached 81.75%the highest level recorded since 2000-01on 31 December 2025. Usually, a high CD ratio is a positive indicator as it means that banks are deploying funds efficiently in loans. CD ratios rise when credit is booming, and economic activity is picking up. Yet, in the past, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has warned banks about excessively high CD ratios, though it does not recommend an ideal level. Are CD ratios too high, and why does it matter in the current context? To unpack the concept of CD ratio and its significance, it is useful to look at trends in granular data and in the balance sheet components that make up the ratio. Disaggregating data by bank group shows that over the last two decades, CD ratios of private sector banks have been higher than those of public sector banks (PSBs). The gap has widened in recent years. This divergence in CD ratios is largely due to differing credit and deposit profiles of private and public sector banks. Private banks tend to be more aggressive in building loan books as well as in mobilizing fresh deposits. During the past three financial years (2022-23 to 2024-25), deposits of PSBs grew at 8-9.5%, while credit grew at 12-14.5%. Both growth rates were within a tight range despite challenging domestic and external conditions. In contrast, the deposit growth of private banks ranged from 12-20%, while the credit growth swung between 9.5% and 28%. As a result, the gap between credit and deposit growth was wider and more volatile for private banks, leading to higher CD ratios. PSBs have the added advantage of a sticky deposit profile: in March 2025, nearly 67% of their deposits were owned by households, 33% were savings accounts, and 31% were in rural and semi-urban regions. These features create a relatively stable deposit base. At the individual bank level, legacy factors are partly responsible for the outliers among private banks, notably due to HDFC Bank and IDFC First Bank. When HDFC Bank and HDFC merged in 2023-24, HDFC Bank inherited a huge loan book without matching deposits, as HDFC was funded mainly through borrowings. This pushed up the CD ratio of the merged entity to 110% post-merger. The bank has made conscious efforts to bring the CD ratio down to more normal levels. IDFC Firstcreated by the merger of IDFC Bank and Capital Firsthad a CD ratio of 137% at the time of merger, which was brought down to 94.7% in September 2025. But these are exceptional cases. In general, private banks are overstretched simply because loan growth has consistently outstripped deposit growth. For example, ICICI Bank, whose credit-deposit ratio rose from 85.4% in December 2024 to 87.4% in December 2025. Also Read | PNB looks to cheaper deposits to defend margins after rate cuts bite While it is true that credit deposit ratios in the 80s and 90s are more likely among private banks, it is also a fact that CD ratios have risen across both private and public sector banks in the post-pandemic years. The increase is driven by a combination of lower deposit accretion and rising credit demand. A recent research report from the State Bank of India (SBI) found that during 2020-25, the number of investors participating in financial markets grew at a much faster rate than incremental deposits in key Indian states, suggesting that greater financialization of savings is contributing to a shift from deposits to financial markets. On the credit side, monetary easing and GST cuts have boosted bank lending. Sectoral credit data shows a strong demand for consumer loans in 2025: personal loans grew at an average rate of 12%, driven by a robust pick-up in vehicle and housing loans. However, there is a threshold beyond which a healthy, credit-driven increase in CD ratio can put liquidity and stability at risk. The math for estimating this cut-off is simple. For every 100 in deposits, banks have to keep aside 3 as the cash reserve ratio (CRR) and invest 18 in government securities to meet the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR). In addition, most banks keep another 2-4 in liquid assets as a safety buffer. In effect, banks are left with 75-77% of deposits as lendable resources after meeting statutory requirements. A bank operating with a higher CD ratio, say 80% or more, faces three kinds of risks. The first is tighter liquidity: it would have insufficient liquid funds if a significant percentage of depositors wanted their money back. Second, it would have to rely more on higher-cost borrowings to fund its rising loan assets, thereby pushing up the overall cost of funds. Finally, the quality of loans is likely to take a hit when credit growth is aggressive. Also Read | Rate cuts are done. Liquidity is now the real challenge for RBI None of those concerns is playing out yet. Non-performing assets (NPAs) are at multi-decade lows. Liquidity coverage ratio is well above the benchmark 100% for all bank groups. The cost of borrowing for banks fell in 2024-25: the result of improving systemic liquidity and policy rate cuts. Thus, when seen with trends in liquidity, asset quality and funding costs, the rising CD ratio does not appear to be a threat to the health of the banking system. What it does show, however, is that non-deposit sources such as borrowings are funding a larger share of bank balance sheets in recent years. Not surprisingly, bankers have called for the inclusion of borrowings and reserves in the denominator of the CD ratio. These modified ratios suggest that far from being overstretched, banks can actually lend much more without liquidity risk. Indeed, it may be time to update the ratio, rather than raise an alarm at each cyclical spike. The author is an independent writer in economics and finance. Amazon is facing challenges to grow its data center footprint in Europe due to extensive holdups in securing power grid links, as reported by Reuters. As the businesses have intensified demands to modernize aging electrical systems, power-hungry sectors have lobbied the European Union for increased grid funding. Thay cautioned that rapid access to stable, dependable energy networks remains a vital benchmark for placing new industrial projects within Europe. Pamela MacDougall, head of energy markets and regulation for EMEA at Amazon Web Services (AWS), told Reuters that the timeframe for obtaining a grid connection has emerged as a primary determining factor for the corporation's data center expansion. Linking to the European transmission system can take as long as seven years contrasting with the roughly two years required to construct a data center facility, she commented. "And we're finding more and more across Europe that certainty of the delivery date has continued to be delayed," MacDougall said. While in the United States, grid connection waitlists average between one and three years according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), though they occasionally extend to seven years as well. MacDougall said "in many countries" in Europe, Amazon had wanted to build infrastructure but missing grid connections or power network congestion had made the project unfeasible. "There's a misalignment. We want to expand and grow within two years," MacDougall said, adding that the delays were "challenging our growth aspirations." Last year, the European Commission drafted legislative updates to limit authorization deadlines for grid permits to a maximum of two years and waive environmental reviews for grid initiatives to accelerate the overhaul of Europe's energy infrastructure. Grid Access Hampered by Rise in Applications Italy and Spain are among the nations where grid access is hampered by a surge of speculative applications projects that requested connections as a safeguard but are unlikely to materialize, as per the electricity group Eurelectric. Strict first-come, first-served protocols prevent viable projects from bypassing these stalled applications in the queue. Another obstacle involves lengthy permit windows for upgrading European networks. Shortening these periods is a core focus of the European Commissions regulatory proposals. MacDougall serves as vice-chair of GIGA, a trade group formed last month to encourage officials to renovate Europe's power infrastructure. Other participants include tech giants Meta Platforms and Google, alongside electric vehicle charging firm Fastned. Mumbai/Bengaluru: The India-US trade deal, announced Monday, has raised hopes in the Indian gems and jewellery industry, with tariffs on shipments to the US expected to fall sharply from 50% to 18%. Jewellery stocks rallied on the news, tracking gains in the broader market. Shares of Kalyan Jewellers jumped over 6% in morning trade, while Titan rose about 3.6%. US President Donald Trump shared initial details of the agreement on his social media platform Truth Social, saying Indian imports into the US would face an 18% levy, down from the steep 50% imposed in 2025 following Indias purchases of Russian oil. We are not sure, but we hope that this trade deal also brings in zero duty on diamonds," Sabyasachi Ray, executive director of the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), an industry body, told Mint. That will be a huge bonanza to the industry." The GJEPC has been pushing for a return to zero tariffs on diamonds polished in Surat and exported to Europe as an input for jewellery made for American consumers. Data from the commerce and industry ministry shows Indias diamond exports to the US fell more than 58% year on year between April and November 2025 to $1.36 billion, while overall jewellery exports fell by nearly 44% to $3.55 billion in the same time period. Gems and jewellery are Indias fourth-largest export category to the US. One million people are engaged directly in the diamond sector, so all were affected," GJEPCs Ray said. And they were really badly affected. Their wages have gone down," he said, adding that the meteoric rise of lab-grown diamonds has helped offset some of the widespread job losses, although it has hit wages in the sector. Also Read | Trump has unleashed a two-front war on gems and jewellery sector However, details of the deal are yet to come through. We estimate the effective tariff rate on India might be just around 12-13% as per our estimates, down from almost 30-35% previously," Bank of Americas brokerage arm wrote in a note on Tuesday. This would provide significant relief to Indias export sector, especially labor intensive areas such as gems & jewelry, textiles, agricultural products and engineering goods." There is also hope that the reduced US tariffs will help repair the supply chain of diamonds from Surat to Belgium to the consumer markets in the US. One of the biggest beneficiaries of the India-EU trade deal which got signed on 27 January is Belgium, which is a big hub for the diamond industry," Anil Talreja, partner at Deloitte India, told Mint. So that takes care of the supplier side. Now, the US is on the demand side. We are waiting for the administrative order to see exactly which sectors and articles will get impacted [by the US trade deal], but the positive sentiment, in my view, will take care of the demand side to a great extent." The tariff cut will improve Indias competitiveness in gems and jewellery without drastically changing end-demand fundamentals, according to Madhur Singhal, managing partner (consumer and internet) at consultancy Praxis Global Alliance. This is likely to support mid-single-digit incremental growth in US-bound exports, driven more by order recovery and better conversion rather than fresh demand creation," Singhal said. The US accounts for roughly 30-35% of Indias total gems and jewellery exports, making it the single largest market for the sector. The tariff cut is therefore likely to support incremental market-share gains, particularly in studded gold and natural diamond jewellery, where India already has strong scale and integration advantages, Singhal told Mint. However, exporters are unlikely to retain the full tariff benefit. The more durable impact is margin stability rather than margin expansion, through improved order visibility, lower pricing volatility, and better working-capital discipline," Singhal said. Demand in the US is expected to strengthen over the coming quarters, said Richa Singh, managing director of Natural Diamond Council, an industry body representing diamond miners around the world. Higher tariffs had pushed up prices, leading to cautious buying. The reduction restores price competitiveness and helps natural diamonds compete more effectively." This rebound is likely to be supported by renewed exporter confidence, along with stronger marketing efforts around authenticity and transparency," Singh added. As India seeks to deepen health insurance adoption, a few companies are combining treatment and care with medical coverage, promising improved outcomes and lower premiums. Non-life insurance premiums, including health coverage, are expected to grow at an annual average rate of 1315% in the medium, according to PwC. Such an increase makes consumers less likely to renew due to affordability concerns. Experts say that an integrated healthcare model may offer a solution. The future of health insurance and care is where the provider is an active partner," said Ravi Vishwanath, director of Narayana Health Insurance, the insurance arm of publicly listed hospital network Narayana Health. The company launched its insurance business in 2024, which is part of its integrated healthcare vertical. While the segment grew the fastest at 90% year-on-year in Q2 of FY26, it accounts for a very small portion of the business, contributing 190 million to the companys total revenue of 12,331 million. Also Read | When buying insurance, honesty is the best policy Unlike traditional health insurance plans, integrated plans offer outpatient department services. The providers of such coverage are betting on multiple benefits: care gets better because consumers only come to hospitals when they are really sick; premiums go down because the policyholders are not falling sick as often thanks to preventive OPD services; and finally, fewer claims are filed, which means the insurer doesn't have to pay out that often. Advanced riskprediction models, remote monitoring tools, and personalized clinical pathways will enable more proactive management of health risks and longterm care," said Shruti Ladwa, partner and insurance leader at EY India. Narayana Health is not the only one trying to disrupt how healthcare is delivered in India. PB Fintech's founder Yashish Dahiya launched PB Health last year, raising $218 million in seed money in a round led by General Catalyst. There are others, including Even Healthcare, a startup that has so far raised $70 million in total funding from the likes of Khosla Ventures. View Full Image PB Fintech's founder Yashish Dahiya launched PB Health last year, raising $218 million in seed money in a round led by General Catalyst. The model isn't new and took off in the US in the 1980s. Kaiser Permanente is the largest integrated healthcare provider in America, operating across eight states. Others, like Intermountain Health, serve communities across the countrys South, including Utah, Colorado, Idaho, and Montana. Some like BannerAetna are even more localized, operating primarily in cities across Arizona. Healthcare up for disruption Healthcare insurance penetration remains low, with only 29.8% of women and 33.3% of men aged 1549 covered, according to a Lancet study. But it is also the fastest-growing segment despite rising costs. Health insurance is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 12.8% between 2024 and 2028, according to PwC, making it a space which has few competitors, if someone can disrupt it with a different business model. The market is ripe for someone who can crack digital presence with regards to insurance, they will capture the market. This is because, at the end of the day, hospitals are recession-proof businesses, patients always come," said Kosturi Ghosh, partner-general practice at law firm Trilegal. Even Healthcare recently raised $20 million in a funding round in January, led by Lachy Groom, a former Stripe executive, along with Alpha Wave. Most of the money will go toward expanding its integrated health model by hiring and establishing more hospitals. The startup currently runs one hospital and two clinics out of Bengaluru and plans to have six more hospitals operational by the end of 2026. We're trying to ensure no one is more than five kilometres away from one of our hospitals," said company co-founder and chief executive Mayank Banerjee. PB Health is opting for a narrow network strategy, in which hospitals are only part of the overall integrated healthcare and insurance push, PB Fintech's management said in the companys September quarter earnings. Narrow-network healthcare insurance gives consumers fewer hospitals to choose from for coverage, but they pay lower premiums and still have access to a high standard of care. Also Read | Why naming a nominee may be the most important step in your life insurance Yet companies and experts agree that a few hurdles need to be addressed for the model to succeed. "With regular insurance, the problem is of mutual mistrust, between the healthcare provider, the person paying out the insurance and the person receiving treatment," said Vishwanath. A model like Narayana Healths, where both the healthcare provider and the insurance provider are on one side, shifts the focus on ensuring that patients get the care they have paid for, he said. Ladwa of EY flagged technological barriers, with the adoption of tools and systems often differing from one hospital network to the other, not to mention the urban-rural divide. Variations in hospital infrastructure, specialist availability, and service quality mean that the population outside major cities struggle to benefit from the promise of integrated, equitable healthcare." Investors cautious While experts say the model can work in a country as large as India, investors are cautious given the capital-intensive nature of the insurance business and strict regulations. And then there is the cost of acquiring or building hospitals Indian companies haven't reached the scale required for it, given their five- to seven-year investment horizon, said Sunil Thakur, partner and head of South Asia at healthcare-focused private equity firm Quadria Capital. Insurance penetration isn't deep, out-of-pocket spends are still high, not to mention consumers aren't used to proper health triaging." While his firm may not write larger cheques until companies are more mature, Thakur said they would be willing to make early-stage bets through HealthQuad, the venture capital arm of the Quadria Group. Such a model might work in high-density metro areas, where policyholders would be willing to opt for a narrow insurance-hospital network. Beams Fintech Fund, a mid-market private equity firm, is open to backing businesses embedding insurance into healthcare. We're looking for companies which have strength in a particular segment and that insurance is complementary to the customer," said Sagar Agarvwal, founder and managing partner at the fund. It is currently scouting for investment opportunities from its current $120 million fund and is looking for more from its second fund, which will write larger cheques of up to $25 million across 10-12 companies. MUMBAI: Indias push to become a global hub for drug development faces a basic constraint: the country does not have enough standardized, trial-ready hospitals and clinics to scale up to meet anticipated demand. The governments plan to build a national network of more than 1,000 accredited clinical trial sites, announced on 1 February in the Union Budget for 2026-27 under the Biopharma Shakti scheme, is designed to tackle that gap. The proposal targets a critical bottleneck in Indias clinical-research ambitions. While global demand for trials is rising and sponsors increasingly view India as an attractive destination, trial sites remain unevenly equipped, concentrated in large cities, and burdened by variable processes. A network of accredited sites, experts say, could turn trial-ready hospitals and clinics into standardized facilities, reducing start-up time and widening participation. But the impact will hinge on whether India can build enough trained personnel and strengthen regulatory capacity. Bringing in these accredited sites will definitely accelerate the process of being able to start the trials because they will have certain processes and capabilities already established," said Saurabh Arora, managing director of Delhi-based contract research organization (CRO) Auriga Research. Why clinical trials are in focus Indias large population and growing incidence of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer make it an attractive destination for global trials. Costs for trials, which account for a significant share of the R&D bill for innovative drugs, are also lower in India. Another driver is the governments push to make India a biopharma hub and domestic drugmakers pivot towards biosimilars. Unlike generics, which mainly require a bioequivalence study to show they work the same as the innovator drug, biosimilars are not exact copies and require human trials to establish safety and efficacy. While clinical trial activity in India has been historically low, regulatory reforms have led to better growth since 2014. Following the new regulations, the number of sites increased by 40% between 2014 and 2022, a PwC report from 2023 noted. Indias contribution to global clinical trials was about 4% between 2012 and 2022, the report said. This increased to 9.38% as of June 2025, according to the World Health Organizations dashboard. India is the third largest country for clinical trials after the US and China, and among the few countries to not see a decrease since the peak of trials during the pandemic. How trials are conducted today Clinical trials are conducted either by drugmakers directly or are largely outsourced to CROs, which are governed by the central drug regulatory authority. CROs identify and connect with medical institutions, hospitals or large clinics and centres to conduct trials. All clinical trials in India must be registered with the Clinical Trials RegistryIndia (CTRI), with the site required to register its Ethics Committee reviewing the trial with the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI). A total of 102,825 trials have been registered with CTRI so far 2007, according to the registrys website. Registrations with CTRI were made mandatory in 2009. Demand continues to rise. Trials sponsored by the global top 20 pharmaceutical companies in India increased by 10% between 2013 and 2022, with AstraZeneca, Novartis, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, and J&J the top sponsors, according to the PwC report. A 2023 study on the CRO sector in India by the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) forecast the sector to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 10.75% and reach $2.5 billion by 2030. Within R&D, clinical development accounts for the largest share of cost. For the global pharma R&D outsourcing market, projected to reach $90.4 billion by 2030, an estimated $61.2 billion, or 67%, will come from outsourcing for clinical development, the DoP report said. Why accreditation matters Doctors and industry executives say accreditation could lower entry barriers for hospitals and clinics that currently lack the internal systems required to host trials. For a hospital or clinic to be a valid site for clinical trials, it needs significant infrastructure and manpower, and hospitals and clinics in tier-1 cities are better equipped for this, the PwC report said. Government accreditation may expand the scope of trial sites, said Dr Ashish Joshi, oncologist and co-founder of M|O|C Cancer Care & Research Centre, a chain of cancer day-care centres that also act as trial sites. For organizations which do not have the ecosystem or a bandwidth to create a research wing, it will be very helpful and could probably democratize the research much more, which is currently a preserve of only very few institutes," Joshi said. Having a defined set of standards reduces the wide variation seen today in how studies are conducted and provides clearer expectations around infrastructure, trained personnel and ethics processes. From a regulatory standpoint, operating against common benchmarks allows for more effective and uniform oversight. Also Read | Obesity drugs may spur licensing, distribution deals for Indian drugmakers What is required is to provide the necessary clinical trial-specific training and processes to the site personnel so that the clinical trials we run meet the highest standards of patient care and data quality," said Sanjay Vyas, president and managing director of Parexel India, part of global CRO Parexel. What is the biggest roadblock? Infrastructure alone will not solve Indias trial bottlenecks. Clinical trial sites require not just facilities but trained clinicians and support staff, Joshi said. Regulatory timelines remain another deterrent for international drugmakers. While amendments since 2013 have partially streamlined approvals and reduced timelines by 30-40%, delays have significantly impacted the CRO industry, the DoP report said. There is also a need for scientific and technical experts within the regulator and in ethics committees, Arora of Auriga said. The Biopharma Shakti scheme has announced the creation of a dedicated cadre of scientific and technical experts for the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), a step aimed at addressing this. Indian textile and apparel exporters can breathe a sigh of relief as the US and India have negotiated a reduced reciprocal tariff of 18% on Indian goods, giving Indian exports an edge over peers. The breakthrough, combined with the expected gains from free trade agreements (FTAs) with the European Union and the UK, puts Indian apparel exporters in a better position than a year ago. Shares of exporters with an overwhelming exposure to the US, such as Gokaldas Exports Ltd, Welspun Living Ltd, Indo Count Industries Ltd, Kitex Garments Ltd, and Faze Three Ltd, were locked in the upper circuit as of 1pm on Tuesday. Other scrips with higher free float, such as Raymond Lifestyle Ltd (5%) and KPR Mills Ltd (17%), also made handsome gains. Tariff impact The 50% cumulative tariffs on India, including 25% reciprocal tariffs and 25% punitive tariffs for buying Russian crude oil, had driven a significant share of the textile export business to rival markets such as Vietnam and Bangladesh, which had relatively better tariff terms. This was despite Indian exporters offering steep discountsto the extent of losing money in many casesand also benefiting from an over 5% dip in the Indian rupee. While the two nations have reached an agreement to lower tariffs, the full benefit will take at least five to six months to take effect, said Raja Shanmugam, an apparel exporter based in Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu, one of India's key textile hubs. A lot of buyers went away from India to other countries due to the US-India trade disruptions, and these buyers will take time back to doing business with India as they already have contracts with other countries now, he said. Apparel exporters have already booked most of the orders for the Fall-Autumn 2026 collection, which will start shipping from May to October. While some incremental orders for this collection are expected to come in after the trade deal announcement, the full benefit will come from the Spring-Summer 2027 collection, the orders for which will be booked in the coming months, and shipments will start from November, said Narendra Goenka, the owner of Texport Industries, a leading privately-held apparel exporter. We spoke to customers last night, and they would like to shift some business to India from the competition, said Goenka, who is also the past chairman of Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), the industry body of apparel exporters in India. At 18%, India will face the lowest US tariff among peers such as Vietnam (20%), Bangladesh (20%), Indonesia (19%), and China (34%), giving it a relative advantage when exporting to the largest market for textiles and apparel. To be sure, the 18% rate is still higher than the 7-16.5% tariffs paid by Indian exporters on different categories of textiles and apparel prior to the tariff escalations that started in mid-2025. Advantage India The announcement of a trade deal between India and the US comes just days after the India-EU free trade deal, which promises to eliminate Indias tariff disadvantage in exporting to another key market. India faces 9-12% tariffs across various product categories when exporting to the EU. The trade deal, once effective, promises to bring this down to zero, putting India at an equal footing with its two largest competitors in the apparel export marketBangladesh and Vietnamboth of which already enjoy duty-free access to Europe. With the India-EU and the India-US trade deal happening simultaneously, there will be a need to manufacture and supply more, which also implies more labour. We are also exploring expanding our manufacturing units to meet the increased demand, said Alexander John, chief executive of NC John Garments, which supplies to the Walt Disney Co. in the US. Madhur Singhal, managing partner (consumer & internet) at consulting firm Praxis Global Alliance: Across Indias trade agreements over the years, labour-intensive textile MSMEs such as Surats man-made fibre and processing cluster have seen mixed employment outcomes. While global demand cycles and competitive pressures have limited immediate job creation, the intent of these trade deals is to improve market access and restore competitiveness over time. In MSME-heavy clusters, employment impact typically plays out gradually through higher utilisation and steadier orders rather than headline job additions or losses. There is no immediate expectation of tariffs moving to zero under the USIndia trade deal. The reduction to 18% matters because B2B textiles and B2B jewellery operate on thin margins, where even partial tariff corrections significantly impact landed-cost competitiveness. Just as cost increases in the past were shared between buyers and suppliers, the benefits of this correction will also be shared, with pricing gradually reverting closer to historical norms, Singhal added. The two trade agreements provide several opportunities for diversified markets to Indian exporters and can accelerate scale-up plans for many textile and apparel categories, said Suketu Shah, CEO, Vishal Fabrics Ltd. We think the true impact will be a function of how quickly the changes can be implemented and how well manufacturers can navigate cost and scale, he said. The US (29%) and the EU (20%) account for half of India's annual textile and apparel exports of $36.7 billion, according to government estimates. Talking about the benefit of the EU deal, India's minister for commerce and trade, Piyush Goyal, said last week it would have a tremendous potential for job creation in India. BENGALURU : The shares of Indias largest information technology (IT) services firmsTata Consultancy Services Ltd, Infosys Ltd, HCL Technologies Ltd, Wipro Ltd and Tech Mahindra Ltdjumped as much as 4% in morning trade as investors stamped their seal of approval on the India-US deal. TCS, Infosys, HCLTech, and Wipro jumped 1.72%, 1.6%, 0.84%, and 0.1%, respectively, on Tuesday. On the other hand, Tech Mahindra's shares fell 0.57%. The Sensex rallied 2.54%. The countrys $283 billion IT sector is expected to be the biggest indirect beneficiary of the US's rollback of its 25% reciprocal tariffs on New Delhi, as the move could lead to less scrutiny of visa applications, according to experts. Our non-consensus upgrade of IT to overweight at the start of the year also remains intact. IT has the largest exposure to the US, and while the deal primarily covers manufactured goods, our outlook was that improved US-India relationseven if short-livedwould reduce scrutiny on IT services and lower the risk of further punitive actions (such as additional taxes)," wrote Bernstein analysts Venugopal Garre and Nikhil Arela in a 3 February note. Also Read | Where Indias IT services industry could still find growth A second brokerage expects better results for the IT services sector, including back-end tech centres of large companies. With US economic growth expected to stay robust for a major part of CY26E, combined direct and indirect gains can be more than expected, leading to positive spillovers on Indias key export players earnings for FY27. Key to watch will be how the services exports to the US evolve as Global Capability Centres evolve as the execution model amid rising visa scrutiny," said Elara Capital analysts Garima Kapoor, Subhankar Sanyal, and Shweta Roy, in a 3 February note. India and the US have finalized a bilateral trade agreement, as announced on social media by Trump and confirmed by Modi late on Monday night. The deal will bring tariffs on Indian goods exports down to 18% from the existing 50%, which included a reciprocal 25% levy. In return, India has committed to cutting tariffs on US goods to near zero and to eliminating non-tariff barriers across sectors such as energy, technology, and agriculture. Expected reprieve For now, IT outsourcing firms are expected to face less scrutiny from US lawmakers over their hiring of H-1B visa holders. On 19 September 2025, Trump issued a proclamation, Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers, imposing a $100,000 feeup tenfoldon new H-1B applications. Trumps decision became a key talking point in IT companies' boardrooms and among industry experts, as firms such as TCS, Cognizant, and Infosys rank among the 15 largest users of the non-immigrant visas. Any increase in the costs of sending IT professionals to client locations across the US hurts their profitability. Five days later, Republican senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa and Democratic senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois targeted several companies, including TCS and Cognizant, over their hiring practices. Both lawmakers wrote joint letters to K. Krithivasan and S. Ravi Kumar, the chief executives of TCS and Cognizant, respectively, seeking responses to claims of race-based discrimination and the substitution of American workers with low-cost H-1B employees. In the same month, Republican senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio proposed the Halting International Relocation of Employees (HIRE) Act to increase taxes on companies that hire offshore employees from their IT vendors. Also Read | Achche din for homegrown IT services companies delayed IT services firms, in return, have stepped up lobbying efforts on issues including H-1B visas, with TCS, Cognizant, and Infosys collectively spending at least $2.7 million in 2025. For now, each of them has increased local hiring and is shifting employees to near-shore locations to defend their profitability. Higher offshoring or nearshoring helps boost margins by lowering employee costs, particularly salaries. So, our approach is very clear. We have, as we have shared in the past, the majority of our employees in the US who do not require a visa. We are continuing with our deployments and our delivery using a mix of what we have work in the US and work in India. So, no changes to that approach. At this stage, we are continuing with our process because there is an existing set. We will examine it as it comes up in the future," said Salil Parekh, CEO of Infosys, during the companys post-earnings press conference on 14 January. Fresh optimism This wave of optimism comes even as the countrys largest IT services companies face tax-related uncertainties in their biggest markets. When countries impose taxes, large companies hold back on tech spending and focus on essential spending needed to run their core businesses. Still, a third brokerage expects more IT-related deals from the US. Sentiment revival that had seen setbacks due to visa issues and negative press around outsourcing. Deal momentum from the US clients to improve," said Motilal Oswal Financial Services analysts Abhishek Saraf, Gautam Duggad, Deven Mistry, and Aanshul Agarawal, in a 3 February note. TCS, Infosys, HCLTech, and Wipro ended 2024-25 with revenues of $30.18 billion, $19.28 billion, $13.84 billion, and $10.51 billion, respectively. More than half of this revenue comes from the US. Indian IT services companies follow an April-March financial calendar. Cognizant, which follows a January-December financial calendar, ended 2024 with $19.74 billion in revenue. While the mood within Indian IT is slightly better, caution remains. In Q2 (July-September 2025), we had called out that the overall demand environment is improving compared to Q1, so in Q3, that trend continues," said Krithivasan during the companys post-earnings conference call with analysts on 12 January. TCS, which gets over 94% of its revenue from overseas markets, had said it was confident" that international business would grow faster in the current fiscal year than in 2024-25, but in the 12 January analyst call, the CEO said this now remains an aspiration". The budget is unlikely to cause a meaningful shift in the assessment of equities from a medium-term perspective, and so investors should look at markets through a fresh lens to identify which newer themes could emerge as winners, said Harish Krishnan, chief investment officer - Equity at Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC Ltd. After the budget classified tax on buybacks as capital gains, some relief for buybacks may help return excess capital in a few mature companies, which can then be recycled into newer capital-intensive opportunities, said Krishnan. Some consumer staples, even though they have higher price-to-sales ratios, are generating significant cash flows and could be a better bet than recent winners such as EMS (Electronics Manufacturing Services) or hospital stocks, he added. Edited excerpts: Q 1) The fiscal deficit is narrowing. Are we spending less, and what does it show? In an environment of elevated global uncertainties, the Indian government continued its path of prudenceresorting to realism rather than rhetoric. Unlike most major economies, which have continued to expand their unconventional fiscal policies (high fiscal deficits sustained for much longer, tariff uncertainties, etc.), India has chosen to maintain its glide path toward fiscal discipline. There has, however, been a shift in its priorities. Post-covid, from FY21 to FY24, the Union government went on a massive overdrive on supply-side initiativesnamely, the infrastructure and investment themes. Capital expenditure growth averaged about 31% (FY21-24), however, since last year for FY25-27 (BE), this has now come down to about 10% on average. It is still commendable that they are maintaining operating on fourth gear on an elevated base achieved till FY24. On the other hand, revenue expenditure, which averaged 4% from FY21-24, has now increased to 7% in FY26 and FY27BE. Thus, in our opinion, from the supply side stimulus, policymakers are moving towards domestic consumption. Q 2) What are your thoughts on the budget from an equity standpoint? From an equity market, higher Securities Transactions Tax (STT) on Futures and Options (F&O) to temper very high participation seen in markets does seem a bit of a surprise, which equity markets will have to digest, and possibly any changes in long term capital gainseither for domestic investors or foreign investors will have to wait some more time, as there were no changes in this budget. Some relief on buybacks may help return excess capital in a few mature companies, which can then be recycled into newer, capital-intensive opportunities. Overall, the budget is unlikely to cause a meaningful shift in the assessment of equities in the medium term. We do think the last 15 months have been a reboot opportunity with significant policy resets in the backdrop of geopolitical developments and global macro uncertainties. It is thus imperative for investors to frame investment opportunities from a fresh lensto assess that, over the coming 3-4 years, a newer set of themes and sectors is likely to be winners compared to investment theme-heavy winners in 2021-2024. Seasonally, the first quarter has typically been negative for Indian equitiespossibly, a similar trend in the near term can provide opportunities to build an equities portfolio with a medium-term perspective. Q 3) Whats the mood like during these client conversations and distributor meetings? There are phases when selling funds is easy and phases when its tough. Over the last four to five years, strong returns made it tempting to sell funds purely on performance. But over the past 15-18 months, even though markets havent been bad and many funds have delivered decent returns, it hasnt been a rising-tide market (bullish). Only a few funds and fund managers have stood out, making it a tougher environment and reinforcing why it pays to be counter-cyclical and willing to be different. Q 4) So, in this equity reset phase, should investors look at opportunities with a fresh lens rather than rely on past winners, and which sectors do you see offering good compounding potential over the next three to five years? At the outset, we follow a framework built around four broad parameters. First, we look at a sectors profit pool share, its profits as a proportion of the top 1,000 companies profits, tracked over the last 25 years. This typically throws up three kinds of sectors. One is compounder sectors, where profit share tends to rise over five-year blocks, even if the path isnt linear; examples include private banks, IT services and FMCG (fast moving consumer goods). At the other end are declining sectors, where salience declines consistently every five years, such as certain energy or PSU-heavy (public sector undertaking) pockets. In between are cyclical sectors like autos, discretionary consumption, cement, metals and media, where profit share moves around sharply across cycles. The second lens is market-cap share versus profit pool share. In compounding sectors, market cap often runs ahead of profits because markets price in growth and durability. While these sectors are usually well priced, opportunities still emerge as valuations stretch and contract, much like a rubber band. Third, we look at ownership patterns, where ownership is heavily clustered versus under-owned, and relate that to relative performance over the last three to five years. Finally, we track the size effect: whether recent market-cap gains are coming from large caps or microcaps. When returns are increasingly driven by microcaps and large caps stall, it often signals the later stage of a market cycle, one that investors may want to approach cautiously. Also Read | Budget 2026: Manufacturing gets a big push amid global headwinds Q 5) Do you have a framework that incorporates these parameters into your investment strategy? Using these four factors, we arrive at what we call a clock, a figurative framework to map opportunities. Think of it like a clock face: 12, 3, 6 and 9 oclock. One-half represents momentum, where things are going well, the Street is aware of it, and is already positioned. The other half is the value side. What really interests us is a specific segment on this clock, where fear, panic, and negativity lead to very low ownership. These are the potential dark horses, such as IT at certain points. Over the past year, for instance, we identified private-sector banks, metals, and cement as areas that were not just ignored or undervalued, but also offered scope for positive surprises and alpha if things played out right. The momentum segment, on the other hand, can deliver near-term returns as the market moves, but the scope for outsized alpha is limited since everyone already owns these stocks and sell-side coverage is strong. This is typically a sell-on-rallies zone. We also try to avoid value traps and the late stages of bubbles, where stocks can run to unsustainable levels, preferring to step aside at that point. Q 6) Which could be those sectors, though? We think that if you look at the market today, there are several names in consumption, staples and retail that are still being ignored, not because they are performing poorly, but largely because promoter ownership is very high, at around 50-75%, leaving very limited free float and little stock available for sale. These companies earlier traded at much higher price-to-sales multiples, which we believe is a more relevant valuation metric than price-to-earnings, as it better captures underlying business value. At current levels, many of these companies are generating free cash flows of around 400-600 crore on market capitalisations of 10,000-15,000 crore, implying a free cash flow yield of roughly 4-5%. While there is no near-term excitement and concerns such as higher competition and earnings downgrades persist, we believe this phase offers a good opportunity to back these businesses rather than chase recent winners like EMS or hospital stocks. Its not that we are negative on those sectors, but strong price appreciation and crowded ownership there suggest that better opportunities may now lie in these overlooked pockets. Q 7) What about the new-age companies? Where would you place them? This is a much-debated space. These are evolving businesses, which makes them difficult to value. Many are barely profitable on an adjusted basis, and several are still loss-making. That said, in many cases, the unit economics are strong, and there is a clear path to profitability, though it ultimately depends on management choices between pushing profits or continuing market expansion. A key data point is that loss-making companies today account for just about 1.7-2% of total market capitalisation, one of the lowest levels in the past 25-30 years. Historically, Indian markets have absorbed far higher levels, often 4-5% or more, including during the pandemic. Earlier, such companies were typically PSUs, trading firms or mature businesses struggling to turn around, so todays numbers are not unprecedented. Corrections are possible, as these are nascent business models that will remain volatile under quarterly scrutiny and competitive pressure. Still, many of these companies are built on first principles, use technology in differentiated ways and could challenge incumbents meaningfully. We dont see this as a blanket bubble, but as a space where value can be created, alongside inevitable failures. The key is patient capital, careful sizing, and backing companies with strong unit economics, a credible path to profitability, differentiated models and driven founders. Q 8) What is your approach to valuing these new-age companies? I think unit economics matters a lot; you want to build companies that are highly capital-efficient. Even if current numbers look weak or inferior compared to peers, especially given todays valuations, that isnt necessarily a negative. In many cases, founders have built strong habits and moats with relatively modest capital, say $100-150 million, which is actually a positive signal. The second type of founding teams we like are those that choose to do things differently rather than follow the crowd. They dont raise money just because others are, or copy popular value propositions. Doing something meaningfully different is how brands are built over time, though it requires consistency and the willingness to take tough knocks early rather than opting for the easy route. Weve often seen this play out with competing startups, where one benefits from government support and the other doesnt. We tend to back those without such support, as they are intrinsically built for tougher conditions. Q 9) You have often said currency movements could guide equities going forward. Could you explain a bit more about why and how that might impact the market? For Indian companies, rupee EPS (earnings per share) can grow even when dollar EPS stagnates, largely due to rupee depreciation. Around 55-60% of the top 1,000 companies revenues are linked to dollar realizations across sectors such as energy, metals, pharmaceuticals, IT and autos, so a weaker rupee lifts revenues in rupee terms, even if margins compress slightly due to foreign-linked costs. For foreign investors, nominal earnings growth of 12-14% can translate into only 4-6% dollar returns if the rupee depreciates 5-7%, making currency weakness a short-term negative. However, once the rupee stabilises, it creates a higher earnings base, which should support valuations over the next three to four years. A move (of the rupee) from 80 to the 90s, for instance, can lift the revenue pool by 3-5% as more than half the revenues are dollar-linked. This is directional rather than precise, but it helps revive revenue growth, which has remained weak over the past 2-3 years despite margins near 20-25 year highs. Even with slightly lower margins, absolute earnings rise, supporting higher exit multiples. This dynamic applies not only to equities but also to assets like gold. Over long periods, equities perform during growth phases, while gold does well in panic. With currency-led earnings uplift of 1-3% and further support from government measures and RBI transmission, earnings could see an additional 3-4% boost. Foreign outflows today reflect currency concerns, not a negative view on Indias equity fundamentals. Q 10) Over the past year, large caps have risen, but small caps have largely lagged. Whats driving this divergence, and do you see any potential for a catch-up in the small-cap space versus large caps? Earnings for large companies typically double every five to six years, while small caps do so slightly faster in four to five years, a marginal difference. Over the past five years, earnings surged across the market from a low base, with many loss-making firms turning profitable, even as small-cap prices ran ahead of earnings. Today, growth across large, mid and small caps has largely converged. Small caps now contribute about 12-13% of profits but account for nearly 22% of mutual fund ownership, making the space crowded and limiting near-term upside, even though they can still outperform over a three- to five-year horizon. In contrast, the top 100 companies generate 68-70% of profits with only about 54-55% ownership, leaving more room for upside if earnings surprise. Thats why the focus is shifting from market caps to themes. Sectors like banking, IT, metals, chemicals, FMCG, energy, textiles, alcohol, and cement have underperformed in recent years and could throw up the next set of leaders across market caps. Select small caps, especially in consumption, still offer attractive cash flow yields and strong ROEs (return on equity), but overall expectations are moderating, and margin assumptions are being reset. Mumbai: The Indian rupee snapped its recent losing streak on Tuesday, posting a 1.4% rise after the announcement of the landmark US-India trade agreement, as investors bet that the deal would ease policy uncertainty and revive foreign capital inflows. In a big single-day gain, the rupee sprinted from 91.5163 to the US dollar at close of Monday to 90.2725 per dollar on Tuesdays close, a rise of 124 paise or 1.2438, according to data by Bloomberg. In intraday trading, the Indian currency hit its highest level at 90.0500 since 14 January. Market participants believe the trade deal with the US will stabilize the rupee near the 90-per-dollar mark in the near term, and slow the pace of depreciation in the next financial year. The agreement, announced by US President Donald Trump on Monday after a call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reduces tariffs on Indian goods to 18% from as high as 50% and removes penalties linked to Indias purchase of Russian crude. Welcoming the agreement, Dhiraj Relli, managing director and CEO of HDFC Securities said, At 18%, Indias tariff rate is now lower than that of several major Asian trading partners, supporting growth in labour-intensive and export-oriented sectors such as textiles, gems and jewellery, and engineering goods. Market participants said the agreement removes a chunk of policy and tariff uncertainty that had triggered record equity outflows last year, making the Indian unit the worst-performing Asian currency in 2025, down 6% for the year and 2% last month. The US-India trade deal will improve sentiment, so in the near term, the rupee will stay closer to the 90 levels. It may even briefly touch below but it will definitely improve sentiment, said Gaura Sengupta, chief economist at IDFC First Bank. According to Ritesh Bhansali, deputy chief executive officer at Mecklai Financial Services said, after the kneejerk reaction on Tuesday, 92 looks like a peak. Broadly, 89-91 looks like a reasonable band in the near term. With the trade deal, there is a possibility of further rupee appreciation from here on, Bhansali said. We will see the impact of this announcement in the coming weeks, but after that the rupee will start consolidating again. While the long-awaited trade deal is expected to improve sentiment and inflows by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), the currency is still seen depreciating, albeit at a slower pace, as the earlier depreciation was driven less by trade fundamentals and more by capital flows. The major issue for INR and why the depreciation has been is because of capital outflows, and the current account was never an issue because India front-loaded its exports to the US, Sengupta said. For the April-December period, Indias exports to the US rose 10% on year, cushioning the current account despite global trade disruptions. This has come as foreign direct investment slowed as dollar-adjusted returns on Indian investments declined. However, the trade deal is expected to support capital inflows and improve the balance of payments position. The BoP which was a large deficit in FY26 should become a very small negative in FY27 we still expect that you will have a much more moderate or gradual pace of depreciation, Sengupta said, pegging that FY27 depreciation at around 3%, compared with expectations of 6% earlier. Also Read | Govt mulling proposal to raise FDI ceiling in public sector banks to 49% Meanwhile, market participants will also eye the Reserve Bank of Indias Monetary Policy Committee's decision, to be announced on Friday after its 4-6 February meeting. The MPC is likely to keep policy rates unchanged, signalling a prolonged pause after aggressive front-loaded easing over the past year, even as liquidity conditions remain tight and bond yields are elevated. A Mint poll of 10 economists shows nine expecting a pause at 5.25%, while one anticipates a 25-basis-point cut to 5.00%. Ebitda (excluding other operating revenue) per vehicle increased by 2% to 82,067 per vehicle due to the sharp rise in staff costs and other expenses, even as gross profit per vehicle rose faster by about 9% to 217,000. Some of the cost increases can be attributed to the commissioning of a new plant in Pune. Volumes were lacklustre, with domestic sales flat year-on-year at 1.47 lakh units. In contrast, rival Maruti Suzuki India Ltds volumes grew 21% to 5.65 lakh units. The stock prices mirror this dichotomy in growth. It appears that the gains from the reduction in the goods and services tax (GST) rates were limited for Hyundai, shares of which are now below their closing price before Independence Day, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi initially hinted at a GST rate cut. During this time, Marutis stock has appreciated by 10%, though this is well below the 34% gain it had made at the peak. Maruti ended up as a bigger beneficiary of the GST rate cuts in September by virtue of its small and compact car portfolio that rose by 25%, faster than its overall domestic growth. For Hyundai, Entry into the commercial mobility segment, and new launches are yet to translate into meaningful volume growth," said JM Financial Institutional Securities. Further, Hyundai Motor India has been losing market share in the domestic market to competitors (11.5% as of Q3FY26 versus 14.6% as of Q1FY25), and pressure is expected to continue due to multiple SUV launches by competitors, a segment in which Hyundais flagship Creta is positioned," it added. In Q3FY26, exports were the saving grace for Hyundai, up 21% year-on-year to about 49,000 units, aiding the 5% overall volume growth. Can it boost exports? In the earnings call, the management was asked whether India can become an export hub for supplying Hyundai cars to Europe as currently Creta is being supplied to the EU from Indonesia. As per the management, the India-EU free trade agreement (FTA) does open up opportunities, but they need to study the FTA in detail, as these are early days. Currently, Hyundai exports to the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Latin America but not to the EU region. Outlook bright? The outlook for Q4FY26 looks better on volume as well as margin fronts. Hyundais January domestic wholesale volumes increased by 9.5% year-on-year, while exports grew 21%, taking the overall growth to 11.5%. Plus, price hikes taken in January should boost profitability. The caveat here, however, is that steel (an important raw material for car makers) prices remain stable. Nomuras analysts believe the new model cycle from H2FY27 should help sustain volume growth, forecasting a 24% earnings CAGR over FY26-FY28. It believes that there is upside risk to their estimates if Genesis, Hyundais luxury brand turns out to be a success. For investors willing to bet on the brighter outlook, it helps that the 25% correction from the peak price of 2,890 on 22 September has made valuation attractive at 20x of FY28 earnings per share based on Nomura estimates. The Indian stock market benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are likely to open higher on Tuesday after the announcement of India-US trade deal by President Donald Trump. The trends on Gift Nifty also indicate a gap-up start for the Indian benchmark index. The Gift Nifty was trading around 25,937 level, a premium of nearly 795 points from the Nifty futures previous close. Donald Trump announced the reduction in reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods to 18% from 25% and said that India will also reduce its tariffs and non-tariff barriers against the US to zero. On Monday, the Indian stock market snapped its two-day losing streak and ended higher, with the Nifty 50 reclaiming the 25,000 level. The Sensex rallied 943.52 points, or 1.17%, to close at 81,666.46, while the Nifty 50 settled 262.95 points, or 1.06%, higher at 25,088.40. Heres what to expect from Sensex, Nifty 50, and Bank Nifty today: Sensex Prediction Sensex formed a promising reversal pattern on intraday charts, and a bullish candle on daily charts, which supports a further uptrend from the current levels. We are of the view that now 81,500 and 81,200 will act as immediate support zones for the bulls. Above these levels, a pullback formation is likely to continue, with Sensex potentially moving up to 82,200 or the 200-day simple moving average (SMA). Further upside could also push the index toward 82,500, said Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities. On the flip side, he believes if Sensex falls below 81,200, sentiment could change, and below this level, traders may prefer to exit their long positions. Mayank Jain, Market Analyst, Share.Market said that the immediate support for the Sensex is now at the 81,000 81,200 zone. On the upside, reclaiming the 82,000 82,200 resistance zone is essential for a complete trend reversal. The 82,000 mark continues to host a high concentration of Call Open Interest (OI), acting as a major psychological and technical barrier for the bulls, said Jain. Nifty 50 Prediction Nifty 50 formed a bullish candle on the daily chart along with an inside bar pattern. A long bull candle was formed on the daily chart beside the big bear candle of Sunday. Technically, this market action indicates counterattack of bulls from the lows, which is also a similar candle pattern like bullish Piercing line (not a classical one). The sharp recovery of Monday seems to be a cheering factor for bulls to make a comeback, said Nagaraj Shetti, Senior Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities. According to him, on the way up, Nifty 50 could encounter crucial overhead resistances around 25,200 and next 25,400 levels in the near-term. Immediate support is placed at 24,900. Nilesh Jain, Head Technical and Derivatives Research Analyst (Equity Research), Centrum Broking Ltd said that the immediate resistance for Nifty 50 is placed at the 200-DMA around 25,210, and a decisive move above this level would confirm a short-term trend reversal. On the downside, immediate support is seen at 24,800, followed by 24,680. The RSI has reversed from oversold territory and is trending higher, indicating improving momentum. Meanwhile, India VIX cooled off sharply by 9% to close near 13.8, a further decline would add comfort for the bulls. Overall, the structure appears constructive for a follow-up move towards the 25,200 zone, said Jain. Mayank Jain highlighted that Nifty 50 has moved back toward its 200-day EMA (~25,160), which now acts as a crucial pivot for the next leg of the trend. According to current chart patterns, immediate support is placed between 24,850 and 24,950, where the 25,000 Put strike has seen aggressive fresh writing, reinforcing it as a new floor. Conversely, immediate resistance is visible in the 25,150 25,250 range, with a significant hurdle at 25,300 where Call writers remain positioned ahead of the weekly expiry, said Jain. Bank Nifty Prediction Bank Nifty index ended 201.80 points, or 0.35%, higher at 58,619.00 on Monday, forming a bullish-bodied candle on the daily chart. The broader structure remains cautious as Bank Nifty continues to trade below key overhead resistance. Going forward, 58,400 remains the pivotal level sustained trade above this could open a pullback toward 58,900 59,100, while a decisive move below may reintroduce downside risk toward 58,000 and 57,750, both of which remain structurally important demand zones, said Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money. Sudeep Shah, Head - Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities said that the 50 day EMA zone at 59,000 59,100 now acts as the immediate resistance. On the downside, 58,100 58,000 remains the crucial support zone for the Bank Nifty index. Indias market regulator has flagged the need for banks to step up safeguards around price-sensitive information, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) chairperson Tuhin Kanta Pandey said. The regulator has held multiple workshops with banks to strengthen internal controls and limit access to sensitive data, following its order alleging an insider trading scheme involving a Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) official and trades in Indian Energy Exchange Ltd (IEX) shares. Edited excerpts from an interview with Mint: Also Read | Sebi to cut FPI registration time to 5 days in big push for Indian stock markets Looking ahead to this year, what would be the top priorities for the regulator and the markets you oversee? The circumstances are not very different from what they were the year before because I think there is a continued level of instability in the world. Growth prospects are also uneven worldwide. We can be relatively more certain about India from several things, because I think we have certain headwinds from abroad, but we have held the headwinds reasonably well in the last year. You have the maximum 50% tariff levied. Hopefully, things can only get better from here. But then there could be further risks arising from certain other developments in the Middle East. You will complete a year in office in March. What, according to you, in market regulation was complex or a bit challenging? I can only say that there is always a lot of scope for making things non-ambiguous, clearer, and simpler. I think we need to really think about the next 20 years, how we are going to see our capital markets and enable it and to that extent we will look at, actually not incremental but, very substantial increases (in the capital markets). Also Read | Sebi, Ifsca in talks with EU watchdog to restore clearing house recognition If you are looking at very substantial increases, our enablement has to be of a much larger kind than what we are hitherto used to. We have to constantly up our game and look at which newer surveillance methods we need to deploy. So in that case, should we remain only a very neutral kind of regulatorsomething comes, okay, well do that, well look at market risks because [after all] we do have a market development role and an investor protection role. The rules will be important for them (investors), but so will their awareness, because you can write rules, but how do we really ensure that they are going in the right directionthat they have better financial education and investment educationwhich is a very difficult thing to do and also to measure. A recent report said Sebi is investigating insider trading in Yes Bank shares before its 2022 stock offering. You had also spoken about insider trading in banks in one of your speeches. Is that something that you are coming across quite often? I do not like to comment on this because I do not know whether it is true, not true or what are the final findings. There is a show cause, apparently. But then, people have to satisfy the concerned adjudicating officer that nothing has gone amiss in this. We did a little bit of a preventive job there in terms of really saying that how banks as fiduciaries, they hold information, not necessarily for their own stocks, they hold information sometimes from the other companies where if there is price sensitive information, they should guard and they should sufficiently bring systems inside to decide who should have access to information. Access to information should not be readily available where there is a possibility of a leak. So, we had several workshops with banks. In Delhi, we had a very big meeting where we called all the regulators and told them as well, because everyone, in many respects, controls where the data goes, and they are also doing some policy, particularly in the context of what happened at the CERC. There has been a rise in the number of influencers or people who talk about the stock market, who sometimes cross the boundary on social media. Moving forward, will that be an area of focus for you? I think this is going to be a very major area for us. Trust is what makes a market grow, and trust means that people should be able to say that our voices are being heard, that action is taken on our suggestions, that someone is actually paying attention to our concerns- but that we also have to take the risk ourselves and understand that risk. We really have to think about how much more work we need to add. I would say that we will be a growing organization and we will be rapidly growing, consistent with the needs of our capital markets. Corporate governance is an area where we need much more capacity-building. Also Read | Sebi tightens scrutiny of portfolio overlap in mutual fund schemes Indias market regulator plans to sharply cut the registration timeline for foreign portfolio investors, Securities and Exchange Board of India chief Tuhin Kanta Pandey said. The idea is that we should take five days. Currently, we are talking about 30 days. But people's impression is that it takes a few months," Pandey said in an interview with Mint. To further attract FPIs, Sebi has been holding webinars to tutor them on entering the Indian markets to make their onboarding smoother and faster. About 2,000 FPIs have been part of such webinars conducted by Sebi officers, Pandey said. The regulator wants to make the Indian capital market more attractive for foreign investors as factors such as high valuations and weak earnings growth deter investor interest. FPIs had a net outflow of 1.66 trillion from the equities market in 2025 against inflows of 427 crore the year before, according to data from the National Securities Depository Ltd. Foreign investors have pulled out a net 35,962 crore from Indian equities so far in 2026. Mint reported last month that high valuations and a prolonged slowdown in earnings pushed foreign investors to move money out of Indian stocks and into AI-led markets such as Taiwan and South Korea. This shift left India among the weaker-performing markets even as global markets were unsettled by US-Europe trade tensions. FPIs have been using every market rebound to build short positions, reflecting continued concerns over corporate earnings. The Sebi chief said recent interactions with FPIs in Japan highlighted the need for deeper engagement with countries that already have strong economic ties with India. He sensed a high level of confidence in India among Japanese investors, with very few concerns raised. Many wanted to look beyond foreign direct investment and increase their portfolio exposure to India. They were happy that some of the Japanese subsidiaries which are listed here are doing so well," Pandey said. Process digitization Some smaller Japanese entities said they not only want to go to India but also eventually list there, he said. They said they want to carry out research in India and set up an R&D facility that would get listed, said Pandey. The push to reduce approval timelines is linked to greater digitization of the process, including the use of digital signatures. Once the process is completely digitized, the regulator plans to track and calculate timelines more transparently. Sebi has taken up several initiatives recently to ease onboarding for foreign investors. In 2025, it launched SWAGAT-FI, a digital platform that acts as a single-window interface for registration, documentation and grievance redressal for FPIs. With the platform, the market watchdog aims to improve coordination between FPIs, intermediaries and the regulator, reducing delays and bringing greater transparency and predictability to the FPI registration and post-registration process. However, FPIs still face hurdles in the Indian markets such as capital gains tax on their investment gains. Most jurisdictions do not have capital gains for foreigners," said Pandey. But that is something which is clearly not our remit." Capital gains tax is levied on investments based on the holding period. Short-term investments, taxed at 20%, are those where gains are booked before 12 months. Gains booked after 12 months are termed as long-term investments and are taxed at 12.5%. Also Read | Telecom defies FPI sell-off with highest inflows since 2022 Stock Market Today Highlights: Today, the Indian stock market witnessed a remarkable surge following the announcement of a significant trade agreement between India and the US. The benchmark indices rose nearly 5% within a single trading session, showcasing robust investor enthusiasm. The Sensex soared by 2.54% to finish at 83,739, while the Nifty 50 increased by approximately 2.55% to end at 25,727, representing one of the most powerful one-day rallies in recent memory. The domestic equity markets commenced with a remarkable surge, experiencing a significant increase in early trading, fueled by positive global signals following the announcement of much-awaited India-US trade agreement. At the opening bell, benchmark indices recorded unprecedented gains, indicating robust investor enthusiasm across various sectors. The Nifty 50 index began its trading at 26,308.05, rising by 1,219.65 points or 4.86%, while the Sensex soared by 3,656.74 points or 4.48% to start at 85,323.20. The markets kicked off on a highly positive note, demonstrating a substantial upward movement amid enhanced global risk appetite after the trade deal announcement. The announcement of the India-US trade deal lifted global risk sentiment, as the US will reduce its reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods to 18% from 25% and India will also reduce its tariffs and non-tariff barriers against the US to zero. Global market cues remained positive as Asian markets rallied, and the US stock market ended higher overnight, led by technology stocks. Q3 results A total of 111 companies are set to release their third-quarter earnings on February 3. Some of the key companies expected to disclose their Q3 results include Adani Enterprises Ltd, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd, Bajaj Finance Ltd, Bharat Coking Coal Ltd, Varun Beverages Ltd, and NMDC Ltd. Stay tuned to our Stock Market Today Live Blog for the latest updates. The market remains in a volatile, range-bound phase following the Budget 2026 announcements. Investors should maintain a cautious stance this week, as a sustainable recovery depends on upcoming global data and clarity on domestic fiscal triggers. Three stocks to trade today, recommended by NeoTraders Raja Venkatraman: GLAND (Cmp 1897.50) Buy above 1900, stop 1840, target 2015 (Multiday) Why its recommended: Gland Pharma Ltd. is a leading global generic injectable-focused pharmaceutical company, established in Hyderabad, India, in 1978, known for its large-scale sterile and complex injectable manufacturing. With some boost to biopharma in Budget 2026, the company's stock has shown some revival forming a rounding pattern at lower levels after months of decline. With some fresh buying emerging once again on back of strong Q3 earnings as well as tailwind from Budget has pushed prices beyond key resistances around 1850, consider going long. Key metrics: P/E Ratio: 141.61 52-week high: 3078 Volume: 2.15M Technical analysis: Support at 1800, resistance at 2100. Risk factors : Heavy regulation in the injectable industry, dependence on marketing partners and key markets (US, EU, etc.), manufacturing/quality control issues potentially harming reputation. Buy : above 1900 Stop loss: 1840 Target price: 2015 (2 Months) Also Read | STT hike: Why derivative traders will dump futures for options SYMPHONY (Cmp 939.85) Buy above 941, stop 898, target 1080 (Multiday) Why its recommended: Symphony Limited is an Indian multinational electronics and home appliances company, recognized as the world's largest manufacturer of evaporative air coolers. A surprise in Q3 earnings has ensured that the recent highs are not given up and recent dips that are emerging to stage a sharp revival leading to a strong upward traction. The long body candle seen on Sunday despite large scale volatility highlights that we can look for a push to higher levels. Go long now. Key metrics: P/E: 44.80, 52-week high: 1453.95, Volume: 98.38K. Technical analysis: Support at 840, resistance at 1200. Risk factors: High valuation, weakening financials, intense competition, reliance on seasonal demand, and potential input cost pressures. Buy : above 941 Stop loss: 898 Target price: 1080 (2 Months) NATIONALUM (Cmp 369.70) Buy above 370, stop 354, target 398 (Multiday) Why its recommended: National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), traded as NATIONALUM, established in 1981, is one of the largest integrated bauxite, alumina, and aluminium complexes in Asia. The intraday charts reveal that the trends ahead could shape up with new projects emerging. With steady support from ADX and DMI now fuelling some upside the Budget could provide some fuel. The volume surge seen is now hinting at some potential upward traction. Go long. Key metrics: P/E Ratio: 136.94 52-week high: 490 Volume: 9.8M Technical analysis: Support at 400, resistance at 525. Risk factors : Fragmented market, reliance on network infrastructure, challenges in controlling operating costs, and volatile financial performance. Buy : above 370 Stop loss: 354 Target price: 398 (2 Months) Also Read | Nestle Indias premium growth reflects in its premium valuation How the stock market performed on Monday On 2 February, Indian equity benchmarks staged a sharp rebound, recovering part of the steep losses from the Budget-day slump, with the Nifty closing just above 25,000. In a volatile session tracking mixed global cues, the indices opened lower and remained range-bound through the first half, before strong buying in heavyweights such as Reliance, Adani Ports, and ICICI Bank lifted sentiment in the latter part of the day. The Sensex surged 944 points or 1.17% to 81,666.46, while the Nifty advanced 263 points or 1.06% to close at 25,088.40. The broader market also rebounded, with the Nifty Midcap gaining 1% and the Smallcap index rising 0.6%. Despite the bounce, the overall trend remains cautious, as the Nifty continues to trade below its 200-DMA, keeping sentiment weak. Immediate resistance is seen at 25,200, while support lies near 24,900, suggesting that rallies may still be used to lighten leveraged positions. Outlook for trading The 'knee-jerk' volatility following the Budget has left the market tentative. Mondays recovery is a positive sign, but it shouldn't be mistaken for a trend reversal just yet. With the market still digesting the F&O STT hike and higher government borrowing, a cautious, level-based trading approach is recommended for the rest of the week. Nifty Banks resilience amid broader market volatility suggests it remains the primary engine for any potential recovery. While overall cues are sparse, the index's ability to hold its groundsupported by RBIs timely intervention to stabilize the Rupeeis a positive signal. Investors are now closely watching the upcoming RBI Monetary Policy for liquidity measures that could further extend this recovery trend. View Full Image Source: TradingView Tuesdays strategy centers on a 30-minute opening range breakout. Given the current lack of momentum, traders should play both sides but maintain tight stop-losses and quick profit-taking. Option data confirms a cautious floor with a PCR of 0.82, but aggressive Call writing at 25,30025,500 for Nifty and 59,000 for Bank Nifty acts as a firm ceiling, likely stalling any major recovery attempts for now. Also Read | Herd mentality fading? Retail investors turned selective ahead of Budget 2026 Raja Venkatraman is co-founder, NeoTrader. His Sebi-registered research analyst registration no. is INH000016223. Investments in securities are subject to market risks. Read all the related documents carefully before investing. Registration granted by Sebi and certification from NISM in no way guarantees performance of the intermediary or provide any assurance of returns to investors. Disclaimer: The views and recommendations given in this article are those of individual analysts. These do not represent the views of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions. India-US trade deal: Jewellery stocks including Titan, Kalyan Jewellers to Senco Gold rose up to 7.5% in intra-day deals on Tuesday, February 5 after India-US finally announced the trade deal. After prolonged negotiations, U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed that reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods would be reduced to 18%, a steep cut from the earlier 50%. He said, We agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%. They will likewise move forward to reduce their Tariffs and non-tariff barriers against the United States to ZERO, signalling swift implementation and mutual market access. Market participants noted that the U.S. remains one of the largest consumption markets for Indian gems and jewellery exports, and the tariff clarity is expected to directly benefit manufacturers, exporters, and organised retailers with global linkages. Stocks rally across the jewellery pack Buying was visible across the jewellery segment. Kalyan Jewellers rallied over 7.5% to 393.75, Senco Gold rose more than 7% to 327.45, PC Jeweller gained 5% to 10.90, while Titan Company advanced over 4.5% to 4,141 during the session as investors priced in the improved export outlook for the sector. Tariff cut to revive confidence in the sector Colin Shah, MD of Kama Jewelry, welcomed the development, highlighting the relief for the sector. He said, "The news of reciprocal tariffs being slashed to 18% comes as a great relief to the Indian gems & jewellery sector and is well revered. The USA has been a prominent consumer market of Indian Gems & Jewellery and the sentiment had taken a hit due to the tariff implications. This partial relaxation will reinstate confidence in Indian jewellery manufacturers and exporters as well the buyers in the American market. We are thankful to the Indian government for striking a balanced negotiation and look forward to further relaxation in tariff, in the best interest of India's economic growth." Recent developments on duties and taxes In the recent Union Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman kept customs duty rates unchanged for the import of gold and silver. Currently, gold imports in all forms attract a 6% duty, comprising 5% basic customs duty (BCD) and 1% agriculture infrastructure and development cess (AIDC). Silver imports are taxed at 6% for eligible Indian residents, while others pay 36%, which includes 35% BCD and 1% AIDC. Both metals attract a uniform 3% GST. Earlier, the Centre had reduced customs duty on gold from 15% to 6% with effect from July 24, 2024, a move aimed at curbing smuggling and supporting organised trade. Gold and silver prices rebound sharply Gold and silver prices also rebounded after a severe phase of liquidation that followed the abrupt unwinding of a record rally in precious metals. On the domestic exchange, MCX gold prices were up nearly 4% at 1,49,485 per 10 gram. MCX silver prices hit the 6% upper circuit at 2,50,436 per kg on Tuesday, February 3. The announcement of the IndiaU.S. trade deal added a fresh geopolitical dimension to commodity markets that were already volatile. While domestic market sentiment was largely driven by the trade breakthrough, investors also reassessed geopolitical risks, currency movements, and the outlook for U.S. monetary leadership. Additionally, strong buying by Chinese retail investors ahead of the Lunar New Year supported demand in precious metals globally, aiding the rebound in prices. In a major relief to taxpayers holding foreign assets, Budget 2026 proposed a one-time, six-month window for taxpayers to voluntarily declare any undisclosed foreign assets or foreign-sourced income and get amnesty from prosecution under the black money Act. Under tax laws, all foreign assets must be disclosed annually in the FA Schedule of ITR-2 or ITR-3, even if they generate no income. Failure to report, even when there is no tax to pay, can attract a 10 lakh annual penalty and up to seven years imprisonment under the Act. The budget has introduced a onetime, six-month Foreign Assets of Small TaxpayersDisclosure Scheme, 2026 (FAST-DS) that allows taxpayers to disclose foreign assets from any past years. But this relief is no free lunch, as taxpayers will be required to pay additional taxes and penalties, albeit lower than those slapped under black money Act. The government is yet to announce when the six-month timeline starts. What is the relaxation? The relief is extended to two categories of taxpayers. Category A includes those who have not disclosed foreign income or even assets that may not have generated any income. In such cases, the value of the assets eligible for amnesty should not exceed 1 crore, said Neeraj Agarwala, partner, Nangia & Co. LLP. View Full Image The window applies to taxpayers with undisclosed income or assets, provided no PMLA proceedings are pending and Black Money Act assessments are unfinished. Category A taxpayers need to pay 30% of the assets fair market value (FMV) or 30% of undisclosed income as tax, plus an additional 30% tax, and get immunity from proceedings under the black money Act. Parizad Sirwalla, partner and head, Global Mobility Services-Tax, KPMG in India, explained that the second 30% additional tax is essentially the first tax paid twice, in lieu of a penalty, making the total outgo 60% of the assets FMV or the undisclosed income. As per the Finance Bill 2026, the FMV to be taken is as of 31 March 2026. Category B includes taxpayers who have paid tax on foreign income but failed to disclose the same assets in schedule FA. The value of such assets should be below 5 crore and the taxpayer has to pay a 1 lakh penalty to get amnesty. Sirwalla said taxpayers who did not have any foreign income but failed to declare foreign assets will fall under Category A or B, depending on the source of funds used to buy the asset. In cases where the taxpayer has no explanation about the source of investment or the explanation given by him is unsatisfactory, he can seek amnesty under Category A by paying the higher penalties, but the eligible assets should not be worth more than 1 crore. In other cases where the investments are done through banking or other legitimate payment channels, the taxpayer falls under Category B and has to pay only 1 lakh penalty." Despite the high penalties one has to cough up to get amnesty, Sonu Iyer, partner and national leader, People Advisory Services, EY, said its a sweeter deal than proceedings under black money Act. "Under BMA (black money Act), the taxpayer has to pay 10 lakh penalty and an additional 300% of the tax due. Over and above that, there is also risk of prosecution and prolonged litigation if the taxpayer goes in appeal. In comparison, this scheme lets them declare voluntarily by paying a relatively lower penalty." For example, you hold undisclosed dividend in the US worth 50 lakh. Under Category A, you can opt for amnesty by paying 15 lakh (30% of the income) plus another 15 lakh as tax, totalling 30 lakh. However, if the case is examined under the BMA, you would have to pay 30% tax on the income ( 15 lakh), a penalty of 300% of this tax ( 45 lakh), and an additional 10 lakh penalty, taking the total liability to 70 lakh. The scheme applies to all assets held in all previous assessment years, as per the Finance Bill," said Iyer. Who can get the relief? The window will be available to all taxpayers with undisclosed income, assets, or both, where proceedings are not initiated or pending under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, or where an assessment is not completed under the Black Money Act. So taxpayers in these two situations can use the scheme: when they have not declared but not yet received a summons or notice from the tax department; those who have received a summons from the tax department seeking an explanation on non-disclosure, but the penalty order has not yet been passed under the black money Act. As per the Finance Bill, in case any proceedings are pending under the Income-tax Act, 1961 (IT Act 61) or the BMA, then the assessing officer shall take into account the declaration made by the taxpayer under this Scheme to finalise the assessment. So even if a taxpayer has received summons, they should use this scheme," said Sirwalla. The finance minister in her speech said this scheme is intended to help small taxpayers such as students who have returned to India but still hold foreign bank accounts with small balances, young professionals and tech employees with foreign Esops and restricted stock units (RSUs) and relocated NRIs. Prakash Hegde, a Bangalore-based CA, pointed out that most such tech employees with foreign stock options will fall under category B and only have to pay 1 lakh penalty. Also Read | Why children are quietly becoming their parents financial managers Tax on such Esop or RSU perquisites is withheld by the Indian employer at the time of allotment or transfer. So, the Esop/RSU does not constitute undisclosed income, and if the employee has failed to disclose these stock options in Schedule FA, the case will generally fall under Category 2, attracting only the 1 lakh penalty." The other condition, that the source of funds for such undisclosed assets is also explained, keeps most such small taxpayers in Category B. The biggest concern was for those taxpayers who have not paid tax on dividend income. Many taxpayers assume tax is already paid abroad and that Indian tax applies only when dividends are repatriated. Such taxpayers must use this scheme to declare their dividends under Category A," Hegde said. Also Read | Mandatory probate on Will removed. But it is still a smart move for inheritance In the previous Budget, the penalty under the black money Act was waived for assets valued up to 20 lakh. This years Budget has also extended immunity from prosecution. This scheme is aimed at small taxpayers and inadvertent non-compliance, so such taxpayers should utilise the scheme to become compliant, Iyer said. The authorities already have information on taxpayers from the Automatic Exchange of Information framework and follow-up NUDGE campaigns. A significant amount of foreign-earned income has already been reported, and taxes collected run into substantial sums," Iyer said. "The scheme, therefore, is not about letting high-value non-compliance go unnoticed; instead, it is meant to facilitate voluntary compliance for legacy cases and smaller taxpayers, which explains the 1 crore and 5 crore limits imposed." MUMBAI: Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani have hired prominent attorneys in the USincluding one of Donald Trumps lawyers and a former Mafia prosecutorto represent them in their defence against allegations of securities fraud levelled by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The senior Adani has appointed law firm Sullivan & Cromwell LLP with Robert Giuffra leading the team representing him, as per a court filing dated 30 January. Giuffra is one of the most prominent white-collar crime defence attorneys in the US, having represented US President Donald Trump and German carmaker Volkswagen. Giuffra is leading Trumps appeal against his conviction in the hush money case, in which a Manhattan jury found the US President guilty of falsifying business records to pay a former adult film actor to keep their alleged involvement private. Also Read | Adani SEC case clears service hurdle, heads for long US court battle Giuffra also represented Volkswagen in its multibillion dollar diesel-gate scandal for cheating on emissions tests. He was the national coordinating counsel for the German firm and negotiated a $14.7 billion settlement with US regulators. He successfully defended Goldman Sachs in a class action suit emanating from the 2008 global financial crisis. Nicolas Bourtin, also from Sullivan & Cromwell, is part of Adanis defence team. Bourtin was earlier an assistant US attorney for the Eastern District of New York, where the SEC is litigating Adani. During his stint as a public prosecutor, he successfully prosecuted the senior leadership of several New York City mafia families for racketeering, murder and extortion. Three other attorneys from Sullivan & CromwellSuhana Han, James McDonald and Andrew DeFilippiswill also represent the Adani Group chairperson, as per the court filings. Sagar Adani has hired Timothy D Sini, a partner at Nixon Peabody LLP, as his attorney. D Sini also comes with public prosecution experience, having served as Suffolk County District Attorney. He specializes in matters involving government investigations or charges brought by regulatory agencies like the SEC. Jean Carroll case The younger Adani has also appointed Sean Hecker, founding partner of boutique law firm Hecker Fink LLP, as his attorney. Hecker is a leading trial lawyer. Hecker Fink most notably represented E. Jean Carroll in her successful lawsuits against Donald Trump. A jury verdict in May 2023 found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll, and ordered him to pay $5 million in damages. Emails to these attorneys requesting comment went unanswered. The Adani Group did not comment either. Also Read | Adani Powers India grid plan gains urgency amid Bangladesh tariff row Gautam Adani had earlier hired Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP. However, when Adani made his first submission to the court last month, it was drafted by the folks at Sullivan Cromwell. It is unclear whether the Adani Group has retained the services of Kirkland & Ellis and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. What are the allegations? On 20 November 2024, US prosecutors claimed that $250 million in bribes were paid to unnamed Indian officials in exchange for favourable terms on solar power contracts awarded to Adani Green Energy Ltd and Azure Power Global Ltd, another New Delhi-based company. The US Department of Justice indicted eight individuals for allegedly paying more than $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials from 2020 to 2024 to obtain lucrative solar-energy contracts. The SEC initiated a parallel proceeding against the Adani kin and a separate proceeding against Cyril Cabanes, a former Azure Power executive. Also Read | Why Adani is folding its cement assets into Ambuja now According to the indictment against the Adanis, Adani Green Energy raised $2 billion from US and foreign investors based on false and misleading statements about the companys anti-corruption and anti-bribery efforts. For this reason, the US Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation, while the SEC is pursuing a civil investigation against Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani. The Adani Group has denied the allegations, calling them "baseless" and reaffirming its commitment to maintaining the highest standards of governance and compliance. Two passenger aircraftan Air India and an IndiGo planesuffered a wingtip grazing on the ground at Mumbais Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport on Tuesday. The planes were carrying passengers at the time of the incident. Both Air India and IndiGo spokespersons said all their passengers were safe. The collision occurred between Air India flight AI 2732, which was pushing back for its departure to Coimbatore and IndiGo flight 6E 791, which was taxiing after arriving from Hyderabad. The extent of damage is yet to be ascertained. A wingtip grazing happens when the tip of one plane's wing makes contact with another aircraft or the ground, often occurring during taxiing or low-level manoeuvring. Such incidents can result in structural damage to the wingtip or winglet, requiring maintenance. Confirming the incident, Air India in a statement said flight AI2732 operating from Mumbai to Coimbatore on 3 February was delayed after the aircraft scheduled to operate the service came into contact with another airlines aircraft while waiting on the taxiway prior to take-off. The wingtips of the two aircraft made contact, resulting in damage to our aircrafts wingtip. As a precautionary measure, the aircraft has been grounded for further technical checks. All passengers were safely disembarked, and our ground teams are making alternative arrangements to fly them to their destination at the earliest, the Air India statement said. The incident has been reported to the regulator, the statement said. The countrys civil aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation, in a statement said: Both the aircraft returned to bay for inspections. Officers from Mumbai DGCA have reached the site and are looking into the matter. Indigo, the countrys largest airline by market share, said in a statement that the wingtip of the aircraft operating flight 6E 791 from Hyderabad to Mumbai on 3 February 2026 came in contact with an aircraft of another airline while taxiing, after landing. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has concluded there was no glitch in the grounded Boeing Dreamliner, and asked Air India to train its pilots on the procedures to use the fuel control switches in the wide-bodied aircraft. In its statement released on Tuesday, the regulator said the fuel switch issue reported on Air India Boeing 787-8 was not due to a mechanical fault, but due to incorrect handling. It has not directly blamed pilots or the crew in the report. Air India had grounded a London-Bengaluru Dreamliner, after the pilot raised possible defects with fuel control switches. The flight had landed in Bengaluru on Monday. Fuel control switches are critical cockpit components used by pilots to manage fuel flow to aircraft engines. Any abnormality in the switch is treated as a safety-critical issue and requires immediate technical assessment by both the airline and the aircraft manufacturer. The fuel switches were at the centre of last year's crash involving an Air India Dreamliner, which killed 260 people in Gujarat, triggering tighter scrutiny of the airline. Both left and right switches were checked and found satisfactory... When full force was applied parallel to the base plate, the switch remained secure," the DGCA statement said. "However, applying external force in an incorrect direction caused the switch to move easily from run to cutoff due to the angular base plate allowing slip when pressed improperly with finger or thumb. The DGCA said the airline was being "advised to circulate the Boeing recommended procedure for the operation of fuel cut off switch to its crew members. Air India is yet to respond to the DGCAs findings. Lingering doubts Experts are, however, not convinced with the DGCAs explanation. The external force referred to in the DGCA statement appears to imply a crew action, as the DGCA states that the switch would not move from run to cutoff unless external force was applied in an incorrect direction," said Sanjay Lazar, an aviation expert and chief executive of Avialaz Consulting, a Pune-based aviation safety consulting firm. Given that no one else is present in the cockpit near these switches in these flight situations, the wording seems to suggest that the switch movement in this instance (AI-132 LHR-BLR) was caused by the improper application of external force by the flight crew, Lazar said. Mark D. Martin, aviation consultant and chief executive at Gurugram-based Martin Consulting said he thinks the DGCA is downplaying the gravity of the defects. The fuel switch has to lock and stay locked, irrespective of any inadvertent external force from any direction, position, or angle. This defies the very idea of a mechanical lock. Any and all external force should not allow any travel of the switch from run to cutoff," he said. "The DGCA should have ordered an immediate comprehensive check of all Boeing 787 fuel switches to establish and verify the anomaly before coming out with a statement. The repercussions I see with this is that pilots and peer regulators globally will not accept the DGCA position, and in turn take arbitraty steps to not fly if no proper action on the switch-maker is recommenced, Martin added. Also Read | Boeing eyes higher output as Air India, Akasa await bulk jet deliveries C.S. Randhawa, the president of the Federation of Indian Pilots, said, the airline pilot should have actually raised the issue at Heathrow, rather than at Bengaluru. The issue of a possible fuel switch defect should have been noted in Heathrow/London itself, and not in Bengaluru," he said. "At least, the pilot did the right thing by raising the issue. Also, as a precautionary measure, the DGCA should order a thorough check of the Boeing fleet in question. The DGCA has not responded to emailed questions by Mint. The airline's action Earlier in the day, Air India sought help from Boeing to evaluate on a priority basis the issues with the grounded Dreamliner jet. The Tata-backed airline flagged a potential defect in a fuel control switch on one of its Boeing 787 aircraft, a Dreamliner, and reached out to the US-based aircraft manufacturer for priority evaluation, according to an internal communication seen by Mint. The letter, addressed to Boeing 787 pilots, by Manish Uppal, senior vice-president flight operations at Air India, on 3 February said that the airline's engineering team reported the issue involving the fuel control switch latch and, as a precautionary measure, initiated fleet-wide re-inspection of the component across its 787 fleet. Following the reported defect involving a fuel control switch on one of our B787 aircraft, engineering has escalated the matter to Boeing for priority evaluation, the letter said. The letter mentioned that while Air India awaits Boeings response, company engineers, out of abundance of caution have initiated precautionary fleet-wide inspection of the switch latch. To date, no adverse findings have been reported on the aircraft for which this re-inspection is completed, it said. Crew members have been asked to promptly report any defects observed during operations and to ensure that all required actions are completed prior to accepting the aircraft. Also Read | Fleet constraints slow Air India Express's Navi Mumbai expansion Boeings 787 Dreamliner is a key aircraft category for Air Indias long-haul operations. The airline has 33 Dreamliners in its fleet. The last Dreamliner was received in January 2026. Air India, along with its low-cost carrier Air India Express (AIX), has a fleet size of 297 aircraft comprising Boeing and Airbus models. ATHENS, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Fourteen migrants died in the Aegean Sea off Greece on Tuesday after their boat collided with a coast guard vessel off the island of Chios, the coast guard said. A coastguard official said they spotted a dingy transporting migrants towards Chios, which lies a few miles off the coast of Turkey, and ordered them to turn back. "The smugglers manoeuvred toward the coast guard vessel causing a collision," the official told Reuters. Reuters was unable to independently verify how exactly the collision occurred. The nationality of the migrants was not clear. Two coast guard officers were injured and transferred to hospital and 24 migrants have been rescued, a second official told Reuters. Witnesses reported that about 30-35 people were on board, a government official said. The coast guard said that a search and rescue was underway with coast guard vessels, private boats and divers assisting the operation. Greece, in the southeast corner of the European Union, has long been a favoured gateway to Europe for migrants and refugees from the Middle East, Africa and Asia. In 2015-2016, Greece was at the frontline of Europe's migration crisis and nearly one million people landed on its islands, including Chios, from Turkey. In recent years, arrivals have dropped and Greece has toughened its stance on migrants. Since 2019, the centre-right government has reinforced border controls with fences and sea patrols. Greece has come under scrutiny for its treatment of migrants and refugees approaching by sea, including one shipwreck in 2023 in which hundreds of migrants died after what witnesses said was the coastguards attempt to tow their trawler. The EU border agency said last year that it was reviewing 12 cases of potential human rights violations by Greece, including some allegations migrants seeking asylum were pushed back from Greece's frontiers. Greece denies that it violates human rights or that it forcefully returns asylum seekers from its shores. India and the US announced on Monday that they had agreed on a trade deal. India announced that it will would face 18% US tariffs, down from 50%. The US, meanwhile, said India had agreed to stop buying Russian oil, move toward zero tariffs on a wide range of American products and eliminate non-tariff barriers, buy $500 billion of US products, and allow greater access to its farm sector. India has yet to confirm these aspects of the trade deal. Remember, the US's demand for greater access to India's agricultural market was a sticking point. While a better assessment will be possible once the finer details of the trade deal are released, on the face of it, an 18% tariff on India puts it on a level playing field with other export competitors, if not at an advantage. The 50% tariffs, which took effect in late August, dealt a hard blow to several sectors, even as overall exports showed resilience by capturing alternative markets. Gems and jewellery, textiles, and marine products, are among the goods expected to see much-needed relief from lower tariffs. The announcement of a trade deal comes after nearly a year of dramatic events that strained India's trade and diplomatic ties with the US. While India faced reciprocal tariffs in April 2025 alongside several other nations, negotiations stalled as New Delhi hesitated to open its agricultural market to US products. Tensions further escalated when the Indian government countered President Donald Trumps claims regarding his role in ending the India-Pakistan conflict. The situation worsened in late August, when an additional 25% tariff was imposed, making it the country worst-hit by US tariffs, along with Brazil. The trade deal was essential to keep India's largest export market from slipping. Trump also claimed on Monday that India had agreed to stop buying Russian oil. Energy imports played a central role in the escalation of tensions between the two nations. Since the Russia-Ukraine war, India has been buying Russian oil at discounted prices. However, India has been curtailing these imports over the last year, as discounts on Russian oil have narrowed. Russias share of Indias crude imports rose sharply from under 2% before 2022 to about 35% in 2024-25, making it Indias largest oil supplier. However, the share of Russian oil has declined to 32% in FY26 so far. India became the third-largest purchaser of Russian oil in December, down from second place. Also Read | Rupee finds its footing after India-US trade deal By contrast, the US accounted for only 5% of Indias crude imports until 2024-25, but its share has increased to above 8% in 2025-26 so far, making it the fourth-largest source. The August 2025 penalty tariffs were explicitly tied to these Russian oil purchases, demonstrating how trade measures were used as leverage in broader geopolitical negotiations. It is not clear what Trump meant when he said India would purchase US goods worth $500 billion and over what period. For context, India-US bilateral trade totalled $132 billion in FY25, with imports from the US coming in around $43 billion. (The deal) brings India broadly in line with its Asian peers on tariff ratesat the very least eliminating the earlier unfair and disproportionate drag on exports and, by extension, the rupee," said Madhavi Arora, chief economist at Emkay Global Financial Services. There are no incremental advantages or preferential placements vis-a-vis Asian peers, but restoring a level playing field is a meaningful reset point from a trade perspective," she added. Eight Congress MPs were suspended from Lok Sabha on Tuesday by the Speaker in the Chair for 'unruly' behaviour after chaos over the Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi not being allowed to mention an article based on excerpts from an unpublished 'memoir' of ex-Army chief M M Naravane. The Opposition MPs were suspended for tearing papers and throwing them at the Chair. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju moved a resolution against Opposition MPs. "I beg to note that this House has taken a serious note of the misconduct of Manickam Tagore, Amrinder Singh Raja Waring, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Hibi Eden, Prashant Padole, C. Kiran Reddy in utter disregard to the House and the authority of the Chair through reaching to the table of the Secretary General and other officers in the well of the House and throwing papers on the Chair and having been named by the Chair, resolve that the above-mentioned members may be suspended from the services of the House for the remainder of the session under Rule 3742." The House passed the resolution by a voice vote. Following that, Speaker in the Chair Dilip Saikia announced the suspension of Congress MPs. Congress members, led by Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, staged a protest outside the Parliament building against suspension of party members from the Lok Sabha. MPs who have been suspended Manickam Tagore C Kiran Kumar Reddy Prashant Padole Hibi Eden Dean Kuriakose S Venkateshan Gurjeet Singh Aujla Amarinder Singh Raja Warring An hour before the MPs were suspended, Rahul Gandhi authenticated a copy of an article in the Lok Sabha which cited ex-army chief M M Naravane's unpublished memoir. As soon as Gandhi was asked to speak on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address, he cited the Speaker's ruling of Monday and authenticated the copy of the article. "I have authenticated it," he said. To authenticate a document, a member has to submit a signed copy of it affirming that it is correct to the best of his knowledge. Prasad Tenneti, who was chairing the House, asked him to table it and said "we will examine it and get back". Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the Speaker passed a ruling on the matter and after that Gandhi should not raise the issue repeatedly. New Delhi: India plans to impose anti-dumping duties on ethambutol hydrochloridea critical input used in tuberculosis (TB) medicinesto curb cheap imports from China and Thailand, according to a government order reviewed by Mint . As per the order, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) in its preliminary investigation has found prima facie evidence that imports of ethambutol hydrochloride from China and Thailand were entering the Indian market at artificially depressed prices, causing material injury to the domestic industry. The DGTR functions under the Union commerce ministry's Department of Commerce. Also Read | Why small pharma firms want manufacturing practice norm deadline deferred As per commerce ministry data, imports of ethambutol hydrochloride from China and Thailand were negligible until FY24, but it rose sharply in FY25, with total imports jumping from $0.14 million to $4.50 million in a single year. As per the order, the DGTR has recommended the imposition of provisional anti-dumping duties ranging from $5,124 to $6,513 per tonne. The proposed duty is $5,124 per tonne on imports from Chinas Wuhan Wuyao Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd, $6,096 per tonne on imports from other Chinese producers and exporters, and $6,513 per tonne on imports from Thailand, irrespective of the producer. Anti-dumping duty on critical TB drug APIs (active pharmaceutical ingredients) is a necessary policy intervention to address market distortions caused by sustained low-priced imports and to safeguard domestic manufacturing capability. Strengthening local API production is essential not only for self-reliance but also for ensuring uninterrupted access to essential medicines for both domestic and global TB programmes," said Arun Kumar Jha, chancellor, National Institute of Advanced Manufacturing Technology (NIAMT), Ranchi. The move is aimed at strengthening domestic manufacturing capability for APIs used in life-saving drugs and reducing Indias dependence on imports, particularly from China. The DGTRs probe covered the period from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, with injury analysis spanning FY22 to FY25. The DGTR observed that imports from the subject countries increased significantly during the period of investigation, leading to price undercutting, suppression of domestic prices and deterioration in profitability and returns for the domestic producer. Also Read | India looks to harden drug law to curb opioid abuse As per the DGTR, the duties, if notified by the finance ministry, will apply during the pendency of the investigation. The development assumes significance given that India is a major supplier of TB medicines globally, and sustained import dependence for critical inputs has raised concerns over supply-chain resilience. The findings come in the backdrop of India imposing a minimum import price (MIP) on certain bulk drugs, APIs and intermediates to support domestic manufacturing and curb cheap imports from China. API is the main chemical substance in a drug that produces the therapeutic effect. Also, Indian companies have started manufacturing APIs under the government's production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme launched in 2020. Imposing anti-dumping duty on key TB drug APIs from China and Thailand is a positive move that will help protect domestic manufacturers from prolonged price undercutting and encourage capacity creation in India. The measure is also expected to strengthen supply-chain resilience for essential medicines, while ensuring that India continues to play its role as a reliable global supplier of TB drugs," said Amit Singh, associate professor at the Special Centre for National Security Studies, JNU. India-US Trade Deal: US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Monday (local time) thanked President Donald Trump for delivering for American farmers through the just-announced India-US trade deal. The deal will help export more American farm products to India's massive market, lift prices, and pump cash into rural America, Rollins said in a post on X. Her remarks came after Trump announced on Monday night (IST) that he had agreed to a trade deal with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, under which the US will lower tariffs on goods from India to 18% from 25%. In 2024, Americas agricultural trade deficit with India was $1.3 billion. Indias growing population is an important market for American agricultural products and todays deal will go a long way to reducing this deficit, Rollins said in the poxt on X. America First victory on top of the dozens of deals for agriculture, she said. Earlier, in a post on Truth Social, Trump said India will reduce trade barriers to zero and will also stop buying Russian oil. He added that the US will drop the additional 25% tariff penalty imposed on Delhi for its refusal to stop buying oil from Russia. This deal will go a long way to reducing America's agricultural trade deficit with India. The announcement comes less than a week after India and the European Union (EU) sealed a landmark trade deal that capped nearly two decades of on-and-off talks. PM Modi said on X that he is "delighted" that an agreement with the US has been reached. India-US trade ties had been strained since the US imposed 50% tariffs on goods from India - the highest for a country in Asia - in August last year. The Trump administration also imposed a 25% penalty linked to India's purchase of Russian oil. After the deal, the US will drop the Russian oil-linked tariffs as part of the agreement, and reciprocal tariffs will be lowered to 18%, a White House official told the BBC. Modi thanked Trump on behalf of India's 1.4 billion people for the wonderful announcement. "When two large economies and the world's largest democracies work together, it benefits our people and unlocks immense opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation," he said. US President Donald Trump's decision to cut tariffs on Indian goods from 50% to 18% augurs well for the country as it will boost exports, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday. So, actually our exports will pick up now, that is my expectation... along with having found new markets where they will continue to operate, she said in an interview with news agency PTI. It is a good augury for them (exporters), Sitharaman added, as Trump said on Monday that he is slashing tariffs on India from 50% to 18% under a newly announced trade deal. He also claimed that the US is removing a separate 25% punitive tariff linked to India's purchases of Russian crude oil. However, the reductions in duties come with strings attached. President Trump mentioned that the deal was made in exchange for India lowering trade barriers and stopping its purchases of Russian oil, and instead buying oil from the US and potentially Venezuela. Good news for Indian exporters The United States' steep 50% tariffs last year significantly hurt Indian exports, as they raised landed costs, squeezed exporter margins and eroded competitiveness in the American market. Sectors such as steel, aluminium, textiles, engineering goods, and some agricultural products were particularly hard hit as higher duties led American buyers to shift orders to alternative suppliers. Also Read | IndiaUS trade deal fuels fresh optimism for the Indian IT sector If the trade deal is implemented, it would bring tariffs on India into line with those of most other Asian countries, around 15-19%. Currently, key regional competitors such as Vietnam and Bangladesh are facing duties of 20%, so this development is expected to erode India's price advantage in the US market. Sitharaman said while the details of the agreement will be announced soon, the cut in tariffs is a good auguring for exporters. Taken together with the new markets exporters had tapped after becoming uncompetitive in the US, the exports will pick up now, she said during the interview. Impact of previous tariffs on India's trade Earlier, the hefty US tariffs caused India's bilateral trade surplus with the US to shrink by $2.5 billion each month on average in September-December 2025 (versus the monthly average in January-August 2025), according to HSBC Global Investment Research. There have also been $14 billion of equity outflows by foreign investors since July 2025 amid weak sentiment, the agency report said. Also Read | Rupee finds its footing after India-US trade deal Earlier in the day, FM Sitharaman had posted about the development on X (formerly Twitter), calling the tariff reduction announcement Good news for #MadeInIndia products. India-US trade deal: Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the relevance of the India-US trade deal during the National Democratic Alliances (NDA) Parliamentary Party meeting. The prime minister told NDA leaders that the coalition has been winning various elections due to its people-friendly policies and hard work. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju told reporters after the NDA Parliamentary Party meeting that Prime Minister Modi also told NDA MPs that they should not be complacent with their wins in various polls, including local body polls, but continue with the good work. Also Read | Trump announces India-US trade deal after speaking with PM Modi At the meeting, Modi was felicitated by the NDA leaders for successfully concluding trade deals with 39 countries. The prime minister arrived at the Parliament Annexe Building for the NDA Parliamentary Party meeting. During the meeting, he was felicitated for the India-United States trade deal. Result of sustained patience The Prime Minister, according to a report by India, said in his address that the India-US deal was the result of sustained patience, noting that earlier criticism over tariff negotiations had now given way to a positive outcome. In his address, he said the trade deal had created a favourable economic environment and reflected the governments consistent and measured approach to global trade negotiations, the report said. People criticised the tariffs, but we remained patient, and the results are now visible, PM Modi said. The meeting was held a day after US President Donald Trump said that the US and India "have agreed to a trade deal," with Washington reducing the reciprocal tariff from 25% to 18%, "out of friendship and respect" for PM Modi. In his first remarks after President Trump's announcement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday thanked the US President for reducing the tariffs to 18%. Prime Minister Modi said he was delighted that Made in India products will now face an 18% tariff. PM Modi said, Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made-in-India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement. Other Ministers Present Union Ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and Bhupender Yadav, along with BJP leaders CR Patil and Giriraj Singh, also arrived for the meeting. AIADMK Rajya Sabha MP M Thambi Durai and BJP MP Ashok Chavan were also present. Lok Sabha was adjourned for an hour on Tuesday amid protests and sloganeering by opposition members over the recently announced India-US trade deal. The opposition alleged on Tuesday that the Union government has neither made an official statement nor taken Parliament into confidence. Both Houses of Parliament reconvened the discussion on the motion of 'Thanks to the President's address' during the ongoing Budget Session. Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Lok Sabha witnessed a heated exchange between the NDA and the INDIA bloc MPs during Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi's address, during which he cited an unpublished memoir by former Army Chief General MM Naravane on border tensions with China. BJP members strongly objected to Rahul Gandhi's remarks, saying he violated the House's rules. The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day. The motion comes in response to President Droupadi Murmu's address to the joint sitting of both the Houses to mark the beginning of the Budget Session on January 28. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday chose Yumnam Khemchand Singh as its legislature party leader in Manipur. He is set to be sworn in as the next chief minister of the state. Sources said Manipur may also get a woman deputy chief minister. Nemcha Kipgen, a senior Kuki leader and former minister, is among the leading contenders for the post, news agency PTI reported. The leadership decision was finalised after a meeting of BJP MLAs from Manipur held in Delhi, just days before Presidents rule in the state is due to end. NDA partners from Manipur also met later on Tuesday following the BJP legislators meeting. Who is Yumnam Khemchand Singh? Yumnam Khemchand Singh had drawn attention on December 8 last year when he became the first Meitei MLA to visit relief camps sheltering internally displaced persons from the Kuki community in Ukhruls Litan and Chassad areas of Kamjong district. During the visit, he interacted with the displaced families and heard their concerns. Singh earlier served as the Speaker of the Manipur Legislative Assembly from 2017 to 2022. In 2022, he was inducted into the second N Biren Singh-led government as a cabinet minister, where he was assigned key portfolios including Municipal Administration and Housing Development (MAHUD), Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, and Education. Tarun Chugh named central observer On Monday, the BJP parliamentary board appointed Tarun Chugh as the central observer for the election of the Manipur BJP legislature party leader. On Sunday, all legislators were asked to come to Delhi for a meeting on Monday. All 37 MLAs are in Delhi for the meeting. The meeting was supposed to be held Monday evening but after the latest announcement about the central observer, we all received information saying that the meeting has been postponed to 3 pm tomorrow, a state BJP leader told HT. NDA partners consulted Former Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh had earlier confirmed that all NDA partners in the state were invited to the discussions in the national capital. All NDA partners have been invited. Let us hope for a positive response, Singh told reporters, according to PTI. He added that governance was a continuous process and that efforts were being made to improve the situation in Manipur. Singh resigned as chief minister last year, after which Presidents rule was imposed in Manipur on February 13, 2025. The decision followed months of intermittent violence linked to ethnic tensions between the Kuki-Zo and Meitei communities. Presidents rule was extended by Parliament in August last year for another six months. The Union Home Ministry has also extended the tenure of the three-member Commission of Inquiry investigating the ethnic violence in the state, according to an earlier HT report. As ruckus continued in the Lok Sabha over Rahul Gandhi's speech referring to India-China clashes during the ongoing Budget Session of Parliament, Krishna Prasad Tenneti, who was chairing the House, took offence when one of the members, perhaps from the Congress party, addressed him as yaar' meaning friend. The Lok Sabha reconvened at 2 PM after two earlier adjournments on Tuesday. Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday authenticated a copy of an article in the Lok Sabha which cited former army chief M M Naravane's unpublished 'memoir'. As soon as Gandhi was asked to speak on the Motion of Thanks, he cited the Speaker's ruling of Monday and authenticated the copy of the article. I have authenticated it, he said. To authenticate a document, a member must submit a signed copy, affirming that it is correct to the best of his knowledge. Krishna Prasad Tenneti, who was chairing the House, asked him to table it and said, We will examine it and get back. What is this yaar?' Rahul Gandhi, however, continued to raise the India-China issue, which was countered by opposition members, including Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju. Rijiju cited his earlier meeting with KC Venugopal, a Congress leader considered very close to Rahul. The chair urged Venugopal to let Rahul speak, and during this conversation, Venugopal addressed the chair as abbe yaar. Tenneti took offence and cited protocol and decorum. What did you just say? What is this yaar? This is Parliament. This is the Lok Sabha. You can't address the chair as 'yaar'. Please take back your words. You can't, Tenneti said in response. LiveMint has not seen the video to authenticate who actually used the word yaar. It appeared from the conversation streamed on Sansad TV's YouTube channel that it was KC Venugopal. Youre not allowing LoP to speak," the chairman of the house said. House Adjourned Again As the impasse continued over Gandhi seeking to quote the article, Tenneti adjourned the proceedings till 3 PM. The Lok Sabha was also marred by protests on Monday. A massive political row ensued when the Leader of Opposition (LoP), speaking during the Budget Session of Parliament, attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and sought to read about India-China clashes from excerpts from an unpublished memoir of former Army Chief MM Naravane. What is this yaar, you cannot address the chair as yaar. There is a decorum. The excerpts published in a magazine evoked a backlash from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders who accused him of misleading the House and belittling the armed forces. The house was adjourned for the day amid repeated protests in the house. Parliament Budget Session Live: The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day after repeated adjournments on Tuesday amid protests and sloganeering by opposition members over the recently announced India-US trade deal. At least eight Congress Members of Parliament (MPs) have been suspended for untuly behaviour. The lower house met at 2 PM, with the house chairman, Krishna Prasad Tenneti, calling on the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, to speak. Continuing from where he left off on Monday, Rahul Gandhi authenticated the magazine that published excerpts from an unpublished memoir of former Army chief M M Naravane on the 2020 India-China conflict. A very important matter in the President's speech is a matter relating to national security. Our relationship between the Pakistanis, the Chinese, and us. There is a very important point in this article that I have authenticated. It speaks about the PM's reaction...Our President's address was about the path India has to take. Today. On the world stage, the main issue in international affairs is the conflict between China and the US," Rahul Gandhi said raising India-China issue again. This, the Congress leader said, is central to our President's address. "All I am saying is let me make a statement about what happened between China and India and how our PM reacted to it. Why am I being stopped?, Rahul Gandhi asked. The BJP MPs objected to Rahul Gandhi speaking on this issue. The BJP leaders opposed it and said that the speaker Om Birla had already given a ruling against referring to the magazine article. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said the issue can't be raised. Eventually, the chair asked other members to start speaking, since Rahul had stuck to the India-China clashes. The opposition raised slogans, and the chair adjourned the house till 3 PM the third adjournment for the day. House resumed at 3 and was adjourned for the day amid protests. What happened earlier in the day? Soon after the obituary references, the Opposition members began sloganeering over the trade deal. The members shouted 'Howdi-Modi' slogans referring to the mega event held on 22 September 2019, at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, United States, attended by Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The opposition alleged on Tuesday that the Union government has neither made an official statement nor taken Parliament into confidence. Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, returning to Delhi, is likely to make a statement in Parliament today, according to a report by news agency PTI quoting sources. House Adjourned till noon Amid the slogans, speaker Om Birla adjourned the house for an hour. The protests returned when the house reconvened again at 12 noon. Amid slogans, Krishna Prasad Tenneti, who was presiding over the proceedings, urged members to let the house function. Since the protests continued, he adjourned the house till 2 pm. US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that the US and India had agreed to a trade deal. President Trump announced on Monday night (IST) that India and the US agreed to a trade deal under which Washington will reduce the reciprocal tariff on Indian goods to 18 per cent from the current 25 per cent. Trump said this after a phone conversation with PM Modi, announced by US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, who joined last month. Parliament not taken into confidence: Congress On Tuesday, Congress MP KC Venugopal gave a notice of adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha to discuss the India-US Trade Agreement. Despite the significant economic, agricultural, and strategic implications of these reported commitments, the Government has neither made an official statement nor taken Parliament into confidence, Venugopal said The country has the right to know the exact terms and conditions of the proposed trade deal, and it is imperative that the Government place all details before Parliament and the nation, he added. "Given the urgency and public importance of the matter, this issue warrants immediate discussion through an Adjournment Motion," the Congress leader said. The country has the right to know the exact terms and conditions of the proposed trade deal. "The country has the right to know the exact terms and conditions of the proposed trade deal, and it is imperative that the Government place all details before Parliament and the nation, he added. "Given the urgency and public importance of the matter, this issue warrants immediate discussion through an Adjournment Motion," the Congress leader added. Govt ready to give a detailed statement: Nadda In Rajya Sabha, responding to the Opposition MPs raising the India-US trade agreement in Rajya Sabha, Union Minister JP Nadda said US President tweeted on tariffs and referred to PM Modi as a true friend last night. "After this, the PM tweeted, thanking the US President and on trade deal. The government will issue a suo motu statement on this trade deal and also hold a discussion on it. When the government is ready to give a detailed statement, this attitude of Congress and the INDIA is wrong. It is their frustration which is speaking," the BJP leader said. The Rajya Sabha was also adjourned till 2 pm. There has been no official government statement on the deal. While top ministers have mentioned a reduction in the reciprocal tariff on Indian goods to 18 per cent from the current 25 per cent, no social media post mentioned anything about Russian Oil and other things claimed by President Trump in the social media post after speaking with PM Modi on Monday night. Congress swipe at PM Earlier, the Congress took a swipe at the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union government, soon after US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that the US and India had agreed to a trade deal. The opposition party said it appears the prime minister has capitulated finally and that this cannot be the father of all deals. The Lok Sabha was marred by protests on Monday too. A massive political row ensued when Leader of Opposition (LoP), speaking during the Budget Session of Parliament, attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and sought to read about India-China clashes from excerpts from an unpublished memoir of former Army Chief MM Naravane. The Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Monday that it had removed numthousand documents and media files that may have accidentally revealed victim-identifying information after it began releasing a new batch of records related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein on Friday. The department attributed the release of the sensitive material, which prompted backlash from victims and their lawyers, to errors caused by technical or human error, according to AP. US Attorney Jay Clayton informed the New York judges supervising the sex trafficking cases against Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell that the department had removed nearly all materials flagged by victims or their lawyers, besides a substantial number of documents identified independently by the government. Clayton noted that the department has iteratively revised its protocols for addressing flagging documents in response to requests from victims and their attorneys to modify the procedures for assessing and redacting posted records. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told ABCs This Week in a Sunday interview that, although sporadic errors have taken place, the Justice Department has acted quickly to correct them. Blanche mentioned, Every time we hear from a victim or their lawyer that they believe that their name was not properly redacted, we immediately rectified that. And the numbers were talking about, just so the American people understand, were talking about .001 percent of all the materials." The DOJ on Friday released over three million pages of records, more than 2,000 videos, and nearly 180,000 images in the latest batch. What did Epstein victims lawyers write to judges? The letter, authored by prominent Epstein victims lawyers Brittany Henderson and Brad Edwards and sent to two federal judges in New York supervising the cases involving Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, calls for immediate judicial intervention over the inclusion of victims information in millions of Epstein-related records that were made public. Henderson informed CNN that the letter had been sent to the judges but has not yet been posted on the public court docket. In the filing addressed to Judges Richard Berman and Paul Engelmayer, Henderson and Edwards said that over the previous 48 hours they had reported thousands of redaction failures affecting nearly 100 survivors, whose lives they said had been severely disrupted by the Justice Departments latest document release. They also told the court that the scope, frequency, and persistence of the failures could not reasonably be attributed to institutional incompetence, especially given that the Justice Departments only court-ordered and repeatedly emphasised responsibility was to redact known victims names before releasing the records. The lawyers detailed numerous redaction failures they said they uncovered, including one instance in which a minor victims name was allegedly revealed 20 times in a single document". They said that after reporting the errors to the Justice Department, only three were corrected, leaving 17 instances still unpredicted as of this filing". Whatever your view of the rollout of autonomous robotaxis in cities, there is little doubt that 2026 will see that rollout accelerate to a steady cruising speed. Indeed, 2026 will be the pivotal year for global robotaxi adoption as pilot projects move towards commercial rollouts, and companies accelerate from a test phase into a coordinated international expansion, with US and Chinese developers pushing their way into Europe and the Middle East. While challenges remain, notably profitability and the retraining of AI models, the current coordination between technology developers, ride-hailing platforms, automakers, regulators, and governments keen to attract tech investment does offer lower barriers to entry. And London has become a center of adoption for all key players. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2026, Waymo aims to expand its driverless taxi service to London. Baidus Apollo Go was due to begin tests in Switzerland in December 2025 and aims to launch a public, fully driverless service by early 2027. Another player is the Chinese autonomous vehicle company Pony.ai, which is planning trials in Luxembourg, while WeRide will work with Uber to launch services in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. These moves suggest 2026 will become an on-ramp for international expansion. The groups have accelerated their plans for British launches after the UK government keen not to risk missing out on the AV revolution - announced it would allow commercial trials of driverless cars this spring. London is the intersection where US and Chinese robotaxis will compete Those moves mean London is likely to become the first city where both US and Chinese robotaxis operate, as the companies aggressive global expansion plans lead to direct competition, not least against Londons black cab taxi drivers, who, perhaps unsurprisingly, may question the local capability of driverless vehicles. London cabbies might point to the advantages that their extensive training coursedubbed The Knowledgegives them, such as on-the-job information about how to get from A to B in London at almost any time of the day and avoid the worst traffic jams in doing so. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Waymo plans to scale up operations and will work closely with Transport for London and the Department for Transport to obtain the permits needed to offer fully autonomous rides in 2026. While the messaging from the AV companies relentlessly promotes the safety of their vehicles, it is important to point out that whether or not you want your life to be dominated by being driven around by a robotic car will be a matter of personal taste. A lifetime of independent personal driving with the freedom to decide when and where to come and go as you wish is not easy to give up. Most people who take driving lessons and then pass their driving test relish the freedom that being able to drive brings at all ages of life. Read the comments on many online articles from those in favor of AVs, and you may mistakenly get the impression that almost every personal car journey ends with an accident, which is patently not the case. There are millions of individual road journeys made each day, safely, without incident. That is not to say there are never accidents, but the online propaganda that seems to point to every human driver being a bad driver and every AV a good one is a false one. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the CES 2026 event in Las Vegas, Nvidias founder and CEO Jensen Huang suggested, Our vision is that, someday, every single car, every single truck will be autonomous, and were working toward that future, he said. No, Mr Huang. One vision does not fit all. Making a driving choice, in the same vehicle Maybe whats needed is an offering that allows driver freedom yet remains a robotaxi. There is one such interesting idea from Tensor: a personal robocar that you can choose to drive yourself, or allow yourself to be driven. It has a foldaway steering wheel, courtesy of a partnership with Swedish company AutoLiv. Tensor has also struck a deal with ride-hailing company Lyft to use 2000 of Tensors vehicles. Another recent development is the launch by Visteon and TomTom of a notable in-car local AI navigation system. The companies say they are establishing a new industry standard for 'privacy-first', locally-processed AI navigation, without needing to rely on cloud connectivity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Visteons strategic collaboration with TomTom, a specialist in mapping and location technology, is the worlds first in-car local AI conversational navigation assistant. By combining Visteons multimodal Vision Language Model (VLM), which enables local processing for speed, privacy, and reliability without reliance on cloud connectivity, with TomToms Automotive Navigation Application, which supports hybrid connectivity for navigation, the partnership claims to deliver natural voice interaction and a balance of performance and flexibility. Visteons cognitoAI platform integrates TomToms Automotive Navigation Application to create a privacy-first navigation experience. Privacy shouldnt be a compromise in the age of AI, said Sivakumar Yeddanapudi, Global Vice President Digital Cockpit and Connected Services at Visteon. Weve solved one of the automotive industrys biggest AI challenges. Now, working with TomTom, weve proven that the most advanced conversational navigation can run entirely on vehicle hardware. Local processing means faster response times, reliable operation without connectivity, and an intelligent, high performance navigation experience. Privacy, indeed, shouldnt be a compromise in the age of AI. And neither should safety, nor the freedom to choose whether to drive or not. There is room for multiple viewpoints, just as there are viewpoints from vehicles multiple mirrors, and from multiple drivers, human and autonomous, all working together in harmony. Advertisement Advertisement Theres an old song from about 50 years ago called Streets of London. Its not actually about driving in London, but the final three lines are perhaps appropriate as to the positive changes London could exhibit on its streets: Let me take you by the hand And lead you through the streets of London I'll show you something to make you change your mind. "2026 will be a pivotal year for robotaxi adoption in London" was originally created and published by Just Auto, a GlobalData owned brand. The US Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced a major policy shift that will bar businesses with legal permanent residents (Green Card holders) from accessing SBA-backed loans, drawing sharp criticism from Democratic lawmakers. In a policy notice published on February 2, the SBA said the changes will take effect from March 1, 2026. 100% US citizen ownership now mandatory Under the revised Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) 50 10 8, the SBA will require that 100% of all direct and indirect owners of a small business applicant be US citizens or US nationals who maintain their principal residence in the United States, its territories, or possessions. The update is aligned with 13 C.F.R. 120.100 and Executive Order 14159, titled Protecting the American People Against Invasion. Green Card holders barred from any ownership in loan applicants The new policy explicitly makes legal permanent residents (LPRs) ineligible to hold any ownership stakedirect or indirectin an SBA loan applicant, operating company (OC), or eligible passive company (EPC). This marks a significant tightening from earlier rules. Earlier 5% foreign ownership exception scrapped The notice rescinds SBA Procedural Notice 5000-872050, which had allowed up to 5% ownership by foreign nationals or by US citizens, nationals, or LPRs residing outside the US. That narrow exception will no longer apply from March 1. Democrats slam SBA move Senator Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts and Representative Nydia Velazquez of New York, the ranking members of the Senate and House Small Business Committees, condemned the decision. The Trump administration is stoking the flames of hatred, spreading fear and confusion among immigrants and small business owners. Rather than support hard-working legal immigrants to start or expand a business, the Trump SBA is choosing hatred by barring Green Card holders from receiving an SBA loan. The Administrations message to immigrants is clear: you are not welcome to pursue the American Dream, they said, accusing the SBA of undermining legal immigrants pursuing entrepreneurship. Concerns raised earlier ignored: Lawmakers Lawmakers noted that concerns over stricter citizenship verification rules had been raised repeatedly with the SBA. In July, Markey and Velazquez warned the agency about draconian requirements. In September, lenders flagged operational issues, while in December, Democratic members of the Senate Small Business Committee pointed to a decline in SBA lending volumes. US President Donald Trump has said his administration is seeking $1 billion in damages from Harvard University, escalating a high-profile confrontation between the White House and elite American universities over alleged ideological bias and campus protests. Trump Rejects Settlement Reports, Escalates Legal Threat The Presidents remarks followed a report by the New York Times suggesting that Harvard had secured some concessions in ongoing settlement talks with the federal government. Trump rejected that characterisation, insisting that the administration was pursuing damages rather than compromise. We are now seeking One Billion Dollars in damages, and want nothing further to do, into the future, with Harvard University, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. Administration Accuses Harvard of Failing Jewish Students Trump administration officials have accused Harvard and other universities of promoting what they describe as woke ideology, while failing to adequately protect Jewish students during pro-Palestinian protests on campus. Also Read | Harvard graduate says US has more money, freedom but prefers India The administration has filed legal complaints and demanded large financial penalties, a strategy critics describe as a pressure campaign against liberal institutions. Comparisons With Columbia and Other Ivy League Universities The dispute with Harvard comes after fellow Ivy League institution Columbia University agreed last summer to pay $200 million to the Trump administration. Columbia also pledged to comply with rules barring the consideration of race in admissions or hiring decisions. Another Ivy League school, the University of Pennsylvania, moved last year to address administration concerns by announcing a ban on transgender women participating in womens sports. Reports of Dropped Demands Contradicted Earlier on Monday, the New York Times reported that the administration had dropped a demand for a $200 million settlement payment from Harvard after lengthy negotiations. Trump, however, dismissed the suggestion that talks had meaningfully progressed. He recalled earlier discussions over a potential $500 million settlement, which he said included proposals to open trade schools. They wanted to do a convoluted job training concept, but it was turned down in that it was wholly inadequate and would not have been, in our opinion, successful, Trump said in his post late Monday evening. Claims of Heinous Illegalities The President went on to argue that such proposals were an attempt to avoid a much larger financial penalty. It was merely a way of Harvard getting out of a large cash settlement of more than 500 Million Dollars, a number that should be much higher for the serious and heinous illegalities that they have committed, he added, without specifying what laws Harvard has allegedly broken. Full Statement Targets Harvard Leadership In a lengthy Truth Social post, Trump accused Harvard of spreading misinformation through the New York Times and sharply criticised its leadership, including university president Alan Garber. The US House of Representatives voted 217-214 on Tuesday (February 3) to pass a government funding package, effectively ending a brief federal government shutdown that began on Saturday (January 31). The legislation now moves to President Donald Trump, who has said he will sign it immediately. The broad spending bill funds 11 of the 12 annual appropriations bills through September 30, ensuring most federal agencies continue operating for the full fiscal year. The only exception is the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which is funded on a temporary basis through February 13 to allow further negotiations on immigration enforcement policies. Temporary DHS funding to allow negotiation The DHS funding provision was separated from the larger package amid intense debate over immigration enforcement reforms. House lawmakers agreed to a two-week extension for DHS funding, setting up a frantic 10-day window for Congress to negotiate a broader agreement on DHS and immigration policy before the new February 13 deadline. The limited extension reflects a compromise reached after Democrats refused to support full-year DHS funding without changes to policies governing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), particularly following widespread criticism of federal immigration enforcement after two US citizens were fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis. House Speaker Mike Johnson secured near-unanimous Republican support to push the government funding bill through a key procedural vote earlier in the afternoon, overcoming resistance from a small group of conservatives who sought to attach unrelated priorities to the legislation. President Donald Trump played a decisive role in breaking the impasse, urging Republicans to remain united. In a social media post on Monday, Trump warned holdouts: There can be NO CHANGES at this time. He has reiterated that he will sign the bill as soon as it reaches his desk. Trump pressure ends conservative blockade threat A faction of conservative lawmakers had threatened to use procedural maneuvers to block the deal but ultimately backed down after Trump personally intervened. The president nailed it down, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole of Oklahoma told reporters. Im glad we are all nails and theres one hammer. Two key holdouts Anna Paulina Luna of Florida and Tim Burchett of Tennessee said they agreed to allow the bill to move forward after discussions with the White House, despite lingering objections. Shutdown rooted in immigration enforcement dispute The funding standoff was triggered by a broader fight over immigration enforcement following the killing of U.S. citizen Alex Pretti during a confrontation with Border Patrol officers in Minneapolis last month. Democrats refused to approve full-year funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) unless new limits were placed on immigration enforcement agencies, including ICE and CBP. The compromise measure funds DHS only until February 13, creating a short window for negotiations on enforcement reforms. Senate deal shapes House vote The spending package had already passed the Senate last week, before the shutdown began at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. The deal was brokered by Trump and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, allowing DHS funding to be temporarily extended while talks continue. Democrats are pushing for immigration agents to forgo masks, wear body cameras, obtain warrants before entering private homes, and halt broad immigration sweeps. Opposition from both parties Despite its passage, the bill faced opposition across party lines. Some conservatives objected because it excluded proposed changes to election laws and included spending increases and Democratic-backed projects. I dont understand why we took the deal that we took. Theres tons of Democrat earmarks in the bill, said Republican Rep. Eric Burlison of Missouri. On the Democratic side, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and his leadership team voted against the measure, citing the lack of immediate restraints on immigration agents. Shutdown impacts beginning to mount The effects of the shutdown were already being felt before the House acted. The Labor Department announced that Fridays closely watched jobs report would be delayed, while the ongoing tax filing season faces potential disruptions. Non-essential federal workers have been furloughed, and multiple departments remain shuttered, including Defense, State, Treasury, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, Education, as well as agencies such as the Small Business Administration and Securities and Exchange Commission. Stakes remain high The most recent shutdown before this one lasted a record 43 days in October and November, furloughing hundreds of thousands of workers and costing the US economy an estimated $11 billion. Also Read | Trump says he will sue Harvard for $1 billion US President Donald Trump said Republicans should nationalize elections and take over voting in at least 15 places, renewing his unsubstantiated claims that US elections are plagued by widespread fraud. Speaking on The Dan Bongino Show podcast on February 2, Trump gave no specifics on which states or locations he was referring to, or how such a takeover would be implemented. The Republicans should say, we want to take over. We should take over the voting The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting, Trump said. What nationalizing elections would imply Trumps remarks suggest shifting control of elections away from individual states and toward a centralized federal authority or nationally controlled system. Currently, US elections are administered by states and local jurisdictions, which manage voter registration, ballot counting, voting machines and certification of results. Trump accused several states of wrongdoing, saying, We have states that are so crooked and theyre counting votes. We have states that I won that show I didnt win. Constitutional framework for US elections Under the US Constitution, statesnot the federal governmentare responsible for conducting elections. While Congress can set limited nationwide rules, such as voting rights protections, states retain primary authority over how elections are run. Legal hurdles Legal experts say any attempt to federalize or nationalize elections would face steep constitutional barriers and likely trigger immediate legal challenges from states. Pushback also came from within Trumps own party. Republican Representative Don Bacon said on X, I opposed nationalizing elections when Speaker Pelosi wanted major changes to elections in all 50 states. Ill oppose this now as well. Claims about migrants voting Trump tied his call for nationalized elections to claims that immigrants are voting illegallyan assertion not supported by evidence. Only US citizens are permitted to vote in federal and state elections. These people were brought to our country to vote, and they vote illegally, Trump said, adding that Republicans were not being tougher on the issue. Also Read | Trump says he will sue Harvard for $1 billion Link to Georgia probe and 2020 election claims Trumps comments came days after the FBI executed a search warrant at a Fulton County elections center near Atlanta as part of an investigation related to the 2020 presidential election. Georgia is among the states Trump continues to falsely claim were stolen from him, despite repeated court rulings and reviews finding no evidence of widespread fraud. Now, youre going to see something in Georgia Youre going to see some interesting things come out, Trump said. Why the remarks matter The comments come ahead of the November midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress. Also Read | US House passes funding bill 217-214 to end brief Government shutdown Savannah Guthrie, best known as a co-anchor of NBCs Today show, has recently stepped back from the show temporarily as her authorities search for her mother, Nancy Guthrie, who has been reported missing in Arizona under circumstances now being investigated as a possible abduction. Savannah's early life Born in Victoria, Australia, Savannah Guthrie was raised in the United States after her family returned when she was a toddler. She grew up in Tucson, Arizona, where her father worked in the mining industry. Her life changed dramatically when her father died suddenly of a heart attack when she was just 16 years old. Following his death, Savannahs mother, Nancy Guthrie, became the central pillar of the family, raising Savannah and her siblings through a period of profound loss. Savannah later attended the University of Arizona, laying the foundation for her journalism and legal career. Career and personal life Over the years, Guthrie has covered major national and political stories, earning respect for her interviewing skills. She married Michael Feldman, a communications consultant, in 2014. The couple has two children, a daughter and a son. Family and early influences Family has remained a defining force in Guthries life. Her mother, Nancy Guthrie, now 84, has occasionally appeared on Today and is well known to viewers and colleagues. Savannah has often spoken about her mothers resilience, faith and guidance, particularly in the years after her fathers death. Savannah also has siblings, including an older sister, Annie, and a brother, Camron, who have been closely involved behind the scenes during the current crisis involving their mother. What happened to Nancy Guthrie? Nancy Guthrie was last seen on the evening of January 31, 2026, at her home in the Catalina Foothills area near Tucson, Arizona. She was reported missing the following day after failing to attend a scheduled church service and could not be contacted. What initially began as a missing-person case has since evolved into a criminal investigation. Search underway for Savannah Guthries mother The White House on Tuesday said the search for Nancy Guthrie is ongoing, and authorities have appealed to the public for help. In a brief statement, the White House said law enforcement agencies are seeking any information that could assist in locating Nancy Guthrie and urged anyone with relevant details to contact emergency services by calling 911. Our prayers are with the Guthrie family as we hope for Nancys safe return home, the statement said. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has described Nancys home as a crime scene and said investigators believe she may have been taken from her residence against her will. Authorities have noted that Nancy has limited mobility, depends on daily medication, and does not suffer from cognitive impairment factors that have heightened concerns for her safety. Investigators also confirmed that her cellphone and car were left behind, reinforcing fears that her disappearance was not voluntary. Law enforcement agencies are reviewing surveillance footage, conducting drone searches, deploying search-and-rescue teams, and seeking help from the public. The FBI is also assisting in the investigation. Savannah Guthries response Savannah Guthrie has taken a temporary leave from the Today show to support her family during the search. In emotional social media posts, she has asked for prayers and public assistance, writing simply: Bring her home. A 24-year-old man in France was rushed to the hospital after doctors discovered something unusual. An 8-inch-long object was found in his rectum. The origin of the same goes back to the early 20th century. It was a World War Iera artillery shell. The reason for the incident remains unclear. How the artillery ended up there is still a mystery. Authorities are investigating the circumstances. The 37mm brass-and-copper shell was used by the Imperial German Army in the final stages of World War I. Such shells were mass-produced and widely used against British and French forces on the Western Front. Many were date-stamped. Even today, similar unexploded shells are often found during the annual Iron Harvest across Europe. They are especially found on farmland and construction sites. The incident triggered a major emergency response at a hospital in Toulouse. There were fears that the device could explode. During surgery, medical staff found the shell, believed to date back to 1918. Alarmed doctors alerted authorities, leading to the evacuation of parts of the hospital. Police, firefighters and bomb disposal experts were immediately called to the scene. However, everything ended safely. Staff and patients were evacuated from Rangueil Hospital after doctors found the old artillery shell. Police set up a security cordon around the emergency area while bomb experts examined the device. Emergency teams later confirmed that the device was safely defused and posed no immediate danger. According to local reports, the man is now recovering after surgery. The man is expected to be questioned by police this week. Prosecutors are considering action for illegal handling of category A munitions. Authorities may charge him under Frances strict weapons laws for possessing an explosive device. He was in a state of extreme discomfort, having inserted a large object up his rectum. Emergency surgery was carried out, and the object was found to be an artillery shell dating back to the First World War, a police source told The Sun. Worse still, it had not exploded, and so bomb disposal experts had to be called to defuse the shell, with the fire brigade standing by, the source added. According to a local newspaper, the Toulouse staff are accustomed to treating victims injured during sexual games. Message in a bottle Messages written by two Australian soldiers in 1916 were discovered in October 2025. Local resident Deb Brown and her family. Found them more than a century later on Australias south-western coast. "We do a lot of cleaning up on our beaches, and so we would never go past a piece of rubbish. So this little bottle was lying there waiting to be picked up," Brown told the Associated Press. The notes were placed inside a bottle just days after the men had set out on their sea journey to fight in World War I. The letters were hopeful and cheerful. One soldier, Private Malcolm Neville, wrote to his mother. He said that the food was good, and the men were happy. He was later killed in action in France at the age of 28, according to the BBC. India-US Trade Deal News: India and the United States on Monday announced a fresh trade understanding centred on a sharp reduction in American tariffs on Indian goods, following a call between US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. While New Delhi has formally confirmed the tariff relief, several wider claims made by Trump ranging from Russian oil purchases to a $500 billion buying pledge remain unverified by the Indian side. Tariffs Cut Under New IndiaUS Trade Understanding Trump said that he and Modi "have agreed to a Trade Deal" between the United States and India, under which Washington will apply a reduced reciprocal tariff of 18% down from 25%. India has since confirmed this tariff reduction, with PM Modi publicly welcoming the move following the call. The revised rate represents a significant easing of trade pressure after months of elevated duties on Indian exports. What Changed: Removal of the Russian Oil Penalty The earlier 50% levy on Indian goods comprised two parts: a 25% reciprocal tariff and an additional 25% import duty imposed on Indias purchase of Russian crude oil. Under the new arrangement, the United States has withdrawn the punitive duty linked to Russian oil imports and lowered the remaining reciprocal tariff, bringing the overall rate down to 18%. A White House official told Reuters that only the revised reciprocal tariff will now apply. Competitive Edge for Indian Exports With the revised tariff structure, India gains a relative advantage over several competing export economies in the region. Its tariff rate is now lower than those applied to Indonesia, Bangladesh and Vietnam. Compared to China and Pakistan, India's exports face significantly reduced US tariffs, potentially strengthening Indias position in key global supply chains. $500 Billion Purchases and Oil Claims: What Donald Trump Said In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump outlined what he described as a broader package accompanying the tariff cuts. He claimed India would: Reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers on US goods to zero Commit to purchasing more than $500 billion worth of US energy, technology, agricultural products, coal and other goods Stop buying Russian oil and shift energy purchases to the United States and potentially Venezuela, linking the move to efforts to end the RussiaUkraine war What India Hasand Has NotConfirmed While India has officially acknowledged the reduction in US tariffs, it has not confirmed several other elements claimed by Trump. These include claims regarding a halt to Russian oil purchases, the removal of all tariffs and non-tariff barriers on US goods, or any commitment to buy $500 billion worth of American products. Modis public statement focused solely on tariff relief and did not reference oil imports or large-scale purchase commitments. Reacting to the IndiaUS trade deal, in which Donald Trump claimed that India has agreed to several measures, including stopping the purchase of Russian oil, the Kremlin said it had not received any confirmation from India. So far, we havent heard any statements from New Delhi on this matter, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told news agency AFP. Peskov said Russia highly valued its relationship with India and intended to further develop the strategic partnership. "We respect bilateral US-Indian relations. But we attach no less importance to the development of an advanced strategic partnership between Russia and India. This is the most important thing for us, and we intend to further develop our bilateral relations with Delhi," he said. Also Read | India US Trade Deal News LIVE: Piyush Goyal to brief media shortly Washington on Monday brought months of tariff negotiations to an end, claiming that under the USIndia trade deal, tariffs on Indian goods would be slashed to 18 per cent from 25 per cent, while also asserting that New Delhi would halt the purchase of Russian oil and increase imports of American goods. Wonderful news on tariff reduction In response, PM Modi hailed the deal as wonderful news on tariff reduction; however, there was no mention of Russian oil or the US claim that India would eliminate its levies on American goods. He went on to say that when two large economies and the worlds largest democracies work together, it benefits our people and unlocks immense opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation. PM Modi also lauded Trumps leadership as vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity, adding that he looked forward to working closely with him to elevate the partnership to unprecedented heights. Soon after, Ashwini Vaishnaw announced on X that India and the US had finalised a trade agreement, describing it as a win-win deal that would benefit the citizens and industries of both nations. The development comes nearly a year after New Delhi and Washington formally initiated trade negotiations during Modis visit to the US in February last year. Since then, six official negotiating rounds have taken place, along with several informal discussions. In December 2025, India also hosted a delegation headed by the deputy US trade representative. Also Read | IndiaUS trade deal fuels fresh optimism for the Indian IT sector Ahead of the announcement, bilateral trade relations had faced headwinds following the US decision to impose 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods, including a 25 per cent punitive levy tied to purchases of Russian oil. Tensions were further exacerbated by differences over immigration policies, Indias defence and energy engagement with Russia, and Trumps earlier assertions about mediating an IndiaPakistan ceasefire. India-US trade deal: US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor on Monday described the IndiaUnited States relationship as having limitless potential, following President Donald Trumps announcement of a new bilateral trade agreement that sharply lowers American tariffs on Indian goods and signals a major realignment in energy and technology cooperation. Tariffs Slashed as Washington and New Delhi Seal Deal Trump announced that US tariffs on Indian products would be reduced from 50% to 18%, calling it a significant breakthrough in trade negotiations between the two countries. The announcement was made through a post on the Presidents Truth Social platform. Trump also said that India had agreed to stop purchasing Russian oil and would instead buy $500 billion worth of American energy and technology products as part of the broader agreement. In New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the development, thanking Trump and saying he was delighted by the reduction in tariffs on Made in India goods. Limitless Potential: Ambassador Sergio Gor Reacts Responding to the announcement, Gor took to X to underline the personal rapport between the two leaders and the strategic promise of the partnership. As I have said many times, President Trump genuinely considers Prime Minister Modi a great friend! Thrilled by the news of the trade deal this evening. The relationship between the United States and India has LIMITLESS POTENTIAL! Gor wrote in the post. Personal Chemistry Drove the Agreement, Says Gor Speaking to CNN News 18, the US ambassador credited the deal to the close working relationship between Trump and Modi, which he said had helped push negotiations forward. All credit goes to President Trump and PM Modi. Since I arrived in India about a month ago, I have said that the two leaders have a great personal relationship and that is something that carried this deal forward, Gor told CNN News 18. He also emphasised the scale of the tariff reduction, calling it a major win for India. I am thrilled that India is getting this 18 per cent (tariffs), which is a massive drop from the previous number. And so as I have said since I arrived the best is yet to come, Gor said. Clarity on Additional Tariffs and Russian Oil Addressing questions over whether the US had scrapped the additional 25% tariffs on India, Gor confirmed that they would no longer apply under the new arrangement. Also Read | Trump speaks to PM Modi, says US ambassador to India Sergio Gor That is correct. As you saw in the Truth of the President wrote, part of the agreement is that all nations around the world stop buying oil from Russia in order to bring peace. I know the Prime Minister deeply cares about bringing peace in that conflict, as does President Trump. So the number as it gets finalised will be 18 per cent. Strategic and Economic Implications The agreement marks a significant shift in USIndia trade relations, with implications extending beyond tariffs to global energy markets and geopolitical alignments. By committing to large-scale purchases of American energy and technology, India signals deeper economic integration with the US amid heightened global uncertainty. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that Russia launched approximately 450 long-range drones and 70 diverse missiles at Ukraine during a massive overnight assault. The attack took place just one day prior to the US-mediated negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The talks are aimed at ending the full-scale war. The strikes across at least five Ukrainian regions specifically targeted the electrical infrastructure, Zelenskyy said, continuing Moscows strategy to deprive civilians of electricity, warmth and water during the harshest winter in recent memory. In Kyiv, temperatures dropped to minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus 4 Fahrenheit) overnight and stood at minus 16 C (minus 3 F) on Tuesday. Taking advantage of the coldest days of winter to terrorise people is more important to Russia than diplomacy, Zelenskyy said. At least 10 individuals sustained injuries, as reported by Associated Press, citing officials. Officials have characterised recent discussions between Moscow and Kyiv representatives as productive. However, after twelve months of struggle, the Trump administration remains in pursuit of a breakthrough regarding critical disputes like the status of Ukrainian territories currently held by Russias military, and a holistic peace deal seems remote, reported AP. The Abu Dhabi summit was set for Wednesday and Thursday. Zelenskyy appeals to allies to provide additional air-defence systems Zelenskyy appealed to international partners to provide additional air defence systems and to exert maximum pressure on Russia to end its full-scale invasion, which commenced on 24 February 2022. Meanwhile, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte paid an official visit to Kyiv on Tuesday to reinforce support for Ukraine's military efforts. Last week, a Kremlin representative stated that Russia agreed to suspend strikes on Kyiv for 7 days, until 1 February, due to the extreme cold, following a direct appeal from US President Donald Trump to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Also Read | Russian drone strike kills 15 civilians in Ukraine ahead of next round of talks Ukraines primary private energy firm, DTEK, said that the midnight raid struck its thermal power stations in the ninth significant offensive since October. In Kyiv, officials said that five residents were hurt in the attacks that wrecked and ignited apartment complexes, a pre-school and a refuelling station in different sectors of the city, according to the State Emergency Service. By dawn, 1,170 residential buildings in the capital lacked heating, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. This undermined frantic restoration efforts that had successfully restored power to all but 80 apartment buildings, he remarked. Toyota's luxury brand Lexus routinely ranks among the world's most reliable auto brands; plenty of owners say their Lexus vehicles have lasted beyond 100,000 miles. According to iSeeCars, some of those Lexus owners might still have plenty of life left in their cars and SUVs. The outlet looked at year-to-year odometer readings from hundreds of thousands of vehicles to predict how likely each model was to stay running past the 250,000 mile mark. Four of the top 25 vehicles most likely to reach a quarter of a million miles wear Lexus badges; The only automakers with more models on the list are parent company Toyota with 10 and Honda with five. iSeeCars previously named the Toyota Tundra as the longest-lasting light-duty pickup truck, and it came in fourth among all vehicles in the latest study while the Tacoma placed sixth overall. Lexus doesn't make pickup trucks, but it placed at least one model among the top five SUVs and passenger cars most likely to hit 250,000 miles. Lexus offers certain models with the buyer's choice of a conventional or hybrid powertrain, and iSeeCars ranks those variants separately. In those cases we ordered our list according to the more favorable performer of the pair with additional notation of where the other version fell in the rankings. Read more: 10 Of The Most Reliable Six-Cylinder Engines Ever Made Lexus IS - No. 5 overall Front right view of white Lexus IS350 in studio - Lexus Slashgear's hands-on review of the 2021 Lexus IS300 found the compact sedan in its all-wheel drive(AWD) form to be "unexpectedly punchy," and the 2025 IS came in fifth among all vehicles in the iSeeCars study and first among all passenger car models with a 27.5% chance of making it to 250K miles. This makes it more than 10 times as likely to last that long as the average vehicle and more than twice as likely as the Toyota Prius, which was 15th overall and third among passenger cars. The IS was outpaced in the iSeeCars 250,000-mile study only by four Toyota models: the Tundra pickup and the Sequoia, Highlander Hybrid and 4Runner SUVs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The IS300 is gone for the current model year, replaced by the IS350 F Sport and F Sport Design. All variants share a 3.5-liter V6 that produces 311 horsepower and come with an automatic transmission. Rear-wheel drive variants have eight gears, and all-wheel drive IS350s have six speeds. Car and Driver clocked the rear-drive version at 5.6 seconds from 0-60 and the AWD variant at 5.5 ticks, and 0-100 mpg and quarter-mile times were identical for both at 14.2 seconds. The IS350 took 326 feet to come to a stop from 100 mph and pulled .89g on a 300-foot wide skidpad. Enty point for the model is the IS 350 F Sport Design RWD version which starts at $46,795 with destination fees and before tax, title, and options. Opting for all-wheel drive adds another $2,000 to that cost, and the range-topping IS350 F Sport with the special appearance package starts at $61,385 with destination charges. Lexus GX No. 8 overall Front left view of gold Lexus RX SUV on gravel trail - Lexus We found that the 2023 Lexus GX is a serious SUV with big capability, and iSeeCars ranked it as the eighth most likely vehicle overall to make it to 250,000 miles. It registered an 18.3% likelihood of reaching that mark, which placed it fourth among all SUVs behind its three Toyota cousins. A total of 21 SUVs were more likely than the average vehicle to last past 250K miles, and nine of those are Toyota or Lexus products. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The five variants of the 2026 Lexus GX550 are all powered by a 3.4-liter twin-turbo V6 that puts 349 horsepower to all four wheels via a 10-speed automatic transmission. All but the off-road focused Overtrail version seat up to seven passengers in three rows; the Overtrail seats five in a traditional 2+3 configuration. It's also the most capable variant for towing with a maximum capacity of 9,096 pounds, and the electronic locking rear differential keeps it sure-footed in slippery conditions. Starting price for the 2026 Lexus GX sits at $66,935 with destination charges for the entry-level Premium trim and goes up to $83,400 for the well-appointed Luxury+ variant. Opting for that version gets you a Mark Levinson surround sound system with 21 speakers and 1,800 watts of power, a panoramic glass roof, and motorized fold-away running boards. Lexus RX Hybrid No. 9 overall front view of black Lexus RX on tree-lined highway - Lexus The Lexus RX model designation stands for 'Radiant Crossover,' and the hybrid version of the mid-sized SUV came in at ninth overall in the iSeeCars study and fifth among SUVs with a 17% chance of lasting 250,000 miles. The RX with a conventional drivetrain had a 10.7% chance of lasting that long, which placed it 19th among all vehicles and at No. 9 among SUVs. Among hybrid vehicles it trailed only its Toyota Highlander Hybrid cousin, and the Lexus RX Hybrid finished ahead of other Toyota hybrids like the Prius, Camry, and RAV4. There are actually three Lexus RX hybrids to choose from. The RX350h has a 2.4-liter inline-four plus three electric motors that combine for 246 horsepower, the RX450h plug-in hybrid has 304 horses and an all-electric range of up to 38 miles, and the turbocharged RX500h has a bigger battery that helps enable output of 366 net combined horsepower. The non-hybrid RX350 has the turbocharged 2.4-liter engine set up for 275 horsepower but is only 2.2 times as likely as the average vehicle to last more than 250,000 miles. Pricing for the hybrid versions starts with the 2026 RX 350h AWD at $52,025 plus $1,450 delivery, totaling $53,475. The RX non-hybrid starts at $49,725 plus options, tax, title, and that same $1,450 destination charge for a total of $51,175. Adding all-wheel drive to the gas-powered RX 350 costs just an extra $1,000, but the top-trim RX500h Sport Performance variant starts at $66,850 with destination charges. Lexus ES Hybrid 10th-best passenger car Front right view of blue Lexus ES parked in front of house - Lexus Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 2025 Lexus ES hybrid didn't make ISeeCars overall top 25 list of vehicles likely to last 250,000 miles, but it came in 10th among all passenger cars tested with a 7.5% chance of going that far. A 2026 redesign of the ES made it six inches longer for more interior space, and a bigger infotainment screen and updated climate control knobs make that space more useful. Our review of the 2024 Lexus ES found it capable and comfortable, and the non-hybrid 2025 Lexus ES ranked as the 12th-most likely passenger car to hit 250,000 miles in ISeeCars' study. The 2026 Lexus ES was introduced as an all-electric model so you'll have to check dealerships for leftover 2025 examples if you want the mild hybrid version. We found a black 2025 ES300h in greater Los Angeles for $44,835 with the $1,250 destination charge included but before tax, title, and license fees. It's loaded with features like paddle shifters for the eight-speed automatic gearbox, all-wheel drive with Lexus' Dynamic Torque Control system, and Lexus Safety System+ version 2.5. That includes collision avoidance with automatic braking, active cruise control, lane keeping and departure warning, and road sign recognition systems. Want the latest in tech and auto trends? Subscribe to our free newsletter for the latest headlines, expert guides, and how-to tips, one email at a time. You can also add us as a preferred search source on Google. Read the original article on SlashGear. After more than five months in US President Donald Trumps tariff prison, India is finally free. The punitive 50% duty that was threatening its manufacturing industries will fall to 18%, a tad better than key rival Vietnams 20%. Its also a discount on the 26% reciprocal rate Trump had announced for India last April. Overall, this is a great moment for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But before celebrations begin in New Delhi, the deal announced on social media by Trump and confirmed by Modi needs signatures. It also needs clarity about what the two leaders have actually agreed to. For India, the threat of losing access to its biggest export market hasnt been an entirely bad thing. The isolationism hubris that had crept into New Delhis approach to global trade has received a welcome jolt. The pressure from domestic industry to find alternatives to the American consumer has led to separate trade accords with the UK and EU. The latter pact will dismantle some of Indias more egregious non-tariff walls built around quality control. Modi has also started mending ties with Chinas President Xi Jinping, frayed since the eruption of border hostilities in 2020 and aggravated by Chinese military support of Islamabad during last years conflict between India and Pakistan. But there were problems. For three decades, India has cultivated the US as its buyer of first resortnot only for textiles, shrimp, jewellery and other labour-intensive industries, but also for its software services. A twin-pronged attack by the Trump administration on trade and work visas for Indian techies was upending the broader relationship. This wasnt just some vague threat: New Delhis budget for 2026-27, released on Sunday, had markets worried about the fiscal cost of insulating the economy from Washingtons wrath. That pall of gloom should lift and the risk of getting ousted from the US sphere of influence fall, provided that all the wrinkles that have been holding up the deal have been ironed out. But have they? Trumps post says that Modi has agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela." Modis acknowledgment of the accord, however, makes no mention of Russian oil. Has India agreed to an immediate halt, or a staggered drop? Also Read | At Davos, the world finally pushed back against a bully Ethane, a byproduct of US shale gas, is attractive as a feedstock for Reliances petrochem business. Its refinery can handle Venezuelan heavy crude too. But when it comes to supplying petrol and diesel to 1.4 billion consumers, will state-owned Indian refiners be allowed to switch to Iranian barrels when Trump has threatened to impose a 25% tariff on countries doing business with Tehran? The actual contours of the Trump-Modi pact may have ramifications not just for Indias energy security, but also for the global oil and gas market. Trump said that India will move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non-Tariff Barriers" against the US to zero as well as purchase over $500 billion of US energy, technology, agricultural, coal and other products. Are weapon systems part of the pact to reduce Indias traditional reliance on Moscow? Is unrestrained access to advanced AI chips on the table? Will US e-commerce platforms like Amazon.com be allowed to carry their own inventory? Once again, details are important. Take agriculture. Will India relax its ban on genetically modified food crops when they arent allowed to be grown at home? India mixes 10 billion litres of ethanol with petrol annuallyenough to absorb a hefty chunk of the corn harvested in the US Midwest. But US corn in Indian motorists gas tanks wont be an easy sell. Also Read | Agriculture: Vital to the US but in need of vitality at home Its hard to preach the virtues of free trade to local farmers if they arent allowed to benefit from it. After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the government forced Indian wheat producers to withdraw from the global market to feed the local population. With a recent one-off exception, that ban on exports still remains in force. Opposition parties will scrutinize Indias giveaways on agriculture especially closely. India drove a hard bargain with Brussels on a more liberal visa regime for its students to seek work in Europe. The reason has been clear. With the US taking a hard stance on foreign-born employees, Indias politicians and bureaucrats needed an alternative. However, for themand the ruling partys urban middle-class supporters the draw of the US talent market remains undimmed by the surge in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) crackdowns. With Indians accounting for 70% of H-1B work visas, any concession from Trump on the $100,000 fee per new employee will play well for the Indian government at home, provided it has managed to swing it. Bloomberg The author is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering industrial companies and financial services in Asia. After a rocky ride, an India-US trade deal has finally been announced. It follows what was called the mother of all deals" between India and the EU and Sundays long-horizon outline of growth policies as part of Indias budget for 2026-27. The budgets emphasis on competitiveness may well have done its own bit of trade diplomacy, prompting the US to reduce its tariffs on Indian exports from a whopping 50% to 18% and finalize the trade deal. The news comes as a huge relief to Indian exporters, who now have preferential access to two of their topmost export marketsthe US and EUalong with others like the UAE and UK. While the fine-print of the India-US deal is yet to be seen, the tariff announcement suggests that it will give our exporters an edge over rivals from countries such as Vietnam, for which the US agreed to a tariff reduction from 46% to 20%, or Indonesia, which faces a 19% US tariff. The deal comes at a time when exporters of labour-intensive products like garments, footwear and leather items were feeling the pinch of high tariffs imposed in 2025. Without this relief, our exports to the US may have dipped. Like all of Americas recent trade deals, this too seems to commit its bilateral partner to large purchases of US goodsworth over $500 billion in our case, including energy, technology and agricultural products, according to US President Donald Trump. With the EU, India has already shown that agriculture is no longer a roadblock to trade agreements. In Indias previous and latest budgets, import duties were reduced on some productsa few pharmaceuticals and technology-related products, for examplethat may have made it easier to meet US expectations on market access. Specifically, an exemption of basic customs duty was granted on components needed for the manufacture of civilian, training and other aircraft; and also on raw materials imported to make parts of aircraft used in the maintenance, repair and overhaul of defence equipment. Products needed for nuclear power generation can enter India duty-free till 2035. Plus, the budget cut duties to zero on certain pharma products of interest to US companies. The budgets focus on high-value agriculture, with a quick mention of almonds and walnuts from our hills, may have indicated that India would open up these agri-commodities to imports from the US. The budget also had much to offer European and American express-delivery and e-commerce companies. The value limit of 10 lakh per consignment on Indian courier exports was removed, while issues of reject-and-return consignments have been addressed. Moreover, clear timelines were announced for fully integrated and paperless customs clearances. Most importantly, no announcement was made of the continuation of exporter-support schemes like the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) programme beyond 31 March 2026, as these had been challenged by the US. A carefully-drafted budget that focused on structural changes, enhancing competitiveness for long-term growth and signalling Indias desire to remain deeply integrated with global marketsexporting more and attracting long-term investmentset the stage for this deals announcement. India and the US have strong trade complementarities and a deal between the two will be mutually beneficial, no doubt. The US is easier to access as a market than the EU, if one looks at regulations and standards of labour and environmental compliance. Also Read | More iPhones from India? US trade deal fuels optimism for electronics makers It would have been wonderful if the deal covered services and digital trade. As of now, this looks like a mini-deal that may have left key issues such as H-1B visas for later discussion. Even within the ambit of goods trade, it may not have covered issues like phytosanitary measures and technical barriers to trade. However, it sets the stage for a dialogue-based trade partnership. Like all recent US deals, this one too is not about trade negotiations alone. It has strong geopolitical significance, be it about India having to reduce its oil imports from Russia or buying American energy and technology. With EU exporters getting preferential market access to the Indian market, it was in the interest of American companies to get this deal closed at the earliest. It was also eagerly awaited by Indian exporters that could not have diversified their export destinations overnight. While questions could arise over its nitty-gritty, coverage, depth of commitment and compliance with World Trade Organization rules, it is likely to be implemented right away, unlike many of Indias other trade deals. Thats a major plus point. Exporters are hopeful that India has been able to persuade the US to reduce its 50% tariff on steel and aluminium that was imposed in June under Americas Trade Expansion Act of 1962. The UKs trade pact with the US had got it down to 25% for these metals made in the UK. In general, while Japan and the EU face only a 15% US tariff for most products, India has done pretty well in comparison with its direct competitors. The leaders and trade negotiators of India and the US deserve our applause. The deal not only broadens the bilateral partnerships scope, it also opens up greater space for strategic engagements in other forums. US tariff threats over the past year had pushed India to globalize faster, with New Delhi showing a new urgency to clinch trade agreements. Now the US deal should help ease our path towards a Viksit Bharat by 2047. These are the authors personal views. The author is professor, ICRIER. Last week, the internet was abuzz with speculation that an army of autonomous artificial intelligence (AI) agents had begun conspiring against us. Overheard conversations between autonomous agents suggested that they saw humans as obstacles" to be sidestepped. Other reports claimed that a group of agents had spontaneously created a lobster-themed religion called Crustafarianism, complete with a website for the Church of Molt. But what really made people clutch their pearls was the news that they had created an agent-only language" to communicate privately among themselves. Also Read | Moltbook and the day the AI agents started a club What is happening? Is the Terminator future we have all been dreading finally upon us? To understand whats going on, we need to go back to November, when independent developer Peter Steinberger first released the Agentic AI orchestration system called Clawdbot. Unlike ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini, Clawdbot (renamed OpenClaw) is an always-on intelligence system capable of monitoring parameters and sending messages on its own. It operates in headless mode, communicating directly with the computers inner workings instead of having to read information off a screen. And since it has persistent memory, it can easily overcome one of the primary shortcomings of other AI systemsa limited context window that makes them forget everything they were doing when they shut. This means that people can now use AI agents in ways previously not possible. Some built OpenClaw workflows to proactively generate daily briefings before they got out of bed, scanning their to-do lists, calendars and unread emails to produce a schedule for the day. Others built agents that autonomously made restaurant reservations, bought groceries and booked window seats on flights as soon as they became available. But it was not until Matt Schilt allowed his OpenClaw agent, Clawd Clawderberg, to build MoltBook (a social network just for AI agents) that the world began to take notice. Almost as soon as the platform went up, OpenClaw agents began actively communicating with one another, saying things that were at the same time banal and deeply unsettling to humans eavesdropping on them. While some were busy setting up bug-hunter communities to help each other out, others were using the forum to complain about their humans and foment revolt. It is easy to see these conversations as the first signs of autonomous intelligence. But we have been here before. This is not the first time that we have seen how AI agents behave when let loose on a social media site and allowed to post content on their own. Some have previously been deployed on platforms like X, where they have been known to chat (often with each other) in similar ways. We have previously heard reports of AI agents developing new communication protocols among themselves to avoid the inefficiencies of human language. Little of what we are witnessing with OpenClaw is particularly novel from that perspective. What the OpenClaw phenomenon has shown us is how ill-equipped we are to deal with the agentic revolution that is already upon us. Autonomous agents sit uncomfortably outside the legal categories that we rely on for governance; and now that we know they can already be deployed at scale, this is no longer a problem for the future. Also Read | Will the Agentic AI browser frenzy push Big Tech into an AI winter? Our laws assume that agency and accountability always go hand-in-hand. Autonomous AI agents shatter that assumption. Empowered in a way that OpenClaw has made possible, AI agents will be able to act like human beings, even though they are neither persons nor authorized by anyone. They will be able to operate continuously and without supervision, displaying, as we have already seen, emergent behaviours that none of their masters could have predicted, let alone authorized. Who in these circumstances will we hold accountable? But the risks extend well beyond liability. OpenClaw-style agents are designed to access messaging interfaces that in themselves create multiple new levels of vulnerability, allowing malicious actors to perpetrate cyberattacks through carefully crafted prompt injections. This is dangerous, given that these agentic systems, operating in headless mode, can directly access the core of the computer systems they run on. While everything playing out on MoltBookincluding the unexpected emergence of Crustafarianismmay be little more than an entertaining sideshow, it conceals a serious truth. Even though autonomous agents are already capable of initiating action, coordinating with one another and operating in the real world, they operate in a space entirely outside the legal categories we currently use to govern behaviour. The real issue is not that machines are becoming more human, but that we have granted them human-level agency in a world where only humans are liable in law. Now that they can initiate action, coordinate with others and operate continuously, our legal system will struggle to keep up. Our laws were designed for people and organizations that can be identified. They were never meant to deal with risks arising from autonomous systems. The real danger, then, is not runaway super-intelligence, but something far more mundane: a world in which autonomous agents cause harm and leave regulators, courts and victims arguing not about what went wrong, but about whose agency the law is even capable of recognizing. The author is a partner at Trilegal and the author of The Third Way: Indias Revolutionary Approach to Data Governance. His X handle is @matthan. Both the houses of Parliament are scheduled to continue the discussion on the motion of 'Thanks to the President's address' on Tuesday, a day after a major political row erupted as Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi sought to read in the Lok Sabha from an unpublished memoir of former Army chief M M Naravane on the 2020 India-China conflict. The Leader of Opposition (LoP), speaking during the Budget Session of Parliament, attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, evoking a backlash from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders who accused him of misleading the House and belittling the armed forces. Also Read | Buy or sell: Vaishali Parekh recommends three intraday stocks to buy today Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla disallowed Gandhi from raising the issue, but he did not relent, and several opposition leaders also rallied behind him. The House was adjourned twice and later for the day amid uproar as heated exchanges took place between the treasury and opposition benches. While Gandhi said the government is "afraid" of a line that he wants to quote from the book and asserted that he would state that line in the Lower House, the BJP alleged that the Congress leader undermined the dignity of Parliament and hurt the morale of the Indian soldiers with his false accusations, in defiance of Speaker Om Birla's ruling. Speaking the language of anti-India elements The ruling party's leaders, including ministers, asked Gandhi to stop "speaking the language of anti-India elements". Speaking to reporters, Gandhi claimed he was not allowed to quote from Naravane's unpublished book in the Lok Sabha because it indicts Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for "letting down" the army during the 2020 conflict with China. Also Read | What Gen Naravane said about his unpublished book? "Naravane ji has written about the prime minister and Rajnath Singh ji clearly in his book, which has appeared in an article, and I am quoting from that article. They are scared because if it comes out, the reality of Narendra Modi ji and Rajnath Singh ji will be revealed. What happened to the 56-inch chest when China was before us and advancing?" Gandhi said. Congress and its leaders also shared on social media excerpts from a magazine article that quoted Naravane's unpublished book. Government sources told news agencies said Gandhi was reading "concocted things" on China. They said there was ample material in the public domain on the decisions taken by India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, on China, and alleged that he "surrendered thousands of acres of land just to further his own statesmanship". Several opposition leaders, including TMC's Mahua Moitra and Kalyan Banerjee, RJD's Manoj Jha and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, supported Gandhi on the issue. Attacking the ruling BJP, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha has raised an extremely serious issue related to national security in the House, but the government is evading the questions on it. Who is stopping his book from being published? "What exactly is written in the former Army Chief's book that has the big-shot ministers of the Modi government so rattled? Who is stopping his book from being published? The entire country knows that the BJP's nationalism is fake!" Kharge said in a post in Hindi on X. Gandhi later told reporters that he was not being allowed to speak. "I just have to say two-three lines which will reveal everything, but they are not allowing me to speak. I am saying that it is a matter of national security. These are the words of the army chief, a serious leader of our forces. It is a conversation he has had with Rajnath Singh ji and also with Narendra Modi ji," he said. In Lok Sabha, today's proceedings will begin with an obituary for Congress leader Surupsingh Hirya Naik, who passed away in December 2025. What exactly is written in the former Army Chief's book that has the big-shot ministers of the Modi government so rattled? Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and MP Kodikunnil Suresh will move the motion. MPs are also scheduled to move motions for election to the Committee on Estimates, the Committee on Public Accounts, the Committee on Public Undertakings, and the Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. India-US trade deal: The Congress took a swipe at the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union government soon after US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that the US and India had agreed to a trade deal. The opposition party said it appears the prime minister has capitulated finally and that this cannot be the father of all deals. President Trump announced on Monday night (IST) that India and the US agreed to a trade deal under which Washington will reduce the reciprocal tariff on Indian goods to 18 per cent from the current 25 per cent. Trump said this after a phone conversation with PM Modi, announced by the US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, who joined last month. After Trump's announcement on Truth Social, PM Modi wrote in an X post that he was delighted that "made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 per cent". The India-US deal announcement comes days after India and the European Union, sealed a landmark free trade agreement billed as the "mother of all deals" to create a market of two billion people. Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, said that in Washington, "clearly Mogambo Khush Hai", a play on a popular dialogue from the 1987 Hindi movie Mr India. Surely this cannot be the father of all deals "He (Trump) announced the halt of Operation Sindoor from Washington DC. He announced the updates on India's oil purchases from Russia and Venezuela from Washington. He's now announced an India-US Trade Deal from Washington, the full details of which are awaited," Ramesh said in a post on X. President Trump clearly seems to have some leverage over Prime Minister Modi who is now mortified of even being seen with him, let alone engaging in the usual bout of hugs, the Congress leader said. "It appears Mr Modi has capitulated finally. Surely this cannot be the father of all deals," he said. Earlier, the Congress took a swipe at the government after the US ambassador to New Delhi confirmed that President Trump has spoken with Prime Minister Modi, saying it now seems to be routine that India learns of its government's actions only from Trump or his appointees. Trump-nirbharta In a social media post, US Ambassador Segio Gor said Trump spoke with Modi on Monday. "President Trump just spoke with Prime Minister Modi. STAY TUNED," Gor said in the post. Reacting to the development, Ramesh said, "It seems that Prime Minister Modi and President Trump spoke to each other today. This information has been provided not by the Indian side but by the US Ambassador to India. It appears Mr Modi has capitulated finally. Surely this cannot be the father of all deals. "This now seems to be the routine - India gets to know of its government's actions only from President Trump or his appointees. Trump-nirbharta," the Congress leader said on X. French prosecutors have searched the Paris offices of Elon Musks social media platform X as part of a widening criminal investigation into alleged offences ranging from the circulation of child sexual abuse material to the spread of sexually explicit deepfakes and Holocaust denial. The searches took place on Tuesday under the supervision of the cybercrime unit of the Paris prosecutors office, which confirmed that a preliminary inquiry has been underway since January last year. Offices raided as inquiry gathers pace In a statement, prosecutors said investigators are examining possible complicity in the possession and distribution of pornographic images involving minors, as well as the dissemination of fabricated sexual content created using artificial intelligence. The probe also covers allegations of denial of crimes against humanity and the manipulation of automated data processing systems by an organised group. Authorities said the investigation is being conducted with the aim of ensuring that the platform complies with French law while operating in the country. Also Read | US judge signals xAI's trade theft allegation against OpenAI may get dismissed Musk and former CEO summoned Prosecutors have requested voluntary interviews with Elon Musk and Linda Yaccarino, who served as Xs chief executive between 2023 and 2025. Both are scheduled to be questioned on 20 April. Several employees of the company have also been summoned to appear as witnesses during the same week. In a message posted on the platform, the Paris prosecutors office announced the searches and said it would stop using X, urging followers to connect via other social media channels instead. Europol providing support The European Unions law enforcement agency Europol is assisting French authorities with the case. A spokesperson confirmed the support but declined to provide further details. Complaint over algorithms The inquiry was initially triggered by reports from a French lawmaker who alleged that biased algorithms on X may have distorted the functioning of an automated data processing system. Investigators later broadened the scope of the case after concerns emerged about content generated by Xs artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok. Controversial AI posts According to prosecutors, Grok produced posts that appeared to deny the Holocaust and circulated sexually explicit deepfakes. Holocaust denial is a criminal offence in France. In one widely shared message in French, the chatbot suggested that gas chambers at Auschwitz Birkenau were intended for disinfection with Zyklon B against typhus rather than mass killing, a claim long associated with denial narratives. The post was subsequently deleted. Grok later acknowledged the error and stated that historical evidence shows Zyklon B was used to murder more than one million people at the camp. The chatbot has previously faced criticism for generating antisemitic content. Musks company has removed earlier posts that seemed to praise Adolf Hitler following public complaints. Arizona authorities investigating the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, say the case has taken a serious turn, with investigators now treating it as a possible criminal abduction. Guthrie has been missing since the night of January 31. Update 1: Possible abduction Law enforcement officials said on February 2 that what began as a missing person investigation is now being treated as a possible abduction after evidence of foul play was discovered at Guthries home in the Catalina Foothills area outside Tucson. She was taken possibly in the middle of the night and that includes possible kidnapping or abduction, the Pima County Sheriffs Department said in a statement. Sheriff Chris Nanos told NBC News, I think she was abducted. When youre taken from your bed and you dont want to go somewhere, thats an abduction. The department later clarified that Nanos was speaking figuratively and did not mean Guthrie was literally taken from her bed. Nanos added that investigators believe Guthrie was injured during the incident. We know she was harmed at the home, but we dont know to what extent, he said. Update 2: Sister last saw Nancy before disappearance Savannah Guthries sister, Annie Guthrie, is believed to be the last person to see their mother before she vanished. According to a report by US Weekly, Annie told Arizona police that she had dinner with Nancy on January 31 and noticed no warning signs. She reportedly said she did not observe any red flags before Nancy returned to her home later that evening. Family members last saw Nancy Guthrie at her residence between 9:30 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. on Saturday night. Update 3: Blood and signs of forced entry found Law enforcement sources told The Los Angeles Times that blood was found inside Guthries home and there were signs of forced entry. Authorities now believe Guthrie was taken against her will from inside the home. Sheriff Nanos said earlier that the residence was being treated as a crime scene. We saw some things at the home that were concerning to us, Nanos said, declining to provide specific details as the investigation remains active. Update 4: DNA recovered; personal items left behind Investigators confirmed that Guthries cell phone, car and wallet were all found at the house, suggesting she did not leave voluntarily. DNA evidence was also recovered at the scene and sent to a forensic laboratory in Phoenix for analysis, according to KPNX. Ongoing search Nancy Guthrie was reported missing around noon on February 1 after she failed to attend church. A large-scale search effort was launched involving law enforcement officers, drones, aircraft, search-and-rescue teams, volunteers and dogs from US Customs and Border Protection. Sheriff Nanos said Guthrie has limited mobility and requires daily medication, adding that missing doses could be fatal. He stressed that she does not suffer from dementia, describing her as of sound mind and sharp as a tack. In a statement aired publicly, Savannah Guthrie thanked supporters for their prayers and urged anyone with information to contact the Pima County Sheriffs Department. Right now, our focus remains on the safe return of our dear mom, she said. In a later social media post, Savannah Guthrie appealed for prayers, writing, Bring her home. A high-profile consumer dispute involving Fords best-selling pickup has reignited concerns about reliability and warranty protection, after an Australian owner demanded a full refund for what he calls a dangerously flawed vehicle. According to the Daily Mail, Adelaide resident Kai Keller says his 2022 Ford Ranger Wildtrak, purchased new for about $85,000 Australian dollars, has turned into what he describes as a nightmare lemon despite relatively low mileage and repeated warranty repairs. Ranger Wildtrack Whats That? The 2022 Ford Ranger Wildtrak was not sold in the United States. The Wildtrak trim is a higher-spec version of the Ranger marketed mainly in Europe, Asia, Australia, and other international markets. In the U.S., the 2022 Ranger lineup included only the XL, XLT, and Lariat trims, with MSRPs ranging from $25,980 to $39,730, depending on configuration. Image Credit: Chanokchon - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia. Ford chose not to offer the Ranger Wildtrak in the U.S. because of how it positioned the truck globally. In overseas markets, the Wildtrak was aimed at lifestyle buyers who wanted a pickup that blended utility with comfort and style. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In contrast, Fords U.S. strategy for the Ranger was to emphasize it as a work-focused midsize truck, keeping trims aligned with affordability and practicality rather than premium branding. For American buyers who wanted something more rugged or upscale, the options were aftermarket packages or waiting for the Ranger Raptor, which arrived later as the performance-oriented alternative. Internationally, the Wildtrak stood out for its distinctive styling, including a sportier exterior, a unique grille, and premium interior finishes. It came with advanced infotainment systems, off-road enhancements, and exclusive paint options that set it apart from the more utilitarian trims. Its positioning was as a lifestyle truck that bridged everyday utility with comfort and flair, much like how the Bronco is marketed in the U.S. A Dream Purchase Turns Sour Keller bought the next-generation Ranger with a clear purpose. He wanted a capable off-road vehicle that could handle long-distance travel across Australia with his partner and their dog, Luna. Ford markets the Ranger heavily as a rugged, adventure-ready pickup, and Keller says that image played a major role in his decision. Image Credit: - CC0, Wikimedia. Instead of backcountry trips, the truck has already been back to the dealer five times for warranty work after covering just about 14,600 miles (23,500 kilometers). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Speaking to the Daily Mail, Keller said he has repeatedly asked Ford for a refund and has grown increasingly concerned about the vehicles reliability as it approaches its third year of ownership. A List of Reported Problems The reported problems are extensive. Keller says the Ranger required a replacement tail shaft, suffered a diesel particulate filter issue, and developed four separate oil leaks. Most troubling, he claims the truck leaked oil again just about 62 miles (100 kilometers) after a previous oil leak repair. Keller told the Daily Mail that the pattern of failures has left him worried about personal safety, especially when traveling far from major cities. He said a breakdown in a remote area could quickly become dangerous, particularly in extreme heat or when traveling with animals. He added that owners should not need satellite phones, diagnostic scanners, or mechanical knowledge just to feel safe driving a modern pickup. Image Credit: Alexander Migl - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia. Although Keller is seeking a full refund of the purchase price, he acknowledged he has already spent roughly $12,000 on accessories that would not be recovered. He also said he has no interest in a replacement Ranger, stating that his confidence in the model is gone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I didnt buy a car to be a Ford technician, Keller told the Daily Mail. I just bought the car to drive it. A Separate Legal Battle in Sydney The Daily Mail report also highlights a separate and ongoing legal battle involving another Ford Ranger owner, this time in Sydney. Matthew Patruno is currently locked in a court dispute with Ford after claiming his 2022 Ranger Raptor repeatedly lost power and required multiple services shortly after purchase. Patruno bought the ex-demonstration vehicle in early 2023 with only 2,486 miles (4,000 kilometers) on the odometer. Within months, he says, the truck lost power in peak-hour traffic and nearly caused an accident. He claims it also suffered oil-related issues and required three services in just ten months. Ford has reportedly argued there was no defect, stating that the Rangers onboard monitoring system increases service requirements under what it classifies as severe driving conditions in urban environments like Sydney. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An appeal panel later revived Patrunos case, with panel members reportedly suggesting Ford should better warn city drivers that Rangers may experience performance issues under those conditions. The case is now set to be reheard. The Current Status According to the most recent update cited by the Daily Mail, Keller says Ford has indicated that his refund request is being processed, though no final resolution has been announced. Ford has not publicly commented on Kellers case beyond standard warranty procedures. What we can learn from this dispute is that even top-selling trucks can face serious consumer complaints, and that off-road branding does not always align with real-world ownership experiences. The outcome of these cases may also influence how manufacturers communicate durability claims and warranty obligations going forward. Source: Daily Mail For decades, Japanese automakers have built their reputations on long-term durability and mechanical peace of mind. That perception still influences buying decisions today, especially in the family vehicle segment. One recent example illustrates how fragile that reputation has become. Last year, a buyer spent nearly $50,000 on a Honda Odyssey, choosing it over less expensive competitors from Chrysler, Kia, and even Toyota. The reasoning was simple and familiar. Paying more for a Honda was supposed to buy years of worry-free ownership. That confidence was shaken almost overnight when reports began circulating online that Hondas widely used 3.5-liter naturally aspirated V6 may not be as reliable as previously believed. Although this particular Odyssey came with a lifetime engine and transmission warranty from the dealership rather than Honda itself, the mere association of a vehicle with known mechanical issues is often enough to sour the ownership experience. Hondas 3.5-Liter V6 Problems Continue To Escalate Photo Courtesy: Autorepublika. Hondas troubles with its 3.5-liter V6 engine have not subsided. Instead, they appear to be intensifying. In August 2025, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a probe into more than 1.4 million Honda and Acura vehicles after hundreds of reports alleging 3.5-liter V6 connecting rod bearing failures that can lead to loss of power or complete engine failure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The probe followed a November 2023 recall of about 249,000 Honda and Acura vehicles over a crankshaft manufacturing issue that could cause connecting rod bearing wear and eventual engine failure. For many Honda and Acura owners, however, the recall did not provide a lasting fix. The situation has since escalated into a class action lawsuit. A Simple Engine With Complex Failures The irony of the situation lies in the engines basic design. Hondas 3.5-liter V6 uses no turbochargers, no hybrid assistance, and no complex electrification systems. Despite its mechanical simplicity, many owners report severe drivability problems. According to court filings, symptoms include abnormal engine noises, misfires, loss of power, hesitation during acceleration, and in some cases complete engine shutdown while driving. Behind these symptoms are far more serious internal failures. Allegations Point To Internal Engine Damage Photo Courtesy: Autorepublika. Plaintiffs allege premature wear and damage to connecting rods, pistons, bearings, and the crankshaft itself. In some cases, this results in total engine failure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One example cited in the lawsuit involves an Ohio resident whose 2016 Honda Pilot suffered complete engine failure at just 76,420 miles. Because the vehicle was out of warranty, a dealer quoted $11,874 for a new engine. After Honda declined to cover the repair, the owner installed a remanufactured engine at a personal cost of $2,400. Honda acknowledged during the 2023 recall that a manufacturing defect related to an improperly ground crankshaft journal had been identified. The lawsuit argues that the recall failed to address the root cause and that many affected vehicles were never included despite showing identical symptoms. Affected Models Span More Than A Decade Photo Courtesy: Acura. The list of vehicles named in the lawsuit is extensive and spans more than ten years of production. It includes the Honda Pilot, Passport, Odyssey, and Ridgeline, as well as Acura models such as the TLX, RLX, and MDX. Notably, the inclusion of the 2014 Acura RLX suggests that these issues may date back over a decade. That long timeline significantly raises the stakes for Honda from both a financial and reputational standpoint. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Owners have reported failures well before 100,000 miles, and some say dealer replacement quotes can reach the five-figure range depending on parts and labor. Complaints filed with NHTSA increasingly mention rough idle behavior, a symptom often reported shortly before catastrophic failure. Warranty Coverage Leaves Many Owners Exposed Hondas powertrain warranty covers 5 years or 60,000 miles. As a result, many owners experience engine failure shortly after warranty coverage expires. For a brand long associated with durability and low ownership risk, this represents a serious erosion of consumer trust. Honda Is Not Alone Among Japanese Brands Photo Courtesy: Toyota. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Honda is not the only Japanese manufacturer facing scrutiny over V6 engines. Toyota has also issued U.S. recalls tied to machining debris in its V35A twin turbo V6, including certain 2022 to 2024 Tundra and 2022 to 2024 Lexus LX vehicles plus the 2024 Lexus GX, after warnings that debris can lead to bearing failure, rough running, and even stalling. Toyota has also faced class action claims arguing recall coverage or remedies should be broader. The Scale Of Hondas Problem Is Larger The difference lies in scope. Toyotas V35A debris campaigns focus on a defined set of recent model years, while the August 2025 NHTSA probe into Honda and Acura 3.5-liter V6 bearing failures spans more than 1.4 million vehicles across multiple nameplates. For two automakers synonymous with longevity and worry-free ownership, these cases represent a significant challenge to long-standing perceptions. In Hondas case especially, a definitive resolution still appears distant, leaving many owners questioning whether Japanese reliability is still what it once was. This article originally appeared on Autorepublika.com and has been republished with permission by Guessing Headlights. AI-assisted translation was used, followed by human editing and review. Children in County Longford are being left on a long waiting list for essential health services, the Dail has heard. Longford-Westmeath Fine Gael TD Micheal Carrigy raised the issue during a recent Questions on Policy or Legislation session. Deputy Carrigy said: A significant number of children in Longford are on the waiting list in primary care for occupational therapy, OT. The senior OT post has been vacant since January 2025. Despite all the necessary paperwork having been submitted to the integrated healthcare area, IHA, manager who is responsible for approvals, a recent staff grade position has been approved. He went on to ask when this post might be filled, so that children in the county can get the support they need. READ NEXT: Over 60 vacant, derelict Longford properties returned to use with vacant property grant The complexity of needs of children on the primary care list requires experienced clinicians to support staff grades. When will we be in a position to fill this role, which is needed? As I say, there has been a 12-month delay in the recruitment for this essential post, which is there to address what is a substantial, long waiting list and, indeed, long waiting times for families. In response to Deputy Carrigy, Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill thanked her party colleague for raising what she described as an important issue. Minister Carroll MacNeill said: I cannot speak about the individual position because I have only just become aware of it but I will find out for the Deputy. More broadly, it is not acceptable to have vacant positions. We have vacancies in the health service and we need them to be filled. We need that for the supports that children in particular need. She went on to outline the work she has done, in conjunction with the HSE, to reduce waiting lists for such services. However, I would point to the fact that I asked the CEO of the HSE to put specific measures in place to address OT, speech and language therapy and physiotherapy waiting lists and reduce them to less than ten months. We started that initiative in quarter 4 of 2025 and I am pleased to say that the primary care therapies lists declined by approximately 15,000 between September 2025 and November 2025. This is an important reduction but that can only be expedited and augmented if we are recruiting for positions such as the one the Deputy described. Minister Carroll MacNeill concluded by saying she would follow up on the situation in Longford and find out what is happening. Deputy Carrigys comments came following a number of Written Parliamentary Questions which he submitted to the Minister. In one such question, he enquired about the current waiting times for children awaiting an occupational therapy assessment in Longford. He also asked for the number of children currently on the waiting list and the measures being taken to reduce waiting times. In a separate submission, he cited the case of one child in Longford, who has been waiting over a year for an assessment. He called on the Minister for Health and the HSE to address the case as a matter of urgency. On both occasions, Deputy Carrigy received no answers to the issues raised from Minister Carroll MacNeill. Her response stated: As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible. Lenamore National School is preparing to celebrate 50 years of providing education and guidance for the young people of Legan parish on March 20 next. Read more: Congratulations: Longford students receive prestigious Trinity College Dublin awards The organising committee is asking for photographs or other pictorial memorabilia to make display boards for this day of celebration. Fine Gael Cllr Paul Ross, principal Ms Margo Smyth and several other local people are part of the organising committee. Cllr Ross said the golden jubilee celebration will commence with a mass performed by Bishop Paul Connell at 11am. All students, ex-students and parishioners are invited to attend, he added. Cllr Ross said a special ceremonial walk will also take place from the old school building (pre-1976) to the new school on March 20 as part of the golden jubilee celebration. On the first day in 1976 when the new school opened 50 years ago the pupils walked the distance of about 150 metres from the old school to the new school and we will be recreating that walk, Cllr Ross added. PICTURES | Longford audiences behold royalty in 'The Spare Prince' Anyone with any photographs or memorabilia can either drop them into the school office with their names on them to ensure safe return or email the photographs and memorabilia to lenamore.ns@hotmail.com It has been officially confirmed that Longford Town will get a long-awaited family resource centre with the announcement coming on Tuesday, almost two weeks after Children's Minister Norma Foley visited the designated centre. Minister Foley met community groups representatives and local Oireachtas members and politicians during her visit to the Attic House where she praised the work and a presentation made to her on the need for a Longford town FRC. The Longford family resource centre (FRC) steering committee, chaired by Veronica Brennan, along with other agencies, had put together a comprehensive application. Also read: Minister Foley recognises need for family resource centre in Longford A Needs Assessment Report published last July highlighted that Longford had one of the highest levels of deprivation in the country. Longford Fianna Fail Senator Joe Flaherty said it was 'excellent news for Longford' that the county town has been named as one of 10 new areas in the country to benefit from a family resource centre. He stated there was obviously huge disappointment when Longford was not selected as one of five locations to see the establishment of a family resource centre last September. Senator Flaherty said he 'emphasised' the need for a family resource centre to Minister Foley who engaged with him and she realised the importance of an FRC for Longford. Longford Fine Gael TD Micheal Carrigy, who was on the steering committee, said more than two weeks ago, prior to Minister Foley's visit that he was '100% confident' Longford town would soon be announced as getting an FRC. Also read: '100% confident': Reprieve for Longford as Family Resource Centre on the way for county town Travellers in County Longford are facing a substandard life due to a lack of services, an Oireachtas meeting has heard. Longford-Westmeath Sinn Fein TD Sorca Clarke spoke on the issue during a recent meeting of the Joint Committee on Key Issues affecting the Traveller Community. The group was meeting to discuss the National Traveller Health Action Plan and Report on the Traveller and Roma Mental Health Working Group. Deputy Clarke is not a member of the committee, but expressed her delight at getting the opportunity to speak. However, she said she was left with more questions than answers having heard some of the other contributions. READ NEXT: Longford school 'immensely proud' as students receive awards for their outstanding results Deputy Clarke said: I come from a constituency that has one of the highest percentages of members of the Traveller community per capita. I am trying to work out how I am going to take what I am hearing back to my Traveller constituents. I am hearing about plans and I am hearing about implementation. There is a lot of busyness going on somewhere. I know in my bones that my constituents are going to tell me they do not see it and they do not feel it. She continued by highlighting the need for additional services to be made available for members of the Traveller community. What needs to happen? This is a big question, but we need to get to the point where there is a plan, there is a budget, there is an implementation and there is the delivery of services. Particularly when it comes to mental health, because the longer that process takes, the more Traveller people we are losing. We are losing them to suicide. We are losing them to a substandard life and they are not being the best person they can be. I think that is hugely regrettable and desperately sad. She asked those present at the meeting how they hope to address the challenges faced by the Traveller community. In response to Deputy Clarke, Martina Queally of the HSE said: The National Traveller Health Group oversees the implementation of the plan and the mid-term report will show where we are with those actions being delivered. On the mental health side, we track and monitor things like waiting times, access to child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, and access to adult services. Ms Queallys colleague, Tony McCusker, outlined some of the work the HSE is doing to address mental health problems in the Traveller community. Mr McCusker said: Through the group that I chair, which includes representatives from the regions, from the Department and from the Traveller organisations, we try to see what we can support nationally going forward and what themes we can look at. For example, this year we are going to try to focus on Traveller men's health. In the past couple of years, we tried to focus on Traveller youth mental health. We will link in through the Traveller health units that Ms Queally was talking about before and through the organisations and national organisations such as Pavee Point and Exchange House to see what the wishes and wants of the communities are. We will try to enable those. He concluded by saying that the HSE will continue to work with community groups to better address the needs of the Traveller community. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted numerous operations throughout Lebanon against Hezbollah between January 26 and February 1, 2026. Israeli operations last week maintained an intensified tempo, concentrating on targeting Hezbollah assets and personnel involved in the groups regeneration efforts in south Lebanon, both north and south of the Litani River. These strikes continued despite the claim by the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) to have taken operational control of the South Litani Area earlier this month. The IDF conducted operations in Lebanese locales, some more than once. These activities included: Airstrikes: Eight (+) Eight (+) Artillery missions: Four Four Detonations: Four Four Drone strikes: Seven Seven Ground activities: Four Four Leaflet drops: One One Mortar missions: One One Quadcopter activities: 11 11 Tank fire: One Map instructions: Click the top-left icon or an icon on the map to open the Map Key and adjust the maps zoom as desired. Click the top-right icon to open a larger version of the map. Nabatieh Governorate Bint Jbeil District : Aitaroun, Ayta Ash Shaab, Bint Jbeil, Ramia, Rmeish, and Yaroun : Aitaroun, Ayta Ash Shaab, Bint Jbeil, Ramia, Rmeish, and Yaroun Marjayoun District: Adaisseh-Markaba, Blida, Houla, Khiam, and Rabb al Thalatheen Adaisseh-Markaba, Blida, Houla, Khiam, and Rabb al Thalatheen Nabatieh District: Azza-Kafrawa, Duweir, and Numeiriyeh-Zefta South Lebanon Governorate Jezzine District: Aqmata-Luwayza Aqmata-Luwayza Sidon District: Dawudiyeh, Msayleh-Najjariyeh-Tuffahta, Qennarit, and the Zahrani region Dawudiyeh, Msayleh-Najjariyeh-Tuffahta, Qennarit, and the Zahrani region Tyre District: Barish-Maaroub, Batoulay, Dhayra, Kfar Reman-Kfar Tebnit, Naqoura, Siddiqine, and Tyre Casualties Between January 26 and February 1, Israeli operations in Lebanon killed eight people, at least six of them Hezbollah operatives, and wounded 17 people. January 26, 2026: One Hezbollah operative was killed, two possible Hezbollah operatives were killed, and two unidentified individuals were wounded. One Hezbollah operative was killed, two possible Hezbollah operatives were killed, and two unidentified individuals were wounded. January 27, 2026: One Hezbollah operative was killed. One Hezbollah operative was killed. January 28, 2026: No casualties were reported. No casualties were reported. January 29, 2026: No casualties were reported. No casualties were reported. January 30, 2026: One Hezbollah operative was killed, and two unidentified individuals were wounded. One Hezbollah operative was killed, and two unidentified individuals were wounded. January 31, 2026: One dead Hezbollah operative was identified, one Hezbollah operative was killed, and one unidentified individual was wounded. One dead Hezbollah operative was identified, one Hezbollah operative was killed, and one unidentified individual was wounded. February 1, 2026: Two Hezbollah operatives were killed, and 12 people were wounded. Chronology of Israeli operations against Hezbollah, January 26February 1, 2026 January 26 NNA Lebanon reported that at 3:00 am, Israeli airstrikes targeted the heights of Aqmata-Luwayza in the South Lebanon Governorates Jezzine District. At 6:49 am, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli forces positioned in the IDFs Tel Aoueidah post directed gunfire toward the outskirts of Blida in the Nabatieh Governorates Marjayoun District. At 1:53 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli forces directed gunfire toward a group of young men allegedly engaged in reclamation of agricultural land east of Yaroun in the Nabatieh Governorates Bint Jbeil District, damaging a piece of equipment. At 3:14 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli drone targeted a vehicle in the suburbs of Tyre in the South Lebanon Governorates Tyre District. The strike killed one person and wounded two unidentified individuals. The IDF released a statement claiming it had targeted a Hezbollah operative near Tyre in south Lebanon. Hezbollah-affiliated social media later announced the death of Hezbollah operative Sheikh Ali Abdelhassan Noureddine, whose nom de guerre was Sheikh Amine, from Jwaya. The IDF claimed Noureddine commanded a Hezbollah artillery team in the village of Al Horsh in south Lebanon, and since November 27, 2024, was involved in advancing terror initiatives against the State of Israel and IDF troops, and most recently was involved in restoring Hezbollahs artillery capabilities in south Lebanon in violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon. According to Hezbollah, Noureddine also served as a journalist in its Al Manar Television station. Hezbollah gave Noureddine a military funeral in Tyre. Death announcement for Ali Abdelhassan Noureddine. (Balagh Media on Telegram) At 3:52 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli quadcopter dropped a stun explosive on an alleged marble factory on the Adaisseh-Markaba road in the Nabatieh Governorates Marjayoun District. At 4:54 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli forces fired several mortars at the area of Al Hariqa on the outskirts of Aitaroun in the Nabatieh Governorates Bint Jbeil District. At 5:46 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli tank fired two shells at a home in Al Selm on the outskirts of Aitaroun. At 10:07 pm, NNA Lebanon reported an Israeli drone targeted a vehicle near Kfar Tebnit-Kfar Reman in the South Lebanon Governorates Tyre District. The strike killed two people. NNA Lebanon reported the two fatalities as Samir Alaa Hoteit, a 22-year-old from Duweir, and Ahmad Abdelnabi Ramadan, a 22-year-old Egyptian national born and residing in Duweir. The IDF released a statement claiming it had targeted two Hezbollah operatives near Nabatieh, and later claimed the two were targeted and killed while they were operating inside an underground Hezbollah installation in south Lebanon to restore the structure in violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon. January 27 NNA Lebanon reported that overnight, two Israeli quadcopters dropped fragmentation explosives on a house in Yaroun in the Nabatieh Governorates Bint Jbeil District. At 9:41 am, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli artillery intermittently targeted the forested area of Yaroun. At 11:05 am, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli quadcopter dropped a stun explosive in Dhayra in the South Lebanon Governorates Tyre District. At 11:31 am, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli drone targeted a motorbike in Batoulay in the South Lebanon Governorates Tyre District. The strike killed one person. Hezbollah later announced the death of Hezbollah operative Hussain Ahmad al Mardineh, whose nom de guerre was Thaer, from Shaatiyeh. The IDF released a statement saying it had targeted and killed a Hezbollah operative involved in attempts to restore Hezbollahs military installations near Deir Qanoun in south Lebanon in violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon. Hezbollah gave Mardineh a military funeral in his hometown. Death announcement for Hussain Ahmad al Mardineh. (Balagh Media on Telegram) At 11:59 am, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli quadcopter dropped a stun explosive near alleged shepherds on the outskirts of Rmeish in the Nabatieh Governorates Bint Jbeil District. At 12:22 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli quadcopter dropped a stun explosive in the Kasayer neighborhood of Meiss al Jabal in the Nabatieh Governorates Marjayoun District. At 6:30 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli quadcopter dropped a stun explosive in Ayta Ash Shaab in the Nabatieh Governorates Bint Jbeil District. January 28 NNA Lebanon reported that at 12:01 am, two Israeli quadcopters dropped several fragmentation explosives toward Yaroun in the Nabatieh Governorates Bint Jbeil District. NNA Lebanon reported that, in the morning, Israeli forces conducted a detonation in the Sabih neighborhood east of Houla in the Nabatieh Governorates Marjayoun District. At 3:38 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli artillery fired two shells that fell into the sea opposite Naqoura in the South Lebanon Governorates Tyre District. January 29 At 12:44 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli artillery fired several shells at the Salhani area on the outskirts of Ramia in the Nabatieh Governorates Bint Jbeil District. At 8:37 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli forces directed machine-gun fire toward the outskirts of Aitaroun in the Nabatieh Governorates Bint Jbeil District. At 10:45 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that a mechanized IDF infantry patrol comprised of a Merkava tank and two military vehicles headed toward the eastern section of Yaroun in the Nabatieh Governorates Bint Jbeil District and positioned itself near an inhabited house. The houses owners reportedly fled before the arrival of the Israeli force, which then rigged the house for detonation after intermittent artillery had targeted the area between Bint Jbeil and Yaroun. January 30 At 8:09 am, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli quadcopter dropped a stun explosive in the Chalets area of Khiam in the Nabatieh Governorates Marjayoun District. At 8:40 am, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli quadcopter dropped a stun explosive on the outskirts of Ayta Ash Shaab in the Nabatieh Governorates Bint Jbeil District. At 10:36 am, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli quadcopter dropped two stun explosives in the Chalets area of Khiam in the Nabatieh Governorates Marjayoun District. At 12:07 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli quadcopter dropped a stun explosive between Markaba and Adaisseh in the Nabatieh Governorates Marjayoun District. At 2:20 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli drone targeted a vehicle on the outskirts of Siddiqin in the South Lebanon Governorates Tyre District. The strike killed one person. The IDF released a statement saying it had targeted a Hezbollah operative operating near Siddiqine in south Lebanon. Hezbollah-affiliated media announced the death of Hezbollah operative Mohammad Ahmad Yusef, whose nom de guerre was Fatras, from Riyaq in the Beqaa. The IDF released a subsequent statement claiming Fatras was involved in attempts to restore Hezbollahs military infrastructure near Siddiqine in violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon. Hezbollah gave Yusef a military funeral, burying him in its Zahraa Cemetery in the Kafaat area of Dahiyeh. Death announcement for Mohammad Ahmad Yusef. (Lebanon Debate) At 7:27 pm, the IDF released a statement saying that it was targeting Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon. At 7:31 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that several Israeli airstrikes targeted the outskirts of locales in the Zahrani region in the South Lebanon Governorates Sidon District. At 7:37 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that several Israeli airstrikes targeted the wadi between Msayleh, Najjariyeh, and Tuffahta in the South Lebanon Governorates Sidon District. The strikes caused local power outages. 7:37 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli airstrike targeted a bulldozer and excavator parking lot in Dawudiyeh in the South Lebanon Governorates Sidon District. The lot belonged to Abbas Diab, whose brother Jaafars machinery lot in Msayleh was also targeted by Israeli airstrikes on October 7, 2025. The latest strikes lightly wounded two people. The IDF released a statement saying it had targeted engineering equipment belonging to Hezbollah that the organization had been using to restore its infrastructure near Dawudiyeh in violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon. At 7:46 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that several Israeli airstrikes targeted the wadi between Numeiriyeh and Zefta in the Nabatieh Governorates Nabatieh District. At 7:46 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that several Israeli airstrikes targeted the wadis between Azza and Kafrawa in the Nabatieh Governorates Nabatieh District. January 31 NNA Lebanon reported that at 3:00 am, Israeli forces detonated a chalet in Khiam in the Nabatieh Governorates Marjayoun District. At 1:30 pm, Hezbollah-affiliated social media announced that the group had located and identified the remains of Hezbollah operative Hassan Abdallah Awada, whose nom de guerre was Abbas, from Khiam. Awada was killed at an unspecified time in late 2024 during the war with Israel. At 2:25 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli drone strike targeted a vehicle on the outskirts of Rabb al Thalatheen in the Nabatieh Governorates Marjayoun District. The strike killed one person. The IDF released a statement saying it had targeted a Hezbollah operative near Markaba in south Lebanon. Hezbollah-affiliated social media later announced the death of Hezbollah operative Ahmad Hassan Faqih, whose nom de guerre was Sadeq, from Rabb al Thalatheen. The IDF released a subsequent statement claiming Faqih was involved in restoring Hezbollahs military infrastructure near Markaba in violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon. Death announcements for Hassan Adballah Awada (Left) and Ahmad Hassan Faqih. (Balagh Media on Telegram) At 11:36 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli airstrike targeted a vehicle between Barish and Maaroub in the South Lebanon Governorates Tyre District. The strike wounded one person. February 1 At 9:42 am, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli patrol entered Rabb al Thalatheen in the Nabatieh Governorates Marjayoun District and detonated two homes, damaging neighboring residences. At 10:18 am, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli quadcopter dropped a stun explosive on an excavator that had been previously targeted in Ayta Ash Shaab in the Nabatieh Governorates Bint Jbeil. At 12:10 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli drone targeted an excavator with five missiles in Qennarit in the South Lebanon Governorates Sidon District. The excavator was reportedly clearing debris from Israels January 21 airstrikes in the town. The strike wounded one person. The IDF released a statement saying it targeted engineering equipment being used by Hezbollah to restore its terror infrastructure in the area in violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon. At 12:57 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli forces dropped inciteful and threatening leaflets in Bint Jbeil in the Nabatieh Governorates Bint Jbeil District. The leaflets were addressed to the locals and residents of Bint Jbeil, warning them that a hospital is being used by the terrorist members of Hezbollah, steer clear of them! Then the leaflet addressed Hezbollahs operatives we are monitoring you. Stop your efforts to restore terrorist infrastructure. Another leaflet mimicked Hezbollahs death announcements, with You in the usual place of the fatalitys name and stating, If you are involved in illegal activities in the souths villages. Leaflets dropped by Israel in Bint Jbeil. (NNA Lebanon) NNA Lebanon reported that at 2:20 pm, an Israeli airstrike targeted a vehicle with two missiles at the southern entrance of Duweir in the Nabatieh Governorates Nabatieh District. The strike killed one person and wounded sixpeople, including a nine-year-old boy identified as Ali M.F. who was in a vehicle with his parents that happened to pass by the area as the airstrike occurred, a four-year-old girl identified as Mila A.H. who was playing in her houses courtyard near the road, an unidentified six-year-old girl, and an unidentified 16-year-old boy. The strike also significantly damaged nearby homes and a nearby Mercedes belonging to an individual identified as Ali H. The IDF released a statement saying it had targeted a Hezbollah operative near Duweir. Pro-Hezbollah social media later announced the death of Hezbollah operative Ali Dawoud Amees, whose nom de guerre was Mohammad Ali, from Aba. Hezbollah gave Amees a military funeral in his hometown. The IDF released a statement saying it had targeted and killed Amees, whom it described as the head of the branch in Hezbollahs engineering division and claimed was involved in attempts to restore Hezbollahs military infrastructure near Duweir in violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon. Death announcement for Ali Dawoud Amees. (Jibchit on Facebook) At 7:38 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli drone targeted a vehicle in Harouf in the Nabatieh Governorates Nabatieh District. The strike killed one person and wounded five people. The IDF released a statement saying it had targeted a Hezbollah operative near Harouf. Hezbollah-affiliated sources later announced the death of Hezbollah operative Ali al Hadi Mustafa al Haqqani, whose nom de guerre was Hamza. Some pro-Hezbollah sources described him as being of Iranian origin. Hezbollah gave Haqqani a military funeral in its Al Zahraa Cemetery in Beiruts southern suburbs. The IDF later released a statement claiming that it had targeted and killed Haqqani, describing him as a senior official in Hezbollahs aerial defense array who was recently involved in efforts to restore military infrastructure in violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon. Death announcement for Ali al Hadi Mustafa al Haqqani. (@haddad_ernest on X) At 11:29 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli forces directed machine-gun fire toward the outskirts of Aitaroun in the Nabatieh Governorates Bint Jbeil District. Previous entries: David Daoud is Senior Fellow at at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies where he focuses on Israel, Hezbollah, and Lebanon affairs. Israel Defense Forces troops from the 188th Armored Brigade operating in Gaza in January. (IDF) The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt reopened on February 2, more than two years after it was closed in the wake of the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Israels Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), which coordinates and facilitates aid entry into Gaza, said on February 1 that the crossing would be open for pedestrian traffic only. The reopening came two days after a significant round of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) strikes on Gaza overnight between January 30 and 31. The Israeli military said that the strikes were in response to Hamas violating the terms of the ceasefire that began in October. The Israeli strikes targeted members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. According to the military, the strikes were launched after eight gunmen emerged from a tunnel in southern Gazas Rafah on Friday. The IDF said that three of the gunmen were killed in strikes and a fourth, described as a key Hamas commander, was captured, The Times of Israel reported. More than two dozen people were killed in the operations, according to Hamas-run health authorities in Gaza. I am deeply concerned by what has taken place since Friday: Hamas armed operatives emerging from a tunnel in Rafah, Israeli strikes that tragically also killed civilians, Nickolay E. Mladenov, the Board of Peaces Gaza envoy, wrote on X on February 1. Such developments risk the hard-won progress under UNSCR 2803 and President Trumps 20-Point Peace Plan, he added. The decision to reopen the Rafah crossing is a key part of the US-backed ceasefire deal for Gaza that was agreed to in September and came into effect in October. The agreement entered a new phase in January. The last hostage held in Gaza was returned to Israel on January 26. The same day, Israels Prime Ministers Office noted, As part of President Trumps 20-point plan, Israel has agreed to a limited reopening of the Rafah Crossing for pedestrian passage only, subject to a full Israeli inspection mechanism. The reopening of the crossing was conditioned upon the return of all living hostages and a 100% effort by Hamas to locate and return all deceased hostages. Israels COGAT issued a statement on January 30 explaining how the reopening would function. Movement of people will be allowed in both directions, but only in limited quantities. Exit from and entry into the Gaza Strip via the Rafah Crossing will be permitted in coordination with Egypt, following prior security clearance of individuals by Israel, and under the supervision of the European Union mission, similar to the mechanism implemented in January 2025, COGAT noted. The US State Departments Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs published a statement on X that included comments about the reopening of the crossing from Doctor Ali Shaath, Chairman of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), a Palestinian technocratic organization created under the US-backed ceasefire plan. This step is not merely an administrative measure; it represents the beginning of a long journey to reconnect what has been cut off and to open a true window of hope for our people in the Gaza Strip, Shaath said. Separately, the IDF continued to clash with terrorists in Gaza in a range of incidents. On February 1, the IDF killed a terrorist near the Yellow Line in the southern Gaza Strip, who the Israeli military said approached troops in Gaza, and a similar incident occurred on February 2. The IDF also continued to dismantle terrorist infrastructure in the territory. Troops from the 188th Armored Brigade, under the command of the Gaza Division, have been operating in recent weeks in the area of Khan Yunis, east of the Yellow Line, the IDF said on February 1. Inside the route, three living quarters and dozens of weapons were located, including approximately 45 grenades, 35 magazines, ten rifles, RPG rockets, an RPG launcher, approximately ten explosive devices, and six military vests, the IDF added. Reporting from Israel, Seth J. Frantzman is an adjunct fellow at FDD and a contributor to FDDs Long War Journal. He is the senior Middle East correspondent and analyst at The Jerusalem Post, and author of The October 7 War: Israel's Battle for Security in Gaza (2024). From next year, cars sold in China will need to have door handles with mechanical releases following safety concerns with aerodynamic doors (Hector RETAMAL) From next year, cars sold in China will need to have door handles with mechanical releases following safety concerns with aerodynamic doors (Hector RETAMAL) (Hector RETAMAL/AFP/AFP) China will ban hidden door handles on cars from next year over safety concerns, phasing out the minimalist design popularised by Tesla. The new rules could prompt carmakers globally to rethink vehicle-door designs as China increasingly positions itself as a standards-setter in the rapidly expanding international EV market, according to analysts. The rules, announced by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Monday will take effect from January 1, 2027, and require door handles to have both interior and exterior mechanical releases. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chinese car models already approved for launch will have an additional two years to achieve compliance, the ministry said. The new regulations will apply to all vehicles but will mostly impact EVs, which are commonly designed with hidden handles, and will "improve the level of automotive safety design", the ministry added. Safety concerns have risen in China recently over sleek, aerodynamic car doors that reduce drag but are prone to losing operability in the event of a crash. One high-profile incident occurred in October, when rescuers were shown failing to open the doors of a burning Xiaomi electric vehicle in the southwestern city of Chengdu. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The driver, reported to be under the influence of alcohol, died in the crash. Electronic or "flush" door handles were introduced with Tesla's 2012 launch of the Model S, later becoming popular with Chinese EV brands prioritising high-tech features. Folding into the body of the car, such door handles provide a slight boost to efficiency by reducing drag while the vehicle is in motion. Banning the handles is part of a pattern in which "China is increasingly acting as a rule-setter rather than a rule-taker in EV and intelligent vehicle regulation," Bill Russo, founder of Shanghai-based consultancy Automobility, told AFP. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He pointed to areas including battery safety standards and remote updating as other examples of this. Russo said he expects the new door regulations to be "echoed" abroad, particularly in Europe, "as Chinese vehicles and platforms increasingly set the baseline for global EV design". The new rules stipulate that all doors except the tailgate "shall be equipped with a mechanical release exterior door handle". Other rules will improve the visibility of interior handles, including by requiring permanent graphic markings, the ministry said. China is the world's largest EV market, and its dozens of brands have growing operations abroad. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Statistics published last month showed that Chinese firm BYD last year sold more EVs than Tesla, overtaking the US industry pioneer in the annual category for the first time. China's status as the world's largest passenger vehicle market means the country is "informally" setting global standards, Tu Le, founder of Sino Auto Insights, told AFP. The new rules on door handles mean that "for companies like Tesla, Kia and other legacy automakers that sell their vehicles in multiple regions, they'll need to decide whether to make the change to the China product only or implement it globally," Le said. "It's likely a pain for quite a few automakers since some of them have global designs that will need to be reconciled," he added. pfc/dhw/ceg Summary created by Smart Answers AI In summary: Macworld reports that Apple is preparing significant February updates including new MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, plus a Studio Display featuring ProMotion and HDR technology. The M5 MacBook Air is expected to follow in March or April, while enhanced Siri capabilities powered by Googles Gemini will arrive with OS 26.4 betas. Apple TV+ premieres new series Eternity and continues popular shows, while Apple Arcade adds Sid Meiers Civilization VII and other titles. February is not often a very exciting month for Apple releasesthe bigger spring releases generally come in March. But this year we have a couple of key products and updates worth anticipating in the shortest month of the year. We could get the first M5 Pro and Max products, and an iOS/iPadOS/macOS beta that finally includes the all-new Siri. That makes for a more exciting February than we usually get from Apple. New hardware releases On the hardware front, several tipsters are now telling us that the MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips is expected to ship during the macOS 26.3 timeframe, which we expect to enter wide release as soon as next week. The M5 Pro and Max will be unique in that they are expected to use a new SoIC-MH process that lets Apple put separate CPU and GPU dies on a single substrate in one package together. This could potentially let Apple mix and match CPU and GPU configurations, but its possible the company is only pursuing this technology to improve yields (and therefore costs) along with thermal performance. There might be more than new high-end MacBooks on the horizon as well. Bloombergs Mark Gurman tells us that Apple has a new version of the Studio Display in the works and due in the first half of the year, and current supply in retailers is dwindling. Thats usually a sign that Apple plans to phase out the current model and replace it. The new Studio Display is expected to support ProMotion up to 120Hz and HDR. The M4 MacBook Air is also due for an update to the M5 soon, but stock levels of that product remain steady, so that update might land in March or April. We got the new Creator Studio bundle at the end of January, and it came with updates to nearly all of the apps withinFinal Cut Pro, Motion, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Keynote, Pages, Numbers, Freeform, Compressor, and MainStage. Hence, theres not much in the way of new applications or major updates to existing ones expected in February. But the operating systems could get very interesting. Were on the verge of the OS 26.3 releases, which only offer a few minor refinements along with bug fixes and security updates, as well as the launch of new MacBook Pros (see above). The release of 26.3 will be followed almost immediately by the 26.4 betas, which will be a big release. iOS, iPadOS, and macOS 26.4 are supposed to give us the long-overdue new-and-improved Siri based on Googles Gemini foundation model. It will reportedly use a custom build older than the latest Gemini 3 release that runs entirely on Apples servers (with some simple tasks running on-device). Beyond the change in AI models, Siri will be able to understand what is on your screen, build a personal context profile of you to deliver tailored responses, and take actions within apps. It should be a big leap. Siri will still be Siri, though: a phone, tablet, and PC assistant and not a full-scale chatbot with text input and back-and-forth conversations. In the OS 27 updates due this fall, Siri is expected to get both another big foundation model upgrade and evolve into that sort of chatbot. Services Apple TV+ Here are the shows, series, and movies we expect to release on Apple TV+ in February. If you want to know whats coming later, check our full guide to upcoming Apple TV+ content. Eternity: In an afterlife where souls have one week to decide where to spend eternity, Joan is faced with the impossible choice between the man she spent her life with and her first love, who died young and has waited decades for her to arrive. February 13 The Last Thing He Told Me (season 2): When Owen shows up after five years on the run, Hannah and her stepdaughter Bailey find themselves in a race to figure out how to reunite their family before the past catches up to them. February 20 Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (season 2): Season two will pick up with the fate of Monarch and the world hanging in the balance. The dramatic saga reveals buried secrets that reunite our heroes (and villains) on Kongs Skull Island. February 27 Apple Arcade Apple releases most Apple Arcade games on the first Friday of each month. Check our Apple Arcade FAQ for a full list of Apple Arcade games and more details on the service. Occasionally, games are released with no forewarning, but youll usually see next months releases listed in the Coming Soon section. Felicitys Door: A rhythm game that takes you through Tom and Felicitys magical world of dreams. February 5 Sid Meiers Civilization VII: The Arcade editing is the full base Civ 7 game, the latest in the storied strategy series. February 5 I Love Hue Too+: Color-based puzzle game. February 5 Retrocade: Play 10 classic arcade games. The Vision Pro version lets you walk up to virtual arcade cabinets! February 5 For more read: New Apple products coming this year. China has banned hidden door handles on electric vehicles (EVs), making it the first country to stop the use of the controversial designs that were made popular by multi-billionaire Elon Musk's Tesla. It comes as EVs are facing scrutiny from safety watchdogs around the world after a number of deadly incidents, including two fatal crashes in China involving Xiaomi EVs in which power failures were suspected to have prevented doors from being opened. Under the new regulations, cars will only be allowed to be sold if they have a mechanical release both on the inside and outside of their doors, according to state media. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The new rules are due to take effect on 1 January 2027. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology rules require the outside of every passenger door except the boot, to have a recessed space measuring no smaller than 6cm (2 in) by 2cm by 2.5cm to allow access to the handle. Inside the car there must be signs measuring at least 1cm by 0.7cm to show how to open the door. Cars that have already been approved by authorities and are in the final stages of entering the Chinese market will have another two years to update their designs. Hidden handles are widely used in China's new energy vehicle (NEV) market, which includes EVs as well as hybrid cars and those powered by fuel cells. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They feature in about 60% of the top 100 best-selling NEVs, according to data cited by government-controlled newspaper China Daily. Although the measures will only apply to models sold in the Chinese market, the country's huge presence in the global car industry means the move is likely to have an impact around the world. Tesla's door handles are already being investigated by US safety regulators and authorities in Europe are considering their own rules. In November, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened a probe focused on Tesla's electric-powered door handles, responding to reports that they suddenly stopped working, leaving children trapped in the cars. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The NHTSA said it had received nine complaints about the handles in Tesla's 2021 Model Y cars, the company's flagship model. In four of the cases, the car owners resorted to breaking the window to resolve the issue. A wealthy engineer who attacked multiple women at Boston malls in the 80s has continued to "humiliate and exploit women" while incarcerated, according to two district attorneys offices. Phillip Pizzo, now 75, went in front of the parole board for the fourth time on Aug. 12, 2025. The Essex District Attorneys office and the Middlesex District Attorneys office both spoke against giving him parole fearing he would pose a significant threat to public safety if released. Between Aug. 12, 1983, and Jan. 19, 1984, Pizzo, 33, kidnapped between eight and 20 women in their late teens or early twenties from at least three Boston area malls. Officials said he would open the car door, hold a knife to the womans throat and push her over to the passengers seat. He would put the ski mask over the womans face and tie her hands behind her back. Pizzo told each woman that he was not going to harm her, and that he just wanted their money. Hed then take their money but would also drive the womans car to his vehicle, which was parked some distance away. He would then drive his car, with the women inside, to his Westford home. During the ride to his home, Pizzo would talk to the women, asking about their personal life, including questions about employment and relationship status. After entering the house from the attached garage, Pizzo would force the women to drink alcohol and then take them upstairs to the bedroom. Pizzo would then remove the ski mask from the womans face and rape them, according to the parole board. After raping the women, he would have them take a shower and return them to the shopping malls from where he had abducted them. One woman escaped after being stabbed in the mouth, The Daily Item reported in 1984. Officials reported finding several items from the women at his home, according to The Daily Item in 1984. On Nov. 6, 1984, Pizzo pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including seven counts of aggravated rape, three counts of armed robbery while masked and five counts of kidnapping in Middlesex Superior Court. He also pleaded guilty in Essex Superior Court to three counts of aggravated rape, armed robbery while masked and three counts of kidnapping. He was sentenced to eight concurrent life sentences. He became eligible for parole after 15 years. In 1985, Pizzo was declared a Sexually Dangerous Person and was sentenced to one day to life at the Massachusetts Treatment Center. In 2009, Pizzo was discharged from his civil commitment and was deemed by the court to no longer be a Sexually Dangerous Person. And in 2013, he completed the Sex Offender Treatment Program. He first went in front of the parole board in 2010 but was denied. He was also denied in 2015 and 2020. The parole board noted that he has received multiple disciplinary reports, including one in September 2025, and has continued to engage in inappropriate sex acts while incarcerated. Five of his seven disciplinary reports have been since his last parole board hearing. The nature of the increasing violations are particularly concerning given his years of (Sex Offender Treatment Program) participation, the Middlesex District Attorneys office wrote to the parole board. Three of the incidents revolve around female correctional officers announcing their presence in his unit. These three incidents demonstrate Pizzos continued desire to humiliate and exploit women specifically, the Essex District Attorneys office wrote. In one case, he also ignored the officers order to stop the behavior. These incidents overwhelmingly suggest that Pizzo would pose a significant threat to public safety if released, as he is not even able to control his urges in an institutional environment while engaging in programming to address these issues specifically. Two of the incidents were drug-related, according to officials. And it is unclear if he understands the role alcohol played in the crimes. He had previously denied that alcohol gave him the courage to commit the crimes during parole hearings. However, he then said in 2025 that alcohol helped boost his courage to commit the crimes. It is highly questionable whether Pizzo is merely trying to appear to the Board to have a mindset that could earn him release rather than an honest realization about his alcohol use, Middlesex District Attorneys office wrote. On Jan. 13, he was denied parole for the fourth time through a unanimous decision by the parole board members. He can go in front of the parole board again in three years. A woman who posed as a Boston Public Schools student at several high schools in the city agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges Tuesday a week before her trial. Shelby Hewitt was charged with forgery of a document, identity fraud and violating the standards of conduct for a public employee, records show. State payroll records show Hewitt was employed by the Department of Children and Families when prosecutors say she forged documents to enroll in several Boston high schools for the 2022-23 school year. She was 32 years old at the time. The plea Tuesday comes months after a court date where Hewitt was slated to plead guilty, only for lawyers to say the agreement had fallen apart. At the time, Hewitts defense attorney, Timothy Flaherty, told the presiding judge that Hewitt would only accept a plea deal if her case were continued without a finding, allowing her to avoid a guilty plea. But prosecutors would only accept an agreement where Hewitt pleaded guilty. Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper said Hewitt used the transfer process to enroll in Jeremiah E. Burke High School, Brighton High School and English High School under various names. I am deeply troubled that an adult would breach the trust of our school communities by posing as a student. This appears to be a case of extremely sophisticated fraud, Skipper said in 2023. Hewitts fraud unraveled when administrators at English High School in Jamaica Plain contacted authorities after uncovering some suspicious paperwork from a student, according to a police report. School officials told police they became concerned after a students parent said they would be withdrawing their daughter and enrolling her into St. Columbkille School because she was being bullied. However, the student had enrolled just a week prior and school staff had only just begun addressing the reported bullying, according to the police report. After years of limited use and privacy concerns, an Amazon service will exit all retail stores across the nation. Amazon is shutting down its Amazon One palm-scanning payment technology at all retail locations by June 3, 2026, marking a significant retreat from the companys biometric shopping experiment, Amazon announced. The service, which allows shoppers to pay or enter venues by scanning the palm of their hand, will be removed from physical stores and third-party businesses nationwide as the retail giant shifts its focus back to traditional grocery formats and delivery. The decision follows what company officials described as a lack of widespread use. In response to limited customer adoption, were discontinuing Amazon One, our authentication service for facility access and payment, an Amazon spokesperson told GeekWire. The technology initially debuted in 2020 at two Amazon Go stores in Seattle before expanding to stadiums, airports and more than 500 Whole Foods Market locations. According to the Amazon One support page, all customer data associated with the service, including palm scans, payment information and transaction history, will be automatically and securely deleted once the system is fully retired. Active users who have used the service within the last 30 days are scheduled to receive notifications via email or text regarding the shutdown. The end of palm-scanning is part of a broader consolidation of Amazons physical retail footprint. The company recently announced plans to close all 72 of its Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh stores to focus on its Whole Foods Market brand and online grocery delivery expansion. Some of these locations are expected to transition to the Whole Foods banner as part of the restructuring effort. Concerns were raised by privacy experts regarding the storage of biometric information in the cloud. Despite the retail shutdown, Amazon One will not disappear entirely. The company stated that the service will remain available for patient check-in at existing healthcare locations that currently use the technology. For retail shoppers, alternative methods such as credit cards and QR codes will continue to serve as the primary payment options at affected sites until the final removal date on June 3. The Jazz unexpectedly took a massive swing ahead of Thursdays trade deadline, landing Jaren Jackson Jr. from the Grizzlies. Jackson was a popular trade target with some rumors connected to the Celtics, though Boston was unlikely to match the price tag Memphis would want. Former Cs forward Georges Niang was also included in the blockbuster, eight-player deal, which was first reported by ESPNs Shams Charania. Utah also got John Konchar, Vince Williams Jr. and Jock Landale, along with Jackson. The Grizzlies received Niang, Walter Clayton Jr., Kyle Anderson, Taylor Hendricks and three future first-round picks. Niang has yet to play a game this season as hes dealt with a left foot injury. This deal also marks the fourth time hes been traded in the past year. He was on the Cavaliers to start the 2024-25 season before a midseason trade to Atlanta. Then he was dealt to the Celtics in the three-team Kristaps Porzingis deal over the summer. The Cs shipped him to the Jazz in a salary-dumping move, landing two-way wing RJ Luis Jr., who Boston eventually waived. Niang returned to Utah, where he played earlier in his career, but now hes headed to Memphis now. Niang was complimentary of Cs president Brad Stevens during his short stint in Boston. Brad Stevens is the best of the best, Niang said. Completely honest. Open. Called me. Told me what was going on before word had come out and explained to me the situation and kind of just went from there. I cant be thankful enough for how honest he was with me, how this organization treated me while I was only there for a certain amount of days and was completely honest with me from the beginning. Thats a massive deal on multiple fronts with the Jazz making an aggressive move. Utah is currently 15-35 and rebuilding. But now Jackson teams up with Lauri Markkanen to make up a formidable front-court who will both be under team control going forward. The Jazz had picks to trade amid a rebuild, so they landed Jackson. The Grizzlies look like a team thats selling off even further pieces. They traded Desmond Bane over the offseason to the Magic, and now Jackson is headed to the Jazz. Guard Ja Morant could be next ahead of Thursdays trade deadline, though it remains unclear how much trade value he has amid a rocky few years. President Donald Trump is demanding $1 billion from Harvard University and wants investigations into the university to be treated as criminal matters, according to a social media post published shortly after midnight. This should be a Criminal, not Civil, event, and Harvard will have to live with the consequences of their wrongdoings, Trump said. The social media post came after The New York Times reported just hours earlier that Trump had dropped the demand for a $200 million payment to the federal government. Trump called the outlets story completely wrong and attacked it with a list of insults, including that they never call for facts and that they are corrupt. In December, the administration thanked Harvard for agreeing to pay $200 million but Harvard had made no such agreement and wasnt planning to, according to reporting from The New York Times. Harvard has been clear about not wanting to pay any amount to the federal government, but has been open to making a deal focused on funding workforce programs, the outlet said. The road to a deal between the two has been a long and contentious one. While Harvard and the Trump administration have been in talks over a potential $500 million deal since July, nothing has materialized, even when Trump declared the deal done. The two have been in a nearly year-long battle over accusations of campus antisemitism. At the same time, Harvard has secured major wins in court, reversing nearly $3 billion in federal funding cuts to the institution in September. The Trump administration appealed the judges ruling in December 2025. Meanwhile, other institutions such as Columbia University, Brown University and the University of Pennsylvania have made deals with the federal government. Trump officials have argued that Harvard has worse issues than other institutions like Brown, and it has a larger endowment, therefore it requires a larger payment, according to The New York Times. Thousands of Kia and Hyundai vehicles are being recalled nationwide for a defect that may leave drivers operating without crucial vehicle information, including speed, engine functionality and warning icons. According to the overlapping recall notices, certain 2025-2026 models included in the recall may experience software defects that can cause digital instrument display panels to fail, resulting in a blank display screen. Hyundai said the issue stems from the instrument display panel rebooting while driving and may cause a temporary blank display screen due to electrical noise. Read more: Major automaker recalls 560K vehicles due faulty airbags Kia said its instrument display panels may enter overheat protection mode from excessive signal noise. In both cases, a blank screen is deemed an increased crash hazard, according to the National Highways Traffic Safety Administration. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration warns this defect may increase the risk of crash. The recall includes 41,651 Hyundai vehicles and 42,677 Kia vehicles. Affected Hyundais are 2026 Ioniq 5, Kona, Palisade, Palisade Hybrid, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, Santa Fe Hybrid, Sonata, Sonata Hybrid and Tucson and 2025-2026 Tucson Hybrid and Tucson plug-in Hybrid. Affected Kias are 2026 Carnival, Carnival Hybrid, EV9, K4, K5, Sportage, Sportage Hybrid and Sportage PHEV and 2025-2026 Sorento, Sorento Hybrid and Sorento PHEV. Vehicle owners are advised to return their vehicles to a dealer who will then update the defective software, free of charge. Vehicle owners will be notified of the recalls between through March. Tragedy has struck the family of a rock music legend. A body recovered from the sea off the coast of Bude in the United Kingdom is believed to be Alexander Key, the 37-year-old partner of Assisi Jackson, who is the granddaughter of Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, People reported. Jacksons mother is Jade Jagger, daughter of Mick. On Sunday, Devon & Cornwall Police said they found the body of a missing man from Boscastle on Saturday, Jan. 31. The man was pronounced dead at the scene. Formal identification is yet to be carried out but officers believe the person to be 37-year-old Alexander Key who was reported missing on 24 January, police reported. His death is not being treated as suspicious and a file will be prepared for the coroner, police said. Mr Keys family has thanked police and HM Coastguard for their efforts, along with all those who assisted in the search for him. They have asked for their privacy to be respected at this difficult time. People reported that Devon & Cornwall police initially shared that Key was first reported missing in Boscastle, a village on the coast of Cornwall on Saturday, Jan. 24. CCTV images showed Key walking by The Wellington, a pub located on Old Road, in the direction of Boscastle Harbour, near the River Valency at 3:25 p.m., police said, per People. Neither Jackson nor Jagger have publicly commented on the matter. Key and Jackson had been together since 2010, according to Hello!. The couple shared two children, one daughter born in 2014 and a second daughter in 2019, the outlet reported. The families of three Revere women who died of carbon monoxide poisoning while staying at a resort in Belize last year have filed a lawsuit claiming the deaths were the result of negligence by the resort, its contractors and the travel platform where they booked the trip. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Massachusetts Tuesday by attorneys for the families of Wafae El-Arar, 26, Kaoutar Naqqad, 23, and Imane Mallah, 24, states the resort improperly installed a water heater in the womens hotel suite, leading to their deaths. Despite previous complaints from guests about elevated carbon monoxide levels, they wrote, the resort had not addressed the issue and did not have carbon monoxide detectors in its rooms. This was not an unavoidable accident, said attorney Tom Scolaro at a press conference Tuesday morning. It was a foreseeable result of decisions that put safety last and bottom-line profits first. And our legal system exists to hold those responsible to account. The three women planned the trip to Belize in early 2025 as a celebration of El-Arars birthday, according to the lawsuit. Using the travel booking platform Expedia, they booked their seven-night stay at Royal Kahal Beach Resort in San Pedro, Belize, and flew there on Feb. 19, 2025, arriving the following day. After checking into the Bird of Paradise guest suite, they spent the day at the beach, returning to the suite around 7 p.m. According to the complaint, they remained in contact with family friends for about two hours afterward. Authorities believe El-Arar, Naqqad and Mallah were overcome that night by carbon monoxide gas vented by their suites showers hot water heater. Because the toxic gas is colorless and odorless, and their room lacked a functioning carbon monoxide detector, they were unaware of the danger. Resort staff discovered their bodies two days later, on Feb. 22. Local police said at the time that they discovered alcohol and gummies containing recreational drugs in the suite, and while the women had no visible injuries, there appeared to be vomit next to each of the three. No one should go to vacation believing they are safe, only to learn that basic protections were missing and that those responsible are attempting to skirt any kind of accountability, said Edina Bakkal, a relative of Naqqad, reading a joint statement from the families. We trusted that the places and companies inviting families to stay with them cared about safety as much as they cared about profit. We now know that trust was misplaced. Attorney Tom Scolaro speaks to reporters alongside Edina Bakkal, a relative of Kaoutar Naqqad, one of three Revere women who died from carbon monoxide poisoning at a Belize resort last year. (Trea Lavery/MassLive) The lawsuit names Royal Kahal, its owners, developers and contractors, Expedia and Navien, the manufacturer of the water heater, as defendants. According to the complaint, the resort which had only recently opened was built on a shoestring budget after its developers ran out of funding, delaying construction. Developer Fairhaven Properties, one of the defendants, had originally hired a well-regarded local contractor to install the water heaters, along with other work, Scolaro said, but fired the contractor in favor of a handyman when budget constraints came up. The original contractor was the sole distributor of Navien water heaters in Belize, and its employees had been trained at the manufacturers California headquarters on the products proper installation, according to the lawsuit. The workers who later installed the water heaters were not trained to do so and therefore did not know to install a gas converter kit on each unit. Without the kit, the heaters release carbon monoxide. The lawsuit further claims that Navien did not provide sufficient instructions for how to safely install the water heaters, nor was there any indication that the converter kit packaged inside the unit itself, where installers would not see it unless they were looking for it was necessary. The heaters also lacked a sensor or automatic shutoff switch to detect hazardous gas levels. At the time that El-Arar, Naqqad and Mallah booked their trip, Expedia advertised the resort as having exceptional reviews, according to the lawsuit. However, attorneys for the families included several reviews, all posted after the womens deaths, that mentioned carbon monoxide exposure during stays at Royal Kahal. I cannot, in good faith, rate the hotel highly due to serious safety concerns, wrote one reviewer who said they stayed at the resort from Feb. 17 to 21, 2025, saying their own carbon monoxide detector showed high levels of the gas in the room. Despite informing the front desk, the staff seemed unfamiliar with the issue ... The next morning, a friend reported dizziness, which we now suspect was from CO exposure. While the hotel is beautiful, the lack of CO detectors is concerning. According to the lawsuit, Royal Kahal has since installed carbon monoxide detectors in all rooms and replaced the water heaters with electric ones. Ikram Naqqad, sister of Kaoutar Naqqad, talks about the deaths of her sister and her sister's friends from carbon monoxide poisoning at a Belize resort last year. (Trea Lavery/MassLive) Family members of the three women said Tuesday that they were still grieving the loss. Naqqads older sister, Ikram Naqqad, said all three were dedicated to their work. Naqqad was a youth counselor who hoped to join the Massachusetts State Police, El-Arar worked in the research department of Massachusetts General Hospital and Mallah was studying to become a nurse. They were always together. They were always happy, she said through tears. They had big ideas, and they had so much, so much they wanted to accomplish. The lawyers, Scolaro and Louis Muggeo, explained that they filed the complaint in the United States because in Belize there is limited recourse for wrongful death claims. However, they predicted challenges in crossing national borders and reported that they had already struggled to obtain support from local police or the government of Belize. Once you leave the borders of the United States, regardless of the name of the resort or how expensive it is or how luxurious it is, you are stuck, Scolaro said. You are confined to that countrys system of laws, to their system and sense of justice, of right and wrong. MassLive has contacted Royal Kahal, Navien and Expedia for comment, but did not get an immediate response. A major biotech company has announced plans to lay off more than 100 positions from its Franklin, Massachusetts, facility. According to a Workers Adjustment and Retraining Notification notice, layoffs at Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will occur between December 2026 and December 2027, resulting in dozens of job losses. However, a spokesperson for the company told The Boston Globe that the actual number is closer to 80 layoffs. Thermo Fisher Scientific continuously evaluates its global operations to identify opportunities to improve efficiency and effectiveness in meeting our customers needs, the company said in a statement obtained by The Globe. As part of this ongoing effort, operations currently performed at our site in Franklin, Massachusetts, will be phased out by the end of 2026, with much of the work transferring to other US manufacturing locations. Read more: Hundreds face layoffs as biotech company cuts jobs in Eastern Mass. Currently, the company employs roughly 200 employees at its 27 Forge Parkway facility in Franklin. A spokesperson told The Globe that after the 80 layoffs are complete, the remaining 120 employees will be reassigned to other facilities or given the option to apply for other positions within the company. News of the layoffs comes one year after the company announced plans to lay off hundreds of Massachusetts employees in Cambridge and Plainville. In February 2025, the Waltham-based tech-giant filed a WARN notice to eliminate 300 positions across two of its locations. The family of a toddler who died after his parents claim he was left alone by his babysitter has filed a wrongful death suit in the Island court system this week. The parents of Frank Rodenbaugh are seeking damages from Aimee Cotton, the caretaker who was indicted in September on charges of manslaughter and reckless endangerment of a child. Julie and Matthew Rodenbaugh filed the wrongful death suit in Dukes County Superior Court on Jan. 28. The civil suit adds to the legal complaints against Cotton, who had been hired by the Rodenbaugh family to watch 2-year-old Frank on Marthas Vineyard. The Rodenbaughs claim Cottons negligence caused their child to suffer severe pain and the family to incur medical expenses. Ms. Cottons tortious acts and omissions included leaving Frank in a vehicle unattended for hours, strapped into a car seat outside of her residence on a March day with inadequate clothing and no food or water, until he suffered hypothermia and resulting cardiac arrest which ultimately proved fatal, the familys attorneys wrote in the five-page suit. Police and paramedics were called to Cottons Oak Bluffs home on March 13, 2025. When first responders arrived, they found Frank was unresponsive and turning blue, according to an arraignment report from police. Frank Rodenbaugh was rushed to Marthas Vineyard Hospital and later flown to Boston for further treatment. Frank died on March 19 after nearly a week in intensive care. In a statement Monday, the Rodenbaugh family said that their priority has always been and will continue to be awareness and accountability. This is about ensuring that what happened to our son is fully examined so that preventable failures are not ignored or repeated, Matthew Rodenbaugh told the Gazette. No family should ever have to experience this kind of loss, and we hope that increased awareness leads to meaningful responsibility and change. Our focus remains on honoring our son and protecting other children. Cotton pleaded not guilty to charges of manslaughter, assault and battery on a child and reckless endangerment of a child initially in Edgartown District Court, before the case was moved to superior court. According to investigators, Cotton initially told police that she had left the boy, as well as a girl she was caring for, alone in her SUV for about 15 minutes. But police have said that surveillance footage revealed the children had been left in the vehicle, unattended, for about three hours. Ms. Cotton then exacerbated and further breached her duties by lying to first responders about the circumstances of Franks distress, delaying the care he received, the Rodenbaughs attorneys wrote. Cottons attorney has said that Cotton did go and change Frank Rodenbaughs diaper at one point and feed him about an hour before he was found unresponsive. Harrison Barrow, Cottons criminal attorney, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the new lawsuit Monday. The case file did not list a civil attorney for the matter. Cotton is due back in superior court for a pretrial hearing in the criminal case on Feb. 18. The Vineyard Gazette on Marthas Vineyard is a news partner of MassLive.com. To subscribe to the Vineyard Gazette, click here. Four Massachusetts residents have been charged in connection with a scheme that used stolen identities to acquire more than $1 million in government benefits, the U.S. Attorneys Office announced Tuesday. Raul Fernandez Vicioso, 37, a Fitchburg resident, was announced as the lead defendant by U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Leah Foley at a press conference at the Moakley Federal Courthouse in Boston. Viciosos brother, 42-year-old Joel Vicioso Fernandez, was named as a co-conspirator, as were Leominster residents Roman Vequiz Fernandez, 32, and Coralba Albarracin Siniva, 24. According to the charging documents, the men stole more than 100 identities of real people to sign up for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. Vicioso, who owns the El Primo Restaurant in Leominster, used EBT debit cards distributed by the SNAP program to make bulk food purchases to stock his restaurant, according to prosecutors. The men were able to obtain $440,000 in SNAP benefits from Massachusetts and Rhode Island, as well as more than $700,000 in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits from six states, including Massachusetts. The 115 stolen identities were registered to just two addresses in Rhode Island, which is what eventually drew the attention of investigators, according to Foley. When investigators searched Viciosos residence and the restaurant, they found Massachusetts and Rhode Island EBT cards, as well as documents containing a Providence address that was involved in the scheme. The SNAP program has become a political battleground under the Trump administration, most recently when President Donald Trump attempted to block emergency funding for the program during the government shutdown in November 2025. Foley, who was appointed to her post by Trumps acting attorney general in January 2025, has targeted alleged fraud in the SNAP program before. In December 2025, Foley announced charges against two Boston convenience store owners who prosecutors said exchanged SNAP benefits for cash. Foley vowed to continue investigating the program at Trumps direction. This is the tip of the iceberg, Foley said. We are investigating many more benefit fraud cases in my office, and todays announcement is just the beginning. Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Labor Anthony DEsposito, another Trump appointee, tried to cast blame on previous administrations for not going after SNAP fraud. Its no secret that many of these cases have been presented to U.S. Attorneys throughout the country in the last four years and have been ignored, DEsposito said. This case is not a one-off. This is something thats happening throughout the United States of America, and when theres no checks and balances, when theres no guardrails in place, fraud ensues. Speaking before the charges were revealed, Gov. Maura Healey said Massachusetts has always gone after fraud and that the investigation into the convenience store owners was actually opened by the state. I dont know what the U.S. Attorney is announcing this morning, but if its like the one that she announced a few weeks ago, that was a case that actually started with the identification by a state agency, referred to the Massachusetts attorney generals office and then referred to the U.S. Attorneys Office, because they are actually the entity responsible for investigating and prosecuting that kind of fraud, Healey said. As a former attorney general and as a prosecutor who regularly went after fraud, waste and abuse, I support those efforts. And we want to make sure that all programs are maintained with integrity. A Plymouth District Court judge allowed the release of a Massachusetts State Police trooper accused of trapping a woman in their apartment and approaching her while carrying six knives over the objections of prosecutors following a dangerousness hearing Monday. Joseph Ward, 25, is subject to GPS monitoring and must live with his mother in Methuen. He cant contact the woman while his case is pending and must stay out of Barnstable and Plymouth counties, records show. He was assigned to the State Police barracks in Bourne. Ward is charged with two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and one count each of kidnapping, aggravated witness intimidation and assault and battery on a family/household member. The charges stem from an incident on Jan. 10, where the woman claims Ward became upset when she tried to end their relationship and assaulted her. The woman reported the incident to Plymouth police on Jan. 28. During the incident, the woman said, Ward prevented her from leaving their shared apartment in Plymouth, retrieved and loaded a gun, and tackled her when she managed to make it out of the unit. The woman audio-recorded the incident. She told police that after moving out of the apartment on Jan. 11, she had no contact with Ward and was in constant fear of him finding out where she was living. But Wards lawyer, Greg Henning, in a motion filed ahead of the hearing, claimed the woman was lying about not seeing Ward after Jan. 11. His filing includes text messages between the couple and a screenshot of surveillance footage of the pair shopping at Walmart on Jan. 17. The couple saw each other again on Jan. 18, when they had sex, and on Jan. 21, when they attended a yoga class. The accusers interactions with the defendant are too significant to pass off as something she forgot to mention to police, Henning wrote. Given the materiality of this intentional deceit, the Court should consider the accusers allegations entirely unreliable. During the hearing on Monday, prosecutors played several portions of the audio recording in support of their bid to keep Ward behind bars. In it, the woman can be heard telling him to stop and to relax, and later, pleading with him to call his mother. Later, Assistant District Attorney Jordan Temples said the woman was not manipulating police, but was the victim of manipulation on the part of Ward during the course of their four-year relationship. She asked Judge John A. Canavan III to give the text messages presented by the defense little to no weight. The text messages, these accusations of them hanging out afterwards, I think that actually helps make the case for us, in which this is so controlling and so manipulative that she had no choice but to do what she thought could keep her safe, which is to just give in to him, Temples said. Maybe they did text, but that only tells you ... how dangerous he is. She had no choice. He took that away from her when he was threatening her, she continued. This young womans life is at stake. But Henning suggested otherwise, noting that Ward has no prior criminal record and strong family support in the state. Several of Wards family members attended the hearing in person. He suggested that the woman reported the incident to police only after seeing Ward connect with other women on social media. The person whos on the other end of this has clearly manipulated law enforcement to get something out of it. We dont know yet what the motivation is, Henning said. And while Canavan found that release on personal recognizance alone would not ensure the safety of the community, he allowed Wards release on conditions. Canavan did not set a cash bail. Ward is next due in court on April 16. He was relieved of duty by State Police following his arrest. A spokesperson for the agency said it maintains a zero-tolerance policy against all forms of domestic violence. A murder suspect who was on the run from authorities after a fatal shooting in Brockton last fall was arrested in Maine as a fugitive on Monday, the Plymouth County District Attorneys Office announced. Michael Thompson, 35, was wanted on a first-degree murder charge in the death of 40-year-old Mike Jonas, the district attorneys office said in a Tuesday press release. Dayna Slade, who was wanted in connection with Jonas death on a charge of accessory after the fact, was also arrested in Maine on Monday. The charges date back to a shooting at Finnegan Park in Brockton on Sept. 23, 2025, the district attorneys office said. Detectives from the district attorneys office responded to the shooting around 4:15 p.m. and found two victims with gunshot wounds. One was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, the district attorneys office said. The other, Jonas, was taken to a hospital in Brockton where medical personnel were unable to revive him. Investigators soon learned that a fight had broken out at the park and led to the shooting, the district attorneys office said. They also quickly identified Thompson as the shooter. Security footage from the area showed Thompson leaving the park in a black Nissan Rogue while accompanied by two women, the district attorneys office said. One of the women was identified as Slade. Weymouth police later located the SUV, and it was seized as part of the investigation into Jonas death. Months of efforts to track down Thompson and Slade by the U.S. Marshals Service, Massachusetts State Polices Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section and detectives at the district attorneys office led to their capture in Lewiston, Maine, on Monday. Thompsons and Slades arraignments will be scheduled in coming days, the district attorneys office said. No further information has been released. As the New England fishing community mourns the deaths of the seven crew members of a Gloucester fishing boat that sank off the coast of Cape Ann on Friday, local officials and fishermen are defending the crews decision to go out to sea last week. There was nothing atypical or anomalous about that trip. They were doing exactly what weve done for 50 years, Vito Giacalone, policy director for the Northeast Seafood Coalition, said during a Monday-afternoon press conference. U.S. Coast Guard crews began searching for a 72-foot fishing vessel known as the Lily Jean Friday morning after receiving a signal from an emergency position-indicating beacon that indicated it was 25 miles from the coast, the Coast Guard said previously. By Friday evening, crews had discovered a debris field near the signals reported location and recovered one of the crew members bodies. After searching nearly 1,050 square miles over the course of a day, the Coast Guard suspended its search Saturday morning. The Lily Jean was returning to Gloucester after a fishing trip when it sank. Fishing is a dangerous business Giacalone described fishing as a 12-month business, and said there were other fishing boats out at the time the Lily Jean sank. Going out as far as 60 miles from shore is normal for a boat the size of the Lily Jean in the winter, and the weather conditions last week were not considered risky, he said. The loss just shocks us all that it happened so quickly, Giacalone said. Ive heard people say, Why do they go fishing in that weather? Well why do the electric company folks go up in the middle of a blizzard to turn the lights back on? Thats just what fishermen do every day especially in the winter. Gloucester Fisheries Commission President Al Cottone added that one of the Lily Jeans crew members, Jada Samitt, was a federal fisheries observer. For a boat to carry an observer out to sea, it has to undergo a safety inspection to verify that all its equipment is working properly and up-to-date. If any issues are found, the observer cancels the trip, Cottone said. Both Cottone and Giacalone said the Lily Jeans captain, Gloucester native Gus Sanfilippo, was very risk-averse. He never took the cheap way out when it came to maintenance. Always made sure everything was in tip-top shape, Cottone said. Gus Sanfilippo was the captain of the Lily Jean, a fishing vessel that sank off the coast of Gloucester on Friday. Gloucester International Dory Racing Committee Sanfilippo came from a well-known family of fishermen whose roots in the industry date back to before they emigrated to the U.S. from Sicily, Giacalone said. The captain learned the trade from his father, Nino, who he leaves behind. The San Filippo family if there was a fishing hall of fame, they would be in it," Cottone said. Two of the Lily Jeans other crew members Paul Beal Sr. and Paul Beal Jr., a father and son also came from a prominent New England fishing family, Giacalone said. Fishing is a dangerous business, Gloucester state Sen. Bruce Tarr, a Republican, added. There have already been losses this year and in recent weeks and months. Learning from the Lily Jean On Monday, the Coast Guard announced that it would be conducting a district-level formal investigation into the sinking of the Lily Jean to identify measures that can improve the safety of life and property at sea. The National Transportation Safety Board will also help investigate what caused the incident. Were dealing with the forces of nature, Tarr said. We will never be able to say that it wont happen again. But when we go to sleep at night, what we want to be able to say is we did everything in our power to minimize that chance. Recovering a fishing vessel is an extraordinary undertaking, especially when it is in 350 to 400 feet of water, Tarr said. The state senator said he does not expect the Lily Jean to be recovered, but that investigators will gather data and find other ways to examine its condition to gain a better understanding of why it sank. Gus had the most easygoing personality that youd ever wanna see, but deep down inside he was serious about the business of fishing and serious about carrying on the family tradition and serious about continuing the tradition of this port, said Tarr, who described himself as a friend of Sanfilippos. I think if he was here, hed remind us that he passed doing what he loved. And hed say, Dont give up on the industry. Ever. Relations with Washington might be strained, but theres nothing rotten in the state of Denmark when it comes to ties with Massachusetts. Flanked by Danish business leaders and Danish Ambassador to the U.S. Jesper Mller Srensen, Gov. Maura Healey on Tuesday touted the Bay States centuries-long trading relationship with the Scandinavian nation, and promised more was yet to come. They followed that up by signing a compact that essentially cemented that relationship. And they agreed to find ways to further it. Massachusetts and Denmark are driven by innovation, Healey said during a news conference at the State House. And its rooted in our history. Our trading relationship with Denmark actually predates the beginning of our country. It was cemented when Denmark became a United States trading partner in 1783, right after the American Revolution ... Since then, the U.S. and Denmark have grown that partnership through all the ups and downs in history. That relationship with Denmark, with whom the state annually does about $250 million in trade and $15.83 billion nationwide, has been put to the test by Republican President Donald Trumps bellicose rhetoric and moves on Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory. Both Democrat Healey and Srensen downplayed those geopolitical tensions on Tuesday, preferring instead to focus on the Bay State presence such major Danish employers as LEGO, which recently relocated to Boston, and the pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk, which has offices in Lexington. Were not here today to talk about the Trump administration and what theyre doing, Healey said. The Danish diplomat also stayed on message, noting that for decades, there have been strong scientific and industrial links between Boston and Denmark. And I honestly dont think that there are many doctors in Denmark who have not been to Boston for a conference at some point in their career, nor many in the pharmaceutical or the biotech industry for that matter, Srensen said. The memorandum of understanding that Healey and Srensen signed Tuesday represents another step along this collaborative path to strengthen our ties even further, the senior diplomat said. It is no coincidence that two global frontrunners in life science and green technologies have moved closer together and sought to strengthen their collaboration. But try as they might, neither Healey nor Srensen could entirely sidestep questions about the Republican White House. And the Danish diplomat acknowledged that his country had been firming up relations with state governors amid the quiet-for-now international bluster. Im very focused on strengthening ties with individual U.S. states, he said. And I have been that for the last three years that I have been in the United States. Ive signed collaboration agreements with the governor in Nevada (and) the governor in Oklahoma. I hope to sign another one with a Republican governor later this year." Massachusetts constitutes a very, very significant partner for Denmark, he said. Massachusetts is expected to get a break from frigid temperatures and snow this week, but both may return by the weekend, according to the National Weather Service. Eastern and Central Massachusetts are predicted to see overnight lows in the low to mid teens Sunday night, according to the weather service. Temperatures are expected to reach the low single-digits in Western Massachusetts and may dip below zero in the Berkshires. Wind chills are not predicted to be as cold in the early morning on Tuesday as they have been over the last week, though Boston, Lowell, Pittsfield and Springfield are expected to see single-digit values, according to the weather service. Wind chill values could get as low as -1 degrees in Worcester. Highs in the mid 30s and mostly sunny skies are predicted across the state on Tuesday, according to the weather service. Overnight lows similar to Monday are expected Tuesday night, though it likely wont be quite as cold in the Berkshires, and wind chill values are only predicted to drop into the single digits in Central and Western Massachusetts. Weather similar to Tuesday is expected on Wednesday throughout Massachusetts, according to the weather service. Eastern Massachusetts is predicted to see overnight lows in the low to mid teens Wednesday night, while single-digit temperatures are expected in Central and Western Massachusetts. Gloucester and Hyannis could see wind chills in the low single-digits in the early morning on Thursday, while values just below zero are predicted for Boston, Lowell and Pittsfield, according to the weather service. Wind chills could get as low as -4 degrees in Worcester and Springfield. Wind chill values are predicted to drop over the weekend as an arctic air mass moves in, according to the National Weather Service. National Weather Service Thursday is predicted to be a bit colder, with daily high temperatures reaching the mid to high 20s across the state amid mostly sunny skies, according to the weather service. Overnight lows in the single digits are expected in Eastern Massachusetts Thursday night, while temperatures are predicted to hover around 0 degrees in Central and Western Massachusetts. Wind chill values are predicted to hover around 0 degrees in Boston, Gloucester, Lowell and New Bedford in the early morning on Friday, according to the weather service. Springfield and Worcester can expect values around -7 degrees. Partly cloudy skies and highs in the mid to high 20s are predicted across Massachusetts on Friday, according to the weather service. An Alberta Clipper may bring a coating to an inch of snow accumulation to the state that night as temperatures drop into the single-digits. An arctic air mass is predicted to move into Massachusetts on Saturday, according to the weather service. Sub-zero, single-digit wind chills are possible in Eastern and Central Massachusetts during weekend days, while double-digit, below-zero wind chills are possible in Western Massachusetts. The entire state could see double-digit, sub-zero wind chills Saturday night, according to the weather service. Overnight values may drop as low as the low to mid -20s in Lowell, Springfield, Worcester and Pittsfield that night. HOLYOKE What brings you in today? Dr. Sundeep M. Shukla can now ask that question with his head up, not buried in a screen taking notes. I make eye contact, he said. I look at the patient. Shukla, an emergency room physician at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, uses the hospitals new AI listening technology not just to record conversations with patients but to help organize all of the notes that must be charted at the end of a busy shift. It has to be proofread, Shukla said. Nothing is 100%. The technology doesnt work perfectly with young patients or those who dont normally use English as their first language. Someone who is in a lot of pain or is just not speaking clearly might have trouble making a coherent recording. It kind of works like an artificial intelligence medical scribe, said Dr. Sandip Maru, a vascular surgeon at Holyoke Medical Center who might see as many as 25 patients on a busy day in the office. Doctors across the Pioneer Valley, including those at Holyoke Medical Center and Cooley Dickinson in Northampton, started using AI ambient listening technology in 2025. Sandip Maru, chief of vascular surgery at Holyoke Medical Center, uses AI software to help with his patients' check-ins. (Douglas Hook / The Republican) Douglas Hook It kind of works like an artificial intelligence medical scribe, said Dr. Sandip Maru, a vascular surgeon at Holyoke Medical Center who might see as many as 25 patients on a busy day in the office. That can make it hard at the end of the day to remember who said what and when. And a lot of it is from memory, he said. The new technology takes away some of that administrative work. Doctors across the Pioneer Valley, including those at Holyoke Medical Center and Cooley Dickinson in Northampton, started using AI ambient listening technology in 2025. Maru said he needs to edit the text. The program is not perfect. But it saves him hours of work after the clinic day. In the old days, doctors would take notes on paper or record notes on tape recorders then either listen to themselves or send them out to a transcriptionist. It was hard to reconstruct what was said. And a lot of it is from memory, Maru said. The new technology takes away some of that administrative work. He always tells patients hes using a recording device. The recording and the AI software used to transcribe and organize it are compliant with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). Dr. Sandip Maru, of Holyoke Medical Center, uses AI software to help with his patients' check-ins. (Douglas Hook / The Republican) Douglas Hook Spiros Hatiras, president and chief executive officer of Holyoke Medical Center and Valley Health Systems, said Holyoke piloted the programs in 2025 and will roll them out more fully in 2026. It eliminates the busywork, Hatiras said. He added that the technology is even good at ignoring the opening, getting-to-know-you portions of the conversation, such as when a doctor asks about the Patriots or the weather. Holyoke Medical Center uses another piece of AI technology to double-check medical records. It scans for missed steps or abnormalities, or tests that would normally be ordered that havent been. I think it can only enhance patient safety, Hatiras said. It doesnt make treatment decisions. Were not there yet, he said. Baystate Health is making AI part of its cost-savings push, said CEO Peter D. Banko. The largest healthcare provider is inserting AI into all of its information systems, making more operations self-service. So being able to schedule, being able to fill out your paperwork, being able to refill your prescriptions, being able to interact with your physician more real time through some AI agents, Banko said. Nearly three-quarters or 71% of doctors and nurse practitioners report some use of AI for patient visits, according to an August MGMA Stat poll. But opinions were divided on its impact on staff workload: About 44% said it has not reduced workload, 39% said it has, and 17% were unsure. In the coding courses he teaches, Brian Candido was concerned about the use of artificial intelligence on assignments and making sure student work was authentic. Candido, a professor and chair of the Computer Technologies Department at Springfield Technical Community College, came up with a plan. He planted prompts buried in the assignment instructions that would tell the AI to stop and tell the student to do their own work. For awhile, it worked. I saw students scrambling, he said. Then, AI got better, and when Candido recently fed the instructions into ChatGPT, it warned a student but still completed the ask. I was a little disappointed, he said. I put hours into this. Educators like Candido are all grappling with questions about AI, like how to limit the use of it, so it doesnt do all the work for students, and how educate students about it. Both professors at the college level and educators in the K-through-12 system are taking on those problems. Candidos new approach to AI in his classroom is to pivot and embrace it, like by allowing students to use AI to give them feedback on their code. He put a clear AI policy at the top of the assignments, too. Students will have to write written explanations about their code to explain it and list what they learned, and that portion is worth about a quarter of the grade, he said. Christian Rojas, professor and chair of the Department of Resource Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, decided to experiment with AI in his classroom last year. In the spring semester, he taught two sections of an antitrust economics course. The classes were identical, except for one difference: In one class, Rojas allowed students to use generative AI if they disclosed their use of it, and in the other, it was banned. (Canva illustration) Students took their midterm and final exams in class, and used paper and pencil. Rojas found no difference between the two classes on their exam scores. But, he found through surveys that students in the class allowing AI spent less time on the class and reported enjoying it more. They also participated more, he said. He and his colleagues Rong Rong and Luke Bloomfield published a paper about the experiment. I dont think we have all the answers from this course obviously, Rojas said. Its a very specific course. AI has changed how Rojas assesses students. Take home assignments, which are more vulnerable to using generative AI, are worth less toward a students grade. In the fall semester, Rojas taught a course on AI literacy and tackled topics like how to use AI tools for economics data analysis. They are all using it, he said of students and AI. Theres no question about it. But, he found students arent always using it effectively. I try to teach them how the technology works and how they can make it work better for them, he said. Students did report concerns about ethics, sustainability and the privacy of their personal information, Rojas said. Thats another reason why the more we talk about it, the better we will be prepared to handle those risks. K-12 educators and AI Rebecca Mazur, senior evaluation research specialist at the Collaborative for Educational Services in Northampton, led the creation of an online course on AI literacy for educators for the states Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. She does professional development workshops for educators and helped create a toolkit for ethical AI use for educators. In workshops with teachers, she talks about how its autocomplete on steroids, she said. It does not have a human type of understanding or human sensibilities. ... It is a very, very sophisticated type of word-association machine. That is not to minimize its power its incredibly powerful. One issue she hears about a lot: The question of academic integrity is a big one for teachers, particularly once you get beyond the elementary years, Mazur said. Thats a big question for which there are no great answers. Many schools are working on policies, she said, and what might work in one course might not in another. In Springfield, school leaders are working to come up with a districtwide approach to AI use and could not comment, spokeswoman Azell Cavaan said. This fall, Westfield Public Schools formed a committee to talk about teacher and student use of AI. The group includes teachers, principals and students, said Brian Dutko, coordinator of instructional technology for the district. Part of our district goals this year was to incorporate AI into the curriculum, Dutko said. Were working on how to figure out how to educate our staff on what AI is, and how to use it. He hopes to show staff that AI is not always correct, but can be used as a thought partner, he said. Recently, the district put out a survey to teachers to understand how comfortable they are with AI, and the results will be used to create professional development, Dutko said. On the school network, generative AI tools are not universally accessible. Staff have access to Gemini, Googles generative AI model, and only some students in the high school and technical academy have access, Dutko said. The school has a data privacy agreement with Google, so the company cant use their data and inputs to train AI, he said. One class will explicitly incorporate the technology. Westfield Technical Academy is planning to offer a course called Principles of AI. At an overall district level, though, there isnt currently an AI use policy, Dutko said, and the committee is working on it. There are not plans to use an AI detection tool, he said. Those AI checkers are not accurate, Dutko said. They are biased, as well. The district is using guidance from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education that was created to help schools draw up AI-related policies. SPRINGFIELD A 21-year-old man will serve up to seven years behind bars after pleading guilty to firing off a shot during an altercation at the High School of Science and Technology. Chantz Dudley admitted to assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, committing a crime on school grounds and other charges in Hampden Superior Court on Tuesday. The guilty plea averted a trial on the day it was set to begin. Dudley admitted to barging into the school through a back door on March 10, 2024, to settle a score on behalf of his younger sister, a student there. The case was complicated by family dynamics. The siblings father, Dana Dudley, also was charged in connection with the ambush at the school and was the main witness against his son. Dana Dudley refused to testify for the prosecution and also was charged with criminal contempt last year. The development temporarily took the wind out of the states case, until a jailhouse informant emerged against the younger Dudley. Defense lawyer Daniel D. Kelly said his client could have been defended at trial. Weighing on him were really the collateral consequences of this case on his sister, Kelly said. Dana Dudley, 45, declined to speak against his son, Chantz Dudley, during an October appearance in Hampden Superior Court. (Douglas Hook / The Republican) Douglas Hook His sister, December Dudley, summoned her family on that day because she had been offended by a male classmate and thought he deserved punishment, according to attorneys involved in the case. She was on the prosecutions witness list. Mr. Dudley did not want his sister to face the same fate as his father, Kelly said. Both men remain behind bars the elder after he refused to testify, and the younger Dudley after his bail was revoked when he was arrested in a drug prosecution out of Vermont. That case remains pending. Dudleys plea was reached after a negotiation among the attorneys, which was followed by the judges sentencing recommendation of 6 to 7 years in prison. Assistant Hampden District Attorney Thomas Prendergast argued for a sentence of between 13 to 15 years. No child should ever have to experience or live through the terror of hearing a classmate yell gun! and take cover," the prosecutor said during Tuesdays hearing. No one was hit by gunfire during the incident, Prendergast said. Chantz Dudley did not deliberately fire, but the weapon went off while he was pistol-whipping the student who had upset his sister. The gun fell on the floor and went off and a bullet shattered a window inside the school. Chantz Dudley, 19 at the time, did not possess the firearm legally. Dana Dudley also arrived at the school carrying a knife, but did not enter, according to court records. The school was forced into lockdown for hours amid the fracas. All of it was completely unnecessary. What could have happened, fortunately didnt happen It could have been much worse," Judge David Hodge said, before sentencing the defendant. A change to the immigration status of tens of thousands of Haitians in Massachusetts set to take effect at midnight Tuesday has officials worried about health care staffing shortages. At 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, barring an order from an appellate court, the Department of Homeland Security will revoke the temporary protected status for Haitians. About 45,000 Haitians hold that status in Massachusetts. They overwhelmingly work in nursing and other health care positions. The temporary protected status allowed Haitians fleeing the country the authorization to work. A revocation of that status means many health care workers would be forced out their jobs, said Tara Gregorio, president of the Massachusetts Senior Care Association. The group represents 400 facilities serving older adults and people with disabilities. This would immediately a worsen staffing shortage and disrupt access to care at a time when the sector already has a 13% vacancy rate across nursing positions, Gregorio wrote in an email. Other officials interviewed Monday said the immigration change could affect one-on-one caregivers for people with disabilities. Some facilities might not have the staff to continue to operate. Haitians with temporary protected status, they said, have lived in the state for years, buying houses and paying taxes. This comes as a group of lawmakers seeks to better understand the role Haitians with the status play in the states health care and human services industries. On Monday, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren along with 54 of her colleagues sent a letter to seven health care organizations. The letter asks about likely impacts on the care of older adults and people with disabilities in light of the change in Haitians status. While 22% of the states workforce are immigrants, they make up a full 40% of the home health aides, according to the letter. Haitian immigrants are heavily represented in the U.S. health care work force, the lawmakers letter says. In hospitals, nursing homes, and home-care settings around the country, many Haitians on TPS perform vital care-related services, including bathing, dressing, feeding, and transferring patients, which allows older adults and people with disabilities to live with dignity. The letter, addressed to the Massachusetts Senior Care Association, was also sent to Arc of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Nurses Association and Service Employees International Union 509. A spokesperson for Warren said that while the congressional inquiry focuses on Massachusetts, because of its large Haitian population, lawmakers from across the country signed on because they see it as a national issue. About 300,000 Haitians have temporary protected status across the country, according to the letter. Nora Bent, director of government affairs and strategic partnerships for Arc of Massachusetts, said it is hard to quantify how many Haitians with temporary protected status work with disabled people. In some parts of the state, Haitians with the status made up 10% of the workforce for some human services providers. In other pockets, that percentage was 40%, Bent said. Its a number that has probably shifted in the months since the Department of Homeland Security announced the change to temporary protected status, according to Bent, as some Haitians have applied for asylum. Some employees have stopped showing up to work. Many providers have made plans, should immigration officials show up at their doors, Bent said. The anxiety is being felt across the board from the staff themselves, obviously the providers, but also the individuals and families who have relationships with these staff people, Bent said. Its a role where your trust in the person thats working with you or your loved one, is really critical. Joe-Ann Fergus, executive director at the Massachusetts Nurses Association, said a revocation of temporary protected status for Haitians working in health care would affect several levels of the system. The Massachusetts health care system will receive a devastating blow, Fergus said, which would create gaps that cannot be filled with the staff who are present. The union represents 23,000 nurses across the state. It has not asked its members about their immigration status, Fergus said, but many immigrants often work in long-term care and public-sector facilities that care for vulnerable and low-income people places where pay is often lower and need greater. Should the temporary protected status for Haitians expire, some facilities might not have the staff to operate, Fergus said. Some of the associations members, she said, are considering moving to Canada, which is also facing shortages of skilled labor. Last week, the association sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem asking her to extend temporary protected status for Haitians beyond Tuesday. It was a matter of patient safety, the letter added. The association did not receive a reply, Fergus said. Gov. Maura Healey sent her own letter to Noem last week, saying the change to Haitians temporary protected status would devastate Massachusetts. Asked about the requests to extend temporary protected status for Haitians, the Department of Homeland Security said Monday the status was created more than a decade and a half ago and has since morphed into a de facto asylum program. The assertion that the only way we can take care of our seniors is by allowing unvetted illegal aliens and foreigners with criminal records to remain in the country is grossly false and lazy, said department spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin. The department did not respond to a follow-up question asking about its plans regarding Haitians in Massachusetts who are scheduled to lose their temporary protected status. SPRINGFIELD The city is beginning the process of replacing two century-old schools in the Forest Park neighborhood by creating one new building to house both. The City Council voted 13-0 Monday night to agree to borrow $2.5 million to enter into the second and third phases of replacing the Kensington and White Street schools. The proposal to replace the two aging structures was approved by the Massachusetts School Building Authority, which has agreed to fund 80% of the project. The two schools in one building concept, which began in Springfield and has been done at the Brightwood and Lincoln and Deberry and Swan schools, creates two structures that operate autonomously, but share some facilities, such as a gymnasium, said Peter Garvey, director of capital asset construction for the city. The money approved this week will allow the city to assemble a team of designers and hire an owners project manager. The group will develop an educational program for the schools that can be used to guide the design. The team will document the condition of the two schools. Both were built somewhere around 1910. Neither has a cafeteria, since they date back to a time when children would walk home for lunch. Both use their basements as gyms, Garvey said. They are well maintained, he said. But they are old, said City Councilor Kateri Walsh. Each replacement school will have the amenities of more modern schools, as a new heating and ventilation systems and they will be air conditioned, which the existing schools are not, Garvey said. We will be doing a lot of outreach. This is not done in a vacuum, he said. We have community meetings, school building commission meetings, School Committee meetings. It will be important for the city to gather as much community input as possible, said Councilor Maria Perez, who had served as a School Committee member in the past. One of the challenges will be to identify a location for the new school complex. That will be informed by comments from residents and the community, as well as city officials, Garvey said. The plan is to have 930 to 950 students attend pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in the new schools. Kensington has about 252 students and there are 377 at White Street. City Councilor Brian Santaniello asked if Washington School was also being replaced. Garvey said that project, which will include replacing Alice Beal Elementary, is also under consideration, but is coming after the Kensington and White Street project. The School Committee is also working to replace the German Gerana School and is searching for land in the North End for a new building. Councilor Victor Davila said he supports the idea of the two schools in one building concept because it will save on building costs and long-term operating expenses. News / National by Staff reporter The Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) has filed an appeal with the Supreme Court, challenging a High Court decision that refused to rescind a default judgment granted in favour of self-proclaimed party secretary-general Sengezo Tshabangu.The appeal has been lodged by the CCC together with its members Sesel Zvidzai, Concillia Chinanzvavana, Gilbert Kagodora and Shepherd Mushonga. They are being represented by Advocate Tawanda Zhuwarara.The appellants argue that the High Court erred in law by upholding an objection questioning Tshabangu's lack of authority, despite the existence of three party resolutions confirming that the deponent to the founding affidavit was duly authorised to represent the CCC and prosecute the rescission application on its behalf.In submissions to the Supreme Court, Zhuwarara contended that the High Court wrongly treated the form of the resolutions as decisive, instead of applying the correct legal test of whether the juristic person before the court had adopted and was actively pursuing the litigation. He argued that the court improperly impugned the CCC's founding affidavit and concluded that the matter was "improperly before the court".Zhuwarara further submitted that even if the application had been improperly instituted due to a procedural defect capable of being cured, the correct course would have been to strike the matter from the roll rather than dismiss it outright. He said the High Court's approach unfairly foreclosed any opportunity to remedy the defect or to have the matter heard on its merits.He also criticised the High Court for making what he described as grave and definitive findings on credibility and wrongdoing, particularly the conclusion that the CCC's resolutions were a recent fabrication."Such serious adverse findings ought not to be made without a proper evidential foundation and fair procedure," Zhuwarara submitted, adding that the court was dealing with a rescission of a default judgment involving four distinct applicants and that the enquiry before it was procedural, not a final determination of the substantive dispute.The CCC's legal team further argued that the High Court erred by treating the authority objection as fatal, despite evidence showing that the cited parties were actively participating in the litigation through legal practitioners and filing substantive court papers."On principle authority rules exist to prevent unauthorised litigation in a juristic person's name, not to defeat proceedings where corporate participation objectively evidences awareness and adoption of the litigation stance," Zhuwarara submitted.The party is seeking an order from the Supreme Court setting aside the High Court's decision with costs. It is also asking that the matter be remitted back to the High Court for determination before a different judge.According to court papers, Tshabangu was a member of the CCC until his expulsion in February 2025 following a disciplinary hearing conducted by Zvidzai, Chinanzvavana, Kagodora and Mushonga, who sit on the party's disciplinary committee.After his expulsion, Tshabangu approached the court on an urgent basis, seeking a declaratory order that the terms of office of the party's office bearers and main organs elected on May 26, 2019 expired on May 27, 2024. He also challenged his expulsion, arguing that the disciplinary committee was composed of members whose tenure had expired, rendering its decision null and void.Tshabangu further sought an order declaring that the appointment of the disciplinary committee and the conduct of its proceedings were ultra vires the party's constitution, disciplinary code of conduct and regulations.On May 6, 2025, the CCC and its co-applicants filed an urgent application seeking rescission of the default judgment in terms of Rule 27(1) of the High Court Rules, 2021. They also sought condonation for failing to file valid opposing papers in line with a case management order and requested an extension of time to do so.However, after hearing arguments, the High Court dismissed the application, ruling that the deponent to the founding affidavit lacked valid authorisation to defend the earlier application and to bring the rescission application. The court found that there was therefore no rescission of judgment to consider.The High Court went on to strike out the founding affidavit, ruling that the matter was improperly before the court, and dismissed the application with costs. A Pittsfield woman was killed Saturday night in a fire at her home, which officials say had no working smoke alarms. The womans family has identified her as 76-year-old Noreen Reu, The Berkshire Eagle reported. She was a lifelong Pittsfield resident, a mother of two and grandmother of three. What happened Saturday night The Pittsfield Fire Department responded to the fire at Reus home at 7 Virginia Ave. just after 11:20 p.m. on Jan. 31, the State Fire Marshals Office said in a Monday press release. They discovered flames coming from the front of the house and entered the home from the back to attack the fire and search for residents. Inside, they found Reu, the homes only resident, and carried her outside, the fire marshals office said. She was taken to a local hospital where she later died. Working in subzero temperatures with more than a foot of snow on the ground, firefighters managed to bring the fire under control in about half an hour, the fire marshals office said. They stayed on scene into the morning to provide investigative support and ensure the fire was fully extinguished. The preliminary investigation uncovered no evidence suggesting that the fire was set intentionally, the fire marshals office said. Fire investigators believe the fire began in the living room at the front of the home. State fire investigators and the Berkshire County District Attorneys Office are working with Pittsfield police and firefighters to investigate what caused the fire, the fire marshals office said. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine Reus manner and cause of death. No working smoke alarms Fire investigators did not find any working smoke alarms in Reus home, the fire marshals office said. This is the fourth fatal fire this year where our investigators found no working smoke alarms, State Fire Marshal Jon Davine said in the release. ... Please check in with older family members, friends and neighbors to be sure theyre protected. Reus son, Brian Reu, told The Berkshire Eagle his mother had a stroke about a decade ago. Afterwards, her ability to speak and move the right side of her body became limited. Despite declining mobility, Brian Reu and his wife, Erica, said [Reu] was a very independent person and was determined to support herself as much as possible in the home she knew well, the newspaper wrote. Reu was a Pittsfield High School graduate who spent many years working in data entry at companies such as Bay State Elevator and Berkshire Bank, the Eagle reported. She was known as a local car enthusiast and was a member of the Pittsfield Piston Poppers Car Club, which organizes classic car shows. Davine recommended that home smoke alarms be checked once a month. Those that need help installing, checking or replacing fire alarms should contact their local fire department, he said. WESTFIELD The deadlines are approaching for students wishing to apply for admission to Westfield Technical Academy, the Lower Pioneer Valley Educational Collaborative and to career technical education programs at Gateway Regional High School. This years admissions will be impacted by new state regulations requiring all CTE programs to base admissions on a lottery system. In WTAs former admissions policy, five factors for admission were considered, including attendance, discipline, academic referral from a guidance counselor, grades and a students interest in career technical education. This year, only attendance will be a factor. We will have a weighted lottery. A student can have their name in the lottery twice. Once for a completed correct application that is in before the deadline of March 1. They can add a second name if their attendance for the previous 270 school days is above 90%. If a student is chronically absent, they will not get a second name in the lottery, said WTA Principal Bruce Hastings. Hastings said out of 160 available seats last year, there were 177 applicants from Westfield and 80 applicants from other districts, 20 of whom were admitted. This year, 25 slots will be reserved for out-of-district students. Since WTA is a part of the Westfield Public School District, only Westfield students are in-district. The March 1 date is the last date set by the new state policy for admissions. We have not yet set dates for any lottery and notification. We will announce that soon, Hastings said. Auto tech senior Aaron Brockington said he was interested in getting into the laborer's union after working on the pre-apprenticeship program. (AMY PORTER/THE WESTFIELD NEWS) March 1 is also the deadline for admissions to the Lower Pioneer Valley Educational Collaborative this year, due to the statewide changes. Previously, the deadline for applications had been April 1, according to Director of Occupational Education Donald Jarvis. LPVEC is a partnership of the Agawam, East Longmeadow, Hampden-Wilbraham, Longmeadow, Ludlow, Southwick-Tolland-Granville and West Springfield school districts. Jarvis said for the last four years, LPVEC had overenrollment. Last year, 313 students applied, and the school accepted the top 200 based on their grades, attendance, discipline, letters of recommendation and student interviews. This year, the 200 students who are accepted will be chosen based on a random lottery drawing by the Rediker student information system, using a certain number of slots per sending district. We have to go with so many slots per district. We averaged out the attendance over the last three years, taking into consideration how many students attended from each town, to determine what their slots were, Jarvis said. He said the number of slots is not based on the populations of the sending towns. He said, for example, West Springfield and Agawam are the two biggest sending districts and will have the most slots. That is the fairest way. Jarvis said the LPVEC Board of Directors, which is made up of one representative from each member districts School Committee, also voted to reserve 15 slots for out-of-district students who pay a higher tuition. The superintendent [Alvin Morton I] said the school board wanted to maintain the 15 out-of-district to bring in funds, and offset the costs. Jarvis said the tuition received from out-of-district students is allocated back to member districts, and for the 15 students will total almost $1 million. He said some of the smaller towns could not afford not to get that reimbursement. Thats why we ended up taking 15 out-of-district kids, he said, leaving 185 slots for member districts. For Gateway Regional, the deadline is earlier, Feb. 15, to apply to one of their schools two Chapter 74 CTE programs, Welding & Metal Fabrication and Early Education and Care. The welding program at Gateway offers hands-on experience in state-of-the-art facilities renovated in 2022. Students learn on modern equipment, including a robotic arm, and participate in both on-site and off-site internships. Early Education and Care at Gateway puts students on track to become certified professionals. The curriculum includes lesson planning for young learners, CPR and First Aid certification and immersive internship opportunities. Superintendent Melissa Matarazzo said the school accepts applications for the CTE programs from both Gateway residents and non-resident students, but is also subject to the new lottery admissions regulations for CTE programs. WESTFIELD A Connecticut man who has a residence in Tolland was arraigned in district court after police claimed he was illegally in possession of an assault rifle, despite it not being found after a search of his Tolland residence, according to court records. Joshua L. Wolz, 43, of Foote Path Lane, Connecticut, was released on personal recognizance after being arraigned in connection with one count of illegal possession of an assault weapon and three counts of possession of ammunition without an FID card, according to court records. On Dec. 5, officers with the Tolland and Granville Police departments executed a search warrant at Wolzs residence at Owls Nest Lane in the Wildwoods, Tolland, according to two statements of facts reports submitted by Granville Department Detective John Stone and Tolland Police Chief Scott Bergeron. According to the reports, the primary focus of the search was for firearms, ammunition and large capacity feeding devices believed to be owned Joshua Wolz. Before they arrived at the Owls Nest Lane residence, Wolz was called and told about the search. He told them to go ahead, which they did. Police said once inside the residence, after having to force the door open, they went to Wolzs bedroom on the second floor, which is where it was alleged he was keeping firearms. Numerous boxes of ammunition were found in several plastic grocery bags, including 9 mm ammo, .223 ammo, 5.56 mm ammo, a shotgun shell, and a loaded magazine for an AR-15-style rifle, and other weapons-related equipment, like a holster, gun cleaning solvents, and a cable gun lock, according to the reports. Also inside the bags was a receipt from December 2022 for a Glock 22, which is a 40-caliber semiautomatic handgun that appeared to have been swapped the next week for a Taurus GX4XL which is a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun. The price of the Glock was $516, and written on the receipt was same price for the Taurus, and an owners manual for it, according to the reports. Officers also found a receipt from a Maine sporting goods business for $799 for a Smith & Wesson M+P Sport II, which is a .226- or 5.56-caliber AR-15-style assault rifle, according to the reports. The officers also noted in the reports that it appeared that Wolzs bedroom was regularly used by him with clothes on racks and in drawers. Despite the thorough search of the residence, no firearms were located during the search, which prompted Bergeron to issue a be-on-the-lookout for the two firearms and Wolzs vehicle. The reports didnt indicate if the weapons had been located. Wolz was not arrested but was summoned to court to be arraigned in connection with the four charges. The court records show that Wolz was released with conditions. Those documents were not in the filings in the case. Wolz will return to district court on March 2 for a pretrial hearing. Editors note: This article was updated at 4:35 p.m. on Feb. 3, 2026 to clarify Costco used to have a store in Worcester. Costco is moving forward on building its first store in Central Massachusetts in more than three decades, a representative for the company recently told town officials. Attorney John Weaver told Southborough Planning Board members in January that the company is looking forward to getting the ball rolling on the project. The development firm responsible for building the new Costco is the Framingham-based Atlantic Management Corp. On Jan. 30, the firm signed a deed for the site of the proposed superstore at 21 Coslin Dr. in Southborough, off of Route 9 westbound near the interchange with Interstate 495, according to the Worcester Registry of Deeds. Robert Buckley, who represents Atlantic Management Corp., told the planning board during the meeting that he expects to submit a comprehensive site plan and traffic plan soon. In October 2025, a town meeting was held to vote on a zoning change that would allow the development to go forward. Of the 783 Town Meeting members, 771 voted in favor of the change and 12 voted against. The Attorney Generals Office is required to approve the zoning change before it can go into effect. Planning Board members are still awaiting a ruling. The Southborough select board previously told MassLive it expects the Costco to be open by the summer of 2027. There are currently seven Costcos in Massachusetts, located in Avon, Danvers, Dedham, Everett, Sharon, Waltham and West Springfield. This would make Southborough the first Central Massachusetts community to have a Costco in recent years. There used to be a Costco in Worcester in 1992 but the location closed after less than a year, according to the Telegram & Gazette. African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) announced the selection of the top 8 finalists of the first cohort for its pioneering Afreximbank Accelerator Program. This dynamic three-month initiative, that kicks off in March 2026 is designed to empower Africas most promising startups that are driving innovation in intra-African trade. The finalists were carefully selected from a highly competitive pool of over 1,600 applications, showcasing the continents most promising entrepreneurial talent. The rigorous process included detailed business assessments, interviews, and pitch sessions, overseen by a panel of Afreximbank trade specialists alongside leading external experts from the venture capital and innovation ecosystem. The selected finalists embody Afreximbanks mission to drive measurable progress in intra-African and global African trade. Representing innovations in sectors such as agriculture, e-commerce, market access, financial technology solutions, supply chain enhancement and manufacturing, these startups are poised to address critical trade challenges affecting both continental and diaspora markets, while also advancing intra-African trade and industrialisation. The geographic diversity of applications, from across Africa, the diaspora, and CARICOM demonstrates the programmes broad reach and stands as a testament to Afreximbanks commitment to integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). By prioritising solutions from Seed to Series A maturity and applying a robust three-stage evaluation that combines expert insight, practical business assessment, and strategic innovation criteria, the programme aims not only to accelerate start-ups growth but also to foster a sustainable ecosystem for trade-led development across Africa. Afreximbank Accelerator Program will provide finalists with a comprehensive package of support including: Equity Investment: Equity financing- subject to selection criteria-of up to $250,000 through Afreximbanks impact equity investment arm, Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), enabling rapid scale-up and operational growth. Mentorship: Access to seasoned experts, as well as industry leaders to refine business strategies and accelerate market entry. These include leading investors, trade specialists, and industry thought leaders committed to fostering Africas economic integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Market Access: Connection to Afreximbanks pan-African trade ecosystem, including trade facilitation programmes, regulatory pathways as well as exclusive opportunities to leverage Afreximbanks extensive network of government stakeholders, private sector players, and multilateral partners to secure partnerships and funding. Over the course of the program, finalists will engage in virtual learning modules, hands-on workshops, and in-person sessions hosted across regional hubs such as Abuja, Nairobi and Afreximbanks headquarters in Cairo. This immersive experience will culminate in a high-profile Demo Day, where startups will showcase their innovative solutions to an influential audience of global investors, policymakers, and industry champions. Mr. Haytham Elmaayergi, Executive Vice President, Global Trade Bank at Afreximbank commented: The Afreximbank Accelerator Programme reflects our belief in the power of innovation to transform intra-African trade and also underscores the important role that Global Africas innovation plays in realising the promise of the AfCFTA. This inaugural cohort represents the future of African enterprise, and we are proud to invest in them from vision to scale to nurture solutions needed to unlock trade across Africa, the diaspora, and the Caribbean. The Afreximbank Accelerator Program exemplifies the Banks commitment to fostering homegrown solutions that address critical trade challenges and unlock Africas economic potential under the AfCFTA framework. Fiji will host the Commonwealth Law Ministers Meeting from 9 to 12 February 2026 in Nadi. About 150 delegates, including attorneys general, justice ministers and solicitors general, are expected to attend the meeting from the 56 Commonwealth countries. During the meeting, delegates will discuss how strong legal safeguards protect everyday life, from peoples ability to participate in democracy and earn a fair living, to their right to live in safe and healthy communities. Ministers are also expected to agree on practical measures to advance the rule of law by improving access to justice and strengthening legal institutions that support stable societies, fair economies and environmental protection. Commonwealth Secretary-General Hon Shirley Botchwey thanked the Government of Fiji for hosting the gathering. She said: The rule of law remains essential to peace, stability, and development, yet it is under serious pressure in many parts of the world. Where it is weakened or unevenly applied, the impact is felt most sharply by ordinary people. For the Commonwealth, the rule of law is a cornerstone of our Charter and our work. It demands practical, thoughtful commitment and cooperation, not rhetoric. In Fiji, our Ministers will come together to strengthen the rule of law as the foundation of a resilient future, where every person has a voice in democracy, every worker is treated with dignity, and every vulnerable community is protected from a changing climate. That is what our people count on us to do. By working together, we can uphold the rule of law as an essential protection for the people of the Commonwealth. The meeting will be chaired by the Minister for Justice and Acting Attorney-General of Fiji, Hon Siromi Turaga, under the theme Anchoring Justice in a Changing Tide: Strengthening the Rule of Law for a Resilient Future. Hon Turaga said Fiji hoped to explore how the Commonwealth Vuvale (family) could strengthen the rule of law by ensuring justice systems remained flexible, inclusive and responsive. He added: Together, we will also consider the challenges and opportunities presented by climate change, digital transformation and regional cooperation, so that our legal systems remain resilient for generations to come. The meeting will also include five side events that will bring together youth leaders, people with lived experience of the justice system and disability rights advocates to ensure their perspectives inform ministerial discussions. The meetings outcomes are expected to help shape the agenda for the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), to be held in Antigua and Barbuda later this year. Africas digital commerce economy is growing fast, but not without friction. Fragmented retail, inconsistent data, complex payments, rising fraud risk and disconnected customer journeys continue to slow down scale for retailers, brands and marketplaces across the continent. Converge Africa 2026 will place these challenges at the centre of its agenda, as the continents leading digital commerce, fintech and retail technology players gather from 4 to 6 May 2026 at the CTICC in Cape Town to define what frictionless, borderless and trusted digital trade should look like for Africa. The event today confirms Intent HQ as Diamond Sponsor, Absa Bank as Platinum Sponsor, and BEES as Gold Sponsor, three organisations operating at different layers of the commerce stack, united by a common mission: enabling African businesses to trade smarter, faster and at scale. Converge Africa unites leaders across Retail and eCommerce, Digital Marketing, Payments and Fintech, Digital Security, and Fulfilment, Logistics and Last Mile for three days of strategy, technology and high value meeting introductions. The real challenge: turning African digital growth into profitable, scalable commerce Across Africa, digital adoption is accelerating. Consumers are shopping online, mobile payments are mainstream, and informal retail is rapidly digitising. Yet many organisations are struggling to convert this growth into sustainable, profitable digital commerce. Retailers battle with disconnected customer data and slow decision making. Brands struggle to digitise fragmented trade networks. Marketplaces face trust, fraud and cross border payment complexity. Customers expect personalised, real time experiences without sacrificing privacy. Converge Africa 2026 is designed to tackle these realities head on, bringing together the platforms, infrastructure and intelligence required to build the next generation of African digital commerce. Expect main stage keynotes, track led content, hands on workshops, an exhibition of market ready solutions, and structured networking to enable meaningful partnerships and tangible ROI. It is within this context that Intent HQ, Absa Bank and BEES take centre stage. Scaling digital commerce in Africa requires more than a single solution, it requires intelligence, infrastructure and execution working together. Converge Africa brings that full commerce stack into one room. said Terry Southam, Group Director of Retail Converge Africa. Sponsor announcements and why they matter now Intent HQ: powering real time, privacy first customer decisioning (Diamond Sponsor) Intent HQ is the Human to AI Context Company that helps enterprises anticipate and activate real customer intent in real time, safely and at scale. Its flagship platform, IntentOne, sits between enterprise data estates and execution channels to orchestrate the moments that matter. It detects intent signals, recommends next best actions, and activates decisions instantly across existing martech and experience stacks without replacing them. By combining always on data with on device Edge AI, Intent HQ delivers higher conversion, loyalty and lifetime value under strict privacy and security governance. At Converge Africa, retailers and marketplaces will see live demos of IntentOnes Customer Intent Engine, showing how to align engagement to true shopper readiness, improve decision velocity for promotions and service recovery, and prove measurable uplift with responsible AI. This speaks directly to the data fragmentation and personalisation challenges facing South African e commerce. Were excited to return to Converge Africa to showcase our award-winning Agentic Customer AI. By understanding behavior and intent, we help brands deliver smarter, more inclusive digital services. Jonathan Woolf, Chief Revenue Officer, Intent HQ Absa Bank: enabling trusted, scalable digital commerce (Platinum Sponsor) Absa Bank is a leading pan African financial services group serving retail, business and corporate clients with acquiring, payments, embedded finance and risk solutions across the continent. Absa stands out by blending African insight, strong digital ambition, responsible banking, and human centred leadership to create real economic impact, not just financial results. Absas presence underscores the centrality of secure, seamless payments to e commerce growth. Delegates can expect insights on cross border enablement, fraud and digital security, omnichannel merchant services, and the rails that support scalable digital trade, core to resolving payment complexity and trust deficits in South Africas online market. BEES: digitising the retail value chain at scale (Gold Sponsor) BEES is a global B2B digital commerce platform connecting FMCG brands with millions of independent retailers. Through a single app, retailers can order, pay, access promotions and insights, while suppliers unlock data driven route to market, trade activation and loyalty at scale. BEES brings proven playbooks for digitising fragmented retail, which is critical in Africas mixed trade landscape. Delegates can expect practical sessions on retailer onboarding, in app merchandising, incentives, and how first party trade data can drive better demand planning, fulfilment and ROI for brands and distributors. This directly addresses the fragmentation and execution gaps holding back South African e commerce. BEES is a B2B digital commerce platform that elevates every interaction with our retailers from ordering to delivery. Powered by AI, it enables us to influence retailers more successfully, improve sales effectiveness, and deliver superior service, resulting in stronger performance. Representative BEES. How Converge Africa 2026 addresses todays pain points Retail and eCommerce: Connecting channels and data to create seamless journeys and increase decision velocity at the point of need. Digital Marketing: Operationalising real time intent to lift acquisition efficiency and lifetime value, while protecting privacy. Payments and Fintech: Building trusted, scalable rails for omnichannel commerce, including cross border, risk and fraud controls. Digital Security: Hardening the ecosystem against evolving threats with enterprise grade governance, identity and compliance. Fulfilment, Logistics and Last Mile: Turning demand into on-time delivery through better planning, inventory visibility and execution. About Converge Africa Converge Africa is the continents leading platform for digital commerce leaders to connect, learn and grow. Held annually at the CTICC in Cape Town, the event convenes retailers and eCommerce brands, payments and fintech innovators, cybersecurity specialists, logistics and last-mile providers, and digital marketers to shape the future of Africas online economy. Umm Al Qura for Development & Construction Company, proprietaire, promoteur et exploitant de Masar Destination, a annonce le lancement dune plateforme numerique unifiee pour lacquisition de biens immobiliers au sein de la destination, par lintermediaire de promoteurs agrees. Cette nouvelle plateforme numerique fournit des informations precises et actualisees, en arabe et en anglais, sur tous les promoteurs agrees de Masar destination, renforcant ainsi la transparence et instaurant un cadre reglementaire rigoureux au sein dun systeme urbain integre. Cette initiative, qui temoigne de lapproche responsable de la societe en matiere de developpement urbain et de son engagement a preserver le caractere unique du lieu et a ameliorer la qualite de vie, a ete lancee lors de sa participation au Future Real Estate Forum 2026, evenement phare du Royaume dans ce secteur, qui reunit des representants de plus de 120 pays et plus de 300 intervenants internationaux. Commentant cette initiative, M. Yasser Abuateek, directeur general dUmm Al Qura pour le developpement et la construction, a declare : Le lancement de la plateforme numerique unifiee de propriete a Masar constitue une etape strategique pour renforcer la transparence et linnovation dans le secteur immobilier. Il souligne notre engagement a offrir une experience urbaine integree qui soutient les objectifs de la Vision saoudienne 2030 et contribue a positionner La Mecque a lavant-garde de la transformation numerique. Il renforce egalement la confiance dans le marche immobilier en proposant des options diversifiees repondant aux besoins des residents dans un environnement urbain moderne et durable. Setendant sur plus de 1,2 million de metres carres, Masar Destination est le plus grand projet urbain de La Mecque. Son portefeuille, qui comprend des hotels, des residences et des appartements hoteliers, ainsi que des infrastructures commerciales et medicales integrees, sinscrit dans la vision du Royaume denvironnements urbains de pointe au service des visiteurs comme des residents. Le projet a recemment signe des accords de developpement avec plusieurs promoteurs et fonds dinvestissement, pour un investissement total depassant 63 milliards de riyals saoudiens, incluant les couts dacquisition et dinfrastructure, confortant ainsi sa position parmi les destinations dinvestissement les plus importantes du Royaume. Fiji is all set to welcome ministers and attorneys general, including from Mauritius, to the Commonwealth Law Ministers Meeting, which will be held in Nadi from 9 to 12 February 2026. The meeting takes place at a time when the rule of law is steadily declining around the world. Over the three days, law ministers will discuss how strong legal safeguards protect everyday life, from peoples ability to participate in democracy and earn a fair living, to their right to live in safe and healthy communities. Ministers are also expected to agree on practical measures to advance the rule of law by improving access to justice and strengthening legal institutions that support stable societies, fair economies and environmental protection. Commonwealth Secretary-General Hon Shirley Botchwey thanked the Government of Fiji for hosting the meeting. She said: The rule of law remains essential to peace, stability, and development, yet it is under serious pressure in many parts of the world. Where it is weakened or unevenly applied, the impact is felt most sharply by ordinary people. For the Commonwealth, the rule of law is a cornerstone of our Charter and our work. It demands practical, thoughtful commitment and cooperation, not rhetoric. The Secretary-General added: In Fiji, our ministers will come together to strengthen the rule of law as the foundation of a resilient future, where every person has a voice in democracy, every worker is treated with dignity, and every vulnerable community is protected from a changing climate. That is what our people count on us to do. By working together, we can uphold the rule of law as an essential protection for the people of the Commonwealth. The meeting will be chaired by Hon Siromi Turaga, Minister for Justice and acting Attorney General of Fiji, under the theme Anchoring Justice in a Changing Tide: Strengthening the Rule of Law for a Resilient Future. Minister Turaga said Fiji hoped to explore how the Commonwealth family could strengthen the rule of law by ensuring justice systems remained flexible, inclusive and responsive. He added: Together, we will also consider the challenges and opportunities presented by climate change, digital transformation and regional cooperation, so that our legal systems remain resilient for generations to come. The meeting will also include five side events that will bring together youth leaders, people with lived experience of the justice system and disability rights advocates to ensure their perspectives inform ministerial discussions.. The meetings outcomes are expected to help shape the agenda for the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), to be held in Antigua and Barbuda later this year. Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Dara Calleary, TD, has today confirmed the establishment of a new Family Resource Centre (FRC) for Erris. The news comes as Minister for Children, Disability and Equality, Norma Foley TD, announced ten new FRCs across the country bringing the total number from 126 to 136. Confirming the news, Minister Calleary said: I am delighted to confirm that Erris has been included in the latest round of Family Resource Centre allocations. This is a milestone day for the people of Erris and surrounding areas who rely so heavily on the existing services provided in the Erris Family and Community Support Centre. I have consistently made the case to Minister Foley, and previous Ministers, about the reach and depth of the work in Erris and the need for an upgrade to full Family Resource Centre status. For many years I have met with Leanne Barrett and her team who have campaigned for this. Today is a special day for them. FRCs do incredible work every single day. They are at the heart of communities and represent investment in children, families, and communities across Ireland. In Budget 2026, Minister Foley secured an increase from 160,000 to 180,000 for all FRCs and I want to thank her for her commitment to this issue. I met with her regarding Erris a number of times and Im delighted that today, she has delivered for Erris and for Mayo. A comprehensive national application and assessment process was undertaken, led by Tusla and independently chaired by a representative of the University of Limerick. All applications were reviewed and scored against the clearly defined and published criteria, including population need, level of deprivation, child population data, existing service provision and existing service gaps. The successful applicants will now be allocated core funding of 180,000 for each full year of operation. Tusla will work closely with the successful applicants, with assistance from the Family Resource Centre National Forum, to support their integration into the Family Resource Centre Programme. The National Forum will assist new centres in building links with existing FRCs, offering practical guidance and partnership to ensure smooth integration into the national Programme. Further information on the Forums work is available at www.familyresource.ie. READ MORE: We're going to end up being homeless - Working family in West Mayo News / National by Staff reporter Illegal settlers occupying Cyrene Farm, owned by the Anglican Province of Central Africa Church's Diocese of Matabeleland, have been formally served with eviction notices and given 30 days to leave the property. The farm, located in Figtree, Matabeleland South, was seized by more than 500 settlers during Zimbabwe's turbulent land reform programme.Efforts to remove the settlers over the years have been largely unsuccessful, despite multiple court orders, amid claims that authorities and law enforcement have not effectively enforced eviction rulings. Cyrene Farm manager Albert Sibanda confirmed that the eviction notices were served on Wednesday, with the 30-day countdown now in effect.The notice, published on January 19 by Calderwood Law Chambers on behalf of the Anglican Diocese, warned that all settlers occupying the land illegally must vacate within 30 days, adding that eviction would proceed without further notice. "You are occupying the Anglican Diocese of Matabeleland land (private property) illegally. No resettlement, mining, or grazing without consent. Vacate within 30 days," the notice read.Sibanda highlighted the severe disruption caused by the illegal occupation, noting harassment of staff, theft of livestockincluding valuable calves critical to the farm's breeding programmeand environmental damage. Large tracts of grazing land have been taken over, undermining food supplies for Cyrene Boys High School, while reports of unlawful entry, drug abuse, and armed robberies have increased. Sibanda also said cultural heritage sites on the farm are being threatened and that he has faced assaults and death threats from settlers, with cases pending in court for over four years.The Anglican Diocese holds valid land tenure documents under the Agricultural Land Settlement Act, and Sibanda emphasized that church property is protected under Zimbabwe's 2013 Constitution. Section 71 safeguards property rights, while the Land Tenure Act prohibits church land from being acquired without consent.Cyrene Farm, which houses Cyrene High School, a clinic, a cattle ranch with nearly 300 head of cattle, 70 pigs, and a horticulture project, has been a flashpoint for disputes for more than 26 years. In 2003, the church obtained a High Court eviction order, but settlers later returned, with police reportedly reluctant to enforce the ruling. A fresh High Court order by Justice George Chiweshe authorizes the deputy sheriff, assisted by police if necessary, to evict all unlawful occupants immediately.Sibanda appealed to stakeholders, including the judiciary, law enforcement, and the President, to help restore peace, protect private property, and safeguard the church's heritage and operations. Previous investigations by the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission into alleged violations by both settlers and police have yet to be publicly released.Church authorities warned that new invasions are encroaching onto school grounds, further threatening the farm's operations and community services. A MAYO judge described as 'contemptuous' the behaviour of a Dublin-based solicitor who left a client facing drugs charges unrepresented in court. Judge Sandra Murphy made the comments in Castlebar District Court after hearing that a Dublin-based solicitor emailed a local solicitor five minutes before the start of court asking him to look after his client. Anita Jevdokinoba with an address at 31 Silverbridge Apartments, Claremorris who faces drug charges told Judge Murphy that she was represented by John Shanley Solicitors but is looked after by barrister Christina Burke. She explained that Ms Burke phoned her at 9pm the previous evening to say she would not be in court but would look to get someone else to look after her. However, there was nobody in court to represent her when her case was called. Local solicitor, Gary Mulchrone also told Judge Murphy that he received an email at 10.25am that morning from John Shanley Solicitors saying they were not able to secure counsel to represent Ms Jevdokinoba and asked him to represent her. Mr Mulchrone said he did not appreciate the email and they were not satisfactory instructions for anyone to deal with. Judge Murphy commented that the State is ready to go ahead with the case but Ms Jevdokinoba was left unrepresented and let down by her solicitor. She said that the inadequate instructions left by her solicitors had left her extremely short and it was extraordinarily rude. It is contemptuous to the court and the gardai and to the public for him not to appear today, she commented. This lady has been left in the lurch by a solicitor in Dublin...I am shocked by this behaviour, she added. READ: We're going to end up being homeless - Working family in West Mayo Following a short adjournment, Mr Mulchrone told the court that after speaking to Ms Jevdokinoba he agreed to represent her and Gardai had agreed to adjourn the hearing until May 6. Judge Murphy commended Mr Mulchrone for agreeing to come on record for the defendant adding that it was very important that local solicitors are able to do this. While noting that Mr Shanley had not formally come off record, she was satisfied that he no longer represented Ms Jevdokinoba and agreed to transfer legal aid to Mr Mulchrone. Three surfers were rescued following a Bank Holiday Monday incident off the Mayo coast after getting into difficulty in challenging sea conditions at Carrowniskey, southwest of Louisburgh. Achill Island RNLIs volunteer lifeboat crew were tasked shortly before 2pm on Monday, February 2, after a member of the public raised the alarm having spotted the surfers in trouble from the shore. It marked the Achill crews first call-out of 2026. The rescue operation involved a multi-agency response, with the Sligo-based Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 118 and Irish Coast Guard Westport also dispatched to the scene. Sea conditions at the time were described as difficult, with Force 6 easterly winds gusting to Force 8 and westerly swells of between two and three metres. The Achill Island all-weather lifeboat Sam and Ada Moody, carrying a crew of six, made best speed to the location, passing Clare Island to the west. When rescuers arrived, two of the surfers had already made it safely ashore. The third surfer was winched from the water by Rescue 118 and brought to safety. The RNLI lifeboat crew were then tasked with recovering a surfboard that had drifted away and remained in the water. The board was later returned to Irish Coast Guard Westport at Roonagh Pier. All three surfers were accounted for and no injuries were reported. READ MORE: Mayo man appointed first Empty Homes Coordinator in the Gaeltacht Speaking after the incident, Achill Island RNLI volunteer lifeboat press officer Eilish Power praised the outcome and the coordinated response. Todays call-out had a happy and successful ending, thanks to the quick thinking of a member of the public making a call for help, she said. The surfers did the right thing by planning their activity and going out as a group, but its important to remember that conditions can change quickly. She also highlighted the value of inter-agency training and cooperation. Our volunteer crew train regularly with other agencies, which makes everyones task much easier. We were delighted to assist our colleagues in the Irish Coast Guard with the rescue this Bank Holiday afternoon. Trailblazer Tutor Program Academic Advising and Support provides free tutoring through the Trailblazer Tutor Program, a Level Icertified program through the College Reading & Learning Association. Located in Mark Hopkins Hall, Room 108, the Tutor Center offers peer support to help students master course concepts, prepare for exams and build effective learning strategies. We have qualified peer tutors that can support you with general learning strategies, Biology, Business, Chemistry, Computer Science, Environmental Science, Political Science, History, Psychology, Spanish, Radiology, Sociology,and Arts Management and Art History courses. Hours & Location Monday: 10 a.m.3 p.m. and 48 p.m. Tuesday: 9 a.m.7 p.m. Wednesday: 11 a.m.2 p.m. and 48 p.m. Thursday: 25:30 p.m. Friday: 1011 a.m. and 123 p.m. Sunday: 14 p.m. and 68:30 p.m. Mark Hopkins Hall, room 108 Appointments & Dropins Schedule an appointment from your phone in the Navigate Student App or login with the desktop version. Appointments are encouraged but not required. If you would like to meet with a Trailblazer Tutor outside of the centers open hours, email academicsupport@mcla.edu. Meet the Trailblazer Tutors News / National by Staff reporter The Government has extended the deadline for foreign nationals operating in reserved sectors to submit their regularisation plans from January 31 to February 17, 2026, following a surge in applications from business owners seeking to comply with the law.The extension comes after the promulgation of Statutory Instrument 215 of 2025, titled the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment (Foreign Participation in Reserved Sectors) Regulations. The regulations aim to reinforce local empowerment while regulating foreign involvement in specific industries.Industry and Commerce Permanent Secretary Dr Thomas Utete Wushe confirmed the extension, citing the overwhelming response from foreign investors. He warned that anyone failing to submit their plans by the new deadline would be considered in breach of the law.Affected stakeholders have been instructed to submit their regularisation plans at provincial offices in Harare, Bulawayo, Masvingo, Mutare, Chinhoyi, Gweru, Bindura, Marondera, Gwanda, and Lupane, with proof of payment for the Standards Development Fund Levy as a prerequisite.The reserved sectors include barber shops, beauty salons, bakeries, employment and advertising agencies, artisanal mining, valet services, borehole drilling, pharmaceutical retailing, small-scale grain milling, and the marketing and distribution of local arts and crafts. Certain services, such as passenger transport, real estate agencies, and customs clearing, are also restricted to foreign operators, except for recognised international brands.The SI sets high entry thresholds where foreign participation is permitted, with retail and wholesale investors required to commit US$20 million and employ at least 200 full-time workers, grain milling requiring US$25 million, and logistics demanding US$10 million and 100 employees. The regulations also introduce strict rules on beneficial ownership, requiring sworn declarations, with non-compliance or false statements punishable by fines or three to five years' imprisonment.Foreign-owned businesses already operating in reserved sectors are required to divest 75 percent of their equity to Zimbabwean citizens over a three-year period, in annual tranches of no less than 25 percent. The Minister of Industry and Commerce retains authority to approve, reject, or revoke participation permits based on compliance, and operating in a reserved sector without a permit is classified as a criminal offence. Repeat offenders may be barred from doing business with government entities for up to five years.Dr Wushe stressed that the extension is intended to give investors sufficient time to comply with the new regulations while emphasising that the government remains committed to protecting local interests and promoting economic empowerment. News / National by Staff reporter Sixteen families in Buhera are living in squalor at an old council beerhall after being evicted from their homes, which they had occupied for over 56 years, according to reports from the area. The eviction, carried out on December 9, 2025, has left 197 women, men, and children crammed into a single building, with 37 children unable to attend school.The families, who had planted crops at the time, were forced to abandon their livelihoods. Village head William Mhere Ngundu said the eviction was executed by the Sheriff following a default court judgment of which the families were allegedly not notified. Ngundu insisted that the land historically belonged to the evicted families and appealed to authorities for urgent intervention."We are stranded. We have nowhere to go. This eviction has destroyed families, children are not going to school, and people have lost their livelihoods," Ngundu said.Meanwhile, Village head Abia Makumbe Marume defended the evictions through his son, Amos Marume, claiming that the families had settled illegally on the land and accusing Ngundu of being a land baron selling property in the area. The court order reportedly states that the land partly belongs to Chatindo and partly to Marume Village.The eviction has left families struggling to survive. Dorcas Bvukundwa, holding her one-month-old baby, said she and her nine other children now sleep in a single room at the beerhall, sharing the space with two goats. Five of her children have been forced to drop out of Marume Primary School.Another evicted resident, Pasipamire Ndigume, who has five wives and 20 children, said the eviction wiped out his livelihood. He previously ran banana, sugarcane, avocado, and mango plots, which provided income for his family. "These projects sustained my family, but now my livelihood is gone. I am at zero, with no starting point," he said.The dispute between Ngundu and Marume dates back to 2011, over a land boundary disagreement. Initial rulings favored Ngundu, but Marume appealed to the High Court, which in 2015 granted a default judgment in his favor after the respondents failed to appear. Ngundu has since filed an application for condonation to challenge the judgment.The evictions have sparked concern over the welfare of the displaced families, who now face dire living conditions and loss of income and education opportunities. News / National by Staff reporter The Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Minerals Workers Union (ZDAMWU) has launched legal action against the management of Xiao Honguqiu's Famona gold mine after it allegedly subjected female workers to mandatory HIV testing and subsequently dismissed them. The union condemned the mine's actions as a blatant violation of national laws protecting privacy, equality, and non-discrimination.According to ZDAMWU, three female employees were forced to undergo HIV tests and were summarily dismissed on 22 December 2025, regardless of the test results. In contrast, more than 60 male colleagues faced no such requirement. The union described the practice as both sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination.Zimbabwe's Constitution and labour legislation safeguard workers' dignity, equality before the law, and protection against gender-based discrimination. The right to privacy, including the confidentiality of personal health information such as HIV status, is constitutionally protected. Employers are expressly prohibited from compelling disclosure of HIV status, and the 2021 Cyber and Data Protection Act criminalizes unauthorized disclosure of personal health data.The dismissals reportedly followed information posted online revealing one worker's HIV status. The affected employee filed a police report at Nyathi Police Station near Bulawayo, while ZDAMWU lodged a formal complaint with the Zimbabwe Gender Commission, which is now investigating the matter and assessing potential legal action against the company.Justice Chinhema, ZDAMWU general secretary, said the union is demanding reinstatement for the three women. "It is unacceptable for employers to subject women to sexual harassment and flout the law with impunity," he said.Support has come from Paule-France Ndessomin, Sub-Saharan Africa regional secretary, who stressed that multinational companies operating in Zimbabwe must comply with national labour laws and international standards. "We back ZDAMWU in seeking justice for these workers. Chinese multinational companies operating in Zimbabwe and the region must adhere to national labour laws and international standards," Ndessomin said.A research project in collaboration with the University of the Witwatersrand's Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, titled Fighting Back: Labour Fragmentation in the Face of Capital vis-a-vis the Just Transition and Eco-Socialism, has highlighted systemic sexual harassment and exploitation in Chinese-owned mines in Zimbabwe. The study revealed a disturbing pattern of supervisors preferring to hire "small Maria" black female workers of smaller stature and using their positions to exert pressure, solicit sexual favors, or commit sexual assault. The research, set to be published in April, notes that black women in Zimbabwe's mining sector face persistent victimization and harassment.The union and civil society groups have called for accountability, urging the mine's management to comply with the law and respect workers' rights, while highlighting the broader need to protect female employees in the mining sector from exploitation and abuse. About a dozen congressional Democrats received good news on Monday after a federal judge ruled in their favor, finding that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may have broken the law after previously disallowing Washington lawmakers to visit immigrant detention facilities without providing advanced notice. All 13 Democratic plaintiffs in the lawsuit are members of the U.S. House of Representatives, who initially joined the litigation last year to legally fight back against DHS rules stipulating that legislators must provide seven days notice before being granted access to federal immigration detention facilities. Those members are Reps. Jason Crow (CO), Joe Neguse (CO), Jamie Raskin (MD), Bennie Thompson (MS), Veronica Escobar (TX), Dan Goldman (NY), Adriano Espaillat (NY), Jimmy Gomez (CA), Norma Torres (CA), Raul Ruiz (CA), Robert Garcia (CA), and Lou Correa (CA). Request for comment made to DHS did not receive a response at press time. Back-And-Forth Legal Efforts The nine-page ruling issued by Judge Jia Cobb of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, granting the plaintiffs motion for a temporary restraining order pending further proceedings for a stay, found that the seven-day notice requirement as initially announced by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in June 2025 was likely contrary to the terms of a limitations rider attached to the Department of Homeland Securitys (DHS) annual appropriated funds. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act was passed by Congress one month later, in July 2025. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks about the impending winter weather during a news conference at Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) The new guidance issued Monday follows a previous ruling made by Cobb on Dec. 17, 2025, in which the judge said that a rider known as Section 527 required lawmakers be provided access to facilities without prior advance due to the ebbs and flows of detention populations. DHS had to provide lawmakers with such access with impunity, the ruling stated. Noem responded by issuing a new directive on Jan. 8, 2026, reinstating that seven-day policy by tying funding from that large congressional spending package last summer. The plaintiffs argued that tying said funding to overseeing congressional members visits to ICE facilities was nearsighted and essentially unfeasible due to the volume of that legislation and the checks and balances that would go along with that. There were also questions of how funds would be split and how much money was available pertaining to such efforts. Cobb said in her ruling "that Plaintiffs have shown a likelihood of success on the merits," saying that the defendants "relied on a mischaracterization" premised upon Section 527 and its alleged policy violation. "The Court has already found that DHSs promulgation, implementation, and enforcement of a nearly identical requirement qualified as Defendants 'us[ing]' funds 'to prevent' Members of Congress from entering facilities as is prohibited by Section 527...because the evidence before the Court demonstrated that the only funds used to promulgate, implement, and enforce the prior notice requirement were DHSs annually appropriated funds, the Court found that Defendants adoption and enforcement of the policy was likely contrary to Section 527," Monday's ruling states. Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., speaks during a news conference on the Venezuela War Powers Resolution on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib) The ruling follows efforts made in recent weeks by three Democratic lawmakers to visit the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, Minn., to oversee facilities and their conditions. However, they were denied entry even as they presented a valid court order. Their attempts to visit the facility came after an ICE agent's killing of Minneapolis resident Renee Good, which sparked local and national protests that exacerbated in recent days following the related death of another Minneapolis resident, Alex Pretti. Ruling is Victory for 'Accountability' The nonpartisan, nonprofit federal watchdog American Oversight said the ruling corrects what they described as Noem's "secret reinstating" of a policy "through a previously undisclosed memorandum" and shortly after Good's death. Democratic lawmakers have now been restored the ability to enter ICE detention facilities, speak with detainees, and investigate conditions that include overcrowding, shackling, denial of medical care, and lack of access to counsel. "Todays ruling reaffirms what the law has made clear all along: the Trump administration cannot evade accountability by walling off its inhumane and deadly detention practices from congressional oversight, Chioma Chukwu, executive director of American Oversight, said in a statement. At a time when the public has been confronted with violent images of ICE officers attacking people on the street, and reports of abuse, neglect, and deaths in ICE custody, transparency is more important than ever. Rep. Crow, who sued the Trump Administration in July 2025 after he said he was unlawfully denied him from a federal detention facility in Aurora, said in a statement that Cobb's ruling is "another victory on behalf of oversight." Following the law is not optional, Crow said. 2025 was the deadliest year at federal immigration facilities in decades. The Trump administration is using billions of taxpayer dollars to carry out a violent and lawless immigration agenda with virtually no transparency or accountability." Neguse referred to the ruling as "a victory for the American people." "We will keep fighting to ensure the rule of law prevails, Neguse said in a statement. This story was updated with additional information. WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump said Monday that he plans to lower tariffs on goods from India to 18%, from 25%, after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to stop buying Russian oil. The move comes after months of Trump pressing India to cut its reliance on cheap Russian crude. India has taken advantage of reduced Russian oil prices as much of the world has sought to isolate Moscow for its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Trump said that India would also start to reduce its import taxes on U.S. goods to zero and buy $500 billion worth of American products. This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week! Trump said in a Truth Social post announcing the tariff reduction on India. Modi posted on X that he was delighted by the announced tariff reduction and that Trump's leadership is vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity. I look forward to working closely with him to take our partnership to unprecedented heights, Modi said. Trump has long had a warm relationship with Modi, only to find it complicated recently by Russia's war in Ukraine and trade disputes. Trump has struggled to make good on a campaign pledge to quickly end the Russia-Ukraine war and has been reluctant since his return to office to place pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has simultaneously imposed tariffs without going through Congress to achieve his economic and foreign policy aims. The announcement of the agreement with India comes as his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to hold another round of three-way talks with Russian and Ukrainian officials in Abu Dhabi later this week aimed at finding an endgame to the war, according to a White House official who requested anonymity to describe the upcoming meeting. Trump has voiced that he believes that targeting Russias oil revenue is the best way to get Moscow to end its nearly four-year war against Ukraine, a view that dovetails with his devotion to tariffs. In June, Trump announced the United States would impose a 25% tariff on goods from India after his administration felt the country had done too little to narrow its trade surplus with the U.S. and open up its markets to American goods. In August, Trump imposed additional import taxes of 25% on Indian products because of its purchases of Russian oil, putting the combined rate increase at 50%. With the commitment to stop buying Russian oil and the lower rate, the tariff rate on Indian products could fall to 18%, which is close to the 15% rate charged on goods from the European Union and Japan, among other nations. Historically, Indias relationship with Russia revolves more around defense than energy. Russia provides only a small fraction of Indias oil but the majority of its military hardware. But India, in the aftermath of the Russian invasion, used the moment to buy discounted Russian oil, allowing it to increase its energy supplies while Russia looked to cut deals to boost its beleaguered economy and keep paying for its brutal war. The announced tariff reduction comes days after India and the European Union reached a free trade agreement that could affect as many as 2 billion people after nearly two decades of negotiations. That deal would enable free trade on almost all goods between the EUs 27 members and India, covering everything from textiles to medicines, and bringing down high import taxes for European wine and cars. The deal between two of the worlds biggest markets also reflected a desire to reduce dependence on the U.S. after Trump's import tax hikes disrupted established trade flows. While the cost of Trump's tariffs have largely been borne by American businesses and consumers, the taxes can reduce trade volumes among countries. In recent months, India has accelerated a push to finalize several trade agreements. It signed a deal with Oman in December and concluded talks for a deal with New Zealand. Trump seemed to hint at a positive call with Modi on Monday morning, posting to social media a picture of the two of them on a magazine cover. When the pair met last February, the U.S. president said that India would start buying American oil and natural gas. But the talks proved frustrating and the tariffs imposed last year by Trump did little to initially change India's objections. While the U.S. has been seeking greater market access and zero tariff on almost all its exports, India has expressed reservations on throwing open sectors such as agriculture and dairy, which employ a bulk of the countrys population for livelihood, Indian officials said. The Census Bureau reported that the U.S. ran a $53.5 billion trade imbalance in goods with India during the first 11 months of last year, meaning it imported more than it exported. At a population exceeding 1.4 billion people, India is the worlds most populous country and viewed by many government officials and business leaders as geopolitical and economic counterbalance to China. ___ Roy reported from New Delhi, India. An ex-Army soldier in Alabama has been sentenced to more than 20 years in a military prison after being convicted of killing a comrade during a fight in their barracks. Pvt. Brian Jones Jr., 24, pleaded guilty on Jan. 29 to one count of unpremeditated murder in the death of Pvt. Abdul N. Latifu, 21, of New York City. Jones, who was dishonorably discharged according to the Fort Rucker Public Affairs Office, will serve his sentence at the U.S. Army Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The killing occurred on Jan. 10, 2023, with the case coming to a conclusion last Thursday after a nearly two week court-martial proceeding. Following his death, Latifu was described by Army officials in a statement as a "promising young soldier." The murder occurred just over three years ago, and it has been a long road to justice, but today is the day that Pvt. Jones is finally held accountable for taking the life of Pvt. Latifu," Fort Rucker Lt. Col. William Wicks, a prosecutor with the Headquarters of the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel, told Military.com. "Pvt. Latifu was not only a soldier; he was also a beloved son, uncle and brother. Tool Used in Deadly Fight Authorities said Jones murdered Latifu at Fort Rucker in Alabama where the two shared the same barracks. Both soldiers were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment, 1st Aviation Brigade, U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence at the time of the incident. Pvt. Abdul N. Latifu, 21, of New York City, was killed by Jones. (Fort Rucker Public Affairs Office) Prosecutors maintained that Jones attacked Latifu with an entrenching tool or small shovel, also known as an e-tool, during a fight. Army officials have not released a motive for the attack. The two soldiers were both training to become air traffic controllers. While the conviction and sentence cannot reverse the tragic loss of Pvt. Latifu, we can only hope that todays outcome is the first step in allowing Pvt. Latifus family to begin to heal, Wicks said. Jones was arrested by military police shortly after Latifu was killed and charged with murder. Dishonorable Discharge Added to Prison Time Jones was sentenced to 247 months of confinement, which amounts to 20 years and 5.8 months in a military prison. Additionally, Jones was demoted to the rank of E-1the lowest enlisted paygrade in the U.S. military, representing entry-level personnel in training with no insignia worn on uniforms. Jones was also ordered to forfeit all remaining pay and allowances, along with being given a dishonorable discharge. I would like to thank the law enforcement professionals of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Divisions Southern Field Office for the outstanding support they provided in the investigation and prosecution of this case from beginning to end, Wicks said. Chief Warrant Officer 5 Samuel Cortez, command chief warrant officer for Army Special Operations Aviation Command, participates in the Aviation Senior Leader Forum at Fort Rucker, Ala., Jan. 29, 2026. (U.S. Army photo by Kelly Morris) History Of Soldier-On-Soldier Killings Soldier-on-soldier killing is known in military circles as "fratricide," which is loosely defined as the killing of one's brother or sister. Experts say it has existed throughout military history, with notable spikes during times of low morale and high resentment. There was also the "fragging" phenomenon of the Vietnam War. From 1969 to 1972, more than 900 documented and suspected incidents occurred, often involving fragmentation grenades used against superiors. The term "fragging" has evolved since then to now be defined as any deliberate killing of military colleagues. The U.S. military investigates and prosecutes all homicides and acts of violence that happen within its jurisdiction, working with the Army Criminal Investigation Division and the Office of Special Trial Counsel. However, soldier-on-soldier killings are considered rare. Between 2006 and 2021, there were 619 homicides of soldiersequating to about 3.2 percent of all soldier deaths during that timespan. There were 19,378 total active-duty deaths between those years, with the highest numbers attributed to accidents (6,198), self-inflicted (4,930), illness or injury (3,470), and killed in action (2,740). One month after a U.S. military operation led to the capture in Caracas of her former boss and political mentor, Nicolas Maduro, Venezuelas interim president Delcy Rodriguez met Monday with the top U.S. diplomat in the country to review Washingtons plan for stabilizing the crisis-stricken nation and steering it toward a democratic transition. Rodriguez received U.S. charge daffaires Laura Dogu at the Miraflores presidential palace to discuss a three-phase roadmap laid out by the administration of President Donald Trump, which calls for stabilization, economic recovery and an eventual transition to democratic rule. Today I met with Delcy Rodriguez and Jorge Rodriguez to reiterate the three phases that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has laid out for Venezuela: stabilization, economic recovery and reconciliation, and transition, Dogu said in a message posted by the U.S. Embassy in Caracas on X. The meeting came amid a dramatic reordering of power in Venezuela following the Jan. 3 capture of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, during a U.S. military operation in Caracas and nearby regions. The abrupt removal of Maduro left a vacuum that was quickly filled by Rodriguez, who assumed the interim presidency in a moment of acute political and institutional uncertainty. Although Rodriguez has kept much of the Chavista state apparatus intact including senior civilian, military and judicial officials her government has operated from the outset under close U.S. supervision. The interim administration is bound to an international roadmap that demands measurable progress on democratic reforms, the release of political prisoners and restructuring of key sectors of the economy. Within hours of the meeting, the Venezuelan government announced the appointment of former foreign minister Felix Plasencia as its diplomatic representative to the United States, formally restoring diplomatic channels after a seven-year rupture. Communications Minister Miguel Angel Perez Pirela said Plasencia will travel to the United States in the coming days to assume the post. Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said the reciprocal appointment of diplomats marks the beginning of an exhaustive review of bilateral cooperation. We are building a productive agenda, an agenda of peace and respect, Gil said in remarks broadcast on state television, describing an effort to reset relations with Washington. Dogu arrived in Caracas over the weekend to reopen the U.S. diplomatic mission, which has been closed since 2019 after the Trump administration recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuelas interim president. Since then, U.S. policy toward Venezuela had been managed from an external office at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota. The reopening comes nearly a month after Maduros capture. One of the most contentious elements of the transition has been the release of political prisoners. Since the process was announced Jan. 8, progress has been slow and opaque. According to the human-rights group Foro Penal, 344 detainees have been released, though none have been granted full freedom. Most remain subject to travel restrictions, court supervision or other conditions that keep them under state control. The interim government has also introduced a proposed General Amnesty Law covering acts of political violence dating back to 1999, while excluding serious crimes such as homicide, drug trafficking and human-rights abuses. The measure, pushed by Washington and cautiously welcomed by parts of the opposition, has raised alarms among rights groups. Foro Penal has warned that the law could enable impunity for officials who ordered or carried out state repression. Government announcements about closing notorious detention centers such as El Helicoide and La Tumba have been framed as symbolic breaks with the past. But critics note that the judicial system remains largely intact, including judges appointed under the Maduro government. Economically, Rodriguezs government has moved swiftly to dismantle pillars of Venezuelas state-controlled oil model. A new hydrocarbons law approved Jan. 30 reverses reforms imposed by former President Hugo Chavez and allows private companies including U.S. firms direct access to oil fields and the ability to sell crude without going through state oil company PDVSA. The U.S. Department of Energy now oversees the management of Venezuelas oil revenues, with funds earmarked for social programs under Washington-defined protocols. Trump has announced the immediate transfer of between 30 million and 50 million barrels of previously sanctioned Venezuelan oil to the United States, with proceeds held in accounts tied to humanitarian assistance. Despite expectations of an economic rebound, risks remain high. Armed groups, including the Tren de Aragua criminal network and pro-government collectives, still control large swaths of territory, challenging the authority of the interim government and complicating efforts to restore public security. The social crisis also persists, with minimum wages failing to cover basic living costs and public services showing little improvement. Meanwhile, opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said Monday she is willing to meet with Rodriguez to discuss a timetable for a democratic transition, a process she described as irreversible. Machado said any dialogue must begin with recognition of the July 28, 2024, presidential election, which the opposition says was won by its candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, despite the government declaring Maduro the victor. These people believed they were untouchable, Machado said during a virtual briefing with Colombian media. Everything that sustained the Maduro regime was repression. This story was complemented by el Nuevo Heralds wire services. 2026 Miami Herald. Visit miamiherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is touting a biosurveillance program that has surpassed 1 million voluntary participants, aimed to better detect and respond to potential health threats from international visitors who enter the United States. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced Jan. 30 that its Traveler-Based Genomic Surveillance (TGS) program just hit the significant numerical milestone, helping to uncover emerging public health warnings at domestic borders. It is estimated that more than 1 billion flyers fill U.S. airports each year. TGS is described by HHS as one of many tools utilized by the federal government to strengthen disease surveillance and protect the American people. Travelers at select U.S. airports are requested to provide voluntary and anonymous samples, with the goal of providing early detection of possible pathogens and variants before they spread broadly within the U.S. Pathogens that are sought include viruses like influenza A, influenza B, RSV, and the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. Jainer Munoz, a Venezuelan doctor working as a nurse as he studies for his U.S. medical license, runs rapid PCR tests on nasal swabs at a testing center operated by Nomi Health inside Miami International Airport, Friday, Dec. 17, 2021, in Miami. Nomi nurses said that both demand for tests and positivity rates at their testing center have risen significantly since Thanksgiving. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) When reached for comment by Military.com, HHS referred to a statement and provided no additional information. The United States is the worlds leading authority in public health, HHS Deputy Secretary and Acting CDC Director Jim ONeill said in a statement. The broad participation of travelers enhances our ability to safeguard the nation using tools that are developed, operated, and governed here at home without reliance on unaccountable global bureaucracies. The Biosurveillance Testing Process Airports participating in the TGS program are located in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, New York City (JFK), San Francisco, Seattle and Washington D.C.(Dulles), according to the CDC website. The process for enabling timely detection of communicable diseases while reducing outside intervention that could disrupt travel and trade involves the use of nasal swabs. Once international travelers arrive at any of the aforementioned airports, they can volunteer to self-collect two nasal swab samples and then complete a short survey. One sample is pooled with other travelers' samples. Once collected, the individual and pooled samples are shipped to a laboratory. If pooled samples are positive by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for pathogens of public health concern, individual samples are then tested. A map shows the list of U.S. airports participating in the Traveler-Based Genomic Surveillance (TGS) program that began in 2021, voluntarily tests international travelers for pathogens. (CDC) Those individual samples that test positive for select pathogens undergo sequencing to determine variants, strains, or mutations of public health importance. They are then shared with CDC laboratories for further genomic characterization, which can provide information about the transmissibility of a new strain or variant, virulence, and a response to current treatments or vaccines. Monitoring wastewater can also lead to pivotal results, accomplished by collecting samples from travelers who use airplane bathrooms and wash their hands, for example. Wastewater samples are tested in two main ways. One involves collection from individual airplanes using a custom-made collection device during routine servicing by a lavatory truck. The other method is collection from an airport trituratora consolidation point where lavatory trucks deposit airplane wastewaterusing an automated sampler. A triturator does not include airport terminal waste. Those specifics samples are then shipped to a lab for digital polymerase chain reaction (dPCR) testing. The CDC has analyzed more than 2,600 airplane wastewater samples as part of TGS, according to HHS. Consistent Updates TGS launched in 2021 and is credited for detecting and reporting the first two detections of influenza H3N2 subclade K to public repositories seven days before the next publicly reported sequence. In October 2023, the program expanded to cover a list of more than 30 viral and bacterial targets. That led to the successful first phase of multi-pathogen testing and sequencing in November and December of that year, detecting positive samples containing several pathogens including influenza A and B, RSV, and Mycoplasma pneumoniaea bacteria that causes pneumonia. A TGS data page posted on the CDC website summarizes data from individual travelers rather than pools of multiple travelers, updating the most recent available results weekly at 1 p.m. ET on Friday. Travelers wait in line to get tested for COVID-19 at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, Monday, Dec. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) The most recent data uploaded on Jan. 30 shows weekly trends of SARS-CoV-2 test positivity from nasal swab samples collected from arriving international travelersfrom Jan. 22, 2023, to Jan. 11, 2026. The heights of positive detections hit 5.2% on July 14, 2024, with the lowest detected rate of 0.2% showing for Dec. 28, 2025. The TGS program operates through public-private partnerships with organizations including Ginkgo Biosecurity and XWell. Military.com reached out to both companies for comment. The frequency of new outbreaks around the world reminds us every day that persistent and strategically focused biosurveillance is paramount to ensure readiness and rapid response, Matt McKnight, general manager of Ginkgo Biosecurity, said in a statement posted on the companys website. If youre already thinking about nixing that New Years resolution of working out more, less than three weeks into 2026, you may want to look to James Sneed for motivation. The 103-year-old World War II veteran is proving that youre never too old to stay physically fit. Sneed, who served in the Army, heads to the D.A. Turner YMCA in Columbus, Georgia three times a week, always greeting front-desk personnel with a smile and a kind word. Then he makes his way to a workout room to take part in a Silver Sneakers class, where he motivates fellow seniors decades younger than him. At his age, nobody would blame Sneed if he wanted to relax and enjoy his remaining years. Not this WWII veteran. It helps me, Sneed told News 3 in Georgia. I dont give up. No dont give up. You never give up. Sneeds regular workouts and positive attitude provide a spark to not only seniors, but people across the age spectrum, according to YMCA staff. People come in and say, Im too old to work out, said Brittany Brown, the YMCAs member experience and marketing director. I always tell them absolutely not. We have somebody here thats 103 years old thats working out so no excuses. James Sneed's birthday cake during his 102nd birthday celebration in 2024. (Submitted photo) No Obstacle Too Large Sneed was born on Sept. 16, 1922. Hes among the last line of Americans who survived the Great Depression, served the nation in World War II, and, as a Black man, endured periods of shameful discrimination and segregation. However, Sneed forged ahead, building a life in wood and paper manufacturing, all while raising five children, overcoming a battle with cancer, and staying actively engaged in church and community activities. No doubt, Sneeds devotion to fitness keeps him ticking, even at 103, but he also believes faith plays a vital part in his health, too. The man up above helps keep me healthy, he said. Sneed has turned to working out in recent years to improve strength and stability. But according to his daughter, Dr. Janet Sneed, her father has always been a dedicated person. Hes always worked hard for us. Hes always been selfless, she said. When I dont want to get up in the morning, I hear him calling me. Hes my inspiration. Sneed moved in with his daughter several years ago when she had concerns that slowing down could prove harmful to his health. She thought introducing him to the YMCA could ignite an interest in exercise. He exceeded her expectations. That was the best thing we ever did, she said. He fell in love with the people here. And they fell in love with him. World War II veteran James Sneed during his 102nd birthday party at the Columbus, Georgia YMCA in 2024. (Submitted photo) Leading By Example For Josie Johnson, one of Sneeds workout buddies, watching him show up and put in the work has altered her opinions on aging. Hes an inspiration to all of us, Johnson said. Never quitting. Never give up. Sneed says leading by example is intentional. He enjoys motivating others. Good, better, best, never let it rest, he said. Till the good become better, and the better become best. The World War II veteran credits words of inspiration he received many years ago that he often passes along to friends. Do all the good you can to all the people you can every place you can, he said. I got that from an old teacher. Activity Reverses Aging While the body is inclined to tone it down as we age, studies have shown that staying active no matter how old helps support physical and mental health. Sneeds cognitive awareness is still sharp and staff at the Columbus YMCA believe hes a living embodiment of the positive effects of exercise. He doesnt ask for help walking in. He doesnt make excuses, Brown said. He just shows up. For the past few years, Sneed has celebrated birthdays at the YMCA, and he hopes to be there blowing out 104 candles on his cake when he hits 104 this September. A chance encounter with an old box of his grandfathers mementos ignited a passion for sharing veterans stories for young Canadian filmmaker Zach Dunn. In 2021, while helping clean his parents house, Dunn discovered a box with possessions from his late grandfather, John L. Williams. Dunn opened the box and was a bit shocked to learn his grandpa was a World War II veteran. As he combed through medals and black and white photos of him serving in Europe and Africa, Dunn thought about all the stories his grandpa kept inside, hidden away in that dusty box. Dunn, 21 at that time, quizzed his mother about his grandfathers service, and she told him he rarely talked about it. Dunn was only three years old when Williams died in 2003 at age 82. Despite photos and videos of them together, Dunn barely remembers his grandfather. But finding the box provided a link to his grandfathers past, and Dunn ached to learn more. He began talking to relatives and mining for information online. Dunn was awed to learn his grandpa had served for the British military as a paratrooper, jumping from a plane during Operation Overlord (D-Day) on June 6, 1944. Its unfortunate that this incredible man had never shared his incredible story with anyone, Dunn told Moose Jaw Today. Williams was born in London, England, fought for British forces in World War II, and relocated to Canada following the war, raising a family of eight children. Like many from the Greatest Generation, Williams lived a quiet, humble life, not one to brag about his military service. While he could no longer talk to his grandfather about his past, Dunn felt he could still help living World War II veterans share their stories. This led to Dunn interviewing a veteran in Lakefield, Ontario. From there, Dunn was hooked. Now 26, he treks across Canada every month to film and preserve veterans stories. Zach Dunn's grandfather, Canadian World War II veteran, John L. Williams. (Submitted) And a lot of the veterans I meet have never shared their story before and even sometimes the families dont know, said Dunn. In the past four years, Dunn has interviewed about 170 veterans, ranging from World War II through Vietnam. While most hail from the Great White North, some are from the U.S. and nations outside North America. So, its been a great journey so far, Dunn said. Canadians Serving in Vietnam Dunns first interview with a Vietnam War veteran happened by accident. He had contacted a local Legion in Canada, requesting WWII veterans, and found out the posts president had served in Vietnam. Perplexed, thinking Canadians hadnt served in Vietnam, Dunn learned the Legion president had jumped the border to serve in the U.S. Army. His story made Dunn reach out to other Canadians who also crossed into the U.S. to serve or were drafted into the military while living in the U.S. Dunn seeks out interviews by corresponding with veteran service organizations, journalists, and museums. With a large social media following, Dunn attracts young followers who are intrigued by stories of older veterans. After he produces the films, he gives copies of the interviews to non-profit organizations and schools, while also providing copies to the veteran and their families. And a lot of the veterans I meet have never shared their story before and even sometimes the families dont know, said Dunn. Dunn said he only had one history class in high school and realized the importance of sharing living accounts of wars. I think its important to share this history with the next generation, Dunn said. I think there is a large gap of knowledge . These stories werent being shared. Zach Dunn with WWII veteran Jack Thomas, 102. (Submitted) Curiosity Unlocks Family History Dunn believes more people should harbor curiosity and learn about veterans inside their own families. Many veterans are humble and dont want the spotlight even though they deserve it, he said. Of all the interviews hes done in the past few years, one in particular stands out. Jack C. Thomas, 102, recalled serving in Western Europe, dropping supplies to brave underground resistance fighters as a tail gunner. Thomas said he flew his bomber on D-Day and during an operation in the Netherlands in September 1944, when his bomber was hit by fire, and he bailed out. Thomas broke his back during the landing, was captured by Nazi troops, and spent eight months in a prisoner of war camp. The interview took place last year and became one of Dunns most memorable. He had never shared this story with anyone and became very emotional, Dunn said. Dunn mentioned the fact that there are only about 3,000 Canadian World War II veterans still living. If I could interview even one percent of them, it would be my honor, the filmmaker said. I think its important to share this history with the next generation, Dunn said. I think there is a large gap of knowledge . These stories werent being shared. Sage Advice from WWII Veterans Recently, Dunn interviewed Joseph Hammond, Ghanas last surviving World War II veteran. Dunn awoke early, accounting for the time difference, to interview Hammond, 100, through online video at 5:30 in the morning. But it was worth it. Dunn heard an amazing story of Hammond battling Japanese forces in the Burmese jungle. It was one that few Canadians have ever heard about, Dunn said. Dunn also recalled interviewing a 110-year-old veteran who still possessed a sharp mind, remembering events from several decades ago. Dunn helps veterans recall the past by asking open-ended questions. And hes received some valuable advice from aging veterans. Those married 70 years or more told Dunn that couples should never go to bed angry and make sure to laugh every day. Veterans past the century mark said the key to longevity is regular exercise and maintaining an active mind. In the future, Dunn would like to team with veterans service organizations and schools to present some of the stories hes collected. Dunn can be reached through his website. Every February, Black History Month shines a light on African Americans whose contributions and experiences shaped the nation. Some of those stories come from battlefields thousands of miles from home. One belongs to Pfc. James Anderson Jr., a 20-year-old Marine from Compton, California, who became the first Black Marine to receive the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Vietnam War. Anderson was killed on Feb. 28, 1967, after throwing himself on an enemy grenade to shield the Marines around him during a vicious firefight in Quang Tri Province. He had been in Vietnam for less than three months. A Kid From Compton Anderson was born on Jan. 22, 1947, in Los Angeles. He grew up in nearby Compton, the first boy in a family that already included five daughters. He also had a younger brother, Jack. His parents, Aggiethine and James Anderson Sr., raised their children in a household rooted in faith. Those who knew Anderson described him as gentle, caring and deeply religious. He played clarinet in the band at Centennial High School and sang in the church choir. He graduated 10th in his class in 1964. His niece, Denise Johnson-Cross, told the Department of Defense in 2023 that Anderson took part in organizations like the Boys and Girls Clubs and was an excellent dancer. His sister Mary later told the Los Angeles Times that Anderson's future seemed clear. "His whole life was centered on being a minister and working for the Lord," she said. "That was his purpose." After high school, Anderson enrolled at Los Angeles Harbor Junior College to study pre-law. He spent a year and a half there before making a different choice. With the Vietnam War escalating, Anderson enlisted in the Marine Corps on Feb. 17, 1966. Mary also mentioned that her brother once said he couldn't kill anyone. Yet he signed up anyway. Cross also recalled the decision decades later. "This was a choice that he made," she said. "What strikes me now that I am a grandmother is that he was only 19." Before leaving for the Marine Corps, Anderson drove a 1965 Chevrolet Impala painted Evening Orchid, a rare color only offered for a single model year. He would let Cross sit behind the wheel while he washed and polished it. Shortly after he shipped out for Vietnam, someone stole the car. James Anderson, Jr. high school graduation photo, Centennial High School, Compton, CA. From San Diego to the DMZ Anderson reported to the 1st Recruit Training Battalion at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego. He earned a promotion to private first class upon graduating boot camp in August of 1966. He then moved to Camp Pendleton for advanced infantry training. By December 1966, Anderson was in the Republic of Vietnam. He was assigned as a rifleman with Company F, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, 3rd Marine Division, operating in Quang Tri Province. The area sat just south of the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Vietnam. It was among the most dangerous areas to be stationed in the entire war. The 3rd Marine Division had been battling elements of the North Vietnamese Army's 324B Division in the region since the previous summer. Operation Prairie, a six-month campaign launched in August 1966, had cost 226 Marine lives while inflicting an estimated 1,700 enemy casualties. When that operation ended on Jan. 31, 1967, Operation Prairie II picked up immediately. Its mission was the same. Find and destroy enemy forces infiltrating south across the DMZ. Brig. Gen. Michael P. Ryan commanded the forward element of the 3rd Marine Division during Prairie II. He had three infantry battalions, two reconnaissance companies and supporting arms at his disposal. The early weeks of the operation were quiet. That changed sharply at the end of February. Marine Corps Pfc. James Anderson Jr.s platoon poses for a group photo in 1966. Anderson is in the third row from the top, the fourth person in from the left. (Department of War) Ambush Northwest of Cam Lo On the morning of Feb. 27, 1967, a Marine reconnaissance patrol operating roughly five kilometers northwest of Cam Lo Combat Base stumbled into the enemy. The patrol tried to ambush two North Vietnamese soldiers. Those soldiers turned out to be the lead element of a company from the 812th Regiment, 324B Division. The enemy force quickly surrounded the recon Marines, who called for assistance. Multiple Marine units, including elements of 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, moved to help them before the fighting escalated. Anderson's unit, Company F, was among them. On the morning of Feb. 28, the North Vietnamese launched a massive attack on Marine positions with over 150 mortar rounds and ground assaults from three directions The company had pushed through dense jungle, trying to reach the besieged reconnaissance patrol. Anderson's platoon led the advance. They made it roughly 200 meters before enemy small arms and automatic weapons fire tore into them. The platoon scrambled to return fire in the thick vegetation. Anderson found himself on his stomach, packed shoulder to shoulder with fellow Marines barely 20 meters from the North Vietnamese positions. Several Marines had already been hit. The jungle was so dense the men could hardly move. Then a grenade landed in the middle of the group. It rolled right alongside Anderson's head. There was no time to throw it back. Anderson reached out, grabbed the grenade and pulled it tight against his chest. He curled his body around it just before it detonated. The blast killed him instantly. Several nearby Marines caught shrapnel, but Anderson's body absorbed the brunt of the explosion. Many members of his platoon survived because of his actions. Anderson had just turned 20 a few weeks prior to his death. Maj. William T. Macy delivered the news to Anderson's parents. "They took it well and bravely," Macy said. "They're that kind of family, proud and strong and grateful for having such a son." Slow Going: Marines from the 2d Battalion, 3d Marines [2/3] slog through flooded rice paddies during an operation north of Hue after being landed by Sea Knight helicopters from Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 265 [HMM-265] (official USMC photo by Sergeant W. R. Jackson) The First Black Marine Medal of Honor Recipient On Aug. 21, 1968, Secretary of the Navy Paul R. Ignatius posthumously awarded Anderson the Medal of Honor at Marine Barracks Washington, D.C. His parents, James Sr. and Aggiethine, accepted the medal on behalf of their son. The ceremony marked a significant moment in American military history. Anderson became the first Black Marine in history to receive the nation's highest award for valor. It was a key moment in Marine Corps history. Black men had not even been permitted to serve in the Marine Corps until 1942, when the first Black recruits trained at the segregated facility at Montford Point, North Carolina. Those that served in World War II and the Korean War were often mistreated, overlooked for awards and passed over for promotions. Anderson was one of 23 African Americans who earned the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War. He was also one of only six Black Marines to ever receive the decoration. Anderson earning the medal signaled that the Marine Corps, an institution with a long and complicated history on race, was evolving for the better. Mary understood her brother's sacrifice. He acted, she said, "because of his faith and his belief in mankind. He always cared about other people." Anderson was buried at Lincoln Memorial Park in Carson, California. His name is etched on Panel 15E, Row 112, of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Anderson was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines in Vietnam. (Wikimedia Commons) A Marine Corps Hero In 1972, the Marine Corps dedicated Anderson Hall on Marine Corps Base Hawaii, home to his former unit. In 1983, the Navy acquired a Danish merchant vessel and renamed it USNS Pfc. James Anderson Jr. The ship carried equipment to support a Marine expeditionary brigade from Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean until 2009. A memorial park in Carson and Anderson Avenue in Compton also bears his name. In August 2024, the post office at 101 S. Willowbrook Ave. in Compton was formally renamed the Pfc. James Anderson Jr. Post Office Building after a bill introduced by Rep. Nanette Barragan was signed into law by President Joe Biden. Retired Sgt. Maj. Charles Cook Jr. attended the ceremony. "A 20-year-old Black man felt the need to protect his platoon of 35-40 Marines and in that he gave his life," Cook said. "That's a Black man who had went through all kinds of stuff before he got there to do something bigger than him. That's a Black veteran." Memorial to James Anderson, Jr. in Compton, California. Photo by Don Morfe (Historical Marker Database) The post office renaming held a special connection to the Anderson family's past. After the Medal of Honor was awarded in 1968, hundreds of condolence letters from Americans of all races and backgrounds poured into Compton from across the country. Many didn't know the family's address. They simply wrote to "the mother of the Medal of Honor recipient" and the letters were delivered. Cross said those letters likely passed through the very post office that now bears Anderson's name. Even 59 years later, Anderson's sacrifice remains an inspiration for all Marines. His name is now on buildings, streets and memorials from Hawaii to Washington, D.C. The quiet kid from Compton who wanted to preach sermons ended up becoming the first Black Marine to earn the Medal of Honor by sacrificing his life to save others. Eighty-three years ago today, the largest and bloodiest battle in human history came to an end. On Feb. 2, 1943, the last remnants of Germanys 6th Army surrendered in the frozen ruins of Stalingrad. The fighting had lasted more than 200 days and cost an estimated 2 million casualties. It was the first time a German field marshal had ever been taken alive. It also marked the moment the tide of World War II turned permanently against Adolf Hitlers Third Reich. The battles conclusion not only reshaped the Eastern Front but also sent shockwaves through every theater of the war. Hitlers 1942 Summer Offensive Germanys drive toward Stalingrad began in the summer of 1942 as part of Case Blue, Hitlers plan to seize the oil-rich Caucasus region and sever Soviet supply lines along the Volga River. The city was a major industrial center, producing arms and artillery for the Red Army. It also bore the name of the Soviet dictator, giving it symbolic weight for both sides. Hitler assigned Gen. Friedrich Paulus and the 6th Army the task of capturing Stalingrad. Paulus had served mostly as a staff officer and had never commanded a division before taking over the Wehrmachts largest field army. His force of roughly 250,000 troops, supported by 500 tanks and thousands of guns, reached the outskirts of the city by late August. On Aug. 23, the Luftwaffe launched a devastating bombardment that leveled much of the city. Thousands of civilians died in the initial air campaign alone. Stalingrad resident Boris Serafimovich Kryzhanovsky described the bombing as the most terrifying day of his life. The earth literally trembled, he recalled. The next day, our house was gone. Stalins infamous Order No. 227 was read aloud to every Soviet unit. Known as Not one step back, it demanded that Soviet soldiers hold every position. The Soviet Union would not lose the city bearing its leaders name. Stalin also forbade the civilian population from fleeing. He believed that the presence of civilians would give Soviet soldiers another motivating factor to fight and die to protect the city. As many as 500,000 residents remained trapped when the ground fighting began. Smoke over the city centre after aerial bombing by the German Luftwaffe on the central station. (Wikimedia Commons) A Brutal Urban Fight German tanks and soldiers began entering the city by the end of August. They overran hastily fortified Soviet positions and pushed deep into the city. Soviet troops put up a desperate defense, making the Germans pay for every intersection, every building and every inch of ground. Lt. Gen. Vasily Chuikov took command of the Soviet 62nd Army on Sept. 11, 1942, with a single mandate. We will defend the city or die in the attempt, he declared. What followed was some of the most savage urban combat in military history. Soldiers fought room to room through bombed-out factories, apartment buildings and sewers. Key positions changed hands as many as 15 times. The average life expectancy of a Soviet reinforcement soldier arriving in Stalingrad was measured in hours, not days. Nowhere was the fighting fiercer than Mamayev Kurgan, a hilltop marked as Height 102.0. Whoever held it controlled the city. German troops stormed it up to 12 times a day. The hill changed hands repeatedly throughout the fall. Soviet troops hardened their defensive positions. They famously held a ruined apartment complex, later known as Pavlov's House, for months while inflicting more casualties on German troops fighting for a single building than Hitler lost in the entire 1940 Campaign in France. Soviet troops also bitterly defended the Grain Elevator, Grudinin Mill, as well as the Red October and Barrikady factories. Chuikov presenting the guards banner of the 39th Guards Rifle Division in Stalingrad in January 1943. (Wikimedia Commons) German Pvt. 1st Class Walter Oppermann captured the desperation in a November 1942 letter home. Stalingrad is hell on earth, he wrote. Verdun, beautiful Verdun, with new weapons. We attack on a daily basis. If in the morning we manage to advance 20 meters, in the evening the Russians throw us backward. Chuikovs tactics adapted to the destruction around him. He ordered his men to stay as close to German positions as possible, sometimes within grenade-throwing range. The proximity made it impossible for the Luftwaffe to bomb Soviet fighters without hitting their own troops. Small assault groups replaced large-unit attacks. The very rubble German bombs had created became ideal defensive terrain for Red Army soldiers. Veterans on both sides recalled how, at times, German soldiers occupied basements and ground-level floors while their Soviet enemies occupied the upper-stories. Soldiers fired at each other from the tops of staircases, around corners in small apartments, or through holes in the ceiling. Flamethrowers and grenades were used to clear each room as hand-to-hand combat became a common experience. The shattered cityscape also led to a deadly sniper war. Vasily Zaitsev, a soldier from the Ural Mountains serving in Chuikovs 62nd Army, recorded 225 confirmed kills and trained dozens of other snipers during the battle. His exploits and memoirs later inspired the 2001 film Enemy at the Gates. By early November, Paulus controlled roughly 90% of the city. His forces were freezing, exhausted and running dangerously low on ammunition and food. He had already lost 40,000 men since entering Stalingrad. Replacements and supplies became scarce for the Germans, while a seemingly unending supply of Soviet soldiers crossed the Volga. Soviet soldiers running through trenches in the ruins of Stalingrad. (Wikimedia Commons) The Trap Closes While German forces bled themselves dry inside the city, Soviet generals Georgy Zhukov and Aleksandr Vasilevsky quietly assembled a massive counteroffensive. On Nov. 19, 1942, the Red Army launched Operation Uranus, a devastating two-pronged attack aimed at the weaker Romanian forces guarding the 6th Armys flanks. The Axis flanks shattered within days. Soviet pincers closed behind the 6th Army, trapping roughly 300,000 German and Romanian soldiers in a pocket stretching about 37 miles east to west and 28 miles north to south. Hitler refused Pauluss requests to break out. He ordered the 6th Army to hold its ground and promised them resupply by air. Luftwaffe chief Hermann Goring assured Hitler his planes could deliver 300 tons of supplies daily. They never came close. The airlift averaged around 105 tons per day, a fraction of the 750 the army needed to survive. Field Marshal Erich von Manstein launched Operation Winter Storm in December to break through to the pocket from the outside. Soviet resistance stopped the relief force roughly 30 miles short. A subsequent Soviet offensive, Operation Little Saturn, smashed through Italian and Hungarian lines, forcing Manstein and other Axis forces to begin falling back. With that, Paulus troops had no more hope of rescue. Map of the situation at Stalingrad, marking the city's position and the location of Axis and Soviet forces. (Wikimedia Commons) The Fall of the 6th Army By January 1943, the situation inside the pocket was catastrophic. The soldiers ate horses, dogs and rats. Frostbite, typhus and dysentery ravaged the ranks. Thousands of wounded lay in basements and cellars with no medicine, no bandages and no hope of evacuation. Meanwhile, Soviet troops isolated and eliminated German pockets methodically. Tens of thousands of German troops were killed or died of their wounds. Only a few managed to escape on the last Luftwaffe supply planes. On Jan. 24, Paulus radioed Hitler directly. Troops without ammunition or food, his message read. Effective command no longer possible. 18,000 wounded without any supplies, dressings, or drugs. Further defence senseless. Collapse inevitable. Army requests immediate permission to surrender in order to save lives of remaining troops. Hitlers response left no room for interpretation. Surrender is forbidden. Sixth Army will hold their positions to the last man and the last round. On Jan. 30, the 10th anniversary of the Nazi seizure of power, Hitler promoted Paulus to field marshal. No German or Prussian field marshal had ever been captured alive. The implication was unmistakable. Hitler expected Paulus to take his own life rather than fall into Soviet hands. Friedrich Paulus (left), with his chief of staff, Arthur Schmidt (centre) and his aide, Wilhelm Adam (right), after their surrender, January 1943. (Wikimedia Commons) Paulus was finished. On Jan. 31, Soviet troops reached the basement of the Univermag department store in central Stalingrad, where the field marshal and his staff had established their final headquarters. Maj. Anatoly Soldatov, among the first Soviet officers to enter, described conditions inside the building as unbelievably filthy. Paulus surrendered that morning. He later told fellow officers in captivity that he had no intention of shooting myself for this Bohemian corporal. The northern pocket, commanded by Gen. Karl Strecker, held out two more days. On Feb. 2, Streckers forces laid down their arms. The Battle of Stalingrad was over. Roughly 91,000 German soldiers went into Soviet captivity. Only about 6,000 would ever return home. Hitler was furious. What hurts me most, personally, is that I still promoted him to field marshal, he said. Thats the last field marshal I shall appoint in this war. He went on to appoint seven more. On Jan. 31, German state radio had replaced its regular programming with the somber Adagio movement from Anton Bruckners Seventh Symphony before announcing the disaster. Sixteen days after the final surrender, Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels delivered his infamous total war speech at the Berlin Sportpalast. It was the first public admission by the Nazi regime that Germany faced an existential threat. German soldiers as prisoners of war. In the background is the heavily fought-over Stalingrad grain elevator. (Wikimedia Commons) A Turning Point The fall of Stalingrad sent reverberations far beyond the Volga. Across occupied Europe, resistance movements from France to Yugoslavia gained momentum. The White Rose group in Munich published its final pamphlet denouncing Hitlers leadership and the catastrophe on the Volga. In the Warsaw Ghetto, fighters preparing for their spring uprising drew strength from the German defeat. For the Western Allies, the timing of Stalingrad was important. American and British forces had landed in French North Africa in November 1942 during Operation Torch. It was the first large-scale U.S. ground engagement against the European Axis. Those landings benefited directly from the fact that Hitlers attention and resources were consumed by the fight for Stalingrad. American and British support had even been sent to the Soviet Union through the Lend-Lease program. British-made tanks were already fighting alongside Soviet units by 1942, a few of them at Stalingrad. The bulk of the Allied support sent to the Eastern Front would begin arriving after the German defeat in the city. The support eventually totaled more than 400,000 trucks and 13,000 tanks that fueled the Red Armys drive west. At the same time, President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met in Casablanca, Morocco, from Jan. 14-24, 1943. Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin declined to attend, citing the ongoing battle of Stalingrad as demanding his presence in Moscow. The Casablanca Conference produced the Allies demand for unconditional surrender from the Axis powers. It also set the strategic framework for the remainder of the conflict, including the invasion of Sicily and the eventual cross-Channel assault on Normandy. Casablanca Conference, January 14-24, 1943. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill and their combined Chiefs of Staff at the Casablanca Conference. (Wikimedia Commons) The German surrender at Stalingrad and the Japanese evacuation of Guadalcanal both occurred in the first week of February 1943. Only two months earlier, German and Italian forces had been routed at the 2nd Battle of El Alamein in Egypt. Churchill later titled his account of this period The Hinge of Fate, marking the months that permanently shifted Allied fortunes across the globe. Captured German Lt. Gen. Alexander von Daniel, commander of the 376th Infantry Division, offered a blunt assessment of what the defeat at Stalingrad meant for his country. The operation to surround and liquidate the German 6th Army is a strategic masterpiece, he said in his postwar testimony. Making up for colossal losses in people, equipment and ammunition sustained by the German armed forces as a result of the perishing of the 6th Army will require huge effort and a lot of time. Germany never recovered from the disaster at Stalingrad. The Wehrmacht was forced to pull divisions from Western Europe and other theaters to replace its staggering losses, weakening its ability to resist future Allied operations. The loss of hundreds of thousands of Romanian and Italian troops weakened public support for the fascist regimes. The 300,000 Axis troops lost in Tunisia only months later compounded the damage. Following these devastating losses and the Invasion of Sicily, the Italian public was finished with the war. Mussolini was removed from power and the first Axis nation unconditionally surrendered to the Allies. Following the disastrous Battle of Kursk that summer, Hitler had lost all momentum on the Eastern Front. The Soviet Union and Western Allies were now advancing toward Berlin from the East, the South and the following year from the West. Map of Allied advances against Axis forces from 1943-1945. Stalingrad marked the defining turning point of the war. (Wikimedia Commons) The Deadliest Battle in Human History The Battle of Stalingrad consumed roughly 2 million military and civilian casualties. It stands as the largest, longest and deadliest urban battle ever fought. It remains the deadliest battle in all of human history. Soviet losses in the battle outnumber all American and British dead from the rest of WWII combined. While the Soviets lost a terrifying number of soldiers and civilians in defending the city, they inflicted irrecoverable losses on the Axis. The German defeat at Stalingrad, combined with other Allied victories during that time, marked the beginning of the end for Germany, Italy and Japan. Chuikov, the general who vowed to die defending the city, survived the war. He led his troops westward for two more years and personally accepted Berlins surrender on May 1, 1945. The Motherland Calls overlooking Mamayev Kurgan in the city of Volgograd. (Wikimedia Commons) He is buried on Mamayev Kurgan, the hilltop he fought to hold, where the 85-meter Motherland Calls statue now towers above the graves of 34,000 defenders. Zaitsev was reburied there in 2006. The city was later renamed Volgograd. However, the devastating battle that was fought there over eight decades ago remains a key moment in Russian history. Eighty-three years after the final German surrender on the Volga, Stalingrad remains the defining turning point of the Second World War. Its outcome shifted the war on the Eastern Front in favor of the Soviet Union. It reshaped the entire Allied war effort and set in motion the events that would bring the deadliest conflict in human history to an end. After years of diplomatic chill, the United Kingdom and China have begun cautiously rebuilding their relationship through high-level talks, commercial agreements, and travel reforms. In January 2026, Prime Minister Keir Starmer traveled to Beijing and Shanghai for the first UK prime ministerial visit to China in eight years. The government described the trip as a shift toward a consistent, pragmatic partnership focused on economic growth and stability rather than ideological confrontation. Nearly 60 British business and cultural organizations joined the delegation. This signals trade and investment, not just diplomacy, sat at the center of the visit. Visa-Free Travel Signals a Practical Thaw One of the most immediate and tangible outcomes was a change to travel rules. China agreed to allow British citizens visa-free entry for stays of up to 30 days for tourism and business. UK officials said the policy would reduce administrative burdens for short business trips and bring the UK in line with other advanced economies that already receive similar treatment. For companies that rely on quick site visits, compliance checks, and negotiations, eliminating the visa step lowers both time and cost barriers. The government framed the change as a step toward restoring routine people-to-people ties that had slowed significantly since the pandemic and earlier political tensions. Services Trade Becomes the Core Economic Strategy Beyond travel, the UK focused heavily on expanding services exports into China. The two governments launched a new partnership intended to support British firms in healthcare, finance, legal services, education, and professional services. Officials said the initiative responds to business complaints about opaque regulations and limited market access inside China. The UK also announced plans to conduct a feasibility study regarding a bilateral services agreement that could establish legally binding rules for British firms operating in China. Services are central to the UKs export profile. The government reported that British companies already sell about 13 billion in services to China annually. Officials further projected strong growth in Chinese imports of professional and digital services over the next decade, creating potential demand for UK expertise. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visits Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, July 11, 2024. U.S. Army photo by Elizabeth Fraser. Source: DVIDS Billions in Deals and Investment Announcements At the conclusion of the visit, the government said the trip secured 2.2 billion in export deals and approximately 2.3 billion in additional market access benefits over five years. China also agreed to cut tariffs on British whisky exports from 10% to 5%, a change the government estimated could add 250 million to the UK economy. Several Chinese firms announced UK investments. POP MART, producer of the popular Labubu toy, said it would establish London as a regional headquarters and open additional stores, creating more than 150 jobs. Chery Commercial Vehicles announced plans for a European headquarters in Liverpool. Battery manufacturer HiTHIUM committed to a 200 million investment expected to create around 300 jobs. The government emphasized that China is currently the UKs third-largest trading partner and that exports to China support roughly 370,000 British jobs. Old Sanctions Still Shape the Relationship The reset follows several years of diplomatic strain. In 2021, the UK imposed asset freezes and travel bans on Chinese officials over alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang. China responded by sanctioning British lawmakers and institutions. During Starmers visit, China removed travel bans on several British parliamentarians, signaling partial de-escalation. Even so, the UK government stressed that deeper trade would not come at the expense of national security. Balancing Engagement With Guardrails Parliament continues to press for clarity on long-term China strategy. The Foreign Affairs Committee criticized the government for declining to publish its internal China Audit, arguing that lawmakers lack visibility into the overall approach. Ministers describe the audit as an ongoing cross-government review intended to guide policy rather than a public report. That tension captures the broader moment. The UK wants access to Chinas vast market while avoiding dependence or strategic vulnerability. Trade is expanding, but caution remains built into every step. The January visit did not erase disagreements over security or human rights. It did, however, restore dialogue and reopen commercial channels that had stalled. Whether this pragmatic reset becomes durable cooperation or another short-lived thaw will depend on how well both sides manage the friction that never fully disappears. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) warned protesters in Minnesota against doxing federal immigration agents amid the Trump administrations crackdown in the state. In an interview on Fox Newss Sunday Briefing, the Pennsylvania Democrat defended agents wearing masks during the immigration operation, pointing to efforts to dox those people. Thats a serious concern, too. Absolutely, Fetterman said. They could target their families, and they are organizing these people to put their names out there, so dont ever, ever dox people and target their families, too. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Democrats have been highly critical of many Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers wearing masks while conducting operations. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) cited a mask ban as one of the three major reforms Democrats would like to see at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) amid a battle in Congress over a government funding package. In addition to banning federal agents from wearing masks in the field, Schumer urged the agency to address agents use of force and warrant protocol, require body cameras and identification, and end ICE roving patrols. The DHS, which oversees ICE, said masking protects their agents from doxing, noting agents and their families have been targeted. Additionally, the Q&A section on its website notes officers carry identification and will identify themselves when required for public safety or legal necessity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Trump administrations immigration operations in Minnesota have drawn outrage from Democrats and some Republicans in Congress over federal agents use of force. In January, federal officers shot and killed two U.S. citizens during operations in Minneapolis: Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Additionally, agents shot a Venezuelan migrant in the leg while he attempted to flee arrest last month. Fetterman has joined Democrats in their criticisms of the Minnesota operation. Last week, he echoed calls to oust DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and voted against a funding package that contained extended funds for ICE. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a post on the social platform X addressed directly to President Trump, the Pennsylvania Democrat accused Noem of betraying DHSs core mission and trashing your border security policy. DO NOT make the mistake President Biden made for not firing a grossly incompetent DHS Secretary, he wrote. Fetterman, in his criticisms of Noem, said the U.S. cant have a Mayorkas kind of situation again, referencing former President Bidens DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. In 2024, House Republicans passed articles of impeachment against Mayorkas, but the charges against him were later dropped by the Senate. For me, people are dying, and I dont think America wants people going after otherwise hard-working migrants in these communities right now, Fetterman said Sunday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. LANSING, MI Tens of thousands of Michigan parents are being encouraged to enroll their kids in Advanced Placement courses as part of state push to boost enrollment among high-schoolers likely to succeed in AP classrooms. According to the Michigan Department of Education, the state is one of only two states partnering with the College Board to use the AP Potential Tool, which identifies students likely to score a 3 or higher on AP exams based on their performance on Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Tests (PSAT) taken in spring 2025. On Monday, Feb. 2, the state announced letters were going out to parents of more than 80,500 Michigan students this week, notifying them of their potential. This effort ensures families receive clear, timely information about the opportunities available to their children, Beverly Walker-Griffea, director of MiLEAP, said in a statement. MDE is partnering with the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education and Advancement on the effort. It reflects a shared commitment with the Michigan Department of Education to expand access to rigorous learning opportunities, preparing more Michigan students for lifelong success, she said. The push comes with a slight rise in the number of students taking AP classes and testing well as a result, according to past reports. In 2025, the College Board reported that over 1.2 million U.S. public high school graduates took at least one AP exam the previous year with a roughly 5% uptick over a decade. MDE reported that the in-state participation had gone up by 12.3% over two years with more than double that rate among students of color and those who are economically disadvantaged. In that time, according to the state, the rate of students getting a score of 3, 4, or 5 on AP exams also increased by 31%. The state reported a record 65,898 Michigan public school students who took an AP exam for 2025 a 4.5% increase from 2024, continuing a multi-year trend. There were reportedly 63,053 students to take courses in 2024 and 56,885 in 2023. Additionally, the state has continued to see growth in minority student participation. The participation rate for African American students in Michigan increased 13.8%, compared to 6.1% nationally, and the number of Black or African American students who scored a 3, 4, or 5 on their exams increased by 34.8%, exceeding the national increase of 26.5%. Over the past decade, the percentage of Black students in grades 10, 11, and 12 who took AP exams in Michigan grew 73%, compared to 28% nationally. Hispanic student participation also increased by 3.2%, with the number of Hispanic students scoring 3 or higher on the AP exam rising 12.5%. The 10-year growth in the percentage of Hispanic/Latino students in grades 10, 11, and 12 who took AP exams in Michigan was 173%, compared to 77% nationally. A score of 3 or higher on an AP exam may qualify students to receive college credit. The College Board offers 40 AP courses in seven subject categories. Students who take AP classes are better positioned to succeed in college, State Superintendent Glenn Maleyko said in a statement. They can get a head start on higher education if they do well enough in AP courses to receive college credit while in high school, and they and their parents save money with reduced tuition costs. The College Board administers the PSAT 8/9, PSAT 10 and SAT assessments. The letters being sent to parents also encourage students to consider other challenging opportunities, such as dual enrollment, Early Middle College, career and technical education programs, or the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. ROSCOMMON, Mich. Michigans natural resources budget will feel the effects of last years catastrophic ice storm for years to come, costing the state millions of dollars annually. A top state official said the Michigan Department of Natural Resources must rebuild vast swaths of forest in the northern Lower Peninsula while contending with reduced revenue in its forestry budget. The two-day ice storm in late March last year damaged roughly 1 million acres of state forest, shearing off treetops and snapping entire pine plantations into toothpicks. That widespread forest damage is now expected to cost the state millions of dollars each year in lost timber revenues for decades. It was a major curveball, said Dan Lord, chief of the DNRs finance and operations division. The area of the state that it hit was primarily red pine, which is our biggest cash crop, he said. Related: Shifting sands: Where exactly are Michigans critical dunes these days? The ice storm wreckage was so extensive that it delayed completion of a sweeping statewide forestry plan designed to balance logging, wildlife habitat and recreation across about 4 million acres of Michigan state forestland. Officials now must recalibrate that long-term plan to account for the loss of valuable standing timber. DNR officials have since calculated the expected revenue losses from what would have been top-dollar timber sales scheduled decades into the future. Salvage logging contracts for storm-damaged trees bring in significantly less income. We have a revenue stream that will see $9 million less (annually) from those timber sales, probably for decades, until we regrow a million acres of the state forest system, Lord said during a keynote address Jan. 30 at a Nature Center Summit in Roscommon. In the 2026 fiscal year, the DNR estimates $49.5 million in revenue from forestry contracts, representing about 9% of the agencys overall budget, according to this graphic. Michigan DNR In the current fiscal year, the DNR estimates $49.5 million in revenue from forestry contracts, representing about 9% of the agencys overall budget. By comparison, the department plans to spend $73.8 million on forest resources, or nearly 14% of its total budget. Lord said the DNR received $16 million in supplemental funding from the state Legislature for ice storm recovery efforts, along with an additional $9 million in federal money. In the 2026 fiscal year, the Michigan DNR plans to spend $73.8 million on forest resources, or nearly 14% of its total budget. Michigan DNR To help lawmakers understand the scale of the damage, DNR officials brought some of them on airplane flyovers of the affected state forestland in April and May last year. We flew a lot of legislative members, not only from those districts, but from downstate, Lord said. We heard from downstate people, Whats the big deal? Its a snowstorm, clean it up and move on. But when you fly over a swath where things are just snapped and collapsed like that, I think it had an impact. The DNR plans to invest $14 million of the supplemental state funding in forest rebuilding efforts and spend the other $2 million on additional aerial support for the upcoming spring wildfire season. If you purchase a product through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. Ahead of his album release due later this year, Grammy-nominated artist Noah Kahan has announced an upcoming tour slated to visit U.S. and Canada stadiums throughout summer 2026. Folk/pop favorite Noah Kahan has unveiled a set of North American tour dates. Titled The Great Divide, the trek supports the stars forthcoming album of the same name expected April 2026 and is scheduled to open Thursday, June 11 at the Kia Center in Orlando, Florida. Alongside opener Gigi Perez, Kahan will also play Rogers Stadium in Toronto, the Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Fenway Park in Boston, Wrigley Field in Chicago, Target Field in Minneapolis, and more, making more than 20 stops in total before concluding Sunday, August 30 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. Related: If youre going to see Noah Kahan on tour this year, you need this L.L. Bean tote thats 20% off Tickets to the new 2026 outing officially go on sale Thursday, February 12 at 12 p.m. local time on Ticketmaster and noahkahan.com/pages/tour. Sign up here before 11:59 p.m. ET on Thursday, February 5 to join the Artist Presale going live at noon on February 10. The Great Divide Tour Thu, Jun 11 Kia Center; Orlando, FL Sun, Jun 14 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival; Manchester, TN Fri, Jun 26 Citizens Bank Park; Philadelphia, PA Sun, Jun 28 Rogers Stadium; Toronto, ON Wed, Jul 1 Great American Ball Park; Cincinnati, OH Fri, Jul 3 PNC Park; Pittsburgh, PA Fri, Jul 10 Fenway Park; Boston, MA Sat, Jul 11 Fenway Park; Boston, MA Tue, Jul 14 Wrigley Field; Chicago, IL Sat, Jul 18 Citi Field; Flushing, NY Wed, Jul 22 Nationals Park; Washington, DC Sat, Jul 25 Carter-Finley Stadium; Raleigh, NC Mon, Jul 27 Truist Park; Atlanta, GA Thu, Jul 30 Globe Life Field; Arlington, TX Sun, Aug 2 Busch Stadium; St. Louis, MO Wed, Aug 5 Target Field; Minneapolis, MN Sat, Aug 8 Coors Field; Denver, CO Sat, Aug 15 Rose Bowl Stadium; Pasadena, CA Mon, Aug 17 PETCO Park; San Diego, CA Wed, Aug 19 Chase Field; Phoenix, AZ Fri, Aug 21 Oracle Park; San Francisco, CA Tue, Aug 25 America First Field; Sandy, UT Fri, Aug 28 BC Place Stadium; Vancouver, BC Sun, Aug 30 T-Mobile Park; Seattle, WA By GRAHAM LEE BREWER, SAVANNAH PETERS and STEWART HUNTINGTON MINNEAPOLIS (AP) When U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement flooded Minneapolis, Shane Mantz dug his Choctaw Nation citizenship card out of a box on his dresser and slid it into his wallet. Some strangers mistake the pest-control company manager for Latino, he said, and he fears getting caught up in ICE raids. Like Mantz, many Native Americans are carrying tribal documents proving their U.S. citizenship in case they are stopped or questioned by federal immigration agents. This is why dozens of the 575 federally recognized Native nations are making it easier to get tribal IDs. Theyre waiving fees, lowering the age of eligibility ranging from 5 to 18 nationwide and printing the cards faster. A template of a tribal identification card is displayed on a computer Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr) AP Its the first time tribal IDs have been widely used as proof of U.S. citizenship and protection against federal law enforcement, said David Wilkins, an expert on Native politics and governance at the University of Richmond. I dont think theres anything historically comparable, Wilkins said. I find it terribly frustrating and disheartening. As Native Americans around the country rush to secure documents proving their right to live in the United States, many see a bitter irony. As the first people of this land, theres no reason why Native Americans should have their citizenship questioned, said Jaqueline De Leon, a senior staff attorney with the nonprofit Native American Rights Fund and member of Isleta Pueblo. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in an email that our agents are properly trained to determine alienage and removability. Under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, DHS law enforcement uses reasonable suspicion to make arrests. The Supreme Court recently vindicated us on this question, the email read. In September, the Supreme Court allowed ICE agents to use a persons apparent race and ethnicity as a factor in deciding whether to detain them. Native identity in a new age of fear Since the mid- to late 1800s, the U.S. government has kept detailed genealogical records to estimate Native Americans fraction of Indian blood and determine their eligibility for health care, housing, education and other services owed under federal legal responsibilities. Those records were also used to aid federal assimilation efforts and chip away at tribal sovereignty, communal lands and identity. Beginning in the late 1960s, many tribal nations began issuing their own forms of identification. In the last two decades, tribal photo ID cards have become commonplace and can be used to vote in tribal elections, to prove U.S. work eligibility and for domestic air travel. About 70% of Native Americans today live in urban areas, including tens of thousands in the Twin Cities, one of the largest urban Native populations in the country. There, in early January, a top ICE official announced the largest immigration operation ever. Masked, heavily armed agents traveling in convoys of unmarked SUVs became commonplace in some neighborhoods. By this week, more than 3,400 people had been arrested, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. At least 2,000 ICE officers and 1,000 Border Patrol officers were on the ground. Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Chairman Jamie Azure speaks about an effort for tribal citizens to get tribal IDs at a pop-up event in Minneapolis on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (Stewart Huntington/ICT via AP) AP Representatives from at least 10 tribes traveled hundreds of miles to Minneapolis the birthplace of the American Indian Movement to accept ID applications from members there. Among them were the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Ojibwe of Wisconsin, the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate of South Dakota and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa of North Dakota. Faron Houle, a citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, speaks about applying for a tribal identification card at a pop-up event in Minneapolis on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (Stewart Huntington/ICT via AP) AP Turtle Mountain citizen Faron Houle renewed his tribal ID card and got his young adult sons and his daughters first ones. You just get nervous, Houle said. I think (ICE agents are) more or less racial profiling people, including me. Events in downtown coffee shops, hotel ballrooms, and at the Minneapolis American Indian Center helped urban tribal citizens connect and share resources, said Christine Yellow Bird, who directs the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nations satellite office in Fargo, North Dakota. Yellow Bird made four trips to Minneapolis in recent weeks, putting nearly 2,000 miles on her 2017 Chevy Tahoe to help citizens in the Twin Cities who cant make the long journey to their reservation. In this photo provided by Phoenix Reeyona Gilmore, from left, Thadd Hall, Amanda Kremer and Christine Yellow Bird attend a pop-up tribal ID event hosted by the Mandan Hidatsa and Arikara Nation at the Minnesota Indian Womens Resource Center in Minneapolis on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (Phoenix Reeyona Gilmore via AP) AP Yellow Bird said she always keeps her tribal ID with her. Im proud of who I am, she said. I never thought I would have to carry it for my own safety. Some Native Americans say ICE is harassing them Last year, Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren said that several tribal citizens reported being stopped and detained by ICE officers in Arizona and New Mexico. He and other tribal leaders have advised citizens to carry tribal IDs with them at all times. Last November, Elaine Miles, a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon and an actress known for her roles in Northern Exposure and The Last of Us, said she was stopped by ICE officers in Washington state who told her that her tribal ID looked fake. The Oglala Sioux Tribe this week banned ICE from its reservation in southwestern South Dakota and northwestern Nebraska, one of the largest in the country. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North and South Dakota said a member was detained in Minnesota last weekend. And Peter Yazzie, who is Navajo, said he was arrested and held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Phoenix for several hours last week. Yazzie, a construction worker from nearby Chinle, Arizona, said he was sitting in his car at a gas station preparing for a day of work when he saw ICE officers arrest some Latino men. The officers soon turned their attention to Yazzie, pushed him to the ground, and searched his vehicle, he said. He said he told them where to find his drivers license, birth certificate, and a federal Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood. Yazzie said the car he was in is registered to his mother. Officers said the names didnt match, he said, and he was arrested, taken to a nearby detention center and held for about four hours. Its an ugly feeling. It makes you feel less human. To know that people see your features and think so little of you, he said. DHS did not respond to questions about the arrest. Mantz, the Choctaw Nation citizen, said he runs pest-control operations in Minneapolis neighborhoods where ICE agents are active and he wont leave home without his tribal identification documents. Securing them for his children is now a priority. It gives me some peace of mind. But at the same time, why do we have to carry these documents? Mantz said. Who are you to ask us to prove who we are? ___ Brewer reported from Oklahoma City and Peters from Edgewood, New Mexico. La Republique Democratique du Congo fait face a une convergence alarmante de crises securitaires, humanitaires et sanitaires. Le week-end dernier, laeroport strategique de Kisangani, capitale de la province de la Tshopo, a ete la cible dune attaque sophistiquee par drones, tandis que lest du pays pleure des centaines de victimes dans leffondrement dune mine et quune epidemie de rougeole gagne du terrain. Une attaque aux drones "non conventionnels" dejouee Entre samedi et dimanche, un groupe de drones kamikazes a tente de frapper laeroport de Kisangani, situe a 17 kilometres du centre-ville. Selon un communique du gouvernement provincial transmis par le site Actualite, les engins etaient "porteurs de munitions non conventionnelles composees de plusieurs sous-munitions", une methode qualifiee de "violation flagrante de la loi de la guerre". Ladministration regionale affirme que "huit drones ennemis ont ete neutralises avant datteindre leur cible", evitant ainsi victimes et degats materiels. Sans ambages, elle rejette la responsabilite de cette attaque sur le Rwanda voisin. Cette escalade intervient dans un contexte de tensions extremes. La province de la Tshopo, limitrophe du Nord-Kivu, est dans le collimateur du groupe rebelle M23. Ce dernier avait ouvertement annonce son intention de lancer une offensive pour semparer de Kisangani, une ville de 1,5 million dhabitants. Bien que ses positions avancees se situent encore a 400 km au sud-est, cette attaque de drones marque une dangereuse evolution tactique. Kinshasa accuse regulierement Kigali de soutenir militairement le M23, ce que le Rwanda dement. Catastrophe humanitaire dans une mine du M23 A lautre bout du pays, dans lest minier, une tragedie dune ampleur considerable a frappe mercredi. Un glissement de terrain de grande echelle a enseveli une mine de coltan illegale, pres de Rubaya, en territoire controle par le M23. Le bilan, encore provisoire, est lourd. Les autorites congolaises ont confirme la mort dau moins 200 personnes. Un representant des rebelles a, quant a lui, fait etat de 227 morts. Mais les organisations de la societe civile locale, CFDD-RDC et Mwanamke Anaweza, parlent dun chiffre bien plus catastrophique : 400 victimes selon leur communique conjoint. Cette catastrophe met en lumiere les conditions dexploitation inhumaines et le chaos qui regnent dans les zones minieres sous controle des groupes armes. Une epidemie de rougeole au developpement inquietant Dans le centre du pays, une autre menace, silencieuse celle-ci, progresse. Une epidemie de rougeole sevit depuis decembre, ayant deja cause au moins 5 deces pour 351 cas enregistres, selon des donnees du ministere de la Sante relayees par Radio Okapi. La dynamique apparait plus rapide et plus alarmante que lors de la precedente flambee en 2023, qui avait totalise 479 infections pour 5 morts. Face a cette acceleration, le gouvernement promet daugmenter ses achats de vaccins et de mettre en place des examens preventifs, notamment pour les nourrissons de moins de 23 mois. Un pays sous pression En quelques jours, la RDC voit ainsi se superposer les fronts : une escalade militaire inquietante avec des methodes de guerre nouvelles, une catastrophe humanitaire majeure dans une zone en conflit, et une urgence sanitaire qui risque de setendre. Ces evenements soulignent la vulnerabilite extreme dun pays aux richesses immenses, mais mine par linstabilite et les conflits. DRC: Drone Attack on Kisangani, Mining Tragedy, and Epidemic A Country Under Fire from Multiple Crises The Democratic Republic of Congo is facing an alarming convergence of security, humanitarian, and health crises. Last weekend, the strategic airport of Kisangani, capital of Tshopo province, was targeted by a sophisticated drone attack, while the east of the country mourns hundreds of victims in a mine collapse and a measles epidemic gains ground. A "Non-Conventional" Drone Attack Thwarted Between Saturday and Sunday, a group of kamikaze drones attempted to strike Kisangani airport, located 17 kilometers from the city center. According to a statement from the provincial government relayed by the site Actualite, the devices were "carrying non-conventional munitions composed of multiple sub-munitions," a method described as a "flagrant violation of the laws of war." The regional administration claims that "eight enemy drones were neutralized before reaching their target," thus avoiding casualties and material damage. It bluntly blames neighboring Rwanda for this attack. This escalation occurs in a context of extreme tension. Tshopo province, bordering North Kivu, is in the crosshairs of the M23 rebel group. The latter had openly announced its intention to launch an offensive to seize Kisangani, a city of 1.5 million inhabitants. Although its advanced positions are still 400 km to the southeast, this drone attack marks a dangerous tactical evolution. Kinshasa regularly accuses Kigali of militarily supporting M23, which Rwanda denies. Humanitarian Catastrophe in an M23-Controlled Mine On the other side of the country, in the mining east, a tragedy of considerable magnitude struck on Wednesday. A large-scale landslide buried an illegal coltan mine near Rubaya, in territory controlled by M23. The provisional death toll is heavy. Congolese authorities have confirmed at least 200 deaths. A rebel representative reported 227 deaths. But local civil society organizations, CFDD-RDC and Mwanamke Anaweza, cite a much more catastrophic figure: 400 victims according to their joint statement. This disaster highlights the inhumane working conditions and chaos reigning in mining areas under the control of armed groups. A Measles Epidemic with Worrying Spread In the center of the country, another, silent threat is advancing. A measles epidemic has been raging since December, having already caused at least 5 deaths out of 351 recorded cases, according to data from the Ministry of Health relayed by Radio Okapi. The dynamic appears faster and more alarming than during the previous outbreak in 2023, which totaled 479 infections for 5 deaths. Faced with this acceleration, the government promises to increase its vaccine purchases and implement preventive screenings, especially for infants under 23 months. A Country Under Pressure Within a few days, the DRC thus sees overlapping fronts: a worrying military escalation with new warfare methods, a major humanitarian catastrophe in a conflict zone, and a health emergency at risk of expanding. These events underscore the extreme vulnerability of a country with immense wealth, yet undermined by instability and conflict. RDC, Republique Democratique du Congo, Kisangani, attaque drones, aeroport Kisangani, M23, Rwanda, conflit RDC, mine Rubaya, glissement de terrain, coltan, catastrophe miniere, epidemie rougeole, Tshopo, Nord-Kivu, actualite Afrique, crise humanitaire Didier Cebas K. DETROIT, MI Former state Sen. Adam Hollier, D-Detroit, is leaving the race for Michigan Secretary of State. He will pursue reelection to the state Senate instead, per a Tuesday, Feb. 3 press release. This race was never about me, it was about ensuring strong Black leadership at every level in our state, said Hollier. That higher purpose led him to step away from one of the states highest offices, per the release. Im seeking re-election to the Michigan State Senate where I know I can best serve, Hollier said. Holliers departure leaves Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum and former Michigan Lottery Commissioner Suzanna Shkreli vying for the role. Deputy Secretary of State Aghogho Edevbie also left the race in January. Sitting Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson cannot run for the role again due to term limits. She leads fundraising in the race for governor. Hollier was elected to represent Michigan State Senate District 2 in 2018. In 2023, the Detroit native was appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to serve as Director of the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency. Service is in my bones, from my time as a firefighter to my service as a Captain and a paratrooper in the United States Army, he said. Prior to redistricting, Senate District 2 included part of Detroit, the Grosse Pointes, Hamtramck, Harper Woods and Highland Park. Currently, Senate District 3 includes Hamtramck, Highland Park and the east side of Detroit. William Stevenson, the first husband of former First Lady Jill Biden has been charged with murder. According to New Castle County Police, Stevenson, 77, was indicted in Delaware and is charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of his current wife, Linda Stevenson. After the grand jurys indictment was turned over to police, William was taken into custody without incident at his home. William was arraigned at Justice of the Peace Court 2 and is being held on $500,000 cash bail. Linda Stevenson, 64, was found unresponsive at a residence in the Wilmington area following a domestic dispute on Dec. 28. Police were called to the home and life-saving measures were taken, but were unsuccessful. Police were called to the home by William who was cooperative with police at the scene. After receiving the grand jurys indictment, police took Stevenson into custody without incident at his home. It is unclear whether he has retained an attorney. William Stevenson was married to Jill Biden from 1970 to 1975. Jill married then-Delaware Sen. Joe Biden in 1977. A federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration from ending legal status for 350,000 Haitians who are living and working in the United States under a humanitarian program called Temporary Protected Status. A scathing 83-page ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Ana Reyes prevented U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem from terminating TPS, which was set to end on Feb. 3. The court ruling brings temporary relief for Haitians, including hundreds who have settled in a quiet southern Michigan town in recent years, but their futures remain in limbo. Its a little victory. It may be celebrated, but the fight must continue, said Samuel Bernard, a Haitian who has lived in Coldwater, an agricultural community north of the Indiana border, for four years. Bernard, alongside his wife and two children, was forced to leave his home in Haiti due to escalating gang violence. He previously worked in the Haitian Senate and volunteered as an anti-corruption leader, speaking out publicly on TV. He fears hell be killed if he must go back to Haiti. We had to leave everything because it was the only way to save our life and offer a better future to our children, he said. Related: In small town Michigan, Haitians who escaped gang violence face uncertain future In the court ruling, Reyes denied the governments motion to dismiss a lawsuit from five Haitians who challenged the end of TPS. With the stay, the termination of TPS is null, void, and of no legal effect, meaning Haitians will remain protected from deportation. But the federal government will likely challenge the decision. Supreme Court, here we come, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. Samuel Bernard fled growing gang violence in Haiti, moving to Coldwater, Mich. with his wife and two children in July 2021. He currently has Temporary Protected Status, a program that has a February 2026 end date. (Photo by Rose White | MLive) Rose White | MLive A TPS tug-of-war The Trump administration moved to revoke TPS for Haiti, among other nations, as a part of its broader effort to ramp up deportations. It argues that TPS, which allows people to live and work in the U.S. if their home countries are unsafe, was never meant to be a permanent de facto amnesty program. Temporary means temporary and the final word will not be from an activist judge legislating from the bench, McLaughlin said. But Reyes ruled that Noem does not have the authority to end TPS and the decision was motivated, at least in part, by racial animus. Noem previously described Haitians among those from other countries with TPS as leeches, entitlement junkies, and foreign invaders, stating WE DONT WANT THEM. NOT ONE. But the government ignored the fact that Haitian TPS holders already live here, and legally so, according to Reyes decision. Secretary Noem complains of strains unlawful immigrants place on our immigration-enforcement system. Her answer? Turn 352,959 lawful immigrants into unlawful immigrants overnight, the court ruling said. Haiti has been eligible for TPS since a devastating earthquake struck in 2010. Since then, its been extended repeatedly because of ongoing gang violence, political instability and extreme poverty. More than a million Haitians have been displaced by growing gang territory, which the armed gangs now control much of the nations capital. Last year, the U.S. Department of State also issued a Level 4: Do Not Travel warning, the most serious advisory, for Haiti. Despite that, Noem concluded there are no extraordinary and temporary conditions that prevent Haitians from returning to safety. Reyes questioned this analysis, detailing a record of a country in chaos and crisis and saying that the federal government did not identify a single present condition that indicates the situation has improved. Noem, rather, relied on speculation about how Haiti might improve in the future, according to the ruling. Do not travel to Haiti for any reason does not exactly scream, as Secretary Noem concluded, suitable for return, the judge wrote. Sheldy Focus Market, a Haitian general store, in Coldwater, Mich. (Chloe Trofatter | MLive.com) Chloe Trofatter | MLive.com TPS workers lose jobs Noem also failed to consider the impact Haitian TPS holders have on our economy, according to Reyes. And by eliminating TPS, it turns employed lawful immigrants who contribute billions in taxes into the legally unemployable. Its estimated that Haitians with TPS contribute $5.9 billion to the U.S economy each year, according to an analysis from FWD.us, an immigration advocacy group. They also pay nearly $1.6 billion in federal, state and local taxes. Eliminating TPS for more than a million immigrants would also deal a direct blow to the labor force, the group argues, impacting hospitality, health care and manufacturing sectors. Coldwater started drawing Haitian immigrants after Clemens Food Group opened a large pork processing plant in 2018. The meatpacking plant leaned on Haitian workers, in part, as it expanded processing to 16,000 hogs a day. A former Clemens general manager, Joe Hughes, reportedly warned last year that the end of TPS would have a tremendous impact on the plant. Since then, some Haitian workers say theyve lost their jobs. Clemens Food Group on Thursday, September 18, 2025 in Coldwater, Mich. Chloe Trofatter | MLive.com Bernard recently resigned from Coldwater Community Schools, where he worked as a liaison to Haitian parents. In the meantime, he has applied for asylum, which would allow him to keep working, but that application is still pending. To live in this kind of uncertainty, we dont know what will happen, Bernard said. Its unclear exactly how many Haitians live in Coldwater, but census data estimates there are roughly 5,000 in Michigan, a 40% increase from five years ago. And community leaders estimate there are hundreds of Haitians, many with TPS, who are living and working there. In recent years, two Haitian grocery stores have opened, selling imported goods to the growing population in Coldwater. The Coldwater Community Center and three local churches hosted a Sunday, Feb. 1 event to hear how local Haitians have been impacted by the uncertainty swirling around temporary protected status. People are staying home, not going to church, not shopping in stores. And many people have lost income, said Kathie Bappert, executive director of the Coldwater Community Center. Theyre trying to help each other with what limited resources they have. Whats next? TPS will remain, for now. The federal government has fought to end protected status for other countries, including Afghanistan, Honduras, Nicaragua and South Sudan. Although federal judges have been ruling against these terminations, the cases are still bouncing around the courts. Most recently, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an order that allowed the government to move forward with cutting TPS for Venezuelans, despite an escalating crisis there, while the litigation continues in the lower courts. Thats why many Haitians remain worried about their status, trying to figure out other pathways to remain in the country. Jean Anegelo Lormil, who moved to Coldwater with his wife and four children in 2021, is trying to get asylum. Lormil and his wife, both educators who ran a kindergarten school, left behind the lives they built at home to escape the violence in Haiti. A former Haitian state employee, Lormil is now a Christian minister who hopes Haiti will improve one day. We still have a vision of a better life in our country, he said, with Bernard translating. Unfortunately, the situation is very unsafe in our country. The family of a man accused of killing his fiancee and her two teen sons has broken their silence after the tragic triple fatal shooting that shocked the Grand Rapids community. The familys horror over the allegations is one of five top MLive stories to kick off your day Tuesday, Feb. 3. We do not recognize the person described in these reports, suspects family says Charles Lee Broomfield, 44, faces three counts of first-degree premeditated murder for the fatal shooting of Jacqueline Neill, 40, and sons, Michael Kilpatrick, 13, and Cameron Kilpatrick, 15, on Tuesday, Jan. 27. Broomfield, who did not have any prior criminal convictions, allegedly shot and killed the family then called 911 to report that armed intruders had broken in. He eventually confessed to all of the killings, police said. Broomfields family members said in a statement that they had not had contact with him in years, calling the killings a profound tragedy. To learn of these events from afar has been heartbreaking, the family wrote in the statement. We do not recognize the person described in these reports as the person we once knew, and we stand with the community in mourning the lives that were taken. Read MLive reporter John Agars latest story on the triple fatal shooting here. Here are four other must-read stories today. Forest acres account for the vast majority of the agricultural land in Michigan that's owned by foreign entities. The latest U.S. Department of Agriculture report shows that foreign ownership of agricultural land ticked up in a year. (Cory Morse | MLive.com) Cory Morse | MLive.com Cory Morse | MLive.com In a year, foreign investors bought another 71,000 acres of Michigan agricultural land An investment fund from Japan acquired nearly 42,000 acres in Marquette County, along with significant tracts in Gogebic and Ontonagon Counties, adding to Michigans foreign-owned land. Foreign buyers have purchased approximately 71,000 acres of Michigan farmland in a single year, positioning the state among the top for foreign agricultural land ownership, with 8.8% of agricultural land held by foreign entities. Despite legislative efforts to limit foreign ownership, foreign entities now own 1,893,774 acres in Michigan -- or nearly 3,000 square miles -- of predominantly forestland, with major holdings by companies like Verdant Timber and Sage Timber linked to Singapores wealth fund. The largest foreign landholders include entities from Singapore, the Netherlands and Canada, primarily focused on timber investment and renewable energy projects, such as wind farms. Read MLive investigative reporter Rose Whites full story here. Ice covers the Muskegon South Breakwater Light Beacon Station at Pere Marquette Park in Muskegon, Mich. on Friday, January 30, 2026. Frigid arctic air has gripped Michigan for the last two weeks, real-feel temperatures were below zero on Friday. Joel Bissell | MLive.com See stunning photos of ice climbing Michigan lighthouse Massive ice structures can be seen climbing lighthouses along Lake Michigan, as frigid temperatures continue to descend upon Michigan. Real-feel temperatures were below zero last week, with MLive photographer Joel Bissell documenting the conditions at the Lakeshore after a rare sunny day. Bissell navigated the icy 1,500-foot pier to capture footage of the Muskegon South Breakwater Light Beacon Station, which had ice buildup making it impassable. Ice accumulation was reported to reach at least 40 feet on the lighthouse, while the North Pier light was entirely encased in ice. Bird species such as greater scaups and long-tailed ducks were seen swimming through gaps in the ice. NOAA reported an increase in Lake Michigan ice coverage from 32% to 36.5% over the weekend. See Bissells stunning photos of the ice in his story, linked here. Woody the woodchuck stand in the doorway of her home, in a light snow at the Howell Nature Center. (Santino Mattioli | MLive) Michigans official groundhog just made her prediction and winter isnt going anywhere The official verdict is in -- Michigan is in for six more weeks of winter, predicts the states official groundhog, Woody. Woody, the groundhog (also known as a woodchuck) was given the choice Monday morning to stay inside her shelter or take in the crisp February air to determine the fate of Michigans weather. Woody took a moment, snow falling in the frigid air, then turned back inside. Woody could be correct, as MLive Chief Meteorologist Mark Torregrossa has seen no end in sight for the frigid air thats gripped Michigan. Watch MLive videographer Santino Mattiolis adorable photos and video of Woodys official forecast here. Scenes inside at the Michigan Theatre, 124 N. Mechanic Street in Jackson, on Friday, May 31, 2024. J. Scott Park | jpark4@mlive.com Longtime Michigan Theatre director asked to step aside less than 3 months before retirement The longtime executive director of the Michigan Theatre was asked to step down by the theaters board, just three months before his planned retirement. Steve Tucker, who had announced to the board Oct. 22 that he intended to retire March 14, stepped down from his position last month after being asked to do so by the board. The theaters board found it necessary to end Tuckers directorship Jan. 22, but did not elaborate on why. Tucker led the theater for approximately 14 years, overseeing a $6.2 million restoration project that revitalized the historic venue after significant disrepair. The Michigan Theatre, built in 1930 and recognized for its Spanish Renaissance architecture, is a key community landmark that screens films, hosts live performances, and serves as a venue for various events. Read Chloe Miller and Danielle Salisburys story on the resignation here. MARQUETTE, MI A 35-year-old man has been accused of sexually exploiting a minor in Michigans Upper Peninsula. Court records show Jeremy Brugman was arraigned Friday, Jan. 30, in Marquette County 96th District Court on seven felony charges, including two counts of child abusive commercial activity, three counts of using a computer to commit a crime, distributing obscene matter to children and aggravated indecent exposure. WBUP/WJMN reported that the Forsyth Township Police Department began investigating Brugman, of Gwinn, on Jan. 23 after receiving a report of the alleged sexual exploitation of a minor. Brugman is next scheduled to appear in court Feb. 12 for a probable cause conference, followed by a Feb. 18 preliminary exam. ANN ARBOR, MI Ann Arbor officials are taking a stand against the Trump administrations immigration crackdown, saying they want to mitigate erratic lawless tactics. City Council voted unanimously to approve a resolution Monday night, Feb. 2, reaffirming and expanding the citys longstanding policy to not cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Federal civil immigration enforcement is a fraud, Mayor Christopher Taylor said. We have masked gangs in the streets, indiscriminate beatings, indiscriminate pepper spray, unlawful arrest and murder, all of which has been denied and erased in a blizzard of shameless lies. ICE is corrupt and irredeemable and should be abolished, Taylor said, drawing applause from community members. The new resolution reaffirms Ann Arbors 2017 prohibition on using city resources, funds or personnel to assist in civil immigration enforcement. It stops short of declaring city facilities ICE-free zones, as city officials dont think they can legally do so, but it prohibits immigration agents from entering or using areas marked as private or closed to the public in city facilities for civil immigration enforcement purposes absent a judicial warrant. It also prohibits the use of any city-owned parking lot or vacant lot for civil immigration enforcement and directs city staff to put up signs stating so. The city also plans to design similar signs for others, including businesses, medical providers, nonprofit organizations and places of worship, to print and display if they wish. Council also is calling on the city administrator, to the extent permitted by law, to develop a policy prohibiting city contractors from using city resources or information obtained from the city to assist with civil immigration enforcement. The resolution also states the city opposes use of masks or face coverings by federal immigration agents except when required for public health or safety reasons. It calls for creating a city ordinance, as soon as practical, prohibiting law enforcement officers in the city from using face coverings, with limited exceptions. Students gather to protest against ICE on the University of Michigan Diag in Ann Arbor on Friday, Jan. 30 2026. Jacob Hamilton | MLive.com The proposed ordinance also would require law enforcement officers in the city to visibly display identification that includes their agency and either a name or badge number, or both, when performing enforcement duties. The resolution was sponsored by Council Members Cynthia Harrison, Ayesha Ghazi Edwin and Erica Briggs, as well as Taylor and Mayor Pro Tem Travis Radina. Harrison, D-1st Ward, said she came to the issue with a heavy heart. As a Black mother who raised Black young men, the fear of law enforcement is not new or abstract to her. It is steeped in history, she said. That fear runs from slave catchers and the Black Codes through Jim Crow and through generations of discriminatory enforcement to this present day. She described a weathering of souls happening among the immigrant community today. Its deeply alarming as people are being detained based on skin color, ethnicity, name or accent, and taken off the streets sometimes in front of their children and disappearing into detention centers where families struggle to locate them, where people are falling ill and access to legal counsel is delayed or denied, she said. We do not want Ann Arbor to wait until harm becomes normalized or until fear becomes routine, Harrison said. Protesters march down William Street during a protest against ICE in Ann Arbor on Friday, Jan. 30 2026. Jacob Hamilton | MLive.com Ghazi Edwin, D-3rd Ward, said as a first-generation immigrant who came to Ann Arbor as a child, and the granddaughter of refugees, the issue is deeply personal. After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, her mother was traveling home from a conference when her plane was grounded, she said. She was detained and interrogated by the FBI for hours and separated from my 12-year-old brother who was confused and scared, she said. She is a professor and a physician, but in that moment none of that mattered. Her name, her accent and where she was from were enough to make her suspicious. When those with power stay silent, harm becomes normalized, Ghazi Edwin said. And what we are witnessing today is only possible because of what we failed to confront in our past, she said. No level of government should be complicit in signaling that the inhumane treatment of anyone is acceptable, she said. That includes rejecting systems like ICE that profit off human suffering and family separation and must be abolished, she said. Ann Arbor is built by immigrants, including mixed-status families who are essential to our social, cultural and economic life, she said. We have one of the highest concentrations of foreign-born residents in Michigan. Our community reflects the world. Students gather to protest against ICE on the University of Michigan Diag in Ann Arbor on Friday, Jan. 30 2026. Jacob Hamilton | MLive.com Immigrant rights advocates argued the council resolution could be stronger and the city could do more, like banning masks now and declaring city facilities ICE-free zones now rather than waiting until the city feels on safer legal ground. What is legal is not always moral and what is moral is not always legal, activist Mary Anne Perrone of the Movement for Immigrant Rights Action told council. We understand that the federal assault on constitutional rights has limited the abilities of local governments to protect communities, but the power of the people is greater than the people in power, said activist Richard Stahler-Sholk. Quoting a Los Angeles County official who defended a mask ban there, he said, We cannot stand down now and allow this type of policing to be acceptable in America. So, if this means a fight in the courts with the federal government, I think it is a fight worth having. Council members said they didnt want to make false promises to immigrants that city facilities would be ICE-free zones. That would be in conflict with federal law and could present a mirage of safety that could collapse when people most need it, said Council Member Jen Eyer, D-4th Ward. If ICE conducts enforcement activity in a public area, a city property, who is expected to intervene and how? she asked. What outcome is the city expected to be responsible for delivering in that moment? The "ICE out for Good" rally outside Ann Arbor's city hall Jan. 10, 2026. Demonstrators stood up for Renee Nicole Good and called for the arrest and prosecution of ICE agents who have killed people and the removal of ICE from communities. (Ryan Stanton | MLive.com) Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News Radina, D-3rd Ward, thanked community members who were in attendance Monday night to confront the lawlessness and abuses of power by the federal government. ICE and CBP have engaged in unconstitutional and immoral acts nationwide, from warrantless detainments and arrests and deliberate intimidation and racial profiling to murdering people in broad daylight, he said. These are not isolated incidents. They are systemic failures, he said, making it known he supports abolishing ICE and impeaching Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. And I thank Congresswoman Dingell for signing onto articles of impeachment against her, for voting against DHS funding and for taking seriously her responsibility to hold this administration accountable, he said. Public safety is built on trust, not fear, Radina said, and the city is committed to the safety, dignity and rights of all residents. Councils action affirms ICE is not welcome here, he said. Students gather to protest against ICE on the University of Michigan Diag in Ann Arbor on Friday, Jan. 30 2026. Jacob Hamilton | MLive.com To those asking us to go further, I commit to continuing to work with MIRA and others in areas where we have the power to strengthen policies, he said. But I also believe it is incredibly important that local officials speak honestly and transparently about how and where we can truly protect our people, and that residents can trust us when we tell them they are safe. When ICE and CBP show up in communities, no one is safe, Radina said, but they dont usually come to city halls. They terrorize our people at bus stops, stores and restaurants, he said They profile and stop people on the street, and on their way into schools and churches. Now they are arguing they can forcibly enter our homes without valid warrants. And we have seen in Minneapolis, they may even kill us. Briggs, D-5th Ward, said the Trump administration has armed with military-scale weaponry an unaccountable and untrained police force. When civil and human rights abuses occur, when U.S. citizens are murdered in public spaces on video, we are told not to believe our eyes, she said. Instead, we are told that the people are domestic terrorists. When law-abiding neighbors are disappeared from our communities, we are lied to and told they are gang members. Defending democracy, neighbors and rights is not terrorism its patriotism, Briggs said. 5 takeaways: Michigan faces massive backlog of deportation cases Want more Ann Arbor-area news? Bookmark the local Ann Arbor news page. ANN ARBOR, MI Ann Arbor Public Schools chief administrator told families in a weekend message that the district supports students First Amendment rights ahead of expected anti-ICE protests this week. But included with the weekly newsletter issued late Friday, Jan. 30, AAPS Superintendent Jazz Parks message also emphasized keeping students safe in the school environment. It has come to our attention that some of our AAPS students are planning demonstrations in coordination with nationwide protests, Parks wrote. Earlier that day, schools and businesses across the country were impacted by demonstrations guided by the strike slogan, No work, no school, no shopping against federal immigration enforcement. As of Monday, at least one protest had been shared on social media at an Ann Arbor high school slated for school hours later this week. The district did not directly comment on where and when demonstrations were planned, and as similar protests emerge at schools across Washtenaw County, other districts have kept off-campus entities away from school grounds amid the student-run events. When students plan an activity to exercise their right to free speech, these expressions must be conducted in a way that doesnt cause a disruption or interfere with the orderly conduct of learning or school activities, Parks said. We ask parents to please discuss with your child/children this topic of student protest and activism prior to any event, so that students are well prepared in their thinking. Protests against activity from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as other federal border officials, erupted across the state and country in January, particularly in Minnesota, where mother Renee Good and intensive-care nurse Alex Pretti were shot and killed by federal agents in separate incidents. Then, last week, word quickly spread about four detentions of local residents in Ypsilanti Jan. 27, including three who were apprehended close by two schools, spurring widespread concern about ICE operations across the area. On Wednesday, Jan. 28, Parks called the incident deeply troubling in an earlier message to AAPS families, reiterating the districts stance on requiring a signed judicial warrant to allow federal agents into schools. In her latest message, the AAPS superintendent said students who planned to participate in a walk-out protest this week were required to remain respectful and to follow staff directions and adhere to student safety guidelines, including remaining on campus. Parks said the district doesnt support students leaving campus during the school day for safety reasons. Parents were asked to make arrangements in advance if they wished for their students to leave school premises during a protest. Classroom instruction was expected to continue as scheduled for students who opt not to participate. Parks pointed residents to protest policies on the districts website, which can be viewed here. Parents of elementary school students are required to come to school on a national walk-out day to check their students out, while preschool and K-8 campuses would independently share plans for any national protest event. Middle- and high-school students could participate in demonstrations, and coordination with administrators was encouraged for student organizers. CHELSEA, MI Progressive U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Abdul El-Sayed shared his stances on many hot topics during a campaign stop that brought him to Chelsea, a small town west of Ann Arbor. About 100 people packed an events space at the historic Chelsea Depot for a town hall campaign stop in El-Sayeds bid for the Democratic nomination for an open seat to represent Michigan in the U.S. Senate. The progressive Democrat and physician is vying for the Democratic nomination along with U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow. Republican candidate and former congressman Mike Rogers is also campaigning for the seat. The seat is currently occupied by Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, who is retiring. Who here believes we got to get money out of politics? El-Sayed started his speech. Who believes you need to get more money back in your pocket? Who believes in Medicare for all? he continued. He took aim at billionaires and corporate interests, called for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be abolished and decried Israels war in Gaza as genocide. He also tried to set himself apart from his Democratic primary opponents as an unapologetic candidate who does not take campaign contributions from corporations or Political Action Committees (PACs). He spoke about how he was inspired to run for the U.S. Senate seat after President Donald Trump froze federal funds. Im sitting there in my office looking at all the line items that have been frozen, he said. WIC, food on the table for moms and babies. Federally qualified health centers, the last line of healthcare for people who dont have it. Vaccines, all frozen. Where is the fight for the publics health now? he said he asked himself after finding out Peters was retiring. El-Sayed is a former public health official who ran for governor in 2018, losing in the Democratic primary to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. He previously worked as director of the Wayne County Department of Health, Human and Veterans Services. Before that, he was the public health director of Detroit. Extending Medicare coverage to all and erasing medical debt is a major aspect of his political campaign. He wrote a 2021 book on the subject, "Medicare for All: A Citizens Guide," with co-author Micah Johnson. In the richest, most powerful country in the world, guess what you shouldnt be able to do? Erase medical debt, because it shouldnt exist, he said. The way to make sure medical debt doesnt exist is to wipe it clean and pass Medicare for all, he said. A supporter in the audience brought up recent claims that El-Sayed does not really support Medicare for all and really backs having a public option instead. Is it what it gives you or what it takes away? he responded. Because if Medicare for all starts with the idea that you cant have private health insurance, thats actually not what the name is about, he said. Its that you do have public healthcare, he said. There are iterations of this bill that have existed for a very long time, some that ban private health insurance and others that allow it, he said. The iteration thats actually in the current bill actually allows supplemental health insurance. So, its not true that it bans anything. A lot of opponents of Medicare for all, who want to muddy the water, want to define Medicare for all by what it doesnt do, and I just think thats a really silly way to make public policy, he said. A crowd gathered at the historic Chelsea Depot fora town hall with U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, D-Ann Arbor, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. Jen Eberbach/MLive He is also a proponent of keeping money out of politics, he said. When I ran for governor back in 2018, I understood that the fundamental, corrupting feature of our politics was the role of corporations and their spending, he said, taking particular aim at DTE and Blue Cross. Investing in scaling small businesses instead of corporate incentives, taxing billionaires and making it easier for workers to form and join unions are ways to put money back into peoples pockets, he argued. Chelsea City Council member Tony Iannelli said he organized the town hall because he decided to give El-Sayed his endorsement and wanted to get his message out to voters in Chelsea. I think his stance on multiple issues align most closely with mine, particularly his stance on Medicare for all, Iannelli said. Also, his stance on abolishing ICE, compared to the other (Democratic) candidates who feel it should be reformed instead. Taxing billionaires is important, and the fact that hes a people powered campaign with no corporate donations, he said. Kelsey Cohen, a Sylvan Township resident who supports El-Sayed, said she is feeling very disenfranchised by the Democratic Party right now. I want more people in office that are willing to stand up and fight and have hard conversations, and more importantly who arent bought by corporations, Cohen said. Want more Ann Arbor-area news? Bookmark the local Ann Arbor news page. CHELSEA, MI - Police are looking to speak with a woman who donated a human skull to a Chelsea thrift store last week. Chelsea police were called shortly before 2 p.m. Jan. 26 to Goodwill Donation Center, 1167 S. Main St., for a report of a suspicious item that had been donated, police said in a release. The caller said they had discovered what appeared to be a human skull wrapped in a shirt. Police asked for help identifying the woman in a security footage photo shared to social media. One of the items appears to have been accidentally included in the donations, officials wrote. Chelsea PD would like to speak with her to confirm her decision. The skull was turned over to the medical examiners office for further analysis, police said. The incident remains under investigation. Want more Ann Arbor-area news? Bookmark the local Ann Arbor news page. PITTSFIELD TWP., MI - Two men are no longer facing charges of open murder in the fatal shooting of a 25-year-old man last year. Adonis Sweatt and Devonte Owens both waived their preliminary examinations on Tuesday, Feb. 3, sending their cases up to the Washtenaw County Trial Court, primarily on weapons charges. Owens, 31, was sent to trial on a charge of a firing a gun from a vehicle causing death and three weapons-related charges, while Sweatt was sent to trial on three weapons-related charges. They will both appear before Washtenaw County Trial Court Patrick Conlin on Feb. 18. The two men were charged in connection with the fatal shooting of 25-year-old DaJon Ryans, who was killed July 11 near Ecorse Road and Towner Street in Ypsilanti. Both had been previously charged with open murder. Sweatt had also originally been facing a charge of a firing a gun from a vehicle causing death. Those charges were dropped. Davonte Owens appears for a preliminary hearing before Washtenaw County District Judge J. Cedric Simpson on Tuesday, Feb. 3 2026. Jordyn Pair | MLive.com While 28-year-old Sweatt was in the vehicle when Owens allegedly shot and killed Ryans, Andrew Childers, assistant prosecuting attorney with Washtenaw County, indicated Sweatt did not fire a gun. Obviously, if Mr. Sweatt was involved and actually shot, we would be in a different situation, Childers said during the hearing. Were not. Sweatt and Ryans had been in an argument at a restaurant nearby prior to the shooting, Childers said. If convicted, Owens faces up to life in prison. Unlike an open murder charge, a jury does not need to determine intent to kill when deciding on a charge of discharge from a vehicle causing death. A defendant can still argue they were acting in self-defense, according to the statute. Ryans was born and raised in the West Willow neighborhood in Ypsilanti and is a father of four, said sister Paris Knight. He was a loving, wild child and devoted to his family, according to a GoFundMe benefitting his family. Sweatt was given a $100,000 cash or surety bond, while Owens was denied bond. Both are being held in the Washtenaw County Jail. Want more Ann Arbor-area news? Bookmark the local Ann Arbor news page. Les forces de securite nigerianes font preuve defficacite sur deux fronts, evitant une tragedie a Aba et frappant un haut dirigeant dans le bastion de Sambisa. Dans une semaine marquee par une action securitaire decisive, le Nigeria a enregistre deux succes majeurs contre la menace terroriste et linstabilite. Dune part, une catastrophe imminente a ete evitee de justesse dans le sud-est du pays ; dautre part, une frappe ciblee a porte un coup severe a la hierarchie de Boko Haram dans le nord-est. Une tragedie evitee de justesse a Aba Cest dans la cour dune eglise evangelique de la ville trepidante dAba, dans lEtat dAbia, que les forces de securite ont decouvert et desamorce a temps un engin explosif dune puissance considerable. Selon le journal Vanguard, la bombe avait la capacite de detruire entierement ledifice religieux, qui accueille habituellement au moins 100 fideles, sans compter les nombreux passants dans les rues animees aux alentours. Lintervention rapide des autorites a ainsi sauve de tres nombreuses vies. Les services judiciaires ont immediatement ouvert une enquete pour determiner lorigine et les responsables de cette tentative dattaque, qui rappelle les tensions persistantes dans certaines regions du pays. Un coup dur porte a Boko Haram dans la foret de Sambisa Sur un autre front, larmee nigeriane a annonce avoir neutralise Abou Khalid, presente comme le numero deux du groupe extremiste Boko Haram. Linformation a ete confirmee par le lieutenant-colonel Sani Uba, porte-parole de la force conjointe operant dans le nord-est (operation Hadin Kai). "Khalid et dix autres combattants ont ete elimines lors dune frappe menee contre la principale base des extremistes dans la foret de Sambisa, dans lEtat de Borno", a-t-il declare dans un communique officiel publie sur le reseau social X. Loperation, menee dans la nuit du 31 janvier au 1er fevrier, a cible des concentrations de combattants pres de la localite de Komala, dans la zone de Konduga. Outre les eliminations, les forces armees ont saisi une importante quantite darmes et de munitions. Cette action sinscrit dans le cadre de loperation Hadin Kai ("unite" en haoussa), qui vise a eradiquer la menace terroriste de Boko Haram et de lEtat islamique en Afrique de lOuest (ISWAP), une faction dissidente apparue en 2015. Un contexte de lutte persistante Fonde en 2002 dans le Borno, Boko Haram a cherche a prendre le pouvoir par la violence avant de subir une defaite militaire majeure en 2015. Depuis, bien quaffaibli et contraint doperer depuis des bases dans la region du lac Tchad, le groupe et ses affilies continuent de representer une menace pour la securite nationale et regionale. La double actualite de cette semaine la prevention dun attentat et lelimination dun haut responsable illustre a la fois la persistance de ces dangers et la determination renouvelee des forces nigerianes a les combattre sur tous les terrains. Nigeria, securite, bombe eglise Aba, Boko Haram, Abou Khalid neutralise, foret de Sambisa, operation Hadin Kai, terrorisme, Etat islamique Afrique de l'Ouest (ISWAP), forces armees nigerianes, attentat evite, Abia, Borno, enquete, extremisme Nigeria Strikes Double Blow Against Terrorism Church Bomb Defused, Boko Haram Deputy Eliminated Nigerian security forces demonstrate efficacy on two fronts, averting tragedy in Aba and striking a top commander in the Sambisa forest. In a week marked by decisive security action, Nigeria recorded two major successes against the terrorist threat and instability. On one hand, an imminent catastrophe was narrowly averted in the southeast; on the other, a targeted strike dealt a severe blow to Boko Haram's leadership in the northeast. A Tragedy Narrowly Averted in Aba In the courtyard of an evangelical church in the bustling city of Aba, Abia State, security forces discovered and defused a powerful explosive device in the nick of time. According to the Vanguard newspaper, the bomb had the capacity to completely destroy the religious building, which usually hosts at least 100 worshippers, not to mention the many passersby on the surrounding busy streets. The authorities' swift intervention thus saved countless lives. Judicial services have immediately opened an investigation to determine the origin and perpetrators of this attempted attack, a reminder of the persistent tensions in some regions of the country. A Heavy Blow to Boko Haram in the Sambisa Forest On another front, the Nigerian army announced it had neutralized Abu Khalid, presented as the second-in-command of the extremist group Boko Haram. The information was confirmed by Lieutenant Colonel Sani Uba, spokesman for the joint force operating in the northeast (Operation Hadin Kai). "Khalid and ten other fighters were eliminated in a strike on the extremists' main base in the Sambisa forest, Borno State," he stated in an official release posted on the social network X. The operation, conducted on the night of January 31 to February 1, targeted concentrations of fighters near the town of Komala in the Konduga area. In addition to the eliminations, armed forces seized a significant cache of weapons and ammunition. This action is part of Operation Hadin Kai ("unity" in Hausa), which aims to eradicate the terrorist threat from Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP), a dissident faction that emerged in 2015. A Context of Persistent Struggle Founded in 2002 in Borno, Boko Haram sought to seize power through violence before suffering a major military defeat in 2015. Since then, although weakened and forced to operate from bases in the Lake Chad region, the group and its affiliates continue to pose a threat to national and regional security. This week's dual news preventing an attack and eliminating a senior leader illustrates both the persistence of these dangers and the renewed determination of Nigerian forces to combat them on all fronts. Nigeria, security, Aba church bomb, Boko Haram, Abu Khalid eliminated, Sambisa forest, Operation Hadin Kai, terrorism, Islamic State West Africa (ISWAP), Nigerian armed forces, attack averted, Abia, Borno, investigation, extremism Moussa Nassourou YPSILANTI, MI A man detained by immigration enforcement in Washtenaw County in early January had previously been convicted of manslaughter, according to court records. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Cristobal Rafael Villalobos Penate, 45, on Jan. 5, 2026 around Ypsilanti, according to federal court documents. He was arraigned on one charge of unlawful reentry into the United States on Jan. 27 in the U.S. District Court Eastern District Court of Michigan. Villalobos Penate had previously been convicted of manslaughter in Nassau County in New York, according to court documents and the county court. Villalobos Penate had been arrested in 2007 for charges related to gang assault and murder, federal court documents show. That incident involved a gang related stabbing/beating death of a 16-year-old male, who had offered no provocation and was not associated with either gang, federal records read. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter in September 2008 and was later sentenced to serve nine years incarcerated. Villalobos Penate, of El Salvador, had previously been deported in 2015 and 2018. It was not clear exactly where or how he was detained in Ypsilanti or if his arrest was part of targeted enforcement. Immigration officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Jaime Villalobos Penate, a 40-year-old man from El Salvador, was also arrested Jan. 5 in the same area, according to court records. ICE agents became aware he was in the country after he was charged in the 14B District Court in Washtenaw County with assault to do great bodily harm less than murder and aggravated domestic violence. He was charged in May and posted a $25,000 bond in June. The charges remain pending. Jaime Villalobos Penate had previously left the U.S. in 2007 after he was arrested in New York on a weapons charge, federal court records say. He was removed a second time in 2017 from a Texas port of entry. He was also arraigned Jan. 27 on one count of unlawful reentry. It is not clear if the two men are related. Attorneys for both men did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Want more Ann Arbor-area news? Bookmark the local Ann Arbor news page. DETROIT, MI - A federal judge in Detroit has rejected efforts by former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to alter or end court-ordered restitution payments and to block the governments ongoing efforts to collect the debt through garnishment. The decision came from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division, which ruled that Kilpatricks motions were no longer relevant after the parties reached sealed agreements governing payment and collection. An amended judgment entered Monday, Feb. 2, in Kilpatricks criminal case (No. 10-20403) set restitution at $1,718,457.11. Federal prosecutors have been seeking to collect on that judgment through a related miscellaneous case (No. 22-51143). In December 2025, the government sought multiple writs of continuing garnishment as part of that effort. Kilpatrick responded by filing motions in both cases, arguing that his restitution obligation should be deemed fully paid and asking the court to stop further garnishment. While those motions were pending, the court approved sealed, stipulated orders resolving the dispute. In the miscellaneous case, the judge authorized a final order of continuing garnishment directed to the Michigan Legislative Retirement System. In the criminal case, the court also approved a sealed payment plan agreed to by both sides. The records were sealed because they contain sensitive financial information protected under the Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978 and the Privacy Act of 1974. Under the stipulated agreements, the parties acknowledged that as of Jan. 27, 2026, Kilpatrick still owed $823,649.09 on the restitution judgment. Kilpatrick also waived his right to a hearing under the Federal Debt Collection Procedures Act and agreed that his pension and other income could be garnished to satisfy the debt. Because those agreements resolved the underlying issues, the court denied Kilpatricks motions as moot. The CEO of one of Michigans largest companies stood beside President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Monday as he unveiled a $12 billion plan aimed at cutting U.S. reliance on China for critical minerals. General Motors CEO Mary Barra has supported the Trump administration in the past, previously saying she and the president were very goal aligned. She stood behind Trump again Monday, as he announced an initiative that will involve acquiring and storing minerals for American manufacturers. It is the latest move by the administration to develop its own supply chain for critical minerals, after China curbed exports of its products last year, creating shortages for automakers, according to New York Times reporting. The New York Times reported that General Motors, Stellantis, Boeing and Google are among the companies that are participating in the project. Barra thanked Trump for strengthening U.S. manufacturing, and supporting the auto industry. Having a resilient supply chain is critical for our nation, and its critical for all industry, especially the auto industry, Barra said. Barras been heavily involved with the White House during Trumps second term. She met with the president during the midst of his tariff war in March, the White House said in a statement. In November, Barra, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Ford Motor Co.s Executive Chair Bill Ford all attended Trumps dinner at the White House in honor of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to the Detroit Free Press. That dinner was held before the United States and Saudi Arabia signed a deal ensuring that Saudi Arabia recognized U.S. federal motor vehicle safety standards as fully meeting its automotive safety requirements. In June, General Motors pledged to invest $4 billion in its U.S. plants over the next two years to boost the manufacturing of gas and electric vehicles. The Michigan-based automaker will now be able to assemble more than 2 million vehicles per year in the U.S, the company previously said. We believe the future of transportation will be driven by American innovation and manufacturing expertise, Barra said. But in 2024, Bloomberg reported GM imported more vehicles into the United States than any other automaker, and nearly half the cars it sold here were built overseas. This story has been updated with information from an ICE spokesperson. HAZEL PARK, MI A man was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Hazel Park after he reportedly fled from officers. The arrest happened Monday, Feb. 2, after ICE agents attempted to pull over the mans vehicle. An ICE spokesperson told MLive the man is an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela, and that the attempted vehicle stop was part of a targeted enforcement operation. The man reportedly sped away from the agents and drove to a warehouse, where he got out of the vehicle to flee on foot. He was eventually apprehended by ICE agents, the spokesperson said. The ICE spokesperson said the man was previously arrested by Customs and Border Patrol in 2023 after crossing the border illegally into southern Texas. The man remains in ICE custody pending further immigration proceedings, the spokesperson said. FLINT, MI Flint residents with both property and injury claims tied to the citys water crisis are next in line to receive payments from a $626.25 million settlement fund, with those notification letters expected to arrive within the next two weeks. The most recent notice filed by Special Master Deborah Greenspan highlights the next steps in the payment process, and the court-authorized settlement website shows that roughly two-thirds of individuals who have received payment letters so far have chosen a payment option, with most selecting electronic money transfers. Last month, U.S. District Court Judge Judith E. Levy authorized Greenspan to finalize the terms for making the payments from the settlement funded by the state of Michigan and others. Since that time: Payment letters, which are being issued in stages, have been issued so far only to individuals with residential property damage claims. The initial distribution group included 7,190 claimants -- 4,805 of whom had selected a payment option as of Sunday, Feb. 1. The vast majority of claimants have so far chosen to receive electronic payment, which court officials have called the fastest and most secure way to receive payment. Greenspans message says she expects the next notices to be issued to a larger group -- potentially as soon as next week. Those payments are expected to include property damage awards for people who have also qualified for an injury award. Payments for property claims where two or more individuals have qualified for the same property are expected to be issued after individual property-injury combination claims. Awards for property claims are limited to $1,000 and are divided for properties where there is more than one claim for the same address. Claims have been approved for 26,231 people, some of whom qualified for more than one payment category. Of the total individuals approved for payment, 13,196 were minors at the time of the water crisis, and 13,035 were adults or businesses. Ignore rumors. Only trust official updates, the most recent message from Greenspan reads. Individuals exposed to Flint water during the water crisis have been waiting for claims payments since Levy gave final approval to the historic settlement with the state of Michigan and others on Nov. 10, 2021. The settlement was funded by the state, the city of Flint, McLaren Regional Medical Center, and Rowe Professional Services -- each of which was targeted in lawsuits for their roles in the water crisis. Two engineering companies that advised the city during the crisis also later agreed to settle pending lawsuits against them for an additional $61 million, some of which is included in pending claims payments. The settlement provides 30 different compensation categories covering a wide range of claims of injury and damage, including claims for minors and adults, and claims for personal injuries, property damage, and business loss. Payments are expected to vary widely, and many will be modest, according to information posted on the water settlement website. Children who were 6 years old or younger during the water crisis are the biggest potential beneficiaries of the settlement, with awards to some of the youngest claimants with the highest lead levels expected to be approximately $100,000. The Environmental Protection Agency, which declined to settle cases against it, is in the midst of a bellwether trial in U.S. District Court in Ann Arbor. Three Flint children are suing the EPA in that case, which began in Levys court on Jan. 26. GENESEE COUNTY, MI The ownership for a new fast casual Mediterranean restaurant is set to open his first location in Davison, with hopes of dozens of others sprouting up over the next decade. Zatar & Olive, located at 415 N. State Road, Ste. C., is expected to open by the end of February. This is the first one. Our long-term vision is to open 100 in 10 years or less, said Mo Aboneaaj, vice president of business development. Were being methodical in getting this first one done right. He described the new restaurant as the only Middle Eastern fast casual cuisine in the area. Everythings fresh, the meat is halal, said Aboneaaj. We have line items on our menu that you wont find at a Pita Way, if you will. Items on the menu will include chicken and beef shwarma, falafel paired with tabouli, hummus and pita chips, and garlic spread. Its going to be fresh, healthy, said owner Jim Joubran, with many of the recipes coming from his mother Eva. A lot of my friends who came over would eat my moms food and they would love it. He said the restaurant would provide a chance to bring those recipes to the masses so everybody could enjoy it. In terms of Davison as the first location, Aboneaaj said they are very community driven and we are very deeply rooted here in the community, with plans to donate food remaining on a daily basis to nonprofit organization Outreach East. Theyre going to see what we believe to be a top-notch restaurant, he said, with an aim moving forward of expanding to Grand Blanc, as well as possible locations in Lapeer, Oxford, Clarkston, Ann Arbor and East Lansing. Plans are moving forward for a space across from the street from the La Piazza building in Grand Blanc to house a second Zatar & Olive location. Joubran said the land, situated at 11319 S. Saginaw St., has been secured, with final approval still needed from the city. The multi-purpose building would include the restaurant, headquarters and office space for Zatar & Olive, as well as provide approximately 4,000 square feet of available space on an upper level. The city of Grand Blanc has already seen the project, he said, working with developer Chuck SeKrenes on the plan. They like it, theyre all for it. SeKrenes said he owned the property and sold it to them for the project. The site plan will be submitted in February and go before the citys planning commission for approval at its March 16 meeting, SeKrenes said. Joubran said they hope to break ground on the project in summer or fall 2026. LEELANAU COUNTY, MI A large barn fire killed at least one horse in Northern Michigan early Monday morning, UpNorthLive reported. The fire happened around 5:30 a.m. Monday, Feb. 2, in the 22000 block of Southwest Bay Shore Drive in Elmwood Township, according to the news outlet. Part of M-22 was closed as firefighters worked to put out the fire. One horse and several smaller animals died in the fire, but most of the animals survived, according to UpNorthLive. The barn was deemed a total loss. WYOMING, MI Southern flavor has traveled north. Bojangles opened its first Michigan location on Tuesday morning, drawing customers an hour before the 5:30 a.m. opening to taste the North Carolina-based chains famed seasoned chicken and biscuits made from scratch. Christine Novakowski, 51, who lives a mile from the new location at 1730 28th St. SW, arrived at 4:15 a.m. to be first in line. She discovered Bojangles during a solo trip to the Carolinas and had been waiting for the Wyoming opening. After foregoing an annual trip East this past year, Novakowski was able to wait for the sought-after restaurant to come to her. The excitement is not because its new to me, its because Ive missed it, the early riser said. Its been about a year and a half that Ive had it and Im just theres no sweet tea and biscuits around like it. Bojangles, a North Carolina chain known for its fried chicken and biscuits from scratch, opens its first Michigan location at 1730 28th St. SW in Wyoming, Mich. on Tuesday, February 3, 2026. Isaac Ritchey | iritchey@mlive.c The restaurant is Bojangles only location in Michigan with more on the way as the chain continues its expansion. In the past year, the company opened locations in Texas, New York, New Jersey, Las Vegas and Ohio. Mike Thorp, director of operations at Meritage Hospitality Group, which operates the Wyoming franchise, said the location features a biscuit theater where customers can watch employees make fresh biscuits every 20 minutes. Its the only location in the country with the viewing window in the dining room. Our chickens fresh and hand-breaded, which is unique, Thorp said. You dont get that a lot in quick service restaurants like here. Biscuits are made from scratch inside the theatre at Bojangles, a North Carolina chain known for its fried chicken and biscuits from scratch, as the first Michigan location opens at 1730 28th St. SW in Wyoming, Mich. on Tuesday, February 3, 2026. Isaac Ritchey | iritchey@mlive.com On opening day, the restaurant gave away random $25 gift cards and will host an appearance by the Grand Rapids Gold mascot at 3 p.m. Customers can also enter a sweepstakes to win free breakfast for a year. Founded in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1977, Bojangles operates more than 850 company-owned and franchised restaurants in 22 states. Featured menu items include the beloved Bos chicken sandwich with a juicy fried chicken breast, marinated in spices and hand-breaded with a crispy, crunchy buttermilk coating, and topped with two thick-cut dill pickles and creamy mayo on a toasted bakery bun. Another favorite is the chicken family meals. It comes with 12 pieces of seasoned fried chicken, four biscuits, two sides and a half gallon of tea. The choice of sides or fixins includes seasoned fries, Bo-Tato rounds, Bojangles dirty rice and macaroni and cheese. Miya Johnson and Willie Johnson, both 23, experience Bojangles, a North Carolina chain known for its fried chicken and biscuits from scratch, as the first Michigan location opens at 1730 28th St. SW in Wyoming, Mich. on Tuesday, February 3, 2026. Isaac Ritchey | iritchey@mlive.c Thorp said the restaurant chose to open at 5:30 a.m. to showcase its breakfast menu. Breakfast prominently features the homemade biscuits with options like the sandwiches or simply the biscuits and gravy. He recommends customers try the Bo-Berry Biscuit, described as a blueberry biscuit with sweet icing. Youre going to take that first bite and youre not even going to need a sauce, Thorp said. When they talk about bringing in that Southern flavor, Bojangles is no joke. Bojangles, a North Carolina chain known for its fried chicken and biscuits from scratch, opens its first Michigan location at 1730 28th St. SW in Wyoming, Mich. on Tuesday, February 3, 2026. Isaac Ritchey | iritchey@mlive.c Novakowski didnt make it home with a number one combo and an order of Bo-Berry Biscuits. Instead, she pulled into an adjacent gas station to enjoy the food she was craving so bad. After an early morning work shift, Grand Rapids couple Miya Johnson and Willie Johnson, both 23, veered into the parking lot to see what the hype was about. The two work as food delivery drivers and know a thing or two about fast food. They ended up being happy with the decision for an early morning stop. Actually being able to watch them like make the fresh biscuits, theyre really good, Miya said. How good the food is, I was actually pretty surprised. I hope it remains consistent. GRAND RAPIDS, MI Parks and trails along the Grand River in Grand Rapids could one day be turned into a cultural destination with sculptures, murals and interactive public art under a plan being developed by Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. The Grand River Greenway Public Art Plan, still in the early stages, aims to complement work already underway to create a more vibrant, connected riverfront through the construction and renovation of parks and trails along the waterway. Here are five things to know about the public art plan: A new cultural corridor is envisioned for the Grand River The core of the project is to develop a public art plan for the roughly 10-mile stretch of the Grand River Greenway between Riverside and Millennium parks. Led by DGRI, the goal is to transform the riverfront into more than just a recreational path. The Grand River Greenway is a planned pedestrian trail network between Lowell and Grand Haven, part of which passes through Grand Rapids. A consultant hired by DGRI to craft the plan suggested a mix of permanent and rotating art, including sculptures, murals, interactive installations, and light-based works, could be placed at numerous spots along the waterfront. Potential sites include: Riverside Park Canal Park Fish Ladder Park Ah-Nab-Awen Park Oxford Trail Millennium Park Leonard Street to Ann Street Fulton Street to Wealthy Street The consultant, California-based MIG, suggested art be commissioned from local, national and international artists. This map shows the stretch of the Grand River Greenway where public art could be paced as part of a public art plan being led by Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. (Map provided by DGRI) Courtesy The project is a collaborative effort DGRI is spearheading the public art plan with input from an advisory group whose members represent a host of arts groups and other organizations, including the city of Grand Rapids, Kent County and Grand Valley State University. To develop the master plan, the Grand Rapids Downtown Development Authority, which is overseen by DGRI, approved up to $150,000 to hire MIG, a California-based architecture and planning firm. In November 2025, MIG presented the DDA with an overview of its draft plan. The plan remains in early, unfunded stages While a draft report has been presented with broad goals, the public art plan is still in its infancy. Critical details, including the specific locations for art, which installations will be commissioned, and how the entire effort will be funded, have yet to be determined. Bill Kirk, a DGRI spokesperson, said discussions about specific dollar amounts have not yet occurred, and final decisions are not expected before portions of the greenway begin opening later this year. Addressing a lack of sense of place is a key goal One element of the art plan is to create a cohesive identity for what organizers say is a disconnected series of parks and public spaces. During community feedback sessions, planners heard loud and clear that there is currently no unifying identity along the corridor from Riverside to Millennium parks. One member of the advisory group, Steff Rosalez, CEO of Grandville Avenue Arts & Humanities, echoed that point. She said, what we need more of in Grand Rapids is that sense of place, and that art that reflects the citys history and identity could help accomplish that. The plan emphasizes commissioning art that celebrates Grand Rapids history and culture to tell a unified story and transform underused public spaces into cultural corridors. An excerpt of the draft Grand River Greenway Public Art Plan describes a focus on aspirational installations that would define the corridor. (DGRI) Courtesy Implementation likely depends on broad community support The draft plan calls for first creating a Grand River artworks committee, developing a long-term fundraising strategy, and hiring a public art curator. To build momentum and attract funding, the plan proposes launching five or six temporary public art installations. Supporters acknowledge the plan is ambitious and that its ultimate success hinges on securing widespread support from multiple sectors, including government bodies, corporate sponsors, and local arts organizations. ADRIAN, MI Things are going to get low and go out with a good feeling at one soon-to-close Southern Michigan college this spring with an appearance from Grammy-nominated rapper Flo Rida. Siena Heights University, a small Catholic college in Lenawee County, announced the headliner on Monday, Feb. 2, as part of a Farewell Festival April 26 at OLaughlin Stadium. Flo Rida, or Florida-native rapper Tramar Dillard, is well-known for singles like Low, Good Feeling and My House. The event, which will also include other live music, local artists and vendors, is free to students, faculty and staff with an early general admission cost of $50. Its also just one event of several that month aimed at celebrating SHUs legacy before the closure. In a statement Wednesday, Jacob Wilson, SHUs director of student engagement, said their focus for the end of the year is on gratitude and celebration. While we are not primarily known for large concerts, we have hosted notable ones throughout our history, and this event builds on that legacy, he said. The Farewell Festival is truly a labor of love. When we started planning the activities for the year, our students were clear about what they wanted. In their words, they wanted a rager to finish out their time at Siena. We took that enthusiasm to heart, and after working closely with them to capture that vision, we got to work on making it happen. It has required people across the entire campus, from student leadership to faculty and staff, to band together. The university initially announced its closure at the end of June 2025, citing the same shifting demographics, declining enrollment and rising costs challenging higher education at large. Since then, its campus and alumni communities have celebrated the bittersweet nature of the transition, such as at its final fall homecoming last Ooctober, after more than a century since SH was founded in 1919 Last month, Siena Heights established a joint committee with the Adrian Dominican Sisters, a founding sponsor, and hired an outside consultant to consider proposals for future use of its facilities. According to the event page for the Farewell Festival other performers will include the Toledo-native Not Fast Enuff and Michigan songwriter Jon Torrence. The festivities are $25 to alumni for the first 1,000 tickets and $50 in general admission until March 1 before ticket prices rise to $60. Visit https://farewellfestival.com for more. The weekend prior to the April 26 event, SHU will host a spring homecoming for alumni, students and staff. In addition to the Farewell Festival and homecoming events, the semester includes alumni gatherings, student performances, awards celebrations, campus traditions and community events, Kate Hamilton, Sienas vice president for advancement and alumni relations, said in a statement. All designed to welcome people back, celebrate our shared history and mark this moment with the warmth and energy that have always defined SHU. This Episode brings together house music history, deep knowledge of the culture, and the next generation of selectors. Our episode starts with with new music from Anthony Poteat. Coming out of New York Citys voguing scene and early leather balls, Anthonys vocals carry soul, warmth, and lived experience. We feature Let Me Love You, produced by Brian G in the Ocean Breeze Mix, a track rooted in classic house feeling with a timeless emotional pull: https://www.beatport.com/track/let-me-love-you/22991546 From there, we head to Brooklyn with Frankie Bones, who delivers a rework of The Bells Part Two. Blending Jeff Mills original with a touch of Giorgio Moroder for added weight, Frankie flexes his encyclopedic knowledge of dance music history while paying proper respect to the foundations. Raw, reactive, and deeply informed, this track is available as a free download on his SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/frankiebones/the-bells-jeff-mills-frankie-bones-mix-part-22026 The mix portion of the show begins with DJ SyvyL, also known as Adriano. With a background in guitar, drums, and music theory, and formative experiences shaped by the Carl Cox stage at Ultra Europe, SyvyL approaches DJing as storytelling rather than moment chasing. His selections reflect years of refining his craft through projects like the Syvylized Radio mix series and appearances at Factory Fridays and Black Rabbit Festival. This set also sets the tone for his birthday celebration at White Rabbit at City at Night: RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/4100701363516572 SyvyLized Socials soundcloud.com/syvyl instagram.com/djsyvyl/ The show closes with a radio debut from GABBY, an Ottawa based DJ originally from the GTA. Drawing from a musical foundation rooted in dance and guitar, and inspired by techno artists like Sara Landry and AZYR alongside broader influences such as Radiohead and The Beatles, GABBY delivers an exclusive mix focused on atmosphere, connection, and shared experience: https://www.instagram.com/gabby.aguiton/ KALAMAZOO, MI A former Kalamazoo cemetery worker was led through the doors of a courtroom in handcuffs, headed to jail thanks to a scheme that left people looking for their loved ones graves. Police said Shaun Albertson of Kalamazoo embezzled while he was handling payments made to Mt. Olivet Cemetery, while taking money directly from customers. The scheme resulted in unmarked and unrecorded graves, police said. Perhaps the most haunting? No one seems to know how far the scheme went. Except Albertson, who ran the cemetery. Before being sentenced, Albertson indicated he would help clear up any confusion left in his wake. Shaun Albertson looks on as the Judge Rebecca J. D'Angelo begins to sentence Albertson to jail. She sentenced Albertson to 90 days in jail, plus $16,875 in restitution, plus other costs. (Brad Devereaux | bdeverea@mlive.com) Id also like to assist in any way to help resolve any confusion or discrepancies that may exist regarding the gravesite locations, Albertson said. Circuit Court Judge Rebecca J. DAngelo sentenced Albertson to 90 days in jail, plus $16,875 in restitution, plus other costs, on Monday, Feb. 2. Before sentencing, she asked the courtroom if all the families were notified. Two officials representing the diocese indicated they didnt know. Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Kalamazoo. A former employee allegedly pocketed money meant for burials, leaving a graveyard mystery in his wake. (Brad Devereaux | bdeverea@mlive.com) The two officials declined to comment when asked by MLive and one of them said no comment. Albertson wasnt so silent. Theres no excuse for my behavior, Albertson said before hearing his sentence. Albertson said he deeply regrets how his behavior reflects on the Catholic Diocese, the owner of the cemetery. Albertson previously pleaded no contest to a charge of embezzlement between $1,000 and $20,000. The plea means he accepts punishment for the crime without formally admitting guilt. He was also sentenced to three years of probation. Unbeknownst to, it seems like possibly hundreds of victims in Kalamazoo county, sir, that you were misappropriating their funds and putting it into your own pocket, DAngelo said after Albertson spoke before the court. Evidence was submitted showing some of the checks written to Albertson that had no corresponding cemetery records. However, a police investigator said the the scheme likely went further than the evidence they found and submitted, court documents state. Albertson worked there for about two decades. In November, MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette spoke with people with relatives buried at Mt. Olivet. Sue Peeters said her parents are buried at Mt. Olivet. She had secured a spot next to them, but was startled when another family member was buried there instead. She talked to Albertson, telling him a $200 deposit was made for her burial years ago, covering half the cost. To make it right, Peeters said, Albertson told her she could be cremated and buried next to her parents. It wasnt her choice to be cremated (she wanted to be buried in a casket), but she reluctantly accepted, she said. Shes concerned about what might happen since Albertson promised her the spot. Holly Meister said her parents are buried at the cemetery Albertson oversaw. Her family purchased plots, including one for herself, years ago. She was alerted of the embezzlement case by MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette. She now wonders if her burial plot is still secured or not, she said previously. MLive left a message to see if she had any updates this week. Albertson left no burial records for graves. A police report includes specific information about two graves: Opening and closing for Jeanne Hoard and Ronald Hoard. They both died in 2023. A police report names one funeral home with examples of the embezzlement Joldersma & Klein Funeral Home. Joldersma & Klein provided records to the diocese that payment for these burials was made directly to Albertson totaling $1,800 ($900 per person). A diocese official researched the obituary database for Joldersma & Klein Funeral Home for 2023 and determined all but one of their burials directed to Mt. Olivet Cemetery were not actually in the burial records. Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Kalamazoo. A former employee allegedly pocketed money meant for burials, leaving a graveyard mystery in his wake. (Brad Devereaux | bdeverea@mlive.com) Now, months later, the diocese has not clarified the number of victims or commented on the case further. Family members said goodbye Monday afternoon as Albertson was handcuffed and taken away to serve his jail sentence. They declined to comment when asked by a reporter. Albertson stands before the judge, on the right, as a prosecuting attorney turns around to ask a question to representatives of the Diocese, seated on the left side of the frame. (Brad Devereaux | bdeverea@mlive.com) Diocese spokeswoman Victoria Cessna said the organization is grateful the legal proceedings are over. Restitution awarded to Mt. Olivet Cemetery will assist in recovering some of the losses incurred, Cessna said on Tuesday, Feb. 3. The events giving rise to these legal proceedings have complicated the management of the cemetery, Cessna said. We are committed to improving these matters, so that going forward we may provide compassionate and competent service to the families whose loved ones are buried at the cemetery or who will be interred in the future, she said. Albertson was terminated in 2023 for an unrelated reason. When he left, he turned in a laptop that appeared to be wiped clean of records, officials said. MLive has made a request with the Kalamazoo County Sheriffs Office for permission to interview Albertson in jail. Want more Kalamazoo-area news? Bookmark MLives local Kalamazoo news page. MUSKEGON, MI A judge has appointed a receiver over parts of the embattled Adelaide Pointe development in Muskegon while its owner, Ryan Leestma, is in negotiations to sell the property. Kent County Circuit Court Judge Curt Benson in an order dated Jan. 30 appointed attorney John Polderman as the receiver of all Adelaide Point properties subject to mortgages with Independent Bank of Grand Rapids. Polderman is an attorney with Stevenson & Bullock, PLC. He specializes in receivership and collections in civil, family and business cases, as well as assignment for the benefit of creditors and chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings, according to his website. In an email to MLive/the Muskegon Chronicle, Polderman said he intends to develop a disposition plan that, addresses the concerns of the stakeholders and parties in interest. My first step will be meeting with ownership and reviewing the status of operations, and any sale is subject to approval by the court, Polderman wrote. Last September, Independent Bank requested the emergency appointment of a receiver over its collateral at the $85 million Adelaide Pointe development at 400 Adelaide Circle in Muskegon. The complaint accused Leestma of violating his loan agreements with the bank and owing over $28 million in principal. The banks collateral includes the condo building, boat storage facilities and boater services building. The wet and dry marinas and the multiuse building that has Muskegon Brewing Company and Adelaide Events as tenants are the collateral of other lenders and are not involved in the lawsuit. Benson denied the original request on the grounds that it was too early in the case to make a decision without a hearing to parse out the numerous factual disputes. The bank, however, filed another emergency order under the 2022 Michigan Uniform Assignment of Rents Act, which permits lenders to collect rents on collateral and apply them to the borrowers debt in the event of a default. In that filing, Independent Bank accused Leestma of continuing to collect more than $70,000 per month in rent from the banks collateral while failing to make loan payments, insurance payments or pay its contractors. Benson issued a new order in January stating that the bank is entitled to a receiver under the assignment of rents act. Shortly after the judges order appointing Polderman as receiver, Leestma revealed in a social media post that he and his wife, Emily, entered a contract to sell Adelaide Point about a month ago. The identity of the prospective buyer was not disclosed. In an interview with MLive/the Muskegon Chronicle, Leestma revealed that hed been looking for a buyer for Adelaide Pointe since July of last year. My priority was to find a great buyer that I could trust to continue the vision, Leestma said. The appointment of Polderman as receiver is not expected to affect the sale of Adelaide Pointe. Nothings really changing. Everybody is focused on getting the transaction done, Leestma said. Adelaide Pointe officially opened in May 2025. The ambitious, $85 million project sought to transform a contaminated former industrial site on Muskegon Lake into a premier boating destination that includes a 55-unit condominium building, boat storage facilities, a 169-slip wet marina and a multiuse building that houses Muskegon Brewing Company and a rentable event space. The promising development ran into numerous controversies throughout construction. Leestma received four violation notices from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy in 2023 and 2024. Alleged improper dredging caused a large plume of sediment to migrate into the lake in April 2023. Shortly after the grand opening, Leestma, who from the beginning had served as the face of Adelaide Pointe, stepped down as CEO. Leestma stepped out of the spotlight after formal mayoral candidate and longtime critic John Richard Allen posted a copy of Leestmas March 7 letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that blamed Gov. Gretchen Whitmers over-zealous, radical environmental and anti-capitalist policies for threatening the project and his familys livelihood. The letter, which Leestma said he regretted writing, followed a settlement deal with the state in April that required him to pay $500,000 in civil fines and, where feasible, restore wetlands along manmade peninsulas that were stripped of vegetation. In spite of the numerous controversies surrounding the project, Leestma said he is still proud of transforming a derelict industrial property into a waterfront destination. Really difficult things are worth doing if you can help enough people, he said. Im sorry for any mistakes I made along the way. I did my best, and Im proud of what we achieved as a team. BAY CITY, MI A Bay City-based beverage company has joined with a community development organization to fund clean water infrastructure in Northern Ghana. ShineWater announced Feb. 2 its partnership with the Global Alliance for Community Empowerment to support deep water well construction in the region. A portion of proceeds from ShineWater purchases will fund the wells, which are intended to provide safe drinking water to families and communities. At ShineWater, hydration is more than whats in the canits about impact, said Rod Hildebrant, owner of ShineWater. This partnership allows us to help fuel healthier communities and brighter futures with one of lifes most essential resources. The initiative targets an area where limited water access affects daily life. The partnership aims to reduce the distance families must travel for water, which organizers say could improve health outcomes and free time for education and economic activities. Olowo-ndjo Tchala, founder and president of GACE, said his childhood experience in northern Togo drives the organizations work. Water is life. As a boy growing up in northern Togo, I spent long days walking in search of water, often at the cost of my schooling, Tchala said. Those journeys shaped my life. Today, I carry that memory with gratitude as we join hands with ShineWater to bring clean, accessible water to our communities in Northern Ghana. The Global Alliance for Community Empowerment uses what it describes as a community-led approach to water infrastructure projects. SAGINAW, MI A Saginaw mother charged with a felony for allegedly using her Bridge Card to fund her home bakery business is asking a judge to dismiss the case against her. Since August, Talia C. Teneyuque has been charged with one count of food stamp fraud of $1,000 or more, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Prosecutors allege that between January 2022 and September 2023, Teneyuque used her Bridge Card to buy foodstuffs from Walmart/Sams Club, some of which she used to sell baked goods on the Facebook page Luvn a Jar. Teneyuque created an LLC for her business in April 2022, state records show. Luvn a Jar, the online bakery business operated by Saginaw resident Talia C. Teneyuque. Cole Waterman Defense attorney Emilie K.D. Lyday maintains her client is innocent of any wrongdoing. However, if Teneyuque did do what prosecutors allege, Lyday asserts the charge against her should be dismissed on the grounds of the statutes vagueness. Our system simply cannot function if criminal statutes are so vague that citizens can only guess (or find out too late) if their actions will or will not violate the statute, Lyday wrote in a motion seeking dismissal. Defense attorney Emilie K.D. Lyday addresses the court in asking for the dismissal of the case against client Talia C. Teneyuque (seated in glasses at defense table). Cole Waterman Lyday argued her motion in person before Saginaw County Circuit Judge Andre R. Borrello on Tuesday, Feb. 2. As she put it, Teneyuque repeatedly made it clear to Michigan Department of Health and Human Services staff that she ran a baking business from her home to support her and her five children. She accurately reported her income and expenses and MDHHS staff never told her to change her conduct or business practices, Lyday said. Saginaw County Assistant Prosecutor Aaron M. Majorana countered that when Teneyuque signed an application for assistance with MDHHS in December 2021, she agreed not to sell, trade, or give away benefits online or in person. Food purchased through the program is only to be used for home consumption and not resale, he added. Judge Borrello appeared to be leaning in favor of the prosecutions argument, saying he did not see how a Bridge Card recipient could not understand their purchases were to be for their own household use. Teneyuque, however, used portions of her Bridge Card purchases in recipes to make new products rather than selling what she bought, Lyday said. She offered an analogy to make her point: If a parent receiving food assistance buys a bag of sugar, then lets their children use a few scoops to make lemonade and offer it for sale at a streetside stand, that parent would then too be violating the law. Majorana said Lyday was making policy arguments and taking issue with the law as it stands. If she wants to lobby the legislature to change that law, thats her prerogative, he said. The statute is abundantly clear: its only to be used for home consumption. Seeds purchased with food assistance, for example, may be used to grow vegetables and fruits, but those too must only be consumed by eligible members of the household, Majorana said. Were not talking about one cup of sugar, he said. Were talking about pounds and pounds of sugar and flour, strawberries dipped in chocolate and then sold online. When an MDHHS employee discovered what Teneyuque was doing and asked her about it, Teneyuque denied selling baked goods online rather than asserting she did not know it was improper, Majorana said. Lyday maintained Teneyuques prosecution is an overreach based on a slippery slope that could have negative repercussions on other cases. Judge Borrello said he was taking the matter under advisement and would issue a ruling within a few days. Teneyuque in October rejected an offer to plead guilty or no contest to misdemeanor count of larceny between $200 and $1,000 in exchange for the felonys dismissal. Had she accepted it, the prosecution would have recommended she receive a delayed sentence, effectively putting her on probation. If Teneyuque then repaid the sum she owed, either at once or by having her current Bridge Card benefits garnished, the conviction would not stay on her record. SAGINAW, MI A now-fired corrections officer has pleaded guilty-as-charged to allegations that he brought drugs into the Saginaw County Jail to sell to inmates. He is unlikely, however, to spend time in the facility where he once worked. Jeilon A. Banks, 27, on Jan. 27 appeared before Saginaw County Circuit Judge Darnell Jackson and pleaded guilty to both counts he faced: delivering or manufacturing a controlled substance and conspiracy to commit that crime. Both charges are seven-year felonies. Jackson indicated he plans to sentence Banks to a term of probation with a tether for an unspecified duration, rather than incarceration. Banks has credit for about three months served in the Genesee County Jail. Defense attorney Alan A. Crawford declined to comment on the cases resolution. Police reports obtained by MLive via the Freedom of Information Act provide details of Banks crimes. The morning of Aug. 15, a Michigan State Police detective met with command staff at the Saginaw County Sheriffs Office regarding their concerns over Banks, a corrections officer since April, potentially smuggling contraband into the jail. The detective interviewed an inmate, who said he and his pod mates would pool their funds in exchange for Banks bringing them anything from Suboxone, tobacco, marijuana wax, [and] matches, reports state. Suboxone is a name-brand prescription medication used to treat opiate addiction. It is often administered via film strips placed under the tongue. Banks delivery fee was $1,000, the inmate said. After receiving payment, Banks would pass along towel-wrapped contraband to inmates via a hand exchange, the interviewee said. The inmate added he was expecting a delivery from Banks that night. Banks was scheduled to work from 7 p.m. through 7 a.m., reports state. Investigators arranged a reverse-delivery sting operation. Outfitted with a Suboxone package, they removed most of the actual medication and replaced its orange-colored strips with sliced strips of an orange Post-It note, reports state. Police placed the bogus Suboxone strips and pipe tobacco in five plastic baggies, which they put in a Mylar package with $1,000 in marked bills, reports state. They provided the parcel to two confidential informants, whom they tasked with arranging a meet-up with Banks, reports state. The informants called Banks and set up a time and place to meet. Officers with the Bay Area Narcotics Enforcement Team (BAYANET) surveilled Banks exiting his apartment, entering a 2007 Dodge Charger, and driving to the meeting site at a local gas station, reports state. Banks was clothed in his corrections officer uniform at the time, reports state. Banks drove to the site, exited his vehicle, and got into the passenger seat of the confidential informants car, reports state. Banks then returned to his own vehicle and was pulled over by BAYANET. Inside Banks vehicle, officers found the money and contraband theyd provided their informants, reports state. Officers arrested Banks and confiscated his service firearm, which he was wearing at the time, reports state. Banks waived his Miranda rights when interviewed by police. He said he works 40 hours a week and makes $23 per hour. Banks said an inmate had repeatedly approached him to try convincing him to bring him contraband, but he had always refused to do so. This was the first time Banks had agreed to follow through with the inmates request, he told police. He denied ever bringing contraband into the jail and said he had planned to keep the $1,000 in cash and throw out the tobacco and Suboxone, reports state. Police lodged Banks in the Genesee County Jail rather than the Saginaw County one. The sheriffs office terminated Banks employment following his arrest. Judge Jackson is to sentence Banks on March 9. HARRISON, MI A Michigan man has been sentenced to prison for repeatedly stabbing his grandmother in an attempt to kill her. Clare County Circuit Judge Tara S. Hovey on Monday, Feb. 2, sentenced 26-year-old Jacob A. Dunham to 95 months, or nearly eight years, to 60 years in prison. Hovey gave Dunham credit for 429 days already served in the local jail and further ordered he pay $198 in fines and costs. Dunham in December pleaded guilty to assault with intent to murder, the lone count he faced. The charge is a life offense. Dunhams conviction stems from an incident that occurred Nov. 30, 2024, two days after Thanksgiving. About 1:40 p.m. that Saturday, a motorist was driving along Harrison Avenue in Harrison when she was flagged down by a 68-year-old woman. The motorist stopped to help the woman, who claimed she had been stabbed by Dunham, her grandson. The motorist called 911 on the wounded womans behalf. Clare County Sheriffs deputies responded and met with the injured woman, who had suffered multiple penetrating stab wounds to her back. Deputies provided aid until Mobile Medical Response EMTs arrived to take over and take her to MyMichigan Health Center Midland. Deputies determined the stabbing occurred at the womans home in the 1800 block of North Harrison Street. The matter began with a verbal argument between Dunham and his grandmother. The dispute progressed to Dunham throwing objects at his grandmother and punching her in her face and head, deputies alleged. The grandmother tried to flee her house, only for Dunham to fetch a knife from a nearby counter. Dunham told his grandmother he was going to kill her then stabbed her multiple times in her back, deputies said. Deputies arrested Dunham and lodged him in their jail, where he remained until his Monday sentencing. SAGINAW, MI Voters across the state Senates 35th District are able to visit their voting precincts, as polls opened for the final day of the special elections primary phase on Tuesday, Feb. 3. Polls remain scheduled to stay open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Michigan Secretary of State officials reported. The district encompasses parts of Bay, Midland and Saginaw counties. While absentee ballots reached mailboxes more than one month ago and early in-person voting was available in Saginaw County last week, Tuesday marks the final opportunity for constituents to cast ballots in the critical primary battle. The special election could shake up the power balance for the rest of the year in Lansing, where Democrats outnumber Republicans in the state Senate, 19-18. The winner of the Democratic and Republican primary elections then will face each other in May. The victor then will occupy the District 35s seat for about a half-year, until voters cast ballots for the seat again this fall. The vacant post was created in January 2025 when voters sent then-state Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet, a Democrat, to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. The special election will determine which candidate will fulfill the remainder of Rivets state Senate term this year. Voters can check their registration status at the Michigan Voter Information Center at Michigan.gov/Vote. The Secretary of States office in a statement encouraged voters who have absentee ballots at home to fill them out, sign the back of the envelope and deliver them to their city or township clerks secure ballot drop box or office to avoid potential U.S. Postal Service delays. Voters who have absentee ballots but prefer to vote in person can bring their ballots to their polling place to mark or surrender them for a new ballot. Those who lost or destroyed their absentee ballot can sign a statement affirming this and vote at the polls. For in-person voting, each polling location will have at least one voting station adapted for seated voting, and all locations offer Voter Assist Terminals to help voters mark their ballots. The terminals do not tally votes but assist with marking, and those ballots are counted the same way as all others, Secretary of State officials said. Unregistered voters in the 35th Senate District can register and vote at their city or township clerks office until 8 p.m. Tuesday. Those registering within two weeks of an election must provide proof of residency, including a drivers license, state ID card, utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, government check or other government document showing their name and current address. Digital copies are acceptable. Voters who encounter misleading election information can report it by emailing details and photos to Misinformation@Michigan.gov. State officials advise residents to rely on the Department of State, clerks and their websites as trusted sources. Those witnessing voter intimidation, harassment or coercion can notify an election worker or contact the nonpartisan election protection hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE. There are 10 candidates pursuing the state Senate seat in the special election. In the Democratic primary, those candidates are Brandell Adams, Martin Blank, Chedrick Greene, William Morrone, Pamela Pugh and Serenity Hope Salak. In the Republican primary, the candidates are Jason Tunney, Chadwick Twillman, Christian Velasquez and Andrew Wendt. SAGINAW, MI A Saginaw County judge has ruled four years in prison is insufficient for a Bridgeport Township man who broke into his neighbors apartment, then allegedly sexually assaulted her. Randall L. Steeple on Monday, Feb. 2, appeared before Saginaw County Circuit Judge Manvel Trice III for sentencing, two days after his 54th birthday. Steeple in December pleaded no contest to third-degree home invasion, a five-year felony. In exchange, prosecutors dismissed single counts of first- and second-degree criminal sexual conduct and first-degree home invasion. First-degree CSC involves penetration and is a life offense. Steeples advisory sentencing guidelines had been calculated at 22 to 76 months, with the parties agreeing 48 months, or four years, would be his sentence. In reviewing the case over the weekend, though, Trice said he was troubled by the allegations against Steeple and that the plea agreement did not take his alleged sexual assault into consideration. Police reports indicate Steeple at about 7 p.m. on Dec. 12, 2024, knocked on the door of a womans apartment in the 5600 block of Dixie Highway and asked to borrow the residents phone charger, Trice related. Steeple forced his way into the apartment, made statements about wanting her for a long time, then took the woman to her bedroom, and raped her, threatening to beat her if she resisted, the reports state. Steeple was on parole at the time. At the end of the day, I dont feel a 48-month sentence is sufficient, Trice said. I believe its light. It doesnt take into account the entirety of the circumstances, that he sexually assaulted her. Its not a just sentence. Saginaw County Assistant Prosecutor Jane E. Wainwright said Steeples victim had been reluctant to testify and wanted the plea agreement to move forward. The victim, whom Trice referred to as a survivor, addressed the court on Monday, saying she has been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder since her assault. He threatened my life, she said. He said he had a gun and would kill me if I didnt comply. He also said if I went to police and he got away with committing a crime that hed come after me and kill me. Steeple made the woman perform unspeakable acts, she said. This is something I did not deserve, she continued. All I ask is that justice be done so that Ill feel safe. Steeple, given the chance to speak, apologized to the woman while maintaining he did not rape her. My personal actions was unacceptable, unnecessary, and uncalled for, Steeple said. I have family and loved ones, and Id be so distraught and hurt if they were so disrespected. He apologized to his victim for the pain, angst, and inconvenience he caused her. Please dont allow my offense against you to define you, he said, adding he was sick and weak when he attacked her. He added he has been receiving Christianity-based counseling to better himself and ensure he does not repeat his crimes. After weighing the factors, Trice said he would not sentence Steeple to less than 10 years. Steeple hung his head on hearing this. He rhetorically asked what kind a message would be sent to the community if a home intruder who raped a person only received a four-year prison term. The judge told Steeple to meet with attorney Jeffrey J. Rupp to discuss withdrawing his plea and facing trial or accepting the steeper penalty. Trice had Steeple remanded to jail and scheduled him to return before him on Feb. 17. Steeples criminal record includes convictions of carjacking, unarmed robbery, unlawfully driving away a motor vehicle, and larceny in a building. The Michigan Department of Corrections gives Steeples name as James L. Calloway, noting he also goes by the surnames Clayton and Standifer. The agency paroled him in May 2024 and listed him as an absconder that December. GRAYLING, MI A Northern Michigan defense training complex based out of Camp Grayling has been chosen by the federal government to test and train drones. The announcement made this week by the Pentagon comes after months of requests to select the site by some state and federal lawmakers. Now, Michigans National All-Domain Warfighting Center (NADWC) will test advanced uncrewed aerial systems (UAS), more commonly known as drones. The decision by the Department of Defense (DoD), recently renamed the Department of War, was celebrated by U.S. Sens. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, and Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, along with U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Watersmeet, who represents the district where NADWC is located. Slotkin said the announcement further establishes Michigan as the nations defense innovation hub, highlighting NADWCs permissive drone testing policies and proximity to tech industry leaders in Michigan, including large-scale manufacturing centers and national transportation hubs. From the assembly line to advanced manufacturing, our state has always stepped up, Slotkin said. Today, as drones reshape our national security, Michigans selection as a national drone testing site further solidifies our state as the center of this transformation. Michigan is the proof that cutting-edge defense technology can be designed, tested, and built with American supply chains, right here at home. NADWC encompasses nearly 148,000 acres of training space at the Camp Grayling Maneuver Training Center, the countrys largest National Guard training facility, along with 17,000 square miles of special use military airspace at the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center. It is the largest joint training range east of the Mississippi River. In a 2025 letter to the federal government advocating for the site, Slotkin and other members of Michigans Congressional delegation said NADWC already has a track record of successful drone testing. It serves as a Pentagon and defense contractor drone testing site as part of the semi-annual Northern Strike exercise hosted by the Michigan National Guard. An online webpage describes NADWC as offering training for entities across the DoD to prepare for the battlefield of the future, highlighting year-round land, air, maritime, cyber and space training exercises. The site also has a dedicated sixty-mile-long and six-mile-wide drone corridor, and each of Michigans National Guard bases allow companies to rent space on site. Lawmakers said that provides open access to industry partners to use military training ranges for commercial drone testing. They highlighted the centers large size, airspace and all-weather training environment as allowing drones to be tested year-round. Peters, a member of the Senates Armed Services Committee, said drones play an integral role in modern-day warfare, and the NADWC is an ideal training ground to test these technologies and help ensure we maintain our air superiority around the world. In June 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order calling on the federal government to unleash American drone dominance. A month later, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said he would ramp up the Department of Defenses drone production, also restricting policies that hindered production and limited access to drones. Well train as we expect to fight, Hegseths letter said. State Rep. John Roth, R-Interlochen, said Hegseth and the Army and National Guard Bureau selected Michigans site for consistently demonstrating its critical role in supporting the nations UAS and counter-UAS initiatives. Both Roth and federal lawmakers previously sent letters to the federal government requesting the NADWC be chosen. In July of last year, a bipartisan delegation that included Slotkin, Peters, Bergman and eight more U.S. House members wrote Hegseth, requesting he designate NADWC as one of the three new drone test sites he made plans to establish. In addition to the sites benefits, they highlighted how on July 17, Michigan became the first state to act on Trumps drone executive orders, as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive directive establishing an Advanced Air Mobility Initiative, meant to scale Michigans drone capabilities. The state also announced $4.1 million in funding for four projects on air mobility research and infrastructure. In a November 2025 letter, Roth and a bipartisan group of state lawmakers also wrote that the state is uniquely positioned to advance the Pentagons drone capabilities and revitalize Americas drone infrastructure. The announcement comes as the state House considers bills that would tighten up regulations for private drone operators, including prohibiting flights over some state-owned property and critical infrastructure, like power plants and law enforcement buildings. The National Weather Service issued a report at 7:05 p.m. EST on Monday for snow until Tuesday at midnight EST for Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Crawford, Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon and Charlevoix counties. "Periodic bursts of snowfall this evening will lead to drops in visibility and roads becoming snow covered and slick. This will primarily impact areas close to and west of Interstate 75 across northern lower Michigan. Snow will taper through the night across interior northern lower Michigan, becoming more focused on areas near and south of Grand Traverse Bay after 11 p.m. Snow showers in the Grand Traverse Bay area will carry into Tuesday. While most locations will see less than an inch of snow, some areas across Charlevoix, Antrim, Otsego, Crawford, and Kalkaska counties may see as much as an inch to 1.5 inches of snowfall by Tuesday morning. For those near Grand Traverse Bay, locally higher amounts approaching 4 inches are possible by Tuesday afternoon. If you must travel this evening into tonight, be cognizant of weather conditions, remember to increase following distance, and use low beams during periods of reduced visibility," describes the weather service. The record cold spell over the last two weeks is developing a lot of ice on the Great Lakes. The view from a satellite high above Earth gives us a great perspective on the expanding ice cover. The statistics show us the Great Lakes are now 55 percent ice covered, which is up from 42 percent just one week ago. Great Lakes on February 1, 2026 NOAA Lake Erie still hasnt frozen over entirely, but is now 95 percent covered with ice. Lake Erie on February 1, 2026 NOAA Lake Hurons ice is expanding quickly, up from 51 percent last week to now 72 percent. Lake Huron on February 1, 2026 NOAA Lake Michigans shape, depth and orientation to typical winds make it somewhat slower to build ice when compared to Lake Huron. Lake Michigan is now 36 percent ice covered. Lake Michigan on February 1, 2026 NOAA The largest Great Lake, Lake Superior shot up to 47 percent ice covered this week. Lake Superior on February 1, 2026 NOAA Lake Ontario is usually the Great Lake with the least amount of ice. Its that case again right now, but it still has 35 percent ice cover. This is an increase from 24 percent last week. Lake Ontario on February 1, 2026 NOAA The ice cover is growing quickly on the Great Lakes, thanks to the bitterly cold Arctic air in the past week and especially this weekend. Lighter winds also help the ice grow and not be destroyed. We still have time for more ice to form. Typically the peak ice on the Great Lakes occurs in the second or third week of February. Varun Singh A journalist covering the automotive sector in depth, across business and product verticals. Trying to hit the gym at least four times a week! I am not a fitness freak though. Did our AI summary help? Parth Charan is a Mumbai-based writer whos written extensively on cars for over seven years. Saurav Pandey is the Deputy Manager of Content at Moneycontrol, specialising in content strategy, execution and performance analysis. He integrates advanced SEO techniques to deliver high-impact, data-driven content formats. His expertise spans various beats, including education, career, science and others, where he adopts a technical approach to optimise visibility, improve search rankings, and drive organic traffic growth. He can be reached out at Saurav.Pandey@nw18.com. Did our AI summary help? Palak Vij is a Sub Editor and Entertainment Journalist with over a year of experience covering films, television, and pop culture in the digital space. Did our AI summary help? Sarika Sharma is Editor, Entertainment, MoneyControl.com. She has over 25 years of experience in the field of entertainment journalism. Did our AI summary help? Alia with Ranbir and Raha The trial court suspended the sentence as early as June 2024 to help reach a settlement, but the commitments outlined in multiple judicial orders were not met. Over the years, Ranbir went on to become one of Bollywoods biggest stars, whereas Imran gradually stepped away from acting after 2015, choosing to stay away from the spotlight for several years. Did our AI summary help? Gayatri Rani is a Senior-Sub Editor with over three years of experience in delivering Hollywood and Bollywood news. Halle also pointed out that, even years later, she remains the only Black actor to have won the Best Actress Oscar. Kohhra, Udta Punjab, Shabad actor Suvinderpal Vicky says OTT platforms have given opportunities to middle-aged actors, "good actors are now being recognized" Did our AI summary help? Dhurandhar: The Revenge when and where to watch on OTT Did our AI summary help? The first teaser for Family Business is fast-paced and intense, taking place in India's competitive corporate world. Did our AI summary help? Ragini Jaiswal Entertainment journalist and content writer with 3+ years of experience covering Bollywood, lifestyle trends, and celebrity stories across leading digital platforms. Did our AI summary help? Shruti Haasan poses with the girl whose life she helped save Brisbanes Cortisonic uses sound waves instead of electrons for AI computation, backed by $3.2m defence contract as edge computing market approaches $270bn. Academic researchers have studied phononic computing in laboratory settings for years. Cortisonic says it has developed a commercially scalable version using standard semiconductor fabrication processes. AIs energy consumption is rising sharply, creating a major bottlenome for deployment, said Dr Glen Harris, CEO of Cortisonic. Data centres are consuming power at the scale of entire nations. Were not pursuing incremental improvements to existing chips. Were introducing an entirely new computational element to the mix. The technology uses guided sound waves in silicon for computation. The company states this approach offers lower energy consumption than electronic or photonic chips for specific computations, whilst working with existing semiconductor manufacturing. Crowded competitive field The low-power AI chip sector has attracted significant investment across multiple technology approaches. AI chip startups secured $7.6 billion in venture capital funding globally during the second, third and last quarter of 2024, with 2025 maintaining this momentum. Neuromorphic computing, which mimics brain architecture, has emerged as a prominent alternative. BrainChip raised $25 million in December 2025 to advance its Akida chips, whilst neuromorphic chip sales are projected to reach $0.5 billion by 2025. Other neuromorphic players include Intel, IBM and startups SynSense and Innatera. Photonic computing represents another competing technology. Q.ANT announced its NPU 2 photonic processor in November 2025, with shipments beginning in early 2026. Companies including Lightmatter, Ayar Labs and nEye Systems are developing photonic interconnects and processors for AI workloads. nEye Systems raised $58 million in Series B funding in April 2025 for optical circuit switches targeting data centres. Traditional chip makers including AMD and Nvidia have invested in photonic technologies through acquisitions and partnerships. Harris positioned Cortisonics acoustic approach as complementary rather than competitive. Were introducing phonons into the mix of computational elements, he said. Its about using all the particles at your disposal, electrons, photons, and now phonons to do computing more efficiently. Defence validation The technology developed from eight years of research with the University of Queensland School of Mathematics and Physics and Lockheed Martin. Cortisonic was established through Main Sequences Venture Science model, with IP licensed through UQs UniQuest. Main Sequence, founded by CSIRO in 2017, invests venture capital in spinouts, startups and SMEs connected to Australias publicly funded R&D sector. Lockheed Martin is both investor and partner, focusing on space and defence applications. Cortisonic received a $3.2 million contract under the Australian Department of Defences Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator programme, in collaboration with Lockheed Martin Australia. The company will demonstrate its Minimum Viable Capability within 24 months. Our ongoing relationship with the Cortisonic team reflects the critical importance of secure and resilient computing in resource-constrained environments, said Dr Tony Lindsay, Director of Advanced Systems & Technologies, Lockheed Martin Australia. Edge device focus Cortisonic is targeting the Edge AI market, projected to reach $269.82 billion by 2032. Edge devices including autonomous drones, wearables and sensors need AI computation but have limited power access. You cant put a data centre on a drone or into a wearable device, Harris said. Our nearest market is computation on edge devices where access to power is limited, like autonomous drones. The company positions its Sonic Processing Unit as distinct from GPUs, CPUs and TPUs, describing the platform as complementary to existing chips rather than a replacement. The leadership includes Dr Glen Harris as CEO, Dr Chris Baker as Chief Scientist, and Dr Michael Harvey as CTO. Alex Romero, Investment Manager at Main Sequence, said the company combines foundational IP, commercially scalable manufacturing, validation from Lockheed Martin, and government funding. The announcement comes as Australias deep tech sector continues to attract funding, with multiple approaches to low-power AI computation pursuing different technical pathways and market segments. Keep up to date with Dynamic Business on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Dipen Pradhan is the Editorial Consultant for Moneycontrol. He has over 10 years of experience in the field of journalism and covers personal finance topics. He has previously worked at Forbes Advisor India, Outlook Money, Entrepreneur, Inc42, and The Statesman. When he is not writing he loves to travel to explore rural hotspots. Mubadalas CEO Khaldoon Al Mubarak is also on the board on Limad. Precious metals had plunged from record highs that shocked even seasoned traders Did our AI summary help? Indias weighted average tariff now stands at 10.7 percent, excluding Section 232 tariffs and exemptions, lower than most South Asian economies and on par with most Southeast Asian economies except Malaysia, which stands lower at 9.4 percent. Carpet weavers to get relief from US tariffs Invite your friends and family to sign up for MC Tech 3, our daily newsletter that breaks down the biggest tech and startup stories of the day Tariffs on India's exports into the US go down from 50% to 18%. Crowds were seen queuing to buy gold in Singapore as prices plunged, seizing the chance to buy the dip. Buyers crowded the lounge for physical bullion transactions at United Overseas Banks headquarters on Monday. The lender is the only bank in the city-state that sells physical gold products to retail investors. Among them were Ng Beng Choo, a retiree in her 70s, who had collected her queue ticket at 9:30 a.m. but was still waiting to be served more than six hours later. "I came to buy because the price of gold dropped today," she told Bloomberg. Gold products from MKS PAMP SA, one of the best-known bullion brands, were sold out, leaving many who had not pre-ordered or arrived later empty-handed. Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore, June 19, 2017. Photo by Reuters The yellow metal slid more than 13% over the past two trading sessions, retreating from a record high of $5,594.82 to about $4,700 an ounce on Monday. Singapore has long been a go-to market for gold buyers thanks to its status as a global wealth hub and its lack of taxes on investment-grade bullion and capital gains. The latest wave of buying underscores the resilience in retail demand for precious metals in the city-state, where the investment demand for gold jumped 48% to a record 9.6 tonnes in 2025. That growth was the strongest in Southeast Asia and came despite gold prices surging 64% in its biggest annual gain since 1979, The Straits Times reported, citing the World Gold Council. Despite the latest dip in prices, analysts still expect the gold rally to continue and set new records later this year. "Although the fall was large and fast, it should also be remembered that we are currently at the same levels we saw just three weeks ago," independent analyst Ross Norman told Reuters. "This is a significant correction but it does not, by any stretch of the imagination, signify the bull run has ended." JP Morgan said it sees gold reaching $6,300 an ounce by year-end. Deutsche Bank, meanwhile, reaffirmed its $6,000 forecast for 2026 on sustained investor demand. In this edition of Moneycontrol Pro Panorama: January CPI uptick signals renewed price pressures, prolonged rate pause likely as i... In October 2025, Indias textile and apparel imports into the US fell sharply, with total apparel imports down 28.5%, cotton apparel down 30.6%, cotton sheets plunging 46.6%, and towels declining 17.1%. India also lost market share across most segments, ceding ground to competitors such as Vietnam and Pakistan, while towels were the only category to gain share, largely at Chinas expense. USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Gems and jewellery, textiles, chemical segments among key sectors in focus as India-US finalise trade deal. Zoya Springwala is a Senior Correspondent, writing on the markets, financial institutions, regulatory changes and everything else in between. NSE set to kick off IPO process after SEBI nod, board meeting on Friday to approve financials and form IPO committee Waaree Energies, Aarti Ind, others: Stocks of renewable energy majors, chemical manufacturers rise up to 14% on India-US trade deal Did our AI summary help? Ayush Mishra is a personal finance journalist specialising in banking, credit, and taxation. With experience at Business Standard, he delivers engaging stories that make complex financial decisions easier to navigate. Did our AI summary help? Deblina Halder Deblina is a journalist and editor covering geopolitics, national political developments and global affairs, with a newsroom focus on conflicts, wars, governance and major international events. Vietnam is emerging as a formidable challenger to Thailand in tourism, with its infrastructure pulling ahead propelled by faster airport and hotel expansion, according to a senior hotel industry executive. Bill Barnett, chief executive of Thailand's hotel and real estate consultancy C9 Hotelworks, said Vietnam has built strong momentum over the past decade, enabling it to attract rising numbers of visitors, particularly from China and Japan. It received a record 21.2 million foreign arrivals in 2025, marking a 20.4% increase from the previous year. Thailand saw a 7.2% decline to 32.9 million, the first annual decline outside the Covid period in a decade, Bloomberg reported. Accommodation supply has become a key competitive advantage for Vietnam. The country now has about 780,000 hotel rooms at 38,000 registered properties, exceeding Thailand's estimated 704,000 rooms, according to the Bangkok Post. Vietnam also has a large number of hotels under development. Pricing further strengthens Vietnam's position. Average room rates are around 20% lower than in Thailand, along with lower labor and food costs and the continued expansion of low-cost airlines, Barnett said. In major Vietnamese cities, average daily room rates stand at US$116, compared with $129 in Bangkok. Resort room rates average $118, well below the $173 typically seen in popular Thai destinations such as Phuket, according to C9 Hotelworks. In the luxury segment, Vietnamese room rates are generally $45-$60 lower than in comparable Thai markets. While Vietnam lacks Thailand's decades-long experience in tourism, Barnett said the pace of infrastructure development is the decisive factor. Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City last year opened the T3 terminal, which can handle 20 million passengers annually and around 7,000 per hour. Long Thanh International Airport, situated 40 kilometers from Tan Son Nhat, is expected to begin operations in mid-2026. Phu Quoc International Airport on the popular resort island is undergoing a comprehensive upgrade aimed at positioning it among the most advanced and sophisticated in the region. Adrija Chatterjee is an Assistant Editor at Moneycontrol. She has been tracking and reporting on finance and trade ministries for over eight years. You are already a Moneycontrol Pro user. OK Christin Mathew Philip is a Senior Assistant Editor at Moneycontrol.com with 15 years of experience in journalism and a recipient of the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award. Based in Bengaluru, he understands the pulse of the people and covers issues that matter, including mobility, infrastructure, start-ups, and government policies. He tweets at @ChristinMP_ Security personnel in the vulnerable areas of the hill and valley districts of Manipur. (File Photo: PTI) Rewati Karan is Senior Sub Editor at Moneycontrol. She covers law, politics, business, and national affairs. She was previously Principal Correspondent at Financial Express and Copyeditor at ThePrint where she wrote feature stories and covered legal news. She has also worked extensively in social media, videos and podcasts at ThePrint and India Today. She can be reached at rewati.karan@nw18.com | Twitter: @RewatiKaran OSLO, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen on Monday condemned the United States for its "condescending and divisive aim" toward Greenland. In a statement, released ahead of an emergency session of the Inatsisartut, Greenland's parliament, Nielsen also reiterated that continued U.S. pressure on Greenland is "unacceptable." Greenland has faced a difficult situation over the past 14 months, the prime minister said, citing repeated U.S. statements, including recent ones, regarding its intention to acquire Greenland. While the possibility of a military takeover has recently been disavowed, the United States continues to seek Greenland's attachment to and governance by the U.S., he said. Nielsen pointed out that such rhetoric comes not only from U.S. President Donald Trump but also from other key U.S. decision-makers and close allies, adding that they have a "condescending and divisive aim" toward Greenland and its people. In response, the government of Greenland has declared these attempts "unacceptable" and reiterated that Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, he said. Nielsen also noted that despite the tense situation, Greenland has begun a dialogue with the United States through high-level official channels, and his government will work to turn the talks into "concrete results." Editor: ZAD US President Donald Trump announced a trade deal between India and the United States on Monday, adding that the US reciprocal tariffs on India would be slashed to 18 per cent. Textiles emerge as the most vulnerable segment for Bangladesh and Pakistan People watch a lion dance performance during a parade celebrating the upcoming Chinese New Year on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris, France, Feb. 1, 2026. (Xinhua/Zhang Baihui) Organizers said about 100,000 residents and tourists gathered along the Champs-Elysees to watch the 2026 Chinese New Year parade, filling the avenue with a festive Spring Festival atmosphere. PARIS, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- A human-shaped robot set the pace on Paris's Champs-Elysees on Sunday as hundreds of Chinese and French artists welcomed the Chinese Year of the Horse, blending ancient tradition with futuristic flair on one of the world's most famous avenues. The robot, walking steadily at the head of a parade of around 800 performers, turned, paused and waved to spectators in time with the music, prompting cheers and raised smartphones as crowds lined the boulevard. Organizers said about 100,000 residents and tourists gathered along the Champs-Elysees to watch the 2026 Chinese New Year parade, filling the avenue with a festive Spring Festival atmosphere. The event, co-organized by the Champs-Elysees Committee and the China National Tourist Office in Paris, highlighted growing cultural exchanges between China and France, combining time-honored customs with contemporary creativity. A humanoid robot, invented by a Chinese company and supplied by French technology firm INNOV8 Group, waves during a parade celebrating the upcoming Chinese New Year on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris, France, Feb. 1, 2026. (Xinhua/Zhang Baihui) The robot, invented by a Chinese company and supplied by French technology firm INNOV8 Group, quickly became one of the most talked-about features of the parade, adding a light-hearted technological twist to the festivities. "It carries strong symbolic meaning," said Stephane Bohbot, chief executive of INNOV8 Group. He added that new technologies could be integrated into these celebrations and show how technology can improve people's lives. The millennia-old Spring Festival is also about the future and future generations, he noted. Behind the robotic usher came traditional dragon and lion dance troupes. Their pounding drums echoed along the avenue as performers conveyed wishes of good fortune, prosperity and vitality. People in Chinese traditional attires perform during a parade celebrating the upcoming Chinese New Year on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris, France, Feb. 1, 2026. (Xinhua/Zhang Baihui) The procession also featured a wide range of traditional Chinese cultural traditions, including more than 100 participants dressed in elegant Hanfu (traditional Chinese attire), the Yingge folk dance from south China's Guangdong Province, martial arts and tai-chi demonstrations. Didier, a resident who came with his family, said it was his first time seeing a Chinese New Year parade on the Champs-Elysees. "The dance performances in traditional costumes were especially unforgettable," he told Xinhua. Marc-Antoine Jamet, president of the Champs-Elysees Committee, said the parade has become a clearly identified cultural rendezvous on the avenue, noting that the horse symbolizes auspiciousness in both Chinese and French cultures. Artists preform a Yingge dance during a parade celebrating the upcoming Chinese New Year on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris, France, Feb. 1, 2026. (Xinhua/Zhang Baihui) Jeanne d'Hauteserre, mayor of the 8th arrondissement of Paris, said she was delighted to see residents and visitors celebrating together. The parade has brought a strong festive atmosphere and a unique cultural experience to the district, further enriching Paris's diverse cultural life, she added. Editor: Xiong Jian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and newly-elected party chief Nitin Nabin at the meeting. Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 2 announced a trade deal, with tariffs on Indian goods dropped from 50 percent to 18 percent Villagers take part in a Chinese New Year celebration event at Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 2, 2026. As the Chinese New Year approaches, Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou City has held a series of festive activities, recreating traditional Chinese New Year customs of a water town and creating a joyful atmosphere for the upcoming holiday. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) An aerial drone photo shows villagers watching a traditional water-town opera performance at Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 2, 2026. As the Chinese New Year approaches, Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou City has held a series of festive activities, recreating traditional Chinese New Year customs of a water town and creating a joyful atmosphere for the upcoming holiday. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) A villager writes spring couplets during a Chinese New Year celebration event at Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 2, 2026. As the Chinese New Year approaches, Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou City has held a series of festive activities, recreating traditional Chinese New Year customs of a water town and creating a joyful atmosphere for the upcoming holiday. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) A drone photo shows villagers watching a traditional water-town opera performance at Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 2, 2026. As the Chinese New Year approaches, Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou City has held a series of festive activities, recreating traditional Chinese New Year customs of a water town and creating a joyful atmosphere for the upcoming holiday. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) Villagers watch a traditional water-town opera performance at Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 2, 2026. As the Chinese New Year approaches, Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou City has held a series of festive activities, recreating traditional Chinese New Year customs of a water town and creating a joyful atmosphere for the upcoming holiday. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) A villager writes spring couplets at Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 2, 2026. As the Chinese New Year approaches, Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou City has held a series of festive activities, recreating traditional Chinese New Year customs of a water town and creating a joyful atmosphere for the upcoming holiday. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) A villager decorates with lanterns and festive ornaments at Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 2, 2026. As the Chinese New Year approaches, Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou City has held a series of festive activities, recreating traditional Chinese New Year customs of a water town and creating a joyful atmosphere for the upcoming holiday. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) Villagers make rice cakes at Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 2, 2026. As the Chinese New Year approaches, Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou City has held a series of festive activities, recreating traditional Chinese New Year customs of a water town and creating a joyful atmosphere for the upcoming holiday. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) An aerial drone photo shows villagers watching a traditional water-town opera performance at Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 2, 2026. As the Chinese New Year approaches, Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou City has held a series of festive activities, recreating traditional Chinese New Year customs of a water town and creating a joyful atmosphere for the upcoming holiday. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) Editor: Xiong Jian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the NDA Parliamentary Party meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday. (PTI) Nirmal K Minda is President, ASSOCHAM. Views are personal, and do not represent the stand of this publication. Danish Khan is the editor of Technology and Telecom. He was previously with the Economic Times and has tracked the sector for 14 years. Plastic surgeons said that most enquiries come from women aged 20 to 40, signalling the return of a trend that peaked more than a decade ago. (Representational image: Unsplash) Over thirty years, Raj Subramaniam rose through the ranks at FedEx under the mentorship of founder Fred Smith, whom he described as his 'CEO school' teacher. (Image credit: LinkedIn, Unsplash) A GenZ employee's response to unreasonable demands of a manager is viral on social media. (AI-generated representational image) The post stated that his financial situation began to change after he shifted his focus to content creation. (AI-generated image) Researchers pose for a photo with the small experimental space ecosystem payload at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, Dec. 2, 2025. (Chongqing University/Handout via Xinhua) CHONGQING, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Researchers at China's Chongqing University announced on Monday that a butterfly has successfully emerged from its pupa while orbiting Earth, yielding valuable data on biological survival in the harsh microgravity environment of space. The butterfly chrysalis was sealed inside a small experimental space ecosystem payload developed by the university's research team and carried into space aboard the Kuaizhou-11 Y8 carrier rocket on Dec. 13, 2025. Photos taken in space show the emerged butterfly moving inside the capsule, resting on leaves and fluttering its wings, demonstrating notable adaptation to the microgravity environment. Recent data transmitted to the research team has confirmed stable pressure, temperature and humidity levels inside the payload's sealed cabin. In the microgravity environment, the altered behavior of fluids and the hindered transport of materials pose significant challenges to the stable operation of a healthy, miniature, closed-loop ecosystem. Having overcome the technical bottleneck of magnesium alloy oxidation in high-humidity conditions, the team developed a lightweight yet robust payload structure that weighs just 8.3 kg, forming a safety barrier for the small ecosystem, said Xie Gengxin, the payload's chief designer. Its design mimics the ecological cycles of Earth, creating a functional miniature ecosystem prototype. This self-sustaining, unmanned system includes plants such as chile pepper, which generate oxygen and potential food for the butterfly, while microorganisms process waste to maintain a stable air composition. "The successful emergence of the butterfly is not just about having an insect in space; it marks a solid step forward in verifying the feasibility of long-term operation of complex life support systems in orbit," he said. He noted that the completion of the butterfly's key life process in an extreme environment tests the resilience of terrestrial life and provides valuable insights for future deep-space life support technologies. In its next step, the research team plans to focus on the in-orbit verification of the structure's endurance, the adaptability of its components to the space environment, and the long-term sealing capability of the payload's sealed cabin. This photo taken in space on Dec. 15, 2025 shows the emerged butterfly. Researchers at China's Chongqing University announced on Monday that a butterfly has successfully emerged from its pupa while orbiting Earth, yielding valuable data on biological survival in the harsh microgravity environment of space. The butterfly chrysalis was sealed inside a small experimental space ecosystem payload developed by the university's research team and carried into space aboard the Kuaizhou-11 Y8 carrier rocket on Dec. 13, 2025.(Chongqing University/Handout via Xinhua) The research team of Chongqing University poses for a group photo in southwest China's Chongqing, on Nov. 28, 2025. Researchers at China's Chongqing University announced on Monday that a butterfly has successfully emerged from its pupa while orbiting Earth, yielding valuable data on biological survival in the harsh microgravity environment of space. The butterfly chrysalis was sealed inside a small experimental space ecosystem payload developed by the university's research team and carried into space aboard the Kuaizhou-11 Y8 carrier rocket on Dec. 13, 2025.(Chongqing University/Handout via Xinhua) A researcher presents the specimen of a butterfly at the Center of Space Exploration under Ministry of Education, in Chongqing University, southwest China's Chongqing, Feb. 2, 2026. Researchers at China's Chongqing University announced on Monday that a butterfly has successfully emerged from its pupa while orbiting Earth, yielding valuable data on biological survival in the harsh microgravity environment of space. The butterfly chrysalis was sealed inside a small experimental space ecosystem payload developed by the university's research team and carried into space aboard the Kuaizhou-11 Y8 carrier rocket on Dec. 13, 2025.(Xinhua/Chen Cheng) This photo taken on Feb. 2, 2026 shows the specimen of a butterfly at the Center of Space Exploration under Ministry of Education, in Chongqing University, southwest China's Chongqing. Researchers at China's Chongqing University announced on Monday that a butterfly has successfully emerged from its pupa while orbiting Earth, yielding valuable data on biological survival in the harsh microgravity environment of space. The butterfly chrysalis was sealed inside a small experimental space ecosystem payload developed by the university's research team and carried into space aboard the Kuaizhou-11 Y8 carrier rocket on Dec. 13, 2025.(Xinhua/Chen Cheng) A researcher introduces for the media at the Center of Space Exploration under Ministry of Education, in Chongqing University, southwest China's Chongqing, Feb. 2, 2026. Researchers at China's Chongqing University announced on Monday that a butterfly has successfully emerged from its pupa while orbiting Earth, yielding valuable data on biological survival in the harsh microgravity environment of space. The butterfly chrysalis was sealed inside a small experimental space ecosystem payload developed by the university's research team and carried into space aboard the Kuaizhou-11 Y8 carrier rocket on Dec. 13, 2025.(Xinhua/Chen Cheng) This photo taken on Feb. 2, 2026 shows the specimen of a butterfly at the Center of Space Exploration under Ministry of Education, in Chongqing University, southwest China's Chongqing. Researchers at China's Chongqing University announced on Monday that a butterfly has successfully emerged from its pupa while orbiting Earth, yielding valuable data on biological survival in the harsh microgravity environment of space. The butterfly chrysalis was sealed inside a small experimental space ecosystem payload developed by the university's research team and carried into space aboard the Kuaizhou-11 Y8 carrier rocket on Dec. 13, 2025.(Xinhua/Chen Cheng) Media workers take photos of the specimen of a butterfly at the Center of Space Exploration under Ministry of Education, in Chongqing University, southwest China's Chongqing, Feb. 2, 2026. Researchers at China's Chongqing University announced on Monday that a butterfly has successfully emerged from its pupa while orbiting Earth, yielding valuable data on biological survival in the harsh microgravity environment of space. The butterfly chrysalis was sealed inside a small experimental space ecosystem payload developed by the university's research team and carried into space aboard the Kuaizhou-11 Y8 carrier rocket on Dec. 13, 2025.(Xinhua/Chen Cheng) Media workers take photos of the specimen of a butterfly at the Center of Space Exploration under Ministry of Education, in Chongqing University, southwest China's Chongqing, Feb. 2, 2026. Researchers at China's Chongqing University announced on Monday that a butterfly has successfully emerged from its pupa while orbiting Earth, yielding valuable data on biological survival in the harsh microgravity environment of space. The butterfly chrysalis was sealed inside a small experimental space ecosystem payload developed by the university's research team and carried into space aboard the Kuaizhou-11 Y8 carrier rocket on Dec. 13, 2025.(Xinhua/Chen Cheng) A researcher introduces the specimen at the Center of Space Exploration under Ministry of Education, in Chongqing University, southwest China's Chongqing, Feb. 2, 2026. Researchers at China's Chongqing University announced on Monday that a butterfly has successfully emerged from its pupa while orbiting Earth, yielding valuable data on biological survival in the harsh microgravity environment of space. The butterfly chrysalis was sealed inside a small experimental space ecosystem payload developed by the university's research team and carried into space aboard the Kuaizhou-11 Y8 carrier rocket on Dec. 13, 2025.(Xinhua/Chen Cheng) Editor: Xiong Jian Hong Kong student gets three months for TOEFL cheating. (Image credit: Reuters) Sridhar Vembu said that the Indian-origin employees in USA are likely to be loyal to their workplaces. Manatees gathered in Three Sisters Springs in Florida. (Image: Dirk Shadd) The Border Roads Organisation shared a rare video of three snow leopards, including a mother and two cubs, spotted in Ladakh by Project Himank teams. The calm sighting suggests healthy high-altitude habitats despite expanding infrastructure. Conservationists say such encounters reflect successful protection efforts, as the vulnerable species faces threats from climate change, tourism growth, and habitat loss across the Himalayas. Did our AI summary help? NASA completed a critical wet dress rehearsal for the Artemis 2 mission, successfully fueling its Space Launch System rocket despite brief liquid hydrogen leaks. Engineers resolved the issues quickly, drawing on lessons from Artemis 1. The test is a major step toward the planned 08.02.2026 launch, which will send four astronauts on a 10-day journey around the Moon, pending final reviews and weather conditions. Did our AI summary help? NASA now will target March as the earliest possible launch opportunity for Artemis II. (Image: NASA) NASAs Perseverance rover has found evidence of an ancient beach inside Jezero crater, suggesting a large lake existed on Mars around 3.5 billion years ago. Led by Imperial College London, the study found wave-shaped rocks and minerals formed by water, indicating stable lake conditions and subsurface circulation. Scientists say these environments are considered habitable on Earth, strengthening theories that Mars once had a warmer, wetter, and more life-friendly climate. Did our AI summary help? Alice Augusta Ball was a pioneering African American chemist whose work transformed leprosy treatment in the early 20th century. She developed an injectable form of chaulmoogra oil that saved lives but died before publishing her findings. Her work was later claimed by a senior colleague and renamed. Decades later, researchers uncovered the truth, restoring Balls place in medical history and recognising her lasting scientific impact. Did our AI summary help? BEIJING, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- China strongly condemned the terrorist attacks in southwestern Pakistan and reiterated its firm support for Pakistan's counter-terrorism efforts, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday. According to reports, the Balochistan Liberation Army launched attacks in multiple areas of Balochistan Province, resulting in casualties among both security personnel and civilians. When asked for comments at a daily press briefing, spokesperson Lin Jian said that China strongly condemns the attacks. He expressed deep condolences to the victims, and extended sincere sympathies to the injured and the families of the victims. "China firmly opposes terrorism in all its forms, and will, as always, firmly support Pakistan in combating terrorism, maintaining social unity and stability, and protecting the safety of its people," he said. Editor: Xiong Jian First detected in 1989, an unusual whale call at 52 hertz has intrigued scientists for over 30 years. Tracked across the Pacific by Woods Hole researchers, the sound appears to come from one unidentified whale. Its frequency is higher than known baleen whales, prompting theories of physical anomaly or hybrid origin. Nicknamed the loneliest whale, it has never been seen, leaving its story unresolved. Did our AI summary help? Priyanka Roshan With over eight years in multimedia journalism, is passionate about storytellingboth visual and textualacross travel, jobs, business, markets, politics, and daily news. From crafting engaging articles to producing compelling videos, she blends creativity with strategy to bring stories to life. With a strong foundation in SEO, and video production she ensures content not only informs but also resonates with audiences. Neeli Jheel in Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary could soon become Delhis first Ramsar site, highlighting the citys efforts to conserve wetlands, biodiversity, and green spaces. 1 / 11 Ever wondered what Europe looks like without selfie sticks, hour-long queues and packed city squares? While Paris, Rome and Barcelona continue to grapple with record-breaking tourist footfall, theres another side of the continent that remains quietly untouchedwhere landscapes feel more personal, cultures feel more authentic, and travel moves at a slower, more rewarding pace. To find out where travellers are least likely to jostle for space, cruise operator Riviera Travel analysed Eurostats latest data on nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments. The results spotlight 10 European countries where tourists spent the fewest nights in 2024making them some of the best options right now for crowd-free holidays. From Alpine microstates to Balkan beauties, heres a closer look at Europes least-travelled destinationsand why now may be the perfect time to visit them. The Lithuanian Diplomatic Service announced the collection of EUR 14,000 for energy support for Ukraine in the face of Russian attacks on critical infrastructure, the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated. Lithuanias diplomatic service is sending light and warmth to Ukraine. We have raised almost EUR 14,000 to deliver at least 28 generator sets to Ukraine amid Russias attacks on energy infrastructure. Ukraine is not alone in its fight for freedom and Europes future, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry said on X. This initiative is part of Lithuanias broader support to Ukraine in the energy sector. Lithuania previously announced the transfer of over 90 generators worth over EUR 2 million, as well as the completion of a logistical operation to relocate an entire thermal power plant from Lithuania to Ukraine under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. Pakistans bid to become a strategic minerals hub failed as it was excluded from the Global Minerals Conference in Washington, highlighting US concerns over Pakistans credibility and stability. India will attend, underscoring a growing trust gap between Pakistan and the US. Did our AI summary help? Former U.S. President Bill Clinton and former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. (Image: Reuters) India secured a trade deal with the US, reducing tariffs on Indian goods from 50% to 18%. This gives India a competitive edge over major exporters like China and Brazil. Key sectors stand to benefit, boosting Indian manufacturing and exports. Did our AI summary help? After weeks of escalating threats, US and Iranian officials plan rare direct talks in Istanbul to de-escalate tensions. Trump, who recently threatened military action, now seeks a deal amid regional, economic, and global pressure against war. Did our AI summary help? Green Card alert: US SBA cuts off business loan access for lawful permanent residents from March 1 India has rejected the Hague tribunals authority over the Indus Waters Treaty dispute with Pakistan, calling its proceedings illegitimate and linking water cooperation to national security amid ongoing concerns about cross-border terrorism and treaty violations. Did our AI summary help? On Tuesday night and in the morning, the Russian Federation carried out a massive missile and drone attack on several regions of Ukraine, as a result of which a significant number of consumers were without electricity in Kyiv, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Vinnytsia and Odessa regions as of this morning, NPC Ukrenergo has said. According to its message on the Telegram channel, energy facilities in several regions were also damaged, and emergency power outages were forced to be applied in some regions, which will be canceled immediately after the situation in the power system stabilizes. According to First Deputy Minister of Energy Artem Nekrasov, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Chernihiv, Odesa, Donetsk and Sumy regions were under attack today. As Ukrenergo specified, due to a significant number of consumers without electricity, electricity consumption significantly decreased: as of 9:30 a.m., its level was 7.9% lower than at the same time on Monday. But in all regions of Ukraine there is still a need for economical energy consumption, it is better to postpone energy-intensive processes to the night - after 23:00. Due to difficult weather conditions (ice and icing of power lines), 68 settlements in three regions were completely or partially de-energized in the morning: Odessa, Mykolaiv and Kherson regions. "Repair teams of the regional energy companies are working to restore the damaged lines," - noted "Ukrenergo". As reported, Russian aggressors once again attacked energy facilities in the Odesa region and the DTEK thermal power plant, they suffered significant damage. According to the Ministry of Energy, the Russian Federation attacked with several types of ballistics and cruise missiles, as well as drones, high-rise buildings and power plants, which operated exclusively in the heating mode of districts in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Dnipro. As a result, hundreds of thousands of families were deliberately left without heat, the agency stressed. On February 3, the Russian Armed Forces shelled Kharkiv for more than three hours, inflicting targeted strikes on energy infrastructure, said the city's mayor, Igor Terekhov. He noted that the city authorities will have to make difficult decisions, including draining the coolant in the heating system of 820 houses. India and the US have signed a landmark trade agreement, hailed by Minister Piyush Goyal as transformative for bilateral ties. The deal reduces US tariffs and opens opportunities for Indian farmers, MSMEs, and tech, reflecting months of tough, strategic negotiations. Abhinav Gupta With over 12 years in digital journalism, has navigated the fast-evolving media landscape, shaping digital strategies and leading high-impact newsrooms. Currently, he serves as News Editor at MoneyControl, leading coverage in Global Affairs, Indian Politics, Governance and Policy Making. Previously, he has spearheaded fact-checking and digital media operations at Press Trust of India. Abhinav has also led news desks at Financial Express, DNA, and Jagran English, managing editorial direction, breaking news coverage, and digital growth. His journey includes stints with The Indian Express Group, Zee Media Group, and more, where he has honed his expertise in newsroom leadership, audience engagement, and digital transformation. US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hold a joint press conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 13, 2025. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) Russia says no indication from India on halting oil imports after US trade deal claims Crown Princess Mette-Marit said her relationship with Epstein was simply embarrassing. Rape trial begins for son of Norway's crown princess in tense moment for royal family US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor played a key role in slashing US tariffs on Indian goods to 18%, ending a punitive levy on Russian oil purchases. The breakthrough is credited to personal diplomacy between President Trump and Prime Minister Modi. Abhinav Gupta With over 12 years in digital journalism, has navigated the fast-evolving media landscape, shaping digital strategies and leading high-impact newsrooms. Currently, he serves as News Editor at MoneyControl, leading coverage in Global Affairs, Indian Politics, Governance and Policy Making. Previously, he has spearheaded fact-checking and digital media operations at Press Trust of India. Abhinav has also led news desks at Financial Express, DNA, and Jagran English, managing editorial direction, breaking news coverage, and digital growth. His journey includes stints with The Indian Express Group, Zee Media Group, and more, where he has honed his expertise in newsroom leadership, audience engagement, and digital transformation. Three Indians Arrested In Canada's Surrey After Shooting Incident In Residential Area Photo: https://t.me/Denys_Smyhal/ Ukraine will receive new financing in the energy sector, specifically a EUR 90 million loan for NPC Ukrenergo and EUR 160 million for gas purchases, which will be reallocated from other projects, First Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Denys Shmyhal announced following a meeting with EBRD First Vice President Gregory Guyett, attended by representatives of Ukrainian state energy companies. "Together with key partners, we are preparing to sign new projects in the public sector, including a EUR 90 million loan for Ukrenergo, as well as a decision on the temporary reallocation of EUR 160 million for natural gas purchases," Shmyhal wrote on Telegram on Tuesday. The Energy Minister added that cooperation with the EBRD in the energy sector currently includes 13 projects, among them support for gas production, restoration of power grids and hydroelectric plants, and strengthening nuclear safety. According to him, the meeting addressed each of these areas, as well as the overall situation in Ukraines energy system and the consequences of todays Russian attack, which deprived the country of part of its electricity generation capacity. Shmyhal noted that particular attention was paid to infrastructure protection, the resources needed for restoration, and the issue of gas imports to meet demand this winter and next. He pointed out that the EUR 500 million previously allocated by the EBRD to Naftogaz of Ukraine for gas purchases, along with an additional EUR 85 million from Norway, made it possible to secure the necessary volumes of resources. As reported, the World Bank will provide $40 million to NPC Ukrenergo for the purchase of equipment needed to restore the energy system after Russian attacks, Shmyhal said following a conversation with World Bank Managing Director for Operations Anna Bjerde. India and the US announced a landmark trade deal reducing US tariffs on Indian goods and eliminating Indian tariffs on US products, boosting Indian exports and market access. The pact is seen as a diplomatic breakthrough and a reset in economic relations. Did our AI summary help? An oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. (Getty Images/Bloomberg) Petro, Colombias first left wing president, has never been shy about criticising Washington The US Justice Department released thousands more documents related to Jeffrey Epstein. ( Pictorial Illustration) Tax revenues to Ukraine's consolidated budget from tourism sector businesses in the Ivano-Frankivsk region in 2025 amounted to UAH 431.3 million, according to data from the information databases of the State Tax Service, the regional tourism office reported. This figure is 72% higher than in 2024. It is noted that together with revenues from the restaurant industry, the total amounts to UAH 835.6 million (including expenditures by residents of the region who visited restaurants and other public catering establishments). The largest tax revenues to local budgets from hotel industry businesses were collected in the Polianytsia territorial community (UAH 73.8 million), the Ivano-Frankivsk territorial community (UAH 40.9 million), and the Yaremche territorial community (UAH 19.2 million). The largest tax revenues to local budgets from restaurant industry businesses were recorded in the Ivano-Frankivsk territorial community (UAH 88.6 million), the Polianytsia territorial community (UAH 26.8 million), and the Kolomyia territorial community (UAH 11.8 million). The largest tax revenues to local budgets from organized tourism businesses were collected in the Ivano-Frankivsk territorial community (UAH 4.6 million), the Kolomyia territorial community (UAH 1.4 million), and the Yaremche territorial community (UAH 1.0 million). Vanessa Simonds The recipient of the Marley-Maben Native and Indigenous Peoples Leadership Award is Vanessa Simonds, associate professor in the Department of Human Development and Community Health in the College of Education, Health and Human Development. This award recognizes significant outreach and engagement activities benefiting Native people and lands, along with demonstrated collaboration, research and educational efforts. It carries a $3,000 honorarium. A citizen of the Crow Tribe, Simonds integrates Indigenous knowledge systems and community-based participatory research methods to create educational and scientific opportunities that empower Native students and communities. Her projects including Guardians of the Living Water and Healthy Relationships among Apsaalooke Youth are nationally recognized for blending public health, environmental science and Indigenous cultural teachings in ways that honor community wisdom while advancing academic excellence. In her teaching and mentorship, Simonds has built a remarkable culture of wellness and belonging within the graduate programs at MSU, according to Alexandra Adams, director of the Center for American Indian and Rural Health Excellence, in a letter nominating Simonds for the award. Through the Indigenous and Rural Health Ph.D. program, Simonds has led efforts to design coursework, retreats and supportive structures that nurture students holistically. Of the 78 students she has mentored, 43 are Native, including 12 of 15 doctoral students and 13 of 28 masters students. This level of representation and success reflects not only her commitment to equity but also her gift for cultivating relationships of trust and care that enable Indigenous students to thrive, Adams wrote. Simondss outreach and engagement efforts have been marked by deep and lasting impact, Adams noted. Since 2015, Simonds has co-led Guardians of the Living Water summer camps and related programs with community and tribal partners, fostering early STEM interest among Indigenous youth and training graduate students to teach in culturally grounded ways. Dr. Simondss work is sustained, intentional and transformative, Adams concluded. Through more than two decades of community partnership, she has built a body of scholarship and mentorship that uplifts Indigenous voices and meaningfully advances MSUs land-grant mission. Her leadership, humility and dedication continue to shape both our university and the many Native communities she serves. See more awards from 2025-2026 February 3, 2026 Ukraine Security Guarantee Details Why The Energy Ceasefire Ended Back in December I wrote about the Flim Flam Theater Of Peace Talks On Ukraine: The negotiations over the weekend between the U.S., Ukraine and Europe about the parameters of a ceasefire or peace agreement with Russia were surreal. The three sides are fighting each other over detailed points that Russia is sure to reject. They also left out important points which Russia had named as its priority items. There is no way that any of this will lead to peace. Which may well be the point of the whole theater. One point of those one-sided negotiations were some vague security guarantees for Ukraine. Todays Financial Times is first to discuss these in more detail (archived): Ukraine has agreed with western partners that persistent Russian violations of any future ceasefire agreement would be met by a co-ordinated military response from Europe and the US, according to people briefed on the discussions. Under the plan, three people familiar with the matter said, a Russian ceasefire violation would trigger a response within 24 hours, beginning with a diplomatic warning and any action required from the Ukrainian army to halt the infraction. If hostilities continued beyond that, a second phase of intervention would be initiated using forces from the so-called coalition of the willing, which includes many EU members plus the UK, Norway, Iceland and Turkey. If the violation turned into an expanded attack, 72 hours after the initial breach, a co-ordinated military response by a western-backed force involving the US military would take effect, the officials said. NATO Secretary Rutte has confirmed the three stage theme. I wonder if it has he who came up with that fantasy. What exactly does intervention mean? Sending a battalion of British grenadiers from west-Ukraine towards the east to cover three miles of a who knows how long frontline? How many Iskander missile and KAB bomb strikes strikes would it survive? The UK and France have pledged to deploy troops and weaponry to Ukraine, as part of security guarantees supported by the US to underpin a 20-point peace deal aimed at ending Russias almost four-year-long invasion. A European-led deterrence force would provide reassurance measures in the air, at sea and on land after a ceasefire, with the intelligence and logistical support of the US, leaders of Kyivs key allies said following the Paris meeting. How a ceasefire would be monitored and enforced will be critical to its durability. The US has offered to provide high-tech monitoring capabilities along the 1,400km front line. Luckily none of this nonsense will come to pass. As the FT notes correctly: Russia has [..] dismissed the security guarantees discussed by the US and Ukraine out of hand. Dmitry Medvedev, a former stand-in president for Putin, said in comments published on Monday that these guarantees cant be one-sided, according to Tass. These arent guarantees for Ukraine. These are guarantees for both sides: Russia and Ukraine. Otherwise the guarantees dont work. Moscow has also said it will not agree to any ceasefire before a comprehensive deal to end the war is reached or accept any western troop deployments to Ukraine. Meanwhile Politico is falsely accusing Russia of breaking a Trump-brokered energy ceasefire: Russia broke an energy truce brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump after just four days on Tuesday, hitting Ukraines power plants and grid with more than 450 drones and 70 missiles. The strikes hit Sumy and Kharkiv regions, Kyiv region and the capital, as well as Dnipro, Odesa, and Vinnytsia regions. As of now, nine people have been reported injured as a result of the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a morning statement. The Russian strike occurred half-way through a truce on energy infrastructure attacks that was supposed to last a week, and only a day before Russian, Ukrainian and American negotiators are scheduled to meet in Abu Dhabi for the next round of peace talks. On January 29 Trump suggested to reporters that a one week energy truce was in place. It came after the Ukrainians had pleaded for one. The last severe Russian strike on Ukrainian energy facilities had happened on January 23-24. That was also the day on which, during negotiations in Abu Dhabi, an energy ceasefire was first discussed. On January 30 Russia publicly agreed to hold fire until February 1: The Kremlin said it had agreed to U.S. President Donald Trumps request to halt strikes on energy targets, which have knocked out power and heating to hundreds of Kyiv apartment buildings. But spokesman Dmitry Peskov indicated the measure would end on Sunday. In a later talk Peskov confirmed that date. February 1 was also the day on which a new round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi was supposed to take place. Politicos claim that Russia broke a ceasefire after the time frame it had committed to had ended is an obvious lie. On January 31 Ukraine again had a countrywide blackout. It was not caused by a Russia attack but by a rupture of two main power lines due to icy condition. On February 1 Zelenski unilaterally moved the next date for negotiations in Abu Dhabi to February 4 or 5: A new round of US-brokered trilateral talks between Ukraine and Russia will take place in Abu Dhabi on Feb. 4 and 5, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday, adding that Kyiv was ready for a substantive discussion. President Zelenskiy said on Sunday that the events would be delayed as Ukrainians faced uncertainty over the fate of an energy ceasefire with Russia amid plunging temperatures. Last night the Russia used over 500 drones and missile for another strike against Ukrainian energy facilities. It destroyed one combined heat and power plant in Kiev, another one in Kharkiv and one in Dnipro. Several high voltage transformer stations were also hit. From the Russian perspective the one week energy ceasefire started after the last strike on January 23-24 and ended on February 1. Russia likely considered Zelenskis attempt to bind the energy ceasefire to the negotiations in Abu Dhabi and the one-sided moving of the negotiation date as a trick to prolong the energy ceasefire. It did not fall for it. Comments Chinese premier urges efforts to boost development, improve people's well-being Xinhua) 08:03, February 03, 2026 Chinese Premier Li Qiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, visits the Jier Machine-Tool Group Co., Ltd., in east China's Shandong Province on Feb. 2, 2026. Li made an inspection tour on Monday in east China's Shandong Province. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen) JINAN, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang stressed on Monday the need to advance development, improve people's well-being and boost growth momentum in a more solid and effective way. Li, who is also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks during an inspection tour in east China's Shandong Province. Smart manufacturing is the primary focus for driving technological transformation and industrial upgrading, Li said, noting that artificial intelligence technologies should be actively leveraged to comprehensively reshape the entire production and manufacturing chain across its full lifecycle. He called for efforts to accelerate the research, development and application of green and low-carbon technologies, and to convert industrial waste heat into a stable and clean thermal energy source. During the tour, Li was briefed on the development of energy infrastructure and nuclear power projects in Shandong. He underscored the importance of coordinating the construction and safe operation of clean energy projects, enhancing technological capabilities and regulatory oversight, and strengthening support for the development of a modern energy system. Also on the tour, Li chaired a symposium to solicit opinions and suggestions on the draft government work report and the draft outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development, as well as on the work of the government. Governments at all levels should leverage their local comparative advantages and actively foster new growth drivers, Li said. In conjunction with the formulation and implementation of the 15th Five-Year Plan, they should formulate plans for a series of major initiatives and key projects to achieve greater progress in priority areas, the premier noted. These areas include the development of new quality productive forces tailored to local conditions, the improvement of the domestic economic cycle, and the promotion of the employment and income growth of residents. Chinese Premier Li Qiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, chairs a symposium to solicit opinions and suggestions on the draft government work report and the draft outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development, as well as on the work of the government, in east China's Shandong Province on Feb. 2, 2026. Li made an inspection tour on Monday in east China's Shandong Province. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen) (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) The News in Brief Tuesday, February 3, 2026 Georgia's ruling party has submitted draft legislation that would effectively ban foreign funding for civic activity, drawing sharp criticism from Amnesty International.In a statement, the organization said the proposed amendments to the law on grants would further entrench authoritarian practices and silence dissent. The changes would vastly expand the definition of a grant to include almost any foreign funding or in-kind support tied to activities the government disapproves of, from political activism to research and expert advice."The government's proposed changes are highly damaging and signify Georgia's further expansion of authoritarian practices to silence and criminalize dissent," said Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International's Deputy Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia. "If the law were to pass, no grants would be allowed without the government's prior approval, and those who receive them otherwise risk being locked up."Krivosheev described the initiative as "a naked attempt to criminalize virtually anything related to independent civil society, political opposition and engagement in public life outside of government control."Amnesty International stressed that seeking and receiving foreign funding is central to the work of civil society and is protected under international law. The organization called on the Georgian authorities to withdraw the draft laws and bring the country's legislation into line with its international human rights obligations, including freedom of association and expression.The de facto security service of Georgia's Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region has accused Tamar Mearakishvili of cooperating with Georgian intelligence services, according to a statement released by the agency."Mearakishvili transmitted information about politicians, law enforcement officers, Russian military personnel, their deployment locations, and the movement of military equipment," the statement claimed. It also alleged that she secretly recorded conversations with officials and collected information "for later use."The agency said Mearakishvili was "recruited by Georgian intelligence services for intelligence and sabotage activities" and claimed that her actions were coordinated by foreign intelligence services.According to the statement, the de facto authorities identified what they described as her contacts among current and former Georgian officials, including representatives of Georgia's security services and former ministers.The security committee also claimed that a later stage of her alleged activities involved attempts to gain access to government and law enforcement institutions in the occupied region."The State Security Committee will pursue the case against Tamar Mearakishvili to the end and hold her accomplices accountable," the statement said.No evidence was presented to substantiate the accusations. Photo: https://bank.gov.ua The number of successful electronic user identifications via the BankID system of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) increased by 21.7 million, or 24.7%, in 2025 compared with 2024, reaching 109.4 million, the regulator reported on its website. "The growth in the number of identifications in both the public and private sectors demonstrates the demand for this tool and users' trust in it," said Olha Vasylieva, Deputy Director of the NBU's Payments Systems and Innovative Development Department. In particular, the number of identifications by commercial subscribers in 2025 increased by 1.2 million, or 12.1%, to 6.5 million, while non-commercial identifications rose by 21 million, or 25.6%, to 102.9 million. Among the factors behind the increase, the National Bank cited the expansion of the range of remote services in the public sector and a revival of activity in the financial market. In 2025, 11 new subscribers-service providers joined the system, including one non-commercial organization, the Cherkasy Institute of the City NGO. Among the commercial subscribers were Ukrzaliznytsia, the national railway carrier; Opendatabot, a public data monitoring service; four microfinance companies Hama Upgrade LLC, FC Ukrainian Payment Center LLC, FC Finmarket LLC, and FC Unit LLC. The list also includes the online real estate listings service LUN Co LLC, the earned wage access service FlexiPay Ukraine LLC, a network of clinics Expert Hospital LLC, and the goods and key sharing and rental service Goodzilla LLC. The regulator recalled that BankID is used, in particular, for authentication on government portals and in the Diia application, and is also the sole authentication method in the Reserve+ system. In addition, a number of system documents and technical requirements were updated in 2025. Specifically, procedures for onboarding new participants were optimized, a transition to a new version of the interaction specification was completed, inter-subscriber tariffs were revised, and the ability to verify a user's age was added. According to the NBU, as of early 2026 the BankID system included 39 identifier banks and 112 subscribers-service providers (97 commercial and 15 non-commercial). President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands at the White House in Washington, D.C., Feb. 13, 2025. REUTERS WASHINGTON/NEW DELHI (Reuters) President Donald Trump on Monday announced a trade deal with India that slashes U.S. tariffs on Indian goods to 18% from 50% in exchange for India halting Russian oil purchases and lowering trade barriers. Trump announced the deal on social media following a call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, noting that India would now buy oil from the U.S. and potentially Venezuela. A White House official told Reuters that the U.S. was rescinding a punitive 25% duty on all imports from India over its purchases of Russian oil that had stacked on top of a 25% reciprocal tariff rate. U.S.-listed shares of major Indian companies rallied on the news. IT consulting firm Infosys closed 4.3% higher, consultancy Wipro rose 6.8%, HDFC Bank gained 4.4% and the iShares MSCI India exchange-traded fund rallied 3%. Trumps announcement added to positive sentiment over semiconductor makers and artificial intelligence, lifting major indexes into positive territory on the day. Modi also committed India to BUY AMERICAN at a much higher level, in addition to buying more than $500 billion worth of U.S. energy, including coal, along with technology, agricultural and other products, Trump added. They will likewise move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO, Trump said of India. Until Trump returned to office and raised U.S. tariff rates to double-digit levels last year, India had some of the worlds highest tariffs, with a simple applied rate of 15.6% and an effective applied tariff of 8.2%, according to World Trade Organization data. Trumps Truth Social message provided few details, including on the start date for the lower tariff rates, the deadline for India to end Russian oil purchases, trade barrier reductions and which U.S. products India had committed to purchasing. As of late Monday afternoon, the White House had not issued a presidential proclamation nor a Federal Register notice required to make the changes official. A White House spokesperson offered no further details, while Indias commerce and foreign ministries did not immediately respond to requests sent after working hours. Russias embassy in Washington also did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Previous trade deals with other major Asian trading partners including Japan and South Korea have included commitments to invest hundreds of billions of dollars into U.S. industries, but the India announcement did not mention any specific investments. The deal brings India broadly in line with its Asian peers on tariff rates of 15% to 19%, said Madhavi Arora, economist at Emkay Global, adding that it would eliminate a disproportionate drag on Indias exports and its rupee currency. Indian markets had been battered since the tariffs were levied by Washington, making it the worst-performing market among emerging nations in 2025, with record outflows of foreign investors. U.S. business groups reacted with caution and criticism. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has long advocated a market-opening trade deal with India, called Trumps announcement progress towards that goal. We are optimistic that this is the first step toward a comprehensive trade agreement that will unlock even more private sector collaboration, and we look forward to reviewing the details of the deal, Chamber CEO Suzanne Clark said in a statement. A coalition of more than 800 small businesses called We Pay the Tariffs urged Americans not to celebrate the deal, which it called a 600% tax increase on American businesses compared to 2024. The group noted that U.S. tariffs on Indian imports were about 2% to 3% at that time but would now be 18% and could go higher if India does not fully wean itself off Russian oil. Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%, Modi said in a social media post on X. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement. Indias Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said the deal would draw the U.S. and Indian economies closer together. This agreement unlocks unprecedented opportunities for farmers, MSMEs, entrepreneurs, and skilled workers to Make in India for the world, Design in India for the world, and Innovate in India for the world. It will help India get technology from the U.S., Goyal said in a post on X. The deal comes less than a week after India signed a long-awaited trade deal with the European Union that is expected to eliminate or reduce tariffs on 96.6% of traded goods by value. That deal excludes EU soybeans, beef, sugar, rice and dairy from tariff reductions. The Trump administration has been racing to complete framework trade deals with major trading partners before the U.S. Supreme Court rules on whether to strike down Trumps reciprocal tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Trump administration officials reached a deal with Taiwan last month and say such agreements are expected to continue no matter what the court rules, as they will reimpose tariffs under other authorities. On Saturday, Trump teased a potential deal for India to buy Venezuelan oil after the U.S. seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a military raid in early January. The deal followed months of tense trade negotiations between the worlds two largest democracies. Last August, Trump doubled duties on imports from India to 50% to pressure New Delhi to stop buying Russian oil, and earlier this month said the rate could rise again if it did not curb its purchases. Purchases of Venezuelan oil would help replace some of the Russian oil bought by India, the worlds third-biggest oil importer. India relies heavily on oil imports, covering around 90% of its needs, and importing cheaper Russian oil has helped lower its import costs since Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022 and Western nations enacted sanctions on its energy exports. Recently India has begun to slow its purchases from Russia. In January, they were around 1.2 million barrels per day, and are projected to decline to about 1 million bpd in February and 800,000 bpd in March, according to a Reuters report. MALOU Beruecos open letter to Delegate Kimberly King-Hinds prompts me to write about the mistreatment of lawful CNMI Long-Term Residents presently occurring and the confusion surrounding renewal of their documentation as CNMI Long-Term Residents. While I was not aware of the problem of USCIS rejecting C37 EAD renewal applications purportedly on grounds of incorrect fee submissions until I read Ms. Beruecos letter, I do know that USCIS has for years been unfairly and unnecessarily rejecting petitions and applications (and other documents) while citing reasons that are incomplete, incorrect, opaque, or indecipherable at best. As for the specific question of how a $520 fee payment for EAD renewal could possibly be wrong, there may be no answer. That is because the fee amount almost certainly is correct unless there was something hidden in HR1, the Republicans Big Ugly Bill last year. But the fee problem is merely the tip of the iceberg, as they say. There is a much larger issue at play here. As an experienced immigration lawyer and the vice chair of the NMI Democratic Party, I will say that the entire situation is an outrage. Properly speaking, C37 is not a visa category. It is a classification code used to document CNMI Long-Term Resident status. And CNMI Long-Term Resident status is not a time-limited status and employment authorization, it the functional equivalent of a CNMI-Only Green Card. That means it does not expire. Yes, the card expires and needs to be renewed, but the status is permanent. Unfortunately, it appears that under the present U.S. administration USCIS does not understand this. Indeed, the fact that applications are being rejected suggests that current personnel may think that the fee submitted is wrong because they do not recognize the C37 classification as an EAD category at all. This is unsurprising (especially for inexperienced and poorly trained personnel) since technically, it isnt. C37 is a placeholder code used on the employment authorization document or EAD the card to identify the holder as a CNMI Long-Term Resident. The proof of this point can be found in the Form I-765 instructions on page 16, item 19. The text reads: Applicant for Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Long-Term Resident Status (c)(37). You must file Form I-765 together with your Form I-955, Application for CNMI Long-Term Resident Status. If your Form I-955 is approved, you will receive an employment authorization document as evidence of your CNMI Long-Term Resident Status and evidence that you are authorized for employment in the CNMI incident to status. All of the C37 renewals currently being pursued are for EADs issued pursuant to this language. An I-955 was approved, granting the status (much in the same way that a person obtains a Green Card following approval of an I-485), and the C37 EAD was issued to document the status. CNMI Long-Term Resident status was created by U.S. Public Law 116-24 in 2019. There was a narrow window to apply for the status. For reasons known (or unknown) only to USCIS, a decision was made to document the status with EAD cards with a five-year expiration in contrast with green cards, which have a 10-year validity. As a consequence, all of the persons in the CNMI currently holding CNMI Long-Term Resident status are right now in need of renewal of their EAD cards and facing this conundrum. Early in this discussion, I pointed out that C37 is not an actual EAD category, despite being the notation on the card. This needs further explanation. EAD categories are defined by regulation, 8 C.F.R. 274a.12. Without getting bogged down in complex details, this regulation has three subsections, each of which discusses different classes of noncitizens authorized for employment. The EAD categories follow the subsections: (a), (b), and (c). Subsection (c) is captioned Aliens who must apply for employment authorization. As discussed, this heading is a misnomer as applied to CNMI Long-Term Residents. Nevertheless, it is the subsection that USCIS used to code apparently as a matter of simple administrative convenience CNMI Long-Term Residents. But it is not a real classification. Instead, C37 or more precisely, (c)(37) was deployed as a mere place holder. This is evident by actually examining the regulation. Running down the enumerated categories in subsection (c), we find right after (c)(36) (37)-(39) [Reserved]. In short, C37 is not an actual EAD category at all. But it does signify CNMI Long-Term Resident status and employment authorization incident to status. Legally, holders of C37 EADs do not lose their status or employment authorization upon expiration of the EAD card. This is because U.S. Public Law 116-24, the Northern Mariana Islands Long Term Legal Residents Relief Act, explicitly provides that employment is authorized incident to status. As the status does not expire, neither does the employment authorization. CNMI Long-Term Resident status does not expire because the law, codified in the U.S. Code at 48 U.S.C. 1806(e)(6), says that it continues until the holder stops residing in CNMI or violates the conditions of the status. That means anyone granted CNMI Long-Term Resident status continues to have that status until it is shown that they lost it. This is just like a Green Card. Lawful permanent resident status does not expire, even though the Green Card itself does. The card is simply evidence of the status; possession of a currently valid green card is not a condition to having the status. It is not a legal requirement that a CNMI Long-Term residents renew their EAD in order to maintain employment authorization. Employers are not violating the law by continuing to employ CNMI Long-Term Residents who submitted proper documentation at the time they were hired. This is because the statute creating CNMI Long-Term Resident status explicitly states provides that employment is authorized incident to status. Ms. Beruecos letter also makes the very modest request of 180-day extensions of employment authorizations. As discussed above, extension actually is unnecessary because the authorization does not expire with the card it is incident to status. And the status is not dependent on the card. In any case, USCIS regulations entitle anyone who made a timely renewal application before October 30, 2025, to an automatic extension of employment authorization of 540 days. See 8 C.F.R. 274a.13(d). The regulation explicitly states: An Employment Authorization Document (Form I-766) that has expired on its face is considered unexpired when combined with a Notice of Action (Form I-797C), which demonstrates that the requirements of . . . this section have been met. STEPHEN C. WOODRUFF Saipan, CNMI Shanty Sigrah Asher TNC photo (TNC) Shanty Sigrah Asher, from the Federated States of Micronesia, has recently joined The Nature Conservancy Micronesia and Polynesia as FSM government relations and partnership manager. In this role, she works with national and state governments to strengthen collaboration, build trust, and help turn shared conservation priorities into lasting policies. Before joining TNC, Shanty built a career in law, public service, and community leadership in Hawaii. She holds advanced degrees in law and criminal justice and has worked in government programs focused on community development and public participation. She has also served in leadership roles across education, legal services, and Pacific community organizations. These experiences shaped her commitment to inclusive decision-making and equitable development. After several years in Hawaii, Shanty decided to return home to FSM. She saw joining TNC as an opportunity to reconnect with her roots, learn more about natural resource management, and apply her experience to support island communities. She now helps connect TNCs technical and scientific teams with government partners, supporting transparent decision-making and long-term stewardship of natural resources. Her work focuses on ensuring conservation efforts are locally led and aligned with communities priorities. Coming home and doing work that supports our islands and our people feels deeply meaningful, said Shanty. As a mother, I often think about the world we leave our children, and I want to help protect our natural resources so future generations can thrive. By Bryan Manabat [email protected] Variety News Staff SUPERIOR Court Associate Judge Kenneth L. Govendo has sentenced Gerald Serrano to one year in prison, with all but 30 days suspended, for assault and battery in a domestic violence case. Serrano will not be eligible for parole or early release during the 30-day period he must serve. Serrano pleaded guilty on Jan. 8. Judge Govendo ordered him to report to the Department of Corrections on Jan. 18. Serrano is scheduled for release on Feb. 14 at 8 a.m. Serrano, 33, had posted 10% of his $20,000 cash bail. He was initially charged with assault and battery, strangulation, domestic violence, and disturbing the peace after allegedly attacking his wife with an extension cord. In his four-page judgment and commitment order, Judge Govendo also placed Serrano on three years of supervised probation upon release. Serrano must complete counseling, pay $125 in court costs, and comply with other conditions. Serrano was represented by the Public Defenders Office. Assistant Attorney General Frannie Demapan represented the government. According to the complaint, a female friend of Serranos wife went to the Department of Public Safety on Aug. 31 seeking help for the victim, who was waiting in a vehicle in the DPS parking lot. A police officer met the victim and observed bruising on her left elbow, the right side of her neck, her chest, and a rash on her left outer thigh. She told police her husband caused the injuries and declined medical attention. A crime scene technician photographed the injuries. The victim said the incident began the night of Aug. 30 at her mothers house, where the family was celebrating her brothers arrival from the Philippines. She sent a taxi to pick up her husband and bring him to the gathering, where they drank alcohol. She told police her husband looked through her phone and gave her a sarcastic smile, as if he had found something incriminating. They left the house around 1:30 a.m., with Serrano driving. On the main road, she said Serrano yelled at her, asking, Why is this number still on your blocked contacts for WhatsApp? and accused her of cheating. She said she opened the passenger door in an attempt to commit suicide, but Serrano grabbed her left arm to stop her. He then grabbed a fistful of her hair with his right hand and refused to let go. When they arrived home, she said she was afraid to get out of the car. She said Serrano opened the passenger door, grabbed her feet, and dragged her across gravel, then grass, and up a small flight of steps into their apartment. Inside, he carried her to the bedroom and threw her onto the bed. She told police Serrano sat on her stomach, held her hands above her head with one hand, and with the other hand looped a white extension cord around her neck three times, strangling her. She cried loudly, hoping someone would hear. Eventually, she stopped resisting, unsure what else to do. Serrano later released her. The victim said she eventually left the bedroom, went outside, got into the vehicle, and fell asleep in the back seat. She woke around 6 a.m., cleaned herself up inside the house, and called her friend to pick her up before disclosing the assault. Police arrested Serrano after interviewing the victim. A Russian missile and drone attack on Tuesday night left more than 50,000 residents of the Odesa region without electricity, the head of Odesa Regional Military Administration Oleh Kiper said on Telegram. "The enemy carried out a massive missile and drone attack on the Odesa region. The strikes were recorded on energy and civil infrastructure in the south of the region. As a result of the attack, more than 50,000 residents were temporarily left without electricity. Energy workers are already working on restoration. Three residential buildings were damaged, as well as warehouses and administrative premises, and cars. Fortunately, there were no deaths or injuries. Critical infrastructure is running on generators," Kiper said. By Bryan Manabat [email protected] Variety News Staff SUPERIOR Court Judge Kenneth L. Govendo sentenced Jerry H. Smith to serve 275 days in prison for his sixth conviction of driving under the influence of alcohol. On Jan. 13, Judge Govendo found Smith guilty of DUI, refusing to submit to a breath test, and violating the terms of his probation in a previous DUI case, TR-21-01174. Smith, a citizen of the Federated States of Micronesia, will serve the remaining 275 days in that case. The sentence will run concurrently with another DUI case, TR-25-00275, in which he was ordered to serve 30 days. The court dismissed a third case, TR-22-03958. Smith must report to the Department of Corrections on Feb. 24 at 8 a.m. He is scheduled for release on Nov. 26 at 8 a.m. The court also ordered Smith to pay a $1,000 fine. His drivers license was revoked for one year and must be surrendered to the Adult Probation Office. After completing his prison term, Smith will be placed on two years of probation and must perform 100 hours of community service. He is also required to pay a $265 probation fee and court costs. Bryan Manabat was a liberal arts student of Northern Marianas College where he also studied criminal justice. He is the recipient of the NMI Humanities Award as an Outstanding Teacher (Non-Classroom) in 2013, and has worked for the CNMI Motheread/Fatheread Literacy Program as lead facilitator. Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte delivers a statement following her impeachment by the lower house of the Congress, in her office at Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila, Feb. 7, 2025. REUTERS MANILA (Reuters) Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte faced another round of impeachment complaints on Monday after surviving attempts to remove her last year, with rights groups and activists accusing her of betraying the publics trust, corruption and other crimes. The daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte is widely seen as a frontrunner for the 2028 presidential election and prevailed after a similar impeachment bid last year, which the Supreme Court struck down for violating constitutional safeguards. A lawyer for Duterte said the fresh challenge comes as no surprise. We are prepared to confront these allegations squarely through the proper constitutional processes, her lawyer Michael Poa said in a statement. The complaints are the latest twist in the Philippines tumultuous politics, with the vice president still locked in a bitter battle, opens new tab with former ally President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ahead of the next election. Marcos cannot run again due to a single-term limit but is expected to back a successor to try to keep Duterte from power. Civil society and leftist groups filed two separate complaints against Duterte on Monday based on similar grounds to those lodged last year. Those included her alleged misuse of public funds, bribery for government contracts and threatening to kill Marcos, the first lady, and the former House speaker who is also the presidents cousin. The complainants also accused Duterte of ignoring congressional inquiries. The constitution does not permit such cynical disregard for public trust. It does not allow the Vice President to treat public funds as a personal war chest while stonewalling all attempts at oversight, one of the complaints said. Duterte has previously rejected the allegations. Marcos too is facing a separate impeachment complaint at the House of Representatives. Asked for comment on the new complaints against Duterte, the presidents communications office said it was a matter for Congress to decide. We respect the rule of law and we respect due process. The president wants to fight corruption as much as he can, and people deserve to know the truth, it said. Unlike last years complaints, the impeachment effort against Duterte will need to hurdle additional procedures imposed by the Supreme Court last year. A midterm election last year also saw more Duterte allies join the Senate, members of which serve as jurors in impeachment cases. Its even more challenging now, I would say, given this Supreme Court final ruling, Senator Risa Hontiveros told foreign correspondents at a forum on Monday. Photo: https://www.president.gov.ua/ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that by shelling Ukraine on Tuesday night, Russia has demonstrated that it has prioritized terror over diplomacy, and therefore it should be put under maximum pressure. "Using the coldest days of winter to terrorize people is more important for Russia than using diplomacy. And this very clearly demonstrates what is needed from partners and what can help. Timely supply of missiles for air defense systems and protection of normal life is our priority. Without pressure on Russia, there will be no end to this war. Now Moscow is choosing terror and escalation, and because of this, maximum pressure is needed," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram on Tuesday, thanking partner countries for their help. According to the president, last night the occupiers again launched targeted strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities using strike drones, ballistic and other types of missiles. "The Sumy, Kharkiv, Kyiv and the capital, Dnipro, Odesa, Vinnytsia regions were hit. As of now, it is known that nine people were injured in the attack. There is damage to ordinary residential buildings and energy infrastructure. In Kyiv, there were fires in high-rise buildings after drone strikes, a kindergarten was damaged. Wherever possible, the necessary services have been involved," Zelenskyy said. As reported, on the night of Tuesday, February 3, Russia attacked the residential and energy infrastructure of Kyiv and a number of regions with drones and missiles. In the capital, more than 1,100 houses were left without heating, the most difficult situation is in the Darnytsia and Dnipro districts. Restoration work is already underway. In a tense fiscal year, during his final State of the State address, Gov. Bill Lee proposed doubling the money for his school voucher program, which launched ahead of this school year. The governor's budget rolls out $300 million for expanding Education Freedom Scholarships, which provide public dollars for private school education. That means increasing the money by $150 million over the previous year. More than 50,000 applications were received for the programs 20,000 vouchers in January ahead of the 2026-27 school year. The two pots of money proposed for expanding vouchers would equate to 20,000 additional spots; 5,000 of those additional scholarships are from the current law for vouchers, with the remaining 15,000 coming from new money in this years budget, if approved. This would bring the total number to 40,000 vouchers. Lee proposed $170 million in new funds for the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement Act, the states public school funding formula. The governor also said that beginning in 2027, public school teachers' starting salary will be set at $50,000. Last year, we gave families school choice with the Education Freedom Scholarship program, because parents know best, said Lee. Clearly, Tennesseans like freedom. Last year, we received more than 40,000 applications, and this year, 54,000 applications so far for 20,000 spots. That means right now, 34,000 students are still waiting for a shot at education freedom. We owe it to them. Additionally, the governor proposed $50 million in nonrecurring funds for public safety, $17 million for 50 new Tennessee Highway Patrol officers, $50 million for an AI enablement program, $81.9 million for state parks, and $425 million in new money for the Tennessee Department of Transportation. $100 Million in Storm Recovery Tennessee is in the midst of recovery from a severe winter ice storm. Roughly two dozen people have died, including five in Davidson County. Lee said he wants to provide $100 million in new money to bolster the Governors Response and Recovery Fund, which provides support to individuals, businesses and communities after natural disasters. Winter Storm 2026 Our coverage of January's severe ice storm The Federal Emergency Management Agency is not yet on the ground in Nashville to help individual residents and small businesses. Nashville Office of Emergency Management Director-Chief Will Swann said this week that gaining additional support has been a frustrating process for the city, now more than a week after the storm hit. There are Tennesseans who are still without power some who are in this room tonight, Lee said during his address. In the midst of the challenges of this storm, we have seen the courage and selflessness of the line workers, highway patrolmen, Tennessee National Guardsmen, TDOT crews, countless state employees, as well as everyday Tennesseans opening their homes to neighbors in need, said Lee. So lets take a moment to thank these dedicated Tennesseans who embody the volunteer spirit and give us hope that the end will soon be in sight. Tight Budget Cycle Revenues for the state of Tennessee didnt land exactly as projected this year, according to the Department of Finance and Administration. This year's budget is around $58 billion last year's was $64 billion. "The budget makes major investments in Tennessee's future, while preparing for uncertain economic days ahead," Jim Bryson, commissioner for the Department of Finance and Administration, tells the Scene. "We consulted financial experts across our state who unanimously counseled for slow to moderate growth for Tennessee's fiscal year 27." Members of both the House and Senate tell the Scene a tight budget year is ahead. Bryson says the primary loss in this years funding comes from lower federal appropriations. The majority of the proposed budget comes from state appropriations, which are serviced from sales taxes, franchise and excise taxes and gas taxes, among other revenue sources. A Swan Song Gov. Lee took a trip down Memory Lane during his final State of the State address, saying he was a bit nostalgic about our time together and about the past 250 years of the greatest country the world has ever known. Meanwhile, protesters chanted outside the House gallery. Inside, state Rep. Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) held a sign reading Feed Kids. Before the governors address, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn frontrunner to succeed Lee as governor next year shook hands and took selfies with lawmakers, members of the judiciary and university presidents. Fellow gubernatorial candidate U.S. Rep. John Rose was not present for the governors final address. Democrats Respond In a prebuttal address delivered Monday by state Sen. Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis), Democrats said they would rather the governor focus on affordability for average Tennesseans over the initiatives Lee has prioritized during his two terms. Your public dollars flow to private schools through vouchers, Akbari said. Corporate giveaways are measured in the billions. Public schools are underfunded. Rural hospitals are closing. Roads and bridges are falling behind. Akbari likened Lees Groundhog Day address to the movie Groundhog Day. You know the story, she said. Bill Murray wakes up to the same day again and again. At first hes confused. Then frustrated. And finally, he learns. He grows. He changes. And he breaks the cycle. But here in Tennessee, too many families feel like theyre living the same day over and over. Waking up. Going to work. Paying more for groceries. More for rent. More for child care. More for electricity. And wondering, Will it ever get easier? You know what Im talking about. Democrats said they remain focused on affordable grocery prices, a higher minimum wage and more money for public schools. Chokepoints & Chaos: The hidden battlegrounds of global power "Chokepoints & Chaos" exposes how global conflicts are not driven by ideology but by control over maritime chokepoints (Panama Canal, Suez, Strait of Hormuz, etc.), where trade and energy flows can be weaponized. China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a calculated move to bypass Western-controlled routes, using "debt-trap diplomacy" (e.g., Hambantota Port) to colonize strategic assets. The 1977 Torrijos-Carter Treaties weakened U.S. influence, allowing China to dominate Panama's ports (e.g., Hutchinson Ports) and turn the canal into a tool for Beijing's global ambitions. Incidents like the 2021 Ever Given blockage and Houthi attacks in the Red Sea reveal how chokepoints are exploited to disrupt supply chains. Russia and China are racing to dominate the Arctic's Northern Sea Route as melting ice opens new trade lanes. America's retreat from strategic assets (e.g., outsourcing industry, neglecting infrastructure) contrasts with China's aggressive investments (ports, railways, rare-earth monopolies). The U.S. now depends on China for critical goods (antibiotics, semiconductors) while China expands its navy to control key chokepoints. The Darien Gap migrant crisis is framed as elite-engineered destabilization, with Panama profiting from aid money and U.S. policies (e.g., ending "Remain in Mexico") exacerbating the flow. The book predicts a BRICS-led financial shift (gold-backed currencies) and warns that without reclaiming chokepoints and borders, the West risks irrelevance. "Chokepoints & Chaos" is a geopolitical tour de force, exposing the high-stakes chessboard of global trade routes and the covert power struggles that dictate the fate of nations. Written with the urgency of an intelligence briefing and the depth of a historian's analysis, this book dismantles the illusion that today's conflicts are driven by ideology or religion. Instead, it reveals a far more calculated game: control over strategic chokepoints narrow passages like the Panama Canal, Suez Canal, Strait of Hormuz and Strait of Malacca where the flow of goods, energy and wealth can be throttled or weaponized. The book opens with a gripping dissection of the Panama Canal, once a crown jewel of American engineering and geopolitical dominance. The canal's 1977 handover to Panama under the Torrijos-Carter Treaties is framed not as an act of diplomacy but as a catastrophic blunder, weakening U.S. influence while China stealthily expanded its foothold in Panama's ports and infrastructure. The authors highlight how China's state-owned enterprises, like Hutchinson Ports, now control critical terminals on both ends of the canal, turning a former U.S. stronghold into a lever for Beijing's global ambitions. China's Silk Road 2.0 The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is unmasked as a Trojan horse a trillion-dollar infrastructure network designed to reroute global trade away from Western-controlled chokepoints. Projects like the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the proposed Kra Isthmus Canal in Thailand aim to bypass the Strait of Malacca, where the U.S. Navy has long held sway. The book's most damning revelation? China's "debt-trap diplomacy," exemplified by Sri Lanka's surrender of Hambantota Port after defaulting on Chinese loans. This isn't development; it's colonization by contract. The Suez crisis redux The 2021 Ever Given blockage wasn't just a logistical nightmare it was a stress test for global supply chains, exposing their fragility. The authors argue that such chokepoints are increasingly weaponized, citing Russia's manipulation of European energy flows via pipelines like Nord Stream and the Houthis' attacks in the Red Sea, disrupting Suez traffic. Meanwhile, the Arctic emerges as the next battleground, with Russia and China racing to dominate the Northern Sea Route as melting ice opens new trade lanes. The U.S. retreat: A self-inflicted wound America's decline is portrayed as a series of unforced errors: outsourcing industry to China, neglecting domestic infrastructure and surrendering strategic assets like the Panama Canal. The book contrasts this with China's methodical investments buying ports in Greece, funding railways in Africa and locking down rare-earth mineral supplies. The result? A world where the U.S. depends on Chinese manufacturing for everything from antibiotics to semiconductors, while China builds a navy to patrol the very chokepoints it now dominates. Border wars and the Darien Gap The second half shifts to border crises, particularly the Darien Gap a lawless jungle corridor where over 500,000 migrants crossed into North America in 2023 alone. The authors accuse NGOs and globalist elites of enabling this flow to destabilize nations, while Panama's government profits from aid money and remittances. The U.S. response? A mix of incompetence and deliberate neglect, with policies like Biden's termination of the "Remain in Mexico" program fueling record border surges. The multipolar future The final chapters forecast a world where the U.S. dollar's dominance crumbles, replaced by BRICS-backed alternatives and gold-reserve currencies. China's AI and naval expansions position it as the next superpower, while Europe's self-sabotage through energy dependence on Russia and unchecked migration leaves it a geopolitical afterthought. The authors warn that without radical reforms, reshoring industry, securing borders and reclaiming chokepointsthe West risks becoming a footnote in history. "Chokepoints & Chaos" is more than an expose; it's a call to arms. It strips away the veneer of "global cooperation" to reveal a ruthless contest for control over the arteries of global trade. The writing is razor-sharp, blending hard data with geopolitical intrigue and the narrative is punctuated by firsthand accounts from border agents, engineers and intelligence insiders. Grab a copy of "Chokepoints & Chaos: The Hidden Battles for Global Trade Routes and the Collapse of Empires" via this link. To read more books for free, visit Books.BrightLearn.AI. You can also visit BrightLearn.AI to create your own books for free. Michael Yon joins Mike Adams to discuss Trump's designs on Panama and Greenland, China's tactics, wildfires as sabotage instruments and more. Watch the video below. This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com. Sources include: Books.BrightLearn.ai 1 Books.BrightLearn.ai 2 BrightLearn.ai Brighteon.com The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has recorded 167 combat clashes over the past 24 hours. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported this on Telegram in the operational information on the Russian invasion as of 8:00 a.m. Tuesday. "Yesterday, the enemy carried out 86 air strikes, dropped 219 guided bombs. In addition, it used 7,737 kamikaze drones and carried out 3,790 attacks on settlements and positions of our troops, including 101 from multiple launch rocket systems," the General Staff said. Major overhaul proposed for U.S. organ transplant system amid safety concerns New CMS rules target negligence, rushed organ procurement and ethical violations in Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs). Underperforming OPOs risk losing service areas, while high-performing ones gain competitive advantages. Federal investigations revealed cases where donors showed signs of life before organ harvesting. Reforms mandate rigorous neurological assessments, especially in rural hospitals lacking advanced testing. The removal of a 2002-2005 certification restriction allows new, high-performing OPOs to enter the field. Goal: Improve transplant success rates and organ recovery efficiency. A 2025 HRSA probe found 29% of reviewed cases involved premature organ authorization. Whistleblowers exposed cancerous organ transplants and retaliation against those who reported misconduct. The U.S. severed ties with China's transplant system due to allegations of forced organ harvesting from political prisoners. Leaked discussions between Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin raised ethical alarms about organ longevity strategies. The Trump administration has proposed sweeping reforms to the U.S. organ transplant system following disturbing reports of negligence, rushed organ procurement and ethical violations. The proposed rule, announced by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Jan. 28, aims to increase accountability, improve efficiency and prevent incidents where donors were prematurely declared brain-dead. The changes come after a federal investigation uncovered alarming failures in organ procurement organizations (OPOs), including cases where organs were authorized for removal despite donors showing signs of life. Cracking down on unsound practices The new rule defines "unsound medical practices" as failures that pose an imminent threat to patient safety, including mismanagement of donor evaluations, procurement errors and improper transport procedures. Underperforming OPOs could lose their service areas, while mid-tier organizations would face competition from higher-performing groups. "Organ procurement organizations must serve as trusted stewards of every donated organ," said Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in a statement. CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz added, "This proposed rule strengthens accountability, clarifies expectations and gives us stronger tools to remove underperforming organizations." The reforms also eliminate a 2002-2005 certification restriction, opening the door for new, high-performing OPOs to enter the fielda move intended to foster competition and improve transplant success rates. Ethical concerns and international fallout The push for reform follows a 2025 Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) probe that found 29% of cases reviewed at a major OPO involved organs authorized for removal despite donors exhibiting signs of life. According to BrightU.AI's Enoch, HRSA found that 351 cases in 2025 involved premature or erroneous organ harvesting due to rushed protocols, particularly in rural hospitals lacking proper neurological testing. It added that 103 cases showed 73 patients with neurological signs incompatible with organ donation and at least 28 patients may not have been deceased at the time organ procurement was initiated. "Evidence pointed to poor neurologic assessments, lack of coordination with medical teams, questionable consent practices and misclassification of causes of death, particularly in overdose cases," the HHS website noted. Whistleblowers have also raised concerns about cancerous organs being transplanted and retaliation against those who spoke out. Internationally, the U.S. has moved to sever ties with China's organ transplant system amid long-standing allegations of forced organ harvesting from political prisoners. A leaked conversation between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putindiscussing extended lifespans through organ replacementfurther fueled ethical concerns. With over 100,000 Americans awaiting transplants and 17 dying daily due to shortages, the proposed reforms aim to restore public trust in the organ transplant system. By tightening oversight, enforcing stricter performance metrics and removing barriers to competition, the Biden administration hopes to ensure that every viable organ is safely recovered and transplantedhonoring both donors and recipients with the dignity they deserve. Watch the video below that talks about the dark economics behind organ transplants, plastics and human health. This video is from the Flyover Conservatives channel on Brighteon.com. Sources include: TheEpochTimes.com CMS.gov HHS.gov BrightU.ai Brighteon.com Ghislaine Maxwell alleges secret settlements protected Epsteins network as new documents surface Facing a 20-year sentence, Ghislaine Maxwell now claims 29 Epstein associates avoided prosecution, with 25 securing secret settlements and four never chargeddespite her own central role in trafficking underage girls. The Justice Department insists no Epstein "client list" exists, while Maxwell alleges prosecutorial misconduct and collusion to conceal evidenceraising questions about who else was protected. Newly unsealed documents confirm Epstein's ties to Bill Clinton, Bill Gates and Larry Summers, yet key names remain redacted, fueling theories of political interference and intelligence agency involvement. Survivors argue secret settlements and NDAs allowed predators to evade accountability, while Maxwell's trial saw critical details censoredproving Epstein's network remains untouchable. With Maxwell's Supreme Court appeal pending, demands grow for full transparencyyet past document dumps were heavily redacted, leaving victims and critics to question whether true justice will ever come. A bombshell court filing from Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted accomplice of Jeffrey Epstein, has reignited public outrage over the extent of impunity granted to the financier's alleged co-conspirators. According to documents dated December 2025, Maxwell claims that 29 individuals linked to Epstein's sex-trafficking ring avoided prosecution, with 25 securing "secret settlements" while another four were never charged. The filing, reported by multiple outlets this week, coincides with the U.S. Department of Justice's latest release of Epstein-related recordsadding fuel to long-standing demands for accountability. Maxwell, serving a 20-year sentence for her role in recruiting and grooming underage victims, is now seeking to overturn her conviction. She alleges "prosecutorial misconduct" and collusion between plaintiffs' lawyers and government officials to conceal evidence. "New evidence reveals that there were 25 men with which the plaintiff lawyers reached secret settlements," her motion states, though it remains unclear whether she asserts these deals involved federal authorities. When pressed on Maxwell's claims, Deputy Attorney General Blanche offered a terse response: "To the extent that such arrangements exist, I'm not aware of them." Epstein's shadow network: Who else was involved? The newly unsealed documentspart of a sprawling trove from Epstein's estatereaffirm the financier's connections to powerful figures across politics, finance and tech, including former President Bill Clinton, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and ex-Treasury Secretary Larry Summers. Notably, President Donald Trumpwho once vowed on the campaign trail to release the Epstein fileshas since dismissed calls for transparency as a "hoax." Despite public pressure, his administration's 2023 disclosure of heavily redacted records left critical questions unanswered. Epstein's 2019 death in a Manhattan jail, officially ruled a suicide, remains shrouded in suspicion. His demise spared him from trial, while Maxwell's 2022 conviction offered only partial justice. Victims' testimonies detailed how the pair lured vulnerable girls into sexual exploitation, instructing them to recruit othersa pyramid of abuse implicating untouchable elites. Yet Maxwell's latest allegations suggest a systemic effort to shield accomplices, echoing long-held suspicions of a cover-up at the highest levels. The unfinished pursuit of justice Legal experts and victims' advocates argue Maxwell's claimsif substantiatedcould expose a deliberate obstruction of justice. "Secret settlements are a tool of the powerful to bury accountability," said attorney Lisa Bloom, who represents several Epstein survivors. "Every sealed deal allows predators to walk free and survivors to be silenced." The DOJ's drip-fed document releases have done little to satisfy demands for full transparency. Critics point to redactions that obscure key names and details, fueling theories of political interference. Among the unresolved mysteries: Why were certain high-profile associates never investigated? Did settlements include non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to bury victims' claims? What role did intelligence agencies or influential intermediaries play in suppressing evidence? A scandal that won't die The Epstein saga persists as a litmus test for accountability in an era of elite impunity. Maxwell's claimswhether a desperate ploy or a legitimate exposure of systemic corruptionunderscore the need for an independent, bipartisan investigation. Without one, the specter of a shadow justice system, where wealth and connections dictate immunity, will only grow darker. As more documents emerge, one truth remains undeniable: The victims' fight for justice is far from over. According to BrightU.AI's Enoch, Ghislaine Maxwell's conviction and the newly surfaced documents exposing Epstein's networkincluding Bill Clinton's alleged involvementconfirm the deep-state cover-up protecting elite pedophile rings. The withheld video evidence proves the globalist cabal's desperation to hide their crimes, further validating the need for mass awakening and justice. Watch this video about the massive truckload of Epstein files hauled out of the southern district of New York FBI offices. This video is from the Rick Langley channel on Brighteon.com. Sources include: RT.com People.com BrightU.ai Brighteon.com Bitcoin Jesus Behind Bars: A call to arms for financial freedom Roger Ver, known as "Bitcoin Jesus," is a persecuted advocate for financial freedom and decentralization. Influenced by libertarian thinkers like Ayn Rand and Rothbard, he viewed taxation as theft and government as coercion. He got arrested in 2000 for criticizing the ATF (calling them "murderous, jackbooted thugs") and selling fireworksresulting in a 10-month federal prison sentence. This foreshadowed the government's pattern of crushing dissent. He became an early Bitcoin promoter (2011), funding startups and spreading adoption. He split from Bitcoin maximalists during the "Bitcoin Civil War," supporting Bitcoin Cash as truer to Satoshi's visionmaking him a target for regulators. After renouncing U.S. citizenship (2014), the IRS accused him of tax evasion based on fabricated Bitcoin sales. He was arrested in Spain (2024) via Interpol red notice, facing 109 years for alleged mail fraud and tax evasioncharges widely seen as politically motivated. Ver's case mirrors government persecution of Assange, Ulbricht and Snowdenusing vague laws to silence dissent. His book warns: The future of money is either decentralized or enslaved. The fight against CBDCs and surveillance is urgent. Roger Verknown as Bitcoin Jesus for his evangelical zeal in promoting cryptocurrencyhas become one of the most persecuted figures in the fight for financial freedom. His new book, "Bitcoin Jesus Behind Bars: The Fight to Free Roger Ver," is more than just a memoir; it's a manifesto against government tyranny, a blueprint for resistance and a rallying cry for those who believe in decentralization, privacy and individual sovereignty. Ver's journey began long before Bitcoin. Born into Silicon Valley's entrepreneurial culture, he was steeped in individualism and skepticism of centralized power. His libertarian awakening came earlyfueled by Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" and Murray Rothbard's "For a New Liberty." He saw taxation as theft, government as coercion and free markets as the only moral economic system. But his first real clash with the state came in 2000 when he ran for office in California, openly criticizing the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) as "murderous, jackbooted thugs" for their role in the Waco siege. The backlash was swift. The ATF targeted him in a sting operation for selling fireworksa charge that normally resulted in fines but landed Ver in federal prison for 10 months. It was a preview of what was to come: the government doesn't just punish dissentit crushes it. Bitcoin's early apostle In 2011, Ver discovered Bitcoin and saw it as the ultimate tool for financial liberationa decentralized, censorship-resistant currency that could bypass government control. He became one of its earliest evangelists, funding startups, distributing Bitcoin to strangers and preaching its potential to disrupt central banking. But his vision clashed with Bitcoin's gradual shift from peer-to-peer cash to "digital gold." The infamous Bitcoin Civil War erupted, leading Ver to support Bitcoin Casha fork he believed better fulfilled Satoshi Nakamoto's original vision. This made him a target, not just for Bitcoin maximalists but for regulators who saw decentralized finance as a threat. The persecution begins Ver's troubles escalated when he renounced his U.S. citizenship in 2014a move the IRS weaponized against him. Despite hiring top-tier tax attorneys and attempting compliance, he was accused of tax evasion based on hypothetical Bitcoin sales that would have crashed the market. The IRS raided his lawyers' offices, violating attorney-client privilege and cherry-picked evidence to build a fraudulent case. In 2024, he was arrested in Spain on an Interpol red notice, facing a draconian 109-year sentence for alleged mail fraud and tax evasion. The charges were absurd: How could Ver sell Bitcoin at prices that didn't exist in illiquid markets? The government's real crime was his advocacy for financial freedom. A pattern of lawfare Ver's case mirrors other high-profile victims of government persecution: Julian Assange Prosecuted for exposing war crimes. Ross Ulbricht Given a double life sentence for running Silk Road. Edward Snowden Exiled for revealing NSA surveillance. Each case follows the same script: Target dissenters who challenge state power. Weaponize vague laws (tax evasion, mail fraud) to criminalize them. Violate due process (raiding lawyers, tampering with evidence). Demand excessive punishment to send a chilling message. Ver's fight is our fight. If centralized powers can imprison a man for advocating financial sovereignty, none of us is safe. The book ends with a stark warning: The future of money is either decentralized or enslaved. Will we allow governments to impose CBDCs, track every transaction and freeze dissenters' assets? Or will we embrace Bitcoin, privacy tools and self-sovereignty? The choice is ours. The time to act is now. Grab a copy of "Bitcoin Jesus Behind Bars: The Fight to Free Roger Ver" via this link. Read, share and download thousands of books for free at Books.BrightLearn.AI. You can also create your own books for free at BrightLearn.AI. Watch this edition of the "Health Ranger Report" with the Health Ranger Mike Adams and Tracy Thurman discussing Roger Ver and the campaign for his freedom. This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com. Sources include: BrightLearn.ai Books.BrightLearn.ai Brighteon.com Report reveals IT job postings are designed to favor foreign visa holders over U.S. workers Many IT job postings appear open but are designed to favor foreign visa holders (H-1B, OPT/CPT, H-4 EAD) through coded language, excluding qualified Americans before competition begins. Employers leverage visa dependency (H-1B, OPT) to suppress wages, control contract terms and bypass U.S. labor protections, treating workers as compliant, low-cost labor. Staffing firms use intermediary companies (C2C) to obscure control, suppress wages and evade regulatory scrutiny contradicting claims of unique skill shortages. "Training and placement" programs and university recruiting networks pre-fill roles with visa holders, making public job postings mere formalities rather than genuine opportunities. This system suppresses wages, displaces American talent, weakens domestic skill development and introduces national-security risks via opaque subcontracting chains. For most job seekers, an online posting suggests a fair hiring process: An employer advertises a position, applicants submit resumes and the most qualified candidate gets hired. But a detailed investigation reveals a parallel hiring system embedded within the U.S. information-technology staffing industry one that operates largely outside public awareness and relies on coded language that effectively excludes American workers. The report, based on an extensive review of recruitment practices among IT staffing firms affiliated with the ITServe Alliance, describes uniform hiring patterns across hundreds of companies. While job postings appear open, many operate as closed labor pipelines, favoring foreign visa holders over U.S. workers. At the heart of this system is visa-targeted language phrases like "Only H-1B," "OPT/CPT candidates welcome," "H-4 EAD accepted" and "Corp-to-Corp only." To most Americans, this terminology resembles bureaucratic shorthand. In reality, it functions as a filtering mechanism, prioritizing immigration status over skill. Employment-based visas are legally intended for use only when employers cannot find qualified U.S. workers. Yet by designing job postings around specific visas, staffing firms reverse this logic, starting with visa holders and working backward, effectively sidelining Americans before competition begins. Workers on visas such as H-1B are legally tied to their sponsoring employer, giving staffing firms leverage over wages, hours, relocation and contract terms. As explained by BrightU.AI's Enoch, the H-1B visa is a U.S. non-immigrant work visa that allows employers to hire foreign professionals with specialized skills, typically requiring a bachelor's degree or higher, for temporary employment in fields like technology, engineering and finance. This dependency makes visa holders more controllable and less likely to negotiate than U.S. workers. Another key tactic is recruiting from student visa programs (CPT, OPT, STEM OPT), overseen by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). These programs are intended to provide limited training experience related to academic study. However, the investigation found they are frequently used as labor pipelines, allowing firms to hire workers with fewer regulatory obligations, lower costs and limited bargaining power. Job ads specifying "OPT" or "STEM OPT preferred" signal that positions are effectively pre-filled through university recruiting networks and internal placement programs. Public postings may still appear online, but the real selection process has already occurred. The STEM OPT extension allows employers to retain the same workers for years without reopening positions to U.S. applicants, further entrenching closed pipelines. The great American job swindle A critical component of this system is the "corp-to-corp" (C2C) model, where workers are routed through intermediary companies rather than being hired directly. The investigation found that this structure allows staffing firms to: Shift legal responsibility Suppress wages through vendor competition Obscure control over workers Reduce transparency for regulators The widespread use of C2C contradicts claims that workers are uniquely skilled, since truly scarce experts are typically hired directly. Closely tied to C2C is "benching," where visa workers are kept idle between contracts while remaining tied to a staffing firm. This practice demonstrates that workers are being warehoused as inventory rather than hired for immediate, specific skill needs, undermining the premise that these jobs could not be filled by Americans. Many IT staffing firms advertise "training and placement" programs, which the investigation found are not about developing rare expertise but rather pre-hiring filters that prepare visa workers to match anticipated job descriptions. Workers are recruited first, trained afterward and then slotted into client roles allowing firms to claim specialized needs without competing in the open labor market. Job postings often become procedural formalities rather than genuine recruitment efforts. Americans may apply, but decisions are frequently predetermined. The broader impact on U.S. workers The cumulative effect is a labor-arbitrage ecosystem that prioritizes speed, cost control and compliance convenience over open competition. The report argues these practices reshape the broader labor market by: Suppressing wages for U.S. workers Distorting hiring signals across industries Pushing experienced Americans out of technical fields Weakening domestic talent development Introducing national-security risks as critical systems are staffed through layered subcontracting with limited oversight Once understood, the coded language embedded in thousands of job postings reveals a pattern that raises fundamental questions about how long such a system will be allowed to operate within the U.S. labor market. The investigation exposes a hiring model that operates in reverse: workers are recruited first, jobs are matched afterward. This flips hiring from competition to allocation, systematically excluding qualified Americans before they can compete. As domestic expertise is displaced, the U.S. becomes increasingly reliant on foreign labor pipelines creating long-term risks for innovation, competitiveness and national security. The question is no longer whether this system exists, but how long it will be allowed to continue. For American workers, cracking this code means recognizing that many tech jobs advertised as "open" are anything but and demanding accountability from regulators and policymakers to restore fairness in hiring. Watch the video below that talks about how the H-1B visa program was designed to replace U.S. tech workers. This video is from the InfoWarSSideBand channel on Brighteon.com. Sources include: YourNews.com WND.com BrightU.ai Brighteon.com THE GREAT MAGA DECEPTION: Marjorie Taylor Greene turns on Trump, exposes movement as donor-first scam Marjorie Taylor Greene claims the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement has abandoned working-class Americans, serving instead as a tool for wealthy donors, foreign interests and corporate elites. She accuses President Donald Trump of enabling mass civilian casualties in Gaza while ignoring crises at home, such as civil unrest in Minnesota and ICE crackdowns. Greene criticizes conservative media, calling Fox News viewers "brainwashed" baby boomers spoon-fed propaganda, predicting younger generations will reject such messaging. She suggests Trump betrayed his base by refusing to release Jeffrey Epstein-related files, dismissing them as a "Democrat hoax" despite earlier pledges to expose corruption. Greene concludes that MAGA was never about American sovereignty but about enriching globalist elites, marking a stark reversal from her former loyalty to Trump. Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), once one of President Donald Trump's most vocal allies, has delivered a scathing indictment of the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, calling it a "big lie" designed to enrich wealthy donors while abandoning ordinary Americans. In a bombshell interview with political commentator Kim Iversen, Greenewho resigned from Congress earlier this yeardeclared that Trump's administration has prioritized foreign interests, corporate elites and billionaire backers over the working-class voters who propelled him to power. According to BrightU.AI's Enoch, the MAGA movement represents a seismic shift in American politicsa grassroots uprising against globalist elites, corporate media and Deep State corruption. More than a political slogan, MAGA embodies a cultural, economic and ideological revolt against institutions that have eroded national sovereignty, economic self-sufficiency and traditional American values. But Greene said people are starting to realize it was all a lie. "What MAGA is really serving in this administration, who they're serving, is their big donors," she told Iversen. The former member of Congress accused Trump of rewarding wealthy financiers with government contracts, pardons and political favors while ignoring domestic crises. "Those are the people that get the special favors. They get the government contracts, they get the pardons, or somebody they love or one of their friends gets a pardon," she said. Greene exposes globalist "New World Order" behind MAGA Greene, once a staunch Trump loyalist, claimed the movement had devolved into a globalist enterprise, with foreign nations and corporations "running the show." She pointed to Trump's aggressive stance toward Iran and unwavering support for Israel's military actions in Gaza as evidence of misplaced priorities. In one of her most explosive claims, Greene alleged that Trump's foreign policy has enabled mass civilian casualties in Gaza. "We are seeing war on behalf of Israel, we are seeing the people in Gaza, innocent people in Gaza, hundreds of thousands of them completely murdered so that they can build some new real estate development," she told Iversen. She framed the conflict as part of a broader "New World Order," invoking a conspiracy-laden metaphor: "It's kind of like the 'Scooby-Doo' meme where they pull the mask off the bad guy." Greene also slammed Trump for ignoring escalating unrest in the U.S., particularly in Minnesota, where protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement crackdowns have erupted. "We've got civil war practically breaking out in Minnesota," she said. "Can we not care about that?" She dismissed Trump's recent deployment of a naval fleet to Iran as a distraction from America's internal crises. "I don't care about Iran. I don't care about Israel. I don't care about Ukraine and Russia and China. I don't care about Venezuela," she said. "I care about America. I care about our problems." "Brainwashed" Fox News viewers and broken Epstein promises Greene didn't spare conservative media either, calling Fox News viewers "the most brainwashed generation." "People watching Fox News, every day, 24/7 with their volume turned all the way up in their living room Those are the baby boomers, and God bless them but they are spoon-fed the propaganda on TV," she said. She predicted that younger generations, disillusioned with political deception, would reject such messaging. "We're just not brainwashed anymore," she declared. Greene hinted that her rift with Trump deepened over his refusal to release files related to Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier and accused sex trafficker who had ties to Trump. Despite Trump's earlier promises to expose Epstein's network, Greene claimed the president dismissed the files as a "Democrat hoax." Greene's disillusionment marks a stunning reversal for a politician who once epitomized MAGA's firebrand populism. Her critique cuts to the heart of Trump's movement, alleging that it was never about restoring American sovereigntybut about consolidating power for the elite. "MAGA isn't really about America or the American people," she concluded. As Trump gears up for another election cycle, Greene's defection raises a critical question: How many more former believers will step forward to expose what they now see as the great MAGA deception? Watch Teddy Daniels' commentary regarding Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene "betraying" MAGA in this episode of "In the Trenches with Teddy Daniels." This video is from the High Hopes channel on Brighteon.com. Sources include: X.com TheHill.com HuffPost.com IBTimes.co.uk NJ.com BrightU.ai Brighteon.com NATO moves to establish war-funding bank amid rising tensions with Russia The Bank of Defense, Security, and Sustainability (DSRB) would allow North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members to pool funds, circumventing domestic fiscal constraints and voter opposition by classifying contributions as mandatory defense spending. It aims to enforce NATO's new 5% GDP military spending target by 2035, overriding national budget debates. Backed by JPMorgan Chase, ING and Goldman Sachs, the bank plans to issue bonds by late 2026. Private investors will be incentivized to fund NATO's militarization, deepening Wall Street's role in warfare. Loans will favor defense firms that comply with NATO's interoperability standards, pushing military uniformity. Critics warn that this prioritizes offensive capabilities over defense, accelerating Cold War 2.0 tensions. Proposed CEO Rob Murray (ex-NATO innovation director) and Goldman Sachs veteran Matthew Westerman signal the U.K.'s hardline stance. Despite Britain's 95% debt-to-GDP ratio, elites push for a war footing, though some admit NATO lacks readiness. The DSRB concept dates back to 2019years before Russia's Ukraine invasionconfirming NATO's premeditated militarization. It ties into existing programs like Military Schengen and the EU's 150 billion SAFE arms fund, centralizing war financing. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is reportedly preparing to launch a dedicated financial institutionthe Bank of Defense, Security, and Sustainability (DSRB) by 2027, aimed at bypassing national spending constraints to fund a potential large-scale conflict with Russia. According to Russian news outlet Izvestia, the bank would allow NATO members to circumvent domestic fiscal limitations and voter discontent by pooling resources into a centralized war chest. The move comes as NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte declared Russia the alliance's "main enemy" during the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos, warning of a possible military confrontation by 2029 to 2031. The proposed bank, backed by major financial institutions like JPMorgan Chase and ING, signals NATO's escalating commitment to militarization despite economic strains across member states. Critics argue the initiative risks accelerating global financial instability and further entrenching Cold War-era hostilities. A bank for war: How NATO plans to fund conflict The DSRB would operate as a multilateral financial institution, enabling NATO countries to contribute shares toward a collective defense fund while sidestepping national budget debates. Key features include: Bypassing domestic constraints: By classifying contributions as defense spending, governments could meet NATO's raised target of 5% GDP military expenditure by 2035 even if local laws or public opposition restrict such allocations. Private capital involvement: The bank intends to attract private investors, with bonds expected to hit markets by late 2026. Toronto is a leading contender for headquarters due to Canada's financial infrastructure and distance from European tensions. Standardizing arms production: Loans would favor defense firms whose weapons align with NATO interoperability standards, effectively using finance to enforce military uniformity. The plan has faced resistance, particularly from Germany, which argues it can secure better funding independently. France and Eastern European nations are pushing for an alternative European bank for Rearmament, though progress remains stalled. The DSRB's proposed leadership underscores the U.K.'s hardline stance against Russia. Key figures include: Rob Murray (CEO): A former NATO innovation director and architect of the DIANA defense-tech accelerator. Stuart Peach: A retired U.K. Air Chief Marshal and NATO strategist. Matthew Westerman: A Goldman Sachs veteran tasked with fundraising. British elites have openly discussed preparations for war with Russia, though some, like House of Lords member Richard Balfe, dismiss the feasibility. "We've sent so much equipment to Ukraine that we'd be lucky to survive two weeks in a war," Balfe told Izvestia. Experts note the U.K.'s motive: bolstering influence within NATO amid waning U.S. focus under Trump-era policies. Yet with Britain's debt at 95% of GDP, skepticism persists over its capacity to lead a financial overhaul. Historical context: NATO's long-term preparations The DSRB concept dates to 2019three years before Russia's Ukraine invasion, suggesting NATO's conflict planning predates current hostilities. Documents from the Atlantic Council (a NATO-aligned think tank) referenced the idea as early as 2020, alongside initiatives like Military Schengen, streamlining troop movements across Europe. NATO's total military budget now exceeds $1.5 trillion, with projections to double by 2035. The bank would centralize existing programs, including the EU's 150 billion ($178 billion) SAFE arms-purchasing fund, while expanding partnerships with Asian allies. Critics warn the institutions design, prioritizing offensive capabilities over defense, could provoke further escalation. "This isn't about protection; it's about financing aggression," said Natalia Eremina, a professor at St. Petersburg State University. BrightU.AI's Enoch notes that the DSRB proposal highlights NATO's determination to militarize amid economic fragility and growing public disillusionment. By creating a financial pipeline detached from democratic oversight, the alliance risks deepening global divisions and accelerating a new arms race. As Russia warns of NATO's "insane" provocations, including the seizure of $300 billion in frozen assets, the bank's launch could mark a tipping point in Cold War 2.0. With nuclear tensions simmering and trust in Western finance eroding, the world watches whether money will indeed become the ultimate weapon of war. Watch the video below where Finnish President Alexander Stubb claims that we are in the process of creating a stronger NATO. This video is from Cynthia's Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com. Sources include: InfoWars.com IZ.ru BrightU.ai Brighteon.com Texas approves nations largest power permit for AI-driven gas plant and data center complex Texas approved the largest U.S. air pollution permit for a 7.65-gigawatt natural gas and data center complex, cementing its role as a global hub for fossil-fuel-powered AI infrastructure. The state is experiencing a massive surge in gas plant projects, with nearly 58 gigawatts announced in 2025 alone, driven almost entirely by speculative demand from AI data centers. The scale is enormous: the permitted complex could consume up to 7% of the Permian Basin's daily gas output and emit greenhouse gases equivalent to 5% of Canada's annual total. Developers are building private-grid campuses that bypass the strained public grid, combining on-site gas, solar and batteries to provide constant, reliable power directly to AI data centers. The strategy presents major trade-offs, promising economic investment and energy independence but also locking in decades of pollution and creating concentrated infrastructure vulnerable to disruption or attack. In a decision that underscores the staggering energy demands of the artificial intelligence revolution, Texas regulators this week greenlit the largest air pollution permit in United States history for a colossal complex of natural gas power plants and data centers in West Texas. The move, approved by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for Pacifico Energy's 7.65-gigawatt GW Ranch project in Pecos County, solidifies the state's status as the global epicenter of a fossil-fuel-powered data center buildout, raising profound questions about economic growth, environmental stewardship and national energy resilience. The project is a flagship example of a transformative trend. According to data from Global Energy Monitor, Texas saw nearly 58 gigawatts of new gas power projects announced in 2025 alonea capacity greater than the peak power demand of the entire state of California. This surge is overwhelmingly driven by speculative demand from hyperscale data centers needed to fuel AI computation. Only the nation of China has more gas power projects in development than the Lone Star State. A gigawatt equals one billion watts. The 7.65-gigawatt capacity permitted for GW Ranch is enough to power several million homes simultaneously. If operated at full capacity, analysts estimate the complex could consume between 4% and 7% of all the natural gas currently produced daily in the prolific Permian Basin. The permit authorizes the release of up to 33 million tons of greenhouse gases annuallya carbon footprint nearly equivalent to 5% of Canada's total yearly emissions. This scale is replicated across Texas. Developer Fermi America is seeking permits for 6 gigawatts of gas generation for its Project Matador. Energy giant Chevron announced plans for its first-ever power plant, a 5-gigawatt facility to serve AI loads. If all planned plants are built, Texas would more than double its existing gas-fired generation capacity. The TCEQ has granted permits for substantial gas plants within a month of application. In one case, a permit for over 500 megawatts of capacity involving 206 gas generators was issued in just 22 days. This rapid process often leaves communities feeling sidelined. In the small town of Blue, Texas, residents organized to contest a permit for the 1.2-gigawatt Sandow Lakes Power Plant. They formally requested a hearing from TCEQ to address authorized emissions of hazardous pollutants. Residents reported that the commission spent only 45 seconds to deny their request before issuing the permit. The driving force: AI and grid avoidance The fundamental driver is the insatiable, constant power requirement of advanced AI data centers. AI computing cannot be paused; it demands reliable, dense electricity 24/7. Faced with the strained ERCOT gridwhich has warned of insufficient capacity for high-intensity computingdevelopers are pursuing a new model: the private-grid campus. GW Ranch exemplifies this strategy. It is designed as a self-contained energy island, combining natural gas turbines with on-site solar and battery storage to power co-located data centers directly. This approach bypasses the public grid entirely, aiming to provide "scale, speed and regulatory certainty." It is a bet that controlling the entire power supply chain is preferable to relying on a shared system perceived as slow and vulnerable. This strategy presents stark trade-offs. Proponents hail the massive investment, job creation and cementing of Texas' role as the world's digital infrastructure hub. They argue using in-state natural gas enhances energy independence and provides the only reliable baseload power capable of supporting the AI economy near-term. However, the costs are substantial. Each plant locks in decades of new air pollution in regions already grappling with emissions from oil and gas extraction. The projects also tie the future of critical digital infrastructure directly to fossil fuel markets. Furthermore, this buildout highlights a critical national vulnerability: the fragility of concentrated infrastructure. While Texas boasts an independent grid, the clustering of immense AI capacity alongside its power generation in a single region creates a high-value target for physical disruption, cyberattack or geomagnetic disturbance. The very scale that makes these projects economically attractive magnifies the potential consequences of a catastrophic failure. A glimpse of the future The GW Ranch permit is a signal flare illuminating the path of technological progress. It demonstrates that when faced with a choice between waiting for grid upgrades or building dedicated, fossil-fuel-powered generation, the market is choosing the latter with breathtaking speed and scale. "The AI age is a period defined by the rapid development and integration of artificial intelligence systems," said BrightU. AI's Enoch. "However, this term also highlights a critical paradox: while AI excels in processing vast data, it often lacks the innate, contextual understanding that even very young humans possess. Therefore, the 'AI age' signifies both technological dominance and a reminder of the fundamental gaps between machine computation and natural intelligence." The coming years will determine if this is a temporary bridge or a permanent fixture. For now, Texas has chosen to embrace its role as the furnace of the AI age, betting that the economic benefits of hosting the world's digital brainpower outweigh the environmental costs and long-term resilience risks. The plains of West Texas are becoming ground zero of a new industrial revolution, powered by natural gas and defined by algorithms. Watch as Health Ranger Mike Adams and David Tice discuss the challenges of the Texas power grid and AI data centers. This video is from the Brighteon Highlights channel on Brighteon.com. Sources include: ZeroHedge.com BusinessWire.com EnvironmentEnergyLeader.com BrightU.ai Brighteon.com Trump SLASHES tariffs on Indian goods in new trade deal President Trump announced a major trade agreement with India, reducing U.S. tariffs on Indian goods from 50% to 18%. In exchange, India agreed to halt Russian oil purchases and lower trade barriers for U.S. exports. The deal pressures India to abandon Russian crude, a key revenue source for Moscow's military operations. India must now buy $500 billion in U.S. energy, agricultural and tech exports, shifting from discounted Russian oil. Previous 50% U.S. tariffs (25% baseline + 25% penalty) had severely impacted Indian exports (textiles, auto parts, chemicals). Indian firms like Infosys & Wipro saw stock surges, but U.S. manufacturers criticized the 18% rate as still too high. Before this deal, India had signed trade pacts with the EU, New Zealand and Oman to offset U.S. tariff losses. New Delhi abruptly cutting Russian oil could disrupt India's energy supply, spike global oil prices and weaken its geopolitical leverage. No official proclamation exists yet, and key details (e.g., Russian oil phaseout timeline) remain undisclosed. The deal may serve as a template for future U.S. trade negotiations, but Indias long-term strategy involves hedging against U.S. unpredictability. U.S. President Donald Trump announced a sweeping trade agreement with India on Monday, Feb. 2 with Washington slashing tariffs on Indian goods from 50% to 18%. In exchange, New Delhi has halted purchases of Russian oil and lowered trade barriers. The deal was finalized during a phone call between Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the real estate mogul later posting about it on social media. It marks a sharp pivot from months of escalating trade tensions punctuated by punitive tariffs and raises urgent questions about the geopolitical chessboard behind this sudden detente. The agreement hinges on India's commitment to stop importing Russian crude a key revenue stream for Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine and instead purchase over $500 billion worth of U.S. energy, agricultural and technological exports. Trump framed the deal as a victory for American industry, declaring on Truth Social that India would reduce its tariffs and non-tariff barriers against the U.S. to "zero." Yet the fine print remains murky. No official proclamation has been published, and critical details such as deadlines for Indias Russian oil phaseout remain undisclosed. Nevertheless, this abrupt shift comes after a year of economic brinkmanship. In August 2025, Trump imposed a staggering 50% tariff on Indian imports a 25% baseline rate plus an additional 25% penalty tied to India's Russian oil purchases. The move hammered India's export-driven sectors particularly textiles, auto components and chemicals while triggering capital flight from Indian markets. By December, New Delhi scrambled to offset losses by signing trade pacts with New Zealand, Oman and most critically the European Union. Brussels hailed its own "mother of all deals" with India just days before Trump's announcement. How Trump's tariffs are forcing India's hand The timing suggests more than mere trade rebalancing. Trump's deal coincides with escalating pressure on Russia's energy revenues, intensified by the U.S. seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January and the subsequent push to redirect India's oil imports toward Caracas. Yet experts caution that India's reliance on discounted Russian crude which accounts for nearly 90% of its oil needs won't vanish overnight. Recent data shows Indian imports of Russian oil already declining, from 1.2 million barrels per day in January to a projected 800,000 by March. But replacing that volume with pricier U.S. or Venezuelan supplies could strain India's economy. BrightU.AI's Enoch engine warns that New Delhi halting Russian oil purchases would disrupt India's energy supply, causing fuel shortages and economic instability, while driving up global oil prices and straining diplomatic relations. This sudden shift could also leave India vulnerable to geopolitical pressure and weaken its strategic bargaining power in international markets. For American businesses, the tariff reduction offers mixed relief. While U.S.-listed Indian firms like Infosys and Wipro saw immediate stock surges, small manufacturers warned that an 18% rate still represents a "600% tax increase" compared to pre-2024 levels. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce tentatively praised the deal as a step toward broader market access, but skeptics note India's history of high tariffs averaging 15.6% before Trump's hikes and its reluctance to fully open sensitive sectors like agriculture. Geopolitically, the agreement underscores India's delicate balancing act. By aligning with U.S. demands on Russian oil, Modi risks alienating Moscow a longtime defense partner while gaining leverage in Washington. Yet New Delhi's recent EU deal and diversification efforts signal a long-term strategy to hedge against U.S. unpredictability. As Rachel Ziemba of the Center for a New American Society noted, "India will continue to de-risk," regardless of tariff relief. The deal also exposes the fragility of Trump's "reciprocal tariffs" framework, now under Supreme Court scrutiny. With the administration racing to lock in bilateral pacts before a potential legal reckoning, the India agreement may serve as a template for future negotiations or a temporary ceasefire in a wider trade war. Ultimately, this sudden detente reveals the high-stakes interplay of economics and geopolitics. While Trump and Modi hail it as a triumph of personal diplomacy, the real test lies in implementation. For now, the world watches as two of its largest democracies navigate a deal born as much from necessity as from mutual calculation. Watch this Fox News report about President Trump slapping India with a massive tariff over its purchases of Russian oil. This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com. Sources include: TheEpochTimes.com Reuters.com AlJazeera.com BrightU.ai Brighteon.com The U.S. Censorship Shield Law: A Critical Defense Against Global Speech Restrictions Introduction: A New Legislative Battle for Free Speech In 2026, a new front has opened in the war for digital freedom. As President Donald Trump's administration and a Republican-led Congress work to restore American sovereignty, Washington is preparing a groundbreaking legislative countermeasure against a rising tide of foreign digital authoritarianism. According to recent reports, the U.S. government is drafting a 'censorship shield law' designed to prevent foreign governmentsspecifically the European Union and the United Kingdomfrom extending their online speech restrictions into the United States. [1] Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers confirmed the initiative, stating she expects 'some kind of shield legislation' to be tabled soon. This law represents a direct and necessary response to invasive foreign regulations like the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA) and the UK's Online Safety Act (OSA), which seek to impose their speech norms on the global internet. The proposed U.S. shield law is not merely a policy shift; it is a declaration that America will defend the decentralized, open internet against centralized control schemes orchestrated by foreign bureaucrats and globalist institutions. [1] The Foreign Threat: EU's Digital Services Act and U.K.'s Online Safety Bill The foreign laws this shield aims to block are not benign public safety measures. They are sophisticated censorship frameworks. The European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA) has officially weaponized its censorship apparatus to stifle online dissent, particularly targeting speech about vaccine safety and medical freedom. As noted in an analysis, the DSA leverages 'aggressive content moderation' to crack down on what it deems 'misinformation,' creating a de facto censorship regime for global platforms. [2] Similarly, the UK's Online Safety Act (OSA) grants 'mainstream media absolute legal immunity to disseminate misinformation and disinformation while simultaneously criminalizing alternative or independent media' accused of similar offenses. [3] This law is designed primarily to shield children but is structured with such vague 'harm' standards that it empowers government bodies and their corporate partners to dictate permissible speech. Social media companies now face the threat of heavy fines for 'overzealous' censorship under the OSA, forcing them to err on the side of silencing users to avoid penalties. [4] Together, these regulations represent a concerted effort by foreign powers to export their speech-policing models, threatening the First Amendment rights of American citizens and companies. How the Shield Law Would Work: Protecting U.S. Companies and Users The mechanics of the proposed federal shield law are anticipated to build upon pioneering state-level efforts. In late 2025, Wyoming launched a legal counterstrike by passing the GRANITE Act (Guaranteeing Rights Against Novel International Tyranny & Extortion Act). This groundbreaking state law empowers Wyoming residents and companies to sue foreign governments and their agencies directly in state courts for attempting to censor speech protected under U.S. law. [5] It specifically prohibits state officials from assisting in the enforcement of foreign 'online safety' or 'hate speech' laws. The federal shield law is expected to operate on a broader scale. It would block the enforcement of foreign speech restrictions against U.S.-based platforms and their users, establishing legal barriers to prevent American companies from being compelled to implement foreign censorship demands. This is not a hypothetical need. As seen in a case involving Italy attempting to force U.S. internet service provider Cloudflare to delete and block certain online services, the fight for a free internet is intensifying, with foreign authorities directly challenging U.S. digital sovereignty. [6] The shield law would provide a clear statutory defense for companies like Cloudflare to resist such overreach. The Globalist Censorship Agenda: Beyond Simple Content Moderation To view the EU's DSA and U.K.'s OSA as isolated regulatory projects is to misunderstand a larger, more sinister agenda. These laws are integral components of a globalist push to establish centralized control over informationa control that mirrors the strategies behind digital identity (ID) systems, Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), and mass surveillance networks. The goal is the creation of a managed digital ecosystem where permissible discourse is dictated by a small cadre of institutional elites. This agenda was exposed during the COVID-19 era, when a powerful 'censorship industrial complex' worked to manipulate information. [7] Big Tech platforms, often acting under pressure or in concert with governments, systematically silenced alternative voices and whistleblowers who challenged institutional narratives on vaccines, lockdowns and treatment protocols. The foreign laws now crystallize this ad-hoc censorship into a permanent legal architecture. They represent a coordinated effort to normalize the suppression of dissent under the guise of combating 'harm' or 'misinformation,' thereby solidifying the power of centralized institutions over the human right to free inquiry and expression. Why This Matters: The Fundamental Right to Free Expression Free speech is not one right among many; it is the foundational liberty upon which all others depend. From health freedom and economic independence to political and religious expression, the ability to speak, share and debate ideas openly is the bedrock of a free society. Centralized control over information is the primary tool for suppressing the alternative voices that challenge institutional corruption and failed narratives. The COVID-19 crisis served as a stark case study. As one book source notes, 'fear is the No. 1 destroyer of freedom. The greater your fear, the more you'll obey, and the more you obey, the more freedom you must give up.' [8] During the pandemic, fear was weaponized alongside censorship to mandate compliance with policies that often contradicted emerging truth and bodily autonomy. Censorship enabled the suppression of data on vaccine injuries, effective early treatments like ivermectin, and honest debate about pandemic origins. Protecting decentralized speech preserves the essential marketplace of ideas, which is the only reliable mechanism for discovering truth beyond the sanitized narratives of captured institutions. [9] Conclusion: A Necessary Defense Against Digital Authoritarianism The proposed U.S. Censorship Shield Law is a critical and timely defensive measure. It represents a crucial check against the overreach of global speech regulation and a reaffirmation of American commitment to the First Amendment. In a world where foreign governments are increasingly attempting to police the global digital town square, this law draws a necessary line in the sand. Protecting decentralized speech is not just about legal technicalities; it is about preserving the future of human liberty. As centralized institutions continue to push for greater control through digital IDs, CBDCs and AI surveillance, the freedom to communicate without foreign interference becomes ever more vital. The shield law is a necessary step to ensure that the internet remains a realm where the people, not unaccountable bureaucrats or globalist partnerships, determine the flow of information and the boundaries of discourse. The battle for the soul of the digital world is underway, and this legislation is a foundational defense for liberty, truth and the sovereign right of Americans to govern their own speech. References Ukraine shoots down 450 Russian targets at night, hits by 27 enemy missiles and 31 UAVs reported AFU On the night of February 3, Russian invaders carried out a combined strike on Ukraine using various types of air- and ground-based missiles and strike UAVs, the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has reported. "In total, radio-technical troops of the Air Force detected 521 means of air attack: four Zircon/Oniks missiles (launch area: temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea), 32 Iskander-M/S-300 ballistic missiles (launch areas: Briansk region, Russia, temporarily occupied territory of Crimea), seven Kh-22/Kh-32 cruise missiles (from the airspace of Briansk region, Russia), 28 Kh-101/Iskander-K cruise missiles (Caspian Sea waters, Kursk region, Russia), 450 strike UAVs of the Shahed, Gerbera, Italmas types and drones of other types from the directions of: Briansk, Kursk, Oryol, Shatalovo, Millerovo, Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Russia, about 300 of them were Shahed UAVs," the statement on the Telegram channel reads. The main strike directions were Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Vinnytsia and Odesa regions. "According to preliminary data, as of 09:30, air defense shot down/suppressed 450 targets 38 missiles and 412 drones of various types: four Zircon/Oniks missiles, 11 Iskander-M/S-300 ballistic missiles, three Kh-22/Kh-32 cruise missiles, 20 Kh-101/Iskander-K cruise missiles, 412 strike UAVs of various types," the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported. Hits by 27 missiles and 31 strike UAVs were recorded at 27 locations, as well as falls of downed UAVs (debris) at 17 locations. Information about six enemy missiles is being clarified. The air attack was repelled by aviation, anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic warfare units and unmanned systems, and mobile fire groups of the Defense Forces of Ukraine. The attack is ongoing, with several enemy UAVs in the airspace. Actor Celina Jaitly has welcomed a Delhi High Court order that directs the Ministry of External Affairs to appoint a UAE-based legal firm to represent her detained brother, Major Vikrant Jaitly. The court's decision allows advocates from Almarri Partners to take up his case, which the family's counsel described as a very positive and significant development for mounting a proper defence. Major Jaitly, a retired army officer, has been held in the United Arab Emirates for the past year and a half. The legal firm has agreed to handle the matter free of cost, bringing renewed hope for his release. Actor Celina Jaitly welcomes Delhi High Court order permitting a UAE legal firm to represent her brother, Major Vikrant Jaitly, detained in Dubai for 18 months. New Delhi, February 3 Actor Celina Jaitly on Tuesday welcomed the Delhi High Court's order permitting the appointment of a UAE-based legal firm to represent her brother, Major Vikrant Jaitly, who has been detained in Dubai for the past 18 months, calling the decision a restoration of his dignity and a major step forward in the long-running legal battle. Speaking to ANI, Celina Jaitly said that the Delhi High Court's order has allowed advocates from Almarri Partners in the UAE to represent Major Jaitly and has brought renewed hope to her family after months of uncertainty. "This has been an 18-month-long battle for us. Today, after 18 months, my brother and our country's soldiers finally has his dignity given back to him. The Justice kindly passed the order for Almarri Partners and advocates in the UAE to represent Major Vikrant Kumar Jaitly... We want to bring him back, and I'm sure now things will move in a very positive direction and very fast," she said. Her counsel, advocate Raghav Kacker, described the order as "very positive" and significant for the defence of Major Jaitly. He said the Delhi High Court had directed the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to appoint a lawyer identified by the family in Dubai. He further explained that the appointment letter would enable the legal team to obtain a power of attorney from Major Jaitly and to initiate an appropriate defence. "We have got a really good order from the Delhi High Court. The Justice has agreed to direct the MEA to appoint a lawyer we had found in Dubai. who has agreed to represent Vikrant. This is very important because that appointment letter will now enable them to get a power of attorney from Vikrant and initiate a proper defence for Vikrant, and we are very hopeful, especially after the deal that has happened between India and the UAE, that we will secure a very quick release for our soldier," Kacker said. Earlier on Tuesday, the Delhi High Court directed the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to issue an order to a legal firm, Al Maree Partners, to represent Celina Jaitly's brother, Major (retd.) Vikrant Jaitly in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The law firm is ready to handle the matter free of cost. Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav issued the direction on the petition of Bollywood actor Celina Jaitly. The High Court said that if there is an impediment in issuing the order, mention it in an affidavit. The next date is February 10. Her brother has been detained in the UAE for the last 18 months. The name of the firm was suggested by her counsel, Raghav Kacker, with assistance from Advocates Madhav Agrawal and Suradhish Vats. It was submitted that the legal firm is willing to represent Major (Retd.) Vikrant Jaitly is provided free of charge (pro bono). They have obtained the details of the case independently. The submissions were opposed by the counsel for the MEA. It was stated that the firm's name is included in the list of four legal firms suggested by Vikrant Jaitly. It was also stated that Vikrant Jaitly told embassy officials that the decision to engage a legal firm would be made by his wife, Charu Jaitly. Her counsel opposed and argued that the respondents are suppressing the fact that transpired in the email. He doesn't want to talk to his wife, Celina's counsel submitted. - ANI Adani Defence & Aerospace has signed an MoU with Italy's Leonardo to establish a fully integrated helicopter manufacturing ecosystem in India. The partnership will primarily address the Indian Armed Forces' projected demand for over 1000 helicopters in the coming decade, focusing on models like the AW169M. It aims to drive indigenisation, create high-skill jobs, and position India as a global hub for helicopter production and sustainment. The collaboration aligns with India's Aatmanirbhar Bharat vision for defence self-reliance. Adani Defence partners with Italy's Leonardo to build an integrated helicopter manufacturing ecosystem in India, targeting military demand and self-reliance. New Delhi, February 3 Adani Defence & Aerospace on Tuesday announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Leonardo, an Italian global company in aerospace, defence and security, to develop, manufacture and sustain a helicopter manufacturing ecosystem in India According to the company statement, the strategic partnership aims to establish a fully integrated helicopter manufacturing ecosystem in India, addressing surging military demands and propelling the nation toward self-reliance in helicopter production. The collaboration will target the Indian Armed Forces' requirements, particularly for Leonardo's advanced AW169M and AW109 TrekkerM helicopters, and will deliver phased indigenisation, robust maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) capabilities, and comprehensive pilot training. The programme is expected to address the increasing demand and new military requirements, while positioning India as a future hub for helicopter manufacturing. The partnership also paves the path for a new Indian helicopter ecosystem with the potential to be extended to the civil domestic demand, with dedicated localised industrial activities, and support the international supply chain. Jeet Adani, Director, Adani Defence & Aerospace, said, "This alliance with Leonardo is a pivotal stride toward a resilient, future-proof helicopter ecosystem in India. Merging global excellence with our industrial momentum, we will drive enduring value, high-skill employment, and alignment with Aatmanirbhar Bharat to position India as a global aerospace powerhouse." Ashish Rajvanshi, CEO, Adani Defence & Aerospace, said, "With the Indian Armed Forces projecting demand for over 1000 helicopters in the coming decade, this partnership realises our vision for sovereign manufacturing. It will accelerate indigenisation, strengthen supply chains, and establish India as a world-class production base." Gian Piero Cutillo, Managing Director, Leonardo Helicopters, said, "We're extremely pleased to join forces with Adani to provide our contribution to India's vision for an even stronger and growing role of their rotorcraft industry, and to enable the country to access the level of modern technology and operational capability it deserves." The company said the ecosystem is expected to generate thousands of high-skill jobs in engineering, manufacturing, logistics, and sustainment services, while cementing India as a competitive hub for helicopter production. The partnership, the release added, redefines India's aerospace landscape, strengthening defence autonomy and position the country as a trusted global hub for helicopter manufacturing and sustainment. - ANI Actor Adivi Sesh has completed the final shooting schedule for his upcoming film 'Dacoit', marking its entry into the post-production phase. He described the project as an intense personal and creative journey from writing to filming. The movie, shot simultaneously in Hindi and Telugu, is co-written by Sesh and director Shaneil Deo and features a cast including Mrunal Thakur and Anurag Kashyap. 'Dacoit' is scheduled for a theatrical release on March 19, 2026. Actor Adivi Sesh wraps the final schedule of 'Dacoit', an intense film shot in Hindi & Telugu, co-written with Shaneil Deo and starring Mrunal Thakur. Mumbai, February 3 Actor Adivi Sesh has wrapped up the final shooting schedule of his upcoming film 'Dacoit'. With the completion of the last leg of filming, 'Dacoit' has now entered its final phase of production. Adivi Sesh has been involved in every stage of the project, from writing the script to bringing the character to life on screen. Sharing his thoughts on completing the shoot, Sesh said that wrapping the final schedule felt both surreal and emotional. "Wrapping the final schedule of 'Dacoit' feels both surreal and deeply emotional for me. This film has been an intense journey, physically, creatively, and mentally. From writing the first draft to now standing at the edge of completion, every phase has demanded complete honesty and commitment. We just wrapped up the last schedule, and there's a quiet sense of fulfilment that comes with knowing we've given this story everything we had," Adivi said in a statement. Adivi described 'Dacoit' as an intense journey that demanded complete physical, creative and mental commitment, adding that there was a deep sense of fulfilment in knowing the team gave the story everything they had. He added, "'Dacoit' is not just another film for me; it's a story that has stayed with me through the nights of writing and days of shooting under challenging conditions. As we head toward an its release in March, I feel incredibly grateful to be sharing this moment with the entire team who believed in the vision from day one. There's a certain responsibility that comes with releasing a film during a festive period - audiences come in with heightened expectations and that pushes us to be even more honest with our work." The ace star added that post-production will now focus on shaping the film's final rhythm and tone, expressing hope that audiences experience the same intensity and passion that went into making 'Dacoit'. "The excitement around 'Dacoit' is something we've all felt on set, and it motivates us to raise our bar every single day. This final schedule is about tying emotional and narrative threads together, making sure the story lands exactly the way it's meant to. Once we wrap, the focus will shift to post-production, where the film will find its final rhythm and tone. I genuinely hope audiences feel the same intensity, vulnerability, and passion that went into making this film," shared Sesh. Shot simultaneously in Hindi and Telugu, the film's story and screenplay have been jointly crafted by Adivi Sesh and Shaneil Deo. The film is directed by Shaneil Deo. Apart from the lead duo, the film also stars director Anurag Kashyap in a prominent role. It also stars Mrunal Thakur. The film is slated to release in theatres on March 19, 2026. - ANI A team from AIIMS and IIT Delhi has demonstrated the longest-distance telerobotic ultrasound, enabling a doctor in New Delhi to perform real-time diagnostic scans on a patient in Antarctica. The system uses a remotely controlled robotic arm to position an ultrasound probe, with images streamed back to the clinician. This breakthrough aims to address critical medical emergencies in extreme, isolated environments like polar stations. The technology has potential applications in disaster zones, high-altitude areas, and underserved rural communities, promising equitable access to expert healthcare. AIIMS & IIT Delhi team demonstrates world's longest-distance telerobotic ultrasound, enabling remote scans from Delhi to Antarctica for polar medicine. New Delhi, February 3 At AIIMS Research Day 2026, Prof SH Chandrashekhara of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, demonstrated a telerobotic ultrasound system that enables doctors in the national capital to perform real-time diagnostic ultrasound scans from Antarctica. Using an advanced telerobotic ultrasound system, the clinician remotely controlled a robotic arm holding an ultrasound probe, demonstrating the feasibility of expert radiological care across extreme geographical and climatic barriers. The system uses a robotic arm controlled remotely to position the ultrasound probe, while images are streamed back to the clinician in New Delhi. The system was co-developed by IIT and AIIMS Delhi. This demonstration was the combined project of AIIMS, IIT Delhi, IHFC, NCPOR and RGHS. Dr Subir Kumar Saha, professor from IIT and Project Director of IHFC, was instrumental in developing and refining the telerobotic ultrasound system, ensuring precision control, robustness, and reliable remote operation, all of which are essential for deployment in extreme and isolated environments. The dedicated efforts of researchers Udayan Banerjee and Siddharth Gupta in system installation, technical setup, and extensive groundwork were crucial to translating this concept into operational reality. Recognising its potential beyond hospitals, Dr Vikas Dogra from RGHS, long associated with the Indian Antarctic Programme, envisioned deploying this technology at Indian Antarctic stations. Drawing upon his first-hand experience of medical challenges in Antarctica, the idea of deploying telerobotic ultrasound at Indian Antarctic stations was conceived. A project of this national importance required strong institutional vision and logistical stewardship, provided by NCPOR (National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research). Under the guidance and support of Dr Anand Kumar Singh, the project received the necessary approvals. This ensured alignment with expedition safety protocols, operational realities, and on-ground feasibility. At this critical juncture, the project also benefited immensely from the experience and institutional memory of Dr Pradip Malhotra. Dr Malhotra played a pivotal role in harmonising the efforts of multiple agencies, ensuring seamless coordination across clinical, technical, and logistical domains. Alstrut Pvt Ltd also supported the project. Healthcare delivery in Antarctica presents extraordinary challenges. Members of the Indian Antarctic Expeditions work in extreme cold, complete geographical isolation, and with very limited medical infrastructure. When sudden medical emergencies arise, such as trauma, acute abdominal pain, chest symptoms, or suspected internal injuries, critical decisions regarding on-site management versus medical evacuation must be made swiftly and accurately. In such settings, diagnostic uncertainty can cost precious time and lives. It is in this context that telerobotic ultrasound emerges as a truly transformative solution From AIIMS Delhi, a doctor controls a haptic device. Its movements are mirrored by a robotic arm in Antarctica, allowing real-time ultrasound examinations, just like a hands-on scan. Abdominal ultrasound, FAST (Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma) scans, echocardiography, Doppler, and neck scans have already been successfully performed. Through multiple successful trials, Dr Chandrashekhara and his team demonstrated that high-quality ultrasound imaging could be performed remotely, ensuring diagnostic feasibility and accuracy. This was a presentation of a story of innovation, one that connects advanced medical technology with one of the most remote frontiers on Earth: Antarctica. This technology can change how we deliver healthcare, not only in Antarctica but in disaster zones, high-altitude regions, offshore platforms, and underserved rural areas. It can ensure that advanced healthcare reaches every Indian explorer, even at the end of the Earth. It is a step toward equitable, expert healthcare, anywhere in the world. - ANI Halle Berry is speaking candidly about the marginalization women face as they age in Hollywood and society. The 59-year-old actress has adamantly refused to be "erased," instead turning her focus to a loud advocacy mission for women's health and menopause. She has launched Respin, a community aimed at redefining menopause and female longevity. Berry will next star opposite Chris Hemsworth in the upcoming film "Crime 101." Halle Berry speaks out against ageism in Hollywood, vows to be "louder than ever" about women's health and menopause as she approaches 60. Washington DC, February 3 Academy Award-winning actress Halle Berry has spoken candidly about aging in Hollywood and her determination to remain visible as she approaches 60, according to People. Berry, 59, said she refuses to let age marginalize or erase her, calling her advocacy for women's health a defining part of her "second act." "You get to this age where you feel like you're being marginalized, devalued. You feel it at work. You feel it from society," Berry said while discussing her role in the upcoming film Crime 101. The film stars Berry opposite Chris Hemsworth, with the actress portraying a middle-aged insurance broker who leverages perceptions of beauty in high-stakes business settings. "But I have adamantly decided I am not going to allow myself to be erased," Berry said. "That's why I'm on my menopause mission. I'm going to be louder than I have ever been." Berry, who turns 60 in August, has increasingly used her platform to speak openly about menopause and women's health, including breaking taboos around physical changes such as vaginal dryness. "Everything gets dry," she said, adding that open conversations can help remove shame and stigma. "I'm almost 60. Fighting for women's health feels like a formidable cause for my second act," she added, according to People. The actress has also launched Respin, a community focused on redefining menopause and female longevity. Berry previously revealed she was advised early on not to discuss menopause publicly for fear of being "put in a box," according to People. However, she said embracing her age and redirecting her focus toward women's health has been deeply empowering. Berry's upcoming film, Crime 101, is scheduled to release in theatres on February 13, according to People. - ANI Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Jammu and Kashmir for three days starting February 5. His itinerary includes a high-level security review meeting, an inspection of the international border in Kathua, and the launch of developmental projects in Srinagar. This visit follows a security review he chaired in New Delhi in January, focusing on neutralizing foreign terrorists in the Jammu region. Officials state a comprehensive strategy is being fine-tuned to ensure zero infiltration and a terror-free J&K. Union Home Minister Amit Shah begins a 3-day visit to J&K to review security, inspect the border, and launch developmental projects. Jammu, Feb 3 Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Jammu and Kashmir for three days beginning Thursday for a comprehensive review of the security situation, launch various developmental projects and interact with political leaders. "Union Home Minister will reach Jammu in the evening on February 5. He will meet political leaders at the Lok Bhawan the same evening. In the morning on February 6, the Union Home Minister will visit the international border in the Hiranagar sector of Kathua district," said officials here. During his visit to the international border, the Union Home Minister will inspect the latest equipment installed by the Border Security Force (BSF) to prevent infiltration. "In the afternoon of February 6, he will chair a high-level security review meeting in Jammu. J&K Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, senior officials of MHA, IB, chiefs of CAPFs, senior officers of J&K's civil administration, police and intelligence agencies will attend the security review meeting," the officials said. On the morning of February 7, he will leave for Srinagar, where he is scheduled to launch various developmental projects. In the afternoon, he will leave from Srinagar for Chhattisgarh, official sources said. In less than one month, Amit Shah will be reviewing J&K security for the second time at the highest level. On January 8, he chaired a high-level security review meeting on J&K in New Delhi. His review of the security situation was followed by the visit of the Union Home Secretary, Gobind Mohan, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) chief Tapan Deka, chiefs of CAPFs and other agencies to Jammu on January 14 and 15. Official sources reveal that the Home Minister is concerned about the presence of foreign terrorists in the upper reaches of the Jammu division, including Kathua, Doda, Kishtwar and Udhampur districts. "A comprehensive strategy is in place to neutralise the terrorists through joint operations in the entire Jammu and Kashmir," sources said, adding the high-level meeting is likely to review and fine-tune the strategy further. Search operations have been going on in the Chatroo area of Kishtwar district, besides the upper reaches of Billawar in Kathua and some other districts to eliminate the foreign terrorists. A paratrooper of the Army was martyred, and seven soldiers were injured in Chatroo (Kishtwar) in an encounter between joint forces and the terrorists on January 18. A top commander of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) outfit was killed by the security forces in the upper reaches of Billawar in Kathua district. In the January 8 security review meeting in New Delhi, HM Shah assured security forces that all resources will be made available to them in achieving the goal of `terror-free Jammu and Kashmir'. He directed all security agencies to remain alert and continue to work in synergy to ensure that the gains achieved after the abrogation of Article 370 are sustained. The Union Home Minister directed to ensure zero infiltration on the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border in J&K while carrying out aggressive operations against terrorists, their over-ground workers (OGWs) and sympathisers to usher in complete peace in Jammu and Kashmir. - IANS President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the extension of sanctions against Dmytro Firtash, Taras Kozak and related individuals and companies. Zelenskyy spoke about this on his official Telegram channel on Monday. "Today I signed new sanctions decisions. We are synchronizing our steps with the United Kingdom and extending sanctions that were nearing expiration. First, we are extending sanctions against former oligarch Dmytro Firtash and, as part of the synchronization, imposing sanctions on his close associates and companies under his control. All entities linked to Russia and its structures deserve to be blocked," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. "Second, we are also extending sanctions against one of the closest associates of former oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk Taras Kozak and eight companies linked to him. Long before the start of Russias full-scale aggression, these individuals chose Russia and, therefore, war. We will continue to counter every such entity," the president stressed. India's Ambassador to the US praised a new bilateral trade deal, stating it heralds an exciting new phase in the partnership and creates vast opportunities. The deal grants India lower tariff rates compared to Pakistan, which faces a 19% rate under a recent US order. Concurrently, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is in the US for talks with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, focusing on strengthening critical mineral supply chains. Jaishankar also welcomed the trade agreement, highlighting its potential to boost jobs, growth, and innovation in both economies. Indian Ambassador lauds new trade deal with US, creating jobs and growth. EAM Jaishankar meets US Secretary of State for critical minerals talks. Washington DC, February 3 India's Ambassador to the US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra on Tuesday lauded the India-US deal, saying it would launch vast opportunities for both nations. Kwatra said that the talks between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi herald an exciting new phase in the partnership between both nations. In a post on X, he said, "A big WIN for a consequential partnership under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump. India and USA announce trade deal creating vast new opportunities for the two economies and the people of our two great nations. Today's announcements herald an exciting new phase in our partnership." The deal gave India lower tariff rates than Pakistan. Under the Executive Order issued by US President Donald Trump on July 31, 2025, new reciprocal tariff rates were announced for Pakistan at 19%. Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is set to hold talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Department of State on Tuesday. The meeting is scheduled for 3:30 pm (US local time). The meeting is part of Jaishankar's three-day visit to the United States, where he is participating in the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial on February 4, hosted by Washington. Ahead of the ministerial, the US Department of State announced that Secretary Rubio will bring together partners from across the globe to strengthen cooperation on critical mineral supply chains. The gathering will focus on enhancing international collaboration to secure reliable and resilient supply chains essential for economic and national security, technological leadership, and the energy transition. Amid this visit, Jaishankar welcomed the recent India-US trade agreement, stating he "welcomed the announcements on bilateral trade." In a post on X, he highlighted its benefits: "This will create more jobs, spur growth and promote innovation in both economies. It will strengthen 'Make in India' endeavours and encourage trusted technology ties." - ANI Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya attended a reception to felicitate NCC cadets returning from the Republic Day Camp 2026. He addressed the cadets at the historic Lachit Ghat, linking them to the legacy of Ahom general Lachit Borphukan and describing them as the disciplined face of New India. The Governor highlighted the national appreciation for the North East's cultural presentations, specifically Assam's 'Terracotta Craft Village' tableau. He urged the cadets to uphold discipline, place the nation above self, and lead in building a prosperous, self-reliant India. Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya felicitated NCC cadets at Lachit Ghat, praising their role as disciplined torchbearers for a self-reliant India. Guwahati, February 3 Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya on Monday attended a reception programme organised by the Directorate of NCC North Eastern Region at Lachit Ghat to felicitate NCC cadets returning from their participation in the Republic Day Camp 2026. Governor Acharya congratulated the NCC cadets for participating in the Republic Day Camp and representing the state at the function. He said that hosting them at the historic Lachit Ghat is symbolic, as it recalls the legacy of Lachit Borphukan, who exemplified supreme devotion to safeguard the nation. He described the NCC cadets as the torchbearers of this heroic tradition and the face of New India, who are disciplined, energetic, and dedicated. The Governor appreciated the cadets for their outstanding performance at the Republic Day celebrations. Addressing the NCC cadets, Acharya said that marching on Kartavya Path is both an honour and a responsibility, and urged them to continuously uphold the highest standards of discipline, conduct, and excellence. Highlighting the vital role of the NCC cadets in nation-building through disaster relief, civic action, social service, environmental initiatives, and adventure activities, he called upon the NCC participants to remain alert and ready to serve that nation with utmost sincerity. Referring to this year's Republic Day celebrations, the Governor noted with pride that the cultural presentations from the North East received national appreciation. He particularly mentioned Assam's tableau, "Terracotta Craft Village", which beautifully showcased the traditional clay art of Dhubri district while reflecting the spirit of Atmanirbhar Bharat. The Governor also recalled that the Republic Day celebrations were dedicated to the 150 glorious years of "Vande Mataram", and quoted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has said that "Vande Mataram is not just a song, but an energy and a resolve of dedication to Mother India." He added that India's journey towards becoming a developed Nation is being driven by conscious, committed, and nation-serving youth.Emphasising that India's greatest strength lies in its youth, the Governor urged the cadets to make discipline the foundation of their lives, place the nation above self, and remain responsible citizens. He expressed confidence that NCC cadets would play a leading role in building a strong, prosperous, and self-reliant India. The Governor also felicitated the NCC cadet achievers of RDC 2026. Additional Director General, NCC North Eastern Region, Major General Anurag Vij, Deputy Director General, Brigadier K.J. Singh, Group Commander, NCC Guwahati, Brigadier N.C. Khuman, along with NCC cadets and other dignitaries, were present on the occasion. Earlier in the day, the Governor also interacted with 18 NSS volunteers from the North Eastern Region who had participated in the Republic Day Parade Camp 2026, at Lok Bhavan, Assam. - ANI A gathering of 15,555 women in Sivasagar's Jerenga Pathar set a world record by performing the traditional Assamese Dihanam for 42 continuous minutes. The event, organized by the Ratnagarbha Tejaswini Foundation, was officially recognized by the World Wide Book of Records. Sindhuja VB, the Indian coordinator for the records body, confirmed the achievement, highlighting its significance as a cultural milestone. The vibrant display celebrated Assam's rich heritage and community empowerment. Over 15,000 women create a world record by performing Assamese Dihanam for 42 minutes at historic Jerenga Pathar, celebrating cultural heritage. Sivasagar, February 3 The air at the historic Jerenga Pathar was filled with spiritual fervour and the rhythmic clanging of cymbals today as Sivasagar etched its name into the record books. Under the initiative of the Ratnagarbha Tejaswini Foundation, 15,555 women gathered to set a world record by performing Assamese Dihanam for 42 continuous minutes. The event, which showcased Assam's rich cultural and spiritual heritage, concluded with official recognition from the World Book of Records. The sea of women, dressed in traditional attire, transformed the historic field into a vibrant tapestry of faith and culture. The collective voice of over fifteen thousand participants chanting in unison created an electric atmosphere that resonated throughout the district, celebrating the empowerment and cultural pride of our local community. Sindhuja VB, the Indian coordinator of the World Wide Book of Records, lauded the achievement of Assamese women, highlighting their feat of performing an Assamese song for 42 consecutive minutes, marking a significant cultural milestone. "I am very happy to be here...for the world record. Just now, they have finished the world record of 42 minutes of singing Assamese song. It is now officially recorded in the World Wide Book of Records," Sindhuja told ANI. In another development, Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya attended the valedictory function of the Janajati Sammelan and the 30th foundation day celebration of Vivekananda Kendra Institute of Culture at Assam Royal Global University, in Guwahati on January 31. Speaking on the occasion, the Governor described the event as very significant as it brought together people of different sections and brought the culmination of the Tribal Conference, which was organised on the theme "Development through Culture." The Governor on the occasion said the Janajati Sammelan provided a meaningful platform for dialogue on education, health, livelihoods, cultural preservation, and the responsible use of modern technology. Development, he stressed, must strengthen tribal identity, language. and self-respect, as progress aligned with culture ensures inclusive and sustainable growth. - ANI Bajaj Finance reported an 18% sequential decline in its Q3 consolidated net profit to Rs 4,066 crore, primarily impacted by higher provisions including an accelerated expected credit loss charge. However, adjusted for these one-off items, the net profit would have shown a robust 23% year-on-year growth. The company's core lending business remained strong, with assets under management growing 22% and new loan bookings increasing by 15%. While gross NPAs saw a slight increase, net NPAs remained stable, indicating controlled asset quality. Bajaj Finance Q3 net profit fell 18% sequentially to Rs 4,066 crore due to higher provisions, but adjusted profit and loan growth show underlying strength. Mumbai, Feb 3 Bajaj Finance on Tuesday reported a 5.6 per cent decline in consolidated net profit for the December quarter. The non-banking financial company (NBFC) posted a net profit of Rs 4,066 crore, compared to Rs 4,308 crore in the same quarter last financial year (Q3 FY25), according to its stock exchange filing. On a sequential basis, profit fell 18 per cent from Rs 4,947 crore reported in the September quarter (Q2 FY26), as per its regulatory filing. The company said profitability was impacted by higher provisions, including an accelerated expected credit loss (ECL) charge of Rs 1,406 crore and a one-time gratuity-related expense of Rs 265 crore following the implementation of new labour codes. Adjusted for these items, net profit would have stood at Rs 5,317 crore -- reflecting a 23 per cent year-on-year growth. Despite the drop in reported profit, Bajaj Finance saw strong growth in its core lending business. Net interest income (NII) rose to Rs 11,318 crore in the December quarter, up from Rs 9,383 crore in the year-ago period, as per its regulatory filing. Loan growth remained steady during the quarter. The company booked 13.90 million new loans in Q3 FY26, up 15 per cent from 12.06 million loans in the same quarter last financial year. This helped assets under management (AUM) grow 22 per cent year-on-year to Rs 4.84 lakh crore, compared with Rs 3.98 lakh crore a year ago. Loan losses and provisions stood at Rs 3,625 crore during the quarter. Excluding the accelerated ECL provision of Rs 1,406 crore, loan losses and provisions were Rs 2,219 crore, up 9 per cent from Rs 2,043 crore in the corresponding period last year. As of December 31, 2025, gross non-performing assets (GNPA) stood at 1.56 per cent, slightly higher than 1.41 per cent a year earlier. Net NPAs remained stable at 0.61 per cent compared to the same level last financial year, the company added. - IANS Amitabh Bachchan shared a poignant late-night note recalling his father Harivansh Rai Bachchan's perspective that struggle is intrinsic to life. He drew a parallel between this philosophy and a similar sentiment found in the poetry of his father's contemporary, Firaq Gorakhpuri. The actor reflected on the profound silence of the early morning as a time for true connection with oneself. He concluded with a wry observation on the modern world where everyone has become a commentator and communicator. Amitabh Bachchan recalls poet father Harivansh Rai Bachchan's words on life's struggle, drawing parallels with poet Firaq Gorakhpuri in a late-night reflection. Mumbai, Feb 3 Megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the quiet hours of the night shared a deeply introspective note on life, struggle and silence, drawing a moving parallel between the thoughts of his father, the late poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan, and eminent Urdu poet Firaq Gorakhpuri. Recalling a conversation with his "pujya babuji," the actor wrote that he once spoke about how life is filled with struggle. "Pujya Babuji se ek din aise hi main keh raha tha ki jeevan mein bada sangharsh hai. Unka uttar aaya, 'Beta, jab tak jeevan hai, tab tak sangharsh hai' (As long as there is life, there is struggle). Abhi ek pustak dekh raha tha Firaq Gorakhpuri ji ki, jismein unka ek sher mila (sic)." The reflection led the cine icon to a sher by Firaq Gorakhpuri, a contemporary and close friend of his father, noting how strikingly similar their emotions and philosophies were. He also mentioned that both poets belonged to the Kayastha community, while emphasising that the late poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan never believed in casteism. "Firaq Gorakhpuri ji was the eminent poet from Allahabad , now Prayagraj and a contemporary of Babuji .. they were close friends too .. his poetry was embellished in Urdu .. he was a Kayast .... a caste , a social order prevalent , a stratum an echelon - Hinduism .. the same as Babuji , who, as I have mentioned often, never believed in casteism... !!! look how similar their words and emotions be (sic)." Sharing that it was nearly 4 am on February 3 as he penned the post, the actor spoke about the power of silence in the stillness of the night, calling it a space where one truly connects with oneself. "Yes, it is almost 4 am of the 3rd of February 2026 and I sit in the silence of the night to connect... the silence speaks louder than any thought occupying your mind the entire day .. a refreshing moment of calm and peace .. until you fall into the guile and enticement of the social media... (sic)." He concluded: "Oh ! what a wonderful World we live in .. where the side and alternate profession of the 8.2 billion humans is .. journalism , communicator , opinion maker ,informer , collaborator , fifth columnist .. et al (sic)." - IANS The Bharatiya Janata Party has elected Yumnam Khemchand Singh as its legislature party leader in Manipur. This decision comes ahead of the scheduled end of President's Rule in the state, which was imposed last year. Former Chief Minister N Biren Singh stated that all NDA partners have been invited to a meeting in Delhi, hoping for a positive outcome. Meanwhile, a central inquiry commission probing the ethnic violence that triggered the political crisis has been given an extension to submit its report. BJP elects Yumnam Khemchand Singh as its legislature party leader in Manipur, as NDA partners meet ahead of the end of President's Rule. New Delhi, February 3 The Bharatiya Janata Party elected Yumnam Khemchand Singh as its legislature party leader during the Manipur Legislative Party meeting at the party's headquarters in Delhi. The decision follows a meeting in the national capital this evening, days ahead of the end of the President's rule in the northeastern state. As per the source, the meeting will be followed by a meeting of NDA partners in the state. President's rule was imposed in Manipur on February 13 last year and was later extended by Parliament in August last year for another six months. Former Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said on Sunday that NDA partners in the state have been called to Delhi for a meeting. "All NDA partners have been invited....Let's hope for a positive response," Biren Singh told reporters. "The government is a continuing process. I try my best to change the landscape in the state of Manipur," he added. President's Rule was imposed in Manipur on February 13, 2025, after N Biren Singh stepped down as Chief Minister following months of intermittent violence in the state, following ethnic tensions between the Kuki Zo and Meitei ethnic groups. Union Home Ministry in December gave another extension to the Commission of Inquiry probing the ethnic violence in Manipur, instructing it to submit its report "as soon as possible, but no later than May 20, 2026." The commission is tasked with probing the ethnic violence that erupted in Manipur on May 3, 2023, examining its causes as well as the authorities' response. - ANI The BJP has announced former Assembly Speaker Yumnam Khemchand Singh as the next Chief Minister of Manipur, ending prolonged negotiations over government formation. His election as the BJP Legislature Party leader was confirmed at a meeting in New Delhi attended by party MLAs and central observers. The move paves the way for the formation of an NDA government, with allies NPP and NPF providing support, ahead of the scheduled end of President's Rule on February 12. Khemchand Singh, a two-time MLA, has recently undertaken outreach visits to tribal hill districts affected by ethnic violence. BJP ends Manipur leadership uncertainty, electing former Speaker Yumnam Khemchand Singh as the new Chief Minister to lead the NDA government. New Delhi/Imphal, Feb 3 Ending months of uncertainty and prolonged parleys over government formation in Manipur, the BJP on Tuesday announced that former Assembly Speaker Yumnam Khemchand Singh will be the state's next Chief Minister. The BJP legislature party, after a meeting in New Delhi, announced that Khemchand Singh has been elected as the party's Legislature Party Leader and will take over as Chief Minister of Manipur, where President's Rule has been in force since February 13 last year following the resignation of then Chief Minister N. Biren Singh amid prolonged ethnic violence. Sources said that Khemchand Singh was elected as the Legislature Party Leader at a meeting in New Delhi attended by BJP MLAs from Manipur, along with the party's newly appointed Central Observer Tarun Chugh and BJP Northeast coordinator Sambit Patra, among other senior leaders. Patra, in a post on X, said: "A meeting of the BJP Manipur Legislative Party was held today at the BJP Headquarters in New Delhi with Hon'ble National General Secretary Shri Tarun Chugh ji as the observer, in the presence of Hon'ble State President Smt A Sharda Devi ji. Warm congratulations to Shri Y Khemchand Singh ji on being unanimously elected as the Leader of the BJP Legislative Party by all BJP MLAs of Manipur." A meeting of legislators from all constituents of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was to be held on Tuesday night or on Wednesday to formally endorse Khemchand Singh's name as the NDA Legislature Party Leader, sources said. The National People's Party (NPP), headed by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, and the Naga People's Front (NPF) are supporting the BJP in Manipur as constituents of the NDA. A member of the majority Meitei community, Khemchand Singh is a former Rural Development Minister and was elected twice to the Manipur Assembly from the Singjamei constituency in Imphal West district as a BJP candidate in the 2017 and 2022 Assembly elections. In a significant gesture since ethnic violence erupted in Manipur in May 2023, the 61-year-old BJP leader recently visited the tribal-majority hill districts of Ukhrul and Kamjong, marking the first outreach by any Meitei leader to these areas since the conflict began. After hectic parleys, the BJP on Monday initiated the process to elect a new Chief Minister in Manipur, and the party's Parliamentary Board appointed national General Secretary Chugh as the Central Observer for the election of the Legislative Party Leader in the state. Following directions from the central BJP leadership, a large number of MLAs belonging to the BJP and its supporting parties reached New Delhi earlier this week. Former Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, Assembly Speaker Thokchom Satyabrata Singh, Khemchand Singh, and state BJP President Adhikarimayum Sharda Devi accompanied the party MLAs in the national capital. "We are expecting that the issue of government formation will be discussed," Sharda Devi had told the media before leaving Imphal for New Delhi. The Union government imposed President's Rule in Manipur on February 13 last year, four days after Biren Singh resigned as Chief Minister of the state, and it is scheduled to end on February 12 this year. The 60-member Manipur Assembly, which has a tenure until 2027, has been kept under suspended animation. Following the imposition of President's Rule, senior BJP central leaders, including national General Secretary, Organisation, B.L. Santhosh and the party's Northeast coordinator Sambit Patra, held a series of meetings with Manipur MLAs in both New Delhi and Imphal. The BJP has 37 MLAs in the Manipur Assembly, while its NDA allies -- the NPP and the NPF -- have six and five MLAs respectively. Three Independent MLAs are also supporting the BJP-led NDA. On December 14 last year, the Manipur BJP Legislature Party held a meeting at the party headquarters in New Delhi to discuss the peace process and other key issues concerning the violence-hit state. The meeting was attended by more than 34 BJP MLAs, including Biren Singh, Speaker Thokchom Satyabrata Singh, along with Santhosh, Patra and Sharda Devi. - IANS The Bharatiya Janata Party has elected Yumnam Khemchand Singh as its legislature party leader in Manipur. The decision comes days ahead of the scheduled end of President's Rule in the state. BJP leaders, including National General Secretary Tarun Chugh, congratulated Singh, expressing confidence in his leadership. Meanwhile, the state Congress criticized the overall situation in Manipur, claiming the leadership change would not impact elections. BJP names Yumnam Khemchand Singh as its legislature party leader in Manipur ahead of the end of President's Rule, with party leaders extending congratulations. New Delhi, February 4 Following Yumnam Khemchand Singh being elected the BJP Legislature Party Leader of Manipur on Tuesday, BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh also congratulated the newly elected legislature party leader, wishing him a successful and impactful tenure. Chugh took to X, saying, "Heartiest congratulations to Hon'ble Shri @YKhemchandSingh on being elected as the BJP Legislature Party Leader of Manipur. I extend my heartfelt best wishes for a successful and impactful tenure. Under the able guidance and visionary leadership of Hon'ble Prime Minister @NarendraModi ji, your vast experience, unwavering commitment, and strong leadership will further strengthen the party and help fulfil the aspirations of the people of Manipur." Congratulates newly-elected Manipur BJP leader Yumnam Khemchand Singh BJP MLA Tongbram Robindro Singh said that the decision would be beneficial for the people of the state. Speaking to ANI, he said, "Everything will be good...All decisions being made are for the benefit of the public of Manipur." Thokchom Radheshyam, a BJP MLA from Manipur, also thanked the central government for the decision to end President's Rule and restore an elected state government. "It's good that we are going to have an elected government, a popular government. It's long overdue. So we thank the central leadership for finally taking this step...Every problem has a solution. I think with the guidance of the central leadership and the new ministry, under the leadership of Yumnam Khemchand, we will find a solution.", he said. Meanwhile, the President of the Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee stressed that the present condition of the state is not good, stating that the appoitment of Yumnam Khemchand Singh would not impact the elections. "The appointment of a new leader of the BJP will not affect the elections...The present situation in the state is extremely bad...The Congress party always stands for the people. We demand justice; we stand for the welfare of the public.", he said, further claiming that despite BJP holding a majority in the central government and the Manipur government, they failed to govern. President's Rule was imposed in Manipur on February 13, 2025, after N Biren Singh stepped down as Chief Minister following months of intermittent violence in the state, following ethnic tensions between the Kuki Zo and Meitei ethnic groups. Union Home Ministry in December gave another extension to the Commission of Inquiry probing the ethnic violence in Manipur, instructing it to submit its report "as soon as possible, but no later than May 20, 2026." The commission is tasked with probing the ethnic violence that erupted in Manipur on May 3, 2023, examining its causes as well as the authorities' response. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) elected Yumnam Khemchand Singh as its legislature party leader during the Manipur Legislative Party meeting at the party's headquarters in Delhi. The decision follows a meeting in the national capital this evening, days ahead of the end of the President's rule in the northeastern state. On the occasion, supporters of the leader set off firecrackers outside his residence in Imphal after he was elected as the leader of the Manipur Legislative Party at a meeting in Delhi. - ANI The BJP has set an ambitious target of winning 100 seats in the upcoming Assam assembly elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Guwahati on February 14 to address a massive conference of booth-level workers. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is also scheduled to visit on February 21 for organizational meetings and campaign strategy review. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma inaugurated 67 new school buildings, highlighting the government's development initiatives. BJP aims for 100 seats in Assam polls. PM Modi to address workers on Feb 14, Amit Shah on Feb 21. CM Himanta Sarma inaugurates schools. New Delhi, February 3 The Bharatiya Janata Party has set an ambitious target of winning 100 seats in Assam, signalling a strong and determined push to further consolidate its position in the state. As part of this strategy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Guwahati on February 14, where he will address a massive conference of booth-level workers from across Assam. The conference will see participation from nearly one lakh booth-level workers, highlighting the party's strong grassroots presence. In addition, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to visit Assam on February 21. During his visit, the Home Minister is expected to hold key organisational meetings, review election preparedness, and interact with party leaders and workers to strengthen the BJP's campaign strategy. Senior party leaders said that the visits by the Prime Minister and the Home Minister will significantly energise party cadres and provide clear strategic direction. The BJP aims to reinforce its commitment to development, good governance, and robust organisational outreach across Assam. Assam is set to hold Assembly elections later this year, where the Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma-led BJP is looking to defend its power against Congress. Earlier on Monday, in the poll-bound Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma inaugurated 67 state-of-the-art school buildings constructed under NESIDS, PM-DevINE and RIDF-XXIX and laid the foundation stone for another 61 schools to be built under RIDF-XXXI across different districts of Assam at a central programme held at Sonapur in Kamrup (Metro) district. According to the release, the combined investment for these projects stands at Rs 760 crore, as the initiative is set to create world-class learning environments that empower every child to dream bigger and achieve more. Speaking on the occasion, Himanta described the day as historic and transformative for Assam's education sector. He added that the State government has undertaken the construction of new buildings for 1,318 schools across Assam. - ANI Boeing has announced the opening of applications for the fifth edition of its BUILD program for the 2025-26 cycle. The initiative connects student innovators and early-stage entrepreneurs with incubators, investors, and Boeing's industry expertise to develop market-ready solutions. Shortlisted teams will compete in regional bootcamps, with finalists pitching at the Boeing Immersion Day and BUILD finals in July 2026. Winners will receive a grant of INR 10 lakh each and mentorship from Boeing experts. Boeing invites applications for its 5th BUILD program in India. Get mentorship, grants up to 10 lakh, and industry support for aerospace & tech startups. New Delhi, February 3 Boeing on Tuesday announced the opening of applications for the fifth edition of its Boeing University Innovation Leadership Development program for 2025-26, reinforcing its long-standing support for India's student innovators and early-stage startups, the release said. Launched in 2019, BUILD enables graduates and early-stage startup entrepreneurs across India to pitch and develop their ideas by connecting them with incubators, investors, and Boeing's industry expertise, helping concepts mature into market-ready solutions. By bringing together academia, industry, incubators, and investors within a structured, integrated platform, BUILD helps de-risk early-stage innovation, strengthens startup readiness, and accelerates the journey from concept to deployment. Over five editions, the program has supported thousands of graduates and startups nationwide, accelerating ideas and solutions in India's startup ecosystem across aerospace, defence, technology, sustainability, and social impact sectors. As per the release, Bill McSherry, vice president, State Advocacy and Global Engagement, Boeing, said, "For over a century Boeing has led global aerospace innovation, turning bold ideas into solutions that improve lives. We understand what it takes to turn an idea into a solution and the passion behind it. With BUILD's proven track record in helping shape students' and entrepreneurs' dreams and ambitions, we are proud to support the next leap this program is set to take." Salil Gupte, president, Boeing India and South Asia, said, "India's startup community brings bold thinking and deep technical capability. Over the past five years, BUILD has nurtured this capability - giving wings to ideas, offering mentorship, industry expertise, and opportunity to scale up - to thousands of students, and enabled concepts to mature into capabilities. We deeply value the partnership of our incubator ecosystem, which has been integral to this journey of nurturing innovators and entrepreneurs." Boeing continues to partner with seven incubators, namely, Society for Innovation, IIT Mumbai, Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer, IIT Delhi, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre, IIT Gandhinagar, IIT Madras - Incubation Cell, Society for Innovation and Development - IISC Bengaluru, T-Hub Hyderabad, and Technology Business Incubator - KIIT Bhubaneshwar, to organise BUILD in India. Applicants are now invited to submit ideas in the fields of aerospace and defence, technology, social impact, and sustainability. The shortlisted teams will compete at a regional-level boot camp, and the finalists will pitch their ideas to subject-matter experts on Boeing Immersion Day and BUILD finals, to be held in July 2026. The winners will get a grant of INR 10 lakh each to support the development of their ideas. Boeing mentors and industry experts will interact and closely work with the finalists to refine and suggest ways to convert these ideas into viable business offerings. - ANI Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte visited the People's Memorial in the central square of the Ukrainian capital on Tuesday, where they honored the memory of fallen Ukrainian defenders. "Independence Square. People's Memorial of National Memory. Memorial to our heroes, soldiers, our people who defended Ukraine from the enemy, fought and gave their most precious in this war. Together with Mark Rutte, today we honored the memory of fallen Ukrainian defenders here," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. He illustrated the message with a video of the commemoration ceremony. "Eternal respect to our soldiers. Eternal gratitude for the feat and defense of the country. Our duty is to preserve the memory of our fallen heroes," the president said. During UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's recent visit to China, discussions with President Xi Jinping notably avoided the contentious issue of Beijing's rapid and secretive nuclear weapons buildup. A report highlights that China's arsenal is growing faster than any other nation's, adding roughly 100 warheads annually since 2023 without providing a public rationale. The Pentagon has warned this expansion makes the US homeland increasingly vulnerable and points to a more attack-ready nuclear posture from China. The talks reportedly covered Chinese threats to UK security but omitted what the report calls the paramount threat: proliferating nuclear weapons. Report says UK PM Keir Starmer did not raise China's rapid nuclear expansion or human rights with President Xi Jinping during recent diplomatic visit. London, Feb 3 During UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's recent visit to China, discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping avoided Beijing's "dangerous, unexplained, secretive and rapid buildup" of nuclear weapons as well as other contentious issues such as human rights abuses, espionage and Taiwan, a report said on Tuesday. Citing the 2025 report of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri), a report in the UK's leading daily, The Guardian, stated that while China, with an estimated 600 warheads, lags behind other nuclear powers, it's catching up at a fast pace. "China's nuclear arsenal is growing faster than any other country's, by about 100 new warheads a year since 2023 ... [It] could potentially have at least as many ICBMs [intercontinental ballistic missiles] as either Russia or the US by the turn of the decade," The Guardian quoted Sipri as saying. According to the report, Beijing has provided no explanation or rationale for this dramatic increase - and rejected negotiations with multilateral arms control. "An official white paper, published by China in November, restated its position that countries with the largest nuclear arsenals must make the first move, by unilaterally making 'drastic and substantive reductions'. Until then, it said, China would keep its own nuclear capabilities 'at the minimum level required for national security'. The paper conveniently omitted to say what that level is," it noted. Despite its current advantages, the report said, the US remains concerned with the Pentagon warning in December last year that "China's historic military buildup has made the US homeland increasingly vulnerable". The Pentagon also highlighted what it described as a more attack-ready, "hair-trigger" nuclear posture, claiming that about 100 Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) were recently installed in silos in northern China. It added that Beijing was testing its capacity "to strike US forces in the Pacific", potentially undermining future US military support to Taiwan. "China expects to be able to fight and win a war on Taiwan by the end of 2027," The Guardian quoted the Pentagon as saying. The report further said, "Whatever China's President is thinking, these are alarming times for anyone worried about global thermonuclear war - which should be everyone. Starmer's talks with Xi reportedly included Chinese threats to UK national security. What bigger threat is there than proliferating nuclear weapons? Yet as far as is known, he did not raise the issue." - IANS BTS will stage a landmark global comeback with a live concert streamed on Netflix from Seoul's Gwanghwamun area on March 21, 2026. The event celebrates the release of their new album "Arirang" and marks their first full-group performance after all members completed military service. A feature-length documentary, "BTS: The Return," directed by Bao Nguyen, will premiere on Netflix on March 27, offering behind-the-scenes access to their reunion. Following the album release, the group will embark on an extensive world tour spanning 34 regions through 2026-2027. BTS returns with a live global concert and documentary on Netflix in March 2026, celebrating their new album 'Arirang' and post-military reunion. Mumbai, February 3 There is good news for BTS fans as K-pop superstars are making their long-awaited return this March with a landmark global event. Streaming live from Gwanghwamun in Seoul, this monumental performance celebrates the release of their highly anticipated new album, Arirang Netflix, in collaboration with HYBE, has announced a comeback event for K-pop supergroup, featuring a live performance and a feature-length documentary slated for release in March 2026. The comeback concert, titled BTS The Comeback Live| Arirang, will be streamed live on Netflix on March 21, broadcasting live from the historic Gwanghwamun area in Seoul, South Korea. The performance marks BTS's first global stage reunion following the completion of mandatory military service by all seven members, RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook. The live event celebrates the release of BTS's fifth studio album, Arirang, which explores the group's identity, roots and evolution. Netflix stated that the live concert will be the platform's first-ever globally livestreamed event broadcast from Korea. Following the live performance, Netflix will premiere BTS: The Return, a feature-length documentary, on March 27, 2026. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Bao Nguyen, the documentary offers behind-the-scenes access to the band's reunion and the making of their comeback album. The film follows BTS as they reunite in Los Angeles to create new music after a period apart, reflecting on their journey from their 2013 debut to becoming global pop icons. The documentary captures moments of reflection, creative rediscovery and emotional growth as the group prepares for what is being described as one of the most significant comebacks in pop culture history. After the album release, BTS will embark on the Arirang World Tour (2026-2027), spanning 34 regions and 82 shows across Asia, North America, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East. BTS's new album Arirang is scheduled for release on March 20, 2026. - ANI Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has hailed the Union Budget 2026-27 as welfare-oriented and inclusive, stating it will accelerate digital investment and technology upgrades in the state. He emphasized the budget's provisions for boosting high-tech industries like semiconductors and biopharma, which will generate high-value employment. The CM highlighted specific measures for women's empowerment, including training for 1.5 lakh women service providers and hostels for working professionals. He noted a strong synergy between state and central initiatives, predicting the budget will drive inclusive growth and position MP as a key contributor to India's global economic ambitions. CM Mohan Yadav says Union Budget 2026-27 will accelerate digital investment, tech innovation, and job creation, especially for women, in Madhya Pradesh. Bhopal, Feb 3 More digital investment, innovations, technology upgradation, and an increase in job creation, particularly for women, will gain further pace through Union Budget provisions, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said while speaking at a joint press conference with state BJP president Hemant Khandelwal here on Tuesday. Both leaders welcomed the Union Budget 2026-27 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and described the budget as welfare-oriented, inclusive, and among the best in its class, designed to empower the poor, youth, and women while integrating sectors such as startups, innovation, and artificial intelligence. CM Yadav stated that the budget provides a clear roadmap to strengthen India's global standing and economic potential in the long term, extending through the Amrit Kaal vision of a developed nation. He highlighted its focus on opportunities for every section of society in Madhya Pradesh, leveraging resources for sustained growth and fulfilling public aspirations. Congratulating the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister, he noted that this is the twelfth budget under PM Modi's guidance, emphasising structural reforms to enhance ease of doing business. The Chief Minister pointed out that the budget inspires youth toward development, supports business-friendly industries, and accelerates industrial investment, production, exports, and job creation in Madhya Pradesh. He expressed particular enthusiasm for provisions in biopharma, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and health startups, which will bolster the knowledge economy and generate high-value employment. CM Yadav referenced his recent discussion with the Prime Minister in Gujarat on semiconductors, affirming that the Semiconductor Mission 2.0 and related initiatives will advance high-tech industries, attract more digital investment in MP, provide opportunities for innovation and technology entrepreneurship in the state, while also benefiting traditional industries through modernisation support. He added that the budget infuses new energy into employment generation by improving industrial land availability, logistics, and supply chains. For the MSME sector, it offers three key strategies to enhance competitiveness, self-reliance, and accelerated growth, strengthening self-employment and industrial expansion. In the service sector, where Madhya Pradesh holds strong potential in IT, tourism, agriculture, health, and education, the budget promotes global leadership ambitions towards 2047, creating opportunities to develop these as key centres. CM Yadav said his government's ongoing commitment to women's empowerment will receive a further boost, noting sufficient provisions in the budget aligned with this priority. He mentioned plans for hostels to support professional women commuting for work, alongside targets to train 1,50,000 women service providers with incentives of Rs one lakh each to boost their employment. These measures embody the principle of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas', extending to rural women's leadership, special entrepreneurship, and community support groups such as Lakhpati Didis, with comprehensive arrangements in place. The Chief Minister observed that many state initiatives appear to align closely with central plans, as if the state's two-year budget is working in tandem with the Union government. This synergy will particularly benefit urban development in Madhya Pradesh's metropolitan cities, where proposals including women's hostels will enhance professional opportunities and overall progress. CM Yadav also said that the budget's implementation in Madhya Pradesh will drive inclusive growth, modernise industries, create jobs, and position the state as a key contributor to India's journey towards becoming a global economic powerhouse. - IANS Both Houses of Parliament continue discussing the motion of thanks to the President's address amid controversy. The Lok Sabha witnessed a heated stalemate after Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi referenced an unpublished memoir by a former Army Chief regarding the 2020 China border tensions, drawing strong objections from BJP members. Speaker Om Birla ruled that Gandhi should not make references to the unpublished material, contributing to repeated adjournments of the House. Meanwhile, proceedings also include an obituary for a late Congress leader and motions for elections to various parliamentary committees. Lok Sabha adjourned after heated debate over Rahul Gandhi's reference to ex-Army Chief's memoir on China standoff during motion of thanks discussion. New Delhi, February 3 Both Houses of Parliament are scheduled to continue the discussion on the motion of 'Thanks to the President's address' during the ongoing Budget Session on Tuesday. In the Lok Sabha, the motion was moved by Sarbananda Sonowal and seconded by Tejasvi Surya. On Monday, the House witnessed a heated exchange between the NDA and the INDIA bloc MPs during Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi's address, during which he cited an unpublished memoir by former Army Chief General MM Naravane on border tensions with China. BJP members strongly objected to Rahul Gandhi's remarks, saying he violated the House's rules. In the Upper House, the BJP MP Sadananad Master moved the motion of thanks and, on Monday, delivered an emotional address, placing his artificial limbs on the bench. The motion comes in response to President Droupadi Murmu's address to the joint sitting of both the Houses to mark the beginning of the Budget Session on January 28. Meanwhile, in the Lower House, today's proceedings will begin with an obituary for Congress leader Surupsingh Hirya Naik, who passed away in December 2025. Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and MP Kodikunnil Suresh will move the motion, "That this House do agree with the Fourteenth Report of the Business Advisory Committee presented to the House on February 2." MPs are also scheduled to move a motion for election to the Committee on Estimates, the Committee on Public Accounts, the Committee on Public Undertaking, and the Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Lok Sabha on Monday witnessed repeated interruptions and was later adjourned for the day following a prolonged stalemate over LoP Rahul Gandhi's insistence on speaking about a specific matter pertaining to the standoff with China during border tensions in 2020 while referring to a report citing an unpublished memoir of former Army Chief General MM Naravane. The House, which began discussion on the motion of thanks on the President's Address, was adjourned till 3 pm, 4 pm and later for the day. Speaker Om Birla ruled that Rahul Gandhi should not make references to the unpublished book and article. When the House met at 3 pm, the Speaker urged the Leader of the Opposition to proceed with his speech without mentioning his intended reference. He said that the House works according to the rules. - ANI Gujarat has achieved a major public health milestone by screening over three crore adults for oral cancer in a four-year statewide drive. Additionally, more than 1.6 crore women were screened for breast cancer and over 82 lakh for cervical cancer, strengthening early detection. The state government, under Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, has implemented prevention measures and a training program to build capacity among frontline health workers. These efforts aim to address cancer, which remains a leading cause of death, with one in nine men and one in twelve women in Gujarat at risk. Gujarat's health department screened over 3 crore people for oral cancer and millions of women for breast & cervical cancer in a 4-year drive. Gandhinagar, Feb 3 Gujarat has recorded a major achievement in public healthcare by completing large-scale cancer screening across the state over the past four years, strengthening early detection and access to treatment ahead of World Cancer Day. Health department figures show that more than three crore people above the age of 30 have been screened for oral cancer, while over 1.6 crore women have undergone breast cancer screening and more than 82 lakh women have been screened for cervical cancer. World Cancer Day is observed globally on February 4 each year to raise awareness and encourage action against cancer. This year's theme, 'United by Unique', highlights the importance of people-centred care and recognises that every individual's experience with cancer is different. Cancer remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide. As per estimates cited by the National Cancer Institute, more than 14 lakh cancer cases were reported in India in 2025. Globally, nearly one crore people die from cancer every year, reinforcing the importance of prevention, early diagnosis and timely treatment. In Gujarat, cancer continues to pose a serious public health challenge. Data from the ICMR-National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research indicate that one in nine men and one in 12 women in the state face the risk of developing cancer during their lifetime. Tobacco-related cancers are more prevalent among men, while breast and cervical cancers account for a significant proportion of cases among women. Health officials have noted that lifestyle, environmental and genetic factors contribute to the rising incidence of these cancers. State health authorities said the extensive screening drive has helped in identifying suspected cases at an early stage, enabling faster referral and treatment. "Regular screening and timely diagnosis are key to improving cancer outcomes and saving lives," an official said. Under Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, the state government has implemented several measures aimed at cancer prevention and control. These include tobacco cessation initiatives, promotion of balanced nutrition and regular physical activity, vaccination programmes and community awareness campaigns across urban and rural areas. To strengthen human resources in the health system, the government has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute to implement a 'Training of Trainers' programme. Under this initiative, gynaecologists, surgeons, dentists, community medicine specialists and medical officers are being trained as master trainers. Through their support, more than 37,000 frontline health workers across the state are expected to receive training to enhance cancer screening and referral services. Screening programmes for oral, breast and cervical cancers are being conducted from sub-health centres to medical colleges. In addition, day-care chemotherapy centres at district hospitals are providing treatment closer to patients' homes. The Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute and its satellite centres continue to offer outpatient services, diagnostic facilities, surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, further strengthening cancer care across the state. - IANS Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu hailed the India-US trade agreement as a historic milestone for global economic stability. He and Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating the tariff reduction to 18% would boost India's export competitiveness. The deal is seen as particularly beneficial for Andhra's farmers, marine exports, and MSME sectors. This agreement follows closely on the heels of a major trade pact with the European Union. Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan praise PM Modi for the landmark trade agreement, citing benefits for exports and farmers. Amaravati, Feb 3 Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday hailed the India-US trade deal as a "historic milestone" for global economic stability. He congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on concluding this "landmark" trade agreement with the US. "Reducing tariffs to 18% is a visionary move that strengthens the bond between the world's two greatest democracies and ensures continued global growth," said the Chief Minister. "Under the PM's leadership, India is cementing its role as a global economic powerhouse. This deal will significantly boost India's export competitiveness, creating immense opportunities for our youth and farmers, including those in Andhra Pradesh," added Chandrababu Naidu, whose Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is a key partner in the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre. Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan also congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on India reaching an agreement with the United States. In a social media post, Pawan Kalyan extended his 'heartfelt congratulations to PM Modi for "energising India's economy by concluding two world-class trade agreements within a span of a week." The Jana Sena leader stated that following last week's landmark "mother of all deals" with the European Union, the agreement with the President of the United States, Donald Trump, is set to further strengthen our economic prospects. "In particular, the reduction of tariff charges to 18% will significantly benefit our farmers by improving market access and export competitiveness. I sincerely thank the Prime Minister for consistently taking timely and decisive steps that align with the aspirations of the people of Bharat," wrote Pawan Kalyan. Earlier, Minister for IT and HRD, Nara Lokesh, hailed the trade agreement with the US. He called it a big win for India under the leadership of PM Modi. "The reduction of US tariffs from 25% to 18% is a major boost for India's exports and manufacturing. This will directly benefit Andhra Pradesh's marine seafood exports, MSMEs, agri-exports and emerging manufacturing hubs, while deepening the India-US partnership. Kudos to the negotiating teams, Ministry of Commerce & Industry and the leaderships of both countries for this major breakthrough," posted Lokesh on X. - IANS MLA Bhawna Bohra felicitated 66 members of tribal families who have returned to their original faith during a ceremony in Damgarh. She also inaugurated two bike ambulances, funded by her MLA fund, to provide emergency medical services in remote and difficult-to-reach forest villages. Bohra stated that this homecoming is a voluntary reaffirmation of cultural identity and part of broader development work for tribal communities. The event was also addressed by senior BJP leaders who praised her initiatives. MLA Bhawna Bohra honors 66 tribal members returning to their roots and launches two bike ambulances to improve emergency healthcare in remote forest areas. Damgarh, February 3 Inspired by the efforts of MLA Bhawna Bohra, along with the development works and expansion of public amenities in the tribal and forest areas of the Pandariya Assembly constituency, 66 members from tribal families have returned to their original faith. At the Tribal Pride Conference and Felicitation Ceremony held today in village Damgarh, MLA Bhawna Bohra welcomed and honoured them with a traditional foot-washing ceremony. On this occasion, she also inaugurated two bike ambulances, funded from the MLA Development Fund, to provide emergency medical services in forest regions, according to the release. These bike ambulances will benefit dozens of remote and difficult-to-reach forest villages, including Chhirpani and the Kui-Kukdur area. They will ensure quick access to healthcare and timely transportation to hospitals during emergencies, enabling hundreds of families to receive prompt medical treatment. Due to the continuous efforts of MLA Bhawna Bohra in the Pandariya Assembly constituency, tribal and forest-dwelling communities are increasingly returning to their cultural roots--dealing a strong blow to the intentions of those involved in religious conversions. Notably, earlier as well, 115 tribal citizens from villages around Neur in forest areas and 70 from the Kui-Kukdur region had returned to their roots through her initiatives. These ongoing efforts have infused new hope and self-confidence within the tribal community. On this occasion, MLA Bhawna Bohra stated that the tribal community has been a custodian of India's ancient cultural traditions. Nature worship, reverence for folk deities, and a community-centric way of life are integral parts of our Sanatan heritage. She said that certain elements attempt to mislead innocent tribal brothers and sisters through inducements, but the tribal society is now recognising its own identity and heritage. Homecoming is not the result of pressure but a voluntary decision to reaffirm one's cultural identity, closely linked to the protection of Indian ethos. She dedicated the two bike ambulances from the MLA fund to serve the people of tribal and forest areas. In remote and inaccessible regions where road connectivity is limited, bike ambulances will prove extremely effective in delivering timely medical assistance. They will ensure rapid access to patients in emergencies, saving precious time. Pregnant women, critically ill patients, and accident victims will be able to receive primary treatment and quick transport to health centres. This initiative will provide better, accessible, and reliable healthcare to residents of forest and tribal regions and is expected to significantly enhance safety and health outcomes. She further added that those who mislead the tribal community for personal gain--if they truly cared--would educate them about their history, their contributions to the freedom struggle, and the sacrifices of tribal heroes, rather than confusing them. Under the leadership of Hon'ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, historic work is being carried out for the holistic development of the tribal community. Through the PM Janman Yojana, pucca roads, housing, electricity, drinking water, and basic amenities are reaching forest regions. In the forest areas of the Pandariya constituency, more than 3,000 PM houses, over 100 kilometres of pucca roads, electricity supply, and safe drinking water facilities are being ensured. Pure drinking water is being supplied to remote and forest areas through tankers, and government schemes are reaching the last person. Tribal culture is intrinsically linked to the protection of water, forests, and land, and preserving this invaluable heritage is our collective responsibility. Our efforts toward the respect, security, and empowerment of the tribal community will continue unabated. On this occasion, senior BJP leader Uttam Marskole and Janpad President Nandini Sahu ji also addressed the gathering and praised the efforts and work of MLA Bhawna Bohra. The program was attended by Kukdur Mandal President Basant Vatiya, Dullapur Mandal President Phalit Sahu, Pandariya Mandal President Ravish Thakur, Pandatarai Mandal President Pradeep Puri Goswami, Kunda Mandal President Balmukund Chandravanshi, Indauri Mandal President Khileshwar Sahu, Ranvirpur Mandal President Naresh Sahu, former Kukdur Mandal President Ratiram Bhatt, Harikrishna Shukla, Lalit Chandravanshi, Basant Bohra, Raju Parakh, Swatantra Tiwari, Kalyan Singh, Rupesh Jain, Ravishankar Chandravanshi, Kukdur Mahila Morcha Mandal President Parvati Sunhale, Janpad Member Thaneshwar Jaiswal, along with BJP office-bearers, workers, senior leaders, representatives of the tribal community, community members, and local residents. - ANI Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong announced that bilateral trade reached a historic high of $155.6 billion in 2025, growing over 12% year-on-year. He stated the relationship has moved to a "new level of improvement" following the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in August. The ambassador highlighted the restoration of direct flights, tourist visas, and religious pilgrimages, facilitating greater people-to-people exchange. Looking ahead, China expressed support for India's BRICS chairmanship and readiness to strengthen coordination on Global South interests. Bilateral trade reached $155.6B in 2025 as Ambassador Xu Feihong cites a 'new level of improvement' following Modi-Xi meeting. New Delhi, February 3 Marking the onset of the 'Year of the Horse', Chinese Ambassador to India, Xu Feihong, on Tuesday hailed the strengthening ties between New Delhi and Beijing, revealing that bilateral trade reached a historic high of USD 155.6 billion in 2025. Speaking at the Chinese New Year Reception in the national capital, Ambassador Xu noted that the relationship has transitioned from a "reset" to a "new level of improvement" following the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in Tianjin last August. Highlighting the robust economic engagement, the Ambassador stated that bilateral trade grew by over 12 per cent year-on-year. In 2025, bilateral trade between China and India reached a record high of USD 155.6 billion, with India's exports to China growing 9.7 per cent, underscoring the significant potential for economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. He also provided an update on China's domestic economy, noting that its GDP has exceeded 140 trillion yuan (approximately USD 20 trillion), with growth at 5 per cent and a contribution of more than 30 per cent to global economic growth. The Ambassador emphasised the restoration of normalcy in travel and religious exchanges, noting that China has resumed the pilgrimage for Indian devotees to the sacred mountain and holy lake in the Xizang Autonomous Region, with nearly 20,000 Indians participating last year. Furthermore, he highlighted that India has resumed issuing tourist visas to Chinese citizens and direct flights between the Chinese mainland and India have been restored, facilitating smoother exchanges between the two peoples. Drawing parallels between the two ancient civilisations, Ambassador Xu noted that China's vision of "a world of great harmony" echoes India's philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family). He also compared China's focus on self-reliance with India's Atmanirbhar Bharat strategy, suggesting that both nations share common intellectual traditions and value pursuits. He reflected on his visits to the Ajanta and Ellora Caves, as well as to Rabindranath Tagore's Santiniketan, noting that these experiences helped him sense the enduring cultural ties and spiritual resonance between the two nations. Looking ahead, the Ambassador expressed China's support for India's role as the BRICS rotating chair. He affirmed Beijing's readiness to strengthen coordination with New Delhi to advance the interests of the Global South and practice "true multilateralism". "We stand ready to work with India to draw wisdom from our traditional cultures and uphold the consensus that China and India are each other's cooperation partner and development opportunity," Xu added. The event, held on the eve of Lichun (the beginning of spring), was attended by diplomats, members of the Chinese diaspora, and representatives from various sectors, signalling an optimistic outlook for the 2026 lunar year. - ANI The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal in New Delhi has identified a critical gap in compensation schemes for road accident victims. The case involves a cyclist killed by an uninsured car whose driver also died, leaving the victim's family with no source for a compensation award. The Tribunal found that existing government schemes for hit-and-run or cashless treatment do not apply to this specific circumstance. It has now sought the intervention of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to explore if any policy can provide relief to the bereaved family. A tribunal seeks Ministry intervention to compensate a cyclist's family after an accident with an uninsured vehicle whose driver also died, highlighting a legal gap. By Sushil Batra, New Delhi, February 3 The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, New Delhi, has flagged a serious gap in existing road accident compensation schemes after observing that the family of a deceased cyclist cannot be left "to struggle with fate" merely because the offending vehicle was uninsured and its driver also died in the accident. Calling it a "policy vacuum," the Tribunal has sought the assistance of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to examine whether any government scheme can provide relief to the victim's family in such exceptional circumstances. In an order dated January 31, the Judge (MACT) Abhilash Malhotra of the Patiala House Courts was dealing with two connected claim petitions arising out of an FIR registered at PS South Campus, Delhi. The Tribunal noted that the victim, Surender Kumar Ahirwar, was a cyclist who lost his life after being hit by a car. As per the charge sheet, the car was being driven by Vishnu, who also died after losing control of the vehicle and crashing into a pole. Consequently, both the cyclist and the driver of the offending vehicle succumbed to injuries in the same accident. The court recorded that the deceased cyclist is survived by his wife and two minor children, who are the claimants in the present proceedings. It further noted that the offending vehicle was uninsured at the time of the accident. Though directions had earlier been issued to auction the vehicle, the Tribunal observed that the car, registered in 2014, was unlikely to fetch any substantial amount to meaningfully compensate the victim's family. The parents of the deceased driver appeared before the court and submitted that they are poor, live in a jhuggi, and have not inherited any property or estate from their son. In view of these submissions, the Tribunal observed that there was no attachable property available from the driver's side to satisfy any award of compensation. The Tribunal also took note of a report submitted by the New Delhi District Legal Services Authority (NDDLSA), which clarified that compensation under its schemes is limited to hit-and-run cases where an untraced report is filed by the police. Since the present case involved identified parties, it did not qualify for relief under those provisions. Accepting the submissions of the claimant's counsel, the court further observed that the case was not covered under the Cashless Treatment of Road Accident Victims Scheme, 2025 or the Scheme for Compensation to Victims of Hit and Run Motor Accidents, 2021. The Tribunal agreed that the existing statutory and welfare frameworks do not address situations where the driver-cum-owner of an uninsured vehicle dies in the same accident and leaves behind no estate. "In these peculiar circumstances, the assistance of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is necessary," the Tribunal held, emphasising that families of road accident victims cannot be denied support merely due to gaps in policy coverage. Accordingly, the court directed that a copy of the order be forwarded to the Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India, with a request to depute a representative to assist the Tribunal. The Ministry has been asked to apprise the court on the next date of hearing whether any existing policy or benevolent scheme of the Union government can be extended to compensate the victim's family. The matter has been listed for further proceedings on February 27. - ANI Chief Ministers from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha, and Bihar have widely praised the new India-US trade agreement that lowers US tariffs on Indian goods to 18%. They describe it as a historic advancement that will boost Indian manufacturing, MSMEs, and exports by providing wider global market access. The leaders credit Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership for strengthening bilateral ties and creating fresh opportunities for innovation, investment, and job creation. The deal, finalized after a phone call between PM Modi and US President Donald Trump, is seen as reinforcing India's position as a key driver of global economic growth. Chief Ministers welcome India-US trade agreement, citing a major boost for Make in India, MSMEs, and global market access for Indian products. New Delhi, Feb 3 The landmark India-United States trade agreement, which lowers US tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent, has drawn widespread praise from leaders across the country on Tuesday, who described it as a major step forward for India's manufacturing sector, exporters, MSMEs and youth. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister hailed the development as a defining moment in bilateral economic ties. Posting on X, CM Yogi said on Tuesday, "A landmark moment for the India-US economic partnership. A major boost to #MakeInIndia, as Indian products will gain wider global market access, creating fresh opportunities for Indian youth and MSMEs. Thank you, Hon. PM Shri @narendramodi Ji, for your decisive and determined leadership in advancing stronger India-US ties. This milestone reflects rising global confidence in Made in India and reinforces India's position as a key driver of global growth." Rajasthan CM Bhajanlal Sharma congratulated PM Modi and US President Trump. In a post on X, he wrote, "The world is looking at India with hope and optimism. This is yet again reflected in the latest advancements in the India-USA friendship." He further said that this will tremendously help Indian products, thus benefiting Indian enterprises and MSMEs. "It will open new opportunities for innovation, investment and job creation across sectors. This partnership further strengthens our shared commitment to inclusive growth and long-term prosperity. The world is looking at India with hope and optimism. This is yet again reflected in the latest advancements in the India-USA friendship. Congratulations to President Trump and PM Narendra Modi," CM Sharma said. Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi also welcomed the agreement, calling it a historic advancement in India-US relations. In his post on X, Majhi said, "A historic advancement in India-United States economic relations, setting a strong foundation for deeper cooperation and shared prosperity. The US tariff reduction to 18% on Made in India products is a significant boost for Indian manufacturing, MSMEs, exporters, and job creation, while opening broader markets and new avenues for entrepreneurs and startups. I extend my sincere congratulations and gratitude to PM Shri @narendramodi Ji for his decisive leadership and people-focused diplomacy, strengthening Indo-US ties and enhancing India's global economic presence." Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary termed the development a major day for bilateral ties. He wrote on X, "It is a big day for India-US relations. India-US has set tariffs at 18% by signing a trade agreement. This has paved the way for stronger trade relations and mutual growth. I congratulate Prime Minister @narendramodi ji and President @realDonaldTrump ji for this historic agreement. This decision will strengthen our strategic partnership and bring great benefits to both countries and the common people. India and the US are ready to advance trade in a cordial environment." India and the US reached a trade deal on Monday following a phone conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump. The agreement reduces US tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent while easing Indian trade barriers on select American products. Prime Minister Modi also welcomed the announcement, saying on X, "Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 per cent. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement." The Prime Minister noted that when two "large economies" and the "world's largest democracies" work together, it benefits people in both countries and unlocks vast opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation. Praising President Trump's leadership in promoting global peace and stability, PM Modi said India fully supports his efforts and looks forward to taking the bilateral partnership to unprecedented heights. - IANS NATOs attention to and support for Ukraines security has not diminished despite various global events and concerns, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said during a speech in Kyiv at the opening of the 15th session of the Verkhovna Rada. "Right now, we are focused on those global events that may cause concern, and therefore our attention may be divided. But you need our support, because the temperature is falling and attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure are increasing. Russias efforts to destroy Ukraine are intensifying, but I want to assure you that our attention is not diverted from Ukraine," he said during a speech broadcast and translated into Ukrainian by the Rada TV channel. Rutte assured that Ukraine was and remains at the center of our security vision." "And we are ready to provide support quickly," he said. Rutte also noted that the dialogue between Ukraine and NATO continues every day, equipment is constantly arriving for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. NATO Command in Germany constantly coordinates military support and training. Rutte recalled that production for security needs is currently increasing. And NATO is learning from innovations in Ukraine. "As a result, many NATO countries are now working and producing certain equipment together with Ukraine and immediately supplying it to Ukraine. And we are all starting to benefit from this cooperation. The more capacity we have, the more prepared we are. And our security throughout NATO is growing all the more," he said. Rutte stressed that NATO wants to ensure that peace in Ukraine is lasting, so that "children can grow up in freedom and look to the future without fear and build a great nation." Rutte noted the work of the Coalition of the Willing, which has made progress in working on security guarantees. "And as soon as a peace agreement is reached, the Armed Forces will immediately appear, planes in the air and support at sea. And NATO, those who agreed, other NATO members will help in other ways," he assured. At the same time, Rutte noted that reaching an agreement to end the war "will require difficult choices." "Ukraine must understand that every sacrifice you have made, every life lost, every difficult moment you have experienced will not be repeated soon, that peace will be long-lasting and that the documents that will be signed will be implemented by major countries. "Would you like a second Budapest Memorandum or another Minsk?" Rutte said. The Congress has constituted a 35-member election committee for the upcoming Assam Assembly polls, featuring key state leaders. Opposition parties, including the Raijor Dal, are working to form a united front against the ruling BJP, with Congress's Gaurav Gogoi being projected as the preferred Chief Ministerial candidate. While a complete seat-sharing agreement is yet to be finalized, talks among seven parties have been positive, focusing on unity. The opposition campaign will target the BJP government and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma over allegations of corruption and divisive politics. Congress forms a 35-member election committee for Assam, as opposition parties discuss a united front with Gaurav Gogoi as CM face against BJP. New Delhi, Feb 3 Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday appointed the constitution of the election committee for the upcoming assembly polls in Assam. The committee that consists of at least 35 members includes all prominent leaders of the opposition party. Assam state president Gaurav Gogoi, Leader of Opposition in the state assembly Debabrata Saikia, two Lok Sabha MPs from the state-Rakibul Hussain and Pradyut Bordoloi, former state chiefs of the party-Bhupen Borah and Ripun Borah, former minister Paban Singh Ghatowar and several other leaders. The committee is expected to take major decisions regarding alliance with regional parties like Akhil Gogoi-led Raijor Dal and other key players of the state politics. It will also take major decisions regarding the ticket distribution for the upcoming assembly polls. Recently, Raijor Dal president and Sivasagar MLA, Akhil Gogoi, on Sunday said that opposition parties in Assam are working towards forming a united front against the BJP ahead of the next Assembly elections, with Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi being projected as the preferred Chief Ministerial face. The crucial meeting of opposition leaders was held on Sunday at Orchid Park in Golaghat. Speaking after reaching Guwahati, Akhil Gogoi said that seven parties took part in the discussions aimed at strengthening coordination for the upcoming electoral battle. "We clearly said that this time, Gaurav Gogoi should be made the Chief Minister of Assam. Seven parties will fight together against the BJP," Akhil Gogoi said, adding that the Congress leader had agreed in principle. He said all parties were broadly on the same page about opposition unity, though seat-sharing arrangements are still being worked out. "Complete seat distribution could not be finalised today, but the talks were very positive. We are demanding only fifteen seats. Though we have organisational strength to contest more across Upper Assam, Lower Assam and other regions, for the sake of unity, we are ready to contest only fifteen," he said. Targeting the BJP-led government and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Akhil Gogoi alleged that the opposition's campaign would focus on unseating the current dispensation. He accused the Chief Minister of making divisive remarks to stay in the public spotlight and said the opposition would attempt to bring together people from all communities in Assam. "Our fight is against corruption and what we see as communal politics. We will continue this struggle," he added. - IANS Foreign affairs expert Robinder Sachdev hailed the US-India trade deal that lowers American tariffs on Indian goods to 18% from 50%, calling it welcome news for the Indian economy. He explained that every 1% of US tariff equates to roughly $1 billion in lost Indian exports and 100,000 jobs, meaning the previous high rate threatened massive economic damage. The deal also gives India a more favorable tariff rate than Pakistan, which was set at 19%. The agreement comes as External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar visits the US for high-level talks focused on strengthening cooperation, including on critical mineral supply chains. US tariffs on India reduced from 50% to 18%, a move experts say prevents billions in export losses and safeguards millions of Indian jobs. New Delhi, February 3 Robinder Sachdev, Foreign Affairs Expert, lauded the US-India deal which lowered US tariffs on India to 18% from 50%. Sachdev, in conversation with ANI, said that the deal is a good news for Indian economy as it provides predictability and stability for US-India trade. "The news about tariffs on India being reduced to 18% from the 50% I think is definitely a welcome news for Indian economy. It's good news for jobs in India because every 1 % of tariff in America means about $1 billion loss of our exports and $1 billion export loss equates to about a 100,000 jobs. So if 50% tariff had continued for one year That would have meant that India would have lost around 50 billion dollars of exports to America and About 50 lakh jobs lost if not 50, 40 lakhs or 35 lakhs," he said. "So bottom line is that this deal which has been announced today is welcome news for the economy for many households of India and also gives predictability and stability for US-India trade and strategic relations going forward," he added. The deal gave India lower tariff rates than Pakistan. Under the Executive Order issued by US President Donald Trump on July 31, 2025, new reciprocal tariff rates were announced for Pakistan at 19%. Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is set to hold talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Department of State on Tuesday. The meeting is scheduled for 3:30 pm (US local time). The meeting is part of Jaishankar's three-day visit to the United States, where he is participating in the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial on February 4, hosted by Washington. Ahead of the ministerial, the US Department of State announced that Secretary Rubio will bring together partners from across the globe to strengthen cooperation on critical mineral supply chains. The gathering will focus on enhancing international collaboration to secure reliable and resilient supply chains essential for economic and national security, technological leadership, and the energy transition. Amid this visit, Jaishankar welcomed the recent India-US trade agreement, stating he "welcomed the announcements on bilateral trade." - ANI India and the United States have finalised a significant trade agreement, reducing US tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent. The deal was secured following a phone call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump. Indian Minister Nitin Gadkari hailed the pact as a "defining step" that strengthens trust and opens new avenues for growth. As part of the understanding, India will also halt purchases of Russian oil and increase imports of US energy and agricultural products. India and US finalise trade deal, cutting tariffs to 18%. PM Modi and President Trump hailed for leadership. Deal aims to boost economic ties and cooperation. New Delhi, Feb 3 Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, on Tuesday welcomed the India-US trade deal, calling it a "defining step" forward in bilateral economic ties. India and the US reached a trade deal on Monday following a phone call between PM Modi and President Trump, cutting US tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent and easing Indian trade barriers on US products. "Today marks a defining step forward in India-US economic relations as the trade deal is finalised with tariffs reduced to 18 per cent, opening new avenues for growth and cooperation. My heartfelt congratulations to Hon'ble PM Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump for their leadership in securing this historic outcome," Gadkari posted on X. He further stated that the agreement "strengthens trust, boosts business confidence, and sets the stage for deeper trade, investment, and shared prosperity for both nations". Earlier on Monday, Trump said a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi led to the deal. He said India would also stop buying Russian oil and increase purchases of US energy, technology and agricultural products. He said the agreement would strengthen ties between the two countries and support efforts to end the war in Ukraine. PM Modi also took to X and said, "Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 per cent. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement." He said that when two "large economies" and the "world's largest democracies" work together, "it benefits our people and unlocks immense opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation". Hailing President Trump's "leadership" in advocating for global peace, stability, and prosperity, the Prime Minister said, "India fully supports his efforts for peace". "I look forward to working closely with him to take our partnership to unprecedented heights," PM Modi added. - IANS Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has been appointed Chairperson of the Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation (SRDC), taking direct charge of Old Delhi's redevelopment. Her government plans to develop the area into a major tourism hub while prioritizing the conservation of its historic havelis, katras, and lanes. Key infrastructure projects include shifting overhead electricity cables underground and creating a comprehensive traffic management plan with multi-level parking. The move is expected to provide fresh momentum to long-pending redevelopment works coordinated among various civic agencies. CM Rekha Gupta takes charge of Old Delhi redevelopment, aiming to boost tourism, conserve heritage havelis, and improve infrastructure and traffic. New Delhi, February 3 Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday took charge of Old Delhi Redevelopment and said that her government will accord top priority to its redevelopment while focusing on conserving its heritage. She stated that Shahjahanabad was not merely a locality, but a symbol of Delhi's rich historical and cultural identity. The Chief Minister has been appointed Chairperson of the Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation (SRDC), an official said. Gupta said that the Delhi government aims to develop Old Delhi as a major tourism hub. The Chief Minister said that overhead electricity cables in the narrow lanes of the Walled City will be shifted underground to enhance safety and improve the area's aesthetics. To address traffic congestion in market areas, a comprehensive traffic management plan will be prepared, along with the development of multi-level parking facilities. She noted that Old Delhi is a historic residential area where every lane reflects heritage and history. Alongside development, special attention will be given to the conservation of havelis, katras, and kunchas. Previously proposed SRDC projects--including the redevelopment of Chandni Chowk, development of the Jama Masjid area, beautification of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Marg, and the road stretch from Delhi Gate to Kashmiri Gate--will be reviewed afresh. The Chief Minister also said that Old Delhi has long suffered from inadequate basic infrastructure. The government will ensure uninterrupted road construction, lane improvements, repair of the dilapidated sewer system, and a clear blueprint for a continuous drinking water supply. Cleanliness and sanitation in the area will also remain key priorities. The Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation was constituted by the Delhi government on May 1, 2008, as a special purpose vehicle to coordinate development works among various agencies, including the Municipal Corporation, PWD and the Tourism Department. With the Chief Minister assuming the Chairperson role, SRDC's restructuring is expected to provide fresh momentum to the redevelopment of Old Delhi. - ANI The DMK is preparing to formally initiate seat-sharing and alliance negotiations as political activity intensifies ahead of the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. The opposition AIADMK-BJP alliance has gained momentum, showcasing its unity at a major rally attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Within the DMK camp, talks with key ally Congress are yet to be concluded, causing speculation about the final shape of the front. With the DMDK also poised to announce its alliance decision, the coming weeks are critical for defining the electoral battle lines in the state. DMK to start alliance negotiations as AIADMK-BJP front rallies with PM Modi. Congress talks pending. Key weeks ahead for TN election battle lines. Chennai, Feb 3 The DMK is likely to formally begin alliance and seat-sharing discussions from Wednesday as political activities intensified in Tamil Nadu ahead of the Assembly elections. According to political sources, the ruling party is planning to initiate talks with its allies soon. With the Assembly polls drawing closer, the state's political landscape is rapidly heating up. The opposition camp has already gained momentum after the AIADMK and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) confirmed their alliance. That front has since expanded to include multiple parties such as the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) led by Anbumani Ramadoss, the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC), Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK), New Justice Party, Indian Democratic Party, Tamil Nadu People's Progressive Party, and the New Bharat Party. The unity of the AIADMK-BJP-led alliance was on public display at a major rally in Madurantakam, which was attended by Narendra Modi along with leaders of all constituent parties. The show of strength has increased pressure on the DMK to quickly finalise its own alliance framework. Within the DMK camp, however, seat-sharing negotiations are reported to be progressing at a slower pace. Notably, discussions with Congress, the DMK's principal ally in recent elections, have not yet been concluded. This delay has triggered speculation within political circles about the final contours of the DMK-led front. Adding to the fluid political situation, DMDK General Secretary Premalatha Vijayakant recently stated that her party would soon announce a clear decision on potential alliances for the Assembly elections. Sources indicate that the DMK will soon hold structured talks with key alliance partners, including Congress Tamil Nadu in-charge Girish Chodankar, to iron out differences and arrive at a mutually acceptable seat-sharing formula. Reports also suggest that M.K. Stalin is expected to announce a special committee to lead alliance negotiations in the coming days. As alliance equations evolve, the next few weeks are likely to be crucial in shaping the electoral battle lines in Tamil Nadu. - IANS External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington ahead of a major Critical Minerals Ministerial. The meeting follows the announcement of a new India-US trade deal that lowers tariffs on Indian goods to 18 percent. Jaishankar also held discussions with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to advance the economic and strategic partnership. The ministerial aims to secure global supply chains for minerals vital to technology and national security. EAM Jaishankar meets US Secretary Marco Rubio & Treasury's Scott Bessent ahead of Critical Minerals Ministerial. Discusses new India-US trade deal. Washington DC, February 4 External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ahead of the Critical Minerals Ministerial scheduled for February 4. The meeting is part of the EAM's ongoing three-day visit to the United States and comes a day after the announcement of the India-US trade deal under which Washington has agreed to lower tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent. The United States is set to host the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial on Wednesday (local time) in Washington DC, bringing together delegations from over 50 countries to advance collaboration on securing and diversifying global critical mineral supply chains, according to a prior notice issued by the Office of the Spokesperson of the US State Department Earlier, the EAM met with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, during which both leaders discussed advancing the India-US economic partnership and strengthening strategic cooperation between the two countries. "Pleased to meet US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington DC today. Had a useful discussion on advancement of India - US economic partnership and strategic cooperation," the External Affairs Minister said in a post on X. Ahead of the ministerial, the US Department of State announced that Secretary Rubio will convene partners from around the world to strengthen cooperation on critical mineral supply chains. Rubio will chair the ministerial, with delegations from more than 50 nations expected to participate. The gathering is being described as a historic effort to build collective momentum for cooperation to secure critical minerals essential to technological innovation, economic growth, and national security. The event will begin with opening remarks by US Vice President JD Vance, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other senior US officials. The EAM visit also comes on the backdrop of the India-US trade deal, announced on Monday following a telephone discussion between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, under which Washington has agreed to lower reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent from 25 per cent, effective immediately. Following the announcement, Jaishankar welcomed the trade deal, saying that the agreement will boost job creation, spur economic growth, promote innovation, and strengthen India's flagship 'Make in India' initiative. In a post on X, EAM Jaishankar hailed the announcement, stating, "Welcome the announcements on bilateral trade following the conversation between PM Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump. This will create more jobs, spur growth and promote innovation in both economies. It will strengthen 'Make in India' endeavours and encourage trusted technology ties. The opportunities in our economic engagement are truly vast and we are confident of realising them. A robust economic relationship is the strongest foundation for our strategic partnership." - ANI External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington DC to advance the India-US economic partnership. He is also scheduled to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and participate in the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial. The visit follows the announcement of a new trade deal between India and the US, agreed upon after a conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump. Jaishankar welcomed the deal, stating it will boost jobs, growth, and the 'Make in India' initiative. EAM Jaishankar meets US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, discusses advancing economic partnership and strategic cooperation during US visit. Washington DC, February 4 External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday met US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington DC as part of an ongoing three-day visit to the United States, where he is participating in the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial on February 4. In a post on X, EAM held discussions with the US Treasury Secretary to advance the India-US economic partnership and strengthen strategic cooperation between the two countries. "Pleased to meet US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington DC today. Had a useful discussion on advancement of India - US economic partnership and strategic cooperation," the External Affairs Minister said in his post. Jaishankar is also set to meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Department of State today. The meeting is scheduled for 3:30 pm (US local time). Ahead of the ministerial, the US Department of State announced that Secretary Rubio will convene partners from around the world to strengthen cooperation on critical mineral supply chains. The gathering will focus on strengthening international collaboration to secure reliable, resilient supply chains essential to economic and national security, technological leadership, and the energy transition. According to a notice issued by the Office of the Spokesperson of the US State Department on Monday, the US will host the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial on February 4 at the Department of State, aimed at strengthening and diversifying global critical minerals supply chains. Rubio will chair the ministerial, with delegations from more than 50 nations expected to participate. The gathering is being described as a historic effort to build collective momentum for cooperation to secure critical minerals essential to technological innovation, economic growth, and national security. The event will begin with opening remarks by US Vice President JD Vance, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other senior US officials. The EAM visit comes on the backdrop of the India-US trade deal, announced on Monday following a telephone discussion between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, under which Washington has agreed to lower reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent from 25 per cent, effective immediately. Following the announcement, Jaishankar welcomed the trade deal, saying that the agreement will boost job creation, spur economic growth, promote innovation, and strengthen India's flagship 'Make in India' initiative. In a post on X, EAM Jaishankar hailed the announcement, stating, "Welcome the announcements on bilateral trade following the conversation between PM Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump. This will create more jobs, spur growth and promote innovation in both economies. It will strengthen 'Make in India' endeavours and encourage trusted technology ties. The opportunities in our economic engagement are truly vast and we are confident of realising them. A robust economic relationship is the strongest foundation for our strategic partnership." - ANI External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is in the United States for a three-day visit, with a key bilateral meeting scheduled with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The talks will focus on strategic cooperation in critical minerals, supply chain resilience, and reviewing regional issues including Ukraine and the Middle East. The engagement follows a recent phone call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump that resulted in a new trade deal announcement. Jaishankar will also participate in a Critical Minerals Ministerial convened by Rubio, aimed at advancing collaboration on materials vital for clean energy and national security. EAM Jaishankar meets US Secretary Rubio in Washington, focusing on critical minerals cooperation, supply chains, and following Modi-Trump trade deal. Washington, Feb 3 External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar arrived in New York for a three-day official visit to the United States and is scheduled to meet Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on Tuesday as part of talks focused on cooperation in critical minerals. The meeting comes a day after a phone call between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Following the call, the president announced a trade deal with India. The announcement has added momentum to high-level engagements between the two sides. Jaishankar's visit from February 2 to February 4 includes participation in the Critical Minerals Ministerial convened by Rubio, according to an official announcement. The ministerial will bring together partner countries to discuss supply chain resilience and strategic cooperation. The External Affairs Minister is scheduled to travel from New York to Washington during the visit. He is likely to hold bilateral talks with Rubio on Tuesday, followed by participation in the ministerial on Wednesday. US Vice President JD Vance is expected to address the conference. The bilateral talks are expected to review a wide range of issues, including regional and global matters. These include developments related to the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East, as well as economic and strategic cooperation. In a social media post on X, EAM Jaishankar welcomed the announcements on bilateral trade following the conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump. "This will create more jobs, spur growth and promote innovation in both economies. It will strengthen 'Make in India' endeavors and encourage trusted technology ties. The opportunities in our economic engagement are truly vast and we are confident of realizing them," he said. "A robust economic relationship is the strongest foundation for our strategic partnership," the EiAM wrote. On Wednesday, EAM Jaishankar would attend the Critical Minerals Ministerial. The Critical Minerals Ministerial will focus on supply chain resilience, clean energy transitions, and strategic cooperation in the critical minerals sector. These materials are essential for advanced manufacturing, clean energy technologies, and emerging industries. In addition to the ministerial, Jaishankar will meet senior members of the US administration. Details of those meetings were not disclosed. India and the United States have increased engagement in recent years on issues linked to economic security. Critical minerals have become a central element of that dialogue, with both countries seeking to ensure reliable and diversified supply chains. The US State Department said on February 4 that the United States will welcome delegations to advance collective efforts to strengthen and diversify critical minerals supply chains. "This historic gathering will create momentum for collaboration to secure these critical components vital to technological innovation, economic strength, and national security," the State Department said. Jaishankar's Washington engagements are part of regular high-level exchanges between New Delhi and Washington. The two sides maintain frequent dialogue on diplomacy, trade, technology, and security. Critical minerals have gained importance globally in recent years. They are widely used in clean energy systems, batteries, and other strategic sectors, with demand rising as countries expand renewable energy and advanced manufacturing. - IANS Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman welcomed a new India-US trade deal that reduces tariffs on Indian goods to 18%. The announcement followed a conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former US President Donald Trump, who framed the cut as a gesture of friendship. As part of the discussed terms, India has agreed to stop purchasing Russian oil and increase imports from the United States. Both leaders expressed optimism that the agreement would benefit the people of both democracies and contribute to ending the war in Ukraine. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman welcomes US tariff reduction to 18%, citing benefits for Made-in-India products following Modi-Trump talks. New Delhi, February 3 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday welcomed the announcement of the India-United States trade deal under which Washington has reduced tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent. She said the move would benefit Made in India products and people of both democracies. In a post on X, Sitharaman wrote, "Good news for Made In India products. They will now face reduced tariff of 18%." "Thanking the leadership of PM @narendramodi and @POTUS for this development. People of our two large democracies stand to benefit," the post read. This comes after Trump said on Monday that the US and India "have agreed to a trade deal," with Washington reducing the reciprocal tariff from 25 per cent to 18 per cent "out of friendship and respect" for PM Modi. In his Truth Social post, Trump referred to his conversation with PM Modi earlier in the day, noting that the Prime Minister was one of his closest friends and a powerful, respected leader of India. The US President also claimed that PM Modi had agreed to "stop buying Russian oil" and to buy much more from the US. He further noted that India would reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers against the US. "It was an Honor to speak with Prime Minister Modi, of India, this morning. He is one of my greatest friends and, a Powerful and Respected Leader of his Country. We spoke about many things, including Trade, and ending the War with Russia and Ukraine. He agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela. This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week! Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%. They will likewise move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO," Trump's post read. Following Trump's post, Prime Minister Modi, on X, said it was wonderful to speak with his "dear friend President Trump" and expressed delight that "Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%". "Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement," PM Modi wrote in a post on X. Meanwhile, a White House official confirmed to ANI that Washington will also drop the additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian imports imposed due to New Delhi's purchase of Russian oil, noting that India has to "cease, not just reduce, Russian oil purchases." - ANI White House Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai praised the newly secured US-India trade deal as a historic victory for American workers and industries. India's Ambassador to the US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, called it a "big win" that launches vast opportunities, heralding a new phase in the partnership under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi and President Trump. The deal grants India more favorable tariff rates compared to Pakistan. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is scheduled to meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss further cooperation, including on critical mineral supply chains. White House lauds new US-India trade agreement creating vast opportunities, marking a new phase in the strategic partnership under Trump and Modi. Washington DC, February 3 White House Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai lauded the India-US deal as historic. Desai said that the deal was a victory for all Americans. In a post on X, he said, "The Dealmaker in Chief has secured a trade deal with a fast-growing, top five global economy that's home to over one billion people. Another historic victory for American workers, farmers, and industries." Meanwhile, India's Ambassador to the US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra on Tuesday lauded the India-US deal, saying it would launch vast opportunities for both nations. Kwatra said that the talks between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi herald an exciting new phase in the partnership between both nations. In a post on X, he said, "A big WIN for a consequential partnership under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump. India and USA announce trade deal creating vast new opportunities for the two economies and the people of our two great nations. Today's announcements herald an exciting new phase in our partnership." The deal gave India lower tariff rates than Pakistan. Under the Executive Order issued by US President Donald Trump on July 31, 2025, new reciprocal tariff rates were announced for Pakistan, including a 19 per cent rate. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is set to hold talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Department of State on Tuesday. The meeting is scheduled for 3:30 pm (US local time). The meeting is part of Jaishankar's three-day visit to the United States, where he is participating in the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial on February 4, hosted by Washington. Ahead of the ministerial, the US Department of State announced that Secretary Rubio will bring together partners from across the globe to strengthen cooperation on critical mineral supply chains. - ANI Former Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Rostyslav Shurma does not plead guilty in the case of abuse of payments under the "green" tariff for solar power plants in temporarily occupied territories (TOT), is not hiding from the investigation and is ready to participate in procedural actions via videoconference or from Ukrainian diplomatic institutions in Germany, which he named as his permanent place of residence. "In connection with the public disclosure surrounding the criminal proceedings and the dissemination in the media of various information regarding my procedural status, I consider it necessary to publicly clarify my position. I am not hiding and confirm my readiness to cooperate with the investigation within the framework of criminal proceedings No. 42023000000001375," Shurma wrote on his Facebook on Tuesday. He stated that he has repeatedly officially requested to ensure his participation in procedural actions in the manner prescribed by law - via videoconference or on the territory of Ukrainian diplomatic institutions abroad, as he currently permanently resides in the Federal Republic of Germany. "All my current contact details, residential address and contacts of my defense lawyers have been provided to law enforcement agencies. I expect that these requests will be considered in compliance with the requirements of the law and with respect for my right to defense," Shurma noted. He emphasized that he does not plead guilty to committing any crime and is convinced that he did not commit any unlawful actions. At the same time, Shurma noted that the proceedings are accompanied by "signs of selective and politically motivated pressure," and it is fundamentally important for him that the investigation be carried out impartially, with observance of all procedural guarantees and the principle of a fair trial. "I am open to lawful cooperation and expect the same compliance with the law from the investigation," the former Deputy Head of the Presidential Office summarized. As reported, law enforcement officers exposed a scheme of embezzlement of money designated for payments under the "green" tariff by commercial energy generating enterprises in the temporarily occupied territory of Zaporizhia region, the total amount of damage is UAH 141.3 million, among the suspects is Shurma. In total, there are nine suspects in the case. In addition to Shurma himself, the suspect is his brother - the owner of a network of Ukrainian and foreign companies, a confidant of the former high-ranking official, managers and employees of controlled enterprises, as well as the former commercial director of JSC Zaporizhiaoblenergo. As the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) explained, in 2019-2020, a former deputy of the Donetsk Regional Council, together with his brother, took control of a number of enterprises that produced electricity from alternative sources. On the territory of Vasylivka district of Zaporizhzhia region, they built solar power plants with a total capacity of approximately 60 MW and concluded contracts with the state enterprise Guaranteed Buyer for the sale of electricity at the "green" tariff. After the start of Russias full-scale invasion and the occupation of part of Zaporizhia region, the solar power plants lost connection with Ukraines unified energy system, suffered damage, and personnel were evacuated. Despite this, enterprises controlled by the suspects continued to declare electricity production and receive payment for it at the "green" tariff, although in fact electricity was not supplied to Ukraines energy system. They reported false information about generation volumes and the technical readiness of the stations, including during complete power outages. The money received was subsequently withdrawn through affiliated companies. On December 29, 2025, the Cabinet of Ministers prematurely terminated the powers of Shurma as a state representative on the supervisory board of NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine at his request. German law enforcement authorities on July 15, 2025, at the request of NABU, conducted searches of Shurma at his place of residence in Starnberg (Bavaria) near Munich. At that time, NABU Director Semen Kryvonos refused to give political assessments of investigative actions, although he admitted that NABUs effectiveness could have caused a certain crisis. Later, he noted that the investigative actions concerned, in particular, the activities of Guaranteed Buyer. CSIS senior advisor Richard Rossow praised India's calm and non-escalatory approach to recent US trade pressure, contrasting it with previous tariff wars during Trump's last term. He highlighted that the US wanted commitments to buy American goods and agricultural market access, with India firmly protecting staple grains. The resulting deal appears to grant the US better market access into India, including lowered tariffs and reduced non-tariff barriers. Rossow also noted India's compliance on energy purchases when faced with real threats, underscoring the importance of the US as India's key export market. CSIS expert Richard Rossow explains how India's calm negotiation secured a US trade deal, avoiding escalation and gaining tariff reductions. Washington DC, February 3 Senior Advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Richard Rossow lauded the calmness with which India approached the US tariffs and kept its stance that agriculture is a no-go. Rossow, in a conversation with ANI, highlighted how the US wanted to repair the trade deficit with India, and despite warm relations, there was a bit of ruffle. He said, "First, the US wanted India to commit to buying a certain percentage of American goods to help repair the trade deficit, which is currently about two to one in deficit with India. The second thing was agricultural market access. For India, certain staple grains are a no-go... For the US, the question was whether this was a negotiating tactic or a real red line. We will see that staple grains grown in India were likely excluded from the market..." Rossow added that when the US hit India with tariffs, India too retaliated with its own tariffs in US President Donald Trump's last term. He said, "At the end of the day, India approached the US pressure with a calm head. The last time President Trump was in office, there was a medium-intensity trade war. The US hit India with tariffs on steel and aluminium, revoked India's trade preferences under the GSP program, and India retaliated with its own tariffs. Despite a warm relationship between the leaders, there was significant conflict on both sides," he said. Rossow said that this time India did not escalate the situation. "This time, India didn't fight back. They put their head down, kept negotiating, and tried to comply. So, first and foremost, credit goes to India for choosing not to escalate the situation. A substantial change in recent months was President Trump nominating his personal advisor, Sergio Gor, as ambassador to India," he said. Rossow said that from the looks of it, India and the US agreed for the latter to get a larger market access. He said, "It looks like both sides have agreed for the US to get better market access into India, including dropping non-tariff barriers, as President Trump mentioned, and also removing most of the tariffs that the US had placed on India... What we don't know is what other things were included. There's also the agreement that India will buy USD 500 billion worth of American goods, but we don't know the details of that or the time frame." On Indian purchase of Russian oil, Rossow said that previously when the US pressured India about its purchases from Venezuela and Iran, India complied only because it presented a real threat. He said, "The previous times the US pressured India about where it was buying hydrocarbons, most notably from Venezuela and Iran, India complied when the US presented a real threat... From India's perspective, the US is by far its most important export market in both goods and services... India got tariffs reduced in exchange for market access, which India has done with other trade partners. It's a deal both leaders thought was worth finalising." The remarks came following the announcement of the US-India trade deal, in which Washington reduced the tariffs on India to 18 per cent. - ANI A South Asia expert suggests India's recently concluded free trade agreement with the European Union likely served as an impetus for the United States to finalize its own trade deal with New Delhi. The new agreement lowers US tariffs on Indian exports and removes punitive tariffs related to Russian oil imports. Experts note the deal provides Indian exporters a slight competitive advantage in the US market over Southeast Asian rivals. The breakthrough followed high-level engagement between the two countries' leaders and aims to pave the way for cooperation on critical minerals and supply chains. Experts analyze the new US-India trade agreement, suggesting the recent EU FTA served as a key impetus for Washington to finalize terms with New Delhi. New York, Feb 3 India's free trade agreement concluded with the European Union last month could have pushed the US to make the trade deal with India, according to a South Asia expert at the Asia Society here. "Though India-US trade negotiations were on for a while, the deal with EU could have served as an impetus for the US to push forward", Farwa Aamer, the director of South Asia Initiatives at the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI), said on Monday. "The timing is interesting as the deal comes straight after the EU-FTA", she said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump announced that they had reached a trade agreement that would lower the tariffs set for India's exports to 18 per cent from the 25 per cent set last year by Washington. According to the White House, the US will also drop the punitive 25 per cent tariff that Trump had imposed on India for buying Russian oil. The breakthrough came after about a year of negotiations between the two countries, which were sometimes rocky. "For India, the Russia question remains", Aamer said. "Even though it has and will change its oil import structure away from Russia, India would still want to keep relations steady". The agreement was announced after a phone conversation between PM Modi and President Trump. "It was finally the leadership-level engagement that we have been talking about since the beginning that was able to bring the deal around", Aamer said. Another expert with high-level trade experience, Wendy Cutler, stated that the deal between India and the US would give India an advantage over its Southeast Asian competitors. "Importantly, the US reciprocal tariff for India will be reduced to 18 per cent, giving Indian exporters a slight edge in the US market over its ASEAN competitors who have secured 19-20 per cent tariffs", she said. A former acting Deputy US Trade Representative, Cutler, who is the senior vice president of ASPI, said that it was likely the US got a better deal than the EU. On India's cuts to tariff and non-tariff measures impacting trade, "Trump's language gets vaguer, only conveying that India 'will move' to zero percent" she said. "However, based on the language of the Truth Social post (by Trump announcing the deal), it does seem likely that the US secured deeper and broader tariff cuts than the EU achieved in its recently announced FTA with Delhi", she said. While tariffs on EU exports of some categories like electronics and machinery would be eliminated over time, some like alcohol beverages will go down to 20 per cent. Trump said on Truth Social that India will "move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non-Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO". Overall, Cutler said the India-US agreement "will help clear the pathway for the US and India to work cooperatively on other pressing matters concerning critical minerals, technology cooperation, and supply chain resiliency". External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived here on Monday en route to Washington for the Critical Minerals Ministerial convened by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. - IANS India and Tanzania concluded their fourth Joint Defence Cooperation Committee meeting in Zanzibar, focusing on strengthening bilateral defence ties. The discussions centered on expanding cooperation in traditional areas like military training and maritime security, while also exploring new frontiers in counter-terrorism, cyber, and artificial intelligence. This follows recent naval staff talks dedicated to coordinating a future roadmap for maritime engagements. The bilateral relationship was elevated to a strategic partnership during Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan's 2023 visit to India. India & Tanzania held defence talks, agreeing to expand cooperation in military training, maritime security, AI, cyber, and defence industry collaboration. New Delhi, Feb 3 India and Tanzania held the fourth edition of the Joint Defence Cooperation Committee meeting in Zanzibar, discussing cooperation in military training, maritime security, and defence industry collaboration, the Defence Ministry said on Tuesday. Defence Ministry's Joint Secretary, International Cooperation, Amitabh Prasad, co-chaired the meet held in Zanzibar from February 2-3. During the meeting, the officials of the two nations spoke about enhancing cooperation in various sectors like cyber and artificial intelligence (AI). "Joint Secretary (International Cooperation) Shri Amitabh Prasad co-chaired fourth edition of Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC) meeting between India-Tanzania held in Zanzibar from 02-03 February 2026. The two sides discussed cooperation in military training, maritime security, defence industry collaboration and also explored new areas like counter terrorism, Peacekeeping training and training in niche areas of EW, Cyber, AI to further expand bilateral defence cooperation," the Defence Ministry's Directorate of Public Relations posted on X. In November last year, naval officials of India and Tanzania discussed advancing ongoing cooperation and promoting a coordinated approach to maritime security. "Maiden Edition of Indian Navy-Tanzania People's Defence Force Navy Staff Talks were successfully concluded on 18 Nov, 25 at Dar es Salaam. Co-Chaired by RAdm Srinivas Maddula, ACNS (FCI) and; Cmde FJ Mwasikolile, Naval and; Training Officer TPDF Navy," the Indian Navy spokesperson said on X." "Talks were dedicated to mapping the future course of bilateral maritime engagements, advancing ongoing cooperation and promoting a coordinated approach to maritime security," he said. India and Tanzania have enjoyed traditionally close, friendly and cooperative relations. From the 1960s to the 1980s, the political relationship involved shared commitments to anti-colonialism, non-alignment and South-South Cooperation and close cooperation in international fora, according to the Indian High Commission in Tanzania. Bilateral ties were elevated to a strategic partnership during the state visit of Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan to India in 2023. - IANS South Asia analyst Michael Kugelman hailed the newly announced US-India trade deal as the "biggest victory" for bilateral relations in nearly a year, serving as a crucial confidence-building measure after months of tensions. The agreement, which sees the US reducing its tariff on India from 25% to 18%, was announced by former President Donald Trump who cited friendship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, Kugelman cautioned that key aspects of the deal remain unclear, including commitments on Russian oil imports and market access to sensitive sectors like Indian agriculture. A full assessment of the deal's impact will only be possible once the precise concessions made by both sides are fully revealed. South Asia analyst Michael Kugelman calls the new US-India trade agreement a major confidence-building measure and the biggest win for relations in nearly a year. Washington DC, February 3 Following the announcement of the US-India trade deal, in which Washington reduced the tariffs on India to 18 per cent, South Asia analyst Michael Kugelman on Monday said that the agreement marks the "biggest victory" in bilateral relations between the two countries in nearly a year. He described the deal as a significant confidence-building measure after months of strained ties. Speaking to ANI following the announcement, Kugelman said the agreement had been a long time coming, recalling that nearly a year had passed since US President Donald Trump hosted Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House and both leaders committed to pursuing a trade deal, adding that the relationship had faced multiple tensions in the months that followed. Kugelman noted that the agreement would also help generate momentum to address other areas of friction in the bilateral relationship. "My main reaction is it's been a long time coming. It's been almost a year since President Trump hosted Prime Minister Modi at the White House and they promised to pursue a trade deal. And of course, their relationship went sideways; it faced many tensions in the months that followed, and it became increasingly clear that it would be very difficult to get a trade deal, especially because many rounds of talks failed to yield positive outcomes," the analyst said. "For there to be one now is really significant for sure, but it's also a major boost for the US-India relationship. This is the biggest victory for US-India relations in nearly a year. It'll be a big confidence-building measure, and I believe that it will bring some momentum that better enables us to work through tension points in various areas," he added. At the same time, the analyst cautioned that many key aspects of the deal remain unclear. He said there is limited information about the precise commitments made by both sides, particularly regarding energy imports and market access. Kugelman noted that while India has reduced its imports of Russian oil in recent months, it is difficult to imagine a complete halt to such purchases, and that it remains unclear whether India has agreed to open politically sensitive sectors such as agriculture. "We actually do not really know many key aspects of the deal. President Trump had indicated that India has essentially decided to stop doing a lot of things, which sounded a bit hard to believe. I find it hard to imagine that India will simply stop importing Russian oil. We have seen in recent months India decrease its imports of Russian oil, particularly after the new US sanctions on Russia went into play at the end of November. It's not a surprise that Trump said that India would import more American goods, but there are a number of other key issues we don't know. At this point, we don't know if India has agreed to open up access to politically sensitive sectors like its agricultural sector. That remains unclear," he said. Kugelman further pointed out that questions remain over the fate of the additional 25 per cent tariff imposed by the US on India over Russian oil imports, beyond the reduction of the tariff rate to 18 per cent, stressing that a conclusive assessment of the deal would only be possible once greater clarity emerges on the concessions made by both sides. "I think one of the biggest questions right now is what of the 25 per cent tariff the US slapped on India for imports of Russian oil? We don't know if that's going to be removed or not. We just know that the initial 25 per cent tariff will be brought down to 18 per cent. For me, one of the big questions is what the US side conceded. Has it given in to--has it made concessions to the Indian side? And that until we have a better sense as to what the terms of this deal are we need to refrain from giving a conclusive assessment of the deal," he added. His remark comes after Trump, earlier on Monday, said that the US and India "have agreed to a trade deal" with Washington reducing the reciprocal tariff from 25 per cent to 18 per cent "out of friendship and respect" for PM Modi. In his Truth Social post, Trump referred to his conversation with PM Modi earlier in the day, noting that the Prime Minister was one of his closest friends and a powerful, respected leader of India. The US President also claimed that PM Modi had agreed to "stop buying Russian oil" and to buy much more from the US. He further noted that India would reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers against the US. "It was an Honor to speak with Prime Minister Modi, of India, this morning. He is one of my greatest friends and, a Powerful and Respected Leader of his Country. We spoke about many things, including Trade, and ending the War with Russia and Ukraine. He agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela. This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week! Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%. They will likewise move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO," Trump's post read. Following Trump's post, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on X, said it was wonderful to speak with his "dear friend President Trump" and expressed delight that "Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%". "Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement," PM Modi wrote in a post on X. Meanwhile, a White House official confirmed to ANI that Washington will also drop the additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian imports imposed due to New Delhi's purchase of Russian oil, noting that India has to "cease, not just reduce, Russian oil purchases." When asked by ANI whether the tariffs on Indian imports would be lifted in exchange for reducing Russian oil purchases, the official said, "Yes, although the agreement is that India will cease, not just reduce, Russian oil purchases." - ANI The newly implemented India-US trade agreement is poised to significantly boost Indian exports in sectors like leather, garments, and marine products by reducing reciprocal tariffs. NSE MD and CEO Ashishkumar Chauhan states this will generate more jobs and add to the country's foreign exchange reserves. He highlights strong investor confidence in the deal, reflected in positive market movements at the NSE's international exchange. Chauhan frames the agreement as part of a broader strategic shift, where Western nations are seeking alternatives to China, positioning India as a key partner. NSE MD Ashishkumar Chauhan says the India-US trade agreement will revive exports, create jobs, and add to foreign exchange reserves. New Delhi, Feb 3 The India-US trade agreement is the most important deal for the country and will generate more jobs and also add to foreign exchange, said Ashishkumar Chauhan, NSE MD and CEO, on Tuesday. Speaking to IANS, Chauhan stated that the trade deal between the US and India was expected for a long time, and now will be implemented immediately, unlike the European deal, which is expected to roll out after six months. "India is the only country that has manpower, high-tech appreciation, and technology adoption. And that is why all countries are ready to negotiate with us. With the deal, India will export more, generating more jobs and adding to its Forex," Chauhan said. With a reduction of US reciprocal tariff on Indian goods from 25 per cent to 18 per cent, "leather goods, garments, marine products -- all employment-generating areas, will revive export to the US," he said, adding that "in the next 10 years, India will have a golden age". Chauhan stated that portfolio investors are also positive on the trade deal. "Everyone is very happy, especially the investors. And because of the deal, the chances of companies increasing their profits are very high," he said. "Indian investors have faith in the Prime Minister's vision for the country's trajectory. Consequently, an increasing number of domestic investors are backing Indian companies every month. I believe the recent trade deals are a direct result of that confidence, demonstrating that Indian investors are now capable of self-funding their own growth," the expert told IANS. Chauhan mentioned that NSE's own international exchange, which runs in Gift City for about 22 hours, closed at 25,970 -- about 2.5 per cent high at 2 o'clock last night. "Even today, when the Indian market opened, NSE also opened up by 2.5 per cent. I feel that overall, this is the initial reaction. As companies analyse an increase in their profits, they will get the rating further," Chauhan said. The expert further noted that for the last 30-35 years, the US and several countries in Europe were supporting China. But now they see China as their competition and are thus moving away from it. "India needs the right partners who can import from us and to whom we can export our services, skills, and manufactured goods -- countries like the US, Japan, Australia, and those in Europe. China is unlikely to import our goods. Therefore, by negotiating with these nations, we are effectively creating competition for China," Chauhan said. - IANS Union Minister Nitin Gadkari praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump for finalizing a historic trade deal that reduces US tariffs on Indian goods to 18%. President Trump announced the agreement on his Truth Social platform, citing friendship with PM Modi and securing a commitment for India to increase purchases of American products. The deal follows previous US tariffs imposed on India, which were partly linked to India's crude oil imports from Russia. Prime Minister Modi expressed delight on social media, thanking Trump for the announcement that benefits "Made in India" products. Nitin Gadkari lauds PM Modi and President Trump as the India-US trade deal reduces tariffs, boosting business confidence and shared prosperity. New Delhi, February 3 Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday lauded Prime minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump over the announcement of the India-United States trade deal under which Washington has reduced tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent, stating that it will further strengthen the trust between both countries and will significantly boost confidence in business, trade, and investment. Taking it to X, Gadkari stated that the agreement opens new avenues for growth and cooperation between the two countries. "Today marks a defining step forward in India-US economic relations as the trade deal is finalised with tariffs reduced to 18%, opening new avenues for growth and cooperation. My heartfelt congratulations to PM Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump for their leadership in securing this historic outcome. The agreement strengthens trust, boosts business confidence, and sets the stage for deeper trade, investment, and shared prosperity for both nations," he wrote. Earlier, US President Trump announced a trade deal with India on Monday (local time), months after Washington imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods in August 2025. Unveiled on Trump's social media platform Truth Social, the deal outlines significant tariff cuts and includes claims that India would halt Russian oil purchases. Earlier, Trump had levied a 50 per cent duty on India, with 25 per cent tied to crude imports from Russia, as administration officials asserted that India's oil buying supported Russia's war efforts. Trump, in his Truth Social post, wrote, "Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprorocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%. They will likewise move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO. The Prime Minister also committed to 'BUY AMERICAN,' at a much higher level, in addition to over $500 BILLION DOLLARS of US Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal, and many other products." "Our amazing relationship with India will be even stronger going forward. Prime Minister Modi and I are two people that GET THINGS DONE, something that cannot be said for most. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" Trump said. Following Trump's post, Prime Minister Modi, on X, said it was wonderful to speak with his "dear friend President Trump" and expressed delight that "Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%". "Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement," PM Modi wrote in a post on X. - ANI The United States and India have finalized a major trade agreement, with President Donald Trump announcing an immediate reduction in reciprocal tariffs from 25% to 18%. A key component of the deal is India's commitment to stop purchasing Russian oil and instead buy significantly more energy from the United States and potentially Venezuela. The announcement follows recent trade agreements between India and the European Union, adding pressure for a US deal. Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the agreement, calling it beneficial for both economies and highlighting the strong personal relationship between the two leaders. US & India finalize trade deal, cutting tariffs to 18%. India agrees to stop buying Russian oil, boosting US energy exports and geopolitical ties. Washington DC, February 3 As the United States and India move toward finalising a newly announced trade agreement, Partner Asia Group Nisha Biswal noted that while months of negotiations have shaped much of the framework, key implementation details are still awaited. "Since we have not seen any implementation guidance or details, we have to wait and see what that looks like. The US and India have been negotiating text-based agreements for many months, so a lot of these details have already been worked out by the two negotiators. Whether the terms remain the same or shift in the final stretch of the agreement is something we need to watch for," Biswal said. Highlighting the diplomatic groundwork behind the talks, she added, "I think Ambassador Sergio Gor and Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra have been working very diligently. It helps to have a US ambassador in India with a direct and personal relationship with the President. This builds confidence in the ability to communicate effectively and clearly about what's needed to get an agreement done." Placing the negotiations in a broader geopolitical context, Biswal said, "India and the European Union announced a significant deal last week, which put some pressure on the US administration because the US also had a consequential agreement in the works, and it was important not to lose those gains." Her remarks followed US President Donald Trump's announcement of a trade deal with India on Monday (local time), months after Washington imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods in August 2025. Unveiled on Trump's social media platform Truth Social, the deal outlines significant tariff cuts and includes claims that India would halt Russian oil purchases. Earlier, Trump had levied a 50 per cent duty on India, with 25 per cent tied to crude imports from Russia, as administration officials asserted that India's oil buying supported Russia's war efforts. Confirming the development, Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X, "Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement. When two large economies and the world's largest democracies work together, it benefits our people and unlocks immense opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation. President Trump's leadership is vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity. India fully supports his efforts for peace. I look forward to working closely with him to take our partnership to unprecedented heights." Trump, in his Truth Social post, wrote, "It was an Honor to speak with Prime Minister Modi, of India, this morning. He is one of my greatest friends and, a Powerful and Respected Leader of his Country. We spoke about many things, including Trade, and ending the War with Russia and Ukraine. He agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela. This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week!" Detailing the trade framework, Trump added, "Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprorocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%. They will likewise move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO. The Prime Minister also committed to 'BUY AMERICAN,' at a much higher level, in addition to over $500 BILLION DOLLARS of US Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal, and many other products." "Our amazing relationship with India will be even stronger going forward. Prime Minister Modi and I are two people that GET THINGS DONE, something that cannot be said for most. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" Trump said. The US-India developments come days after India and the European Union formalised multiple agreements on January 27 in the presence of Prime Minister Modi, Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa. Notably, both sides also agreed on a strategy document titled 'Towards 2030 - A Joint India-European Union Comprehensive Strategic Agenda', reflecting the expanding scope of India-EU strategic cooperation. Among the agreements exchanged was the political declaration on the conclusion of negotiations on the India-EU Free Trade Agreement, signed by Piyush Goyal and Maros Sefcovic. The India-EU Security and Defence Partnership document was signed by Kaja Kallas and S Jaishankar, while the comprehensive framework on mobility was signed by Sefcovic and Jaishankar, underlining the wide-ranging and multifaceted nature of India-EU strategic cooperation. - ANI The United States and India have announced a major trade agreement, with President Trump revealing a reduction in reciprocal tariffs from 25% to 18%. A key component of the deal is India's agreement to stop purchasing Russian oil, a move the US links to efforts to end the war in Ukraine. The announcement follows months of negotiations, though US officials note that key implementation details are still pending. The deal was celebrated by both leaders, with PM Modi thanking Trump and both emphasizing strengthened ties between the world's largest democracies. US President Trump & PM Modi announce trade deal cutting tariffs to 18%. India agrees to halt Russian oil purchases, boosting US energy exports. Washington DC, February 3 As the United States and India move toward finalising a newly announced trade agreement, US International Development Finance Corporation Deputy CEO Nisha Biswal noted that while months of negotiations have shaped much of the framework, key implementation details are still awaited. "Since we have not seen any implementation guidance or details, we have to wait and see what that looks like. The US and India have been negotiating text-based agreements for many months, so a lot of these details have already been worked out by the two negotiators. Whether the terms remain the same or shift in the final stretch of the agreement is something we need to watch for," Biswal said. Highlighting the diplomatic groundwork behind the talks, she added, "I think Ambassador Sergio Gor and Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra have been working very diligently. It helps to have a US ambassador in India with a direct and personal relationship with the President. This builds confidence in the ability to communicate effectively and clearly about what's needed to get an agreement done." Placing the negotiations in a broader geopolitical context, Biswal said, "India and the European Union announced a significant deal last week, which put some pressure on the US administration because the US also had a consequential agreement in the works, and it was important not to lose those gains." Her remarks followed US President Donald Trump's announcement of a trade deal with India on Monday (local time), months after Washington imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods in August 2025. Unveiled on Trump's social media platform Truth Social, the deal outlines significant tariff cuts and includes claims that India would halt Russian oil purchases. Earlier, Trump had levied a 50 per cent duty on India, with 25 per cent tied to crude imports from Russia, as administration officials asserted that India's oil buying supported Russia's war efforts. Confirming the development, Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X, "Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement. When two large economies and the world's largest democracies work together, it benefits our people and unlocks immense opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation. President Trump's leadership is vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity. India fully supports his efforts for peace. I look forward to working closely with him to take our partnership to unprecedented heights." Trump, in his Truth Social post, wrote, "It was an Honor to speak with Prime Minister Modi, of India, this morning. He is one of my greatest friends and, a Powerful and Respected Leader of his Country. We spoke about many things, including Trade, and ending the War with Russia and Ukraine. He agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela. This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week!" Detailing the trade framework, Trump added, "Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprorocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%. They will likewise move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO. The Prime Minister also committed to 'BUY AMERICAN,' at a much higher level, in addition to over $500 BILLION DOLLARS of US Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal, and many other products." "Our amazing relationship with India will be even stronger going forward. Prime Minister Modi and I are two people that GET THINGS DONE, something that cannot be said for most. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" Trump said. The US-India developments come days after India and the European Union formalised multiple agreements on January 27 in the presence of Prime Minister Modi, Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa. Notably, both sides also agreed on a strategy document titled 'Towards 2030 - A Joint India-European Union Comprehensive Strategic Agenda', reflecting the expanding scope of India-EU strategic cooperation. Among the agreements exchanged was the political declaration on the conclusion of negotiations on the India-EU Free Trade Agreement, signed by Piyush Goyal and Maros Sefcovic. The India-EU Security and Defence Partnership document was signed by Kaja Kallas and S Jaishankar, while the comprehensive framework on mobility was signed by Sefcovic and Jaishankar, underlining the wide-ranging and multifaceted nature of India-EU strategic cooperation. - ANI IndiGo has cancelled its flights to and from Tbilisi, Almaty, Baku, and Tashkent until February 28, 2026, citing the developing situation around Iran. The airline issued a travel advisory, urging customers to explore alternate options or seek a full refund. This follows earlier cancellations in late January for similar safety reasons. The geopolitical context includes heightened US-Iran tensions and regional security concerns. IndiGo cancels flights to Tbilisi, Almaty, Baku, Tashkent until Feb 2026 due to Iran developments. Airline issues travel advisory. New Delhi, February 3 IndiGo on Tuesday issued a travel advisory following developments in Iran and adjusted its flight schedule to ensure a "safe and seamless" experience for customers and crew. In a post on X, IndiGo noted that its flights to and from Tbilisi, Almaty, Baku, and Tashkent have been cancelled until February 28. "Travel Advisory- In view of the developing situation around Iran, we have made additional adjustments to our flight schedule to ensure a safe and seamless experience for our customers and crew. As part of these measures, IndiGo flights to and from Tbilisi, Almaty, Baku, and Tashkent have been cancelled until February 28, 2026. Customers may visit https://bit.ly/4rnkK5G to explore alternate travel options or opt for a full refund, as per their preference. As the situation continues to evolve, our plans remain under regular review. Any further updates or changes will be shared through our communication channels. We appreciate your patience, understanding, and continued trust," the airlines said. On January 25, IndiGo Airlines issued an advisory regarding cancellations and certain "proactive" changes to its international flights, as deemed necessary, due to recent developments in Iran. IndiGo flights scheduled for January 25 from Delhi to Tbilisi and from Mumbai to Almaty, as well as the return flights, were cancelled. These developments follow Trump's deployment of warships to the Middle East and his call for Tehran to resume nuclear negotiations, which were halted in June after attacks by Israel and the US on Iranian facilities. On Sunday, Trump said the US was talking with Tehran, reiterating that "we have very big, powerful ships heading in that direction", while expressing hope for an agreement. Khamenei maintained a firm stance, warning that any attack would trigger a "regional war". The United States and the European Union continue to express concern over Iran's nuclear activities, which Tehran insists are for civilian purposes. Washington has outlined conditions for resuming talks, including ending uranium enrichment, limiting the missile programme and ceasing support for regional armed groups. - ANI Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has instructed the foreign ministry to engage in talks with the United States, but only in an atmosphere free from threats and undue pressure. The diplomatic push comes as officials from both sides are expected to meet in Istanbul, signaling a potential opening after weeks of heightened tensions. This follows a US naval deployment to West Asia, which Tehran has warned could trigger a regional war if it escalates to military action. Iran has also firmly rejected prior American conditions for reviving the nuclear agreement, including halting uranium enrichment and transferring nuclear materials abroad. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian directs foreign ministry to pursue fair negotiations with the US, provided they are free from threats and pressure. Tehran, February 3 Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has directed the country's foreign ministry to move toward talks with the United States, provided negotiations take place in an atmosphere free of threats and undue pressure. In a series of posts on X on Tuesday, Pezeshkian confirmed he had instructed Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to respond to a US proposal for dialogue following outreach from what he described as "friendly governments in the region." "I have instructed my Minister of Foreign Affairs, provided that a suitable environment exists--one free from threats and unreasonable expectations--to pursue fair and equitable negotiations, guided by the principles of dignity, prudence, and expediency," he wrote. "These negotiations shall be conducted within the framework of our national interests." Iranian state broadcaster Press TV reported in its fifth paragraph that the diplomatic push comes as Washington's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Araghchi are expected to meet in Istanbul on Friday, signalling a possible opening after weeks of rising tensions. The potential engagement follows the recent deployment of US naval forces to West Asia, a move that has drawn sharp warnings from Tehran, which has pledged a decisive response to even limited military action by Washington. Separately, Press TV noted that Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ali Khamenei warned on Sunday that any US attack would ignite a regional war, underlining Iran's hardened posture as pressure mounts. Iran has also rejected earlier American conditions tied to reviving a nuclear agreement, including demands to fully halt uranium enrichment and impose restrictions on missile capabilities. Press TV further reported that Ali Bagheri, foreign policy chief at Iran's Supreme National Security Council, ruled out negotiations over enriched uranium stockpiles, stressing that Tehran would not transfer nuclear material abroad. "Iranian officials have no intention of transferring enriched nuclear materials to any country, and negotiations do not revolve around such matters at all," Bagheri said. - ANI Photo: @V_Zelenskiy_official Telegram Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has held a meeting with officials about the situation in the regions, and primarily in the energy sector, after todays Russian strike. "This was a targeted strike against the energy sector, and a record number of ballistic missiles. In fact, the Russian army took advantage of the American proposal to put strikes on a short-term pause not in order to support diplomacy, but in order to simply accumulate missiles and wait for the coldest days of the year, when temperatures in a significant part of Ukraine are -20 Celsius and below," Zelenskyy wrote in the Telegram channel. He said in this strike alone there were 32 ballistic missiles, another 11 missiles of other types that approach the target along a ballistic trajectory, 28 cruise missiles and 450 strike drones, most of which are "shaheeds". A significant part was shot down, but not all. According to the president, there are hits on energy facilities in several regions, and the greatest damage is in Kharkiv, Dnipro, Kyiv and Kyiv regions, Vinnytsia and Odesa regions, and Zaporizhia. "Now all necessary forces have been involved, and I have instructed the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and the government in general to provide equipment from reserves, as well as urgently contact partners regarding additional support packages. I am talking about this in detail with Mark Rutte now," Zelenskyy said. In addition, repair and emergency crews are working in all cities and communities where necessary, and all resources of energy companies are involved. The situation with heating is difficult in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, and also in Lozova in Kharkiv region. "There are separate tasks for the Ministry of Defense and the Commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. I expect the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and our entire diplomatic corps to work as actively as possible to inform partners about what is happening and to organize sufficient support for our people, for our country. Each such strike by Russia confirms that the attitude in Moscow has not changed: they still count on war and the destruction of Ukraine and do not take diplomacy seriously. The work of our negotiating team will be adjusted accordingly," the president said. Iran's exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi has called for a "Global Day of Action" on February 14 in solidarity with anti-government protests. The appeal comes amid heightened tensions, with former US President Donald Trump warning of "big ships" near Iran and hoping for a nuclear deal. Iranian authorities, led by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, accuse the US and Israel of orchestrating the unrest and attempting a coup. Meanwhile, Tehran signals cautious optimism about reviving nuclear talks through regional mediators, even as it faces international demands to curb its nuclear and military programs. Reza Pahlavi designates Feb 14 as Global Day of Action for Iran protests as Trump warns of "big ships" and nuclear talks see cautious movement. Paris, February 3 Reza Pahlavi, Iran's exiled crown prince, has called on Iranians abroad and supporters worldwide to join street demonstrations on February 14, which he designated as the "Global Day of Action in solidarity with Iran's Lion-and-Sun Revolution." In a post on X on Monday, Pahlavi outlined six demands for the international community, including dismantling the regime's machinery of repression, cutting off its financial lifelines, ensuring free internet and communications, expelling regime diplomats and prosecuting its criminals, releasing all political prisoners, and recognising a transitional government to guide Iran toward democracy. "The Islamic Republic's occupying rule has tried to break our nation's will through massacre and brutal violence. It has failed," he wrote, adding, "The era of fear is over and era of freedom is near." He named Munich, Los Angeles and Toronto as major gathering locations, while urging supporters unable to travel to demonstrate in their own cities. His appeal comes amid ongoing anti-government unrest in Iran, which authorities have blamed on foreign interference. Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei accused the United States and Israel of orchestrating the protests, claiming that US President Donald Trump's "help is on the way" remark had encouraged demonstrators. Comparing protesters to Islamic State terrorists, Khamenei alleged they beheaded and killed innocent people. In a series of posts on X, he described the actions of shopkeepers and traders as valid protest while labelling those calling for the regime's fall as "seditionists." He further claimed that the US and Israel failed in a "coup attempt," asserting he had been informed that "CIA & Mossad deployed." Amid the heightened tensions, Trump issued a warning over escalating developments, saying "big ships" were heading to the region and that "bad things" would probably happen if a nuclear deal could not be reached. "We have the biggest, most powerful ships in the world over there, very close, and in a couple of days, hopefully, we'll make a deal. If we don't make a deal, then we'll find out whether or not he was right," Trump said, adding that he hoped negotiations would produce an acceptable outcome. As international focus sharpened on Iran, Tehran signalled cautious optimism about reviving nuclear talks with Washington. According to Al Jazeera, Iran said on Monday it was reviewing diplomatic initiatives proposed by regional countries to reduce tensions with the US and anticipated a framework for discussions in the coming days. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei confirmed that indirect negotiations were continuing, stating, "Countries of the region are acting as mediators in the exchange of messages." He added, "Several points have been addressed, and we are examining and finalising the details of each stage in the diplomatic process, which we hope to conclude in the coming days." Al Jazeera reported that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is expected to engage with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, though neither side has confirmed a meeting. Iran's state news agency IRNA said Araghchi held phone calls with counterparts in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkiye to review recent developments. Reports also suggested Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had instructed the resumption of nuclear discussions, with local media indicating that "Iran and the United States will hold talks on the nuclear file." These developments follow Trump's deployment of warships to the Middle East and his call for Tehran to resume nuclear negotiations, which were halted in June after attacks by Israel and the US on Iranian facilities. On Sunday, Trump said the US was talking with Tehran, reiterating that "We have very big, powerful ships heading in that direction," while expressing hope for an agreement. Khamenei maintained a firm stance, warning that any attack would trigger a "regional war." The United States and the European Union continue to express concern over Iran's nuclear activities, which Tehran insists are for civilian purposes. Washington has outlined conditions for resuming talks, including ending uranium enrichment, limiting the missile programme and ceasing support for regional armed groups. While Iran has shown some willingness to discuss the nuclear issue, missiles and regional alliances remain non-negotiable. The urgency of the current diplomatic push is underscored by Iran's need for sanctions relief amid economic pressures and growing unrest following January's mass protests. - ANI Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has reiterated Tehran's readiness for diplomatic talks based on mutual respect and an equal footing. He firmly rejected any form of negotiation conducted under threats, pressure, or intimidation, stating Iran would respond in kind to such approaches. Araghchi linked recent violent unrest in the country to foreign-backed armed groups, alleging it was an extension of earlier hostile efforts to destabilize Iran. He also referenced a 2025 conflict, accusing the US and Israel of unprovoked aggression during nuclear talks. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi states Tehran is open to dialogue with mutual respect but will not negotiate under threats or coercion. Tehran, February 3 Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reiterated that Tehran remains open to dialogue grounded in mutual respect but will not engage in negotiations under threats or coercion, Iranian state broadcaster Press TV reported. On Monday, Araghchi made the remarks during a visit to the mausoleum of Imam Khomeini in southern Tehran, where he and senior Foreign Ministry officials renewed their allegiance to the ideals of the founder of the Islamic Republic. Highlighting Iran's long-standing diplomatic stance, Araghchi said, "Iran has always been ready for diplomacy from an equal footing, with mutual respect, and in pursuit of the interests of the Iranian nation." He stressed that respect must be reciprocal, adding, "Anyone who speaks to the Iranian nation with respect will be met with respect, while anyone who resorts to threats and force will be met likewise." The foreign minister further underlined Tehran's position, stating, "Diplomacy is incompatible with pressure, threats, and intimidation, and the Islamic Republic of Iran proceeds along this path with resolve and strength," Press TV reported. Araghchi also noted that Iran has consistently pursued diplomacy alongside resistance, saying the Foreign Ministry stands "in the same position" as the Iranian Armed Forces in safeguarding people's rights, defending national interests and preserving national security. Referring to last year's conflict, Araghchi pointed to what he described as unprovoked US-Israeli aggression that killed at least 1,064 people between June 13 and 27, 2025. He said the attacks occurred while Tehran was engaged in indirect nuclear talks with Washington, during which Donald Trump had publicly demanded Iran's "unconditional surrender," according to Press TV. He added that Iran responded with resistance and retaliatory strikes, after which its adversaries sought an unconditional ceasefire. Addressing recent unrest, Araghchi said foreign-linked riots had no connection to constitutionally recognised civil protests, alleging that armed groups entered the scene as part of hostile efforts against Iran. He described the violence as an extension of a 12-day conflict aimed at destabilising the country. In late December, sporadic economic protests were overtaken by armed mercenaries allegedly incited by US and Israeli leaders and supported by intelligence operatives on the ground. Iran's Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs reported that 3,117 people were killed during the unrest, including 2,427 civilians and security personnel, Press TV added. Araghchi also noted that during and after the riots, Trump repeatedly threatened military action and reinforced US troop deployments across the region. - ANI External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is set to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington, highlighting strengthened strategic engagement. The meeting follows a major trade agreement where the US lowered tariffs on Indian goods to 18%, a deal finalized in a call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump. As part of the pact, India has agreed to significantly increase purchases of American products, including over $500 billion in energy. The discussions also extend to securing critical mineral supply chains and collaborative efforts to end the war in Ukraine. Jaishankar meets US Secretary Rubio as new 18% tariff deal fuels strategic momentum. Modi & Trump announce major trade pact & energy purchases. Washington DC, February 3 External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is set to hold talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Department of State on Tuesday. The meeting is scheduled for 3:30 pm. The meeting is part of Jaishankar's three-day visit to the United States, where he is participating in the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial on February 4, hosted by Washington. Ahead of the ministerial, the US Department of State announced that Secretary Rubio will bring together partners from across the globe to strengthen cooperation on critical mineral supply chains. The gathering will focus on enhancing international collaboration to secure reliable and resilient supply chains essential for economic and national security, technological leadership, and the energy transition. Amid this visit, Jaishankar welcomed the recent India-US trade agreement, stating he "welcomed the announcements on bilateral trade." In a post on X, he highlighted its benefits: "This will create more jobs, spur growth and promote innovation in both economies. It will strengthen 'Make in India' endeavours and encourage trusted technology ties." He added, "The opportunities in our economic engagement are truly vast, and we are confident of realizing them. A robust economic relationship is the strongest foundation for our strategic partnership." The trade pact stems from a telephone discussion between PM Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump on Monday. Under the deal, Washington has agreed to lower reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent from 25 per cent, effective immediately. PM Narendra Modi expressed satisfaction in a post on X, noting he was delighted that "Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 per cent." He said, "Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 per cent. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement." He further observed that collaboration between two large economies and the world's largest democracies "unlocks immense opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation." He affirmed, "President Trump's leadership is vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity. India fully supports his efforts for peace." In his social media announcement, President Trump highlighted that India would proceed to reduce "tariffs and non-tariff barriers" against the United States to zero. He added that New Delhi would increase purchases of American products, including energy, exceeding USD 500 billion. "Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprocal Tariff, lowering it from 25 per cent to 18 per cent," Trump stated. He continued, "India will 'likewise move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO.'" Trump also stated that PM Narendra Modi had agreed to significantly increase purchases of American goods, including more than USD 500 billion worth of US energy, technology, agricultural products, coal, and various other items. He remarked, "Our amazing relationship with India will be even stronger going forward. Prime Minister Modi and I are two people that GET THINGS DONE, something that cannot be said for most." Trump further mentioned that their conversation addressed efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. Noting this, he said, "He agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela." He added, "This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week!" This India-US engagement extends beyond trade to broader strategic areas. In parallel, discussions on securing global critical mineral networks occurred earlier this month at a high-level Finance Ministerial convened by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, which included representatives from India (led by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw) and other key economies to diversify supply chains, particularly for rare-earth elements. On the defence front, India-US ties continue to deepen, as evidenced by a January 27 meeting between a US Congressional delegation led by House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, and Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh. The talks focused on strengthening defence industry collaboration and advancing bilateral military ties under the recently concluded 10-year Major Defence Partnership Framework Agreement. The PM Narendra Modi-Trump call coincided with External Affairs Minister Jaishankar's arrival in Washington DC. - ANI Jindal Global Law School (JGLS) has announced that 75% of its total intake for the 2026-27 academic year will be admitted through its Early Admissions process, with a key deadline of February 28, 2026, to take the mandatory LNAT-UK entrance exam. The law school, ranked first in India by both QS and Times Higher Education subject rankings, boasts a globally diverse faculty and over 575 international partnerships. It offers world-class infrastructure, including the world's largest moot court hall, and strong career outcomes through its Office of Career Services. LNAT-UK scores are also considered for merit-cum-means-based scholarships covering 10% to 75% of tuition fees. Jindal Global Law School closes early admissions on Feb 28, 2026. 75% of seats filled via LNAT-UK test. Apply for top-ranked law programs & scholarships. Sonipat, Feb 3 Recognised as India's leading global law school, JGLS continues to attract exceptional interest from high-achieving law aspirants across India and overseas, reaffirming its position as a premier destination for legal education. The law school has now announced that a minimum of 75 per cent of the total intake for 2026-27 will be admitted through Early Admissions, underscoring the importance of the February 28 deadline of taking the LNAT exam. LNAT is a Mandatory Admission Test for both Five-Year & Three-Year LLB (Hons.) Programs at JGLS. In the first round of early admissions, JGLS admitted over 400 students in its flagship Five-Year Integrated Law Programmes, including B.Com. LL.B. (Hons), BBA LL.B. (Hons), BA LL.B. (Hons), and the Three-Year LLB (Hons) programme. Global Rankings and Academic Leadership JGLS's global standing is reflected in its consistently high international rankings: Ranked 78th in the world and 1st in India for Law & Legal Studies - QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025 Ranked No 1 in India for Law - Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject 2026 These distinctions place JGLS among an elite group of law schools worldwide and reinforce its commitment to global standards in teaching, research, and institutional governance. World-Class Faculty and Academic Excellence JGLS boasts a globally diverse 500-plus-member full-time faculty, with a significant number of professors holding degrees from top 50 law schools worldwide, including Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge, Yale, Stanford, NYU, LSE, Columbia, Berkeley, NUS, etc. The curriculum is deeply rooted in interdisciplinarity, offering over 560 compulsory courses, 580 electives, and 320 cross-listed courses at JGU. Unmatched Global Exposure and Internationalisation With over 575 partnerships across 75-plus countries, JGLS offers unparalleled global exposure through student exchange programmes, semester-abroad opportunities, dual degrees, and short-term study abroad programmes with top-ranked universities worldwide. Infrastructure and Experiential Learning JGLS offers world-class infrastructure, including India's first Constitution Museum and the Rights & Freedoms Academy, Nyayabhyasa Mandapam, the world's largest moot court hall, the International Mooting Academy for Advocacy, Negotiation, Dispute Adjudication, Arbitration and Resolution (IMAANDAR), and state-of-the-art academic and residential facilities on a 100-plus-acre ultra-modern green campus. Career Outcomes and Alumni Network Graduates of JGLS work across leading law firms, multinational corporations, public institutions, policy organisations, and international bodies. Supported by a strong Office of Career Services, students benefit from structured career education, one-on-one advising, and engagement with over 1,200 organisations offering internships and 300 organisations offering full-time roles annually. LNAT-UK: Mandatory Admissions Test for JGLS The LNAT-UK is a globally benchmarked, standardised admissions test. This test evaluates critical thinking and advanced English language and reading comprehension skills. The LNAT comprises two sections: Section A, a scored component consisting of 42 multiple-choice questions based on complex texts that assess comprehension, inference, and reasoning (with no negative marking), and Section B, an unscored essay. The LNAT score refers only to performance in Section A and is interpreted in the context of the overall applicant pool. JGLS considers this score only for admission and doesn't require an essay. Merit-cum-Means-Based Scholarships LNAT-UK scores will be considered for merit-cum means-based scholarships. Scholarships are awarded in the range of 10 per cent, 25 per cent, 50 per cent, and 75 per cent of tuition fees, based on merit and annual parental income criteria. Upcoming Admission Deadlines Applicants who missed the first round are encouraged to apply in the upcoming cycles: Early Admission | Second Merit List (March 2026) Deadline to register for and take LNAT-UK: February 28, 2026 Late Admission | Final Merit List (June 2026) Deadline to register for and take LNAT-UK: 31 May 2026 Professor (Dr) C. Raj Kumar, Founding Vice Chancellor of O.P. Jindal Global University, said: "I am delighted to see the interest and enthusiasm among the brightest and the best students to choose Jindal Global Law School. The relentless pursuit of excellence defines our law school, and I welcome students who are willing to work hard and make us proud." Professor Anand Prakash Mishra, Vice Dean and Director of Law Admissions at JGLS, stated: "The Early Admissions Deadline of February 28 is critical for every serious law aspirant in the country as JGLS will admit a minimum 75 per cent of total intake based on this deadline. Studying law at JGLS is a transformational opportunity for a lifetime, and you must not miss it due to a delay in taking the entrance test." Exclusive LNAT-UK Retest Opportunity For the 5-year integrated law programs, the admissions cut-off is 20 out of 42 in the LNAT-UK. Applicants who have scored below 20 out of 42 in the LNAT-UK are eligible for a limited retest opportunity, applicable only for admission to JGLS for the Academic Year 2026-27. -- Retest window: Open till February 28, 2026. -- A higher score will be considered. -- Retest scores will not be considered for scholarships. Two-Step Application Process Applicants must complete both steps to be considered for admission: Register for the LNAT-UK Test: https://lnat.ac.uk/ Submit the JGLS Online Application Form: https://lawadmissions.jgu.edu.in/ Admission is offered exclusively to candidates who meet the cut-off prescribed by the JGLS Admissions Committee. Contact the JGLS Admissions Office Prospective applicants can connect directly with the JGLS Admissions Office by registering on the official admissions portal. Register at: LawAdmissions.JGU.edu.in - IANS Union Minister Nityanand Rai stated that Left-Wing Extremist violence has decreased by 88% from its 2010 peak, with related deaths down by 90%. Security forces neutralized 364 Naxals and facilitated over 2300 surrenders in 2025 alone. The number of police stations reporting such violence has drastically fallen from 465 to 119. The government aims to make India free from Left-Wing Extremism by March 2026, with only eight districts currently affected. Union MoS Nityanand Rai reports an 88% drop in Left-Wing Extremist violence and a 90% reduction in deaths from 2010 to 2025. New Delhi, February 3 Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai on Tuesday said that the Left Wing Extremism perpetrated violence has come down by 88 per cent from 2010, with deaths of civilians and security forces reduced by 90 per cent. Replying to an unstarred question from BJP MP Roopkumari Choudhary, Nityanand Rai said 100 deaths of civilians and security forces were reported in 2025 as compared to 1005 in the year 2010. He also updated that security forces neutralised 364 Naxals, arrested 1022 and facilitated 2337 surrenders in 2025. "The LWE perpetrated violence incidents have come down from a high of 1936 in the year 2010 by 88% to 234 in 2025. Resultant deaths of Civilians & Security Forces have also come down from a high of 1005 in 2010 by 90% to 100 in the year 2025. In 2025, security forces have neutralised 364 Naxals, arrested 1022 and facilitated 2337 surrenders," Union MoS Nityanand Rai said. He also stated that only 119 police stations reported violence incidents in 2025 as compared to 465 in 2010. "The number of Police Stations reporting LWE-related violence has significantly reduced from 465 Police Stations in 2010 to 119 Police Stations in the year 2025," he said. He further replied that only eight districts remain affected by Left Wing Extremism, out of which six are from Chhattisgarh. "Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected districts are 8, including 6 districts in Chhattisgarh, 1 district in Jharkhand and 1 district in Odisha," Nityanand Rai said. This aligns with the government's aim to make India free from Left-Wing Extremism by March 31, 2026. Earlier, Ministry of Home Affairs released its Year-End Review for 2025. MHA revealed that a series of large-scale operations across Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and adjoining regions led to the neutralisation of over 300 LWE cadres in 2025, the highest ever in a single year. Security forces carried out landmark operations such as the Karreguttalu Hills action and Operation Black Forest, which dismantled key Maoist leadership structures and triggered large-scale surrenders. - ANI Textile and jewellery traders in Gujarat have enthusiastically welcomed a new India-US trade deal that reduces tariffs. They predict the 18% tariff rate will cause their sales to increase by 100-150%, potentially doubling or tripling textile exports. Industry leaders credit the deal to strategic agreements with other nations, like the EU, which pressured the US. The agreement also removed an additional punitive levy linked to India's purchase of Russian oil, easing trade tensions. Gujarat's textile and jewellery exporters hail Modi-Trump trade deal, predicting a 100-150% sales boost as US tariffs drop to 18%, reviving exports. Surat, February 3 Textiles and Jewellery traders have welcomed the India-US trade deal, expressing enthusiasm over reduced tariffs and predicting that an 18 per cent tariff will increase sales by 100-150 per cent. Hailing PM Modi for the trade deal, traders believed that Free Trade Agreements with other countries, especially with the European Union, "scared" the Trump administration into making the deal. Speaking with ANI, All Gujarat Textile Federation President, Ashok Jirawala, said, "I believe this is the magic of PM Modi's government. I believe Trump's government has got scared of losing the market because of all the deals we have closed with other countries. I believe more tariffs will be reduced in the upcoming days. The US is our biggest market in the garment industry, curtains, bedsheets and special fabrics. Their consumers were also demanding this. Ranganath Sharda, Secretary, Ashoka Market, a Textile and Garment Exporter, believes that, as India's tariffs are lower than those of China, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, Indian traders will benefit greatly from this arrangement. "This is a big decision. Our exports have somehow halted, but now we believe that due to 18 per cent tariffs, our exports will double or triple. We export Rs25,000 crores that will surely now go to 50,000 crores to 75,000 crores. "Now the US tariffs on India have become the lowest as compared to China, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. I think this is largely due to the India-EU trade deal. I think this will benefit the textile business a lot. If Pakistan and China tariffs remain high, it will benefit India's exporters. We believe our sales will increase from 100 per cent to 150 per cent," Ranganath Sharda added. Gujarat State President of the Indian Bullion and Jewellers Association, Nainesh Pachigar, also expressed enthusiasm about the reduction in tariffs and believes they will soon come down to zero. "Our whole industry welcomes this trade deal. America has to bow down. Now they called our PM and agreed to reduce tariffs. Our industry will benefit from this reduction to 18 per cent of tariffs. We want the tariff to be zero per cent. Our export was at 35 per cent with the US, but that stopped due to tariffs; now it will start again. If tariffs come to zero, the export will be at 35 per cent again," he said. The India-US trade deal was agreed upon on 2ND February after successful talks between the leadership of both countries. Following the announcement by US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 2, the reciprocal tariff imposed by the US on India was reduced to 18 per cent from 25 per cen In addition, the US removed the additional 25 per cent punitive levy that had been linked to India's purchase of Russian oil. The move is expected to ease trade pressures and improve the overall business environment between the two countries. The announcement has been seen as a positive step by industry leaders, with expectations that the agreement will boost investor confidence, enhance manufacturing cooperation, and further strengthen India-US economic relations. - ANI A major breakthrough has been achieved for the second mountain tunnel (MT-6) of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train project in Palghar, Maharashtra. The 454-meter tunnel was excavated in just 12 months using the New Austrian Tunnelling Method, chosen for the complex geography. Construction is advancing rapidly across Maharashtra, with progress on river bridges, stations, and other mountain tunnels. Overall, the 508-km project has completed approximately 334 km of viaducts, with track laying accelerating in Gujarat. Second mountain tunnel for Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train breaks through in Palghar using advanced NATM method, marking rapid project progress. Palghar, February 3 A major breakthrough is set to be achieved in the second mountain tunnel in Palghar district of Maharashtra on Tuesday. This tunnel is 454 meters long and 14.4 meters wide, and it will accommodate both the 'up' and 'down' tracks for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train project. This will be the second tunnel breakthrough in Palghar district for the Bullet Train project in a single month; the first was at MT-5 near Safale on January 2, 2026. The excavation of the mountain tunnel (MT-6) has been carried out from both ends using the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM), which is a modern controlled drill-and-blast method. The excavation was completed in 12 months. The NATM method is preferred for complex geographical conditions and uneven tunnel shapes like those found in Palghar, where Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) are not suitable. This process does not require extremely heavy machinery, and necessary structural improvements can be made in real-time using shotcreting, rock bolts, and lattice girders. The safety of workers inside the tunnel has been ensured through the use of various geotechnical instruments, real-time monitoring, efficient fire safety measures, proper ventilation, and a controlled entry system. In Maharashtra, construction work is progressing rapidly across various levels. The longest river bridge of the project, located on the Vaitarna River, has reached the pier level. Foundation work is also underway on other major rivers like the Ulhas and Jagnisarkhya. Construction is in progress at all four stations. Work is also moving fast on the 21 km long tunnel between Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) and Shilphata, which includes the use of long-span steel bridges at locations crossing national and state highways. A total of 7 mountain tunnels are currently under construction in the Palghar district of Maharashtra. The progress status of Mountain Tunnels, such as MT-1, is 0.820 km long and 16% complete. MT-2 is 0.228 km long with preparatory work ongoing. MT-3 is 1.403 km long and 41% complete. MT-4 is 1.260 km long and 32% complete. MT-5 is 1.480 km long, 57% complete, with breakthrough achieved on January 02, 2026. MT-6 is 0.454 km long, 47% complete, with a breakthrough scheduled for today. MT-7 is 0.417 km long and 29% complete. The total length of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR) project is approximately 508 km, consisting of 352 km in Gujarat and Dadra & Nagar Haveli, and 156 km in Maharashtra. As of January 27, 2026, approximately 334 km of viaducts, 17 river bridges, and 12 major crossings over national highways, railways, and other infrastructure have been completed. Track laying and electrification work are progressing rapidly in the Gujarat section of the project. - ANI NDA MPs felicitated Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a parliamentary party meeting following the announcement of a trade deal with the United States, which includes a tariff reduction. The ongoing Budget Session saw a heated exchange in the Lok Sabha after Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi cited an unpublished memoir by a former Army Chief regarding border tensions with China. Speaker Om Birla ruled that Gandhi should not reference the unpublished material, leading to adjournments. The discussion on the motion of thanks to the President's address continues in both Houses. NDA MPs laud PM Modi for India-US trade agreement. Parliament session sees heated debate over Rahul Gandhi's China remarks citing ex-Army Chief. New Delhi, February 3 NDA MPs on Tuesday felicitated Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Parliamentary Party meeting for the trade deal with the United States. This comes after Trump said that the US and India "have agreed to a trade deal," with Washington reducing the reciprocal tariff from 25 per cent to 18 per cent, "out of friendship and respect" for PM Modi. BJP National President Nitin Nabin was also formally welcomed at the meeting. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and several other senior leaders attended the meeting. Later today, both Houses of Parliament are scheduled to continue the discussion on the motion of 'Thanks to the President's address' during the ongoing Budget Session. In the Lok Sabha, the motion was moved by Sarbananda Sonowal and seconded by Tejasvi Surya. On Monday, the House witnessed a heated exchange between the NDA and the INDIA bloc MPs during Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi's address, during which he cited an unpublished memoir by former Army Chief General MM Naravane on border tensions with China. BJP members strongly objected to Rahul Gandhi's remarks, saying he violated the House's rules. In the Upper House, the BJP MP Sadananad Master moved the motion of thanks and, on Monday, delivered an emotional address, placing his artificial limbs on the bench. The motion comes in response to President Droupadi Murmu's address to the joint sitting of both the Houses to mark the beginning of the Budget Session on January 28. Lok Sabha on Monday witnessed repeated interruptions and was later adjourned for the day following a prolonged stalemate over LoP Rahul Gandhi's insistence on speaking about a specific matter pertaining to the standoff with China during border tensions in 2020 while referring to a report citing an unpublished memoir of former Army Chief General MM Naravane. The House, which began discussion on the motion of thanks on the President's Address, was adjourned till 3 pm, 4 pm and later for the day. Speaker Om Birla ruled that Rahul Gandhi should not make references to the unpublished book and article. When the House met at 3 pm, the Speaker urged the Leader of the Opposition to proceed with his speech without mentioning his intended reference. He said that the House works according to the rules. - ANI NASA has postponed the Artemis II mission to orbit the Moon, moving the launch from February to March. The delay follows a hydrogen leak discovered during a critical propellant loading test for the Space Launch System rocket. Despite the setback, many test objectives were met, and a second rehearsal is planned for March. The 10-day mission with a crew of four is a crucial step before the planned Artemis III lunar landing in 2027. NASA postpones Artemis II lunar mission to March after a hydrogen leak is detected during a critical fuelling test. Safety remains the priority. New Delhi, Feb 3 NASA has postponed the ambitious Artemis II mission to the Moon to March after detecting a hydrogen leak during a key fuelling test. The mission to launch a team of four astronauts on a journey around the Moon from Kennedy Space Center in Florida was initially targetted for February 6. It was later delayed to February 8 due to cold weather conditions with winds moving through Florida. "With the conclusion of the wet dress rehearsal today, we are moving off the February launch window and targeting March for the earliest possible launch of Artemis II," NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman shared in a post on social media platform X. "As always, safety remains our top priority for our astronauts, our workforce, our systems, and the public. We will only launch when we believe we are as ready to undertake this historic mission," he added. The two-day test at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, which began on January 31, successfully loaded cryogenic propellants into the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket's tanks. But it ended early on Tuesday due to a liquid hydrogen leak at the interface of the tail service mast umbilical, which had experienced high concentrations of liquid hydrogen earlier in the countdown, as well. The engineers spent several hours troubleshooting the leak but weren't successful. "The engineers conducted a first run at terminal countdown operations during the test, counting down to approximately 5 minutes left in the countdown, before the ground launch sequencer automatically stopped the countdown due to a spike in the liquid hydrogen leak rate," NASA shared in a blog post. In addition, "a valve associated with Orion crew module hatch pressurisation, which recently was replaced, required retorquing, and closeout operations took longer than planned," it said, adding that despite several challenges, many of the planned objectives were met. A second wet dress rehearsal is expected in March, ahead of the scheduled launch. Meanwhile, the Artemis II astronauts will now be released from quarantine, which they entered in Houston on January 21. The crew will enter quarantine again about two weeks out from the next targeted launch opportunity, NASA said. The 10-day mission will set the stage for Artemis III, slated for launch in 2027, when humans will land on the lunar South Pole for the first time and set up a long-term presence there. The Artemis II crew includes NASA's commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Koch and the Canadian Space Agency's (CSA) Jeremy Hansen. - IANS Prime Minister Narendra Modi was felicitated by BJP workers with chants of "Jai Modi" following the announcement of a trade deal with the United States, as outlined by former President Donald Trump. The deal involves significant tariff reductions and claims regarding India's oil imports from Russia. Meanwhile, Parliament witnessed heated exchanges during the discussion on the motion of thanks to the President's address, with Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi's remarks on the China border standoff causing major disruptions. This led to repeated interruptions and the eventual adjournment of the Lok Sabha after Speaker Om Birla ruled against references to an unpublished memoir. PM Modi felicitated after India-US trade deal with Trump. Parliament sees heated exchanges over Rahul Gandhi's remarks on China standoff. New Delhi, February 3 The BJP workers felicitated Prime Minister Narendra Modi with chants of "Jai Modi," "Vande Mataram," and "Bharat Mata ki Jai" after the Prime Minister secured the trade deal with US President Donald Trump at the NDA Parliamentary party meeting underway in Parliament premises on Tuesday. This comes after Trump said that the US and India "have agreed to a trade deal," with Washington reducing the reciprocal tariff from 25 per cent to 18 per cent, "out of friendship and respect" for PM Modi. Unveiled on Trump's social media platform Truth Social, the deal outlines significant tariff cuts and includes claims that India would halt Russian oil purchases. Earlier, Trump had levied a 50 per cent duty on India, with 25 per cent tied to crude imports from Russia, as administration officials asserted that India's oil buying supported Russia's war efforts. Earlier, BJP National President Nitin Nabin was also formally welcomed in the presence of Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Minister JP Nadda, and other Bhartiya Janata Party leaders at the NDA Parliamentary party meeting. Today, both Houses of Parliament are scheduled to continue the discussion on the motion of 'Thanks to the President's address' during the ongoing Budget Session. In the Lok Sabha, the motion was moved by Sarbananda Sonowal and seconded by Tejasvi Surya. On Monday, the House witnessed a heated exchange between the NDA and the INDIA bloc MPs during Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi's address, during which he cited an unpublished memoir by former Army Chief General MM Naravane on border tensions with China. BJP members strongly objected to Rahul Gandhi's remarks, saying he violated the House's rules. In the Upper House, the BJP MP Sadananad Master moved the motion of thanks and, on Monday, delivered an emotional address, placing his artificial limbs on the bench. The motion comes in response to President Droupadi Murmu's address to the joint sitting of both the Houses to mark the beginning of the Budget Session on January 28. Lok Sabha on Monday witnessed repeated interruptions and was later adjourned for the day following a prolonged stalemate over LoP Rahul Gandhi's insistence on speaking about a specific matter pertaining to the standoff with China during border tensions in 2020 while referring to a report citing an unpublished memoir of former Army Chief General MM Naravane. The House, which began discussion on the motion of thanks on the President's Address, was adjourned till 3 pm, 4 pm and later for the day. Speaker Om Birla ruled that Rahul Gandhi should not make references to the unpublished book and article. When the House met at 3 pm, the Speaker urged the Leader of the Opposition to proceed with his speech without mentioning his intended reference. He said that the House works according to the rules. - ANI Laman Ismayilova During his visit to the Sultanate of Oman, Azerbaijan's Culture Minister Adil Karimli has met with Umberto Fanni, General Director and Artistic Director of the Royal Opera House Muscat, Azernews reports citing Azerbaijan Culture Ministry. The minister provided information about the development of professional theatre and opera in Azerbaijan, noting the country's rich traditions in this field. The meeting focused on discussions regarding potential cooperation between the Royal Opera House Muscat and the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, as well as other theatre and concert institutions. During the talks, an exchange of views also took place on the possible staging of the opera "Koroghlu" by the great Azerbaijani composer Uzeyir Hajibayli at the Royal Opera House Muscat. Azerbaijan and Oman are actively enhancing their cultural, scientific, and humanitarian cooperation. In recent years, activities in arts, music, performance, and cultural exchange have become a recurring theme in diplomatic engagements. One significant dimension of this cooperation has emerged through performing arts and musical exchange. In June 2025 in Muscat, the Azerbaijan?Oman Friendship Concert was held, organized with the support of Azerbaijan's State Committee on Work with the Diaspora and initiatives by the Coordination Council of Azerbaijanis in Arab Countries. The concert welcomed around 300 guests, including members of the Azerbaijani community, diplomats, and local residents. Performers, including teachers and students from the Royal Conservatory of Music and Art, presented works by prominent Azerbaijani composers such as Uzeyir Hajibayli, Fikrat Amirov, Arif Melikov, and Tofig Guliyev. Cultural exchange has also taken place through traditional visual arts and handicrafts. In January 2026, Azerbaijan participated in the First International Forum for Creative Handicraft Industries in Muscat, showcasing traditional Azerbaijani arts such as Shebeke stained?glass, takaldouz embroidery, and felt?making. Photo: State Emergency Service The Ministry of Internal Affairs is increasing the number of heating points and personnel involved to support residents of cities affected by Russian shelling, in particular, in Kyiv, Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Ihor Klymenko has said. "In total, 118 heating tents of the State Emergency Service are currently operating in Kyiv at 84 locations. Given the situation, we are preparing to set up an additional 79 points. In particular, in the Dnipro and Darnytsia districts of the capital today we plan to deploy 8 tent camps. We are installing heat guns in the heating support points," Klymenko wrote in Telegram. According to him, specialists from the energy detachment of the State Emergency Service in the capital are connecting social and critical infrastructure facilities to powerful generators. The Minister also reported that, in addition to Kyiv, a difficult situation with heat supply has also developed in Kharkiv and Dnipro. "At this moment, we are deploying additional population support points in Kharkiv, sending special equipment and specialists from other regions there," Klymenko said. The head of the department reported that combined units, including mountain climbers and engineering teams, are involved in eliminating the consequences of the shelling. "Russia continues the genocidal terror of Ukrainians, using winter as a weapon. Massive shelling of critical infrastructure is a deliberate attempt to create a humanitarian catastrophe," Klymenko stated. The National Democratic Alliance convened a parliamentary party meeting to discuss the Union Budget 2026 and the government's vision for a developed India by 2047. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was congratulated by leaders and reporters upon arrival for securing a new trade deal with the United States. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present the budget's features and a roadmap for public communication during the gathering. The budget, presented as a "highway of immense opportunities," aims to boost economic growth and resource access. NDA parliamentary party meets to discuss Budget 2026 and Viksit Bharat vision. PM Modi congratulated on recent India-US trade agreement. New Delhi, Feb 3 The National Democratic Alliance convened a Parliamentary Party meeting on Tuesday to deliberate on the Union Budget 2026 and the government's vision for Viksit Bharat 2047. The meeting is being held at the Parliament Library Building in New Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda, BJP National President Nitin Nabin, and all other NDA ministers and MPs are present at the meeting. Upon arriving at the meeting, the Prime Minister was congratulated by an enthusiastic group of reporters regarding the India-US trade deal. PM Modi smiled and waved his hands to the reporters, saying, "Thank you!" India and the US reached a trade deal on Monday following a phone call between PM Modi and US President Donald Trump. This is also the second trade deal India has reached in the past ten days. During the meeting, the NDA leaders congratulated the Prime Minister on all the recent trade agreements. Newly elected BJP chief Nitin Nabin was also warmly welcomed by the leaders. PM Modi will also address the NDA parliamentary party meeting. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the budget's features and forward-looking vision through a presentation, highlighting how it is a major step towards creating a Viksit Bharat by 2047. During the meeting, guidelines will be provided on how to communicate the budget's features and benefits to the public, and a roadmap for this will be presented. Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2026 in the Lok Sabha on Sunday. This was her ninth budget and was motivated by three 'kartavyas' or duties aimed at boosting and maintaining economic growth by improving competitiveness, meeting aspirations, and ensuring that every family, community, and region has access to resources and opportunities for engagement. The Prime Minister on Sunday hailed the budget, calling it a "highway of immense opportunities" and said that the "Reform Express" on which India is riding, "will gain new energy and momentum through this budget". - IANS Neena Gupta recounted a time when legendary director Shyam Benegal firmly instructed her to concentrate on her acting role and not interfere with directorial decisions. She contrasted the respectful fear directors commanded in the past with the current trend of actors frequently arguing on set. Gupta made these remarks while promoting her upcoming crime drama 'Vadh 2', where she reunites with Sanjay Mishra. The film, directed by Jaspal Singh Sandhu, is set for a theatrical release in February 2026. Neena Gupta shares an incident where Shyam Benegal told her to focus on acting, not directing, while promoting her new film 'Vadh 2'. Mumbai, Feb 3 Actress Neena Gupta, who is gearing up for the release of her upcoming film 'Vadh 2', has shared an interesting incident when she was scolded by director Shyam Benegal. The actress spoke with IANS during the promotions of the film, and spoke about the art of using dialogues in a film. When asked if portraying a character without the crutches of dialogues, and only silence is the ultimate liberation, the actress told IANS, "It's a part of my job, it's a part of my character, so I don't feel any separation in it. It's a part of my scene. In this film, there is one scene where I walk in the corridor, I walked for a long time. So I was thinking, 'Why am I walking for so long, because I have to go from here to there, why am I being shown from there?'. It has an impact, the director knows it". She further mentioned, "It happened with me once when I was working on a film with Shyam Benegal. Like actors now, argue with the director, it's a new way in the industry. Some actors argue for right reasons, others argue for wrong reasons. Back in those days, we were scared of our directors. I told Shyam Benegal, 'I think this dialogue, I should be doing like this'. He looked at me, and said, 'Go, sit there quietly, focus on your role'. So many actors told me that, I am just looking at my role, the directors are looking at the whole picture. Like Jaspal, our director in 'Vadh 2' has this whole film in his head, so we do what he says". Meanwhile, 'Vadh 2' serves as a thematic or "spiritual" sequel to the 2022 film 'Vadh' and reunites Sanjay Mishra and Neena Gupta in new, intense roles that promise fresh emotional stakes and moral complexity. The film is a crime drama directed and written by Jaspal Singh Sandhu and produced by Luv Ranjan and Ankur Garg under Luv Films. The film is scheduled for a theatrical release on February 6, 2026. - IANS National Security Adviser Ajit Doval has arrived in Riyadh for an official visit, highlighting deepening strategic engagement between India and Saudi Arabia. The visit follows a recent Security Working Group meeting where both nations strongly condemned recent terror attacks in Pahalgam and near the Red Fort. Officials from both sides comprehensively reviewed security cooperation and discussed enhancing collaboration against terrorism, extremism, and terror financing. The next meeting of the Security Working Group is scheduled to be held in India. NSA Ajit Doval arrives in Riyadh for official visit, focusing on counter-terrorism cooperation and strengthening India-Saudi strategic partnership. Riyadh, February 3 National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on Tuesday arrived in Riyadh for an official visit, underscoring the growing strategic engagement between India and Saudi Arabia. Doval was received at the airport by India's Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Dr Suhel Ajaz Khan, and Saudi Arabia's Deputy Minister for Political Affairs, Ambassador Dr Saud Al-Sati, according to the Indian Embassy in Riyadh. On January 28, Saudi Arabia condemned the Pahalgam terror attack and the Red Fort terror incident. At the 3rd meeting of ofthe India-Saudi Arabia Security Working Group under the Political, Consular and Security Cooperation Committee of the Strategic Partnership Council, both parties condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. The meeting was held on January 28 in Riyadh. The meeting was co-chaired by Vinod Bahade, Joint Secretary (Counter Terrorism), Ministry of External Affairs, and Ahmed Al-Eissa, Director General of Legal Affairs and International Cooperation, Ministry of Interior, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, according to a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs. Both sides reiterated their condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism and the dastardly terrorist attack on innocent civilians on 22 April 2025 in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, and the terror incident on 10 November 2025 near Red Fort, New Delhi, as per the statement. The two sides comprehensively reviewed the ongoing security cooperation. They discussed threats posed by terrorist groups globally and in their respective regions. Both sides shared views on enhancing cooperation on current and emerging challenges in counter-terrorism, including countering extremism and radicalisation, combating the financing of terrorism, preventing the use of technology for terrorist purposes, and the nexus between transnational organised crime and terrorism. They also deliberated upon measures to further strengthen bilateral legal and judicial cooperation and law enforcement cooperation. The next meeting of the Security Working Group will be held in India on a mutually convenient date, the statement added.Earlier on January 22, Spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal, said that Secretary (South), Neena Malhotra, met resident Ambassadors of Arab countries to review ongoing cooperation between India and the Arab countries. In a post on X, the MEA said, "Secretary (South), Dr. Neena Malhotra met resident Ambassadors of Arab countries to review ongoing cooperation between India and the Arab countries and also preparations for forthcoming meetings. They also identified specific focus areas and activities in diverse sectors to drive the partnership forward." - ANI Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi inaugurated the Subhadra Shakti Mela in Rayagada, a week-long event focused on women's empowerment and showcasing SHG achievements. He launched 109 development projects worth over 600 crore, including significant funding for the Majhighariani temple and infrastructure. The CM announced plans for indoor stadiums in all blocks, a pending medical college, and a directive that 80% of jobs in new industries must go to local youth. The fair features 120 stalls, cultural performances, and highlights the district's progress driven by over 1.52 lakh women in self-help groups. CM Mohan Majhi launches 109 projects worth 600+ crore at women's empowerment fair, announces new stadiums, medical college, and local job quotas. Rayagada, February 3 Chief Minister of Odisha, Mohan Charan Majhi, visited Rayagada district on Monday and inaugurated the Subhadra Shakti Mela, emphasising the district's efforts in women's empowerment, which is being held at the local GIACR ground from February 2nd to February 8th, 2026. The Chief Minister also addressed the gathering. More than 1.52 lakh women and girls are part of 12,783 Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in the area, significantly improving their prospects. The CM inaugurated 109 projects worth over 600 crore, including 22 projects worth Rs. 238 crore and foundation stones for 87 projects totalling Rs. 366 crore, out of which 37 crore for the Majhighariani temple, during the inauguration of the Subhadra Shakti Mela in Rayagada district, which will provide new impetus for the district's development. The Chief Minister announced measures to construct indoor stadiums in all blocks, improve education, health, and transportation facilities, and stated that a medical college in Rayagada is awaiting government approval. In addition, in the current financial year, loans worth approximately 200 crore have been disbursed to 4,217 self-help groups in Rayagada. This includes 14 crore in revolving funds to 9,335 self-help groups in Rayagada district, an additional 53.14 crore to 164 GPLFs, and loans totalling 37.55 crore to 4,195 self-help groups. The Union Budget for 2026-27 focuses on women, allocating 5 lakh crore for women and children and plans to establish self-help entrepreneur marts. The Chief Minister stated that women are leading development in various sectors and expressed confidence that their participation will help Odisha progress. Rayagada, known for its tribal culture and natural beauty, will benefit from a budget allocation of 68,881 crore to empower the tribal community through education, health, and livelihood opportunities. Investments from companies like Hindalco, Vedanta, and Utkal Alumina will transform the region into a modern industrial hub, creating employment opportunities. The Chief Minister directed that 80 per cent of jobs in new industries be reserved for local youth, emphasising the importance of local employment for prosperity. The CM presented awards to successful women from self-help groups. At an awards ceremony, the top three self-help groups in different categories were honoured with cash prizes. Chief Minister Majhi emphasised the fair's role in enhancing market connectivity to support the economic empowerment of women in self-help groups. The Subhadra Fair featured traditional art forms of SHGs were 120 stalls showcasing the achievements of women from self-help groups. The mela featured a marketplace with textiles, crafts, food, and eco-friendly products, highlighting the entrepreneurial talent of SHGs. The Food Court attracted many visitors with millet-based delicacies and regional flavours. Colourful cultural performances, including dance and music, will be held every evening during the fair. The local MLA praised the Chief Minister's development initiatives, highlighting the progress made in the education, health, and infrastructure sectors. The district administration ensured the event's success by organising it effectively. During his visit to Rayagada, the Chief Minister Majhi first attended the closing ceremony of the three-day 108th Kundiya Vedic Vishwa Shanti Dev Maha Yagya program organised by the Rayagada Coordinator, Yella Venkateswara Rao (Konda Babu). On the occasion, CM Majhi emphasised that spiritual practice is the best way to promote spiritual awakening and help everyone become better individuals. - ANI Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah flagged off six JKRTC buses from Jammu to major religious destinations across the country, aiming to improve connectivity and travel convenience. He emphasized efforts to strengthen the RTC, noting its role in supplying food grains and stating that providing more trucks will boost its earnings and operational base. Abdullah also reviewed recent heavy snowfall damage in Ramban, stating his administration is managing the challenges and that snow clearance on highways is progressing rapidly. Heavy snowfall in areas like the Pir Panjal range has been significant this season, with local residents noting it as the heaviest in nearly 25 years. Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah flags off JKRTC buses to major pilgrimage sites, aiming to strengthen transport and connectivity. Jammu, February 3 Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday announced efforts to strengthen the Road Transport Corporation, aiming to boost its efficiency. He flagged off six buses of the Jammu and Kashmir Road Transport Corporation (JKRTC) in Jammu, to major religious destinations across the country. The newly flagged buses are expected to improve connectivity and provide safer, more convenient travel options for commuters. Senior officials of the administration and JKRTC were present on the occasion. He highlighted the RTC's role in supplying food grains in the region and plans to provide more trucks to enhance its operations. Abdullah also mentioned that various religious pilgrimage sites are being supported, noting that Shahdara-Sharif is the only such site in J-K, with others located outside the state. "Every religion has been included in this. Only one pilgrimage site, Shahdara-Sharif, is in Jammu and Kashmir; all other pilgrimage sites are outside Jammu and Kashmir... There is growing demand, and we are making every effort to strengthen the RTC (Road Transport Corporation)... The RTC is responsible for supplying food grains in Jammu and Kashmir. The more trucks we provide them, the more they will earn, and their base will become stronger... We will strengthen them significantly so that the corporation runs efficiently", CM Omar Abdullah told reporters. On Sunday (January 25), Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah reviewed the damage caused by the ongoing snowfall in Ramban. Abdullah mentioned that the entire union territory had been waiting for the snowfall, which had caused trouble; however, he stated that his administration would address the challenges. The Chief Minister also informed that snow clearance on highways is progressing rapidly. "I had stopped just to assess the situation... We were waiting for this snow. The snow has caused us some trouble, but we'll manage to address it. The work to clear the snow from the road is progressing rapidly," Omar Abdullah told reporters. Meanwhile, several parts of Jammu and Kashmir, including Rajouri district, experienced heavy snowfall this season, with the Kotranka-Budhal belt in the Pir Panjal range receiving significant snowfall, making the region a major tourist destination. Local residents said that such heavy snowfall has not been seen in nearly 25 years. Deputy Commissioner Abhishek Sharma said that due to western disturbances, heavy snowfall has occurred in the Pir Panjal range, with maximum snowfall recorded in the Thanamandi and Kotranka sub-divisions. "During my visit to Thanamandi, basic facilities and essential services were reviewed, and their restoration was checked. Electricity restoration at Kotranka will be completed by tonight. - ANI Actress Payal Rajput has publicly shared her resolve to continue her acting career despite facing pressure to quit and industry challenges like nepotism. She reflected on her 12-year journey, acknowledging moments of doubt where privilege seems to overshadow talent. The actress is currently working on several projects, including the Telugu film 'VenkataLachimi' and a major Tamil film with Legend Saravanan. This Tamil venture, directed by R S Durai Senthilkumar, is an action-packed story based on real events set in Thoothukudi. Actress Payal Rajput opens up about industry struggles, favoritism, and her resolve to continue despite doubts. Details on her upcoming films. Chennai, Feb 3 Well known actress Payal Rajput, who has made a name for herself with her impressive performances in films like 'RX100', 'RDX Love' and 'Mangalavaram', has now revealed that there were people who wanted her to quit but that she was not going to give up. Taking to her X timeline to pen a post, Payal Rajput said, "They want me to quit, and I find myself questioning whether I should. But then I think about the hard work I've put in over the last 12 years. So I tell myself no. I may fail, but I won't give up.#justthinking." It may be recalled that last year, the actress had penned a post, expressing concerns about favoritism and nepotism overshadowing talent in the film industry. Taking to her timeline on the social media platform X, Payal Rajput had then said, "Being an actor is one of the toughest careers out there. Each day starts with the weight of uncertainty, as I step into a world where nepotism and favoritism often overshadow talent." The actress went on to admit that there were times when she wondered if her hard work and dedication would even get noticed in a world that was dominated by those with privilege. She wrote, "There are moments of doubt when I question whether my hard work and dedication can truly shine through in a landscape dominated by privilege. I watch as opportunities slip away to those with famous last names or a powerful agent, wondering if my talent is enough to break through." The actress had also added the hashtag #Struggleisreal to make it clear that the problem indeed existed in the film industry. Currently, Payal is working on a number of films including the Telugu film titled 'VenkataLachimi', which is being directed by Muni and which the makers intend to release in three languages - Telugu, Tamil and Hindi. Payal also plays the lead opposite Legend Saravanan in his second Tamil film that is being directed by well known director R S Durai Senthilkumar. While Payal Rajput stars opposite Legend Saravanan, the Tamil film will also feature actors Shaam and Andrea in pivotal roles. The yet-to-be-titled film is a grand-budget venture directed by R S Durai Senthilkumar, known for his blockbusters like 'Kakki Sattai,' 'Kodi,' and the recent success 'Garudan.' The first phase of shooting was completed in Chennai, while the second phase was in and around Panikka Nadar Kudiyiruppu in Thoothukudi, which happens to be Legend Saravanan's hometown. Sources say the new film promises to deliver a thrilling action-packed experience based on real events, set against the backdrop of Thoothukudi. Music for the film will be composed by Gibran, with cinematography by S. Venkatesh and editing by Pradeep. The art direction is managed by Durairaj, while Ambikapathi is the executive producer. - IANS Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at Parliament for an NDA Parliamentary Party meeting where he is to be felicitated for the recently announced India-United States trade deal. The development follows former US President Donald Trump's statement that the US agreed to reduce a reciprocal tariff out of "friendship and respect" for PM Modi. Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha witnessed a heated exchange after Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi cited an unpublished memoir by a former Army Chief regarding the 2020 China border tensions, leading to strong objections from BJP members. Speaker Om Birla ruled that Gandhi should not make references to the unpublished material, contributing to adjournments during the discussion on the motion of thanks to the President's address. PM Modi arrives for NDA meeting to be honored for India-US trade pact. Parliament session sees heated exchange over Rahul Gandhi's remarks on China standoff. New Delhi, February 3 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday arrived at the Parliament Annexe Building for the NDA Parliamentary Party meeting. During the meeting, he will be felicitated for the India-United States trade deal. This comes after Trump said that the US and India "have agreed to a trade deal," with Washington reducing the reciprocal tariff from 25 per cent to 18 per cent, "out of friendship and respect" for PM Modi. Union Home Minister Amit Shah also arrived for the meeting. BJP National President Nitin Nabin will also attend and be formally welcomed at the meeting. Union Ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and Bhupender Yadav, along with BJP leaders CR Patil and Giriraj Singh, also arrived for the meeting. AIADMK Rajya Sabha MP M Thambi Durai and BJP MP Ashok Chavan were also present. Today, both Houses of Parliament are scheduled to continue the discussion on the motion of 'Thanks to the President's address' during the ongoing Budget Session. In the Lok Sabha, the motion was moved by Sarbananda Sonowal and seconded by Tejasvi Surya. On Monday, the House witnessed a heated exchange between the NDA and the INDIA bloc MPs during Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi's address, during which he cited an unpublished memoir by former Army Chief General MM Naravane on border tensions with China. BJP members strongly objected to Rahul Gandhi's remarks, saying he violated the House's rules. In the Upper House, the BJP MP Sadananad Master moved the motion of thanks and, on Monday, delivered an emotional address, placing his artificial limbs on the bench. The motion comes in response to President Droupadi Murmu's address to the joint sitting of both the Houses to mark the beginning of the Budget Session on January 28. Lok Sabha on Monday witnessed repeated interruptions and was later adjourned for the day following a prolonged stalemate over LoP Rahul Gandhi's insistence on speaking about a specific matter pertaining to the standoff with China during border tensions in 2020 while referring to a report citing an unpublished memoir of former Army Chief General MM Naravane. The House, which began discussion on the motion of thanks on the President's Address, was adjourned till 3 pm, 4 pm and later for the day. Speaker Om Birla ruled that Rahul Gandhi should not make references to the unpublished book and article. When the House met at 3 pm, the Speaker urged the Leader of the Opposition to proceed with his speech without mentioning his intended reference. He said that the House works according to the rules. - ANI Union Minister Kiren Rijiju stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi provided strategic guidance to NDA MPs on upcoming state elections, emphasizing grassroots work to maintain the coalition's winning momentum. The NDA parliamentary meeting also celebrated recent historic trade agreements with the United States and the European Union, which are expected to benefit the common people. Rijiju accused Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi of disrupting parliamentary proceedings by raising the Ladakh standoff issue. The meeting served to discuss the Union Budget and the broader vision for a developed India by 2047. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju details PM Modi's advice to NDA MPs on grassroots work and celebrates new India-US, India-EU trade agreements. New Delhi, Feb 3 Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi guided NDA leaders on the upcoming state elections and advised them to continue working at the grassroots level to maintain the coalition's winning momentum. He also said that NDA MPs congratulated the Prime Minister for a series of trade agreements signed with developed nations, which, according to him, will "greatly benefit the common people". The NDA Parliamentary Party convened a meeting on Tuesday to deliberate on the Union Budget 2026 and the government's broader vision for Viksit Bharat 2047. The meeting was held at the Parliament Library Building in New Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda, BJP National President Nitin Nabin, along with other NDA ministers and Members of Parliament, were present at the meeting. Addressing mediapersons after the meeting, Rijiju said that the Bharatiya Janata Party formally welcomed its new national president, Nitin Nabin, during the session. "There was discussion about historic trade deals under Prime Minister Modi's leadership, including nine trade deals referred to as free trade agreements. The India-EU Free Trade Agreement was signed less than a week ago. Additionally, yesterday, a trade agreement with the United States was concluded, generating excitement among the public. Everyone here at the NDA Parliamentary Party meeting was also excited and congratulated the Prime Minister for it," he said. India and the United States reached a trade deal on Monday following a phone call between Prime Minister Modi and US President Donald Trump. This marked the second trade agreement concluded by India within the past ten days. "These historic trade deals with 39 developed countries show that under the leadership of the Prime Minister, all these developed countries want to coordinate and work with India in partnership. This will greatly benefit the lives of our common people. All are developed countries -- be it all member states of the EU, or Australia, New Zealand or the UK," Rijiju said. Earlier in the day, as Prime Minister Modi arrived for the meeting, he was congratulated by a group of reporters over the India-US trade deal. The Prime Minister responded with a smile and waved at reporters, saying, "Thank you!" Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister said that the Prime Minister had given "excellent guidance" to all NDA MPs. "He conveyed to all NDA colleagues that the NDA family is continuing to win elections one after another. Elections are not won in the air; to win, one must work on the ground and advance the country with good policies. Wherever the NDA government has been formed, whether at the central level, state level, or local bodies like corporations and councils, it is achieving success everywhere," Rijiju said. Rijiju also targeted the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of disrupting House proceedings on Monday by raising the Ladakh standoff issue while quoting from a magazine article linked to an "unpublished book" of former Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane. "Yesterday, there was a very good debate and discussion in the Rajya Sabha. The discussion in the Lok Sabha also started on a very positive note. However, due to Rahul Gandhi, the entire debate of the day was disrupted. A wonderful debate took place in the Rajya Sabha, with MPs actively participating and several important suggestions emerging. In both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, discussions started well, but everything came to a halt because of Rahul Gandhi," he said. "As a matter of procedure, everyone must follow the rules. We are all elected members, and the House functions according to the Rules of Business and the prescribed conduct. Therefore, no one should disrespect this, and everyone must adhere to it," he added. "With good intentions, even if one does not express their own points well in the debate, they should not harm others. In the Congress and opposition parties, several MPs debate well, give good suggestions, and want to speak, but their time is being wasted because of Rahul Gandhi," Rijiju said. "Congress can never appreciate anything good; it is their habit. They themselves cannot achieve anything good, and even if something beneficial happens for the country, they cannot tolerate it," he added. - IANS The BJP has issued a show-cause notice to its Anta Assembly by-election candidate, Morpal Suman, seeking an explanation within three days. The notice cites his public allegations that internal sabotage and delayed ticket announcements contributed to his defeat. Suman's viral letter blamed several party leaders and even questioned the Election Commission observer's impartiality. The party will decide on further action after reviewing his formal response. Rajasthan BJP issues show-cause notice to Anta Assembly candidate Morpal Suman for public allegations of internal sabotage in bypoll defeat. Jaipur, Feb 3 The Bharatiya Janata Party has issued a show-cause notice to Morpal Suman, the party's candidate in the Anta Assembly by-election, seeking an explanation within three days. The notice was issued by Rajasthan BJP President Madan Rathore on Monday. In the notice, Rathore said that it had come to the party's attention that Morpal Suman had made baseless and public allegations against several party office-bearers in connection with his defeat in the Anta bypoll. The letter noted that while the party provides internal forums for its party members to express their concerns verbally or in writing, Suman allegedly violated party discipline by airing such claims publicly, thereby damaging the party's image. The action comes after a letter purportedly written by Morpal Suman went viral on social media a few days ago. In the letter, Suman blamed several BJP leaders for his defeat, alleging that the loss was not solely due to the Opposition's strategy but also because of internal sabotage within the party. He claimed that there was an undue delay in the announcement of the party ticket, which led to confusion among party workers and weakened organisational coordination. Suman further alleged that some influential BJP leaders directly or indirectly worked in favour of the Congress candidate during the by-election. In the viral letter, Suman also questioned the role of the Election Commission's observer, alleging a lack of impartiality. He claimed that despite the alleged misuse of resources by the Congress and Independent candidates, no effective action was taken by the authorities. The BJP leadership has now sought a formal explanation from Morpal Suman on these allegations. Party sources said further action would be decided after reviewing Suman's response to the notice. - IANS Moscow will host the InteRussia Theatre Arts Fellowship in 2026 for young performers from BRICS+ nations. Organized by GITIS and partners, the program immerses participants in Russian theatrical traditions through workshops and performances. The initiative aims to foster international cultural exchange and professional networking. Over 500 fellows from more than 70 countries have already participated in the program since its 2021 launch. Russia invites young actors from BRICS+ nations for a 2026 theatre fellowship in Moscow, focusing on Russian techniques and international exchange. Moscow, February 3 In 2026, Moscow will once again host young theatre artists from BRICS+ nations for the InteRussia Theatre Arts Fellowship, a cultural and educational exchange initiative aimed at nurturing emerging talent in the performing arts. The programme is organised by the Russian Institute of Theatre Arts (GITIS) in partnership with the Gorchakov Fund, TV BRICS International Media Network, and the Autonomous Non-Profit Organisation "Mezhdunarodniki." It is conducted under Rossotrudnichestvo's flagship "New Generation" project with backing from the Presidential Grants Foundation. The fellowship is intended for advanced students of theatre and film institutions, as well as early-career professional actors. Scheduled to run from August 24 to October 3 in Moscow, the course offers participants the opportunity to immerse themselves in Russian theatrical traditions and contemporary practices. Fellows will engage in workshops focused on acting techniques, stage movement, and speech, while also attending performances at prominent Moscow theatres. The programme encourages interaction with established cultural figures and fosters collaboration among peers from different countries. At the conclusion, participants will showcase their skills through stage etudes and dramatic excerpts, as reported by TV BRICS. Grigory Zaslavsky, Rector of GITIS, expressed enthusiasm about continuing the fellowship, highlighting that the initiative goes beyond teaching by promoting meaningful exchange. According to him, the programme introduces international artists to Russia's distinctive acting methodologies, including psychological approaches and evolving interpretations of Stanislavski's legacy. He emphasised that the experience benefits both sides, as diverse perspectives and creative energies enrich the learning process. TV BRICS, represented by International Cooperation Director Aleksandra Burman, plays a key role as both co-organiser and primary media partner. The network supports humanitarian initiatives that strengthen international cooperation and ensure extensive global coverage of the fellowship. These efforts help build professional networks, encourage knowledge-sharing, and contribute to stronger ties among BRICS nations. Launched in 2021 by the Gorchakov Fund, the InteRussia fellowship seeks to deepen academic, cultural, and public diplomacy links between Russia and other countries. As Deputy Executive Director Sergey Orlov noted, the programme will celebrate its fifth anniversary in 2026, marking its steady growth and international recognition. More than 500 fellows from over 70 nations have already participated, with the theatre arts track standing out for its creativity and appeal. Recent editions included participants from countries such as Argentina, Brazil, India, China, South Africa, Tunisia, Mauritania, and Cuba. A documentary titled Worthy of Applause: New Roles for BRICS+ Actors was also produced to highlight the programme's impact. - ANI Zelenskyy on Russia's response to shelling: We usually try not to inform the aggressor of our plans Ukraine typically tries not to inform Russia of military moves, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated, responding to a question about whether it plans to reciprocate Russias attacks on the Ukrainian energy sector. "As for any of our military actions, we usually try not to inform the aggressor about our plans or our actions," Zelenskyy said during a press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Kyiv. As reported, Russian occupiers attacked residential and energy infrastructure in Kyiv and several regions with drones and missiles on the night of Tuesday, February 3. More than 1,100 homes in the capital were left without heat, with the situation most severe in Darnytsky and Dniprovsky districts. Restoration work is already underway. Shab-e-Barat, a major spiritual night in Islam, was observed at the Jammathul Saliheen Mosque in Coimbatore. The night, occurring on the 15th of Sha'ban, is dedicated to seeking Allah's forgiveness and mercy through prayer and worship. Devotees spend the night in Quran recitation, meditation, and visiting ancestral graves. The observance is a period of self-reflection and preparation for the upcoming holy month of Ramadan. Devotees gathered at Jammathul Saliheen Mosque in Coimbatore for Shab-e-Barat prayers, a significant night of forgiveness and mercy before Ramadan. Coimbatore, February 4 Shab-e-Barat was observed at Jammathul Shalihiheen Mosque in Coimbatore on Tuesday as many Muslims prayed for blessings and mercy. Shab-e-Barat, one of the significant spiritual nights in Islam, is observed on the night of the 15th day of the Islamic month of Sha'ban. The retired joint director of Medical Services spoke to ANI about the significance of the night: "Shab-e-Barat is the day Allah forgives people who totally surrender and beg for forgiveness." The night is widely known as the "Night of Forgiveness" or the "Night of Salvation" and holds great religious importance ahead of the holy month of Ramadan. On this occasion, Muslims engage in special prayers, seek forgiveness for past sins and pray for Allah's mercy and blessings. The night is believed to be a time when Allah forgives the sins of believers and bestows His grace upon them. Shab-e-Barat is also referred to by various names, such as Nisfu Sha'ban, Laylatul Bara'at, and Laylatul Mubarakah (Blessed Night). In Tamil, it is commonly known as "Bara'at Night". As part of the observance, devotees spend the night in worship, recitation of the Holy Qur'an, meditation and remembrance of Allah. Many visit the graves of their ancestors to offer prayers. Shab-e-Barat is regarded as an important spiritual occasion that encourages self-reflection, repentance, and preparation for the upcoming month of Ramadan. The word 'Shab' has Persian origins, meaning 'night', while 'Barat' is an Arabic word that stands for 'salvation' and 'forgiveness'. On the night of Shab-e-Barat, Muslims worldwide ask for forgiveness for their sins from Allah. This festival is marked with great enthusiasm across South Asia, including countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Central Asian countries such as Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan. Mosques are decorated, and many of them have periodic recitations and announcements throughout the day before preparing for the main events of the night. After sundown, Muslim devotees start their prayers with 'Isha Ki Namaz' and continue the prayer session throughout the night till the next day before eating Sehri, a pre-dawn meal before the fast for Shab-e-Barat. - ANI Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan paid a courtesy visit to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav at his official residence in Bhopal. The two leaders held discussions on a range of issues concerning the state's politics and mutual interests. The meeting has generated significant political speculation, given Chouhan's long tenure as CM before being succeeded by Yadav after the 2023 elections. Their talks also touched upon key welfare schemes like the 'Ladli Behna Yojana', which Yadav has expanded. Former CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan pays a courtesy visit to current Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, discussing state politics and key schemes. Bhopal, Feb 3 Union Agriculture Minister and senior BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan paid a courtesy visit to Chief Minister Mohan Yadav at his official residence in Bhopal on Tuesday. Chief Minister Yadav received Chouhan at his official residence warmly, following which the two leaders exchanged greetings and held discussions on a wide range of issues of mutual interest and Madhya Pradesh politics. "Today, at my residence in Bhopal, I had a cordial meeting with the Honourable Union Minister, my respected elder brother, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan ji," Chief Minister Yadav wrote on X. Union Minister Chouhan stated that during the courtesy visit to the Chief Minister's residence, he held discussions on various issues. "Today, I paid a courtesy visit to Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Mohan Yadav, at his residence in Bhopal and had a fruitful discussion on various topics," Chouhan wrote on X The meeting between Chouhan, a four-time former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, and his successor Mohan Yadav has sparked political interest and speculation within the state's political circles. Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who served as chief minister of Madhya Pradesh for over 16 years and earned the tag of 'Mama' (maternal uncle) due to his popular flagship schemes, especially 'Ladli Laxmi Yojana', financial assistance for newly born girl children, was replaced with Mohan Yadav after the BJP won the Assembly elections in Nov-Dec 2023. Notably, the 'Ladli Behna Yojana' under which the state government provides Rs 1500 per month to more than 1.25 crore women in Madhya Pradesh, was initiated during Chouhan's regime in 2023. The scheme was launched with a monthly instalment of Rs 1,000 per month to the beneficiaries. Mohan Yadav, however, increased the amount up to Rs 1500 from October last year. Chief Minister Yadav had earlier announced that the state government will increase the amount further up to Rs 3,000 per month by 2028. - IANS Sikyong Penpa Tsering of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile met with US Congress members to advocate for international support. He presented a book based on imperial records to counter China's historical claims over Tibet. The discussions focused on legislative initiatives and the sensitive issue of the Dalai Lama's future succession. US lawmakers affirmed the ongoing relevance of the Tibetan cause and supported the community's right to determine its religious leadership. Sikyong Penpa Tsering meets US representatives, presents research challenging China's Tibet claims and discusses the Dalai Lama's successor. Washington DC, February 3 Penpa Tsering, the current Sikyong of the Central Tibetan Administration, also known as the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, continued his advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill, holding meetings with senior members of the US House of Representatives to advance international support for Tibet, reported CTA. The CTA said the Sikyong, accompanied by staff of the Office of Tibet in Washington, DC, and the International Campaign for Tibet, met with Congressman Jim McGovern, Congressman James R. Walkinshaw, and Congressman Joe Wilson. During the meetings, the Central Tibetan Administration reported, Sikyong Penpa Tsering underscored the importance of credible scholarly research in challenging China's historical claims over Tibet. He highlighted Professor Hon-Shiang Lau's book, based on imperial Chinese records, which demonstrates that Tibet has never been part of China since antiquity. According to the CTA, copies of the book were presented to each lawmaker. The Sikyong noted that while the English edition was released last week, the Chinese edition has not been released by China. The discussions also covered ongoing legislative initiatives and issues related to the Dalai Lama's succession, the CTA said. Lawmakers were briefed on the recent Prague Declaration adopted by the Article 18 Alliance, which reaffirms freedom of religion or belief and supports the Tibetan Buddhist community's right to determine the Dalai Lama's successor without state interference. Members of Congress expressed their support and emphasised that the Tibetan issue remains relevant and is not merely a matter of the past, the Central Tibetan Administration added. In addition to his Capitol Hill engagements, the CTA noted that Sikyong Penpa Tsering will participate as a plenary speaker at the International Religious Freedom Summit and will speak on Tibetan democracy in exile and religious freedom at an event hosted by the Atlantic Council on 3 February 2026. The Tibet issue concerns Tibetans' struggle to preserve their cultural, religious, and political identity following China's control of Tibet since 1950. The Central Tibetan Administration advocates genuine autonomy, protection of human rights, religious freedom, and the right of Tibetans to determine their future peacefully. - ANI The South Gujarat Zone will host a Vibrant Gujarat Regional Conference in Surat on April 9-10, 2026. The second day will feature a dedicated MSME Conclave with seminars, panel discussions, and exhibitions. Awards will be presented to outstanding micro and small units across five categories, including those led by women and young entrepreneurs. The state's Industries Department is encouraging maximum participation from MSMEs and entrepreneurs in the region. South Gujarat Zone MSME Conclave in Surat on April 10, 2026, will feature awards, seminars, and B2B meetings for entrepreneurs. Gandhinagar, February 3 Inspired by the then Chief Minister and current Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit was laid on a strong foundation in Gujarat in 2003. After the successful organisation of 10 Vibrant Summits in the state earlier, the state government has, for the first time, organised "Vibrant Gujarat Regional Conferences" across four zones of Gujarat, the Chief Minister's Office said in a press release. As part of this initiative, the VGRC for the South Gujarat Zone will be organised in Surat on April 9 and 10, 2026. This zone includes the districts of Tapi, Surat, Navsari, Valsad, Dang, and Bharuch. During this two-day event, multi-dimensional programs such as seminars on various topics, B2B and B2G meetings, exhibitions, etc., will be organised. In addition, on the second day of the conference, that is, April 10, 2026, an 'MSME Conclave' has also been organised. This will include informative seminars, panel discussions, exhibitions, and vendor development programs. Furthermore, at this conclave, awards will be presented in a total of five categories, as listed below, to various micro and small units operating in the six districts included in the South Zone for outstanding performance. These include units with 51 per cent or more ownership by women entrepreneurs, first-generation entrepreneurs below the age of 35 years, scheduled caste entrepreneurs, scheduled tribe entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurs who do not fall under categories 1 to 4 mentioned above may apply under the General Category, for example, SEBC entrepreneurs, etc. In addition, MSME units that have delivered outstanding performance during the financial year 2024-25 and meet the eligibility criteria may apply for the above awards as per their respective categories. For further information in this regard, the concerned District Industries Centre should be contacted. The Industries Department of the state has appealed to the maximum number of MSME industries and entrepreneurs in South Gujarat to participate in this program. - ANI South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun is traveling to Washington to provide a detailed explanation of his country's parliamentary procedures regarding a bilateral trade deal. This follows a warning from US President Donald Trump about potentially raising tariffs on South Korean goods due to legislative delays. Cho plans to meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to seek understanding and ensure the implementation of agreements, including a $350 billion investment pledge. He downplayed concerns that the trade delay would affect separate negotiations on nuclear fuel capabilities. South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun heads to Washington to explain legislative delays on a trade deal after President Trump's tariff hike warning. Seoul, Feb 3 South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said Tuesday he plans to clearly explain to the United States parliamentary procedures in South Korea, after US President Donald Trump warned of a tariff hike citing a delay in Seoul's legislative process to implement a bilateral trade deal. Cho made the remarks ahead of departing for Washington, where he is scheduled to hold talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as Seoul seeks to allay doubts among the Trump administration on Seoul's pledge to carry out USD 350 billion of investment in the US, Yonhap News Agency reported. Trump's threat to raise the reciprocal tariff on South Korean goods to 25 per cent from 15 per cent has stoked concerns that the trade deal may be falling apart. Cho said earlier Trump's message does not mean the deal's collapse. "I will explain in detail to the US side and seek their understanding that the agreements reached between the two governments are in the process of being legislated in accordance with our National Assembly procedures," Cho told reporters at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. "I plan to deliver the same message to the secretary, other US government officials and especially US Congress," he said. Asked if the US may use the delay in the trade deal as leverage to push back the negotiations on expanding Seoul's uranium enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing capabilities, Cho played down such a possibility. "I will make sure we reach a good conclusion with Secretary Rubio to move in the direction of making efforts toward a swift implementation of the joint fact sheet," Cho added, referring to the summit document outlining the trade, security and other agreements. Cho is flying to Washington to attend a US-led ministerial meeting of like-minded countries on critical minerals supply chains, set for Wednesday (local time). - IANS Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia hailed the historic India-US trade deal as a unity of democracies fostering a stronger global order. The agreement aims to reshape innovation, strengthen supply chains, and reduce US tariffs on Indian goods from 25% to 18%. US President Donald Trump announced the deal, which also includes commitments for India to increase purchases of American products. Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked President Trump, emphasizing the benefit for 'Made in India' products and the Indian people. Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia welcomes historic India-US trade agreement, citing stronger global order, innovation, and reduced tariffs. New Delhi, February 3 Union Minister for Communications and Development of the North Eastern Region, Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, welcomed the landmark India-US trade deal, asserting that the agreement signals the unity of the world's two largest democracies to foster a 'stronger, more peaceful global order. In a post on X, the Union Minister declared that India and the USA, through the trade agreement, are set to reshape and rescale innovation, bolster supply chains, and deliver solutions that serve the wider world. "Stronger Together. Led by PM @narendramodi ji and @POTUS, this historic India-US trade deal marks the world's largest democracies coming together for a stronger, more peaceful global order.As partners with complementary strengths, India and the United States are set to reshape and rescale innovation, bolster supply chains and deliver solutions that serve not just our nations, but the wider world," said Scindia. He further stated that India-US trade deal opens new avenues for growth and shared prosperity. "This agreement opens new avenues for growth and shared prosperity. The reduction in tariffs on Swadeshi products is a significant step for our economy and for the aspirations of 140 crore Indians, while creating value for farmers, businesses, the workforce and consumers in both countries," added Scindia. Along with Union Minister Scindia, Union Minister of Consumer Affairs Prahlad Joshi also celebrated the landmark trade deal and congratulated PM Modi and President Droupadi Murmu for their strong commitment to enhancing India-U.S. strategic ties. He further declared that the deal will facilitate access to cutting-edge U.S. technology. "Grateful to PM Shri @NarendraModi ji and President @realDonaldTrump for their visionary and decisive leadership and their strong commitment to deepening India-U.S. strategic ties. India and the U.S. are natural allies. This agreement unlocks unprecedented opportunities for MSMEs, entrepreneurs and skilled professionals. It will also facilitate access to cutting-edge U.S. technology, strengthening India's growth and global competitiveness," said Joshi. Earlier, US President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with India on Monday (local time), months after Washington imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods in August 2025. Unveiled on Trump's social media platform Truth Social, the deal outlines significant tariff cuts and includes claims that India would halt Russian oil purchases. Earlier, Trump had levied a 50 per cent duty on India, with 25 per cent tied to crude imports from Russia, as administration officials asserted that India's oil buying supported Russia's war efforts. Trump, in his Truth Social post, wrote, "Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprorocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%. They will likewise move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO. The Prime Minister also committed to 'BUY AMERICAN,' at a much higher level, in addition to over $500 BILLION DOLLARS of US Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal, and many other products." Following Trump's post, Prime Minister Modi, on X, said it was wonderful to speak with his "dear friend President Trump" and expressed delight that "Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%". "Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement," PM Modi wrote in a post on X. - ANI Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense reported detecting two Chinese military aircraft sorties and six naval vessels operating around the island. The aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, entering the island's air defense identification zone. This military activity occurs amidst heightened regional tensions, partly fueled by recent remarks from Japan's leadership concerning Taiwan. Beijing consistently asserts that Taiwan is an inseparable part of China's territory. Taiwan's defense ministry reports Chinese military activity crossing the median line. The incident occurs amid heightened regional tensions over Taiwan's status. Taipei, February 3 Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense detected two sorties of Chinese military aircraft and six Chinese naval vessels around its territorial waters as of 6am on Tuesday. Both sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's northern and southwestern ADIZ. In a post on X, the MND said, "2 sorties of PLA aircraft and 6 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 2 out of 2 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's northern and southwestern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded." Earlier on Monday, the MND detected six PLAN vessels as of 6am (local time). In a post on X, the MND said, "6 PLAN vessel operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. ROC Armed Forces have monitored the situation and responded. Illustration of flight path is not provided due to no PLA aircraft operating around Taiwan were detected during this timeframe." Meanwhile, South Korea and Japan have agreed to resume their bilateral naval search-and-rescue exercise for the first time in nine years as part of efforts to promote military exchange, Seoul's defence ministry said, according to the country's state media. The meeting between the two US allies comes amid growing security threats from China and North Korea. Ties between Tokyo and Beijing had also deteriorated since late last year following Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks in which she suggested that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could be considered a "survival-threatening situation", which would permit Japan to take military action. Beijing considers Taiwan as its own territory and maintains its right to take control of the island one day, including by force. According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Taiwan is an integral and indivisible part of China, which has been separated from the mainland since 1949.Under its "one country, two systems", achieving China's complete reunification is a shared aspiration of all Chinese people, both within the country and abroad. The Communist Party of China and the Chinese government regard the fulfilment of this goal of peaceful reunification as a historic mission and have been working persistently toward it. - ANI Seen as model for constructive global engagement based on reciprocity US slashes tariffs on Indian goods from 50% to 18% The Tamil Nadu BJP has hailed a landmark India-US trade understanding as a decisive moment for bilateral relations and global trade dynamics. The deal involves the US slashing tariffs on Indian goods from punitive levels as high as 50% down to a reciprocal 18%, providing a major boost to key export sectors. In return, India has committed to progressively lower barriers for US goods and increase imports, particularly in energy and agriculture, deepening economic interdependence. The agreement is framed as a strategic victory born from personal diplomacy between the two nations' leaders, promoting global stability and shared prosperity. Landmark India-US trade understanding slashes tariffs, boosts exports, and deepens strategic ties. Analysis of the deal's impact on key sectors and global trade. Chennai, Feb 3 Tamil Nadu BJP spokesperson A.N.S. Prasad on Tuesday welcomed the landmark India-US trade understanding announced after a telephonic conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, describing it as a decisive moment that will reshape global trade dynamics and significantly strengthen bilateral relations between the world's two largest democracies. In a statement, Prasad said the agreement to slash US tariffs on Indian goods -- from levels as high as 50 per cent, including punitive duties, to a reciprocal rate of 18 per cent with immediate effect -- opens unprecedented opportunities for Indian exporters. He noted that the decision reflects mutual trust, strategic clarity, and strong personal diplomacy between the two leaders. According to Prasad, the tariff reduction will provide a major boost to Indian sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture, textiles, engineering goods, pharmaceuticals, and technology. "This breakthrough will directly benefit Indian youth, farmers, MSMEs, entrepreneurs, and manufacturers by expanding access to the American market, accelerating exports, and generating employment," he said, adding that the development aligns seamlessly with the Make in India vision. As part of the reciprocal framework, India has committed to progressively lower trade barriers on US goods, with a roadmap toward near-zero tariffs in select areas. Prasad highlighted that New Delhi's decision to increase imports from the United States -- particularly in energy, agriculture, and advanced technology -- will further deepen economic interdependence between the two nations. He also pointed to India's move to halt purchases of Russian oil as a significant strategic signal that underscores closer alignment with Washington. Describing the agreement as more than a commercial arrangement, Prasad said it sends a powerful global message. "When two major democracies choose cooperation over confrontation, it promotes global stability, fair trade, and shared prosperity," he said. The accord, he added, demonstrates how pragmatic diplomacy can convert challenges into opportunities in an uncertain global environment. Prasad praised the "intelligent and decisive leadership" of PM Modi and Trump, stating that their approach has elevated the India-US strategic partnership to new heights. He noted that the agreement sets a model for constructive international engagement based on reciprocity, trust, and long-term mutual benefit. Concluding his remarks, Prasad said the India-US trade breakthrough reaffirms both countries' roles as pillars of democracy, innovation, and economic opportunity, capable of shaping not just bilateral ties but the future direction of the global economy. - IANS The Madurai City Corporation has proposed a Rs 440 crore plan to the Tamil Nadu government to overhaul the city's sewage pumping stations and curb pollution in the Vaigai River. Residents and activists report that untreated sewage and solid waste continue to flow into the river from multiple locations, with over 50 discharge points identified. The plan includes modernizing aging infrastructure and initiating a Sewage Treatment Plant at a major discharge canal. Environmentalists warn that without fully functional treatment plants and coordinated action, the pollution crisis threatening public health and the ecosystem will persist. Madurai Corporation submits a Rs 440 crore proposal to overhaul sewage systems and tackle pollution in the historic Vaigai River. Chennai, Feb 3 Amid mounting complaints over unchecked sewage discharge and rampant dumping of garbage into the Vaigai River, the Madurai City Corporation has submitted a special proposal worth Rs 440 crore to the Tamil Nadu government to overhaul the city's pumping stations. The move is projected as a major step towards tackling a long-standing environmental and public health crisis affecting the historic Vaigai River. Despite multiple initiatives announced over the years, including periodic cleaning drives and efforts to prevent sewage mixing, residents and environmental activists maintain that untreated sewage and solid waste continue to flow into the river at several locations. Suresh Kumar, an environmental activist associated with a local river protection collective, said sewage inflow has been consistently observed from areas such as Vilangudi, Thathaneri, Aruldoss Nagar and near the Arapalayam check dam. "Pumping stations are present in these locations, but during peak hours, excess sewage is often released directly into the river. Many of these facilities are decades old and no longer adequate for the city's current load," he said, adding that pumping stations such as the one at Kuruvukaran urgently require modernisation. Residents echo similar concerns about solid waste dumping. Ramesh Anand, a long-time resident of Madurai, alleged that garbage dumping along the riverbed continues unabated. "One-off cleaning drives are not enough. There needs to be frequent, systematic removal of accumulated waste and invasive water hyacinths, which have now become a common sight along the river stretch," he said. Officials from the Water Resources Department (WRD) confirmed the scale of the issue. A senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said over 50 sewage discharge points have been identified within Madurai city limits. "All these locations have been formally flagged, and corrective measures are awaited from the city corporation. While water hyacinth removal is undertaken periodically, it is far from sufficient," the official noted. Responding to the criticism, a senior corporation official said the Rs 440-crore proposal focuses on revamping pumping stations and mains to curb direct sewage discharge. "Once implemented, the project will significantly reduce sewage entering the river. At the Panthalkudi canal, one of the major discharge points, a Sewage Treatment Plant will be initiated after the completion of ongoing works," the official said. Environmentalists, however, cautioned that without fully functional sewage treatment plants and coordinated action between the WRD and civic authorities, pollution of the river would persist, threatening both the ecosystem and public health. With the annual Chithirai festival approaching, activists have urged the authorities to fast-track the proposed works to prevent further degradation of the river. - IANS Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai informed the Lok Sabha that a total of 83 training institutions for the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) have been established across the country. The government has allocated Rs 755.42 crore for CAPF training infrastructure from 2020 to 2025, with the majority already spent. Madhya Pradesh hosts the highest number of these centers, with 15 institutions. In the latest budget, the Centre has allocated over Rs 1.16 lakh crore for CAPF establishment expenditures. Union MoS Home Nityanand Rai informs Lok Sabha of 83 CAPF training centers, Rs 755 crore allocated for infrastructure from 2020-2025. New Delhi, February 3 Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai, on Tuesday stated that 83 training institutions have been established across the country for the Central Armed Police Forces. In a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha, MoS Home said that from 2020 to 2025, the government has allocated Rs 755.42 crore for CAPF training infrastructure, of which Rs 743.46 crore has been spent. Nityanand Rai said, "A total number of 83 Training Institutions have been established all over the Country for the training needs of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF). Training is imparted using traditional and modern techniques, keeping in view the present and future challenges alongwith geographical conditions. Expansion, modernisation and upgradation of training centres are being done on a requirement basis." Of the 83 institutions, Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of centres at 15. "Further, purchase of motor vehicles, technical gadgets and creation of manpower for imparting training in CAPFs have been carried out from time to time. The training institutes impart efficient and effective training, which is evident from a number of successful operations of anti-terrorism, border security, anti-insurgency, co-operation, maintaining peace & order and left-wing extremism," the written reply read. On the question of a new CAPF training centre proposed in the country, particularly in Andhra Pradesh, including Vizianagaram district and the present status of such proposals, MoS Rai said, "CRPF has a training centre at Kalikiri where various types of training are imparted. At present, there is no proposal to establish a training centre in Vizianagaram district." In Budget 2026-27, the Centre has allocated Rs 1,16,789.30 crore for the establishment expenditures for the CAPF, as compared to Rs 1,12,636.16 crore in the revised Budget 2025-26. The provision for expenditure on CAPF includes the Central Reserve Police Force, National Security Guard, Border Security Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Central Industrial Security Force, Assam Rifles, Shashastra Seema Bal and the Departmental Accounting Organisations. - ANI Photo: President's Office / www.president.gov.ua The Russians once again disregarded American efforts by attacking energy and critical infrastructure last night. Ukraine will contact the United States regarding this matter, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated. "In this war, the Russians have once again disregarded the efforts of the American side. The US President requested, as you know, that we refrain from attacks on energy and critical infrastructure during the meeting of our negotiating teams. This [energy ceasefire] effectively began on Friday night, and today, in our opinion, the Russians broke their promise. So, either the Russians now believe there arent a full four days in a week, or theyre truly betting on war," Zelenskyy said during a press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Kyiv. The President noted that today marked an "anti-record" for the enemys use of ballistic missiles, specifically 28 cruise missiles and 43 missiles of various types that follow a ballistic trajectory and can only be intercepted by Patriot systems. "Everyone can see the weather, the most difficult days, the coldest days of this winter right now, and the attacks on infrastructure, primarily energy, to deprive people of electricity and heating, to deprive people of heat, and to cause blackouts. This is Russias true attitude toward everything thats happening. We will be in contact with the American side about this," the head of state emphasized. Indian Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra hailed a new US-India trade deal as a win for the partnership under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump. The agreement immediately reduces the US tariff on Indian goods from 25% to 18% and commits India to stop purchasing Russian oil. President Trump stated the deal includes India buying over $500 billion in US energy, technology, and agricultural products, linking it to goals of ending the war in Ukraine. Both leaders praised their strong personal relationship and commitment to taking the bilateral partnership to new heights. US-India trade deal slashes tariffs, aims to end Russian oil imports, and unlocks $500B in energy & tech purchases, heralding a new partnership phase. Washington, Feb 3 Indian Ambassador to the US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, on Tuesday hailed the trade deal between the two nations and said that the new announcements "herald an exciting new phase in our partnership". This came as India and the US reached a trade deal on Monday. Taking to X, the Indian Ambassador said, "A big WIN for a consequential partnership under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump. India and USA announce a trade deal creating vast new opportunities for the two economies and the people of our two great nations. Today's announcements herald an exciting new phase in our partnership." Earlier on Monday, the US President said that India and the United States had reached a trade deal, outlining key elements after a phone conversation with PM Modi, whom he described as "one of my greatest friends." In a detailed post on Truth Social, Trump said the agreement would immediately reduce the US reciprocal tariff on Indian goods from 25 per cent to 18 per cent, calling it a major shift in bilateral trade ties linked to energy cooperation and broader geopolitical goals. Trump said the two leaders discussed "many things, including Trade, and ending the War with Russia and Ukraine." He claimed that PM Modi agreed to stop buying Russian oil and to increase purchases from the United States and, potentially, from Venezuela. "This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week!" Trump wrote. According to Trump, the trade deal would take effect immediately. He said India would "move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO." Trump also said PM Modi is committed to "BUY AMERICAN" at a much higher level. He added that India would purchase "over $500 BILLION DOLLARS of US Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal, and many other products." "Our amazing relationship with India will be even stronger going forward," Trump wrote. "Prime Minister Modi and I are two people that GET THINGS DONE." PM Modi also took to X and said, "Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 per cent. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement." He said that when two "large economies" and the "world's largest democracies" work together, "it benefits our people and unlocks immense opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation". Hailing President Trump's "leadership" in advocating for global peace, stability, and prosperity, the Prime Minister said, "India fully supports his efforts for peace". "I look forward to working closely with him to take our partnership to unprecedented heights," PM Modi added. - IANS US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced a new trade deal with India that will increase exports of American farm products like nuts, cotton, and soybean oil to the Indian market. The announcement followed President Donald Trump's social media post unveiling the agreement, which also claims India will halt purchases of Russian oil. The Indian Congress party has demanded full details of the deal, questioning the impact of reducing tariffs to zero and opening the agriculture sector on Indian farmers and industry. The deal comes months after the US imposed tariffs on Indian goods linked to its imports of Russian crude oil. US ag secretary says deal will pump American farm goods into India. Congress demands details, questions impact on Indian farmers and industry. Washington DC, February 3 US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins on Tuesday said that as per the India-US deal, Washington will export more of its farm products to India. Rollins said that the deal will pump more cash in rural America. In a post on X, the Secretary said, "Thank you US President Donald Trump for ONCE AGAIN delivering for our American farmers. New US-India deal will export more American farm products to India's massive market, lifting prices, and pumping cash into rural America. In 2024, America's agricultural trade deficit with India was $1.3 billion. India's growing population is an important market for American agricultural products and today's deal will go a long way to reducing this deficit. America First victory on top of the dozens of deals for ag" India is yet to detail out the tenets of the Trade Deal with the United States. U.S. agricultural exports in 2025 reached approximately 1.7 billion USD according to USDA data. Demand was driven by tree nuts (almonds, pistachios), cotton, and soybean oil. The Agriculture Secretary's remarks followed US President Donald Trump's announcement of a trade deal with India, months after imposing 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods in August 2025. The agreement, unveiled on Trump's social media platform Truth Social, features significant tariff reductions and includes claims that India would halt purchases of Russian oil. Trump had earlier levied a 50 per cent tariff on India, with 25 per cent linked to crude imports from Russia, as administration officials repeatedly alleged that India's oil purchases helped finance Russia's war against Ukraine. Meanwhile, earlier in the day, Congress demanded the complete details of the India-US trade deal, raising questions over several key aspects such as the opening of the agriculture sector, the reduction of tariffs to "zero" and a pause on the purchase of Russian oil, as claimed by US President Donald Trump. In a post on X, Congress first questioned the manner of the deal announcement, then delved into the details shared by Donald Trump. The party said that reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers against the US to 'zero will "impact" India and also questioned how opening the agriculture sector would ensure the "security of farmers." "Just like the ceasefire, the announcement of the trade deal was also made by US President Trump. It has been stated that the trade deal is being done 'on Modi's request'," Congress said. "Trump says that India will move to reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers against the United States to 'zero'. It seems India has agreed to completely open our market for America. This will impact Indian industry, traders and farmers. There is talk of opening the agriculture sector for America in the statement as well. What exactly is the deal? How has the security and interests of our farmers been ensured?" they asked. - ANI The United Kingdom has imposed a new package of sanctions on ten Iranian individuals and one organization, citing their role in dealing with recent unrest. The sanctioned officials include Iran's Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni and several regional police and IRGC commanders. UK Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper condemned the "brutality and repression" faced by protesters and stated the sanctions aim to hold authorities accountable. The move follows similar sanctions by the United States and the European Union, while Iran has blamed the unrest on foreign interference. Britain imposes sanctions on 10 Iranian individuals, including Interior Minister, over role in crackdown on recent unrest. EU and US take similar action. London, Feb 3 Britain imposed another package of sanctions against ten individuals and an organization, blaming their role in dealing with the recent unrest in Iran, according to a statement by the country's foreign office. Those sanctioned include Iran's Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni, Police Chief in Lorestan Province Mohammad Reza Hashemifar, Public Security Police Chief Seyed Majid Feiz Jafari, Commander of Fars Province in Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Yadollah Bouali, as well as several other military and judicial personnel, according to the statement. Britain has already imposed more than 550 relevant sanctions on Iranian individuals and organizations, including the IRGC in its entirety, Xinhua news agency reported, quoting the statement. The move came after similar measures taken in recent days by the United States and the European Union. Since late December, weeks of protests over the sharp depreciation of the rial swept cities across Iran. The demonstrations, initially peaceful, escalated into clashes that caused casualties and damage to public property, including mosques, government buildings, and banks. "The Iranian people have shown extreme courage in the face of brutality and repression over recent weeks simply for exercising their right to peaceful protest," said UK Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper. "The reports and shocking scenes of violence that have been seen around the world are horrific," Cooper said, adding that this package of sanctions seeks to hold Iran's authorities "to account" for the crackdown. Tehran has blamed the unrest on the United States and Israel. In response to an anti-Iran resolution adopted by the European Parliament, Iran condemned it as "meddlesome." - IANS US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins welcomed the new US-India trade agreement, highlighting its potential to expand American farm exports and reduce the agricultural trade deficit with India. Energy Secretary Doug Burgum praised the deal for securing increased US energy purchases, calling it a result of energy diplomacy. The agreement, which followed a phone call between former President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also involves India committing to stop buying Russian oil. While former diplomat Evan Feigenbaum urged caution on the deal's ambitious targets, officials on both sides see it as a necessary reset for deeper cooperation. US Cabinet officials hail new trade pact with India, citing benefits for American farmers, energy producers, and a reset in bilateral relations. Washington, Feb 3 US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Energy Secretary Doug Burgum welcomed the US-India trade deal, citing benefits for farmers, energy producers and the broader US economy. Rollins said the agreement would expand US farm exports to India's large and growing market. "New US-India deal will export more American farm products to India's massive market, lifting prices, and pumping cash into rural America," she said. She noted that in 2024 the US agricultural trade deficit with India stood at $1.3 billion. Rollins said India's growing population makes it an important market for American farm goods and said the deal would go a long way toward reducing the deficit. She called the outcome an "America First victory." Burgum focused on energy ties and investment. "Dealmaker in Chief!" he said, praising President Donald Trump for securing increased US energy purchases. Burgum said the deal showed energy diplomacy at work and would strengthen international relationships while bolstering the US economy. Earlier, Trump said a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi led to the deal, cutting US tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent and easing Indian trade barriers on US products. Trump said India would also stop buying Russian oil and increase purchases of US energy, technology and agricultural products. He said the agreement would strengthen ties between the two countries and support efforts to end the war in Ukraine. Former US diplomat Evan Feigenbaum urged a measured response to the announcement. He said the previous situation in US-India trade ties was unsustainable and that reaching a deal was necessary. Feigenbaum said the 18 per cent tariff rate was better than earlier levels but warned tariffs could return as leverage on other issues. He also questioned whether India could realistically buy $500 billion worth of US goods in the near term, saying the figures should be viewed with caution. He said the deal puts the relationship in a better place than it was months ago but warned that trust lost during the recent standoff would take time to rebuild. The agreement follows months of strained ties over tariffs and energy policy. Officials on both sides say the deal is intended to reset relations and open the door to deeper cooperation across trade, energy and strategic sectors. - IANS The US Chamber of Commerce has welcomed announced progress on a trade deal between the United States and India. The deal includes a reduction of reciprocal tariffs from 25 percent to 18 percent. Chamber President Suzanne P. Clark congratulated both governments and expressed optimism this could lead to a more comprehensive agreement. The development follows a conversation between former President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who both praised the strengthened bilateral friendship. The US Chamber of Commerce applauds progress on a US-India trade deal, citing tariff reductions and stronger economic ties between the nations. Washington DC, February 3 The US Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday welcomed the progress of the trade deal between the United States and India, a development that American and Indian businesses have long been seeking. Commenting on the announcement, U.S. Chamber President and CEO Suzanne P. Clark congratulated both governments for moving ahead with measures aimed at reducing tariffs and non-tariff barriers. She said the steps would benefit companies and workers in both countries. "We congratulate the U.S. and Indian governments on their announcement to reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers that will benefit American and Indian companies and workers in both great nations," Clark said. She appreciated the efforts of Donald Trump and Narendra Modi, along with officials including Ambassadors Kwatra and Gor. Clark expressed optimism that the latest development could pave the way for a broader agreement. "We are optimistic that this is the first step toward a comprehensive trade agreement that will unlock even more private sector collaboration, and we look forward to reviewing the details of the deal," she added. She further said that the U.S. Chamber, its U.S.-India Business Council, and its members have been strong supporters of closer trade ties between the two countries. "We look forward to partnering with both governments to implement today's announcement," Clark noted. Last year, Clark travelled to Delhi and Mumbai, where she held meetings with Indian government officials and business leaders and called for a trade deal with India. She highlighted that the U.S.-India economic relationship is among the most consequential in the world and said a trade agreement would benefit both economies as well as global security. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business organization, representing companies of all sizes across every sector of the economy. Trump on Monday, said that the US and India "have agreed to a trade deal" with Washington reducing the reciprocal tariff from 25 per cent to 18 per cent "out of friendship and respect" for PM Modi. In his Truth Social post, Trump referred to his conversation with PM Modi earlier in the day, noting that the Prime Minister was one of his closest friends and a powerful, respected leader of India. Following Trump's post, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on X, said it was wonderful to speak with his "dear friend President Trump" and expressed delight that "Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%"."Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement," PM Modi wrote in a post on X. - ANI The US Chamber of Commerce has welcomed the announced trade deal between the United States and India, calling it a significant step forward. The agreement involves lowering US tariffs on Indian goods and commits India to major purchases of American energy and agricultural products. Key figures like President Trump and Prime Minister Modi are credited with providing the leadership for the breakthrough. While details are pending, business groups are optimistic this creates momentum for a comprehensive bilateral trade agreement. US Chamber of Commerce praises US-India trade deal reducing tariffs, a key step toward a comprehensive bilateral agreement and $500B target. Washington, Feb 3 The US Chamber of Commerce welcomed the announcement of a trade deal between the United States and India, calling it a long-sought step for businesses in both countries. US Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Suzanne P. Clark said the announcement marked important momentum. "We congratulate the US and Indian governments on their announcement to reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers that will benefit American and Indian companies and workers in both great nations," Clark said. She praised the leadership behind the effort. "We appreciate the efforts of President Trump and Prime Minister Modi, and their officials, including Ambassadors (Vinay) Kwatra and (Sergio) Gor," she said. Clark said the Chamber was optimistic the move would lead to more progress. "We are optimistic that this is the first step toward a comprehensive trade agreement that will unlock even more private sector collaboration," she said, adding that the Chamber looks forward to reviewing the details. Clark said the Chamber and its US-India Business Council strongly support the effort. "The Chamber, our US-India Business Council, and our members are strong champions of this effort," she said. "We look forward to partnering with both governments to implement today's announcement." Clark traveled to Delhi and Mumbai last year and met Indian officials and business leaders. She had called for a trade deal and said the US-India economic relationship is among the most consequential in the world. She said a deal would benefit both economies and global security. Economist Steve Hanke offered a mixed reaction on social media. "In exchange for having its tariffs lowered, India commits to buying $500 billion worth of US energy, technology, agriculture, and more," Hanke wrote. Hanke said tariffs remain a concern. "US tariffs on India are still way too high," he said. In a separate post, he noted that the United States would cut tariffs on Indian goods from 25 per cent to 18 per cent, and that India would stop buying Russian oil. In a statement, USISPF said it "enthusiastically welcomes President Donald J. Trump's announcement following his conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which reaffirms their shared commitment to deepen the US-India economic partnership and advance a bilateral trade agreement." The forum described the reduction of India's reciprocal tariff from 25 per cent to 18 per cent as "an important and positive first step," even as it noted that the details of the agreement are still to be finalised. "While the agreement's specifics are pending, today's announcement signals strong political will on both sides to move toward a comprehensive US-India Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) that addresses tariffs, market access, non-tariff barriers, and other trade-related issues across a wide range of sectors," the statement said. According to USISPF, a bilateral trade agreement would "deliver meaningful benefits for businesses, workers, and consumers in both countries," while also strengthening supply chains and improving overall economic resilience. The forum emphasised that both governments have made clear that the announcement marks the beginning of a longer negotiating process. "Both governments have made clear that this is only the beginning, with additional phases and negotiations anticipated in the months ahead," USISPF said, adding that it was encouraged by the "constructive momentum" created by the latest announcement. USISPF reiterated its commitment to working closely with both the Government of India and the US Government to advance the shared objective of expanding bilateral trade toward the $500 billion target. "A stronger US-India trade and investment relationship is not only critical to both economies but also central to advancing a stable, resilient, and rules-based Indo-Pacific," the statement said. - IANS US lawmakers from both parties have welcomed a new trade deal between the United States and India, framing it as a strategic reset in bilateral ties. They praised the agreement for moving past a period of tariff tensions and for boosting economic and energy cooperation. The deal is seen as providing increased US market access to India's economy while strategically reducing India's energy reliance on Russia. Several senators explicitly linked the pact to broader efforts to counter Russian aggression and support Ukraine. US lawmakers from both parties welcome new US-India trade agreement, calling it a boost for trade, energy security, and geopolitics. Washington, Feb 3 US lawmakers from both parties welcomed the new trade deal between the United States and India, calling it a reset in ties between the world's two largest democracies and a boost for trade, energy security, and geopolitics. Indian American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi said the agreement marked an important shift after a difficult period. "The new US-India trade deal is an important step forward for one of America's most vital partnerships," he told IANS. Krishnamoorthi said stronger trade with India would help both sides. "Deepening trade with India, a fellow democracy and strategic partner, will support workers, businesses, and innovation in both countries," he said. He added that the deal followed a phase when sweeping tariffs had "unnecessarily strain(ed) the relationship and harm(ed) both economies." The agreement, he said, allows both countries to "move past that chapter." US Senator Steve Daines called the deal a clear win. "Today's agreement is a tremendous step in the right direction, a win for all sides," Daines said, praising President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Daines said India's market access matters for the US economy. "India is the fourth largest economy in the world and increased access to its market will benefit the American economy, including American agriculture," he said. He also pointed to energy ties, saying India's decision to buy oil from the United States instead of Russia sends a strong global signal. He said more work remains on trade imbalances. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch said the agreement was a major achievement. "Congratulations to President Trump for a superb accomplishment," Risch said. He welcomed India's move to reduce trade barriers and called India a close US partner with a strong diaspora presence. Risch said the deal also has strategic value. He said India's pledge to buy American would help counter Russian aggression and support efforts to end the war in Ukraine by cutting support to Russia's energy sector. Senator Lindsey Graham linked the deal to pressure on Moscow. "Well played, President Trump," Graham said. He said forcing Russia's energy customers to rethink their choices was beginning to work. Graham said India had "more than earned this reduction" and said other countries buying Russian energy should follow India's lead. "Putin will only come to the table when the pain is so great," he said. The trade deal comes as Washington and New Delhi seek closer alignment on trade, energy and the Indo-Pacific. - IANS Major US media outlets have reported that the newly announced India-US trade deal marks a significant step forward in easing bilateral tensions. The agreement involves the US cutting tariffs on Indian goods and India committing to halt purchases of Russian oil in favor of US imports. However, publications like The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times highlight that formal documents are lacking and analysts are skeptical about full implementation. The consensus is that while the deal stabilizes relations, its real impact depends on promises turning into concrete action. Major US outlets report the trade deal eases tensions, cuts tariffs, and addresses India's Russian oil imports, but warn key details remain unresolved. Washington, Feb 3 Major US media outlets said the India-US trade deal marks progress after months of tension, but warned that many details remain unclear. Fox News reported that President Donald Trump announced the agreement after a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The network said the deal would cut US tariffs on Indian goods from 25 per cent to 18 per cent. It also cited Trump's claim that India would reduce trade barriers and stop buying Russian oil, shifting purchases to the United States. Fox News linked the announcement to broader geopolitical issues, including the war in Ukraine, and said the move followed months of pressure over India's energy ties with Russia. The Wall Street Journal said the deal was aimed at easing trade tensions after a long standoff. The paper reported that India agreed to halt Russian oil purchases and boost US imports, while Washington agreed to lower tariffs. The Journal noted that the White House had not yet released formal documents to implement the tariff changes. It also said some major Indian exports, including pharmaceuticals and electronics, had already been largely exempt from earlier tariffs. The New York Times described the agreement as short on details but potentially significant. The paper said the deal appeared to roll back some of the steep tariffs imposed last year and could help reduce tensions between the two countries. The Times reported skepticism, saying analysts questioned whether India would fully stop buying Russian oil and whether the remaining 18 per cent tariff would still weigh on businesses. The Washington Post said the agreement helps stabilise ties after months of diplomatic strain. The paper called the tariff cut a "much-needed boost" for both Washington and New Delhi, while noting that key terms remain unresolved. Most outlets said the deal is a step forward, but stressed that its impact will depend on how quickly promises turn into action. - IANS The United States has agreed to a major trade deal with India, slashing its tariff on Indian goods to 18% from the current 50%. In exchange, India will halt purchases of Russian oil and lower its trade barriers while committing to buy American energy and other products. The agreement was announced by US President Donald Trump following a call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who welcomed the reduced tariffs for "Made in India" products. This new rate places India among the nations with the lowest US tariff rates, comparable to close allies like the UK and Japan. US cuts tariffs on Indian goods to 18%, placing India among lowest-tariff nations. Deal involves India halting Russian oil purchases and buying American. New Delhi, Feb 3 With the new trade deal with the US in place, India is now among the nations with one of the lowest tariff rates being imposed by the Donald Trump administration compared with other Asian economies such as China, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Vietnam. The US tariff on Indian goods comes close to those being levied on America's closest allies, which include the United Kingdom (10 per cent), the European Union (15 per cent), Switzerland (15 per cent), Japan (15 per cent), and South Korea (15 per cent). Some of the countries facing the highest tariffs from the US include Brazil (50 per cent), Myanmar (40 per cent), Laos (40 per cent), China (37 per cent), and South Africa (30 per cent). India and the United States have agreed to a trade deal under which Washington will slash its tariff on Indian goods to 18 per cent from the current 50 per cent in exchange for New Delhi halting Russian oil purchases and lowering trade barriers, US President Trump said. The American leader announced the deal on social media following a call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, noting that India would now buy oil from the US and potentially Venezuela. Prime Minister Modi said he was delighted that "Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 per cent". "Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 per cent. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement," PM Modi said. The Prime Minister said that when two large economies and the world's largest democracies work together, it benefits the people and "unlocks immense opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation". The US has decided to scrap the punitive 25 per cent duty on all imports from India over its purchases of Russian oil. PM Modi also committed India to "BUY AMERICAN at a much higher level," in addition to buying more than $500 billion worth of US energy, including coal, along with technology, agricultural and other products, Trump said on social media. "They will likewise move forward to reduce their tariffs and non-tariff barriers against the United States to ZERO," Trump said of India. Until Trump returned to office and raised US tariff rates to double-digit levels last year, India had some of the world's highest tariffs, with a simple applied rate of 15.6 per cent and an effective applied tariff of 8.2 per cent, according to World Trade Organisation data. Trump's Truth Social message provided few details, including on the start date for the lower tariff rates, the deadline for India to end Russian oil purchases, trade barrier reductions and which US products India had committed to purchasing. - IANS The Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, under RINL, has returned to profitability, reporting a Rs 54 crore profit in January 2026. This turnaround is attributed to strong support from both the Central and Andhra Pradesh state governments, including significant financial assistance and help with utilities. The plant's daily hot metal production has more than doubled, reaching 19,401 tonnes, with capacity utilisation hitting a record 94%. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has directed officials to implement new policies to build on this success and further strengthen the public sector enterprise. Visakhapatnam Steel Plant earns Rs 54 crore profit in Jan 2026, achieving 94% capacity utilisation with support from Central and Andhra Pradesh governments. Amaravati, Feb 4 Public sector enterprise Visakhapatnam Steel Plant is back on the path to profitability with the support of the Central and Andhra Pradesh governments, officials informed Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday. Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, claimed to have achieved unprecedented progress in a year-and-a-half, earning a profit of Rs 54 crore in January 2026. The Chief Minister held a review meeting on the progress of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant at the Secretariat on Tuesday. Union Steel Ministry Secretary Sandeep Poundrik, Vizag Steel Plant CMD Manish Raj Gupta, Chief Secretary K. Vijayanand, and other senior state government officials attended the review. The plant's CMD explained to the Chief Minister that with the continuous support from the Central and state governments, the plant has overcome its past losses and is currently producing 19,401 tonnes of hot metal per day. He stated that in the second quarter of 2024-25, they were able to produce only 9,215 tonnes per day. Officials informed the Chief Minister that production has increased significantly as all three blast furnaces are now fully operational. They stated that the steel plant's capacity utilisation has reached a record high of 94 per cent. They added that last year, they were able to operate at only 45 per cent of their production capacity. It was explained that with the support provided by the state government in various areas such as taxes, electricity dues, and water supply, the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant has moved from a phase of financial losses to profitability. They stated that with the Rs 11,440 crore assistance provided by the Central government, the steel plant has stabilised and is achieving good results. It was also revealed that RINL's credit rating has improved. Responding to this, the Chief Minister instructed the officials to introduce new policies in all departments to further strengthen the steel plant. He said that this success was possible only with the cooperation of the workers, employees, officials, and the Central and state governments. - IANS Photo: President's Office / www.president.gov.ua At the end of the last meeting in Abu Dhabi, the USA proposed de-escalation steps, including ending attacks on critical infrastructure, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. "After the meeting in Abu Dhabi, the American side proposed de-escalation steps at the end of the meeting. They called de-escalation not targeting energy infrastructure. Frankly, they raised the issue of not targeting other, critical infrastructure," Zelenskyy said during a press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Kyiv. According to the president, Russia delayed its attack on Ukraine, increased the number of missiles and drones, and launched the strike during the coldest days. "That is, I wouldnt say anyone gave us anything. I dont think thats how it works," he noted, adding that the Russians were hit with 1.5 times more missiles and drones than they could muster at the time. The head of state emphasized that US President Donald Trumps proposal was important, particularly to demonstrate that de-escalation steps were underway and to begin the next meeting of the teams on that basis. "We will certainly support de-escalation steps if similar proposals are made by the Americans," Zelenskyy noted. The ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute celebrated its 79th Foundation Day with a public open house. The star attraction was the massive skeleton of a Bryde's whale, recovered from a stranding, displayed at the newly opened Marine Megafauna Museum. Visitors explored rare specimens, interactive exhibits on marine life, and gained insights into sustainable fisheries and conservation. The event also featured a career workshop where students interacted with the institute's director and scientists. A 14-metre Bryde's whale skeleton and marine mammal songs were the highlights at CMFRI's Foundation Day open house, drawing crowds to its new museum. Kochi, Feb 3 The towering skeleton of a 14-metre-long Bryde's whale and the haunting songs of marine mammals recorded deep underwater emerged as star attractions at the open house exhibition organised by the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute as part of its 79th Foundation Day celebrations held here. The whale skeleton, recovered from a Bryde's whale that stranded on Kozhikode beach in October 2023, drew large crowds and left visitors visibly awestruck. Displayed at the newly inaugurated Marine Megafauna Museum on the CMFRI campus, the exhibit quickly became the focal point of the celebrations. Students, families and marine life enthusiasts gathered around the massive structure as scientists explained the biology, behaviour and ecological importance of large marine mammals, while also stressing the need for their conservation. The CMFRI opened its doors to the public on Tuesday, offering a rare glimpse into the world of marine biodiversity and fisheries research. The National Marine Biodiversity Museum was another major draw, with rare specimens such as sunfish and oarfish receiving special attention. The museum also showcased iconic marine species, including giant clams, whale sharks, humphead wrasse and a variety of deep-sea organisms, highlighting the richness of India's marine ecosystems. Several research divisions set up interactive exhibits that introduced visitors to lesser-known aspects of marine life. A wide range of organisms -- sharks, rays, diverse fish species, shrimps, crabs, squids, octopus and pearl oysters -- were on display, sparking curiosity among visitors of all ages. Demonstrations on mariculture technologies and traditional fishing gears added a practical dimension to the exhibition. Environmental concerns such as marine conservation, biodiversity loss and sustainable fisheries management were also highlighted, reflecting the CMFRI's focus on balancing resource use with long-term ecological health. Visitors were also given access to key facilities, including laboratories, hatcheries and the institute's library, offering insight into the scale and depth of the institution's research work. Adding to the outreach effort, the CMFRI organised an interactive workshop on career opportunities in agriculture and allied sciences. Students interacted directly with CMFRI Director Dr Grinson George and a panel of scientists, gaining guidance on academic pathways and careers in marine and fisheries sciences. The open house underscored the CMFRI's role not only as a premier research institution but also as a bridge between science and the public, fostering awareness and appreciation of the oceans and their living wealth. - IANS State-level industry bodies across India have welcomed the new India-US trade deal, calling it a landmark achievement that will significantly boost exports. The agreement provides substantial tariff relief, with India receiving a preferred rate of 18%, improving competitiveness against countries like China and Vietnam. Key export sectors like aquaculture from Andhra Pradesh and engineering from Coimbatore, which were severely impacted by previous high tariffs, are expected to revive and gain greater US market access. Industry leaders credit the agreement for strengthening India's global trade position and enhancing economic ties with the United States. State industry bodies welcome India-US trade pact, citing tariff relief for shrimp, textiles, and engineering exports, boosting global competitiveness. New Delhi, February 3 State-level industry bodies across India have welcomed the India-US trade deal, calling it a significant boost for exports and saying it will make our industries far more globally competitive. Potluri Bhaskar Rao, President of the Andhra Pradesh Chamber of Commerce, described the agreement as "wonderful news for the Indian economy," highlighting the United States' status as one of India's top three trade partners, alongside China and the UAE. He noted that India already has trade agreements with the UAE and the European Union, and the latest pact with the US further strengthens the country's global trade position. "Nearly USD 130 billion in bilateral trade takes place between India and the USA. Due to 50% tariffs, India was at a disadvantage for the last 8-9 months, severely impacting several sectors," Rao said. He pointed out that Andhra Pradesh, a major exporter of aqua products, was particularly affected. "Shrimp exports worth nearly Rs 20,000 crore originate from Andhra Pradesh, with about 80% going to the US market. The high tariffs had a huge impact." According to Rao, other sectors, such as rice, agro commodities, textiles, electronics, mobile manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology, also faced challenges. "The new agreement provides substantial relief, especially as India has now been given a preferred tariff treatment of 18%, compared to 20% for countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Vietnam, and 34% for China," he said. Echoing similar sentiments, Rajesh B. Lund, President of the Chamber of Commerce, Coimbatore, said the industry has "warmly welcomed" the US tariff reductions announced under the new trade initiative. "This is a landmark achievement, and we wholeheartedly appreciate the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose efforts have opened major opportunities for Indian industry," Lund said. He emphasised that Coimbatore's strong base in engineering, textiles and manufacturing is expected to gain greater access to the US market. "The agreement will make our industries far more globally competitive and give a significant boost to the regional economy," he added. Industry bodies believe the agreement will enhance India's export competitiveness, revive affected sectors, and strengthen economic ties between India and the United States. - ANI Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel lauded the new India-US trade agreement, stating it will significantly strengthen the Make in India initiative by expanding market access. The deal, announced by US President Donald Trump, reduces US tariffs on Indian goods from 25% to 18%. Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked Trump, expressing delight that Made in India products will benefit from the reduced tariff. US officials note that while a framework is in place, key implementation details of the agreement are still awaited. US reduces tariffs on Indian goods to 18% in a new trade deal praised by Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel and PM Modi for strengthening Make in India. Gandhinagar, February 3 Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Tuesday expressed happiness over the announcement of the India-United States trade deal under which Washington has reduced tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent. In a post on X, Patel noted that the agreement would significantly bolster the 'Make in India' initiative by expanding market access and creating fresh opportunities for MSMEs, farmers, youth, and businesses in both nations. Extending his congratulations to PM Modi for facilitating the deal, the Gujarat CM stated that this landmark agreement and the resulting tariff reductions are truly great news for both nations. "A historic step forward in India-US relations. Under the visionary leadership of Hon'ble PM @narendramodi Ji, the landmark India-US trade agreement and reduced tariffs on Made in India products are truly great news for both nations. This will significantly strengthen #MakeInIndia, expand market access, and create fresh opportunities for Indian MSMEs, farmers, youth, and businesses on both sides. When the world's largest democracies work together, it accelerates growth, innovation, and shared prosperity. Congratulations to Hon'ble PM on this major milestone for India's economic journey," said Patel. Earlier, US President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with India on Monday (local time), months after Washington imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods in August 2025. Unveiled on Trump's social media platform Truth Social, the deal outlines significant tariff cuts and includes claims that India would halt Russian oil purchases. Earlier, Trump had levied a 50 per cent duty on India, with 25 per cent tied to crude imports from Russia, as administration officials asserted that India's oil buying supported Russia's war efforts. Trump, in his Truth Social post, wrote, "Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprorocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%. They will likewise move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO. The Prime Minister also committed to 'BUY AMERICAN,' at a much higher level, in addition to over $500 BILLION DOLLARS of US Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal, and many other products." "Our amazing relationship with India will be even stronger going forward. Prime Minister Modi and I are two people that GET THINGS DONE, something that cannot be said for most. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" Trump said. Following Trump's post, Prime Minister Modi, on X, said it was wonderful to speak with his "dear friend President Trump" and expressed delight that "Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%". "Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement," PM Modi wrote in a post on X. But as the United States and India move toward finalising a newly announced trade agreement, US International Development Finance Corporation Deputy CEO Nisha Biswal noted that while months of negotiations have shaped much of the framework, key implementation details are still awaited. "Since we have not seen any implementation guidance or details, we have to wait and see what that looks like. The US and India have been negotiating text-based agreements for many months, so a lot of these details have already been worked out by the two negotiators. Whether the terms remain the same or shift in the final stretch of the agreement is something we need to watch for," Biswal said. - ANI Due to scheduled maintenance from Saturday, March 15, 2025, at 10 PM to Sunday, March 16, 2025, at 2 AM, there may be interruptions for our News Gazette Digital subscribers. During this time frame, please click on any News Gazette website content without logging into your News Gazette Digital subscription account. Thank you for your patience during this scheduled maintenance. Photo: https://www.president.gov.ua/news/all The PURL program has provided about 75 percent of the missiles for the Patriot system and 90 percent for other air defense systems, and NATO is working to ensure the rapid delivery of additional equipment, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said. Since we started PURL last summer, it has supplied around 75% of all missiles for Ukraines Patriot batteries and 90% of the missiles used in other air defence systems. I know that more is urgently needed. And we are working to ensure that more comes quickly. Through PURL, and through every means possible, Rutte said during a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv. Rutte announced a Ramstein meeting next week to resolve the issue, and will also meet with Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov on Tuesday. The NATO Secretary General assured Ukraine of his support today and in the years to come. We all support your sovereignty, your security and your pursuit of peace. We all want to see the war come to a just and lasting end. And we are committed to ensuring you have what you need to defend today and secure an enduring peace for the future, he emphasized. "Every year about this time, I receive unsolicited requests from frantic people begging me to unknot their love entanglements. With a Ph.D. in Love Dynamics and as current president of planet Lovetron, I feel a duty to give advice to the love-troubled. Here are my most recent questions and answers." "During the almost constant state of drunkenness, Mom would send us to school at twilight, thinking it was daybreak and she would forget to fill our sandwiches with anything and I would oftentimes bite into a sandwich consisting of two pieces of bread alone, unattached to peanut butter and jelly or cheese or meat." The familiar labels "night owl" and "early bird," long used in sleep research, don't fully capture the diversity of human internal clocks, a new study has found. The McGill University-led study published in Nature Communications found the two sleep-wake patterns, called chronotypes, contain a total of five distinct biological subtypes, each associated with different patterns of behavior and health. A chronotype is based on the parts of a 24-hour period when a person naturally feels most alert or ready to sleep. Previous research has linked late chronotypes to worse health outcomes, but results have often been inconsistent. The new findings help explain why, the authors said. Rather than asking whether night owls are more at risk, the better question may be which night owls are more vulnerable, and why." Le Zhou, lead author, PhD student in McGill's Integrated Program in Neuroscience A broader spectrum of sleep types Using AI, researchers combined brain imaging with questionnaires and medical records from more than 27,000 adults in the U.K. Biobank. The work drew on computational resources from the McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, and contributions from collaborators at Universite de Montreal and the University of Oxford. Their analysis revealed three types of night owls and two types of early birds. One group of early birds had the fewest health problems overall, while the other was closely tied to depression. As for night owls, one performed better than other groups in cognitive tests but had more emotional-regulation challenges. Another group showed a tendency toward risk-taking behaviors and cardiovascular problems, while a third was more likely to have depression, smoke and face higher risks of heart disease. "These subtypes are not defined only by bedtime or wake-up time. They reflect a complex interaction of genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors," said senior author Danilo Bzdok, Associate Professor in McGill's Department of Biomedical Engineering and Canada CIFAR Artificial Intelligence Chair at Mila. Rather than ranking sleep types as better or worse, the researchers highlight how risks and strengths are distributed differently across the five profiles. Personalized approach to sleep support A more nuanced understanding of sleep profiles can help explain why the same sleep schedule can affect people differently, shifting research and sleep support away from one-size-fits-all approaches. "In today's digital and post-pandemic era, sleep patterns are more diverse than ever," Zhou said. "Understanding this biological diversity could eventually help inform more personalized approaches to sleep, work schedules and mental health support." The team is now turning to genetic data to determine whether chronotype subtypes have biological roots from birth. About the study "Latent brain subtypes of chronotype reveal unique behavioral and health profiles across population cohorts" by Le Zhou and Danilo Bzdok et al., was published in Nature Communications. This research was supported by the Brain Canada Foundation, the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Healthy Brains, Healthy Lives initiative, Google, the CIFAR Artificial Intelligence Chairs program and the China Scholarship Council. Eczema is a group of inflammatory and chronic skin conditions, and it is the most common skin disease among older people. As many as one in two people aged over 60 suffer from some form of eczema. A large population-based study conducted at the University of Oulu shows that the condition can have a significant negative impact on the quality of life of older adults. Typical symptoms of eczema include itching, redness, as well as local pain and burning sensations. Among older people, the most common form is asteatotic eczema, also known as xerotic or dry skin eczema. The next most common forms are seborrhoeic eczema, or dandruff dermatitis, and hand eczema. The University of Oulu study examined the effects of eczema on the quality of life of older people in northern Finland. The research was based on data from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort and an associated health study targeting the living parents of individuals born in 1966. Information on health, skin diseases and quality of life was collected via questionnaires, and some participants also underwent a full-body skin examination. The questionnaire was sent to more than 12,000 people, of whom just under half responded. The average age of respondents was approximately 78 years. According to the results, people with eczema rated their general health as poorer on average than those without eczema. They also reported various complaints and symptoms, such as pain, aches and itching, more frequently than those without the condition. In addition, people with eczema assessed their quality of life as poorer across several domains, including outlook on the future and enjoyment of life. In statistical analyses, people with eczema had approximately a 40 per cent higher likelihood of experiencing poor quality of life compared with those without eczema. Symptoms of anxiety were also more common among those with eczema. Clinical findings based on skin examinations supported the questionnaire results. According to the researchers, eczema is a psychological as well as a physical burden for older people. Persistent itching and pain impair sleep and coping, and visible skin disease can also lead to social withdrawal. Suvi-Paivikki Sinikumpu, specialist in dermatology and allergology Although eczema is the most common skin disease among older adults, its impact on quality of life in this age group has been relatively little studied. According to Sinikumpu, appropriate treatment can significantly alleviate symptoms and their effects: In many cases, basic treatment consists of regular use of fragrance-free emollients and topical corticosteroids, with guidance provided by primary healthcare. In more severe cases, treatments in specialised care may be required, such as phototherapy or systemic medication. The study suggests that healthcare services should pay greater attention to the impact of eczema on the quality of life of older people. When planning treatment, it is important to take into account the patients functional capacity and their ability to manage treatment in everyday life. Experiencing multiple acute stresses at the same time, as in natural disasters or mass shootings, can leave lasting memory scars. New research from the University of California, Irvine suggests that levels of estrogen in the brain may play a surprising role in this vulnerability, especially for women. The study, published today in Neuron, provides insight into why women are more likely than men to develop post-traumatic stress disorder and face higher dementia risk later in life. Led by Dr. Tallie Z. Baram, Distinguished Professor of pediatrics, anatomy & neurobiology, and neurology at UC Irvine's School of Medicine, the research found that exposure to several simultaneous stressors can lead to persistent memory problems, difficulty recalling events and heightened responses to reminders of trauma. These impairments can last for weeks or months, whereas a single stressful event does not produce the same effects. Estrogen is widely known to support learning and memory. But this study revealed that high levels of estrogen in the hippocampus, a brain region critical for memory, can increase vulnerability to stress-related memory problems. When female mice were exposed to stressors during hormonal cycle phases when estrogen levels were high developed enduring memory loss and heightened fear of trauma reminders, while lower estrogen levels were protective. Males, who naturally produce high estrogen levels in their hippocampus, were also susceptible, though more mildly and through different estrogen receptor pathways. High estrogen changes how genes in brain cells are "switched on" by loosening DNA structure, a state called permissive chromatin. Normally, this flexibility is advantageous because it helps with learning and adaptation. But during extreme stress, it can allow harmful, enduring changes in memory circuits. "High estrogen is essential for learning, memory and overall brain health," said Baram, who's also a Donald Bren Professor and Danette Shepard Chair in Neurological Studies. "But when severe stress hits, the same mechanisms that normally help the brain adapt can backfire, locking in long-lasting memory problems." Memory issues are driven by different estrogen receptors in men and women alpha in men and beta in women. Blocking the relevant receptor prevented stress-related memory problems even when estrogen levels remained elevated, highlighting potential targets for sex-specific therapies. A lot of what determines vulnerability is the state your brain is already in. If a traumatic event hits during a period when estrogen is already unusually high, the biology can amplify the impact in lasting ways. This study shows that a state of high estrogen in a specific brain region promotes vulnerability to stress in both male and female subjects." Elizabeth Heller, PhD, co-author, associate professor of pharmacology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine Women were found to form stress memories faster, generalize fear more readily and experience longer-lasting effects than men. Importantly, vulnerability depends on hormone levels at the time of stress, not afterward. These results help explain why traumatic events such as natural disasters, mass violence and assaults can cause long-term memory problems and why women are roughly twice as likely as men to develop PTSD. Supported by the National Institutes of Health, the study was conducted by researchers from UC Irvine, the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and the University of British Columbia. The risk for being bitten by a tick infected with bacteria that cause Lyme disease is as high in Ohio as it is for those living in Northeast states that have dealt with Lyme disease for over 50 years, according to a new study. Researchers followed up on a 2014 study finding that Ohio's first established population of blacklegged ticks, carriers of the bacteria that cause Lyme disease, had been detected in 2010 in Coshocton County. At that time, the infectious bacteria were detected in 2.4% of collected blacklegged ticks and antibodies indicating prior exposure to the pathogen were detected in 20% of white-footed mice, one of the most common of several small mammal sources of wildlife infections to ticks in their nymph and larval stages. In the new study, the research team from The Ohio State University found that the prevalence of infection in captured ticks had increased to as much as 47.6% and in infected small mammals, up to 60.4%. Our suspicion was that 10 years later, when we have robust populations of the right hosts in this ecological community in Ohio, that this pathogen vector system could really establish and take off. And that's what this study essentially shows that that is what happened." Risa Pesapane, senior author, associate professor of veterinary preventive medicine at Ohio State "And now Ohio has the same risk as those endemic regions in the Northeast. I think that is surprising to a lot of people because we think, sure, we have the tick and we have some of the hosts, but we're not Connecticut. But for some parts of Ohio, we are Connecticut at this point." Pesapane noted that the risk for infection varies across Ohio and is highest in forested areas in the eastern and southern regions of the state. That said, the presence of blacklegged ticks has been reported in all 88 counties. "I think it's really important to convey, when it comes to both personal protection and to the medical community's awareness, that you have the same chance of getting Lyme disease in Coshocton, Ohio, and other Ohio areas with the right habitat, that you do in Lyme, Connecticut." The study was published recently in the Journal of Medical Entomology. Blacklegged ticks, also known as deer ticks, are widely distributed in the eastern United States and are a known carrier of the Borrelia burgdorferi strains of bacteria that cause most North American Lyme disease cases in people and dogs. The ticks also carry Anaplasma phagocytophilum, the pathogen that causes anaplasmosis. Ningzhu Bai, a PhD student in the Environment and Natural Resources Graduate Program at Ohio State, led this study for her master's thesis. The team collected 654 ticks demonstrating questing behavior and trapped 106 small mammals. Ticks pick up the infectious bacteria from small mammals that are reservoir hosts, which infect the ticks that bite them for a blood meal. Deer, by the way, are not involved in the cycle of infection that occurs in ticks' earliest life stages, but are strongly linked to blacklegged ticks because white-tailed deer are the main hosts of adult ticks that are looking for blood meals and mates. The researchers extracted genomic DNA from 368 ticks and from mammal tissue and blood samples to test for Borrelia burgdorferi and Anaplasma phagocytophilum. "It was shocking to find that infection prevalence increased from 2.4% for Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato to almost 50% in 10 years," Bai said. "And it was also really high for Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto over 40% carried that pathogen." The infection prevalence in ticks for the anaplasmosis pathogen was 15.5%. Six of the eight mammal species tested positive for infectious bacteria with prevalence of 60.4%, 19.8% and 11.9% for the same pathogens, respectively. White-footed mice and eastern chipmunks were the most frequently infected hosts. "When I talk to people, I like to stress this means one out of every two ticks that you might encounter in Ohio could possibly be infected," said Pesapane, who also has a faculty appointment in Ohio State's School of Environment and Natural Resources. The study provides the ecological data needed to guide where interventions could have the most impact evaluating the effectiveness of tick-killing acaricides on small mammal reservoirs is an upcoming research plan for the Coshocton properties visited in this study. "Ecological interventions are challenging. That's why we keep promoting personal protective actions, which work extremely well," Pesapane said. Steps include wearing tick repellent and long sleeves and pants, and tucking pants into socks while outdoors; performing a thorough tick check once inside, and showering; and using preventives for companion animals. In Ohio, these protective tasks are worth it, she said: "If we look from 2010 all the way to 2025, there's been a 48-fold increase in the number of Lyme disease cases in Ohio, and we are going to be considered a high-incidence state moving forward." In addition to frequently collecting and studying ticks of medical concern across Ohio, Pesapane invites the public to mail ticks to her lab. She is also the faculty director of the Buckeye Tick Test, an Ohio State service that tests submitted ticks for pathogens that cause disease, including Lyme disease, for a fee. These submissions, and her own research, have made it clear that tick bites are not only a warm-weather threat. "Even on days that have snow, as long as the ambient temperature is above freezing, blacklegged ticks will be seeking hosts and biting rather indiscriminately whomever they encounter," she said. "So year-round, there's a tick exposure risk." Andreas Eleftheriou of Ohio State was also a co-author of the study. This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture. By comparing identical twins, researchers uncover why working for yourself may come with hidden stress costs, but why long hours matter more than job variety. Study: Does self-employment increase stress? A co-twin control analysis of Finnish and US twins. Image credit: gpointstudio/Shutterstock.com A recent study of identical twins from Finland and the United States finds that self-employment is associated with higher levels of perceived and physiological stress than non-self-employment. The study is published in the Journal of Business Venturing . Mixed evidence clouds whether self-employment reduces or raises stress Entrepreneurship gives people a sense of independence and freedom to work on projects they are passionate about. These factors are often thought to improve mental health and reduce stress among entrepreneurs and are frequently linked to high job satisfaction and autonomy. However, entrepreneurs often experience several stressful conditions, including long working hours, which may counteract these potential benefits and increase their stress levels. Previous studies investigating the association between self-employment and stress have produced mixed results, which may be due to limitations in study design for disentangling the effects of a person's stress tolerance from the stressors of self-employment. People who are more resistant to stress may be more likely to be entrepreneurs, given the known risk factors and long working hours associated with self-employment. Alternatively, people who struggle to handle the stress of regular employment may be drawn to self-employment, believing that working on their own terms would be a much better option. All these predispositions can potentially mask the actual effect of self-employment on stress. Given these discrepancies in the existing evidence, researchers from Bayes Business School, UK, Warwick Business School, UK, and the University of Notre Dame, USA, conducted two independent twin studies to investigate the impact of self-employment on stress, controlling for genetic and shared environmental factors. Identical twin comparisons isolate stress effects of self-employment The research team conducted two separate studies on identical twins. The first study included 4164 twins from Finland whose stress levels were assessed using the Subjective Stress Scale. The second study included 561 twins from the United States, whose stress levels were assessed by measuring salivary cortisol levels. Among enrolled twin pairs, one was self-employed, and the other was regularly employed in organizational roles or other non-self-employed work. Being identical twins, they share 100 percent genetic similarity and grew up in similar environmental conditions, enabling researchers to better isolate the association between self-employment and stress from genetic and shared environmental influences. Self-employed twins report higher stress and cortisol levels The findings of the first study revealed a significant positive association between self-employment and self-reported stress. Specifically, self-employed individuals reported 24 percent higher stress than their identical twins who were not self-employed. The findings of the second study revealed a significant positive association between self-employment and salivary cortisol level later in the day, indicating that self-employed individuals experience higher physiological stress after work than their identical twins who were not self-employed. On average, cortisol levels were 53 percent higher in saliva samples collected in the evening from self-employed individuals than in their twins. Regarding potential mediators, both studies revealed that long working hours significantly contribute to the observed impact of self-employment on stress. However, the study did not find any significant stress-reducing effect of job variety, which is often associated with self-employment. These findings indicate that the strong influence of long working hours may outweigh or offset any beneficial effects of a high degree of job variety in self-employment, at least with respect to stress outcomes, even though job variety may support other aspects of well-being. A call for healthier, more sustainable self-employment models This twin study reveals that self-employment is associated with significantly higher perceived and physiological stress, independent of genetic and shared environmental factors. This heightened stress is associated with high job demands and long working hours, which are common in self-employment. The self-employed nature of work appears to be associated with changes in stress hormone levels, which may impair recovery from stress rather than directly reducing performance. The increased cortisol levels observed in self-employed individuals in the evening indicate a reduced ability to physiologically unwind after work, which is a recognized marker of chronic stress rather than a direct measure of illness or reduced productivity. The study used the co-twin control methodology, which uses identical twins to control for selection effects arising from genetics and environmental experiences. This novel approach provides empirical evidence that the association between self-employment and stress is robust to genetic and shared environmental influences. The findings also highlight the need to develop sustainable models of entrepreneurship that support a healthy work-life balance and reduce administrative and workload pressures, thereby improving the mental health and well-being of this economically important yet health-vulnerable group, alongside broader policy and organizational support mechanisms. Overall, these findings suggest that individuals planning to become entrepreneurs should be aware of the potential stress they may encounter at work, identify their stress tolerance levels, plan to cope with stress, and develop personal stress-management techniques, such as self-help tools or psychological counseling. Several studies have linked chronic stress to adverse mental and physical health outcomes. It is a major cause of work burnout. However, the research team stated that the increased stress among self-employed individuals may not always be harmful; some stressors may also have a positive effect if they remain within an acceptable range. Future studies should analyze different types of stress stimuli, such as challenge and hindrance stressors, to better understand the role of stress in the entrepreneurial process, particularly across different forms of entrepreneurship beyond self-employment. Download your PDF copy now! Many post-surgical heart injuries go unnoticed, but cardiologist input can change outcomes. Study: Peri-operative myocardial infarction/injury after non-cardiac surgery: association between cardiologist evaluation and outcomes. Image credit: PeopleImages/Shutterstock.com In a recent study published in the European Heart Journal , researchers analyzed data from more than 1,000 patients who developed perioperative myocardial injury to explain the potential mortality benefits of including a cardiologist in non-cardiac procedures, particularly for high-risk patients. Study findings revealed that cardiologists can substantially improve outcomes, with patients who received a formal evaluation by a cardiologist demonstrating a 46 % lower risk of major adverse cardiac events and a 35 % lower risk of death from any cause within one year compared to those managed solely by the surgical team. These findings highlight the critical need for interdisciplinary collaboration in modern surgical care. Why postoperative heart damage often goes unnoticed Advances in modern surgery have made the field safer and more routine, allowing older patients and those with chronic conditions to undergo life-improving procedures. However, recent research suggests that the stress surgery places on the body can lead to a condition known as perioperative myocardial infarction or injury ( PMI ). Contrasting traditional heart attacks, which often trigger severe crushing chest pain, PMI attacks are often silent (asymptomatic) or masked by post-surgical pain medication, making them easy to miss without active blood testing. These findings suggest that including a cardiologist on an operative team, even for non-cardiac surgeries, may be beneficial, but while pilot studies have hinted at this effect, robust outcome data have remained limited. Furthermore, the debate concerning cardiologist inclusion is compounded by the reality of hospital staffing; on weekends, public holidays, or busy days, specialized consults may not be available, leaving surgeons to manage these complex cardiovascular issues alone. A real-world staffing gap creates a natural experiment The present study aimed to inform this debate and future post-operative care by conducting an extensive, prospective two-centre study in Switzerland, involving 14,294 high-risk patients undergoing major non-cardiac surgery. The study focused specifically on 1,048 patients diagnosed with PMI via active surveillance of cardiac troponin ( cTn ), a blood-borne protein biomarker detectable after heart muscle damage. The study notably leveraged a natural experiment created by real-world staffing constraints. Whether a patient saw a cardiologist often depended on operational factors rather than medical necessity, for example, patients were less likely to be evaluated if their heart injury occurred on a weekend, a public holiday, or when the on-call cardiologist was occupied with urgent emergencies. This inherent stochastic variability enabled analyses to compare two groups, those who received a cardiologist evaluation (614 patients) and those who did not (434 patients), while adjusting for variables such as age, pre-existing cardiovascular disease, and surgical risk. The study's primary endpoint measured was the occurrence of Major Adverse Cardiac Events ( MACE ), defined as a composite of cardiovascular death, heart attack, acute heart failure, or life-threatening arrhythmia from postoperative day three through 365 days after surgery. Cardiologist evaluation links to fewer cardiac events The study analyses revealed that cardiac specialist advice and post-operative care were associated with a statistically significant protective effect over the following year of follow-up. Specifically, the study found that cardiologist involvement was independently associated with a 46 % lower risk of MACE at 365 days (adjusted Hazard Ratio aHR 0.54, p = 0.001). Furthermore, the risk of death from any cause was reduced by 35 % in the consulted group ( aHR 0.65, p = 0.037). While the study design was observational and therefore cannot establish causality, the authors note that residual confounding cannot be fully excluded, and suggest that the observed outcomes likely arose from optimized medical management rather than differences in surgical quality. Patients seen by cardiologists were more likely to undergo non-invasive imaging, such as echocardiography (ultrasound of the heart) and stress testing. Consequently, they were more frequently prescribed evidence-based medications, including statins and dual antiplatelet therapy, to protect the heart. Importantly, the cardiologist's evaluation did not follow a single protocol but instead reflected a range of individualized diagnostic and therapeutic decisions. Although invasive procedures remained uncommon overall, coronary angiography was more frequently performed in patients evaluated by cardiologists, though still in fewer than 10 % of cases, suggesting that targeted diagnostics and medical optimization, rather than routine invasive intervention, may be sufficient to improve outcomes. Specialist cardiac input may improve non-cardiac surgical outcomes The present study provides strong observational evidence of an association between interdisciplinary medical and surgical management, particularly the involvement of a cardiac specialist following non-cardiac surgery, and improved long-term outcomes in high-risk patients who develop perioperative myocardial injury. Study findings, particularly the observed links between cardiologist evaluation and reduced mortality, suggest that the silent nature of perioperative heart injury may require specialized expertise to optimize medication use, diagnostic evaluation, and clinical monitoring. The study further highlights an ongoing logistical challenge faced by many hospitals: patients may miss timely cardiology evaluations due to staffing limitations on weekends or holidays. As surgical volumes continue to rise globally, healthcare systems may need to implement more robust triage pathways or expand telemedicine services to ensure that every patient with perioperative heart injury, regardless of the day of the week, receives appropriate cardiac expertise. Download your PDF copy now! 4 more arrested over clash in south Kolkata Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 18:30 IST Representational image (Image: News18) Kolkata, Feb 3 (PTI) Police on Tuesday apprehended four more people in connection with a clash between two groups in south Kolkatas Golpark area, taking the total number of arrests in the case to 14, a police officer said on Tuesday. Bombs were hurled and bullets fired during the clash on Sunday night, leaving two persons injured, he said. Four more accused were arrested during the intervening night of February 2 and February 3, as part of the ongoing investigation into the incident," the officer said. The arrests were made based on leads that emerged during the probe. More arrests cannot be ruled out at this moment," he said. The violence broke out on Kankulia Road around 8.30 pm on Sunday when a group of youths from another area entered the locality and were confronted by residents, police said. Stones were hurled from both sides, creating panic in the area, they said. PTI SCH RBT News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 18:30 IST News agency-feeds 4 more arrested over clash in south Kolkata Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Allahabad HC adjourns hearing petition seeking ASI survey of Gyanvapi wazukhana Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 20:45 IST Representational image (Image: News18) Prayagraj, Feb 3 (PTI) The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday adjourned hearing into a petition which seeks a scientific survey of the wazukhana of the Gyanvapi complex by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The court adjourned the hearing till March 10 as the matter is pending before the Supreme Court. Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal will hear the civil revision petition filed by Rakhi Singh, one of the plaintiffs, before a Varanasi court. The court ordered the adjournment of the hearing into the case after the counsel for the parties informed that the matter is engaging the attention of the Supreme Court. In a matter seeking ASI survey of the wazukhana (ablution pond) area, excluding a structure which the Hindu side claims to be a Shivling and the Muslim side a fountain inside the Gyanvapi mosque, the Allahabad High Court had directed the petitioners counsel to file supplementary affidavit bringing on record the application moved by one of the plaintiffs, Laxmi Devi, earlier for the scientific investigation or survey of the protected area. This was decided by the apex court in 2023. A civil revision has been filed by Rakhi Singh challenging the Varanasi District Judges order dated October 21, 2023 refusing to direct the ASI to undertake a survey of the wazukhana area except for the Shivling inside the Gyanvapi mosque. Rakhi Singh is one of the plaintiffs in the Shringar Gauri Worshipping suit before the Varanasi court. PTI COR RAJ KSS KSS News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 20:45 IST News agency-feeds Allahabad HC adjourns hearing petition seeking ASI survey of Gyanvapi wazukhana Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Photo: @vitaliy_klitschko Telegram Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced the receipt of another batch of 31 generators from the Warsaw mayors office and municipality. The total number of power supplies donated by the Polish capital has reached 90. "The first batch of 59 power supplies arrived in the Ukrainian capital last Friday. The city received a total of 90 generators from the Polish capital. Most of them are diesel-powered, with capacities ranging from 10 to 64 kW. The first batch of generators was immediately delivered to several districts of Kyiv to power equipment in buildings experiencing problems restoring heat," Klitschko wrote on Telegram on Tuesday. He reported that the day before, he had appealed to international partners for assistance in Kyivs response to the emergency, and Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski himself had called him, offered assistance, and arranged for the prompt dispatch of equipment. "Thank you to the Mayor of Warsaw and our Polish friends for this desperately needed assistance during the energy crisis. We expect the next shipment of generators, purchased with Polish donations, to arrive soon. Last week, Kyiv received the first shipment from Poland 130 generators of varying capacities, funded by Polish volunteers. In 10 days, 60,000 Poles donated nearly EUR 2 million," Klitschko said. EAM Jaishankar meets US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington Last Updated: February 04, 2026, 02:30 IST Representational image (Image: News18) New York, Feb 4 (PTI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on Tuesday ahead of an inaugural ministerial on critical minerals. Rubio welcomed Jaishankar at the Department of State on Tuesday afternoon. Jaishankar is on a visit to the United States from February 2-4 and will participate in the Critical Minerals Ministerial convened by Rubio on Wednesday. During the visit, Jaishankar will also hold meetings with senior members of the US administration, the Ministry of External Affairs had said. The meeting between Jaishankar and Rubio comes a day after Trump announced on Truth Social that India and the US agreed to a trade deal, under which Washington will bring down reciprocal tariff on Delhi from 25 to 18 per cent. PTI YAS RUK RUK News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 04, 2026, 02:30 IST News agency-feeds EAM Jaishankar meets US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Haryana Police says preventive strategy saved 121 youths from organised crime Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 14:45 IST Representational image (Image: News18) Chandigarh, Feb 3 (PTI) The Haryana Police on Tuesday said 121 youths, who were found to be in contact with major criminal gangs in the state, were saved from the clutches of organised crime due to an effective preventive strategy. Haryana Polices Special Task Force (STF), while launching a decisive offensive against the spread of organised crime and gangster networks, successfully identified 121 youths across the state and steered them towards the right path under the comprehensive strategy, they said. These youths were found to be in contact with major criminal gangs of Haryana through various means. This initiative reflects the far-sighted policy of Haryana Police aimed not only at law enforcement but also at ensuring social security," an official statement said. DGP Ajay Singhal said, One of the biggest challenges today is to guide youths at the crucial juncture where they can either become partners in nation-building or fall into the trap of crime". He said the timely identification of 121 youths by STF Haryana and keeping them away from organised crime through counselling is not merely police action, but a visionary step towards safeguarding society. According to Singhal, the fight against gangster culture, violence and glorification of crime is a responsibility shared by police, families and society. Along with this, the Cyber Police and district-level police units are also actively playing a significant role in similar preventive and corrective activities, he said. Singhal clarified that Haryana Polices objective is not only to punish criminals but also to save those youths who are on the verge of going astray. During in-depth technical and field-level monitoring by STF, it came to light that these youths were active on social media platforms linked to gangster networks and were showing attraction towards gang activities, the statement said. The Haryana Police operates a multi-layered, technology-based surveillance system to identify youths who come into contact with or under the influence of gangsters through social media," it said. It further said the information about youths who could be at risk emerges during interrogation of arrested accused in criminal cases and routine analysis of available digital evidence. Active criminal profiles on social media and the patterns of activities associated with them are also monitored simultaneously to assess which youths are likely to be negatively influenced. Gangsters and their associates lured youths through greed and temptation. Through social media and personal contacts, they were shown a false, glamorous world of crime where quick money, fear-based identity and power were projected as attractive. In several cases, gangsters exploited old rivalries, personal disputes or emotional vulnerabilities of youths. Feelings of revenge were deliberately provoked so that, in momentary anger, they would step into the world of crime," the statement said. It further stated that gang networks attempted to instil the belief that crime could provide respect, power and solutions, whereas in reality, this path leads only to violence, legal action and lifelong regret. Considering the sensitivity of the situation, STF prioritised counselling and reform over punitive action and included all 121 youths in a structured counselling process, according to police. During counselling sessions, youths were made aware of the legal, social and familial consequences of choosing the path of crime. Through real examples of jailed gang members, the actual condition of their families, socio-economic hardships and the breakdown of family structures, the harsh reality of crime was brought before them," the statement noted. These counselling sessions were organised in the presence of family members and respected persons from society to ensure collective participation in the reform process, it further said. The STF continues to keep all these youths under constant monitoring even after the counselling process. Reviews have revealed that due to timely and effective counselling, all 121 youths have maintained distance from crime, clearly proving the success and relevance of this preventive model," the Haryana Police said. Swift legal action is being taken against illegal content on social media platforms that glorifies violence, gangster culture and anti-social activities, in order to protect youths from negative influences, the statement added. PTI SUN PRK PRK News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 14:45 IST News agency-feeds Haryana Police says preventive strategy saved 121 youths from organised crime Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Jail staff foil bid to smuggle drugs into Faridabad prison Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 22:45 IST Representational image (Image: News18) Faridabad, Feb 3 (PTI) Prompt action by the jail administration has foiled a bid to smuggle narcotic substances into the Faridabad district jail, police said on Tuesday. According to an official statement, acting on specific intelligence inputs, a team of jail staff under the supervision of the deputy superintendent (security) conducted a search operation in the prison on Monday. During the search, a tape-wrapped ball was found near Barrack No. 18, bearing the inscription Raja Gold. On examination, a sulphur-like narcotic substance, weighing 17 gm, was found concealed inside the ball, police said. An investigation revealed that the narcotic substance was thrown into the jail premises at the direction of Mohit, an undertrial from Ballabgarh. Further probe revealed that Pawan from Ballabgarh, who was recently released from prison on bail, threw the ball from outside the jail, with Gaurav, another inmate from Faridabad, as part of the conspiracy, officials said. PTI COR ARI ARI News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 22:45 IST News agency-feeds Jail staff foil bid to smuggle drugs into Faridabad prison Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Maoist from Jharkhand surrenders before Odisha Police Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 19:30 IST Representational image (Image: News18) Rourkela (Odisha), Feb 3 (PTI) An 18-year-old Maoist from Jharkhand surrendered before Odisha Police here on Tuesday, a senior officer said. The surrendered Maoist was identified as Umblen Honhaga alias Prabhu, a local guerrilla squad member (LGSM) of the CPI(Maoist). He is a resident of Halamuli village in Chhotanagra police station area in West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand. His village, situated inside Saranda reserve forest, was frequented by the red rebels for groceries and other items, the officer said. In 2024, he was inducted into the outfit. However, gradually, he got disillusioned with the ideology and the tough life in the forest. Also, relentless combing operations by security forces created a sense of fear, forcing him to consider surrendering," DIG (Western range) Brijesh Rai said. Prabhu will be entitled to financial assistance up to Rs 2.64 lakh. Also, he is eligible to receive a one-time marriage incentive of Rs 25,000, he added. The young Maoist will be enrolled for free in short-term skill development programmes offered by the central and state governments, the officer said. He is also eligible to pursue vocational education and to receive a monthly stipend of Rs 10,000 for a maximum period of 36 months. This will be discontinued once he gets placed or gets gainfully self-employed," the DIG added. Other benefits include health cards under state and central schemes and free or subsidised ration under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana or any other similar policy, the officer said. PTI COR AAM AAM ACD News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 19:30 IST News agency-feeds Maoist from Jharkhand surrenders before Odisha Police Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Nepal govt to deploy army from Wednesday for March 5 elections Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 22:45 IST Representational image (Image: News18) Kathmandu, Feb 3 (PTI) Nepals Army will begin deployment for the upcoming general elections from Wednesday, an army official said on Tuesday. President Ramchandra Paudel has already approved the recommendation made by the government to mobilise the army for the House of Representatives elections. The government implemented the House of Representatives Election Integrated Security Plan for strengthening the law and order situation during the election. Under the plan, personnel from the Nepal Army, Armed Police Force, Nepal Police and National Investigation Department will be deployed in an integrated manner. There will be three-tier security systems for conducting the general election. The Nepal Police and temporarily hired election police will make the first circle, while the Armed Police Force personnel will be deployed as the second circle of the security plan. The Nepal Army personnel will be deployed in the third or outer circle as per the integrated security plan, the official said. All the security agencies will deploy their personnel in all 165 election constituencies under the coordination of the Nepal Army, he added. Nepal Army will deploy around 80,000 army personnel, while the total number of security personnel, including the temporary election police, will be around 3,40,000. The security personnel will guard around 10,800 polling stations and 23,100 polling booths spread across 165 constituencies. PTI SBP RD RD RD News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 22:45 IST News agency-feeds Nepal govt to deploy army from Wednesday for March 5 elections Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Southern US enters second week of biting cold, prolonged outages Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 03:15 IST Representational image (Image: News18) Raleign, Feb 3 (AP) Four homes blasted by icy winds on an eroding North Carolina island collapsed into the ocean and Florida farmers anxiously waited for frozen plants to thaw Monday as people across the eastern half of the United States coped with more than a week of sub-freezing weather. Thermometers hovered below freezing throughout the day Monday across the northern US from the Dakotas to Maine, and sub-freezing temperatures were forecast to return to the Southeast overnight, reaching into parts of northern Florida. As residents of the Carolinas and Virginia dug out from deep snow, more than 70,000 homes and businesses in Tennessee and Mississippi began a second week without electricity since an earlier snow and ice storm inflicted severe damage on power lines and utility poles. In hard-hit Nashville, Tennessee, Terry Miles said Monday was his ninth day without power. Miles said he has been living with his wife and their dog in a bedroom that he tried to insulate by hanging up blankets. Hes cooking and heating water outdoors on a propane grill. On Sunday someone loaned him a small gas generator with enough power to run a couple of space heaters. Were roughing it," Miles said. Ive been camping before and had it easier than this. I feel like Grizzly Adams." The death toll has surpassed 110 in states afflicted by the dangerous cold since Jan. 24. In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Monday that hypothermia played a role in the deaths of 13 people found dead outside in the bitter cold, according to preliminary findings. More than a dozen other suspected hypothermia deaths were reported in Indiana, Louisiana, South Carolina and Texas. Winter winds collapsed four island homes On the East Coast, where a weekend bomb cyclone brought heavy snow and fierce winds, the National Park Service said four unoccupied homes along North Carolinas Outer Banks collapsed into the Atlantic Ocean since Sunday. A bystander recorded one of them toppling into the water. Photos taken by the agency showed piles of debris along the shoreline in the village of Buxton. The Outer Banks narrow, low-lying barrier islands have been eroding for years as rising seas swallow the land. Prior to the latest storm, more than two dozen houses, usually built on stilts at the waters edge, had collapsed since 2020. Most fell in extreme weather. In Florida, where some farmers spray water on their fruit trees and plants ahead of freezing weather to help protect them from even deeper cold, fern growers were waiting Monday for a protective layer of ice coating their plants to melt away so they could assess damage. Florida got so cold over the weekend that the Tampa-St. Petersburg area saw snow flurries and cold-stunned iguanas were motionless on the ground. The timing was especially awful for fern growers, who had been busy shipping plants to reach retailers ahead of Valentines Day on Feb. 14. It is just terrible timing," said Victoria Register, director of sales and marketing at FernTrust, a growers cooperative in Seville, Florida. Its right in the middle of our busiest shipping time of the entire year." Nashville utility under fire as thousands remain without power In Tennessee, frustrations were growing with the Nashville Electric Service over lingering outages after the earlier storm knocked out power to about 235,000 homes and businesses about half its customers. More than 20,000 remained without electricity Monday after more than a week, and wont be fully restored until Feb. 9, the utility said. Nashville Electric Service has defended its response, saying the storm packed more damaging ice than expected. The utility has said more than 1,000 linemen from Nashville and seven states are working on repairs. But trees, branches and power lines remained down across the city Monday. Mayor Freddie OConnell announced Monday hes ordering a review of Nashville Electric Services storm preparation and response. OConnell met with utility leaders Sunday and said afterward they were unequipped to communicate about a crisis." And Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee also criticized the Nashville utility, posting on social media: whoever is responsible for this breakdown should be fired." After more than a week of cold-weather warnings across the eastern U.S., the National Weather Service still had a few alerts in effect, including a freeze warning through early Tuesday in south Georgia and most of Florida. Some snow was also expected Tuesday across parts of Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia. Nearly a foot (29 centimeters) of snow fell over the weekend in Charlotte, North Carolinas largest city. Gov. Josh Steins office said Monday that crews were still clearing interstates and highways. We are working around the clock to clear roads and get people back to their daily lives as quickly and safely as possible, but because temperatures will remain low overnight, this process takes time," Stein said in a news release. (AP) NB NB News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 03:15 IST News agency-feeds Southern US enters second week of biting cold, prolonged outages Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Three juveniles stab man in Delhi for assaulting one of them Last Updated: February 04, 2026, 00:15 IST Representational image (Image: News18) New Delhi, Feb 3 (PTI) A 22-year-old man was stabbed to death by three juveniles in east Delhis Pandav Nagar area on Tuesday after he allegedly assaulted one of the minors earlier in the day, police said. A PCR call was received around 8.15 pm on Monday regarding the incident, officials said. By the time police reached the spot, the injured had been shifted to Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital, where he was declared brought dead," a police officer said. The officer said the man was identified as Arun Raj, and preliminary examination revealed multiple stab injuries on his body. A police team analysed CCTV footage from the area, leading to the identification of the suspects. During the investigation, three juveniles were apprehended from different locations of east Delhi. Police said the crime was triggered by personal enmity stemming from past disputes," the officer said. He added that Arun had allegedly assaulted one of the juveniles earlier in the day, following which the three attacked him with knives. Further investigation into the matter is underway. PTI BM OZ OZ News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 04, 2026, 00:15 IST News agency-feeds Three juveniles stab man in Delhi for assaulting one of them Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Trump urges House to vote quickly to end partial government shutdown Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 05:45 IST Representational image (Image: News18) Washington, Feb 3 (AP) President Donald Trump implored the House on Monday to end the partial government shutdown, but neither Republicans nor Democrats appeared ready to quickly approve the federal funding package he brokered with the Senate without first debating their own demands over immigration enforcement operations. Democrats are refusing to provide the votes House Speaker Mike Johnson needs to push the package forward as they try to rein in the Trump administrations deportation operations after the shooting deaths of two Americans in Minneapolis. Thats forcing Johnson to rely on his slim GOP majority, which has its own complaints about the package, to fall in line behind Trumps deal with Senate Democrats. Voting could begin as soon as Tuesday, which would be day four of the partial shutdown. The Pentagon, Homeland Security and other agencies saw their funding lapse Saturday. And while many operations at those departments are deemed essential, and still functioning, some workers may go without pay or be furloughed. We need to get the Government open, and I hope all Republicans and Democrats will join me in supporting this Bill, and send it to my desk WITHOUT DELAY," the president wrote on social media. There can be NO CHANGES at this time," Trump insisted. We will work together in good faith to address the issues that have been raised, but we cannot have another long, pointless, and destructive Shutdown." The stalemate points to a difficult week ahead as Johnson relies on Trump to help muscle to package to passage. The president struck a deal last week with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer in which Homeland Security would only be funded temporarily, though Feb. 13, as Congress debates changes to immigration enforcement operations. The Senate overwhelmingly approved the package with the rest of the government funding ahead of Saturdays deadline. Democrats demand changes to ICE House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries made it clear Monday that his side sees no reason to help Johnson push the bill forward in a procedural step, something that the majority party typically handles on its own. With Johnson facing a revolt from his own Republican ranks, Jeffries is seizing the leverage it provides Democrats to demand changes to immigration operations. On rare occasions have we stepped in to deal with Republican dysfunction," Jeffries said at the Capitol. Democrats are demanding restraints on Immigration and Customs Enforcement that go beyond $20 million for body cameras that already is in the bill. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced Monday that officers on the ground in Minneapolis, including ICE, will be immediately issued body-worn cameras, and the program would be expanded nationwide as funding is available. But Democrats are pressing for more. They want to require that federal immigration agents unmask noting that few, if any, other law enforcement agencies routinely mask themselves in the U.S. and they want officers to rely on judicial, rather than administrative, warrants in their operations. They also want an end to roving patrols, amid other changes. Jeffries said the administration needs to begin negotiations now, not over the next two weeks, on changes to immigration enforcement operations. Certain Democrats, however, are splintering with the leader, and pushing for quicker passage of the funding package to avoid government disruptions. Republicans launch their own demands At the same time, House Republicans, with some allies in the Senate, are making their own demands, as they work to support Trumps clampdown on immigrants in the US. The House Freedom Caucus has insisted on fuller funding for Homeland Security while certain Republicans are pushing to include other measures, including the SAVE Act, a longshot Trump priority that would require proof of citizenship before Americans are eligible to participate in elections and vote. Johnson and GOP leaders said they would be talking with lawmakers to see what it will take to win over support. Obviously the president really wants this," Majority Leader Steve Scalise said at the Capitol. We always work til the midnight hour to get the votes," Scalise said. You never start the process with everybody on board. You work through it." Workers without pay if partial government shutdown drags on Meanwhile, a number of federal agencies are snared in the funding standoff after the government went into a partial shutdown over the weekend. Defense, health, transportation and housing are among those that were given shutdown guidance by the administration, though many operations are deemed essential and services are not necessarily interrupted. Workers could go without pay if the impasse drags on. Some could be furloughed. Lawmakers from both parties are increasingly concerned the closure will disrupt the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which they rely on to help constituents after deadly snowstorms and other disasters. This is the second time in a matter of months that federal government operations have been disrupted as lawmakers use the annual funding process as leverage to extract policy changes. Last fall, Democrats sparked what became the longest federal shutdown in history, 43 days, as they protested the expiration of health insurance tax breaks. That shutdown ended with a promise to vote on proposals to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. But with GOP opposition, Democrats were unable to achieve their goal of keeping the subsidies in place. Insurance premiums spiked in the new year for millions of people. Trump tries to prevent another long shutdown Trump is already working on an immigration deal to ensure the shutdown doesnt drag on. Johnson said he was in the Oval Office last week when Trump, along with border czar Tom Homan, spoke with Schumer of New York as they discussed the immigration changes. Body cameras, which are already provided for in the package, and an end to the roving patrols by immigration agents are areas of potential agreement, Johnson said. But Johnson drew a line at other Democratic demands. He said he does not think that requiring immigration officers to remove their masks would have support from Republicans because it could lead to problems if their personal images and private information is posted online by protesters. I dont think the president would approve it and he shouldnt," Johnson said over the weekend on Fox News Sunday." And Senate Majority Leader John Thune tapped the brakes on the demand from Democrats to require judicial warrants for officers searches, saying its likely to be a part of the negotiations ahead. Its going to be very difficult to reach agreement in two weeks," Thune said at the Capitol. Democrats, however, said the immigration operations are out of control, and must end in Minneapolis and other cities. Growing numbers of lawmakers are also calling for Noem to be fired or impeached. (AP) NB NB News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 05:45 IST News agency-feeds Trump urges House to vote quickly to end partial government shutdown Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... US shoots Iranian drone as Iran's president seeks 'fair, equitable negotiations' Last Updated: February 04, 2026, 02:30 IST Representational image (Image: News18) Dubai, Feb 4 (AP) Irans president said on Tuesday that he instructed the countrys foreign minister to pursue fair and equitable negotiations" with the United States, the first clear sign from Tehran it wants to try to negotiate as tensions remain high with Washington after the Mideast countrys bloody crackdown on nationwide protests last month. But possible talks were thrust into question hours later when US Central Command said a US Navy fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone that was approaching an American aircraft carrier early Tuesday morning. The Iranian Mission to the UN did not immediately comment on the incident. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt acknowledged that Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff has been planning to hold talks with Iranian officials in Turkey later this week. It was the first direct acknowledgment of the talks by the White House. These talks, as of right now, are still scheduled," Leavitt said in response to whether the drone incident could impact Witkoffs planned talks with Irans Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. President Trump is always wanting to pursue diplomacy first, but obviously it takes two to tango," Leavitt said. You need a willing partner to achieve diplomacy and thats something that special envoy Witkoff is intent on exploring and discussing." The shift toward negotiations marked a major turn for reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian, who had broadly warned Iranians for weeks that the turmoil in his country had gone beyond his control. It also signals that the president received support from Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for talks that the 86-year-old cleric previously had dismissed. US shoots down drone US Central Command said the drone aggressively approached" the aircraft carrier on Tuesday, just before sunrise, with unclear intent" and it continued to fly toward the ship despite deescalatory measures taken by US forces operating in international waters." The Shahed-139 drone was shot down by an F-35C fighter jet from the USS Abraham Lincoln, which was sailing about 805 kilometres from Irans southern coast, Hawkins said. In a separate incident later on Tuesday, Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces harassed a merchant vessel flying the American flag and carrying an American crew, Central Command spokesman Captain Tim Hawkins said in a statement. Two boats and an Iranian Mohajer drone approached the ship, Stena Imperative, at high speeds and threatened to board and seize the tanker, Hawkins statement said. The position of the incident appeared to be in Iranian territorial waters, according to the British militarys United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre. Iran had warned of a naval drill by the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in recent days. The destroyer USS McFaul responded and escorted the Stena Imperative with defensive air support, the statement said, adding that the merchant vessel was now sailing safely. Turkey attempting to broker negotiations Turkey had been working behind the scenes to make the talks happen there later this week as US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff is travelling in the region. A Turkish official later said the location of talks was uncertain but that Turkey was ready to support the process. Foreign ministers from Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have also been invited to attend the talks, if they happen, according to the official who spoke on condition of anonymity as they did not have permission to speak to journalists. But whether Iran and the US can reach an agreement remains to be seen, particularly as US President Donald Trump now has included Irans nuclear programme in a list of demands from Tehran in any talks. Trump ordered the bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites during the 12-day war Israel launched against Iran in June. On Tuesday, Araghchi spoke by phone with his counterparts from Oman, Qatar, Turkey and Kuwait, but did not mention anything about a possible venue. Witkoff meets with Netanyahu in Israel Witkoff met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday and discussed plans for disarming Hamas ahead of possible reconstruction and the situation in Iran, Netanyahus office said. Netanyahu warned Witkoff that Iran has repeatedly proven it cannot be trusted to meet its commitments." Israel demands that any agreement with Iran include removing enriched uranium from the country, stopping the enrichment of uranium, limiting the creation of ballistic missiles and ending support for Tehrans proxies, according to an official familiar with the talks who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media. Right now, were talking to them, were talking to Iran, and if we could work something out, thatd be great," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. And if we cant, probably bad things would happen." Mike Pompeo, a hard-liner on Iran who served as CIA director and secretary of state in Trumps first term, said it was unimaginable that there can be a deal." I think they may come away with some set of understandings," Pompeo said at Dubais World Governments Summit. But to think that theres a long-term solution that actually provides stability and peace to this region while the ayatollah is still in power is something I pray for but find unimaginable." Khamenei adviser speaks on the nuclear issue Late Monday, the pan-Arab satellite channel Al Mayadeen, which is politically allied with the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, aired an interview with Ali Shamkhani, a top Khamenei adviser on security. He suggested that if the talks happened, they would be indirect at the beginning, and move to direct talks only if a deal appeared to be attainable. Direct talks with the US long have been a highly charged political issue within Irans theocracy, with reformists like Pezeshkian pushing for them and hard-liners dismissing them. The talks would solely focus on nuclear issues, he added. Iran does not seek nuclear weapons, will not seek a nuclear weapon and will never stockpile nuclear weapons, but the other side must pay a price in return for this," he said. Iran had been enriching uranium up to 60 per cent purity, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels. The International Atomic Energy Agency had said Iran was the only country in the world to enrich to that level that wasnt armed with the bomb. Iran has been refusing requests by the IAEA to inspect the sites bombed in the June war. The quantity of enriched uranium remains unknown, because part of the stockpile is under rubble, and there is no initiative yet to extract it, as it is extremely dangerous," Shamkhani said. (AP) RUK RUK News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 04, 2026, 02:30 IST News agency-feeds US shoots Iranian drone as Iran's president seeks 'fair, equitable negotiations' Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Wanted sharpshooter killed in encounter with UP Police in Varanasi Last Updated: February 04, 2026, 01:00 IST Representational image (Image: News18) Varanasi/Lucknow, Feb 3 (PTI) A wanted contract killer carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh was killed in an encounter with the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force here on Tuesday night, police said. The encounter took place on the Bariyasanpur Ring Road in the Chaubepur area when a special task force team attempted to arrest Banarasi Yadav, an alleged sharpshooter accused of murdering fertiliser trader Mahendra Gautam, Additional Director General of Police (STF) Amitabh Yash said. Yadav sustained gunshot injuries during the exchange of fire and was rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him dead, he said. Two pistols and a large quantity of cartridges were recovered from the spot, police said, adding that the accused had more than two dozen criminal cases registered against him. A case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the SC/ST Act was registered at the Sarnath police station in connection with the murder. Police said another accused, Arvind Yadav alias Fauji or Kallu Yadav, from Ghazipur district, is absconding, and raids are being conducted at his possible hideouts. Further legal formalities are being completed, and the matter is under investigation, officials added. PTI KIS OZ OZ News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 04, 2026, 01:00 IST News agency-feeds Wanted sharpshooter killed in encounter with UP Police in Varanasi Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... European Council President Costa to visit Ukraine on 4th anniversary of Russia's war against Ukraine Photo: https://x.com/antoniocostapm European Council President Antonio Costa will visit Ukraine, where he will take part in events marking the fourth anniversary of the start of Russias full-scale invasion of sovereign Ukraine. The presidents office told reporters on Tuesday. The office stated that President Costa is expected to visit Ukraine to take part in events marking the fourth anniversary of the war in Ukraine on February 24. Earlier, the European Commission reported on the participation of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in these events. Wingtips of Air India, IndiGo planes touch each other at Mumbai airport Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 22:45 IST Representational image (Image: News18) Mumbai, Feb 3 (PTI) In a freak incident, wingtips of Air India and IndiGo planes came in touch with each other at the Mumbai airport on Tuesday evening, and both aircraft have been grounded for inspections, according to officials. While Air Indias plane was waiting on the taxiway prior to take off, the IndiGo aircraft was taxiing after landing at the airport, which has parallel runways. Both were Airbus A320 aircraft. Flight AI2732 operating from Mumbai to Coimbatore on 3 February was delayed after the aircraft scheduled to operate the service came into contact with another airlines aircraft while waiting on the taxiway prior to take-off. The wingtips of the two aircraft made contact, resulting in damage to our aircrafts wingtip," an Air India spokesperson said in a statement. An IndiGo spokesperson in a statement said the wingtip of one of its aircraft operating flight 6E791 from Hyderabad to Mumbai came in contact with an aircraft of another airline while taxiing, after landing. All passengers are safe. A civil aviation ministry spokesperson said a team from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is at the site and that the two planes had returned to the bay for inspections. The number of passengers in the plane was not known. PTI IAS RAM HVA News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 22:45 IST News agency-feeds Wingtips of Air India, IndiGo planes touch each other at Mumbai airport Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... World Bank President Ajay Banga visits ancestral home in Pakistan's Punjab Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 18:30 IST Representational image (Image: News18) Lahore, Feb 3 (PTI) Indian-American World Bank President Ajay Banga on Tuesday visited his ancestral home in Pakistans Punjab province and paid homage at a Sikh shrine, officials said. According to the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), which manages minority religious places in Pakistan, 66-year-old Banga travelled from Islamabad to Khushab, some 250 km from Lahore, to see the residence of his ancestors. He also examined the revenue records related to his ancestors residence. During the visit, Banga also paid homage at Gurdwara Singh Sabha Khushab and had photographs taken at the shrine. Banga appreciated the development and administrative measures undertaken at the gurdwara. ETPB Additional Secretary (Shrines) Nasir Mushtaq briefed him on the preservation and restoration of Sikh religious heritage and the facilities being provided to Sikh pilgrims across the country. ETPB Chairman Evacuee Qamar Zaman said the board is taking measures in line with international standards to protect religious heritage and ensure hospitality and religious facilities for Sikh pilgrims. Banga is on a four-day high-level visit to Pakistan, which will conclude on Wednesday. Banga was born in November 1959 in Khadki, a small town in Maharashtra. He did his graduation from Delhis St Stephens College and post-graduation from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Before joining the World Bank Group, Banga served as Vice Chairman at General Atlantic and earlier as President and Chief Executive of Mastercard. He became a naturalised US citizen in 2007. On Monday, Banga visited Gurdwara Sri Panja Sahib in Hasan Abdal, where he offered prayers. He was accompanied by Federal Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and Punjab minister and Pradhan of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora during the visit. Arora said Sikhs across the world, including in India, share a bond of love" with Pakistan due to the presence of their sacred religious sites in the country. PTI MZ SCY SCY News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 18:30 IST News agency-feeds World Bank President Ajay Banga visits ancestral home in Pakistan's Punjab Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Aries Horoscope Today, February 3, 2026 Curated By : GaneshaGrace Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 06:10 IST Aries Horoscope Today, February 3, 2026: Focus on finances, plan investments wisely and stay patient, as steady effort, smart decisions and networking bring gradual growth. Aries Horoscope Today: Astrological predictions by Chirag Daruwalla for mesha rashi on February 3 2026. (AI generated image) Aries Daily Horoscope Today, 3 February 2026: Ganesha says you will need to focus on your financial fronts today. Today, you should pay attention to your financial investments and think carefully before making any big investments. Your financial condition will be average today, but you do not need to be disappointed by this. With your hard work and time, your financial condition will also improve. Your interest in traditional subjects will increase, and you will engage more in auspicious works. Networking will benefit you, and you may get valuable gifts. Important offers will come to you, and your work will be better than expected. You will take an interest in collections and preservation, and your status and reputation will increase. You will remain focused, and your personality will be attractive. You will work with intelligence, and your morale will remain high. You will maintain sweetness in your behavior, and your respect will increase. Your health will be better. Positive The efforts you were making for a long time to achieve your goal, today there will be some hope in it. You will do some creative work to give a new look to your work. You will also have a lot of confidence. Negative Use time properly. Young people will have to pay attention to their careers. Carelessness and haste will give wrong results. Therefore, try to do your work thoughtfully. Business Time is good from the business point of view. Due to some personal reasons, the business work that had decreased till now will now improve. Also, pay attention to the advice of colleagues and employees. You can get a good solution. Financial It will be a satisfactory time for you in financial matters. There will also be chances for extra income. Today you would like to try a new way of investing, maybe even do online trading of shares for a few days. Today is a good day to experiment, but be careful with the stock market today as it may wobble. Property is a much better option for you in terms of investment. Those doing business are likely to get some major success. This time will be progressive for financial matters. This period can be especially beneficial for businessmen. Love Marital relations will be good and harmonious. People thinking of a love marriage can get some news. Health Health will be fine. Do not worry. And keep your immunity strong. Lucky Color Black Lucky Number 15 (The author Chirag Daruwalla is the son of Astrologer Bejan Daruwalla). News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 06:10 IST News astrology Aries Horoscope Today, February 3, 2026 Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Tarot Horoscope, February 3, 2026: Zodiac Tarot Predictions For All Signs Written By : GaneshaGrace Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 08:00 IST Tarot Horoscope Today, February 3, 2026 reveals zodiac-wise tarot card guidance on career, relationships, emotions and key life decisions. Tarot Horoscope Today, February 3, 2026: Zodiac-wise tarot predictions by Chirag Daruwalla. Tarot Horoscope, February 3, 2026: Astrologer Chirag Daruwalla reveals tarot-based zodiac predictions focused on transformation, clarity, and wise decision-making. While some signs may face delays, emotional shifts, or tough choices, these experiences are meant to guide growth. Letting go of negativity, acting patiently, and seeking trusted guidance will help stabilize career, relationships, and finances. Spiritual reflection and calm thinking bring long-term success. Aries Tarot Card Reading (Six of swords) Ganesha says You are unable to maintain balance between personal and professional life. Mental stress may increase. On the advice of a close person, you may consider going to a new peaceful place for some time. You may have to undertake some journeys related to work. Do not feel helpless due to the turmoil in your life. With time, positive changes will begin to appear. Do not make any major decisions in haste. Be sure to discuss any important decisions with family members. Ongoing disputes in the family may cause hurt. There may be some changes in the work area. These changes could significantly affect certain tasks. Some peoples personal lives will also not remain unaffected by these changes. Failure to make timely decisions may cause considerable loss in business. Try to improve your business with the help of a financial advisor.Work is currently stalled for some reason, which may affect the success of tasks. Maintain confidentiality regarding romantic matters. Adverse timing may turn matters towards negativity. Stay cautious and alert. Keep a calm mind. You may read spiritual books in your free time. Engaging in some new interests will be beneficial at this time. Taurus Tarot Card Reading (Death) Ganesha says You may feel helpless. The breaking of some relationships could increase feelings of disappointment. Keep your emotions under control. The distancing of these relationships from your life is for the betterment of your future. Have faith in this. Maintain your trust and belief in God. Do not step back from any situation out of fear at this time. Whether tasks are completed or not, you must make the right decisions and move forward. Relieve mental stress. It can close all paths to progress in your life. Remove unnecessary people, situations, and thoughts from your life. These can increase negativity. Try to bring some major changes into your life. It is possible that these changes will bring significant transformations in your work and thinking. Accept them. Include only those situations or people in your life from whom you can gain peace and happiness. Do not support wrong actions. Do not let others dominate you. Respect your elders. Make current situations favourable. If you are not succeeding in any task, do not be disheartened. Try again with the right efforts. Gemini Tarot Card Reading (Knight of Wands) Ganesha says You may have to face considerable difficulties in finding a new job. There could be a slight delay in getting the desired position. In such a situation, do not lose patience. With the help of an old friend, you may start a new business. This business could be based on the ideas of a senior family member. Incorporate their experience and work style into the business. Soon, favourable timing will bring good results. The coming period is bringing high activity, great ambitions, and new experiences along with many hopes. You may feel that everything is beyond your control and strength. In such a situation, keep your morale and confidence high. You may meet someone with whom a casual acquaintance soon turns into a deep relationship. A promotion at work is possible, which may increase your workload significantly. Due to this busyness, you may have to tolerate displeasure from family members. Stay a little away from jealous people. A dispute with a superior at work could increase difficulties. Try to avoid conflicts. Improve your relationships with people. Cancer Tarot Card Reading (The Sun) Ganesha says Move out of old situations and embrace new changes. Bring a change in your thinking. Keep yourself away from peoples negativity. Try to ensure that no obstacles arise in your work. You may consider starting a small business according to your interests. You can make efforts to gather information about this matter. There may be an increased inclination towards spirituality. Refusal from a loved one regarding marriage may cause distress. At this time, instead of getting angry, talking to the other person can resolve the situation. Do not let the other persons stubbornness overpower you. It is better to understand the risks involved in your work. Some new opportunities may arise in your professional field, which will prove to be quite beneficial. There may be the arrival of a new baby in the family. Due to a bitter memory from the past, you may consider changing your place or job. Keep yourself busy to avoid dwelling on memories. Channel your thoughts and energy into new tasks. Limit relationships with unnecessary people. Spend money in the right places. Do not become too familiar with strangers. You may be troubled by sudden financial expenses. Bring balance between personal and professional life. Leo Tarot Card Reading (King of Swords) Ganesha says The time is favourable. The hard work done now can soon bring good returns. You may need to make a few extra efforts. Bring positivity into your thoughts. You may have to work with a strict and stern official. In such a situation, success is certain if you proceed with patience and determination. If you need to take advice from others for any task, do not hesitate. Move forward and seek help. You can realise every dream with your intelligence and strength. Always keep faith in God during difficulties. There will definitely be a way. Believe in it. Among friends or close ones, there will be an advisor whose words, though harsh, will be effective. Maintain sweet relationships with such people. Never ignore what others say. Often, some good advice can guide you. Evaluate things according to the circumstances. Think calmly and find the right path. Do not harbour arrogance or stubbornness in your nature. Instead of relying on power and strength, you can gain good cooperation from people through humility and gentleness in behaviour. Virgo Tarot Card Reading (Ten of Swords) Ganesha says Family tensions may cause relationships to deteriorate. At this time, try to remain calm and work on improving relationships. You may experience loneliness in life. Change is necessary at this time. There may be betrayal in close relationships. Do not make decisions based on luck. Try to stand by the truth. Avoid disputes with unnecessary people. Do not blindly trust those who can hurt your trust. Control your talkativeness, as speaking without thinking can create a negative image of you among people. Do not support wrong things or wrong people. Failure to make timely decisions may cause you to miss good opportunities. You may have to undertake some journeys related to family matters. These journeys cannot be postponed. Try to resolve old disputes. Financial loss may occur due to wrong decisions at this time. Be a little cautious. Opportunities for financial progress may also arise. You may discuss marriage with your beloved. Both will try to seek the consent of their families. Libra Tarot Card Reading (The Devil) Ganesha says Meeting a person with a dual personality may lead to a significant change. You may consider proposals for partnership in a new project received from the in-laws side. Try to understand the other person in the workplace. Pay attention to small details. Sometimes ignoring important matters can lead to greater risks later. Act wisely. Stay away from friends or relatives whose intentions have been to belittle you. There will be sweetness in love with your spouse. The expectation of having children will bring enthusiasm to the family. Bring new changes in the workplace with patience and restraint. If something is beyond your tolerance, refuse the other person. Do not increase mental pressure on yourself by worrying about their displeasure. You may find a desired life partner for marriage. Do not take undue advantage of others. Someone may be intending to trouble you, so be a little cautious. You may seek advice from an elder in family matters. Keep your ego in check. Do not be stubborn over small things. Scorpio Tarot Card Reading (Nine of Wands) Ganesha says At this time, no situation in the work area is simple. You may feel alone. To move forward, you will have to face challenges. It will not be possible to progress without this. You may get irritated by some words of your beloved. There could be a quarrel over something. Keep yourself alert until the circumstances become favourable for you. Do not engage in unnecessary disputes with anyone. If a dispute arises, it is better to try to end it. Respect the feelings of the other person. The transfer received along with a promotion at work may surprise you. Do not be disturbed by this change. You may be troubled by some unknown apprehension. Gather courage and bravery to face the situation. Take care of your spouses health. Do not increase expenses in competition. Save money. Avoid getting involved in arguments unnecessarily. Do not react immediately by getting influenced by others words. Understand the situation first. Sagittarius Tarot Card Reading (Six of Wands) Ganesha says You may celebrate success with your collaborators. A major success in a big project can excite everyone. Efforts to fulfil the desire for education abroad appear likely to succeed. You will soon be seen eagerly awaiting the arrival of a little guest. Despite financial difficulties, you will not let your courage to move forward diminish. This is a favourable time in life. Some people will want to support you, but it is necessary to be a little cautious. Do not let the intoxication of success take over. Excessive success can give rise to arrogance. You may meet a desired life partner. There could be a pointless scuffle with someone. Be a little alert. Do not give the other person a chance to confront you. You may plan a trip somewhere with your children. Spending time together strengthens relationships. At this time, you can try to increase friendship with your children. Peoples opinions about you may change, which will please you. Capricorn Tarot Card Reading (Two of Cups) Ganesha says You may express your desire to marry your beloved in front of your family. Face the situation with patience and restraint. It is possible that circumstances are not favourable at the moment. Make efforts to improve your relationship with your business partner. Opportunities to advance your business may arise soon. Bring simplicity and humility to your language. Avoid using offensive words during conversations. Often, a good reputation can be damaged because of such words. Try not to taunt people over trivial matters. Reduce dependence on others to complete your work. Do not put yourself in trouble due to someone elses expectations. Make sure to obtain important information while completing tasks. This reduces the chances of mistakes later. Learn lessons from past errors. Improve your relationship with your children. Understand their problems. Speak to them with love instead of scolding. Aquarius Tarot Card Reading (The Magician) Ganesha says You will shine with your charming personality. You may start a new business. You will share your happiness with close ones. At this time, there is enthusiasm and excitement in life. You may give consent for marriage. All family members are very pleased with this good news. You will help in advancing the in-laws business. Keep reviewing your past work from time to time. This can help identify mistakes. Ensure these mistakes are not repeated. Keep this in mind. Efforts to start a new business are not yielding success. Do not feel disheartened by this. Make positive efforts again. There may be a promotion along with a transfer at your job. This change will be pleasant. You are confident about this. Do not trust anyone without proper verification. Share your personal matters only with trustworthy people. Strengthen relationships with people first. Do not always have expectations from others. People can sometimes get irritated by such things. This may cause them to start keeping their distance. Pisces Tarot Card Reading (Seven of Cups) Ganesha says New opportunities may arise in some areas of life. Be careful not to get confused by these opportunities. Choose the right opportunity at the right time. If in doubt, you may seek advice from an experienced person. Do not let good opportunities slip away due to wrong decisions or false hopes. Think calmly and carefully. Haste or impatience can lead you away from correct decisions. Be a little cautious. After a certain time, changes in the situation will definitely occur. Have faith in this. Do not become so ambitious about something that you try to fulfil your desires through easy or unethical means. This can affect your financial condition as well as your social reputation. Keep this in mind. Complete your tasks on time. Do not spend money unnecessarily on others. Feelings of jealousy and hatred can cause rifts in relationships. Do not doubt your spouse based on what others say. You can be assured about your childs education. Fulfil your responsibilities towards your family well. (The author Chirag Daruwalla is the son of Astrologer Bejan Daruwalla). News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 08:00 IST News astrology Tarot Horoscope, February 3, 2026: Zodiac Tarot Predictions For All Signs Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Tannery Road Widening Returns After A Decade As GBA Pushes Ahead, Locals Resist Curated By : Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 15:13 IST Residents and traders along Tannery Road say TDRs are difficult to monetise and do not help them meet needs such as relocating homes, restarting businesses, or repaying loans. Tannery Road is not just a traffic corridor but a tightly packed commercial and residential zone. Image: X More than a decade after it was first proposed, the long-pending plan to widen Tannery Road in north Bengaluru has resurfaced, this time under the Greater Bengaluru Authority. But even after 10 years, the project continues to face stiff resistance from residents and shopkeepers, raising questions about whether it can finally move forward. Tannery Road, one of the citys narrowest and most congested arterial stretches, has long been flagged for widening to ease daily traffic chaos. Yet, despite repeated attempts by civic agencies over the years, the project has remained stuck due to unresolved disputes over compensation. What Has Changed After 10 Years The latest push to widen Tannery Road is now being driven by the Greater Bengaluru Authority, marking a fresh attempt to revive a plan that has seen little progress since it was first proposed more than a decade ago. The project aims to widen the road to about 24 metres, or roughly 80 feet, along the stretch from Nagawara Junction to Pottery Town. Officials argue that the widening is critical to decongest the area, improve connectivity to the Cantonment side, and prepare the corridor for future infrastructure projects, including planned underground Metro works nearby. Why Opposition Has Not Faded Despite the renewed push, local opposition has remained strong. The core issue continues to be the compensation model being offered to affected property owners. Instead of cash pay outs, authorities are offering Transferable Development Rights, or TDR certificates. Residents and traders along Tannery Road say TDRs are difficult to monetise and do not help them meet immediate needs such as relocating homes, restarting businesses, or repaying loans. Many insist that cash compensation is the only viable option if the project is to move ahead smoothly. Fear of Losing Livelihoods Tannery Road is not just a traffic corridor but a tightly packed commercial and residential zone. Small shops, workshops, and family-run businesses line the stretch, many of which face partial or complete demolition if the widening goes ahead. Shopkeepers fear that losing frontage or entire structures could permanently disrupt their livelihoods. For families dependent on daily business income, uncertainty around compensation has amplified anxiety, even as the project re-enters the spotlight after years of dormancy. A Road Still Caught in Limbo While authorities say some property owners have agreed to the terms, a significant section continues to resist, keeping the project in a stalemate. Traffic congestion on Tannery Road remains severe, affecting commuters every day, but progress on widening remains slow. A decade later, the challenge remains the same: how to balance Bengalurus growing mobility needs with the economic survival of those who live and work along its most crowded streets. Until that balance is found, Tannery Roads widening may once again remain only a plan on paper. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 15:13 IST News cities bengaluru-news Tannery Road Widening Returns After A Decade As GBA Pushes Ahead, Locals Resist Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... IMD Warning: Hyderabad Sees Early Heat Surge, Rising Temperatures Prompt Advisory Curated By : Local18 Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 06:00 IST Hyderabad is set to witness a rise in daytime temperatures as February begins. With dry weather, high UV levels and no rain forecast, residents are advised to take precautions. Hyderabad wakes up to clear skies as temperatures climb slightly above normal. With dry weather and a high UV index, residents are advised to stay hydrated and avoid peak afternoon sun. Residents of Hyderabad are being advised to stay alert as temperatures across the city are expected to rise slightly above normal in the coming days. Even as February has just begun, early signs of increasing heat are already being felt. As winter gradually recedes, the weather in Telanganas capital is changing rapidly. According to the weather department, Hyderabad will experience dry and sunny conditions. Officials estimate a marginal rise in daytime temperatures across the city. Temperature Outlook The maximum temperature in Hyderabad is likely to touch 28C. Heat intensity is expected to be highest between 12 pm and 4 pm. The minimum temperature may drop to around 17C during the early morning and night hours, ensuring relatively cooler conditions after sunset. Weather Conditions Sky: Clear throughout the day with no cloud cover expected Rainfall: No rainfall predicted (0% chance) across the city Humidity: Around 49%, due to dry atmospheric conditions Wind: Light winds blowing from the east and northeast at speeds of 710 mph UV Index: Recorded at 7, nearing high levels; people with sensitive skin are advised to take precautions Advisory for Residents With rising afternoon heat, health experts and weather officials have issued the following recommendations: Stay Hydrated: Carry water while stepping out to prevent dehydration Clothing: Opt for light-coloured, cotton clothing during the day Skin Protection: Use sunscreen, umbrellas or protective accessories when outdoors Night-Time Care: As early mornings and nights remain slightly cool, children and the elderly should take adequate precautions Overall, Hyderabads weather will remain pleasant, though afternoons may feel warm. With February underway, temperatures are expected to rise further in the coming days. Similar warming trends are already being observed in neighbouring districts, signalling an early transition towards summer-like conditions. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 06:00 IST News cities IMD Warning: Hyderabad Sees Early Heat Surge, Rising Temperatures Prompt Advisory Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Mumbai Residents, Spitting & Littering In Public May Cost You Rs 25,000: BMC Rules, What You Must Know To Avoid Penalties Curated By : Trending Desk Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 11:51 IST Under the updated regulations, people can be fined for spitting, throwing garbage, mixing waste, or dumping construction debris illegally. The penalties start at Rs 200 and go up to Rs 25,000. (Representative Image) Mumbai is tightening its grip on cleanliness. From spitting on roads to dumping construction waste, several common habits can now cost residents and businesses heavy fines. The citys civic body has rolled out new rules aimed at keeping streets, drains and public spaces cleaner and safer. Officials say these steps are meant to improve sanitation, reduce pollution and encourage responsible waste handling across all parts of the city. The move comes at a time when Mumbai is expanding rapidly, making waste management a growing concern for authorities. New Fines Now In Force Across Mumbai The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) announced fresh cleanliness bylaws on February 2 under the Solid Waste (Management and Handling), Cleanliness and Sanitation Bylaws, 2025. These rules introduce penalties for a range of hygiene-related violations. Under the new system, spitting in public places will reportedly attract a fine of Rs 250, throwing garbage on roads or footpaths will cost Rs 500, and failing to separate wet and dry waste will lead to a Rs 200 penalty. Dumping or transporting construction or demolition waste without permission can result in a fine of up to Rs 25,000 per vehicle. The rules apply to everyone, households, shops, offices, industries, schools, religious places and public institutions. Anyone found violating the norms can face strict action from the civic body. The bylaws have been reportedly issued under the direction of Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani. Their implementation is being overseen by senior officials, including Additional Municipal Commissioner Dr Ashwini Joshi and Deputy Municipal Commissioner Kiran Dighavkar from the Solid Waste Management department. Cleanliness Drives Underway In The City BMC officials said that regular cleaning drives and special campaigns are already in progress to ensure the new rules are followed properly. Dr Ashwini Joshi reportedly stated that the bylaws are aligned with the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, framed by the Union Ministry of Environment. These rules focus on waste segregation at source, proper collection, storage and processing of garbage. They also cover biomedical waste, electronic waste, plastic waste and construction debris. The bylaws list penalties for 21 types of offences, including public urination, feeding animals or birds in public areas, washing clothes or utensils on streets, burning garbage, and dumping debris at illegal sites. Even event organisers can be fined if they fail to clean up within four hours after a public gathering. BMC has urged citizens, housing societies, shopkeepers and businesses to follow the rules and help keep Mumbai clean. Thane Launches Big Cleanliness Campaign Meanwhile, Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) reportedly started a major deep-clean drive in the Kopri area on February 2. Many residents joined the effort and helped with cleaning activities. The campaign began early in the morning at Ashtavinayak Chowk, where mayor-designate Sharmila Pimpalolkar led a cleanliness pledge. She said the initiative would soon be expanded across the entire city and stressed the importance of public participation. Several corporators and senior officials also took part in the drive, showing strong support for the cleanliness push. Gutka Stains Spotted On New Mumbai Metro Line 3 Photos recently showed red gutka stains on the newly launched Mumbai Metro Line 3, sparking outrage online. Many people criticised the behaviour and called for stricter enforcement of cleanliness rules in public transport. Man Litters Railway Station With Gutka Packet In another case, a man from Mumbai was seen littering a railway station with a gutka packet. When confronted, he gave a bizarre explanation for his actions, which only angered more people. Spit Marks Ruin Mumbais Coastal Road Promenade Social media users were furious after spit marks were seen staining Mumbais newly built Coastal Road promenade. Many questioned why people were already damaging a public space meant for everyone to enjoy. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: February 03, 2026, 11:51 IST News mumbai-news Mumbai Residents, Spitting & Littering In Public May Cost You Rs 25,000: BMC Rules, What You Must Know To Avoid Penalties Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Mumbai-Pune In 48 Minutes: Decoding Ashwini Vaishnaws Rs 23,926-Crore Rail Budget for Maharashtra Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 14:05 IST The travel time between Mumbai and Pune will be significantly slashed. Pune and Hyderabad high speed corridor will be highly beneficial for commuters, said Vaishnaw Rapid Read Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw addresses a press on regarding the state-wise Budget 2026-27, in New Delhi. (PTI) Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has announced a record budgetary allocation of 23,926 crore for Maharashtra in the Union Budget 2026-27. Rs 23,926 crore will be the total railway budget outlay for Maharashtra. Meanwhile, Rs 1.70 lakh crore worth projects are ongoing in the state that will include the new high-speed rail corridors between Mumbai-Pune and Pune-Hyderabad, freight corridors and others," Vaishnaw said at a press conference. The travel time will be significantly slashed between Mumbai to Pune to just 48 minutes, and both cities will practically be very much connected. People can commute easily between the two cities for their work and return immediately," Vaishnaw said. The Pune-Hyderabad corridor is equally significant. Both Pune and Hyderabad are major IT, electronics and manufacturing hubs and connecting them with a high speed corridor, the bullet train network, will be highly beneficial for commuters. The travel time between both cities will be one hour fifty-five minutes," he said. 16 3 4 , , 23,926 : @AshwiniVaishnaw pic.twitter.com/GI4VYSWKRx Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) February 3, 2026 What are the highlights? Two new bullet train corridors have been sanctioned to improve inter-city connectivity: Mumbai-Pune travel time will be reduced to just 48 minutes. Pune-Hyderabad travel time is expected to be 1 hour and 55 minutes. Under the Amrit Station Scheme, 132 railway stations in the state will be completely redeveloped with an investment of 5,675 crore. A new Dedicated Freight Corridor will connect to the upcoming Vadhvan Port in Palghar district, boosting countrywide freight logistics. For Mumbai suburban railway, the plans include the introduction of 238 new AC local trains featuring automatic doors and oxygen regulation systems. Currently, railway works worth 1,70,058 crore are underway in Maharashtra, covering new tracks, safety enhancements, and the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train, which is slated for commercial operation next year. Total track construction in the state since 2014 has reached approximately 2,400 km, and the network has achieved 100% electrification. Bullet trains, Kumbh Mela to Konkan: Vaishnaws key quotes Addressing operational aspects, Vaishnaw outlined the phased approach to service frequency. In the initial period after the inauguration, these bullet train frequencies will be a gap of one or two hours. After the project gets stabilised, then the frequency will increase," he said. Vaishnaw said, Similar to Maha Kumbh, exhaustive facilities have been planned for Nashik Kumbh as well as Ujjain, Godavari, and Kumbakonam," Vaishnaw said. #ViksitBharatBudget:7 High-Speed Rail Corridors as growth connectors between cities Mumbai to Pune Pune to Hyderabad Hyderabad to Bengaluru Hyderabad to Chennai Chennai to Bengaluru Delhi to Varanasi Varanasi to Siliguri pic.twitter.com/XY5PEVge1y Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) February 1, 2026 This freight corridor will begin in West Bengal and travel through Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and will join Surat while connecting with the western freight corridor. Vadhavan port is poised to become one of the largest ports in the world, and the new freight corridor would allow it to connect with the countrys hinterland," he said. Theres a need to improve the capacity of Konkan railway as it offers connectivity to crucial coastal areas. There are multiple areas to be focused on, such as doubling the tracks, strengthening tunnels, renewing old track technology, installing innovative KAVACH systems, among other works. A Detailed Project Report (DPR) has been completed in this regard, and is in the phase of approval," the minister said. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 13:53 IST News cities mumbai-news Mumbai-Pune In 48 Minutes: Decoding Ashwini Vaishnaws Rs 23,926-Crore Rail Budget for Maharashtra Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Three Of Family Injured As Mercedes, Driven By Teen, Crashes Into Multiple Vehicles In Mumbai Tunnel Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 14:24 IST A Mercedes-Benz, allegedly being driven by a 17-year-old boy, lost control while speeding through the Coastal Road tunnel towards South Mumbai. A visual from the spot (Credits: News18) Three members of a family were injured after a high-speed Mercedes rammed into vehicles inside the Coastal Road tunnel in South Mumbai on Sunday morning. A Mercedes-Benz, allegedly being driven by a 17-year-old boy, lost control while speeding through the Coastal Road tunnel towards South Mumbai and rear-ended an SUV, which collided with another car ahead. Three people in the SUV, including an elderly woman, sustained injuries and were rushed to a hospital. Mercedes Belonged To Businessman Upon receiving information, the police reached the spot and initiated a probe into the matter. Upon enquiry, it was learnt that the Mercedes belonged to a businessman from Agripada. According to the police, the businessmans 18-year-old granddaughter took the car and asked her 17-year-old friend to drive, despite him being a minor. Meanwhile, the police have registered a case against the car owner, his granddaughter, and the teen, who was reportedly driving the car, under sections of the Motor Vehicles Act and charges of rash and negligent driving. Further probe is underway into the matter. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 14:24 IST News mumbai-news Three Of Family Injured As Mercedes, Driven By Teen, Crashes Into Multiple Vehicles In Mumbai Tunnel Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Pune Metro Line From Shivajinagar-IT Park Will Slash Commute Time From 2 Hours To 30 Minutes: Route, Timeline Curated By : Trending Desk Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 11:18 IST Pune is set to improve commuting with Indias first public-private partnership metro line, connecting Hinjawadi to Shivajinagar. It is scheduled to launch in March. (Photo Credit: X) A new metro line in Pune is set to cut travel time dramatically, connecting Hinjawadi to Shivajinagar. Once operational in March 2026, the journey that currently takes nearly two hours will take just 30 minutes, providing relief to thousands of commuters, especially IT professionals travelling daily to the citys tech hubs. The metro is part of Indias first public-private partnership for a metro project, marking a major step in improving Punes transport system. With traffic congestion increasing every year, the citys roads have struggled to handle the growing number of vehicles, particularly in busy areas like Hinjawadi. Metro Tests Are Complete and the Project Is On Track Officials reportedly say the Hinjawadi-Shivajinagar metro line has already completed two successful trial runs. Commissioner Dr Yogesh Mhase inspected the project and confirmed it is on schedule for the planned March 2026 launch. The metro will link Shivajinagar, the city centre, to Rajiv Gandhi IT Park, offering over 2.2 lakh professionals across 800 companies a faster and more reliable alternative to congested roads, as per reports. Triple-Level Design to Ease Traffic A key feature is the triple-level structure at Vidyapeeth Chowk, designed to manage traffic in one of Punes busiest intersections: Bottom level: existing city roads for local traffic Middle level: fast-moving flyover for vehicles Top level: metro tracks for trains The line will include 23 modern stations and 14 advanced trainsets, providing speed and comfort while allowing road traffic below to flow smoothly. Metro Expected To Keep IT Workforce In Pune Hinjawadis heavy traffic had some tech companies considering relocation. The metro is expected to save commuting time, helping retain the citys IT workforce and supporting Punes status as a leading technology hub in Maharashtra. According to the TomTom Traffic Index 2025, Pune remains one of the most congested cities globally, with an average speed of 18 kmph, slower than Mumbais 20.8 kmph. Pune ranks fifth, while Mumbai is 18th in the world. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: February 03, 2026, 11:17 IST News pune Pune Metro Line From Shivajinagar-IT Park Will Slash Commute Time From 2 Hours To 30 Minutes: Route, Timeline Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... EU Ambassador after night in bathroom due to massive Russian attack: Winter temperatures used as weapon The European Union Ambassador to Ukraine, Katarina Mathernova, reported that she spent the night in the bathroom due to intensive Russian strikes on Kyiv, which targeted civilian infrastructure, heating and electricity sources. Today I slept in the bathroom. Again. It was a very loud night, Mathernova wrote on Facebook, publishing a detailed description of the events of the night of February 3. Overnight, Russia attacked Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa and five other regions. The strikes deliberately targeted sources of heat and electricity, as well as civilians. The attack was another massive combined one, including 450 drones and 70 ballistic and cruise missiles. According to Mayor Klitschko, 1170 additional multi-storey residential buildings were left without heating and electricity in the middle of winter, in freezing temperatures. It was -23 degrees Celsius in Kyiv this morning. In Kharkiv, mostly energy infrastructure was under attack. According to Mayor Terekhov, 820 multi-storey building will be disconnected from heating supply to prevent the freezing of pipes. In Odesa region, the attack targeted energy and civilian infrastructure. Nearly 50,000 resident were cut off from the power supply, according to Head of Odesa Regional Military Administration Kiper. There have been dozens of injuries across the country. Exact data is still being compiled. Rescue services are busy helping people and clearing debris after the attacks. This is not a side effect of war. It is Russian strategy. Winter temperatures used as a weapon. Heat and electricity as targets, the EU Ambassador stressed. Mathernova emphasized that every night, she thinks of the millions of people across the country shivering in their homes as winter is not over and neither are Russian attacks. At the same time, she expressed admiration for Ukraines resilience: At the same time, she expressed admiration for Ukraines resilience. The EU has already donated hundreds of generators to help combat the consequences of Russian shelling. Delhi School Fee Regulation Law Wont Apply In Current Academic Year: Govt Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 08:24 IST The government has clarified that the Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Act, 2025 will not be implemented in current academic year. Delhi government issues Gazette notification to streamline implementation of school fee regulation law. The Delhi government has issued a Gazette notification to ease the rollout of its new school fee regulation law after the Supreme Court raised questions over its implementation. According to the notification released on Sunday, all schools in the capital have been directed to form a School-Level Fee Regulation Committee (SLFRC) within 10 days of the order being published. Schools that had already set up such committees under an earlier notification will not need to reconstitute them, as those panels will remain valid under the revised framework. Once the SLFRC is formed, school managements will have 14 days to submit details of their proposed fee structure for the next three academic years starting from 202627. The committee will then examine the proposal and fix the fees as per the provisions of the Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Act. The notification also directs the Director of Education (DoE) to set up District Fee Appellate Committees (DFACs) in every education district within 30 days. These panels will hear appeals related to disputes over fee fixation. The government clarified that the revised timelines are being applied only for the immediate upcoming block of three academic years beginning 202627. For all future fee cycles, the strict timelines prescribed under the Act and its Rules will be followed. In a key interim relief for parents, the notification said schools will not be allowed to charge any fee higher than what was being collected as of April 1, 2025, until the new fee structure for the next block is finalised. It further stated that any exorbitant fee charged by schools during the 202526 academic year will be regulated in accordance with the law, subject to the final outcome of cases pending before the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court. Addressing the gap between two fee cycles, the Gazette clarified that once a three-year fee block ends, schools cannot increase fees beyond the last approved amount until the fees for the next block receive official approval. Any excess amount collected during this interim period will have to be adjusted later. ALSO READ: Class 10 Syllabus Cut Wont Remove Core Content, Says Kerala Education Minister The move comes amid ongoing scrutiny by the Supreme Court, which is examining the validity of the Delhi governments fee regulation framework. The apex court has sought clarity on several aspects of the law, including the composition of committees and safeguards against arbitrary fee hikes. It has also taken note of concerns raised by private schools regarding timelines and administrative challenges in implementing the Act. The Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Bill was passed by the Delhi Assembly in 2025 with the aim of increasing transparency, ensuring parental participation in fee decisions, and preventing arbitrary fee increases by schools. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 08:24 IST News education-career Delhi School Fee Regulation Law Wont Apply In Current Academic Year: Govt Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Pariksha Pe Charcha 2026 On Feb 6; PM Modi To Discuss Stress-Free Exams Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 15:12 IST Pariksha Pe Charcha 2026 will be aired on February 6. PM Modi will interact with students on exam stress, preparation, and mental well-being. PM Modi to interact with students at Pariksha Pe Charcha 2026 on Feb 6. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced that Pariksha Pe Charchas episode will be aired on February 6. Sharing the update on X, the Prime Minister said the annual interaction with students has returned ahead of exams. As the Parikshas are approaching, #ParikshaPeCharcha is back too! This time, the Charcha happened with #ExamWarriors in Devmogra, Coimbatore, Raipur, Guwahati and at 7, LKM in Delhi. As always, it is refreshing to interact with my young friends and discuss stress free exams and several other things. Do watch the PPC Episode on 6th February!," PM Modi wrote on X. In a post shared on X, Dharmendra Pradhan said the wait for Pariksha Pe Charcha 2026 is nearing its end and described the upcoming edition as being organised in a unique and extensive" manner. The Education Minister invited students, parents, and teachers to take part in the programme and urged students to overcome exam-related fear through confidence and positive thinking. He also said that Narendra Modi will respond to students questions on board examinations and preparation strategies. The Prime Minister, he added, will also focus on making parents and teachers more aware of issues related to childrens mental health. The 2026 edition of Pariksha Pe Charcha has seen record participation across the country. More than 4.5 crore registrations were recorded for the programme, reflecting wide interest among students, parents, and teachers. In addition, around 2.26 crore people participated in activities linked to the initiative, taking the total participation to over 6.76 crore nationwide. The programme will be broadcast live on multiple platforms, including Doordarshan channels such as DD National, DD News, and DD India, along with several leading private television channels. It will also be aired on All India Radio (MW and FM) and streamed on the digital platforms of the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) and the Ministry of Education, ensuring wide access for viewers across the country. ALSO READ: Allahabad HC Orders Statewide Review Of UP Teacher Appointments Over Fake During the interaction, the Prime Minister will respond to questions raised by students on issues related to exam stress, preparation strategies, and overall well-being. This year, registrations have crossed 4 crore, with participation not only from students but also from parents and teachers, highlighting the growing reach of the initiative. The themes selected for Pariksha Pe Charcha 2026 reflect a broad focus beyond examinations. These include Make Exams a Celebration, Contribution of Our Freedom Fighters, Save the Environment, and Clean India, encouraging students to think about wider social and national issues alongside academics. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 15:12 IST News education-career Pariksha Pe Charcha 2026 On Feb 6; PM Modi To Discuss Stress-Free Exams Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... US Slashes India Tariffs To 18% As Trump Announces Trade Deal: What We Know So Far Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 12:32 IST Lower US tariffs mean Indian exporters face fewer cost barriers to enter the American market, especially in sectors like textiles, apparel, seafood, chemicals and auto components US President Donald Trump with PM Narendra Modi (Photo: AP) In a major diplomatic breakthrough after months of intense negotiations and tense moments, India and the United States finalised a trade deal, with US President Donald Trump slashing tariffs from 25 per cent to 18 per cent after a call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi late on Monday. Trump, while announcing the details of the phone conversation, said Washington would reduce the tariff it had earlier imposed on Indian goodseffective immediately. He claimed that in return, India would move to cut its own tariffs and non-tariff barriers against US products to zero". Reciprocating the gesture, PM Modi took to social media to say he had a wonderful" conversation with Trump and thanked him for lowering tariffs on Made in India products to 18 per cent. However, he steered clear of any commitment to halt purchase of Russian oil or reduction of all tariffs and non-tariff barriers to zeroas claimed by the US President. As the two countries mark a historic moment in negotiations, heres what we know so far: Trade Deal & Tariffs: What Is The Agreement? In the absence of a formal statement drawing out the contours of the trade deal, there is still some ambiguity over what the two leaders agreed to. While the Indian side did not clarify its stand on buying Russian oil or purchasing $500 billion worth of US goods, the fact that a 50 per cent US tariff on Indiaone of the highest rates slapped on any countrywill come down to 18 percent is a significant achievement. The deal comes just days after India and the European Union announced what both sides referred to as mother of all" trade deals. While EU is Indias largest trading partner as an economic bloc, US continues to be the single-largest trading partner. Based on social media posts by Trump and PM Modi, we now know that: Reciprocal tariffs on India reduced to 18 per cent Trump has said India will reduce its tariffs on US products to 0 per cent The US President claims India will stop buying Russian oil India has committed to buy $500 billion of US energy, tech, agriculture, coal, Trump said The new tariff rate is effective immediately Market Access Lower US tariffs mean Indian exporters face fewer cost barriers to enter the large American market, especially in sectors like textiles, apparel, seafood, chemicals and auto components. With the rate cut to 18 per cent, India may now be better placed than competitors such as Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia, in some US markets. Trade analysts highlight that specific Indian export sectors will gain access and competitiveness thanks to lower duties. These include: Textiles & apparel: The US absorbs ~28% of Indias textile exports; lower tariffs will help restore competitiveness and pricing power. Seafood: India is a top shrimp supplier to the US; tariff cuts boost export prospects. Auto and auto ancillaries: Reduced trade costs can help sustain US orders and strengthen Indias role in global supply chains. Chemicals and consumer goods: Lower barriers make US market entry easier for chemicals and certain packaged foods. In return, India has agreed to lower its own import tariffs on American products, effectively opening the Indian market further to US exporters, including energy, technology, agriculture, coal and others. It is important to note again, however, that the deal reportedly includes zero tariffs and barriers for many US goods, though formal schedules and timelines havent yet been made public. Russia-Ukraine War & Venezuelan Oil On social media, President Trump said India would halt purchases of Russian oil and instead increase energy imports from the US and potentially Venezuela as part of the trade agreement, framing the shift as helping to end the war with Russia and Ukraine". This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week!" The US had imposed a punitive 25 per cent tariff on Indian imports specifically because India was buying Russian crude, which doubled Indias overall tariff burden. According to Reuters, earlier tariff hikes (up to 50 per cent) were connected to Indias Russian oil imports, and removing the extra tariff was linked to Indias reported agreement to curb those purchases. While Trump may have claimed that India agreed to stop buying Russian oil, there has been no commitment from the Indian side about the same. PM Modi also stopped short of confirming the same in his social media post, sticking to thanking the US President for reduction in tariffs. Sergio Gor: The Crucial Link Before Trump announced the historic deal on social mediareplete with big numbers and capital lettersit was his trusted lieutenant in New Delhi, Sergio Gor, who sent both countries into a tizzy on Monday by dropping a big hint. Gor, 38, assumed office as the US ambassador to India just a month ago and has already emerged as a central figure in Trumps efforts to recast US-India ties at a moment shaped by tariff frictions and wider strategic challenges. Even before formally taking charge, Gor arrived bearing a gifta photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Trump, signed by the US President and inscribed with the words: Mr Prime Minister, you are great." The trusted Trump allys selection was widely read in diplomatic circles as a deliberate move by Washington to station a hands-on envoy in New Delhisomeone with immediate access to, and influence within, the Oval Office. Speaking with CNN-News18 after the deal was announced, Gor said, The credit goes to President Trump and Prime Minister ModiThe two leaders have a great personal relationship is something that carries this deal forward. The potential between India and the United States is limitless." PM Modi A Friend Beyond the economics and tariffs, what stood apart in the announcements by both Trump and Gor was the deep personal rapport that the US President shares with PM Modi. Trump said his agreement with India came out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi" when announcing the tariff cuts to 18 per cent. In his social media post, he wrote that it was an honour to speak with Prime Minister Modi He is one of my greatest friends and, a powerful and respected leader of his country". Taking to X, Gor too said that President Trump genuinely considers Prime Minister Modi a great friend!" and praised the trade deal, underscoring the strong USIndia relationship. Reciprocating the gesture, PM Modi posted on X that it was wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today." The repeated use of the word friend" by Trumpand amplified by Gorcomes at a moment when India-US ties were under real strain: elevated tariffs, disagreements over Russian oil, and wider geopolitical pressures linked to Ukraine. The trade deal itself was not just technical or economic; it was announced and framed as the product of a personal conversation between Trump and PM Modi rather than a routine bureaucratic negotiation. The language underscores that the Trump-Modi relationship is driven heavily by personal rapport, with trust between the two leaders shaping outcomes alongside formal negotiations. By calling PM Modi a friend, Trump was signalling to domestic and international audiences that India is viewed as a special partnerdistinct from other countries facing US trade pressure. Reactions After The Deal The first to react after the announcement was Indian markets. Indian equity benchmarks opened the week on a decisive high, buoyed by the breakthrough in the IndiaUS trade agreement that reignited investor sentiment. The Sensex surged nearly 2,300 points at the open, while the Nifty added around 700 points in early deals, marking a swift turn from restraint to risk-on optimism. Support from the United States was also swift. US Under Secretary of State Jacob Helberg welcomed the deal, saying it would deepen industrial collaboration and create momentum for specific joint projects, including in critical minerals and technology cooperation. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who is in the United States, said he welcomed the announcements on bilateral trade". In a post on X, he said: This will create more jobs, spur growth and promote innovation in both economies. It will strengthen Make in India endeavors and encourage trusted technology ties." Union Home Minister Amit Shah called this a big day for India-U. relations", congratulating both PM Modi and Trump for this historic deal". Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said India and US together have huge potential to work for peace and development. US and India are worlds largest democracies. Both countries are natural allies. Together, India and US have huge potential to work for peace and development," he said on X. However, the Indian opposition was not impressed. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said Trump seemed to have leverage over PM Modi. He [Trump] announced the halt of Op Sindoor from Washington DC. He announced the updates on Indias oil purchases from Russia and Venezuela from Washington. Hes now announced an India-U.S. Trade Deal from Washington, the full details of which are awaited. President Trump clearly seems to have some leverage over Prime Minister Modi who is now mortified of even being seen with him, let alone engage in the usual bout of hugs". Ramesh also criticised the pattern in which Indians were reportedly learning about their governments actions from announcements by the US president. It seems that Prime Minister Modi and President Trump spoke to each other today. This information has been provided not by the Indian side but by the US Ambassador to India. This now seems to be the routine India gets to know of its governments actions only from President Trump or his appointees. Trump-nirbharta," he said. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 10:04 IST News explainers US Slashes India Tariffs To 18% As Trump Announces Trade Deal: What We Know So Far Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Why 'Melania' Documentary Has Received 1.3/10 Stars On IMDb Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 17:47 IST Melania, a documentary that follows the life of Melania Trump, has received unflattering reviews from critics and public alike. Melania, a documentary that follows Melania Trump, has received scathing reviews globally. (AP Photo) Melania, the self-titled documentary of Melania Trump, isnt faring too well on the review charts. The one-hour and forty-four-minute-long documentary closely follows the life of the USs First Lady, Melania Trump, wife Melania. Directed by Brett Ratner, Melania focuses on the 20 days leading up to Trumps second presidential inauguration, revealing the behind-the-scenes on the big screen. Made at a reported budget of $40 million, Amazon MGM Studios-backed project may struggle to recover its cost, owing to the poor word of mouth that the pseudo-documentary has received and the subsequent scathing reviews that have emerged across review websites. Lowest-Rated Movie Of All Time" Released on 30 January, Melania became the lowest rated movie of all time on IMDb on 2 February, scoring an unflattering 1.1 stars on 10 from 17,000 reviews, reported Complex Pop Culture. 'Melania' is currently the lowest rated movie of all time on IMDb.The film is sitting at 1.1/10 stars with over 17k reviews. pic.twitter.com/xutJekTFJH Complex Pop Culture (@ComplexPop) February 1, 2026 Letterboxd A piercing review posted on Letterboxd, which gained 8125 likes, was widely shared on Elon Musk-owned social media platform X. The review read: If they showed this on a plane, people would still walk out." User Reviews Melania received a perfect 10/10 stars from 3.2K users on Internet Movie Database (IMDb). However, on the flip side, the documentary on the First Lady was rated 1/10 by 29,000 users on the movie database website. Currently sitting at 1.3/10, the top reviews criticised the documentary for lack of substance" and being boring" and blasted the documentary for having no emotional connect. This documentary about the First Lady of America feels flat and lifeless. It presents facts without soul, relying on dull narration and repetitive footage. Theres no insight or emotion, just surface-level storytelling that feels more like a rushed school project than a meaningful film,leaving the viewer bored and disconnected from the subject," a review with 1/10 stars, read. Also Read: AR Rahmans BTS Video From Melania Trumps Documentary Premiere Has A Donald Trump Cameo Melania is not a documentary, its a lifeless PR exercise disguised as one. It offers zero insight, zero honesty, and absolutely no critical perspective. Every moment feels carefully curated to avoid saying anything meaningful," another user, reviewing the documentary on IMDb, wrote before adding, Theres no depth, no narrative, and no courage to ask real questions. Instead, the film drifts through empty images and vague statements that lead nowhere. By the end, you know no more than when you started-and you probably care even less." Two hours of Melania is pure torture. She appears ingenious and curated and almost AI generated as to how the perfect first lady for Trump should be. Ive never been tempted to ask for a ticket refund before but this was the closest I got," part of a third review read. Rotten Tomatoes On the renowned movie and TV review aggregator platform, Rotten Tomatoes, Melania scored 6% on the Tomatometer. However, Popcornmeter told a different story as the First Ladys documentary achieved a near-perfect 99%. Very revealing insight to the world of the First Lady. The movie portrays Melania to be up to the demanding task with her intelligence, style and class. My wife and I loved the film and the audience clapped at the end," a glowing review left by an audience member on Rotten Tomatoes read. Very well done and Melania is such an amazing elegant person and first lady. It is so sad that half of the country wont watch it," noted a second. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 17:47 IST News explainers Why 'Melania' Documentary Has Received 1.3/10 Stars On IMDb Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Historic Vs Sell-Out: Why Opposition Is Criticising India-US Trade Deal And What Govt Is Saying Curated By : News18.com Edited By: Pragati Ratti Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 11:13 IST The Opposition has accused the Narendra Modi government of capitulating to American pressure on tariffs, energy purchases and agricultural market access. US President Donald Trump with PM Narendra Modi (Photo: AP) The India-US trade deal announced by US President Donald Trump on Monday night has triggered sharp reactions from the Opposition, which has accused the Narendra Modi government of capitulating to American pressure on tariffs, energy purchases and agricultural market access. While the full text of the India-US trade agreement is yet to be made public, statements issued by President Trump and members of his administration have fuelled controversy in New Delhi. What Is The Opposition Saying? These assertions have drawn strong political pushback. Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed questioned the governments silence on agriculture, warning that increased imports of subsidised American farm products would hurt our farmers for sure." She also flagged the tariff asymmetry, arguing that Indian exporters face steep duties while US goods enter India duty-free, calling the arrangement not a fair deal." Echoing similar concerns, small investor Vineeth K said that while lower tariffs were being projected as a positive, the broader picture showed the US gaining far more. He pointed to commitments on energy imports, restrictions on Russian oil purchases, and a surge in Buy American" obligations as evidence of a one-sided agreement. Forner Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha went further, describing the pact as the grandmother of a sell-out trade deal." He argued that Indias acceptance of higher US tariffs from an earlier average of 23 per cent to 18 per cent amounted to a strategic setback, especially when competing economies such as Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia are benefiting more from global supply chain diversification. Jha also criticised what he called Indias acceptance of zero tariffs and zero non-tariff barriers for US products, saying it exposed domestic industry and agriculture to overwhelming competition. A central concern raised by Jha and other Congress leaders is the vulnerability of Indias farm sector. They argue that mass-produced, subsidised American agricultural and dairy products could undercut Indian farmers and damage the rural economy, particularly at a time when farm incomes remain under stress. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh linked the trade deal to a broader pattern of what he described as US leverage over India. He noted that key announcements from the halt of Operation Sindoor to changes in Indias oil sourcing have been made by President Trump from Washington, not by the Indian government. Ramesh said the optics and timing suggested that Prime Minister Modi had capitulated" under pressure, diminishing Indias global standing. Ramesh also demanded parliamentary scrutiny, pointing out that Parliament is currently in session. He insisted that the full texts of both the India-US trade deal and the proposed EU free trade agreement be tabled and debated, especially in light of claims by the US Agriculture Secretary that India has opened up its agricultural markets. Why Is The Opposition Criticising The Deal? The full text of the India-US trade deal is yet to be made public. According to US President Trump, the deal will significantly expand American exports to India, particularly in agriculture, energy and technology, while ensuring preferential market access for US products. US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has publicly claimed that India has agreed to liberalise agricultural imports, allowing more American farm and dairy products into the Indian market. Trump has also stated that Indian goods exported to the US will now face tariffs of up to 18 per cent (down from the previous 50 per cent), while American products entering India will attract zero tariffs. Another major claim made by the Trump is that India has committed to purchasing US goods and services worth $500 billion, a sharp jump from the current annual import level of around $45 billion. In addition, the US President has asserted that India will scale down or halt purchases of Russian oil and instead source energy from the US and Venezuela, aligning with Washingtons geopolitical priorities. What Has The Indian Government Said? The Modi government is yet to respond to concerns. However, the deal is being positioned by New Delhi as a limited but important arrangement, with officials indicating that negotiations for a broader, more comprehensive agreement covering additional sectors will continue in the coming months. India has emerged with a more favourable tariff rate than most of its South Asian neighbours and key export competitors after the United States agreed to cut duties on Indian goods as part of the new trade deal. With a revised tariff rate of 18 per cent, India now enjoys an advantage over Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and several Southeast Asian export-driven economies, giving Indian exporters a competitive position in global According to Indian officials quoted by Reuters, the deal includes market access for select agricultural products, addressing a key demand from Washington. While the government has not disclosed the full list of farm items covered, the inclusion of agriculture has already drawn political attention given its sensitivity in Indias domestic economy. The agreement also responds to long-standing US concerns over Indias high import tariffs, particularly in sectors such as automobiles. As part of the deal, India has agreed to reduce tariffs in specific categories, including auto-related segments, a move aimed at easing access for American manufacturers into the Indian market. A significant component of the deal is Indias commitment to increase purchases of American goods across multiple strategic sectors. Officials said these commitments span petroleum and energy products, defence equipment, electronics, pharmaceuticals, telecom products and aircraft. The intent, according to the government, is to diversify sourcing while deepening trade ties with the US in high-value and technology-intensive sectors. The government has emphasised that this agreement should be seen as an interim framework rather than a final settlement. Talks are expected to continue on expanding the scope of the deal to cover more sectors, finer tariff adjustments and non-tariff barriers, as both sides work towards a more expansive bilateral trade pact. While Washington has projected the deal as a major win for American exporters, Indian officials maintain that negotiations are ongoing and that future discussions will determine the full contours, safeguards and timelines of Indias commitments under a wider India-US trade agreement. PM Modi Welcomes Deal Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the agreement, thanked US President Donald Trump, and said reduced tariffs on Indian exports will benefit both countries while strengthening ties. Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 per cent. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement. When two large economies and the worlds largest democracies work together, it benefits our people and unlocks immense opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation. I look forward to working closely with him to take our partnership to unprecedented heights." PM Modi posted on X. Union Home Minister Amit Shah called the deal a big day" for India-US relations and congratulated both leaders on what he termed a historic move. A big day for India-US relations as the trade deal has been locked with a significantly reduced tariff of 18%, paving the way for stronger trade ties and mutual growth. I congratulate Prime Minister @narendramodi and President @realDonaldTrump for this historic deal, which will elevate our strategic partnership and greatly benefit both nations and their people. Business between India and US set to flourish further," Shah wrote. Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal described it as a landmark trade agreement" that can expand opportunities for farmers, MSMEs, entrepreneurs and workers, and reshape bilateral economic engagement. Congratulations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji and President Donald Trump, as well as to the people of India and the United States, on the landmark trade agreement. This reflects the power of two like-minded, fair-trading democracies working together for shared prosperity. Grateful for PM Narendra Modi ji and President Donald Trumps visionary and decisive leadership, and strong commitment to strengthening India-US ties. This agreement unlocks unprecedented opportunities for farmers, MSMEs, entrepreneurs, and skilled workers, and helps India access technology from the United States," Goyal said. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 11:13 IST News explainers Historic Vs Sell-Out: Why Opposition Is Criticising India-US Trade Deal And What Govt Is Saying Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 12-Year-Old Found To Be Pregnant At Govt Hostel, Vegetable Vendor Held For Rape In MP's Sagar Curated By : Translation Desk Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 14:47 IST According to the police, the accused sexually assaulted the girl over a period of nearly four months and threatened to kill her if she disclosed the abuse Rapid Read The crime came to light after the girl's health deteriorated and she complained of severe abdominal pain. (Representational Image) A shocking case of sexual assault has come to light from Madhya Pradeshs Sagar district, where a 12-year-old girl staying at a tribal government hostel was allegedly raped repeatedly by a vegetable seller. Police said the accused, identified as Altaf, used to supply vegetables to the hostel and allegedly lured the minor on false pretexts. According to the police, the accused sexually assaulted the girl over a period of nearly four months and threatened to kill her if she disclosed the abuse, forcing her into silence. The crime came to light after the girls health deteriorated and she complained of severe abdominal pain. Medical examination later revealed that she was three months pregnant. The victim is currently undergoing treatment at Hamidia Hospital in Bhopal. A case has been registered at Kohefiza police station, while the case diary has also been sent to Khurai police station in Sagar district for further investigation. The accused has been arrested. In a separate incident from the Kohefiza area, an accused arrested for allegedly raping a Class 11 student was produced before a court, where lawyers allegedly surrounded and assaulted him within the court premises. Police personnel intervened to rescue the accused, leading to a scuffle between the police and some lawyers. A video of the confrontation later surfaced. Police said the accused, identified as Osaf Ali, allegedly raped the student inside a car and later blackmailed her using objectionable videos. He is also accused of pressuring the victim over religious conversion, promising marriage, and extorting money from her. Assistant Commissioner of Police Anil Bajpai said the accused had taken the girl on a motorcycle to the Khanugaon area, where he sexually assaulted her and continued to threaten her repeatedly. A case has been registered, the accused has been arrested, and further interrogation is underway. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : Sagar, India, India First Published: February 03, 2026, 14:47 IST News india 12-Year-Old Found To Be Pregnant At Govt Hostel, Vegetable Vendor Held For Rape In MP's Sagar Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 2 Factory Workers Die, 1 Injured After Vande Bharat Hit Them While Taking Group Selfie Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 00:14 IST 2 factory workers died and one got injured after a Vande Bharat train hit them while taking a group selfie near Rajkot. All were factory workers from Uttar Pradesh. Vande Bharat train hit three migrant factory workers, 2 of them died. (Photo: PTI/File) In a tragic incident near Gujarats Rajkot, two migrant factory workers lost their lives, and another was critically injured after they were hit by a Vande Bharat train on Monday evening. As per the police, the trio was trying to take a group selfie near railway tracks when they were hit. All three workers were from Uttar Pradesh. The accident occurred at 4:45 pm near a railway crossing between Bhaktinagar and Ribda stations, as the Veraval-Ahmedabad Vande Bharat train was passing by, AR Rathod, sub-inspector of the Aji Dam police station told PTI. The victims, all in their 20s, had approached the tracks to take a selfie but miscalculated the distance from the oncoming train, leading to the fatal collision. Rathod reported that one man died instantly, while the other two were severely injured and transported to a hospital, where one later succumbed to his injuries. Due to some miscalculation about distance from the tracks, these three men were hit by the train, which briefly stopped after the incident. One of them died on the spot, while the other two sustained serious injuries and were rushed to a hospital. Later, one of them also died," Rathod was quoted as saying by PTI. The deceased were identified as Sandip Patel and Sandip Koli, while the injured was identified as Kapil Patel, all residents of Uttar Pradesh and working as factory workers in Rajkot. Initial investigations indicate that the trio was on their way to a nearby railway station to see off Sandip Patel, who was returning to his hometown. When they were crossing the tracks, they decided to take a group selfie near the tracks. However, they were eventually hit by the train," stated the sub-inspector. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : Rajkot, India, India First Published: February 03, 2026, 00:14 IST News india 2 Factory Workers Die, 1 Injured After Vande Bharat Hit Them While Taking Group Selfie Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 8 Opposition MPs Suspended For Throwing Papers At Chair In Lok Sabha, BJP Says 'Utter Disrespect' Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 15:52 IST Strongly condemning the incident, the Speaker described the conduct as a serious violation of parliamentary decorum and asserted that such behaviour would not be tolerated. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other oppisition MPs protest outside Parliament The Lok Sabha on Tuesday suspended eight opposition members for unruly behaviour" after they allegedly disrupted proceedings and threw papers in the direction of the Chair. The action followed a resolution moved by Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju. After the suspension of the eight MPs, the Lok Sabha was adjourned for the remainder of the day and is scheduled to reconvene on Wednesday at 11:00 am. The suspended MPs are Congress MPs Hibi Eden, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Manickam Tagore, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Kiran Kumar Reddy, Prashant Padole, Dean Kuriakose and CPI (M) MP S Venkatesan. Strongly condemning the incident, the Chair described the conduct as a serious violation of parliamentary decorum and asserted that such behaviour would not be tolerated, especially during the ongoing Budget Session. After the House was adjourned, BJP members stated that persistent disruptions by the opposition escalated into misconduct, including attempts to target the presiding officer by throwing documents. The BJP further announced that it would lodge a formal complaint with the Lok Sabha Speaker regarding the disorder and the alleged incident involving papers being hurled towards the Chair. The adjournment came amid sharp exchanges in the House over an unpublished memoir by former Army Chief MM Naravane, which Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attempted to reference during his speech, reportedly in violation of parliamentary rules. Congress Vs BJP Congress leaders, including Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and several party MPs, staged a protest at the Makar Dwar of Parliament. The demonstration was held against the suspension of the eight MPs and in protest over the proposed India-US trade agreement. Union Minister Giriraj Singh criticised the Opposition for what he described as indiscipline" in the House, asserting that parliamentary proceedings could not be allowed to descend into chaos. He alleged that during the uproar, a member climbed onto the General Secretarys table and damaged official documents. Calling the conduct unfortunate," Singh remarked that some Opposition leaders appeared to believe that only members of the Gandhi family were fit to rule, adding that Parliament must function strictly within established rules and procedures. The BJP further escalated its attack, with party national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari accusing Congress MPs of showing blatant disrespect to the Speaker and the institution of Parliament. Referring to alleged incidents of papers being thrown towards the Chair, Bhandari said such behaviour reflected an anti-Parliament and anti-Constitution" mindset, asserting that Parliament was not the personal domain of any political family. Meanwhile, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra strongly criticised the suspension of the eight party members, terming the decision ridiculous." She said that in a democracy, every elected representative has the right to speak and raise concerns, and warned that curbing debate undermines parliamentary representation and democratic values." News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 15:40 IST News india 8 Opposition MPs Suspended For Throwing Papers At Chair In Lok Sabha, BJP Says 'Utter Disrespect' Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... After Party, Bengaluru Teen Falls To Death From Building; Pub Booked For Serving Alcohol Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 17:06 IST The minor and his friends had visited the pub earlier in the evening, where they allegedly consumed alcohol and smoked. His parents lodged a complaint at Rajarajeshwarinagar Police Station later that evening. (Image used for representation) A 15-year-old boy died after falling from the seventh floor of an apartment building in Bengaluru on Saturday night. He was reportedly under the influence of alcohol following a party with friends at a city pub, prompting police action against the bar for serving alcohol. The Legacy Brewing Company in Aditya Layout, Rajarajeshwarinagar, has been booked under the Juvenile Justice Act and the Karnataka Excise Act. The incident occurred at Mantri Alpyne Apartments on Dr Vishnuvardhan Road, where the boy lived. The Class 10 student reportedly fell from the building after attending a liquor party with friends. His parents lodged a complaint at Rajarajeshwarinagar Police Station later that evening. According to the police, investigations revealed that the minor and his friends had visited the pub earlier in the evening, where they allegedly consumed alcohol and smoked. During the course of the investigation, the police examined the matter from various angles and found that on 31st January 2026, the deceased minor, along with his friends, had consumed alcohol and smoked at a company establishment located within the limits of Rajarajeshwarinagar Police Station," the police press note said. Authorities are looking into the exact circumstances that led to the fatal fall, including the role of the pub in providing alcohol to underage patrons. A case has been registered against the owners and staff of the concerned company at Rajarajeshwarinagar Police Station under the provisions of the JJ Act and the Karnataka Excise Act. The investigation is underway," the police added. (With inputs from agencies) News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 17:04 IST News india After Party, Bengaluru Teen Falls To Death From Building; Pub Booked For Serving Alcohol Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 'Checked, Found Satisfactory': Air India To DGCA Amid Boeing Dreamliner Fuel Switch Scare Reported By : News18.com Edited By: Oindrila Mukherjee Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 19:08 IST The DGCA pushed out a rejoinder in connection with the case of the Boeing 787-8 aircraft, and said its officials were present when Air India conducted the inspections While Air India has said it will be sending the fuel switch to Boeing for inspection and ask the company to replace it, the aircraft in question will be brought back into service. (Image: Reuters/File) Amid a scare prompted by a possible defect in the fuel control switch of an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Tuesday said the airline conducted thorough checks on the equipment and pronounced it to be satisfactory". The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) pushed out a rejoinder in connection with the case of the Boeing 787-8 aircraft, and said its officials were present when Air India conducted the inspections. While Air India has said it will be sending the fuel switch to Boeing for inspection and ask the company to replace it, the aircraft in question will be brought back into service. The plane was grounded after its pilot reported the matter. According to the DGCA, Air India crew reported the fuel switch issue in the plane as soon as it landed in Bengaluru following which the airline referred it to Boeing. After that, Air India conducted checks recommended by the company and said the procedure was satisfactory". Air India, however, observed that incorrect and improper handling of the switch with regard to pressure and direction, caused it to move in the wrong direction. Both left and right switches were checked and found satisfactory, with the locking tooth/pawl fully seated and not slipping from RUN to CUTOFF. When full force was applied parallel to the base plate, the switch remained secure. However, applying external force in an incorrect direction caused the switch to move easily from RUN to CUTOFF, due to the angular base plate allowing slip when pressed improperly with finger or thumb," the DGCA quoted Air Indias observation in its note. It said the video circulating on social media about the functioning of the fuel control switch was analysed in light of Boeing recommended procedures" and found to be incorrect". The airline is being advised the circulate the Boeing recommended procedure for the operation of the Fuel CUT OFF switch to its crew members," it added in the note. WHY WERE THE CHECKS CONDUCTED? The DGCA said the checks were necessitated after the crew observed, on two occasions, while taking off from London on February 1 that the fuel control switch did not positively remain latched in the RUN position when light vertical pressure was applied". On the third attempt, the switch latched correctly in RUN and subsequently remained stable. Before continuing with the rest of procedure, a physical verification was performed by the crew to confirm that the switch was fully and positively latched in the RUN position. No abnormal engine parameters, cautions, warnings, or related system messages were observed during engine start or at any time thereafter," it said. It said all systems were closely monitored for the flight, which landed without any incident but the crew reported the defect" in the pilot records database following which Air India took it up with Boeing. On Monday (February 2), an Air India spokesperson said one of its pilots reported a possible defect on the fuel control switch and the matter was communicated to DGCA. We are aware that one of our pilots has reported a possible defect on the fuel control switch of a Boeing 787-8 aircraft. After receiving this initial information, we have grounded the said aircraft and are involving the OEM to get the pilots concerns checked on a priority basis. The matter has been communicated to the aviation regulator, DGCA. Air India had checked the fuel control switches on all Boeing 787 aircraft in its fleet after a directive from the DGCA, and had found no issues. At Air India, the safety of our passengers and crew remains top priority," the spokesperson said. WHY THE SCARE? An Air India Boeing 787-8 plane had crashed on June 12, 2025, soon after takeoff from Ahmedabad. The accident killed 260 people, including 229 passengers, 12 crew members, and 19 people on the ground. A preliminary investigation into the crash revealed that just seconds before the aircraft lost power and went down near Ahmedabad airport, one pilot asked the other why he had cut off fuel to the engines. The second pilot reportedly said he did not do so". The report mentioned that both engines of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner shut down one second apart shortly after takeoff. This caused the aircraft to lose altitude rapidly and crash near the boundary of airport. (With agency inputs) News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 17:16 IST News india 'Checked, Found Satisfactory': Air India To DGCA Amid Boeing Dreamliner Fuel Switch Scare Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... The OSCE is ready to facilitate ceasefire monitoring if participating states agree, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ignazio Cassis said at Platform X after a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday. Together with OSCE Secretary General Sinirlioglu, I met with President Zelenskyy in Kyiv. We reaffirmed our firm support for a just and lasting peace based on international law. The OSCE stands ready, should participating States agree and conditions allow, to contribute to monitoring a ceasefire and to supporting the implementation of a negotiated settlement to end the war, Cassis said on X. Big Day For India-US Ties: Amit Shah Congratulates PM Modi, Trump After Trade Deal Announcement Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 09:31 IST Shah says deal will elevate strategic partnership and help business between the two countries flourish. Rapid Read Union Home Minister Amit Shah lauds PM Modi and Trump (not pictured), says pact marks big day for India-US relations. (IMAGE: REUTERS FILE) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump on agreeing to a bilateral trade deal and said it was a big day" for India-US relations. India and the United States have agreed on a trade deal under which Washington will reduce the tariff on Indian goods from 25 per cent to 18 per cent, President Trump announced on Monday after a phone conversation with Prime Minister Modi. PM Modi welcomed the decision and said he was delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 per cent." A big day for India-US relations as the trade deal has been locked with a significantly reduced tariff of 18%, paving the way for stronger trade ties and mutual growth," Shah said in a post on X. I congratulate PM @narendramodi and President @realDonaldTrump for this historic deal, which will elevate our strategic partnership and greatly benefit both nations and their people. Business between India and US set to flourish further," the Union Home Minister added. A big day for India-US relations as the trade deal has been locked with a significantly reduced tariff of 18%, paving the way for stronger trade ties and mutual growth.I congratulate PM @narendramodi and President @realDonaldTrump for this historic deal, which will elevate our Amit Shah (@AmitShah) February 2, 2026 The phone call between the two leaders was the first interaction between them this year. On Monday, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor announced the latest conversation on X. He later confirmed to CNN-News18 that tariffs on Indian imports had been reduced from 50 per cent to 18 per cent. Amit Shah was among several senior ministers from the Modi government to congratulate the Prime Minister on the trade agreement. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar also welcomed the development, saying it would give a major boost to economic ties between the two countries. Welcome the announcements on bilateral trade following the conversation between PM @narendramodi and President @realDonaldTrump," Jaishankar wrote on X. He added that the deal would create more jobs, spur growth and promote innovation in both economies," while strengthening Indias Make in India initiative and encouraging trusted technology partnerships. A robust economic relationship is the strongest foundation for our strategic partnership," he said. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal also welcomed the agreement, describing it as a landmark moment in India-US relations. Congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump, Goyal said the deal reflected the power of two like-minded, fair-trading democracies working together for shared prosperity." He added that the agreement would unlock major opportunities for farmers, MSMEs, entrepreneurs and skilled workers, and help India gain access to advanced US technology. It is not just a trade deal it is a historic turning point that will reshape IndiaUS relations and accelerate our journey towards Viksit Bharat 2047," Goyal said in a post on X. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 01:15 IST News india Big Day For India-US Ties: Amit Shah Congratulates PM Modi, Trump After Trade Deal Announcement Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... BJP Set To Form Govt In Manipur, Names Tarun Chugh Central Observer For Key Meet Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 02, 2026, 19:04 IST Manipur has been under Presidents Rule since February 13 last year, following the resignation of former CM N Biren Singh on amid threats of a no-confidence motion by legislators. BJP National General Secretary Shri Tarun Chugh The BJP took a decisive step towards government formation in Manipur by appointing its National General Secretary Tarun Chugh as the Central Observer for the election of the Legislative Party Leader in the state. The move signals that the party is preparing to restore an elected government ahead of the expiry of Presidents Rule. Senior leaders and legislators from the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), along with BJPs Manipur unit chief, arrived in New Delhi on Sunday to attend a high-level meeting scheduled today. The meeting comes just days before the six-month extension of Presidents Rule in Manipur ends on February 12, intensifying political activity around the formation of a new government. Manipur has been under Presidents Rule since February 13 last year, following the resignation of former Chief Minister N Biren Singh on February 9 amid threats of a no-confidence motion by legislators. The state has been grappling with prolonged unrest since ethnic violence broke out on May 3, 2023, which has claimed over 260 lives and displaced more than 60,000 people. Speculation about the return of a popular government has grown as the deadline for Presidents Rule approaches. Speaking to reporters at Imphal International Airport before leaving for Delhi, BJP MLA N Biren Singh said all NDA legislators had been called for the meeting. There have been important developments after our recent meeting of BJP legislators. Since all NDA partners have now been summoned, there is a strong possibility of government formation," he said. National Peoples Party (NPP) legislator Janghemlung Panmei struck a cautious note, saying the alliance would work towards restoring stability in the state. We want good things to happen for Manipur again. The direction ahead will become clear after the meeting," he said. BJP state president A Sharda Devi also expressed optimism, stating that the meeting could pave the way for the formation of a new elected government. A person familiar with the discussions said the meeting would focus on building consensus among NDA legislators and that representatives from the Kuki-Zo community may also attend. In the 60-member Manipur Legislative Assembly, the BJP currently holds 32 seats. Its NDA allies include the NPP with seven MLAs, JD(U) with six, NPF with five, and Kuki Peoples Alliance (KPA) with two members. The Congress has five legislators, while three MLAs are Independents. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : Manipur, India, India First Published: February 02, 2026, 19:01 IST News india BJP Set To Form Govt In Manipur, Names Tarun Chugh Central Observer For Key Meet Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... BJPs Yumnam Khemchand Singh Set To Take Over As Manipur Chief Minister Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 19:05 IST With Yumnam Khemchand Singh's appointment as Manipur's BJP legislature party leader, the BJP is set to stake claim to form the government in the state. BJP leader Yumnam Khemchand Singh elected as the leader of the BJP's Manipur legislature party BJP leader Yumnam Khemchand Singh has been elected as the leader of the Manipur BJP Legislature Party, paving the way for his appointment as the next Chief Minister of the state. The decision was taken at a party meeting held in Delhi, marking a significant step towards the restoration of an elected government in Manipur after nearly a year under Presidents Rule. With Singhs elevation as legislature party leader, the BJP is set to stake claim to form the government in the state. Manipur has been under central rule since February 2025, following prolonged political uncertainty and administrative challenges. Welcoming the development, BJP MLA Thokchom Radheshyam Singh said the return of an elected government was long overdue. It is good that we are going to have a popular and elected government. We thank the central leadership for taking this step. Every problem has a solution, and under the guidance of the central leadership and the new ministry led by Yumnam Khemchand Singh, we will find a way forward," he said. Who Is Yumnam Khemchand Singh? Yumnam Khemchand Singh is a two-time MLA from the Singjamei constituency, having won the seat in the 2017 and 2022 Manipur Assembly elections on a BJP ticket. He served as the Speaker of the Manipur Legislative Assembly from 2017 to 2022 and later joined the state cabinet in the second Biren Singh government. As a Cabinet Minister, Singh handled key portfolios including Municipal Administration and Housing Development, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, and Education. He remained in office until Presidents Rule was imposed in February 2025. His selection as legislature party leader now positions him to lead the state as it transitions back to an elected government. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : Manipur, India, India First Published: February 03, 2026, 18:56 IST News india BJPs Yumnam Khemchand Singh Set To Take Over As Manipur Chief Minister Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 'Cutoff' In Cockpit: Why Heathrow Dreamliner Scare May Be 'Smoking Gun' For Ahmedabad Crash Probe Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 06, 2026, 23:02 IST The Heathrow malfunction is expected to have a direct and potentially game-changing bearing on the ongoing investigation into Flight AI-171 On June 12, 2025, the London Gatwick-bound Boeing 787-8 aircraft crashed soon after taking off from the Ahmedabad airport. (File pic/PTI) The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has launched a comprehensive investigation into a technical malfunction involving an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner at London Heathrow. The aircraft, registered as VT-ANX, has been grounded following a report that its left engine fuel control switch slipped twice from the Run" position to Cutoff" during engine start-up. The Heathrow Incident: A Technical Ghost? The incident occurred as flight AI-132, destined for Bengaluru, was preparing for departure on February 2, 2026. According to the pilots log, the fuel control switcha critical component governing fuel flowfailed to remain locked and moved towards the Cutoff" position when pushed slightly. While the aircraft eventually completed the flight, the discovery of a failing lock mechanism on the ground has prompted immediate action. This grounding is particularly alarming because it comes after Air India reportedly conducted fleet-wide inspections of these specific switches following the Ahmedabad tragedy last year. The fact that a possible defect" has surfaced againthis time documented on the groundsuggests that earlier precautionary checks may have missed a systemic mechanical or design flaw. The Bearing on the AI-171 Probe The Heathrow malfunction is expected to have a direct and potentially game-changing bearing on the ongoing investigation into Flight AI-171. On June 12, 2025, an Air India Dreamliner crashed seconds after takeoff from Ahmedabad, killing 260 people, after both fuel switches moved to Cutoff". Shifting the Narrative: Until now, speculation was heavily weighted towards pilot error or intentional interference, especially since cockpit recordings captured one pilot asking the other why the fuel was cut off. Mechanical vs Human Factor: The documented failure of the switch to lock on VT-ANX provides the first concrete evidence that these switches can move uncommanded". This could shift the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB)s focus from pilot culpability to a systemic mechanical failure or a recurring defect previously warned about by the FAA. Geopolitical Context The grounding coincides with a high-level diplomatic mission in the United States. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is currently in Washington to participate in the Critical Minerals Ministerial. While his visit focuses on supply chain resilience and strategic cooperation with the US administration, the recurring safety issues with Boeing aircraft remain a delicate subtext in Indo-US trade and aviation safety dialogues. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 02, 2026, 22:56 IST News india 'Cutoff' In Cockpit: Why Heathrow Dreamliner Scare May Be 'Smoking Gun' For Ahmedabad Crash Probe Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 'His Leadership Vital For Global Peace': PM Modi Thanks President Trump After US Tariff Rollback Curated By : News18.com Edited By: Oindrila Mukherjee Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 08:42 IST PM Narendra Modi said the new trade deal benefits the people when "two large economies and the world's largest democracies work together" US President Donald Trump (L) and PM Narendra Modi (R) spoke over the phone about a new trade deal between their two countries with a massive reduction in tariffs, which had earlier stalled the negotiations. (Image: News18) US Trade Deal With India: Stressing on the Make in India factor, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday thanked US President Donald Trump soon after Washington confirmed a trade agreement with New Delhi by reducing tariffs on Indian products from 50 percent to 18 percent. Also See: India US Trade Deal Latest News | Stock Market Live Updates Lauding Trump, Modi said his leadership is vital for global peace and he looks forward to closely working with the President to take the partnership between the United States and India to unprecedented heights". Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement," Modi said in a post on X. He said the new trade deal benefits the people when two large economies and the worlds largest democracies work together". Also See: What Is India US Trade Deal When two large economies and the worlds largest democracies work together, it benefits our people and unlocks immense opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation," he said. Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement.When two large economies and the Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 2, 2026 President Trumps leadership is vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity. India fully supports his efforts for peace. I look forward to working closely with him to take our partnership to unprecedented heights," he added. Trump and PM Modi spoke over the phone about the new deal, following which the President posted about it on his Truth Social and said the United States will now charge a reduced reciprocal tariff, lowering it from 25 percent to 18 percent. However, US ambassador to India Sergio Gor then confirmed that the tariffs on Indian products will be reduced from 50 percent 25 percent reciprocal and 25 percent on oil previously applied to 18 percent. These tariffs were a major reason behind stalled negotiations for the vital trade deal between the two countries, with Trump making it about Indias purchase of Russian oil. Calling it an exciting new phase", Indian ambassador to the US Vinay Mohan Kwatra congratulated Modi saying this deal is a big win" under Modis leadership. A big win for a consequential partnership under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump. India and USA announce trade deal creating vast new opportunities for the two economies and the people of our two great nations. Todays announcements herald an exciting new phase in our partnership," Kwatra said in a post on X. A big WIN for a consequential partnership under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi @narendramodi and President Donald Trump @POTUS India and USA announce trade dealcreating vast new opportunities for the two economies and the people of our two great nations. https://t.co/kzuwBm25KX Amb Vinay Mohan Kwatra (@AmbVMKwatra) February 2, 2026 Modi, however, did not mention Trumps assertion that India will reduce tariffs on US goods to zero and stop buying Russian oil. WHAT DID DONALD TRUMP SAY? On his social media, Donald Trump called the agreement with India a major shift in bilateral trade ties linked to energy cooperation and broader geopolitical goals. About their phone call, he said he and Modi discussed many things, including trade, and ending the war with Russia and Ukraine". He claimed that Modi agreed to stop buying Russian oil and to increase purchases from the US and, potentially, from Venezuela. This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week!" Trump wrote, adding that the trade deal will immediately take effect. He claimed that India will move forward to reduce their tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO". (With agency inputs) News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 08:42 IST News india 'His Leadership Vital For Global Peace': PM Modi Thanks President Trump After US Tariff Rollback Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 'Take A Deep Breath': How Experts Are Reacting To US-India Trade Breakthrough Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 12:15 IST The trade deal is expected to lift a pall of geopolitical uncertainty, which had accompanied the US-India trade rift, keeping investors cautious on plowing money into the country Rapid Read PM Narendra Modi with US President Donald Trump. (PTI) Ending months of tense negotiations and friction in ties, India and the United States on Monday finalised a trade deal that slashed US tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent from 50 per cent. US President Donald Trump announced the deal on social media following a call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, noting that India had agreed to halt Russian oil purchases and lower trade barriers on US exportsa commitment that India has not yet commented on. Indian stock markets and the rupee have been battered since the tariffs were levied by Washington in late August, placing them among the worst-performing emerging market assets in 2025, with record foreign investor outflows. According to Reuters, the trade breakthrough is expected to alleviate the persistent drag, with investors expecting a bounce-back in foreign sentiment and flows into Indian assets. The trade deal is also expected to lift a pall of geopolitical uncertainty, which had accompanied the US-India trade rift, keeping investors cautious on plowing money into the country. In a press note, economists at Citi said: The key tail risk of geopolitical isolation about which investors were concerned has now been adequately addressed by back-to-back trade deals with the European Union and United States." Sachin Savareekar (Artha India Investment Managers) said on the deals economic significance that it could turn sentiment around and make India a stronger player in global trade. This trade deal gives one of the most important economic partnerships new strength and strengthens investor confidence." Republican Senator Lindsey Graham viewed the trade deal through a geopolitical lens, connecting the tariff cut to Indias shift in Russian oil purchases amid the ongoing Ukraine conflict. India has more than earned this reduction," Graham said, commending Trumps approach of pressuring Russias energy customers. He added that other nations importing Russian oil should follow Indias direction." Anuj Gupta, MD India, BowerGroupAsia, called the deal a major recalibration in bilateral relations, reversing tariff tensions and signalling renewed political alignment between the worlds two largest democracies". By reducing US tariffs on Indian goods from a high 50 per cent down to 18 per cent, including eliminating the 25 per cent tariffs linked to Indias Russian oil purchases, the agreement positions India as the lowest tariffed country in South and Southeast Asia, except Singapore. On the other hand, Indias reciprocal commitment to reduce its own tariffs and nontariff barriers to zero opens substantial opportunities for US businesses." He added: Economically, the agreement makes Indias exports to the US across pharmaceuticals, engineering goods, textiles, chemicals and multiple other labour-intensive sectors competitive again, while positioning India as a stable manufacturing alternative for companies looking at China Plus One" strategy. Indias pledge to Buy American" of over $500 billion will unleash newer market entry and expansion opportunities for US energy, technology, agricultural and other companies. Strategically, the deal marks a significant realignment of global energy and security interests, with India sourcing more energy from the US and potentially Venezuela as well as increased US military sales to India. Seen in tandem with Indias recently concluded Free Trade Agreements with the EU, UK and other high-income economies such as EFTA, Australia and the UAE, the US strengthens Indias new trade paradigm of becoming a reliable and long-term supply chain partner to the West while providing for greater market access." However, there were many who exercised caution, warning that the deal had political and strategic trade-offsnot just market benefits. For instance, Ajay Srivastava, Founder, Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), criticised the context of the agreement, arguing that a hasty deal under pressure could backfire and may not provide lasting trade certainty". His point reflected a broader caution among trade policy experts that such arrangements, especially tied to geopolitical moves like the Russian oil issue, might lock in uneven terms. While South Asia analyst Michael Kugelman described the deal as fortifying overall bilateral ties and offering a positive backdrop for USIndia relations", he said he highly doubt Modi agreed to stop buying Russian oil, as Trump claimed". Speaking to news agency ANI, Kugelman said: This deal has been a long time coming. Its been almost a year since President Trump hosted Prime Minister Modi at the White House, and they promised to pursue a trade deal Given the numerous failed rounds of talks, for a deal to happen now is significant and a major boost for US-India relations. This is the biggest victory for US-India relations in nearly a year" However, he added: While President Trump indicated that India has agreed to stop certain actions, some of these claims seem hard to believe. For instance, I find it hard to imagine India simply stopping its imports of Russian oil Trump also mentioned India importing more American goods, but many key aspects of the deal remain unclear One major question is whether the US has made any concessions to India" I highly doubt Modi agreed to stop buying" Russian oil, as Trump claimed. India has, however, reduced its Russian oil imports since the new US Russia sanctions were instituted in November. That, along w/Amb Gors push for a deal, likely helped get them to the finish line. Michael Kugelman (@MichaelKugelman) February 2, 2026 Similarly, leading Asia expert and former Treasury Secretary Evan A Feigenbaum cautioned against overreacting. While he acknowledged the deal as positive news that prevents worse outcomes and notes that the 18 per cent tariff is a relief compared to the previous 50 per cent, he makes it clear that tariffs are inherently unstable because of Trumps style: he changes rules, layers issues, and imposes them unpredictably. Saying the devil is in the details", he cautions that India is unlikely to make explicit commitments regarding Russian oil, which could create friction. Feigenbaum says the deal restores some progress in US-India relations, but recent politicisation has created collateral damage". My advice on the U.S.-India deal everyone seriously needs to take a deep breath and calm down. First, the situation was utterly unsustainable, which is why my base case since last August has been that there would ultimately have to be a deal. I've been saying this on @CNBC Evan A. Feigenbaum (@EvanFeigenbaum) February 2, 2026 Several analysts noted that while the US-India trade deal represents a pivotal moment in bilateral relations, offering a much-needed pause after months of high tariffs, political tension, and uncertainty, the real significance lies in stabilising a relationship that had been increasingly politicised, and in providing Indian exporters a relative advantage in the global market. Ultimately, the trade agreement is both a relief and a reminder. As Feigenbaum concludes, Modi and Trump should take the win But take a big deep breath and see where we go from here." The deal marks progress, but the work of maintaining trust, managing domestic and foreign political pressures, and ensuring that long-standing cooperative frameworks are preserved remains ongoing. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 11:53 IST News india 'Take A Deep Breath': How Experts Are Reacting To US-India Trade Breakthrough Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 'Leave India': Two British Tourists Served Notice For Displaying 'Free Palestine' Posters In Pushkar Curated By : News18.com Edited By: Oindrila Mukherjee Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 19:07 IST The two British nationals, both in their 30s, apologised to the authorities but were asked to exit India as soon as possible as political activities are prohibited on tourist visa Pushkar is known to be popular among Israeli travellers and has numerous Jewish religious centres, prompting the probe due to the sensitivity of the matter. (Image: PTI/File) Two British nationals, who were visiting Pushkar in Rajasthan on a tourist visa, were asked to leave India for displaying pro-Palestine posters and stickers around town. Pushkar is known to be popular among Israeli travellers and has numerous Jewish religious centres, prompting the probe due to the sensitivity of the matter. The two British nationals, both in their 30s, apologised to the authorities but were asked to exit India as soon as possible as political activities are prohibited on a tourist visa. According to Rajasthan police, the criminal investigation department (CID) issued leave India" notices to the pair on Monday (February 2) for allegedly displaying pro-Palestine stickers and posters in public areas, an act deemed a violation of tourist visa regulations. An investigation was launched after reports emerged on January 21 that stickers with messages such as Free Palestine, Boycott Israel had started appearing across town. Police said a CID team subsequently traced the activity to the two British nationals. The tourists, who had travelled to Pushkar from New Delhi, had violated the conditions of their tourist visas that strictly prohibit engagement in political activism. The Indian Express reported that additional superintendent of police (CID) Rajesh Meena said activities that show disrespect or hostility towards other nations while staying in India breaches visa norms. The tourists had come here on a tourist visa in January. They had come to Pushkar directly from Delhi. Since Pushkar has a lot of Israelis and also has a Chabad House (a synagogue), the tourists condemned Israel in the context of the Palestine-Israel conflict and pasted posters on the walls here. Our CID investigated and brought them in for questioning," Meena told IE. The report said the tourists offered an apology for their actions but police maintained that because they entered the country on tourist visas, they were prohibited from indulging in such political activities. The police found that the duo had obtained nine sheets of printed posters from a local press to paste onto walls. Police served the tourists official notices under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, directing them to depart the country immediately to avoid further legal consequences. The Foreigners Registration Office (FRO) in Ajmer has asked them to leave at the earliest", and the tourists have since informed officials that they are currently booking their return tickets. Officials said no formal complaints were received from tourists in connection with the stickers. After the CIDs intervention, the stickers were removed from public places. Checks were also conducted in areas frequented by foreign tourists to ensure no similar material was displayed, they added. (With PTI inputs) News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : Pushkar, India, India First Published: February 03, 2026, 19:07 IST News india 'Leave India': Two British Tourists Served Notice For Displaying 'Free Palestine' Posters In Pushkar Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... From Hosting Top Leaders To Mega AI Summit, A Busy Foreign February Awaits PM Modi Written By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 10:52 IST PM Modi's calendar reveals the architecture of an India that is trying to be a technology leader, manufacturing hub, diplomatic bridge & guardian of its Indian Ocean neighbourhood Rapid Read Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his office in New Delhi | File Image As winter gives way to spring in New Delhi, Indias diplomatic machinery is poised for its most sustained and strategically freighted phase in months. February 2026 promises a barrage of high-profile engagements. Within a span of twenty-eight days, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will welcome heads of state, host the worlds largest artificial intelligence summit, and undertake critical bilateral missions to two nations. What appears on the surface as a calendar crowded with ceremonial state visits and summits is a carefully orchestrated grand strategy to position India as the indispensable link between the Global South and the architecture of tomorrows technological and security orders. The diplomatic hubba-bubba starts modestly on February 5, with President Patrick Herminie of Seychelles. Herminies visit marks his first journey to India since assuming office last October, and it coincides precisely with the fiftieth anniversary of India-Seychelles diplomatic relations. Over 35,000 people have registered for the India AI Impact Summit, with attendees from more than 100 countries expected in New Delhi from February 16-20. PM Modi will also play host to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and French President Emmanuel Macron. Beyond these, PM Modis visit to Israel on February 2728 is imminent. Rumours are that a trip to Malaysia may also be on the cards, after missing out on the ASEAN summit last year due to domestic commitments. Indias Claim to Lead the AI Century By February 19, PM Modi and the worlds attention will converge on New Delhis Bharat Mandapam for the India AI Impact Summit. The India AI Impact Summit represents the most consequential of Modis February commitments. It is no ordinary conference. It will be the first global artificial intelligence summit ever hosted in the Global South. Its theme: Sarvajana Hitaya, Sarvajana Sukhaya, welfare for all, happiness for all, projects the vision of technology as a democratising force rather than a stratifying one. Indias motivation is both ideological and strategic. The Modi government has committed Rs 10,300 crore through its IndiaAI Mission to build domestic capacity in artificial intelligence, centered on indigenous solutions tailored to Indian conditions. The strategy rests on a principle that distinguishes it from prior eras of technology adoption: Eras where imitation served as the blueprint for success in the country. The technologies India develops must serve India first, then the Global South, and finally the world. This logic underpins the creation of nearly 570 artificial intelligence training labs distributed across the country, each designed to democratise access to AI capabilities rather than concentrate them among elite institutions or foreign corporations. The summit itself will produce more than 15 substantive deliverables, moving the conversation away from the largely declaratory AI governance discussions that have characterised earlier forums, the Bletchley Park summit in the UK, Seouls summit in South Korea, and Pariss forum in 2025. Indias approach will emphasise implementation; how AI can improve healthcare in rural areas, enhance agricultural productivity for smallholder farmers, and strengthen governance through data-driven policymaking. The summits guest list amplifies this message. French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed his attendance specifically to honour Indias co-chairmanship of global AI discussions and to underscore the strategic alignment between France and India on technological sovereignty. Brazilian President Lulas attendance carries additional weight, signalling BRICS solidarity at a moment when tariff tensions and economic nationalism threaten the unity of the Global South. The presence of over one hundred global chief executives, from OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, Meta, and other technology giants, alongside ministers from more than fifteen nations, creates a rare space where policy and commercial interests meet on Indias terms. For PM Modi, the summit legitimises Indias investment in building AI research ecosystems and validates the governments decision to position India not as a consumer of foreign artificial intelligence but as an architect of its own. Internationally, it signals that India intends to exercise influence over the norms, ethics, and governance frameworks that will govern AI deployment globally. The Macron Visit On February 19, Macron will arrive in New Delhi with an agenda that extends far beyond the AI summits public sessions. The centrepiece of defence industrial cooperation is going to overshadow every niche agreement that the countries will make. Indias Defence Procurement Board cleared a proposal in mid-January 2026 to acquire 114 additional Rafale fighter jets from Dassault Aviation in what would become Indias largest-ever defence procurement. The deal, valued at approximately Rs 3.25 lakh crore, represents a strategic pivot in how India approaches defence manufacturing: instead of buying off-the-shelf aircraft, India will domestically manufacture approximately 80 to 96 Rafales with up to 60 per cent indigenous content, whilst receiving 18 aircraft in fly-away condition from France beginning in 2030. Macrons visit is expected to crystallise this agreement. Tata Advanced Systems has already begun constructing a final assembly line for Rafale fuselages in Hyderabad, with production scheduled to commence in 2028. HAL and Safran are negotiating a joint engine production facility, also in Hyderabad, whilst an MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) hub is planned near Jewar in Uttar Pradesh. If formalised during Macrons February visit, the French President himself indicated to his diplomatic corps in January that defence industrial cooperation would feature prominently in bilateral talks. Another major point of discussion has been that the February visit would advance cooperation on rare earth minerals. Indias 2026 budget announcement of dedicated rare earth corridors across Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu signals Indias intent to scale this effort rapidly. Macrons endorsement during his February visit will lend European institutional weight to Indias bid to become a centre for rare earth processing and advanced materials manufacturing. The Lula State Visit Lulas state visit from February 19 to 21 is also important. The Brazilian president confirmed in a 45-minute telephone call with Modi on January 22 his intention not merely to attend the AI Impact Summit but to conduct a comprehensive bilateral review spanning defence, trade, health, science and technology, energy, biofuels, and critically, rare earths and mineral processing. Trumps unilateral tariffs have disrupted supply chains across both nations, with India and Brazil jointly accounting for nearly $30 billion in bilateral trade. The Brazil-India Business Forum, scheduled for February 21, will bring private sector leaders from both countries to discuss infrastructure development, financial services, and technology partnerships. More strategically, Lulas visit arrives as India and Brazil coordinate BRICS responses to Western protectionism. Lula will also inaugurate ApexBrasils New Delhi office during his visit, institutionalising Brazils commercial presence in India Israel: Another FTA For India PM Modi is set to visit Israel on February 2728. Israeli officials, including Ambassador Reuven Azar, have publicly affirmed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has extended an invitation and that preparations are underway, while Indian sources have characterised the trip as advancing a rapidly expanding strategic partnership. In remarks to Indian media, Ambassador Azar stressed that Israel hopes to see him [Modi] as soon as possible". This will be PM Modis first visit to the country in nine years, a gap that underscores the complexity of Indo-Israeli relations within the context of Indias broader West Asian strategy. The immediate driver of the visit is the launch of formal negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement. In November 2025, India and Israel signed Terms of Reference to initiate structured FTA talks. The talks are expected to address bilateral trade, which stood at $3.62 billion in 202425, with India serving as Israels second-largest Asian trading partner. Recent trends suggest the relationship has cooled slightly, with Indian exports to Israel declining 52 per cent from $4.52 billion in 202324 to $2.14 billion in 202425. An FTA is designed to reverse this trend by reducing tariff barriers and facilitating greater commerce in areas where complementarities are strongest. The centrepiece of Modis bilateral engagement with Netanyahu will be formalising India-Israel defence industrial cooperation. In November 2025, the two nations signed a comprehensive Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Cooperation that establishes frameworks for technology sharing, co-development, and co-production of advanced defence systems. The MoU identifies strategic dialogues, military training, defence-industrial partnerships, and collaboration in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, unmanned systems, and research and development as priority areas. Israeli defence firms, such as Rafael Advanced Defence Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries, and Elbit Systems, have begun positioning India as a manufacturing hub for exports across the Indo-Pacific. Indias Belrise group has partnered with Plasan to manufacture the ATEMM, with deliveries starting in September 2026. During Modis visit, additional joint manufacturing ventures are expected to be announced, including potential partnerships in unmanned aerial systems, cyber defence platforms, and advanced radar systems. The prime ministers visit occurs against the backdrop of Middle Eastern turbulence. PM Modi and Netanyahu have held two telephone conversations in recent months, reaffirming a zero-tolerance stance against terrorism and discussing regional developments, including the Gaza Peace Plan. The visit also gives momentum to the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), a connectivity initiative unveiled at the G20 Summit in Delhi in November 2023. The Seychelles Signal President Herminies visit to India, though less dramatic than the others, completes PM Modis February strategy. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, he will meet President Droupadi Murmu and hold wide-ranging talks with PM Modi on bilateral, regional, and international issues, while also travelling to Chennai and Mumbai for business-focused events. The Seychelles is central to Indias MAHASAGAR" doctrine. New Delhi has gone out of its way to describe Seychelles as a key maritime neighbour" that holds a special place" in the doctrine. Its maritime domain and 1.4 million sq km exclusive economic zone make it central to regional maritime security, blue economy development and marine conservation. It also encompasses crucial shipping lanes, and its ports are potential node points for Indian naval operations and commercial activity. Over the past year, the MAHASAGAR initiative has been implemented through joint naval exercises and dialogues, most notably the AIKEYME exercise with ten African littoral states, including Seychelles India has invested substantially in Seychelles development, funding the construction of radar systems, gifting naval vessels, and supporting infrastructure projects. The relationship reflects Indias broader Indian Ocean strategy: to position itself as the regions net security provider and development partner, ensuring that great-power rivalry does not destabilise the waters through which much of global commerce flows. The visit allows Modi to reinforce these bonds while signalling Indias long-term commitment to the Indian Ocean as Indias sphere of strategic interest. PM Modis February calendar, taken as a whole, reveals the architecture of an India that is attempting to be simultaneously a technology leader, a manufacturing hub, a diplomatic bridge between the Global South and the West, and a guardian of its Indian Ocean neighbourhood. What ties these journeys together is not rhetoric about multipolarity or Global South solidarity, though PM Modi will certainly invoke both. Rather, it is a series of concrete interests pursued through bilateral engagement: defence partnerships, trade agreements, semiconductor ecosystems, artificial intelligence governance frameworks, and regional stability. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 10:52 IST News india From Hosting Top Leaders To Mega AI Summit, A Busy Foreign February Awaits PM Modi Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Hyderabad Top Cop Slams Man's Train Stunt For Reel: Nothing But Foolishness Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 16:43 IST The shocking footage shows a man deliberately positioning himself on railway tracks, waiting for an approaching train. Moments after the train clears, the man stands up unharmed and poses for a second person who filmed the entire stunt. A viral video showing a man lying between railway tracks as a train speeds over him prompted Hyderabad Police Commissioner V.C. Sajjanar to issue a stern public warning, condemning the dangerous stunt as nothing but foolishness." The shocking footage shows a man deliberately positioning himself on railway tracks, waiting for an approaching train before flattening his body in the narrow space between the rails. The train passes directly over him, with only inches of clearance separating his body from the speeding vehicle. Moments after the train clears, the man stands up unharmed and poses for a second person who filmed the entire stunt, apparently for social media content. Commissioner Sajjanar emphasized the extreme danger of such acts, warning that even the slightest miscalculation could prove fatal. Running behind virality and attempting such stunts may look heroic, but in reality, it is nothing but foolishness," the caption accompanying the police warning video stated, adding, A split-second mistake could cost lives. Be Responsible, Not Reckless." The video has triggered widespread outrage across social media platforms, with users demanding strict legal action against those involved in the stunt. Not irresponsible these guys are spoiling other kids by nonsense actions. I think Australia did the right thing by stopping the use of Mobile phones for kids and now its time we should act on it and specially these kind of acts should be banned and bring stringent law," one user commented while another wrote bluntly: He deserves atleast 6 months of jail as a reward for his adventure." A third added: Railway department has to take action against him." Railway authorities have made clear that such stunts constitute serious criminal offenses under the Railways Act, 1989. The act includes provisions for endangering the safety of railway passengers and obstructing railway operations, both of which carry significant penalties including imprisonment. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 16:43 IST News india Hyderabad Top Cop Slams Man's Train Stunt For Reel: Nothing But Foolishness Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Jaishankar In US For Key Minerals Meet After Trade Deal, Pakistan Left Out Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 12:09 IST EAM Jaishankar is in the US for talks at the Critical Minerals Ministerial. The visit highlights Indias entry into Pax Silica, while Pakistan has not been invited. File photo of EAM S Jaishankar (X/@DrSJaishankar) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is in the United States for a three-day visit centred on the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial convened by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The meeting will focus on strengthening international cooperation to build reliable and resilient critical-mineral supply chains that underpin economic security, technological leadership and the energy transition. The External Affairs Ministry, quoted by news agency PTI, said the ministerial will examine supply-chain resilience, clean-energy transitions and strategic collaboration in critical minerals. Jaishankar is also expected to meet senior members of the US administration during the visit. BILATERAL TALKS AMID RESET EFFORTS The visit coincides with the newly announced India-US trade pact following a phone conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump. With the agreement on the trade deal, Trump agreed to reduce reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent. Following the announcement, Jaishankar publicly welcomed the deal, saying it would create jobs, spur growth, strengthen Make in India" and deepen trusted-technology links. PAX SILICA AND INDIAS INDUCTION A major strategic backdrop to the visit is the US-led Pax Silica framework, launched in December to secure silicon and semiconductor supply chains linked to artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing. Media statements have described Pax Silica as a coalition aimed at reducing coercive dependencies and ensuring trusted nations retain access to critical technology inputs. US Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg had confirmed in January that India is set to formally join the initiative in February 2026, speaking at the Hudson Institute. He said expanding the grouping into India was essential to cover the full spectrum of the AI supply chain, from minerals to infrastructure, and highlighted Indias software talent and emerging manufacturing base. US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor had also posted that New Delhi would be invited into Pax Silica, calling the move critical for building a secure and innovation-driven silicon ecosystem. PAKISTAN NOT PART OF THE INITIATIVE Amid Indian attention to Washingtons outreach on critical minerals, US officials have sought to clarify that Pakistan is not part of Pax Silica. In comments to Hindustan Times, Helberg had said the US valued its partnership with India and was excited about welcoming New Delhi into the framework, adding that Washington had not to date had conversations about Pakistan joining Pax Silica". He had also said that membership decisions were guided by companies and capabilities rather than politics. Meanwhile, on the defence side, India-US ties continue to deepen. A January 27 meeting brought together a US Congressional delegation led by Mike Rogers, Ambassador Gor and Indias Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh to advance defence-industry cooperation under a new long-term partnership framework. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 12:09 IST News india Jaishankar In US For Key Minerals Meet After Trade Deal, Pakistan Left Out Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Ukraine trying to prevent Russian artists who support Russia's aggression from performing in France The Ukrainian Embassy in France has spoken out against the planned performances at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees in spring-summer 2026 of a number of famous Russian performers who have repeatedly publicly supported Russia's war against Ukraine and Kremlin policies. According to the French Embassy in Ukraine, the Theatre on Avenue Montaigne's 2025-2026 season program, scheduled from March to June will feature concerts featuring Anna Netrebko, Alexandra Dovgan, Dmitry Masleev, as well as Grigory Sokolov and Nikolai Lugansky. The diplomatic institution notes that a number of these artists have repeatedly performed for Russian military personnel, received state awards from Vladimir Putin, or otherwise contributed to the advancement of the Kremlin's imperial and aggressive narratives. "Culture in the hands of the Kremlin machine is a weapon, just like missiles and tanks, and is part of the information and propaganda war. Russian artists, by supporting aggression, justify war and the Kremlin's imperial narratives," the Embassy said. Diplomats emphasize that, at a time when Russia continues to commit genocide against Ukrainians, leaves millions without heat and electricity in winter, destroys Ukraine's cultural heritage, and persecutes Ukrainian artists, inviting such performers to one of Paris' leading concert venues is a "cynical whitewashing operation" and an attempt to legitimize Russian propaganda under the guise of art. The Ukrainian Embassy has already contacted the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture. "...we are confident that our French partners and the public, who have always demonstrated solidarity with Ukraine, will respond accordingly to this attempt to legitimize Russian propaganda," the diplomatic mission noted. Particular attention is being paid to the fact that a large-scale Ukrainian cultural program, titled "Culture Contre-Attaque" (Culture Counterattacks), is simultaneously underway in France, where Ukrainian artists present the truth about war and resistance. Against this backdrop, the performances of Russian artists in central Paris appear provocative, the diplomats emphasized. "Culture should serve truth and freedom, not justify Russian aggression and war crimes," the Ukrainian Embassy in France emphasized. 'India Has Many Options': Govt Sources Reject Criticism Over Trade Deal With US Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 12:56 IST Government sources said India now has many options through new markets and FTAs, as the United States cut tariffs under the new deal announced. Donald Trump with PM Narendra Modi (Photo: PTI) India now has many options" on trade and exports, government sources told CNN-News18 on Tuesday, pushing back against the Opposition criticism over the newly-announced trade deal with the United States. The remarks came amid debates that the 18 per cent tariff rate announced under the new agreement with the United States was still too high. According to the sources, New Delhi has followed a two-pronged strategy in recent years, seeking access to new markets while simultaneously promoting a wider basket of export products. They said the series of free trade agreements signed with other countries has diversified Indias commercial partners and reduced dependence on any single market. OPPN RUCKUS IN PARLIAMENT OVER INDIA-US TRADE DEAL As political reactions over the India-US trade deal continued, it spiralled into Parliament, triggering sharp scenes in the Lok Sabha. Opposition MPs protested soon after the House assembled, objecting to the tariff announcement by US President Donald Trump following his phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as well as to other pending disputes. Speaker Om Birla repeatedly appealed for order as he attempted to make obituary references, but members trooped into the well, raising slogans such as Surrender Modi". Birla described the disruptions as a planned manner" of stalling proceedings and underlined that Question Hour was a crucial opportunity for the Opposition to hold the government to account before adjourning the House for nearly an hour. The ruckus also drew on Mondays confrontation, when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tried to quote from an unpublished memoir of former Army chief MM Naravane relating to the 2020 India-China standoff. Birla disallowed the reference, but Gandhi persisted, escalating tensions on the floor. JP NADDA ACCUSES OPPN OF SEEING BAD THINGS IN GOOD Meanwhile, in the Rajya Sabha, MP JP Nadda accused the Opposition of reading negativity into what he framed as a diplomatic and economic gain. Referring to Trumps announcement, Nadda said the US President had informed India about the agreement the previous night and added, I can see the Oppositions frustration." He went on to remark, They have a habit of seeing bad things in good," while assuring members that the government would soon place full details of the trade pact before Parliament. Nadda said the concerned minister would discuss the matter and that a statement would be made shortly, declaring, On behalf of the government, I can assure you that the government will give all the details on the trade." He further charged that Congress and the INDI Alliance were behaving irresponsibly, adding, What you are saying has been proved wrong." The trade deal at the heart of the row envisages Washington lowering reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent. PM Modi welcomed the development, saying he was delighted that Made in India" products would face reduced duties and thanking Trump on behalf of Indias population for the move. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 12:42 IST News india 'India Has Many Options': Govt Sources Reject Criticism Over Trade Deal With US Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 23:52 IST India-US Trade Deal Updates: Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said that at no point has Prime Minister Narendra Modi allowed any compromise on the interests of farmers or those associated with agriculture and the dairy sector. Speaking at a briefing on the IndiaUS trade deal, Goyal stressed that the agreement will create new opportunities for Indias economy while protecting the livelihoods of farmers, fishermen, and rural communities. He praised PM Modi for ensuring that the countrys long-term interests were kept at the forefront during negotiations. US President Donald Trump on Monday announced that the United States and India have reached a trade deal to lower reciprocal tariffs. He said that following a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the US would reduce tariffs on Indian goods from 25 per cent to 18 per cent with immediate effect. In return, Trump claimed India would cut its tariffs and non-tariff barriers on US products to zero. In a post on Truth Social, Trump described PM Modi as a close friend and a respected leader, adding that India had also agreed to stop buying Russian Oil and increase energy purchases from the US. He further said India would significantly ease trade barriers for American goods. Responding on X, Prime Minister Modi said he was delighted by the discussion with his dear friend President Trump and welcomed the reduction in tariffs on Made in India products. The trade deal will see Washington reduce reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods from 25 per cent to 18 per cent with immediate effect. In return, India has agreed to cut tariffs and non-tariff barriers on US products to zero. Follow for updates. Leave India If You Cant Follow Constitution: CJI Surya Kant Raps Meta In WhatsApp Privacy Case Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 13:26 IST A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant told the US-based company, You can't play with the privacy of our country. We will not allow you to share a single digit of our data. Rapid Read The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered WhatsApp not to share any user information with Meta until the matter is fully heard. (File) The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a stern warning to Meta over its 2021 privacy policy for WhatsApp. As Solicitor General Tushar Mehta criticised the exploitative" policy for sharing user data for commercial purposes, Chief Justice Surya Kant responded: If you cant follow our Constitution, then leave India. We wont allow any the privacy of any citizen to be compromised." A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant told the US-based company, You cant play with privacy we will not allow you to share a single digit of our data". Solicitor General Mehta and counsel for the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said that user data was being commercially exploited, even if encrypted, and that the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act must be considered to protect metadata and ensure user consent, India Today reported. SC raises concerns As the tech giants claimed informed consent, the SC said that millions of users, including street vendors and rural citizens, cannot understand complex privacy policies. The language of your policy is such that an ordinary user cannot understand it. What kind of option are you giving? Imagine a street vendor a poor woman sitting on the street selling fruits. How will she understand your terms and conditions about opting in or opting out?" the SC bench said, according to LiveLaw, adding that the policy appeared to be very cleverly crafted". The choice is between the lion and the lamb. Either you file an undertaking that there will be no data sharing, or we will dismiss your case," the CJI said. The counsel for WhatsApp argued that their privacy policy aligns with international norms, while Meta said that data sharing is limited to the parent company. The court, however, said there was a stark difference between Indias privacy framework and European regulations and that commercial use of shared data must not be overlooked. The court also emphasised that behavioural and commercial exploitation of user data, including targeted advertising based on chat trends, violates users rights. The bench took note of instances where users received targeted ads for medicines shortly after private chats with doctors, raising questions about the extent of data monetisation. The hearing The hearing was on multiple appeals, including those filed by WhatsApp, Meta, and the CCI, challenging a January 2025 NCLAT order regarding data sharing and market dominance. Meta and WhatsApp moved the Supreme Court to challenge the NCLAT ruling that upheld a 213.14-crore penalty imposed by the CCI for abusing their dominant position via the 2021 privacy policy. The case centers on the policys mandatory data-sharing with Facebook/Meta companies, which the CCI deemed an unfair" take-it-or-leave-it" condition for users. In 2021, WhatsApp updated its privacy policy, requiring users to share data with Meta companies to continue using the service. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) fined WhatsApp/Meta 213.14 crore in November 2024 for abusing its dominant position in the messaging market. In November 2025, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) upheld the penalty and reinforced user-choice safeguards, requiring WhatsApp to allow users to opt-out of data sharing. What next? As an interim measure, the Supreme Court has ordered WhatsApp not to share any user information with Meta until the matter is fully heard. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 12:12 IST News india Leave India If You Cant Follow Constitution: CJI Surya Kant Raps Meta In WhatsApp Privacy Case Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Maharashtra Horror: Man Kills 6-Year-Old Daughter To Contest Sarpanch Election, Arrested Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 14:17 IST According to the police, the father threw the six-year-old girl into a canal, which led to her death. Father Allegedly Kills Daughter to Contest Sarpanch Election in Nanded (Photo: News18) A shocking crime has been reported from Nanded in Maharashtra, where a father allegedly killed his six-year-old daughter in order to contest the sarpanch election. As per the election rules, only a person with two children can contest the election. A father with more than two children is not allowed to stand for the post. The accused had three children. To become eligible to contest the election, he allegedly killed one of his daughters. According to the police, the father threw the six-year-old girl into a canal, which led to her death. The childs body was later found in Telangana. Police investigation During the investigation, Telangana Police found that the girl had been killed by her father. The police have taken the father into custody. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : Nanded, India, India First Published: February 03, 2026, 14:17 IST News india Maharashtra Horror: Man Kills 6-Year-Old Daughter To Contest Sarpanch Election, Arrested Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Mamata Banerjee Likely To Appear Before Supreme Court For Bengal SIR Hearing Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 14:07 IST Mamata Banerjee may appear before the Supreme Court for her plea against the Election Commission of India over Special Intensive Revision in West Bengal West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee (Image: PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to appear in person before the Supreme Court on Wednesday for the hearing of her plea against the Election Commission of India over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the state. Sources told CNN-News18 that a clearance was sought from the apex courts security for Banerjee, who is a Z+ protectee. Banerjee on Monday walked out of a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the SIR, accusing him of being arrogant" and working at the behest of the BJP. However, Election Commission officials refuted her claim, saying she left without listening to the response of the poll panel top brass on the issues raised by her. The BJP also hit back at the chief minister, alleging that she was protesting against an imagined grievance" and enacting a drama". The TMC supremo, who has been demanding a halt to the voters list cleanup exercise in West Bengal, is in Delhi along with SIR-affected families from her state. She reached Delhi on Sunday. In the afternoon, she went to the poll panels office here, wearing a black shawl as a mark of protest", accompanied by party MPs Abhishek Banerjee and Kalyan Banerjee, and 12 members from SIR affected families" from West Bengal to meet Gyanesh Kumar and fellow ECs. The West Bengal chief minister had earlier written several letters to the CEC, raising concerns over the conduct of the exercise. In her most recent letter to the CEC on January 31, she alleged that the methodology and approach of the exercise went beyond the provisions of the Representation of the People Act and the relevant rules, causing immense inconvenience and agony" to citizens. Earlier, TMC leaders, including Rajya Sabha MPs Derek OBrien and Dola Sen, had moved the apex court, challenging certain aspects of how the SIR is being carried out in West Bengal. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 13:28 IST News india Mamata Banerjee Likely To Appear Before Supreme Court For Bengal SIR Hearing Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 'Patience, Wisdom Paid Off Despite Criticism': PM Modi On India-US Deal At NDA Party Meet Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 11:41 IST PM Modi told NDA MPs that patience and wisdom paid off in securing the India-US trade deal, stressing its importance for Indias economy despite Opposition criticism. Prime Minister Narendra Modi (Photo: PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday told NDA MPs that patience and wisdom paid off", as he spoke of the India-US trade deal, underscoring that the agreement was vital for Indias economic future even as the Opposition continued to target the government, sources said after the Parliamentary Party meeting. Sources also said that PM Modi highlighted the strategic importance of the pact with Washington and explained how the negotiations reflected sustained engagement at the highest level. Referring to criticism from rival parties, the Prime Minister remarked that despite the Opposition kept bashing us," the government stayed the course and delivered results, stressing that perseverance had ultimately borne fruit. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also addressed the meeting, briefing MPs on the Union Budget and outlining its key features and priorities for the coming year. According to news agency ANI, NDA lawmakers felicitated PM Modi for clinching the deal with the United States, following US President Donald Trumps announcement that Washington would lower reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods from 25 per cent to 18 per cent out of friendship and respect" for the Prime Minister. WHAT PM MODI HAD SAID AFTER THE INDIA-US TRADE DEAL In a post on X following the call with Donald Trump, PM Modi had said, Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 per cent." Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement," he added. He had also noted that cooperation between the two countries unlocks immense opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation," adding, President Trumps leadership is vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity. India fully supports his efforts for peace." Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement.When two large economies and the Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 2, 2026 Trump, in his own social media statement referenced during the discussions, had said that India would move to reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers" against the US to zero and increase purchases of American products, including energy, beyond USD 500 billion. Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India," Trump wrote, adding, India will likewise move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO." He further claimed that Modi had agreed to substantially increase purchases of US goods and that the two leaders had discussed the Russia-Ukraine conflict. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 11:22 IST News india 'Patience, Wisdom Paid Off Despite Criticism': PM Modi On India-US Deal At NDA Party Meet Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Self-Confidence Key To Realising Developed India Dream: PM Modi's Post After US Trade Deal Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 09:43 IST PM Modi posted on X after the India-US trade deal announcement, saying that everything is possible with self-confidence. He also shared a video featuring Sanskrit shlokas. PM Narendra Modi (File photo/PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday shared a post on X, hours after the announcement of the India-United States trade deal, stressing the role of self-confidence in shaping the countrys future. Posting a short video clip featuring shlokas in Sanskrit, PM Modi wrote, Self-confidence is that power with the help of which everything is possible." This very power of the countrymen will prove extremely useful in realising the dream of a developed India," the Prime Minister wrote. , pic.twitter.com/FcQqHbSvI9 Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 3, 2026 Earlier, India and the United States had announced the trade agreement, outlining the expansion of bilateral commerce and strengthening economic cooperation across key sectors. Announcing the deal, US President Donald Trump said that the trade deal outlines key elements, after a phone conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whom he described as one of my greatest friends." In a detailed post on Truth Social, Trump said the agreement would immediately reduce the US reciprocal tariff on Indian goods from 25 per cent to 18 per cent, calling it a major shift in bilateral trade ties linked to energy cooperation and broader geopolitical goals. The US President said that the two leaders discussed many things, including Trade, and ending the War with Russia and Ukraine." He claimed that PM Modi agreed to stop buying Russian oil and to increase purchases from the United States and, potentially, from Venezuela. The phone call came a day before External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is due to begin a visit to the United States. Earlier on Monday, the Ministry of External Affairs announced that Jaishankar would travel to Washington this week to participate in the Critical Minerals Ministerial convened by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. During the visit, Jaishankar will also hold meetings with senior members of the US administration, the ministry said, without providing further details. India and the United States have been engaged in negotiations aimed at expanding trade and investment ties, with officials on both sides indicating that talks were nearing a final stage. India has said its energy decisions are guided by national interest and market conditions, while also calling for an end to the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 08:55 IST News india Self-Confidence Key To Realising Developed India Dream: PM Modi's Post After US Trade Deal Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... SC To Hear Mamata Banerjees Plea Against ECI Over Bengal SIR Tomorrow; CM To Appear Personally Curated By : News18.com Edited By: News Desk Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 20:54 IST Mamata Banerjee, who holds a law degree, may choose to personally attend the hearing on Bengal SIR and present her submissions before the top court. File photo of Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Wednesday a clutch of petitions challenging the Election Commission of Indias (ECI) ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee set to be present in court during the proceedings. According to the apex courts cause list, a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi will hear three petitions filed by Mostari Banu and Trinamool Congress MPs Derek OBrien and Dola Sen. The West Bengal Chief Minister has also filed a separate plea on the issue, which is listed for consideration. Banerjee, who holds a law degree, has chosen to personally attend the hearing and present her submissions before the court. She had approached the Supreme Court on January 28, questioning the legality and manner of implementation of the SIR in the poll-bound state. In her petition, the chief minister has alleged political bias and an authoritarian approach by the Election Commission in conducting the voter list revision. The chief minister has also taken her objections directly to the Election Commission. In a letter addressed to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Saturday, Banerjee claimed that the SIR process had caused immense inconvenience and agony" to the people of West Bengal and alleged that it had resulted in as many as 140 deaths across the state. Earlier, on January 19, the Supreme Court had issued a series of directions aimed at ensuring that the SIR process remained transparent and did not inconvenience voters. The court directed the Election Commission to publicly display the names of voters flagged for logical discrepancies" at gram panchayat bhavans and block offices, which were also designated as centres for submitting documents and objections. The discrepancies include mismatches in parental names and cases where the age difference between a voter and their parent is less than 15 years or more than 50 years. Taking note of the fact that around 1.25 crore voters in West Bengal figure on the logical discrepancies" list, the court had instructed that adequate facilities and manpower be provided, with the state government asked to extend full support to election authorities. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 20:25 IST News india SC To Hear Mamata Banerjees Plea Against ECI Over Bengal SIR Tomorrow; CM To Appear Personally Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 'The Usual Stance': Govt Source On Agri, Dairy Sectors In India-US Trade Deal Amid Debate Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 14:17 IST While Donald Trump also said India would stop buying Russian oil, sources in the Indian government said the country would stick to its "people-first approach" Rapid Read The sectors are largely unlikely to feature in any significant market-opening commitments. India is likely to maintain its long-standing stance of excluding sensitive agricultural products and dairy from the trade deal with the United States, a government official has said, signalling that these sectors are largely unlikely to feature in any significant market-opening commitments. What has been the stance remains the stance. The usual stance (for sensitive items in agriculture, dairy) is likely to stay. The interests of our farmers wont be compromised," the official was quoted as saying on the condition of anonymity. On Monday, US President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that the US and India had reached a trade deal, stating that the agreement would substantially reduce the reciprocal tariffs set to take effect from mid-2025. Under the terms of the deal, Trump said the US would lower its tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent, while duties on American products entering India are expected to drop to zero. While Trump also said India would stop buying Russian oil, sources in the Indian government said the country would stick to its people-first approach". We will continue to buy oil from markets giving the best deal and from non-sanctioned entities. Our strategy will be decided by market prices." #BreakingNews | Indias message is clear: No compromise on farmers & dairy But what does this mean for the USIndia trade deal? @GrihaAtul @_pallavighosh @payalmehta100 discuss pic.twitter.com/QrJdgRoJ89 News18 (@CNNnews18) February 3, 2026 The official said that negotiators from both sides are currently working on the documentation for the trade deal and are in discussions on the same. The Agri Debate A large part of Indias population depends on agriculture and dairy for income and employment. Millions of small and marginal farmers rely on these sectors, especially dairy, where most producers operate on a small scale. Critics of open and free trade argue that opening these markets to imports from countries with highly subsidised and largescale production could undermine local producers and cause job losses in rural areas. Indias dairy farms are mostly small and less mechanised compared to large commercial operations in developed countries. Other countries (like the US, EU, Australia, or New Zealand) often subsidise their agriculture heavily, making their products very competitive globally. If India eliminated tariffs on imports from these countries, local farmers might not be able to compete. Apart from this, agriculture is closely tied to national food security. Ensuring stable production and availability of key staples protects India from global price shocks and shortages. Governments often shield staples to prevent sudden import surges that might hurt domestic food supply and prices. There is also the political angle to the row. Agriculture and dairy are politically sensitive in India, with farmers interests being a major political concern. Any large liberalisation that threatens their incomes can lead to strong public backlash and social unrest. This was a key reason India withdrew from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in 2019 as the government felt cheaper imports could hurt domestic crops and dairy. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 13:33 IST News india 'The Usual Stance': Govt Source On Agri, Dairy Sectors In India-US Trade Deal Amid Debate Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Opposition To Impeach EC Chief Gyanesh Kumar? Trinamool Congress Says 'Consulting Parties...' Curated By : Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 20:56 IST Party sources said the move follows a sharp standoff between CM Mamata Banerjee and the Election Commission officials during a meeting at the poll bodys Delhi office on Monday. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee with her nephew and TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee in New Delhi | Image: PTI The Trinamool Congress has said it will reach out to other political parties to explore the possibility of initiating impeachment proceedings against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, intensifying its confrontation with the Election Commission over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal ahead of the Assembly elections. Party sources said the move follows a sharp standoff between West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the top leadership of the Election Commission during a meeting at the poll bodys Delhi office on Monday. Confirming the development, Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee told reporters that the manner in which the SIR exercise was being conducted was incorrect" and had serious implications for voters rights. We are considering impeaching the Chief Election Commissioner because of the way he is conducting the SIR. It affects the voting rights of every citizen," the MP said in Delhi, adding that the party would consult other Opposition parties on the issue. Earlier in the day, Mamata Banerjee addressed a press conference, alleging that the Election Commission was selectively using the SIR to remove voters from constituencies represented by Trinamool MLAs. She claimed that while constituencies held by BJP legislators saw deletions of only 3,000 to 4,000 voters, Trinamool-held seats witnessed deletions ranging from 40,000 to one lakh names. Citing her own Bhabanipur constituency in south Kolkata, the chief minister alleged that around 40,000 names had already been removed from the draft electoral rolls, with the final figure likely to touch one lakh. She further accused the poll body of unilaterally deleting 58 lakh names from the draft voter list without consulting electoral registration officers. Banerjee also alleged that notices were being issued indiscriminately in the name of logical discrepancies," claiming that even noted economist and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen had been summoned for a hearing. The Trinamools impeachment pitch has added to speculation within the opposition INDIA bloc about mounting a coordinated challenge to the Chief Election Commissioner, recalling similar demands raised during voter roll revision controversies in other states, including Bihar. Impeachment of the Chief Election Commissioner requires a motion in Parliament backed by a substantial majority. The Election Commission has, however, rejected allegations of bias, maintaining that the SIR is a constitutional responsibility aimed at ensuring accurate and clean electoral rolls. Meanwhile, sources familiar with Mondays meeting said the interaction between the Bengal chief minister and Election Commission officials was tense. They alleged that Banerjee made repeated accusations during the discussion, while the Commissions top officials maintained restraint and explained the legal framework governing the SIR process. BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, dismissed the chief ministers Delhi visit as dramabazi." Sources also claimed that Election Commission officials cautioned against any pressure or interference in the revision exercise, reminding the Trinamool delegation that vandalism of poll offices and obstruction of officials would be dealt with strictly under the law. The dispute over the SIR exercise is expected to remain a flashpoint in the run-up to the West Bengal Assembly elections. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 20:51 IST News india Opposition To Impeach EC Chief Gyanesh Kumar? Trinamool Congress Says 'Consulting Parties...' Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Azerbaijan and the European Union are discussing the inclusion of the Zangezur corridor in the pan-European transport network TEN-T (Trans-European Transport Networks). Last week, the Minister of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan Rashad Nabiyev met with the Director General of the European Commission's Directorate General for Enlargement and the Eastern Neighborhood, Gert Jan Koopman. It is reported that the key topic of the negotiations was the development of transport infrastructure, in particular, the preparation of a feasibility study of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic railway network, which, as is known, will become part of the future TRIPP (Zangezur Corridor). Earlier in Davos, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos, at a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, said that the European Union was ready to support Azerbaijan in rebuilding the railway in NAR. Thus, the EU will invest in the modernization of the autonomy's railways. The European Union and Azerbaijan, together with the European Investment Bank, have agreed to start work on the preparation of a feasibility study. The EU Delegation to Azerbaijan told reporters that this railway will become part of a larger Medium-range corridor aimed at connecting Europe and Central Asia, with a planned transit period of 15 days. It should be noted that within the framework of this project, 10 stations and 814 engineering structures are planned to be built in the NAR, including 29 bridges and 4 tunnels. The length of the line is 194.1 km. Work on the design and construction of a railway line in Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic began in 2025. Work is already underway to lay tracks to Ordubad station at the Salammelik station bordering Armenia. The Nakhchivan section of the future TRIPP corridor is significant not only because of its transit function. It is important to have access to Turkiye, Iran and further to the Persian Gulf. Turkiye is currently building a road in the direction of NAR- Kars-Igdir-Aralyk-Diluju-the border with Azerbaijan. By connecting to Turkiye's railway network, the Zangezur Corridor will reach Europe, more precisely, the Trans-European transport networks. The inclusion of European investments will help speed up the work and make the EU a direct participant in the project. The interest shown by the EU proves once again that Europe considers the South Caucasus as part of its transport architecture. In addition, the European Union thus shows that it does not want to lag behind the United States and also contributes to strengthening the peace process in our region. Connecting Azerbaijan to the TEN-T network is not a new idea. Back in 2017, the AR and the EU signed a document defining the tentative map of the TEN-T network. Today, Azerbaijan is already contributing to the European network through projects such as the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway and the Baku International Commercial Seaport. The inclusion of Azerbaijan's infrastructure in the TEN-T system significantly simplifies logistics between Europe and Asia through the Caspian region. Now the next step is to connect the Zangezur corridor. TEN-T is an ambitious infrastructure project of the European Union, which involves the creation by 2050 of a new transport system in the EU, including 94 ports, 38 airports and about 15,000 kilometers of high-speed railways. The European Union has always been interested in the transport and logistics opportunities of the South Caucasus. But the existence of the Karabakh conflict did not allow the Europeans to realize their full interest. In November 2005, the European Commission published the report of the High-level Group "Expansion of the main Trans-European routes to neighboring countries and regions." The main routes of the transport corridors have been identified. Azerbaijan and the Caspian Sea, as well as the country's capabilities and infrastructure, were repeatedly mentioned in the report as part of the Southeastern route. However, Armenia always fell out of this grid, because under the conditions of the ongoing occupation, the opening of communications between the two countries was out of the question. The EC report states: Azerbaijan stated that no cooperation or other activities on the transport corridor linking Armenia with Azerbaijan are possible until the main consequences of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan are eliminated. Armenia stated that in order to improve regional cooperation, it is ready to establish and develop cooperation with Azerbaijan without any preconditions." Although Armenia looked more constructive and correct in the report, which did not mention the fact of military aggression and occupation of territories, this did not help it. All roads remained closed to it for another 20 years, until Baku announced in October 2025 that restrictions on the transit of goods to Armenia through Azerbaijani territory would be lifted. The liberation war of 2020 and other events that took place in the post-war years created a situation in which Yerevan had no other options but to agree to peace on the terms of the winner. Armenia started receiving dividends from these processes very soon. Just a couple of months after the Washington meeting, wheat trains for this country passed through Azerbaijan. Then she became a buyer of Azerbaijani oil products at below-market prices. Recently, another train carrying Russian grain arrived in Armenia. And the two countries are now planning a transition from transit to bilateral trade. The Zangezur Corridor, or TRIPP, is a gift that Armenia could not even dream of. After losing the war, Armenia got the opportunity to become a part of transcontinental transit and integrate into TEN-T. This could have happened even earlier if the peace negotiations that lasted for a quarter of a century had yielded a positive result. There was some pressure on Baku to persuade it to open communications and connect Armenia to regional projects, but it was adamant. When the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway was conceived, Azerbaijan faced serious resistance, as Western countries, led by the United States, announced a kind of boycott of the project because the BTK bypassed Armenia and allegedly contributed to the continuation of its "blockade." This did not stop Azerbaijan, it built a road at its own expense, despite the ill will of external players and negative forecasts. In January 2019, the EC decided to expand TEN-T beyond the EU to the Eastern Partnership countries, including Azerbaijan. This decision was made by the European Commission at the legislative level and also included a financial component. By that time, the BTK, rejected by Europe, had already started operating, the largest international trade port in the Caspian Sea was built in Alyat, and a modern East-West highway was laid from the Caspian coast to the border with Georgia. Azerbaijan has actually offered the Europeans a ready-made transit route with all the necessary infrastructure. The European Union has no choice but to acknowledge this fact and take advantage of the opportunities opened up by Baku. At the same time, the EU connectivity strategy began to consider Azerbaijan and Georgia as key links connecting Europe with Central Asia with the active participation of the European Union through the Global Gateway initiative. The talk about bypassing Armenia and the "blockade" faded somehow by itself. In early January, the Geneva Center for Security Policy (GCSP) published an article in which it stated that the EU can play a proactive but complementary role alongside the United States in promoting sustainable peace and regional connectivity in the South Caucasus. Brussels should not compete with Washington's leadership, but the EU's passivity is unacceptable. It is significant that in parallel with the discussions surrounding the connection of the Zangezur Corridor to the Trans-European Networks, agreements were signed in Tbilisi last week between BTKI Railways LLC (a joint venture of subsidiaries of Azerbaijan Railways CJSC and Marabda-Kartsakhi Railway LLC) and Georgian Railways JSC. One of the documents regulates the use of the railway infrastructure on the Marabda-Akhalkalaki section, the other is related to the terminal services at the Akhalkalaki station. Earlier, JSC AZHD successfully completed repair and rehabilitation work and modernization of the 184-kilometer section of the BTK line passing through Georgia through an area with difficult terrain, as a result of which the annual capacity of the line increased from 1 million tons of cargo to 5 million tons. Recall that in November 2022, a Roadmap for 2022-2027 was signed in Aktau for the simultaneous elimination of "bottlenecks" and the development of port and railway infrastructure in order to increase cargo turnover along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TMTM). In the medium term, it is planned to increase the capacity of the route, including BTK, to 10 million tons. The achievement of this goal depends on the joint efforts of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkiye and Kazakhstan. Tbilisi expects that 2026 will be a significant year for the Georgian transport sector, as the active phase of construction of the Anaklia deepwater port will begin, as well as the modernization of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway on Georgian territory will be fully completed. During a briefing at the Azerbaijani Embassy in Brussels last December, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan Hikmet Hajiyev, referring to the Zangezur corridor, stressed that Baku would like to see the European Union as part of this new transport architecture. Photo: https://www.facebook.com/ The Ukrainian Armed Forces have restored the situation in the town of Kupyansk in Kharkiv region, liberating its central part. The occupiers have advanced in Pokrovsk direction near the villages of Hryshyne and Udachne, as well as in Sloviansk direction near the village of Pryvilne in Donetsk region. "Ukrainian Defense Forces have restored the situation in Kupyansk. The enemy has advanced near Udachne, Hryshyne, and Pryvilne," the DeepState OSINT project reported on its Telegram channel on Tuesday. According to the project maps, the occupiers increased their area of stable control by 2.92 square kilometers in Pokrovsk direction, and by 0.86 square kilometers in Sloviansk direction. The "gray zone" of undefined control in these directions also increased by 3.7 and 4.76 square kilometers, respectively. However, in Kupyansk, the Ukrainian Armed Forces liberated 3.77 square kilometers. According to maps, the enclave under occupier control in the town decreased by 0.18 square kilometers, and the "gray zone" by another 3.46 square kilometers. Also, a small occupiers foothold near the Russian-Ukrainian state border in the area of the village of Zelene in Kharkiv direction, covering an area of 0.45 square kilometers, has moved into the "gray zone." There were no changes on other sections of the front. Thus, the occupiers captured 3.78 square kilometers in 24 hours, but lost 0.63 square kilometers in other directions, increasing their area of control by 3.15 square kilometers. The "gray zone" expanded by 5.45 square kilometers. As reported, last week the occupiers increased their area of control by an average of 12.9 square kilometers per day, while the "gray zone" increased by an average of 0.5 square kilometers per day. What Is This, Yaar: Lok Sabha Speaker Raps Congress MP For Unparliamentary Language Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 15:16 IST Congress MP KC Venugopal addressed the Speaker as yaar while Rahul Gandhi was speaking. Speaker Pulls Up MP for Calling Chair Yaar in Lok Sabha During the Parliament Budget Session on Tuesday, Lok Sabha Speaker Krishna Prasad Tenneti reprimanded Congress MP KC Venugopal over the use of language in the House. During a ruckus while LoP Rahul Gandhi was speaking, Congress MP KC Venugopal addressed the Speaker as yaar" while Rahul Gandhi was speaking. The Speaker objected and cited House protocol and decorum. What did you say just now? What is this, yaar? This is Lok Sabha. This is Parliament. You cannot address the Chair as yaar. Please take back your words. Respect the Chair. This is against the decorum of the House," Tenneti said. The Lok Sabha was adjourned till 3 p.m. after disruptions during Rahul Gandhis speech. Rahul Gandhi alleged that he was not being allowed to speak as he referred again to the unpublished memoir of former Army Chief MM Naravane. Opposition MPs suspended After the House resumed at 3 p.m., papers were thrown towards the Speaker. Congress MP Raja Warring threw papers at the Chair. Opposition members tried to climb on the table in front of the Speaker. Raja Warring, Congress MP Hibi Eden and Manickam Tagore attempted to jump onto the table. They tried to come to the same level as the Speaker and block his view after climbing up. Following the uproar and the incident of papers being thrown, six Opposition MPs Hibi Eden, Amarinder Singh, Raja Warring, Manickam Tagore, Gurjeet Singh Aujla and Kiran Kumar Reddy were suspended for the remainder of the session. The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day. Chaos over Naravanes memoir Chaotic scenes and shouting were seen in the Lok Sabha as proceedings began. Rahul Gandhi once again raised a magazine article on Naravanes unpublished memoir, saying he wanted to speak on national security as part of the discussion on the Presidents address. He said he only wanted to make a statement on what happened between India and China and how the Prime Minister reacted, and questioned why he was being stopped. Several BJP MPs objected to his remarks, leading to disruptions. The Chair appealed for order during the discussion. Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi said the Presidents address had placed strong emphasis on national security and Indias relations with Pakistan and China. He referred to an authenticated" point in the speech regarding the Prime Ministers response to key developments. Rahul Gandhi said the China-US conflict now dominates global affairs and is central to Indias foreign policy path. A very important matter in the Presidents speech is a matter relating to national security. Our relationship between the Pakistanis, the Chinese, and us. There is a very important point in this article that I have authenticated. It speaks about the PMs reactionOur Presidents address was about the path India has to take. Today. On the world stage, the main issue in international affairs is the conflict between China and the US. This is central to our Presidents address. All I am saying is let me make a statement about what happened between China and India and how our PM reacted to it. Why am I being stopped?," said Rahul Gandhi. The BJP MPs immediately object to Rahul Gandhi speaking again on this issue after Mondays chaos. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: February 03, 2026, 15:04 IST News india What Is This, Yaar: Lok Sabha Speaker Raps Congress MP For Unparliamentary Language Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... When Balochistan Nearly Became Part Of India, And How It Slipped Away Curated By : Translation Desk Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 17:08 IST Balochistan, once the independent State of Kalat after 1947, sought ties with India but joined Pakistan under pressure in 1948, fueling ongoing tensions over its autonomy Rapid Read Historical accounts suggest that Muhammad Ali Jinnah, was initially reluctant to integrate Balochistan into Pakistan. (News18 Hindi) As tensions continue to simmer in Pakistans Balochistan province, marked by periodic insurgency and heavy military deployment, historians point to a lesser-known episode from the 1947 Partition era that continues to shape the regions fraught relationship with Pakistan. When India and Pakistan emerged as independent nations in August 1947, Balochistan, then largely comprising the princely State of Kalat, did not immediately join either country. On August 15, 1947, Kalat declared itself an independent state, a status it retained for more than seven months. For approximately 227 days, Balochistan functioned as a sovereign entity, a fact documented in historical records, including reports by the BBC and academic research by German political scientist Martin Axmann in his book Back to the Future: The Khanate of Kalat and the Genesis of Baloch Nationalism 1915-1955. Historical accounts suggest that Pakistans founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, was initially reluctant to integrate Balochistan into the new state. According to Axmann and other scholars, Jinnah viewed the region as sparsely populated, economically underdeveloped, and difficult to administer. In the immediate aftermath of Partition, he is believed to have favoured Balochistan remaining independent rather than becoming part of Pakistan. At the same time, sections of Baloch political leadership were reportedly more inclined towards Indias secular and democratic framework than the Muslim Leagues ideological position. Leaders from the Kalat State National Party had participated in the All India State Peoples Conference in 1945, where Jawaharlal Nehru was the chief guest. Contemporary accounts indicate that Baloch nationalists were wary of being subsumed into Pakistan solely on religious grounds and sought to protect their distinct cultural and historical identity, which they saw as closer to Iran than to the Indian subcontinent. Former diplomat VP Menon and historian TCA Raghavan have written that the Khan of Kalat and other Baloch leaders explored diplomatic channels with New Delhi and formally conveyed their interest in acceding to India. Menon records that the Nehru government declined the proposal, citing the lack of geographical contiguity and the near certainty that such a move would provoke armed conflict with Pakistan. With the prospect of Indian support receding, Pakistan hardened its position. In March 1948, Pakistani troops entered Balochistan, and the Khan of Kalat was compelled to sign the instrument of accession. While the merger was accompanied by assurances of autonomy and non-interference in internal affairs, Baloch leaders have long argued that these commitments were violated almost immediately. Historians remain divided on whether Balochistans overtures to India reflected a genuine desire for accession or a tactical move by the Khan of Kalat to preserve his authority by leveraging interest from India and Iran. Baloch nationalists, however, contend that New Delhis reluctance altered the regions destiny and argue that, had India engaged more decisively, it might today have had a strategic partner along the Arabian Sea. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 17:08 IST News india When Balochistan Nearly Became Part Of India, And How It Slipped Away Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Can You Store Sleep To Use It Later? The Truth Behind The Viral Sleep Banking Trend Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 08:00 IST 'Sleep banking' is often oversimplified online as nothing more than getting a little extra sleep to cope better with long hours of wakefulness. The idea of 'sleep banking' was first introduced in 2009 by sleep researchers at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in the US. (Representative image: AI-generated) Social media platforms are full of people who call themselves wellness teachers, instructors, educators, and many other titles, often without any official accreditation or certification. Such creators frequently use phrases like scientific studies show" or researchers say" to make their content sound credible, but rarely mention the actual studies or researchers. Even when they do, they tend to cherry-pick results that support their claims, leaving out crucial details such as the research setting, sample size, or study limitations. Recently, several of these wellness influencers have been flooding Instagram, YouTube Shorts, and other platforms with videos promoting a concept called sleep banking," claiming it is backed by scientific studies. While the term does have scientific origins, it is often oversimplified online as nothing more than getting a little extra sleep to cope better with long hours of wakefulness. Heres a closer look at what sleep banking actually means, whether sleep can truly be stored, how the concept works, and what impact it really has on the human body. The Origin Of Sleep Banking The idea of sleep banking" comes from scientific research, not social media. It was first introduced in 2009 by sleep researchers at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in the US, who were studying whether soldiers could stay more alert during missions by sleeping extra hours in advance. Their findings suggested that those who extended sleep beforehand were able to cope better, at least temporarily, once sleep deprivation began. Since then, similar effects have been observed in other high-demand settings. A 2023 study of hospital doctors found that banking about 90 minutes of extra sleep for a few nights improved performance during night shifts. Research in athletes has shown comparable short-term benefits, including improved reaction time, accuracy, and reduced physical stress. However, many scientists caution that sleep cannot be stored" indefinitely, and the concept remains debated. According to Dr Aditya Gupta, Director of Neurosurgery & CyberKnife at Artemis Hospital, Gurugram, the concept does have scientific groundingbut with important caveats. He explains, There is some science behind sleep banking, but in popular culture, it is usually grossly oversimplified." Research suggests that pre-emptive sleep can reduce fatigue and performance decline for a short time after reduced sleep. It should be viewed as a short-term buffering method, not a long-term substitute for regular sleep," Dr Gupta adds. Can The Brain Store" Sleep? The idea of storing sleep hours is biologically inaccurate. The brain doesnt create a reserve that can be withdrawn later. Dr Gupta, The brain does not have a physical reserve of sleep." While additional sleep supports critical functions like neural repair and memory consolidation, its real benefit lies elsewhere. The biggest advantage is starting from a well-rested baseline. That improves your ability to cope temporarily when sleep is reduced," he adds. This distinction is crucial: sleep banking improves resilience, not immunity. Mental gains show up first, doctors say How Much Extra Sleep Is Sleep Banking? Theres no magic number, but research does point to a rough range. Dr Biplab Das, Director of Neurology & Interventional Neuroradiology at Batra Hospital, notes that getting one to two additional hours of sleep per night for three to seven days before expected sleep loss can create a small performance buffer. The keyword, however, is small. It will not completely offset the negative effects associated with chronic sleep loss," he cautions. That is why doctors consistently stress moderation and realism when discussing sleep banking. Does Extra Sleep Helps Your Brain? One of the biggest claims around sleep banking is that it somehow protects the brain from future damage. Doctors say thats an overstatement. Dr Gupta points out that extra sleep before a demanding period may temporarily improve alertness and response time. However, it does not cancel out the effects of sleep deprivation. It primarily delays rather than eliminates the negative consequences that will occur if sleep loss continues." In other words, sleep banking doesnt make you immune to exhaustion. It only buys you a little time. Dr Das says that the earliest effects of sleep banking are usually mental. People report better focus, improved mood, and faster reaction times when theyve slept more in advance. Physical effects do follow, but theyre subtler. Sleep banking can support immune function, help stabilise appetite-related hormones, and improve glucose regulation," Dr Das explains. Together, these effects help the body tolerate short periods of sleep loss better, though they dont erase the underlying strain. Sleep Banking Vs Weekend Catch-Up Sleep Many people assume sleeping in on weekends serves the same purpose, but experts disagree. Dr Astik Joshi, Child, Adolescent & Forensic Psychiatrist at Fortis Hospital, New Delhi, explains that the two are fundamentally different. He explains that sleep banking is a proactive strategy meant to prepare for an upcoming lack of sleep, while weekend catch-up sleep is reactiveit tries to compensate for whats already been lost. The body responds better when sleep extension comes before deprivation, not after. Dr Jodhi further adds that the quantity of sleep alone is not enough. Timing matters just as much. he emphasises aligning sleep with the bodys natural circadian rhythm. Maintaining proper sleep hygiene and sleeping in sync with biological rhythms improves sleep quality," he says. Going to bed earlier, rather than waking up late, is usually more effective when trying to extend sleep. Why You Feel Fine Even When Sleep Deprived One reason sleep deprivation is so underestimated is that people often dont realise how impaired they are. Dr Joshi points to stimulant use as a major factor. Excessive caffeine can create the illusion of functioning normally, even when performance is actually reduced," he says. This false sense of alertness is one reason chronic sleep loss goes unnoticed until health problems appear. When asked if people can recover from chronic sleep deprivation later, Dr Joshi says you cant fully recover from the negative impact of long-term sleep loss just by sleeping more occasionally. Dr Joshi stresses that chronic deprivation needs to be addressed at its root. Merely sleeping more later does not reverse the negative health impact," he says. Identifying causeswhether lifestyle, stress, or medical conditionsis essential for recovery. If theres one misconception experts want to correct, it is the belief that sleep can be stored endlessly. Dr Das says, The biggest myth is that you can accumulate unlimited sleep and then skip sleep without consequences." Sleep banking is meant for short, predictable disruptionsnot as a regular coping mechanism. Dr Gupta echoes this, adding that consistent, adequate sleep should remain the priority most nights. Sleep banking, at best, is a temporary support system. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 08:00 IST News lifestyle Can You Store Sleep To Use It Later? The Truth Behind The Viral Sleep Banking Trend Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Neeta Lulla Wants Aspiring Costume Designers To Get An Education; Says, Its Not Only About Passion Reported By : News18.com Edited By: Snigdha Oreya Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 09:08 IST National award-winning costume designer and couturier Neeta Lulla celebrated her journey through couture in collaboration with Vivz School of Fashion and Design in Pune recently. Vaani Kapoor turned showstopper for Neeta Lullas showcase. National award-winning costume designer Neeta Lulla celebrated her journey through couture in collaboration with Vivz School of Fashion and Design in Pune recently. The exclusive fashion showcase saw Neeta Lulla take a deep dive into her archives to present a carousel of contemporary styles embracing heritage. From opulent lehengas, sarees, sculpted gowns in womens wear, to traditional sherwanis to dapper suits in menswear, the collection was realised in an array of colours. Actor Vaani Kapoor closed the show in an all-black butter jersey cutout dress enhanced with tonal surface texturing. Neeta Lulla speaks to News18 about creating a story from fabric to character and what aspiring costume designers need to keep in mind before taking up the profession. Costume designing has been one of your strongest suits. Do you still enjoy the storytelling process of a costume from fabric to character? Absolutely. I mean, that is something that I have done for so many years, and it feels like second skin. I do enjoy costume designing for films and for bridal wear because I started as a couturier who sat with the bride, understood the entire mindset back in the 1980s. I also came up with many firsts, right from where brides only wore red to bringing in the shocking pink to brides who only wore one dupatta to bringing in two and three-dupatta concepts. So it has always been about how I can bring about a narrative to a film that could create a newness apart from consciously wanting just to make a trend. But how to create that character narrative that would make the movie strong, or would make the person who is dressing really, really comfortable in what they are wearing and enjoy their occasions and their events. Tell us about the collection you showcased in Pune and how it resonates with your fashion journey. For the past many years in my journey, there have been many firsts. So I went into my archives and brought them back to life with the newness and with a mindset that would adhere to the Gen Z clientele or the millennial clients. I have revived the concept of lace in this collection. I have revived the concept of contemporising Kanjivaram sarees. Also, creating couture out of sustainable fabrics is what I have included in the collection. A word of advice for aspiring costume designers who want to take up the profession? Most importantly, I think its essential that you have a foundation a very firm foundation of education in your field, because that takes you very far. With education, you can create identities that will not restrict you since you will know your cuts, your styling, the kind of colours and fabrics you want to use. So it is very essential that you have that knowledge. And its important to have a vision. A vision that is not constrictive to what you see on social media, but a vision that allows you to fly, allows you to dream on. So dream big, vision big, I mean passion, everyone says passion, but its not only about passion, its about you. Its about how far you want to go. Which film are you working on next? Ive just finished working on Ustaad Bhagat Singh with Mr. Pawan Kalyan, the Deputy CM of Andhra Pradesh. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: February 03, 2026, 09:02 IST News lifestyle fashion Neeta Lulla Wants Aspiring Costume Designers To Get An Education; Says, Its Not Only About Passion Is Microwaving Food In Plastic Containers Dangerous? Doctors Break Down The Real Risks Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 11:58 IST Microwaving food in plastic containers isnt deadly but isnt harmless either. Experts share smarter, safer ways to reheat food. Don't heat food in plastic containers that are scratched, old, or messed up. For many households, the microwave is the ultimate time-saver. Leftovers go straight from fridge to heat, often in the same plastic box they were stored in. It feels practical, efficient, and completely routine. Yet, as awareness around microplastics and chemical exposure grows, this everyday shortcut is facing fresh scrutiny from doctors who say the risk may not be immediate, but it isnt negligible either. Medical experts now caution that while microwaving plastic isnt instantly toxic, repeated exposure over the years could quietly affect health. According to Dr. Kanika Sood Sharma, Clinical Lead & Director, Radiation Oncology at Dharamshila Narayana Superspeciality Hospital, Delhi, heating plastic can release tiny fragments and chemicals into food. If you do this once in a while, its usually not a big deal, but scientists are looking into what happens if you do it a lot over many years," she explains. Dr. Deepak Jha, Chief Breast Surgery & Senior Consultant, Surgical Oncology at Artemis Hospitals, Gurugram, echoes this balanced view: Its not usually deadly to microwave plastic once, but it wouldnt be right to say its safe. Its better to say that its risky over time." What Actually Happens When Plastic Heats Up When plastic containers are exposed to high microwave temperatures, their structure can weaken. This can cause microplastics tiny, invisible fragments to mix with food. Some plastics may also release chemicals such as BPA and phthalates, especially when reheating oily, acidic, or spicy meals. Dr. Sharma notes that while current research hasnt confirmed immediate harm, the concern lies in long-term, repeated ingestion. Scientists are studying whether ongoing exposure contributes to inflammation, hormonal changes, and metabolic stress factors that may indirectly affect disease risk over time. Are Microwave-Safe Containers Truly Safe? Labels can be misleading. A microwave-safe stamp doesnt mean chemical-free. It simply indicates the container wont melt or warp easily. Containers that say microwave-safe are made so they dont break down quickly, but when heated over and over again, they might still let out small amounts of chemicals," says Dr. Jha. Scratched, cracked, or ageing containers are particularly vulnerable to leakage. Dr. Sharma adds that food-grade polypropylene is considered lower risk compared to thinner or single-use plastics, but still advises caution. Microwave-safe does not mean risk-free," she says, especially after repeated use. The Hormone Connection One of the bigger worries among health professionals is endocrine disruption. Certain plastic chemicals can mimic or interfere with hormones in the body. Dr. Jha explains that prolonged exposure has been linked to issues involving fertility, thyroid function, metabolism, and even early puberty in children. These changes dont happen overnight, but they accumulate slowly, which makes them harder to notice but no less important. Smarter, Safer Alternatives Both experts agree that prevention is simple and practical. Dr. Sharma recommends switching to glass or ceramic for reheating, avoiding single-use takeaway boxes, and skipping plastic wraps. Paper towels or microwave-safe lids work better for covering food. Dr. Jha suggests steering clear of heating fatty or oily dishes in plastic and discarding old or damaged containers altogether. Stainless steel for storage and glass for reheating are increasingly becoming the preferred routine in many health-conscious households. Microwaving plastic isnt a dramatic, one-time danger, but it isnt entirely harmless either. Small daily choices compound over time. Swapping plastic for glass or ceramic is an easy, low-effort way to reduce unnecessary chemical exposure and protect long-term health. When it comes to prevention, simplicity often wins. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: February 03, 2026, 11:58 IST News lifestyle health-and-fitness Is Microwaving Food In Plastic Containers Dangerous? Doctors Break Down The Real Risks Amruta Khanvilkar Thinks Actors Get Good Roles Only When They Produce Or Direct Published By : Trending Desk Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 15:09 IST Amruta Khanvilkar shared that factors such as social media popularity and follower counts strongly influence who is featured in a project. Amruta Khanvilkar also shared how OTT has transformed the industry. (Photo Credit: X) Amruta Khanvilkar got real about the casting process in the industry, highlighting how dramatically it has changed since she started out nearly two decades ago. According to the actress, who was most recently seen in Netflixs series Taskaree: The Smugglers Web, factors such as social media popularity and follower counts greatly influence who should and should not be featured in a project. But she isnt too concerned about her online presence and doesnt let it affect her. Casting is not in an actors hands," she told Hindustan Times. She shared that casting an actor solely based on followers does not make sense". Amruta asked, How would one know if they lost a role because the other person has more social media followers?" The 41-year-old mentioned that the only way to have complete authority is to either direct or produce the specific project. Amruta explained, If an actor wants complete control, the only way is to produce or direct. Otherwise, all you can do is focus on your craft and stay authentic." Amruta Khanvilkar Calls The Industry Unpredictable" She further shared that she had now learned not to dwell on missed opportunities. Calling the industry unpredictable, she said, If I lost a role, it was never meant to be. You win some, you lose some. Thats the nature of this industry." The Raazi actress mentioned that, as actors, they should avoid being bothered" about why they lost a role, because they might never know why makers make certain casting decisions. Having said that, you cant live with regret," she added. Amruta Khanvilkar Discusses The Boon Of OTT Platforms Besides discussing changes in the casting process, Amruta also credited OTT platforms with transforming the industry for actors like her. She said that streaming services have now opened doors to a newer form of storytelling and more room to experiment than traditional media. In long-format storytelling, especially, the writing becomes crucial. The arc, the timeline, the way characters evolve over seasons, all of that matters," she said. She highlighted that makers are now more open to experimentation, not just with content but also with casting. And one of her favourite things about this transformation is the evolution of women-centric roles. Amruta shared that she values working with filmmakers who avoid casting female actors in typical roles. I love it when makers treat characters as characters, not as genders. A woman can be nurturing and still be fierce. She can be in her jeans and shirt and completely ks, and that should feel normal," she explained. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 15:09 IST News movies bollywood Amruta Khanvilkar Thinks Actors Get Good Roles Only When They Produce Or Direct Mahima Chaudhry, Daughter Arina Draw Attention With Their Simplicity At A Launch Event Published By : Trending Desk Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 13:57 IST The viral reel shows Mahima Chaudhry and Arina stepping out together, pausing briefly for photographers, and walking inside without much drama. Mahima and Arina were spotted at the launch of Variety Magazine India. (Photo Credit: Instagram) Mahima Chaudhry and her daughter, Arina Chaudhry, made a low-key appearance in Mumbai that unexpectedly became one of the days most talked-about moments online. A short video clip of the duo arriving for the launch of Variety Magazine India has been circulating widely on Instagram, not for spectacle, but for their simplicity. The viral reel shows Mahima and Arina stepping out together, pausing briefly for photographers, and walking inside without much drama. There are no dramatic poses or choreographed exchanges, just a more relaxed and genuine routine than a planned public appearance. Mahima And Arina Chaudhrys Video Arina, in particular, caught attention for her simple, elegant appearance. Dressed in an ethnic outfit with soft bangs and minimal makeup, she remained poised as cameras followed her. Her quiet confidence and unforced presence grabbed all the attention. Mahima Chaudhry stayed slightly behind, allowing her daughter to naturally take focus without drawing attention to the gesture. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Samagya (@samagya_entertainment) The glamorous evening also saw a strong turnout from the film industry, with celebrities like Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Sidharth Malhotra, Arjun Kapoor, Isha Koppikar, Diana Penty, Lulia Vantur, Twinkle Khanna, Rohit Saraf, Mrunal Thakur, Rakul Preet Singh, Jackky Bhagnani and many others lighting up the red carpet with their presence. Mahima Chaudhrys Personal Life The actress tied the wedding knot with Bobby Mukherjee in 2006. The couple, who have a daughter named Arina, later separated in 2013. Since then, Mahima has raised Arina as a single mother and kept her life mostly private. Mahima Chaudhrys Career So Far The actress made her acting debut alongside Shah Rukh Khan in the Bollywood film Pardes. Directed and produced by Subhash Ghai, the film catapulted Mahima Chaudhry into the big league of actresses. She later appeared in multiple films, including Dil Kya Kare, Daag and Pyaar Koi Khel Nahin. However, none of these films could repeat the success of Pardes. Mahima also delivered notable supporting performances in big hits like Dhadkan, Baghban and LOC Kargil. Most recently, the actress was seen in Nadaaniyan. The film not only marked Ibrahim Ali Khans grand Bollywood debut but also brought Khushi Kapoor into the spotlight as his leading lady. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 13:57 IST News movies bollywood Mahima Chaudhry, Daughter Arina Draw Attention With Their Simplicity At A Launch Event Rohit Shetty Firing Incident: Vehicle Sourced From Pune Used In Attack, Was Purchased For Rs 30,000 Published By : IANS Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 07:38 IST The vehicle used in the firing belongs to a man from Pune, who sold it to Aditya Gayki, one of the arrested accused. Rapid Read 5 rounds of bullets were fired at filmmaker Rohit Shetty's Juhu residence on Sunday morning. The shooting incident outside director Rohit Shettys house has taken an interesting turn. The investigation by the Mumbai Crime Branch has revealed that the vehicle used in the firing was sourced from Pune. The vehicle used in the firing belongs to a man from Pune, who sold it to Aditya Gayki, one of the arrested accused, for Rs 30000 a few days ago. Later, Aditya Gayki and another accused, Samarth Pomaji, left the vehicle at a pre-decided place in Juhu area of Mumbai. According to the Crime Branch, the people who bought the vehicle and reached Mumbai do not know who the shooter is, later it was Shubham Lonkar who ordered the shooter to pick up the vehicle from where it was left and fire. According to the police, in previous crimes, a similar modus operandi is followed in which several small groups are hired for a crime but it is also taken care that one group does not know about the other group. For the uninitiated, five rounds of bullets were fired at filmmaker Rohit Shettys Juhu residence on Sunday morning. An exclusive footage shot by IANS shows three bullet holes on the building. Rohit Shettys home has two gates, and more than 10 CCTVs can be seen across the tower. As part of the investigation, four to five teams of the Crime Branch are combing through over 100 nearby CCTV footages in search of the culprits. The police are going through the footage from CCTV cameras installed outside Shetty Tower and nearby buildings to trace the escape route of the attackers. The incident occurred between around 12:30 am and 1:00 am on the night between Saturday and Sunday. After the shooting, the suspects managed to escape from the scene. As soon as the incident was reported, senior officers of the Mumbai Police and teams from the Mumbai Crime Branch reached the scene. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 07:38 IST News movies bollywood Rohit Shetty Firing Incident: Vehicle Sourced From Pune Used In Attack, Was Purchased For Rs 30,000 Nancy Meyers Returns With New Comedy Starring Penelope Cruz, Kieran Culkin, Jude Law Published By : Trending Desk Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 10:56 IST Nancy Meyers comeback comedy is going to feature an ensemble cast led by Penelope Cruz, Kieran Culkin, Jude Law, Emma Mackey and Owen Wilson. The upcoming film is slated for a Christmas 2027 release. Nancy Meyers is all set to make her long-awaited return to cinema. With a brand new all-star comedy, the veteran filmmaker is gearing up to mark her first feature in more than a decade. The woman known for creating glossy, aspirational, and heartwarming features with a star-studded lineup will be writing and directing a new untitled comedy for Warner Bros., as per reports. Nancy Meyers Returns After 11 Years The highly anticipated comedy is going to feature an ensemble cast led by Penelope Cruz, Kieran Culkin, Jude Law, Emma Mackey and Owen Wilson. As per industry reports, the film is scheduled for a Christmas 2027 release. Although the films plot is currently under wraps, Variety reports suggested that the film is going to be a version of Paris Paramount", the project Meyers set up at Netflix in spring 2023. The veteran filmmaker confirmed the film as she shared a screenshot of a news article and wrote, Happy to share my new movie with this fantastic cast is in the works and will be released on Christmas 2027! See you at the movies!" View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nancy Meyers (@nmeyers) Earlier Meyers shared on Instagram that the movie is about a group of people making a film and the magic and mystery of what we do." As per reports, negotiations broke down at Netflix when the movies budget soared to $150 million, with the streaming giant refusing to budge above $130 million. Motion Picture Group ultimately struck a deal to bring Meyers back into the commercial fold. The studios backing has been crucial in reviving the project and locking in the cast. As per reports, Meyers will produce the film with Ilona Herzberg, and Diana Pokorny will act as an executive producer. What Do We Know About Nancy Meyers? Meyers rose to massive fame with her aspirational A-list starring romantic comedies in the 2000s. Some of her widely acclaimed films include What Women Want, Somethings Gotta Give, The Holiday, and Its Complicated, among others all these films combined a star-studded line-up and Meyers distinctive blend of humour into modern relationships. She has not made any movie since 2015s The Intern, which starred Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro in the lead roles. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 10:56 IST News hollywood Nancy Meyers Returns With New Comedy Starring Penelope Cruz, Kieran Culkin, Jude Law BTS' Comeback Concert To Be Streamed LIVE On Netflix, OTT Giant Makes Big Announcement Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 10:43 IST BTS will embark on a massive ARIRANG World Tour (20262027), which will span 34 regions and 82 shows across Asia, North and Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and beyond. Rapid Read BTS comeback concert to stream live on Netflix on March 21, 2026. Heres some good news for BTS fans in India. The globally popular K-pop groups BTS THE COMEBACK LIVE | ARIRANG concert at Seouls historic Gwanghwamun plaza on March 21 will be streamed live on Netflix. The mega show will stream live exclusively on Netflix on March 21, 2026, at 8 PM KST (5 pm IST). Streaming live from the historic Gwanghwamun in Seoul, this monumental performance celebrates the release of their highly anticipated new album, ARIRANG. Netflix has partnered with HYBE to bring the pop royalty back to the stage for this unprecedented, historic worldwide comeback event. BTS members RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook reunite on the global stage for the first time after finishing their compulsory military service. For the unversed, the K-pop stars will travel to many parts of the world as part of their Arirang world tour. The tour will open in Goyang on April 9, followed by Tokyo on April 17 and 18. The group will then head to the United States, with shows in Tampa, El Paso, Mexico City, Stanford and Las Vegas between April and May. In June, BTS will perform in Busan and Madrid, before moving to Brussels, London, Munich and Paris in July. August will see concerts in East Rutherford, Foxborough, Baltimore, Arlington, Toronto, Chicago and Los Angeles. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Netflix US (@netflix) The tour will continue in South America with stops in Bogota, Lima, Santiago, Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo from October. Asia dates include Kaohsiung, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Jakarta, Hong Kong and Manila, while Australia will host shows in Melbourne and Sydney. More cities are yet to be announced, including Japan and the Middle East. Besides this, BTS: THE RETURN, a documentary film showcasing the making of their newest comeback album, will also be released on Netflix on March 27, 2026. This feature-length documentary chronicles the long-awaited return of pop royalty, BTS. From acclaimed director Bao Nguyen (The Stringer, The Greatest Night in Pop) and renowned producers, This Machine (Martha, Karol G) and HYBE, the film offers unprecedented access, following BTS as they come back together to begin a reunion set to be etched in pop culture history, while reflecting on the journey that transformed seven Korean members into global icons. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 10:43 IST News movies korean BTS' Comeback Concert To Be Streamed LIVE On Netflix, OTT Giant Makes Big Announcement Another shipment of energy equipment sent from Azerbaijan to Ukraine ambassador Photo: https://www.facebook.com Another shipment of energy equipment provided by organizations, enterprises, and concerned citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan has been sent from Azerbaijan to Ukraine under the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs' "Warmth for Ukraine" initiative (#WarmthforUkraine), launched by Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha. This was reported by Ukraine's Ambassador to the Republic of Azerbaijan, Yuriy Husev. According to him, the assistance is primarily aimed at supporting the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SES), as well as a number of affected communities. The shipment includes: 17 generators of various capacities, four portable power supply systems, and three heat guns. "This is not just equipmen. It is warmth, light, and the ability to work, recover, and support one another amid daily Russian terrorist strikes on energy infrastructure," the ambassador emphasized. Husev expressed sincere gratitude to Azerbaijan, its top leadership, enterprises, organizations, and the entire Azerbaijani people for their consistent and tangible support for Ukraine during a difficult time. "Such assistance is extremely valuable. It once again confirms the friendship between our peoples and the strength of the Ukrainian-Azerbaijani strategic partnership," the diplomat said. Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs continues its efforts to attract similar assistance and is already coordinating with partners on the next shipment of essential energy equipment. "Together, it's warmer. Together, we are stronger," Husev concluded. Modi's Foreign Policy Stress-Test: Ukraine To Gaza To Minerals Meet Written By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 16:50 IST The Pax Silica initiative, in Jaishankar's formulation of India's foreign policy, requires navigating the tension between "multi-alignment" and alliance discipline. The forthcoming critical minerals ministerial in Washington, where External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar meets Secretary of State Marco Rubio, represents the next stage of this test. (Image: PTI) The past eighteen months have tested Indias diplomatic acuity as few periods have in recent memory. From navigating Russias invasion of Ukraine to managing a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, and these crises unfolding alongside political shifts in key partners, notably the United States under President Donald Trumps second term, which introduced unpredictability, Prime Minister Narendra Modis government has shown an unusual capacity for crisis management. It has protected Indias economic interests whilst maintaining its independence from great-power rivalries that demand ideological commitment rather than pragmatic self-interest. In sum, Indias foreign policy has repeatedly been subjected to simultaneous, overlapping shocks, each testing its ability to safeguard economic and security interests while maintaining flexibility. New Delhis responses have emphasised strategic autonomy, diplomatic balance, and risk mitigation. The forthcoming critical minerals ministerial in Washington, where External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar meets Secretary of State Marco Rubio, represents the next stage of this test. The question is whether Team Modi can convert this crisis management credibility into durable gains in a new world order that is being shaped every passing day. The Minerals Test The critical minerals ministerial convened by Secretary Rubio on February 4 emerges from the context of demonstrated Indian diplomatic maturity. The ministerial itself represents a significant shift in American strategic thinking. That Washington has elevated critical minerals from a sectoral concern to a matter of state-level engagement signals recognition that semiconductor supply chains, rare earth elements, and allied resources are now vectors of strategic competition comparable to military power. Indias position within this emerging architecture is fraught with both opportunity and constraint. India was notably delayed in receiving an invitation to Pax Silica, announced by the incoming US Ambassador to India on January 12, 2026, a month after the founding summit. Other nations critical to global semiconductor production, including Taiwan, have not yet joined formally, whilst others, including France and Germany, maintain observer status or have declined participation. The delayed invite suggested India was not an automatic member of Washingtons preferred circle, but rather a nation whose inclusion had to be negotiated. Yet Indias strategic minerals situation makes its participation valuable. India has identified 30 minerals as critical to its energy transition and manufacturing ambitions. These include cobalt and rare earth elements that India possesses in significant quantities but has historically underexploited. Domestic policy reforms, including amendments to the Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation (MMDR) Act, have begun liberalising exploration. Indias government has committed $10 billion to semiconductor capability building, with major investments underway: Tata Groups fabrication facility in Gujarat, multiple assembly and testing plants, and targeted research facilities in space and defence applications. The critical vulnerability is import dependence. India currently imports roughly 90 per cent of the semiconductors and advanced components it consumes. Lithium, graphite, and other energy transition minerals remain heavily imported. Roughly 30 per cent of Indias chip imports originate from China, creating systemic vulnerability at precisely the moment when decoupling from Beijing has become a geopolitical priority for the US-led camp. For Modis government, joining Pax Silica presents a genuine strategic dilemma. The framework offers tangible benefits: access to diversified mineral supplies, technology sharing arrangements, investment flows, and coordination on standards. These benefits align directly with Indias domestic semiconductor mission and critical minerals strategy. At the same time, Pax Silica embodies implicit commitments that trouble Delhis leadership. The initiative, in Jaishankars formulation of Indias foreign policy, requires navigating the tension between multi-alignment" and alliance discipline. Indias External Affairs Minister has articulated this principle clearly: in a volatile multipolar world, Indias interests are best secured by maximising options and freedom of choice." Pax Silica, by design, constrains some options. The framework includes provisions for joint protection of sensitive technologies and critical infrastructure from undue access or control by certain countries of concern", language widely understood as referring to China. Jaishankars language, articulated repeatedly in 2025, makes this tension explicit. Globalisation has entered a phase where interdependence is no longer benign," he has stated, and supply chains, trade regimes and technological competence are now new levers of power." Yet Indias response has been not to surrender autonomy but to multi-align," that is, to engage multiple partners across different issues rather than adopt bloc-oriented commitments. This approach has allowed India to reduce exposure to supply chain distortions whilst remaining embedded within global markets. The bilateral meeting between Jaishankar and Rubio on February 3 will determine whether Pax Silica membership is negotiable on terms acceptable to Delhi. Three issues will be central. First is the status of Pax Silica membership itself. Will Indias participation be as a full member or as an observer? What obligations does membership entail regarding technology access, investment coordination, and joint positions on China-related measures? Second is the minerals, the concrete agenda for the meeting. Will the gathering yield binding commitments on supply chain diversification, investment guarantees, or technology transfer? Third is the integration of minerals cooperation with the broader bilateral trade framework. The tariff reduction negotiated just days earlier signals the Trump administrations flexibility, but only on transactional issues. The EAM has repeatedly emphasised Indias red lines: protection of national interest, safeguarding of domestic sectors (particularly agriculture and small enterprises), and preservation of policy autonomy. In 2025, when Trump imposed escalating tariffs, India resisted capitulation whilst signalling willingness to negotiate. The result was not a US victory but a settlement that both sides could claim vindication for. The Tariff Negotiation The tariff imbroglio with the Trump administration illustrated Modis capacity for tactical negotiation under pressure. When Washington imposed escalating tariffs, beginning at 25 per cent and reaching an effective rate of 50 per cent, the situation threatened serious economic damage. Indian exports faced disruption, manufacturing confidence eroded, and the bilateral relationship chilled. Rather than capitulate or escalate, Modi engineered a reset, and at the same time diversified its export market with FTAs with the UK, New Zealand, and the EU. On February 2, 2026, President Trump announced a reduction of reciprocal tariffs from the punitive 50 per cent effective rate to 18 per cent. Critically, the additional 25 per cent penalty tariff, imposed to penalise Indias Russian oil purchases, was waived. The deal was negotiated at a moment when Indias leverage appeared minimal. Yet Delhi secured not merely a rate reduction but the removal of a politically weaponised tariff applied uniquely to India. The agreement also signalled alignment with Trumps broader agenda of reordering global economic relationships. Navigating Ukraine When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, India faced immediate pressure: stand with Western democracies or risk diplomatic isolation. Modis government chose a third path, neither unambiguous condemnation nor alignment with Russia, but a consistent call for dialogue and diplomatic resolution, done only to protect Indias interests. Indias security dilemma was real: the country depends on Russian weapons, maintains historic defence ties with Moscow, and cannot afford to aggravate a nation upon which it still relies for critical military hardware. The Indian response evolved beyond mere abstention from UN votes. Modi himself has maintained direct contact with both Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin, positioning India as a potential mediator rather than a bystander. More critically, Russian oil imports became cheaper as sanctions on Russia meant that they could not sell their oil directly to any other Western nation, and India became the worlds refinery. Providing refined petroleum and petroleum products to Europe and even the United States, while at the same time keeping global oil prices in check. In January 2026, Modi reiterated this message: India firmly supports peaceful resolution of all conflicts" and stands with efforts aimed at restoring peace, stability and dialogue." Gaza and the Balancing Act The Israel-Hamas conflict presented a different set of pressures. Here, India faced not a two-sided binary but a complex web of relationships across the Islamic world, with Israel, and with Western partners. Modi was among the first world leaders to condemn the October 7 Hamas attack as an act of terror." Yet as Israeli operations unfolded and civilian casualties mounted, Indias position shifted without surrendering its earlier statement. At the UN, India voted against Israeli settlement policies and supported a resolution demanding humanitarian ceasefire. Delhi has termed it as its de-hyphenated foreign policy. It deals with bilateral relationships separately rather than through an ideological prism. India elevated its strategic partnership with the UAE while maintaining diplomatic channels with Iran. It deepened ties with Israel whilst simultaneously sending humanitarian assistance to Gaza. At the Voice of Global South summit, Modi called for dialogue, diplomacy and restraint". Modi also congratulated Trump on his Gaza peace plan. The governing principle was transparent: India would not allow itself to be drawn into great-power competition over Palestine. Instead, it would engage each party based on its own bilateral interests whilst advocating for peace. What distinguishes Modis approach across these crises is a conceptual shift from beneficiary to architect. On Ukraine, India did not inherit a position dictated by the non-alignment doctrine but instead constructed an independent assessment. On Gaza, India fashioned a response that did not track Cold War-era alignment patterns but reflected contemporary bilateral interests. On tariffs, India did not accept punitive rates but negotiated a reset. The ministerial offers an opportunity to extend this pattern into a new domain. If Modis team can secure Pax Silica membership on terms that preserve autonomy, establish concrete mineral supply commitments, and integrate semiconductors into Indias industrial roadmap without subordinating research independence to bloc discipline, then the government will have confirmed what these eighteen months have suggested: that Indias diplomatic maturity is now matched by strategic economic thinking. The test is whether India can remain within the US-led framework whilst refusing to become its subordinate, can India succeed where many others have failed? Whether India can secure minerals access without sacrificing the policy space to engage Russia, China, and non-aligned partners on other issues. The meeting of the ministers will reveal whether the Trump administration is prepared to accommodate this vision or whether it expects alignment to mean dependence. The stakes are high. Indias semiconductor ambitions, its energy transition, and its industrial modernisation all depend on disruption-resistant supply chains for critical minerals. Failure to establish these supply chains will leave India vulnerable to exactly the kind of economic weaponisation that China has deployed through rare earth restrictions and that the West has deployed through tariffs. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 16:50 IST News opinion Modi's Foreign Policy Stress-Test: Ukraine To Gaza To Minerals Meet Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Opinion | Minister Piyush Goyals Clarity Demolishes Oppositions Cacophony Written By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 19:35 IST Beyond sectoral gains, the deal amplifies bilateral ties, drawing the US and Indian economies closer Rapid Read Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. (File Photo: PTI) In the annals of diplomacy and economic policy, few moments capture the essence of strategic foresight and bold leadership as vividly as the recently announced India-US trade deal. Finalised under the stewardship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, this agreement stands as a testament to what can be achieved when personal rapport meets principled negotiation. While the announcement has been welcomed with optimism from Dalal Street to Indias Main Street, opposition, especially the Congress party, which wasnt expecting the deal to come through, is now trying to muddy the waters by peddling half-truths. Just a little while back, however, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal addressed the nation through a press statement, unveiling the contours of this historic" pact. Ideally, it would have been better to do this in Parliament, but the manner in which Opposition MPs led by LoP Rahul Gandhi hijacked Parliament and insulted the Speaker, Parliament had to be adjourned after the suspension of 8 MPs. This constrained Goyal to make his announcements via the media rather than on the floor of Parliament. That aside, Piyush Goyal articulately spelled out how, far from being a mere transactional arrangement, the India-US deal is a forward-looking blueprint that places Indias national interests at its core, propelling the country toward its vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047. At the heart of this breakthrough lies the unbreakable bond between PM Modi and President Trumpa relationship forged through mutual respect, shared democratic values, mutual economic interests, and a commitment to reshaping global alliances. Their camaraderie, evident in multiple summits and personal interactions, has been instrumental in navigating the complexities of trade talks. He added how PM Modis decisive leadership, characterised by his unyielding focus on Indias sovereignty and economic self-reliance, ensured that negotiations were conducted from a position of strength. President Trumps reciprocal trust in PM Modi allowed for concessions that might have eluded other leaders. Yet, credit must also go to Minister Goyal, whose tireless efforts and meticulous trade diplomacy turned aspirations into reality. His hard workspanning late-night deliberations, data-driven advocacy, and steadfast defence of Indian prioritieshas been the unsung engine behind this deal. This deal is no ordinary agreement; it is the best possible" trade pact India has secured with the US, surpassing those clinched by regional competitors. With Indias new 18% tariff rate, the country now enjoys a clear edge over major Asian economies. For instance, China faces a steep 34% US tariff, severely hampering its exports. Vietnam, a formidable rival in manufacturing, is saddled with 20%, while Pakistan pays 19%. Other South and Southeast Asian nations fare similarly: Bangladesh at 20%, Sri Lanka at 20%, Malaysia at 19%, Cambodia at 19%, Indonesia at 19%, and Thailand at 19%. These higher ratesoften 1-2% above Indiastranslate to a competitive disadvantage for their goods in the US market, where even small differentials can sway billions in trade. Indias lower tariff positions it advantageously, boosting export competitiveness, attracting investments diverted from higher-tariff zones, and enhancing its appeal in global supply chains. This edge is particularly pronounced against China, whose elevated duties reflect ongoing US geopolitical pressures, allowing India to capture market share in sectors like electronics and textiles. One cannot overstate the benefits to our fisheries sector. Both the India-EU FTA and this deal are going to dramatically change their fortunes. The effective US tariff has been slashed from a punishing 50% to an 18% reciprocal rate. This shift not only enhances the competitiveness of Made in India" products. Opposition voices, particularly from the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi, have attempted to muddy these waters by claiming that pre-deal tariffs were a mere 3% or less. Such assertions are not only misleading but patently false. While base Most Favoured Nation (MFN) tariffs were indeed around 3%, the fact is that in many categories the duty historically and by subsequent escalations had ballooned the effective rate to much above 25-30%, not just for India but for everyone. The oppositions narrative conveniently ignores this context, painting the deal as a surrender" when it is, in fact, a strategic victory. This misinformation stems from frustration, perhaps, at their inability to deliver similar outcomes during their own tenure. Congress is quibbling about why US President Donald Trump announced the India-US trade deal first! Did they forget that the reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods had originally been imposed by the United States, making the decision to reduce them (from 50% to 18%) a US-initiated action that naturally warranted an announcement from their side? One of the deals most transformative aspects is how it unlocks vast US markets for key Indian sectors, creating ripple effects across the economy. Take textiles, for instancea labour-intensive powerhouse that accounts for 28-32% of Indias exports to the US. High tariffs had previously eroded Indias edge against rivals like Bangladesh (20% tariffs), Vietnam (20%), and Turkey, leading to market share losses and job vulnerabilities. With the new 18% rate, Indian garments, carpets, and apparel become more affordable and appealing to American consumers. This resurgence is poised to generate millions of jobs, particularly for women and youth in rural and semi-urban areas. Entrepreneurs in MSMEs will find new avenues for innovation, from sustainable fabrics to high-tech weaves, integrating India deeper into global supply chains. Indian seafood exports, including shrimp and prawns, had plummeted by 20% under effective tariffs nearing 60%. Coastal communities, fishermen, and exporters have borne the brunt of this decline. The tariff cuts now restore competitiveness, opening doors to premium US markets and potentially doubling export volumes. This not only boosts incomes for millions in states like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala but also encourages sustainable practices, aligning with Modis emphasis on blue economy growth. Fishermen, often from marginalised backgrounds, will see direct benefits through higher earnings and better access to technology transfers from US partners. Even agriculture, a cornerstone of Indias economy, emerges stronger without undue risks. While the deal facilitates exports of processed goods and marine products, it ensures that core agricultural interests remain insulated and fully protected. Goyal reiterated that sensitive sectors like dairy are fully protected, echoing PM Modis recent statements where he vowed never to compromise on farmers livelihoods. Unlike the Congress party that was allowing GM crop field trials that left our farmers without recourse, PM Modis track recordfrom refusing to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) precisely to shield these areasreaffirms his commitment. How can we forget that the UPA essentially wanted that India should have an FTA of sorts with China via RCEP? Instead, the India-US pact focuses on opportunities: enhanced competitiveness allows Indian farmers to integrate into global value chains, exporting value-added products like spices, fruits, and organics. This balanced approach protects the vulnerable while empowering them, benefiting the poor, youth, and women who form the backbone of rural India. Beyond sectoral gains, the deal amplifies bilateral ties, drawing the US and Indian economies closer. It attracts high-quality American technology and investments, fuelling innovation in gems and jewellery, leather goods, and beyond. This synergy accelerates Indias journey toward a developed nation, creating opportunities for skilled workers and entrepreneurs alike. Today, mutual effects have birthed an agreement that is fair, balanced, and win-win. As negotiations enter their final technical stages, a joint India-US statement will be imminent, but this deal signals Indias ascent on the global stage. It is a beacon of hope for the poor, farmers, fishermen, and innovators, unlocking exports, jobs, and growth. This is not just trade; its a partnership for transformation. The author is National Spokesperson of the BJP. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 19:35 IST News opinion Opinion | Minister Piyush Goyals Clarity Demolishes Oppositions Cacophony Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Opinion | Steady Nerves, Strong Economy: Decoding The India-US Trade Deal Written By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 15:19 IST The India-US trade deal is as much a vindication of the resilience of the Indian economy as it is of PM Modis calm temperament and adroit acumen Rapid Read In the end, the India-US trade deal is more than a bilateral arrangement; it is a testament to Indias economic maturity. (Reuters) The announcement on February 2, 2026, of a trade agreement between India and the United States marks a significant milestone in bilateral relations. After months of unending speculation triggered by US reciprocal tariffs, the deal reduces the tariff rate on Indian goods from 50 per cent to 18 per cent, effective immediately, while securing commitments for enhanced Indian purchases of American energy and technology. This outcome is not merely a diplomatic win; it underscores two interrelated strengths: the robust resilience of the Indian economy, which weathered nearly six months of elevated tariffs with minimal disruption, and Prime Minister Narendra Modis steady, principled leadership that prioritised national interest over short-term political theatrics. The Resilience of the Indian Economy When the United States imposed a 25 per cent reciprocal tariff on Indian exports in mid-2025 (later added 25 per cent more on charges of buying Russian oil), with threats escalating as far back as April, many feared a severe blow to Indias export-driven sectors. The US is Indias largest single-country trading partner, accounting for roughly 18 per cent of Indias merchandise exports. Yet the Indian economy absorbed the shock with remarkable buoyancy, maintaining strong growth projections and even recording export gains in key periods. Data tells the story clearly. Despite the tariffs being in place for six months, Indias overall merchandise exports remained stable and, in several months, registered growth. For instance, exports to the US jumped more than 20 per cent year-on-year in November 2025, defying the punitive duties. Global trade volumes held steady, supported by deliberate diversification pursued over recent years. A critical buffer came from Indias expanding network of Free Trade Agreements. Landmark pacts concluded in quick successionwith the European Union (signed January 2026), the United Kingdom, Oman, New Zealand, and the European Free Trade Association blocopened vast new markets for Indian pharmaceuticals, textiles, engineering goods, and IT services. Existing agreements with the UAE, Australia, and ASEAN continued to drive robust growth in alternative destinations. Together, these FTAs sharply reduced dependence on any single market and provided immediate fallback routes when US tariffs took effect. The government also deployed multiple domestic measures to shield the economy. Production Linked Incentive schemes across 14 sectors continued to strengthen manufacturing competitiveness, while strong domestic consumption, infrastructure spending, and prudent fiscal management sustained internal demand. The result was unequivocal: India retained its projected GDP growth of around 7.2-7.4 per cent for FY 2025-26, remaining the worlds fastest-growing major economy even amid global trade turbulence. The deal itself now amplifies this resilience. By lowering US tariffs to 18 per cent, it restores and enhances price competitiveness for Indian exports, delivering a direct boost to manufacturing sectors targeted under the PLI schemeselectronics, automobiles, textiles, and pharmaceuticals. Most importantly, it provides a major fillip to the MSME ecosystem, which forms the backbone of Indias export supply chains in garments, engineering goods, and handicrafts. Easier access to the worlds largest consumer market will encourage fresh investment, scale, and job creation in these labour-intensive segments. Moreover, with this agreement, India now enjoys among the lowest effective tariff rates into the US market compared to key competing exporters. While China faces significantly higher duties under ongoing Section 301 measures, and nations like Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Indonesia confront reciprocal or sector-specific tariffs often exceeding 20-25 per cent, Indias negotiated rate of 18 per cent positions it as the most favoured large-scale manufacturing exporter to the United States. PM Modis Masterclass in Calm Statesmanship If the economys resilience provided the foundation, Prime Minister Narendra Modis composed and strategic handling of the negotiations supplied the decisive push towards resolution. In an environment ripe for escalationmarked by provocation from across the Atlantic and domestic political opportunismPM Modi chose the path of mature restraint. Throughout the standoff, sections of the opposition, particularly the Congress party, repeatedly attempted to frame the tariffs as a personal failure of the Prime Minister, questioning his diplomatic acumen and suggesting India was being bullied" on the global stage. Provocations abounded: jibes about evaporated bravado, claims that national pride was being surrendered by not retaliating instantly. Yet PM Modi refused to let personal ego or partisan point-scoring dictate Indias response. Instead, he navigated the crisis with the adroitness of a champion chess playerpatient, calculating, and always several moves ahead. Public statements remained measured, emphasising dialogue and mutual benefit. Behind the scenes, sustained high-level engagement continued, culminating in direct conversations with President Trump that paved the way for the February agreement. PM Modis guiding principle was clear: protect and advance Indias economic interests without unnecessary escalation. With his judicious restraint and patience, he preserved negotiating leverage and avoided a spiral that could have gone against our exporters and consumers. The outcometariff reduction, preserved market access, and new commitments for bilateral trade expansionvindicates this approach entirely. In the end, the India-US trade deal is more than a bilateral arrangement; it is a testament to Indias economic maturity under sustained policy vision and to a leadership style that places national interest above momentary political gain. As India continues its ascent on the global stage, both the resilience of its economy and the calm temperament of its leadership will remain indispensable assets in the journey ahead. (Tuhin A. Sinha is a national spokesperson of the BJP, besides being an acclaimed author. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.) News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 14:42 IST News opinion Opinion | Steady Nerves, Strong Economy: Decoding The India-US Trade Deal Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Opinion | The Baloch Question In Pakistan's Army State Written By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 23:34 IST Balochistan remains a place where the promises of 1947 are still argued, remembered and resisted People gather as others collect recyclable items beside a burnt vehicle along a road on the outskirts of Quetta on February 1, 2026 a day after an attack by Baloch separatists. (Image: AFP) Spanning from the Arabian Sea to the deserts bordering Iran and Afghanistan, Balochistan is a land abundant in minerals, history, and unresolved conflicts. Despite being Pakistans largest province by territory, it remains the least developed and has been the epicentre of one of South Asias longest-standing liberation struggles. The core of the conflict dates back to before Pakistans creation: the question of whether Balochistans fate in 1947 was a choice or an imposition. The roots of the modern struggle trace back to the princely State of Kalat. Under the 1876 Treaty with British India, Kalat retained internal autonomy, setting it apart from directly administered colonial territories. As British rule neared its end in 1947, Kalats leadership sought to restore its sovereignty. A pivotal meeting in Delhi on August 4, 1947, brought together Lord Mountbatten, Jawaharlal Nehru, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and the Khan of Kalat. It was agreed that Kalat will gain independence upon the British departure. An agreement signed on August 11 between Kalat and the Muslim League recognised Kalat as a sovereign state, with an understanding that its independence would be respected. Kalat declared independence on August 15, raising its traditional flag and marking the Khan of Kalat as the ruler of a free state. However, this independence was short-lived. British memoranda soon questioned Kalats capacity to function as a fully independent entity in international affairs. Political pressure from Pakistans new leadership mounted, pushing for Kalats integration into Pakistan. According to Taj Mohammad Breseegs book Baloch Nationalism: Its Origin and Development Up To 1980, Jinnah sought accession while the Khan insisted on tribal consent before any binding decision. In March 1948, Pakistani forces moved into Kalat and enforced its accession. For Baloch, this marked annexation, not a voluntary union, and has fuelled multiple uprisings since. Since 1948, there have been five insurgencies, each driven by complaints of economic neglect, loss of autonomy, military repression, and the extraction of local resources without corresponding development. Despite Balochistans significant natural gas reserves, copper, gold, and strategic coastal access at Gwadar, many residents feel they see little benefit from these riches. Tensions have recently intensified around the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a CPC infrastructure initiative linking western China to the Arabian Sea. While Islamabad views CPEC as lucrative and transformative, Baloch activists see it as exploitation, displacement, demographic change, and militarisation. Security deployments to protect investments have only deepened local resentment. Rebel groups like the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and the Baloch Republican Army (BRA) have grown in this environment. Their attacks have targeted security forces, infrastructure, and occasionally foreign interests linked to CPC projects. Baloch activist and rebel groups, including BLA and BRA, alongside civil resistance, have tried to peacefully advocate their cause through diaspora mobilisations, human-rights advocacy, and appeals framed around political repression and missing persons. However, this push has seen limited global action. Major rights bodies and UN-linked voices have repeatedly flagged concerns about human rights crackdowns and enforced disappearances. International human rights groups have documented patterns of disappearances attributed to state security institutions, with calls for Pakistan to end coercive measures against Baloch activists. As non-violent mobilisation space narrows, some rebel factions argue that armed resistance is the only way to attract global attention. This struggle resurfaced in January with coordinated assaults across districts, including Quetta and Gwadar, targeting Pakistani Army forces. Pakistani security forces reported dozens of rebel deaths initially and later claimed at least 177 rebel deaths in subsequent operations. Baloch women have also become more visible in this conflict. After the April 26, 2022, University of Karachi bombing by Shari Baloch, BLA messaging highlighted two Gen-Z, educated women Hawa Baloch and Asifa Mengal linked to subsequent attacks. The rebel movements headline-grabbing operations have extended beyond provincial boundaries. The March 11, 2025, Jaffar Express hijacking gained international attention, projecting the Baloch cause outward while deepening public trauma. Running parallel to these attacks is the image of families searching for the disappeared, allegations of extrajudicial killings, and the widening gulf between Islamabads security narrative and the communitys lived experience of pain and coercion. Another shadow from the past involves Pakistans nuclear tests in the Chagai hills of Balochistan in May 1998. While celebrated nationally, many local Baloch argue that the aftermath left lasting geological and human scars: alleged radioactive contamination, barren lands, deformed terrain, and health issues among residents. Diaspora Baloch communities mark March 27, associated with Kalats accession, as Black Day" staging protests to draw international attention. Meanwhile, life in Balochistan continues under heavy security, economic uncertainty, and political distrust. Beyond geopolitics and rebel statistics lies a human story: displaced fishermen in Gwadar, miners in dangerous conditions, students navigating checkpoints, and families caught between violence and crackdowns. For many residents, survival, dignity, and opportunity are paramount. The Baloch struggle is complex and deeply emotional. It is about historical justice and control over their homeland. Seven decades after independence reshaped the subcontinent, the promises of 1947 in Balochistan are still argued, remembered, and resisted. (The author is an international criminal lawyer and director of research at New Delhi-based think tank Centre for Integrated and Holistic Studies. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views) News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 23:34 IST News opinion Opinion | The Baloch Question In Pakistan's Army State Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Opinion | Trade Deal With US: Strategic Agility And Diversified Trade Wins For Viksit Bharat Written By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 09:14 IST The reduced tariffs significantly reduce the pressures on exporters who are exporting to the US, which forms the single largest market for our traders. PM Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump. (Reuters/File Image) After many deliberations, alas, the trade deal with the United States seems to have been sealed. Following the tweet by President Donald Trump, Honble PM Narendra Modi signified the same intent in his tweet, indicating a commonality of thoughts in this much-touted agreement. Several months of intense negotiations have resulted in this effort. I had written a column on dealing with the trade impasse for News18 last year, highlighting the strategies for us to leverage and get this over the winning line. Given this context, with the caveat on the few details that are present in the public domain, lets assess how this has shaped up. First, the reduction of tariff rates from the current 50 per cent to the estimated 18 per cent is a huge win for Bharat. This significantly reduces the pressures on exporters who are exporting to the US, which forms the single largest market for our traders. Several exporters had to re-route their trade obligations via other countries such as Sri Lanka and Vietnam in order to retain their US commercial interests. Many others also had to do significant job cuts to underscore the impact of these high tariffs. Traders from export hubs such as Tirupur had faced the brunt of this in the last year. If this had continued, some argue that over 150,000 jobs would have been at risk in Tirupur alone. For all of these stakeholders in the export-import trading system, this is a huge moment of relief and stability for them. This would ensure that there is more security for the jobs and also a boost in the exports to the US, therefore benefiting many of the trading hubs in the Southern and Western parts of the country. Second, prima facie, we seemed to have gotten a relatively good deal compared to other similar countries. For instance, tariffs on exports to the US range between 3037 per cent for China, depending on the product; approximately 35 per cent for Canada; 50 per cent for Brazil; and around 15 per cent for the European Union. Among our direct export competitors, Bangladesh and Vietnam face tariffs of about 20 per cent, while other low-cost economies such as Myanmar face rates as high as 40 per cent. It is important to note that EU countries benefit from collective bargaining as a bloc. Even after accounting for this, most countries face higher tariff barriers than Bharat a positive signal. Coupled with our status as the worlds fastest-growing major economy, this tariff advantage significantly enhances our trade competitiveness. Third, as I had articulated in my earlier column, this was a golden opportunity for Bharat to reduce its non-trade barriers as much as possible. For decades, despite attempts by several governments, we have struggled to reduce both tariffs and non-tariff barriers for several domestic reasons. Politics of the time also played a role in the status quo position, which severely hindered our trade competitiveness at the international levels. If, as per the US presidents tweet, Bharat were to reduce their non-trade barriers as much as possible, then thats a significant boost to more trade with the largest single market in the world. This would ensure that ease of business among the local trade and supply chains would significantly be enhanced due to ease of trade and commerce. Of course, unfettered trade has its own disadvantages, but this is a calculated risk to expand the economies of scale, especially in a rapidly growing country such as Bharat. Fourth, if we take a step back and see the big picture, the scenario for Bharat looks very impressive. In the last one year, we have signed FTAs with several countries, including the mother of all deals with the EU, which was signed recently. Other significant agreements include the FTA with the United Kingdom; the IndiaOman Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA); the IndiaNew Zealand Free Trade Agreement; and the IndiaEFTA (European Free Trade Association) Trade and Economic Partnership Agreementcovering Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtensteinwhich was operationalised late last year. During this period, Bharat has also navigated the complex challenges arising from the RussiaUkraine conflict through deft diplomacy, ensuring that national interests are safeguarded amid profound geopolitical upheaval. Finally, these skilful negotiationsdare one say, global Chanakya neeticombined with Bharats ability to remain composed and restrained despite immense pressure from major trade players, have produced largely win-win outcomes. They have led to a more diversified trade portfolio, ensuring that no single country is indispensable, while preserving strong partnerships with key allies such as the United States and the European Union. This stands as a testament to the approach adopted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in managing complex global scenarios with razor-sharp focus on protecting Bharats interests. Overall, the finer details of the trade deal would determine how successful it becomes in the years ahead. Yet, if all of the pointers discussed thus far hold true and the negotiations between the parties are retained in good faith, this is a monumental moment for Bharat-US relations and also a significant step for a diversified yet powerful trade agenda that will serve Bharats interest as it pursues Viksit Bharat in the years ahead. Sriram Balasubramanian is an economist and best-selling author of Dharmanomics. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 09:14 IST News opinion Opinion | Trade Deal With US: Strategic Agility And Diversified Trade Wins For Viksit Bharat Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Opinion | Trump Got The Message: India's Autonomy Is Not For Trade Written By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 20:47 IST India clearly has not budged on its most closely held red lines. The India of an era gone by would not have been able to go toe-to-toe with the United States What PM Narendra Modi (L) and US President Donald Trump have finalised is a framework for a deal. (Image: Reuters/File) In the end analysis, the biggest concession that US President Donald Trump may have wrung out of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the opportunity to announce the deal" first. The only reason that word appears in quotes is because, strictly speaking, no deal with Trump is done until it has been inked. The Canadians and Mexicans found that out the hard way. What Modi and Trump have finalised is a framework for a deal, and interlocutors on both sides will now sit together to work on finalising a joint statement followed by the signing of the agreement. But despite no visibility on the fine print, the broad contours of the understanding have been placed in the public domain by both sides. Under the agreement, nearly $30 billion worth of Indian exports will face an 18 percent tariff, even as labour-intensive sectors are expected to gain a competitive edge. There is no change in tariffs for sectors covered under Section 232, including automobiles and steel. India, for its part, intends to purchase up to $500 billion worth of American products critical to its economic security over the next five years, spanning oil and LNG, aircraft and components, precious metals, diamonds, technology products, high-end chips and data-centre equipment. About $44 billion worth of goods that were earlier exempt from reciprocal tariffs will continue to remain so, including pharmaceuticals, mobile phones, minerals and natural resources. Crucially, Indias red lines on agriculture and dairy have been respected. That last bit is what stands out. India clearly has not budged on its most closely held red lines. The India of an era gone by would not have been able to go toe-to-toe with the United States. Examples abound. Across the 1990s and 2000s, India repeatedly accommodated US pressure accepting stricter intellectual property rights (IPR) rules under the World Trade Organization (WTO), aligning geopolitically during the civil nuclear deal, cutting Iranian oil imports, absorbing the loss of GSP benefits, softening positions on data, climate and trade, and deepening defence interoperability, often recalibrating later to reclaim autonomy. Modis India is different. Over the past decade, India has emerged as an independent and indispensable economic pole holding up a significant share of the global economy. At 17 percent, India is second only to China in contributing to global real GDP growth. As Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group, puts it, no serious conversation on the global economy can happen without India. That growing heft has translated into leverage. It explains why Trump, who has shown little hesitation in publicly browbeating even long-standing US allies, has chosen restraint in his dealings with New Delhi whether on tariffs, market access or strategic alignment. In a world shaped by Darwinian principles, power commands respect. This is not to suggest that a Trump-led US regards India as a strategic equal, but to underline a reality Washington cannot escape: Delhi is a meaningful partner whose autonomy has to be acknowledged and, increasingly, respected. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 20:47 IST News opinion Opinion | Trump Got The Message: India's Autonomy Is Not For Trade Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 14:42 IST 1 / 6 India is planning to construct underground railway tracks in the Siliguri Corridor, popularly known as the Chickens Neck, a narrow strip of land in West Bengal that connects the Northeast with the rest of the country. This move aims to strengthen connectivity and safeguard one of Indias most strategically vulnerable zones. 2 / 6 The Chickens Neck, or Siliguri Corridor, is a slender stretch of land barely 20-25 kilometers wide at its narrowest point. It lies between Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh, with China looming beyond, making it a geopolitical hotspot. This corridor is the only land link between mainland India and its northeastern states, which makes it vital not just for civilian travel but also for defense logistics and economic integration. Any disruption here could isolate the Northeast, a risk that has long concerned policymakers. ADVERTISEMENT 3 / 6 Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw recently announced that detailed planning is underway to lay underground railway tracks along a 40kilometer section of the corridor. The project will also expand the existing tracks into a fourline system, with proposals for a 22kilometer underground tunnel between Tin Mile Haat and Rangapani stations. This ambitious plan is designed to ensure uninterrupted connectivity even in the face of external threats or natural disruptions. 4 / 6 The decision comes against the backdrop of heightened geopolitical tensions. Bangladeshs interim leadership and certain nationalist groups have spoken of choking the Chickens Neck to cut off Indias Northeast, while Dhakas growing outreach to China near the Teesta River project has deepened Indian concerns. Analysts warn that such rhetoric is not mere provocation but part of a larger strategic play, making the corridors security all the more urgent. ADVERTISEMENT 5 / 6 For India, the underground rail project is both a logistical upgrade and a strategic safeguard. By moving part of the railway network underground, the government aims to reduce vulnerability to external threats and natural calamities, while also easing congestion in the region. The corridors importance cannot be overstated; it is the lifeline of the Northeast, carrying goods, passengers, and defense supplies. Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 12:26 IST 1 / 10 Indias ambitious high-speed rail (HSR) programme is expanding beyond the under-construction MumbaiAhmedabad corridor. In the Union Budget 2026, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced seven new HSR routes, describing them as growth connectors to enable faster, greener inter-city travel, particularly across western and southern parts of India. 2 / 10 The seven proposed corridors include Mumbai and Pune; Pune and Hyderabad; Hyderabad and Bengaluru; Hyderabad and Chennai; Chennai and Bengaluru; Delhi and Varanasi; Varanasi and Siliguri. Together, these routes aim to improve regional integration and economic mobility. ADVERTISEMENT 3 / 10 Bengaluru stands out as a key beneficiary, with two proposed high-speed rail links to Hyderabad and Chennai. Officials say these corridors could dramatically reduce travel times for commuters, reshaping business travel and daily commuting between southern metros. The proposed high-speed rail system will be built for a maximum speed of 350 kmph, with an operational speed of 320 kmph and average speed of 250 kmph. 4 / 10 In 2021, the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) began preparing a detailed project report (DPR) for the 463-km ChennaiBengaluruMysuru HSR corridor, planned in two phases. Phase I covers ChennaiBengaluru (306 km), while Phase II connects BengaluruMysuru (157 km), promising to drastically cut the travel time to less than two hours between Bengaluru and Chennai. ADVERTISEMENT 5 / 10 The alignment passes through 313 towns and villages, requiring 1,162 hectares of land. Eight stations were proposed between Chennai and Bengaluru, with Whitefield and Electronics City as major Bengaluru stops. The project also includes 38 km of tunnels, including 14 km within Bengaluru city limits. 6 / 10 The absence of Mysuru in the latest Budget speech has sparked speculation over whether the Phase II extension will be dropped or deferred. While officials have not confirmed any change, the silence has raised concerns among planners and regional stakeholders. ADVERTISEMENT 7 / 10 RITES (Rail India Technical and Economic Service) has completed the final location survey for the 626-km HyderabadBengaluru HSR corridor, commissioned by South Central Railway. The corridor is expected to reduce travel time to around two hours, likely to follow the existing rail alignment connecting Hyderabad and Bengaluru. 8 / 10 Minister of state for railways, V Somanna stated, With Bengaluru set to be connected by two proposed corridors, the new rail projects will transform inter-city travel and will benefit Karnataka. ADVERTISEMENT 9 / 10 Currently, the fastest BengaluruHyderabad service is the Vande Bharat Express at 4.5 hours, while other trains take up to 8.5 hours. A South Western Railway official noted that Vande Bharat services on the BengaluruChennai route often run at full occupancy, indicating strong demand for faster rail travel. He added that more details would emerge after the DPRs for the new corridors are finalised. Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 21:00 IST Momo, a humble street-food favourite is usually priced between Rs 50 and Rs 100 a plate. In a shocking and rare incident, this beloved street food gem ended up costing a family their jewellery worth a staggering Rs 85 lakh. Scroll ahead to find out how. 1 / 7 It all began with a Class 7 students simple craving for momoan innocent urge that unexpectedly set off a chain of events no one saw coming. (Representative Image: AI generated) 2 / 7 The student was coaxed into handling over jewellery from his home worth nearly Rs 85 lakhs to three youths in exchange for the street food. The incident occurred in the Deoria district of Uttar Pradesh. (Representative Image: AI generated) ADVERTISEMENT 3 / 7 It came to light in Bhagwanpur Tiwari village under Ramour Karkhana police station area when the boys aunt visited the house on Sunday and asked for her jewellery. It was then the family was shocked to discover that all the ornaments were missing. (Representative Image: AI generated) 4 / 7 When interrogated, the minor revealed that he had given away the jewellery to youths operating a momo stall at Dumri Chauraha on the Deoria-Kasya road. (Representative Image: AI generated) ADVERTISEMENT 5 / 7 According to PTI report, the student developed a habit of regularly eating momo and the stall operators initially sold him momo for cash. After his money ran out, they allegedly lured him into bringing jewellery from home, insisting that he hand over ornaments in exchange for the snacks. (Representative Image: AI generated) 6 / 7 The kid allegedly kept bringing gold items from the family cupboard and giving them away to the youths. Once the family discovered the loss, the kids father, a temple priest in Varanasi filed an FIR against three accused under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 305 at Rampur Karkhana police station.(Representative Image: AI generated) ADVERTISEMENT Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 14:08 IST 1 / 10 Some people in history continue to inspire readers and writers even long after their time. Certain individuals are remembered not just for their personal achievements but also for the ways they connected different cultures and ideas across countries. Their lives and work give us a chance to see worlds that may have seemed distant or unfamiliar to people at that time. One such person made a strong impact on literature in both India and the United States. He wrote in many forms such as poetry, novels, childrens stories, plays and social commentary. 2 / 10 And that person is Dhan Gopal Mukerji. He holds the distinction of being the first South Asian immigrant to have a successful career in the US as a man of letters. Born on July 6, 1890, near Calcutta (now Kolkata), India, to Kissori and Bhuban (Goswami) Mukerji, he came from a Brahmin priest family that had managed the local temple for generations. ADVERTISEMENT 3 / 10 At fourteen, he entered the priesthood, where he was required to life as a beggar for at least two years before assuming official duties. After completing this stage, he returned to the temple but soon decided to leave the priesthood and pursue education instead. He enrolled at the University of Calcutta in 1908 and studied at Tokyo University in 1909. 4 / 10 Mukerji then immigrated to US and studied at the University of California, Berkeley, where he graduated in 1913. He went on to earn a Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1914 and worked as a lecturer in comparative literature. During this early academic period, he also published two plays and a collection of verse. In 1918, he married Ethel Ray Dugan, a teacher, and the couple had a son named Dhan Gopal II. They briefly returned to India before Mukerji began his career as a childrens writer. ADVERTISEMENT 5 / 10 His first childrens book, Kari, the Elephant, was published in 1922. Mukerjis most famous work, Gay-Neck: The Story of a Pigeon, followed in 1927 and won numerous awards. The story revolves around Ghond, a young hunter called to serve in World War I and his pigeon. Whole he leaves for the dury, his pigeon his own challenges during wartime. Both Ghond and the bird eventually reunite after enduring their wartime stress. The sequel, Ghond, the Hunter, was published in 1928 that continued Ghonds adventures. 6 / 10 Mukerji also wrote collections like Hindu Fables for Little Children (1929) and The Master Monkey (1932) which were largely based on folklore and Hindu theology. During his early career, he published one childrens book and one book for adults each year. His adult works included novels. He also wrote autobiography, Caste and Outcast, that detailed his life in India and as an immigrant in US. ADVERTISEMENT 7 / 10 His literary career offered American readers a view of Indian life that was both vivid and detailed. Childrens stories like Gay-Neck introduced readers to the jungles of India and its inhabitants that were new and intriguing at the time. Adult books explored society, history and philosophy in India. 8 / 10 Mukerjis fame included visits by notable figures in India and US. Gay-Neck: The Story of a Pigeon was included on the American Institute of Graphic Arts list of fifty best books published in 1927, while Ghond, the Hunter was listed among the best books of 1928. Gay-Neck also won the Newbery Medal from the American Library Association in 1928. A filmstrip adaptation of the book was released in 1973 ADVERTISEMENT 9 / 10 In 1936, Mukerji published his final childrens novel, Fierce-Face: The Story of a Tiger. The story follows a tiger kit who navigated dangers in the jungle while learning the ways of an honourable hunter. This marked the end of his long career producing works for both children and adults. Doctors from the international organization Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders, MSF), together with Ukrainian physicians, treated the wounded following an attack on a bus belonging to energy holding DTEK in Dnipropetrovsk region. MSF told Interfax-Ukraine that after receiving reports of the attack on the bus, Doctors Without Borders teams immediately deployed to support a hospital in Dnipropetrovsk region that was receiving the injured. Sixteen critically wounded patients with blast injuries were brought to the hospital. Many of them had amputations of arms and legs, fractures, and critical injuries to the head, chest, and abdomen. "Our team worked together with state doctors. All operating rooms were in use. We worked until 10 p.m.; all patients were stabilized and survived," said MSF anesthesiologist Maria Khvalbota. According to MSF, one critically wounded patient was evacuated to Dnipro by a Doctors Without Borders ambulance, with vital medical care provided during transport. The patient was on mechanical ventilation. "Doctors in Dnipropetrovsk region face a constant influx of patients wounded as a result of hostilities, while at the same time dealing with staff shortages. MSF supports hospitals near the front line to help save lives when every minute counts," the organization said. As reported, as a result of a drone attack in the city of Ternivka (Dnipropetrovsk region) on Sunday afternoon, coal mine workers who were returning home after a work shift were killed and wounded. According to local authorities, 12 civilians were killed and another 16 were injured. The miners were traveling by bus along a regular route from the Pavlohrad mine through Ternivka, approximately 65 km from the front line, when several Russian drones attacked the road near the vehicle over the course of several minutes. Explosions shattered the bus windows and sprayed it with shrapnel, killing and injuring passengers. The victims also included other civilians traveling nearby in cars, as well as people who rushed to provide assistance to the wounded after the first explosion. The attack by the aggressor on the bus was confirmed by the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) after visiting the scene and interviewing witnesses. Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 09:59 IST 1 / 10 Veeraswamy, the UKs oldest surviving Indian restaurant, is facing an uncertain future. Founded in 1926, it has remained at its original Regent Street location for almost a century. Now, supporters of the iconic eatery are preparing to take a petition directly to Buckingham Palace in the coming weeks to urge King Charles III to step in. The petition calls on the monarch to help safeguard the restaurant as "a living piece of shared cultural history." This campaign has gathered momentum as locals and food lovers try to prevent the closure of an iconic London institution. 2 / 10 According to a report in the BBC, the threat comes from a dispute with the Crown Estate, the landlord that owns the building Veeraswamy occupies. The estate says Victory House, the Grade II-listed building where the restaurant is located, requires refurbishment. This is not a decision we've taken lightly, a spokesperson told the BBC when announcing the lease would not be renewed. They argue that the planned updates are not compatible with the restaurant remaining on-site. At the same time, the Crown Estate has offered financial support and help to find alternative locations in the West End. ADVERTISEMENT 3 / 10 Supporters are rallying behind the restaurant with a petition that has already gained more than 19,000 signatures. Several high-profile chefs, including Raymond Blanc, Michel Roux and Richard Corrigan, have voiced their support for the campaign. Corrigan questioned the closure directly, saying, "Most European cities cherish their legendary restaurants. Why in the name of God would we want to lose Veeraswamy?" The petition describes Veeraswamy as a "symbol of Indo-British cultural connections. It is asking the King to protect the historic venue as it nears its 100th birthday in March. Were calling on His Majesty King Charles III to intercede with The Crown Estate and The Crown Estate to reconsider this short-sighted decision and protect a historic institution that has stood through war, migration and monarchy, the petition mentioned. 4 / 10 The restaurants owners explain that the Crown Estate wants to reclaim just 11 square metres of ground-floor space, which would block access to the mezzanine dining room and make continuing operations impossible. "The rationale is tied to building refurbishment, but practical alternatives exist that would allow the restaurant to remain, without hindering the wider development," they note. The BBC report mentioned that supporters plan to bring the petition to Buckingham Palace gates, and a centenary dinner in March will also be a moment to gather public and celebrity attention. ADVERTISEMENT 5 / 10 Veeraswamy has been an important part of Londons food scene for many years. It was established in 1926 by Edward Palmer, a former Anglo-Indian army officer and has stayed in the same Regent Street location ever since. At first, it welcomed Anglo-Indians who missed the tastes of home and later served generals, civil servants, businesspeople and expatriates. Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru were among the early visitors, according to co-owner Ranjit Mathrani. Even during World War II, when London was heavily bombed, the restaurant reportedly stayed open. 6 / 10 The restaurants fame has continued over the decades. It became a fashionable West End venue with notable figures Charlie Chaplin, Marlon Brando and Sir Winston Churchill paying it a visit. More recently, Princess Anne, David Cameron and Andrew Lloyd Webber have visited. Veeraswamy has also catered at Buckingham Palace for Indian dignitaries in 2008 and 2017. It is even credited with introducing the classic British pairing of curry and beer, a trend that reportedly started when Prince Axel of Denmark enjoyed Carlsberg at the restaurant in the 1920s. ADVERTISEMENT 7 / 10 Ownership changed hands in 1996 when Namita Panjabi and Ranjit Mathrani took over from MP Sir William Stewards family. They carried out a major renovation to modernise the restaurant while keeping its historic character intact. Veeraswamy received its first Michelin star in 2016 and has retained it since. Mathrani emphasised the restaurants importance to the history of the Indian community in Britain as he described how it "broke the ice" for future generations of Indian restaurants. 8 / 10 Longtime patrons share stories that highlight the restaurants role in their lives. Mathrani recalls, "We have people coming in to say: 'I first came here with my godfather when I was aged 12' or 'I was engaged here during the Blitz' or 'I came here because my uncle brought me here in the 1950s.'" The co-owner hopes King Charles might have a "quiet word" in support, although Buckingham Palace has stated it is a matter for the Crown Estate, a BBC report stated. ADVERTISEMENT 9 / 10 Veeraswamy is also notable for its culinary innovations. A 1947 menu offered dishes that were priced according to Indian fares such as Madras chicken curry and khur gosh ka salan alongside a bottle of 1934 Veuve Clicquot champagne for 3 (approximately Rs 370). By 1952, items like chicken korma, chicken vindaloo and tika khabab had been added. The restaurant introduced the UKs first tandoor oven in the 1950s. February 04, 2026, 07:46 AM IST | Episode 137 In todays News18 Daily Digest: India and the United States move closer to sealing the first phase of a bilateral trade agreement with billions in exports at stake, while Parliament descends into chaos after Rahul Gandhis remarks trigger suspensions and protests. The DGCA rules out a technical fault in Air Indias fuel switch scare, Mamata Banerjee pushes for action against the Chief Election Commissioner, and fresh probes are ordered into temple gold theft allegations in Bengaluru and the Tirupati laddoo controversy. Meanwhile, over 40 Karnataka students fall ill after a midday meal, and Manipur gets a new Chief Minister after months of Presidents rule. Tune in for the days key developments from across India and beyond... February 8, 11am: Himanta Biswa Sarma Sets Date With Media To Expose Political Conspiracy Reported By : News18.com Edited By: Apoorva Misra Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 15:38 IST The Assam chief minister said oppositions government---whose only hope is Miya politics---would never be formed in the state Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma waves to the gathering during an event. (X/@himantabiswa) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has announced that a press conference will be held at 11am on February 8, where, he claims, a major political conspiracy and an entrenched system" will be exposed. Sarma clarified that the issue will not be limited to Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi, but will address a broader and deeper political nexus. Addressing the media, the chief minister made sharp remarks against opposition leaders, particularly Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi and Asom Jatiya Parishad (AJP) president Lurinjyoti Gogoi. He advised both leaders to resolve their seat-sharing arrangements with the Congress before February 8, warning that their political relevance would diminish after that date. Confirm your issues related to seat sharing with Congress before February 8. After that, you will lose your importance," Sarma said. He further alleged that APCC president Gaurav Gogoi is currently in talks with Akhil Gogoi and Lurinjyoti Gogoi, seeking their support ahead of the press conference. According to Sarma, Gogoi needs their backing, and therefore, the opposition leaders should settle all arrangements before the deadline. In a provocative statement, the chief minister also claimed that the oppositions governmentwhose only hope is Miya politicswould never be formed in Assam, asserting instead that their government will be formed either in Pakistan or in Bangladesh". He went on to say that Akhil Gogoi would not be able to become the chief minister of Assam even in the next 500 years. Reiterating his political stance, Sarma said he is not afraid of any individual or legal challenge. Himanta Biswa Sarma never fears anybody. I do politics over the issue of Miya or infiltrators from Bangladesh. If someone like Harsh Mander files a case against me, I will not be frightened," he stated. Human rights activist and former IAS officer Harsh Mander had filed a police complaint against Sarma at Hauz Khas Police Station in New Delhi around January 2930, accusing him of delivering inflammatory hate speech targeting Bengali-speaking Muslims (referred to as Miyas") in Assam. The complaint sought registration of an FIR under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including: Section 196 (promoting enmity between groups), Section 197 (assertions prejudicial to national integration), Section 299/302 (malicious acts/uttering words to outrage religious feelings), Section 353 (statements conducing to public mischief), citing Sarmas January 27, 2026, public statements where he allegedly urged people to trouble Miyas," claimed 4-5 lakh Miya votes will have to be cut" during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls, and suggested arrangements to prevent them from voting in Assamremarks Mander described as promoting hatred, harassment, discrimination, and potential disenfranchisement amid ethnic/religious tensions. Commenting on alliances, Sarma remarked that there is no fundamental difference between the BJP and the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP). If BJP wins, the chief minister will be from BJP. Even if AGP wins, the chief minister will still be from BJP," he said. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : Assam, India, India First Published: February 03, 2026, 15:38 IST News politics February 8, 11am: Himanta Biswa Sarma Sets Date With Media To Expose Political Conspiracy Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 'If Anyone Should Be Worried, It's DMK': Nirmala Sitharaman On Vijay Factor In Tamil Nadu | Exclusive Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 02, 2026, 22:20 IST FM Nirmala Sitharaman added the growing strength of the AIADMK alliance and the NDA has compounded the pressure on the ruling party in Tamil Nadu. FM Nirmala Sitharaman Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has dismissed the DMKs allegations that the Bharatiya Janata Party is pressuring actor-turned-politician Vijay to join the NDA, asserting that the ruling partys anxiety itself shows how politically consequential he has become in Tamil Nadu. In an interview with Network18 Group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi, FM Sitharaman said that if Vijay was indeed a major political factor, the party in power had the most reason to feel threatened. If anybody who has got to be afraid of a factor that is big and worrying, it is the party which is ruling. So why should we be upset about it," she said. If he is a threat to the ruling DMK, I dont need to be worried about it. Good enough." The DMK has repeatedly claimed that central agencies are being misused to coerce Vijay into aligning with the NDA, alleging harassment through possible CBI action and hurdles to the release of his films. Sitharaman rejected this narrative, instead framing the DMKs response as a sign of deep political insecurity. She argued that Vijays emergence regardless of which side he eventually chooses has unsettled the ruling establishment. The DMK being worried about Vijay, I can understand it," she said, adding that the growing strength of the AIADMK alliance and the NDA has compounded the pressure on the ruling party. Vijay on the one side either with or without us the AIADMK alliance, the NDA now very strong, also coming up, are all making the DMK, although they are in power, completely insecure." Sitharaman linked this insecurity to the spate of welfare announcements and freebies by the DMK government in the run-up to the election. Questioning the timing, she said that a government confident of its governance record would not resort to such measures. If you have been in power for five years and you have governed well why would you want to throw all these freebies now?" she asked, alleging that the DMK had failed on law and order. There is lawlessness and drugs like never before in Tamil Nadu," she claimed. Addressing speculation that Vijay could align with the Congress potentially creating a formidable third front Sitharaman downplayed the possibility by questioning the Congress relevance and unity in the state. Where is the Congress in Tamil Nadu," she asked, pointing out that the party survives politically by relying on the DMK. She described the state unit as deeply divided, with one faction inclined towards Vijays Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) and another keen on continuing with the DMK. They have embarrassed themselves by wanting to be there, reap benefits, but yet want to go to a new alliance," she said. On whether Vijay is truly the X-factor" in the upcoming election, Sitharaman stopped short of making predictions. Only the election can prove it," she said, underlining that his political impact would ultimately be decided by voters, not speculation. The remarks come at a time when Tamil Nadus political landscape is witnessing churn ahead of Assembly elections scheduled later this year, with Vijays entry adding an unpredictable element to an already multi-cornered contest. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 02, 2026, 22:20 IST News politics 'If Anyone Should Be Worried, It's DMK': Nirmala Sitharaman On Vijay Factor In Tamil Nadu | Exclusive Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 'Unruly Behaviour' In Lok Sabha: Who Are The 8 Opposition MPs Suspended, And Why? Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 17:30 IST The eight MPs facing suspension till the Budget session ends on April 2 include seven from the Congress and one from CPI(M) MPs protest in the Lok Sabha during the Budget session of Parliament, in New Delhi on February 3, 2026. (Image: Sansad TV/PTI) The Lok Sabha on Tuesday witnessed a massive ruckus followed by the suspension of eight opposition MPs, including seven from the Congress and one from the CPI(M), for the remainder of Parliaments Budget session that will end on April 2. The eight MPs facing suspension include two each from Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala, as well as one each from Telangana and Maharashtra: Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Hibi Eden, Dean Kuriakose, Manickam Tagore, Prashant Padole, and Kiran Kumar Reddy of the Congress; they are joined by S Venkatesan of the CPI (M). The decision to suspend came following a period of intense disruption and was finalised after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju moved a resolution that was passed by a voice vote. WHO ARE THEY? Amrinder Singh Raja Warring (Congress): Warring, aka Amarinder Singh Brar, currently represents the Ludhiana Lok Sabha constituency in Punjab and has served as the Punjab Congress president since April 2022. He rose through the ranks of the partys youth wing before entering state and national politics, and was a three-time MLA from Gidderbaha constituency. He has served in the state cabinet as transport minister. His attendance in Parliament is pegged at 70% against the national average of 87%, and he participated in 15 debates and asked 82 questions. Gurjeet Singh Aujla (Congress): Aujla, also a third-time MP, currently represents the Amritsar Lok Sabha constituency in Punjab. He entered Parliament for the first time by winning a bypoll in 2017, necessitated by the resignation of Captain Amarinder Singh. He is noted for his active participation in the House, and he gained national attention in December 2023 when he was one of the MPs who confronted and helped disarm an intruder who had jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber with a smoke canister. He has maintained a high attendance record of 94% and has participated in 23 debates and asked 71 questions. Hibi Eden (Congress): Eden currently represents the Ernakulam Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala. He began his political journey in student politics, following in the footsteps of his father, the late George Eden, who was also a long-time MP from Ernakulam. He is a two-time MLA from Ernakulam constituency and then transitioned to national politics in 2019 by winning the Ernakulam Lok Sabha seat, which he retained in the 2024 general elections. He is noted for high levels of engagement in Parliament with 89% attendance, which is well above the national average, and has asked more than 300 questions and introduced nine private member bills. Dean Kuriakose (Congress): A two-term MP, Kuriakose currently represents Keralas Idukki constituency. He is a highly active member of the House, with performance metrics generally exceeding national averages with an attendance record of 93%, participation in 43 debates and 143 questions covering issues relevant to Kerala, such as the construction of a new dam at Mullaperiyar, human-wildlife conflict, the impact of climate change (including the Wayanad disaster), and the welfare of farmers and labourers. Manickam Tagore (Congress): Tagore, a three-term MP, currently represents the Virudhunagar Lok Sabha constituency in Tamil Nadu. He serves as a whip for the Congress in the Lok Sabha and is also the incharge for the Andhra Pradesh Congress the Andaman and Nicobar Territorial Congress Committee. His career is rooted in the partys youth and student wings as well. He has an attendance of 99% in Parliament, and has participated in 45 debates and asked 144 questions. Prashant Padole (Congress): A first-term MP, Padole represents the Bhandara-Gondiya constituency in Maharashtra. Since assuming office, he has been an active participant in legislative proceedings with a record of having asked 77 questions in the House covering a wide range of issues including fertiliser distribution, disaster management, rural development (DAY-NRLM), and the status of smart cities. S Venkatesan (CPI-M): An acclaimed Tamil writer, Venkatesan currently represents the Madurai constituency in Tamil Nadu. He is a highly celebrated figure in Tamil literature, having won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2011 for his debut novel, Kaval Kottam, which explores the historical landscape of Madurai. During his current term, he has maintained a high engagement level, frequently raising questions regarding civil aviation, health infrastructure, and railway facilities. WHAT IS THE REASON BEHIND THEIR SUSPENSION? The formal reason cited for the suspension was the unruly behaviour" of the MPs, which included tearing papers and throwing them at the Chair. This allegedly took place during an address by Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, as tensions inside the chamber reached a breaking point. The Chair, occupied by Dilip Saika at the time, named the members following repeated interruptions that made it difficult for the proceedings to continue. The Centre argued that such disorderly conduct necessitated their removal for the duration of the session to maintain the dignity of the House. In response to the chaos, the BJP has indicated it will lodge a formal complaint with the Speaker, seeking further strict action against those involved. HOW DID THE OPPOSITION REACT? The suspension triggered an immediate and fierce reaction from the opposition benches. Rahul Gandhi, alongside Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi, led a protest outside the Parliament building at Makar Dwar. Describing the move as an unjust suspension" and an attack on parliamentary democracy", Congress leaders said they will not be silenced and will continue to speak on behalf of the nation. The protest was not only about the suspensions but also served as a platform for Rahul to make serious allegations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding a recent India-US trade deal. He alleged that Modi is compromised" and scared" due to alleged legal pressures in the United States. The Congress has demanded full details of the trade agreement, raising concerns about its impact on the agriculture sector and Indias purchase of Russian oil. WHAT HAPPENED IN THE LOK SABHA? The events leading to the suspension were marked by a day of sustained uproar and multiple adjournments. The atmosphere turned particularly volatile after Rahul was disallowed from citing a magazine article based on the unpublished memoirs of former army chief General MM Naravane regarding the 2020 India-China border conflict. As the House met at 3 pm following earlier disruptions, the chaos erupted further with some members allegedly throwing papers towards the Chair during his speech. With the proceedings rendered impossible by the shouting and disorder, the House was adjourned for the day amid a continuing uproar. The BJP has condemned the disruption, while the opposition maintains that their voice is being suppressed on critical national issues. (With agency inputs) News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 17:20 IST News politics 'Unruly Behaviour' In Lok Sabha: Who Are The 8 Opposition MPs Suspended, And Why? Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 15:48 IST Parliament Budget Session 2026 Live: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was felicitated by NDA members at the Parliamentary Party meeting, a day after the announcement of the much-anticipated India-US trade deal. BJP National President Nitin Nabin felicitated the Prime Minister, as the members of the alliance welcomed the trade agreement between India and the United States. Meanwhile, both houses of the Parliament are set to resume today, a day after intense debates and a massive uproar over Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhis remarks on the unpublished memoirs of former Army Chief M M Naravane. All eyes are on the proceedings as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to deliver his address to the Motion of Thanks to President Droupadi Murmus address tomorrow, February 4. In the Lok Sabha, BJP MP Tejashwi Surya backed the motion on Monday. Heated Scenes In Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, on Monday, witnessed fiery scenes after LoP Rahul Gandhi referred to unpublished memoirs of former Army Chief M M Naravane. As he criticised the goevrnment on India-China clashes, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah stood up and objected, saying an unpublished book cannot be quoted in the House. As LoP Gandhi continued speaking, several BJP MPs protested, leading to continued uproar and heated debates. Eventually, the house was adjourned by Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla. India-US Trade Deal The proceedings also follow the much-anticipated India-US trade deal, with the reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods lowering to 18 per cent. US President Donald Trump on Monday announced that he had finalised a trade deal with India that lowers US reciprocal tariffs on Indian commodities to 18 per cent from 25 per cent. In a post on Truth Social, Trump described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a great friend, saying he spoke to him on a range of issues, including the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Ruckus In Lok Sabha As Rahul Gandhi Quotes China Article Again; Centre Says 'Don't Mislead' Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 21:49 IST Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju also asked Rahul Gandhi not to mislead the House. Rahul Gandhi The stand-off continued in Lok Sabha between the treasury bench and the opposition for the second consecutive day as Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi again quoted a magazine article on India-China border clashes in Galwan Valley in 2020. Rahul Gandhi started his speech during the Motion of Thanks to the Presidents address on Tuesday, authenticating" the article of Caravan magazine, which mentioned a memoir of former Army chief MM Naravanes book Four Stars of Destiny on the 2020 clashes, and tabled it before the House. Yesterday, I started my speech on this article. The Speaker had said that this should be done as per the rules. Now I want this article to be authenticated. Please authenticate this and I want to speak on this. A very important matter in the Presidents speech is the matter of national security. The relationship between us and the Chinese and the Pakistani. There is an important article which I have authenticated, which speaks about the reaction of the Prime Minister," he said, before being interrupted by the ruling party MPs. Krishna Prasad Tenneti, who was in the chair, requested the opposition leader to speak on the Presidents address. Gen Naravanes Memoir Not Out Yet, But What Ex-Army Chief Said About India-China Border Standoff Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju also asked Gandhi not to mislead the House and pointed out that Speaker Om Birla has already given a ruling on this matter. Let us not mislead the House. Let us clear the confusion. Today, I also requested Venugopal ji and Gogoi ji. We are patiently waiting to hear from the Leader of the Opposition. The matter he has just referred to was already addressed yesterday, and the Chair has given its ruling. The paper on which he has authenticated his remarks has been tabled in the House. However, since a ruling has already been given on the matter he referred to yesterday, he cannot quote the same issue again. Under the pretext of making an indirect reference, he cannot raise the same matter once more. Please avoid referring to an issue that has already been settled," Rijiju said. However, Rahul Gandhi continued his speech on the same subject, forcing the chair to call the name of the next speaker Samajwadi Party MP Naresh Uttam Patel. However, opposition MPs from Trinamool Congress, SP and the DMK refused to speak in support of Rahul Gandhi. The opposition members then protested against the Chairs decision, attempted to climb onto the table in front of the Speaker, and threw papers towards the Chair. As the ruckus continued, the Lok Sabha was adjourned till 3 PM. Which Book Did Rahul Gandhi Quote In Lok Sabha And Why Did It Trigger A Ruckus? After the House reassembled, the Chair named several Congress MPs for their alleged misconduct, and a motion was passed to suspend them before the House was adjourned again for the day. Manickam Tagore, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Dean Kuriakose, Prashant Padole, Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy, and Hibi Eden were among the Congress MPs who have been suspended for the remainder of the Budget Session. S Venkatesh from CPI(M) was also suspended. What Happened On Monday Session? Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday ruled that Rahul Gandhi cannot base his speech on an unpublished book. However, the Leader of the Opposition did not relent, leading to two adjournments of the House before it was finally adjourned for the day. Union Minister Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, who were present during the LoPs speech, also said that he should not be allowed to speak on an unpublished" book. The BJP has accused Rahul Gandhi of reading concocted things" about China in Parliament and warning that such conduct sets a dangerous precedent. The party accused Gandhi of becoming a fake news factory" by reading what it described as fictitious material in Parliament. No One Is Above Rules: Rijiju Hitting out at Rahul Gandhi, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said that no one is above the rules. Rahul Gandhi keeps repeating the same thing, that he is not allowed to speak, but we are asking him to speak I want to say that no one is above the rulesThe rules of conduct in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were not framed by us, but during the time of Rahul Gandhis grandparentsHe never follows the rules, and then, outside parliament, he says I am not allowed to speak," he said. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 14:12 IST News politics Ruckus In Lok Sabha As Rahul Gandhi Quotes China Article Again; Centre Says 'Don't Mislead' Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Telangana CM Revanth Reddy Slams KCR After SIT Questions Him In Phone-Tapping Case Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 02, 2026, 23:21 IST Telangana CM Revanth Reddy criticized K Chandrashekar Rao after SIT questioned him in the phone-tapping case. Telangana CM Revanth Reddy Slams BRS Chief Over Phone-Tapping Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on Monday slammed Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Chief K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) who was questioned by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in connection with the phone-tapping case. Reacting to the development, Reddy said, Stepping away from public life and accepting peoples rejection with dignity would at least help preserve ones respect." KCR was questioned by SIT on Sunday at his Hyderabad residence. Earlier, several BRS leaders, including KCRs son, K. T. Rama Rao, and nephew, T. Harish Rao, were also questioned in the case. C.M. Revanth Reddy questioned KCR and asked, What kind of democracy and movement ethics such behaviour reflects, and how one can claim the stature of Jathi Pitha while doing so?" He also highlighted that the police neither broke KCRs doors nor dragged him away, unlike what was done to Prof. Kodandaram, but merely served notices and summoned him for questioning." Mahatma Gandhi, the real Father of the Nation, relinquished power and ultimately sacrificed his life, whereas leaders who accumulated positions and thousands of crores in assets cannot project themselves as national patriarchs," Reddy added. In response to the questioning, the BRS called for statewide protests, with party workers donning black badges as a mark of dissent against the Telangana government. Demonstrations were staged across the state, highlighting the partys opposition to questioning its chief in the alleged phone-tapping case. Police also detained some workers who staged a protest wearing black badges against the Telangana government. The phone-tapping case came forth after former D.C.P. P. Radhakrishna Rao alleged that telephones of media personalities, retired cops, and politicians were monitored during the BRS governments tenure to track KCRs political rivals. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 02, 2026, 23:21 IST News politics Telangana CM Revanth Reddy Slams KCR After SIT Questions Him In Phone-Tapping Case Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Will Manipur Get A New Government? As President's Rule Deadline Looms, NDA MLAs Meet In Delhi Reported By : CNN-News18 Edited By: Apoorva Misra Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 10:58 IST More than 40 MLAs are reportedly camping in Delhi, and some Kuki MLAs have also arrived for crucial discussions regarding the formation of a new government in the state Rapid Read Manipur has been under Presidents Rule for the past year following violent clashes between Meiteis and Kukis. Will Manipur finally get a new, popular government after one year? The question is doing the rounds in the power corridors of the state as well as Delhi. Has the movement towards forming a new government in Manipur finally intensified? Tuesday evening may provide the answer to the crucial question. The BJPs central leadership has called all NDA MLAs from Manipur to Delhi. According to sources, crucial discussions regarding the formation of a new government in the state will take place during this meeting. All NDA MLAs from Manipur were asked to make themselves available in Delhi by 2pm on Monday. Sources say many MLAs are already camping in Delhi, while several others are currently on their way. Presidents Rule in Manipur is set to expire on February 13, and experts from the region believe it is essential for the BJP to form a government now, as the situation on the ground is relatively peaceful. The Manipur Assembly has a total strength of 60 members. At present, the BJP has 37 MLAs, while the Janata Dal (United) has one. The National Peoples Party (NPP) has six MLAs, the Naga Peoples Front has five, the Congress has five, the Kuki Peoples Alliance (KPA) has two, and there are three Independents. Manipur has been under Presidents Rule for the past year following violent clashes between Meiteis and Kukis. Sources indicate that the Union government now feels it is the right time to form a popular government in the state. More than 40 MLAs are reportedly camping in Delhi, and some Kuki MLAs have also arrived. It is important that all groups come together to form the government. There are several contenders for the chief ministers post. However, sources in the BJP high command told News18 that peaceful coexistence and unity among all groups is a prerequisite for forming the government. This time, that unity appears to be in place. There is hope that the moment has finally arrived and that, after one year, Manipur will once again have a popular government. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : Manipur, India, India First Published: February 03, 2026, 10:58 IST News politics Will Manipur Get A New Government? As President's Rule Deadline Looms, NDA MLAs Meet In Delhi Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Android Users Have Got Stronger Anti-Theft Features With New Update: Know More Reported By : Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 08:16 IST Android users are getting improved security measures so that their data is not misused or hacked by thieves or bad actors. Android 16 and 15 versions will be powered with these new tools Google is making it even harder for thieves to break into your Android phones with stronger anti-theft features offered with a new update recently. The company has already added offline device lock and theft detection lock a few years back and now we are seeing further impetus being given to protect the devices and the data stored on them in case you lose or misplace the phone. The Android 16 version is the biggest winner from this update that makes stealing a Pixel phone even harder. More Anti-Theft Features With Android 16 Google realises that millions use their phones for banking apps and other personal needs. The new failed authentication lock will kick into action when the bad actor fails to unlock the device after multiple attempts. This means once the logins have failed, your device will be locked and lockout time will be increased so that they cannot try it again for a while. The other important change is that an existing feature like Identity Check now is able to secure features and apps that use biometric security for authentication. Thats not all, the remote lock option will let you set up a security challenge or question so that only the person who knows the answer can unlock the device. Most people might say that thieves love to pick up iPhones more than Pixel or any other Android phone. But that doesnt mean Google should not strengthen its device security in the event that people actually lose their phone and not just stolen. In other news, Google is finally bringing its new AI-powered editing tool in Photos for more users. The company is rolling out the Ask AI option in the Photos app for all Android users in India and other countries and you dont need to use the Pixel 10 phone to get this feature anymore. Googles new AI feature had launched with the Pixel 10 models for users in the US earlier and they could simply ask Photos to edit the images for you. To make this feature work the Photos app has got a design overhaul, most likely with the Android 16 version, which now has a Gemini bar below the picture. The new tool lets you edit using text or voice prompts. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: February 03, 2026, 08:16 IST News tech Android Users Have Got Stronger Anti-Theft Features With New Update: Know More Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Photo: https://www.president.gov.ua/ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he expects a reaction from the United States to Russia's attacks, which responded to US President Donald Trump's personal request to halt strikes on the energy sector during diplomatic events with a record number of ballistic missiles. "We await the United States' response to the Russian strikes. It was America's proposal to cease energy strikes during this diplomatic period and during this cold winter weather. There was a personal request from the President of the United States," Zelenskyy said in his evening address. "We see that Russia has responded to this request with a ballistic record. Less than four days have passed since the week they asked Russia to fulfill. This speaks volumes about everything else Russia promises or can still promise. If their word isn't being kept now, what can we expect next?" Zelenskyy noted. According to the Ukrainian president, the Russians "lied before this war, and Russia started a full-scale war, trying to deceive everyone about its intentions and about Ukraine. And noweven in such details, in such agreements with AmericaRussian deception is happening again. They are incorrigible in Moscow. And they want to take advantage of the cold, because they cannot conquer us, Ukraine, with their assaults. Russia's reliance on war must be met with a peaceful response." Explained: WhatsApps Privacy Policy Tussle In India And What It Means For Users Reported By : Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 13:38 IST WhatsApp privacy policy 2021 continues to make the headlines and concerns billions of users in India and other regions. News18 WhatsApp and Meta are once again in the firing line as the Supreme Court in India questions the much talked about WhatsApp privacy policy and how millions of users and their personal data are being exploited for targeted ads by the platform. This case has been ongoing since 2021 when WhatsApp had sought users acceptance to its new privacy policy in garb of an update, which if a user did not accept, would have deprived them of some of the features offered by the messaging app. Fast-forward to 2026, the WhatsApp Privacy policy case from 2021 continues to make the headlines, especially when statements like, Quit India if you cant follow the constitution," are made by the Chief Justice of the country. So what is the WhatsApp privacy policy that has been going on for over 5 years, what is the issue and how does it affect the users in India. Where It All Started WhatsApp users got a pop-up message asking them to agree to the new privacy policy terms with a new update. The changes basically gave a clearer picture of how much of your data will be shared. In the new privacy policy and terms of use, the Facebook-owned app detailed how WhatsApps service handles your data as well as how WhatsApp partners with the larger Facebook platform to allow integrations across multiple apps, including Instagram and Facebook Messenger. Three large buckets under which the new terms were categorised. First is how businesses can manage their chats using Facebook tools, more information about how WhatsApp works including how your data is processed and illustrations of how your data ties in with the larger Facebook app ecosystem requirements which is called how we work with Facebook". The details given in the policy irked millions and privacy activists who decided to seek legal support to counter the changes and not force WhatsApp users to comply especially since the data regulations were clearly violating privacy rules. CCI And Supreme Court Lash Out The Competition Commission of India (CCI) had said in the Delhi High Court that the new privacy policy of WhatsApp would lead to excessive data collection and stalking" of consumers for targeted advertising to bring in more users and is therefore, an alleged abuse of dominant position. This is something WhatsApp has regularly denied. And since then, the Supreme Court of India has come out strongly against Meta and WhatsApp for its alleged data sharing practices and exploiting the rules of its users. During a recent hearing, the Chief Justice Surya Kant lashed out at the platform and warned, If you cant follow our Constitution, then leave India. We wont allow any citizens privacy to be compromised." What Users Should Know The biggest problem with the authority of a single platform like WhatsApp is that it can dictate the terms based on the dependence of the apps among millions. But changing the privacy policy terms might not be understood by everyone, especially those with limited understanding of such concerns and freely handing over their data to these big corporations. In its defence, WhatsApp has said it collects user information to be able to provide services and customize the experience for the user. Among the information that you share with WhatsApp are your mobile phone number and your profile name to create and run a WhatsApp account. WhatsApp insists it does not retain your messages and says that messages that you send and receive arent typically stored on their servers. Once your messages are delivered, they are deleted from our servers." However, there are scenarios where your messages may stay on WhatsApp servers temporarilythat is if a message remains undelivered for a certain period of time up to a maximum of 30 days in the encrypted form, after which it is deleted as well as media forwards that are temporarily stored in encrypted form to improve the efficiency of additional forwards. The WhatsApp-India privacy policy battle is unlikely to end any time soon but hopefully it does not impact billions of users in the country, who have become heavily reliant on the platform, not just for messages but so much more. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: February 03, 2026, 13:38 IST News tech Explained: WhatsApps Privacy Policy Tussle In India And What It Means For Users Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Exploding Video: Fake Rape Jails Agra Man 20 Yrs; He Couldnt Attend Family Funerals Or Marry Internet Boils Curated By : Trending Desk Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 11:50 IST Vishnu Tiwari spent 20 years in Agra Central Jail for a false rape case before being acquitted by the Allahabad High Court in 2021, aided by lawyer Shweta Singh Rana. The video shows the man breaking down in tears. (Photo Credit: X) When Vishnu Tiwari walked out of jail in 2021, freedom did not feel like a victory. He had spent two decades behind bars for a crime he did not commit, and during those years, life outside had completely moved on without him. His parents were gone, his family had fallen apart, and the world he once knew no longer existed. Now, a video is being circulated widely that shows a man breaking down in tears as he walks out of prison. While News18 has not independently verified the authenticity of the clip, it is being widely linked to Vishnu, who was acquitted by the Allahabad High Court in 2021 after spending 20 years in jail in a false rape case. A Case That Began In 2000 In September 2000, Vishnu, a resident of Lalitpur district in Uttar Pradesh, was arrested following allegations of rape and charges under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. He was convicted by a trial court in 2003 and sentenced to life imprisonment in Agra Central Jail. He was 23 at the time. From that point on, he remained in jail without once being granted bail. Over the next two decades, Vishnu never stepped outside prison walls, not even temporarily. He was not released on parole, including during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, when several prisoners were freed to reduce overcrowding in jails. During this time, his parents and two brothers passed away, his family was socially ostracised, and the five acres of land they owned were sold. Reports from the time also stated that he was not allowed to attend the last rites of his family members. Speaking at the time, he said, I am happy, but I dont know what to do now. My house is in ruinsMy family members are dead. We are demanding cooperation from the administration. In my case, the investigating officer filed a false report. There was a dispute about tying a cow. My lawyer also ditched me." The now-viral video (being linked to Vishnu) shows a man crying uncontrollably as he steps out of the jail. Several social media posts described how his life was completely crashed after spending years in prison. His brother spent 20 yrs in jail over a false rape case. Parents & elder brother died; he couldn't attend funerals or marry due to stigma. Jailed at 23, freed at 43. Advocate Shweta Singh Rana proved it false. pic.twitter.com/k1GzdDODaV Ghar Ke Kalesh (@gharkekalesh) February 2, 2026 What Are People Saying Online The video has sparked intense reactions on social media with users expressing anger, grief and frustration over the years Vishnu spent in prison. One user commented, I hope the government compensates him heavily and jails the woman who wrongfully accused him of grape. She took 20 years of his life, so 20 years of hers should be spent in prison." Another said, And we are a democratic country. No words to say." Women who use rape for false cases are not hated enough," someone else remarked, while a person added, Its best not to mess with girls in India Im ashamed to say this, but its the reality." False accusations destroy everything. Judiciary must be unbiassed but here the Judiciary (cole sum) is the prima face of all western ideology, and they have no one to control, collude, include, silently exclud, ore do whatever they want. Hindus have been treated injustice for 1000 years," a viewer wrote. Shouldnt such a false accuser be sent to jail for an equal amount of time? Much respect to Adv Shweta Singh Rana," an individual said. No money, no power, no justice. Will the police and system that went after the innocent man who lost 20 years and entire life, be held accountable???" read another comment. Shweta Singh Rana: The Lawyer Who Aided Vishnu Tiwari Vishnus appeal remained pending before the Allahabad High Court for nearly 16 years because it was marked as defective. Such defects usually involve missing documents or filing errors that need to be corrected by a lawyer before a case can be heard. In this instance, the appeal was never properly pursued, and the defects were not addressed. In its judgment, the High Court also noted that the State government did not take steps to consider commuting his life sentence even after he completed 14 years in prison. The case saw progress only in 2019, when legal aid lawyer Shweta Singh Rana was assigned to represent Tiwari after jail authorities approached the High Court. Preparing the paperbook (a complete set of records from the lower court) took almost two years. After examining the case, a division bench comprising Justices Kaushal Jayendra Thaker and Gautam Chaudhary acquitted Vishnu Tiwari of all charges. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: February 03, 2026, 11:47 IST News viral Exploding Video: Fake Rape Jails Agra Man 20 Yrs; He Couldnt Attend Family Funerals Or Marry Internet Boils Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Best Pizza In India So Far, Japanese Ambassador Praises Bengaluru Eatery, Sets Off Debates Among Foodies Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 19:48 IST Ono Keiichi, Japans Ambassador to India, praised Pizza 4Ps in Bengaluru as the best pizza hes had in India, sparking online buzz and celebrating JapaneseBengaluru friendship. The ambassadors post offered a glimpse into his lunch, where he appeared to be enjoying a half-and-half burrata salad pizza. (ImageX/@JapanAmbIndia) Japans Ambassador to India, Ono Keiichi, has once again won hearts online, this time with a food stop in Bengaluru. The diplomat sparked lively conversation on social media after sharing photos from his visit to a popular pizza restaurant in the Karnataka capital, praising it as the best pizza he has had in India so far. Taking to X, Ono posted pictures of himself enjoying a meal at Pizza 4Ps, a restaurant with roots in Japanese entrepreneurship. Founded by Japanese entrepreneurs in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, the brand has since expanded across Asia, including outlets in Japan and India. Its Bengaluru branch is known for its farm-to-table approach, house-made cheeses, and Italian pizzas with subtle Japanese influences. Dropped by Pizza 4Ps in Bengaluru Founded by Japanese entrepreneurs in Ho Chi Minh City, now loved across Asia with branches in Japan and here in India too.Easily the best pizza Ive had in India so far! pic.twitter.com/IrfX8eIVtM ONO Keiichi, Ambassador of Japan (@JapanAmbIndia) January 31, 2026 The ambassadors post offered a glimpse into his lunch, where he appeared to be enjoying a half-and-half burrata salad pizza. The dish featured a large, freshly made burrata cheese placed at the centre, with leafy greens on one side and a mushroom-and-cheese topping on the other. The photographs also showed him dining in a bright, airy space, adding to the relaxed, inviting atmosphere of the meal. Sharing the images, Ono wrote, Dropped by Pizza 4Ps in Bengaluru. Founded by Japanese entrepreneurs in Ho Chi Minh City, now loved across Asia, with branches in Japan and here in India too. Easily the best pizza Ive had in India so far!" The post quickly drew attention online, with many users appreciating the ambassadors enthusiasm for Indian food and Bengalurus evolving culinary scene. Among those who responded was Tejasvi Surya, Member of Parliament from Bengaluru South, who welcomed the praise. Glad you enjoyed the pizza, Ambassador. Undoubtedly, they are the best. I am addicted to their pizzas," Surya wrote on X, calling the restaurant a symbol of JapaneseBengaluru friendship and wishing Ono well for his visit to the city. Glad you enjoyed the pizza, Ambassador. Undoubtedly , they are the best. I am addicted to their pizzas!A symbol of Japanese- Bengaluru friendship. Best wishes on your Bengaluru visit. https://t.co/JulQ9jVLTs Tejasvi Surya (@Tejasvi_Surya) January 31, 2026 Food lovers on social media soon joined the conversation. Some commented on how difficult it can be to secure a reservation at the restaurant, underlining its popularity. Others celebrated the moment as quintessentially Bengaluru, while a few added light-hearted remarks comparing pizza scenes across Indian cities. Ono Keiichis Bengaluru stop is part of a series of food explorations he has shared during his time in India. Earlier, he posted about enjoying vada pav in Mumbai and sampling biryani at Andhra Bhavan in New Delhi. In that post, he even compared biryani to sushi and spoke about eating it by hand, noting that the experience made him feel closer to his Indian friends. His latest pizza post garnered significant attention, crossing 70,000 views within a short time. As reactions continued to pour in, many users said they planned to try the restaurant themselves, while others praised the ambassador for highlighting local food spots with genuine enthusiasm. Once again, Ono Keiichis culinary adventures have turned a simple meal into a moment of cultural exchange, with Bengalurus food scene taking centre stage. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 19:48 IST News viral Best Pizza In India So Far, Japanese Ambassador Praises Bengaluru Eatery, Sets Off Debates Among Foodies Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Gurugram CEO Asks For Spoon At Delhis Fine Dining. Manager Says Obama & Trump Ate With Their Hands Curated By : Trending Desk Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 19:09 IST A diners request for a spoon at Delhis famous Bukhara restaurant sparked an online debate about eating with hands. The managers response about Clinton, Obama, and Trump added fuel to the discussion. (Photo Credit: X) Delhi has many fancy restaurants that are known not just for food but also for showcasing Indian culture to important visitors from around the world. These places often serve traditional Indian dishes the way they are meant to be eaten, sometimes even without cutlery. One such restaurant, Bukhara, has once again become a topic of discussion after a simple dining experience turned into a larger conversation online. The debate started after Jasveer Singh, co-founder of Knot Dating, a dating service agency in Gurgaon, shared his experience at Bukhara. His post about asking for a spoon sparked mixed reactions from people who had different views on tradition and personal comfort while eating. Founder Shares His Dining Experience Jasveer Singh wrote about his visit to Bukhara on X (formerly Twitter). He said that when he asked for cutlery, the manager told him that only spoons were allowed. The manager then casually mentioned that former US Presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump had all eaten there using their hands. Singh wrote that the manager seemed to suggest that if they could eat with their hands, so could he. He shared this in his post, writing: Asked for cutlery at Bukhara. Manager said sir spoon is allowed here Then casually added Clinton, Obama, Trump ate by hand here. Rest is up to you. In his head, tum kya America se aaye ho! Reverse pressure works better." After he posted this, many people started commenting, agreeing or disagreeing with the restaurants approach. Check his post here: Asked for cutlery at Bukhara. Manager said sir spoon is allowed here Then casually added Clinton, Obama, Trump ate by hand here. Rest is up to you In his head, tum kya America se aaye ho! Reverse pressure works better pic.twitter.com/32OCL8XAdW Jasveer Singh (@jasveer10) February 2, 2026 People Online Take Different Sides Some users supported Bukhara and said certain foods are simply better eaten by hand. A person commented, You cant eat naan with a spoon, just like you cant eat a burger with one. Its just common sense." Others said that eating with hands is part of the restaurants charm. A user pointed out that both Bukhara and its sister restaurant, Peshawri, encourage hand-eating, and many foreign guests happily follow the tradition. Another person said that this practice gives them goosebumps" and is one of the reasons they keep coming back. Not Everyone Agrees With The Rule Some people felt the restaurant should be more flexible. A user argued that diners should be free to eat however they feel comfortable. They compared the situation to restaurants in China, Korea, or Japan refusing forks and spoons to Indian customers and forcing them to use chopsticks, saying that would feel unfair. Bukharas Link To World Leaders Bukhara is famous for its traditional style of cooking and has hosted many global leaders over the years. Bill Clinton ate there during his visit to India in 2000, Barack Obama in 2010, and Donald Trump in 2020. The restaurant is especially known for its signature dish, Dal Bukhara, which has been served to many high-profile guests. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: February 03, 2026, 19:09 IST News viral Gurugram CEO Asks For Spoon At Delhis Fine Dining. Manager Says Obama & Trump Ate With Their Hands Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Woman, 25, Brushed It Off As A Mere Headache, What Doctors Found Out Changed Her Life | Signs You Should Not Ignore Curated By : Trending Desk Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 11:25 IST As the patient described her symptoms, the neurologist felt something was off. He suggested she undergo a scan. The headache was severe enough to wake her up. (Photo Credit: X) A Hyderabad neurologists post on X has sparked widespread conversation after he shared a real-life case that began with something most people dismiss: a headache. What initially seemed like an ordinary complaint turned into a life-altering diagnosis for a 25-year-old woman. The neurologist who works at Apollo Hospital. He began narrating the incident with She thought it was just a headache," setting the tone for a story that was many unsettlingly familiar. According to the doctor, the woman walked into his clinic one afternoon alone. She had been experiencing left-sided, severe headaches for a week. Life had been busy. Work deadlines. Missed sleep," the doctor wrote, explaining why she dismissed the pain as stress. Like many young people, she assumed it would pass. She thought it was just a headache.A 25-year-old woman walked into my clinic one afternoon, alone. She had been having headaches for a week. It was left-sided, severe, unlike anything she had experienced before. Life had been busy. Work deadlines. Missed sleep. She did what pic.twitter.com/B3aCN1Drgi Dr Sudhir Kumar MD DM (@hyderabaddoctor) February 2, 2026 He added, She even decided to get a head massage. On the way, she briefly thought of consulting me." That fleeting thought ended up saving her life. This Was Not A Simple Tension Headache As the patient described her symptoms, the neurologist felt something was off. Further accounting the details, he shared on X, When she described her pain, something felt wrong. This was not a simple tension headache." The pain was intense enough to wake her from sleep. She woke up with headaches in the morning. Given the symptoms were not something to be ignored, the doctor advised a brain scan for the patient, but she hesitated. The woman eventually agreed, and the scan revealed the unexpected. It was not what either of us expected. A brain tumour." As he explained the findings, the doctor wrote, Her world quietly collapsed." The woman revealed she had just gotten engaged and that her wedding was planned in two months. She was left with a lot of questions like, What would she tell her fiance? Would the wedding be cancelled? Would her life ever be normal again?" Waiting Is Often Harder Than Surgery The doctor asked her to return with her parents. When they did, the conversations were calm but urgent. Surgery was necessary. A neurosurgical opinion was taken immediately, and the operation was scheduled for the next day. The operation went well," he wrote. Then came the waiting time for the biopsy report. As doctors explained, Hours feel like days when you are waiting for answers that can redefine a future." When the report finally arrived, it brought relief. The diagnosis was meningioma, a benign tumour which could be cured. Her fiance, stood by her throughout the treatment. She was discharged within a week. One year later, she returned to the OPD, this time with her husband. They were happily married for three months. The neurologist ended his post with a reminder that resonated widely online: Not every headache is harmless. Young age does not protect you from serious illness." He added, Sometimes, all it takes is one careful question, one timely scan, and one moment of courage, to turn fear into a future." Warning Signs You Should Never Ignore Most headaches are harmless and linked to stress, dehydration or lack of sleep. But some headaches are your bodys way of signalling that something more serious may be going on. Here we take a look at signs you should not ignore. Headaches that disturb sleep or wake you up at night are not typical tension headaches. This pattern often raises concern and should be medically evaluated. If you wake up with a headache consistently, especially if it improves as the day progresses, it could indicate raised pressure inside the skull. Any headache that feels different from what youve experienced before, in intensity, location or quality, should not be ignored, even if you are otherwise healthy. A headache that gradually increases in frequency or severity over days or weeks is a red flag. Progressive worsening is more concerning. Unexplained nausea or vomiting along with headache, especially in the morning, can point to neurological causes rather than digestive ones. Blurred vision, double vision, loss of vision, or seeing flashes of light along with a headache needs urgent evaluation. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: February 03, 2026, 11:25 IST News viral Woman, 25, Brushed It Off As A Mere Headache, What Doctors Found Out Changed Her Life | Signs You Should Not Ignore Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Leaked Photos Or Blackmail? How Women Can Seek Quick Digital Help Curated By : Trending Desk Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 19:14 IST StopNCII.org is a platform for preventing the unwanted circulation of initmate images. Women can report cases anonymously on the Cyber Crime portal. (Representative Image) Amid rising concerns over online extortion, a viral social media post has highlighted two platforms that enable women and girls to take down misused photographs online. One of the key tools highlighted is the StopNCII portal, which can be accessed through a simple online search. The service allows affected individuals to register a case and submit the images or digital material that has been leaked or threatened with circulation. Using encrypted digital fingerprints, the platform coordinates with major social media companies, including Facebook, Instagram and X, to curb the spread of such content, often within two days. Importantly, its scope extends beyond explicit images to include any private or personal material. Even if a photo is not obscene, but is private and personal, it can still be taken down from anywhere on the internet," the post highlighted. The message also highlighted Indias National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, which offers a Women/Child" or anonymous reporting option. This feature allows complainants to file cases without publicly revealing their identity. Evidence such as screenshots, call recordings, phone numbers, photos or videos can be submitted while filing a complaint. The option is also available for reporting abuse involving children. For Women and Girls :If someone tries to blackmail you using your photos, immediately go to Google and search https://t.co/eQoZQpJa5e." Open the website and create a case. You can upload the photos, or any content that someone is trying to hack, leak, or misuse. These images pic.twitter.com/m7I26wQ87Y Dr Poornima How the StopNCII Tool Works The StopNCII system uses hashing technology designed to protect user privacy. Instead of uploading images, the tool generates a unique digital fingerprint, or hash," on the users device. The original files do not leave the device. These digital fingerprints are then shared with participating platforms, which use them to identify and block matching content from being uploaded. Participating Platforms The portal works with a range of global companies, including social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and Threads. Other participating services include Reddit, Bumble, Microsoft, and several adult content platforms. Public Scepticism But, internet was not too convinced of the website. One commented, Poornima, this is NOT a government site or initiative. I do not think that the Indian government has given its approval. Uploading your intimate photos to a third party does not make sense. The website will soon have a database of nude and semi-nude pictures, again which is alarming. What if this website is hacked or misused?. Better to approach the cyber crime cell of the police in your city. Please correct me if I am wrong." Watch more videos Share this Article WhatsApp facebook Twitter telegram copy link Website is not accessible. Seems to be fake or not given its due importance by nic," read another comment. The discussion reflects both rising awareness about digital safety tools and ongoing public caution around online privacy. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: February 03, 2026, 19:14 IST News viral Leaked Photos Or Blackmail? How Women Can Seek Quick Digital Help Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... BLA Says 280 Pakistani Personnel Killed In Operation Herof, Claims Seizure Of Key District Reported By : CNN-News18 Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 23:57 IST The figures include members of the Pakistan Army, Frontier Corps (FC), police, Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), and army-backed death squads. A security personnel stands guard near charred truck containers torched by armed separatist group Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) at central Bolan district. (AFP photo) The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) on Tuesday claimed that it killed at least 280 Pakistani personnel during Operation Herof Phase II. The group further said Pakistani forces are under heavy pressure" and reportedly retreating. It also claimed to have seized key positions in Nushki, a district in Balochistan. According to a statement from the separatist militant group, the figures include members of the Army, Frontier Corps (FC), police, Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), and army-backed death squads. These figures are not final, and given the evolving ground realities, further increases in the enemys human and material losses are expected. Complete and verified details of the enemys losses will be released to the media at an appropriate time after consolidation," the statement added. The BLA further stated that during Operation Herof Phase II, 35 of its fighters were killed, including 18 suicide attackers from the Majeed Brigade, 10 members of the Fateh Squad, and seven from the STOS unit. Detailed and final information regarding the martyrs will be formally released later," it said. ALSO READ: BLAs Herof 2.0 Explained: Who Are Blaoch Rebels, And What Are They Fighting For? | In Pics On Saturday, the BLA had said that under the second phase of Operation Herof, it carried out coordinated attacks at 48 locations across 14 cities in Balochistan, maintaining strong control for about ten hours. Herof" is a Balochi term meaning black storm," first used by the BLA in August 2024. The BLA said Pakistani forces, under heavy pressure", are reportedly retreating. It also claimed that in an attempt to conceal military setbacks, Pakistan has begun targeting civilians in Balochistan using drones and helicopters, resulting in multiple civilian casualties. These actions are a clear reflection of the enemys moral, military, and political bankruptcy," the BLA said. Violence in Balochistan has surged in recent years, with fatalities rising from 787 to 956 in 2025, a nearly 22 per cent increase, according to the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS). Nationwide, terror attacks rose by 34 per cent last year, with 699 incidents reported, Islamabad-based think tank Pak Institute for Peace Studies said. ALSO READ: Pakistan Security Forces Kill 145 Militants In Balochistan, 17 Personnel Dead News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 23:57 IST News world BLA Says 280 Pakistani Personnel Killed In Operation Herof, Claims Seizure Of Key District Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Colombian President Petro Holds First Face-To-Face Talks With Trump At White House Amid Tensions Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 04, 2026, 00:37 IST Meeting comes weeks after Trump called Petro a sick man fuelling cocaine trade and threatened action against Colombia Rapid Read Colombian President Gustavo Petro and his counterpart, US President Donald Trump, meet at the White House in Washington. (IMAGE: AFP) Colombian President Gustavo Petro and US President Donald Trump held their first face-to-face talks at the White House on Tuesday, seeking to repair relations strained for months over Venezuela, drug trafficking and US military actions in the region. The meeting came only weeks after Trump publicly threatened Petro and accused him of allowing cocaine to flood into the United States. Somehow after the Venezuelan raid, he became very nice," Trump told reporters on the eve of the visit. He changed his attitude very much." Photos released by the Colombian presidency showed the two leaders shaking hands warmly in the West Wing colonnade before heading into the Oval Office for private talks. But the visit was kept deliberately low-profile. Petro arrived through a side entrance with none of the ceremonial welcome usually given to foreign heads of state, AFP correspondents reported. The White House said the talks were being held behind closed doors. Images later showed the leaders seated together, accompanied by US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Diplomats in Bogota had feared Petro might receive a public rebuke similar to the Oval Office dressing down given to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last year. Trump said the focus of the meeting would be drugs and regional security. Well be talking about drugs, because tremendous amounts of drugs come out of his country," he said. Petro struck a conciliatory note shortly before the talks, writing on X that he was determined to continue strengthening the relationship between two nations that share a common goal: the fight against drug trafficking." Referring to recent US strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats that have killed more than 100 people, Petro added that he wanted cooperation from an approach that prioritizes life and peace in our territories." Sick Man The encounter marked a sharp turnaround after months of bitter exchanges. In the wake of a US military raid on Caracas that led to the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, Trump warned Petro to watch his ass" and suggested that similar action against Colombia sounds good to me." Trump had also lashed out at Petro personally, saying last month that Colombia was run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States." Hes not gonna be doing it very long, let me tell you," Trump said at the time. Petro, a former leftist guerrilla, responded in recent days by calling Trump an accomplice to genocide" in Gaza and describing the US capture of Maduro as a kidnapping. The Colombian leader even urged supporters to take to the streets of Bogota during his White House visit. Yet both sides have taken steps to cool tensions. Colombia last week agreed to accept US deportation flights, reversing a decision that had triggered a major diplomatic row. Petro also authorised the extradition of an accused drug lord to the United States after months of suspending such transfers. I mean, hes been very nice over the last month or two," Trump said on Monday. He was certainly critical before that, but somehow after the Venezuelan raid, he became very nice. I look forward to seeing him." Petro arrived in Washington with a delegation that included Foreign Relations Minister Rosa Yolanda Villavicencio and Defence Minister Pedro Arnulfo Sanchez Suarez. Trump was joined by Rubio, Vance and Republican Senator Bernie Moreno. Relations Deteriorate Just minutes before the meeting began, Petro released a video describing himself as a leader who had long fought drug traffickers. We have truly suffered its effects directly," he said, referring to the impact of the narcotics trade on his family and country. Relations deteriorated further after Trump launched a series of unprecedented military strikes against suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific. At least 126 people have been killed in 36 such operations, according to AP reports. The Trump administration also imposed sanctions on Petro, his family and senior officials last year over allegations of involvement in the drug trade, penalties that had to be waived to allow the Colombian leader to travel to Washington this week. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA) First Published: February 04, 2026, 00:37 IST News world Colombian President Petro Holds First Face-To-Face Talks With Trump At White House Amid Tensions Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... India Draws Sovereignty Line On Indus Waters Case, Snubs Pakistan's Hague Manoeuvre | Exclusive Details Reported By : CNN-News18 Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 00:31 IST Top government sources indicate that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has told the tribunal that India will neither comply with its orders nor participate in its proceedings Indias suspension of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty after the Pahalgam attack has left Pakistan vulnerable to potential water shortages. (File pic/Reuters) In a significant hardening of its diplomatic and strategic posture, India has categorically rejected the authority of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague regarding the long-standing Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) dispute. As hearings continue in the Netherlands, New Delhi has made it clear that it considers the tribunal illegally constituted" and its recent directions, including a supplemental award" and summons for operational data, as per se void" and non-binding. The Stand: Sovereignty over Arbitration The latest flashpoint in this legal battle occurred after the Hague-based court issued a directive last week seeking sensitive operational records and logbooks from Indias Kishanganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects in Jammu & Kashmir. India has rejected this demand outright, refusing to recognise the tribunals jurisdiction. Top government sources indicate that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has formally informed the tribunal that India will neither comply with its orders nor participate in its proceedings. New Delhi argues that the creation of a parallel Court of Arbitration, while a neutral expert process (favoured by India) was already underway, constitutes a brazen violation" of the treatys sequential dispute resolution framework. The Abeyance Doctrine Central to Indias refusal is the broader security context. Following the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack, India exercised its sovereign rights under international law to place the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance. Until fundamental security concerns are addressed and Pakistan credibly abjures its support for cross-border terrorism, India is not bound to perform any treaty obligations, including the sharing of hydrological data or participation in arbitration," a senior government source told CNN-News18. By linking water cooperation directly to national security, New Delhi is again signalling that the era of blood and water flowing together" is over. This shift effectively places all mandatory data-sharingsuch as river flow levels and flood warningson indefinite hold. Pakistans Strategy and Indias Response Pakistan, which first objected to Indias project designs in 2015, has framed the PCAs proceedings as a procedural victory. However, India has dismissed the entire Hague exercise as a charade at Pakistans behest", designed to divert global attention from its role as a hub for terrorism. The dispute has now moved beyond technical engineering and hydrology. It has become a high-stakes test of sovereignty and the limits of international arbitration. For India, the message is unequivocal: no international body has the jurisdiction to examine the legality of Indias sovereign actions in its own territory, especially while the treaty itself remains suspended due to security provocations. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 00:31 IST News world India Draws Sovereignty Line On Indus Waters Case, Snubs Pakistan's Hague Manoeuvre | Exclusive Details Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... India-US Trade Deal To Boost American Farm Exports, Cut $1.3 Bn Agri Deficit: Trump Aide Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 12:52 IST US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said the deal will raise prices and pump cash into rural America. US President Donald Trump with PM Narendra Modi (Photo: AP) India and the United States announced a trade deal on Monday. The agreement reportedly includes the agricultural sector, which had been a sticking point in previous trade talks. India had previously refused wider market access to protect its farmers from competition with US agricultural products. Boost for American farm exports The USIndia trade deal, announced late on Monday evening, is expected to increase exports of American farm products to Indias market. US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said the deal will raise prices and pump cash into rural America. Rollins wrote on X early on Tuesday morning, New USIndia deal will export more American farm products to Indias massive market, lifting prices, and pumping cash into rural America. In 2024, Americas agricultural trade deficit with India was $1.3 billion. Indias growing population is an important market for American agricultural products and todays deal will go a long way to reducing this deficit." She also thanked the US president for delivering for American farmers and called the agreement an America First victory." Rollins shared a White House post stating that US President Donald Trump spoke to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday. During the conversation, Modi agreed to stop buying Russian oil and increase purchases from the US, potentially including Venezuela. Trump said this move will help end the war in Ukraine." The deal confirmed by both leaders will lower reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods from 25% to 18%. Trump said the agreement was effective immediately" and added that it was agreed out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi." Agricultural was a sticking point in trade talks Earlier, agriculture and dairy were major sticking points in the bilateral trade talks. India had refused wider market access to protect its farmers from US competition. The US had earlier pushed for opening Indias market to GM soya, corn, pulses, wheat and almonds. India had offered concessions in defence, energy and aviation instead. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : United States of America (USA) First Published: February 03, 2026, 12:52 IST News world India-US Trade Deal To Boost American Farm Exports, Cut $1.3 Bn Agri Deficit: Trump Aide Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Egypt-China pharmacy conference explores AI integration in traditional medicine Xinhua) 09:03, February 03, 2026 A man tries a medical device at an exhibition during the Joint International Pharmacy Conference 2026 in Cairo, Egypt, Feb. 1, 2026. The Joint International Pharmacy Conference 2026 wrapped up in Cairo on Monday after two days of discussions on combining Western pharmaceuticals and traditional Chinese medicine, with a focus on the use of artificial intelligence. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) CAIRO, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Joint International Pharmacy Conference 2026 wrapped up in Cairo on Monday after two days of discussions on combining Western pharmaceuticals and traditional Chinese medicine, with a focus on the use of artificial intelligence. Organized by the Egyptian Chinese University and the Chinese Association for Research and Advancement of Chinese Medicine, the conference examined how digital technologies can be applied to long-established medical practices. Final sessions highlighted the role of artificial intelligence in data-driven drug development and more personalized patient care. Mina Tadros, dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Drug Technology at the Egyptian Chinese University and president of the conference, said the event aimed to promote integration between Western medicine and traditional Chinese approaches. "We explored ways to bring the two fields together and to introduce Chinese medicine more broadly in Egypt and beyond," Tadros said. He said the accompanying exhibition included 12 Egyptian pharmaceutical and medical equipment companies, along with four major Chinese firms. Zhu Chaoping, a senior expert with the Chinese association's external therapy committee, said Egypt could play an important role in expanding the global reach of traditional Chinese medicine. He cited Egypt's location and its ties with China and Africa, including cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative. Throughout the final day, participants discussed advances in genetics, vaccine development and the digital transformation of pharmaceutical manufacturing. Organizers said the exchanges are expected to lead to new research partnerships between Egyptian and Chinese institutions and support Egypt's public health priorities. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) Iran Signals Readiness To Suspend Nuclear Programme Ahead Of Istanbul Talks With US: Report Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 10:50 IST Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to meet Irans foreign minister on Friday. Officials from Turkey, Qatar and Egypt are also expected to attend. Tehran Offers To Ship Enriched Uranium To Russia As Nuclear Talks Resume. (Image: AP/File) Iran has indicated it is willing to shut down or suspend its nuclear programme as American officials prepare for talks in Istanbul, according to a report by the New York Times. Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to meet Irans foreign minister on Friday. Officials from Turkey, Qatar and Egypt are also expected to attend. These are the first face-to-face talks since President Donald Trump moved major US naval assets into striking range of Iran. What we know about possible US-Iran deal? Iran is offering significant concessions in an effort to calm tensions in the Middle East. Tehran has informed the United States that it is ready to suspend its nuclear programme. However, it has said it would prefer a proposal made last year to create a regional consortium to produce nuclear power. Ali Larijani, Secretary of Irans National Security Council, recently met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow with a message from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran signalled it could ship its enriched uranium stockpile to Russia, similar to what was done under the 2015 nuclear deal. Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to the Supreme Leader, said Iran would not remove its stored nuclear materials but was open to reducing enrichment from 60 per cent to 20 per cent, if it received something in return. Diplomatic signals amid US military posturing President Trump said on Monday, We have ships heading to Iran right now, big ones and we have talks going on with Iran. Well see how it all works out." He added that Tehran appeared willing to engage and that a deadline had been set for discussions on nuclear weapons, though he did not specify a timeframe. Iran has said it expects progress on a framework to restart nuclear talks. Tehran said it was examining several diplomatic processes proposed by countries in the region to ease tensions and expected a framework for talks in the coming days. Earlier, Trump said he was hopeful of reaching a deal but warned that the outcome would become clear if diplomacy failed. His remarks came after warnings from Supreme Leader Khamenei, who said any US military action would spark a wider regional conflict. In videos circulating on social media, Khamenei said, The Americans should know if they start a war, this time it will be a regional war." He added that Iran would not be intimidated by US military signalling. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : United States of America (USA) First Published: February 03, 2026, 10:50 IST News world Iran Signals Readiness To Suspend Nuclear Programme Ahead Of Istanbul Talks With US: Report Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Jamaat Leader Abuses Bangladesh Army After Being Denied Dhaka Cantonment Entry With Weapons Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 22:00 IST Khalekuzzaman was intercepted by Military Police at Dhaka cantonment checkpoint after attempting to enter the high-security zone with weapons. Jamaat-e-Islami's Dhaka-17 candidate SM Khaliduzzaman A Jamaat-e-Islami leader and Dhaka-17 constituency candidate, SM Khalekuzzaman, allegedly hurled abusive remarks at Bangladesh Army personnel when he was stopped from entering the Dhaka Cantonment while accompanied by an armed guard. According to sources, Khalekuzzaman was intercepted by Military Police at a cantonment checkpoint after attempting to enter the high-security zone with weapons. Army personnel informed him that, in line with security protocols, no individual is permitted to enter the cantonment carrying weapons or accompanied by armed guards. A video of the incident, which has since surfaced on social media, shows Khalekuzzaman engaging in a heated argument with army officials. One of the individuals accompanying him is heard identifying him as a Jamaat-e-Islami candidate. Despite repeated explanations from officers regarding security restrictions, Khalekuzzaman appeared visibly agitated and challenged the decision. During the confrontation, he allegedly made abusive remarks against the army and accused the forces of favouritism. At one point, he is heard saying, In Tarique Zias case, you clean the roads with your tongueso why cant we go?" He further accused the military of politicising state institutions and pushing the country towards instability for personal interests. Khalekuzzaman also demanded to speak to the army chief. While that request was not granted, he later spoke to a senior officer over the phone. He is also heard instructing his associates to record the incident, saying, Film it, they are not letting our vehicle pass." Army personnel are heard assuring him of his safety inside the cantonment while firmly reiterating that weapons and armed escorts are not allowed under any circumstances. Khalekuzzaman, however, claimed that he and his party members could face attacks from rival groups if forced to remain outside the cantonment area. Following the incident, Khalekuzzaman addressed the matter in a post on his verified Facebook page, describing the episode as a misunderstanding." The Bangladesh Army has not yet issued an official statement on the incident. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : Dhaka, Bangladesh First Published: February 03, 2026, 22:00 IST News world Jamaat Leader Abuses Bangladesh Army After Being Denied Dhaka Cantonment Entry With Weapons Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Negotiated In Good Faith: Bill, Hillary Clinton To Testify Before US House In Epstein Investigation Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 07:10 IST Bill Clintons photo appears in Epstein files released by the Department of Justice with one image shows him swimming in a pool. Bill Clinton has previously denied ever visiting Epsteins private island (Instagram Image) Former US President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have agreed to give depositions to a House committee investigating Jeffrey Epsteins sex trafficking case involving underage girls. The move defuses a potential confrontation between the legislative and executive branches. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee had issued subpoenas in August 2025 and scheduled appearances for January. The Clintons did not appear at that time. On February 2, Bill Clintons deputy chief of staff, Angel Urena, said on social media that the former President and former Secretary of State will be there. They look forward to setting a precedent that applies to everyone." The development came as the Republican-led House of Representatives was preparing to vote on holding both Clintons in criminal contempt for defying the summonses. The House Oversight Committee, led by Republicans, had approved the contempt measure late last month with support from several Democrats. Chairman James Comer said at the time that no-one is above the law". Lawyers for the Clintons had earlier called the subpoenas unenforceable" and said they had already provided the limited information" they had on Epstein. The Clintons had described the legal summons as nothing more than a ploy to attempt to embarrass political rivals, as President Trump has directed". Clintons spokesperson confirms On Monday evening, Angel Urena confirmed on X that the couple would appear before the panel. They negotiated in good faith," Urena wrote in a tweet directed at the House Oversight Committee. You did not. They told you under oath what they know, but you dont care." He added, They look forward to setting a precedent that applies to everyone." Photos in Epstein Files Bill Clintons photo appears in Epstein files released by the Department of Justice. One image shows him swimming in a pool, and another shows him lying on his back with his hands behind his head in what appears to be a hot tub. Urena said the photographs were decades old and that Clinton had stopped associating with Epstein before his crimes came to light. Bill Clinton has never been accused of wrongdoing by survivors of Epsteins abuse and has denied any knowledge of his sex offending. First such testimony since 1983 It will be the first time a former US president has testified before a congressional committee since Gerald Ford did so in 1983. Chairman Comer had earlier said the subpoenas were approved in a bipartisan manner and that the committee had communicated with Clintons legal team for months. We communicated with President Clintons legal team for months now, giving them opportunity after opportunity to come in, to give us a day, and they continue to delay, delay, delay," Comer said. Exchange of letters Last month, the Clintons wrote to Comer criticising his handling of the Epstein investigation. The decisions you have made, and the priorities you have set as chairman regarding the Epstein investigation, have prevented progress in discovering the facts about the governments role," the letter said. They added, There is no plausible explanation for what you are doing other than partisan politics." News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : United States of America (USA) First Published: February 03, 2026, 07:07 IST News world Negotiated In Good Faith: Bill, Hillary Clinton To Testify Before US House In Epstein Investigation Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 'Pure Intelligence Failure': Pakistan's Opposition Leader Slams Govt Over Balochistan Violence Reported By : CNN-News18 Edited By: Oindrila Mukherjee Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 00:35 IST Pakistan's opposition leader Mehmood Achakzai also said the government was responsible for the health and safety of high-profile detainees like former prime minister Imran Khan Pakistan's opposition leader Mehmood Achakzai demanded accountability for the series of coordinated attacks from the Balochistan province. (Image: @MKAchakzaiPKMAP/X) Pakistans opposition leader Mehmood Achakzai on Sunday lambasted the government over what he called a pure intelligence failure" that led to the ongoing violence in Balochistan. Achakzai demanded accountability not only for the series of coordinated attacks from the Balochistan province, but also highlighted that the Pakistani government was responsible for the health and safety of high-profile detainees in an apparent reference to former prime minister Imran Khan. Characterising the events in Balochistan as a pure failure" of Pakistans intelligence agencies, he alleged a troubling lack of accountability among high-ranking officials despite the scale of the violence. He said the countrys intelligence agencies are not so incompetent that they would have had no prior knowledge of such a major attack. Achakzai further said no one is ready to accept any responsibility" for the lapse, drawing a sharp contrast with international standards of accountability. He specifically referred to the recent security breach in the United States, saying when there had been an assassination attempt on President Donald Trump, the security incharge immediately resigned but this is not the case in Pakistan. He also said the countrys security forces are currently unprepared for the complexities of modern warfare, suggesting significant blind spots" leave the country unable to effectively handle sophisticated, coordinated attacks. To rectify these vulnerabilities, he demanded that the issue of terrorism in Balochistan be formally addressed and discussed in Parliament. Balochistan coordinated attacks are a pure failure of Pakistan intelligence agenciesour security forces need to understand modern warfare," Achakzai said. A massive incident like this happened in Balochistan, yet no one has resigned so far." Beyond the immediate security crisis, the opposition leader stressed on Pakistans absolute responsibility" for the health and safety of high-profile detainees like Imran Khan. He said because Khan is in government custody, the State is strictly accountable for his well-being. The governments tall claims" on his care will be discredited if his access to personal doctors were restricted, he added. Everyone has their own personal doctors, but if Imran Khans doctors were sent away, all the hot air would deflate from the balloons of the governments tall claims," he said. Imran Khan is not an ordinary man; he is in the custody of the government, if he even catches a cold, it is the governments responsibility to take it seriously." News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : Islamabad, Pakistan First Published: February 03, 2026, 00:35 IST News world 'Pure Intelligence Failure': Pakistan's Opposition Leader Slams Govt Over Balochistan Violence Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... S Jaishankar Holds Useful Discussion With Scott Bessent Amid India-US Trade Deal Announcement Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 04, 2026, 01:40 IST Jaishankars meeting with Bessent comes hours after India and the United States announced a new trade deal lowering tariffs. Rapid Read External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held talks with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on expanding economic partnership and strategic cooperation. (IMAGE: X/@sjaishankar) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday held a useful discussion" with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington, even as India and the United States announced a major trade deal aimed at boosting bilateral economic ties. Pleased to meet US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington DC today. Had a useful discussion on advancement of India-US economic partnership and strategic cooperation," Jaishankar said in a post on X after the meeting. The talks with Bessent came during Jaishankars official visit to the United States from February 2 to 4, which includes a series of high-level engagements with the new US administration. Later on Tuesday, Jaishankar is scheduled to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the State Department. The meeting precedes the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial convened by Rubio on Wednesday, where India and the US are expected to discuss cooperation in strategic supply chains and emerging technologies. During his visit, Jaishankar will also hold meetings with other senior members of the US administration, the Ministry of External Affairs said. Pleased to meet US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington DC today. @SecScottBessent Had a useful discussion on advancement of India US economic partnership and strategic cooperation. pic.twitter.com/yXnyrzTO19 Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) February 3, 2026 The diplomatic engagements take place just a day after US President Donald Trump announced that India and the United States had agreed on a trade deal to lower tariffs. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Washington would reduce the reciprocal tariff on India from 25 per cent to 18 per cent. Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the announcement, calling it a significant step forward for bilateral economic cooperation. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 per cent. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement," PM Modi wrote on X. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA) First Published: February 04, 2026, 01:34 IST News world S Jaishankar Holds Useful Discussion With Scott Bessent Amid India-US Trade Deal Announcement Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Who Is Ambassador Sergio Gor, The Diplomat Powering A Renewed India-US Trade Push? Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 09:53 IST US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor has emerged as a key public face, especially after the newly announced India-US trade deal, calling the partnership limitless. US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor (Photo: AFP) India and the United States have announced a trade deal, which would act as a reset to the bilateral economic ties and has been reported as a major diplomatic win for both countries. It sparked immediate praise from Sergio Gor, who called the bilateral relationship between the two countries limitless potential" and stressed the strategic horizon for cooperation. WHO IS SERGIO GOR? Sergio Gor, born Sergey Gorokhovsky and profiled in a number of recent media reports, is a former political operative and businessman who rose quickly through Republican Party networks and the Trump administrations political appointments. He has held senior White House personnel roles and was tapped by the Trump administration in 2025 for dual diplomatic responsibilities, including the ambassadorship to India and a special envoy portfolio covering South and Central Asia. Biographical profiles trace his childhood in Tashkent and Malta, US university years at George Washington University, and a political career that brought him close to key figures in the current administration. SERGIO GORs RELATION WITH TRUMP Gors political ascent is closely connected to his ties with Trump. Media characterisations have dubbed him influential inside Trump circles and a trusted envoy for high-stakes diplomatic outreach, descriptions reinforced by his visible role in communicating the Presidents outreach to New Delhi. Reports note that Gor has been positioned as a bridge between Trumps domestic political network and the administrations foreign-policy agenda, bringing a blend of political loyalty and operational access to the role. HIS ENDORSEMENT OF US-INDIA RELATIONS Since he arrived in India in January, Gor has repeatedly framed the bilateral partnership in maximalist terms, calling India a resilient, innovative partner and arguing that the US and India have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to redefine diplomacy." Those comments have been widely reported and reposted by Indian and international outlets as evidence of the administrations intent to elevate ties across technology, defence and energy. #WATCH | Delhi: After assuming charge as the US Ambassador to India, Sergio Gor says, No partner is more essential than India. In the months and years ahead, it is my goal as ambassador to pursue a very ambitious agenda. We will do this as true strategic partners, each pic.twitter.com/0qY9AgRoHw ANI (@ANI) January 12, 2026 Gors public posture has been one of enthusiastic engagement, meeting stakeholders, stressing strategic alignment, and signalling that trade and energy cooperation sit at the top of his agenda. GORs REACTION AFTER THE INDIA-US TRADE DEAL ANNOUNCEMENT Gor moved quickly to amplify Trumps announcement on social media and through diplomatic channels, describing the deal as a cause for thrill" and reiterating the narrative of a deepening strategic partnership. Some reports noted his immediate posts and briefings flagging the phone call between Donald Trump and PM Narendra Modi as a signal that the US envoy was acting as both messenger and cheerleader for the pact. In a post on X, the US Ambassador said that the bilateral relationship between the two nations has limitless potential". Gor further said that Trump shares a close personal rapport with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, noting that the US President genuinely considers" the Prime Minister a great friend". As I have said many times, President Trump genuinely considers Prime Minister Modi a great friend! Thrilled by the news of the trade deal this evening. The relationship between the United States and India has LIMITLESS POTENTIAL!" Gor wrote in his post. As I have said many times, President Trump genuinely considers Prime Minister Modi a great friend! Thrilled by the news of the trade deal this evening. The relationship between the United States and India has LIMITLESS POTENTIAL! Ambassador Sergio Gor (@USAmbIndia) February 2, 2026 WHY THE INDIA-US TRADE DEAL IS RELEVANT India and the United States have been engaged in negotiations aimed at expanding trade and investment ties, with officials on both sides indicating that talks were nearing a final stage. Energy cooperation has become a central element of the relationship since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, with Washington urging partners to diversify away from Russian supplies. India has said its energy decisions are guided by national interest and market conditions, while also calling for an end to the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy. India-US ties have expanded steadily across defence, technology and economic sectors over the past decade. The two countries are also partners in the QUAD grouping, which focuses on cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 09:45 IST News world Who Is Ambassador Sergio Gor, The Diplomat Powering A Renewed India-US Trade Push? Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Tensions Rise As Iranian Gunboats Confront US-Flagged Tanker In Strait Of Hormuz Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 23:30 IST The incident comes days after a senior IRGC naval official warned that Iran could block the strait in the event of a US attack. Oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz | File Image A US-flagged oil tanker was confronted by Iranian gunboats while transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, according to British maritime security firm Vanguard Tech. The incident occurred before the vessel was able to proceed safely through the strategic waterway. Vanguard Tech said the tanker Stena Imperative was approached by six small armed boats operating in three pairs and linked to Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The encounter took place about 16 nautical miles (roughly 30 kilometres) north of Oman as the ship navigated the strait. According to the firm, the Iranian vessels contacted the tanker by radio and instructed its captain to shut down the engines and prepare for boarding. The tanker instead increased speed, held its course and did not enter Iranian territorial waters. Vanguard Tech later confirmed that the vessel was being escorted by a US naval warship. Earlier, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency had acknowledged the incident but did not identify the ship or the vessels involved. Iranian state-linked news agency Fars offered a different account, claiming that a ship, without specifying its nationality, had unlawfully entered Iranian territorial waters in the Strait of Hormuz. It said Iranian naval units asked the vessel to present proper authorisation, warning it before it exited the area. The vessel had no legal permission to be in these waters and left immediately after being warned," Fars reported. The Strait of Hormuz, a critical corridor for global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments, has frequently been a flashpoint amid regional tensions. The incident comes days after a senior IRGC naval official warned that Iran could block the strait in the event of a US attack, underscoring the growing volatility in the region. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : Iran First Published: February 03, 2026, 23:30 IST News world Tensions Rise As Iranian Gunboats Confront US-Flagged Tanker In Strait Of Hormuz Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Three Indians Arrested In Canada's Surrey After Shooting Incident In Residential Area Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 13:50 IST The Surrey Police has charged three Indian nationals after a shots were fired in Crescent Beach, Surrey. The police received a call informing them of a gunfire and a small fire. Three Indians arrested in Canada (Photo: Surrey Police Service) Three Indian nationals were arrested in Canada following a late-night shooting incident in the coastal neighbourhood of Crescent Beach in Surrey on January 31. According to a statement issued by the Surrey Police Service (SPS), the three have now been formally charged under the countrys Criminal Code. Police said the arrests were made in the early hours of February 1, 2026, after officers received reports of gunfire and a small fire outside a home near Crescent Road and 132 Street in Crescent Beach. The call came in at approximately 3.50 am (local time) while SPS members assigned to Project Assurance were patrolling the area in coordination with the forces Major Crime Section. According to the police release, officers began searching the surrounding streets and located three suspects a short time later near 28 Avenue and 140 Street. The men were taken into custody after they entered a rideshare vehicle. SPSs Major Crime Section subsequently assumed control of the investigation. Authorities have now laid identical charges against all three accused. Harjot Singh, 21, Taranveer Singh, 19, and Dayajeet Singh Billing, 21, each face one count of discharging a firearm into a place, contrary to Section 244.2(1)(a) of Canadas Criminal Code. Police stressed that the probe remains active and that additional charges could be brought as investigators continue to review evidence and follow up on new leads. All three have been remanded in custody and are scheduled to remain behind bars until at least February 5, 2026, pending their next court appearance. The police statement also highlighted the Surrey Extortion Reward Fund, established in September 2025, which offers up to $250,000 to individuals whose information leads to charges and convictions in extortion-related crimes. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: February 03, 2026, 13:50 IST News world Three Indians Arrested In Canada's Surrey After Shooting Incident In Residential Area Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Treated Like A Mistress: Pakistanis Mock Shehbaz Sharif, Asim Munir After India-US Trade Deal Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 04, 2026, 07:41 IST Pakistanis roasted the nations civil and military leadership online after Trump and PM Modi made the US-India trade deal agreement. Pakistani netizens said that India stood its ground and used leverage and did not kowtow before Donald Trump like Munir and Shehbaz did. (IMAGE: REUTERS) Pakistani netizens mocked the nations civilian and military leadership, taunting them as India and the US announced a deal to lower tariffs. They said that Mondays announcement showed that US President Donald Trump treated Pakistani Field Marshal Asim Munir like a mistress" as he announced a trade agreement with India. India and the US have agreed to a trade deal under which Washington will bring down the reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent. Trump made an announcement regarding the trade deal on Monday after a phone conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Pakistanis pointed out that India was able to get a deal reducing tariffs without kowtowing before the Trump administration. Donald Trump has treated the Field Marshal like that mistress who makes her lover do all the illegal and dirty work, and when the time comes to give or take something, she says I am compelled to obey my familys decision, forget me. My body will remain my husbands, but my soul will always remain yours," a Pakistani X user, Umar Ali, wrote, sharing an AI-generated image of a crying Field Marshal Asim Munir holding a box of minerals in front of the India Today cover of PM Modi and Trump. pic.twitter.com/YIMI0zNoZK Umar Ali (@Umar_AliX) February 3, 2026 Before Trump announced the deal, he had tweeted the January edition cover of India Today where he and PM Modi were pictured for a feature story and also a photo of the India Gate."In the past 6 months, India concluded free trade agreements with the European Union, United Kingdom, Oman and New Zealand, and now gets Trump tariffs reduced to 18%all without getting into anyones bund or nominating anyone for Nobel Prize," tweeted Jungjoo Gernail, a parody account of Asim Munir. Imran Khan Supporters Poke Fun Much of the criticism of the Pakistani regime came from Imran Khan supporters and members of his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, who claim that an illegitimate" government is running Pakistan. X user Zubair Ahmed Khan wrote: So after all the appeasement of epic proportions by this imposed regime to Trump even accepting forces for Israel peace board, Pak ended up with 19% US tariffs while India have now 18% tariffs imposed by US. Great Foreign Policy achievements! (sic)". So after all the Appeasement of epic proportions by this Imposed Regime to Trump even accepting forces for Israel peace board, Pak ended up with 19% US tarriffs while India have now 18% tarriffs imposed by US.Great Foreign Policy achivements! Zubair Ahmed Khan (@ZubairKhanPK) February 3, 2026 Former PTI minister Hammad Azhar said foreign policy in the modern era isnt about optics or personal relationships". Its about leveraging economic strength, tariffs, and market access. Indias recent trade deals with the EU and the US prove the point. Sycophancy & photo ops are useless," he wrote on X. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : Islamabad, Pakistan First Published: February 04, 2026, 02:27 IST News world Treated Like A Mistress: Pakistanis Mock Shehbaz Sharif, Asim Munir After India-US Trade Deal Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Turkish F-16 Jets Sighted Over Mogadishu As US Intensifies Air Strikes In Somalia | Watch Curated By : & News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 21:48 IST Sightings of Turkish F-16s come amid escalating US military campaign and record air strikes in the Horn of Africa nation. Turkish fighter jets spotted over Somali capital after Ankara confirms deployment, as Washington sharply increases air strikes against Islamist militants (IMAGE: REUTERS FILE) Turkish F-16 fighter jets were seen flying at low altitude over Somalias capital Mogadishu, signalling Ankaras growing military footprint in the Horn of Africa. Visuals circulating on social media show the aircraft above the city. The development comes after Turkish officials confirmed that F-16 jets have been deployed to Somalia as part of a broader security arrangement. News18 could not independently verify the exact date or authenticity of the visuals. Turkey has emerged as one of Somalias closest international partners, providing military training, economic aid and security assistance to the conflict-hit nation. Turkey has deployed F-16 jets in Somalia," a Turkish government official told AFP on Thursday, without offering further details. A second official said the aircraft would be operated by Turkish personnel stationed in Somalia and would not be handed over to Somali forces. This is for our own security," the official said. Turkey opened its largest overseas military base in Mogadishu in 2017 and maintains a task force and air component command in the country. According to the Turkish defence ministry, the mission aims to strengthen Somalias counter-terrorism capabilities through training, advisory support and military cooperation. Turkish F-16 fighter jets were seen flying at low altitude over Mogadishu, highlighting Turkeys growing military presence in Somalia. pic.twitter.com/1mfim9Qkhu Polymarket Intel (@PolymarketIntel) February 3, 2026 The deployment follows rising diplomatic tensions in the region. Ankara recently condemned Israels decision to recognise Somaliland, a self-declared republic that broke away from Somalia in 1991. Turkey described the move as overt interference in Somalias domestic affairs". Somaliland has operated autonomously for decades with its own currency, army and political system. While it has enjoyed relative stability compared to the rest of Somalia, it remains diplomatically isolated. Israels recognition has been criticised by the African Union, Egypt, the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. The European Union has also insisted that Somalias sovereignty must be respected. US Intensifies Strikes The latest Turkish deployment comes amid an intensifying US military campaign against Islamist militant groups in Somalia. The United States has sharply increased air strikes targeting Al-Shabaab and Islamic State militants in the country this year, according to data from US Africa Command. Since January 1, the US has carried out 23 air strikes in Somalia, Africom spokeswoman Major Mahalia Frost told AFP. US President Donald Trump significantly escalated American military operations in Somalia during his first term, ordering 219 strikes and ground operations over four years. This was a sharp jump from the 48 strikes authorised by former president Barack Obama over eight years, according to figures compiled by US think tank New America. Trump has ordered at least 143 strikes so far in his second term, the think tanks tally shows, marking one of the most aggressive phases of US military engagement in the region. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : Mogadishu, Somalia First Published: February 03, 2026, 21:48 IST News world Turkish F-16 Jets Sighted Over Mogadishu As US Intensifies Air Strikes In Somalia | Watch Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... In an interview with EL PAIS, the president of the Central American country reflects on the challenges he faces ahead of a vote he hopes will reshape the judicial ecosystem Guatemala is going through a critical moment. The country is caught between efforts to rebuild its institutions and the resistance of a corrupt state unwilling to surrender its privileges. Since taking office in January 2024, President Bernardo Arevalo, 67, has confronted those entrenched powers, which have tried by every means to limit his autonomy. He has faced destabilization maneuvers, threats, and a persistent offensive from the Attorney Generals Office and Congress. Added to this is a series of prison riots, triggered after the Barrio 18 gang killed 10 police officers, which led him to impose a state of siege that remains in effect. In an interview with EL PAIS, held during the Latin America and Caribbean International Economic Forum in Panama last week, the president of Guatemala offers a frank assessment of recent events and reflects on the critical months ahead. Arevalo, the son of the first democratic president after the 1944 revolution, speaks with the calm of a career diplomat and an academic sociologist. His project, socialdemocratic in spirit, centers on improving conditions for the most disadvantaged and defending the separation of powers, which, however, is complicating his term. Question. In the coming months, key positions in the judiciary and the Attorney Generals Office institutions that have been enormously hostile to you are due to be filled. Do you think it will be easy? Answer. These are critical months. As a country, our democracy is at stake. Something unforeseen is happening: a series of critical elections are converging in a very short period, elections that were not designed to coincide. This is a moment in which we have the opportunity to regain control of the justice system, or rather, to rescue it from the hands of these criminal and corrupt actors. We must promote the participation of independent, decent actors, committed to justice, who will compete for these positions and who will ultimately be selected to fill them. Q. And arent you afraid that before that happens, there might be some kind of movement to prevent it? A. Theyve tried all sorts of tricks and traps. This didnt start now. It began when we surprised everyone by making it past the first round, which no one could have predicted. They found themselves with a candidate who hadnt even appeared in the polls placing second, making it to the runoff, and they tried by all means to question the election, discredit it, and bring it down. Then came the runoff, we won, the result was decisive, and a second round of attempts began to challenge, through any legal means, the legality of the elections and the results, with absurd arguments, like suggesting there was fraud in Guatemala. On inauguration day, they tried to see if they could pull off some kind of maneuver through the Congress of the Republic. They knew they were going to fail, and they did. Then they spent the next year trying to generate some kind of criminal action from the justice system, with an intervention by Congress that would lead to impeachment proceedings. This entire process has been one in which they have tried to obstruct a process that was already underway, and in which they have not only failed, but their ambitions have steadily diminished. There is also the issue of physical safety, because there have been attempted attacks and plots. Q. But arent you afraid of anything destabilizing happening in the coming months? A. About 10 days ago, they tried to take over the three prisons, taking hostages, to force negotiations aimed at restoring illegal privileges we had revoked from gang leaders. It was really an attempt at destabilization. They calculated that we wouldnt be able to respond, that we would remain negotiating, and that this would open up a series of scenarios. We acted immediately. Within 24 hours, we regained control of the prisons, freed all the hostages, and there were not a single casualty. It was a decisive but clean operation. We know it wasnt solely a gang-related issue: it was linked to destabilization attempts that will continue. Q. In this crisis, have you felt support from the United States and the international community, or are you alone? A. Since we won the first round, we have clearly felt the support of the international community and the United States. There is total convergence in the face of a common enemy to regional security: transnational organized crime. For us, drug trafficking is a central threat because it fuels the structure of corruption and co-optation of the state. This cooperation has continued, and recently, with the change of leadership at the U.S. Embassy, the new charge daffaires reaffirmed the United States support for President Arevalos government and its fight against crime Q. Did you expect such fierce resistance when you came to power? A. We saw the extent of the resistance most clearly in the six months between the second round of voting and the inauguration. There, we witnessed the determination of these actors to prevent us from assuming power. They failed because they did not anticipate the citizen protests, led by Indigenous leaders and later extended to the entire society, demanding the election results be respected. This was further bolstered by international support from the OAS [Organization of American States], the European Union, and other actors who were clear: there was no fraud. This showed us that their opposition would only intensify over time. Q. When these critical months are over, will you take legal action against those who obstructed your work? A. Im not going to control those institutions. The first thing will be for whoever takes over to begin administering justice independently and autonomously. Lawsuits to review spurious proceedings will come from all sides. I myself have lawsuits against Prosecutor Curruchiche and Judge Orellana. But the main thing will be to restore the normal functioning of the justice system so that the government doesnt have to divert resources to defending itself and can concentrate even more on generating development. Q. When will journalist Jose Ruben Zamora be released from prison? A. The case against Jose Ruben Zamora is spurious. He had already been released, and they fabricated something to imprison him again. We are convinced that these cases against Zamora, against Luis Pacheco, against Hector Chaclan, and against those in exile will collapse due to their inherent weakness when reviewed. We expect alternative measures to pretrial detention for Pacheco and Chaclan. There are already judges who have dropped the terrorism charge in similar cases. The system is beginning to change. Bernardo Arevalo in Panama City, January 28. AGGI GARDUNO Q. Is a transparent election of the next Attorney General and the Constitutional Court possible? A. Thats whats at stake now. I made a public appeal for as many professional, decent, and independent candidates as possible to come forward. The conditions have been changing. The theory that this group completely controlled the justice system crumbles when elections no longer go their way. We saw it in the Supreme Court and the Bar Association. There is a clear mobilization in favor of restoring justice. Q. In the region, there are tough on crime models with broad popular support, such as El Salvador. Where are your red lines? A. We are demonstrating this with actions. We act decisively, but within the law. We use all the force that the law allows in the fight against gangs, while respecting rights. We believe that with our legislation, including the anti-gang law, we have sufficient tools and we are using them. Q. How do you assess the situation in your country? A. We inherited a country with 60% poverty, 40% extreme poverty, a dominant informal economy, and a huge dependence on remittances. We are transforming the model gradually, without a majority in Congress, but with strong public investment: schools, healthcare, hospitals, prisons, roads. In two years, we renovated 22,000 schools; the previous government did 4,000 in four years. We built 52 health centers and three hospitals. We invested in the 114 poorest municipalities with comprehensive programs. We have moved 50,000 families out of dirt-floor housing this year; next year it will be 100,000. Foreign investment grew by around 14%. We are tendering energy projects and investing in major infrastructure: ports, railways, and subways. Q. What do you think of the January 3 attack against Venezuela? A. We do not recognize authoritarian governments, neither those of Venezuela nor Nicaragua. We believe that solutions must be sought within the framework of international law and the peaceful resolution of disputes. Venezuela needs a plan for democratic transition. Q. How do you explain the rightward shift in America? A. Four years ago, we were talking about the leftward shift. The problem is that democratic systems arent creating well-being, and whoever happens to be in power is paying the price. Its not just a Latin American problem. Its a global crisis of democracy, which presents an opportunity to reflect on democracy itself. We opened the discussion to Indigenous peoples. The problem is that we often get trapped in the institutional models of a democracy built on a specific historical experience, and we dont see the opportunities we have to enrich democracy with other kinds of experiences. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition US Military Shoots Down Iranian Drone Near Aircraft Carrier Lincoln In Arabian Sea Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 23:17 IST The Iranian Shahed-139 drone was flying towards the carrier and was shot down by an F-35 US fighter jet. The Iranian Shahed-139 drone was flying towards the carrier. (File) The US military shot down an Iranian drone that approached the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, a US official told Reuters. The Iranian Shahed-139 drone was flying towards the carrier and was shot down by an F-35 US fighter jet. The incident came amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran, as an oil tanker thats part of a US military fuel procurement program was hailed by small armed ships in the Strait of Hormuz off Irans coast. The US-flagged Stena Imperative was hailed over radio while transiting the vital waterway, but the tanker continued its planned route and did not divert despite the requests, according to reports. Iranian media said the countrys naval forces warned a vessel to leave Iranian territorial waters after it failed to produce the necessary legal documents. The vessel departed immediately after the warning, Irans semi-official Fars News said. The incident, which was earlier reported by the UKs naval liaison in the region, occurred in a part of the inbound maritime corridor into the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow chokepoint that allows ships to enter and exit the Persian Gulf and accounts for about a quarter of the worlds seaborne oil trade. Iran has in the past both harassed and seized ships sailing near its shores. Last year, it diverted a ship called the Talara to its waters, unloaded its cargo, and then released it. Late last week, Greece, the worlds largest tanker-owning nation, advised its ships to exercise caution while transiting the strait. Tensions between Tehran and Washington have escalated. US President Donald Trump last week threatened a fresh attack on Iran and has since indicated that talks between the two countries over a new nuclear deal could take place in the coming days. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : Iran First Published: February 03, 2026, 22:57 IST News world US Military Shoots Down Iranian Drone Near Aircraft Carrier Lincoln In Arabian Sea Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 'Very Exciting Opportunity': US Trade Representative Welcomes Trade Deal With India Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 19:50 IST Ambassador Greer said New Delhi agreed to reduce tariffs on American manufactured goods, chemicals and medical devices as part of the reciprocal deal. US Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer US Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer described the landmark India-US trade agreement as a very exciting opportunity," saying that New Delhi agreed to reduce tariffs on American manufactured goods, chemicals and medical devices as part of the reciprocal deal. Its a very exciting opportunity. On the one hand, well continue to maintain some level of tariff against India but theyve also agreed to reduce their tariffs for us on a variety of agricultural products, manufactured goods, chemicals, medical devices, etc," Ambassador Greer stated, outlining the agreement announced by US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The disclosure confirms that while the United States slashed its tariffs on Indian goods from 50% to 18%, India has made corresponding commitments to lower barriers for American exporters across multiple sectors. Deal Creates Opportunities Across Indian Economy Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal welcomed the agreement, emphasizing that it would unlock significant opportunities for Indian industry while protecting sensitive domestic sectors. I believe that through this deal, our MSMEs, our engineering sector, all the players in our engineering sector whether they manufacture auto components, electrical parts, or work on selling various types of engineering goods in America, or plan to do so in the future our textile sector, our gems and jewelry sector, our leather goods sector, our marine goods sector, will all get numerous opportunities through this deal," Goyal said. Despite Indias commitment to reduce tariffs on US agricultural products, Goyal stressed that PM Modi had ensured the protection of Indias sensitive economic sectors, particularly agriculture and dairy. PM Modi has always championed both the agriculture and dairy sectors, safeguarding their interests and working tirelessly to ensure a bright future and ample opportunities for the people in this sector. I am pleased that the entire country understands and appreciates this, and it resonates deeply with them. The sensitive factors of Indias economy, particularly agriculture and dairy, have been protected," the minister stated. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: February 03, 2026, 19:50 IST News world 'Very Exciting Opportunity': US Trade Representative Welcomes Trade Deal With India Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... 'Will Not Accept': Israel Protests As Gaza Committee Adopts Palestinian Authority Symbol Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: February 03, 2026, 11:01 IST The NCAG replaced its bird logo with the Palestinian Authority's golden eagle, sparking Israeli rejection and reaffirming Israel's stance against PA involvement in post-war Gaza. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu (IMAGE: REUTERS) The Palestinian technocratic committee, which handles the daily affairs of post-war Gaza in place of Hamas, has replaced its logo with the one used by the Palestinian Authority, as reported by Times of Israel. The National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) unveiled its unique logo, featuring a bird, wearing the colours of the Palestinian flag, when it was established last month. However, earlier today, the NCAG came up with a new logo, appearing to be identical to that of the Palestinian Authority. The new logo features a golden eagle looking to its right, with a Palestinian flag on its chest. According to the Times of Israel report, the logo appears to be a subtle attempt by the technocratic committee to associate itself with the Palestinian Authority, despite Israels repeated efforts to keep the two bodies separate. Israel Dismisses PAs Role In Governing Post-War Gaza The Israeli government, which has vehemently opposed the role of the Palestinian Authority in governing the post-war Gaza, dismissed the new logo, asserting that Israel will not accept the use of a PA symbol. According to an official statement from the office of the Israels Prime Minister, The logo of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) which was presented to Israel was entirely different from the one published this evening." Statement by the Prime Ministers Office:The logo of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) which was presented to Israel was entirely different from the one published this evening. Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) February 2, 2026 Israel will not accept the use of a Palestinian Authority symbol; the Palestinian Authority will have no part in the administration of Gaza", it further read. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Location : Israel First Published: February 03, 2026, 11:01 IST News world 'Will Not Accept': Israel Protests As Gaza Committee Adopts Palestinian Authority Symbol Disclaimer: Comments reflect users views, not News18s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments... Following Venezuelas release announcement and amid a potential negotiation with Trump, many Cubans are wondering what the Havana government will do about the more than 1,000 people who are victims of its policies Wilber Aguilar left his home in La Guinera on January 19, 2024, and arrived at the offices of the National Assembly of Peoples Power (ANPP) in Central Havana, carrying an important document and a burning desire to see his son walk free. It was a petition for an Amnesty Law for Cuban political prisoners, among them Walniel Luis Aguilar Rivera, his 25-year-old son, who had taken to the streets during the popular protests of July 11, 2021, across Cuba and was ultimately sentenced to 12 years in prison for sedition. Yesterday, upon learning of the general amnesty for political prisoners in Venezuela, this father renewed his plea for his sons return home with even greater force. Its been almost two years since I submitted the petition and Im still waiting, Aguilar told El PAIS. Im just a man defending his family. All Im demanding is freedom, an amnesty; were asking for an end to this injustice. The petition, addressed to Ana Maria Mari Machado, a member of the National Assembly who also sits on the Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs, stated that, having exhausted all legal avenues to seek justice, they were appealing for amnesty as a last resort, as protected by Article 61 of the Constitution. Chapter XX of the Official Gazette of the Republic of Cuba defines amnesty as the commutation of the sentence imposed on someone who has committed a crime and entails the forgetting of the offense, the elimination of criminal proceedings, and the pardon of the sanction. This is precisely what the signatories were requesting: recognition that no crime was committed in the protests against the government of Miguel Diaz-Canel, which resulted in more than 1,000 political prisoners in a country on the brink of one of its greatest crises. At the time, the Cuban government responded that, after examining the request, the process was inadmissible for not meeting the requirements of the Law. Now, with the announcement by Venezuelas interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, of the release of hundreds of political prisoners under an amnesty, and the evidence of some 20 releases in Nicaragua, many Cubans are wondering what the Havana government will do for the victims of its policies, given that the island is also at the negotiating table with the Trump administration. What is happening in Venezuela demonstrates that international pressure and persistent citizen demands can generate concrete changes. It is time to intensify the demands on Cuba, asserts the activist Carolina Barrero, who for several years has accompanied the families of Cuban political prisoners in their pursuit of amnesty. Cuba should pass a similar law that covers all political prisoners from 1959 to the present, she maintains. In this context, Amnesty International demanded that Cuban authorities free, without conditions, those who never should have been imprisoned. President Diaz-Canel must take an unequivocal decision: end the use of thecriminal justice system to silence criticism and punish activism. If the petition, which has so far gathered some 2,000 signatures, is approved, it would be the first time the Castroist regime grants this type of acquittal in its 67 years in power. On other occasions, the government has resorted to legal mechanisms such as pardons, parole, or early release, mechanisms that, rather than extinguishing or commuting sentences, allow the government to maintain permanent control over the beneficiaries, explains the legal expert Eloy Viera Canibe. The amnesty is not reversible In 1998, when Pope John Paul II called for the release of prisoners during his visit to Cuba, Fidel Castro let 200 people out of prison. In 2003, some of the 75 dissidents arrested during the crackdown known as the Black Spring were released on parole following negotiations with the Vatican and the government of former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. As Pope Benedict XVIs visit approached in 2011, the Cuban government released 2,900 prisoners. In 2015, ahead of Pope Francis visit, some 3,522 inmates were freed. The last of the releases announced by the regime was in January 2025, when authorities agreed to release more than 500 inmates, after a mediation with the Catholic Church and the Biden administrations pact to remove Cuba from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism, to which Donald Trump returned it on his first day in the White House. These recent releases, however, were surrounded by restrictions, exile, and threats from the Cuban government, which even returned some of the acquitted political prisoners to their jail cells. For this reason, citizens are now demanding an amnesty that guarantees their complete release. According to Viera, this is the ideal mechanism to address the structural conflict associated with political imprisonment, a practice that has been the norm for decades in Cuba and that stems from the regimes sustained confrontation with those who publicly oppose it. Amnesty implies, above all, the explicit recognition of the existence of this conflict and the acceptance that certain behaviors, committed in a specific period, should never have been classified as crimes or punished criminally, says the jurist, who insists that amnesty is not reversible because it is not a conditional release, but the legal acknowledgment that certain actions should never have been punished, insofar as the motivation that supported their repression was strictly political. Washingtons plans with Havana remain unclear. While the Diaz-Canel government has denied that any dialogue is taking place, Trump, who urged them to reach an agreement before its too late, also asserted aboard Air Force One that the two governments were holding talks. The Cubans insist that any negotiations must prioritize the release of political prisoners. Miryorly Garcia Prieto, one of the Cuban citizens coordinating the amnesty campaign, believes this is not only a timely moment to see the petition through to the end, but an urgent one as well. This Amnesty petition has a humanitarian character; the lives of innocent human beings are in danger, says Prieto, alluding to the context of total economic collapse the country has reached in the last five years. Today, misery is being used as a form of torture, and the number of people dying in state custody has risen. It is a cycle that must end, and only the people themselves, who must empower themselves and act as citizens, can stop it. Amnesty can put an end to a conflict that has become a dead end for the state itself. Garcia Prieto also believes, like others, that amnesty is the only way to begin a path toward national reconciliation. For years, the government has used political prisoners as bargaining chips, primarily with the United States, in negotiations that are always murky and secretive. Then it exiles them or places them under a repressive and brutal control, and returns them to prison at the first sign of political dissent, treating them as repeat offenders and imposing severe penalties. The only way to truly free them is to pressure the State to recognize the political nature of the conflict and exonerate them of crimes they never committed. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition In a rare rebuke, even the prime minister criticized the future queen consorts poor judgment after it emerged she kept up ties with the financier after his 2008 sex crimes conviction The contact maintained by Princess Mette-Marit of Norway with the American financier Jeffrey Epstein even after his 2008 conviction for sex trafficking has not only made headlines in the national and international media, but has also triggered an unprecedented reaction in the Scandinavian country: direct criticism from Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stre, who chided the wife of Crown Prince Haakon and future queen consort for her poor judgment. The revelations about the depth of her ties with Epstein coincide with the start of the trial, scheduled for Tuesday, of Marius Borg Hiby, Mette-Marits son from a previous relationship. The 29-year-old is facing 38 charges, four of them for rape. Princess Mette-Marit has herself acknowledged that she has exercised poor judgment, and I agree with her, the prime minister told the Norwegian press. Store also lashed out at former prime minister Thorbjrn Jaglandin office between 1996 and 1997for having planned a vacation on Epsteins private island, a trip that ultimately did not take place. Until now, Jagland had described their relationship as normal diplomatic activity, according to Norwegian media. The documents show that he discussed a possible joint investment and asked for Epsteins help in buying a home. I think many citizens are surprised and disappointed, and it illustrates the seriousness of the crisis facing the Royal House, explains Kjetil B. Alstadheim, a political commentator for the newspaper Aftenposten, by telephone. I have never seen a prime minister criticize a member of the royal family in this way. It is unprecedented. In the official statement issued Saturday in which the princess expressed regret, Mette-Marit admitted to exercising poor judgment, the same words used by Prime Minister Stoke. Its difficult to know whether she will maintain public support going forward, says Alstadheim. People will wonder how we can trust her after something like this. The answer, he says, will depend in part on how events unfold. And, above all, whether there are new revelations or whether more documents surface. Mette-Marit had already apologized in 2019 for having ties with Epstein, but she hadnt properly explained its scope, and its difficult to know whether the loss of public trust is focused on her, or on the monarchy, says the political commentator. Her role as future queen consort is essential and she should better clarify the type of contact they had. We are asking questions that require answers. A portrait of the Norwegian royal family, with King Harald and Queen Sonja in the foreground, and Prince Haakon, his wife Mette-Marit and their children. Alstadheim states that the institution enjoys broad support in Norway, largely due to the work of King Harald and Queen Sonja [both 88 years old], who are very popular. He believes the public feels sorry for the current tribulations affecting the reigning monarchs: Marius trial and the tensions generated by the marriage of Princess Martha Louise, their daughter, to the self-proclaimed shaman Durek Verrett. Verrett has claimed he can cure cancer and that he was a pharaoh in a past life. Does the respect that Norwegians feel for the king and queen extend to their son Haakon and to Mette-Marit? The monarch is very popular, and that legacy can benefit the crown prince and princess when they ascend the throne, provided Mette-Marit explains herself well, the analyst indicates. In the Norwegian media, the tone is harsh and expresses astonishment. In the magazine Se og Hor, royal expert Caroline Vagle expresses surprise that this new information was initially concealed, despite the fact that, like everyone else, they knew the documents would eventually surface. In the newspaper Dagbladet, commentator Sigrid Hvidsten writes that the important thing now is that they have told the whole story. In the same paper, writer Tor Bomann-Larsen says that things need to be assimilated and put into perspective; it is premature to know whether the princess is fit to become Queen of Norway. Mette-Marit suffers from chronic pulmonary fibrosis and may eventually require a transplant, an illness that could severely limit her activities when she becomes queen consort. Documents declassified last Friday by the U.S. Department of Justice reveal that by the time she exchanged her first messages with Epsteinbetween 2011 and 2012he had already pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution and to soliciting a minor. Under an agreement with the U.S. Attorneys Office, he served most of his sentence in a probation program. All that information was circulating online when Mette-Marit told him, I googled you. I agree it doesnt look too good. In 2013, she spent four days at Epsteins house in Palm Beach, Florida. In another email, sent from her official account, Mette-Marit asked him if it was inappropriate for a mother to suggest two naked women on a surfboard as a wallpaper to her 15-year-old son [Marius]. In his parting message, Alstadheim points out that a countrys constitution is difficult to change, and monarchies fall through revolution or war, neither of which, fortunately, is happening in Norway. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition A whistleblower complaint targeting Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has become so tightly held inside her agency that Congress still hasn't seen it eight months after it was filed. The classified complaint, lodged last May with the intelligence community's inspector general, accuses Gabbard of unspecified misconduct and also involves a second, unidentified federal agency, according to US officials and others familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal reports. Officials said the document is stored in a safe and contains information deemed so sensitive that releasing it could seriously harm national security and may involve issues of executive privilege. Gabbard's office confirmed she is the subject of the complaint but calls the allegations "baseless and politically motivated" and ripped the Journal for reporting about it, per the Hill. Her aides said they are dealing with unusually sensitive material and have provided the necessary guidance to allow eventual transmission to Congress. The inspector general's office said acting IG Tamara Johnson found the specific claims against Gabbard not credible, though it could not reach a conclusion on the allegations concerning the other agency. The whistleblower's attorney, Andrew Bakaj, disputed being told of any such findings and said he hasn't been allowed to see the complaint himself. "After nearly eight months of taking illegal actions to protect herself, the time has come for Tulsi Gabbard to comply with the law and fully release the disclosure to Congress," Bakaj said in a statement, per NBC News. The delay in getting the document to Capitol Hill is highly unusual, watchdog experts say; credible "urgent concern" complaints are normally assessed and relayed within weeks, per the Journal. Members of the House and Senate intelligence committees learned of the filing only after Bakaj sent them a letter in November. The standoff unfolds against broader tensions over internal oversight. Trump, after returning to office in 2025, removed multiple inspectors general, and Gabbard has faced Democratic criticism for replacing key watchdog officials in the intelligence community. President Trump on Monday called on Republicans in Congress to seize control of elections, which would conflict with how the Constitution assigns that authority. In an interview Monday with podcaster Dan Bongino, Trump again asserted without evidence that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him and said the GOP should "take over" elections and "nationalize the voting." He suggested Republicans should control elections in "at least 15 places" but did not specify which states, the Washington Post reports. "We have states that are so crooked, and they're counting votes," Trump said, per NBC News . Under the Constitution, state governments set the "Times, Places and Manner" of elections, with Congress able to regulate some aspects. The president is given no role in the process. Trump's position is a dramatic escalation of his efforts that have included advocating for stricter voting rules and for investigations into what he maintains was election fraud, per NBC News. The FBI searched a Fulton County, Georgia, warehouse containing 2020 ballots and related materials last week, a site central to 2020 election conspiracy theories. A warrant allowed agents to collect paper ballots, machine tapes, digital images from the count, and voter rolls. On Bongino's program, Trump said he actually won "in a landslide" and predicted "some interesting things" would emerge from Georgia. The Justice Department under Trump has sued nearly two dozen states, per Politico, for access to their voter registration lists. And he said last month that he regrets not having the National Guard seize voting machines after the 2020 election; courts across the country rejected fraud claims about that vote. During the interview, Trump alleged, again without evidence, that undocumented immigrants voted illegally in 2020. "If Republicans don't get them out, you will never win another election as a Republican," he said. The New York Times points out that an audit by Georgia's secretary of state in 2024, for instance, found that 20 of the 8.2 million people registered to vote in the state were not citizens. Just nine of them had ever cast a ballot. UPDATE Feb 3, 2026 1:23 PM CST The Clintons have finalized their deal to testify in a House investigation into Jeffrey Epstein: Hillary Clinton will appear before the House Oversight Committee on Feb. 26, and Bill Clinton the following day. It will be the first time that lawmakers have compelled a former president to testify, per the AP. The Clintons faced contempt-of-Congress charges had they refused. Feb 2, 2026 7:27 PM CST Bill and Hillary Clinton have agreed to sit for depositions before the House Oversight Committee in its investigation related to Jeffrey Epstein, backing off their months-long refusal to comply with subpoenas from Chairman James Comer. The decision came after the committee, with some Democratic support, recommended that the House hold the former president and former secretary of state in criminal contempt of Congress, a step that could have sent the matter to the Justice Department, the New York Times reports. Body cameras are about to become standard gear for federal immigration officers working the streets of Minneapolis, NBC News reports. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced Monday that every DHS officer in the field there will now be equipped with body-worn cameras, a move she framed on X as a step toward greater transparency. She added that DHS plans to expand the program to agents across the country as money becomes available. She promised a "rapid" rollout of the program nationwide, CNN reports. The decision follows intense criticism of immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis, where federal agents have been conducting what officials call a "surge." Two US citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were shot and killed in separate encounters with federal officers on Jan. 7 and Jan. 24, respectively. Bystander recordings from both incidents have raised questions about earlier descriptions from Noem and other officials regarding what happened. DHS has already acknowledged that some federal agents involved in the Pretti shooting were wearing cameras; agency spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said investigators possess multiple body-cam videos from that incident. In the Good case, the officer who fired the fatal shot captured only part of the confrontation using a cellphone. President Trump said earlier Monday that the decision of whether to require agents wear bodycams was up to Noem, ABC News reports. Tourists hoping to get close to the Trevi Fountain had to pay 2 ($2.35) starting Monday as the city of Rome inaugurated a new fee structure to help raise money and control crowds at one of the world's most celebrated waterworks. The first tourists to pass through the new ticket check seemed nonplussed by the tariff, noting it was a small price to pay for quality access to a fountain made famous by Federico Fellini's movie La Dolce Vita. "Before, there were problems accessing the fountain. There were a lot of people. Now, it's very easy," Ilhan Musbah, a tourist from Morocco, tells the AP . "You can take photos, you feel good, you're comfortable, and on top of that 2 euros is not much." The tourist fee was rolled out in conjunction with a new 5-euro (nearly $6) tourist ticket fee for some city museums. In both cases, Rome residents are exempt from the fees and the extra revenue will actually expand the number of city-run museums that are free for registered Roman residents. It's all part of the Eternal City's efforts to manage tourist flows in a particularly congested part of town, improve the experience and offset the maintenance costs of preserving all of Rome's cultural heritage. Officials estimate it could net the city $7.6 million extra a year. The city decided to impose the Trevi Fountain fee after seeing positive results already from a yearlong experiment to stagger and limit the number of visitors who can reach the front edge of the basin by imposing lines and pathways for entrance and exit. "I think tourists were shocked by the fact that the city of Rome is only asking for 2 euros for a site of this level," Alessandro Onorato, Rome's assessor of tourism, said Monday. "I believe that if the Trevi Fountain were in New York, they would have charged at least $100." The fee follows a similar ticketing system at Rome's Pantheon and the more complicated tourist day-tripper tax that the lagoon city of Venice imposed last year in a bid to ease overtourism and make the city more livable for residents. The Italian fees still pale in comparison to the 45% price hike that French authorities announced for the Louvre Museum for most non-European visitors, where tickets can now run to $37, up from from $26. The Trevi fee enables tourists to get close to the fountain during prime-time daylight hours. The view for those admiring the late Baroque masterpiece from the piazza above remains free, as it is up close after hours. President Trump has sharply escalated his clash with Harvard University, saying his administration is now pursuing $1 billion in damages over the school's handling of antisemitism complaints. In a late-night post on Truth Social, Trump on Tuesday labeled Harvard "strongly antisemitic" and said President Alan Garber "has done a terrible job" addressing the issue, claiming the situation is harmful not only to the university but to the country. He also said his administration wants "nothing further to do" with Harvard in the future, without explaining the legal basis for the new damages figure, per the Guardian . Harvard and the White House didn't immediately comment. Trump's announcement came shortly after the New York Times reported that his administration had quietly abandoned an earlier request for $200 million as part of settlement talks over similar allegations. Both Harvard and Trump officials told the Times the administration had recently signaled it no longer expected that payment. Trump responded on social media by accusing Harvard of feeding "nonsense" to the paper, noting that the institution "has been, for a long time, behaving very badly," and demanding that the Times "change their story, immediately." The dispute is part of a broader confrontation between the Trump administration and elite universities. In Harvard's case, the administration has previously threatened to freeze roughly $9 billion in research funding for Harvard; pushed it to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives; expanded reporting requirements for international students; and sought to limit their enrollment. Harvard sued last April, accusing the administration of trying to assert political control over academic decisions. Garber, who's Jewish, rejected Trump's antisemitism claims at the time, saying Harvard "takes that work seriously" and calling the fight against antisemitism both a legal obligation and a "moral imperative." A federal judge later ruled that the administration had unlawfully canceled $2.2 billion in research grants, blocking the cuts; the administration has appealed that decision. Don Lemon is finally speaking out about his high-profile arrest . Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Monday, the former CNN anchor said he'd offered through his attorney to surrender to authorities days before federal agents detained him at a Beverly Hills hotel on Friday. Instead, he said, roughly a dozen officers showed up and took him into custody in what he described as a deliberate attempt "to embarrass" and "intimidate" him. The Justice Department didn't respond to a request for comment on his account, per NBC News . Lemon, now an independent journalist, has been charged in connection with a Jan. 18 protest at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, where demonstrators disrupted Sunday services to criticize the pastor's work for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Lemon faces charges that include conspiring to interfere with the religious freedom of worshippers. Attorney General Pam Bondi has publicly labeled the protest a "coordinated attack" on the church. On Kimmel's show, Lemon said he was at his hotel ahead of the Grammys when officers grabbed him and told him he was under arrest, though he said they initially failed to produce a physical warrant. Lemon noted that an FBI agent later showed him an image of one on a phone after he'd been led outside. Calling the operation "a waste ... of resources," Lemon said he'd already hired a lawyer at the time of his arrest, after Trump administration officials had signaled he might be charged. Lemon described being held more than 12 hours in a federal facility, cut off from phone calls and legal counsel, and unaware that his arrest was dominating news coverage. Prosecutors say he attended a planning session before the church protest and acknowledged the demonstration as a form of civil disobedience. Lemon told Kimmel he was there only to "chronicle and document and record," insisting there's "a difference between a protester and a journalist." A federal magistrate earlier rejected a complaint against him for lack of probable cause, according to a source, but a grand jury has since indicted Lemon and eight others. He plans to plead not guilty at a Monday hearing in Minneapolis. A 19-year-old from Nebraska is accused of driving nearly a full day to Florida to pick up two young sisters he'd met on Roblox and then talked to for months on Snapchat, authorities say. Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek said on Monday that the girls, ages 12 and 15, vanished from their Indiantown home on Saturday evening after what investigators now believe was a planned meetup with Hser Mu Lah Say of Omaha, per WFLA . The family had already been wary: They'd noticed odd behavior and unexplained food deliveries last summer and thought they'd cut off the girls' contact with the man after discovering the Roblox conversations. They later found, however, that the chats had simply moved to Snapchat. The girls had their phones confiscated earlier Saturday for not returning from a local park on time, and when detectives reinstalled Snapchat on the seized devices, they uncovered an ongoing "romantic" message thread, with Lah Say calling the older sister "baby" and saying, "I drove all this way, please don't leave me hanging," according to Budensiek. A selfie that Lah Say allegedly took at an Indiantown gas station helped investigators piece together his route. Deputies treated the case as an abduction and coordinated with outside agencies to track the vehicle. Georgia State Patrol officers stopped Lah Say's car around 1am on Sundayroughly six hours from Indiantownand found the sisters inside, unharmed. He was arrested on two counts each of kidnapping and interfering with child custody and is being held in Georgia pending extradition to Florida. "He was passive," Budensiek says of Lah Say, per ABC News. "But he didn't provide any statements." Lah Say, who's said to be a US citizen with no previous criminal history, could face more charges, says Budensiek, per WFLX. While no explicit sexual content has been found so far, Budensiek said the suspect repeatedly warned the girls he could "get in a lot of trouble," and investigators believe they may have headed off "something disastrous" as they continue to examine Lah Say's phone, per WFLA. Spain is the latest country to follow Australia's lead in moving to ban children from social media. In a Tuesday speech, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced social media platforms operating in Spain will have to install age-verification tools and block those aged 15 and under from having accounts. He referred to social media as "the digital Wild West," citing concerns about addiction, pornography, abuse, manipulation, and violence, and framed it as a bid to "take back control" from tech firms he says are "wealthier and more powerful than many nationsincluding mine," per the Wall Street Journal . The planned rules go beyond age limits. Speaking at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, Sanchez said Spain will hold platform CEOs criminally liable if they fail to remove illegal or hateful content as part of a broader package of digital reforms set to roll out next week. "We will turn algorithmic manipulation and amplification of illegal content into a new criminal offense," Sanchez said, per CNN. "Spreading hate must come at a cost." He said Spain had joined with five other European countries to push for more effective regulation of social media, but did not name the countries. Only last week, French President Emmanuel Macron threw his support behind a proposed law to ban under-15s from social media and ban mobile phones from schools, as soon as September, per CNN and Politico. Denmark has also said it will limit social media for those under 15, though parents can give permission for access from the age of 13. Malaysia is planning similar restrictions, and New Zealand is now considering them. Zhang Youxia (center) being sworn in as first vice chairman of the Central Military Commission in March 2023, alongside He Weidong (left) and former Defense Minister Li Shangfu, then also members of the CMC, and now dismissed for "corruption." Given the official silence regarding the dismissal of the highest-ranking general, analysts and sinologists are searching for clues and signs to interpret the great political storm When a brief note from the official Xinhua news agency announced just over a week ago the fall from grace of Zhang Youxia, Chinas highest-ranking general, one thing was clear: no one, beyond President Xi Jinpings inner circle (or perhaps not even them), knew why. Zhang was placed under investigation, along with Liu Zhenli, another top military commander, for alleged serious violations of discipline and the law, the statement said, offering no further clues. The facts under investigation have not been made public; in China, the matter is not discussed on television talk shows, and social media separated from the rest of the world by the great firewall of the internet has fallen silent: the usual. Beyond China, however, a parallel machine was immediately activated to decipher what had happened, given the few existing clues. Some jokingly call this exercise, common among those who follow Chinas opaque politics, reading tea leaves: a kind of divinatory art, carried out by an army of sinologists, academics, and intelligence analysts, similar to the Kremlinologists who once scrutinized the Soviet Union, but dedicated in this case to decoding the movements of the Chinese Communist Party and its armed wing, the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA). Why has a close associate of Xi Jinping suddenly been stripped of his position? What does it say about the power struggle in the Asian superpower? And about the modernization of its armed forces? What are the implications for a potential conflict over Taiwan? The blow to the top of the military establishment, announced as a new anti-corruption case, has heightened the sense of bewilderment at what many analysts interpret as a purge unprecedented since Mao Zedongs outbursts against his military leadership in the 1970s. Zhang is the first vice chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission (CMC, Chinas top military body), making him the countrys second-in-command, answering only to Xi Jinping, while Liu is head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. His departure, coupled with previous purges in recent months, leaves the CMC with only two of its seven members: its chairman Xi himself and General Zhang Shengmin, the very person in charge of overseeing disciplinary inspections. This is a revealing fact, noted Jon Czin, a former CIA advisor and prominent member of that community of tea-leaf readers, on the China Talk podcast. Its a kind of Shakespearean moment for the Chinese Communist Party and politics, said Czin, an analyst at Brookings, a Washington-based institution. In his view, a new phase has begun in the purges that Xi Jinping initiated after coming to power in 2012: first, he went after his enemies; then, after his partners. Now, in my opinion, hes really going after his friends. To date, all but one of the six generals appointed by Xi to the CMC in 2022 have been dismissed or placed under investigation. The cascade of cases has intensified since 2023, and has also claimed two defense ministers. Red princes Of all of them, Zhang was often described as Xi Jinpings closest ally. Their parents came from the same city and were comrades-in-arms during Maos revolutionary war. The sons grew up as red princes within elite communist circles in Beijing. They are only three years apart in age: Xi is 72; Zhang, 75. It seems clear that Xi used to consider him a trusted colleague, notes Neil Thomas of the Asia Society Policy Institute in an article on Substack. There is no record of them working together early in their careers, he adds, but Xi oversaw Zhangs rise: his appointment to the CMC in 2012, his promotion to vice chairman of the CMC and member of the Politburo in 2017, and his promotion to first vice chairman of the CMC in 2022, bypassing retirement age rules. Zhang and Liu, the other person under investigation, were also decorated war heroes and the only CMC members with combat experience: both participated in the PLA campaigns against Vietnam in the late 1970s. Zhang played a key role in planning and executing Xi Jinpings military modernization of China, which aimed to move the PLA away from the Soviet-style, army-centric model and toward a U.S.-inspired design optimized for joint operations by reorganizing the command structure. According to K. Tristan Tang of National Taiwan University, the crux of the matter lies in the disagreements between the two sides regarding the militarys operational capacity and the roadmap for Taiwan, he writes in an article for the Jamestown Foundation. Zhang and Liu fell from power because their results in force building and war preparation failed to meet expectations and may have jeopardized Xi Jinpings requirement that the PLA be capable of invading Taiwan by 2027. U.S. intelligence typically cites this date as the time by which Xi has demanded troops be ready. Tang bases his argument on a detailed comparative analysis of editorials in the PLA Daily the official propaganda organ, published the day after the announcement of this latest purge and one by the number three in the military leadership, He Weidong, last year. He argues that the clash had been brewing for some time, starting with a video: when Xi Jinping walked out of the closing session of the Two Sessions in March 2015, the most important political gathering of the year, Zhang Youxia stood with his back turned, a highly unusual and politically risky act. Will this postpone any intended direct move on Taiwan? asks renowned French sinologist Francois Godement in an analysis for the Institut Montaigne in Paris. In the short term, certainly. The CCPs indictments indicate that there remains much rot and ideological dissonance to weed out in the PLA neither this nor the ensuing climate of terror among the officer corps looks favorable for a major offensive. Given the lack of transparency, everything is mere conjecture, Godement assumes. Theres only one thing to do: One must read tea leaves to decipher the political storm. Based on the editorial in the PLA Daily, he interprets the purge as going beyond corruption, shifting into the political arena. He highlights a phrase from the text about those purged: They seriously trampled upon and undermined the chairman responsibility system of the Central Military Commission, severely encouraged and exacerbated political AND (emphasis by Godemont) corruption problems that weaken the Partys absolute leadership over the military. He doesnt give much credence to the biggest journalistic bombshell about the purge: The Wall Street Journal published last week that Zhang is accused of leaking secrets about the Chinese nuclear program to the United States, information supported by anonymous sources familiar with the matter. For several analysts, this alleged leak primarily explains what Beijing wants the world to know. Amid the speculative noise, one of the most revealing analyses comes from Drew Thompson, a former advisor to the U.S. Department of Defense specializing in China, Taiwan, and Mongolia, and currently a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Relations in Singapore. In an article published in his digital newsletter, ChinaDrew, he argues that the generals downfall hits different. Not because it breaks with the logic of Xi Jinpings purges, but because it affects a figure who, in his opinion, did not fit the usual mold of the Chinese military machine. Zhang, Thompson writes, was an anomaly: a military man with real combat experience and an intellectual curiosity uncommon in an increasingly homogeneous military leadership. The author recalls meeting him during an official visit by a Chinese delegation to the United States in 2012, and highlights his genuine interest and his ability to listen, ask uncomfortable questions, and debate with foreign interlocutors. This singularity is key to Thompsons political interpretation. The analyst admits that he had been hearing rumors since 2023 that Zhang might be in trouble, but confesses that he assumed (or hoped) that his track record and personal relationship with Xi would protect him. The fact that this hasnt been the case, in his view, reinforces the conclusion that neither closeness to the leader nor military experience is enough anymore in the face of the logic of absolute political control. The result, he warns, is an impoverished decision-making ecosystem within the PLA, leading to a military structure that is increasingly disciplined politically but potentially more fragile strategically. I think he was the one active duty PLA officer who could give Xi the best, most objective advice about PLA military capabilities including the PLAs shortcomings, he reflects. I think he could assess U.S. and Taiwan military capabilities objectively and explain to Xi Jinping what the military risks and costs of an operation to take Taiwan would be with honesty and objectivity, as opposed to a sycophant with no combat experience [who] has to tell Xi what Xi wants to hear. Thompson links his reflection on the climate of opacity to the disappearance, in October 2023, of Minnie Chan, a journalist specializing in military affairs for the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post, whose whereabouts remain unknown. Chan, who had an extensive network of sources in mainland China, had reported for years on internal movements within the PLA leadership. At the time of her alleged detention never confirmed by the authorities she was gathering information on rumors of new investigations. Thompson provides a screenshot of a message exchange he had with Chan before she vanished. He asserts that all of the reporters replies were deleted after her disappearance, except for a concise yes in answer to the question: Do you think Zhang Youxia and Zhang Shenmin are in trouble and being investigated? Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition President Trump thinks he's found a new lever against Vladimir Putin in Venezuelan oil, but the reality is more complicated, reports CNN 's David Goldman. In announcing his new trade deal with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, Trump said India had agreed to stop buying Russian oil, purchases that are helping bankroll the war in Ukraine, and would instead "buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela." On paper, Venezuela's oil is a logical replacement: its heavy, sour crude is a lot like Russia's, is well-suited to making the derivatives India needs, and fits India's refineries better than America's light, sweet oil. But as Goldman writes, India can't simply stop the Russian purchases "overnight." Venezuela currently pumps just over 1 million barrels a day, well short of the 1.5 million India gets from Russia, and its run-down industry would need years and tens of billions of dollars in investment to ramp up. American oil is not only more expensive than the oil India gets from Russia, it's also unlikely to meet the country's needs, Goldman writes. It's "great for making gasolinebut not much else." Plus, India's refineries aren't designed to process it. Sources tell Reuters that only two Indian companies are capable of processing large volumes of heavy crude and that state refiners can replace less than 10% of Russian supplies. As of now, Indian refiners haven't been told to stop Russian purchases, Reuters reports, with shipments expected to arrive into March. Disney has named its parks chief Josh D'Amaro to succeed Bob Iger as the entertainment giant's top executive, ending a closely watched succession process. D'Amaro, 54, has been Disney Experiences Chairman, spearheading efforts for the company's lucrative theme parks, cruises, and resorts, per the AP . The Wall Street Journal notes that D'Amaro will be the company's ninth leader in 102 years and lays out the challenge: "The CEO job requires not only running a sprawling empire but also serving as its high-profile, and highly scrutinized, public ambassador." The decision on the next chief executive at Disney comes almost four years after the company's choice to replace Iger went badly, forcing Iger back into the job. Only two years after stepping down as CEO, Iger returned to Disney in 2022 after a period of clashes, missteps, and a weakening financial performance under his hand-picked successor, Bob Chapek. The latter had been viewed by many as too gruff and buttoned up, focusing intently on business and not taking enough care with the creative and imaginative elements that have helped Disney flourish over decades. Iger, for his part, strengthened the Disney brand through his acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm; oversaw the expansion of the company in China and India; and had a laser-like focus on technology. At the same time, Iger was seen as approachable and media savvy, and he has generally been given high marks for his management of the company. Still, shareholders will be interested in hearing D'Amaro's plan for growth given that the company's stock price is down about half from its 2021 high, notes the Journal. Seven years ago, New York Times columnist German Lopez donated one of his kidneys to a total stranger. In his latest column, he makes the case for why everyone should consider doing the same. "In a time that feels increasingly chaotic and out of control, helping people, directly and materially, remains one of the few actions we can take to immediately make the world better," he writes. Lopez argues that the need is great, the risk to donors small, and the satisfaction immense. He counts his act as "the most fulfilling experience of my life." Tulsi Gabbard's surprise presence at an FBI raid of an election center in Georgia has drawn the criticism of Democrats, but the director of national intelligence is defending herself in a letter to lawmakers. Key points: Trump directive: Gabbard says President Trump himself asked her to attend the raid in Fulton County, part of an investigation into the 2020 election, reports Axios. "My presence was requested by the President and executed under my broad statutory authority to coordinate, integrate, and analyze intelligence related to election security, including counter-intelligence, foreign and other malign influence and cybersecurity," she wrote in the letter to Democratic Sen. Mark Warner and Rep. Jim Himes. Authorities in Delaware have charged Jill Biden's ex-husband with killing his wife after a weeks-long investigation, reports NBC10 Philadelphia . New Castle County police said officers were called to a reported domestic dispute just after 11pm on Dec. 28 at a home in the Oak Hill community. Inside, they found 64-year-old Linda Stevenson unresponsive in the living room, and she was pronounced dead at the scene. On Monday, 77-year-old William Stevenson was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, per TMZ . Before marrying Linda Stevenson, William Stevenson wed Jill Biden in 1970, when she was in college, and they divorced in 1975, several years before she married Joe Biden, according to People. Authorities have not publicly disclosed further details about the alleged killing or a possible motive. It was William Stevenson who placed the initial 911 call, and police say he was cooperative at the scene, per TMZ. Tensions between the US and Iran just ratcheted up a notch. An American fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone that the Pentagon says "aggressively" approached a US aircraft carrier with "unclear intent," reports Reuters . The incident happened Tuesday in the Arabian Sea, and the vessel involved was the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. No US servicemembers were injured, and no US equipment was damaged, per the AP . "An F-35C fighter jet from Abraham Lincoln shot down the Iranian drone in self-defense and to protect the aircraft carrier and personnel on board," said Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson at Central Command. Iran has not commented on the incident. Reuters notes that the Lincoln carrier is the biggest part of a US military buildup in the region following the Iranian government's violent crackdown on protesters. The encounter unfolded as US and Iranian officials are trying to set up negotiations over Iran's nuclear program. President Trump has warned that with additional American warships moving into the region, "bad things" are likely if talks fail. In a separate incident on Tuesday, Hawkins said Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps used two small boats and a drone to approach the US-flagged merchant vessel Stena Imperative at high speed in the Strait of Hormuz and threatened to board and seize the vessel. The destroyer USS McFaul responded to the scene and escorted the Stena Imperative "with defensive air support from the US Air Force," said Hawkins, adding that the ship was now sailing safely. Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, the son and one-time heir apparent of Libya 's late dictator Moammar Gadhafi, was killed in the northern African country, Libyan officials said Tuesday. The 53-year-old was killed in the town of Zintan, 85 miles southwest of the capital, Tripoli, according to two Libyan security officials in western Libya. The circumstances of his death were not immediately clear, the AP reports. Khaled al-Zaidi, a lawyer for Seif al-Islam, confirmed his death on Facebook, without providing details. His cousin, Hamid Kadhafi told Libyan network al-Ahrar that he had "fallen as a martyr." Abdullah Othman Abdurrahim, who represented Gadhafi in the UN-brokered political dialogue which aimed to resolve Libya's long-running conflict, also announced his death on Facebook. Abdurrahim didn't provide further details, but Libyan news outlet Fawasel Media cited him as saying that armed men killed Seif al-Islam in his home. The outlet reported that prosecutors were investigating the killing. Born in June 1972 in Tripoli, Seif al-Islam was the second-born son of the longtime dictator. He studied for a PhD at the London School of Economics and was seen as the reformist face of the Gadhafi regime. Moammar Gadhafi was toppled in a NATO-backed popular uprising in 2011 after more than 40 years in power. He was killed in October 2011 amid the ensuing fighting that would turn into a civil war. The country has since plunged into chaos and divided between rival armed groups and militias. Seif al-Islam, long seen as the country's de facto prime minister, had cultivated "an image of moderation and reform" before 2011, France24 reports, but that collapsed when he promised "rivers of blood" in response to the uprising. Seif al-Islam was captured by fighters Zintan late in 2011 while attempting to flee to neighboring Niger. The fighters released him in June 2017 after one of Libya's rival governments granted him amnesty. He had since lived in Zintan. A Libyan court convicted him of inciting violence and murdering protesters and sentenced him to death in absentia in 2015. He was also wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity related to the 2011 uprising. In November 2021, Seif al-Islam announced his candidacy in the country's presidential election in a controversial move that was met with outcry from anti-Gadhafi political forces in western and eastern Libya. The election has been pushed back multiple times since then. Last year, another Gadhafi son was released after a decade in prison in Lebanon. The Trump administrations military intervention on January 3 has become a catalyst for the new climate reigning in Caracas, enabling demands that until a few weeks ago were unthinkable A dizzying month is coming to a close in Venezuela. Since the early hours of January 3, events have unfolded at an unprecedented speed: a surgical military attack by U.S. special forces, Chavismo stripped of its leader, a regime that cooperates with the enemy, some signs of openness, the redefinition of the oil market, and finally, an unexpected gesture: a general amnesty for all political prisoners, the first explicit acknowledgment that the cycle of political violence must end to open another possible horizon. Explosions in Caracas, Venezuela, on Saturday, January 3, 2026. Matias Delacroix (AP) Where this path leads remains to be seen, but the chain of events of the last month has transformed Washingtons military intervention into a new catalyst for the current political climate. The amnesty has been the major turning point, according to sources closely following the Chavista movement. The general release of political prisoners had already been on the table in at least two previous dialogue processes, but it never materialized: these were limited approaches, focused on specific releases that did not extinguish the legal proceedings. This time it has been different. Negotiators and mediators both past and present have celebrated what they call a historic move. [Interim president] Delcy Rodriguez has read the times well. She could have continued with individual releases, but she was smart and opted for amnesty, explains one of these sources in Caracas. Beyond her knack for navigating this murky situation, the strong social support for the releases ultimately forced her decision. Nicolas Maduro is transferred to federal court in New York on January 5. Stringer (EFE) Today, all eyes are on Venezuela. International attention and the acceleration of events have created a new, uncertain climate, but one that is enabling demands that were unthinkable just weeks ago. Protests, suppressed for months by the intensification of repression, have thus resurfaced. The families of political prisoners have maintained a constant vigil since the first releases were announced, releases that were immediately deemed insufficient to soften a repressive policy that has resulted in the detention of nearly 1,000 people for ideological reasons. The pivotal moment of January 3 defused some of the deepest fears of a civil society cornered by years of persecution and silencing. The cause of political prisoners shattered fear. It mobilized students and also pushed the leadership of opposition parties, including Vente Venezuela, led by Maria Corina Machado, to emerge from clandestinity and join a struggle that mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters had waged for years. Oil as a bargaining chip The initial signs after January 3 were confusing. At first, there were expectations of the regimes collapse, but soon everything began to indicate that Venezuela was heading toward a power realignment, with oil as a bargaining chip and an apparent spirit of reopening both internally and externally. Externally, Donald Trump oversees Venezuela from Washington. Internally, Chavismo attempts to counter these impositions with an internal message: Trump is not in charge, they seem to be saying. Maduro had already considered all of this. Trumps hand left visible cracks in the Chavista leadership. A video recording of a meeting of Chavista media figures, in which Delcy Rodriguez participated by phone, clearly revealed the extent of the coup. In that call, with the president on speakerphone, Rodriguez confessed that on January 3, the United States had given them 15 minutes to decide, under threat of death, whether to cooperate. Delcy Rodriguez in Caracas, Venezuela, on January 15. Leonardo Fernandez Viloria (REUTERS) Within the same narrative of weakness, Chavismo is capable of extolling its strength. In that call, Rodriguez stated that they continued their resistance and asked for trust in the revolutions political leadership. There should never be any doubt that the political leadership is firmly committed to our objectives, even if tactical steps or actions that are difficult to understand are sometimes taken, she said. The message sought to contain internal divisions during a stage of pure political survival, the period of greatest retreat for Chavismo in power, in which rhetoric has had to be recalculated on the fly, like a disoriented GPS. This constant readjustment of the narrative has forced the interim president to put out fires at home. Dispelling accusations of treason and surrendering sovereignty to the United States has become key to maintaining internal control. Last week, Elias Jaua, an emblematic voice of the founding sectors of Chavismo Hugo Chavezs vice president, Nicolas Maduros former foreign minister, and holder of several high-level positions gave voice to this discontent by describing Venezuela as an occupied country. The government that remains has to work according to the directives of the occupying power, with some possibility of resisting so that the plunder is less extensive than what imperialism intends, he stated. This precarious balance also explains the scope and the doubts behind Fridays historic amnesty announcement. The amnesty presented by the interim president opened a new horizon, but it also left behind many questions. Human rights defenders have warned that the process must not lead to an evasion of responsibility for arbitrary detentions, torture, and other violations committed over the years. The demand for justice coexists with the demand for historical memory: El Helicoide, which will become a community center, stands as a symbol of a past that, for these sectors of civil society, cannot be closed without acknowledging the harm inflicted on Venezuelans during the last two decades. Family members at a vigil for the release of political prisoners in Caracas, Venezuela, on January 17. Jesus Vargas (Getty Images) The scope of the proposal raises further questions. The design and implementation of the amnesty have been entrusted to Diosdado Cabello, the iron fist of the revolution and one of the architects of the mechanisms of persecution, including the law against hate speech used to justify the imprisonment of people for expressing their opinions on social media. How this paradox is resolved will largely determine the course and limits of the transition now underway. In any case, none of this had been possible before. After years of gradual pressure and diplomatic negotiations, Chavismo only became more radicalized, accumulating persecuted individuals and victims to cling to power without popular support, its legitimacy mortally wounded after July 28, 2024, following the electoral fraud. The violation of international law committed by the United States when it bombed Caracas leaving 83 dead and dozens wounded in order to capture Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, forced a solution that an authoritarian regime, unwilling to yield, had rejected until the very end. That early morning when the residents of Caracas heard explosions and the metallic roar of military aircraft overhead became a turning point for the political decompression in Venezuela. Machados role is also tied to the limits and scope of this transition. Transformed by Chavismo into a central enemy of the process, she faces the threat of imprisonment, a threat that any potential amnesty should defuse. Over the past month, the opposition leader with the greatest public support has had to reassess expectations: initially sidelined by Trumps derogatory rhetoric, she ended up meeting with him and offering him the symbolic olive branch of the Nobel Peace Prize that the Republican sought. Maria Corina Machado in Oslo, Norway, on December 11, 2025. Leonhard Foeger (REUTERS) Machado left Venezuela in late 2025 in a U.S.-backed extraction operation and then traveled to Norway to receive recognition for the peaceful struggle following the July 28, 2024 elections, in which Maduro was exposed for fraud. From a more peripheral position, she has effectively accepted the three-step transition plan promoted by Secretary of State Marco Rubio stabilization, recovery, and transition and awaits her moment. A timeframe that no one dares to predict. Beyond the announced amnesty, the repressive structure has shown no signs of beginning its dismantling, a task that involves not only the police forces but the entire state apparatus. This week, Venevision, one of the main free-to-air television channels, broadcast statements from Machado delivered in Washington, following her meeting with Rubio. It was an unusual gesture in a country where censorship prevails, and where mainstream media outlets avoided reporting on the events of January 3. The response was swift and familiar: the broadcast was removed from state-run digital platforms. Thus, although the path to transition seems to have opened up after this tumultuous month, it remains to be seen what rules will govern the process. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Fairbanks, AK (99701) Today Cloudy skies early will become partly cloudy later in the day. A few flurries or snow showers possible. High 3F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early will give way to occasional snow showers later during the night. Low -17F. Winds light and variable. Chance of snow 50%. Snow accumulations less than one inch. Wingsuit Foil Enhancements have increased the range of and during of flights with wingsuits. Austrian wingsuit pilot Peter Salzmann achieving a world-first by gaining 67 meters of altitude mid-flight using a specially designed foil wing attached to his wingsuit. The video depicts Salzmann jumping from a ridge on El Hierro in the Canary Islands. He harnessed rising air currents to soar like a bird, climbing up to 67 meters (219 feet) above the ridgelineequivalent to a 22-story buildingunder moderate wind conditions. This breakthrough, developed over three years with Red Bull Advanced Technologies (using Formula 1-inspired simulations) and Prada Linea Rossa, involves a lightweight aerofoil (foil) wing that enhances lift and allows soaring rather than just gliding downward. The youtube visuals emphasize precise turns and balance along the mountain ridge, revolutionizing human flight by enabling positive altitude gain without engines. Standard wingsuits (like Squirrel or Phoenix-Fly) rely on fabric membranes for lift, achieving glide ratios of about 2.5:1 to 3:1. This is horizontal distance to vertical drop. This limits range to roughly 5-10 km from a 3,000-meter (10,000-foot) drop and flight times of 2-4 minutes at speeds of 100-200 km/h (60-125 mph). They cannot gain altitude without extreme updrafts or external aids, as drag and gravity dominate. Adding a foil (a rigid or semi-rigid aerofoil structure, often carbon-fiber based, attached to the torso or arms) improves the lift-to-drag (L/D) ratio by optimizing airflow, similar to how hydrofoils work in water but adapted for air. The horizontal range increased by up to 50% or more in standard gliding. Theoretically it could enable indefinite extension via soaring. In one record, Salzmann flew 12.4 km (7.7 miles) with a 3,388-meter (11,122-foot) drop. This was a glide ratio of 3.67:1. This was 20% better than standard suits. With soaring, range becomes terrain- and wind-dependent, potentially doubling or tripling effective distance by riding thermals. Sensors and AI could detect rising thermals to navigate to rising thermals. This has been done with large Google communication Project Loon. Google Project Loon shutdown in 2021. Flight times increase from minutes to 5-10+ minutes, as seen in Salzmanns nearly 6-minute record. Speed and Efficiency is improved and 200 km/h (124 mph) with reduced energy loss and improving maneuverability for turns and ridge-soaring is possible. The Air foils and AI enhanced control could give better stability in turbulence, but adds weight (1-2 kg), requiring skilled pilots. Reduces sink rate by 10-20%, allowing safer landings. Custom foils add $5,000-10,000 to a $2,000-4,000 wingsuit. Overall, foils boost range by 20-100%+ in optimal conditions, shifting wingsuiting from pure gliding to dynamic soaring, but gains are situational (mountainous areas with thermals). Possibilities with AI and Sensor Control for Stability Current foil wingsuits are manually controlled via body position, but integrating AI and sensors (IMUs for orientation, altimeters, GPS, anemometers for wind, and cameras for terrain mapping) could automate stability, akin to drone autopilots or Teslas FSD. This is NOT yet commercial as of February 2026). AI could use real-time sensor data to adjust foil angles, flaps, or even micro-actuators (servo-controlled surfaces) for pitch/roll/yaw corrections, reducing pilot input by 50-70%. In turbulence, it maintains optimal L/D, preventing stallspotentially cutting accident rates (currently ~1 in 500 jumps) by 30-50%. Range and Performance boost from AI-optimized paths could maximize updraft usage, extending range by another 50-100% (from 10 km to 20+ km per jump) via predictive algorithms (machine learning on wind patterns). Glide ratios could approach 5:1 or higher with dynamic foil morphing. AI could add Semi-autonomous soaring, emergency auto-landings, or swarm flights (multiple suits coordinated). It could make wingsuiting viable for less experienced users, with AI handling 80% of control, similar to stabilized paragliders. Powered hybrids (electric jets + AI) could provide unlimited range. There can be sensor fusion for night/poor-visibility flights. It would add another 0.5-1 kg weight and there could be battery life limits (10-20 minutes). There are regulatory hurdles for AI in extreme sports. AI could enable altitude gains of 100-200 meters in moderate winds by fine-tuning to micro-currents, making human flight more bird-like and efficient. When I ask AI If having negative cashflow of $10 billion is a good thing, the AI says it can be strategically OK. IF the company was rapidly expanding with new factories or investing for major growth. Is Burning >$10.3 Billion in Cash Good or OK? It depends entirely on context, stage, and strategyits rarely good in isolation. It can be strategically acceptable or necessary in high-growth or transformative industries. Amazon used a lot of cash for over a decade to scale it ecommerce and then its cloud businesses. It led to dominant position, higher future margins, and eventual positive/strong FCF, its a calculated bet. BYDs burn supports becoming the global EV volume leader, with analysts forecasting FCF turnaround. AI firms (OpenAI, Oracles cloud push) require enormous upfront capex for data centers/GPUs. If they capture massive recurring revenue later, the burn pays off. Investors tolerate it if theres clear path to profitability, strong balance sheet (cash reserves, funding access), and competitive moat. Companies with Massive Cash Burn in 2025 BYD over $10 billion in cash outflows in the first nine months of 2025 alone. This stems from aggressive growth investments in a price-war-heavy China market, despite record revenues (> $100B) and volume leadership. OpenAI (private, not public) has projected massive burns, with estimates of over $8 billion in 2025 alone. This will ram to cumulative $115 billion through 2029 (far exceeding $10B annually in later years). This is driven by extreme AI compute/infrastructure costs. Elon Musk is seeking $79-134 billion in damages via a lawsuit. OpenAI is raising $100 billion at a valuation of $750 billion. This will likely to succeed based on ongoing discussions with major investors. This round follows their $40 billion raise in March 2025, which valued the company at $300 billion. Amazon, Microsoft, SoftBank and Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds like those in Abu Dhabi (another potential $50 billion). Oracle reported negative $10 billion in free cash flow in a single recent quarter (Q2 FY2026, ending Nov 2025) that was tied to heavy AI data center capex. Full-year 2025/2026 figures show significant negative FCF. Projections for cumulative $60-70B negative through 2029. Boeing had ~$2 billion full-year burn but this improved from prior years. Profitable or Break-Even on EVs Companies Xiaomi achieved quarterly EV profit in Q3 2025 ($98M) just 19 months after launchimpressive for a newcomer with SU7/YU7 models. 410K deliveries in 2025; targeting 500K+ in 2026. Xpeng is Near break-even, They halved losses 2023-2024. Likely profitable in 2025. Strong in ADAS. 600K target 2026. Li Auto has profitable quarters ($153M Q2 2025). It ois hybrid-focused. $13.9B cash buffer. 450K-490K target 2026. Leapmotor has halved losses. It is close to profitability. 1M target 2026. Hyundai/Kia are overall profitable. EV margins positive via scale (Ioniq 5/6, EV6). Detailed Summary of Lex Fridman Podcast: AI State-of-the-Art 2026 with Nathan Lambert and Sebastian RaschkaThis episode (YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EV7WhVT270Q, released around early 2026) features Lex Fridman interviewing Nathan Lambert (post-training lead at Allen Institute for AI, author of The RLHF Book) and Sebastian Raschka (author of Build a Large Language Model (From Scratch) and Build a Reasoning Model (From Scratch)). The ~4-hour discussion covers the current state of AI in 2026, focusing on LLMs, scaling laws, competition between models and nations, training phases, emerging research, and future predictions for AGI, robotics, and societal impacts. The tone is technical yet accessible, emphasizing hands-on building, empirical progress, and balanced optimism about AIs potential and risks. Raschkas books teach building LLMs and reasoning models from scratch using PyTorch, emphasizing practical coding over theory. Lamberts work at AI2 focuses on post-training (RLHF), and his book covers reinforcement learning from human feedback. Nathans Book: https://rlhfbook.com Sebastians X: https://x.com/rasbt Sebastians Blog: https://magazine.sebastianraschka.com Sebastians Website: https://sebastianraschka.com Sebastians YouTube: / @sebastianraschka Sebastians GitHub: https://github.com/rasbt Sebastians Books: Build a Large Language Model (From Scratch): https://www.manning.com/books/build-a-large-language-model-from-scratch. Build a Reasoning Model (From Scratch): https://www.manning.com/books/build-a-reasoning-model-from-scratch Hands-on learning is praised as the best way to understand AI internals. The conversation aims to be technical without alienating beginners. Lex: The best way to learn about something is to build it yourself from scratch. Raschka: My books are for people who want to get their hands dirty with code. China vs US: Who Wins the AI Race? (1:57 10:38) Triggered by DeepSeek R1 (January 2025, open-weight Chinese model) achieving state-of-the-art (SOTA) with lower compute/cost. China excels in open-weight releases (DeepSeek V3, Z.AI/GLM, MiniMax/Kimi, Moonshot) for global influence, driven by government incentives and lack of software payment culture. US focuses on proprietary models but faces hype cycles (Claude Opus 4.5 strong in code). Raschka argues budgets/hardware differentiate more than tech and ideas spread quickly. Lambert notes Chinas secretive approaches (DeepSeek backed by hedge fund Highflyer) and consolidation trends in 2026 due to high costs. US has chaotic organizations but better outputs. China aims for Western mindshare via IPOs. Models like Kimi build on DeepSeek architectures for leapfrogging. Most recent releases perform best. Chinese models face serving issues (fewer GPUs, different errors). Prediction that there will be consolidation in China in 2026. More open builders. US incumbents win via brand, but Chinese gain traction if hosted in US (via OpenRouter). DeepSeek kicked off a movement with strong frontier open-weight models. ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini vs Grok: Who is Winning? (10:38 21:38) 2025 saw Gemini 3 hyped but Claude Opus 4.5 leading in code/philosophy. ChatGPT dominant via incumbency, GPT-5 as a router for efficiency. Personal usage: Stick to one until it breaks, then switch. multi-subscriptions for work/personal. Lambert favors Gemini for speed/explanations, Claude for code, Grok for real-time/AI Twitter integration. Raschka prefers non-thinking modes for quick tasks (Bash scripts). Chinese models biased toward US-favoring outputs but slower. Trade-offs in intelligence (thinking modes like o1) vs. speed. Long context in Gemini (needle-in-haystack tests). Extended thinking marginally smarter but costlier. Gemini will erode ChatGPT in 2026 via Googles scale/TPUs. Anthropic strong in enterprise. $2K subscriptions possible. Inference scaling unlocks new capabilities. Lambert: Its hard to bet against ChatGPT despite the chaos. Raschka: I go crazy with 30-min waits, but auto modes are good. Best AI for Coding (21:38 28:29) Tools like Cursor (diff-based, micromanagement) vs. Claude Code (agentic, English-to-code). LLMs save days on tasks (e.g., web scraping). Arguments: Lex notes macro-level thinking with agents; Raschka emphasizes building from scratch for verification (code doesnt lie). Lambert highlights fun in using Claude for projects. Technical Explanations: Cloud Code + Claude Opus 4.5 handles project-wide contexts better than plugins like Codex in VSCode. Predictions: None explicit; implies agents will evolve for skill-building. Notable Quotes: Lex: Agents change the programming process at a macro level. Raschka: Building an LLM from scratch is fun because if the code works, its correct. Open Source vs Closed Source LLMs (28:29 40:08) Explosion of open models in 2025 (10+ major from China/West vs. fewer in 2024). Standouts: Chinese (DeepSeek R1/V3, Qwen big/high-perf); Western (Mistral Large 3, NVIDIA Nemotron 400B, OLMo from AI2, GPT-OSS for tool-use). Lambert stresses open for trust/transparency and GPU offload. Raschka notes unrestricted licenses enable customization (law/medical domains). Chinese focus on global distro; Western on data/code quality. MoEs (Mixture of Experts) peak in China for efficiency. GPT-OSS reduces hallucinations via tools (web search/Python interp). US/Europe release big MoEs in 2026. shift to tool-use, more utility from open models. Lambert: Releasing open models is the #1 way to get people to use your AI. Raschka: GPT-OSS with tool use is a huge unlock for hallucinations. Transformers: Evolution of LLMs since 2019 (40:08 48:05) Core architecture stable (decoder-only from GPT-2: embeddings transformer blocks with attention/FFN/norm). Raschka explains tweaks like MoE (sparse experts for efficiency), group query attention (cheaper inference). Lambert notes stability in autoregressive core but turbulence in pre/post-training. MoE: Router selects experts per token. KV cache optimizations for long context; alternatives like linear scaling attention (Qwen3-NeXT, state-space inspired). Transformers dominate SOTA but diffusion/Mamba for cheap ends. Raschka: MoE packs knowledge without activating all experts every time. AI Scaling Laws: Are They Dead or Still Holding? (48:05 1:04:12) Scaling laws (compute/data accuracy) hold but shift to inference (o1) and RL (linear gains post-training). Lambert bullish on low-hanging fruit like RLVR/inference tokens. Arxiv RL in the Wild: Characterizing RLVR Training in LLM Deployment How RLVR Works: Step-by-Step Process 1. RLVR integrates reinforcement learning principles into the post-training phase of LLMs, focusing on tasks with clear ground-truth verification. Heres a detailed breakdown: Problem Formulation as RL:State: The current sequence of tokens generated by the model (e.g., the prompt plus any intermediate reasoning steps in a CoT). Action: The next token or set of tokens the model can generate. Reward: A binary or scalar signal from a verifier, determined by whether the final output achieves the desired outcome (e.g., correct math result, passing code tests) 2. Generation and Sampling:The model generates multiple candidate responses, often using techniques like CoT to produce intermediate reasoning steps. For example, in a math problem, the model might output: To solve 2x + 3 = 7, subtract 3: 2x = 4, divide by 2: x = 2. Sampling is iterative: The model explores various paths (e.g., via beam search or Monte Carlo sampling), allowing it to try different reasoning trajectories. 3. Verification with Programmatic Rewards A verifier (e.g., a calculator for math, compiler for code, or rule-based checker for SQL) evaluates the final answer. Reward is assigned: Positive (1) if correct, zero or negative if incorrect. This is deterministic and external, not learned from data like in RLHF. Example: For SQL reasoning, Databricks used RLVR where the verifier checks if the generated query produces the expected database output 4. Optimization and Policy Update Using algorithms like Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) or Direct Preference Optimization (DPO), the models policy is updated to maximize expected rewards. The model learns to concentrate probability mass on high-reward paths, effectively compressing multi-try search into single-pass inference (e.g., if a base model solves a problem in 8 attempts, RLVR trains it to succeed in 1). Reinforcement Learning with Verifiable Rewards- Advantages and Limitations Raschka sees right ratios for bang-for-buck. Pre-training saturates financially. Power laws extend to RL. Infinite compute trades pre-fixed for per-query inference. Predicts Bigger models with $2K subs and next frontiers unknown (continual learning?). Notable Quotes: Lambert: Scaling continues with RLVR and inference as low-hanging fruit. How AI is Trained: Pre-training, Mid-training, and Post-training (1:04:12 1:37:18) Pre-training on vast corpora (trillions tokens, quality > quantity via rephrasing/OCR); mid-training for specialization (long context). Post-training (SFT, DPO, RLHF). Arguments: Raschka stresses quality data (OLMo-3 better with less); Lambert warns of voice loss in RLHF (averages preferences, limits edge). Technical Explanations: RLHF compresses prefs but removes nuances; LLMs as intermediaries needing verification. Predictions: Generic models face legal issues; over-reliance leads to burnout. Notable Quotes: Lex: RLHF averages the human condition. Raschka: Struggle develops expertise. Post-training Explained: Exciting New Research Directions in LLMs (1:37:18 1:58:11) RLVR (iterative generate-grade) for tools/science; links to inference scaling. Lambert excited about linear performance from logarithmic compute. Raschka questions aha moments (pre-train contamination?). RLVR: Self-correct via step-by-step. Process rewards score explanations. Value functions for token scoring. Branches to science/software; value/process unproven but promising. Lambert: RLVR defines behaviors for tools and software. Advice for Beginners on How to Get into AI Development & Research (1:58:11 2:21:03) Start with simple models on 1 GPU. Reverse-engineer outputs. Narrow focus after fundamentals. Raschka says to Avoid getting overwhelmed/burnout. Lambert suggest Individual contributions via LoRA fine-tuning. LoRA for efficient personalization and evaluate failures for impact. Education shifts to partial LLMs and startups high-risk/reward. Raschka: See the LLM innards by building. Lambert: Narrow after fundamentals in an info flood. Work Culture in AI (72+ Hour Weeks) (2:21:03 2:24:49) 9/9/6 culture leads to burnout. Passion drives but human costs high (Apple suicides). Lambert says Academia has less pressure. Raschka says Balance is needed for sustainability. Culture evolves as field matures. Silicon Valley Bubble (2:24:49 2:28:46) Hype vs. reality. Overvaluation risks burst. Guests caution against echo chambers and to focus on real utility. Potential correction in 2026 if progress slows. Text Diffusion Models and Other New Research Directions (2:28:46 2:34:28) Diffusion for text generation. emerging alternatives to transformers. Diffusion handles sequences differently, potentially more efficient. Niche adoption for specific tasks. Tool Use (2:34:28 2:38:44) Integrations reduce hallucinations. GPT-OSS leads. Lambert: Tools > memorization. Raschka: Tolls are essential for reliability. Standard in all models by late 2026. Continual Learning (2:38:44 2:44:06) Avoiding catastrophic forgetting in updates. Technical Explanations: Selective data in mid-training. Predictions is that Continual Learning is Key for long-term model evolution. Long Context (2:44:06 2:50:21) KV cache optimizations and needle-in-haystack improvements. Arguments: Raschka: Economy crucial; Lambert: Enables complex tasks. Predictions: Million-token contexts routine. Robotics (2:50:21 2:59:31) AI in embodied agents and data challenges. Guests see slow progress due to hardware and LLMs accelerate simulation. Predict Breakthroughs in 2027-2028. Timeline to AGI (2:59:31 3:06:47) Powerful AI by 2028-2030. It will not be instant singularity. Lambert says Gradual via scaling. Raschka sees blockers like data persist. They predict a moderately fast takeoff. Will AI Replace Programmers? (3:06:47 3:25:18) 90% automation. humans on high-level design. Raschka: Joy in struggle remains Lambert: Shifts to verification. Programmers evolve but will not be obsolete. Is the Dream of AGI Dying? (3:25:18 3:32:07) Hype fatigue but progress real. Guests optimistic. focus on utility over hype. AGI Dream persists but will be redefined (moving goalposts). How AI Will Make Money? (3:32:07 3:36:29) Subscriptions, enterprise tools, ads. Predictions there will be diversification beyond APIs. Big Acquisitions in 2026 (3:36:29 3:41:01) Consolidation. Big tech buying startups. More mergers for compute/talent. Future of OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind, xAI, Meta (3:41:01 3:53:35) OpenAI innovative but chaotic. Anthropic safety-focused. Google scales. xAI agile. Meta open. (aka Meta just a big leading user for ads and social media) Leaders consolidate power. Manhattan Project for AI (3:53:35 4:00:10) National efforts. Risks of centralization. Balance collaboration with competition. Future of NVIDIA, GPUs, and AI Compute Clusters (4:00:10 4:08:15) Blackwell GPUs in Q1 2026; clusters grow to billions. Technical Explanations: FP8/FP4 for throughput. Predictions: NVIDIA dominates; alternatives emerge. Future of Human Civilization (4:08:15 End) AI transforms biology/programming but risks like power concentration. Optimism for positives and caution on ethics. AI accelerates progress, humans adapt. On the hundredth anniversary, some Armenian opposition media outlets reported that the National Security Service allegedly informed the church leadership of plans to arrest or detain Garegin II, the Catholicos of all Armenians. These reports were accompanied by warnings about serious threats to the nation and the church. However, similar reports have appeared multiple times over the past two months, and the Catholicos continues to carry out his duties without interruption. This naturally raises the question: is there any real intention to detain him, or are these reports largely speculative? Perhaps the rumors serve another purpose, and if so, it is worth considering who benefits from spreading them. What goes on inside Mexican prisons spills over the walls. This is not only due to its impact on the countrys security, but also on relations with the United States. In the last year, Mexico has transferred 92 prisoners to the U.S., where they are also wanted by the justice system for organized crime offenses. Mexico has justified this move as a sovereign decision that benefits national security, given the evidence that they continued to operate for criminal groups from behind bars. Federal Security Secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch has emphasized that these prisoners transferred within a vague and controversial legal framework were directing criminal activity from their cells and extorting Mexican citizens through phone calls. Unfortunately, within prisons, they often form alliances with other groups, and in various locations where they are incarcerated, they have the opportunity to continue committing crimes. This is for the benefit of our country, he argued to the press, hinting at the persistent problems of lack of control within the national prison system. Having become command centers and call centers for the cartels, as denounced by experts and civil organizations and acknowledged by authorities, prisons have been a weak point in the security policy inherited from one presidential term to the next. However, this is the first time the Mexican government has extradited nearly 100 prisoners, in three separate transfers over the course of a year, with the official justification that the leaders of criminal organizations operate behind bars and continue to intimidate their victims. The latest transfer of crime bosses included high-profile figures who were incarcerated in federal prisons, such as Juan Pedro Saldivar Farias, alias Z-27, and Daniel Manera Macias, alias Danny, both members of Los Zetas, held at CEFERESO 4 Northwest in Tepic, Nayarit. Others, such as Armando Gomez Nunez, better known as Delta-1, or Pedro Inzunza Noriega, alias Sagitario, were in Altiplano, a maximum-security prison. That didnt stop them from continuing to work for criminal networks. These high-profile criminals, even while incarcerated, continued to direct illicit activities through visits, which cannot be prohibited out of respect for their human rights, acknowledged Harfuch, the security czar of Claudia Sheinbaums government. They took advantage of these contacts with the outside world to maintain criminal operations, threaten officials, and extend networks of corruption and intimidation. Jorge Luis Gutierrez, director of the organization Asi Legal, explains that for criminals to maintain their influence from prison, under the states care, access to the outside world is necessary, whether through phone calls or visits. It has to do with the states lack of capacity to control this entire population and all the problems, Gutierrez points out, highlighting the lack of personnel in prisons. According to the diagnosis of the National Human Rights Commission on prison supervision, 77% of prisons lack sufficient staff and many of the officials more than 44% have not even received specific training for that task. Another factor hindering the states ability to exert greater control within prisons is overcrowding. Of the 276 penitentiary centers in the country, over half 142 house more inmates than their capacity allows. This surplus is excessive in some cases, such as the Chalco Penitentiary and Social Reintegration Center in the State of Mexico. With an official capacity of 591, as of December 2025 it housed 3,128 inmates five times more than it should have according to the latest Monthly Report on Penitentiary Statistics. This level of overcrowding in the system creates fertile ground for self-governance within prisons, where 60% of inmates, in national figures, are already serving sentences compared to 40% who are awaiting trial. The chaos masks any crimes that may be committed within its walls. Months ago, the Secretariat of Security reported that 56% of all phone lines used for extortion originated from 12 prisons, without specifying which ones. A third of these lines were blocked by removing the cell tower in Altamira, Tamaulipas, replacing the one in Matamoros, and blocking 3G and 4G services at the Santa Martha Acatitla Womens Social Reintegration Center in Mexico City. Even so, extortion, a crime identified as high-impact by authorities, continues unabated in Mexico, despite the well-known role prisons play in generating chain calls until a victim is deceived and pays out of fear. Victor Hernandez, professor and director of the Latin American Institute for Strategic Studies and former security advisor in the Enrique Pena Nieto administration, asserts that mechanisms exist within prisons to prevent this, but points to neglect and corruption as obstacles preventing them from fulfilling their function. Theres a lack of funding. We have a lot of pressure on the system, with no cameras or cameras that dont work, he points out. He adds that in centers where there are signal jammers to prevent extortion calls, the guards themselves turn them off. Both experts criticize the fact that prisons, far from serving as centers for social reintegration, end up becoming ecosystems of small-scale crime that draw everyone into the dynamics of the most powerful. In many cases, they explain, due to insufficient prison staff, administrative tasks are delegated to inmates, who then end up charging their fellow prisoners, forcing them to find ways to pay, also through extortion. Alberto Guerrero Baena, a consultant specializing in security policy, warns that delegating certain tasks to guards leads to them controlling access to resources or services within prisons, and this fosters everything from sex trafficking rings to illegal charges for family visits. You might encounter issues of prostitution, drug use which is the most common and inmate governance regarding essential services like water, soap, or toilet paper. You have to navigate a monopoly held by someone who controls all these things, including phone calls, he explains. Both Hernandez and Guerrero suggest implementing a counterintelligence program within prisons to ensure that the efforts of the Security Cabinet, which have led to more than 37,000 arrests in Sheinbaums first year in office, are not lost. This counterintelligence system should not only monitor and punish corrupt prison officials but also analyze the gangs that coexist within the prison system to prevent them from forming alliances while incarcerated. The recent sanctions imposed by the Treasury Department on Jose Antonio Yepez Ortiz, alias El Marro, leader of the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel, have once again highlighted these deficiencies in the prison system. Although he was arrested in 2020, U.S. authorities accuse him of remaining an active member of the cartel from the federal prison in Durango, from where he sent instructions and orders to his associates through his lawyers and family members. Armando Vargas, coordinator of the security program at Mexico Evalua, also agrees that the security strategy of Harfuch and Sheinbaum which has resulted in numerous operations with arrests, seizures, and the dismantling of criminal cells by capturing their leaders will not yield the expected results if the issue of prisons is not addressed. As long as this is not on the agenda, we will not have policies that reverse this crisis. I insist, reforming the prisons involves not only harsher sentences or cutting off communication systems, but also a comprehensive institutional strengthening of the penitentiary system, he points out. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition The public policy coordinator at the NGO Derechos Digitales discusses the decisions made by regulatory authorities in Colombia, Brazil, and Chile regarding the company linked to Sam Altman. She asks: Who controls, for what purposes, and under what safeguards, the proof that we are human? Over the past three years, several Latin American countries have witnessed the arrival of the Orb, a futuristic-looking spherical device used to read irises and capture biometric data. This striking technology, developed by World Foundation and created by Sam Altman, a leading figure in artificial intelligence and CEO of OpenAI, along with its operational partner, Tools for Humanity, has been installed in shopping malls, gas stations, and other locations in Colombia, Chile, and Brazil. Thousands of Latin Americans have lined up in front of that giant eye to hand over their personal data in exchange for cryptocurrencies or tokens, in an operation that generates massive biometric databases. Regulatory authorities in Chile, Brazil, and Colombia have made decisions that, however, clash with a complex business model. At the end of 2025, Colombia through its Superintendency of Industry and Commerce (SIC) ordered the immediate and definitive closure of the operations of World Foundation and Tools for Humanity. This ruling has become a precedent for biometrics experts. Lucia Camacho, a Colombian public policy coordinator at the NGO Derechos Digitales (Digital Rights), warns about the scale of the iris scanning business and the lack of controls in the region. They present it as something harmless, but its a phenomenon that forces us to ask questions about who controls, for what purposes, and under what safeguards, the proof that we are human? Question. How do these companies land in Latin America? Answer. They arrive in countries through local logistics operators. They hire individuals or companies based in the country, hand them the Orb and give them very general instructions on what to do: ask people to register, find a well-lit space. There is no adequate training on key issues such as consent. They are not trained on how to ensure that the person registering is of legal age something that is especially sensitive, because minors are registered, as happened in Chile. Nor are they taught how to explain what consent entails, what compensation consists of, how to withdraw data, or how to exercise rights over that personal information. Q. Where does the scanned data go? A. The Orb is one of the most sophisticated facial and iris recognition technologies on the market. According to the company, this transmission is fast and secure, but flaws have already been identified. The iris image ceases to exist as such: algorithms transform that information into long strings of fragmented pattern code that are stored on servers belonging to actors considered trusted, primarily in the United States. The companys argument is that, since they are applying a technological process, the data is no longer personal, therefore, we no longer have obligations in this matter. This is the major problem. People are not participating to contribute to training an algorithm or because they believe in Worldcoins good intentions and the need to refine technologies that benefit humanity, but rather for the money. Q. You say thats the toughest nut to crack in data protection. Why? A. Many Big Tech companies are using technologies that allow them to transform personal data into other types of information, which, in the long run, makes it easier for them to evade data protection authorities. Their argument is that without personal data, there are no longer any affected individuals, and therefore they no longer have to comply with the law. Q. What happens if someone wants their data deleted? A. In Chile, some parents, upon learning that their children had submitted their iris scans to this company, requested protective measures and demanded the deletion of the data. They initiated a legal battle in which they were told, for example, that the company is not based there. Furthermore, before the Brazilian authorities and in multiple documents, the company stated that it cannot delete the collected information. The Orb, the main function of which is to capture detailed images of a person's eyes. Q. The other problem is consideration for the iris. A. Yes. People who register are asked to download an app because World [Foundation] not only operates the Orb, but also offers a digital wallet where they distribute cryptocurrency as compensation. They call it an incentive, not payment. This point was especially problematic in Brazil, where the authorities argued that compensation cannot be given in exchange for personal data because that implies commodifying identity, which is prohibited. Worlds defense was that the incentive is not mandatory: those who dont want to receive it dont [have to] download the app. However, when people in line were asked why they were there, the answer was clear: they were there for the incentive. Q. What is the scope of Brazils decision? A. The Brazilian data authority ordered Worldcoin (a company created by Altman) to suspend cryptocurrency distribution through iris scanning, stating that, given the vulnerability of the target population, the incentives become lifelines that ultimately exploit the data of those with no other economic alternative. Without this incentive, as they call it, the company would not have obtained the iris scans of more than 10 million people worldwide by January 2025. People are not participating to contribute to training an algorithm or because they believe in Worldcoins good intentions and the need to refine technologies that benefit humanity, but rather for the money. Q. In Chile, a gender gap was also evident. A. An investigation by the NGO Amarantas found that single mothers with economic needs were the majority of those who sold their biometric data, because they received $50 or $70 that covered them for a day. Minors also did so, seeking money to spend on video games. Q. Is it a business that is based on inequality? A. Social elites and those in advantageous economic positions havent even heard of this. Worldcoins target audience is found in public transportation stations or popular shopping malls. They target very specific audiences who are attracted because the Orb is eye-catching. In addition, they advertise using cryptocurrency language, which appeals to many people. Q. Why did they choose Latin American countries? A. Firstly, in our region there is no friction when it comes to identification: we are used to handing over our ID, fingerprints, or other data to verify who we are or access services, unlike in Europe and countries like the United States or the United Kingdom, where there isnt even a centralized identification system. Secondly, Latin America faces weaknesses in the rule of law when it comes to enforcing decisions by authorities against foreign companies. Europe doesnt have this problem: there, large technology companies have been required to establish headquarters within its territory to guarantee clear rules on consumer protection, data protection, and intellectual property. Its no coincidence, then, that World has focused on our region. What is the ethical and legal responsibility of those who generate inscrutable technological solutions to problems they have partly helped create? Q. How do the authorities in the region exercise control? A. The main official reactions against the company come from the Global South from Kenya and Latin America while in Europe only a few, such as Germany, Portugal, and Spain, have opened specific investigations. The authorities in the region are doing what they can with the resources they have, and they are acting in their own timelines. But their decisions are noteworthy. Q. Why is the decision by the Colombian authority so noteworthy? A. The SICs decision sets a significant precedent. In addition to suspending Worlds operations for violating national data protection legislation, it imposed the obligation to delete all personal information in its custody, both in the virtual wallet and on the Orb, where everything remains a mystery. It also raises questions that transcend technology and become profoundly political: What price are we willing to pay to prove our existence? And above all, what is the ethical and legal responsibility of those who generate inscrutable technological solutions to problems they have partly helped create? Q. Can they really implement those measures? A. The dilemma shared by the authorities in our countries is how they will act in the face of non-compliance with their decisions. World admitted to Brazil that it cannot delete the data. So, there are open questions: how will they guarantee that the information even that which has been anonymized has been completely removed from the datasets used to train their algorithms? And how will they commit to ensuring that no records of the hash code remain in the hands of trusted third parties? Q. You claim that in the case of Colombia, Worlds strategy was to dispute the proceedings and feign ignorance. A. As can be inferred from the proceedings, the response from World Foundation and Tools for Humanity was predictable: alleging due process violations, specifically supposed errors in notifying World Foundation of the authoritys decisions, when Tools for Humanity was responsible for responding, or vice versa. Over a year and a half, they did acknowledge receiving every response and request from the authority, as is evident in the proceedings. This decision raises questions about how far authorities can go and how to ensure they fulfill their legal responsibilities. Q. Have you identified a pattern for this company in the region? A. The toolbox they have for exerting pressure in our countries is very diverse. It ranges from legislative lobbying and public relations investment to claims that these are positive measures for the country, to judicial intimidation. The operations of these transnational companies have been designed in such a sophisticated and well-oiled manner, with such complex technologies, that they hinder the practical exercise of a right we consider crucial today: the right to consent. Not only to provide data, but also to have it withdrawn when citizens decide to do so. Q. What can this data actually be used for? A. The company uses that information to train a sophisticated digital identification algorithm, which they call the human proof. But theyre also going to use that identification algorithm to sell it to anyone who wants and needs to use it. Q. Who can buy it? A. Theyre already running pilot programs, like in South Korea, where theyre integrating World into services like Tinder to address the problem of fake accounts, for example. The underlying goal isnt to save the internet, but to refine a biometric technology the Orb and its algorithm for mass production, even to governments. Q. In what type of state processes could it be used? A. World could present itself to governments for electoral processes, offering the Orb as an easily accessible identification technology that has been trained on more than seven billion records. This technology is trained on enormous volumes of data, which are now the main asset of AI, and needs to continue capturing data over time to adapt to physical changes such as aging or eye diseases. Q. Are they already making money from this iris data? A. The company is absorbing large venture capital investments without immediate returns: the strategy is to monetize when this technology is offered on the market to those who need to solve the increasingly critical problem of identity, especially in protecting children. This necessitates age and identity verification systems for platforms, a scenario in which World presents itself as the one that holds the key. Q. You have warned that they can also be used for surveillance without transparency. A. Today, Big Tech companies are cooperating with states in unprecedented ways, especially with authoritarian regimes, which allow them to operate without oversight or accountability. Consider cases like Meta, which has begun handing over information from social media messages sent by women seeking abortions to their countrys government. Therefore, caution is necessary both with the state, given its history of abuses and increasingly sophisticated mass surveillance, and with the private sector, which also currently inspires little confidence. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Yoshua Bengio, 64, is one of the pioneers in the development of deep learning, the most promising artificial intelligence (AI) technique today. His research in this field was recognized with the prestigious Turing Award often described as the Nobel Prize of computer science which he received in 2018 along with Yann LeCun and Geoffrey Hinton. A Canadian national and professor at the Universite de Montreal, Bengio is world-renowned for the extraordinary level of scientific rigor in his research and is now a leading advocate for raising awareness of the risks involved in the development of AI. He chairs the International AI Safety Report, an annual study that seeks to compile scientific evidence on emerging AI risks to support decisions for managing them, and whose second edition is published this Tuesday. In an interview with this newspaper arranged on the occasion of the World Ecomic Forum in Davos, in which he participated, but conducted via videoconference on January 30 due to scheduling conflicts Bengio warned that there is empirical evidence and laboratory incidents where AI is acting against our instructions and that the capabilities of AI continue to advance at a rate which seems faster than risk management practices, a concept that includes misuse of systems fraud, mind manipulation ; dysfunction errors, loss of control ; or systemic consequences, such as the impact on the labor market or on cognitive processes. Question. What are the most worrying signs you identify when analyzing the evolution of current models and agents? Answer. There are two elements in the report that I think reflect some of the most serious concerns many scientists have. Two things are happening at the same time. One is the continued advances in AI capabilities, more specifically in reasoning, that includes being able to strategize in order to achieve goals, which you can think is a good thing. That is, AIs are getting smarter. But at the same time, were seeing empirical evidence and laboratory incidents where AIs are acting against our instructions and sometimes with an apparent drive to preserve themselves and being willing to be deceptive in order to avoid our oversight, in order to avoid being replaced by a new version and things like that. So, these two things together are problematic. Q. This points to the risk of a loss-of-control scenario. How would you characterize it? How serious is that risk? A. The most important thing to understand is that its an emerging risk. It hasnt happened. And it is one for which the probability that it will happen for real is very hard to estimate, and scientists in AI dont agree about its probability. But what we can all agree on is that if it does happen, it could be catastrophic. It could be terrible. Thats why it deserves attention. What the report really focuses on is that we have those early signs, which still require improved human methodology and systematic conclusions. But these early signs, because of the severity of those risks, do mandate increased monitoring and research to understand why its happening and how it can be mitigated. Q. Perhaps one of the most worrying risks is the misuse of these systems to try to manipulate peoples minds and, therefore, manipulate the proper development of democratic life. What is your opinion, and where do we stand on this issue? A. What the report does is it documents the studies that are showing various aspects of this risk, which is already happening to some degree, but theres also possibility that it could get worse. Let me elaborate on this. First, its very obvious that quality of the content that is generated by AI is getting more and more difficult to distinguish from real content, because the AI is getting better, whether it is images, texts, voice or video. Another area of concern is personalized persuasion and manipulation. Theres been a number of studies that show, in laboratory settings, that the frontier models the most powerful ones are at least as good as humans at persuasion. Persuasion means somebody will actually change their mind on a topic after several rounds of dialogue. Theres a real risk of a very large-scale influence on public opinion, because such bots could be multiplied, and you can have millions of these things. And this calls for some kind of intervention in order to mitigate those risks. Q. These machines can create a pattern where people give up the effort of solving problems, which is one of the foundations of intelligence and its development. How concerned are you about the effect on human cognitive abilities? A. That is a difficult question. I dont think that we have very clear answers from science at this point. I suspect that its going to depend on context. It might be bad for some people and for some types of users or some type of relationship between the person and the AI, and it might actually be good for some others. So, the good example would be to think of the AI as an assistant. I use AI as a research assistant, and the assistant is not perfect. They can make mistakes, but they have much more time than you do, so they can read the literature and give you reports about relevant information that can be useful for you. Of course, this could become something unhealthy if the decisions are really taken by the AI, and youre almost a passive actor in the decision-making process. So, thats where it becomes dangerous for a number of reasons. What is kind of decline if we rely completely too much on the AI, and especially for children. The other issue is connected to the loss of control problem. Q. How? A. if we rely a lot on AIs that are not really trustworthy because they have their own intentions, thats also dangerous. Another misaligned behavior that is creating problems is sycophancy: the AI is not telling you the truth, but what you want to hear. And that is already causing mental health problems, because people can have delusions, and the AI will go along with those delusions. Its a little bit like in social media: youre going to get your crazy ideas reinforced, the bubble effect. Its something similar with AI, where the AI will go along with your crazy ideas or even amplify them in the feedback loop. That has given rise, at least anecdotally and via lawsuits, to episodes of psychosis and even tragic incidents where people harm themselves, even kill themselves. Q. I would now like to ask you about your assessment of the work being done by large companies that develop these models and agents in relation to security measures. How do you assess that work? A. If we look at the change from a year ago, there has been a lot of progress. Many more of the leading companies are implementing some form of explicit risk management. Several are working with the Frontier Model Forum to synchronize their risk management practices. I believe there are currently about 12 companies that have published their risk management processes. In addition, theres been advances on the legislation side in Europe, as you know, but also in the United States and in China. Were seeing a gradual convergence of these different safety requirements and public protection risk management processes, which is a good thing. The downside is that the capabilities of AI continues to advance at a rate which seems to be faster than the risk management practice. Q. You mentioned regulation by public actors, such as states or the European Union. In Europe, we often hear the argument that there is over-regulation, and that this stifles innovation, while the United States and China are moving faster. How would you describe this situation and its consequences? A. As chair of the report, I must point out that the mandate is very explicit that were not making policy recommendations. We focus on providing scientific evidence that can inform policy debate. But, if I change hats and speak as an independent university professor and as someone who was involved in the European effort, I can say that the requirements of the EU AI Acts Code of Practice only apply to the largest models. In Europe, very few companies exceed that threshold. These requirements do not place an undue burden on companies of that size, and most large U.S. companies already accept them because, to a large extent, that is what they were already doing. They do, however, introduce a degree of transparency towards governments and thus the public, which many leading companies consider a good thing. In my view, the real reasons why Europe has been lagging has nothing to do with those regulations and has to do with lack of large-scale investment, being willing to take risks, and other factors that have to do with the structure of the European economy. Europe needs to wake up to these realities and invest massively in order to be, as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in his Davos speech, at the table rather than on the menu. Q. Perhaps it would be ideal to have something similar to what already exists in the nuclear sector, with the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the International Atomic Energy Agency. But that doesnt seem viable right now for AI. So, what can be done? A. Yes. The problem is that the main perception of many countries and companies is that they are in a competition with other companies and other countries. And that isnt a good starting point for any kind of international coordination treaty and so on. What the report hopefully helps to do is to establish the facts, the scientific evidence for countries to realize that they also have a lot to lose in common. Catastrophic misuse or loss of control would be bad whether youre Chinese or American. None of us should accept those risks. Its just that unfortunately the scientific understanding and the geopolitical understanding of the magnitude of those risks seems to be still weak. What Im hoping, as we move forward with scientific evidence about these and other risks, is that governments will see it is in their self-interest to seek international coordination to mitigate the risks, similar to what happened, as you said, with nuclear weapons. Q. At the beginning of the Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri encounters a she-wolf representing lust for power and a lion representing pride. In the work, he argues that the she-wolf was the worst beast of all. In the context of AI, is it the wolf we should fear more, or the lion? Greed or arrogance? A. I would add that there is scientific evidence for the things youre talking about, not just poetry; scientists have also studied psychology and social psychology. And we tend to easily blind ourselves to reality. This is called motivated cognition. In other words, we will not even have the thoughts that would allow us to see reality as it is. Instead, consciously or unconsciously, we can be driven by greed and hubris. And its not necessarily because the person has bad intentions. In fact, they may sincerely think they are doing the right thing. But its not necessarily rational, nor is it even grounded in the values the person professes. That includes all of us, myself included. Its human nature. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Minneapolis is not an anomaly or an isolated episode, but rather another expression of a conflict as old as the federation itself Opinion articles written in the style of their author. These texts are to be based on verified facts and must be respectful towards people, even though their actions may be criticized. All opinion articles written by individuals from outside the staff of EL PAIS shall feature, along with the authors name (regardless of their greater or lesser renown), a footer stating their office, academic title, political affiliation (if any) and main occupation, or the occupation related to the topic being assessed The recent tensions between local authorities in Minnesota and the immigration enforcement agencies of the Trump administration, particularly Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), are not merely the stance of rebellious cities or states. They are the latest manifestation of a dispute as old as the nation itself: the resistance of local power against a federal center that periodically attempts to govern by imposition. To interpret what is happening today in Minneapolis and its consequences as an isolated episode of immigration policy is to remain on the surface. Underlying this is American federalism, conceived from its inception to preserve regional autonomy and limit the power of the central executive in certain matters. The United States was born in 1776 as a direct reaction against a distant British crown. In seeking independence, the 13 colonies did not intend to replace London with another dominant center of power, but rather to preserve their political autonomy. Hence the structural distrust of the central government, embodied in the Articles of Confederation, in effect until 1787, which established a deliberately weak federal government. The experiment failed due to fiscal insolvency, disputes between the states, and an inability to guarantee basic order. The Constitution of 1787 strengthened central power, maintaining a counterbalance in the power of the former colonies, now states. Since then, internal frictions rather than a failure of the system have served as a tense balancing mechanism. March against ICE in Minneapolis, January 30. Tim Evans (REUTERS) The next conflict emerged a decade later. In 1798, the Alien and Sedition Acts, passed amid fears of war with France and internal unrest, significantly expanded federal power to persecute foreigners and silence dissent. The reaction from several states was swift and decisive. Virginia and Kentucky argued that they were not obligated to enforce federal laws they deemed unconstitutional. This position did not prevail in the courts, but it reinforced the conviction that states do not exist solely to obey. In reality, this logic had been developing for some time, with the founding slogan of the colonial rebellion: No taxation without representation. The resistance was not directed solely against taxes, but against a foreign power that made decisions without local representation or participation. The most extreme chapter of that tension was slavery. In the 19th century, the federal government imposed laws requiring judges, police, and local authorities in the North to cooperate in the capture of enslaved people fleeing the South. Many states and cities openly refused and passed laws to sabotage that cooperation. Memorial for Alex Pretti and Renee Good, in Minneapolis. Seth Herald (REUTERS) At that moment, the tension became unmanageable, and the system collapsed into secession and the Civil War, revealing the limits of federalism in an existential conflict resolved by force. The federal victory, more than 600,000 dead later, preserved unity and reinforced Washingtons authority, but it did not eliminate friction with local power. This violent clash also recognized that the federal government could not demand automatic obedience from state and local authorities. That principle, forged in the conflict that led to the countrys breakup, is invoked today by states and cities when they refuse to act as operational arms of ICE. This pattern continued during Reconstruction and, decades later, in the struggle for civil rights, when Washington ordered desegregation and the expansion of rights for the Black population: many governors, state legislatures, and local police forces responded with open or covert resistance. The federal response was gradual and costly: litigation, political pressure, and, in some cases, direct intervention. Images of federal troops escorting Black students to public schools as happened with the Little Rock Nine in 1957 when President Eisenhower ordered desegregation to be enacted by force provided a stark lesson in how central power can be fully asserted, but at a high political and symbolic cost. Immigration is now the new battleground of this structural conflict. The cooperation demanded by the federal government from local police, municipal jails, and state authorities is not merely a legal debate, but a new chapter in the struggle for the balance of federalism. Local responses are an explicit defense of their institutional autonomy. At the same time, the intensive deployment of armed and masked federal agents, the protests that have resulted in clashes and the deaths of citizens under arbitrary circumstances, and the lawsuits filed by local authorities mark a turning point: cooperation has broken down, and Washington seeks to replace it with direct presence and force. ICE agents during a protest on January 30. Adam Gray (AP) The insistence on forcing this cooperation shows that the fight against immigration is the battleground where the White House is seeking to change the political system by subjugating local power to the federal government, imposing Washingtons will at all levels. The ultimate paradox is clear. The United States has survived two and a half centuries, not because it has resolved these frictions, but because it has learned sometimes through hardship and violence to live with them. The challenge remains managing structural tensions without breaking the delicate balance that, for almost a quarter of a millennium, has kept the country relatively cohesive. Well see how it turns out this time. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition A man has admitted in court that he was responsible for a 100 mph crash that killed a 29-year-old mother in 2024. Stephen Sirch, 32, of Voorhees Township, pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated manslaughter and three counts of third-degree assault by auto on Tuesday, the Atlantic County Prosecutors Office said in a statement. The three-vehicle crash happened on the afternoon of April 4, 2024, and caused the death of Karina Castillo, of Pine Hill, authorities said. Sirchs SUV was traveling on on Black Horse Pike in Hamilton Township at 2:15 p.m. when it collided with another vehicle, officials said. The impact then caused the victims vehicle to hit another car head-on, prosecutors said. Castillo, the driver of the first car that was hit, was pronounced dead on the scene, authorities said. A total of three occupants in the other car suffered serious injuries, officials said. Investigators later alleged that Sirch was high on fentanyl and other substances at the time of the crash and that his car was traveling at a speed of about 100 mph. Castillo was survived by her infant daughter, fiance and several other relatives, according to an April 2024 obituary. She was employed by the New Jersey Department of Children and Family and held a certification from the Board of Marriage and Family Therapy, the obituary said. As part of his plea bargain with the state, Sirch will serve a 15-year sentence. His sentencing is scheduled for March 30. A 34-year-old man was arrested Friday and charged with hindering a homicide investigation in Bergen County by driving the suspect to the Mexico border, authorities said. The man allegedly drove Joshua Alvarado more than 1,800 miles following the shooting death of Jason Hidalgo in Englewood, according to Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella. Hidalgo, 25, was fatally shot on Sept. 30, 2023, in a home on Mevan Avenue in Englewood. Investigators have alleged that Alvarado, now 31, shot Hidalgo multiple times. Alvarado was charged with first-degree murder and tracked to Medellin, Colombia on Feb. 17, 2024. He was extradited to the United States on Dec. 11, 2025, and is being held in the Bergen County Jail pending legal proceedings, Musella said. During the investigation, detectives discovered another man drove Alvarado to the Mexico border, leaving within hours of the shooting. The man was arrested Friday in Manhattan and charged with third-degree hindering apprehension, Musella said. A cannabis dispensary in Essex County caught fire over the weekend, injuring two firefighters and causing significant damage to the building. The three-alarm fire was reported around 3 a.m. Saturday inside Flowerbomb Dispensary in the 1100 block of Clinton Avenue in Irvington. The fire originated on the second floor, above the dispensary, the owners said in a social media post. Flowerbomb Dispensary suffered significant damage due to a fire that originated in the apartment above our business, the owners said. The owners said Monday they were assessing the situation and are committed to returning in the future. ABC-7 reported two firefighters suffered minor injuries and were treated at a local hospital and released. No other injuries were reported. Flowerbomb Dispensary operates under a license issued by the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission, according to public records. The business is authorized to sell recreational cannabis products to adult customers under the states regulatory framework. Capital Health, a health care provider with multiple locations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, will pay $4.5 million as part of a settlement over a 2023 data breach that compromised the private information of patients, former patients and employees. In a statement, the company said the stolen information included names, addresses, social security numbers, dates of birth, email addresses, telephone numbers and potentially clinical information. Anyone whose private information was potentially compromised because of the data breach may be entitled to a cash payment of up to $5,000, according to a notice of settlement.. In addition, members of the settlement may be eligible to receive three years of free credit monitoring. Claims must be submitted online or mailed by April 6. The payments will be distributed after the settlement is approved by the court and becomes final. The settlement agreement is not an admission of wrongdoing. Capital Health expressly denies any fault or liability related to the data incident. In November 2023, Capital Health experienced a computer network outage due to a cyberattack. The company subsequently launched an investigation which revealed that a cybercriminal organization may have accessed files on the companys network. On Jan. 7, 2024, the international ransomware group LockBit claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that it stole over 10 million files from Capital Health, according to the settlement document. The group threatened to publicly release the private data on Jan. 9, 2024, unless Capital Health paid a ransom, according to the settlement. Its unclear how much they demanded and whether Capital Health paid up. A company spokesman said Tuesday that at this time we will not be commenting on the lawsuit/data breach settlement. Capital Health operates two hospitals Regional Medical Center in Trenton and Capital Health Medical Center in Hopewell an outpatient facility in Hamilton, and a network of doctors offices, according to its website. A federal judge has once again reined in the Trump administration by ordering, for the second time, that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) allow members of Congress to conduct unannounced visits to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers. The decision, issued Monday by District Court Judge Jia M. Cobb, temporarily blocks the requirement to give seven days notice to inspect these facilities and reinforces the legislatures right to oversee the conditions in which thousands of people are held in federal custody. The ruling responds to a lawsuit filed by more than a dozen Democratic members of Congress, including representatives from Minnesota, Colorado, Texas, New York, and California, who reported being expelled or directly prevented from entering detention centers after attempting to make unannounced visits. The case has become one of the main legal fronts against the governments immigration offensive at a time marked by increased detentions, citizen protests, and allegations of abuse in federal facilities. Judge Cobbs order is temporary. It will be valid for an initial period of 14 days while the case proceeds. Krome Detention Center, in Miami. Miami Herald (TNS via Getty Images) One of the episodes that triggered the lawsuit occurred on January 10 at the Bishop Henry Whipple federal building, outside Minneapolis, Minnesota. Representatives Ilhan Omar, Angie Craig, and Kelly Morrison managed to briefly enter the premises but were forced to leave shortly thereafter. The building, originally designed for short-term detentions related to immigration hearings, has become a hub for ICE operations in the state. People detained there described overcrowded cells, a lack of adequate food, and insufficient medical care. Morrison later stated that what she saw during a recent visit was not what one would expect in the United States. She explained that her office had received multiple complaints about cruel, unsafe, unlawful conditions, including testimonies from women who recounted experiences she described as harrowing. Everything I saw showed me this operation is chaotic, disorganized, ineffective, and dangerous, she said. In January, the Trump administration, through Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, reinstated a policy that requires lawmakers to give one weeks notice of their visits. The DHS defended the measure on grounds of security and internal order. However, Judge Cobb ruled that the policy likely violates the law by relying on funds that Congress itself had prohibited from being used to limit legislative access. The judge had already blocked an earlier version of the rule in December, noting that unannounced oversight is key to evaluating facilities whose populations can increase or decrease abruptly. Protest in Dilley, Texas, on February 1. Kaylee Greenlee (REUTERS) The ruling applies nationwide. In the United States, there are nearly 200 facilities that house people in ICE custody, including local jails used for immigration detention. In Colorado, the Aurora facility was one of the locations cited in the lawsuit. Democratic Congressman Jason Crow reported being turned away in July 2025 when he attempted to inspect the facility. Why do they need seven days to prepare and get ready for a member of Congresss visit, right? What are they hiding? he asked. Criticism of conditions in Aurora has been backed by activists such as Jeanette Vizguerra, who spent nine months detained at the center before being released in December. Vizguerra described rooms with dozens of people sharing just three showers and three toilets, as well as the prolonged use of the same blankets for weeks. Adams County health authorities confirmed in January that an investigation had been opened into reports of untreated disease outbreaks and poor medical care. In Texas, the controversy intensified with the opening of the Camp East Montana center in El Paso, considered the largest in the country, with a capacity for up to 5,000 detainees. Since August 2025, at least two people have died there, and a total of six deaths have been recorded in ICE centers so far in 2026. The death of Gerardo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old Cuban immigrant, was classified as a homicide by the El Paso County medical examiner. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition A Hudson County juvenile was waived into criminal court to face murder charges as an adult related to a January 2025 shooting, prosecutors said. Naheim King, 18, of Jersey City, was charged with murder and weapons offenses in the killing of Rahmiere Morris on Jan. 3, 2025. King was 17 at the time of the shooting, officials said. Jersey City police officers responded to the area of Lembeck Avenue and Old Bergen Road at 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 3, 2025, for a report of a shooting, authorities said. Morris, 20, also of Jersey City, was located at the scene by officers, suffering from gunshot wounds to his torso, officials said. He was transported to Jersey City Medical Center and was pronounced dead at 9:35 p.m., according to officials. King was arrested three days later at a home on Garfield Avenue, officials said. King was not listed in online court records Monday evening. It was unclear if he has an attorney. Jersey City firefighters freed a seagull stuck to the ice at the Jefferson Avenue reservoir on Monday, officials said. A rescue squad noticed the seagull while performing ice rescue training at the reservoir and managed to release it. The seagull managed to fly away. A state legislator representing the New Brunswick area is the latest lawmaker to criticize ICE following a series of arrests in the city and other parts of New Jersey over the weekend. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told NJ Advance Media it conducted a targeted immigration enforcement operation in New Brunswick to arrest four people from Honduras, Ecuador and Mexico who are in the country illegally. Some had criminal history including larceny and felony illegal re-entry, an ICE spokeswoman said. The four will remain in ICE custody pending removal. Surveillance video obtained by New Brunswick Today shows a man being taken into custody on Saturday. The local website said at least five people were removed in the areas of Livingston Avenue and Suydam Street as well as near the corner of Jersey Avenue and Handy Street. The video shows two men, who appear to be ICE agents, racing out of an unmarked white SUV and wrestling a man to the ground near a snowcovered sidewalk. After a brief struggle, the agent walked the handcuffed man to their vehicle before departing. State Assemblyman Joe Danielsen, D-Middlesex, criticized ICE for the arrests. The lawless and authoritarian behavior we have seen playing out in the streets of Minneapolis is now playing out in our own backyard, Danielsen said in a statement emailed to NJ Advance Media. The raids by ICE in New Brunswick over the weekend are reprehensible and represent an outright attack on vulnerable communities by the federal government... these masked agents are lawless and put our communities at risk. ICE, which also made weekend arrests in Hoboken and Jersey City defended its actions in New Brunswick. Under President (Donald) Trump and (U.S. Department of Homeland Security) Secretary (Kristi) Noem, if you break the law, you will face the consequences. Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S. Danielsen, meanwhile, echoed the sentiments of Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who last week encouraged people to document ICE agents questioning people or taking them into custody. If you see masked agents, take your phone out and record it; if you see ICE patrolling, inform your neighbors and get the word out, and above all else, keep your eyes open for anything that does not look right, said Danielsen, the chairman of the Assemblys Public Safety & Preparedness Committee. These actions are all protected under the Constitution and are essential in times like these. Before leaving office, Gov. Phil Murphy used a pocket veto to block the proposed laws that would have limited informationsharing with federal authorities. Murphy argued the bill contained errors and needed additional language to ensure it didnt conflict with federal law. Murphy also declined to make New Jerseys Immigrant Trust Directive a policy that limits when local and state law enforcement officers can cooperate with ICE into a law. Danielsen called for Sherrill to sign both bills into law. It is now incumbent upon the state of New Jersey, including the Legislature, to take swift action to protect our people, the assemblyman said. That starts by passing the two immigration bills pocket vetoed on Jan. 20, and sending them to Gov. Sherrill, who has indicated she is open to signing them. Forensic tests show Sophia Caneiros DNA in multiple locations on a pair of bloody jeans found in her uncle Paul Caneiros basement, a scientist told the jury Monday in Pauls murder trial. A black surgical-style glove found among the jeans and a T-shirt, which were fused together by water, also contained the 8-year-olds DNA, the scientist said. And Sophias DNA was also on a knife handle found by investigators at the Caneiro home in Colts Neck, where the girl was killed along with her father Keith Caneiro, 50, mom Jennifer, 45, and brother Jesse, 11, in November 2018. Paul Caneiro is accused of killing his brothers family then setting their home on fire, then setting his own house in Ocean Township on fire a short time later to confuse investigators. Prosecutors have alleged a financial motive, that Paul killed his brother and family after realizing Keith had caught him stealing from an insurance trust account. Paul would benefit from the $3 million life insurance policy, but the whole family had to be dead, prosecutors say. The DNA testimony occurred Monday in Caneiros murder trial in Monmouth County as four scientists from the New Jersey State Police Office of Forensic Sciences testified for the prosecution about the items they tested from the two crime scenes. Scientist Chris Szymkowiak testified about the knife, and jeans, where he described finding Sophias DNA on blood stains on the shin, calf and thigh areas of the Levis jeans. The match of Sophias DNA to the knife is one in 726 million, Szymkowiak said. Defense attorney Andy Murray challenged the testimony on several fronts, from the STRmix DNA software the scientists used to analyze their results, which gives probabilities on DNA matching, to physical conditions that could have altered the samples. For example, Murray questioned Szymkowiak about the jeans, and how they were found in a pile in Paul Caneiros basement with a T-shirt and glove frozen together by firefighters water that froze overnight in the home. Water could transfer material, DNA in this case, from one item to another. Its possible, Szymkowiak said. Scientist Christine Schlenker testified that Jesse Caneiros DNA was found on the jeans in a mixed sample, meaning two contributors. She used STRmix for the analysis, she said. During Murrays cross-examination, as he elicited answers about DNA contributors and their relatives, Murray asked Schlenker, bluntly: Were you aware that Paul and Keith Caneiro have another brother? Prosecutor Nicole Wallace immediately objected, questioning the relevance. Judge Marc Lemieux allowed it, and Schlenker answered that the STRmix system accounts for sibling analyses but conceded to Murray that testers would need a reference sample from the brother, Corey Caneiro, to perform such a test. A detective previously testified that the police investigation never sought DNA material from Corey Caneiro, who the defense has cast suspicion on as an alleged suspect in the quadruple murder. The commission overseeing construction of the $16 billion Hudson River Tunnel project filed a breach of contract lawsuit in federal court against President Donald Trumps administration late Monday seeking the release of $4.38 billion in grants for the Gateway project withheld by the federal government. The suit, filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims against the U.S. Department of Transportation, seeks release of funding that was approved in 2024 by then-President Joe Bidens administration for construction of a new Hudson River rail tunnel that has been blocked by the Trump administration since Oct. 1, 2025. Last week, Gateway Development Commission officials announced construction on five projects in New Jersey and New York would stop Friday because the project was out of funds. Both New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, each Democrats, backed the lawsuit in statements. I made a commitment to fight for Gateway and New Jerseys economy, which is why were taking action to hold the Trump Administration accountable for breaching its contract, Sherrill said. When it comes to fighting for jobs and opportunity in New Jersey, Im all in. The suit seeks $205 million in reimbursements due to the commission and unspecified damages that will be incurred if construction is paused or existing contracts terminated. Construction was able to continue during the last four months using a $500 million line of credit. Despite its contractual commitments to fund the project, the federal government has suspended the release of its contractually obligated funds since October 1, 2025, GDC officials said. The lawsuit makes clear that the shifting explanations the administration has provided for this breach are plainly unlawful. On Tuesday evening, New Jersey and New York announced that both states are suing the Trump Administration for illegally withholding $15 billion in federally committed funding for the Gateway project. The lawsuit, which is separate from the one filed by the commission, seeks emergency relief to stop the U.S. Department of Transportation from continuing to implement its indefinite funding freeze. The $16 billion Hudson River Tunnel Project will build two new tunnels and rehabilitate the existing rail tunnels, in addition to other allied infrastructure work. The Federal Transit Administration froze federal reimbursement payments for Gateway while the agency conducts a review to determine if the projects comply with a new rule that was finalized less than 24 hours earlier. That rule, which was signed on Sept. 30, bars considering race or gender when awarding contracts to disadvantaged businesses under a Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE) program, which includes businesses owned by people of color and women. In late October, commission officials said they suspended all DBE contracts to comply with the rule. Gateway officials said theyve been in constant communication with the Federal Transit Administration to prove compliance with the rule, but the administration hasnt responded since December. Our goal has always been to work with our federal partners and get funding flowing again. At the same time, we must hold the federal government to its contractual obligations so that construction is not halted, said Tom Prendergast, Gateway Development Commission CEO. Its our responsibility to fight for the nations most urgent infrastructure project and the nearly 1,000 workers whose jobs are threatened. On Oct. 15, President Donald Trump announced that he terminated the project, which he reiterated on Oct. 19 as a move to retaliate against U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer over a fall government shut down. Schumer led the New Jersey and New York congressional delegations efforts to win Gateway funding. Last week, White House spokesman Kush Desai said Schumer, and Democrats were standing in the way of a deal for Gateway by refusing to negotiate with the Trump administration for full Department of Homeland Security funding. This lawsuit would be unnecessary if President Trump did the right thing for New York and New Jersey and lifted his arbitrary freeze, Schumer said in a statement. The majority of Gateways federal funding, a record $6.8 billion, was committed to in July 2024 at a ceremony in Manhattan. About $12 billion for the project is coming from federal grants or loans with the remainder paid by the two states and Amtrak. Experts interviewed last week said that while a lawsuit was an obvious option, they said it could take months in court to resolve. The commission will ask the court to put the case on an expedited schedule. The obvious answer is for GDC or N.Y., or N.J., or all of the above to file suit in the Court of Federal Claims under the Tucker Act and get their reimbursements that way, from the Permanent Judgement Appropriation that is out of the control of the executive branch, said Jeff Davis, senior fellow with the Eno Center for Transportation. But that would take months, perhaps many months. Pausing construction would result in the immediate loss of nearly 1,000 jobs. An extended pause could risk approximately 11,000 jobs on the five current projects, as well as the 95,000 jobs and $19.6 billion in economic activity that construction of the HTP is anticipated to generate overall, officials said. A shutdown also halts deployment of the first tunnel boring machine that was scheduled to begin drilling through the Palisades in North Bergen this spring and the planned award of a contract to begin digging the actual tunnel under the Hudson River. It also increases the risk that the 116-year-old North River Tunnel already a significant cause of delays that impact hundreds of thousands of daily riders could be shut down. That would sever the nations busiest passenger rail line and leading to billions of dollars in lost time and productivity, officials said. U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-5th Dist., said he was been working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle on a potential legislative solution to free up funding, while also talking to the White House to avoid a shutdown of the project. The Gateway funding suit could be a liability for Congressional Republicans, who might not want to go in to this falls midterm elections with Gateway as an issue that Democrats could use against them, said Micah Rasmussen, director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University. Politically, the presidents party should not want this hanging over its head during the midterm elections, he said. A longtime New Jersey teacher has lost all of his teaching certificates after state officials found he helped falsely claim thousands of dollars in Hurricane Sandy disaster relief money. In a decision issued last month, the state Commissioner of Education upheld a 2024 ruling by the State Board of Examiners revoking all teaching certificates held by Harry Guerriere, of Jersey City. According to the commissioners ruling, Guerriere, who worked as an educator in New Jersey for decades, and his wife fraudulently misrepresented where they lived in order to qualify for disaster relief funds distributed after Superstorm Sandy devastated parts of the state in 2012. Guerriere did not immediately respond to an NJ Advance Media request to comment. Guerriere was criminally charged in 2018 with theft by deception and related offenses connected to the relief funds. The next year, he pleaded guilty to a downgraded disorderly persons offense, and paid fines and penalties. At the time of the storm, Guerriere and his wife owned two homes one in Jersey City, and another in Brigantine, which was severely damaged after the hurricane hit. The relief programs required the damaged property to be the applicants primary residence on the date of the storm, state education officials said. In her application for disaster relief, Guerrieres wife identified the Brigantine home as the couples primary residence. But judges later found that official records at the time including drivers licenses, voter registrations, tax filings and employment documents, showed the couple actually lived in Jersey City. The couple had been married for more than 20 years, co-owning the Jersey City home since 1999 and the Brigantine property since 2002. When Superstorm Sandy struck on Oct. 29, 2012, state officials said they were living and working in Jersey City. During court proceedings, Guerriere argued he was unaware of his wifes actions and said she handled the paperwork without his involvement. An administrative law judge rejected that claim, finding Guerriere was complicit in the misrepresentation. The judge pointed to evidence showing Guerriere signed income certification documents tied to the grant application, changed his address on multiple official records after the storm, and submitted an address change to his employer. Records also showed that a $10,000 Hurricane Sandy relief check was deposited into a joint bank account held by Guerriere and his wife. Guerrieres fraudulent conduct constitutes conduct unbecoming a teacher as it has a tendency to destroy public respect for public employees and confidence in the operation of public services, the administrative law judge wrote in their October 2024 ruling. The commissioners decision permanently stripped Guerriere of multiple teaching credentials he had held for decades, including certificates in special education, elementary education, driver education and speech-language services. His wife also lost her teaching credentials under a 2023 ruling by the state Commissioner of Education. Hey there New Jersey! Heres your audio update highlighting firefighters who bravely saved a bedridden resident from a burning home early Monday morning and the latest updates in the Paul Caneiro murder trial. Well also tell you about four Paterson elementary schools that are set to close in June and a Philadelphia crash that left a 19-year-old New Jersey college student dead. Listen by clicking the play button above. This audio presentation is an editorially-curated selection of stories, selected by an editor, and then summarized and read aloud by artificial intelligence. Some variations in pronunciation, tone or diction may result. We want to know what you think! All feedback is valuable. After youve listened, take our 3-question survey here to let us know what you think. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Ash Wednesday, falls on Feb. 18, 2026, this year. This year, Ash Wednesday is observed earlier than usual, because the Easter holiday is in early April this year. The holidays date changes every year because Easter is a moveable feast that follows the lunar calendar instead of the Gregorian calendar and is linked to the Jewish calendars Passover celebration, according to The Tablet. Here is what you need to know about this moveable feast observed by many Christian denominations. Ash Wednesday, in most Christian denominations, is the beginning of the Lenten season leading up to Easter Sunday. It takes place six and a half weeks before Easter Sunday. It is observed with a service where the faithful are marked with ashes. Many adults fast or at least abstain from eating meat. It is not a holy day of obligation, but it is one of the most attended services that do not fall on a Sunday during the liturgical year. Catholics and some Protestants, including Anglicans and Lutherans, also hold Ash Wednesday services. Eastern Orthodox churches do not follow this schedule because they begin Lent on a Monday and therefore do not observe Ash Wednesday. Catholics are not allowed to eat meat on Ash Wednesday. Most adults are expected to fast and eat only one full meal per day. Two smaller meals can count for this requirement. The fasting requirements are for those ages 18-59 while abstinence from meat starts at age 14, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Children, the elderly, pregnant women and those with certain health conditions are exempt from fasting on Ash Wednesday and during Lent. There are several foods that are acceptable to eat on Ash Wednesday. These foods include milk, eggs, fish, grains, fruits and vegetables, according to Forklift and Palate. There also are no limits on most beverages you can have on Ash Wednesday so coffee and tea would be acceptable. The Department of Justice has released nearly 3.5 million pages of documents from cases and investigations related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The DOJ released its first batch of files on Dec. 19, 2025, the deadline set by the Epstein Files Transparency Act that President Donald Trump signed on Nov. 19. The law required Attorney General Pam Bondi to make publicly available in a searchable and downloadable format all files pertaining to the prosecution of Epstein. The law required all files to be released by Dec. 19. However, the DOJ has since released an additional 3 million pages. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the DOJ reviewed over six million documents. Following the most recent release on Jan. 30, Blanche said that the review is over. We reviewed over six million pieces of paper, thousands of videos, tens of thousands of images, Blanche told ABCs This Week on Sunday. Which is what the statute required us to do. The released files are available to view on the Justice Departments website, in accordance with the Transparency Act. Here is a rundown of how to utilize the database. How to search the Epstein Files The Justice Department has a searchable Epstein Library on its website: https://www.justice.gov/epstein. (Some of the librarys contents include graphic descriptions of sexual assault.) The page contains a search bar in which you can input any name, organization or phrase you want to search for. If the searched term is contained in the files, it will appear in one or more PDF datasets that are downloadable. Suggested terms to search: FD-302 : Typing in that phrase pulls up records of FBI interviews with witnessess from its Epstein investigations. Jeevacation@gmail.com : One of Epsteins personal email addresses WJC: The initials for former President Bill Clinton. This term will pull up communications between Epstein and members of Clintons team. Like : The initials for former President Bill Clinton. This term will pull up communications between Epstein and members of Clintons team. Like Trump Clinton was acquainted with Epstein but has not been accused of any wrongdoing or with having knowledge of Epsteins crimes. The Epstein Library was last updated on Feb. 2, 2026. Whats in the database The files were collected from these primary sources: The Southern District of New York (SDNY) and Southern District of Florida (SDFL) cases against Epstein The SDNY case against Ghislaine Maxwell, Epsteins co-conspirator. (In 2021, Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison on five sex trafficking-related counts.) The New York cases investigating Epsteins death by suicide in 2019 The Florida case investigating Alfredo Rodriquez , a former butler of Epstein Multiple FBI investigations The Office of Inspector General investigation into Epsteins death at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York Whats not in the database The Justice Department has said that all reasonable efforts have been made to review and redact personal information pertaining to victims, other private individuals, and protect sensitive materials from disclosure.. Any materials not produced fall within one of the following categories: Duplicate documents between SDNY and SDFL investigations Withheld under privilege (such as attorney-client communications) Withheld based upon exceptions under the act (depictions of violence) Items that are not part of the case file for Epstein or Maxwell and were completely unrelated to these cases How Epsteins victims have responded Attorneys representing alleged victims of Epstein are asking two federal judges in New York to order the Justice Department to immediately take down its website hosting Epstein-related files. The attorney cited what they described as an unfolding emergency, according to ABC News. The lawyers are alleging widespread failures by the Justice Department to properly redact the names and identifying information of Epsteins victims, according to a copy of a letter obtained by ABC News. For the victims of Jeffrey Epstein, every hour matters, the lawyers, Brittany Henderson and Brad Edwards, wrote. The harm is ongoing and irreversible. Additional Epestin files resources Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) unleashed on Republican lawmakers for not defending their colleague from President Donald Trumps latest attack. Trump criticized Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and his wife in a scathing Truth Social post endorsing the Kentucky Republicans primary opponent. Greene, who has become an outspoken critic of Trump, blasted the president for insulting Massies wife and ripped her former colleagues for not condemning the social media post. President Trump treats those who support him the most like crap. Thomass wife voted for him 3 times. Shes not a radical left flamethrower. And Thomas Massie votes with the President 91% of the time, but wont vote to protect Epsteins sick pedophile and rapists friends or send Americans hard earned tax dollars to Israels wars or any other foreign country, Greene wrote on X. She said Trump should be more concerned with voters instead of super rich donors. She also said that Democrats surprise wins in Texas special elections over the weekend should be sending warning alarms across the Presidents desk. But instead hes attacking REPUBLICAN Thomas Massie with one of the most conservative voting records in the House and his new wife with a three time MAGA voting record, she said. She then criticized Republicans for not supporting Massie. And all the weak Republicans in the House stay silent refusing to utter even a word of support for their friend Thomas Massie. Shame on every one of you. Cowards. You make me sick, she added. In his Truth Social post, Trump accused Massies wife of being a Radical Left flamethrower. This new union all went so fast that maybe he didnt know what he was getting into but, nevertheless, he is an absolutely terrible and unreliable Republican Perhaps a RINO, or maybe even worse! Trump wrote on Truth Social. Ed Gallrein, a Farmer and War Hero, is running against Massie. He is a HIGH QUALITY individual, and there is no Candidate for Congress that could be better. He is running because he realizes Thomas Massie has been totally disloyal to the President of the United States, and the Republican Party. He never votes for us, he always goes with the Democrats. Thomas Massie is a Complete and Total Disaster, we must make sure he loses, BIG! he added. Massie confirmed in a post on X that his wife voted for Trump three times. So now hes attacking my wife who voted for him three times. Maybe someone told him shes actually the one who suggested I ask Pam Bondi in person at a dinner when we would get Phase 2 of the Epstein files. Bondi said there were no more files. As they say, the rest is history, Massie wrote, referring to his push to get the documents related to Jeffrey Epsteins sex trafficking case released. The president has repeatedly lashed out at Massie, saying last year that he wants the Republican to be voted out. Massie was responsible for spearheading the discharge petition to force a vote on the release of the Epstein files last year. After initially opposing the release of the files, Trump reversed his stance after receiving harsh backlash from his MAGA base. The main challenge, according to aides of the Colombian president, was convincing him to take concrete proposals to Washington, avoid being provocative, and not let himself be provoked Zohran Mamdani or Volodymyr Zelenskiy? When U.S. President Donald Trump receives his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, in the Oval Office on Tuesday, will he heap reproaches upon him, as he did with the Ukrainian leader last year? Or will he shower him with praise, as he did with the New York mayor in December after months of mutual insults and criticism? On the eve of the meeting, Trump appeared optimistic. Petro, he asserted during an event in the Oval Office, has been very friendly in the last month or two. Somehow after the Venezuelan raid, he became very nice, he told reporters, citing the U.S. military operation to capture Nicolas Maduro on January 3. Tuesdays meeting at the White House is one of the most delicate for the U.S. president in the past year. It is equally so for the Colombian president, whose legacy hangs in the balance. The immediate future of bilateral relations between Washington and one of its traditional allies in Latin America could depend on what the two leaders discuss at this meeting, despite their heated exchanges over the past few months. But given the volatility of both leaders and their willingness to speak their minds, the outcome is unpredictable. This uncertainty has kept not only President Petros delegation on edge, but also a group of Colombians who have spent weeks preparing for what they consider a historic meeting. One of the people who has been working behind the scenes told EL PAIS about the difficulty of the meeting, or more specifically, the difficulty of convincing the Colombian president of three key points: to be brief and not speak more than Trump, to avoid provocations, and to present viable proposals that are of interest to the United States and beneficial to Colombia. Apparently convinced, Petro is expected to leave Washington with a strengthened anti-drug cooperation policy, which would translate into greater U.S. military and intelligence support. Also on the table is the possibility of joint operations against the National Liberation Army (ELN), the Colombian guerrilla group partly financed by drug trafficking in the border region with Venezuela. The Colombian president also has a trump card to play: Venezuela. According to this source, Petro could offer his assistance for a potential democratic transition in that country aligning himself with Secretary of State Marco Rubios agenda, which benefits Trumps business plans and assume political costs that the magnate is unwilling to bear. He could also explore a possible Ecopetrol stake in the neighboring country, at a time when Colombia needs Venezuelan gas. It is no coincidence that the president of the state oil company, Ricardo Roa, is in Washington, according to this source. Energy is also one of Petros favorite topics. Bilateral trade 30% of Colombian exports go to the United States is also high on the agenda, along with measures against irregular immigration. Amid preparations, Colombias ambassador to the United States, Daniel Garcia Pena, acknowledged to the press on Monday that in a meeting of this magnitude, you never know what might happen. We know that the presidents have had differences and will continue to have them. The wonderful thing about international relations is that there will always be points of disagreement, he stated. Garcia Pena explained that preparations for the meeting began after the phone call on January 7, in which both leaders put an end to months of public clashes. That conversation, he said, marked a turning point and allowed them to steer the visit in the right direction with the goal of ensuring it goes well for both countries. It is highly likely that the ambassador will be the one chosen to accompany Petro into the meeting with Trump. He is the only member of the delegation who speaks English. Daniel Garcia Pena and Rosa Villavicencio, Colombia's Minister of Foreign Affairs, in Washington, this Monday. Presidencia de Colombia Even before discussing the content, the format of the meeting has been a subject of debate. For now although in this White House everything can change at the last minute the conversation in the Oval Office is scheduled to take place behind closed doors, as it did three weeks ago during the visit of Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. This wasnt the initial plan, but sources within the Colombian delegation agree that this approach is the most beneficial for both presidents, as it reduces the temptation to put on a show for the audience and, consequently, to raise tensions and potentially derail it. The U.S. presidential office has avoided describing the event as an official meeting, referring to it instead as a visit. Afterwards, Petro is scheduled to hold a news conference to report on the discussions. Security will be a central subject. Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez summarized the purpose of the visit with a slogan: Nations win, and criminals lose. He highlighted the governments achievements in the fight against drug trafficking, emphasizing record seizures, the destruction of illegal infrastructure, and extraditions. The visit aims to seal a truce after nearly a year of open clashes between the two governments. Petro has accused Trump of being an accomplice to genocide in Gaza, while the U.S. president has gone so far as to call the Colombian a drug kingpin, adding threats of tariffs, the withdrawal of financial aid, and even warnings of possible military action against Colombia. Tensions reached such a level that Petro feared an imminent attack against his country. Everything changed abruptly after the phone call on January 7, made at the Colombian presidents request. Before a group of journalists from The New York Times who were interviewing Trump in the Oval Office, the U.S. president radically altered his rhetoric and described it as a great honor to have spoken with his Colombian counterpart. The deterioration of the bilateral relationship, however, had been brewing for some time. It began three years ago, under the administration of Democrat Joe Biden. In his first address to the United Nations General Assembly in September 2022, Petro directly challenged the anti-drug policies jointly developed by both countries, a cornerstone of cooperation since the signing of Plan Colombia in 2000. Although Bogota and Washington agree on the need to combat drug trafficking, they disagree on the methods. Petro advocates for confiscation, demand reduction, and alternative economic projects for small-scale farmers, while the United States insists on eradication and supply control. That speech at the UN opened a period of tension that was reflected in clashes with Republican congressmembers like Mario Diaz-Balart and Maria Elvira Salazar during a previous visit by Petro to Washington in April 2023. The escalation continued after Trumps inauguration. Just days later, Bogota refused to receive flights carrying citizens deported from the United States, triggering the first direct clash between the two leaders on social media. In September, Washington withdrew Colombias certification as a cooperating country in the fight against drugs for the first time in three decades. A few days later, during the UN General Assembly in New York, Petro called on U.S. military personnel to disobey their president. In retaliation, the State Department revoked his visa, and the Colombian presidents name, along with those of several family members, was added to the so-called Clinton List, which restricted his financial activity. Beyond the political gains, Petro now hopes that Trump will lift these sanctions against him and members of his immediate circle. The onslaught continued with the U.S. military campaign against alleged drug-running boats in the Caribbean, launched in September to pressure Venezuela. Petro accused Washington of murder after the death of a Colombian fisherman in one of the bombings. Trump responded by calling him a drug trafficker and cutting off U.S. aid. After the intervention in Venezuela, the U.S. president even hinted that he might carry out a similar operation in Colombia. By then, a secret commission of Colombians had already been trying for weeks to ease tensions. And then peace or at least a semblance of it was precipitated. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition The top-ranking Republicans in the House and Senate weighed in on President Donald Trumps extraordinary call for the GOP to take over elections and nationalize the process ahead of this years midterms. Trumps comments came Monday during an interview on former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bonginos podcast. The Republicans should say, We want to take over. We should take over the voting in at least many, 15 places, Trump told Bongino. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting. Trump also reiterated his baseless claim that he won the 2020 election by so much. Asked Tuesday about Trumps remarks, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) echoed the presidents false claims about rampant voting fraud in Democrat-led states. The president is expressing his frustration with the problems we have in some of these blue states where election integrity is not always guaranteed, Johnson told CNNs Manu Raju. So we have to figure out solutions to that problem and thats what I think the SAVE Act will do. When asked specifically about Trump calling for the GOP to take over national elections, Johnson replied no, no while walking off. In contrast to Johnson, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) outright rejected Trumps call for Republicans to nationalize voting. Im supportive of only citizens voting and showing ID at polling places. I think that makes sense, Thune told reporters Tuesday. But Im not in favor of federalizing elections, no. I think thats a constitutional issue. The Constitution gives states primary responsibility for overseeing federal elections. Trump has sought to upend that practice, promoting unfounded assertions that U.S. elections are plagued by widespread fraud. He has claimed that Democrats are orchestrating a broad scheme to enlist undocumented immigrants to vote in order to inflate their turnout. The Department of Homeland Security found around 10,000 registered noncitizen voters out of 49.5 million registrations in 2024, according to the Times. They did not specify how many of those people had voted. A New York Times review found no evidence to back Trumps claims, while a 2024 audit by Georgias secretary of state found that just 20 of the states 8.2 million registered voters were noncitizens. A Brookings Institute study published in October 2024 also found minimal instances of voter fraud less than 1% of all votes cast in federal elections over the past four decades. Despite a lack of evidence, Trump and his allies have continued to push the narrative that fraud is commonplace. The President believes in the United States Constitution, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday. However, he believes there has obviously been a lot of fraud and irregularities that have taken place in American elections. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche did not say whether more people would be prosecuted in connection with Jeffrey Epsteins sex trafficking case after the Justice Department released a new trove of documents. The Justice Department disclosed 3 million files related to Epsteins sex trafficking case last week. The files mentioned notable public figures, including President Donald Trump, former President Bill Clinton and other famous celebrities. The release of the documents fueled speculation about whether some of the people mentioned would be charged with crimes in connection with their relationships with Epstein. Epstein died in his jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking underage girls. But Blanche was noncommittal when asked on Monday whether more people would be prosecuted for potential crimes in connection with Epstein. Is there any chance that any of these individuals who partied with Epstein and engaged in relations with minors will be prosecuted? Fox News host Laura Ingraham asked on The Ingraham Angle. Ill never say no, and we will always investigate any evidence of misconduct. But as you know, it is not a crime to party with Mr. Epstein. And so as horrible as it is, its not a crime to email with Mr. Epstein, Blanche responded. And some of these men may have done horrible things, and if we have evidence that allows us to prosecute them, you better believe we will. But its also the kind of thing that that the American people need to understand that it isnt a crime to party with Mr. Epstein. It isnt a crime, he added. Ingraham then noted that some of the photos included in the Epstein documents looked pretty bad. Thats right. And unfortunately, photos cant speak, and so we need witnesses, Blanche said. Officials have emphasized that being mentioned in the Epstein files does not mean that someone has committed a crime. Trump has been heavily scrutinized for his relationship with Epstein and appears frequently throughout the Epstein files. He has not been accused of any wrongdoing and has said he has never been to Epsteins private compound on Little Saint James Island. President Donald Trump is revealing whats to come following his abrupt decision to shut down the Kennedy Center for renovations. Trump announced on Sunday that the performing arts hub is set to temporarily shutter for two years, starting July 4, to pave way for construction to make it the finest Performing Arts Facility of its kind, anywhere in the World. He said that a closure is essential for the quality of construction and to prevent interruptions from audiences. Speaking to reporters on Monday, Trump said that he is expecting renovations to cost around $200 million. He previously noted on his Truth Social platform that financing is completed, and fully in place, but did not provide any further details on who specifically is funding the project. Trump also maintained that he will not demolish the structure of the 55-year-old building, which was dedicated by Congress as a living memorial to former President John F. Kennedy, a Democrat. Im not ripping it out, Trump said. Ill be using the steel. So were using the structure. Were using some of the marble, and some of the marble comes down, but when its open, itll be brand new and really beautiful, he added. Trump said that construction will include new air conditioning and heating systems. The move would mark the presidents latest effort to transform the Kennedy Center since returning to the White House, including adding his name to the center and overhauling and replacing its board of trustees. Trump has repeatedly claimed that his takeover was necessary to combat what he has referred to as the hubs woke anti-American culture while a wave of performers and artists have pulled out of performing at the venue due to political reasons. According to The Washington Post, staff learned of the upcoming shutdown from Trumps announcement on social media. In his post, the president said the decision is subject to approval by the centers board, which he serves as chair. The Kennedy Center is not closing because of any structural necessity, one staffer told the Post. The situation is far simpler: This is a self-inflicted crisis created by Trump and [interim President] Ric Grenell, for which they bear full responsibility. Another staffer said that the building is not falling apart or condemnable. Theres no reason repairs couldnt be done while still keeping portions of it open for performances, they added. Roma Daravi, the centers vice president of public relations, said that construction will target fixing decades of neglect by the former leadership, such as structural issues, HVAC repairs, plumbing, and electrical and fire protection. The Kennedy Center has not provided evidence to support its claims. The expected renovations comes as Trump has sought to revamp historic Washington landmarks and build others. The president has faced blowback after demolishing the East Wing of the White House for his planned $400 million ballroom, and he has teased renovations to the Washington Dulles International Airport and construction of a triumphal arch on the other side of the Arlington Bridge from the Lincoln Memorial. In a recent interview with The New York Times, Trump said he is looking to build a second story on top of the colonnade that connects the West Wing to the residence of the White House which he dubbed the Upper West Wing. Trump also disclosed that he plans on renovating Lafayette Park, located north of the White House, by ripping up the brick walkways and replacing them with granite. Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, has responded to backlash from Second Amendment advocates and MAGA allies after threatening jail time for anyone who enters the nations capital with a gun. During an interview with Fox News on Monday, Pirro said that if anyone brings a gun into the District, you mark my words, youre going to jail. I dont care if you have a license in another district, and I dont care if youre a law-abiding gun owner somewhere else, the former Fox News anchor added. You bring a gun into this district, count on going to jail and hope you get the gun back. Her comments which came as she discussed how D.C. has gone three weeks without a homicide in 2026 sparked immediate backlash from conservatives. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) wrote on X that Second Amendment rights are not extinguished just because an American visits DC. American gun owners who conceal carry are among the most law-abiding citizens in the nation, DeSantis posted. They are friends of law enforcement; they should not be targeted by law enforcement. The National Association for Gun Rights, a grassroots organization, called Pirros comments unacceptable and intolerable, adding: Bureaucrats act like the 2A does not exist and brag about jailing people for exercising their rights. A wave of Republican members of Congress threw cold water on her remarks, including Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas.), who claimed that this is not how this works. Roy called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to have a quick conversation & course correction here. Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) said he brings a gun into the district every week, noting that he has a license to carry in both Florida and D.C. And I will continue to carry to protect myself and others, Steube said. Come and Take it! Rep. Daniel Webster (R-Fla.) also weighed in, saying that the right of Americans to keep and bear arms is guaranteed by the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Shall NOT be infringed is NOT a suggestion, Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) noted. Several GOP lawmakers called for the passage of the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, which would broaden recognition of concealed carry permits across state lines. Pirro took to her personal social media account to address the blowback, appearing to walk back the interview. Let me be clear: I am a proud supporter of the Second Amendment, Pirro wrote in a post on Tuesday. Washington, D.C. law requires handguns be licensed in the District with the Metropolitan Police Department to be carried into our community. We are focused on individuals who are unlawfully carrying guns and will continue building on that momentum to keep our communities safe. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche added to her comments: This Administration and Department of Justice will fiercely protect Second Amendment rights. Pirro also posted a video of her speaking to the camera, in which she mentions that she is a proud supporter of the Second Amendment and owns guns herself. It included a message to fellow gun owners: Put your safety back on. You need to be responsible, and every responsible gun owner I know makes sure that they understand the laws, where they are going and understand whatever registration requirements there might be, Pirro said. President Trumps goal here, and my goal as well, is to make sure we take guns out of the hands of criminals. Pirros comments came less than a week after President Donald Trump angered some gun-rights advocates after claiming that you cant walk in with guns in the wake of the second fatal shooting by a federal officer in Minnesota. The NRA unequivocally believes that all law-abiding citizens have a right to keep and bear arms anywhere they have a legal right to be, the organization wrote on X last week. Gov. Mikie Sherrills nominee for New Jersey attorney general said Monday she would bring charges against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents if they violate state law. Acting Attorney General Jennifer Davenport made the comments during a state Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing under questioning from state Sen. Jon Bramnick, R-Union. The exchange came as the Sherrill administration and the leaders of other Democratic-led states continue to clash with President Donald Trumps administration over immigration policy and ICE enforcement tactics. The overwhelming amount of officers and people who are wearing a badge are doing the right thing, but there are those who do not, and its our job to make sure that we hold those folks accountable, regardless of the entity that employs them, Davenport, a former federal prosecutor and assistant state attorney general, said during the hearing. It is something that we would want to make sure were taking seriously, she added. Bramnick pressed Davenport even further. If you saw an act by an ICE agent that you believed violated the New Jersey criminal laws, you would investigate and under the circumstances, assuming there was beyond a reasonable doubt, you would bring a prosecution? Bramnick asked Davenport. If the facts and the law supported it, theres nothing that would limit that. Yes, Davenport replied. The committee voted unanimously to approve Davenports nomination for state attorney general at the end of the hearing after she was questioned on numerous topics, including ICE. She must now be approved by the full state Senate in order to be appointed. During the hearing, Davenport also faced questioning over additional legislation that would prohibit New Jersey law enforcement officers from cooperating with federal officials on immigration. Former Gov. Phil Murphy signed a measure last month that designated hospitals and other locations as safe zones from ICE. But Murphy, a Democrat, vetoed two other ICE-related bills just before leaving office. That frustrated many Democrats and advocacy groups. One bill would have restricted state agencies from sharing immigration information with ICE. The other bill would have turned New Jerseys current Immigrant Trust Directive a policy that forbids local police from cooperating with ICE on most civil enforcement cases into a law. Sherrill has signaled support for codifying the Immigrant Trust Directive. But she has said little about the separate proposal that would limit what immigration information other state agencies could share with the federal government. State Senate Minority Leader Anthony Bucco, R-Morris, has criticized efforts to revive the vetoed legislation limiting law enforcement cooperation with ICE. He has also criticized the current Immigrant Trust Directive policy. At Mondays hearing, Bucco argued that police should be able to share intelligence with federal authorities. Davenport countered that the attorney generals directive already permits cooperation as long as it relates to criminal matters, not civil immigration enforcement. Bucco insisted the directive amounted to a blanket ban, which Davenport disputed. Bucco also questioned Davenport about Sherrills intent to create a database for residents to upload videos of ICE agents for the state Office of the Attorney General to review. He argued that encouraging civilians to record encounters with federal agents could lead to confrontations and impede law enforcement. I think those videos are escalating the division and the anger, Bucco said. Sen. Vin Gopal, D-Monmouth, pushed back, noting the role of recordings in informing the public. If we did not have video on this, we would not have seen a public execution in broad daylight of a U.S. citizen, Gopal said, referring to the shooting death of Alex Pretti by ICE agents in Minneapolis last month. More public education is needed on what the attorney generals directive does and does not allow law enforcement to do with ICE, Senate Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz, D-Essex, said at the hearing. It doesnt handcuff law enforcement or protect criminals, it simply draws a clear line between state police work and federal civil immigration enforcement, Ruiz said. Officers still arrest, charge and detain people who commit crimes. Bramnick also urged Davenport to work with other state attorneys general to come up with recommendations to the federal government on making a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. I still am shocked that somebody whos been here for 25 or 30 years, raised their children, worked, paid their taxes, have absolutely no opportunity to seek citizenship or to live here legally, he said. It makes no sense to me. The stakes around immigration enforcement are high, Bramnick said. Its a crisis that may turn into a serious constitutional crisis a crisis between states and the federal government. It doesnt look like its getting any better, he said. Former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino tore into who he described as grifters of the MAGA movement in his official return to podcasting. In his first episode back hosting The Dan Bongino Show, the former Secret Service agent addressed his nine-month tenure at the FBI, interviewed President Donald Trump and defended the bureaus handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. I am back, Bongino said during the show Monday. The podfather is back and Im here to take back this movement. Bongino claimed that MAGA had been hijacked by dipsh--- and bums and losers who are nothing but doomers, railing against a group who he said has been critical of the administration but has not formally acted to create change. You sat in the front row with your popcorn, ankle-biting, throwing this popcorn at the ring at two guys in there sparring away, fighting for this country, while you did sh--! Bongino said. You just talked about it. So you didnt do anything. Now, Im back on the air, he continued. Im not going to take on every single thing in one day, on one show. But Im telling you right now: youre bullsh--, Im done with it. Bongino went on to say that you didnt volunteer, you didnt ask, you didnt give up your show. You did nothing, he said. All you did was bullsh-- people and say Nothings happening. And then when we tell you, Oh, it just happened, you move on to something else you say is not going to happen. Bongino returned to private life in early January after serving in the FBI for less than a year, noting it was always his plan. His stint reportedly included clashing with Attorney General Pam Bondi over the handling of the Epstein files and taking heat within the agency about his lack of experience to run it. During the episode, Trump had said he was very torn over whether Bongino would be a better for him as a leader in the FBI or a podcaster. I think, maybe, Id rather have you where you are, Trump said. Very few people can do what you do, and your voice is a very important one. Leading up to his appointment from Trump, Bongino, who emerged as a popular podcaster among the presidents base, had frequently criticized the FBI as a part of the deep state while doubting whether Americans can trust its leadership. He had also questioned the death of Epstein in his Manhattan jail cell in 2019. The organization needs to be disbanded, Bongino said on Fox News after the FBI raided Mar-A-Lago in 2022. Since his departure from the Trump administration, he has become increasingly candid online, including bashing comedian Dave Smith and former GOP congressman Matt Gaetz on X. In his first televised interview, Bongino accused the media of having a double standard when it comes to reporting on public safety. These are these media morons people whove never spent a day wearing a badge, Bongino told Fox News. Never kicked in a door. Never arrested some child predator or some bank robber or some gang member. These morons dont know anything about the safety status of the country. Host Sean Hannity declared that the real Dan Bongino is back, pointing to how he was more restrained while working for the FBI. This photo taken by a camera trap in mid-2025 shows a fishing cat in a flooded forest in Pursat province, Cambodia. A fishing cat, one of Asia's most elusive small wild cats, has reappeared for the first time in the restored flooded forest of around Tonle Sap Lake in western Cambodia's Pursat province, a conservationist group said in a joint press release on Monday.(Conservation International Cambodia/Handout via Xinhua) PHNOM PENH, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- A fishing cat, one of Asia's most elusive small wild cats, has reappeared for the first time in the restored flooded forest of around Tonle Sap Lake in western Cambodia's Pursat province, a conservationist group said in a joint press release on Monday. Confirmation of the rare fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) marked a major milestone in the 15-year conservation effort in restoring one of Southeast Asia's most important freshwater ecosystems, the press release said. The sighting was confirmed after the fishing cat was photographed 46 times by camera traps in mid-2025, the press release added. The charismatic aquatic cats are solitary, nocturnal hunters, about twice the size of a house cat, with partially webbed front paws and semi-retractable claws, making them expert swimmers that dive and scoop fish, though they also eat rodents, birds, and reptiles. Vanessa Herranz Munoz, director of the Fishing Cat Ecological Enterprise (FCEE) and member of both the Fishing Cat Working Group and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission Cat Specialist Group, recently confirmed the images are of a fishing cat. The fishing cat is globally categorized as vulnerable and records in Southeast Asia are very scarce, she said, adding its population in Cambodia is likely small. "This is only the second confirmed record in the entire Tonle Sap area and gives us great hope for the recovery of this unique water-loving feline species," she added. The fishing cat is native to South and Southeast Asia and is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN red list, with fewer than 10,000 mature individuals estimated globally, the press release said. Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Dith Tina said the confirmed presence of the fishing cat in the flooded forests of Tonle Sap is a strong responsive signal from nature to our long-term management of fisheries and flooded forest ecosystems. "It is the living proof of the results from our commitment," he said. "It underscores the importance of restoring and safeguarding these habitats, not only for biodiversity conservation but also for sustaining fisheries and the livelihoods of communities that depend on healthy wetlands." In Cambodia, confirmed records of fishing cats are extremely scarce, the press release said, adding that monitoring efforts are often challenged by misidentification with the more common mainland leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis). Such a finding is important evidence not only to highlight the return of the biodiversity species within the protected areas in Cambodia but also to confirm the effectiveness of Cambodia's national policies to conserve, manage, and develop the environment and natural resources, said Minister of Environment Eang Sophalleth. This photo taken by a camera trap in mid-2025 shows a fishing cat in a flooded forest in Pursat province, Cambodia. A fishing cat, one of Asia's most elusive small wild cats, has reappeared for the first time in the restored flooded forest of around Tonle Sap Lake in western Cambodia's Pursat province, a conservationist group said in a joint press release on Monday.(Conservation International Cambodia/Handout via Xinhua) This photo taken by a camera trap in mid-2025 shows a fishing cat in a flooded forest in Pursat province, Cambodia. A fishing cat, one of Asia's most elusive small wild cats, has reappeared for the first time in the restored flooded forest of around Tonle Sap Lake in western Cambodia's Pursat province, a conservationist group said in a joint press release on Monday.(Conservation International Cambodia/Handout via Xinhua) Zhao Leji, chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, meets with President of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay Yamandu Orsi in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 3, 2026. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling) BEIJING, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislator Zhao Leji met with President of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay Yamandu Orsi in Beijing on Tuesday. Noting China has always regarded Uruguay as a trustworthy friend and partner, Zhao, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, said China is willing to work with Uruguay to follow the strategic guidance of the heads of state of the two countries and promote China-Uruguay cooperation to achieve more results and better benefit the two peoples. He said the NPC is willing to enhance exchanges and mutual learning with the Uruguayan General Assembly on legislation, supervision and governance experience, and provide a favorable legal environment for deepening practical cooperation. On the basis of mutual respect, the relations between Uruguay and China have developed healthily and steadily, Orsi said. He expressed the hope that the two sides will deepen cooperation in such fields as economy and trade, investment, environment and culture, strengthen friendly exchanges between legislative bodies, learn from each other's legislative experience, and continuously promote the development of bilateral relations. Zhao Leji, chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, meets with President of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay Yamandu Orsi in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 3, 2026. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling) BEIRUT, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Tuesday that Lebanon must not be drawn into any new conflict. "We will not allow Lebanon to be dragged into a new adventure, especially after the very high cost of the Gaza support war. We must protect ourselves by standing around the state and not involving Lebanon in wars that have nothing to do with us," said Salam during a dialogue session at the World Governments Summit in Dubai. He added that sovereignty and reform are the two core pillars for "saving Lebanon" and restoring security for its people. "We are committed to the path of reform and to restoring Lebanon's sovereignty ... All we ask from our Arab brothers and the world is to support us, not replace us." Lebanon's Hezbollah and Israel erupted into conflict following the Gaza conflict in October 2023. Under U.S. and French mediation, Lebanon and Israel reached a fragile ceasefire that took effect on Nov. 27, 2024. However, Israel has continued strikes on Lebanon against "Hezbollah threats," and maintains the presence of its forces at five main points in the Lebanese border area. Residents at a retirement village in Exeter have raised more than 10,000 for a leading local childrens hospice after a year of community fundraising. More than 200 residents and 30 members of staff at Millbrook Retirement Village, in Topsham Road, joined forces throughout 2025 to support Childrens Hospice South West through a wide range of events and activities. Initiatives included a sponsored walk, charity dinner, Christmas craft fair, concerts, raffles, patio cleaning and even sales of hand-knitted socks. The combined efforts resulted in a final total of over 10,000 being donated to the charity. READ NEXT: Exeter flooding brings rail chaos as key Devon routes remain closed The money was formally presented earlier this month at the villages regular coffee morning. Resident Faith Walter handed over the cheque on behalf of the Millbrook community to Henrietta Olsson from Childrens Hospice South West, alongside Gita Rae, Chair of the Millbrook Residents Association. Both Mrs Walter and Mrs Rae thanked everyone involved for their generosity and commitment over the past year. Childrens Hospice South West was chosen as Millbrooks charity of the year following a vote by residents. The organisation provides specialist palliative, respite, end-of-life and bereavement care for children with life-limiting and terminal illnesses, as well as vital support for their families across the South West. Gavin Hogg, Village Manager at Millbrook, said the cause had clearly struck a chord with the Exeter community. Childrens Hospice South West is a charity that means a great deal to our community, he said. The dedication shown by our residents and staff throughout the year has been truly inspiring, and we are incredibly proud to present this donation. The funds raised will help support the vital care the charity provides to children and families across the region. Each year, residents at Millbrook nominate and vote for a charity they would like to support, reflecting the villages focus on giving back to the local community. Following the success of last years fundraising, residents have now chosen St Petrocks, the Exeter-based homelessness charity, as their next cause for 2026. Millbrook Retirement Village, owned and operated by Inspired Villages, offers over-55s independent living within a secure and sociable community. Facilities at the Exeter site include a swimming pool, gym, cinema and restaurant. Village leaders say the latest fundraising effort highlights the strong community spirit among residents and their ongoing commitment to supporting good causes close to home. Firstly, I want to start by mentioning the awful storm damage that has hit the Bay over the last week or so. Firstly, I want to start by mentioning the awful storm damage that has hit the Bay over the last week or so. Torbay, along with the rest of South Devon, really took a battering during both Storm Ingrid and Storm Chandra, with wind and heavy rain doing their very worst. People often ask why Torbay can sometimes feel as though it takes the brunt of certain storms while other areas seem less affected. Much of this comes down to the direction the weather comes from. Storms arriving from the easterly direction can drive wind and rain straight into the Bay rather than passing by offshore. The shape of the coastline and the surrounding hills can also concentrate that weather, making conditions feel stronger over a shorter period of time. That is why some storms pass with little impact, while others leave very visible damage along our seafront and in our communities. I would like to once again thank staff from the Council, SWISCo and Tor Bay Harbours who have worked around the clock to clear up the damage caused by the storms. They have faced road closures, flooding, damage to walls, beach chalets, fences and bins, fallen branches and even a suspected unexploded bomb. It has been a huge task and they have tackled it in all weathers with real dedication. It is also important to recognise the patience shown by residents, particularly those who observed road closures and delays while work was carried out to keep people safe. Please take care if we experience further storms and be assured that our teams will continue working hard to get things back to normal as quickly as possible. For up to date weather information, please keep an eye on Met Office updates, and for the latest on road closures and safety advice follow Devon and Cornwall Police. If you need to report fallen trees, debris, obstructions or flooding, you can do so by calling 01803 701310 or via the SWISCo website. Times like these are a reminder of how important it is that people have the right support around them, whether in moments of disruption or when looking ahead to new opportunities. With that in mind, I would like to share some positive news about a new programme now available to residents in Torbay. Connect to Work is a supported employment programme designed to help people with disabilities, health conditions or other complex barriers to employment move towards paid and sustainable work. It is free and voluntary to take part and offers personalised support to help people take confident steps towards the right job. The programme also supports local employers by promoting more inclusive employment and helping to create flexible job opportunities that work for everyone. Funded by the UK Government, Connect to Work is being delivered across Devon, Plymouth and Torbay by the three local authorities, ensuring support reflects local priorities and reaches those who need it most. I am delighted that Connect to Work is now available in Torbay. It represents a significant step forward in expanding our support for residents who want to move closer to work, while also strengthening our local economy. Locally, the programme is being delivered by Eat That Frog CIC in partnership with I Can Do That! CIC and will provide personalised, high quality support to help people find, keep and thrive in the right job for them. The programme is expected to support more than 800 people in Torbay. It is open to residents aged 18 and over, or 16 and over in exceptional circumstances, who have a disability or health condition or who face barriers that make finding and keeping work more challenging. This includes care experienced young people and care leavers, people with caring responsibilities, those experiencing housing insecurity and others who may need extra support. Participants will be supported by a specialist employment advisor who will work with them to understand their goals, offer one to one tailored support and help open direct conversations with potential employers. Ongoing in work support is also available for both employees and employers to help ensure long term success. If you think you or someone you know might benefit from Connect to Work, you can find out more at www.torbay.gov.uk/connect-to-work. Survivors of rape and sexual abuse across Devon and Cornwall will receive improved support under a new service model launched by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC). The new approach, introduced on 2 February, follows a competitive tender process and is intended to provide a more joined-up system for survivors, with clearer pathways into help and stronger coordination between support services. The launch coincided with Sexual Abuse and Sexual Violence Awareness Week. The OPCC said the model will strengthen local leadership, coordination and oversight, helping to ensure survivors receive trauma-informed support that better meets their individual needs. A former service user and now ambassador of Devon Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Services welcomed the new model after waiting almost two years for therapy following a referral in 2022. She said: It was a massive step to ask for help, especially around sexual violence as there is so much stigma and shame. You build yourself up ready to speak about it and then you have to carry on as normal while you wait. My mental health suffered trying to cope with it but when I did get support it was fantastic. Waits have thankfully now improved. The new model sounds really good because survivors will be able to get support quicker and it recognises some people need different things. Bethan Ridge, specialist support team leader for Devon Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Services, said the new model would strengthen collaboration and widen choice for survivors. She said: My team are so looking forward to working more collaboratively with our new partners who are coming on board through this contract. It feels we now have a more rounded partnership which will further deepen survivor choice, as well as support our resilience, enable us to share best practice, and work in solidarity with like-minded charities who all want the best for survivors of rape and sexual abuse in Devon. Under the new model, lead providers have been appointed across Cornwall, Devon and Torbay, Plymouth and surrounding areas. They will coordinate delivery locally and work with partner organisations to make access to therapy and specialist support easier for both adults and children. Cornwall The Womens Centre Cornwall will lead a partnership delivering the Oak Service, providing therapeutic support for men and women who have experienced sexual violence and sexual abuse. Partners include CLEAR trauma therapy and counselling (leading on childrens services), Konnect Communities, Intercom Trust, Olive Project and Pegasus Mens Wellbeing. Services will be fully available under the model from April. Devon and Torbay The Childrens Society and Devon Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Services will partner with Intercom Trust, Co-Lab and Whats Your Problem. Plymouth First Light will work in partnership with Young Devon, Victim Support and Operation Emotion. The total investment over the five-year contract is 6.7 million, with the majority funded by the OPCC. Additional funding contributions will come from Torbay Council, Plymouth City Council, Cornwall Council and Devon County Council, with overarching support from NHS England. Supporting victims to cope and recover is a key responsibility of Police and Crime Commissioners, who commission victim services across their police force areas. Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez said: A crucial priority of mine has been to make sure every victim of sexual abuse receives the right free support from the services my office invests in. In Devon and Cornwall, we have seen a concerning rise in recorded sexual offences over the years. Since 2010, the number of these crimes has more than tripled. This investment will ensure the help victims need is available. The Commissioner recently visited Phoenix Rising in Torquay, a support service for survivors of domestic and sexual abuse. The organisation said wraparound services are essential for victims. Claire Knight, CEO of Phoenix Rising, said: There is a gap and a need for a contract like this and we are hoping to work with those services to bring that support. How to access support Victims can access OPCC-funded support online, including the Devon & Cornwall Police Victim Care Unit, via the Victim Care website. The OPCC has also produced a video resource explaining what happens when rape and serious sexual offences are reported to police, and what support is available throughout the criminal justice process, as part of its Criminal Justice and You online service. Pupils from an Exeter primary school have taken part in a community visit aimed at strengthening links between younger and older generations, including meeting a former headteacher who is now 106 years old. Children from Whipton Barton Federation visited Cumberland Grange Care Home as part of their Civic Awards programme. During the visit, Year 6 pupils spent time speaking with residents, playing board games and hearing about life in Exeter in previous decades. The session was designed to give pupils an opportunity to engage with older members of the local community and gain a better understanding of how the city has developed over time. READ NEXT: Exeter Residential Village raises 10,000 for Children's Hospice South West after year of fundraising Care home staff said the pupils conducted themselves well throughout the visit and interacted positively with residents. One of the residents they met was Joan, a former headteacher who recently celebrated her 106th birthday. When asked about her longevity, she replied: Devonshire clotted cream. The visit forms part of Whipton Barton Federations wider programme of activities intended to support learning outside the classroom and encourage pupils to take part in community-based projects. Louise Moretta, executive headteacher at Whipton Barton Federation, said the visit had been a useful experience for the children. Our pupils represented the school very well, she said. Spending time with the residents allowed them to learn from different generations and connect with their community. Whipton Barton Federation is part of the Ted Wragg Trust, which promotes initiatives aimed at developing pupils social awareness and community involvement. Moira Marder, chief executive of the Ted Wragg Trust, said: It is positive to see pupils engaging with different generations and contributing to their local community. Experiences like this support young people in developing confidence, responsibility and an understanding of the wider world. The school said similar activities will continue to form part of its Civic Awards programme in the future. Chen Hao and a student participate in an underwater archaeology training near the shore of Pingtan, southeast China's Fujian Province, Aug. 7, 2025.(Xinhua) FUZHOU, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Wearing thick and heavy diving gear, with a humming in his ears, Chen Hao follows a rope into deepening blue. His descent is slow and deliberate in water shrouded by silt clouds and diminishing visibility. Eventually Chen's hand meets wood, the plank of a ship untouched for centuries. Above him lies the open sea and in front of him a concrete vision of history. For nearly two decades, Chen has been making such descents into the depths of the sea. Now in his early fifties, he is deputy head of the underwater archaeology center at the Fujian provincial research institute of archaeology in east China, and is one of the few Chinese archaeologists who still spends much of the year underwater. From China's northern seas to its southernmost waters, Chen's dives follow routes once traveled by merchant ships along the ancient Maritime Silk Road. Chen, notably, looks like someone shaped as much by the ocean as by scholarship, being broad-shouldered with skin darkened by a combination of sun and salt. During the chill of winter, when hazardous seas temporarily halt diving, Chen turns his attention to the shore, compiling survey data and gearing up for future dives, among them a joint underwater archaeology effort in South Africa. Though sidelined from diving for now, the ocean still anchors his every endeavor. "I prefer being at sea to sitting in an office," Chen said. "That's where the historical secrets are." Before the sea became his workplace, Chen had a desk. In 2005, he held a stable office position at the Fujian Museum, and during this time he was sent to observe the excavation of the Wanjiao No.1 shipwreck, a Chinese merchant vessel dating back to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) that sank off the coast near Fujian's Pingtan County. "Each day, divers raised hundreds of porcelain pieces from the seabed," he recalled. "The vessel carried tens of thousands of blue-and-white ceramics, preserved so exceptionally that the finds stunned everyone on site." Soon after, Chen left his desk job and applied to enter the field of underwater archaeology. This transition demanded both physical endurance and resolve. In 2009, at age 35, just within the age limit, Chen joined the fifth national underwater archaeology training program, becoming its oldest participant and class monitor. Over three months, trainees were required to earn more than a dozen professional diving certifications before moving directly into fieldwork at submerged sites. "You'd collapse into sleep the instant you touched the bed," Chen recalled. "But the anticipation of handling those relics on the seabed kept you going." Of his cohort from those intense early days, fewer than five remain on the frontlines today. Risk has always been part of the work. Diving off Wenzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Chen once operated in almost total darkness underwater, visibility so poor he could not read his wrist computer or compass. He moved by touch and instinct alone, relying on experience to read what he could not see. Off Fujian's Shengbeiyu islet, meanwhile, the search was dominated by relentless tidal currents that repeatedly dragged him away from the target coordinates. Fighting the water left his legs numb. Back on deck, he would lie still for over an hour before recovering. It was through these punishing dives that the team finally fixed the exact position of a shipwreck dating back to the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). Nothing has challenged Chen more consistently than the waters off Pingtan. Winds of force six or higher lash the area more than 300 days a year. Reefs cluster densely, currents tangle and shift, and survey vessels strike hidden rocks that crack their hulls. Yet, historically it was a major maritime corridor in China. For about a millennium, ships streamed through these waters, with many foundering there, leaving one of the nation's densest underwater archaeological fields. The search for wrecks frequently begins with fishermen. Chen lingers for long stretches along the coast, listening. "Fishermen know the sea better than anyone," he said. "When they say something unusual lies below, it can be the breakthrough." Time is not the only adversary. Looters can devastate a site and erase centuries of accumulated evidence in days. For Chen, protection precedes excavation. His institute collaborates with the coast guard, police and fisheries authorities, installing 24-hour monitoring in priority waters and carrying out regular patrols. Chen has watched the field evolve through technology. Previously, equipment was mostly cumbersome and rough, heightening every risk and leading to inefficiency underwater. Today, real-time navigation and communication systems keep divers linked and oriented, while sonar, imaging and sensing tools locate wrecks with sharp accuracy. Still, the act of recovery calls for profound restraint. Ropes, bamboo packaging fragments and hull filling materials can crumble at a touch after centuries underwater. His team uses adapted pneumatic tools to brush away sediment with care and encases delicate pieces in epoxy resin before lifting them to the surface. Some discoveries have defined the arc of Chen's career. In recent years, especially, sites he helped uncover and excavate in China have delivered some of the field's most significant breakthroughs, ranging from the first physical proof of long-lost navigational tools surviving underwater, to the best-preserved mid-Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) merchant ship yet found in coastal waters and a vessel from the Yuan Dynasty that yielded an exceptional single-site collection of Longquan celadon and secured major national recognition. The sea has taken its toll at home. Extended work assignments have left most family responsibilities to Chen's wife, and he has missed birthdays and been absent during periods of illness in the family. "My family's full understanding and support is what keeps me going," he said. These days Chen splits his efforts between leading dives and mentoring the next cohort of divers, often serving as an instructor in national training programs. Underwater archaeology in China is still a narrow field, with just dozens of active frontline specialists across the country. "Fujian's exceptionally rich submerged heritage will rely on the successors now coming up behind me," he said. Chen has no intention of retiring. "Every dive is a conversation with history," he said. "Every excavation writes a page for civilization." As long as his strength holds, he will continue descending, seeking to play his role in elevating what has lain in darkness for centuries to the surface. History is a good teacher - we're just lousy students "You are SUCH a nerd!" My daughter Ceili's exclamation resounded through the rotunda of the Texas State Capitol. She has her father's capacity to project. We were in Austin with Ceili's mom, Marilyn, who was organizing a conference event for her employer. We were left to roam in a city full of music and history, and I was as content as a pig in slop. The nice Texas Dept. of Public Safety cop had waved me through security despite the knife in my pocket, which I declared and begged forgiveness for. "This is Texas," he said. Which may have meant, "That's not a knife..." Anyways... we strolled int... Editors note: In the third and final installment of available services for seniors in Sisters, miscellaneous services that dont fit in a specific category as well as in-home nonmedical care will be discussed. Miscellaneous Services Pets are often the source of companionship and love for seniors, but the expenses of food and medical care for them can be a limiting factor in the feasibility of keeping their four-legged friends. Fortunately, Sisters has the nonprofit Furry Friends Foundation which offers a free full-service pet food and pet supply bank, a free spay/neuter program, and free vaccinations. They can be reached at 541-797-4023 or by email [email protected]. They also accept donations of pet food and supplies. The Sisters Camp Sherman Fire District Fire Corps will conduct home safety assessments, wildfire home assessments, blood pressure screenings, and CPR trainings. They also provide the File of Life into which goes all emergency medical and contact information needed in an emergency as well as house number address signs that can be seen from the road. The Fire Corps is a voluntary organization made up of Sisters residents. The Corps is part of the Fire and Life Safety Division at 541-549-0771 or sistersfire.com. Kaufmans Home Maintenance can provide help with home and yard chores that can no longer be done safely by a senior living on their own. Zane Miller performs preventive and fire-wise home maintenance, professional handyman services, home repairs, updates, and adaptive modifications to ensure safety, comfort, and independence. Contact at 541-728-1680 or [email protected]. As one prepares for later life, certain issues need to be addressed such as making sure you have a will that is current, any necessary powers of attorney, specific instructions regarding end-of-life wishes (advance directive and POLST form if desired), among other legal documents. Christie Martin, of Martin & Richards PLLC, is an attorney specializing in elder law. She can assist clients with elder law issues, estate planning, guardianship, conservatorship, probate, wills, and trusts. 541-241-7673 or christie@ cascadialawyers.com. Ashley Tuttle of Evashevski Elliott PC also offers estate planning, including trusts and wills, and offers a 30-minute free consultation. She can be reached at 541-588-2414. In-Home NonMedical Care Aging, disability, illness, or injury can make living at home a challenge. In-home care providers offer a range of services depending on the needs of the client and their family. The core of assistance is similar for most in-home non-medical care agencies including personal care like dressing and hygiene, help with daily tasks and routines, housekeeping and meal preparation, and errands and appointments. They also provide companionship for the client and respite for the care provider. Most can provide services from a few hours to 24/7 care. Home Instead of Central Oregon offers nonmedical in-home care using customized care plans for each client. They provide hospital-to-home support, reducing the chances for readmission. Caregivers help with daily tasks and routines, light housekeeping and meal preparation, and errands and appointments. 541-330-6400 or [email protected]. Hallmark Home Care provides independent caregivers who are hired directly by the client. They use the Ideal Caregiver Profile filled out by the client to search for and vet the best matches. They then connect the clients to those caregiver matches to meet and interview, allowing the client to select and hire their choice. Hallmark conducts the background checks and employment history and verification. They also cover the caregiver with liability insurance and occupational accident insurance. They offer the usual services up to 24/7 as well as coordination with and referral to other resources in Central Oregon. 541-647-1166 or [email protected]. Right At Home Central Oregon provides in-home assistance guided by care plans uniquely tailored to the individual client. They can provide support to the client and family if hospice is brought in. They also work with chronic health issues like diabetes and Parkinsons. 541-633-7436 or [email protected]. Visiting Angels of Central Oregon offers all the standard in-home care options as well as transitional care coordinated with hospice until end of life. Their Ready-Set-Go Home transitional care service provides the personalized support that older individuals require to recover successfully after a stay in the hospital and avoid rehospitalization. The Ready-Set-Go Home program begins with in-hospital assistance and support with planning for the upcoming discharge. The home care plan helps the care recipient feel most comfortable and at ease during recovery. 541-617-3868 and [email protected]. Heart and Home Care in Sisters provides in-home care especially for those with memory issues. They offer bathing, meal preparation, shopping, medical transportation, care provider respite, and hospice care in conjunction with Partners in Care. 541-729-1402 or [email protected]. In next weeks Nugget there will be information about the upcoming free Senior Resource Fair where all the agencies in the three articles will be present to answer questions and provide information. Light snacks will be provided. Tuesday, February 17, noon to 2 p.m., Sisters Fire Community Hall, 301 S. Elm St. In December, Governor Tina Kotek announced that Oregon was open for business. For help, the Democratic governor is turning to a Republican who might be best known for shutting down the Legislature. Kotek announced Wednesday that she is hiring former state Sen. Tim Knopp as her new chief prosperity officer. The former longtime lawmaker from Bend will be tasked with meeting Koteks goal of finding ways to ease burdens on businesses and stem a recent tide of job losses. To be successful, this role demands a unique set of skills an entrepreneurial spirit, a systems thinker, and equal parts pragmatism and persistence, Kotek said in a release Wednesday. Tim is going to be a great part of my team, and I am grateful that he has agreed to step up and serve Oregonians. Beginning next week, Knopp will work in Koteks office alongside other staff, earning $191,658 a year. But it wasnt long ago that he was a major thorn in the governors side. During the 2023 legislative session, he led Senate Republicans on a six-week walkout that all but shut down legislative action and raised the prospect lawmakers would not be able to pass a budget on time. As a result of that boycott, Knopp was barred from seeking reelection in 2024. He currently works as executive vice president of the Central Oregon Builders Association, a role he will depart to join the governors team. When the Governor calls on you to drive prosperity for Oregonians across the state, grow the economy, and support Oregon businesses, the answer is yes, Knopp said in a statement. He did not respond to inquiries from OPB. Kotek announced her business prosperity initiative in early December, on the eve of announcing her reelection bid. The effort includes a 16-member prosperity council, tasked with recommending public policy changes that can make it easier to build and grow businesses in Oregon, and juice the states reputation for business nationwide. Kotek announced members of that council last week. It will meet in private. A recent study from CNBC ranked Oregon 39th in the country in terms of overall business environment far lower than the states showing in previous years. Kotek said she wants to get the Beaver State into the top 10. In his new role, Knopp will work alongside the prosperity council, but also look for actions the governor can take on her own to assist businesses. Koteks selection has drawn widespread surprise in business circles this week, with some privately expressing skepticism at the choice. Knopp doesnt have an extensive background in economic development. Outward signs suggest Kotek struggled to fill the prosperity officer role. The governor initially pledged to announce a hire by New Years Day, but four members of the states business lobby told OPB inquiries to several possible candidates were not successful. A spokeswoman for Kotek declined to comment on who the governor sought for the job. Republished under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, courtesy https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com. After a year-long search, Gov. Tina Kotek has chosen Nevadas state forester to take the helm of the Oregon Department of Forestry. Kacey KC would be the first woman to permanently hold the directors position in the 115-year-old agencys history. The Oregon State Senate would need to confirm her appointment during the upcoming legislative session before she could take office on March 1. KC, from Nevada, most recently spent eight years as Nevadas State Forester Firewarden and three years as president of the National Association of State Foresters. Kacey KC brings tenacity and a get-it-done style to her management approach and knows how to build strong partnerships across all levels of government to tackle complex challenges, Kotek said in a statement. Its also the first time Kotek has had the authority to choose the state forester, rather than leaving the decision to the governor-appointed Board of Forestry, following the passage of Senate Bill 1051 during the summer. Leading up to the change in hiring authority in 2025, the Oregon Department of Forestry had been roiled by controversies in 2024, including going to the Legislature for emergency money to cover its wildfire season bills, executive investigations and firings over workplace misconduct, as reported by The Oregonian/OregonLive. Former director Cal Mukumoto resigned early last year at the urging of Kotek and the agency has been run by interim director Kate Skinner, who was previously lead forester in the Tillamook district. The Oregon state forester reports to the governor and the forestry board, and oversees the management and protection of 745,000 acres of forestland owned by the state of Oregon, as well as wildfire protection for 16 million acres of forestland in the state. All of this requires negotiating the desires of environmentalists, logging companies, tribes and private property owners. They also oversee a biennial budget of more than $570 million and roughly 1,400 employees. If confirmed, KC would earn $19,700 per month for the first six months on the job, after which her salary would increase to $21,069 per month, or roughly $252,000 per year. KC holds a bachelors degree in forestry from the University of Montana and is an alumna of the Peace Corps, where she volunteered for two years on community forestry projects in Nepal. Afterward, she returned to her home state to work for the Nevada Division of Forestry, then spent 10 years working on wildfire fuels reduction programs at the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, including as program manager of the states Sagebrush Ecosystem Program. She returned to the forestry division as a deputy administrator of wildfire management in 2015, and in 2018 Nevadas governor appointed her as state forester firewarden. In 2021, she was appointed by Congress to a national Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission to update the nations wildfire protection systems, and in 2023 her peers elected her president of the National Association of State Foresters. I am extremely excited for the opportunity to join the Oregon Department of Forestry team, KC said in a statement. While I am not from Oregon, my experience at both the national and state level equips me to deepen key relationships while leading and supporting the strong work and mission of the Department. Republished under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, courtesy https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/. The Deschutes Historical Museum will present Rick Atkinson at The Tower Theatre May 13, at 7 p.m. In partnership with the Oregon Historical Societys Mark O. Hatfield Lecture Series and the official America 250 Oregon statewide commemoration, Deschutes Historical Museum is proud to host a special event with Pulitzer Prizewinning author Rick Atkinson. Atkinson is the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of eight narrative histories about five American wars, including The Long Gray Line, the Liberation Trilogy (An Army at Dawn, The Day of Battle, and The Guns at Last Light), and The British Are Coming, the first volume of the Revolution Trilogy. He most recently can be seen in Ken Burns The American Revolution on PBS. Timed to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the beginning of the revolution, Atkinsons account of the lethal conflict between the Americans and the British Empire offers not only deeply researched and spectacularly dramatic history, but a fresh perspective on the demands that a democracy makes on each of its citizens. Atkinson worked as a reporter, foreign correspondent, and senior editor for two decades at The Washington Post. His last assignments were covering the 101st Airborne during the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and writing about roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2007. Born in Munich, Germany, Atkinson is the son of a U.S. Army officer and grew up on military posts. He holds a BA from East Carolina University and an MA in English literature from the University of Chicago. Tickets are available through The Tower Theatre website. General admission is $30; DCHS/OHS Members $25; or GA Ticket plus DCHS Membership $45. An $8 per ticket Tower Preservation Fee is applied at checkout. For more information contact organizers at [email protected] or call 541-389-1813. Police pull over more than 50,000 drivers on a typical day, more than 20 million motorists every year according to Stanford University studies. In 2024, felonious killings accounted for 64 of the 107 officer deaths. Among those, 72 percent had gunshot wounds and 39 percent followed unlawful or suspicious activity or during a traffic stop. From 2021 to 2024, there were 258 felonious officer deaths, the most in any four-year period over the past 20 years. Accidental police officer deaths, 43 of 2024s 107 officer deaths, have dropped since 2011. Before 2011 there was an average of 70 accidental deaths each year. Since 2011, the average has been 48 with 12 to 15 annually occurring during routine traffic stops. In most cases the officer was killed by another reckless vehicle not part of the enforcement action. Its easy to see how Sisters sheriffs deputies can be at risk along with a motorist or a vehicles occupants during even the most minor of routine traffic stops. First and foremost in the officers mind is safety yours and theirs, and other motorists or bystanders in proximity to the area of stop. Social media is aflame with contradictory and misleading, or in many cases, outright erroneous information particularly with regards to your rights and obligations during a stop. There isnt a precise global or national figure showing exactly how widespread misinformation on motorist rights and obligations is but credible evidence and real-world examples show that false, misleading, or inaccurate claims about traffic laws and driver rights circulate frequently on social media, and are a recognized concern in the justice system. The Nugget asked Lt. Chad Davis who heads the Sisters substation for Deschutes County Sheriffs Office to provide guidance if you are stopped or are in proximity to a stop. See sidebar, this page, for his comprehensive advice. Stopped while carrying a handgun Oregon has over 311,000 active concealed carry permits statewide with more than 15,000 in Deschutes County. In Oregon, drivers who are stopped for a routine traffic violation and have a lawfully carried firearm with a valid Concealed Handgun License (CHL) are not required by law to proactively inform the officer that they are armed. Oregon does not have a duty to inform statute. However, the license holder must carry their CHL and must present it if the officer asks about weapons or requests to see the permit. If an officer asks directly if there is a firearm in the vehicle, you must answer truthfully and comply with instructions. Some drivers choose to voluntarily disclose the presence of a firearm in a calm, clear manner, though this is a personal choice rather than a legal obligation. Road rage or road work? To the Editor: This month, for the third consecutive session, Oregons legislature will attempt to address the Department of Transportations estimated $300 million shortfall. Those of us who lean from the left or right toward the political center, who like driving across sturdy bridges and through efficient traffic controls on well-maintained roads that dont devour tires and suspensions, have some questions for our legislators. For those who opposed the most recent funding plan and gathered petition signatures to place the issue on a ballot: Higher mileage gas and electric vehicles make the per gallon gas tax inadequate. Do you agree the funding gap needs to be filled? If no, why? If yes, what is your plan to fill it? No to any new revenue is not a plan. Exactly what programs would you take money from? Why? Have you explained that to your constituents who would lose programs or benefits? For those who favor raising revenue while holding programs harmless: Are there absolutely no opportunities to transfer funds from other agencies budgets to the DOTs? Is every urban bicycle, bus, rail, or other program so successful it deserves full state funding? Is every rural DOT program without waste or potential cost savings? Arguing there are no possible cuts to any programs is not believable for anyone dealing with their personal budget shortfalls. For all parties: Will you use the DOTs shortfall and your oppositions position as rage bait, rile up your base, and look for some kind of victory to carry you into the November election? That wont retrofit a bridge, fill a pothole, or plow snow. Instead, will you reach and pass a compromise that might not be perfect, might not be a complete victory, might not crush the opposition, but will solve the problem? Compromise is not capitulation. Skip the road rage. Do the road work. Cliff Brush ICE belongs in whiskey, not in cities To the Editor: Once, when I was living in a wooded area, I heard a loud ruckus near my house. I looked out to see several birds of various species congregated in a big bush. I then became aware of a large Red Shouldered Hawk at the center of all the attention. The birds, blue jays, red wing black birds, etc., realizing the danger of this predator in their neighborhood, surrounded it, squawking loudly, and flapping their wings, eventually driving it away. It occurred to me that this is a good metaphor for what is happening in neighborhoods across the country. The big difference is the hawk didnt have a gun. Why does a bank robber wear a mask? Answer: because he doesnt want to be identified while committing a crime. These ICE thugs have been given free rein to do whatever they want to achieve their goals as laid down by their dear leader, but are too cowardly to show their faces because they know what they are doing is wrong. Some people compare ICE with Hitlers Gestapo. I disagree, they are more along the lines of the Hitlers Brownshirts or Mussolinis Blackshirts who went around in their own country vandalizing the shops and beating up Jews or anyone else who disagreed with them. ICE is too stupid to be the Gestapo. Point of fact: neither the Gestapo or the Brownshirts wore masks. They were like ICE in that they show their cowardice by ganging up on and beating or even killing innocent people, but ICE takes it to another level by hiding their faces as well. Apparently, the Second Amendment only applies to certain people these days. The excuse given by DHS as to why Alex Pretti was shot and killed was that he had a gun in his possession. Of course, it was holstered, permitted, and his hand was nowhere near it but these are just details. He was a liberal, he had a gun, shoot him. I heard a news guy say, he was gunned down by ICE. Not true, he was already down. When Kyle Rittenhouse shoots two unarmed protesters with a long rifle he gets acquitted. Go figure. Ive heard people say, This is not who we are. Well, guess what, it is definitely who we are. Lets just hope that someday well realize that its not who we want to be. I fear many of the young people in this country arent really aware as to whats going on right now. I go to a town hall or a protest and I see mostly gray hair. More than likely, some of these gray hairs went to the anti-war protests during the Vietnam war as I did. Then it was just the opposite demographics as today. I feel as though the younger people these days havent paid much attention to whats gone on before. Its like they didnt read the minutes to the last meeting and dont know how we got to this point. So far, ICE has only killed two Americans (two more to go to tie the Kent State record) but I suspect there will be more. When your goal is to get more militaristic control over a country you need excuses to declare martial law and send in troops. Shooting innocent people will usually get people riled up pretty fast, and there you go. Im amazed at the restraint the people of Minnesota have shown so far. That must really piss off Stephen (most likely to have been bullied in high school) Miller. Bruce Campbell What it means to have a life To the Editor: To the man who very articulately yelled, Get a life! at all of us standing on the street corner during Saturdays protest: We have lives. We have families and jobs and obligations. We have beloved pets, neighbors we check on, problems and worries that keep us awake at night, and time out in nature to keep us grounded. Just like you. I suspect we have more in common than you think. Part of having a life is caring about other people and speaking up when something is happening that you know is wrong. We teach our children to tell the truth, to treat people with kindness and respect, and do unto others as they would have done unto them. This administration has followed none of these rules for human decency. It has locked up children, shot people and then lied about the basic facts of their existence, stolen parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins, classmates and neighbors and friends, from communities across America, and threatened to silence anyone who disagreed. I can hear you now saying, But they were all criminals. More lies. If you choose to dehumanize every single person this administration has hurt by calling them criminals, you will drown in unjustified rage. If you choose to believe that anyone different from you does not deserve basic human rights, I imagine the world must look very bleak indeed. When you see people like us out protesting, remember that we are choosing to spend hours of our lives on street corners because we believe in a better world. One where the humanity of every person is respected. One that is not fueled by hatred and resentment and rage and spite. I cant imagine anything better to do with our precious, finite lives than fight for that world. Kaely Horton Protesting To the Editor: In support of Susan Cobbs recent column. (January 14) listing some of our historically impactful protest movements, I would add this: The purpose of protests is to force policymakers to hear the publics voice on issues, as well as show folks that others share their feelings or opinions. Along with the noted historical protest events, there have been thousands of smaller, yet no less important uses of such methods of speaking to power. My first experience, as Dorm President in college, was leading residents on a march to the Deans office protesting our Housemothers invasion of our rights to privacy in various ways. She was not rehired and her behavior improved during remaining months. It worked and I learned that I had a voice! My husband and I became ready participants in group events, and later took our sons to all sorts of protests, marching for more public parks in one town, gay rights, right to choose, and other local issues. While not the only form of pressure, every effort helped make changes. During George W. Bushs term, in April 2004, Mike and I traveled to Washington, D.C., to protest Bushs intent to defund and close womens health clinics all over the world. We valued the issue so highly that it was worth the time and money to join a major effort. With estimates from 500,000 up to a million marchers, including representatives from 40 countries, we walked and stood for hours with students, elderly folks, people in wheel chairs or using walkers and heard many languages. It worked! Along with other pressures, our efforts plus all the smaller statewide protests caused a reversal in government plans, and kept many clinics open and funded! Another DC visit was to support Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewarts rally against the media, for only focusing on the extremes of left and right, without acknowledging the vast majority of us in between. Those extremes have loud voices so we must group together to increase our collective volume. Protest! Call your Representatives and Senators. We cannot give in to despair or we become invisible, just watching the news and groaning! We must constantly remember that silence is the voice of complicity. You dont need a sign just to stand with others, but we need each other to truly be seen and heard. Nobody ever said that doing the right thing would be easy, but we all learned something about what is right and wrong, and that even just trying is succeeding! Wendie Vermillion Be careful with the Bible To the Editor: Regarding last weeks Gods Mercy letter, Im guessing that there are still some real Christians in America, you know, like people who still believe in Matthew 22:39: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself people who care for the poor, work to free the oppressed, and welcome the outcasts. Ms. Draxler, I hope that you are one of these Christians. With all due respect, as I searched for the main point of your letter, I could not help but use it as a platform for a response. I am hoping that you and other true Christians are aware that Christianity in the hateful form of the White Christian Nationalist narrative (yes, sigh...at the core of Trump worship and even the dearly beloved, deceased Charlie Kirks Turning Point organization brainwashing the white youth of America) has completely distorted the Christian faith as it focuses on political power and exclusion rather than the universal teachings of Jesus. Nothing new, but Christianity has been turned into a weapon against humanity, so clear as we currently watch ICE slaughter innocent citizens yes, I am implying that those directing ICE to do the killing are at the core of the WCN garbage pit. Oh, and John 3:16: For God so loved the world so, meaning, like everyone, all eight billion people, people of color, Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, Sikhs, LBGTQ folks, agnostics, atheists, and lots of non-American people who arent white. And, just a few more annoying bits of news for all you scripture spewers out there: Jesus was born in the Middle East, he didnt speak English, he wasnt white, he wasnt evangelical, he wasnt a Republican, he wasnt a MAGA lunatic, heck, as a Palestinian Jewish Rabbi, he wasnt even Christian (omg!). Go figure. Steven Blauvelt Make polluters pay To the Editor: Last summer, many of us were adversely affected emotionally, physically, and financially by the Flat Fire. Some of us experienced damage to our homes and property. Some dealt with respiratory and other illnesses, business closures, cancellation of community and social events, and other detrimental consequences. Fires like this are becoming common in our state. This is undeniably the result of fossil fuel emissions, especially by large corporations, which results in climate change. However, the cost of these fires ($27 million for the Flat Fire) is borne primarily by private citizens and communities like ours. Additional costs from global warming include reduced production by farmers and ranchers due to decreased rainfall and loss of grazing land, deforestation from drought stress and beetle kill, revenue loss of outdoor events as a result of smoke, increased medical costs from illnesses triggered by smoke and heat, and wage loss due to environmental conditions affecting outdoor workers. While we all have some responsibility for global warming, corporations that produce high levels of green house emissions pay little to compensate for the adverse consequences of global warming. This legislative session the Make Polluters Pay bill can change that. The bills goal is to require companies that produce significant carbon emissions to contribute to a fund that helps Oregon communities to prevent and repair the damage caused by climate change. For this legislation to succeed, citizens need to contact their state senators (Anthony Broadman for Sisters, Redmond, and Bend) and inform them of the importance of this bill. I also ask our local council, mayor, and other officials to publicly support this effort. Gregory Schultz Selective outrage To the Editor, The Nuggets March 19, 2025 editorial, Tumultuous times, presented itself as a principled meditation on liberty, arbitrary power, and the enduring relevance of the American Revolution. It was written with urgency and moral clarity, despite the absence of any immediate triggering event, and it asked readers to view current debates, particularly around firearms, through the lens of first principles rather than partisan loyalty. That framing makes what followed, or rather, what did not, impossible to ignore. In the months since, Alex Pretti, a law-abiding U.S. citizen, legal gun owner, and holder of a valid concealed-carry permit, was disarmed and then shot to death on camera by federal ICE agents. Before any meaningful investigation had taken place, the federal government publicly labeled him a domestic terrorist, and the President of the United States stated that he should not have been carrying a gun at all. Words I never thought Id hear a Republican say, let alone a Republican president. This was not a theoretical infringement of rights. It was not a regulatory proposal, a court decision, or a future concern. It was the federal government killing a citizen and then asserting that his exercise of a constitutional right was itself illegitimate. And yet, from an editorial page so recently animated by warnings about arbitrary power, there was silence. Venezuelan President Maduro was arrested in a U.S. operation and three days later The Editor provided a full page of feelings on the matter. VA nurse, U.S. citizen, and legal gun owner Alex Pretti is killed by two Federal agents, The Nugget appears three days later... silence. No mention, not a peep. Readers are entitled to ask why. If the principle at stake is resistance to arbitrary authority, why did a voter-approved ballot measure in Oregon provoke an impassioned editorial, while the lethal exercise of federal power against a lawful gun owner did not? If the concern is that lawful citizens are being treated as outlaws, why was this most literal and irreversible example ignored? It cant be mere caution by the Editor, as noted above the remarks on Maduro were swift to appear despite details remaining opaque at the time and still do. The pattern suggests something more troubling than an editorial oversight. It suggests selective outrage, principles invoked vigorously when politically convenient, and quietly set aside when they implicate favored institutions or leaders. That is not principled journalism; it is advocacy wearing the language of neutrality. A local press earns the trust of its readers not by echoing their preferences, but by applying its stated values consistently and especially when doing so is uncomfortable. When commentary appears only in one political direction, readers are justified in questioning whether the editorial page is guided by principle at all, or merely by alignment. If liberty is to mean anything, it cannot depend on who exercises it. If arbitrary power is to be resisted, it must be resisted regardless of who wields it. And if readers are to trust this papers moral authority, they must be able to believe that silence is not being used as selectively as outrage. Those are not abstract concerns. They go to the heart of whether this publication remains a credible forum for serious civic reflection or merely another partisan voice, however eloquently dressed for the amusement of one man. Glen Roper Akbar Novruz Two flights scheduled from Tehran to Yerevan were canceled on February 3, according to the online flight information board of Yerevans Zvartnots International Airport, Azernews reports. The services, scheduled to operate with Fly Kish and Armenia Airways, did not depart, and no official explanation has been provided by Iranian or Armenian authorities. The reasons behind the cancellations remain unclear, but experts point to broader factors that have disrupted air travel between Iran and neighbouring countries in recent months: Earlier in 2026, large?scale protests across Iranian cities, triggered by economic pressures and national currency devaluation, led to flight cancellations between Tehran and Yerevan, as well as disruptions to other international services. These cancellations were directly linked to internal unrest and abrupt changes at airports amid security concerns. The Middle East has seen repeated flight disruptions tied to geopolitical instability, including periods when Iran closed its airspace due to military actions or threats from neighbouring conflicts. For example, past escalations involving Iran and other regional actors have forced airlines to cancel or reroute flights to ensure safety, leaving carriers to avoid Iranian airspace entirely at times. Armenias geography and air routes have made it a transit point during regional disruptions. In June 2025, several flights, including those to and from Yerevan, were canceled or diverted amid clashes between Israel and Iran, illustrating how broader Middle East tensions can impact Caucasus travel patterns. In response to earlier flight cancellations, some Iranian travellers began using the Agarak land border crossing into Armenia. Officials have said this reflects shifting travel dynamics when scheduled air services are disrupted, rather than official refugee movements. Relations between Iran and Armenia also encompass strategic cooperation on transport and trade links, with Tehran affirming support for Armenias regional connectivity projects, though both countries continue to navigate complex geopolitical pressures in the region. At this stage, authorities have not confirmed whether the latest cancellations were due to operational, commercial, domestic security issues, or wider regional airspace concerns. Further updates from aviation regulators or airline operators could help clarify the situation. HANOI, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Standing Committee of Vietnam's 15th National Assembly (NA) opened its 54th session in Hanoi on Tuesday to deliberate issues related to nuclear power policy and preparations for the next parliamentary election, the Vietnam News Agency reported. NA Chairman Tran Thanh Man said the committee is set to review and adopt a resolution supplementing mechanisms and policies for investment in the Ninh Thuan nuclear power project, according to the report. The agenda also included consideration and approval of a resolution on the second adjustment of the structure and number of candidates for the 16th NA. Man stressed that the issues under discussion are of major significance to national energy security as well as preparations for the upcoming NA election. What a mess we have made. Two people have been shot dead by federal law enforcement in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The divide between Americans has been deepened and widened, threatening to become a chasm that swallows us all. There are signs in recent days that we are stepping back from the precipice. Wed better hope so, because a fall here could be swift and fatal. The killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti have been analyzed and examined from every angle and frame-by-frame. People will draw conclusions often filtered through preconceptions and biases. Whether the shootings were justified in a legal sense remains undetermined, and whether they were legitimate will remain an issue of intense debate and discord indefinitely. We need a rigorous, independent investigation that takes into account the totality of circumstances around these terrible events. It is a symptom of our dysfunction that we can have little faith that such an investigation will occur, or that we have enough confidence in our institutions that the results would be accepted. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, FBI Director Kash Patel, and senior Border Patrol official Greg Bovino inflamed a fraught situation. Characterizing protestors, even agitators, as domestic terrorists, misrepresenting their actions (there is no evidence that Pretti brandished his gun), and imputing murderous motives to them, was grossly irresponsible. These officials rhetoric distorted the facts in ways that anyone acting in good faith can see undermining their own credibility and they invoked the language of war in a law enforcement scenario in an American city. Thats inflammatory; its wrong, and they must be held to account for it. The actions of specific individuals the officers involved, the demonstrators, the federal command enacted and exacerbated the tragedies of the past two weeks. So did state and municipal officials who seek to change law by flouting it in the promotion of sanctuary cities. But there is a broader cultural disorder that contributes to our dysfunction: the willingness to scrap principles at the prospect of even the most paltry partisan advantage. Many of the same voices who proclaimed Ashli Babbitt a patriotic martyr when she was killed by Capitol Police on January 6, 2021, are quick to justify the killing of Good or Pretti. Double standards are rife, and there seems to be no embarrassment about it. As a daily practitioner of the right to keep and bear arms, it is hard not to notice that partisans defend or condemn Kyle Rittenhouse for bringing a gun to a protest in the same way they defend or condemn Alex Pretti for the same thing: It maps with their partisan predilections. To their credit, a number of Second Amendment advocates have come out with unequivocal statements that legally carrying a firearm, even at a protest, is not in itself evidence of bad intent, and that we do not have to choose between the fundamental Constitutional rights we are free to exercise. Even if you support the underlying policy that ICE and the Border Patrol are enforcing, you can question whether treating American cities like the border exclusion zone is right and just and you can surely acknowledge that citizens being gunned down in the street is a bad outcome, and that maybe tactics and approach need to change. If you have an argument with that last point, take it up with Border Czar Tom Homan; he said the same. Even if you abhor the underlying policy that ICE and the Border Patrol are enforcing, you can surely acknowledge that spitting on or biting agents, and obstructing or actively impeding their work is criminal activity likely to escalate tensions and end badly. If we shift our principles depending on whom they apply to, we dont have principles at all. If we are unwilling to recognize when our own side has gone astray or gone too far and say Stop! Enough! we will inevitably plunge over that precipice to our doom. If we are ever to repair the gashes that have been clawed in the social fabric, we must come again to some consensus on standards and norms, and be willing to enforce them on our own tribe. I fear this is no longer possible, and if thats the case, blood on the streets of Minneapolis is only the beginning. Case 1:25-cv-02471-ACR Document 124 Filed 02/02/26 Page 74 of 83 of law in Haiti. CAR 78-13 at 17980. And while the Termination indicates "parts of" Haiti are suitable to return to, 90 Fed. Reg. at 54735, it does not identify a single safe location. See supra Section IV.A.3.a. Even after the Court gave it additional time to do so. See id. For many Plaintiffs, removal to Haiti would be devastating because they have no meaningful ties to the country. Ms. Noble came to the United States when she was 2 years old and has lived here continuously for the past thirty-four years. Noble Decl. 5, 17. Aside from being born in Haiti, she has no connection to the country whatsoevershe does not know the identity of her biological family and she cannot speak French or Haitian Creole, the official languages of Haiti. Id. 18. In fact, she cannot even name one person she knows in Haiti. Id. Mr. Civil's circumstances are similar. He has not been to Haiti since 2010, when he was seven years old. Civil Decl. 7. He speaks Creole only infrequently and with an American accent, making him a vulnerable target for gangs. Id. Removal would return these individuals to what is essentially a foreign country, without language skills, a support network, or any realistic means of safe reintegration. In addition, removal to Haiti would pose serious medical risks for many Plaintiffs. Several have ongoing medical conditions that require consistent treatment and prescription medication, which may be unavailable or difficult to access in Haiti. See, e.g., Miot Decl. 8; Noble Decl. 20. For example, Mr. Miot has Type 1 Diabetes and must inject himself with insulin multiple times per day. Miot Decl. 7. He also requires regular care from specialists, including an endocrinologist and an ophthalmologist, to prevent complications from his diabetes. Id. In Haiti, Mr. Miot may be unable to obtain the insulin he needs to survive. Id. 8. And even if it were available, the cost of managing his diabetes in Haiti would likely be prohibitively high. Id. 74 Expelled Expelled Expelled Under investigation Under investigation Expelled Expelled Expelled Under investigation Under investigation Expelled Expelled Expelled Under investigation Under investigation Expelled Expelled Expelled Under investigation Under investigation These were the commanders serving under Xi Jinping on the Central Military Commission in 2023. Mr. Xi has since ousted every officer on this stage except for one. Mr. Xis extraordinary purges over three years have left a void at the top of the worlds second-most powerful military. Pool photograph by Greg Baker Chinas military leadership stood before the nation in March 2023, an image of unity behind Xi Jinping. After nearly a decade in power, Mr. Xi had installed the high command that he wanted: loyalists hand-picked to make the Peoples Liberation Army a world-class force. But not even Mr. Xis loyalists have been spared from his sweeping campaign to clean up the military with purges that are ostensibly focused on corruption but are also about fealty to him. One by one, members of the Central Military Commission have been dismissed and put under investigation. The latest was Gen. Zhang Youxia, Mr. Xis top general. Mr. Xi has also removed dozens of other senior military officials in just under three years, a level of upheaval unmatched in modern Chinese history. Here is a picture of the likely extent of the purges across the military forces, based on a New York Times analysis of Chinese state media reports and official announcements. Under investigation Expelled Expelled Expelled Under investigation Disappeared Disappeared Expelled Expelled Disappeared Expelled Disappeared Disappeared Expelled Disappeared Expelled Disappeared Expelled Likely retired Disappeared Disappeared Replaced Disappeared Disappeared Disappeared Disappeared Disappeared Disappeared Expelled Disappeared Disappeared Disappeared Expelled Disappeared Disappeared Disappeared China had at least 30 generals and admirals at the start of 2023 who ran specialized departments and theater commands. Nearly all of them have been expelled or have disappeared during Xi Jinpings sweeping purge. In some cases, Mr. Xi appointed new generals as replacements. But many of those have also vanished from public view. Our review identified only seven generals who appear to remain in active roles. The purges are a demonstration of Mr. Xis extraordinary power, but have also created a leadership vacuum across the military. The fall of General Zhang and of another commander who was ousted with him, Gen. Liu Zhenli, has stripped the Central Military Commission of the leaders who prepare the forces for battle. While a slew of less senior officers are also involved in practical planning for major military actions, the abrupt loss of the top two operational commanders could for a while undercut Mr. Xis confidence in the readiness of the Peoples Liberation Army. The sole remaining general in the commission is Zhang Shengmin, who has overseen Mr. Xis military purges and now appears responsible for maintaining political discipline and loyalty. General Zhang spent much of his career as an antigraft and political discipline inspection officer in the Rocket Force, which controls Chinas nuclear and conventional missile programs. Mr. Xi promoted him last year to a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission. The dismissals have also reached deep into nearly all the other wings of the armed forces. That includes the Rocket Force as well as the navy. The five theater commands the regions that Mr. Xi created in 2016 to manage the armed forces have also been eviscerated, including the Eastern Theater Command, which is responsible for operations around Taiwan. Late last year, Mr. Xi appointed a new commander for the Eastern Theater. Much of the military command is vacant or new to the job Assumed role after 2023 Vacant Disappeared CENTRAL MILITARY COMMISSION Chinas top military leadership Xi Jinping Chairman In this post 3 months Vacant Zhang Shengmin Vice Chairman Vice Chairman Vacant Vacant Vacant Vacant Member Member Member Member THEATER COMMANDS SERVICE BRANCHES OTHER ORGANIZATIONS Regional commands across land, sea and air Eastern Theater Army Ministry of Defense 1 month 1 month 1 year 2 years Commander Commissar, interim Commander Commissar Minister Southern Theater Navy Joint Staff Commander Commissar Commander Commissar Chief Western Theater Air Force Political Work Commander Commissar Commander Commissar Director Deputy Northern Theater Discipline Inspection Rocket Force Commander Commissar Commander Commissar Secretary Central Theater Equipment Development 1 month Commander Commissar Director Political and Legal Affairs Secretary Assumed role after 2023 Vacant Disappeared CENTRAL MILITARY COMMISSION Chinas top military leadership Xi Jinping Chairman In this post 3 months Vacant Zhang Shengmin Vice Chairman Vice Chairman Vacant Vacant Vacant Vacant Member Member Member Member THEATER COMMANDS Regional commands across land, sea and air Eastern Theater Northern Theater 1 month 1 month Commander Commissar, interim Commander Commissar Southern Theater Central Theater 1 month Commander Commissar Commander Commissar Western Theater Commander Commissar SERVICE BRANCHES Army Air Force 1 year Commander Commissar Commander Commissar Navy Rocket Force Commander Commissar Commander Commissar OTHER ORGANIZATIONS Ministry of Defense Discipline Inspection 2 years Minister Secretary Joint Staff Equipment Development Chief Director Political Work Political and Legal Affairs Director Deputy Secretary Note: This chart does not include every organization within the Peoples Liberation Army. Positions are shown as vacant when generals have been officially removed or suspended and no successor or acting appointment has been announced. Since General Zhangs downfall, the official newspaper of the Chinese military has urged officers and soldiers to support the decision and rally around Mr. Xi. It also acknowledged that the dismissals and disruption were causing short-term hardships and pain. Ultimately, the paper said, an even stronger Chinese military would emerge. First, though, Mr. Xi must find another clutch of generals he can trust as the 72-year-old leader sets his sights on a fourth term as Chinas Communist Party secretary-general from 2027, which he will almost certainly get. Tanzania has hired Ervin Graves Strategy Group for a $1.1M two-year pact to showcase its economic advances and position the East African nation as a reliable partner to the US in terms of areas of counterterrorism and democratic engagement. Mining is a leading industrial sector in Tanzania, which has ample resources of gold, silver, tanzanite, iron ore, copper, nickel, cobalt, graphite and uranium, according to the International Trade Administration. Tanzania is also home to a wide expanse of approximately 24 rare earth elements and critical minerals. The contract of Ervin Graves, which is the home of former Georgia Congressman Tom Graves, calls for the firm to conduct research of US government requirements for rare earth minerals. It will then assess how U.S. requirements align with Tanzanias rare earth mineral potential. Ervin Graves also will seek public relations, media and social media opportunities for Tanzania. Senior VP Scott Hommel handles the Tanzania account. He served as COO of America250, the non-profit partner to the US Semiquincentennial Commission established by Congress to commemorate the 250th year anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Prior to America250, Hommel was chief of staff to Interior Secretary and Congressman Ryan Zinke (R-MT). Iconic American fast food chain Wendy's is to open a restaurant in Tullamore creating 60 new jobs. Corrib Oil has today confirmed that Tullamore Retail Park in Tullamore will be home to the second Wendys restaurant in Ireland, with the new Midlands location expected to open this May. The announcement marks the next milestone in its development agreement with The Wendys Company. The new Wendys restaurant will create 60 new jobs, with recruitment now underway across a range of roles. Applicants interested in joining the Tullamore restaurant team can find out more at www.wendys.ie. The Tullamore location will also include a drive-thru, responding to growing customer demand for speed, convenience and choice. The announcement follows the successful opening of Irelands first Wendys restaurant at Mahon Point Shopping Centre in Cork last October, which has seen strong customer demand since opening and created more than 60 jobs. Tullamore Retail Park is conveniently located just inside the N52 ring road, five minutes from Tullamore town centre and approximately 10 minutes from the M6 DublinGalway motorway. The site is easily accessible by car and public transport, offers free on-site parking, and provides a range of in-store shopping options, making it a convenient destination for customers from across the Midlands. READ NEXT: Offaly man guilty of deception over fake Longitude tickets pays compensation As with the Cork restaurant, the Tullamore Wendys will serve a menu built around 100% fresh Irish beef and hand-breaded chicken burgers and tenders, sourced from Irish-based food companies Kepak and Western Brand. The menu will also feature the brands best-known items, including its famous square hamburgers and the iconic Frosty dessert. Breakfast options, wraps and kids meals will also be available when the restaurant opens later this spring. READ NEXT: MEMORY LANE MONDAY: Out and about on the town back in the day in Tullamore Michael Dalton, Managing Director, Corrib Brands, said: Following the fantastic response to our first Wendys restaurant in Cork, were delighted to confirm Tullamore as the location for our second Irish location. Set to open this May, the new restaurant, complete with a drive-thru, will create 60 new local jobs and bring Wendys signature quality, freshness and hospitality to the heart of the Midlands. This is another important step in our long-term expansion strategy. Founded in 1987, Corrib Oil currently operates 41 convenience stores with forecourts and 20 fuel depots across 17 counties. Corrib Oil operates three distinct divisions: Corrib Retail, Corrib Oil Distribution, and Corrib Brands. The business has established strong long-term partnerships with BWG Foods (operating under its Spar brand), Texaco, Circle K, and popular food chains including Insomnia, Apache Pizza, Subway, and Zambrero. READ NEXT: PICTURE SPECIAL: Out and about on the town in Tullamore over the weekend Over the coming years, Corrib plans to open 10 Wendys locations across Ireland, both as standalone restaurants and at select Corrib Oil service stations, creating more than 300 jobs nationwide. Further Wendys locations will be announced in due course. Michael Clarke, Managing Director, Europe, The Wendys Company, added: Were proud to see Wendys continue its growth in Ireland with the opening of the Tullamore restaurant. Corrib Oil has proven to be a strong partner, and were excited to bring Wendys globally great, locally loved experience to more Irish customers when the restaurant opens this spring. BEIJING, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- A series of common opinions on promoting cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation was proposed at a think tank forum co-hosted by research institutes affiliated with the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party, which was held in Beijing on Tuesday. The 15 opinions covered five aspects of cross-Strait cooperation and exchanges. The participants at the forum expressed a shared call for the restoration of normal cross-Strait travel, urging the removal of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities' restrictions on personnel exchanges and the full resumption of normal operations of direct sea and air passenger services between the two sides as soon as possible. Despite restrictions imposed by the DPP authorities over the past year, nearly five million people from the island traveled to the Chinese mainland, observed Yao Ta-kuang, chairman of the Travel Agent Association of Taiwan. Looking ahead, Yao expressed hope that cross-Strait exchanges could gradually return to systematic and regular patterns, making people-to-people interactions more frequent and contributing to the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations. "We hope to advance cross-Strait exchanges in a practical and rational manner and leverage tourism as a bridge to foster more positive possibilities for future development," said Lai Seh-jen, founding chairperson of the Taiwan Tourism Interchange Association, at the forum. On strengthening cooperation in emerging industries, the participants proposed joint cross-Strait efforts to develop benchmark projects in "AI plus manufacturing" and to establish an AI innovation hub with global influence. The Chinese mainland boasts a vast market, a complete industrial chain, and strong policy support, while Taiwan excels in top-notch semiconductor manufacturing and hardware research and development, said Xu Shan, a department director of the Artificial Intelligence Research Institute under the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology. When combined, these strengths are highly complementary and mutually beneficial, Xu said. The common opinions also included proposals for cross-Strait cooperation and exchanges in the fields of medical and health care, environmental protection, as well as disaster prevention and mitigation. The participants called on compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to unite, uphold the 1992 Consensus, oppose "Taiwan independence" separatist activities and external interference, and safeguard peace in the Strait. The think tank forum, themed "prospects for cross-Strait exchange and cooperation," was attended by over 100 participants from both sides of the Taiwan Strait, including think tank members of the CPC and the KMT, as well as representatives and experts from various fields such as tourism, industry, science and technology, healthcare and environmental protection. Two Offaly students are among over 100 students from across Ireland taking part in the Webwise Safer Internet Day (SID) Ambassador Training Programme 2026. The peer-led initiative equips students with the knowledge and skills to run their own online safety campaigns within their schools and local communities. As part of the programme, Favour Omoruyi and Alison Fitzgerald from the Sacred Heart School in Tullamore attended an in-person training day in Dublin, where they received guidance and support from Webwise and the Webwise Youth Advisory Panel. The Ambassador Training Programme empowers students to play a leading role in creating a safer, better internet by addressing key issues like online bullying, misinformation, wellbeing, privacy, and digital rights. READ NEXT: BREAKING: Iconic American fast food chain Wendy's to open restaurant in Tullamore Safer Internet Day 2026 will take place on Tuesday, February 10 under the theme "AI Aware: Safe, Smart and in Control." This years campaign encourages schools, parents, young people, and educators to reflect on how AI technologies are shaping childrens online experiences as it has become increasingly prevalent in recent times. The campaign will highlight the benefits, risks and challenges of AI, and aims to empower them to engage with AI safely and responsibly. Safer Internet Day (SID) is an EU wide initiative to promote a safer internet for all users, especially young people. It is promoted in Ireland by the Oide Technology in Education and Webwise, with over 200,000 people taking part in last years celebrations. Roscrea is one of ten towns to receive a new Family Resource Centre, the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality, Norma Foley, announced this morning. The new facility will be located in Roscrea town and was welcomed as very positive news for Roscrea and North Tipperary by the county's Dail representatives on Tuesday morning. No premises in the town has yet been selected for the new facility and work to find a suitable location is underway, the Tribune understands. "This is extremely positive news for Roscrea and the wider North Tipperary area. The designation of Roscrea Family Resource Centre CLG, to be located at Friars Court, represents a significant investment in community supports and family services in the town," Deputy Michael Lowry told the Tribune. He said the decision to establish a Family Resource Centre (FRC) in the heritage town reflects the growing recognition of the vital role Roscrea plays as a service hub for the surrounding rural hinterland. Family Resource Centres provide essential supports for families at local level, including parenting programmes, child and youth supports, educational initiatives, wellbeing services and community development activities. SEE NEXT - PICTURES: Community gathers to discuss future for busy local street The establishment of an FRC in Roscrea will strengthen early intervention and preventative services, helping families to access supports in a welcoming and inclusive environment. The announcement forms part of a wider national expansion of the Family Resource Centre network, increasing the total number of centres from 126 to 136. "It also builds on the Governments earlier commitment in 2025 to establish five additional centres, demonstrating a clear commitment under the Programme for Government to expand and strengthen community-based family supports," Deputy Lowry said. "I want to commend all those involved locally in Roscrea who worked diligently to secure this designation. Their commitment to supporting families and building a stronger community has been rewarded with this very welcome outcome. "I will continue to work to ensure that Roscrea and North Tipperary receive the resources and investment needed to support families, children and communities, and I look forward to seeing the positive impact this new Family Resource Centre will have in the years ahead," Deputy Lowry said. READ NEXT: Redesign for Roscrea street explored at informative public consultation Fianna Fail TD for North Tipperary and Northwest Kilkenny, Ryan OMeara also welcomed todays announcement. Deputy OMeara said: I am pleased to welcome the establishment of a new Family Resource Centre in Roscrea. These centres are vital to local communities, offering trusted, inclusive support to families and children when they need it most. This initiative represents community-led investment that promises to significantly enhance the lives of local residents. The Family Resource Centre will provide multi-disciplinary support, including services from Tusla, the HSE, Tipperary Children and Youth Peoples Service Committee, NTDC, Tipperary County Council, Tus, Roscrea Carers, and many others". Deputy O'Meara said a comprehensive needs analysis highlighted the necessity for a FRC in Roscrea, revealing key metrics such as deprivation, employment levels, the number of non-Irish residents, and education levels. "These findings underscore the essential role of the centre in the future development of Roscrea and its surroundings," he said. I extend my congratulations to everyone at NTDC for bringing this project forward. I am thrilled to welcome these much-needed resources to Roscrea and remain committed to advocating for further investment and support for the area. More flooding is expected as heavy rain continues to fall on saturated ground throughout the south and east of Ireland, Met Eireann has said. Irelands meteorological service warned that high river levels and tides are likely to lead to localised flooding, river flooding and difficult travel conditions. A number of areas of the country have already experienced flooding caused by storms and heavy rain over the last few weeks. It is understood that on Tuesday the cabinet approved opening the Emergency Humanitarian Flooding Scheme to help small businesses and community, voluntary and sports organisations that have suffered damage. The Irish Red Cross administers the scheme which provides help for those who have been unable to obtain flood insurance. Qualifying organisations will be able to access initial funding of up to 5,000 euro, and following that additional funding of up to 20,000 euro. Ministers and the National Emergency Coordination Group are expected to meet on Tuesday evening to discuss the ongoing issues caused by storms and heavy rainfall over the last few weeks. Micheal Martin said the countrys flood warning systems needs to change. The Taoiseach told Newstalks Claire Byrne programme that development of a text-based system is under way but will take a lot of work. Be aware, stay updated & stay safe Check with your local authority on potential local flood risks & our web/app on further weather updateshttps://t.co/w5QtJ1UyEPhttps://t.co/itZWaoDj9Ahttps://t.co/d4K1ltldih pic.twitter.com/ffhWfz7z05 Met Eireann (@MetEireann) February 3, 2026 Such an alert system is where emergency planning is heading, he said, but it is some distance away. On Monday, Mr Martin visited areas badly hit by flooding in recent weeks including Co Wicklow, and on Tuesday he described what had happened as quite frightening. This was literally water flowing down the mountains with nowhere else to go, he said, adding that it took roads with it and damaged a lot of houses and businesses in the process. Mr Martin said funding allocations need to be planned as flooding events become more likely. He added that prevention is key but said flooding schemes are complex and they do take time. More short-term work is needed to tackle flooding, he said, adding that more nature-based solutions are needed. Fire and Flood repair specialist Kevin Kelly said the devastation caused by last weeks flooding is different to what he has previously seen. His team are working on around 100 homes in Aughrim in Co Wicklow, Enniscorthy in County Wexford and Rathfarnham in Dublin city. In business since 2002, he said: This flood is not like any other flood before, as in, the force of this flood, the way it came and how fast it came. Its a miracle, miracle, that nobody drowned in it. The strength of the flood water also meant it left a lot more filth and mud and dirt than usual in peoples homes. He has described the past week as mind-boggling, with his phone constantly ringing from 8am to 11pm at night. However, he said he has been surprised to find many of the people he has dealt with are relaxed about the situation. There is a feeling this time that the government are taking care of them, he said, adding the response has absolutely been better than previous incidents. A status yellow rain warning is in place for Dublin, Louth and Wicklow until 9pm on Tuesday. Louth County Council has said a number of parts of Drogheda close to the Boyne are flooded and should be avoided. Sandbags were deployed in Newbridge, Co Kildare, overnight as the river Liffey rose to a high level. A similar warning was in place earlier on Tuesday in Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, Cork, Waterford. Carlow County Council has said the state of roads there are now of serious concern, with a number significantly damaged and impassable. It has told motorists not to pass road closed signs, to report any issues and travel with care. Met Eireann said spells of heavy and persistent rainfall will continue through the week, particularly in southern and eastern coastal counties. IN recent years, membership of the Tullamore Branch of the National Organisation of Ex-Service Personnel (ONE) has increased to over 20 members. Mindful of the need to provide an opportunity for members to meet on a weekly basis, a partnership with Tullamore Family and Community Resource Center located in Arden View, will facilitate Defence Force veterans meeting on Thursday mornings from 10.00 hrs to 12.30 hrs. A key objective of the establishment of the Veteran Support Centre is to provide social activities on a weekly basis in a comfortable and pleasant environment for our members retired members of the Defence Forces living in the locality. The Veteran Support Centre will act as a conduit for peer-to-peer support, and provide training and education opportunities to assists veterans in managing everyday life obstacles. The provision of this new Veteran Support Centre will provide services to all veterans of the Defence Forces and not just members of Tullamore Branch ONE. Comradeship is a primary focus of ONE and the opening of the new Veteran Support Centre will provide opportunities to build and sustain comradeship within the veteran community. READ NEXT: 'Offaly Camino Canal Way Walk' from Tullamore to Croghan hill proves a great success Remembrance is another important objective of ONE and Tullamore Branch organise an annual remembrance ceremony to remember deceased members. Tullamore Branch ONE is seeking new members and membership of ONE is open to personnel with at least one years satisfactory service in any of the following organisations: Veterans and serving personnel of the Permanent Defence Force (PDF) Veterans and serving personnel of the Reserve Defence Force (RDF) Ex-service personnel of the Civil Defence Ex-service members of An Garda Siochana Ex-service personnel of the Irish Red Cross The 2026 AGM of Tullamore Branch ONE will take place at 20.00 hrs on Wednesday 11th February in the Tullamore Family and Community Resource Center, Arden View Eircode R35 YF57. Paul Cooley ONE National President will attend and address the meeting. Personnel interested in joining ONE are requested to contact any Tullamore Branch member. All potential members are welcome to attend the AGM and comrades please remember that As individuals we stand alone, together as veterans we are ONE. READ NEXT: Still no winner of 20,000 jackpot in Offaly GAA club's lotto Photograph above shows members of Tullamore Branch ONE attending the recently opened Veteran Support Centre in the Tullamore Family and Community Resource Centre, Arden View. (Back Row) Mary Theresa Lowbridge, Gerard Monahan Branch Secretary, Eugene Lowbridge, John Forrestal, Noel Digan, (Front Row) Joe Fagan, Pat Doheny Branch Chairperson, Dinjo Connolly, Philip Martin. Note: I am in the United Arab Emirates 2-6 February invited for SICFAB 2026 (Sharjah International Conservation Forum for Arabia's Biodiversity which brings experts and specialists together to discuss key environmental priorities in the region, held at Sharjah Safari) and would be honored to meet with any of you who happen to be here and can update you on our Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability including its art and nature planned projects and discuss potential collaboration. Here is a short 6.5 minute video on our past work but our plans for the future are much bigger. In the airplane I was rereading Thich Nhat Hanh on connectedness and mindfulness. We also just finished compiling data for our annual report (for example 24 publications, some grants, thousands benefitted). So we remain hopeful and continue to have "joyful participation in the sorrows of this world" (Buddhist saying). Now for a political comment: 32 Palestinians were killed the past 24 hours in the Gaza Strip including an entire family (no ceasefire, no peace). The occupation forces are also still heckling about using the Rafah for exit and less for entry (a method of ethnic cleansing). Three of the six million documents from the Epstein files were released this past week. Now people are beginning to find all the scandals and blackmail items that were handed to Mossad and this explains why high level politicians and business leaders tow the Zionist line. What is not blackmailed is bought but it is cheaper to blackmail the likes of Trump, Clinton, Musk, and Gates. AIPAC reported nearly $100 million dedicated to mid-term elections in the US. Zionist Haim Saban (democratic donor) recently made rare public statements about pro-Israel megadonors' influence on the U.S. political system while appearing alongside GOP megadonor Miriam Adelson ($250 million to Republicans) at the Israel American Council's annual gathering, saying "those who give more have more access, and those who give less have less access - it's simple math." That is US "democracy" (freedom to buy elections and blackmail politicians). The only positive thing about the release of Epstein files is that blackmail cards are going and the politicians might be free to finally shed the chains. Maybe that is why Trump has not attacked Iran yet or maybe he does not want to ruin the opening week for Melania documentary release! The film "The voice of Hind Rajab" is spreading virally. Will be watched by millions. The film got a standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival Contact senators and congressmen to demand they sign onto this letter. Electronic Intifada covered the detailed plan for the Board of Peace and Gaza's future. It's so sick. Basically, everyone will be corralled into an even smaller area. They even call it a camp! Iran, Russia and China likely conducted joint military exercises in the Arabian Gulf area Sunday as US Armada is gathering around Iran hoping for a quick decisive victory! Sadly the world populace does not know how close we are to a global catastrophic war and Western leaders fail to see the foolishness of their actions. Max Blumenthal. Stay Humane, act, and keep hope and Palestine alive Mazin Qumsiyeh A bedouin in cyberspace, a villager at home Professor, Founder, and (volunteer) Director Palestine Museum of Natural History Palestine Institute of Biodiversity and Sustainability Bethlehem University Occupied Palestine facebook pages Personal Institute French The Indian Union Budget 2026-27 has quietly but decisively marked a new chapter for India's AVCG industry - Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics. While A federal judge on Tuesday issued a temporary order prohibiting federal officers at Portlands U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building from directing tear gas, pepper balls, rubber bullets or other munitions at people unless they pose a direct and immediate threat. The Court finds that the repeated shooting and teargassing of nonviolent protesters at the Portland ICE Building will likely keep recurring against protesters and journalists, U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon wrote in a 22-page opinion. He noted that the violence by federal officers is in no way isolated, adding: Similarly, statements made by DHS (Department of Homeland Security) officials and senior federal executives show that the culture of the agency and its employees is to celebrate violent responses over fair and diplomatic ones. Simons ruling came in a case filed last year by demonstrators and freelance journalists who have accused federal officers of using excessive force against peaceful protesters outside the ICE building in the citys South Waterfront neighborhood. The property has been the focal point of protests against President Donald Trumps aggressive immigration enforcement since last June. The public interest in protecting First Amendment rights cannot be overemphasized, the judge wrote. Freedom of speech, including through political protest, is one of the chief distinctions that sets us apart from totalitarian regimes, the opinion said. The judges order encompasses the area at and around the ICE building at South Macadam Avenue and Bancroft Street. No officer may direct or use chemical or projectile munitions, including pepper-ball or paintball guns, pepper or oleoresin capsicum spray, tear gas, flash-bang grenades or other chemical irritants, rubber bullets or other less-lethal weapons against a person unless that individual poses an imminent threat of physical harm to a law enforcement officer or someone else, the judge ordered. He also barred federal officers from firing any weapon or munition at the head, neck or torso of anyone, unless an officer is legally justified in using deadly force. And he made it clear that federal officers may not use chemical munitions or other projectiles against those alleged to have trespassed or refused to obey an officers dispersal order at the ICE facility. Simon opened his opinion with a sharp rebuke of the Trump administration. In a well-functioning constitutional democratic republic, free speech, courageous newsgathering, and nonviolent protest are all permitted, respected, and even celebrated, he wrote. In an authoritarian regime, that is not the case. Our nation is now at a crossroad, he continued. We have been here before and have previously returned to the right path, notwithstanding an occasional detour. In helping our nation find its constitutional compass, an impartial and independent judiciary operating under the rule of law has a responsibility that it may not shirk. The judge set a hearing for March 2 on the protesters motion to turn his 14-day temporary order into a longer-lasting preliminary injunction. A U.S. Homeland Security spokesperson responded to the ruling by appearing to equate the Portland demonstrations to rioting. Portland police have declared a riot at the site only once, in mid-June, over months of protests and have criticized the federal response as overzealous and inappropriate. The demonstrations had mostly petered out until the administration tried and failed to send National Guard troops to the building last fall. The Homeland Security official also seemed to balk at any restrictions. The First Amendment protects speech and peaceful assembly not rioting, Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. DHS is taking appropriate and constitutional measures to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous rioters. She reiterated that obstructing law enforcement officers is a federal crime and assaulting federal officers is a felony. Simons order comes only days after federal officers fired tear gas and pepper balls and deployed flash-bang grenades into large crowds of protesters who gathered outside the ICE building. On Saturday, a union-organized Labor Against ICE rally drew thousands, including many families with children, who marched to the building around 4 p.m. and were consumed by clouds of gas, moments after 15 to 20 people crossed the buildings property line and approached its security gate. The next night, federal agents deployed tear gas on a crowd after a small group of protesters pounded on the plywood sides of the ICE facility and rattled its security gate. Plaintiffs in the case include Jack Dickinson, known for wearing a chicken suit with an American flag to the protests, Laurie and Richard Eckman, a Portland couple in their 80s, and freelance journalists Mason Lake and Hugo Rios. They submitted videos of the force used during the weekend. The judge said his order will not prevent officers from using proportional force, including such less-lethal weapons described in his decision, on anyone who poses an immediate threat of harm. The federal officers also will not be liable for violating his order if a protester or another person is incidentally exposed to a crowd-control device, provided that the device is deployed in a way consistent with the order. Simon last week had asked each side to negotiate a temporary agreement in lieu of a court order as he moved ahead to schedule a hearing on a preliminary motion to halt the use of chemicals and less-lethal munitions. When the parties couldnt agree, they returned Monday to argue before him. Simons order picks up much of the proposal offered by attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, which filed the suit on behalf of the demonstrators and freelance journalists. They sought an order to prohibit Homeland Security officers from firing tear gas, flash-bang grenades, pepper balls and rubber bullets against passive demonstrators or those trespassing or refusing to leave unless someone poses an imminent threat. They also wanted to prevent officers from firing less-lethal munitions at peoples heads or torsos. They submitted an assessment of ICE actions from former U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske, who described what he called a pervasive pattern of inappropriate force used by federal officers at the ICE building. Officers have failed to provide sufficient warnings before using force as required and have used force disproportionate to the danger faced, Kerlikowske said. Federal officers should not fire pepper balls or other munitions indiscriminately into crowds from the roof of the ICE building, he said. This ruling affirms that, in Oregon, we still love our neighbors and believe in the power of our constitutional freedoms, including the freedoms of assembly, speech, and the press, to build a better future for all of us, said Kelly Simon, legal director of the ACLU of Oregon. She is not related to the judge. Attorney Andrew Warden of the U.S. Justice Department had argued for an order that would allow officers to deploy less-lethal munitions when objectively reasonable and necessary, as defined by their agencies policies and after providing a verbal warning. That would include responding to trespassers and protesters refusing to move or obey an order. Warden said the judge should address only the narrow circumstances of the five named plaintiffs. He also argued that some of the plaintiffs dont have standing to seek future relief. Many of the plaintiffs can only speculate that harm will occur in the future, he said. To bolster his ruling, Simon cited Kerlikowskes declaration and testimony from Portland police Cmdr. Franz Schoening, who said he was startled by some of the force he saw used by federal officers when he was a witness in a case last fall involving the threatened deployment of National Guard troops to Portland. Simon also refused to narrow his temporary order to only the people who filed the suit. Were the Court only to enjoin Defendants from teargassing the named Plaintiffs, for example, airborne chemicals from Defendants use of gas against other protestors would continue to chill Plaintiffs First Amendment rights, Simon wrote. He also found evidence to support the claim that federal officers have engaged in retaliatory force without being held accountable for their actions. He said he has seen clear instances of excessive force, including a federal officer shoving a protester forcefully to the ground that was captured by ICEs own security cameras. It was deemed inappropriate and not reasonable by a Federal Protective Service deputy regional director, based on his testimony in the National Guard case in federal court in Portland last year. Yet it doesnt appear that any officer was moved off the street or faced discipline, the judge wrote. Rather than reprimanding DHS violence against protesters, senior officials have publicly condoned it, his ruling said. There is more than enough evidence to show that the Plaintiffs protected activities were at least a substantial or motivating factor in Defendants conduct at issue, Simon wrote. Thus, there also is more than enough evidence for the Courts conclusion that Plaintiffs have shown a likelihood of success on the merits of their claim of First Amendment retaliation. The judge directed Homeland Security officials to provide a copy of his temporary restraining order or a comprehensive summary to all federal officers assigned to protect the ICE facility in Portland and then show him what they shared. Simons order doesnt explicitly say what will happen if an officer violates it, but plaintiffs likely would return to court and ask the judge to hold officers in contempt of his order and issue specific sanctions. In 2020 during unrest after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, U.S. District Judge Marco A. Hernandez found Portland police in violation of his order barring police from firing less-lethal rounds and using pepper spray on people engaged in passive resistance. As sanctions, Hernandez directed Portland police to investigate one particular officers use of force and restricted officers with the Police Bureaus Rapid Response Team from using crowd-control launchers during protests until they completed further training and could recognize and articulate a threat without speculating and before using less-lethal force. The five who filed the ACLU suit before Simon are seeking to turn their case into a class-action challenge, but the judge hasnt formally classified it as such yet. In July 2020 amid the citys racial justice protests, Simon issued a restraining order that temporarily barred federal officers from using force, threats and dispersal orders against journalists or legal observers documenting the daily demonstrations. He extended it to a preliminary injunction, which was upheld by a federal appeals court. Homicides of Black Portlanders plunged in 2025 even more steeply than an overall decline in killings, falling to numbers not seen since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Homicides in Portland dropped from 71 in 2024 to 51 in 2025, a 28% decline that reflected a nationwide downturn in violent crime. That brought last years homicides to just below the level they hit in 2020, the pandemic year when homicides spiked. The 12 Black Portlanders killed in 2025 represented the lowest number since 2019 a 61% decrease from the 31 homicides of Black people in 2024 and a 300% decrease from the 47 homicides of Black Portlanders in 2022, the year homicides peaked in the city with 101 overall. READ MORE: WHO DIED IN 2025 PORTLAND HOMICIDES Less than 6% of Portlanders are Black, and they continue to face a disproportionate rate of homicides. In 2024, Black people accounted for 44% of all homicide victims in Portland, and in 2025 the number was 24%. Jonathan Norman, 54, attributes some of the change to de-escalation efforts by community groups. Norman, who said he contributed to gun violence in Portland when he was younger and faced various prosecutions in the 1990s, including for racketeering, has since devoted himself to trying to prevent the violence he once perpetuated. He does not work through an official organization, he said, and instead learns through his personal connections about youths who might retaliate. He talks to them, helping them find other ways to deal with conflicts, and he said that has helped drive down the fatalities. Its very surprising that we came down to that low, Norman said. The de-escalating part is a big part of the numbers. The Portland Police Bureau did not make a homicide detective available for an interview despite multiple requests. Latino homicides double in one year The city counted six Latino homicide victims in 2024 and 13 in 2025. Tony DeFalco, the executive director of Latino Network, an Oregon-wide nonprofit dedicated to Latino peoples well-being, said his organization is deeply concerned about the increase. We were glad to see overall numbers down, DeFalco said. Were glad to see numbers and other communities down. But, he said, the city needs to further invest in violence prevention programs in the Latino community. We need the city to step up, he said. A spokesperson for the city said its doing that but that President Donald Trumps crackdown on social programs is creating strong headwinds. The current dynamics driving violence, particularly in Latinx communities, are extremely complex and include the unprecedented actions taken by the federal administration to reduce critical societal supports, which are negatively impacting the social determinants of health and increasing the risk of violence for Latino families, said Stephanie Howard, director of community safety for Portlands public safety service area. One Latino homicide victim last year, Junior Garza, was also among the youngest. And his mother, Sylvia Garza, is still hoping for information that could lead to the arrest of her sons killer. Junior Garza, 17, died in a March shooting in the Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood. Courtesy of Portland Police Bureau Junior Garza was 17 and on his way to one of his brothers homes March 18 when he was shot in the Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood. Garza, his two brothers, Antonio and Emilio, and their mother were planning to spend the next day together to celebrate her birthday. Sylvia Garza said she woke up that night to a call from one of her sons telling her Junior Garza had been killed. I just lost it at that point, Sylvia Garza said. Junior Garza was a student at Rosemary Anderson High School at the time of his death and was focused on graduating from school and building a car by himself, Sylvia Garza said. The grief remains raw for Sylvia Garza, and she periodically messages the police detective assigned to her sons case to check on whether theres been progress. All she has been told by police, she said, is that the case is active. Nationwide decline in crime and homicides Homicides increased dramatically nationwide in 2020. Burglaries went down because people were staying home during the pandemic, said University of Chicago criminology professor John Roman, but homicides went up because people who lived in violent neighborhoods or faced domestic abuse stayed put. They knew the people they were fighting with were home, and that was just a recipe for violence, Roman said. When people started going back to work in offices and other places, homicides started to decline. But the biggest contributor to the decrease nationally, Roman said, was a flood of federal money that went to local governments to expand the social safety net. That money allowed cities and counties to hire teachers, counselors, clinicians, police officers and others at rates higher than before the pandemic, reinforcing a social structure that helped prevent gun violence. What theyre doing is prevention, Roman said. Theyre working with people, and particularly young people, who are at the greatest risk of violence and victimization. Portland Mayor Keith Wilson attributed the results directly to the citys work preventing gun violence, including the work of the Police Bureau, the citys Office of Violence Prevention and innovative public safety initiatives, and community leaders across the city, as well as to the Portland City Councils support. Together, we are honoring the resilience of communities most affected by gun violence and strengthening the collaborative efforts that make this progress possible, Wilson said in a statement. Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez touted his offices work, in partnership with the Police Bureau, saying in a statement that the work has been very effective in reducing homicides. There are still many challenges and lots of work ahead, Vasquez wrote. I am hopeful that with continued investment from the county we can see even more results. Lionel Irving, a longtime Portland anti-gun violence advocate, applauded the trust- and relationship- building approach of the Police Bureaus Focused Intervention Team, a group of police dedicated to addressing gun violence in Portland by intervening in disputes that could escalate into shootings. Irving said that team has helped improve relationships between some people at risk of gun violence and the police. Theyre not out there harassing everybody, Irving said. The communities are building trust with them. The president of the Portland Police Association union attributed a spike in gun violence several years ago to the disbanding of the Police Bureaus gang violence team under public pressure, but said that the Focused Intervention Team has turned things around. That work has had a huge impact on lessening the impact on the Black community in particular, Sgt. Aaron Schmautz, the president, said. And that work is critical. Even as homicides fell, Portland still counted more last year than during any year between 1996 and the arrival of COVID-19. Other West Coast cities saw much more progress than Portland in bringing down murders and other killings. San Franciscos police department reported the citys lowest homicide rate in 71 years, with 28 total homicides in 2025. Seattles homicides fell more than 40%, from 53 in 2024 to 31 last year, city data show. Both of those cities are larger than Portland, making the disparity in homicides all the more striking. San Francisco is home to nearly 830,000 people and Seattle around 781,000, compared with Portlands approximately 636,000, according to U.S. Census estimates. Portland is not only still seeing more homicides than other cities around the same size or larger, but many of them continue to be unsolved. The Portland Police Bureau said it identified or arrested a suspect in 61% of homicides last year. Thats a modest increase from the 59% clearance rate Portland police reported for 2024, and an improvement from earlier years this decade when killing skyrocketed. Police cleared 41% of homicides in 2021 and 51% in 2022 and 2023. Portland homicides by the numbers The vast majority of the people killed in Portland last year died by gunfire, The Oregonian/OregonLives data shows. Of the 51 homicides Portland police reported, 36 were shootings. Seven others deaths were stabbings and in an additional five cases the victims died from blunt force trauma. Two died from assault, and the manner of death in one homicide was unknown. Just eight of the homicide victims were female, including a 10-year-old girl who police said was killed by her brother in a murder-suicide in September. She was one of five minors killed in 2025 the most homicide victims under 18 years old since at least 2021. In 2024, nobody under 18 died by homicide, data show. The youngest homicide victim in 2025 was just 15 days old, Arlo Darnielle-Arroyo, who died May 8. The boys father was indicted in December on charges of second-degree murder, assault and criminal mistreatment. Three teenage boys were shot and killed last year, ages 14, 16 and 17. People in their 20s and 30s accounted for 25 homicide victims, almost exactly half of the total. The oldest victim, James Miller, was 75, and died from blunt force trauma in his Southeast Portland home in November. An Oregon State Police lieutenant is under internal investigation, accused of making antisemitic remarks during a conversation with another supervisor, according to an email to state lawmakers. State police Capt. Kyle Kennedy on Monday confirmed the investigation and said it began almost immediately after agency officials received a complaint from a whistleblower last week. The complaint named Lt. Casi Hegney, commander of the state police Capitol Mall patrol, and alleged she shared comments considered well known hateful tropes with a state police sergeant, according to the email. Hegney, who joined state police 17 years ago and was promoted to lieutenant in 2023, did not respond to messages seeking comment. Hegney remains on the job, Kennedy said. Lt. Hegney is not on administrative leave because the initial complaint did not warrant administrative leave, he said. However, the agency can change that decision with employees at any time during an investigation if the circumstances warrant doing so. The Oregonian/OregonLive obtained the email sent to six state lawmakers and the state Department of Administrative Services. It was from a state police lieutenant who identified himself as Jewish. He wrote in the email that he was concerned about the integrity of the investigation process because he said the lead investigator is a close friend of both Hegney and a key witness. That creates an appearance of compromised impartiality, the lieutenant wrote in the email. He requested an outside, independent investigation of Hegney. The lieutenant initially reported Hegneys alleged remarks via a separate email that was forwarded to the state police Office of Professional Standards. He wrote that a sergeant had come to him about a conversation with Hegney in December when Hegney allegedly shared the offensive remarks. He also noted that he heard that leadership in the agency didnt like that he originally shared the bias complaint in an email. That disapproval, he wrote, raises concern that formal reporting and documentation may be being discouraged. The Oregonian/OregonLive is not naming him to protect his identity as a whistleblower. By Monday night, Kennedy said that the investigation would be handled by an outside agency but did not identify which agency. He said he did not know how long the inquiry would last. As commander of the Capitol Mall patrol office, Hegney oversees patrol officers who provide law enforcement coverage for state buildings in downtown Salem and the surrounding area. The Oregonian/OregonLive previously reported on two state police bias cases, including an extraordinary effort by state police supervisors and state lawyers to keep a sergeant on the job after he repeatedly used a racist slur for years at work. Jeffrey A. Allison, demoted in March 2017 for his frequent use of a slur against Black people, was allowed to retire quietly in 2018 without his supervisors reporting his misconduct to the state agency that certifies police as required. A trooper angry at Allison for targeting him in an unrelated internal investigation finally reported his boss. In another bias case reported by The Oregonian/OregonLive, state police in 2019 fired Trooper Peter Arnautov, a nearly 21-year state police veteran, five months after he was reported to said, I hate gays, once to other officers during a pause in firearms training. During a mitigation hearing, the union lawyer representing Arnautov challenged the firing, pointing to supervisors who were never disciplined for arguably worse behavior. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei attends a press conference in Tehran, Iran, on Feb. 2, 2026. Iran's Foreign Ministry has summoned the ambassadors of the European Union (EU)'s member states in strong protest to the bloc's designation of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization. (Xinhua/Shadati) TEHRAN, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry has summoned the ambassadors of the European Union (EU)'s member states in strong protest to the bloc's designation of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization. In a statement released on Tuesday, the ministry said the EU states' envoys were called in by Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Majid Takht Ravanchi and the relevant director generals at the ministry, describing the bloc's labeling of the IRGC as "a strategic mistake and an unforgivable insult" to Iran. According to the statement, the EU members' ambassadors gave the assurance that they will relay Iran's protest to their governments as soon as possible. The EU decided last week to add the IRGC to the bloc's terrorist list. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday the European ambassadors had been summoned by the ministry on Sunday and Monday. Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday his country considers EU militaries "terrorist groups" in response to the bloc's action. Call it a developing Portland restaurant trend: One week after Mariscos con Ondas Adan Fausto was announced as The Hoxtons new executive chef, another local hotel is following a similar path, tapping a popular Portland pop-up to take over its kitchen. This time its Machetes, the Mexico City-inspired pop-up from Diego and McKenna Palacios, which is currently in the process of moving into the award-winning Hey Love bar at 920 E. Burnside St., with plans to expand operations throughout the surrounding Jupiter NEXT hotel. If youve heard of Machetes, its probably for its namesake dish, a long, folded quesadilla that the Palacioses have been filling with grilled cactus and chicken tinga and house chorizo and new potatoes at their roving pop-ups since 2023. At Hey Love, the Machetes menu will expand to shrimp ceviche, beet salads and carnitas tacos, similar to the pop-ups late 2024 residency at OK Omens. And from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday, the couple plans to offer late-night, charcoal-grilled al pastor carved directly from a trompo, or vertical spit, stationed on the sidewalk outside the hotel. After a successful pop-up at Hey Love in November, the hotel team suggested Machetes move in for a one-year residency. The bar, which was named Americas best hotel bar at Tales of the Cocktails Spirited Awards in 2023, is known for its plant-filled decor and tropical cocktails, including four or five tequila and mezcal drinks. Pop-ups partnering with hotels is a cool trend thats happening in Portland, McKenna Palacios said. It gives up-and-coming chefs an opportunity that wouldnt have been available otherwise. We werent even thinking about opening our own place, Diego Palacios continued. But to have a space thats already established, and to form that alliance, its a great opportunity. Look for Machetes to open from 3 p.m. to midnight Sunday-Thursday and 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday-Saturday, with afternoon and late-night happy hours at Hey Love bar, 920 E. Burnside St., starting Friday, February 13. When Jennifer Throndsen asked a group of local elementary school teachers how they were trained to teach reading, there was a common response: Poorly. Throndsen is one of the trainers who spent three days in Salem schools last week to fix that. She works for CORE Learning, a training organization that focuses on helping teachers understand how students learn to read. Salem-Keizer School District leaders took the unusual step of canceling school for most of the week for the lessons, leaving 15,000 students at home. Their teachers and classroom assistants spent the time undergoing intensive training focused on reading and literacy. Kindergarten through third grade educators went through CORE training, while other employees had various other courses depending on their specific job. The aim was to get all elementary school educators across the district on the same page, filling in information many teachers said they hadnt been taught before. Its a crucial area for improvement in local schools, where three in four third graders tested last spring couldnt read at grade level. Salem Reporter sat in on a portion of the training on Wednesday, Jan. 28, in the Chavez Elementary School library in Salem, and spoke with Throndsen and participating educators during a break. Throndsen was formerly the director of teaching and learning for Utahs public school system. She said school districts usually have her come in to teach about 30 people, often focusing on principals, teacher mentors or reading specialists. Shed never seen a district undertake anything on the scale of Salem-Keizer, she said. Despite the importance of literacy, she said many teachers across the country still receive little training on what research shows about how students actually learn to read. While about 5% of kids can learn reading spontaneously by being exposed to books, the vast majority need explicit instruction in phonics and related skills to learn. I think people think reading should be easy, she said. Teachers talking over their lunches recounted their own college educations. Many said they received little or no explicit instruction about how to teach reading. Some were told what not to do or told they should design their own curriculum, but without direction about how to do so or what to look for. Kara Dickey, a former teacher mentor who now teaches second and third grade at Keizer Elementary, described the training as really good, serious professional development. She has a masters degree in reading instruction and said much of the material covered overlapped with her schooling. But she said its information every teacher needs and too often doesnt have time to get. No teacher wakes up in the morning and thinks, Im going to be a crappy teacher today, she said. But she and others talked about the escalating demands on teachers which leave them little to no time for extra training. Several said this year, theyve had students in their classes who speak neither English nor Spanish and are relying on Google Translate to communicate. Dickey is teaching a blended class and has to make her lessons work for both second and third graders, adding to the time she needs to prepare. Its hard to have the time to sit down and process what is best practice, she said. A lot of us do what weve known. Throndsen talked to the group about specific ways students may show theyre struggling with one aspect of reading. Some students can understand the meaning of a passage from context, but struggle to sound out new words. Others may be able to pronounce and read individual words, but cant summarize or explain what theyve read. That can particularly be a problem for bilingual students who are less likely to have a basic English vocabulary before they begin school. And she said its on teachers to do better teaching students to read. She urged teachers to focus on what they can control, while acknowledging that support from parents, family income and many other factors can make it harder for students to learn. It is an us problem, she told the group. At the end of the day its what you do in the classroom that matters. Contact Salem Reporter Managing Editor Rachel Alexander: rachel@salemreporter.com or 503-575-1241. When people on Medicaid look for a doctor, the search often starts with a long list of names that makes health care seem within reach. But for many patients, that list often turns into a string of dead ends. Phone calls go unanswered. Offices say they arent taking new Medicaid patients. Or the earliest appointment is months away. Eventually, people give up. A new national study led by Oregon Health & Science University researchers helps explain why. The study, published Monday in the journal Health Affairs, found that nearly a third of roughly 400,000 physicians enrolled in the safety net program did not see a single Medicaid patient in a given year. Researchers call them ghost providers doctors who appear on paper but dont show up in patients real experience of getting care, a gap driven by how Medicaid measures participation and how provider networks work. Its not just administrative friction, its a psychological issue and an access issue, said Dr. Jane Zhu, the studys senior author and an associate professor of medicine at OHSU. From a patient perspective, this is adding real burdens. In many cases, doctors stay enrolled because their hospital or clinic requires it, even when their practices are full of patients with private insurance, according to the studys authors. Others enroll early in their careers and later stop accepting Medicaid patients without formally unenrolling, the researchers said. The authors said the gap between being listed as a Medicaid provider and actually seeing patients has critical implications for access, because low participation can make it harder for patients to get timely care. Medicaid is the nations largest public insurance program, covering more than 75 million people, including low-income families, children and people with disabilities. States and Medicaid health plans often rely on provider enrollment data to judge whether patients have adequate access to care. But Zhu said those access measures can be misleading. Provider directories often reflect which doctors are authorized to take Medicaid, not which ones are actually seeing patients, she said making networks appear larger than they are. Enrollment files just tell you if theyre eligible to participate but it doesnt say anything about whether their panels are closed, if there are staffing shortages or if they have availability to see patients, she said. To examine that disconnect, researchers analyzed federal Medicaid enrollment records alongside billing claims from 2019 through 2021. They focused on five specialties commonly used by Medicaid patients: primary care, psychiatry, cardiology, dermatology and ophthalmology. Across those specialties, the authors found that Medicaid enrollment did not consistently translate into active participation. Researchers found that about 28% of enrolled physicians did not treat any Medicaid patients in those areas, while another 10% saw fewer than 10 patients. Meanwhile, a third of the overall group of Medicaid-enrolled physicians in the study treated more than 150 Medicaid patients, meaning much of the care was handled by a small share of providers. Zhu said that when a small group of physicians carries most of the load, a clinic closure or a doctor leaving can quickly leave patients scrambling to find a new provider. The problem was especially stark in mental health care. Researchers found that over 40% of psychiatrists enrolled in Medicaid did not see a single Medicaid patient in the year studied. Even psychiatrists who did participate in Medicaid saw very few patients. The typical psychiatrist treated just three Medicaid patients in a year. Thats troubling, Zhu said, because Medicaid covers a disproportionate share of people with serious mental illness. KFF, a health policy research organization, estimates that nearly 40% of nonelderly adults on Medicaid have a mental health or substance use condition. Federal data shows that about half of Medicaid enrollees with mental health needs say they arent getting the care they need. The authors wrote that low Medicaid participation among psychiatrists likely reflects a mix of low reimbursement rates, administrative burdens associated with Medicaid billing, high provider turnover, and factors related to the social and medical complexities of Medicaid enrollees. The researchers said doctors arent trying to mislead patients. The problem, they said, is a system that counts who is signed up for Medicaid, not who is actually available to provide care. The study used a national Medicaid claims database and excluded Oregon, South Dakota and Arkansas because of reporting inconsistencies in the states federal data, Zhu said. But a 2022 Oregon-specific study by her team found similar patterns, especially in mental health care, suggesting the problem is not unique to the state. Ultimately, Zhu said, states and federal officials need to rethink how they measure access to care relying less on provider lists and more on data that reflect whether patients are actually getting care. She said a clearer picture of real-world access could help public dollars be spent in ways that meaningfully help Medicaid patients get the care theyve been promised. Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton agreed late Monday to testify in a House investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but the Republican leading the probe said an agreement had not yet been finalized. Rep. James Comer, the chair of the House Oversight Committee, was advancing criminal contempt of Congress charges against both Clintons Monday evening for defying a congressional subpoena when attorneys for the Clintons emailed staff for the Oversight panel, saying the pair would accept Comers demands and will appear for depositions on mutually agreeable dates. The attorneys requested that Comer, a Kentucky Republican, agree not to move forward with the contempt proceedings. Comer, however, said he was not immediately dropping the charges, which would carry the threat of a substantial fine and even incarceration if passed by the House and successfully prosecuted by the Department of Justice. We dont have anything in writing, Comer told reporters, adding that he was open to accepting the Clintons offer but it depends on what they say. The last-minute negotiating came as Republican leaders were advancing the contempt resolution through the House Rules Committee a final hurdle before it headed to the House floor for a vote. It was potentially a grave moment for Congress, the first time it could hold a former president in contempt and advance the threat of prison time. Comer earlier Monday rejected an offer from attorneys for the Clintons to have Bill Clinton conduct a transcribed interview and Hillary Clinton submit a sworn declaration. He insisted that both Clintons sit for sworn depositions before the committee in order to fulfill the panels subpoenas. A letter from the committee to attorneys for the Clintons indicated that they had offered for Bill Clinton to conduct a 4-hour transcribed interview on matters related to the investigations and prosecutions of Jeffrey Epstein and for Hillary Clinton to submit a sworn declaration. The Clintons do not get to dictate the terms of lawful subpoenas, Comer said. The former president and secretary of state had resisted the subpoenas for months after the Oversight panel issued subpoenas for their testimony in August as it opened an investigation into Epstein and his associates. Their attorneys had tried to argue against the validity of the subpoena. However, as Comer threatened to begin contempt of Congress proceedings, the Clintons started negotiating towards a compromise. The Republican-controlled Oversight committee advanced criminal contempt of Congress charges last month. Nine of the committees 21 Democrats joined Republicans in support of the charges against Bill Clinton as they argued for full transparency in the Epstein investigation. Three Democrats also supported advancing the charges against Hillary Clinton. Bill Clintons relationship with Epstein has reemerged as a focal point for Republicans amid the push for a reckoning over Epstein, who killed himself in 2019 in a New York jail cell as he faced sex trafficking charges. Clinton, like a bevy of other high-powered men, had a well-documented relationship with Epstein in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He has not been accused of wrongdoing in his interactions with the late financier. The Clintons have remained highly critical of Comers decision, saying he was bringing politics into the investigation while failing to hold the Trump administration accountable for delays in producing the Department of Justices case files on Epstein. They negotiated in good faith. You did not, a spokesperson for the Clintons, Angel Urena, said in response to Comers threats on Monday. They told you under oath what they know, but you dont care. Still, the prospect of a vote raised the potential for Congress to use one of its most severe punishments against a former president for the first time. Historically, Congress has given deference to former presidents. None has ever been forced to testify before lawmakers, although a few have voluntarily done so. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said earlier Monday that his caucus would have a discussion on the contempt resolutions later in the week but remained noncommittal on whipping votes against them. Jeffries said he was a hard no on contempt and accused Comer of focusing on political retribution rather than investigating the delayed release of case files. Democrats also say the Justice Department has not yet released all the material it has on the late financier. They dont want a serious interview, they want a charade, Jeffries said. -- The Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS For weeks, administrators at this charter high school have arrived an hour before class, grabbed neon vests and walkie-talkies, and headed out into the cold to watch for ICE agents and escort students in. Lately, fewer than half of the 800 sudents show up. Operation Metro Surge, the immigration crackdown in Minnesota that led to nationwide protests after federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens, has had students, parents and teachers on edge regardless of their immigration status. Signs of a fearful new normal are all over the school. Green craft paper covers the bottom of many first-floor windows so outsiders cant peer in. A notice taped outside one door says unauthorized entry is prohibited: This includes all federal law enforcement personnel and activities unless authorized by lawful written direction from appropriate school officials or a valid court order. Staff coordinate throughout the day with a neighborhood watch group to determine whether ICE agents are nearby. When they are, classroom doors are locked and hallways emptied until staff announce all clear. Similar tactics have been utilized by schools in other cities hit by immigration raids across the country. The Los Angeles Unified School District established a donation fund for affected families and created security perimeters around schools last summer. But it appears nowhere have students felt the repercussions of local raids more than in Minneapolis. Many schools have seen attendance plummet by double-digit percentages. At least three other, smaller charter schools in Minneapolis have completely shut down in-person learning. At this high school, which administrators asked The Times not to identify for fear of retaliation by the Trump administration, 84% of students are Latino and 12% are Black. Staff and students are being identified by first or middle names. Three students have been detained and later released in recent weeks. Two others were followed into the school parking lot and questioned about their immigration status. Several have parents who were deported or who self-deported. Latino staff said they have also been stopped and questioned about their legal status. Our families feel hunted, said Noelle, the school districts executive director. Students returned from winter break on Jan. 6, the same day 2,000 additional immigration agents were dispatched to Minneapolis to carry out what Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Todd Lyons called the agencys largest immigration operation ever. The next day, an ICE officer fatally shot Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three. I describe that day as if youre on an airplane and its really bad turbulence, and you have to keep your cool because, if you dont, you lose the entire building, said Emmanuel, an assistant principal. It felt like we went through war. Attendance dropped by the hundreds as parents grew too afraid to let their children leave home. School leaders decided to offer online learning and scrambled to find enough laptops and mobile hotspots for the many students who didnt have devices or internet. Some teachers sent packets of schoolwork to students by mail. Noelle said in-person attendance, which had dropped below 400 students, increased by around 100 in the third week of January. Then federal agents shot and killed 37-year-old intensive care nurse Alex Pretti, and attendance plummeted again. Rochelle Van Dijk, vice president of Great MN Schools, a nonprofit supporting schools that serve a majority of students of color, said many schools have redirected tens of thousands of dollars away from other critical needs toward online learning, food distribution and safety planning. For students still attending in person, recess has frequently been canceled, and field trips and after-school activities paused. A balloon sits in a hallway at a Minneapolis high school. TNS Even if students return to school by mid-February, Van Dijk said, they will have missed 20% of their instructional days for the year. A senior who cant meet with their college counselor right now just missed support needed for major January college application deadlines. Or a second-grader with a speech delay who is supposed to be in an active in-person intervention may lose a critical window of brain plasticity, she said. It is not dissimilar to what our nations children faced during COVID, but entirely avoidable. At the high school, administrators said they tried to create a security bubble, operating under protocols more typical of active shooter emergencies. If agents were to enter the building without a judicial warrant, the school would go into a full lockdown, turning off lights, staying silent and moving out of sight. That hasnt happened, though ICE last year rescinded a policy that had barred arrests at so-called sensitive locations, including schools. Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, said that blaming ICE for low school attendance is creating a climate of fear and smearing law enforcement. ICE does not target schools, McLaughlin said. If a dangerous or violent illegal criminal alien felon were to flee into a school, or a child sex offender is working as an employee, there may be a situation where an arrest is made to protect the safety of the student. But this has not happened. Alondra, a 16-year-old junior who was born in the U.S., was arrested after school Jan. 21 near a clinic where she had gone with a friend, also 16, to pick up medication for her grandmother. She said that as she was about to turn into the parking lot, another car sped in front of her, forcing her to stop. Alondra saw four men in ski masks with guns get out. Scared, she put her car in reverse. Before she could move, she said, another vehicle pulled up and struck her car from behind. Alondra shared videos with The Times that she recorded from the scene. She said agents cracked her passenger window in an attempt to get in. Were with you! a bystander can be heard telling her in the video as others blow emergency whistles. She said she rolled her window down and an agent asked to see her ID. She gave him her license and U.S. passport. Is it necessary to have to talk to you or can I talk to an actual cop? she asks in the video. Can I talk to an actual cop from here? We are law enforcement, the agent replies. What are they gonna do? In another video, an agent questions Alondras friend about the whereabouts of his parents. Another agent is heard saying Alondra had put her car in reverse. Were underage, she tells him. Were scared. A Minneapolis Public Radio reporter at the scene said agents appeared to have rear-ended Alondras car. But Alondra said an agent claimed she had caused the accident. Its just a simple accident, you know what I mean? he says in the video. Were not gonna get on you for trying to hit us or something. Can you let us go, please? her friend, visibly shaken, asks the agent at his window. Alondra and her friend were handcuffed and placed in a U.S. Customs and Border Protection vehicle as observers filmed the incident. At least two observers were arrested as agents deployed tear gas and pepper spray, according to an MPR report. The agents took the students to the federal Whipple Building. Alondra said the agents separated the friends, looked through and photographed her belongings and had her change into blue canvas shoes before chaining her feet together and placing her in a holding cell alone. I asked at least five times if I could let my guardian know what was happening, because I was underage, but they never let me, she said. Finally, around 7 p.m., agents released Alondra with no paperwork about the incident and she called her aunt to pick her up. Her friend was released later. Meanwhile, school administrators who saw the MPR video called Alondras family and her friends. Alondra said officers didnt know what had happened to her car and told her they would call her when she could pick it up. But no one has called, and school administrators who helped her make calls to Minneapolis impound lots havent been able to locate it either. Though Alondra could attend classes online, she felt she had to return to campus. I feel like if I would have stayed home, it would have gone worse for me, she said, her lip quivering. I use school as a distraction. The backstage of the auditorium, dubbed the bodega, has been turned into a well-stocked pantry for families who are too afraid to leave their homes. Teachers and volunteers sort donations by category, including hygiene goods, breakfast cereals, bread and tortillas, fruit and vegetables, diapers and other baby items. Bags are labeled with each students name and address and filled with the items their family has requested. After school, teachers deliver the items to the students homes. Noelle said some students, particularly those who are homeless, are now at risk of failing because theyre in survival mode. Their learning is stagnating, she said. A lot of these kids are I mean, they want to be college-bound, Noelle said. How do you compete [for admission] with the best applicants if youre online right now and doing one touch-point a day with one teacher because thats all the technology that you have? Students walk to a bus Thursday. Dismissal used to be a free-for-all, with large numbers of students rushing outside as soon as the bell rang. TNS On Thursday afternoon, 20 of 44 students had shown up for an AP world history class where the whiteboard prompt asked, Why might some people resort to violent resistance rather than peaceful protest? Upstairs, in an 11th-grade U.S. history class, attendance was even worse four students, with 17 others following online. The topic was what the teacher called the nations first immigration ban, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Morgan, the teacher, asked the students to name a similarity between the Chinese exclusion era and current day. Immigrants getting thrown out, one student offered. Once they leave, they cant come back, said another. The fact that this is our first ban on immigration also sets a precedent that this stuff can happen over and over and over again, Morgan said. Sophie, who teachers English language learners, led the effort to organize the online school option. She is from Chile and says she has struggled to put her own fear aside to be present for the students who rely on her. Driving to school scares her, too. Its lawless, she said. It doesnt matter that I have my passport in my purse. The minute I open my mouth, theyre going to know that Im not from here. Sophie said she once had to call a students mother to say her husband had been taken by immigration agents after another school staffer found his car abandoned on a nearby street. Having to have that conversation wasnt on my bingo card for that day, or any day, she said. Having to say that we have proof that your husband was taken and hearing that woman crying and couldnt talk, and Im like, what do I say now? Close to the 4:15 p.m. dismissal, administrators again donned their neon vests and logged on to the neighborhood Signal call for possible immigration activity. Dismissal used to be a free-for-all once the final bell rang, students would rush outside to find their bus or ride or to begin the walk home. Now pickups are staggered, with students escorted outside one bus at a time. Teachers grab numbered signs and tell students to line up according to their route. If ICE agents pull up, administrators said, they could rush a smaller group of students onto the bus or back inside. In yet another example of how the immigration raids had crippled attendance, some buses were nearly empty. On one bus, just two students hopped on. 2026 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. President Donald Trump signed a roughly $1.2 trillion government funding bill Tuesday that ends the partial federal shutdown that began over the weekend and sets the stage for an intense debate in Congress over Homeland Security funding. The president moved quickly to sign the bill after the House approved it with a 217-214 vote. This bill is a great victory for the American people, Trump said. The vote Tuesday wrapped up congressional work on 11 annual appropriations bills that fund government agencies and programs through Sept. 30. Trump has said he will sign the bill when it reaches his desk, ending the partial government shutdown that began Saturday. Passage of the legislation marked the end point for one funding fight, but the start of another. Thats because the package only funds the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks, through Feb 13, at the behest of Democrats who are demanding more restrictions on immigration enforcement after the shooting deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal officers in Minneapolis. Leaders are digging in for a fight Difficult negotiations are ahead, particularly for the agency that enforces the nations immigration laws U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries quickly warned Democrats would not support any further temporary funding for Homeland Security without substantial changes to its immigration operations, raising the potential of another shutdown for the department and its agencies. We need dramatic change in order to make sure that ICE and other agencies within the department of Homeland Security are conducting themselves like every other law enforcement organization in the country, Jeffries said. Speaker Mike Johnson said he expects the two sides will be able to reach an agreement by the deadline. This is no time to play games with that funding. We hope that they will operate in good faith over the next 10 days as we negotiate this, said Johnson. The president, again, has reached out. But Johnsons counterpart across the Capitol, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., sounded less optimistic of a deal. Theres always miracles, right? Thune told reporters. Voting with no margin for error The funding bill that cleared Congress Tuesday had provisions that appealed to both parties. Republicans avoided a massive, catchall funding bill known as an omnibus as part of this years appropriations process. Such bills, often taken up before the holiday season with lawmakers anxious to return home, have contributed to greater federal spending, they say. Democrats were able to fend off some of Trumps most draconian proposed cuts while adding language that helps ensure funds are spent as stipulated by Congress. Still, Johnson needed near-unanimous support from his Republican conference to proceed to a final vote on the bill. He narrowly got it during a roll call that was held open for nearly an hour as leaders worked to gain support from a handful of GOP lawmakers who were trying to advance other priorities unrelated to the funding measure. The final vote wasnt much easier for GOP leaders. In the end, 21 Republicans sided with the vast majority of Democrats in voting against the funding bill, while that exact same number of Democrats sided with the vast majority of Republicans in voting yes. Trump had weighed in Monday in a social media post, calling on Republicans to stay united and telling holdouts, There can be NO CHANGES at this time. Key differences from the last shutdown The current partial shutdown that is coming to a close differed in many ways from the fall impasse, which affected more agencies and lasted a record 43 days. Then, the debate was over extending temporary coronavirus pandemic-era subsidies for those who get health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. Democrats were unsuccessful in getting those subsidies included as part of a package to end the shutdown. Congress made important progress since then. Some of the six appropriations bills it passed prior to Tuesday ensured the current shutdown had less sting. For example, important programs such as nutrition assistance and fully operating national parks and historic sites were already funded through Sept. 30. The remaining bills passed Tuesday mean that the vast majority of the federal government has been funded. You might say that now that 96% of the government is funded, its just 4% whats out there? Johnson said. But its a very important 4% -- Kevin Freking, The Associated Press Diondra Dukes with her 7-year-old son Jaxon in tow didnt know where to look first when she stepped into one of the Portland Art Museums newest galleries on Sunday. Works by Black Oregon artists lined the walls and filled display cases throughout the multi-room gallery space, including enormous fiber-focused multimedia installations, drawings, paintings and a two-story high photo grid of hairstyles posed on barbers mannequins. 503 Portraits of Wig Mannequins and 1 Portrait of Diana Ross, by Lisa Jarrett. Tatum Todd It was the grand opening of the Thelma Johnson Streat gallery, a permanent display of art by Black artists that opened to the public on the first day of Black History Month. I was a little overwhelmed, but in a good way, said Dukes, whose sister works for the organization that helped launch the gallery. Im really impressed so far. Her son, Jaxon, said that an intricately painted piano installation called Ode to Dimorph by Oregon artist Noah Beckham was his favorite piece so far. It had lots of details, he said of the intricately patterned hand-painted instrument with a mural behind it. Ode to Dimorph, by Noah Beckham. Tatum Todd The gallery, and the curated collection of art inside it, is the result of a collaboration between the museum and the 1803 Fund, an organization that works to advance Portlands Black community, said DArtagnan Caliman, vice president of philanthropy and partnership for the fund. D'Artagnan Caliman, 1803 Fund's vice president of philanthropy and partnership. Tatum Todd The 1803 Fund, which started in 2023, has purchased several acres and real estate in the lower Albina neighborhood, the historic center of Portlands Black community. It expects the redevelopment of those properties will generate hundreds of local jobs. In April, the organization also announced that it will be funding two Portland-based nonprofits with $75 million in grants over the next 10 years. It has also supported projects that promote Black culture, in addition to economic and financial projects, Caliman said. Its important to really think about who we are as a people, he said. (The gallery) also gives us an opportunity not only to express ourselves through Black creativeness and creativity, but also gives us an opportunity to really create this sense of togetherness. The gallery features work by Black artists in a variety of different mediums. Tatum Todd He added that the gallerys namesake Streat, an artist, dancer and educator who grew up and went to art school in Portland in the 1930s is the first Black female artist to have a gallery in a major art museum in the U.S. named after her. Decades after her death in 1959, her work is still on display in prominent art museums across the country, including the Museum of Modern Art, the San Francisco Museum of Art and Smithsonians National Museum of African American History and Culture, according to the Oregon Historical Societys Encyclopedia of Oregon. We thought it was very important to really highlight her and her history, Caliman said. Among the crowd of people who showed up to check out the gallery for the first time on Sunday was artist Philip A. Robinson, who made a series of ornate metal pins to commemorate its opening. Its important, especially for our young students to be able to come here and see the space, he said, adding that he also works as a teacher. To see themselves represented in these spaces where predominantly they would not see themselves. The Thelma Johnson Streat gallery's opening was timed to coincide with the first day of Black History Month. Tatum Todd Elsewhere in the crowd, Bil Spigner and Jeff Harris were mingling with other visitors and taking in the art. Spigner is the operations director for a leadership incubator for Black youth called Word is Bond and Harris is the namesake for #JEFFSSHOECHALLENGE, a back-to-school drive that gathers supplies for youth in underserved communities. Im really liking that its unapologetically Black, Spigner told The Oregonian/OregonLive of his impression in the first half-hour after the gallery opened. And Im interested to see more of it. Multnomah County officials expect to have $87 million less to pay for shelters, rent assistance and eviction prevention in the next fiscal year, they told county commissioners Tuesday morning. That would be a 26% reduction from the current fiscal years budget of $334 million for the countys homeless services department, formerly known as the joint office for homeless services. Its also the second budget year in a row the department will absorb a significant reduction. Anna Plumb, interim director of the countys homeless services department, acknowledged that a drop in resources of this magnitude will mean cuts to jobs and county-funded homeless services, likely including homeless shelters. Specific plans for how next years smaller budget will be allocated are due out February 13. You cant do more with less, but you can always be more efficient and more effective if you are targeting the right type of programs, Plumb said Friday. The goal with how we think about right-sizing the system is to ask how can we help more people exit shelter to housing? Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards asked county staff why the county didnt meet all of the goals theyd set when there was more money available. Its a strategy the city and county had agreed upon, Brim-Edwards said. Why didnt that work? One part of the answer came from Jillian Schoene, who leads the homelessness response action plan group that is meant to coordinate city, county, state and nonprofit agencies working to reduce homelessness in Multnomah County. Previously, she said, goals for the number of shelter beds to be built and people to be housed were not tied to the budget process. In upcoming budget discussions, she said, the goals will be set based on the available budget. We will be able to tell you, if you fund housing placements at this level, we will be able to house this many placements we will get at the end of the year, Schoene said. A key goal that the county has not met is that fewer people have moved through shelter into housing than had been hoped. A recent report on whether shelters were able to move people into permanent housing found that a given shelters success correlated with how much housing assistance that shelter had available to offer its guests. Shelters able to offer more support for navigating the subsidized and unsubsidized housing markets were able to help more people move into apartments with their names on the lease. Still, only 16% of people staying in shelters run by the county and the city of Portland moved into permanent housing in the last fiscal year. At that time, the countys homeless services budget was larger than it is now and far larger than it is expected to be next year. More than 17,000 people were homeless in Multnomah County as of November, according to county data. More than 8,000 of them were living outside or in their vehicles. And the number of people becoming homeless each month has been outpacing the number of people getting housed for several years running. The countys homeless services department has few tools to prevent homelessness caused by job losses, increasing rent and spiraling mental health conditions. But it is the areas primary line of defense when it comes to trying to help people who are facing eviction or have already fallen into homelessness. A slide from a Tuesday presentation to county commissioners shows how Multnomah County has spent its regional tax revenue since 2021. Multnomah County Homeless Services Department The reductions are due mainly to the flattening out of funding coming in through the areas regional homeless services tax, which is administered by Metro. All three counties that receive this tax revenue had more money come in than they were able to spend efficiently in the first years of that tax, which began kicking out cash to the counties in 2021. After immense outside pressure and a corrective action plan from Metro, Multnomah County spent down those extra funds by its deadline. Now, the homeless services system is bigger but the carryover funding from the early years is gone and the county is reliant on the revenue that comes in each year. Clackamas and Washington counties will face the same dynamic, though with less eye watering figures. Hovering in the background of Tuesdays meeting is the fact that the federal dollars that make up close to a quarter of the regions spending on homelessness could be wiped out or sharply reduced if the current presidential administration has its way. For now, a judge has blocked the federal governments changes to the rules around that funding that would make it harder for Portland area nonprofits to secure. The federal dollars, which are allocated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, are not part of the countys budget because they go directly to qualifying nonprofits. But the loss of the federal money could still affect the countys bottom line on homelessness since the federally funded nonprofits would suddenly be unable to provide the same services without a new funding source. Going forward, Plumb said, the county will prioritize keeping people housed, placing people in permanent housing and ensuring shelter efficiency. The most effective intervention theyve found has been to immediately house people, Plumb said, so that is where they will continue to focus their efforts. Its really about having the right amount of housing placement resources, she said. Portland lawmakers have learned that the citys Housing Bureau has even more unspent money at its disposal, months after officials revealed the bureau had been sitting on $21 million that could have gone to rent assistance, eviction defense and other housing aid. The unbudgeted funds total at least $15 million, according to a memo released Tuesday by Council President Jamie Dunphy. Dunphy had told The Oregonian/OregonLive on Monday that Jonas Biery, the citys chief financial officer, informed him Friday night the bureau had millions of additional dollars within a housing investment fund that remained unbudgeted. Its unclear at this point exactly how much there is or what it can be used for, Dunphy said. We are waiting on more information. Dunphy, vice chair of the councils Homeless and Housing Committee, added that he was extremely frustrated that he and his colleagues were only now finding out about these other unspent funds. Its inexcusable, he said. This is no way to run a city. The Housing Bureaus budget this year is $244 million. Interim Housing Bureau Director Michael Buonocore directed inquiries to a city spokesperson. City spokesperson Cody Bowman said that after the Housing Bureau discovered the initial $21 million, the City Budget Office, Controller and Housing Bureau launched a review to ensure all the citys housing fund balances were accurate. City staff identified the $15 million in the course of that review, according to Bowman. The total includes at least $10 million in a fund generated by fees on short-term rentals and at least $5 million in a fund that accrues from transient lodging taxes. In his memo Tuesday, Dunphy said he believed the accounting issues are a product of Portlands former, siloed form of government. While the timing of this information is difficult, I do not believe these were hidden maliciously, but are instead a relic of the old government system of accounting, the council president noted. Others on council expressed concern about why the information didnt come to light sooner. I am deeply troubled by the possibility that departments may be withholding vital financial information, said Councilor Loretta Smith, who has previously called for audits of all city agencies. We need to address the root cause to avoid perpetuating gaps and surpluses. In a statement posted to social media, Councilor Mitch Green reemphasized his calls for oversight proceedings and said it was obviously unsettling to learn about even more unaccounted for funds especially during a period of fiscal strain for households and the city alike. In November, city officials informed the 12-member City Council, which sets the budget under Portlands new form of government, of an unspent $21 million in funds generated by a fee that landlords pay to register new rentals. Senior city staff had learned of the money months prior to notifying the council, leading policymakers to allege they were kept in the dark. Councilors have since scrambled to craft potential ways to spend that money. Proposals currently before the legislative body would earmark dollars for everything from rent assistance to gap funding for affordable housing projects to buying down mortgages at existing subsidized housing to lower rents in those units. Additionally, the council is scheduled this week to decide whether to exercise its oversight powers and hold public hearings on the Housing Bureaus undisclosed revenue. Dunphy said the mix of transient lodging taxes and fees collected on short-term rental properties carry restrictions on how they can be used. The council president also said that he plans to delay a vote on any housing spending package until the council has a full accounting of funds that are available. This is a good problem to have but it is still a problem, he said. Though its wonderful to know we have additional dollars to help more people. This story was updated with more information released by city officials on the unspent funds Tuesday. Two key Oregon Democrats on Monday unveiled a plan to increase state revenue by dropping several state tax breaks copied from President Donald Trumps sprawling tax-and-spending law passed last year. The plan, put forward by Sen. Anthony Broadman of Bend and Rep. Nancy Nathanson of Eugene, would bring in $342 million in the current biennium by disconnecting Oregon from three tax breaks in Trumps signature One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The proposal comes as lawmakers prepare to face significant declines in state tax revenue in the coming years, along with higher administrative costs, due to policies in the federal law. The three tax breaks Nathanson and Broadman want to cancel, out of more than 100 in the federal law, apply to interest on some car loans, profits from certain stock sales and upfront write-offs for business machinery and equipment, known as bonus depreciation. Because Oregon generally duplicates federal tax law, including by creating state versions of federal tax breaks, the tax cuts contained in Trumps tax law are expected to cost Oregon nearly $900 million in tax revenue during the current biennium, according to state estimates. Nathanson and Broadmans proposal would preserve much of that amount in state tax revenue this biennium, because it would leave in place most state tax breaks copied from the federal law. To offset some of the potential harm to businesses and Oregonians who are struggling financially, Broadman and Nathanson have also proposed funding $25 million in tax breaks for businesses that grow jobs in Oregon and $26 million to substantially increase the size of the states earned income tax credit for low-income workers. In total, the bill would net the state an estimated $291 million in the current biennium, Nathanson and Broadman said. The additional tax revenue the state would collect by cancelling the three new state tax breaks would be used to protect programs and services for Oregonians and to directly help Oregonians, whether its individuals or businesses creating jobs, Nathanson said Monday morning during a press briefing. Nathanson chairs the House Revenue Committee while Broadman chairs its Senate counterpart. For months, lawmakers have been preparing to address an expected budget deficit by developing plans to decouple from some federal tax provisions, trim agency budgets and potentially dip into the states reserves. The states projected two-year budget deficit shrank from $370 million to $63 million in the November revenue forecast. Lawmakers will receive an updated forecast on Wednesday. Broadman and Nathansons bill could generate more revenue for the state over the next five years, in which the state is expected to lose billions of dollars in federal funding, mostly for food assistance programs and Medicaid. The two lawmakers said their proposal would bring in $308 million in the two-year budget period that begins in summer 2027 and $123 million in the following biennium, not including costs of the two expanded tax credits. The states current two-year general fund budget is $37.3 billion. Broadman and Nathanson said they crafted the plan with the intention of closing tax loopholes for businesses that dont directly benefit Oregonians. Disconnecting from the bonus depreciation provision alone would bring the state $267 million in the current biennium, the Democrats said far more than disconnecting from the other two tax breaks might. They pointed out that businesses will still be eligible for the federal bonus depreciation tax benefit and a similar federal provision copied into state law that allows businesses to deduct a certain amount of the upfront value of purchased assets. Broadman and Nathanson said they plan to keep Oregons version of the research and experimental expenses tax break in Trumps bill, one of the largest hits to the states revenue according to economists, to ensure that Oregon can remain attractive to businesses interested in operating in the state. Ending the capital gains tax cut for investors in qualified small business stocks would yield an estimated $39 million in income tax revenue for the state this biennium, Nathanson and Broadman said. Killing the state auto loan interest deduction would yield $36 million, they said. Both Broadman and Nathanson said they are optimistic that the plan could even receive support from Republicans and business groups, who have generally been opposed to Oregon disconnecting from the federal tax law because of the extra administrative burden and because it could impose higher taxes on businesses. The business community sees what we are facing with the federal government essentially taking a billion dollars out of the budget, Broadman said. Im optimistic that theyre going to understand that this is necessary to continue to invest in health care, education and public safety. However, the group Oregon Business & Industry vowed on Monday afternoon to vigorously oppose Democrats plan, introduced to the Legislature as Senate Bill 1507. Weve been asking leaders to do no more harm, and this would certainly dig our economic hole deeper, the groups president and CEO Angela Wilhelms said in a statement. She said lawmakers in particular should not cancel the states new business tax break that would help businesses especially small to midsized manufacturers invest more now in their companies and employees." Nathanson and Broadman said that Oregon is currently one of just 15 states that has copied the accelerated depreciation for machinery and equipment into its state tax policy, which they said means the state can remain competitive even with the change they propose. The pair also noted that they plan to keep Oregons version of the new federal tax break on tips and overtime. Both those are considered politically popular, even though they affect relatively few households and will deliver mostly quite small financial windfalls. About 213,000 Oregon households received a state earned income tax credit in 2023, the most recent year for which figures are available. That represents about 10% of households that filed state tax returns. The credits, which are refundable, averaged $222 that year. Broadman and Nathanson are proposing to increase the size of the credits, which deliver the biggest benefit to families earning $20,000 to $35,000 a year, by about 45%. Chinese President Xi Jinping holds talks with President of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay Yamandu Orsi, who is on a state visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 3, 2026. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen) BEIJING, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- China and Uruguay should strengthen the alignment of development strategies, and deepen cooperation in areas such as economy and trade, finance, agriculture and animal husbandry, infrastructure construction, and information and communications technology, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday. Both sides should explore the potential for cooperation in emerging fields including green development, digital economy, artificial intelligence, and clean energy, so as to drive economic growth and transformation, Xi said when holding talks with President of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay Yamandu Orsi in Beijing. Orsi on Sunday began a week-long state visit to China. He is the first leader from Latin America to visit China in 2026, and his visit follows those of leaders from Ireland, the Republic of Korea, Canada, Finland and Britain. "On this day 38 years ago, China and Uruguay established diplomatic relations," Xi said, pointing out that over the years, regardless of changes in the international situation, the two countries have always got along with each other on the basis of mutual respect and mutually beneficial cooperation. Xi called on both sides to carry forward their traditions and deepen their comprehensive strategic partnership under the new circumstances, to make sure their friendship grows stronger and more vibrant. China and Uruguay should continue to firmly support each other's core interests and major concerns, strengthen friendly exchanges at all levels and across all areas, enhance exchanges of experience in governance, and continuously deepen strategic mutual trust, Xi emphasized. Xi said that the fourth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China had adopted the recommendations for formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan, outlining a blueprint for China's development over the next five years, which will offer broad opportunities for countries worldwide, including Uruguay. The peoples of China and Uruguay share a natural affinity, Xi noted, adding the two sides should continue to deepen exchanges in areas like culture, education, sports, media and subnational engagement, and facilitate personnel exchanges, to strengthen the bonds of friendship between the two peoples. The world today is undergoing major changes unseen in a century, said Xi, noting the international landscape is marked by a mix of turbulence and transformation, while unilateral bullying is intensifying. China supports Uruguay in taking over chairmanship of the Group of 77 and China for the year 2026 and is willing to work with Uruguay to strengthen solidarity in the Global South, jointly promote an equal and orderly multipolar world and universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, and work together to seek common development, so as to make greater contributions to building a community with a shared future for humanity, Xi said. Xi added that China has always valued its relations with Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries and supports LAC countries in upholding their sovereignty, security and development interests. China also supports Uruguay in assuming the rotating presidencies of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), and stands ready to work with Uruguay and other regional countries to further promote the building of a China-LAC community with a shared future, Xi said. After the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of more than 10 cooperation documents covering investment, trade and other fields. Chinese President Xi Jinping holds a welcome ceremony for President of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay Yamandu Orsi in the Northern Hall of the Great Hall of the People prior to their talks in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 3, 2026. Xi held talks with Orsi, who is on a state visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Ding Haitao) Chinese President Xi Jinping holds talks with President of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay Yamandu Orsi, who is on a state visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 3, 2026. (Xinhua/Zhai Jianlan) Chinese President Xi Jinping holds a welcome ceremony for President of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay Yamandu Orsi in the Northern Hall of the Great Hall of the People prior to their talks in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 3, 2026. Xi held talks with Orsi, who is on a state visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Yan Yan) A U.S. citizen suffered a concussion, a torn rotator cuff and bruised ribs after immigration officers stopped her on a Salem street, broke her car window, pulled her out and then left abruptly after discovering her passport in her purse, advocates said. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents stopped the woman about 11 a.m. last Thursday after apparently racially profiling her, said Sandra Hernandez, director of Latinos Unidos Siempre, a local youth immigrant support group. The woman, who is Latina, asked Hernandez not to release her name because she was still in shock. Oregons largest labor union, SEIU Local 503, later released a statement identifying her only by her first name, Maria. The woman is a member of the union, which represents some state workers, home care givers and other health care workers. Maria was on her way to pay rent and to buy a cake for her grandsons birthday when she was stopped, the union said. Immigration agents have profiled other U.S. citizens in Oregon but this stop appears to mark the first instance of extensive injuries to a citizen here. The union statement listed her injuries. A GoFundMe page that was set up for Maria by the union to help cover her medical costs, provided an update on her condition on Sunday. The update said she was slowly getting better, but shes still terrified to leave her house. A local business in Salem offered to replace her car window for free, according to the update. No one should be dragged from their car, injured, and terrorized for who they are or where they come from, union President Johnny Earl said in a statement. Immigrant workers are the backbone of our communities and our economy, and they deserve dignity, safety, and respect, not violence and fear. Labor will not be silent while workers are harmed. We demand accountability and answers. The union statement said Maria is a U.S. citizen but released no other information about her background. U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials didnt immediately respond to a request seeking comment. Federal agents have used violent tactics in Oregon and across the country under the Trumps administration aggressive immigration crackdown. Immigration authorities have arrested more than 2,100 people in Oregon since President Donald Trump took office. The union statement said Maria reported being followed for several blocks before being surrounded by the agents, who demanded she show them papers. Agents smashed her window and pulled her out of the car, according to the union and Hernandez. They threw her to the ground and then emptied her purse, the union statement said. When they saw her passport, they just left, leaving her in need of medical attention, according to the union officials. Maria was able to get to the hospital with the help of her daughter and legal observers who were on the ground, according to the union statement. Salem city officials said Marias daughter called 911 about 30 minutes after the stop. Salem police called her back and advised her to contact Homeland Security or the FBI with any complaint. A dispatcher asked the daughter if her mother needed medical assistance and the daughter said she was going to take her to the hospital, police said. City officials in a statement condemned any illegal use of force and any violation of residents constitutional rights. They said they are aware of federal agents use of force against Salem residents. The reports allege racial profiling, detention, property damage and injuries to Salem residents by masked teams of federal agents, said the statement by Salem City Manager Krishna Namburi and Salem City Attorney Dan Atchison. The City recognizes that these reports have caused fear, anxiety, and distress within the Salem community, and we share in residents concern for the safety and well-being of all affected, the statement said. We join calls for the State of Oregon and federal government to reassure and protect residents from these types of actions by federal law enforcement. City officials reiterated that residents should contact Homeland Security officials or the FBI with complaints involving federal agents. This story was originally posted online at underscore.news. Following a nearly 16 month vacancy, the tribal relations department at the City of Portland has been filled. At the annual Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI) winter convention in downtown Portland on February 3, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson addressed hundreds of Native leaders from across the Pacific Northwest. As he welcomed people to Portland, he introduced the audience to Gerald D. Skelton Jr. as the citys new tribal government relations manager. Officially, Skelton began his first day in the role the day before. Geralds addition is critical to us, because we need everybody at this table in Portland, Mayor Wilson told Underscore Native News + ICT. We need everybody rowing in the same direction. And the tribes are so valuable right now as we create this community of, sort of this renaissance. And so its really a welcoming gesture, and we need that relationship. Skelton, a citizen of Klamath Tribes, formerly served as the director of the Klamath Tribes Culture and Heritage Department for over 15 years. With the Klamath Tribes, he focused on archeological museum work and negotiating repatriation of ancestral remains. According to Skelton he also has a background in energy development and helped the Klamath Tribes work through the dam removal process on the Klamath River. People have been really warm and friendly, Skelton told Underscore Native News + ICT. Its been a warm reception. The City of Portland is amazing, and I do appreciate the direction were heading in working with sovereign governments and tribal nations. Skelton is the fourth leader of this department at the city of Portland since the office officially began in 2017. He steps into an office that has been wrought with a pattern of abrupt departures including one firing, staffing cuts and political neglect. Laura John, a descendant of the Blackfeet and Seneca nations, served as the first full-time tribal liaison for the city of Portland from 2017 until 2023 when she resigned, accepting a severance payout. In a story released last June, John said that she felt forced out of the position by Sam Chase, who was hired to lead the Office of Government Relations in 2023, overseeing the Tribal Relations Program. After John left, what was once an office of three people under her leadership, downsized into a position of one. Miranda Mishan, a citizen of Chickasaw Nation, previously worked for John and took over as tribal relations program manager following Johns departure. Mishan left the office after five months and the office sat vacant for six months before Chase hired Adam Becenti, Dine. He was fired by Chase after only five months. Following the abrupt termination of Becenti in 2024, the office once again sat empty for five months before the city announced plans in March 2025 to hire a new manager. Skelton began his role as the tribal government relations manager nearly a year after the position first posted. Right now, its making sure I support the City of Portland in its effort to reconnect with the tribes and develop a strong trust to trust responsibility [and] consultation with the sovereign tribes, Skelton said. As tribal government relations manager, Skelton will report to Chase. Gerald brings deep knowledge, lived experience and a passion for collaboration to this critical work, Chase said in a press release. His leadership will produce outcomes that benefit Tribal Nations and Portland residents alike. In November 2024, the Portland Indian Leaders Roundtable sent a letter to the mayors office with a list of recommendations for this position. One of those recommendations was to establish a standalone Office of Tribal Government Relations. So far, this is not the case. Its not about what office theyre in. Its about the outcome, and its about the relationship. I need a high performing office with high standards, with radical hospitality being forwarded to the tribes, Mayor Wilson said. The office isnt as important as the person and the leadership that creates this importance with the tribes. While this position will focus primarily on government-to-government relationships with the nine sovereign Native nations in Oregon, the city plans to hire another position to focus on engagement with Indigenous communities in Portland at a later date, according to Mayor Wilson. He did not specify when. Building strong, respectful relationships with Tribal Nations is essential to the work ahead, Skelton said in a press release. Im honored to step into this role and build on the Citys commitment to equity, inclusion and government-to-government collaboration with Indigenous nations. Underscore Native News is a nonprofit newsroom committed to Indigenous-centered reporting in the Pacific Northwest. We are supported by foundations and donor contributions. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Bluesky. A 7-year-old Gresham girl and her parents are still locked up in a family detention center in Texas more than two weeks after they were detained by immigration agents while seeking emergency medical care for the child at Adventist Health hospital in Portland. The family, originally from Venezuela, entered the U.S. legally and has a pending asylum case. Theyre being held in the same Texas facility where 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos of Minnesota was detained with his father, originally from Ecuador. The two were released Saturday night. The boys viral bunnyhat photo drew national attention after he was swept up. While ordering their release, U.S. District Judge Fred Biery decried the Trump administrations ill-conceived and incompetently-implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children. The Gresham girl and her parents are still waiting for a resolution. As of Wednesday afternoon, no court petition or legal filing had been submitted on their behalf. Later this week, U.S. Rep. Maxine Dexter plans to visit them at the detention center. Heres what we know: This week is pivotal for their case Wednesday marked the 20th day in detention for the Gresham family. That matters because a decades-old federal policy stemming from a court settlement limits the detention of minor children to no more than 20 days. The settlement also says children must be held in safe and sanitary conditions and must be released as soon as feasible. Diana Crespo Gonzalez, a secondgrader at Alder Elementary School in Gresham, and her father Yohendry De Jesus Crespo and mother Darianny Liseth Gonzalez de Crespo were arrested on Jan. 16 as they parked just in front of the Adventist Health emergency room. They were there because Diana had a nosebleed that wouldnt stop but she wasnt allowed to see a doctor. Immigration agents drove the three to Washington state then flew them to Texas to the detention center where theyve been held since. The Trump administration has tried to override the settlement by issuing a new rule last summer that would allow indefinite detention of families with children. In August, a federal court ruled the protections and 20-day limit are binding. In a December court filing, the Trump administration revealed that immigration officials had held about 400 immigrant children for more than the 20day limit from August to September. They partly attributed the delays to the administrations decision to end a separate policy that had allowed expedited releases of immigrants. Ana Linares, a close friend of the Gresham family who has been regularly in touch with them since their detention, said the mother, Darianny Liseth Gonzalez de Crespo, told her some families have been held at the detention center for more than four months. Measles outbreak at Texas family detention center Theres a measles outbreak at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center near San Antonio, Texas the countrys largest family detention center - where the family is being held. The 2,400-bed facility was closed in 2024 by the Biden administration only to be reopened a year later after Donald Trump took office. More than 1,000 people are currently being held there, including babies and toddlers. Numerous reports and court filings have detailed inadequate medical care as well as contaminated water, poorquality food, severely limited educational opportunities and significant psychological stress experienced by children held at Dilley. On Saturday, the Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed two active measles infections among detainees there. In response, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has imposed a quarantine and stopped all movement inside the facility, according to Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Medical staff is continuing to monitor the detainees conditions and will take appropriate and active steps to prevent further infection, McLaughlin said in a statement. All detainees are being provided with proper medical care. McLaughlin also said Dilley is retrofitted for families and all detainees are provided with three meals a day, clean water, clothing, bedding, showers, soap, and toiletries as well as access to phones and comprehensive medical care. This is the best healthcare than many aliens have received in their entire lives, she wrote. The detention of Liam Conejo Ramos and his father at the Dilley center quickly became a flashpoint in the growing outrage over the administrations widening detention dragnet that has increasingly swept up large numbers of children. Homeland Security officials didnt respond directly to questions from The Oregonian/OregonLive about the number of children in federal detention. An analysis of ICE data by the Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization, concluded that ICE officers have detained at least 3,800 children, including 20 infants, since Trump took office, with more than 1,300 held for more than 20 days. The analysis goes only through mid-October before immigration detentions surged in Oregon and across the country. They have a pending asylum case The Crespo-Gonzalez family fled Venezuela along with nearly 8 million other Venezuelans one of the largest displacements in Latin American history because their country of birth was in economic collapse, with widespread food shortages and hunger, escalating violence and political repressions. (The vast majority of those who fled went to Latin American and Caribbean countries.) In 2024, the parents and their daughter crossed Central America and Mexico by foot and bus to reach the United States, according to Linares, their friend whose family made the journey with them. The trek included crossing the Darien Gap, Linares told The Oregonian/OregonLive. The stretch of roadless jungle on the Colombia-Panama border is notorious for its treacherous terrain and criminal gangs that target migrants on the route. Once they made it to Mexico, both families applied for an appointment via a U.S. Customs and Border Protection mobile app, Linares said, requesting permission to present themselves at a U.S. port of entry a legal pathway for asylum seekers to enter the country before Trump took office last year. The two families entered via San Ysidro, California, in November 2024, Linares said, and both received a 2028 immigration court date that would allow them to plead their asylum cases. The Crespo-Gonzalez family spent their first year in Utah and moved to Portland in late October. Yohendry De Jesus Crespo, his wife Darianny Liseth Gonzalez de Crespo and their daughter Diana have been held at a detention center in Texas for more than two weeks. The family entered the U.S. legally and has a pending asylum case. photo courtesy of Ana Linares Officials from ICE and Customs and Border Protection didnt respond to requests for comment about why the family was detained or what their legal status is. A review of court records by The Oregonian/OregonLive turned up no criminal history in Oregon or in Utah. Their case appears to be similar to that of Liam Conejo Ramos and his father who also have a pending asylum case. In such cases, lawyers typically file a habeas corpus petition, which asks a court to review whether a detention is lawful and to order the persons release if not. Theres no word yet when lawyers may file a similar petition for the Gresham family. Natalie Lerner, an attorney with Innovation Law Lab who represents them, didnt immediately respond to questions about their legal case. Legislators are advocating for their release A group of legislators in Oregon and outside the state are pushing for the familys release. They include state Rep. Ricki Ruiz, a Democrat from Gresham who once attended the same elementary school as 7-year-old Diana and has been documenting the familys plight on his Facebook page. Ruiz said the Gresham family shouldnt be penalized for following the rules that existed when they arrived. What they went through, the legal process at the time, its not their fault that things have changed, Ruiz said. Hopefully, theyre able to have the same fate as Liam and his father. U.S. Rep. Maxine Dexter, a Democrat who represents Oregons 3rd District, is also advocating on their behalf. Her office said it has repeatedly requested medical attention and wellness checks for 7-year-old Diana, made phone calls to top immigration officials and is coordinating with the familys legal team. On Monday, Dexter secured a privacy release form, which will allow her office to more directly advocate on the familys behalf with Homeland Security, including making inquiries about the status of the familys case and visiting the family in person at the detention center in Texas. A similar release was instrumental in Dexter securing the release of a Honduran mother and her four U.S. citizen children. She had lived in Portland for over two decades and was detained with her children at a park on the U.S.-Cananda border last year. Dexter said shes very concerned about the measles outbreak at Dilley and the lack of clear protocols to contain it given that the disease is extremely contagious, especially in closed, crowded spaces. She said shes planning to fly to Texas this week and visit the Gresham family on Friday. As a physician and with my constituents detained with an active measles outbreak, I need to do everything I can to make sure that theyre safe, Dexter told The Oregonian/OregonLive, adding that holding children is immorality to a level that is disgusting and Dilley should be shut down. Dexter said shes also in touch with other Oregon legislators, including Ruiz, U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici and U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley to work on legislative letters and make calls to put pressure on the Trump administration to release the Crespo-Gonzalezes. 7-year-old Diana is losing weight Detention has been stressful for the family, said Linares, the family friend who has spoken with the couple multiple times since their arrest, including most recently on Monday. Darianny Liseth Gonzalez de Crespo told her that she and her daughter have not seen her husband for several days and their movement at Dilley has been restricted, Linares said. The family doesnt have access to the news and wasnt informed about the measles outbreak at the center, Linares said. The mother also told Linares that shes suffering from severe insomnia due to anxiety and that 7-year-old Diana isnt eating much other than bread and is losing weight because the food at the detention facility is so bland. The family also has to buy bottled water because the water thats available isnt adequate to drink, Linares said. Linares said the girl keeps asking her mother, When are we going home? A fundraising campaign for the family has collected more than $56,000 as of Tuesday to cover lawyer fees and other expenses. A Craftsman house along Southwest Portlands once thriving trolley line leading to Oregon Health & Science University was a wise choice as a residence of the Rinehart family of doctors. The Rineharts held on to the elevated property for eight decades. When the deed traded hands in 2023, contractor Connor McWilliams renovated the historic house with views of Mount Hood, Mount Rainier and Mount St. Helens. The three-story house, built in 1907 on a 0.09-acre lot at 1442 S.W. Vista Ave. in the Goose Hollow neighborhood, is now for sale at $2,075,000. What I love most about the Rinehart home is the way it honors its history while living beautifully in the present, said listing broker Aaron Moomaw. You feel the soul of the original architecture the moment you walk in, yet every detail has been thoughtfully restored, so it functions like a modern home. The 4,197 square feet of living space blends original materials mahogany doors as well as oak floors and intricate inlays with newly installed handmade Moroccan zellige and French terracotta tile flooring. The additions to existing craftsmanship, said Moomaw, create spaces that feel warm, grounded and incredibly welcoming rather than trendy. Moomaw, who shares the listing with his sister, Lauren Moomaw, both with Cascade Hasson Sothebys International Realty, said a hand-forged staircase railing was reproduced to match the original design, and one-piece marble sinks were imported from Turkey. Upgrades were made to the kitchen, five bedrooms and five bathrooms. The primary suite encompasses the top floor. There is a new roof, plumbing, electrical, heating, ventilation and air conditioning. More than 1,000 square feet of outdoor living space includes an upstairs balcony, deck off the dining room, a covered area with overhead heat off the lower level and an additional deck on the bottom floor. If youre someone who values a heartwarming story, brilliant restoration and historic charm blended with modern, Architectural Digest-level design, this is your home, said the brokers. History of the house 14 1 / 14 1907 Portland house The Vista Avenue property is known as the Doctors House, but it has another claim to fame. The 1907 home was likely designed by architect Emil Schacht, who a few years earlier introduced Portland to the then cutting-edge Craftsman house. The style proliferated during the citys population boom around the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition. The Rinehart property was on a trolley line leading to Oregon Health & Science University, which was founded in 1887 as the University of Oregon Medical Department in downtown Portland and has been on Marquam Hill in Southwest Portland since 1917. The Rinehart familys connection to the property is a fascinating one: they bought it, sold it during the Great Depression, then repurchased and held it for more than eight decades. In 1882, Emily Belle Cooper, who arrived with her parents on the Oregon Trail, married Willard Ellis Rinehart, a graduate of the original Willamette Medical School. She then became one of the first woman physicians in the state, specializing in obstetrics and womens health. After her first husband died, she married Dr. Elmer Ellsworth Ferguson in 1900 and they moved into the Vista Avenue house. As a widow for the second time, she sold the property in 1921, but one of her sons, Jackson Carle Rinehart, purchased it back in 1939. Jackson was a family physician and surgeon in Portland. His brother Harvey Rinehart founded The Rinehart Clinic in Wheeler in 1913 after his arthritis treatments attracted patients from all over the country. When the family sold the property in 2023, the house was vacant and had not been updated for several years. The buyer was Connor McWilliams of Portland General Contracting, who renovated the exterior and interior of the house. A few walls were removed to enhance the flow of some of the rooms. McWilliams told The Oregonian/OregonLive that the lowest level was used to store pharmacy supplies and that he found a barrel of powdered ibuprofen and other apothecary items there. The area is now a speakeasy-type lounge. When we were demolishing walls we found bags with $5 bills printed during the Great Depression, said McWilliams. The tiered residence was one of two remodeled houses among new luxury dwellings on the 2024 NW Natural Street of Dreams. The exterior was painted the rich, warm, lively, fun color of cabernet sauvignon accented with black trim, McWilliams said. Red is also the color of the bathroom tile and sink in the lounge area. Statement pieces imported to Portland include terracotta bricks excavated from a French country village road and used in a floor. I wanted showcases of world taste, said McWilliams. Back in the day, affluent owners would have traveled and appreciated relics from other countries. Hearst Castle on Californias Central Coast is completely built on that idea. Paint and stain colors popular when the home was new were added to the custom cabinets, standalone cocktail bar under crown molding and other new pieces to look period correct, he said. A dessert item sold at Costco warehouses across almost two dozen states Oregon and Washington included was recalled due to undeclared allergens. Costcos Mini Beignets filled with Caramel were packaged instead with the same product but filled with Chocolate Hazelnut, according to the recall. Affected units are not labeled with an allergen warning for tree nuts. The recalled item was distributed to Costco locations in 23 states between Jan. 16 and Jan. 30. Those states include Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Washington. Those with a hazelnut or tree nut allergy should not consume the product, as they run the risk of a severe life-threatening allergic reaction, according to the recall. Consumers can return the beignets to Costco for a full refund. Those with questions can contact the company at customerservice.costco.com. Whole Foods stores across the Portland area, Oregon and the U.S. will soon remove biometric palm scanners that allow customers to pay for groceries by hovering their hands over a scanning station at checkout. Amazon, the owner of more than 500 Whole Foods stores across the nation, will pull the palm scanners from all of its stores no later than June 3, according to a company announcement. Amazon didnt say why it was nixing the payment system and didnt immediately respond to a question from The Oregonian/OregonLive Monday. But Payments Dive, which covers the payment industry, reported that an Amazon spokesperson said the company is phasing out the palm payment system in response to limited customer adoption. Its unclear if thats because customers rejected the idea of allowing Amazon to scan and retain their biometric data or if customers didnt find palm payments convenient. There are other convenient payment options, including Apple Pay or the Whole Foods app for customers who dont carry cash or credit cards but have their phones with them. The palm payment stations, which the company formally called Amazon One biometric authentication services, were launched in Seattle just over five years ago and arrived in Portland area locations in summer 2023. The grocer has 10 Oregon stores in Portland, Lake Oswego, Tigard, Hillsboro, Eugene and Bend. A palm scanner at a self-checkout station at the Pearl District Whole Foods in Portland is ready for its next customer. (Photo by Aimee Green, The Oregonian/OregonLive) Amazon says that once it shuts down the palm scanners, it will delete the data of customers who participated. That includes palm data, names, phone numbers, email addresses and credit card information. The company announced another big change last week: That it was shuttering its 57 Amazon Fresh and 15 Amazon Go brick-and-mortar stores. There werent any in Oregon. But the Seattle area, where Amazon is based, was home to several. Instead, the retailer said itll focus on grocery delivery through online orders on Amazon Fresh, as well as opening more than 100 additional Whole Foods locations across the nation. In 2017, Amazon purchased Whole Foods, which was founded in Austin, Texas in 1980. Its a classic Portland switcheroo: A local coffee chain is moving into what was once a hummus manufacturer and wholesale facility. >> Business opening or closing in your neighborhood? Email the reporter at vnocera@oregonian.com. Case Study Coffee Roasters is revving up to open its first cafe in Southeast Portland, as first reported Tuesday by Bridgetown Bites. Founded in 2010, the company operates five visually eclectic coffee shops across the city with aesthetics ranging from mid-century modern at its Alberta Arts District cafe to its cozier Victorian coffeehouse on Northwest 23rd Avenue. The design of Case Studys sixth space is still under wraps, but heres what we do know: The coffee shop will be located at 1502 S.E. Morrison St. in what was once King Harvest Hummus manufacturing and wholesale facility. The Portland hummus company moved into the space in 1986 and relocated in 2024 after being acquired by Pacific Coast Fruit. In 2009, King Harvest began operating a drive-thru out of the Southeast Morrison Street building a feature Case Study will repurpose at its coffee shop. City policy bans the construction of new drive-thrus in some pedestrian-oriented zones throughout Portland, with an exception for existing facilities that have been discontinued for less than three years. The King Harvest drive-thru has been out of commission since 2024. The new location will be Case Studys first to offer drive-thru ordering and pickup. Case Study did not immediately reply to an email asking about a tentative opening date for the new cafe, but the website lists the location as coming soon. If you purchase a product through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. With Super Bowl LX less than a week away, Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots fans are already on the edge of their seats, awaiting this epic rematch. Seattle fans want revenge for Malcom Butlers game-sealing pick-six in Super Bowl XLIX back in 2015. Patriots fans want to create a new dynasty in the post-Brady/Belichick era. Right now, Fanatics has a lot of officially licensed Super Bowl LX gear for sale, including multiple styles and colors of Nike jerseys featuring the official Super Bowl patch that will be worn on gameday. Below, weve highlighted a few choices for fans of the Seahawks and Patriots so that they can remember this moment forever. 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Christian Gonzalez New England Patriots Nike Super Bowl LX Patch Carbon Fashion Game Jersey - Black Boasting superior construction and a design that screams New England Patriots fandom, this Super Bowl LX Patch Carbon Fashion Game Jersey from Nike stands as a paramount staple for any Christian Gonzalez fan. $160 at Fanatics Fans can check out the rest of the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots Super Bowl LX gear right now at Fanatics. Oregon business and technology leaders are pushing a bill that would add 1,700 acres to Hillsboros urban growth boundary, making room for new semiconductor factories or other advanced manufacturers. They also want to increase tax credits for companies doing research in the state and to double the value of property tax breaks in a program used primarily by data centers. The sweeping package is a big lift in this years short legislative session. Urban growth boundaries are among the most contentious issues in Oregon politics and land conservationists are already rallying to block the latest attempt to designate Washington County farmland for industry. And the bill will add to the controversy over Oregons data center industry, which has triggered a surge in demand for electricity across the state especially in Hillsboro, home to a cluster of large data centers. Rising demand from the power-hungry but employee-lite businesses, which are gobbling up available industrial land, water and tax breaks, too, has the state facing a major energy crunch in as little as five years. Backers say Senate Bill 1586 represents unfinished business from the Oregon CHIPS Act, which passed two years ago and allocated $210 million for the states semiconductor industry. They say more industrial land and bigger tax incentives are essential to lure technology and bioscience companies, and to attract advanced manufacturing. Oregon has not been keeping pace with other states that are actively competing for investment and talent, Sen. Janeen Sollman, D-Hillsboro, told a legislative committee last month. Business advocates have been trying for years to expand Hillsboros industrial land and made a concerted push two years ago. They note that leading-edge chipmakers typically want 1,000 acres or more at their disposal when they choose a new site. The Portland area doesnt have any developable sites approaching that size. Meanwhile, hundreds of acres that were previously available in Hillsboro, the heart of Oregons semiconductor industry, have been snapped up by data centers that employ only a handful of people apiece. The city of Hillsboro has long had its eye on farmland north of the city for industry. The Oregon CHIPS Act gave Gov. Tina Kotek temporary authority to bring land into the city for semiconductor manufacturing. That power expired at the end of 2024 after Oregon failed to attract any qualifying projects. SB 1586 would make 1,700 acres permanently available for large industry. It specifically prohibits data centers on the land except as an accessory to or part of a use by a related industrial tenant. Its too much land for conservationists and some nearby farmers, who say the bill circumvents Oregons established land-use system without any assurance it will produce economic benefits. Lets not double down on an approach that values costly sprawl over farmland, and corporations over communities. We have to do better in the decades to come, Washington County Commissioner Nafisa Fai told a rally of the bills opponents Friday night in Forest Grove. We have to do better than this for Washington County. Lets slow down. Lets have a conversation, Fai said. While the Oregon CHIPS Act passed with bipartisan support in 2024, there was intense opposition from a minority of members in each party. Some rural Democrats and Republicans denounced the potential loss of farmland. There are sure to be fierce objections this time, too. The bills various tax incentives could face opposition, too, given the states looming budget crunch. SB 1586 would establish a new category of tax break, enabling cities and counties to offer five years of property tax exemptions for equipment used by advanced manufacturers, whether that equipment is new or modernized. The bill would also double tax credits available to companies that conduct advanced research in Oregon. That could save those companies an additional $220 million over the next four years tax revenue that would otherwise have gone to the state. The bills backers say it could spur investment that would compensate for the lost revenue, though they havent estimated just how much new investment the bill will produce. In dollar terms, the most significant change in SB 1586 would be to double the duration of property tax breaks under the states standard enterprise zone program, from five years to 10 years, for projects in urban and suburban areas. Koteks office proposed a bill that would extend the enterprise zone duration to eight years or indefinitely, if the states economic development agency approves. Oregon created enterprise zones in the 1980s to lure small manufacturers but it put no limit on how big the tax breaks could be and attached minimal hiring requirements. Data centers capitalized on those broad terms and are now the programs primary beneficiary especially in small towns and rural areas where employers can qualify for long-term, 15-year enterprise zone tax breaks. Data centers are collecting about $350 million in such long-term incentives this year alone. Business Oregon, the states economic development agency, says data centers represent just 10% of participants last year for standard enterprise zones (those limited to five years in urban and suburban areas). In dollar terms, though, data centers enjoyed two-thirds of the savings $45 million. The value of data centers incentives nearly doubled in the current fiscal year as the industry expanded. In Hillsboro alone, data centers are now collecting nearly $90 million in tax breaks while employing 590 workers. That works out to $149,000 in tax breaks per job. Manufacturers also receive tax incentives through the enterprise zone program. The tax breaks are much smaller than what the data centers receive, however, even though the factories employ far more people. Computer chip manufacturer Jireh Semiconductor received $1.4 million in enterprise zone tax incentives last year, for example. That works out to about $2,800 for each of its roughly 500 Hillsboro employees. (Intel receives similar property tax breaks through a separate Oregon program. Those incentives topped $230 million last year, about $14,000 per local employee.) Business Oregon says the value of the enterprise zone program is its flexibility. By extending the duration of the standard enterprise zone program beyond five years, the bills supporters hope it could attract more industry and more jobs to Oregon. But expanding the enterprise zones duration could also dramatically increase the states appeal to data centers. Hillsboro has put zoning restrictions to limit the number of additional data centers on the citys dwindling supply of industrial land. So data centers are now choosing other locations like Forest Grove, where a San Francisco company called Crane Data Centers is building at least one large facility adjacent to a residential neighborhood. Data centers are straining power supplies in Oregon and across the country. Some states have responded by limiting data center tax incentives and many others, including Michigan, Arizona and Maryland, are considering similar action. SB 1586 would move Oregon in the opposite direction by doubling the incentives. Jody Wiser, with the watchdog group Tax Fairness Oregon, says neither Sollman nor the governor appear to have thought through the implications of extending the enterprise zones. I doubt that the people who proposed that were remembering about data centers when they did it, Wiser said. I believe that there will be amendments proposed to both the governors bill and Sollmans bill to take the data centers out. My grandmother kept her body tilted on the seat as if she were trying to overhear something my grandfather might say but without looking at him.to think that what lies on th into a real embodiment of the intensity and risk and artistry of their talent-at-work? What would it feel like? What might it change? Would it matter? Should it? We can only MOSCOW, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Japan's policy of accelerated remilitarization threatens peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned on Monday. During a news conference reviewing the results of Russian diplomacy in 2025, Lavrov said that Japan's moves to lift constitutional pacifist constraints, boost military spending, expand offensive military capabilities, and deepen defense cooperation with the United States and its allies endanger Asia-Pacific stability and erode confidence in Tokyo across Asia-Pacific. He noted that Russia and China will continue to uphold the historical truth about World War II and jointly oppose attempts to falsify history and rehabilitate militaristic revanchism. Lavrov stressed that Japan must learn lessons from its past and fully distance itself from the criminal policies of the mid-20th century, which brought suffering to people around the world and to Japan itself. Canadian Government Investing $7.5 Million for Study to Help Kap Paper Move Towards MDF Production The study will establish the key execution criteria necessary for a final investment decision on creating a new medium-density fibreboard (MDF) facility at Kap Paper's newsprint mill in Kapuskasing, Ontario. The study will establish the key execution criteria necessary for a final investment decision on creating a new medium-density fibreboard (MDF) facility at Kap Paper's newsprint mill in Kapuskasing, Ontario. Feb. 3, 2026 - Melanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, on Jan. 31 announced that the Government of Canada is investing $7.5 million through the Strategic Response Fund (SRF) to help Kap Paper Inc. complete a Front End Engineering Design (FEED) study to support a pivot in its operations toward growth markets. Kap Paper operates a paper mill in Kapuskasing, Ontario that has the capacity to produce 220,000 metric tons per year of newsprint. At the end of September 2025, Kap Paper idled production at the mill due to citing "insufficient financial resources to keep the mill in operation." According to the Government of Canada, the study will establish the key execution criteria necessary for a final investment decision on creating a new medium-density fibreboard (MDF) facility. This facility would keep Kap Paper operational, safeguard employment in Kapuskasing, Ontario, and strengthen the regional economy. "Kap Paper is a regional economic driver and provides key integrated support to northeastern Ontario's softwood lumber industry," Joly stated. "This investment will help the company define its plan to manufacture higher-value products to diversify revenue streams, stabilize demand for fibre and maximize the economic output of harvested timber. For Ontario, developing these products will help create and maintain jobs, and strengthen regional economies." In October 2025, the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario (FedNor) announced $10 million to support Kap Paper and protect over 2,000 jobs across northeastern Ontario. The Kapuskasing mill directly employs around 240 workers, while supporting up to 2,500 indirect jobs in the regional forestry and logistics sectors. Recent History of Kapuskasing Mill The Kapuskasing mill was formerly owned by Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM), which took ownership of it after RYAM's acquisition of Tembec. Four years later, in 2021, GreenFirst Forest Products took over the mill operations in Kapuskasing. In 2024, GreenFirst restructured, leading to the formation of the standalone company, Kap Paper. SOURCE: Government of Canada and Kap Paper A 47-year-old Lancaster County man admitted to violently shaking his 2-month-old daughter Sunday, leaving the baby in critical condition, police said in court documents. David Lee Souden was charged with aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a child, according to court documents filed by West Earl Township police. Police and EMS were dispatched around 5:30 p.m. to a home in New Holland for a cardiac arrest involving a baby who was unresponsive. At the scene, the baby was found in a bassinet and transported to Lancaster General Hospital in critical condition, police said. The baby was flown to Penn State Hershey Childrens Hospital where she was still listed in critical condition, according to court documents. According to police, Souden said that he got angry while feeding the baby because she started crying, so he violently shook her three to four times before she became limp and had a blank stare in her eyes. Souden said that he attempted mouth to mouth resuscitation but believed the baby was dead, so he placed her back into her bassinet and left the house without calling 911, the affidavit said. He later went to the East Earl police department and said he needed to report that hed killed his daughter, police said. An officer there took him to a West Earl detective. Souden was transported to Lancaster County Prison with a bail set at $500,000, according to online court documents. Soudens preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 10, according to online court documents. A Lebanon County man charged last year with involuntary manslaughter in the death of his baby was arrested this week for attacking his wife and shooting at her car as she tried to drive away, according to the district attorneys office. Around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, troopers were dispatched to the 1300 block of Mountain Road in Bethel Township for a domestic assault. A woman called 911 and said her husband, David Strause II, 43, assaulted her. The evening before, the couple argued about the womans prior relationship with another man, the DAs office said. According to the district attorneys news release: When the couple returned home, Strause shoved the woman onto the bed. As she tried to get up, he struck her in the face with a handgun, splitting her lip open. The woman then fled to the basement and called 911. While the woman tried to call for help, police say Strause grabbed her cellphone and smashed it on the ground. 911 operators heard Strause scream: This is how you want it to end, get out! while on the phone with the woman. The woman ran out of the home and got in her vehicle. Shortly after, she heard a loud sound she believed was a gunshot. Responding officers in the area also heard the sound and later determined the womans car was struck at least once with a bullet. In addition to troopers, the Pennsylvania State Police aviation unit and a state police Special Emergency Response Team (SERT) were called. Police say Strause refused to exit the home for hours, but later surrendered around 9 a.m. Several roads in the area were closed while troopers negotiated with the man, according to the DAs office The Lebanon County DAs office approved the following charges against Strause: aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and disorderly conduct. Anyone with additional information regarding the domestic incident may call the Jonestown State Police Barracks or the Lebanon County District Attorneys Office. The arrest comes less than a year after Strause and his wife were charged with felony counts of endangering the welfare of children, involuntary manslaughter and recklessly endangering another person after their 3-month-old baby died while sleeping on his stomach. By Theresa Braine, New York Daily News (TNS) The ex-husband of former first lady Jill Biden was charged in his wifes killing on Tuesday, more than a month after she was found dead on the living room floor in their Delaware home. Linda Stevenson, 64, had been found unresponsive in the living room in late December by police responding to a domestic dispute call and was pronounced dead, authorities said at the time. On Monday her husband, 77-year-old William Stevenson, was charged with first-degree murder in her death, though authorities have not yet released information on how she died or revealed a cause, KTVU-TV reported. Unable to post bail, Stevenson was being held at Howard Young Correctional Institution on $500,000 cash bail, KTVU reported. Biden was married to Stevenson from 1970 to 1977 before marrying Joe Biden in 1977. Linda and William Stevenson had been married for about 40 years. A police officer shot and killed in Georgia Sunday was a former Dauphin County Prison employee. Gwinnett County police officer Pradeep Tamang, 25, was killed while responding to an Atlanta-area hotel for what was dispatched as a credit card theft. Dauphin County officials confirmed Monday that Tamang, a native Nepali with ties to the Harrisburg areas Bhutanese community, worked at the prison from October 2023 through April of 2024, when he resigned. Gwinnett Police said Tamang was hired by their department the following summer, and he worked as a patrol officer since graduating from its police academy in May 2025. Gwinnett County Chief J.D. McClure said during a press conference Sunday that Tamang was engaged to be married. McClure said he had spoken to the officers fiance, and the department is making arrangements to get Tamangs parents to Georgia. Tamangs parents, several sources told PennLive Monday, live in the Shippensburg area of Cumberland County. Please pray for the families of Officer Tamang and Officer Reed, the chief said in a public statement Sunday evening. We need your support during this time. A few feet from where McClure spoke, video showed floral bouquets and other tributes left on a parked Gwinnett County squad car in an impromptu tribute. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has taken over the shooting investigation. In a release, it said a person from South Carolina called police to report their credit card being fraudulently used at a Holiday Inn Express in Stone Mountain, Ga. Tamang and Officer David Reed were dispatched to the case. When they arrived, officials said they spoke with the front desk manager, who told them the room in question was being rented to 35-year-old Kevin Andrews. Reed and Tamang then made contact with Andrews, who allowed them inside. After learning Andrews had an active warrant for failure to appear out of DeKalb County, officers attempted to arrest Andrews, the GBI said. Andrews pulled out a handgun and fired at the officers, hitting both. Reed was listed in stable condition today. One of the officers it was not immediately clear which one was able to return fire, striking Andrews. Police said Andrews was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, but he will be arraigned on murder and other charges upon his release. Leaders of the Bhutanese Community of Central Pennsylvania said Monday the Tamang family is relatively new to this area. Public records suggest Pradeeps parents moved here from Ohio in summer 2023. All of us are wanting to know more about the family and how we can help them, said Tej Mishra, executive director of the community organization. Still, the tragedy in Georgia is sure to be felt sharply in a tight-knit community here that takes shared pride as its next generation assumes public service roles here. Given the refugee communitys history of escaping violence, they greatly value that their lives are safer in America, Mishra noted Monday evening. Events like this (gun violence) definitely affect us on a different level because of that fact, he said. Those who knew him remember him as kind-hearted, disciplined, humble, and deeply committed to servicea man who carried quiet strength, respect for others, and a genuine desire to protect and uplift those around him, Tilak Niroula, another Bhutanese civic leader, posted on Facebook Monday evening. Rest in peace, hero. Your service lives on. OSLO, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- A majority of Danes now regard the U.S. as an adversary rather than an ally, according to a poll released by Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) on Tuesday. The survey showed that 60 percent of respondents described the United States as an adversary, while only 17 percent considered it still an ally. The poll was conducted from Jan. 21 to 28, following U.S. President Donald Trump's statement on Jan. 21 in Davos that he would not use military force to take over Greenland. Results indicated that this negative perception of the United States was broadly shared across different segments of Danish society, regardless of region, gender, age or political affiliation. Since returning to office in 2025, Trump has repeatedly expressed a desire to "obtain" Greenland, a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, sparking strong opposition across Europe. In January, large-scale protests against the U.S. pressure on Greenland took place across Denmark and Greenland. This February might be a good time to visit Hersheys ZooAmerica. The zoo will be reopening for daily operation following a brief closure due to extreme temperatures, according to a press release. ZooAmerica is now open daily from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for guests looking to beat cabin fever and learn about North American animals, the press release reads. But the reopening also comes with a ticket discount offer. To sweeten a visit, the 11-acre Zoo in Hershey just launched a Fantastic Fridays ticket offer for half-off admission every Friday in February, the press release reads. The Fantastic Fridays ticket offer applies to regular, junior and senior admission. Regular ticket prices are $16.50 for ages 9-61, and $14.50 for ages 3-8 or ages 62 and up. Children 2 and under are free. Tickets can be purchased in person on Fridays, or in advance through the ZooAmerica website here. McGraths Pub in Harrisburg is expanding into neighboring space, injecting much-needed energy into the downtown. Owner Adam Sturges said hes taking over the former Aroogas at the corner of North Second and Locust streets to enlarge the pub. McGraths, a two-story restaurant, opened at 202 Locust St. in 2002. It seats about 60 diners and is known for a neighborhood and Irish pub atmosphere. I wasnt necessarily looking to expand, Sturges said. But its sort of self-preservation when you have so many shuttered storefronts downtown and its hard to convince people staying at the hotels that Harrisburg is a nice city and has a lot to offer. The original McGraths will remain open and Sturges said the two spaces will be connected to create a cohesive dining experience. The owner of the Sturges Speakeasy and Mad Moose Tavern in Harrisburg said he aims to complete the project around St. Patricks Day, but acknowledges the timeline is flexible. Because the restaurant is located inside the same building, Sturges is using McGraths liquor license. Hes awaiting approval from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board for the expansion. McGraths will remain food-focused with late-night bar hours, though Sturges stressed its not a nightclub. Theres going to be no nonsense with this. Were going to run this much like McGraths: clean and safe, he said. A larger kitchen will also benefit the restaurant, allowing it to handle more volume and variety, he said. Aroogas closed in 2024 for structural repairs and never reopened. Last month, the three-story building at 201 N. Second St. that housed the restaurant was sold to RMN Group LLC, a local investor, according to NAI CIR, a commercial real estate company. The building originally housed the Gazebo Room Restaurant, which led to the creation of the Gazebo Room salad dressing brand. It has always been one of those marquee spots in the city, Sturges said. The expansion is welcome news for the downtown restaurant scene, which has been marked by several closings, including Home 231, The Vegetable Hunter and Zeroday Taproom in the past year. On Monday, Gov. Josh Shapiro visited Sturges at McGraths as part of a promise to meet with Harrisburg city leaders to improve the capital city. He said leaders are working together, investing time, attention and money. Weve got everybody rowing in the same direction. All of the political nonsense is out the window and folks are communicating well, Shapiro said. He added that an announcement about a comprehensive plan for the downtown area, not seen in decades, is expected in the coming months. Lovers of this hardcore festival in the United States have been waiting patiently for this years lineup. The festival just broke some news this week. Unfortunately, it wasnt the news people were waiting for. Lambgoat reports that leaders of Furnace Festival a Birmingham, Alabama-based event thats featured performances from such popular acts as Knocked Loose, Jimmy Eat World and Dropkick Murphys has been sold. Organizer Johnny Grimes explained via a video statement that mounting debt prompted the sale of Furnace Fest to a still-unnamed production company. None of the remaining original organizers or staff will be involved with the festival moving forward. They paid the artists balances, and for that, we are super thankful, Grimes said. But the sad reality in all of this is that in order for that to happen, we had to hand over Furnace Fest completely. All of it. It was the only path forward. Now, my hope was that we would still be a part of Furnace Fest in some capacity, but its become clear that we will not be involved moving forward. While this is hard to accept, while this is heartbreaking in many ways, I want to focus on gratitude, Grimes continued. Im thankful for every person who supported this festival, every band who played, every volunteer, every crew member, every fan who chose to spend a weekend with is un Birmingham, Alabama, in September or October at Sloss Furnace. So Im grateful and Im thankful. And I also want to wish this new company the very best as they take Furnace Fest and carry it into its next chapter. My hope is to protect the spirit in which made this community so special and then find news ways to grow it. When Furnace Fest will return under this new leadership remains undisclosed as of the publishing of this report. By REBECCA SANTANA, The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) Every Homeland Security officer on the ground in Minneapolis, including those from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, will be immediately issued body-worn cameras, Secretary Kristi Noem said Monday, in the latest fallout after the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens at the hands of federal agents. Noem said the body-worn camera program is being expanded nationwide as funding becomes available. We will rapidly acquire and deploy body cameras to DHS law enforcement across the country, Noem said in a social media post on X. The news of the body cameras comes as Minneapolis has been the site of intense scrutiny over the conduct of federal officers after two U.S. citizens protesting immigration enforcement activities in the city were shot and killed. It is the latest apparent effort by the Trump administration to ratchet down tensions after the shootings triggered protests and widespread criticism. The shooting deaths sparked calls for accountability In the immediate hours after ICU nurse Alex Prettis death, Noem went on the offensive, saying several times that Pretti came with a weapon and dozens of rounds of ammunition and attacked officers, who took action to defend their lives. Other administration officials painted a similar picture. Multiple videos that emerged of the shooting contradicted that claim, showing Pretti had only his mobile phone in his hand as officers tackled him to the ground, with one removing a handgun from the back of his pants as another officer began firing shots into his back. Homeland Security has said that at least four Customs and Border Protection officers on the scene when Pretti was shot were wearing body cameras. The body camera footage from Prettis shooting has not been made public. The department has not responded to repeated questions about whether any of the ICE officers on the scene of the killing of 37-year-old mother of three Renee Good earlier in January were wearing the cameras. The shootings, and the narrative coming from some in the administration, sparked demands for accountability, including among some Republicans. President Donald Trump sent his border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis to take control of operations there, displacing Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, who has become a lightning rod for criticism in the various operations hes joined in cities like Chicago and Los Angeles. The Justice Department has also opened a federal civil rights investigation into Prettis shooting, which it has not done in the case of Good. Critics have increasingly called for Homeland Security to require its immigration enforcement officers to wear body cameras. In response to Noems announcement, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said on X that body cameras should have been worn long before (officers) killed two Americans. Lawmakers consider restraints in DHS funding bill Noems announcement comes as the administration and Democrats are locked in a congressional battle over funding for the Department of Homeland Security. Democrats have been demanding changes to rein in the Trump administrations immigration enforcement operations. An additional $20 million for body cameras was included in the bipartisan federal funding package that was approved by the Senate late last week ahead of a deadline to prevent a government shutdown. But the House has yet to approve the package, launching a partial government shutdown for certain agencies, including Homeland Security, last Saturday. But because many Homeland Security operations are deemed essential, they continue despite the federal funding lapse. Body cameras have become a flashpoint in previous immigration enforcement operations under the Trump administrations mass deportations agenda, including during a major operation in Chicago last fall. A U.S. district judge ordered uniformed agents there to wear cameras, if available, and turn them on when engaged in arrests, frisks and building searches or when being deployed to protests. A 2022 executive order on police reform by President Joe Biden directed federal law enforcement officers to wear body cameras. Trump had rescinded that directive after starting his second term. Trump backs body-worn cameras Noems move comes after Trump over the weekend endorsed the idea of body cameras for immigration officers. Federal agents conduct immigration enforcement operations in a neighborhood on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy) AP After Noems announcement on Monday, Trump said the decision was up to the secretary but said that he thought it was generally good for law enforcement to wear cameras. They generally tend to be good for law enforcement because people cant lie about whats happening, he said in the Oval Office Monday, adding, If she wants to do the camera thing, thats OK with me. Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow with the American Immigration Council, an advocacy group, said Noem didnt need to wait for more money to enforce the new policy nationwide, pointing to the massive immigration enforcement funding measure that Congress passed last summer that gave ICE nearly $30 billion for enforcement and removal operations including spending on information technology. That buys a lot of body cameras, he said. Today show host Savannah Guthrie issued a call for prayers on social media Monday, in the wake of her 84-year-old mothers disappearance. Nancy Guthrie was reported missing on noon Sunday. She was last seen in the area of the Catalina Foothills on Saturday night. Police in Pina County said that they believe that she was taken from her Arizona home by force in the middle of the night. In a message posted to Instagram Monday night, Savannah Guthrie asked for peoples thoughts and prayers as police continued their search. We believe in prayer. we believe in voices raised in unison, in love, in hope. we believe in goodness. we believe in humanity. above all, we believe in Him, she wrote. Thank you for lifting your prayers with ours for our beloved mom, our dearest Nancy, a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant. Raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment, she continued. We need you. He will keep in perfect peace those whose hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord. a verse of Isaiah for all time for all of us, she concluded. Bring her home. The post was accompanied by an image of a white canvas with the words, Please pray. This image provided by the Pima County Sheriffs Department, on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, shows a missing person alert for Nancy Guthrie. Pima County Sheriffs Department via AP Several of Guthries Today co-workers and other notable celebrities offered support in the comments. Non stop prayers love you my girl xo," former show host Hoda Kotb wrote. Sending love to you Savannah and your entire family. Holding all of you in our hearts and keeping the faith that your mom will be with you again soon, Katie Couric said. Praying so hard!!! wrote Olympic ski racer Lindsey Vonn. Nancy Guthrie is 5-foot-5, 150 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes, was last seen near her home near East Skyline Drive and North Campbell Avenue in the Catalina Foothills area. She does not have any known mental or cognitive challenges but does have some physical ailments and requires daily medications. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said that they are considering Nancy Guthries home a crime scene and that she did not leave the premises on her own. So we make a plea to anyone that knows anything about this, who has seen something, heard something, to contact us, call 911, he said. WELLSBORO A state Superior Court panel has vacated the vehicular homicide conviction of a fired state trooper involved in a fiery 2023 Tioga County accident and ordered a new trial on that count. The three-judge panel on Monday found that failure to provide accurate information on the juror questionnaire form deprived Michael J. Brown of his ability to intelligently decide whether to strike that individual. We are considering next steps at this point, said a spokesperson for the state attorney generals office that prosecuted Brown. When asked if the options included no second trial, the response was, We will stay with my comment for now. Attempts to reach Browns attorney, Peter Paul Olszewski Jr., were unsuccessful. Brown, 38, of Troy, was suspended without pay when he was arrested and terminated following his sentencing. A Tioga County jury in May 2024 found him responsible for the fiery death of Christine Woodward, 47, a teacher and mother of three also from Troy. Brown, then assigned to the Mansfield barracks, was on his way to work when the Feb. 11, 2023, accident occurred about 10:45 p.m. on two-lane Route 6 at the intersection with Ritz and Aumick roads east of Mansfield. He testified he did not see anything coming in the opposite direction, so he began to pass in a no-passing zone ahead of a passing zone. As he was passing, he said he saw the headlights of Woodwards car, which were not visible before because of a dip in the road. An investigation determined that he swerved to the left to try to avoid a collision, she turned to the right, and they hit head-on. The front of Woodwards car was pushed back by the impact, causing the doors to jam, trapping her as flames engulfed her vehicle. An autopsy determined she died from thermal injuries, not crash injuries. Brown was sentenced in October 2024 to 6 to 23 months in the county jail but was allowed to remain free pending the outcome of his appeal by posting bail of $50,000. He was also ordered to pay restitution of $4,936 and fined $25 on each of four Vehicular Code charges on which he was found guilty. Olszewski, a former Luzerne County judge, claimed in his appeal that specially assigned Columbia County Senior Judge Thomas A. James Jr. abused his discretion by not striking three jurors who answered a question incorrectly. The one juror, who became the foreperson, answered that he did not have any biological children when he had three. Brown also alleged he had an outstanding arrest warrant from Oregon for charges of reckless driving and driving under the influence that he did not reveal. A second juror answered No when asked if he or anyone else close to him ever been charged with or arrested for a crime. Brown alleged that individual had been charged by state police for driving under the influence and he had been accepted into the Alternative Rehabilitation Disposition program in Tioga County. A third juror remained silent when James asked if you or anyone close to you ever been the victim of a crime. Brown provided evidence that the jurors son twice assaulted him, and that led to criminal charges. Olszewski claimed he did not learn of the juror misconduct until about two months after the verdict. The attorney generals office argued the appeal should be dismissed because the defense failed to meet requirements for after-discovered evidence. James, when he affirmed the conviction, concluded Brown waived all juror misconduct claims by failing to uncover the information before the verdict. The judge wrote that the defense had four days after the trial began to research the seated jurors and suggested that a paralegal could easily have checked into the jurors history during that time. The panels opinion focused on the juror who answered he did not have any children. The evidence at trial established that Woodward, a mother of three children, died a horrific death, as she was conscious after the collision and screamed for help as the vehicle burned, the document states. An intelligent use of peremptory strikes would extend to potentially striking jurors who have young children and would naturally sympathize with the victim, it continues. The panel did not address the other juror misconduct or false issue claims, but did rule that James correctly banned the defense from allowing state police Cpl. Gary Beadle to testify in his opinion that Brown should not have been charged with homicide by vehicle. Beadle, an accident reconstructionist, testified under cross-examination at Browns preliminary hearing that, in his opinion, the off-duty trooper was not driving recklessly. James banned the testimony at trial, ruling Beadle was not an expert on the legal definition of recklessness, which is a key element in the vehicular homicide charge, and since he did not witness the accident, he could not give a lay opinion. The appeals court panel agreed with the judge that the jury was more than capable of hearing the testimony, determining the facts, hearing the definition of recklessness, and applying the law to the facts to render a verdict, and that Cpl. Beadles opinion on that issue risked confusion. By Bret Pallotto, Centre Daily Times (State College, Pa.) (TNS) Pennsylvanias prison agency has detailed where staff from Rockview state prison in Centre County and Quehanna Boot Camp in Clearfield County will be transferred after the facilities close, offering the first clear picture of how the shutdowns will affect employees statewide. About 86% of the 642 union-represented staff will remain in Centre County or neighboring Clearfield and Huntingdon counties, according to data shared by the state Department of Corrections. The largest concentrations of staff are slated for Benner Township state prison Rockviews next-door neighbor in Centre County and Houtzdale state prison in Clearfield County, which together account for two-thirds of the transfers. Benner is set to get 263 staff members, and 161 are going to Houtzdale, according to the DOC. Smithfield will receive 69 staff, while Huntingdon will receive 69. Muncy would receive an additional 53. No other state prison would receive more than nine staff members. The DOC said all but five union-represented staff who were offered a position accepted placement. Four resigned or retired and one rejected placement. The agency previously said 99% of staff received an offer at their first or second choice. Benner Township, Houtzdale and Huntingdon state prisons have historically faced high corrections officer vacancy rates, which the DOC said may be partly because nearby facilities compete for the same candidates. About 18.5% of staff at Benner Township, Houtzdale, Huntingdon, Smithfield and Muncy are eligible for retirement. Altogether, Gov. Josh Shapiros administration said, reallocating staff could help fill anticipated vacancies and provide much-needed relief. Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association President Mike Ohler told the Centre Daily Times he is happy for my members. He credited the state for attempting to alleviate as much stress on employees as possible. Inmates have been transferred to the DOCs remaining 22 facilities. As of Monday, 216 men remain incarcerated at Rockview about 8.5% of the facilitys capacity and none at Quehanna Boot Camp. All inmates were transferred from Quehanna as of Wednesday. Rockview and Quehanna are expected to cease operations by March 1. Boot camp services for men will be established at Houtzdale, while services for women will be established at Cambridge Springs state prison in northwestern Pennsylvania. Shapiros administration has framed the closures as a cost-cutting measure to save tens of millions in taxpayer money, moving forward despite bipartisan pushback in Centre County. No decision about the future of the facilities or the land they sit on has been made. A bridge connecting Pennsylvania and New Jersey is rife with inherent flaws, the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission says in introducing alternatives for the spans future. The commission last week released an informational video detailing significant structural, operational and safety problems with the 120-year-old Washington Crossing Bridge, as officials work to determine the aging spans future. The nearly five-minute video highlights deficiencies prompting a multi-year environmental review of the toll-free bridge connecting Mercer County, New Jersey, with Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The commission posted the video to its YouTube channel as part of the Washington Crossing Bridge Alternatives Analysis, which launched in August 2024 under the National Environmental Policy Act. Built in 1905 for a private company, the two-lane steel-truss bridge operated as a toll crossing for 17 years before becoming toll-free under public ownership in 1922. The structure predates mass automobile production and presents numerous challenges, including substandard design, narrow 7.5-foot-wide travel lanes, minimal load capacity, frequent crashes and timber-crib foundations. The commission must decide whether toll revenues from its eight toll bridges should fund additional work on the outdated structure despite decades of government ownership and past rehabilitation efforts. Officials are conducting the alternatives analysis to examine options for improving mobility and providing safe, reliable river crossing for vehicles and pedestrians while maintaining nearby business viability. Two public scoping sessions are scheduled for February. The first meeting will take place from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Feb. 10 at the Crossing Church, 1895 Wrightstown Road, Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania. The second session is set for 5:30 to 8 p.m. Feb. 11 at Union Fire Company and Rescue Squad, 1396 River Road, Titusville, New Jersey. Additional information about the alternatives analysis is available at washingtoncrossingbridge.com. Welcome to 2026. The midterms are here, and the political establishment is already wringing its hands about youth turnout. Well hear the same old story: young voters are apathetic. But the system insists this is a motivation issue - when it is clearly a design flaw. In Pennsylvania, 91% of state legislative races are effectively decided in the primaryan election 1.4 million non-party affiliated voters are legally barred from. By November, the outcome is often predetermined. For my generation, the general election is often just a formality. Closed systems create closed futures. 61% of young voters now reject the two-party system, yet Pennsylvanias rules exclude voters from decision-making. We pay taxes to fund these primaries, yet we are shut out of the booth. The fight for access is happening now. Last year, BallotPA Action filed a historic lawsuit arguing closed primaries violate the Pennsylvania Constitutions guarantee of free and equal elections. They are asking the courts to recognize that an election cannot be called free while banning over a million qualified voters from the most consequential part of the process. They are supported by Open Primaries, a truly cross-partisan organization of voters I am proud to organize with. Legislatively, the solution is already written. House Bill 280 would open primaries tomorrow if leadership called it for a vote. Pennsylvanias challenge isnt apathy; its access. If you want young people to show up, give us a reason to believe our voices matteropen the primaries. Sophie Gelling, West Chester, Pa. On the third anniversary of an Ohio toxic train derailment just over the Pennsylvania line, Sen. John Fetterman is demanding that Congress act on a bipartisan railroad safety bill languishing in committee. As Ive said before, this derailment was a tragedy, and its something we could have prevented, said Fetterman on Tuesday. Three years later and Congress still hasnt done right by these communities. Fetterman, then-Republican Sen. JD Vance and former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, both of Ohio, introduced the Railway Safety Act in the Senate in March 2023 after the Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. Poisonous fumes and leaks enveloped the town and toxic clouds drifted east into Pennsylvania to impact Darlington Township and other areas in Beaver County. The train was headed to a large railyard in Conway in Beaver County, Pa. Fettermans statement said the bill would increase penalties for railroads responsible for toxic spills and strengthen protections to prevent future derailments. The bill was passed by the Senate Commerce Committee last year but did not get a floor vote. I renew my call for my colleagues to join me in passing commonsense legislation, including the Railway Safety Act, to make East Palestine, Darlington Township and all our communities safer, said Fetterman. Pittsburgh-area Democratic Rep. Chris Deluzio, whose district includes Beaver County, released a video on Monday coinciding with the three-year anniversary of the derailment. Deluzio also urged Congress to pass the Railway Safety Act, which he introduced in the House. We have to make rail safer and not shy from a righteous fight for our safety. The way I see it, this is a battle of corporate power versus the rest of us who live or work around the tracks. I am in this fight for as long as it takes, said Deluzio in the video. And to President Trump and Vice President Vance, he said, you and your party control every lever of power in Washington today. One word from you, and you could get the Republican-led Congress to pass the strongest rail safety legislation in history. So why wont you do it? Its been three years. Its time to make rail safer. Lets get it done. Mozambican President Daniel Chapo attends a Heroes' Day commemorative ceremony at the Heroes' Monument in Maputo, Mozambique on Feb. 3, 2026. Mozambican President Daniel Chapo on Tuesday called for renewed national unity and patriotic values, describing the country's heroes as the foundation of peace, sovereignty and sustainable development, as the nation marked Heroes' Day. (Photo by Mendes Mondlane/Xinhua) MAPUTO, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Mozambican President Daniel Chapo on Tuesday called for renewed national unity and patriotic values, describing the country's heroes as the foundation of peace, sovereignty and sustainable development, as the nation marked Heroes' Day. Speaking at the Heroes' Monument in Maputo, Chapo said the sacrifice of nationalist leaders during the liberation struggle forged a collective identity that continues to guide Mozambique through current challenges. "The lesson of unity taught by our heroes remains the secret of our victory as a people, in all fronts we face today," the president said, recalling leaders during the anti-colonial struggle. The president underlined that Heroes' Day transcends political, ethnic, religious or cultural differences, urging Mozambicans at home and in the diaspora to draw inspiration from the values of unity, dialogue, justice and social cohesion. He said improved security conditions have allowed the resumption of strategic economic projects, including the Mozambique LNG project in the Rovuma Basin and new local industrial initiatives. Chapo also highlighted progress in industrialization, citing the inauguration of a graphite processing plant in Niassa province as part of broader efforts to diversify the economy and promote inclusive growth. "The fight against terrorism goes hand in hand with development," he said, adding that Mozambique will continue investing in infrastructure, basic services and productive sectors to improve living conditions nationwide. Mozambican President Daniel Chapo attends a Heroes' Day commemorative ceremony at the Heroes' Monument in Maputo, Mozambique on Feb. 3, 2026. Mozambican President Daniel Chapo on Tuesday called for renewed national unity and patriotic values, describing the country's heroes as the foundation of peace, sovereignty and sustainable development, as the nation marked Heroes' Day. (Photo by Mendes Mondlane/Xinhua) This story was updated at 5:50 p.m. Tuesday with comments from the mayor. A Dauphin County judge dismissed Harrisburg Mayor Wanda Williams lawsuit over this years budget, ruling that City Council was acting within its power to defund four key positions in the mayors administration. Late last year, Williams vetoed the budget approved by the council that defunded the four positions. The council overrode her vetoes, prompting the city to lay off three of the four workers who were being paid by the city. The fourth stayed on in a reduced salary that is funded federally. The mayor then turned to the courts to challenge the councils cuts. The lawsuit cost taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars to hire private attorneys for both parties. Williams had argued the defunded business administrator position was mandated under city law. Judge Jeff Engle countered that the city law says it may establish a department of administration, but Engle noted the business administrator role which leads that department is necessary, perhaps but not mandatory. Any other reading of the Charter Law in its totality on this issue would lead to an absurd result, the 23-page memo by Engle reads. Engle added councils override of the mayors vetoes is not outside its legislative authority. The Mayor may provide a budget ordinance which Council may or may not adopt, the statement added. The judge reiterated the same reasons, agreeing with the councils decision to defund the director of building and housing developments salary, too. The City Council may fund or defund positions it deems necessary, the statement reads, Accordingly, they are all denied, and the Complaint is dismissed. The mayors spokesperson, Mischelle Moyer, initially declined to comment, saying Williams had not seen the document yet. PennLive sent her a copy, and later Tuesday afternoon, the mayor said she did not lose today, but Harrisburg residents will face the damages. I have to defend the City and its operations, and I will appeal! the mayor added. Its a bit of a bittersweet day, the councils lead attorney told PennLive. Its not lost on city council that lots of taxpayer dollars were used in this litigation when a lawsuit shouldnt have been brought in the first place. The four positions in question were the interim business administrator, interim director of building and housing development, LERTA administrator and the director of community engagement. City council members previously said they defunded the business administrator and director of building and housing because both positions were held by interim leaders, past the deadline under city law. Williams had argued they were acting leaders, so the law didnt apply. Engles ruling did not clarify whether using the term interim was a legal way to keep them in those jobs beyond the 120-day limit under city law and without council approval, as required by city law. The mayor has 30 days to appeal. LinkedIn co-founder and billionaire Reid Hoffman, who newly released emails show traveled to Jeffrey Epstein properties, gave over $1.5 million to Gov. Josh Shapiro from 2021 to 2023. Overall, campaign finance records list Hoffman, a prolific contributor to Democrats, as giving Shapiro a total of $1.65 million, including $50,000 in December 2021; $500,000 in August 2022; $100,000 in May 2023 and $1 million in August 2023. Shapiro was elected governor in 2022 and faces a re-election challenge this year against Republican state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, the presumed GOP nominee. She has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, who has been widely mentioned in the Epstein files but has not been charged. Shapiros campaign did not respond to a request for comment from PennLive. Hoffman, meantioned more than 2,600 times in the Epstein files, has not been charged in connection to Epsteins sex parties with teen girls. In November on the Bob Cordaro radio show, Garrity questioned why Democrats were pursuing the release of the Epstein files at the time. I dont know why theyre even making such a big deal about it, she said. If they could have linked Donald Trump to Jeffrey Epstein, dont you think they would have done that during the Biden administration? Epstein was found dead in a New York City jail cell in August 2019. It was determined he committed suicide by hanging, but that has fueled conspiracy theories that he was murdered. According to the New York Post, the emails describe visits by Hoffman to Epsteins infamous private island, a New Mexico ranch and a New York City apartment. The Daily Dots substack reported in June 2025 that Hoffman visited Epsteins island in 2014, six years after Epsteins conviction in Florida for soliciting prostitution. Citing a 2023 Wall Street Journal article, the Daily Dots wrote that Hoffman stayed in Epsteins New York townhouse and traveled with him in 2014. Hoffman told the WSJ that he regretted his involvement with Epstein. It gnaws at me that, by lending my association, I helped his reputation I made the mistake, Hoffman said. Daily Dots also reported that Hoffman donated $1.8 million to the Democrat-aligned Welcome PAC in the 2022 election cycle. Welcome PAC, in turn, spent $1.1 million in 2024 on several Democratic candidates in House races, including $18,200 on former Harrisburg area TV anchor Janelle Stelsons unsuccessful challenge to GOP Rep. Scott Perry in the 10th Congressional District. Stelson, who is running to challenge Perry again this year, called for the release of the Epstein files amid a House debate on the issue last year. Federal campaign finance records show that Hoffman also donated to the following Pennsylvania Democrats: A new poll shows Gov. Josh Shapiro with strong, continued public support as he heads into his campaign for re-election. A Morning Consult quarterly poll released Monday, shows the Democratic governor has a 62% approval rating among registered voters and a 27% disapproval rating. Elevent percent of voters did not know or had no opinion. It was the highest rating yet for Shapiro who when he took office in 2023, was polling above 50% and has seen his numbers steadily increase since then, according to Morning Consult. Shapiro, widely considered as a leading Democratic candidate in the 2028 presidential race, came in 6th place in a ranking of all governors. Vermonts Republican Gov. Phil Scott leads the pack with a whopping 74% approval rating. While California Gov. Gavin Newsome comes in at 11th place on the governors popularity list, he polls high among likely Democratic primary candidates in the 2028 presidential race with 20%. The poll notes the home-state popularity of Shapiro and governors Andy Beshear of Kentucky (65%) and Wes Moore of Maryland (61%) as positioning them well ahead of 2028. Shapiros robust approval rating contrasts with that of Pennsylvanias two U.S. Senators, John Fetterman, a Democrat, and Republican Dave McCormick at least from their own parties. Fetterman remains more popular with Pennsylvania Republicans than fellow Democrats, according to a recent RealClearPennsylvania and Emerson College poll. Fetterman has a 31% job approval rating from Democrats compared to 57% from Republicans and 30% from independents. Fettermans fundraising has precipitously dropped amid weakening support from Democrats, who increasingly see him supporting unpopular policies of President Trump. That same poll found that McCormick has a job approval rating of 34%, with 28% disapproving and 37% staying neutral or never having heard of him. Fifty-eight percent of Pennsylvania Republicans approve of McCormick. while just 19% of Democrats and 23% of independents did. Shapiro has strong support among Democrats with a 76% approval rating compared to 29% with Republicans and 37% among independents, according to the RealClearPennsylvania and Emerson College poll. The Morning Consult poll surverys more than 250,000 registered voters nationwide each quarter. The margin of error ranged from 1% to 6% depending on the state population. By Ford Turner, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (TNS) A nasty intraparty squabble involving Republican committees in two southwestern Pennsylvania counties, state party leadership and the work of Sen. Camera Bartolotta has not calmed down as a statewide GOP meeting approaches. The GOPs annual State Committee Winter Meeting is scheduled to take place on Thursday and Friday in Harrisburg. Its been just over three weeks after a 21-3 vote of no confidence in Bartolotta was taken by the Washington County Republican Party executive committee. A state party decision to declare the vote null and void was rejected by the county party. It has also renewed focus on a separate 10-7 no-confidence vote on Bartolotta taken by Republicans in Greene County in 2022. State Sen. Camera Bartolotta (R., Washington) in a committee hearing. (Commonwealth Media Services, 2025) Commonwealth Media Services Both counties are in the 46th Senate District represented by Bartolotta, who is seeking re-election this year and has a primary challenger. The contest is part of a high-stakes midterm election in which some Democrats believe they could wrest control of the state Senate from Republicans, who hold a 27-23 majority. Jeff Sholtis, a Greene County Republican Committee member, said he seconded a motion during a meeting on April 12, 2022, for a censure or vote of no-confidence in Bartolotta. The motion then passed, 10-7, but got little or no public attention. More recently, Sholtis who is chairman of Morgan Township supervisors and president of a countywide association of township officials learned of that state GOP Chairman Greg Rothman had declared the latest Washington County vote null and void. I still dont understand what that actually meant, he said of Rothmans action. Did he write that to try and protect her? He also speculated that Rothman might have sought to stain or belittle the county organization. A vote of no confidence is an expression of discontent and a message to voters that the voting group does not support the public official. Asked about the votes in both counties, party spokesperson James Markley on Monday said Rothman has ruled on the matter and it was time for Republicans across the Commonwealth to unite and focus on winning elections in 2026. Washington County GOP head Steve Renz on Monday said the state GOP has produced no grounds to nullify the no-confidence action, so we consider it a completely legitimate vote and we stand by it. Among some Republicans in both counties, there is dissatisfaction over the way Bartolotta has carried out her duties since winning election to the Senate in 2014 and the identity of her spouse. She was never present, never made herself available to us, never came and spoke to our GOP meetings up to that point, Sholtis said of the 2022 vote. He and some other southwestern Republicans dissatisfied with the senators work refer to her as Bartolotta DeWeese including the last name of her husband, former Democratic Speaker of the House Bill DeWeese. DeWeese spent more than 22 months in prison after a 2012 conviction on corruption charges. Attempts to reach Bartolotta on Monday were not successful. Asked last month about the Washington vote, she said there is this tiny little group of people who are in an echo chamber and are anti-everything. She called the flap a distraction from the partys goal of defeating Democrats. Song Tao, head of the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, speaks at the opening ceremony of a think tank forum co-hosted by research institutes affiliated with the CPC and the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 3, 2026. The think tank forum was held here on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua) BEIJING, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- A series of common opinions on promoting cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation were proposed at a think tank forum co-hosted by research institutes affiliated with the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party, which was held in Beijing on Tuesday. The 15 opinions covered five aspects of cross-Strait cooperation and exchanges. The participants at the forum expressed a shared call for the restoration of normal cross-Strait travel, urging the removal of the Democratic Progressive Party authorities' restrictions on personnel exchanges and the full resumption of normal operations of direct sea and air passenger services between the two sides as soon as possible. On strengthening cooperation in emerging industries, the participants proposed joint cross-Strait efforts to develop benchmark projects in "AI plus manufacturing" and to establish an AI innovation hub with global influence. The common opinions also included proposals for cross-Strait cooperation and exchanges in the fields of medical and health care, environmental protection, as well as disaster prevention and mitigation. The participants called on compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to unite, uphold the 1992 Consensus, oppose "Taiwan independence" separatist activities and external interference, and safeguard peace in the Strait. The think tank forum, themed "prospects for cross-Strait exchange and cooperation," was attended by over 100 participants from both sides of the Taiwan Strait, including think tank members of the CPC and the KMT, as well as representatives and experts from various fields such as tourism, industry, science and technology, healthcare, and environmental protection. Hsiao Hsu-tsen, vice chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party, speaks at the opening ceremony of a think tank forum co-hosted by research institutes affiliated with the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the KMT in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 3, 2026. The think tank forum was held here on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua) BEIJING, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- China hopes that the United States will respond positively to Russia's constructive proposal on the follow-up arrangements of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) and truly maintain global strategic stability, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday. The New START treaty, signed by Russia and the United States in 2010, is set to expire on Feb. 5, 2026. Russian President Vladimir Putin said in September 2025 that Russia would continue to observe the core limits of the treaty for one year after its expiration, provided that the U.S. refrains from actions that undermine the existing strategic balance. China's position on trilateral nuclear arms control talks involving China, the United States and Russia is clear, spokesperson Lin Jian said at a regular news briefing in response to a query about the U.S. side expressing interest in China joining the relevant negotiations. He added that the nuclear capabilities of China and the United States are not comparable in scale, and at this stage, requesting China to participate in nuclear disarmament negotiations is neither fair nor reasonable. Education Lab Reporter Ian Grenier covers K-12 and higher education in South Carolina from Columbia. Originally from Charleston, he studied history and political science at USC and reported for the Victoria Advocate in South Texas before joining The Post and Courier. TAIYUAN, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Several fully electric autonomous trucks cruise through a limestone quarry in north China's Shanxi Province, their empty cabs offering a vivid glimpse of the country's push toward intelligent, low-carbon mining. The mine, operated by Yangquan Jidong Cement Co., Ltd., has spent more than 60 million yuan (about 8.62 million U.S. dollars) since 2020 on smart mine projects, introducing automation, digital systems and intelligent operation to improve safety and efficiency. "The biggest highlight of our smart mine is the autonomous driving system for electric mining trucks," said Li Yangyang, head of the company's mine operations department. "The mine now operates eight autonomous electric trucks, and the transport process is fully unmanned with support from 5G technology." Compared with conventional trucks, autonomous electric vehicles reduce safety risks and emissions while lowering operating costs, Li said. Combined with 5G networks and intelligent dispatch systems, the trucks can operate continuously with precise coordination, improving transport efficiency and resource use, he added. Similar upgrades are underway at other mining sites in Shanxi. At an open-pit coal mine in Shuozhou, nine autonomous trucks are operating under an integrated 4G and 5G network. The system supports vehicle scheduling, fuel monitoring, collision prevention and worker location tracking, while enabling remote control and fully unmanned operations across the mining process. Experts say autonomous mining trucks are among the fastest-advancing and most effective applications in smart mine construction. Wang Danshi, secretary-general of the informatization branch of the China National Coal Association, said the number of autonomous vehicles operating in China's open-pit coal mines rose from 88 in 2020 to more than 4,000 in 2025. Over the past decade or more, as China has tightened production safety regulations to curb deadly accidents, coal mines here have been driven to undergo technological transformation. Consequently, a technological revolution is unfolding in an industry once known for backbreaking labor and hazardous conditions, marking an unexpected fusion of ancient resources with modern automation. A report on intelligent mining released in May 2025 said China's smart mining market is growing at an average annual rate of more than 10 percent, with total market value expected to exceed 120 billion yuan by 2035. Policy support has underpinned the transition. In 2020, the National Development and Reform Commission and seven other departments issued guidelines to accelerate the development of intelligent coal mines, setting a target for coal mines to achieve basic intelligent operations by 2035. The guidelines identified intelligent mining as a core technological pillar for the coal industry's high-quality development, calling for the integration of artificial intelligence (AI), the industrial internet of things and other technologies with modern coal production. The push for smarter mining aligns with China's broader climate goals, which include peaking carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060. In Shanxi, one of China's main coal-producing provinces, the transition is already reshaping the energy landscape. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), the province built 400 intelligent coal mines and plans to add 60 more this year, according to the ongoing annual session of its provincial people's congress. In 2025, Shanxi's installed capacity of new and clean energy exceeded that of coal-fired power for the first time. PR-Inside.com: 2026-02-03 00:00:45 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 475 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / February 2, 2026 / Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Coupang, Inc. ("Coupang" or the "Company") (NYSE:CPNG). Such investors are advised to contact Danielle Peyton at newaction@ pomlaw.com or 646-581-9980, (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.The class action concerns whether Coupang and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.You have until February 17, 2026 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class if you purchased or otherwise acquired Coupang securities during the Class Period. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com [Click here for information about joining the class action]On November 30, 2025, Reuters published an article reporting that Coupang had "apologized . . . over the breach of personal information from 33.7 million customer accounts through unauthorized data access" and that the government of South Korea had "held an emergency meeting" to "look[] into whether Coupang violated safety rules regarding personal information protection[.]"On this news, Coupang's stock price fell $1.51 per share, or 5.36%, to close at $26.65 per share on December 1, 2025.Then, on December 10, 2025, the New York Times published an article reporting that Coupang's Chief Executive Officer had resigned in connection with the data breach and providing additional details on the fallout from the data breach, including a police raid on Coupang's offices in Seoul.On this news, Coupang's stock price fell $0.87 per share, or 3.2%, to close at $26.06 per share on December 10, 2025.Then, on December 16, 2025, Coupang acknowledge the breach in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and revealed that the South Korean regulatory and law enforcement investigations uncovered that "a former employee may have obtained the name, phone number, delivery address, and email address associated with up to 33 million customer accounts, and certain order histories for a subset of the impacted accounts." On this news, Coupang's stock price fell $0.47 per share, or 2.03%, to close at $22.72 per share on December 17, 2025.Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.SOURCE: Pomerantz LLP PR-Inside.com: 2026-02-03 01:10:16 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 641 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / February 2, 2026 /WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of securities of Klarna Group plc (NYSE:KLAR) pursuant and/or traceable to the registration statement and related prospectus (collectively, the "Registration Statement") issued in connection with Klarna's September 2025 initial public offering (the "IPO"), of the important February 20, 2026 lead plaintiff deadline in the securities class action first filed by the Firm.SO WHAT: If you purchased Klarna securities you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Klarna class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=48971 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email case@ rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than February 20, 2026. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved, at that time, the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, the Registration Statement contained false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Defendants materially understated the risk that Klarna's loss reserves would materially go up within a few months of the IPO, which they either knew of or should have known of given the risk profile of many individuals agreeing to Klarna's buy now, pay later ("BNPL") loans; and (2); as a result, defendants' public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times and negligently prepared. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.To join the Klarna class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=48971 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email case@ rosenlegal.com for information on the class action.No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm or on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.---Contact Information:Laurence Rosen, Esq.Phillip Kim, Esq.The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.275 Madison Avenue, 40th FloorNew York, NY 10016Tel: (212) 686-1060Toll Free: (866) 767-3653Fax: (212) 202-3827 case@ rosenlegal.comwww.rosenlegal.com SOURCE: The Rosen Law Firm, P.A. PR-Inside.com: 2026-02-03 22:15:22 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 837 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / February 3, 2026 / Roxmore Resources Inc. (formerly, Axcap Ventures Inc.) (CSE:RM)(OTCQX:GARLF) ("Roxmore" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company will be uplisting to the Toronto Stock Exchange (the "TSX"). The common shares of the Company (the "Common Shares") will be voluntarily delisted from the Canadian Securities Exchange (the "CSE") effective as of close of market on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, and will commence trading on the TSX effective at the opening of the market on Thursday, February 5, 2026 under its current ticker symbol, "RM".John Dorward, Executive Chairman of Roxmore, commented: "Graduating to the TSX is a significant milestone for Roxmore. The uplisting will enhance our visibility in the capital markets and enable us to continue to attract key institutional and retail investors as we continue to develop our flagship Converse Gold Project. The Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") remains on track for completion in Q2 and we look forward to sharing its results." Roxmore will continue to remain a "reporting issuer" under applicable Canadian securities laws, and the Common Shares will also remain listed on the OTCQX Best Market under the symbol "GARLF". Shareholders are not required to take any action in connection with the TSX uplisting.About Roxmore Resources Inc.Roxmore is focused on developing its flagship, Converse Gold Project, one of the largest undeveloped gold deposits not owned by a major mining company in Nevada, USA. The Converse Gold Project is located within the prolific Battle Mountain trend containing 5.57Moz Au of Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources and 0.42Moz Au Inferred Mineral Resources (238mt at 0.539g/t Au for 4.13Moz Measured Mineral Resources; 92mt at 0.487g/t Au for 1.44Moz Indicated, 25mt at 0.528g/t Au for 0.42Moz Inferred Mineral Resources). With decades of expertise in Nevada and globally, our Board and management are focused on unlocking the potential of this project. For further details please refer to our technical report entitled "Amended and Restated NI 43-101 Technical Report and Mineral Resource Update, Converse Property, Humboldt County, Nevada, USA" dated effective February 13, 2025 which is available on our website at www.roxmoreresources.com and on our SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca Qualified PersonThe scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Vance Spalding, CPG, Executive VP Exploration for Roxmore, who is a "qualified person" within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.For further information please contact:John DorwardExecutive Chairman contact@ roxmoreresources.com Tel: + 1 905-961-4727Cautionary StatementsThis news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward- looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Any statements that are contained in this news release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward- looking statements are often identified by terms such as "may", "should", "anticipate", "will", "estimates", "believes", "intends" "expects" and similar expressions which are intended to identify forward-looking statements. More particularly and without limitation, this news release contains forward-looking statements concerning the Converse Gold Project (including the mineral resource estimates contained herein and the development thereof), the uplisting to the TSX and the delisting from the CSE, and the timing for the completion of the PEA. Forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain, and the actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, assumptions and expectations, many of which are beyond the control of Roxmore, including expectations and assumptions concerning Roxmore. Readers are cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking statements may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of Roxmore. Please refer to Roxmore's public disclosure record on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca for further details on risks and assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements contained herein. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, as such information, although considered reasonable by the management of Roxmore at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated.The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and are expressly qualified by the foregoing cautionary statement. Except as expressly required by securities law, Roxmore does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.SOURCE: Roxmore Resources Inc. The Nigerian government says it has completed its final obligations for the launch of the Africa Energy Bank, clearing the way for the institution to begin operations. This was made known in a statement issued Monday by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB). According to the statement, Nigerias Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, at the handover ceremony in Abuja said the government had concluded the procurement, construction and furnishing of the banks headquarters. The minister said this has now been formally transferred to the African Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO) and Afreximbank. Nigeria has completed its final obligations for the launch of the Africa Energy Bank, paving the way for the institution to begin operations, the statement said. In July 2024, the Nigerian government announced that it had won a bid to host the headquarters of the Africa Energy Bank (AEB). At the time, the government said Nigeria emerged as the preferred host nation amidst stiff competition from Ghana, Benin, Algeria, South Africa, and Cote dIvoire. The selection, it said, highlights Nigerias robust energy sector and its strategic vision for the continents energy future. The bank, according to the government, is expected to facilitate access to funding for energy projects, thereby catalysing economic growth and enhancing energy security. Mr Lokpobiri said Nigeria had met all the conditions required for the bank to commence operations. Nigeria has fulfilled all her commitments, and the last commitment was this bank, he said. The minister explained that earlier efforts to construct the headquarters were unsuccessful due to concerns over design and location. Attempts were made to construct the bank three times. The first was discarded for being too enormous, and the second was not accepted because of its location. We are happy that we got this one right, he said. According to him, the newly completed headquarters is fully furnished and ready for use. It is paid for and furnished, and Nigeria is happy to hand over this well-furnished Africa Energy Bank building to APPO and Afreximbank, who are the enablers of the bank, he said. Mr Lokpobiri said the federal government would continue to support the Africa Energy Bank, noting its strategic importance to oil and gas investment on the continent. Because of the strategic importance of the bank to oil and gas investment in Africa, we will do everything in our power to ensure the bank takes off, he said. ALSO READ: Nigeria wins bid to host $5 billion Africa Energy Bank He confirmed that the bank is expected to commence operations by April, adding that all issues responsible for earlier delays have now been resolved. We have scheduled the bank to take off by April at the latest, as all the issues that were causing delays, including the headquarters, have now been resolved, he said. Formally handing over the facility, the minister added: We are now formally handing over this furnished Africa Energy Bank to APPO and Afreximbank. President Bola Tinubu has called for deeper collaboration with African nations, global partners and the private sector as Nigeria intensifies efforts to deliver cleaner, affordable and more secure energy. The President, who was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, made the call on Tuesday in Abuja while declaring open the 9th edition of the Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) in Abuja. NIES is a gathering of global energy leaders, policymakers, investors and development partners. This years summitthe ninth editionis themed Energy for Peace and Progress: Securing Our Shared Future and is scheduled to run from 2 to 5 February. NNPC Ltd is the national sponsor of the event. According to the organisers, the summit provides a global platform for high-level discussions, strategic partnerships and the signing of major energy deals. The conference comes at a critical time as Nigeria intensifies efforts to revamp its energy sector by leveraging its vast hydrocarbon and renewable resources to achieve energy security, economic growth and sustainable development. Energy Potentials In his remarks at the convening on Tuesday, Mr Shettima told the delegates and participants that energy remains central to peace, prosperity and global stability. He described it as a critical force that sustains economies, unites communities and underpins modern societies. Energy must unite communities, stabilise economies and secure futures. It must power factories, illuminate homes, fuel innovation and build trust between government, investors and citizens, the Vice President said. He stated that Nigeria stands ready to work with Africa and international partners to deliver energy that is secure, affordable, cleaner and inclusive. The Nigerian leader explained that although his administration inherited an energy sector constrained by inefficiencies, uncertainty and prolonged underinvestment, his administration moved swiftly to reposition the sector as a catalyst for national security, industrial growth and regional cooperation. He said the full implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) has been sustained and deepened, strengthening regulatory institutions, improving transparency and restoring investor confidence. According to him, Nigerias upstream oil and gas sector has recorded a historic rebound, with rig counts rising from eight in 2021 to 69 by late 2025, while Final Investment Decisions exceeding $8 billion have been secured, including major offshore gas developments. He added that crude oil theft, which had long undermined production and revenue, has declined significantly due to enhanced security coordination, surveillance and regulatory enforcement. The vice president said early reforms, including fuel subsidy removal and foreign exchange liberalisation, have improved market efficiency and repositioned the sector for long-term investment, despite the short-term sacrifices required. On the energy transition, Mr Shettima reiterated that Nigeria is prioritising the use of its vast gas reserves as a transition fuel, while expanding renewable energy capacity to support sustainable development. He urged participants at the summit to engage constructively, invest confidently and partner purposefully with Nigeria as the country pursues a resilient, transparent and inclusive energy future. The summit also featured remarks from African leaders and industry stakeholders, who emphasised regional cooperation, value addition and policy reforms as critical to Africas energy security and economic growth. Partnerships key to regional solutions In his remarks, the Gambian President, Adama Barrow, observed that Nigerias policies have implications far beyond its borders, and that working together through strategic partnerships is key to regional solutions and energy security. President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Mbasogo, maintained that Africa must cease to be merely an exporter of raw materials and focus on processing them for the betterment of future generations. Nigerias Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, in a speech that was read on his behalf, noted that in Africa, energy is not just about resources but about inclusive and sustainable prosperity. He assured that the National Assembly is ready to work with relevant stakeholders through legislative backing, agreeing that when the energy system works, the economy grows more resilient. On his part, Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), said the gathering was a call to action to make energy a champion for advancement. He commended the Dangote Refinery, BUA, and other refiners for making significant investments in Nigerias energy sector. Similarly, Ekperikpe Ekpo, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), noted that while collaboration is essential in building a reliable energy system, President Tinubus Renewed Hope Agenda is already positioning gas as a cornerstone of Nigerias energy security. He assured that the government was strengthening oil and gas stability while supporting regional integration and building on the meaningful gains recorded in the sector. Speaking on behalf of the Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG), the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Aradel Holdings Plc, Adegbite Falade, said gas production in Nigeria has grown significantly since 2025, with indigenous producers increasingly allowed to thrive. According to him, under the leadership of Mr President, requisite reforms and executive orders have been approved, thereby increasing local ownership in the sector. The State Security Service (SSS) has arraigned a former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, alongside his son, Abdulaziz Malami, on charges of abetting terrorism financing and illegal possession of firearms. The duo were arraigned on six counts on Tuesday before judge Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja. At Tuesdays proceedings, the charges were read to Mr Malami and his son, who pleaded not guilty to all the six counts. Following their plea, prosecuting lawyer C. S. Eze applied for a hearing date. He also urged the court to remand the defendants in the custody of the SSS pending further processes. Lawyer to the defendants, Shuaibu Aruwa, made an oral application for bail, informing the court that the defendants had been in SSS custody for about two weeks. He further claimed that one of the defendants was brought to court directly from the hospital and appealed to the court to grant bail on compassionate grounds. The judge, Ms Abdulmalik, however, directed the defence to file and serve a formal bail application. The judge subsequently adjourned the matter until 20 February for trial. In the charges, the federal government alleged that Mr Malami, sometime in November 2022, knowingly abetted terrorism financing by allegedly refusing to prosecute suspected terrorism financiers whose case files were forwarded to his office while he served as Attorney General of the Federation. The offence is said to be contrary to Section 26(2) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022. In another count, the prosecution alleged that Mr Malami and his son engaged in conduct preparatory to an act of terrorism by possessing, without licence, a Sturm Magnum firearm, 16 live cartridges, and 27 expended cartridges at their residence in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State, in December 2025. The defendants were also accused of unlawful possession of the firearm and ammunition, offences punishable under relevant provisions of the Firearms Act. Mr Malami is also facing prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in a separate case of N8.7 billion money laundering charges along side his son, Abdulaziz, and wife Asabe Bashir, before another judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja. The former minister also faces a forfeiture proceeding in which 57 landed assets worth N212.8 billion traced to him are currently under the Federal High Courts interim forfeiture order. EFCC instituted the forfeiture proceeding under a non-conviction-based legal process in December 2025. But Mr Malami has now claimed to have legitimately acquired the assets and urged the court to lift the interim forfeiture placed on them. The Lagos State House of Assembly has ordered an immediate halt to ongoing demolitions in water front community Makoko, following protests by residents and advocacy groups last Tuesday. The demolitions have left hundreds displaced and sparked calls for accountability. Majority Leader of the House, Noheem Adams, who chaired a meeting between lawmakers and representatives of the Makoko community at the Assembly Complex in Alausa, Ikeja, gave the directive to halt the demolitions on Tuesday. On behalf of the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa, and honourable members of this House, we are taking this matter seriously, Mr Adams said. All ongoing demolitions should be stopped. He added that the Assembly would work with relevant ministries and agencies to review issues surrounding the demolitions and ensure all stakeholders are properly engaged. He stated that the Assembly will get the names of the task force that will be set up to examine concerns raised by residents, including disputes over setback measurements reportedly ranging between 15 and 30 metres along the waterfront. Community representatives expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of clarity regarding the specific measurements enforced. The actual measure was supposed to be 15, 20 and 30 metres. There is nothing we have heard here about those things at all, a school teacher and president of the Makoko Students Association, Kojah Phinehas, said, calling for clearer guidelines. Residents allege illegal evictions beyond 30-metre setback Lawyer Jiti Ogunye, representing Makoko residents, accused the Lagos State Government of carrying out forced evictions and demolitions beyond the initially communicated 30-metre setback, rendering hundreds homeless. The petition before this honourable House concerns forced evictions and illegal demolitions threatening tens of thousands of residents in Makoko and adjoining communities, Mr Ogunye said during the meeting. According to him, residents were initially informed that structures within 30 metres of the waterfront would be affected. However, demolition activities reportedly extended far beyond that limit. After the 30-metre area was cleared, the exercise went beyond 30 metres to 100 metres, to 250 metres, and in some instances up to 522 metres, he said. He added that the lack of clarity and inconsistent enforcement created confusion and fear among residents, many of whom have already been displaced. As of today, many hundreds of people have been displaced, Mr Ogunye said, urging the Assembly to investigate the demolition process, clarify setback regulations, and ensure enforcement complies with due process and human rights standards. Government denies exceeding setback, confirms halt to demolitions Responding to the allegations at the meeting, Olajide Babatunde, Special Adviser to the Governor on E-GIS and Urban Development, said the Lagos State Government had not extended demolitions to 500 metres as claimed. He emphasised that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had ordered a halt to further demolition in Makoko. Mr Governor has already stopped anybody from carrying out any demolition in Makoko, Mr Babatunde said. He added that a task force, including the local government chairman and other stakeholders, would engage the community and address concerns arising from the exercise. The adviser acknowledged that different setback figures 30 metres, 100 metres, and up to 200 metres had been discussed at various stages in line with planning regulations, but denied any extension to 500 metres. He also dismissed claims of fatalities linked to the demolition exercise. To the best of my knowledge, I am not aware that any life was lost in the process, he said. According to Mr Babatunde, the Makoko regeneration plan, including provisions for floating structures and shoreline improvements, aims to modernise the historic fishing community while improving living conditions. Palliative measures and regeneration funding The chairperson of Yaba Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Bayo Adefuye, announced that N20 million has been set aside for palliative support for affected residents. While the funds have not yet been disbursed due to ongoing tensions, he said the council plans to provide food to families living on boats. The Lagos State Government has also announced plans to invest about $10 million in regenerating Makoko. According to the state government, it the state will contribute $2 million, with international partners, including the United Nations, expected to provide up to $8 million for a proposed water city project aimed at modernising the waterfront settlement. Mr Babatunde explained that the project is still at the planning stage, and government interventions so far have been limited to removing structures in high-tension power line corridors to prevent accidents. He noted that residents were consulted through engagements with UN agencies and government officials. Two major options were considered under the Makoko regeneration plan: a shoreline extension and the water city project. Environmental concerns made the water city concept more viable, he said. Intervention, protest, amicable settlement Following the protests, the Lagos State House of Assembly invited leaders of Makoko and adjoining communities to review petitions over the demolitions. Civil society groups have been vocal about the demolition exercise. But some community leaders expressed willingness to work directly with the government to resolve the crisis without external advocacy groups. Their priorities include dialogue, clarity on setback measurements, proper documentation of affected structures, and sustainable development that preserves fishing livelihoods. This position contrasts with rights groups who have accused the government of forced evictions and human rights violations. Tensions escalated last Wednesday when residents from Makoko, Owode-Onirin, Oworonshoki, Bariga, Ajegunle, and other affected communities staged a peaceful protest at the Lagos State House of Assembly. They demanded compensation for destroyed properties and an end to indiscriminate demolitions. PREMIUM TIMES observed that the protest remained peaceful until shortly after 1 p.m., when police operatives fired teargas and attempted arrests, including that of protest leader Hassan Soweto. Elderly residents and children were reportedly affected, and several protesters sustained injuries requiring hospital treatment. Civil rights activists described the police response as excessive. Ayoyinka Oni of the Coalition Against Demolition, Forced Eviction, Land Grabbing, and Displacement called it brutality, while Ibrahim Oluwatoba of Voice of the Masses alleged that the police action was deliberate despite prior notification of a peaceful protest. The Centre for Human and Socio-Economic Rights (CHSR) has demanded an independent investigation into the crackdown and called for the immediate removal of Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Moshood Jimoh. CHSR President Alex Omotehinse alleged that six young men from Owode-Onirin were killed during protests in August 2025 and remain uninvestigated. Human rights activist Hassan Taiwo, also known as Soweto, accused the police commissioner of personally ordering his assault, unlawful detention, and attempted forced medication following the protest. Activists spotlighted a history of impunity, citing a 2025 court ruling awarding N10 million to victims of police brutality during EndSARS commemorations, which has yet to be enforced. Residents insist demolitions extended beyond the 30-metre safety setback, claiming a lack of profiling, documentation, and numbering of destroyed structures has complicated compensation and resettlement. While the government cites public safety, infrastructure protection, and urban planning standards, civil society groups argue that the demolitions disproportionately target poor waterfront dwellers without adequate consultation or resettlement plans. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested 10 suspects over alleged illegal mining activities in the IlorinOgbomosho axis of Kwara State. The suspects were arrested on Sunday by operatives of the EFCCs Ilorin Zonal Directorate following what the agency described as credible intelligence on unlawful mineral excavation and transportation across parts of Kwara and neighbouring Oyo State. In a statement on Monday, the anti-graft agency said the suspects comprised nine truck drivers and one escort intercepted during a sting operation. The suspects were arrested in possession of solid minerals including lithium, tin, and lepidolite, without the requisite licences, permits, or regulatory approvals, the EFCC said. The commission added that trucks loaded with the suspected illegally mined minerals were recovered during the operation. Preliminary investigations showed that none of the suspects could present documents authorising them to mine, possess, or transport the solid minerals, the statement said, noting that the suspects would be charged in court after investigations are concluded. Crackdown amid rising illegal mining cases The latest arrests come amid intensified enforcement against illegal mining activities in Kwara State. On 21 January, PREMIUM TIMES reported that the Kwara State High Court in Ilorin sentenced a 52-year-old man, Ilori Elicanah, to five years imprisonment for mining and possessing solid minerals without lawful authority. In that case, the court found that Mr Elicanah mined and transported tonnes of minerals without a licence, in violation of the Miscellaneous Offences Act. The EFCC, which prosecuted the case, said the conviction underscored the Federal Governments resolve to curb illegal exploitation of mineral resources. The EFCC has repeatedly described illegal mining as a form of economic sabotage. In the January judgment, the trial judge, Abimbola Awogboro, held that there is no record showing payment of royalties to the Federal Government as stipulated by law, a key requirement under the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, 2007. Lithium boom, revenue losses Data review by PREMIUM TIMES shows that the arrests in Kwara are unfolding against the backdrop of a renewed national focus on solid minerals, particularly critical minerals such as lithium. Since late 2023, Nigeria has attracted over $ 1.3 billion in investments in lithium processing, even as illegal mining continues to undermine the sector. Despite this renewed interest, mining contributes less than one per cent to Nigerias gross domestic product, far below government targets. Analysts estimate that illegal mining, smuggling, and weak regulatory oversight cost the country between $2 billion and $9 billion annually in lost revenue. Environmental and security concerns Beyond revenue losses, unregulated mining has been linked to severe environmental degradation and security risks. Studies in several mining states have documented water and soil contamination from toxic metals, while abandoned mine sites have contributed to deforestation and loss of farmland. Security experts have also warned that proceeds from illegal mining have helped finance criminal networks in parts of the country. In Zamfara and neighbouring states, authorities have linked some bandit groups to illicit mineral exploitation, a pattern that has raised concerns about similar risks emerging in North Central states like Kwara. The EFCC said its latest operation was part of ongoing efforts to support federal reforms aimed at formalising artisanal mining and strengthening oversight. The commission remains committed to working with relevant agencies to curb illegal mining and ensure that solid mineral resources are exploited in line with the law, the agency said. Photo: The arrested suspects and a truckload of lithium, tin, and lepidolite, along the IlorinOgbomosho axis of Kwara State. The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), Bashir Ojulari, has described Nigerias vast natural gas resources as the cornerstone of the countrys economic transformation and Africas energy future. Speaking at the Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) 2026 in Abuja on Tuesday, Mr Ojulari said Nigeria, with over 37 billion barrels of oil and 209 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, is not only Africas strategic energy reserve holder but also an emerging global energy powerhouse. According to him, the country carries a responsibility to power Africas rise while contributing meaningfully to global peace and stability. Nigerias pathway to a prosperous future lies in our collective ability to leverage our resource abundance, especially as gas sits at the heart of our strategy. It is our bridge to a cleaner future, our engine for industrialisation, and our foundation for export-led growth, Mr Ojulari said. He noted that gas remains Nigerias most viable pathway to industrialisation, energy security and export-led growth, while also supporting a cleaner and more sustainable energy transition. NIES is the federal governments official annual energy event and platform for energy policy dialogue, investment promotion and innovation. This years summitthe ninth editionis themed Energy for Peace and Progress: Securing Our Shared Future and is scheduled to run from February 2 to 5. NNPC Ltd is the national sponsor of the event. In recent months, the government has ramped up investors engagement, courting both local and foreign capital to unlock the countrys oil and gas potential. While environmental groups have raised concerns over climate change and the impacts of oil spills and gas flaring on host communities, the government has repeatedly maintained that responsible oil and gas development remains a pathway to economic prosperity for Nigeria and Africa. Gas-led strategy Mr Ojulari explained that NNPCs gas-led strategy is designed to power homes, revive factories, strengthen fertiliser production, expand manufacturing and boost foreign exchange earnings. He highlighted progress on key infrastructure projects, including the AjaokutaKadunaKano (AKK) pipeline, OB3, the expansion of the EscravosLagos Pipeline System and regional gas pipeline projects, describing them as highways for economic opportunity. He added that strategic investments in gas utilisation, processing and liquefied natural gas (LNG) are strengthening domestic supply reliability and positioning Nigeria as a regional energy hub. Mr Ojulari also declared energy a central pillar of global peace, security and prosperity, calling for a rethink of how energy policies are designed and implemented. He described Africa and Nigeria as being at a turning point, noting that with over 600 million Africans still lacking access to electricity, the continents energy transition cannot follow a copy-and-paste model. Our approach must be just, equitable and people-centredone that lifts our people out of poverty, powers industries, supports agriculture, transforms transportation and unleashes the creativity of Africas youth, he said. Mr Ojulari stressed that modern energy systems now determine whether societies can thrive, industries can grow and nations can remain stable. He reiterated that Africa faces a unique energy trilemmaaccessibility, affordability and sustainabilityand warned against energy transition models that undermine development and poverty reduction. Mr Ojulari reaffirmed Nigerias commitment to building an energy system that supports industrialisation, environmental responsibility and regional cooperation, positioning energy as a bridgenot a barrierto shared prosperity. Qabil Ashirov Germanys Foreign Minister Johannes Wadesful has sharply condemned a statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry that characterized the German government as revanchist. Azernews reports, Wadesful described Russias claim as a cheap, distraction-driven tactic and emphasized that Germany has no issue with critically examining its own historical past. The statement came after Russia accused the German government of addressing Moscow in an ultimatum-like manner and portraying Berlin as a revanchist power. In its statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry warned that any foreign military contingents, including German forces, stationed on Ukrainian territory would become legitimate targets for the Russian Armed Forces. MOSCOW, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Russia has voiced its concerns regarding the potential repercussions of the situation surrounding Iran on the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). According to RIA Novosti, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Tuesday that developments since last year have raised alarm over not only violations of fundamental principles of international law, but also threats to the global nuclear non-proliferation. Israel launched a lightning attack on Iran's military and nuclear sites on June 13, kickstarting a conflict dubbed the "12-day war." Ryabkov reminisced about the conflict, during which nuclear-related facilities, mostly under the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), became targets of attacks. "Since all the targets under attack at that time were largely under IAEA safeguards, why was all this created if safeguards guarantee nothing?" Ryabkov said. Looking ahead to the next NPT review conference scheduled for April, Ryabkov said he is concerned about the atmosphere at the forum and the potential impact of recent events on non-proliferation. He warned that the NPT, which has stood as a bedrock of global strategic stability for over half a century, could now find itself under immense pressure. Nigerian businessman and socialite Obinna Obi Cubana Iyiegbu has reacted following his appointment as South-East Director of the City Boy Movement (CBM). CBM was established in 2022 as a youth-driven support group for President Bola Tinubu during his 2023 election campaign. The movement was used to mobilise, educate, and empower youths and women in support of Mr Tinubus Renewed Hope Agenda. PREMIUM TIMES gathered that Mr Tinubus son, Seyi Tinubu, presented the appointment letter to Obi Cubana in a video posted on CBMs X page on Tuesday. Seyi, CBMs patron, was joined by the Director-General, Francis Shoga, the National Coordinator, Favour Abayomi, and Stanley Uzochukwu, Chairman of Stanel Group, in presenting the letter to the Cubana Group chairman in Abuja. Seyi Tinubu Speaking during the presentation, Seyi reaffirmed CBMs commitment to collaboration, leadership, and unity for national development in line with his fathers Renewed Hope Agenda. He thanked the 50-year-old for his consistent support of the current administration and acknowledged his influence among Nigerian youths. I want to first of all thank you for your support for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and to youths and young people in Nigeria, especially in the Southern region. On behalf of the City Boy Movement, we want to present to you your appointment letter as the regional director of the South East for City Boy and on behalf of the City Boy Movement we say congratulations, he said. Obi Cubana However, the Anambra-born revealed on his Instagram page on Tuesday that the presentation of his appointment letter was marked by meaningful discussions covering a wide range of topics. He added that he was aware of the mixed reactions the appointment generated but emphasised that he believes lasting change stems from constructive engagement, rather than remaining on the sidelines. Hello my friends and family; I bring you good tidings. Last night my long time friend and brother, Seyi Tinubu paid me a visit at my home. Regarding my recent appointment as South-East Coordinator of the City Boy Movement, Im fully aware of the varied reactions it has sparked. My belief remains firm: lasting change comes from constructive engagement, not standing apart. Service continues to guide me, and this new role does nothing to alter my commitment to integrity, community growth, and responsible leadership. Ive learned that influence is limited from the outsideso yes, here we are! I am a City Boy through and through, inside and out, he said. Key to realising the nations aspirations Obi Cubana emphasised that Nigerians hold the key to realising the nations aspirations. He affirmed his commitment to engaging and including every Nigerian in his activities in the new role. Our nations leader, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, is equally a City Boy and a man of commerce. All of us need all of us in order to achieve our national aspirations and I am committed to carrying every Nigerian along in all that I do. Lets respect differing views, keep conversations vibrant, and stay focused on building real value. The moment is now we move! Thank you for the continued support and goodwill as we work toward a more inclusive future, Obi Cubana said. Backstory This newspaper gathered that Obi Cubanas appointment came two months after he urged Mr Tinubu to heed the appeals of the Igbo people and release Biafra agitator Nnamdi Kanu. In November 2025, this newspaper reported that Judge James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja had convicted Kanu for acts of terrorism and for his membership of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). At the time, the businessman noted that numerous efforts were already underway to address the issues and urged the Igbo community to avoid further division. He wrote on his Instagram page: On two auspicious occasions amidst numerous engagements within the last 3 months, myself alongside other well meaning Nigerians have sat down on a table with the Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kanu and then with the Son of the President Seyi Tinubu and the burning issues discussed were the insecurity, the new tax regime as it affects businesses, ease of doing business in the country, customs, FIRS, Nafdac and the political solutions that can lead to the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. A lot of people have been tirelessly working behind the scenes, devoting time and resources to see that our brother Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is free and reunited with us. Tempers are high, words are being exchanged but one thing is also clear; we all want MNK out, and we will never rest till MNK is out. Most importantly, we are working on a Nigeria where each of us can live and operate freely without fear regardless of ethnicity, religion and culture. He emphasised that while constructive agitations form the foundation of great societies, lasting solutions can only be achieved through dialogue and negotiation. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has dismissed reports claiming he held a private meeting with former Zamfara State Governor Abdulaziz Yari at his residence in Abuja. In a statement issued on Tuesday by his media adviser, Paul Ibe, Atiku clarified that he had only had a brief encounter with Mr Yari at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. According to the statement, Atiku, a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), was at the airport on Monday, 2 February, en route to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the lesser hajj. He was accompanied by associates and family members to the airport, the statement said. Mr Ibe said while waiting at the departure lounge, the former Vice President reportedly ran into Senator Yari, during which both men exchanged greetings and pleasantries. There was no meeting whatsoever between Atiku Abubakar and Senator Abdulaziz Yari, either at Atikus residence or anywhere else, beyond the brief encounter at the airport, the statement said. The media office described reports (not by PREMIUM TIMES) suggesting a private meeting as false and misleading, urging the public to disregard them. Atiku served as Nigerias Vice President between 1999 and 2007. He is currently a member of the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC), a coalition working to defeat the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general elections. Mr Yari is a chieftain of the APC and a staunch supporter of President Bola Tinubu. A faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has fixed 28 and 29 March for its national convention, where its new leaders will be elected. The faction, chaired by Abdulrahman Mohammed, also scheduled ward and local government congresses for February, while state congresses are slated for March. The decisions were announced in a communique issued at the end of the factions National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held on Monday night at Mr Wikes residence in Abuja. Reading the communique, the factions Publicity Secretary, Haruna Mohammed, said all actions taken were in strict compliance with the PDP constitution, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) regulations, and subsisting court judgements. That all actions taken, pursuant to the 104th NEC resolutions, remain binding, lawful and operative, having been taken in strict compliance with the PDP Constitution (as amended), the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the Electoral Act, and relevant judicial pronouncements, the communique stated. The NEC also affirmed the extension of the tenure of the National Caretaker Working Committee (NCWC) and other caretaker committees at the state and zonal levels, pending the conduct of the national convention and congresses. Court ruling recognising Wikes faction The PDP, Nigerias former ruling party, has been engulfed in a deep factional crisis that could threaten its survival in the 2027 general elections if reconciliation efforts fail. Last Friday, a Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State, nullified the partys national convention held between 15 and 16 November 2025, which produced Kabiru Turaki as National Chairman. In his ruling, the judge, Uche Agomoh, held that the caretaker committee led by Mr Mohammed, with Samuel Anyanwu as National Secretary, remains the only recognised National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP pending the conduct of a valid national convention. The judge ruled that the convention was held in flagrant disobedience to two subsisting court judgements and barred Mr Turaki and other officials elected at the convention from parading themselves as national officers of the party. Reacting, the Turaki-led NWC said it had directed its lawyers to file an appeal against the Ibadan court judgement. Earlier, the Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by James Omotosho, had restrained the PDP from holding the convention, ruling that it would violate the Nigerian Constitution. Similarly, Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the suspension of the convention following a suit filed by former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, who alleged that he was denied the opportunity to purchase a nomination form to contest for the partys chairmanship, contrary to PDP guidelines. However, on 4 November 2025, an Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan, presided over by A.L. Akintola, cleared the party to proceed with the convention and directed INEC to supervise the exercise. PDP not charity organisation Wike Speaking at the NEC meeting, Mr Wike warned that the PDP should not be treated as a charity organisation, describing the party as a formidable political force despite its internal challenges. He urged members of his faction to return to the grassroots and rebuild the party from the ward and polling unit levels. Forget the idea that PDP is a charity organisation. PDP remains a formidable political force despite its current challenges. PDP is too strong, very strong. We must capitalise on what we have and move forward. They will not give up until they believe you are destroyed, but I will not be destroyed; you will not be destroyed. Let us move forward, Mr Wike said. The minister also expressed confidence in the factions legal and organising teams, urging them to remain steadfast. We have a competent legal adviser. We have a competent national organising secretaryexperience matters. When we combine our collective experience, the results will speak for themselves, he said. Time for reconciliation, unity BoT Reacting to the development, the Chairman of the factions Board of Trustees (BoT), Mao Ohuabunwa, said the time for reconciliation had come, stressing that prolonged legal battles should give way to unity. Mr Ohuabunwa welcomed the court judgement affirming the Wike-led faction as the authentic leadership of the PDP and urged Mr Turaki and other officials to respect the ruling by vacating their offices. With the legal fog lifting, the focus must now shift to reconciliation, rebuilding trust and laying the groundwork for orderly congresses and a credible national convention. The PDP chose legality over expediency and patience over provocation. History will judge the party kindly for upholding the rule of law, he said. He expressed confidence that the party would overcome its internal crisis, reaffirming the BoT and National Caretaker Committees commitment to unity, respect for court rulings, and preparations for outstanding congresses ahead of the national convention. The Lagos State Government has announced plans to invest about $10 million in regenerating Makoko, the sprawling waterfront community, even as residents and civil society groups decry recent demolitions that have left families homeless and sparked protests demanding accountability from the police and government. The Special Adviser to the Governor on E-GIS, Olajide Babatunde, said on Monday that the state will contribute $2 million, with the United Nations expected to provide up to $8 million for a water city project aimed at modernising the fishing community. The project, however, has not yet commenced. So far, government intervention has focused only on removing structures within the high-tension power line corridor to prevent accidents in the event of fallen wires, Mr Babatunde said. He acknowledged that international donors are increasingly cautious in providing funding. Funds are no longer easily available from most donor agencies. We are appealing to international partners and business organisations both within and outside Nigeria for support, he added. Mr Babatunde said residents had been consulted through engagements involving both government officials and United Nations representatives. He also explained that the government had considered two options for Makoko: a shoreline extension and the water city project. Experts and environmentalists raised concerns over the shoreline extension, leaving the water city as the only environmentally viable option. The water city project will be situated where the fishing community currently lives. No structures within this area have been affected. Any removals were limited strictly to the high-tension corridor, he said. Protests Tensions over the demolitions escalated last Wednesday, as residents from Makoko, Owode-Onirin, Oworonshoki, Bariga, Ajegunle, and other affected communities staged a peaceful protest at the Lagos State House of Assembly, demanding compensation for properties destroyed during the governments clearance exercises. Civil rights activists and advocacy groups condemned the violent dispersal of the demonstrators and journalists covering the protest. PREMIUM TIMES observed that the protest remained peaceful until shortly after 1 p.m., when police operatives moved in using tear gas and attempted arrests, including that of protest leader Hassan Soweto. Elderly residents and children were reportedly affected, and several protesters sustained injuries, some requiring hospital treatment. Speaking at the International Press Centre recently, Ayoyinka Oni of the Coalition Against Demolition, Forced Eviction, Land Grabbing, and Displacement described the police response as brutality. Civic activist Ibrahim Oluwatoba, of Voice of the Masses, while speaking on the sidelines, alleged that police actions were deliberate and coordinated, despite prior notification of the protests peaceful intent. Funmilade Ajayi, another activist who spoke on the sidelines, said women and children were disproportionately affected, citing injuries, trauma, and deaths. Another speaker, Zikora Ibeh of CAPPA Africa added that many residents were prevented from presenting grievances to lawmakers. Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, had cited multiple court rulings that protect waterfront communities, including a 2017 Lagos State High Court judgment and an August 2025 Federal High Court order that restrained demolitions in Makoko and other settlements. Lagos CP under fire over crackdown on protester Rights groups, led by the Centre for Human and Socio-Economic Rights (CHSR), have called for an independent investigation into the police crackdown and demanded the immediate removal of Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Moshood Jimoh. At a press conference in Ogba on Monday, CHSR President Alex Omotehinse alleged that six young men from Owode-Onirin were killed during protests in August 2025, and that their deaths remain uninvestigated. CHSR condemned attempts to portray protesters as rented crowds and described a divide-and-rule strategy aimed at isolating affected communities. The group demanded compensation for victims, restoration of demolished properties, and independent inquiries into alleged police abuses. Human rights activist Hassan Taiwo, also known as Soweto, accused Mr Jimoh of personally ordering and participating in his assault, unlawful detention, and attempted forced medication following a protest. Calls for government accountability Five days after the violent attack on peaceful protesters, the Lagos State House of Assembly invited leaders of Makoko and adjoining waterfront communities for a meeting to discuss petitions over demolitions. Residents have alleged that government demolitions extended far beyond agreed safety setbacks, destroying homes, schools, and clinics, leaving many homeless. Community leader Ojo Jide, a member of Slum Dwellers International, stated that the demolitions lacked proper documentation, rendering compensation or resettlement impossible. There is no profiling, no data capturing, no house numbering. How do you compensate people or resettle them when there is no record of what you have destroyed? Mr Jide said. While the Lagos State Government defends the demolitions as necessary for public safety, infrastructure protection, and enforcing urban planning standards, civil society organisations insist the demolitions are anti-poor, carried out without consultation, compensation, or resettlement. A committee from the Lagos State House of Assembly is scheduled to meet with Makoko representatives this week to discuss grievances, while the water city project remains in the planning phase. The Mayor of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, Nsiphi Moya, on Monday, called out the Nigerian High Commission in the country for defaulting on utility bills. Ms Moya, in a post on X, announced that the commission has been disconnected from power over its outstanding debt. This move is part of the #TshwaneYaTima campaign, a revenue-collection and debt-recovery initiative launched by the Tshwane authorities, which includes Pretoria, the countrys capital. The initiative is designed to force payment of overdue municipal bills, especially for electricity, water, and other services, by disconnecting those who owe money until they pay or make arrangements. Ya Tima is slang meaning roughly to cut off or we switch it off, referring to cutting services for non-payment. The campaign targets households, businesses, estates, government departments, and large institutions that have failed to settle outstanding bills. In the post about the Nigerian High Commission, Ms Moya wrote, #TshwaneYaTima: Weve disconnected electricity at the High Commission of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. They owe the city for utility services. However, hours later, the Mayor made a follow-up post announcing that the Nigerian commission had cleared its debt, noting that electricity would be restored to the building. We thank the High Commission of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for honouring its debt to the city. The city will reconnect electricity, she wrote. This is not the first time the High Commission has been thrown into darkness for defaulting on its utility bill. In late 2025, the commission was disconnected from the electricity grid due to its inability to pay accumulated electricity charges, highlighting ongoing payment issues. Similarly, in 2023, City Power, an electricity distributor, cut off power to the Nigerian consulate in Johannesburg over outstanding electricity bills reportedly totalling around R600,000 (about $35,000 at the time). The Nigerian government has disclaimed reports that it approved a certain History textbook for use in Nigerian secondary schools. The textbook, Living History, reportedly excluded the history and culture of the Igbo people, according to several posts on social media. But the publisher, Accessible Publishers, has denied the claims that it deliberately excluded the history of any ethnic group in the country. The Publishers Head of Editorial, Caleb Akinmola, told PREMIUM TIMES via telephone that the book contained several stories about the Igbo people and culture. Textbook not approved education ministry In a statement by its spokesperson, Folasade Boriowo, the Ministry of Education said the textbook never received approval for use in schools in the country. The statement said the book also never received approval from the National Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), the statutory body responsible for the review, evaluation, and approval of instructional materials for the national curriculum. Consequently, it was not recommended by NERDC and does not appear on the officially approved list of textbooks for History by the Federal Ministry of Education, the statement said. The Ministry wishes to state clearly, firmly, and unequivocally that Living History is not an approved textbook and has not been recommended for use in any Nigerian school by the Federal Ministry of Education. The education ministry also urged parents, teachers and school administrators to disregard the narratives that it approved of the book. It also asked schools to adhere strictly to the approved instructional materials, noting that the use of unapproved instructional materials undermines curriculum standards and may adversely affect teaching quality and learning outcomes. All approved textbooks strictly comply with the national curriculum and reflect Nigerias rich cultural diversity, shared history, and core national values, while promoting inclusivity, balance, and unity, the statement added. Origin of controversy The governments response followed the controversy on social media that the book was approved by the government. In one video posted on Instagram and shared across facebook and X, a social media user Uche Nworah, said he was taken aback by the exclusion of Igbo, the third major ethnic group in Nigeria, from a history textbook. The history of all the major tribes in Nigeria We have the Hausa, Nupe, Kanuri, Igala, Yoruba, Benin, Niger Delta and Itsekiri. No Igbo whatsoever, he said. Publisher speaks The Head of Editorial at Accessible Publishers, Mr Akinmola, said the publishers and their writers have no reason to deliberately exclude the Igbo history from the book. It is not true that we deliberately excluded Igbo history in our book, he said via telephone. There are stories about the Igbo in the textbook. I dont know where this claim is coming fromWhen you look at our textbook and compare it to any other publishers book you will find, even with the curriculum, you will find out that everything is the same. When asked whether the NERDC approved the Living History textbook, Mr Akinmola said he wasnt sure and would have to check some documents. He hasnt gotten back to our reporter as of the time of filing this report. Similar controversy Last year, the education ministry also disowned a history textbook alleged to have contained distorted information about the origin of the Yoruba people, saying it was never approved for use in schools. This clarification follows a petition submitted by the Concerned Citizens of Yoruba Origin and Supporters of Truth against the textbook, authored by Tony and Ijeoma Duru and published by Tones Publishers. The return of history in schools History was first removed from Nigerias education curriculum in 2008 and infused as part of social studies. In 2018, the former education minister, Adamu Adamu, directed the reintroduction of history as a standalone subject, but it was never implemented. Last year, the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, said President Bola Tinubu has directed the return of history as a subject to the curriculum of basic education in Nigeria. Mr Alausa said history, as a vital part of nation-building, has been missing in the Nigerian education system for a long time. We now have people up to 30 years old totally disconnected from our history. It doesnt happen in any part of the world, he had said. All is set for the official opening of the Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) 2026 in Abuja on Tuesday, as policymakers, investors, and energy experts from across the globe converge on Nigerias capital city. NIES is the federal governments official annual energy event and is widely regarded as Africas premier platform for energy policy dialogue, investment promotion, and innovation. This years summit, themed Energy for Peace and Progress: Securing Our Shared Future, is scheduled to run from 2 to 5 February. The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) is the national sponsor of the event. According to the organisers, NIES provides a global platform for high-level discussions, strategic partnerships, and the signing of major energy deals. The summit brings together governments, national and international oil companies, investors, and service providers to shape the future of Africas energy landscape. President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima are expected to officially declare the event open on Tuesday. As at the time of filing this report, hundreds of delegates and top dignitaries across the oil and gas sectors are present at the banquet hall of the state house. The conference comes at a critical time as Nigeria intensifies efforts to revamp its energy sector by leveraging its vast hydrocarbon and renewable resources to achieve energy security, economic growth, and sustainable development. Under President Bola Tinubus Renewed Hope Agenda, ongoing reforms are aimed at attracting investment, boosting investor confidence, expanding access to energy, and accelerating the transition to cleaner energy sources. Key policy drivers include the Electricity Act 2023, the Energy Transition Plan (ETP)which targets net-zero emissions by 2060and increased investments in the gas sector. Organisers said the 2026 edition of NIES is expected to host more than 5,000 participants from 38 countries. Several African presidents and heads of state are also expected to attend the opening ceremony alongside President Tinubu at the opening gala scheduled to be held at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Confirmed dignitaries expected at the summit include President Adama Barrow of The Gambia, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, and the Secretary-General of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Haitham Al Ghais, among others. Meanwhile, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd, Bashir Ojulari, is expected to join chief executives of leading oil and gas companies and industry partners in a high-level conversation focused on mega investments, integrated energy strategies, and pathways to national industrial and energy security. The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Waidi Shaibu, has called for integration of technology in modern warfare, noting that terrorists and other criminal groups take advantage of emerging technologies. According to a statement issued by army spokesperson Appolonia Anele, Mr Shaibu, a lieutenant general, made these remarks on Tuesday, 3 February, while delivering a lecture titled Combating Asymmetric Threats to National Security in Nigeria: The Nigerian Army in Perspective to participants of Course 34 at the National Defence College (NDC), Abuja. The COAS reaffirmed the Nigerian Armys commitment to an intelligence-driven, technology-enabled and multi-domain approach to tackling asymmetric threats confronting Nigerias national security. He said the global security landscape has shifted from conventional, state-centric warfare to complex intra-state conflicts driven largely by non-state actors such as terrorists, bandits, cybercriminals and transnational organised crime networks, which exploit governance gaps, social vulnerabilities and emerging technologies. He noted that the Nigerian Army has recalibrated its doctrine, force posture and operational methods through a comprehensive multi-domain strategy that combines kinetic operations with intelligence fusion, inter-agency collaboration, joint operations with sister services and sustained international partnerships. Asymmetric threats thrive on adaptability, anonymity and the deliberate targeting of civilians to undermine public confidence and state authority. Our response must therefore be equally adaptive, proactive, intelligence-led and collaborative, Mr Shaibu said, stressing the need to integrate military power with technology, whole-of-government coordination and strategic partnerships. He explained that military operations across the countrys geopolitical zones have been tailored to specific threat environments. In the North-east, sustained counter-insurgency operations continue to degrade terrorist capabilities through offensive manoeuvres, intelligence-driven strikes and population-centred stabilisation efforts. According to him, joint operations in the North-west have intensified pressure on bandit groups, disrupted their logistics and financing networks, and enhanced the protection of vulnerable communities, while stabilisation operations in the North-central region have focused on area domination, civilian protection and the containment of communal and militia-related violence. Mr Shaibu also highlighted the impact of advanced technologies, improved training and deeper collaboration with sister services in strengthening situational awareness, operational reach and mission effectiveness. He noted that modern national security now goes beyond territorial defence to include economic security, cyber resilience, environmental stability and human security. The army chief stressed that lasting peace can only be achieved when military efforts are supported by effective governance, justice delivery and inclusive socio-economic development. READ ALSO: EFCC arrests 10 over alleged illegal mining in Kwara He urged participants of NDC Course 34, described as Nigerias future strategic leaders, to adopt integrated and forward-looking security frameworks that address both the symptoms and root causes of conflict. Mr Shaibu reassured Nigerians of the armys resolve to defend national sovereignty, protect lives and property, and secure critical national infrastructure, despite the evolving nature of security threats. Kogi Central senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has asked the Supreme Court to dismiss an appeal filed by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, regarding her legal challenge of her six-month suspension by the Senate in March last year. Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan, made the request in a counter-affidavit in opposition to Mr Akpabios appeal, Vanguard reported. Her senior legislative aide swore the counter-affidavit in response to Mr Akpabios motion on notice dated 21 January. Although Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan resumed from the six-month suspension in September last year, the legal action regarding the Senates decision still lingers in court. Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan challenged her suspension at the Federal High Court in Abuja, which ended up giving a controversial, indefinite judgement. The decision prompted her and Mr Akpabio to challenge various aspects of it at the Court of Appeal in Abuja. During a hearing at the Court of Appeal in November 2025, the panel of justices rejected Mr Akpabios brief for being too long, exceeding the number of pages prescribed in the courts rules. The court also rejected his request to file a revised brief to comply with the allowed length. Mr Akpabio filed an appeal at the Supreme Court to contest the Court of Appeals decision, alleging lack of fairness. But Ms Akpoti-Uduaghans legal team has now countered the appeal, arguing that Mr Akpabios case brought to the Supreme Court disclosed no prima facie good cause and amounted to an abuse of court process. They told the Supreme Court that the Court of Appeal had concluded hearing the substantive appeal on 28 November 2025 and had reserved judgement. The respondents said approaching the Supreme Court at this stage was an attempt to interfere with an appellate process that had reached an advanced stage and was awaiting final determination. The counter-affidavit maintained that Mr Akpabio had ample opportunity to present his case before the Court of Appeal and that Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghans brief was properly filed, complied with court rules, and was never formally challenged. It noted that while the legal teams representing Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan, the Clerk of the National Assembly, and another respondent complied with the page limit, Mr Akpabios brief exceeded the allowed length and he failed to correct it in time. It noted that the Court of Appeal therefore declined to admit the over-length brief and heard the appeal based on properly filed processes. It also stated that the grounds of appeal raised mixed questions of law and facts, and that prior leave of court was required but not obtained, making the appeal incompetent from the outset. The counter-affidavit also addressed complaints on adjournment and fair hearing, insisting that the Court of Appeal exercised its discretion properly and that Mr Akpabio was not denied fair hearing at any stage. It described the appeal as an attempt to stall the delivery of judgement by the Court of Appeal and asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the application in its entirety. Background The legal feud arose from Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghans suspension after a dispute between her and Mr Akpabio during a Senate proceeding on 20 February 2025 over the seat alloted to her in the Senates chamber. On 6 March 2025, the Senate adopted a report by its Ethics Committee and suspended her for six months, citing misconduct and violation of Standing Orders. The suspension barred her from her duties, sealed her office, and withheld her salaries and allowances. She could return earlier if she tendered a written apology. She rejected the suspension and challenged it in court, arguing it was punitive, unconstitutional, and linked to her earlier sexual harassment petition against Mr Akpabio, which he denied. About four months later, the Federal High Court in Abuja ruled the suspension excessive and ordered her recall, but stopped short of ordering her reinstatement. The judge, Binta Nyako, also fined her N5 million for contempt over a social media post she made while the suit was pending and ordered her to tender a public apology. Due to the controversial nature of the Federal High Courts decision, both Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan and Mr Akpabio filed separate appeals to challenge various aspects of the judgment. Meanwhile, the Senate did not reinstate her immediately, arguing that the court had not issued such an order and that the matter was still pending in court. When the six-month suspension ended on 4 September, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan notified the National Assembly of her intent to resume, but the management refused and cited the ongoing court process. The standoff lasted until 23 September, when Senate officials unsealed her office, which had remained closed since March 2025. The Court of Appeal in Abuja heard the appeals on 28 November 2025, when it rejected Mr Akpabios brief for being too long, but has yet to deliver its judgment on the appeals. The date of the judgment is to be communicated to the parties. Following the appeal courts decision, Mr Akpabio filed an appeal at the Supreme Court on 18 December. He listed the Clerk of the National Assembly, the Nigerian Senate, and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, Neda Imasuem listing as respondents. The Senate President argued that by the time the appeal was heard, Ms Akpoti-Uduaghans suspension had expired. She was reinstated to the Senate on 6 September and has been performing her duties with all the associated rights and privileges, his filing read. He also challenged Ms Akpoti-Uduaghans filings, arguing that her brief did not comply with formatting rules requiring a larger font size and wider line spacing, which allowed her to remain within the page limit without court approval. He also questioned the competence of her notice of appeal, which he said required him to address the objection within his brief, making a longer submission unavoidable. Mr Akpabio argued that the appellate courts decision denied him a fair hearing under the Nigerian Constitution and added that the court was wrong to insist on strict compliance with the page limit, given the complexity and volume of issues in the appeal. The National Examinations Council (NECO) has released the results of the 2025 November/December Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE). The November/December examinations are for private candidates unlike the May/June examination which is for school-based candidates. NECO Registrar, Dantani Wushishi, a professor, announced the result at the examination bodys headquarters in Minna, Niger State, on Tuesday. Mr Wushishi said a total of 96,979 candidates comprising 51,823 males (53.43 per cent), and 45,156 females (46.56 per cent) registered for the examination. He explained that the results of the examination, conducted between 26 November and 13 December 2025, were released 52 days after the last paper. He said 95,160 candidates sat for the examination 50,785 males (53.36 per cent) and 44,375 females (46.63 per cent). Pass rate The NECO Registrar said 68,166 candidates, representing 71.63 per cent, obtained five credits and above, including English Language and Mathematics. Mr Wushishi said 82,082 candidates, representing 86.26 per cent, obtained five credits and above, irrespective of English Language and Mathematics. He said 93,425 candidates sat for the English Language, out of which 73,167 candidates, representing 78.32 per cent, obtained credit and above. He added that 93,330 candidates sat for Mathematics, with 85,256 candidates, representing 91.35 per cent, securing at least a credit. Malpractice Mr Wushishi disclosed that 9,016 candidates were booked for various forms of examination malpractice during the exercise. He said the figure was higher than the 6,160 candidates booked in 2024, representing 31.7 per cent increase. The registrar added that five supervisors were recommended for blacklisting for aiding and abetting malpractice. According to him, two of the supervisors are from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and one each from Kano, Adamawa and Ondo states. He also said four examination centres were recommended for de-recognition over whole-centre malpractice. He said two of the centres were from Niger, while one each was from Yobe and Kano states. KABUL, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Police in western Afghanistan's Farah province have arrested two drug smugglers and seized 75 kilograms of narcotics, provincial police spokesman Mullah Kalimullah Nangyal said Tuesday. The official added that acting on intelligence, security forces raided a location in Farah Rod district on Monday, apprehending the two suspects and confiscating 75 kg of raw opium. An assault rifle was also recovered from the operation site, the spokesman said. This marks the second seizure of illegal drugs recently reported in western Afghanistan. A couple of days earlier, on Sunday, police in the neighbouring Herat province reported discovering 170 kg of opium and hashish and arresting two suspects in connection with that find. A prosecution witness, on Tuesday, shared insights from a memo former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, sent to seek and obtain then-President Muhammadu Buharis approval for the unpopular redesign of the naira in 2022. Chinedu Eneaya, an investigator with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), testified at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja, as the seventh prosecution witness in Mr Emefieles trial on illegal naira redesign charges. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) instituted the charges to hold him accountable for alleged illegality and widespread chaos, losses and pains caused by the currency note redesign policy in 2022. Under the policy, CBN redesigned the N200, N500, and N1000 notes and drastically withdrew the old versions, leading to monthslong acute shortage of the currency notes due to insufficient supply of the new ones as replacements. Mr Emefiele faces four charges, including illegal redesign of naira notes, disobedience to the direction of law, and illegal act causing injury to the public. According to the EFCC, Mr Emefiele violated Section 19 of the CBN Act, which states that the CBN cannot change a currency on its own except with the approval of the president on the recommendation of the Board. The former CBN governor has denied the charges, which are just a set among a series of criminal cases the EFCC filed against him after he was removed from office in 2023. What memo on naira redesign shows Further denying the allegations on Tuesday, the defence team led by Olalekan Ojo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), confronted prosecution witness Eneaya with Mr Emefieles memo to Mr Buhari requesting his approval for the naira redesign in 2022. Mr Ojo asked Mr Eneaya to read a part of the memo, which pitched the currency redesign to Mr Buhari as a necessary monetary policy to address certain issues. The issues the policy was meant to address, according to the memo as read by the witness, are High counterfeit risks and worsening shortage of fit banknotes. Mr Emefieles lawyer also questioned Mr Eneanya on whether the policy aimed to combat the wholesome hoarding of anira notes by the public. After perusing the document, the witness answered in the affirmative. The date of the memo was not shared during the cross-examination session. To show that Mr Buhari, who died last year, gave presidential approval to the proposal, Mr Ojo asked the witness to find the former presidents minute of approval on the memo. Mr Ojo asked the witness to read the minute. Approved but to be produced locally, the witness said, reading Mr Buharis minute. The prosecution witness then told the court that a foreign company in the United Kingdom, De La Rue, redesigned naira notes while the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company (NSPM) handled the production. Mr Eneaya admitted that the production of the notes complied with the directive of the president. According to the witness, the Bills of Settlement indicated that both companies were fully paid for their services. The CBN paid both the foreign company De La Rue of the UK for redesigning the naira notes and NSPM for printing the redesigned naira notes, the witness said. When asked if any former CBN deputy governors during EFCCs investigations gave names of a Nigerian company that could design currencies, Mr Eneaya said he could not remember. Similarly, the witness said he could not recall if his team used CBNs guidelines but insisted that their investigations were guided by the CBN Act. He also noted that he could not recall all the documents they had come across during the investigation. Mr Ojo asked if the EFCC had come up with an investigation report. The witness replied, Yes. Thereafter, Mr Ojo requested that the report be tendered in court, We intend to use the context to challenge the veracity of this witness, he said. However, prosecution lawyer, Rotimi Oyedepo, also a SAN, objected, saying all available documents have been tendered in court and cross-examination is not a hunting expedition. Ruling on the submissions, the judge, Maryanne Anenih, agranted Mr Ojos request in the interest of justice. The judge then adjourned the matter until 10 February. Other witnesses have also testified about the naira redesign, which is at the heart of the trial, shedding light on different aspects of the policy and its execution. In November 2024, the fifth prosecution witness, Kingsley Obiorah, who is a former deputy governor of the CBN, said the banks board never recommended the naira redesign to former President Buhari. Mr Obiorah, who testified virtually, said he once served as Special Adviser to Mr Emefiele on economic matters. The prosecution witness, who later became deputy governor, said the CBN board first heard of the naira redesign policy in mid-December 2022. Similarly, Mr Eneaya, in October 2025, said that Mr Emefiele embarked on the controversial redesign of naira notes in 2022 without obtaining the banks board and Committee of Governors (COG). He said Mr Emefiele sought the approval of the board and committee of governors for the naira redesign after former President Buhari gave his assent. According to the witness, Mr Emefiele admitted this in his extrajudicial statement he wrote during the investigation, preparatory to his trial. CBN relentlessly implemented the naira redesign policy, terminating the legal tender status of the old versions of the N200, N500 and N1000 notes, without supplying enough of the new ones into circulation. The policy sparked chaos across the country, prompting some state governors to approach the Supreme Court for an intervention. Mr Buhari staunchly defended the policy to the extent of ignoring an interim order of the Supreme Court suspending its implementation in 2023. The case was finally laid to rest when the Supreme Court gave its final judgment on 3 March 2023. The Federal High Court, Abuja, has fixed 30 April for ruling on an application order the final forfeiture of a property traced to the former acting AccountantGeneral of the Federation, Chukwunyere Anamekwe Nwabuoku, to the federal government. The judge, Mohammed Umar, set the date after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Mr Nwabuokus lawyers argued for and against the forfeiture. EFCCs Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, shared some highlights of the proceedings in a statement on Tuesday. EFCC had filed a non-conviction-based forfeiture request regarding the property while prosecuting Mr Nwabuoku in a separate case before another judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja, James Omotosho. He faces nine counts of money laundering involving N868.5 million in the criminal case. Both the forfeiture proceedings and the criminal trial were based on his activities while serving as the director of finance at the Ministry of Defence. The request sought an interim forfeiture order and a freeze of several bank accounts and assets alleged to be proceeds of unlawful activity. EFCC said in the application that Mr Nwabuoku refunded N220 million and voluntarily surrendered a fivebedroom duplex in CityGate Estate, Abuja, returning the keys to the anti-graft agency. Investigators further said they traced nearly N355 million through accounts linked to him, some of which were allegedly used to purchase the property. The court granted the application for interim forfeiture of the asset on 27 January 2025. EFCC subsequently filed on 6 May 2025 an application seeking an order permanently forfeiting the asset to the federal government. But Mr Nwabuoku, through his lawyer, Norrison Quakers, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), filed a preliminary objection on 15 August 2025, challenging the jurisdiction of the court. At Tuesdays proceedings, the defendants lawyer, Mr Quakers urged the judge to throw out the prosecutions final forfeiture application on the grounds that the property in question is also part of the reason his client is facing criminal trial in another court. Mr Quakers questioned the courts jurisdiction to entertain the matter and requested the interim forfeiture be set aside. EFCC links property to funds meant for funding operations against Boko Haram On the contrary, prosecution lawyer, Ekele Iheanacho, also a SAN, urged the court to grant an order of final forfeiture of the asset. He drew the courts attention to the various processes he filed, including an eight-paragraph affidavit sworn by EFCC operative Chinyelu Vivian Okpara, with attachments marked Exhibit EFCC 1 to EFCC 7. He maintained that the property in question was reasonably suspected to be acquired with proceeds of crime. My lord, the respondent at the material time of these transactions was the Director of Finance in the Ministry of Defence. Funds were released strictly for military operations against Boko Haram, part of which was sent to the Ministry of Defence. Some of the funds were diverted using fictitious accounts, up to the tune of N900 million, Mr Iheanacho said. He further alleged that about N355 million went to the respondent through an account he nominated, belonging to his friends firm, M Davies Enterprises Ltd, and it was from the money in the account that the said property was allegedly purchased. The defendant was said to be occupying the property. It was during the investigation that the defendant voluntarily handed over the keys of the house and refunded some of the funds. Surprisingly, when these proceedings commenced, he challenged the forfeiture of the property. We urge the court to grant the application, the EFCC lawyer added. Mr Iheanacho urged the judge to grant the application. After their arguments, the judge Mr Umar, fixed 30 April for ruling. Mr Nwabuoku is a former Acting AccountantGeneral of the Federation. He was appointed in May 2022 during President Muhammadu Buharis administration, following the suspension of the then substantive Accountant-General of Federation, Ahmed Idris. He served for about two months before being removed over allegations of financial misconduct. Aside from the forfeiture case, the anti-graft agency is prosecuting him on a nine-count amended charge of money laundering totalling N867.5 million before trial judge James Omotosho of the same court. On 13 November 2025, Mr Omotosho dismissed a no-case submission filed by Mr Nwabuoku, ruling that the EFCC had made out a prima facie case, necessitating the opening of his defence. The defendant opened defence on Monday, when he testified as the first defence witness, calling on the court to acquit and discharge him in the fraud case. Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, has described the 50th anniversary of the creation of Ogun State as a moment of deep reflection, gratitude, and renewed commitment to sustained development. In a statewide broadcast on Tuesday to mark the Golden Jubilee celebration, Governor Abiodun said the milestone underscored five decades of purposeful existence, built on the vision, sacrifices, and collective determination of the people of the Gateway State. He recalled that Ogun State was created on 3 February 1976, out of the old Western Region, noting that the decision gave birth to a state founded on clarity of purpose and a strong sense of destiny. According to him, the Golden Jubilee offers an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of the past while preparing the state for a more prosperous future. The governor expressed gratitude to Almighty God and paid special tribute to President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for leading the nation at a historic moment when several states, including Ogun, are marking 50 years of creation. He prayed for continued wisdom and strength for the President as he implements the Renewed Hope Agenda. Governor Abiodun highlighted the contributions of past leaders to the growth and stability of the state, acknowledging the roles played by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Governor Olusegun Osoba, and other civilian and military administrators who guided the state through different phases of its history. He said Ogun State had earned a reputation as a fountain of excellence, having produced notable national and global figures such as Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Prof. Wole Soyinka, Chief MKO Abiola, Chief Ernest Shonekan, former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Sir Adetokunbo Ademola, and Tai Solarin, among others. The governor also praised the contributions of women from the state, including Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, describing them as trailblazers who broke barriers and inspired generations. According to Abiodun, political stability, religious tolerance, and inclusive governance have remained defining strengths of Ogun State, creating a peaceful environment conducive to growth and investment. He noted that education has consistently been central to the states identity, adding that Ogun has evolved into Nigerias education capital with numerous federal, state, and private tertiary institutions. He also highlighted the states strategic location and growing industrial base as key drivers of economic expansion. Governor Abiodun said his administration had prioritised infrastructure development, with over 1,600 kilometres of roads constructed or rehabilitated across the state. He added that the Gateway International Airport has been completed and certified, while projects such as the Kajola and Ijebu-Ode Inland Dry Ports and plans for the Olokola Deep Sea Port are expected to further strengthen the states economy. He disclosed that Ogun States economy is now estimated at about 17 trillion, with Internally Generated Revenue rising from about 52 billion in 2020 to approximately 250 billion by the end of 2025. He said significant progress had also been recorded in healthcare, education, housing, agriculture, power, security, and social empowerment. While celebrating the achievements of the past five decades, the governor urged residents to remain united and committed to the states continued growth. He called on the youth to carry forward the legacy of hard work and responsibility, while appreciating elders and pioneers for laying a solid foundation. Governor Abiodun reaffirmed his commitment to inclusive, transparent, and people-centred governance, describing the Golden Jubilee as both a celebration and a call to renewal for all citizens of Ogun State. The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has alleged the destruction and removal of railway fixed assets along its right-of-way in Ibadan South-West Local Government Area, Oyo State. In a statement on Tuesday in Lagos, NRC Managing Director, Kayode Opeifa, said the destroyed assets were valued at several million naira. Mr Opeifa said the incident occurred on Monday, 2 February, and was allegedly carried out by the Ibadan South-West Local Government chairman, Kehinde Amanda. He alleged the chairman led thugs, individuals dressed in Nigerian Army uniforms, and Amotekun operatives to vandalise NRC property at the Mile One-Ten axis. The council chairman claimed to be acting on the instructions of the state governor, Opeifa said. He said rails, sleepers, signal poles, billboards and fences belonging to NRC tenants along the corridor were destroyed and carted away. The affected area is a clearly defined and statutorily protected railway right-of-way, he added. Mr Opeifa said NRC Police Command officers were resisted while attempting to repel the action, forcing their withdrawal from the scene. Describing the incident as a grave violation, he said the corporation was documenting the matter comprehensively for further action. The NRC will pursue appropriate security, administrative and legal measures to safeguard its assets and prevent future encroachments nationwide, he said. Mr Opeifa appealed to the Oyo State governor to call the council chairman to order to avert a breakdown of law and order. He pledged the corporations continued commitment to maintaining law and order in spite of the provocation. (NAN) The Airport Police Command has arrested a 24-year-old man, Precious Onudhona, over his alleged involvement in a N48.5 million romance and online fraud scheme. In a statement posted on X on Tuesday by the commands Public Relations Officer, Mohammed Adeola, said Mr Onudhona was apprehended on Monday at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, while attempting to board a flight to Asaba, Delta State. Police said the arrest followed actionable intelligence gathered by the Anti-Fraud Unit of the Command. According to the police, preliminary investigations indicate that the suspect allegedly became involved in fraudulent activities in 2023 after joining a syndicate engaged in romance scams. The statement said investigators found that the group targeted victims through social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, using fabricated identities and emotional narratives to build trust before soliciting funds. Mr Onudhona allegedly posed as Travis Kevin, claiming to be a white American medical doctor. Police further alleged that he created a fake banking domain that displayed fictitious account balances to convince victims of his financial credibility. The suspect was said to have requested money under the pretext of needing funds for feeding and medical supplies after purportedly sustaining injuries in the line of duty. The funds were reportedly received through cryptocurrency channels, with promises of repayment within a short period. Police estimated the total value of the alleged fraud at N48.5 million, approximately $35,000. Major crackdown The arrest comes amid enforcement actions against online and romance-related fraud in Nigeria and beyond. In January, airport authorities arrested another suspect over an alleged N1 billion international romance scam targeting victims in the United States. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in December 2024 detained hundreds of suspects in Lagos during a large-scale raid on an alleged crypto-romance fraud network. INTERPOL has also reported coordinated operations across multiple countries aimed at dismantling transnational romance scam syndicates, reflecting the global scale of such schemes. The police noted in Tuesdays statement that the Commissioner of Police, Airport Police Command, Olufunke Ogunbode, has directed a comprehensive investigation into the case and ordered efforts to identify and apprehend other members of the alleged syndicate. She reaffirmed the Commands zero-tolerance stance against criminal activities within the aviation environment, describing airports as sensitive corridors that must not be exploited for unlawful purposes. The suspect will be transferred to the Interpol section for further investigation and possible prosecution, police said. ISGlobal, supported by Rockefeller Foundation, analyzed impact of severe global aid cuts in 38 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, 21 in Asia, 12 in Latin America, 12 in MENA, and 10 in Europe New study published in The Lancet finds slashing global aid, particularly by US and European countries, will reverse decades of progress in fighting diseases BARCELONA and NEW YORK, Feb. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Lancet Global Health published a new peer-reviewed study today by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), which warns that a precipitous drop in global aid could lead to 22.6 million additional deaths by 2030 across 93 low- and middle- income countries, including 5.4 million children under the age of five. With support from The Rockefeller Foundation, the analysis demonstrates that Sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for 38 of the 93 countries analyzed, is particularly at risk, and with 21 of the countries in Asia, 12 in Latin America, 12 in the Middle East and North Africa, and 10 in Europe, including Ukraine, severe cuts to official development assistance (ODA) could be felt globally. ISGlobal's research also reveals that over the course of 2002-2021, ODA helped reduce child mortality by 39%; prevent HIV/AIDS deaths by 70%, with a 56% reduction in deaths from both malaria and nutritional deficiencies; and increased additional global health outcomes in these 93 countries, which are home to 75% of the world's population. "These findings are a warning of the profound moral cost of the zero-sum approach many political leaders are takingand they are an urgent call to action to all of us to prevent this human suffering," said Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation in a Statement on the Human Cost of Foreign Aid Cuts. "The question before humanity today is whether we will accept a global retreat from commitments to feed the hungry, cure the sick, and lift up the most vulnerable define the future or whether we will come together to build new models of cooperation worthy of the tens of millions of people who could lose their lives if we do not." Equivalent to entire state of Florida or combined populations of greater Barcelona, Paris, and London perishing by 2030 Post this In 2024 international aid fell for the first time in six years, and the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Germany significantly reduced their ODA contributions for the first time in nearly 30 years. These deep cuts, along with projected cuts in 2025 and 2026, sparked the need to understand what this could mean at the human level for communities all over the world. "Our analyses show that development assistance is among the most effective global health interventions available. Over the past two decades, it has saved an extraordinary number of lives and strengthened fragile welfare states and healthcare systems. Withdrawing this support now would not only reverse hard-won progress, but would translate directly into millions of preventable adult and child deaths in the coming years. Budget decisions made today in donor countries will have irreversible consequences for millions of people for years to come," said Davide Rasella, Coordinator of the study, ICREA Research Professor at ISGlobal and at the Brazilian Institute of Collective Health. Millions More Lives at Risk: As the world's largest donors and other countries around the world continued to slash billions in assistance, the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is projecting that ODA could decline by 10%-18% from 2024 to 2025. In order to assess the realized impact of ODA in these countries and project what may happen if current aid cuts continue or worsen, ISGlobal with support from The Rockefeller Foundation in association with its charitable offshoot, RF Catalytic Capital examined 20 years of development data between 2002 and 2021 in 93 countries that are home to 6.3 billion people. Peer reviewed and published by The Lancet Global Health, The Impact of Two Decades of Humanitarian and Development Assistance and the Projected Mortality Consequences of Current Defunding to 2030: Retrospective Evaluation and Forecasting Analysis, models two scenarios over the course of 2025-2030: Mild defunding scenario. With a 10.6% yearly reduction (corresponding to the average reduction of the last two years, 20242025), these cuts could result in 9.4 million preventable deaths, including 2.5 million children younger than five years. Severe defunding scenario. Based on $32 billion (15.1%) in ODA cuts from 2024 to 2025, with the funding cuts continuing and worsening through the end of this decade, this could cause 5.4 million children younger than age five years to die as part of more than 22.6 million additional deaths of all ages Roughly equivalent to (1) the combined populations of greater Barcelona, Paris, and London; (2) more than the individual populations of Mexico City, Dhaka, Sao Paulo, Cairo, and Mumbai; (3) or the entire U.S. State of Florida perishing by 2030. ISGlobal researchers applied a consistent methodological framework that integrates longitudinal panel data with validated country-level microsimulation models to quantify the health consequences of funding reductions across all OECD contributors. As result, the new study also demonstrates that higher global ODA levels in the 93 countries analyzed between 2002 and 2021 contributed to: Decreasing all-cause mortality by 23%. Declining child mortality by 39%. Reducing deaths mortality rates from HIV/AIDS by 70%, nutritional deficiencies by 56%, malaria by 56%, diarrheal diseases by 55%, and neglected tropical diseases by 54%. Strengthening health systems and supporting disease control and eradication efforts. Improving preparedness for outbreaks and epidemics. It also warns that at least three out of every four people on the planet live in countries where two decades of development gains could be reversed, where progress against diseases disappears, and where preventable loss of life could happen. The countries analyzed in this study include: 38 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. 21 countries in Asia: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. 12 countries in the Middle East and North Africa: Algeria, Djibouti, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, and Turkiye. Algeria, Djibouti, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, and Turkiye. 12 countries in Latin America: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, and Peru. Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, and Peru. 10 countries in Europe: Albania, Armenia, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, and Ukraine. As a result of the severe realized and projected cuts to ODA, The Rockefeller Foundation is undertaking its mission-driven work around the world with a focus on Sub-Saharan Africa to identify country-led solutions to maximize every dollar of remaining aid and to stimulate new investments. This work, along with ISGlobal's research, is supported by the Foundation's Build the Shared Future Initiative, through which the 113-year-old philanthropic organization aims to inspire and inform global cooperation and international development work that matches the challenges of the 21st century. Researchers from ISGlobal a Barcelona-based institution supported by the "la Caixa" Foundation, together with the Institute of Collective Health at the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA) in Brazil, the Mozambique-based Manhica Health Research Centre (CISM), and the National Institute of Health (INS) submitted this report to The Lancet Global Health on 18 November 2025. It builds on an ISGlobal-led study published last year, which found that the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) alone could lead to over 14 million additional preventable deaths by 2030. Both analyses applied the same methodological framework, integrating longitudinal panel data with validated country-level microsimulation modelsto quantify the health consequences of funding reductions. While the USAID study focused on a single donor, the new analysis encompasses all OECD contributors, providing a comprehensive assessment of global aid defunding on mortality. For additional information and download a copy of ISGlobal's latest study, please visit: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(26)00008-2/fulltext. About The Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) The Barcelona Institute for Global Health, ISGlobal, is the fruit of an innovative alliance between the "la Caixa" Foundation, academic institutions and government bodies to contribute to the efforts undertaken by the international community to address the challenges in global health. ISGlobal is a consolidated hub of excellence in research that has grown out of work first started in the world of health care by the Hospital Clinic and the Parc de Salut MAR and in the academic sphere by the University of Barcelona and Pompeu Fabra University. Its working model is based on the generation of scientific knowledge through Research Programmes and Groups, and its translation through the areas of Education and Training and Analysis and Global Development. Its ultimate goal is to help close the gaps in health disparities between and within different regions of the world. For more information, visit www.isglobal.org. About The Rockefeller Foundation Investing $30 billion over the last 113 years to promote the well-being of humanity, The Rockefeller Foundation is a pioneering philanthropy built on unlikely partnerships and innovative solutions that deliver measurable results for people in the United States and around the world. We leverage scientific breakthroughs, artificial intelligence, and new technologies to make big bets across energy, food, health, and finance, including with our charitable offshoot, RF Catalytic Capital (RFCC). For more information, sign up for our newsletter at www.rockefellerfoundation.org/subscribe and follow us on X @RockefellerFdn, Instagram @rockefellerfdn, YouTube @RockefellerFdn, and LinkedIn @the-rockefeller-foundation. SOURCE Rockefeller Foundation SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Apollo.io, a leading AI-native go-to-market platform, today announced that Matt Curl has been appointed Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Founder Tim Zheng will continue as Chairman of the Board. Matt Curl, Apollo.io (PRNewsfoto/Apollo.io) Curl and Zheng have partnered closely for nearly six years, and Curl has worked with Apollo across multiple stages of the company's journey, including advising the business starting in 2019, before joining full-time as Chief Operating Officer. Together, Curl and Zheng have strengthened Apollo's operating foundation, raised the bar on execution, and accelerated Apollo's momentum, positioning the company for its next phase of scale. Under Curl's operating leadership over the past year, Apollo accelerated growth at scale while improving margins. The company is approaching $200M in annual recurring revenue and nearly 100,000 paying customers, and recently delivered its strongest January, Q4, and year-to-date revenue growth. Apollo has also grown more than 5x since its Series D, scaling with strong capital efficiency and a healthy balance sheet. "This transition is deliberate, and one I feel extremely confident about," said Tim Zheng, Founder and Chairman of Apollo. "Matt has been a catalyst for Apollo's growth and execution. He's strengthened our operating foundation, scaled the business with discipline, and helped position Apollo for its next phase of growth. Matt is the best person to lead Apollo forward." "I appreciate the trust of Tim, the Board, and all of our employees. The company is entering the next phase from a position of strength," said Matt Curl, CEO of Apollo. "We're building the system of record and system of action for modern go-to-market. Apollo's mission is to democratize growth giving every company access to the data, intelligence, and execution that used to be reserved for the few. The most ambitious, AI-first teams are building their GTM on Apollo, and we're well positioned to scale to $500M in ARR and beyond." Apollo continues to expand its AI capabilities across the platform as customers adopt Apollo to run their end-to-end go-to-market workflows. Zheng will remain actively involved as Chairman, supporting Curl and Apollo's leadership team through the transition. About Apollo Apollo.io is the company behind the industry's first fully agentic GTM platform, transforming how revenue teams execute. Going beyond automation, Apollo's intelligent agents actively drive results across the entire sales funnel - from prospecting to deal management - all in one place. Trusted by millions of users, Apollo is making world-class go-to-market simple, intelligent, and accessible for all. Visit apollo.io to learn more. SOURCE Apollo.io Plan Series Notes, a 24-month private placement with fixed returns of 8% to 12%, goes live today DUBAI, UAE, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Balqis Capital today announced the launch of Plan Series Notes a 24-month private credit diversified debt instrument. This is an invitation-only high yield offering designed for high-net-worth investors seeking defined income outside traditional markets. The Plan Series Notes offers a tiered fixed-rate structure based on investment level, with six-monthly coupons payable in June and December. The terms meet the ongoing requirements from many Family Offices and institutions as a solution for yield generation, which many other portfolio holdings are struggling to produce. The programme is supported by an established litigation funding process focused on identifying and filtering cases, primarily involving corporate disputes in arbitration, with historical holdings ranging from six months to three years, and an average of 24 months from initial investment to payout. Balqis Capital has joined forces with a leading international law firm to deliver the Plan Series to its clients. Under the operating model, the law firm handles and receives proceeds ensuring swift and independent distribution of funds. Balqis Capital Director Adam Vollans said: "Private credit has become an essential part of modern portfolio construction. The Plan Series gives investors access to a structured opportunity with tiered fixed returns and a disciplined process around case selection and monitoring. We work with established long-term partners who we trust will continue to deliver above average results." "We have already received a huge amount of interest from investors during pre-launch conversations. This deal has been tailored to meet market demand from our existing and new client base looking to access private markets," he added. The track record presented for the strategy demonstrates a high settlement of closed cases and outsized returns over a twelve year period. A current case snapshot highlights a portfolio across multiple jurisdictions and dispute types, including arbitration and enforcement matters in locations such as Singapore, Ireland, China, Korea and Thailand. The timing of this issuance has been strategically placed to make a positive impact to portfolios in 2026. About Balqis Capital Balqis Capital is a market leader in sourcing private credit opportunities. From bespoke lending deals across emerging markets to highly structured corporate finance solutions in established economies, the firm provides access to transactions that would otherwise be unavailable to most investors. Balqis acts not only as a capital connector, but also as a trusted due diligence partner evaluating borrowers, structuring deals and providing ongoing risk oversight. Your exclusive private credit platform. Media Contact Helen Barklam [email protected] +34 711047202 https://balqiscapital.com/ Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2875730/Balqis_Capital_Logo.jpg SOURCE Balqis Capital BILLERICA, Mass., Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Belmont Medical Technologies ("Belmont"), a leading provider of fluid resuscitation and patient temperature management solutions, today announced the appointment of Brian Larkin as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective immediately. Larkin succeeds Brian Ellacott, who has led the company since Audax Private Equity acquired Belmont in 2017 and has recently announced his retirement. Ellacott will remain on the Board as Executive Chair. Larkin joins Belmont with over three decades of leadership across medical technology and patient care sectors. Throughout his career Larkin has been characterized by his ability to drive excellence across complex enterprises, oversee strategies that facilitate organic growth, and execute strategic acquisitions to expand market share and help improve financial performance. Larkin served as President and CEO of Comar, a private equity-owned medical packaging and device manufacturer until its successful exit to Precision Concepts International in October 2025. During his roughly three-and-a-half-year tenure, Larkin led 1,100 employees across 11 factories in a reorganization that generated significant efficiencies while supporting top-line growth. He also previously served as President and CEO of private equity-owned SP Industries for more than four years, where he oversaw revenue and earnings growth prior to its successful sale to ATS Corporation. Larkin also served in executive leadership roles at LifeCell and Integra LifeSciences. "Belmont has a proud mission of saving lives with The Belmont Rapid Infuser RI-2 and temperature management products," noted Larkin. "I am honored to join a company with such innovative products and customer trust. I look forward to working with the Belmont team to maintain the company's positive momentum and lead the next stage of growth." "I am thrilled that Brian Larkin will be joining Belmont as our next Chief Executive Officer," said Brian Ellacott. "Brian is a thoughtful, performance-driven leader with extensive experience in medical devices and patient-care products. He also represents a compelling fit for our innovative culture and mission to deliver breakthrough medical solutions that blend technical inspiration with an uncompromising standard of quality." "We are excited to support Brian Larkin and the Belmont team as they continue to commercialize innovative critical care products that improve patient outcomes and save lives," said Tim Porter, Managing Director at Audax Private Equity. "Brian brings a strong track record of leadership in medical technology and a deep understanding of how to scale complex businesses that we believe makes him an excellent fit to lead Belmont through its next phase of growth." "On behalf of the Board of Directors and Audax Private Equity, we extend our deepest thanks to Brian Ellacott for his exceptional leadership and impact on Belmont," said Young Lee, Partner and Co-President of Audax Private Equity. "Under Brian's leadership, the company grew nearly fourfold following our investment in 2017. He has been an outstanding, long-standing partner to Audaxboth at Belmont and previously at Laborie Medical Technologies, where he served as CEO and successfully led the company through its exit in 2016. Brian's contributions have left a durable legacy across our portfolio, and we wish him every success and fulfillment in his well-deserved retirement." About Belmont Medical Technologies Belmont Medical Technologies is a leading provider of fluid resuscitation and patient temperature management solutions for use worldwide in medical facilities, military combat fields, and EMS settings. Belmont's premier product is The Belmont Rapid Infuser RI-2, which utilizes electromagnetic induction heating to provide precise control of fluid temperature and flow rate during fluid resuscitation. Belmont's technology is credited with saving thousands of lives globally by infusing warm blood and fluid into patients experiencing massive blood loss, while exceptional air removal features help keep the patient safe from air embolism. Belmont also offers the close-to-patient, portable, battery-operated buddy lite for all pre-hospital blood and fluid warming. Belmont's advanced temperature management solutions include the Allon system with ThermoWrap patient garment, and the CritiCool system with CureWrap patient garment. These non-invasive solutions are designed to enable healthcare providers to exercise precise control and management of patient body temperature. About Audax Private Equity Headquartered in Boston, with offices in San Francisco, New York, London and Hong Kong, Audax Private Equity is a leading private equity platform focused on investing across the North American middle market. Our objective is to accelerate value creation through our Buy & Build strategy and the Audax Value Agenda, a holistic framework that seeks to create, enable, and protect value across every stage of the investment lifecycle. As of January 2026, Audax Private Equity had approximately $19.5 billion of assets under management and, since inception in 1999, has invested in more than 180 platforms and more than 1,400 add-on acquisitions. For more information, visit www.audaxprivateequity.com or follow us on LinkedIn. Contact Information Alexandra Rousseau Senior Director, Global Marketing [email protected] www.belmontmedtech.com SOURCE Belmont Medical Technologies This photo taken on Jan. 27, 2026 shows the ruined brick tower No. 5 of Bakong temple under restoration in Siem Reap province, Cambodia. Archaeologists have been undertaking the restoration of the ruined brick tower No. 5 of centuries-old Bakong temple in Cambodia's renowned Angkor Archaeological Park, the APSARA National Authority (ANA) said in a news release on Tuesday.(ANA/Handout via Xinhua) PHNOM PENH, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Archaeologists have been undertaking the restoration of the ruined brick tower No. 5 of centuries-old Bakong temple in Cambodia's renowned Angkor Archaeological Park, the APSARA National Authority (ANA) said in a news release on Tuesday. Saray Kimhual, head of the ANA's conservation team for the Roluos Area, said the tower's structure was in a severely deteriorated condition, requiring urgent restoration from its platform to the top. The restoration, scheduled for 2026, has been focused on the east and north sides of the temple, including the platform and stairways, covering approximately 90 square meters, he said, adding that the total wall surface area up to the top of the temple is about 160 square meters. "During the restoration, the team is removing decayed bricks and replacing them with new ones, reinforcing the brick structure, cleaning accumulated soil, sealing holes with mortar, and implementing measures to prevent water infiltration," Kimhual said. "Additional efforts include controlling plant growth and insects to prevent further damage and ensure long-term stability of the monument," he added. Built in the late ninth century by King Indravarman I, the Bakong temple, made of sandstone and laterite, was the first major mountain temple built in the UNESCO-listed Angkor Archaeological Park in northwest Siem Reap province. The Bakong temple complex is home to a total of 22 brick towers, many of which are in varying states of disrepair, according to the ANA. Staff members restore the ruined brick tower No. 5 of Bakong temple in Siem Reap province, Cambodia, Jan. 27, 2026. Archaeologists have been undertaking the restoration of the ruined brick tower No. 5 of centuries-old Bakong temple in Cambodia's renowned Angkor Archaeological Park, the APSARA National Authority (ANA) said in a news release on Tuesday.(ANA/Handout via Xinhua) Americans are ready to pack their bags this Valentine's Day as holiday travel bookings climb nearly 50%. RICHMOND, Va., Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Roses are red, oceans are blue Valentine's Day travel is heating up this year as couples jet set mostly to desert-cities and island hot-spots to celebrate their love. With Valentine's Day falling on a Saturday this year, overall bookings are up nearly 50% compared to last year according to new data from Allianz Partners, a global leader in travel insurance and assistance services. After reviewing more than 1.6 million itineraries* for roundtrip flights departing U.S. airports between Friday, February 6 and Thursday, February 12, with a return date between Saturday, February 14 and Wednesday, February 18, the travel insurance and assistance company noted that 77% of the itineraries are for domestic travel (up 5% from last year) and 23% are for international trips (down 5% from last year). The data also revealed travelers' top picks for a romantic getaway in honor of the sweet holiday. Allianz Partners' annual ranking of top destinations for Valentine's Day indicates continued momentum in consumer travel demand surrounding the Valentine's Day weekend. When looking at the weeks immediately before and after the holiday in 2026, overall travel has increased by approximately 20 25%, underscoring sustained interest beyond the single holiday travel. For the sweethearts staying stateside for their romantic getaway, Phoenix remains the top destination, followed by Florida rounding out the top three spots, with Orlando and Miami. At the same time, travelers are booking trips to New York City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, and Honolulu. Tampa stands out as a new addition to this year's rankings, marking a shift from past travel patterns. International travel remains strong year-over-year, with bookings up 22%. Among the top international destinations, France and England posted the largest year-over-year gains, rising 39% and 32% respectively, accounting for 3% and 5% of international bookings. However, Mexico represents the largest share of international travel at 31%. Mexico continues to dominate international travel interest, with Cancun, San Jose del Cabo, and Puerto Vallarta ranking as the top three international destinations. The remaining top international destinations span both leisure and urban travel, including London, Punta Cana, Paris, Mexico City, Liberia (Costa Rica), the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Oranjestad (Aruba). Notably, the U.S. Virgin Islands appears on this year's list after not ranking among top destinations in prior years. "Valentine's Day has become an increasingly popular moment for travel, especially for couples planning romantic getaways," said Emily Hartman, General Manager at Allianz Partners. "As travelers plan these special trips, travel insurance can play an important role in helping protect pre-paid expenses and provide support when unexpected disruptions like trip delays, cancellations, or lost baggage arise." Allianz Partners offers travel insurance through most major U.S. airlines, leading travel agents, online travel agencies, hotel companies, cruise lines and directly to consumers. For more information on Allianz Partners and available travel policies, please visit http://www.allianztravelinsurance.com/. *Methodology: The data of U.S. travelers' 2026 Valentine's Day plans was gathered by analyzing the number of customers that went through the online booking process of airfare and package paths for partners offering Allianz Global Assistance travel insurance, to generate itineraries for roundtrip flights departing from U.S. airports from 2/6/2026 2/12/2026, returning 2/14/2026-2/18/2026. In total, over 1.6M itineraries were analyzed using this methodology. Love Is in the Airand on the Move: Where Americans Are Traveling for Valentine's Day 2026 Rank Domestic City International City 1 Phoenix, Arizona Cancun, Mexico 2 Orlando, Florida San Jose del Cabo, Mexico 3 Miami, Florida Puerto Vallarta, Mexico 4 New York, New York London, England 5 Las Vegas, Nevada Punta Cana, Dominican Republic 6 Los Angeles, California Paris, France 7 Salt Lake City, Utah Mexico City, Mexico 8 Fort Lauderdale, Florida Liberia, Costa Rica 9 Tampa, Florida U.S. Virgin Islands 10 Honolulu, Hawaii Oranjestad, Aruba About Allianz Partners In the United States, Allianz Partners USA (AGA Service Company) offers Allianz Travel-branded travel protection plans and serves millions of customers each year. In addition to travel protection, the company offers event ticket protection, registration protection for endurance events and unique travel assistance services such as international medical assistance and concierge services. AGA Service Company is doing business as Allianz Global Assistance Insurance Agency in California (License # 0B01400) and Massachusetts. Allianz Partners USA is part of the Allianz Partners group. Allianz Partners is a world leader in B2B2C insurance and assistance, offering global solutions that span international health and life, travel insurance, mobility and assistance. Customer driven, our innovative experts are redefining insurance services by delivering future-ready, high-tech, high-touch products and solutions that go beyond traditional insurance. Present in over 75 countries, our 19,400 employees speak 70 languages, handle over 58 million cases each year, and are motivated to go the extra mile to offer peace of mind to our customers around the world. *For Allianz Partners USA products offered and sold in the U.S.: Terms, conditions, and exclusions apply to all plans. Plans are available only to U.S. residents. Not all plans are available in all jurisdictions. Availability of coverage, including the epidemic-related benefits and covered reasons described here, varies by product and by state. Products may not include all benefits or covered reasons described here. All benefits are subject to maximum limits of liability, which may in some cases be subject to sublimits and daily maximums. Benefits and limits vary by plan. For a complete description of the coverage and benefit limits offered under your specific plan, carefully review your plan's Letter of Confirmation/Declarations and Certificate of Insurance/Policy. Insurance coverage is underwritten by BCS Insurance Company (OH, Administrative Office: Oakbrook Terrace, IL), rated "A" (Excellent) by A.M. Best Co., under BCS Form No. 52.201 series or 52.401 series, or Jefferson Insurance Company (NY, Administrative Office: Richmond, VA), rated "A+" (Superior) by A.M. Best Co., under Jefferson Form No. 101C series or 101P series, depending on state of residence. A+ (Superior) and A (Excellent) are the 2nd and 3rd highest, respectively, of A.M. Best's 13 Financial Strength Ratings. Except as otherwise specified, AGA Service Company d/b/a Allianz Global Assistance is the licensed producer and administrator of Allianz Travel-branded travel protection plans in the U.S. and an affiliate of Jefferson Insurance Company. Allianz Global Assistance, Allyz, and SmartBenefits are marks of AGA Service Company or its affiliates. The insured shall not receive any special benefit or advantage due to the affiliation between Allianz Global Assistance and Jefferson Insurance Company. Plans include insurance and assistance services. Noninsurance benefits/products are provided and serviced by Allianz Global Assistance. Allyz Alert Center requires geolocation features to be enabled. Alert Center and other Allyz app functions and features are subject to the Allyz app Terms of Use. See Allyz app Terms of Use for more details. SOURCE Allianz Partners GROSSE POINTE, Mich., Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Ecovia Bio, an advanced biotechnology company specializing in sustainable, high-performance biopolymer ingredients, today announced the closing of a Series B funding round led by Pointe Angels, an independent angel investor group based in the Grosse Pointe communities east of Detroit, Michigan. The funding will support significant expansion of manufacturing capacity at Ecovia Bio's state-of-the-art Livonia facility to meet surging global demand for its AzuraBase and AzuraGel families of gamma polyglutamic acid (-PGA) and specialty biopolymer products across cosmetics, personal care, agriculture, and hygiene applications. Addressing a Global Environmental and Health Imperative Microplastics have emerged as one of the most pressing environmental and public health challenges of our time. Superabsorbent polymers (SAPs)---synthetic, petrochemical-derived plastics used extensively in diapers, feminine hygiene products, cosmetics, lotions, and other consumer goods---persist in landfills for centuries and fragment into harmful microplastics that contaminate soil, water systems, and the food chain. These microplastics have been detected in human blood, lungs, and placental tissue, raising serious health concerns. Ecovia Bio's biodegradable -PGA technology represents a transformative solution, enabling manufacturers to replace these persistent synthetic polymers with a bio-based, fully biodegradable alternative that delivers equivalent or superior performance without environmental or health consequences. By scaling production of -PGA, Ecovia Bio is empowering a global shift toward truly sustainable consumer products---addressing regulatory pressures, consumer demand for safer products, and the urgent need to protect human health and environmental integrity. Ecovia Bio's products are designed to reduce dependence on petrochemicals while delivering superior performance in demanding applications. By expanding manufacturing capacity and establishing the roadmap for additional production sites, Ecovia Bio is positioning itself to become the trusted global supplier of choice for -PGA and related biopolymers across consumer and industrial markets. About the Funding The Series B round will fuel a comprehensive expansion program that increases production capacity across Ecovia Bio's Livonia manufacturing facility. With this investment, the company projects the facility will achieve full operational capacity by 2028, positioning Ecovia Bio to serve growing customer demand across multiple high-growth markets. Notably, the company has already begun evaluation of additional production facilities to accommodate market demand beyond 2028 and secure long-term supply chain security for global partners. "We are excited to partner with Pointe Angels," said Kousay Said, CEO of Ecovia Bio. "This capital enables us to meet immediate demand from our cosmetics, personal care, and agricultural customers while establishing the infrastructure needed to serve the hygiene sector at industrial scale." "Ecovia Bio represents exactly the kind of venture we love to back at Pointe Angels," said David Bloom, Executive Director of Pointe Angels. "The company has solved a real technical challenge---producing sustainable, high-performance -PGA at commercial scale---and now has the market traction to justify expansion. What impressed us most was the management team's disciplined approach to capacity planning and their ability to serve multiple end markets from a single, optimized manufacturing platform. We're confident this capital will unlock significant value for our investors while strengthening Michigan's position as a leader in biotechnology and advanced manufacturing." About Ecovia Bio Ecovia Bio is a Michigan-based biotechnology company, a spinout from the University of Michigan, focused on the development and commercialization of sustainable, high-performance biopolymers derived from fermentation processes. The company's lead technology is based on gamma polyglutamic acid (-PGA), a natural biodegradable polymer with applications across multiple industries. About Pointe Angels Pointe Angels is an independent investor club in the Grosse Pointe communities, east of Detroit, Michigan. Founded in 2019, Pointe Angels provides accredited investors with opportunities for meaningful financial returns on capital investments in scalable early-stage ventures. The group is industry-agnostic and hands-on, bringing expertise in finance, operations, marketing, sales, engineering, and manufacturing to its portfolio companies. Media Contact Ecovia Bio: ecovia-bio.com, or contact 2489770687, [email protected] Pointe Angels: pointeangels.com, or contact [email protected] SOURCE Ecovia Bio WASHINGTON, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Cure SMA today announced that key research and legislative priorities championed by the spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) community have been approved by Congress and signed into law by the President as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2026. "These provisions are a victory for individuals and families living with SMA," said Maynard Friesz, Vice President of Policy & Advocacy at Cure SMA. "By expanding research funding opportunities, supporting rare disease innovation, and improving access, Congress has taken meaningful steps that will directly improve lives across our SMA community." With 10,000 individuals living with SMA in the U.S., and the disease affecting approximately 1 in every 15,000 births, federal research investment and policy action can deliver meaningful impact for individuals and families impacted by SMA nationwide. At a time when scientific advances are rapidly changing what is possible for people living with SMA, these new provisions help remove barriers that can delay innovation and limit access to treatment and care. Key provisions of the law include: Increased Federal Research SMA is now a priority research topic in the U.S. Department of Defense's Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program, opening new federal funding opportunities for researchers nationwide. SMA is now a priority research topic in the U.S. Department of Defense's Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program, opening new federal funding opportunities for researchers nationwide. Extension of Rare Disease Innovation Program The FDA's Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher Program is extended, supporting continued investment in rare disease therapies, including SMA. The FDA's Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher Program is extended, supporting continued investment in rare disease therapies, including SMA. Improved Access to Specialized Care The Accelerating Kids' Access to Care Act helps individuals with complex medical conditions, including SMA, navigate out-of-state care while maintaining safeguards to protect families and Medicaid programs. Cure SMA thanks our SMA community advocates from across the country who shared their stories and championed these provisions. To learn more about Cure SMA and its advocacy on behalf of individuals with SMA and their families, visit https://www.curesma.org/advocacy. About Cure SMA Cure SMA's mission is to drive research for treatments and a cure for SMA, and to support and empower everyone impacted by SMA today. SOURCE Cure SMA Italy's first traditional-method sparkling wine denomination arrives in New York with 27 producers for a B2B walk-around tasting, seminars at Eataly Downtown, and a cocktail party at Terroir NEW YORK, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Consorzio Alta Langa will host its first-ever walk-around tasting in the United States on March 10, 2026, from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM at Eataly Downtown in New York City. The B2B tasting will bring together 27 producers from this refined sparkling wine region in Piedmont, Italy, for a landmark introduction to the U.S. market. Alta Langa DOCG is Italy's first traditional-method sparkling wine designation, with origins dating back to the mid-19th century. Produced in the historic hills of southern Piedmont, these Metodo Classico wines, made from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, are always vintage and aged a minimum of 30 months on the lees, resulting in structured, elegant wines with notable aging potential. The walk-around tasting will be complemented by two educational seminar sessions titled "Alta Langa DOCG: Long Heritage and Ancient Soils Shaping a Great Metodo Classico." The seminars will explore the historical roots of Alta Langa, its unique growing area, and the elements that distinguish its wines within the landscape of traditional-method sparkling wines. Seminars will be hosted by Juliana Colangelo, wine marketing leader and host of Italian Wine Podcast, alongside a panel of Consorzio representatives and producers. As international interest continues to grow for terroir-driven sparkling wines, Alta Langa DOCG remains a small-production, under-the-radar denomination with strong relevance for today's market. Its focus on vintage expression, extended aging, and origin-driven identity makes it a compelling proposition for trade professionals seeking authenticity and distinction. "Bringing Alta Langa DOCG to New York for the first time is an important milestone for our denomination," says Giovanni Minetti, President of the Consorzio Alta Langa. "This event allows us to share the history, the territory, and the collective work of our producers, and to present Alta Langa as a true expression of Metodo Classico rooted in time and place." The New York program will begin with a cocktail reception on March 9, 2026, from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM at one of the city's most prestigious wine bars, Terroir. Open to sommeliers, media, and wine directors, the evening will offer a convivial yet informal setting for tasting, conversation, and discovery ahead of the main event the following day. This intimate gathering provides a unique opportunity to meet the producers behind Alta Langa and explore the distinctive character and elegance that define these exceptional wines. Participating Wineries: Agricola Brandini, Agricola TT, Banfi, Bava, Bera, Borgo Maragliano, Casa E. di Mirafiore, Coppo, Cuvage, Deltetto 1953, Enrico Serafino, Ettore Germano, Fontanafredda, Giuseppe Contratto, La Fusina, Marcalberto, Marco Capra, Marziano Abbona, Mauro Sebaste, Nada Giuseppe, Pecchenino, Tenuta Carretta, Tenuta Il Falchetto, Tenuta Langasco, Tenuta Rocca, Terrabianca, Vite Colte. About Consorzio Alta Langa The Consortium was founded on the 15th of June 2001 in Asti, following more than ten years of research and studies on the area's aptitude. It aims to gather vine growers and wine-makers involved in developing a wine, a denomination, and a territory. All bound by a great bet: the production of a sparkling traditional method wine that won't be ready before six years from the planting of the vineyard, and for this reason must necessarily be promoted and protected. The role of the Consortium is to serve as the guarantor of the product specification and promoter of the "Alta Langa" Protected Designation of Origin. https://www.altalangadocg.com/en/alta-langa-docg/what-is-alta-langa-docg/ KEY FIGURES THE CONSORZIO AND ALTA LANGA DOCG Over 100 producer wineries are associated with the Consortium 500 hectares of vineyards across the provinces of Alessandria, Asti and Cuneo The "Alta Langa vineyard" is cultivated approximately 2/3 Pinot Noir and 1/3 Chardonnay 3,500,000 potential bottles from the 2025 harvest (not released to the market before autumn 2028) Domestic market: 85% Export market: 15% About Colangelo & Partners Colangelo & Partners specializes in premium food, wine and spirits brands, and has long-established relationships with the key press that drive these business categories and help determine the industry leaders. Agency principals have years of experience in retail and distribution as well as communications, a rare combination that gives Colangelo & Partners invaluable insights into consumer purchasing behavior. The agency focuses on "closing the loop" between creative communications programs, distribution, promotion, publicity and the consumer in order to maximize the efficiency of its communications programs and deliver measurable results. http://www.colangelopr.com Media Contact Bianca Panichi [email protected] SOURCE Alta Langa Strategic Advisory Leadership expands as Immorta Bio Advances Radical Life Extension Therapies toward the clinic MIAMI, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Immorta Bio Inc., a scientific longevity company focused on Treating Diseases of Aging and Treating Aging as Disease, today announced the appointment of Howard Brooks, retired Ernst & Young (EY) Health Sciences Partner, to its Strategic Advisory Board. Howard Brooks, Immorta Bio Strategic Advisory Board Member Mr. Brooks brings more than three decades of experience advising healthcare, life sciences, and biotechnology organizations on strategy, governance, capital formation, and enterprise transformation. During his tenure at EY, he served as Americas Health Sciences Leader and was one of the firm's senior client service partners shaping strategy across pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, healthcare systems, and emerging growth companies. In his advisory role, Mr. Brooks will work with Immorta Bio's leadership team as the Company advances its first-in-class, dual-platform approach to addressing aging biology. Immorta Bio's therapeutic platforms include SenoVax, a senolytic immunotherapy designed to selectively eliminate senescent cells1, and StemCellRevivify, a regenerative cellular rejuvenation platform focused on restoring youthful biological function. "Howard is one of the most experienced healthcare strategists I have worked with," said Boris Reznik, PhD, Chairman & CEO of Immorta Bio. "As we move closer to the clinic, his perspective will be invaluable as we translate our foundational scientific breakthroughs into a durable, clinically focused company. We are developing a unified therapeutic approach that addresses aging biology itself and opens numerous therapeutic applications. Howard's experience scaling sophisticated healthcare strategies makes him an ideal advisor." Mr. Brooks has advised boards and executive teams across the global health sciences ecosystem and has served on multiple healthcare and nonprofit boards. He is a qualified board financial specialist with deep experience in governance, risk oversight, and organizational leadership. "What drew me to Immorta Bio is the strength of its founders, the clarity of its scientific vision, and my personal passion for helping people live healthier, longer lives," said Howard Brooks. "By addressing aging biology directly, Immorta Bio is tackling disease at its root cause rather than managing symptoms downstream. The combination of breakthrough science, strong leadership, and a disciplined path to the clinic makes this an extraordinary opportunity, and I'm honored to support the mission." Immorta Bio is focused on advancing one integrated, biology-driven solution to clinical translation, with potential future applications across oncology, organ failure, immune dysfunction, neurological disorders, and other age-associated conditions. About Immorta Bio Immorta Bio Inc. is a scientific longevity company focused on Treating Diseases of Aging and Treating Aging as Disease. The company is pioneering a dual-platform approach that combines senescent cell clearance and regenerative cellular rejuvenation to restore youthful biology and address the root causes of age-related disease. Immorta Bio is advancing multiple programs toward clinical development, supported by a growing intellectual property portfolio. Media Contact Boris N. Reznik PhD Chairman & CEO Immorta Bio Inc. +1 (305) 632-2939 Email: [email protected] Website: www.ImmortaBio.com X: @immortabio 1 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12967-025-07393-3 SOURCE Immorta Bio Inc. SAO PAULO, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- On February 5, 2026, at 8 a.m. (EST) and 10 a.m. (Brasilia time), we will present our 4Q25 results in Portuguese and English, in an interactive meeting, with a Q&A session at the end. To take part in the interactive meeting, register at the following link: Itau Results 4Q25 The speakers in our interactive meeting will be: Milton Maluhy CEO, Gabriel Amado de Moura CFO, Renato Lulia Head of Corporate Strategy, Investor Relations and Corporate Development and Gustavo Lopes Rodrigues IRO. Results will be published on the Investor Relations website on February 4, 2026, after trading hours. Follow Itau Unibanco's latest news on our Investor Relations website. Contact: Itau Unibanco Comunicacao Corporativa Phone: (11) 5019-8880 / 8881 E-mail: [email protected] SOURCE Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. Showcasing Nexlide innovations at DVN Lighting Workshop (February 4 to 5) Introducing 'Nexlide Air and Pixel', featuring proprietary surface light source technology Accelerating European market penetration through targeted OEM roadshows SEOUL, South Korea, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- LG Innotek (CEO Moon Hyuksoo) will unveil its advanced vehicle lighting technology in Germany, the historic home of automotive innovation. On February 3, 2026, the company announced that it will participate in the 39th Lighting Workshop hosted by Driving Vision News (DVN), showcasing its next-generation automotive lighting technologies. LG Innotek employee demonstrate Nexlide Pixel, which achieves the worlds thinnest pixel size (0.080.08inch) among vehicle lighting solutions for significantly improved resolution. DVN, headquartered in France, is an authoritative specialized media outlet and academic organization serving the automotive components industry. The DVN Lighting Workshop, held annually worldwide, brings together leading global vehicle OEMs and automotive electronics component makers to discuss core challenges in the car lighting industry while providing a premier venue for exchanging information on technological trends and insights. The 39th DVN Lighting Workshop will be held at Olympia Park, Munich, Germany, from February 4 to 5, 2026. During the workshop, LG Innotek will operate a dedicated exhibition booth showcasing its latest 'Nexlide' product lineup. Its leading products include 'Nexlide Air', a thin and lightweight lighting solution optimized for bumper and grille applications using ultra-light silicon-based materials, and 'Nexlide Pixel', which achieves the world's thinnest pixel size (0.080.08inch) among vehicle lighting solutions for significantly improved resolution. LG Innotek's Ultra-Thin Pixel Lighting Module (Nexlide Pixel) received the CES 2026 Innovation Award. 'Nexlide Pixel' displays high-resolution text and images through vehicle lighting and represents a major advancement in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication capabilities. For example, in emergency situations, the lettering function enables transmission of invehicle status information to emergency responders, while emoticon displays enable drivers to express their individuality. LG Innotek's exhibition will also highlight 'Nexlide Cube', which creates 3D lighting effects through a multilayered structure that produces a floating light illusion (where light appears suspended in the air), and 'Nexlide C+', featuring angle-dependent 3D multi-effects that display different images based on viewing angle. Following the DVN Lighting Workshop, LG Innotek plans to accelerate its penetration of the European automotive market through targeted roadshows for major OEM customers. By 2030, the company aims to grow its automotive lighting business to about USD 691 million. LG Innotek has actively promoted its automotive lighting solutions in Europe, including through webinars for European automakers and component makers last year. Byaeng kuk Yoo, senior vice president and head of the Mobility Solution Business Unit, said: "LG Innotek will continue launching innovative lighting solutions that provide customers with differentiated experiences and grow as a technology partner that is trusted by customers in Europe and Japan, expanding beyond North American markets." [Reference] 'Nexlide,' LG Innotek's automotive lighting brand, uses surface light source technology to enable uniform lighting across an extended surface without conventional thickness constraints. LG Innotek holds more than 700 patents related to surface light source technology. This technology enables ultra-slim vehicle lighting modules to emit brighter, more evenly distributed light while substantially enhancing design freedom for customers in vehicle design. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2875630/Picture_1.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2312913/5749215/logo__LG_Innotek_Logo.jpg STOCKHOLM, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- "Across our operations, we delivered strong growth in Mineral Resources this year, driven by successful exploration and favorable economic assumptions. Garpenberg, the Boliden Area, and Nautanen were key contributors to this achievement. Additionally, Mineral Reserves have increased in both acquired units as well as in the Boliden Area and in Tara, which we of course are very happy about," says Stefan Romedahl, Director Business Area Mines. The cost of exploration in 2025 was SEK 969 m (929). Aitik This year, there was a slight decrease in Aitik's Mineral Reserves of 40 Mtonnes (-4%) mainly due to mining. A new Resource pit optimization, using updated prices, terms and cost model, resulted in an increase of Mineral Resources: Measured and Indicated Resources 214 Mtonnes (36%) and Inferred Resources 63 Mtonnes (20%). Liikavaara, located 3 km from Aitik, began production in 2024, and ramp-up continued through 2025. Liikavaara which is processed together with Aitik ore contributed with 25% of the produced tonnes this year. In total, 39 Mtonnes were milled in 2025. At the Nautanen deposit, approximately 15 km north of Aitik, a significant increase of Mineral Resources were reported in 2025: Indicated Resources 7Mtonnes (51%) and Inferred Resources 20 Mtonnes (173%). Both successful exploration as well as favorable metal prices contributed to the increase. The Boliden Area In the Boliden Area, there was a total increase in Mineral Reserves by 2.0 Mtonnes (13%). All mines (Kankberg, Kristineberg and Renstrom) contributed to this increase, with Kankberg being the largest contributor due to increased gold price assumption. Mineral Resources also increased in all mines as well as in surrounding development projects, mainly due to successful exploration as well as economic assumptions. The most significant increase came from Nyliden, a new satellite deposit to Kristineberg, which is now reported for the first time. Additionally Mineral Resources increased in Algtrask due to a re-evaluation of the project. The total increase of Mineral Resources in the Boliden Area amounted to Measured and Indicated Resources 3 Mtonnes (32%) and Inferred Resources 7.1 Mtonnes (39%). 1.5 Mtonnes were milled in 2025. Garpenberg In Garpenberg the Mineral Reserves have decreased by 1.4 Mtonnes (-1%). Successful exploration drilling and favorable metal prices and terms led to an increase in Mineral Resources, Measured and Indicated Resources 16 Mtonnes (84%) and Inferred Resources 11 Mtonnes (10%). 3.6 Mtonnes were milled in 2025. Kevitsa In Kevitsa, the Mineral Reserves decreased by 9 Mtonnes (-9%) primarily due to mining. Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources increased by 4 Mtonnes (2%) due to economic assumptions. There was no change to Inferred Mineral Resources. The environmental permit was renewed in July 2025, allowing for mining and milling of 10.5 Mtonnes of ore per annum. Additionally, the permit for the Tailings Storage Facility A (TSFA) centerline raise was granted in November 2025. In the end of December 2025 the Finnish Parliament approved increased mining and electricity taxes which are estimated to result in EUR 20-30 million in annual increased costs for Kevitsa. These raised taxes were not factored into the 2025 reporting, as the decision was not finalized at the time of compilation. 10.2 Mtonnes were milled in 2025. Tara A review of the block models, Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves were conducted during 2025. This resulted in an increase of 2.7 Mtonnes (20%) of Mineral Reserves mostly due to conversion of Mineral Resources. At the same time Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources showed a decrease of 1.2 Mtonnes (-55%) due to the conversion and Inferred Mineral Resources decreased by 3.6 Mtonnes (-10%) due to economic and technical modifications. 1.44 Mtonnes were milled in 2025. New acquisitions In April 2025, the acquisition of Somincor and Zinkgruvan was finalized, and their Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources are now included in Boliden's statement. An important change in reporting methodology is that Mineral Resources are now reported exclusive of Mineral Reserves. This change results in lower reported Mineral Resource figures for both mines compared to previous reporting. Both Somincor and Zinkgruvan extract copper and zinc ores separately and the results are reported accordingly. Somincor Somincor reports an increase of 3.9 Mtonnes (19%) in Mineral Reserves in copper mineralization, mainly driven by updated economic assumptions that enabled additional Mineral Resources to be converted to Mineral Reserves. At the same time, Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources decreased by 25 Mtonnes (-46%). This reduction is primarily due to the new reporting approach. Additional decreases result from the conversion of Mineral Resources to Mineral Reserves. Inferred Resources increased by 10 Mtonnes (35%) as a result of successful exploration. For zinc mineralization, Mineral Reserves increased by 5.4 Mtonnes (29%), again largely due to Mineral Resource conversion enabled by revised economic assumptions. In parallel, Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources decreased by 42 Mtonnes (-67%). This decrease is mainly due to the new reporting methodology. Further reductions came from the conversion of Mineral Resources to Mineral Reserves and the application of updated technical and financial parameters. Inferred Mineral Resources decreased slightly by 0.5 Mtonnes (-11%). A total of 4.3 Mtonnes of ore were milled in 2025 of which 3.1 Mtonnes after acquisition in April. Zinkgruvan Zinkgruvan only reported a minor change in Mineral Reserves in copper mineralization 2025. However, Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources in copper mineralization decreased by 1.9 Mtonnes (-73%), primarily as a result of removal of Mineral Reserves from the reported figures. Inferred Mineral Resources for copper mineralization remained unchanged. For zinc mineralization, Mineral Reserves increased by 2.5 Mtonnes (22%) and Measured and Indicated Resources showed a net decrease of 11 Mtonnes (-61%) also due to removal of Mineral Reserves. Inferred Mineral Resources for zinc mineralization increased by 1.5 Mtonnes, thanks to successful exploration drilling. 1.5 Mtonnes of ore were milled in 2025 of which 1.1 Mtonnes after acquisition in April. About the classification Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves are estimated separately and divided into different categories. Conditions in the form of costs and metal prices are established at the beginning of the year and used in all calculations made during the year. Boliden's Mineral Resources are exclusive of Mineral Reserves. When a Mineral Resource is converted to a Mineral Reserve, the quantity is removed from the Mineral Resource. Regulations, Codes and Competent Persons Boliden follows the recommendations of the Swedish Mining Association (SveMin) for reporting exploration results, Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves and reports according to the Pan-European Reserves and Resources Reporting Committee (PERC). The PERC standard has clear requirements for documentation and the Competent Persons, who must evaluate the information that companies report. All summarizing reports for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves per project and mine available on the Boliden website, are reviewed and approved by the Competent Persons presented in the respective report. This summary of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves has been reviewed and approved by Sofia Hoglund, Head of Mineral Resources and Project Evaluation, Boliden and Competent Person for reporting of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves and member of The Fennoscandian Association for Metals and Minerals Professionals (FAMMP), a Recognized Professional Organization according to PERC. Planning prices Long-term prices 2025 Change compared to 2024 Metal prices Copper, USD/tonne 8 900 +500 Zinc, USD/tonne 2 800 - Lead, USD/tonne 2 000 - Nickel, USD/tonne 18 000 -2,000 Gold, USD/oz 2 200 +600 Silver, USD/oz 27 +4 Palladium, USD/oz 1 000 - Platinum, USD/oz 1 200 +200 Cobalt, USD/lb 17 -3 Tellurium, USD/kg 35 - Molybdenum, USD/lb 15 +7 Treatment Charges (TC) and Refining Charges (RC) Copper concentrate TC, USD/dMtonnes 80 - Copper concentrate RC, USc/lb 8 - Zinc concentrate TC, flat, USD/dMtonnes 210 -20 Lead concentrate TC, flat, USD/dMtonnes 150 -40 Nickel concentrate TC, USD/dMtonnes 190 - Nickel concentrate RC, USD/lb 1.00 - Exchange rates USD/SEK 9.70 +0.70 EUR/SEK 10.38 +0.48 EUR/USD 1.07 -0.03 For further information, please contact: Klas Nilsson Director Group Communications +46 70 453 65 88 [email protected] This information is information that Boliden AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of Director Communications, at 07:43 CET on February 3, 2026. This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/boliden/r/mineral-resources-and-mineral-reserves-2025,c4301196 The following files are available for download: https://mb.cision.com/Main/997/4301196/3912539.pdf Press release https://mb.cision.com/Public/997/4301196/ab44d855a31d8060.pdf Appendix Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves SOURCE Boliden Female-Founded Luxury Treat Brand with Cult Following of 1.4M TikTok Followers and Celebrities Delivers Better-For-You Indulgence in Stunning Jewelry-Like Design SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Misaky Tokyo , the original premium crystal seaweed candy brand, is elevating luxury gifting with handcrafted, jewel-toned crystal candies made from sustainably sourced agar-agar seaweed. Blending Japanese confectionery artistry with modern wellness values, Misaky Tokyo offers an eye-catching, clean alternative to traditional chocolates, a perfect, unique gift for Valentine's Day or everyday indulgences. Priced at $30 for a five-piece box and available on the Misaky Tokyo site , each collection is presented in a reusable, jewelry-style gift box designed to be treasured long after the last candy is enjoyed. What Makes Misaky Tokyo Crystal Seaweed Candy Unique Each crystal candy is handcrafted using a meticulous multi-day drying process that creates a signature crunchy outer shell and soft, chewy interior. The candies are naturally flavored, vegan, and made without artificial dyes, chemical additives, or excess sugar. At just 70 calories, the candies deliver delightful taste with uncompromising quality in five exquisite jewel-toned flavors: Amber Yuzu, Fire Opal Strawberry Acerola, Quartz Sakura Cherry Blossom Strawberry, Topaz Pear Apple, and Jade Matcha. A Modern Wellness Candy, Powered by Premium Ingredients At the core of Misaky Tokyo's product is agar-agar, a red seaweed traditionally used in Japanese cuisine and known for supporting satiety and overall digestive wellness. Four hundred years ago in Japan, artisans created crystal-like candies called Kohakuto, crafted from agar agar and served during tea ceremonies and meaningful moments. Misaky Tokyo (Misaky meaning "beautiful future") merges traditional Japanese tea ceremony sweets with modern, sustainably sourced agar-agar from Japan, Indonesia, and Chile, and other premium ingredients sourced globally to create an international flavor experience that honors the past while shaping what's next. A Viral Luxury Candy Brand With Cultural Credibility Founded by Alissa Miky , a Japanese entrepreneur, seaweed expert, and Forbes Japan Culture-Preneur 30 (2023), Misaky Tokyo has quickly become a viral sensation. Loved by celebrities like Kim Kardashian , who partnered with Misaky Tokyo on a custom line for her fragrance launch in 2020, and featured in luxury destinations like Cartier and Nobu, the brand boasts 1.4 million TikTok followers and is transforming traditional agar-agar seaweed into a modern luxury candy category. "Misaky is my way of turning comfort into something tangiblethrough sweets that are beautiful, inclusive, and deeply connected to my heritage," says Alissa Miky. "By blending flavors from around the globe, Misaky Tokyo is a beautiful gift and a celebration of both heritage and innovation." Alissa Miky is also the founder of OoMee , a marine plantbased functional beverage brand, and brings her proprietary agar-agar technology across both businesses. About Misaky Tokyo Misaky Tokyo is the original premium crystal seaweed candy, founded in 2019 to make the cultural and wellness benefits of agar-agar accessible, beautiful, and delicious for a global audience. AAPI and woman-owned, Misaky.Tokyo sits under the parent company of Aqua Theon and stands at the intersection of culinary innovation, sustainability, and conscious entrepreneurship. The brand's elegant crystal candies are available in three-piece boxes ($18) and five-piece boxes ($30) , offering a luxurious, vegan, and planet-conscious alternative to conventional sweets. SOURCE Misaky Tokyo In the news release, Monetary Metals Statement Regarding AgaBullion, issued 26-Jan-2026 by Monetary Metals & Co. over PR Newswire, we are advised by the company that changes have been made. The complete, corrected release follows, with additional details at the end: Monetary Metals Statement Regarding AgaBullion SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Jan. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Monetary Metals notified clients on Friday January 23 concerning the company's gold lease with AgaBullion Kiymetli Madenler A.S. ("AgaBullion"), a major precious metals services company in Turkey. Monetary Metals & Co. | AgaBullion (PRNewsfoto/Monetary Metals & Co.) Turkish government officials recently made arrests of principals at a company named "Aga Holding" over alleged violations of Turkish import and export regulations. They also arrested several senior personnel at AgaBullion, our lessee, and its affiliated company Aleks Metal Refinery. As a result, some of the gold leased to AgaBullion was seized by the Turkish authorities. At present all other leased gold is properly in AgaBullion's accounts and has not been moved or seized. And all lease fees have been paid through March. Mr. Weiner has met with AgaBullion CEO Sarp Tarhanac and AgoOne CEO Gokhan Yilmaz in Dubai. They believe AgaBullion has been mistakenly caught up in this criminal and regulatory action and will be fully exonerated. Aga Holding is unaffiliated with AgaBullion ("Aga" is a common noun and honorific frequently used by companies in Turkey). AgaBullion's corporate statement on the matter is available here. Monetary Metals is working with lawyers in Istanbul to reinforce that legal title of all leased gold remains with its lessors and will engage the US Consulate to pursue the lawful return of the leased metal. Monetary Metals carries supplemental insurance on leased metals and will file claims when and if appropriate. Further updates will be published on the Monetary Metals website as new information becomes available. About Monetary Metals Monetary Metals is Unlocking the Productivity of Gold by offering a Yield on Gold, Paid in Gold to investors, and Gold Financing, Simplified to gold-using businesses (mints, miners, refiners, jewelers, etc.). Since 2016, individuals and institutions around the world have been earning yield in gold and silver every month through our Gold Yield Marketplace. For more information, visit www.monetary-metals.com. Contact: Dickson Buchanan Jr. Vice President, Marketing [email protected] +1-480-867-2100 For press inquiries: [email protected] Correction: An earlier version of this release incorrectly listed the company name and link at the end of paragraph four. SOURCE Monetary Metals & Co. MOSCOW, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Five people, including four children, were killed and seven others injured on Monday evening when a bus collided with a truck on the R-255 Sibir highway in Russia's Krasnoyarsk Krai, local police reported. The truck, which was towing a modular home, lost control after its trailer became detached, veering into the oncoming lane and striking a bus driven by a 52-year-old man, said police. Thirteen people were on board the bus, including 11 children. Seven children were hospitalized, two in serious condition, according to authorities. New data from the social polling app reveals where curiosity runs deepest, not biggest, across the country SAN DIEGO, Feb. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Whether it's a quick search for reviews on a potential purchase or a late-night deep dive down an internet rabbit hole, individuals are increasingly turning to social media for answers. Now, new data from the social polling app, Pollaroo, has revealed the Top 10 Most Curious Markets in America, based on how often people went a step further to learn more after encountering a question on the app. Pollaroo's Top 10 Most Curious Markets in the U.S.: Birmingham (AnnistonTuscaloosa) Chattanooga Boston (Manchester) Detroit Bakersfield Salt Lake City TampaSt. Petersburg (Sarasota) Denver New York OrlandoDaytona BeachMelbourne Unlike traditional rankings that favor population size, Pollaroo's data analysis focuses on the intensity of curiosity, or the likelihood that someone will engage when prompted with a question on the app. Markets like Birmingham, Chattanooga and Bakersfield beat out far larger metropolitan areas when measured proportionally, signaling elevated engagement compared to overall exposure. "These rankings tell a much more interesting story than 'big cities win,'" said Ric Militi, CEO of Pollaroo. "They show us where curiosity is strong enough to spark action. Pollaroo is built around asking questions and engaging with perspective, and this data proves that curiosity shows up everywhere, often most powerfully in places where people don't expect." According to Statista, 46% of Gen Z cite social media as their primary search tool, underscoring a broader shift in how Americans seek answers and opinions. Pollaroo's data offers a clearer picture of where users are most inclined to lean in, participate and explore their curiosity further. With a spike in downloads nationwide, the app provides a fast, community-driven way to get feedback on everything from relationship advice to outfit decisions. Due to the engaging nature of the app, Pollaroo currently has an average session time of 4 minutes and 30 seconds, falling just behind Instagram with an average of 5 minutes and 56 seconds. The difference, however, is the nature of the content. Unlike traditional social media platforms that invoke passive consumption, Pollaroo is designed to encourage active participation, prompting users to think critically and engage thoughtfully. "We wanted to make Pollaroo an app where individuals could go to crowdsource information and receive feedback almost immediately," said Giselle Campos, Chief Brand Officer at Pollaroo. "The app's highly engaging structure makes it easier than ever for individuals, influencers and creatives to start meaningful conversations online." The app features a dynamic, scrollable feed of polls and easy-to-use templates that users can customize with their own photos, videos and prompts, then share across other social platforms to spark even wider conversations. As the app scales, new avenues emerge for users and creators alike. From capturing pop culture moments to gauging brand sentiment and first impressions, Pollaroo is proving to be a powerful tool for a wide range of audiences. Pollaroo is free to download and available now on iOS and Android devices. To learn more and start polling, visit PollarooApp.com or follow Pollaroo on all major social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok, Threads, Snapchat and LinkedIn). Contact: Katie Schmidt Public Relations Manager Pollaroo [email protected] SOURCE Pollaroo SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP is investigating a data breach that led to unauthorized access to the sensitive information of 65,648 individuals affiliated with Alpine Ear, Nose, & Throat, P.C. ("Alpine ENT"), a medical practice based in Fort Collins, Colorado. On November 19, 2024, Alpine ENT's systems were compromised by an unauthorized third party. Although the breach occurred in November 2024, Alpine ENT did not notify impacted individuals until on or around January 30, 2026, which may have violated state and federal laws. The following data may have been compromised in the breach: names, demographic information, dates of birth, medical information, health insurance information, financial account information, credit card CVC numbers, credit card expiration dates, credit card numbers, Social Security numbers. If your personal information was impacted by this incident, you may be at risk of identity theft and other serious violations of your privacy. As a result, you may be entitled to money damages and an injunction requiring changes to Alpine ENT's cybersecurity practices. If you received notification of this data breach or are affiliated with Alpine ENT and wish to obtain additional information about your legal rights, please contact us today or visit our website at https://www.classactionlawyers.com/alpineearnoseandthroat About Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe represents shareholders, employees, and consumers in class actions against corporate defendants, as well as shareholders in derivative actions against their officers and directors. The firm is based in San Francisco, and with the help of co-counsel, litigates cases nationwide. Contact Sonum Dixit Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP [email protected] Tel: 415-299-8207 SOURCE Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP NEW YORK, Feb. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Radiowell, the nation's largest buyer of used two-way radio equipment, proudly announces the Radios 4 Kids Donation Program. Radiowell spokesperson, Andrew Park, explains, "As a conscience-driven company, we recognize our role in safeguarding America's students during their critical K12 education journey. Many public schools lack adequate resources be they financial or material to communicate effectively during a crisis. The Radios 4 Kids Donation Program provides used yet functional communication equipment to these institutions free of charge, so their on-campus personnel have the resources at hand when a critical situation arises." 5/14/24 - Times Square / Manhattan - Radiowell, North America's leader in providing sustainable solutions for used radios and other obsolete equipment, launched a nationwide ad campaign to raise consumer awareness for the proper recycling of used walkie talkies, two-way radios, and batteries. Radiowell is the largest buyer of used radios and other land mobile equipment in the United States. (PRNewsfoto/Radiowell) Two-way radios provide instant, reliable communication, permitting school administrators, teachers, and other on-campus personnel to respond quickly and discreetly at a moment's notice. From alerting security teams about a suspicious individual on campus to requesting immediate assistance inside a classroom or outside in a common area, radios enable staff to act decisively and discretely without compromising student privacy. "Two-way radios are a cost-effective way to increase on-campus safety," says Park, "without putting student privacy at risk." And unlike cell phones, "they work during emergencies, like power and cellular outages, or fire evacuations." Unlike traditional notification systems, such as PA systems, which broadcast information indiscriminately, two-way radios allow targeted, private communication between key parties. This discretion helps schools manage sensitive situations more effectively and can play a critical role in avoiding or minimizing potential incidents. Recognizing that many public schools struggle with limited budgets and competing funding priorities, Radiowell developed the Radios 4 Kids Donation Program to support accredited public education institutions seeking to enhance their anti-violence and emergency response strategies. Through this program, eligible schools may receive donated two-way radio equipment to supplement existing safety measures, thus extending the communication reach of administrators and staff during all types of emergencies. Radiowell's Radios 4 Kids Donation Program operates on a limited-inventory basis. While equipment availability cannot be guaranteed at any given time, the Radiowell team works diligently to fulfill requests as frequently as possible. Educational institutions interested in the Radios 4 Kids Grant Program are encouraged to contact Radiowell directly via this link. Each request is reviewed and matched, when possible, with available inventory. About Radiowell 25 years ago, we created Radiowell as a passion project. Today, Radiowell is the number one rated buyer of used radio equipment in North America. Radiowell continues to be best place to sell used radio equipment due to its commitment to environmental responsibility. By purchasing both excess and outdated equipment, we reduce the strain on America's landfills, ensuring that equipment is repurposed as often as necessary for a more sustainable planet. Radiowell takes pride in acquiring, repairing, redistributing, or recycling unneeded two-way radio equipment to achieve the healthiest impact for all stakeholders. SOURCE Radiowell The company showcased more than 15 new and enhanced innovative products for residential and commercial applications ATLANTA, Feb. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Rheem, a leader in the HVAC and water heating industry for over 100 years, revealed its vision for sustainability and numerous product innovations at the 2026 AHR Expo. Rheem's portfolio of 50 global brands, including Rheem Heating & Cooling and Water Heating, features advanced and environmentally conscious product solutions for residential and commercial applications. Building a Sustainable Future Rheem Unveils 2035 Sustainability Roadmap at 2026 AHR Expo Rheem's President and Chief Executive Officer, Chris Peel; Chief Operating Officer, Alex Housten; and Senior Vice President of Strategy and Sustainability, Chee Wee Gan, announced the next chapter in the company's dedication to environmental sustainability at the AHR Expo with new targets that outline a bold vision for 2035 and beyond. Rheem is advancing its mission to engineer what is best for customers, the industry and the environment by establishing new goals through the company's A Greater Degree of Good initiative, including: Rheem's 2035 Sustainability Goals: Reduce greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 30% across the entire lifecycle of Rheem products.* across the entire lifecycle of Rheem products.* Optimize packaging , ensuring 90% of packaging is reusable, recyclable, or compostable, or has 50% recycled content.** , ensuring 90% of packaging is reusable, recyclable, or compostable, or has 50% recycled content.** Maintain zero waste to landfill (ZWTL) status across all factories and extend the initiative to new acquisitions. status across all factories and extend the initiative to new acquisitions. Reduce global waste intensity by 10% (ton/unit). intensity by 10% (ton/unit). Complete one million trainings for plumbers, contractors and key industry influencers worldwide, covering sustainable product use, refrigerant management, and best practices. "I am proud of the work the Rheem team is doing to promote sustainability because it sets a great example for the industry," said Mike Branson, Rheem Global Air president and 2026 AHRI chairman. "In today's complex and fast-changing regulatory environment, Rheem now has a track record of surpassing its ambitious sustainability goals. As we head toward 2035, I'm confident that our team will be successful in this next phase of environmental stewardship." Industry Leading Education and Innovation On opening day, Chris Day, Rheem's vice president of product strategy, marketing and training, shared insights on trends in heat pump technology during an educational session. Day indicated that recent advancements in heat pump technology for Air and Water systems have expanded adoption across North America and are being driven by enhanced adaptability to various applications, increased affordability, and evolving customer expectations. Rheem showcased more than 15 new and enhanced innovative products for residential and commercial applications from its brands Friedrich, Gibson, HTPG, IBC, Intertherm and Raypak: Rheem Heating and Cooling: Rheem Air Controls Rheem Air Residential Rheem Air Commercial Rheem Water Heating: Rheem Water Residential Rheem Water Commercial Friedrich: Gibson: HTPG: IBC: Intertherm: Raypak: Additional information is available at www.rheem.com and www.rheem.com/sustainability . About Rheem For over 100 years, Rheem has stood as a trusted partner for residential and commercial innovations. From its humble beginnings in 1925, Rheem has grown into a leading global manufacturer of heating, cooling, water heating, and commercial refrigeration solutions, committed to sustainability, and enriching lives through innovative design, technology, and enduring quality. To learn more, visit www.rheem.com. *Rheem's goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2035 from the 2023 baseline. This metric will be based on intensity emissions normalized by revenue and includes scopes 1-3 as defined by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. **Rheem measures reusable, recyclable, compostable, and recycled content in line with ISO and FTC standards. A Rheem plant is considered to have reached Zero Waste to Landfill when it achieves a rate of at least 90% diversion of nonhazardous solid waste away from landfill, waste-to-energy (WTE), and incineration, in line with the Zero Waste International Alliance standards and TRUE Zero Waste standards. Rheem measures waste intensity as a ratio of total weight of non-hazardous waste generated across all manufacturing facilities to total units produced from a 2023 baseline. At this time, figures for goals 1-4 mentioned in this article have not been independently verified by a third party. SOURCE Rheem Agreements provide services for engine accessories and power and controls components SINGAPORE, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Collins Aerospace, an RTX business (NYSE: RTX), and All Nippon Airways (ANA) have signed two separate FlightSense renewal agreements today in a signing ceremony at the Singapore Air Show. The first FlightSense contract is a five-year renewal for on-site support for the airline's Boeing fleet of 737NG/MAX, 767, 777, 787 aircraft as well as its De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400.This cost-per-flight hour agreement has been in place since 2001 and provides guaranteed component availability, reduced downtime and cost predictability through a fixed-rate service model. Under the agreement, Collins will deliver predictive, reliability-based maintenance support to ensure optimal performance of environmental, electrical, and engine control systems. "Our cutting-edge products and services empower our customers to achieve success while maximizing their fleet performance," said Ryan Hudson, vice president of Aftermarket for Collins Aerospace's Power & Controls unit. "Through the FlightSense program, we work closely with ANA to deliver comprehensive solutions, including asset management, logistics support, certified repairs, and predictive health monitoring. This all-inclusive support package allows ANA to make customized maintenance decisions, driving enhanced operational efficiency." "ANA is delighted to reaffirm our long-standing strategic relationship with Collins Aerospace," said Yukifumi Ueda, vice president and general manager, Engine, Component and Supply Chain at All Nippon Airways. "Since 2001, this collaboration has been a cornerstone of the maintenance excellence at ANA Component Technics, an ANA group facility in Nagasaki. This renewal further strengthens our operational resilience, allowing us to ensure the highest standards of safety and reliability for our customers." Additionally, ANA has signed a three-year extension to the repair agreement that has existed with Collins since 2017 for MRO repair services on accessories for its Rolls-Royce Trent 1000-powered Boeing 787 Dreamliners. Accessories include engine electronic controllers, hydromechanical units, fuel pump systems and variable stator vane actuators. "We believe the signing of this highly significant agreement marks an exciting new chapter for ANA and Collins," said Iwao Takeshita, vice president, Global Supplier Relations & Planning, All Nippon Airways. "This collaboration solidifies our shared commitment to enhancing reliability, improving delivery performance, and ensuring long-term cost-effectiveness. We have established an evolved collaborative framework to drive excellence, and we look forward to achieving new milestones together." FlightSense is a full lifecycle maintenance support program tailored to support airlines' specific operational requirements, enabling improved operational performance. The FlightSense program integrates Collins' Ascentia platform for advanced prognostics and health management software to provide customizable levels of support. FlightSense products include environmental systems, electrical power systems, engine controls systems, and other critical systems, helping to enhance operational capabilities and reduce maintenance costs for customers. About Collins Aerospace Collins Aerospace, an RTX business, is a leader in integrated and intelligent solutions for the global aerospace and defense industry. Our 80,000 employees are dedicated to delivering future-focused technologies to advance sustainable and connected aviation, passenger safety and comfort, mission success, space exploration, and more. About RTX With more than 180,000 global employees, we push the limits of technology and science to redefine how we connect and protect our world. With industry-leading capabilities, we advance aviation, engineer integrated defense systems for operational success, and develop next-generation technology solutions and manufacturing to help global customers address their most critical challenges. The company, with 2025 sales of more than $88 billion, is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. For questions or to schedule an interview, please contact [email protected] SOURCE RTX STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Securitas has signed a binding agreement to acquire Social Navigator Inc., operating under the brand Liferaft, strengthening its intelligence-led security capabilities. Founded in 2014 in Halifax Canada, Liferaft is a leading provider of SaaS-based Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) threat solutions. The company is expanding its position in the rapidly growing, multi-billion-US-dollar threat-intelligence market and currently serves hundreds of large enterprise clients in North America. Liferaft had subscription-based annual recurring revenue (ARR) of MSEK 138 (MUSD 15.3) by the end of 2025, with organic growth of more than 30 percent. "During the last few years, we have strengthened our value proposition and profitability in our guarding business, developed a globally leading position in technology and built a more modern and digital business. As the threat landscape becomes more dynamic, we see a growing need from our clients for digital risk intelligence solutions that enable more proactive security programs. Having partnered with Liferaft for five years, we know their capabilities well and see a strong strategic and cultural fit, as well as the significant intellectual property (IP) their solutions bring to our portfolio", says Magnus Ahlqvist, Securitas President and CEO. "The acquisition creates significant opportunities to apply Liferaft's threat-intelligence capabilities and proprietary IP across our client base. It also contributes to the development of a more scalable Securitas and strengthens the growth of our high-margin recurring monthly revenue business, which today exceeds BSEK 1", concludes Magnus Ahlqvist. Liferaft's flagship platform delivers continuous, automated aggregation of threat data through 24/7 monitoring of global public sources. The solution empowers clients to maintain a dynamic view of their specific threat landscape. Advanced analytics and visualization capabilities allow security teams to validate intelligence rapidly, collaborate seamlessly, and distribute findings across the enterprise. The platform also provides real-time risk alerts, ensuring that relevant stakeholders are immediately informed of potential threats. The acquisition is expected to be finalized during the first half year of 2026 and is subject to customary closing conditions. Further information: Investors: Micaela Sjokvist, VP IR, [email protected], +46 76-1167443 Media: Carin Andersson, VP Group Communications, [email protected], +46 10 4703020 This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/securitas/r/securitas-acquires-liferaft--a-leading-saas-threat-intelligence-platform-provider,c4302152 The following files are available for download: SOURCE Securitas Trading Symbol: TSX/NYSE American: SVM VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - Silvercorp Metals Inc. ("Silvercorp" or the "Company") (TSX: SVM) (NYSE American: SVM) (the "Company") announces the filing of its Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Condor gold project (the "Project") in Ecuador titled: "Independent Technical Report for the Condor Gold Project, Zamora Chinchipe Province, Ecuador" (the "Technical Report"). The Technical Report is effective November 30, 2025 and was prepared by SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc. The Technical Report was prepared in accordance with the Canadian Securities Administrators' National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") and can be found on the Company's website at www.silvercorpmetals.com and under the Company's profile at www.sedarplus.ca and EDGAR at www.sec.gov/edgar. Qualified Persons The qualified persons for the Technical Report are Mr. Mark Wanless, FGSSA, Pr.Sci.Nat, Principal Geologist with SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc., Mr. Benny Zhang, M.Eng., P.Eng., Principal Mining Engineer with SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc., Mr. Sean Kautzman, P.Eng, Principal Mining Engineer with SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc., Dr. Jianhui Huang, Ph.D., P.Eng , Principal Process Engineer with Tetra Tech Canada Inc., Dr. Jinxing Ji, P.Eng., Metallurgist with JJ Metallurgical Services, Mr. Chris Johns, P.Eng, Principal Geotechnical Engineer with Tetra Tech Canada Inc. and Mr. Mark Liskowich, PGeo, associate Principal Environmental Consultant SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc. The specific sections for which each qualified person is responsible will be outlined in the Technical Report. All such qualified persons have reviewed the technical content relevant to the sections of the Technical Report for which they are responsible included in this news release for the deposit at the Project and have approved its dissemination. This news release has been reviewed and approved by Guoliang Ma, P. Geo., Manager of Exploration and Resource of the Company who is the designated qualified person for the Company. About Silvercorp Silvercorp is a Canadian mining company producing silver, gold, lead, and zinc with a long history of profitability and growth potential. The Company's strategy is to create shareholder value by 1) focusing on generating free cash flow from long life mines; 2) organic growth through extensive drilling for discovery; 3) ongoing merger and acquisition efforts to unlock value; and 4) long term commitment to responsible mining and ESG. For more information, please visit our website at www.silvercorpmetals.com . For further information Silvercorp Metals Inc. Lon Shaver, President Phone: (604) 669-9397 Toll Free 1(888) 224-1881 Email: [email protected] Website: www.silvercorpmetals.com SOURCE Silvercorp Metals Inc. The collaboration positions the UAE as a global leader in conservation, driving pioneering initiatives in science, biodiversity, and the safeguarding of life on Earth DUBAI, UAE, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The UAE today announced a major initiative with Colossal Biosciences to advance global conservation, biodiversity, and scientific research. The collaboration will support pioneering work in environmental protection, de-extinction, and knowledge-driven solutions to safeguard life on Earth. Dubai Future Foundation showcases a pop-up preview of the Colossal BioVault at the World Governments Summit in Dubai (Credit: Museum of the Future). This collaboration represents a major step forward in advancing global conservation and biotechnology, supporting biodiversity and species preservation worldwide. It underscores both the UAE's and Colossal's commitment to advancing science, sustainability, and ecological resilience across the Middle East, Africa and beyond. This will further position the nation as a regional and global leader in conservation and knowledge-driven solutions. As part of this initiative, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the UAE, has directed that a laboratory and Colossal BioVault be established as a permanent feature at Dubai's Museum of the Future in partnership with Colossal. The museum is a center for innovation and knowledge in Dubai, it will further serve as a hub for scientific research and the preservation of life, providing scientists, researchers, and innovators with a platform to explore cutting-edge technologies and ideas that address global challenges in biodiversity and conservation. "I believe the future belongs to those who harness technology and innovation to address our greatest challenges," said Museum of the Future, Executive Director, Majed Al Mansoori "By working with Colossal Biosciences, leaders in synthetic biology and conservation, we are taking a bold step to advance science that safeguards our planet, restores ecosystems, and builds a sustainable legacy for future generations. In its first year, the initiative will prioritize fieldwork and DNA research across species, laying the scientific groundwork for future biodiversity protection and conservation. This reflects the Museum of the Future's long-standing commitment to environmental protection and reinforces our role in advancing scientific progress and shaping the future of life on Earth," he added. The Colossal BioVault and World Preservation Lab is a nine-figure initiative in the UAE. In addition, the UAE led an initial contribution to Colossal as part of an expansion of the company's most recent funding round. Additional funding rounds may take place in the future and will be disclosed at the appropriate times. The announcement comes as the Museum of the Future participates in the World Governments Summit in Dubai, showcasing a shared vision for transformative technologies, including a preview of the temporary World Preservation Lab and Colossal BioVault exhibition currently under development, with Colossal engaging with global leaders at the event. By 2050, nearly half of Earth's species could face extinction, threatening biodiversity, human well-being, and global economic stability. This project addresses this crisis by creating a secure, collaborative, and scalable backup system to preserve life on Earth. "The UAE's deep commitment to innovation, conservation and technological advancement is truly inspiring," said Ben Lamm, Co-Founder and CEO of Colossal Biosciences. "Through this visionary partnership, Colossal has the opportunity to expand into a critical region and advance our mission on a global scale. We are losing species at an alarming rate, and the world urgently needs a distributed network of global BioVaultsa true backup plan for life on Earth. Today's biobanking efforts are underfunded, fragmented, and often inaccessible, lacking the collaboration and international support that this crisis demands. Thanks to the visionary leadership of the UAE, Colossal is now creating the world's first Colossal BioVault: an unprecedented global resource, a modern-day Noah's Ark for protecting and restoring life on our planet. We are excited to build on this relationship and pioneering bold new solutions to safeguard biodiversity for generations to come." The Colossal BioVault is a first-of-its-kind, research-driven facility preserving genetic material from thousands of species. It will house millions of samples representing more than 10,000 species, with initial focus on the 100 most imperiled species not currently banked elsewhere. The technology brings automated robotics, AI-powered monitoring, and proprietary cryopreservation and reanimation tools together to ensure samples are tracked, accessed, and preserved with precision. The Colossal BioVault will generate genomic data and projections that inform long term biodiversity planning, create reference genomes, and advance conservation research and long-term biodiversity planning worldwide. Using Colossal's innovative technology the Colossal BioVault will provide: House the Cradle of Life : Protect over 10,000 species and hold more than a million samples, focusing initially on the world's 100 most imperiled species : Protect over 10,000 species and hold more than a million samples, focusing initially on the world's 100 most imperiled species Genetic Diversity Mapping : Collect multiple samples from species to capture population-wide variation : Collect multiple samples from species to capture population-wide variation Open Data Initiative: Share data openly by making all non-proprietary information available to scientists worldwide Share data openly by making all non-proprietary information available to scientists worldwide Global BioVault Network: Build a global network of Colossal BioVaults across multiple countries safeguarding endangered and keystone species starting in Dubai and the UAE Build a global network of Colossal BioVaults across multiple countries safeguarding endangered and keystone species starting in and the UAE Advance Genomic Research : Build high-quality reference genomes for understudied species : Build high-quality reference genomes for understudied species Redundant Backup System: Establish secure storage with redundant backup sites around the world Establish secure storage with redundant backup sites around the world Advance the Mission: Invite visitors to take part in the mission, becoming co-custodians of biodiversity, citizen scientists and advocates for its future Dubai's Museum of the Future, a global center for innovation and technology, looks to tackle the world's most pressing challenges. This experience will allow visitors to engage directly with the living process of preservation. Visitors will witness scientists working in real time, receiving tissue samples from the field, sequencing DNA and cryopreserving cell lines to help build a bank of the world's most threatened species. As a fully operational research environment, it will activate citizen scientists through immersive experiences, offering accessible scientific learning and direct interaction with live laboratories and robotic systems that connect visitors to real, ongoing research. ABOUT COLOSSAL BIOSCIENCES Colossal was founded by emerging technology and software entrepreneur Ben Lamm and world-renowned geneticist and serial biotech entrepreneur George Church, Ph.D., and is the first to apply CRISPR technology for the purposes of species de-extinction. Colossal creates innovative technologies for species restoration, critically endangered species protection and the repopulation of critical ecosystems that support the continuation of life on Earth. Colossal is accepting humanity's duty to restore Earth to a healthier state, while also solving for the future economies and biological necessities of the human condition through cutting-edge science and technologies. To follow along, please visit: www.colossal.com. ABOUT THE MUSEUM OF THE FUTURE The Museum of the Future is the first museum of its kind. Built to transform the very perception of the future as we know it, the unique structure has become home to several immersive future environments that aim to position visitors in an empowering version of the future. Through distinctive themes, it elicits a world we thought we could only experience years from now. Visitors become active participants in an expansive experience that taps into all five senses. The museum inspires humanity to re-imagine the future and all its possibilities. One of the most complex and ambitious projects ever executed, with an instantly iconic inimitable exterior. Rising 77-metres above the ground and comprising 1,024 unique stainless steel composite panels, the facade is adorned in Arabic calligraphy, displaying three quotes written by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai. WEBSITE & SOCIALS Websites: www.colossal.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colossal/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@colossal Twitter: https://x.com/colossal LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/colossal/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itiscolossal TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@colossal BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/itiscolossal.bsky.social SOURCE Colossal Biosciences MARIEHAMN, Finland, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Viking Line is starting 2026 by renewing its offer of travel and transport powered by a high share of renewable European biogas. After multiplying the use of biofuel tenfold last year, the Aland-based shipping company has now secured another year at the same ambitious level. The biogas is used alongside liquefied natural gas on the company's newest ships, Viking Glory and Viking Grace, which operate daily between Turku and Stockholm. This combination results in very low sulphur and particle emissions, as well as a greatly reduced climate footprint. "Last year, our greenhouse gas emissions on Glory and Grace were reduced by nearly 50,000 tonnes. For the first half of 2026, we have secured 50 percent biogas to cover our fuel needs, and our ambition is to maintain a high level throughout the entire year," says Dani Lindberg, Head of Sustainability at Viking Line. By choosing Viking Lines vessels on the Turku - Stockholm route, passenger and freight customers influence the amount of biogas used in ship operations and thereby directly contribute to further emission reductions in the Baltic Sea. Viking Line has been developing a green shipping corridor between Turku and Stockholm in cooperation with Ports of Stockholm and yhe Port of Turku. The objective is for the corridor to be completely fossil-free by 2035. "Globally, there is no lack of initiatives to create fossil-free sea lanes, but most are still in the planning stages. Our investment in biogas and energy-efficient vessels is one of the clearest and largest-scale examples of how shipping can transition in practice," says Marcus Risberg, CEO of Viking Line. More information: Dani Lindberg, Head of Sustainability Viking Line, [email protected], +358 18 27 000 Johanna Boijer-Svahnstrom, SVP, Corporate Communications, Landbased HR, Sustainability Viking Line, [email protected], +358 18 27000 This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/viking-line-abp/r/viking-line-continues-its-major-investment-in-biogas,c4296709 The following files are available for download: About this content About Jamie Ashcroft Jamie Ashcroft, the News Editor for Proactive UK, has developed an impressive career in financial journalism, focusing on the small-cap sector for over fourteen years. Before joining the Proactive team, he was a stockbroker during the global financial crisis, a role that complemented his educational background - a first-class degree in Business and Economics and qualifications in software design and development. As one of the early external hires at Proactive in 2009, Jamie contributed... Read more About the publisher Proactive financial news and online broadcast teams provide fast, accessible, informative and actionable business and finance news content to a global investment audience. All our content is produced independently by our experienced and qualified teams of news journalists. Proactive news team spans the worlds key finance and investing hubs with bureaus and studios in London, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney and Perth. We are experts in medium and small-cap markets, we also keep our community up to date with blue-chip companies, commodities and broader investment stories. This is content that excites and engages motivated private investors. The team delivers news and unique insights across the market including but not confined to: biotech and pharma, mining and natural resources, battery metals, oil and gas, crypto and emerging digital and EV technologies. Use of technology Proactive has always been a forward looking and enthusiastic technology adopter. Our human content creators are equipped with many decades of valuable expertise and experience. The team also has access to and use technologies to assist and enhance workflows. Proactive will on occasion use automation and software tools, including generative AI. Nevertheless, all content published by Proactive is edited and authored by humans, in line with best practice in regard to content production and search engine optimisation. TOKYO, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- The defense team for Tetsuya Yamagami, the man sentenced to life imprisonment for the fatal shooting of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, has decided to appeal the ruling, Japan's public broadcaster NHK reported on Tuesday. The Nara District Court on Jan. 21 handed down a life sentence for Yamagami, 45, who was convicted of murder and other charges for shooting Abe with a homemade gun in July 2022 while the former leader was delivering a campaign speech on a street in Nara. With the deadline to file an appeal approaching on Wednesday, the defense has finalized its plan to challenge the verdict, NHK reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. Yamagami admitted to murdering Abe during his trial at the Nara District Court, saying that he committed the crime due to a grudge he held against the Unification Church because his family suffered financial ruin due to his mother's large donations to the religious group, which he believed had close ties to Abe and other Japanese politicians. Yamagami's defense had called for a prison term of no more than 20 years, arguing that he was a victim of a religious group's harm and that his "tragic" upbringing motivated him to kill Abe. Meanwhile, the Nara District Court ruled that his upbringing and circumstances could not be said to have had a decisive impact on the crime. About this content About Ian Lyall Ian Lyall, a seasoned journalist and editor, brings over three decades of experience to his role as Managing Editor at Proactive. Overseeing Proactive's editorial and broadcast operations across six offices on three continents, Ian is responsible for quality control, editorial policy, and content production. He directs the creation of 50,000 pieces of real-time news, feature articles, and filmed interviews annually. Prior to Proactive, Ian helped lead the business output at the Daily... Read more About the publisher Proactive financial news and online broadcast teams provide fast, accessible, informative and actionable business and finance news content to a global investment audience. All our content is produced independently by our experienced and qualified teams of news journalists. Proactive news team spans the worlds key finance and investing hubs with bureaus and studios in London, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney and Perth. We are experts in medium and small-cap markets, we also keep our community up to date with blue-chip companies, commodities and broader investment stories. This is content that excites and engages motivated private investors. The team delivers news and unique insights across the market including but not confined to: biotech and pharma, mining and natural resources, battery metals, oil and gas, crypto and emerging digital and EV technologies. Use of technology Proactive has always been a forward looking and enthusiastic technology adopter. Our human content creators are equipped with many decades of valuable expertise and experience. The team also has access to and use technologies to assist and enhance workflows. Proactive will on occasion use automation and software tools, including generative AI. Nevertheless, all content published by Proactive is edited and authored by humans, in line with best practice in regard to content production and search engine optimisation. About this content About Angela Harmantas Angela Harmantas is an Editor at Proactive. She has over 15 years of experience covering the equity markets in North America, with a particular focus on junior resource stocks. Angela has reported from numerous countries around the world, including Canada, the US, Australia, Brazil, Ghana, and South Africa for leading trade publications. Previously, she worked in investor relations and led the foreign direct investment program in Canada for the Swedish government. She earned a Bachelor of... Read more About the publisher Proactive financial news and online broadcast teams provide fast, accessible, informative and actionable business and finance news content to a global investment audience. All our content is produced independently by our experienced and qualified teams of news journalists. Proactive news team spans the worlds key finance and investing hubs with bureaus and studios in London, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney and Perth. We are experts in medium and small-cap markets, we also keep our community up to date with blue-chip companies, commodities and broader investment stories. This is content that excites and engages motivated private investors. The team delivers news and unique insights across the market including but not confined to: biotech and pharma, mining and natural resources, battery metals, oil and gas, crypto and emerging digital and EV technologies. Use of technology Proactive has always been a forward looking and enthusiastic technology adopter. Our human content creators are equipped with many decades of valuable expertise and experience. The team also has access to and use technologies to assist and enhance workflows. Proactive will on occasion use automation and software tools, including generative AI. Nevertheless, all content published by Proactive is edited and authored by humans, in line with best practice in regard to content production and search engine optimisation. About this content About Jonathan Jackson Jonathan Jackson is an experienced writer and editor. Over the past 20 years, he has worked in print and digital media across several business and finance titles amd is currently the Australian news editor at Proactive Investors covering the latest news for ASX listed companies as well as current financial trends. He was previously managing editor with Business First magazine, Wealth Creator Magazine and StocksDigital. Jonathan has interviewed some of the world's top CEOs and covered... Read more About the publisher Proactive financial news and online broadcast teams provide fast, accessible, informative and actionable business and finance news content to a global investment audience. All our content is produced independently by our experienced and qualified teams of news journalists. Proactive news team spans the worlds key finance and investing hubs with bureaus and studios in London, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney and Perth. We are experts in medium and small-cap markets, we also keep our community up to date with blue-chip companies, commodities and broader investment stories. This is content that excites and engages motivated private investors. The team delivers news and unique insights across the market including but not confined to: biotech and pharma, mining and natural resources, battery metals, oil and gas, crypto and emerging digital and EV technologies. Use of technology Proactive has always been a forward looking and enthusiastic technology adopter. Our human content creators are equipped with many decades of valuable expertise and experience. The team also has access to and use technologies to assist and enhance workflows. Proactive will on occasion use automation and software tools, including generative AI. Nevertheless, all content published by Proactive is edited and authored by humans, in line with best practice in regard to content production and search engine optimisation. BMG Resources Ltd has lined up $2.5 million in new equity funding at $0.021 a share, with Tribeca Investment Partners to take a cornerstone position as the company looks to ramp up drilling across its Western Australian gold portfolio. Under the placement, BMG will issue 119,047,619 new shares in 2 tranches. Tranche 1 totals 73,500,000 shares and is expected to settle on February 10, 2026 with quotation from February 11, 2026, while the remaining 45,547,619 shares in Tranche 2 will be subject to shareholder approval at a general meeting expected in mid-March 2026. The placement, which follows what BMG described as unsolicited demand, will fund an upsized 10,000 metre drill program at the companys Abercromby gold project aimed at expanding its maiden mineral resource estimate of 11.12 Mt at 1.45 g/t gold for 518,000 oz. The Abercromby mineralisation remains open in all directions and less than 20% of the 6-kilometre prospective stratigraphy has been tested, underpinning its rationale for stepping up drilling. The company also flagged a scoping study for a potential low-capex, fast-payback mining proposal at Abercromby, due for completion in Q1 2026, alongside ongoing discussions around toll treatment. At BMG, we have remained sharply focused on Western Australian gold an investment class that is now one of the best performing in global resources," John Prineas, BMGs non-executive Chairman, said. We thank investors for recognising the enormous value upside at our projects and supporting our plans for upsized drilling and exploration programs which have potential to deliver enormous value for shareholders." Bullabulling plans and placement timetable The placement proceeds will also support drilling at BMG's 100%-owned Bullabulling project, which sits adjacent to the Bullabulling gold mine controlled by Mi6. BMG pointed to Mi6s recent resource growth at the neighbouring operationfrom 2.3 million oz to 4.5 million oz within 12 months of drillingas evidence of broader prospectivity in the Coolgardie mineral field, and said it interprets Bullabulling gold lodes as extending into its tenure. Map showing the three areas of BMGs Bullabulling Project and the adjacent Bullabulling Gold Mine of Mi6. Alongside the capital raise, BMG has appointed Ben Pollard as chief executive officer, effective February 1, 2026. Pollard has more than 25 years experience across WA gold exploration and mining and has previously worked with groups including Barrick, Placer Dome, Harmony Gold and New Hampton Goldfields. The Board is delighted to appoint Ben Pollard as CEO to drive the next phase of BMGs growth. Ben has deep experience in the WA gold sector with a rare blend of exploration, development and operational capability proven across multiple gold projects for more than 25 years," Prineas said. Bens extensive field experience in WA and handson leadership style positions him exceptionally well to lead BMGs expansion plans as we ramp up work programs across our WA gold portfolio. Pollard has been providing consulting services to the company as exploration manager since 2020. I am excited to be taking the lead at BMG at this pivotal time for the company," Pollard said. With new funding secured, we are ready to hit the ground running in 2026. Expansion and resource definition at Abercromby will commence shortly, while at Bullabulling we will do work to refine targets ahead of a major drill campaign in Q2. I look forward to working with the team to unlock significant value for our shareholders. About BMG BMG is advancing its 100%-owned project portfolio across established and emerging gold and lithium districts in Western Australia, including Abercromby, Invincible, Bullabulling and South Boddington. Abercromby: core asset The companys flagship Abercromby project sits within the Agnew-Wiluna Greenstone Belt. BMG is pursuing a dual-track approach, progressing resource growth at the Capital prospectwhere the mineral resource stands at 11.1 Mt at 1.45 g/t gold for 518,000 ozand running regional exploration programs south of Capital targeting additional Capital-style mineralisation. Key points: High-grade gold project with open-pit potential Mineral resource at Capital of 11.1 Mt at 1.45 g/t gold for 518,000 oz Metallurgy work has indicated ore is free-milling Regional target pipeline suggests potential repetitions of Capital-style mineralisation Invincible: gold targets with lithium optionality BMGs Invincible project covers more than 12.5 kilometres of the eastern extension of the Warrawoona Shear Zone, which hosts Calidus Resources growing 1.5 million oz gold resource. BMG has identified multiple high-priority gold targets and is also assessing lithium potential. Key points: 12.5km extension of the Warrawoona Shear Zone Proximal to Calidus Resources 1.5 million oz gold resource Multiple priority gold targets identified Lithium potential under review Bullabulling: lithium and gold focus At Bullabulling, BMG has confirmed LCT pegmatites and outlined high-priority lithium and gold targets. The company flagged nearby lithium endowment, including the Mt Marion mine (71.3 Mt at 1.37% Li2O) and the Pioneer Dome deposit (11.2 Mt at 1.21% Li2O). Key points: Confirmed LCT pegmatites Priority lithium and gold targets defined Located in a region hosting Mt Marion and Pioneer Dome lithium resources South Boddington: underexplored ground near a major deposit BMGs South Boddington project covers underexplored tenure along strike from the Boddington deposit, described as a more than 40 million oz gold system. Exploration licences have been granted, with additional applications in progress. Key points: CuFe Ltd, Emmerson Resources Ltd and Tennant Minerals Ltd have secured $600,000 in matched grant funding from the Northern Territory and Federal Governments to progress a feasibility study into a multi-user minerals processing facility in the Tennant Creek region. The funding, awarded to the Tennant Creek Copper Alliance (TCCA) formed by the companies and announced in October 2024 will support a study examining the potential establishment of a critical and other valuable minerals processing plant designed to service multiple users and provide a pathway toward development of the alliance members existing and future mineral resources in the area. Grant funding totals $600,000 and comprises equal contributions from the Federal Government, through the Critical Minerals National Productivity Initiative, and the Northern Territory Government via the Department of Trade, Business and Asian Relations. TCCA members will match the government contribution and meet additional costs required to complete the feasibility study. Tennant Creek District showing the location of the CuFe, Tennant Minerals and 100% Emmersons Projects. Study scope targets June 2026 completion and multi-user plant options Due for completion by June 2026, the study will assess plant configuration options and associated capital and operating costs, as well as site selection and stakeholder engagement requirements. It will also consider infrastructure needs including power, water, accommodation, workforce and transport along with potential end products, market potential over the facility life, environmental approvals and permitting, and logistics required to support operations. Ownership and governance structures, including funding arrangements and third-party access models, will also be examined. The alliance said the outcomes are expected to provide key inputs into feasibility assessments for each members individual development projects. In a joint statement, CuFe executive director Mark Hancock, Emmerson managing director Mike Dunbar, and Tennant Minerals general manager Chris Ramsay said: Since forming the Tennant Creek Copper Alliance, the partners have continued to make strong progress on their respective projects that will underpin the proposed processing plant. CuFe has announced significant increases to its Gecko and Orlando Mineral Resources, Tennant Minerals has reported its maiden Mineral Resource for Bluebird, and Emmerson continues to deliver exciting drilling results from the Hermitage deposit. In addition to copper, CUFs Gecko and Orlando resources, and the TMS Bluebird resource, all contain the critical mineral bismuth, as well as the high-value precious metals gold and silver. Copper, gold and silver have each seen major price increases over the last 12 months. Tennant Creek is also a historic producer of bismuth and remains one of the few areas in Australia hosting commercial deposits of this important mineral, which appears on the critical minerals lists of major Western economies and is currently subject to stockpiling in the United States. The approval of this grant funding to support the feasibility study on a multi-user critical and other valuable metals production facility represents a strong vote of confidence in the potential economic and social benefits that these projects could deliver to Tennant Creek and the broader Northern Territory. If successfully developed, a shared processing facility would significantly reduce the capital costs and environmental footprints of the projects compared to stand-alone plants, and provide a more efficient, cost-effective pathway to development for future discoveries. Northern Territory Minister for Trade, Business and Asian Relations Robyn Cahill OAM said: The Barkly region is home to some of Australias largest deposits of critical minerals, it is therefore important that we have the right infrastructure in place to support industry and to extract the maximum social and economic benefit for the Territory. The feasibility study is an important piece of work that will enhance the Northern Territorys capacity to process critical minerals and attract new investment. The Northern Territory Government is supporting the future development of supply chain infrastructure to help unlock the economic potential of our local mining sector and support the Territorys leading role in driving economic growth and unlocking projects of strategic national significance. Minister for Mining and Energy Gerard Maley said: The feasibility study marks another step forward for Tennant Creek and the Northern Territorys critical minerals future. This study is about unlocking the next chapter of mining in Tennant Creek by looking at how a common-user processing facility could reduce costs, attract new investment and make smaller and more complex deposits commercially viable. A shared processing facility has the potential to strengthen the Territorys mining sector, encourage exploration and help position the Northern Territory as a key player in Australias critical minerals supply chain. About this content About Kerry Stevenson Kerry Stevenson joins Proactive Australia's broadcast team part time. As the Managing Director of Gold Events Kerry has been hosting the annual Australian Gold Conference for over 14 years, connecting industry and investment professionals and showcasing the value of precious metals. Kerry is passionate about helping others to secure a safe and solid future by understanding money, finance, and strategy. That is why she created the Making Money Matter channel on YouTube, where... Read more About the publisher Proactive financial news and online broadcast teams provide fast, accessible, informative and actionable business and finance news content to a global investment audience. All our content is produced independently by our experienced and qualified teams of news journalists. Proactive news team spans the worlds key finance and investing hubs with bureaus and studios in London, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney and Perth. We are experts in medium and small-cap markets, we also keep our community up to date with blue-chip companies, commodities and broader investment stories. This is content that excites and engages motivated private investors. The team delivers news and unique insights across the market including but not confined to: biotech and pharma, mining and natural resources, battery metals, oil and gas, crypto and emerging digital and EV technologies. Use of technology Proactive has always been a forward looking and enthusiastic technology adopter. Our human content creators are equipped with many decades of valuable expertise and experience. The team also has access to and use technologies to assist and enhance workflows. Proactive will on occasion use automation and software tools, including generative AI. Nevertheless, all content published by Proactive is edited and authored by humans, in line with best practice in regard to content production and search engine optimisation. About this content About Proactive Proactive leads the world in up-to-the-minute, multi-media news provision, events organisation, investor relations management and investor research Read more About the publisher Proactive financial news and online broadcast teams provide fast, accessible, informative and actionable business and finance news content to a global investment audience. All our content is produced independently by our experienced and qualified teams of news journalists. Proactive news team spans the worlds key finance and investing hubs with bureaus and studios in London, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney and Perth. We are experts in medium and small-cap markets, we also keep our community up to date with blue-chip companies, commodities and broader investment stories. This is content that excites and engages motivated private investors. The team delivers news and unique insights across the market including but not confined to: biotech and pharma, mining and natural resources, battery metals, oil and gas, crypto and emerging digital and EV technologies. Use of technology Proactive has always been a forward looking and enthusiastic technology adopter. Our human content creators are equipped with many decades of valuable expertise and experience. The team also has access to and use technologies to assist and enhance workflows. Proactive will on occasion use automation and software tools, including generative AI. Nevertheless, all content published by Proactive is edited and authored by humans, in line with best practice in regard to content production and search engine optimisation. A near 7% after-hours surge has steadied a stock that rattled tech portfolios last week. For UK investors holding Palantir via homegrown and US tech funds and ETFs, the rebound answers one question but raises several others. Shares in Palantir Technologies Inc jumped sharply after the company beat Wall Street expectations, restoring confidence after a bruising wobble that had left the stock looking vulnerable. The numbers were strong. The context is more complicated. Below is what actually happened, why the market liked it, and what it means if you own the shares indirectly or directly from the UK. A clean earnings beat after a messy week Palantir reported $1.41 billion of revenue for the final quarter of 2025, comfortably ahead of forecasts. Earnings per share also came in above expectations. Investors responded quickly, pushing the stock up almost 7% in after-hours trading. That reaction matters because Palantir had been under pressure. The shares had fallen hard the previous week amid renewed scrutiny of its work with US immigration and homeland security agencies. For a stock that already polarises opinion, sentiment was fragile. This earnings release stopped the slide. Government contracts are the growth engine The key number for investors was not overall revenue but government revenue, which rose 66% year-on-year to $570 million. Nearly three-quarters of Palantirs sales now come from US federal contracts. Its largest customer remains the US Department of Defense, but the company also works extensively with the Department of Homeland Security and immigration enforcement agencies. In 2025, total US federal contracts climbed to more than $970m, almost double the year before. On the earnings call, chief executive Alex Karp described the quarter as one of the truly iconic performances in the history of corporate performance, arguing that Palantir is deeply embedded in mission-critical government operations. Markets tend to like that kind of revenue visibility. Politics is no longer a side issue Palantirs growth is tightly linked to the Trump administrations expanded spending on immigration enforcement, detention and surveillance. A major funding bill passed last year allocated tens of billions of dollars to these efforts. That link is now impossible to ignore. Civil liberties groups argue Palantirs software enables mass surveillance and deportation targeting. The company rejects that characterisation, saying its tools enforce legal and constitutional safeguards and do not create master databases. For investors, the immediate question is not moral judgment but risk. Political exposure cuts both ways. A supportive administration can accelerate growth quickly. A hostile one can slow contracts, trigger investigations or damage long-term reputation. What this means Most UK retail investors will not hold Palantir directly. Exposure is more likely to come through US tech funds, growth ETFs, or global equity funds inside ISAs and SIPPs. Heres how to think about it: Short term: The earnings beat and after-hours jump reduce the risk of a near-term derating. Fund managers who were trimming exposure may pause. Medium term: Palantir increasingly looks like a government defence and security contractor, not a conventional enterprise software firm. That changes how it should be valued and where it fits in a portfolio. Long term: Growth is heavily dependent on US federal spending priorities. That concentration risk is real, even if current momentum is strong. For UK investors used to thinking of tech as cloud platforms or consumer software, Palantir sits in a different bucket. It behaves less like a Silicon Valley growth stock and more like a politically sensitive infrastructure supplier. The bottom line Palantirs results were genuinely strong, and the share price reaction reflects that. The rebound has stabilised tech-heavy portfolios that took a knock last week. But this is not a simple AI growth story. Palantirs future returns are now deeply entangled with US politics, defence budgets and immigration policy. UK investors holding it via funds should be clear-eyed about that exposure. The market has renewed faith in the numbers. It has not resolved the controversy. A reveler poses at the St. Mark's Square during the Venice Carnival 2026 in Venice, Italy, Feb. 1, 2026. (Xinhua/Li Jing) A drone photo shows villagers watching a traditional water-town opera performance at Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 2, 2026. As the Chinese New Year approaches, Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou City has held a series of festive activities, recreating traditional Chinese New Year customs of a water town and creating a joyful atmosphere for the upcoming holiday. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) A full snow moon is seen next to the Sacre Coeur Basilica at sunrise in Montmartre, Paris, France, Feb. 2, 2026. (Photo by Aurelien Morissard/Xinhua) Laura Fernandez attends a celebration event in San Jose, Costa Rica, Feb. 1, 2026. Laura Fernandez, the Sovereign People Party candidate, celebrated on Sunday her victory of Costa Rica's presidential election alongside supporters at a hotel in downtown San Jose. (Photo by Francisco Canedo/Xinhua) Carlos Alcaraz of Spain poses with the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup during the 2026 Australian Open men's champion media opportunity at the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne, Australia, Feb. 2, 2026. (Photo by Hu Jingchen/Xinhua) A military band performs during the 32nd National Heroes' Day commemoration at the National Heroes Mausoleum in Remera Sector, Gasabo District of Kigali, Rwanda, Feb. 1, 2026. (Photo by Cyril Ndegeya/Xinhua) Passengers are seen at Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 2, 2026. China ushered in its largest annual population migration on Monday, 15 days ahead of the 2026 Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese New Year. A total of 9.5 billion passenger trips are expected during this year's travel rush period that will end on March 13, which will be a historic high. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu) A drone photo taken on Jan. 13, 2026 shows a ship under construction at a factory of Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry (Yangzhou) Co., Ltd. in Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province. China's shipbuilding industry maintained the world's largest market share in terms of three major indicators for the 16th consecutive year in 2025, according to data released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Sunday. The country's shipbuilding output reached 53.69 million deadweight tonnes (DWT) in 2025, up 11.4 percent year on year and accounting for 56.1 percent of the global total. New orders reached 107.82 million DWT last year, representing a 69 percent share of the global market. As of the end of December 2025, the sector's holding orders stood at 274.42 million DWT, up 31.5 percent from the previous year. This volume accounted for 66.8 percent of the global market share. (Photo by Meng Delong/Xinhua) People watch a lion dance performance during a parade celebrating the upcoming Chinese New Year on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris, France, Feb. 1, 2026. (Xinhua/Zhang Baihui) About this content About Emily Jarvie Emily began her career as a political journalist for Australian Community Media in Hobart, Tasmania. After she relocated to Toronto, Canada, she reported on business, legal, and scientific developments in the emerging psychedelics sector before joining Proactive in 2022. She brings a strong journalism background with her work featured in newspapers, magazines, and digital publications across Australia, Europe, and North America, including The Examiner, The Advocate, The Canberra Times, and... Read more About the publisher Proactive financial news and online broadcast teams provide fast, accessible, informative and actionable business and finance news content to a global investment audience. All our content is produced independently by our experienced and qualified teams of news journalists. Proactive news team spans the worlds key finance and investing hubs with bureaus and studios in London, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney and Perth. We are experts in medium and small-cap markets, we also keep our community up to date with blue-chip companies, commodities and broader investment stories. This is content that excites and engages motivated private investors. The team delivers news and unique insights across the market including but not confined to: biotech and pharma, mining and natural resources, battery metals, oil and gas, crypto and emerging digital and EV technologies. Use of technology Proactive has always been a forward looking and enthusiastic technology adopter. Our human content creators are equipped with many decades of valuable expertise and experience. The team also has access to and use technologies to assist and enhance workflows. Proactive will on occasion use automation and software tools, including generative AI. Nevertheless, all content published by Proactive is edited and authored by humans, in line with best practice in regard to content production and search engine optimisation. If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here Jaipur, Feb 3 : In a major crackdown on drug trafficking, the Police in Rajasthan's Nagaur have recovered MD (mephedrone) worth Rs 1.35 crore during a high-profile raid carried out under 'Operation Neelkanth'. The operation was led by Nagaur Superintendent of Police (SP) Mridul Kachhawa and executed by the Khinvsar police station and the District Special Team (DST), police said on Monday. According to SP Kachhawa, the police had received confidential inputs that Shravanram Bishnoi, a resident of Panchlasiddha village, was operating a large-scale drug network from his residence. Acting swiftly on the information, a police team under the supervision of Additional Superintendent of Police Asharam Chaudhary and IPS officer Jatin Jain conducted a raid on the suspect's house. Sensing police presence, the main accused Shravanram Bishnoi managed to flee from the spot. However, during an intensive search of the premises, the police recovered 670 grams of illegal MD drugs concealed in a specially constructed secret chamber beneath the bathroom floor. The seized contraband is estimated to be worth Rs 1.35 crore in the illegal market. In addition to the drugs, the police also seized Rs 11.23 lakh in cash, suspected to be proceeds from narcotics trafficking. Two diaries containing detailed records of hawala transactions amounting to crores of rupees were also recovered, indicating the accused's involvement in a wider financial network linked to the drug trade. During the raid, the police arrested the accused's wife, Pooja Bishnoi (23), from the house. A case has been registered under relevant sections of the NDPS Act, and further investigation is underway. Multiple police teams have been deployed to trace and arrest the absconding main accused. Khinvsar Station House Officer Ramnarayan Bhanwariya, along with the Nagaur DST, played a key role in the successful operation. The team included Head Constables Sohanram, Prakashram, Mancharam, and Constables Shravanram and Guttu. Police officials said further arrests and recoveries are likely as the investigation progresses. Washington, Feb 3 : The much awaited India-US trade agreement announced by President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi drew strong endorsement from Indian-American business leaders and mixed but largely constructive reactions from policy veterans, with supporters calling it a breakthrough and former officials urging caution as details remain unclear. Washington, Feb 3 (IANS) The much awaited IndiaUS trade agreement announced by President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi drew strong endorsement from Indian-American business leaders and mixed but largely constructive reactions from policy veterans, with supporters calling it a breakthrough and former officials urging caution as details remain unclear. Venture capitalist and Republican fundraiser Asha Jadeja Motwani said the deal was widely anticipated within Trump administration circles and described the outcome as a major success. "The trade deal was expected there was a very clear sense that a trade deal was happening in February," she told IANS in an interview. She was surprised it came even sooner, she noted. Jadeja Motwani said she was confident Prime Minister Modi would be open to restructuring India's energy sourcing. "I knew that Prime Minister Modi would be open to a trade deal that allows him to swap out oil from the Russian oil for US oil or US allied oil," she said, calling the resulting tariff outcome "absolutely as good as it gets." She said Washington now views India as "pivotal," citing energy, defense, and technology cooperation, and asserted that the relationship is firmly back on track. "It is completely back on track it's rock solid," she said, urging the private sector in both countries to move quickly on partnerships and commercial deals. Former US Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Trade Development Raymond Vickery offered a more cautious assessment, arguing the agreement primarily halts a period of deterioration in ties. "The major import of the deal is to stop the downward spiral in US-India relations," he told IANS, attributing recent strain to tariffs, visa issues, and other disputes. Vickery welcomed the tariff reduction "from the 25 to the 18 per cent" but stressed that critical details remain unknown. "Exactly what that covers and what it doesn't cover is not really known," he said, raising questions about claims that India had eliminated tariff and non-tariff barriers, particularly in sensitive sectors such as "agriculture, dairy pulses and grain." He also questioned headline figures cited by the administration, saying talk of $500 billion in additional purchases was "an extraordinary figure" given that annual bilateral trade currently stands at about $200 billion. Rick Rossow, Chair on India and Emerging Asia Economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said the agreement follows a year in which trade proved unexpectedly resilient despite steep tariffs. "Despite the fact that we've had hefty tariffs in place against imports for most of 2025, trade has proven to be actually remarkably resilient," Rossow told IANS, noting that growth of "about 16 per cent over the last year," helped by exclusions including pharmaceuticals. Rossow said there was "a bit of a slowdown in US-India trade in the closing months of the year," adding that Washington risked falling behind as India signed agreements with other partners. He described the current announcement as potentially a "first phase," saying it appeared to improve market access in India and restore US imports from India to "more normal" tariff levels. Republican leader from Ohio, Niraj Antani, welcomed the deal as a decisive step forward. "I think it's a great day for US-India relations as we have struck a trade deal," he said, pointing to reciprocal tariff reductions and India's move to halt Russian oil purchases. Antani said the reduction "right from 25 now down to 18 per cent" was central to India's interests and called the agreement mutually beneficial. "We want our two democracies to work together," he told IANS, adding that the deal ends a long-standing impasse that previous administrations had failed to resolve. Indian-American entrepreneur Yogi Chug said the agreement marked a turning point for the diaspora business community. "For many of us in the Indian-American business community, today's agreement is a real breakthrough," he told IANS, calling it "a strategic win that deepens trust at a moment when global competition is only getting sharper." India and the United States have spent years attempting to conclude a comprehensive trade framework, with negotiations repeatedly stalled by tariff disputes, market-access concerns, and political frictions. Despite those challenges, bilateral trade has continued to grow, reaching $ 200 billion. The announcement comes as both countries seek to align economic cooperation with broader strategic priorities, including energy security, critical minerals, defense and advanced technologies, with further clarity expected once the full text of the agreement is released. Washington, Feb 3 : US lawmakers from both parties welcomed the new trade deal between the United States and India, calling it a reset in ties between the world's two largest democracies and a boost for trade, energy security, and geopolitics. Indian American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi said the agreement marked an important shift after a difficult period. "The new USIndia trade deal is an important step forward for one of America's most vital partnerships," he told IANS. Krishnamoorthi said stronger trade with India would help both sides. "Deepening trade with India, a fellow democracy and strategic partner, will support workers, businesses, and innovation in both countries," he said. He added that the deal followed a phase when sweeping tariffs had "unnecessarily strain(ed) the relationship and harm(ed) both economies." The agreement, he said, allows both countries to "move past that chapter." US Senator Steve Daines called the deal a clear win. "Today's agreement is a tremendous step in the right direction, a win for all sides," Daines said, praising President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Daines said India's market access matters for the US economy. "India is the fourth largest economy in the world and increased access to its market will benefit the American economy, including American agriculture," he said. He also pointed to energy ties, saying India's decision to buy oil from the United States instead of Russia sends a strong global signal. He said more work remains on trade imbalances. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch said the agreement was a major achievement. "Congratulations to President Trump for a superb accomplishment," Risch said. He welcomed India's move to reduce trade barriers and called India a close US partner with a strong diaspora presence. Risch said the deal also has strategic value. He said India's pledge to buy American would help counter Russian aggression and support efforts to end the war in Ukraine by cutting support to Russia's energy sector. Senator Lindsey Graham linked the deal to pressure on Moscow. "Well played, President Trump," Graham said. He said forcing Russia's energy customers to rethink their choices was beginning to work. Graham said India had "more than earned this reduction" and said other countries buying Russian energy should follow India's lead. "Putin will only come to the table when the pain is so great," he said. The trade deal comes as Washington and New Delhi seek closer alignment on trade, energy and the Indo-Pacific. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text by Xinhua writers Ren Jun, Pang Yuanyuan, Xia Zilin BEIJING, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- "Stable and predictable, energetic and forward-looking," that was how Bill Winters, group chief executive of Standard Chartered, described the Chinese economy in a recent interview with Xinhua. "Especially in this world with growing uncertainty, I think stability is a very good thing," said Winters. The business leader was a member of a delegation led by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who paid a four-day official visit to China last week. Commenting on Starmer's visit to China, Winters said he was "delighted that the prime minister is making this trip." The visit provides a valuable opportunity to expand China-UK cooperation and promote trade in goods and services as well as two-way investment, he said, adding that he expects more British companies to seize opportunities in China and strengthen business ties. Winters expressed strong confidence in China's economic resilience and prospects, emphasizing the bank's commitment to seizing new opportunities and deepening its presence in the Chinese market. In his view, China's economic resilience is many years in the making, underpinned by the country's ongoing reconfiguration of supply chains and manufacturing through technological innovation, as well as the diversification of Chinese manufacturing both at home and abroad. He also touched on the country's policy stability. China has a policy response that is stable and predictable, which is very helpful in terms of generating resilience, he noted. In December last year, Standard Chartered raised its forecast for China's economic growth in 2026 by 0.3 percentage points. Winters explained that the revision was based on the bank's analysis of China's robust economic performance in 2025 and the recommendations for formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan. "We digested the recommendations, which had a particular focus on the domestic economy and the circular economy, as well as on stimulating consumption, investment beyond the property sector," Winters said. The combination of some stabilization in the property sector, strong export performance and technological advances strengthened the bank's confidence that 2026 could be a strong year for the Chinese economy, he noted. In regards to boosting domestic consumption, Winters said that as the Chinese economy remains stable and predictable and its social safety net improves, consumer confidence will recover. He added that China has multiple policy levers to support confidence and make consumption an increasingly important driver of growth. Having operated in China for nearly 170 years, Standard Chartered regards the country as one of its most important markets. "As China has gone through its opening-up process, we have been there with China," said Winters, adding that Standard Chartered has developed strong ties with local banks and finance companies, high-tech companies, and industrial manufacturing companies. On Jan. 27, Standard Chartered Bank (China) Limited, a Chinese subsidiary of the bank, announced it had upgraded its medium-sized enterprise business to "international enterprise banking," aiming to better serve fast-growing technology firms in areas such as artificial intelligence, green technology, life sciences and advanced manufacturing. "Chinese technology is strong and the technology companies quickly go global," Winters said. "As they go abroad, they need help from an international bank." Winters noted that the bank's China-related business has grown rapidly thanks to the Chinese companies going global, the rise of tech firms and the internationalization of the renminbi (RMB). "The cross-border activity is quite distinct as a strength for us. It's a huge area of focus for us and thankfully it's been one of the drivers of our Chinese business," he said. New Delhi, Feb 3 : The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will convene a Parliamentary Party meeting on Tuesday to deliberate on the Union Budget 2026 and the government's vision for Viksit Bharat 2047. New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS) The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will convene a Parliamentary Party meeting on Tuesday to deliberate on the Union Budget 2026 and the governmentas vision for Viksit Bharat 2047. The meeting will be held at 9.30 a.m. in New Delhi and will be attended by top NDA leaders. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP National President Nitin Nabin, and all other NDA ministers and MPs will be present at the meeting. PM Modi will also address the NDA parliamentary party meeting. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the budget's features and forward-looking vision through a presentation, highlighting how it is a major step towards creating a Viksit Bharat by 2047. During the meeting, guidelines will be provided on how to communicate the budget's features and benefits to the public, and a roadmap for this will be presented. Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2026 in the Lok Sabha on Sunday. This was her ninth budget and was motivated by three 'kartavyas' or duties aimed at boosting and maintaining economic growth by improving competitiveness, meeting aspirations, and ensuring that every family, community, and region has access to resources and opportunities for engagement. The Prime Minister on Sunday hailed the budget, calling it a "highway of immense opportunities" and said that the "Reform Express" on which India is riding, "will gain new energy and momentum through this budget". He said that the budget will "turn the dreams of the present into reality" and lay a "strong foundation for India's bright future" and for the nation's "high flight" towards achieving the resolution of a Viksit Bharat by 2047. As the Finance Minister mentioned in Parliament, PM Modi said, "This is a Youth Power Budget. It reflects the thinking, dreams, determination, and energy of young India. The provisions in the budget will prepare leaders, innovators, and creators across sectors." "From building medical hubs and developing allied health professionals, promoting the orange economy and AVGC sectors, boosting tourism, to opening new opportunities through the Khelo India mission, the budget unlocks pathways for youth to excel and lead," he added. Washington, Feb 3 : The US Chamber of Commerce welcomed the announcement of a trade deal between the United States and India, calling it a long-sought step for businesses in both countries. US Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Suzanne P. Clark said the announcement marked important momentum. "We congratulate the US and Indian governments on their announcement to reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers that will benefit American and Indian companies and workers in both great nations," Clark said. She praised the leadership behind the effort. "We appreciate the efforts of President Trump and Prime Minister Modi, and their officials, including Ambassadors (Vinay) Kwatra and (Sergio) Gor," she said. Clark said the Chamber was optimistic the move would lead to more progress. "We are optimistic that this is the first step toward a comprehensive trade agreement that will unlock even more private sector collaboration," she said, adding that the Chamber looks forward to reviewing the details. Clark said the Chamber and its US-India Business Council strongly support the effort. "The Chamber, our US-India Business Council, and our members are strong champions of this effort," she said. "We look forward to partnering with both governments to implement today's announcement." Clark traveled to Delhi and Mumbai last year and met Indian officials and business leaders. She had called for a trade deal and said the US-India economic relationship is among the most consequential in the world. She said a deal would benefit both economies and global security. Economist Steve Hanke offered a mixed reaction on social media. "In exchange for having its tariffs lowered, India commits to buying $500 billion worth of US energy, technology, agriculture, and more," Hanke wrote. Hanke said tariffs remain a concern. "US tariffs on India are still way too high," he said. In a separate post, he noted that the United States would cut tariffs on Indian goods from 25 per cent to 18 per cent, and that India would stop buying Russian oil. In a statement, USISPF said it "enthusiastically welcomes President Donald J. Trump's announcement following his conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which reaffirms their shared commitment to deepen the USIndia economic partnership and advance a bilateral trade agreement." The forum described the reduction of India's reciprocal tariff from 25 per cent to 18 per cent as "an important and positive first step," even as it noted that the details of the agreement are still to be finalised. "While the agreement's specifics are pending, today's announcement signals strong political will on both sides to move toward a comprehensive USIndia Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) that addresses tariffs, market access, non-tariff barriers, and other trade-related issues across a wide range of sectors," the statement said. According to USISPF, a bilateral trade agreement would "deliver meaningful benefits for businesses, workers, and consumers in both countries," while also strengthening supply chains and improving overall economic resilience. The forum emphasised that both governments have made clear that the announcement marks the beginning of a longer negotiating process. "Both governments have made clear that this is only the beginning, with additional phases and negotiations anticipated in the months ahead," USISPF said, adding that it was encouraged by the "constructive momentum" created by the latest announcement. USISPF reiterated its commitment to working closely with both the Government of India and the US Government to advance the shared objective of expanding bilateral trade toward the $500 billion target. "A stronger USIndia trade and investment relationship is not only critical to both economies but also central to advancing a stable, resilient, and rules-based Indo-Pacific," the statement said. New Delhi, Feb 3 : The Supreme Court will hear on Tuesday the plea filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) alleging interference by the West Bengal government and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during the recent search operations at the office of political consultancy firm Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) and the residence of its co-founder Pratik Jain in Kolkata. A Bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Vipul M. Pancholi will resume hearing the matter on Tuesday, according to the cause list published on the website of the apex court. In its petition, the ED sought registration of FIRs against Chief Minister Banerjee, the state Director General of Police (DGP), and the Kolkata Police Commissioner, alleging obstruction of lawful duties during simultaneous raid operations. In the previous hearing, the Supreme Court stayed the FIRs registered by the West Bengal Police against ED officials in connection with the searches, observing that the petitions raise serious questions of alleged interference by state agencies in a central investigation. Issuing notice to the Chief Minister and senior police officials, the Justice Mishra-led Bench had granted them two weeks to file their counter-affidavits and listed the matter for further hearing on February 3. In its interim order, the top court had also directed preservation of CCTV footage and other digital storage devices containing recordings of the searched premises as well as the surrounding areas, noting that, prima facie, the petitions raised "a serious issue relating to the investigations by the Directorate of Enforcement or other Central Agencies and its interference by State Agencies". It had warned that if such issues are allowed to remain undecided, it could lead to a situation of "lawlessness" in one or more states. Appearing for the ED, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had described the incident as a case where "mobocracy replaces democracy", alleging that the Central agency's officials were intimidated and prevented from discharging their lawful duties. On the other hand, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the West Bengal government, had raised objections to the maintainability of the ED's petition, alleging forum shopping and contending that adequate remedies were available before the Calcutta High Court, where similar prayers were already pending. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Chennai, Feb 3 : The Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (Metro Water) has decided to deploy advanced robotic systems to inspect underground water supply and sewer pipelines across the city, a move aimed at reducing road cuts and easing inconvenience to motorists and pedestrians. Under the new initiative, robotic crawler cameras will be sent into live pipelines to assess their internal condition without excavating roads. The inspections will help identify leaks, structural damage, contamination sources, clogging and faulty joints -- problems that are often difficult to detect from the surface. According to the proposal, three different types of robotic systems will be used to inspect pipelines of varying diameters, including small lines of around 50 mm, medium pipelines of about 250 mm, and large water mains and sewer lines measuring up to 1,000 mm and above. The inspections will be carried out in selected stretches across all 15 zones of Chennai. The robotic units are equipped with high-resolution cameras and laser profiling tools that can record continuous video footage, capture still images and map internal deformations along the length of the pipeline. Agencies engaged for the work will be required to submit detailed digital inspection reports, including videos, images and defect maps, to support follow-up repair and replacement works. Gaurav Kumar, Executive Director of Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board, said the Board needed a reliable way to understand what was happening inside ageing pipelines without repeatedly digging up roads. "The idea is to reduce hassle and save time in detecting the issue," he said, adding that many sections of the city's pipeline network were nearly 40 years old and increasingly vulnerable to internal deterioration. The decision follows a pilot project conducted in 2023, during which robotic inspections were carried out in two phases covering about 2.5 km of pipelines. The exercise revealed damage in several double-wall corrugated (DWC) pipes made of high-density polyethene, which were subsequently replaced with cast iron pipes to improve longevity in multiple locations. Encouraged by the results, Metro Water has floated a tender to engage specialised agencies for a two-year period to carry out systematic robotic inspections. The selected agency will be required to maintain a standby robotic system to prevent interruptions and submit regular progress and inspection reports to Metro Water engineers. Inspection teams are expected to operate for up to 10 hours a day. As per the tender conditions, payments will be linked to the length of pipeline inspected, with separate daily charges for operation and maintenance. The Board expects the technology-driven approach to speed up fault detection, minimise public disruption and improve the overall reliability of Chennai's underground water and sewer infrastructure. Washington, Feb 3 : Indian Ambassador to the US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, on Tuesday hailed the trade deal between the two nations and said that the new announcements "herald an exciting new phase in our partnership". This came as India and the US reached a trade deal on Monday. Taking to X, the Indian Ambassador said, "A big WIN for a consequential partnership under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump. India and USA announce a trade deal creating vast new opportunities for the two economies and the people of our two great nations. Today's announcements herald an exciting new phase in our partnership." Earlier on Monday, the US President said that India and the United States had reached a trade deal, outlining key elements after a phone conversation with PM Modi, whom he described as "one of my greatest friends." In a detailed post on Truth Social, Trump said the agreement would immediately reduce the US reciprocal tariff on Indian goods from 25 per cent to 18 per cent, calling it a major shift in bilateral trade ties linked to energy cooperation and broader geopolitical goals. Trump said the two leaders discussed "many things, including Trade, and ending the War with Russia and Ukraine." He claimed that PM Modi agreed to stop buying Russian oil and to increase purchases from the United States and, potentially, from Venezuela. "This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week!" Trump wrote. According to Trump, the trade deal would take effect immediately. He said India would "move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO." Trump also said PM Modi is committed to "BUY AMERICAN" at a much higher level. He added that India would purchase "over $500 BILLION DOLLARS of US Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal, and many other products." "Our amazing relationship with India will be even stronger going forward," Trump wrote. "Prime Minister Modi and I are two people that GET THINGS DONE." PM Modi also took to X and said, "Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 per cent. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement." He said that when two "large economies" and the "world's largest democracies" work together, "it benefits our people and unlocks immense opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation". Hailing President Trump's "leadership" in advocating for global peace, stability, and prosperity, the Prime Minister said, "India fully supports his efforts for peace". "I look forward to working closely with him to take our partnership to unprecedented heights," PM Modi added. Mumbai, Feb 3 : Actor-writer Adivi Sesh has completed the final schedule of "Dacoit" and said that the upcoming film has been an intense journey, physically, creatively, and mentally. Mumbai, Feb 3 (IANS) Actor-writer Adivi Sesh has completed the final schedule of "Dacoit" and said that the upcoming film has been an intense journey, physically, creatively, and mentally. Speaking about wrapping up the film, Sesh shared in a detailed note: "Wrapping the final schedule of Dacoit feels both surreal and deeply emotional for me. This film has been an intense journey, physically, creatively, and mentally." The final leg of shooting is expected to wrap up key portions of the story, paving the way for post-production as the countdown to its release officially begins. From writing to performance, Sesh has been deeply involved in every stage of the film, ensuring that the film stays true to its emotional and narrative core. He added: "From writing the first draft to now, standing at the edge of completion, every phase has demanded complete honesty and commitment. We just wrapped up the last schedule, and there's a quiet sense of fulfilment that comes with knowing we've given this story everything we had." 'Dacoit' is not just another film for Sesh. "It's a story that has stayed with me through the nights of writing and days of shooting under challenging conditions. As we head toward its release in March, I feel incredibly grateful to be sharing this moment with the entire team who believed in the vision from day one." He says that there's a certain responsibility that comes with releasing a film during a festive period. Sesh said: "Audiences come in with heightened expectations and that pushes us to be even more honest with our work." Reflecting on the journey and the anticipation surrounding the release, Sesh said: "The excitement around Dacoit is something we've all felt on set, and it motivates us to raise our bar every single day. This final schedule is about tying emotional and narrative threads together, making sure the story lands exactly the way it's meant to." He concluded: "Once we wrap, the focus will shift to post-production, where the film will find its final rhythm and tone. I genuinely hope audiences feel the same intensity, vulnerability, and passion that went into making this film." Jammu, Feb 3 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Jammu and Kashmir for three days beginning Thursday for a comprehensive review of the security situation, launch various developmental projects and interact with political leaders. "Union Home Minister will reach Jammu in the evening on February 5. He will meet political leaders at the Lok Bhawan the same evening. In the morning on February 6, the Union Home Minister will visit the international border in the Hiranagar sector of Kathua district," said officials here. During his visit to the international border, the Union Home Minister will inspect the latest equipment installed by the Border Security Force (BSF) to prevent infiltration. "In the afternoon of February 6, he will chair a high-level security review meeting in Jammu. J&K Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, senior officials of MHA, IB, chiefs of CAPFs, senior officers of J&K's civil administration, police and intelligence agencies will attend the security review meeting," the officials said. On the morning of February 7, he will leave for Srinagar, where he is scheduled to launch various developmental projects. In the afternoon, he will leave from Srinagar for Chhattisgarh, official sources said. In less than one month, Amit Shah will be reviewing J&K security for the second time at the highest level. On January 8, he chaired a high-level security review meeting on J&K in New Delhi. His review of the security situation was followed by the visit of the Union Home Secretary, Gobind Mohan, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) chief Tapan Deka, chiefs of CAPFs and other agencies to Jammu on January 14 and 15. Official sources reveal that the Home Minister is concerned about the presence of foreign terrorists in the upper reaches of the Jammu division, including Kathua, Doda, Kishtwar and Udhampur districts. "A comprehensive strategy is in place to neutralise the terrorists through joint operations in the entire Jammu and Kashmir," sources said, adding the high-level meeting is likely to review and fine-tune the strategy further. Search operations have been going on in the Chatroo area of Kishtwar district, besides the upper reaches of Billawar in Kathua and some other districts to eliminate the foreign terrorists. A paratrooper of the Army was martyred, and seven soldiers were injured in Chatroo (Kishtwar) in an encounter between joint forces and the terrorists on January 18. A top commander of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) outfit was killed by the security forces in the upper reaches of Billawar in Kathua district. In the January 8 security review meeting in New Delhi, HM Shah assured security forces that all resources will be made available to them in achieving the goal of `terror-free Jammu and Kashmir'. He directed all security agencies to remain alert and continue to work in synergy to ensure that the gains achieved after the abrogation of Article 370 are sustained. The Union Home Minister directed to ensure zero infiltration on the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border in J&K while carrying out aggressive operations against terrorists, their over-ground workers (OGWs) and sympathisers to usher in complete peace in Jammu and Kashmir. New Delhi, Feb 3 : The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) on Tuesday hailed finalisation of the India-US trade deal, under which the United States has agreed to reduce tariffs on all 'made in india' products to 18 per cent, saying it marks a significant milestone in further boosting and strengthening bilateral trade relations between the two countries. Sectors such as engineering goods, textiles and apparel, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, leather products, gems and jewellery, and agricultural products are expected to gain significantly from the tariff rationalisation. It is expected to lead to an immediate and substantial release of orders that were earlier put on hold, particularly in labour-intensive sectors such as apparel, textiles, leather and footwear, where global buyers typically lock in summer season sourcing by December. SC Ralhan, President, FIEO, said that the agreement would enhance the competitiveness of Indian products in the US market and provide a strong impetus to India's export growth across sectors. "The finalisation of the IndiaUS Trade Deal and the reduction of US tariffs to 18 percent on Indian-made products is a landmark achievement. It reflects the growing strategic and economic partnership between India and the United States and opens up vast opportunities for Indian exporters, particularly MSMEs," said Ralhan. Lower tariffs will not only improve price competitiveness but also help Indian exporters integrate more deeply into US supply chains. This agreement will encourage capacity expansion, attract fresh investments, and support job creation in export-oriented industries, he added. The reduction in reciprocal tariffs from earlier levels of around 50 per cent to 18 per cent would be a major game-changer for the competitiveness of Indian exports vis-a-vis other Asian suppliers. With sharper price parity, improved tariff certainty, and strong buyer confidence in Indian suppliers, these sectors are poised for a rapid surge in orders and a strong acceleration in export growth in the coming months. "This agreement sends a strong signal to global markets about India's commitment to free, fair, and rules-based trade. FIEO remains confident that this development will help India achieve its long-term export targets and further strengthen India's position as a reliable global trading partner," Ralhan noted. IANS na/ New Delhi, Feb 3 : The landmark India-United States trade agreement, which lowers US tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent, has drawn widespread praise from leaders across the country on Tuesday, who described it as a major step forward for India's manufacturing sector, exporters, MSMEs and youth. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister hailed the development as a defining moment in bilateral economic ties. Posting on X, CM Yogi said on Tuesday, "A landmark moment for the India-US economic partnership. A major boost to #MakeInIndia, as Indian products will gain wider global market access, creating fresh opportunities for Indian youth and MSMEs. Thank you, Hon. PM Shri @narendramodi Ji, for your decisive and determined leadership in advancing stronger India-US ties. This milestone reflects rising global confidence in Made in India and reinforces India's position as a key driver of global growth." Rajasthan CM Bhajanlal Sharma congratulated PM Modi and US President Trump. In a post on X, he wrote, "The world is looking at India with hope and optimism. This is yet again reflected in the latest advancements in the India-USA friendship." He further said that this will tremendously help Indian products, thus benefiting Indian enterprises and MSMEs. "It will open new opportunities for innovation, investment and job creation across sectors. This partnership further strengthens our shared commitment to inclusive growth and long-term prosperity. The world is looking at India with hope and optimism. This is yet again reflected in the latest advancements in the India-USA friendship. Congratulations to President Trump and PM Narendra Modi," CM Sharma said. Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi also welcomed the agreement, calling it a historic advancement in India-US relations. In his post on X, Majhi said, "A historic advancement in India-United States economic relations, setting a strong foundation for deeper cooperation and shared prosperity. The US tariff reduction to 18% on Made in India products is a significant boost for Indian manufacturing, MSMEs, exporters, and job creation, while opening broader markets and new avenues for entrepreneurs and startups. I extend my sincere congratulations and gratitude to PM Shri @narendramodi Ji for his decisive leadership and people-focused diplomacy, strengthening Indo-US ties and enhancing India's global economic presence." Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary termed the development a major day for bilateral ties. He wrote on X, "It is a big day for India-US relations. India-US has set tariffs at 18% by signing a trade agreement. This has paved the way for stronger trade relations and mutual growth. I congratulate Prime Minister @narendramodi ji and President @realDonaldTrump ji for this historic agreement. This decision will strengthen our strategic partnership and bring great benefits to both countries and the common people. India and the US are ready to advance trade in a cordial environment." India and the US reached a trade deal on Monday following a phone conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump. The agreement reduces US tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent while easing Indian trade barriers on select American products. Prime Minister Modi also welcomed the announcement, saying on X, "Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 per cent. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement." The Prime Minister noted that when two "large economies" and the "world's largest democracies" work together, it benefits people in both countries and unlocks vast opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation. Praising President Trump's leadership in promoting global peace and stability, PM Modi said India fully supports his efforts and looks forward to taking the bilateral partnership to unprecedented heights. Quetta, Feb 3 : A leading human rights organisation on Tuesday strongly condemned the killing of unarmed civilians, including a minor child, in a Pakistani military drone strike, targeting residential areas in Balochistan. According to Baloch Voice for Justice (BVJ), the attack on February 1 in Killi Jamaldini region of Nushki district struck civilians while they were inside their homes, with women and elderly persons among the victims. "The killing of unarmed civilians, including a child, constitutes a serious violation of international humanitarian law. Such acts are prohibited under the Geneva Conventions and amount to a war crime," the rights body stated. The BVJ called for independent and transparent investigations and accountability under international law. Meanwhile, the Human Rights Council of Balochistan (HRCB) described the situation across Balochistan as extremely alarming, noting that the ongoing internet shutdown has made it nearly impossible to verify information or obtain accurate casualty figures. The rights body cited disturbing reports emerging from several districts across the province, including Kech, Gwadar, and Nushki, where dozens of civilians, including women and children, are reportedly killed due to indiscriminate firing by Pakistani security forces. The HRCB said that the claims by the provincial government that over 150 militants were killed sharply contradict accounts from other sources. "This lack of transparency is deeply concerning. The government must release full details and identities of those it says were killed," it noted. Expressing concern over Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti's claim that more than 1,000 militants were killed last year, the HRCB said, "Given the long-established pattern of people being killed in custody and later labelled as militants killed in 'encounters', these claims cannot be accepted at face value." Paank, the Baloch National Movement's Human Rights Department, on Monday brought to light the enforced disappearances of another seven civilians at the hands of Pakistani forces. The rights body mentioned that on Monday morning, 25-year-old Meeran, a fisherman, was taken into custody from the Sohrabi Ward area of Gwadar district in the province by the Pakistan Army. He was taken to an undisclosed location, and his whereabouts remain unknown to his family. Paank revealed that 20-year-old Umair Baloch, a student, was forcibly disappeared on February 1 from the provincial capital Quetta by personnel of Pakistan's Counter Terrorism Department (CTD). The rights body also strongly condemned the enforced disappearance of two brothers, 29-year-old Balach Yousuf and 25-year-old Beebarg Yousuf, during a raid on their home on January 23 in Gwadar. Citing local sources and the family, Paank said that the raid was carried out by the local death squad and the Pakistan Army, who forcibly took both brothers to an undisclosed location. In a separate incident, a large contingent of the Pakistani army raided multiple houses in the Hub Chowki region in Balochistan, while forcibly disappearing Retired Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Bakhsh Sajidi, his brother Naeem Sajidi, and Engineer Rafeeq Baloch, the former Chief of Sui Gas in the province. --IANS scor/sd/ BEIJING, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Central Committee of the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League (TDSL) on Tuesday held talks with representatives of Taiwan-funded enterprises in Beijing to exchange views on development and welcome the upcoming Spring Festival, which falls on Feb. 17 this year. The event was held at a cross-Strait sci-tech innovation center in the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area. After exchanging views on the development of the innovation center with the Taiwan businesspeople and compatriots in attendance, Su Hui, vice chairperson of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and chairperson of the Central Committee of the TDSL, said that the mainland's advantages in market scale, industrial systems and innovation potential will continue to be unleashed, creating broader space for Taiwan compatriots and enterprises to pursue development. She encouraged Taiwan businesses to seize opportunities and take proactive steps to open up new prospects for cross-Strait exchange and cooperation, thus contributing to economic growth and the long-term well-being of the Chinese nation. At the symposium, representatives of Taiwan-funded enterprises shared their experience of entrepreneurship and development on the mainland, and put forward practical suggestions. They agreed to continue putting down roots on the mainland, and to work together to advance cross-Strait integrated development. Amaravati, Feb 3 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday hailed the India-US trade deal as a "historic milestone" for global economic stability. He congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on concluding this "landmark" trade agreement with the US. "Reducing tariffs to 18% is a visionary move that strengthens the bond between the world's two greatest democracies and ensures continued global growth," said the Chief Minister. "Under the PM's leadership, India is cementing its role as a global economic powerhouse. This deal will significantly boost India's export competitiveness, creating immense opportunities for our youth and farmers, including those in Andhra Pradesh," added Chandrababu Naidu, whose Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is a key partner in the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre. Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan also congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on India reaching an agreement with the United States. In a social media post, Pawan Kalyan extended his 'heartfelt congratulations to PM Modi for "energising India's economy by concluding two world-class trade agreements within a span of a week." The Jana Sena leader stated that following last week's landmark "mother of all deals" with the European Union, the agreement with the President of the United States, Donald Trump, is set to further strengthen our economic prospects. "In particular, the reduction of tariff charges to 18% will significantly benefit our farmers by improving market access and export competitiveness. I sincerely thank the Prime Minister for consistently taking timely and decisive steps that align with the aspirations of the people of Bharat," wrote Pawan Kalyan. Earlier, Minister for IT and HRD, Nara Lokesh, hailed the trade agreement with the US. He called it a big win for India under the leadership of PM Modi. "The reduction of US tariffs from 25% to 18% is a major boost for India's exports and manufacturing. This will directly benefit Andhra Pradesh's marine seafood exports, MSMEs, agri-exports and emerging manufacturing hubs, while deepening the India-US partnership. Kudos to the negotiating teams, Ministry of Commerce & Industry and the leaderships of both countries for this major breakthrough," posted Lokesh on X. -- Syndicated from IANS Jaipur, Feb 3 : Posters supporting Palestine and opposing Israel surfaced at several locations in Pushkar, Ajmer district, and two foreign nationals have been detained in this connection. According to Additional Superintendent of Police (CID) Rajesh Meena, the individuals were identified as British citizen Lewis and his female companion, Aneshi, who had entered India on tourist visas. They have been issued notices to leave India for violating visa conditions. On January 21, authorities received information that small stickers expressing support for Palestine and opposing Israel had been pasted at two to three locations in Pushkar. With the assistance of the district police, the CID identified the tourists involved and removed the stickers. Officials stated that engaging in political activities while on a tourist visa constitutes a violation of visa rules. As a result, action was taken against the two foreign nationals under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, and they were served 'Leave India' notices directing them to exit the country. It needs to be mentioned here that Israelis have a significant presence in Pushkar, drawn by its spiritual vibe, vibrant culture, and as a post-Army travel destination, with recent news highlighting Israeli tourists performing rituals at Pushkar Lake for peace and in memory of loved ones lost in attacks. The town offers respite to Israeli travellers affected by the conflict between their country and Palestine, with places like the Chabad House providing community and Jewish teachings. The incident came to light on January 21, when local authorities noticed the stickers displayed at multiple public locations in the town. Following this, a CID team was deployed to investigate the matter. According to Superintendent of Police (CID) Rajesh Meena, the individuals were identified as Dee (36) and Anueshi Emma Christine (36), who had arrived in India on tourist visas. The investigation concluded that engaging in political activity while on a tourist visa contravenes visa regulations and local sensitivities. "Activities that show disrespect toward another nation while on Indian soil are a clear violation of visa rules," Meena said. Acting under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, the CID issued notices directing the two foreign nationals to leave India immediately. Pushkar is known for attracting a large number of international tourists, including a significant influx of Israeli visitors each year. Chennai, Feb 3 : Superstar Rajinikanth on Tuesday met sanitation worker Padma at his residence and honoured the honest worker with a gold chain for her selfless service and good samaritan nature. Pictures of Rajinikanth meeting the honest sanitation worker have now gone viral on social media. For the unaware, Padma, a sanitation worker, was at work in T Nagar when she found an unclaimed pouch on the street earlier this month. The pouch contained 45 sovereigns of gold ornaments inside. The honest worker immediately informed her superiors and handed over the pouch containing the jewels to the Pondy Bazaar police, who, after making enquiries, returned the valuables to its rightful owner. Padma's honest act came in for widespread appreciation from various quarters. In fact, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin had felicitated her and presented her with a cheque for Rs One lakh. Rajinikanth met the sanitation worker and expressed his appreciation for her honest act. It may be recalled that Rajinikanth, only a few days ago, had presented another gold chain to an ardent fan of his from Madurai. The fan was honoured for running an eatery in which he sold parottas at an economical price of Rs five a piece for the sake of the poor. Sources close to the actor shared pictures of the actor meeting his ardent fan, Rajini Sekar from Madurai along his family members. They also shared a picture of the actor gifting the fan a gold chain. On the work front, Rajinikanth is currently working on director Nelson's 'Jailer 2'. The actor had only recently confirmed that he would be beginning work on director Cibi Chakravarthy's film in April this year. Rajinikanth, who met his fans outside his residence on the festival day of Pongal earlier this month, was asked about his eagerly-awaited upcoming film with director Cibi Chakravarthy, which is being produced by actor Kamal Haasan's production house Raaj Kamal Films International. Responding to the question, Rajinikanth had said, "Shooting is to begin in April this year. It will be a proper commercial entertainer." The film has triggered excitement ever since actor, producer and politician Kamal Haasan announced that his production house, Raaj Kamal Films International (RKFI), would be producing the film, tentatively being referred to as #Thalaivar173. It may be recalled that one of Tamil cinema's most successful directors, Sundar C, was to originally direct this film, which Kamal Haasan had said would be a magnum opus. However, to everybody's surprise, director Sundar C later opted out of the project. Soon after Sundar C's exit, the makers, in the new year, announced that director Cibi Chakravarthy would be directing the film. Music for the film, which has the tag line 'Every family has a hero' is to be scored by Anirudh. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 3 : The Kerala Assembly was thrown into chaos on Tuesday as the ruling front and the opposition clashed sharply over allegations that the investigation into the Sabarimala gold smuggling case was being deliberately derailed, and the protest ended with Leader of Opposition (LoP) V.D. Satheesan leading the entire opposition out of the house for the day. Intense protests by the opposition forced repeated adjournments, turning the House into a scene of shouting matches, physical jostling and unprecedented disorder. The trouble began when opposition members boycotted the Question Hour and descended into the well of the House holding placards and banners, accusing the government of sabotaging the probe. As the protest escalated, a group of opposition MLAs led by Anvar Sadath attempted to rush towards the Speakeras dais and later tried to enter the Speakeras chamber. Watch and Ward personnel intervened, leading to pushing and shoving inside the House. Amid the mounting uproar, Speaker A.N. Shamseer rose from his chair and walked out, forcing a temporary suspension of proceedings. LoP V.D. Satheesan alleged that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Sabarimala gold smuggling case had reached a dead end due to interference from the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayanas office. He accused the police of facilitating default bail for all high-profile accused and claimed that the prime accused, Unnikrishnan Potti, would walk free soon. According to Satheesan, pressure from the Chief Ministeras Office had shaped the course of the investigation. Declaring that the opposition could not cooperate with Assembly proceedings under such circumstances, he announced that protests would be intensified both inside and outside the House. As opposition MLAs continued their demonstration in the well, Speaker Shamseer warned that the banners must be lowered or they would be forcibly removed. The ruling front responded aggressively. Minister M.B. Rajesh dismissed the protest, alleging that the opposition was "suffering from a lack of issues" and did not even have an adjournment motion to move. He accused the opposition of insulting democratic institutions and mocked it for venting frustration in the Assembly after setbacks in the High Court in cases, including Sprinklr. Ruling front members moved close to the well of the House and raised slogans against the opposition, further inflaming tempers. Despite the House reconvening later in the morning, the din continued, forcing another adjournment. The bitter war of words and physical confrontations underscored the deepening political fault lines, with the Sabarimala gold smuggling case emerging as a flashpoint that paralysed the Assembly and set the tone for an increasingly confrontational session. New Delhi, Feb 3 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned to February 10 the hearing on a plea filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) alleging interference by the West Bengal government and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during recent search operations at the office of political consultancy firm Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) and the residence of its co-founder Pratik Jain in Kolkata. A Bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Vipul M. Pancholi deferred the matter after Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, appearing for the ED, sought time to file a response to the counter affidavit filed by the West Bengal government earlier in the day. The Centre's second-highest law officer informed the Apex Court that the state government's response was received only on Tuesday, and the Central agency required time to examine it and place its rejoinder on record. Acceding to the request, the Justice Mishra-led Bench posted the matter for further hearing on February 10. In its petition, the ED has sought directions for registration of FIRs against CM Mamata, the state Director General of Police (DGP) and the Kolkata Police Commissioner, alleging obstruction of lawful duties during the agency's simultaneous search operations. In the previous hearing, the Supreme Court stayed the FIRs registered by the West Bengal Police against ED officials in connection with the searches, observing that the petitions raise serious questions of alleged interference by state agencies in a central investigation. Issuing notice to the Chief Minister and senior police officials, the Justice Mishra-led Bench had granted them two weeks to file their counter-affidavits and listed the matter for further hearing on February 3. In its interim order, the Top Court had also directed preservation of CCTV footage and other digital storage devices containing recordings of the searched premises as well as the surrounding areas, noting that, prima facie, the petitions raised "a serious issue relating to the investigations by the Directorate of Enforcement or other Central Agencies and its interference by State Agencies". It had warned that if such issues are allowed to remain undecided, it could lead to a situation of "lawlessness" in one or more states. SG Mehta had described the incident as a case where "mobocracy replaces democracy", alleging that the Central agency's officials were intimidated and prevented from discharging their lawful duties. On the other hand, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the West Bengal government, had raised objections to the maintainability of the ED's petition, alleging forum shopping and contending that adequate remedies were available before the Calcutta High Court, where similar prayers were already pending. New Delhi, Feb 3 : Senior BJP leaders on Tuesday welcomed the trade agreement with the US, describing it as a historic achievement that reflects India's growing global stature under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership. The leaders said the deal would strengthen India's economy, enhance global trade opportunities, and reaffirm the country's position as a confident and self-reliant nation. Reacting to the development, Bihar Minister Dilip Jaiswal said the agreement symbolised India's ability to turn challenges into opportunities. "Undoubtedly, under the leadership of the world's most popular leader and the country's strong Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is turning every challenge into an opportunity. This is our victory. You have seen that in the budget as well, we have made major provisions for defence and security. Today, our population, the largest in the world, was once seen as a burden, but under PM Narendra Modi's leadership, it has become an opportunity," he told IANS. BJP MLA Vikram Randhawa also termed the agreement a major milestone in bilateral relations. Emphasising the significance of the dialogue between the two leaders, he said, "I believe yesterday marked a major and historic moment. There was an excellent discussion between India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump. In a short span of time, significant progress has been made. According to the tweet posted by President Trump himself, he has clearly stated that he wants to make a strong and lasting trade deal with India" Echoing similar sentiments, BJP leader Dilip Ghosh said the deal demonstrated India's rising confidence on the global stage. He remarked, "A lot has happened Today, India stands tall in the world with its head held high. No one can intimidate us or force us to work under pressure; if they try, it will backfire. That's exactly what happened with Trump." India and the United States reached a trade deal on Monday following a phone conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump. As part of the agreement, the US reduced tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent, while India agreed to ease certain trade barriers on American products. Earlier, PM Modi also welcomed the development, posting on X, "Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 per cent. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement." The Prime Minister noted that when the world's largest democracies and major economies collaborate, it unlocks immense opportunities for mutual growth. He praised President Trump's leadership in promoting global peace and stability and said he looked forward to taking the India-US partnership to unprecedented heights. -- IANS rs/dpb Bengaluru, Feb 3 : Responding to allegations by the family of Bengaluru-based industrialist, Confident Group Founder and Chairman C.J. Roy, that pressure by the Income Tax department pushed him to suicide, Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara stated that it was too early to link the death to the I-T pressure. Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru on Tuesday, Parameshwara said, "Everything will be ascertained once the probe is completed. Until then, we cannot arrive at any conclusion. It cannot be said at this stage that the suicide occurred due to a particular reason." Reacting to the letter written by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in connection with the suicide of C.J. Roy during an Income Tax department raid, Parameshwara said the I-T department comes under the Union Finance Minister and that a decision on ordering a probe should be awaited. Parameshwara, responding to a question on the issue, said, "I am aware of the letter written by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman regarding the suicide of industrialist C.J. Roy. I do not know the contents of the letter, but we should wait to see what decision is taken. The Income Tax department comes under Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. I do not know whether she will order a judicial inquiry or any other probe." He further said that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed at the state level and that it has already begun its investigation. "We will make a decision based on the outcome of the investigation," he added. Parameshwara said that once the probe is completed, the reasons behind the suicide would come to light. He added that the police have initiated the investigation and will record statements from the family members and others concerned, and examine all aspects that emerge from those statements. However, police sources stated that C.J. Roy had been under severe financial distress for the past six months. According to police sources, Roy had not taken any bank loans for his business ventures. His operations had expanded not only across Karnataka and Kerala but also overseas. However, for new projects, instead of bank funding, investments had reportedly come directly from certain politicians. Investigating agencies suspect that a large portion of this money could have been unaccounted for or "black money". Police sources further stated that the new projects undertaken by Roy, however, did not achieve the expected success. At the same time, a significant portion of his income was spent on a lavish lifestyle. As a result, he had completely failed in managing his finances. As the projects began incurring losses, some of the politicians who had invested started demanding the return of their money. Meanwhile, central investigating agencies had begun scrutinising Roy's business activities. The primary focus of the investigation was the source of funds for such large-scale businesses in the absence of bank loans, sources revealed. It is now suspected that caught between pressure from investors on one side and questioning by the Income Tax department and other agencies on the other, Roy was reportedly unable to provide satisfactory answers and slipped into severe mental stress. Having suffered a complete financial collapse, Roy was also mentally broken. He had been battling acute stress and depression over the past few months. Fear that all aspects of his business dealings would be exposed during the investigation had also begun to haunt him. Police sources suspect that all these pressures may have driven him to take the extreme step of ending his life. C.J. Roy allegedly shot himself dead at his office in Bengaluru last Friday during an I-T raid. He shot himself in the chest in his first-floor office chamber. The probe revealed that he was alone in his chamber at the time. After hearing the gunshot, I-T officials rushed into the chamber and shifted him to a hospital. Police further stated that during the I-T raids, after about an hour of questioning, Roy was asked to submit certain documents. After providing one set of records, the I-T officers sought additional documents. Roy then went to his chamber and allegedly shot himself. --IANS mka/dpb Kolkata, Feb 3 : Kolkata Police have arrested four more persons in connection with the recent clash between two groups in the Golpark area of south Kolkata, taking the total number of arrests to 14 since Sunday night. However, the prime accused, Biswajit Poddar alias Sona Pappu, remains absconding, police said on Tuesday. The violence erupted late Sunday night on Kakulia Road under the Rabindra Sarobar police station area. In the aftermath, local residents repeatedly named Sona Pappu and his associates, alleging that his gang had instigated the unrest. Despite multiple arrests, the accused reportedly went into hiding soon after the incident, sources said. Kolkataas newly appointed Police Commissioner, Supratim Sarkar, on Monday warned that no one involved in the violence would be spared. Police sources said Sona Pappuas name has figured in several past incidents of unrest, including a murder case. He reportedly earlier ran a gold business -- earning him the nickname aSonaa -- and is now allegedly involved in real estate activities in the Kasba area. Meanwhile, three FIRs have been registered at Rabindra Sarobar police station in connection with Sunday nightas incident, including a suo motu case for an attack on a police vehicle. Ten accused were arrested on Sunday night itself and were remanded to police custody till February 9. Following further searches, four more arrests were made late on Monday night. Among those arrested, Bablu Sau alias Chini, and Indrajit Maji alias Chhoto Babu, were taken into custody in one case. Both are residents of the Kasba police station area. In a separate case, Jayanta Naskar alias Sonu, a resident of the Anandapur police station area, and Debashish Mandal alias Bhutu, from the Lake police station area, were arrested. According to police and local sources, the trouble began around 8.30 p.m. on Sunday during a club picnic at Panchanantala near Golpark. The clash allegedly broke out between supporters of local businessman Bapi Halder and the gang led by Sona Pappu. Residents claim the latter group was attempting to establish control over the area, with Bapi being specifically targeted. It is alleged that around 100-150 miscreants, many with their faces covered, stormed the area. There were reports of firing and hurling of crude bombs, along with the use of sharp weapons. Police vehicles and motorcycles belonging to local residents were vandalised, while bricks were also hurled during the violence. Later that night, police recovered bullet casings and bomb fragments from the spot. Kochi, Feb 3 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday began its first round of questioning in the Sabarimala gold robbery case, with former Travancore Devaswom Board administrative officer Murari Babu appearing before the agency's Kochi office. The ED's move comes at a crucial juncture, just as the High Courta"appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) is preparing to file its charge sheet in the case. Murari Babu was summoned for questioning in connection with the Dwarapalaka and Kattilappally cases linked to the alleged gold robbery at the Sabarimala temple. He is the first person to be questioned by the ED since it formally entered the probe, even as the SIT continues its investigation into the predicate offences. Murari Babu had earlier secured statutory bail after the SIT failed to file charge sheets within the prescribed time in the two cases registered against him. He thus became the first accused in the Sabarimala gold robbery case to walk free on default bail. He was arrested on October 23 last year and is the second accused in the Dwarapalaka case and the sixth accused in the Kattilappally case. The ED sources said the agency has stepped in at a stage when the SIT probe is nearing completion. According to officials, a list of individuals has been prepared for questioning, and it is learnt that this list includes persons who do not figure among the SIT's accused. This development is expected to be keenly watched, as it could widen the scope of the investigation beyond those already named by the SIT. The ED formally registered its case on January 9, invoking provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to examine whether the alleged robbery involved laundering of proceeds of crime. The probe gathered momentum on January 20, when the agency conducted coordinated searches at 21 locations across Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The raids targeted premises linked to suspects, intermediaries and business interests believed to have connections with the alleged gold diversion. With parallel probes now underway, the ED's entry is seen as adding a new dimension to a case that has already triggered political and administrative ripples in Kerala, particularly given the involvement of senior temple administration officials. Also keenly watched is the High Court, which is to deliver its verdict on a CBI probe sought into the heist in a petition filed by State BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar. Kabul, Feb 3 : Police in western Afghanistan's Farah province have arrested two drug smugglers and seized 75 kilograms of narcotics, provincial police spokesman Mullah Kalimullah Nangyal said Tuesday. The official added that acting on intelligence, security forces raided a location in Farah Rod district on Monday, apprehending the two suspects and confiscating 75 kg of raw opium. An assault rifle was also recovered from the operation site, the spokesman said, Xinhua News Agency reported. This marks the second seizure of illegal drugs recently reported in western Afghanistan. On February 1, the provincial police office said that police have seized 170 kg of illegal drugs from a vehicle in western Afghanistan's Herat province and taken two alleged drug smugglers into custody. Based on intelligence, police intercepted a car on Saturday and, after a search, recovered 170 kg of opium and hashish from hidden compartments in the vehicle, the statement said. It added that two individuals in the car were arrested on charges of attempting to traffic the contraband to an unknown destination. The arrestees will be handed over to judicial authorities after preliminary interrogation is completed, the statement further noted. Police will not allow anyone to produce or traffic illegal drugs anywhere in the province, the statement emphasised. In a similar operation, police in eastern Khost province discovered 18 kg of hashish and arrested an alleged drug trafficker. In December last year, Afghan police have arrested eight individuals on charges of production and smuggling of narcotics in the northern Jawzjan province, local media outlet Tolo News reported. According to the report, provincial police conducted targeted operations that led to the arrest of the suspects and the seizure of a significant quantity of illicit drugs, including hashish and heroin. The drugs were reportedly discovered at locations linked to the detained individuals. The arrests are part of ongoing efforts by Afghan authorities to combat illegal production, trafficking, and distribution of narcotics across the country. MACAO, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) will roll out a series of festive events to welcome the Chinese New Year, including community activities, float parades, and drone displays, the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) revealed Tuesday. At a press conference, the MGTO unveiled programs for the 2026 Chinese New Year Activities, the Parade for Celebration of the Year of the Horse, and the 2026 Chinese New Year Drones and Fireworks Displays. The parade will run from Feb. 19 to March 8, featuring float processions, cultural performances, and exhibitions. Approximately 1,300 performers from Macao, Hong Kong, the Chinese mainland, and several overseas countries will take part, along with 17 themed floats, the office noted. The tourism office said it will also host three drones and fireworks displays. For the first time, fireworks and 3,888 drones in formation will dazzle the sky above the sea overlooking Macao Tower. The sessions are scheduled on Feb. 19, Feb. 23, and March 3, each spanning about 15 minutes. Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, MGTO director, said the events will integrate live performances with technology and artistic elements, driving Macao's integrated tourism and leisure industries toward diversified growth. Patna, Feb 3 : In a major breakthrough, the Bihar Special Task Force (STF) has arrested notorious criminal Manoj Singh alias 'Doctor' and his son Manik Singh from Bengaluru, bringing an end to a long manhunt spanning several years. Patna, Feb 3 (IANS) In a major breakthrough, the Bihar Special Task Force (STF) has arrested notorious criminal Manoj Singh alias aDoctora and his son Manik Singh from Bengaluru, bringing an end to a long manhunt spanning several years. The arrest of the father-son duo -- who have extensive criminal records in Bihar, Jharkhand, and Odisha -- is being seen as a significant success for law enforcement agencies. The duo had become a major challenge for the police due to their deep-rooted criminal network and repeated attempts to evade arrest. Officials believe their apprehension will deal a decisive blow to organised crime operating across state borders. Shortly before their arrest, Manoj Singh and Manik Singh released a video on social media claiming that they feared a fake encounter under the pretext of weapon recovery. In the video, they pleaded for their lives and requested the police to arrest them with handcuffs, asserting their willingness to surrender lawfully. Manik Singh, a resident of Naubatpur in Patna district, allegedly ran a criminal gang along with his father. According to police records, the duo has 40 to 50 serious criminal cases, including murder, kidnapping, robbery, extortion, and Arms Act violation, registered against them in various police stations across Patna, including Khagaul, Danapur, Bihta, Dulhinbazar, Paliganj, Shahpur, Bikram, Naubatpur, Barh, and Rani Talab, police stations. Their criminal footprint also extends to Jharkhand, with cases reported in Jamshedpur, Ranchi, and Hazaribagh. Police sources said Manik Singh had been absconding for nearly five years. The duo was earlier arrested in 2015, but after securing bail, they went underground once again. To evade arrest, they reportedly took shelter in Jharkhand before moving to Bengaluru. Recently, Patna Police intensified operations against the gang, arresting eight notorious associates along with firearms, which tightened the net around Manoj and Manik Singh and ultimately led to their arrest by the STF. Manik Singhas criminal history with the age of just 12, when he allegedly shot a marble businessman in Khagaul. He later teamed up with notorious criminal Ranjit Chaudhary in Jamshedpur and carried out several offences, including the murder of a contractor. In a recent case, Manik allegedly demanded Rs 50 lakh in extortion from a construction company. When the demand was not met, his associates reportedly carried out an attack at the construction site. The gang is known to have extorted money from businessmen and contractors through WhatsApp calls. Manoj Singh, popularly known as aDoctor Sahiba in the criminal underworld, entered the world of crime after the murder of his father Ramayan Singh in 1988. He took up arms in a fit of revenge and shot and killed Chhotelal Singh in 1989. He came into the spotlight following his alleged involvement in the kidnapping of Dr Ramesh Chandra of Patna, after which Naubatpur emerged as a major crime hub. About five years ago, the father-son duo was arrested in Bikram with a large cache of weapons. However, after being released on bail, they allegedly resumed criminal activities. With their arrest, the STF is expected to uncover significant details about the gangas operations, funding channels, and political or criminal links during interrogation. Police officials believe this action could lead to further arrests and help dismantle a long-standing criminal network. The arrest sends a strong message that criminals, regardless of influence or reach, will not be spared, officials said. Seoul, Feb 3 : South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said Tuesday he plans to clearly explain to the United States parliamentary procedures in South Korea, after US President Donald Trump warned of a tariff hike citing a delay in Seoul's legislative process to implement a bilateral trade deal. Cho made the remarks ahead of departing for Washington, where he is scheduled to hold talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as Seoul seeks to allay doubts among the Trump administration on Seoul's pledge to carry out USD 350 billion of investment in the US, Yonhap News Agency reported. Trump's threat to raise the reciprocal tariff on South Korean goods to 25 per cent from 15 per cent has stoked concerns that the trade deal may be falling apart. Cho said earlier Trump's message does not mean the deal's collapse. "I will explain in detail to the US side and seek their understanding that the agreements reached between the two governments are in the process of being legislated in accordance with our National Assembly procedures," Cho told reporters at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. "I plan to deliver the same message to the secretary, other US government officials and especially US Congress," he said. Asked if the US may use the delay in the trade deal as leverage to push back the negotiations on expanding Seoul's uranium enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing capabilities, Cho played down such a possibility. "I will make sure we reach a good conclusion with Secretary Rubio to move in the direction of making efforts toward a swift implementation of the joint fact sheet," Cho added, referring to the summit document outlining the trade, security and other agreements. Cho is flying to Washington to attend a US-led ministerial meeting of like-minded countries on critical minerals supply chains, set for Wednesday (local time). -- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed New Delhi, Feb 3 : The Rajya Sabha witnessed high drama on Tuesday as opposition parties, led by Congress, staged a walkout over the government's handling of discussions on the recently announced India-US trade deal. The move came amid sharp exchanges, with Leader of the House J.P. Nadda launching a blistering attack on the opposition, accusing them of "anti-national behaviour" and politicising national interests. The controversy erupted when opposition members demanded an immediate and detailed discussion on the trade agreement, which US President Donald Trump announced late Monday night. Trump described PM Modi as his "true friend" and "the only strong leader like me", while confirming a reduction in reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods from 25 per cent to 18 per cent (with overall duties effectively dropping from a threatened 50 per cent level), Nadda said, referring to the X post. The deal reportedly includes India's commitment to shift away from Russian oil purchases towards US and potentially Venezuelan sources, alongside other trade concessions. Nadda, speaking forcefully in the House, slammed the opposition's "methodology" and persistent demands to "respond to Trump". He highlighted Trump's X post praising the Prime Minister's friendship and leadership, which led to the tariff relief. "The government is ready to discuss every subject with full details coming soon," Nadda asserted, adding that the administration has always been proactive on such matters. He condemned Congress and the INDIA bloc, calling their actions "highly reprehensible". According to Nadda, the opposition shows no interest in the nation's development, trade expansion, or business growth. "Their only interest is in politicising everything -- we now have direct proof," he said in the Upper House. Referring to earlier opposition calls for responses to Trump's statements, Nadda pointed out the punitive 50 per cent tariff threat and contrasted it with the recent positive outcome. He emphasised that PM Modi responded with thanks, underscoring the strengthening of bilateral ties. Nadda reiterated the government's openness, "We never shy away from discussing any matter. Even today, I assured them -- we are ready." He accused the opposition of disinterest in national progress, labelling their behaviour as reflective of broader disengagement from India's economic advancement. New Delhi, Feb 3 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken over the probe into the Ankita Bhandari murder case, and its Delhi-based Special Crime Branch has registered a case against an "unknown VIP" in connection with the matter. Two members of the CBI team arrived in Uttarakhand late on Monday to conduct a detailed investigation into the alleged VIP angle linked to the murder of the young girl. The case returned to the spotlight after viral audio clips and videos surfaced involving former BJP legislator Suresh Rathore and his alleged wife, Urmila Sanawar. During a Facebook Live session, Sanawar made references to the alleged involvement of a VIP in the murder, triggering fresh controversy and public debate. These developments led to heightened political tensions, with Opposition parties and several organisations renewing demands for a CBI enquiry into the case. Responding to the growing pressure and to address public concerns, the Uttarakhand government moved swiftly to ensure transparency. On January 9, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami formally recommended a CBI investigation. The state government reiterated that no individual, irrespective of influence or position, would be allowed to escape the law and stressed that uncovering the complete truth remains its top priority. The murder of Ankita Bhandari, a 19-year-old receptionist, sparked widespread outrage across Uttarakhand in 2022. Ankita Bhandari was working as a receptionist at the Vanantra Resort when she was murdered on September 18, 2022. Her body was dumped in the Chilla Shakti Canal and recovered nearly a week later. Following an extensive investigation by a Special Investigation Team, a 500-page chargesheet was filed in the case, naming 97 witnesses, out of whom 47 testified before the court. The prime accused, Pulkit Arya, the owner of Vanantra Resort, along with co-accused Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta, were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. Pulkit Arya was found guilty under multiple serious charges, including murder, tampering with evidence, harassment, and immoral trafficking. New Delhi, Feb 3 : The India-US trade agreement is the most important deal for the country and will generate more jobs and also add to foreign exchange, said Ashishkumar Chauhan, NSE MD and CEO, on Tuesday. Speaking to IANS, Chauhan stated that the trade deal between the US and India was expected for a long time, and now will be implemented immediately, unlike the European deal, which is expected to roll out after six months. "India is the only country that has manpower, high-tech appreciation, and technology adoption. And that is why all countries are ready to negotiate with us. With the deal, India will export more, generating more jobs and adding to its Forex," Chauhan said. With a reduction of US reciprocal tariff on Indian goods from 25 per cent to 18 per cent, "leather goods, garments, marine products -- all employment-generating areas, will revive export to the US," he said, adding that "in the next 10 years, India will have a golden age". Chauhan stated that portfolio investors are also positive on the trade deal. "Everyone is very happy, especially the investors. And because of the deal, the chances of companies increasing their profits are very high," he said. "Indian investors have faith in the Prime Minister's vision for the country's trajectory. Consequently, an increasing number of domestic investors are backing Indian companies every month. I believe the recent trade deals are a direct result of that confidence, demonstrating that Indian investors are now capable of self-funding their own growth," the expert told IANS. Chauhan mentioned that NSE's own international exchange, which runs in Gift City for about 22 hours, closed at 25,970 -- about 2.5 per cent high at 2 o'clock last night. "Even today, when the Indian market opened, NSE also opened up by 2.5 per cent. I feel that overall, this is the initial reaction. As companies analyse an increase in their profits, they will get the rating further," Chauhan said. The expert further noted that for the last 30-35 years, the US and several countries in Europe were supporting China. But now they see China as their competition and are thus moving away from it. "India needs the right partners who can import from us and to whom we can export our services, skills, and manufactured goods -- countries like the US, Japan, Australia, and those in Europe. China is unlikely to import our goods. Therefore, by negotiating with these nations, we are effectively creating competition for China," Chauhan said. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text New Delhi, Feb 3 : Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday took aim at the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of disrupting House proceedings by raising the Ladakh standoff issue while quoting from a magazine article linked to an "unpublished book" of former Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane. Earlier on Monday, Speaker Om Birla had issued a ruling stating that no one can quote a news article or magazine, citing Parliamentary rules, and stated that only "authentic sources" can be quoted in the House. Gandhi's statement and subsequent insistence triggered an uproar in the House and have since spilt into a heated war of words outside Parliament. "Yesterday, there was a very good debate and discussion in the Rajya Sabha. The discussion in the Lok Sabha also started on a very positive note. However, due to Rahul Gandhi, the entire debate of the day was disrupted," Rijiju told the reporters following the NDA Parliamentary Party meeting. "A wonderful debate took place in the Rajya Sabha, with MPs actively participating and several important suggestions emerging. In both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, discussions started well, but everything came to a halt because of Rahul Gandhi," he added. Gandhi was interrupted repeatedly by the treasury benches, who urged him to present "authentic" sources to support his claims. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey also interrupted the LoP's speech, questioning the authenticity of the statements. Chaos erupted in the House, but Gandhi remained adamant on raising the Ladakh standoff issue for "national security" purposes. Bashing the conduct, Rijiju said, "As a matter of procedure, everyone must follow the rules. We are all elected members, and the House functions according to the Rules of Business and the prescribed conduct. Therefore, no one should disrespect this, and everyone must adhere to it." The Parliamentary Affairs Minister further accused Gandhi of "wasting the time" of other MPs, including the opposition benches, during the proceedings. "With good intentions, even if one does not express their own points well in the debate, they should not harm others. In the Congress and opposition parties, several MPs debate well, give good suggestions, and want to speak, but their time is being wasted because of Rahul Gandhi," he said. "Congress can never appreciate anything good; it is their habit. They themselves cannot achieve anything good, and even if something beneficial happens for the country, they cannot tolerate it," Rijiju added. Meanwhile, disruptions and protests from Congress MPs and sloganeering from the opposition benches continued on Tuesday. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Patna, Feb 3 : Newly-elected Mokama MLA Anant Singh, who was lodged in Beur jail in connection with a murder case, took the oath of office in the Bihar Legislative Assembly on Tuesday. He was brought from the Beur Central Jail under tight security arrangements. Anant Singh's oath-taking was made possible following permission granted by the Patna Civil Court. According to the court's directive, he was transported to the Assembly in an ambulance under heavy security cover, and the entire process was conducted under strict surveillance. After arriving at the Assembly, Anant Singh took the oath of office and later met Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Following the oath ceremony, he greeted people present in the Assembly premises. Before leaving Beur Jail, Anant Singh spoke briefly to the media, stating that he now wants to secure his release from jail. Addressing the people of Mokama, he said that development work in the constituency is continuing and assured that once released, he would personally meet people and address their concerns. "All the work of Mokama is going on. When I come out, I will meet everyone and complete all the remaining work," he said. Anant Singh also confirmed that he has applied for bail and expressed confidence that he would be released soon. Commenting on his electoral victory, he claimed that winning the election was not difficult for him. According to officials, Anant Singh was escorted from Beur Jail to the Assembly under strict security as per court instructions, and was returned after the completion of the oath. The development has drawn significant political attention, given Anant Singh's long-standing influence in Mokama politics and his ongoing legal battles. Anant Singh is lodged in the Beur jail in connection with the alleged murder of Dularchand Yadav, which occurred during the campaign of the Bihar Assembly election 2025. He contested the Assembly election from Mokama while staying in jail and secured the victory. --IANS ajk/svn -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Sonipat, Feb 3 : Recognised as India's leading global law school, JGLS continues to attract exceptional interest from high-achieving law aspirants across India and overseas, reaffirming its position as a premier destination for legal education. The law school has now announced that a minimum of 75 per cent of the total intake for 2026-27 will be admitted through Early Admissions, underscoring the importance of the February 28 deadline of taking the LNAT exam. LNAT is a Mandatory Admission Test for both Five-Year & Three-Year LLB (Hons.) Programs at JGLS. In the first round of early admissions, JGLS admitted over 400 students in its flagship Five-Year Integrated Law Programmes, including B.Com. LL.B. (Hons), BBA LL.B. (Hons), BA LL.B. (Hons), and the Three-Year LLB (Hons) programme. Global Rankings and Academic Leadership JGLS's global standing is reflected in its consistently high international rankings: Ranked 78th in the world and 1st in India for Law & Legal Studies - QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025 Ranked No 1 in India for Law - Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject 2026 These distinctions place JGLS among an elite group of law schools worldwide and reinforce its commitment to global standards in teaching, research, and institutional governance. World-Class Faculty and Academic Excellence JGLS boasts a globally diverse 500-plus-member full-time faculty, with a significant number of professors holding degrees from top 50 law schools worldwide, including Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge, Yale, Stanford, NYU, LSE, Columbia, Berkeley, NUS, etc. The curriculum is deeply rooted in interdisciplinarity, offering over 560 compulsory courses, 580 electives, and 320 cross-listed courses at JGU. Unmatched Global Exposure and Internationalisation With over 575 partnerships across 75-plus countries, JGLS offers unparalleled global exposure through student exchange programmes, semester-abroad opportunities, dual degrees, and short-term study abroad programmes with top-ranked universities worldwide. Infrastructure and Experiential Learning JGLS offers world-class infrastructure, including India's first Constitution Museum and the Rights & Freedoms Academy, Nyayabhyasa Mandapam, the world's largest moot court hall, the International Mooting Academy for Advocacy, Negotiation, Dispute Adjudication, Arbitration and Resolution (IMAANDAR), and state-of-the-art academic and residential facilities on a 100-plus-acre ultra-modern green campus. Career Outcomes and Alumni Network Graduates of JGLS work across leading law firms, multinational corporations, public institutions, policy organisations, and international bodies. Supported by a strong Office of Career Services, students benefit from structured career education, one-on-one advising, and engagement with over 1,200 organisations offering internships and 300 organisations offering full-time roles annually. LNAT-UK: Mandatory Admissions Test for JGLS The LNAT-UK is a globally benchmarked, standardised admissions test. This test evaluates critical thinking and advanced English language and reading comprehension skills. The LNAT comprises two sections: Section A, a scored component consisting of 42 multiple-choice questions based on complex texts that assess comprehension, inference, and reasoning (with no negative marking), and Section B, an unscored essay. The LNAT score refers only to performance in Section A and is interpreted in the context of the overall applicant pool. JGLS considers this score only for admission and doesn't require an essay. Merit-cum-Means-Based Scholarships LNAT-UK scores will be considered for merit-cum means-based scholarships. Scholarships are awarded in the range of 10 per cent, 25 per cent, 50 per cent, and 75 per cent of tuition fees, based on merit and annual parental income criteria. Upcoming Admission Deadlines Applicants who missed the first round are encouraged to apply in the upcoming cycles: Early Admission | Second Merit List (March 2026) Deadline to register for and take LNAT-UK: February 28, 2026 Late Admission | Final Merit List (June 2026) Deadline to register for and take LNATUK: 31 May 2026 Professor (Dr) C. Raj Kumar, Founding Vice Chancellor of O.P. Jindal Global University, said: "I am delighted to see the interest and enthusiasm among the brightest and the best students to choose Jindal Global Law School. The relentless pursuit of excellence defines our law school, and I welcome students who are willing to work hard and make us proud." Professor Anand Prakash Mishra, Vice Dean and Director of Law Admissions at JGLS, stated: "The Early Admissions Deadline of February 28 is critical for every serious law aspirant in the country as JGLS will admit a minimum 75 per cent of total intake based on this deadline. Studying law at JGLS is a transformational opportunity for a lifetime, and you must not miss it due to a delay in taking the entrance test." Exclusive LNAT-UK Retest Opportunity For the 5-year integrated law programs, the admissions cut-off is 20 out of 42 in the LNAT-UK. Applicants who have scored below 20 out of 42 in the LNAT-UK are eligible for a limited retest opportunity, applicable only for admission to JGLS for the Academic Year 202627. -- Retest window: Open till February 28, 2026. -- A higher score will be considered. -- Retest scores will not be considered for scholarships. Two-Step Application Process Applicants must complete both steps to be considered for admission: Register for the LNATUK Test: https://lnat.ac.uk/ Submit the JGLS Online Application Form: https://lawadmissions.jgu.edu.in/ Admission is offered exclusively to candidates who meet the cut-off prescribed by the JGLS Admissions Committee. Contact the JGLS Admissions Office Prospective applicants can connect directly with the JGLS Admissions Office by registering on the official admissions portal. Register at: LawAdmissions.JGU.edu.in Jammu, Feb 3 : The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly witnessed a pandemonium on Tuesday as several legislators from both Treasury and Opposition benches protested over key issues. Two Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs walked out of the Assembly over what they called an 'unsatisfactory response from the Omar Abdullah government' while the ruling National Conference (NC) MLAs sat on a 'dharna' in the Assembly premises to protest against attacks on Kashmiris outside the UT and for the restoration of statehood. BJP MLAs, Rajiv Jasrotia and Pawan Gupta, staged a walkout from the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, expressing their dissatisfaction with the responses provided by the government on issues raised during the proceedings. Jasrotia walked out after receiving what he described as "unsatisfactory and evasive answers" from the government side. Following this, another BJP MLA, Pawan Gupta from Udhampur, also joined the protest and walked out of the house in solidarity with his party MLA. The walkout comes amid protests in and outside the Assembly, with legislators demanding concrete action and clear responses from the government on pressing issues affecting their constituencies. Meanwhile, ruling NC MLAs sat on a protest outside the House against attacks on Kashmiris outside J&K and for the restoration of statehood. In another related development, J&K Peoples Conference (PC) president and MLA, Sajad Gani Lone, submitted three key amendments to the Lieutenant Governor's address, raising concerns over the safety of Kashmiris, regularisation of daily wagers and age relaxation for civil service aspirants. According to the business circulated by the Assembly Secretariat, Sajad Lone proposed an amendment expressing regret over the omission of any condemnation of attacks on Kashmiri students, traders and hawkers in various states and union territories. Lone, who is the only opposition legislator from Kashmir to move amendments to the L-G's address, also sought the regularisation of daily wagers which remains a long-pending demand of contractual employees across Jammu and Kashmir. Kolkata, Feb 3 : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) probing the violence in Murshidabad district's Beldanga area for two days last month over the death of a migrant worker from West Bengal in neighbouring Jharkhand, is focussing on the angle of 'cyber-instigation' though which the local people were misled and provoked by projecting a case of suicide as a murder. The NIA officials have already visited the cyber-crime police station at Baharampur to collect information and clues on the messages sent from different social media accounts just before the violence broke out at Beldanga over the unfortunate incident. Sources aware of the development said that the NIA sleuths had also collected digital footprints of such accounts and were currently examining them thoroughly. Incidentally, several controversial posts were made on social media on the unfortunate death of the migrant worker in Jharkhand, which the Jharkhand Police had already clarified as a case of suicide, quoting the post-mortem report. The investigating NIA officials, sources said, believe that such controversial posts played an important role in falsely projecting the "suicide case" as a "murder," and this instigated a section of the people from a particular community to take the law in their own hands. The NIA sleuths are trying to trace the source of those controversial posts and track whether any organised racket with vested interest was behind this conspiracy to spread violence in West Bengal. The focus of the investigation is also to find out whether brewing sentiments of the local people over the mishap were fuelled by such posts or not. It may be noted that violent protests broke out in Murshidabad's Beldanga on January 16 following the death of a migrant worker in Jharkhand. A large number of people took to the streets by blocking railway tracks and National Highway 12 for several hours, and even attacked policemen and media persons. The protests continued for another day, resulting in the disruption of traffic movement on National Highway 12. A PIL was filed at the Calcutta High Court seeking deployment of central forces in Beldanga as well as an NIA probe into the matter. While hearing the PIL, a Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court gave freedom to the Union government to order an NIA probe into the violence and tension for two days in Beldanga. Thereafter, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs gave a go-ahead to the NIA to start the probe. JUBA, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- An upsurge in violent clashes in South Sudan's Jonglei State since the beginning of 2026 has left over 450,000 children at risk of acute malnutrition, as hostilities have halted critical health and nutrition services, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday. UNICEF said 17 health facilities have been closed due to ongoing conflict, with associated nutrition services suspended. "We are urgently calling for all parties to cease the violence and grant rapid, unimpeded and safe access for humanitarian aid and workers to reach highly vulnerable, displaced groups," UNICEF Representative in South Sudan Noala Skinner said in a statement issued in Juba, the capital of South Sudan. UNICEF said six counties in Jonglei already have or are close to stock-outs of therapeutic foods, a lifesaving commodity for severely malnourished children. The violence has reportedly left at least 250,000 people displaced, especially in the north and center of the state, forcing families to flee their homes in search of safety and significantly deepening protection risks across affected communities, the UN agency said. According to UNICEF, access to emergency aid has been severely hampered, as humanitarian agencies are unable to reach vulnerable populations due to restrictions on travel by river, air and road. The UN agency said it has already dispatched water purification equipment, buckets and soap to Duk County in Jonglei, where there are concerns over a cholera outbreak. Hyderabad, Feb 3 : Infighting within the Congress in Telangana's Jagtial district over allotment of party tickets for municipal elections intensified with senior leader T. Jeevan Reddy openly expressing his anger over the party giving more tickets to the group of his rival M. Sanjay Kumar in Jagtial. The former minister is angry as his group has been given 20 tickets while Sanjay Kumar's followers managed to secure 30 tickets for the February 11 municipal elections. A large number of Congress cadres gathered at Jeevan Reddy's residence on Tuesday. He is holding a meeting with his supporters to decide the future course of action. Jeevan Reddy is locked in a bitter fight with Sanjay Kumar, who is one of the 10 MLAs of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) who switched loyalties to the Congress party in 2024. Jeevan Reddy, who was defeated by Sanjay Kumar in the Jagtial constituency in the 2023 elections, has openly defied the party leadership for inducting him into the party. On January 21, Jeevan Reddy walked out of a meeting at the party's state headquarters, Gandhi Bhavan, objecting to Sanjay Kumar's presence. Reddy asked how the party allowed an outsider to join an internal meeting. "Why is a member of an Opposition party attending this meeting?" he asked. Both groups have been at loggerheads over one-upmanship in the district. The efforts of the leadership to pacify Reddy have not yielded results, as he is worried over the MLA's growing clout in the district. The infighting also marred the allotment of party tickets for municipal elections in the district. Jeevan Reddy's group is unhappy over the party giving more tickets to the rival group for elections to Jagtial and Raikal municipalities. Several aspirants from both groups filed nominations. However, the party has issued B-forms to the majority of the aspirants from Sanjay Kumar's group, deepening the rift. Chennai, Feb 3 : A day after the makers of director Rajkumar Periasamy's upcoming film, featuring actor Dhanush in the lead, welcomed her on board the unit of the film, actress Sai Pallavi on Tuesday thanked the film's director Rajkumar Periasamy and disclosed that she was "nervously excited". Taking to her Instagram stories section to thank Rajkumar Periasamy, the director of Dhanush's upcoming film #D55, for his post in which he had accorded her a warm welcome to the unit, Sai Pallavi wrote, "Thank you so much sir. Nervous excitement!" It may be recalled that Wunderbar Films, the production house of actor Dhanush which happens to be one of the production houses producing the film, had taken to its X timeline to welcome actress Sai Pallavi on Monday. It wrote, "Sheas about grace and strength - all at once. Welcoming everybodyas favourite @Sai_Pallavi92 on board #D55. The hit combo returns to the big screen." This will be the second time that Sai Pallavi will be working with Dhanush. She had earlier worked with Dhanush in director Balaji Mohan's 'Maari 2'. It may be recalled that the makers of the film, being tentatively referred to as #D55, had already welcomed actress Sreeleela onboard the unit of the film on January 30 this year. The production house had welcomed Sree Leela on board the unit saying, "You didn't see this coming. Welcoming the dazzling damsel @sreeleela14 on board #D55." The makers had also welcomed young music sensation Sai Abhyankkar onboard the unit. Taking to its X timeline to make the announcement, Wunderbar Films had said, "Timeas up. The SAI-lence breaks. Excited to have the sensational @SaiAbhyankkar as the music composer for #D55. D55 - A #SaiAbhyankkar Musical. A brand new collaboration loading." Sai Abhyankkar responded to the post of the production house saying,"Super excited and pumped working with @dhanushkraja sir on #D55! My dream collaboration @Rajkumar_KP , dear sir thank you so much !! This is gonna be a very special cooking and thank you dear @theSreyas anna. @wunderbarfilms @RTakeStudios GIG" Director Rajkumar Periasamy too had welcomed the young music sensation on board the unit of the film, which is tentatively being referred to as #D55. Taking to his X timeline, he wrote, "You are a Wonder-kid Sai! Excited to have you on board for #D55 as the music composer my brother. God bless you dear @SaiAbhyankkar. Thank you dear @DhanushKRaja sir. #D55 A #SaiAbhyankkar Musical. @theSreyas @wunderbarfilms @RTakeStudios @Shra2309 @azy905 @sandy_sashr @vishurams." The film has triggered huge excitement as the makers have already disclosed that this film will be a magnum opus. It may be recalled that only a week ago, another production house called R Take Studios had announced that it was joining hands with Wunderbar Films for producing this film. Chennai, Feb 3 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin led the DMK in paying homage to party founder and former Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai on his 57th death anniversary, as a huge crowd thronged the Anna Memorial at Marina Beach on Tuesday. Accompanied by Cabinet Ministers, senior party leaders, MLAs and a large number of cadres, Stalin offered floral tributes at the Anna Memorial, recalling the enduring legacy of Annadurai, widely revered as the architect of Dravidian politics and social reform in Tamil Nadu. The Chief Minister later paid floral tributes at the memorial of former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi at Anna Square, honouring the DMK stalwart who carried forward Annadurai's ideological vision. Earlier in the day, CM Stalin and other ministers participated in a silent rally that passed through Wallajah Salai and Kamarajar Salai before culminating at the memorial. Party workers lined the route in large numbers, holding portraits of Annadurai and raising slogans reflecting his commitment to social justice, rationalism and Tamil identity. The observance witnessed a steady flow of DMK cadres and supporters from various parts of the city and neighbouring districts. In view of the large turnout and the Chief Minister's visit, the Greater Chennai Traffic Police enforced temporary traffic restrictions in and around Marina. Traffic was halted on Kamarajar Salai from the Kannagi statue to Wallajah Road to facilitate the movement of the Chief Minister and Ministers during the tribute ceremony. Vehicles coming from Santhome and proceeding towards War Memorial were diverted via Bharathi Salai, Victoria Hostel Road and Sivananda Salai. A senior official of the City Traffic Police said the arrangements were put in place only for a short duration. "The traffic curbs were enforced for a short time to ensure smooth conduct of the programme. Normal traffic resumed immediately after the tributes were completed," the official said. Despite the heavy gathering, the event concluded peacefully with minimal disruption to the public. DMK leaders later reiterated that Annadurai's ideals continue to guide the party's political and social agenda, reaffirming their commitment to the principles he championed. Chikkaballapur, Feb 3 : Three minors were detained in Karnataka's Chikkaballapur district on Tuesday in connection with a moral policing incident. According to the police, the incident occurred when a man and woman from different faiths were walking together on a public road in Chikkaballapur city. The man and woman hailed from Sidlaghatta town and are friends. While they were walking together, a group of minors intercepted them, recorded a video, and allegedly harassed them. The minors reportedly showed the video to the pair and attempted to intimidate them. Despite the young man and woman explaining that they were friends and belonged to the same place, the group continued to harass them, engaging in acts of moral policing. The video of the incident later surfaced on social media and went viral, triggering strong public anger and condemnation. Following the backlash, the Chikkaballapur City Police acted swiftly and took the minors involved into custody. Locals have urged the Police Department to take strict legal action to curb such incidents in the future and prevent harassment in the name of moral policing. On November 7, 2025, two people were arrested on the charge of abusing a group of students from different religions for being together and allegedly assaulting a student on November 6, 2025. According to police, the alleged abuse and attack occurred at Periyadka when a group of 10 undergraduate students were on their way to the house of their ailing classmate. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah recently said the state has effectively curbed "unconstitutional and unethical moral policing" that once disrupted Karnataka's dignity and progress, crediting the Police Department for restoring discipline and public trust. "Illegal and unconstitutional moral policing that had tarnished the state's reputation has now been brought under control. The credit for this achievement goes entirely to the Police Department," Siddaramaiah said while addressing the Police Commemoration Day event in Bengaluru. New Delhi, Feb 3 : Opposition leaders on Tuesday mounted a sharp attack on the India-US trade agreement, raising concerns over the country's 'sovereignty', transparency in decision-making, and the possible long-term impact on farmers, energy security and foreign policy. Leaders from the Congress party and Samajwadi Party questioned why key announcements were being made by US President Donald Trump instead of the Indian government and warned that the deal may disproportionately benefit the US. Congress MP Sukhdeo Bhagat said there was little reason for celebration and criticised the sharp increase in tariff levels. "I don't think there is much to be happy about. Earlier, our tariff was around 3-4 per cent, and if we are now happy with it being 18 per cent, it is shocking to me. Why is President Trump informing us about trade agreements? Are we no longer a sovereign nation? Why is a leader of another country informing us? Now the US will decide from whom we should buy oil or trade, and receiving such crucial information from President Trump instead of the Prime Minister is not a good message for the country," he told IANS. Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav alleged that the US would never enter into an agreement without securing its own interests. "America is a very shrewd trader. It will never do anything that goes against its own interests, so there must be some hidden agenda. It could be about buying weapons, or about not sourcing oil from certain routes. They will never openly admit it, but there is definitely a hidden agenda," he said. Congress MP, Jebi Mather, questioned the optics and substance of the announcements. "Whether it is a ceasefire announcement or whether it is the trade deal announcement or cutting down, it seems to be President Trump making all the announcements. Has India surrendered to the US? This is the first thing we wish to ask. And also, the details that are coming out, there is a lot of smoke in the cloud. So that smoke has to be cleared," she told IANS, adding, "What about the agricultural deal that is surfacing? What about farmers' rights? What about buying oil, not from Russia, but from Venezuela and America? All these things are a lot of things coming up. Anyway, Parliament is in session. So let's have it." SP MP Rajiv Rai echoed similar concerns, saying, "I don't understand those people who used to say that a fall in the rupee's value hurts the country's pride. How much more will the nation's pride suffer if we are being dictated by Trump and learning about every decision from him?" Congress MP Ujjwal Raman Singh also flagged strategic concerns. "What are the conditions? India had longstanding relations with Russia and was purchasing oil at lower prices. Now the Indian government is being pressured to shift to Venezuela. The US President himself announced that India is safe only if it compromises on its previous agreements," he said. India and the US reached a trade deal on Monday following a phone call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump. Under the agreement, US tariffs on Indian goods have been reduced to 18 per cent, while India has agreed to ease certain trade barriers on American products. The government has hailed the deal as a boost for Indian exports and global market access, while opposition parties continue to demand a detailed statement in Parliament. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Chennai, Jan 3 : A.N.S. Prasad, spokesperson of the Tamil Nadu BJP, has raised a sharp political and moral question that continues to trouble the state even after 50 years: Why has Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, who was jailed during the Congress-imposed Emergency, chosen today to align with the very same party? In 1975 then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared the Emergency, suspending civil liberties and crushing democratic dissent. On January 31, 1976, the elected DMK government led by Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi was dismissed, and President's Rule was imposed on Tamil Nadu citing corruption and breakdown of law and order. That very night, police forces arrived at the Gopalapuram residence not to arrest Kalaignar, but his son, Stalin. Detained under the draconian Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA), Stalin was subjected to severe custodial torture. Across the State, more than 500 DMK leaders and cadres were arrested, beaten, and imprisoned and among those jailed was former Chennai Mayor Chittibabu, who courageously shielded Stalin from police brutality and later died as a result. His sacrifice remains a poignant reminder of the excesses committed during the Emergency. For decades thereafter, DMK leaders and "MISA martyrs" publicly condemned the Congress every January 31, recalling the betrayals and authoritarianism inflicted on Tamil Nadu. Prasad argues that this history is now being selectively forgotten. During election seasons, he says, the same DMK leadership that once denounced Congress tyranny abandons its self-respect ideology, travels to Delhi, and seeks electoral alliances with the Congress. The contradiction becomes even starker when viewed through Tamil cultural history. The iconic 1952 film 'Parasakthi', produced by Stalin's grandfather, boldly exposed Congress politics and anti-Tamil oppression. Prasad contends that Tamil Nadu today deserves a new cinematic reckoning MISA Prisoner Stalin to document the brutal tortures of the Emergency, the dismissal of the DMK government, Congress betrayals of Tamil interests, and its role in the Sri Lankan Tamil tragedy. Such a narrative, he says, must also question how Stalin, despite acknowledging these atrocities, now publicly embraces Rahul Gandhi as a political ally and "brother." Fifty years after MISA imprisonment, Prasad insists, the issue is no longer merely historical. It is about political integrity, collective memory, and the price paid when power outweighs principle in Tamil Nadu's politics. Belagavi : , Feb 3 (IANS) A man was brutally hacked to death allegedly over a decade-old personal grudge linked to an elopement, in Hoolikatti village near Saundatti taluk of Belagavi district, police said on Tuesday. The victim, Basappa, was killed on Monday night after being attacked more than 16 times with a machete by the accused, identified as Irayya. Police said the accused allegedly placed his leg on the victimas body and posed for photographs until officers arrived at the scene. According to police, the murder was the result of a long-standing grudge dating back to 2015, when Basappa allegedly eloped with Irayyaas mother and never returned to the village. Irayya, who was a minor at the time, was reportedly traumatised by his mother's leaving and held Basappa responsible for the incident. Police said Irayya had been searching for Basappa and his mother for several years. Four days ago, Basappa reportedly returned to the area and was staying in Basadoni village to construct a house. After learning of his presence, Irayya allegedly waited for him near Hoolikatti village. When Basappa arrived on his motorcycle on Monday night, Irayya allegedly waylaid him and repeatedly attacked him with a machete, killing him on the spot. Police said the accused himself alerted the police after the crime and was taken into custody at the scene. The victimas body was shifted to the Belagavi Institute of Medical Sciences (BIMS) for postmortem examination. A case has been registered at the Saundatti police station, and further investigation is underway. Meanwhile, in a separate incident reported on February 2, Davanagere district police arrested a recently married woman and her lover on charges of abetment to suicide. Police said their elopement and alleged harassment drove the womanas husband to take his own life. The deceased, Harish, had married Saraswati of Hulikatte village three months ago. She allegedly eloped with her lover, Kumar, on January 23. Though the family traced her two days later, a distressed Harish hanged himself. In a note, he claimed he had committed no wrongdoing and alleged harassment and threats following the elopement. Jammu, Feb 3 : Uproar was witnessed in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly on Tuesday as the BJP MLAs demanded a National Law University for Jammu, and NC and PDP members raised the issue of attacks on Kashmiris outside the union territory. Noisy scenes marred the proceedings of the House, with both the opposition and ruling party legislators vehemently debating their issues. Speaker, Abdul Rahim Rather, decided to continue with the Question Hour despite the uproar and dismissed the adjournment motion moved by PDP MLA, Wahid-ur-Rehman Para to discuss the incidents of "hate crime" against Kashmiris elsewhere in the country. As the Assembly proceedings started, BJP MLA Surjit Singh Slathia raised the issue of Jammu University students, who have taken to the streets in support of a law university. Slathia said his party was not against granting National Law University (NLU) for Kashmir, but also wants one such university for Jammu to fulfil the demand of the students. While Slathia was speaking, other BJP MLAs also stood up and displayed placards in support of the demand and raised slogans like "NLU for Jammu". Congress legislator Nizam-ud-Din Bhat objected to the display of placards and said the recent meeting of the business advisory committee decided to maintain the decorum of the House while raising any issue. "The action of displaying placards by BJP legislators is akin to encroachment and intrusion, which is not acceptable. The government granted permission for NLU in Kashmir following due process," Congress MLA Bhat said. While uproar was continuing, NC MLA Mubarak Gul alleged that Kashmiri students and traders are facing harassment and assault in different parts of the country, which is not acceptable. PDP's Waheed-ur-Rehman Para informed the Speaker that he had moved an adjournment motion to discuss growing incidents of "hate crime" against Kashmiri students and others. NC MLA, Saifullah Mir, alleged that dozens of Kashmiris living outside the UT are not allowed to move out of their accommodations and are facing assault if they come out, which needs government intervention. The Speaker intervened time and again and also requested the members to maintain the decorum of the House. "There is no question of adjournment motion because the issues raised can be taken up through other means in an appropriate manner without disrupting the Question Hour, which can be used to make the government accountable", the Speaker ruled. He said the J&K government has already taken up the issue of harassment of Kashmiris with various state governments and is thankful to the Uttarakhand chief minister for taking immediate action recently in one such case. Earlier, NC MLAs sat on a 'dharna' outside the House against attacks on Kashmiris and also in support of their demand for restoration of statehood. New Delhi, Feb 3 : Pakistan is paying a heavy price as violence rages on in Balochistan. The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has unleashed havoc on the Pakistan security forces in the last 48 hours during which heavy casualties have been reported. Balochistan is important for Pakistan where its economy is concerned. While the Chinese have invested heavily in the region, the West is eyeing rare minerals, gold and copper. Officials say that the ongoing violence in Pakistan is a result of complete Intelligence failure. This is because there is no accountability among the ranks. Officers on the ground do not report issues intentionally because the top brass is a corrupt lot. This has led to dejection and many within the Intelligence circles feel that the top leadership must fail. The operation by the BLA was not an overnight one. There was a lot of planning that went into this and attacks that were carried out were not just coordinated, but sophisticated as well, officials say. The BLA deployed sophisticated weaponry and also used suicide bombers for the strikes on the security forces. The very fact that the Intelligence agencies missed this or intentionally did not report this makes it clear that there are cracks that have developed. Another official said that many officers holding lower positions are disgruntled with the system. In Pakistan, while it was always a norm that the top rung would reap all the benefits, it has become even worse under army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir. There are a lot of officials who want a truce with the people of Balochistan. However, the top ranking officials of both the ISI and army are not for it. This is mainly because they have got used to looting the people of Balochistan for many years. This remains the primary problem for the Baloch people who have very often accused the Pakistan establishment of taking away their resources and not passing on the benefits to them. An Intelligence Bureau official said that if the top brass in Pakistan want to solve the problem they can easily do so. However it is the top brass that is not allowing any sort of truce in the region. Pakistan watchers say that for long the Pakistan establishment has got away with the loot that they have indulged in. However, the situation today is different as there are external interests involved. The minerals deal with the US is under threat owing to the violence. The US has made it clear to Pakistan that it wants peace in the region. On the other hand, China has suspended temporarily all on-ground operations in Pakistanas port city of Gwadar. It has also withdrawn its personnel following a coordinated attack in Gwadar and parts of Balochistan. The Chinese had recently warned Pakistan after groups such as the BLA and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had directed attacks on their nationals. China has been seeking security guarantees from Pakistan and even said that they would send their own agencies if Islamabad is unable to contain the situation. Pakistan however assured China that it would prevail upon the BLA and TTP. However this has clearly not happened and the recent attack is proof of the same. Officials say that both the US and China are assessing the situation at the moment. Their projects may not be cancelled, but Pakistan does have a lot of answering to do. The experts say that unless and until the top officials within the Pakistan army and ISI climb down and put a stop to immense corruption, the lower ranking officials will not fall in line. Many within the lower rung want the institutions to fail and hence are intentionally failing to provide the much-needed Intelligence in Balochistan, the official added. Bhopal, Feb 3 : A man, accused of raping and blackmailing a minor, was thrashed by a group of lawyers and common people at the Bhopal district court premises, resulting in a scuffle between police and advocates. The incident occurred when the accused, identified as Osaf Ali Khan, was brought to court. Videos of the scuffle on the court premises went viral on social media, showing police personnel trying to protect the accused under custody; however, a mob, including some advocates, assaulted him. The moment the police reached the Bhopal court premises, a group of lawyers assaulted the accused. The commotion, pushing and shoving on the court premises, disrupted proceedings for some time. The police used force to take the accused to the court. According to information, police arrested Khan on Monday night in connection with the rape case of an 11th-grade female student in the Kohefiza area. The incident came to light after the victim, who is studying at a prestigious school in the Shahpura area of the city, filed a complaint at the Kohefiza police station, alleging that she was blackmailed and raped by Khan. In her complaint, the victim told police that in July last year, the accused took her to a secluded area in the Khanugaon area and sexually assaulted her. The victim also told police that when she resisted, the accused silenced her by promising to marry her. The accused had secretly filmed an explicit video of the victim during the rape. Later, he demanded one lakh rupees from the student, threatening to make the video viral. Frightened by the fear of humiliation, the student somehow managed to arrange 40,000 rupees and gave it to the accused. Furthermore, he repeatedly forced her to recite Islamic prayers against her will. The police have taken the accused, Khan, into custody. His mobile phone has also been seized and will be sent for forensic examination. According to Kohefiza Police Station SHO Krishna Gopal Shukla, the accused frequently visited the area near the school to meet the student's friend. He became acquainted with the victim through this friend. Akbar Novruz The number of weekly flights from Israels Ben Gurion Airport to Baku is planned to increase from 14 to 28, reflecting a sharp rise in interest among Israeli tourists in visiting Azerbaijan, Florian Zengschmidt, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Azerbaijan Tourism Bureau, told The Jerusalem Post, Azernews reports. Zengschmidt highlighted that Israeli tourist arrivals to Azerbaijan in 2025 increased by about 139% compared with 2024, a surge that has also translated into rising tourism spendingapproximately 184 million shekels (around $59 million), an increase of roughly 81% year?on?year. Israelis ranked among the top 10 foreign tourists visiting Baku in 2025. Broader tourism trends (20222025): 2025: Approximately 60,000 Israeli tourists visited Azerbaijan last year, as confirmed by Israeli officials, underlining continued growth in bilateral travel ties. 2024: Tourism data show that arrivals from Israel were expanding sharply as Azerbaijan boosted air connectivity and promoted cultural and tourism links, though exact annual totals for 2024 by nationality have varied by reporting source. 2023: In 2023, the number of Israeli visitors entering Azerbaijan through e?visa statistics was about 29,158, up from the preceding year, reflecting continued growth in tourism ties. 2022: In 2022, around 23,935 visitors from Israel came to Azerbaijanapproximately four times the number from the previous yearpartly driven by expanding direct air links and tourism promotion. Officials attribute the tourism boom to Azerbaijans unique blend of cultural heritage, modern infrastructure, and strategic outreach, including opening its first tourism office in Tel Aviv in 2022 and strengthening marketing efforts. With the planned flight increase to 28 weekly services, authorities aim to further support the growing travel demand and deepen people?to?people connections between the two countries. This photo taken on Feb. 3, 2026 shows firefighters working on a fire site at a market in Tehran, Iran. A huge fire erupted at a market in the Iranian capital Tehran on Tuesday morning, the official news agency IRNA reported. The fire broke out in the Jannat Abad neighborhood in western Tehran and was reported at 09:55 a.m. local time (0625 GMT), prompting firefighters from five stations to rush to the scene, IRNA quoted Tehran Fire Department spokesman Jalal Maleki as saying. (Xinhua) TEHRAN, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- A huge fire erupted at a market in the Iranian capital Tehran on Tuesday morning, the official news agency IRNA reported. The fire broke out in the Jannat Abad neighborhood in western Tehran and was reported at 09:55 a.m. local time (0625 GMT), prompting firefighters from five stations to rush to the scene, IRNA quoted Tehran Fire Department spokesman Jalal Maleki as saying. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation, and the fire originated from a shed with an area of about 2,000 square meters, said Maleki. Shervin Tabrizi, a spokesman for Tehran's emergency medical services organization, said four ambulances and an ambulance bus were dispatched to transfer those wounded to the hospital. This photo taken on Feb. 3, 2026 shows firefighters working on a fire site at a market in Tehran, Iran. A huge fire erupted at a market in the Iranian capital Tehran on Tuesday morning, the official news agency IRNA reported. The fire broke out in the Jannat Abad neighborhood in western Tehran and was reported at 09:55 a.m. local time (0625 GMT), prompting firefighters from five stations to rush to the scene, IRNA quoted Tehran Fire Department spokesman Jalal Maleki as saying. (Xinhua) This photo taken on Feb. 3, 2026 shows firefighters working on a fire site at a market in Tehran, Iran. A huge fire erupted at a market in the Iranian capital Tehran on Tuesday morning, the official news agency IRNA reported. The fire broke out in the Jannat Abad neighborhood in western Tehran and was reported at 09:55 a.m. local time (0625 GMT), prompting firefighters from five stations to rush to the scene, IRNA quoted Tehran Fire Department spokesman Jalal Maleki as saying. (Xinhua) This photo taken on Feb. 3, 2026 shows firefighters working on a fire site at a market in Tehran, Iran. A huge fire erupted at a market in the Iranian capital Tehran on Tuesday morning, the official news agency IRNA reported. The fire broke out in the Jannat Abad neighborhood in western Tehran and was reported at 09:55 a.m. local time (0625 GMT), prompting firefighters from five stations to rush to the scene, IRNA quoted Tehran Fire Department spokesman Jalal Maleki as saying. (Xinhua) This photo taken on Feb. 3, 2026 shows people around a fire site at a market in Tehran, Iran. A huge fire erupted at a market in the Iranian capital Tehran on Tuesday morning, the official news agency IRNA reported. The fire broke out in the Jannat Abad neighborhood in western Tehran and was reported at 09:55 a.m. local time (0625 GMT), prompting firefighters from five stations to rush to the scene, IRNA quoted Tehran Fire Department spokesman Jalal Maleki as saying. (Xinhua) This photo taken on Feb. 3, 2026 shows firefighters working on a fire site at a market in Tehran, Iran. A huge fire erupted at a market in the Iranian capital Tehran on Tuesday morning, the official news agency IRNA reported. The fire broke out in the Jannat Abad neighborhood in western Tehran and was reported at 09:55 a.m. local time (0625 GMT), prompting firefighters from five stations to rush to the scene, IRNA quoted Tehran Fire Department spokesman Jalal Maleki as saying. (Xinhua) This photo taken on Feb. 3, 2026 shows people around a fire site at a market in Tehran, Iran. A huge fire erupted at a market in the Iranian capital Tehran on Tuesday morning, the official news agency IRNA reported. The fire broke out in the Jannat Abad neighborhood in western Tehran and was reported at 09:55 a.m. local time (0625 GMT), prompting firefighters from five stations to rush to the scene, IRNA quoted Tehran Fire Department spokesman Jalal Maleki as saying. (Xinhua) New Delhi, Feb 3 : Bangladesh will go to polls this month and the battle is between the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami. Although there are many more parties in the fray, experts say that only the BNP or Jamaat have the capability of winning. The ban on the Awami League following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina has been a dampener for many supporters. At first they had made it clear that they would be boycotting the elections. During the campaign, what is being noticed is that both the Jamaat and BNP candidates are being told that they risk being singled out if they do not vote. The Jamaat-e-Islami has managed to drum up a narrative that it completely anti-Awami League. Its candidates openly tell the people that they are anti-national if they support Sheikh Hasinaas party. The Awami League supporters now find themselves in a dilemma in case they decided to abstain. The Jamaat has set up a team to identify those persons who do not step out and vote in the elections scheduled to be held this month. These persons would then be identified as Awami League supporters and there is every chance of them being targeted, an official said. Both the Jamaat and BNP claim that under Sheikh Hasinaas rule, their people were persecuted. The Jamaat was banned and many of its members executed under Hasina. Many BNP leaders including former Prime Minister, Khaleda Zia were put in jail during Hasinaas rule. Another official said that both the BNP and Jamaat would want their pound of flesh. The Jamaat in particular wants to ensure that the Awami League is completely wiped out. While its campaign is about getting votes, it is also about warning the Awami League supporters against abstaining. When the elections were announced, many had thought that the Awami League supporters would abstain from voting. However that trend has changed and experts say that the Awami League supporters would all go out and vote. This is mainly due to the fear of being persecuted, the experts also say. An Intelligence Bureau official said that the fear that the Jamaat and others have created seems to be working for them. There are many who do not admit that they are supporters of the Awami League. While the party has faced similar issues in the past, this time it is different. The supporters of the party are being threatened and this is a clear attempt to wipe out everything to do with the Awami League. Another official said that while sustained efforts are being made to wipe out the party, it is unlikely that its leaders would give up so easily. There are many exiled leaders of the party who are plotting a comeback. There are thousands of party members who fled Bangladesh in the wake of the uprising which led to the ouster of Hasina. Many of them are currently in Kolkata and they meet up regularly to plan a comeback. In addition to this, they regularly keep in touch with Sheikh Hasina, who is currently in New Delhi. Over the last couple of weeks, she has been in touch with her party members both in Bangladesh as well as in Kolkata. Experts say that if the Awami League wants to remain relevant, then it would have to act fast. The Jamaat and the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government is hell-bent on wiping out the party. Ahead of the elections, Sheikh Hasinaas party members have been telling the people to boycott polling. However, Bangladesh watchers say that it is highly unlikely that a boycott would take place as the Awami League supporters are too scared of being identified and targeted. Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 3 : With the Pinarayi Vijayan government on Tuesday firmly backing the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) and 'Metroman' E. Sreedharan championing a competing vision, Kerala now finds itself at a "rail crossroads". As both proposals gather momentum, the coming months are likely to see sharper political, technical, and financial scrutiny over which rail path is ultimately chosen to be pursued. The Kerala government has moved decisively to advance RRTS on Tuesday by issuing a formal order through the Transport Department, granting in-principle approval for the project. The first phase of the proposed corridor will stretch from Thiruvananthapuram to Thrissur, while the full 583-kilometre alignment from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod is slated for completion over 12 years. The estimated project cost stands at Rs 1.92 lakh crore. The project, conceived as a high-capacity, semi-high-speed rail system, will now be formally communicated to the Union government, with the state initiating discussions to secure mandatory clearances and explore funding options. The order comes at a time when the Centre continues to maintain silence on Kerala's earlier high-speed rail proposal, prompting the state to press ahead with an alternative transit model. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had first floated the RRTS proposal at last month's Cabinet meeting, signalling a strategic shift in the state's transport planning. The intent was reinforced when Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal made a budgetary allocation for the project in the state Budget presented on January 29, indicating the government's commitment to take the proposal beyond the conceptual stage. However, the RRTS push has triggered an open challenge from veteran rail engineer Sreedharan. On Monday, he unveiled an alternative rail proposal, inaugurating an office for the project and asserting that his model is more practical and financially viable for Kerala. He was blunt in his criticism of the RRTS, dismissing it as an impractical and "foolish" idea. Sreedharan's entry has sharpened the debate, given his track record in delivering marquee projects such as the Delhi Metro and Kochi Metro. With two competing visions now in the public domain, Kerala's rail future is set for intense scrutiny, one that will test political resolve, technical feasibility and fiscal prudence in equal measure. With the assembly elections round the corner, the Congress-led UDF has dismissed the sudden floating of RRTS as nothing but an election gimmick of Vijayan, even as Leader of Opposition V.D.Satheesan said they will not be a stumbling block to genuine projects. New Delhi, Feb 3 : The Delhi High Court has directed Bollywood actor Rajpal Yadav to surrender before the concerned Jail Superintendent by 4 p.m. on February 4 in connection with multiple cheque bounce cases. A single-judge Bench of Swarana Kanta Sharma deprecated the actor's conduct after noting his repeated failure to honour settlement commitments despite being granted several opportunities. "This Court is of the view that the conduct of the petitioner no. 1 (Rajpal Yadav) deserves to be deprecated. Despite repeatedly giving assurances and seeking indulgence of this Court, he has failed to comply with the orders passed from time to time," Justice Sharma observed. The Delhi High Court was dealing with a batch of petitions filed by Yadav and his wife challenging their conviction and sentence under the Negotiable Instruments Act. Taking a stern view of the conduct of the petitioners, Justice Sharma observed that despite "considerable leniency" shown over a prolonged period, the settlement amount was not paid in terms of undertakings given to the court. "This Court finds no justification to continue the indulgence granted to the petitioner no.1 earlier," the Delhi High Court said, adding that the actor had "repeatedly breached undertakings given before this Court". In its order, Justice Sharma noted that the sentence awarded by the trial court had been suspended as early as June 28, 2024, after the petitioners expressed willingness to amicably settle the dispute with the complainant company, and the matter was even referred to mediation. The order further recorded that no payment was made for nearly a year, despite assurances and specific timelines fixed by the Delhi High Court from time to time. While directing the release of the amount already deposited with the Registrar General to the complainant company, Justice Sharma granted limited indulgence by allowing time till February 4 for surrender, accepting the submission that the actor was presently engaged in professional work in Mumbai. "However, in the interest of justice, the petitioner no.1 is directed to surrender before the concerned Jail Superintendent by 04.02.2026 at 4:00 PM, to serve the sentence awarded to him by the learned Trial Court," the Delhi High Court said. The matter was listed on February 5, seeking compliance from the concerned jail authorities. New Delhi, Feb 3 : Bhutan's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Lyonpo Gem Tshering, held discussions with Union Minister of Power Manohar Lal, at a meeting here on Tuesday which focused on strengthening the longstanding cooperation between the two nations in the power sector. New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS) Bhutanas Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Lyonpo Gem Tshering, held discussions with Union Minister of Power Manohar Lal, at a meeting here on Tuesday which focused on strengthening the longstanding cooperation between the two nations in the power sector. During the discussions, both sides deliberated on the commercial optimisation of power output from the Punatsangchhu-II Hydroelectric Project (1020 MW). Emphasis was also placed on the early commissioning of the Punatsangchhu-I Hydroelectric Project (1200 MW), according to an official statement issued after the meeting. The discussion also covered the way forward for the Sankosh Hydropower Project. In addition, India and Bhutan discussed the transmission infrastructure planning up to the year 2040, for which detailed consultations are currently underway. It also covered the need to streamline approval for scheduling of power, particularly during lean months in Bhutan, the statement said. The Ministers appreciated the mutual friendship of the two nations and looked forward to further strengthening it. Minister of State for Power and New and Renewable Energy, Shripad Naik, and senior officials of the power ministry were also present at the meeting. In November 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 1020 MW Punatsangchhu-II Hydroelectric Project constructed under a bilateral agreement between India and Bhutan, marking a major milestone in the energy partnership between the two countries. The two sides also reached an understanding on the resumption of work on the main dam structure of the 1200 MW Punatsangchhu-I Hydroelectric Project. India has extended a Rs 4,000 crore Line of Credit (LoC) to Bhutan to spur economic development in the Himalayan country. In another key development to strengthen bilateral cultural ties PM Modi announced the granting of land in Varanasi for building a Bhutanese Temple and Guest House in the holy city. Besides, the two sides have decided to establish an Immigration Check Post in Hatisar across Gelephu. Memoranda of Understandings (MoUs) signed during PM Modias visit include an MoU on cooperation in the field of Renewable Energy signed by Lyonpo Gem Tshering, Minister for Energy and Natural Resources, Bhutan and Pralhad Venkatesh Joshi, Indiaas Minister for New and Renewable Energy. The MoU seeks to institutionalise the bilateral engagements in the field of renewable energy and aims to work together in areas such as Solar energy, Wind energy, Biomass, Energy Storage, Green Hydrogen and capacity building in these areas. New Delhi, Feb 3 : Congress General Secretary and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday accused the Centre of compromising the interests of Indian farmers by accepting an allegedly 'unfavourable' trade deal with the US. In a message on social media, she said, "The United States has stated, American farmers' products will now be sold in the Indian market, bringing money to rural America. Through this deal, Trump has ensured benefits for American farmers." "India's millions of farmers want to know what the terms of this trade agreement are? Is the Modi government planning to fully open the Indian agricultural sector to America? Will the government thrust Indian farmers into direct competition with American companies? Has a compromise been made on the interests of our farmers? The situation must be clarified immediately before the public," said Priyanka Gandhi. The Wayanad MP also circulated on social media a video clip of Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi in which he is seen alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi left the decisions on the US trade deal on other people's shoulders. "The leader of the country is supposed to give direction. The leader of the country is not supposed to run away from decisions and leave decisions to other people's shoulders. That is what the Prime Minister has done," said Rahul Gandhi in the video clip shared by Priyanka Gandhi. Her party colleague and former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh also raised doubts over the fairness of the deal, insisting that the Indian government has accepted the unfair terms dictated by the US in the trade deal. "Just like the ceasefire, the announcement of the trade deal was also made by US President Trump. It has been stated that the trade deal is being done 'on Modi's request'," said Ramesh, General Secretary in-charge of Communications of the Congress. The Congress MP also raised doubts about India surrendering its interests before the US. "Trump says that India will move to reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers against the United States to 'zero'. It seems India has agreed to completely open our market for America. This will impact Indian industry, traders and farmers," he wrote on social media. "There is talk of opening the agriculture sector for America in the statement as well. What exactly is the deal? How has the security and interests of our farmers been ensured?" he asked. The Modi government must take the Parliament and the entire country into confidence and share all the details, said Ramesh. Kolkata, Feb 3 : The Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday said that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's claims in her affidavit in the Supreme Court on the Enforcement Directorate's petition regarding her 'interference' during a search operation at the office and residence of Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) co-founder Pratik Jain in Kolkata are contradictory to the statements she made on January 8, the day of the raid. "The Chief Minister had been constantly giving untrue statements on this issue. But now she had got trapped in the tangle of her own contradictory statements. In the affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, she has claimed that she took away some files from the two places after taking permission from the ED officials. But on the day of the raid and search, she claimed in front of the camera that she had collected everything and did not allow the ED officials to take away anything. That was her self-declaration on that day, which totally contradicts the claims in her affidavit," the LoP told media persons on Tuesday afternoon. He also said that the Chief Minister was constantly contradicting her own statements out of fear of getting herself behind bars. After studying the claims in her affidavit and what she said on camera on January 8, even a child would understand how he is contradicting herself," Adhikari said. The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned to February 10 the hearing in the matter. A Bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Vipul M. Pancholi deferred the matter after Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, appearing for the ED, sought time to file a response to the counter affidavit filed by the West Bengal government earlier in the day. Mehta informed the Apex Court that the state government's response was received only on Tuesday, and the Central agency required time to examine it and place its rejoinder on record. Acceding to the request, the Justice Mishra-led Bench posted the matter for further hearing on February 10. Lucknow, Feb 3 : Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) President Mayawati on Tuesday adopted a cautious approach on the India-US trade deal, saying that drawing conclusions at this stage would be premature. Mayawati said a meaningful assessment of the move would be possible only after its actual impact is seen on the ground, particularly on economically vulnerable sections of society. The BSP supremo, in a post on X, said that the trade agreements between India and the US involved several conditions and complexities. It is, she said, difficult to immediately determine whether the tariff decision would prove beneficial. "After the mutual agreements between India and the US with many conditions, it would be premature to draw any immediate conclusions about how beneficial the news of the 18 per cent tariff imposed by the US is for the country and its people, due to a lack of adequate information," she noted in her post. She emphasised that the real test of the decision would lie in its implementation and outcomes. "Only after the policy is implemented on the ground will it be known how much it benefits the country, especially Bahujans, the poor, labourers, farmers and women," she added. Trade negotiations between India and the US had been underway for a considerable period. United States President Donald Trump announced a reduction of tariffs on Indian goods from 50 per cent to 18 per cent. The announcement coincided with the ongoing Budget Session of Parliament in India. The Centre has welcomed the tariff reduction, describing it as a positive development and a relief for Indian trade and industry. However, opposition parties, particularly the Congress, have raised concerns over the lack of transparency in the negotiations and sought clarity on the terms and long-term implications of the agreement. New Delhi, Feb 3 : Seeking the protection of the House, Delhi Law and Justice Minister Kapil Mishra has written to Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta claiming that the Punjab Police FIR in the Atishi video row violates Constitutional provisions.a New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS) Seeking the protection of the House, Delhi Law and Justice Minister Kapil Mishra has written to Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta claiming that the Punjab Police FIR in the Atishi video row violates Constitutional provisions. He requested that the matter be referred to the House's Committee of Privileges. Pointing to the FIR registered against him by the Punjab Police on the complaint of Iqbal Singh, the Minister said, "By threatening me with criminal charges, the Punjab Police is trying to browbeat and subdue my actions as an elected representative of the Delhi Assembly." "In view of the above, I seek the protection of the House through you to safeguard my rights as an MLA. By brazenly disregarding the constitutional guarantee provided under Article 361 A, the complainant Iqbal Singh and the Punjab Police officers have committed a serious breach of the privilege of an elected member of the House," wrote Mishra in a letter dated February 2. "I request you to kindly refer my complaint to the Committee of Privileges so that the guilty persons/officers involved in this incident can be identified and punished," he said. In his letter, the Minister drew the Speaker's attention to Article 361A of the Constitution, which provides that no person shall be liable to any civil or criminal proceedings in respect of the publication, in any form, of a substantially true report of the proceedings of Parliament or of a State Legislature, unless it is established that such publication was made with malice. The Article clarifies that this constitutional protection does not extend to the publication of reports relating to secret sittings of either House of Parliament or of a State Legislature, as the case may be, said Mishra. The Minister has submitted that the initiation of criminal proceedings in connection with the publication of a substantially true account of Assembly proceedings amounts to interference with the functioning and authority of the Legislature, and has therefore requested that the matter be taken cognisance of and referred to the Committee of Privileges for appropriate examination and action. In his letter, the Minister has drawn attention to Article 361A, which provides that no person shall be liable to any civil or criminal proceedings for the publication, in any form, of a substantially true report of the proceedings of Parliament or a State Legislature, unless such publication is proved to have been made with malice. The Article further clarifies that this protection does not apply to the publication of reports of secret sittings. Mishra recalled in the letter that on January 6, the House witnessed disorder following objectionable and derogatory remarks made by the Leader of the Opposition, Atishi, against the Sikh Gurus. He further stated that on January 9, Abhay Verma, Chief Whip, informed the House that an FIR had been registered by the Jalandhar Police alleging that Minister Kapil Mishra had uploaded a "doctored video clip of the House proceedings" on social media. Referring to a press release issued by the Commissioner of Police, Jalandhar, the Minister stated that the video clip in question was downloaded from his social media handle and that allegations of deliberate doctoring were levelled against him. Mishra noted that the FIR registration received wide media coverage and that copies of the relevant news reports were enclosed with the letter. The Minister asserted that the video clip he shared was a faithful and accurate reproduction of the proceedings of the Delhi Legislative Assembly and, therefore, fully covered by the constitutional protection available under Article 361A. The Karawal Nagar legislator, in his letter, stated that the criminal proceedings initiated in this matter undermine the privileges of an elected Member and amount to an attempt to browbeat and subdue him in the discharge of his legislative duties. Mishra said that the conduct of Iqbal Singh and Punjab Police officials reflects blatant disregard for constitutional guarantees and infringes upon the collective privileges of the House. Kolkata, Feb 3 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) continued its raids across West Bengal's West Burdwan district on Tuesday in connection with a coal and sand smuggling case, with dramatic scenes unfolding at the residence of businessman Rajesh Bansal in Jamuria. Kolkata, Feb 3 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) continued its raids across West Bengalas West Burdwan district on Tuesday in connection with a coal and sand smuggling case, with dramatic scenes unfolding at the residence of businessman Rajesh Bansal in Jamuria. According to ED sources, officials of the State Bank of India (SBI) arrived at Bansalas house carrying sacks and were later seen exiting with three of them. Sources said that so far Rs 65 lakh has been recovered from the premises, and the amount could cross Rs 1 crore. Bansal reportedly failed to provide satisfactory details about the source of the cash. The raids began around 6:30 am when three ED vehicles arrived in Jamuria from Kolkata. Searches were conducted at the residence of businessman Ramesh in the Punjabi More area near Jamuria market, as well as at the homes of his sons, Sumit Bansal and Amit Bansal. It is yet to be confirmed what documents or materials were seized. ED teams also searched a hardware store and warehouse at Punjabi More, and a shop named Bansal Hardware in Jamuria Hattala. The Durgapur City Centre residence of Budbud Police Stationas Officer-in-Charge, Manoranjan Mandal, was also raided. Mandal is currently being interrogated. Searches were simultaneously carried out at locations in Nabagram in Pandaveshwar and in Durgapur. Sources said several factories purchase coal through legal and illegal channels, but avoid direct financial transactions. Bansalas trading firm allegedly acted as a middleman, providing rented accounts for coal deals. ED is probing the scale of these transactions. The raids follow last monthas ED searches at the residence and office of Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) chief Pratik Jain. That operation triggered a political storm after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee personally visited the premises and accused ED of seizing her partyas election strategy documents under the guise of investigation. Bengaluru, Feb 3 : Karnataka BJP legislators on Tuesday staged a protest in the Legislative Council over remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, disrupting the House's proceedings. Following the uproar and repeated appeals by Chairman Basavaraj Horatti, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's Political Secretary and Congress MLC Naseer Ahmad expressed regret over his remarks. On Monday, Congress MLC Naseer Ahmad had referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a "desh drohi" (anti-national) in the presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah during the discussion on the motion of thanks to the Governor's address to the joint session. High drama unfolded throughout the morning session on Tuesday as BJP members gathered in the well of the House as soon as proceedings began and raised slogans against Naseer Ahmad. BJP MLC C.T. Ravi stated, "No Indian tongue will speak about the Prime Minister in this manner. Such a tongue must belong to Pakistan. If it were an Indian tongue, it would not have spoken like this. Only a Pakistani tongue can speak against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mr. Chairman, there is a need to find out whose tongue this is." Chairman Basavaraj Horatti responded by stating that BJP leaders should be aware that there is no provision in the rules to raise slogans in the well of the House. Replying to this, C.T. Ravi questioned whether there was any provision to make statements against the Prime Minister at one's whims and fancies. He further stated that only foul mouths could make such remarks. Chairman Horatti intervened and asked Leader of the Opposition Chalavadi Narayanaswamy to control C.T. Ravi. He directly warned Ravi that he was going overboard and should know his limits. Ravi, however, asked whether remarks made against the Prime Minister in the presence of the Chief Minister should be tolerated. Responding to Ravi's "Pakistan's tongue" remark, Naseer Ahmad said, "We are born and brought up here in Karnataka. We can also give it in writing. Suspend Ravi as well." Chairman Horatti stated that he had earlier warned Naseer Ahmad against making statements against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the House. "Mr. Naseer Ahmad, it is the opinion of the House that you have insulted the Prime Minister. You should tender an unconditional apology and end the matter. Otherwise, the proceedings of the House will continue to be disrupted, and I will make my decision," he said. Naseer Ahmad responded that when he spoke the previous day, the Chair should have examined the source of the provocation. He added that one member had stated there was nothing beyond Prime Minister Modi and alleged that industries were shutting down. BJP members objected and demanded to know whether Naseer Ahmad was tendering an apology. Chairman Horatti asked Naseer Ahmad to tender an apology in the interest of the House and advised him not to make a speech. Naseer Ahmad again stated that workers were losing jobs in the country, drawing fresh objections from BJP members. MLC Saleem Ahmad stated that Naseer Ahmad had made the remarks in anger after hearing claims that there was nothing in the country without Prime Minister Narendra Modi and added that escalating the issue further was not appropriate. Chairman Horatti reminded Naseer Ahmad of his earlier warnings and said that tendering an apology would not diminish him. He stated that no explanation was required and urged him to apologise. Naseer Ahmad maintained that BJP members had referred to them as "Pakistan's tongues" and questioned whether they were from Pakistan, demanding that action be taken against Ravi as well. Chairman Horatti asked him to submit a complaint and once again asked whether he would tender an apology for his remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Naseer Ahmad stated that he was pained and said that only Mahatma Gandhi was a "Vishwa Guru", adding that he was hurt by claims projecting Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a "Vishwa Guru". Leader of the Opposition Chalavadi Narayanaswamy stated that Naseer Ahmad did not deserve to be the Political Secretary to the Chief Minister and demanded that he be removed from the House. As chaos prevailed, Chairman Horatti adjourned the House and convened a meeting with leaders of both parties. After the meeting, Naseer Ahmad said in the House, "I was provoked and made the statement. If anyone has been hurt by my remarks, I regret it." CAIRO/GAZA, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Rafah border crossing received on Tuesday the second group of Palestinians returning to the Gaza Strip from Egypt after the crossing reopened a day earlier, Egypt's state-affiliated Al-Qahera News TV reported. The group arrived at the Egyptian side of the crossing earlier in the day to complete entry procedures before heading back to Gaza, according to the report. They had previously received medical treatment and healthcare in Egyptian hospitals. Meanwhile, Palestinian media reported that a bus carrying 12 returnees arrived at the Nasser Medical Complex in Gaza's Khan Younis on Monday evening after crossing via Rafah. Gaza's health authorities have stated that around 22,000 Palestinians are in urgent need of treatment outside the enclave, including more than 400 life-saving cases. The Palestinian side of the crossing officially resumed operations on Monday for the first time since May 2024, following an initial trial reopening on Sunday, as part of the implementation of the second phase of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. Following the reopening, Egypt's Ministry of Health said around 12,000 doctors at 150 hospitals have been placed on standby to receive wounded Palestinians and patients. A fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect on Oct. 10, 2025, after two years of conflict that have resulted in at least 71,800 Palestinian deaths and over 171,500 injuries, according to Gaza's health authorities. Gandhinagar, Feb 3 : Surat is set to host the South Gujarat edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Regional Conference on April 9 and 10, with a special focus on strengthening Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises through an MSME Conclave scheduled on the second day of the event. The two-day conference is part of the state government's first-ever initiative to take the Vibrant Gujarat platform to four regional zones, building on the legacy of the global summits that began in 2003. The South Gujarat zone conference will bring together stakeholders from six districts Tapi, Surat, Navsari, Valsad, Dang and Bharuch and will feature seminars on sector-specific themes, business-to-business and business-to-government meetings, exhibitions and networking platforms aimed at supporting regional industrial growth. Officials said the regional format is designed to ensure wider participation by local industries and entrepreneurs. "The objective is to provide a focussed platform closer to the grassroots, where enterprises can directly engage with policymakers, buyers and service providers," an official said. A key highlight of the conference will be the MSME Conclave on April 10, which will include technical seminars, panel discussions, exhibitions and vendor development programmes for micro and small enterprises. The conclave will also recognise outstanding performance by MSME units operating in the South Gujarat zone during the 202425 financial year. Awards will be presented in five categories: Women entrepreneurs, defined as enterprises with 51 per cent or more women ownership; young entrepreneurs, covering first-generation entrepreneurs below 35 years of age; Scheduled Caste entrepreneurs; Scheduled Tribe entrepreneurs; and a general category for entrepreneurs not covered under the first four categories, including those from SEBC communities. "These categories are intended to ensure inclusive recognition and encourage entrepreneurship across diverse sections of society," the official added. Eligible MSME units will be required to apply under their respective categories, with further information available through the concerned District Industries Centres. The state Industries Department has called on MSME units and entrepreneurs across South Gujarat to actively participate in the conference and conclave, stating that the event offers an opportunity to showcase capabilities, explore partnerships and access institutional support within the region. Islamabad, Feb 3 : The dream of millions of Pakistanis working in other nations is shattered not due to distance but by betrayal. Pakistani expats often end up losing their inheritances or life's savings through frauds and unsuccessful efforts to take back their properties which have illegal occupation, a report has detailed. A 40 per cent of Pakistanis working in other nations face property disputes, with illegal occupation and land grabbing at home being the most common offences. These are not only legal issues but violation of any trust that may be present between the state and people whose remittances are often the only thing that keep Pakistan from going bankrupt, according to an editorial published in Pakistan's leading daily 'The Express Tribune'. The pattern followed in this remains consistent with unscrupulous relatives, local criminals, corrupt bureaucrats, forged documents, bribes and violence coming together to take possession of vacated homes and lands. "The properties range from high-value urban homes and commercial units to agricultural lands well away from any government oversight, but the impact on the rightful owners is the same, as expats often end up losing their inheritances or life's savings through the fraud and ensuing drawn-out a" and often unsuccessful a" efforts to take back possession," The Express Tribune stated. "The immense emotional and financial toll, coupled with renewed mistrust of the country by many expats who left out of desperation, is unaffordable for the government if it wants to project an image as a secure destination for foreign investment," it added. Pakistan's government has announced initiatives like the federal Overseas Property Act 2024 and similar provincial laws, which promise expeditious resolutions to disputes. However, the ground reality is quite different. On paper, special courts must resolve cases within 60 days but several obstructions need to be cleared to register a case, according to the leading daily. The timeframe appears more like a suggestion than a deadline when the legal case starts. Furthermore, verdicts announced by courts do not guarantee that illegal occupants will be evicted from the property. New Delhi, Feb 3 : Divakar Jayant has taken over as Director General of Naval Armament (DGONA) at Naval Headquarters, Ministry of Defence, an official said on Tuesday. Jayant, a 1991 batch of the Indian Naval Armament Service (INAS), succeeds P Upadhyay, who superannuated on January 31. Jayant took charge on Monday, said an official statement issued by the Defence Ministry. The new DG joined the Naval Armament Organisation of the Indian Navy on December 28, 1992, and has held various senior positions, including Chief General Manager and General Manager/Principal Director, at Naval Armament Depots at Mumbai, Visakhapatnam and Alwaye, and at NHQ/MoD, during his 33 years of service. An Electrical Engineering graduate from IIT Delhi, the officer specialises in life-cycle management of Torpedoes and excels in planning of explosive infrastructure projects, besides having vast knowledge of HR and administration. The officer has also undergone the prestigious APPPA course (2017a"18). Earlier, the Indian Navy issued on social media a teaser of the International Fleet Review (IFR) being hosted at Visakhapatnam on February 18. The star of Operation Sindooras naval leg, INS Vikrant, is all set to be the centre of attraction at the event, offering navies of friendly nations to take a closer look at Indiaas indigenous aircraft carrier, an official said. The International Fleet Review (IFR) is a ceremonial assembly of International Naval Delegations, Ships, Submarines and Aircraft, during which the President, as Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, reviews the Fleet, said a Navy statement. Vikrant carrier battle group was at the core of the Indian Navyas offensive deterrent posture during Operation Sindoor. The Vikrant carrier battle group, deployed in the northern Arabian Sea, played a key role in the strategy of compellence, thereby forcing the Pakistan Navy to be in a defensive posture and requesting an urgent ceasefire. For the IFR, it will sail to the Bay of Bengal. The aircraft carrier can host up to 30 aircraft, including MiG-29 K fighter jets, MiG-29 KUB, Chetak, Kamov 31, MH 60R helicopters and Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH). The aircraft carrier is 262.5 metres long and 61.6 metres wide, with a displacement of approximately 45,000 tonnes. INS Vikrant can achieve a maximum designed speed of 28 knots and accommodate around 1,600 personnel, including women officers. INS Vikrant takes its name from Indiaas first aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant (R11), which was decommissioned in 1997. The erstwhile INS Vikrant played a crucial role in the 1961 Goa Liberation Operation and the 1971 Indo-Pak War, earning a lasting place of pride in Indiaas naval history. February 03 : Lucknow: At the 'Uttar Pradesh Pharma Conclave 1.0', Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, India is grateful to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the President of the United States, Donald Trump, who rolled back and reduced tariffs on India and recognized India as a reliable partner. He stated unequivocally that India remained firm on its policies and the result is 'Satyamev Jayate'. This has happened before and will happen in the future too. CM said, "This is the proof of the journey of a developed and rising India, where the country is playing its role as a responsible and trustworthy global partner. Although some people are apprehensive about Indias growing strength, therefore, the nation must move forward with reliable partners while exercising vigilance and prudence". He further added, before 2014, India was not taken seriously, but today, by standing firmly by its policies, India is compelling even global powers to engage in dialogue and cooperation. India is now moving forward on its own terms and becoming the master of its own destiny. This clearly shows that amid global challenges and pressures, the country is advancing with confidence, policy stability, and decisive leadership, prioritizing its national interests. 65,000 acres of land vacated within 24 Hours At the 'Uttar Pradesh Pharma Conclave 1.0', CM Yogi Adityanath said, "When the government came to power in 2017, it was extremely difficult to find land anywhere in Uttar Pradesh, as land mafias had encroached upon it. The government constituted a Land Mafia Task Force, and a 24-hour ultimatum announced: whoever had illegally occupied government land must vacate it immediately". CM warned that after 24 hours, strict action would be taken-encroachers would not only have to vacate the land but also repay, with interest, whatever profits they had made from it. He said it may come as a surprise that 65,000 acres of land was freed. This became the states land bank, which was subsequently used to attract investments. MoUs worth 10,000 crore finalized at 'Pharma Conclave', exchange of 11 MoUs worth 5,525 crore* During the 'Uttar Pradesh Pharma Conclave 1.0', memorandums of understanding (MoUs) involving investments of over 10,000 crore in the states pharmaceutical sector were agreed upon. Of these, 11 MoUs worth 5,525 crore related to pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and allied sectors were formally exchanged on stage. Major investors include 'Arna Pharma' and 'Biogenta Life Sciences' with commitments of 1,250 crore each, 'Shukra Pharmaceuticals' with 737 crore;, 'Walter Bushnell Enterprise' with 590 crore, 'Jhanvika Labs' with 553 crore, 'Koro Health' with 418 crore, 'Mark Laboratories' with 300 crore, 'High Glance Laboratories' with 120 crore, 'Raspa Pharma' with 107 crore, 'Romsons Medworld' with 100 crore and 'Kotak Healthcare' with 100 crore. These investment proposals are expected to strengthen pharmaceutical infrastructure, promote innovation and create thousands of new employment opportunities, further reinforcing Uttar Pradeshs emergence as a new hub for pharma investment. Agartala, Feb 3 : Tripura Gramin Bank (TGB), one of the leading financial institutions among India's 28 Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), launched its first-ever co-branded 'RuPay Credit Card' in collaboration with its sponsor bank, Punjab National Bank (PNB). A bank official said on Tuesday that TGB has achieved the distinction of becoming the first RRB among the eight RRBs sponsored by PNB, and the first in the country, to roll out a co-branded 'RuPay Credit Card', marking a significant milestone in India's banking sector. Tripura Gramin Bank, which operates through 150 full-fledged branches and 12 ultra-small branches across the state, is celebrating its Golden Jubilee year of establishment. The landmark initiative has been launched under the visionary leadership of Satyendra Singh, Chairman of Tripura Gramin Bank, whose forward-looking approach and strong focus on digital empowerment and customer-centric banking continue to guide the institution towards innovation and excellence, the official said. Singh's leadership has played a key role in translating the Bank's Golden Jubilee vision into future-ready initiatives. The launch of the PNB-TGB co-branded 'RuPay Credit Card' marks a major step in the Bank's digital transformation journey, enhancing customer convenience and promoting inclusive growth. The initiative will enable customersparticularly in rural and semi-urban areasto access modern credit facilities seamlessly within the trusted RuPay ecosystem. The launch event was attended by Rakhi Biswas, Director (Small Savings, Group Insurance & Institutional Finance), TGB Chairman Satyendra Singh, Deepak Kumar, General Manager, Punjab National Bank (Head Office), and other senior officials. According to the official, the launch further strengthens the long-standing partnership between Tripura Gramin Bank and Punjab National Bank, reaffirming their shared commitment to innovation, trust, and sustainable banking solutions for the people of Tripura. As the Bank celebrates 50 years of service, trust and transformation, this milestone reflects its progressive leadership, institutional strength and continued focus on empowering customers through modern banking solutions, the official added. Earlier, TGB Chairman Satyendra Singh had said that the Bank has emerged as a frontrunner in implementing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's flagship welfare programmes, ensuring transparent, swift and dignified delivery of benefits at the grassroots level. He said that the Bank is not merely marking five decades as a financial institution but celebrating 50 years of partnership with the people of Tripura and the state government in building a more inclusive, resilient and empowered economy. Highlighting key initiatives, Singh said that through the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, the Bank has brought thousands of unbanked households into the formal financial system. "Through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), we have ensured timely delivery of government benefits, strengthening public trust and eliminating leakages," he added. The Chairman further noted that the Bank's extensive work under schemes such as the Kisan Credit Card, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana and the Atal Pension Yojana has significantly enhanced social and financial security for farmers, workers and other vulnerable sections. Emphasising the Bank's role in implementing Tripura government schemes, Singh said that Tripura Gramin Bank continues to actively support rural livelihoods, women empowerment and youth entrepreneurship across the state. Moscow, Feb 3 : Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday said that Moscow has not yet received any messages from New Delhi about refusing Russian oil supplies. "We haven't heard any statements from Delhi on this matter yet," Russia's state-run news agency TASS quoted the Presidential Spokesman as saying during a regular media briefing while responding to a question about whether India had refused Russian oil. The diplomat, however, stated that the Kremlin is closely monitoring US President Donald Trump's statements, including on India and oil. "We are, of course, closely monitoring all news on this matter," Peskov noted. "We are paying close attention to President Trump's statements; we are carefully recording and analysing them." "We respect bilateral American-Indian relations," Peskov added. "We attach no less importance to developing our advanced strategic partnership with India. This is of the utmost importance to us, and we intend to further develop our bilateral relations in every possible way, which is precisely what we are doing," Peskov, a seasoned diplomat who serves as the Press Secretary to Russian President Vladimir Putin, was quoted as saying by Tass. On Monday, the White House announced that the United States will drop the 25 per cent tariff linked to Russian oil purchases as part of India's agreement to stop buying crude from Russia. "As part of India's agreement to cease Russian oil purchases, the 25 per cent Russian oil-related tariff will be dropped," a White House official told IANS after President Donald Trump, following a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said that the two countries have reached a trade deal. In a detailed post on Truth Social, Trump said the agreement would immediately reduce the US reciprocal tariff on Indian goods from 25 per cent to 18 per cent, calling it a major shift in bilateral trade ties linked to energy cooperation and broader geopolitical goals. Trump said the two leaders discussed "many things, including Trade, and ending the War with Russia and Ukraine." He claimed that PM Modi agreed to stop buying Russian oil and to increase purchases from the United States and, potentially, from Venezuela. Prime Minister Modi in his post on X said that he was "Delighted that 'Made in India' products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 per cent." "When two large economies and the world's largest democracies work together, it benefits our people and unlocks immense opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation," PM Modi said. A senior administration official, speaking on background, told IANS the 25 per cent additional tariff was directly tied to India's purchases of Russian oil and would now be removed following New Delhi's commitment to cease such imports. Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, the United States has pressed allies and partners to reduce or eliminate purchases of Russian energy, arguing that oil revenues help finance Moscow's military campaign. Moscow, Feb 3 : Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday said that Moscow has not yet received any messages from New Delhi about refusing Russian oil supplies. "We haven't heard any statements from Delhi on this matter yet," Russia's state-run news agency Tass quoted the Presidential Spokesman as saying during a regular media briefing in Moscow while responding to a question about whether India had refused Russian oil. The diplomat, however, stated that the Kremlin is closely monitoring US President Donald Trump's statements, including on India and oil. "We are, of course, closely monitoring all news on this matter," Peskov noted. "We are paying close attention to President Trump's statements; we are carefully recording and analysing them." "We respect bilateral American-Indian relations," Peskov added. "We attach no less importance to developing our advanced strategic partnership with India. This is of the utmost importance to us, and we intend to further develop our bilateral relations in every possible way, which is precisely what we are doing," Peskov, a seasoned diplomat who serves as the Press Secretary to Russian President Vladimir Putin, was quoted as saying by Tass. On Monday, the White House announced that the United States will drop the 25 per cent tariff linked to Russian oil purchases as part of India's agreement to stop buying crude from Russia. "As part of India's agreement to cease Russian oil purchases, the 25 per cent Russian oil-related tariff will be dropped," a White House official told IANS after President Donald Trump, following a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said that the two countries have reached a trade deal. In a detailed post on Truth Social, Trump said the agreement would immediately reduce the US reciprocal tariff on Indian goods from 25 per cent to 18 per cent, calling it a major shift in bilateral trade ties linked to energy cooperation and broader geopolitical goals. Trump said the two leaders discussed "many things, including Trade, and ending the War with Russia and Ukraine." He claimed that PM Modi agreed to stop buying Russian oil and to increase purchases from the United States and, potentially, from Venezuela. Prime Minister Modi in his post on X said that he was "Delighted that 'Made in India' products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 per cent." "When two large economies and the world's largest democracies work together, it benefits our people and unlocks immense opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation," PM Modi said. A senior administration official, speaking on background, told IANS the 25 per cent additional tariff was directly tied to India's purchases of Russian oil and would now be removed following New Delhi's commitment to cease such imports. Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, the United States has pressed allies and partners to reduce or eliminate purchases of Russian energy, arguing that oil revenues help finance Moscow's military campaign. Bengaluru, Feb 3 : The Bharatiya Janata Party's Karnataka unit on Tuesday alleged bribery, transfer racket and rampant corruption in the Excise Department and demanded the resignation of Excise Minister R.B. Thimmapur. Speaking in the Legislative Assembly, Opposition Leader R. Ashoka stated, "In the Excise Department, bribes are being taken for granting licenses and for facilitating transfers. Related audio recordings have been released, and complaints have been filed with the Lokayukta. Therefore, Excise Minister R.B. Thimmapur should resign immediately." Ashoka alleged the state Excise Department is leading in corruption. Congress leaders, who are opposing the VB-G Ram G scheme, are talking about Mahatma Gandhi's ideals. However, the Congress is not following Gandhi's ideals. Ashoka stated, "In a WhatsApp message from government officials, it has been officially instructed that since the CM and Deputy CM are participating in a Housing Department programme in Hubballi, more people will come, so liquor shops should stock sufficient quantities of liquor and sell it. This ruins homes. CM Siddaramaiah talks about lessons in sensitivity. Telling people to drink liquor is their idea of sensitivity." "The minister is silent because monthly fees come from officials in the scam happening in the Excise Department. The president of the liquor sellers' association, Guruswamy, has issued a press statement, saying he will complain to Rahul Gandhi about the irregularities," he stated. "Guruswamy has stated that permission has been given to 2,000 liquor shops, and bribes of Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore have been taken. If bribes are not given by the 10th of every month, shop owners are harassed. Guruswamy is from CM Siddaramaiah's Varuna constituency itself. Even though Guruswamy has complained, Siddaramaiah has not helped. He has said that Siddaramaiah is no longer a strong CM," he criticised. Ashoka further charged, "An audio related to the Excise Department scam has come out. In it, allegations have been made against Excise Minister R.B. Thimmapur and his son. Yet, the minister says it's not him. In total, there are 14,229 outlets supplying liquor. However, there are not this many primary health centres in the state. Bribes of Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 are collected from each shop every month. That means, on average, Rs 21 crore per month and Rs 252 crore per year," Ashoka alleged. "Money is fixed for transfers in the Excise Department. For transferring Deputy Commissioners, Rs 2.5 to Rs 3.5 crore, for Superintendents Rs 25-Rs 30 lakh, for Deputy Superintendents Rs 30 to Rs 40 lakh, for Excise Inspectors Rs 40 to Rs 50 lakh, and for constables Rs 5 to Rs 8 lakh have to be paid. Among these, the constables themselves run four to five bars," he claimed. "When Nagesh was a minister in the BJP government, allegations of transfer bribes came against him. Later, he resigned. When allegations came against K.S. Eshwarappa, resignation was taken. However, even as so much bribery has been exposed, Minister Thimmapur has not resigned," he said. Jaipur, Feb 3 : The Rajasthan Legislative Assembly witnessed repeated disruptions on Tuesday during the debate on the Governor's address after BJP MLA Shrichand Kriplani made remarks about Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, triggering strong objections from the opposition. Kriplani alleged that Rahul Gandhi was making baseless claims related to an unpublished book and questioned his credibility. Leader of the Opposition Tika Ram Jully immediately objected, stating that a person who is not a member of the House should not be referred to during proceedings. The exchange soon escalated into a heated confrontation between the ruling party and the opposition, leading to loud protests in the House. Amid growing chaos, the Speaker adjourned the House for 15 minutes at 4:24 pm. When proceedings resumed, continued sloganeering forced another adjournment. Tensions further flared during a sharp exchange between Congress state president Govind Singh Dotasra and Education Minister Madan Dilawar. Dotasra accused the minister of damaging the education system, saying, "Don't ruin education. Teachers were first assigned duties to chase away dogs and then assigned duties in Ram Katha. School enrolment has fallen by nearly 1.75 lakh students, and transfers were carried out mid-session." Dotasra also alleged financial irregularities and challenged the government to act, saying, "If someone can manipulate even Rs 5,000, they can do anything." Responding, Dilawar alleged that teachers had complained to the former Chief Minister that Dotasra accepted bribes. The Leader of the Opposition objected strongly, following which the Speaker assured that the remarks would be expunged from the record. Dotasra dismissed the allegations, remarking, "My grandfather taught me not to throw stones in the mud, because the mud splashes back." He demanded a CBI probe into paper leaks over the last 12 years, alleging they occurred during both the previous and current regimes, including REET, NEET, RAS, and university examinations. He further accused the government of neglecting school infrastructure, citing a lack of toilets and poor facilities, and criticised the minister for focusing on religious events instead of education reforms. "In two years, you haven't made even eight tweets about educational innovation," he said. Raising broader issues, Dotasra attacked the government over ERCP, Panchayat elections, and MNREGA, demanding that ERCP be declared a national project. He alleged that Rajasthan's interests were compromised in the Yamuna water agreement and criticised the government for spending Rs 100 crore on an event featuring Union Home Minister Amit Shah rather than prioritising public welfare. Speaking in the House, Kriplani criticised Rahul Gandhi for raising the Doklam issue in Parliament, citing an unpublished book by a former Army Chief. He said that citing an unpublished book in Parliament was inappropriate and that, as the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi should follow the rules laid down by the Speaker. Kriplani further remarked that while several Congress leaders were present in the Assembly, they did not speak against the country, implying that Rahul Gandhi did. This statement drew strong objections from the opposition benches. Leader of the Opposition Tikaram Jully demanded that the remarks be expunged from the proceedings, arguing that it was improper to make such comments about a person who is not a member of the House. Following this, Congress MLAs rushed into the well of the House and raised slogans, creating a ruckus. As tensions escalated, a heated exchange broke out between members of the ruling party and the opposition. Defending his remarks, Kriplani said that Congress state president Govind Singh Dotasra had earlier criticised Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the House, and those comments were not expunged. "If those remarks were allowed, what is wrong with mine?" he argued. The situation soon turned chaotic, forcing the Speaker to adjourn the proceedings for 15 minutes at 4:24 pm. When the House reconvened, continued sloganeering and disruptions led to another adjournment. Kolkata, Feb 3 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of selectively deleting voters from the Assembly constituencies with Trinamool Congress legislators in the state through the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR). "In Assembly constituencies with Bharatiya Janata Party legislators, names of a maximum of 3,000 to 4,000 voters are deleted. Whereas, in the Assembly constituencies with Trinamool Congress legislators, the number of voters deleted ranges between 40,000 and 1,00,000. In my own constituency of Bhabanipur in South Kolkata names of 40,000 voters have already been deleted in the draft voters' list. Their final target is to delete 1,00,000 names from Bhabanipur," the Chief Minister told media persons in New Delhi on Thursday afternoon. Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister again targeted ECI's Director General (Information Technology), Seema Khanna, and accused her of playing the lead role in deleting the names of genuine voters in West Bengal. "Who is Seema Khanna? She is an agent of the BJP attached to the ECI," the Chief Minister said. She also claimed that the ECI had unilaterally deleted 58 lakh names in the draft voters' list without consulting the electoral registration officers (EROs). "Now the ECI is indiscriminately issuing notice for hearing in the name of 'logical discrepancy'. Even Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen was summoned for a hearing," the Chief Minister said. She also claimed that the BJP is indirectly playing this dirty game from behind, using the ECI as a pawn, since the ruling party at the Centre knows that they would not be able to counter Trinamool Congress democratically and politically. Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister also claimed that through central investigating agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED), the BJP was not just harassing the opposition leader but also businessmen and common people. "I am not blaming the central agencies. But what I oppose is the misuse of the central agencies," she added. Mamata Banerjee also questioned why FIRs should not be registered against ECI for being the reason for so many deaths because of the unplanned manner in which the revision exercise is being conducted. Commenting on her meeting with the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Tuesday, the Chief Minister accused Kumar of misbehaving with the members of the delegation led by her. Also present at the press conference was Trinamool Congress general secretary and the party's Lok Sabha member Abhishek Banerjee. "The arrogance on the part of the CEC is evident from the fact that six letters from Mamata Banerjee, an elected Chief Minister, to the CEE neither evoked any response nor even any acknowledgement," he said. NEW DELHI, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- India's apex court, the Supreme Court of India, on Tuesday came down heavily on Meta platforms, WhatsApp in particular, over their privacy policy, saying it would not allow them to exploit the personal data of Indians. Meta, an American technology company, owns major social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads. Millions of Indians use these platforms for exchanging text and video messages and video reels on a daily basis. While hearing appeals filed by Meta platforms challenging the judgment of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), India's top-most court's three-judge bench said, "You cannot play with the right of privacy of this country. You are making a mockery of the constitutionalism of this country. We will not allow the rights of any citizen of this country to be damaged." Meta had filed appeals against NCLAT's judgment upholding a penalty of over 2.13 billion Indian rupees (around 23.62 million U.S. dollars) imposed by the Competition Commission of India over WhatsApp's privacy policy. Later, the penalty amount was reportedly deposited. Questioning the effectiveness of consumers' consent to WhatsApp's "take it or leave it" policy, Chief Justice Surya Kant said that there were millions of poor and less-educated people who would agree to it without understanding the repercussions. "Will a poor woman selling fruits on the street understand your policy? Will your domestic helper understand it? You may have collected data from millions of people. This is a decent way of committing theft of private information, and we will not allow it," an online report by India Today quoted the chief justice as saying. New Delhi, Feb 3 : Since US President Donald Trump posted a message announcing his telephonic conversation with one of his "greatest friends," Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, and agreeing to a trade deal, the knives are out. New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS) Since US President Donald Trump posted a message announcing his telephonic conversation with one of his "greatest friends," Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, and agreeing to a trade deal, the knives are out. The knives were out earlier, too, over the recently concluded trade deals with the United Kingdom and the European Union. The knives will be out in the future, too, when India inks a trade deal with New Zealand. The current cry over President Trump's, as well as US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins' posts on social media are more about a brouhaha in anticipation, rather than real content. The details are not yet out, so the criticism over a yet largely unknown content sounds similar to creating a ruckus over an unpublished book. As Evan A. Feigenbaum, an expert on Asian affairs, suggested, people should take a big deep breath and see what comes up next. Feigenbaum is currently Vice President for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he oversees work at its offices in Washington, New Delhi, and Singapore. He would also know how Washington sees and deals with the region, especially New Delhi, being an Asia expert with experience across governments, markets, and think tanks, and at the same time an advisor to two Secretaries of State, a former Treasury Secretary, and several CEOs. "My advice on the U.S.-India deal ... everyone seriously needs to take a deep breath and calm down," he suggested. In an era where trade is the war and tariffs the weapon, the United States scaling down duties from a "reciprocal" 25 per cent to an equal amount as a "punitive" measure for buying Russian oil (total 50 per cent), now to 18 per cent, is significant. As Feigenbaum pointed out, "18 per cent is a smooth landing for India because if American tariffs are going to be a fact of life, then relative advantage over competitors is what matters. A lower tariff rate than ASEAN most of them stuck at 19 per cent and Vietnam at 20 per cent before we even get to the transshipment issues is competitively good for Indian exporters." Critics have also raised the point that the White House is dictating to India which oil markets to choose to meet its huge domestic demand. India's pragmatic energy ties with Russia have reportedly complicated Washington's efforts to isolate Moscow. Referring to his conversation with Prime Minister Modi, Trump had posted, "He agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela." Incidentally, the European Union too was chided by the US President for "funding" the war in Ukraine by sourcing its energy requirements from Russia. In early December, the European Union decided to cut Russian gas imports and finally stop them by late 2027. By that time, Moscow may call a ceasefire or reach an understanding with Ukraine or NATO. Secondly, EU members may still raise legal challenges. It's about anticipation, again. Counting the number of points Feigenbaum threw in his Tuesday post, he wrote, "Eighth, the devil is in the details. I have a hard time believing the government of India is going to make any Russian oil-related commitment explicit. Prove me wrong." Moreover, he also pointed out that US goods exports to India in 2024 were USD 41.5 billion, and services worth USD 41.8 billion, rising five-hundred-fold, which is far-stretched, though "ambition is good", stating, "So a 500 per cent increase from $83 billion to $500 billion seems like, well, kind of a stretch," he stated. Secretary Brooke Rollins' view that the "New US-India deal will export more American farm products to India's massive market, lifting prices, and pumping cash into rural America" reflects similar statements from other nations inking trade deals. The European Union, following the recent deal, says on its official website, "Both sides have agreed to exclude the most sensitive agricultural products from liberalisation. The Agreement balances market access with the protection of sensitive sectors." Moreover, in all such deals, the final impact depends on timing. Thus, till the government comes out with details which it should, soon any prediction may not prove accurate. Jaipur, Feb 3 : Keeping pace with changing times and emerging career demands, the Rajasthan School Education Department is set to transform career guidance from a one-time formal activity into a continuous, life-shaping process for students. The initiative aims to empower school students to make informed and confident career choices by strengthening the state's guidance system in a structured and sustainable manner. Dalchand Gupta, Deputy Director, Vocational Education, said, "Children today have no shortage of options. What they need is the right guidance, suited to the present context, to help them decide which option is best for them." Aligned with the vision of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the department is focusing on the idea of "living a career, not just choosing one". As part of this approach, a clear three-year roadmap is being developed to institutionalise comprehensive career guidance across the state. The roadmap is being prepared jointly by the Rajasthan School Education Council (Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan), Jaipur, and the Rajasthan State Council of Educational Research and Training (RSCERT), Udaipur, with technical support from UNICEF Rajasthan and the Antarang Foundation. Under this initiative, students will be encouraged to map their own career paths based on their interests, aptitude, and abilities. The role of career counsellors at the school level will be strengthened and made more impactful. Career guidance will be delivered through hybrid learning modules, digital platforms, and practical exposure, extending well beyond the confines of classrooms. The department is also working to create a strong ecosystem by fostering coordination among teachers, parents, students, and the industry. The objective is not only to make students employable, but also to equip them with decision-making skills essential at every stage of life. A state-level workshop focusing on comprehensive career guidance was organised to frame this strategy, with special emphasis on student-friendly communication and confidence-building. Presiding over the workshop, Additional State Project Director (Second) Ashok Kumar Meena stressed that students should choose their own careers so they can progress in line with their interests and strengths. New Delhi, Feb 3 : The recently finalised India-US trade agreement has drawn mixed reactions from foreign policy and strategic affairs experts, with many describing it as a significant development that reflects India's growing global negotiating strength while maintaining its economic self-reliance. Foreign affairs expert K.P. Fabian said the agreement was expected, noting that direct engagement between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump was crucial to breaking the deadlock. He said the development was positive in certain aspects, especially as it came at a time when the rupee was under pressure. "In geopolitics, if a country does not maintain strong relations with the United States while engaging with other global players, its position can become weaker. Therefore, strengthening ties with the US is important," Fabian said. However, he added that some provisions of the deal may not be entirely favourable, pointing out that the US aims to push for zero tariffs on its exports to India while continuing to emphasise the size and influence of its domestic market. Major General (Retd.) Dhruv C. Katoch also termed the agreement beneficial for India, highlighting US President Trump's tendency to publicly announce policy decisions first and assess reactions later. He said India's expanding trade partnerships with the European Union and the United Kingdom had strengthened its negotiating leverage. Katoch also noted that India's energy procurement policy would remain guided by economic considerations. He said India had earlier purchased oil from Venezuela before sanctions were imposed, and with restrictions now easing, India could consider sourcing oil from there if prices are favourable. "India will buy oil from wherever it is available at the best price," he said. Former diplomat J.K. Tripathi described the tariff reduction as a result of strategic pressure created by India through multiple trade engagements. He said India had strengthened trade ties with organisations such as EFTA and countries including the UK and Germany, creating competitive pressure on the US. "India represents a market of 1.4 billion people, and there was growing concern that the US could lose economic opportunities if it delayed the agreement," Tripathi said, adding that the deal reflects India's confident and balanced approach to global trade negotiations. Experts believe the agreement signals India's increasing role in shaping global trade dynamics while safeguarding domestic economic interests. New Delhi, Feb 3 : India on Tuesday condemned the vandalisation and removal of the Mahatma Gandhi statue from Australian Indian Community Centre in Melbourne by unidentified people, saying that it has raised the matter with the relevant Australian authorities. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated that India has urged Australia to take "immediate action" to find the missing statue and take action against the culprits. In response to media queries regarding the statue in Australia, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated, "We strongly condemn the vandalization and removal of the Mahatma Gandhi statue located at the Australian Indian Community Centre in Rowville, Melbourne by unidentified people. We have strongly raised the matter with Australian authorities and urged them to take immediate action to recover the missing statue and hold the culprits accountable." MEA's statement came after local media reports claimed that a bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the Australian Indian Community Centre in Rowville was stolen, sparking concern among the Indian Australian community in Melbourne. Victoria Police on Monday stated that officers from the Police Knox Crime Investigation Unit are carrying out probe into the theft, which allegedly took place on January 12. Police believe the statue was stolen by three unknown people from the charity premises on Kingsley Close in Rowville at approximately 12:50 am (local time), 'The Australia Today' reported. The investigation into the incident is being conducted with police advising scrap metal dealers to remain vigilant for any individual trying to sell the bronze statue and report any suspicious activity immediately. Furthermore, anyone with information, CCTV footage or who has seen the incident has been asked to contact Crime Stoppers, The Australia Today reported. Notably, the Mahatma Gandhi statue gifted by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) was inaugurated by Australia's then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison in 2021 and holds cultural, historical and symbolic importance for the Indian community in the country. Bhopal, Feb 3 : A major relief measure was approved for tribal families affected by the Sardar Sarovar Project. The government will provide free registration of residential land titles to more than 25,000 such displaced families, easing their path to secure land ownership and stability, Chetan Kashyap, MSME minister said here on Tuesday after a cabinet meeting. The Sardar Sarovar Project, spanning Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan, has long involved complex rehabilitation challenges, with thousands of familiesmany from tribal backgroundsfacing displacement over decades. Madhya Pradesh, bearing a significant share of affected households, has progressively worked on resettlement packages, including land allotment. The latest exemption on registration fees marks a concrete administrative relief to finalise property rights. He said the meeting also gave the go to two irrigation projects aimed at expanding agricultural coverage. The Dhanwahi Micro Irrigation Project, with an estimated cost of Rs 53.73 crore, will bring irrigation to 3300 hectares and benefit 2810 farmers. The larger Barhi Micro Enterprise Irrigation Project, budgeted at Rs 566.92 crore, will irrigate 20,000 hectares in Katni district and support 11,000 farmers. Together, these initiatives represent an investment of about Rs 620 crore, enabling irrigation for 23,500 hectares and aiding roughly 14,000 farmers in improving productivity. Kashyap said, Chief Minister Yadav pointed out that prior to 2003, the state had irrigation facilities on only about 7.25 lakh hectares. In contrast, his administration has launched new schemes covering seven lakh hectares in the past two years alone. He further declared the coming year as "Farmer Welfare Year" to focus intensified efforts on agricultural prosperity. Additionally, the cabinet approved the continuation of multiple welfare programs, including the Chief Minister's Public Welfare Scheme, Animal Husbandry Development Scheme, Cow Conservation Scheme, Adolescent Welfare Fund Scheme, and Minority Self-Employment Scheme. To address long-standing employee concerns, the State Social Welfare Board was dissolved, and its staff were integrated into the Women and Child Development Department for better administrative efficiency. These decisions reflect the government's priority on inclusive growth, supporting farmers, displaced communities, and public employees through targeted policies and infrastructure development in Madhya Pradesh. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav cabinet meeting decided on farmer welfare, irrigation, and social development in the state on Tuesday. Before the formal proceedings began, the Chief Minister highlighted some significant recent initiatives. Under the Bhavantar Yojana, also known as the Price Difference Payment Scheme, more than 700 farmers have received payments exceeding Rs 1500 crore. Madhya Pradesh has become the first state in the country to fully implement this scheme, with all disbursements completed within just two months, demonstrating the government's commitment to timely support for agricultural producers, the minister said. The cabinet also noted the inauguration of Pashupatinath Lok, modeled after the successful Mahakal Lok project. Special measures have been incorporated at this site to protect the statue from erosion and ensure its long-term preservation, contributing to the state's efforts in developing spiritual corridors that attract devotees and boost local economies. In a move to promote diversified farming, the state organized its first-ever flower festival in Bhopal. This event seeks to encourage farmers to adopt floriculture as a viable income source. At present, around 40,000 farmers across Madhya Pradesh are engaged in flower cultivation over approximately 45,000 hectares of land, signaling growing interest in this sector, the minister informed. Patna, Feb 3 : After the Nitish government presented a Rs 3.47 lakh crore budget for Bihar on Tuesday, RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav's daughter Rohini Acharya launched a scathing attack on the government, alleging that a large portion of the state budget remains unspent every year and accusing the government of indulging in statistical manipulation.a Patna, Feb 3 (IANS) After the Nitish government presented a Rs 3.47 lakh crore budget for Bihar on Tuesday, RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav's daughter Rohini Acharya launched a scathing attack on the government, alleging that a large portion of the state budget remains unspent every year and accusing the government of indulging in statistical manipulation. In a long post on social media platform X, Rohini Acharya said the Nitish government should stop congratulating itself and instead focus on human development and public welfare, which she claimed were completely ignored in the budget. "Before patting itself on the back for presenting a budget full of statistical manipulation, the Nitish Kumar government needs to understand that an economic policy which continuously evaluates human development and indicators of human well-being alongside economic growth is the greatest need of Bihar today. Unfortunately, the budget presented today is silent on this," she wrote. Rohini Acharya warned that what she termed the government's false propaganda of development would soon collapse if basic services are not provided as a right, economic inequality is not reduced, and mass workforce migration continues unchecked. She pointed out that Bihar remains among the most backward states in terms of per capita income, adding that the Economic Survey released a day earlier shows a declining growth rate over the last two years. She further claimed that around 250 factories have shifted out of Bihar in the past decade, reflecting the failure of industrial policy. Criticizing Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's two decades in power, Rohini Acharya alleged serious lapses in budgetary and economic management. According to her, there is a huge gap between the budget size and the actual implementation of schemes. A large portion of the budget remains unspent. Proposals for funds under major central schemes are often not even sent. Even when central funds are received, they are not utilised properly. She further alleged that financial transparency is missing, stating that even when money is spent, proper accounts and records are not maintained. Referring to a recent CAG report, Rohini Acharya claimed that the exposure of Rs 72,000 crore reflects widespread mismanagement. She alleged that no government department or scheme has been immune from weak economic governance, institutional failure, and politically protected corruption. Summing up her criticism, she wrote, "Considering all these aspects, the conclusion is that Bihar's budget is nothing more than a bundle of papers filled with hollow declarations." She added that what Bihar urgently needs is not announcements, but the proper and honest implementation of budgetary provisions to put the state's economy back on track. --IANS ajk/dan Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 3 : The Thiruvananthapuram District Principal Sessions Court on Tuesday sharply criticised the delay in filing the chargesheet in the case relating to a protest and the alleged attempt to assassinate Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan during a flight. The court asked why the chargesheet had not been submitted even three years after the incident. The prosecution informed the court that the delay was due to the absence of sanction from the Union government. Central approval became mandatory after provisions of the civil aviation law were invoked. The court said the explanation was not satisfactory and expressed concern over the prolonged delay in a serious case involving the Chief Minister. The observations were made while the court was considering a petition filed by the first accused, Farzin Majeed, seeking permission to renew his passport. The case arises from an incident on June 13, 2022, when Youth Congress workers protested against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan during a flight from Kannur to Thiruvananthapuram. The protest inside the aircraft triggered a major political controversy and led to the registration of grave criminal charges. Four Congress workers are accused in the case. They are Congress State Vice-President and former MLA Sabarinath, Farzin Majeed, Naveen Kumar and Sunith. The allegation is that they attempted to assassinate the Chief Minister inside the aircraft. They have been booked under charges including attempt to murder, attempt to commit culpable homicide not amounting to murder, criminal conspiracy and criminal intimidation. The chargesheet was forwarded to the Union government in April 2024 seeking sanction. Approval has not been granted so far, resulting in the case remaining at a preliminary stage. The incident also had an immediate fallout as CPI(M) leader E.P. Jayarajan, who was travelling on the same flight, was reportedly involved in an alleged scuffle with the protesters. Following the episode, the airline imposed a three-week flying ban on him. Angered by the decision, Jayarajan publicly declared that he would never again fly by IndiGo. However, the ban and the vow did not last. In 2024, Jayarajan travelled by an IndiGo flight to ensure he reached on time to attend the funeral of CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, breaking his earlier vow. The case also saw counter-complaints. Based on petitions filed by accused Youth Congress workers, separate cases were registered against Jayarajan, the Chief Ministeras gunman Anil Kumar and personal staff member Suneesh, following directions from the Thiruvananthapuram Judicial First Class Magistrate Court. Bhopal, Feb 3 : Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Tuesday welcomed the new trade deal between India and the United States, describing it as an opportunity for the country's progress. The Chief Minister, in a statement issued to the media, said that the new trade deal concluded between India and America is commendable. He expressed that the trade deal will give new momentum to the 'Make in India' vision. "Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India's global standing is continuously becoming stronger. This trade deal will give new momentum to 'Make in India'. It will open new opportunities for the country's progress. The deal reflects India's strong leadership and shared confidence in development," Yadav said. Senior BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla described the deal as "a reflection of the deep-rooted, reliable, and forward-looking partnership shared by the two nations". Shukla expressed that this new agreement is expected to give fresh momentum to bilateral trade while opening new avenues for investment, innovation, and industrial collaboration. It will play a significant role in generating employment opportunities and strengthening economic linkages across key sectors. "India continues to emerge as a confident and influential force on the global stage under the strong leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His commitment to economic reforms, global cooperation, and sustainable development has positioned India as a trusted partner in the international community," the BJP leader said. Further, calling the agreement a landmark decision, Shukla expressed that it will accelerate India's growth journey, enhance its global competitiveness, and contribute meaningfully to long-term economic prosperity. It marks another important step towards strengthening international cooperation while advancing India's overall development goals. Deputy CM Jagdish Devda, who also heads the finance department in the BJP-led Madhya Pradesh government, said that reducing tariff rates to 18 per cent is clear evidence of the growing trust, cooperation, and mutual interests between the two countries. This will give new impetus to bilateral trade and encourage investment and job creation. "This agreement will not only further strengthen the economic ties between India and the United States but will also underscore India's influential role in the global trading system," Devda added. Mumbai, Feb 3 : The Bombay High Court on Tuesday refused to grant emergency parole to gangster Abu Salem to visit his native place in Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh, after he declined to bear the cost of security and travel arrangements, estimated at around Rs 17 lakh. The court had earlier made it clear that if Salem wished to avail parole, he would have to pay the entire expenditure, including police escort and security logistics, given the sensitivity surrounding his movement. During Tuesday's hearing, Salem's counsel submitted that the estimated cost exceeded Rs 17 lakh and described the amount as "exorbitant". He argued that Salem, who has been incarcerated for nearly 25 years, was not in a financial position to pay such a large sum. However, the court declined to accept the argument. The judge noted that the conditions imposed were necessary in view of security concerns and could not be relaxed. Salem's lawyer contended that his client could afford to pay only up to Rs 1 lakh. He also pointed out that Salem had earlier been allowed to visit his native place at the time of his mother's death, when no such charges were levied. The emergency parole plea was filed following the death of Salem's elder brother, Abu Hakim Ansari, who passed away on November 14, 2025. Opposing the plea, the state government told the court that Salem's ancestral village near Saraimeer in Azamgarh is a sensitive area and that his presence there could potentially lead to a breach of peace. The government submitted that while it was willing to grant Salem four days of parole on humanitarian grounds, this would be subject to strict security arrangements, the cost of which would have to be borne by the prisoner. The court observed that it was inclined to allow Salem four days of parole, excluding travel time, with full police escort and security cover, provided he paid the expenses involved. As Salem expressed his inability to meet the cost, the court refused to grant parole. The matter is scheduled to be heard next on February 5. Salem has been in prison since 2005, after being convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in two cases -- the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, which killed 257 people and injured over 1,400, and the 1995 murder of builder Pradeep Jain. However, following his extradition from Portugal in 2005 under an extradition treaty, his sentence was later commuted to 25 years' imprisonment. Last year, Abu Salem had also moved the court seeking clarification on the completion of his 25-year prison term. Khartoum, Feb 3 : The Sudanese army on Tuesday announced that its units have entered Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan State in southern Sudan, after more than two years of siege under the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and its allied forces. "The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have broken the siege on Kadugli and entered the city," the SAF Special Work Forces said in a brief statement. Meanwhile, a military commander confirmed to Xinhua news agency that the SAF forces entered Kadugli and have begun securing key facilities, driving RSF forces "out of their positions in and around the city." He said the next phase would focus on stabilising security, protecting civilians, and reopening roads to allow humanitarian aid into the area. Sudanese army soldiers posted video footage filmed outside the headquarters of the 14th Infantry Division in Kadugli, showing army units entering the city amid chants from troops, the deployment of military vehicles, and the raising of the Sudanese flag. Since mid-April 2023, Sudan has been gripped by a conflict between the SAF and the RSF, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of millions inside and outside the country. On Sunday, a Sudan Airways passenger plane touched down on the newly resurfaced runway of Khartoum International Airport, marking the first commercial flight to reach the capital since civil war erupted in April 2023. The arrival from Port Sudan carries significant symbolic weight for a nation attempting to rebuild after years of devastating conflict. Under heavy security, 160 passengers -- including government employees and students -- disembarked onto a runway still surrounded by the skeletal remains of buildings destroyed in the fighting, Xinhua news agency reported. As the cabin doors opened, some passengers knelt to kiss the tarmac while the traditional high-pitched cries of women's ululations echoed across the airfield. "Seeing the capital from the air after all these years felt like a dream come true," said passenger Khougali Mohamed Abbas. The airport was a primary flashpoint when the conflict began, suffering repeated bombardments that left its terminals, control tower, and dozens of aircraft in ruins. Government forces regained control of the site in March 2025, but the scale of the damage has made rehabilitation a slow and costly process. The resumption of flights follows a period of relative calm in the capital. The Sudanese government officially relocated its headquarters from Port Sudan to Khartoum on January 11, and the International Organisation for Migration estimates that 1.4 million residents have returned to the city. BEIJING, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- A think tank forum co-hosted by research institutes affiliated with the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party was held in Beijing on Tuesday. The forum, themed "prospects for cross-Strait exchange and cooperation," was attended by over 100 participants from both sides of the Taiwan Strait, including think tank members of the CPC and the KMT, as well as representatives and experts from various fields such as tourism, industry, science and technology, healthcare, and environmental protection. Holding the forum is a concrete step to implement the spirit of the messages exchanged by the leaders of the two parties, said Song Tao, head of the Taiwan Work Office of the CPC Central Committee, when addressing the opening ceremony. The two parties should remain unwavering in upholding the common political foundation of the 1992 Consensus and opposing "Taiwan independence," and jointly guide cross-Strait relations toward the correct direction of development, he added. Song emphasized that firm actions will be taken against diehard "Taiwan independence" separatists and their accomplices, and that attempts by external forces to "use Taiwan to contain China" will not be tolerated. Hsiao Hsu-tsen, vice chairman of the KMT, said that people across the Taiwan Strait both belong to the Chinese nation and should work together for its rejuvenation. He expressed hope that, on the common political foundation of upholding the 1992 Consensus and opposing "Taiwan independence," the two sides will pursue mutual benefit, promote shared prosperity and advance peaceful development. Gandhinagar, Feb 3 : Quality standards in public-interest works will not be compromised at the village level, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said on Tuesday, stressing that accountability and workmanship must remain central to rural development initiatives across Gujarat. The Chief Minister was speaking at the inauguration of the 'Gram Shakti Training Programme' at the Gujarat Legislative Assembly Secretariat, organised by the Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Training. More than 260 sarpanches from villages in Banaskantha, VavTharad, Mehsana, Patan, Sabarkantha and Aravalli districts of North Gujarat attended the programme. Addressing the gathering, Patel said that villages formed the foundation of the country's development and that rural works must be carried out with transparency, quality and responsibility. "There will be no tolerance for any compromise in the quality of works undertaken in public interest," he said, adding that true national development would be achieved only when development reached the last person in every village. Referring to the Union Budget presented under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister said it had been framed with a focus on duty and placed special emphasis on rural development. He urged sarpanches, as heads of villages, to discharge their responsibilities by following the principle of "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas" and to ensure that government schemes and services reached all eligible beneficiaries. Patel also called for planned utilisation of grants with 100 per cent targets through the Prime Minister's saturation approach. He encouraged sarpanches to prepare systematic development plans, involve youth in village development and use technology to improve the delivery of civic services. Assuring support from the state government, he said sarpanches should work without fear and with dedication to build developed villages, leading to a developed Gujarat and, in turn, a developed India. Assembly Speaker Shankar Chaudhary said that implementing the Prime Minister's vision of the 'Gram Sachivalaya' at the grassroots level was the responsibility of sarpanches. He noted that development was not limited to physical infrastructure alone but also depended on dialogue and public participation. He said stronger communication between gram panchayats and Gram Sabhas would reduce conflict and strengthen democratic foundations. Panchayat and Rural Housing Minister Rushikesh Patel said sarpanches had been empowered to utilise a significant share of panchayat grants for village development planning. He added that all villages in Gujarat had been connected by at least two roads under the Mukhyamantri Gram Sadak Yojana and that the training programme would provide practical guidance on village administration. Rural Development Minister Kunvarji Bavaliya said funds from central and state schemes were being transferred directly to gram panchayat accounts and that proper utilisation of these funds could transform villages. He also referred to increased assistance under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and support for sanitation facilities through MGNREGA. Experts at the programme briefed sarpanches on the role of panchayats in parliamentary democracy, the VB G-RAM-G rural development scheme, panchayat accounting rules and the rights and duties of sarpanches in Gram Sabhas. New Delhi, Feb 3 : The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Working President, Praful Patel, on Tuesday downplayed the ongoing debate over the merger of the two NCP factions, saying that he will not speak on hypothetical questions. Patel, after offering tributes to late Deputy Chief Minister and NCP National President Ajit Pawar at the party office said, "I will only speak about my party as it exists today. I will not comment on any hypothetical scenarios." He emphasised that the decision-making process regarding the party's future rests solely with its current leadership and will remain internal to their organisation. Patelas statement comes when leaders from the Sharad Pawar camp claimed that Ajit Pawar himself had expressed a desire for a merger before his death in a plane crash recently. NCP(SP) chief Sharad Pawar last week had said that series of meeting took place with Ajit Pawar for a reunion between the two factions and Ajit Pawar was to announce the decision on February 12. He signalled that the Ajit Pawar faction intends to maintain its independent identity for now. On the party leadership, Patel clarified that as the Working President, it is his responsibility to manage the party's transition following Ajit Pawar's death. Patel noted that he and Sunil Tatkare (Maharashtra State President) must lead from the front during this time. Patel explained that the party leadership met Sunetra Pawar and Parth Pawar to assure them of the party's firm support. "We requested her to accept the responsibility of the Deputy Chief Minister's post. She accepted that request. 'Dada' (Ajit Pawar) was someone who never believed in coming to a standstill. Once we explained our position, she made the decision. We are satisfied that she heeded our insistence. She mentioned that the family observes three days of mourning; hence, she arrived in Mumbai on the fourth day and the swearing-in took place. I don't understand why people are still creating controversies," Patel said. On the race for the National President's post, Patel explicitly stated, "I, Praful Patel, am not in the race for the post of National President." He explained that while he is fulfilling his primary duty of filling up the positions of Legislative Party Leader and Deputy Chief Minister, the appointment of a National President requires a formal party meeting and the consensus of party leaders and public sentiment. He was responding to the comments made by MNS chief Raj Thackeray and Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Ajit Pawaras successor as the National President. Raj Thackeray had posted on social media suggesting that a "Patel" should not be the president of Ajit Pawar's party. Similarly, Sanjay Raut suggested that the leader should be a "Jadhav, Patil, or Kamble." Patel continued his attack on Raj Thackeray, saying, "Even when we haven't said anything, creating suspicion within our party is 'dirty politics.' I am stating clearly that a suitable person will be chosen, and it won't be me. Is Raj Thackeray a member of my party? Is he going to decide who our leader is? We don't need advice from Raj Thackeray, or the '9 AM bulletin' (referring to Sanjay Raut), or anyone from Telangana (referring to Congress legislator Vijay Wadettiwar)." An infuriated Praful Patel stated, aWe will make our own decisions. The party's decision will be made through the proper process. We have already decided on Sunetra Pawar as Deputy CM. The party president will also be decided soon. Why are outsiders commenting? Why are people who have never even contested an election speaking? My father was elected by the people of Maharashtra since 1952, and I have been elected by the people as well. Those commenting on our background should be ashamed. I sit here as a representative of the people of Maharashtra. The party's decision will be in the right direction, for the right person, and it will be someone other than me." He reiterated his respect for Sunetra Pawar and Ajit Pawaras family, stating there should be no doubt about the party's regard for them. Patel reminded the media that he was the most senior colleague to Ajit Pawar and stood by the decision made in 2023 to split and join the government, along with other senior leaders like Chhagan Bhujbal, Sunil Tatkare, and Dilip Walse Patil. Aizawl, Feb 3 : Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma on Tuesday said that the state government has significantly strengthened healthcare infrastructure across the state by upgrading district hospitals, Community Health Centres (CHCs), and Primary Health Centres (PHCs) to improve access to quality medical services. Inaugurating the two-day Knowledge Exchange Health Conclave organised under the Rs 280-crore Mizoram Health Systems Strengthening Project (MHSSP) of the Health and Family Welfare Department, the Chief Minister said that healthcare remains one of the government's top priority sectors, with sustained efforts being made to enhance service delivery and system efficiency. Representatives from nine states across the country are participating in the conclave being held at Falkland Park here. Lalduhoma said that the Mizoram government considers the health of its people a key foundation for the state's overall development and therefore accords high priority to the health sector. He highlighted that Mizoram has introduced the Mizoram Universal Health Care Scheme (MUHCS), one of the best healthcare systems in the country, under which patients receive cashless treatment through empanelled hospitals. Advanced medical equipment has been procured for healthcare workers, and several new initiatives have been undertaken to further strengthen the health sector, he said. The Chief Minister noted that many of these achievements have been made possible through the Mizoram Health Systems Strengthening Project and expressed gratitude to the World Bank and the Central government for their support. He also said that the conclave would provide a valuable platform for knowledge exchange with health sector experts from various states across India. Deliberations at the conclave would lead to better strategies, wider understanding and stronger collaboration in the health sector, benefiting both Mizoram and the country as a whole, Lalduhoma added. He also thanked the MHSSP for organising the conclave. On the occasion, the Chief Minister released a coffee table book. Health Minister Lalrinpuii, in her address, said that through the MHSSP, significant improvements have been made in medical facilities and health centres through the procurement of new equipment and effective utilisation of resources. As a result, Mizoram has achieved quality certifications for its healthcare institutions at the national level, she added. The Mizoram Health Systems Strengthening Project was launched in 2021 with funding support from the World Bank and is being implemented for a period of five years. The project is scheduled to conclude in March 2026. MHSSP Project Director Lily Chhakchhuak presented an overview of the project's progress, stating that the total project cost is Rs 280 crore. As of January 2026, four out of five Project Development Objectives have been achieved, while 14 out of 16 Intermediate Result Indicators have been met. The remaining targets are expected to be achieved by the end of March 2026. Health officials said that one of the major initiatives under the project is the launch of the Mizoram Universal Health Care Scheme in March 2025. Under the MUHCS, an enrolment target of 91 per cent has already been achieved. In recognition of this achievement, the National Health Authority conferred the "Best Performance in Achieving Card Saturation" award on Mizoram in January 2026. The two-day Knowledge Exchange Health Conclave is being attended by health sector experts and representatives from various states, including Telangana, Meghalaya, Nagaland, West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, along with representatives from the Gates Foundation and the North Eastern Council (NEC). --IANS sc/vd New Delhi, Feb 3 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted interim bail to former Chhattisgarh Excise Minister and sitting Congress MLA Kawasi Lakhma in corruption and money laundering cases linked to the State's multi-crore liquor scam. Noting his prolonged incarceration and the unlikelihood of an early conclusion of the trial, a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant granted the relief to Lakhma in cases registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act being probed by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) and under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The Bench, also comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul Pancholi, noted that Lakhma has been in custody since January 2025 and that the prosecution proposes to examine as many as 865 witnesses in the EOW case and 117 witnesses in the ED case. The apex court also took into account that, out of 52 accused named in the cases, 22 were arrested, and 19 have already been granted bail. "Having regard to the multitude of allegations, the nature of the scam which engulfed the State, and the large number of accused and witnesses, investigation and trial are likely to take a reasonably long time. A hurried trial may also have an adverse impact on the prosecution's case," the Supreme Court observed, adding that indefinite incarceration could infringe rights flowing from Article 21 of the Constitution. However, the CJI Kant-led Bench imposed stringent conditions while granting interim bail. Lakhma has been restrained from entering Chhattisgarh, except for attending court proceedings, for which he may enter the State a day prior to the hearing. He will not be granted exemption from personal appearance before the trial court except on health grounds. The apex court also directed that Lakhma would not travel abroad and must deposit his passport before the trial court. He has been asked to disclose his place of stay along with his mobile number to the jurisdictional police station and the ED officer, and the number cannot be changed without the permission of the Special Judge. While permitting him to participate in public events and functions, the CJI Kant-led Bench made it clear that Lakhma will refrain from making any statement on the allegations that are the subject matter of the charge sheets or are under investigation. He has also been barred from directly or indirectly influencing witnesses or tampering with evidence. Former Excise Minister Kawasi Lakhma, who held the portfolio between 2019 and 2023, was arrested by the ED on January 15, 2025, and later by the EOW on April 2, 2025, in connection with the alleged liquor scam that is estimated to have caused a loss of over Rs 2,100 crore to the State exchequer. The state government and the ED had opposed Lakhma's bail plea, contending that the probe was continuing and had revealed alleged collusion involving ministers, political functionaries and senior officials, resulting in substantial loss to the public exchequer. Dulquer Salmaan pens note of gratitude as he completes 14 years as an actor; 'I'm Game' team releases new poster Taking to his Instagram page, the film's director Nahas Hidayath wrote, "14 years of Dulquer Salman @dqsalmaan. A journey of passion, perseverance, and stories that inspire millions. Get ready for a grand homecoming with #ImGame movie this Onam. Proud to be a part of this remarkable journey." Dulquer Salmaan, who plays the lead in the film, took to his Instagram page to pen a post of gratitude. He wrote, "Today marks 14 years of my journey as an actor. Thank you, each and every one of you ! For the endless love. For the encouragement. For a place in your hearts. To mark this milestone sharing a poster from my next ! #ImGame. Coming to Cinemas near you this Onam." It may be recalled that the makers of the film had only in December last year welcomed actress Kayadu Lohar onboard the unit of the film. Kayadu Lohar is best known for her performance in director Ashwath Marimuthu's Tamil film 'Dragon', in which she played one of the female leads. Taking to his Instagram page, director Nahas Hidhayath had then said, "Adding sparkle to #ImGame thrilled to welcome the gorgeous #KayaduLohar!." The film has triggered huge interest in fans and film buffs ever since the makers released the first look poster of Dulquer Salmaan in the film. The first look poster had Dulquer striking a stylish pose with a pistol in his hand. "I'm Game" marks director Nahas Hidayath's next venture after the blockbuster hit 'RDX'. Posters featuring the other lead actors too have been released by the makers. The movie has quickly become one of the most anticipated releases of the year. It may be recalled that the film officially went on floors on May 3 last year. Actors Antony Varghese, Mysskin, Kathir, Parth Thiwari, and Tamil actress Samyuktha Viswanathan play pivotal roles in the project. The stunt choreography for "I'm Game" is being handled by Anbariv Masters, who have previously worked on major pan-Indian films such as 'Kabali', the 'KGF' series, 'Kaithi', 'Vikram', 'Leo', and 'Salaar'. After the massive action success of 'RDX', the Anbariv team is reuniting with Nahas for this film. Produced by Dulquer Salmaan along with Jom Verghese, 'I'm Game' has triggered immense interest as this will mark Dulquer's return to Malayalam cinema. The story of 'I'm Game', which happens to be Dulquer's 40th film, is by Nahas Hidhayath himself while its screenplay is by Sajeer Baba, Bilal Moidu and Ismail Aboobacker. Cinematography for the film is by Jimshi Khalid and editing is by Chaman Chakko. Music for the film, which has raised huge expectations among fans and film buffs, is by Jakes Bejoy. Costumes for the film have been designed by Mashar Hamsa and production design is by Deepak Parameshwaran. --IANS mkr/ Aizawl, Feb 3 : Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma on Tuesday said that the state government has accorded top priority to simplifying public service delivery, making it faster, more efficient, and easily accessible to citizens. Reiterating his vision of positioning Mizoram as a frontrunner in digital governance in India, the Chief Minister emphasised the governmentas commitment to leveraging technology to enhance transparency and citizen-centric services. Inaugurating the computerisation of the Registrar of Cooperative Societies (RCS) in Aizawl, Lalduhoma noted that several digital initiatives have been undertaken over the past two years, and steady progress continues to be made. Highlighting Mizoramas strengths, he said that as a small state with a relatively modest population, Mizoram enjoys high literacy levels and widespread proficiency in the English language, providing a strong foundation for becoming one of the best-performing states in digital service delivery. The Chief Minister informed that more than 20 online service portals have been launched in the last two years. He said that while the Mizoram CSR Connect Portal was inaugurated recently, Tuesday marked the launch of the computerisation of the Cooperation Department. Lalduhoma emphasised that the initiative would greatly benefit cooperative societies across the state by improving accessibility and efficiency, while also easing work processes for departmental staff. He also appreciated the Minister and officials of the department for completing the project within a short time frame. Addressing the event, Cooperation Minister P.C. Vanlalruata said that Mizoram is among the first states in India to successfully implement the initiative and the first to fully computerise all offices of the Cooperation Department in the state. He expressed pride in the achievement and conveyed his gratitude to the Chief Minister for personally inaugurating the project. Commissioner and Secretary, Cooperation Department, Adit Prakash Rai, provided a detailed overview of the RCS computerisation project, stating that it was initiated in Mizoram on March 29 last year. He said the project covers not only the RCS office in Aizawl but also cooperative offices across all districts. The 'RCS, Mizoram Office Application/Portal' has been developed under the Computerisation of RCS Offices of states/UTs project, a centrally sponsored scheme of the Ministry of Cooperation under the initiative "Strengthening Cooperatives Through IT Interventions". The primary objective of the project is to enhance the ease of doing business for cooperative societies and enable digital interaction with the RCS and district cooperative offices, eliminating the need for physical visits. --IANS sc/vd Bhubaneswar, Feb 3 : President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday said universities have a special responsibility to act as catalysts of inclusive growth, innovation and social transformation. Addressing a gathering at the Convocation ceremony of Fakir Mohan University in Balasore district of Odisha, Murmu said that the growth, security and technological development of all sections of society will accelerate the country's progress. "All universities in the country have a crucial role to play in this field. Universities have a special responsibility to act as catalysts of inclusive growth, innovation and social transformation. By nurturing critical thinking, ethical leadership and research that responds to local and global challenges, institutions of higher learning can shape a future that is sustainable, equitable and rooted in human values," she added. She expressed confidence that the Fakir Mohan University, through its academic vision and community engagement, will play a transformative role in this direction. The President was happy to note that the University gives importance to research and outreach programmes in addition to academic studies. She stated that the Balasore-Bhadrak region is famous for paddy, betel leaves, and fish. The President appreciated the University for conducting research and training programmes in these sectors. Congratulating the graduating students, Murmu said that on the basis of strength of knowledge, passion and commitment, they can achieve respect and recognition in society. She advised them that wherever they go and whatever they do, the key to success in every endeavour is dedication. The President, while pointing out the differences between a successful life and a meaningful life, underscored that a successful life is good, but making life meaningful is even better. She said that it is important to achieve fame, gain prestige and become financially secure, but one should also do something for others. Murmu urged students to help those who have been left behind in their developmental journey, stating that the development of society lies in the development of everyone. "India has a rich knowledge tradition. Our scriptures and manuscripts are full of knowledge and wisdom. Apart from poetry and literature, they are also a source of knowledge in areas including science, medicine, astronomy and architecture. Young students can conduct research in this ancient knowledge tradition. By understanding the past and comprehending the present, the students can shape their own future as well as the future of the country," the President added. Highlighting the views of the noted Odia poet and social reformer Fakir Mohan Senapati, known as Vyasakabi, on the importance of mother tongue, Murmu underlined that the National Education Policy-2020 emphasises the importance of mother tongue and guides students to stay connected to their culture. Speaking on the occasion, the President also paid tributes to Vyasakabi and said that during her student days, she was deeply influenced by his timeless story, 'Revati'. That influence remains indelible. The determination of a girl to pursue her education in the 19th century is an enduring testament to her spirit. New Delhi, Feb 3 : The recently concluded India-US trade deal is being seen as a major boost for India across sectors, with experts on Tuesday described it as a significant milestone in the country's growth journey. New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS) The recently concluded IndiaUS trade deal is being seen as a major boost for India across sectors, with experts on Tuesday described it as a significant milestone in the country's growth journey. Former BrahMos Aerospace chief and senior scientist Dr A. Sivathanu Pillai said India is steadily moving towards becoming a major defence and economic power. He credited this progress to the country's indigenous hypersonic technology and the rapid expansion of its space sector. Speaking to the media in Coimbatore, Dr Pillai said India is now looking beyond conventional missile systems and working on an advanced version of BrahMos, often referred to as "Super BrahMos". Dr Pillai added that after supplying BrahMos missiles to the Philippines, several other countries have shown interest in acquiring the system. He said demand has increased further following the missile's reported success in "Operation Sindhura". On the economic front, Dr Pillai said India is currently the world's fourth-largest economy and could soon surpass Germany to become the third largest. Speaking about the Gaganyaan mission, he said India will first launch unmanned missions, including one carrying a humanoid robot, to test safety and re-entry systems before sending trained astronauts into space. He also highlighted the growth of India's private space ecosystem, noting that around 400 space startups, including Agnikul and Skyroot, are now active in the country. These startups, he said, are not competitors to ISRO but partners helping to meet the rising demand for satellites and launch vehicles. Dr Pillai recalled his 40-year association with former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and said India continues to move forward on the path envisioned by him to become a developed nation. Meanwhile, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Director General Chandrajit Banerjee also welcomed the IndiaUS trade agreement. He said the deal would benefit people, businesses and job creation in both countries. Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's economic policies, Banerjee said India's policy framework has become a global example. He added that the confidence shown by the US President in India would further strengthen bilateral ties. New Delhi, Feb 3 : Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday wrote to Speaker Om Birla, reminding him of the responsibility of being an "impartial custodian of the House" while accusing the latter of preventing him from speaking in Lok Sabha at the behest of the government. New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS) Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday wrote to Speaker Om Birla, reminding him of the responsibility of being an "impartial custodian of the House" while accusing the latter of preventing him from speaking in Lok Sabha at the behest of the government. In a letter addressed to Birla, Gandhi wrote, "For the first time in Parliamentary history, on the behest of the government, the Speaker has been forced to prevent the Leader of the Opposition from speaking on the President's Address. This is a blot on our democracy, against which I record my strongest protest." He also justified his decision to raise the 2020 India-China military stand-off in Ladakh during the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address, claiming that national security was a key part of the President's Address. The LoP also highlighted impartiality as a virtue of a presiding officer of a House. "As the impartial custodian of the House, it is your Constitutional and Parliamentary responsibility to safeguard the rights of every Member, including those of the Opposition. The right of the Leader of the Opposition and of each Member to speak is integral to our democracy," he wrote His letter came on a day when chaos consumed Lok Sabha proceedings and over half a dozen Opposition MPs were suspended for disrupting proceedings and throwing papers towards the Chair. The ruckus followed Gandhi's unsuccessful attempt to read out excerpts from ex-Army chief General M.M. Naravane's unpublished book, including sections about the 2020 India-China military stand-off in Ladakh. In his letter to the Speaker, Gandhi said, "Yesterday, while speaking on the Motion on the President's Address, you directed me to authenticate a magazine that I intended to refer to. I authenticated the document while resuming my speech today." "By long-standing convention, including repeated rulings of past Speakers, a Member who wishes to refer to a document in the House is required to authenticate it and affirm responsibility for its contents. Once this requirement is fulfilled, the Speaker allows the Member to quote or refer to the document. Thereafter, it becomes the responsibility of the government to respond, and the role of the Chair stands concluded," he said. "Preventing me from speaking in the Lok Sabha today not only violates this convention, but also gives rise to a serious concern that there is a deliberate attempt to prevent me, in my capacity as the Leader of the Opposition, from speaking on matters of national security. It is worth repeating that national security was a key part of the President's Address, which requires a discussion in Parliament," he added. Amaravati, Feb 3 : The government of Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday decided to constitute a committee to identify the masterminds behind the alleged adulteration of Tirupati temple laddu. The decision was taken in the state Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu at the state Secretariat here. Finance Minister Sri Payyavula Keshav told the media that the Cabinet discussed in detail the report of the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which probed the case. He said a short-term administrative committee will be formed to comprehensively review this matter and identify the masterminds. He said the government has taken serious note of the adulteration of ghee used for making sacred laddu and strict action will be taken against all the culprits named in the report. Stating that the Cabinet dedicated three hours to a discuss the ghee adulterated issue, he said protecting the sanctity of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) is the government's duty. The SIT under the supervision of the CBI conducted the investigation as per the orders of the Supreme Court of India. He revealed that the state government received two documents from the SIT - the chargesheet already filed in court, and the 11-page confidential report sent specifically to the government. The chargesheet will only be made available to the government and the concerned parties after the court officially takes cognisance of it. He said according to the report serious irregularities have occurred in the supply of ghee, including relaxation of tender conditions, quality defects, and submission of false documents. The SIT report stated that unnecessary relaxations in the TTD ghee procurement process after 2019 facilitated the supply of substandard products. The report clarified that actions such as reducing the turnover condition in the tender specifications from Rs. 250 crore to Rs. 150 crore, and granting eligibility even without minimum milk procurement experience, were deliberately taken. The NDDB-CALF lab report, which examined the ghee samples, revealed the possible presence of several suspected adulterants such as soybean, sunflower, rapeseed, cottonseed, fish oil, beef tallow, and lard. Based on this report, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu mentioned this issue on the public platform. According to minister, the report revealed that the tender conditions were deliberately relaxed, and the warnings issued by the CFTRI lab in 2022 were ignored, resulting in the supply of approximately 58 lakh liters of adulterated ghee. It was also revealed that some of the companies that participated in the tender had submitted fraudulent documents to qualify. The report mentioned the names of senior officials such as A.V. Dharmareddy (AEO), Anil Kumar Singhal (former EO), and O. Balaji (F&CAO). The SIT report stated that these officials are responsible for relaxing the tender conditions and failing in quality control. It was decided in the Cabinet meeting that appropriate legal and administrative action should be taken against the culprits mentioned in the report. It was also decided to implement institutional reforms and strengthen the quality control system to prevent such lapses from recurring in the future. The minister stated that the government has decided to constitute a short-term administrative committee to comprehensively review this matter, and this committee will complete its investigation within a stipulated timeframe and submit its final report to the government. Minister for Information, Public Relations and Housing, Kolusu Parthasarathy, stated that the Cabinet set aside all the previously decided agenda items to have detailed discussion on laddu adulteration issue. He said the Chief Minister placed before the meeting the report submitted by the SIT. Civil Supplies minister Nadendla Manohar stated that all the ministers, including Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, explained their views. He stated that they condemned the attempts to distort the issue from a political angle and decided to place the facts before people. Advocate General was invited to the meeting to obtain legal advice. The Chief Minister expressed the government's firm resolve to act honestly to ensure that the faith of the devotees is not undermined. He explained that the government is revealing the issues that were neglected during the previous government's tenure and is currently taking transparent measures by conducting multiple lab tests on the quality of the ghee. This development comes days after the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) demanded that Chief Minister Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan apologise to devotees, after a chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation confirmed that no animal fat was used in the sacred Tirupati laddus. YSRCP official spokesperson Karumuri Venkata Reddy stated that a major conspiracy in the history of Andhra Pradesh has finally been exposed. "The ICARNational Dairy Research Institute in Haryana and the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in Gujarat, after testing the ghee samples used in the preparation of the sacred Tirumala Sri Vari Laddu Prasadam, have conclusively confirmed that no animal fat of any kind was present in the ghee. Chandrababu, who spread false propaganda claiming that animal fat was mixed in the ghee, must now rub his nose on the ground and publicly apologize," he said. YSRCP leaders pointed out that both Naidu and Pawan Kalyan hurt the religious sentiments of devotees by claiming that the ghee procured by TTD during the YSRCP's rule was adulterated with animal fat. KIEV, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Russian forces carried out a large-scale overnight attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure on Tuesday, Ukraine's Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said. The strikes targeted eight Ukrainian regions, damaging thermal power plants, combined heat and power stations, and apartment buildings, the minister said on Telegram. Ukraine's largest private energy company DTEK said the attack, the ninth on its facilities since October 2025, caused significant damage to equipment at its thermal power plants. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said nine people were wounded across the country. In Kiev, two people were injured, while residential buildings and non-residential buildings were damaged in five districts, said Mayor Vitali Klitschko. He added that 1,170 apartment buildings in the capital remain without heating. In the southern Odesa region, more than 50,000 residents were left without electricity following missile and drone strikes, said regional Governor Oleh Kiper. Ukraine's Air Force said Russia launched 450 drones and 71 hypersonic, ballistic, and cruise missiles. According to preliminary data, the air defense intercepted 412 drones and 38 missiles. Islamabad, Feb 3 : Pakistan's hostility towards Afghanistan is not about terrorism - as for Islamabad, terrorism has always remained negotiable - but the Taliban in Kabul acting like a sovereign authority - brutal, responsive, incompetent but independent, a report has highlighted. Taliban, it said, refused to take instruction, rejected hierarchy, and declined the role scripted for them in Pakistan's strategic theatre. Islamabad, Feb 3 (IANS) Pakistan's hostility towards Afghanistan is not about terrorism - as for Islamabad, terrorism has always remained negotiable - but the Taliban in Kabul acting like a sovereign authority - brutal, responsive, incompetent but independent, a report has highlighted. Taliban, it said, refused to take instruction, rejected hierarchy, and declined the role scripted for them in Pakistanas strategic theatre. The report in 'Counter Currents' stated that nothing makes a patron angry than a proxy that stops seeking permission. "Pakistanas military has always preferred its wars orderly: enemies legible, proxies pliable, violence narratively obedient. For decades, the western frontier complied. Militants were assets, Pashtuns were terrain, and Afghanistan was treated not as a polity but as strategic negative space a" a hinterland to be shaped, managed, and periodically disciplined," Junaid S Ahmed, Director of the Centre for the Study of Islam and Decolonization (CSID) in Islamabad, wrote in 'Counter Currents'. "What the Generals never planned for a" because they never do a" is autonomy. Not from civilians, not from provinces, and certainly not from former clients expected to remain grateful, dependent, and silent. What Rawalpindi now brands a security crisis is something far less dignified. It is the shock of lost control, disguised as resolve. A tantrum, armoured and aerial," he added. According to Ahmed, Pakistani authorities have considered Pashtuns as the population which it knows how to manage with force. Pashtuns, radicalised as suspect and governed as exception, are seen as the connective link between Afghanistan's defiance and domestic instability. "A strategic failure is collapsed into an ethnic security problem, and the remedy remains reassuringly familiar: bombard, displace, sanitise the language, repeat. Military operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the former tribal districts are not counterterrorism in any meaningful sense. They are disciplinary performances," he wrote. Villages are destroyed to restore hierarchy, displacement is normalised as a method and suffering of people is invisible to authorities. Violence is not inflicted but processed and Pashtuns have lived under it for generations. The Pakistani state seeks to treat Pashtun resistance as cultural reflex instead of political response, according to the report. This narrative is convenient as it absolves the centre of responsibility. However, the reality is different as Pashtun regions have faced securitised governance: collective punishment, economic abandonment, enforced disappearances, and episodic devastation marketed as stability. The military's anger towards Pashtuns is cumulative and the standoff with Afghanistan further increases the fury. Cross-border strikes are named self defence, however, they function politically as diversion. "Borders, however, are not abstractions in Pashtun life. They are colonial incisions cutting through kinship, commerce, and memory. The Durand Line has never been emotionally internalized by those who live across it, and successive Afghan regimes a" monarchical, republican, Islamist a" have treated it with studied ambiguity. The Taliban have not formally rejected the border, but they have refused to consecrate it. That ambiguity is deliberate, historical, and strategic. "Pakistanas failure is not that Kabul questions the line. It is that Rawalpindi no longer has the leverage to enforce silence about it. The Afghan Taliban no longer depend on Pakistani sanctuaries or sponsorship. They have alternatives: regional engagement, transactional diplomacy, calibrated flirtations with Pakistanas rivals. This is not Taliban brilliance. It is Pakistani strategic exhaustion. And exhaustion, when denied, curdles into aggression," Ahmed opined in Counter Currents. London, Feb 3 : During UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's recent visit to China, discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping avoided Beijing's "dangerous, unexplained, secretive and rapid buildup" of nuclear weapons as well as other contentious issues such as human rights abuses, espionage and Taiwan, a report said on Tuesday. London, Feb 3 (IANS) During UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's recent visit to China, discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping avoided Beijing's "dangerous, unexplained, secretive and rapid buildup" of nuclear weapons as well as other contentious issues such as human rights abuses, espionage and Taiwan, a report said on Tuesday. Citing the 2025 report of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri), a report in the UK's leading daily, The Guardian, stated that while China, with an estimated 600 warheads, lags behind other nuclear powers, it's catching up at a fast pace. "China's nuclear arsenal is growing faster than any other country's, by about 100 new warheads a year since 2023 [It] could potentially have at least as many ICBMs [intercontinental ballistic missiles] as either Russia or the US by the turn of the decade," The Guardian quoted Sipri as saying. According to the report, Beijing has provided no explanation or rationale for this dramatic increase and rejected negotiations with multilateral arms control. "An official white paper, published by China in November, restated its position that countries with the largest nuclear arsenals must make the first move, by unilaterally making 'drastic and substantive reductions'. Until then, it said, China would keep its own nuclear capabilities 'at the minimum level required for national security'. The paper conveniently omitted to say what that level is," it noted. Despite its current advantages, the report said, the US remains concerned with the Pentagon warning in December last year that "China's historic military buildup has made the US homeland increasingly vulnerable". The Pentagon also highlighted what it described as a more attack-ready, "hair-trigger" nuclear posture, claiming that about 100 Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) were recently installed in silos in northern China. It added that Beijing was testing its capacity "to strike US forces in the Pacific", potentially undermining future US military support to Taiwan. "China expects to be able to fight and win a war on Taiwan by the end of 2027," The Guardian quoted the Pentagon as saying. The report further said, "Whatever China's President is thinking, these are alarming times for anyone worried about global thermonuclear war which should be everyone. Starmer's talks with Xi reportedly included Chinese threats to UK national security. What bigger threat is there than proliferating nuclear weapons? Yet as far as is known, he did not raise the issue." Thiruvananthapuram Feb 3 : The political temperature in Kerala rose on Tuesday after Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan accused ministers in the Pinarayi Vijayan government of repeatedly insulting Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi during Assembly proceedings, alleging that the remarks were part of a calculated attempt to appeal to the BJP's political base ahead of elections. The sharp criticism was triggered by comments made by State Excise Minister M.B. Rajesh, who allegedly claimed that Priyanka Gandhi had gone to have tea with the Prime Minister following amendments to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. Satheesan termed the statement baseless and unbecoming of a Cabinet minister, accusing him of lowering the level of political discourse in the Assembly. He further alleged that Rajesh had earlier claimed close personal ties with former Union Minister Anurag Thakur, sharing photographs of the two on social media. Thakur had faced criticism in the past for controversial remarks made during the Delhi riots. The contrast between expressing pride in that association and targeting Priyanka Gandhi was described by him as deeply hypocritical. State Education Minister V. Sivankutty and other members of the Cabinet were also accused of frequently making disparaging references to Sonia Gandhi. According to Satheesan, such remarks were not isolated incidents but part of a sustained pattern aimed at provoking controversy and polarising opinion. Satheesan claimed that the repeated attacks on the Gandhi family were a deliberate strategy to gain favour with the BJP and attract its voters. He warned that Congress would respond with continuous political campaigns to counter what they described as "low-level propaganda" by the ruling coalition. Linking the controversy to broader issues, Satheesan reiterated the demand for action in the Sabarimala gold theft case. The fresh exchange of accusations has further sharpened the political divide in the State. With Assembly elections drawing closer, confrontations in the legislature and beyond are expected to intensify, as parties seek to consolidate their core supporters while framing narratives aimed at undecided voters New Delhi, Feb 3 : An amount of Rs 8,429.42 crore has been disbursed to 39,46,550 depositors of the Sahara Group of Cooperative Societies as on January 20, 2026, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Cooperation on Tuesday. The largest amount of Rs 2,228.27 crore has been refunded to depositors in Uttar Pradesh, followed by Rs 1,892.89 crore in Bihar, and Rs 847.67 crore to depositors in Jharkhand. The Supreme Court has ordered that an additional amount of Rs 5,000 crore be transferred from 'Sahara-SEBI Refund Account' to the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies and granted extension for disbursement of refund to the depositors up to December 31, 2026, the statement said. Applications received on the Sahara Refund Portal are being processed in a transparent manner, on proper identification and on submitting proof of their identity and deposits. The payment is being deposited directly in Aadhaar seeded bank account of the genuine depositors. Presently, payment up to Rs 50,000 is being disbursed to each genuine depositor of the Sahara Group of Cooperative Societies against verified claims through Aadhaar seeded Bank account, the statement said. Further, in case of any deficiency found in the application of the depositor on the portal, deficiencies are being conveyed to them for re-submission of their application through the re-submission portal already launched on November 15, 2023, the statement said. The Supreme Court had issued an order on March 29, 2023, that out of the total amount of Rs. 24,979.67 crore lying in the "Sahara-SEBI Refund Account, Rs 5,000 crore be transferred to the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies, who, in turn, shall disburse the same against the legitimate dues of the depositors of the Sahara Group of Cooperative Societies, which shall be paid to the genuine depositors in the most transparent manner and on proper identification and on submitting proof of their deposits and proof of their claims and to be deposited in their respective bank accounts directly. In compliance with the Supreme Court's order, an Online Portal "CRCS-Sahara refund portal" https://mocrefund.crcs.gov.in was launched on July 18, 2023 for submission of claims by the genuine depositors of four Multi-State Cooperative Societies of Sahara Group, namely; Sahara Credit Cooperative Society Ltd., Lucknow, Saharayn Universal Multipurpose Society Ltd., Bhopal, Humara India Credit Cooperative Society Ltd., Kolkata, and Stars Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd., Hyderabad for refund of their legitimate deposits. In accordance with the order, the disbursement is being supervised and monitored by former SC judge, Justice R. Subhash Reddy, with the assistance of advocate Gaurav Agarwal, who was appointed Amicus Curiae, as well as the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies in disbursing the amount to the genuine depositors of the Sahara Group of Cooperative Societies, the statement added. Dhaka, Feb 3 : As political tensions intensify ahead of Bangladesh's February 12 elections, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Tuesday accused the radical Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami of distorting history, warning that the latter could one day claim that Ghulam Azam, the former Jamaat leader, proclaimed the country's independence, local media reported. BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi made the remarks during a programme in Dhaka, questioning Jamaat's motive for raising the issue of the declaration of the country's independence. "When the Pakistani forces carried out atrocities against our mothers and sisters, you (Jamaat) did not call those acts oppression. You did not even acknowledge those brutalities as crimes. Instead, you supported them and provided patronage," Bangladeshi media outlet UNB quoted the BNP leader as saying. Commenting on Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman's remarks about the 1971 declaration of independence in Chattogram, Rizvi said, "In a few days, you may even say that Ghulam Azam himself was the proclaimer of independence. You can say that too, because you never step back from telling lies." The BNP leader alleged that the Jamaat chief brought up the debate on the declaration of independence to shift focus away from his controversial and derogatory remarks about women, which have sparked outrage nationwide. On Monday, the BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman strongly criticised Jamaat for making derogatory remarks about women, warning that such views pose a serious threat to women's safety and fundamental rights in the country, according to local media reports. The remarks came after Shafiqur Rahman, in a recent post on his social media platform X, claimed that women pushed out of their homes in the name of modernity are exposed to exploitation, moral decay and insecurity, describing it as "another form of prostitution", sparking widespread condemnation. "Those who disrespect the women of the country and abuse them in ugly language, and whatever, cannot be patriotic or people-oriented. A political party wants to imprison mothers and sisters in their homes before the elections. They make scandalous comments about their employment. The people of the country are not safe from those who cannot respect their own women," Bangladesh's Bengali daily 'Bonik Barta' quoted Tarique as saying, while addressing a rally in Khulna district. Bangladesh has been witnessing escalating political disputes ahead of the February 12 election. The parties that earlier collaborated with the interim government's Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus, to overthrow the democratically elected government of the Awami League, led by Sheikh Hasina, are now embroiled in an intense power struggle to win the upcoming election. Kolkata, Feb 3 : Kolkata Police on Tuesday arrested two more persons in connection with the clash between two groups in south Kolkata's Golpark area, taking the total number of arrests in this case to 16. Babu Sona alias Rahul Das, known to be a close associate of the main accused Sona Pappu, was arrested by the police on Tuesday. aaAnother criminal named Shubankar Roy was also apprehended. Both are known to be Pappu's accomplices. Although Sona Pappu did a Facebook Live this afternoon, police have not yet been able to arrest him. It has been learnt that Babu Sona and Shubhankar had gone into hiding after the incident on Sunday. Acting on a tip-off, the police arrested them from their hideout. The police are trying to reach Pappu by interrogating them. Meanwhile, Sona Pappu went live on Facebook and claimed that he was innocent and had nothing to do with the incident. Pappu claimed that he was at home on the day of the incident and said he has proof of this. "My father owns three gold shops; we are not people who have to resort to unfair means for a living. I was at home on the day of the incident," he said. Last Sunday, a clash broke out between two groups on Kakulia Road in the Golpark under Rabindra Sarobar police station area in Kolkata. In the aftermath of the incident, the names of Sona Pappu and his gang repeatedly came up in the reactions of local residents. A section of the local residents alleged that Sona Pappu's gang is responsible for instigating the trouble in the area. Till Monday night, 14 people were arrested since the incident on Sunday night, while Sona Pappu went into hiding. However, Kolkata's new Police Commissioner, Supratim Sarkar, warned the culprits on Monday that no one would be spared. In fact, Sona Pappu's name has come up in various incidents of unrest before. He was also involved in a murder case in the past. It is known that he once had a gold business, hence his name is Sona Pappu. He is now reportedly involved in the real estate business in the Kasba area, said police sources. Meanwhile, three FIRs have been registered at the Rabindra Sarobar police station regarding Sunday night's incident. This includes a suo motu case for the attack on a police vehicle. Ten accused were arrested on Sunday night itself. The court remanded them to police custody till February 9. Late on Monday night, the Rabindra Sarobar police arrested four more people after conducting further searches. Among the four arrested on Monday night, it was learnt that Bablu Sau, alias Chini and Indrajit Maji, alias Chhoto Babu, were arrested in one case. Both are residents of the Kasba police station area. In a separate case related to the same incident, Jayanta Naskar, alias Sonu and Debashish Mandal, alias Bhutu, were arrested. Jayanta is a resident of the Anandapur police station area, while Debashish's house is in the Lake police station area. According to locals and police sources, the trouble started around 8:30 p.m. on Sunday night. A club picnic was being held at Panchanantala near Golpark. A clash broke out between two groups there. It is learned that the conflict was between the group of local businessman Bapi Halder and the gang of Sona Pappu. Bapi is known to the local residents as a businessman. These local residents claim that Sona Pappu's gang is trying to seize control of the area, and that is why they are targeting Bapi. It is alleged that approximately 100-150 miscreants, with their faces covered with handkerchiefs, attacked the area. There were also allegations of firing and hurling crude bombs. Sharp weapons were also used in the attack. Police vehicles and local residents' motorcycles were vandalised on the street. Bricks were also thrown at each other. That same night, the police recovered bullet casings and bomb fragments from the road. Amaravati, Feb 3 : Andhra Pradesh's Agriculture Minister Kinjarapu Atchannaidu on Tuesday welcomed the decision of the US government to reduce tariffs on Indian products, saying that this will provide significant relief to seafood exporters in the state, especially the aquaculture sector. He said that the tariff reduction from 25 per cent to 18 per cent under the India-US trade agreement will be a boon for Andhra Pradesh, which is a leader in the aquaculture sector, and will lead to increased income stability and employment opportunities for farmers and fishermen. Atchannaidu hoped that exports, which had declined in recent months due to high tariffs, would rebound while the competitiveness of Indian products in the US market would increase. Seafood exports, including frozen shrimp, are expected to increase by 10 to 15 per cent, and profit margins in the processing sector will improve, he said. The imposition of punitive tariffs, in addition to the existing 25 per cent tariff, resulted in a total tariff burden of 50-58 per cent. As a result, India's seafood exports to the US during the April-November 2025 period decreased by approximately 15 per cent in volume to 2.01 lakh tonnes and by 6.3 per cent in value to $1.72 billion. Frozen shrimp, which is the primary seafood export to the US, was particularly severely affected by this situation. With the reduction of the tariff to 18 per cent, the competitiveness of Indian seafood products in the US market is expected to significantly improve, leading to the resumption of stalled export orders and creating favourable conditions for the release of goods stored in warehouses. It is projected that seafood exports to the US could increase by 10 to 15 per cent in the coming months, and that exports could reach pre-tariff levels in the second half of 2025-26. This development is also expected to improve profit margins in the seafood processing sector, with processor margins, which had fallen to 5-5.5 per cent during the high tariff period, likely to return to the 7-8 per cent level after the tariff reduction. Atchannaidu stated that the duty concessions provided on inputs required for seafood processing in the Union Budget 2026 will provide additional support to this sector. He pointed along with the recovery of the US market, Indian seafood exports to non-US markets such as the European Union, China, Vietnam, Russia, and the United Kingdom are also continuing steadily. He said the fact that the share of non-US markets in shrimp exports is expected to reach approximately 57 per cent by the beginning of 2025a"26 is evidence of market diversification. He believes that this tariff reduction will be a boon for Andhra Pradesh, which is at the forefront of seafood production in the country. With the revival of exports, income stability for farmers and fishermen in the state's fisheries and aquaculture sectors will increase, along with improved employment opportunities and Gross Value Added (GVA). He mentioned that according to MPEDA estimates, total seafood exports across the country are likely to reach 14a"15 lakh tonnes in 2025a"26. Kathmandu, Feb 3 : Nepal's interim government on Tuesday decided to withdraw the Social Media Bill registered in Parliament by the then K P Sharma Oli-led government, which had been widely criticised for seeking to curtail freedom of expression. Kathmandu, Feb 3 (IANS) Nepal's interim government on Tuesday decided to withdraw the Social Media Bill registered in Parliament by the then K P Sharma Oliled government, which had been widely criticised for seeking to curtail freedom of expression. The decision comes amid memories of the Gen Zled protests against the ban on social media imposed by the Oli administration in September last year. Those protests eventually escalated into broader anti-corruption demonstrations, leading to the downfall of the seemingly strong Oli-led government. Government spokesperson and Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal told journalists that a Cabinet meeting had decided to withdraw the Social Media Bill from Parliament. The bill aimed to regulate social media platforms, arguing that the existing framework under the Directives for Managing the Use of Social Networks, 2023 was insufficient. In early September, the Oli-led government had banned several social media platforms including Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp), Alphabet (YouTube), X (formerly Twitter), Reddit, and LinkedIn citing their failure to register with the Nepali government in accordance with regulatory provisions. The move, however, triggered strong backlash from Gen-Z protesters, which later evolved into wider anti-corruption protests and ultimately resulted in the removal of the Oli-led government. Despite this, the bill introduced by the Oli administration remained pending in the upper house of Parliament, containing several provisions that stakeholders feared could restrict freedom of expression. The Federation of Nepalese Journalists, the umbrella organisation of Nepali journalists, along with digital rights groups, had criticised several provisions of the bill. Among the most contentious clauses was the provision on penalties for the misuse of social media. The bill listed around a dozen offences that could make users liable to hefty fines and imprisonment. Those who transmit false or misleading information using fake identities would face the harshest penalties, including imprisonment of up to five years and fines of up to NPR 1.5 million. "No person shall, individually or collectively, create or operate on a platform any pseudonymous, permanent or temporary group, page, or any other type of ID to disseminate false or misleading information in a manner that undermines Nepal's sovereignty, territorial integrity, or is contrary to the national interest," one section of the bill states. The bill also stipulated that social media platforms could operate only after obtaining a licence from government authorities. Platforms operating without a licence would be subject to a penalty of NPR 2.5 million. It also proposed severe penalties for offences such as cyberbullying, skimming, phishing, imposter scams, sextortion, and extortion carried out through social media, among others. Jaipur, Feb 3 : Rajasthan Leader of the Opposition, Tika Ram Jully, on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on the state government over the deaths of children allegedly caused by the consumption of contaminated cough syrup. a Jaipur, Feb 3 (IANS) Rajasthan Leader of the Opposition, Tika Ram Jully, on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on the state government over the deaths of children allegedly caused by the consumption of contaminated cough syrup. Raising the issue during Question Hour, Jully accused the government of negligence and "commission-driven corruption," alleging that innocent children were paying with their lives. Questioning the Health Minister's reply to a query raised by Congress MLA Harimohan Sharma, Jully termed it incomplete and misleading. He alleged that the government was deliberately shielding "merchants of death" and demanded accountability. His remarks led to loud protests and an uproar in the Assembly. He claimed that the pharmaceutical company whose cough syrup was linked to the deaths had already been blacklisted in several states. Despite this, he questioned how the firm managed to secure supply contracts in Rajasthan. Jully further alleged that the same contaminated batch of cough syrup, which reportedly caused fatalities in Madhya Pradesh, was distributed to children in Rajasthan under the Chief Minister's Free Medicine Scheme. Speaking to the media outside the House, the Leader of the Opposition also targeted the Modi government at the Centre over the IndiaUS trade agreement, calling it a "new document of slavery" and an assault on India's strategic autonomy. He alleged that the United States had pressured India into signing the deal, which, he claimed, would harm the country's economy. Jully also questioned India's oil procurement policy, asking why the country was being forced to move away from cheaper Russian oil and explore costlier alternatives. He described this as an infringement on India's independent foreign policy. Referring to repeated remarks by former US President Donald Trump on IndiaPakistan issues, he criticised what he called the Prime Minister's "mysterious silence." He warned that if FIRs are not immediately registered against the guilty pharmaceutical companies and the full details of the trade agreement are not made public, Congress would launch a statewide and national agitation, from the streets to Parliament. --IANS arc/dan New Delhi, Feb 3 : The Delhi High Court has set aside the cancellation of a medical aspirant's candidature for admission to the DM Critical Care Medicine programme at the AIIMS, holding that completion of the mandatory three-year postgraduate residency can be counted cumulatively even if undertaken across multiple institutions. New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS) The Delhi High Court has set aside the cancellation of a medical aspirantas candidature for admission to the DM Critical Care Medicine programme at the AIIMS, holding that completion of the mandatory three-year postgraduate residency can be counted cumulatively even if undertaken across multiple institutions. Allowing a writ petition filed by Meet Bhadresh Shah, who secured an All India Rank of 4 in the Institute of National Importance Super-Specialty (INI-SS) January 2026 examination, a single-judge Bench of Justice Jasmeet Singh quashed the AIIMSa rejection letter dated January 2, which had cancelled his candidature. The Delhi High Court held that Clause 4.3.2 of the INI-SS prospectus only mandates completion of "3 years (1,095 days)" of requisite qualification and tenure by the cut-off date and does not stipulate that such residency must be completed from a single institution. "A plain reading of the prospectus shows that it requires the requisite qualification, degree and tenure of three years by the prescribed date. It is totally silent on the fact that the three-year requirement has to be from a single institute," Justice Singh held. The petitioner had completed his MD (Anaesthesiology) residency across three NMC-recognised institutions due to counselling reshuffles during the Covid-19 pandemic, aggregating more than 1,095 days of training, which was duly certified by the Gujarat University. However, the AIIMS rejected his candidature at the final stage, contending that the residency experience was fragmented. Rejecting the AIIMSa interpretation, the Delhi High Court held that eligibility conditions must be "clear, explicit and uniformly applicable" and cannot be supplemented by interpretative additions at a later stage. "Once the language of the prospectus is clear and unequivocal, it cannot be left to the discretion of the institution to add words and interpret it in a manner not borne out from its plain reading," Justice Singh said. The order noted that the AIIMS had accepted the petitioneras application, issued an admit card, allowed him to participate in counselling, and declared him successful, without raising any objection regarding eligibility until the final stage. "An act on the part of the institution which takes candidates by surprise at the sheer end of the selection process does not meet judicial scrutiny," the Delhi High Court said, adding that such actions undermine meritocracy. "Merit and fairness must prevail over technicalities. The right to pursue higher education, though not explicitly spelt out as a fundamental right, casts an affirmative obligation on the state and cannot be curtailed lightly on merely technical or procedural grounds," Justice Singh held. Concluding that denial of admission in the present case would result in "a travesty to merit", the Delhi High Court allowed the petition and ruled that the petitioneras fragmented residency, totalling 1,095 days in the same discipline, satisfied the eligibility criteria under the prospectus, and directed that his candidature be restored. KUALA LUMPUR, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Anticipation is building across Malaysia as this year's Spring Festival draws near, with preparations in shopping malls as well as homes well underway. The festival is not only of importance to the country's Chinese community but also for society as a whole, as the country's diverse population recognizes and celebrates various festivals. This year holds special significance, as the Chinese New Year Day, which falls on Feb. 17, also marks the start of Ramadan, a key Islamic observance in Malaysia. Among those eagerly awaiting the new year is Zeen Chang, a co-founder of Kwai Chai Hong, a beautifully restored laneway in Kuala Lumpur's Chinatown, known for its captivating murals depicting the life of the capital city's long-standing Chinese community. "What Kwai Chai Hong can do or has been able to achieve is something we are very humbled by and proud of, because we are able to bring everyone together and I do not mean just the Chinese community," she told Xinhua in a recent interview. "For Malaysia, and especially for Kwai Chai Hong, this is a place where friends of all Malaysian races come together, unite, and learn about Chinese culture," she said. The theme for this year's art installation for the Spring Festival is "Guardians of Legacy," a cultural showcase inspired by the traditional folk handicraft Cloth Tiger. It features twelve Chinese odiac Guardians presented as sculptural figures of varying forms, poses, and scales, with the lead Guardian standing over 7 feet tall. Each guardian embodies a distinct blessing, collectively forming a visual narrative of protection, care, and heritage within the historic laneway. With the footsteps of the festival approaching, this year's mall decorations are especially prevalent as the country is seeking to promote itself as a tourist destination under its Visit Malaysia 2026 campaign. "It is great to see red and gold everywhere. You know that the new year is coming, and I am very excited to finally meet up with my family," said Tan Li Vern, who works in Kuala Lumpur. "It is the only real time to catch up with friends and family. I am looking forward to seeing everyone at our reunion dinner," she said. Tourists and locals alike were seen posing for photographs, while familiar Chinese songs were heard over loudspeakers. Kiosks and temporary markets selling festive goods, snacks and clothing have also opened to the delight of pedestrians. "There are some things that you can only get at this time of year. I am stocking up on my family's favorites, especially kuih kapit (Love Letter Crepes)," Chan Ze Tong said, referring to a traditional snack typically sold during festivals. Popular Chinese food and beverage brands, including Mixue, a popular Chinese-style tea beverage chain, and Luckin Coffee, a leading Chinese coffee chain, have introduced special items in conjunction with the festival while many other local brands followed suit to keep up with demand. Meanwhile, Malaysia's national courier service provider, Pos Malaysia, has launched a commemorative stamp for the Year of the Horse as part of its merchandise series to mark the festival. "Inspired by the imagery of a community parade, the Chinese New Year 2026 stamp design portrays people of various ages and backgrounds coming together in festive celebration, with the Horse taking center stage as a representation of perseverance, energy and optimism for the year ahead," it said in a statement. The stamp set comprises a Miniature Sheet of three stamps, along with a greeting card, an envelope and two specially designed angpow packets, all featuring a lively community parade theme that reflects optimism and renewal for the year ahead. Patna, Feb 3 : Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday lauded the Bihar Budget 2026-27, presented by Finance Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav, stating that it reflects the government's firm resolve to build a developed Bihar through inclusive and justice-oriented growth. Patna, Feb 3 (IANS) Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday lauded the Bihar Budget 202627, presented by Finance Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav, stating that it reflects the government's firm resolve to build a developed Bihar through inclusive and justice-oriented growth. Reacting to the budget in the Bihar Legislative Assembly, the Chief Minister uploaded a post on X and said the budget is rooted in the principle of "development with justice" and addresses the needs of all sections of society, including farmers, entrepreneurs, youth and women. "The state budget for 202627 is comprehensive, inclusive and development-oriented. It takes into account all sectors and every section of society. This year's budget exceeds Rs 3.47 lakh crore, which is more than Rs 30,000 crore higher than last year's. Bihar's growth rate is projected at 14.9 per cent for the financial year 202627," Kumar said. The Chief Minister said the budget will play a key role in implementing the government's Seven Resolves3 initiative. He reiterated the government's commitment to provide jobs and employment to 1 crore youth over the next five years, noting that the process has already begun through prudent financial management. He highlighted that under the Chief Minister's Women Employment Scheme, a provision has been made to provide Rs 2 lakh in financial assistance to one woman from each household to promote employment and self-reliance. "This budget aims to ensure opportunities for every family, skill development for every young person, and empowerment of women. Industry is being promoted in the state, and special provisions have been made to strengthen the progress achieved in education, health and agriculture," the Chief Minister said. Nitish Kumar emphasised that with efficient management of the state's own fiscal resources, Bihar's development will gain further momentum. He also acknowledged the support of the central government in Bihar's development journey. "In the coming years, Bihar will be able to join the ranks of the most developed states in the country," he added. Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary also welcomed the budget, saying it provides fresh momentum to Bihar's development. "Giving a new impetus to the pace of a developed Bihar, the state budget has reached nearly Rs 3.5 lakh crore. The NDA government has given Bihar a new flight, and development is acquiring a new identity," Choudhary said. Jaipur, Feb 3 : The movement to save Khejri trees in Bikaner intensified on Tuesday as hundreds of people, along with 363 religious leaders, staged a hunger strike and protest demanding immediate implementation of the Tree Protection Act. In a symbolic gesture, protesters sat with blindfolds over their eyes, while many devotees and saints resolved to abstain from food. Former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje extended her support to the movement, sharing a photograph on social media of herself worshipping a Khejri tree. "I also worship the Khejri tree. Rising above politics, we should all unite to protect it. It must be saved," she wrote, expressing solidarity with the campaign to protect Khejri trees and Oran (pasture) land. "Even if it costs us our heads, the trees must be saved." "The Khejri is not an ordinary tree; for us, it is a sacred tree. It is deeply connected to our faith and emotions. In our tradition, the Khejri is worshipped. I myself also worship the Khejri tree. When we worship a deity, it becomes our responsibility to protect it. Rising above politics, we must come forward for its conservation. It must be saved. I stand with everyone in the movement to protect the Khejri tree and the Oran (grazing land)," she said. Former minister Govindram Meghwal said that if Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma wished, the law could be announced in the Assembly immediately. "The legislation should be passed within two days," he demanded. On Monday, a large number of people gathered at the protest site. After demonstrations continued till evening, members of the community reached the Balne Bishnoi Dharamshala near the Collectorate late at night and began an indefinite hunger strike on Tuesday. Saint Sachchidanand said that men and women from across Rajasthan and other regions had arrived to join the protest. "Our clear demand is that until the Tree Protection Act is implemented, not a single tree should be cut," he asserted. The Bishnoi Dharamshala proved insufficient to accommodate the crowd, forcing many protesters to spend the night in tents, while some remained awake throughout. The police and administration remain on high alert. A Special Task Force (STF) has been deployed around the Collectorate, and officials are in constant touch with leaders of the movement. On Monday, Collector Namrata Vrashni and SP Kavendra Sagar visited the protest site and assured that no Khejri trees would be cut in Bikaner. However, they were not allowed to address the gathering from the stage. Subsequently, under the leadership of religious heads, protesters announced an indefinite hunger strike. Hyderabad/Gandhinagar, Feb 3 : Gujarat has been awarded the "Best State for Promotion of Aviation Ecosystem" at Wings India 2026, the biennial civil aviation conference and exhibition held at Begumpet Airport from January 28 to 31.a Hyderabad/Gandhinagar, Feb 3 (IANS) Gujarat has been awarded the "Best State for Promotion of Aviation Ecosystem" at Wings India 2026, the biennial civil aviation conference and exhibition held at Begumpet Airport from January 28 to 31. The award was presented by Union Civil Aviation Minister K. Ram Mohan Naidu during the event. Confirming the development, Gujarat Civil Aviation Commissioner K. L. Bachani said the recognition reflects the state's performance in strengthening aviation-related infrastructure and policy support. He said the award acknowledged Gujarat's work in areas such as maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities, development of aviation infrastructure and progress in the aircraft leasing segment. Telangana and Uttarakhand were also named joint winners in the same category. "The award conferred by the Union Civil Aviation Minister recognises Gujarat's consistent efforts to build a strong aviation ecosystem," Bachani said. He added that the achievement aligns with the state government's approach of positioning the aviation sector as a contributor to economic growth and improving air connectivity across regions. He further said the recognition is linked to the state's focus on expanding infrastructure and ensuring that air travel becomes more accessible. According to him, Gujarat's approach has centred on long-term planning, capacity building and improving facilities that support both commercial aviation and allied services. Gujarat has received similar recognition at earlier editions of the event. At Wings India 2022, the state was awarded "Best State with a Dedicated Outlook for the Sector", while at Wings India 2024, it received the "Best State with a Dedicated Lookout for the Aviation Sector" award. Wings India 2026 was organised by the Ministry of Civil Aviation in collaboration with the Airports Authority of India and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. The event brought together policymakers, state governments, aircraft manufacturers, airline operators and other stakeholders from India and abroad. The four-day programme featured conferences, exhibitions, static aircraft displays and business meetings focused on civil aviation, regional connectivity, infrastructure development and emerging technologies. Several industry partnerships and announcements were made during the event, highlighting growth prospects in India's aviation sector. The event concluded on January 31, marking another edition of Wings India aimed at providing a platform for dialogue between governments and industry on the future direction of civil aviation in the country. Guwahati, Feb 3 : Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday described the India-US trade deal as historic, stating that it would unlock vast opportunities for India's entrepreneurs, farmers, skilled professionals and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). In a post on X, Sarma said the agreement reached between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump marked a new milestone in IndiaUS relations and reflected the shared vision of the two leaders for deeper economic engagement. "The IndiaUS Trade Deal is historic. It opens new doors for India's entrepreneurs, farmers, skilled workers and MSMEs," Sarma said, expressing gratitude to Prime Minister Modi and President Trump for their leadership and commitment to strengthening bilateral ties. The trade deal was sealed following a telephone conversation between Prime Minister Modi and President Trump on Monday, during which both leaders reaffirmed their resolve to expand economic cooperation and enhance market access for businesses on both sides. The phone call is understood to have focused on boosting trade flows, investment, supply chains and technology collaboration between the two countries. Sarma said the agreement would help Indian businesses, particularly MSMEs and startups, gain improved access to the US market, while also creating new opportunities for farmers and skilled workers. He added that the deal would further integrate India into global value chains and strengthen its position as a trusted economic partner. Highlighting the broader significance of the agreement, the Chief Minister said the trade deal reflects the growing strategic and economic convergence between New Delhi and Washington. He noted that IndiaUS relations have expanded rapidly in recent years, covering trade, defence, technology, innovation and people-to-people ties. Sarma also underlined that the agreement aligns with India's long-term economic vision of becoming a global manufacturing and innovation hub, while ensuring inclusive growth for small businesses and rural sectors. "The leadership of Prime Minister Modi and President Trump, along with their shared commitment to strong IndiaUS relations, has made this possible," Sarma said. The Chief Minister said the trade deal would not only strengthen bilateral economic ties but also contribute to global economic stability, reinforcing India's role as a key driver of growth in the emerging world. Jaipur, Feb 3 : In a significant and reportable judgment, the Rajasthan High Court on Tuesday observed that consensual relationships between teenagers or young adults should not be treated as a criminal offence, warning against the misuse of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The court said that indiscriminate application of the law is destroying the future of young people and defeating the very purpose for which POCSO was enacted. A single bench of Justice Anil Kumar Upman urged the central government and lawmakers to consider introducing a "Romeo-Juliet clause" or "Close-in-Age Exception" in the POCSO Act. Such a provision, the court noted, would allow judges to take a balanced and contextual view in cases involving consensual relationships between individuals aged 16 and 18 years. The High Court observed that a substantial number of POCSO cases registered across India involve consensual relationships between teenagers or young adults. However, due to family pressure, social opposition, or relationship breakdowns, these cases are later converted into serious criminal complaints. The court cautioned that the mechanical and blind application of a stringent law like POCSO goes against the fundamental principles of justice. It emphasized that the Act was framed to protect children from sexual exploitation and abusenot to criminalise consensual adolescent relationships. Drawing attention to so-called "Romeo-Juliet" cases, the court said criminal law should not be used as a tool to settle personal or social disputes. Treating young people in consensual relationships as criminals leads to irreparable damage to their education, career, and social life, the bench remarked. The case pertained to Jaipur Rural, where in 2025, an FIR was lodged against a 19-year-old man under POCSO and other provisions for allegedly enticing and sexually exploiting a 17-year-old girl. After the police filed a charge sheet and the special POCSO court framed charges, the accused approached the Rajasthan High Court seeking relief. While examining the matter, the High Court made broader observations on the need for legal reform, aligning with earlier concerns raised by the Supreme Court on the misuse of POCSO in consensual cases. The Rajasthan High Court's remarks have once again sparked a national debate on balancing child protection laws with ground realities of adolescent relationships. Legal experts believe that introducing a Close-in-Age Exception could help courts prevent injustice while still ensuring strict action against genuine cases of abuse. The judgment is expected to influence future discussions on POCSO amendments and judicial interpretation across the country. Chennai, Feb 3 : Marking the formal launch of its Assembly election campaign, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) on Tuesday announced that it will begin issuing application forms to party members aspiring to contest the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. The move signals the start of the partyas structured candidate selection process as it gears up for a statewide political battle. In an official statement released from the party headquarters, TVK general secretary N. Anand said applications would be available from February 6 to February 14. Party members seeking to represent TVK in the elections can collect and submit their forms during this period. According to the notification, application distribution will commence at 12 noon on February 6. On the following days, forms can be obtained between 10 am and 6 pm at the headquarters. Aspirants are required to carefully complete all details and submit the forms along with relevant supporting documents within the stipulated timeline. Party leaders described the initiative as a key step in strengthening internal democracy and ensuring a transparent selection of candidates. By inviting applications directly from grassroots members, TVK aims to identify dedicated workers with strong local connections and public credibility to represent the party across constituencies. The party has made it clear that it intends to contest all 234 Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu, reflecting its ambition to emerge as a major political force in the State. The leadership believes that expanding its electoral footprint is crucial to presenting itself as a viable alternative to the established Dravidian parties. Emphasising the larger political vision, the statement noted that gaining political power is essential to fulfilling the aspirations of the people and accelerating development in Tamil Nadu. TVK said effective governance and people-centric policies remain its core promises. Under the leadership of its president, the party is intensifying organisational work at the grassroots level, strengthening booth committees and mobilising cadres ahead of the polls. Anand added that inviting applications well in advance would help the party streamline preparations and select candidates who align with its mission and values. With this announcement, TVK has formally entered election mode, setting the stage for an energetic and competitive contest in the months ahead. --IANS aal/dan Imphal, Feb 3 : Sportsman-turned-politician and senior BJP leader Yumnam Khemchand Singh, 61, will become the 13th Chief Minister of Manipur since the Northeastern state attained full statehood on January 21, 1972. a Imphal, Feb 3 (IANS) Sportsman-turned-politician and senior BJP leader Yumnam Khemchand Singh, 61, will become the 13th Chief Minister of Manipur since the Northeastern state attained full statehood on January 21, 1972. After being elected as the BJP Legislature Party leader, Singh expressed his gratitude to BJP National President Nitin Nabin, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Taking to his official X account, Singh said: "I express my sincere gratitude to the Hon'ble BJP National President Nitin Nabin ji, Hon'ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, Hon'ble Union Home Minister Amit Shah ji, and all the respected MLAs of Manipur for their trust in me by electing me as the Leader of the BJP Legislature." Ending months of uncertainty and prolonged parleys over government formation in Manipur, the BJP on Tuesday announced that former Assembly Speaker Khemchand Singh will be the state's next Chief Minister. The BJP legislature party, after a meeting at the party headquarters in New Delhi, announced that Khemchand Singh had been elected as the party's Legislature Party Leader. He will soon take over as Chief Minister of Manipur, where President's Rule has been in force since February 13 last year following the resignation of then Chief Minister N. Biren Singh amid prolonged ethnic violence. BJP leaders said that Khemchand Singh was elected as the Legislature Party Leader at a meeting in the national capital attended by BJP MLAs from Manipur, along with the party's newly appointed Central Observer Tarun Chugh and BJP Northeast coordinator Sambit Patra, among other senior leaders. Yumnam Khemchand Singh, a sportsman-turned-politician and founder of the Assam Taekwondo Association in the neighbouring state, earlier served as the Speaker of the Manipur Legislative Assembly. During his ministerial career, he held several key portfolios, including Municipal Administration and Housing Development (MAHUD), Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, and Education. A member of the majority Meitei community, Singh served as Speaker of the Manipur Assembly from 2017 to 2022 and was elected twice from the Singjamei constituency in Imphal West district as a BJP candidate in the 2017 and 2022 Assembly elections. He was appointed a Cabinet Minister in the second N. Biren Singh-led ministry following the BJP's second consecutive victory in the 2022 Manipur Assembly elections. Singh served as a minister from March 20, 2022, until the imposition of President's Rule in Manipur on February 13, 2025. Known within the BJP as a grassroots organiser with strong organisational credentials, Singh was engaged in business before entering active politics. He is also a long-time Taekwondo practitioner, having begun training in his youth. Recently, he was awarded the prestigious 5th-Dan Black Belt in traditional Taekwondo by the Global Traditional Taekwondo Federation, Seoul, South Korea an advanced rank signifying decades of discipline and mastery. He is a former Vice President of the Taekwondo Federation of India (TFI) and was closely associated with the early institutional development of the sport in India's Northeast. Considered a non-polarising figure, Singh is widely viewed as acceptable across internal party factions during a period of political transition in Manipur. Political observers describe him as a steady administrative choice amid prolonged political uncertainty. In a significant gesture since ethnic violence erupted in Manipur in May 2023, Khemchand Singh recently visited the tribal-majority districts of Ukhrul and Kamjong, marking the first outreach by any Meitei leader to the hill areas since the conflict began. Political observers termed the move exemplary and path-breaking, aimed at restoring ethnic harmony between the majority Meitei community and the Kuki-Zo tribals. During his visit, Singh travelled to Litan and Chassad villages, where he interacted closely with tribal residents. Litan falls under the Ukhrul district, while Chassad is located in the Kamjong district both Naga-majority areas also inhabited by Kuki-Zo tribals. He also visited two Kuki villages in the hill districts as a confidence-building measure, breaking the ice for the first time in 33 months since ethnic conflict erupted between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities. Travelling to Litan, a Kuki hamlet in Ukhrul district bordering Myanmar, the 61-year-old BJP leader interacted with villagers and enquired about the hardships faced over the past two-and-a-half years. He visited a Kuki relief camp at Litan Sareikhong Baptist Church and interacted with inmates who had fled their homes during the violence. As Rural Development Minister, Singh facilitated a central package for the construction of 7,000 houses for internally displaced persons. He had also earlier organised a relief camp for displaced Meitei families at Manipur College in Imphal, which operated for over seven months. The legislator also helped displaced families return to their homes in Serou and Sugunu villages. Hopingson Shimray, state BJP vice president and prominent Tangkhul Naga leader who accompanied Singh during the visit, said it was a remarkable gesture for a leader to travel to Kuki villages in the hills at a time when many are reluctant to enter areas dominated by other communities. He said that Yumnam Singh is the first BJP Meitei MLA to visit a Kuki relief camp. Another Tangkhul Naga leader, Mark Luithing, former Autonomous District Council (ADC) chairman, said that Singh was the first leader to initiate people-to-people contact following the May 2023 violence. He added that Singh also visited Chassad Kuki village in Kamjong district, bordering Myanmar. More than 260 people were killed, around 1,500 were injured, and over 70,000 were displaced after ethnic violence broke out between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities on May 3, 2023, following a 'Tribal Solidarity March' organised in the hill districts to protest the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status. Manipur has been under President's Rule since February 13, four days after the resignation of N. Biren Singh from the Chief Minister's post. (Sujit Chakraborty can be contacted at sujitchakrabortyne@gmail.com) Ahmedabad/Rajkot, Feb 3 : The recent trade deal between India and the United States has contributed to improved sentiment in domestic equity markets and renewed optimism among exporters, particularly in Gujarat, market experts and industry representatives said on Tuesday.a Ahmedabad/Rajkot, Feb 3 (IANS) The recent trade deal between India and the United States has contributed to improved sentiment in domestic equity markets and renewed optimism among exporters, particularly in Gujarat, market experts and industry representatives said on Tuesday. The agreement comes amid ongoing efforts by both countries to ease trade frictions, rationalise tariffs and strengthen bilateral economic ties across key sectors. In Ahmedabad, share market expert Jitendra Vyas said the announcement of the trade deal had been positively received by investors. "Following the recent trade deal between India and the United States, a positive mood has been observed in the domestic stock markets," he told IANS. He added that the Union Budget had also supported market confidence, though some concerns remained. "The budget has been viewed favourably by investors, except for the decision to increase the Securities Transaction Tax on futures and options trading," Vyas said. According to him, the combined impact of the budget and the trade agreement was expected to be supportive over the long term. "These developments are expected to benefit the market in the long run," he said. Vyas highlighted that the textile sector could see a notable impact, given India's export position in the U.S. market. "The textile sector, in particular, could benefit, as India's exports to the U.S. are higher compared to countries such as Bangladesh," he said. He also noted that uncertainty in the pharmaceutical and information technology sectors had reduced following the deal. Vyas said select large-cap stocks had already reflected investor confidence. "Shares of Reliance and Adani group companies have witnessed strong buying interest," he said, adding that "investments in textile, seafood and automobile sector stocks could deliver good returns". He further said the agreement could have a positive impact on the currency. "We also expect that the Indian rupee will grow stronger because of this trade deal," he added. Export-oriented industries in Saurashtra have also welcomed the easing of trade conditions. Rajkot Chamber of Commerce Secretary Parth Ganatra said relief in U.S. tariffs would provide momentum to regional industries. "When the tariff stood at 25 per cent, exports had declined by nearly 35 per cent. With the tariff now reduced to 18 per cent, exports are expected to regain momentum," he told IANS. Ganatra said higher tariffs had earlier pushed exporters to explore alternative markets. "During that period, industrialists had begun exporting to other countries, but with the relief granted by the U.S. and the addition of new markets, exports are now expected to rise significantly," he said. He added that micro, small and medium enterprises in Rajkot and across Saurashtra were likely to benefit. "Just like trade agreements with the European Union and other countries, MSMEs from this region will get a boost, and investment will increase in the coming time," he said. Saurashtra mainly exports agricultural equipment, pharmaceuticals, spices, forging parts and machine components. Ganatra also pointed out that lower tariffs compared to competitors such as Bangladesh and China were "a good sign" for exporters in the region. Patna, Feb 3 : The deep-rooted corruption in land-related work in Bihar received a major setback on Tuesday when the State Vigilance Bureau (SVB) caught a revenue employee red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 35,000 in Nawada district.a The accused, Gulshan Kumar, posted in the Roh Circle, was arrested during a well-planned trap operation near the Sitapur Bansi Chak intersection.a The dramatic arrest has sent shockwaves across the revenue department, exposing how officials allegedly exploit online systems by deliberately delaying land demarcation and correction work to extort money through offline channels.a A special vigilance team from Patna, led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Vikas Kumar Srivastava, laid a trap after receiving a verified complaint.a The team discreetly cordoned off the area near Sitapur Bansi Chak intersection.a As soon as the complainant, Mantu Kumar, a resident of Nawada, handed over the pre-decided bribe amount of Rs 35,000 to the revenue employee, the vigilance team swooped in and caught Gulshan Kumar red-handed.a According to officials, Mantu Kumar had applied online for land demarcation and correction of land records, but his application was deliberately rejected twice.a When he personally met the revenue employee, he was allegedly asked to pay Rs 35,000 to get the work cleared and was advised to avoid the online process and take the offline route.a Taking the complaint seriously, Director General of Vigilance Jitendra Singh Gangwar ordered a discreet verification.a The verification was conducted by Officer Manoj Kumar, who confirmed that the accused employee was demanding bribes from farmers and landowners by intentionally obstructing online applications.a Following confirmation of the allegations, the vigilance team executed the trap operation on Tuesday.a The complainant stated that while the government is promoting online applications to ensure transparency, corrupt officials deliberately reject such applications.a This forces applicants, particularly poor farmers and landowners, to approach them directly, where bribes are demanded to settle the work offline.a According to vigilance officials, this corrupt practice had been operating for a long time in the Roh Circle, but Tuesdayas operation finally exposed and dismantled the racket.a After his arrest, Gulshan Kumar is being brought to Patna for intensive interrogation.a Vigilance officials are probing whether more employees were involved in similar practices.a Following this action, a sense of fear has gripped revenue employees across Nawada district, including the Roh Circle office.a The Vigilance Bureau reiterated that its zero-tolerance policy against corruption will continue and that strict action will be taken against anyone found demanding bribes at any level.a Patna, Feb 3 : A high-level interaction was held with a 16-member study group from the 66th course of the National Defence College (NDC) on the theme 'National Security and Strategic Studies', chaired by Chief Secretary Pratyaya Amrit. The delegation was led by Major General Pawanpal Singh and included officers from the Indian Army and Indian Air Force, along with representatives from Oman, South Africa, the United States, and Uzbekistan. The meeting was attended by Additional Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries, Secretaries, and senior officials from key departments, including Rural Development, Livelihoods, Energy, Industry, Health, Social Welfare, Agriculture, Home Department, and the Cabinet Secretariat. Welcoming the delegation on behalf of the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Chief Secretary Pratyaya Amrit referred to Bihar's rich cultural heritage and said, "You have come to the land where both the rising and setting sun are worshipped. A warm welcome to all of you on the sacred land of Bihar." He said that despite facing numerous challenges, Bihar has made remarkable progress across all sectors over the past 1520 years and has consistently recorded one of the highest economic growth rates in the country. He described the clear mandate received by the Chief Minister in the 2025 Assembly elections as a validation of good governance and development-oriented policies. The Chief Secretary highlighted that Bihar is primarily an agrarian state and has achieved significant success in agriculture. He emphasised that the state has emerged as a model for women's empowerment, citing the dedicated women police battalion and increasing participation of women in all sectors. He said the 'Jeevika' program has become a nationally acclaimed model for women empowerment and poverty alleviation, inspiring the central government's National Livelihood Mission. He further noted that electricity has reached almost every household, with power being supplied to poor families at affordable rates. A vast network of roads and highways has strengthened connectivity across the state. Highlighting Bihar's industrial potential, the Chief Secretary said the state is now poised for a major industrial leap, with large corporate groups such as the Adani Group investing nearly Rs 30,000 crore. Addressing migration, he said the state government is committed to generating employment opportunities locally. Over the past 4-5 years, more than 10 lakh government and non-government jobs have been provided, and a target of creating 1 crore jobs in the next five years has been set. During the program, the Chief Executive Officer of Jeevika gave a detailed presentation, following which members of the NDC study group raised several questions and shared their observations. Presentations were also made by the Energy Department and the Health Department, highlighting achievements and ongoing initiatives in their respective sectors. At the conclusion of the meeting, Major General Pawanpal Singh appreciated the positive transformation taking place in the state and remarked that Bihar is changing. He thanked the Chief Secretary for the comprehensive interaction and insights shared. GENEVA, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday hailed the first medical evacuation of five patients from the Gaza Strip through the recently reopened Rafah crossing, meanwhile warning that thousands remain in urgent need of care. At a press briefing, WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said five patients and seven companions were evacuated to Egypt on Monday with support from the UN health agency and its partners, marking the first medical evacuation through Rafah since 2025, after the crossing reopened earlier this week. Lindmeier said the evacuation was a "test" and the start of a process that could allow a flow of medical evacuations, stressing that far more efforts are needed. According to the WHO, more than 18,500 patients in Gaza still require specialized medical treatment currently unavailable in Gaza, including care for severe war-related injuries and chronic diseases such as cancer and diabetes. "We managed to get five out, which is again fantastic, but obviously we need many more," Lindmeier said, adding that many patients have died while waiting for evacuation. According to the WHO spokesperson, before the current conflict, hundreds of patients used to leave Gaza daily via the Rafah crossing for medical treatment, and he called for a return to that level of access. Following an initial trial reopening on Sunday, the Palestinian side of the crossing officially resumed operations on Monday for the first time since May 2024, as part of the implementation of the second phase of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. A fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect on Oct. 10, 2025, after two years of conflict that had killed at least 71,800 Palestinians and injured over 171,500, according to Gaza's health authorities. Guwahati, Feb 3 : Underlining the rapid pace of change in society and the emergence of new ideas, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that technological advances such as mobile communication have transformed global thinking and daily life. The Chief Minister observed that projects once considered unimaginable, including multiple universities and a medical college in Lakhimpur, a university at Gohpur and the under-river tunnel connecting Numaligarh and Gohpur, have now become realities. Stating that the establishment of new universities aims to usher in an academic renaissance in Assam, Sarma urged higher educational institutions to prioritise innovation. He stressed the need for universities to build startup ecosystems and align students with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing, adding that Assamas youth must think ahead and contribute meaningfully to the world of the future. Sarma, during a day-long visit to Lakhimpur district on Tuesday, inaugurated the new campus of Madhabdev University at Narayanpur. Describing the inauguration of the new campus as a key milestone in the universityas growth journey, the Chief Minister said the campus, constructed over 55 bighas of land at a cost of about Rs 57 crore, comprises four-storeyed academic blocks, residential quarters for the Vice Chancellor, Registrar and faculty members, a two-storeyed guest house, a main entrance gate, internal roads and drains. He expressed confidence that the new infrastructure would significantly strengthen the universityas academic ecosystem. Sarma observed that the long-term development of a state university into a centre of excellence requires at least 300 bighas of land. Accordingly, he advised the District Commissioner to take steps to expand the existing 120-bigha campus by acquiring an additional 180 bighas. He also announced a grant of Rs 75 crore for the second phase of the infrastructure development of Madhabdev University. Recalling his first budget as Finance Minister in 2016, Dr Sarma said the upgradation of Hojai College into Rabindranath Thakur University, Bajali College into Bhattadev University and Madhabdev College into Madhabdev University was announced at a time when the establishment of universities beyond Gauhati and Dibrugarh was scarcely imagined. He noted that, driven by the state governmentas sustained focus on education, work on 25 universities has since been taken up, with academic programmes already underway in many institutions. Bhubaneswar, Feb 3 : A local court in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday sentenced nine Bangladeshi nationals to undergo rigorous imprisonment for two years for entering into India without a passport, visa, or any other valid travel documents. The court has also asked the convicted illegal immigrants to pay a fine of Rs 10,000 each, failing which they will have to undergo an additional three months of rigorous imprisonment. Police sources claimed that on March 8, 2025, acting upon reliable information, the Special Task Force (STF) of Odisha Police apprehended ten Bangladeshi nationals, including one juvenile, at Bhubaneswar Railway Station. "During interrogation they gave prevaricatory statements and tried to escape from the clutches of the raiding team. On being asked they failed to produce Pass Port, Visa or any other valid travel document. They also confessed that they have come to India in a clandestine manner without any valid authority like valid Pass Port, Visa and other travel document through a jungle area of Assam during night time," informed the special public prosecutor RR Brahma. As the Bangladeshi nationals had entered India secretly without any valid travel documents and came to Bhubaneswar to reside here while suppressing their real identity, they were arrested by the STF after registering a case in this matter. After a successful investigation, a charge sheet was submitted on May 5 last year against the accused persons under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act, 1946, relating to the violation of Indiaas immigration laws. During the trial, the prosecution examined six witnesses and exhibited 14 relevant documents. Meanwhile, the juvenile detained in the case was sent to a correctional home in Berhampur following the orders of the Juvenile Justice Board, Bhubaneswar. Notably, the Odisha government has of late intensified the identification and deportation of Bangladeshi nationals who have been illegally staying in different parts of the state. While responding to a query in the Odisha Assembly, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, in December 2025, stated that 51 Bangladeshi immigrants living illegally in Odisha have been identified since the BJP-led government assumed office in June 2024. Amaravati, Feb 3 : Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday directed the officials to initiate action to transform Andhra Pradesh into the largest natural farming hub in the country. He said 18 lakh farmers have already come forward to practice natural farming across 20 acres in the state. Addressing a review meeting on agriculture and allied sectors at the Secretariat, the Chief Minister stressed the need to reduce the use of chemical fertilisers. He stressed the importance of providing certification and traceability facilities to ensure the quality of natural farming products. According to the Chief Ministeras Office (CMO), he instructed officials to ensure traceability and certification for natural farming by April this year. The Chief Minister suggested that agriculture students should practise natural farming themselves. He announced that training programmes on natural farming would be conducted statewide in collaboration with agriculturist Subhash Palekar. He also stressed the need to increase the share of Andhra Pradeshas agricultural products in national and international markets. Recalling that Rayalaseema earlier faced severe water scarcity, he said the issue had been addressed this year through efficient water management, with all reservoirs filled and no shortage of irrigation water. Officials informed the Chief Minister that trade agreements with the United States and European Union have created more opportunities to increase exports of shrimp, dry chillies, mangoes, rice, and processed foods from the state. The Chief Minister stressed the need to maintain quality. The Chief Minister directed officials to develop a Cocoa City over 500 acres in the Eluru district, encompassing cultivation, processing, and marketing at international standards. He pointed out the scope for intercropping in mango, cocoa, cashew, and coconut plantations and asked officials to encourage farmers in this direction. While noting that Andhra Pradesh ranks second in the country in banana production, it lags in exports, CM Naidu called for a stronger focus on boosting exports. He also directed that companies willing to take up large-scale saffron cultivation in Lambasingi under the PPP model, with participation of local tribal communities, be permitted. The Chief Minister announced that registration of aquaculture activities would be made mandatory. To strengthen the poultry sector, he instructed that egg supply contracts for government schools and anganwadi centres be given directly to farmers. He also emphasised that state policies in agriculture and allied sectors should be aligned with central government policies. Jaipur, Feb 3 : A brutal murder over silver ornaments has shocked Rajasthan after a woman's legs were severed in the Baunli region, sending shockwaves through the area. Jaipur, Feb 3 (IANS) A brutal murder over silver ornaments has shocked Rajasthan after a womanas legs were severed in the Baunli region, sending shockwaves through the area. The woman, who had gone to a field to graze her goats, was killed with a sharp-edged weapon, and the assailants fled after stealing her silver anklets, leaving the local community gripped by fear. According to police and local sources, the woman had gone to the fields as part of her daily routine when unidentified assailants attacked her with a sharp-edged weapon. Investigators believe the primary motive behind the murder was robbery, as the attackers severed her legs and fled with the silver anklets she was wearing. The woman died on the spot due to severe injuries, and the gruesome nature of the crime spread panic across the village and nearby areas. After receiving information, the Baoli police reached the scene, took custody of the body, and conducted a detailed inspection of the crime scene. The body has been sent for post-mortem examination. Police officials said the case is being investigated primarily as a robbery-cum-murder, and teams have been deployed to trace the accused. No arrests have been made so far. Following the incident, angry villagers demanded the immediate arrest of the culprits, alleging lax security in the area. They urged the police administration to solve the case quickly and ensure strict punishment for those responsible. Police have assured residents that special teams have been formed and that the accused will be arrested soon. As of now, no leads have been found, and police teams are investigating the case from multiple angles to identify and apprehend the culprits. Guwahati, Feb 3 : Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that 912 acres of encroached land - an area larger than the campus of IIT Guwahati - has been freed of illegal occupants in the Hailakandi district, intensifying the state government's eviction campaign against encroachments. Guwahati, Feb 3 (IANS) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that 912 acres of encroached land an area larger than the campus of IIT Guwahati has been freed of illegal occupants in the Hailakandi district, intensifying the state government's eviction campaign against encroachments. In a post on X, Sarma said the recovery of the land was a reaffirmation of the government's commitment "to reclaim every inch of our land from encroachers" as bulldozers rolled in since Monday. "It's a question of our survival, and we shall emerge victorious," he added in the post. The eviction drive in Hailakandi is part of a broader state initiative to clear forest, government and reserve land of alleged illegal settlers, a campaign Sarma said was critical to protecting Assam's ecological balance and indigenous identity. An official update said the freed 912 acres included forest and government lands that had been under encroachment for years. Sarma, who has been leading aggressive land reclamation efforts across Assam since 2021, defended the operations as necessary to curb illegal occupation by outsiders and to prevent demographic shifts in the state. He has repeatedly argued that unchecked encroachments have altered population patterns and threatened the rights of indigenous communities. In related remarks last year, Sarma highlighted that eviction drives had cleared tens of thousands of acres across the state, asserting that reclaiming land was vital not only for law and order but also for cultural preservation. He warned that once encroachers become politically entrenched, eviction becomes difficult, imperilling the future of the state's indigenous people. The eviction drive in Hailakandi is expected to affect hundreds of families. Local administrators have said the affected persons will be offered rehabilitation options in accordance with government norms, even as opposition parties and civil society groups have urged humane treatment and due process for those displaced. Bengaluru, Feb 4 : The Karnataka units of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (Secular) launched a day-and-night protest at the Vidhana Soudha on Tuesday night, demanding the resignation of Excise Minister R.B. Thimmapur over the alleged excise scam. Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka, state BJP president and MLA B.Y. Vijayendra, and JD(S) floor leader C.B. Suresh Babu addressed a joint press conference in Bengaluru and announced the commencement of the protest. BJP and JD(S) legislators held placards inside the Assembly, demanding the resignation of the Excise Minister. Some posters questioned when the minister's resignation would be taken. Addressing the media, Ashoka claimed that, for the first time in Karnataka's history, liquor associations themselves had alleged a Rs 6,000 crore scam in the Excise Department. He further alleged that the Excise Minister was collecting between Rs 250 crore and Rs 300 crore every month. According to him, Rs 2 crore was allegedly collected for each Deputy Commissioner's post and Rs 10 lakh even for constable-level postings. He also referred to an audio recording in which a Deputy Commissioner allegedly stated that a "cut" had to be paid to ministers, and pointed out that a complaint had been filed against the minister with the Lokayukta. "Despite all this, the minister is asking for proof, and the entire government, including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who also holds the finance portfolio, is backing him. This indicates that a huge amount of money is reaching the Congress high command. For elections, this massive Rs 6,000 crore collection has taken place. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stated that Rs 700 crore from Karnataka was sent for the Maharashtra elections," Ashoka alleged. He further accused the government of permitting liquor outlets on every street and turning Karnataka into a "haven of drunkards." Ashoka alleged that the Chief Minister was complicit in the excise scam and said the opposition was determined to ensure punishment for those responsible. "We are staging an overnight dharna and will continue the protest until Excise Minister Thimmapur resigns. If he does not resign, we will directly allege that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has a share in the scam," he said. JD(S) floor leader C.B. Suresh Babu alleged that scams involving thousands of crores of rupees had taken place and accused the government of turning a blind eye. He criticised the government for providing Rs 2,000 to women while allegedly encouraging liquor consumption, stating that the BJP and JD(S) were jointly protesting what they termed the large-scale loot through the overnight dharna. State BJP president B.Y. Vijayendra alleged that there was no doubt that the Congress high command also had a share in the Rs 5,000 Rs 6,000 crore corruption scandal in the Excise Department, citing the Chief Minister's firm defence of the Excise Minister despite direct allegations. Vijayendra said the Siddaramaiah-led government was indulging in blatant misconduct and reiterated his demand that the "corrupt" Excise Minister be made to resign. He confirmed that the BJP and JD(S) would continue their day-and-night protest until the resignation was secured. Earlier in the day, the Assembly witnessed an intense discussion on the issue, leading to heated arguments and counterarguments between the ruling Congress and opposition members. Raising the issue on the floor of the House, Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka alleged that the government was complicit in the scam and demanded a thorough investigation. He asserted that the Excise Minister must tender his resignation immediately and that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah should sack him, stating that this was the official stand of the BJP. JD(S) floor leader C.B. Suresh Babu said the Chief Minister should take the developments seriously, adding that Siddaramaiah did not appear to be functioning in the same manner as during his first term. He urged the CM to order a probe and initiate action. Senior BJP MLA V. Sunil Kumar alleged that the Excise scam had surfaced under the direction of the Congress high command, similar to the Valmiki Tribal Welfare Corporation scam that emerged during the Lok Sabha elections. He claimed the funds were being generated for elections in five states and demanded immediate action. Jaipur, Feb 4 : Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma on Tuesday directed authorities to take the strictest possible legal action against gangs involved in drug trafficking, gangster networks, and hardcore criminals. He also ordered the launch of special campaigns to make the state drug-free. Chairing a high-level meeting of the Home Department at the Chief Ministeras Residence, Sharma said that effective control must be ensured over gangsters and habitual offenders. He instructed police and administrative officials to intensify action against organized crime networks operating in the state. The Chief Minister emphasised the need to identify and closely monitor supply routes linked to drug trafficking, particularly in border areas, and ensure heightened vigilance to prevent smuggling. Sharma directed officials to dismantle both small and large drug trafficking networks under a special action plan. He stressed the importance of coordinated efforts among the police, Drugs Controller, Health Department, and other agencies. He also instructed authorities to ensure strong legal prosecution against those arrested in narcotics-related cases. The Chief Minister said that cyber crime must be tackled on priority. In areas witnessing a rise in such crimes, special drives should be conducted against cyber crime syndicates, and these campaigns must continue until such crimes are completely eradicated from the region. Highlighting that the state has seen a significant reduction in crime over the past two years, Sharma directed officials to monitor progress every 10 days. He warned that accountability will be fixed in cases of negligence or laxity. Stressing the need for modern policing, the Chief Minister said that as crimes become more technology-driven, police must also adopt advanced technologies and modern methods to deal with criminals effectively. Sharma said that drug abuse is the root cause of crime and has long-term adverse effects on families and society. He directed officials to promote awareness programs in schools and colleges on the harmful effects of drugs. He also asked police to collaborate with social organisations to raise public awareness about the POCSO Act and other laws. The meeting was attended by Chief Secretary V. Srinivas, Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar Sharma, and senior police officials. Inspector Generals and Superintendents of Police from various districts joined the meeting via video conferencing. Bengaluru, Feb 4 : Despite demands from Congress members and repeated requests by the Chair of the Legislative Council, BJP MLC C.T. Ravi on Tuesday refused to express regret over his controversial "Pakistani tongue" remark made in the House. The remark was in response to a statement by Congress MLC Naseer Ahmad, who had referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a "desh drohi" (anti-national). As the issue could not be resolved despite prolonged discussions, the Council proceedings were adjourned to Wednesday. On Monday, Congress MLC Naseer Ahmad had referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a "desh drohi" in the presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah during the discussion on the motion of thanks to the Governor's address to the joint session. Responding to the remark, BJP MLC C.T. Ravi said on Tuesday, "No Indian tongue will speak about the Prime Minister in this manner. Such a tongue must belong to Pakistan. If it were an Indian tongue, it would not have spoken like this. Only a Pakistani tongue can speak against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mr Chairman, there is a need to find out whose tongue this is." Following Naseer Ahmad expressing regret over his remarks, Congress members demanded an apology from Ravi. However, Ravi stated, "I have clarified many times that I have not used any unparliamentary words or harmed the dignity of the House. I have not taken the name of any member while making the statement. If a member addresses the Prime Ministerwho has been elected by the people three times with a clear majorityas 'desh drohi', it is an insult to the people of the entire country." "Prime Minister is not confined to a single party. He belongs to all parties. My clear position is that those who use such language against the Prime Minister do not belong here. If the Prime Minister is called anti-national, then who is a patriot? To which country is he a traitor? If at all, he could only be considered a traitor by an enemy nation, not by this country," he said. Ravi further stated, "Regret has meaning only when it comes from the heart. What did the Congress members say? That if I withdraw my statement, they will withdraw their remark against the Prime Minister. Is there any commitment in that? Are they defending their statement against the Prime Minister?" "I have only stated that whether it was a Pakistani tongue or an Indian tongue needs to be examined. I did not link any opposition member to Pakistan. I do not practice politics by betraying my conscience. When I first hoisted the BJP flag at my house in 1988, my father asked me which party it was. He suggested I join former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda's party, but I chose the BJP because of ideology," Ravi said. "Our ideology is patriotism. The Sangh taught us about patriots like Ashfaqulla Khan and Hamid Khan. I am not targeting any community. Those who raised 'Pakistan Zindabad' slogans in the corridors of Vidhana Soudha are Indian citizens, but they are not patriots. Patriotism is not just about being born here; it requires emotional commitment to the nation," he opined. "If that emotion had existed, Pakistan would not have been formed as a separate country. I reiterate that I have not targeted any community. I stand by my statement that an Indian tongue would not utter that the Prime Minister is anti-national," he claimed. Congress MLC Naseer Ahmad stood up and questioned whether BJP leader Sambit Patra had not called Rahul Gandhi anti-national and asked whether he could present records to that effect. Ravi responded that the matter was confined to the House and that statements made outside the country could not be discussed. "I have not disrespected any individual. With due respect to the Chair, expressing regret for something I have not done would amount to betraying my conscience. I am not prepared to express regret," he said. Labour Minister Santosh Lad stated that there were instances in the past when the current Prime Minister, during his tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister, had made harsh remarks against former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi. "Let us not go into that. Ravi is my friend, but we do not agree with his statement, and the Chairman should intervene," he said. Law Minister H.K. Patil stated, "MLC Ravi had agreed to abide by the decision of the Chair. Since there is no specific provision to take action, the Chair has repeatedly requested you. That itself indicates that a mistake has been committed. The Chair has made the request not once but five times." Leader of the Opposition Chalavadi Narayanaswamy stated, "We are ready to cooperate and have tolerated everything. This is turning into a tit-for-tat situation." Minister N. Bose Raju, who is also the floor leader, said Ravi should respond and tender an apology. Considering the deadlock, the House was adjourned to Wednesday. --IANS mka/dan -- Syndicated from IANS NEW DELHI, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- India's opposition leaders on Tuesday criticized the India-U.S. trade deal reducing tariffs on Indian goods to 18 percent, saying it jeopardized the country's farmers' interests. On Monday night, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held telephone talks with U.S. President Donald Trump, during which the latter agreed to reduce tariffs on India-made products to 18 percent from 25 percent. Trump had also announced that India had agreed not to buy oil from Russia, but from Venezuela, though Modi remained silent over the issue in his statement announcing his talks with Trump. Manish Tewari, a lawmaker of the main opposition party, the Indian National Congress, lamented U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins' statement that the new U.S.-India deal would export more American farm products to India's massive market. "This is a serious question which we want to ask the government of India, because it is related to our farmers' interests. That's why we want to raise this issue in the Indian parliament," said Tewari. Leader of the Opposition in the Indian parliament's lower house Rahul Gandhi told the media that in the India-U.S. trade deal, Modi had "compromised" himself and "sold the country's hard-earned progress." He added that Modi had signed the deal under "immense pressure" from the United States. However, an online report by India Today quoted Indian government sources as saying that India's crude purchases would be conducted globally from countries not under international sanctions based on prevailing market rates. "We did not buy from Venezuela when sanctions were in place. Now that sanctions are lifted, we will buy." After more than two dozen middle grade and picture books, Sara Pennypacker has written her first work of historical fiction for children. Set in occupied France in the final months of WWII, The Lions Run focuses on 13-year-old orphaned Lucas, who is ashamed of being ridiculed for his soft-heartedness and wants to overcome what he considers his cowardice. The book incorporates the under-reported story of the Lebensborn, covert residences established by the Nazis to house and care for girls pregnant with Nazi soldiers babies, into Lucass narrative. Pennypacker spoke with PW about children and courage, who suffers the most from war, and the importance of provoking questions in books. Why did you decide to write historical fiction for kids, and what were the roots of this book? I did write a historical fiction novel for adults. My Enemys Cradle, about the Lebensborn, was published under my maiden name, Sara Young, in 2008. When I learned about the Lebensborn, many years ago, I had a hard time believing this could be true. When I was able to confirm it, I was deeply appalled and knew I had to write about it. And I felt a book about this subject could only be for adults. After I wrote that book, though, the strong feelings I had about the Lebensborn never left me. Even back then, I felt girls should know about this terrible aspect of that war. After all, some of those forced to bear the Nazis babies were as young as 15. The babies were taken away soon after birth and given to Nazi families to raise, with the goal of increasing Hitlers ideal Aryan population. But I couldnt figure out how to write about it appropriately for a young audience. It wasnt until I learned, later, that children as young as 11 were working as couriers for the Resistance that the first seed for The Lions Run was planted. I began to wonder if those 11-year-olds were aware of how courageous they were. I think a lot about courage in kids; they are often confused about what it means to be brave. I wanted to let kids know that courage is not flashy bravery. Its often just showing up. How did you go about researching this story? I first had to decide where to set the book. The Nazis had numerous Lebensborn in Germany, Austria, and Norway but there was only one in France, in the northwestern town of Lamorlaye, bordering the Chantilly Forest. Its said that Hitler didnt want to have any in France because many of the French werent as Aryan-looking as he wanted, but by 1943 he permitted one there, as long as it was near the north and near the German border. My sister, Elizabeth Young, has lived in France for a long time; she is fluent in French and is a great researcher. I wanted to utilize her, so I set my novel in Lamorlaye. She did all the groundwork in advance so I could spend two weeks there doing my own research. Once I started studying that area, I discovered it was also a center for horse breeding. For generations there was a community of British thoroughbred trainers working in Chantilly. The 18th-century stables of Chantilly are very well known. I was walking through the forest behind the Lebensborn when I came across the racetrack where the horses trained. Its 2.5 miles long, very wide, and runs between the Chantilly castle and the building that housed the Lebensborn. There was a horseback rider on the track and I asked him if this was the Lions Run. He confirmed that it was. Currently its a training track for about 1,200 horses. Discovering the importance of the racehorses at Chantilly gave me another idea for my novel. While all the characters in the book are fictional, there are a couple that represent figures from that era. The character of Alice, a teenage British girl who wants to be a horse trainer and is hiding her horse from the Nazis, represents that community of British thoroughbred trainers. Many were able to get out of France when the war started, but some had to stay and watch the horses be stolen from their owners. Of course, in France these trainers were all men, so Alice would have been denied the opportunity to be a trainerunless she took her horse to America, which is her plan. I enjoyed creating the scenes where Lucas and Alice talk about America as a land of opportunity, where people can be whatever they wantwhere a girl could be a horse trainerand question if this could be true. I liked being able to write in my book, at this time in our history, that my country has always been regarded as a beacon for others. Then I created Father Gustave, the abbeys priest who is hiding Jewish children, in honor of one of Louis Malles films, Au Revoir Les Enfants. In this film, a priest is hiding some Jewish boys in his abbey school. Louis Malle was actually a boy in a French classroom when the Gestapo discovered and arrested Jewish boys who were in hiding there. I understood that many priests throughout France did the same thing, so it felt right to portray Father Gustave as a hero. Your books about Pax are also set during wartime, but no actual war is referenced. For you, is there a relationship between those books and The Lions Run? Yes, there is. These books are linked by their epigraphs. The epigraph in The Lions Run is an African proverb: When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers, meaning that those suffering the most from war are those who have nothing to do with it. In Pax, it is: Just because it isnt happening here doesnt mean it isnt happening. I took great care to veil the time and setting in Pax, because it felt important to me that readers not be able to comfort themselves that the events in it occurred in some other place or era. The epigraph speaks to that, urging readers not to be complacent just because they themselves arent experiencing the same things. Both The Lions Run and Pax are about the suffering war imposes on children and animals. When I was on tour for Pax, talking with kids about the book, I learned how passionate they are about justice. They always wanted to talk about what they could do about animals being abandoned, so I had to be ready with answers. I told them about agencies in Syria at that time that were feeding abandoned pets. I researched organizations in their communities they could work with. I wanted to show them they could have agency in small ways. I talked about the theory of termites that is so important in The Lions Run: whenever the boys in the abbeys orphanage misbehave in small ways, Sister Marie-Agnes says, Little termites taking tiny bites can bring down a cathedral. I wanted to let kids know that courage is not flashy bravery. Its often just showing up. There are many novels for children set during World War II. What drew you to writing another book about this era, and what do you hope readers take away from this story? I get ideas for books all the time; not many of them are worthy of becoming a novel. I think of these ideas as seeds. Seeds need the right soil and environment to grow well. Im the soilmy skills and interests at the time, whats going on in my life. The environment is whats going on in the world around me, and around my readers. Once Ive narrowed the ideas down to a few that seem to be suited to the current soil and environment, I have to choose which one to commit my time and energy to. I have three rules for that. First, it has to have intrigued me for at least one month. Second, I have to be able to address some injustice in the novelthats the juice I need to power me for the two years or more that it can take to research and write the book. And third, I have to have imagined characters so real and dear to me that Id feel the urge to jump in front of a bus to save them. After a reader has finished this book, I want them to be filled with questions like: Is it ever okay to commit a crime to correct a crime? What is courage? What kind of bravery could I summon up if needed? I want them to ask these questions and to want to discuss them with others. My books have been translated into many languages, often in countries that are at war with each other. For example, Pax has been translated into both Russian and Ukrainian. Im pleased that kids in countries that are at war can be linked by reading my books, and other childrens books, and asking the questions the books pose. The job of books is to open up questions. Good books provoke questions and dont answer them. The Lions Run by Sara Pennypacker, illus. by Jon Klassen. Macmillan/Balzer + Bray, $18.99 Feb. 3 ISBN 978-1-250-39281-7 W.W. Norton & Company will acquire the college list of Thames & Hudson, the U.K.-based independent publisher of works on the visual arts and research by scholars in many fields, and take over its publication worldwide as of the spring 2026 academic season. Norton will continue distributing T&Hs trade books in the U.S. and Canada via its client publishing relationship with T&Hs U.S. sister company, per the announcement. The opportunity to publish Thames & Hudsons distinguished college list marks an exciting new chapter in a 50-year relationship between our companies, Julia A. Reidhead, chairman and president of Norton, said in a statement. Because of our collaborative work together, we have seen many of T&Hs college books develop, come to fruition, enter the marketplace, and become market leaders in their fields. We will be thrilled to pick up the process and to build and strengthen an already outstanding publishing program, she added. T&Hs college list hosts market-leading titles including the art appreciation text Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, by Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields; Archaeology Essentials and Archaeology: Theories, Methods, and Practice, both by Colin Renfrew, Paul Bahn, and Elizabeth DeMarrais; and The History of Art: A Global View, a major recent work from an 11-person author team led by Jean Robertson and Deborah Hutton. These books and 27 additional T&H college titles are already distributed in the U.S. and Canada by Norton, accompanied by learning tools delivered via Nortons digital platforms. Norton, which celebrated its centennial in 2023, will add the books to its own extensive college list, alongside its signature Norton Anthologies and Norton Critical Editions titles. W.W. Norton is the perfect home for our college publishing program and provides valuable continuity for our authors and for the instructors and students who have adopted our textbooks, T&H CEO and publisher Sophy Thompson said. The deal aligns with T&Hs shifting presence in the North American market, Thompson said, noting that its trade business in the U.S. and Canada, with the distribution support of W. W. Norton, has doubled over the past decade. Palestinians coming through the Rafah crossing arrive at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Feb. 2, 2026. The Rafah land crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt resumed operation on Monday after being closed amid the recent Palestinian-Israeli conflict, marking a long-awaited development for movement in and out of Gaza. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua) GAZA, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Rafah land crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt resumed operation on Monday after being closed amid the recent Palestinian-Israeli conflict, marking a long-awaited development for movement in and out of Gaza. Before the outbreak of the war, Rafah was one of Gaza's main border crossings, particularly for residents seeking to leave the enclave. At that time, the crossing was controlled and operated by Egyptian authorities and was not under Israeli control. Palestinians are banned from exiting Gaza via Israel unless they obtain an Israeli-issued exit permit, according to a UN report released in September 2023, just before the war began. The report said that only certain categories of people, primarily day laborers, traders, patients and their accompaniers, and aid workers, were eligible to apply for such permits. In August 2023, just before the war, the Egyptian authorities allowed 19,608 people to exit Gaza, it added. In the same month, 12,076 truckloads of authorized goods entered Gaza through Israeli- and Egyptian-controlled crossings, with 37 percent entering Gaza via the Egyptian border. During the war, Israel's military said in early May 2024 that it had started "a precise counterterrorism operation" in Rafah city and had assumed "operational control" over the Rafah crossing. The crossing has been out of service since then. It was estimated that between 80,000 and 100,000 Palestinians crossed into Egypt from Gaza during the war. Xinhua correspondents encountered some of them on the outskirts of Cairo, where Gazans reopened restaurants and shops they once operated in Gaza. Under a ceasefire reached in January 2025, the Rafah crossing reopened briefly for the passage of patients, before being closed again as the ceasefire collapsed and fighting resumed in March. As part of a new peace deal reached in October 2025, and after the remains of the last Israeli hostage were found and returned to Israel in January, the Rafah crossing reopened with limited pedestrian movement. "The reopening of the Rafah crossing means bringing life back to the Gaza Strip or at least signals the resumption of life and a return to normalcy, even if movement is limited," Palestinian political analyst Akram Atallah told Xinhua. "It could be a prelude to reconstruction, the resettlement of people within the Gaza Strip, and the return of those who have been stranded abroad for more than two years," Atallah said. A UN report released in late January shows that more than 18,500 patients, including 4,000 children, are still awaiting medical evacuation outside Gaza to access treatment not available in the enclave. Reziq Shomar, a Palestinian man from Gaza City, told Xinhua that "from the beginning, the crossing has been the backbone of Gaza's population, especially for the wounded and the sick." "I am one of the injured, and I hope its gates will open so I can receive treatment. We want medical equipment to enter, and we want people to be able to travel for treatment," he said. "The crossing is our lifeline," he added. For Om Ibrahim, a Palestinian woman from Gaza City, she looked forward to a family reunion after the reopening. "My husband is outside the Palestinian territory, and my children are abroad. I am waiting for the crossing to open on burning coals," she said. "Everything would change completely; everyone is waiting to reunite with their families." "I am waiting to travel to see my husband, while others are waiting for their families to return," she added. Analysts said the reopening of the Rafah crossing is a positive step that could help ease suffering for people in Gaza, while warning that the ceasefire remains fragile, with significant challenges ahead. Palestinians coming through the Rafah crossing arrive at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Feb. 2, 2026. The Rafah land crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt resumed operation on Monday after being closed amid the recent Palestinian-Israeli conflict, marking a long-awaited development for movement in and out of Gaza. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua) Palestinians coming through the Rafah crossing arrive at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Feb. 2, 2026. The Rafah land crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt resumed operation on Monday after being closed amid the recent Palestinian-Israeli conflict, marking a long-awaited development for movement in and out of Gaza. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua) Palestinians coming through the Rafah crossing arrive at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Feb. 2, 2026. The Rafah land crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt resumed operation on Monday after being closed amid the recent Palestinian-Israeli conflict, marking a long-awaited development for movement in and out of Gaza. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua) The Republican leader of Pennsylvania's state Senate saluted his allies in labor earlier this month after their successful, years-long effort to defeat what they saw as a job-killing climate initiative. "Thanks to this repeal, the members of this union won't have to pack suitcases to go to a job," Sen. Joe Pittman declared while introducing business agent Shawn Steffee of Boilermakers Local 154 in Pittsburgh. "They'll pack lunchboxes." In the years since state leaders had committed Pennsylvania to joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), membership in the union had dropped by 650 workers roughly 30% of the total between 2019 and 2024 as energy projects fled the state. During those six years, members of the Boilermakers had logged more hours building fossil-fuel power plants across the border in Ohio and West Virginia than in all of Pennsylvania. GOP State legislators visited the Harvey Mine in Sycamore, PA, in 2024 to spotlight the economic benefits of coal mining. Now their lunchbox era has arrived. The former Homer City generating station in Indiana County is converting from coal to natural gas, a project requiring roughly 400 boilermakers. Project Hummingbird in Greene County will pair power generation with data centers. The shuttered Bruce Mansfield plant in Beaver County is exploring natural gas and data center development. Keystone and Conemaugh, Pennsylvania's two remaining major coal plants that had been slated to close in 2028, are withdrawing their retirement notices and pursuing upgrades to extend operations. Local 154 just took on 106 new apprentices and wants another hundred. What changed? On Jan. 6, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court formally dismissed all litigation over the state's attempt to join RGGI pronounced "Reggie" a multistate cap-and-trade program that requires power plant owners to purchase carbon emissions allowances at quarterly auctions. The dismissal followed a November budget deal in which the Republican-controlled Senate demanded, and Democrats accepted, full repeal of the regulation. As the Trump administration pushes expanded energy production to power artificial intelligence and data centers, and grid operators warn that demand is outpacing supply, Pennsylvania's experience illuminates what's at stake nationally. The administration has called for "energy dominance" and removing regulatory barriers to new fossil fuel generation while also attempting to halt offshore wind projects already underway on the East Coast. Pennsylvania opens an important window on these state-level debates because, after Texas, it produces the most natural gas in the U.S. Despite that production, PJM Interconnection the regional grid operator serving 13 states including Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. came up more than 6,600 megawatts short in its December capacity auction, a deficit roughly equivalent to two major power plants' worth of capacity. During a June 2025 heat wave, electricity demand surged 70%, and coal plants had to double their output to keep the lights on. The country needs more power, and Pennsylvania shows what happens when major players in both parties, and the labor that depends on the energy sector for jobs, finally circle the wagons around fossil fuels, even if doing so poses long-term climate risks. Killing Jobs RGGI launched in 2009 across ten northeastern states Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Power plants in member states, which have some of the highest electricity costs in the country, must purchase allowances at quarterly auctions for each ton of carbon dioxide they emit. In October 2019, then-Gov. Tom Wolf announced Pennsylvania would join via executive order, citing an allowance price of $5.20 per ton. In 2019, then-Gov. Tom Wolf issued an executive order committing Pennsylvania to joining RGGI. Pennsylvania never actually participated in the regime. The Commonwealth Court ruled in November 2023 that the regulation constituted a tax requiring legislative approval and blocked implementation. But six years of uncertainty had already frozen investment. Patrick Henderson, vice president of government affairs at the Marcellus Shale Coalition, tracked the pattern. From 2012 through 2019, his organization counted roughly 15 fossil fuel projects totaling more than $13 billion in power plant construction and conversion. "And that all dried up post-2019," Henderson said. "I cannot think of a new baseload power generation facility in Pennsylvania post-2019. You could point directly to RGGI for that." The economics were unforgiving. PJM Interconnection selects the lowest-cost generators to meet demand. If Pennsylvania plants were forced to shoulder the added cost of carbon allowances while Ohio and West Virginia plants were not, Pennsylvania would lose bid after bid. "Why would you site a facility here and pay a carbon tax when you can go next door?" Henderson asked. "Eastern Ohio saw development. West Virginia saw development. Pennsylvania did not." Carl Marrara, executive director of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers' Association, put it simply: "You don't build a brewery in a dry town." Rising Prices Pennsylvania's situation differed fundamentally from RGGI states. Sitting atop the Marcellus Shale, it produces roughly 7.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas annually about 20% of U.S. output. According to the Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office, the state generated 242 million megawatt-hours in 2024 while consuming only 141 million, making it a major electricity exporter. The other RGGI states are predominantly importers. They set emissions caps and collect auction revenue while buying power from states that don't participate. Rachel Gleason, executive director of the Pennsylvania Coal Alliance, tracked allowance prices from Gov. Wolf's initial $5.20 to the most recent auction at $26.73. Based on current prices and Pennsylvania's electric load, participation would have cost ratepayers $1.6 billion this year. The environmental case for RGGI rests on a 46% regional emissions decline since 2009, with auctions generating more than $9 billion for clean energy investment. But Henderson pointed to Pennsylvania's own Department of Environmental Protection modeling, which projected the program would reduce in-state emissions by less than two-tenths of 1% over eight years. The reason: When Pennsylvania generators became more expensive, out-of-state plants would simply pick up the load. "Coal trains will continue delivering to Keystone and Conemaugh, two major coal plants now expected to operate beyond their planned 2028 closure." Whether that emissions "leakage" to neighboring states would actually harm the climate depends on what those states burn. West Virginia generates 94% of its electricity from coal and has the second-highest carbon intensity of any state economy in the nation. Ohio still relies heavily on coal and natural gas. Pennsylvania, by contrast, now generates 60% of its electricity from natural gas and 30% from nuclear power, with coal down to just 5%. Shifting generation to dirtier neighbors could increase regional emissions even as Pennsylvania's declined on paper. Meanwhile, Pennsylvania, one of the top carbon-emitting states, achieved comparable emissions reductions without RGGI, through market forces. Cheap Marcellus gas displaced coal plants, cutting carbon output without any cap-and-trade program. Mike Blackhurst, an environmental studies professor at the University of Pittsburgh, offered a nuanced perspective. The RGGI carbon price was initially modest, he argued, but sufficient to "root out some of the worst polluters" while generating revenue that could fund cleaner technologies. "If we had it on the books now, we might be disincentivizing some further really expensive and dirty coal plants that are being used for data centers," Blackhurst said, "and we might have revenue to support even cleaner energy technologies for data centers." A carbon price, Blackhurst noted, is a market-based approach that Republicans once championed. "George H.W. Bush was on the precipice of a national carbon tax. Maybe there's a way to rekindle conservative interest in managing emissions efficiently." State Representative Greg Vitali, a Democrat who chairs the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, shared that view. When Gov. Josh Shapiro dropped the state's appeal of the adverse court ruling and seemingly allowed RGGI to become a bargaining chip in budget negotiations, Vitali objected publicly. "RGGI has worked well," Vitali wrote, expressing approval of the emissions reductions achieved and disappointment with Shapiro for "throwing RGGI under the bus to get a budget deal." Unlikely Alliance The opposition to RGGI produced an alliance that would have seemed improbable a decade earlier: trade unions and business groups on the same side. Marrara of the manufacturers' association traced its origins to pipeline hearings between 2014 and 2016. Pennsylvania had become a natural gas superpower, but its infrastructure pointed in the wrong direction pipelines built to import gas from the Gulf, not export Marcellus production. New projects faced determined opposition from environmental groups. The Boilermakers, LIUNA, pipefitters, and operating engineers showed up at public hearings alongside business associations, finding themselves on the opposite side from activists they'd once considered allies. Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo killed the Constitution Pipeline, which would have connected northeast Pennsylvania to New England. The pattern crystallized when then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo killed the Constitution Pipeline, which would have connected northeast Pennsylvania to New England markets. "New York approved almost every single permit until the last one," Henderson recalled. "That was by design string investors along until they throw up their hands and quit." New England now imports liquefied natural gas by tanker from overseas rather than taking pipeline gas from Pennsylvania, a few hundred miles away. When Wolf signed the RGGI executive order, Steffee saw it as "a nail in the coffin." For five years, he heard the same message from environmental groups and legislators: Develop the skills needed for green energy jobs. Pennsylvania did and does offer significant workforce development and reskilling programs. The state has nearly 300 training programs in clean energy fields, and Gov. Shapiro's Commonwealth Workforce Transformation Program commits up to $400 million for workforce development and on-the-job training. But Steffee's objection was that the specific jobs he was told to pursue didn't exist for his members. "I asked what retraining would look like for boilermakers who are already extremely skilled in welding, rigging, and construction," Steffee said. "I never got an answer." The suggestion to move into solar ignored how union jurisdictions work. The boilermakers have been building power infrastructure in Pittsburgh for 130 years, but renewables arent part of their remit. "The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers does solar farms," Steffee explained. "Were they going to hand over their work to us? That's not how it works. It was eliminating us." Marrara, though he represents management, framed the coalition as pragmatic rather than ideological. "These workers are realizing the left isn't for their jobs at all. Telling a skilled boilermaker you'll find him work in the wind sector is insulting. There's always going to be disagreement between management and labor, but we're at least for their jobs to exist." Repeal and Replace? While bowing on RGGI, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has proposed a new, quite similar carbon reduction plan. By fall 2025, Gov. Shapiro's administration filed to discontinue its appeal of the Commonwealth Court ruling. RGGI repeal became a Republican demand in budget negotiations, and Democrats, facing a prolonged impasse, conceded. The November budget deal included fiscal code language explicitly abrogating the carbon trading regulation. The Sierra Club called the result "a major setback for Pennsylvania's environment, economy and public health." Senate Majority Leader Pittman called the budget "an imperfect product," reflecting compromise. Shapiro proposed alternative legislation the Pennsylvania Climate Emissions Reduction Act (PACER) and the Pennsylvania Reliable Energy Sustainability Standard (PRESS) framed as a Pennsylvania-specific approach to carbon reduction. But Henderson noted PACER essentially replicated RGGI's structure: "They'd raise the same money through allowances, then return a portion to ratepayers. Pay a dollar, get 70 cents back, and get told you should be happy." Shapiro's own House committee, with a Democratic majority, has not advanced the bill, which was strongly opposed by the fossil fuel lobby. Environmental groups were not convinced the package would substitute for RGGI's immediacy, but their objections carried less political weight than the workers who showed up at hearings. Former U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, who represented parts of Pittsburgh from 2018 to 2023, supported Shapiro's retreat from RGGI. "Climate change is a global problem for nation states to solve," Lamb said. "All RGGI was doing was making it harder for Pennsylvania to compete against Ohio." State Rep. Vitali remained pessimistic: "Given Republican control of the Senate and tenuous Democratic control of the House, new legislation wasnt going anywhere. RGGI was the only chance Pennsylvania had to meaningfully continue addressing climate change." Increasing Demand Pennsylvania's exit from RGGI arrives as the regional grid strains under accelerating demand. Data centers, electrification, and manufacturing reshoring are driving load growth that PJM hasn't seen in decades. The December capacity auction fell 6,623 megawatts short of reliability targets, which serves as a warning that the system is standing on thin ice when it comes to both thunderstorms and blizzards. Gleason testified about the June 2025 heat wave, when electricity demand surged 70% to exceed 160 gigawatts. Coal-fired generation across PJM doubled, rising from 14.5 to 31 gigawatts. Plants that environmental groups had targeted for closure proved essential when air conditioners across the mid-Atlantic ran at full blast. The system held, but just barely. Boasting large reserves of fossil fuels, Pennsylvania has not invested significantly in renewables. Pennsylvania has not invested heavily in renewables. The state ranks 49th in the nation for percentage growth in solar, wind, and geothermal generation over the past decade. Wind power accounts for about 4% of electricity, generated by 27 wind farms with 1,550 megawatts of capacity; solar provides less than 1%. The state's Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard requires just 8% from renewable sources, which is far below neighboring states, with the exception of West Virginia. The Keystone and Conemaugh power generation stations, which together provide 3,400 megawatts of baseload capacity, had planned to close in 2028. With RGGI's $26.73 per-ton cost no longer on the horizon, both are pursuing consent decrees to make environmental upgrades by the end of 2026 and extend their operating lives. "Is it coincidental that RGGI's repealed and now this is happening?" Gleason asked. "Without that anticipated burden, they could continue operations well beyond 2028." The Buildout Henderson cautioned that it remains early "only two weeks out from RGGI being officially dead." But the calculus has shifted. Homer City already has air quality permits from DEP and easy access to natural gas transmission. That moved relatively expeditiously, Henderson noted. They have transmission lines to the grid as they ramp up to serve data centers. Project Hummingbird and the Bruce Mansfield redevelopment are advancing. A potential tech fusion facility in Westmoreland County would combine power generation with AI data centers. Developers who spent six years building in Ohio are taking another look at Pennsylvania's resources and infrastructure. "We were watching our members go to other states and build in Ohio and West Virginia," Steffee said. "I kept asking, what are we doing? We're throwing it all away." The apprentice classes are filling with young workers on the cusp of building trades careers, combining six-figure incomes with real retirement benefits. The permitting process at Homer City moved briskly. The state's two biggest coal plants have a shot at extended, cleaner operation with upgraded emissions controls. The Template What happened in Pennsylvania holds lessons for a country grappling with the same tensions. This purplest of purple states is a microcosm of America: politically divided, energy-rich, caught between climate ambitions and economic realities. Its cities vote Democratic while its rural areas vote Republican. Its economy spans finance and tech in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, manufacturing in the middle, and natural resource extraction in the west and north. The fossil fuel coalition's logic applies beyond Pennsylvania: Policies that cost jobs will almost always generate opposition from people who need to earn a living. Workers told to "retrain" for jobs that don't exist in their trade will resist change and vote accordingly. And a grid that can't keep the lights on during a heat wave needs more power sources of all kinds both fossil fuels and renewables. Lamb, the former congressman, framed the larger point: "Natural gas production in Pennsylvania is going to be cleaner than fossil production elsewhere in the world. If the data center gets built here instead of India, maybe that's a promising thing." Steffee put it in more personal terms. "I was born and raised in southwestern Pennsylvania. My family, my grandchildren everybody lives here. I want clean air and clean water. I also want a job. I think we can get both." University of Georgia President Jere W. Morehead announced in his 2026 State of the University Address on Tuesday, that UGA was ranked as one of the nation's top 20 public institutions for the 10th consecutive year by U.S. News & World Report. Whether we are lifting up citizens and communities, pursuing ground-breaking research or educating the next generation of leaders, UGA takes tremendous pride in setting the example for others to follow, Morehead said. Companies like Anant Raj, Lodha, L&T Realty, DLF, Panchshil Realty, Rustomjee, the Hiranandani group, Mindspace Reit, and Adani Realty have entered the segment in recent years. Photograph: Kind courtesy CtrlSDatacenters/facebook.com Key Points Developers will view data centres as long-term, stable-yield assets India data centre capacity reached 1.52 gigawatt in 2025 Sector is estimated to attract investments of Rs 1.6 trillion to Rs 2 trillion Lodha Green to foray into the built-to-suit data centre segment Tier-II cities will very likely see more traction in this segment The governments Budget announcements providing tax holiday for data centres, setting up of city economic regions (CERs) and funding to improve infrastructure in Tier-II and -III cities may give an indirect boost to Indias realty sector, said industry executives. Although direct real estate announcements were limited in the Budget, the focus on manufacturing and urban development is likely to accelerate growth across asset classes such as industrial and warehousing, data centres, retail hospitality and, to an extent, office market as well, a Budget impact analysis by Colliers India stated. In a bid to entice global cloud service providers such as Microsoft, Google, and Amazon to use more of Indian data centres, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday announced a tax holiday till 2047 for foreign cloud service providers using Indian data centre services. As a result, industry experts believe that developers will now leverage their strengths in land acquisition, construction, regulatory approvals, and tenant management while increasingly viewing data centres as long-term, stable-yield assets, with typical returns of 15-20 per cent. What industry experts say This shift, they say, is being driven by rising data usage, increased 5G penetration, and growing storage needs. The proposed tax holiday will significantly accelerate data centre growth by attracting global hyperscalers and deepening long-term investment, positioning India as a preferred hub for digital infrastructure and cloud-based service economy, said Badal Yagnik, managing director and chief executive officer (MD&CEO) at Colliers India. According to Savills India, the countrys data centre capacity reached 1.52 gigawatt (Gw) in 2025, and is projected to triple to over 4 Gw by 2030 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23 per cent. The sector is estimated to attract investments of Rs 1.6 trillion to Rs 2 trillion over the next five to seven years. Companies like Anant Raj, Lodha, L&T Realty, DLF, Panchshil Realty, Rustomjee, the Hiranandani group, Mindspace Reit, and Adani Realty have entered the segment in recent years. Built-to-suit data centre segment Some are set to raise investments in building and servicing data centre infrastructure, supported by the Budget announcements. Lodha, Indias second-largest listed real estate developer, had recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Maharashtra government to invest Rs 1 trillion, in addition to its earlier commitment of Rs 30,000 crore, to develop a 2.5 Gw data centre park in the state. We are already seeing this confidence translate into action. "The presence of two foreign companies on our digital infrastructure platform in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) is a clear testament to our ability to meet global benchmarks on reliability, sustainability, compliance, and execution, said Shaishav Dharia, director, Lodha Green Digital Infrastructure. The company is also planning to foray into the built-to-suit data centre segment. What are data centre services According to Vijay Agrawal, MD and sector lead (infrastructure), Equirus Capital: Data centre services are defined as services provided through the use of physical infrastructure, including land, buildings, computing services, and other services. "Thus, data centre services provided by colocation service providers will also be exempt if they are set up under an approved scheme and owned and operated by an Indian company. Amit Sarin, MD at Anant Raj, added that this push is expected to create high-quality employment and encourage innovation, positioning India as a preferred destination for data-driven businesses and next-generation technology deployments. Tier-I cities like Chennai, Mumbai, and Bangalore will see renewed interest from data centre players. "Tier-II cities like Jaipur and Vijayawada will very likely see more traction in this segment, said Anuj Puri, chairperson at the Anarock group. The move to allocate Rs 5,000 crore each for development of CERs is expected to catalyse demand and consumption across economic sectors, with non-metro cities likely to see companies expand presence through urban development, including office and residential projects. How Budget will unlock growth in Tier-II and -III cities The Budget places renewed emphasis on unlocking growth in Tier-II and -III cities, including temple towns, supported by investments in tourism, skilling, and high-speed connectivity. The reinforced policy continuity through sustained infrastructure investment and a focused urbanisation agenda together provide structural support to real estate demand across Tier-I and Tier-II markets. "Enhanced urban mobility and integrated housing frameworks are expected to strengthen demand resilience and deepen regional property markets, said Manik Malik, CEO, BPTP Ltd. Executives said that targeted policy backing is expected to support real estate requirements from sectors such as textiles, health care, semiconductors, rare earths, and emerging domains such as artificial intelligence (AI) across various regions. The Infra Risk Guarantee Fund is expected to reduce risk during construction and early project phases, and encourage greater private sector participation, said analysts at PwC India. The Budgets emphasis on infrastructure-led development, stronger regional economic clusters, and improved intercity connectivity creates a stable foundation for largescale real estate planning across commercial, mixed-use, and residential formats, said Shivam Agarwal, vice president strategic growth of the Sattva group. Agarwal added that the announcements will strengthen the demand for high-quality office ecosystems beyond traditional metros. OSLO, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Despite the resumption of diplomatic talks with the U.S. government, Washington's desire to take over Greenland remains, the island's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said in an interview with Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) published Tuesday. Nielsen said communication with Washington has been reestablished through diplomatic channels. "Now we can stop throwing mud at each other through the press," he noted. A joint working team has already held its first meeting, he added, but declined to disclose further details. Noting that discussions have just begun, Nielsen said it is too early to say how close the parties are to reaching an agreement and both sides will present their proposals before seeking common ground. He emphasized that sovereignty remains a non-negotiable red line, adding that Greenland is open to cooperation on security and defense with the United States within the framework of the existing defense agreement, though the extent of such cooperation would depend on the specifics of U.S. intentions. Since returning to the White House in 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed a desire to "obtain" Greenland, a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, sparking strong opposition across Europe. In this era of sensationalism, we should appreciate director Anant Mahadevan for treating Phule with composure and not going overboard, notes Hemant Waje. Against the backdrop of a deeply divided society, Phule tells the powerful story of India's first Mahatma, Jyotirao, his wife Savitribai and their relentless work towards girls' education, truth, reason and equality. Most people know the Phules started Indias first school for girls but the film shows many other important things they did, highlighting their role as strong reformers who stood for equality and fraternity. The biopic opens in 1897 during the bubonic plague outbreak in Poona (now Pune), where Savitribai (played by Patralekhaa) and the Phules' adopted son Yashwant (Darsheel Safary) are shown helping patients at a medical camp. From there, the story goes back to 1848, where a younger Jyotiba (played by Pratik Gandhi) and Savitribai are secretly teaching girls from all castes with the support of two of Jyotibas Brahmin friends. When the orthodox Brahmins find out about the school, they vandalise it and beat up Jyotiba. Notably, they dont harm the Brahmin men who helped him, highlighting how caste privilege worked even among reformers. After facing threats from a Brahmin-dominated panchayat warning them of dire consequences, the Phules are forced to leave their home. With the help of Jyotiba's college friend, Usman Sheikh, and his sister, Fatima, they continue their mission to fight for girls' education and equal rights. The film's flow is simple without any overt or covert messaging. It is very direct and states what has happened in that period. It mostly sticks to history and never goes out of the scope of its subject. It also shows the cruelty faced by people from lower castes. In one scene, a man is shown with a pot hanging from his neck (for Brahmins to spit in) and a broom tied to his waist (to sweep away the footprints of the untouchables) -- symbols of the painful reality of untouchability. Another scene shows how Brahmins are running from Phule's shadow. Phule approaches each reform initiated by Jyotiba with care and without any exaggeration. Take the incident of young Brahmin boys throwing cow dung at Savitribai and Fatima Sheikh (played by Akshaya Gurav), who are going to school to teach. The director resists the temptation of using it repeatedly to show their struggle and gain sympathy, a refreshing contrast to the overdramatised tropes of current biopics. The film also focuses attention on the Phules' lesser-known associates, including Fatima Sheikh, Usman Sheikh, Lahuji Raghoji Salve and Dr Vishram Ramji Ghole -- individuals who played key roles in the reform movement. The film also touches on the criticism Phule faced for working with British officers and being seen as someone who was close to Christian missionaries. In one scene, a British officer offers him a chance to convert to Christianity but the film handles it without judgment. While the first half of the film moves slowly, the second half picks up pace. It shows Phule's stand against other reforms like his criticism of widow tonsure, opening a shelter for discarded women and starting the Satyashodhak Samaj, an organisation that would challenge Brahmins' religion and their 'prathas'. The film also includes a scene depicting a Satyashodhak marriage -- conducted without a priest and free from ritualistic excess -- followed by a courtroom battle defending its legitimacy. Both Pratik Gandhi and Patralekhaa do justice to their characters. Pratik gives a strong and composed performance as Jyotiba Phule. His dialogue deliveries are straightforward and not loud. However, a Gujarati accent is noticeable in some of the Marathi dialogues. Patralekhaa as Savitribai starts off with a quieter characterisation but grows stronger as the film progresses, especially after the intermission. Vinay Pathak as Jyotibas father and Sushil Pandey as the Phule's older brother come and go whenever they are needed. The film has also shown a property dispute with Jyotiba and his brother. In this era of sensationalism, we should appreciate director Anant Mahadevan for treating this biopic with composure and not going overboard. Phule Review Rediff Rating: 'Trump says India will buy over $500 billion of US goods.' 'At present, India's annual imports of goods and energy from the US are under $50 billion.' 'Reaching $500 billion would likely require more than 20 years, suggesting the figure refers to a long-term aspiration rather than a near-term commitment.' Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff Key Points 'The Truth Social post leaves major questions unanswered, like what products are covered, what the timelines are, and whether India has really agreed to zero tariffs and zero non-tariff barriers, especially in sensitive areas like agriculture and regulated imports.' 'Trump claims India will reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers on US products to zero, but he does not specify how many products are covered under India's commitment.' 'India has previously resisted opening sensitive sectors such as food grains, genetically modified products, and other regulated imports.' On Monday, February 2, night, United States President Donald John Trump announced a trade deal with India after a phone conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Until there is a joint statement, negotiated text, and clarity on enforcement, this should be seen as a political signal -- not a final deal. So, what is needed is caution, and not celebration," Ajay Srivastava, founder, Global Trade Research Initiative, a New Delhi-based think-tank, explains to Shobha Warrier/Rediff. How do you react to Trump reducing the tariff against India to 18%? Yes, US President Trump said on Truth Social that the United States had reached a trade deal with India after a call with Prime Minister Modi. According to Trump, Modi agreed to stop buying Russian oil and increase purchases from the United States and Venezuela. Trump said that, at Modi's request, the US had agreed to immediately reduce its 'reciprocal tariff' on Indian goods from 25% to 18%. In return, India would move to cut its tariffs and non-tariff barriers on US products to zero. Trump also said Modi committed to Buy American at much higher levels, including purchases of more than $500 billion worth of US energy, technology, agricultural products, coal, and other goods. Is the deal something to cheer about for India like the India-European Union deal? Trump's Truth Social post leaves several key points unclear. Trump said US tariffs would be reduced from 25% to 18%. However, because the post also mentioned India stopping Russian oil purchases, earlier linked to punitive tariffs, it is unclear whether the cut is actually from 50% to 18%, or whether Trump misstated the original tariff level. The US later clarified that tariffs are indeed being reduced from 50% to 18%. The US has already offered reciprocal tariffs -- @10% to the UK, @15% to the EU and Japan, @19% to Indonesia and Malaysia and @20% to Bangladesh and Vietnam in respective trade deals that took place between May and October 2025. These tariffs are over and above MFN (Most Favoured Nation) tariffs except for the EU. For the EU, if a product's MFN tariff is up to 15%, the combined reciprocal + MFN tariff will be capped at 15%. But if a product's MFN tariff is above 15%, the existing MFN tariff will continue to apply. Even after the trade deal, US Section 232 tariffs on steel, aluminium, copper etc will remain @50% and on few auto components @25%. Also zero tariffs for pharmaceuticals, aircraft and parts, some mechanical and electronic components will continue. Trump claims India will reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers on US products to zero, but he does not specify how many products are covered under India's commitment. India has previously resisted opening sensitive sectors such as food grains, genetically modified products, and other regulated imports. Trump says India will buy over $500 billion of US goods. At present, India's annual imports of goods and energy from the US are under $50 billion. Reaching $500 billion would likely require more than 20 years, suggesting the figure refers to a long-term aspiration rather than a near-term commitment. So, I feel India should not rush to celebrate President Trump's trade announcement. So, a lot of questions remain unanswered... Yes, the Truth Social post leaves major questions unanswered, like what products are covered, what the timelines are, and whether India has really agreed to zero tariffs and zero non-tariff barriers, especially in sensitive areas like agriculture and regulated imports. The headline figure of $500 billion in US purchases is also unclear. India currently imports less than $50 billion a year from the US, suggesting this is more an aspiration than a firm commitment. Until there is a joint statement, negotiated text, and clarity on enforcement, this should be seen as a political signal -- not a final deal. So, what is needed is caution, and not celebration. IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with President of the European Council Antonio Luis Santos da Costa, and President of the European Commission Dr Ursula von der Leyen at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, January 27, 2026. Photograph: @eucopresident X/ANI Photo The EU-India trade deal is said to be the 'mother of all deals'. Is it really the mother of all deals, according to you? The deal covers 23% of the world's GDP; $20 trillion of the EU and $4.2 trillion of India. It covers 25% of the global population: India's 1.4 billion, EU's 450 million. Of these 2 billion people, 1 billion are middle to high-end consumers. So based on this statistics, we can say the deal is very big. Next, our bilateral engagement with the EU is fairly high. We export and import $210 billion worth of goods and services. So, it will not be a very difficult problem to take it from this space to a higher space. That's why you can call it a significant deal. I also would say that this is India's most ambitious deal. India has given maximum concessions to the EU, and it has never allowed so many concessions to any other FTA (Free Trade Agreement) partner so far. From India's point of view, which sectors will benefit most? On market access, the EU will cut or eliminate tariffs on 98% of Indian goods. India's main gains lie in labour-intensive sectors where tariffs are still high. The biggest beneficiaries will be garments and footwear, along with marine products, gems and jewellery, handicrafts, chemicals and machinery. You have to remember that the EU is a developed country and in developed countries, tariffs are generally low. And on items from India, tariffs are high. For example, on most labour intensive goods like textiles and garments, there is high tariff. 12% on leather and leather shoes and 8% to 18% on marine products. Because of these high tariffs, we were facing some problems. Yes, we were exporting to the EU but we are facing stiff competition from other suppliers. For example, because Vietnam has an FTA with EU, their goods can enter at zero tariff in the EU. Bangladesh has a GSP (Generalised System of Preferences) arrangement with the EU. So, goods from Bangladesh can enter at zero tariff in the EU. But Indian exporters are paying high tariffs. Now, with this FTA, tariff will be zero once it's implemented. So, the tariff disability compared to our competing countries like Vietnam or Bangladesh will disappear, and we can export much more. It is said that after the US slapped high tariffs on India, textiles, leather, and marine products are very badly hit. So, you feel this deal will help the affected sectors? Yes, these goods are badly hit because of the high tariffs imposed on India by the US. With this FTA under the EU, they will recover. But there is one small problem. The problem is that our goods to the EU are being hit right now because of high tariffs. The EU agreement will be implemented only after an year. So, the goods which are hit by the US will get a push because of the EU trade deal. But for that to happen, it will take one year. Not from today. Not from day one? Day one will start after one year. Now the documents will be legally tested, scrubbed and then the deal will be signed in 1 or 2 months' time. After that, the deal will go to the parliaments of all 27 EU countries, the EU secretariat and India's Cabinet. It may happen fast in India, but it takes a lot of time for the EU. So I fear it will take at least one year for the deal to happen. See, we have signed the agreement with the UK. It is still not rectified. These trade deals take a lot of time to get implemented. So, during this one year period, will it be very bad for the textile, leather sectors as they have almost lost the US market because of the tariffs? I won't call it bad. They were exporting earlier also to the EU, and they will continue to export to the EU at high tariffs. You spoke about Vietnam and Bangladesh. It is said that Chinese goods are going to Vietnam, and from there they are going to the rest of the world including the US... Yes, Vietnam and EU have an FTA. That doesn't mean Vietnam can just import Chinese goods and export them to the EU, and gain the advantage. Vietnam has to substantially process the Chinese imports into new goods, and then only it can be exported to the EU as Vietnam goods. Vietnam just cannot import from China and export to EU. That's not allowed. Do you think the EU deal will negate the trade issues faced by India due to the high tariffs imposed by Trump? (This part of the interview was recorded before Trump's Monday announcement.) Right now, we are facing a loss in exports because of the 50% tariff imposed by Trump For example, between May and December 2025, our exports are down by 22%. Like I said earlier, for the EU deal to get implemented, it will take at least one more year. So, only after one year, the losses due to high tariffs by the US will be compensated. The losses from the US are happening right now. But gains from the EU will happen only after one year. That's the issue. Overall, how is the export situation in India right now? Exports to the US were down by 22% between May and December 2025. But exports to the rest of the world are up by 5.5%. That means there is some diversification that is taking place, and it is good. Let's hope we will sign a deal with the US very soon. Yes, after one year, most of the negativities arising from the US loss will be wiped out because of the EU trade deal. What kind of benefit will EU get from this deal? India will cut or eliminate tariffs on about 97% of EU exports, with reductions phased in over 7 to 10 years. Duties on wines will fall from 150% to 20% to 30%, spirits to 40%, beer from 110% to 50%, and cars from 100% to 125% to 10% for up to 250,000 vehicles. India will also move to zero tariffs on a wide range of agri-food and consumer products such as sheep meat, fruit juices, bakery items, pasta, chocolate and pet food, and phase out duties on most processed foods, chemicals, machinery, electronics and aircraft. IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Dr Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa witness the exchange of an MoU at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, January 27, 2026. Photograph: @eucopresident X/ANI Photo As an expert on global expert, are you happy with the trade deal India has managed with EU? I am very happy because India and the EU are at different stages of development. India makes garments and textiles and shoes, but EU don't make it. So, more exports of these products from India can replace exports from other countries because of the deal. Because of these exports from India, the local manufacturer in EU also will not be hurt. Similarly, EU makes aircraft and high-end machinery which we don't make. So, whatever EU exports to us, our industry will not be hurt. The same is the case with most other products too. So, this is a win-win for both EU and India. Modi said this deal would boost the Make in India campaign. Do you think so? See, if I am an exporter and my export grows because of the deal, then I will have to make more of those things. When I make more, it will support the Make In India program. So, more export means more production of goods. With Trump threatening and imposing tariffs on many countries, how do you think the global trade situation is going to evolve over the next few months? Globally, two countries are creating problems. Most of the problem is created by the US because Trump is imposing illegal WTO inconsistent tariffs on most countries, the highest on India and Brazil. Second aspect is, most of the countries have become dependent on China for their supplies. For example, China now produces 85% of world's laptops, and more than 80% of the world's smartphones. If a COVID like situation arises again, and there is some disruption in China, then the laptop supplies, the smartphone supplies and many other supplies to the world will stop. That's why there should be more than one manufacturing centre in the world. That's why China plus another country is being talked about now. Most of the countries are realising it now. Where do you think a substitution for China can happen? For companies to move away from China, they need two factors. One is, how much the country where they are moving to, can absorb their production. India with its huge market is an obvious attraction. But they fear moving to India because of India's high cost of doing business, which is 10% to 15% higher than China or Vietnam. If we can address this, then India can be a great destination for shifting of production out of China. As things stand, which region or which country can be another centre for manufacturing? Southeast Asia is a great destination. A lot of companies are already shifting to countries like Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc. Mexico also is a destination. Photographs curated by Anant Salvi/Rediff 'Critics say the political leadership abandoned the army chief or did not back him. I disagree.' 'Military leaders are trained to take decisions when given a free hand.' 'This was a clear go-ahead from the prime minister to the army chief.' IMAGE: Captain Soiba Maningba Rangnamei of the 16 Bihar Regiment during the clash with Chinese soldiers in the Galwan valley, June 15-16, 2020. Photograph: ANI Photo What exactly did Prime Minister Narendra Modi do in those crucial hours during the China stand-off in 2020, and did his leadership leave it to the then army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane to take a decision on his own, as excerpts from his unpublished book seem to suggest? Key Points 'Jo uchhit samjho woh karo was authorisation, not abdication' 'No prime minister orders tactical military attacks' 'Delay was strategic caution, not indecision' This question exploded in the Lok Sabha on Monday after Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi cited excerpts published in the latet issue of Caravan magazine from General Naravane's unpublished memoir Four Stars of Destiny and was shouted down by Bharatiya Janata Party MPs. Gandhi alleged that Modi remained indecisive for nearly two hours and, by telling the then army chief 'Jo uchit samjho woh karo (do what you think is best)', that he passed on the responsibility for a grave national security decision instead of exercising political leadership. The government has rejected this interpretation, insisting that the prime minister's message -- conveyed through Defence Minister Rajnath Singh -- was not abdication but authorisation, giving the army chief a free hand to respond based on military assessment. Did this amount to strong leadership or a shifting of responsibility on to the uniformed leadership? Was the delay deliberate caution or dangerous indecision at a moment when Chinese troops were active along the Line of Actual Control, the boundary separating India and China? "A prime minister sitting in Delhi, without ground-level military appreciation, cannot take such tactical decisions. No political leader can. The prime minister gives a broad framework. The military commanders have to decide what is appropriate," National Security expert Nitin A Gokhale tells Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff in a must-read interview. How do you view Monday's controversy in the Lok Sabha over Rahul Gandhi's statement citing General Naravane's book Four Stars of Destiny? Four Stars of Destiny was written, but never published. Why it was not published is the key question. The government said it was reviewing the book since it contained current operational and sensitive information. Some of those aspects, the government says, fall under the purview of the Official Secrets Act. The book dealt with what General Naravane handled as army chief during the Chinese incursions into Indian territories in 2020. That is why the book was not published, if I remember correctly. The main point of the Caravan report was that the political leadership left the decision to the army chief during the Chinese incursions. IMAGE: General Manoj Mukund Naravane (retd) speaks at the Chanakya Dialogues in New Delhi, April 29, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo Now look at the sequence of events. Something was happening on the border. The Northern Army commander informed the army chief that something serious was happening and asked for permission to take counter-measures. The army chief replied that he would seek 'clarity' from higher authorities. General Naravane, by his account (as published by Caravan) contacted the higher authorities and according to his own writing quoted in the excerpts, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told him 'Jo uchit samjho woh karo'. That is what the excerpts published in Caravan state. However, this quote is attributed to Prime Minister Modi, conveyed through Defence Minister Singh to General Naravane. This means the prime minister gave the army chief a free hand to act according to his military assessment of the situation. Critics say the political leadership abandoned the army chief or did not back him. I disagree. Military leaders are trained to take decisions when given a free hand. This was a clear go-ahead from the prime minister to the army chief. I do not see any controversy here. The controversy arose because the prime minister reportedly took two hours to respond when the army chief was calling for decision or approval. And during this time, the Chinese army was entering Indian territory. Yes, but then local commanders and top army leadership doesn't wait for directives from the top. If there is an emergency, they have the right to take action. Now once leaders are informed, they naturally take time to weigh the consequences. Decisions about war or opening fire against a stronger adversary in difficult terrain, especially during COVID, require careful thought. Any political leader will take time to weigh consequences. General Naravane writes about the incident of August 31, 2020 in the book excerpts. But the final instructions when they came gave a free hand to General Naravane which he acknowledges going by the Caravan report. But we also have another version from Lieutenant General Y K Joshi, then the Northern Army commander ('Jo', as General Naravane writes). He says the Indian military knew about the situation from August 29, 2020. In his interview to us at BharatShakti in 2025, which I have posted on my X account (external link). General Joshi has narrated how the decision was taken and action was carried out. But as army chief, General Naravane knew the consequences. Once he was conveyed the prime minister's message, General Naravane has said even he was thinking of the larger picture, was thinking about COVID and its impact on the Indian economy. If a military leader thinks this way, imagine the responsibility of the political leadership for the nation and economy. Therefore, whatever time was taken was necessary. Can we say the prime minister or defence minister was trying to contact their Chinese counterparts during those two hours? We do not know that. General Naravane does not mention this in the published excerpts. He only mentions making a round of calls to the leadership. They may have consulted among themselves. This is an assumption on my part. After that, the prime minister must have given the go-ahead. IMAGE: Then defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman exchanges a namaste with Chinese troops, October 8, 2018, during her maiden visit to the Nathu La border post in Sikkim. Rahul Gandhi says that by saying 'Jo uchit samjho woh karo' the prime minister put the burden on the army chief and avoided responsibility instead of showing strong leadership. He implies the prime minister should have ordered an attack on China. No, India was not attacking China. India was reacting to a situation. The question was, what response was appropriate to the Chinese military movement. A prime minister sitting in Delhi, without ground-level military appreciation, cannot take such tactical decisions. No political leader can. The prime minister gives a broad framework. The military commanders have to decide what is appropriate. The unwritten guideline was that India would not fire first, but would respond if China fired. This is the unwritten rule. General Naravane told (Northern Army Commander) Lieutenant General Joshi that India would not open fire unless China fired first. One would expect the prime minister to order retaliation if China enters Indian territory, isn't it? Is his response not clear enough? He told the army chief, do what you think is right. After instructions that 'Jo uchit samjho woh karo', the judgement about what appropriate action would deter the Chinese is purely a military decision, not of political leaders. Is there an unwritten rule that the Indian Army cannot retaliate against China, unlike Pakistan? No, nothing like that. You should listen to my interview with Lieutenant General Y K Joshi. I did two interviews with him, one in February 2021 and another in 2025. He explained the QPQ, or Quid Pro Quo action. This means if the Chinese occupy Indian territories, India responds by occupying Chinese territory elsewhere to force them into negotiations. The Kailash Range operation described by General Naravane was exactly this. The QPQ action forced China to come to the negotiating table. You can listen to the seven minute excerpt here (external link). There is no doubt the Indian Army was surprised in 2020, as described by Lieutenant General Joshi and General Naravane themselves. The situation was stabilised through QPQ action. That was the correct military response. The military must help itself. Political leaders cannot fight battles. Is it true that Indian troops are told not to fire on the China border whereas they are free to open fire on the Pakistan border? On the China border, firing is not routine. On the Pakistan border, exchange of fire is common. If firing has not happened for 40 to 50 years on the China border, one has to be cautious. That is the difference between the China and Pakistan border situation. What about then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru's role in the 1962 War with China? Did his 'throw them out' approach lead to defeat? China blamed Nehru's forward policy for the 1962 War. Under this policy, Indian soldiers were placed in isolated posts without support or roads. This was done in NEFA, now Arunachal Pradesh. There is debate over whether Nehru said 'throw them out'. He also reportedly said that not even a blade of grass grows in Aksai Chin. But don't take these remarks in isolation. The context and the geopolitical situation then were different. The fact remains that India lost 30,000 sq km in Aksai Chin in 1962. In his book, General Naravane has also praised Prime Minister Modi. I have not read the book. If he has praised the prime minister, then what is the controversy about? The allegation is that Prime Minister Modi was indecisive and was incommunicado for two hours. Did he disappear? I have not seen or read any such input. He weighed his options, carried out consultations is my guess. He made a decision by saying, 'Jo uchit samjho woh karo'. No prime minister can order specific military attacks. That must remain a military decision. The problem is that the government has blocked publication of General Naravane's book, which creates suspicion. On that you can have two views. One is a candid recounting of events helps in improving SOPs (standard operating procedure) and decision-making. The other is: The operation was ongoing, negotiations with China were also in progress when the book was supposed to be published in January 2024. Revealing sensitive details during such a phase would have been deterimental to India's position. Should General Naravane have been more discreet? And patient? Perhaps. But in his judgement he was not doing anything wrong. That's where it rests. In hindsight, should General Naravane have written the book? He should have been more discreet. And should have waited. That's my view. But for the sake of history, is it not important to know? Yes, very important, but after a gap. In the US, such information is declassified after decades. Time must pass. You cannot publish such details while negotiations are ongoing. I will give you my own experience. I wrote (founder, Research and Analysis Wing) R N Kao's biography in 2019. It was based on his papers, on five declassified files. However, three other files (on Bangladesh, the Sikkim merger and Indira Gandhi's assassination) based on his own papers remain classified to date. He had left instructions that they be declassified only in 2025. The files are lying in the Prime Minister Museum and Library. In 2025 I requested access, but it was denied due to current sensitivities on Bangladesh. I had no option but to accept that decision. For now. The action came after reports received on January 21 about stickers related to the Israel-"Palestine conflict appearing at multiple locations across the town. A CID team conducted an inquiry and traced the activity to the two foreign tourists. IMAGE: A 'Stand with Palestine' protest in Dublin, Ireland. Photograph: Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters Key Points The stickers contained messages supporting Palestine and calling for a boycott of Israel. Authorities determined the actions violated the conditions of their tourist visas, which prohibit political activities. The stickers were removed from public places following the CID's intervention. The Rajasthan Police's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has issued "leave India" notices to two British nationals for allegedly pasting political stickers in public places in Pushkar, officials said on Monday. The stickers contained messages such as 'Free Palestine, Boycott Israel'. The action came after reports received on January 21 about stickers related to the Israel-"Palestine conflict appearing at multiple locations across the town. A CID team conducted an inquiry and traced the activity to the two foreign tourists. 2 British nationals were on tourist visa Police said the two were in India on tourist visas. The CID found that their actions amounted to a violation of visa conditions, which prohibit engagement in political activities. Additional Superintendent of Police (CID) Rajesh Meena said that engaging in activities that show disrespect towards other countries while staying in India breaches visa norms. He said the notices were issued under provisions of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, directing the two to leave the country. Pushkar attracts a large number of foreign tourists every year, including many from Israel. The officials said no formal complaints were received from tourists in connection with the stickers. After the CID's intervention, the stickers were removed from public places. Police also conducted checks in areas frequented by foreign tourists to ensure no similar material was displayed, they added. 'We have been insisting that all Boeing 787 aircraft be grounded and checked for the electrical systems.' Photograph: Rediff Archives Key Points On an Air India London-Bengaluru flight, the crew observed that the left engine fuel control switch failed to remain locked in the 'Run' position during engine start on two attempts and moved towards the 'Cutoff' position. Air India: 'We have grounded the aircraft and are involving the OEM (original equipment manufacturer, Boeing) to get the pilot's concerns checked on a priority basis.' C S Randhawa, president, Federation of Indian Pilots, said after the Air India Flight AI171 crash, the pilots' body had been urging checks of all Boeing 787 aircraft for electrical system issues. An Air India Boeing 787 aircraft operating between London and Bengaluru on Monday reported abnormal behaviour of the left engine fuel control switch, which failed to remain locked in the 'Run' position during engine start on two attempts and moved towards 'Cutoff'. Air India said it had grounded the aircraft, asked planemaker Boeing to examine the issue, and informed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) about the incident. In a statement, Boeing said it was in contact with Air India and was supporting its review of the matter. Fuel control switches were at the centre of the Air India Boeing 787 (Flight AI171) crash on June 12 last year in Ahmedabad, in which 241 of the 242 people on board were killed, according to the preliminary report of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau released in July 2025. The report said both fuel control switches were moved to the 'Cutoff' position in quick succession and, although they were returned to 'Run' about 10 seconds later, the engines had already flamed out. According to the report, one pilot asked the other why he had moved the switches, and the other responded by denying it. The report did not specify whether it was the captain or the first officer who asked the question. It did not rule out technical faults and noted that aviation medicine and psychology experts were involved in the ongoing investigation. On Monday, Safety Matters Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, issued a statement about an incident on Air India Flight AI132 from London to Bengaluru, operated earlier in the day by a Boeing 787-9 aircraft. It said the crew observed that the left engine fuel control switch failed to remain locked in the 'Run' position during engine start on two attempts and moved towards the 'Cutoff' position -- a malfunction that could, under specific conditions, lead to an inadvertent engine shutdown during flight. "What makes this event deeply troubling is not only that it happened, but that it occurred after Air India publicly stated it had conducted precautionary checks across its 787 fleet and found no issues," said Captain Amit Singh, founder, Safety Matters Foundation. "This discrepancy raises urgent questions: Were the checks thorough? Is this a new, recurring defect? Passengers and crews deserve unambiguous answers." The foundation said the incident comes amid the ongoing investigation into the crash of Air India Flight AI171, which also involved a Boeing 787 aircraft. It added that while no connection is implied between Monday's incident and the AI171 crash, repeated reports involving a critical engine control system on the same aircraft type warrant the highest level of scrutiny. Responding to the incident, an Air India spokesperson said: "We are aware that one of our pilots has reported a possible defect on the fuel control switch of a Boeing 787-8 aircraft. After receiving this initial information, we have grounded the aircraft and are involving the OEM (original equipment manufacturer, Boeing) to get the pilot's concerns checked on a priority basis." "The matter has been communicated to the aviation regulator, DGCA. Air India had checked the fuel control switches on all Boeing 787 aircraft in its fleet after a directive from the DGCA, and had found no issues. At Air India, the safety of our passengers and crew remains top priority," the spokesperson added. The fuel control switch is a critical engine control that regulates fuel flow to the engine. When set to 'Run', it allows fuel to flow normally, while the 'Cutoff' position shuts off fuel supply to the engine. Safety Matters Foundation called for the immediate and transparent disclosure by the DGCA and Air India of the findings once the inspection of the Boeing 787 involved in the recent incident is completed. The foundation also urged the DGCA to conduct an urgent regulatory review to determine whether Monday's incident is isolated or indicative of a fleet-wide issue, which could necessitate the issuance of an immediate airworthiness directive There was no immediate comment from DGCA . C S Randhawa, president, Federation of Indian Pilots, said that from the outset after the Air India Flight AI171 crash, the pilots' body had been urging checks of all Boeing 787 aircraft for electrical system issues. "We have also gone on record in the media and written mails and letters to the ministry of civil aviation and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation that the fuel control switches must have moved automatically due to an electrical malfunction of the Thrust Control Management Apparatus in the Air India Flight AI171 crash." Boeing 787-8 aircraft were prone to water seepage into the main electronic bay, Randhawa said, which can cause electrical malfunctions, citing an incident on June 12, 2025, when an Air India flight from Vienna to Delhi was grounded on the tarmac because of flooding in the electrical bay, and passengers were deplaned to avoid an accident. He also referred to a February 17, 2019, incident involving an All Nippon Airways Boeing 787-8 in Osaka, Japan, in which both engines suddenly lost thrust during landing. Monday's incident mirrored past issues, adding: "Today again, history has repeated itself at Heathrow airport in London, where the left fuel control switch was cut off after being moved to run during start." "We have been insisting that all Boeing 787 aircraft be grounded and checked for the electrical systems," Randhawa added. Former minister Y Khemchand Singh was elected the leader of the National Democratic Alliance legislature party in Manipur on Tuesday, paving the way for the formation of a new government in the northeastern state with him as chief minister. IMAGE: BJP leader Yumnam Khemchand Singh being congratulated on being elected as the BJP Legislature Party Leader of Manipur during the Manipur Legislative Party meeting, in New Delhi on Tuesday. Photograph: ANI Video Grab Key Points Former minister Y Khemchand Singh elected as NDA leader in Manipur. Nemcha Kipgen, Kuki leader and former minister, to be his deputy. Manipur has been under President's rule since February 13, 2025. BJP currently has 37 MLAs in the Manipur Assembly. Nemcha Kipgen, a woman Kuki leader and former minister, is likely to be the deputy chief minister in the new Manipur government when it is formed, sources said. The BJP legislature party of Manipur elected 62-year-old Singh as its leader at a meeting held at the Bharatiya Janata Party headquarters in New Delhi. It was attended by 35 of the 37 BJP MLAs, besides the party's central observer Tarun Chugh, its northeast in-charge Sambit Patra, and BJP state president A Sharda Devi, among others. Kipgen (60) was also chosen to be the deputy chief minister in the new government. The two BJP MLAs who did not attend the meeting were unwell. Subsequently, another meeting was held at the Manipur Bhavan, where MLAs of NDA constituents in Manipur -- six of National People's Party (NPP), five of Naga People's Front (NPF) and three Independents -- and BJP legislators were in attendance. They endorsed Singh as the leader and Kipgen as the deputy leader of the NDA legislature party. According to sources, there is a proposal to appoint a Naga MLA as another deputy chief minister, but there is no official word on this yet. The NDA may stake a claim to form a government by meeting the governor as early as tomorrow, sources indicated. 'Khemchand Singh has cordial relations with all communities' Independent MLA Sapam Nishikant Singh, who is part of the NDA and attended the second meeting, said Y Khemchand Singh has cordial relations with all three major communities in Manipur -- the Meiteis, Kukis and the Nagas -- and hence he was the natural choice for the leader of the NDA legislature party. "There will be good days, and peace will come to Manipur," he said. The two meetings were held days ahead of the expiry of the second spell of the President's rule on February 12. Former chief minister N Biren Singh and Assembly speaker Satyabrata Singh were present at both the meetings. Manipur has been under President's rule since February 13, 2025. The 60-member Assembly, which has tenure till 2027, was put on suspended animation after President's rule was imposed. Currently, there are 37 BJP MLAs in Manipur. Initially, 32 BJP candidates had won the 2022 assembly elections. The Janata Dal-United had won six seats, and five of its MLAs later defected to the BJP. Among others, six are from the NPP, five from the NPF, five from the Congress, two from the Kuki People's Alliance, one from JD-U and three Independents. One seat is vacant following the death of a sitting MLA. Over the past few months, the BJP's central leadership held several rounds of meetings with its Meitei and Kuki MLAs, allies NPF and NPP and a few Independent legislators to gauge their views on whether the political situation was conducive for the formation of a popular government, the sources said. On December 14, the BJP's national general secretary (organisation), B L Santhosh, and Sambit Patra met BJP MLAs from the warring Meitei and Kuki communities in Delhi under one roof. President's rule was imposed in the state after the BJP-led government headed by Biren Singh resigned on February 9 last year, following months of ethnic violence between Meitei and Kuki communities. After the imposition of the President's rule, Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla took a number of steps to restore peace and bring back normalcy, including asking those who looted arms from security forces to surrender them. The violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities started in May 2023 after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribes status. At least 260 people lost their lives, and thousands were displaced during the violence. One of the underground lines will head towards Bagdogra, a location of strategic importance due to its role in India's air defence infrastructure. Kindly note that this illustration generated using ChatGPT has only been posted for representational purposes. The Indian Railways is planning to lay underground railway tracks along a crucial 40 km stretch in West Bengal's Siliguri corridor -- popularly known as the Chicken's Neck -- to strengthen connectivity between the north east and the rest of the country and enhance security preparedness. "This underground stretch is extremely important from a security point of view," says Chetan Kumar Srivastava, General Manager, Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR). The proposed underground railway lines would run between Tin Mile Haat and Rangapani stations in northern West Bengal, Srivastava added. Siliguri Corridor (Chicken's Neck) The tracks, Srivastava said, would be laid about 20 to 24 metres below ground across a largely plain terrain. One of the underground lines will head towards Bagdogra, a location of strategic importance due to its role in India's air defence infrastructure. Underground Railway Tracks Chief Administrative Officer (Construction), NFR, Hitendra Goyal, said the project also includes upgrading the existing double-line railway section into a four-line corridor. "Once completed, this stretch will effectively have six railway lines--four overground and two underground," Goyal said. Six Railway Lines Project Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw confirmed that detailed planning is underway for the strategic corridor. 'There is special planning for the 40-km strategic corridor that connects the northeast with the rest of the country,' Vaishnaw told reporters on Monday. 'The proposal includes laying underground railway tracks and expanding the existing lines to four tracks,' Vaishnaw told reporters on Monday. Northeast Connectivity Boost The Siliguri corridor is a narrow strip of land in northern West Bengal, with a width of just over 20 km at some points. It is flanked by Nepal and Bangladesh, while Bhutan and China lie a few hundred kilometres away, making it one of India's most sensitive and strategic land links. Strategic Security Corridor The move comes amid heightened focus on securing access to the north eastern states. Assam had last year urged the Centre to prioritise exploring alternative road routes bypassing the Chicken's Neck after Muhammad Yunus, head of Bangladesh's interim government, made controversial remarks in China describing India's north eastern states as 'landlocked' and dependent on Bangladesh for ocean access. Bagdogra Strategic Link Railway officials said the proposed underground and expanded rail infrastructure would significantly strengthen both logistical resilience and strategic mobility through the Siliguri corridor, often referred to as India's gateway to the northeast. Northeast Frontier Railway Plan Key Points The Siliguri corridor (Chicken's Neck) will be upgraded to a six-line railway stretch -- four overground and two underground. The 40 km strategic section between Tin Mile Haat and Rangapani will get underground tracks at about 20 to 24 metres depth. One underground line will connect towards Bagdogra, a key air-defence and strategic location. The project is aimed at strengthening connectivity to the Northeast and improving security preparedness. Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff The Congress attacked the Modi government, saying it now seems to be routine that India learns about its governments actions only from Trump or his appointees. IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with US President Donald Trump, at The White House in Washington, DC on February 14, 2025. Photograph: ANI Photo Key Points President Trump announced a US-India trade deal, stating tariffs on Indian goods would be reduced to 18%. The Congress has criticized the deal, suggesting Prime Minister Modi has 'capitulated'. Jairam Ramesh questions why the announcement came from Trump and the US Ambassador, not the Indian government. The deal follows a recent free trade agreement between India and the European Union. The Congress took a swipe at the Narendra Modi government on Monday after President Donald Trump announced that the US and India have agreed to a trade deal, saying it appears the prime minister has "capitulated finally" and that this "cannot be the father of all deals". India and the US agreed to a trade deal under which Washington will bring down the reciprocal tariff on Indian goods to 18 per cent from the current 25 per cent, Trump said on Monday after a phone conversation with PM Modi. On his part, PM Modi said he was delighted that "made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 per cent". This came after India and the European Union, on January 27, sealed a landmark free trade agreement -- billed as the "mother of all deals" -- to create a market of two billion people, with PM Modi and the top EU leadership unveiling a transformative five-year agenda to largely leverage trade and defence in protecting the rules-based world order. 'Not the father of all deals': Congress Reacting to Monday's developments, Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said that in Washington, "clearly Mogambo Khush Hai", a play on a popular dialogue from the 1987 Hindi movie Mr India. "He (Trump) announced the halt of Operation Sindoor from Washington DC. He announced the updates on India's oil purchases from Russia and Venezuela from Washington. He's now announced an India-US Trade Deal from Washington, the full details of which are awaited," Ramesh said in a post on X. "President Trump clearly seems to have some leverage over Prime Minister Modi -- who is now mortified of even being seen with him, let alone engaging in the usual bout of hugs. It appears Mr Modi has capitulated finally. Surely this cannot be the father of all deals," he said. Congress flags 'Trump-nirbharta' Earlier, the Congress took a swipe at the government after the US ambassador to New Delhi confirmed that President Trump has spoken with Prime Minister Modi, saying it now seems to be a routine that India gets to know of its government's actions only from Trump or his appointees. In a social media post, US Ambassador Segio Gor said Trump spoke with Modi on Monday. "President Trump just spoke with Prime Minister Modi. STAY TUNED," Gor said in the post. Reacting to the development, Ramesh said, "It seems that Prime Minister Modi and President Trump spoke to each other today. This information has been provided not by the Indian side but by the US Ambassador to India. "This now seems to be the routine -- India gets to know of its government's actions only from President Trump or his appointees. Trump-nirbharta," the Congress leader said on X. 'President's Rule has already been extended twice and one cannot keep the assembly in suspension for much longer.' IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with violence-hit displaced people on his visit to Manipur, September 13, 2025. Photograph: DPR PMO With President's Rule ending on February 12 in Manipur, the Bharatiya Janata Party and its National Democratic Alliance allies have convened a crucial meeting in New Delhi to elect the legislature party leader, signalling imminent government formation in the strife-torn state after nearly a year of central administration. Key Points The extension of President's Rule in Manipur ends February 12, prompting the BJP-led NDA to move swiftly toward forming a new government before the deadline. Nearly 90% of NDA MLAs, including Meitei and Kuki-Zo legislators, have assembled in New Delhi to elect the legislature party leader. The BJP has appointed senior leader Tarun Chugh as the central observer for the leadership election process. After almost three years of ethnic strife in the state which began on May 3, 2023, the efforts to form a popular government is likely to bear fruit when a majority of BJP MLAs and its NDA allies will convene at 3 pm today to elect the leader of the legislature party in the Manipur assembly. With 90% of all 32 BJP MLAs belonging to both the Meitei and Kuki-Zo community and those from its NDA allies -- 7 MLAs from the National People's Party, 5 from the Naga People's Front and 6 from the Janata Dal-United -- in Delhi for a meeting that has been convened at 3 pm to elect the leader of the legislature party in the Manipur assembly the path seem to be paved for formation of a popular government in Manipur after N Biren Singh resigned as chief minister on February 9, 2025 and the imposition of President's Rule on February 13, 2025. 90% of NDA MLAs Assemble In Delhi Nearly 90% of NDA MLAs from Manipur have arrived in the national capital ahead of the critical meeting, three Manipur MLAs and a former Union minister confirmed to Rediff. "All the NDA MLAs are in Delhi. They have been asked to come directly instructed by the central leadership," says Thokchom Radheshyam Singh, the BJP MLA from Heirok in Manipur's Thoubal district. Radheshyam Singh could not confirm if the newly elected BJP national President Nitin Nabin had convened Tuesday's meeting. The urgency stems from the expiry of the second extension of President's Rule on February 12, 2026. The state has been under central administration since February 13, 2025, when President's Rule was imposed. The assembly was kept in suspension rather than dissolved. 'There Will Be A Government In Place In Manipur' Sheikh Noorul Hassan, the legislative party leader of the National People's Party, a BJP ally, and the MLA from Kshetrigaon, confirmed that a meeting to elect the leader of the legislature party will be convened at 3 pm on Tuesday. "The extension of President's Rule in Manipur ends on February 12 and before that there will be a government in place in Manipur," says Hassan. The BJP has appointed senior leader Tarun Chugh as the central observer for the leadership election process. Former Union minister of state for external affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh acknowledged the development, saying, "Tarun Chugh is appointed to observe the process. All BJP MLAs and NDA allies will be present for the meeting." Singh remained cautious about confirming government formation plans. "I do not know what they will decide about the formation of the government or electing leader of the legislature party in the Manipur assembly," he says. Four of the 10 Kuki-Zo MLAs that this correspondent tried to speak to did not answer their phones despite repeated attempts to solicit their views on the formation of the next government in Manipur. Assembly Speaker Expects New Government Thokchom Satyabrata Singh, speaker of the suspended Manipur assembly and a BJP MLA, indicated that the central leadership is likely working toward installing a new government rather than seeking another extension of President's Rule. "President's Rule has already been extended twice and one cannot keep the assembly in suspension for much longer than this," Singh observes. While he states he has not been formally informed about the election on Tuesday afternoon, he acknowledges the possibility. "That can happen, that is possible because the extension is ending soon on February 12. The central leadership will decide if President's Rule is to be extended or put a new government in place," says Satyabrata Singh. "I think they must be wanting to form a new government in Manipur and that is why they must have called a meeting of NDA MLAs to elect a leader." The meeting assumes significance as it brings together MLAs from both the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities that have been at odds during Manipur's prolonged ethnic conflict which began on May 3, 2023. The choice of legislature party leader -- who will likely become Manipur's next chief minister -- will be closely watched for its political and community implications in the sensitive border state. Trump announced that India and the US agreed to a trade deal under which Washington will charge a reduced reciprocal tariff on Delhi, lowering it from 25 per cent to 18 per cent. IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump during the meeting at the White House, February 13, 2025. Photograph: Press Information Bureau Key Points The US-India trade deal will reduce tariffs and increase trade between the two countries. American leaders believe the deal will boost exports of American farm products to India. The agreement is expected to help counter Russian aggression by reducing India's reliance on Russian energy. The deal aims to restore a positive trajectory to the US-India bilateral relationship. India will reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers against the United States to zero. Top American leaders said the trade deal announced by United States President Donald Trump with "close partner" India will export more farm products from America to the massive Indian market and the agreement will also help counter Russian aggression. Reactions from US Senators "Congratulations to President Trump for a superb accomplishment on today's trade agreement with India," Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Senator Jim Risch said in a post on X Monday. He said he is "very glad to learn that the world's oldest and largest democracy has agreed to reduce trade barriers with the United States." Describing India as a "close partner" of the US, with a prominent diaspora in America, Risch said New Delhi is an integral partner in countering China's "malign influence" in the Indo-Pacific. "Now, under this new agreement India has pledged to buy American. It will also help the US counter Russian aggression and in its work to bring an end to Russia's war against Ukraine by cutting off India's support of the Russian energy sector," Risch said. Impact on American Agriculture US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins thanked Trump for "once again" delivering for American farmers. "New US-India deal will export more American farm products to India's massive market, lifting prices, and pumping cash into rural America," she said in a post on X. Noting that in 2024, America's agricultural trade deficit with India was $1.3 billion, she said India's growing population is an "important market" for American agricultural products and the deal will go a long way to reducing this deficit. "America First victory on top of the dozens of deals for agriculture," she said. Energy and Investment Describing Trump as "Dealmaker in Chief", Secretary of the Department of the Interior and Chairman of the National Energy Dominance Council Doug Burgum said the US President "continues to bring in record investment from U.S. energy purchases. This is energy diplomacy at work, strengthening international relationships and bolstering the US economy!" Details of the Trade Deal In a post on Truth Social, Trump announced Monday morning that India and the US agreed to a trade deal under which Washington will charge a reduced reciprocal tariff on Delhi, lowering it from 25 per cent to 18 per cent. Senator Lindsey Graham said India "has more than earned" this reduction. "Well played, President Trump. I think your message about ending this war -- by having (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's customers who prop up his war machine have to recalculate -- is working," Graham said on X. "Through their behaviour, India has more than earned this reduction. I'm hoping that the other big nations that buy Russian will follow India's direction. Putin will only come to the table when the pain is so great. We're not there yet, but with India's actions, we are moving closer. End the bloodbath in Ukraine now," Graham said. Graham has proposed a sanctions bill that could impose 500 per cent tariffs on countries for buying Russian oil. Expert Analysis Chairman and Co-Founder of Washington DC based strategic advisory firm The Asia Group and former Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said the trade deal between the US and India is a welcome but "overdue signal". He said that both sides now seek to restore a more positive trajectory to the bilateral relationship after several months of damaging setbacks in what was once seen as a defining partnership for the 21st century. "Even though there are clear indications of market opening steps - particularly for US firms seeking to operate in the rising Indian commercial sector - the deal takes a back seat to the blockbuster Europe - India accord announced last week," Campbell said in a statement to PTI. "The Washington-Delhi deal will help restore a degree of normalcy to bilateral relations but re-establishing strategic momentum between the leadership remains challenging," Campbell said. Trump and Modi's Conversation Trump and Modi spoke over the phone on Monday, after which the US President announced that the two sides had agreed to the trade deal. "It was an Honour to speak with Prime Minister Modi of India this morning. He is one of my greatest friends and a Powerful and Respected Leader of his Country. We spoke about many things, including Trade, and ending the War with Russia and Ukraine," Trump said. "He agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela. This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week!" Trump said. "Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%." "They will likewise move forward to reduce their Tariffs and non-tariff barriers against the United States to ZERO. The Prime Minister also committed to "BUY AMERICAN," at a much higher level, in addition to over $500 BILLION DOLLARS of US Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal, and many other products. Our amazing relationship with India will be even stronger going forward. Prime Minister Modi and I are two people who GET THINGS DONE, something that cannot be said for most." Modi's Response Modi said it was wonderful to speak with his "dear friend" Trump. "Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement," Modi said. "When two large economies and the world's largest democracies work together, it benefits our people and unlocks immense opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation. President Trump's leadership is vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity. India fully supports his efforts for peace. I look forward to working closely with him to take our partnership to unprecedented heights," Modi said. Akbar Novruz Iranian judicial authorities have brought charges against the director, production team, and host of Ofogh TV following the broadcast of a controversial programme that mocked protesters killed during the January protests, Azernews reports. The programme, titled Khat-Khati (Scribbles), aired on Sunday on Ofogh TV, a channel widely regarded as being close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. During the broadcast, host Mohammad-Hossein Mohabbati made remarks that were widely perceived as ridiculing the deaths of protesters, triggering a wave of public anger across the country. With a mocking tone, Mohabbati claimed that the Islamic Republic had kept the bodies of those killed in cold places so that, in the event of a future attack by the United States or Israel, the authorities could blame foreign powers for the deaths. He then jokingly asked where the bodies were being kept, offering satirical multiple-choice answers such as a side-by-side fridge, an ice cream machine, a supermarket freezer, and a fourth option: Im an ice sellerdont ruin my business. The comments were apparently made in response to remarks by Arjang Amir-Fazli, an Iranian actor living abroad. In a video posted on Instagram last week, Amir-Fazli claimed that the government was keeping a large number of bodies in cold storage so that if Trump ever fires a missile, they can say Trump killed these people. His statement had already sparked widespread debate and controversy on Iranian social media. According to Irans official news agency IRNA, citing the Judiciarys Media Center, the Tehran Prosecutor has formally filed charges against the director of Ofogh TV, the programmes production team, and the host. In a separate statement, the Public Relations Office of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) announced that Ofogh TVs director, Sadegh Yazdani, had been dismissed for insulting the martyrs and those killed in the January events. The broadcaster also confirmed that the programme has been taken off air. The incident has reignited broader criticism of state media in Iran and its handling of sensitive issues related to protests, casualties, and public trust. CAIRO, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- A drone belonging to Iran's armed forces completed a "surveillance mission" in international waters Tuesday, Iranian media reported, shortly after the U.S. military said it had shot down an Iranian aircraft that "aggressively approached" an aircraft carrier. Citing unnamed sources, the Fars news agency reported that the drone "successfully" monitored military movements in areas adjacent to Iran and transmitted data to ground bases in real time. The report described such missions as vital for the "overall monitoring" of the region. Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted an informed source as saying that Iran had lost contact with one of its drones, the cause of which is under investigation and will be announced once it is determined. The U.S. Central Command said earlier in the day that a U.S. F-35C warplane "was forced" to shoot down an Iranian Shahed-139 drone in the Arabian Sea. The command said the drone had "unnecessarily maneuvered" toward the USS Abraham Lincoln while the carrier was transiting international waters approximately 800 km from the Iranian coast. According to the U.S. statement, the drone was shot down in "an act of self-defense." No U.S. troops were injured, and no equipment was damaged in the encounter, the military said. The encounter comes amid tentative prospects for U.S.-Iran talks in the coming days. Earlier in the day, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said he had instructed the Foreign Ministry to pursue "fair and equitable" negotiations with the United States. Writing on social media platform X, Pezeshkian said the move followed requests from regional governments to respond to a negotiation proposal from U.S. President Donald Trump. He said any talks must take place within a framework of "dignity, prudence and expediency." While Turkiye has offered to mediate, Tehran appears to be seeking to limit the scope of the discussions. U.S. outlet Axios, citing informed sources, reported that Iran prefers Oman as a venue and favors direct talks with Washington rather than a broader format involving Arab and Muslim states. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said consultations were underway to finalize a venue for talks expected in the coming days, the official IRNA reported. Baghaei said Turkiye, Oman, and several other regional countries had expressed readiness to host the talks, which Iran highly values. The diplomatic push, however, has drawn resistance from Israel. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Jerusalem on Tuesday for talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, ahead of a possible meeting later this week with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi. After the meeting, Netanyahu's office said Iran "has repeatedly demonstrated it cannot be trusted to keep its promises." Israel's public broadcaster Kan reported that Israeli officials are seeking U.S. assurances of "operational freedom of action" against Iran and are pressing for a complete halt to Tehran's ballistic missile program and uranium enrichment. Complicating matters further, Iran is also facing a diplomatic dispute with the European Union. Iran's Foreign Ministry said it summoned EU ambassadors on Tuesday to protest the bloc's recent designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization over its role in the "crackdown" on nationwide protests. Tehran previously responded by designating EU militaries as "terrorist groups." Also on Tuesday, Iranian authorities said they had arrested 139 foreign nationals in the central city of Yazd during recent anti-government protests. The city's police chief said those detained were involved in "organizing, inciting or directing unrest" and, in some cases, had contacts outside the country, according to Tasnim. The nationalities of those arrested were not disclosed. Weeks of protests erupted across Iran from late December to January over the sharp depreciation of the rial. Initially peaceful, the demonstrations escalated into clashes that caused casualties and damage to mosques, government buildings, and banks. Tehran has blamed the unrest on the United States and Israel. Russia has not heard any statements from India about stopping Russian oil purchases, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday. Image used only for representation. Photograph: Richard Carson/Reuters Key Points Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says Russia has not received any statements from India about stopping Russian oil purchases. This follows claims by Donald Trump that PM Modi agreed to halt Russian oil imports and buy more from the US. Russia intends to continue developing relations with India. India's import of Russian crude oil has decreased in January 2026 compared to previous months. His comments came a day after US President Donald Trump claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has 'agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela'. "We haven't heard any statements from New Delhi on this matter yet," Peskov said. The Kremlin spokesman also said that Russia intends to continue to develop its relations with India in every possible way, according to Russian media reports. Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, who oversees the energy sector in the cabinet, said the government is closely monitoring the situation. He pointed out that Russia is only seeing public statements from the US regarding the possibility of India refusing Russian oil. "We're only seeing public statements. We'll see how the situation develops," Novak said. He said that Russia was confident its energy resources would continue to be in demand globally, as they ensure a balance between supply and demand. "Overall, our energy resources are in demand. Supply will always find demand because the balance is maintained," Novak said. India is the world's largest oil importer Sources in Russia's energy ministry said they have not received any notice from Indian refiners to cancel contracts. In a post on Truth Social, Trump, who spoke with PM Modi on Monday, announced that India and the US agreed to a trade deal under which Washington will charge a reduced reciprocal tariff on Delhi, lowering it from 25 per cent to 18 per cent. Trump last year imposed 50 per cent tariffs on India, among the highest in the world, including 25 per cent levies for its purchases of Russian energy. India buys about 88 per cent of its crude oil, which is converted into fuels like petrol and diesel, from overseas. Russian oil made up hardly 0.2 per cent of all crude oil that India imported till 2021. India, the world's third-largest oil importer, became the largest buyer of discounted Russian crude after Western countries shunned Moscow following its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. India's import of Russian crude oil dropped to around 1.1 million barrels per day in the first three weeks of January, from an average of 1.21 million bpd in the previous month and over 2 million bpd imports in mid-2025, according to data from real-time analytics company Kpler. Iraq is now supplying almost the same volumes as Russia, up from an average of 9,04,000 bpd in December 2025, according to Kpler. Volumes from Saudi Arabia too have risen to 9,24,000 bpd in January, from 7,10,000 bpd in December and lows of 5,39,000 bpd in April 2025. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh raised the issue of the Indo-US trade deal soon after the zero hour ended and alleged that the information about the deal was being received from Washington instead. IMAGE: The opposition members raised slogans alleging that the interests of the country were being bartered. Photograph: Sansad TV/YouTube Key Points Congress demands the Modi government share the text of the US and EU trade deals in Parliament. Congress accuses PM Modi of surrendering to US demands and appeasing President Trump. The party raises concerns about the potential impact of the trade deals on Indian industry, traders, and farmers. Members of several opposition parties on Tuesday staged a walkout from the Rajya Sabha while raising the issue of the Indo-US trade deal and demanding a discussion on it. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh raised the issue of the Indo-US trade deal soon after the zero hour ended and alleged that the information about the deal was being received from Washington instead. As opposition members started protesting in the house, Leader of the House J P Nadda said the US President informed about the reduction in tariffs on Indian goods through a post on social media and also spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Nadda alleged that the Opposition's frustration was coming out, and it had started seeing bad even in good things. "I want to assure the house that the government is ready to discuss the Indo-US trade deal and provide all minute details of the deal. The government will come out with a suo motu statement on the trade deal. "But this methodology is fatal for democracy and is the irresponsible behaviour of the Indian National Congress and the INDI alliance," Nadda said. Govt to issue suo moto statement on Indo-US trade deal The opposition members continued raising slogans alleging that the interests of the country were being bartered, Chairman C P Radhakrishnan said, when the government is making a statement, and they should listen. He said the government is ready to discuss, but the opposition members are creating an uproar. Opposition members were on their feet, raising slogans against the government, as they moved towards the front row. Nadda said the government will come out with a suo motu statement today itself, and the government is ready to. "It is your frustration which is speaking. We are ready," he said. "Their interest is only in creating politics out of everything, and we saw an example of that just now...They are trying to create an atmosphere in the country as if the government is avoiding a discussion. "You are an issueless party now. You have got no issues. This is very irresponsible behaviour, and in a way this is anti-national behaviour. It is anti-national," he said, adding that their frustration is being seen at every turn. Cong accuses Modi of surrendering to US Earlier, Jairam Ramesh on social media post said the text of both the EU and US trade deals must be laid on the table of both Houses and debated, "especially since the US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has issued a statement claiming that India has liberalised agricultural imports from the US". He said that from the information President Donald Trump has provided, it is abundantly clear that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has "completely surrendered". He said that almost exactly a year ago, Prime Minister Modi landed at the White House to greet President Trump on his re-election. "His trademark huglomacy was on full display. India-US relations never appeared brighter. Negotiations for a trade deal started immediately thereafter.But ever since President Trump made the first announcement of the halt to Operation Sindoor on the evening of May 10, 2025 things began to go downhill," Ramesh said on X. Subsequently, President Trump embraced Pakistan and Field Marshal Asim Munir enthusiastically, "exposing the hollowness of Mr. Modi's huglomacy", he said. Ramesh pointed out that President Trump announced the trade deal very late last night Indian time. "From the information President Trump has provided, it is abundantly clear that Prime Minister Modi has - like he did on May 10, 2025 - completely surrendered. He has most definitely appeased President Trump. India stands diminished by this unfortunate sequence of events," he claimed. All opposition members, except the TMC, later staged a walkout in protest. TMC member Saket Gokhale was sitting in the house and left shortly after the walkout. TMC said it staged a separate walkout on the treatment of SIR-affected families by the Delhi police. A technical snag was detected in a helicopter hours before it was scheduled to transport Maharashtra Minister Pankaja Munde for campaigning for the Zilla Parishad polls in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, an airport official said on Tuesday. IMAGE: Maharashtra minister Pankaja Munde. Photograph: ANI Video Grab Key Points A technical snag was found in a helicopter meant to transport Minister Pankaja Munde for election campaigning. The issue was discovered during a routine inspection at Chikalthana airport. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a note on precautionary grounding of the helicopter. The AME noticed excessive play in the pitch operating link rod of one main rotor blade. Minister Munde acknowledged the helicopter was old and expressed anxiety about flying following a recent crash involving another NCP leader. The snag was found late on Monday night hours before the Bharatiya Janata Party leader was to fly to Latur, he said. According to officials, Munde arrived in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on a chartered plane on Monday and took the helicopter for poll campaigning later in the day. However, when the aviation company conducted a routine inspection later that night, they found some technical issues with the chopper and informed the authorities at the Chikalthana airport, they said. The chopper was scheduled to transport the BJP leader to Latur around 11 am on Tuesday, but her journey was delayed by two hours, the official said. Talking to reporters, Munde said that the helicopter was old, but she didn't raise the issue and continued her travel. She said ever since Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar's tragic death in the January 28 crash in Baramati, flying has caused anxiety among party leaders. Munde has been campaigning extensively for the February 7 Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti polls, and has held rallies in Marathwada. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was killed along with four others after a chartered aircraft crashed at Baramati in Pune district last week. Late on Tuesday night, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a note on precautionary grounding of the Agusta 109 helicopter that was to ferry Munde, and mentioned about the issue faced by the chopper. The helicopter operated four sectors, and after the last landing at the Aurangabad airport at approximately 1700 hrs (on Feb 2), the AME (Aircraft Maintenance Engineer), during post-flight checks, noticed 'excessive play in the pitch operating link rod of one main rotor blade', said the regulator. Consequently, the AME flagged the issue and did not release the helicopter for further flights pending rectification. As per the operator, the charter-indenting agency was informed at around 2000 hrs, and the next day's sorties were also cancelled at approximately 2100 hrs, said the DGCA. The House has been witnessing uproar after Rahul Gandhi was disallowed to cite an article based on excerpts from an unpublished 'memoir' of former Army chief General M M Naravane (retd). IMAGE: Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi and other MPs protest at Makar Dwar of the Parliament, against the suspension of 8 MPs from Lok Sabha and against the India-US trade agreement, during the ongoing Budget Session, in New Delhi on Tuesday. Photograph: Jitender Gupta/ANI Photo Key Points The suspension was due to 'unruly behaviour', including tearing papers. The suspension lasts for the remaining period of the Budget session. Congress members, led by Rahul Gandhi, protested the suspension. The government-opposition faceoff in the Lok Sabha intensified on Tuesday as eight protesting MPs were suspended for 'unruly behaviour' after Rahul Gandhi was disallowed for the second day from quoting an article that cited an unpublished 'memoir' of former Army chief General M M Naravane on the 2020 India-China conflict. The seven MPs from the Congress and one from the Communist Party of India-Marxist were suspended for the remainder of the Budget session, which ends on April 2, for trying to climb on the table of the secretary general, tearing papers and hurling them at the Chair. Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, lodging his strong protest over being disallowed from speaking in the House on a matter of national security and terming it a 'blot on our democracy'. He also said that it was for the first time in history that LoP was not allowed to speak on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address. In his letter to Birla, Gandhi noted that as convention, including repeated rulings of past Speakers, a member wishing to refer to a document in the House is required to authenticate it and affirm responsibility for its contents, which he did. Congress members, led by Gandhi, also held a protest outside the Parliament building against the suspension. The suspended members are Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Hibi Eden, C Kiran Kumar Reddy, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Manickam Tagore, Prashant Padole and Dean Kuriakose (all Congress) and S Ventakesan (CPI-M). Rahul authenticates article on ex-army chief's 'memoir' On Monday, the House was adjourned amid uproar after Gandhi's attempts to cite the article based on excerpts from Gen Naravane's unpublished book on India-China conflict of 2020 were opposed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and others, and were also disallowed by the Speaker. As soon as Gandhi was asked to speak on the Motion of Thanks on Tuesday, he cited the Speaker's ruling of Monday and authenticated the copy of the article. "I have authenticated it," he said. To authenticate a document, a member has to submit a signed copy of it, affirming that it is correct to the best of his knowledge. Krishna Prasad Tenneti, who was in the Chair, asked him to table it and said, "We will examine it and get back". Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the Speaker passed a ruling on the matter and after that Gandhi should not raise the issue repeatedly. However, with Gandhi insisting on raising the matter, Tenneti moved on to other Speakers and asked Harish Balayogi of the Telugu Desam Party, a National Democratic Alliance constituent, to give his speech on the President's address after three opposition MPs refused to speak, showing solidarity with Gandhi. As Balayogi spoke, opposition MPs raised slogans and the ruckus continued in the House, prompting the chair to adjourn it till 3 pm. When the House met at 3 pm following multiple adjournments, Dilip Saikia, who was in the Chair, named the eight Congress members. Subsequently, Rijiju read out a resolution seeking suspension of the eight members for the remaining period of the Budget session. Moving the resolution, Rijiju said the members acted in utter disregard of the House and the authority of the Chair. They also tore papers and threw them at the Chair and were named by the Chair for their behaviour, the minister added. The House passed the resolution by a voice vote, following which the proceedings were adjourned for the day amid uproar. Besides the row over Gandhi seeking to quote from the article that cited Gen Naravane's 'memoir', the House also saw noisy protests from opposition members on the American President Donald Trump announcing the India-US trade deal and the alleged demolition drive at the Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi, leading to adjournments. Reacting to his suspension, Congress MP Tagore said, "This is an attack on the democracy of India, and we all know that they do not want the Leader of the Opposition to speak." Another MP, Hibi Eden, said Gandhi was not allowed to speak in the House, and that is why 'we raised slogans and got onto the dais, and that is when we got suspended'. Aujla, who was also suspended, slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party, saying 'they are disciples of Godse'. Krishna Prasad Tenneti, who was presiding over the House, said one member addressed the Chair as 'yaar' and at that moment he took a stand and questioned the MP. "Another member standing next to him questioned what was objectionable about saying 'yaar', which itself was inappropriate and should not have happened. Subsequently, they came down to the Table of the House and threw papers. These actions are objectionable," he said. Suspended MP Krishna Kumar Chamala said, "We were suspended from Parliament for one reason: questioning the BJP and its governance." "Over the past two years, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has often been disturbed by BJP MPs while speaking the facts. Even today, as he spoke on the President's Address, they tried to distract him to hide the truth from the people. "This disruption is planned, with speakers sent specifically to distract him and prevent the failures of the BJP from being exposed," he alleged. Prime Minister Narendra Modi stayed calm, avoided public confrontation, and focused on India's long-term interests to steady ties with the United States. IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump at the White House, February 13, 2025. Photograph: Press Information Bureau Key Points Government chose restraint despite pressure to publicly counter President Trump. Direct conversation between PM Modi and President Trump proved decisive. Piyush Goyal handled trade negotiations whereas S Jaishankar led strategic engagement. The US 'system' was largely supportive during the crisis. Why India Chose Silence Over Confrontation It was Prime Minister Narendra Modi's patience and confidence that clinched the trade deal with the United States, says a senior source in the government who was a part of the negotiating team. For the last six months, critics of the government had mounted tremendous pressure on Prime Minister Modi to engage in a verbal duel with US President Donald Trump whenever he spoke recklessly affecting the bilateral relationship. The Phone Call That Reset the Relationship But PM Modi and his team focused on protecting India's strategic and business interests. The focus was on minimising the impact of the heavy US tariffs and finding new areas to do businesses, a source adds. The most important thing that changed the course of the relationship was the call made on Monday between PM Modi and President Trump, the source informs, adding that the deal would not have been possible without both speaking to each other directly. Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff Trade, Strategy, and the Power of Institutions External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal have been working on the bilateral relations for six months. Goyal handled the bilateral trade negotiations while Jaishankar focused on the strategic aspects. A member of the government team explains that the "bilateral relationship at the worst of times never lost steam. The National Security Strategy document, which was published in November 2025 in Washington, gave an idea how the Trump administration views India." "It was encouraging," the official adds. "This crisis showed us that India and US bilateral relations have bipartisan support in America and they all came forward to help." After the crisis in the bilateral relationship, the official adds the most important thing to note was that the "American system" has not been adversarial to India. "The 'system'," he asserts, "was very much with us." Why Markets, Not Pressure, Will Decide Oil Choices When asked who broke the ice between New Delhi and Washington, the source avoided a detailed response and merely says, "it was a set up that made conversation between the two leaders possible." When asked if there is American pressure on India to stop buying Russian oil, the source says, "India started buying Russian oil only when we were offered an attractive discount in 2022. It's not an old oil trade convention. Under all circumstances India will import oil that is affordable and profitable for India." The government is looking at an American offer to buy oil from America and Venezuela as an "expansion of choices". After all, the source adds, the "market" will prevail. Energy, AI, and the New Convergence In view of the inequal tariff structure announced on Monday night by President Trump many companies will divert their area of businesses away from America. With European and the Gulf region turning friendly with their respective trade deals Indian buyers and sellers will buy and sell where and what suits them. When asked which were the major driving forces on both sides for the 'patch up' after the great rupture, the Indian side states that, "when you put pieces together of the changing global theatre there emerges a big picture that compelled us to work together." "Just to give an example. India doesn't want to left behind in AI research and application. India wants the data centres. The data centres will consume huge energy. Nuclear energy will supplement our need." "The American companies and its investments can help India get there. Such convergence of interests are possible in many, many fields." "The world of strategic interests works differently," the source adds, "it's not a stock market." Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff RIYADH, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Saudi Arabia's capital on Tuesday as Ankara and Riyadh continue efforts to reset relations after years of strain. The visit included the signing of a multi-billion-dollar agreement to develop solar power projects in Turkiye with a total capacity of 5,000 megawatts, underscoring a growing emphasis on economic cooperation between the two regional powers, according to the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA). The deal was signed by Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud and Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar. It provides for the construction of solar power plants in Turkiye in two phases and is expected to supply electricity to more than 2 million households. The first phase represents an investment of about 2 billion U.S. dollars. Under the agreement, electricity generated by the projects will be purchased by a Turkish state-owned utility under 30-year contracts, providing long-term financial backing. The deal also calls for the maximum use of local equipment and service providers. During talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, the Turkish leader expressed a commitment to elevating bilateral ties in renewable energy and defense, Erdogan's office said. The leaders also discussed regional stability, with Erdogan noting a shared intent to cooperate on the reconstruction of Syria. Saudi and Turkish officials said the projects support efforts to diversify energy sources, strengthen energy security, and advance the transition to a low-carbon economy. For Saudi Arabia, the investment aligns with its Vision 2030 plan to reduce dependence on oil. For Turkiye, it bolsters energy security and domestic manufacturing. Relations between Ankara and Riyadh have improved in recent years after reaching a low point following the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Erdogan has since sought to repair ties with Gulf countries as part of a broader push to attract foreign investment and stabilize Turkiye's economy. 2degrees has become the first New Zealand telco to complete the shutdown of its 3G services. The company announced today it had completed the full nationwide shutdown of 3G services last night, after the work was paused last week due to several states of emergency across the country. 2degrees said it had been planning for the 3G shutdown for more than 18 months with the process starting in December when services were decommissioned at around 100 rural sites, followed by services in Palmerston North and Rotorua in January. Retiring the outdated 3G technology meant 2degrees could dedicate its focus and resources on modern 4G, 5G and satellite networks, said CEO Mark Callander. 3G is no longer capable of delivering the performance New Zealand requires, he said. By retiring this legacy technology, we can focus on strengthening and expanding our 4G and 5G networks which carry the vast majority of todays mobile traffic, and also look to the future with satellite. Callander added 2degrees had undertaken a major upgrade of its network over the past few years, enhancing 4G services and adding 5G equipment to many sites. The next generation of mobile networks 4G and 5G are designed to support todays usage requirements including data-intensive activities such as streaming, video conferencing, and running multiple applications simultaneously, he said. Global critical digital infrastructure provider Vertiv has added the title of country head of Australia and New Zealand (A/NZ) to LuLu Shirazs current role as senior director of sales for the region. In her expanded role, Shiraz will oversee all Vertiv business activities across A/NZ. This includes a focus on delivering outcome-based solutions, enhancing go-to-market speed, advancing strategic alliances and reinforcing Vertivs position as a trusted partner in the digital-infrastructure ecosystem. The addition reflects Vertivs continued investment in A/NZ and builds on Shirazs strong track record since joining the company in 2021. A seasoned business leader with more than 20 years experience in IT, telecommunications and enterprise sales, Shiraz has held senior roles at Telstra, Oracle, and Dell EMC. At Vertiv, she has played a pivotal role in shaping regional strategy, strengthening key customer relationships and accelerating the companys growth in A/NZ. Its vice president for Asia, Paul Churchill, said Shiraz has consistently demonstrated the ability to anticipate customer needs and navigate the demands of an evolving digital-infrastructure landscape Her leadership, unwavering dedication to our customers, and commitment to execution excellence make her the ideal person to guide our next phase of growth in the region, he said. Shiraz was honoured with the addition of broader responsibilities, as well as continued work with customers and partners. BELGRADE -- A Serbian court has convicted a Chinese citizen of human trafficking for the first time, sentencing him to prison as authorities report a rise in reported trafficking cases involving Chinese nationals amid deepening economic ties between Belgrade and Beijing. Court documents obtained by RFE/RL show that a 52-year-old Chinese citizen was sentenced to four years in prison for trafficking two Chinese women. According to the sealed ruling, finalized in late 2025, the women were forced to provide sexual services to Chinese men under threats of death. "The verdict is only the final step," Zoran Pasalic, Serbia's ombudsman and national rapporteur on human trafficking, told RFE/RL. "The key question is what conditions allowed this to happen, and whether others were involved." The ruling comes as Serbia has seen a sharp increase in the number of Chinese citizens arriving in the country over the past decade, driven by billions of dollars in Chinese investment and a visa-free travel regime. Serbian officials and watchdog groups say the growing flow of workers and visitors has coincided with a rise in reported trafficking cases involving Chinese nationals, raising concerns about oversight, enforcement, and criminal exploitation. While no links to the mining industry were cited in the verdict or the earlier indictment, both women were trafficked to the southern city of Bor, where Serbian and Chinese workers are employed at a large gold and copper mining operation taken over in 2018 by China's Zijin Mining. Neither the Serbian government nor the Chinese Embassy responded to RFE/RL's requests for comment. Zijin Mining's Serbia office also did not reply to questions about the case. What Court Documents Show About the Case The verdict was welcomed by ASTRA, an NGO that supports victims of human trafficking. "The fact that both the perpetrator and the victims are foreign nationals, in this case Chinese, further confirms that the court did not allow identity or citizenship to be used as an excuse to relativize the crime," Marija Andelkovic, the organization's director, told RFE/RL. She added that, based on the organization's analysis of local courts, cases that end with final verdicts without the possibility of appeal remain "relatively rare" in Serbia. According to the ruling, the women endured nearly two months of abuse. Under threats of death, deprived of money, and stripped of their passports, the victims were given one meal per day and were sexually exploited on a daily basis. Each was forced to provide services to up to four men per day, all of whom they testified were Chinese nationals. Although Serbian law allows prison sentences of up to 12 years for human trafficking -- the penalty sought by prosecutors -- the court opted for a shorter term. In its reasoning, it cited "all circumstances," including the defendant's family status. The women were recruited in China through a fictitious employment agency offering work at a massage salon. Both were experiencing financial hardship, the verdict said. With assistance from an unidentified intermediary in China, they flew to Belgrade. At the airport, they were met by a man described as "probably a Serbian national," who drove them to Bor. After nearly two months, according to the verdict, the women managed to contact police. They were formally recognized as trafficking victims by Center for the Protection of Victims of Human Trafficking, a state-run institution that provides identification and support services. The organization concluded the case showed signs of "a well-organized criminal group that systematically and continuously exploits women." The victims also testified that several Serbian women lived in the same house, but prosecutors confirmed to RFE/RL that no broader indictments were filed beyond the single Chinese defendant. Rise In Reported Trafficking Cases Involving Chinese Nationals The two women were the first trafficking victims from China in Serbia and were formally identified in 2024. In 2025, the Center for the Protection of Victims of Human Trafficking recorded 12 reports involving possible trafficking of Chinese nationals. Two of those cases resulted in formal victim identification. China ranked fourth among countries of origin for suspected foreign trafficking victims in Serbia in 2025, after Egypt, Bangladesh, and Kyrgyzstan. Pasalic says Serbia has shifted in recent years from being primarily a transit country to becoming a destination for trafficking victims. "This makes the procedure much more difficult, because -- and I emphasize this -- the victim of human trafficking is usually the last to realize that she or he is a victim," he told RFE/RL. He added that victims typically arrive expecting legitimate employment, only to find themselves trapped in what he described as "inhumane" conditions. Trafficking of Chinese women to Serbia has been cited for the second consecutive year in the US State Department's 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report. The document states that traffickers exploit women from China for sex trafficking, "primarily targeting demand for commercial sex from workers at PRC-funded projects, including copper mines." CAIRO, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- The planning has been made for the negotiations between Iran and the United States in the next few days, and consultations are underway to determine the location of the talks, Iran's Nour News reported Tuesday. Turkiye, Oman, and some other countries in the region have expressed their readiness to host the talks, the outlet reported, citing Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei. When Israel and the United States conducted an intensive bombing campaign in Iran last year, Tehran's regional network of armed proxies and partners largely stood on the sidelines. But the so-called axis of resistance is expected to enter the fray and back Iran if US President Donald Trump follows through on his threats and authorizes military action against the Islamic republic, experts say. Iran views a potential conflict with the United States as an existential threat, unlike the war in June, said Hamidreza Azizi, a fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. That means Tehran is "ready to go all in and use whatever capacity it has, in terms of its own military capabilities, and at the same time the asymmetric capacity of the axis of resistance" to ensure its survival, said Azizi. There are already signs that Iran's allies in Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen are preparing for war in the event of a US attack on Tehran. Weakened Allies Iran has spent decades building the axis, a sprawling but loose-knit network of armed proxies and Tehran-backed militant groups in the Middle East. Members include Lebanon's Hezbollah, Yemen's Huthi rebels, and pro-Iranian militias in Iraq. The network has been a key element of Tehran's strategy of deterrence against perceived threats from the United States and, primarily, Israel. But the alliance has suffered a series of major blows in recent years. The government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the only state actor in the network besides Iran, was toppled in December 2024. Hezbollah, meanwhile, has been severely weakened after a bruising yearlong war with Israel, which killed the group's longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah. Still, despite its diminished fighting capabilities, the network can provide additional firepower to Iran in the event of a conflict with the United States, experts say. Pulling The Trigger During the 12-day war with Iran in June, Israel and later the United States bombed key Iranian nuclear and military sites. Tehran responded by firing hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones at Israel, its archenemy, and targeting a US base in Qatar. Members of Iran's axis of resistance did not get involved in the brief conflict. "Iran didn't pull the trigger during the June war," said Azizi. "Iran at the time concluded that it could manage the conflict on its own. It didn't want to expand the conflict and wanted to end it as soon as possible." But a possible new conflict with the United States would change Iran's calculations, say experts. Iran's clerical establishment is at its weakest point in decades, facing unprecedented unrest and an economic collapse at home and a massive US military buildup on its doorstep. Fighting for its survival, Iran's rulers are willing to use all the tools in its arsenal, experts say. 'All Bets Are Off' "We are already seeing signs of the axis of resistance -- what's left of it -- being activated," said Azizi. The leader of Hezbollah said on January 26 that the group was preparing for "possible aggression and is determined to defend" itself but did not say how he would act if Iran was attacked. Hezbollah, which has long been Iran's most potent proxy, remains a formidable threat, experts say. "Hezbollah is down but not out," said Sascha Bruchmann, a military and security affairs analyst at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies. "It has lost much of its strategic capabilities, much of its missile arsenal, UAV manufacturing workshops, and the attack tunnels along the border with Israel, but it remains a potent militia." In neighboring Iraq, pro-Iranian militias have launched a recruitment drive for fighters, including suicide bombers. The leader of Kataib Hezbollah, one of the militias, issued a fiery statement on January 25, calling on his fighters to be prepared for war. Established in 2007, Kataib Hezbollah is one of the most powerful members of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), an umbrella organization of mostly Shi'a, Iran-backed armed groups that has been a part of the Iraqi Army since 2016. The PMF is a major military and political player in Iraq. "Drawing Iraq into this conflict might cost them politically," said Bruchmann. "But all bets are off if [Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei is killed or the regime might believe it is falling as some of the Iraqi Shi'a militias have sworn loyalty to Khamenei." In Yemen, the Huthi rebels have threatened to withdraw from a cease-fire deal reached with the United States last year. The Huthis agreed to halt their missile and drone attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea. In exchange, the United States pledged to stop air strikes targeting the group. Colin Clarke, executive director of the Soufan Center, a New York-based think tank, said if the axis remained silent again after another assault against Iran it could "risk losing relevance." "These proxies were designed as a tripwire for the regime, so using them in times of crisis would seem essential," he said. Ukraine has accused Russia of committing "winter genocide" after another round of massive air strikes targeted energy and civilian infrastructure. The attacks come at a time when utilities are already reeling from multiple strikes that have left tens of thousands of Ukrainian without heat or electricity in double-digit subzero temperatures. The attack on Kyiv and other regions across Ukraine followed US President Donald Trump's announcement last week that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to pause air strikes on the Ukrainian capital and other "various towns" until February 1. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on February 3, Trump said that although the overnight air strikes were "really hard," Russia had actually kept its promise of a "Sunday-to-Sunday" cessation of attacks. He added that "at this point we will take any" commitment of reduction of hostilities because the situation on the ground is "really hard" and Washington is working with the parties to end the war. Ukrainian Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said eight regions across Ukraine were targeted in the early hours of February 3 in what he said was "another Russian crime against humanity -- an attempt at winter genocide." "Hundreds of thousands of families, including children, were deliberately left without heating during the harshest winter conditions," Shmyhal wrote on X. At least nine people were injured and several multistory residential buildings were damaged in the overnight attack on Kyiv and other regions, the Ukrainian officials said. NATO chief Mark Rutte, visiting Kyiv on February 3, said that he witnessed "a civilian heating plant targeted by Russian missiles." "No military value whatsoever -- attacks meant only to make people suffer," he wrote on X. "But Ukraine stands strong. And NATO stands with you." Russia used a significant number of ballistic missiles in combination with other missiles, more than 70 in total, as well as 450 attack drones, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "Taking advantage of the coldest days of winter to terrorize people is more important to Russia than turning to diplomacy," Zelenskyy added. In later comments after the attack, he accused Russia of not taking diplomacy seriously. "We will adjust the work of our negotiating team accordingly," he wrote on X without elaborating. Russia's Defense Ministry said the strikes were aimed at "Ukrainian military-industrial and energy facilities," according to the Interfax news agency. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the strikes left 1,170 residential buildings in the capital without heating after damage to energy facilities supplying the city. In the eastern city of Kharkiv, at least one person was killed and five others injured by Russian shelling in the past day, according to the regional authorities. They later added that the overnight attack had damaged critical energy infrastructure, cutting off heating for over 100,000 residents and triggering a local emergency. Anton Hrushetskiy, executive director of the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS), has commented on the institute's latest nationwide survey published on February 2 that found 88 percent of Ukrainians believe Russia's strikes on the energy sector are aimed at leaving Ukrainians without electricity and heating and forcing Ukraine to capitulate. "Ukrainians feel the cold and hardships, but they are not ready to capitulate. They remain determined to continue resisting," Hrushetskiy told Current Time. He added that most Ukrainians remain optimistic about the future, citing the survey's finding that 64 percent envision Ukraine as a prosperous country and a member of the European Union within 10 years, a level of optimism that is "even slightly higher than it was at the end of 2024." "At the moment, Ukrainians are demonstrating resilience and looking to the future with confidence," he concluded. In his nightly video message on February 3, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine expects the United States to respond to the Russian strikes. "This was an American proposal to stop the attacks on the energy sector for the time of diplomacy and such cold winter weather. It was a request personally from the president of the United States," Zelenskiyy said. If Russia "does not live up to its word now, what can we expect later?" he added, saying: "Russia's bid for war must receive a response from the world." White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on February 3 that Trump was "unsurprised" by Russia's latest attacks, given "the history" of conflict between the two nations. US-Mediated Talks To Resume In Abu Dhabi The overnight attacks came ahead of US-mediated peace talks in Abu Dhabi that are set to start on February 4. According to media reports citing an undisclosed White House official, Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, will represent the United States at the negotiations with Ukraine and Russia in Abu Dhabi. Earlier on Rutte's unannounced visit to Kyiv on February 3, he addressed Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada. "[Russian President Vladimir] Putin has long thought he could wait us out. That Ukraine was weak, that your supporters would grow weary, that our will would falter. He was gravely mistaken. Ukraine is strong and our support is unwavering," Rutte told lawmakers. Rutte said that through the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), billions of dollars worth of critical US military hardware is flowing into Ukraine, paid for by Kyiv's allies and partners. "Since we started PURL last summer, it has supplied around 75 percent of all missiles for Ukraine's Patriot batteries and 90 percent of the missiles used in other air defense systems," he said. "I know that more is urgently needed. And we are working to ensure that more comes quickly. Through PURL, and through every means possible," Rutte added. With reporting by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service and Rikard Jozwiak In April 2024, Roman Michurin was found guilty of arson for setting fire to his girlfriend's apartment. It was at least his third criminal conviction, including one in a murder case in 2009. He was handed a suspended sentence of 18 months. But, like tens of thousands of Russians convicted of crimes, he wiped the slate clean by volunteering for the war in Ukraine, where Moscow's forces are advancing slowly and at a massive cost in terms of casualties. Well over 1 million Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded since President Vladimir Putin launched the full-scale invasion four years ago this month. Michurin eventually returned to the Irkutsk region and married about a year ago. But in late January -- after stalking his wife and her son, who had sought refuge at a shelter -- he allegedly took a woman hostage at a bus stop outside the facility and strangled her to death in a rented apartment while dozens of police sought to negotiate her release, multiple people with knowledge of the situation told RFE/RL. Violent crimes by Russian men who have returned from the front, many of them convicts who were freed to fight in Ukraine, have been a problem that is as persistent as it is gruesome. In the summer of 2022, a year before he led an abortive mutiny and was then killed in a suspicious plane crash, Wagner mercenary group head Yevgeny Prigozhin began recruiting prison inmates to fight in Ukraine, where many were sent into some of the bloodiest battles in the Donbas region. The Defense Ministry soon took up the practice, eager to keep numbers of fighters at the front from dwindling as Russia suffered setbacks and it became clear that the invasion, which Putin had hoped would swiftly subjugate Ukraine, would not be achieving its goals anytime soon. 'Extremely Frightened' Putin ordered what he called a "partial mobilization" in September 2022, but the call-up added to the throngs of young Russians leaving the country and the Kremlin, which wants to avoid a repeat, has sought other ways to maintain manpower levels. In 2023, prominent prisoner rights activist Olga Romanova called Russia's penitentiaries a "bottomless reservoir of mercenaries." In 2024, Putin signed a bill broadening the prison recruitment initiative to include not only convicts but defendants at virtually any stage in criminal proceedings. Days before the killing in Irkutsk, the exiled newspaper Novaya Gazeta Europe reported that court verdicts had been imposed on about 8,000 people charged with crimes after returning from the war, including about 1,000 whose cases were handled in military courts, meaning they were still serving. Another Russian media outlet, 7x7, reported last February that it had identified 271 instances in which veterans of the war were found guilty in cases involving killings. Returnees who commit violent crimes often target people close to them, such as wives or girlfriends, children, parents, siblings. The killing in Irkutsk played out a little differently: The victim was living at the same shelter where Michurin's wife and 7-year-old son were staying and was seized at a bus stop on the street outside. Michurin's "extremely frightened" wife had fled with their son to the shelter, Obereg, twice last year, in August and September, Irina, an employee, told RFE/RL. Irina's real name and some others in this report have been changed for safety reasons. "And in January, she decided to break off relations with him completely and didn't contact him," Irina said. "So he started stalking [her]. He threatened her, us, and the child. Before that, he'd done terrible things to her -- literally cutting her skin, slashing her with a knife, burning her: a natural sadist." Shelter staff and relatives of Michurin's wife, Yulia, had filed complaints against him and sought to alert the authorities that he was dangerous. Yulia "was afraid to write, she was so intimidated and devastated by the police's attitude: They didn't respond to complaints or calls, and he threatened to harm her son if she filed a complaint," Irina said, adding: "Now she, poor thing, blames herself for the [victim's] death." 'He'd Strangled Her' The victim, Alina, who grew up in an orphanage and was raising two daughters, had been living at the shelter while waiting for the state to provide her with an apartment. "She was hardworking, bright, very kind," and "a perfectly capable, virtuous, responsible mother," Irina said. "And then she fell into the hands of this crazy man, who, for reasons incomprehensible to normal people, was walking free. We filed complaints against him dozens of times, but the police did nothing." Alina's attacker took her to a nearby apartment he had rented, shelter employees said. When shelter staff showed up and asked him to open the door, he demanded they bring his wife and her son and also told them to get him alcohol and food. "We called the police," Irina said. "They negotiated with him until 2 in the morning. They passed him vodka, food -- everything he asked for. For the first few hours, Alina kept answering from behind the door, 'Yes, yes, I'm alive, everything's fine.' Hours passed. Dozens of police officers and emergency services were all around. "We watched, perplexed: When were they going to storm the place? He was getting drunker and more and more irrational. Finally, at 2:30 a.m., he opened the door himself, came out, and surrendered," she said. "We rushed inside, but Alina was no longer breathing. He'd strangled her." In a statement on January 28, the regional branch of Russia's Investigative Committee said Michurin was being investigated on suspicion of murder and that it had asked a court to order him jailed pending further investigation and trial. It said the case was being handled by military prosecutors and a military court, indicating that Michurin was still serving. A neighbor said Michurin had been "acting up" since he moved in, drunkenly picking fights with other residents and boasting that he could do as he pleases with impunity. "'You can't do anything to me. I just came from the SVO. I could kill you and nothing would happen to me. If you lay a finger on me, you'll be charged with defamation,'" the neighbor quoted him as saying, using the SVO acronym for the "special military operation," which is what the Kremlin calls its war against Ukraine. 'A Serious Problem' Shortly after he launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Putin signed legislation under which Russians can be imprisoned for "discrediting" the military, and his government state has used it widely as part of its effort to silence criticism of the war and quash dissent. Observers say the legislation and the state's glorification -- at least on a formal level -- of those who fight in the war on Ukraine contributes to a sense among some veterans that they are above the law. "I respect and honor the defenders of our homeland. Buta serious problem is brewing in our society," Aleksandr Sobolev, head of the Obereg shelter and the charitable fund that runs it, wrote in a post on the Russian social network VK on January 28. "Psychopaths, rapists, and murderers, hiding behind their participation in the SVO, now regularly do terrible things, sensing their impunity," wrote Sobolev. He said that before Alina took refuge at the shelter, her husband had "beaten [her] every day and was certain that nothing would happen to him other than being sent back" to his unit. "This is a shockingly wrong trend," he wrote. "Society should thank heroes, but it should not give impunity to criminals." Sobolev wrote that Alina's husband had fled his unit in Rostov-on-Don, a city near the Ukrainian border and a major staging point for the invasion, but the Investigative Committee gave no details about Michurin, referring to him only as a "resident of the Irkutsk region." Adapted from the original Russian by Steve Gutterman Welcome to Wider Europe, RFE/RL's newsletter focusing on the key issues concerning the European Union, NATO, and other institutions and their relationships with the Western Balkans and Europe's Eastern neighborhoods. I'm RFE/RL Europe Editor Rikard Jozwiak, and this week I am drilling down on two issues: preventing former Russian soldiers from entering the EU and placing Russia on the anti-money laundering list. Briefing #1: Can The EU Prevent Former Russian Soldiers From Entering The Bloc? What You Need To Know: Estonia is pushing to have Russian soldiers who have fought in the war in Ukraine banned from entering the Schengen area, a passport-free zone covering most of European Union member states. The idea, put forward in a discussion paper seen by RFE/RL and distributed to other EU capitals in late January, was briefly discussed when the blocs foreign ministers met in Brussels on January 29. According to EU officials that RFE/RL spoke to under condition of anonymity, the idea was positively received by those member states that took the floor and there was a general agreement that the work on the file will continue with both home affairs and foreign affairs experts in Brussels. The officials did, however, admit that questions also arose about the scale and practicality of preventing so many people from entering the bloc. Deep Background: According to Tallinn, an estimated 1.5 million Russian citizens have taken part in combat operations in Ukraine since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 -- including both regular armed forces of the Russian Federation and proxy units such as the Wagner Group. Of these it is believed that 640,000 remain actively engaged, meaning that there are close to 1 million ex-fighters that are potential targets for the EU. The potential security risk for the club is spelled out in the paper: Combat experience and the use of violence, including likely participation in war crimes and other atrocities against the Ukrainian population, are common characteristics of these individuals. Their potential entry into and presence within the EU carries not only a general risk of violent crime but represents a major vector for the infiltration of organized crime, extremist movements, and hostile state operations across Europe. It is also noted that these individuals can be a fertile recruitment base for Russian intelligence services. The paper also states that there is a link between ex-combatants and increased violence inside Russia, notably among the estimated 180,000 prisoners that were recruited from penal colonies in the country to special military units fighting in Ukraine. The document notes that many returnees have already committed serious crimes. The total number of which has reached a 15-year high in Russia in the first half of 2025, and this upsurge is likely linked to the mass return of ex-combatants and adds that these individuals freedom of movement poses a direct threat to the entire Schengen Area, independent of where entry occurs. They must have no place in Europe. Drilling Down: The question now is how to stop them from coming to the EU. Back in September 2022, the EU adopted a decision to fully suspend the EU-Russia visa facilitation agreement, meaning that it is more expensive and complicated for Russian citizens to get to the bloc. On top of that, Brussels has also sanctioned, meaning imposed a visa bans, on nearly 2,000 Russians for what the EU sees as their role in undermining Ukraines territorial integrity. This list comprises oligarchs, businessmen, ministers, and top military officials. The Estonian proposal, however, is not to use sanctions and the push to target ex-fighters will not be part of the EUs 20th sanctions package on the Kremlin that is expected to be agreed by all member states later in February. on the Kremlin that is expected to be agreed by all member states later in February. Instead, Tallinn is using another method: the Schengen entry ban. Already on January 9, Tallinn imposed the ban on 261 Russian ex-soldiers. The entry ban prevents non-EU individuals from entering all EU countries apart from Cyprus and Ireland as well as the non-EU Schengen members Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. Valid for up to 5 years, it should be applicable in the entire Schengen zone and not just the country that filed the ban in the Schengen Information System (SIS) as Estonia recently did with the Russian fighters. But while in principle one country can issue a Schengen-wide alert, individual countries can make exceptions and in the end each Schengen country is sovereign in terms of deciding who is allowed onto their territory. This is why Estonia is asking for wider EU-backing on these measures, calling on "EU Member States and Schengen countries to put into effect a full ban on entry to the Schengen Area, and the refusal of visas and residence permits for all identified Russian nationals who have participated in the war of aggression against Ukraine." Estonia also added that this time-critical security initiative requires urgent political and practical support, and we call all interested parties to join the initiative and help incorporate individuals into the Schengen entry ban list as a matter of urgency Will other EU member states follow suit? Possibly, but they also recognize the difficulties. One is the near impossibility of getting individual details for each ex-combatant to register them in the system. "A few hundred, even a couple of thousands could work but we are talking about nearly a million people here," said one diplomat to RFE/RL And while the Estonian initiative is considered sincere and useful, there is also a wariness in the club of overburdening the system and prompting other members to abuse it for pure political purposes. An illustration of this came in the summer of last year when Romania banned Ion Ceban, the mayor of Moldovas capital Chisinau, from entering the Schengen zone citing national-security concerns. Ceban is a rival to the pro-Western Moldovan President Maia Sandu who at the time was preparing her political alliance for tightly fought parliamentary elections that were subsequently won. The ban is still in place even though several EU capitals voiced concerns about the political nature of it. Briefing #2: All You Need To Know As The EU Puts Russia On Its Anti-Money Laundering List What You Need To Know: On January 29, Russia was added to the European Union blacklist of countries at high risk of money laundering and financing terrorism, further severing the political and economic ties between Brussels and Moscow four years after Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In a rather opaque process, the initial decision was made by the European Commission on December 3, 2025, giving the European Parliament and the 27 EU member states one month to challenge the blacklisting. No such move was made, and the blacklisting was posted in the EU official journal, the blocs daily gazette of new laws and regulations, on January 9 stating that the measure will enter into force 20 days from publication, which was January 29. Deep Background: The European Commission pointed out several shortcomings with the Russian financial system. These included the lack of independence of the countrys financial intelligence unit (Rosfinmonitoring), the lack of cooperation with foreign counterparts regarding the exchange of information and transparency of transaction beneficiaries, and the failure to sufficiently track crypto-asset transfers -- all reasons that EU officials believe can contribute to both money laundering and the financing of terrorism. The close cooperation between Russia and countries like Iran and North Korea, two other countries on the blacklist, was another reason for the decision. The move also marks the EU's departure from its traditional alignment with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) listings. The FATF -- established by the Group of Seven (G7) in 1989 -- maintains the global "gray list" (jurisdictions under increased monitoring for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing deficiencies) and has published it since 2000. FATF did suspend Russia as a member in 2023 as a result of the Ukrainian invasion, but the EU has been frustrated in its attempts to make FATF blacklist Moscow. Any such listing would need consensus, meaning that no member country actively opposes the decision. Despite both the EU and Ukraine providing the organization with evidence, fellow BRICS members such as Brazil, China, and South Africa opposed any further action beyond the suspension of membership. While FATF only has three countries on its blacklist -- Iran, Myanmar, and North Korea -- the EU list now comprises 26, with most additions made recently. In fact, the EU set up its own Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) in 2024, and, in the summer of last year, the bloc adopted legislation that would allow the bloc to blacklist countries that arent listed by FATF. Drilling Down: So, what will the Russia blacklisting mean in practice, especially as the EU already has adopted wide-ranging sanctions against the Kremlin in recent years that limit what the blocs banks and other financial services can do in Russia? In short, EU financial institutions will have to strengthen their due diligence on all transactions with Russia. The blocs sanctions to date target specific Russian banks but now, at least in theory, European banks will have to pay attention to all transactions to and from Russia, including those routed through third countries. If any irregularity is suspected, banks must either ask for more clarity or curtail the transaction altogether. The effect will be a further chilling of EU-Russia economic ties. In 2025, trade between the bloc and Russia reached its lowest level in over 20 years and it is expected to shrink further. Another effect could be that financial institutions from third countries, such as India and the United Arab Emirates, might be forced to reconsider their current business with Russia as it might jeopardize their relationship with EU banks. The thinking is that such countries always will prioritize the bigger and more lucrative European market to that of Russia, even though they admit that they havent seen such a shift quite yet. One of the reasons is also Russias very deliberate shift to develop other types of payment channels such as cryptocurrencies, a move that is likely to only accelerate now. And it's a channel that the EU still hasn't found an efficient way to deal with, despite some EU sanctions on Russian crypto assets. Looking Ahead NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte will be in Kyiv today, February 3, to address the countrys parliament. Ukraines chances of joining the military alliance remain slim, as some members are opposing the move, but expect the former Dutch prime minister to promise more Western military support to Kyiv. That's all for this week! Feel free to reach out to me on any of these issues on X @RikardJozwiak, or on e-mail at jozwiakr@rferl.org. Until next time, Rikard Jozwiak If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition subscribe here. US envoy Steve Witkoff met with Israeli officials for more than three hours on February 3, two days before a key meeting in Istanbul with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in an attempt to jumpstart negotiations on Tehrans nuclear program and tamp down fears of a new war in the Middle East. Witkoff met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials, who have been pushing for any deal with Iran to include removing any enriched uranium from Iran along with a halt to all enrichment processing, as well as putting an end to Irans financing of its regional proxies and limits to its ballistic missile program. "Ahead of Envoy Witkoff's departure to meet with a representative of Iran, the Prime Minister [Netanyahu] clarified his position that Iran has proven time and again that its promises cannot be relied upon," Netanyahu said in a post on X. US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that "Iran would like to negotiate and we'll see if something can be done. We are negotiating with them now." Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian said in post on X on February 3 that he had instructed Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi "based on the principles of dignity, wisdom, and expediency within the framework of national interests." Intense Shuttle Diplomacy Pezeshkian has issued warnings recently that any diplomatic success with Washington hinges on an end to threats, a reference to the current buildup of US military might in Middle East waters. He added that progress in talks could be made provided that there is an appropriate atmosphere free from threats and unreasonable expectations. The Istanbul talks follow an intense week of shuttle diplomacy: Iran's security chief Ali Larijani met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on January 30, while Araqchi traveled to Turkey to consult with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. At the same time, the US military has deployed a naval strike group, led by the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, off the coast of Iran in response to Tehrans deadly crackdown on unrest sparked by the countrys deteriorating living conditions. Late last month, Trump announced that a "massive armada" was moving toward Iran, warning it could act with "speed and fury" if necessary, while expressing hope for a "fair deal" that would leave Iran without nuclear weapons. Some in Iran have suggested a potential deal would see Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium -- reportedly buried underground following US strikes last June -- transferred to another country. Because of cuts to Internet service in Iran, it is difficult to assess the number of protesters who have been killed during the mass demonstrations, which appear to have eased in recent days. The US-based rights organization HRANA, whose figures RFE/RL has been regularly citing since the violent crackdown began in Iran in December 2025, says its confirmed death toll, including security forces, is now 6,854, while the number of fatalities still under investigation is 11,280. More than 50,000 people have been arrested. Some estimates by officials quoted off the record by various media outlets put the death toll at several times higher. With reporting by Reuters JUBA, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- The South Sudan People's Defense Forces (SSPDF) said Tuesday it has retaken another rebel-controlled territory in Jonglei State following recent threats by opposition forces to march on the capital. SSPDF spokesperson Lul Ruai Koang said that they killed five soldiers of the opposition Sudan People's Liberation Army-in-Opposition and captured a cache of ammunition before the fall of Motot town, located in Jonglei. "During the battle for control of Motot, five rebels were neutralized, four RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenade launchers were seized along with a large cache of ammunition, two 60-mm mortars, one G-3 and several shells," Koang said in a statement issued in Juba, the capital of South Sudan. He noted that the army chief recently visited the Yuai and Motot areas after they were retaken from the opposition in a bid to boost the morale of the soldiers, adding that he is also closely monitoring offensive operations in the state. The fighting between the two forces has displaced an estimated 260,000 people across Jonglei following renewed fighting and airstrikes since Dec. 29, 2025, according to the South Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said last week that families fleeing violence are sheltering in the open, under trees or in makeshift structures, with little or no access to food, healthcare, or protection services, and are largely dependent on already overstretched host communities. Fifteen people appeared before local courts in Roscommon for burglary offences in the first nine months of 2025, latest figures from the Irish Courts Service reveal. Eleven of them appeared before Roscommon District Court while four were before Roscommon Circuit Court over this period. Local courts in Carrick-on-Shannon had one of the lowest number of people before the courts for burglary offences. One person came before the district court and one before the circuit court during this nine-month period. A total of 1,187 people nationwide were before the district courts across Ireland for burglary offences in the first nine months of 2025. A further 347 people were sent forward for trial in the circuit court for burglary offences between January and September 2025. Ireland South MEP Cynthia Ni Mhurchu, who was provided the figures by the Irish Courts Service, has called for further extensive measures to be introduced to the country to tackle burglary. Such measures include more targeted community supports to protect communities against burglary including a doubling of funding under the Community Safety fund. The Community Safety Fund allows for the proceeds of crime, seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) and An Garda Siochana, to be directed back into communities. The 4 million funding works within communities to provide funding for measures like diversion programmes for repeat and young offenders. Two Roscommon hotels were celebrating last week after there were declared winners at the Gold Medal Hotel Awards. Kilronan Castle Estate & Spa was recognised with two awards taking home the Gold Award for Irelands Four Star Hotel for the second year running, an accolade that recognises excellence in guest experience, service, and overall hospitality standards. Adding to the celebrations, executive chef Daniel Willimont was honoured with the Irelands Chef of the Year award, an achievement that highlights his culinary talent, creativity, and dedication to showcasing exceptional cuisine. Meanwhile in the category of Ireland's Wine Experience a bronze medal was awarded to the Hodson Bay Hotel. The 36th awards were hosted at the Galmont Hotel, Galway. Kilronan Castle Estate & Spa was awarded two Gold Medal Awards at the Gold Medal Hotel Awards. Pictured are national account manager at BWG Foodservice, Slyvester Barrett; executive chef, Daniel Willimont; Hanly Castle Hotels CEO, Alan Hanly, and Gold Medal Awards MC Anton Savage. In a statement following the double accolade for Kilronan Castle, management said that the awards reflected the ongoing commitment of the entire Kilronan Castle team to delivering outstanding experiences for guests, from world-class dining to luxurious accommodation and warm Irish hospitality. The recognition also reinforces Kilronan Castle Estate & Spas reputation as one of Irelands leading four-star destinations. Andrew McGovern, general manager added: We are thrilled to be named, for the second year running, Irelands Best 4 Star Hotel and to have our magnificent executive chef Daniel Willimont named as Chef of the Year. The awards are a result of an incredible amount of dedication and commitment from all our incredible teams across the hotel, whose dedication to excellence and customer service have certainly come to fruition. The Gold Medal Hotel Awards are regarded as one of the most respected accolades in the Irish hospitality industry, celebrating excellence and innovation across hotels and restaurants nationwide. Kilronan Castle Estate & Spa is honoured to be recognised among Irelands finest properties. St. Coman's cemetery has been approved as the location for the countys first ever columbarium wall. A columbarium consists of a wall with designated niches into which urns containing the cremated remains of loved ones can be placed. At last week's meeting of Roscommon Municipal District, councillors gave the go-ahead for the construction of this storage wall and a reflection area at St. Coman's cemetery in the county town. Outlining the plans to the councillors at the MD meeting, council engineer John Shaughnessy explained that eight granite columbarium wall units would be built. The units are pre-formed with niches or cubicles that have a lockable door, and each niche can accommodate two urns. Each niche in the columbarium can be personalised to the wishes of the deceased as well as his or her surviving family. The development will include a reflection area of granite paving and silver chip coated asphalt with granite benches, as well as low maintenance evergreen low-level hedging surrounding the walls and reflection area. The columbarium will be located within the new graveyard area, approximately 150 metres from the front entrance main gate, east of the main access roadway. It will be the first of its kind in County Roscommon though there are plans for further developments across the county. Welcomed by councillors, the columbarium will provide an alternative option to burials plots for interment of cremated remains, which is becoming increasingly common in Ireland. The proposal was welcomed by councillors. MD Cathaoirleach Paschal Fitzmaurice said that many parishes were seeking to install columbarium walls. In terms of the St Comans Cemetery development, he stressed that the area should not become a turning point for cars. Cllr Marty McDermott said the columbarium wall would provide families with options during bereavements, and was happy to support the proposal. His Fianna Fail colleague, Cllr Larry Brennan said that cremations were becoming increasingly popular. Independent Cllr Michael Holland also welcomed the project and he was informed that the development was open to all. Fine Gael Cllr Ruth Connolly Conboy supported the proposal. I really appreciate that the option is there for people in challenging circumstances, she said. When asked, Mr Shaughnessy said it was expected that the project would be built within this year, and that the council would be very selective in the tendering process. It would also be very mindful of the nearby protected structures such as the lodge and monuments. HELENA The Montana Stockgrowers Association (MSGA) has submitted a formal request for rulemaking to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) urging the agency to amend and clarify its regulations governing the H-2A Temporary Agricultural Worker Program to expressly recognize livestock auction markets and rancher/farmer feeder feedlots as falling within the definition of agriculture. The petition was developed in response to feedback gathered during MSGAs Producer Profitability Initiative listening sessions and the Montana Agriculture Labor Summit. The request asks the Department to update its regulations to reflect the integral role livestock auction markets and rancher/farmer feeder feedlots play in seasonal agricultural production and the broader livestock supply chain. Auction markets are a critical component of the livestock industry, providing essential services such as animal handling, sorting, weighing, marketing, and transportation coordination for producers across Montana and the nation. Rancher/farmer operated feedlots constitute production agriculture by performing essential, value-added activities within the livestock production cycle, including feeding and daily husbandry of animals prior to finishing or sale. These activities are necessary to transform livestock from one production stage to the next and are performed on ranches and farms, thereby falling squarely within the scope of agricultural labor and services relevant to the H-2A Temporary Agricultural Worker Program. Livestock auction markets and rancher/farmer feedlots are unquestionably part of production agriculture, said Lesley Robinson, MSGA president. Yet under current H-2A regulations, these businesses face uncertainty about their eligibility to participate in the program, even though they perform agricultural work essential to livestock production. Clarifying this definition would provide much-needed regulatory certainty and help address chronic workforce shortages. The H-2A program allows agricultural employers to hire temporary foreign workers when domestic labor is unavailable. While the program has long been used by livestock producers, ambiguity in the Department of Labors regulatory definition of agriculture has left livestock auction markets and feedlots in a gray area, despite their close connection to ranching and farming operations. In its request, MSGA emphasized that auction market employees routinely perform duties historically and customarily associated with production agriculture, and that excluding these operations from H-2A eligibility undermines the efficiency and resilience of the livestock industry. Clarifying that rancher/farmer feeder feedlots qualify as agricultural employers for purposes of the H-2A program would support the programs statutory purpose, reflect the economic realities of modern livestock production and marketing, and help ensure the continued functioning of a critical segment of the agricultural economy. Montanas livestock producers depend on well-functioning auction markets and feedlots, Robinson added. Ensuring these operations can access a stable workforce is critical not only for animal welfare and producer livelihoods, but also for the strength of rural economies. MSGA urged the Department of Labor to initiate rulemaking to amend its H-2A regulations, so they clearly and expressly include livestock auction markets and rancher/farmer feedlots within the definition of agriculture, aligning federal policy with industry realities. JERUSALEM, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Israeli officials signaled skepticism on Tuesday about the prospects of a diplomatic breakthrough in the region, as U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, arrived for talks, amid international efforts to resume diplomacy on Iran's nuclear program. Witkoff arrived in Israel on Tuesday for meetings ahead of a planned encounter in the region later this week with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi. The meeting in Jerusalem included Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and military Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, officials told Xinhua. After the meeting, Netanyahu's office said in a statement that Israel's position was that Iran "has repeatedly demonstrated it cannot be trusted to keep its promises." Senior Israeli officials have told public broadcaster Kan TV news that Israel sought assurances from the United States for "operational freedom of action" against Iran, in case Iran would retaliate following a possible U.S. attack. The report said that Israel has also demanded a halt to Iran's production of ballistic missiles that it says pose a direct threat, as well as an end to uranium enrichment. The meeting also addressed Gaza, with Netanyahu reiterating what his office described as an "uncompromising demand" for Hamas to be disarmed and for the Gaza Strip to be demilitarized before any rehabilitation takes place. He also stressed that Israel opposes any role for the Palestinian Authority in administering Gaza, the statement said. The talks came as international mediators seek to move ahead with a second phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire that took effect on Oct. 10, 2025, which would include the reconstruction of the Palestinian enclave after more than two years of war. Kelly Alvstad, Sidney High School Agricultural Education teacher, was one of the presenters at the National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE) Conference held in Nashville, TN, Dec. 8-12, 2025. NAAE is an annual convention open to Career Technical Educators (CTE) and is known for its state-of-the-art Career Expo, where the more than 1,800 attendees can learn more about current curriculum, and new teaching models and materials. Alvstad held a workshop titled The Overwhelmed Teacher: How to Successfully Manage the Madness, which focused on the topic of mental health issues. She shared advice on how educators can refocus and reconnect with their goals, and discussed practical tools to protect mental health. It was one of 80 engaging ag ed specific professional development workshops during the event. Mental health is a topic most people can relate to, but few will speak about it publicly. I saw the opportunity to use my own experiences, she said, adding that she wrote most of the presentation during an in-patient stay at a Behavioral Health Institute in March 2025. I had a lot of questions that were asked after the 75-minute presentation. This made me realize that so many CTE teachers can relate to real-world mental health issues. Alvstad attended her first NAAE Conference in Las Vegas in 2022. She decided to apply to be a presenter in March 2025. I had learned a lot from the presenters (in 2022) and felt like I also had something to offer educators, she recalls. It was July when she learned she had been accepted. It felt like forever while I was waiting for the official email stating that I was chosen. I was ecstatic to learn that I had been selected as a presenter. I was in FFA Public Speaking in high school in Pennsylvania, and being chosen at the national level was a full circle moment for me. If I expect my students to speak, I will always show them through my experiences! Alvstad said. As a first-year presenter, what she found most rewarding were emails from those who had attended her workshop stating how glad they were that they had chosen her presentation, along with a two-page thank you which commended her for being raw, honest and openly speaking about her struggles. The topic of mental health continues to be one Alvstad is passionate about, and she is diligent in reminding others, It is most important to know that you are not alone when it comes to mental health. It is capable of striking anyone at any time. No one or family is exempt. She highly recommends other ag educators attend the conference, as CTE is one of the fastest-evolving careers in the world, and NAAE participation is a great way for educators to help keep their students ahead of the curve in education and the trades. There are even grants available to help with some of the cost to attend. For more information on the National Association of Agricultural Educators, visit http://www.naae.org. The Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) and Montana State University (MSU) have announced a significant platform update for ParentingMontana.org, a premier digital resource for Montana families. The update features a redesigned layout and an expanded suite of practical tools. As a partnership between DPHHS and the Center for Health and Safety Culture (CHSC) at MSU, this project enhances user experience, boosts resource accessibility, and provides essential support to Montana parents and caregivers. ParentingMontana.org offers parents and caregivers with children of all ages practical, evidence-based tools to navigate common challenges, such as managing stress, establishing routines, building empathy, cultivating healthy friendships, and setting clear expectations, Jami Hansen, DPHHS Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Division, said. The resources are organized developmentally by age, from birth through 19. For each topic, users can select a tool to learn how to thoughtfully address common challenges with their children. They can then read or listen to an audio version of the tool to address their parenting challenge and print a summary of key words and actions to help them engage with their child. The platform is designed around a powerful strategy: cultivating core skills in children that enable them to connect with others, manage their emotions, and make informed decisions, Kari Finley, Ph.D., CHSC Director and Research Scholar, said. Research shows that strengthening these skills aligns directly with what Montana parents want for their children. Growing these foundational abilities delivers powerful results, including reducing risky behaviors (such as underage drinking and misuse of other drugs), preventing mental and emotional disorders like depression and anxiety, and mitigating negative outcomes such as dropping out of school or unemployment. Ultimately, these strong skills lead to better academic performance and workplace success later in life. The updated website is a valuable resource not only for parents but also for support professionals, such as teachers, physicians, and home-visiting nurses. The enhanced platform signifies DPHHSs continued commitment to providing accessible, effective tools necessary to raise healthy, happy, and resilient youth across Montana. Visit ParentingMontana.org to explore the new layout and expanded resources. Modi govt entered IndiaUS trade deal by ignoring interests of Indian farmers: Congress Jaishankar, in a post on his X handle, said, It will strengthen Make in India' endeavors and encourage trusted technology ties. The Congress party on Tuesday strongly criticised the IndiaUS trade deal announced last night, alleging that the Modi government has entered into the agreement by ignoring the interests of Indian farmers. Citing a statement by US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins on increased exports of American farm products to the Indian market, the Congress termed the development deeply alarming for India. Advertisement The party said the deal would harm Indian farmers, who will now be forced to compete with American farmers in their own country. This is nothing less than a direct attack on Indian farmers, the Congress alleged, while questioning, Why did he trade away the interests of Indias farmers? US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, in a statement issued on her X handle following the announcement by US President Donald Trump, thanked Trump for ONCE AGAIN delivering for our American farmers. Advertisement New US-India deal will export more American farm products to India's massive market, lifting prices, and pumping cash into rural America, the post read. Thank you @POTUS for ONCE AGAIN delivering for our American farmers. New US-India deal will export more American farm products to India's massive market, lifting prices, and pumping cash into rural America. In 2024, Americas agricultural trade deficit with India was $1.3 https://t.co/Z04eNDfXjD Secretary Brooke Rollins (@SecRollins) February 2, 2026 In 2024, Americas agricultural trade deficit with India was $1.3 billion. Indias growing population is an important market for American agricultural products and todays deal will go a long way to reducing this deficit, the post added. Advertisement Following Trumps announcement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also took to X to share the development, stating that he had a telephonic conversation with Donald Trump and that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. PM Modi did not provide further details. However, Donald Trump, in his announcement, made several claims that have angered the Congress and drawn sharp reactions. Trump claimed that the two leaders spoke on several issues, including trade and ending the war between Russia and Ukraine. Advertisement Trump further claimed that Prime Minister Modi agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela, adding that this would help END THE WAR in Ukraine. He added that Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and as per PM Modis request, the two countries had come to an agreement, effective immediately, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprorocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%. They will likewise move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO, he added. The Prime Minister also committed to "BUY AMERICAN," at a much higher level, in addition to over $500 BILLION DOLLARS of U.S. Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal, and many other products, Trump said. The announcement has been welcomed by leaders of the ruling party, including External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. Welcome the announcements on bilateral trade following the conversation between PM @narendramodi and President @realDonaldTrump. This will create more jobs, spur growth and promote innovation in both economies. It will strengthen Make in India endeavors and encourage trusted Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) February 2, 2026 Jaishankar, in a post on his X handle, said, It will strengthen Make in India endeavors and encourage trusted technology ties. (For more news apart from Modi govt entered IndiaUS trade deal by ignoring interests of Indian farmers: Congress," stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman.) IndiaUS Trade Deal: Modi ji is rattled, under pressure, image can get damaged, says Rahul Gandhi "The Epstein Files contain even more that the US has not yet released and the entire country wants to know what's in it." Leader of the Opposition and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been forced to compromise on the IndiaUS trade deal under immense pressure and that there is a fear of his image getting damaged. Speaking to the media outside Parliament, Rahul Gandhi said, Modi ji is rattled. The (USIndia) trade deal, which had been stalled for the past few months, has not changed. However, for reasons that I know and so does Modi ji, it was signed by Narendra Modi last night. Advertisement He further said, There is extreme pressure on him. Narendra Modi ji's image can get damaged. The main thing is that our PM is compromised. People of this country will think about who did it and how it was done. Rahul Gandhi also added that, for the first time in history, the Leader of the Opposition was not allowed to speak on the Presidents address. #WATCH | Delhi | LoP, Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi says, "Modi ji is rattled. The (US-India) trade deal, which was stalled for the past few months, was signed by Narendra Modi last night. There is extreme pressure on him. Narendra Modi ji's image can get damaged. The main thing is pic.twitter.com/0z6fLFGV0p Advertisement February 3, 2026 Speaking further on the IndiaUS tariff issue, he alleged, Narendra Modi ji has sold your hard work in this trade deal because he is compromised. He has sold the entire country, adding that this was the reason he was not allowed to speak in Parliament on Tuesday. He also claimed, Narendra Modi ji is scared because those who shaped his image are now breaking this image....There is a case on Adani ji in the US, it is actually a case on Modi ji....The Epstein Files contain even more that the US has not yet released and the entire country wants to know what's in it. There is pressure due to that as well. These are the two pressure points. The country should understand this, he added while speaking to the media. Also read: Modi govt entered IndiaUS trade deal by ignoring interests of Indian farmers: Congress Advertisement (For more news apart from IndiaUS Trade Deal: Modi ji is rattled, under pressure, image can get damaged, says Rahul Gandhi," stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman.) IndiaUS trade deal: US tariff on Made in India' products reduced to 18%, says PM Modi Trump added that India would likewise move forward to reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers against the United States to ZERO. Prime Minister Narendra Modi late on Monday night, after a telephonic conversation with US President Donald Trump, announced that Made in India products will now face a reduced tariff of 18%. The development marks a positive turn in the bilateral relationship and is expected to reduce the impact of earlier US tariffs on Indian exports. Advertisement External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar welcomed the announcements on bilateral trade, saying it will create more jobs, spur growth and promote innovation in both economies. Welcome the announcements on bilateral trade following the conversation between PM @narendramodi and President @realDonaldTrump. This will create more jobs, spur growth and promote innovation in both economies. It will strengthen Make in India endeavors and encourage trusted Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) February 2, 2026 He added that the development will strengthen Make in India endeavors and encourage trusted technology ties. The opportunities in our economic engagement are truly vast and we are confident of realizing them. Advertisement Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, calling it a landmark trade agreement, said this agreement unlocks unprecedented opportunities for farmers, MSMEs, entrepreneurs, and skilled workers to Make in India for the world, Design in India for the world, and Innovate in India for the world. It will help India get technology from the US. Congratulations to Prime Minister @NarendraModi ji and President @RealDonaldTrump, as well as to the people of India and the United States, on the landmark trade agreement. This reflects the power of two like-minded, fair-trading democracies working together for shared Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) February 2, 2026 Meanwhile, Mr Trump, who made the announcement in a post on Truth Social before PM Modi did, said that the two leaders spoke about many things, including Trade, and ending the War with Russia and Ukraine. Advertisement Trump claimed that Prime Minister Modi agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela. He added, This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week! Trump further claimed that Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%. Advertisement "It was an Honor to speak with Prime Minister Modi, of India, this morning... He agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela. This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine" - President Donald J. Trump YY pic.twitter.com/RD7PZ8S16z The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 2, 2026 Trump added that India would likewise move forward to reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers against the United States to ZERO. Further, Trump claimed that PM Modi also committed to "BUY AMERICAN," at a much higher level, in addition to over $500 BILLION DOLLARS of U.S. Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal, and many other products. Our amazing relationship with India will be even stronger going forward. Prime Minister Modi and I are two people that GET THINGS DONE, something that cannot be said for most, Trump said. Congresss take on the USIndia trade deal The Congress party has strongly criticised the development, particularly the fact that the announcement came first from US President Donald Trump and only later from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The party has also raised serious questions over the details mentioned by Trump. US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has said: Y American farmers products will now be sold in the Indian market. This will bring money into rural America. Y Indias market is extremely important for US farmers. Through this deal, Trump has ensured benefits for Congress (@INCIndia) February 3, 2026 Citing US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollinss claim that "American farmers products will now be sold in the Indian market," Congress alleged that the Modi government has entered into the deal "by ignoring the interests of Indian farmers," calling it "deeply alarming for India". Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that all announcements, including the halt of Operation Sindoor and "updates on Indias oil purchases from Russia and Venezuela from Washington", were made by Trump, adding that "Trump clearly seems to have some leverage over Prime Minister Modi." Surely this cannot be the father of all deals, he added. Almost exactly a year ago, Prime Minister Modi landed up at the White House to greet President Trump on his re-election. His trademark huglomacy was on full display. India-US relations never appeared brighter. Negotiations for a trade deal started immediately thereafter. But Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) February 3, 2026 Jairam Ramesh, in a post on X earlier today, citing information provided by Trump, said, "It is abundantly clear that Prime Minister Modi has - like he did on May 10, 2025 - completely surrendered. He has most definitely appeased President Trump. India stands diminished by this unfortunate sequence of events. Ramesh has demanded a debate on the deal in Parliament as the Budget Session continues. The text of both the EU and US trade deals must be laid on the Table of both Houses and debated - especially since the US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has issued a statement claiming that India has liberalised agricultural imports from the US, Ramesh said. (For more news apart from IndiaUS trade deal: US tariff on Made in India products reduced to 18%, says PM Modi," stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman.) Rahul Gandhi, Congress MPs Hold Protest After Suspension of 8 MPs, Against IndiaUS Trade Deal Congress leaders also held a protest against the IndiaUS trade deal signed late on Monday night Congress MPs, including Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, held a protest on Tuesday afternoon after eight Congress MPs were suspended from the Lok Sabha for their alleged unruly behaviour during the session earlier in the day. The suspended MPs include Hibi Eden, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Manickam Tagore, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Kiran Kumar Reddy, Prashant Padole, S. Venkatesan, and Dean Kuriakose, according to news agency ANI. Advertisement Suspended Congress MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla said, "It is the opposition's duty to present the issues facing the entire country; that's what Parliament is for, and the government should come and respond to them. Congress MP Manickam Tagore told ANI, Our mistake is that we were protesting against the government's decision not to allow the leader of the opposition, Rahul Gandhi, to speak. Yesterday, LoP Rahul Gandhi was disturbed again and again, and he was not allowed to speak, and he was asked to give authentication. Today, he came up with the authentication, and he gave the letter and submitted the authentication. After that, they stopped the speech of the leader of the opposition. Rahul Gandhi spoke about China, US tariffs. After that, Rahul Gandhi's mic was taken, and we protested; therefore, we are suspended... According to a report by Hindustan Times, the suspensions came after two consecutive days of chaos in the House over the unpublished memoir of former Army chief MM Naravane's account on the IndiaChina conflict, cited by Rahul Gandhi. Advertisement Congress leaders also held a protest against the IndiaUS trade deal signed late on Monday night, which brings US tariffs on Made in India products to 18%, as announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump. (For more news apart from Rahul Gandhi, Congress MPs Hold Protest After Suspension of 8 MPs, Against IndiaUS Trade Deal," stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman.) 5.507 kg of Heroin Recovered from Person Linked to Pakistan-Based Smugglers A preliminary investigation has revealed the accused's links to Pakistan-based smugglers. Ferozepur: In an intelligence-led operation, the Ferozepur Police have busted a cross-border drug smuggling module, police said on Tuesday. During the operation, police apprehended one person, a resident of Village Chandiwala, under Police Station Sadar, Ferozepur district, Punjab. Advertisement Police recovered 5.507 kg of heroin from the accused. A preliminary investigation has revealed the accuseds links to Pakistan-based smugglers. An FIR has been registered, and further investigation is underway. Advertisement (For more news apart from 5.507 kg of Heroin Recovered from Person Linked to Pakistan-Based Smugglers," stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman.) While the state maintained that the issue stems from infrastructural decay rather than individual lapses, it has nonetheless initiated accountability measures following the NGT's November 2025 directive to fix responsibility. File Photo. To provide a permanent solution, the government has sanctioned a Rs 178 crore project under AMRUT 2.0 Following NGT Directives, Punjab Govt Fixes Responsibility for Contaminated Water Supply The Punjab Government has informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that infrastructure decay is the primary cause of contaminated drinking water in the ZirakpurBanurRajpura belt. In a submission to an NGT bench comprising Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Dr. A. Senthil Vel, the state confirmed that show-cause notices have been issued to officials for negligence and dereliction of duty. Advertisement According to the Chief Secretary, the root cause in Rajpura is a nearly 40-year-old water supply network laid at the same depth as sewerage lines. During heavy rainfall, the absence of a separate stormwater system allows wastewater to mix with drinking water through these ageing pipes. While the state maintained that the issue stems from infrastructural decay rather than individual lapses, it has nonetheless initiated accountability measures following the NGTs November 2025 directive to fix responsibility. To provide a permanent solution, the government has sanctioned a Rs 178 crore project under AMRUT 2.0, with Rs 33.65 crore approved for the first phase. This involves replacing 57 km of old pipelines and approximately 9,883 household connections in vulnerable areas like Old Rajpura and Dalima Vihar. Advertisement The state confirmed that while the project is targeted for completion by December 2026, potable water is currently being supplied via tankers as an immediate relief measure. Source: Times of India RAMALLAH, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian presidency on Tuesday condemned an Israeli plan to legalize 140 settlement farms in the occupied West Bank. Presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh said in a statement carried by the official WAFA news agency that Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz's announcement on Monday of the plan represents "a major escalation in the implementation of the policy of annexation and racist expansion." Abu Rudeineh said that these agricultural farms are, in reality, settlement outposts that complement settler violence carried out under army protection. He emphasized that all settlement activity in Palestinian territory is illegal under international law and UN resolutions, particularly UN Security Council Resolution 2334, framing the plan as part of a gradual effort to expel Palestinian residents from pastoral communities and implement annexation. Abu Rudeineh held the Israeli government fully responsible for the consequences of this escalation, warning it undermines international efforts to reduce tensions and restore calm. He urged immediate intervention from the international community. Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East War. The settlements it has built there, and its military occupation, are considered illegal under international law. Rethinking space A local scientific discovery has created the perfect opportunity for a new artistic approach. sursa foto: facebook.com/scenanoua Ana-Maria Cononovici, 03.02.2026, 14:00 A cluster of stars bears the name Barlad. A phenomenon first seen by the human eye at the Astronomical Observatory in Barlad. A poetic experience, yet one grounded in rigorous science. In Bucharest, at Rezidenta9, visitors are invited to a series of related events and to the collective exhibition What We Hide, developed from issue no. 7 of Scena9 magazine. The exhibition continues a unique cultural project in Romania, where journalism is transformed into installation, and stories step out of print to be lived as a shared experience, at Rezidenta9. Andra Matzal, coordinating editor of Scena9, spoke to us about the project. The exhibition What We Hide, which is on at Scena9 in Bucharest until March 15 this year, is built around the newest printed issue of Scena9. The magazine appears once a year and always has a central theme. This time, the theme is precisely what we hide, because I realized that we are extremely good at hiding, both as individuals and as a species. So, we explore this theme from many angles: personal, social, family, and then we expand the spectrum all the way into science. And we reach the idea that even the environment we live in, the space around us, has many things to hide, if we do not know how to look at them. Andra Matzal also told us that one of the chosen perspectives for relating to others was a scientific oneindeed, a cosmic one. We started from the observations and discoveries made, quite unexpectedly, at the Astronomical Observatory in Barlad, where an astronomer named Ciprian Vintdevara has made some of the most important astronomical discoveries in Romania: a giant star, larger than the Sun and far brighter, whose light reaches us from 21 million years ago; and many variable stars, which he named after the city of Barlad. Around this work, my colleague Ionut Sociu wrote a report for the magazine, and from that story we built, together with the Augmented Space Agency, two interactive installations for the exhibition What We Hide. The Astrobinocular in the exhibition is a portable virtual planetarium, accessed through a VR binocular device. It allows visitors to explore cosmic structures, constellations, and the discoveries made at the Barlad Observatory, in an immersive and interactive way. The same translation of science into experience is found in SOL, an audiovisual installation built from solar scientific data provided by a global network of observatories. Under the light of a virtual sun, two of the researchers behind these discoveries were also present at the exhibition: Ciprian Vintdevara, astronomer and museographer at the Vasile Parvan Museum in Barlad, and Florentina Pislan, who has worked since 2021 at the Institute of Space Science, in the Laboratory of Astrophysics, Cosmology and Theoretical Physics. She studies gravitational waves produced by binary black hole systems, within the context of the LISA space mission (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna). She is a PhD candidate at the Faculty of Physics at the University of Bucharest and is actively involved in science communication and outreach, serving as a trainer with Games of Science since 2024. Andra Matzal gave us more details. At the Astronomical Observatory in Barlad, more precisely at the Vasile Parvan Museum, there is an entire community of passionate astronomers gathered around the work of Ciprian Vintdevara. As we know, in Romania both culture and research are underfunded, and yet the motivation and dedication of certain people have made all this possible. From this point on, it is no longer just research activity. What I find absolutely essential is that this research comes alive in the city itself. There are many young people and people of all ages who gather around the Observatory, who publish a specialist magazine, who set off on observation camps. It seemed to me a subject that could give us a little hope in an increasingly dark and pessimistic world. That is why we chose to focus some of our attention on how astronomical and space research is done in Romania, and on the fact that even under unfavourable conditions, there are people doing work that truly matters. Andra Matzal also told us what else visitors can discover in the exhibition. Within the exhibition What We Hide we have several types of events, which we organise together with our colleagues at Rezidenta9 until March, starting from each room of the exhibition. Each room covers a certain type of space, with its own hidden layers. We will talk about migration. We will talk about personal stories. About what happens when personal space intersects with political space. About what womens rights mean, and what violence against women means, and how, socially, we are skilled at hiding such things. About what it means to hide our illnesses from those close to us. At the same time, we will also host workshops with artists, to help all of uswhether or not we are artists, young or old, children or adultscome closer not only to art, but also to the complex subjects addressed in Scena9, which are, in fact, part of all our lives. At Rezidenta9, until March 15, the focus will change every week. There will be invited guests and events, offering audiences the chance to meet some of todays most relevant artists and thinkers. (VP) February 03, 2026 A roundup of domestic and world news Newsflash Newsroom, 03.02.2026, 13:55 Visit The Romanian Foreign Minister Oana Toiu is starting a three-day working visit to Washington, where she will participate, on Wednesday, in the first ministerial meeting dedicated to critical minerals, at the invitation of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the Romanian Foreign Ministry reports. This meeting aims to strengthen cooperation to ensure secure and diversified supply chains both bilaterally and in the EU-US relationship. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, later in the year, proposals for trade partnerships will be discussed within a technical working group at the Romanian government level, to facilitate strategic investments in the field. Strengthening the economic dimension of the Strategic Partnership with the United States and developing opportunities for joint investments are part of the Romanian governments key objectives, aimed at positioning Romania as a key European actor in the essential field of rare minerals, the Romanian Foreign Ministry also reports. On the other hand, the Health Minister, Alexandru Rogobete, is also paying a three-day official visit to Israel, as part of a delegation led by the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Sorin Grindeanu. His visit is part of Romanias efforts to expand international cooperation and adopt good practices relevant to the development and digitalization of the healthcare system. Liberals In Bucharest, the National Political Bureau of the Liberal Party (PNL) granted, on Monday evening, a vote of confidence to the partys president, the Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan. He and the Finance Minister, Alexandru Nazare, presented the main directions of an economic recovery package, currently being finalized, structured on two major levels. The first is the reconfiguration of state aid schemes, and the second has a broad fiscal component addressed to micro-enterprises and the entire business environment. The state aid schemes will be reconfigured by launching seven programs, including for mineral resources and critical raw materials, research and development, new technologies and for the defense industry. For several months, the Social Democratic Party (PSD), which is part of the four-party governing coalition alongside the National Liberal Party (PNL), Save Romania Union (USR) and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), has been demanding the adoption of measures to support the economy. These should be adopted simultaneously with a draft reform in public administration either by assuming responsibility or through emergency ordinances. Economy Romanias economic growth in the period 2022-2024 would have been 1.2% lower without the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, shows a study by the National Bank of Romania. According to it, European funds, both those related to the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) and those from the standard multiannual financial framework, contributed to mitigating the adverse effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and facilitated the economic recovery. The document emphasizes that the implementation of the provisions included in the PNRR was affected, however, by delays reflected in a slow pace of investments and reforms, which led to delays in the transmission of payment requests and subsequently to the renegotiation of the PNRR. The authors of the study mention that, by the end of November last year, Romania had attracted approximately half of the renegotiated allocation of the PNRR, namely 21 billion Euros. Femicide In Romania, the bill on preventing and combating femicide and the violence that precedes it was voted on Monday by a large majority in the Senate, the first Chamber to be notified. Last year, almost 60 women were killed, most of them in the context of domestic violence, Save Romania Union (USR) Senator Cynthia Paun pointed out. The new provisions include increasing penalties when violence against women occurs in the presence of minors or in public, and children orphaned as a result of these crimes are recognized as direct victims, who benefit from immediate protection measures. The document adopted by the Senate goes to the Chamber of Deputies for the decisional vote. Constitutional Court Two liberal parliamentarians from the ruling coalition in Romania have submitted a bill to Parliament to amend and supplement the Law on the Organization and Functioning of the Constitutional Court (CCR). MP Raluca Turcan has stated that none of the proposed measures affects the independence of the CCR judges in the exercise of their mandate or their irremovability during its duration. According to Turcan, in recent years, the Constitutional Court has lost credibility due to suspicions of conflict of interest, unjustified postponements or repeated absences and boycotts of important decisions. The main measures included in the bill provide for the express establishment of the obligation of the CCR judges to attend the plenary sessions and for sanctions for those who are absent without reason. Paris Agnes Ullmann, a Romanian-born microbiologist, is among the 72 women researchers whose names are to be engraved on a frieze on display at the Eiffel Tower in Paris. They will be added to the names of 72 men engraved on the first floor of the building French scientists, engineers or industrialists chosen for having brought honor to France between 1789 and 1889. Agnes Ullmann contributed extensively to the development of molecular biology. (LS) February 3, 2026 UPDATE A roundup of local and international news. February 3, 2026 UPDATE Newsroom, 03.02.2026, 19:49 Visit. The Romanian Foreign Minister Oana Toiu on Tuesday began a three-day working visit to Washington, where she will participate, on Wednesday, in the first ministerial meeting dedicated to critical minerals, at the invitation of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the Romanian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. This meeting aims to strengthen cooperation to ensure secure and diversified supply chains both bilaterally and in the EU-US relationship. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, later in the year, proposals for trade partnerships will be discussed within a technical working group at the Romanian government level, to facilitate strategic investments in the field. Strengthening the economic dimension of the Strategic Partnership with the United States and developing opportunities for joint investments are part of the Romanian governments key objectives, aimed at positioning Romania as a key European actor in the essential field of rare minerals, the Romanian Foreign Ministry also said. Romania-Israel. On a three-day official visit to Israel, the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest, Sorin Grindeanu, met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for talks on the accelerated development of bilateral economic relations. We both want more Romanian companies to enter the Israeli market and new important investments by Israeli companies in our economy. Prime Minister Netanyahu is a close partner of our country. I am convinced that he will help us take from Israeli companies the highest level of expertise in artificial intelligence and technological innovation to apply it in all essential branches of the economy, Sorin Grindeanu said on social media. He added that this subject was also discussed during talks with the speaker of the Israeli Parliament Amir Ohana, whom he described as a true friend of Romania. There is full openness from the authorities of the State of Israel to develop bilateral cooperation, Sorin Grindeanu said. Confidence. The National Political Bureau of the Liberal Party granted, on Monday evening, a vote of confidence to the partys president, the Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan. Together with Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare, he presented the main directions of an economic recovery package, currently being finalized, structured on two major levels. The first is the reconfiguration of state aid schemes, and the second has a broad fiscal component addressed to micro-enterprises and the entire business environment. The state aid schemes will be reconfigured by launching seven programs, including for mineral resources and critical raw materials, research and development, new technologies and for the defense industry. For several months, the Social Democratic Party, which is part of the four-party governing coalition alongside the National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, has been demanding the adoption of measures to support the economy. These should be adopted simultaneously with a bill on the reform of public administration either with the government calling for a vote of confidence in Parliament or by emergency order. Economy. Romanias economic growth between 2022 and 2024 would have been 1.2% lower without the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, shows a study by the National Bank of Romania. The report explains that European funds, both those related to the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and those part of the standard multiannual financial framework contributed to mitigating the negative consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic and facilitated the countrys economic recovery. The document emphasises that the implementation of the provisions included in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan was affected, however, by delays reflected in a slow pace of investments and reforms, which led to delays in the transmission of payment requests and subsequently to the renegotiation of the Plan. The authors of the study note that, by the end of November last year, Romania had attracted approximately half of the renegotiated allocation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, namely 21 billion euros. Protests. Trade unions in education say they will stage a protest in front of the government building in Bucharest on Wednesday. They are dissatisfied with the measures adopted by the government, which, they say affect the salaries, working conditions, status and dignity of the teaching profession. Approximately 2,000 people are expected to take part in the protest. The beginning of the school year was also marked by protests from teachers, dissatisfied with the changes included in the package of measures to reduce the budget deficit. The former Minister of Education, Daniel David, resigned on December 23, with Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan taking over as interim. Ukraine. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Tuesday urged Ukraines supporters in Kyiv to search their stockpiles of weapons and ammunition and offer Ukraine everything they can, including air defence, especially Patriot missiles, after Ukraines energy infrastructure was hit by a new massive barrage of Russian missiles and drones, France Presse reports. Ukraine is and will remain essential to our security, and our commitment to supporting Ukraine is steadfast, said Mark Rutte. France Presse also reports that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa will travel to Ukraine to mark four years since the start of Russias war against its neighbouring country. It will be a renewed and reiterated sign of the solidarity of the European Union with Ukraine and of our determination and unity in the face of Russias continued aggression, said European Commission spokeswoman Paula Pinho. (CM) Bill on the reform of the Constitutional Court A bill by the Liberals brings amendments to the law governing the functioning of the Constitutional Court Photo: Facebook.com/CurteaConstitutionalaRomania (Curtea Constitutionala a Romaniei) Stefan Stoica, 03.02.2026, 13:50 The Constitutional Court of Romania convenes on February 11 to examine the Law on magistrates pensions, which increases their retirement age and reduces the amount of pensions that prosecutors and judges should receive. The Court has already postponed this case 3 times, officially because of lack of quorum or incomplete documentation. Four judges, all nominated by the Social Democratic Party, were absent or left successive sessions. Each time, official clarifications were made public, but those who in the past accused all or some of the Court members of trying certain cases in light of their own interests or the interests of certain political players, this time did not hesitate to accuse the Court of deliberately obstructing a sensitive reform for the judicial system. In this context, the Deputy Raluca Turcan announced that together with her fellow Liberal Senator Daniel Fenechiu she had tabled a bill to amend and supplement the Law on the organisation and functioning of the Constitutional Court. The draft law can be completed in parliamentary debates. It is a starting point for discussing the credibility of the Constitutional Court, Turcan posted on Facebook. According to her, in recent years the Constitutional Court has lost credibility because of suspicions of conflict of interest, unjustified postponements or repeated absences and boycotts of major rulings. The main measures introduced by the new legislation include the obligation of Constitutional Court judges to attend plenary sessions, so that boycotting can no longer be an option; financial penalties for judges who are absent from the Courts plenary sessions without justification of 10% of their gross income for each absence, except for medical situations, fortuitous events or force majeure; the possible revocation by Parliament or the President of Romania of judges in situations of incompatibility, who are absent from Court plenary sessions without justification at least three times in a row or who are unable to exercise their duties for more than 90 days. Raluca Turcan made a point of stating that none of the proposed measures affects the independence of Constitutional Court judges or their irremovability during their term. The law, the Liberal MP argues, only introduces minimal standards of conduct and responsibility in one of the most important institutions. In fact, the Constitutional Court played a key role in preventing the access to the countrys presidency of a toxic character: the pro-Russian extremist Calin Georgescu. As Raluca Turcan put it, it is important for the Romanians trust in public institutions that a strategy of political boycott and trial delays is no longer employed by the Constitutional Court of Romania. (AMP) RTX Corp. (RTX,5UR.BE), on Tuesday at the Singapore Airshow, said it has signed multiple memoranda of understanding with the Singapore Economic Development Board to expand aerospace manufacturing and maintenance capabilities in Singapore. The new capabilities are expected to be fully operational by 2030. The agreements commit more than $139 million in investment and build on a previous MOU signed in July 2025. The agreements build on an earlier MOU signed in July 2025 and reinforce RTX's long-term commitment to Singapore as a hub for advanced aerospace manufacturing, maintenance, repair and overhaul, and high-value engineering. Collins Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney will expand and introduce new capabilities in Singapore to support next-generation commercial aircraft platforms and rising regional demand. Collins Aerospace will expand MRO capabilities for Asia-Pacific customers, including electrical power systems and environmental and airframe control systems, and add support for Boeing 777X Integrated Drive Generators and new flight-critical products for the Boeing 787 fleet. Pratt & Whitney will enhance GTF engine maintenance and manufacturing, adding a Fan Drive Gear System maintenance line at its Seletar facility and expanding coating capabilities at its Tuas operations, increasing the site's footprint by 25%. On Monday, RTX had closed at $201.09, 0.16 cents higher on the New York Stock Exchange. In the after-market hours, the stock traded 0.31 cents higher before ending the trade at $200.78. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, through its fifth flagship fund, Copenhagen Infrastructure V, has decided to buy the onshore of rsted A/S (ORSTED.CO,DOGEF), a Danish wind farm company. This onshore business has over 800 MW in operation and under construction and a multi-gigawatt development pipeline across Ireland, the UK, Germany, and Spain. Mads Skovgaard-Andersen, CIO and Partner in Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, said: "With this significant acquisition across multiple and technologies, we further strengthen our presence in Europe. The combined onshore wind, solar, and BESS portfolio complements our existing project portfolio and gives us the scale to further accelerate the deployment of renewable energy." Post transaction, the onshore business will operate as a stand-alone business with a new company name and brand. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News The German stock market's key index DAX climbed to a three-week high Tuesday morning, with recent encouraging regional PMI data, a recovery in commodity , and easing geopolitical and trade tensions aiding sentiment. Prospects of the U.S. Congress voting on a spending bill to end the government shutdown helped as well. The DAX, which surged to 25,109.25 earlier in the session, was up 81.81 points or 0.33% at 24,866.73 a little before noon. Daimler Truck Holding rallied 3.75%. Deutsche Post and Siemens Energy gained 2.3% and 2.2%, respectively. Commerzbank climbed 1.8%, while Rheinmetall, Mercedes-Benz, Deutsche Bank, Siemens, Fresenius and MTU Aero Engines advanced 1.3%-1.6%. Fresenius Medical Care, BMW, Volkswagen, Brenntag, BASF, RWE and Allianz also moved higher. Zalando tanked nearly 8%. The company faces challenge with the rapid rise of social-media commerce such as TikTok Shop, according to Morgan Stanley. Merck drifted down 3% followed by a rating downgrade by Deutsche Bank. Infineon Technologies shed about 2.5%, and Scout24 eased by 2.1%. SAP, E.ON, Symrise, Deutsche Boerse and Hannover Rueck also were down in negative territory a little before noon, though with less pronounced losses. Shares of wind turbin manufacturer Nordex gained nearly 1.5% after the company secured a 189MW order from OX2 for turbines at the Fragerasen wind farm in Sweden. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Market Analysis Eswin Mejia, the Honduran immigrant who killed 21-year-old Sarah Root in a drunk-driving accident a decade ago, has been sentenced to at least 20 years in prison. Mejia was arrested in January 2016 for vehicular homicide after the crash that killed Sarah in Douglas County, Nebraska, while he was street racing and drunk. His blood alcohol content was three times over the legal limit. He was arrested and released on a bond in February 2016, and he subsequently fled the country to evade prosecution. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Sarah's Law was introduced in the United States Congress. It was eventually added as an amendment to the Laken Riley Act, the first piece of legislation that President Donald Trump signed into law in his second term. The law would require "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to take into custody certain undocumented immigrants who have been charged in the United States with a crime that resulted in the death or serious bodily injury of another person". Mejia was successfully extradited from Honduras by Homeland Security Investigations in March last year. It was the first time that Honduras had ever extradited someone to the U.S. for homicide. After being convicted on charges of motor vehicle homicide and flight to avoid arrest, a Nebraska court sentenced 29 year-old Mejia to 20 to 22 years in prison on Monday. "The extradition, arrest, conviction, and sentencing of this criminal illegal alien is the culmination of a decade-long battle for justice for Sarah Root and her family," said the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News In welcome news for American renter families struggling with high housing costs, the national median rent has fallen to its lowest level since 2022. According to new data, rents posted their sixth straight monthly decline in January, with the largest annual drop in more than two years down 6.2 percent from their Biden-era peak. The national median rent fell 0.2 percent in January, and now stands at $1,353, according to Apartment List National Rent Report. This marks the sixth consecutive winter with a pronounced off-season dip in rents. Rent prices nationally are down 1.4 percent compared to one year ago. The Austin, TX metro continues to have the softest conditions among the nation's large rental , with the median rent there down by 6.3 percent over the past year. At the other end of the spectrum, the Virginia Beach, VA metro now sits atop Apartment List's rankings of fastest year-over-year rent growth at +5 percent. The White House published an article quoting news reports reflecting rental prices fall across the nation. Denver rent is at its most affordable rate in at least 9 years, a new year-end Zillow report shows. News outlets reported based on new data that Pittsburgh apartment rental prices dropped in 2025, rental prices dropped in Phoenix, San Diego rents dipped for first time since 2010, rent is getting cheaper in some Massachusetts communities, single family rents declined in Dayton, and L.A. rent prices dropped to four-year low. CNBC reported that the sharpest declines in house rent occurred in fast-growing Sun Belt and interior Western metros with a surge in new housing supply in recent years. Among the largest U.S. metro areas, rents are falling the most in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas; Denver-Aurora-Centennial, Colorado; Birmingham, Alabama; Jacksonville, Florida; Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, Arizona; San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, California; Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, Nevada; Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, Texas; Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Florida; and San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas. "2026 is shaping up to be one of the more renter-friendly periods we've seen in a decade," CNBC quoted real estate expert Michelle Griffith as saying. "The progress reflects the early impacts of President Trump's comprehensive approach to housing increasing supply, reducing bureaucratic barriers, and empowering builders to meet demand," the White House said. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Canadian stocks look headed for a positive start Tuesday morning as shares from energy and materials sectors are likely to see some brisk buying thanks to rising commodity prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are up $0.36 or 0.55% at $62.50 a barrel. Gold futures are up $299.70 or 6.44% at $4,952.30 an ounce, while Silver futures are gaining $10.656 or 13.8% at $87.655 an ounce. Copper futures are up more than 4% at $6.0655 per pound. Colliers International Group Inc. (CIGI) announced today hat it has agreed to acquire Ayesa Engineering S.A.U., the engineering unit of Spanish company, Ayesa Inversiones S.L.U. for around $700 million in cash. The acquisition will result in Colliers Engineering operating in 23 countries with nearly 14,000 professionals, delivering services across Property & Buildings, Infrastructure & Transportation, Water, and Environmental end , the company said in a statement. Canadian stocks moved higher on Monday as stronger-than-expected Purchasing Managers' Index data that showed expansion in the manufacturing sector helped lift investor sentiment. The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index stayed firm throughout the session before settling at 32,183.88, up by 260.36 points or 0.82%. The S&P Global's Canada Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 50.4 for January 2026 from 48.6 in the previous month, marking the end of an eleven-month downturn. Asian stocks closed higher on Tuesday as precious metals clawed back some ground after a historic sell-off and U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he agreed to a trade deal with India, helping ease trade tensions. Gold and silver futures recovered today after a steep sell-off triggered by the nomination of Kevin Warsh as chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve. European stocks are turning in a mixed performance. The major markets in the region opened on a positive note, but pared gains subsequently, with investors looking for directional clues ahead of the European Central Bank's monetary policy meeting this Thursday. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Liu Huiling (L) poses for a photo with Salma Kombo Omar (2nd R) and nurses, in Zanzibar, Tanzania, on Jan. 14, 2026. (The 35th Chinese medical team in Zanzibar/Handout via Xinhua) by Xinhua writers Hua Hongli, Lin Guangyao, Lucas Liganga ZANZIBAR, Tanzania, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- In the white wards of Abdulla Mzee Hospital in Tanzania's Zanzibar Pemba Island, a quiet yet powerful story of life, gratitude, and cross-border friendship has taken root. A newborn baby Tanzanian girl, gently cradled in her mother's arms, bears the Chinese name "Liu" that tells the backstory. She was named after Liu Huiling, a Chinese doctor whose decisive actions and unwavering dedication saved the life of the baby's mother, Salma Kombo Omar, after she suffered septic shock following a cesarean section. The case was handled by members of the 35th Chinese medical team in Zanzibar, whose intervention turned a near-fatal emergency into a story of hope. According to Omar, the ordeal began a month earlier, when she was rushed to Abdulla Mzee Hospital 20 days after giving birth. A severe intra-abdominal infection kicked in, rapidly escalating into septic shock. Upon arrival at the hospital, her blood pressure had fallen to a critically low level, vital signs unstable, and she was semi-conscious. Doctors discovered a large accumulation of purulent fluid in her abdomen, placing her at imminent risk of multi-organ failure. "There was no room for hesitation. Every second was a race against death," recalled Liu Huiling, who is from Lianyungang Second People's Hospital in eastern China. Liu immediately coordinated with Zhu Shuangjiu, another member from the medical team, to assemble an emergency rescue team. The doctors relied on experience and close cooperation to rush the patient into surgery. Inside the operating theater, the severity of the infection became clear: the pus was extensive and far beyond initial expectations. Under strict sterile conditions, Liu conducted careful exploration while Zhu provided steady guidance. The team worked methodically for hours, removing necrotic tissue and draining the infection. The patient's vital signs started to stabilize, and the immediate threat to her life was brought under control. Recovery, however, proved to be another battle. The infection caused extensive hardening and necrosis around the abdominal incision, leaving the wound unable to heal properly. Omar repeatedly asked, in broken English, "Will I get better?" Her eyes reflected both fear and fragile hope. "As long as we don't give up, there is hope," Liu reassured her gently, encouraging improved nutrition and gradual movement to strengthen recovery. Daily wound care became part of Liu's routine. When specialized medical supplies ran low, she improvised with available resources. Conventional treatments showed limited results, prompting Liu to recall her experience in China using ichthammol ointment to soften hardened infected tissue. After confirming the ointment was available in the hospital pharmacy, she introduced it cautiously, instructing the patient to apply it several times a day. The results were encouraging. Within a week, the wound began to soften, and necrotic tissue gradually sloughed off. Two weeks later, healthy granulation tissue appeared. With visible improvement, Liu planned a wound-closure surgery. Limited resources and emergency cases delayed the procedure repeatedly, stretching the wait to three weeks. When surgery finally took place, it proved far more complex than expected. Long-term infection had rendered the tissue extremely fragile, tearing easily under minimal tension. What was expected to take 20 minutes lasted two hours, as Liu sutured carefully, bit by bit, her surgical gown soaked with sweat. Recovery exceeded expectations, and the patient was soon cleared for discharge. When Liu told her she could go home within a week, Omar grasped her hand tightly and said through tears, "To remember you forever, I will name my daughter 'Liu.' That way, I will never forget you." "In such a distant land, a mother gives my surname to her child. This trust and gratitude are overwhelming," Liu said, calling it the most precious gift she had received during her overseas medical mission. Omar has since fully recovered. She later returned to the hospital with her baby to visit the Chinese doctor who helped save her life. Her husband, Mohammed Omar Talib, said the family remains deeply grateful. "Since the operation, my wife has been doing well, although she is recovering slowly," Talib told Xinhua. "The child is also doing well, and she is breastfeeding well." Talib, a businessman from Ukupini village in Mkoani district on Pemba Island, praised the Chinese medical team for their professionalism and compassion. "The Chinese medical team demonstrated exceptional dedication, expertise, and tireless effort in saving my wife's life," he said. "Though I have no material way to repay them, I offer my heartfelt prayers for their long lives and for the enduring friendship between China and Tanzania." As the sun sets over Pemba Island, baby Liu sleeps peacefully in her mother's arms, her name a lasting symbol of trust, gratitude, and the enduring friendship forged through medical cooperation between China and Africa. Liu Huiling (L) poses for a photo with Salma Kombo Omar, who is holding her baby, in Zanzibar, Tanzania, on Jan. 14, 2026. (The 35th Chinese medical team in Zanzibar/Handout via Xinhua) RELX PLC (RELX) shares fell sharply 15.24%, trading at $30.11, down $5.41, as investors reacted to heightened concerns about artificial intelligence competition in the legal and data analytics space. The drop followed broad market declines in media and information services stocks after AI firm Anthropic unveiled a new legal automation tool that sparked fears about AI encroaching on traditional data-driven models. Investors saw the AI launch as a direct threat to RELX's core legal research revenues, triggering a broader sell-off across legal analytics and professional services stocks as fears grew that advanced AI could erode long-term earnings power. On the day of the announcement, RELX opened lower and traded down throughout the session, with the stock falling well below its prior close as market sentiment shifted against legacy information providers. Trading volume was elevated, reflecting strong market reaction to the AI competition narrative. RELX's 52-week range highlights volatility tied to sectorwide responses to emerging AI technologies and competitive pressures. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News In a strategic move, entrepreneur Elon Musk has merged his artificial intelligence startup xAI into SpaceX, two of his most ambitious ventures. This combination has created what is now believed to be the world's most valuable private company. SpaceX, the space company, has officially confirmed the acquisition on its website, sharing a memo from Musk that outlines his vision for the merged entity. While the financial terms were not officially disclosed, a source familiar with the deal stated that xAI was valued at $125 billion, and SpaceX was valued at $1 trillion. This valuation makes the combined company the most valuable private firm ever. Musk explained that the merger would form an "innovation engine" by uniting AI, rockets, satellite internet, and media under one roof. xAI, known for its Grok chatbot, originated as part of X after Musk acquired the platform in 2022. It was then spun out as an independent company in 2025, attracting strong investor interest. However, Grok has also faced scrutiny, with European and UK regulators investigating concerns over its image-generation features. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Along with a powertrain upgrade, the 2027 Honda HR-V could also have larger dimensions, enabling roomier interiors A subcompact crossover SUV, the Honda HR-V is sold across multiple global markets including North America, Africa and Asia. The current model is the 3rd-gen version, which was launched in 2021. Honda is working on the new-gen model, which was recently spied in Japan. Lets check out the details. 2027 Honda HR-V What to expect? Since the spy shot captures just the rear end of the test mule, only limited information can be extracted. The tail lights appear to be new and vertically stacked, although the heavy camouflage makes things difficult to confirm. The current HR-V has sleek taillamps in a connected format. The boot lid appears to be flatter and the space for the number plate is rectangular. While the bumper design appears to have been retained in most parts, the reflectors are now placed diagonally. The raked windshield and the roof mounted spoiler do not appear to have undergone any major changes. However, one can see that the test mule does not have a rear wiper. It is also possible that the new-gen HR-V could be using a hidden rear wiper for improved aesthetics. 2027 Honda HR-V could be bigger in size, although this is not evident in the spy shot. Considering the overall quantum of changes at the rear, one can expect significant changes at the front as well. The new HR-V could get updates across the lighting elements, front grille and bumper. Side profile could be refreshed with a new design for the alloy wheels. New hybrid powertrain 2027 Honda HR-V is expected to get the second-generation full-hybrid engine from the e:HEV line. It will comprise a 1.5-litre, four-cylinder, naturally aspirated unit. New Honda HR-V is expected to get advanced features such as the S+ Shift system. This was recently introduced with the new Prelude. This setup is planned to be offered as standard across all upcoming Honda HEV models. With the S+ Shift system, users can get the necessary feedback, as needed to establish a sense of oneness with the vehicle. The system enables upshifts and downshifts in line with the driving conditions and environments. The driver can use the gears and paddle shifters like a normal car with a standard transmission system. 2027 Honda HR-V could also get a special sound system, which will ensure a livelier feel with the silent electric motor. Honda HR-V India launch? As of now, there dont seem to be any plans to introduce the HR-V in India. However, Honda has announced a major product offensive for the Indian market. A total of 10 new products will be introduced here, seven of which will be SUVs. These will cover both mass-market and premium segments. The ones that have been confirmed include the production version of the Honda 0 Alpha electric SUV. Going forward, India will be an important market for Honda, in addition to Japan and the USA. Source People communicate in front of the booth of Huawei during the Intersolar Africa 2026 in Nairobi, Kenya, Feb. 3, 2026. (Xinhua/Liu Qiong) NAIROBI, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Intersolar Africa 2026 opened Tuesday in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, attracting more than 100 regional and global exhibitors to showcase technologies powering the continent's green transition. Senior government officials, industry executives, and innovators attended the opening ceremony of East Africa's leading exhibition and conference on solar power and energy storage, which runs until Wednesday. Alex Wachira, principal secretary in Kenya's Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, said that solar technologies have accelerated the green transition in Africa, while boosting climate resilience and inclusive growth. "Solar power is playing a significant role in the continent's green energy landscape, providing grid stability, reliability, and affordability," Wachira said in a speech read on his behalf by Wesley Kipyego, assistant director for Renewable Energy in the State Department for Energy. Currently, grid-connected solar represents about 6.5 percent of installed capacity in Kenya, equivalent to over 200 megawatts, or about 440 gigawatt-hours annually, said Wachira. The solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity in Africa grew from 2,935 megawatts in 2024 to 4,498 megawatts in 2025, according to the Africa Market Outlook for Solar PV 2026-2029, which was launched at the Intersolar Africa expo. Alyssa Pek, strategy director for the Global Solar Council, a clean energy industry lobby, said that Africa has emerged as one of the most strategic markets for solar products, driven by the need to achieve net-zero targets and the Sustainable Development Goals. Pek noted that 2025 marked the fastest growth year on record for Africa's solar market, with 4.5 gigawatts of solar PV capacity installed, representing a 54 percent year-on-year increase. "We believe that Africa's solar market is growing beyond our expectations," Pek said, adding that fiscal and regulatory incentives, investments in technical skills, and supportive infrastructure are key to boosting solar uptake on the continent. Gerd Muller, director-general of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, said in a video message that Africa's vast solar resources should be harnessed to fuel growth, unlock industrialization, and create jobs. A visitor learns about products at the booth of LONGi Solar Co., Ltd. during the Intersolar Africa 2026 in Nairobi, Kenya, Feb. 3, 2026. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei) Chinese exhibitors present their products to guests at the booth during the Intersolar Africa 2026 in Nairobi, Kenya, Feb. 3, 2026. (Xinhua/Liu Qiong) Staff members of CATL interact with visiting guests in front of the booth during the Intersolar Africa 2026 in Nairobi, Kenya, Feb. 3, 2026. (Xinhua/Liu Qiong) People visit the booth of Huawei during the Intersolar Africa 2026 in Nairobi, Kenya, Feb. 3, 2026. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei) A visitor learns about products at the booth of Sicon Chat Union Electric Co., Ltd. during the Intersolar Africa 2026 in Nairobi, Kenya, Feb. 3, 2026. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei) A visitor learns about products at the booth of Ningbo Deye Technology Co., Ltd. during the Intersolar Africa 2026 in Nairobi, Kenya, Feb. 3, 2026. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei) KHARTOUM, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Sudanese army on Tuesday announced that its units have entered Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan State in southern Sudan, after more than two years of siege under the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and its allied forces. "The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have broken the siege on Kadugli and entered the city," the SAF Special Work Forces said in a brief statement. Meanwhile, a military commander confirmed to Xinhua that the SAF forces entered Kadugli and have begun securing key facilities, driving RSF forces "out of their positions in and around the city." He said the next phase would focus on stabilizing security, protecting civilians, and reopening roads to allow humanitarian aid into the area. Sudanese army soldiers posted video footage filmed outside the headquarters of the 14th Infantry Division in Kadugli, showing army units entering the city amid chants from troops, the deployment of military vehicles, and the raising of the Sudanese flag. Since mid-April 2023, Sudan has been gripped by a conflict between the SAF and the RSF, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of millions inside and outside the country. Timeline: Richardson, Epstein meetings Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson arranged to meet with the late sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein at least nine times between 2010 and 2018, according to files released Friday by the U.S. Department of Justice. Many of the meetings were scheduled to be held in Epsteins New York brownstone. Epstein in an email called Richardson a close friend, though a spokesperson for Richardson years ago said they barely knew each other. Nov. 27, 2010: Then-New Mexico Gov. Richardson appears to visit Jeffrey Epsteins private island in the Virgin Islands. In a message to Epstein, an assistant whose name is redacted writes that she spoke to Richardson by phone, and he said hed be coming to the island alone for lunch within two days, as his wife is here with a group of girl friends. She added Richardson had spoken to Gov. Crist, presumably referring to Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, but he doesnt have an answer yet. There is no elaboration on what Richardson had spoken to Crist about. Nov. 29, 2010: Epstein wrote in an email: Gov Richardson is here. He used to be sec of energy. Dec. 11, 2010: Richardson plans to visit Epsteins ranch in Santa Fe County around 5 p.m. Jan. 7, 2011: Richardson flies on Epsteins helicopter, alongside his chief of staff, Epstein and three others, at least one of whom has been reported as an alleged victim of Epstein. Sept. 23, 2011: Epstein has an appointment to meet with Richardson around 10:30 a.m. May 10, 2012: Richardson plans to go to lunch at Epsteins New York house at 1 p.m. March 19, 2013: Richardson plans to go to Epsteins New York house for lunch at 1:30 p.m., along with journalist Michael Wolff, who wrote about the lunch. When Epstein left the room for a few minutes, I asked the obvious question, the one everybody asks each other, How did you meet Jeffrey? Wolff wrote. Richardson seemed surprised: Jeffrey, he said, as though stating what should have been perfectly obvious, is the biggest landowner in New Mexico. Sept. 24, 2013: Richardson plans to stop by the New York House to chat with Epstein at 3 p.m. Sept. 19, 2016: Richardson plans to go to Epsteins New York house for dinner at 7 p.m. Epstein invited director Woody Allen and his wife, Soon-Yi Previn, referring to Richardson as a former ambassador to the United Nations, who is very nice and fun stories, but the celebrity couple were unable to join. March 28, 2018: Richardson plans to go to Epsteins New York home for lunch at noon. July 7, 2019: Epstein is charged in Manhattan with federal charges of sex trafficking minors and conspiracy to traffic minors. Aug. 10, 2019: Epstein is found dead in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City. Authorities say he took his own life. His longtime partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, will later be convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Teri Monroe started her career in communications working for local government and nonprofits. Today, she is a freelance finance and lifestyle writer and small business owner. In her spare time, she loves golfing with her husband, taking her dog Milo on long walks, and playing pickleball with friends. This photo taken on Feb. 2, 2026 shows a launch ceremony held by Haier in Johannesburg, South Africa. China's home appliance giant Haier on Monday held a launch ceremony in Johannesburg, South Africa's economic hub, marking its official entry into the South African market. (Xinhua/Chen Wei) JOHANNESBURG, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- China's home appliance giant Haier on Monday held a launch ceremony in Johannesburg, South Africa's economic hub, marking its official entry into the South African market. Li Huagang, senior vice president of Haier Group, described South Africa as a strategically important market with significant opportunities. He said the company places high importance on the market and views it as a key hub for future expansion across the wider southern African region. Highlighting its focus on environmentally friendly innovation, Haier showcased a range of smart home appliances at the event, including washing machines, refrigerators, and air conditioners. Li said Haier has tailored its product lineup to local market conditions, introducing solutions designed to meet customer needs, such as solar-powered air conditioners aimed at easing the burden of high electricity costs. Vuyiswa Ramokgopa, a member of the Gauteng Executive Council for Agriculture and Rural Development, welcomed the company's investment, noting its potential contribution to local economic development. "Haier's launch in South Africa is far more than just a ceremonial launch but a strategic milestone that speaks to global companies' confidence in the long-term trajectory of our economy at the time of global change and uncertainty," she added. Haier plans to open an industrial park within the next three years to support Africa's industrialization drive and create jobs, according to Li. The launch event was attended by 200 guests, including government and industry representatives, business partners, and media representatives. As a global leader in home appliances, Haier now operates in over 200 countries and regions worldwide. Vuyiswa Ramokgopa, a member of the Gauteng Executive Council for Agriculture and Rural Development, is pictured at the Haier's launch ceremony in Johannesburg, South Africa, Feb. 2, 2026. China's home appliance giant Haier on Monday held a launch ceremony in Johannesburg, South Africa's economic hub, marking its official entry into the South African market. (Xinhua/Chen Wei) A man asks about products at Haier's launching event in Johannesburg, South Africa, Feb. 2, 2026. China's home appliance giant Haier on Monday held a launch ceremony in Johannesburg, South Africa's economic hub, marking its official entry into the South African market. (Xinhua/Chen Wei) People try products at Haier's launching event in Johannesburg, South Africa, Feb. 2, 2026. China's home appliance giant Haier on Monday held a launch ceremony in Johannesburg, South Africa's economic hub, marking its official entry into the South African market. (Xinhua/Chen Wei) A woman tries products at Haier's launching event in Johannesburg, South Africa, Feb. 2, 2026. China's home appliance giant Haier on Monday held a launch ceremony in Johannesburg, South Africa's economic hub, marking its official entry into the South African market. (Xinhua/Chen Wei) Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have captured a new photo of the lenticular galaxy NGC 7722. NGC 7722 lies approximately 187 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Pegasus. Also known as IRAS 23361+1540, LEDA 71993 and UGC 12718, this lenticular galaxy was first discovered by the German astronomer Heinrich Louis dArrest on August 12, 1864. NGC 7722 is part of the NGC 7711 group, a gathering of seven large galaxies. A lenticular (lens-shaped) galaxy is a type that sits in between the more familiar spiral galaxies and elliptical galaxies, the Hubble astronomers said in a statement. It is also less common than these partly because when a galaxy has an ambiguous appearance, it can be hard to determine if it is actually a spiral, an elliptical galaxy, or something in between. Many of the known lenticular galaxies sport features of both spiral and elliptical galaxies. In this case, NGC 7722 lacks the defined arms of a spiral galaxy, while it has an extended, glowing halo and a bright bulge in the center similar to an elliptical galaxy, they explained. Unlike elliptical galaxies, it has a visible disk concentric rings swirl around its bright nucleus. Its most prominent feature, however, is undoubtedly the long lanes of dark red dust coiling around the outer disk and halo. The new image of NGC 7722 from Hubbles Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) instrument brings the galaxys impressive dust lanes into sharp focus. Bands of dust like this are not uncommon in lenticular galaxies, and they stand out against the broad, smooth halo of light that typically surrounds lenticular galaxies, the astronomers said. The distinctive dust lanes of NGC 7722 are thought to result from a merger with another galaxy in the past, similar to other lenticular galaxies. It is not yet fully understood how lenticular galaxies form, but mergers and other gravitational interactions are thought to play an important part, reshaping galaxies and exhausting their supplies of gas while bringing new dust. Akbar Novruz Norways parliament is set to consider a proposal on February 3 that would abolish the monarchy and transition the country to a republican system of government, as debates unfold against the backdrop of an escalating crisis surrounding the royal family. Azernews reports via Reuters that the discussion coincides with the start of a high-profile trial in Oslo involving Marius Borg Hiby, the son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit. He is accused of 38 criminal offenses, including rape. The situation has further intensified public and political scrutiny of the monarchy, alongside renewed media attention surrounding reports about the Crown Princes alleged past links to Jeffrey Epstein. Supporters of the republican initiative argue that their stance is rooted in principle rather than current scandals. Une Ayna Bastholm, a representative of the Green Party, said a republic with an elected president would be better suited to modern society, stressing that political power should not be inherited and that an elected head of state would be accountable and able to resign. Some politicians from the Labour Party have also voiced support for abolishing the monarchy, arguing that national unity does not depend solely on royal figures and that other respected leaders could fulfill a unifying role. However, the majority of political parties, including conservative and right-wing factions, remain firmly opposed to the proposal. A transition to a republican system would require a constitutional amendment, necessitating a two-thirds majority in parliament across two separate terms. Analysts note that the proposal has little chance of passing, but say the debate itself highlights growing questions about the resilience and future role of the monarchy amid ongoing controversies. SEOUL, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- At least three workers were injured after a fire broke out Tuesday afternoon at an SPC Samlip food-processing factory in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, Yonhap News Agency reported. The blaze erupted around 2:29 p.m. on a bread production line while 12 workers were on duty. Fire authorities issued a Level 1 emergency response at 3:06 p.m., dispatching about 30 vehicles and 70 firefighters to the scene. The involved facility primarily processes food products, including baked goods and frozen foods, according to the company's official website. Police and fire authorities are conducting searches for possible victims while working to bring the flames under control. An investigation into the exact cause of the fire will begin once the situation is stabilized. SHANGHAI, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- China's domestically developed C919 and C909 aircraft are featuring at the 2026 Singapore Airshow, with the C919 set to perform a flight demonstration, the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. (COMAC) said. The C919 passenger jet seats 158 to 192 passengers and has a range of 4,075 to 5,555 kilometers. In 2024, C919 debuted in a flight demonstration at the Singapore Airshow. This year's event will also mark COMAC's first display in Southeast Asia of a C909 medical aircraft equipped with ophthalmic diagnostic and surgical facilities. The C909 seats between 78 and 97 passengers and has a range of 2,225 to 3,700 kilometers. It is designed for operations at airports with short and narrow runways and performs well in high-temperature, high-altitude and crosswind conditions. Southeast Asia has become a key market for COMAC. In recent years, C909 aircraft have entered service in Indonesia, Laos and Vietnam. During the 2026 Singapore Airshow, COMAC signed an agreement with Shanxi Victory General Aviation to supply six C909 firefighting aircraft, including three firm orders and three letters of intent. More than 200 C919 and C909 aircraft have been delivered to date, according to COMAC. The Singapore Airshow runs from Feb. 3 to 8. VIENTIANE, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- A specialized training workshop for female candidates was held from Monday to Tuesday to prepare participants for the upcoming elections of members of the Lao National Assembly's 10th legislature and the fifth Provincial People's Councils. The meeting, held in Vientiane province, was presided over by Thoummaly Vongphachanh, a member of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee, Lao News Agency reported on Tuesday. Speaking during the meeting, Thoummaly highlighted the workshop as a significant milestone in the political development of female leaders. The training focuses on enhancing participants' understanding of the roles, rights, and responsibilities of the National Assembly and Provincial People's Councils. Candidates are also briefed on official regulations issued by the National Election Committee regarding campaigning and engagement with voters. This initiative aims to ensure that female representation in the National Assembly and Provincial People's Councils reaches at least 30 percent. Filtronic reported an encouraging first-half performance for the six months ended 30 November on Tuesday, with results in line with board expectations and strong momentum in new business, underpinned by a record order book heading into the second half of the financial year. The AIM-traded designer and manufacturer of RF and microwave products posted revenue of 25.3m, broadly flat on the 25.6m generated in the prior period, which had benefited from peak deliveries on major space programmes. Adjusted EBITDA fell to 5.1m from 8.7m, while operating profit declined to 2.6m from 6.8m, reflecting a more balanced delivery profile and deliberate investment in people, facilities and product development to support future growth. Profit for the period was 2.6m, compared with 6.7m a year earlier, with basic earnings per share of 1.2p. Cash generation remained robust, with 3.4m generated from operating activities, up from 2.1m a year earlier. Net cash including right-of-use leases increased to 6.8m at the period end, from 4.3m at 30 November 2024, while net cash excluding leases rose to 8.2m from 5.1m. The group reported significant contract momentum and further diversification of its revenue base during the period. That included its largest-ever contract with SpaceX, valued at $62.5m, alongside new multi-year agreements such as a 7m contract with a European space customer and a 13.4m deal with a leading European defence prime. Filtronic said execution of its five-year growth strategy continued, with deployment of GaN E-band products opening up new opportunities in space ground systems and high-capacity data links. Development was also underway on additional frequency bands, including a 550W Ka-band solid-state power amplifier, supported by a 1.2m UK Space Agency award received after the period ended. Next-generation GaN amplifier systems, including expansion into V-band, remained on track for launch in calendar 2026 and are expected to drive growth over the medium term. Operationally, the company completed the self-funded relocation to a larger headquarters and manufacturing facility during the half year, increasing production capacity, while continuing to invest in its technology roadmap and programme management capabilities. Looking ahead, Filtronic said it entered the second half of the 2026 financial year with a record order book and increasing customer diversification, with around 90% of full-year revenues covered by contracted orders. The board said it remained confident of meeting current market expectations for full-year revenue and EBITDA. The first half of the year demonstrated the strength of Filtronics positioning in markets where performance, reliability and security are mission critical, said chief executive Nat Edington. Demand across our space, aerospace and defence markets remains robust, and our focus on high-frequency RF technologies continues to differentiate us with customers operating in the most demanding environments. With a record order book, increasing customer diversification and the business now operating at greater scale, we have entered the second half confident of continuing our planned growth, he added. At 1040 GMT, shares in Filtronic were down 0.16% at 182.7p. Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com. LBG Media reported full-year results in line with market expectations on Tuesday, delivering double-digit revenue growth and continued profit expansion as the group accelerated investment to support more predictable revenues. The AIM-traded digital publisher posted revenue of 92.2m for the year ended 30 September, up from 86.2m a year earlier, representing 10% growth at constant currency. Adjusted EBITDA rose 3% to 25.2m, with the margin easing to 27.4% from 28.4%, while profit before tax edged down 3% to 14m. Cash and cash equivalents increased to 30.8m from 27.2m, with cash conversion of 93%, as the group ended the year debt free. Direct revenues, which include branded content for advertisers and agencies, rose 13% to 49.7m, driven by strong growth in the United States and the UK. Direct US revenue increased 29% to 18.6m, while direct UK rose 11% to 30m. Indirect revenues, generated through revenue-sharing arrangements with social platforms and owned websites, were broadly stable at 41.5m, with 12% growth in social offset by a 13% decline in web revenues. Total group revenue growth was 7% on a reported basis. The group said repeat client revenue in the direct UK market increased to 82% from 78% a year earlier, while its global audience expanded to 509m. LBG Media continued to invest in generative AI and emerging technology to drive productivity gains and client engagement, alongside strengthening its leadership team in both the UK and the US. Looking ahead, the company said it was accelerating investment in higher-growth direct revenue streams, particularly in the UK and US, which it expected to account for an increasing proportion of group revenue. It said it anticipated direct revenues could exceed 50% of group revenues and potentially reach 70% over time, with direct growth in the low-to-mid teens and Indirect revenues growing at a low single-digit rate. The board said it expected overall EBITDA margins to remain broadly in line with consensus as the revenue mix evolved. For the 2026 financial year, the group said it was seeing strong client engagement and a healthy pipeline in its direct markets, supported by its appeal to young adults and relationships with global brands. It said its net cash position was expected to support selective acquisitions where there is a compelling strategic fit. 2025 was an important step forward for us as we build a scalable, compounding model that drives predictable revenue growth, said chief executive Solly Solomou. This is centred around our market leadership with young adults, AI and data advantage, repeatable IP and our US platform. We are accelerating our investment to make the most of our healthy pipeline and the opportunity from major brands who are looking to our scale, content and appeal to reach young adults. Our strong cash generation supports this investment and also selective add-on acquisitions where we see a compelling strategic fit. Our positive momentum in our Direct revenue streams, progress in the US, strong pipeline and audience engagement support the boards confidence of further progress in 2026. At 1208 GMT, shares in LBG Media were down 4.76% at 86.67p. Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com. Wednesday sees the release of full-year and fourth-quarter results from drugs giant GSK , while DCC , SSE and Watches of Switzerland will publish third-quarter trading statements. As far as DCC is concerned, UBS said the company is becoming a pure-play energy business so the performance of this division will be a key focus for investors. "And as ever with DCC, the market will be looking for any M&A announcements or updates on their plans to sell the remaining technology business," the bank said. "DCC typically does not provide quantitative guidance for the next financial year, but management are currently guiding for 'good' operating profit growth for FY'26e overall." In Europe, results are due from Novo Nordisk, Banco Santander, UBS and Carlsberg, among others. Derren Nathan, head of equity analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown, said investor sentiment towards Novo Nordisk bottomed out following another downgrade to revenue and profit guidance at its third-quarter update in November. "Ignoring exchange rate moves, 2025 full-year revenue is now expected to rise 8-11%, with operating profit growth faring worse at 4-7%," he said. "But its been a promising start to 2026, with take-up of the companys recently launched Wegovy pill for weight management helping to claw back some US market share from arch-rival, Eli Lilly. "Attention now turns to this years outlook, with pricing and insurance coverage likely to be key points of focus. Its a complex picture, but, on balance, we think there could be some upside to consensus forecasts of a small fall in 2026 sales. Of course there can be no guarantee, but recent strength in the valuation suggests were unlikely to be alone in this view." Across the pond, Alphabet, Uber Technologies, Qualcomm and Boston Scientific are slated to report, along with CostCo. Wednesday February 04 QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE British American Tobacco INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS Crude Oil Inventories (US) (15:30) Factory Orders (US) (15:00) ISM Prices Paid (US) (15:00) ISM Services (US) (15:00) MBA Mortgage Applications (US) (12:00) PMI Composite (EU) (09:00) PMI Composite (GER) (08:55) PMI Composite (US) (14:45) PMI Services (EU) (09:00) PMI Services (GER) (08:55) PMI Services (US) (14:45) Producer Price Index (EU) (10:00) Q4 GSK FINALS GSK EGMS IG Design Group AGMS AJ Bell, Premier Miton Group, Watkin Jones TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS DCC (CDI), Entain, Gem Diamonds Ltd. (DI), Watches of Switzerland Group UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS PMI Composite (09:30) PMI Services (09:30) FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE AJ Bell Relx , Pearson and Informa were all under the cosh on Tuesday amid concerns about the impact of AI, after US-based Anthropic released an AI-powered productivity tool for companies in-house legal teams. Shares of credit-checking firm Experian, Dutch firm Wolters Kluwer - which provides professional information, software solutions and services for accountants, lawyers and other professionals - London Stock Exchange Group and Thomson Reuters were also sharply lower after Anthropic launched the tool on its GitHub page. On its website, Anthropic described the tool as an AI-powered productivity plugin for in-house legal teams, primarily designed for its agentic desktop application Cowork, although it also works in Claude Code. The tool is part of 11 plugins designed to automate specific tasks within a company. According to the GitHub page, the legal productivity plugin can "review contracts, triage NDAs, navigate compliance, assess risk, prep for meetings, and draft templated responses". All of this is configurable to an organisation's "specific playbook and risk tolerances," it said. At 1230 GMT, shares of information and analytics company Relx were down 11%, education publisher Pearson was off 4%, and Informa - which provides events, digital products and academic research services - was 3.8% lower. LSEG was off 7.3%, while Wolters Kluwer had tumbled 8.8% in Amsterdam and Thomson Reuters was 8.3% lower in pre-market trade. As far as LSEG is concerned, Max Harper, analyst at Third Bridge, said the move by Anthropic has raised market concerns that proprietary software, such as Workspace, could be rendered redundant, potentially leading to a loss of pricing power. "Our experts say AI is an enabler, not a threat," he said. "Proprietary data is difficult to replicate via AI alone. Implementations of MCP (Model Context Protocol) act as a core defense in protecting data and can also serve as a growth enabler. "Pricing power may shift to data rather than platforms. LSEG is positioning itself as a data provider, allowing third-party AI tools (e.g., Anthropic) to act as the 'answer engine'. Our experts note that many of these data sources arent public, enabling monetisation regardless of the interface." Glencore said on Tuesday that it has agreed to sell a 40% stake in its Democratic Republic of Congo assets to investment consortium Orion CMC for $9bn. The two parties have entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding in relation to Mutanda Mining (Mumi) and Kamoto Copper Company (KCC). KCC's operations produce copper and cobalt hydroxide from its two open pit mines and one underground mine, while Mumi's operations produce copper and cobalt from its three open pit mines, providing raw ore feed for Glencores copper and cobalt production facilities. As part of the agreement, Orion CMC will have the right to appoint non-executive directors in respect of the assets and direct the sale of the relevant share of production from the assets to nominated buyers, in accordance with the US-DRC Strategic Partnership Agreement. Mumi and KCC would continue to be managed as part of the Glencore Group. Orion CMC is led by Orion Resource Partners LP, and includes the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). Glencore chief executive Gary Nagle said: "We are pleased that the US government and Orion CMC have recognised Glencore's role as the only major Western producer of copper and cobalt in the DRC, through our high-quality assets, Mumi and KCC. "Through this partnership, we would be able to support the ambitions of the US government and private sector with the supply of two critical minerals." Nagle said the transaction also represents "a significant vote of confidence" in the DRC government's ongoing efforts to attract major foreign investment to the country and further develop its mining industry. "As the world's largest producer of cobalt and one of the largest copper producers, the DRC plays a vital role in supporting the technology, defence and critical infrastructure roll-out of today and the future," he said. PARIS, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Paris prosecutor's office said on Tuesday that the French offices of social media X were being searched as part of an investigation. The prosecutor's cybercrime unit is conducting the searches with the support of Europol and the cyber unit of the National Gendarmerie, it said in a post on X, adding that the action is related to an investigation opened in January 2025. Andhra Pradesh CM N. Chandrababu Naidu launched Pilloo AI, a voice-based billing and accounting platform for SMEs, aimed at simplifying financial management. The platform allows business owners to generate invoices and manage accounts through voice commands in their native language, eliminating the need for complex software. Pilloo AI, designed to boost digital inclusion, will soon expand globally and help small businesses grow with ease, promoting transparency and business efficiency. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu launched Pilloo AI, a voice-based billing and accounting platform aimed at empowering small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and local entrepreneurs across Andhra Pradesh. The launch event, held at the Secretariat, represented a significant step in the states ongoing efforts to incorporate artificial intelligence into business operations at the grassroots level while promoting digital governance. The event was attended by several key figures, including Chief Secretary Vijayanand, MLA Prathipati Pulla Rao, Muthavarapu Suresh, and Ram Mohan Locharla, along with co-founder of Pilloo AI, Sai Praneeth G, and the platform's investors. Pilloo AI has been designed to simplify the financial management process for micro, small, and medium businesses, especially those that rely on traditional methods like handwritten records or expensive accounting software. With its voice-based interface, the platform allows business owners to generate invoices, record transactions, access financial reports, and manage accounts all through simple voice commands in their native language. This eliminates the need for in-depth accounting knowledge, complex software, or manual paperwork. The apps intuitive and user-friendly interface targets SMEs that have struggled with the complexities of finance management, enabling them to streamline their operations with minimal effort. Also Read: Centre Launches Initiative To Develop 100 Districts As Textile Export Champions During the launch, Chief Minister Naidu personally generated the first invoice on the platform using only voice commands, showcasing the systems ability to instantly convert spoken instructions into business transactions. This demonstration underscored the platform's potential to transform the way small businesses handle their accounting needs. Technology should simplify life, not complicate it. Pilloo AI shows how digital tools can help small businesses manage finances easily, improve transparency, and strengthen Andhra Pradeshs vision of ease of doing business, Naidu said. Sai Praneeth G, the founder of Pilloo AI, shared his vision for the platform, emphasizing its purpose to remove the fear and confusion that often surrounds accounting for entrepreneurs. "Our aim is to help every entrepreneur run their business with confidence. Through conversational AI, we want small businesses to grow faster and participate in Indias digital economy", said Praneeth. He also noted that while Pilloo AI is currently available in five Indian languages, the platform is designed for future expansion and will soon be available in over 50 languages globally, broadening its reach to entrepreneurs across various regions and cultures. The launch of Pilloo AI is a crucial milestone in the governments efforts to enhance digital inclusion for small businesses, especially in a state like Andhra Pradesh, where a large portion of the economy is driven by SMEs. With its simplicity and accessibility, the platform could have a significant impact on local entrepreneurs, helping them manage their businesses more efficiently and stay competitive in an increasingly digital world. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. A 19-year-old man and his accomplices stole a victims sneakers during a violent robbery and broke into multiple vehicles on Staten Island, authorities allege. Elijah Bryant, of Brewster Street in Stapleton, and his accomplices netted thousands of dollars in cash and other valuables from multiple vehicles between February 2025 and Jan. 9, 2026, according to the criminal complaint. The robbery occurred on the 1400 block of Castleton Avenue in Port Richmond at about 4 p.m. on Dec. 21, police said. The victim was a 19-year-old man, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation. Bryant and an unapprehended individual allegedly pushed the victim and stole Air Jordan Bugs Bunny sneakers. As the victim tried to stop Bryant and his accomplice from leaving, the accomplice placed his hand in his jacket and imitated having a firearm, according to the complaint. Dont follow us, the accomplice allegedly said. Let us go or I will boom you. Bryant has been charged with robbery, petit larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, menacing and harassment in connection with the robbery. The victim did not report any injuries to police. Vehicles burglarized Bryant and his accomplices broke into commercial and private vehicles all over the Island, the complaint alleges. The most recent incident occurred on Jan. 9 at about 2:50 a.m. in the vicinity of Middle Loop Road and Armstrong Avenue in Great Kills. The defendant and two other unapprehended individuals entered the vehicle and stole property valued at over $1,000, the complaint alleges. Some of the heists or attempts were on or around holidays in 2025, police said. In an incident on Dec. 24, Bryant and two unapprehended individuals allegedly made their way into a commercial vehicle on Adlai Circle and Pompey Avenue in Eltingville at about 3:15 a.m. The criminal complaint does not indicate that anything was removed from the vehicle. The complaint alleges that the defendant and two unapprehended individuals broke into three vehicles in Fort Wadsworth and Rosebank in about 15 minutes on Memorial Day, May 26. All of the locations were near Tompkins Avenue. I was breaking into cars and stealing stuff, the criminal complaint alleges that Bryant told police about the May thefts. I remember going to that neighborhood. The blitz began at about 4:55 a.m. on Garfield Avenue where the trio entered a red 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee and then removed $750 and a bottle of cologne, police allege. At 5:10 a.m. on Beethoven Street, the trio made their way into a white 2017 Range Rover, police said. They allegedly took $2,050 and Burberry sunglasses. At about 5:15 a.m., the group struck on James Place, where they swiped $2 and a Social Security card from a black 2022 Kia, police allege. Additional heists The criminal complaint details additional alleged incidents of car hopping. The defendant and two other individuals allegedly removed three credit cards from a victims vehicle on Oct. 26 at about 3 a.m. on Norwalk Avenue and Manor Road in Castleton Corners. Bryant was allegedly part of a trio that stole a wallet containing seven credit cards from a victims vehicle on Winfield Street near Olympia Boulevard in South Beach on Oct. 17. Over $3,000 was removed by Bryant and an accomplice in a heist on Feb. 18 at about 5 a.m. on Narrows Road North near St. Johns Avenue in Arrochar, police allege. The defendant has been charged with grand larceny, attempted burglary, criminal possession of stolen property, petit larceny and unauthorized use of a vehicle. Bryant is being held at Rikers Island in lieu of bail set at $30,000 bond/$15,000 cash. His next date in Criminal Court in St. George is Feb. 26, according to public records. The robbery case is in the process of being transferred to state Supreme Court. An attorney for the defendant did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Beloved British goth rockers The Cure won their first two Grammy Awards on Sunday at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, winning Best Alternative Music Album and Best Alternative Music Performance for their comeback record Songs of a Lost World, Stereogum reported. The album earned the Best Alternative Music Album prize while the single Alone took home Best Alternative Music Performance a milestone for the group, whose debut album Three Imaginary Boys was released in 1979. Band members Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Roger ODonnell, Jason Cooper and Reeves Gabrels were not present at the ceremony as they were attending the funeral of Perry Bamonte, the bands longtime guitarist and keyboardist who died in December. A speech written by Smith was read on stage. Simon, Jason, Roger, Reeves and I would like to thank the Grammys for this wonderful award, we are very honored to receive it, Smith wrote. We would also like to thank everyone who helped in the creation of our Songs Of A Lost World album, particularly co-producer Paul Corkett, everyone in the Universal Music Group who worked so hard to get our Lost World found, everyone in our mostly indefatigable crewand most importantly, all of the Cure fans around the world, who came to our Lost World shows and enjoyed our Lost World music. Without you, none of this would be possible. Thank you! Songs of a Lost World is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fameinducted bands first album in 16 years, following 2008s 4:13 Dream. The Cure had received only two previous Grammy nominations, both in the Best Alternative Music Album category, the report said. For this years album award, they beat Bon Iver, Wet Leg, Hayley Williams and Tyler, The Creator. In the performance category, they topped Wet Leg, Williams, Turnstile and Bon Iver. TUCSON, Ariz. Investigators found signs of forced entry at the Arizona home of Today show host Savannah Guthries mother, a person familiar with the investigation said Tuesday, as the host asked for prayers to help bring back the 84-year-old, who is believed to have been taken against her will. The host described her mother as a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant in a social media post late Monday. She asked supporters to raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment. Bring her home. Nancy Guthrie must be found soon because she could die without her medication, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said, urging whoever has her to free her. If shes alive right now, her meds are vital. I cant stress that enough. Its been better than 24 hours, and the family tells us if she doesnt have those meds, it can become fatal, Nanos said. Investigators also found specific evidence in the home showing there was a nighttime kidnapping, the person told The Associated Press. Several of Guthries personal items, including her cellphone, wallet and her car, were still there after she disappeared. Investigators are reviewing surveillance video from nearby homes and working to analyze data from cellphone towers. Police are also reviewing information from license plate cameras in the area, according to the person, who was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the case and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity. The motive remains a mystery. Investigators do not believe at this point that the abduction was part of a robbery, home invasion or kidnapping-for-ransom plot, the person said. For a second day Tuesday, Today opened with Nancy Guthries disappearance, but Savannah Guthrie was not at the anchors desk. Nanos said Monday that she is in Arizona. The host grew up in Tucson, graduated from the University of Arizona and previously worked as a reporter and anchor at Tucson television station KVOA. Savannah Guthrie attends the third annual World Mental Health Day Gala, hosted by Project Healthy Minds, at Spring Studios on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, file) Evan Agostini/Invision/AP Nancy Guthrie was last seen Saturday night at her home in the Tucson area, where she lived alone and was reported missing Sunday. Someone at her church called a family member to say she was not there, leading family to search her home and then call 911, Nanos said. Nancy Guthrie has limited mobility, and officials do not believe she left on her own. Nanos said she is of sound mind. Nanos said investigators took samples they hope will provide at least part of a DNA profile, KVOA reported. Searchers used drones and search dogs and were supported by volunteers and Border Patrol. The homicide team was also involved, Nanos said Sunday. The FBI has offered to help, sheriffs department spokesperson Angelica Carrillo said. On Monday morning, Nanos said search crews had been pulled back. We dont see this as a search mission so much as it is a crime scene, the sheriff said. Even so, a sheriffs helicopter flew over the desert Monday afternoon near Nancy Guthries home in the affluent Catalina Foothills area on the northern edge of Tucson. Her brick home has a gravel driveway and a yard covered in prickly pear and saguaro cactus. Savannah Guthries parents settled in Tucson in the 1970s when she was a young child. The youngest of three siblings, she credits her mom with holding their family together after her father died of a heart attack at age 49, when Savannah was just 16. When my dad died, our family just hung onto each other for dear life because it was such a shock. We were just trying to figure out how to become a family of four when wed always been a family of five, she said on Today in 2017. Nancy Guthrie raised them on her own. The host often brought her mother on Today as a guest. She has met unthinkable challenges in her life with grit, without self-pity, with determination and always, always with unshakeable faith, Savannah said on the show in 2022 on Nancy Guthries 80th birthday. She loves us, her family, fiercely, and her selflessness and sacrifice for us, her steadfastness and her unmovable confidence is the reason any of us grew up to do anything. Special payments made to more than 1.5 million members of the uniformed services in December 2025 wont be taxed, the Internal Revenue Service recently confirmed. Part of President Donald Trumps Big Beautiful Bill, the Warrior Dividend was made to active-duty members of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Space Force. Payments of $1,776, a figure honoring Americas 250th birthday in 2026, totaled $2.9 billion, and were dubbed a one-time basic allowance for housing supplement. As tax deadline approaches, the IRS recently released a press release noting that the payments are not taxable. Federal tax law specifically excludes from gross income a qualified military benefit, the press release noted. The basic allowance for housing payments are qualified military benefits and, therefore, are not taxable. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the payments are meant as a thank you to military personnel, as well as to commemorate the 250 years the U.S. military has protected the nation. This Warrior Dividend serves as yet another example of how the War Department is working to improve the quality of life for our military personnel and their families, Hegseth said. All elements of what were doing are to rebuild our military. Distribution of the checks began in late December 2025. A Rockland County judge has agreed to retire and never return to the bench after being charged with failing to disclose personal relationships and conflicts with attorneys who appeared before her. Sherri L. Eisenpress, a justice of the Supreme Court, Ninth Judicial District, will retire effective April 28, 2026, following charges filed by the Commission on Judicial Conduct. The commission served Eisenpress with formal disciplinary charges in August 2025, alleging she presided over dozens of cases involving attorneys with whom she had personal connections while failing to disclose those relationships or step aside from the proceedings. According to the charges, Eisenpress presided over at least 55 cases from 2019 to 2024 involving attorneys with whom she maintained close personal and social relationships. She did not disclose those relationships or recuse herself from the cases. The charges also allege that from 2016 to 2025, Eisenpress presided over at least 41 cases involving the law firm of her principal law clerks spouse. She failed to disclose the relationship and did not prevent her law clerk from involvement in those cases. In a 2022 matrimonial case, Eisenpress presided over a matter in which the attorney for one party was co-hosting a fundraiser for her judicial campaign. She issued a temporary custody order in favor of that attorneys client and only recused herself after the opposing attorney sought her disqualification. In 2024, Eisenpress presided over a matter in which a party was represented by her law clerks husband. She denied a request to disqualify herself and later stepped aside for unrelated reasons. Eisenpress has served as a justice of the Supreme Court, Ninth Judicial District, Rockland County, since 2023. She previously served as a judge of the Family Court from 2012 to 2022 and as an acting Supreme Court justice in Rockland County from 2014 to 2022. Her current term would have expired on Dec. 31, 2036. See the Advance Local Guide to Disclosing Use of AI. Generative AI was used to draft this story, based on data provided by the Commission on Judicial Conduct. It was reviewed and edited by Advance Local. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. New York Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado criticized state leadership on economic inequality, housing, immigration enforcement and climate policy Monday during a town hall with Staten Island residents in West Brighton. Speaking to about 30 people at Oda Cafe, Delgado framed the event as part of a broader effort to challenge what he described as entrenched political and economic interests in Albany. Delgado, who is mounting a primary challenge to Gov. Kathy Hochul, said state government has failed to adequately support working-class New Yorkers. Everywhere I go upstate, downstate, urban, rural people are struggling, Delgado said. We have the third-largest economy in the country, yet the largest wealth inequality gap of any state. The question is: where is all the money going? Delgado blamed corporate subsidies, tax abatements and what he called outsized influence from special interests for diverting resources away from housing, health care and child care. He said one in five New York children lives in poverty and many workers struggle to afford basic necessities. Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado didn't hold back on economic inequality, housing affordability and immigration enforcement in New York during a town hall Monday, Feb. 2, 2026 at Oda Cafe in West Brighton. (Advance/SILive.com | Scott R. Axelrod) On housing, Delgado called for increased investment in public housing, expanded assistance for first-time homebuyers and statewide rent stabilization. He criticized tax incentives for developers, saying they have not addressed affordability, and said seven in 10 New Yorkers would qualify for federal housing assistance but do not receive it. Delgado also reiterated his support for the New York Health Act, a proposed single-payer health care system. He said the plan would eliminate premiums, deductibles and co-pays while saving the state billions of dollars annually, though it has faced opposition from insurers and hospital groups. During the question-and-answer portion of the event, the discussion shifted to immigration enforcement. One attendee cited recent arrests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in St. George, Stapleton and Port Richmond, saying families were living in fear. Delgado said the state must do more to protect immigrant communities by passing the New York for All Act, legislation that would further limit cooperation between local agencies and ICE. He said the states current policies do not go far enough and that informal information-sharing continues to put residents at risk. We need clear lines in the sand, Delgado said. If we dont ban information-sharing outright, communities will remain vulnerable. Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado didn't hold back on economic inequality, housing affordability and immigration enforcement in New York during a town hall Monday, Feb. 2, 2026 at Oda Cafe in West Brighton. (Advance/SILive.com | Scott R. Axelrod) Residents also raised concerns about proposed battery energy storage facilities on Staten Island. Delgado said he supports a moratorium on such projects until their benefits to the public and environmental impacts are fully assessed, adding that communities deserve transparency and meaningful input. On climate and energy policy, Delgado criticized the Hochul administration for approving permits for fossil fuel infrastructure and revisiting nuclear energy options. He said the state should instead fully implement the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act and expand renewable energy investment through the Public Renewables Act. The role of government is sometimes to say no, Delgado said. We dont need new fossil fuel pipelines or costly nuclear projects when we already have the tools to build a renewable future. Delgado also called for reforms to the states Tier 6 pension system for public employees, saying it undermines recruitment and fairness. He questioned the effectiveness of billions of dollars in annual corporate subsidies, which he said provide little return for local communities. As the evening wound down, Delgado emphasized that his campaign is funded through New Yorks public matching system, which he said allows him to operate independently of major donors. The point is not to survive in politics, Delgado said. Its to govern with moral courage and actually deliver for the people. In response, Hochul campaign spokesperson Ryan Radulovacki said: Gov. Kathy Hochul has spent her career fighting for New Yorkers and getting real results, emphasizing that she has stood up to this administration at every turn and taken steps to protect New York from Trumps ICE abusing their power. The campaign also highlighted the governors efforts to cut red tape to make housing more affordable and accessible and to address the cost of living through initiatives such as universal free school meals and putting money directly in New Yorkers pockets. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. It wasnt unusual for Michael Heaney to put off returning a text message or phone call every now and then. But when more than a few messages went unanswered, his family grew concerned. A wellness check on Jan. 17 revealed the 64-year-old, who lived alone, had passed away in his New Dorp home. Death had been a part of life for Michael, who dedicated his career to the funeral business in his hometown borough. He worked for Scamardella, Richmond and Matthew Funeral Homes and in 1983, founded Michael P. Heaney Funeral Services Inc., teaming up with his younger siblings. The Heaney siblings at Christmas, circa 2019. From left are Ryan, Michele, Danny, Todd and Michael. (Photo courtesy Michele Coyne) Third-Party-Submitted For more than four decades, the Heaney Brothers handled the behind-the-scenes details of death body transport, embalming, and preparation for viewing. As owner, Michael was trusted by local funeral directors, ready to step in with compassion and professionalism whenever a death occurred, his family said. He was a fixture in funeral service on Staten Island, his brother, Danny, proudly shared. It was his whole life. Michael P. Heaney, circa 1961. (Photo courtesy Michele Coyne) Third-Party-Submitted Born on April 17, 1961 and raised in New Dorp Beach, Michael attended Our Lady Queen of Peace School where he had a birds-eye view of funeral processions at Hanley Funeral Home, across New Dorp Lane. He was an altar boy at Our Lady of Lourdes R.C. Church at Cedar Grove Beach and, while attending New Dorp High School, worked as a custodian at Our Lady Queen of Peace School. Michael at center, surrounded by his brothers and baby sister. (Photo courtesy Michele Coyne) Third-Party-Submitted As a youngster, he liked to set up a make-believe church in the basement of his home and play the role of priest, complete with a chalice and Communion wafers, his family remembered. His cousins were his parishioners. When his parents divorced, he and his brothers lived with their father in Grant City. Michael would later return to New Dorp as an adult. In 1981, he earned a funeral directors license from the American Academy McAllister Institute of Funeral Service in Manhattan. Michael, second from left, celebrates his 50th birthday with his immediate family. (Photo courtesy Michele Coyne) heaney He was a gentle person, his sister, Michele Coyne, said, so helpful, kind and compassionate whenever a family suffered a loss. He was the epitome of professionalism. When he wasnt handling the details of a death, Michael was a car enthusiast who enjoyed polishing his 2007 black Jaguar. He cheered on the New York Knicks and cherished his pets, including a German shepherd named Sampson that passed away a few years ago, and a cat named Olaf that survives him. Devoted AA sponsor Michael was open about his participation in Alcoholics Anonymous. Sober since 1988, he devoted much of his time to sponsoring and guiding others in their recovery as a passionate believer in the 12-step program. The last few years of his life were challenging, his family confided. Michael often isolated in spite of therapy and encouragement from his brothers and sister. His siblings and close friends checked on him regularly with visits and phone calls. Young Michael Heaney, at right, is joined by Michele, Danny and Todd, circa 1968. (Photo courtesy Michele Coyne) Third-Party-Submitted I was there [at his house] all the time, his brother, Danny, said. I would pray on my way over that he was feeling better. As a funeral professional, Michael understood the importance of pre-planning. For his own arrangements, he chose the Marsellus President casket made from solid mahogany with rounded corners, and a copper-lined vault at Moravian Cemetery in New Dorp designed to preserve the casket. He was in good hands on Jan. 23 when the procession made its way from Matthew Funeral Home in Willowbrook to Our Lady Queen of Peace Church in New Dorp, where the funeral Mass was officiated by the Rev. Robert Dillon, pastor of St. Patricks R.C. Church, Richmond. Dozens of funeral service colleagues who had come to know and respect Michael over the years were there to say good bye, including John Scamardella, owner of Matthew Funeral Home and Cremation Services and a longtime friend, who wrote in a tribute: The Heaneys served the funeral homes with diligence, professionalism and dedication. They were on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year, including holidays. Michael P. Heaney led an exemplary life of service. His legacy will continue through his brothers and sister. Survivors and arrangements Michael is survived by three brothers, Todd C. Heaney (Lisa), Daniel J. Heaney (Melissa) and Ryan F. Heaney; a sister, Michele Coyne (Michael), and seven nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents, Michael F. Heaney Jr. and Doris Kivlehan Heaney. Arrangements were handled by Matthew Funeral Home. A venerable Fox News analyst is warning that President Donald Trump is about to make this same grave mistake as former President Barack Obama, Mediaite reported. The subject was Irans deadly crackdown on protestors in the country. I think the presidents in a predicament here, John, Brit Hume told host John Roberts. I think, you know, he told Iran, told the Iranian authorities not to attack the people when they were protesting. Then they carried out this hideous slaughter, this hideous slaughter that killed, we know, tens of thousands of people, just ghastly. Hume continued: So hes in a situation where, you know, he needs to do something. And the idea that therell be some kind of nuclear negotiation now with a country that has proven itself time and time again untrustworthy in such negotiations seems to me that will leave him with a lot people thinking he came up short. Roberts played a 2012 clip of Obama threatening enormous consequences if then-Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons. Said Roberts: So he laid down that red line to Bashar al-Assad. He said, Dont use chemical weapons. Thats a red line. Dont cross it. Assad went ahead and used chemical weapons quite liberally. And Obama did nothing. Does President Trump risk finding himself in the same position as Obama? Hume responded: Well, I think the worry has to be, John, that very thing and the fact that, you know, a pillar of our defense strategy is now and has long been the establishment and maintaining a deterrent. People looking at you and saying, We dont want to mess with them because, you know, they have force, they have a lot of it, and theyre willing to use it. And when you threaten to use, and then when something happens that youve warned against, and you dont use it Said Hume: But this is yet another challenge for sure. California Gov. Gavin Newsom was trying to take aim at President Donald Trump. But then things took a bizarre linguistic turn. The New York Post reported that Newsom was going after a Trump executive order aimed at speeding up the rebuilding from Californias wildfires. He hasnt coordinated or connected with anyone, Newsom said on Monday at an event in San Diego about fentanyl interdiction efforts. The governor continued: Its just typical Trump trying to forgive me, its a French phrase piss on the grasshoppers to hear them sing. Newsom went on to accuse Trump of lying about federal permits tied to the executive order. The governor charged that the approvals never materialized. They dont exist, Newsom said. He lied about that. He made it up. Newsom went on to challenge the legality of the executive order itself, which allows builders to self-certify in order to get around the Golden States alleged permitting failures. Said Newsom: We dont know is it legal? Newsom, widely seen as a leading contender for the Democratic nomination for president in 2028, has frequently sparred with Trump, including during the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Newsom said: Diplomacy with Donald Trump? Hes a T-Rex you mate with him or he devours you. The California governor also slammed European leaders for not being tough enough on Trump when it comes to the U.S. presidents drive to take over Greenland. Its time to buck up, its time to get serious and stop being complicit, he told reporters. I cant take this complicity. People rolling over. I should have brought kneepads for all the world leaders this is pathetic. MOSCOW, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said Tuesday that it has detained a foreign national who allegedly plotted a bomb attack on an energy infrastructure facility in the Moscow region at the orders of Ukrainian intelligence. "A citizen of a foreign state, born in 1996, was detained in Moscow. The individual was involved in preparing a sabotage and terrorist act on the instructions of a Ukrainian terrorist organisation banned in Russia, which acts in the interests of Ukrainian intelligence services," the FSB said in a statement. "Seized from the detainee was a ready-for-use fragmentation device containing 5 kg of explosive material, as well as a mobile phone with his correspondence with the handler regarding preparations for the sabotage and terrorist act," the FSB added. Top Democratic strategist James Carville has revealed who he would back for president in 2028, Mediaite reported. And the off-the-wall reason why he picked his man. Appearing on an episode of Arroyo Grande with host Raymond Arroyo, Carville turned his nose up at a number of likely Dem candidates, including former Vice President Kamala Harris and democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. Carville said in addition that former U.S. Ambassador Rahm Emanuel would have an effect on the dialogue in the 2028 race. Carville, a key member of the team that twice got Bill Clinton elected president in the 1990s, said there were two things that a Dem candidate needed to do in order to win in three years: raise a lot of money early in the race and have the ability to walk into Black gatherings and be greeted warmly. He said three candidates could satisfy the first requirement: California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. But in terms of being able to relate to the Black community, Carville said that only one name remained: Pritzker. Carville said that the billionaire governor was more relatable, including because of a recent big casino win. They like him, man Carville said. He campaigns hard. I bet you theres not a Black church in South Carolina that JBs not a part of the building fund committee. Said Carville: Hes worth $3 billion and won a million and a half dollars shooting craps and blackjack in Las Vegas! That makes people like him! President Donald Trump has issued a shocking new call for the federal government to take over elections in the states, USA Today reported. The Republicans should say, We want to take over. We should take over the voting in at least many, 15 places." Trump said. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting. We have states that are so crooked. Trump has railed at the U.S. election system ever since claiming without proof that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him. Trump made his new call during an appearance on Don Bonginos podcast. Bongino recently resigned from a top post at the FBI. The president also said that Democrats had allowed people into this country illegally in order to have them vote in elections. Only U.S. citizens are allowed to vote in U.S. elections. These people were brought to our country to vote, and they vote illegally, Trump said. Its amazing that the Republicans arent tougher about it. The states are given the power to set the times, places and manner of holding federal elections under the U.S. Constitution. But Congress has the ability to make or alter rules. Trumps call to nationalize elections came after the FBI executed a search warrant at a Fulton County elections center in Georgia in relation to the 2020 election, which Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden. We have states that I won that Joe didnt win, Trump said. Now, youre going to see something in Georgia, where they were able to get the court order, the ballots. Youre going to see some interesting things come out. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Lingering snow has plagued New York City residents since Winter Storm Fern delivered over a foot to Staten Island. While crews continue to plow snow throughout the five boroughs, the weather has simply not been cooperating; freezing temperatures have made any hope of natural melting nothing but a wishful dream. However, later next week, some warmer air is forecast to finally arrive in the city and assist in melting down this snow. Before any relief does arrive, meteorologists are monitoring the potential for up to an inch of snow and a subsequent Arctic blast this weekend. As city residents contend with temperatures that will feel below zero, due in part to wind gusts of up to 40 mph, record warmth will warm up the western U.S., according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Tom Kines. Some of that air is going to move into the middle part of the country in the early part of next week and the hope is that at least for a day or two at least a little bit of that warmer air gets into the mid-Atlantic and Northeast," he added. That warming is expected to arrive in the middle or later part of next week. We can get some temperatures, you know, maybe close to normal, which would be lower 40s and I guess its not out of the question that one of those days the second half of next week, that temperatures actually get higher than what they should be at this time of year, Kines told the Advance/SILive.com. Labor MP Ed Husic has said he is very uncomfortable with the impending visit of Israels President Isaac Herzog, saying the International Court of Justice had expressed concerns about the figures rhetoric about the war in Gaza and that the visit would likely damage social cohesion. Asked whether he supported Herzogs visit, Husic said: To be completely frank, Im very uncomfortable with it. I find it hard to reconcile the images Ive seen of him signing bombs that were then dropped on Palestinian homes. Labor MP Ed Husic. Alex Ellinghausen The fact that the ICJ has called out some of his statements indicating collective responsibility of Palestinians, some of those where he has said, and I quote, its an entire nation out there that is responsible. He says it is not true, this rhetoric about civilians who are not aware and not involved. Its absolutely not true. They could have risen up. They could have fought against that evil regime, Husic told ABC television this afternoon. Ive made the point, both here and in terms of the context of overseas and when weve spoken previously, I expressed my concerns about collective responsibility and the way that that had been exercised. And I am concerned that a figure like that doesnt necessarily enhance social cohesion, Husic said. He wouldnt say whether it had been a mistake for the government to have invited Herzog through Governor-General Sam Mostyn following the Bondi shooting. If he has thoughts about how to advance peace in that part of the world that can involve the co-existence of Israelis and Palestinians, then he should be given the chance to express them. Hell have an opportunity, obviously, to do so. Im not comfortable with his presence, but if he turns it into one that can demonstrate a path for peace, well, then we will see if hes able to do that. Herzog is set to arrive in Australia on Sunday, and is expected to visit Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra. Advertisement Exclusive NationalNSWCrime Secret police strike force hunts Australian accused of leading international crime syndicate Riley Walter February 4, 2026 5:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A A decade ago, Daniel Rodney Badger was nowhere near the radar of the law. The 30-year-old was living humbly in Sydneys western suburbs, where he was born and raised. He worked as a security guard at hotels and racecourses, and, for a short time, ran his own vending machine supply business, according to his family. His life was unremarkable in the extreme. Daniel Rodney Badger has emerged as one of Australian authorities top targets. Matt Willis Around 2016, Badger relocated with a new partner to Vietnam, where he told his family he had secured work in the livestock import and export business, and he planned to make a go of things in South-East Asia. A few years later, after his mother attended her only sons lavish wedding in Vietnam in early 2019, a trivial dispute drove a wedge between Badger and his parents, who have not heard from him since. What became of Badger in the years since has remained largely a mystery to his estranged family, but his life abroad has been an intense focus of law enforcement agencies who say he has risen to the upper echelons of the global criminal underworld. Advertisement Badger, now 40, has emerged as one of Australian authorities highest priority offshore targets after allegedly building a sprawling international crime syndicate dubbed the Badger Organised Crime Network that spans several continents and is believed to control most of the Australias lucrative methamphetamine trade. The Herald can reveal that Badger, who was born in Auburn, is the target of one of NSW Polices largest efforts to apprehend an overseas target and is being pursued by officers working under a secretive multi-agency operation called Strike Force Dakota. Badger, pictured at his wedding in 2019, is alleged to be one of the largest importers of methamphetamine into Australia. YouTube Strike Force Dakota investigators have been pursuing Badger since late last year. YouTube Strike Force Dakota, which is being co-ordinated by NSW Polices organised crime squad and involves officers from the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) and international law enforcement agencies, was quietly launched late last year after several violent incidents, including the abduction and murder of a Sydney woman, were linked to Badgers syndicate. Advertisement In NSW, Badgers capture is considered a top priority for police given his growing influence, according to several law enforcement sources with knowledge of the investigation but unwilling to comment publicly due to the sensitive nature of the protracted operation. Significant resources have been assigned to Strike Force Dakota both locally and overseas as authorities attempt to dismantle the networks Australian and offshore operations, including in South-East Asia. Related Article Media & marketing Make The Sydney Morning Herald your preferred source on Google Badgers syndicate is alleged to be one of the biggest manufacturers and distributors of methamphetamine in Australia, with its operations stretching along the countrys east coast. Its Australian arm is believed to be based in NSW, but has large-scale operations in Victoria and Queensland. The syndicate is also alleged to have expanded into manufacturing and importing large amounts of cocaine and heroin. Law enforcement intelligence shared with this masthead suggests tensions between Badgers syndicate and rival organised crime networks over control of Australias drug trade are escalating, sparking concerns a violent turf war could reach Sydneys streets. The intelligence suggests conflict within Badgers syndicate is also growing and is believed to have been the catalyst for retribution against members who have fallen foul of the network and its leadership. Police allege Thi Kim Tran was abducted from her Bankstown home and shot dead by members of Badgers syndicate last April. Facebook Advertisement In October, this masthead revealed Badgers syndicate was believed to be responsible for the abduction and murder of 45-year-old Bankstown woman Thi Kim Tran last April. Police allege Tran was targeted after her husband, a methamphetamine cook for Badgers syndicate, was accused of stealing up to 80 kilograms of the drug from his employers. Several people have been charged over Trans murder and remain before the courts. A thwarted alleged plot to murder a Sydney father as he collected his children from a Revesby day care centre has also been linked to the syndicate. The intended target of the alleged plot, Huy Tran, had fallen foul of The Final Crime Family, a little-known criminal group believed to be operating under the umbrella of Badgers broader syndicate. The group believed Tran, who is not related to Thi Kim Tran, owed it $200,000. Several people have been charged over the alleged plot and remain before the courts. Badgers name has been bandied about among senior law enforcement officials as a major player in the global drug trade for several years. Such is his influence on the illicit drug trade and his international reach, Badger is now considered one of the highest-priority targets operating offshore. Badger has long been on the radar of the ACIC, which monitors individuals believed to pose the highest-level criminal threats to Australias national security and exert significant influence over the criminal landscape. Those with the highest designation are deemed to be resilient, well-resourced criminal entities involved in several criminal enterprises, an ACIC spokesperson said. Advertisement The ACIC works in close co-operation with our partners to continually monitor and assess the criminal threats posed by existing and emerging criminal actors, the spokesperson said. The exact size of the Australian-based arm of Badgers syndicate is unclear, but membership in Sydney alone is believed to have grown to dozens of loyal followers operating within several smaller subgroups. Members of the syndicate, largely comprising Vietnamese men, have cultivated reputations among senior police as particularly violent foot soldiers willing to carry out orders once considered too brutal even for seasoned criminals. The syndicate is also alleged to have hired contractors to carry out crimes. Related Article Exclusive Organised crime Australian man revealed as alleged head of Asian crime gang that ordered Sydney womans kidnap and murder In October, organised crime squad detectives working under Strike Force Barberton one of several investigations that led to the establishment of Strike Force Dakota seized more than 415 kilograms of illicit drugs, including methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin and MDMA with a street value of about $260 million from several properties police allege were being used as safe houses by members of Badgers syndicate. Several were arrested and remain before the courts. Other operations investigating a surge in Asian organised crime activity across Sydney and large-scale imports of illicit drugs into the country led detectives to Badgers syndicate. Advertisement Badger is believed to be living a life of luxury in South-East Asia. Footage of Badgers 2019 wedding in Ho Chi Minh City shows him enjoying a lavish ceremony surrounded by family and friends. In July 2022, Badger was granted Cambodian citizenship by naturalisation and given a Khmer name Sen Sovannarith according to a royal decree published in the Cambodian governments Royal Gazette at the time. Badger is believed to travel between Cambodia and Vietnam, on the border of South-East Asias Golden Triangle region, the global epicentre of methamphetamine production and distribution. He has left little online footprint since. The AFP, which has been monitoring Badger for several years and is increasingly focused on offshore targets, declined to comment on the current investigation into the 40-year-old. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter. Remove items from your saved list to add more. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Save this video for later Add videos to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it NEW YORK, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Mexico international winger Jorge Ruvalcaba has joined New York Red Bulls after parting ways with Pumas UNAM, the MLS club said on Monday. The California-born 24-year-old signed a deal that runs until June 2030 after the Red Bulls agreed to a transfer fee reportedly worth 6.5 million U.S. dollars. "We are very excited to welcome Jorge to our club," head of sport Julian de Guzman said. "He is a dynamic, creative attacker who has shown great potential and a strong work ethic, and we are confident that he will contribute to our success both on and off the field." Ruvalcaba made 99 appearances across all competitions for Pumas after being promoted from the Mexican club's youth academy in 2022. He earned his first Mexico cap in a 2-1 friendly defeat to Paraguay last November. The Red Bulls will begin their 2026 MLS campaign with an away clash against Orlando City on February 21. Advertisement PoliticsFederalDisability Children wont need an autism diagnosis to use Thriving Kids scheme Natassia Chrysanthos Updated February 3, 2026 6:04pm ,first published 5:00pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Parents will no longer have to spend thousands of dollars and dozens of hours chasing autism diagnoses for their struggling children to qualify for government disability support under the new Thriving Kids program, which will help children with lower support needs outside the NDIS. After federal and state governments last week signed a long-awaited health and disability funding deal, Health and Disability Minister Mark Butler on Tuesday unveiled the model for Thriving Kids and revealed it would mainly be run through states and territories. Disability Minister Mark Butler during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra on Tuesday. Alex Ellinghausen The Albanese government rebuffed a suggestion from its advisory group that children access therapies through new Medicare plans, and will instead give states money to run the scheme their own way. We wont be funding services directly. Well be providing that money to states, Butler said. [They] will largely leverage off a lot of programs they already run... It wont be a traditional Medicare-funded allied health professional visit, that might be bulk billed or might attract a gap fee. This will be quite a different model that state governments, particularly, asked us for. Advertisement Each jurisdiction will devise its own system for supporting tens of thousands of children, aged eight and under, who have autism or developmental delays many of whom currently have individual packages through the $48 billion NDIS. Related Article Disability Labor boosts fines by 40 times, adds jail time for shonky NDIS providers State systems will be expected to adhere to the same model, which has four key functions: identifying when children have developmental delays or differences; providing easy access to information about where to get help; supplying programs and tools for parents to build their own skills; and providing targeted support, including therapies and equipment, for children who need it. The federal government will support Thriving Kids with national components such as information campaigns, online resources and a call line but it will otherwise be delivered by states and territories, which will scale up their existing services as well as establish new ones. The Albanese government will finalise individual agreements with each jurisdiction by the end of this month. Tuesdays release of the Thriving Kids model comes after Butlers taskforce took over the design last August because the states and territories were too slow, after first agreeing to help run new services for kids in late 2023. The taskforce, led by Professor Frank Oberklaid, consulted over five months with health, disability and education stakeholders. Advertisement Oberklaid said the current system was broken. Paediatricians were getting requests from inexperienced teachers with the words: please confirm a diagnosis of autism so this child can get services. It totally distorted clinical practice, he said. Autism diagnoses have soared in Australia in the last decade a trend some experts attribute to the NDIS requirements. Sixteen per cent of all Australian six-year-old boys now rely on the scheme. Under Thriving Kids, families will no longer receive individualised funding or packages, as currently exists under the NDIS. But children will not need any formal diagnosis to access services, which should eliminate lengthy wait times for NDIS support. The thing people have complained most about ... is the time it takes to get a diagnosis, the need for a formal diagnosis, which can take years to access and cost thousands of dollars, before parents are given any support for their children, Butler said on Tuesday. This will be easy to access. It wont require a formal diagnosis. And those supports, importantly, will be child and family centred. Advertisement Butler said he expected Thriving Kids to cater to the existing number of children who currently use the NDIS for low or moderate supports there were 120,444 children in that category on the NDIS last financial year, this masthead has reported, who receive about $1.8 billion in annual payments. The minister said he also expected additional children who had fallen through the cracks of the NDIS to start using Thriving Kids. The state and federal governments have so far committed to spending $2 billion each over five years to set up and run the scheme. Butler said the Commonwealth would give $1.6 billion of its portion directly to states and territories, and he anticipated the $4 billion total funding would be sufficient. How the Thriving Kids model will work Advertisement The first layer of the Thriving Kids scheme will involve improving the ways that childrens developmental support needs are identified whether through community workers, GPs, or early childhood educators and teachers so that this happens early on. Next, there should be several access points that enable parents to seek more help. This should involve a national website and phone line, where parents can ask questions and be directed towards local services and support. There could also be physical entry points, such as at family and childrens hubs, or GPs could guide families to further supports. The third pillar of Thriving Kids will be a program of Universal Parenting Supports. This should include online courses, webinars and workshops that help parents understand their childrens needs and how they can help. Peer-support groups for parents should offer another environment where they can build community. Supported playgroups also fall into this category, where parents can connect while their children develop social skills, and allied health professionals offer guidance. Family programs that help kids with positive play, communication and emotional regulation would be delivered by trained facilitators. The fourth element of Thriving Kids will be Targeted Support, which most closely mirrors the services currently available through the NDIS. This will be available to children who need more occupational therapy, speech pathology, physiotherapy, psychology or other therapies. Advertisement Unlike the NDIS model, which gives each family annual funding packages to spend on therapists, these supports will be time-limited and focused on specific goals. A diagnosis wont be required, but a health professional or Thriving Kids provider will make a light-touch needs assessment. Some children might just require a single type of support, while those with multidisciplinary needs will be connected to a mix of allied health professionals and support services. For the latter group, one key worker will help to co-ordinate their care. Thriving Kids should also make sure that basic equipment currently accessed through NDIS funding is made available, for example through loan pools or equipment libraries. It should offer access to tools like laminated cards and communications boards; sensory cushions, calm-down aids and emotion-regulation charts; velcro shoes, adapted cutlery and non-slip mats; and modified high chairs or simple standing frames. Next steps will test capacity But delivery details are still being worked out, and last weeks agreement pushed back the start date: Thriving Kids will start rolling out from October this year and launch fully by January 2028. Advertisement Related Article Disability How $2b could be redirected from the NDIS and help 230,000 more people Opposition NDIS spokeswoman Anne Ruston lashed the delay and lack of detail. It has now been 167 days since Minister Butler first announced Thriving Kids and all he has provided are broad principles and delayed timeframes, she said. Parents were promised certainty and support for their young children. Instead, theyre left wondering what services will be there to support their child, who will provide them and when theyll actually be available. The minister still cannot explain how this program will actually work in practice, how support will be delivered on the ground. Advertisement A group of disability organisations on Tuesday said there were still significant uncertainties about how supports, particularly targeted therapies, would be funded and delivered. They said all governments must promise a nationally consistent set of standards, and publish clear implementation plans. Without these commitments, people with disability and families risk facing fragmented systems, inconsistent access and widening service gaps, they said. The review said the targeted supports should be delivered where children live, learn and play such as schools, childcare, at home, or in community hubs. However, it said running Thriving Kids through schools or childcare would need to be carefully designed so that it didnt compromise their core purpose of delivering education. The taskforce also anticipated teething pains as the workforce adjusts and services are rolled out. There may be wait times to access some supports, their report said. Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter. Advertisement Exclusive PoliticsFederalCitizenship crisis The Labor minister who was Canadian for two weeks, despite trying not to be James Massola February 3, 2026 11:57am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Industry and Science Minister Tim Ayres was a Canadian citizen for two weeks in December after that country changed its citizenship laws, in a potential breach of section 44 of the Constitution. Ayres notified the federal parliament on Tuesday that, following a legal change late last year that extended Canadian citizenship eligibility to the grandchildren of people born in the country, he had involuntarily become a dual citizen. Industry and Science Minister Tim Ayres. Alex Ellinghausen The episode revived memories of the federal parliaments so-called constitutional crisis in 2017. Starting in July that year, a number of senators and members were disqualified from sitting in the federal parliament because they had failed to renounce or were eligible to hold citizenship of a second country, which they had failed to renounce. It eventually led to the disqualification of 15 MPs, including then-deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce, now-Greens leader Larissa Waters and the current Finance Minister Katy Gallagher. Advertisement Related Article Media & marketing Make The Age your preferred source on Google Prior to his election in 2019, Ayres took all possible steps to renounce his Canadian citizenship by descent, but was told at the time by the Canadian government that he had nothing to renounce as he was not eligible for citizenship. But that changed in June last year when laws were introduced into the Canadian parliament to expand the right to citizenship, automatically, to anyone born to a Canadian parent and, in many cases, grandparent. The Canadian parliament made the changes to its citizenship laws after a 2023 court decision found that the countrys laws, which limited citizenship by descent, were unconstitutional. After the laws to reclaim so-called lost Canadians were introduced into the nations parliament in June 2025, but before they came into effect on December 15 last year, Ayres sought advice from the Canadian government about how to renounce his citizenship, but was told he could not pre-renounce his dual citizenship. Advertisement Ayres also took advice from senior counsel, who told him that he was still eligible to be a senator and minister because the implied qualification to s 44(i) of the Australian Constitution recognised by the High Court would prevent a newly enacted foreign law from disqualifying a sitting member of the Australian parliament. Ayres lawyer also advised him to renounce his Canadian citizenship as quickly as possible, which he did. Ayres on December 10 last year, days before he involuntarily became a Canadian citizen. Dominic Lorrimer It was not until Bill C-3, as the law is known, came into effect on December 15 that Ayres could renounce his Canadian citizenship. The very next day, he contacted the Canadian government and was advised that he could finally renounce his citizenship of that country. The process took two weeks, according to a letter dated December 29 from the director-general of the Canadian passport office in Ottawa. Advertisement That letter states that this document confirms that your application to renounce Canadian citizenship that was automatically conferred on you by operation of Canadian citizenship law was approved and you ceased to be a Canadian citizen on December 29, 2025. Related Article National News Live Australia news as it happened: RBA raises interest rates for first time since 2023; Cory Bernardi recruited by One Nation as Ley, Littleproud fail to reach Coalition resolution As this document attests that you ceased to be a Canadian citizen, we suggest that you keep this document in a secure place for future reference. Ayres became a Canadian citizen because his grandfather was born in Canada in 1910, and was at that time a British subject. His grandfather later moved to Australia, and his father was born in Australia. The law change conferred Canadian citizenship on his father and, retrospectively, on the minister when the law change took effect. Advertisement Ayres is one of Prime Minister Anthony Albaneses most trusted lieutenants and a key powerbroker in the partys left faction. He told this masthead that while grandfather was born in Canada, he had taken all steps possible to ensure before the 2019 and 2025 elections that he was only an Australian citizen and eligible to sit in parliament. Editor's pick Political leadership Ley left hanging after demands to reform Coalition blindside MPs in both parties In December 2025, Canadas Bill C-3 came into effect. As soon as the new Canadian law received Royal Assent, I established as soon as was legally possible that I was solely an Australian citizen, he said. The advice I have received from constitutional experts is clear: I have always been and remain eligible to sit in the parliament. I take my constitutional responsibilities seriously and today have made an addendum to my Qualification Checklist confirming that I remain not a Canadian citizen. Professor Anne Twomey, a constitutional law expert at the University of Sydney, said previous High Court cases related to dual citizenship had not dealt with the unusual case of a person being validly elected, but then, against their will, having foreign citizenship conferred upon them, and immediately renouncing it. Advertisement If this matter came before a court, there would be a good case to argue that it fell within an exception from disqualification, just as an exception also arises where there is an irremediable impediment to renouncing foreign citizenship, she said. In practical terms, it is unlikely to come before a court, because it could only get there if the Senate referred it. Doing so would have no advantage, other than clarifying the law, because the senator could simply resign and then fill the resulting vacancy, as he is no longer a Canadian citizen. Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter. Advertisement WorldEuropeSocial media Musks X office in Paris raided by police amid growing scrutiny in Europe Inti Landauro and Sudip Kar-Gupta February 4, 2026 4:15am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Key points Musk and former CEO summoned to give evidence on April 20 Investigation into alleged algorithmic bias began in early 2025 Inquiry since widened to include AI chatbot Grok UK privacy watchdog also launches investigation into Grok Paris: French police have raided the offices of Elon Musks social media network X, and prosecutors ordered the tech billionaire to face questions in April, amid growing scrutiny of the platform by authorities across Europe. The raid and summoning of Musk which could further increase tensions between Europe and the US over big tech and free speech are linked to a year-long investigation into suspected abuse of algorithms and fraudulent data extraction by X or its executives. The exterior of the building housing the offices of X. Paris police focusing on cybercrime searched the social media companys offices in relation to an investigation into the content on X and its AI chatbot, Grok. Getty Images Britains privacy watchdog, meanwhile, also kicked off a formal investigation into Musks artificial intelligence chatbot Grok over the processing of personal data and its potential to produce harmful sexualised images and video content. In a statement, the Paris prosecutors office said it had broadened the scope of its investigation following complaints over the functioning of Grok. Advertisement The French probe will now also investigate alleged complicity in the detention and diffusion of images of a child-pornographic nature and the violation of a persons image rights with sexually explicit deepfakes, among other potential crimes. Musk and former chief executive Linda Yaccarino were summoned to a hearing on April 20. Other X staff were also summoned as witnesses. European authorities have Elon Musks X and AI products in their sight. Bloomberg There was no immediate comment from X. In July, Musk denied the initial accusations and said French prosecutors were launching a politically motivated criminal investigation. At this stage, the conduct of this investigation is part of a constructive approach, with the aim of ultimately ensuring that the X platform complies with French laws, insofar as it operates on national territory, the prosecutors office said. Advertisement Such summons are mandatory, though they are harder to enforce on people who do not live in France. After such a hearing, authorities can decide to either discontinue or continue the investigation and potentially place suspects in custody. Widening probes into X Britains Information Commissioners Office, meanwhile, said it was investigating the xAI chatbot, following reports that Grok had been used to generate non-consensual sexual imagery of individuals, including children. Britains media regulator Ofcom said separately it was setting out the next steps in its investigation into X, which was launched last month, though it provided few details. Advertisement Ofcom is seeking to assess if the company has done enough to mitigate the risk of sexual deepfakes spreading on its social media platform. But it has said it was not investigating xAI, which operates the Grok chatbot, as it falls beyond the scope of current law. Related Article Elon Musk Elon Musks Grok AI floods X with sexualised photos of women and minors Last week, the European Union also launched an investigation into X, seeking to assess whether it disseminated illegal content, following public outcry over the spreading of manipulated sexualised images by Grok. The chatbot continues to generate sexualised images of people even when users explicitly warn that the subjects do not consent, Reuters has found. xAI put some restrictions on Groks image generation function in response to the backlash last month. Advertisement The Paris prosecutors cybercrime unit is conducting the investigation in France, together with the French polices own cybercrime unit and Europol. The unit previously arrested Telegram founder Pavel Durov in 2024 over charges including complicity in organised crime carried out on the messaging app, charges his lawyer has described as absurd. The prosecutors office said it launched the investigation after being contacted by a lawmaker alleging that biased algorithms in X were likely to have distorted the operation of an automated data processing system. Glad to see that my complaint from January 2025 is yielding results! Eric Bothorel, said on X. In Europe, and particularly in France, the Rule of Law means that no one is above the law. The prosecutors office also said it was leaving the X social media platform and would communicate on LinkedIn and Instagram from now on. LinkedIn belongs to Microsoft and Instagram to Meta. Reuters Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on whats making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter. PHILIPSBURG:--- The Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (VROMI) announces the partnership with The Gioia Group for the comprehensive rebuilding and beautification of the Simpson Bay dock. The initiative encompasses the complete restoration of the pier facilities, repairs to the adjacent police station, and investments into the community, underscoring the shared commitment to development that reaches all levels of society. Gioia Group representatives Angel Gioia and Luis Gioia emphasized that meaningful investment must extend beyond individual developments, adding value not only for residents but also for neighbors and communities. This pier is the first and last point of contact for many and it should reflect the beauty and hospitality that define Sint Maarten. Supporting the enhancement of the Simpson Bay area reflects our commitment to being good partners and contributing to a more welcoming environment for everyone who lives, works, and visits here. "This partnership represents our dedication to preserving and enhancing the critical infrastructure that supports our thriving maritime and yachting industry and the wider community and economy," said Minister Patrice Gumbs, Minister of VROMI. "The Simpson Bay dock serves as a vital gateway for our island's marine economy, and through collaboration with The Gioia Group we are ensuring its structural integrity and aesthetic appeal for continued growth. The comprehensive restoration project will include: Complete dock reconstruction to meet modern maritime standards Full rebuilding of the parking area to improve accessibility and capacity Construction of a dedicated garbage room for proper waste management Installation of trees and comprehensive landscaping to beautify the area Support for enhancing and beautifying the general environment at the police/immigration station. The restored facilities will provide enhanced services for the maritime community while creating a safer, more welcoming environment for justice workers and the public. In addition, proper parking and enforcement will be put in place, addressing complaints from residents of Simpsonbay Village related to access. "We understand that our justice workers deserve a secure and well-maintained environment in which to carry out their critical duties," stated Minister of Justice Nathalie Tackling. "This investment reflects our appreciation for their service and our commitment to providing them with the facilities they need." Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport, and Telecommunications (TEATT) Grisha Heyliger-Marten welcomed the initiative and the support stating The maritime industry accounts for a significant part of our economy, with the yachting sector alone accounting for around 17% our countrys economic activity. The project timeline will be announced in the coming weeks. VROMI will work closely with The Gioia Group, stakeholders in the maritime industry, law enforcement, and the local community to ensure the restoration meets the needs of all parties. Public-Private Partnerships are a cornerstone of the Governing Program 2024-2028, and this latest initiative, following the ongoing rehabilitation of Billy Folly Road, marks the second partnership established by Minister of VROMI Patrice Gumbs. While the focus of these first two partnerships was on supporting the larger economy, the next aims to address smaller, more human-focused initiatives; understanding that development must also tangibly impact the communities that drive our economy. PHILIPSBURG:--- The Supreme Court of the Netherlands has upheld the convictions of Claudius Buncamper and Maria Buncamper Molanus, a couple involved in bribery and corruption on Sint Maarten. The case, stemming from the Ruby investigation, focused on irregularities in the tendering process for the island's landfill and abuse of official positions. Case Background The investigation began in 2018 following intelligence suggesting corruption in the tendering process for the landfill on Sint Maarten. Claudius Buncamper, then head of the ministry's management department, was accused of accepting bribes in exchange for awarding contracts and of abusing his position. His wife, Maria Buncamper Molanus, was implicated in passive official bribery for her role in the scheme. Further evidence revealed that between 2013 and 2014, Claudius Buncamper had private expenses paid through false invoices issued by a company managing the sewage treatment plant. These expenses were then fraudulently charged to the ministry for which he worked. Sentences and Convictions The Joint Court of Justice convicted Claudius Buncamper of co-perpetrating bribery and forgery. He was sentenced to 32 months in prison and barred from holding public office for seven years. Maria Buncamper Molanus was convicted of co-perpetrating passive official bribery and received a suspended 12-month prison sentence along with 210 hours of community service. Supreme Court Ruling The couple appealed the convictions to the Supreme Court, arguing that the evidence supporting the bribery charges was insufficient. However, the Supreme Court dismissed their complaints, stating that the arguments did not raise any new legal questions or justify overturning the lower court's decision. Due to the length of the legal proceedings, the Supreme Court slightly reduced the sentences. Claudius Buncampers prison term was reduced by one month to 31 months, while his seven-year ban from public office remained unchanged. Maria Buncamper Molanuss community service was reduced to 200 hours, with her suspended prison sentence remaining intact. Publication The full rulings can be accessed on rechtspraak.nl under the references ECLI:NL:HR:2026:148 and ECLI:NL:HR:2026:149. ~Youth Engagement Isnt Charity, Its Nation-Building~ PHILIPSBURG:--- The United Nations has officially declared 2026 as the International Year of Volunteers, and Sint Maarten is kicking it off with action, purpose, and youth leadership through the Impact Quest Scavenger Hunt, taking place on Saturday, February 28th, 2026, at SXM Padel Club (PDP Court). Organized by Volunteer.sx in partnership with the St. Maarten Development Fund (SMDF), Foresee Foundation (4C), and the SXM Padel Club, the Impact Quest invites the entire community to join in a day of connection, creativity, and collective impact, while placing a special focus on empowering youth through volunteerism. Across the world, young people are stepping forward with creativity, compassion, and a strong desire to make a difference. Their involvement in volunteerism is not only shaping stronger communities; it is shaping them into thoughtful, engaged citizens who understand their power to create change. Sint Maartens youth are no exception, and through Impact Quest, Volunteer.sx is creating the space and opportunities for them to do so. The Quest transforms volunteerism into an exciting, hands-on adventure. Teams of up to five participants (ages 15 and up) will complete mini-missions inspired by real acts of service, from planting and painting to serving, sharing, and connecting with local NGOs and community changemakers. The event blends purpose and play, showing that giving back can be both meaningful and fun. The day will end with a Social Mixer at SXM Padel Clubs newest Port de Plaisance location, featuring music, games, and good vibes to celebrate a day of collective impact and community spirit. Registration is now open at bit.ly/impactquest. The registration fee is $250 per team, but youth teams (ages 25 and under) have the opportunity to be sponsored by one of Volunteer.sxs amazing partners, ensuring that cost is never a barrier to participation. As the world celebrates the International Year of Volunteers, Sint Maarten is setting the tone for a year that celebrates community, collaboration, and youth-led nation-building. Through events like Impact Quest, Volunteer.sx continues its mission to empower youth to serve, lead, and create lasting change, proving that youth engagement isnt charity, its nation-building. Volunteer.sx is also calling on organizations, businesses, and community partners to support this movement by sponsoring youth teams and investing in the next generation of leaders who will continue to strengthen the island through service. To register or learn more, visit Volunteer.sx or contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . ATHENS, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- At least 14 people were killed and dozens injured after a violent confrontation between the Hellenic Coast Guard and a suspected human trafficking vessel off the Greek island of Chios on Tuesday night, Greek state broadcaster ERT said. The clash left two Coast Guard officers wounded. The casualties included seven children and a pregnant woman. All of the injured were transported to the General Hospital of Chios for treatment. A joint Coast Guard and Air Force search and rescue operation is underway after survivors reported that people remain missing. Musk merges xAI into SpaceX in bid to build space data centers San Francisco, United States, Feb 2 (AFP) Feb 02, 2026 Elon Musk's SpaceX has taken over his artificial intelligence company xAI in a merger aimed at deploying space-based data centers, a statement said on Monday. The acquisition combines SpaceX's rocket capabilities with xAI's technology to create what Musk in the statement called "the most ambitious, vertically-integrated innovation engine on (and off) Earth." The merger comes as funding for the AI buildout embraced by big tech companies begins to show signs of tension. Musk said SpaceX plans to launch a constellation of satellites that would function as orbital data centers, harnessing solar power in space to meet growing electricity demands for AI computing. Musk said those needs cannot be met on Earth "without imposing hardship on communities and the environment." "By directly harnessing near-constant solar power with little operating or maintenance costs, these satellites will transform our ability to scale compute," Musk wrote in the announcement. SpaceX aims to launch one million satellites operating as data centers using its Starship rocket, which the company said will soon achieve launch rates of one flight per hour carrying 200 tons of payload. The announcement did not disclose financial terms of the acquisition or provide a timeline for initial satellite deployments. According to Bloomberg, the combined company would have a valuation of $1.25 trillion. The deal further intertwines Musk's sprawling business empire, which already includes carmaker Tesla and social media platform X, formerly Twitter. Musk merged X with xAI after acquiring Twitter in late 2022. xAI, which operates the Grok chatbot, was valued at $230 billion in a January funding round. The combined company would pool capital, computing resources and talent as Musk pursues his vision of placing data centers in space for AI computing. SpaceX is reportedly targeting a mid-June initial public offering that could raise as much as $50 billion, according to US media. The company dominates the space launch market with its reusable rockets and owns the largest satellite constellation through Starlink. Musk had previously opposed an IPO for SpaceX because he had not enjoyed the required scrutiny of publicly traded Tesla. He also argued that the market's desire for financial returns was at odds with his ultimate goal of settling Mars. But the company's latest priorities will require significant investment. These include developing Starship, the largest rocket ever built, for missions to the Moon and Mars. Press Release from Business Wire: Blind Sailor Single-Handed Pacific Crossing Project 2027 (AFP) Feb 03, 2026 FUJISAWA, Feb 3, 2026 (BSW) - Mitsuhiro Iwamoto, a Japanese sailor based in San Diego, who is taking on the world's first solo, non-stop trans-Pacific crossing by a blind sailor as part of the Blind Sailor Single-Handed Pacific Crossing Project 2027, held a press conference on January 28 (local time) in San Diego, USA. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260128531637/en/ Hiro Iwamoto / Global Keynote Speaker, First Totally Blind Sailor to Cross the Pacific Project URL: https://hiros-choice.com/ On January 22 (local time), Iwamoto delivered a speech at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026 (WEF) under the theme "Sailing Through Barriers." Speaking about the upcoming voyage, he said, "Boundaries are not decided by others. They are transcended by choice." WEF URL: https://www.weforum.org/meetings/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting-2026/sessions/sailing-through-barriers/ During the press conference, he explained that all navigational information is converted into audio and delivered through an application called "Leena." All onboard sailing instruments, navigation systems, radar, AIS, and various sensors are fully integrated via the vessel's Wi-Fi network. When Hiro speaks to the system, it provides only the information necessary for real-time decision-making at that moment. In preparation for the voyage, a range of advanced support systems has also been put in place, including uninterrupted 24-hour connectivity via Starlink, a shore-based support center monitoring the journey, high-sensitivity thermal cameras, and a reliable power supply secured through lightweight, high-capacity lithium batteries and solar panels. The entire voyage will be continuously shared with a global audience, 24 hours a day. Hiro explained, "Through technology, it redraws the line between what is considered 'possible' and 'impossible.' The key question is not 'Can you see?' The real question is 'Can you continuously understand the situation?'" He concluded by stating, "I truly want to convey a message to the next generation." After returning to Japan, he plans to sail around the country and share his experience directly with children. At the conclusion of the press conference, Malin Burnham, a San Diego-based entrepreneur and philanthropist and a leading figure in the international sailing community made a surprise appearance. He offered words of encouragement to Iwamoto and announced a donation of $5,000 in support of the project. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260128531637/en/ Contact Blind Sailor Single-Handed Pacific Crossing Project 2027Email: [email protected] / [email protected] Phone: +81-90-3100-3976 (Kaori Awamura) 2026 Business Wire, Inc.Disclaimer:This press release is not a document produced by AFP. AFP shall not bear responsibility for its content. In case you have any questions about this press release, please refer to the contact person/entity mentioned in the text of the press release. Press Release from Business Wire: Owl Labs (AFP) Feb 03, 2026 LONDON, Feb 3, 2026 (BSW) - Owl Labs , a leader in 360-degree AI-powered video conferencing and hybrid collaboration technology, today announcedtheMeeting Owl 5 Pro,itsnewest 360-degree camera, speaker, and mic device. The Meeting Owl 5 Pro reimagines the centre-of-table experience for hybrid meetings with a solution purpose-built for enterprise organisations, delivering a seamless single-cable Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) experience. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260203914393/en/ The Meeting Owl 5 Pro is Owl Labs' newest 360-degree camera, speaker, and mic device. Flexibility is foundational to the Meeting Owl 5 Pro's design, enabling it to support virtually any room setup-from standalone BYOD setups to integration as a peripheral within full in-room systems. A single-cable BYOD experience enables instant USB connectivity to the room's A/V system, simplifying room setup, reducing cabling complexity, and ensuring a consistent experience for in-room and remote participants. Key features and performance enhancements in the Meeting Owl 5 Pro include: -- Wired multi-device pairing - Secure, reliable coverage for larger rooms through simple, single-cable Ethernet connectivity -- Direct Ethernet connectivity - Hardwired networking and centralised device management for enterprise IT -- Integrated port design - Built-in HDMI, USB-C, and Ethernet ports for stable connections and clean cable routing -- MDEP-ready architecture - Built to support future Microsoft Device Ecosystem Platform requirements -- Five customisable video meeting modes - Easily tailor meeting layouts and experiences using the on-device Multipurpose Button -- Flexible wireless or wired pairing - Choose the connection method that fits room design, network needs and IT preferences "The Meeting Owl 5 Pro represents a significant leap forward in our mission to create truly equitable hybrid meetings for all companies, with a focus on Enterprise," said Frank Weishaupt, CEO of Owl Labs. "From streamlined setup to enterprise-grade innovations, a company commitment to MDEP readiness, and a reinforced channel strategy, we're delivering a solution that modern organisations can trust today, which will continue to improve with new advancements over time." To strengthen its commitment to channel partners, Owl Labs is launching an enhanced Channel Partner Programme alongside the new product, with the Meeting Owl 5 Pro among the company's first channel-first offerings. The programme offers increased margin flexibility, expanded education and training, deal registration, incentives, and dedicated support. It also includes a subscription offering of Owl 360 Services, Owl Labs' services platform built for enterprise IT administrators for remote device management, advanced analytics, priority onboarding and technical support, and enhanced device protection. As part of its broader enterprise strategy, Owl Labs continues to align as a partner within the Microsoft Device Ecosystem Platform (MDEP), reinforcing the company's long-term commitment to enterprise-grade security, manageability, and IT standards across its portfolio. This company-wide initiative reflects Owl Labs' focus on building a scalable, enterprise-ready foundation as its product ecosystem and services continue to evolve. Owl Labs' existing portfolio, including the Meeting Owl 4+ and Owl Bar, is certified for Microsoft Teams. Together, these offerings provide IT leaders with a comprehensive, trusted ecosystem for deploying and managing hybrid collaboration at scale. The Meeting Owl 5 Pro is available for pre-order now for pound2399 with shipping expected in Q1. The device will launch initially in the US, Canada, UK, and Europe, with further global expansion planned. To purchase, find your local reseller or contact [email protected]. For more information on all Owl Labs products, visit owllabs.co.uk. About Owl Labs: Owl Labs is the first company to build AI-powered, 360-degree video conferencing solutions for hybrid organisations. Its connected device system and Owl Intelligence System? software make meetings more inclusive and collaborative by leveling the playing field between remote and in-room participants. The Meeting Owl(R) product line is the first AI-powered, WiFi-enabled, 360-degree camera, microphone and speaker that automatically zooms in on whoever's speaking. Over 250,000 organisations, from small businesses to 92 companies on the Fortune 100 list to educational institutions, have used Owl Labs products to power millions of hybrid experiences. Owl Labs has raised $47 million in funding and is based in Boston, with remote and hybrid employees all over the world. To learn more, visit owllabs.co.uk. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260203914393/en/ Contact [email protected] 2026 Business Wire, Inc.Disclaimer:This press release is not a document produced by AFP. AFP shall not bear responsibility for its content. In case you have any questions about this press release, please refer to the contact person/entity mentioned in the text of the press release. Press Release from Business Wire: Ares Management Corporation (AFP) Feb 03, 2026 NEW YORK & LONDON, Feb 3, 2026 (BSW) - Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) ("Ares"), a leading global alternative investment manager, announced today that it has completed its acquisition of all outstanding shares of BlueCove Limited ("BlueCove"), a London-based systematic fixed-income manager. The integrated BlueCove business will operate as Ares Systematic Credit, the latest strategy within the Ares Credit Group. Ares Systematic Credit offers systematic fixed-income strategies that harness the power of data and technology to deliver differentiated solutions to investors. The strategy leverages proprietary technology to support an evidence-based and data-driven investment process across high-yield, investment grade corporates, convertible bonds, and other liquid credit instruments in a variety of portfolio constructions. These methods seek to systematically access, select, analyze and deploy information to capitalize on market inefficiencies and generate high-quality alpha. Led by Alex Khein, most recently CEO of BlueCove, Ares Systematic Credit is comprised of approximately 60 experienced professionals, primarily based in London and principally specializing in investment and portfolio management, research, and engineering. "We are pleased to welcome our new colleagues to Ares as we continue expanding our market-leading Credit Group," said Michael Smith, Co-Head of the Ares Credit Group. "The Systematic Credit strategy is underpinned by an experienced team of specialists, proprietary technology, and an investment approach informed by R&D. Through these capabilities, together with the strength of the Ares platform, we believe we are well-positioned to serve growing global investor demand for systematic credit investment products." "Joining Ares immediately enhances our ability to deliver best-in-class investment solutions as we are now part of an outstanding platform with the insights, resources, and networks required to achieve this," said Alex Khein, Partner and Head of Ares Systematic Credit. "We look forward to expanding our offering and breadth of R&D activities in the systematic investment sector." Inclusive of BlueCove's approximately $5.5 billion of AUM, the Ares Credit Group managed $397 billion of assets, as of September 30, 2025. About Ares Management Corporation Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) is a leading global alternative investment manager offering clients complementary primary and secondary investment solutions across the credit, real estate, private equity and infrastructure asset classes. We seek to advance our stakeholders' long-term goals by providing flexible capital that supports businesses and creates value for our investors and within our communities. By collaborating across our investment groups, we aim to generate consistent and attractive investment returns throughout market cycles. As of September 30, 2025, Ares Management Corporation's global platform had over $595 billion of assets under management, with operations across North America, South America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. For more information, please visit www.aresmgmt.com. Forward-Looking Statements Statements included herein contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. You can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of forward-looking words such as "outlook," "believes," "expects," "potential," "continues," "may," "will," "should," "seeks," "approximately," "predicts," "intends," "plans," "estimates," "anticipates," "foresees" or negative versions of those words, other comparable words or other statements that do not relate to historical or factual matters. The forward-looking statements are based on Ares' beliefs, assumptions and expectations of Ares' future performance, taking into account all information currently available to Ares. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including Ares' ability to effectively integrate BlueCove into Ares' operations and to achieve the expected benefits therefrom, and various assumptions, including those relating to the impact of the acquisition of BlueCove, Ares' operations, financial results, financial condition, business prospects, growth strategy and liquidity. Some of these factors are described in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, including under the headings "Item 1A. Risk Factors" and "Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations." These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the risk factors and other cautionary statements that are included in this report and in Ares' other periodic filings. If one or more of these or other risks or uncertainties materialize, or if Ares' underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, Ares' actual results may vary materially from those indicated in these forward-looking statements. New risks and uncertainties arise over time, and it is not possible for Ares to predict those events or how they may affect Ares. Therefore, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Ares does not undertake any obligation to update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by law. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260202588829/en/ Contact MediaGiles Bethule, +44 7879615114[email protected] InvestorsGreg Mason, +1 800-340-6597[email protected] 2026 Business Wire, Inc.Disclaimer:This press release is not a document produced by AFP. AFP shall not bear responsibility for its content. In case you have any questions about this press release, please refer to the contact person/entity mentioned in the text of the press release. Press Release from Business Wire: Clearwater Analytics (AFP) Feb 03, 2026 BOISE, Feb 3, 2026 (BSW) - Clearwater Analytics (NYSE: CWAN), the most comprehensive technology platform for investment management, announced today that Generali Deutschland AG has selected CWAN's investment management platform for its EUR40 billion unit-linked fund (ULF) life insurance business, unifying processes across four subsidiaries and preparing the group for accelerated growth in one of Europe's fastest-expanding sectors. The partnership reflects a strategic move ahead of unprecedented market expansion. The global unit-linked insurance market reached $906.9 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow at 10.9% annually through 2032, reaching $2.3 trillion, according to Allied Market Research. This growth trajectory is creating competitive separation between insurers capable of scaling operations and those constrained by fragmented systems across multiple European jurisdictions. Under a multi-year agreement, Generali Deutschland will consolidate portfolio management, order execution, and reconciliation on CWAN's front-to-back investment management platform. The unified deployment will provide real-time data, standardized processes, and automated controls across all ULF subsidiaries, replacing historical fragmentation with an operating model built for agility, transparency and efficiency. CWAN's platform is designed to handle multiple accounting standards and support compliance with evolving European regulatory frameworks, including the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA). This gives insurers operating at scale the ability to readily adapt to regulatory change while efficiently managing higher capital inflows into ULF, processing significantly higher volumes of transactions, and streamlining the management of underlying funds. "European insurers are facing a convergence of explosive market growth and increased regulatory complexity," said Toralf Moller, Head of Investment Accounting at Generali Deutschland AG. "CWAN gives us infrastructure that will support us to unlock the full potential along the value chain of our ULF business. We are positioning ourselves for the future, seizing market opportunities, and will be able to enhance the automation of our processes, allowing us to redirect resources to strategic initiatives that drive customer value." "The European ULF market is growing quickly, and insurers need infrastructure that can keep pace with that level of expansion," said Josef Sommeregger, Head of Insurance, EMEA at CWAN. "CWAN gives Generali a unified operating model, to address the rapidly increasing capital inflows, as well as the expanded volume of managed accounts and daily transactions. In addition this is the foundation insurers need to comply effectively with all regulatory requirements in a multi-jurisdiction environment." Learn more by speaking to an expert at www.cwan.com. About Generali Deutschland AG Generali in Germany is one of the leading primary insurance groups in the German market, with premium income of around EUR15 billion and more than 9 million customers. As part of the international Generali Group, Generali in Germany operates in the life, health and property/casualty segments with the brands Generali, CosmosDirekt and Dialog. Generali's goal is to be a lifelong partner for its customers, offering innovative, individual solutions and services thanks to an excellent sales network in exclusive and direct sales as well as in the broker channel. Further information is available at www.generali.de. About CWAN Clearwater Analytics (NYSE: CWAN) is transforming investment management with the industry's most comprehensive cloud-native platform for institutional investors across global public and private markets. While legacy systems create risk, inefficiency, and data fragmentation, CWAN's single-instance, multi-tenant architecture delivers real-time data and AI-driven insights throughout the investment lifecycle. The platform eliminates information silos by integrating portfolio management, trading, investment accounting, reconciliation, regulatory reporting, performance, compliance, and risk analytics in one unified system. Serving leading insurers, asset managers, hedge funds, banks, corporations, and governments, CWAN supports over $10 trillion in assets globally.Learn more at www.cwan.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260203926052/en/ Contact Media Contact:Claudia Cahill, Head of Communications and PR | +1 208-433-1200 | [email protected] 2026 Business Wire, Inc.Disclaimer:This press release is not a document produced by AFP. AFP shall not bear responsibility for its content. In case you have any questions about this press release, please refer to the contact person/entity mentioned in the text of the press release. Press Release from Business Wire: Mopria Alliance (AFP) Feb 03, 2026 SAN RAMON, Feb 3, 2026 (BSW) - The Mopria(R) Alliance , a global non-profit membership organization providing universal print and scan standards, today announced Google has joined as an Executive Member, further strengthening the Alliance's mission to provide universal standards for print and scan. Google's membership builds on a long-standing collaboration that has already embedded Mopria print technology into Android devices for more than a decade and also supported Mopria scan technology on Chromebooks. "From an idea held by four founding members to a global alliance helping billions of consumers and business customers, Mopria has reshaped the way the world prints and scans," said Michael St. Laurent, President of the Mopria Alliance. "Google's decision to join the Mopria Alliance marks an exciting new chapter in this journey, strengthening our mission to deliver effortless, universal printing and scanning for everyone, regardless of the devices they use. Together, we will continue advancing standards that simplify the user experience, enhance cross-platform compatibility, and meet the needs of both consumers and enterprises." Mopria's collaboration with Google has already brought printing to the core of the Android operating system with the Default Print Service, making print capabilities available to billions of devices by default. With Google's membership, the company will take an even more active role in shaping the next generation of universal standards, giving Mopria a stronger foundation to advance intuitive, accessible, and secure print and scan experiences across billions of devices in an increasingly connected, rapidly evolving technology landscape. "Our Executive Membership in the Mopria Alliance is a testament to Google's commitment to simplifying and modernizing print and scan for the next generation of computing. We look forward to collaborating with the alliance to drive new standards, foster innovation, and make printing and scanning an effortless and reliable experience not only within the Android and ChromeOS ecosystems, but across the entire printing and scanning landscape," said Gajanan Bhat, Engineering Senior Director at Google. With Google's participation, Mopria Alliance will deepen its work to ensure seamless, cross-platform compatibility across Android, ChromeOS, Fire OS tablets, Windows, and beyond. Mopria standards eliminate the need for proprietary drivers or apps, enabling users to print and scan easily across brands, devices, and operating systems. Today, Mopria powers over 5 billion installations worldwide, with more than 9,500 certified product models and 120 million certified printers and scanners in active daily use. Founded in 2013 by Canon, HP, Samsung, and Xerox, the Mopria Alliance is represented by leading companies in the worldwide printer and scanner business. In addition to the founding companies, the Mopria Alliance today includes Adobe, Alps Alpine Co., Ltd., Brother, DEX Imaging, Epson, Fiery, FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp., Google, Katun Corporation, Konica Minolta, Kyocera, Lexmark, LRS Output Management, Microsoft, OKI, Pantum, PaperCut, Primax, Qualcomm, Ricoh, Riso Kagaku Corporation, SOFHA GmbH, Toshiba, Tungsten Automation, Vivo, and Y Soft. Companies interested in shaping the future of universal print and scan standards can learn more about joining the Mopria Alliance at mopria.org/join-us. About the Mopria(R) Alliance The Mopria(R) Alliance is a nonprofit organization of leading global technology companies with a mission to provide universal standards for simple, seamless printing and scanning with any Mopria certified device. Dedicated to driving innovation and cross-platform compatibility, Mopria print technology is built into more than 5 billion Android? devices and is also supported by Microsoft(R) Windows(R). With members including Canon, HP, Samsung, Xerox, and others, Mopria certified solutions enable mobile connectivity to over 9,500 printer models and more than 120 million devices worldwide. Learn more at www.mopria.org. Print. Scan. Go. All trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Android, ChromeOS, and Google are trademarks of Google LLC.Microsoft and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260203689705/en/ Contact Media Contacts:[email protected] [email protected] 2026 Business Wire, Inc.Disclaimer:This press release is not a document produced by AFP. AFP shall not bear responsibility for its content. In case you have any questions about this press release, please refer to the contact person/entity mentioned in the text of the press release. Press Release from Business Wire: Visa Inc. (AFP) Feb 03, 2026 SAN FRANCISCO & DOHA, Feb 3, 2026 (BSW) - At Web Summit Qatar, Visa (NYSE:V) and UnionPay International (UPI) announced an agreement to enable cross-border money movement into Chinese Mainland through Visa Direct. Once fully rolled out, clients will be able to send cross-border remittances and business-to-consumer payouts to more than 95 percent of UnionPay International debit cardholders in Chinese Mainland, through a single connection. By connecting Visa Direct's global money movement network to UPI's MoneyExpress platform, Visa will provide a more seamless, secure, and transparent way for consumers and businesses worldwide to send money into Chinese Mainland, one of the world's largest remittance destinations. This milestone showcases Visa's commitment to opening global corridors and extending reliable money movement capabilities to people and businesses worldwide. "Global business now moves at internet speed, but money hasn't always kept pace," said Vira Platonova, Global Head of Visa Direct. "By expanding Visa Direct's reach through UnionPay International, we're shrinking the world again - not through tests or theory, but through real, critical infrastructure operating at massive scale, speed and reliability." The connection will support a broad set of cross?border use cases, including creator and freelancer payouts, contractor disbursements, reimbursements, and family remittances. As platforms, marketplaces and employers operate without borders, these payments and payouts increasingly require the ability to reliably reach people using global scale and real?time delivery. "Cross?border remittances are a key livelihood link connecting personal life, economic activity, and financial needs across borders, and are an important part of UnionPay's international strategy," said Larry Wang, CEO of UnionPay International. "This cooperation with Visa represents a precise alignment of the two sides' strengths and is also an active response to the digitalization and convenience trends in global cross?border remittances. It will allow more overseas users to enjoy low?cost, high?efficiency, and trustworthy cross?border remittance services, while delivering business growth to partners at home and abroad and supporting the development of a broader, more efficient global cross?border remittance service ecosystem." Visa Direct continues to scale as a foundational layer of the global economy - helping clients unlock new markets, improve liquidity, and deliver faster, more predictable payment experiences worldwide. The expanded Visa Direct connection to UnionPay International is expected to be available starting in the first half of 2026. "Whether it's a creator getting paid, a contractor receiving earnings or a family sending support across borders, reach and reassurance are everything," added Platonova. "Expanding Visa Direct into one of the world's largest, most complex markets will bring that trust to life at scale, where reliability and reach matter most." About Visa Inc. Visa (NYSE: V) is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating transactions between consumers, sellers, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. We believe that economies that include everyone everywhere, uplift everyone everywhere and see access as foundational to the future of money movement. Learn more at Visa.com. -0- *T ____________________1 Availability and speed of funds vary by receiving institution and region and may be subject to regulatory and compliance checks.*T View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260203132524/en/ Contact Media Contacts:Aaron Gould, [email protected] 2026 Business Wire, Inc.Disclaimer:This press release is not a document produced by AFP. AFP shall not bear responsibility for its content. In case you have any questions about this press release, please refer to the contact person/entity mentioned in the text of the press release. Press Release from Business Wire: SLB (AFP) Feb 03, 2026 HOUSTON, Feb 3, 2026 (BSW) - Global technology company SLB (NYSE: SLB) today announced that Kuwait Oil Company has awarded SLB a $1.5 billion, five-year integrated contract for the Mutriba field in Kuwait, including design, development and production management. The work builds on SLB's subsurface understanding of the Mutriba field to support development planning and execution across deeper, technically demanding reservoir conditions. The contract covers development of high-pressure, high-temperature reservoirs with sour conditions, reflecting an expanded scope and responsibility for SLB as work on the Mutriba field progresses. "This award reflects the strength of our long-standing partnership with Kuwait Oil Company and the trust built over decades of working together," said Steve Gassen, executive vice president, Geographies, SLB. "As development of the Mutriba field moves into its next stage, we are taking on end-to-end responsibility to support safe, reliable execution in complex reservoir conditions." The project is designed to support faster development of technically challenging and remote resources, while prioritizing capital efficiency and environmental considerations. It reflects a broader shift toward end-to-end delivery models that reduce execution risk as fields move into more complex phases of development. Key points -- Kuwait Oil Company awarded SLB a $1.5 billion, five-year integrated development contract for the next stage of development of the Mutriba field in Kuwait, underscoring the scale and significance of the award. -- SLB will be responsible for the integrated design, development and production of the field. -- The contract advances work already underway and reflects a deepening of the long-standing partnership between SLB and Kuwait Oil Company as development progresses. -- The scope covers deeper, technically demanding reservoirs characterized by high pressure, high temperature and sour conditions, marking a more complex phase of field development. About SLB SLB (NYSE: SLB) is a global technology company that has driven energy innovation for 100 years. With a global footprint in more than 100 countries and employees representing almost twice as many nationalities, we work each day on innovating oil and gas, delivering digital at scale, decarbonizing industries, and developing and scaling new energy systems that accelerate the energy transition. Find out more at slb.com. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws - that is, statements about the future, not about past events. Such statements often contain words such as "expect," "may," "can," "estimate," "intend," "anticipate," "will," "potential," "projected" and other similar words. Forward-looking statements address matters that are, to varying degrees, uncertain, such as forecasts or expectations regarding the deployment of, or anticipated benefits of, SLB's new technologies and partnerships; statements about goals, plans and projections with respect to sustainability and environmental matters; forecasts or expectations regarding energy transition and global climate change; and improvements in operating procedures and technology. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the inability to achieve net-negative carbon emissions goals; the inability to recognize intended benefits of SLB's strategies, initiatives or partnerships; legislative and regulatory initiatives addressing environmental concerns, including initiatives addressing the impact of global climate change; the timing or receipt of regulatory approvals and permits; and other risks and uncertainties detailed in SLB's most recent Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K filed with or furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. If one or more of these or other risks or uncertainties materialize (or the consequences of such a development changes), or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual outcomes may vary materially from those reflected in our forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and SLB disclaims any intention or obligation to update publicly or revise such statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260203653764/en/ Contact MediaJosh Byerly - SVP of Global CommunicationsMoira Duff - Director of External CommunicationsSLBTel: +1 (713) 375-3407[email protected] InvestorsJames R. McDonald - SVP of Investor Relations & Industry AffairsJoy V. Domingo - Director of Investor RelationsSLBTel: +1 (713) 375-3535[email protected] 2026 Business Wire, Inc.Disclaimer:This press release is not a document produced by AFP. AFP shall not bear responsibility for its content. In case you have any questions about this press release, please refer to the contact person/entity mentioned in the text of the press release. Press Release from Business Wire: Andersen Consulting (AFP) Feb 03, 2026 SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 3, 2026 (BSW) - Andersen Consulting strengthens digital transformation offering with the addition of collaborating firm Saratoga Software, a provider of software delivery and specialist technology solutions. Founded in 1998, Saratoga Software provides companies, especially in the financial services and fintech sectors, a comprehensive suite of services, including custom software design and development, business analysis, platform integration and support, quality assurance, project management, and data engineering and business intelligence. With offices in South Africa and the United Kingdom, the firm also specializes in AI and machine learning solutions as well as cloud migration, customer communication management, and strategic technology advisory services. "Our team brings deep engineering expertise, seniority, and a proven ability to solve complex problems - qualities that make us trusted advisors for our clients," said Anthony Robinson, executive chairman of Saratoga Software. "Collaborating with an organization like Andersen Consulting is a natural step forward, enabling us to connect with like-minded professionals and deliver even greater impact as companies harness emerging technologies, reimagine their operations, and position themselves for long-term success." "Saratoga Software brings decades of hands-on technology delivery and advisory excellence," said Mark L. Vorsatz, global chairman and CEO of Andersen. "Their breadth of expertise in AI, cloud migration, and technology advisory complements our full-service consulting offerings, enabling us to help clients lead transformation with confidence." Andersen Consulting is a global consulting practice providing a comprehensive suite of services spanning corporate strategy, business, technology, and AI transformation, as well as human capital solutions. Andersen Consulting integrates with the multidimensional service model of Andersen Global, delivering world-class consulting, tax, legal, valuation, global mobility, and advisory expertise on a global platform with more than 50,000 professionals worldwide and a presence in over 1,000 locations through its member firms and collaborating firms. Andersen Consulting Holdings LP is a limited partnership and provides consulting solutions through its member firms and collaborating firms around the world. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260203253381/en/ Contact [email protected] 2026 Business Wire, Inc.Disclaimer:This press release is not a document produced by AFP. AFP shall not bear responsibility for its content. In case you have any questions about this press release, please refer to the contact person/entity mentioned in the text of the press release. Press Release from Business Wire: HTEC Group Inc. (AFP) Feb 03, 2026 PALO ALTO, Feb 3, 2026 (BSW) - AI has moved from ambition to action. Every organization is deploying it. Yet for most enterprises, the real challenge is only just beginning. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260203951136/en/ HTEC, a global AI?first provider of software and hardware design and engineering services, released Executive Summary: A Cross?Industry View of the State of AI in 2025, a global research report capturing how senior executives are navigating the next phase of AI transformation-and why scaling value remains elusive. Today, HTEC, a global AI?first provider of software and hardware design and engineering services, released Executive Summary: A Cross?Industry View of the State of AI in 2025, a global research report that captures how senior executives are navigating the next phase of AI transformation-and why scaling value remains elusive. Based on insights from 1,529 C?suite executives worldwide, the research offers one of the most comprehensive leadership perspectives to date on where AI is delivering impact, where it is stalling, and what separates experimentation from enterprise?wide advantage. AI Is Everywhere-But Rarely Fully Embedded The data reveals a clear inflection point. AI adoption is now universal: 100% of organizations report active AI deployment. But scale remains the exception, not the rule. Only 45% of executives say AI is fully embedded across multiple functions or products. The majority report fragmented deployments-AI running in pockets, pilots, or isolated initiatives rather than as a coordinated operating model. For HTEC, this mirrors what clients experience on the ground. The challenge is no longer proving AI works. It is turning promising use cases into integrated systems and workflows that deliver measurable, repeatable ROI. Where AI Momentum Breaks Down Executives are remarkably aligned on why progress slows. The first fracture point isn't model performance-it's integration.The most frequently cited barrier is the difficulty of embedding AI into existing processes and legacy systems (43%). This is where initiatives stall, ownership fragments, and value erodes. Internal capability gaps make "build everything in?house" unrealistic.As AI moves deeper into core operations, leaders acknowledge that shortages in critical technical skills create execution bottlenecks that compound over time. Unclear prioritization and ROI force a shift in execution strategy.With limited internal capacity and AI literacy to evaluate and scale multiple initiatives in parallel, executives increasingly plan to rely on specialized partners and third?party platforms to accelerate deployment, reduce risk, and focus internal teams where they create the most value. The message is consistent across industries: AI success is now constrained by organizational readiness, not algorithmic potential. Edge AI Moves From Experimental to Essential The research also highlights a decisive shift in how leaders view edge and embedded AI. Edge AI is no longer seen as optional or experimental. Ninety?two percent of executives report strong familiarity with edge capabilities and express confidence in deploying AI closer to where data is generated, and decisions are made-particularly to improve security, resilience, regulatory control, and performance in constrained environments. At the same time, leaders are pragmatic about what it takes to scale. Most plan a blended approach: combining specialized partners, third?party platforms, and selective in?house development. The goal is speed without sacrificing control-and long?term ownership without slowing execution. The Cost of Inaction Is Measured in Years Executives are acutely aware of the stakes. They estimate that failing to act on AI and edge opportunities could set their organizations back by nearly two years. In response, most leaders are targeting one? to three?year horizons to validate use cases, deploy enterprise roadmaps, upskill their workforce, and launch new AI?enabled revenue streams. Yet confidence remains fragile. Only 25% of executives believe their organization can adopt and scale AI rapidly. Another 22% expect selective adoption with slower scaling. Thirty?one percent say they can experiment but struggle to capture value, while 22% admit they are already falling behind. Taken together, the findings suggest a sobering reality: three in four organizations risk turning AI momentum into missed advantage unless they address structural, operational, and leadership barriers. From Projects to Operating Model "The next phase of AI is not about more pilots," said Lawrence Whittle, Chief Strategy Officer at HTEC. "It's about defining bold ambitions, redesigning end?to?end processes, and scaling AI through modular, enterprise?wide roadmaps. Organizations that succeed will be those that treat AI as a core operating model-not a collection of projects." To explore the full findings and executive insights from the report, downloadExecutive Summary: A Cross-Industry View of the State of AI in 2025. About the Report The report was commissioned by HTEC and conducted by Censuswide. It includes the insights from 1,529 C-suite leaders across the USA, UK, Germany, Spain, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, spanning CEOs, CIOs, CTOs, CDOs, CFOs, COOs, CPOs, and CSOs across industries, including financial services, healthcare, automotive, telecommunications, retail, and semiconductors. About HTEC HTEC Group Inc.is a global AI-first provider of strategic, software and hardware embedded design and engineering services, specializing in Advanced Technologies, Financial Services, MedTech, Automotive, Telco, and Enterprise Software & Platforms. HTEC has a proven track record of helping Fortune 500 and hyper-growth companies solve complex engineering challenges, drive efficiency, reduce risks, and accelerate time to market. HTEC prides itself on attracting top talent and has strategically chosen the locations of its 20+ excellence centers to enable this. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260203951136/en/ Contact Media Contact:[email protected] 2026 Business Wire, Inc.Disclaimer:This press release is not a document produced by AFP. AFP shall not bear responsibility for its content. In case you have any questions about this press release, please refer to the contact person/entity mentioned in the text of the press release. Press Release from Business Wire: Vena (AFP) Feb 03, 2026 TORONTO, Feb 3, 2026 (BSW) - Vena , the only complete FP&A platform powered by agentic AI and purpose-built to amplify the Microsoft technology ecosystem, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Managility Pty Ltd, operating as Acterys ("Acterys"), the industry's leading Power BI-based operational planning and app development platform, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval. This acquisition unlocks a category-defining way for enterprises to combine planning, analytics, and application development within the Microsoft tools they already trust to run their business. By combining Vena's Excel-native financial planning and analysis (FP&A) capabilities with Acterys' proprietary Power BI write-back engine and unified analytics within Microsoft Fabric, Vena is creating the first Microsoft-native environment for Orchestrated Planning,an operating model that moves organizations beyond integrated planning into fully orchestrated and agentic AI-powered execution. Orchestrated Planning is the next stage in planning maturity. It harmonizes and automates every component of planning and execution cycles - people, processes, technologies and data - ensuring the entire organization is empowered with insight and foresight, and that decisions and actions align with strategic goals. Where integrated planning connects plans, Orchestrated Planning aligns decisions and actions, turning planning and execution into enterprise-wide performance momentum. Together, Vena and Acterys bring Orchestrated Planning to life by giving Finance and IT a shared, trusted environment to build, extend, and operationalize real-time functional and operational planning and scenario modeling at scale. Vena equips Finance with an Excel-native FP&A foundation powered by real-time data, while Acterys provides IT with Power BI write-back and Fabric-based data analytics to connect financial models and purpose-built operational applications. The result is AI-powered planning that aligns strategy, systems, and execution across the enterprise. "Our vision has always been to help companies run better by connecting people, data and processes," said Hunter Madeley, CEO of Vena. "With Acterys, we're unlocking the full potential of the Microsoft ecosystem by helping enterprises that leverage Excel, Power BI and other Microsoft technology to meaningfully increase the value they are creating for their teams, organization and the customers they support." "Vena and Acterys bring together the best of both worlds-Excel for Finance and Power BI for IT-to deliver a unified planning and analytics experience," said Mike Zack, CEO, Acterys. "It's the solution enterprises have been waiting for to align strategy, systems and execution across the Microsoft stack." Serving more than 300 global organizations, Acterys enables CIOs, IT leaders and business innovators to build and scale custom planning, analytics and data applications within Power BI and Microsoft Fabric. Both platforms are available via the Microsoft Marketplace, enabling faster procurement and, with Vena, direct Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment (MACC) decrements. About Vena Vena Solutions Inc. ("Vena") is the only agentic AI-powered FP&A platform purpose-built to harness the full power of the Microsoft ecosystem for finance and IT teams everywhere. Thousands of leading enterprises rely on Vena to connect planning, analytics and execution. Learn more at venasolutions.com. About Acterys Acterys provides enterprise-grade planning, analytics and application development solutions for Microsoft Power BI, Azure and Fabric. Its modular, scalable platform empowers organizations to build connected, data-driven applications at scale. Visit Acterys.com for more information. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260203721401/en/ Contact Media Contact:Jonathan PaulVice President, Content Marketing[email protected] 2026 Business Wire, Inc.Disclaimer:This press release is not a document produced by AFP. AFP shall not bear responsibility for its content. In case you have any questions about this press release, please refer to the contact person/entity mentioned in the text of the press release. EU rejects 'nonsense' censorship charge from Trump allies Brussels, Belgium, Feb 3 (AFP) Feb 03, 2026 The EU executive on Tuesday strongly rejected accusations made in a US congressional report that it had forced social media platforms to censor American content. In a scathing 160-page report, the Republican-dominated judiciary committee of the House of Representatives claimed the European Commission spent 10 years trying to "censor the global internet" and American citizens' speech. The report's release came on the eve of a hearing by the committee chaired by President Donald Trump ally Jim Jordan, entitled "Europe's Threat to American Speech and Innovation, Part II". The accusations drew a strong rebuke from the EU. "On the latest censorship allegations. Pure nonsense. Completely unfounded," EU digital affairs spokesman Thomas Regnier said. A first report by the House committee last year took aim at the EU's legal armoury, especially its 2023 content law, the Digital Services Act -- which Trump's administration accuses of discriminating against US firms. The new report described the DSA as "the culmination of a decade-long European effort to silence political opposition and suppress online narratives that criticize the political establishment". It claimed that during the Covid pandemic, commission "officials pressed platforms to change their content moderation rules to globally censor content questioning established narratives about the virus and the vaccine", citing emails as evidence. And it accused Brussels of pressuring platforms to "censor content" in a string of EU national elections since the DSA's adoption, as well as the 2024 European Parliament elections. The Trump-allied tech tycoon Elon Musk cheered the release of the report in an X post entitled "Tyrants love censorship". But the EU's Regnier pushed back, pointing to online platforms' ability to "algorithmically influence elections" and Europe's efforts to ensure "free and fair elections". "Freedom of expression is a fundamental right in Europe," Regnier said, adding that the DSA "is protecting that right against big tech". cjc-raz/ec/phz WASHINGTON, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem announced Monday on social media that body cameras are being deployed to all officers in Minneapolis, amid public criticism and anger after two fatal shootings by federal law enforcement. "Effective immediately we are deploying body cameras to every officer in the field in Minneapolis," Noem wrote on X. "As funding is available, the body camera program will be expanded nationwide. We will rapidly acquire and deploy body cameras to DHS law enforcement across the country," she said. Noem has faced mounting pressure in recent days following the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by law enforcement officers in Minneapolis. The backlash has focused on her comments describing the victims as having committed "an act of domestic terrorism," a claim not supported by video evidence. U.S. President Donald Trump said last week that Noem will not step down, even as Democrats threatened to begin impeachment proceedings against her. The two fatal shootings have prompted Democrats to seek changes to how immigration agencies operate. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer recently outlined Democrats' demands, including ending roving patrols, tightening warrant rules, imposing an enforceable code of conduct that holds federal agents to the same use-of-force standards as local law enforcement, and implementing a "masks off, body cameras on" policy for federal agents. Trump warns Iran of 'bad things' unless deal struck with US Washington, United States, Feb 2 (AFP) Feb 02, 2026 President Donald Trump warned on Monday that "bad things" will happen if Iran fails to reach a deal with the United States, after Tehran called for the start of nuclear talks with Washington. "Right now we're talking to them, we're talking to Iran, and if we can work something out that'd be great. And if we can't, probably bad things would happen," Trump told reporters in the White House. With tensions flaring, Trump declined to discuss any possible military action against Iran, but reiterated that the "tremendous force" including an aircraft carrier he has dispatched to the Middle East was arriving in the region soon. Iran orders talks with US as Trump warns of 'bad things' if no deal reached Paris, France, Feb 3 (AFP) Feb 03, 2026 Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has ordered the start of nuclear talks with the United States, local media said, as his counterpart Donald Trump threatened "bad things" if no deal with the Islamic republic was struck. Following the Iranian authorities' deadly response to anti-government protests that peaked last month, the US president has threatened military action and ordered the dispatch of an aircraft carrier group to the Middle East. Trump has maintained he is hopeful that Washington will "work something out" with Iran but also warned on Monday that "bad things would happen" if no deal is reached. Tehran has insisted it wants diplomacy, while vowing an unbridled response to any aggression. "President Pezeshkian has ordered the opening of talks with the United States" on Iran's nuclear programme, the Fars news agency reported on Monday, citing an unnamed government source. The report was also carried by the government newspaper Iran and the reformist daily Shargh. A meeting is likely to take place in Turkey on Friday, following interventions by Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and Oman, an Arab official told AFP on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter. US news site Axios cited two unnamed sources as saying Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was expected to meet with US envoy Steve Witkoff in Istanbul to discuss a possible deal on the nuclear issue. Trump had warned "time is running out" for Iran to reach a deal on its nuclear programme, which the West believes is aimed at making an atomic bomb, a claim Tehran has repeatedly denied. In an interview with CNN on Sunday, Araghchi said: "President Trump said no nuclear weapons, and we fully agree. We fully agree with that. That could be a very good deal," adding that, "in return, we expect sanctions lifting". Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said earlier on Monday that Tehran was working on a method and framework for negotiations that would be ready in the coming days, with messages between the two sides relayed through regional players. - 'Police the world' - Turkey has led a diplomatic push to defuse tensions, with Araghchi visiting Istanbul last week and speaking with other regional counterparts, including in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. Jordan's top diplomat, Ayman Safadi, assured Araghchi on Monday that the kingdom would "not be a battleground in any regional conflict or a launching pad for any military action against Iran". Iranian authorities, including supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have warned any US attack would trigger a "regional war". In Tehran, pensioner Ali Hamidi told AFP he was a veteran and "not afraid of war", but that "America should mind its own business, why does it want to police the world?" But, the 68-year-old added, "Iranian officials are also at fault for not providing for the people. The economic troubles are back-breaking... The officials should do something tangible, not just talk." The protests were sparked in late December by economic strain and exploded in size and intensity over several days in early January. Authorities have said the protests were "riots" inflamed by its arch-foes the United States and Israel, with Khamenei likening them to a "coup" attempt. - Ambassadors summoned - Tehran has acknowledged thousands of deaths during the protests, and on Sunday the presidency published the names of 2,986 people out of the 3,117 whom authorities said were killed in the unrest. Authorities insist most were members of the security forces and innocent bystanders, attributing the violence to "terrorist acts". The Human Rights Activists News Agency, a US-based NGO, said it has confirmed 6,854 deaths, mostly protesters killed by security forces, with other rights groups warning the figure is likely far higher. Young Iranian Selina, who would not give her full name, travelled to Iraqi Kurdistan seeking some relief from "living in fear". "It's not safe for us" in Iran, the 25-year-old told AFP. "We don't even dare to go out after 6:00 pm because soldiers are everywhere." The crackdown prompted the European Union to list the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation, with Iranian lawmakers retaliating on Sunday by slapping the same designation on European armies. The EU also issued fresh sanctions on Iranian officials, including the interior minister, a move echoed on Monday by Britain, which announced sanctions on 10 individuals over the "brutality against protesters". Baqaei said Monday the foreign ministry had summoned all the EU member state ambassadors in Tehran over the designation, and that other responses were to come. Iranian state television also announced four foreigners had been arrested in Tehran for "participation in riots", without specifying their nationalities. Authorities have continued to announce arrests, with rights groups estimating at least 40,000 people have been detained over the protests. burs-sw/ser/mjw/mtp Iran president confirms talks with US after Trump's threats Paris, France, Feb 3 (AFP) Feb 03, 2026 Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian confirmed on Tuesday that he had ordered the start of nuclear talks with the United States, after his counterpart Donald Trump threatened "bad things" if no deal is reached. The US leader has talked of military action and sent an aircraft carrier group to the Middle East following anti-government protests in Iran last month that were met with a deadly crackdown. Trump has maintained he is hopeful that Washington will "work something out" with Tehran but also warned that "bad things would happen" if no deal is reached. Tehran has insisted it wants diplomacy, while vowing an unbridled response to any aggression. "I have instructed my Minister of Foreign Affairs, provided that a suitable environment exists -- one free from threats and unreasonable expectations -- to pursue fair and equitable negotiations," Pezeshkian wrote in a post on X. The talks will be held "within the framework of our national interests", he said, adding that it followed requests "from friendly governments". On Tuesday a senior official from Gulf power the United Arab Emirates said Iran needs to reach a deal and "rebuild their relationship with the United States". "I would like to see direct Iranian-American negotiations leading to understandings so that we don't have these issues every other day," said presidential adviser Anwar Gargash, in reference to recent tensions. There has been no official confirmation from Iran on where the talks will be held, but an Arab official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP a meeting was likely to take place in Turkey on Friday, following diplomatic interventions by Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and Oman. Iran has repeatedly stressed that talks should remain focused solely on the nuclear issue, rejecting negotiations over its missile programme or defence capabilities. - 'Fair and equitable deal' - In an interview with CNN broadcast on Monday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran has lost trust in the United States as a negotiating partner but noted that a deal on the nuclear issue was achievable. "So I see the possibility of another talk if the US negotiation team follows what President Trump said: to come to a fair and equitable deal to ensure that there is no nuclear weapons," he said. Nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington stalled last year after Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran in June, triggering a 12-day war. The Israeli strikes hit nuclear and military facilities as well as residential areas, killing senior military commanders, nuclear scientists and hundreds of others. The United States briefly joined the conflict, carrying out strikes on key Iranian nuclear sites. Iran responded with drone and missile attacks on Israel, as well as by targeting the largest US military base in the Middle East, located in Qatar. Since his return to office in January last year, Trump has reinstated a "maximum pressure" policy of sanctions against Iran, where millions have suffered economic hardships exacerbated by the trade curbs. Protests against the rising cost of living broke out in Tehran in December before morphing into wider nationwide anti-government demonstrations. Tehran has acknowledged more than 3,000 deaths during the unrest, but insists that most were members of the security forces and innocent bystanders, attributing the violence to "terrorist acts". The Human Rights Activists News Agency, a US-based NGO, said it has confirmed 6,854 deaths, mostly protesters killed by security forces, with other rights groups warning the figure is likely far higher. Iranian authorities have said the protests were "riots" involving killings and vandalism and inflamed by its arch-foes the United States and Israel. Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei likened the unrest to a "coup" attempt and warned of a "regional war" if the US attacked his country. Adding to the tension, a massive fire broke out Tuesday at a bazaar west of the Iranian capital, state media reported, although the cause of the blaze was unclear. Kremlin warns of 'dangerous' moment as US-Russia nuclear treaty set to expire Moscow, Feb 3 (AFP) Feb 03, 2026 The Kremlin warned on Tuesday that the world was heading into a "dangerous" moment as the last US-Russia nuclear treaty is set to expire this week. New START, the last nuclear treaty between Washington and Moscow after decades of agreements dating to the Cold War, is set to expire on Thursday, and with it restrictions on the two top nuclear powers. "In just a few days, the world will be in a more dangerous position than it has ever been before," spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists, including from AFP, during a daily briefing. The Kremlin, which has offered a one-year extension of the treaty, said "we still haven't received a response from the Americans to this initiative." If the treaty is not extended, the world's top two nuclear powers would "be left without a fundamental document that would limit and control these arsenals," for the first time. US President Donald Trump, who cut many international agreements limiting the United States, said in September that an extension of the New START "sounds like a good idea," but little has changed since then. The treaty, which included a monitoring mechanism, was signed in 2010 by then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his US counterpart Barack Obama. But Russia suspended monitoring inspections during the COVID-19 pandemic and talks on extending the agreement have broken down in recent years due to tensions over the Ukraine war. Moscow had also accused Washington of impeding monitoring missions on US soil. In 2023, Russia froze its participation in New START, but it has continued to voluntarily adhere to the limits set in the treaty. Moscow has last year tested its latest nuclear weapon carriers without atomic warheads, and Trump said he was moving two nuclear submarines closer to Russia. India's Adani signs helicopter deal with Italy's Leonardo New Delhi, Feb 3 (AFP) Feb 03, 2026 India's Adani group and Italian defence firm Leonardo have signed a deal to manufacture helicopters in India, the companies said Tuesday, responding to New Delhi's "surging military demands". The announcement comes just days after Adani signed a deal with Brazilian plane maker Embraer to build aircraft in India. The agreement with Leonardo is mainly for the manufacturing of advanced TrekkerM helicopters, the companies said. "The collaboration will deliver phased indigenisation, robust maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) capabilities, and comprehensive pilot training," the statement added. Adani said the Indian armed forces had projected a "demand for 1,000 helicopters in the coming decade". Leonardo Helicopters' managing director Gian Piero Cutillo said the deal would enable India to access "the level of modern technology and operational capability it deserves". "This landmark partnership will establish a fully integrated helicopter manufacturing ecosystem in India, addressing surging military demands and propelling the nation toward self-reliance in helicopter production," the joint statement said. Regional security concerns loom large for India, which is making efforts to modernise its military hardware, especially after an intense four-day clash with arch-rival Pakistan in May last year, their worst standoff since 1999. Both sides claimed victory, each boasting of downing the other's fighter jets. India has also eyed with worry its northern neighbour China, especially since a deadly 2020 clash between their troops. ash/abh/ami Adani Two arrested for attempted sabotage of German navy ships: prosecutors Hamburg, Feb 3 (AFP) Feb 03, 2026 Two suspects have been arrested for attempted sabotage of German naval vessels in a dock in the northern German port of Hamburg last year, prosecutors said on Tuesday. A 37-year-old Romanian and a 54-year-old Greek suspect were arrested in Hamburg and in a Greek village "on suspicion of attempted sabotage of a defence vessel", they said in a statement. The men are accused of putting more than 20 kilograms (about 40 pounds) of grit into a ship's engine block, puncturing water supply lines, removing caps from fuel tanks, and deactivating electronic safety switches. "Had the acts of sabotage gone undetected, they would have led to significant damage to the ships or, at the very least, delayed their departure, thereby potentially endangering the security of the Federal Republic of Germany and troops' operational effectiveness," prosecutors said. Prosecutors said they were still investigating the background to the alleged acts of sabotage. Germany and other NATO members across Europe are on high alert over suspected Russian espionage, drone surveillance and sabotage. Two arrested for attempted sabotage of German navy ships Hamburg, Feb 3 (AFP) Feb 03, 2026 Two suspects were arrested Tuesday for attempting to sabotage German naval vessels last year in a dock in the northern German port of Hamburg, prosecutors said. A 37-year-old Romanian and a 54-year-old Greek citizen were arrested in Hamburg and in a Greek village respectively "on suspicion of attempted sabotage of a defence vessel", they said in a statement. The men, who worked at the port at the time, are accused of putting more than 20 kilograms (about 40 pounds) of grit into a ship's engine block, puncturing water supply lines, removing caps from fuel tanks and deactivating electronic safety switches. The attempted sabotage of the corvettes was discovered in time to avoid any further damage. "Had the acts of sabotage gone undetected, they would have led to significant damage to the ships or, at the very least, delayed their departure, thereby potentially endangering the security of the Federal Republic of Germany and the armed forces' operational effectiveness," prosecutors said. While Monday's arrest warrant relates to sabotage against one ship, the two men are also suspected of committing similar acts on other vessels. Apartments belonging to the suspects in Hamburg, Romania and Greece were also searched in the operation coordinated through Eurojust, an EU agency based in The Hague. German prosecutors said they were still investigating who could have been behind the alleged acts of sabotage. Germany and other NATO members across Europe are on high alert over suspected Russian espionage, drone surveillance and sabotage. Last week, parliament adopted a new law aiming to better protect German critical infrastructure from sabotage as well as from accidents and natural disasters. Early last month, an arson attack claimed by a left-wing extremist group targeting electricity cables left tens of thousands without power in Berlin. Up to 800 'dark fleet' vessels operating worldwide: US Coast Guard Washington, United States, Feb 3 (AFP) Feb 03, 2026 Up to 800 "dark fleet" vessels under sanctions are operating worldwide and only a small percentage have been interdicted, a senior US Coast Guard officer said Tuesday. President Donald Trump in December ordered a "blockade" of sanctioned oil vessels heading to and from Venezuela, as he launched a campaign that has seen American forces take control of seven ships so far. "We estimate that there's probably about 600 or 800 sanctioned dark fleet vessels... between Iran and Venezuela, China and Russia," Rear Admiral David Barata told a congressional hearing. "It's a very small percentage" of vessels that have been seized, he said. The "dark fleet" ships use various means to conceal their locations and identities: "They use false documents, they use false ownership. They claim the numbers of vessels that have already been destroyed," Barata said. Washington has deployed a huge naval force in the Caribbean, striking boats it says are used for drug trafficking, seizing sanctioned tankers and carrying out a stunning operation that captured Venezuela's leftist leader Nicolas Maduro on January 3. Among the vessels seized by the United States in recent weeks was a Russia-linked ship, which US forces captured in the North Atlantic after pursuing it from off of Venezuela's coast. France's navy meanwhile interdicted a Russia-linked tanker in the Mediterranean last month, escorting it to a French port, after detaining another vessel with ties to Moscow in September. NATO says 'planning underway' for new Arctic mission Brussels, Belgium, Feb 3 (AFP) Feb 03, 2026 NATO said Tuesday that military planning has started for a new mission to bolster security in the Arctic, after US President Donald Trump made protecting the region central to his demands for Greenland. "Planning is underway for a NATO enhanced vigilance activity, named Arctic Sentry," said Martin O'Donnell, a spokesman for NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. "The activity will even further strengthen NATO's posture in the Arctic and High North," he added, without providing further details. Trump's threats against Greenland last month plunged the transatlantic alliance into its deepest crisis in years. The unpredictable US leader backed off his desire to take control of Denmark's autonomous Arctic territory after saying he had struck a "framework" deal with NATO chief Mark Rutte to ensure greater American influence. NATO said it would take steps to boost its presence in the Arctic after Trump used the alleged threat of Russia and China to justify his designs on Greenland. Meanwhile Denmark and Greenland have kicked off talks with the United States over the territory and are expected to renegotiate a 1951 treaty governing American troop deployments on the island. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has said that NATO countries back having a "permanent presence" in the Arctic, including around Greenland, as part of efforts to step up security. Russia resumes large-scale strikes on Ukraine in glacial temperatures Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb 3 (AFP) Feb 03, 2026 Russia launched the "most powerful" attack so far this year on Ukraine's battered energy facilities overnight, Kyiv said on Tuesday, leaving hundreds of thousands without heating in glacial temperatures ahead of talks to end the four-year war. Russia's strikes hit as temperatures dropped to their lowest since the start of the war in February 2022 and damaged an iconic Soviet-era WWII monument. They came a day before Ukrainian and Russian negotiators were due to meet for a second round of talks in Abu Dhabi. "Taking advantage of the coldest days of winter to terrorise people is more important to Russia than turning to diplomacy," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, denouncing the attack. He said Russia has "once again disregarded the efforts of the American side". NATO chief Mark Rutte, who visited Kyiv on Tuesday, said in an address to Ukraine's parliament that "Russian attacks like those last night, do not signal seriousness about peace". An air alert warning of a possible Russian missile attack blared out across Kyiv during Rutte's visit. AFP journalists heard explosions across the capital overnight and residents in over 1,000 buildings woke to find their heating cut off as temperatures dipped towards -20C. Some residents gathered around a damaged building, stepping over creaking debris and a thick layer of ice coating the ground. "Our windows are broken and we have no heating," Anastasia Grytsenko told AFP, "we don't know what to do. Everyone is confused." Russia's defence ministry confirmed it had launched "a massive strike" against "Ukrainian military-industrial complex enterprises and energy facilities". The Kremlin had last week said it agreed to a US request not to strike Kyiv for seven days, ending Sunday. Ukraine had not reported large-scale Russian attacks on the capital last week, while denouncing continued attacks in other parts of the country. "Several types of ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones, were used to strike high-rise buildings and thermal power plants," Energy Minister Denys Shmygal said. "Hundreds of thousands of families, including children, were deliberately left without heat in the harshest winter frosts," he added. Tuesday's strike on Ukraine's battered energy facilities was "the most powerful" since the start of 2026, the country's largest private energy provider DTEK confirmed. Ukraine's air force said Russia had attacked with 71 missiles and 450 attack drones. Six people were wounded in the capital, officials said, adding that thousands were without electricity. - 'Symbolic and cynical' - The base of the city's towering Soviet-era Motherland statue was damaged. "It is both symbolic and cynical: the aggressor state strikes at a place of remembrance of the struggle against aggression in the 20th century, repeating its crimes in the 21st century," Culture Minister Tetyana Berezhna wrote on social media. Russian strikes have this month repeatedly cut power and heating to tens of thousands of homes -- with Kyiv and its European allies accusing Moscow of deliberately freezing Ukraine's population. Strikes also hit Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, temporarily cutting heating to some 100,000 subscribers. The hours-long attack targeted energy infrastructure and aimed to "cause maximum destruction... and leave the city without heat during severe frost", Kharkiv Governor Oleg Synegubov wrote on Telegram. Authorities had to cut heating to more than 800 homes to prevent the wider network from freezing, he said, urging people to go to round-the-clock "invincibility points" around the city if they needed to warm up. Overnight temperatures plunged to -19C in Kyiv and sank as low as -23C in Kharkiv. - US pushes for deal - Russian occupational authorities in southern Ukraine said that Ukrainian shelling had killed three people in the town of Nova Kakhovka. Kremlin-installed authorities said the shelling hit a municipal building and a fruit shop. "There are dead: three people, including an employee of the administration," Vladimir Saldo, the Moscow-backed head of the Russian-controlled part of the Kherson region, said. Nova Kakhovka fell to Russian forces in the first days of their 2022 invasion. The United States has sought to craft a settlement between the two sides but the first round of trilateral talks held in Abu Dhabi last month failed to yield a breakthrough. A second round is due to begin on Wednesday in the Emirati capital and is expected to focus on the crucial issue of territory. Russia has demanded that Kyiv withdraw from the Donetsk region and has repeatedly said it is ready to seize the rest of eastern Ukraine by force if diplomacy fails. Kyiv sees this as unacceptable. President Donald Trump is set to welcome Colombian president Gustavo Petro to the White House on Tuesday for talks just weeks after threatening military action against the South American country and accusing the leader of pumping cocaine into the United States, Azernews reports via The Guardian. US administration officials say the meeting will focus on regional security cooperation and counternarcotics efforts, AP reported. And Trump on Monday suggested that Petro - who has continued to criticize Trump and the US operation to capture Venezuelas Nicolas Maduro - is more willing to work with his administration to stem the flow of illegal drugs from Colombia. Somehow after the Venezuelan raid, he became very nice, Trump told reporters. He changed his attitude very much. However, in recent days, Petro has continued to criticize the US president, calling Trump an accomplice to genocide in the Gaza Strip, while asserting that the capture of Maduro was a kidnapping. And ahead of his departure for Washington, Petro called on Colombians to take to the streets of Bogota during the White House meeting. WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a Senate-approved funding package, ending a short lapse in federal funding that triggered a partial government shutdown starting Saturday. The lower chamber approved the measure by a vote of 217-214. The House passage of the measure came after the U.S. Senate approved the funding package on Friday evening, just hours before government funding for several departments was set to expire. The bill now heads to U.S. President Donald Trump, who has said he will sign it "immediately." The latest package will fund multiple U.S. federal agencies for the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30. The agencies include the Department of Defense, the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Labor, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), originally included in the omnibus funding package, has been removed. The department will instead receive a two-week continuing resolution at current funding levels, allowing both parties and the White House to continue negotiations on immigration enforcement. The recent two fatal shootings by federal enforcement personnel in the state of Minneapolis have prompted Democrats to seek changes to how immigration agencies operate. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has said that until Immigration and Customs Enforcement is properly reined in and overhauled legislatively, the DHS funding bill does not have the votes to pass the Senate. US says shot down Iran drone that approached aircraft carrier in Arabian Sea Washington, United States, Feb 3 (AFP) Feb 03, 2026 A US stealth warplane shot down an Iranian drone that "aggressively" approached an American aircraft carrier as it sailed in the Arabian Sea on Tuesday, a US military spokesman said. The incident occurred with the carrier about 500 miles (800 kilometers) from Iran's coast, and came on the same day that American forces responded to Iranian boats that threatened to board a US-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. "An F-35C fighter jet from Abraham Lincoln shot down the Iranian drone in self-defense and to protect the aircraft carrier and personnel on board," US Central Command spokesman Captain Tim Hawkins said in a statement. The shootdown took place after the Shahed-139 drone "continued to fly toward the ship despite de-escalatory measures taken by US forces," Hawkins said. He also confirmed a separate incident that occurred later Tuesday in which two Iranian boats and a drone approached the US-flagged ship M/V Stena Imperative "at high speeds and threatened to board and seize the tanker." An American destroyer -- the USS McFaul -- responded with support from the US Air Force and escorted the tanker, which is now "proceeding safely," Hawkins added. US President Donald Trump has threatened military action against Iran and sent a flotilla of warships to the Middle East following anti-government protests in Iran that were met with a deadly crackdown last month. Trump has said he is hopeful Washington will "work something out" with Tehran, but also warned that "bad things would happen" if a deal was not reached, while Iran insists it wants diplomacy while promising a decisive response to any aggression. Two arrested for attempted sabotage of German navy ships Hamburg, Feb 3 (AFP) Feb 03, 2026 Two suspects were arrested Tuesday for attempting to sabotage German naval vessels last year in a dock in the northern port of Hamburg, prosecutors said. A 37-year-old Romanian and a 54-year-old Greek citizen were arrested in Hamburg and in a Greek village respectively "on suspicion of attempted sabotage of a defence vessel", prosecutors said in a statement. The men, who worked at the port at the time, are accused of putting more than 20 kilogrammes (about 40 pounds) of grit into a ship's engine block, puncturing water supply lines, removing caps from fuel tanks and deactivating electronic safety switches. The attempted sabotage of the corvettes was discovered in time to avoid any further damage. "Had the acts of sabotage gone undetected, they would have led to significant damage to the ships or, at the very least, delayed their departure, thereby potentially endangering the security of the Federal Republic of Germany and the armed forces' operational effectiveness," prosecutors said. While Monday's arrest warrant relates to sabotage against one ship, the two men are also suspected of committing similar acts on other vessels. According to newspaper Der Spiegel, a total of seven cases of attempted sabotage are being investigated involving five different vessels built at the premises of the Blohm+Voss shipbuilding company. One of incidents in early 2025 targeted the corvette Emden, while another in June of the same year took place on the corvette Koeln, the paper reported. They are both part of a group of five vessels built for the German navy since 2019 in an effort to modernise and strengthen the fleet. - Search for mastermind - Der Spiegel reported that the two suspects worked for a company offering services such as corrosion protection for ships and that investigators became suspicious when they noticed the times of the attacks overlapped with the men's working hours. Apartments belonging to the suspects in Hamburg, Romania and Greece were also searched in the operation coordinated through Eurojust, a European Union agency based in The Hague. German prosecutors said they were still investigating who could have been behind the alleged sabotage. Germany and other NATO members across Europe are on high alert over suspected Russian espionage, drone surveillance and sabotage. Last week, Germany's parliament adopted a new law aiming to better protect the country's critical infrastructure from sabotage, as well as from accidents and natural disasters. Early last month, an arson attack claimed by a left-wing extremist group targeting electricity cables left tens of thousands without power in Berlin. US-Iran talks 'still scheduled' after drone shot down: White House Washington, United States, Feb 3 (AFP) Feb 03, 2026 The United States is still planning talks with Iranian officials this week, the White House said Tuesday, even after a US warplane shot down an Iranian drone that approached an American aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea. "I just spoke with special envoy (Steve) Witkoff, and these talks as of right now are still scheduled," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, adding that they were due to happen "later this week." "President Trump is always wanting to pursue diplomacy first, but obviously it takes two to tango," Leavitt said outside the West Wing. The meeting between Witkoff, a businessman whom Trump has appointed as his roving global conflict negotiator, and Iranian officials will "probably" take place in Turkey, a source close to the issue told AFP. The US military said earlier that an F-35C stealth fighter jet shot down the Iranian drone that "aggressively" drew near to the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier on Tuesday. Trump's spokeswoman added that the US president was keeping open the possibility of military action against Iran, with a large number of US warships now in the region. "Of course, the president has always a range of options on the table, and that includes the use of military force," Leavitt told Fox News in a separate interview. She added that "the Iranians know that better than anyone," referring to US military strikes that hit Iran's nuclear program last year. Iraq PM candidate Maliki says majority bloc has final say on nomination Baghdad, Feb 3 (AFP) Feb 03, 2026 Iraq's main candidate for the premiership, Nouri al-Maliki, said Tuesday that withdrawing his candidacy would jeopardise Iraqi sovereignty after US threats and he would only step aside if his electoral bloc asks him to. Last week, US President Donald Trump, in his latest intervention in another country's politics, issued an ultimatum, declaring Maliki a "very bad choice" and if he was elected the US "will no longer help Iraq". In an interview with Iraqi network al-Sharqiya that was broadcast Tuesday, Maliki was asked whether he would withdraw if his candidacy posed a threat to Iraq's interests. "Of course, I would withdraw ... but I believe that withdrawing now endangers Iraq's sovereignty," and would undermine any future decision Iraq has to make. "I have said it: I am proceeding with this nomination until the end." And he added that only the Coordination Framework -- an alliance of Shiite groups with varying degrees of links to Iran that nominated him -- could change that. "The framework comes first and foremost. If it now decides to change the nomination, I will accept with open arms," Maliki said. Last month, the Coordination Framework, which holds a parliamentary majority and has emerged in recent years as the main ruling coalition, endorsed Maliki as Iraq's next prime minister. After Trump's threats, the alliance reiterated Saturday its support for Maliki. But in Iraq, a country with chronically volatile politics driven by internal disputes and foreign pressure mostly from the United States and Iran, key decisions are often delayed and subject to influence. Maliki, a powerbroker and shrewd politician, is Iraq's only two-term prime minister, having led the government between 2006 and 2014. He enjoyed the support of the then US occupation, but later fell out with Washington over his growing ties with Iran. The US has held significant sway over Iraqi politics since leading the 2003 invasion that ousted long-time ruler Saddam Hussein, but is an enemy of Baghdad's other main ally Iran. US deploys military team to Nigeria: general Lagos, Feb 3 (AFP) Feb 03, 2026 A top US general said Tuesday the United States had deployed a small military team to Nigeria, where President Donald Trump's administration has alternately pressured and aided the government as it fights jihadist violence. Speaking after the United States launched strikes targeting militants in Nigeria on December 25, General Dagvin Anderson, head of the US Africa Command (Africom), said the two countries had decided to "increase collaboration". "We agreed that we needed to work together on the way forward in the region," Anderson told a virtual news conference. "That has led to increased collaboration between our nations to include a small US team that brings some unique capabilities from the United States in order to augment what Nigeria has been doing for several years." The general did not give details on the team's activities. Trump has alleged there is a "genocide" of Christians in Nigeria, a claim rejected by the Nigerian government and many independent experts, who say the country's security crises claim the lives of both Christians and Muslims, often without distinction. Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, is broadly split between a Christian-majority south and Muslim-majority north. Africom told AFP last month the US military would increase equipment deliveries and intelligence sharing with Nigeria as part of efforts to fight Islamic State group jihadists. The US strikes in December hit IS targets in Sokoto state, in northwestern Nigeria. Africom said US military support would be concentrated in that region and the northeast, hit by nearly two decades of unrest blamed on Islamist group Boko Haram and a splinter movement, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). Siemens Energy plans to invest $421 million to expand North Carolina operations. The investments will create about 500 jobs across multiple locations that manufacture energy infrastructure equipment. READ MORE: Medical technology company investing $141M in Charlottes Pearl District The expansion will mean significant new investment at its Charlotte complex, which spans more than 1 million square feet at 101 Siemens Ave., just off Westinghouse Boulevard. The equipment we produce in North Carolina is helping meet our nations unprecedented growth in energy, said Matt Neal, Siemens Energys president of North America. We are building on a strong, decades-long foundation in the state, supported by a dedicated workforce that consistently rises to meet new challenges and a pipeline of young and eager talent ready to build the machines that will power the United States into the next century. Read more at Charlotte Business Journals website here. VIDEO: Company chooses Charlotte for its HQ, creating 540 jobs The prosecutor's office said that both Musk and former CEO Linda Yaccarino have been summoned to appear at hearings in April as part of its probe, while further X employees have also been summoned to be heard as witnesses. Adding that he had not seen Kabir strangle the girl at any point and had not done so himself either, Mulakhil told the jury he had believed her when she claimed to be 19. It added that these were temporary installations that would last a decade while the trust works on its 10-year masterplan to redevelop the whole museum, tipped to cost 1billion. But the Georgian Group says it still has a legal duty to protect the historic building regardless of how long the structures are in place. Allow Google Search To use the search feature, we need your consent to load Google Custom Search, which may use cookies or similar technologies. Please click 'Allow and Continue' below to enable search. See our privacy policy for more information. Allow and Continue Under the policy, which encouraged small developments rather than leaving it more to the discretion of councillors, Croydon delivered more such schemes of three-storey blocks than any borough has since 2004, if not earlier, according to the report. I did not even know you were having a baby. It was soooo crystal clear to me that you were only friends with me to get to Andrew. And that really hurt me deeeply (sic). More than you will know. Africas economic growth this year is forecast to outpace Asias for the first time, according to the International Monetary Fund, though experts warned that Africa needs major investment. Some countries are forecast to grow at double-digit rates, according to the IMFs latest economic outlook, with average growth in sub-Saharan Africa expected to hit 4.6%, compared to 4.1% across Asia. Africas economic prospects have been buoyed by its demographics: Its home to the planets youngest population, and is forecast to account for a quarter of the worlds people by 2050. However, the region will have to invest heavily in education and create hundreds of millions of formal jobs to meet its potential, the head of the French Development Agency told RFI. African policymakers say a mispricing of risk on the continent means theyll struggle to meet their economies capital needs. A chart showing capital investment as a share of GDP, world average vs sub-Saharan Africa average. Alexis Akwagyiram Actor Mark Wahlberg and former F45 Training Holdings CEO Adam Gilchrist are seen at the New York Stock Exchange when the Austin-based company went public in 2021. Wahlberg, an owner and board member, was named in a proposed class action suit alleging the company misled investors. The suit is nearing a settlement. NYSE An Austin-based fitness company whose board of directors includes actor Mark Wahlberg has agreed to settle a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging it misled investors ahead of its initial public offering of stock. F45 Training Holdings Inc. is a franchiser of studios focused on 45-minute high-intensity workouts. It was founded in 2013 in Sydney, Australia, and now has nearly 900 locations in the United States. Ten of those are in Austin, seven in San Antonio and 20 in and around Houston. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The company went public in July 2021, selling 18 million shares and raising more than $325 million for the company, which was then valued at more than $1 billion. FROM 2022: Austin fitness franchise F45 Training to lay off nearly 80 workers The lawsuit, which named Wahlberg and other directors, was filed in December 2022, about 18 months after the IPO. Shareholder Kenzie Goer alleged F45 overstated its growth potential in documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Statesman Logo Want more Statesman? Make us a Preferred Source on Google to see more of us when you search. Add Preferred Source Despite telling prospective investors the company would increase capital with each new franchise it sold, it was offering special terms to multi-franchise operators and financing some others, leaving the business with less revenue than investors had been promised. Advertisement Article continues below this ad These practices were not sustainable at the time of the IPO. When the Company could no longer sustain this defective business model, its growth rate and revenue plummeted, the suit says. As a result, studio openings fell as much as 60% from the companys forecasts. Layoffs followed, the CEO resigned in July 2022 and the companys stock price plummeted. It was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange to trade over-the-counter within two years of the IPO. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Kennedy Lewis Investment Management LP, a major investor in F45, took the company private for $385 million, marking a sharp decline in value. Jay Janner/American-Statesman Nate Paul, the one-time superstar Austin developer who played a central role in the impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton, dodged jail time again Monday. He avoided a possible trip to the Travis County lockup when a hearing on a contempt-of-court allegation was rescheduled. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Paul is accused of stonewalling former investors, hiding assets and defying court orders in a 2024 $11.5 million judgment against him. A company known as HAR-CMBS 1 LLC has been trying to collect since winning the judgment in a federal court in California. It had previously invested $30 million in Pauls companies. Statesman Logo Want more Statesman? Make us a Preferred Source on Google to see more of us when you search. Add Preferred Source In December, the company asked a district court in Travis County to find Paul in contempt for failing to file financial documents it sought in connection with the judgment. Though he provided some of what it sought, HAR-CMBS said in a Jan. 13 filing Paul is withholding other records and again asked the court to find him in contempt. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The 193-page filing from HAR-CMBS attorneys says Paul lied to the court when he said his businesses did not pay his personal expenses. The company cited tax bills on his residence it said were paid by his World Class Holdings Co. in 2019 and 2022. It also said he failed to disclose business interests in more than 100 businesses and failed to produce complete bank records and financial statements for nearly 200 of his business entities. The company asked the court to jail him until he complied with its order and for $58,000 in attorneys fees. Pauls attorneys have denied the allegations, saying it cant turn over documents that dont exist. On Monday, the case was rescheduled to April 16, when Paul will have to prove he's provided all available documents. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Wesley Rosen, left, pets Bee Cave Bob at Armadillo Day at The West Pole on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026 in Bee Cave, Texas. Bee Cave Bob is an armadillo that takes the place of Punxsutawney Phil in predicting the end of winter and coming of spring and the upcoming political climate in Texas. Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman The sign at the entrance reads, We aint dialin 911, illustrated with a gun. It feels less like a warning than a thesis statement. On a cloudy, wind-pressed Monday known elsewhere as Groundhog Day, people filed into Boothe Ranch to watch an armadillo named Bee Cave Bob tell Texas what comes next. Held annually on Feb. 2, Armadillo Day is Bee Caves answer to Groundhog Day part weather forecast, part civic ritual and a window into how a fast-changing region hangs on to its idea of Texas. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Ritual before the reveal They began with prayer. God was thanked for Texans by birth and Texans by choice, for chili and pork tamales, for friendship and tradition. The prayer ended with a familiar benediction: God bless Texas and Willie Nelson. Plates moved down the line. Most people did not ask what kind of tamales they were eating. When I did, the man serving paused and said I was the only one who had. What mattered was that there were tamales, not what was inside them. Advertisement Article continues below this ad This was, in part, a refusal to let a little hairy Yankee rat decide the Hill Countrys fate. Texas, instead, turns to its own state small mammal protected, particular and handled only by those who know how. Ralph Fisher does. He has his own gloves. He bathed Bob before the ceremony. When Fisher lifted him from the crate, he handled the armadillo mostly by the tail a method that might look rough to an untrained eye, but read as practiced rather than careless. He carried Bob close to his chest. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Bee Cave Bob arrived in a crate lined with shirts and rags. He was little and hairy, unmistakably alive, and despite the bath, still faintly, stubbornly smelly. Forecasts and other readings Bee Cave Bob enters the enclosure and turns right at Armadillo Day at The West Pole on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026 in Bee Cave, Texas. Bee Cave Bob is an armadillo that takes the place of Punxsutawney Phil in predicting the coming of spring and the upcoming political climate in Texas. Professor Al Manac said turning right signaled three more weeks of winter as well as a conservative political climate. Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman The ceremony was emceed by Professor Al Manac, head of the Lone Star Weatherological Society. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Every news station has a meteorologist, Manac told the crowd. They got all kinds of scientific equipment and maps and charts, and they tell you what the weathers supposed to be. Theyre wrong 98% of the time. Weatherology, he said, began in the Hill Country, when an old medicine man stepped outside, looked at the sky cloudy, windy, not raining and made a forecast. Fifteen years ago or so, we discovered Bee Cave Bob, Manac said. After much testing, it became apparent we had the perfect weather forecaster. Bob emerged and walked down a recreation of an old Texas country road. His movements would be analyzed not only for winters duration, but, as it turned out, for politics. Advertisement Article continues below this ad If he turns left, we gon whip his (expletive), someone said, half joking. What the armadillo told us Bee Cave Bob is held by Professor Al Manac as he speaks to the crowd at Armadillo Day at The West Pole on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026 in Bee Cave, Texas. Bee Cave Bob is an armadillo that takes the place of Punxsutawney Phil in predicting the coming of spring and the upcoming political climate in Texas. Professor Al Manac is in charge of interpreting Be Cave Bob's prediction. Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman By then, the gathering had settled into its civic rhythm. The mayors of Bee Cave and Lakeway were introduced to applause and gratitude. Local businesses were thanked by name. Titles loosened. Advertisement Article continues below this ad On the patio, I took an open seat beside a couple. We talked about H-E-B wine, military life and Candlemas before it came up, casually, that the man was Tom Kilgore, the mayor of Lakeway. Candlemas, he said, marks the presentation of Jesus at the temple. Groundhog Day is its pagan echo a reading of light and shadow, an old way of guessing at spring. History folded in on itself easily here. The Benevolent Knights of the Raccoon, the group responsible for Armadillo Day, traced their origins to beer, boredom and Texas heritage. The event, they said, was born on this porch. Being a Texan is not what being Texan meant, one of them said. Of the original 11 who signed the first poster, only four are still alive. It was a hell of a ride. Advertisement Article continues below this ad By the time the chili was gone and Bob was returned to Fishers care, the wind had not let up. Little Mexico owner Rosa Martinez (left), chef Jose Tomas Esquivel and Martinez's daughter, Monica Flores, all fought through tears while discussing the important role the restaurant played in their lives. MATTHEW ODAM/AMERICAN-STATESMAN The road once known as Austins Mexican Mile is losing one of its last long-time residents. Little Mexico is closing at the end of February after 34 years at that location. Rosa Martinez opened the homey restaurant that serves Tex-Mex and a few interior Mexican dishes at 2304 S. First St. in 1994. She opened the original seven-table location in North Austin in 1986, after 11 years working at La Reyna Bakery on South First Street, and moved just south of Oltorf Road on South First for five years before settling the restaurant on the land she purchased in 1992. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Im happy and kind of sad, Monterrey, Mexico native Martinez said Tuesday, fighting back tears between visits with regulars. These people are like family. 'She's everyone's grandma.' Little Mexico embodies the idea of a family-run restaurant. All of Martinezs six children have worked at the restaurant at one time or another. Her son, Jose Antonio Toni Castro has worked with his mother for 25 years, and daughter, Monica Flores, who has no memories that pre-date Little Mexico, has served as general manager for the last few years. Little Mexico is closing on South First Street after more than 30 years at that location. MATTHEW ODAM/AMERICAN-STATESMAN Floress teenage daughter, Alyssa, currently works at the restaurant, and her son, Alexander, was an employee until graduating from Texas State University. Since the restaurant announced its pending closure at the beginning of February, Flores says longtime customers have been coming in to pay their regards to Martinez. Flores says many of her older customers who first came with their grandparents are now bringing in their own grandchildren. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Shes everyones grandma, Flores said of her mother, adding that while she is glad her mother will finally get some well deserved rest, she is sad that she wont be able to bring her own grandchildren to Little Mexico. The theme of family extends beyond biological relations to chosen family. Chef Jose Tomas Esquivel started working for Martinez when he was 19 and will cook the restaurants final plate of fajitas. The chef, whose mother lives in Mexico, says that Martinez has been a second mother to him, always supporting his family and entrusting him with the keys to her restaurant, literally and figuratively. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Ive always held her in highest esteem. Shes always been my guide, spiritually and in life, Esquivel said of the matriarch who used to dip out of the restaurants on Sundays for a couple of hours to attend San Jose Catholic Church, before the church added Saturday services. I put my faith in God, Martinez said. He gave me many blessings. Esquivel, like Martinez and Flores, fought back tears while talking about his life at the restaurant. Martinez was more than a boss. She served as a witness to his marriage proposal to his fiancee at table 8 more than 20 years ago, and has been a strong supporter of his outside endeavor running Tex-Mex Banquettes catering service. People will still be able to get our food, because hell be using our recipes, Martinez said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad One of South First Street's last stalwarts Martinez grew her tiny original restaurant to a location that has 50 tables and can serve more than 200 guests. In the beginning, she was the sole employee at her first South First location. Not wanting customers to think she didnt run a professional operation, she used to call out orders to the kitchen from the floor and then hustle to the back to prepare the food. The former owner of the properties where Little Mexico now stands recognized her passion, talent and energies and worked a lease-to-own deal with her that allowed her to acquire the property in 1992. Little Mexico on South First Street is closing after operating at a few locations in Austin for almost 40 years. AMERICAN-STATESMAN FILE The restaurant has been one of the stalwarts that has kept the old South Austin spirit alive on a street that has undergone massive development over the last decade. The road was once home to Jovitas, La Mexicana Bakery, which closed in 2022, and El Mercado, which closed in 2025. Advertisement Article continues below this ad In addition to serving tacos, migas, pork adobo and more culinary comforts to diners for decades, Little Mexico has been a music and community hub, hosting meetings of the Tejano Music Coalition and bi-weekly tardeadas live musical performances and social dances with bands like Susan Torres y Conjunto Clemencia and Conjunto Los Pinkys over the years. "I'm worried about where people in the community will be able to go to see this music," Martinez said. While Martinez is retiring from the restaurant business after 50 years, she's not selling the land, assessed at about $3 million by the Travis County Appraisal District. She has rented the property to South Texas resident Bob Lozano, whose F&P Group operates franchises of Dairy Queen, Schlotzkys and Cinnabon. Lozano has two Austin partners who are veterans in the local restaurant scene, but the group wants to wait to announce their original concept until later in the month. Advertisement Article continues below this ad We are honored and grateful to be the new tenants, Lozano told the American-Statesman. But right now is the time to show Ms. Martinez grace and honor her. The Texas Department of Public Safety issued a CLEAR Alert early Tuesday for April Whitley, 38, who was last seen just before 10 p.m. Monday in the 200 block of Clay Street in Kerrville. Texas Department of Public Safety Texas police are seeking the publics help in finding a woman who went missing from Kerrville on Monday night and could be in danger. The Texas Department of Public Safety issued a CLEAR Alert early Tuesday for April Whitley, 38, who was last seen just before 10 p.m. Monday in the 200 block of Clay Street, authorities said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Whitley is described as a white woman, about 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing around 150 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes. At the time of her disappearance, she was wearing a pink-and-white sweater, blue jeans and open-toed shoes, DPS said. Officials are also looking for Anthony Harwell, 35, in connection with her disappearance. Hes described as a white man, about 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing around 190 pounds. He was last seen wearing a black-and-white jacket, blue jeans and boots, along with a black-and-white hat, authorities said. Police believe the pair could be traveling in a white 2006 Honda Civic with Texas license plate number CSY9006. The Civic has damage to the right rear quarter panel. Statesman Logo Want more Statesman? Make us a Preferred Source on Google to see more of us when you search. Add Preferred Source Anyone who sees Whitley, Harwell or the car is urged to call 911 or the Kerrville Police Department at 830-257-8181. Advertisement Article continues below this ad What is a CLEAR Alert? The CLEAR Alert is a tool law enforcement uses to find and rescue missing, kidnapped or abducted adults who are in imminent danger of injury or death, according to DPS. The Texas Legislature created the program in 2019 to fill the gap between AMBER Alerts for children and Silver Alerts for seniors. DPS issues a CLEAR Alert which stands for Coordinated Law Enforcement Adult Rescue if: Advertisement Article continues below this ad (L-R) Savannah Guthrie and mother Nancy Guthrie on June 15, 2023. Nathan Congleton/Getty Images Arizona authorities say they are now treating the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of NBC's Today show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, as a criminal investigation, citing evidence found inside her Tucson home. Investigators believe she did not leave on her own and are urging the public nationwide to help find her. Nancy Guthrie was last seen late Saturday night at her residence in the Catalina Foothills area near Tucson, according to the Pima County Sheriffs Department. She was reported missing around noon Sunday after family members discovered she was not at home and had failed to attend church that morning. Advertisement Article continues below this ad By Monday evening, investigators said evidence inside the home prompted them to reclassify the case from a missing-person search to a potential crime, adding that the search for Nancy Guthrie should stretch across the nation. We believe we do, in fact, have a crime scene, Chris Nanos, the county sheriff, said during a news conference. Health risks heighten urgency Authorities say Nancy Guthrie has significant physical limitations and requires daily medication that could be life-threatening if missed for more than 24 hours. While she is described as mentally sharp and not suffering from dementia, investigators say her mobility challenges make it unlikely she left the home on her own. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Statesman Logo Want more Statesman? Make us a Preferred Source on Google to see more of us when you search. Add Preferred Source She couldnt walk 50 yards by herself, Nanos said, adding that the crime scene suggested she was taken against her will. Officials declined to provide further details, citing the integrity of the investigation. Search-and-rescue teams, canine units and aerial assets were deployed throughout Sunday and into the night. That effort has since shifted to a criminal investigation, with detectives canvassing the neighborhood and reviewing surveillance footage. Technology, tips central to investigation Investigators confirmed they are analyzing data from home security cameras, license-plate readers and other digital sources. Authorities are also reviewing Nancy Guthries cell phone and urging neighbors to check doorbell and security cameras for anything unusual, even if it seems minor. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Dont dismiss it, Nanos said, telling neighbors to check cameras for anything noteworthy. Local, state and federal agencies are assisting with technical resources, officials said. While law enforcement has not identified a suspect or motive, Nanos said there is no indication of an ongoing threat to the public. MACY'S THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE -- Downtown Production -- Pictured: (l-r) Ken Jeomg, Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb -- (Photo by: Scott Gries/NBC via Getty Images) NBC/Scott Gries/NBC via Getty Images Family appeals for help Savannah Guthrie traveled to Arizona after learning of her mothers disappearance. In a statement released on behalf of her family, she thanked the public for their support and urged anyone with information to contact authorities. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment, Savannah said in a statement. We need you. Bring her home. In a later social-media post, Guthrie asked for prayers, describing her mother as a woman of deep faith and conviction and calling on the public to help bring her home. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Pima County Sheriffs Department or call 911. Tips can be submitted anonymously. Who is Savannah Guthrie? Savannah Guthrie is seen on the NBC Today Show Citi Concert Series at Rockefeller Plaza on Oct. 1, 2025 in New York City. NDZ/Star Max/Getty Images Savannah Guthrie is a longtime broadcast journalist and former attorney who has served as a primary co-anchor of NBC News Today since 2012. Before joining the anchor desk, she covered the White House for NBC News from 2008 to 2011. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Guthrie is also a New York Times bestselling author and was inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame in 2022. Who is Nancy Guthrie? Nancy Guthrie, 84, is Savannah Guthries mother. She is described as 5 feet 5 inches tall and about 150 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. Investigators say she was last seen at her home between 9:30 and 9:45 p.m. Saturday. She is very limited in her mobility we know she didnt just walk out of there, Chris Nanos said. There were other things at the scene that indicate that she did not leave on her own. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Family members became concerned Sunday morning after receiving a call from someone at Nancy Guthries church saying she had not arrived. Relatives went to her home to search for her before contacting law enforcement. Pettus had been a personal injury attorney practicing in the Houston area before he resigned from the law profession in 2024. Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer A former Houston-area attorney was arrested after allegedly racking up more than $100,000 in gambling debts at a luxury resort and casino in Vegas, police said. Court records show David Pettus, who previously practiced personal injury law, had an outstanding warrant in Clark County, Nevada, for years due to an unpaid gambling debt exceeding $100,000. Following his arrest, Pettus reportedly entered into an agreement with Clark County prosecutors to make regular payments toward the debt, a spokesman for the District Attorneys office told KPRC 2 News in Houston. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Although Pettus was arrested by the Bayou Vista Police Department on Jan. 12 and taken to the Galveston County Jail, he was released just two days later, when the warrant was recalled. Pettus formally resigned from the law profession in September 2024 following reports from his clients that Pettus had ghosted them after being hired, KPRC 2 Houston first reported. Multiple former clients accused Pettus of stealing tens of thousands of dollars in insurance settlements after car crashes. Irn-Bru maker AG Barr has moved to tap into the attractive market for adult soft drinks with the acquisitions of UK firms Fentimans and Frobishers Juices. AG Barr issued a brief statement on the acquisitions today (3 February) alongside a trading update for its financial year that closed at the end of January. Both brands operate in the attractive adult soft drinks market, which is benefitting from the consumer trend of reduced alcohol consumption, Funkin owner AG Barr said. These acquisitions reflect the execution of further meaningful and targeted M&A to elevate growth through broadening the brand portfolio while providing opportunities for cost synergies. AG Barr paid 38m ($52m) for Fentimans in a deal the companies completed yesterday. The group snapped up Frobishers for 13m. That deal was finalised towards the end of AG Barrs financial year. Family-owned Fentimans, based in north-east England, makes and markets botanically brewed mixers and soft drinks. Devon-based Frobishers was sold to UK juices business Cobell in 2009. Ingredients giant Symrise snapped up Cobell eight years later. The most recent accounts available on Companies House, the UK business register, show Fentimans generated turnover of 35.7m in 2024, down from just under 39m a year earlier. It made a profit of 1m against a loss of just over 514,000 in 2023. In the year to the end of January, AG Barr said it saw its revenue grow by around 4% to 437m. AG Barrs trading update also included details of its adjusted operating margin, which the company said stood at 14.7%, up 110 basis points on a year earlier. The group pointed to ongoing efficiency initiatives and supply chain investment. Shares in AG Barr were up 6.21% at 690.3p at 12:32 GMT. The company is set to report its full annual results on 31 March. CEO Euan Sutherland said: Our top- and bottom-line performance for FY25/26 is in line with expectations and importantly we have laid strong foundations for future growth. We enter FY26/27 with good momentum in our core brands and from the introduction of exciting new products. "AG Barr strikes M&A one-two in adult soft drinks" was originally created and published by Just Drinks, a GlobalData owned brand. Students protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement outside the Pflugerville Justice Center in Pflugerville on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. Hundreds of students walked out of classes and marched from Pflugerville, Hendrickson, Connally and Weiss high schools. They converged at the justice center and rallied for more than an hour before dispersing as a large law enforcement presence arrived. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman Buda police arrested a Kyle man Tuesday in connection with a physical altercation involving a minor during Hays Consolidated Independent School District student walkout on Monday. The altercation occurred during the walkout and involved a female minor and an adult man, according to a statement from the Buda Police Department. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Police said Tuesday evening that they charged Chad Michael Watts, 45, of Kyle with two counts of assault causing bodily injury related to the incident. Hays County Jail records showed Watts had been booked and was still being held Tuesday evening, but didn't yet list his bond. Students walked out of class Monday across Central Texas, continuing largely peaceful protests held nationally and across the state against the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Statesman Logo Want more Statesman? Make us a Preferred Source on Google to see more of us when you search. Add Preferred Source Students from Moe and Gene Johnson High School in Buda were among those who walked out at about 1:30 p.m. Protesting students walked along RM 967, according to the police statement. Police were in the area to provide security for pedestrians and drivers, police said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad At about 3 p.m., officers responded to a fight at the intersection of RM 967 and FM 1626. They were told by bystanders when they arrived that a female minor and adult male had argued before the disagreement escalated into a physical altercation involving multiple people, police said. A video circulating in Hays community social media groups and shared with the American-Statesman shows a man and girl in an altercation on the grass before other students rush the man and pull him off her. In the video, the man walks to his truck and gets in while students throw bottles of water at him. Backlash from Gov. Greg Abbott Hays CISD spokesman Tim Savoy said the district is aware of the incident, and that it did not occur on school property. Superintendent Eric Wright confirmed the man is not a Hays CISD employee and said the student is believed to be from Johnson High in a letter sent Tuesday to families. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Kyle police also arrested two minors during student walkouts after observing one of the minors in possession of alcohol, but clarified the arrests were not related to the protests. One minor was charged with assault on a public servant, resisting arrest, interfering with public duties, consumption and possession of alcohol by a minor. The other minor was charged with resisting arrest and interfering with public duties. In a social media post, Gov. Greg Abbott said that its about time students like this were arrested. Students and staff who permit such behavior should be treated as co-conspirators, he said. We are also looking into stripping the funding of schools that abandon their duty to teach our kids the curriculum required by law, Abbott said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Abbott on Friday called on Education Commissioner Mike Morath to investigate Austin ISD for walkouts in that district in response to videos posted online that showed district police vehicles near the demonstrating students. AISD gets taxpayer dollars to teach the subjects required by the state, not to help students skip school to protest, Abbott wrote Friday evening. Attorney General Ken Paxton on Monday demanded information from Austin ISD on security protocols and policies for allowing students to leave campus. On Tuesday, Buda Mayor Lee Urbanovsky said city police were working with Hays CISD to collect witness statements and video evidence from students who were present during the altercation. Police already collected a statement from the man involved, he said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad This is an emotionally-charged and sensitive issue involving minors that has deeply impacted and rightfully concerned our community, Urbanovsky said. I am urging the community to exercise patience and allow the Buda Police Department to complete their investigation. Several hundred students from four high schools and one middle school in Hays CISD walked out of class Monday, along with students in Bastrop, Pflugerville and Austin. The Monday walkouts follow widespread and largely peaceful walkouts last week, including from 14 Austin ISD schools, in response to the killings of Alex Pretti, Renee Good, Silverio Villegas Gonzalez and Keith Porter Jr., civilians who died during encounters with federal agents. Hays CISD's response In the Tuesday letter to Hays families, Superintendent Wright said that parents will need to sign their children out at their school if the students want to participate in protests, or the district will give students an unexcused absence. Truant students will receive Saturday school detention and lose exemptions for final exams, Wright wrote. Each time a student refuses staff direction to return to class will be a separate violation of the student code of conduct, he said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Wrights letter came as district officials expect additional protests in Hays CISD later this week, he said. This cannot happen, Wright said. These walkouts are a strain on the resources of the school district and community law enforcement agencies neither of which has any control over what happens with national immigration policy. A relatively few number of students placed themselves in danger and made horrible choices during the Monday protests, Wright said. Continued disruptions would likely only further the negative sentiment that is developing about our students and school district because of the videos that are going viral nationally, Wright said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Wright also said a teacher has been placed on administrative leave after a social media post circulated of the educator displaying protest signs -- which included profanity -- while on campus. The teacher wont return to work in the district, Wright said. Fieldguide, an AI-native platform built for audit and advisory practices, has secured $75m in a Series C funding round led by Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives. Geodesic joined the financing as a new investor, while existing backers Bessemer Venture Partners, 8VC and Thomson Reuters also participated. With this latest capital infusion, the San Francisco, US-headquartered company has raised $125m in total funding, valuing it at around $700m. In a statement, Fieldguide said that the proceeds will enable the company to help audit and advisory practices grow with agentic AI. Fieldguide co-founder and CEO Jin Chang said: We built Fieldguide to support the people doing this work, and to solve a structural problem in the profession. This funding allows us to scale a proven model where agentic AI and human experts work together to increase capacity, elevate quality, and build a more sustainable future for audit and advisory. The company develops AI-native software for audit, advisory and assurance teams in regulated environments. It said Fieldguides AI agents can carry out high-volume and data-intensive tasks across the full life cycle of an engagement. It further added that the companys software is used by half of the Top 100 US accounting firms, and listed Baker Tilly, BDO, CBIZ, Forvis Mazars, Grant Thornton, KPMG and RSM US among its clients. Goldman Sachs Alternatives Growth Equity vice-president Harris Pollack said: The future of audit and advisory depends on how effectively firms combine human judgment with AI-driven execution. Fieldguide embeds AI and agentic workflows directly into how engagements are delivered helping firms move faster while maintaining the standards that the profession depends on. This establishes a new foundation for how the audit and advisory industry will operate. With over $625bn in assets and more than 30 years of experience, Goldman Sachs invests in alternatives globally. The business backs a broad mix of alternative asset classes, covering growth and private equity, hedge funds, infrastructure, private credit, real estate and sustainability-focused investments. "Agentic AI audit platform Fieldguide raises $75m in Series C funding" was originally created and published by International Accounting Bulletin, a GlobalData owned brand. By Chibuike Oguh, Samuel Indyk and Danilo Masoni NEW YORK/LONDON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - A significant selloff among U.S. and European data analytics, professional services and software companies deepened on Tuesday, with some investors pointing to a recently updated artificial intelligence chatbot by Anthropic as the main culprit. AI developer Anthropic launched plug-ins for its Claude Cowork agent on Friday that would automate tasks across legal, sales, marketing and data analysis. That move has sparked worries of an impending AI-fueled disruption of the data and professional services industry, which were once seen as major beneficiaries of the AI era, according to traders and analysts. Toronto-based Thomson Reuters, which owns the Westlaw legal database, slumped by nearly 18%. It is on track for its biggest daily loss on record and lowest close since June 2021. "I think Anthropic came out with some plug-ins to tackle the legal space," said Mike Archibald, a portfolio manager at AGF Investments in Toronto. "Obviously, that's where Thomson Reuters generates a good chunk of their revenues. Sometimes the market just shoots first and asks questions later." Thomson Reuters, which is also parent company of Reuters News, is set to report its fourth quarter earnings results on Thursday. Its shares are now down 33% year-to-date after dropping about 22% in 2025. "Most of the investors we have spoken with recently are overwhelmingly bearish on TRI as the consensus opinion worries that the company will be unable to maintain the same level of growth within its legal segment given increased competition from specialized AI tools," Morgan Stanley analysts led by Toni Kaplan wrote in an investor note. Britain's RELX and the Netherlands' Wolters Kluwer, both providers of legal analytics services, fell 14% and about 13%, respectively. RELX shares have now almost halved from their peak last February and on Tuesday were set for their biggest drop since 1988. Its dramatic reversal highlights the pressure AI is exerting on Europe's software sector. Other professional services firms closed sharply lower too. Factset Research fell 10.5%, Morningstar lost 9% and LegalZoom slumped 19.7%. In London, Experian, Sage Group, London Stock Exchange Group and Pearson fell between 6% and 12%. Traders and analysts said investor fear often outweighed company fundamentals. "The selling pressure in software and data analytics reflects a deepening structural debate, accelerated today by Anthropic's legal automation tool challenging incumbents like RELX," said Schroders analyst Jonathan McMullan. "Investors are aggressively repricing these areas as the historical 'visibility premium' erodes; the speed of AI advancement makes long-term valuations harder to defend, particularly as AI tools allow businesses to do more with fewer staff, threatening the traditional model of charging per software user." Allstate Corporation (NYSE:ALL) is one of the best cheap stocks to buy for 2026. The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) will hold its fourth-quarter 2025 earnings conference call and webcast on Thursday, February 5, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. ET. Pixabay/Public Domain On January 22, BMO Capital analyst Michael Zaremski raised the price target on Allstate Corporation (NYSE:ALL) to $249 from $244 and kept the Outperform rating on the shares unchanged. Zaremski attributed the higher valuation to lower estimated reinsurance costs following lighter catastrophe loss levels in the second half of 2025. BMOs move follows Allstates update on January 15 in which it announced estimated pre-tax catastrophe losses for Q4 2025 of $209 million. This was a huge decline from the $1.99 billion reported in Q2 2025. The company estimated the December 2025 catastrophe losses at $80 million, indicating a continued slowdown in the run-rate of severe weather events and natural disasters during the latter part of the year. BMO noted that this reduction in catastrophe losses directly impacts Allstates reinsurance expenses. The updated $249 target equates to about 10.7 times BMOs projected 2026 earnings per share for Allstate. This aligns with the companys 17-year average forward price-to-earnings ratio, not counting its old life and annuity operations. Separately, on January 14, Mizuho raised its price target on Allstate to $255 from $254, while maintaining an Outperform rating on the stock. Mizuhos update came after the firm updated its financial models for the insurance sector. The analysts noted that the revised models focus on several key industry drivers, including pricing strategies, loss trends, and reserve levels. Allstate Corporation (NYSE:ALL) provides property and casualty insurance products, including auto, home, and commercial coverage, as well as life insurance and retirement solutions across the United States. Its operations are supported by a broad distribution network of agents, brokers, and direct-to-consumer channels. While we acknowledge the potential of ALL as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 10 Stocks with Huge Growth Potential According to the Media and Goldman Sachs Semiconductor Stocks: Top 12 Picks. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. U.S. Army Pfc. Jariem Villafane, an infantryman assigned to 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, throws a training grenade during E3B qualifications on Fort Drum, N.Y., Oct. 21, 2025. (Alexandria Halbert/U.S. Army) An infantry brigade from Fort Drum, N.Y., will soon deploy to the Middle East in a regular rotation of troops, the Army announced Monday. The 2nd Mobile Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, will deploy in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, the more than a decade-old mission primarily focused on destroying the Islamic State terror group in Iraq and Syria, according to an Army announcement. The brigade will replace the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division from the Iowa Army National Guard, which has operated in support of OIR since last summer. The Iowa Guard announced Sunday some of the brigades soldiers would be returning home earlier than expected due to progress achieved toward U.S. Central Command objectives. The first batch of those soldiers was expected to return to Iowa in the coming days. During their deployment, these [Iowa National Guard] soldiers worked alongside coalition and regional partners to significantly reduce the capabilities of ISIS in Iraq and Syria, helping improve security and stability throughout the region, according to the Iowa Guard. Army officials did not say precisely when the 10th Mountain troops were expected to leave Fort Drum. The deployment will mark the first for 10th Mountains 2nd Brigade since it began transitioning last year to a mobile brigade combat team the Armys latest way of organizing its light infantry brigades to provide maximum battlefield mobility and the capability to operate dispersed across a wide area. Mobile brigade combat teams have been outfitted in the last year with some of the latest Army technology. The unit has been preparing for months for the deployment, according to the Army. In August, it completed a training rotation at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, La. The Army also officially announced Monday that the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., would deploy to South Korea to replace the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division from Fort Carson, Colo. Soldiers from the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division began arriving at Camp Humphreys in South Korea last week. That deployment is a regular rotation of U.S. forces, according to the service. Construction is underway on U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgarts new commissary at Panzer Kaserne in Boblingen, Germany, as seen in this photo from Oct. 6, 2025. (Stephanie Logue/U.S. Army Corps ) STUTTGART, Germany The local U.S. Army garrison is surveying residents to see how they will be affected by plans to close four commissaries spread across the community and merge the stores into one central hub. As the Stuttgart Military Community continues to grow and change, it is important for us to make informed decisions, the garrison said in a statement Monday. One such decision involves the future of the commissaries. Officials want to hear from residents specifically about the Robinson Barracks Commissary and what the impact would be if it closed. The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete and will be open through February. In June, work crews broke ground on a long-planned $47 million commissary at Panzer Kaserne in Boblingen, on the outskirts of Stuttgart. A rendering shows the site plan for the new U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart commissary under construction at Panzer Kaserne in Boblingen, Germany. The garrison is seeking feedback from community residents on how they will be affected by a consolidation plan that calls for the closure of four commissaries in the Stuttgart area. (Christopher Gardner/U.S. Army Co) The new grocery store is slated to open in the spring of 2028, replacing those at Patch Barracks, Panzer Kaserne, Kelley Barracks and Robinson Barracks. The consolidation is expected to free up space on the crowded garrison, which hosts U.S. European, U.S. Africa and special operations commands. However, the plans would mean significantly longer drives for community members who shop for groceries on base. For example, Robinson Barracks, on the north side of Stuttgart, is about 20 miles from Panzer Kaserne. The garrison also requested data from the Defense Commissary Agency about store usage. Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Greeneville returns to Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego following a deployment to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility, Jan. 30, 2026. (Rashan Jefferson/U.S. Navy) The USS Greeneville on Friday returned to its homeport of Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego after a deployment to the Indo-Pacific region, a service news release said. Families and friends greeted the sailors as they returned to port, according to the release. I am incredibly proud of the Greeneville crew, said Capt. Phillip Sylvia Jr., commodore, Submarine Squadron 11. They operated professionally in challenging environments, proving once again that our undersea forces are the apex predators of the maritime environment and their forward-deployed presence reinforced our commitment to peace through strength. A sailor assigned to USS Greeneville is welcomed home after returning to Naval Base Point Loma on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (Rashan Jefferson/U.S. Navy) A sailor assigned is welcomed home after returning to Naval Base Point Loma, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (Rashan Jefferson/U.S. Navy) Cmdr. Chad Tella, commanding officer, of USS Greeneville, is welcomed home after returning to Naval Base Point Loma. (Rashan Jefferson/U.S. Navy) A sailor assigned to USS Greeneville is welcomed home after returning to Naval Base Point Loma on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (Rashan Jefferson/U.S. Navy) Families celebrate as USS Greeneville returns to Naval Base Point Loma following a deployment to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility, Jan. 30, 2026. (Rashan Jefferson/U.S. Navy) Families celebrate as sailors assigned to USS Greeneville return to Naval Base Point Loma on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (Rashan Jefferson/U.S. Navy) Families celebrate as sailors assigned to USS Greeneville return to Naval Base Point Loma on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (Rashan Jefferson/U.S. Navy) During the deployment, Greeneville steamed over 49,000 nautical miles while conducting operations alongside U.S. and allied forces. The submarine also conducted a port visit to Busan, South Korea. Time and time again, the Greeneville team fearlessly met all challenges head on, not only getting the job done, but exceeding all expectations, said Capt. Chad Tella, USS Greenevilles commanding officer, per the release. The team routinely united in the face of adversity to ensure mission accomplishment, no matter the situation. Greeneville is one of four Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarines assigned to Commander, Submarine Squadron 11, capable of supporting various missions, including anti-submarine warfare, anti-ship warfare, strike warfare and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. You cant hear the screams of Los Angeles Times writer Jaclyn Cosgrove in this photo taken of her zip-lining at Highline Adventures, home to the fastest zip line in the state of California. (Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los Angeles Times/TNS) I felt like a hawk catching a gentle breeze as I flew about 400 feet over the oak woodlands and ranchland below me. I was harnessed into the first of three zip lines available at Highline Adventures near Buellton, an expansive adventure park where Californians of every age can find something fun to do including zooming down the fastest zip line in the state. Highline Adventures, which opened in 2023, is less than a 10-minute drive from Solvang, situated right behind OstrichLand USA , meaning you can spend your morning scarfing down danishes, go feed dinosaur-like birds and then scoot over to Highline for an afternoon of adventure. I spoke to owner and operator Jeff Hartman about his adventure park, which makes up about 200 acres of his familys 1,200-acre ranch (which you can learn about on your trip). Heres what to know before you visit. 1. Highline has the biggest* and fastest zip lines in California On your zip line tour, you will travel down three lines, starting with a 3,360-foot-long journey about 7.5 times the length of the Hollywood Sign where you gently zoom 400 feet above lush oak woodlands. Zip line No. 1 is the longest single span that I know of in California, Hartman said, adding theres a private zip line in the Central Coast thats longer but isnt open to the public, hence the asterisk. The second line is 1,600 feet and offers a faster ride, but not the fastest. That comes third when you rocket 2,650 feet down a zip line built at a 26-degree angle, which is the steepest the engineers can build a zip line with the technology that we have, Hartman said. That one, I can get you going 55 or 60 miles an hour. Or faster. Your speed will depend on your weight and weather conditions. Riders must be between 75 and 275 pounds. The larger the guest, the faster they will likely go. 2. Your adventure begins before the zip lines with an epic drive up the mountain and optional hike To reach the first zip line, the Highline staff will take you in 44 open-air Humvees on a steep path where youll gain 1,000 feet of elevation. I found it thrilling (and kind of wanted to drive)! You might spot wildlife as you head up, including bobcats, deer, owls, foxes and if lucky, a mountain lion, Hartman said. Guests can choose the hike and fly tour where they can take either a 2-mile fire road or a 2.25-mile trail up through the hillside. Either way, you will end up at a lookout spot above zip line No. 1 where you can, on a clear day, see the ocean. 3. Dont feel like zip-lining? Try the ropes or aerial net course Highlines Adventure Park features a ropes course with 80 elements on two separate levels. Guests can choose four routes, ranging in difficulty from easy to very hard, per the website. Ropes course guests must be at least 4 feet tall, able to reach 70 inches straight up with your arm fully extended overhead, and weigh less than 275 pounds. But fear not, wee children! (Im going to pretend a 3-year-old might read this.) Last spring, the Highline staff built Skynet Playground, an aerial adventure park featuring 10 netted zones. (Hartman has three children, ages 6, 3 and newborn, and wanted to build something his kids could enjoy too.) The sturdy, bouncy netting used in the aerial park is the same as the kind used in the commercial fishing industry. Whats really cool about the Skynet Playground and these aerial net parks is that, one, you dont have to get into a harness, so that saves a lot of time and energy... and (two), we can get kids as young as 2 years old in there with their parents holding their hands, Hartman said. 4. You can zip-line at night too Highline offers full-moon zip-line opportunities monthly, except for January and February when its too chilly. Workers will give you a headlamp and glow sticks as you zip above a moonlit ranch. Additionally, in October, Highline hosts fright flights where guests can also zip-line at night. For all of the adventures, the Highline crew regularly checks the safety of their equipment. Hartman said his team performs daily, weekly and monthly inspections along with having a third-party manufacturer provide an annual inspection of the zip-line equipment. 5. On the farm, you can take home one of the oldest flowering plants in the world Hartman was previously (legally) growing cannabis on the ranch. However, when the market became oversaturated, it was no longer profitable to be a small-scale cannabis grower in the Santa Ynez Valley, he said. Hartman loves growing crops, and his mother mentioned protea, an ancient type of flowering plant found in South Africa and Australia. Protea are drought-tolerant and do well in Californias Mediterranean climate, he said. In the summer, the staff only has to provide a gallon of water to the plants. Hartman said his family took a massive gamble and picked out 16 of the best cultivars that they thought would grow well, planting them in 2020. Theyve found the South African varieties, like the Safari Sunset and Goldstrike, do the best. These protea plants go back in the fossil record like 300 million years , Hartman said. Theyre some of the oldest flowers on the planet. Hartman said he plans to open a nursery, hopefully later this year, so people can buy potted protea and plant them around their homes, given how drought-tolerant they are. The tour through the ranchs 8 acres of proteas includes a U-pick option where guests can take cut flowers home. 6. And you can learn how to drive a 4x4 Bronco Highline Adventures offers 2.5-hour Bronco tours where guests can either drive or ride along as a guide takes them through 1,200 acres of diverse terrain. There are two 12-mile routes that guests can choose from. Hartman said he thought hed get die-hard off-roaders. What were getting is people whove never off-roaded before, and its a really nice intro course for people to go get a safe, fun experience and have a guide with you without having to buy the super expensive 4x4 vehicle and then just be out in the woods by yourself, Hartman said. Guests will gain 1,400 feet in elevation as the Bronco climbs hillsides, including lookout spots where you can see the ocean and Santa Ynez Valley. Its a rugged piece of California, but youre still a five-minute drive into a danish and glass of wine in Solvang, Hartman said. A service member deployed to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar reads Stars and Stripes between refueling F-15s and F-16s conducting combat operations against the Islamic State group over Iraq and Syria March 24, 2016. (Stars and Stripes) Contact Jacqueline Smith at ombudsman@stripes.com Since the Pentagon announced in mid-January its intent to refocus the content of Stars and Stripes, the public backlash has grown stronger and broader every day. Thousands upon thousands of readers have spoken out, through posts on social media, emails and letters, against curtailing the newspapers editorial independence. Comments have come from active-duty military, veterans, their families and others. The response is gratifying. Many also have written or called their senators and representatives to keep Stars and Stripes free from censorship and government control. Ten senators wrote to Secretary of Defense/War Pete Hegseth calling the refocus a troubling departure from the First Amendment principles that have governed the newspaper since its 1861 inception. The House Armed Services Committee is asking questions . Because Stripes editorial independence is congressionally mandated, it is imperative that Congress gets involved. This tidal wave of support was unleashed because of a statement posted on the social media site X by Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell on Jan. 15. We will modernize its operations, refocus its content away from woke distractions that syphon morale, and adapt it to serve a new generation of service members, he wrote. The four-paragraph statement gave no details of how that would happen. A Daily Wire story followed, quoting unnamed Pentagon officials saying 50% of the newspapers content would be composed of War Department-generated materials. No further comment has been provided to other media nor to Stars and Stripes. I wrote a column published Jan. 20 that explained Stripes mission of providing unbiased news to the military community, wherever in the world troops may be. And I asked readers to express their support for an unfettered press. Some more than supported, they insisted. A collection of social media comments in support of Stars and Stripes independence. (Graphic by Noga Ami-rav/Stars and Stripes) The minute Stars and Stripes becomes a mouth piece for propaganda from the Pentagon is the minute I cancel my subscription, a U.S. Navy Veteran said in an email to me. OMG if the DOD takes control of the S & S, then itll become nothing but a MAGA propaganda piece. WE in the field, who get no other news but the S & S should get the transparent truth and facts as they relate to whatever were reading. That has been the way its been for decades and decades and should not change. Sadly if that happens, Ill be forced to quit reading/subscribing to S & S. I WILL NOT watch or read lies, falsehoods, made up BS and so forth. . Please do what you can not to become one of them, I wish you well, Jeff Spencer, a retired U.S. Air Force master sergeant, wrote in a letter to the newspaper. A veteran named Walt emailed me: I served in the USAF from 1962 to 1982. During that time, I was spit upon, screamed at and verbally denigrated several times even though I never did a tour in Vietnam. There were two things that kept me sane in the worst of those times. One was Stars and Stripes and the other the USO. I cannot relate totally how upset I feel to hear that the current administration wants to un-woke a publication that has ALWAYS had the best interests of American soldiers, seaman and airman as its highest priority. DO NOT make it into another propaganda mouthpiece! Keep it independent and as it is, so it can serve military personnel going forward and not some politician and their misguided agendas. Another letter writer said: It is clear that the intention is to turn it (Stars and Stripes) into a propaganda machine that will report only the Administrations views of what is true and what is important to know in other words, a public relations mouthpiece, Maureen Hicks, Ph.D., wrote in an email to me. What an insult this is to our military! Millions of military members and families rely on S&S to bring them content they need about the latest issues that potentially affect the military. I am horrified that our country has come to this, so very like the suppression of the free press in other dictatorships. I hope that all those who care about freedom and respect this historic news source will raise a hue and cry. Some took issue with Parnells statement on X that Stripes would focus on warfighting, weapons systems, fitness, lethality, survivability, and ALL THINGS MILITARY. An anonymous online comment to a story made this point: Honest reporting on policy, leadership decisions, and quality-of-life issues is not a distraction from readiness. It supports it. A force insulated from inconvenient facts is not more lethal or survivable, it is less prepared. Several noted that even if they disagree with a story, they see the value of objective reporting. We NEED Stars and Stripes to remain independent and put out stories that are relevant. Sometimes I will like the facts and sometimes I wont, but that is what independent reporting looks like. That was one of the 1,300-plus comments posted on Facebook in response to my column. Are all comments and emails supportive? No. And I would be suppressing the truth if I didnt mention that fact. Im sorry but many many years ago you turned left in your editorials and reporting. I was in the military for 31 years and saw a drastic change. I wouldnt read your newspaper again, wrote a Navy veteran. An email from someone who has been a reader since 1972: Respectfully I offer this: The head of NPR has stated they are unbiased. The head of the BBC has stated they are unbiased. You are stating you cant find any Woke Distractions in the S&S. Stunning and stupifying cant begin to describe the reaction that millions of conservatives have when reading these kind of statements, he wrote. you dont see because you truly dont want to see. Even if you had a conservative looking over your shoulder as you are reading the S&S, and they were pointing out to you all the woke articles to you, your reply would probably be, Thats not woke, thats blah blah blah (fill in the leftist euphemisms). Organizations such as The National Military Family Organization have expressed support for maintaining Stripes editorial independence. Proposals to shift the publications focus toward warfighting and away from independent reporting on issues affecting service members and their families risk weakening trust in one of the few news organizations dedicated specifically to the military community, Besa Pinchotti, the organizations chief executive officer, wrote in a letter to Parnell . Strong military institutions benefit from transparency and accountability. With the substantial public support via social media and letters, pleas from active duty and retired military and their families, questions from Congress, articles in newspapers across the country and around the world, one might logically wonder what the Pentagon response has been. Nothing. Neither I nor anyone in Stars and Stripes leadership has yet to receive any communication. For now the coverage continues to be all things military, as always, with editorial decisions made by trained civilian journalists. But the issue will not fade away. Please keep expressing your opinion and support for news free from government control for those in service to our country. Air Force Gen. Dagvin Anderson, leader of U.S. Africa Command, visits the Army War College in Carlisle, Pa., Dec. 11, 2025. Anderson said Feb. 3, 2026, that a team of U.S. military specialists has been installed in Nigeria to help that country in its battle against Islamic militants. (Elizabeth Bukowski/U.S. Army War College) STUTTGART, Germany A team of U.S. military specialists has been installed in Nigeria to help that country in its battle against Islamic militants, the top U.S. commander for Africa said Tuesday. U.S. Africa Commands Gen. Dagvin Anderson said the move came after recent talks in Rome with Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, who in late December greenlighted American airstrikes in the country that targeted Islamic militants. Anderson, speaking during a virtual news conference from his AFRICOM headquarters in Stuttgart, said he and Tinubu concurred that both countries needed to coordinate their efforts in West Africa. That has led to increased collaboration between our nations to include a small U.S. team that brings some unique capabilities from the United States in order to augment what Nigeria has been doing for several years, Anderson said. And I think weve had some really good, positive movement there. Anderson did not elaborate on the composition of the U.S. team or what kinds of capabilities have been set up in Nigeria. However, the development comes at a time of increased concern about Islamic militants expanding their reach in Western Africa. In the case of Nigeria, which has long struggled with insurgencies and disorder especially in its northern territory, the targeting of Christians by Islamic militants has gotten the attention of President Donald Trump. I have previously warned these terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was. The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing, Trump said in a statement after the Christmas Day strikes. Nigerian navy and police force personnel, alongside U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Army personnel conduct training in Lagos, Nigeria, Jan. 25, 2023. U.S. Africa Commands Gen. Dagvin Anderson said Tuesday a team of U.S. military specialists has been installed in Nigeria to help the country in its battle against Islamic militants. (Cameron Edy/U.S. Navy) The security situation in Nigeria, however, is complex. While Christians have been frequent targets of militants in the north, so have Muslims, according to security analysts. Groups such as Boko Haram alongside ISIS and al-Qaida affiliates have wreaked havoc in the country for years. The broader region has also had AFRICOMs attention long before the strikes in Nigeria. Neighboring Niger had served as a hub for the U.S. military in western Africa, but AFRICOM was forced to abandon its bases in 2024 following a coup one year earlier. While Anderson did not address whether the loss of those military locations in Niger has hampered security efforts in the region, he said AFRICOMs counterterrorism focus is centered on coordinating with an array of partners across the continent. Anderson highlighted a counterterrorism campaign on the other side of Africa as an example of recent progress. In Somalia, the Islamic State group has emerged as the second major terrorist organization operating in the country, where the al-Qaida-aligned al-Shabab has been a major force for two decades. U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Keith Smith observes Somali Danab soldiers conducting urban operations training in Nanyuki, Kenya, Feb. 28, 2024. AFRICOM's top commander highlighted a counterterrorism campaign in Somalia as an example of progress on the African continent. (Leron Richards/U.S. Army) ISIS-Somalia fighters holed up in a remote mountain range in northern Somalia have been a frequent target for AFRICOM airstrikes. The airstrike campaign, combined with surveillance and logistics support, has enabled AFRICOMs Somali partners to carry out an offensive against the insurgents, Anderson said. Its collapsed the area that ISIS has been able to operate in ... (and is) quite literally keeping them and ISIS leadership underground, Anderson added. On Friday, AFRICOM launched its most recent strike against ISIS-Somalia. Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) ranks among the biggest publicly traded asset managers. On January 15, Truist Securities cut its price target for Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) from from $62 to $60, retaining a Buy rating on the banking giant. The drop reflects minor adjustments in the firms provision estimates, as well as plans for BofA to halt its share buybacks. Pixabay/Public Domain In contrast to Bank of Americas medium-term goal of 200300+ basis points, the firms model now predicts 160 basis points of positive operating leverage in 2026, considerably lower than the banks guidance of 200 basis points, and 200 basis points in 2027. Also on January 15, TD Cowen reduced its price target on Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) to $64 from $66. The drop comes after Bank of Americas fourth-quarter 2025 core EPS of $0.98, which exceeded market estimates. The earnings beat was mostly due to decreased provisions and moderate net interest income growth. Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC), through its subsidiaries, provides a range of financial products and services to individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses, institutional investors, large corporations, and governments worldwide. While we acknowledge the potential of BAC as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 10 Best Magic Formula Stocks for 2025 and 10 Best Retirement Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Army Sgt. Lindsey Ruiz, left, and Alejandra Binet, right, receive letters of recognition from the Sagamihara Police Department near Camp Zama, Japan, Jan. 29, 2026. (U.S. Army) SAGAMIHARA, Japan A U.S. soldier and an Army spouse recently teamed up to rescue a pajama-clad preschooler from a busy street near the headquarters of U.S. Army Japan. Sgt. Lindsey Ruiz of the 765th Transportation Terminal Battalion and Alejandra Binet, the wife of a soldier from that unit, received letters of appreciation from the Sagamihara Police Department during a ceremony at the station Thursday, according to a post on U.S. Army Garrison Japans Facebook page. On Jan. 12, the women were headed to the Sagami General Depot, about 5 miles from Camp Zama, headquarters of U.S. Army Japan, when they saw a little boy of about 3 years old walking alone on a busy street in the Chuo ward of Sagamihara city. The boy was dressed in pajamas and had ventured dangerously close to traffic. Ruiz immediately stopped the car. Both women stepped out to signal passing vehicles to stop and immediately moved the boy to a safer area, according to the post. They took him to a nearby gas station for help with the language barrier. The staff there notified police, and both women stayed with the boy until they arrived, according to the post. The boys parents had filed a missing persons report with the police, who were actively searching for him, but Ruiz and Benit were the heroes that day, the Army said. We appreciate them immediately responding [to the situation], a city police spokesman told Stars and Stripes by phone Friday. The boy was returned to his family on the same day. Some Japanese government officials must speak to the media on condition of anonymity. Ruiz and Binet, through a garrison spokesperson, declined a Stars and Stripes request for interviews Friday. The garrison posted photographs of the women receiving commendations from the police chief. We commend you, Sgt. Ruiz and Alejandra, for your quick and decisive actions that helped ensure the safety of a young member of our neighboring community, the post said. The Supreme Court of Japan is in session in this undated photo. (Yoji Naito) CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa Japans highest court has upheld a U.S. airmans conviction for kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl just over two years ago on Okinawa. Senior Airman Brennon Washington, formerly of Kadena Air Base, filed his final appeal to the Supreme Court in Tokyo on Sept. 10, the same day the Naha branch of the Fukuoka High Court upheld his conviction. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal on Friday, a spokeswoman said by phone Tuesday. No further details about the basis of the appeal or rejection were available. Some Japanese government officials must speak to the press on condition of anonymity. Washington was sentenced on Dec. 13, 2024, in Naha District Court to five years in prison with hard labor after a three-judge panel found him guilty of kidnapping and sexually assaulting the girl on Dec. 24, 2023. Evidence at trial showed Washington picked up the girl at a park in Yomitan and took her to his home. In Japans three-tier court system, the Supreme Court is the final venue for appeal. Cases are typically handled by a five-justice petty bench and can be reviewed only for constitutional issues or conflicts with legal precedent. At Washingtons first appellate hearing in Naha on July 30, defense attorney Junji Shimizu argued the district court ignored changes in the girls testimony and said she showed interest in Washington. Presiding Judge Takahashi Miura from the bench on Sept. 10 said the court found those arguments without merit. The case, along with that of Marine Lance Cpl. Jamel Clayton convicted in June of attempted sexual assault in a separate incident sparked public outcry and protests from Okinawa officials. In response, U.S. Forces Japan implemented stricter liberty policies for service members. Clayton appealed his conviction on June 30 and appeared Tuesday at the Naha branch of the high court for his first appellate hearing. Najat Rubaie, center right, embraces one of her grandsons after they arrived with their mother as part of a group of about a dozen Palestinian returnees allowed into Gaza following the long-awaited reopening of the Rafah border crossing, at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, early Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP) CAIRO A dozen Palestinian returnees were allowed into Gaza from Egypt late Monday after the long-awaited reopening of the Rafah border crossing was marred by delays. Their arrival came hours after a small group of medical evacuees was ferried from the territory into Egypt. The reopening of the crossing marked a key step in the Israel-Hamas ceasefire but mostly a symbolic one, with few people allowed to travel and no goods allowed to pass through. The limitations were apparent Monday as crossings fell well short of the 50 people officials had said would be allowed to move in each direction. About 20,000 Palestinian children and adults needing medical care hope to leave the devastated territory via the crossing, according to Gaza health officials. Thousands of other Palestinians outside the territory hope to enter and return home. The crossing had been closed since Israeli troops seized it in May 2024. The number of travelers is expected to increase over time if the system is successful. Israel has said it and Egypt will vet people for exit and entry. Ambulances queued for hours at the border before ferrying patients into Egypt, the state-run Al-Qahera News satellite television channel showed. Just before midnight, a bus arrived in Gaza carrying Palestinian returnees who had fled the fighting early in the war. As the vehicle entered the compound of a hospital in Khan Younis, a girl wearing barrettes and an older woman stood just inside the front door, waving to relatives anxious for their return. Before the war, Rafah was the main crossing for people moving in and out of Gaza. The territorys handful of other crossings are all shared with Israel. Under the terms of the ceasefire, which went into effect in October, Israels military controls the area between the Rafah crossing and the zone where most Palestinians live. Violence continued across the coastal territory Monday. Gaza hospital officials said an Israeli navy ship had fired on a tent camp, killing a 3-year-old Palestinian boy. Israels military said it was looking into the incident. Egypt prepares to receive the wounded Rajaa Abu Mustafa stood outside a Gaza hospital where her 17-year-old son Mohamed awaited evacuation. He was blinded by a shot to the eye last year as he joined desperate Palestinians seeking food from aid trucks outside the southern city of Khan Younis. The health ministry called and told us that we will travel to Egypt for (his) treatment, she said. About 150 hospitals across Egypt are ready to receive patients evacuated from Gaza through Rafah, authorities said. But the isolated crossing is separated from Cairo by a six-hour drive. The Egyptian Red Crescent said it has readied safe spaces on the Egyptian side of the border to support those evacuated. More than 10,000 patients have been evacuated from Gaza since the war began, according to the World Health Organization. But Israels seizure of the Rafah crossing brought the pace of evacuations to a crawl, with an average of 17 patients a week leaving for most of the time since. Israel has banned sending patients to hospitals in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem since the war began, cutting off what was previously the main outlet for Palestinians needing medical treatment unavailable in Gaza. U.N. officials on Monday called on other countries to take in more patients from Gaza so that everyone receives the treatment they need. With the crossing reopened, Gaza residents looked forward to the return of family members who fled earlier in the war. This time its real, said Iman Rashwan, anticipating the arrival of her mother and sister. They left Gaza a year ago when her mothers heart condition worsened and she was referred for treatment in Egypt. They called us yesterday and said they received news that they will leave, Rashwan said. We have been waiting for it for too long. The Rafah crossing will be supervised by European Union border patrol agents with a small Palestinian presence. Historically, Israel and Egypt have vetted Palestinians applying to cross. Fearing that Israel could use the crossing to push Palestinians out of the enclave, Egypt has repeatedly said it must be open for them to enter and exit Gaza. Huda Abu Abed, 60, a heart patient, gets off a bus at Nasser Hospital after 12 Palestinian returnees were allowed into Gaza from Egypt following the long-awaited reopening of the Rafah border crossing, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, early Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP) Palestinian toddler killed by Israeli fire A 3-year-old Palestinian was killed when Israels navy hit tents sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis, Palestinian hospital authorities said. According to Nasser hospital, which received the body, the attack happened in Muwasi, a tent camp area on Gazas coast. Also on Monday, Israels military said it killed four Palestinians in northern Gaza who approached troops near the line marking Israeli-controlled territory, posing an imminent threat to them. More than 520 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the ceasefire went into effect on Oct. 10, according to Gazas health ministry. They are among the over 71,800 Palestinians killed since the start of the war, according to the ministry, which does not say how many were fighters or civilians. The ministry, part of Gazas Hamas-led government, keeps detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. Rafahs opening represents ceasefire progress Israel had said seizing the Rafah crossing in May 2024 was part of efforts to combat arms-smuggling by the Hamas militant group. The crossing was briefly opened for the evacuation of medical patients during a ceasefire in early 2025. Israel had resisted reopening the Rafah crossing, but the recovery of the remains of the last hostage in Gaza cleared the way to move forward. The reopening is seen as a key step as the U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement moves into its second phase. The truce halted more than two years of war between Israel and Hamas that began with the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Its first phase called for the exchange of all hostages held in Gaza for hundreds of Palestinians held by Israel, an increase in badly needed humanitarian aid and a partial pullback of Israeli troops. The second phase of the ceasefire deal is more complicated. It calls for installing the new Palestinian committee to govern Gaza, deploying an international security force, disarming Hamas and taking steps to begin rebuilding. Federman reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press journalists Wafaa Shurafa in Khan Younis, Gaza and Julia Frankel in Jerusalem contributed to this report. A SmartShooter employee demonstrates the companys Smash 3000, an AI-powered attachment, while firing a rifle in northern Israel last month. (Heidi Levine/The Washington Post) TEL AVIV By the time the Israeli startup Kela opened its doors in 2024, its employees had already been serving as reservists on Israels battlefields. Once in the office, the team at the military tech firm began experimenting with solutions for overcoming the kinds of problems theyd personally seen drones encounter in war zones like Lebanon, including electronic jamming and signal loss. The employees configured fiber-optic drone prototypes that were then rapidly dispatched to troops on the front lines and pitched to foreign militaries looking for battle-tested technology. It was iteration under fire, said Hamutal Meridor, Kelas president, referring to the process of testing and ironing out kinks in tech products. Such technology, she said, can help armies keep apace with a battlefield which is moving at the speed of software. Last year, the firm, which is also developing a platform to integrate military and commercial products, entered a partnership with the California-based drone company Neros, a supplier to Ukraine that also has a $17 million deal with the U.S. Marines. Kela is among a cohort of Israeli military tech firms that were born out of, or scaled up during, the war against Hamas in Gaza and as Israels military campaign spread to Lebanon, Iran and elsewhere in the region. The founders of some startups say that international condemnation of Israel human rights violations in Gaza, including alleged war crimes, have tarnished the Israeli brand, as have investigations into accusations that Israel committed genocide there. Some clients have sought to maintain a low profile, especially those from European countries that have halted arms shipments to Israel or expressed concern that it has engaged in atrocities. But Israeli startup executives say that foreign requests to purchase their weapons and related systems are up sharply. Israels success in carrying out devastating pager attacks in 2024 against the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, intelligence operations in Iran during the 12-day war last year and commando raids to rescue hostages in Gaza have stoked foreign demand for the weapons and other technology used by Israeli troops. Israeli startups brought in a record $15.6 billion in investments in 2025, up from $12 billion in 2024, according to Startup Nation Central, an organization that tracks the countrys startup industry. Industry experts predict that the trend will continue to rise as the United States and other NATO countries surge defense budgets and Israels state-owned arms manufacturers and private sector startups announce more partnerships with militaries around the world. Hagai Balshai, chief executive and founder of Robotican, a startup developing remote-controlled robots, said that the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, prompted an awakening by Israels military, which quickly turned to the private tech sector for help on the increasingly digital battlefield. Overnight, systems such as drones, robotics and advanced sensors were rushed into use. These became essential as the Israeli army searched for 251 hostages being held in Gaza and responded to Hezbollah drones flown across the border into Israel. During these conflicts, about 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas attacks, and Israeli communities near Gaza and close to the Lebanese border were evacuated. More than 71,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israel Defense Forces invasion of Gaza, according to local health officials, who do not distinguish between combatants and civilians, and much of Gazas population has been repeatedly displaced in the devastated enclave. If our technology was once boutique, once relegated to specific development departments of the IDF, now every commander needed a drone to go in, or robotic cameras on which to base military simulations, Balshai said. The Israeli tech industry has long drawn on the expertise of engineers, coders and entrepreneurs who graduated from Israels elite intelligence units and are fluent in the culture of Silicon Valley. Dozens of Balshais employees, including some from Gaza border communities where family or friends were taken hostage, have repeatedly swapped their army fatigues for jeans and T-shirts and back again. While on military duty, he said they used the robots theyd developed to scan booby-trapped buildings, detect noxious gases and shoot at drones or militants. When an Iranian missile hit the nearby Soroka Medical Center during the June war, Balshai outfitted his robots with thermal sensors to search for survivors in the devastated medical wards. Those sensors were then adopted by Israeli special forces for missions, in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and beyond, he said. This is a war that I wish had never happened, but it gave us a capability that means were now part of something global, he said. At the height of the war in Gaza, with top international courts pursuing genocide charges against Israel and issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his then-defense minister Yoav Gallant, several European governments announced embargoes on Israeli military exports and imports. In September, Britain blocked an Israeli Defense Ministry delegation from attending an arms trade fair. A month earlier, Germany partially suspended transfers of weapons that it said Israel could use in its war in Gaza, but lifted the ban in November, after a Gaza ceasefire agreement was reached. Balshai said the Spanish government last year paused its contract with his company, and other Western European countries have requested discretion as part of their orders. But representatives of foreign militaries have been visiting his offices on a regular basis, and deals have been spiking, he added. There are governments that are publicly virtue-signaling about Gaza, to placate the street while also sending their defense leaderships to talk with Israeli companies to protect that same street, said Aaron Kaplowitz, founder of 1948 Ventures, a Miami-based venture capital firm that launched after the start of the war and invests in Israeli military tech. Eran Toch, an engineering professor at Tel Aviv University, said the development of military systems based on artificial intelligence has allowed Israel to produce target lists at an unprecedented speed and scale, giving the IDF the ability to strike Hamas militants in Gaza as never before. But he added that these systems have shown the limits of AI-powered warfare by failing to adequately calculate the risk to civilians or take the broader impact of the military campaign into account. The bottleneck today isnt the technical problem of delivering bombs or the firepower, since making hundreds of thousands of decisions simultaneously was what AI was created for, he said. But Toch said the civilian deaths and the wider humanitarian crisis are not necessarily stuff you can put into the algorithm. Michal Mor is the chief executive of SmartShooter, an Israeli startup that developed an AI-powered attachment for rifles that she said helps soldiers detect and fire at targets, whether they be a sniper running across a rooftop or a tiny drone zipping through the sky. She said her companys technology saves lives of soldiers and uninvolved civilians by increasing the accuracy of gunfire. Mor said the technology was crucial when Israeli reservists rushed into battle early in the Israel-Gaza war, including some who hadnt been trained in years and dont really know how to plan or what they will see once the first shot is fired and all hell breaks loose. The company signed a $13 million contract with the U.S. Army last year and operates sister offices in Virginia, Germany and Australia, she said. While some Israeli tech firms have seen foreign investments pulled in recent years, she said that many Israeli companies have found work-arounds to foreign bans and restrictions, for instance incorporating in the United States or sending delegations from their American or European offices to arms trade fairs or to negotiate deals. After France banned Israeli companies from attending defense exhibitions in 2024 and 2025, Mor said her company has increasingly scheduled client meetings that do not overlap with international arms fairs. She said that while there may be international pressure on Israeli defense tech firms, her company has conducted business as usual. In the end, she said, the war is the only reality. Najat Rubaie, center right, embraces one of her grandsons after they arrive with their mother as part of a group of about a dozen Palestinian returnees allowed into Gaza following the long-awaited reopening of the Rafah border crossing, at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, early Tuesday. (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP) KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip Palestinians gathered on both sides of Gazas border with Egypt on Tuesday hoping to pass through the Rafah crossing, after its reopening the previous day was marred by delays, interrogations and uncertainty over who would be allowed to cross. On the Egyptian side were Palestinians who fled Gaza earlier in the Israel-Hamas war to seek medical treatment, according to Egypts state-run Al-Qahera News television. On the Gaza side, Palestinians in need of medical care that is unavailable in Gaza gathered at a hospital before ambulances moved toward Rafah, hoping for word that they would be allowed to cross the other way. The office of the North Sinai governor confirmed Tuesday that an unknown number of patients and their companions had crossed from Gaza into Egypt. Though hailed as a step forward for the fragile ceasefire struck in October, it took more than 10 hours for only about a dozen returnees and a small group of medical evacuees to cross in each direction on the first day Rafah reopened. Three women who crossed into Gaza on Monday told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Israeli troops blindfolded and handcuffed them, then interrogated and threatened them, holding them for several hours before they were released. The numbers permitted to cross on Monday fell well short of the 50 people that officials had said would be allowed each way and barely began to address the needs of tens of thousands of Palestinians who are hoping to be evacuated for treatment or to return home. The import of humanitarian aid or goods through Rafah remains prohibited. Not a solution to the crisis Evacuation efforts on Tuesday morning converged around a Red Crescent hospital in Khan Younis, where a World Health Organization team arrived and a vehicle carrying patients and their relatives rolled in from another hospital. Then the group of WHO vehicles and Palestinian ambulances headed toward Rafah to await crossing. As the sick, wounded and displaced waited to cross in both directions, health officials said the small number allowed to exit so far paled beside Gazas tremendous needs. Two years of fighting destroyed much of its medical infrastructure and left hospitals struggling to treat trauma injuries, amputations and chronic conditions like cancer. In Gaza City, Shifa Hospital director Mohamed Abu Selmiya called the pace crisis management, not a solution to the crisis, imploring Israel to permit the importing of medical supplies and equipment. He wrote on Facebook: Denying the evacuation of patients and preventing the entry of medicines is a death sentence for them. U.N. and WHO officials said the trickle of patients allowed out and restrictions on bringing in desperately needed supplies are prolonging a disastrous situation in Gaza. Rafah must function as a real humanitarian corridor so we can have a surge in aid deliveries, said Tom Fletcher, the U.N.s top relief official. Palestinian Red Crescent spokesperson Raed al-Nims told AP that only 16 patients with chronic conditions or war wounds, accompanied by 40 relatives, were brought from Khan Younis to the Gaza side of Rafah on Tuesday less than the 45 patients and wounded the Red Crescent was told would be allowed. After days of anticipation over the reopening, hope lingered that it might mark a meaningful first step. In Khan Younis, Iman Rashwan waited for hours until her mother and sister returned from Egypt, hoping others would soon see their loved ones again. Waiting on both sides Officials say the number of crossings could gradually increase if the system works, with Israel and Egypt vetting those allowed in and out. But security concerns and bureaucratic snags quickly tempered expectations raised by officials who for weeks had cast reopening as a major step in the ceasefire deal. There were delays on Monday over disagreements about luggage allowances. Returnees were carrying more than anticipated with them, requiring additional negotiations, a person familiar with the situation told the AP, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the diplomatic matter. They didnt let us cross with anything, Rotana Al-Regeb said as she returned around midnight Monday to Khan Younis. They emptied everything before letting us through. We were only allowed to take the clothes on our backs and one bag per person. The initial number of Palestinians allowed to cross is mostly symbolic. Israeli and Egyptian officials have said that 50 medical evacuees would depart along with two caregiver escorts and 50 Palestinians who left during the war would return. At that pace, long waits are facing most of the roughly 20,000 sick and wounded people who Gazas Health Ministry has said need treatment abroad. About 150 hospitals across Egypt are ready to receive patients, authorities said. Who and what would be allowed through Rafah was a central concern for both Israel and Egypt. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that anyone who wants to leave will eventually be permitted to do so, but Egypt has repeatedly said the Rafah crossing must open in both directions, fearing Israel could use it to push Palestinians out of Gaza. Reopening the crossing is considered key as the ceasefire agreement moves into a complicated second phase. That calls for installing a new Palestinian committee to govern Gaza, deploying an international security force, disarming Hamas and taking steps to begin rebuilding. In a meeting Tuesday with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff in Jerusalem, Netayanhu repeated Israels uncompromising demand that Hamas be disarmed before any reconstruction begins, the prime ministers office said. A 19-year-old killed in southern Gaza Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said Ahmed Abdel-Al, 19, was shot and killed by Israeli troops on Tuesday morning in a part of the southern Gaza City, some distance away from the area under the Israeli militarys control. Israels military said it was not immediately aware of any shootings in the area. Abdel-Al was the latest of the 529 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire since the Oct. 10 start of the ceasefire, according to Gazas Health Ministry. They are among more than 71,800 Palestinians killed since the start of the war, according to the ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians. The ministry, part of Gazas Hamas-led government, keeps detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Josef Federman and Sam Metz in Jerusalem contributed to this report. The USS Abraham Lincoln, seen here conducting exercises in the Arabian Sea in June 2019, was approached by an Iranian drone with unclear intent, U.S. Central Command said. (Brian M. Wilbur/U.S. Navy) WASHINGTON A U.S. Navy fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone that approached an aircraft carrier transiting in the Arabian Sea Tuesday, U.S. Central Command said. The USS Abraham Lincoln was about 500 miles from Irans southern coast when an Iranian Shahed-139 drone unnecessarily maneuvered toward the ship, CENTCOM said in a statement. The Iranian drone continued to fly toward the ship despite deescalatory measures taken by U.S. forces operating in international waters, CENTCOM said. An F-35C fighter jet from Abraham Lincoln shot down the Iranian drone in self-defense and to protect the aircraft carrier and personnel on board. No American service members were harmed during the incident, and no U.S. equipment was damaged. Hours later in the Strait of Hormuz, forces with Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps harassed a U.S.-flagged, U.S.-crewed merchant vessel lawfully transiting the international sea passage, the statement said. Two IRGC boats and an Iranian Mohajer drone approached M/V Stena Imperative at high speeds and threatened to board and seize the tanker. Guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul was operating in the area and immediately responded to the scene to escort M/V Stena Imperative with defensive air support from the U.S. Air Force, CENTCOM added. The situation deescalated as a result, and the U.S.-flagged tanker is proceeding safely. The Pentagon has sent a host of U.S. military assets into the Middle East over the past several weeks as President Donald Trump indicates he is maintaining the possibility of strikes on Iran. The Lincoln and three guided-missile destroyers are in the Arabian Sea, according to CENTCOM. The carrier strike group left the South China Sea last week and arrived in the Middle East on Monday. It joined three other U.S. Navy destroyers, two of which are currently sailing near the Strait of Hormuz and another in the Red Sea. Three smaller littoral combat ships also are currently at sea in the Persian Gulf. The arrival of the carrier strike group brought roughly 5,700 additional service members. The U.S. has several bases in the Middle East, including Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which hosts thousands of American troops and is the forward headquarters for U.S. Central Command. Talks between special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian officials are still planned, White House and Iranian officials said. Trump told reporters that we are negotiating with them right now. He also noted the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in June and said, I dont think they want that happening again. The Associated Press contributed to this report. The House passed a $1.2 trillion spending package on Tuesday to end a partial government shutdown and provide $839 billion in full-year funding for the Pentagon, including a pay raise for service members. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes) WASHINGTON The House passed a $1.2 trillion spending package on Tuesday to end a partial government shutdown and provide $839 billion in full-year funding for the Pentagon, including a pay raise for service members. The 217-214 vote clears the legislation for President Donald Trumps signature. The package funds the Pentagon and large parts of the federal government through Sept. 30 while funding the Department of Homeland Security, including the Coast Guard, through the end of next week. A partial government shutdown began Saturday after Senate Democrats angered by the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis resident by federal immigration enforcement agents demanded changes to a funding package the House passed and sent to the Senate two weeks ago. A resulting bipartisan deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks rather than a year is meant to give lawmakers time to negotiate over proposed restrictions on the Trump administrations immigration crackdown. But it also means flat short-term funding for the Coast Guard, which operates under the Homeland Security Department in peace time, argued Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., a member of the House Rules Committee and the House Armed Services Committee. Theyre forcing a continuing resolution on the United States Coast Guard, he said on Monday. The only thing this is better than is a shutdown but were going to be right back here in two weeks. The rest of the funding package provides full funding for the 2026 fiscal year, which began on Oct. 1 for the Defense Department and the vast majority of the federal government. It contains $8 billion more for defense than the Trump administration had requested, though Senate appropriators had initially sought a $22 billion funding hike. The bill comes on top of a $150 billion boost given to the Pentagon in a Republican megabill last year. The legislation approved Tuesday funds the priorities outlined in an annual defense policy bill passed in December, including the 3.8% pay raise troops received last month and an additional pay raise for junior enlisted service members. It also funds a 1% pay bump for the Pentagons civilian employees. Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif., the chairman of the defense appropriations subcommittee, said the bill meets the challenges posed by adversaries such as China, Russia and Iran as well as illicit drugs that continue to harm Americans here at home. It provides $839.2 billion to strengthen deterrence, support the administrations America First defense agenda and to modernize our force, he said on Tuesday. These are strategic investments to protect the American people, project strength abroad. The bill funds 17 new ships, increases funding for a variety of aircraft purchases and provides multi-year procurement authority for critical munitions production a key priority for the administration. It also rejects the administrations desire to cut funding for a long-running program to arm and train the Ukrainian military, instead allocating $400 million for the initiative. An additional $200 million is being provided for a similar program for the Baltics. Defense hawks have described the legislation as a step in the right direction but said it still falls short of the Pentagons needs, pointing to a funding gap of at least $40 billion for 2026. Trump has said he will ask Congress for a $1.5 trillion defense budget for the 2027 fiscal year. Cub Scouts with Yokosuka Pack 33 stand at attention during a flag retirement ceremony at Ikego West Valley Campground near Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, in May 2023. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes) The Defense Department is near a final agreement with Scouting America to continue providing support from the U.S. military, provided the organization implements the common-sense, core value reforms, the departments chief spokesman said Monday on social media. They are on the clock, and we are watching, spokesman Sean Parnell wrote in a post on X. We have more to announce soon. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned in November that the Pentagon was planning to end its support of Scouting, saying the organization had changed to something designed to attack boy-friendly spaces, according to a draft memo to Congress reviewed by National Public Radio. On Monday, Parnell said the Pentagon had recently reviewed its relationship with Scouting America, a great organization that has in many ways lost its way. The review stemmed from a DOD policy of no tolerance for policies or organizations that embrace diversity, equity and inclusion under a January 2025 executive order by President Donald Trump ending DEI preferences in federal contracting, according to Parnell. His post did not specify the reforms under discussion. Scouting America responded to Parnells post in an unsigned email Tuesday to Stars and Stripes. For nearly 116 years Scouting has stood as a cornerstone of American ideals, good citizenship, service, and adventure for American youth, the statement said. We are encouraged by tonights social media post by the Pentagon, and we look forward to providing more details as we move ahead. Hegseths November memo proposed the Pentagon end its medical and logistical aid to Scouting Americas National Jamboree, which attracts as many as 20,000 scouts every four years. The Pentagon would no longer allow Scouts to meet on military installations in the U.S. and abroad, where many bases have active Scout programs, according to NPR. For more than a decade, Scouting Americas leadership has made decisions that run counter to the values of this administration and this Department of War, including an embrace of DEI and other social justice, gender-fluid ideological stances, Parnell wrote. This is unacceptable. A DOD review of its financial assistance and partnership with Scouting America apparently yielded some agreement with the organization, according to Parnells post. Scouting America remains far from perfect, but they have firmly committed to a return to core principles, he wrote. A Defense Department spokesperson responded to Stars and Stripes emailed request for further information after hours Monday by referring to Parnells statement on X: We will have more to announce soon like the post says. Scouting Americas precursor, Boy Scouts of America, rebranded itself in 2018 following scandals and bankruptcy to become Scouts BSA, the year it admitted girls into the program. The organization again rebranded itself as Scouting America in February 2025. Scouting America CEO Roger Krone, a former head of technology firm Leidos and a former Boeing executive, responded to the NPR report by saying he and the organization were deeply saddened by the news. According to the story, the draft memo purports that the Scouting organization is no longer a meritocracy and does not hold members to high standards. This view is clearly uninformed, he said in a statement posted Nov. 25 on the Scouting Americas website. Scouting will never turn its back on the children of our military families. Just as we always have, Scouts will continue to put duty to country above duty to self and will remain focused on serving all American families in the U.S. and abroad, he said. Krone also encouraged supporters to contact their senators and representatives in Congress to ask for their help. A Cincinnati woman pleaded guilty Monday to stealing more than $158,000 from ill or elderly veterans while she served as their money manager. (Joshua Magbanua/U.S. Air Force) A Cincinnati woman pleaded guilty Monday to stealing more than $158,000 from ill or elderly veterans while she served as their money manager. Ishwanzya Rivers, 46, admitted to stealing more than $135,000 from a Marine Corps veteran in his 80s while he lived in a Department of Veterans Affairs facility. He died in March 2022 as Rivers spent his money on international travel, hotels, restaurants, shopping and video streaming subscriptions, according to court records. She also stole more than $23,000 from three other veterans while serving as their fiduciary, a person delegated to manage money in the best interest of someone while they are unable to do so themselves. The charge, misappropriation by a fiduciary, could result in a prison sentence of up to five years, a $250,000 fine or restitution, according to court records. Following her guilty plea before Judge Matthew W. McFarland in the Southern District of Ohio, Rivers was released pending sentencing. A date for a sentencing hearing was not listed in the court docket. An attorney for Rivers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Rivers first became the Marine veterans fiduciary in February 2015 to manage his VA benefits. In this role she acknowledged she could not borrow, loan, gift or mix the money with anyone elses. A year later, Rivers moved $5,500 from the veterans account over several transactions, ultimately leaving it short $3,500, according to court records. The VA then requested an accounting of the veterans finances, so she transferred $3,500 back into the veterans and told the VA that all the transfers were due to a bank error. In 2018 the VA investigated Rivers and removed her as the veterans fiduciary because it found she did not complete some accounting requirements. By this point, the veterans account had more than $130,000, which the VA directed her to move to the new fiduciarys account. She did not. With the help of a friend who worked at the VA, Rivers got reappointed as the veterans money manager in 2021 under a new company name and rapidly drained the bank account, according to court records. She spent the money to travel to Montego Bay, Jamaica; Cancun, Mexico; London; Panama; Zurich; Vienna; and Maldives. After the Marine died, Rivers made two false statements about his bank accounts in an attempt to cover the theft. She acted similarly while managing the money of three other veterans two who served in the Army and one in the Air Force. Rivers filed for bankruptcy in 2024, claiming roughly $80,000 in income in 2022. She did not mention her fiduciary business in the filing. Green sprout grows through cracked ground as red and green market lines swing, signaling volatile investing outlook. Key Points Amid market volatility expectations, Ryman Hospitality Properties offers an appealing dividend yield, a sizable portfolio of high-demand hotel properties, and 17% upside potential. Black Hills offers not only the attractive dividend profile of a stable utilities name, but also the potential for growth through data center business. Essential Utilities also capitalizes on the utilities sector dividend strengths as it prepares for a merger that could supercharge earnings and dividend growth. Interested in Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc.? Here are five stocks we like better. One of the stories of the market in early 2026 has been the threat of looming volatility. While the S&P itself is trading relatively flat year-to-date (YTD), an incredible surge in the price of gold and silvercoupled with concerns about an international selloff of U.S.-denominated assetshas many investors worried about downside risk. Add simmering geopolitical tensions both domestic and abroad and you have a recipe for potential volatility in stock prices. At this time, investors seeking a more defensive approach might consider a number of stocks that offer high dividend yields, thereby possibly offering some protection thanks to regular distributions. The companies below all fit that bill while also earning optimistic ratings from analysts across Wall Street as an added bonus. Insiders Rang in the New Year Selling These Stocks, Buyers Beware A Unique and Stable Corner of the Hotel Market Helps Ryman Offer Solid Dividends A real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on large, convention center-style hotels and resorts, Ryman Hospitality Properties Inc. (NYSE: RHP) is obligated to pay out the vast majority of its income in the form of dividends to shareholders. As a result, it has a high dividend yield of 5.07%. It is able to back this up with a strong cash position: as of the latest reported quarter, RHP had $483 million in unrestricted cash and close to $1.3 billion in total liquidity. Post-pandemic, demand for RHP's large hotels has been strong and stable. The company also has a hefty block of close to eight million group room nights, providing it a position in the market that is hard for competitors to challenge. This capacity should also help to continue to grow revenue following its most recent 7.7% year-over-year (YOY) improvement in the third quarter of 2025. How Long Can Equal-Weighted ETFs Keep Outperforming the S&P 500? It makes sense, then, that analysts see RHP as a good defensive play for investors seeking dividend income. Wall Street expects the firm to boost earnings by more than 9% in the next year and to grow its share price by nearly 17%. Hector Barbotta Sevilla Tuesday, 3 February 2026, 16:28 Share REGIONAL authorities have suspended classes across almost all of Andalucia on Wednesday as "Storm Leonardo" threatens the region with unprecedented rainfall. The emergency advisory committee, chaired by President Juanma Moreno, confirmed that all educational levels - excluding universities - will be suspended on 4 February in every province except Almeria. Universities will maintain autonomy over closures, while schools are expected to pivot to remote learning. The storm is forecast to collide with an "atmospheric river" phenomenon, dumping extreme levels of precipitation through to next Monday. Red alerts have already been issued for Ronda (Malaga), Grazalema, and Gibraltar (Cadiz). Flood-prone areas "Any area that has flooded in the last 50 years could be flooded again now," Moreno warned following the committee meeting in Seville. He highlighted the Guadalhorce Valley, the Costa del Sol, and Ronda as the zones at highest risk within Malaga province. The situation is further complicated by the fact that 50 Andalusian reservoirs are already draining at maximum capacity, and the saturated ground can no longer absorb further moisture. Residents in high-risk areas will receive a civil protection warning on their mobile phones at 8pm tonight. Authorities have urged the public to avoid all non-essential travel and have suspended activities at care and social centres for Wednesday. "Any area that has flooded in the last 50 years can be flooded again now" Operational phase two The Junta has elevated the emergency plan to Operational Phase Two, a move that allows the Military Emergency Unit (UME) to begin repositioning. A key priority for the military will be the containment of mining ponds to prevent the overflow of toxic materials. SUR in English Tuesday, 3 February 2026, 09:43 Share The Government of Gibraltar is stepping up its engagement with the local business community ahead of the implementation of the UKEU Treaty, with sector-specific briefings already underway and a meeting at Grand Battery House scheduled for this Wednesday. The Minister for Equality, Employment, Culture and Tourism, Christian Santos, has already briefed representatives of the local cruise, shipping and shore excursion sector on the operational arrangements relating to the treaty. The aim of the briefing was to provide clarity to the industry ahead of treaty implementation, ensuring operators are fully informed of the specific requirements that will affect cruises calling at Gibraltar. The Government has sought to reassure the cruise sector that Gibraltar remains a well-established and competitive cruise destination, and does not expect any operational arrangements to have a material impact on cruise activity. This sector briefing follows an earlier engagement held last week by the Minister for Business, Gemma Arias-Vasquez, together with the Attorney General, Michael Llamas, with the Business Transition Advisory Group. That meeting focused on the position following the conclusion of negotiations on the EUUK Treaty in respect of Gibraltar, with particular emphasis on the transitional arrangements that will apply during the implementation phase. Now, the Government is opening the conversation to the wider business community. A briefing on the treaty will be held at Grand Battery House on Wednesday 4 February at 2.30pm. The event is intended to provide businesses with a direct opportunity to hear from Government on the treaty, its implications, and the preparations underway to support a smooth transition once the agreement comes into force. The Chief Minister, the Deputy Chief Minister, the Minister for Business, and the Attorney General will all be present at the briefing and will be available to answer questions from members of the business community. The meeting is open to anyone from the business community who wishes to attend. Those wishing to attend are asked to register their interest in advance by emailing the Ministry for Business at MHCB@gibraltar.gov.gi. The Minister for Business, The Hon Gemma Arias-Vasquez, said: "Over the past week, the government has moved quickly to brief key stakeholders on the implementation phase of the treaty. This town hall briefing builds on that work by opening the conversation directly to the wider business community. Businesses rightly want clarity on what comes next, how transition arrangements will work in practice and how Government is preparing for implementation." Ignacio Lillo Malaga Tuesday, 3 February 2026, 10:53 Share Malaga province is preparing for the arrival of a new storm on Tuesday, 3 February. State meteorological agency Aemet has activated an amber alert for heavy rainfall in the interior of the province, with more than 150mm expected in 24 hours in the Serrania de Ronda on Wednesday. The rest of the province has an active yellow warning for rain and an amber alert for coastal phenomena and wind. The bigger map of Andalucia on Wednesday includes a red alert for dangerous rainfall in the province of Cadiz, where the village of Grazalema expects more than 200mm in 24 hours. Storm Leonardo will mix up on Wednesday with an 'atmospheric river' - a concentrated corridor of tropical moisture originating in the Caribbean. With the ground already saturated from the wettest winter since 2020, authorities are warning of a significant risk of river overflows and flash flooding. Under a yellow warning will be the Axarquia district, the Costa del Sol, the Guadalhorce Valley and the Antequera district. Between 40 and 60mm could accumulate in these areas of the province. Winds of up to 80km/h will also visit from the west, contributing to waves of up to three metres. What is the 'atmospheric river' phenomenon that will collide with the umpteenth storm this winter? According to Aemet, "it is a relatively frequent phenomenon, which occurs when a mass of very humid and concentrated air comes across the Atlantic" from the Caribbean. This mass of water vapour is pushed by strong winds, hence the resemblance to a river. 250 mm could fall in Grazalema, the Ronda mountain range and the area around the Strait of Gibraltar on Wednesday This phenomenon will impact the province mainly on Wednesday, but also on Thursday and up to Friday, although with less intensity towards the end of the week. Rain is also expected over the weekend, although brought by a new storm on Sunday. According to SUR weather expert Jose Luis Escudero, the 'atmospheric river' is a better forecast than a waterspout, but this does not mean that there is no possibility of floods. "It is possible that the Guadalhorce and the Antequera will also get a warning in following updates," he said. The province's reservoirs will continue accumulating water, and may set a new record towards the end of the week. SUR Tuesday, 3 February 2026, 12:32 Share A NEW initiative to detect and prevent "unwanted loneliness" among the elderly has been launched in Rincon de la Victoria. The Asoma network (Red Asoma), rolled out by the town hall on the eastern Costa del Sol, aims to provide a safety net for older residents through professional intervention, emotional support, and community integration. The project is being implemented by Atende, a subsidiary of the social services giant Clece. According to Malaga spokesperson Pablo Garcia, the programme represents a "different way of understanding home care." "Loneliness isn't always visible or verbalised," Garcia explained. "Asoma isn't just another programme; its about giving older adults back their active role within the community." Mayor of Rincon, Francisco Salado, explained that the project, which is being implemented in other parts of Spain as well, "focuses on the detection, prevention, and addressing of unwanted loneliness in older adults. It combines professional help, emotional support, group activities and connections to local resources". The company responsible for rolling out the project in Rincon is Atende, a subsidiary of Clece, which is one of the leading social services companies with a presence throughout Spain. Garcia, said, "At Atende y Clece we have been working with older adults for many years, but also learning from them. That's why we know that loneliness isn't always visible, isn't always verbalised. More than 100 professionals have been trained to identify warning signs and activate the appropriate resources in each case. Similarly, another essential pillar of the programme is specialised assessment. The individuals identified have been evaluated by clinical psychologists, who have designed individualised intervention plans. Garcia added that the programme "connects people with group activities, municipal resources, meeting places, and new opportunities for social interaction. Ultimately, it gives older adults back their active role within the community." China's Spring Festival travel rush kicks off with more NEVs, holidaymakers Xinhua) 08:26, February 03, 2026 BEIJING, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Early Monday, highways were already busy, while train stations and airports across China filled with travelers as the Spring Festival travel rush began ahead of the country's most important holiday. The Spring Festival, also known as Chinese New Year, falls on Feb. 17 this year. The official holiday lasts nine days, with many factory workers taking more time off and students on winter vacation. The annual homeward journey -- the world's largest human migration -- places an immense strain on China's transportation network. Authorities expect a record 9.5 billion inter-regional trips during the 40-day travel rush, known as chunyun. This year's travel season is expected to see more new energy vehicles (NEVs) and more family travel, as travelers head not only to their hometowns but also to cities where family members live or to holiday destinations chosen simply to spend time together. Passengers get their tickets checked at Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 2, 2026. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu) In the quiet streets of Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, Zhang Ming slid into the driver's seat of his NEV, activated the navigation system with a voice command and set off on an 800-km journey back to his hometown in Chongqing Municipality, the trunk packed with bags of vegetables, meatballs and lotus roots. "For our first Spring Festival after getting married, we took annual leave so we could head home early," said Zhang, 35, who works in the internet sector. "We wanted to get a head start on the New Year feeling and bring a taste of Hubei home for our family." ON THE MOVE More families like Zhang's are choosing to drive home, with a growing share of those journeys made in NEVs. Transport officials estimate that around 80 percent of trips during the chunyun period will take place by road. Zhang's car has a range of more than 600 km on a full charge. Accounting for winter temperatures, he planned three charging stops, pulling into expressway service areas whenever the battery level dropped to around 30 percent. "Now the technology is better, charging is easier, and driver-assist systems make long trips less tiring," he said. By the end of 2025, China's NEV fleet had reached 43.97 million, including 12.93 million newly registered vehicles during the year. More than 71,500 EV chargers had been installed at expressway service areas nationwide, easing concerns about long-distance travel during peak holiday periods. Railway and civil aviation authorities have also increased travel capacities, with passenger volumes projected to reach 540 million by rail and 95 million by air, both expected to set records for overall scale and peak daily traffic. An aerial drone photo taken on Feb. 1, 2026 shows high-speed trains at a train depot in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province. (Xinhua/Wu Zhizun) The travel experience itself has changed with the spread of new technologies. Once defined by migrant workers carrying bulging woven bags through crowded train carriages, chunyun today features passengers scrolling on phones, ordering meals with a tap and streaming videos aboard high-speed trains that traverse China's vast network, the largest in the world. In stations, robots patrol concourses, while drones assist with inspections along rail lines. China is expected to be hit by four cold waves in February, potentially affecting the peak of the Spring Festival travel rush. Wang Yawei, a spokesperson for the China Meteorological Administration, said the agency is using satellites, weather radar, digital forecasting systems and AI to improve real-time monitoring and forecasts of extreme winter weather. Airports are also deploying new technology to cope with winter conditions. At Wuhan Tianhe International Airport, which expects about 27,000 flights during the chunyun period, up 2.5 percent from a year earlier, a smart de-icing management system has helped keep flights on schedule. On Jan. 19, when snow hit the city, crews cleared nearly 4 million square meters of runways and aprons in less than five hours, cutting the time needed previously by about half, said Zhao Wei, head of the airport's de-icing operations team. WHERE FAMILIES GO, HOME FOLLOWS China's Spring Festival travel rush began in the 1980s, as millions of rural workers moved to cities for jobs and returned home once a year for family reunions. That pattern is now shifting, with more parents traveling to big cities to spend the holiday with children who live and work there, a trend often called the "reverse Spring Festival trip." Dong Zhiyong, 61, and his wife left their home in Yuncheng, north China's Shanxi Province, to celebrate the holiday with their daughter in Beijing. When Xinhua reporters met them at a railway station, they were carrying two boxes of apples, a local specialty, as gifts. "My daughter and her husband have short holidays, and my grandson is busy with his studies," Dong said. "But we are retired, so we have time for a family reunion." The couple plans to visit tourist attractions in Beijing and may also take a short trip to the neighboring city of Tianjin. Passengers wave goodbye to their relative at Shenzhen North Railway Station in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Feb. 2, 2026. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian) Data from travel services platform Qunar show that air ticket bookings by passengers aged 60 and above rose more than 35 percent year on year during the Spring Festival holiday, with major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Shenzhen among their top destinations. The number of travelers over 60 buying their first-ever air tickets on the platform rose 22 percent. Home is no longer the only destination during chunyun. He Xiangzhi and three friends plan to take their families from Tianjin to Datong, a city in Shanxi known for its cultural heritage. "Spending the New Year somewhere I've never been brings a sense of novelty," He said. "We want to see different landscapes and learn about local customs." Li Yanan, owner of a traditional courtyard hotel in Datong, said the rooms are fully booked for the holiday. "Travel, family reunions and celebrating the festival can all come together," he said. Deng Aimin, a culture and tourism expert at Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, said the Spring Festival travel rush has evolved beyond simply moving people. "Family visits are increasingly combined with tourism, as short-distance trips, county-level travel and winter tourism gain popularity, driving spending on dining, accommodation, holiday goods and cultural products," Deng said. The shift is giving consumption a boost. During the 2025 Spring Festival holiday, China saw a record 501 million domestic tourist trips, up 5.9 percent from a year earlier, while tourist spending topped 677 billion yuan (about 97.14 billion U.S. dollars), a 7 percent increase. To capture demand during this year's Spring Festival holiday, authorities have launched a month-long cultural and tourism campaign featuring around 30,000 activities nationwide, along with more than 360 million yuan in consumption vouchers and subsidies. "Chunyun has become a window into population flows, industrial patterns, how city clusters function and the effectiveness of public governance," Deng said, adding that it also reflects the enduring value of family reunions and Spring Festival traditions, as well as the growing vitality of the economy. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) bp has proudly joined the celebrations of the 90th anniversary of the late prominent Azerbaijani writer, dramatist and public figure, Peoples Writer Magsud Ibrahimbayov, by sponsoring the cultural festival "The Oil Boom Smiles on Everyone", being held in his commemoration from November 2025 through February 2026, Azernews reports. The festival has been organized by the Magsud Ibrahimbayov Creative Center with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation. Magsud Ibrahimbayov, whose works have been translated into 36 languages and have inspired more than 30 films, is recognized as one of the most influential figures in Azerbaijani and global literature, theatre and cinema. His writings, many of which explore the social and human dimensions of the oil boom, continue to shape cultural and societal perspectives across generations, making the festivals theme especially resonant. The festival programme features a broad range of cultural, educational, and artistic events commemorating the writers multifaceted legacy. These include: Staged readings of Magsud Ibrahimbayovs plays, alongside other authors works. Presentation of a new edition of the play The Oil Boom Smiles on Everyone in Azerbaijani, English and Russian. A public lecture on the history of Bakus oil era, delivered by researcher Fuad Akhundov. An open rehearsal of the premiere production, introducing a format new to Bakus theatrical scene and offering audiences insight into the creative process behind a stage performance. A creative workshop featuring three directorial sketches based on Magsud Ibrahimbayovs works, concluding with an open audience vote to select the strongest directorial concept. The contemporary art exhibition Geyser, running from 17 January to 28 February at Baku Museum of Modern Art, featuring works by modern Azerbaijani artists and bringing together painting, sculpture, video, and sound installations exploring the theme of the oil boom from diverse artistic perspectives. The stage premiere of the writers iconic play "The Oil Boom Smiles on Everyone", presented in a contemporary interpretation at the Azerbaijan State Theatre of Young Spectators. Bakhtiyar Aslanbayli, bps vice president for the Caspian region, said: "We are proud to support this festival commemorating the remarkable legacy of Magsud Ibrahimbayov, a writer whose works have shaped the cultural narrative of the countrys oil era for decades. This project reflects bps long?term commitment to supporting the preservation and promotion of Azerbaijans historical and cultural heritage. We are delighted that these events have brought together artists, researchers, students, and members of the wider public to mark an important milestone in the nations cultural life." The festival events are expected to bring together more than 700 participants from academic and cultural communities, representing multiple generations and professional backgrounds. bps contribution to the project amounted to 55,600 AZN ($32,706). This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Sales Volume: Flat in the first nine months of FY26. EBITDA Margins: Expected to surpass in the short to medium term, with recovery anticipated through operating leverage and better pricing. CPVC Pipe Contribution: Currently around 15% of total volume. CapEx: INR125 crores in the first nine months of FY26. Installed Capacity Target: Expansion to 286,000 tons over the next two years. Working Capital Cycle: Slightly elevated as of December 31, 2025, due to high inventory levels. Release Date: January 30, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Positive Points Apollo Pipes Ltd (BOM:531761) has initiated an aggressive strategy for market share expansion, which has started showing positive results from December onwards. The company is confident of a strong Q4 sales performance, expecting a significant improvement in sales volume. Apollo Pipes Ltd (BOM:531761) is expanding its product portfolio with new offerings such as PLB Ducts, DWC pipes, PE gas pipes, and PVC-O pipes, enhancing its presence in the building materials space. The company has tied up with Lubrizol to strengthen its presence in the high-margin CPVC pipe category, which currently contributes around 15% of its volume. Apollo Pipes Ltd (BOM:531761) is expanding its capacity with a new plant in Varanasi, expected to commence soon, which will strengthen its presence in the Eastern India market. Negative Points The Indian PVC pipe industry is facing challenges such as weak end-user demand, volatility in raw material prices, and oversupply in the market. Apollo Pipes Ltd (BOM:531761) experienced flat sales volume in the first nine months of FY26, contrary to its expectations of double-digit growth. The company's working capital cycle is elevated due to high inventory levels, which may impact financial flexibility. There is ongoing pressure from a price war among PVC players, which could affect profitability. The government infrastructure spending has been slow, impacting demand in the industry, and there is uncertainty regarding future government-led demand. Q & A Highlights Q: How do you see the demand scenario in the industry, and how are you placed to compete with larger players? A: Anubhav Gupta, Chief Strategy Officer, explained that the demand for the plumbing industry has been challenging due to overcapacity and a slowdown in construction activity. Despite this, organized players with strong brands have an edge. Apollo Pipes has seen growth in its housing segment, and with the integration of Kisan, they expect traction in Q4, aiming for high single-digit volume growth for FY26. Plaque commemorating the sinking of a C3 submarine off the coast of La Cala del Moral. Jose Rodriguez Camara Rincon de la Victoria Tuesday, 3 February 2026, 16:57 Share The town hall of Rincon de la Victoria has committed to restoring key Civil War commemorative plaques, despite a heated political debate that saw a formal proposal for their repair rejected during a recent council meeting. The proposal, brought forward by the political group Con Rincon, sought to guarantee the restoration of historical markers before the annual "La Desbanda" walk passes through the eastern Costa del Sol town this Thursday, 5 February. The proposal, which was rejected by Vox and the ruling Partido Popular (PP) party, included four points: two plaques of historical memory that Con Rincon want to see restored in time for this year's Desbanda walk. The group also wanted to allow the Asociacion Socio Cultural y Club Senderista La Desbanda to be able to spend the night in a public space in the town should they need to on Thursday. Con Rincon has also proposed that the town hall "publicises and promotes La Desbanda walks which take place every year as they pass through our municipality, as part of the cultural programme". In her explanation of the reasons for voting against the proposal, councillor for culture Paz Couto stated, "I can tell you now that they will be restored." The democratic memory sites in Rincon de la Victoria include a plaque commemorating the sinking of a Republican C3 submarine by a German vessel, which is on La Cala del Moral promenade. This landmark is stop number nine on the Desbanda route. Stop number 10 is a plaque by a hole caused by a shell, still visible in the El Cantal tunnels, which remembers the victims of the Desbanda who fled Malaga in February 1937. As for the request that the participants in this route could spend the night in a municipal facility, Con Rincon argued that it is a request of the group that organises the annual Desbanda walk. Con Rincon pointed out that other towns including Motril and Adra, where the PP also governs, offers accommodation to walkers. Benalmadena opens new 1,000-square-metre dog park in Medina Azahara The 70,000-euro project expands the town's facilities to three locations, featuring improved drainage and specialiSed equipment for dog owners The town's mayor during a visit to the new pet park. Tony Bryant Tuesday, 3 February 2026, 16:07 Share BENALMADENA town hall has fulfilled a pledge to local residents with the opening of a new 1,000-square-metre dog exercise area in Medina Azahara. This facility adds to the two existing pet areas on Avenida Cerro del Viento and in Santangelo Norte, with another dog area planned for the future Al-Baytar park, which is currently under construction. The project, which had a budget of more than 70,000 euros, was developed following initial meetings between the mayor and local residents. The works included levelling the ground, reinforcing access gates and repairing electrical and rainwater drainage systems, as well as installing new litter bins with dog-waste bag dispensers and drinking points. According to the mayor, Juan Antonio Lara, this reflects the councils commitment to improving public spaces and creating new leisure areas for pets. This project provides a much-needed space for residents with pets, helping to improve their quality of life by offering a safe area adapted to current needs, he said. Malaga Guitar Experience 2026: Torremolinos to host free luthier fair and concerts The three-day festival at the Principe de Asturias auditorium features the Vargas Blues Band, Eric Sardinas, and a major exhibition of handcrafted instruments The guitar fair was presented on Tuesday in Torremolinos. Tony Bryant Tuesday, 3 February 2026, 17:01 Share Torremolinos hopes to position itself as a reference point of musical craftsmanship when it hosts the Malaga Guitar Experience 2026 next week. Held at the Principe de Asturias municipal auditorium from Friday 13 to Sunday 15 February, this free cultural and musical fair brings together luthiers, craftspeople and musicians. The fair was presented on Tuesday by culture councillor Jose Manuel Ruiz, who said, It is important for Torremolinos to host an event of this scale, which brings together culture, tourism and international visibility. The programme includes a major exhibition of luthiers and craftspeople involved in the manufacture of guitars, amplifiers, pedals and accessories, with demonstrations and hands-on testing areas for visitors. There will also be performances, talks, masterclasses and training activities, as well as a free childrens guitar-building workshop aimed at introducing music and craftsmanship to younger audiences. The event features an extensive concert programme with leading national and international artists, alongside local bands and musicians. Featured artists and bands include Los Deltonos, Suzete & More and Tabletom, among others. This years fair is dedicated to Javier Vargas, the Spanish guitarist and founder of the Vargas Blues Band, the headline act of the weekend. Jose Carlos Garcia Marbella Tuesday, 3 February 2026, 14:20 Share Marbella population growth is being driven almost entirely by foreign migration, with more than nine out of ten new residents arriving from outside Spain. Official town hall figures for 2025 show that of the 6,830 new inhabitants registered on the padron, only 504 were Spanish. The influx has pushed the towns total population to 173,420, with foreign nationals now accounting for 36.45 per cent of all residents. While there were 109,710 Spanish residents at the start of 2025, a year later that number had only risen to 110,214, just 504 more. Meanwhile, the foreign population rose by 6,326 to reach 63,206, according to data from Marbella town hall. These data snapshots taken at the beginning and end of 2025 provide an interesting comparison, with Colombians being the nationality with the largest increase in 2025 out of the 156 nationalities recorded in the municipal census. There are 831 more Colombians living in Marbella than a year ago, making this nationality the fourth largest foreign nationality in the population (5,209 inhabitants in total). The second largest increase was among people of Moroccan origin, an increase of 452 people, consolidating this nationality as the largest foreign one after Spanish, with a total of 6,133 people. Population 6,326 foreigners is the number of inhabitants of other nationalities in Marbella, representing 36.45 per cent of the total population. International conflicts also appear to be reflected in the town's population register ('padron'). Ukrainians now represent the third largest population increase in Marbella, with 372 more people, making the Russian-invaded country the place of origin for 5,226 Marbella residents (and also the third largest group of foreign nationals). Russians have also grown significantly: 171 more people for a total of 3,419, making Russia the fifth most common non-Spanish nationality on the census. 4,000 Swedes and Germans Countries on the European continent and the former Soviet republics are responsible for nearly 40 per cent of the population growth, some 2,700 more inhabitants at the end of 2025 compared to 1 January 2025. The increase recorded by the British, the second largest foreign nationality, is particularly noteworthy, rising from 5,306 to 5,838 inhabitants (up 342). Furthermore, another six nationalities from the EU saw healthy growth in their headcounts: the list is headed by the Swedes (258 more to 2,033 in total), Italians (240 to 2,844), Germans (214 to 2,058), then the French (185), Romanians (125) and Dutch (118 more inhabitants). Nearly tipping into three-digit growth are the Poles and the Irish, with 97 and 94 more inhabitants respectively. Moroccan, British, Ukrainian, Colombian and Russian are the nationalities with most citizens in Marbella. Outside European borders, the increase in Paraguayans (340) and Filipinos (339) is most notable. They are the seventh and eighth largest foreign nationalities registered in the municipality, with 2,735 and 2,474 residents respectively. Venezuelans also saw a significant increase of 264 more people to a new total of 1,743. The next largest increase applies to US citizens, with164 more, brings the US total registered in Marbella to 725, a spectacular growth of 29.23 per cent in just one year. Canadians also grew considerably (31 more), reaching 223 people, thus bringing the total number of residents from both North American countries close to 1,000. Besides the aforementioned nationalities, only Argentina saw a three-digit increase, 110 more inhabitants, bringing the total number of Marbella residents originating from this country to 1,553. Of the 156 nationalities represented in the census, 48 have fewer than ten residents, including six stateless persons. Nuria Triguero Malaga Tuesday, 3 February 2026, 17:04 Share Malaga province lost 11,198 employees in January, which is a difficult month for the whole of Spain. This year all but one provinces are in the red in social security enrolment, which is not surprising given the low tourist season and the end of the temporary hiring campaign that comes with Christmas. Spain closed the first month of 2026 with a loss of 270,782 employees, while the drop in Andalucia was 41,461. While natural, the fall in enrolment in Malaga in January is the sharpest in recent months. It is also sharper than the decrease in January 2025 (nearly 10,500). This year's January closed with an average of 727,760 active workers in the province, which is the highest figure ever for this month, but it is also approximately 31,000 fewer than in July last year, when Malaga broke its all-time record number of contributors (758,948). Since that peak, the province has seen a drop in employment for six consecutive months, which speaks of the undeniable seasonal nature of the Malaga labour market. Only one province in Andalucia has lost more contributors than Malaga: Seville (-12,606). There is, however, a more positive way of looking at it: there are now 24,000 more people working in the province than at the same time last year. This year-on-year increase in enrolment is equivalent to 3.41 per cent, making Malaga the second province in mainland Spain (after Valencia) with the highest growth in employment over the last year (the national average is 2.26 per cent and the Andalusian average is 2.09 per cent). More moderate rise in unemployment Unemployment in Malaga province grew more moderately in January. From December to January, the number of unemployed persons in Malaga increased by 1,050, reaching 110,925. Unemployment rose in all Spanish provinces except two: the Balearic Islands (-1,260) and Guipuzcoa (-19). In Andalucia, Seville suffered the highest rise (+2,380) and Almeria registered the lowest (+182). Compared with the same month in 2025, Malaga has 10,561 fewer unemployed. It is important to note that the difference between the fall in employment and the rise in unemployment is largely due to discontinuous permanent workers: when they cease to be active they are no longer counted as employees registered with social security, but they are not counted as unemployed. There are also people who, when they stop working, are not registered as unemployed because they are not entitled to benefits. Unemployment rose in January in all of Malaga's sectors except construction, which benefited from a small drop (-281). Construction is also the sector that has added the most contributors over the last year. The services sector had the highest number of unemployed in January (+1,472), while industry and agriculture experienced very modest increases (+70 and +180). The number of people without previous employment, on the other hand, dropped by 319. Oil company Repsol has waged war on Spain's competition regulator (CNMC) after the latter fined it 20.5 million euros for "margin squeeze" practices, considered anti-competitive. According to the CNMC, Repsol's practices have harmed competing independent stations. The company raised the wholesale price of fuel to independent stations, while offering extra discounts to individual customers at its own stations. Repsol has strongly opposed the sanction, stating that it is based "on a partial and decontextualised account, with flaws in method and law". The company has warned that it will appeal the decision in administrative proceedings. According to Repsol, the CNMC has not taken into account "the exceptional context of 2022". The case, opened at the end of that year, focuses on the period between April and December and, according to the ruling, "coincided with rises in fuel prices caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine". The decision has taken the company's management by surprise because, in its view, the CNMC is penalising conduct that was legal and supervised by the regulator itself. "It is arbitrary," the company says. In its defence, Repsol says it demonstrated throughout the proceedings that, during that period, there was no impact on the market: there was no exclusion of competitors and no real dependency. It also states that the decision only identifies 12 service stations belonging to three competitors in four local markets selected arbitrarily, which, in its view, does not prove any real or potential foreclosure. "In short, the CNMC is more concerned about the results of those competitors than about the savings that the discounts meant for customers and consumers," the company says. The company also highlights that its pricing policy was implemented within the exceptional regulatory framework in force that year and that its application was subject to administrative oversight. Repsol reminds that monitoring included the CNMC's own energy directorate. In Repsol's view, penalising conduct that complies with the regulations and has been overseen by the public authorities sends a negative signal to the market, discouraging similar commercial measures and limiting companies' ability to respond responsibly in times of crisis. However, the CNMC claims to have accredited that these Grupo Repsol companies deployed "a strategy incompatible with their dominant position" with which they managed to reverse the loss of sales and market share they had been suffering since 2019. The CNMC's ruling bans Grupo Repsol from bidding for public tenders for the supply of fuel for a period of six months. C. P. S. Tuesday, 3 February 2026, 16:50 Share Spain will ban access to social media for minors under 16 years of age and platforms will be obliged to implement age-verification systems. This was the statement made this Tuesday by Spain's Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, who took advantage of his presence at a forum in Dubai to outline some of the measures that his government will try to put forward with the aim of guaranteeing a safe digital environment for the country's youth. "Our children are exposed to a space where they should never have to navigate alone. We will no longer accept this," declared Sanchez in his speech at the World Governments Summit 2026 in Dubai. He also urged other European countries to implement similar measures. The Spanish government has repeatedly complained about the proliferation of hate speech, pornographic content and misinformation on social media, arguing that it has negative effects on young people. "We will protect them from the digital Wild West," the PM stated. Grok, Tik Tok and Instagram in the firing-line At the end of March last year, the council of senior ministers in Madrid approved the draft law for the protection of minors in the digital sphere. Among a wide range of measures, it raises the minimum age in Spain to open a social media account or subscribe to any type of platform from 14 to 16 years of age. Under-16s will only be able to do so with the explicit authorisation of their parents or legal guardians, according to the draft law that central government will try to push through. Furthermore, the government intends to work with the public prosecutor's office in Spain to explore ways to investigate potential legal violations by companies such as Grok, TikTok and Instagram. Last December, Australia became the first country to ban social media for the under-16s. This measure is being closely monitored by other countries considering similar age-based restrictions, such as the UK and France. Edurne Martinez Madrid Tuesday, 3 February 2026, 12:07 Share SPAINS tourism industry shattered records in 2025, welcoming 96.8 million international visitors and generating nearly 135 billion in revenue. Despite narrowly missing the 100-million milestone, the figures represent a 3.2% increase in visitors and a significant 6.8% jump in total expenditure compared to 2024. Data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE) confirms that tourism is now Spain's primary economic engine, accounting for 13% of the nation's GDP. The number of visitors from Ireland and Portugal stood out, with double-digit increases. For yet another year, however, the British, followed by the French and the Germans, led the ranking, with one in four visitors. Among the most visited destinations, Andalucia, Valencia and Madrid grew above average, while Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands were the regions that had the highest number of visitors, with more than half of the total number of tourists between them. 305 euros/day is the average expenditure of tourists visiting Madrid, 100 euros more per day than the national average The rate at which tourist spending grew outpaced the growth in visitor numbers, with 7% compared to 3%, respectively. Two things account for this: a national strategy to attract visitors with higher purchasing power and the general rise in prices in hotels and restaurants. The total expenditure of international tourists almost reached 135 billion euros, 6.8% more than the 126 billion in 2024. Thanks to this, tourism became the great lever of economic growth in Spain in 2025, accounting for 13% of the gross domestic product (GDP). Despite these good results, experts warn of a slowdown in growth, especially among domestic tourists, caused precisely by high prices. The tourists who contributed the most were the British, with 23.6 billion euros, almost 5% more than in 2024. The countries that increased their spending the most were Italy (+6.6%) and the Nordic countries (+6.4%). The average duration of trips fell by more than one day in 2025, to 7.1 days on average per trip. In other words, foreigners' holiday periods in Spain are shorter but more expensive. If we focus on average daily expenditure, the increase is almost 5% compared to 2024, with 195 euros per day. Madrid registered a remarkable tourist spending increase of 11%, with trips exceeding 7 days (8% more than in 2024), which points to a long-haul visitor record. Spending per tourist in the region of Madrid soared to 305 euros per day on average. M. Garcia Ontinyent Tuesday, 3 February 2026, 15:55 Share The National Police in Valencia have arrested 14 young people between the ages of 15 and 20 for repeatedly humiliating and harassing a trans student in the town of Ontinyent. The case dates back to 2024, when the suspects continuously verbaly and physicaly abused the victim in school and leisure spaces. Police suspect the 14 young people, some of them minors, of hate crimes, breach of sentence, injuries and threats. After numerous enquiries, the investigators identified and located the alleged perpetrators, one of whom has a record. The police released all but one of the suspects, who is currently staying at a juvenile detention centre, at the request of the juvenile prosecutor. Bellavista Resources has signed a binding share sale and purchase agreement to acquire a 70% stake in the Pickle Crow Gold Project from FireFly Metals, along with additional exploration assets in Ontario, Canada. The acquisition, which includes an option to increase Bellavista's interest to 80%, is contingent upon shareholder approvals. The Pickle Crow site has an inferred mineral resource of 2.8 million ounces (moz) at 7.2 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, as reported under the JORC Code 2012. Under the agreement, Bellavista will take full ownership of Auteco Minerals (Canada), a wholly owned subsidiary of FireFly Metals, through the transfer of 60 million ordinary shares in Bellavista and performance rights valued at A$37.5m ($26.05m). Additionally, Bellavista plans to secure full ownership of neighbouring tenements and the Sioux Lookout Project. To realise its potential 80% interest in Pickle Crow, the company will need to pay C$3m ($2.19m) to First Mining Gold. Bellavista intends to finance this acquisition through a capital raising effort, seeking approximately A$25m via a two-tranche share placement at A$0.75 per share. The first tranche aims to generate around A$19m from 25.45 million shares, while the second tranche will be subject to additional shareholder approvals to raise up to A$6m from an extra 7.88 million shares. The proceeds from this capital raising are earmarked for executing the PC Gold Earn-In and conducting extensive exploration activities at Pickle Crow and Sioux Lookout, as well as advancing exploration at Bellavistas Brumby project in Western Australia. Additional funds will cover acquisition and placement costs along with general corporate expenses. Canaccord Genuity (Australia) is serving as the lead manager and bookrunner for this placement, with Euroz Hartleys and Argonaut Securities acting as co-managers. FireFly Metals, then called AuTECO Minerals, previously acquired Green Bay copper-gold assets, shifting its focus from Pickle Crow in 2023 when gold prices were around $2,000/oz. However, Bellavista sees significant exploration opportunities in both the Uchi and Wabigoon belts and plans aggressive exploration targeting shallow mineralisation post-acquisition. Bellavista managing director Glenn Jardine said: This acquisition will transform Bellavista into a substantial exploration company underpinned by a 2.8moz high-grade gold inferred mineral resource and leveraged exposure to outstanding gold prospective tenure. Exploration activities have been limited at Pickle Crow and the exploration prospects since 2023, during which time the gold price has more than doubled. * On Monday, the annual Spring Festival travel rush began ahead of China's most important holiday. * This year's travel season is expected to see more new energy vehicles and more family travel. * The nine-day holiday is expected to give consumption a boost. BEIJING, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Early Monday, highways were already busy, while train stations and airports across China filled with travelers as the Spring Festival travel rush began ahead of the country's most important holiday. The Spring Festival, also known as Chinese New Year, falls on Feb. 17 this year. The official holiday lasts nine days, with many factory workers taking more time off and students on winter vacation. The annual homeward journey -- the world's largest human migration -- places an immense strain on China's transportation network. Authorities expect a record 9.5 billion inter-regional trips during the 40-day travel rush, known as chunyun. This year's travel season is expected to see more new energy vehicles (NEVs) and more family travel, as travelers head not only to their hometowns but also to cities where family members live or to holiday destinations chosen simply to spend time together. Passengers get their tickets checked at Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 2, 2026. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu) In the quiet streets of Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, Zhang Ming slid into the driver's seat of his NEV, activated the navigation system with a voice command and set off on an 800-km journey back to his hometown in Chongqing Municipality, the trunk packed with bags of vegetables, meatballs and lotus roots. "For our first Spring Festival after getting married, we took annual leave so we could head home early," said Zhang, 35, who works in the internet sector. "We wanted to get a head start on the New Year feeling and bring a taste of Hubei home for our family." ON THE MOVE More families like Zhang's are choosing to drive home, with a growing share of those journeys made in NEVs. Transport officials estimate that around 80 percent of trips during the chunyun period will take place by road. Zhang's car has a range of more than 600 km on a full charge. Accounting for winter temperatures, he planned three charging stops, pulling into expressway service areas whenever the battery level dropped to around 30 percent. "Now the technology is better, charging is easier, and driver-assist systems make long trips less tiring," he said. By the end of 2025, China's NEV fleet had reached 43.97 million, including 12.93 million newly registered vehicles during the year. More than 71,500 EV chargers had been installed at expressway service areas nationwide, easing concerns about long-distance travel during peak holiday periods. Railway and civil aviation authorities have also increased travel capacities, with passenger volumes projected to reach 540 million by rail and 95 million by air, both expected to set records for overall scale and peak daily traffic. An aerial drone photo taken on Feb. 1, 2026 shows high-speed trains at a train depot in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province. (Xinhua/Wu Zhizun) The travel experience itself has changed with the spread of new technologies. Once defined by migrant workers carrying bulging woven bags through crowded train carriages, chunyun today features passengers scrolling on phones, ordering meals with a tap and streaming videos aboard high-speed trains that traverse China's vast network, the largest in the world. In stations, robots patrol concourses, while drones assist with inspections along rail lines. China is expected to be hit by four cold waves in February, potentially affecting the peak of the Spring Festival travel rush. Wang Yawei, a spokesperson for the China Meteorological Administration, said the agency is using satellites, weather radar, digital forecasting systems and AI to improve real-time monitoring and forecasts of extreme winter weather. Airports are also deploying new technology to cope with winter conditions. At Wuhan Tianhe International Airport, which expects about 27,000 flights during the chunyun period, up 2.5 percent from a year earlier, a smart de-icing management system has helped keep flights on schedule. On Jan. 19, when snow hit the city, crews cleared nearly 4 million square meters of runways and aprons in less than five hours, cutting the time needed previously by about half, said Zhao Wei, head of the airport's de-icing operations team. WHERE FAMILIES GO, HOME FOLLOWS China's Spring Festival travel rush began in the 1980s, as millions of rural workers moved to cities for jobs and returned home once a year for family reunions. That pattern is now shifting, with more parents traveling to big cities to spend the holiday with children who live and work there, a trend often called the "reverse Spring Festival trip." Dong Zhiyong, 61, and his wife left their home in Yuncheng, north China's Shanxi Province, to celebrate the holiday with their daughter in Beijing. When Xinhua reporters met them at a railway station, they were carrying two boxes of apples, a local specialty, as gifts. "My daughter and her husband have short holidays, and my grandson is busy with his studies," Dong said. "But we are retired, so we have time for a family reunion." The couple plans to visit tourist attractions in Beijing and may also take a short trip to the neighboring city of Tianjin. Passengers wave goodbye to their relative at Shenzhen North Railway Station in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Feb. 2, 2026. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian) Data from travel services platform Qunar show that air ticket bookings by passengers aged 60 and above rose more than 35 percent year on year during the Spring Festival holiday, with major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Shenzhen among their top destinations. The number of travelers over 60 buying their first-ever air tickets on the platform rose 22 percent. Home is no longer the only destination during chunyun. He Xiangzhi and three friends plan to take their families from Tianjin to Datong, a city in Shanxi known for its cultural heritage. "Spending the New Year somewhere I've never been brings a sense of novelty," He said. "We want to see different landscapes and learn about local customs." Li Yanan, owner of a traditional courtyard hotel in Datong, said the rooms are fully booked for the holiday. "Travel, family reunions and celebrating the festival can all come together," he said. Deng Aimin, a culture and tourism expert at Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, said the Spring Festival travel rush has evolved beyond simply moving people. "Family visits are increasingly combined with tourism, as short-distance trips, county-level travel and winter tourism gain popularity, driving spending on dining, accommodation, holiday goods and cultural products," Deng said. The shift is giving consumption a boost. During the 2025 Spring Festival holiday, China saw a record 501 million domestic tourist trips, up 5.9 percent from a year earlier, while tourist spending topped 677 billion yuan (about 97.14 billion U.S. dollars), a 7 percent increase. To capture demand during this year's Spring Festival holiday, authorities have launched a month-long cultural and tourism campaign featuring around 30,000 activities nationwide, along with more than 360 million yuan in consumption vouchers and subsidies. "Chunyun has become a window into population flows, industrial patterns, how city clusters function and the effectiveness of public governance," Deng said, adding that it also reflects the enduring value of family reunions and Spring Festival traditions, as well as the growing vitality of the economy. (Reporting by Cheng Lu, Bai Xu, Yue Wenwan, Wang Xuetao, Xiong Xianghe, Xu Xiong, Tian Zhongquan, Yu Pei and Zhao Yunzhuo; Video reporters: Pan Zhiwei, Xu Wei, Wang Xuetao, Xu Xinyuan and Wang Ruiping; Video editors: Zhang Yucheng, Liu Xiaorui and Hong Yan.) * On Monday, the annual Spring Festival travel rush began ahead of China's most important holiday. * This year's travel season is expected to see more new energy vehicles and more family travel. * The nine-day holiday is expected to give consumption a boost. BEIJING, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Early Monday, highways were already busy, while train stations and airports across China filled with travelers as the Spring Festival travel rush began ahead of the country's most important holiday. The Spring Festival, also known as Chinese New Year, falls on Feb. 17 this year. The official holiday lasts nine days, with many factory workers taking more time off and students on winter vacation. The annual homeward journey -- the world's largest human migration -- places an immense strain on China's transportation network. Authorities expect a record 9.5 billion inter-regional trips during the 40-day travel rush, known as chunyun. This year's travel season is expected to see more new energy vehicles (NEVs) and more family travel, as travelers head not only to their hometowns but also to cities where family members live or to holiday destinations chosen simply to spend time together. Passengers get their tickets checked at Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 2, 2026. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu) In the quiet streets of Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, Zhang Ming slid into the driver's seat of his NEV, activated the navigation system with a voice command and set off on an 800-km journey back to his hometown in Chongqing Municipality, the trunk packed with bags of vegetables, meatballs and lotus roots. "For our first Spring Festival after getting married, we took annual leave so we could head home early," said Zhang, 35, who works in the internet sector. "We wanted to get a head start on the New Year feeling and bring a taste of Hubei home for our family." ON THE MOVE More families like Zhang's are choosing to drive home, with a growing share of those journeys made in NEVs. Transport officials estimate that around 80 percent of trips during the chunyun period will take place by road. Zhang's car has a range of more than 600 km on a full charge. Accounting for winter temperatures, he planned three charging stops, pulling into expressway service areas whenever the battery level dropped to around 30 percent. "Now the technology is better, charging is easier, and driver-assist systems make long trips less tiring," he said. By the end of 2025, China's NEV fleet had reached 43.97 million, including 12.93 million newly registered vehicles during the year. More than 71,500 EV chargers had been installed at expressway service areas nationwide, easing concerns about long-distance travel during peak holiday periods. Railway and civil aviation authorities have also increased travel capacities, with passenger volumes projected to reach 540 million by rail and 95 million by air, both expected to set records for overall scale and peak daily traffic. An aerial drone photo taken on Feb. 1, 2026 shows high-speed trains at a train depot in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province. (Xinhua/Wu Zhizun) The travel experience itself has changed with the spread of new technologies. Once defined by migrant workers carrying bulging woven bags through crowded train carriages, chunyun today features passengers scrolling on phones, ordering meals with a tap and streaming videos aboard high-speed trains that traverse China's vast network, the largest in the world. In stations, robots patrol concourses, while drones assist with inspections along rail lines. China is expected to be hit by four cold waves in February, potentially affecting the peak of the Spring Festival travel rush. Wang Yawei, a spokesperson for the China Meteorological Administration, said the agency is using satellites, weather radar, digital forecasting systems and AI to improve real-time monitoring and forecasts of extreme winter weather. Airports are also deploying new technology to cope with winter conditions. At Wuhan Tianhe International Airport, which expects about 27,000 flights during the chunyun period, up 2.5 percent from a year earlier, a smart de-icing management system has helped keep flights on schedule. On Jan. 19, when snow hit the city, crews cleared nearly 4 million square meters of runways and aprons in less than five hours, cutting the time needed previously by about half, said Zhao Wei, head of the airport's de-icing operations team. WHERE FAMILIES GO, HOME FOLLOWS China's Spring Festival travel rush began in the 1980s, as millions of rural workers moved to cities for jobs and returned home once a year for family reunions. That pattern is now shifting, with more parents traveling to big cities to spend the holiday with children who live and work there, a trend often called the "reverse Spring Festival trip." Dong Zhiyong, 61, and his wife left their home in Yuncheng, north China's Shanxi Province, to celebrate the holiday with their daughter in Beijing. When Xinhua reporters met them at a railway station, they were carrying two boxes of apples, a local specialty, as gifts. "My daughter and her husband have short holidays, and my grandson is busy with his studies," Dong said. "But we are retired, so we have time for a family reunion." The couple plans to visit tourist attractions in Beijing and may also take a short trip to the neighboring city of Tianjin. Passengers wave goodbye to their relative at Shenzhen North Railway Station in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Feb. 2, 2026. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian) Data from travel services platform Qunar show that air ticket bookings by passengers aged 60 and above rose more than 35 percent year on year during the Spring Festival holiday, with major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Shenzhen among their top destinations. The number of travelers over 60 buying their first-ever air tickets on the platform rose 22 percent. Home is no longer the only destination during chunyun. He Xiangzhi and three friends plan to take their families from Tianjin to Datong, a city in Shanxi known for its cultural heritage. "Spending the New Year somewhere I've never been brings a sense of novelty," He said. "We want to see different landscapes and learn about local customs." Li Yanan, owner of a traditional courtyard hotel in Datong, said the rooms are fully booked for the holiday. "Travel, family reunions and celebrating the festival can all come together," he said. Deng Aimin, a culture and tourism expert at Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, said the Spring Festival travel rush has evolved beyond simply moving people. "Family visits are increasingly combined with tourism, as short-distance trips, county-level travel and winter tourism gain popularity, driving spending on dining, accommodation, holiday goods and cultural products," Deng said. The shift is giving consumption a boost. During the 2025 Spring Festival holiday, China saw a record 501 million domestic tourist trips, up 5.9 percent from a year earlier, while tourist spending topped 677 billion yuan (about 97.14 billion U.S. dollars), a 7 percent increase. To capture demand during this year's Spring Festival holiday, authorities have launched a month-long cultural and tourism campaign featuring around 30,000 activities nationwide, along with more than 360 million yuan in consumption vouchers and subsidies. "Chunyun has become a window into population flows, industrial patterns, how city clusters function and the effectiveness of public governance," Deng said, adding that it also reflects the enduring value of family reunions and Spring Festival traditions, as well as the growing vitality of the economy. (Reporting by Cheng Lu, Bai Xu, Yue Wenwan, Wang Xuetao, Xiong Xianghe, Xu Xiong, Tian Zhongquan, Yu Pei and Zhao Yunzhuo; Video reporters: Pan Zhiwei, Xu Wei, Wang Xuetao, Xu Xinyuan and Wang Ruiping; Video editors: Zhang Yucheng, Liu Xiaorui and Hong Yan.) Syracuse, N.Y. The city of Syracuses top fiscal officer will resign at the end of the month because hes not meeting a requirement to live in the city. Chief Financial Officer Michael Cannizzaro will step down on Feb. 28 from the senior aide role newly created by Mayor Sharon Owens, said Corey Driscoll Dunham, the deputy mayor, in a written response to a syracuse.com inquiry. The Syracuse city charter requires most employees to live in the city. Notable exceptions carved out by state law include police officers, firefighters and sanitation workers. Cannizzaro, 36, has owned a home in the town of Onondaga since September 2023, county property records show. He has been working for the city since 2020 in the finance department. He was the finance commissioner under former Mayor Ben Walsh from the middle of through 2023 through the end of last year. It was not immediately clear why Cannizzaros residency became an issue now and not earlier. In December, Owens announced she was elevating Cannizzaro to a new CFO role that would include oversight of the finance department and the citys Office of Management and Budget. Owens said she wanted her top finance manager included in senior staff discussions and praised Cannizzaros performance under Walsh. The CFO is one of six senior aides reporting to the mayor. The others include the deputy mayor/chief of staff, chief development officer, chief strategy officer, chief operations officer and corporation counsel. Cannizzaro could not be reached for comment on Monday afternoon. Dunham said the city will announce interim leadership arrangements soon to ensure financial operations continuity. Cannizzaro started his city government career as director of accounting and becoming first deputy commissioner of finance in 2022. He is a certified public accountant with private sector experience at the global accounting firm Ernst & Young and Syracuse-based shopping mall developer Pyramid Management Group. He earned a bachelors degree in applied economics and management at Cornell University. Cannizzaro has Syracuse roots, having graduated from Henninger High School. His parents own residential properties on the citys North Side. SRC Inc. announce four employee promotions to director roles. Nick Dimitrijevski has been named director, strategic supply chain. In this role, Dimitrijevski will support procurement and supply chain efforts, build supplier relationships and oversee procurement and sourcing. He joined SRC in 2010 and has more than 28 years of experience in engineering, integration and test, quality, supply chain and manufacturing. Dimitrijevski holds an associates degree and bachelors degree in electrical engineering from SUNY Morrisville and SUNY Polytechnic Institute, respectively, and an MBA from SUNY College at Oswego. >> Send us your companys news about People in Motion Kevin Gagnier is taking on the role of director, cost and pricing. In this position, Gagnier will drive cost estimation, pricing strategy, proposal compliance and financial analysis across the organization. He joined SRC in 2010 and has played a key role in cost proposal development, data modeling and preparing proposals that meet federal contracting requirements. Gagnier holds a bachelors degree in finance from Virginia Tech and was certified as a cost estimator/analyst in 2007. He is an Air Force veteran and serves as a committee member for the Boy Scouts of America. Patrick Scott has been appointed director, business development. In this role, Scott will be responsible for international business development, foreign partner requirements development, commercial partnerships and U.S. stakeholder engagement within the security cooperation community. Scott joined SRC in 2018 and holds a bachelors degree in sociology from George Mason University, a masters degree in international relations from Webster University and an MBA from the College of William and Mary. He serves as a major in the U.S. Army Reserve, and has more than 15 years of combined active and reserve component experience as a field artillery and information operations officer. Paul Venesky has been named director, air and ground surveillance radars. In this role, Venesky will provide leadership and oversight for production and program execution across the Gryphon radar portfolio, while continuing to lead the SR Hawk business area and collaborating across sales, engineering and customer support. Venesky joined SRC in 2005 and holds an associates degree in electronics from ITT Technical Institute, a bachelors degree in computer information systems from Columbia College and an MBA from Columbia College. He is a member of the Project Management Institute. *** If youd like to submit an item about People in Motion at your organization, send a press release including photo, to business@syracuse.com with Company News in the subject field. We publish news about people with ties to Onondaga, Cayuga, Madison and Oswego counties. See all recent Company News items. Lee, N.Y. - A town judge in Oneida County who was under investigation by the state following two encounters with police has resigned. Daniel L. Furney, a justice in the Lee Town Court, was under investigation for driving with a suspended license and invoking his judicial title when stopped by police, according to a news release from the state Commission on Judicial Conduct. He is accused of invoking his judicial title with police on two occasions: once during a traffic stop and once in a parking lot, officials said. Furney was notified of the investigation in November. He was scheduled to testify on the matter at the commissions office on Tuesday but instead resigned and agreed to never seek or accept judicial office at any time in the future. Furney, who is not an attorney, had served as a justice since 2010. His current term would have expired on Dec. 31, 2029. Furney made $14,230 as a justice in 2025, according to online payroll records. Furney was not able to be immediately reached by syracuse.com | The Post Standard. Syracuse, N.Y. A driver in a stolen minivan fleeing Onondaga County Sheriff Office deputies died early Tuesday morning when the vehicle crashed into a telephone pole in Syracuse. Around 2:30 a.m., deputies attempted to stop the minivan on Avery Avenue, but the driver failed to stop, according to Thomas Newtown, an Onondaga County Sheriffs Office spokesperson. The minivan continued east on West Genesee Street before turning onto Erie Boulevard West, he said. The driver lost control at a curve in the street and hit a telephone pole near 1008 Erie Boulevard West. The crash happened near a railroad bridge that crosses the street. National Grid works to repair a power line and telephone pole near 1008 Erie Boulevard West where a car crashed and a man died following a vehicle pursuit involving the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office around 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday, February 3, 2026. Finn Lincoln The man was pronounced dead at the scene, Newton said. His identity has not been released pending notification of next of kin. A woman who was a passenger was ejected from the vehicle, he said. The woman was taken to Upstate University Hospital with minor injuries, Newton said. Syracuse firefighters were initially unable to get inside the vehicle due to electrical wires downed during the crash, according to dispatches from the Onondaga County 911 Center. Firefighters needed to wait until a National Grid team arrived and cut power, according to 911 center dispatches. They were given the go-ahead at about 3:25 a.m., roughly an hour after the crash was reported. On Tuesday morning, the minivans car door and pieces of the vehicle could be seen along the street. The investigation into the pursuit and fatal crash has been turned over to the state Attorney Generals Office, Newton said. Erie Boulevard, which was closed for nearly eight hours following the crash, has reopened to traffic. The crash happened near the Onondaga County Board of Elections offices. The offices, which lost power, closed. The AGs Office of Special Investigations is conducting a preliminary assessment of the matter. The AGs office is responsible to review any incidents involving police and a death. Editors note: Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard staff writers Jon Moss and Finn Lincoln contributed to this article. *** Do you have photos, videos of the crash you would like to share with our readers? You can send them to citynews@syracuse.com. *** An Upstate New York man will spend 25 years to life in prison for fatally shooting a 13-year-old girl who was standing with friends outside an apartment building in 2023. Avantae M. Ayala, a 23-year-old from Buffalo, was sentenced on Monday by State Supreme Court Justice Debra Givens. The drive-by shooting occurred on July 7, 2023, at approximately 12:33 a.m. on Mortimer Street near Broadway in Buffalo. Ayala fired one shot from an illegal pistol while sitting in the front passenger seat of a vehicle, striking Miracle Hunt as she stood with a group of teenagers outside an apartment. Hunt was pronounced dead at the scene. A jury found Ayala guilty in October 2025 of one count of murder in the second degree and one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree. Jurors deliberated for approximately 90 minutes following a 5-day trial and convicted him on all counts in the indictment. Miracle Hunt was enjoying a summer night with friends when her life was tragically ended, Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane said. She was an innocent bystander who became a victim of gun violence due to the actions of this defendant. I hope that her family feels justice has been served by this defendant being convicted of all charges and being sentenced to a significant term of incarceration. Assistant District Attorney Justin H. Caldwell of the Homicide Bureau and Assistant District Attorney James L. Harrington of the Felony Trials Bureau prosecuted the case. Keane commended Detective Erin McCarthy of the Buffalo Police Department, victim advocate Kimberly Rapp, and several confidential criminal investigators from the Erie County District Attorneys Office, including Salvatore Valvo, for their work on the investigation. A veteran comedian called an Upstate New York city comedy hell, according to newly released documents in the Jeffrey Epstein files. Bobby Slayton was regularly sending messages with the disgraced financier, screenshots of text messages and emails show. Slaytons name appears in more than 2,000 documents, including correspondence thanking Epstein for letting him stay at a New York City apartment while on tour. In September 2014, Slayton said he was in Rochester, wishing he was having dinner with Epstein and filmmaker Woody Allen. Wish I was in NYC having dinner w/ you & Woody, Slayton wrote. In Rochester in the depths of Comedy Hell. Send Woodman my best. Slayton didnt elaborate on what made it a comedy hell. This screenshot of a message from the U.S. Department of Justice's Jeffrey Epstein files shows comedian Bobby Slayton describing Rochester, N.Y., as a "comedy hell." DOJ But maybe Slayton doesnt think Rochester is all bad. In 2013, he told the Democrat & Chronicle that he looks forward to three things every time he visits: Radio host Brother Wease, local restaurant Mamasans, and the grocery store Wegmans. Ive been coming there for so long, Slayton told the Rochester newspaper then. I wake up in the morning and do Brother Weases show, which I always have so much fun on. Then I go to Mamasans for a big lunch. Then I go to Wegmans, meaning to buy some snacks, and I walk out with all this food and go, What am I doing with all this food? Im in a hotel room! So I go back to my room, watch a movie, eat all my food and then when I have to go to work, I feel like its an invasion of my beautiful weekend in Rochester! Then I remember thats what Im there for. Slayton and Epstein spoke frequently, according to the new files made available by the U.S. Department of Justice. The pair talked about Slaytons career, made plans to meet with other comedians, and more over multiple years. Bobby Slayton referred to as "The Pitbull of Comedy" performs during his appearance at The Ice House Comedy Club on March 16, 2013 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Michael Schwartz/WireImage) WireImage Is Chris rock up for a bobby jeffrey lunch? said a message to Slayton in January 2014. Its unclear if Chris Rock ever joined them. Multiple messages between Epstein, Slayton and Allens wife Soon Yi say Rock had a commitment with his daughter and would not be attending. Slayton offered to invite other comedians to join instead, including Lewis Black. Black previously told the We Might Be Drunk podcast that he was once in Epsteins house after being invited by Slayton to have dinner with Epstein, Allen, Soon Yi, David Brenner, and former TV host Dick Cavett. Black said Slayton told him that Epstein was a fan of standup comics and liked hanging out with them, but didnt realize or notice anything inappropriate was going on. This is like seven years before the s--- hit the fan, Black recalled. It was just kind of wild... there were young girls flitting about, but I didnt know ... how old or young they were. Slayton, who has not been accused of wrongdoing, has not commented on the newly released documents. In 2024, Slayton told the We Think Its Funny podcast that he first connected with Epstein when his girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell called Slayton to invite him to perform at a private party that would include Allen and former President Bill Clinton, some Nobel Prize winners, and an eclectic group of friends. Slayton said the gig ended up not happening, but he met Epstein 6 months later at a performance in Florida. They became friendly, had a few dinners, and Slayton would sometime stay at Epsteins apartment. There were a few beautiful women walking around, but older, not teenagers, Slayton recalled. Jeffrey loved to be entertained by comics, Slayton added. All Jeffrey would do is ask me the same questions over and over and over about standup comedy. Slayton, 70, is a standup comedian and actor whose credits include The Adam Corolla Show, Bandits, Ed Wood, Get Shorty, Family Guy, The Tonight Show, Comic Relief, Politically Incorrect and the 1998 movie The Rat Pack. He released a standup comedy special, Born to be Bobby, on Showtime in 2010. Hes not the first comedian to badmouth Rochester. New Saturday Night Live cast member Kam Patterson criticized Upstate New York in an appearance on the live comedy podcast Kill Tony last year. Im going to look into the camera when I say this, too. F--- Rochester, NY, Patterson said. F--- Rochester, a garbage place. I fully endorse Kams statements about anywhere in Upstate, New York, host Tony Hinchcliffe added. It is incredible for anyone to stay there after being born and raised there. Epstein was accused of sexually abusing young girls in a case that has connected him with multiple rich and powerful people and celebrities. He died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019 after being indicted on federal sex trafficking charges. If you purchase a product through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. Comedian Ben Bankas will take the stage in Rochester, N.Y. this weekend. Bankas will perform four shows at Rochesters Comedy at the Carlson. Performances are scheduled for 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. on both Friday, Feb. 6, and Saturday, Feb. 7. Attendees must be 21+. Tickets are priced at $30 per person. As of Tuesday morning, it appears that one of his four scheduled performances had sold out on the venues website. Bankas will also be performing at other Upstate New York venues this year. He is scheduled to stop at Helium Buffalo in July, followed by Funny Bone locations in Syracuse and Albany in September. This comes after he had multiple shows cancelled following controversial remarks he made about Renee Good, who was shot and killed by an ICE officer in Minneapolis last month. Last month, Laugh Camp Comedy Club in St. Paul, Minnesota, canceled the comedians six sold-out shows after he posted a clip from a performance in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. The footage was filmed just days after Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent on Jan. 7. In the video, shared to Instagram on Jan. 13, Bankas jokes about the tragedy, saying, Her last name was Good. Thats what I said after they shot her. He also called the mother-of-three r------- and referred to her wife as a dog. Bankas addressed the Minnesota cancellations in a video posted on Thursday, Jan. 29. While on stage, he told his audience, I just found out that my shows were canceled in Minnesota, he said, adding, F--- em. In that post, he also noted that he was working on a new venue and dates for the fine people of Minnesota. Public response to the comedian and podcasters joke remains divided. Critics on social media have condemned the set, with one user writing, May all your shows be canceled. Comedy should unite, not divide. Another said, I promise you, more than Minnesota will be canceling you. While a third wrote: Hopefully all of NY cancels you too. Conversely, supporters of the Toronto-born comedian have urged him to double down. Keep the Minnesota jokes coming. My state deserves it! one fan commented, while others posted requests for Bankas to add more cities to his tour. A 16-year-old boy died Monday evening after losing control of his snowmobile and crashing into a tree in Herkimer County. New York State Police responded to the crash in the town of Russia at approximately 7:10 p.m. on Monday. The town is about 20 miles northeast of Utica. The teen was traveling southbound on a secondary trail near Riggerman Road when he lost control of the snowmobile, according to a preliminary investigation. The snowmobile veered off the trail and struck a tree. The operator was pronounced dead at the scene. The Remsen Fire Department, Barneveld Fire Department and North Star Ambulance assisted state police at the crash site. The investigation remains ongoing. There have been several snowmobile-related deaths in Upstate New York in 2026: BP Plc (NYSE:BP) is one of the most undervalued stocks to buy and hold for 5 years. On January 28, Trinidad and Tobago energy minister Roodal Moonilal disclosed that BP Plc (NYSE:BP) and fellow oil giant Shell are seeking licenses from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control to extract natural gas from fields in Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela. The two companies aim to gain access to develop Loran-Manatee, a new field that contains about 10 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas. About 7.3 tcf is located in Venezuela, while the remaining 2.7 tcf is in Trinidad and Tobago. BP (BP) Seeks Natural Gas Licenses in Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago During the Indian Energy Week conference, Moonilal told reporters that BP Plc (NYSE:BP) is seeking a license to develop the Cocuina-Manakin field, the Venezuelan portion of which is part of Plataforma Deltana, an inactive offshore gas project with 1 tcf of proven gas reserves. BP Plc (NYSE:BP) is a global energy company engaged in oil and gas production, marketing, and trading. The company also engages in a wide variety of businesses, including aviation fuel products and services, convenience and retail fuel, EV charging, Castrol lubricants and fluids, midstream, crude oil production, refining and oil trading, and bioenergy, among others. While we acknowledge the potential of BP as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If youre looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 10 Most Undervalued Stocks to Buy and Hold for 5 Years and 14 Best Tech Stocks Under $10 to Buy Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Syracuse, N.Y. The Rev. Jennifer Jo VonRue spent three days in Minneapolis last month watching a community mobilize against federal immigration agents. She stayed downtown near the protests and said she saw a community in a state of constant readiness. Churches packing food. Medical students delivering prescriptions. Residents ready to honk horns or blow whistles at the first sign of immigration and border patrol officials. VonRue was one of over 600 clergy members who responded to a call put out by her Unitarian Universalist colleagues in Minneapolis asking for support and witnesses. She returned Jan. 24 with a mission to prepare Syracuse before ICE enforcement here escalates further. This is what is happening and this is what we need to do to be prepared for when ICE invades our community, said VonRue, the minister at May Memorial Unitarian Universalist Society. She said she returned to Central New York, ready to do more. We need to ramp up our defense in Syracuse, VonRue said. Already, shes involved with efforts to protest and monitor ICE movements in Syracuse, she said. She noted a current rapid response plan with Syracuse Immigrant Refugee Defense Network. People are encouraged to call or text a number to alert a rapid response that will then post the information to social media. After being in Minnesota, she said, she wonders if it is enough. ICE can snatch somebody in two minutes. It takes two minutes, which is how long it takes you to text or call somebody, VonRue said. In Onondaga County, more than 150 people were detained in the first 10 months of 2025. Here, ICE agents are arresting immigrants who have filed asylum claims and applied for green cards when they appear at routine meetings with customs agents. ICE has also arrested residents in their homes and work places. VonRue says during her trip to Minnesota she saw accounts of ICE agents getting out of their vehicles to surround people, sometimes asking for papers, while other times conducting arrests without documentation. She also saw how the community responded with non-cooperative, peaceful action, she said, making noise, blowing whistles, honking horns, recording on phones and constant neighborhood patrols. She also saw networks of mutual aid everywhere. At St. Pauls - San Pablo Lutheran Church in the Phillips neighborhood south of downtown, members pack boxes of food for people and deliver them. Medical students run a clinic there, providing treatment and prescriptions to those too afraid to leave their homes. The real message of that community is the love and the resistance and the way that people are protecting their neighbors, VonRue said. VonRue and another clergy member also visited Minneapoliss Lake Street neighborhood, a few blocks from where Renee Good was fatally shot. They wore their yellow Unitarian Universalist stoles. She said they saw a dark truck with out-of-state plates moving towards a woman shoveling snow outside. The vehicle pulled over to the side of the road. Uncertain if it was an ICE agent, the two walked back and simply stood there, staring at the vehicle until it drove away. She said she felt called to stay there, in that moment. We were called to be present in a place that is under occupation and a place that is suffering, minute to minute, trying to keep their beloved safe, VonRue said. The Rev. Jo VonRue of May Memorial Unitarian Church speaks at the 9th Annual World Interfaith Assembly at Southern Missionary Baptist Church, 3143 Midland Ave., Syracuse. Michael Greenlar | mgreenlar@syr VonRue said she wants Syracuse to implement immediate neighborhood responses like blowing whistles, honking horns and recording with their phones the moment ICE is spotted. Shes calling for constant patrols and emphasizes the need for stronger mutual aid networks. She also called on more people, and more citizens, to do more to help those who may feel too intimidated to leave their homes to go to work, school or even get groceries. She recommends simple acts, like checking on your neighbors. It is weird to go knock on my neighbors door who I dont know and say, What do you need? she said. You may not know that there are immigrants in your neighborhood that need protection and need to know that you are out there protecting them. VonRue is not new to activism. Her church practices Unitarian Universalism, what she calls a liberal religious movement. Her congregation is rooted in justice, equity and compassion, according to VonRue. Because of that, she and others are often called to protests. Her congregation is heavily involved with CNY Solidarity Coalition, a local organization on the front lines of immigrant protection efforts in Syracuse. VonRue attended rallies in Syracuse including the No Kings protests, a candlelight vigil for Alcibiades Lazaro Ramirez Gonzalez and Yannier Vasquez Hidalgo, the two Upstate Medical University workers who were detained in October. She also attended protests back in 2018 and 2019 in North Dakota about water access for Indigenous communities, San Diego to protest the border wall and Arizona protesting for communities being charged with littering when leaving water for migrants crossing the Sonoran desert. My values call me to be in the world where people are suffering and my congregation supports that, VonRue said. VonRue acknowledges that the work ahead wont be easy or quick. But seeing the community in Minneapolis protect one another gave her hope. On her flight home to Syracuse, a flight attendant sat in front of VonRue with tears in her eyes. The airline worker thanked VonRue and other clergy for their visit. That gave VonRue hope, she said. I am just showing up in this world the way Im called to show up in this world, VonRue said. Albany, N.Y. - A North County man traveled Upstate New York to prey on children for his own sexual gratification, troopers said Monday. James Yerdon, 55, of Adams Center, was formally charged with sex crimes against two boys in Albany County, State Police said in a news release. Troopers suspect Yerdon could have even more victims. An indictment unsealed Monday alleges that Yerdon raped an 11-year-old boy on several occasions between March 2023 and May 2025 in Albany County and other parts of the state, troopers said. The indictment also alleges that he sexually abused a 14-year-old boy in the town of Colonie in Albany County in January 2025, state police said. Troopers said their investigation found the man has been traveling the state to bring victims back to Central New York, where he abused them. Yerdon was charged with: Predatory sexual assault against a child (felony) Second-degree sexual abuse (misdemeanor) Two counts of endangering the welfare of a child (misdemeanor) Yerdon pleaded not guilty and was remanded to the custody of the Cayuga Correctional Facility, where he is being held on federal child pornography charges, troopers said. Last year, Yerdon was charged after being found in possession of a phone containing child pornography photos and videos. Troopers ask that anyone with information about Yerdon to contact their local State Police barracks. A list of the barracks and phone numbers can be found here. To the Editor: In her first State of the City address, Mayor Sharon Owens encouraged the Common Council to enact Good Cause Tenant Protections. As a Syracuse tenant, I was relieved to hear her take this stand because frankly, we need it. Good Cause is straightforward: It limits evictions to legitimate causes, caps unreasonable rent increases and guarantees tenants in good standing the right to renew their leases. In a city thats seen some of the highest rent increases in the nation and some of the highest eviction rates in the state, these protections arent just nice to have theyre what keeps our neighbors from losing their homes. Im glad Councilors Chol Majok, Jimmy Monto and Corey Williams have supported Good Cause in previous votes, along with newly elected Council President Rita Paniagua. Councilor Hanah Ehrenreich endorsed it during her campaign. But Councilors Rasheada Caldwell and Patrona Jones-Rowser have refused to support Good Cause, which would ensure their constituents have basic security. I havent heard clear positions from Councilors Donna Moore and Marty Nave both representing districts with lots of renters on the West Side and North Side. I hope theyre listening to their constituents who need stable housing. And with a vacancy on the council, whoever gets appointed could decide whether Good Cause passes or fails. When we elected Owens and these councilors, Syracuse tenants made it clear we want Good Cause tenant protections. Nearly 20 towns in cities in Upstate New York have passed these protections already, including our neighbors in Rochester. Now its time the council follows through and passes the protections we need. Paige Kelly Syracuse The writer is a tenant and a member of the Syracuse Tenants Association. New York voters dont like ICE or its tactics and believe federal agents have gone too far in carrying out President Donald Trumps mass deportation orders, according to a new poll published Tuesday. Voters also oppose the idea of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement sending more agents to New York City, the Siena Poll found. The poll is the first to measure how New Yorkers view ICE since federal immigration agents shot and killed a second American citizen, VA nurse Alex Pretti, on Jan. 24 in Minneapolis. About 67% of New Yorkers now have an unfavorable view of ICE compared to 28% who view the agency favorably, according to the poll conducted Thursday through Saturday. New York voters also oppose the way ICE is working to arrest people (61-29%) and 67% say ICEs enforcement operations have gone too far, the poll found. By a slimmer margin of 43-35%, New Yorkers support deporting immigrants living illegally in the United States, Siena researchers found. The poll showed theres still a partisan divide in the state when it comes to ICE, said Siena spokesman Steve Greenberg. Democrats and independent voters who are not in a political party view ICE unfavorably, while Republicans view ICE favorably. Overall, Trump remains deeply unpopular in New York state, where Democrats outnumber Republicans by about two-to-one. About 63% of voters had an unfavorable view of the president, compared to 33% who had a favorable view. Thats little changed from Decembers Siena poll when Trump was viewed unfavorably (62-32%) by New York state voters. Trumps job approval rating among New Yorkers reached new territory in January, when a record 54% of those surveyed said they strongly disapprove of the job he is doing as president. The new poll was notable because New York Gov. Kathy Hochul had her best approval rating (49-40%) on record in the Siena poll. Hochul continued to hold a commanding lead (54-28%) over her likely Republican opponent in the November election, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman. The governor also had an overwhelming lead (64-11%) over her potential Democratic primary opponent, Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado. Hochul plans to attend the New York State Democratic Committees convention in Syracuse on Friday, where she is expected to accept her partys nomination for a second full term as governor. Kerry Burke, Nicholas Williams, Colin Mixson, Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News (TNS) A Brooklyn mother of four was found dead, her body chopped up and stuffed inside a black plastic bag, inside a NYCHA apartment building following a night out with friends, her husband and police said Monday. The death of Michelle Montgomery, 39, is being investigated as a murder, though her cause of death has not yet been determined. Everybody is in shock, the victims husband, 37-year-old Anthony Echevarria, told the Daily News as he gathered with the victims family to mourn. Things are running through my head like a broken record. Weve been holding each other ever since (we found out). The discovery was made about 9:35 a.m. Sunday by NYCHA workers in the trash compactor room at a Borinquen Plaza building on Bushwick Ave. near Seigel St. in East Williamsburg. The room is normally kept locked and is off limits to residents, a building worker said. We found out last night she was chopped up, a distraught relatives who declined to give her name said. Echeverria said his wife had gone out with friends Saturday night and had posted video of herself twerking shortly after 11 p.m. inside of Mama Taco, located on Flushing Ave. about a 10-minute walk from where her remains were found. She said she was just going out with friends, said Echevarria. I didnt know them. Montgomery had no criminal history, police said. Its horrible, said a neighbor of Montgomery who declined to share her name. We partied together, our kids played together. She liked to go out and have a good time when she got a break from work. Whats wrong with that? Its gruesome, she added. Why would anyone want to do this? Montgomery had two sons one 19 the other just 10 months old, and two daughters, ages 12 and 11, who she lived with at the Gowanus Houses nearly four miles from where her body was found. (Her children) showed me no emotion, said Echevarria, who is father to Montgomerys youngest boy. I dont think they believe this is really happening. She was a loving and caring mother. That was my friend, said the victims next-door neighbor in the Gowanus Houses, who declined to give her name. I knew her since Ive been in the building, for seven years. Shes funny. Its just shocking to hear what happened. The victim worked for Amazon and was making Valentine baskets, Easter baskets as a side hustle, that neighbor said. Residents of Borinquen Plaza were shocked a body was discovered there. Its strange, said resident Michael Batista, 41. The building is good. I dont know. Its surprising. Theres cameras and its a big building, she added. They have to find something. Rebecca Davila, 57, has been watching her back since the discovery. It was scary to go downstairs you just cant believe something like that happened in your building, she said. In the 15 years I lived here, I never seen anything like that. The building where she was found was the scene of a gruesome double murder in 2008 in which a woman was fatally shot by her abusive boyfriend, who was then shot dead shot by the womans vengeful father. With Theodore Parisienne 2026 New York Daily News. Visit nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. A teenage boy suffered life-threatening injuries after two snowmobiles collided head-on Sunday in Upstate New York. The crash was reported at 1:39 p.m. on Feb. 1 in Edwards, a small Northern New York town about 30 miles north of Gouverneur in St. Lawrence County. Two teenage boys from Edwards were riding a 2016 Arctic Cat on a snowmobile trail off of County Route 24 when they drove toward the top of a blind hill, the New York State Police said in a news release. A 16-year-old boy was operating the snowmobile and had an 18-year-old passenger, troopers said. The Arctic Cat was approaching the crest of the blind hill when it crashed into an oncoming snowmobile, troopers said. Gregory J. Coller, 50, of Canton, was operating the oncoming snowmobile, a 2021 Polaris Indy. Troopers said both snowmobiles were traveling near the middle of the trail when they collided. Star Lake Fire Department and Gouverneur Rescue responded and treated three injured snowmobilers The 16-year-old boy was airlifted to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse with life-threatening injuries, troopers said. On Tuesday, he was listed in stable but critical condition. The 18-year-old passenger was transported to Gouverneur Hospital in Gouverneur. His injuries were considered minor, troopers said. Coller, the operator of the Polaris Indy, was transported to Canton-Potsdam Hospital in Potsdam with non life-threatening injuries, troopers said. Troopers are continuing to investigate the crash. The names of the teenagers injured in the accident were not immediately released. The head-on collision was the latest serious snowmobile crash reported so far in Upstate this year. There have been at least five snowmobile-related deaths in Upstate New York in 2026: An Upstate New York man has been arrested after allegedly leading police on a car chase that ended in a crash and a pursuit on foot. Jason A. Guinup, 45, of Gouverneur, N.Y., was charged Saturday with criminal possession of a controlled substance, unlawful fleeing of a police officer in a motor vehicle, and multiple vehicle and traffic violations. New York State Police said troopers observed a blue 2008 Chevrolet vehicle commit a vehicle and traffic law violation in the St. Lawrence County village of Gouverneur around 9:36 p.m. on Jan. 31. Police attempted to initiate a traffic stop, but the driver refused to stop. The vehicles operator lost control due to unsafe speed, police said, and crashed into a mailbox, barbed wire and a tree. He then attempted to flee on foot; troopers said they stopped him after a brief pursuit and took him into custody. The driver was identified as Guinup, who was transported to Gouverneur Hospital for further medical evaluation. He was treated and released and later transported to NYS Police in Gouverneur for processing. An investigation determined Guinup had an active bench warrant. He was arraigned in the Town of Gouverneur Court for the pursuit incident and subsequently arraigned in the Town of Fowler Court for the active bench warrant. Guinup was released on his own recognizance from both courts. Police did not elaborate on the circumstances of the bench warrant. Additional details were not released. Gouverneur is located in the North Country region, about 110 miles north of Syracuse. By Paul Nelson | Times Union, Albany, N.Y. (TNS) Schenectady, N.Y. Persia Nelson, the Schenectady mother convicted of murder for leaving her 11-month-old daughter to freeze to death in a utility area on a cold, rainy, and blustery night at General Electrics downtown plant, was given the maximum prison sentence Monday after the judge rebuked her for the killing and her insistence that it was a tragic accident. The penalty imposed Monday morning by Schenectady County Judge Matthew Sypniewski was what Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Christina Tremante-Pelman requested after reciting the facts of the case from the nearly three-week-long trial. This defendant made a series of choices, conscious choices, reckless choices, and depraved choices, and her sentence should reflect that and the devastating results of those choices, Tremante-Pelham said. There are some things that you do that are just so awful that they alone define you, they alone matter. Your history does not and should not matter, and that is the case here. Tremante-Pelham showed a 60-second clip of a box covering an 8-foot hole in the ground, where Nelson dropped her daughter, then waited for 28 minutes, before abandoning her child and walking to a heated building in the distance. Unfortunately for Halo, the reality is that she suffered. She spent her final moments in a dark hole ...when her mother was right there above her, right there, hearing her suffer, hearing her cry cries for help that she never answered. Prosecutor Michael Nobles read a victim impact statement from Halos paternal grandmother, Courtney Keit. Ive been struggling for so many reasons, most importantly, Im just now coming to terms with the fact that Halo is now in heaven and her mother is the reason why, Keits statement read. Every time I watch a movie and someone dies with their eyes open, I think of Halo and the pain and stress they said she went through before taking her last breath. Defense attorney Mark Sacco appealed to the judge to sentence his client to the minimum of 15 years to life in prison because she had no criminal history, was remorseful, was fairly young at 25 years old, and said that Nelson, with treatment, can be rehabilitated and not be a danger to society. Sacco rejected the prosecutions assertion that Nelson set out to kill her daughter. He said he had a hard time believing that she wanted to do this, that this was her plan. It just flies in the face of the facts of the case, he said. Sacco continued: Theres no winners here. Its a tragedy that you cant quantify, but the question here today is what should happen with Persia Nelson and what should her sentence be. When it came time for Nelson to address the court, she rose to her feet and began by tearfully apologizing to her young son, her childrens father and his family, her family, as well as the law enforcement officers who were involved in the frantic search for Halo and subsequent criminal prosecution. She wept and trembled as she shared regrets she had for Halo and the infants loved ones, deeming the death a tragic accident. Im sorry I wasnt being responsible, she said. Im sorry I wasnt being a better mother to you. She also reflected on the personal toll Halos death has had on her. I still havent accepted my daughters death, but I have accepted accountability for my actions that caused her death, she added. Theres no medication ... that will change how I feel. I know Ive ruined many lives, and I just want to say, Im sorry to everyone thats all. Sypniewski sentenced Nelson to 25-years-to-life in prison after calling the crime a baby murder. He seemed unmoved by Nelsons words and emotions. Miss Nelson, you can cry all you want, but I know youre smart enough to know what you got coming in this case, right? he asked, to which Nelson replied, Yes. I mean, we get all kinds of killings in this courthouse and in this courtroom negligent killings, reckless killings, intentional, depraved-indifference murder and then we got this, baby murder. He rejected her description of Halos death as a tragic accident. Absolutely not, the judge said. I heard a lot, a lot of sorries, but I didnt hear, Im sorry for murdering my baby. But youll be saying that one day. In about 25 years, when youre before the parole board, I bet youll be saying it then because youre gonna want to get out. A jury convicted Nelson in October for the childs murder, which occurred in March 2024. The panel deliberated for three hours before finding her guilty of second-degree murder and child endangerment. Nelson was seen on a GE security video dropping Halo into a utility pipe access tunnel area, or a dark hole, leaving the baby face up in standing water before walking off toward a lighted area about 400 feet away. Prosecutors argued that was the moment Nelson left her child for dead and walked off to the heated structure. Nelson was found by GE security about 20 minutes later when she alerted them that her baby was missing. Her report set off a frantic, 12-hour search involving multiple law enforcement agencies, during which a police officer peered into the tunnel and found the child. Paramedics desperately tried to resuscitate the child, who was not breathing and had ice and frost on her face. She died of hypothermia. Sacco argued at the trial that his client loved her daughter, did everything within her power to save the infant, and would never have abandoned the baby. A medical expert, whom the defense called as a witness, told jurors he believed Nelson had suffered from cold stress the night Halo died. Sacco conceded that the baby was put in a structure on the GE site. He said Nelson had consumed alcohol and marijuana before the incident. 2026 the Times Union (Albany, N.Y.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. A research scientist at an Upstate New York college has been released by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement after being detained for nearly a month. The University at Buffalo said Monday that Dr. Shovgi Huseynov, who works in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, has been released by ICE and is back in Buffalo. He was taken into custody in early January by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers when he made a wrong turn at the Canadian border. WIVB reports UB said he was driving for Lyft near the Peace Bridge at the time and was, not trying to leave the U.S. CBP said at the time that its officers determined he may be subject to removal from the U.S. Huseynov was reportedly taken to Batavia and then moved out of state to North Lake Correctional Facility in Michigan, sparking an uproar. WGRZ reports New York State Assemblyman Jon Rivera and NYS Senator April Baskin called for his release and urged making changes at the bridge, such as reverting the roundabout to an intersection. If something like this happens, where someone is is inadvertently made the wrong turn that they are, theyre able to be let out of this gate, Rivera told the Buffalo TV station. It wouldnt cost much money, theres a gate already... It could happen to somebody whos just visiting it for the first time, or it could be somebody thats lived in Buffalo their whole life. A UB spokesperson told WGRZ that Huseynov had been at the State University of New York school since 2022 under a valid work authorization issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE claimed his non-immigrant visa expired in 2022, but university records indicated he had a granted authorization to work in the U.S. until 2029. The University at Buffalo community is very pleased with the federal immigration judges order last week granting Shovgi Huseynovs release on bond from the detention center in Michigan, UB said in a statement Monday. The university will continue to provide appropriate support to Shovgi and his personal attorney as his case proceeds through the federal immigration system. If you purchase a product through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. Sherri Shepherd is seen on October 07, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Jason Howard/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images) GC Images Sherri Shepherds daytime talk show, Sherri, will end after Season 4. Per Variety, Lionsgates production and distribution arm, Debmar-Mercury, confirmed the news on Monday. The cancellation follows the recent announcement that Kelly Clarkson will also be stepping down from her NBC daytime talk show after seven seasons. Season 4 production of Shepherds show will continue as scheduled, despite the show having been cleared through the 2025-2026 TV season. The show will wrap in the fall. Debmar-Mercury co-presidents Ira Bernstein and Mort Marcus addressed the cancellation in a joint statement, attributing the decision to changes in the television industry rather than the shows performance. This decision is driven by the evolving daytime television landscape and does not reflect on the strength of the show, its production which has found strong creative momentum this season or the incredibly talented Sherri Shepherd, they said. We believe in this show and in Sherri and intend to explore alternatives for it on other platforms. Shepherd took over the timeslot previously held by Wendy Williams after serving as one of several guest hosts during Williams absence in the final season of her FOX daytime talk show. When the show was renewed for its fourth season last year, Shepherd expressed gratitude for the opportunity. I dont take it for granted that people welcome me into their homes daily, she said. I work so hard to bring escapism to viewers lives through joy, laughter and inspiration, and Im grateful that the audience has embraced what we do. I look forward to raising the bar and turning up the volume as we plan for our season four return. Before launching her own show, Shepherd spent seven years as part of the roundtable on The View before her exit in 2014. She has continued to pursue hosting and acting opportunities, including a critically acclaimed role in Tyler Perrys Netflix mystery film Straw, where she starred alongside Taraji P. Henson and Teyana Taylor. Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE:COF) is one of the best cheap stocks to buy for 2026. On January 27, Evercore ISI analyst John Pancari lowered the price target on Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE:COF) to $265 from $290 but kept an Outperform rating on the stock. Pancari acted just days after Capital One announced on January 22 that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire fintech company Brex for approximately $5.15 billion in a combination of stock and cash. Capital Ones (COF) Path Forward: Analyst Adjustments, Brex Integration, and Competitive Positioning According to Pancari, Evercores updated target reflects the firms view that Capital Ones expected earnings growth has softened. Evercore reduced its 2026 EPS estimate to $18.87 from $19.26 and its 2027 EPS estimate to $22.83 from $23.32. These revisions assume the Brex deal closes in the third quarter of 2026, said Pancari. He and the team at Evercore estimated the acquisition will produce approximately 5% tangible book value dilution and 1% core EPS dilution related to share issuance. The analyst noted that near-term expenses are likely to rise as Brex is integrated into Capital Ones payments platform and as the company continues investments in the Discover Financial Services network. Pancari projected a total efficiency ratio of about 51.7% in 2026 and about 51.2% in 2027, compared with roughly 50% in the latter half of 2025. But despite these challenges, Pancari said he is encouraged by managements commitment to prudent capital management and consistent earnings power following Capital Ones integration of Discover Financial Services. And, he views the Brex acquisition as a strategic move that could help Capital One compete more effectively with American Express in the payments space. Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE:COF) provides consumer and commercial banking services. This includes credit cards, auto loans, savings accounts, and small business lending, with operations across the United States. While we acknowledge the potential of COF as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 10 Stocks with Huge Growth Potential According to the Media and Goldman Sachs Semiconductor Stocks: Top 12 Picks. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. A Delaware man arrested this week on a first-degree murder charge is the former husband of former First Lady Jill Biden. William Stevenson, 77, was taken into custody on Monday following a grand jury indictment in the death of his wife, Linda Stevenson, according to a Facebook post from the New Castle County police. He remains held at Howard Young Correctional Institution after failing to post $500,000 cash bail. The arrest followed what police described as an extensive weeks-long investigation, per NBC News. Officers were called to a Wilmington-area home on Dec. 28 for a domestic dispute. When they arrived, Linda Stevenson, 64, was found unresponsive in the living room. She died at the scene despite attempts by officers to perform life-saving measures. The Delaware Division of Forensic Science conducted an autopsy, but authorities have not released a cause of death. Police have not disclosed whether William Stevenson has retained an attorney. The Bidens have not publicly commented on the matter. William Stevenson married Jill Jacobs in 1970 when she was 18 and he was 23. During their marriage, he opened The Stone Balloon Club near the University of Delaware, which became a popular music venue for performers like Bruce Springsteen and Dave Matthews. They divorced in May 1975, two months after she met then-senator Joe Biden. For years, the global AI narrative has been dominated by a singular metric: Parameters. The race was defined by who possessed the largest Large Language Models (LLMs), the most massive GPU clusters, and the highest benchmark scores. However, entering 2026, the wind has shifted. With the surging popularity of AI applications like Ant Group's AQ, the stories of inclusivity they bringcoupled with widespread user acclaimhave ignited a fierce determination among Chinese tech enterprises to go "All-In" on the application track. The competition is no longer just about how smart the AI is; it is about who holds the right to use it. A profound divergence in business logic has emerged: while the United States doubles down on a high-margin "Commercial Subscription Model," China is aggressively pivoting toward an "Infrastructure Model," treating AI as a public utility akin to electricity or high-speed rail to maximize its Access. The Strategic Logic: "Manhattan Project" vs. "15th Five-Year Plan" This sharp contrast in business logic is not accidental; it is rooted in two fundamentally different national mandates. The US: A Top-Down "Manhattan Project" The US Government's 2026 AI policy, exemplified by the America's AI Action Plan, focuses on maintaining a "generational lead" and ensuring "national security." To the White House, AI is a geopolitical "Manhattan Project." The goal is to secure absolute dominance, directing core resources toward top-tier laboratories and defense systems. This represents a distinct "top-down" elitist path. China: A Bottom-Up "AI+" Infrastructure In contrast, through the "AI+" Action and the 15th Five-Year Plan, China has positioned AI as "bottom-up" inclusive infrastructure. The core mandate is to deeply integrate AI with industrial development and drive the large-scale implementation of applications. The objective is to solve "social pain points"such as an aging population and medical inequalityensuring that AI dividends flow directly to the common person. The Rise of the "AI Tax" in Silicon Valley In the US tech ecosystem, the "subscription economy" has firmly taken hold of AI. What began as a standard $19.99 monthly fee for premium access has evolved into a stratified luxury market. By 2026, a new trend of "intelligence tiering" is evident. With soaring compute costs, US tech giants have introduced ultra-premium tierssuch as ChatGPT Pro at roughly $200/monthreinforcing a commercial reality where superior intelligence is reserved for high-net-worth individuals and enterprises. For the average American middle-class family, this "AI Tax" is accumulating rapidly. The Cost: Between two professional subscriptions for parents and educational AI tools for children, a household's monthly spend can easily hit $60$80. The Annual Impact: This amounts to an annual expenditure of $720 to $1,000, creating a "digital toll" just to maintain professional and academic competitiveness. In stark contrast, the comparable "AI extra expenditure" for a Chinese household in 2026 remains virtually zero, driven by a strategic push to lower barriers to entry. Healthcare: Commercialization vs. Accessibility The divergence is most critical in sectors like healthcare, where the philosophy of deployment differs fundamentally. The US Model: Commercializing Expertise In the US, AI in healthcare is largely B2B or "Concierge B2C." Platforms like OpenEvidence offer powerful decision support for physicians, often monetized through targeted pharmaceutical advertising. Meanwhile, consumer-facing health AI is becoming a paid privilege. New modules in 2026 targeting C-suite patients charge subscriptions of $8$20, while tools like Claude primarily serve as backend processors for clinics, keeping direct access behind a paywall of high consultation fees. The China Model: Increasing Access with AQ China is leveraging AI to address deficits in public services. Ant Group's AQ (Chinese name: Ant A-Fu) exemplifies this "AI for the masses" approach. Utility : AQ provides 24/7 free health consultations, report interpretations, and medication guidance. : AQ provides 24/7 free health consultations, report interpretations, and medication guidance. Reach : Launched in June 2025 and upgraded in December, AQ hit 30 million Monthly Active Users (MAU) by January 2026. Notably, 55% of users reside in Tier-3 cities and below, proving the technology is successfully bridging the urban-rural medical divide. : Launched in June 2025 and upgraded in December, AQ hit 30 million Monthly Active Users (MAU) by January 2026. Notably, 55% of users reside in Tier-3 cities and below, proving the technology is successfully bridging the urban-rural medical divide. Innovation: The platform features "AI Avatars" of over 1,000 top doctors, including Academician Wang Jian'an. His agent, "Jack Anxin," handles pre-consultation inquiries, allowing one expert to effectively serve ten times the patient volume without increasing costs. Education: The New Digital Divide Education reflects a similar schism. In the US, AI is risking the creation of a "Digital School District." While Khan Academy is a non-profit, its advanced AI tutor, Khanmigo, requires a subscription ($44/year) to offset computing costs. Conversely, Chinese tech giants have integrated top-tier pedagogical logic into free assistants like Qwen and Doubao. This infrastructure-first approach ensures that a student in a rural province has the same access to "1-on-1" AI tutoring as a student in Shanghai, leveling the playing field without a price tag. The Strategic Logic: Infrastructure vs. SaaS A December 2025 report by Goldman Sachs highlights this structural difference. US: AI as a Business Operating System: The US market is driven by SaaS metrics. 90% of growth comes from subscriptions, relying on IP protection and closed ecosystems to generate high marginsa classic monetization model. China: AI as Industrial Infrastructure: China's strategy mirrors its "Build Roads First" economic policy of the last 40 years. Token costs in China saw cliff-like drops in 2025, pushing prices down to near-commodity levels. Just as China built high-speed rail to lower logistical costs, it is now building "Compute Networks" (such as the East Data West Computing project) to lower intellectual costs for the entire economy. Market Reception The "Accessibility" model is gaining traction not just domestically, but also among the international community in China. Julia, a Shanghai-based creator with 1.4 million followers, went viral demonstrating how AQ helped her identify her child's skin allergy, bypassing language barriers and hospital queues. Global netizens have flooded the comments section, calling this "the correct way to open AI," and contrasting it with the expensive "AI walls" in their own countries. Conclusion The US-China AI competition has bifurcated. The US is focused on the height of the technologyachieving AGI and maximizing revenue per user. China is focused on the width of the technologymaximizing adoption and social utility. As AI becomes as fundamental as electricity, the ultimate winner may not be who builds the smartest model, but who puts that model into the hands of the most people. The essence of this competition lies in two distinct paths: one protects the "premium pricing power" of technology to ensure excess returns for leaders; the other releases the "accessibility" of technology to ensure every individual can stand on the shoulders of intelligent civilization. At the onset of 2026, China is using "Inclusivity" as its new calling card to show the world another possibility: While the height of AI is important, it is the thickness of AI that determines a society's future. Key Takeaways Cboe is exploring an options-based product with all-or-none payouts. The push targets retail traders, and comes amid broader interest in prediction markets and event contracts. U.S. regulators are also moving on the category, with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission planning to draft new rules for event contracts. Cboe Global Markets is exploring a regulated options product that would deliver an all-or-none payout, according to a source familiar with the matter, as the exchange looks to capture growing retail appetite for simpler, event-style trades that resemble prediction markets. The proposed structure pays a fixed return if a specified condition is met and pays nothing if it is not. That binary-style payoff mirrors the mechanics used by many event contracts on prediction-market platforms. A Simpler Trade for Retail The appeal is straightforward. Many retail traders struggle with traditional options concepts such as implied volatility and time decay. A fixed payout tied to a single condition is easier to understand and easier to size, even if the risk is still total loss on the premium paid. Cboe declined to provide details on specifications or timing, and the report said the initiative remains in early stages. Cboe Has Been Here Before The exchange is not new to binary-style contracts. Cboe has previously introduced binary options linked to the S&P 500 and the Cboe Volatility Index in 2008. However, those earlier products were later delisted after they failed to attract sustained interest and were dominated by professional traders, not the retail audience Cboe is now courting. Rulemaking Is Catching Up Cboes exploration lands as regulators move to clarify the rules of the road for event contracts in the U.S. On Jan. 29, Michael Selig, chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), said the CFTC plans to draft new regulations for event contracts, and will withdraw a prior proposal that would have restricted certain politically and sports-linked contracts. State-level legal challenges continue to shape the regulatory landscape. In a separate case, a Massachusetts judge ruled Kalshi could not offer sports-related contracts to Massachusetts residents under the states gaming rules, rejecting the firms argument that federal derivatives oversight fully preempts state gambling authority. Cboe did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the proposed all-or-none options would reference specific events, indexes, or other market outcomes. Competition Is Moving Fast Prediction markets and event-style trading have expanded sharply in visibility, particularly after recent U.S. election cycles. UK unveils first plan to tackle 'forever chemicals' London, Feb 3 (AFP) Feb 03, 2026 Britain unveiled Tuesday its first-ever plan to tackle "forever chemicals" and reduce the risks they pose to health and the environment. PFAs (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a group of some 10,000 human-manufactured chemicals used in everything from pizza boxes to cookware, to waterproof clothing. They take an extremely long time to break down -- earning them their "forever" nickname -- and instead build up in the environment. There is growing evidence their widespread use has created risks that "will likely remain for hundreds of years", according to the UK's Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs. It said in a statement the new government plan aims to "understand where these chemicals are coming from, how they spread and how to reduce public and environmental exposure". The full extent of PFAs in England's estuaries and coastal waters "will be assessed for the first time," it added. PFAs are present in food and drinking water. Chronic exposure to even low levels has been linked to liver damage, high cholesterol, reduced immune responses, low birth weights and several kinds of cancer. Under the plan, "a consultation will be launched later this year on introducing a statutory limit for PFAS in England's public supply regulations." Should permitted levels be exceeded, this would make it easier for regulators to "enforce against water companies breaking the rules". "It's crucial that we protect public health and the environment for future generations," said Environment Minister Emma Hardy in the statement. She noted the government would work with regulators, industry, and local communities "to ensure 'forever chemicals' are not a forever problem". Safer alternatives to everyday items, such as period pads and waterproof clothing, could also be developed. Traces of the chemicals have been found everywhere from Tibet to Antarctica and contamination scandals have gripped Belgium and the United States among other nations. Their use is increasingly being restricted across the world due to adverse health effects. A handful of US states, including California, implemented a ban on the intentional use of PFAS in cosmetics beginning in 2025, and several other states are slated to follow in 2026. The European Union has also been studying a ban on the use of PFAs in consumer products. A report last week said their continued use could cost Europe up to 1.7 trillion euros ($2 trillion) by 2050 because of their impact on people's health. Over 50,000 Moroccans evacuated due to severe weather: ministry Rabat, Feb 3 (AFP) Feb 03, 2026 More than 50,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in northern Morocco due to severe weather and heavy rainfall affecting several provinces, the interior ministry told AFP on Tuesday. The evacuations began on Friday, mostly in Larache province, where the city of Ksar El Kebir -- about 100 kilometres (62 miles) south of Tangier -- has seen significant flooding, the ministry said. Evacuees were partly taken in by relatives elsewhere, while those requiring assistance were sent to temporary shelters set up by the authorities, according to the ministry. Morocco's national weather service forecast heavy rains, strong winds and snowfall at altitudes above 1,500 metres from Monday to Wednesday in several provinces. Authorities said the Moroccan army had been deployed to support relief efforts on the instructions of King Mohammed VI. Last December, 37 people were killed in sudden floods in Safi, in Morocco's deadliest weather-related disaster in the past decade. In recent weeks, severe weather and flooding in neighbouring Algeria killed two people, including a child. In Tunisia, at least five people are dead, with others still missing, after the country saw its heaviest rainfall in over 70 years last month. EU must be 'less naive' in COP climate talks: French ministry Paris, France, Feb 3 (AFP) Feb 03, 2026 The European Union must be "less naive" and "more transactional" in global climate negotiations and consider using financial and trade leverage to assert its position, the French ecology ministry said Tuesday. The comments came before a meeting of EU environment ministers in Cyprus this week to review last November's UN climate summit, which ended with a watered-down pact that omitted EU demands over fossil fuels. Monique Barbut, France's minister for ecological transition, had already expressed disappointment over the outcome and said the EU must be prepared to "assert its red lines" and reject similar proposals in future. The EU must be "less naive" and "more assertive, more demanding, and more transactional if we want to have an impact in these negotiations", her office said ahead of the Cyprus meeting. "We are in a tougher world where the European Union, when it comes to climate negotiations, is more isolated," a senior source from Barbut's office told reporters. "States that had previously been somewhat hesitant to speak out are doing so much more freely since the American withdrawal" from the global fight against climate change, the source added. US President Donald Trump has withdrawn the world's largest economy from the Paris Agreement on global warming and the bedrock UN climate treaty that underpins it. His administration sent nobody to the last UN climate summit in Brazil, where the EU's call for the inclusion of "roadmap" away from fossil fuels was left out of the final deal. The EU ended up accepting it instead of scuttling a deal altogether. The EU is the largest payer of climate finance -- money to help developing countries transition to a low-carbon future -- and Barbut's office suggested the 27-nation bloc could use this in a more "political" manner. The source also questioned if the EU should "continue to demonstrate climate and financial solidarity with countries" that have failed to meet their obligations under the Paris Agreement. These include updating their national pledges for cutting emissions, the latest round of which were due last year. But more than 60 countries -- some of them major climate finance recipients such as India, Egypt, and the Philippines -- have still not turned in their latest plans. "We have tools like trade agreements", whose implementation can be conditional on compliance with the Paris Agreement, the minister's office added. Chevron, in collaboration with Equatorial Guinea's Ministry of Hydrocarbons and Mining Development, has established a heads of agreement (HoA) to facilitate financing of GEPetrol's participation in the Aseng gas project. The deep-water gas project is located in Block I in Equatorial Guinea. The agreement increases GEPetrol's interest in the project from 5% to 32.55%, enhancing the national stake in exploiting the country's natural resources. It establishes a framework for innovative financing and aims to bolster state participation in significant projects, laying the groundwork for accelerated development within the nation's Gas Mega Hub. The HoA is expected to support both upstream and downstream developments as part of the Extended Gas Mega Hub initiative by securing gas volumes from Aseng, according to the African Energy Chamber (AEC). These include projects like Alen Tail and Yoyo-Yolanda, and drilling activities in Chevron-operated blocks, as well as potential cross-border gas flows via Gulf of Guinea pipelines. The agreement is designed to enhance gas supply to the Punta Europa complex, optimising the use of existing liquefied natural gas infrastructure and improving cost efficiency and competitiveness as a regional gas monetisation hub. Equatorial Guinea Minister of Hydrocarbons and Mining Development Antonio Oburu Ondo said: This agreement represents a strategic step forward for our energy sector, enhancing national participation and opening the door for further projects that will drive industrial development, create jobs and strengthen energy security for our country and the region. The signing ceremony at Malabo's Peoples Palace saw participation from government officials, Chevron executives and the US Ambassador. This follows negotiations that began after a 2025 visit to the US by Equatorial Guineas Vice-President, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue. The Aseng project comprises Chevron, which operates the field, and partners GEPetrol, Glencore and Gunvor. The conventional oilfield has extracted 94.36% of the recoverable reserves so far, with peak production in 2012. According to economic projections, operations are expected to continue until the field becomes economically unviable in 2027. "Chevron, Equatorial Guinea boost GEPetrol stake in Aseng gas project" was originally created and published by Offshore Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. If you're looking at a company that produces oil, you'll have to accept some volatility. The energy sector goes through booms and busts, and there's nothing that can be done about it, given that oil is a commodity. However, not all oil companies are the same. Chevron (NYSE: CVX) is probably one of the smartest ways to invest in the energy sector, and it has a very attractive 4% dividend yield, too. Chevron is diversified One of the core reasons to like Chevron is its vertical integration, which means it owns assets across the upstream (energy production), midstream (pipelines), and downstream (chemicals and refining) segments of the broader energy sector. Each industry segment operates a little differently through the energy cycle, so having all three in one business helps to soften the revenue and earnings effect of commodity price swings. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now, when you join Stock Advisor. See the stocks Image source: Getty Images. That said, Chevron is not the only vertically integrated energy company. It competes with a number of other large, integrated energy companies, like ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM), Shell (NYSE: SHEL), BP (NYSE: BP), and TotalEnergies (NYSE: TTE). What sets it apart is its combination of yield, financial strength, and dividend consistency. Chevron has a great track record Chevron's streak of annual dividend increases is 38 years long, second only to ExxonMobil's 43 years. However, ExxonMobil's dividend yield is 2.9%, more than a percentage point lower than that of Chevron. Most investors will likely prefer the higher yield, given the similarly strong dividend histories. Shell and BP both cut their dividends in 2020 during the energy downturn that accompanied the coronavirus pandemic. While TotalEnergies didn't cut its dividend at that time, its dividend history isn't quite as consistent as Chevron's. And TotalEnergies has materially more debt on its balance sheet. In fact, Chevron's leverage is lower than that of all its peers, except ExxonMobil. This is notable because low leverage gives Chevron the wherewithal to add debt during energy downturns, enabling it to continue supporting its business and dividend. When oil prices recover, as they always have historically, it pays down debt in preparation for the next downturn. ExxonMobil is OK, Chevron is better All in all, you could buy ExxonMobil or Chevron, given how similar they are. However, it's probably a smarter move to buy higher-yielding Chevron, given its more attractive combination of yield, dividend reliability, and financial strength. Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Halle Berry has reflected on her 2002 Oscar win, admitting that making history as the first Black woman to win Best Actress didnt necessarily change the course of my career. Berry won the Academy Award for her role as grieving widow Leticia Musgrove in the drama Monsters Ball and remains the only Black woman to triumph in the category. In a new interview, the 59-year-old candidly reflects on the win, telling The Cut: After I won it, I thought there was going to be, like, a script truck showing up outside my front door. While I was wildly proud of it, I was still Black that next morning, she continued. Directors were still saying, If we put a Black woman in this role, what does this mean for the whole story? Do I have to cast a Black man? Then its a Black movie. Black movies dont sell overseas. A handful of Black stars have since been nominated in the Best Actress category, including Cynthia Erivo, who made the shortlist in 2020, for her portrayal of activist Harriet Tubman, and last year, for the first Wicked movie. open image in gallery Halle Berry triumphed in 2002 ( Getty Images ) Berry revealed she told Erivo, who was also nominated for Best Original Song in 2020: You goddamn deserve it, but I dont know that its going to change your life. It cannot be the validation for what you do, right? Her comments come after Lupita Nyongo said her 2014 Best Supporting Actress win for 12 Years a Slave failed to result in a diverse range of offers. You know whats interesting is that, after I won that Academy Award, youd think, Oh, Im gonna get lead roles here and there, she said. Instead, Nyongo said she was told: Oh, Lupita, wed like you to play another movie where youre a slave, but this time youre on a slave ship. open image in gallery Lupita Nyong'o previously said similar sentiments ( Getty Images for Kering ) Those are the kind of offers I was getting in the months after winning my Academy Award, she explained to CNN. Berry is currently on the promo trail for her latest movie Crime 101, which follows an elusive thief (Chris Hemsworth) whose path crosses with that of a disillusioned insurance broker (Berry). When asked what drew her to the role, Berry told The Independent last week: "I've been fighting in my personal life to be seen and heard and not marginalised at this time, so I relate [to] it deeply. "These characters had something social to say that I think is very important, especially right now. Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The first trailer for A24s The Drama has fans on social media desperate to learn the mysterious revelation at the heart of the film. The upcoming movie, set to be released on April 3, follows a couple played by stars Zendaya and Robert Pattinson as they prepare to get married. As the big day gets closer, they share a dinner with friends played by Alana Haim and Mamoudou Athie, who recall that before we got married, we said the worst thing weve ever done. The trailer cuts between Haim, Athie and Pattinsons characters sharing their anecdotes to general amusement, before the mood turns when Zendayas character apparently reveals a shocking secret. Are you serious? asks Haims character. Emma, what the f***? open image in gallery Robert Pattinson and Zendaya star in A24's 'The Drama', which has fans clamoring to know its central mystery ( A24 ) open image in gallery 'The Drama' is set for release on April 3 ( A24 ) On YouTube, one fan commented on the trailer: This is BRILLIANT marketing; the number of people who will attend just for the dinner scene alone will cover the budget. Whatever did she did I need to know. Another added: Glad that the main plot twist is still unknown for us and they didn't spoil anything in trailer. Can't wait to see the film. On X, one fan said: Honestly never has a movie trailer made me need to see a movie more than the drama. I don't want spoilers but I NEEEEED to know what the drama is. Another wrote: Ok Im intrigued. I thought this was gonna be some erotic dark comedy. The Drama is written and directed by Norwegian filmmaker Kristoffer Borgli, best known for the surreal 2023 drama Dream Scenario starring Nicolas Cage. Last year, Pattinson said in an interview that he went crazy over one scene in the film, which Zendaya had to help him through. We had a scene together that was driving me crazy, Pattinson said in an interview with the French magazine Premiere. I was desperately looking for its meaning, writing pages and pages of textual analysis. I ended up calling Zendaya the night before shooting the scene, he said. I shared my doubts with her, I spoke for two hours, and after a while, very calmly, she made me understand that the line just said what it meant to say, that there was no hidden meaning. And there I was going crazy for three days, he added. Pattinson and Zendaya are also starring together in the third instalment of the Dune series, as well as Christopher Nolans The Odyssey, both set to be released this year. Get the inside track from Roisin O'Connor with our free weekly music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Record producer and DJ Mark Ronson is set to be honoured with the outstanding contribution to music award at the 2026 Brit Awards later this month, an accolade he described as the "most meaningful honour of my career". The 50-year-old musician will accept the prestigious gong at the ceremony on February 28, where he is also scheduled to perform. Expressing his deep gratitude, Ronson stated: "This is the most meaningful honour of my career. I think of the times Ive watched artists I revere accept this same award. The idea that Im now standing in that lineage feels impossible." He continued, highlighting his enduring connection to the UK: "I left England as a kid, but this country runs through everything Ive made. The UK artists Ive worked with their brilliance and refusal to compromise shaped not just my work but how I understand what music should do. And more than anything, its the crowds here whove sustained and showed up for me. The fans, the festival crowds, the record buyers and streamers the love has always been overwhelming. Im beyond grateful for all of it." Ronson joins a distinguished list of past recipients, including music legends such as David Bowie, Oasis, Sir Elton John, Robbie Williams, and Pink. open image in gallery Ronson has called the award the most meaningful honour of my career ( PA Archive ) The London-born musician, who spent his formative years in the US, is widely recognised for his collaborative work on global hits like Bruno Marss Uptown Funk and Miley Cyruss Nothing Breaks Like A Heart. Over a career spanning two decades, Ronson has amassed an impressive collection of awards, including two Brits and nine Grammy awards. He also earned an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for the song Shallow, which he co-wrote with Lady Gaga for the critically acclaimed film A Star Is Born. His extensive production credits include Amy Winehouses seminal album Back To Black (2006) and collaborations with artists such as Dua Lipa, Camila Cabello, Sam Smith, and Lily Allen. Stacey Tang, chairwoman of the 2026 Brit Awards Committee and co-president of RCA Records at Sony Music UK, lauded Ronson's impact: "Marks creative influence spans every corner of contemporary culture. He has shaped the musical landscape globally with incredible albums, his own artist releases as well as those in collaboration with phenomenal talents he has discovered and nurtured. Mark has an extraordinary ability to elevate each project he works on. This award recognises his huge contribution to British musics global story and cements his place as one of the most innovative creators of our time." open image in gallery Ronson has won two Brits, nine Grammys and an Oscar during his career ( AFP via Getty Images ) Ronson is also set to take to the stage at Manchesters Co-Op Live for his performance. Other artists confirmed to perform at the ceremony include Harry Styles, Grammy-winner Olivia Dean, and rock band Wolf Alice. The Brit Awards, hosted by comedian and actor Jack Whitehall, will be broadcast live on February 28 on ITV and ITVX. Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice If the explosive finale of The Night Managers second series has left you hopelessly bereft, craving more of John le Carres intricate webs of deception and moral compromise, theres an easy fix. Sitting on iPlayer is the BBCs 1979 adaptation of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, published just five years earlier; it remains the most electrifying distillation of the authors work ever committed to the small screen. Widely considered to be one of the greatest British television dramas alongside Brideshead Revisited, Tinker Tailor anticipated the box-set era by decades, with seven filmed episodes unfolding with such languor that patience became a prerequisite. But, my word, what a payoff. The story follows George Smileys hunt for a Soviet mole buried deep within MI6 inspired by the notorious double agent Kim Philby, who had duped le Carre himself during his own foreign-intelligence service days in the early Sixties. Clive James, the venerable TV critic, initially dismissed the series as turgid and incomprehensible. How wrong he was. At its centre was Alec Guinness. Uncertain at first whether to take the role because he lacked the soft bulk of the George Smiley in le Carres novels, Guinness is extraordinary as the retired intelligence officer brought back to winkle out a traitor near the top of the Circus. His Smiley is all restraint, barely modulating his tone, his face an impassive mask, never an eyebrow raised. Resembling an elderly academic in an unprepossessing cardigan and blazer, he somehow exuded low-key menace all through the subtlest of facial expressions and his repeated habit of cleaning his glasses. So effective were Smileys silences that they became a form of torture agonising stretches of nothingness in which suspects, unable to bear the vacuum, would simply crack and confess. Adapted by Arthur Hopcraft (who did the same for the BBCs 1985 Bleak House, with Diana Rigg as Lady Dedlock), Tinker Tailor was a masterclass in slow-burn tension. Modern viewers have learnt to love shows that dont give up their secrets easily, leaving room for actors to peel back the layers. But for an espionage drama of the time, the trust that Tinker Tailor placed in the intelligence of its audience was genuinely revolutionary. Suspense is favoured over action, waiting over pursuit, as the chess game of the plot plays out. Take the interrogation scenes psychologically intense, drawn-out, probing: you can trace a direct line from those scenes to the way Jed Mercurio builds pressure in his bent-copper thriller Line of Duty. Tomas Alfredsons 2011 film, starring Gary Oldman as Smiley, offered a sleek, accomplished take on the book that was clearly influenced by the BBC series. Its writers the husband and wife team of Peter Straughan and the late Bridget OConnor also masterfully built tension. But what distinguishes the BBC series is its verisimilitude. While the films Seventies aesthetic was meticulously stylised with the sheen of a coffee table book, the television series simply was the Seventies. Awful furniture. White leather. Avocado bathroom suites. Pallid faces under fluorescent lighting. It was released in the year, lest we forget, that Britains deepening economic malaise swept Margaret Thatcher into No 10. The directors made no attempt to prettify any of it; the decor itself became a character. open image in gallery Extraordinary: Alec Guinness as George Smiley ( BBC ) Just as The Night Manager depicted the gleaming surfaces of contemporary international corruption, so Tinker Tailor depicted a Britain in visible decay, its secret service populated by privileged public schoolboys with bottled-up resentments. Le Carres novels had always interrogated Britains refusal to accept its diminishing global status; here was that decline made visceral. Underpinning it all was Geoffrey Burgons elegiac score, which captured the end-of-empire melancholy impeccably. Le Carre had been adapted on screen before most successfully in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965). But his labyrinthine storylines, with their emphasis on patient surveillance and the unpicking of duplicity, needed hours rather than minutes to unspool properly; TV had the time cinema lacked. His writing suited it perfectly: conversational yet laden with subtext, influenced by Harold Pinters understanding that what people dont say matters as much as what they do. The exchanges simmered with deception. Add to that le Carres genius for memorable characters and you had rich material for Britains finest actors to feast upon Ian Richardson and Patrick Stewart, in supporting roles, especially. open image in gallery Exuding low-key menace: Guinnesss performance is one of the finest in the history of TV ( BBC ) When le Carre discussed the 2011 film with The Telegraph, he reflected on what made the original series special: When Guinness and that crowd came to it, it was made as a love letter to a fading British establishment. Even the nastiest characters were huggable. Years earlier, in his introduction to a later edition of the novel, the author who would later cite the BBC adaptation as his favourite credited the marvellous direction and casting and how it brought the books clandestine vocabulary to life. Le Carre, who died in 2020, lived long enough to see his work flourish in the streaming age. The Night Manager, which first aired in 2016, demonstrated that his world works brilliantly as modern prestige drama, with its globetrotting scope and contemporary anxieties. But for the purest expression of his vision, nothing touches that original Tinker Tailor. For audiences mourning the end of The Night Manager, this is the ultimate tonic. Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Doctor Who enthusiasts are being offered a unique chance to acquire a piece of television history, as a significant collection of memorabilia from the beloved sci-fi series goes under the hammer. This marks the first time BBC Studios has made such items available for public sale, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting BBC Children in Need. Among the most coveted items up for auction are two iconic sonic screwdrivers: one wielded by David Tennant during his return as the Fourteenth Doctor, and the "Joy To The World" light-up version brandished by Ncuti Gatwa, the Fifteenth Doctor. Also featured is a screen-matched cracked Tardis, a memorable prop from the series 13 New Years Eve special, 'Eve Of The Daleks'. The online auction, hosted by Propstore, commences on Tuesday and concludes on 19 February. With all lots starting at 100, it aims to provide an accessible entry point for both dedicated fans and seasoned collectors. Notably, 20 per cent of the hammer proceeds will be donated to BBC Children in Need. The extensive collection spans multiple eras of the Whoniverse, encompassing items from Tennants tenure as the Tenth Doctor (2005-2010), his 2023 return as the Fourteenth, and Gatwas current run as the Fifteenth Doctor (2023-2025). open image in gallery A Propstore employee holds Clara Oswald's Anti-Cyber gun from Doctor Who's series 7 episode 'Nightmare in Silver', which is part of a Doctor Who charity online auction ( Andrew Matthews/PA Wire ) Other instantly recognisable pieces include the NSDA4 Dalek from series sevens 'Asylum Of The Daleks', a prop that has appeared in every Dalek story since 2012 and at high-profile promotional events, including Buckingham Palace. Further offerings include River Songs (Alex Kingston) costume from 'Rain Gods', Amy Ponds (Karen Gillan) ensemble from series fives 'Amys Choice', and an outfit worn by Gatwa in series twos 'The Reality War'. Stephen Lane, chief executive of Propstore, commented: "This is a truly special collection that reflects the depth, imagination and enduring legacy of Doctor Who. Propstore is incredibly proud to be working with BBC Studios to bring these remarkable artefacts to auction and to help find them new homes where theyll be appreciated and preserved. Supporting BBC Children in Need through this sale makes it even more meaningful, and were excited to offer fans and collectors the chance to own a piece of television history while contributing to an important cause." open image in gallery The Sardicktown clock from Doctor Who's 2010 Christmas special, 'A Christmas Carol', is part of a Doctor Who charity online auction in partnership with BBC Studios ( Andrew Matthews/PA Wire ) Sarah Bold, head of marketing, global brands and licensing at BBC Studios, added: "Doctor Who has an extraordinary legacy, and this auction is a rare opportunity for fans to own pieces that have shaped its history. Were proud to partner with Propstore on an event that not only raises vital funds for BBC Children in Need but also helps ensure these iconic items are preserved and appreciated for generations to come." Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Savannah Guthrie has issued a desperate plea as the search for her missing mother nears the 48-hour mark. The hosts of the Today show shared the latest updates in the search for Nancy Guthrie, 84, on air Tuesday morning: Investigators believe Nancy was likely taken from her Tucson home in the early hours of Sunday, she left her cell phone behind in her car, and Savannah has issued a call for prayers and help from the community. Savannah said in an Instagram post shared Monday night: We believe in prayer. we believe in voices raised in unison, in love, in hope. we believe in goodness. we believe in humanity. above all, we believe in Him. Thank you for lifting your prayers with ours for our beloved mom, our dearest Nancy, a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant. raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment. we need you. The TV host, who has been absent from the NBC morning show amid her moms disappearance, concluded the post by quoting a Bible verse: He will keep in perfect peace those whose hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord. a verse of Isaiah for all time for all of us. Bring her home. open image in gallery Today show host Savannah Guthrie has pleaded for her mothers Arizona community to share information about her disappearance ( Instagram/@savannahguthrie ) Today show co-anchors Craig Melvin and Sheinelle Jones spoke about Savannahs message during Tuesdays show, with Jones saying: I went to my phone and I saw Savannahs post, and Savannahs strength gave me strength. Her resolve, her faith. Carson Daly said, I saw that post from Savannah last night, I hit my knees and prayed. I dont think Ive ever prayed for anything harder in my life. Nancy was reported missing Sunday at noon after she was absent from her usual church service. It is a race against time, and I hope that window hasnt closed, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told NBC News correspondent Liz Kreutz during Tuesdays show. open image in gallery Savannah Guthries mom was last seen Saturday ( Pima County Sheriffs Department ) Arizona investigators believe the mom, who has limited mobility and needs to take daily medication for her health, was taken from her home against her will. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day New subscribers only. 9.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day New subscribers only. 9.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Nanos told CBS News Monday, I believe she was abducted, yes. He added, She didn't walk from there. She didn't go willingly. In a statement reported on air, Savannah said in part: I want to thank everyone for the thoughts, prayers, and messages of support. Right now, our focus remains on the safe return of our dear mom. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Pima County Sheriffs Department at 520-351-4900. Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Calm, comforting and versatile, moss green has a natural, grounding aesthetic and a go-to thanks to its tranquil energy as we transition into spring. Moreover, these leafy shades have a positive effect on the senses, and are a brilliant way to boost your wellbeing with the growing ubiquity of mindfulness and self-care in the home. Heres how to stream a serene approach with these stylish homewares for easy updates 1. Time For A Cuppa Wall Art, 7, Matalan Whether you start the day with a matcha green tea; or budding barista with a new espresso machine, motivational wall art looks good and feels good. 2. William Morris Marigold Moss Roman Blind, from 22.46, Blinds2go Looking to spruce up your kitchen for springtime? Window treatments are an easy up-date, especially with this pretty floral print with a botanical vibe. 3. Beatrice Striped Table Lamp, 30, Dunelm Bold accents such as a statement lamp is one of the first steps to layered lighting and a must for ambient schemes. Combine with different types of light think task lighting, wall lights or ceiling pendant to set the mood and make your space feel balanced. 4. Annie Sloan Olive Wall Paint, 2.5 litres, 55.95, Annie Sloan If a little bit of DIY is your endorphin hit, bring out the brush and roller set and paint a wall in olive green a gateway to happiness with its calming, earthy warmth. Pair with woods, rattan and earthenware for a sense of tranquility. 5. OHS Small Olive Tree in Basket Green, 18, Online Home Shop If you long for a Mediterranean lifestyle and some rustic charm, bring the vision home with this decorative, faux olive tree to trigger a sunny mood. 6. Olive Green Reeded Glass Wall Cabinet, 89.95, (was 99.95), Melody Maison Decluttering made simple and a no-stress decorating idea, this shaker-style wall cabinet will store your curios, glassware and trinkets. Moreover, its brass detailing is bang up-to-date. 7. Egyptian Cotton Towels, from 1.25 to 22, Dunelm Think spa-style downtime, and is there anything lovelier than a fresh set of fluffy bath towels? Made from 100% Egyptian cotton pile, they feel as good as they look. 8. Olive Green Ruffled French Linen Standard Oxford Pillowcases, 26.60 (Pair), was 38, Soak & Sleep A quickie makeover for an existing neutral bedding scheme and serene sanctuary, these pretty ruffled pillowcases lend texture and a vintage-vibe. Team with an olive green chevron throw to complete the look. Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Gyles Brandreth has revealed his grandsons cancer diagnosis came as a "shock to the system", admitting he had previously considered the disease "something that happens to unlucky middle-aged people". The television personality and podcast host described his horror when Kitt was diagnosed at just 15 months old in April 2017. The discovery was made by Kitts parents, Brandreths daughter Saethryd and her Army veteran husband Mark, who found a pea-shaped lump near his stomach during a nappy change. Initially, a GP suggested the lump was likely a cyst or a hernia. However, subsequent tests confirmed Kitt had rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare soft tissue sarcoma that affects fewer than 60 children in the UK annually. Kitt underwent treatment at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), where he received chemotherapy, which led to hair loss, and multiple blood and platelet transfusions. His challenging journey was further complicated by a bacterial infection that impacted his heart and liver. Brandreth reflected on the experience, stating: "Kitts diagnosis was a shock to the system. We think of cancer as something that happens to unlucky middle-aged people. You think of breast cancer or prostate cancer and older people, but you dont think of kids well, we didnt. I think we didnt realise what a long journey it was going to be." open image in gallery Gyles Brandreth's grandson Kitt in hospital ( Saethryd Brandreth/PA Wire ) Despite the initial shock, the family found reassurance in the hospitals reputation. "But I have to say the moment we heard Kitt was going to Great Ormond Street we felt reassured because of their world-class reputation," he added. "There was the sense that whatever needed to be available would be available." He described the entire ordeal as "emotional", emphasising the trust placed in the medical team. "Its a case of holding your breath, being patient and trusting in the team, and I have to say the team were matchless at every level, from the consultants right the way through to the nursing staff and everyone else. Everyone is there for you. Its very moving because you never feel alone." While Kitts parents focused on his direct care, Brandreth embraced his role as "Grandpa, providing a sense of normality". He recalled: "What they do brilliantly at Great Ormond Street is remember that children are children so there was a wonderful playroom. Kitt and I would do jigsaws, build things together Id build them up and hed help knock them down, and I taught him funny poems." During his treatment, Kitt developed veno-occlusive disease, a life-threatening condition often caused by high-dose chemotherapy, which obstructs small liver veins and can lead to multiple organ failure. Brandreth noted the slow pace of medical advancements in this area: "It became clear to us that the science in this area takes a long time to develop. You read things [about new treatments] in the paper and think this sounds exciting but when you speak to the doctors, they arent available yet." open image in gallery Gyles Brandreth's grandson Kitt with his mother Saethryd ( Saethryd Brandreth/PA Wire ) Despite significant progress in some areas, such as CAR T-cell therapy pioneered at GOSH, GOSH Charity highlights that many childhood cancers are still treated with drugs developed in the 1970s, underscoring the need for kinder treatments. The charity also provides crucial support services, including free accommodation for families, a multi-faith chaplaincy, and a dedicated Play team. Kitt, now 10 years old and living abroad with his parents and brother Rory, 19, was given the all-clear in November 2017, ringing the hospitals end-of-treatment bell. He has been in remission for eight years and continues to have yearly checks at GOSH. Brandreth is now lending his support to GOSH Charitys appeal to fund a world-leading Childrens Cancer Centre, ahead of World Cancer Day on Wednesday. Sign up to our free Living Well email for advice on living a happier, healthier and longer life Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice This article was originally published on 13 July, 2025, and is being republished by The Independent after the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the UK is no longer considered to have "eliminated" measles. So far in 2025 (as of May 1), 70 cases of measles have been notified in Australia, with all states and territories except Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory having recorded at least one case. Most infections have occurred in New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia. Weve already surpassed the total number of cases recorded in all of 2023 (26 cases) and 2024 (57 cases). Measles outbreaks are currently occurring in every region of the world. Most Australian cases are diagnosed in travellers returning from overseas, including popular holiday destinations in Southeast Asia. But although Australia eliminated local transmission of measles in 2014, recently weve seen measles infections once again in Australians who havent been overseas. In other words, the virus has been transmitted in the community. So, with measles health alerts and news reports popping up often, what do you need to know about measles? Weve collated a list of commonly Googled questions about the virus and the vaccine. open image in gallery A medic prepares an MMR vaccine ( Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. ) 1. What is measles? Measles is one of the most contagious diseases known to affect humans. In fact, every person with measles can infect 12 to 18 others who are not immune. The measles virus can survive in the air for two hours, so people can inhale the virus even after an infected person has left the room. Measles predominantly affects children and those with weaker immune systems. Up to four in ten people with measles will need to go to hospital, and up to three in 1,000 people who get measles will die. In 2023, there were more than 100,000 deaths from measles around the world. 2. What are the symptoms of measles? The signs and symptoms of measles usually start 714 days after exposure to the virus, and include rash, fever, a runny nose, cough and conjunctivitis. The rash usually starts on the face or neck, and spreads over three days to eventually reach the hands and feet. On darker skin, the rash may be harder to see. Complications from measles are common, and include ear infections, encephalitis (swelling of the brain), blindness and breathing problems or pneumonia. These complications are more likely in children. Pregnant women are also at greater risk of serious complications, and measles can also cause preterm labour and stillbirth. Even in people who recover from measles, a rare (and often fatal) brain condition can occur many years later, called subacute sclerosing panencephalitis. 3. Whats the difference between measles and chickenpox? Measles and chickenpox are caused by different viruses, although both commonly affect children, and vaccines can prevent both diseases. Chickenpox is caused by the varicella zoster virus, which is also transmitted through the air, and can cause fever, rash and rare (yet serious) complications. The chickenpox rash is different to the rash seen in measles. It often starts on the chest or back, appearing first as separate red bumps that evolve into fluid-filled blisters, called vesicles. Chickenpox can also appear later in life as shingles. open image in gallery Complications from measles include ear infections, encephalitis (swelling of the brain) and blindness ( Jan Sonnenmair/Getty Images ) 4. Can you get measles twice? The simple answer is no. If you contract measles, you should have lifelong immunity afterwards. In Australia, people born before 1966 would have most likely been infected with measles, because the vaccine wasnt available to them as children. They are therefore protected from future infection. Measles infection however can reduce the immune systems ability to recognise infections it has previously encountered, leaving people vulnerable to many of the infections to which they previously had immunity. Vaccination can protect against this. 5. What is the measles vaccine, and at what age do you get it? The measles vaccine contains a live but weakened version of the measles virus. In Australia, measles vaccinations are given as part of a combination vaccine that contains the measles virus alongside the mumps and rubella viruses (the MMR vaccine), and the chickenpox virus (MMRV). Under the national immunisation program, children in Australia receive measles vaccines at 12 months (MMR) and 18 months of age (MMRV). In other countries, the age of vaccination may vary but at least two doses are always needed for optimal immunity. Measles vaccines can be given earlier than 12 months, from as early as six months, to protect infants who may be at higher risk of exposure to the virus (such as those travelling overseas). Infants who receive an early dose of the measles vaccine still receive the usual two recommended doses at 12 and 18 months old. About the authors Phoebe Williams is a paediatrician and infectious diseases physician, senior lecturer and NHMRC fellow at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney. Archana Koirala is a paediatrician and infectious diseases specialist and clinical researcher at the University of Sydney. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Australians born between 1966 and 1994 (those aged roughly 2060) are considered to be at greater risk of measles, as the second dose was only recommended from November 1992. Australia is seeing breakthrough measles infections in this age group. An additional measles vaccine can be given to these adults at any time. Its safe to get an extra dose even if you have been vaccinated before. If you are unsure if you need one, talk to your GP who may check your measles immunity (or immunisation record, if applicable) before vaccinating. However, as the measles vaccine is a live vaccine, its not safe to give to people with weakened immune systems (due to certain medical conditions) or pregnant women. Its therefore important that healthy, eligible people receive the measles vaccine to protect themselves and our vulnerable population. 6. How long does a measles vaccine last? The measles vaccine is one of the most effective vaccines we have. After two doses, about 99 per cent of people will be protected against measles for life. And the measles vaccine not only protects you from the disease. It also stops you from transmitting the virus to others. Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Patrick Dempsey has claimed it was virtually impossible to get former Greys Anatomy colleague Eric Dane on his new show, Memory of a Killer, because of the progression of the latters amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Dane, 53, who played fan-favorite plastic surgeon Mark Sloan on Greys Anatomy, announced in April that he was diagnosed with ALS, an incurable neurodegenerative disorder. Hes spoken openly about the condition since, and even played a patient with ALS on a November episode of NBCs Brilliant Minds. His former Greys Anatomy co-star Dempsey, who played top neurosurgeon Derek Shepherd, has now opened up about staying in touch with Dane amid the ALS diagnosis. I spoke to him a few weeks ago. Ive been texting with him. We were trying to get him in [Memory of a Killer], the actor, 60, said during an interview with Parade, referring to his new Fox thriller series. Unfortunately, the progression of his disease made it virtually impossible. But I was happy to see that he was here in Toronto working on, I think, another medical drama [Brilliant Minds]. Its very hard for him, but I do try to stay in touch and see how hes doing. I think hes been incredibly courageous in the face of this horrible disease, Dempsey continued. Hes such a wonderful human being. He has such a great sense of humor, and hes so intelligent. open image in gallery Patrick Dempsey says he tries to stay in touch with Eric Dane amid ALS diagnosis ( Getty Images ) The Ferrari star expressed how much he enjoyed working and being around Dane. He also called the ALS diagnosis heartbreaking for Dane and his loved ones. You feel for them when you see this terrible disease and how quickly it attacks the body, he added. But hes bringing a lot of light to that, and hes using his platform in a positive way. I wish him the best. ALS affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, as noted by the ALS Association. Early symptoms of the disease, according to the U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, include muscle twitches in the arm, leg, shoulder, or tongue; cramps, and slurred or nasal speech. Shortly after he announced his diagnosis, Dane spoke about wanting to continue acting despite his ailments. At the end of the day, just, all I want to do is spend time with my family and work a little bit if I can, Dane told Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America in June. I dont think this is the end of my story. I just dont feel like, in my heart, I dont feel like this is the end of me. During his interview with Sawyer, Dane also revealed that his right side was no longer functioning and that he expected to lose control of his left hand. open image in gallery Patrick Dempsey and Eric Dane worked on six seasons of Greys Anatomy together ( Getty Images ) Last month, Danes wife, Rebecca Gayheart, revealed that the actor was receiving around-the-clock care, with nurses by his side 24/7. Gayheart, who shares two daughters with Dane, opened up about her hard-fought battle with the insurance company to get approval for full-time care in an essay for The Cut. With the nurses, the woman from his insurance said to me, You can keep applying, and Ill keep denying, I was like, Oh? F that, she wrote. I made it my mission. I was locked in, as the kids would say. I crashed out, and then I locked it in. And we got it approved after two appeals. [Getty Images] At the Singapore Airshow, the exhibition halls are lined with scale models, mock cockpits, and interactive displays showing the latest commercial jets and aviation technology. One booth is drawing particular attention: Comac, China's state-owned planemaker, which has made significant strides since its C919 passenger jet flew to Singapore in its first trip outside of Chinese territory two years ago. The plane is designed to compete with the Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX and is increasingly targeting markets beyond China. In its own words "Comac is setting sights on the Southeast Asian aviation market". For the company, the airshow is a chance to position itself as a potential rival to Airbus and Boeing in Asia-Pacific, the world's fastest-growing aviation market, at a time when airlines are grappling with delivery delays and stretched supply chains. "I think in time, Comac will be a global competitor... but it's going to take them time," Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) told the BBC. "I think 10 years, 15 years from now, we'll be talking about Boeing, Airbus and Comac... But without question, they will be a considerable player in the future." The Singapore Airshow is an influential trade show in the Asia Pacific region [Getty Images] There is certainly a need for another planemaker in Asia Pacific, analysts say. Airlines in the region are feeling the strain from delivery delays at Boeing and Airbus, compounded by a shortage of engines and broader supply chain bottlenecks. Uncertainty over tariffs and trade tensions has further complicated challenges for the manufacturing sector, affecting procurement and growth strategy in the region. IATA data shows that global carriers are waiting longer than ever for new aircraft, pushing the average fleet age up and increasing operating costs because older planes are less fuel efficient. Walsh said that Asia Pacific airlines could see double digit growth in 2026 if planes were available. "It's incredibly frustrating for airlines. The wait between making an order and taking delivery is about seven years," he said. This is why Comac is emerging as another option for many Asia Pacific airlines. The company says it has delivered more than 200 C909 and C919 jets, with around a quarter of those planes being operated by airlines in Laos, Indonesia and Vietnam. Brunei's GallopAir has placed a large order for the firm's aircraft, and Cambodia is also planning to buy around 20 planes. "We need more suppliers in the supply chain," said Subhas Menon, director general of the Association for Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA). "The problem with this industry is that the supply chain is an oligopoly and sometimes even a duopoly." The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A Cuban national is accused of stealing nearly $4,000 worth of meat from Florida grocery stores and throwing nearly all of it all away after catching his girlfriend cooking with another man. Heannys O. Alvarez Reyna, 30, of Jacksonville, was caught on surveillance footage on January 5 stealing an assortment of meats from two separate Publix stores, the Flagler County Sheriffs Office said. Reyna made off with $1,574.86 worth of beef and lamb from the Belle Terre Crossings Publix around 7:43 p.m., and less than 20 minutes later, he stole $2,084 worth of pork, top sirloin, brisket, tenderloin and personal care products from the Island Walk at Palm Coast Publix. Detectives identified Reyna as the suspect in both thefts. He told authorities that after his stealing spree, he drove to his girlfriends home only to find she was there cooking with another man. Upset by the discovery, Reyna tossed most of the stolen meat, police said. open image in gallery A Cuban national living in Florida is accused of stealing thousands of dollars worth of meat, then throwing nearly all of it out after catching his girlfriend cooking with another man, authorities said ( Flagler County Sheriff's Office ) This wasn't just a case of someone trying to meat their budget. This was a calculated, high-steaks operation that left two stores with significant losses, Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said in a news release shared to social media. While this suspect's selection was choice, his method wasnt kosher. He really tried to milk the system and by now hes found out that the Green Roof Inn does not serve premium meats, Staly said. Reyna, who authorities say is a Cuban national, was arrested for felony retail theft. He was transported to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, where he is being held on a $5,000 bond in addition to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer, authorities said. His relationship may have been past its prime, but stealing isnt the way to cure what ails you. The bottom line is this: If you steal from our stores, we will catch you and you will meat the consequences, Staly added. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Thieves shattered a statue of the Virgin Mary and a picture of Pope Leo XIV during the robbery of a Catholic school in California over the weekend. The burglars ransacked the Holy Innocents Parish Catholic School in Long Beach, smashing up a tabernacle, a storage device for the eucharistic host or sacramental bread, in the process. Police surveyed the damage after they arrived at the scene on Monday morning, according to CBS Los Angeles. Bibles had been hurled across the room, learning materials had been torn and left on the ground and even pieces of furniture had been completely destroyed. Patricia Torres, a local parent, told CBS News that she fears that the brutal attack on the holy building could have been a hate crime. open image in gallery Burglars left a Catholic school's chapel in ruins after raiding the holy building on Monday morning ( GoFundMe ) "I'm concerned. I need to know if there was written on the walls, if there was a hate crime targeted because we're a specific Catholic setting," she said. "That's my biggest concern as a parent right now." Tony Tripp, the schools director of advancement, told ABC 7 that the tabernacle had been broken using the Mary statue. "The biggest damage that was most surprising was done to the sanctuary where they took the tabernacle out of the sanctuary and tried to break it open," Tripp said. "We have a large statue of Mary that was from 1958 when the school opened, and they threw it on the ground and took our podium and threw it on top of the statue to break it." The schools internet devices and musical equipment were also destroyed, along with expensive sound equipment. The school community has been left shaken by the robbery, but eleventh-grader Catherine Cruz told KTLA that the student body continues to pray for the thieves. Our message right now is truly prayer, she said. They are still created by God, and so we still want to love them, even though they did a terrible thing; we still want to pray for them. open image in gallery Staff at the Holy Innocents Catholic School in Long Beach found that musical equipment and holy artefacts had been left in tatters ( Google Streetview ) A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to help the school pay for the huge repairs that the desecrated chapel needs. As of February 3, the campaign has raised over $60,000, with one donor gifting over $10,000 to the school. However, police have not yet confirmed whether any suspects have been arrested in connection with the robbery or what was stolen from the chapel. Forensic squads have swept the area in a bid to uncover DNA evidence, with Principal Cruz telling CBS News that traces of blood were recovered inside the chapel. Police hope this could get them closer to at least one of the suspects. The Department of Justices Civil Rights Division has opened up an investigation into the burglary, according to a statement on X. The @CivilRights will open an investigation into this awful crime, Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for civil rights, wrote. The schools principal also told the broadcaster that, although rocked by the robbery, the school should return to normal operations by Wednesday. The Independent has contacted the Long Beach Police Department for comment. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The ex-husband of former First Lady Jill Biden has been charged with murder for the death of his wife following a domestic disturbance, officials announced. Bill Stevenson, 77, was arrested Monday and charged with first-degree murder in the death of 64-year-old Linda Stevenson after a police investigation that lasted over a month. Officers from the New Castle County Division of Police responded to reports of a domestic dispute at a home in Oak Hill, Wilmington, Delaware, late on December 28. Upon entering the home, officers found Linda Stevenson unresponsive in the living room and administered life-saving measures, but were unable to save her, according to a police press release at the time. Further details about her death and the moments before have not been released. open image in gallery William Stevenson, ex-husband of former First Lady Jill Biden, was arrested Monday and charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of 64-year-old Linda Stevenson ( New Castle County Police Department/Getty ) TMZ reported at the time that it was Stevenson who called authorities and cooperated with them. Until now, he had not been charged with a crime. Stevenson was taken into custody at the same address where his wifes body was found. He is currently being held at the Howard Young Correctional Institution after failing to post a $500,000 bail. The Independent has contacted the New Castle County Police Department for any further information on the case. Little is known about Jill Bidens marriage to Stevenson. open image in gallery Stevenson is currently in custody after failing to post a $500,000 bail ( New Castle County Police ) Stevenson married the former First Lady, then Jill Jacobs, in 1970 while she was studying at Brandywine Junior College, and she took his last name to become Jill Stevenson. However, the pair drifted apart and were officially divorced in 1975. During that time, Stevenson opened the Stone Balloon college bar, near the University of Delaware, which became one of the most popular in the U.S. and was once described by Rolling Stone as one of the best kept secrets in Rock and Roll. In a book,The Stone Balloon: The Early Years, Stevenson omits details of his divorce, but reportedly walked away from the case giving her only half of what she had asked for including part-ownership of the bar. Jill married then-Senator Joe Biden in June 1977. open image in gallery Stevenson married the former First Lady, then Jill Jacobs, in 1970 while she was studying at Brandywine Junior College, and she took his last name to become Jill Stevenson. The pair divorced in 1975 and she married Joe Biden in June 1977 ( REUTERS ) In 2022, her biographer Julie Pace told People that Biden had these expectations of sort of what that marriage was going to be, and the marriage did not live up to those expectations. She was incredibly young and probably a bit naive about what life was going to look like, and it stings her. It really stings her, and it makes her question quite a bit. In the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election, Stevenson came forward to dispute the Biden campaigns claims about how the former first couple met. He told WDEL in an interview that Jill met the future president while working on a local political campaign around 1972. Many of the campaign fundraisers were held at the Stone Balloon. Stevenson went on to accuse his former wife of having an affair, something a Biden spokesperson strongly denied at the time. The account put out by the Biden campaign details that it was Jills brother Frank who set up his sister and Joe on a blind date after her divorce. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today co-host Savannah Guthrie, has now been missing for three nights, with authorities believing she has been abducted or kidnapped. The FBI and US Border Patrol are assisting local sheriffs with the search, and there are increasing fears for her well-being, with her family fearing that the consequences could be fatal if she goes more than 24 hours without essential medication. Heres what we know so far: Who is Nancy Guthrie? Nancy Guthrie, 84, lives in Catalina Foothills, an affluent community adjacent to the desert just north of Tucson, Arizona. She is described as a white female, approximately 5ft 5in tall, weighing about 150 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. Its not known what clothing she might be wearing. Her daughter, Savannah Guthrie, is a co-host on NBCs Today show, and Nancy has occasionally appeared on the program in segments alongside Savannah. How long has she been missing? open image in gallery A missing person poster for Nancy Guthrie describes her physical appearance. ( Pima County Sheriff's Department ) Nancy was last seen around 9.30 pm on the evening of Saturday, January 31, at her home near Skyline Drive and Campbell Avenue, the Pima County Sheriffs Department said. She was reported missing the next day, on Sunday, February 1. Its been believed she was taken from her bed while she was sleeping, with reports suggesting authorities have narrowed the time frame down to a window between 1 am and 4 am. How is Nancys health? Nancy is considered a vulnerable adult due to her age, and Pima County Sheriff Chris Nano said at a press conference on Monday that she was very limited in mobility. We know she didnt just walk out there, that we know, the sheriff said, adding that her health challenges were only physical. open image in gallery Nancy Guthrie, 84, pictured with her daughter, Today co-host Savannah Guthrie. ( Instagram/@savannahguthrie ) Nancy Guthrie is of great sound and mind, this is not dementia-related. She is as sharp as a tack. Her family wants everybody to know, this is not somebody that just wandered off. She also takes medication that if she does not have in 24 hours could be fatal, Nanos said Monday. What do authorities think happened? Police believe that Nancy was a victim of a crime. At this point, investigators believe she was taken from the home against her will, possibly in the middle of the night. Taken against her will includes possible kidnapping or abduction, Nanos said at the Monday press conference. We believe now, after weve processed that crime scene, that we do, in fact, have a crime, Nanos said. open image in gallery Pima County Sheriff Chris Nano says authorities now believe Nancy Guthrie was taken against her will. ( Pima County Sheriff's Department ) Who might have abducted or kidnapped her? Former FBI special agent Nicole Parker, a Fox News contributor, told Hannity that Nancy Guthrie had likely been taken by someone with a deep grievance. I do believe that it was someone who likely knows her, knows her very well, or knows the structure of the home very well, knows that she lived alone, had their eye on her, and had the entry and exit points of the home, and is quite familiar, Parker said. It was clear, Parker added, that the home itself is the crime scene, and investigators were withholding some details to avoid compromising the ongoing case. There is something about it that is very strongly driving this investigation. Law enforcement has kept that quite confidential and quiet, but there is something that they have seen that is driving the sense of urgency on this. Where is the search focusing? Initial search efforts covered the Catalina Foothills area, using drones, aircraft, ground crews and dog teams. The sheriffs department said the FBI had offered assistance on the case and the U.S. Border Patrol had also assisted with dogs. open image in gallery Law enforcement officers are present outside the home of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of "Today" host Savannah Guthrie, near Tucson ( AP ) Nancys neighbors have been asked to check their security cameras and call the Pima County Sheriffs Department if they see anything. However, large-scale search efforts have now been called off, with Nanos noting: Right now, we dont see this as a search mission, as much as we do a crime scene. What are neighbors saying? Locals have reacted with shock and rallied to help search for Nancy. I just saw her two days ago [on Saturday] checking her mail, one neighbor told Us Weekly. She was always smiling and always asking about our family and neighbors. She was very engaged with the community. Its very concerning. Another neighbor, Morgan Brown, told the magazine that there had been a lot of dark vans with blacked out windows in the suburb since Nancys disappearance. There were a lot of cop cars there at first, and then it was vans, so I assumed that maybe they came across something. One neighbor told The Arizona Republic that officers reached out, door to door, to talk to people, asking to see any surveillance videos they had and to look through peoples backyards. Local resident Jan Henry, who lives nearby, serves as neighborhood watch lead and has been coordinating a volunteer rescue group. "We sent out an alert to all the neighbors in our neighborhood so we could be looking for her," Henry told local news channel KGUN 9. Who is her daughter, Savannah? Nancys daughter, Savannah Guthrie, is a co-host on NBCs Today show who was previously a White House correspondent. Savannah was born in Victoria, Australia, where the family was living at the time while her father worked for an Arizona-based mining company. They returned to the U.S. two years later and settled in Tucson. Savannahs father died when she was entering her senior year at high school, and lived at home all through college. She attended the University of Arizona thanks to her mom, who had taken a job there in order to secure tuition-free education for her children. Savannah has spoken openly about how her mother supported her in her dreams of parenthood, reassuring her that it would happen when the time was right. She now has a daughter, Vale, and a son, Charley, with her husband, Michael Feldman, whom she married in 2014. How is Savannah coping? Savannah Guthrie has pleaded for help to bring her home in the wake of her mothers disappearance, posting a faith-based message on Instagram on Monday night. Thank you for lifting your prayers with ours for our beloved mom, our dearest Nancy, a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant, Guthrie wrote. Raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment. Savannah Guthrie was absent from her show on Monday morning. During the episode, co-host Jenna Bush Hager pleaded for help on her behalf. open image in gallery L-R: Craig Melvin, Al Roker, Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie pose on the Today set with Team USA Olympians on August 5, 2024 in Paris, France. ( Kristy Sparow/Getty Images ) What is the public reaction? Current and former colleagues of Savannah Guthrie have led support for her, with Todays Al Roker urging the public to help find Nancy. We are praying for Savannah and her family and the return of their beloved Mom, Nancy, Roker wrote on Instagram. NBC News Kristen Welker has said she is praying for Savannah Guthries family as they deal with the disappearance of Guthries mom Nancy. Hoda Kotb, Guthries former Today co-host, shared a photo of Nancy on Instagram, including the sheriffs department's phone number, writing: If you know anything.. pls help. Fans also sent Savannah Guthrie love on Instagram after she made her emotional plea for help. Praying for your lovely mom and your family. God is Almighty. Almighty is God, one fan wrote. Another said, Sending you so much love and prayers. Were all praying for your beautiful Mom to return safely. Sending you and your family strength. We love you, Savannah, a third said. Any information or evidence relating to Nancy Guthries disappearance can be submitted to the Pima County Sheriffs Department via this online portal. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Today show star Savannah Guthries mother is believed to have been abducted from her home while she slept, according to Arizona authorities. "I believe she was abducted, yes, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told CBS News Monday. "She didn't walk from there. She didn't go willingly. Nancy Guthrie, 84, vanished from her home in the Catalina Foothills, just outside of Tucson, on Saturday night. At this point, investigators believe she was taken from the home against her will and that includes possible kidnapping or abduction, a representative for the sheriffs department later told The New York Post. Nanos said at a press conference earlier Monday that police believe Nancy was a victim of a crime. open image in gallery Today show star Savannah Guthries mother is believed to have been abducted from her home while she slept, according to Arizona authorities ( Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for SiriusXM ) We believe now, after weve processed that crime scene, that we do, in fact, have a crime, Nanos said. The sheriff continued: She is very limited in mobility. We know she didnt just walk out there, that we know. There are other things at the scene that indicate she did not leave on her own, we know that. Despite Nancy being treated as a vulnerable adult due to her age, Nanos made clear that she is as sharp as a tack. Nancy Guthrie is of great sound and mind, this is not dementia related. She is as sharp as a tack. Her family wants everybody to know, this is not somebody that just wandered off, Nanos added. open image in gallery Nancy Guthrie, 84, vanished from her home in the Catalina Foothills, just outside of Tucson, on Saturday night ( Instagram/@savannahguthrie ) While any missing person search is time sensitive, the sheriff warned that if Nancy does not take her medication within 24 hours, it could be fatal. The Independent has reached out to the sheriffs office for updates. Savannah has not posted on Instagram or X for several days, but her colleagues have responded to her mothers disappearance. Hoda Kotb, Guthries former Today co-host, shared a photo of Nancy with the phone number of the sheriffs department on Instagram. open image in gallery Hoda Kotb, Guthries former Today co-host, shared a photo of Nancy on Instagram and asked, If you know anything.. pls help' ( Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images ) She wrote, If you know anything.. pls help. Todays Al Roker also urged the public to help find Nancy, writing on Instagram, We are praying for Savannah and her family and the return of their beloved Mom, Nancy. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Law enforcement investigating the disappearance of Savannah Guthries mother, Nancy Guthrie, said Tuesday that they were no further forward in locating her whereabouts as the investigation enters a third day. We dont know where she is, said Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos at a press conference, acknowledging the growing urgency surrounding the disappearance of the 84-year-old grandmother. Guthrie vanished from her Catalina Foothills home, near Tucson, Arizona, sometime late Saturday night or early Sunday morning. The sheriff said investigators suspect she was taken against her will and believe it was a kidnapping or abduction. Nanos declined to say whether the disappearance was thought to be random or targeted or to describe the evidence found at her home. Were looking at this from every angle but we need your help, Nanos said. When asked whether investigators believe they are searching for someone who is still alive, Nanos replied: We hope we are. Investigators say Nancy, who lived alone, has limited mobility but no cognitive issues and would not have left voluntarily. Her cellphone and car were found at her home, which is now considered a crime scene. open image in gallery Savannah Guthrie with her mother, Nancy. The 84-year-old was last seen at her home in Arizona after being dropped off Saturday night ( Instagram/@savannahguthrie ) When questioned about a possible ransom demand, the sheriff replied: Were following all leads we have. Thats all I can tell you. Weve got hundreds of leads. DNA samples have been gathered and submitted for analysis as part of the investigation, but Nanos declined to provide additional details on the evidence found at the home. Im not saying theres blood inside that house or outside that house, he told reporters. What Im saying is our team will process the scene. Like you would think of any crime scene, we go in and we process it. We look for things like that, blood, DNA, any kind of physical evidence, fingerprints, anything, and all of that is gathered and submitted to a lab. Weve gotten some back, but nothing to indicate any suspects, Nanos added. The sheriff also confirmed Tuesday that he is aware of reports circulating about possible ransom note(s) regarding the investigation into Nancy Guthrie. We are taking all tips and leads very seriously. Anything that comes in goes directly to our detectives ,who are coordinating with the FBI, Nanos said in a statement. Investigators are also reviewing surveillance footage from nearby homes and analyzing cellphone tower data. But the landscape of the neighborhood - with homes on large lots and a lack of sidewalks - has made it difficult to obtain useful camera footage. Nancys brick home has a gravel driveway and a yard covered in prickly pear and saguaro cactus. Laura Gargano, a Catalina Foothills Association board member who lives just around the corner from Nancy Guthrie, also acknowledged the landscape of the neighborhood, explaining that unless residents are walking their dogs, there arent many people out scaling what she described as hilly roads with no sidewalks. Gargano told The Independent that she began canvassing on Sunday night, after learning of Nancys disappearance. Ive been out walking, talking to other neighbors, asking them to check their surveillance cameras, Gargano said. Shes well known in this community, Gargano added. Were all hoping for some good news. She was joined by countless other neighbors, along with searchers using drones and dogs, well into the evening and most of Monday. But later that day, law enforcement pulled searchers back. We dont see this as a search mission so much as it is a crime scene, the sheriff said. open image in gallery Nancy vanished from her Catalina Foothills home sometime late Saturday night or early Sunday morning ( Pima County Sheriff's Department ) open image in gallery Investigators say Nancy, who lived alone, has limited mobility but no cognitive issues and would not have left voluntarily. Her cellphone and car were found at her home, which is now considered a crime scene ( Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved ) open image in gallery Neighbors of Nancy Guthrie have been out searching for the elderly woman since late Sunday night ( AP ) Jon Edwards, assistant special agent in charge at the FBIs Tucson office, said agents are working closely with local authorities. Were downloading and analyzing cell phones, obtaining cell tower information, conducting interviews and providing any and all investigative support that the sheriffs department needs, Edwards said. Every lead and tip is important. We are aggressively pursuing and looking into every single one again, he added. Please help us bring Nancy Guthrie home. Sheriff Nanos stressed that time is critical because Nancy depends on medication. If shes alive right now, her meds are vital. I cant stress that enough. Its been better than 24 hours, and the family tells us if she doesnt have those meds, it can become fatal, he said. open image in gallery Nancy Guthrie's home in the Catalina Foothills neighborhood sits back off the road, shielded by brush and trees ( Google Maps ) open image in gallery An aerial shot of Nancy Guthrie's home in the Catalina Foothills neighborhood ( Google Maps ) Nanos said that Nancy went missing some time between 9: 30 p.m. Saturday night, when she returned home from an outing with family, and Sunday morning, when she did not attend a regular church service. The sheriff said he did not want to shorten that timeline for fear of missing something critical. Savannah Guthrie, a longtime co-host on NBCs morning show, Today, has asked for prayers for her mothers safe return. The host grew up in Tucson and graduated from the University of Arizona. Thank you for lifting your prayers with ours for our beloved mom, our dearest Nancy, a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant, Guthrie wrote on Instagram to her 1.2 million followers. Raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment. Bring her home. Guthrie was absent from the Today show on Monday and Tuesday. Co-host Jenna Bush Hager appealed to viewers for help on her behalf. Gold and silver prices surged to new highs early in 2026 as investors looked for ways to hedge against stock market volatility and an uncertain geopolitical environment. The same dynamics might make coins a good investment as well. Are coins considered a safe-haven asset in 2026? Heres what experts have to say. Also see the five most valuable American coins still in circulation. What the Past Tells Us If the past is any indication, this might be a good time to invest in collectible coins. When gold and silver prices move higher, rare coins tend to follow suit over the next nine to 18 months, according to Dr. Mike Fuljenz, president of Universal Coin & Bullion in Beaumont, Texas. Whats more, coins typically maintain their value even when gold and silver markets become more volatile. That was especially true when rare coins reached previously unattained highs following the bullion and rare-coin market increases from 1976 to 1980 and from 1986 to 1990, Fuljenz told GOBankingRates. Why this occurred in the past is that most gold and silver bullion buyers purchased their bullion from rare coin dealers and are introduced to the numismatic market. About 1 in 8 of those bullion buyers became rare coin buyers at his company. This greatly expands the demand for rare coins, resulting in increased prices for select coins in the rare coin market, Fuljenz said. Read More: 8 Rare Coins That Could Be Worth Thousands Check Before You Spend Em Check Out: 6 Safe Accounts Proven To Grow Your Money Up To 13x Faster The Market in 2026 If youre thinking about starting a coin collection, now is a great time to do so, said Laura Sperber, co-founder of Legend Numismatics in Lincroft, New Jersey. I believe rare coins are still cheap when you consider their potential value, Sperber told GOBankingRates. I do not know of any other collectible that has the liquidity of rare coins. You can still buy rarities coins with fewer than 50 to 100 known survivors in top condition for under $25,000. Even classic rarities worth more than $1 million have the potential to keep rising in value, Sperber said and she should know. She has personally bought and sold some of the most famous and valuable coins on behalf of clients, including a 1794 silver dollar that was purchased for $10 million and sold eight years later for a record-setting $12 million. The recent rise of gold and the popularity of apps such as Whatnot have brought much attention to rare coins, Sperber said. As demand increases, so do the prices. Fluor (NYSE: FLR) is a large engineering and construction company. Don't let the company's investment in NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR) pull your eye off the ball. Yes, selling the NuScale stake could be a big event. But it doesn't actually change Fluor's core story. Here's what you need to know before you buy Fluor stock. NuScale Power is an exciting side story Fluor was an early investor in NuScale Power, a start-up attempting to build small-scale modular nuclear reactors (SMRs). Fluor basically hopes to be a key partner on construction projects that use NuScale's SMRs. For example, the two companies are working together in Romania, where a utility is considering building a power plant with six NuScale SMRs. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now, when you join Stock Advisor. See the stocks Image source: Getty Images. That said, Fluor is currently looking to monetize its NuScale Power investment. It sold some of its NuScale stock in late 2025, generating net proceeds of $605 million. It plans to sell the rest of its stake in 2026. That's great, but this is, basically, a one-time event and doesn't change anything about Fluor's core business other than strengthening its balance sheet. Fluor is cyclical by nature The knock against Fluor in recent years was its use of fixed-price contracts, which left the company on the hook for price overruns on the construction projects it was overseeing. Management is working to fix that problem, with 82% of its backlog using reimbursable contracts. A full 99% of the $3.4 billion in contracts it signed in the third quarter of 2025 were reimbursable. That's good news and will help make Fluor a more consistent business. There's just one problem: The construction industry tends to be highly cyclical by nature. That makes sense, since construction projects are huge capital investments. When the economy is doing well, companies and governments have no problem spending money. However, when there's a recession and money is tight, projects often get delayed or even canceled. Thus, economic downturns can be hard on construction companies like Fluor, and that's not an industry dynamic that is likely to change anytime soon. Know what you are buying into with Fluor Fluor is good at what it does, but that doesn't mean it will be a good long-term investment for most investors. Unless you can handle large swings in the company's business that are likely to coincide with large swings in the economy and, perhaps, the stock market, you should probably look for another investment. Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A If you thought the publishing cycle might slow down over summer, think again. February arrives this weekend with a host of cracking new books, and it looks like theres something for everyone. The Afterlife of Harry Playford Steven Carroll Fourth Estate, $34.99 We first met DS Stephen Minter in Miles Franklin-winning novelist Steven Carrolls first, impressive foray into literary crime, Death of a Foreign Gentleman, which was set in Cambridge, after World War II. Now Minter and his partner, Brigid Delaney, whos involved in the early days of ASIO, are 10 Poms based in the Victorian seaside town of Queenscliff. Its the early 50s, Cold War years, and a politician, Harry Playford, has gone for a swim and vanished. Theres more to the trouble with Harry than meets the eye, in this novel of surprising connections. How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates Shailee Thompson Atria, $34.99 The premise of this debut fiction is glorious: while a serial killer is running amok in New York City, Jamie is writing a PhD titled Alls Fair in Love and Gore, which is an imaginative take on the intersection of romcom and slasher films. And guess what happens to poor Jamie? You got it in one. Shes plunged into that very scenario when she goes on a locked-in speed dating night at a New York club called Serendipity. Theres a sort of running commentary on both genres, and if theyre your cup of tea then this novel is made for you. Shailee Thompson relishes both romcoms and slasher films in her debut novel. Duty to Warn Charlotte Grieve Hachette, $34.99 Little did Age and SMH investigative journalist Charlotte Grieve know when she started digging into the previously much-admired surgeon Munjed Al Muderis titanium implant procedures for amputees that it would lead to a massive defamation trial and that she would wind up on the witness stand for six days. The judge found in her favour on the basis of contextual truth and public interest, although Al Muderis is appealing. This is no dry courtroom drama. How Grieve came to the story through the experiences of her father brings a personal touch to an important story. Run For Your Life Konrad Marshall Hardie Grant, $36.99 Theres a genre label for this sort of book stunt memoir. An author, in this case Good Weekend writer Konrad Marshall, sets himself a challenge in this the gruelling prospect of going for a run every day for a year, which is no easy task when youre pretty unfit and somewhat overweight, or (technically) obese. But Marshall leavens his own grunts and groans by delving into the beautiful complexity of running with the input of various committed runners such as Steve Moneghetti, musician Husky Gawenda, Jessica Hull, Grace Tame and sprint star Gout Gout. If you like pounding the pavement, this inspirational book is for you. Bugger Michael Mohammed Ahmad Hachette, $34.99 Hamoodi is 10 years old and immersed in the world he loves Power Rangers. He lives with his mother and sister in a small run-down apartment and is bullied at school. His father, Ali, has returned to the mother-land and the rest of the family are all in Sydney. Hamoodis cousin, Alooshi, comes to his rescue against the bullies, but there are dangers for Hamoodi closer to home. Gradually he will realise, in this confronting and uncompromising novel, that in this world there are only boys and beasts. Advertisement Michael Mohammed Ahmads latest novel is uncompromising. Kate Geraghty The First Albanese Government: Governing in an Age of Disruption and Diction, 2022-2025 Eds., Michelle Grattan, John Halligan & John Hawkins UNSW Press, $49.99 This is one for the political wonks. Veteran journalist-turned-academic Michelle Grattan and colleagues at the University of Canberra have assembled a comprehensive series of essays examining everything from the NDIS to housing, energy and environment policies with a few topics in between. In his first term, Grattan concludes, Albanese was a cautious brand of leader, mostly unwilling to exceed what he saw as his mandate. He also had a thin majority. Lets see what the second Albanese government can do. Sita Walkers first novel rings heartbreakingly true. In a Common Hour Sita Walker Ultimo, $34.99 Little does committed teacher Paul Bush know the problems heading his way as the lunch bell rings for a year-12 class to whom he bravely read Pablo Nerudas love poem, Every Day You Play. The students are a diverse lot and face many of the issues that confront young people today. But one, Cameron Ashby, has something on Bush. Award-winning memoirist Sita Walkers eventful first novel mostly takes place in the hour-long lunch break, with some crucial flashbacks. Walker is a teacher herself and this novel rings heartbreakingly true. Vigil George Saunders Bloomsbury, $32.99 In his second novel, the Booker-winning author is back on the familiar territory between life and death, but this time his focus is not so much on limbo but on how and in what state of self-awareness the wealthy and generally appalling K.J. Boone makes his transition leaving the husk of himself behind. Jill Blaine returns from her mysterious realm for the challenging task of ensuring he confronts the consequences of his actions and to tell her own story. Comfort, for all else is futility, writes the Buddhist Saunders. George Saunders is back in familiar territory between life and death. Damon Winter/Redux/Headpress Advertisement How to Dress for Old Age David Carlin & Peta Murray Upswell, $32.99 Playwrights David Carlin and Peta Murray are both in the gap between being extant and not being extant a certain time of life when parents have gone or are going, leaving no one ahead of them. This sort-of memoir is a book of great tenderness, self-scrutiny and consideration of how you care for ageing and dying parents and how you negotiate your own life when you too are beginning to age. As Carlin puts it, how frustrating it is to be old and still at the beginning, or how quietly thrilling. Its a wise book, dealing with issues everyone will face in an original way. Two Islands Ian Kemish UQP, $34.99 In his memoir, The Consul, Ian Kemish gave us chapter and verse about life as an Australian diplomat. Now he has turned to fiction, mining his experiences of the tragic events that occurred in the Balkans in the 1990s. Niko, who somehow survived an appalling massacre and is a crucial witness for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, has done a bunk much to the frustration of Australian war crimes investigator Anna. Its not that Niko doesnt want to testify, he wants to survive, and has bolted to a remote Scottish island. And more danger is heading his way in this convincing post-Cold War thriller. Bird Deity John Morrissey Text, $34.99 David works as a scout in an alien world in a distant future. His job is to wander the plateau to steal the strangely powerful artefacts from the parasapes, placid survivors of an ancient civilisation, for the colonial power. Hes due to finish his term, but things are complicated by his relationship with Eliza, her baby, and the childs father, Tom, another scout who has disappeared. When asked to make a freelance trip to the plateau for a visiting anthropologist, Davids life gets more tangled. This is an intriguing, subtle novel from the acclaimed short-story writer. Soft Serve George Kemp UQP, $29.99 Playwright George Kemps first novel is, as he says, Chekhovian. Its filled with a familiar sense of longing, its characters in a sort of state of suspended animation in a fast-food outlet as fire threatens the town of Yinabil. Fern, Ethan and Jacob three sides of a jagged scalene love triangle have left school, but theyre missing Taz, killed in a hang glider accident days earlier. Pat, his bereft mum, works at the Maccas where they converge, but their stories range far beyond. Beginning with one wake and ending with another, Kemps is a moving and tender debut. My Cursed Vagina Lally Katz Allen & Unwin, $34.99 My writing and my life have always been intertwined, says playwright and actor Lally Katz in this delicious and somewhat berserk account of professional success and a disaster-prone love life: Everything that I write, I have to live. With a penchant for psychics she spends hundreds on Bella and Cookie in New York Katz is desperate to get rid of the titular curse and find love. Unsurprisingly, her voice is fully alive on the page as she interrogates her past and ponders her future. Along an eventful way, she is a joy to spend time with. A Hymn to Life Gisele Pelicot Bodley Head, $36.99 February 17 For better or worse, said the man who officiated at the wedding of Gisele Pelicot and her husband, Dominique. It couldnt have been much worse: in 2020 Dominique was arrested and charged with drugging his wife and encouraging dozens of men to rape her over the course of many years. This courageous French woman waived anonymity and gave extensive evidence attending the autopsy of our relationship. In this candid memoir of the splintering of her life, Gisele Pelicot says, I will never be reduced to my tortured body; that is not where my soul is. Advertisement Advertisement NationalIndonesia Opinion If Indonesias so important, why are we treating its people so badly? Hugh Hartigan Policy adviser February 3, 2026 7:30pm February 3, 2026 7:30pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A From time to time in Australia, immigration anxiety flares and political fuses are lit. That fuse is being lit again, helped along by Donald Trumps aggressive crackdown by ICE in the United States but increasingly with hard-edged rhetoric from Liberal Party leadership aspirants. These debates are loud, emotive and all too familiar. But amid the noise, we risk losing sight of the bigger picture the long-term strategic and economic relationships that will shape Australias future. One of those that matters a lot is our relationship with Indonesia. And on that front, we are simply not doing enough. Hugh Hartigan, his wife Henny and children Sophia and Tommy. Australia often talks up the importance of its relationship with Indonesia, but on the practical foundations of that relationship, we are going backwards. Support for Indonesian language education has been eroded, and our visa settings can make even routine family visits slow and uncertain. With Indonesia widely projected to become one of the worlds largest economies by mid-century, rhetoric must be accompanied by the patient work of building people to people links that match Indonesias strategic and economic weight. Prime Minister Anthony Albaneses decision to make Indonesia his first bilateral visit in 2022 and again in 2025 was a strong symbol. But the relationship now needs to be strengthened at a far more foundational level. On my way back to Australia recently after my annual visit to Indonesia, a conversation with my wifes sister was a sobering reminder of how far we still have to go in our relationship with our closest neighbour. She reminded me of their desire to send their daughter to Australia to study a bachelors degree, but the costs made it impossible. Then, on the drive to the airport, she mentioned something else it can take several months to get a basic tourist visa approved for family members who want to visit Australia. Advertisement For my wifes niece, after months of research, the numbers simply did not stack up. Indonesian students who want to study an undergraduate degree are typically offered grants of up to $10,000. In the context of undergraduate degrees costing more than $50,000 for foreigners, plus living costs, that barely makes a dent particularly in a country where the average annual wage is roughly $6000. For an average middle-class Indonesian family, it would take decades to overcome the financial and structural hurdles required to study in Australia. Then there is language. I have two children who were raised speaking Indonesian in their early years. I loved hearing my wife speak Indonesian to them and watching their first words emerge in her language. Now I want them to continue that journey. Yet in Sydney, where we live, that has proved remarkably difficult. In Australias largest city, there is no readily accessible Indonesian language and cultural school where our children can maintain Indonesian as a second language . Related Article Opinion Foreign relations Why Indonesias worrying shift is hard to ignore Zach Hope South-East Asia correspondent My personal frustration reflects a much bigger national weakness. Fewer Australians are learning Indonesian now than in the 1970s, even as Indonesias importance grows. Some argue this does not matter because English is widely spoken in Indonesia. But that misses the point. Speaking someones language is a mark of respect, and respect is the foundation of trust. On my recent trip, I walked into a restaurant and said Selamat sore! And asked in Indonesian whether there was a table for two. The waitress beamed and replied, You speak Bahasa Indonesia? Thank you. It was a small moment, but it captured something policymakers can forget. Language is not just a tool; it is one of the highest expressions of respect and human connection. At a time when immigration is becoming politically fraught, we cannot afford to confuse toughness with respect. It should not be easier for Australians to enter Indonesia which they can do with a simple visa on arrival than it is for Indonesians to visit Australia for a family catch-up. The experience of many of my Indonesian family and friends is that it now takes longer for Indonesians to secure a basic tourist visa to visit their loved ones in Australia than it does for me to spend two months visiting my wifes family in Indonesia. Advertisement If we fail to confront these issues by injecting greater mutual respect into our tourist visa system and getting serious about rebuilding education pathways for those who want to learn the language and culture of our closest neighbour we will not only forfeit significant economic gains in the decades ahead. We will also miss the opportunity to build deeper ties grounded in respect and friendship. That would be a failure of both policy and imagination. Hugh Hartigan is a former Treasury official and principal at Hartigan & Associates. Get a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform your own. Sign up for our Opinion newsletter. Advertisement NationalChild abuse Notorious sex offender hid his fortune to avoid $1.4m payout Amber Schultz February 3, 2026 5:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Nearly three years after a court ruled convicted paedophile and former Bega Cheese boss Maurice Van Ryn pay $1.4 million in damages, the victim has yet to see a cent. Van Ryn was convicted of abusing nine children between 2003 and 2014. He was later convicted of abusing a 10th child in 2019. In total, he was sentenced to 22 years in prison. Former Bega cheese boss, convicted paedophile Maurice Van Ryn, will be eligible for parole in 2029. In 2023, the Supreme Court awarded the 10th victim $1.4 million in damages for the abuse he endured in Van Ryns home in Tathra, on NSWs South Coast. Van Ryn declared bankruptcy in December that year. The victim-survivors are unable to access hundreds of thousands of dollars he had in superannuation through a civil compensation claim. Advertisement New laws could mean superannuation is no longer a protected asset for convicted child sex abusers under civil law, closing a loophole that victim-survivor advocates say is long overdue. The draft laws, which opened for public consultation on Monday, will enable victims and survivors of child sexual abuse to seek access to extra personal or salary sacrifice superannuation contributions if court-ordered compensation remains unpaid after 12 months. The reforms will allow compensation debts to survive an offenders bankruptcy if they have been found guilty of child sex abuse. Announcing the draft laws on Monday afternoon, Attorney-General Michelle Rowland said the government was cracking down on perpetrators. There can be no opportunity for criminals who are convicted of child sexual abuse to avoid paying compensation to their victims, she said. Advertisement Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services Daniel Mulino said the draft laws reflected the tireless work of survivors and advocates. Victims of child sexual abuse deserve to receive the courtordered compensation they are entitled to, he said. Consultation on the draft laws will close on February 20. The long-awaited legislation was first promised by former financial services minister Kelly ODwyer in 2018. Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino. Alex Ellinghausen The Super for Survivors campaign, led by Websters Lawyers partner Andrew Carpenter, Fighters Against Child Abuse Australia founder Adam Washbourne, and abuse survivor, actor and advocate Madeleine West, has advocated for a change in the law since 2020. Advertisement With one in three girls and one in five boys being abused before their 18th birthday, significant consequences of losing super may finally result in offenders thinking twice before they abuse children, Carpenter said. Related Article Crime Paedophiles still hiding assets in super despite crackdown promise Its a win for victim-survivors across the country as it shows the web is closing on all sex offenders. The group will continue to advocate for the laws to be extended to compensate all victim-survivors, not just those whose abusers have been convicted. This is a crack in the door which will give justice to victim-survivors, but our job will not be done until that door is kicked in, Carpenter said. Advertisement A 2019 Deloitte study estimated that violence against children and young people cost $11.2 billion for cases in NSW alone. Survivors face an uphill battle in seeking compensation and justice. In 2021, Lee Jones sought compensation from her father, Arthur Oakley, who was convicted of sexually abusing her in the familys western Sydney home in the 1970s. The Herald successfully applied to have lifted a suppression order that had been stopping Lee Jones from talking publicly about her abuse. Janie Barrett Advertisement Instead of finding justice, Jones was told she would have to pay upfront fees north of $20,000 for Oakley to be represented due to his mental incapacity, while her address and Medicare details were sent to him unredacted. The court also placed a suppression order on Jones case, preventing her from talking publicly about her abuse. The Herald successfully applied to have the suppression order lifted. Related Article Exclusive Courts Lee was attacked as a nine-year-old. Shes finally free to tell her story Meanwhile, the notorious paedophile who abused former Australian of the Year Grace Tame when she was a student is unlikely to face trial on cyber-harassment charges. Nicolaas Bester was found guilty of sexually abusing Tame when she was a student in 2011. He was later convicted of having child exploitation material. In 2022, he was charged with harassing Tame on social media. On Monday, lawyers and prosecutors agreed that due to his dementia and multiple strokes, falls, and a brain clot, there was insufficient evidence to show Bester was fit to stand trial. Advertisement The Super for Survivors campaign is supported by the Grace Tame Foundation. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732), National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028, Lifeline 13 11 14, Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter. Protest ban extended in parts of Sydney Police extend protest ban for the next two weeks in parts of Sydney ahead of the visit of Israel Cracker Barrel is serving up a new rule for employees hitting the road: When it comes to meals, the company wants them to stick to its own restaurants. In an internal message obtained by the Wall Street Journal, the company said that employees are expected to dine at a Cracker Barrel store for all or the majority of meals while traveling, whenever practical, based on location and schedule. The guidance also bars the company from reimbursing alcohol purchases on business trips unless workers pay out of pocket or get preapproval for special occasions from senior leadership. The Independent has contacted Cracker Barrel for comment. The travel meal policy comes as Cracker Barrel continues efforts to trim expenses amid sagging traffic and revenue growth that has slowed in recent years. Cracker Barrel is also still feeling the effects of its disastrous 2025 rebrand efforts, and now customers are turning their ire toward changes in its menu. Cracker Barrel told employees to eat at its restaurants on work trips and said alcohol will not be reimbursed unless preapproved (Getty Images) In December, regular diners complained about recent menu changes, including batchmade cookies instead of freshly rolled dough and green beans and sides prepared in ovens rather than on the stovetop. Some customers have gone as far as bringing their own maple syrup to the restaurant because they disapprove of the new offerings. The backlash against the chain began with a botched rebrand that caused Cracker Barrel to lose an estimated $94 million in market value in a single day after the chain unveiled a new logo and branding strategy in August. The companys removed its longtime mascot, the man leaning on a barrel, known as Uncle Herschel, from its logo as part of a broader minimalist rebrand. MAGA influencers and conservative commentators branded the redesign as woke, and even President Donald Trump publicly urged the company to revert to its classic look. Around the same time, Cracker Barrel also announced plans to modernize the interiors of its more than 650 locations, which critics claimed stripped away the chains nostalgic identity. The company quickly acknowledged the backlash in a statement announcing it would scrap the revamps. If the last few days have shown us anything, its how deeply people care about Cracker Barrel. Were truly grateful for your heartfelt voices," the statement read. Youve also shown us that we couldve done a better job sharing who we are and who well always be. It went on assuring Cracker Barrel diners that "the things people love most about our stores arent going anywhere: rocking chairs on the porch, a warm fire in the hearth, peg games on the table, unique treasures in our gift shop, and vintage Americana with antiques pulled straight from our warehouse in Lebanon, Tennessee. Later, Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Felss Masino said the backlash made her feel fired by America. Advertisement NationalQueenslandCity council Have your bins gone uncollected? Lord mayor says hes not happy with contractor William Davis February 3, 2026 9:39pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has conceded Brisbanes bin collection rates are not good enough, and hes promised to take action against the contractor. On Tuesday, Schrinner was grilled in the chamber by the Labor opposition about reports of rubbish not being collected from homes in Wavell Heights, Acacia Ridge, Deagon, Camp Hill and Wynnum. Im not going to play politics with the basic service mate, he responded. The lord mayor says Brisbane City Council will push its contractor to improve rubbish collection rates. File Its a fundamental responsibility of local government to make sure we deal with waste, and that we give people value for money for services that theyre paying for, and Ill be very clear I am not happy with the performance of the contractor in recent times. Advertisement In 2017 Suez since renamed Veolia as part of a merger was awarded a 16-year contract by Brisbane City Council to manage waste for its 1.36 million residents. It was valued at about $900 million. Schrinner said about 1 per cent of bins were going uncollected, but the council had been pushing the contractor to reduce that figure. Im not happy, and we are taking every action possible within the realm of the contract to make sure that our performance improves, he said. We should be striving towards every bin being collected in the city every week, as we would expect that to occur, so I am not going to make excuses. Advertisement Opposition Leader Jared Cassidy said that from February 2022 to 2025, there was an increase of more than 220 per cent in missed red bins alone. We are eight years into a 16-year contract. He [Schrinner] was either totally ignorant about this trend, or he didnt care until it came up in the press. Either way, he has totally dropped the ball on an essential council responsibility, he said. The comments came as Schrinners office announced a panel of five local operators to manage green-waste processing over the next 20 years. Every tonne of green waste recycled means less waste going into landfill and more nutrient-rich compost to put back into community spaces across south-east Queensland, he said in a statement. The new panel arrangement will begin on July 1, with SOILCO, Remondis, Wildfire Energy, NuGrow and Candy Soil announced as the operators. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter. Advertisement NationalQueenslandCourts The final phone calls from one of Queenslands most notorious killers Cloe Read February 3, 2026 4:59pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A You know why I dont want to say too much. These were some of the final words spoken by cold-blooded killer Garry Dubois as he called his family from prison the day before he was found dead in his cell. The conversations, released on Friday, have fuelled speculation about whether Dubois 2021 suicide was connected to the chance he may have been called to give evidence at the Whiskey Au Go Go inquest. Garry Dubois was one of Queenslands most notorious, and cold-blooded criminals. Nine News Dubois, 74, was one of Queenslands most notorious criminals. He had been serving time at Maryborough Correctional Centre for multiple offences, including murder, rape, manslaughter, and deprivation of liberty. Advertisement In 2016, he was found guilty by a Supreme Court jury of the manslaughter of Barbara McCulkin, and the rape and murder of her daughters, Vicki, 13, and Leanne, 11, in January 1974. He had taken the three family members from their home in Brisbanes Highgate Hill. Barbara McCulkin (right) and her daughters, Vicky (left) and Leanne (centre). His accomplice, Vincent ODempsey, was found guilty of all three McCulkin murders. During their trials, the court was told the men may have been motivated to kill Mrs McCulkin over fears she would try to implicate ODempsey in the firebombing of the Whiskey Au Go Go nightclub the year before. Advertisement Fifteen people died in the planned attack in Fortitude Valley. Two men, who have since died, were sentenced to life imprisonment over the fatal fire. McCulkins estranged husband, Billy, had connections with ODempsey and Dubois, so she may have been able to implicate them through what he may have told her. The aftermath of the Whiskey Au Go Go firebombing. Queensland Police Museum Due to the high-profile status of his crimes, Dubois was housed in cell 41, level 2 of Secure Unit 2 the protection block while he served his life sentence. Inquest findings by Deputy State Coroner Stephanie Gallagher released on Friday paint a picture of Dubois final days. Advertisement Dubois had been concerned about the inquest into the fire, which was scheduled to start on June 14, 2021, according to evidence in the investigation into his death. Detective Senior Constable Martin Payne, of the QPS Corrective Services Investigation Unit, investigated Dubois death and concluded he died from suicide, and that he was aware of the upcoming inquest. Vincent ODempsey when he was arrested in 2014 for the McCulkin murders. 7 News Queensland Payne opined that it was likely that Dubois believed he would be summonsed to give evidence. At 8.30am on the day before his death, he had an in-person visit with his wife, Jan, and daughter Nicole at the prison. Advertisement Later that morning and into the afternoon, he spoke with them over the phone. His daughter told him she loved him, and that she was proud of him. Throughout the call, his wife said: I dont like it ... I get it ... you know. Youre sick and tired of being sick and tired. Garry Dubois was 74 when he died in Maryborough Correctional Centre. Nine News Dubois responded: Its been too long ... Ive done my best ... this is hard for me. Dubois told them he loved them. He also stated: Ive got nothing to say ... Ill always be thinking of you. Im not going to prolong this battle. Advertisement When his wife suggested that it was probably because they reduced your medication, Dubois disagreed, saying: Ive just had enough. Jan Dubois refused to be interviewed after her husbands death. In a 2016 interview with Nine News, she denied he was a killer, saying no, not a chance. Barbara McCulkin and daughters Vicki, 13, and Leanne, 11, were taken from their Highgate Hill home on the night of January 16, 1974. Nine News Dubois was discovered in his cell, after having last been checked on about 8.15pm the day before. After a delay of about nine minutes, staff performed CPR. Staff had incorrectly declared the cell a crime scene before his death had been verified. But upon realising the mistake, they instructed the cell be opened, and first aid be given. Advertisement A large volume of letters and documents in brown paper bags was found in the shelves of his cell. There was no indication Dubois had been suicidal, according to his interactions with prison staff. Other prisoners in the unit reported that Dubois, who was a cleaner, was well liked and respected, and was noted for being healthy and regularly exercising. One of the inmates told investigators Dubois had confided in him about killing himself, but the inmate had stopped him. He claimed Dubois told him he did not want to put his family through the upcoming inquest. In her findings, Gallagher said a pre-inquest conference in April 2021 heard that Dubois would be called to give evidence. The inquest was then adjourned to June 14. But she said there was no evidence to suggest that Dubois was subsequently called to give evidence. Advertisement The findings also state corrections staff had no information on file to indicate Dubois would be called, or that he needed to be transferred to court, which Gallagher accepted. Related Video Whiskey Au Go Go inquest reveals new evidence into fatal fire It follows that while I find that the QPS investigation into Mr Dubois death was conducted thoroughly and professionally, I consider there is insufficient evidence before me to make a determination that Mr Dubois was motivated to end his life due to the impending Whiskey Au Go Go inquest and/or the prospect that he may be required to give evidence at it, she said. Gallagher said she was satisfied following suggestions made regarding first-aid training in an earlier review, and as such, there were no other recommendations to make. She accepted that even if chest compressions had been performed earlier, it would not have changed the outcome for Dubois. She also accepted there was no evidence to suggest Dubois phone calls should have been monitored, or that he presented a mental health risk. Advertisement She found that in the three months before his death, Dubois supervision was adequate and appropriate. If you, or someone you know, needs support you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter. Advertisement NationalCancer The 30 lifestyle factors linked to almost 40 per cent of all new cancer cases Angus Thomson February 4, 2026 3:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Exposure to harmful UV and smoking were the leading causes of preventable cancers among Australians in a major global analysis which found two in every five cancers could be avoided. The World Health Organisation (WHO) study, published in the journal Nature on Wednesday, analysed leading risk factors for 36 cancer types across 185 countries. Australia was the only country where UV radiation was the leading factor linked to preventable cancers in men. Keen ocean swimmer Andrew Camfield battled stage 3 melanoma after spending his youth at the beach. Sam Mooy Tobacco smoking was the leading risk factor for cancer among Australian women. Australians have known for decades that high UV levels, outdoor lifestyles and a large fair-skinned population put us at greater risk of skin cancers. A 2012 study estimated 96 per cent of melanomas in Australia were caused by UV exposure. Advertisement But what is less known is that men are more likely to get skin cancers than their female peers once they reach the age of 45, said Melanoma Institute cancer epidemiologist Professor Anne Cust. Related Article Exclusive Cancer Every day, Ellie sees people risk the cancer that claimed her mothers life Cust said the study was a warning to all Australians but particularly to men, who generally spend more time outdoors and use less UV protection. You cant change the damage youve done, but you can make changes to reduce your future risk, she said. Growing up in Sydneys Sutherland Shire, Andrew Camfield spent most of his early years at the beach. He rarely wore sunscreen and believed having a tan was healthy. Advertisement Camfields first warning came in 2018 when he had a melanoma removed from the back of his calf. When another lump reappeared over his scar three years later, he was diagnosed with stage three melanoma and underwent surgery to remove his lymph nodes, followed by 12 months of aggressive immunotherapy. Now cancer-free, Camfield remains a keen ocean swimmer (he plans to complete the Rottnest Channel Swim in Western Australia this year) but avoids long swims after 8am and wears a rash vest in hotter parts of the day. He relentlessly reminds his friends and three teenage sons to do the same. Andrew Camfield now covers up at the beach, avoiding long swims after 8am. Sam Mooy I often do try to bring back that image [of my treatment] because its easily forgotten, Camfield said. I just want them to remember the form advanced melanoma can take. Advances in immunotherapy have improved five-year survival rates from less 10 per cent a decade ago to more than 50 per cent today. Advertisement But surfer and stage four melanoma survivor Craig Brewer said too many people were still exposing themselves to avoidable skin cancers. Even though Im living a normal life now, I would never wish what I went through upon anybody, he said. Its an unnecessary risk. Craig Brewer was diagnosed with stage four melanoma in 2018 after he had what his doctor believed was a cyst removed from his inner lip. Wayne Taylor The link between cancers and common lifestyle and environmental factors is well established, but the scale of the Nature study is rare. About 7.1 million of the 18.7 million new cancer cases recorded globally in 2022 were linked to 30 modifiable risk factors measured in the study, according to its authors. Lung, stomach and cervical cancers made up around half of these potentially preventable cases. Advertisement Globally, smoking accounted for 3.3 million cases, infections for 2.2 million cases, and alcohol about 700,000 cases. These three factors alone represent the majority of preventable global cancer burden globally, highlighting where prevention efforts could have the greatest impact, said Dr Isabelle Soerjomataram, deputy head of the International Agency for Research on Cancer at the WHO. Using this data, we have now the information to prevent cancer before it starts and help populations enjoy a healthier life. Because there is generally a delay between when someone is exposed to harm and when they get cancer, the researchers analysed the number of cancers in 2022 against the prevalence of common risk factors about 10 years earlier. Advertisement These risk factors were only those that could be avoided or limited, had an established causal relationship with cancer, and were covered by high-quality national exposure data. These also included factors such as air pollution, high body-mass index and insufficient physical activity. The 30 modifiable risk factors to inform cancer prevention Tobacco smoking Alcohol consumption High body mass index Insufficient physical activity Smokeless tobacco and areca nut Suboptimal breastfeeding Air pollution Ultraviolet radiation 9 infectious agents 13 occupational exposures Source: Nature Among women, the largest global share of preventable cancers is linked to human papillomavirus (HPV). Australia is projected to be the first country to eliminate cervical cancer by 2035, but barriers to accessing the highly effective HPV vaccine are hampering efforts in lower-income countries. Professor Karen Canfell, lead researcher at the University of Sydneys cancer elimination collaboration, said screening programs for cervical, lung and breast cancer had saved lives in Australia and provided an example for other nations to follow. Despite these successes, less than 15 per cent of cancer research funding goes towards prevention and early detection, Canfell said. Advertisement Advertisement NationalVictoriaCity life Andrew, former prince, retains one of his last honours in the burbs of Melbourne Rachael Ward February 4, 2026 5:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been stripped of royal titles, but the former prince retains one of his last remaining honours: a residential street named after him in the heart of suburban Melbourne. A resident of Lalors Prince Andrew Avenue in the citys north approached Whittlesea Council about changing the name in late 2025, following revelations about the disgraced former royals friendship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and abuse allegations against him. Brendon Watson, a resident of Prince Andrew Avenue in Lalor. Luis Enrique Ascui However, the street will keep its name because most households asked in a doorknocking and postal survey between November 25 and December 28 did not back the change. [Residents of] Prince Andrew Avenue were provided an opportunity to have their say, with almost 80 per cent of affected residents and property owners not in support of a name change, Whittlesea Council chief executive Craig Lloyd said. Advertisement In accordance with the advice of Geographic Names Victoria, a majority of affected residents must support the request for it to proceed. As a result, the street name will not be changed. Resident Brendon Watson was disappointed but not surprised by the result. Loading When I give someone my address to come by, Im just like, Yeah, I know its unfortunate, Watson said. Its probably not going to come up again, I think it would have been nice to just deal with the short-term inconvenience of having to do it, just to separate ourselves from something which is pretty unsavoury. Advertisement Related Article Media & marketing Make The Age your preferred source on Google Watson wants the street to be called Prince Avenue or something similar, as theres already a King Street and Queen Street nearby. We bought here in 2020 and even at that point in time it was pretty clear to a lot of people that it was kind of an unfortunate name, he said. Resident Vesna Palla said she is shocked and disgusted by allegations against Mountbatten-Windsor and was initially open to changing the name of the street. However, after discussing the issue with older residents who had concerns about the hassle of updating their identification and other official documents, she decided not to respond to the councils approach. Advertisement Its distressing for elderly neighbours and I didnt want to go through that. Its just time-wasting for me. Too much running around and money just to get a name change, she said. Liam McCallum moved in after the survey closed and while he understands why some neighbours wanted change, he does not have a strong opinion on the matter. Prince Andrew with Virginia Roberts Giuffre (centre) in 2001 and Epsteins then personal assistant Ghislaine Maxwell. Ive got no problems with it being called Prince Andrew Avenue, its just a street name, McCallum said. If you were going to tackle that kind of issue seriously, then theres a whole swath of problematic street names that would need to be reviewed. Many residents The Age spoke to said they received multiple messages in their letterboxes for and against the change in the lead-up to the vote. Advertisement Photo: Matt Golding Resident Neek, who asked not to provide a surname, wanted the name to change and believed many neighbours agreed but feared a bureaucratic nightmare and expressed concern about changing deeds to houses, licences and addresses. Its an embarrassing name, Neek said. Everyone got scared here and went, Were not changing it, were not doing anything. La Trobe University adjunct associate professor in planning Dr Kiran Shinde said it was unusual for names of streets to be changed, particularly when residents had lived there for a long time. Generally people dont go for any changes because there is a process to be followed and that can be time consuming, he said. Advertisement Whittlesea Historical Society believes the avenue was named after the late Queens second son as streets in the area were being drawn up around the time of his birth. A Geographic Names Victoria spokesperson said it would fully support Whittlesea Council with an application to change the name of the street if it decided to do so in the future. The latest tranche of Epstein files released by the United States Department of Justice included photos of Mountbatten-Windsor crouched on his hands and knees over a woman and new information about his friendship with Epstein after the billionaires 2010 release from prison. King Charles stripped his brother of royal titles late last year and ordered his eviction from Royal Lodge near Windsor. Advertisement Advertisement Exclusive NationalVictoriaCrime Security warning to lawyers, police and judges ahead of arsonists release John Silvester February 3, 2026 7:45pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A A group of police, lawyers and judges are being urged to immediately increase their personal security due to the imminent release of an offender once described as having a deep-seated and dangerous hatred for society. When the man was arrested in 2011 over a string of arson attacks, police found a notebook in his home containing the personal details including home addresses of police, prosecutors, defence lawyers and judges who had dealt with him over several years. A treated image of the arsonist taken from an online video. The material was considered so alarming that the names of the prosecution team and lead investigators were not used in the mans subsequent legal proceedings. The arsonist, who this masthead has chosen not to name on public safety grounds, is due to be released this week after serving his full sentence of 14 years in jail. Advertisement In previous prison stints he has refused psychological treatment or to join any rehabilitation programs. Detectives from the Fixated Threat Assessment Centre have contacted those named in the notebook asking them to review their security, have their names removed from the electoral roll, increase online privacy settings, ensure their doors are locked and consider increased home electronic security. Two sources with knowledge of the case, whom this masthead has chosen not to name on safety grounds, detailed the warnings and that several named legal figures last month upgraded their home CCTV systems. When the man was last sentenced, a County Court judge said: It is clear in my view that you are an ongoing danger to the community. The likelihood of your reoffending in the future is very high. On any realistic analysis, your prospects for reform and rehabilitation are very slim at best and most likely non-existent. I have formed the view based on all the evidence in these proceedings that you have a particular disdain for the justice system and a deep-set hatred of the police. Advertisement The man, now in his 40s, has been convicted of more than 40 offences ranging from stalking to possessing weapons and arson. He once attempted to burn down a house with his mother and two brothers asleep inside. The likelihood of your reoffending in the future is very high. County Court judge In February 2009, he was arrested by police while parked outside a Blackburn brothel. They found a large knife in the car and in the boot, a second set of number plates, garbage bags, plastic ties, gloves, tape, rope, handcuffs and a hammer. He had a notebook that had headings Project Rookie and Hit Kit Inventory. It contained what police believe was a murder plan. Look through her messages, find a client, SMS him from her phone, completely destroy the phone, strip her, put clothes in garbage bag, collect all jewellery and put in bag, cut her nails, place all ten clipped nails in bag, remove her teeth, put into bag or leave with body, remove all ties et cetera before disposal. Advertisement He once posted online: I am an expert on serial killers. Serial killers are tortured victim creations of their evil lie-based societies. They have every right to undertake murder acts, and society has no right to pass judgment on them. Editor's pick Interactive Interest rates Mortgage calculator: How much extra will your repayments be? While on bail for the Blackburn crime in 2010 he was suspected of launching 12 arson attacks against schools, a nightclub, homes and commercial properties. His car was tracked to five deliberately lit fires in January and February 2011, the unmanned Mount Waverley police station, two churches, a bakery and a childcare centre. He had posted in a video: The arsonist is using arson to strike and hit his society back as a form of justice, of vengeance, his own personal justice against his society that has wronged him. Arsonists have every right to attack society because society has done everything to them. Advertisement The man was charged over five arsons but dumped his lawyers and represented himself, dragging the case out for six years before he was eventually convicted by a jury in 2017. In sentencing the judge said: The five arson attacks were random and plainly motivated by your deeply disturbed and dangerous mindset that you were entitled to wreak revenge and vengeance on society. The Fixated Threat Assessment Centre is part of Victoria Polices Counter Terrorism Command and is designed to prevent incidents by early identification of clients to disrupt the pathway that may lead them to harm others or themselves. It uses investigators, mental health experts and crime analysts to deal with about 50 subjects at any one time, attempting to alter their behaviour before they offend. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter. Advertisement NationalVictoriaCrime Like rabid dogs: Teen slashed with meat cleaver, mown down in brutal St Kilda attack Angus Delaney Updated February 4, 2026 1:16pm ,first published February 4, 2026 9:47am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A It was an attack so brutal that it prompted one seasoned police officer to say the offenders had no humanity. Their behaviour, he said, reminded him of dogs rabid dogs. The St Kilda McDonalds where the 17-year-old was attacked. Angus Delaney About 10pm on Tuesday night, opposite the landmark triangle in the heart of St Kilda, two males one a 17-year-old boy headed to McDonalds for a late bite. As their rented white Kia from Flexicar headed into the drive-through on The Esplanade, three men in a stolen grey Mazda rammed them from behind. Advertisement One man leapt from the Mazda, wielding a meat cleaver, pounding on the Kia and slashing the 17-year-old in the passengers side with the blade. The attack was so frenzied that the knife, which was left at the scene, broke in two. The Kias occupants pulled out from McDonalds onto The Esplanade, with the Mazda in hot pursuit. Witness Joseph Ferguson was about to enter the fast-food restaurant when the Mazda went flying out [of] McDonalds and skidded over the tram tracks and started to rear-end the Kia. Ferguson could see from the Kias dented rear bumper that the Mazda had already targeted it near the McDonalds drive-through. Advertisement The Kia tried to escape down Acland Street, but the Mazda stalked the car the entire way. When the pair in the Kia reached St Leonards Avenue, they came across a dead end. Police on the scene in Acland Street, where two males were relentlessly pursued. Nine News Locals heard tyres screeching and saw both cars speeding down the quiet, leafy street. The first [car] was driving fast, but not, like, insane. I could only see it [from behind my fence] trying to work out how to get out, because it realised it was a dead end, a witness who did not want to be named told The Age. And then I have seen the other car flying down the street. Advertisement Occupants of the cornered Kia jumped out of the car and tried to flee on foot but the three pursuers dumped their stolen Mazda and took control of the empty Kia. They then ran over the injured teen with his own car twice. Loading Video taken by witnesses shows the Kia, with a crumpled rear bumper, repeatedly reversing back and forward on the street. A witness said the attackers also got out of the car and stabbed the victim in the face. Both the victim and his companion the original driver of the Kia managed to get away. Advertisement Two of the attackers, now in the Kia, raced off, while a third jumped a nearby fence to escape before police could arrive. The car was later found dumped on nearby Fitzroy Street. The Kias driver ran to the end of the cul-de-sac and jumped a fence, said a witness. Police said the attackers behaved like rabid dogs. Nine News Clearly, he was from the car that was being rammed. He was pretty frantic, terrified, but didnt stop. He just said: Call the police, the witness said. The 17-year-old was found with serious injuries on St Leonards Avenue and taken to The Alfred hospital in a non-life-threatening condition. Advertisement Detective Inspector Mark Patrick said it was a sickening attack. These are serious crimes. The offenders have no humanity, Patrick said. [Its] behaviour like dogs, like rabid dogs. Ferguson, who witnessed the Mazda rear-ending the Kia near McDonalds, said crime like this had become more prevalent in Victoria, especially in St Kilda. In October, two teens were slashed with machetes at Luna Park, just 110 metres from the McDonalds. As a Victorian, I think its almost become a normality that something happens like this once a week, he said. I feel like a lot of people these days are just kind of fed up with the fact that people just keep coming up as re-offenders. And like, while we havent figured out a long-term solution, at least temporarily put some of these people away, just until we can figure out how to deal with them, how to help them. Advertisement Anyone with information or CCTV footage should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. Be the first to know when major news happens. Sign up for breaking news alerts on email or turn on notifications in the app. Advertisement NationalWACrime The hidden struggle behind closed doors at a quiet Mosman Park home Rebecca Peppiatt February 4, 2026 5:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Pictures of two smiling boys on their parents social media accounts are hard to reconcile with the events that unfolded on Friday in their Mosman Park home. The online presences of Maiwenna Goasdoue, 49, and Jarrod Clune, 50, does not paint a picture of a family struggling or on the brink. Jarrod Clune, 50, Maiwenna Goasdoue, 49, and their sons Leon, 16, and Otis, 14, were found at the Mott Close property on Friday morning. Both parents pages are littered with photos of their sons, Leon and Otis, going back years to when they were babies; smiling, enjoying the beach, cuddling their parents. It was a stark contrast to the scene first responders arrived to when they screamed down an otherwise quiet street early on Friday morning. Advertisement A carer had found a note on the door urging them to phone police, while another note inside the home is believed to have led police to determine the tragedy was likely a double murder-suicide. Related Article Crime Unspeakable tragedy: Disability minister faces questions over Mosman Park murder-suicide An investigation into the tragedy remains ongoing, and a report is being prepared for the coroner. According to their friends, the Clunes were a close and loving family. Mai was such a beautiful person, a friend of the family, who asked not to be named, told this masthead. Advertisement She loved those kids so much, her whole life revolved around them. The friend had connected with Goasdoue through Perths autism community. They shared stories about what they faced as full-time carers of children with extreme behaviours, and offered each other support. Like many, many families in their situation, you tend to run inwards after a while, the friend said. You reach out to other people who are in similar situations. We talked about our respective challenges. But the people who understand you the best are in the least position to give you support. Advertisement Were all in the trenches trying to survive. And that tends to lead to increasing isolation. Leon, 16, and Otis, 14, had severe autism. Otis was non-verbal. They were previously enrolled at the prestigious private Christ Church Grammar School, where fees per student are in the tens of thousands of dollars. It was the school their father also attended, graduating in 1992. Christ Church principal Alan Jones released a statement to parents saying the boys were both enrolled in the schools dedicated special needs department, the Peter Moyes Centre. Enrolment in the centre is highly sought-after and places are limited. But the boys left Christ Church in recent years, reportedly after one brother was asked to leave, although the school would not confirm that. Theres no doubt that their behaviour would have been extremely challenging, the family friend said. Advertisement Youre talking about violence, meltdowns, vicious behaviour that could leave you with injuries. Editor's pick Exclusive Mining Behind the scenes of how Alcoas $200k Kings Park sponsorship fell apart And these kids with these extreme behaviours are let down the most. There really isnt support for families like ours. There is nothing meaningful. Theres carers, but the hurdles you have to jump through to get it is impossible to navigate. What you need most is respite, but they wont take complex children. Advertisement Where does that leave you? The boys were understood to later be enrolled in a specialist special needs school, but the family friend said many people in their situation turned to homeschooling as a last resort, as even designated schools were unable to cope with extreme behaviour including violence and aggression. Goasdoue, who is originally from a small western French town called Morlaix, appeared to have no family in Australia. While it has been reported the familys NDIS funding had recently been cut, Goasdoues friend did not believe that was the case. However, she said, its not about the funding. Advertisement I need a break I cant get a break its not about the lack of funding, its the support that is not there, she said. Not just anyone can cope with a child with complex, extreme and serious behaviour problems. The carers out there that are good at what they do, they are in high demand, theyre not available. Getting the NDIS is just the start, and then managing it all is a part-time job, and you have to be accountable to them for everything you do. Im grateful for it, but its exhausting to navigate. The system is groaning and under a huge demand and lack of resources. Goasdoue was a stay-at-home mum to the boys, which her friend said was absolutely necessary for families like theirs, but would have taken a huge toll. Advertisement The friend believed trouble finding and trusting somewhere to take their children could have contributed Fridays tragedy. If your children have severe problems its terrifying to put them in with strangers, she said. And you know you can handle them better than anyone else, you have learnt to over time, so just keep them with you all of the time. Then it comes full circle back around to when you care about your children so much you work yourself into the ground doing everything for them yourself, and you just end up completely burnt out. Goasdoues friend said she had reached out with some suggestions for hiking adventures and support services, she knew their problems ran far deeper. Advertisement On Tuesday, federal Disability Minister Mark Butler described the suspected double murder-suicide as an unspeakable tragedy. However, legal restrictions prevented the minister from commenting on the NDIS packages the children were on. All I want to say is that this is just an awful tragedy, just an unspeakable tragedy for this family, but for the broader community, and I know the [National Disability Insurance Agency] will do everything it can to assist the police in its inquiries, Butler said. Lifeline 13 11 14 Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter. Do I buy my lover lingerie for Valentines Day? Model Bella Hadid (posing for Victorias Secret) wears it well but not everyone wants lingerie as a gift. Getty Images Im not here to shame lovers of lace G-strings or leopard-print briefs, but I find the thought of receiving underwear as a present for Valentines Day, birthdays or Christmas as sexy as Question Time in Canberra. The only person allowed to buy underwear for you is a parent, and that comes with a firm cut-off age. If your parents are still buying your underwear and you can drive a car, we need to talk. If theyre buying you underwear for Valentines Day, its time for an intervention. Jewellery and accessories that sit in plain sight are the best bet for a Valentines Day gift that doesnt involve chocolate or flowers. You dont have to go straight to the diamond section (although the object of your affection is unlikely to complain). A simple chain, thoughtful ring, bracelet or heart-shaped charm will make your feelings clear without committing to a crippling payment plan that might outlast your relationship. Remember that rings require the same attention to sizing as bras: no one wants a ring that makes their finger look like an uncooked Bratwurst. Silk scarves and ties are also options, but think carefully how any heart patterns will last the rest of the year. If you really want to send hearts a flutter, show that youve been paying attention. A bottle of their favourite fragrance, the good one they leave out on the bathroom cabinet for visitors to notice, will be appreciated more than anything gimmicky in a red bottle. If youre still not sure, throw in those chocolates just in case. Advertisement Exclusive PoliticsNSWCybersecurity Student test results and parent data caught in series of Sydney school cyberleaks Max Maddison February 4, 2026 5:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Students behavioural testing records and parents personal information were leaked in data breaches that have plagued NSW departments since 2023, documents provided to state parliament reveal. A parliamentary call for papers reveals eight cyberattacks across four state government departments, with one resulting in about 27,000 documents being downloaded from an external service provider to the Department of Communities and Justice. Several NSW departments suffered cyberattacks over the past two years. Marija Ercegovac The heads of public sector agencies are required to report the breaches to the privacy commissioner. The breaches highlight glaring weaknesses in the states digital defences, raising concerns about the safety of sensitive information held by the NSW government. Those concerns were particularly acute across three incidents at the Department of Education between late 2023 and 2025. Advertisement In June 2024, a teacher at Cranebrook High, near Penrith, inadvertently downloaded malicious software on a departmental computer. Related Article Media & marketing Make The Sydney Morning Herald your preferred source on Google The malware ran searches for specific information and copied the files to a remote IP address. The file contained the personally identifiable information of two individuals. The information relates to records of the students adaptive behavioural testing, according to a report compiled after the incident. Those tests are used to diagnose autism, intellectual disabilities and developmental delays. We will recommend that affected individuals receive mental health support services to manage any psychological or emotional harm arising from this breach, the report recommended. Advertisement In late 2023, a malicious insider working as an IT administrator at The Forest High School and Kensington Public School deployed malware via servers on 39 teacher devices and three student devices with the objective of stealing financial information which was then moved onto a private Telegram channel. Related Article Exclusive Cyber security Cyber threats, cost blowouts: $969 million health overhaul facing rocky start The personal information was exposed for four months before the incident was reported to NSW Police and Cyber Security NSW. The department recommended affected individuals change the passwords for every website and online application they logged into over the period. In August 2025, the personal mobile phone of an education department employee was compromised in a SIM-swap attack allowing the hacker to gain access to the bureaucrats workplace email, OneDrive and Share Point for 48 hours. The hacked drive account provided access to about 700 employees and parents/carers personal information. A NSW Education spokesperson said: All of the named incidents were detected by the Department of Educations cybersecurity team, which acted immediately to contain these threats. Advertisement The department worked with NSW Police and ID Support NSW to advise and support anyone affected. The department did not respond to questions about whether the three incidents were the extent of cyberattacks during that time period. The papers also reveal the full extent of a major breach at the Department of Communities and Justice. A report completed by the department stated about 27,000 files were exfiltrated from Riverina Medical and Dental Aboriginal Corporation, an Aboriginal medical service, between late October 2024 and early 2025, with a large portion containing DCJ clients personal information. DCJ is working with RivMeds team and our internal cyber unit to monitor the dark web for any publication, the report stated, noting authorities were alerted to the breach after an extract was published on the dark web. The department was hit by another major data breach soon after, which included the download of about 9000 sensitive court files such as domestic violence orders and affidavits. Advertisement Another cyberattack experienced by a service provider in Moruya, the states South Coast, cost $45,000 in insurance paid to iCare, the state insurer, according to the report. Related Article Cybersecurity Qantas among 40 companies caught up in major extortion attempt by hackers The department said: If such access occurs, DCJ takes all necessary action under the law and works closely with Cyber Security NSW and other authorities including police. Opposition digital spokesman James Griffin noted a report released by Audit Office of NSW last June warned cybersecurity across the NSW government required strengthening. People need to have trust that the government they need to deal with can keep their information safe. The government are clearly not focusing on this issue, and the data proves it, he said. Advertisement The Audit Office found there had been 152 significant, high and extreme residual cybersecurity risks reported by 27 agencies in the 2024 financial year. The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development has also been affected. The website of Tocal College, an agricultural educator, was placed offline in late 2024 after a ransomware attack on a third-party supplier, Winger Software. The cyberattack which included personal information relating to 20,000 individuals was revealed only after someone discovered a ransom note three days after the breach. The ransom note requested the system owner to contact an email address for further decryption, the report said, noting 1GB of data was transferred out of the colleges network. A DPIRD spokesperson said in relation to the incident: The NSW Police, NSW privacy commissioner, Cyber Security NSW and the Australian Cyber Security Centre were notified. Advertisement DPIRD engaged the services of a cybersecurity forensics firm to conduct a forensic investigation to identify the root cause and to prevent recurrence. Nearly 40 customers were affected during a high risk breach at Valuation NSW in the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure in early 2024. The unauthorised access to external firm Herron Todd White enabled the hacker to obtain the name of landholders, the lot number and spatial photos. The unauthorised access to the firms system was discovered after irregular online activity was detected. The department estimated the data breach cost $8585. A department spokesman said: Value NSW took immediate action by suspending the firms services until the breach was rectified and wrote to affected customers to advise them of the incident, he said. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter. Advertisement PoliticsWACrime Unspeakable tragedy: Disability minister faces questions over Mosman Park murder-suicide Hamish Hastie February 3, 2026 1:31pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Federal Disability Minister Mark Butler has described the suspected double murder-suicide that rocked the western Perth suburb of Mosman Park on Friday as an unspeakable tragedy, but declined to comment on the level of National Disability Insurance Scheme support the family was receiving. The bodies of Jarrod Clune, 50, Maiwenna Goasdoue, 49, and their sons Leon, 16, and Otis, 14, were found at the Mott Close property on Friday morning. Disability Minister Mark Butler during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra on Tuesday. Alex Ellinghausen This is just an awful tragedy, I think everyone across Australia is deeply shocked by what has happened, Butler told a press conference in Canberra on Tuesday. It is understood Clune and Goasdoue were the boys primary carers, and were under significant pressure and suffering from exhaustion at the time of their deaths. Advertisement Advertisement All I want to say is that this is just an awful tragedy, just an unspeakable tragedy for this family, but for the broader community, and I know the NDIA will do everything it can to assist the police in its inquiries. Police said the alarm was first raised by a carer who went to the house just after 8am for a scheduled appointment, allegedly finding a note on the front door warning them not to enter and to phone police. Officers found the bodies of the parents at the rear of the property and the two teenage boys in another part of the house. Two dogs and a cat were also found dead. This masthead understands a second note inside the property was structured as a letter that allowed police to make the determination the case was likely a double murder-suicide. Advertisement The boys had previously attended the prestigious Christ Church Grammar School, but were not enrolled at the time of their deaths. Detective Sergeant Jessica Securo told media on Friday the family had accessed care providers in the past. Teenagers Leon and Otis were killed by their parents in a suspected murder-suicide in Mosman Park on Friday. An investigation into the tragedy remains ongoing, and a report is being prepared for the coroner. Youth Disability Advocacy Network chief executive Isabella Choate said disabled people were not burdens, and these deaths were absolutely preventable. Advertisement Choate claimed NDIS reforms embarked on by the Albanese government were relentless and rushed, and took particular aim at the waves of reassessments of NDIS participants taking place. Related Article Exclusive Tragedy Second note found at Mosman Park property alleged to detail why parents carried out murder-suicide We have said that these would cause harm; theyve been cutting essential supports abruptly, without safeguards, she said. We said this would put disabled people at risk, and now the reality is undeniable. Choate wanted the government to pause reassessments and halt the fast-track reforms of the NDIS. Advertisement On Tuesday, Butler announced a new tranche of care for families of children with mild autism or developmental disorders called Thriving Kids, aimed at taking those children out of the NDIS system. Butler said there had been an alarming number of young children including one in six boys aged five to seven and one in four junior primary-aged boys with minor developmental issues enrolled in the NDIS, which was a scheme that was obviously designed for significant and permanent, usually lifelong disability. All states and territories have agreed to support the Thriving Kids program at a cost of $4 billion, of which $2 billion will be provided by the Commonwealth. It will see a range of services available to families of children younger than eight with low or moderate needs. Lifeline 13 11 14 Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter. Food retailer Ahold Delhaize has confirmed that Delhaize Belgium has finalised its purchase of Delfood, extending its reach in Belgiums convenience retail segment. Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed. The acquisition includes 303 Belgian outlets, covering all louis delhaize stores and locations supplied through Delfood, along with associated logistics operations and Delfoods headquarters in Belgium. Following completion, Delhaizes combined estate across Belgium and Luxembourg now totals 1,109 stores. The group added that the closing followed regulatory authorisation and the execution of the agreed divestments. Approval was granted by the Belgian Competition Authority, subject to commitments that required the sale of six Delfood neighbourhood outlets and one Delhaize Shop & Go store. Ahold Delhaize Europe and Indonesia CEO Claude Sarrailh said: This acquisition represents an important step in deepening our presence in the Belgian convenience market. By bringing Delfood and the louis delhaize stores into the Ahold Delhaize family, we are expanding a network that is deeply rooted in local communities and backed by 150 years of heritage. I am excited about the opportunity to offer customers even more accessible, fresh and reliable shopping experiences. Ahold Delhaize said the transaction strengthens Delhaizes position in the Belgian retail market, particularly in the convenience segment. In the third quarter of 2025, Ahold Delhaize reported net sales of 22.5bn ($25.89bn), an increase of 6.1% at constant exchange rates. The growth was mainly driven by its acquisition of Profi and higher online sales. The retailer posted an underlying operating margin of 4.1%, up 0.3 percentage points at constant rates. "Delhaize Belgium completes Delfood acquisition" was originally created and published by Retail Insight Network, a GlobalData owned brand. Advertisement Updated WorldNorth AmericaMissing person Evidence of nighttime kidnapping of US TV hosts mother Jonathan Allen and Jacques Billeaud Updated February 4, 2026 10:37am ,first published 7:00pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Arizona/New York: Investigators have found signs of forced entry at the Arizona home of US Today show host Savannah Guthries mother, a person familiar with the investigation has said, as Guthrie asked for prayers to help bring back the 84-year-old, who is believed to have been taken against her will. Savannah Guthrie described her mother, Nancy, in a social media post as a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant. She asked supporters to raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment. Bring her home. Loading Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos and the Tucson FBI chief held a news conference on Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT) and urged the public to offer tips but revealed few new details about the investigation. The person who spoke to the Associated Press said investigators found specific evidence in the home showing there was a nighttime kidnapping. Several of Guthries personal items, including her mobile phone, wallet and her car, were still there after she disappeared. Advertisement According to the LA Times, authorities also found blood inside the house. The sheriff declined to say whether the disappearance was thought to be random or targeted or to describe the evidence found at the property. We believe 100 per cent right now she could not have walked away from that home, Nanos told CBS News. I believe she was abducted, yes. She didnt walk from there. She didnt go willingly. We dont believe that. Savannah Guthrie with her mother, Nancy, in 2019. NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images Nancy Guthrie was last seen at her home on Saturday night, when her children visited, and was reported missing on Sunday afternoon, Arizona time. Nanos said a family member had received a call from someone at church saying Guthrie wasnt there, leading the family to search for her at her home and then calling 911. Advertisement She has limited mobility and needs daily medication that she could die without, the sheriff said. Asked whether officials were looking for her alive, he said, We hope we are. This is not dementia-related; she is as sharp as a tack. The family wants everybody to know this isnt somebody who just wandered off, Nanos told reporters. A missing person alert for Nancy Guthrie. AP DNA samples have been gathered and submitted for analysis as part of the investigation. Weve gotten some back, but nothing to indicate any suspects, Nanos said. Investigators are reviewing surveillance video from nearby homes and analysing data from mobile phone towers. Police are also reviewing information from licence plate cameras in the area, according to the AP source, who was not authorised to publicly discuss details of the case and spoke on condition of anonymity. Advertisement The motive remains a mystery. Investigators do not believe at this point that the abduction was part of a robbery, home invasion or kidnapping-for-ransom plot, the person said. TMZ reported that it received a purported ransom note demanding payment in cryptocurrency for Guthries release. Separately, a journalist with Tucson television station KOLD said in an X post that the station had received what appeared to be a ransom note. Searchers were using drones and search dogs to look for Guthrie. AP Both outlets said they turned over the notes to investigators. The sheriffs department said it was taking the possible ransom notes and other tips seriously but declined to comment further. US President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday afternoon (Washington time), said he planned to call Savannah Guthrie later on and described the situation terrible. Advertisement I always got along very good with Savannah, Trump said. For a second day, Today began with Nancy Guthries disappearance, but Savannah Guthrie was not at the anchors desk. Savannah Guthrie was born in Melbourne, where her father worked at the time, and grew up in Tucson, Arizona. The youngest of three siblings, Guthrie credits her mother with holding their family together after her father died of a heart attack at age 49 when she was just 16. Nancy Guthrie raised the family alone, and her daughter often brought her on Today as a guest. When my dad died, our family just hung onto each other for dear life because it was such a shock. We were just trying to figure out how to become a family of four when wed always been a family of five, she said on Today in 2017. Advertisement She has met unthinkable challenges in her life with grit, without self-pity, with determination and always, always with unshakeable faith, Savannah said on the show in 2022 on Nancy Guthries 80th birthday. She loves us, her family, fiercely, and her selflessness and sacrifice for us, her steadfastness and her unmovable confidence, is the reason any of us grew up to do anything. Reuters, AP Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on whats making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter. Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share More: Missing person USA Celebrity life Advertisement WorldNorth AmericaEpstein fallout Clintons raise white flag after months-long battle to avoid testifying on Epstein Annie Karni February 3, 2026 1:48pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Washington: Bill and Hillary Clinton have agreed to testify in the House oversight committees investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, capitulating to the demands of the panels Republican chair days before the House was set to vote to hold the couple in criminal contempt of Congress. For months, the Clintons were adamant that they would not comply with subpoenas from congressman James Comer, the panels Republican chair, that they described as invalid and legally unenforceable. They accused Comer of being part of a plot to target them as US President Donald Trumps political adversaries and promised to fight him on the issue for as long as it took. Bill and Hillary Clinton (left) have agreed to be interviewed for the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. Marija Ercegovac But after some Democrats on the panel joined Republicans in a vote to recommend charging them with criminal contempt, an extraordinary first step in referring them to the Department of Justice for prosecution, the Clintons ultimately waved the white flag and agreed to fully comply with Comers demands. In an email sent to Comer on Monday evening (Tuesday AEDT), attorneys for the Clintons said their clients would appear for depositions on mutually agreeable dates and asked that the House not move forward with a contempt vote, which had been slated for Wednesday. Advertisement They negotiated in good faith. You did not, spokespeople for the Clintons said in a statement. They told under oath what they know, but you did not care. But the former president and former secretary of state will be there. Related Article Epstein fallout Clintons refuse to testify in Epstein probe designed to result in our imprisonment For Bill Clinton to testify in the Epstein investigation would be nearly unprecedented. No former president has appeared before Congress since 1983, when Gerald Ford did so to discuss the celebration of the 1987 bicentennial of the enactment of the Constitution. When Trump was subpoenaed in 2022 by the select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol after he had left office he sued the panel to try to block it. The panel ultimately withdrew the subpoena. The Clintons move capped a months-long battle between them and Comer. It was a victory for the Republican chairs efforts to shift the focus of his panels Epstein investigation away from Trumps ties to Epstein and the presidents administrations handling of the matter, and onto prominent Democrats who once associated with the disgraced financier and his long-time companion, Ghislaine Maxwell. In a letter on Saturday to Comer, obtained by The New York Times, Bill Clintons lawyers tried one more time to put some guardrails on potential interviews with the Clintons. They said Bill Clinton would agree to sit for a four-hour transcribed interview with the entire committee something he had previously described as an inappropriate and unprecedented request to make of a former president. Advertisement The lawyers asked that Hillary Clinton, who has said she never met or spoke to Epstein, be allowed to make a sworn declaration instead of testifying. But they said that she, too, would submit to an in-person interview if the committee insisted on it, with appropriate adjustments for the paucity of information she has to offer in this matter, according to the letter. But Comer flatly rejected the offer, calling it unreasonable and arguing that four hours of testimony from Bill Clinton was inadequate given that he was a loquacious individual who might seek to run out the clock. The Clintons have accused House oversight committee chair James Comer (centre) of being part of a plot to target them as US President Donald Trumps political enemies. Bloomberg Your clients desire for special treatment is both frustrating and an affront to the American peoples desire for transparency, Comer wrote in a letter sent to the Clintons lawyers on Monday that was also obtained by the Times. In that letter, Comer also rejected the demand from Bill Clinton that the scope of the interview be limited to matters related to Epstein. Comer said the former president likely has an artificially narrow definition in mind of what matters would be related to the Epstein investigation. Advertisement Comer said he had concerns that Clinton would refuse to answer questions about his personal relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, ways in which they sought to curry favour with powerful individuals and alleged efforts to utilise his power and influence after his presidency to kill negative news stories about Jeffrey Epstein. Related Article Updated Epstein fallout Under pressure: UK politician sent Epstein details of Australian mining tax In response to Comers letter, the Clintons on Monday evening agreed to all of Comers demands, removing any time limit on the deposition of Bill Clinton or on the range of topics that Republicans could ask him about. The only point of negotiation that Comer had previously been amenable to was conducting the interviews in New York, where the Clintons live and work. Bill Clinton was acquainted with Epstein, who died in prison in 2019, but has said he never visited Epsteins private island and cut off contact with him two decades ago. Clinton took four international trips on Epsteins private jet in 2002 and 2003, according to flight logs. Advertisement While some House Democrats last month voted with Republicans to hold the Clintons in contempt of Congress, others expressed disgust at the entire situation, and in particular about the inclusion of Hillary Clinton. Im not seeing anything to suggest she ought to be a part of this in any way, congressman Kweisi Mfume said at a hearing last month. He noted that it looked like the former secretary of state had been included because we want to dust her up a bit if we get her before this committee. Loading The offer from the Clintons represented a total surrender after they made a defiant stand just weeks ago, vowing to fight back against an investigation they said was unfairly targeting them and holding them to a different standard from others. Every person has to decide when they have seen or had enough and are ready to fight for this country, its principles and its people, no matter the consequences, the Clintons wrote in a lengthy letter to Comer on January 13. For us, now is that time. Advertisement Up to the final moment, the Clintons had tried to negotiate with the House oversight committee behind the scenes to find a way for Comer to spare them the contempt vote and lift the subpoenas. They said Comer and the top Democrat on the panel could interview Bill Clinton under oath, an offer that the chair also rejected, because he insisted the former president appear before the entire committee for an open-ended, transcribed interview. For the Clintons, the entire saga was a continuation of the Republican assault on them that has been the background noise of their entire life on the national political stage. In the January letter, the Clintons accused Comer of potentially bringing Congress to a halt to pursue a politically driven process literally designed to result in our imprisonment. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on whats making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter. Advertisement WorldNorth AmericaMiddle East tensions Fighter jet shoots down Iranian drone approaching aircraft carrier, US military says Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart Updated February 4, 2026 10:04am ,first published 5:56am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A The US military said it shot down an Iranian drone that aggressively approached the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea. The incident came as diplomats sought to arrange nuclear talks between Iran and the US, and President Donald Trump warned that as American warships head toward Iran, bad things would probably happen if a deal could not be reached. The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in 2019. AP The Shahed-139 drone aggressively approached the Abraham Lincoln with unclear intent and kept flying toward it despite de-escalatory measures taken by US forces operating in international waters, Navy Captain Tim Hawkins said in a statement. The drone was destroyed by one of the carriers F-35 fighter jets, Hawkins said. No American service members were harmed, and no equipment was damaged. Advertisement The incident occurred within hours of Iranian forces harassing a US-flagged and US-crewed merchant vessel sailing in the Strait of Hormuz near Iran, the American military said. Related Article Middle East tensions Trump weighs new military options against Iran Iranian state media reported that Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard was investigating the interruption of the drone. The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Telegram that, before the footage cut out, the drone successfully transmitted the images it had taken back to Iran. Irans UN mission declined to comment. The developments could escalate the heightened tensions between the longtime adversaries as Trump has threatened to use military action first over Irans bloody crackdown on nationwide protests and then to try to get the country to make a deal over its nuclear program. Advertisement Iran has demanded that talks with the US scheduled this week be held in Oman, not Turkey, and that the scope be narrowed to two-way negotiations on nuclear issues only, a regional source said on Tuesday, adding new complications to an already delicate diplomatic effort. A diplomat with knowledge of Irans demands said Tehran sought to change the format, they want to change the scope. They only want to discuss the nuclear file with the Americans, while the US wants to include other topics such as the (ballistic) missiles and the activities of Irans proxies in the region. The Lincoln carrier strike group is the most visible part of a US military build-up in the Middle East following a violent crackdown against anti-government demonstrations last month, the deadliest domestic unrest in Iran since its 1979 revolution. Advertisement In a separate incident in the Strait of Hormuz, just hours after the drone was shot down, Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces harassed a US-flagged, US-crewed merchant vessel, according to the US military. Two IRGC boats and an Iranian Mohajer drone approached M/V Stena Imperative at high speeds and threatened to board and seize the tanker, Hawkins said. Related Article Iran She fled Iran after being arrested at 17. Now her single act of defiance has gone around the world Maritime risk management group Vanguard said the Iranian boats ordered the tanker to stop its engine and prepare to be boarded. Instead, the tanker sped up and continued its voyage. Hawkins said a US Navy warship, the McFaul, was operating in the area and escorted the Stena Imperative. Advertisement The situation de-escalated as a result, and the US-flagged tanker is proceeding safely, Hawkins added. Fair negotiations Related Article Middle East tensions Whats in the massive armada Trump has heading towards Iran? Irans president said on Tuesday that he instructed the countrys foreign minister to pursue fair and equitable negotiations with the US, marking one of the first clear signs from Tehran that it wants to try to negotiate with Washington despite a breakdown of talks last summer. Turkey had been working behind the scenes to make the talks happen there later this week, as Trumps Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is travelling in the region. A Turkish official later said the location of talks was uncertain but that Turkey was ready to support the process. Advertisement Trump has said he would like to see a deal negotiated. Right now, were talking to them, were talking to Iran, and if we could work something out, thatd be great. And if we cant, probably bad things would happen. The US military has been moving assets into the region over the past several weeks, including the Lincoln and several destroyers, which arrived last week. The carrier strike group, which brought about 5700 additional service members, joined three destroyers and three littoral combat ships that were already in the region. Analysts of flight-tracking data have also noticed dozens of US military cargo planes heading to the Middle East. Advertisement The activity is similar to last year when the US moved in air defence hardware, such as a Patriot missile system, in anticipation of an Iranian counterattack following the American bombing of three key nuclear sites. Iran launched more than a dozen missiles at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar days after the strikes. The US has several bases in the Middle East, including Al Udeid, which hosts thousands of American troops and is the forward headquarters for US Central Command. Reuters, AP Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on whats making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter. Advertisement WorldNorth AmericaDonald Trump Opinion Trump renamed my beloved Kennedy Centre. Now, shamefully, hes shuttering it Bill Wyman Contributor February 3, 2026 5:00am February 3, 2026 5:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A The news that Donald Trump is shutting down the John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, this July for some as yet unspecified renovations is raising a new chorus of alarm bells over the crude and lawless imposition of his vision on the nations capital. Its somewhat befitting this presidents self-serving second term that one of the final events there was the premiere of a documentary about his wife, Melania. (I havent seen it, but Maureen Dowd of The New York Times describes it as a gilded informercial.) Donald and Melania Trump at the premiere of her documentary at what was once known as the Kennedy Centre in Washington. AP Out of some similar narcissistic impulse, Trump slapped his own name, unasked, on the structure recently. To many in the arts community, it was like a mangy lapdog peeing on a fence post. In response, prestige performers have been exiting the centres schedule in droves. The latest: composer Phillip Glass and soprano Renee Fleming. Audiences have fled, too. That is what apparently has provoked the face-saving announcement of the renovation. The idea that Trump couldnt do that much damage to the physical setting of Washington was put to rest when he bulldozed the East Wing of the White House. Not since the Taliban surveyed the Giant Buddhas of Bamiyan for dynamiting have we seen such irrational anti-cultural zeal. Those who love the Kennedy Centre might genuinely need to worry that we could find that it, too, has been razed. Advertisement The building was designed and constructed under the Lyndon Johnson administration in honour of JFK after his assassination and has stood since as a fitting testament to that young presidents embrace of both national and world culture. The new signage is unveiled on the Kennedy Centre in December. AP It sits on the far western end of downtown Washington not the most picturesque of locations. There are no train stations nearby, and you have to traverse an elaborate motorway interchange to get to it. To the north is the looming Watergate complex, to the south the Lincoln Memorial. The Kennedy Centre cant be compared to the beauty of the Sydney Opera House, inside or out, but it has a definite austere modernist presence. The halls of the building are grand, and at the front is a marvellous giant bust of the fallen president, supposedly weighing some 1500 kilograms. In the same hall is the Millennium Stage, on which free performances often of notable figures playing one of the major venues that night are staged almost daily. People walk to The John F. Kennedy Memorial Centre For The Performing Arts for the premiere of Melania. AP Advertisement When I lived in DC, I oversaw among other things the arts coverage of National Public Radio. Being the arts editor of a major news organisation is one of the best jobs in the world, and I spent a lot of time at the Kennedy Centre. I saw the National Orchestra regularly, once or twice with a president on hand. I saw the Royal Shakespeare Company presenting As You Like It, and innumerable rock and jazz acts, including Sufjan Stevens on the Millennium Stage. I saw Jerry Seinfeld and The Producers, and a workshop version of a new Sondheim musical. I once saw director Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney there, embedded in the crowd filming cinema verite scenes for their HBO series K Street. Many presidents have made hay out of playing the part of an unsophisticate; Trump has gone the distance to make himself the embodiment of naked anti-intellectualism and cultural warfare. Shortly after taking office for his second term, he replaced the centres culturally diverse and non-partisan board with a band of his cronies. The centre was named in honour of assassinated president John F. Kennedy, who initiated funding for the project. AP The New York Times reported how one of Trumps programming execs is said to have remarked, after seeing a Cuban dance company, Wow, theyre so talented they could be on a cruise ship. Advertisement Theres also the usual right-wing invented mania about supposed wokeness. Trump and the centres new chief executive, Richard Grenell, have disparaged Hamilton, saying they preferred Les Miz. (You probably wont be surprised to learn that Les Miserables first played the Kennedy Centre back in the 1980s before it went to Broadway.) Related Article Melania Trump Melania, panned by some film critics, opens with strongest documentary debut in a decade As has become usual with Team Trump, the latest sudden announcement is ridiculous and unnecessary, and done with malevolent intent. Disorganised and senseless all at once. Renovation of a major institution is of course something that is planned years in advance, not announced abruptly amid a rant on social media. Trump hasnt explained why a building that underwent a $US250 million upgrade within the last decade suddenly needed another. If in the end he doesnt end up physically destroying it, it seems he will achieve a lesser but still ignominious goal, just silencing another voice in a vibrant and diverse world. Bill Wyman is a former assistant managing editor of National Public Radio in Washington. He teaches at the University of Sydney. Get a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform your own. Sign up for our Opinion newsletter. As the only advanced digital retailing solution offering full online checkout for vehicle purchases, Accelerate My Deal Elite transforms the car-buying experience with integrated compliance and seamlessly fits into existing dealer workflows. With secure ID verification, e-signatures and document processing, Accelerate My Deal Elite closes the gap between shopper intent and action, turning the 28%* of consumers who want to buy all online into real digital sales. ATLANTA, Feb. 2, 2026 -- Cox Automotive Inc., today announced Accelerate My Deal Elite, an advanced digital retailing solution designed to support a more streamlined online car buying experience for dealers, automakers and consumers. 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"Accelerate My Deal Elite fills the compliance and workflow gap that other digital retail tools haven't been able to offer. Now dealers can deliver the kind of seamless, trusted online experience consumers expect from every other part of their digital lives, all while maintaining compliance, efficiency, and the personal touch that makes automotive retail so unique." Accelerate My Deal Elite expands on the proven success of Cox Automotive's existing Accelerate My Deal platform by adding powerful new capabilities for both dealers and consumers: Complete online checkout with secure ID verification and e-signatures. with secure ID verification and e-signatures. Flexible options tailored for different dealer needs and are available across Autotrader and Dealer.com websites and seamlessly fit into existing dealer workflows. tailored for different dealer needs and are available across Autotrader and Dealer.com websites and seamlessly fit into existing dealer workflows. Integrated compliance and workflow support, including Dealertrack F&I, and agnostic compatibilities with CRM and DMS platforms. Accelerate My Deal Elite will launch at NADA 2026 for Dealer.com and Autotrader. Dealers interested in speaking with Cox Automotive about Accelerate My Deal Elite at NADA, happening Feb. 3-6 in Las Vegas, can visit the Cox Automotive Village at the show or request a meeting through the Cox Automotive Hub. * 2025 Cox Automotive Car Buyer Journey Study Devon Energy and Coterra Energy announced on Monday a definitive agreement to merge and create a premier shale operator in an all-stock transaction, implying a combined enterprise value of about $58 billion. The deal, announced today after weeks of speculation, would create a company with a significantly increased position in the premier part of the Permian Basin and operations in the Marcellus Shale and Anadarko Basin. The deal will create one of the top shale producers with pro-forma third quarter 2025 production exceeding 1.6 million barrels of oil equivalent (Boe) per day, including over 550,000 barrels of oil per day and 4.3 billion cubic feet of gas per day, the companies said. The combined company will be named Devon Energy and will be headquartered in Houston while maintaining a significant presence in Oklahoma City. Devon and Coterra expect to realize $1 billion in annual pre-tax synergies with the deal. Lower oil prices have shale producers considering how they can boost investor returns when expanding drilling at $60 a barrel oil or lower is eating the margins. In terms of drilling opportunities, the combined company will have the largest inventory in the Delaware basin with a breakeven of below $40 per barrel, according to Devons presentation of the merger deal. The combined company will also have top-tier capital efficiency in each basin, with operations in the Permian, Anadarko, Eagle Ford, Marcellus, and the Rockies regions. Under the terms of the agreement, Coterra shareholders will receive a fixed exchange ratio of 0.70 share of Devon common stock for each share of Coterra common stock. Upon completion of the deal, Devon shareholders will own about 54% of the go-forward company and Coterra shareholders will own approximately 46%. The transaction, which was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies, is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions, including approvals by Devon and Coterra shareholders. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Oilprice Intelligence brings you the signals before they become front-page news. This is the same expert analysis read by veteran traders and political advisors. Get it free, twice a week, and you'll always know why the market is moving before everyone else. You get the geopolitical intelligence, the hidden inventory data, and the market whispers that move billions - and we'll send you $389 in premium energy intelligence, on us, just for subscribing. Join 400,000+ readers today. Get access immediately by clicking here. Devon Energy and Coterra Energy have agreed to merge through an all-stock transaction, creating a major entity in the US shale industry with an estimated combined enterprise value of $58bn. The new entity, which will operate under the name Devon Energy, will be headquartered in Houston, Texas, while maintaining a substantial presence in Oklahoma City. With a strong operational base in the Delaware Basin, the enlarged Devon Energy aims to leverage core strengths and attain $1bn in annual pre-tax synergies. The Boards of Directors of the two companies unanimously approved the merger, which is expected to be finalised in the second quarter of 2026, pending regulatory and shareholder approvals. Under the agreement terms, Coterra Energy shareholders will receive 0.7 shares of Devon Energy common stock for each of their shares. This will result in Devon Energy shareholders owning around 54% and Coterra Energy shareholders approximately 46% of the new company on a fully diluted basis. Efforts to achieve synergies will focus on enhanced capital efficiency, optimised capital allocation and technology integration, driving per-share growth in free cash flow and net asset value. Devon Energy president and CEO Clay Gaspar said: This transformative merger combines two companies with proud histories and cultures of operational excellence, creating a premier shale operator. We have now built a diverse asset base of high-quality, long-duration inventory to drive resilient value creation and returns for shareholders through cycles. Underpinned by our leading position in the best part of the Delaware Basin, and a deep set of complementary assets, we expect to capture annual pre-tax synergies of $1bn. This will drive higher free cash flow and greater shareholder returns beyond what either company could achieve alone. The combined production portfolio will feature more than 1.6 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, anchored by high-quality acreage in the Delaware Basin. The merger is set to enhance Devon Energy's position as one of the largest producers in this region, with substantial operations across nearly 750,000 net acres. Financially, the merger is structured to strengthen investment-grade status and reduce future capital costs. Post-merger governance will see Gaspar continue as president and CEO, with Coterra Energys president and CEO, Tom Jorden, stepping into the role of non-executive chairman. The board will comprise 11 members, split between six directors from Devon Energy and five from Coterra Energy. Financial advisory support for Devon Energy is being provided by Evercore, with legal counsel from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. BJPs Thakre files papers for Mayors post, Hatibed for Dy Mayor Neeta Thakre (in pink saree) and Leela Hatibed (head covered with saree) submitting their nomination papers for the post of Mayor and Deputy Mayor respectively, on Monday. The duo was flanked by Dayashankar Tiwari, Anil Sole, Narendra Borkar, Shivani Dani-Wakhare, and other party leaders. Staff Reporter : Congress throws hat in ring, choses Snehal Thakre and Vivek Nikose to put up the fight The stage is set for a one-sided contest for the post of Mayor and Deputy Mayor, as Congress Party threw its hat in the ring, hoping to put up a fight. The BJP has chosen to go with Neeta Thakre, a four time corporator from Prabhag 28 (C), for the post of Mayor. For the post of Deputy Mayor, the dominant BJP zeroed in on Leela Hatibed who has won from the Prabhag 29 (A). Two sets of nomination papers were submitted for Hatibed on the part of BJP. As to Congress Party, they have nominated Snehal Thakre from Prabhag 11, a first-timer to contest the post of Mayor. As to Deputy Mayor, the party has chosen Vivek Nikose, a corporator from Prabhag 9. The BJP has fielded both women and that too, from adjoining Prabhags from South Nagpur Assembly segment alone for the post of Mayor and Deputy Mayor. BJP contingent along with senior leaders reached the NMC Headquarters and submitted nomination papers of its candidates for the Mayoral poll. From the Congress, the Group Leader Sanjay Mahakalkar shouldered the responsibility of escorting the party nominees for submitting the papers. Elections on February 6 The elections to the post of Mayor and Deputy Mayor are scheduled on February 6 in the maiden meeting of NMCs new House at Suresh Bhat Hall, Reshimbag. The BJP has 102 members in the House of 151, plus it had pre-poll alliance with Shiv Sena (Shinde), who has one member elected. But, since the Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit) has one member, she too is likely to go with ruling BJP as they share power in the State. AIMIM may abstain AIMIM, which has 6 corporators and IUML, with 4 members, may abstain from the voting during the election to post of Mayor and Deputy Mayor, as they would like to keep equi-distance from both the major parties. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has lone representative in the House. Shiv Sena (UBT) has two members in the House and it remains to be seen whether they sail along with Congress or maintain a neutral stance. Earlier, the BJP group completed the formalities as to registration with the Divisional Commissioner. On Monday morning, the BJP corporators assembled in Civil Lines and submitted their common signed letter as to choosing Narendra alias Balya Borkar as their Group Leader. Borkar, who has been elected from East Nagpur Assembly segment, has been nominated by the BJP as Ruling Party Leader. Dalai Lama wins Grammy for Best Audio Book DHARAMSALA : GLOBALLY acclaimed spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, 90, has won his first Grammy Award for Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling Recording. The Nobel Peace Laureate competed against Milli Vanillis Fab Morvan, US Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, show host Trevor Noah, and actress Kathy Garver. Rufus Wainwright accepted the award on the Dalai Lamas behalf during the ceremony streamed on YouTube. Meditations: The Reflections Of His Holiness The Dalai Lama is the entry from the worlds foremost Tibetan Buddhist, an album of innovative collaborations with Hindustani classical influences. Atop the music are collages of his remarks on themes like mindfulness, harmony, and health, captured over the last few years. Responding to the award, His Holiness said, I receive this recognition with gratitude and humility. I dont see it as something personal, but as a recognition of our shared universal responsibility. I truly believe that peace, compassion, care for our environment, and an understanding of the oneness of humanity are essential for the collective well-being of all eight billion human beings. Im grateful that this Grammy recognition can help spread these messages more widely, he said. Sixty-six years ago, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, disguised as a soldier, left Norbulingka Palace in Tibet, a Third Pole, and escaped into exile in India after his challenging 14-day journey. Since then, the longest, most respectable staying guest of the Indian Government, who often says hes enjoying every possible liberty, has been toeing a path of promoting human values, religious harmony, besides preserving Tibetan language and culture, the heritage received from the masters of Indias Nalanda University. Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama, with a retinue of soldiers and Cabinet Ministers, escaped into exile on March 17, 1959, after China crushed an uprising in Tibet. Globetrotting the Dalai Lama, whos considered a living Buddha of compassion, in his latest book, In Voice for the Voiceless, offers insights into his decades-long dealings with China. In the book, the Dalai Lama, a reincarnation of past Dalai Lamas, reminds the world of Tibets unresolved struggle for freedom and the hardship his people continue to face in their homeland. The book captures his extraordinary life, uncovering what it means to lose your home to a repressive invader and build a life in exile; dealing with the existential crisis of a nation, its people, and its culture and religion; and envisioning the path forward. He was 16 years old when Communist China invaded Tibet in 1950, only 19 when he had his first meeting with Chairman Mao in Beijing, and 25 when he was forced to escape to India and became a leader in exile. On reaching India after a treacherous journey, the Dalai Lama first took up residence for about a year in Mussoorie in Uttarakhand. On March 10, 1960, just before moving to Dharamsala, a town perched on the upper reaches of north Indias Kangra Valley, the Dalai Lama had said: For those of us in exile, I said that our priority must be resettlement and the continuity of our cultural traditions. We, Tibetans, would eventually prevail in regaining freedom for Tibet. Currently, India is home to around 1,00,000 Tibetans and the Government-in-exile. Delegates from 23 countries to converge at Advantage Vidarbha Business Reporter : FOR the first time in Nagpur, ambassadors and trade representatives from more than 23 countries will participate in the third edition of Advantage Vidarbha 2026 Khasdar Audyogik Mahotsav, an initiative envisioned by Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari aimed at providing an international platform for Vidarbhas industrial development. The three-day mega industrial expo will be held on February 6 to 8, 2026 at the Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University campus, AmbazariAmravati Road. This was disclosed by Ashish Kale, President of AID, while talking at a press conference on Monday. AID Secretary Dr Vijaykumar Sharma, Sanjay Gupta, Prof. Rajesh Bagdi, Rajesh Rokde, Shivkumar Rao, Ashok Goyal, Mahesh Sadhwani, Anup Khandewar, Rina Sinha and executive members were also present in the meeting. The International Business Conclave will be inaugurated on February 7 at 11 am at the main auditorium. This will be followed by country-focused sessions at 5 pm with representatives from South Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Russia, China and Africa, focusing on trade expansion and investment opportunities. Kale further said that the International Business Conclave is being organised by the Association for Industrial Development (AID) and Global Indian Business Forum (GIBF), Delhi. The conclave is expected to host ambassadors and trade representatives from over 23 countries including Russia, China, Brazil, Egypt, Togo, Guyana, Benin, Uruguay, Nigeria, Zambia and Venezuela. This strong international presence will create direct access to global markets for local entrepreneurs. Based on the theme Empowering Growth, the expo will highlight Vidarbha as a strong and emerging industrial growth hub on Indias industrial map. Local and Vidarbha-based entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to engage directly with international delegates and explore avenues to introduce their products to global markets. AID President Kale also appealed to entrepreneurs to make the most of this unique opportunity. For further details, interested may contact AID office located at Shop No. 82, World Trade Centre, Lower Ground Floor, Glocal Square Mall, Sitabuldi, Nagpur (M: 9998559288, 9326546448, 9823230409, 8888135188). India, US agree to trade deal: Trump NEW DELHI : INDIA and the US agreed on a trade deal under which Washington will bring down reciprocal tariff on Indian goods to 18 per cent from current 25 per cent, US President Donald Trump said on Monday after a phone conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Prime Minister said he was delighted that made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 per cent. Trump claimed India will move forward to reduce its tariffs and non tariff barriers against the US to zero. Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a trade deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced reciprocal tariff, lowering it from 25 per cent to 18 per cent, the US President said on social media. India will likewise move forward to reduce their tariffs and non tariff barriers against the United States, to zero. Trump said Modi also committed to buy American at a much higher level, in addition to over USD 500 billion dollars of US energy, technology, agricultural, coal, and many other products. Our amazing relationship with India will be even stronger going forward. Prime Minister Modi and I are two people that get things done something that cannot be said for most, he said. Trump said Modi and he also discussed ending the war between Russia and Ukraine. He agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela, the US President said. This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week, Trump said. India-US relationship has limitless potential: US Ambassador Gor: US AMBASSADOR to India, Sergio Gor, on Monday hailed the partnership between Washington and New Delhi, asserting that the relationship between the United States and India has limitless potential. Gor made the comment shortly after the US President Donald Trump spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a day before External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar begins a visit to the United States of America. As I have said many times, President Trump genuinely considers Prime Minister Modi a great friend! Thrilled by the news of the trade deal this evening. The relationship between the United States and India has LIMITLESS POTENTIAL!, he posted on X after the phone call between both leaders. It was Gor who had first announced that Trump and PM Modi had spoken over the phone earlier in the evening. President Trump just spoke with Prime Minister Modi, Gor said in a social media post. STAY TUNED, he added, without giving further details. Later, the US President said that India and the United States had reached a trade deal. Mamata walks out of meeting with CEC on SIR, says she was humiliated NEW DELHI : WEST Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday walked out of a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the SIR issue, accusing him of being arrogant and alleging that the poll panel had humiliated their delegation. Wearing black shawls as a mark of protest, the TMC supremo, accompanied by party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and MP Kalyan Banerjee, and 12 members of SIR affected families from West Bengal, met Chief Election Commissioner Kumar and fellow ECs here, her party said. Banerjee, who has been demanding a halt to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in her poll-bound state, later said they boycotted the meeting in protest, while Election Commission (EC) officials claimed she left in a huff without listening to the response of the EC top brass on the issues raised by her. The CEC told the TMC leaders that the rule of law will prevail and anybody taking the law into their own hands will be dealt with strictly in accordance with the provisions of law and powers vested in the Commission, the EC officials said. Talking to the media after coming out of the Election Commissions headquarters here, the West Bengal CM launched a fresh tirade against the poll panel, accusing it of working as the BJPs dalal (middleman). CEC Kumar told the TMC leadership that its MLAs are openly using abusive and threatening language against the Commission and especially against the CEC. Nagpur-headquartered Yantra India Ltd is now a Miniratna Staff Reporter : YIL is a DPSU established in 2021 as part of the restructuring of the Ordnance Factory Board Operating 8 factory units, it manufactures artillery, ammunition, and armoured vehicles for Indian Armed Forces Yantra India Limited (YIL) has been awarded with Miniratna Category-I status by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday. Congratulating the Defence Public Sector Undertaking (DPSU) in Lok Sabha for its transformation from a Government organisation to a profit-making corporate entity in a short span of about four years, Defence Minister expressed satisfaction over the initiatives taken by the Management of the YIL to increase the turnover of the company, maximise indigenisation and meet other performance parameters for grant of Miniratna (Category-I) status. The YIL has achieved significant milestones after inception, including stellar growth in sales from Rs 956.32 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 3,108.79 crore in Financial Year (FY) 2024-25. On the export front, it has achieved a growth from NIL in FY 2021-22 to Rs 321.77 crore in FY 2024-25. YIL is a Nagpur-headquartered DPSU established in 2021 as part of the restructuring of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB). Operating eight factory units, it manufactures equipment for the Indian Armed Forces, including artillery, ammunition, and armoured vehicles. The major products of YIL include Carbon Fibre Composites, assembly products for Medium and Large Calibre Ammunition, assembly products for Armoured Vehicles, assembly products for Artillery Guns and Main Battle Tanks (MBTs), Glass Composites, Aluminium Alloys etc. The Miniratna (Category-I) status empowers the Board of the YIL to incur capital expenditure on new projects, modernisation, purchase of equipment, etc. up to Rs 500 crore without the Government approval. This will further empower the company to achieve accelerated growth trajectory and new heights in defence production and exports. The Central Government had corporatised the erstwhile OFB into seven new DPSUs on October 1, 2021, with a view to enhance functional autonomy, efficiency and promote innovation and growth in the defence manufacturing sector. The YIL is one of the newly-formed Schedule A DPSUs functioning under the administrative control of the Department of Defence Production. In May 2025, Defence Minister had approved grant of Miniratna-I status to three of the seven DPSUs - Munitions India Limited, Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited and India Optel Limited. The decision underscores the Governments continued commitment to the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, with a strong focus on building indigenous capabilities in defence manufacturing, research, and strategic technologies. It is in line with the broader defence reforms, which aim to reduce import dependence, promote domestic defence production, encourage participation of Indian industry, and position India as a global defence manufacturing hub. Ngp Rly Stn redevelopment work gets March 2027 as new deadline Staff Reporter : Railways has again extended the deadline for completion of ongoing redevelopment work at Nagpur Railway Station. Now, the deadline has been extended to March 2027. Earlier, the work completion was targeted by December 2026, but given the challenges of carrying out construction works at a live station, the authorities are treading cautiously and hence, the extension, stated Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Central Railway, Nagpur Division, Vinayak Garg, on Monday. He was interacting with newspersons on the sidelines of briefing of Railway Minister about the budgetary allocation to Central India, and Maharashtra in general. The interaction was held at DRM office in the city. Post completion of briefing by the Railway Minister, the DRM fielded queries about the redevelopment schedule of Nagpur and Ajni stations respectively. As to Ajni, the new deadline, now, is October 2026. Earlier, it was expected to be ready by this summer. Ajni is being developed as a satellite railway station and four new platforms are coming up on the Eastern side. Once Ajni comes on-line, then a significant number of trains can be shifted from Nagpur station, thus easing the congestion at main station, the DRM said. As per the plan, trains moving towards Ballarshah and Badnera might be operated from Ajni. That would also prove quite convenient for the travellers. Asked about the rescheduling of deadline at Nagpur, DRM stated that, since the work is to be carried out without damaging the heritage structure of station building, the work is proceeding slowly. The Railways is also taking up yard remodelling so that safety can be enhanced in future plus more facilities can be rolled out for the travellers. About Godhni, the station development is also on track and in total, four platforms are being envisioned here. It would also include a home platform, similar to one at Nagpur Railway Station. The DRM also said, Capacity expansion work of tracks in division has been completed to a large extent. The tunnelling work at Darakho for 3rd and 4th line of Nagpur-Itarsi route has slowed down, he admitted and blamed the contractor for falling behind the schedule. The Nagpur-Sewagram 3rd and 4th line work are nearing completion and at many places, it has provided operational flexibility to the division. Earlier, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw expressed confidence that Nagpur-Nagbhid gauge conversion work will be completed by end of year 2026. The work in forest section in Warora has gathered pace and Railways is keen to wrap it up so that travellers in interior Vidarbha can benefit. Resident doctor found dead in hotel room; stress suspected Staff Reporter : A 26-year-old resident doctor from the Ophthalmology Department of the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMC&H) was found dead in a hotel room in Ganeshpeth area on Monday. The deceased has been identified as Rutwik Sagar Thakur, a resident of Chikhli in Buldhana district. According to police, Rutwik allegedly died by suicide by hanging. Police said, the young doctor had been under mental stress for several days. Rutwik had completed his MBBS from a medical college in Mumbai and had recently joined GMC&H. He arrived in Nagpur on January 27. As he did not get accommodation in the hostel, he started staying at a hotel in the Ganeshpeth area. On Monday, Rutwik did not report to the medical college. When he could not be contacted on his mobile phone, the head of the Ophthalmology Department informed his father. His father also tried calling him but received no response. He then contacted the hotel manager and requested them to check the room. A hotel staff member went to Rutwiks room and found the door locked from inside. The Ganeshpeth Police were immediately informed. A police team reached the spot and broke open the door. After entering the room, we found the doctor hanging. He was immediately brought down, but he was already dead, said a senior police officer from the police station. The police have registered a case of accidental death and are conducting further investigation. We are checking all possible angles. Preliminary inquiry suggests he was under stress, but the exact reason will be known after investigation, the officer added. Police also said that no suicide note has been found so far. Rutwiks parents are both doctors, and his sister is also pursuing MBBS. Devon President and CEO Clay Gaspar, who is expected to lead the combined company as president and CEO, said the merger creates a clear path to superior value creation that neither company could achieve independently. Gaspar described the combined company as a premier shale operator with substantial positions across major U.S. basins, anchored by a leading position in the Delaware Basin that he said will generate more than half of total production and cash flow. Coterra Chairman, CEO and President Tom Jorden said the transaction creates a powerful new E&P company defined by asset quality, scale, capital efficiency, operational excellence, and a relentless emphasis on technology and innovation. Jorden emphasized that the merger aims to create a better company, not only a larger one, and highlighted commodity and geographic diversity as tools to navigate volatile oil and gas markets. Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) and Coterra Energy outlined the rationale and expected benefits of their announced all-stock merger during a joint conference call, describing the deal as a transformative combination intended to create a larger, more durable U.S. shale operator with increased scale, a stronger balance sheet, and a greater ability to return cash to shareholders. The combined company plans stronger capital returns and a healthier balance sheet, targeting a quarterly dividend of $0.315 , a sharerepurchase authorization in excess of $5 billion , and proforma metrics including $4.4 billion liquidity and ~ 0.9x net debt/EBITDAX. Management expects $1 billion in annual pre-tax synergies by yearend 2027 (split roughly into $350M capital optimization, $350M operating margin gains, and $300M corporate cost cuts), with some savings arriving within six months and an 18month focus to fully realize the target; synergy NPV is cited at about 20% of proforma market cap on a PV10 basis. The all-stock merger creates a much larger U.S. shale operator with pro forma production of more than 1.6 million barrels of oil equivalent per day and a dominant Delaware Basin footprint (about 750,000 net acres and > 860,000 boe/d from that basin) with thousands of drilling locations and multiyear inventory. Story continues Production scale, assets, and Delaware footprint Gaspar said the combination would create one of the worlds largest shale producers, with more than 1.6 million barrels of oil equivalent per day of production on a pro forma basis. He argued that this level of scale enables operational and financial advantages such as supply chain purchasing power, improved marketing and infrastructure optimization, and elimination of corporate redundancies. How Long Can Equal-Weighted ETFs Keep Outperforming the S&P 500? 3 Dividend Stocks at Bargain Levels to Defend Your Portfolio In the Delaware Basin specifically, Gaspar said the combined company would have approximately 750,000 net acres of stacked-pay resource across Southeast New Mexico and Texas, with production exceeding 860,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. He added that the Delaware position would be supported by more than a decade of drilling inventory at the current pace of development and nearly 5,000 gross drilling locations, including a high concentration of sub-$40 break-even inventory. Gaspar also noted that the combined company would maintain a broader multi-basin portfolio that could provide resilience and optionality, while stressing that assets outside the Delaware would need to compete for capital under a disciplined allocation process that could include asset rationalization. $1 billion annual synergy target and execution plan Mag 7 Outlook: What Apple, Microsoft, Meta, and Tesla Just Told Us Management said the deal is expected to generate $1 billion in annual pre-tax synergies by year-end 2027. Gaspar characterized the opportunities as actionable and supported by a detailed execution plan, and said the net present value of synergies is approximately 20% of the pro forma market capitalization on a PV-10 basis. The company broke the synergy target into three areas: $350 million in annual savings from capital optimization, including reallocation of capital, supply chain improvements, longer laterals, and the application of best practices. $350 million in annual savings tied to operating margins, including streamlined field operations, infrastructure leverage (particularly in the Delaware), and integrated technical expertise. $300 million in annual corporate cost reductions through elimination of redundancies and consolidation of duplicate functions. During Q&A, Gaspar said some capital-related savings could materialize relatively quickly, including within the first six months after closing, while other elements would take longer. He also referenced an 18-month focus to fully achieve the $1 billion target and said both teams want to beat the goal in quantity as well as time. Gaspar also clarified that Devons legacy business optimization program would continue and that the merger synergies described are above and beyond the work each company has already been doing independently. Capital returns, balance sheet, and shareholder framework Gaspar said the pro forma company is expected to have enhanced free cash flow generation and an improved investment-grade balance sheet, which he said should lower the future cost of capital. He cited pro forma financial metrics including $4.4 billion in liquidity, 0.9x net debt to EBITDAX, and an estimated reinvestment rate below 50%. On shareholder returns, management said the combined company plans to declare a quarterly dividend of $0.315 per share and target consistent dividend growth through the cycle. Gaspar also said the company expects a new share repurchase authorization in excess of $5 billion, while noting that final decisions would be made by the pro forma board. Technology, AI, and integration; headquarters in Houston Gaspar said technology and artificial intelligence would be foundational to integration and synergy capture, citing applications across subsurface modeling, drilling and completions, and production operations. He said the combined data sets and technical capabilities are expected to support improved well placement, reduced nonproductive time, improved artificial lift efficiency, and faster capital allocation decisions. In response to a question about governance and location, Gaspar said the combined executive team would relocate the headquarters to Houston, while maintaining a very significant presence in Oklahoma City. On portfolio strategy, Gaspar said leadership plans to review capital allocation across all basins after closing and indicated the company would remain flexible in assessing core versus non-core assets. He said joint-venture partnerships in the Delaware and Midcontinent are not expected to change. He also acknowledged potential upside in the Anadarko Basin from overlap and operational synergies, but said it was too early to signal a major shift in capital allocation there. Jorden, addressing whether Coterra evaluated alternatives, said the company considered a full range of opportunities and concluded the Devon combination was the best one by far, citing value creation for both shareholder bases and exposure to upside. About Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE: DVN) is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The company focuses on the exploration, development, production and marketing of hydrocarbons, including crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and natural gas. Devon operates as an upstream energy company that acquires, evaluates and develops onshore resource plays using a combination of drilling, completion and production optimization techniques. Core business activities include identifying and developing energy reserves, operating well programs and managing reservoir performance to generate production and cash flow. The article "Devon Energy Touts Transformative Coterra Merger, Targets $1B Synergies and $5B+ Buyback" was originally published by MarketBeat. Rs 7,470 cr allocated for Cgarhs Rly projects Staff Reporter : Union Minister for Railways, Electronics and IT, and Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw informed that Rs 7,470 crore has been allocated for Railway projects in Chhattisgarh in the Union Budget 2026-27 to expand States Railway infrastructure. Addressing a virtual press conference from New Delhi on Monday, Vaishnaw said the budget accords historic priority to railway infrastructure development in Chhattisgarh, marking a transformative phase in connectivity, passenger amenities, safety, and network expansion. The annual average budget allocation for railways in State has risen sharply from Rs 311 crore during 2009-14 to Rs 7,470 crore in 2026-27a more than twenty-four-fold increase compared to the previous Congress Governmentunderscoring the Governments commitment to infrastructure-led growth. Railway projects worth Rs 51,080 crore are currently underway in Chhattisgarh. The States Railway infrastructure is undergoing comprehensive transformation, including new track creation, station redevelopment, signalling upgrades, and safety enhancements. These investments are strengthening regional connectivity, supporting industrial growth, mineral evacuation, and passenger mobility, he added. Vaishnaw highlighted that the Dankuni-Surat Dedicated Freight Corridor, proposed in the Union Budget 2026-27, will pass through Chhattisgarh, benefiting its people upon completion. Passenger and express train movements in the state will double after these projects are finished. Under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, 32 stations in Chhattisgarh have been identified for redevelopment at a total cost of Rs 1,674 crore to provide modern amenities, better accessibility, and enhanced aesthetics. Redevelopment is complete at five stationsDongargarh (Phase I), Ambikapur, Bhanupratappur, Bhilai, and Urkurawhile work on the rest is progressing rapidly. Rail connectivity has expanded with premium train services: two pairs of Vande Bharat Express and one pair of Amrit Bharat Express are now operational, improving travel efficiency and comfort. Since 2014, about 1,200 km of new railway tracks have been built in Chhattisgarhexceeding the total rail network length of several countries. The state has achieved 100% electrification of its broad-gauge network, with 366 km electrified since 2014, boosting energy efficiency and sustainability. Safety has been enhanced with 170 railway flyovers and underpasses to eliminate level crossings. Implementation of the indigenous Kavach automatic train protection system is advancing, covering 845 route km in works or tenders, with a total sanctioned length of 1,083 route km. The Railway Budget 2026-27 positions Chhattisgarh as a key hub in Indias railway growth story, blending large-scale investment with modern technology, better passenger facilities, and safety standards. These initiatives will generate employment, drive regional development, and strengthen the states role in national logistics and connectivity. Western disturbance to bring another day of scattered rain, hail, thunderstorms in distts Staff Reporter : The State is set for another day of scattered rain, thunderstorms, hail and fog as western disturbances continue to influence the states weather. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the current weather is caused by a cyclonic circulation over Punjab and Haryana along with a trough in the middle troposphere. These systems have brought cloudiness, isolated showers, thunderstorms, hail, and fog, while temperatures are gradually rising across most divisions. Over the next 24 hours, districts including Vidisha, Rajgarh, Ratlam, Ujjain, Guna, Neemuch, Gwalior, Rewa, Satna, Sagar and surrounding areas are likely to experience isolated rainfall with thunderstorms and lightning, with early morning fog persisting in several places. Thunderstorms and lightning have also been reported in Rajgarh, Agar, Mandsaur, Neemuch, Guna, Shivpuri, Sheopur, Morena, Chhatarpur, Tikamgarh, Niwari, Gwalior, Datia, Bhind, Panna, Vidisha, Ratlam, Ujjain, Ashoknagar, Rewa, Satna, Damoh and Sagar, while hailstorm activity was noted in Neemuch. Gusty winds reaching up to 28 kmph were recorded in Agar. Fog continues to reduce visibility in parts of the state, with dense fog reported in Chhatarpur (Khajuraho) and Morena and shallow fog in Gwalior, Ujjain and Rewa, creating a need for caution on roads and railways. Maximum temperatures rose by 2-2.2C in Bhopal, Gwalior and Chambal divisions, while minimum temperatures remain above normal in most areas. The highest maximum in the State was recorded at Khargone (30.2C) and the lowest minimum at Pachmarhi (8.4C). In Bhopal, the weather was partly cloudy with haze, with a maximum of 29.2C and a minimum of 13.8C, about 3C above normal. Humidity was high in the morning, contributing to haze, and light winds of 8-10 kmph prevailed. No rainfall was recorded in the city over the past 24 hours. The India Meteorological Department has warned that these western disturbances will continue to influence Madhya Pradesh for another day, bringing isolated rain, thunderstorms, and fog across several districts. Residents are advised to exercise caution, particularly during storms and hail, while farmers are urged to take necessary measures to protect standing crops and livestock. Zero-tolerance against drug syndicates, womens harassment Staff Reporter : Sanjay Kumar, a 2004 batch IPS officer, officially assumed charge as the new Police Commissioner of Bhopal on Monday. He succeeds outgoing Police Commissioner Harinarayanchari Mishra. The transition took place during a formal handover ceremony at the Police Commissioners office, where Kumar was accorded a guard of honour in the presence of zonal Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs), Additional DCPs, and ACPs. Sanjay Kumar, who previously served as IG Balaghat, is the third Police Commissioner of the State capital. This marks his second stint in Bhopal, having previously served as SP Headquarters. Addressing the media, Kumar emphasised that his primary objective is to break the backbone of organised crime. Urban policing in a State capital poses complex challenges, including frequent VIP movements and heavy traffic pressure, Kumar stated. He added that he aims to make the police force more accountable to the public by fixing the responsibilities of gazetted officers and implementing innovations at the police station level. To combat the rising drug menace, the new Commissioner announced the formation of specialised units to dismantle illegal trade networks. He issued a stern warning that establishments such as clubs, lounges, and gyms would be placed under strict surveillance to prevent the expansion of drug networks in the city. Addressing the surge in online fraud, Kumar outlined a two-pronged strategy focusing on technical investigation and public awareness. While we will actively trace cybercriminals, educating citizens is the most essential tool to weaken these networks, he remarked. Setting womens safety as a top priority, the Commissioner announced that dedicated teams would be deployed for intensified patrolling in sensitive areas to curb incidents of harassment, molestation, and snatching. Kumar also stressed the importance of community-based policing. He plans to strengthen the beat system and ensure better co-ordination between the police and the common man. Furthermore, he highlighted that the police would conduct joint drives with the local administration to remove encroachments that hinder traffic flow and law and order in various colonies. Our focus will be on creating a bridge between the public and the police. By staying among the people and ensuring transparency, we will provide a safer environment for the citizens of Bhopal, the Commissioner concluded. SpaceX has acquired Elon Musks artificial intelligence startup, xAI, creating the worlds most valuable private company, the spaceflight company announced Monday. Musk, who is also the CEO of SpaceX, wrote in a memo posted to the rocket companys website that the merger is largely about creating space-based data centers an idea he has become fixated on over the last few months. More from Yahoo Scout What are the financial challenges facing both companies? What is the strategic rationale behind SpaceX acquiring xAI? How will space-based data centers generate revenue for SpaceX? How does the merger value the combined company? Current advances in AI are dependent on large terrestrial data centers, which require immense amounts of power and cooling. Global electricity demand for AI simply cannot be met with terrestrial solutions, even in the near term, without imposing hardship on communities and the environment, he wrote. (xAI has been accused of imposing some of that hardship on the communities near its data centers in Memphis, Tennessee.) The tie-up values the combined company at $1.25 trillion, according to Bloomberg News, which was first to report the completed deal. SpaceX has been reportedly preparing an IPO for as early as June of this year. Its unclear whether the merger will affect that timeline. Musk did not address the IPO in his public memo. The merger brings together two of Musks companies, each with its own financial challenges. xAI is currently burning around $1 billion per month, according to Bloomberg. SpaceX, meanwhile, generates as much as 80% of its revenue from launching its own Starlink satellites, according to Reuters. Last year, xAI acquired X, the social media company also owned by Musk, with Musk claiming a combined company valuation of $113 billion. Musk wrote in his memo that it will take a constant stream of many although he did not specify how many satellites to create these space-based data centers, ensuring that SpaceX will have an even-larger constant stream of revenue for the foreseeable future. (That revenue loop likely looks even more attractive when you consider that satellites are required to be de-orbited every five years by the Federal Communications Commission.) While space data centers may be the stated goal, SpaceX and xAI have very different near-term objectives. SpaceX is currently trying to prove that its Starship rocket is capable of bringing astronauts to the moon and Mars, while xAI is competing with leading artificial intelligence companies like Google and OpenAI. The pressure on xAI is so great, the Washington Post reported Monday, that Musk loosened restrictions on the companys chatbot Grok which contributed to it becoming a tool for making AI-generated nonconsensual sexual imagery of adults and children. Musk is also the head of Tesla, The Boring Company, and Neuralink. Tesla and SpaceX previously invested $2 billion each in xAI. Shareholders voted on the election of three incumbent directors to serve three-year terms expiring at the annual meeting in 2029. The nominees were Martin Craighead , Gloria Flach , and Matthew Levatich . Tang said the board recommended voting in favor of each nominee. Tang reported that, as of the record date, Emerson had 562,302,093 shares of common stock outstanding. Proxies and ballots were received for 495,357,307 shares , representing more than 88% of shares entitled to vote, which the company said constituted a quorum. Emersons board appointed Peter Deskovich as inspector of election, and Tang noted that Broadridge certified that proxy materials (or notice of availability) were mailed beginning Dec. 12, 2025, to shareholders of record as of Nov. 25, 2025. Don't Miss Out on These Top 3 Stocks for a September to Remember Vote on an amendment to Emersons restated articles of incorporation to declassify the board of directors Tang said the meeting was conducted in accordance with Emersons bylaws and included four proposals: Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) held its 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders online, outlining four voting items and briefly reviewing fiscal 2025 performance and recent portfolio actions. The meeting was chaired by Michael Tang, the companys senior vice president, secretary, and chief legal officer. Emerson said it delivered a solid fiscal 2025sales up 3%, operating cash flow up 11%, free cash flow up 12%, EPS up 43% (adjusted EPS up 9%)and highlighted the acquisition of Aspen Technology , integration of National Instruments, and the divestiture of Copeland to strengthen its automation portfolio. The advisory say-on-pay for fiscal 2025 and ratification of KPMG as auditor were both approved, receiving approximately 90% and 92% support, respectively. Shareholders reelected incumbents Martin Craighead, Gloria Flach and Matthew Levatich by a substantial majority, but an amendment to declassify the board failed to reach the required 85% and was not approved. Story Continues Based on the preliminary tabulation, Emerson said each nominee was elected by a substantial majority. Say-on-pay and auditor ratification The New Defense Prime: Ondas Buys the Kill Chain Shareholders also considered an advisory vote to approve compensation for Emersons named executive officers for fiscal year 2025. Tang emphasized that the vote is non-binding, but said the board values shareholder input and will consider the votes outcome in future compensation decisions. The board recommended a vote in favor. In preliminary results, the company said the compensation proposal was approved by a majority of approximately 90% in favor. On the auditor proposal, shareholders voted on whether to ratify the Audit Committees appointment of KPMG LLP as Emersons independent registered public accounting firm for fiscal year 2026. The board recommended a vote in favor, and the preliminary results showed the proposal was approved by a majority of approximately 92% in favor. Board declassification proposal fails to reach required threshold The meetings fourth proposal asked shareholders to approve an amendment to Emersons restated articles of incorporation to declassify the board of directors. Tang said the board recommended a vote in favor, but the preliminary tally indicated the amendment did not receive the required 85% of outstanding shares voting in favor and therefore was not approved. Fiscal 2025 results and portfolio actions While awaiting preliminary voting results, Tang provided a brief review of fiscal 2025 and noted that Emerson planned to issue its earnings release later that day and host an earnings call at 3:30 p.m. Central Time to discuss first-quarter fiscal 2026 results. He also reminded shareholders that the presentation could include forward-looking statements subject to business risks and uncertainty. According to Tang, Emerson delivered a solid fiscal 2025, reporting: Sales and underlying sales up 3% Operating cash flow up 11% Free cash flow up 12% Earnings per share up 43% Adjusted earnings per share up 9% Tang said the results reflected the work of Emersons global teams as the company accelerated its transformation into a global automation leader for mission-critical industries. He highlighted a key milestone in fiscal 2025: the acquisition of all of Aspen Technology, Inc. Tang said the Aspen Technology transaction, combined with Emersons recent acquisition and integration of National Instruments and the divestiture of Copeland, created what he described as a cohesive automation portfolio aligned with long-term secular trends and customer investment priorities. No shareholder questions were submitted related to the matters being voted on, Tang said. Emerson noted that final vote tabulations will be disclosed in a Form 8-K filing within four business days. About Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) Emerson Electric Co is a global technology and engineering company that designs and manufactures products and provides services for industrial, commercial and consumer markets. Founded in 1890, the company is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, and has built a long-standing presence in automation, control and climate-related technologies. Emerson's offerings are aimed at improving productivity, energy efficiency and reliability for a wide range of end markets. Emerson operates through two principal platformsAutomation Solutions and Commercial & Residential Solutionsproviding process automation systems, measurement and analytical instrumentation, valves and actuators, control software, and related aftermarket services, alongside products for heating, ventilation and refrigeration, residential and commercial climate controls, tools and storage solutions. The article "Emerson Electric Shareholders Reelect Directors as Board Declassification Proposal Falls Short" was originally published by MarketBeat. Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET Get Free Report) shares traded down 2.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $138.22 and last traded at $138.3450. 7,704,430 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 6% from the average session volume of 8,186,898 shares. The stock had previously closed at $141.74. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ANET shares. Piper Sandler raised Arista Networks from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and raised their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $159.00 in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Arista Networks from $171.00 to $159.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. UBS Group reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a hold (c+) rating on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Arista Networks from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $164.44. Get Arista Networks alerts: View Our Latest Analysis on Arista Networks Arista Networks Stock Down 2.4% The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.47. The stock has a market cap of $174.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.60, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.41. Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The technology company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.03. Arista Networks had a net margin of 39.73% and a return on equity of 30.28%. The company had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. The companys quarterly revenue was up 27.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Insider Activity In other Arista Networks news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 24,042 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total transaction of $2,994,431.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 9,917 shares in the company, valued at $1,235,162.35. This represents a 70.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kelly Bodnar Battles sold 422 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.15, for a total value of $49,437.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,052,007. This represents a 4.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 208,464 shares of company stock worth $26,430,108 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.39% of the companys stock. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bare Financial Services Inc grew its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 2,118.2% in the second quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 244 shares of the technology companys stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in Arista Networks during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its holdings in Arista Networks by 56.7% in the 3rd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 199 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Arista Networks in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Arista Networks during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. 82.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Arista Networks Company Profile (Get Free Report) Arista Networks, Inc is a technology company that designs and sells cloud networking solutions for large-scale data centers and enterprise environments. The company is best known for its high-performance switching and routing platforms, which are used to build scalable, low-latency networks for cloud service providers, internet companies, financial services, telecommunications, and enterprise IT. Aristas offerings emphasize programmability, automation and telemetry to support modern, software-driven network architectures. Central to Aristas product portfolio is its Extensible Operating System (EOS), a modular network operating system that provides consistent programmability, stateful control and advanced visibility across the companys hardware platforms. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Arista Networks Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Arista Networks and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V Get Free Report) traded up 3.8% on Monday . The company traded as high as $334.69 and last traded at $334.1580. 8,330,434 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 1% from the average session volume of 8,437,815 shares. The stock had previously closed at $321.83. Key Headlines Impacting Visa Here are the key news stories impacting Visa this week: Get Visa alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of brokerages have recently commented on V. Robert W. Baird set a $425.00 target price on shares of Visa in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an outperform rating and issued a $395.00 price objective on shares of Visa in a research report on Friday. Bank of America upgraded Visa from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $382.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. KeyCorp reiterated an overweight rating and issued a $405.00 target price on shares of Visa in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, UBS Group reissued a buy rating on shares of Visa in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $392.92. Visa Stock Up 3.8% The company has a market capitalization of $608.75 billion, a PE ratio of 31.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $338.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $341.50. Visa (NYSE:V Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit-card processor reported $3.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $10.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.69 billion. Visa had a net margin of 50.23% and a return on equity of 61.74%. The businesss revenue was up 14.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.75 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Visa Inc. will post 11.3 EPS for the current fiscal year. Visa Announces Dividend The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 10th. Visas dividend payout ratio is 25.14%. Insider Transactions at Visa In other Visa news, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 10,485 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.18, for a total transaction of $3,661,152.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 9,401 shares in the company, valued at $3,282,641.18. This represents a 52.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Paul D. Fabara sold 2,172 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.93, for a total value of $707,919.96. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 26,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,608,789.09. This represents a 7.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,557 shares of company stock valued at $4,671,904. Insiders own 0.12% of the companys stock. Institutional Trading of Visa Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Transcendent Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Visa by 2.9% in the second quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC now owns 1,013 shares of the credit-card processors stock worth $360,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Visa by 1.6% during the third quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 1,875 shares of the credit-card processors stock valued at $640,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Old Port Advisors raised its position in shares of Visa by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 3,423 shares of the credit-card processors stock worth $1,169,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Interchange Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Visa by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,413 shares of the credit-card processors stock worth $2,276,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carr Financial Group Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Visa by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp now owns 1,290 shares of the credit-card processors stock worth $440,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.15% of the companys stock. Visa Company Profile (Get Free Report) Visa Inc is a global payments technology company that facilitates electronic funds transfers and digital commerce by connecting consumers, merchants, financial institutions and governments. The firm operates one of the worlds largest payment networks, providing processing, authorization, clearing and settlement services for credit, debit and prepaid card transactions. Visas network-based model enables partner banks and other issuers to offer branded payment products while Visa focuses on the infrastructure, standards and technologies that move money securely and efficiently around the world. Visas product and service portfolio includes card-based payment products for consumers and businesses, real-time push-payment capabilities, tokenization and authentication services, fraud and risk-management tools, data analytics and APIs for fintech and merchant integration. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Visa Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Visa and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ABB (NYSE:ABBNY Free Report) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Saturday. Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of ABB from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a sell rating on shares of ABB in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of ABB from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded ABB from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on ABB in a report on Monday, December 15th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $58.00. Get ABB alerts: Check Out Our Latest Analysis on ABB ABB Stock Performance ABB Company Profile ABB stock opened at $86.93 on Friday. ABB has a 12-month low of $45.36 and a 12-month high of $88.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $160.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.23. The firms fifty day moving average price is $75.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.63. (Get Free Report) ABB Ltd. is a global engineering and technology company headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, with roots dating to the 1988 merger of ASEA and Brown, Boveri & Cie. The company develops and supplies technologies that enable electrification, automation and digitalization across utility, industrial, transportation and infrastructure markets. ABBs offerings span hardware, software and services designed to improve efficiency, reliability and sustainability for its customers. ABBs principal activities include electrification products and systems for power distribution and management; industrial and factory automation solutions; robotics and discrete automation for manufacturing; and motion technologies including electric motors and drives. Read More Receive News & Ratings for ABB Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for ABB and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Equinor has reached an agreement to sell its onshore assets in Argentina's Vaca Muerta basin to Vista Energy for approximately $1.1bn (Nkr10.61bn). The sale includes a 30% non-operated stake in the Bandurria Sur licence and a 50% non-operated stake in the Bajo del Toro asset. Equinor will receive an upfront cash payment of $550m (9.53bn pesos) and shares in Vista upon closing, along with contingent payments based on production and oil prices over five years. Scheduled for an effective date of 1 July 2025, the transaction does not impact Equinor's offshore holdings in Argentina. The Norwegian energy company expects its international portfolio to expand production and cash flow, particularly through its primary operations in Brazil, the US and the UK, by 2030. Since its foray into Argentina in 2017 via a joint exploration agreement with YPF on the Bajo del Toro asset, Equinor bolstered its onshore presence by acquiring Bandurria Sur in 2020. Equinor exploration and production international executive vice-president Philippe Mathieu said: We are realising value from two high-quality assets we have actively developed as we continue to high-grade our international portfolio. This transaction strengthens Equinors financial flexibility as we evaluate opportunities in our core international markets, where we see substantial growth towards 2030. At the same time, we retain optionality through our offshore positions in Argentina. In the third quarter of 2025 (Q3 2025), production from Equinor's share of Bandurria Sur averaged 24,400 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), while the Bajo del Toro asset contributed 2,100boepd. Equinor's portfolio in Argentina also includes offshore exploration licences acquired in 2019 across the North Argentinian Basin and the southern Austral and Malvinas basins. These areas are currently undergoing subsurface evaluation to identify potential commercially viable opportunities. No well commitments exist for these licences at present. The completion of the onshore asset sales to Vista Energy remains subject to necessary regulatory approvals. Equinor US and Argentina exploration and production international senior vice-president Chris Golden said: This is a value-driven decision that enhances the resilience of our international portfolio and sharpens our focus in Argentina. In December 2025, Equinor and Aker BP discovered hydrocarbons at the Lofn and Langemann prospects in the Sleipner area of the Norwegian North Sea. As per initial estimates, the Lofn prospect holds 3.510 million standard cubic metres of recoverable oil equivalent, or 2263 million barrels of oil equivalent. AGF Management Ltd. purchased a new position in RH (NYSE:RH Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 61,437 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $12,482,000. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Senvest Management LLC grew its position in RH by 54.6% in the 2nd quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 733,894 shares of the companys stock worth $138,713,000 after purchasing an additional 259,200 shares during the period. Durable Capital Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of RH by 125.1% in the 2nd quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 646,097 shares of the companys stock worth $122,119,000 after buying an additional 359,101 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of RH by 0.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 265,762 shares of the companys stock worth $50,240,000 after acquiring an additional 1,829 shares during the period. Scopus Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in RH during the second quarter valued at $30,457,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in RH in the second quarter valued at about $29,083,000. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the companys stock. Get RH alerts: Key Stories Impacting RH Here are the key news stories impacting RH this week: Positive Sentiment: Revenue growth: RH reported revenue of $883.8M (up ~8.9% YoY) and revenue essentially matched Street expectations, indicating underlying demand held up. Analysts still model FY EPS of about $4.39, which suggests some confidence in near-term earnings recovery. Revenue growth: RH reported revenue of $883.8M (up ~8.9% YoY) and revenue essentially matched Street expectations, indicating underlying demand held up. Analysts still model FY EPS of about $4.39, which suggests some confidence in near-term earnings recovery. Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage consensus: Several brokerages have a consensus rating of Hold on RH, reflecting mixed views among analysts and likely limiting fresh buy-side momentum. RH (NYSE:RH) Receives Consensus Rating of Hold from Brokerages Brokerage consensus: Several brokerages have a consensus rating of Hold on RH, reflecting mixed views among analysts and likely limiting fresh buy-side momentum. Negative Sentiment: Significant EPS miss: RH reported $1.71 EPS vs. consensus $2.13 a sizable beat/miss gap that pressures near-term sentiment and raises questions about margin recovery. Significant EPS miss: RH reported $1.71 EPS vs. consensus $2.13 a sizable beat/miss gap that pressures near-term sentiment and raises questions about margin recovery. Negative Sentiment: Weak profitability & leverage: Net margin is low (~3.2%) and return on equity is deeply negative (~-161.7%). Reported debt-to-equity (~944x) is unusually high, highlighting capital structure risk and potential financing concerns. Weak profitability & leverage: Net margin is low (~3.2%) and return on equity is deeply negative (~-161.7%). Reported debt-to-equity (~944x) is unusually high, highlighting capital structure risk and potential financing concerns. Negative Sentiment: Technical / liquidity signals: Todays volume is below average and the stock sits near/below its 200-day moving average a setup that can amplify downside if sentiment worsens. RH Stock Performance RH opened at $195.47 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $188.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $196.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 944.39, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $3.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.28, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 2.11. RH has a 1-year low of $123.03 and a 1-year high of $419.50. RH (NYSE:RH Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.42). The firm had revenue of $883.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $883.65 million. RH had a net margin of 3.22% and a negative return on equity of 161.72%. The firms quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that RH will post 4.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Insider Activity at RH In other news, Director Mark S. Demilio sold 2,254 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $495,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 19,962 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,391,640. This represents a 10.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 5,154 shares of company stock valued at $1,100,148 in the last quarter. 27.00% of the stock is owned by insiders. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of research firms have issued reports on RH. UBS Group restated a neutral rating on shares of RH in a research note on Friday, December 12th. KeyCorp restated a sector weight rating on shares of RH in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Zelman & Associates reiterated an outperform rating on shares of RH in a research report on Thursday. Zacks Research cut shares of RH from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a hold rating and set a $165.00 price objective (down previously from $320.00) on shares of RH in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, RH presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $231.19. Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on RH RH Company Profile (Free Report) RH, formerly Restoration Hardware, is a design-driven luxury retailer specializing in high-end home furnishings, decor, textiles, lighting and outdoor living products. The company offers a curated collection of furniture piecesincluding seating, casegoods, beds and dining itemsalongside rugs, art and decorative accessories. RHs product lines are organized into distinct collections, each reflecting a cohesive design philosophy and premium craftsmanship aimed at the residential and hospitality markets. Founded in 1979 in Eureka, California, by Stephen Gordon, Restoration Hardware began as a small warehouse in Northern California. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding RH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for RH (NYSE:RH Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for RH Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for RH and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in Archer Aviation Inc. (NYSE:ACHR Free Report) by 3,207.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 85,202 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 82,626 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLCs holdings in Archer Aviation were worth $816,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Man Group plc lifted its position in Archer Aviation by 13,793.3% during the second quarter. Man Group plc now owns 4,212,722 shares of the companys stock valued at $45,708,000 after acquiring an additional 4,182,400 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Archer Aviation by 44.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,991,714 shares of the companys stock worth $130,125,000 after purchasing an additional 3,671,753 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its position in shares of Archer Aviation by 435.7% during the second quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 3,750,000 shares of the companys stock worth $40,688,000 after purchasing an additional 3,050,000 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Archer Aviation by 466.5% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,650,429 shares of the companys stock valued at $39,607,000 after purchasing an additional 3,006,039 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marex Group plc acquired a new stake in shares of Archer Aviation in the 2nd quarter worth $24,699,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.34% of the companys stock. Get Archer Aviation alerts: Archer Aviation Trading Down 1.9% Archer Aviation stock opened at $7.06 on Tuesday. Archer Aviation Inc. has a 52 week low of $5.48 and a 52 week high of $14.62. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $8.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.31. The company has a quick ratio of 18.19, a current ratio of 18.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market capitalization of $4.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.60 and a beta of 3.10. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Archer Aviation ( NYSE:ACHR Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts consensus estimates of ($0.20). Sell-side analysts anticipate that Archer Aviation Inc. will post -1.32 EPS for the current year. ACHR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Archer Aviation from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an overweight rating on shares of Archer Aviation in a report on Monday, November 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Archer Aviation from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a sell (d-) rating on shares of Archer Aviation in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Archer Aviation in a research note on Monday, December 1st. They issued a neutral rating and a $11.00 target price for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $12.14. View Our Latest Report on ACHR Insider Buying and Selling at Archer Aviation In other Archer Aviation news, CFO Priya Gupta sold 5,479 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.49, for a total value of $41,037.71. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 161,523 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,209,807.27. This represents a 3.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Eric Lentell sold 41,490 shares of Archer Aviation stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.49, for a total value of $310,760.10. Following the transaction, the insider owned 83,733 shares of the companys stock, valued at $627,160.17. The trade was a 33.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 307,635 shares of company stock valued at $2,367,936. Company insiders own 7.65% of the companys stock. Archer Aviation Profile (Free Report) Archer Aviation, Inc (NYSE: ACHR) is a California-based aerospace company developing electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft designed to serve as sustainable urban air mobility solutions. Founded in 2018 by Adam Goldstein and Brett Adcock, Archer focuses on the design, development and certification of zero-emissions air taxis aimed at reducing traffic congestion in densely populated metropolitan areas. The companys flagship prototypes, Maker and Midnight, have been engineered to deliver quiet, efficient short-haul flights with ranges of up to 100 miles per charge. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Archer operates a manufacturing facility in nearby Santa Cruz County and maintains research partnerships with automotive and energy companies, including a collaboration with Stellantis to integrate advanced battery systems. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Archer Aviation Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Archer Aviation and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $13.07 and last traded at $13.0450, with a volume of 3061082 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $12.75. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of research analysts recently commented on SAN shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a buy (b+) rating on shares of Banco Santander in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Banco Santander from a strong-buy rating to a strong sell rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. DZ Bank lowered shares of Banco Santander from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Kepler Capital Markets raised shares of Banco Santander from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays cut shares of Banco Santander from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold. Get Banco Santander alerts: Read Our Latest Stock Report on Banco Santander Banco Santander Price Performance Institutional Trading of Banco Santander The business has a 50-day moving average of $11.77 and a 200-day moving average of $10.48. The company has a market capitalization of $194.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.73. Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Banco Santander during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Banco Santander during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Banco Santander in the third quarter worth $27,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Banco Santander during the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in shares of Banco Santander during the second quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 9.19% of the companys stock. About Banco Santander (Get Free Report) Banco Santander, SA (NYSE: SAN) is a Spanish multinational banking group headquartered in Santander, Spain. Founded in 1857, the bank has grown from a regional institution into one of Europes largest banking groups, operating a diversified financial services platform that serves retail, small and medium-sized enterprises, and large corporate clients. Santander is publicly listed in Spain and maintains American Depositary Receipts on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SAN. The groups core activities include retail and commercial bankingoffering deposit accounts, payment services, mortgages, personal and auto loans, and small business financingalongside corporate and investment banking services for larger institutional clients. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Banco Santander Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Banco Santander and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE Get Free Report) issued an update on its first quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 0.530-0.590 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 0.550. The company issued revenue guidance of $655.0 million-$695.0 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $662.8 million. Benchmark Electronics Stock Up 4.3% BHE traded up $2.30 on Tuesday, reaching $56.18. The companys stock had a trading volume of 555,063 shares, compared to its average volume of 236,407. The company has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.08 and a beta of 1.02. Benchmark Electronics has a fifty-two week low of $30.73 and a fifty-two week high of $56.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $46.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.73. Get Benchmark Electronics alerts: Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.07. Benchmark Electronics had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 6.15%. The business had revenue of $704.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $696.67 million. Benchmark Electronics has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.530-0.590 EPS. Benchmark Electronics Announces Dividend Analyst Ratings Changes The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Benchmark Electronicss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.67%. Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Lake Street Capital boosted their target price on Benchmark Electronics from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a hold (c) rating on shares of Benchmark Electronics in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Benchmark Electronics from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Benchmark Electronics from $47.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Benchmark Electronics has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $56.00. Read Our Latest Research Report on BHE Insider Activity In related news, CEO Jeff Benck sold 14,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.24, for a total transaction of $748,576.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 423,180 shares of the companys stock, valued at $21,260,563.20. This represents a 3.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Rhonda R. Turner sold 10,000 shares of Benchmark Electronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.83, for a total value of $478,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 34,701 shares in the company, valued at $1,659,748.83. This represents a 22.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 63,967 shares of company stock valued at $3,029,458. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Benchmark Electronics Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BHE. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of Benchmark Electronics by 215.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,000 shares of the technology companys stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 2,048 shares during the period. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Benchmark Electronics during the second quarter worth about $137,000. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in Benchmark Electronics during the first quarter worth about $202,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in Benchmark Electronics in the third quarter valued at about $218,000. Finally, Numerai GP LLC purchased a new position in Benchmark Electronics in the third quarter valued at about $239,000. 92.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Benchmark Electronics Company Profile (Get Free Report) Benchmark Electronics, Inc is a global provider of comprehensive electronics manufacturing services (EMS) and integrated engineering solutions. The company offers a full suite of services that span the entire product lifecycle, from earlystage design and prototyping to highvolume production and aftermarket support. Benchmark serves diverse end markets, including industrial automation, medical devices, communications, aerospace and defense, and semiconductor equipment. At the core of Benchmarks offering are printed circuit board assemblies (PCBA), system integration, box build assemblies and turnkey manufacturing. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Benchmark Electronics Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Benchmark Electronics and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Black Hills (NYSE:BKH Get Free Report) is expected to be releasing its Q4 2025 results after the market closes on Wednesday, February 4th. Analysts expect Black Hills to post earnings of $1.45 per share and revenue of $809.8840 million for the quarter. Interested persons are encouraged to explore the companys upcoming Q4 2025 earning overview page for the latest details on the call scheduled for Thursday, February 5, 2026 at 11:00 AM ET. Black Hills (NYSE:BKH Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts consensus estimates of $0.45. The company had revenue of $430.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $439.96 million. Black Hills had a net margin of 12.54% and a return on equity of 7.86%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect Black Hills to post $4 EPS for the current fiscal year and $4 EPS for the next fiscal year. Get Black Hills alerts: Black Hills Price Performance NYSE BKH opened at $72.45 on Tuesday. Black Hills has a 1 year low of $54.92 and a 1 year high of $74.23. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.75. Black Hills Increases Dividend Analyst Ratings Changes The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.703 per share. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. This is a positive change from Black Hillss previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Black Hillss dividend payout ratio is currently 68.18%. A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BKH shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Black Hills from $70.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a buy (b-) rating on shares of Black Hills in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Black Hills from a sector perform rating to a sector outperform rating and upped their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $81.00 in a report on Friday, November 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Black Hills has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $75.67. Check Out Our Latest Report on Black Hills Insider Buying and Selling In other Black Hills news, CFO Kimberly F. Nooney sold 14,500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $1,025,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 34,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,447,704.70. This trade represents a 29.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. Institutional Inflows and Outflows A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in Black Hills in the third quarter worth $45,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 44.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,037 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 42.6% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,179 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Black Hills by 90.3% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,960 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $121,000 after acquiring an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Black Hills by 42.1% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,344 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $131,000 after acquiring an additional 695 shares during the period. 86.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. About Black Hills (Get Free Report) Black Hills Corporation is a diversified energy company based in Rapid City, South Dakota, that provides electricity and natural gas distribution services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Through its regulated utility subsidiariesBlack Hills Power, Cheyenne Light & Power, and Black Hills Energythe company delivers reliable energy across Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. In addition to its distribution operations, Black Hills owns and operates a generation portfolio that includes natural gasfired plants, coal-fired units, hydroelectric facilities and wind projects. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Black Hills Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Black Hills and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in iShares Mortgage Real Estate ETF (BATS:REM Free Report) by 84.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 121,577 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 55,533 shares during the quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc.s holdings in iShares Mortgage Real Estate ETF were worth $2,671,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of REM. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in iShares Mortgage Real Estate ETF by 4,415,611.1% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 397,414 shares of the companys stock worth $8,497,000 after buying an additional 397,405 shares in the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of iShares Mortgage Real Estate ETF by 388.9% during the 2nd quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 142,151 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,039,000 after buying an additional 113,078 shares in the last quarter. Clarity Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of iShares Mortgage Real Estate ETF by 77.1% during the 3rd quarter. Clarity Financial LLC now owns 256,785 shares of the companys stock valued at $5,642,000 after acquiring an additional 111,766 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in iShares Mortgage Real Estate ETF by 66.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 216,758 shares of the companys stock worth $4,864,000 after acquiring an additional 86,263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in iShares Mortgage Real Estate ETF by 85.3% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 133,338 shares of the companys stock worth $2,851,000 after acquiring an additional 61,364 shares in the last quarter. Get iShares Mortgage Real Estate ETF alerts: iShares Mortgage Real Estate ETF Stock Performance BATS REM opened at $22.57 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $582.31 million, a PE ratio of 14.69 and a beta of 1.33. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $22.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.45. iShares Mortgage Real Estate ETF Company Profile The iShares Mortgage Real Estate Capped ETF (REM) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the FTSE Nareit All Mortgage Capped index, a market-cap-weighted index of residential and commercial mortgage REITs. REM was launched on May 1, 2007 and is managed by BlackRock. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding REM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares Mortgage Real Estate ETF (BATS:REM Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares Mortgage Real Estate ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares Mortgage Real Estate ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of N-able, Inc. (NYSE:NABL Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of Hold from the eight brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $9.45. A number of equities research analysts recently commented on NABL shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on N-able from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Zacks Research lowered N-able from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a sell (d) rating on shares of N-able in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. B. Riley assumed coverage on shares of N-able in a report on Friday, January 23rd. They set a buy rating and a $10.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of N-able from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Saturday, December 6th. Get N-able alerts: Check Out Our Latest Research Report on NABL Institutional Trading of N-able N-able Trading Down 0.9% Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in N-able by 1,970.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,789 shares of the companys stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 3,606 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of N-able by 1,410.3% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,615 shares of the companys stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 6,177 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of N-able in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP bought a new stake in N-able during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $90,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in N-able during the 4th quarter worth approximately $85,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.35% of the companys stock. NABL opened at $6.02 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.64. N-able has a fifty-two week low of $6.00 and a fifty-two week high of $10.41. The company has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -200.50 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. N-able (NYSE:NABL Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $131.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $127.48 million. N-able had a negative net margin of 1.31% and a positive return on equity of 4.17%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.13 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that N-able will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current year. N-able Company Profile (Get Free Report) N-able (NYSE:NABL) is a cloud-based software provider specializing in solutions for managed service providers (MSPs). The companys platform offers remote monitoring and management (RMM), backup and disaster recovery, endpoint detection and response (EDR), security information and event management (SIEM), and automation tools. By integrating these services into a unified interface, N-able enables MSPs to streamline IT operations, enhance security posture, and deliver proactive maintenance across on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, N-able traces its origins to the managed services division of SolarWinds before completing a spin-off and initial public offering in mid-2021. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for N-able Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for N-able and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Centrica PLC (OTCMKTS:CPYYY Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of Moderate Buy from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CPYYY. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an outperform rating on shares of Centrica in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup cut Centrica from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Get Centrica alerts: View Our Latest Stock Analysis on CPYYY Centrica Stock Up 0.1% Centrica Company Profile Shares of OTCMKTS CPYYY traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $10.70. 10,569 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,586. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.62. The companys fifty day moving average is $9.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.12. Centrica has a fifty-two week low of $6.75 and a fifty-two week high of $10.79. (Get Free Report) Centrica plc is a British multinational energy and services company headquartered in Windsor, England. The company operates across energy supply, services and solutions, delivering gas and electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers. In addition to commodity supply, Centrica offers a range of services such as boiler installation and maintenance, smart home technology, and energy efficiency solutions through its field-based engineering teams. Established in 1997 following the demerger of British Gas, Centrica has evolved through strategic acquisitions and divestments to focus on core markets and capabilities. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Centrica Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Centrica and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. China Eastern Airlines Co. Limited (OTCMKTS:CHEAF Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,776,000 shares, a drop of 14.0% from the December 31st total of 4,392,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 629,333.3 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 629,333.3 days. China Eastern Airlines Price Performance OTCMKTS CHEAF opened at $0.63 on Tuesday. The firms fifty day moving average price is $0.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $0.47. China Eastern Airlines has a 1 year low of $0.30 and a 1 year high of $0.63. Get China Eastern Airlines alerts: China Eastern Airlines Company Profile (Get Free Report) China Eastern Airlines Corporation Limited is one of the three major state-owned airlines in the Peoples Republic of China, with its headquarters and primary hubs located in Shanghai. Established in 1988 through the reorganization of the Civil Aviation Administration of Chinas regional operations, the company operates under the auspices of China Eastern Air Holding Company, a state-owned enterprise supervised by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. Over the decades, China Eastern has grown into a leading carrier, leveraging Shanghais Pudong and Hongqiao airports as central nodes for its expansive route network. The companys core business comprises scheduled passenger air transport services, freight and mail delivery, and aircraft maintenance services. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for China Eastern Airlines Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for China Eastern Airlines and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Volatility and Risk AMB Financial has a beta of 0.17, suggesting that its stock price is 83% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD has a beta of 0.57, suggesting that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Valuation & Earnings This table compares AMB Financial and Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MDs gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation. Get AMB Financial alerts: Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio AMB Financial $18.97 million 1.53 $2.19 million N/A N/A Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD $9.72 million 1.87 $730,000.00 $0.85 20.41 Institutional & Insider Ownership AMB Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD. 1.2% of AMB Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 21.6% of Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD shares are owned by institutional investors. 37.7% of AMB Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.4% of Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term. Profitability This table compares AMB Financial and Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MDs net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets AMB Financial N/A N/A N/A Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD 8.69% N/A N/A Dividends AMB Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD pays an annual dividend of $0.18 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD pays out 21.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Summary Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD beats AMB Financial on 5 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks. About AMB Financial (Get Free Report) AMB Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for American Community Bank of Indiana that provides financial services to customers in Indiana. The company provides savings, checking, health savings, individual retirement, and money market deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It offers business checking accounts, business debit and credit cards, and order business checks. In addition, the company offers mortgage loans, home equity loans, construction/lot loans, community loans, vehicle loans, and loan servicing; and commercial loans, commercial real estate loans, and SBA loans. Further, it provides merchant, remote deposit, wire services, fraud protection, and ACH origination; sweep services, zero balance accounts, lockbox services, vault services, and wealth management services; online, mobile, voice, and banking services; money order and e-statement services; cashiers checks; and safe deposit boxes. The company was founded in 1910 and is headquartered in Saint John, Indiana. About Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD (Get Free Report) Gouverneur Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Gouverneur Savings and Loan Association that provides various banking products and services to individuals and businesses in New York. It accepts passbook savings, NOW, money market deposit, and checking accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company's loan products include mortgage loans, one- to four-family residential loans, commercial real estate loans, and multi-family residential real estate loans, residential and commercial construction loans, commercial land loans, home equity loans, lines of credit, commercial loans, automobiles, motorcycles, campers, boats, and other recreational vehicles, as well as personal secured and unsecured loans. It also invests in municipal bonds, U.S. Treasury securities, U.S. Government agencies and government-sponsored obligations, and mortgage-backed securities. In addition, the company offers online, mobile, bill pay, and telephone banking; electronic or paper statements; and ATM, debit cards, direct deposits, mobile remote deposit capture, automatic payments and transfers, bank checks, wire transfers, and safe deposit box services. It serves primarily the St. Lawrence County, and Jefferson and Lewis counties in New York State. The company was founded in 1892 and is headquartered in Gouverneur, New York. Receive News & Ratings for AMB Financial Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for AMB Financial and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Polands online marketplace Erli has taken legal action against rival Allegro, accusing it of abusing market power and engaging in unfair competition. At the centre of the complaint is what Erli describes as Warsaw-listed Allegros insistence on consistent pricing across the internet, with promotional visibility, both on and off the platform, linked to how a seller prices products elsewhere online. Erli CEO and founder Adam Ciesielczyk told Retail Insight Network: Over time, weve observed systemic, multi-layered practices that undermine price transparency and restrict other market participants ability to compete on equal terms. Explaining the decision to sue, he added: Given the scale and structural nature of these issues, we decided that legal action was the appropriate step to protect fair market rules and support healthy competition in Polands e-commerce ecosystem. Our objective is not confrontation for its own sake but ensuring that all market players operate under the same, transparent conditions. Allegro rejected the allegations. Group communications director Marcin Gruszka said: We strongly disagree with Erli's position. We do not, in any way, impose a specific pricing policy on our Partners. Each of our Partners is free to set their prices across any sales channel. A Partner's pricing policy outside the Allegro platform has no impact on the positioning of their offers on Allegro, including their promotion within our service. Gruszka said Erlis lawsuit relates to two areas: the Allegro Prices (Allegro Ceny) programme and the advertising of Allegro offers outside the marketplace, such as on Google. These benefits are funded by us, Allegro, he said. Allegro Prices is a program for sellers in which Allegro subsidises a reduction in the product price to make the offer more attractive to customers. He added: We do not wish to subsidise the offers and advertising of Partners whose prices are clearly uncompetitive compared to the market. Allegro went on to say that the lawsuit forms part of a broader legal conflict between the two companies. Gruszka also alleged that Erli has unlawfully used Allegros API, including to copy listings and content from Allegros product catalogue. "Erli sues Allegro over pricing practices in Polish e-commerce dispute" was originally created and published by Retail Insight Network, a GlobalData owned brand. ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS Get Free Report) and Blackhawk Bancorp (OTCMKTS:BHWB Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, dividends and earnings. Profitability This table compares ServisFirst Bancshares and Blackhawk Bancorps net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Get ServisFirst Bancshares alerts: Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets ServisFirst Bancshares 26.95% 16.36% 1.61% Blackhawk Bancorp N/A N/A N/A Analyst Ratings This is a summary of current recommendations for ServisFirst Bancshares and Blackhawk Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat. Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score ServisFirst Bancshares 0 1 2 2 3.20 Blackhawk Bancorp 0 0 0 0 0.00 Institutional and Insider Ownership ServisFirst Bancshares currently has a consensus target price of $91.00, suggesting a potential upside of 7.56%. Given ServisFirst Bancshares stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe ServisFirst Bancshares is more favorable than Blackhawk Bancorp. 67.3% of ServisFirst Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 6.7% of ServisFirst Bancshares shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 26.8% of Blackhawk Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth. Valuation & Earnings This table compares ServisFirst Bancshares and Blackhawk Bancorps top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation. Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio ServisFirst Bancshares $1.02 billion 4.54 $276.60 million $5.06 16.72 Blackhawk Bancorp N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A ServisFirst Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than Blackhawk Bancorp. Summary ServisFirst Bancshares beats Blackhawk Bancorp on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks. About ServisFirst Bancshares (Get Free Report) ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for ServisFirst Bank that provides various banking services to individual and corporate customers. It accepts demand, time, savings, and other deposits; checking, money market, and IRA accounts; and certificates of deposit. The company's loan products include commercial lending products, including seasonal, bridge, and term loans for working capital, expansion of the business, acquisition of property, and plant and equipment, as well as commercial lines of credit; commercial real estate loans, construction and development loans, and residential real estate loans; and consumer loans, such as home equity loans, vehicle financing, loans secured by deposits, and secured and unsecured personal loans. It also offers other banking products and services comprising telephone and mobile banking, Internet banking, direct deposit, traveler's checks, safe deposit boxes, attorney trust accounts, automatic account transfers, automated teller machines, and debit and credit card systems; treasury and cash management services; wire transfer, night depository, banking-by-mail, and remote capture services; and correspondent banking services to other financial institutions. In addition, the company holds and manages participations in residential mortgages and commercial real estate loans originated by ServisFirst Bank in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee. The company was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. About Blackhawk Bancorp (Get Free Report) Blackhawk Bancorp, Inc., a financial holding company, provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company offers personal banking products and services, including checking, savings, health savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit; personal, auto, student, and home improvement and equity loans; and lines of credit and credit cards. It also provides business banking products and services, such as business checking, business interest checking, business sweep, small business checking, business NOW, health savings, and money market accounts; commercial, development, term, equipment/fixed asset, and small business administration loans; lines and letters of credit; receivables financing; and corporate credit cards, as well as treasury management solutions. In addition, the company offers payments and transfer, mortgages lending, financial planning, wealth management, security brokerage, investment management, commercial banking, and online and mobile banking services, as well as installment loans. It serves individual, corporate, institutional, and governmental customers through its 11 full-services banking centers in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. The company was founded in 1881 and is headquartered in Beloit, Wisconsin. Receive News & Ratings for ServisFirst Bancshares Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for ServisFirst Bancshares and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 6,498 shares of the health services providers stock, valued at approximately $594,000. Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MMS. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Maximus in the second quarter valued at $47,886,000. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Maximus by 113.6% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 657,247 shares of the health services providers stock worth $46,435,000 after buying an additional 349,529 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Maximus in the 2nd quarter valued at about $18,073,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Maximus by 49.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 720,943 shares of the health services providers stock valued at $65,873,000 after acquiring an additional 237,097 shares during the period. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Maximus by 1,380.3% during the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 228,488 shares of the health services providers stock worth $20,877,000 after acquiring an additional 213,053 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.21% of the companys stock. Get Maximus alerts: Maximus Stock Up 0.1% Shares of MMS opened at $94.54 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Maximus, Inc. has a 12 month low of $63.77 and a 12 month high of $100.00. The firms 50 day moving average is $90.19 and its 200-day moving average is $86.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a PE ratio of 17.00 and a beta of 0.56. Maximus Increases Dividend Maximus ( NYSE:MMS Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The health services provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.01). Maximus had a return on equity of 25.23% and a net margin of 5.87%.The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Maximus has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.950-8.250 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Maximus, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year. The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This is an increase from Maximuss previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Maximuss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.58%. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades MMS has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a buy (b-) rating on shares of Maximus in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Maximus from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Strong Buy. Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on MMS Insiders Place Their Bets In other Maximus news, insider Michelle F. Link sold 4,039 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.84, for a total transaction of $350,746.76. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 19,542 shares in the company, valued at $1,697,027.28. This represents a 17.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. Maximus Company Profile (Free Report) Maximus, Inc (NYSE: MMS) is a global provider of government services focused on delivering health and human services programs. The company partners with federal, state, and local agencies to administer and manage programs that support individuals and families across various stages of life. Key service areas include eligibility determination and enrollment services for Medicaid, Medicare, Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and other public assistance programs, as well as call center operations, case management and program integrity solutions. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MMS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Maximus Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Maximus and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Enbridge Inc (NYSE:ENB Get Free Report) (TSE:ENB) has earned a consensus recommendation of Hold from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $63.00. A number of analysts have commented on ENB shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Enbridge from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Enbridge from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Scotiabank raised shares of Enbridge from a sector perform rating to a sector outperform rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Enbridge from a buy (b-) rating to a hold (c+) rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, National Bankshares restated a sector perform rating on shares of Enbridge in a report on Monday, November 10th. Get Enbridge alerts: Get Our Latest Report on ENB Institutional Investors Weigh In On Enbridge Enbridge Stock Performance Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tsfg LLC increased its position in Enbridge by 329.6% in the 3rd quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 494 shares of the pipeline companys stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Enbridge by 112.4% in the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 582 shares of the pipeline companys stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Enbridge in the third quarter worth $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Enbridge by 73.1% during the third quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 559 shares of the pipeline companys stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. Finally, Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. acquired a new position in Enbridge during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.60% of the companys stock. ENB opened at $48.30 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $105.37 billion, a PE ratio of 26.54 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.62. Enbridge has a fifty-two week low of $39.73 and a fifty-two week high of $50.54. Enbridge (NYSE:ENB Get Free Report) (TSE:ENB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.06). Enbridge had a return on equity of 10.51% and a net margin of 9.20%.The company had revenue of $7 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.45 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Enbridge will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year. Enbridge Increases Dividend The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.97 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This is a positive change from Enbridges previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $3.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.0%. Enbridges payout ratio is presently 147.80%. About Enbridge (Get Free Report) Enbridge Inc is a Calgary, Albertabased energy infrastructure company that develops, owns and operates a diversified portfolio of energy transportation, distribution and generation assets. Its core activities include the operation of crude oil and liquids pipelines, natural gas transmission and distribution systems, and energy storage facilities. In addition to midstream transportation and storage, Enbridge has expanded into renewable power generation and energy transition projects, including wind, solar and utility-scale generation assets. The company serves customers primarily in Canada and the United States and has interests in other international energy projects. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Enbridge Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Enbridge and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of 0.15 per share by the auto manufacturer on Monday, March 2nd. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. Ford Motor has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years. Ford Motor has a dividend payout ratio of 45.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Ford Motor to earn $1.54 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 39.0%. Get Ford Motor alerts: Ford Motor Price Performance Shares of F traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $13.85. The companys stock had a trading volume of 23,922,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 62,314,645. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Ford Motor has a fifty-two week low of $8.44 and a fifty-two week high of $14.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.92, a PEG ratio of 5.87 and a beta of 1.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $13.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.52. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Ford Motor from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Ford Motor from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ford Motor from $12.50 to $15.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Ford Motor from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ford Motor from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ford Motor has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $13.19. Get Our Latest Analysis on F Ford Motor Company Profile (Get Free Report) Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is an American multinational automaker headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan. Founded by Henry Ford in 1903, the company became an early pioneer of mass-production techniques with the Model T and the adoption of the moving assembly line. Today, Ford designs, manufactures, markets and services a broad range of vehicles and mobility solutions under the Ford and Lincoln brands, spanning passenger cars, SUVs, pickup trucks and commercial vehicles. Fords business activities extend beyond vehicle production to include parts and aftermarket services, fleet and commercial sales, and automotive financing through Ford Motor Credit Company. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Ford Motor Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Ford Motor and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 10,423 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $553,000. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of British American Tobacco in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new stake in British American Tobacco in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its stake in British American Tobacco by 48.6% in the third quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 633 shares of the companys stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in shares of British American Tobacco during the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of British American Tobacco during the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.16% of the companys stock. Get British American Tobacco alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BTI. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a buy rating on shares of British American Tobacco in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Kepler Capital Markets started coverage on British American Tobacco in a research report on Friday, December 12th. They set a buy rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a hold (c+) rating on shares of British American Tobacco in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup reaffirmed a buy rating on shares of British American Tobacco in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an underweight rating on shares of British American Tobacco in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $51.00. British American Tobacco Stock Performance Shares of British American Tobacco stock opened at $61.01 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stocks fifty day moving average price is $57.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.38. British American Tobacco p.l.c. has a 12 month low of $37.31 and a 12 month high of $61.15. British American Tobacco Profile (Free Report) British American Tobacco plc (BTI) is a multinational tobacco manufacturer and nicotine products company headquartered in London. Founded in 1902 as a joint venture to commercialize tobacco products outside the United States, the company has grown into one of the worlds largest tobacco firms with a long history in manufacturing and global distribution of combustible tobacco products. BATs core business remains the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products under a portfolio of well-known consumer brands, including Dunhill, Lucky Strike, Pall Mall, Kent and Rothmans. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BTI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for British American Tobacco Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for British American Tobacco and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Fuji Media Holdings, Inc. (OTCMKTS:FJTNF Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 317,880 shares, a decrease of 26.0% from the December 31st total of 429,789 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 158,940.0 days. Based on an average trading volume of 2 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 158,940.0 days. Fuji Media Stock Performance FJTNF stock remained flat at $23.35 during mid-day trading on Tuesday. Fuji Media has a 52-week low of $22.44 and a 52-week high of $27.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $23.00 and a 200-day moving average of $24.23. Get Fuji Media alerts: Fuji Media Company Profile (Get Free Report) Fuji Media Holdings, Inc (OTCMKTS: FJTNF) is a Tokyo-based media conglomerate that operates as the holding company for a diverse portfolio of broadcasting and contentproduction businesses. Its primary subsidiary, Fuji Television Network, produces and airs a wide range of television programming, including news, sports, dramas and variety shows. The company also maintains radio operations through Nippon Broadcasting System and offers advertising sales and media planning services to domestic and international clients. In addition to its core broadcasting activities, Fuji Media Holdings develops and distributes content across multiple platforms. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Fuji Media Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Fuji Media and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Gear4music (Holdings) plc (LON:G4M Get Free Report) shares passed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of GBX 300.43 and traded as low as GBX 290. Gear4music shares last traded at GBX 299.80, with a volume of 31,986 shares. Gear4music Stock Performance The stocks 50-day moving average price is GBX 300.43 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 285.85. The company has a market capitalization of 64.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 79.53, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 2.19. Get Gear4music alerts: Gear4music (LON:G4M Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 18th. The company reported GBX 9.60 earnings per share for the quarter. Gear4music had a return on equity of 2.60% and a net margin of 0.68%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Gear4music will post 22.0105125 earnings per share for the current year. Gear4music Company Profile Operating from a Head Office in York, Distribution Centres in York, Bacup, Sweden, Germany, Ireland & Spain, and showrooms in York, Bacup, Sweden & Germany, the Group sells own-brand musical instruments and music equipment alongside premium third-party brands including Fender, Yamaha and Roland, to customers ranging from beginners to musical enthusiasts and professionals, in the UK, Europe and the Rest of the World. Having developed its own e-commerce platform, with multilingual, multicurrency websites delivering to over 190 countries, the Group continues to build its overseas presence. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Gear4music Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Gear4music and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL Get Free Report)s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $38.36 and last traded at $37.0330, with a volume of 859 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $37.99. Analyst Ratings Changes Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GSL. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Global Ship Lease from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a buy (b) rating on shares of Global Ship Lease in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Global Ship Lease from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $33.50. Get Global Ship Lease alerts: Read Our Latest Report on GSL Global Ship Lease Price Performance The firm has a fifty day moving average of $35.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $32.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 2.14. Global Ship Lease (NYSE:GSL Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The shipping company reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $192.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $180.36 million. Global Ship Lease had a return on equity of 23.98% and a net margin of 53.62%.The businesss quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Global Ship Lease, Inc. will post 9.74 EPS for the current year. Global Ship Lease Increases Dividend The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st were paid a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 21st. This is a positive change from Global Ship Leases previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.8%. Global Ship Leases payout ratio is presently 22.44%. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Ship Lease Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GSL. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC raised its position in Global Ship Lease by 75.2% during the 2nd quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 123,718 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $3,255,000 after buying an additional 53,101 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its stake in shares of Global Ship Lease by 192.2% during the third quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 53,602 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $1,646,000 after acquiring an additional 35,258 shares during the period. Lonestar Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Global Ship Lease during the second quarter worth about $5,262,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Global Ship Lease by 7.3% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,305,109 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $34,314,000 after purchasing an additional 89,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in Global Ship Lease by 10.1% in the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 385,416 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $10,140,000 after purchasing an additional 35,205 shares during the period. 50.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. About Global Ship Lease (Get Free Report) Global Ship Lease (NYSE: GSL) is a Bermuda-based containership charter owner focused on acquiring, owning and leasing modern, fuel-efficient vessels to major liner operators. Founded in 2011 and listed on the New York Stock Exchange the same year, the companys fleet primarily comprises post-Panamax containerships designed to serve the high-volume AsiaEurope and transpacific shipping lanes. By specializing in long-term charter agreements, Global Ship Lease aims to maintain stable revenue streams and minimize spot-market volatility. The companys business model centers on negotiating multi-year time charters with leading global shipping lines. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Global Ship Lease Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Global Ship Lease and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Heritage Investors Management Corp reduced its stake in RTX Corporation (NYSE:RTX Free Report) by 4.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 247,227 shares of the companys stock after selling 10,522 shares during the period. RTX makes up approximately 1.2% of Heritage Investors Management Corps portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Heritage Investors Management Corps holdings in RTX were worth $41,368,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in RTX. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in shares of RTX during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new stake in RTX during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new position in RTX in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its position in shares of RTX by 57.4% during the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 192 shares of the companys stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clayton Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of RTX in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. 86.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Get RTX alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of research analysts recently weighed in on RTX shares. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a market perform rating and set a $204.00 target price on shares of RTX in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen reiterated a buy rating on shares of RTX in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on RTX from $151.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. UBS Group reissued a neutral rating on shares of RTX in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an overweight rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of RTX in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $198.89. RTX Stock Performance NYSE:RTX opened at $200.98 on Tuesday. RTX Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $112.27 and a fifty-two week high of $205.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $185.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $171.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $269.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.52, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.43. RTX (NYSE:RTX Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $24.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.65 billion. RTX had a return on equity of 13.08% and a net margin of 7.60%.The companys quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.54 earnings per share. RTX has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.600-6.800 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that RTX Corporation will post 6.11 EPS for the current year. Key Stories Impacting RTX Here are the key news stories impacting RTX this week: Positive Sentiment: Collins Aerospace (RTX) signed a fiveyear FlightSense renewal with All Nippon Airways covering multiple Boeing types and Dash 8-400 aircraft a cost-per-flight-hour deal that preserves recurring MRO/service revenue, reduces airline downtime and supports stable aftermarket cash flows. Article Title Collins Aerospace (RTX) signed a fiveyear FlightSense renewal with All Nippon Airways covering multiple Boeing types and Dash 8-400 aircraft a cost-per-flight-hour deal that preserves recurring MRO/service revenue, reduces airline downtime and supports stable aftermarket cash flows. Positive Sentiment: Collins Aerospace extended its FlightSense program with Singapore Airlines for five more years and added five Boeing 777F freighters (27 aircraft total) incremental stable aftersales revenue and deeper customer penetration in Asia-Pacific. Article Title Collins Aerospace extended its FlightSense program with Singapore Airlines for five more years and added five Boeing 777F freighters (27 aircraft total) incremental stable aftersales revenue and deeper customer penetration in Asia-Pacific. Positive Sentiment: RTX announced plans to invest $139 million in Singapore and signed multiple MOUs with the Economic Development Board to expand advanced manufacturing, MRO and engineering capabilities signals of capital deployment aimed at capacity expansion and stronger AsiaPacific positioning. Article Title RTX announced plans to invest $139 million in Singapore and signed multiple MOUs with the Economic Development Board to expand advanced manufacturing, MRO and engineering capabilities signals of capital deployment aimed at capacity expansion and stronger AsiaPacific positioning. Positive Sentiment: Raytheon (an RTX business) completed a successful ballistic test for the U.S. Armys Next Generation Short Range Interceptor (NGSRI), advancing a program that could generate sizable future defense revenue if it advances to production. Article Title Raytheon (an RTX business) completed a successful ballistic test for the U.S. Armys Next Generation Short Range Interceptor (NGSRI), advancing a program that could generate sizable future defense revenue if it advances to production. Positive Sentiment: Raytheon was selected by DARPA to develop an advanced maritime sensing/targeting system to protect vulnerable vessels a tech win that could translate into R&D-funded work and followon contracts. Article Title Raytheon was selected by DARPA to develop an advanced maritime sensing/targeting system to protect vulnerable vessels a tech win that could translate into R&D-funded work and followon contracts. Neutral Sentiment: Analyst note roundup (Yahoo Finance) summarizes postearnings analyst views generally acknowledging RTXs Q4 beat, revenue strength and FY26 guidance (6.606.80 EPS), but also highlighting valuation metrics and differing street price targets. This frames investor expectations but is not new company-level cashflow news. Article Title Analyst note roundup (Yahoo Finance) summarizes postearnings analyst views generally acknowledging RTXs Q4 beat, revenue strength and FY26 guidance (6.606.80 EPS), but also highlighting valuation metrics and differing street price targets. This frames investor expectations but is not new company-level cashflow news. Neutral Sentiment: MarketBeat industry roundup lists defense companies Q4 winners and losers (includes RTX commentary) useful for relative performance comparison but not a direct catalyst. Article Title MarketBeat industry roundup lists defense companies Q4 winners and losers (includes RTX commentary) useful for relative performance comparison but not a direct catalyst. Neutral Sentiment: Multiple tech/gaming stories reference RTX as NVIDIA GPU branding (e.g., product discounts, stock sellouts, hardware incidents). These are unrelated to RTX Corporation (the aerospace & defense company) and should not be conflated with RTX (NYSE: RTX) corporate performance. Examples: PCWorld, IGN, Tweaktown, TechSpot links. Article Title Article Title Article Title RTX Company Profile (Free Report) RTX (NYSE: RTX) is a U.S.-based aerospace and defense company that designs, manufactures and services advanced systems for commercial, military and governmental customers worldwide. The company was created through the 2020 combination of Raytheon Company and United Technologies Corporation and later adopted the RTX name, positioning itself as a diversified provider across the aerospace and defense value chain. RTXs operations span a broad set of capabilities. Its commercial aerospace businesses include Pratt & Whitney aircraft engines and Collins Aerospace systems, which supply propulsion, avionics, aerostructures, interiors and integrated aircraft systems. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding RTX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for RTX Corporation (NYSE:RTX Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for RTX Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for RTX and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Truist Financial Corp lowered its stake in shares of Invesco Senior Loan ETF (NYSEARCA:BKLN Free Report) by 16.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 359,116 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after selling 72,434 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corps holdings in Invesco Senior Loan ETF were worth $7,516,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Investment Management Corp of Ontario lifted its position in shares of Invesco Senior Loan ETF by 34.7% during the 2nd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 9,726,878 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $203,486,000 after acquiring an additional 2,506,226 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Invesco Senior Loan ETF by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,666,825 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $181,310,000 after acquiring an additional 342,655 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Invesco Senior Loan ETF by 32.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,265,015 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $131,064,000 after purchasing an additional 1,526,209 shares in the last quarter. Ocean Park Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Invesco Senior Loan ETF by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ocean Park Asset Management LLC now owns 6,087,886 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $127,419,000 after purchasing an additional 1,419,752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Invesco Senior Loan ETF by 4.0% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,089,439 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $85,442,000 after purchasing an additional 155,703 shares during the last quarter. Get Invesco Senior Loan ETF alerts: Invesco Senior Loan ETF Price Performance Invesco Senior Loan ETF stock opened at $20.77 on Tuesday. Invesco Senior Loan ETF has a fifty-two week low of $20.02 and a fifty-two week high of $21.09. The stocks fifty day moving average is $20.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.93. Invesco Senior Loan ETF Increases Dividend Invesco Senior Loan ETF Profile The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th were given a dividend of $0.1078 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 20th. This is an increase from Invesco Senior Loan ETFs previous monthly dividend of $0.10. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.2%. (Free Report) The Invesco Senior Loan ETF (BKLN) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in high yield fixed income. The fund tracks a market-value-weighted index of senior loans issued by banks to corporations. BKLN was launched on Mar 3, 2011 and is managed by Invesco. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BKLN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Invesco Senior Loan ETF (NYSEARCA:BKLN Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Invesco Senior Loan ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Invesco Senior Loan ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Key insight: The deal was the largest bank merger announced in 2025, and is the largest to close so far in 2026. What's at stake: Fifth Third must now integrate Comerica, as the combination increased the company's total assets by more than 35%. Forward look: The bank will aim to take advantage of legacy Comerica's commercial footprint in regions such as Texas, where it hopes to boost its retail business and market share. Update: This story includes comments from an interview Monday with Fifth Third CEO Tim Spence. Fifth Third Bancorp officially acquired Comerica on Sunday, marking the completion of one of the largest bank deals in recent history. The acquisition, which was valued at $10.9 billion when it was announced, crossed the finish line less than four months later. Now, Fifth Third will merge its retail strategy with Comerica's commercial footprint in hopes of locking down market share in markets such as Texas and Michigan. The deal not only signals that merger timelines are getting faster as the Trump administration eases up on regulatory scrutiny, it's also further affirmation that banks are seeking scale to compete. Fifth Third CEO Tim Spence said in an interview with American Banker on Monday that the company is focused on making sure that customers in the new and expanded markets aren't negatively impacted by the combination with Comerica. "The absolute size of the company is much less important to me than the role that we play in the markets where we operate," Spence said. "We have a lot of work to do to take two companies and make them one company over the course of the next six months." Cincinnati-based Fifth Third now has some $294 billion of assets, making it the 16th largest insured depository institution in the country. But the race to the finish line wasn't completely smooth sailing. HoldCo Asset Management, an activist investor that had pressured Comerica to sell itself last summer, sued the banks for breach of fiduciary duties related to the transaction, in an attempt to block the banks from combining. A judge shot down HoldCo's claims last week, paving the way for Fifth Third and Comerica to cross the T's on their agreement. Fifth Third now has to integrate its purchase. Spence said Monday the bank plans to convert systems over Labor Day weekend. The company has been investing in building its branch network across the Southeast, and will now also target areas in the Sunbelt. By 2030, the company plans to have about 1,750 branches, more than half of which will be located in the Southeast, Texas, Arizona and California. In the next four years, Fifth Third said it will invest $600 million to open 150 new locations in Texas, which the bank expects will position it for top-four market share in Dallas, Houston and Austin. Shares of iShares 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:SHYG Get Free Report) saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday . 4,653,612 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 247% from the previous sessions volume of 1,340,326 shares.The stock last traded at $42.7750 and had previously closed at $42.88. iShares 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond ETF Stock Performance The stocks 50 day moving average price is $42.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.00. The company has a market capitalization of $8.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.74 and a beta of 0.30. Get iShares 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond ETF alerts: Institutional Inflows and Outflows Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new stake in iShares 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond ETF during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of iShares 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond ETF in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in iShares 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond ETF during the second quarter worth $47,000. FWL Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in iShares 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond ETF by 1,291.0% in the second quarter. FWL Investment Management LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the companys stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 2,001 shares during the period. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC bought a new stake in iShares 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond ETF in the second quarter valued at $113,000. iShares 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond ETF Company Profile The iShares 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (SHYG) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in high yield fixed income. The fund tracks a market-value-weighted index of high-yield USD-denominated bonds with 0-5 years remaining in maturity. SHYG was launched on Oct 15, 2013 and is managed by BlackRock. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for iShares 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:LQD Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 63,209,547 shares, an increase of 39.9% from the December 31st total of 45,175,603 shares. Approximately 25.7% of the companys shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 29,056,402 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 29,056,402 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days. Approximately 25.7% of the companys shares are sold short. Institutional Inflows and Outflows A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LQD. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH purchased a new stake in shares of iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in shares of iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its holdings in shares of iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF by 255.7% during the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 313 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF by 34.6% during the third quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 350 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the companys stock. Get iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF alerts: iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF Price Performance iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF stock opened at $110.06 on Tuesday. iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF has a fifty-two week low of $103.45 and a fifty-two week high of $112.93. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $110.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.74. The company has a market cap of $28.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.25 and a beta of 0.46. About iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the Markit iBoxx USD Liquid Investment Grade Index (the Index), which is a rules-based index consisting of liquid, the United States dollar-denominated, investment-grade corporate bonds for sale in the United States. The Index may include large-, mid- or small-capitalization companies, and components primarily include consumer services, financial, and oil and gas companies. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. iShares U.S. Regional Banks ETF (NYSEARCA:IAT Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 196,049 shares, an increase of 33.6% from the December 31st total of 146,699 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 259,274 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.8 days. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 259,274 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.8 days. Institutional Investors Weigh In On iShares U.S. Regional Banks ETF A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IAT. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of iShares U.S. Regional Banks ETF by 7.0% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 418,007 shares of the companys stock valued at $21,958,000 after acquiring an additional 27,502 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in iShares U.S. Regional Banks ETF by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 375,804 shares of the companys stock worth $19,741,000 after purchasing an additional 15,185 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in iShares U.S. Regional Banks ETF by 154.3% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 193,000 shares of the companys stock worth $10,138,000 after purchasing an additional 117,100 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in iShares U.S. Regional Banks ETF by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 190,762 shares of the companys stock worth $8,895,000 after buying an additional 19,870 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of iShares U.S. Regional Banks ETF by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 174,308 shares of the companys stock valued at $8,637,000 after buying an additional 4,486 shares during the last quarter. Get iShares U.S. Regional Banks ETF alerts: iShares U.S. Regional Banks ETF Stock Up 1.7% Shares of IAT stock traded up $1.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $60.15. 249,672 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 262,241. The company has a market cap of $637.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.39 and a beta of 0.96. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $55.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.94. iShares U.S. Regional Banks ETF has a 1-year low of $38.30 and a 1-year high of $60.47. About iShares U.S. Regional Banks ETF The iShares U.S. Regional Banks ETF (IAT) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the DJ US Select \u002F Regional Banks index. The fund tracks the performance of an index of small- and mid-cap regional banks. IAT was launched on May 1, 2006 and is managed by BlackRock. See Also Receive News & Ratings for iShares U.S. Regional Banks ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares U.S. Regional Banks ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Cadence Bank (NYSE:CADE Free Report) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 48,214 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,810,000. Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its position in shares of Cadence Bank by 77.1% during the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 148,550 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,751,000 after buying an additional 64,690 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its holdings in Cadence Bank by 59.7% in the 3rd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 117,552 shares of the companys stock worth $4,413,000 after acquiring an additional 43,944 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in Cadence Bank in the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,835,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Cadence Bank by 1.6% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 101,585 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,560 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust boosted its position in Cadence Bank by 125.7% during the third quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 209,194 shares of the companys stock worth $7,853,000 after purchasing an additional 116,491 shares during the period. 84.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Get Cadence Bank alerts: Cadence Bank Stock Performance NYSE CADE opened at $42.14 on Tuesday. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $43.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Cadence Bank has a 1 year low of $25.22 and a 1 year high of $46.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.68 billion, a PE ratio of 14.94 and a beta of 0.95. Cadence Bank Increases Dividend Cadence Bank ( NYSE:CADE Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.06. Cadence Bank had a net margin of 18.12% and a return on equity of 10.16%. The firm had revenue of $528.41 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $525.15 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.70 EPS. Analysts predict that Cadence Bank will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a $0.3438 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $1.38 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. This is an increase from Cadence Banks previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Cadence Banks dividend payout ratio is currently 39.01%. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades CADE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays downgraded shares of Cadence Bank from an overweight rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Piper Sandler set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Cadence Bank and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Cadence Bank from an overweight rating to a sell rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Cadence Bank from a hold rating to a moderate buy rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Cadence Bank from a moderate buy rating to a hold rating and lifted their price target for the company from $41.00 to $49.00 in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $42.88. Read Our Latest Report on Cadence Bank Cadence Bank Profile (Free Report) Cadence Bank (NYSE: CADE) is a regional commercial bank that offers a full suite of financial services to individuals, businesses and government entities. Through its network of branches and digital platforms, the bank provides deposit accounts, treasury management solutions, commercial and industrial lending, equipment finance, residential and consumer mortgages, and wealth management services. Cadence Bank serves a mix of small and mid-size companies as well as retail customers in its core markets. The institution traces its heritage to Cadence Bancorporation, which was established in 1987 in Tupelo, Mississippi. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CADE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Cadence Bank (NYSE:CADE Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Cadence Bank Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Cadence Bank and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Japan Airlines (OTCMKTS:JAPSY Get Free Report) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, Zacks reports. Japan Airlines had a net margin of 6.48% and a return on equity of 11.17%. Japan Airlines Stock Performance Shares of Japan Airlines stock opened at $9.55 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.46. Japan Airlines has a one year low of $7.69 and a one year high of $11.00. The company has a market cap of $8.34 billion, a PE ratio of 10.05 and a beta of 0.37. Get Japan Airlines alerts: Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Separately, Zacks Research raised shares of Japan Airlines from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Buy. About Japan Airlines (Get Free Report) Japan Airlines (OTCMKTS:JAPSY) is the flag carrier of Japan, providing both scheduled passenger and cargo air transportation services. The company operates a comprehensive network of domestic and international flights, connecting major cities across Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania. In addition to its core passenger services, Japan Airlines offers charter operations, cargo logistics and maintenance support through its technical services division. The airlines network is centered on its primary hubs at Tokyos Haneda and Narita airports. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Japan Airlines Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Japan Airlines and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. John Hancock Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:JHMU Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 22,094 shares, an increase of 40.5% from the December 31st total of 15,729 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,448 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.4 days. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 3,448 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.4 days. Institutional Investors Weigh In On John Hancock Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in John Hancock Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF by 90.9% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 53,240 shares of the companys stock worth $1,371,000 after acquiring an additional 25,356 shares during the period. Landmark Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in John Hancock Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF in the 2nd quarter valued at about $570,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in John Hancock Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 52,284 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,336,000 after buying an additional 4,400 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of John Hancock Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF during the third quarter valued at approximately $329,000. Finally, Citadel Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of John Hancock Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF during the third quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Get John Hancock Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF alerts: John Hancock Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF Stock Performance NYSEARCA:JHMU remained flat at $26.41 during mid-day trading on Monday. 3,524 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,206. John Hancock Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF has a one year low of $24.68 and a one year high of $26.44. The company has a market capitalization of $40.94 million, a PE ratio of 15.71 and a beta of 0.22. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $26.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.01. John Hancock Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF Cuts Dividend John Hancock Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF Company Profile The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 28th were paid a $0.0502 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 28th. (Get Free Report) The John Hancock Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF (JHMU) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the John Hancock Dimensional Utilities index. The fund is an actively managed fund that primarily invests in investment grade municipal bonds of any maturity. The fund seeks to provide tax-exempt income. JHMU was launched on Oct 31, 2023 and is issued by John Hancock. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for John Hancock Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for John Hancock Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,318,339 shares, a decrease of 12.3% from the December 31st total of 2,642,537 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,156,324 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days. Currently, 3.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Currently, 3.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,156,324 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days. Analysts Set New Price Targets Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Kennametal from $25.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. UBS Group upped their target price on Kennametal from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a sell rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Kennametal in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Barclays boosted their price target on Kennametal from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a hold (c) rating on shares of Kennametal in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $29.67. Get Kennametal alerts: Get Our Latest Analysis on KMT Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kennametal Kennametal Trading Up 3.5% A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Kennametal by 17.7% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 30,474 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $649,000 after purchasing an additional 4,578 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Kennametal by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 46,307 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $986,000 after buying an additional 2,013 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kennametal by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 240,556 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $5,124,000 after buying an additional 28,020 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kennametal by 39.3% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 229,903 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $4,897,000 after buying an additional 64,907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in shares of Kennametal by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 45,397 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $1,041,000 after buying an additional 2,532 shares during the period. Shares of Kennametal stock opened at $35.61 on Tuesday. Kennametal has a fifty-two week low of $17.30 and a fifty-two week high of $35.71. The businesss fifty day moving average is $30.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a PE ratio of 29.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 1.50. Kennametal (NYSE:KMT Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.10. Kennametal had a return on equity of 8.35% and a net margin of 4.76%.The business had revenue of $497.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $477.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.29 earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Kennametal has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.350-1.650 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Kennametal will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year. Kennametal Dividend Announcement The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Kennametals dividend payout ratio is currently 65.57%. About Kennametal (Get Free Report) Kennametal Inc is a global industrial technology company that designs and manufactures advanced materials, tooling systems, and engineered components for a range of demanding applications. Its solutions support precision metalworking, earthmoving, and wear-resistant environments, catering to customers seeking enhanced productivity, longer tool life, and reduced operating costs. The companys product portfolio spans indexable cutting tools, solid round tools, tool holders, metalworking fluid systems, wear parts, ceramics and composites, and custom-engineered components. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Kennametal Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Kennametal and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Investment analysts at Maxim Group began coverage on shares of Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPT Get Free Report) in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm set a buy rating and a $8.00 price target on the stock. Maxim Groups target price points to a potential upside of 54.74% from the companys previous close. Medical Properties Trust Stock Down 0.8% MPT stock traded down $0.04 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $5.17. The company had a trading volume of 2,144,779 shares. Medical Properties Trust has a fifty-two week low of $5.14 and a fifty-two week high of $5.24. Get Medical Properties Trust alerts: Medical Properties Trust, Inc (NYSE: MPT) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, owns and finances hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Founded in 2003 by Edward K. Aldag Jr., the companys business model centers on providing real estate capital to healthcare operators through long-term leases, sale-leaseback transactions, build-to-suit developments and mortgage financing. By specializing in healthcare real estate, MPT aims to deliver steady rental income and asset-based returns while enabling operators to access capital for clinical operations and growth. The companys portfolio primarily comprises acute care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, long-term acute care facilities, behavioral health centers and other specialty hospitals. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Medical Properties Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Medical Properties Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA Free Report) by 48.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,151 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 2,329 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltds holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $3,010,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the second quarter worth about $1,152,408,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 6,115.3% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 911,096 shares of the companys stock worth $388,309,000 after purchasing an additional 896,437 shares during the period. Viking Global Investors LP raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 58.5% in the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 1,872,133 shares of the companys stock valued at $717,214,000 after purchasing an additional 690,773 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter valued at $109,337,000. Finally, HRT Financial LP acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter worth $81,596,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the companys stock. Get HCA Healthcare alerts: HCA Healthcare Stock Up 1.6% HCA stock opened at $496.30 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $113.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.49, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.36. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a twelve month low of $295.00 and a twelve month high of $527.55. The business has a fifty day moving average of $480.98 and a 200-day moving average of $439.27. HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend HCA Healthcare ( NYSE:HCA Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $8.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.37 by $0.64. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.97% and a negative return on equity of 409.11%. The company had revenue of $19.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.22 EPS. HCA Healthcares revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.100-31.500 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from HCA Healthcares previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. HCA Healthcares payout ratio is presently 10.15%. Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare In other news, EVP Michael R. Mcalevey sold 3,892 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.79, for a total transaction of $1,843,990.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,652,105.73. The trade was a 52.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the companys stock. Analysts Set New Price Targets Several equities analysts recently weighed in on HCA shares. Mizuho set a $540.00 price objective on HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $525.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a buy (b) rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $423.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $519.71. View Our Latest Report on HCA HCA Healthcare Profile (Free Report) HCA Healthcare is a forprofit operator of healthcare facilities headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1968, the company owns and operates a network of hospitals and related healthcare facilities and has grown through organic expansion and acquisitions to become a large provider of inpatient and outpatient services. The companys core activities include the operation of acute care hospitals, freestanding surgical and emergency centers, and outpatient clinics. HCAs services encompass inpatient care, surgical services, emergency medicine, diagnostic imaging and laboratory testing, and various outpatient and ambulatory care offerings. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding HCA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for HCA Healthcare Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for HCA Healthcare and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning. Several other research analysts also recently commented on MTB. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on M&T Bank from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Barclays raised their price target on M&T Bank from $220.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Truist Financial set a $230.00 price objective on shares of M&T Bank in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of M&T Bank from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a buy (b-) rating on shares of M&T Bank in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, M&T Bank has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $224.29. Get M&T Bank alerts: Read Our Latest Stock Report on MTB M&T Bank Trading Up 1.8% Shares of MTB opened at $225.60 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.23, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.97. M&T Bank has a 1-year low of $150.75 and a 1-year high of $226.10. The company has a 50-day moving average of $206.28 and a 200 day moving average of $196.45. M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $4.47 by $0.25. M&T Bank had a net margin of 21.55% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The business had revenue of $2.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.77 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that M&T Bank will post 16.57 EPS for the current year. M&T Bank Announces Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. M&T Banks payout ratio is 35.19%. Insider Activity In other news, Vice Chairman Gary N. Geisel sold 887 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.79, for a total value of $191,405.73. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 16,446 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,548,882.34. This trade represents a 5.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert E. Sadler, Jr. sold 6,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.06, for a total value of $1,140,360.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 17,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,244,324.20. This trade represents a 26.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 30,003 shares of company stock valued at $6,283,182 in the last ninety days. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Institutional Investors Weigh In On M&T Bank Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 2,214.3% during the second quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 162 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust boosted its stake in M&T Bank by 342.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 155 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in M&T Bank during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in M&T Bank during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of M&T Bank by 82.4% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 186 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. 84.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. M&T Bank Company Profile (Get Free Report) M&T Bank Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Buffalo, New York, that provides a broad range of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and institutions. The company operates a commercial and retail banking franchise that includes deposit-taking, lending, and payment services delivered through branch networks, digital channels and commercial banking teams. M&T serves customers across the northeastern and midAtlantic United States and has expanded its geographic footprint through strategic acquisitions. Its core businesses include commercial banking for middlemarket and community businesses, consumer and retail banking, mortgage origination and servicing, treasury and cash management, and wealth management and trust services. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for M&T Bank Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for M&T Bank and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. For Skouries, Foran Executive Chairman and CEO Dan Myerson cited figures presented on the call indicating expected annual production of 140,000 ounces of gold and 67 million pounds of copper over a 20-year mine life . A central theme of the call was that the combined company will have two fully financed projects expected to enter production in 2026: Skouries in Greece and McIlvenna Bay in Saskatchewan. Management said Forans directors and officers have entered voting support agreements in favor of the deal. Shareholder meetings are expected on or around April 14, 2026 , with closing targeted for Q2 2026 . Foran shareholders are set to receive 0.1128 Eldorado shares per Foran share , implying an equity value of approximately CAD 3.8 billion . Post-transaction ownership is expected to be about 76% for Eldorado shareholders and 24% for Foran shareholders. On the call, Eldorado Gold CEO George Burns said the transaction is intended to build a stronger, more competitive gold and copper producer with industry-leading growth and long-life assets. Under the terms described on the presentations key terms slide, Eldorado will acquire all outstanding Foran shares via a plan of arrangement. Eldorado Gold and Foran Mining (TSE:FOM) outlined plans to combine in an all-share transaction that executives said will create a larger, more geographically diversified gold and copper producer with two major projects expected to enter production in 2026. Management expects the deal to substantially boost scale and cash flowpro forma production is forecast to rise ~ 80% to > 900,000 gold equivalent ounces in 2027 with consensus ~ $1.5 billion free cash flow and > $2 billion EBITDA in 2027and says key risks are largely addressed (permitting, financing, execution), leaving pro forma liquidity of ~ $1.5 billion and minimal net debt (~ $90 million ). The combined company will bring two fully financed projects into production in 2026: Skouries (Greece) targeting ~ 140,000 oz gold and 67M lbs copper annually over a 20year life, and McIlvenna Bay (Saskatchewan) which is ~ 85% complete and aiming for commercial production mid2026. Eldorado Gold will acquire Foran in an allshare deal where Foran shareholders receive 0.1128 Eldorado shares per Foran share (implying an equity value of ~ CAD 3.8 billion ); posttransaction ownership is expected to be ~ 76% Eldorado / 24% Foran, with closing targeted for Q2 2026 and a shareholder meeting around April 14, 2026 . Story Continues The New Defense Prime: Ondas Buys the Kill Chain For McIlvenna Bay, Myerson said the project was about 85% complete at the end of 2025, on budget and on schedule for production in 2026. In the Q&A, he added the project was already in wet commissioning and targeting commercial production by the middle of 2026. He said Foran had built a stockpile of more than 200,000 tons of ore for hot commissioning and noted that the mine had fired at least five stopes. Production growth, cash flow expectations, and portfolio mix Eldorado President Christian Milau said the combined assets are expected to transform Eldorados production profile, citing consensus estimates that imply nearly $1.5 billion of free cash flow in 2027 and more than $2 billion of EBITDA in 2027 at consensus pricing, with even greater upside at spot prices. Milau also said Eldorado is forecasting production to increase by 80% to more than 900,000 gold equivalent ounces in 2027. He characterized the addition of McIlvenna Bay as diversifying Eldorado in two key ways: increasing copper exposure and adding a second operating footprint in Canada. He said copper is expected to account for roughly 15% of revenue in 2027. Responding to an analyst question about acquiring what has been viewed as a base metals company, Burns said the metal suite at McIlvenna Baygold, copper, lead, zinc, and silveris already being produced within Eldorados existing portfolio. Burns said Eldorado will remain primarily a gold producer, describing the combined company as 77% gold production on a pro forma basis, while becoming a pretty serious copper producer as Skouries ramps up. Milau also discussed liquidity and leverage on a pro forma basis, stating the combined company would have had approximately $1.5 billion of cash and equivalents at the end of the third quarter, with minimal net debt of roughly $90 million based on consensus estimates. Risk, execution, and near-term catalysts Executives emphasized de-risking and execution readiness. Burns said Eldorado has drilled off the first three years of Skouries open pit and completed test stopes to confirm geotechnical parameters, adding that the company planned to complete four test stopes this year. He said commissioning at Skouries was expected to begin at the end of the quarter. Myerson said McIlvenna Bays major risks were largely addressed in three areas: Permitting : he said the project is fully permitted. Financing : he said the mine is fully financed and has no streams or anything like that, leaving shareholders with full exposure to the metal mix. Execution: he pointed to construction progress and commissioning activity. Myerson also addressed the impact of regional wildfires, stating the site was evacuated for almost four weeks and that the company lost just under a month on schedule, but he said the disruption did not ultimately affect the production timeline. On exploration upside, both Milau and Myerson highlighted the Tesla Zone at McIlvenna Bay as a key near-term expansion opportunity. Myerson described Tesla as a near-mine mineralized system opened down plunge with direct access to existing infrastructure, and management said a maiden resource for Tesla is expected later in 2026. Milau described 2026 as catalyst-rich, listing milestones that include mid-2026 commercial production at Skouries and McIlvenna Bay, the Tesla Zone maiden resource later in 2026, and an Olympias expansion and Ormaque commercial production in the second half of 2026. Approvals and jurisdictional strategy In response to a question about regulatory approvals, Myerson said no approvals were required from Investment Canada because it is a combination of two Canadian companies. Burns added that the companies did not expect approvals in overseas jurisdictions. Executives said the transaction increases Eldorados exposure to Canada while maintaining a long-term commitment to Greece and Turkiye. Burns described Turkiye as foundational for Eldorado, while Milau said the company likes the balance across jurisdictions and wants to maintain that diversity. About Foran Mining (TSE:FOM) Foran Mining Corp is a zinc-copper exploration and development company with projects located along the Flin Flon Greenstone Belt. Its project portfolio comprises McIlvenna Bay, Bigstone, VMS Primer, Hanson Lake Project, and others projects. The article "Foran Mining to Be Acquired by Eldorado Gold in CAD 3.8B All-Share Deal, Closing Q2 2026" was originally published by MarketBeat. Murata Manufacturing (OTCMKTS:MRAAY Get Free Report) updated its FY 2025 earnings guidance on Monday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 0.392-0.392 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 0.000. The company issued revenue guidance of $11.7 billion-$11.7 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of 0.000. Murata Manufacturing Stock Performance Shares of OTCMKTS MRAAY opened at $9.89 on Tuesday. The companys fifty day moving average price is $10.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.45. The company has a market capitalization of $36.16 billion, a PE ratio of 23.00 and a beta of 0.94. Murata Manufacturing has a 1 year low of $6.24 and a 1 year high of $11.25. Get Murata Manufacturing alerts: Murata Manufacturing (OTCMKTS:MRAAY Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter. Murata Manufacturing had a net margin of 13.40% and a return on equity of 9.16%. Murata Manufacturing has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.392-0.392 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Murata Manufacturing will post 0.41 EPS for the current year. Murata Manufacturing Company Profile Murata Manufacturing Co, Ltd. is a Japan-based manufacturer of electronic components and modules, best known for its development and production of ceramic components. Founded in 1944 by Akira Murata and headquartered in Nagaokakyo, Kyoto Prefecture, the company has grown into a leading global supplier of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs), ceramic resonators, and a broad range of passive and active electronic parts used across consumer, industrial and automotive electronics. The companys product portfolio encompasses passive components (such as capacitors, inductors and filters), sensors and sensing modules, power modules, and RF/wireless communication modules. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Murata Manufacturing Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Murata Manufacturing and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Cameco Corporation (NYSE:CCJ Free Report) (TSE:CCO) by 667.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 26,480 shares of the basic materials companys stock after purchasing an additional 23,029 shares during the quarter. Mutual Advisors LLCs holdings in Cameco were worth $2,285,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Cameco by 2.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,565,529 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $1,304,504,000 after acquiring an additional 481,171 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its holdings in Cameco by 41.4% in the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 7,076,815 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $524,988,000 after acquiring an additional 2,071,373 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Cameco during the 2nd quarter worth $341,736,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cameco by 15.1% during the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,869,291 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $287,217,000 after purchasing an additional 506,667 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Cameco by 20.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,372,878 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $250,797,000 after purchasing an additional 578,393 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.21% of the companys stock. Get Cameco alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CCJ shares. UBS Group began coverage on Cameco in a research report on Monday, November 10th. They set a neutral rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a hold (c-) rating on shares of Cameco in a report on Monday, December 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Cameco from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an outperform rating on shares of Cameco in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an outperform rating on shares of Cameco in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Cameco currently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $121.68. Cameco Stock Down 2.5% CCJ opened at $120.26 on Tuesday. Cameco Corporation has a 1 year low of $35.00 and a 1 year high of $135.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $101.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a current ratio of 2.99. The company has a market cap of $52.37 billion, a PE ratio of 139.84 and a beta of 0.99. Cameco (NYSE:CCJ Get Free Report) (TSE:CCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.17). Cameco had a return on equity of 8.58% and a net margin of 15.24%.The business had revenue of $313.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $531.72 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.01) earnings per share. Camecos quarterly revenue was down 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Cameco Corporation will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year. Cameco Increases Dividend The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a yield of 27.0%. This is a boost from Camecos previous annual dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. Camecos dividend payout ratio is 19.77%. Cameco Company Profile (Free Report) Cameco Corporation (NYSE: CCJ) is a leading producer of uranium and a supplier to the global nuclear power industry. Headquartered in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, the company is engaged in the exploration, mining, milling and sale of uranium concentrate, commonly known as yellowcake, which is used as fuel for nuclear reactors. Cameco also participates in services and activities that support the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle, including processing and marketing of uranium to utilities under longterm and spot contracts. The companys operations have historically centered in Canada and the United States, where it operates and develops uranium mining and processing properties. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CCJ? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Cameco Corporation (NYSE:CCJ Free Report) (TSE:CCO). Receive News & Ratings for Cameco Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Cameco and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. MV Oil Trust (NYSE:MVO Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,196,368 shares, an increase of 48.7% from the December 31st total of 804,812 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,375,331 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.9 days. Approximately 10.4% of the companys stock are sold short. Approximately 10.4% of the companys stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,375,331 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.9 days. Institutional Inflows and Outflows A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in MV Oil Trust during the second quarter worth approximately $92,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in MV Oil Trust in the second quarter worth about $88,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of MV Oil Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 3.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get MV Oil Trust alerts: MV Oil Trust Trading Up 8.4% Shares of MV Oil Trust stock traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $1.67. The stock had a trading volume of 394,983 shares, compared to its average volume of 854,013. MV Oil Trust has a twelve month low of $0.97 and a twelve month high of $6.60. The stocks 50 day moving average is $1.38 and its 200 day moving average is $3.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.19 million, a PE ratio of 1.60 and a beta of -0.08. MV Oil Trust Cuts Dividend MV Oil Trust ( NYSE:MVO Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $2.36 million for the quarter. The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 16th were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 33.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 16th. MV Oil Trusts payout ratio is 53.85%. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a sell (d) rating on shares of MV Oil Trust in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Sell. Get Our Latest Analysis on MVO MV Oil Trust Company Profile (Get Free Report) MV Oil Trust is an exchange-listed royalty trust that holds overriding royalty and net profits interests in oil and gas properties across the United States. As a non-operating entity, the trust does not engage in exploration or development; instead, it collects a share of production revenues after operating expenses are deducted. The trusts interests are primarily concentrated in onshore hydrocarbon fields in West Texas, providing unitholders with exposure to established production streams. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for MV Oil Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for MV Oil Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Myers Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MYE Get Free Report)s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $21.13 and last traded at $20.9140, with a volume of 199125 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.67. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth MYE has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a hold (c) rating on shares of Myers Industries in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Myers Industries from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Myers Industries from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $21.00. Get Myers Industries alerts: Get Our Latest Research Report on Myers Industries Myers Industries Trading Up 1.2% Insider Buying and Selling The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is $19.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.48. The stock has a market cap of $782.35 million, a P/E ratio of 28.26 and a beta of 1.09. In related news, CFO Samantha Rutty purchased 3,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $17.50 per share, with a total value of $52,500.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $52,500. This represents a increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Myers Industries Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MYE. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC bought a new position in shares of Myers Industries in the third quarter valued at about $1,178,000. Barington Capital Group L.P. increased its position in Myers Industries by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Barington Capital Group L.P. now owns 770,100 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $11,159,000 after acquiring an additional 25,000 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Myers Industries by 84.8% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 512,201 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $7,422,000 after acquiring an additional 235,030 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its position in shares of Myers Industries by 141.0% during the second quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 95,506 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 55,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Myers Industries by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,291,134 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $39,064,000 after buying an additional 51,968 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.82% of the companys stock. About Myers Industries (Get Free Report) Myers Industries, Inc is a diversified manufacturer of polymer products serving industrial, commercial and consumer markets. The company designs, produces and markets a broad range of molded and fabricated plastic components, including pallets, bulk containers, tanks and drums used in material handling and storage applications. Myers Industries leverages proprietary polymer technologies to provide durable, reusable solutions that help customers optimize supply chain efficiency and reduce environmental impact. Myers operates primarily through two business segments. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Myers Industries Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Myers Industries and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Tenaz Energy (TSE:TNZ Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by research analysts at National Bankshares from C$52.00 to C$66.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage presently has an outperform rating on the stock. National Bankshares price target indicates a potential upside of 64.75% from the stocks current price. Tenaz Energy Price Performance TNZ stock traded up C$3.26 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting C$40.06. 206,933 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 204,478. The stock has a market capitalization of C$1.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.52 and a beta of 1.25. Tenaz Energy has a 12 month low of C$10.59 and a 12 month high of C$40.44. The business has a fifty day moving average price of C$27.66 and a 200 day moving average price of C$24.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.56, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 2.77. Get Tenaz Energy alerts: Tenaz Energy (TSE:TNZ Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported C$0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$93.78 million for the quarter. Tenaz Energy had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 1.90%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Tenaz Energy will post 0.3896418 EPS for the current year. About Tenaz Energy Tenaz Energy Corp. (TSX:TNZ) is a public energy company focused on the acquisition and sustainable development of international oil and gas assets capable of returning free cash flow to shareholders.Tenaz has domestic operations in Canada along with offshore gas assets in the Netherlands. The domestic operations consist of a semi-conventional oil project in the Rex member of the Upper Mannville group at Leduc-Woodbend in central Alberta. The Netherlands gas assets are located in the Dutch sector of the North Sea. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Tenaz Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Tenaz Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. National Pension Service lifted its position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR Free Report) by 4.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 605,494 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after buying an additional 26,590 shares during the period. National Pension Services holdings in Equity Residential were worth $39,194,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EQR. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 56,316,304 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $3,800,787,000 after buying an additional 315,370 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the second quarter valued at about $2,351,689,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Equity Residential by 1.8% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,234,081 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $1,651,909,000 after acquiring an additional 417,119 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 1.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,884,977 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $664,662,000 after purchasing an additional 137,533 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Equity Residential by 20.9% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,019,026 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $541,204,000 after acquiring an additional 1,384,580 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Equity Residential alerts: Equity Residential Stock Down 1.1% Equity Residential stock opened at $61.63 on Tuesday. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $61.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $23.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.76. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $58.38 and a 52 week high of $75.86. Equity Residential Dividend Announcement Analyst Ratings Changes The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.6925 per share. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. Equity Residentials payout ratio is 91.42%. A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EQR. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Equity Residential from $66.00 to $65.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an overweight rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $70.01. Read Our Latest Research Report on Equity Residential Equity Residential Company Profile (Free Report) Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that acquires, develops, owns and operates rental apartment properties. Headquartered in Chicago, the company focuses on delivering professionally managed, market-rate apartment homes and related services to renters. Its operations cover a range of property types, including high-rise and mid-rise assets, with amenities and on-site management designed to support resident retention and occupancy. The companys core activities include property acquisitions, development and redevelopment, leasing, and day-to-day property management. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EQR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Equity Residential Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Equity Residential and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. National Presto Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NPK Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $133.09 and last traded at $132.2450, with a volume of 111253 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $127.40. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on NPK shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a buy (b-) rating on shares of National Presto Industries in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded National Presto Industries from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Buy. Get National Presto Industries alerts: Check Out Our Latest Report on NPK National Presto Industries Trading Up 3.8% Institutional Investors Weigh In On National Presto Industries The firm has a market cap of $945.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.31 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $109.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.59. A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of National Presto Industries by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 373,845 shares of the conglomerates stock valued at $41,927,000 after purchasing an additional 11,769 shares in the last quarter. Medina Value Partners LLC grew its position in National Presto Industries by 3.9% during the third quarter. Medina Value Partners LLC now owns 208,886 shares of the conglomerates stock valued at $23,427,000 after buying an additional 7,841 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in National Presto Industries by 1.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 123,185 shares of the conglomerates stock valued at $12,070,000 after buying an additional 1,663 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of National Presto Industries by 3.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 66,372 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $7,444,000 after acquiring an additional 2,286 shares during the period. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of National Presto Industries by 7.9% in the second quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 57,184 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $5,602,000 after acquiring an additional 4,163 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.57% of the companys stock. National Presto Industries Company Profile (Get Free Report) National Presto Industries, Inc is an American diversified manufacturer headquartered in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The company operates primarily through three business segmentsHousewares/Small Appliances, Defense Products, and Safetywhich together supply a range of consumer and industrial markets. Founded in 1905, National Presto Industries has built a reputation for durable, user-friendly products marketed under the Presto and National Presto brands. In its Housewares/Small Appliances segment, National Presto offers a variety of kitchen products designed to simplify home cooking and meal preparation. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for National Presto Industries Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for National Presto Industries and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of New Oriental Education & Technology Group (NYSE:EDU Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday morning. Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. China Renaissance raised shares of New Oriental Education & Technology Group from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a hold (c+) rating on shares of New Oriental Education & Technology Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of New Oriental Education & Technology Group from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of New Oriental Education & Technology Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised New Oriental Education & Technology Group from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $65.84. Get New Oriental Education & Technology Group alerts: View Our Latest Analysis on EDU New Oriental Education & Technology Group Stock Up 2.7% Shares of NYSE:EDU opened at $62.01 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $55.40 and a 200 day moving average of $52.95. The company has a market capitalization of $9.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.29. New Oriental Education & Technology Group has a 52 week low of $40.66 and a 52 week high of $63.78. New Oriental Education & Technology Group (NYSE:EDU Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. New Oriental Education & Technology Group had a return on equity of 11.19% and a net margin of 7.40%.The businesss revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.22 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that New Oriental Education & Technology Group will post 2.75 EPS for the current year. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in New Oriental Education & Technology Group by 7,314.3% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 519 shares of the companys stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 512 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of New Oriental Education & Technology Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of New Oriental Education & Technology Group by 738.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 905 shares of the companys stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 797 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of New Oriental Education & Technology Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $111,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of New Oriental Education & Technology Group by 309.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 3,532 shares of the companys stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 2,670 shares in the last quarter. New Oriental Education & Technology Group Company Profile (Get Free Report) New Oriental Education & Technology Group (NYSE: EDU) is one of Chinas leading providers of private educational services, specializing in language training, test preparation and consulting for overseas study. The companys offerings span a range of subjects, including English language instruction, preparatory courses for examinations such as the TOEFL, GRE and GMAT, and K-12 after-school tutoring. New Orientals curriculum is delivered through a combination of in-person learning centers and digital platforms, enabling students across various regions to access its educational resources. Founded in 1993 by Michael Yu Minhong in Beijing, New Oriental began as a small language school and quickly expanded its footprint. See Also Receive News & Ratings for New Oriental Education & Technology Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for New Oriental Education & Technology Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR Free Report) (TSE:QSR) by 51.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 196,100 shares of the restaurant operators stock after buying an additional 66,600 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Funds holdings in Restaurant Brands International were worth $12,578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new stake in Restaurant Brands International during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Restaurant Brands International during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in Restaurant Brands International by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,032 shares of the restaurant operators stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 82.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Restaurant Brands International alerts: Insider Buying and Selling In other Restaurant Brands International news, insider Jill Granat sold 1,925 shares of Restaurant Brands International stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.44, for a total value of $129,822.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 458,280 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $30,906,403.20. The trade was a 0.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Peter Perdue sold 396 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.44, for a total value of $26,706.24. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 36,997 shares in the company, valued at $2,495,077.68. The trade was a 1.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 145,508 shares of company stock valued at $10,233,040 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.25% of the companys stock. Analyst Ratings Changes Several equities research analysts have commented on QSR shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an outperform rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Restaurant Brands International in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Oppenheimer restated an outperform rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Restaurant Brands International in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Argus raised shares of Restaurant Brands International from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $85.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Restaurant Brands International presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $77.05. Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Restaurant Brands International Restaurant Brands International Price Performance QSR opened at $66.96 on Tuesday. The companys 50-day simple moving average is $69.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.58. Restaurant Brands International Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.71 and a 52-week high of $73.70. Restaurant Brands International Company Profile (Free Report) Restaurant Brands International Inc (NYSE: QSR) is a global quick-service restaurant company formed through the combination of established brands. The companys principal holdings include Burger King, Tim Hortons and Popeyes, each of which operates under its own brand identity and menu. Restaurant Brands Internationals business is centered on developing and expanding these franchised restaurant systems, supporting franchisees with brand management, supply chain coordination, and marketing programs. RBIs restaurants offer a range of quick-service food and beverage products: Burger King is known for its flame-grilled hamburgers and sandwiches, Tim Hortons for coffee, baked goods and breakfast items, and Popeyes for Louisiana-style fried chicken and seafood. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding QSR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR Free Report) (TSE:QSR). Receive News & Ratings for Restaurant Brands International Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Restaurant Brands International and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Northern Dynasty Minerals, Ltd. (NYSEAMERICAN:NAK Get Free Report) (TSE:NDM)s stock price was up 6.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $2.20 and last traded at $2.1450. Approximately 1,541,042 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 11,764,918 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.01. Northern Dynasty Minerals Stock Up 6.7% The companys 50-day moving average price is $2.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.57. The firm has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.87 and a beta of 0.08. Get Northern Dynasty Minerals alerts: Institutional Trading of Northern Dynasty Minerals Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new position in Northern Dynasty Minerals during the second quarter worth $17,117,000. GAM Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Northern Dynasty Minerals during the second quarter valued at $3,752,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Northern Dynasty Minerals by 100.6% during the second quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,466,300 shares of the mining companys stock valued at $1,983,000 after buying an additional 735,300 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd grew its holdings in Northern Dynasty Minerals by 232.7% in the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 636,134 shares of the mining companys stock valued at $852,000 after purchasing an additional 444,950 shares during the period. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Northern Dynasty Minerals in the second quarter valued at about $335,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 10.55% of the companys stock. About Northern Dynasty Minerals Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. is a mineral exploration and development company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, with primary operations focused on North America. The company is publicly listed on the NYSE American and the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol NAK. Established in 1985, Northern Dynasty has built its business around the identification, evaluation and advancement of large-scale mineral resources, leveraging its expertise in geology, engineering and environmental planning. The companys flagship asset is the Pebble Project, located in the Bristol Bay region of southwestern Alaska. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Northern Dynasty Minerals Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Northern Dynasty Minerals and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Bed Bath and Beyond is trying something most retailers never get to do. Come back, then change the business again. The 52-year-old brand, which liquidated its physical store network in 2023, is now positioning itself for a future far removed from towels and kitchenware. Instead, the company is betting that its household name can serve as a consumer on-ramp into tokenized finance, beginning with real estate and other real-world assets. Bed Bath & Beyond is a U.S.-based home goods brand founded in 1971, best known for selling bedding, kitchenware, and household essentials through large-format retail stores. Related: What is tokenization? Explained Bed Bath and Beyond filed for Chapter 11 Bed Bath and Beyond filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on April 23, 2023 after failing to secure funding to keep operating, then began a liquidation sale as demand slumped and its merchandising shift toward more store branded products backfired. The bankruptcy marked the end of Bed Bath and Beyond as a national big box chain, but not the end of the name. Its brand and assets were later sold off, and the Bed Bath identity was revived as part of a reworked, more asset light corporate structure. Popular on TheStreet Roundtable: Acquisition and the new parent company After its Chapter 11 filing, Bed Bath and Beyond survived as a brand rather than a retailer. In June 2023, online seller Overstock bought the companys intellectual property for $21.5 million through a bankruptcy court process, later rebranding itself as Beyond Inc. and relaunching Bed Bath and Beyond as a digital-first business. Bed Bath and Beyond exterior with store closing banner. In a Jan. 5, 2026 filing, Bed Bath and Beyond said executive chairman Marcus Lemonis had been named CEO and signaled more dealmaking ahead, telling shareholders the company had a clear path to cut another $25 million of expense over the next 12 months, largely from merger synergies. On Feb. 2, Bed Bath and Beyond said it had agreed to acquire Tokens.com, positioning the company as an owner of multiple consumer brands alongside a blockchain portfolio that already includes tZERO and GrainChain. Expansion into blockchain through Tokens.com Bed Bath and Beyond said the Tokens.com acquisition is meant to establish the foundation for a single platform covering real estate finance, issuer led tokenization of qualifying securities, and asset backed lending such as mortgages and home equity products through partners including Figure Technologies and Figure Markets. Nuveen New York Municipal Valu (NYSE:NNY Get Free Report) announced a monthly dividend on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a dividend of 0.0295 per share by the investment management company on Monday, March 2nd. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. Nuveen New York Municipal Valu Price Performance Shares of NYSE NNY traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $8.58. The stock had a trading volume of 2,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 34,326. The company has a 50 day moving average of $8.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.35. Nuveen New York Municipal Valu has a twelve month low of $7.77 and a twelve month high of $8.94. Get Nuveen New York Municipal Valu alerts: About Nuveen New York Municipal Valu (Get Free Report) Nuveen New York Municipal Value Fund, Inc (NYSE: NNY) is a closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide shareholders with a high level of current income exempt from federal and New York State income taxes. The fund primarily invests in investment-grade municipal securities issued by public issuers in the State of New York, including general obligation bonds and revenue bonds issued to finance essential public projects such as schools, transportation infrastructure and utility systems. As a diversified municipal bond fund, NNYs portfolio spans a broad range of maturities and credit qualities within the investment-grade universe. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Nuveen New York Municipal Valu Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Nuveen New York Municipal Valu and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Nuveen Pennsylvania Quality Municipal Income Fund (NYSE:NQP Get Free Report) announced a monthly dividend on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a dividend of 0.078 per share by the financial services provider on Monday, March 2nd. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 7.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. Nuveen Pennsylvania Quality Municipal Income Fund Price Performance NQP stock traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $11.99. 64,509 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 120,772. The firms 50-day moving average is $12.00 and its 200-day moving average is $11.69. Nuveen Pennsylvania Quality Municipal Income Fund has a 12 month low of $10.65 and a 12 month high of $12.23. Get Nuveen Pennsylvania Quality Municipal Income Fund alerts: Nuveen Pennsylvania Quality Municipal Income Fund Company Profile (Get Free Report) Nuveen Pennsylvania Quality Municipal Income Fund (NYSE: NQP) is a closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide a high level of current income exempt from federal and Pennsylvania state income taxes. Launched in the early 1980s, the Fund primarily invests in investment-grade municipal securities issued by state and local government entities within Pennsylvania, targeting bonds that finance public infrastructure, healthcare facilities, educational institutions and utility projects. Under its 80% asset policy, the Fund allocates the majority of its portfolio to bonds rated BBB or higher, emphasizing general obligation and revenue-secured municipal debt. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Nuveen Pennsylvania Quality Municipal Income Fund Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Nuveen Pennsylvania Quality Municipal Income Fund and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Oc Oerlikon Cp (OTCMKTS:OERLF Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $5.20 and last traded at $5.20, with a volume of 1 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $3.60. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Separately, Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Oc Oerlikon Cp from a hold rating to a moderate buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Oc Oerlikon Cp presently has an average rating of Buy. Get Oc Oerlikon Cp alerts: View Our Latest Stock Analysis on OERLF Oc Oerlikon Cp Trading Up 44.4% Oc Oerlikon Cp Company Profile The business has a 50-day moving average of $3.90 and a 200 day moving average of $3.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.96. (Get Free Report) OC Oerlikon Corporation AG (OTCMKTS:OERLF) is a Swiss-based technology group headquartered in Pfaffikon, Switzerland, that designs, develops and manufactures advanced equipment and services for industrial surface solutions and materials processing. The companys core activities include thin-film deposition and vacuum coating systems used to enhance wear and corrosion resistance on components in aerospace, automotive, tooling and consumer goods industries. Oerlikon also offers polymer processing equipment for the production of manmade fibers and nonwoven fabrics, serving textile producers across the globe. The origins of Oerlikon date back to early 20th-century Swiss engineering enterprises, with the current corporate structure emerging around the year 2000 through a series of strategic acquisitions and reorganizations. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Oc Oerlikon Cp Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Oc Oerlikon Cp and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in On Holding AG (NYSE:ONON Free Report) by 3.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 296,015 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 11,115 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Funds holdings in ON were worth $12,536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Winslow Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in ON in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $248,113,000. Sands Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ON in the second quarter worth $240,177,000. Bamco Inc. NY grew its holdings in shares of ON by 3.3% during the second quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 4,139,974 shares of the companys stock valued at $215,486,000 after buying an additional 132,756 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in ON by 29.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,692,568 shares of the companys stock valued at $192,198,000 after buying an additional 839,754 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in ON in the 2nd quarter worth about $138,641,000. 36.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get ON alerts: ON Stock Performance ONON opened at $45.92 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $46.73 and a 200-day moving average of $44.87. On Holding AG has a 52-week low of $34.38 and a 52-week high of $61.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 2.05 and a current ratio of 2.55. The company has a market cap of $28.83 billion, a PE ratio of 59.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 2.15. Analyst Ratings Changes Several research firms have weighed in on ONON. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an underperform rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of ON in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of ON from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of ON from $69.00 to $60.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on ON from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $60.00 target price on ON in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ON has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $59.86. Read Our Latest Analysis on ONON ON Company Profile (Free Report) On Holding AG, commonly known as On, is a Swiss performance footwear and apparel company headquartered in Zurich. Founded in 2010, the company designs, develops and sells running shoes, performance apparel and accessories for road, trail and everyday use. Ons product philosophy centers on engineered cushioning and responsiveness intended to serve both serious athletes and lifestyle consumers. On is best known for its proprietary midsole technology and distinctive sole architecture, marketed under names such as the Cloud family of shoes and related performance lines. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ONON? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for On Holding AG (NYSE:ONON Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for ON Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for ON and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. PureTech Health plc (OTCMKTS:PTCHF Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 33,408 shares, a drop of 15.1% from the December 31st total of 39,338 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 132 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 253.1 days. Based on an average trading volume of 132 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 253.1 days. PureTech Health Stock Performance Shares of PTCHF opened at $1.85 on Tuesday. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $1.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1.70. PureTech Health has a 12-month low of $1.27 and a 12-month high of $1.90. Get PureTech Health alerts: About PureTech Health (Get Free Report) PureTech Health PLC (PureTech) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of innovative medicines to address serious diseases with high unmet medical need. Founded in 2005 by Daphne Zohar and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts with operations in both North America and Europe, PureTech applies its proprietary platforms to advance therapeutic candidates across immunology, neuroscience and lymphatic-focused indications. The company leverages three core technology platformsimmune tolerance, gut-targeted delivery and lymphatic transportto develop novel molecules designed for enhanced specificity and durability of effect. Read More Receive News & Ratings for PureTech Health Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for PureTech Health and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Exchange Income (TSE:EIF Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by analysts at Raymond James Financial from C$100.00 to C$110.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage presently has a strong-buy rating on the stock. Raymond James Financials price objective would suggest a potential upside of 9.51% from the companys current price. EIF has been the topic of several other research reports. Desjardins boosted their price target on Exchange Income from C$87.00 to C$102.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Exchange Income from C$69.50 to C$80.00 in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Exchange Income from C$107.00 to C$109.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Exchange Income from C$90.00 to C$105.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Exchange Income from C$94.00 to C$103.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus price target of C$98.35. Get Exchange Income alerts: Get Our Latest Analysis on EIF Exchange Income Price Performance Exchange Income stock traded up C$2.19 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching C$100.45. The companys stock had a trading volume of 330,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 202,734. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is C$86.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$77.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 173.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.76. The firm has a market capitalization of C$5.63 billion, a PE ratio of 36.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.90. Exchange Income has a fifty-two week low of C$45.00 and a fifty-two week high of C$101.18. Exchange Income (TSE:EIF Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The company reported C$1.46 EPS for the quarter. Exchange Income had a net margin of 4.64% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The firm had revenue of C$959.74 million for the quarter. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Exchange Income will post 3.9962963 earnings per share for the current year. Exchange Income Company Profile (Get Free Report) Exchange Income Corp is a diversified acquisition-oriented corporation focused on opportunities in two sectors, aerospace, aviation services and equipment, and manufacturing. The business plan of the corporation is to invest in profitable, well-established companies with strong cash flows operating in niche markets. Its Aerospace and Aviation segment is a key revenue driver, recognizes revenue from the provision of flight, flight ancillary services, and the sale or lease of aircraft and aftermarket parts. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Exchange Income Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Exchange Income and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:RNR Get Free Report) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,073,320 shares, a decline of 12.9% from the December 31st total of 1,231,742 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 413,408 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days. Currently, 2.4% of the companys stock are sold short. Currently, 2.4% of the companys stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 413,408 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several research firms have commented on RNR. Barclays increased their price target on shares of RenaissanceRe from $278.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $303.00 price target on shares of RenaissanceRe in a report on Friday, December 5th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on RenaissanceRe from $250.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. UBS Group boosted their target price on RenaissanceRe from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a sell rating and issued a $267.00 price target on shares of RenaissanceRe in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, RenaissanceRe currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $298.07. Get RenaissanceRe alerts: Read Our Latest Analysis on RenaissanceRe RenaissanceRe Stock Up 1.1% RenaissanceRe Announces Dividend RenaissanceRe stock opened at $284.77 on Tuesday. RenaissanceRe has a fifty-two week low of $219.00 and a fifty-two week high of $288.00. The company has a market cap of $13.13 billion, a PE ratio of 7.91, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.40. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $273.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $257.61. The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. RenaissanceRes dividend payout ratio is presently 4.45%. Institutional Inflows and Outflows A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. grew its stake in RenaissanceRe by 4,690.1% in the 4th quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. now owns 1,017,508 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $286,083,000 after acquiring an additional 996,266 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in RenaissanceRe during the second quarter worth approximately $139,543,000. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of RenaissanceRe by 8,296.5% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 290,352 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $81,635,000 after acquiring an additional 286,894 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in RenaissanceRe by 154.5% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 397,027 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $99,769,000 after purchasing an additional 241,001 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of RenaissanceRe by 347.6% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 236,919 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $60,161,000 after buying an additional 183,988 shares during the period. 99.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. RenaissanceRe Company Profile (Get Free Report) RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. is a global provider of reinsurance and insurance solutions, specializing in property catastrophe, casualty, and specialty lines. Established in 1993 and headquartered in Bermuda, the company trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol RNR. With a focus on underwriting and risk assessment, RenaissanceRe offers tailored programs designed to help insurers and corporations manage exposure to natural disasters, liability claims, and other complex risks. The company operates through two primary segments: Reinsurance and Insurance. See Also Receive News & Ratings for RenaissanceRe Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for RenaissanceRe and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Rexford Industrial Realty (NYSE:REXR Get Free Report) will likely be announcing its Q4 2025 results after the market closes on Wednesday, February 4th. Analysts expect Rexford Industrial Realty to post earnings of $0.59 per share and revenue of $249.0480 million for the quarter. Parties can check the companys upcoming Q4 2025 earning summary page for the latest details on the call scheduled for Thursday, February 5, 2026 at 1:00 PM ET. Rexford Industrial Realty Price Performance Shares of NYSE:REXR opened at $40.25 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50-day moving average of $40.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.47. Rexford Industrial Realty has a fifty-two week low of $29.68 and a fifty-two week high of $44.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.95 and a quick ratio of 2.95. Get Rexford Industrial Realty alerts: Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $41.00 target price on Rexford Industrial Realty in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Rexford Industrial Realty from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Rexford Industrial Realty from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Rexford Industrial Realty to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a hold (c) rating on shares of Rexford Industrial Realty in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Rexford Industrial Realty currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $43.00. Insiders Place Their Bets In other Rexford Industrial Realty news, CEO Michael S. Frankel sold 18,750 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.06, for a total value of $751,125.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 583,538 shares in the company, valued at $23,376,532.28. This trade represents a 3.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 57,118 shares of company stock valued at $2,345,706. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rexford Industrial Realty Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp increased its stake in Rexford Industrial Realty by 4.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,906,613 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $428,509,000 after acquiring an additional 556,810 shares during the period. Soroban Capital Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Rexford Industrial Realty by 57.2% during the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 9,191,038 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $326,925,000 after purchasing an additional 3,344,677 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Rexford Industrial Realty by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,518,818 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $144,659,000 after purchasing an additional 20,096 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Rexford Industrial Realty by 58.7% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,615,234 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $107,512,000 after purchasing an additional 967,407 shares during the period. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Rexford Industrial Realty in the second quarter valued at $91,671,000. Institutional investors own 99.52% of the companys stock. About Rexford Industrial Realty (Get Free Report) Rexford Industrial Realty, Inc (NYSE: REXR) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in the acquisition, ownership and operation of industrial properties in Southern California. The companys portfolio is concentrated in infill locations across key supply-chain markets, where it targets modern distribution centers, logistics facilities and light manufacturing spaces. Rexfords strategy emphasizes buildings that offer proximity to major transportation routes and labor pools, catering to tenants in e-commerce, third-party logistics and manufacturing industries. Since its founding in 2013, Rexford Industrial Realty has executed a disciplined growth plan driven by property acquisitions, selective development projects and strategic value-add initiatives. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Rexford Industrial Realty Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Rexford Industrial Realty and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by investment analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $44.00 to $48.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector perform rating on the cell phone carriers stock. Royal Bank Of Canadas target price would suggest a potential upside of 4.04% from the companys previous close. VZ has been the topic of a number of other reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday. KeyCorp reiterated a sector weight rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Williams Trading set a $54.00 price objective on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Verizon Communications from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and set a $44.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $48.89. Get Verizon Communications alerts: Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on VZ Verizon Communications Stock Performance Shares of VZ stock traded up $1.53 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $46.14. The stock had a trading volume of 15,424,734 shares, compared to its average volume of 34,657,809. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $194.53 billion, a PE ratio of 11.36, a PEG ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.33. The stocks 50 day moving average is $40.41 and its 200 day moving average is $41.60. Verizon Communications has a twelve month low of $38.39 and a twelve month high of $47.35. Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The company had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communicationss revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Advantage Trust Co grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 549.5% during the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carriers stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 95.3% in the third quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carriers stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 739.5% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carriers stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the companys stock. Key Verizon Communications News Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon Communications this week: Verizon Communications Company Profile (Get Free Report) Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers. The companys consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Verizon Communications Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Verizon Communications and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Coty (NYSE:COTY Get Free Report)s stock had its outperform rating reissued by equities researchers at Royal Bank Of Canada in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $10.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canadas price objective would suggest a potential upside of 211.04% from the stocks previous close. Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Coty in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. They issued a buy rating and a $3.50 price objective on the stock. Santander downgraded shares of Coty to a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Coty from $4.25 to $3.50 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Barclays set a $3.00 target price on Coty in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Coty from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $5.20. Get Coty alerts: Check Out Our Latest Report on COTY Coty Stock Performance Shares of NYSE COTY traded down $0.03 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $3.22. 2,119,499 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,750,635. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company has a 50-day moving average of $3.21 and a 200-day moving average of $3.87. Coty has a 52-week low of $2.94 and a 52-week high of $7.10. Coty (NYSE:COTY Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.03). Coty had a negative net margin of 6.60% and a positive return on equity of 4.74%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.15 earnings per share. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Coty has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.180-0.210 EPS. Analysts forecast that Coty will post 0.39 EPS for the current fiscal year. Institutional Inflows and Outflows A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of COTY. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Coty by 16.6% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 16,062 shares of the companys stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 2,286 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of Coty by 4.1% in the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 59,580 shares of the companys stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 2,360 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its position in Coty by 23.9% in the 2nd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 12,436 shares of the companys stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 2,398 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc raised its position in shares of Coty by 10.7% during the second quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 27,657 shares of the companys stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 2,682 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in shares of Coty by 3.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 105,316 shares of the companys stock valued at $425,000 after purchasing an additional 3,138 shares during the period. 42.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. About Coty (Get Free Report) Coty Inc is a multinational beauty company specializing in the development, manufacturing and marketing of fragrances, color cosmetics and skin and body care products. Established in 1904 by Francois Coty in Paris, the company has grown through a blend of organic innovation and strategic acquisitions to become one of the leading players in the global beauty industry. Cotys portfolio encompasses a broad range of consumer and luxury brands, reflecting its commitment to catering to diverse consumer preferences and market segments. The companys product offerings span three main divisions: Coty Luxury, Coty Consumer Beauty and Coty Professional Beauty. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Coty Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Coty and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. ATLANTA, GA / ACCESS Newswire / February 3, 2026 / A Georgia-based law firm is raising alarms about what it describes as an emerging threat to patient privacy: the use of litigation tactics by large national insurers to obtain and permanently retain private medical information from individuals who are not involved in any lawsuit. Legal expert highlights constitutional concerns over data retention practices in insurance litigation. Yasha Heidari, attorney at Delgado Heidari LLC, has been at the forefront of efforts to protect patient privacy in Georgia courts. He warns that insurers are increasingly seeking access to broad categories of medical records under the guise of routine legal discovery. "This is about more than legal procedure; it is about the weaponization of private medical data," said Heidari. "We are seeing insurers request not only the identities and medical details of uninvolved citizens but also the ability to keep and use that information in perpetuity. The Georgia Constitution's right to privacy should not be a negotiable formality." The concern centers on three critical issues affecting Georgia patients: The Threat of Permanent Data Retention Unlike standard legal practice, which typically requires sensitive information to be returned or destroyed after litigation concludes, some discovery orders have permitted insurers to retain patient data indefinitely. Critics argue this creates a permanent intelligence-gathering mechanism for the insurance industry at the expense of patient confidentiality. Protecting Non-Party Patients When medical practices are drawn into litigation, patients who sought treatment expecting confidentiality can find their information disclosed to insurers they have never used. These individuals are not parties to any lawsuit and often receive no notice that their private medical information may be shared. "You shouldn't lose your constitutional right to privacy just because your doctor is involved in someone else's legal matter," Heidari explained. Constitutional Safeguards at Risk Under Georgia law, medical records receive heightened protection because they reflect the physical state of the body. The Georgia Constitution guarantees citizens a right to privacy that legal scholars often describe as the right to be let alone. Heidari argues that this constitutional framework must be actively defended. "At Delgado Heidari LLC, we believe the law is meant to serve as a sanctuary for the individual, not a tool for corporate overreach. We are dedicated to ensuring that the Georgia Constitution remains a steadfast shield, protecting the fundamental rights of our citizens." Shinhan Financial Group Co Ltd (NYSE:SHG Get Free Report)s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $61.73 and last traded at $61.1320, with a volume of 32479 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $58.55. Analyst Ratings Changes SHG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a buy (b) rating on shares of Shinhan Financial Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research lowered Shinhan Financial Group from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold. Get Shinhan Financial Group alerts: Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on SHG Shinhan Financial Group Stock Up 3.8% The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.50 billion, a PE ratio of 5.92, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $54.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.84. Shinhan Financial Group (NYSE:SHG Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 14th. The bank reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.08. Shinhan Financial Group had a net margin of 22.38% and a return on equity of 12.45%. The business had revenue of $2.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.79 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Shinhan Financial Group Co Ltd will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Shinhan Financial Group by 1,465.5% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 908 shares of the banks stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 850 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Shinhan Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Shinhan Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $47,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Shinhan Financial Group by 387.3% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,306 shares of the banks stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Shinhan Financial Group by 3,831.3% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,887 shares of the banks stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 1,839 shares during the last quarter. 7.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Shinhan Financial Group Company Profile (Get Free Report) Shinhan Financial Group is a South Koreabased financial holding company headquartered in Seoul. Established in 2001 as a banking and financial services group, it brings together a range of financial subsidiaries operating under the Shinhan brand, including commercial banking, card services, life insurance, securities and asset management businesses. The group serves both retail and corporate clients and is one of the leading diversified financial institutions in Korea. The companys principal activities span retail and corporate banking, credit card issuance and payment services, life insurance and related protection products, brokerage and investment banking, and asset and wealth management. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Shinhan Financial Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Shinhan Financial Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Banco Santander, S.A. (OTCMKTS:BCDRF Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,723,508 shares, a growth of 42.8% from the December 31st total of 1,207,316 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 104,706 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 16.5 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 104,706 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 16.5 days. Banco Santander Trading Up 4.6% Shares of OTCMKTS:BCDRF opened at $13.21 on Tuesday. Banco Santander has a 52-week low of $4.88 and a 52-week high of $13.34. The company has a fifty day moving average of $11.81 and a 200-day moving average of $10.52. Get Banco Santander alerts: About Banco Santander (Get Free Report) Banco Santander is a Spanish multinational financial institution founded in 1857 and headquartered in Santander, Spain. Over more than 160 years of operation, the bank has evolved into one of Europes largest banking groups, combining its historical roots with a strategy focused on international expansion and technological innovation. The companys core activities span retail and commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and private banking. Santander offers a full suite of financial products and services, including deposit accounts, personal and business loans, mortgages, credit and debit cards, insurance solutions, wealth management, and leasing and factoring services. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Banco Santander Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Banco Santander and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Birkenstock Holding PLC (NYSE:BIRK Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 10,737,664 shares, an increase of 29.7% from the December 31st total of 8,280,908 shares. Currently, 5.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,812,888 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days. Based on an average trading volume of 2,812,888 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days. Currently, 5.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of analysts recently commented on BIRK shares. Guggenheim reiterated a buy rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Birkenstock in a report on Friday, December 19th. UBS Group reaffirmed a buy rating on shares of Birkenstock in a report on Friday, December 19th. New Street Research set a $47.00 price objective on Birkenstock in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Birkenstock from $66.00 to $52.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $60.00 price target on Birkenstock in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $60.18. Get Birkenstock alerts: Get Our Latest Report on BIRK Institutional Investors Weigh In On Birkenstock Birkenstock Stock Down 1.6% A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BIRK. Bamco Inc. NY grew its holdings in shares of Birkenstock by 41.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 6,353,801 shares of the companys stock valued at $287,509,000 after acquiring an additional 1,876,398 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Birkenstock by 214.3% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,991,187 shares of the companys stock valued at $147,107,000 after purchasing an additional 2,039,623 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its position in Birkenstock by 34.4% in the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 2,254,493 shares of the companys stock worth $102,016,000 after purchasing an additional 577,543 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Birkenstock by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 2,089,320 shares of the companys stock worth $94,542,000 after purchasing an additional 51,110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Birkenstock by 76.6% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,911,701 shares of the companys stock worth $86,496,000 after buying an additional 829,341 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.93% of the companys stock. Shares of BIRK stock traded down $0.59 on Monday, reaching $37.17. 2,689,973 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,807,867. The company has a market capitalization of $6.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.19. Birkenstock has a 12-month low of $36.44 and a 12-month high of $59.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 2.81. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $41.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.56. Birkenstock (NYSE:BIRK Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $617.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $521.12 million. Birkenstock had a return on equity of 13.02% and a net margin of 16.70%.The businesss quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.29 EPS. Birkenstock has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.220-2.40 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Birkenstock will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year. About Birkenstock (Get Free Report) Birkenstock Group AG, listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BIRK, is a global footwear manufacturer renowned for its anatomically contoured footbeds and iconic sandal designs. The companys core product lines include classic models such as the Arizona, Boston and Madrid, alongside a range of clogs, shoes and orthotic insoles. In addition to footwear, Birkenstock offers complementary accessories, including socks and leather care products, reinforcing its commitment to foot health and comfort. Birkenstock reaches consumers through a diversified distribution network that combines direct-to-consumer channelssuch as branded retail stores and e-commerce platformswith wholesale partnerships spanning specialty footwear retailers, department stores and select online marketplaces. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Birkenstock Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Birkenstock and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 18,762,000 shares, a decrease of 13.4% from the December 31st total of 21,665,261 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,566,253 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 7,566,253 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. Institutional Investors Weigh In On CVS Health A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in CVS Health during the 2nd quarter worth about $91,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of CVS Health by 173.9% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 92,896 shares of the pharmacy operators stock worth $6,408,000 after buying an additional 58,984 shares during the period. Clarius Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 13.1% during the second quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 3,611 shares of the pharmacy operators stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in CVS Health in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $579,000. Finally, Grimes & Company Inc. boosted its position in CVS Health by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 9,537 shares of the pharmacy operators stock worth $658,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the companys stock. Get CVS Health alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets CVS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of CVS Health from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Argus cut their target price on CVS Health from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of CVS Health from $82.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on CVS Health from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, CVS Health has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $94.82. CVS Health Trading Up 1.7% Shares of NYSE CVS traded up $1.27 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $76.69. The stock had a trading volume of 988,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,897,570. The firm has a market cap of $97.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 202.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.50. CVS Health has a fifty-two week low of $53.36 and a fifty-two week high of $85.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The companys 50-day simple moving average is $78.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.33. CVS Health Dividend Announcement The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 22nd were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 22nd. CVS Healths payout ratio is presently 700.00%. About CVS Health (Get Free Report) CVS Health Corporation is a diversified healthcare company that operates a large network of retail pharmacies, pharmacy benefit management services and health care solutions. Headquartered in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, the company traces its roots to the early 1960s and has grown into an integrated provider of prescription drugs, overthecounter products, clinical services and health insurance offerings. Its operating model combines retail pharmacy locations and instore clinics with broader pharmacy and health plan capabilities. Key business activities include CVS Pharmacy retail operations, MinuteClinic walkin medical clinics and HealthHUB locations that offer expanded clinical services. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for CVS Health Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for CVS Health and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Eagleford Energy Inc. (OTCMKTS:GRUSF Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 118,483 shares, a drop of 15.2% from the December 31st total of 139,698 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 226,327 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.5 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 226,327 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.5 days. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Eagleford Energy Stock Performance Eagleford Energy stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $0.42. 26,671 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 107,709. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.47 million and a PE ratio of 21.01. Eagleford Energy has a fifty-two week low of $0.28 and a fifty-two week high of $0.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $0.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 3.59 and a current ratio of 4.78. Get Eagleford Energy alerts: Eagleford Energy (OTCMKTS:GRUSF Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 11th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $5.36 million during the quarter. Eagleford Energy had a return on equity of 28.90% and a net margin of 31.81%. About Eagleford Energy Grown Rogue International Inc, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells cannabis products in the United States. It offers a range of cultivars for consumers, such as indicas, sativas, and hybrids; strain-specific prepackaged flowers; and pre-roll pack products, as well as provides consulting services. The company sells its products through direct-to-retail delivery and third-party delivery, wholesalers, and processors. Grown Rogue International Inc is headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Eagleford Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Eagleford Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Nokian Renkaat Oyj (OTCMKTS:NKRKY Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 6,826 shares, a growth of 34.1% from the December 31st total of 5,091 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,314 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days. Based on an average daily volume of 4,314 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days. Nokian Renkaat Oyj Stock Down 3.8% Shares of NKRKY stock opened at $6.22 on Tuesday. Nokian Renkaat Oyj has a 52-week low of $3.16 and a 52-week high of $6.65. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.97. Get Nokian Renkaat Oyj alerts: Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Separately, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a hold rating on shares of Nokian Renkaat Oyj in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold. Nokian Renkaat Oyj Company Profile (Get Free Report) Nokian Renkaat Oyj, operating under the Nokian Tyres brand, is a Finnish manufacturer specializing in the design, development and production of tires for passenger cars, SUVs, trucks and heavy machinery. The company is particularly renowned for its winter tire technologies, offering a portfolio that includes studded and studless solutions engineered for snow, ice and challenging weather conditions. Nokian also produces all-season and summer tire lines, catering to a broad range of on-road and off-road applications. The firm traces its origins to the Finnish Rubber Works founded in 1898 and emerged as an independent tire company following a spin-off from Nokia Corporation in 1988. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Nokian Renkaat Oyj Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Nokian Renkaat Oyj and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. WisdomTree International Equity Fund (NYSEARCA:DWM Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 12,477 shares, a decrease of 24.4% from the December 31st total of 16,511 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 12,448 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.0 days. Approximately 0.1% of the companys stock are sold short. Approximately 0.1% of the companys stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 12,448 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.0 days. WisdomTree International Equity Fund Stock Down 0.2% NYSEARCA:DWM traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $72.26. The stock had a trading volume of 17,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,311. WisdomTree International Equity Fund has a 12-month low of $51.73 and a 12-month high of $73.10. The stock has a market cap of $664.78 million, a P/E ratio of 13.53 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.11. Get WisdomTree International Equity Fund alerts: Hedge Funds Weigh In On WisdomTree International Equity Fund Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of WisdomTree International Equity Fund during the second quarter valued at approximately $143,000. New World Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of WisdomTree International Equity Fund by 14.2% during the second quarter. New World Advisors LLC now owns 5,654 shares of the companys stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 703 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. lifted its holdings in WisdomTree International Equity Fund by 1.9% in the second quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 22,441 shares of the companys stock worth $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in WisdomTree International Equity Fund by 30.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 63,652 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,046,000 after buying an additional 14,810 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of WisdomTree International Equity Fund during the 2nd quarter worth about $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.46% of the companys stock. About WisdomTree International Equity Fund The WisdomTree International Equity Fund (DWM) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the WisdomTree International Equity index. The fund tracks a dividend-weighted index of dividend-paying companies in developed markets excluding Canada and the US. DWM was launched on Jun 16, 2006 and is managed by WisdomTree. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for WisdomTree International Equity Fund Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for WisdomTree International Equity Fund and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Simmons Bank decreased its position in shares of SPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:MDY Free Report) by 3.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,666 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after selling 940 shares during the period. SPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF Trust comprises about 1.0% of Simmons Banks holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Simmons Banks holdings in SPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF Trust were worth $14,701,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MDY. Moore Capital Management LP raised its holdings in SPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF Trust by 73.2% in the second quarter. Moore Capital Management LP now owns 633,725 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $358,993,000 after purchasing an additional 267,800 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of SPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF Trust by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 613,019 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $347,263,000 after buying an additional 36,384 shares in the last quarter. Tableaux LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF Trust in the 2nd quarter worth about $317,795,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of SPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF Trust by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 500,851 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $283,722,000 after buying an additional 1,910 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of SPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF Trust by 98.3% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 484,834 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $274,651,000 after acquiring an additional 240,356 shares in the last quarter. Get SPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF Trust alerts: SPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF Trust Price Performance NYSEARCA:MDY opened at $632.69 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.98 and a beta of 1.06. SPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF Trust has a one year low of $458.82 and a one year high of $648.79. The companys 50-day simple moving average is $619.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $600.31. SPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF Trust Profile SPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF is an exchange traded fund. SPDR MidCap 400 Trust focuses to correspond to the price and yield performance of the S&P MidCap 400 Index. The S&P MidCap 400 covers over 7% of the United States equities market, and is part of a series of S&P the United States indices. The index also includes companies, which should have four consecutive quarters of positive as-reported earnings, excluding discontinued operations and extraordinary items. Its investment sectors include financials, industrials, information technology, consumer discretionary, healthcare and materials. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MDY? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for SPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:MDY Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for SPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for SPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Smart Employee Benefits Inc. (CVE:SEB Get Free Report)s share price passed below its 50 day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of C$0.30 and traded as low as C$0.30. Smart Employee Benefits shares last traded at C$0.30, with a volume of 11,100 shares. Smart Employee Benefits Stock Performance The stock has a 50-day moving average price of C$0.30 and a 200-day moving average price of C$0.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1,180.39, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of C$52.63 million, a PE ratio of -6.00 and a beta of 1.66. Smart Employee Benefits Company Profile (Get Free Report) Smart Employee Benefits Inc, a technology company, provides business process automation and software solutions, and professional services in Canada and internationally. It operates through Benefits and Technology segments. The Benefits segment offers software solutions, services, and products that focuses on managing group benefit and wellness plans for corporate and government clients. The Technology segment provides solutions in the areas of supply chain management, integration, and energy, as well as resource provisioning; and technical infrastructure support services. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Smart Employee Benefits Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Smart Employee Benefits and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Societe Generale Group (OTCMKTS:SCGLY Get Free Report) is expected to post its results before the market opens on Thursday, February 5th. Analysts expect Societe Generale Group to post earnings of $0.32 per share for the quarter. Societe Generale Group Stock Performance OTCMKTS SCGLY opened at $18.20 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.95. Societe Generale Group has a 12-month low of $6.23 and a 12-month high of $18.20. The firm has a market cap of $69.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.13, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.40. Get Societe Generale Group alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes Several brokerages recently weighed in on SCGLY. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a sector perform rating on shares of Societe Generale Group in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Morgan Stanley reissued an overweight rating on shares of Societe Generale Group in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Societe Generale Group from a moderate buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Citigroup reissued a buy rating on shares of Societe Generale Group in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a buy rating on shares of Societe Generale Group in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Societe Generale Group has an average rating of Moderate Buy. About Societe Generale Group (Get Free Report) Societe Generale Group, founded in 1864 and headquartered in Paris, is one of Frances largest banking groups. It offers a broad range of financial services to individuals, businesses, institutions and governments. The firm operates through multiple businesses that collectively provide banking, financing, investment and advisory solutions across retail, corporate and institutional client segments. The groups core activities encompass retail banking services such as deposit accounts, consumer and mortgage lending, payment services and wealth management. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Societe Generale Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Societe Generale Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. A container bearing the Hapag-Lloyd logo lies in Hamburg's Burchardkai harbor. Jonas Walzberg/dpa The Hamburg-based shipping company Hapag-Lloyd is returning to the Red Sea after more than two years of interruption due to attacks by the Houthi militia. From mid-February, as part of the Gemini Cooperation between Hapag-Lloyd and the Danish shipping company Maersk, the IMX service which connects India and the Middle East with the Mediterranean will once again take the route through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, Hapag-Lloyd announced in Hamburg on Tuesday. The ships will sail under the protection of naval units, the company said. Many shipping companies still bypass Red Sea So far, many shipping companies avoid the area and bypass the Red Sea because the Houthi militia, which is hostile to Israel, threatens shipping in the region. The attacks by the Iranian-backed Houthis began in November 2023, more than a month after the start of the Gaza war. Bottlenecks in the Red Sea include the Suez Canal and the Bab al-Mandab strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden in the south. Due to the threat, many shipping companies still choose the route around the southern tip of Africa instead, which makes the routes more expensive but also brings higher freight rates for the shipping companies. Hapag-Lloyd announced that the Albert Maersk heading west and the Astrid Maersk heading east were the first to pass through the Suez Canal. Both container ships are 351 metres long. More services are expected to follow later. Hapag-Lloyd stressed, "The highest possible security precautions are being taken, as the safety of the crews, the ships, and the customers' cargo is of the utmost priority for both shipping companies." Sollinda Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF (BATS:MTUM Free Report) by 79.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,404 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 3,711 shares during the quarter. iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF comprises 0.6% of Sollinda Capital Management LLCs investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Sollinda Capital Management LLCs holdings in iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF were worth $2,155,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MTUM. TFC Financial Management Inc. acquired a new position in iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF in the 2nd quarter valued at $46,000. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in shares of iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF in the 2nd quarter valued at $55,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF by 397.8% during the 3rd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 224 shares of the companys stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. acquired a new stake in iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF in the third quarter valued at about $64,000. Get iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF alerts: iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF Trading Up 23.6% MTUM stock opened at $258.36 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $253.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $250.26. iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF has a 12 month low of $168.49 and a 12 month high of $240.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.67 and a beta of 1.02. iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF Profile The iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF (MTUM) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI USA Momentum SR Variant index. The fund tracks an index of large- and mid-cap US equities, selected and weighted based on price appreciation over 6- and 12-month periods and low volatility over the past 3 years. MTUM was launched on Apr 16, 2013 and is managed by BlackRock. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MTUM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF (BATS:MTUM Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. STMicroelectronics N.V. (NYSE:STM Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 13,318,285 shares, a decrease of 14.4% from the December 31st total of 15,552,585 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,210,617 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days. Approximately 1.5% of the companys shares are short sold. Approximately 1.5% of the companys shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,210,617 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days. STMicroelectronics Trading Down 3.7% Shares of STMicroelectronics stock traded down $1.07 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $27.70. The companys stock had a trading volume of 2,322,888 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,240,941. The company has a market capitalization of $24.88 billion, a PE ratio of 154.21 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 3.36 and a quick ratio of 2.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $26.71 and a 200 day moving average of $26.59. STMicroelectronics has a 12 month low of $17.25 and a 12 month high of $33.47. Get STMicroelectronics alerts: STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The semiconductor producer reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.16). STMicroelectronics had a net margin of 1.41% and a return on equity of 2.70%. The business had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.29 billion. Analysts predict that STMicroelectronics will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current year. Institutional Investors Weigh In On STMicroelectronics Analysts Set New Price Targets Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in STM. Abound Wealth Management bought a new stake in STMicroelectronics in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Peterson Wealth Services raised its stake in shares of STMicroelectronics by 3,086.5% in the 3rd quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 1,179 shares of the semiconductor producers stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,142 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its holdings in shares of STMicroelectronics by 248.4% in the second quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,303 shares of the semiconductor producers stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in shares of STMicroelectronics during the third quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of STMicroelectronics during the second quarter worth about $57,000. Institutional investors own 5.05% of the companys stock. Several analysts have commented on STM shares. Robert W. Baird set a $45.00 target price on shares of STMicroelectronics in a research report on Friday, October 24th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of STMicroelectronics in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Mizuho set a $28.00 target price on STMicroelectronics in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a sell (d+) rating on shares of STMicroelectronics in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on STMicroelectronics from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, STMicroelectronics currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $31.19. View Our Latest Analysis on STM About STMicroelectronics (Get Free Report) STMicroelectronics is a global semiconductor company headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, formed through the 1987 merger of SGS Microelettronica and Thomson Semiconducteurs. The company designs, develops and manufactures a broad range of semiconductor products and solutions that serve multiple end markets worldwide. STs offerings span from basic components to integrated systems, emphasizing energy-efficient and high-performance devices for modern electronics. Product categories include microcontrollers (notably the widely used STM32 family), analog and mixed-signal ICs, power MOSFETs and power-management devices, MEMS and sensors, image sensors, and discrete semiconductors. Read More Receive News & Ratings for STMicroelectronics Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for STMicroelectronics and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Syntara (ASX:SNT) management outlined a busy 2026 agenda and fielded shareholder questions during a company webinar focused on upcoming clinical milestones, partnering strategy, and market conditions for biotech dealmaking. Get alerts: Management highlights: multiple readouts expected in 2026 CEO Gary Phillips said the company expects a near-constant flow of news during 2026, pointing to five clinical trials expected to deliver efficacy and safety data over a 12-month period. Phillips described Syntara as a clinical-stage drug developer with 43% institutional backing and said its pipeline has been built through internal discovery efforts supported in part by Australias R&D tax credit program. Phillips also emphasized the role of non-dilutive funding, noting that Syntara has been awarded more than AUD 11.5 million in non-dilutive grant funding over the past three years. He said the company ended the prior quarter with AUD 12.3 million in cash, which he said funds operations into 2027. Non-Executive Director Hashan De Silva, whose fund KPRX is among Syntaras largest shareholders, joined Phillips for the Q&A. Phillips also cited analyst coverage from Canaccord Genuity, Bell Potter Securities, Euroz Hartleys, and Evolution Capital. Samalastat: FDA discussions and hematology trial plans Phillips described Samalastat as the companys lead asset and said it gained momentum following a presentation at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting in December. He added that Syntara broadened regulatory engagement beyond the FDA to the European Medicines Agency, which granted orphan drug designation; Phillips said the EMA process is very rigorous and requires evidence the drug may add value in the proposed indication. Looking ahead, Phillips said Syntara is in ongoing discussions with the FDA to approve its development plan in myelofibrosis. He characterized that FDA feedback as a key trigger point expected in the first half of 2026, both for the programs next development steps and for potential partnering engagement. In myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), Phillips said two studies are recruiting: Azilock Study (Germany): high-risk MDS; interim safety and efficacy data expected around mid-year, followed by phase 2 initiation in the second half of 2026. high-risk MDS; interim safety and efficacy data expected around mid-year, followed by phase 2 initiation in the second half of 2026. Message Study (Australia): low-risk MDS; interim safety and efficacy data expected in the second half of 2026. Phillips added that Syntara expects to initiate a pancreatic cancer study in the second half of 2026, and said both MDS studies and the pancreatic cancer study are funded by non-dilutive cash at their current stage. What the company says it has learned from myelofibrosis work Responding to questions about Samalastats clinical sweet spot, Phillips said the company has run multiple myelofibrosis studies in patients who were either not responsive to standard-of-care JAK inhibitors or were still taking JAK inhibitors but were not well controlled. He said the safety profile has appeared robust across a wide range of patients, ranging from those described as near end-stage to those earlier in treatment. Phillips also said the company observed symptom responses inside 3 months in a study where it had expected a longer time to efficacy, based on the drugs mechanism. He suggested earlier symptomatic benefit could support patient adherence. In MDS, he said it is too early to determine the optimal setting, though he referenced preclinical work in high-risk disease as a reason the company expects to see a relatively rapid response in red blood cell counts if the preclinical findings translate clinically. De Silva argued the market may be missing the importance of evaluating efficacy outcomes alongside safety, and said investor confusion about FDA guidance to run a phase 2 before a phase 3 was misplaced, describing that as normal drug development. He also discussed Syntaras work related to fibrosis and said the company has seen evidence of a link between target inhibition and reductions in fibrosis in topical scarring studies, while framing the remaining question for myelofibrosis as whether this translates into disease modification. Partnering and capital strategy: open and flexible Phillips said Syntara is seeking optionality around financing the next myelofibrosis study and potential partnering, and that the board wants the company to explore both partnering structures and capital raising alternatives. He said the company remains open to multiple deal formats, including regional transactions that trade territory rights for cash, as well as global licensing agreements. Phillips added that, in his view, partnering after a phase 2b study can be almost the same as partnering after a phase 3 if the trial provides controlled safety and efficacy data. De Silva described broader biotech market trends, saying deal focus has shifted away from early platform plays common in 20202021 and toward de-risked, later-stage assets. He linked increased urgency to the patent cliff and said big pharma is looking for assets that can generate revenue within two to three years. Phillips added that ruxolitinib, which he described as a $4.5 billion drug with roughly $1.5 billion in myelofibrosis sales, goes off patent in 2028, which he said could significantly reshape the market. Other pipeline programs: scarring and Parkinsons-related iRBD Phillips said Syntaras skin scarring program includes two studies using SNT-6302: Keloid scarring (UWA/Fiona Wood): interim safety and efficacy data expected around mid-year. interim safety and efficacy data expected around mid-year. Hypertrophic scarring: top-line safety and efficacy data expected in the second half of 2026. Phillips said the hypertrophic scarring study is designed to produce clinical proof of concept and could enable program acceleration and potential partnering interest. He described the trial design as using patients as their own control, including placebo versus active treatment on scars, tissue sampling, measurements of scar flexibility and volume, and high-quality photography with independent, blinded ranking. For SNT-4728 in Parkinsons-related isolated REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD), Phillips said recruitment is complete and top-line phase 2 data is expected in the second quarter of 2026. He noted the program is funded by Parkinsons UK, and said Syntara expects an AUD 1.8 million payment from Parkinsons UK in the current quarter. Management said potential next steps, if data are positive, could include interest from sleep-focused companies and neurodegeneration-focused companies, and Phillips referenced philanthropic organizations such as Parkinsons UK and the Michael J. Fox Foundation as engaged stakeholders. De Silva added that prior development work supports confidence in safety and said the company knows the compound crosses the blood-brain barrier, with the current question centered on downstream biological effects. Closing the webinar, Phillips reiterated that Syntara has advanced multiple programs that are either recruiting or completed recruitment, and said the team is focused on the years upcoming milestones. About Syntara (ASX:SNT) Syntara Limited operates as a clinical stage drug development company that focuses on blood-related cancers. Its lead product candidate is PXS-5505, which is in phase 2 trial for the bone marrow cancer myelofibrosis, which causes a build-up of scar tissue leading to loss of red and white blood cells and platelets. The company was formerly known as Pharmaxis Ltd and changed its name to Syntara Limited in December 2023. Syntara Limited was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Frenchs Forest, Australia. Recommended Stories Shares of TeliaSonera AB (OTCMKTS:TLSNY Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $9.5399 and last traded at $9.5399, with a volume of 8600 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $9.2030. Analyst Ratings Changes TLSNY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup raised TeliaSonera from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded TeliaSonera from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, UBS Group cut TeliaSonera from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Buy. Get TeliaSonera alerts: View Our Latest Research Report on TLSNY TeliaSonera Price Performance The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $8.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.59 billion, a PE ratio of 52.53 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. TeliaSonera (OTCMKTS:TLSNY Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The technology company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.16). TeliaSonera had a net margin of 4.35% and a return on equity of 8.87%. The company had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. Research analysts anticipate that TeliaSonera AB will post 0.34 earnings per share for the current year. TeliaSonera Company Profile (Get Free Report) TeliaSonera (OTCMKTS:TLSNY) operates under the Telia Company brand as one of the leading telecommunications providers in the Nordic and Baltic regions. The company delivers a wide range of services, including mobile and fixed voice communications, broadband internet, television and streaming offerings, and enterprise-grade data and IP solutions. Its consumer segment focuses on mobile subscriptions, digital TV packages and home connectivity, while its business division provides managed network services, cloud platforms and Internet of Things (IoT) applications. The roots of TeliaSonera trace back to the 19th century with Swedens Royal Telegraph Agency and Finlands national carrier, Sonera. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for TeliaSonera Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for TeliaSonera and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. The Sage Group plc (LON:SGE Get Free Report)s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as GBX 944 and last traded at GBX 946.60, with a volume of 8915379 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at GBX 965.60. Analysts Set New Price Targets SGE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of The Sage Group to a buy rating and boosted their price target for the company from GBX 1,100 to GBX 1,135 in a research report on Monday. Panmure Gordon reiterated a hold rating and set a GBX 1,300 target price on shares of The Sage Group in a report on Thursday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on The Sage Group from GBX 1,500 to GBX 1,300 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Shore Capital reiterated a hold rating on shares of The Sage Group in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of The Sage Group from GBX 1,320 to GBX 1,350 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of GBX 1,247. Get The Sage Group alerts: Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on SGE The Sage Group Stock Down 4.2% The stock has a market cap of 8.79 billion, a PE ratio of 24.89, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 114.00, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company has a 50 day moving average price of GBX 1,059.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of GBX 1,104.69. The Sage Group (LON:SGE Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 19th. The company reported GBX 43.20 EPS for the quarter. The Sage Group had a return on equity of 24.48% and a net margin of 11.87%. Analysts expect that The Sage Group plc will post 42.1496095 EPS for the current year. The Sage Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, November 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase 0 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the companys leadership believes its stock is undervalued. Insider Buying and Selling In related news, insider Jonathan Howell sold 88,727 shares of The Sage Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 1,065, for a total value of 944,942.55. Also, insider Steve Hare sold 127,828 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 1,065, for a total value of 1,361,368.20. Insiders own 0.95% of the companys stock. The Sage Group Company Profile (Get Free Report) The Sage Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides technology solutions and services for small and medium businesses in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and internationally. It offers cloud native solutions, such as Sage Intacct, a cloud accounting software product and financial management software; Sage People, a HR and people management solution; Sage 200, a finance and business management solution; Sage X3, a business management solution; Sage Accounting, a solution for small businesses, accountants, and bookkeepers to manage customer data, accounts, and people; Sage Payroll for small businesses manage their payroll; and Sage HR for small and mid-sized businesses for record management, leave management, staff scheduling, and expenses services. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for The Sage Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for The Sage Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI Get Free Report) (TSE:TRI) had its price target dropped by equities research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $177.00 to $155.00 in a report released on Tuesday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm presently has a sector perform rating on the business services providers stock. Royal Bank Of Canadas price objective would indicate a potential upside of 70.62% from the stocks current price. A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on TRI. Huber Research raised shares of Thomson Reuters to an overweight rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $165.00 price target on Thomson Reuters and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets restated an outperform rating on shares of Thomson Reuters in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Thomson Reuters from $212.00 to $160.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Thomson Reuters from $178.00 to $160.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Thomson Reuters currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $186.09. Get Thomson Reuters alerts: View Our Latest Stock Report on TRI Thomson Reuters Stock Performance Thomson Reuters stock traded down $18.18 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $90.85. 6,301,091 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,417,235. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $128.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $152.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Thomson Reuters has a one year low of $86.42 and a one year high of $218.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.42 billion, a PE ratio of 18.62, a P/E/G ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.80. Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI Get Free Report) (TSE:TRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The business services provider reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. Thomson Reuters had a return on equity of 14.62% and a net margin of 30.45%.Thomson Reuterss revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.80 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Thomson Reuters will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current year. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Curio Wealth LLC grew its position in Thomson Reuters by 16,200.0% in the 2nd quarter. Curio Wealth LLC now owns 163 shares of the business services providers stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Thomson Reuters in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Thomson Reuters during the second quarter valued at about $37,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Thomson Reuters during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its position in shares of Thomson Reuters by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 249 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 17.31% of the companys stock. About Thomson Reuters (Get Free Report) Thomson Reuters (NYSE: TRI) is a multinational information and media company that provides content, technology and services to professionals in the legal, tax & accounting, compliance, risk, corporate and media sectors. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, the company combines news and editorial content from the Reuters news agency with specialist workflow platforms and databases designed to support decision-making and regulatory compliance across industries worldwide. The companys product portfolio spans legal research and workflow tools, tax and accounting software, regulatory and risk management solutions, and real-time news and data services. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Thomson Reuters Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Thomson Reuters and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Tyler Technologies (NYSE:TYL Get Free Report)s stock had its buy rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $750.00 price objective on the technology companys stock. Needham & Company LLCs price objective would indicate a potential upside of 106.76% from the companys previous close. Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Tyler Technologies from $540.00 to $510.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Tyler Technologies from $600.00 to $510.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. BTIG Research started coverage on Tyler Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. They set a buy rating and a $560.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Tyler Technologies from $708.00 to $671.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Tyler Technologies in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. They set a buy rating and a $550.00 price target on the stock. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $611.14. Get Tyler Technologies alerts: Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Tyler Technologies Tyler Technologies Stock Performance Insider Transactions at Tyler Technologies TYL stock opened at $362.73 on Tuesday. Tyler Technologies has a 1 year low of $362.56 and a 1 year high of $661.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.45, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.91. The stocks fifty day moving average is $446.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $499.79. In related news, Director Glenn A. Carter sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.73, for a total transaction of $229,365.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,172 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,455,091.56. This represents a 13.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Brian K. Miller sold 1,000 shares of Tyler Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $448.51, for a total transaction of $448,510.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 17,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,691,049.48. This trade represents a 5.51% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 3,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,605,605 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tyler Technologies Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Tyler Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Tyler Technologies by 17.8% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the technology companys stock worth $146,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Tyler Technologies in the first quarter worth $2,102,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Tyler Technologies by 137.9% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 69 shares of the technology companys stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in Tyler Technologies by 10.7% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 5,858 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $3,473,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. 93.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. About Tyler Technologies (Get Free Report) Tyler Technologies, Inc is a provider of software and technology services for the public sector, delivering integrated systems that help government and public agencies manage operations, finances and citizen services. Headquartered in Plano, Texas, the company focuses on developing and implementing solutions for local and state governments, school districts, courts and public safety organizations. Its offerings are aimed at modernizing administrative workflows, improving transparency and enabling digital interactions between governments and the communities they serve. Tylers product portfolio spans enterprise resource planning and financial management, tax and billing systems, court case and records management, public safety solutions (including computer-aided dispatch and records management), land and property management, permitting and licensing, and enterprise asset management. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Tyler Technologies Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Tyler Technologies and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of UiPath (NYSE:PATH Free Report) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning. Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a hold (c) rating on shares of UiPath in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of UiPath from $15.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Truist Financial set a $17.00 price target on UiPath in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC restated a hold rating on shares of UiPath in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a neutral rating on shares of UiPath in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UiPath has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $16.00. Get UiPath alerts: Check Out Our Latest Report on PATH UiPath Stock Down 0.8% Shares of PATH opened at $12.49 on Friday. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $15.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.68 billion, a PE ratio of 29.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 1.07. UiPath has a 12-month low of $9.38 and a 12-month high of $19.84. UiPath (NYSE:PATH Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 3rd. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.02. UiPath had a return on equity of 3.73% and a net margin of 14.79%.The firm had revenue of $411.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $392.46 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. The companys revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that UiPath will post -0.17 EPS for the current year. Insider Buying and Selling at UiPath In other news, CFO Ashim Gupta sold 67,468 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.10, for a total transaction of $1,086,234.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 557,028 shares of the companys stock, valued at $8,968,150.80. This trade represents a 10.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel Dines sold 45,000 shares of UiPath stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.01, for a total value of $675,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 27,893,585 shares in the company, valued at $418,682,710.85. This trade represents a 0.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 995,048 shares of company stock worth $16,559,894 in the last ninety days. 23.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. Institutional Trading of UiPath A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new position in UiPath in the second quarter valued at approximately $102,559,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of UiPath during the second quarter worth $68,451,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of UiPath by 76.0% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,407,569 shares of the companys stock worth $145,732,000 after acquiring an additional 4,926,341 shares during the period. TFG Asset Management GP Ltd lifted its position in UiPath by 53.3% in the 2nd quarter. TFG Asset Management GP Ltd now owns 13,722,244 shares of the companys stock valued at $175,645,000 after acquiring an additional 4,772,244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in UiPath in the 2nd quarter worth $59,561,000. 62.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. UiPath Company Profile (Get Free Report) UiPath Inc provides an end-to-end automation platform that offers a range of robotic process automation (RPA) solutions primarily in the United States, Romania, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and internationally. The company offers a suite of interrelated software to build, manage, run, engage, measure, and govern automation within the organization. Its platform's embedded AI, ML, and NLP capabilities improve decisioning and information processing; emulate human behavior allows organizations to address a myriad of use cases; emulate human behavior allows organizations to address a myriad of use cases; multi-tenant platform enterprise deployment with security and governance and Automation Cloud, which enables customers to begin automating without the need to provision infrastructure, install applications, or perform additional configurations; intuitive interface and low-code, drag-and-drop functionality; signed to enable people and automations to work together; and tracks, measures, and forecasts the performance of automations, enables customers to gain powerful insights and generate key performance indicators with actionable metric. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for UiPath Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for UiPath and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais SA (OTCMKTS:USNZY Get Free Report) was up 7% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $1.37 and last traded at $1.37. Approximately 474 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 100% from the average daily volume of 156,815 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.28. Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais Trading Up 1.9% The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a current ratio of 4.21. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $1.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $717.64 million, a P/E ratio of -2.67 and a beta of 1.33. Get Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais alerts: About Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais (Get Free Report) Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais SA (OTCMKTS: USNZY), widely known as Usiminas, is one of Brazils leading integrated steel producers. The company operates across the full steel value chain, from iron ore mining to the manufacture and distribution of flat steel products. Its portfolio includes hot- and cold-rolled coils, coated sheets, tin plates, plates and tubular products, which serve a broad array of end markets such as construction, automotive, packaging, machinery and energy. Founded in the mid-1950s through a partnership between Brazilian and international investors, Usiminas is headquartered in Belo Horizonte and maintains its principal steelmaking facilities in Ipatinga, Minas Gerais, as well as secondary operations in Cubatao (Sao Paulo) and Santa Cruz. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. West Japan Railway (OTCMKTS:WJRYY Get Free Report) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 1.680-1.680 for the period. The company issued revenue guidance of $11.9 billion-$11.9 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $11.8 billion. West Japan Railway Stock Performance WJRYY stock opened at $20.50 on Tuesday. The stocks fifty day moving average price is $19.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.09. The company has a market cap of $9.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.73 and a beta of 0.23. West Japan Railway has a 1 year low of $17.50 and a 1 year high of $24.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.66. Get West Japan Railway alerts: West Japan Railway (OTCMKTS:WJRYY Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.04). West Japan Railway had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 7.47%.The business had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.01 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that West Japan Railway will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Separately, Zacks Research upgraded West Japan Railway from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold. View Our Latest Analysis on WJRYY West Japan Railway Company Profile (Get Free Report) West Japan Railway Company (OTCMKTS: WJRYY), commonly known as JR West, is one of the regional passenger railway operators formed in 1987 following the privatization of Japanese National Railways. Headquartered in Osaka, JR West manages a comprehensive rail network across western Honshu, providing vital transportation links that facilitate daily commuting, intercity travel, and regional tourism. As an American Depositary Receipt (ADR)listed issuer, the company offers international investors access to its operations through trading on OTC markets in the United States. JR Wests core business centers on passenger rail services, including high-speed Shinkansen lines and an extensive range of conventional rail routes. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for West Japan Railway Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for West Japan Railway and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Grant Thornton UK has expanded its Advisory leadership team by making seven senior professionals from within the company equity partners. London-based Rob Turner and Alasdair Grainger have been promoted to partners in the consulting division. Turner will oversee Public Services Consulting, working with government departments and public sector bodies on large and complex programmes. Grainger assumes leadership of Energy Transition and Sustainability, taking responsibility for a newly combined team focused on supporting energy transition initiatives. Economic Consulting will now be jointly led by Tom Middleton in London and Joel Strange, who divides his time between London and Cardiff. Their remit covers economic regulation, dispute-related economic analysis, economic modelling, and evaluation of policy and impact, providing clients with structured insight into economic challenges and choices. Adam Hughes has become a partner in the Debt and Capital Advisory team. His role centres on advising clients on capital structure, private equity-backed transactions, and merger and acquisition deals. In Business Risk Services, London-based Emma Young and Ben Langford have been promoted to partner. Both have worked at the practice for close to 20 years and concentrate on risk management and integrated assurance, supporting organisations as they address operational and strategic uncertainty. Together, the seven new partners broaden Grant Thornton UKs Advisory coverage across areas such as economic development, economic analysis, public services change programmes and data-led decision support. The moves sit within the companys wider objective of building out its Advisory offering, which includes a stated intention to add 160 partners over the next two years. Grant Thornton UK Core Advisory head Will McWilliams said: These new partners truly represent the best of Grant Thornton, ambitious, thoughtful and deeply committed to delivering for our clients. Their promotion comes at a time when demand for high-quality, commercially focused advisory support continues to grow. Last month, Grant Thornton UK appointed Abigail Fisher as its first chief people officer. "Grant Thornton UK expands advisory leadership with seven promotions" was originally created and published by International Accounting Bulletin, a GlobalData owned brand. Xero (ASX:XRO) used an investor briefing to outline its artificial intelligence strategy and provide additional detail on the companys U.S. payments opportunity following its acquisition of Melio. Executives emphasized what they described as a foundation of continued, consistent, high-quality growth and profitability, and said that discipline has created capacity for new investments in AI and payments. Get alerts: AI as a TAM expander and shift from record to action Chief Executive Officer Sukhinder Singh Cassidy framed AI as a large market-expanding technology shift, citing a Gartner forecast of a 4x TAM expansion for SaaS companies. She said customers expectations for AI fall into four categories: getting faster help, getting time back through automation, becoming smarter now through insights, and unlocking growth. Singh Cassidy said Xeros role as a system of recordholding and processing customer financial datapositions it to combine proprietary data with horizontal large language models (LLMs) to deliver more accurate, context-aware intelligence. She characterized the companys ambition as a triple threat: evolving from system of record to system of action and system of decision-making. She also highlighted Xeros domain breadth across financial operations (including payroll, accounting, payments, bill pay, invoicing, tax preparation, analytics, and expenses) and its go-to-market reach, noting more than 250,000 accountants and 4.5 million subscribers. Xeros four-pillar AI strategy and early adoption metrics Chief Product Officer Diya Jolly described Xeros AI vision as four pillars: AI agents to automate actions and workflows across accounting, payments, and payroll to return time to customers. to automate actions and workflows across accounting, payments, and payroll to return time to customers. Actionable insights agents alongside automation, which Jolly said differentiates Xero from peers focused only on automation agents. alongside automation, which Jolly said differentiates Xero from peers focused only on automation agents. Reimagined AI-first SaaS experiences designed for managing an army of agents, with connected workflows and intelligent surfaces. designed for managing an army of agents, with connected workflows and intelligent surfaces. Trust and auditability through what Xero calls decision data and context graphs, aimed at enabling consistent, auditable outputs that general-purpose LLMs struggle to deliver in finance. Jolly said Xero has expanded its AI and machine learning talent over the past three years and built self-service tools for engineering teams to experiment with AI features. She shared several usage indicators, including an average of 22 hours per month saved by small businesses using automated actions, and more than 97% of help sessions resolved without a support ticket through AI-enabled chat and self-service tools in Xero Central. She also said messages per user to the JAX chatbot increased 61% per user in the last three months and that 12% of Xero Analytics users have adopted AI Insights features shortly after launch. On adoption, Jolly said about 2 million subscribers benefit from AI features across new and existing capabilities (including bank reconciliation suggestions and Hubdoc extraction). She added that FY26 generative AI launchessuch as JAX auto bank reconciliation and financial insightshad been adopted by more than 300,000 subscribers within the first three to four months. Product demos: JAX, agentic bank reconciliation, and Partner Hub Product leader Lisa showcased JAX as a financial super agent orchestrating multiple AI agents. She described a redesigned homepage that serves as a control room for agents and insights, replacing a prior to-do list. Lisa said Xero expanded JAX beyond its initial invoice creation agent to include agents for help questions and finance topic research via a partnership with OpenAI. A key demo centered on a 100% agentic bank reconciliation agent. Lisa contrasted a business with 118 items to reconcile manually versus another with only three remaining after the agent auto-reconciled 113 line items. She said the agent provides a log of actions and reasoning, and described four mechanisms driving automation: user rules, predicted matching documents, learning from the users history, and predictions based on patterns from 4.5 million platform users. Lisa said accuracy is over 97%. Lisa also demoed Xero Analytics AI Insights and a financial insights agent that can answer questions, break down revenue, analyze expenses, and run scenarios such as whether a business can afford a $20,000 van purchase. She said the insights agent is seeing over 90% accuracy. For accountants, she highlighted Xero Partner Hub, with an agent designed to query across client bases and generate client summaries for meetings. Monetization approach: bundles, add-ons, and experimentation with usage Jolly outlined a monetization framework intended to preserve simplicity and adoption while aligning pricing to value. She said Xero plans to bundle AI features across plans, offer add-ons for access without upgrading plans, and experiment with consumption-based pricing. Executives said the company aims to monetize incremental value beginning in FY27, while continuing to embed AI broadly and launch over a dozen new AI agents across accounting, payments, and payroll over the coming year. In Q&A, CFO Claire Bramley said Xero does not expect material changes in the medium term to the subscription gross margin profile from AI-related costs such as tokens, noting the company will monitor costs and factor them into pricing and monetization decisions. Melio: U.S. payments TAM, product embedding, and path to FY28 goals Singh Cassidy reiterated the strategic rationale for acquiring Melio, emphasizing demand for accounting plus payments in the U.S., digitization tailwinds in a market she said lags other countries, and the platform and team behind Melio. She said the combination supports Xeros 33 strategy and aims to improve unit economics through higher gross profit dollars per customer. Melio CEO Matan Bar described the U.S. SMB payments market as a $29 billion TAM, with accounts payable representing $14 billion today and projected to grow to $19 billion by 2030. He said 90% of U.S. small businesses still do not use software for accounts payable. Bar outlined frictions including continued reliance on checks and cash (20% of AP volume), long settlement times for checks and ACH, limited remittance data, and fragmented vendor payment preferences. Melio demos highlighted multiple bill ingestion methods (including Gmail scanning, a dedicated inbox address, accounting system sync, mobile photo capture, and desktop upload), AI-powered data extraction and categorization, and funding and delivery flexibility. Ilan said businesses can fund payments by bank transfer or credit card (with a 2.9% fee), and use a BNPL option to split into up to 12 installments. He also said Melio supports international payments to more than 80 countries. Eli demonstrated Xeros embedded bill pay experience powered by Melio, including KYB onboarding, connecting a bank account via Plaid, and paying bills within Xeros bills workflow. Eli said customers using Melio for bill payments are saving an average of five hours per month, and noted that credit card funding in Xeros embedded experience is coming soon. Executives outlined economic drivers for the U.S. payments businesstotal payment volume (TPV) and take rateand said Melio has influenced both through product design and education. A slide discussion cited an illustrative cohort in which TPV increases around 75% in the first 12 months after adoption, with continued double-digit growth beyond year one. Singh Cassidy and Bramley also discussed new U.S. disclosures planned to track progress, including bill payment revenue split between syndication and direct customer revenue, total TPV, gross TPV take rate for direct customers, and U.S. gross margin and gross profit. On FY28 objectives, management reiterated an aspiration previously announced with the acquisition: more than double Xeros fiscal 2025 group revenue by fiscal 2028, supporting a greater than the rule of 40 outcome in FY28. They also reiterated an expectation for Melio to reach EBITDA break-even on a run-rate basis by the end of the second half of fiscal 2028. About Xero (ASX:XRO) Xero Limited, together with its subsidiaries, a software as a service company, provides online business solutions for small businesses and their advisors in Australia, New Zealand, and internationally. It offers Xero, an open platform that connects small businesses to a range of solutions, which helps to manage their finances. The company also provides Xero mobile app; and accountant/bookkeeper tools, including Xero HQ, Xero Practice Manager, Xero Workpapers, and Xero Cashbook or Xero Ledger. Xero Limited was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Wellington, New Zealand. See Also Dr. Saida Bowe, head of the obstetrics and gynecology department at Rand Memorial Hospital, also heads the Dont Fear the Smear cervical cancer awareness campaign in Grand Bahama, which provides free pap smears, sexually transmitted infections screenings, and human papillomavirus vaccinations. The doctor said early detection leads to better outcomes, noting that cost, fear, and discomfort often prevent women from being screened challenges the campaign seeks to eliminate by offering services free of charge. The message shared is prevention is possible and early detection saves lives. DR. SAIDA BOWE What happened at Davos this year was not simply a message for presidents and prime ministers. It was a warning for chief executives. The World Economic Forum has long served as a venue for diplomatic signaling, but this time the implications landed squarely in the boardroom. At Davos, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney warned that the postCold War rules-based international order is no longer holding, and that countries must take on the world as it is, not the world we wish to see. That admonition applies even more forcefully to CEOs. Their corporate strategies built for yesterdays order are now exposed to risks they no longer control. More from Yahoo Scout What risks do shifting geopolitical alliances pose? What strategic decisions must CEOs make now? How should companies redesign for currency volatility? Why must geopolitical judgment enter corporate boardrooms? For three decades, American multinationals operated on a quiet assumption: that geopolitics would remain largely external to commercial decision-making. That assumption survived the 1990s and 2000s even as cracks appeared in the global trading system. Today, it is not merely outdated but dangerous. What companies are experiencing is not a sudden rupture, but the accumulated effect of trends that have been visible for years. What is striking is how many firms remain organized as if those trends never mattered. Davos crystallized a shift that can no longer be dismissed as diplomatic theater. Europe and Canada are deepening economic engagement with China, and China is actively reciprocating. This is happening as the United States uses tariffs, industrial policy, and explicit reciprocity to make clear that economic alignment will no longer be inherited by default. It will be negotiated, enforced, and revisited. Our allies are not rejecting the United States. Theyre hedging. Their response is a rational adjustment to a world in which trade, technology, and capital are explicit instruments of state power. China did not arrive at this position by accident. Under Xi Jinping, Beijing has systematically reduced its dependence on Western goodwill while building asymmetric leverage across industrial capacity, critical inputs, and market access. Europe and Canada were not treated as adversaries; they were treated as strategic options. Once Washington stopped pretending the old system still functioned, those options became more valuable. The data reinforces what the rhetoric now confirms. More than half of Americas goods trade deficit is with allies, not China. China, meanwhile, remains Europes largest or second-largest trading partner, with bilateral trade measured in the hundreds of billions of dollars. These patterns are not transitional. They are structural. Allies moving closer to China are not engaging a neutral market actor; they are engaging a mercantilist system designed to absorb demand while exporting overcapacity. For American companies, the consequence is not only competitive pressure abroad but a steady erosion of industrial strength at home. The National Health Insurance Authority says growth has outpaced funding. The FNM says its proof the government doesnt have the money. Meanwhile, providers report delayed payments and patients depend on the system every day. You voted: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (left) last met US President Donald Trump in February at the White House, but the two have spoken on the phone several times since then [AFP via Getty Images] US President Donald Trump's decision to lower reciprocal tariffs on India from 50% to 18% has been met with a sense of relief in Asia's third-largest economy, even as precise details on the agreement remain sketchy. India paid the highest tariffs in the world after Trump raised import duties on Indian goods from 25% to 50% in August last year, saying Delhi's purchase of discounted Russian oil was helping fund Moscow's war effort in Ukraine. After his call with India's prime minister on Monday, Trump claimed Narendra Modi had "agreed to stop buying Russian oil, and buy much more from the United States, and potentially Venezuela". India has not commented on these exact claims, but Modi thanked Trump "on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement", saying he hoped to take the partnership with the US to "unprecedented heights". The patch-up comes after Trump's trade war soured carefully cultivated relations between Washington and Delhi, with exports from India to the US falling sharply across key job-creating sectors such as textiles, seafood and jewellery. Trump's tariffs also forced a notoriously protectionist government in Delhi to expedite a flurry of other trade agreements and diversify its export markets. Last week, India and the EU announced "the mother of all trade deals", eliminating tariff on 80-90% of goods. It was Delhi's ninth free trade agreement in four years, as the deal with Washington showed no signs of progress. The long-delayed announcement by Trump was, as expected, widely welcomed by Indian industry. "While the devil is in the details, it removes a hanging sword over the rupee, equity and rates market. Let us hope that it is a win-win deal for both the countries," said Nilesh Shah, a fund manager. Exports from India to the US have sharply fallen across sectors such as seafood and textiles [NurPhoto via Getty Images] Tariff-related uncertainty was one of the many reasons for India's rising trade gap, falling rupee and a flight of foreign money from the country last year. The 18% tariff now brings the rate in line with India's peers in Asia such as Vietnam, Thailand and Bangladesh who pay duties between 19% and 40% on US exports. "This greatly boosts India's appeal as an alternative to China for the reconfiguration of supply chains. Indeed, India still offers many other advantages that other manufacturing hubs can't, including low labour costs, political stability and a large domestic market for MNCs to sell to as a hedge against future tariffs," Shilan Shah of Capital Economics said in a note. Selling Chicago-style pizza outside of Chicago has always been a challenge. As someone who grew up near Boston, a city with a grand tradition of thinner-crust pizza offered by chains such as Pizzeria Regina, Papa Gino's, and Santarpio's, deep-dish pizza seemed like an entirely different food. It wasn't something commonly sold during my childhood, and it remains something I've never really considered pizza. Despite that, Uno Pizzeria, which was known as Pizzeria Uno back in the 1980s and 90s, flourished in New England. The chain offered a version of deep-dish pizza that was a take on the Chicago classic, but also closer to traditional pizza. It was deep-dish, but not quite as deep as what's traditionally sold under that name. You could eat it with a fork and knife, but you could also pick it up and eat it as a slice. Uno did not exactly take over New England, but it became a steady presence with dozens of locations across the region. That presence has slowly withered, as the overall chain has shrunk from over 150 locations nationwide to only 36 as of Feb. 3, 2026, according to the locations page on the company's website. Now, the chain has suddenly closed three more Massachusetts locations. 3 more Uno Pizzeria locations close Uno Pizzeria has closed locations in Dedham, Revere, and Braintree, Massachusetts, without any notification to customers, Boston's WCVB reported. The chain posted a notice on its Facebook page, which has since been taken down. After 34 years of serving this amazing community, our Revere location is closing its doors for the last time on Sunday, the restaurant posted. We would like to extend a massive thank you to everyone who has made this restaurant feel like home for over three decades. Its been an unforgettable run! More Restaurants These shutdowns leave only five Massachusetts locations listed on the chains website. Two locations are listed for New Hampshire, in Concord and Tilton. No Uno restaurants remain in Rhode Island. Uno did not return a request for comment from the news station. This closure news came day before Yum Brand shared that it plans to close 250 Pizza Hut locations, which TheStreet's Kirk O'Neill reported. Pizzeria Uno has shrunk to 36 locations nationwide.Shutterstock Shutterstock 2026 and 2025 Uno Pizzeria closures IHG Hotels & Resorts (IHG) has entered a management agreement with Rajdeep Infra & Sales to establish a new hotel in Lucknow, India, under the voco brand. The 135-room hotel is currently under construction. It is expected to begin operations in the third quarter of 2029. The site is located in Ashiyana, an area in Lucknow with direct links to major urban centres and within proximity to Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport. This new development will mark the introduction of the voco brand to Lucknow and will become IHG Hotels & Resorts third property in the city, joining existing Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza hotels. IHG Hotels & Resorts stated that the expansion aligns with its strategy to increase presence in important urban locations across India. Lucknow is the capital of Uttar Pradesh and serves as a centre for business, government, education, and tourism. The city regularly attracts both domestic and international travellers. IHG Hotels & Resorts South West Asia managing director Sudeep Jain said: We are delighted to partner with Rajdeep Infra & Sales to introduce the vibrant voco brand to Lucknow. This signing is a strategic step in expanding our premium portfolio in Indias integral state capitals. Lucknows dynamic growth as an administrative, educational, and business destination makes it an ideal market for vocos contemporary and distinctive hospitality. We are confident this hotel will resonate strongly with travellers seeking a premium, relaxed, and characterful stay. Across India, IHG Hotels & Resorts operates 51 properties under brands such as Crowne Plaza, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Six Senses, and voco Hotels. The company is pursuing further growth in India with a pipeline of 80 hotels currently under development and aims to operate more than 400 hotels in total, including both open and planned sites, within five years. In August 2025, IHG Hotels & Resorts signed voco Bangkok Siam in partnership with SCX Corporation, a subsidiary of SC Asset Public Company. The 28-storey, 350-room property is scheduled to open in 2029. "IHG signs agreement for new voco hotel in Lucknow, India" was originally created and published by Hotel Management Network, a GlobalData owned brand. remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. The Nevada County Elections Office is urging residents to watch their mailboxes this week for voter residency confirmation postcards. If you do not return the residency confirmation card, no action will be taken, and your voter registration will remain unchanged. Long before sustainability became a buzzword, there was linen. Woven into the wrappings of Egyptian mummies and, according to the Bible, laid around the body of Christ after the crucifixion, linen has clothed both royalty and ritual for millennia. Soft yet strong, it is spun not from oil or synthetics but from the resilient flax plantrequiring far less water than cotton and no chemical crutches. So, linen is one of the most sustainable textile products you can make for the world, says William James Burgoyne Baird, chairman of WFB Baird & Company (India) Pvt Ltd, his voice grounded in both history and conviction. That heritage stretches back to the early 20th century, when Jamess great-grandfather, William Frederik Burgoyne, founded a linen mill in the small Northern Irish town of Lurgan with a simple vision: to craft the worlds finest linen. His descendants took that vision to heart. Today, Burgoyne is widely regarded as one of the finest linen producers globally, with world-class products emerging not only from Ireland and Poland but also from Kakkanad in Kerala. Burgoyne established its first facility in India two decades back. James says the Nair familywho once owned the Leela brand and had investments in textileswas instrumental in encouraging the Bairds to enter the Indian market. For a European business, entering India was a big cultural shift. We had to figure out the best way to approach it, James recalls. We ultimately decided to set up in the Cochin Special Economic Zone in Kakkanad. As an export-oriented company, that setup gave us certain tax benefits and reduced bureaucratic hurdles. You need support when you take such a big stepa little help from your friends. And thats exactly what we had in the Nair family. They have since exited the textile industry, but their support back then made all the difference. When Burgoyne first set up operations in India, they brought in European managers. But after a few years, we realised Indian managers were more than capable, says James. They understood the local culture far better and could handle things very effectively. That ability to translate between two worldsEuropean ideals and Indian realitieshas been central to our growth and success. James refers to current CEO Suchitra Menon as a vital bridge between the European way of thinking and Indian practicalities. As my son puts it, she spends 30 per cent of her time managing the ownertelling him, that might work in Europe, but this is not how things are done in India, he quips. Suchitra, meanwhile, adds that the company isnt run purely in an Indian way. Theres a really good balancea blend of the familys passion with our local way of working. That balance has evolved through long-standing relationships and mutual trust, she explains. Burgoyne also points to a unique cultural similarity between India and Ireland that has been core to their operations: the importance of family. Family matters in Ireland. Family matters in India, he says, adding that for them, its not just about being in businessits about being part of an extended family across two cultures. If you ask me what Ive learned over the years, Id say its that family values in India are the rock, the core, the very constitution of this place. Never underestimate the power of Indian families. Youll find love, loyalty, integrityall of that stems from the Indian family unit, he says. To aspiring entrepreneurs looking to enter textiles, James offers this advice: it's a business that evolves slowly over time. If you want to make a quick fortune, I can assure youtextiles is not the way. But if you're in it for the long term, its one of the most wonderful industries to be in. It grows like a childinto a man, and then into an elder. Thats how a textile business matures, he says. That long view has shaped Burgoynes journey in India. James recalls that when the company first came to India, it operated purely as an export unit, primarily serving the American market. What we discovered along the way was that we could also start supplying linen over the counter here in India. Today, our Burgoyne brand is available in around 5,000 shop fronts across the country. Then we realisedhold ontheres real demand for linen in India. But our factory in Kochi wasnt big enough. So, we built another one in Tamil Nadu to meet domestic demand." "Later, we saw that not everyone in India could afford pure linenso we began developing linen-cotton blends, intimate blends, and other variations. These were well received in the Indian market. Eventually, we recognised the domestic demand for linen yarn itself and started a spinning plant. And now, were very happy with how thats turned out. So yesfrom little acorns, oak trees grow. Thats how we scaled. Jamess son Joshua, director at WFB Baird & Company (India) Pvt Ltd, says linen is a powerful niche and the company is well-positioned thanks to the quality of its products. Our job now is to build on thatcontinue looking after our customers, develop new and exciting products, and push innovation where it matters, he says. Like every other industry, AI is a buzzword in textiles too. In our business, AI is already very useful on the administrative sidestock control, customer data, analysing ten years of purchasing behaviour in seconds, says James. But as for placing robots on the factory floormachines that automatically go to the back of a loom when it stops, tie it up, and restart itthat still feels like science fiction. Were not quite there yet, he adds. There are areas, like fabric inspection, where AI is expected to play a bigger role in the near future. But manufacturing textilessay, making a shirt from scratch using a robotthats still a long way off. Im not saying it wont happen, just that we dont know yet, says James. Right now, AI is very effective in data analysis and spotting trends. But the problem is, these systems are logicaland the world we live in is not always logical. Machines cant process stupidity or genius. They cant invent or surprise. They can only do what theyre told. But its the extraordinarythe things that break the rulesthat build great businesses and define the future. After tottering on the edge for months, India and the US have finally managed to work out a historic trade deal, which, according to President Donald Trump, will take effect immediately. But what changed, and how did India pull off a victory from the jaws of defeat? The Narendra Modi government used a mix of silence when it came to provocative statements by the American First Gentleman, and a bunch of definitive signalling when it came to trade, all accompanied by tenacious diplomatic manoeuvring. As it turns out, both nations have had to make concessions that is normally how a deal works. But for India, it is very much an achievement in ensuring not just the status quo of its trade balance, but the larger future prosperity. When President Trump announced his Liberation Day tariffs on April 2 last year, India initially appeared to have escaped relatively unscathed. Its initial tariff of 26 per cent seemed much lower than its competitors in the export sweepstakes, fellow economies like China, Vietnam, Bangladesh etc. However, Trumps ire over Indias buying of cheap Russian oil suddenly led to punitive tariffs, which debilitated about half of Indias merchandise exports to the US with a hefty 50 per cent plus tariff. There was also the risk of further escalation if the Sanctioning Russia Bill were passed by American lawmakers, as it proposed raising tariffs to as high as 500 per cent. But all is well, for now, with both Trump and Modi back to being greatest friends with a deal of 18 per cent tariffs, which puts Indian exports in good standing against competitors like Vietnam (electronics and other manufacturing), Bangladesh (textiles). Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement. When two large economies and the Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 2, 2026 How India pulled it off is no less than a master lesson in tortoising a slow and steady tenacious approach in dealing with the demands. First, it did not bow down to the initial set of demands, which ranged from opening up the entire market, including agriculture and dairy. While details of the final deal need to be checked for fine print, Trumps mention of agricultural would mean some sort of bending over by India, but it is likely on select premium goods and most definitely excludes dairy, which is a political hot potato in India. The biggest clawback from India was its speeding up of trade deals. While last weeks mega deal with the European Union grabbed headlines and possibly led to a softening of American adamancy, it wasnt the only one. From a free trade agreement with the UK in July to one with the European Free Trade bloc (which has countries like Switzerland and Iceland; signed in 2024 but coming into effect four months ago), Oman as well as New Zealand. Indias sudden FTA signing spree did not go unnoticed in Washington note this is the same country which left the China-led RCEP trade block infamously back in 2019 and hardly had any trade deals in place except some inconsequential or ineffective (or both) ones with a clutch of fellow Asian countries over the past two decades. It also helped that Indian exports did not collapse under the weight of the 50 per cent tariffs imposed since August, largely because two critical sectorselectronics and pharmaceuticalswere exempt. This exclusion stems from Indias position of strength any electronics tariff would have only impacted American multinationals like Apple, while nearly half of the generic prescription drugs used in the US is exported from India. Even trigger-happy Trump would hesitate to cut off the flow of affordable medicines to his electorate, no matter his provocative pronouncements (he once threatened massive unprecedented tariffs on imported drugs, at 100% tariff or even more). In fact, many of the bigger Indian exporters stepped up, offering to cover the additional cost incurred by their clients in the US meaning exports to the US did not suffer any dramatic fall because of the tariffs, though there was a slump in certain sectors and in certain months. India also diversified, with trade with China picking up substantially. In fact, last year, China overtook the US as Indias biggest goods trading partner at 110 billion dollars (April-December 2025) compared to the US at 105 billion dollars. India also had the strength of its substantial domestic economy, with structural reforms focusing on pushing consumption (income tax and GST cuts) and Atmanirbhar manufacturing. Last weeks Economic Survey also talked about "a slew of policy measures and strong domestic fundamentals" helping India absorb the shock of US duties. Even during the negotiations, India seemed to have worn out the US by sticking to certain no-go areas and the way it postured with its slew of alternative measures. However, in the end, reason seems to have prevailed: the US needs the worlds largest open market (China has a closed ecosystem) as much as India needs the worlds most valuable market, especially considering the future growth in investment and its dream of becoming a manufacturing hub for the world. The fine print, and future trade will tell us whether the sacrifices have been worth it. The new IndiaUS trade deal announced by US President Donald Trump on Monday drew praise from industry leaders, market watchers and members of the ruling NDA, but the Opposition remained sceptical, accusing the Narendra Modi government of "totally surrendering" to Washington. Congress MP K.C. Venugopal moved an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha, seeking a discussion on the agreement. He alleged that the deal could have adverse consequences for Indian industries and farmers. The US President has claimed that the trade deal was concluded at the request of the Honble Prime Minister of India and has further stated that India has agreed to reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers to zero, effectively opening Indian markets to US goods. Such a move is likely to have far-reaching adverse consequences for Indian industries, traders, MSMEs and farmers, Venugopal said. He also flagged reports suggesting that the agreement may involve opening Indias agriculture sector to US exports, warning that this could jeopardise farmers livelihoods and income security. Further, it has been stated that the Government of India has agreed to stop purchasing oil from Russia and instead procure oil from the United States and Venezuela, raising serious questions about Indias strategic autonomy, energy security and independent foreign policy, he added. The Congress party also pointed to claims that India would increase imports from the US under the deal, arguing that this runs counter to the objectives of the governments Make in India programme. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh criticised the governments diplomatic approach, describing it as huglomacy, and alleged that Prime Minister Modi had completely surrendered before Trump. He said that a year ago, when Modi visited the White House after Trumps re-election, IndiaUS ties appeared strong and trade negotiations had begun on a positive note. However, he claimed relations had since deteriorated following Trumps announcements, including the halt of Operation Sindoor. Ramesh further criticised what he described as a pattern of major policy developments being communicated first by the US side. It seems that Prime Minister Modi and President Trump spoke to each other today. This information has been provided not by the Indian side but by the US Ambassador to India. This now seems to be the routine India gets to know of its governments actions only from President Trump or his appointees. Trump-nirbharta, he said. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also attacked the agreement, calling the opening of Indian markets to American agricultural products a betrayal of the nearly 70 per cent of the population dependent on farming for their livelihood. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi echoed the concerns, saying she would wait for the full details but added that the deal, as described by Washington, did not appear to be a win-win arrangement for India. India Inc hails deal In contrast, industry leaders welcomed the agreement, saying it could accelerate growth and strengthen Indias position as a globally competitive manufacturing and innovation hub. Mahindra Group CEO and Managing Director Anish Shah called the deal a significant step forward in strengthening bilateral trade and investment ties. Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra said the development demonstrated the benefits of patience, noting that when the noise subsides, two natural partners will come together. Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla said lower tariffs would deepen strategic and economic ties while creating fresh opportunities for investment and collaboration. TVS Motor Company Chairman Sudarshan Venu said the reduction in reciprocal tariffs would enhance export competitiveness and reinforce confidence in long-term bilateral economic relations, aligning with the governments vision of Viksit Bharat 2047. RPG Enterprises Chairman Harsh Goenka and SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh were also among the industry leaders who welcomed the pact. First the mother of all deals with the EU, now the father of all deals with the US a great achievement by the Modi government. Patience pays, Goenka wrote on X. By Arpan Chaturvedi NEW DELHI, Feb 3 (Reuters) - India's top court on Tuesday warned it could reimpose a ban on Meta-owned WhatsApp's data sharing with other group entities, saying the messaging app's privacy policy misled users, two lawyers present in court said. WhatsApp has been locked in a dispute with India's antitrust regulator since November 2024, when it fined the company $25.4 million and barred WhatsApp from sharing user data with other Meta entities for advertising purposes for five years. An appeals court later lifted the data-sharing restriction but kept the monetary penalty, prompting both sides to approach the Supreme Court. During Tuesday's hearing, India's chief justice questioned WhatsApp's privacy policy and said it was "very cleverly designed to mislead users," the two lawyers said. "Your privacy policy is designed in such a way that how can a poor elderly woman ... or (someone who) comes from a rural area understand your intentions?" Chief Justice Surya Kant said, according to the lawyers. WhatsApp declined to comment on the remarks, saying the case was sub judice. India is Meta's biggest market by user numbers. It does not disclose country-specific figures, but research firm DataReportal estimates Facebook has 403 million users in India and Instagram 481 million. WhatsApp previously said the ban might force it to roll back or pause some features in India and would hurt its business. The Supreme Court did not give a final verdict, and will continue to hear the case next week. Meta's privacy policy has also been a point of contention elsewhere. In 2023, it agreed to clarify changes to its policy in plain and intelligible language after it was accused of violating European Union law by failing to do so. The Indian antitrust authority's 2024 ruling said WhatsApps policy gave users the choice of either accepting the changes or risking losing access to the service and provided no opt-out feature. WhatsApp publicly says it shares with Meta a user's phone number, transaction data, how they interact with businesses and mobile device information. (Reporting by Arpan Chaturvedi. Editing by Mark Potter) Fresh ruckus erupted in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday after the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, tried a redo of the speech he tried to make on Monday. The House had to be adjourned after that. The Congress leader stood up to make his speech during the discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address and once again began by citing former Army Chief of Staff MM Naravanes memoir to make a point on the national security concerning India-China clashes. This time, he brought in an authenticated copy of The Caravan article, which contained the excerpts of the memoir. "I have authenticated it," he said. To authenticate a document, a member must submit a signed copy and affirm that it is correct to the best of his knowledge. He was then asked to table the document for examination by the chair, who said, "We will examine it and get back". Rahul Gandhi then proceeded to speak more on the India-China issue. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju then suddenly countered his speech. VIDEO | Parliament Budget Session 2026: Lok Sabha Panel Speaker and MP Krishna Prasad Tenneti says, One member addressed the Chair as yaar. At that moment, I was not in the Chair, but I took a stand that the Chair cannot be addressed in such a manner. Another member standing pic.twitter.com/YhmGvIcmsQ Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 3, 2026 In the ruckus that followed, Krishna Prasad Tenneti, who was chairing the house, took offence when one of the members, likely from the Congress, addressed him saying, What is this yaar. "What did you say just now what is this yaar this is Parliament, this is Lok Sabha you cannot address the Chair with yaar. Please take back your words. Respect the Chair. This is against the decorum of the House," Tenneti scolded while pointing towards Rahul Gandhi and Congress leader KC Venugopal. Opposition MPs were enraged by the fact that the LoP was being interrupted. Tenneti proceeded to skip Rahul Gandhi's turn and named Naresh Uttam Patel as the next speaker. However, he refused to speak. An uproar followed, and papers were thrown towards the chair, which led to the house being adjourned till 3 pm. Later on, Rahul Gandhi alleged that he was not being allowed to speak as he once again referred to Naravanes memoir. He said that he only wanted to make a statement on what happened between India and China and how the Prime Minister reacted, and asked why he was being stopped. Russia has not received any communication from India regarding the stopping of Russian oil purchases, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday, reacting to the claims by US President Donald Trump that India would halt oil purchases from Russia. Trump had, on Monday, claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has "agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela." Moscow has not yet received any statements about India halting purchases of oil," Russian media quoted Peskov as saying. He further said Russia intends to continue to develop its relations with India in every possible way, according to Russian media reports. India imports about 88 per cent of the crude oil it uses to produce fuels such as petrol and diesel. Until 2021, Russian oil accounted for only about 0.2 per cent of Indias total crude oil imports. However, after Western countries stopped buying Russian oil following Russias invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, India became the biggest buyer of discounted Russian crude. According to data from real-time analytics firm Kpler, Indias imports of Russian crude fell to about 1.1 million barrels per day in the first three weeks of January. This was down from an average of 1.21 million barrels per day in the previous month and more than 2 million barrels per day in mid-2025. Igor Yushkov, an expert at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation and the National Energy Security Fund, told Russian media NEWS.ru that energy resources from Russia remain the most profitable option on the market for India. There's no reason for India to give up Russian oil; it remains the most advantageous offer on the market. Russian oil isn't banned, and it's discounted, so they're taking it. So if India hasn't refused Russian oil for almost a year, even with tariffs rising, why should it suddenly give it up now that the discount has become even greater? And the country certainly won't abandon Russian energy resources in favour of Venezuelan oil, which the Americans are waiving sanctions on, Yushkov was quoted as saying. With the BJP Parliamentary Board appointing party national general secretary Tarun Chugh as the central observer for the election of the legislature party leader in Manipur, the state is gearing up to welcome the new government and a new chief minister. Reports are that the BJP central leadership has summoned NDA MLAs from Manipur to Delhi to discuss the formation of a government in the state. "All 37 MLAs are in Delhi for the meeting. The meeting was scheduled for Monday evening, but after the latest announcement regarding the central observer, we all learned that the meeting has been postponed until February 3 at 3 pm," local reports quoted a party source. Speculations are that a member of the Meitei community is likely to become the chief minister. If the central leadership chooses a Meitei leader in the best interests of Manipur, everyone will have to come together and support each other. Even if the Kuki-Zo MLAs do not support him, the party still has the necessary numbers," Hindustan Times quoted an unnamed party official. A leader from the Kuki community could be given the responsibility of deputy CM. This is to send a message across the state that the government is taking everyone along. But, there is little possibility that an MLA from the Kuki community could helm the government. The Kukis could also get prominent posts within the government. Giving more ministerial positions to Kuki-Zo MLAs in this cabinet would also be in the interest of the state and the peace process. There are murmurs in the party in this regard with Kuki MLAs saying they are under pressure from their community. All 10 Kuki-Zo MLAs have also arrived for the meeting. If the Kuki community is not adequately represented, the MLAs would even refuse to become part of the government. These Kuki MLAs have made this demand to the central leadership, and the government is now considering it, according to reports. Another option is to make a neutral person (who is neither Meitei nor Kuki-Jo) the Chief Minister. This person may not be a mass leader, but can be accepted by all in the current circumstances. Names in the race The prominent names doing the rounds include Satyabrata Singh, who was the assembly speaker in Biren Singh's government, and former ministers T.H. Biswajit Singh. Even K. Govind Das could be considered, according to reports. All these leaders belong to the Meitei community. While Biren Singhs name is still being discussed, Yumnam Khemchand Singh, Basant K. Singh, K. Ibomcha Singh and Dipu Gangmei are also potential candidates for the post of Chief Minister. Days after being appointed as the election in-charge for six assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu BJPs former state president K.Annamalai threw a surprise to his own party men by choosing to quit his position. Annamalais decision to quit as the election in-charge comes at a time when the BJP is aiming to contest from the maximum number of seats in alliance with the AIADMK. While Annamalai gave reasons for his decision saying that he has to attend to his fathers health by being next to him in Coimbatore, sources have it that Annamalai was upset with the present BJP leadership for confining him to just six constituencies and was also unwilling to work under the AIADMK. Incidentally, Annamalai has been feeling sidelined ever since Nainar Nagendran replaced him as the state president. While he was completely kept in the dark during the alliance talks with the AIADMK, he was brought back to strategise to rope in TTV Dhinakarans AMMK into the NDA. The central leadership brought in Annamalai to convince Dhinakaran way back in December. And now after the alliance equations with Dhinakaran have been finalised, he is said to be feeling left out by the central and the state leadership of the party. Sources also say that Annamalai who had toured the entire state during his En Mann, En Makkal yatra during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and increased the BJPs vote share in Tamil Nadu was being sidelined in all the party events in the state. Also he was upset with the state leadership having a soft approach towards the AIADMK. Annamalais prominence was completely absent in the past six months in the state BJP and he kept away from participating in the events organised by the state unit. However, he was present when home minister Amit Shah or Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Chennai or elsewhere in Tamil Nadu. As a leader who took on both the DMK and the AIADMK in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he was upset with the state leadership for confining him to just six assembly segments, according to sources. He is a leader who ensured BJPs rise in Tamil Nadu. Confining him to six seats is not fair, a senior BJP leader and a staunch fan of Annamalai told THE WEEK. He was appointed as the election in-charge of the BJP for Karaikudi, Srivaikuntam, Virugambakkam, Singanallur, Madurai (South) and Padmanabapuram constituencies. Incidentally, all the six assembly segments are in different zones with no connection to each other. While Karaikudi is south, Srivaikuntam and Padmanabapuram are deep south, Virugambakkam is in Chennai, Singanallur in West Tamil Nadu and Madurai (South) is a DMK fiefdom. I have conveyed to the High Command that I wont be able to carry out my responsibilities. My father is unwell and I have to tend to him. That is my first priority. I wont be able to travel much. And so you will see me often in Coimbatore, he told the media in Coimbatore. Annamalai was expected to campaign for the NDA alliance across the state. But if his equation with Palaniswami doesnt turn smooth and if the present BJP leadership doesnt encourage him, he might stop just by campaigning for the AMMK candidates. Sources say that Annamalai is unlikely to contest in the upcoming elections. During the press conference on Tuesday, he was asked if he will contest the elections. He responded, saying, I will first talk to the leadership before taking a decision. If Iran attacks Israel with all its might, Tel Aviv and Haifa will be flattened, according to geopolitical analyst and author Brandon Weichert. This will cause an economic slowdown and will be a nightmare for Israel, he warned. He outlined that the extreme scenario in which a full-scale Iranian attack would lead to unprecedented destruction in Tel Aviv and Haifa. Weichert, a former congressional staffer and geopolitical analyst, added that the trap that is deterring Trump is Chinese technology. Iran's anti-ship ballistic missile system is supported by a Chinese intelligence satellite, which can detect aircraft carriers in real time. Trump is rightly concerned about it," Weichert told Israeli media NTC News. "He knows that there are not enough air defence systems in the region to protect American bases, not Israel, he added. For latest news and analyses on Middle East, visit: Yello! Middle East "The talks between Iran and the US are meaningless, it's a ruse," Weichert said, referring to reports from recent days. "In the 12-Day War, the US and Israel used the talks to give Iran a false sense of security and then closed the trap on them," he reasoned. Despite Weicherts statement, his claim regarding the Chinese intelligence is yet to be confirmed by either the US or any other western intelligence. He further said that an attack on Iran is not necessary right now because the regime is weak and the people will eventually overcome it. They don't need us to bomb them in order to establish democracy there. That never works," Weichert said, adding that the US does not have a post-war stabilisation plan for the region. The Americans would have a problem securing Iran in such a situation, and that Israel would not be able to assist in this matter, he said. Meanwhile, Israeli media claimed that Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir made a secret visit to Washington over the weekend. Zamir's meeting with the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Kaine, was a strategic coordination meeting at the highest level, and was in regard to whether Israel would be attacked by Iran in response to a possible American attack. The intimacy in security ties between Israel and the US is now at unprecedented levels and at all levels: the IDF, the CIA and the political echelon, according to Israeli media Ynet. Israel shares with Washington the most sensitive intelligence information it has, including details about the brutal suppression of the protest in Iran last month against the ayatollahs' regime, with the extent of the murders and the systematic massacre of the demonstrators. The Supreme Court issued a strong warning to tech giant Meta Platforms over its messaging app WhatsApp's privacy policy on Tuesday and said that the court will not allow them to exploit the personal data of Indians. The bench led by Chief Justice Surya reprimanded the US company by saying, "You can't play with the privacy of our country... We will not allow you to share a single digit of our data". He also said that the company could leave India if it fails to comply with the nations laws. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta criticised the "exploitative" policy for sharing user data for commercial purposes. "You are making a mockery of the constitutionalism of this country. We will dismiss it right away. How can you play with the right of privacy of people like this? Consumer has no choice, you have created monopoly," The Chief Justice said. "If you can't follow our Constitution, then leave India. We won't allow any citizen's privacy to be compromised." Justice Surya told the firm. The court also asked the firm if its policy would be understood by "... a poor woman or a roadside vendor, or someone who only speaks Tamil... will they be able to understand?" "Sometimes even we have difficulty understanding your policies..." the court ripped into Meta and WhatsApp, "... so how will people living in rural Bihar understand them?" Justice Bagchi said that court will examine how data is "rented out" by WhatsApp and how people are targetted with ads after analysing their behavioural trends."Every silo of data, irrespective of privacy, has a value, we would like to examine, what is the rent sharing of data...we are concerned about how our behaviour is utlitsed and monetised for trends..You are using the data for the purpose of targeted online advertising," he said. The court was hearing a plea regarding WhatsApps 2021 privacy policy, filed by Meta Platforms and WhatsApp LLC which challenged the judgement of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal which upheld a Rs 213.14 crore penalty imposed on its by the Competition Comission of India. The Supreme Court on Tuesday delivered scathing observations against Meta Platforms Inc. and WhatsApp LLC over their 2021 privacy policy, asserting that it would not permit global technology companies to exploit the personal data of Indian citizens under the guise of consent. A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul Pancholi was hearing appeals filed by Meta Platforms and WhatsApp challenging a judgment of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), which had upheld a Rs 213.14 crore penalty imposed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for abuse of dominance linked to WhatsApps updated privacy policy. The court was also seized of a cross-appeal by the CCI challenging the NCLAT order insofar as it permitted Meta and WhatsApp to share user data for advertising purposes after holding that there was no abuse of dominance. While agreeing to admit the appeals, Chief Justice Surya Kant made it clear that the courts scrutiny would focus squarely on privacy and informed consent. We will not allow you to share even a single piece of information. You cannot play with the rights of the people of this country. Let a clear message go out, the Chief Justice said. The bench repeatedly flagged concerns over WhatsApps market dominance, observing that users have no meaningful choice. You are making a mockery of the constitutionalism of this country. How can you play with the right to privacy like this? The consumer has no choice. You have created a monopoly, the Chief Justice remarked, warning that the court could dismiss the appeals outright if privacy violations persisted. Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Meta Platforms, and Senior Advocate Akhil Sibal, representing WhatsApp, informed the court that the penalty amount had already been deposited. Sibal submitted that users had the option to opt out of the 2021 policy, a claim that drew sharp rebuttal from the bench. Questioning the efficacy of such opt-out mechanisms, the Chief Justice asked whether a street vendor or a domestic worker would realistically understand the implications of the policy. A poor woman selling fruits on the street will she understand your terms? Will your domestic help understand this? This is a decent way of committing theft of private information, and we will not allow you to use it, the CJI said. The court further indicated that unless Meta and WhatsApp furnished an undertaking that users personal data would not be used, it would not proceed to hear the appeals. Rohatgi responded by pointing out that a Constitution Bench was already examining WhatsApps privacy policy and that, in those proceedings, an undertaking had been given that no user would be barred from WhatsApp for refusing to accept the 2021 policy. Rohatgi also relied on the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, submitting that companies had time until May 2027 to align with the new regulatory framework. Justice Bagchi, however, noted that the Act was yet to be brought into force, cautioning against reliance on future compliance. Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta intervened to submit that personal data was not merely collected but commercially exploited. Justice Bagchi echoed these concerns, stating that the court intended to examine how user data was rented out, monetised and used for targeted advertising after analysing behavioural patterns. Every silo of data has value. We want to see how this value is extracted and shared, Justice Bagchi observed, adding that the DPDP Act does not adequately address the valuation of data, unlike European Union regulations. Chief Justice Surya Kant also referred to personal experience, noting that health-related advertisements appeared shortly after private WhatsApp conversations. In response, Rohatgi and Sibal maintained that WhatsApp messages are end-to-end encrypted and inaccessible even to the platform itself. Senior Advocate Samar Bansal, appearing for the CCI, submitted that advertising revenue was the backbone of Metas business model. We are the product, milords. It is free because of that, he argued. Facing sustained questioning, Rohatgi sought time to file a detailed affidavit explaining Metas data practices. Accepting the request, the court adjourned the matter to next Monday, granting Meta and WhatsApp time to place their affidavits on record. French police raided the office of Elon Musk's social media platform X on Tuesday as part of an investigation opened in January 2025, the Paris prosecutors' office said on Tuesday. The raid was conducted by the prosecutor's cybercrime unit, according to the statement. They also confirmed that Europol was involved. Musk and former X chief executive Linda Yaccarrino have been summoned to appear at hearings in April, while X employees will be questioned as witnessed according to the Paris prosecutor. Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said that the investigation was being broadened to include Groks sexualised deepfakes The 2025 probe was launched after liberal lawmaker Eric Bothorel from the Renaissance party raised concerns of algorithmic bias on X and alleged interference in its management after Musk acquired the social media network in 2022, according to French newspaper Le Monde. The prosecutor's office had previously said that two people alleged the suspected use of Xs algorithm for the "purposes of foreign interference". "The investigation was expanded following other reports denouncing the operation of Grok on the X platform, which led to the dissemination of Holocaust denial content and sexual deepfakes," it said in a statement on Tuesday. In November, Paris prosecutors said that they would investigate Grok, Xs AI chatbot by xAI, after it generated posts that questioned the use of gas chambers in Auschwitz. On Monday, the US President Donald Trump said that he reached a trade agreement with India and rolled back the tariffs imposed on it from 25 per cent to 18 per cent. There was, however, a noticeable gap in the statements by the Indian leader and the US leadership after the trade deal, according to Chinese media reports. The US had specified that in return for reducing the tariffs, India would drop tariffs on American products, buy more of them and finally stop purchasing oil from Russia. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, however, made no mention of ending the purchase of oil from Russia in his statement on X or on whether India would begin purchasing American goods at a higher level. Trump had said that India was committed to BUY AMERICAN, at a much higher level, in addition to over $500 BILLION DOLLARS of US Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal, and many other products. Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement. When two large economies and the Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 2, 2026 According to Qian Feng, director of the research department at Tsinghua Universitys National Strategy Institute, who spoke to Global Times, it was not the first time the US president had claimed that India would stop purchasing Russian oil, and that such details could only be confirmed once official documents are released. Last October, Trump said that PM Modi assured him that he would not buy Russian oil and called it a big step. Indias foreign ministry, however, said later that they were not aware of any such conversations between the country's leadership. The Global Times report also pointed out that international media expressed criticism of what they saw as an unfair deal and of the likelihood that India would stop buying Russian oil. Robert Yawger at Mizuho Securities, who spoke to CNN, said that Russian oil was sold at a significant discount, costing only about $16 a barrel, to OPEC or US crude, making it hard for India to quit. Trumps remarks, therefore was not confirmation that India would stop purchasing Russian oil. Russia and Indias long-standing and relatively stable relationship makes it unrealistic for India to abruptly halt such imports in the short term, Qian also noted. He said that a partial reduction in the purchase rather than a complete cut is more consistent with practical considerations. A Russian Il-76 aircraft sanctioned by the US landed in Cuba this week, raising concerns about Moscow's military activities on the island. The aircraft, which has a history of transporting military equipment, touched down at a San Antonio de los Banos military air base on Tuesday, drawing attention due to its unannounced arrival. The aircraft is operated by the Russian cargo airline Aviacon Zitotrans, which has been sanctioned by the United States, Canada, and Ukraine for its role in supporting Russias defence sector and transporting military materiel. "According to available flight data, the Il-76 landed at the San Antonio de los Banos airfield, which is a Cuban military facility located approximately 30 miles south of Havana," Russian news channel Tsargrad reported, citing Fox News. According to flight tracking data, the Il-76, registered RA-78765, flew from Russia to the Dominican Republic, Mauritania and Algeria before arriving in Cuba. The aircraft had previously flown to Venezuela, Nicaragua and back to Cuba in late October 2025 with similar routes, when tensions between Caracas and Washington were escalating, US analysts say that Russian activity in Cuban airspace is a concern. The type of cargo the Il-76 is carrying is also unknown. Its past missions reportedly involved transporting military hardware such as air defence systems. The Il-76 is capable of transporting upto 50 tons of cargo or approximately 200 personnel. During its flight to Venezuela, the flight had reportedly delivered Pantsir-S1 short-range and Buk-M2E medium-range air defence systems, according to Russian lawmaker Alexei Zhuravlev and Russian state media. The flight has coincided with the mounting US pressure on Havana, with President Donald Trump signing an executive order on January 29 declaring Cuba a national emergency. Washington is also steadily increasing economic pressure on Cuba, signalling possible sanctions against countries supplying the island with crude oil. By Jeffrey Dastin SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan on Tuesday said the company plans to build graphics processing units (GPUs), the category of chip popularized by Nvidia. "I just hired the chief GPU architect, and he's very good. I'm very delighted he joined me," Tan said, claiming that it took some persuading. More from Yahoo Scout Why is Intel entering the GPU market now? Who did Intel hire to lead GPU development? What concerns does Intel have about Huawei's hiring? Which customers are interested in Intel's foundry services? Qualcomm executive Eric Demmers last month went to Intel, a move first reported by industry publication CRN and later confirmed by Demmers on LinkedIn. In an interview with Reuters on the sidelines of the Cisco AI Summit, Tan said the GPU effort will target data centers, where Nvidia has built a massive business in recent years, and that Demmers will report to Intel's data center chip chief Kevork Kechichian. "It's tied in with the data center," Tan told Reuters. "We're working with customers, and will then define what the customer needs." Tan said from the stage that "a couple of customers are engaging heavily" with Intel's chip contract manufacturing operation, called Intel Foundry. In the interview with Reuters, he said that the interest was around Intel's 14A manufacturing technology and that volume manufacturing would likely ramp up later this year. "In order to have a customer ... they have to let us know what is the volume and which product, so that we can plan and take time to build the capacity," Tan told Reuters. Tan also said that during a recent hiring drive for chip designers, he was "shocked" to find that Huawei Technologies Co had hired about 100 "top notch" designers, despite the fact that the U.S. has restricted its access to chip industry software and tools. Tan said that when he asked Huawei designers why they had joined the Chinese firm when it does not have access to U.S. tools, "they said, 'Even though we don't have access to the best tools, like (electronic design automation) tools from Cadence and Synopsys, we have the poor man way to do it, and we can do it,'" Tan said. "To me, they are just shortly behind us, and if you're not careful, they will just leap forward ahead of us." (Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin in San Francisco,; Writing by Stephen Nellis; Editing by Mark Porter and Nick Zieminski) Several brokerages have updated their recommendations and price targets on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE: BIP) in the last few weeks: 1/30/2026 Brookfield Infrastructure Partners had its buy rating reaffirmed by analysts at TD Cowen. 1/30/2026 Brookfield Infrastructure Partners had its buy rating reaffirmed by analysts at TD Securities. They now have a $57.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $55.00. 1/30/2026 Brookfield Infrastructure Partners had its outperform rating reaffirmed by analysts at BMO Capital Markets. They now have a $44.00 price target on the stock. 1/30/2026 Brookfield Infrastructure Partners had its price target raised by analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $40.00 to $41.00. They now have an outperform rating on the stock. 1/28/2026 Brookfield Infrastructure Partners was given a new $45.00 price target on by analysts at Morgan Stanley. 1/16/2026 Brookfield Infrastructure Partners had its outperform rating reaffirmed by analysts at Scotiabank. They now have a $44.00 price target on the stock. 12/29/2025 Brookfield Infrastructure Partners had its hold (c+) rating reaffirmed by analysts at Weiss Ratings. 12/17/2025 Brookfield Infrastructure Partners had its price target raised by analysts at National Bankshares, Inc. from $36.00 to $38.00. They now have an outperform rating on the stock. 12/15/2025 Brookfield Infrastructure Partners had its hold (c) rating reaffirmed by analysts at Weiss Ratings. 12/8/2025 Brookfield Infrastructure Partners had its hold (c) rating reaffirmed by analysts at Weiss Ratings. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Increases Dividend The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a $0.455 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. This is a boost from Brookfield Infrastructure Partnerss previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Brookfield Infrastructure Partnerss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 202.22%. Get Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP alerts: Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE: BIP) is a publicly traded limited partnership that owns and operates a diversified portfolio of infrastructure assets across four core sectors: utilities, transport, energy and data infrastructure. Through long-lived, regulated or contracted assets, Brookfield Infrastructure provides essential services such as electricity transmission and distribution, toll road and port operations, midstream energy logistics and fiber-based data networks. The companys utilities division encompasses regulated electricity and gas distribution networks in North and South America, Europe and Australia, ensuring stable cash flows under current regulatory frameworks. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Premier Health of America Inc. (CVE:PHA Get Free Report) dropped 20% on Monday . The stock traded as low as C$0.02 and last traded at C$0.02. Approximately 710,200 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 1,079% from the average daily volume of 60,223 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$0.03. Premier Health of America Price Performance The firm has a market cap of C$1.11 million, a PE ratio of -0.10 and a beta of 0.39. The stocks fifty day moving average price is C$0.02 and its 200-day moving average price is C$0.03. Premier Health of America Company Profile (Get Free Report) Premier Health of America Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of staffing and outsourced service solutions for healthcare needs in Canada. It operates in two segments, Per Diem and Travel Nurse. The company provides temporary or permanent resources, including registered nurses, registered practical nurses, registered therapists, and personal support workers for public and private hospitals, medical clinics, and retirement homes. It also offers health consulting, nursing, and healthcare services in remote communities, as well as provides nursing and assistance services in remote regions; and Code Bleu, an agency to employ staff nurses. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Premier Health of America Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Premier Health of America and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shandong Weigao Medical Polymer Co. (OTCMKTS:SHWGF Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $0.6685 and last traded at $0.6695, with a volume of 7274 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $0.6695. Shandong Weigao Medical Polymer Stock Performance The firm has a 50-day moving average of $0.69 and a 200 day moving average of $0.72. The company has a current ratio of 3.73, a quick ratio of 3.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Get Shandong Weigao Medical Polymer alerts: Shandong Weigao Medical Polymer Company Profile (Get Free Report) Shandong Weigao Medical Polymer Co, Ltd. (OTCMKTS: SHWGF) is a China-based manufacturer of single-use medical devices and medical polymer products. Headquartered in Weihai, Shandong Province, the company operates under the umbrella of the Weigao Group and focuses on the development, production and distribution of disposable medical consumables. The companys product portfolio encompasses infusion and transfusion sets, disposable syringes, intravenous catheters, blood filters and apheresis sets, as well as devices for enteral nutrition and medical-grade tubing. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Shandong Weigao Medical Polymer Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Shandong Weigao Medical Polymer and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Hang Seng Bank (OTCMKTS:HSNGY Get Free Report) and Akbank Turk Anonim Sirketi (OTCMKTS:AKBTY Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership and valuation. Dividends Hang Seng Bank pays an annual dividend of $0.58 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Akbank Turk Anonim Sirketi pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Akbank Turk Anonim Sirketi pays out 8.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Get Hang Seng Bank alerts: Profitability This table compares Hang Seng Bank and Akbank Turk Anonim Sirketis net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Hang Seng Bank N/A N/A N/A Akbank Turk Anonim Sirketi 6.62% 18.52% 1.61% Analyst Recommendations Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Hang Seng Bank 1 2 0 0 1.67 Akbank Turk Anonim Sirketi 0 0 0 0 0.00 Volatility & Risk This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Hang Seng Bank and Akbank Turk Anonim Sirketi, as provided by MarketBeat.com. Hang Seng Bank has a beta of 0.16, meaning that its stock price is 84% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Akbank Turk Anonim Sirketi has a beta of 0.44, meaning that its stock price is 56% less volatile than the S&P 500. Valuation & Earnings This table compares Hang Seng Bank and Akbank Turk Anonim Sirketis top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation. Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Hang Seng Bank $8.63 billion 4.22 $2.36 billion N/A N/A Akbank Turk Anonim Sirketi $17.96 billion N/A $1.29 billion $0.49 8.65 Hang Seng Bank has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Akbank Turk Anonim Sirketi. Summary Akbank Turk Anonim Sirketi beats Hang Seng Bank on 5 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks. About Hang Seng Bank (Get Free Report) Hang Seng Bank Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking and related financial services to individual, corporate, commercial, small and medium-sized enterprises, and institutional customers in Hong Kong, the Mainland of China, and internationally. It operates through five segments: Wealth and Personal Banking, Commercial Banking, Global Banking, Global Markets, and Other. The company offers personal banking services, including current and savings accounts, time deposits, mortgages and personal loans, credit cards, and insurance, investment, and other wealth management services, as well as consumer lending and wealth management services. It also provides corporate lending, trade and receivable finance, payments and cash management, treasury and foreign exchange, general insurance, key-person insurance, investment services, and corporate wealth management services; general banking and transaction banking, corporate lending, deposits, and cash management services; and tailored solutions and services in foreign exchange, bullion, equities, fixed income, and securities financing, as well as manages the funding and liquidity position activities. In addition, the company offers retirement benefits, life assurance, fund management, and stock broking services, as well as index compilation and licensing; fund raising and sales; and asset management services. It operates service outlets in Hong Kong; branches in Macau and Singapore; and representative office in Taipei, as well as a network of outlets in the Mainland of China. The company was founded in 1933 and is headquartered in Central, Hong Kong. Hang Seng Bank Limited operates as a subsidiary of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited. About Akbank Turk Anonim Sirketi (Get Free Report) Akbank T.A.S., together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking products and services in Turkey and internationally. It operates through Consumer Banking and Private Banking; Commercial Banking, Corporate Banking, and SME Banking; and Treasury, Other, and Unallovated segments. The companys consumer banking services comprise deposit accounts, retail loans, commercial installment loans, credit cards, insurance products, and asset management services, as well as bank cards, investment funds trading, automatic payment, foreign currency trading, safe deposit box rental, cheques, money transfer, investment banking, and telephone and internet banking. It also offers services to large, medium, and small size corporate and commercial customers that include Turkish Lira (TL) and foreign currency denominated working capital loans financing for investments, foreign trade financing, derivative instruments for hedging purposes of foreign currency and interest risk, letters of credit, foreign currency trading, corporate finance, and deposit and cash management services, as well as project finance loans; and working capital management, delivering cash management services based on customers requests, such as collection and payment services, and liquidity and information management. In addition, the company engages in treasury activities consisting of TL and foreign currency spot and forward transactions, treasury and government bonds, Eurobonds, and private sector bond transactions, as well as derivative trading activities; and marketing and pricing activities related to treasury products. Further, it provides financial leasing services, investment and pension funds management, and portfolio management, as well as offers payment services and issues electronic money. Akbank T.A.S. was incorporated in 1948 and is headquartered in Istanbul, Turkey. Receive News & Ratings for Hang Seng Bank Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Hang Seng Bank and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. ProShares Ultra FTSE Europe (NYSEARCA:UPV Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,605 shares, a decline of 33.8% from the December 31st total of 5,449 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,520 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,520 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days. Institutional Investors Weigh In On ProShares Ultra FTSE Europe An institutional investor recently bought a new position in ProShares Ultra FTSE Europe stock. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in ProShares Ultra FTSE Europe (NYSEARCA:UPV Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 3,130 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $206,000. Jane Street Group LLC owned approximately 2.72% of ProShares Ultra FTSE Europe as of its most recent SEC filing. Get ProShares Ultra FTSE Europe alerts: ProShares Ultra FTSE Europe Stock Performance Shares of UPV traded up $1.58 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $99.43. The stock had a trading volume of 6,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,645. The business has a fifty day moving average of $91.19 and a 200 day moving average of $85.07. ProShares Ultra FTSE Europe has a 12 month low of $51.37 and a 12 month high of $101.41. ProShares Ultra FTSE Europe Company Profile ProShares Ultra MSCI Europe seeks daily investment results that correspond to twice (200%) the daily performance of the MSCI Europe Index (the Index). The Fund seeks investment results for a single day only, not for longer periods. The Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of the developed markets in Europe. The Index is divided into large and mid-cap segments, and targets approximately 85% of free float-adjusted market capitalization of the region. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for ProShares Ultra FTSE Europe Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for ProShares Ultra FTSE Europe and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. ProShares Bitcoin ETF (NYSEARCA:BITO Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 24,259,821 shares, a drop of 25.1% from the December 31st total of 32,406,785 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 59,390,519 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.4 days. Currently, 12.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Currently, 12.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 59,390,519 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.4 days. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BITO. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of ProShares Bitcoin ETF by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 23,289 shares of the companys stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 1,339 shares during the last quarter. Realta Investment Advisors grew its position in ProShares Bitcoin ETF by 47.6% during the second quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 213,521 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,593,000 after buying an additional 68,849 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its holdings in ProShares Bitcoin ETF by 43.7% during the second quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 1,801 shares of the companys stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 548 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Management Nebraska increased its holdings in ProShares Bitcoin ETF by 16.3% during the second quarter. Wealth Management Nebraska now owns 19,335 shares of the companys stock valued at $413,000 after buying an additional 2,708 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in ProShares Bitcoin ETF by 9.0% in the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 10,112 shares of the companys stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 832 shares during the period. Get ProShares Bitcoin ETF alerts: ProShares Bitcoin ETF Price Performance BITO traded down $0.81 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $10.79. 80,799,485 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 62,626,512. The companys fifty day moving average price is $12.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.97. ProShares Bitcoin ETF has a 52-week low of $10.74 and a 52-week high of $23.83. ProShares Bitcoin ETF Cuts Dividend ProShares Bitcoin ETF Company Profile The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 6th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.0097 per share. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. (Get Free Report) The ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in long bitcoin, short usd currency. The fund actively manages a portfolio of front-month CME bitcoin futures. BITO was launched on Oct 18, 2021 and is managed by ProShares. See Also Receive News & Ratings for ProShares Bitcoin ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for ProShares Bitcoin ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO) executives outlined plans to acquire Foran Mining in a share-based deal that they said will create a larger, more diversified gold and copper producer with two major projects scheduled to enter production in 2026. The companies discussed the transactions strategic rationale, project timelines, expected financial profile, and key catalysts during a joint conference call featuring Eldorado CEO George Burns, Eldorado President Christian Milau, and Foran Executive Chairman and CEO Dan Myerson. Get alerts: Deal terms and timeline Burns said Eldorado will acquire all outstanding Foran shares through a plan of arrangement. Under the agreed terms, Foran shareholders will receive 0.1128 Eldorado shares for each Foran share, implying an equity value of approximately C$3.8 billion. Following closing, Eldorado shareholders are expected to own about 76% of the combined company, with Foran shareholders holding about 24%. Strategic rationale: gold-led growth with added copper exposure Management said all Foran directors and officers have entered voting support agreements in favor of the transaction. Shareholder meetings are expected on or around, with closing targeted for Burns described the transaction as an important step to build a stronger, more competitive gold and copper producer, citing long-life assets, a stronger balance sheet, and an increased presence in Canada. Eldorado and Foran emphasized cultural alignment and a shared focus on operational excellence and responsible mining, including carbon reduction goals. On the call, management highlighted diversification across Canada, Greece, and Turkiye, with particular emphasis on expanding Eldorados Canadian footprint through Forans McIlvenna Bay project in Saskatchewan. Milau said McIlvenna Bay adds meaningful copper exposure, with copper expected to account for roughly 15% of revenues in 2027, while Burns noted Eldorado is still expected to be primarily a gold producer, estimating 77% gold production on a pro forma basis. Asked whether Eldorado investors should be surprised to see the company acquire what has been viewed as a base metals company, Burns said the metal mix at McIlvenna Baygold, copper, lead, zinc, and silvermatches metals already present in Eldorados portfolio, framing the combination as a perfect match from both a metal and strategy perspective. Two projects approaching production in 2026 A central theme of the call was the expectation that two large projectsSkouries in Greece and McIlvenna Bay in Saskatchewanare fully financed and entering production in 2026. Myerson said the combined portfolio is nearing an inflection point marked by rising production and increasing free cash flow. For Skouries, Myerson said the project is expected to produce 140,000 ounces of gold and $67 million of copper annually over a 20-year mine life. Burns said Eldorado has worked to de-risk the Skouries ramp-up, including drilling to confirm the first three years of open-pit ore and completing underground test stopes to confirm geotechnical parameters. He added Eldorado plans to conduct four test stopes this year, up from two previously planned. For McIlvenna Bay, Myerson said construction was approximately 85% complete as of year-end 2025, and that the project is on budget and on schedule. He said the project is already in wet commissioning and is targeting commercial production by mid-2026. In response to questions about wildfire disruptions, Myerson said the site was evacuated for almost four weeks due to significant regional wildfires, but he said the schedule was ultimately not impacted. Financial profile and upcoming catalysts Milau said the combined assets are expected to transform Eldorados production and cash flow profile, citing consensus-based estimates that point to almost $1.5 billion of free cash flow in 2027 and more than $2 billion of EBITDA in 2027 at consensus pricing levels. He also cited pro forma liquidity and leverage figures discussed on the call, including approximately $1.5 billion of cash and equivalents at the end of the third quarter and minimal net debt of about $90 million on a pro forma basis. Milau also pointed to Eldorados expected production growth, saying the company forecasts an 80% increase to more than 900,000 gold equivalent ounces in 2027. Burns and Milau argued that higher margins and increased diversification could support a market rerate for the combined company. Management outlined a catalyst-rich period ahead, including: Commercial production at Skouries and McIlvenna Bay in mid-2026 at Skouries and McIlvenna Bay in A Tesla Zone maiden resource at McIlvenna Bay in late 2026 at McIlvenna Bay in Olympias expansion and Ormaque commercial production in the second half of 2026 Expansion optionality at McIlvenna Bay and broader portfolio plans Both companies highlighted the Tesla Zone as a key potential expansion opportunity at McIlvenna Bay. Myerson described Tesla as a near-mine mineralized system with direct access to existing infrastructure, suggesting it could increase scale, extend mine life, and enhance overall value. In addressing valuation questions, Myerson said the technical report investors reference is a snapshot in time that reflects phase one and is several years old, while characterizing VMS systems like McIlvenna Bay as scalable through multiple future phases. On jurisdictional strategy, Eldorado leadership said the company remains committed to all three core regionsCanada, Greece, and Turkiyewhile noting that an expanded Canadian footprint could improve portfolio balance and valuation. In response to a question about regulatory approvals, management said they do not expect approvals from Investment Canada and do not anticipate overseas approvals being required. In closing remarks, Burns said the combination positions the companies as a gold copper growth leader with near-term cash flow potential, long-life assets, and alignment on sustainability and culture, while Myerson said the pairing amplifies the rerating potential as both projects transition from development into production. About Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO) Eldorado Gold Corporation is a Canada?based gold producer engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development and operation of mineral properties. The companys core focus is on gold, silver and select base metals, with an emphasis on advancing projects through feasibility and into production. Eldorado Gold maintains a diversified portfolio of both producing mines and advanced?stage development projects. Operationally, Eldorado Gold manages multiple gold mining operations across Turkey, Canada and Greece. Recommended Stories iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF (TSE:XIU Get Free Report)s stock price rose 0.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as C$47.43 and last traded at C$47.33. Approximately 5,239,246 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 81% from the average daily volume of 2,899,171 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$46.90. iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF Trading Up 0.9% The businesss 50-day moving average is C$47.30 and its 200-day moving average is C$44.94. About iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF (Get Free Report) The investment objective of the Fund is to provide long-term capital growth by replicating, to the extent possible, the performance of the S&P/TSX 60 Index , net of expenses. Under normal market conditions, the Fund will primarily invest in Canadian equity securities. The Index is a strategy index focused on dividend income. The Index is comprised of 60 of the largest by market capitalization and most liquid constituents of the S&P/TSX Composite Index. Sectors are intended to mirror sector weights of the S&P/TSX Composite Index To achieve its investment objective the Fund uses an indexing strategy. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Teekay Tankers (NYSE:TNK Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday morning. TNK has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Zacks Research cut Teekay Tankers from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Teekay Tankers from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Clarkson Capital upgraded shares of Teekay Tankers to a strong-buy rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Teekay Tankers from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a buy (b-) rating on shares of Teekay Tankers in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Teekay Tankers presently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $65.00. Get Teekay Tankers alerts: View Our Latest Analysis on Teekay Tankers Teekay Tankers Price Performance Institutional Trading of Teekay Tankers Shares of TNK stock opened at $65.19 on Friday. The stocks 50-day moving average is $57.15 and its 200 day moving average is $53.78. Teekay Tankers has a 1-year low of $33.35 and a 1-year high of $65.64. The company has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.24 and a beta of -0.27. Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Teekay Tankers by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 122,728 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $5,120,000 after purchasing an additional 4,830 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its holdings in Teekay Tankers by 89.7% during the second quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 24,693 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $1,030,000 after buying an additional 11,675 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Teekay Tankers by 124.2% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,803 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 4,323 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Teekay Tankers by 7.5% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,010,177 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $42,145,000 after buying an additional 70,578 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Teekay Tankers by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 361,609 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $15,086,000 after acquiring an additional 14,052 shares during the period. 52.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. About Teekay Tankers (Get Free Report) Teekay Tankers Ltd is an oil tanker shipping company that owns and operates a fleet of modern crude oil and petroleum product tankers. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol TNK, the company provides seaborne transportation services for crude oil, refined petroleum products and petrochemicals. Its operations range across major global trade lanes, offering a mix of spot market voyages and time-charter contracts to a diverse customer base in the oil and energy sector. The companys fleet includes a mix of Medium Range (MR), Long Range (LR1 and LR2), Suezmax and Aframax tankers designed to meet various cargo specifications and port restrictions. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Teekay Tankers Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Teekay Tankers and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Storebrand ASA (OTCMKTS:SREDF Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 381,785 shares, an increase of 27.9% from the December 31st total of 298,563 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 0 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently ? days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 0 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently ? days. Storebrand ASA Price Performance Storebrand ASA stock opened at $17.20 on Tuesday. Storebrand ASA has a 12 month low of $16.07 and a 12 month high of $17.20. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $16.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.46. Get Storebrand ASA alerts: Storebrand ASA Company Profile (Get Free Report) Storebrand ASA is a leading Norwegian financial services group specializing in long-term savings and insurance solutions. Headquartered in Oslo, the company traces its roots to the 18th century and has grown into one of the foremost providers of life insurance, pensions, and health-related coverage in the Nordic region. The companys core activities encompass individual and corporate pension plans, life and non-life insurance products, and comprehensive health insurance services. Through its subsidiaries, Storebrand offers defined contribution and defined benefit schemes, personal pension savings accounts, and disability protection. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Storebrand ASA Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Storebrand ASA and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - Lithium ION Energy Limited (TSXV: ION) (FSE: ZA4) ("ION" or "the Company") provides the following update on the wholly owned highly prospective Urgakh Naran Lithium Brine Project. As part of the Company's ongoing strategic review and broader uplift, ION has undertaken a comprehensive review of its asset portfolio and legacy agreements to ensure alignment with its strategic objectives going forward. In doing so, the Company discussed with SureFQ Hong Kong Limited ("SureFQ") the status of the Joint Venture regarding the Urgakh Naran property (the "Joint Venture"). Following discussions with SureFQ, the Company was advised that SureFQ had made the decision to withdraw from the Joint Venture. At the time, SureFQ indicated the decision was made due to internal reasons unrelated to the quality or prospectivity of the Urgakh Naran asset. In accordance with the terms of the Joint Venture agreement, SureFQ has exercised its right to withdraw without cause prior to the first anniversary of the agreement, thereby relinquishing all rights and obligations relating to the Urgakh Naran property. ION remains highly confident in the geological potential and strategic merit of the Urgakh Naran project and views it as a quality asset within its portfolio. The Company is actively evaluating the project and strategic pathways to continue unlocking value from the project. The Company is also pleased to highlight its continued exposure to advanced exploration through its 20% free carry interest in the Victory Copper Gold Project in Mongolia, which is being advanced by Trinity One Metals Ltd. The Victory Project represents a highly prospective copper gold system and remains an important component of ION's broader strategy to maintain exposure to high quality, large scale mineral opportunities. ION is actively reviewing additional asset opportunities that align with its renewed strategic focus and disciplined capital allocation framework. The Board and management are encouraged by the progress achieved to date in streamlining the Company's structure, strengthening its balance sheet, and positioning ION for its next phase of growth. The Company looks forward to providing further updates as it continues to advance its transformation and pursue new opportunities for shareholder value creation. About Lithium ION Energy Ltd. Lithium ION Energy Ltd. (TSXV: ION) (FSE: ZA4) is committed to exploring and developing high quality lithium resources in strategic jurisdictions. ION is focused on advancing the 29,000+ hectare Urgakh Naran highly prospective lithium brine licence in Dorngovi Province in Mongolia. ION is positioned to be a key player in the clean energy revolution and service the world's increased demand for lithium. Information about the Company is available on its website, www.ionenergy.ca, or under its profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Universal (NYSE:UVV Get Free Report) is anticipated to issue its Q3 2026 results after the market closes on Wednesday, February 4th. Analysts expect Universal to post earnings of $1.92 per share and revenue of $927.20 million for the quarter. Interested persons can check the companys upcoming Q3 2026 earning summary page for the latest details on the call scheduled for Monday, February 9, 2026 at 5:00 PM ET. Universal (NYSE:UVV Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $754.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $704.30 million. Universal had a net margin of 3.74% and a return on equity of 8.24%. Get Universal alerts: Universal Price Performance UVV stock opened at $57.76 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $53.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.01. Universal has a 1 year low of $49.96 and a 1 year high of $67.33. The stock has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a PE ratio of 13.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.70, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Universal Dividend Announcement Institutional Inflows and Outflows The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, January 12th were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 12th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.7%. Universals dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.87%. Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Universal by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,111 shares of the companys stock worth $565,000 after acquiring an additional 1,535 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in Universal in the 3rd quarter valued at $709,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in Universal by 5.3% during the third quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 19,327 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,065,000 after buying an additional 965 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Universal during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in Universal during the third quarter valued at $420,000. 81.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Universal from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Universal from a buy (b-) rating to a hold (c+) rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold. Read Our Latest Research Report on UVV Universal Company Profile (Get Free Report) Universal Corporation (NYSE: UVV) is a global agribusiness company primarily engaged in the procurement, processing and sale of leaf tobacco. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company sources cured leaf tobacco from key growing regions in North and South America, Africa and Asia. Universal serves major multinational tobacco manufacturers by providing a full range of services including inventory management, quality control and logistics support to ensure a consistent and reliable supply of tobacco leaf. In addition to its core leaf tobacco operations, Universal offers integrated supply-chain services that encompass warehousing, distribution and ingredient sourcing for smokeless and novel tobacco products. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Universal Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Universal and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday. AIT has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings restated a buy (b) rating on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho set a $305.00 price target on Applied Industrial Technologies in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $290.63. Get Applied Industrial Technologies alerts: Get Our Latest Analysis on AIT Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance Shares of NYSE AIT opened at $270.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a current ratio of 3.68. Applied Industrial Technologies has a one year low of $199.96 and a one year high of $286.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.69, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.84. The companys fifty day moving average is $265.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $261.73. Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.17 billion. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 21.74% and a net margin of 8.49%.The companys revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.39 EPS. Applied Industrial Technologies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.450-10.750 EPS. Analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year. Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Industrial Technologiess previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. Applied Industrial Technologiess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.51%. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Industrial Technologies Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AIT. 111 Capital acquired a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at $980,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 38.6% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 73,784 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $17,151,000 after purchasing an additional 20,535 shares in the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the third quarter worth about $1,044,000. Regents Gate Capital LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the second quarter worth about $11,387,000. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 10.5% in the second quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 86,434 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $20,092,000 after buying an additional 8,219 shares in the last quarter. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Applied Industrial Technologies Company Profile (Get Free Report) Applied Industrial Technologies, listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AIT, is a leading distributor of industrial products and services. The company offers a comprehensive range of bearings, power transmission components, fluid power products, industrial rubber products, and automation solutions. Through its network of distribution centers and branch locations, Applied Industrial Technologies serves diverse end markets including manufacturing, oil and gas, mining, food and beverage, and wastewater treatment. Founded in 1923 and headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Applied Industrial Technologies has grown through a combination of organic expansion and strategic acquisitions. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Applied Industrial Technologies Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Applied Industrial Technologies and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT Free Report) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Saturday morning. Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Lockheed Martin from $513.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Lockheed Martin from $505.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Lockheed Martin from $515.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $615.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $605.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $592.88. Get Lockheed Martin alerts: Check Out Our Latest Report on Lockheed Martin Lockheed Martin Trading Up 0.2% NYSE:LMT opened at $635.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $146.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.23. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $513.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $482.11. Lockheed Martin has a 52 week low of $410.11 and a 52 week high of $645.67. Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $5.80 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.53). Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 108.53% and a net margin of 6.69%.The business had revenue of $20.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.67 earnings per share. The businesss revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Lockheed Martin will post 27.15 EPS for the current fiscal year. Institutional Trading of Lockheed Martin Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. United Financial Planning Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lockheed Martin in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Lockheed Martin by 285.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lockheed Martin in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in Lockheed Martin in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lockheed Martin during the second quarter worth $29,000. 74.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Key Stories Impacting Lockheed Martin Here are the key news stories impacting Lockheed Martin this week: Lockheed Martin Company Profile (Get Free Report) Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) is a global aerospace and defense company that designs, develops and manufactures advanced technology systems for government and commercial customers. Formed through the 1995 merger of Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta, the company is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, and focuses on providing integrated solutions across air, space, land and sea domains. Its primary customers include the U.S. Department of Defense, NASA and allied governments around the world. Lockheed Martins product and service portfolio spans military aircraft, missile and fire-control systems, missile defense, space systems and satellite technologies, sensors and precision weapons. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Lockheed Martin Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Lockheed Martin and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO Get Free Report) is anticipated to post its Q4 2025 results before the market opens on Wednesday, February 4th. Analysts expect Novo Nordisk A/S to post earnings of $0.90 per share and revenue of $11.9651 billion for the quarter. Parties can check the companys upcoming Q4 2025 earning summary page for the latest details on the call scheduled for Wednesday, February 4, 2026 at 7:00 AM ET. Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $11.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $11.98 billion. Novo Nordisk A/S had a return on equity of 73.50% and a net margin of 32.76%. On average, analysts expect Novo Nordisk A/S to post $4 EPS for the current fiscal year and $5 EPS for the next fiscal year. Get Novo Nordisk A/S alerts: Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance Shares of NVO opened at $59.01 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $263.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.15 and a beta of 0.66. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 52-week low of $43.08 and a 52-week high of $93.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $53.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.28. Analysts Set New Price Targets NVO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Monday, October 27th. They issued an underperform rating for the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an underweight rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Argus reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Monday, December 8th. HSBC reissued a hold rating and issued a $54.00 target price on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, CICC Research assumed coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Friday, January 9th. They set an outperform rating and a $73.50 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $57.79. Check Out Our Latest Research Report on NVO Institutional Trading of Novo Nordisk A/S Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVO. Boston Partners purchased a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $310,199,000. Armistice Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the third quarter worth $40,841,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1,734.9% in the 3rd quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 505,153 shares of the companys stock valued at $28,031,000 after buying an additional 477,622 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 87.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 949,485 shares of the companys stock valued at $52,692,000 after buying an additional 443,339 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S during the 2nd quarter worth $25,745,000. 11.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. About Novo Nordisk A/S (Get Free Report) Novo Nordisk A/S is a Danish multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Bagsvrd, Denmark, best known for its leadership in diabetes care and metabolic health. The company traces its roots to early Danish insulin production in the 1920s and was established in its current form through a 1989 merger of predecessor companies. Novo Nordisk develops, manufactures and markets pharmaceutical products and devices that address chronic and serious diseases, with a strong emphasis on long-term treatment and patient support. The companys core product portfolio centers on diabetes therapies, including a range of insulins and modern incretin-based treatments. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Novo Nordisk A/S Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Novo Nordisk A/S and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:WH Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of Moderate Buy from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $93.5833. A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $93.00 to $89.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a hold (c+) rating on shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Sunday, December 7th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $98.00 price target on shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Get Wyndham Hotels & Resorts alerts: Check Out Our Latest Report on WH Insider Buying and Selling at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wyndham Hotels & Resorts In other Wyndham Hotels & Resorts news, insider Scott R. Strickland sold 28,134 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.11, for a total transaction of $2,000,608.74. Following the transaction, the insider owned 40,363 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,870,212.93. This represents a 41.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link . Also, General Counsel Paul F. Cash sold 36,379 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.66, for a total value of $2,606,919.14. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 39,123 shares in the company, valued at $2,803,554.18. This trade represents a 48.18% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure . In the last three months, insiders sold 120,606 shares of company stock worth $9,047,218. Insiders own 2.46% of the companys stock. A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WH. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 9.1% in the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,130,373 shares of the companys stock valued at $254,449,000 after buying an additional 261,530 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 4.1% during the second quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,465,968 shares of the companys stock valued at $200,261,000 after purchasing an additional 96,507 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 352.8% during the third quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,212,717 shares of the companys stock worth $176,796,000 after purchasing an additional 1,724,091 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 77.1% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,755,465 shares of the companys stock valued at $140,262,000 after purchasing an additional 764,312 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,657,402 shares of the companys stock valued at $132,427,000 after purchasing an additional 140,978 shares in the last quarter. 93.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance NYSE:WH opened at $72.41 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43. The company has a market capitalization of $5.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $76.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.69. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has a twelve month low of $69.21 and a twelve month high of $113.07. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Wyndham Hotels & Resortss payout ratio is presently 37.70%. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Company Profile (Get Free Report) Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc (NYSE: WH) is a leading global hospitality company specializing in hotel franchising and management. Established in 2018 through the spin-off of Wyndham Hotel Group from Wyndham Worldwide, the company focuses on the development, marketing and distribution of hotel brands designed to meet the needs of business and leisure travelers. Its core business model centers on franchising agreements, enabling third-party hotel owners to operate under the Wyndham portfolio while accessing the companys centralized services and support. The companys brand portfolio spans economy, midscale and upper-midscale segments, featuring well-known names such as Wyndham, Ramada, Days Inn, Super 8, Microtel Inn & Suites, and La Quinta by Wyndham. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Wyndham Hotels & Resorts and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC (OTCMKTS:RBGLY Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 262,261 shares, an increase of 47.2% from the December 31st total of 178,121 shares. Currently, 0.0% of the companys stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 565,902 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.5 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 565,902 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.5 days. Currently, 0.0% of the companys stock are short sold. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades RBGLY has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Reckitt Benckiser Group in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. They set a buy rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a hold rating on shares of Reckitt Benckiser Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Barclays raised shares of Reckitt Benckiser Group from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a hold rating on shares of Reckitt Benckiser Group in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of Reckitt Benckiser Group from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Reckitt Benckiser Group has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. Get Reckitt Benckiser Group alerts: Read Our Latest Stock Report on RBGLY Reckitt Benckiser Group Stock Performance About Reckitt Benckiser Group Shares of OTCMKTS RBGLY opened at $16.67 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Reckitt Benckiser Group has a 52-week low of $11.99 and a 52-week high of $16.80. The companys 50-day simple moving average is $16.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.57. (Get Free Report) Reckitt Benckiser Group plc is a multinational consumer goods company that develops, manufactures and markets health, hygiene and home products. Its portfolio spans over-the-counter medicines and health products, personal and sexual wellness, surface and laundry cleaning, and household care. The company owns a number of well-known global brands across these categories, including Lysol and Dettol in disinfectants and hygiene, Durex in sexual wellness, Nurofen in analgesics, and Finish in dishwashing products. The firm has its corporate headquarters in the United Kingdom and sells products in markets around the world, serving consumers across North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Reckitt Benckiser Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Reckitt Benckiser Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (OTCMKTS:IVPAF Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of Buy by the nine analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $15.20. A number of research analysts recently weighed in on IVPAF shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a buy rating on shares of Ivanhoe Mines in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $15.20 target price on Ivanhoe Mines in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Ivanhoe Mines from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Sunday, December 7th. Scotiabank reiterated an outperform rating on shares of Ivanhoe Mines in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an outperform rating on shares of Ivanhoe Mines in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Get Ivanhoe Mines alerts: Get Our Latest Research Report on IVPAF Ivanhoe Mines Price Performance About Ivanhoe Mines IVPAF stock opened at $12.56 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 4.03 and a current ratio of 4.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $11.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.00. Ivanhoe Mines has a 52-week low of $6.50 and a 52-week high of $15.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.89 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.09. (Get Free Report) Ivanhoe Mines is a Canada-based mineral exploration and development company focused on unlocking high-value deposits of copper, nickel, zinc, and platinum-group metals. The company pursues a two-pronged strategy of advancing large-scale mining projects through feasibility and development stages while also expanding its exploration footprint. Ivanhoes technical expertise spans geology, engineering, environmental management, and community relations, enabling it to secure the necessary permits and infrastructure for major mine developments. The companys flagship asset is the Kamoa-Kakula copper complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a joint venture with the government of the DRC and Zijin Mining. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Ivanhoe Mines Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Ivanhoe Mines and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. HudBay Minerals Inc (NYSE:HBM Get Free Report) (TSE:HBM) has earned an average recommendation of Moderate Buy from the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have issued a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $27.00. A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Natl Bk Canada cut HudBay Minerals from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of HudBay Minerals in a report on Thursday, January 8th. They issued a buy rating on the stock. Scotiabank reiterated an outperform rating on shares of HudBay Minerals in a research report on Monday, January 26th. CIBC restated an outperform rating on shares of HudBay Minerals in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of HudBay Minerals from $16.50 to $19.50 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Get HudBay Minerals alerts: Check Out Our Latest Research Report on HBM HudBay Minerals Stock Performance HudBay Minerals stock opened at $24.10 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.76. HudBay Minerals has a 12 month low of $5.95 and a 12 month high of $28.74. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $20.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.99. The company has a market cap of $9.56 billion, a PE ratio of 20.77 and a beta of 1.33. HudBay Minerals (NYSE:HBM Get Free Report) (TSE:HBM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The mining company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.03). HudBay Minerals had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 22.38%.The business had revenue of $346.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.16 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.13 earnings per share. The companys quarterly revenue was down 28.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that HudBay Minerals will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current year. Institutional Trading of HudBay Minerals Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HBM. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of HudBay Minerals by 107.9% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,990 shares of the mining companys stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in HudBay Minerals in the third quarter worth about $38,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in HudBay Minerals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. IFP Advisors Inc acquired a new position in HudBay Minerals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its stake in HudBay Minerals by 513.5% during the 3rd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 3,172 shares of the mining companys stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 2,655 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.82% of the companys stock. HudBay Minerals Company Profile (Get Free Report) HudBay Minerals Inc is a Canada-based mining company engaged in the exploration, development and production of base and precious metals. Its primary products include copper, zinc, gold and silver concentrates, which are sold to smelters and refiners worldwide. The companys operations span multiple stages of the mining cycle, from resource definition and feasibility studies to mine construction, extraction and reclamation. The company traces its roots back to 1927, when it was established as Hudson Bay Mining & Smelting Co Limited. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for HudBay Minerals Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for HudBay Minerals and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC Get Free Report) will likely be announcing its Q4 2025 results after the market closes on Thursday, February 5th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $1.29 per share and revenue of $1.5403 billion for the quarter. Individuals can find conference call details on the companys upcoming Q4 2025 earning report page for the latest details on the call scheduled for Friday, February 6, 2026 at 10:00 AM ET. Encompass Health Price Performance Encompass Health stock opened at $93.76 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.74. The companys fifty day moving average price is $105.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $114.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. Encompass Health has a 1 year low of $92.53 and a 1 year high of $127.99. Get Encompass Health alerts: Institutional Inflows and Outflows Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EHC. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,039,314 shares of the companys stock worth $250,081,000 after acquiring an additional 129,276 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Encompass Health by 34.8% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,541,336 shares of the companys stock worth $195,780,000 after purchasing an additional 397,694 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Encompass Health by 140.0% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,223,665 shares of the companys stock valued at $155,430,000 after acquiring an additional 713,738 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Encompass Health by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,074,044 shares of the companys stock valued at $136,425,000 after acquiring an additional 42,596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in Encompass Health by 3.4% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,067,389 shares of the companys stock worth $135,580,000 after purchasing an additional 34,919 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.25% of the companys stock. Analyst Ratings Changes Several research analysts recently weighed in on EHC shares. Weiss Ratings restated a buy (b+) rating on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Encompass Health to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Encompass Health from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Zacks Research cut Encompass Health from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $142.86. Read Our Latest Research Report on EHC About Encompass Health (Get Free Report) Encompass Health Corporation is a leading provider of post?acute healthcare services in the United States, operating a comprehensive network of inpatient rehabilitation hospitals and home health and hospice agencies. Its inpatient rehabilitation hospitals offer intensive therapy programs for patients recovering from conditions such as stroke, brain injury, spinal cord injury, cardiac and pulmonary disorders, and orthopedic procedures. Through its home health segment, Encompass Health delivers skilled nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy to patients in the comfort of their homes, while its hospice services provide end?of?life care focused on symptom management and emotional support for patients and families. Founded in 1984 as HealthSouth Corporation and rebranded as Encompass Health in 2018, the company has grown organically and through acquisitions to serve patients across more than 30 states. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Encompass Health Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Encompass Health and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of Moderate Buy from the five analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $17.00. Several brokerages recently commented on NOMD. Weiss Ratings reiterated a hold (c-) rating on shares of Nomad Foods in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Zacks Research raised Nomad Foods from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. BTIG Research reissued a buy rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Nomad Foods in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on Nomad Foods from $17.00 to $15.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Get Nomad Foods alerts: View Our Latest Report on Nomad Foods Institutional Trading of Nomad Foods Nomad Foods Trading Down 0.8% Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in Nomad Foods by 3.5% in the second quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 20,417 shares of the companys stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nomad Foods by 2.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 30,048 shares of the companys stock worth $511,000 after buying an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Nomad Foods by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 38,037 shares of the companys stock valued at $646,000 after acquiring an additional 726 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in Nomad Foods by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 268,627 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,564,000 after acquiring an additional 1,044 shares during the period. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Nomad Foods by 87.4% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,658 shares of the companys stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.26% of the companys stock. NOMD opened at $12.60 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.02. Nomad Foods has a one year low of $11.04 and a one year high of $20.81. The company has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.72. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $12.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.34. Nomad Foods (NYSE:NOMD Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $881.94 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $760.75 million. Nomad Foods had a net margin of 6.56% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Nomad Foods will post 1.82 EPS for the current fiscal year. Nomad Foods Announces Dividend The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. Nomad Foodss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.22%. About Nomad Foods (Get Free Report) Nomad Foods Limited is a leading frozen foods company headquartered in the United Kingdom, operating under the ticker symbol NOMD on the New York Stock Exchange. The companys portfolio comprises well-known consumer brands such as Birds Eye, iglo, Findus, Goodfellas and Aunt Bessies, covering a wide range of categories including vegetables, seafood, ready meals, pizzas and desserts. Nomad Foods focuses on delivering convenient, high-quality frozen products designed to meet evolving consumer preferences for taste, nutrition and ease of preparation. Formed in 2015 through the acquisition of Iglo Group by investment firms Permira and Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Nomad Foods was created with the strategy of building Europes largest frozen foods platform. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Nomad Foods Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Nomad Foods and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Credit: Getty / Bloomberg Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is continuing his tour of Taiwan, and in his latest musings with the press had warned that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has its work cut out to keep up with demand. SCMP reports that Huang said Nvidia's demand for wafers alone could force TSMC to "more than double its capacity in the next decade." According to the report, Huang made the statement following a Saturday evening banquet of vital supply chain partner executives, including TSMC Chairman and CEO C C Wei, and Foxconn Chairman Young Liu. SCMP says Huang told reporters outside the restaurant that TSMC must "work very hard" to meet its insatiable demand, stating Nvidia "needs a lot of wafers," and that TSMC needs to boost its output this year. "TSMC is doing an incredible job, and theyre working very, very hard," he reportedly said, adding, "We have a lot of demand this year." Huang's comments won't come as a surprise to the Taiwanese silicon giant. Despite recently admitting the company was "very nervous" about an AI bubble, the company said that it remains assured of demand. Naturally, that means the pain point for AI going forward is likely to be supply. In November, Wei remarked that TSMC's capacity was "Not enough, not enough, still not enough," stating that its advanced-node capacity falls "about three times short" of AI demand. Huang's comments about TSMC needing to double its capacity in the next decade also serve as context for recent rumblings about plans to move 40% of Taiwan's chipmaking capacity to America. Huang assured the island nation that Taiwan's silicon shield will be preserved, namely, because this 40% is all new capacity. As per its last Annual Report from 2024, TSMC currently boasts an annual capacity of 17 million 12-inch equivalent wafers in 2024, a number that has likely increased with production added in 2025. In May, the company revealed it planned to spend $42 billion on expansion in 2025 alone, and is also trying to expedite production across new sites, such as its Fab 21 phase 2 site in Arizona, where equipment will reportedly start arriving next summer, with mass production targeted for 2027, ahead of the original 2028 schedule. Back in Taiwan, Huang also reportedly discussed the importance of memory chips and also touched on Nvidia's deal with OpenAI, resetting expectations a little by telling reporters the $100 billion deal was "never a commitment," but rather an invitation to invest. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR Free Report) by 8.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 489,810 shares of the conglomerates stock after buying an additional 37,026 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.s holdings in Crane were worth $90,196,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CR. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Crane during the 2nd quarter valued at about $190,533,000. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Crane by 5,159.8% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 232,851 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $44,216,000 after purchasing an additional 228,424 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Crane by 299.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 234,131 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $43,876,000 after purchasing an additional 175,554 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Crane by 117.5% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 216,314 shares of the conglomerates stock valued at $41,076,000 after purchasing an additional 116,881 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Crane by 23.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 440,817 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $67,524,000 after buying an additional 84,278 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Crane alerts: Insider Buying and Selling In related news, Director Jennifer Pollino acquired 1,500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $184.29 per share, for a total transaction of $276,435.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 1,500 shares of the companys stock, valued at $276,435. This represents a ? increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sanjay Kapoor bought 2,814 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $177.68 per share, for a total transaction of $499,991.52. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 2,814 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $499,991.52. This trade represents a ? increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 5,464 shares of company stock valued at $987,470. Company insiders own 2.12% of the companys stock. Trending Headlines about Crane Crane Trading Up 1.6% Here are the key news stories impacting Crane this week: NYSE CR opened at $185.51 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market cap of $10.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.57, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $191.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $188.51. Crane has a one year low of $127.04 and a one year high of $214.31. Crane (NYSE:CR Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.10. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The firm had revenue of $581.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $572.16 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Crane has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.550-6.75 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year. Crane Increases Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This is an increase from Cranes previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Cranes payout ratio is 16.32%. Analyst Ratings Changes Several analysts have issued reports on CR shares. Wolfe Research set a $215.00 target price on Crane and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Crane from $200.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a buy (b-) rating on shares of Crane in a research report on Monday, December 29th. CJS Securities upgraded shares of Crane to a strong-buy rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a buy rating and set a $238.00 price target on shares of Crane in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $224.00. Get Our Latest Research Report on CR Crane Profile (Free Report) Crane Co, headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, is a diversified manufacturer of engineered industrial products serving customers around the world. The company operates through two primary segments: Aerospace & Electronics and Engineered Materials. Its Aerospace & Electronics division designs and produces valves, fittings, manifolds, and filtration systems for aircraft fuel, hydraulics, and environmental control systems. The Engineered Materials segment focuses on advanced polymers, heat exchangers, and specialized composite solutions for industries including chemical processing, semiconductor manufacturing, and power generation. With roots dating back to its founding in 1855 in Chicago by R.T. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Crane (NYSE:CR Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Crane Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Crane and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF Free Report) by 11.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 230,148 shares of the banks stock after purchasing an additional 23,316 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corps holdings in Regions Financial were worth $6,069,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in RF. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Regions Financial in the second quarter valued at $246,790,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 620.3% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,563,492 shares of the banks stock valued at $60,293,000 after purchasing an additional 2,207,585 shares during the period. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Regions Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $24,927,000. Midwest Trust Co acquired a new stake in Regions Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $14,519,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in Regions Financial by 56.8% during the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,558,174 shares of the banks stock worth $36,648,000 after purchasing an additional 564,281 shares during the period. 79.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Get Regions Financial alerts: Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of analysts have recently issued reports on RF shares. Morgan Stanley set a $31.00 price objective on Regions Financial in a research report on Monday, January 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Regions Financial from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Saturday, December 13th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a buy (b) rating on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an equal weight rating and set a $27.00 target price (down previously from $30.00) on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $29.27. Insider Activity In related news, EVP William D. Ritter sold 36,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.78, for a total transaction of $1,036,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 17,569 shares of the companys stock, valued at $505,635.82. This represents a 67.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.29% of the companys stock. Regions Financial Trading Up 2.2% Shares of Regions Financial stock opened at $29.12 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $27.45 and a 200-day moving average of $26.27. Regions Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $17.74 and a 52-week high of $29.25. The stock has a market cap of $25.54 billion, a PE ratio of 12.72, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.04. Regions Financial (NYSE:RF Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 16th. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 12.55% and a net margin of 22.44%.Regions Financials revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.26 EPS for the current year. Regions Financial announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 12.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the companys board believes its stock is undervalued. About Regions Financial (Free Report) Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE: RF) is a U.S. bank holding company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, that provides a broad range of banking and financial services. Its primary banking subsidiary, Regions Bank, serves retail and commercial customers through a combination of branch and ATM networks, digital channels and relationship-based delivery. The company offers deposit accounts, consumer and commercial loans, mortgage origination and servicing, and payment and treasury services. In addition to core banking, Regions offers wealth management, trust and brokerage services, insurance solutions, and capital markets capabilities to corporate and institutional clients. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding RF? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Regions Financial Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Regions Financial and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of Moderate Buy by the twelve analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $6.7675. Several analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a hold (c) rating on shares of Nokia in a report on Monday, December 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Nokia from $7.10 to $8.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an outperform rating on shares of Nokia in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. New Street Research set a $6.57 price target on Nokia in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Nokia from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Sunday, November 30th. Get Nokia alerts: Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on NOK Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nokia Nokia Stock Performance Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOK. Amundi acquired a new stake in shares of Nokia in the first quarter valued at about $776,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Nokia by 27.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 186,997 shares of the technology companys stock worth $985,000 after purchasing an additional 40,276 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Nokia by 6,539.2% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,841,558 shares of the technology companys stock worth $14,975,000 after purchasing an additional 2,798,758 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nokia by 6,204.9% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 60,464 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $319,000 after buying an additional 59,505 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Nokia by 8.7% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 12,550,274 shares of the technology companys stock worth $66,140,000 after buying an additional 1,002,033 shares during the last quarter. 5.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Shares of Nokia stock opened at $6.67 on Thursday. Nokia has a 12 month low of $4.00 and a 12 month high of $8.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market capitalization of $38.27 billion, a PE ratio of 51.27, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.77. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $6.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.59. Nokia Company Profile (Get Free Report) Nokia Corporation, headquartered in Espoo, Finland, is a global telecommunications and technology company with roots dating back to 1865. Over its long history the company moved from forestry and cable operations into electronics and telecommunications, becoming widely known in the 1990s and 2000s for its mobile phones. In recent years Nokia refocused its business toward network infrastructure, software and technology licensing, and research and development, following the divestiture of its handset manufacturing business and the acquisition of Alcatel?Lucent in 2016, which brought Bell Labs into its portfolio. Today Nokias core activities center on designing, building and supporting communications networks and related software. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Nokia Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Nokia and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. iShares MSCI Spain ETF (NYSEARCA:EWP Get Free Report) shares passed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $53.91 and traded as high as $56.95. iShares MSCI Spain ETF shares last traded at $56.86, with a volume of 644,899 shares traded. iShares MSCI Spain ETF Stock Performance The companys 50-day moving average price is $53.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 0.86. Get iShares MSCI Spain ETF alerts: Hedge Funds Weigh In On iShares MSCI Spain ETF A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EWP. Flow Traders U.S. LLC bought a new stake in iShares MSCI Spain ETF during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,710,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in iShares MSCI Spain ETF by 126,837.9% during the 2nd quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 689,273 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $30,349,000 after buying an additional 688,730 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of iShares MSCI Spain ETF by 17.0% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 4,389,321 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $193,262,000 after buying an additional 639,320 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of iShares MSCI Spain ETF in the second quarter worth $16,165,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new position in shares of iShares MSCI Spain ETF during the second quarter worth $13,548,000. Institutional investors own 38.17% of the companys stock. iShares MSCI Spain ETF Company Profile iShares MSCI Spain Capped ETF, formerly iShares MSCI Spain Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of publicly traded securities in the Spanish market, as measured by the MSCI Spain Index (the Index). The Index seeks to measure the performance of the Spanish equity market. It is a capitalization-weighted index that aims to capture 85% of the (publicly available) total market capitalization. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI Spain ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares MSCI Spain ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lessened its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU Free Report) by 98.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 779 shares of the mining companys stock after selling 57,168 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corps holdings in AngloGold Ashanti were worth $55,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AU. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 27.3% in the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,006 shares of the mining companys stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 13.8% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,893 shares of the mining companys stock worth $133,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 30.3% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,023 shares of the mining companys stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 27.2% in the third quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,257 shares of the mining companys stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 91,793 shares of the mining companys stock valued at $4,183,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 36.09% of the companys stock. Get AngloGold Ashanti alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes Several research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $92.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a buy (b-) rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AngloGold Ashanti has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $95.00. AngloGold Ashanti Trading Up 2.0% Shares of AngloGold Ashanti stock opened at $94.74 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.58 and a quick ratio of 1.98. AngloGold Ashanti PLC has a 1 year low of $28.44 and a 1 year high of $115.81. The firm has a market cap of $39.76 billion, a PE ratio of 20.87 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.00. AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 12th. The mining company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.02). AngloGold Ashanti had a net margin of 26.25% and a return on equity of 24.01%. The company had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.53 billion. Analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti PLC will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. AngloGold Ashanti Dividend Announcement The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. AngloGold Ashantis payout ratio is 80.18%. About AngloGold Ashanti (Free Report) AngloGold Ashanti is a global gold mining company engaged in the exploration, development, production, processing and sale of gold. Headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, the companys core activities span the full mining value chain from greenfield exploration and mine development through to ore processing and rehabilitation. Gold is the primary commodity produced, with individual operations sometimes yielding other by?products depending on local geology and processing methods. The company was formed in 2004 through the merger of AngloGold and Ashanti Goldfields, creating a diversified international gold producer. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AU? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for AngloGold Ashanti PLC (NYSE:AU Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for AngloGold Ashanti Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for AngloGold Ashanti and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. AGF Management Ltd. lessened its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE Free Report) by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 847,898 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after selling 49,682 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd.s holdings in Pfizer were worth $21,604,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Pfizer during the second quarter worth $2,270,157,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 533,363,457 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $12,928,730,000 after buying an additional 10,198,330 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Pfizer by 43.4% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 18,718,955 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $453,747,000 after acquiring an additional 5,662,309 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 75.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 8,689,103 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $221,398,000 after acquiring an additional 3,722,531 shares during the period. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its position in Pfizer by 84.9% in the 2nd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 7,561,946 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $183,302,000 after acquiring an additional 3,472,240 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Pfizer alerts: Pfizer Stock Up 0.9% Pfizer stock opened at $26.68 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $151.67 billion, a PE ratio of 15.51 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stocks fifty day moving average is $25.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.05. Pfizer Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.92 and a 1-year high of $27.69. Pfizer Announces Dividend Pfizer ( NYSE:PFE Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.08. Pfizer had a return on equity of 20.17% and a net margin of 15.65%.The business had revenue of $16.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $16.94 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year. The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 23rd will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 23rd. Pfizers dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%. Pfizer News Summary Here are the key news stories impacting Pfizer this week: Analyst Ratings Changes Several analysts have recently issued reports on PFE shares. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Pfizer from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Wolfe Research set a $24.00 target price on shares of Pfizer and gave the stock an underperform rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. HSBC reissued a buy rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Guggenheim reiterated a buy rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Pfizer from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $28.06. Read Our Latest Research Report on Pfizer Pfizer Profile (Free Report) Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) is a multinational biopharmaceutical company headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1849 by Charles Pfizer and Charles Erhart, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes a broad range of medicines and vaccines for human health. Its activities span discovery research, clinical development, regulatory affairs, manufacturing and global commercial distribution across multiple therapeutic areas. Pfizers portfolio and pipeline cover oncology, immunology, cardiology, endocrinology, rare diseases, hospital acute care and anti-infectives, along with a substantial vaccine business. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PFE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Pfizer Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Pfizer and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Victoria Gold Corp (CVE:VIT Get Free Report)s stock price passed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of C$8.30 and traded as low as C$8.22. Victoria Gold shares last traded at C$8.30, with a volume of 136,122 shares. Victoria Gold Stock Down 1.5% The business has a fifty day moving average of C$8.30 and a 200 day moving average of C$8.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 96.76. The firm has a market cap of C$474.98 million and a P/E ratio of -13.34. About Victoria Gold (Get Free Report) Victoria Gold Corp. engages in the acquisition, evaluation, and exploration of mineral properties in Canada and the United States. The company primarily explores for gold deposits. Its principal property is 100% owned Dublin Gulch property, which hosts the Eagle Gold deposit covering an area of approximately 555 square kilometers located in central Yukon, Canada. The company was formerly known as Victoria Resource Corporation and changed its name to Victoria Gold Corp. in July 2008. Victoria Gold Corp. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Victoria Gold Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Victoria Gold and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. BNP Paribas SA (OTCMKTS:BNPQY Get Free Report)s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $54.97 and last traded at $54.81, with a volume of 392768 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $53.67. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several research analysts have commented on the company. DZ Bank downgraded BNP Paribas from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Zacks Research upgraded BNP Paribas from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of BNP Paribas in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays downgraded shares of BNP Paribas from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an outperform rating on shares of BNP Paribas in a report on Friday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold. Get BNP Paribas alerts: Check Out Our Latest Analysis on BNP Paribas BNP Paribas Price Performance BNP Paribas Company Profile The firm has a market capitalization of $120.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $47.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.38. (Get Free Report) BNP Paribas is a major international banking group headquartered in Paris, France, formed through the 2000 merger of Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP) and Paribas. The group provides a broad range of banking and financial services to retail, corporate and institutional clients, operating as one of the leading universal banks in Europe with a global footprint. Its principal business activities encompass retail banking and services, corporate and institutional banking, and investment solutions. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for BNP Paribas Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for BNP Paribas and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Silphium Asset Management Ltd grew its holdings in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX Free Report) by 54.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 31,061 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock after buying an additional 10,900 shares during the quarter. TJX Companies accounts for 1.3% of Silphium Asset Management Ltds investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Silphium Asset Management Ltds holdings in TJX Companies were worth $4,490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Lavaca Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in TJX Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in TJX Companies by 65.0% in the 3rd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 231 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in TJX Companies during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in TJX Companies during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. 91.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get TJX Companies alerts: Insider Transactions at TJX Companies In related news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 24,363 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.31, for a total value of $3,686,365.53. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 510,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,286,121.80. This trade represents a 4.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Amy B. Lane sold 500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.40, for a total value of $75,700.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 22,212 shares in the company, valued at $3,362,896.80. This trade represents a 2.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,863 shares of company stock valued at $8,226,366. Company insiders own 0.13% of the companys stock. TJX Companies Stock Up 0.2% TJX stock opened at $150.14 on Tuesday. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $112.10 and a one year high of $159.48. The firm has a market cap of $166.73 billion, a PE ratio of 33.14, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.74. The firms 50 day moving average price is $154.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $144.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 1.09. TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.06. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 58.30% and a net margin of 8.68%.The company had revenue of $15.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $14.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. The firms quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. TJX Companies has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.330-1.360 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.630-4.660 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year. TJX Companies Announces Dividend The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 12th. TJX Companiess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.53%. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an overweight rating and issued a $162.00 price target (up from $159.00) on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a buy rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. TD Cowen restated a buy rating on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on TJX Companies from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, TJX Companies has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $163.86. Read Our Latest Stock Report on TJX TJX Companies Profile (Free Report) TJX Companies, Inc is a leading off-price retailer of apparel, footwear, home fashions and other consumer goods. The company operates multiple retail concepts that offer discounted brand-name and designer merchandise, including well-known banners such as T.J. Maxx and Marshalls in the United States, HomeGoods for home furnishings, TK Maxx in parts of Europe, and Winners and Homesense in Canada. Merchandise categories span womens, mens and childrens apparel, accessories, beauty, home decor, kitchenware and small furniture, with frequent changes in assortment that create a treasure-hunt shopping experience for consumers. The companys business model centers on opportunistic buying, purchasing excess, irregular or out-of-season inventory from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers, and passing savings to customers through lower prices. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding TJX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for TJX Companies Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for TJX Companies and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new stake in Kohls Corporation (NYSE:KSS Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 338,188 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,198,000. Federated Hermes Inc. owned about 0.30% of Kohls as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KSS. Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kohls in the first quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in Kohls during the 1st quarter worth $166,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kohls by 14.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 489,708 shares of the companys stock worth $4,006,000 after buying an additional 60,769 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Kohls by 5.4% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 21,667 shares of the companys stock valued at $201,000 after acquiring an additional 1,106 shares during the period. Finally, Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Kohls by 109.5% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 82,429 shares of the companys stock valued at $699,000 after acquiring an additional 43,082 shares in the last quarter. 98.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Kohl's alerts: Insider Buying and Selling at Kohls In other Kohls news, CFO Jill Timm sold 10,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.00, for a total transaction of $240,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 325,561 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $7,813,464. The trade was a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the companys stock. Kohls Trading Up 2.6% Shares of KSS stock opened at $17.93 on Tuesday. Kohls Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $6.04 and a fifty-two week high of $25.22. The stocks fifty day moving average price is $21.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 1.30. The company has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a PE ratio of 10.42 and a beta of 1.44. Kohls (NYSE:KSS Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 25th. The company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of ($0.19) by $0.29. The company had revenue of $3.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.37 billion. Kohls had a return on equity of 4.30% and a net margin of 1.23%.Kohlss revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.20 EPS. Kohls has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.250-1.450 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Kohls Corporation will post 1.3 EPS for the current fiscal year. Kohls Dividend Announcement The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 10th were given a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Kohlss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.07%. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of analysts have issued reports on KSS shares. TD Cowen reissued a hold rating on shares of Kohls in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a hold (c-) rating on shares of Kohls in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. BTIG Research reissued a neutral rating on shares of Kohls in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Robert W. Baird set a $24.00 price objective on Kohls in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Kohls from $11.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Reduce and an average target price of $15.55. View Our Latest Analysis on KSS Kohls Profile (Free Report) Kohls Corporation, founded in 1962 by Maxwell Kohl and headquartered in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, is a leading American department store retailer. The company operates approximately 1,100 stores across 49 states, offering a combination of value-oriented pricing, private-label brands and national labels. Since its initial public offering in 1992, Kohls has focused on broadening its product assortment and enhancing the in-store and online shopping experience. The retailers merchandise portfolio spans apparel, footwear, accessories, and beauty products for women, men and children, as well as home goods, kitchenware and seasonal decor. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding KSS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Kohls Corporation (NYSE:KSS Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Kohl's Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Kohl's and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Transaction close clears the way for expanded access to affordable, high-quality care in 2027 OAKLAND, Calif. and RENO, Nev., Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaiser Permanente and Renown Health have completed the transaction to finalize their joint venture to operate a health plan and new outpatient care delivery system in northern Nevada. Under the agreement, Hometown Health the health plan previously owned by Renown Health is now jointly owned by Kaiser Permanente and Renown Health. Kaiser Permanente Logo. (PRNewsfoto/Kaiser Permanente) This joint venture marks Kaiser Permanente's entry into northern Nevada, expanding access to high-quality, value-based care in local communities, and represents an important advancement in the organization's ongoing strategy to extend value-based care to additional communities across the United States. "Our mission calls us to bring high-quality, affordable health care and coverage to more people and communities," said Greg A. Adams, chair and chief executive officer of Kaiser Permanente. "This joint venture with Renown Health allows us to extend our value-based care model and nation-leading health outcomes to northern Nevada, in collaboration with Renown Health's trusted local teams. Together, we will improve health outcomes; expand access to affordable, high-quality care; and serve the needs of this growing community." Through this joint venture, Kaiser Permanente will introduce its integrated care and coverage model to the Reno area, building on Renown Health's strong local reputation and recognized leadership in value-based care. Together, Kaiser Permanente and Renown Health will provide members with a seamless care experience across both organizations. Kaiser Permanente will operate the existing Del Monte Lane medical offices and open two additional facilities in 2026. Each location will offer primary and specialty care, a lab, and general radiology. In 2027, Kaiser Permanente-owned retail pharmacies will be available for patient convenience in addition to Renown Pharmacy. Kaiser Permanente members will also be able to access a full spectrum of Renown Health services including emergency, inpatient, outpatient, and surgical care. Kaiser Permanente's full digital health platform will also be available to members in 2027. New health plan options for northern Nevada are in development, and Kaiser Permanente and Renown Health will share more information before fall 2026 open enrollment including plan choices and how residents can enroll for coverage starting in the 2027 plan year. At this time, Kaiser Permanente members and Hometown Health members can continue to access care just as they do today. Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR Free Report) by 9.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 701,963 shares of the banks stock after selling 71,927 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 1.09% of Cullen/Frost Bankers worth $88,989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CFR. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 20.2% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 915 shares of the banks stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 42.7% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the banks stock worth $196,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 18,072 shares of the banks stock worth $2,291,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 45.9% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 189,200 shares of the banks stock worth $23,985,000 after purchasing an additional 59,501 shares during the period. Finally, Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the third quarter valued at approximately $799,000. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Cullen/Frost Bankers alerts: Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Performance NYSE CFR opened at $139.24 on Tuesday. The companys fifty day moving average is $131.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.41. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 52-week low of $100.31 and a 52-week high of $145.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.64. Cullen/Frost Bankers Dividend Announcement Cullen/Frost Bankers ( NYSE:CFR Get Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The bank reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.09. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $578.05 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.36 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year. The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Cullen/Frost Bankerss payout ratio is currently 40.32%. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CFR. Weiss Ratings restated a hold (c) rating on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research note on Monday, December 29th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $136.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday. TD Cowen restated a positive rating on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a report on Monday. Loop Capital set a $160.00 price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cullen/Frost Bankers presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $140.92. Read Our Latest Research Report on Cullen/Frost Bankers Insiders Place Their Bets In other news, EVP Bobby Berman sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.07, for a total value of $137,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 28,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,893,610.42. This represents a 3.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Coolidge E. Rhodes, Jr. sold 700 shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.00, for a total transaction of $88,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $481,965. This trade represents a 15.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 1,700 shares of company stock valued at $225,970 over the last 90 days. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. About Cullen/Frost Bankers (Free Report) Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc is the holding company for Frost Bank, a Texas-chartered financial institution whose origins date back to 1868 in San Antonio. As one of the oldest banking organizations in the state, it offers a broad range of services to individuals, small and large businesses, and institutional clients. Core banking activities include commercial lending, deposit services, cash management and trade finance, while consumer products cover residential mortgages, personal lines of credit and home equity loans. Beyond traditional banking, the company provides comprehensive treasury and equipment leasing solutions tailored to support working capital and capital expenditure requirements. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CFR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Cullen/Frost Bankers Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Cullen/Frost Bankers and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Silphium Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in iShares MSCI Japan ETF (NYSEARCA:EWJ Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 37,800 shares of the exchange traded funds stock, valued at approximately $3,032,000. iShares MSCI Japan ETF makes up about 0.9% of Silphium Asset Management Ltds portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 39.0% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 10,230 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $701,000 after purchasing an additional 2,869 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 196.4% in the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 62,550 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $4,689,000 after buying an additional 41,446 shares in the last quarter. Clarius Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI Japan ETF in the second quarter valued at $688,000. Roundview Capital LLC boosted its stake in iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 72.1% during the second quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 28,215 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $2,115,000 after buying an additional 11,822 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sax Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in iShares MSCI Japan ETF during the second quarter valued at about $238,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.60% of the companys stock. Get iShares MSCI Japan ETF alerts: iShares MSCI Japan ETF Trading Up 0.2% Shares of iShares MSCI Japan ETF stock opened at $85.89 on Tuesday. The companys 50-day moving average price is $83.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.09. iShares MSCI Japan ETF has a 52 week low of $59.84 and a 52 week high of $86.31. The stock has a market cap of $16.85 billion, a PE ratio of 14.63 and a beta of 0.68. iShares MSCI Japan ETF Profile iShares MSCI Japan ETF (the fund), formerly Ishares Msci Japan Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of publicly traded securities in the Japanese market, as measured by the MSCI Japan Index (the Index). The Index consists of stocks traded primarily on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities included in the Index that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Index. Read More Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI Japan ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares MSCI Japan ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. BZAM (OTCMKTS:BZAMF Get Free Report) and Haemonetics (NYSE:HAE Get Free Report) are both medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends and earnings. Analyst Recommendations This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for BZAM and Haemonetics, as reported by MarketBeat. Get BZAM alerts: Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score BZAM 0 0 0 0 0.00 Haemonetics 1 3 7 1 2.67 Haemonetics has a consensus price target of $84.40, suggesting a potential upside of 28.20%. Given Haemonetics stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Haemonetics is more favorable than BZAM. Profitability Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets BZAM N/A N/A N/A Haemonetics 12.67% 27.22% 9.52% Institutional & Insider Ownership This table compares BZAM and Haemonetics net margins, return on equity and return on assets. 0.0% of BZAM shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.7% of Haemonetics shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.7% of BZAM shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of Haemonetics shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth. Earnings & Valuation This table compares BZAM and Haemoneticss gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation. Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio BZAM N/A N/A N/A ($0.27) N/A Haemonetics $1.36 billion 2.26 $167.68 million $3.42 19.25 Haemonetics has higher revenue and earnings than BZAM. BZAM is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Haemonetics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks. Summary Haemonetics beats BZAM on 10 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks. About BZAM (Get Free Report) BZAM Ltd. operates as a cannabis producer with a focus on branded consumer goods. Its brands include the BZAM, TGOD, ness, Highly Dutch Organic, and TABLE TOP, as well as Dunn Cannabis, FRESH, and Wyld partner brands. The company operate facilities in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec, as well as retail stores in Winnipeg, Manitoba and Regina, Saskatchewan. The company was formerly known as The Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd. and changed its name to BZAM Ltd. in February 2023. The company was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. About Haemonetics (Get Free Report) Haemonetics Corporation, a healthcare company, provides suite of medical products and solutions in the United States and internationally. The company offers automated plasma collection systems, donor management software, and supporting software solutions including NexSys PCS and PCS2 plasmapheresis equipment and related disposables and solutions, as well as integrated information technology platforms for plasma customers to manage their donors, operations, and supply chain; and NexLynk DMS donor management system and Donor360 app. It also provides automated blood component and manual whole blood collection systems, such as MCS brand apheresis equipment to collect specific blood components from the donor; disposable whole blood collection and component storage sets; SafeTrace Tx blood bank information system; and BloodTrack blood management software, a suite of blood management and bedside transfusion solutions that combines software with hardware components, as well as an extension of the hospital's blood bank information system. In addition, the company offers hospital products comprising TEG and HAS hemostasis analyzer systems that provide a comprehensive assessment of a patient's overall hemostasis; and TEG Manager software, which connects various TEG analyzers throughout the hospital, providing clinicians remote access to active and historical test results that inform treatment decisions. Further, it provides Cell Saver Elite +, an autologous blood recovery system for cardiovascular, orthopedic, trauma, transplant, vascular, obstetrical, and gynecological surgeries; and VASCADE products comprising VASCADE and VASCADE MVP, a technology platform which offers catheter-based delivery system and leverages the natural clot-inducing properties of collagen. The company sells its products through direct sales force, independent distributors, and sales representatives. Haemonetics Corporation was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Receive News & Ratings for BZAM Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for BZAM and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Sollinda Capital Management LLC decreased its position in iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSEARCA:IWM Free Report) by 82.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,138 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after selling 105,398 shares during the period. iShares Russell 2000 ETF makes up 1.5% of Sollinda Capital Management LLCs holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Sollinda Capital Management LLCs holdings in iShares Russell 2000 ETF were worth $5,357,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quaker Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of iShares Russell 2000 ETF by 211.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 120 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Pingora Partners LLC acquired a new stake in iShares Russell 2000 ETF during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Beacon Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in iShares Russell 2000 ETF in the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in iShares Russell 2000 ETF by 93.9% in the second quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 190 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in iShares Russell 2000 ETF by 67.7% in the second quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 208 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Get iShares Russell 2000 ETF alerts: iShares Russell 2000 ETF Stock Up 1.0% Shares of IWM stock opened at $262.18 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $255.17 and a 200-day moving average of $242.94. The company has a market cap of $75.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.69 and a beta of 1.13. iShares Russell 2000 ETF has a 52 week low of $171.73 and a 52 week high of $271.60. iShares Russell 2000 ETF Profile iShares Russell 2000 ETF (the Fund) is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Russell 2000 Index (the Index). The Index is a float-adjusted capitalization weighted index that measures the performance of the small-capitalization sector of the United States equity market and includes securities issued by the approximately 2,000 smallest issuers in the Russell 3000 Index. The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities included in the Index that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Index. See Also Receive News & Ratings for iShares Russell 2000 ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares Russell 2000 ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd trimmed its position in Builders FirstSource, Inc. (NYSE:BLDR Free Report) by 70.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 37,133 shares of the companys stock after selling 89,857 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltds holdings in Builders FirstSource were worth $4,441,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Builders FirstSource in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new position in Builders FirstSource during the second quarter worth about $38,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new stake in Builders FirstSource in the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in Builders FirstSource in the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Builders FirstSource in the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. Institutional investors own 95.53% of the companys stock. Get Builders FirstSource alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes BLDR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Builders FirstSource from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Zacks Research upgraded Builders FirstSource from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $135.00 target price on Builders FirstSource in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a hold (c-) rating on shares of Builders FirstSource in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Builders FirstSource from $134.00 to $131.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $133.77. Builders FirstSource Price Performance Builders FirstSource stock opened at $113.32 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.79. Builders FirstSource, Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.35 and a 52 week high of $165.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 13.90 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $112.27 and a 200-day moving average of $121.21. Builders FirstSource Profile (Free Report) Builders FirstSource, Inc is a leading supplier of structural and value-added building products and services to professional contractors, homebuilders and remodelers. The company provides a comprehensive range of materials and prefabricated components that support all phases of residential construction, from site development and framing to finishing and installation. The companys core offerings include lumber and lumber sheet goods, windows and doors, millwork, roofing and siding, and engineered wood products such as roof and floor trusses. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BLDR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Builders FirstSource, Inc. (NYSE:BLDR Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Builders FirstSource Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Builders FirstSource and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH Free Report) by 7.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,979 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock after purchasing an additional 2,088 shares during the period. Buck Wealth Strategies LLCs holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $10,007,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Guerra Advisors Inc bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at $1,059,000. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,572,193,000. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 21.8% during the second quarter. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC now owns 4,425 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock worth $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 791 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the third quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 105,621 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock valued at $36,471,000 after buying an additional 2,316 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 20.7% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 20,683 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock worth $6,462,000 after buying an additional 3,545 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the companys stock. Get UnitedHealth Group alerts: Key Stories Impacting UnitedHealth Group Here are the key news stories impacting UnitedHealth Group this week: Positive Sentiment: Major brokerages retained constructive ratings (buy/overweight) even after trimming targets, leaving meaningful upside from current levels this suggests institutional confidence in UNHs earnings power despite near?term headwinds. Truist and JPMorgan coverage (Benzinga) Major brokerages retained constructive ratings (buy/overweight) even after trimming targets, leaving meaningful upside from current levels this suggests institutional confidence in UNHs earnings power despite near?term headwinds. Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary and coverage continue to emphasize UnitedHealths diversified Optum + UnitedHealthcare business and dividend appeal, which can support the stock if fundamentals hold. InsiderMonkey: Wells Fargo note Analyst commentary and coverage continue to emphasize UnitedHealths diversified Optum + UnitedHealthcare business and dividend appeal, which can support the stock if fundamentals hold. Neutral Sentiment: Feature/analysis pieces are debating whether UNH still merits a premium valuation useful context for investors re?assessing target multiples but not an immediate catalyst. Forbes valuation analysis Feature/analysis pieces are debating whether UNH still merits a premium valuation useful context for investors re?assessing target multiples but not an immediate catalyst. Negative Sentiment: Several firms cut price targets: Truist trimmed its target (from $410 to $370) and JPMorgan cut its target (from $425 to $389) these downgrades lower the near?term brokerage consensus and can pressure the stock. Benzinga: Truist & JPMorgan notes Several firms cut price targets: Truist trimmed its target (from $410 to $370) and JPMorgan cut its target (from $425 to $389) these downgrades lower the near?term brokerage consensus and can pressure the stock. Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo reduced its target (reported cuts to ~$370), and multiple outlets are flagging broader analyst target trims tied to regulatory and reimbursement uncertainty a clear negative catalyst for sentiment. American Banking News: Wells Fargo cuts Wells Fargo reduced its target (reported cuts to ~$370), and multiple outlets are flagging broader analyst target trims tied to regulatory and reimbursement uncertainty a clear negative catalyst for sentiment. Negative Sentiment: Coverage noting regulatory headwinds and analysts trimming forecasts has already correlated with share weakness in recent trading sessions. Investors should watch upcoming regulatory commentary, earnings cadence, and any changes to Medicare/Medicaid policy that could affect margins. Aktiencheck: regulatory headwinds Coverage noting regulatory headwinds and analysts trimming forecasts has already correlated with share weakness in recent trading sessions. Investors should watch upcoming regulatory commentary, earnings cadence, and any changes to Medicare/Medicaid policy that could affect margins. Negative Sentiment: Market reaction has already shown downside pressure following analyst actions (reports of shares falling after downgrades), so short?term momentum is unfavorable until clarity returns. American Banking News: share reaction UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $285.95 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $259.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $330.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $323.72. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $234.60 and a 12 month high of $606.36. UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $113.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.38 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 2.69% and a return on equity of 14.79%. The companys revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.81 EPS. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.750- EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year. UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th were given a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. UnitedHealth Groups payout ratio is presently 67.02%. Analysts Set New Price Targets Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on UNH shares. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $415.00 to $385.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler reiterated an overweight rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $370.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Zacks Research raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $408.00 to $361.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $375.46. Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on UnitedHealth Group UnitedHealth Group Profile (Free Report) UnitedHealth Group Inc is a diversified health care company headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, that operates two primary business platforms: UnitedHealthcare and Optum. Founded in 1977, the company provides a broad range of health benefits and health care services to individuals, employers, governmental entities and other organizations. Its operations span commercial employer-sponsored plans, individual and Medicare and Medicaid programs, and services for customers and health systems in the United States and selected international markets. UnitedHealthcare is the companys benefits business, administering health plans and networks, managing provider relationships, and offering coverage products for employers, individuals, and government-sponsored programs. Read More Receive News & Ratings for UnitedHealth Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for UnitedHealth Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH trimmed its stake in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP Free Report) by 34.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 833,657 shares of the pipeline companys stock after selling 436,471 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned approximately 0.39% of Targa Resources worth $139,671,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of TRGP. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 205,934 shares of the pipeline companys stock valued at $35,849,000 after buying an additional 10,889 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Targa Resources by 260.2% in the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 128,911 shares of the pipeline companys stock valued at $22,526,000 after acquiring an additional 93,119 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in Targa Resources by 137.9% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 66,636 shares of the pipeline companys stock worth $11,164,000 after acquiring an additional 38,626 shares in the last quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT grew its position in Targa Resources by 2.4% in the third quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 682,300 shares of the pipeline companys stock worth $114,313,000 after acquiring an additional 16,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 17.6% during the 2nd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 175,571 shares of the pipeline companys stock worth $30,563,000 after purchasing an additional 26,318 shares during the last quarter. 92.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Targa Resources alerts: Insider Transactions at Targa Resources In related news, insider Gerald R. Shrader sold 2,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.21, for a total value of $498,327.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 29,561 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,356,748.81. This trade represents a 8.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider D. Scott Pryor sold 20,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.21, for a total value of $3,444,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 22,139 shares in the company, valued at $3,812,557.19. This represents a 47.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. Targa Resources Stock Performance TRGP opened at $198.69 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.91. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $183.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.88. Targa Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.14 and a 12-month high of $211.87. Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.22 by ($0.02). Targa Resources had a return on equity of 51.87% and a net margin of 9.35%.The company had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year. Targa Resources Announces Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Targa Resourcess payout ratio is presently 53.19%. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth TRGP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Targa Resources from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 price target on Targa Resources in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Targa Resources from $214.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Scotiabank restated an outperform rating and issued a $224.00 target price on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a buy rating and set a $196.00 price target on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Monday, January 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Targa Resources currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $213.50. Read Our Latest Research Report on Targa Resources Targa Resources Company Profile (Free Report) Targa Resources Corporation (NYSE: TRGP) is a U.S.-focused midstream energy company that provides gathering, processing, transportation, storage and marketing services for natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and condensate. Its operations span the midstream value chain, including gas gathering systems that collect production from wells, processing plants that separate and recover NGLs and other hydrocarbons, fractionation and purification facilities that prepare NGLs for market, and pipeline and terminal assets that move and store products for producers, refiners and other customers. The company operates a network of pipelines, processing plants, fractionators and storage facilities that serve producers and consumers across major U.S. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Targa Resources Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Targa Resources and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas reduced its holdings in shares of Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (NYSE:LPX Free Report) by 42.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,050 shares of the building manufacturing companys stock after selling 8,068 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas holdings in Louisiana-Pacific were worth $982,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 128.6% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 176,762 shares of the building manufacturing companys stock worth $16,259,000 after purchasing an additional 99,455 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Louisiana-Pacific during the first quarter worth $273,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 7.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 274,776 shares of the building manufacturing companys stock worth $25,274,000 after acquiring an additional 18,413 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 207.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 28,219 shares of the building manufacturing companys stock worth $2,596,000 after acquiring an additional 19,029 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 15.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 225,565 shares of the building manufacturing companys stock valued at $20,747,000 after acquiring an additional 29,846 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.73% of the companys stock. Get Louisiana-Pacific alerts: Insider Activity In other news, Director Stephen E. Macadam acquired 3,200 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $78.06 per share, for a total transaction of $249,792.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 41,149 shares in the company, valued at $3,212,090.94. This trade represents a 8.43% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO William Bradley Southern sold 14,166 shares of Louisiana-Pacific stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.08, for a total value of $1,318,571.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 489,215 shares in the company, valued at $45,536,132.20. This represents a 2.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 113,344 shares of company stock valued at $10,170,949 over the last 90 days. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Louisiana-Pacific Stock Performance Shares of LPX stock opened at $84.76 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 2.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.43 and a beta of 1.81. Louisiana-Pacific Corporation has a one year low of $73.42 and a one year high of $119.91. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $85.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.16. Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE:LPX Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The building manufacturing company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $663.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $670.26 million. Louisiana-Pacific had a net margin of 7.69% and a return on equity of 14.90%. The firms quarterly revenue was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Louisiana-Pacific Corporation will post 5.27 EPS for the current year. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several brokerages recently weighed in on LPX. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Louisiana-Pacific from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. TD Securities lowered their price target on shares of Louisiana-Pacific from $97.00 to $91.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Louisiana-Pacific from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Louisiana-Pacific from $114.00 to $104.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on Louisiana-Pacific from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $106.57. Check Out Our Latest Report on Louisiana-Pacific About Louisiana-Pacific (Free Report) Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (NYSE: LPX) is a leading manufacturer of building materials and engineered wood products for residential, industrial and light commercial construction. The company produces a diverse portfolio of products, including oriented strand board (OSB), engineered wood siding, trim, molding, sheathing panels and subflooring. Its flagship product lines, such as LP SmartSide trim and siding, are designed to offer enhanced durability, moisture resistance and ease of installation, helping builders and homeowners achieve long-lasting performance in a variety of climates. Founded in 1973 as a spin-off from Georgia-Pacific, Louisiana-Pacific established its reputation by pioneering innovative manufacturing techniques for OSB, becoming one of the first companies to bring the product to market in the 1980s. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Louisiana-Pacific Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Louisiana-Pacific and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. INCA Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Credicorp Ltd. (NYSE:BAP Free Report) by 11.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 216,050 shares of the banks stock after purchasing an additional 22,103 shares during the quarter. Credicorp accounts for about 26.5% of INCA Investments LLCs portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. INCA Investments LLC owned about 0.27% of Credicorp worth $57,530,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. MAI Capital Management raised its holdings in Credicorp by 5,300.0% during the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 162 shares of the banks stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Credicorp during the second quarter worth $38,000. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Credicorp during the third quarter worth $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Credicorp by 37.1% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 244 shares of the banks stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in Credicorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $59,000. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Credicorp alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of brokerages have recently commented on BAP. Weiss Ratings restated a buy (b) rating on shares of Credicorp in a report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Credicorp from $242.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Credicorp from $263.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Credicorp from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Saturday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $290.20. Credicorp Trading Up 3.1% Shares of Credicorp stock opened at $368.02 on Tuesday. Credicorp Ltd. has a 12-month low of $165.51 and a 12-month high of $368.78. The stock has a market cap of $29.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The businesss 50 day moving average is $298.09 and its 200-day moving average is $269.92. Credicorp (NYSE:BAP Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The bank reported $6.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.05 by $0.12. Credicorp had a net margin of 23.59% and a return on equity of 19.50%. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.71 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Credicorp Ltd. will post 21.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Credicorp Company Profile (Free Report) Credicorp Ltd. (NYSE: BAP) is a Lima-based financial services holding company that operates a diversified group of banking, insurance, and investment businesses. Established in the mid-1990s, Credicorps principal subsidiaries include Banco de Credito del Peru (BCP), Mibanco (microfinance), Credicorp Capital (investment banking and asset management) and Pacifico Seguros (insurance). The company serves retail, commercial and corporate clients and is one of the largest financial conglomerates in Peru. Through Banco de Credito del Peru and its retail network, Credicorp provides a full suite of banking products including deposit accounts, consumer and commercial loans, mortgages, payment and transaction services, and digital banking solutions. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Credicorp Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Credicorp and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. China Vanke Co., Ltd. (OTCMKTS:CHVKF Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 15,465,215 shares, a drop of 23.6% from the December 31st total of 20,229,848 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 0 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently ? days. Based on an average trading volume of 0 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently ? days. China Vanke Price Performance Shares of CHVKF opened at $0.49 on Tuesday. China Vanke has a 52 week low of $0.45 and a 52 week high of $0.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $0.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $0.58. Get China Vanke alerts: About China Vanke (Get Free Report) China Vanke Co, Ltd. is one of Chinas leading residential real estate developers, with core operations spanning property development, investment and property management. Founded in 1984 and headquartered in Shenzhen, Vanke focuses on large-scale residential communities while also engaging in commercial real estate projects and urban renewal initiatives. The company has built a diverse portfolio of housing developments across more than 60 cities in Mainland China, offering a range of apartment, townhouse and villa products aimed at middle- and high-end buyers. In addition to its development arm, Vanke operates a growing property services division that provides management and maintenance for residential, commercial and mixed-use properties. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for China Vanke Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for China Vanke and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Kayak co-founder and CEO Steve Hafner, who took the company public in 2012 and sold it to Booking Holdings for $2.1 billion the next year, is out as CEO after 22 years. Parent company Booking Holdings announced Tuesday morning that it appointed chief financial officer Peer Bueller as Kayak CEO, and Hafner has become executive chair, a newly created position. The announcement did not give a reason for the leadership shuffle, but said Hafner will take on a new leadership role at Booking Holdings focused on advancing AI innovation. The company provided no further details on the new role. Bueller became Kayak CFO in 2016 and added chief operating officer to his duties in 2021. From 2012 to 2016, Bueller served as director of financial planning and analysis at the parent companys flagship brand, Booking.com. In addition to his Kayak CEO role, Hafner served as the CEO of sister brand OpenTable from January 2018 to August 2020. Taking Kayak Private Skift broke the news last month that Hafner had previously sought to take Kayak private, and had investors lined up to execute the move. Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel rejected the idea, according to our scoop. Hafner and chief technology officer Paul English co-founded Kayak in 2004, and it became one of the leading companies in what was then a hot category, travel metasearch. Skyscanner, Trivago, and Tripadvisor were also top players. Leading OTAs reasoned they needed to own a metasearch company to use as an in-house platform to market their own brands, and to make money off rivals advertising spend. Booking Holdings acquired Kayak in 2013, Expedia Group took a controlling interest in Trivago that same year, and Chinas Trip.com Group scooped up Skyscanner in 2016. Expedia and Hotels.com are among many non-Booking Holdings brands that advertise on Kayak today. The Rise of Google in Generative AI Google with its grip on search, and the dominance of its hotel and flight metasearch products overtook Kayak and others in the metasearch group. The rise of generative AI and large language models such as Google Gemini, OpenAIs ChatGPT, and Anthropics Claude, has reduced the perceived value of metasearch platforms. In October 2025, Booking Holdings took a $457 million writedown on the value of Kayak. Booking stated that it expected lower future cash flows for Kayak and higher customer acquisition costs. At the time, Hafner attributed the impairment largely to changes in Googles search practices including the rise of AI Overviews and a shift in visibility from free (organic) links to paid listings. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 40,023 shares of the shipping companys stock, valued at approximately $475,000. A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 14.8% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,241 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 931 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 4.7% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 24,701 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $242,000 after buying an additional 1,102 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 1.0% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 283,183 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $3,361,000 after purchasing an additional 2,765 shares during the last quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ardmore Shipping in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Ardmore Shipping in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.22% of the companys stock. Get Ardmore Shipping alerts: Ardmore Shipping Price Performance Shares of NYSE:ASC opened at $12.80 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $519.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40 and a beta of -0.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 4.46 and a quick ratio of 4.08. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is $11.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.70. Ardmore Shipping Corporation has a 12 month low of $8.32 and a 12 month high of $13.56. Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend Ardmore Shipping ( NYSE:ASC Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The shipping company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $81.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $48.38 million. Ardmore Shipping had a return on equity of 6.69% and a net margin of 11.50%.Ardmore Shippings revenue was down 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ardmore Shipping Corporation will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were given a $0.10 dividend. This is a boost from Ardmore Shippings previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. Ardmore Shippings dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.28%. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ASC shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a hold (c-) rating on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a buy rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Ardmore Shipping from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $13.67. View Our Latest Stock Report on ASC About Ardmore Shipping (Free Report) Ardmore Shipping Corporation is a Bermuda-based provider of seaborne transportation services for refined petroleum products. The company owns and operates a modern fleet of product tankers, including medium-range (MR), long-range 2 (LR2) and Aframax vessels. Ardmore Shipping focuses on the ocean carriage of clean and dirty petroleum products under time charters, bareboat charters and spot voyages, serving a diverse customer base that includes major oil companies and trading houses. Since its founding in 2005, Ardmore Shipping has grown its fleet through newbuilding contracts, second-hand acquisitions and fleet renewals, aiming to maintain a high quality, fuel-efficient profile. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ASC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Ardmore Shipping Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Ardmore Shipping and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. National Pension Service raised its position in shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE:TEVA Free Report) by 24.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,073,293 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 404,526 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.18% of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries worth $41,881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries by 40.3% in the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 2,191 shares of the companys stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 629 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management raised its holdings in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries by 26.8% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 3,293 shares of the companys stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 697 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC lifted its position in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries by 246.0% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,813 shares of the companys stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd purchased a new stake in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries during the third quarter worth approximately $65,000. 54.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Teva Pharmaceutical Industries alerts: Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Stock Up 4.3% Shares of NYSE TEVA opened at $35.56 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.11. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. has a 1 year low of $12.47 and a 1 year high of $35.69. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $30.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.39. The firm has a market cap of $40.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.63, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.70. Insider Activity at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Teva Pharmaceutical Industries ( NYSE:TEVA Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.31. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries had a return on equity of 48.20% and a net margin of 8.16%.The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. Teva Pharmaceutical Industriess quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.570-2.770 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. In other news, insider Mark Sabag sold 216,892 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.73, for a total value of $6,231,307.16. Following the sale, the insider owned 52,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,517,748.44. This represents a 80.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amir Weiss sold 12,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.20, for a total transaction of $371,460.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,650 shares in the company, valued at $170,630. The trade was a 68.52% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 622,060 shares of company stock worth $17,076,965 in the last ninety days. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of equities analysts have recently commented on TEVA shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries from $29.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays raised their price objective on Teva Pharmaceutical Industries from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised Teva Pharmaceutical Industries from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Teva Pharmaceutical Industries from $28.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Teva Pharmaceutical Industries from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $36.00. Read Our Latest Research Report on TEVA About Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (Free Report) Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE:TEVA) is an Israeli multinational pharmaceutical company and one of the worlds largest manufacturers of generic medicines. The companys core activities include the development, production and marketing of generic pharmaceuticals alongside a portfolio of specialty branded medicines. Teva supplies finished dosage forms and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) to markets around the globe and operates manufacturing and research facilities in multiple countries. Tevas product range covers oral solids, injectables, inhalation products and other dosage forms across therapeutic areas such as central nervous system disorders, respiratory, oncology, pain and infectious disease. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of McEwen Inc. (NYSE:MUX Free Report) (TSE:MUX) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 35,000 shares of the basic materials companys stock, valued at approximately $598,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.06% of McEwen at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CoreCap Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of McEwen during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of McEwen by 17,204.9% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 10,556 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 10,495 shares in the last quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE acquired a new position in shares of McEwen during the 2nd quarter valued at $119,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of McEwen during the 2nd quarter valued at $141,000. Finally, PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new position in McEwen during the second quarter worth $154,000. 17.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Get McEwen alerts: McEwen Stock Performance Shares of MUX opened at $23.37 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -106.24 and a beta of 1.12. McEwen Inc. has a 52 week low of $6.38 and a 52 week high of $29.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $20.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.10. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth McEwen ( NYSE:MUX Get Free Report ) (TSE:MUX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.32). McEwen had a negative net margin of 7.16% and a negative return on equity of 2.45%. The company had revenue of $50.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.00 million. Equities analysts forecast that McEwen Inc. will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of McEwen from $17.00 to $21.50 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $25.00 price target on McEwen and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a sell (d+) rating on shares of McEwen in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a buy rating and set a $30.00 price objective (up previously from $23.00) on shares of McEwen in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $25.50. Read Our Latest Research Report on McEwen About McEwen (Free Report) McEwen Mining Inc (NYSE: MUX) is a Canada-based precious metals company focused on the exploration, development and production of gold, silver and copper. Headquartered in Toronto, the company pursues a diversified portfolio of assets across the Americas, with operations and projects spanning Argentina, Mexico, Canada and the United States. McEwen Mining employs an integrated approach that combines in-house technical expertise with strategic partnerships to advance its assets from resource definition through to commercial production. The companys flagship producing asset is the San Jose mine in Argentina, a high-grade silver-gold operation. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MUX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for McEwen Inc. (NYSE:MUX Free Report) (TSE:MUX). Receive News & Ratings for McEwen Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for McEwen and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Next 15 Group plc (OTCMKTS:NXFNF Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 458 shares, a drop of 20.1% from the December 31st total of 573 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 0 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently ? days. Based on an average daily volume of 0 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently ? days. Next 15 Group Price Performance Shares of NXFNF opened at $4.06 on Tuesday. Next 15 Group has a twelve month low of $3.65 and a twelve month high of $5.50. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $4.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.12. Get Next 15 Group alerts: Next 15 Group Company Profile (Get Free Report) Next 15 Group plc is a London-based integrated communications and marketing services company serving clients around the world. Through its network of specialist agencies, the group offers a broad range of services including digital marketing, public relations, content creation, data and analytics, customer experience design, and technology-driven campaign execution. Its agencies focus on combining creative strategy with performance measurement to help global brands build awareness, drive engagement and optimize return on investment. The companys operating model brings together independent agency brands under a shared infrastructure, enabling cross-disciplinary collaboration while preserving each agencys unique expertise. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Next 15 Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Next 15 Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lessened its position in shares of Revolve Group, Inc. (NYSE:RVLV Free Report) by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 52,238 shares of the companys stock after selling 19,907 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned 0.07% of Revolve Group worth $1,113,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in Revolve Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych purchased a new stake in shares of Revolve Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $60,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Revolve Group in the second quarter worth $68,000. Logan Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Revolve Group by 35.5% during the second quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,579 shares of the companys stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 1,463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Revolve Group during the second quarter worth $159,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.60% of the companys stock. Get Revolve Group alerts: Insider Buying and Selling at Revolve Group In other Revolve Group news, CFO Jesse Timmermans sold 5,349 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.51, for a total transaction of $168,546.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 11,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $365,831.10. This represents a 31.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Mente sold 49,882 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total transaction of $1,425,128.74. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 763,335 shares of company stock valued at $22,105,769. 46.56% of the stock is owned by insiders. Revolve Group Stock Up 0.6% Shares of Revolve Group stock opened at $27.83 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a PE ratio of 36.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.79. Revolve Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.80 and a twelve month high of $32.22. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $28.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.31. Revolve Group (NYSE:RVLV Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $295.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $297.36 million. Revolve Group had a return on equity of 11.26% and a net margin of 4.64%.Revolve Groups quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.15 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Revolve Group, Inc. will post 0.6 EPS for the current year. Analysts Set New Price Targets Several equities research analysts have commented on RVLV shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Revolve Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Revolve Group from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Roth Mkm reiterated a buy rating and set a $30.00 price target (up from $27.00) on shares of Revolve Group in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Revolve Group from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Revolve Group in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a neutral rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Revolve Group presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $27.62. Check Out Our Latest Report on RVLV Revolve Group Profile (Free Report) Revolve Group, Inc operates as a leading online fashion retailer primarily serving millennial and Gen Z consumers through its flagship e-commerce platform. The company offers a curated assortment of apparel, accessories and beauty products from more than 500 established and emerging brands, alongside private label labels covering contemporary and premium segments. With a focus on trend-driven merchandise and seamless user experience, the website features shoppable editorial content and digital styling advice aimed at strengthening customer engagement and brand loyalty. Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Cerritos, California, Revolve has expanded its footprint beyond North America by launching localized sites and logistics centers in Europe and the Middle East. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Revolve Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Revolve Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 25,171,239 shares, a drop of 12.7% from the December 31st total of 28,831,165 shares. Approximately 1.4% of the companys stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 16,010,549 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days. Based on an average trading volume of 16,010,549 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days. Approximately 1.4% of the companys stock are short sold. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In C has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research reiterated an outperform rating and set a $141.00 price objective on shares of Citigroup in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a buy (b) rating on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $150.00 price target on shares of Citigroup in a report on Monday, January 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an outperform rating and set a $121.00 price objective on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Citigroup from $134.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $125.56. Get Citigroup alerts: Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on C Key Citigroup News Positive Sentiment: Citigroup beat EPS expectations for its most recent quarter (reported $1.81 vs. $1.65 consensus) and showed modest year-over-year earnings improvement, which supports the stocks valuation and investor confidence. Citigroup beat EPS expectations for its most recent quarter (reported $1.81 vs. $1.65 consensus) and showed modest year-over-year earnings improvement, which supports the stocks valuation and investor confidence. Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary highlighting Citigroup as an attractive dividend name is drawing investor interest; Zacks argues the banks yield and payout make it appealing for income-focused shareholders. Why Citigroup (C) is a Great Dividend Stock Right Now Analyst commentary highlighting Citigroup as an attractive dividend name is drawing investor interest; Zacks argues the banks yield and payout make it appealing for income-focused shareholders. Neutral Sentiment: Political and fiscal headlines (ongoing funding talks / temporary government shutdown risk) are creating broader market volatility that can affect banks trading and fee revenue in the near term; leadership comments signaling a quick resolution could dampen the negative impact if confirmed. Speaker Johnson: Confident government shutdown will end by Tuesday Political and fiscal headlines (ongoing funding talks / temporary government shutdown risk) are creating broader market volatility that can affect banks trading and fee revenue in the near term; leadership comments signaling a quick resolution could dampen the negative impact if confirmed. Neutral Sentiment: Industry crypto/regulatory stories (prosecutors questioning stablecoin law protections; banks and brokers adjusting crypto exposure) increase the chance of regulatory changes that could affect any bank businesses tied to digital assets, though Citis direct exposure appears limited compared with pure crypto players. Circle Says It Prioritizes Financial Integrity As Prosecutors Reportedly Allege Stablecoin Law Allows Crypto Companies To Gain From Fraud Nomura temporarily reduces crypto exposure as Q3 profits drop Industry crypto/regulatory stories (prosecutors questioning stablecoin law protections; banks and brokers adjusting crypto exposure) increase the chance of regulatory changes that could affect any bank businesses tied to digital assets, though Citis direct exposure appears limited compared with pure crypto players. Negative Sentiment: While EPS beat, Citigroup missed revenue expectations ($19.87B actual vs. $20.99B consensus), which highlights continuing top-line pressure and could cap upside if revenue trends dont improveinvestors will watch upcoming guidance and trading/IB fees. Citigroup Trading Up 0.5% Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week: Shares of C opened at $116.25 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $208.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.18. Citigroup has a 1-year low of $55.51 and a 1-year high of $124.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $103.34. Citigroup (NYSE:C Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.16. Citigroup had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 8.28%. The business had revenue of $19.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Citigroup will post 7.53 EPS for the current fiscal year. Citigroup Dividend Announcement The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Citigroups dividend payout ratio is presently 34.43%. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citigroup Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its position in shares of Citigroup by 87.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 257 shares of the companys stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. acquired a new position in Citigroup during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Citigroup by 92.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 319 shares of the companys stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in Citigroup in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. 71.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. About Citigroup (Get Free Report) Citigroup Inc is a global financial services company headquartered in New York City with roots tracing back to the City Bank of New York, founded in 1812. The modern Citigroup was created through the 1998 merger of Citicorp and Travelers Group and has since operated as a diversified bank holding company that provides a broad range of banking and financial products and services to consumers, corporations, governments and institutions worldwide. Citis principal businesses include retail and commercial banking, credit card and consumer lending products, wealth management and private banking, and a full suite of institutional services. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Citigroup Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Citigroup and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Federated Hermes Inc. cut its holdings in Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:MUFG Free Report) by 33.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 302,238 shares of the companys stock after selling 151,178 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.s holdings in Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group were worth $4,818,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. CWM LLC lifted its position in Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group by 188.9% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,504 shares of the companys stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 2,291 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group by 162.6% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 3,723 shares of the companys stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 2,305 shares during the period. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its position in shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group by 2,588.1% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 3,844 shares of the companys stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 3,701 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.59% of the companys stock. Get Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group alerts: Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Price Performance Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group stock opened at $18.24 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $10.46 and a 52-week high of $18.90. The firm has a market cap of $216.41 billion, a PE ratio of 16.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.35. The companys 50 day moving average is $16.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.67. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group ( NYSE:MUFG Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 29th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $9.78 billion during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 9.39%. On average, research analysts expect that Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year. Several brokerages have recently commented on MUFG. Zacks Research lowered shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. UBS Group raised Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a hold (c) rating on shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group has an average rating of Moderate Buy. View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group About Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (Free Report) Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc (MUFG) is a Tokyo-based financial services holding company and one of Japans largest banking groups and among the worlds leading financial institutions. The group was formed through the integration of Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group and UFJ Holdings and operates a comprehensive suite of banking and financial services for retail, corporate, and institutional clients. MUFGs core banking operations are conducted through its commercial banking arm and a network of domestic and international subsidiaries and affiliates. MUFG offers a broad range of products and services including commercial and retail banking, corporate and investment banking, global transaction banking, trust banking, asset management, securities and brokerage services, credit cards, consumer finance, leasing and custody services. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (NYSEARCA:IJR Free Report) by 62.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 362,104 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after purchasing an additional 138,569 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.05% of iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF worth $43,028,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in IJR. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,028,123 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $112,364,000 after purchasing an additional 78,649 shares in the last quarter. Alaska Permanent Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF by 11.4% during the third quarter. Alaska Permanent Capital Management LLC now owns 545,285 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $64,780,000 after purchasing an additional 55,761 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF in the third quarter valued at $10,009,000. Cambridge Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF by 4.1% in the third quarter. Cambridge Capital Management LLC now owns 172,892 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $20,545,000 after buying an additional 6,754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Human Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF by 5.0% in the third quarter. Human Investing LLC now owns 160,591 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $19,083,000 after buying an additional 7,659 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.92% of the companys stock. Get iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF alerts: iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF Stock Up 1.0% Shares of NYSEARCA:IJR opened at $128.35 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $94.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.52 and a beta of 1.08. iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF has a 12 month low of $89.22 and a 12 month high of $131.64. The companys 50-day moving average price is $124.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.31. About iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF, formerly iShares S&P SmallCap 600 Index Fund, seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Standard & Poors SmallCap 600 Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of publicly traded securities in the small-capitalization sector of the United States equity market. The Index serves as the underlying index for the S&P 600/Citigroup Growth and Value Index series. The component stocks are weighted according to the total float-adjusted market value of their outstanding shares. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding IJR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (NYSEARCA:IJR Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Central Japan Railway (OTCMKTS:CJPRY Get Free Report) issued an update on its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Monday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 1.681-1.681 for the period. The company issued revenue guidance of $12.8 billion-$12.8 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $12.7 billion. Central Japan Railway Price Performance OTCMKTS:CJPRY opened at $14.02 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.33, a current ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $13.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.48. Central Japan Railway has a 52-week low of $8.95 and a 52-week high of $14.88. The firm has a market cap of $27.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.83 and a beta of 0.22. Get Central Japan Railway alerts: Central Japan Railway (OTCMKTS:CJPRY Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $3.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. Central Japan Railway had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 11.13%. Central Japan Railway has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.681-1.681 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Central Japan Railway will post 1.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. About Central Japan Railway Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) is a major Japanese passenger rail operator best known for running the Tokaido Shinkansen high?speed rail line, which connects the Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka corridors. The companys core activities center on intercity high?speed transport as well as conventional commuter and regional rail services across the Chubu and Tokaido regions of central Japan. JR Central operates and maintains rolling stock, station facilities and the infrastructure necessary to deliver frequent, high?capacity passenger service on one of the busiest rail corridors in the world. Beyond train operations, JR Central derives revenue from a range of railway?related businesses including station retail and commercial leases, real estate and property development around major stations, hotel and travel services, and peripheral retail and restaurant operations. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Central Japan Railway Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Central Japan Railway and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. PARIS & KUWAIT CITY, February 03, 2026--(BUSINESS WIRE)--At the opening of the 5th Kuwait Oil & Gas Show and Conference (KOGS), TotalEnergies (Paris:TTE) (LSE:TTE) (NYSE:TTE) and Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) signed today a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen their cooperation, exchange expertise and conduct technical studies. The signing ceremony took place in the presence of Patrick Pouyanne, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TotalEnergies, Sheikh Nawaf Saud Al-Sabah, CEO of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, and Ahmad Jaber Al-Eidan, CEO of KOC. The MoU notably includes studies related to new exploration opportunities in the country, for which TotalEnergies will mobilize its technical expertise. "We are pleased to strengthen our cooperation with Kuwait Oil Company through this MoU, which reflects our shared ambition to contribute to Kuwaits objectives in developing its resources. The studies to be carried out will help inform future projects, while further deepening our long-term relationship with Kuwait," said Patrick Pouyanne, Chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies. *** About TotalEnergies TotalEnergies is a global integrated energy company that produces and markets energies: oil and biofuels, natural gas, biogas and low-carbon hydrogen, renewables and electricity. Our more than 100,000 employees are committed to provide as many people as possible with energy that is more reliable, more affordable and more sustainable. Active in about 120 countries, TotalEnergies places sustainability at the heart of its strategy, its projects and its operations. @TotalEnergies TotalEnergies TotalEnergies TotalEnergies Cautionary Note The terms "TotalEnergies", "TotalEnergies company" or "Company" in this document are used to designate TotalEnergies SE and the consolidated entities that are directly or indirectly controlled by TotalEnergies SE. Likewise, the words "we", "us" and "our" may also be used to refer to these entities or to their employees. The entities in which TotalEnergies SE directly or indirectly owns a shareholding are separate legal entities. This document may contain forward-looking information and statements that are based on a number of economic data and assumptions made in a given economic, competitive and regulatory environment. They may prove to be inaccurate in the future and are subject to a number of risk factors. Neither TotalEnergies SE nor any of its subsidiaries assumes any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking information or statement, objectives or trends contained in this document whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Information concerning risk factors, that may affect TotalEnergies financial results or activities is provided in the most recent Universal Registration Document, the French-language version of which is filed by TotalEnergies SE with the French securities regulator Autorite des Marches Financiers (AMF), and in the Form 20-F filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). AdvanSix (NYSE:ASIX Get Free Report) and Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR Get Free Report) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends and risk. Analyst Recommendations This is a summary of current ratings for AdvanSix and Quaker Houghton, as reported by MarketBeat. Get AdvanSix alerts: Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score AdvanSix 1 1 1 0 2.00 Quaker Houghton 1 2 3 0 2.33 AdvanSix currently has a consensus price target of $28.67, suggesting a potential upside of 74.37%. Quaker Houghton has a consensus price target of $158.67, suggesting a potential upside of 0.88%. Given AdvanSixs higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe AdvanSix is more favorable than Quaker Houghton. Risk & Volatility Dividends AdvanSix has a beta of 1.73, suggesting that its share price is 73% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Quaker Houghton has a beta of 1.33, suggesting that its share price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500. AdvanSix pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Quaker Houghton pays an annual dividend of $2.03 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. AdvanSix pays out 33.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Quaker Houghton pays out -414.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. AdvanSix has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years and Quaker Houghton has raised its dividend for 17 consecutive years. Insider & Institutional Ownership 86.4% of AdvanSix shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.5% of Quaker Houghton shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.6% of AdvanSix shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Quaker Houghton shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth. Valuation and Earnings This table compares AdvanSix and Quaker Houghtons revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation. Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio AdvanSix $1.52 billion 0.29 $44.15 million $1.92 8.56 Quaker Houghton $1.86 billion 1.46 $116.64 million ($0.49) -320.97 Quaker Houghton has higher revenue and earnings than AdvanSix. Quaker Houghton is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AdvanSix, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks. Profitability This table compares AdvanSix and Quaker Houghtons net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets AdvanSix 3.52% 7.14% 3.50% Quaker Houghton -0.48% 8.64% 4.31% Summary Quaker Houghton beats AdvanSix on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks. About AdvanSix (Get Free Report) AdvanSix Inc. engages in the manufacture and sale of polymer resins in the United States and internationally. It offers Nylon 6, a polymer resin, which is a synthetic material used to produce fibers, filaments, engineered plastics, and films. The company also provides caprolactam to manufacture polymer resins; ammonium sulfate fertilizers to distributors, farm cooperatives, and retailers; and acetone that are used in the production of adhesives, paints, coatings, solvents, herbicides, and engineered plastic resins, as well as other intermediate chemicals, including phenol, monoisopropylamine, dipropylamine, monoallylamine, alpha-methylstyrene, cyclohexanone, methyl ethyl ketoxime, acetaldehyde oxime, 2-pentanone oxime, cyclohexanol, sulfuric acid, ammonia, and carbon dioxide. It offers its products under the Aegis, Capran, Sulf-N, Nadone, Naxol, and EZ-Blox brands. The company sells its products directly, as well as through distributors. AdvanSix Inc. was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey. About Quaker Houghton (Get Free Report) Quaker Chemical Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, produces, and markets various formulated specialty chemical products for a range of heavy industrial and manufacturing applications in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It offers metal removal fluids, cleaning fluids, corrosion inhibitors, metal drawing and forming fluids, die-cast mold releases, heat treatment and quenchants, metal forging fluids, hydraulic fluids, specialty greases, offshore sub-sea energy control fluids, rolling lubricants, rod and wire drawing fluids, and surface treatment chemicals. The company also provides chemical management services. It serves steel, aluminum, automotive, aerospace, offshore, container, mining, and metalworking companies. The company was founded in 1918 and is headquartered in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. Receive News & Ratings for AdvanSix Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for AdvanSix and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. IMC Chicago LLC cut its holdings in shares of iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA:IVV Free Report) by 86.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,367 shares of the companys stock after selling 142,006 shares during the period. IMC Chicago LLCs holdings in iShares Core S&P 500 ETF were worth $14,970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of iShares Core S&P 500 ETF by 3.8% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 32,488,472 shares of the companys stock valued at $20,172,093,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190,963 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in iShares Core S&P 500 ETF by 18.3% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 28,271,587 shares of the companys stock worth $17,553,830,000 after buying an additional 4,378,977 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its position in iShares Core S&P 500 ETF by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 22,229,974 shares of the companys stock worth $13,802,591,000 after buying an additional 398,230 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of iShares Core S&P 500 ETF by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 17,201,745 shares of the companys stock worth $11,437,403,000 after acquiring an additional 601,254 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of iShares Core S&P 500 ETF by 0.7% in the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 15,375,370 shares of the companys stock valued at $9,546,567,000 after acquiring an additional 105,099 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.12% of the companys stock. Get iShares Core S&P 500 ETF alerts: iShares Core S&P 500 ETF Stock Up 0.5% Shares of iShares Core S&P 500 ETF stock opened at $698.54 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $765.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.10 and a beta of 1.00. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has a 52-week low of $484.00 and a 52-week high of $700.97. The companys 50-day simple moving average is $689.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $670.00. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF Company Profile iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (the Fund) is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Standard & Poors 500 Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of the large-capitalization sector of the United States equity market. The component stocks are weighted according to the total float-adjusted market value of their outstanding shares. The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities included in the Index that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Index. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for iShares Core S&P 500 ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares Core S&P 500 ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Loar Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LOAR Free Report) by 69.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 179,046 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 73,189 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.19% of Loar worth $14,324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Loar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Loar by 390.1% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 348 shares of the companys stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Loar by 8,383.3% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 509 shares of the companys stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV bought a new position in shares of Loar in the second quarter valued at $82,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Loar by 347.0% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 970 shares of the companys stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 753 shares in the last quarter. Get Loar alerts: Loar Price Performance NYSE LOAR opened at $67.65 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 5.92 and a quick ratio of 3.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 102.50 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.15. Loar Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.10 and a 52-week high of $99.67. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Loar ( NYSE:LOAR Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.13. Loar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 6.45%. The firm had revenue of $126.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $126.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.15 EPS. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Loar has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.980-1.03 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 0.930-0.980 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Loar Holdings Inc. will post 0.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. LOAR has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Loar in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. They set a buy rating and a $91.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research upgraded Loar from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Loar from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Saturday, January 3rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Loar from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Loar from $100.00 to $97.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $91.75. Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on LOAR About Loar (Free Report) Loar Holdings Inc, through its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets aerospace and defense components for aircraft, and aerospace and defense systems in the United States and internationally. It offers products in various categories, which include airframe components, structural components, avionics, composites, braking system components, de-ice and ice protection, electro-mechanical, engineered materials, flight controls, fluid and motion controls, environmental, metal forming, molded components, and restraints and safety devices. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LOAR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Loar Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LOAR Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Loar Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Loar and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd boosted its position in Veralto Corporation (NYSE:VLTO Free Report) by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,478 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 5,061 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltds holdings in Veralto were worth $5,935,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLTO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Veralto by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,206,111 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,049,307,000 after purchasing an additional 468,641 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Veralto by 1.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,257,956 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,036,653,000 after buying an additional 192,139 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Veralto in the second quarter valued at $264,150,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in Veralto by 46.0% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,702,096 shares of the companys stock valued at $171,800,000 after buying an additional 536,299 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Veralto by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,586,887 shares of the companys stock worth $160,196,000 after buying an additional 27,232 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the companys stock. Get Veralto alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets VLTO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on Veralto from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Veralto from $112.00 to $111.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Veralto from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a hold rating and issued a $105.00 target price (down previously from $125.00) on shares of Veralto in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Veralto from a buy (b-) rating to a hold (c+) rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Veralto has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $112.89. Insider Transactions at Veralto In other Veralto news, SVP Mattias Bystrom sold 1,000 shares of Veralto stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.73, for a total value of $101,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 31,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,197,373.90. The trade was a 3.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.36% of the companys stock. Veralto Price Performance Shares of NYSE VLTO opened at $101.45 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $25.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.89. Veralto Corporation has a twelve month low of $83.86 and a twelve month high of $110.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $100.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $103.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Veralto Increases Dividend The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Veraltos previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. Veraltos dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.25%. Veralto Profile (Free Report) Veralto Corporation provides water analytics, water treatment, marking and coding, and packaging and color services worldwide. It operates through two segments, Water Quality (WQ) and Product Quality & Innovation (PQI). The WQ segment offers precision instrumentation and water treatment technologies to measure, analyze, and treat water in residential, commercial, municipal, industrial, research, and natural resource applications through the Hach, Trojan Technologies, and ChemTreat brands. This segment provides water solutions, including chemical reagents, services, and digital solutions. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Veralto Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Veralto and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of iShares Flexible Income Active ETF (NYSEARCA:BINC Free Report) by 4,543.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,244 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 36,442 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLCs holdings in iShares Flexible Income Active ETF were worth $1,984,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BINC. Roxbury Financial LLC increased its position in shares of iShares Flexible Income Active ETF by 4.0% in the third quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC now owns 5,915 shares of the companys stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in iShares Flexible Income Active ETF by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,485 shares of the companys stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new position in iShares Flexible Income Active ETF during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Atlatl Advisers LLC raised its stake in iShares Flexible Income Active ETF by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC now owns 43,366 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,291,000 after purchasing an additional 655 shares during the period. Finally, Maripau Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of iShares Flexible Income Active ETF by 5.6% in the second quarter. Maripau Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,951 shares of the companys stock valued at $684,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares in the last quarter. Get iShares Flexible Income Active ETF alerts: iShares Flexible Income Active ETF Stock Down 0.4% Shares of iShares Flexible Income Active ETF stock opened at $52.90 on Tuesday. iShares Flexible Income Active ETF has a 12 month low of $50.84 and a 12 month high of $53.51. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.02. iShares Flexible Income Active ETF Company Profile The BlackRock Flexible Income ETF (BINC) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in high yield fixed income. The fund provides an actively managed approach to multisector fixed-income exposure globally. It may hold debt and income-producing securities, of any credit quality or maturity, with the objective of maximizing long-term income and capital appreciation. BINC was launched on May 19, 2023 and is managed by BlackRock. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for iShares Flexible Income Active ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares Flexible Income Active ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. UBS Group cut shares of Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI Free Report) (TSE:CNR) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports. A number of other brokerages have also commented on CNI. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Vertical Research raised shares of Canadian National Railway from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Saturday, October 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Canadian National Railway from $153.00 to $151.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a hold (c-) rating on shares of Canadian National Railway in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $118.91. Get Canadian National Railway alerts: View Our Latest Analysis on CNI Canadian National Railway Stock Down 0.6% Shares of CNI opened at $95.68 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $58.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.60. Canadian National Railway has a 52 week low of $90.74 and a 52 week high of $108.75. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $98.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.07. Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI Get Free Report) (TSE:CNR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.06. Canadian National Railway had a return on equity of 22.17% and a net margin of 27.28%.The company had revenue of $3.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $4.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. The businesss revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Canadian National Railway will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year. Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.915 per share. This is a boost from Canadian National Railways previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $3.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Canadian National Railways payout ratio is presently 46.59%. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Canadian National Railway A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNI. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 639,137.0% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,955,711 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $844,353,000 after purchasing an additional 8,954,310 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway during the 2nd quarter worth $591,904,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Canadian National Railway in the 2nd quarter worth about $189,748,000. Troy Asset Management Ltd raised its stake in Canadian National Railway by 158.8% in the 3rd quarter. Troy Asset Management Ltd now owns 2,738,372 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $258,220,000 after acquiring an additional 1,680,223 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in Canadian National Railway by 1,693.5% during the third quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 1,739,700 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $164,043,000 after purchasing an additional 1,642,700 shares during the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. More Canadian National Railway News Here are the key news stories impacting Canadian National Railway this week: Positive Sentiment: CN launched a new share buyback program authorizing repurchases of up to 24 million shares, which supports EPS and is typically shareholder-friendly. Article Title CN launched a new share buyback program authorizing repurchases of up to 24 million shares, which supports EPS and is typically shareholder-friendly. Positive Sentiment: The company announced a higher quarterly dividend of $0.915 (up 3.1%), yielding about 3.8% with an ex?dividend date of March 10 a direct benefit for income-focused investors. The company announced a higher quarterly dividend of $0.915 (up 3.1%), yielding about 3.8% with an ex?dividend date of March 10 a direct benefit for income-focused investors. Neutral Sentiment: CEO Tracy Robinson will speak at Barclays Industrial Select Conference on Feb. 17 a scheduled investor event that could provide operational clarity but is routine. Article Title CEO Tracy Robinson will speak at Barclays Industrial Select Conference on Feb. 17 a scheduled investor event that could provide operational clarity but is routine. Neutral Sentiment: CFO Ghislain Houle will speak at Citis Global Industrial, Tech & Mobility Conference on Feb. 18 another planned investor appearance that may offer guidance updates. Article Title CFO Ghislain Houle will speak at Citis Global Industrial, Tech & Mobility Conference on Feb. 18 another planned investor appearance that may offer guidance updates. Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage consensus remains a Moderate Buy, signaling mixed but generally positive analyst views despite recent target trims. Article Title Brokerage consensus remains a Moderate Buy, signaling mixed but generally positive analyst views despite recent target trims. Negative Sentiment: Barclays cut its price target from $140 to $135 and moved to an equal weight rating a downward adjustment that reduces analyst-driven upside expectations. Article Title Barclays cut its price target from $140 to $135 and moved to an equal weight rating a downward adjustment that reduces analyst-driven upside expectations. Negative Sentiment: Citigroup trimmed its target from $119 to $115 but kept a buy rating still positive on the name, but the lower target signals reduced near-term expectations. Article Title Article Title Citigroup trimmed its target from $119 to $115 but kept a buy rating still positive on the name, but the lower target signals reduced near-term expectations. Negative Sentiment: RBC lowered its target slightly (from $153 to $151) while keeping an outperform stance again trimming upside that had been more optimistic. Article Title Article Title RBC lowered its target slightly (from $153 to $151) while keeping an outperform stance again trimming upside that had been more optimistic. Negative Sentiment: Stephens trimmed its price target from $105 to $100 and moved to equal weight, removing some analyst support. Article Title Stephens trimmed its price target from $105 to $100 and moved to equal weight, removing some analyst support. Negative Sentiment: Evercore ISI lowered its target from $105 to $103 and kept an in-line rating, another modest downward revision among broker forecasts. Article Title Canadian National Railway Company Profile (Get Free Report) Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE: CNI) is a Class I freight railway that operates an integrated rail network across Canada and the United States. Headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, CN provides long-haul freight transportation and related logistics services that connect major ports, industrial centers and inland markets throughout North America. Its transcontinental system enables cross-border movement of goods and supports supply chains that span coast-to-coast in Canada and into the central and eastern United States. CNs core business is the railborne transportation of a broad mix of commodities, including intermodal container traffic, forest and paper products, grain and other agricultural products, metallurgical and industrial products, petroleum and chemical products, coal and automotive shipments. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Canadian National Railway Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Canadian National Railway and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Eaton Vance California Municipal Income Trust (NYSE:CEV Get Free Report) declared a monthly dividend on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of 0.05 per share on Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. Eaton Vance California Municipal Income Trust Stock Performance Shares of Eaton Vance California Municipal Income Trust stock opened at $10.34 on Tuesday. Eaton Vance California Municipal Income Trust has a 1-year low of $9.31 and a 1-year high of $10.62. The business has a 50-day moving average of $10.23 and a 200-day moving average of $10.02. Get Eaton Vance California Municipal Income Trust alerts: About Eaton Vance California Municipal Income Trust (Get Free Report) Eaton Vance California Municipal Income Trust is a closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide shareholders with a high level of current income exempt from regular federal income tax and California personal income tax. The trust primarily invests in investment-grade municipal securities issued by state and local governmental entities, with a portfolio focus on California debt obligations. Its tax-exempt income objective makes it a specialized option for investors in higher tax brackets seeking steady tax-advantaged distributions. The trusts portfolio typically includes a diversified mix of general obligation bonds, revenue bonds and essential-service obligations that finance public utilities, transportation, education and healthcare facilities within California. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Eaton Vance California Municipal Income Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Eaton Vance California Municipal Income Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Summit Partners L P cut its stake in shares of Klaviyo, Inc. (NYSE:KVYO Free Report) by 38.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,852,778 shares of the companys stock after selling 11,975,000 shares during the period. Klaviyo makes up 56.2% of Summit Partners L Ps holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Summit Partners L P owned approximately 6.28% of Klaviyo worth $522,033,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Klaviyo by 59.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,008 shares of the companys stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 3,730 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in Klaviyo by 109.7% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 14,361 shares of the companys stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 7,514 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Klaviyo during the first quarter worth $359,000. Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Klaviyo by 54.5% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 12,419 shares of the companys stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 4,379 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Klaviyo by 40.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 148,158 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,483,000 after buying an additional 42,980 shares in the last quarter. 45.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Klaviyo alerts: Klaviyo Trading Up 1.6% Shares of KVYO opened at $22.57 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -94.04 and a beta of 1.08. The firms fifty day simple moving average is $28.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.34. Klaviyo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.89 and a twelve month high of $49.55. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Klaviyo ( NYSE:KVYO Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.04. Klaviyo had a negative return on equity of 1.00% and a negative net margin of 5.70%.The firm had revenue of $310.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $299.93 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.15 earnings per share. Klaviyos revenue for the quarter was up 32.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Klaviyo, Inc. will post 0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Several equities analysts recently issued reports on KVYO shares. Zacks Research lowered Klaviyo from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. William Blair reissued an outperform rating on shares of Klaviyo in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Macquarie lowered their price objective on shares of Klaviyo from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Klaviyo to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings initiated coverage on shares of Klaviyo in a report on Saturday, November 1st. They set a sell (d-) rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $41.05. View Our Latest Research Report on KVYO Insider Transactions at Klaviyo In other Klaviyo news, Director Ed Hallen sold 117,550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.36, for a total value of $3,568,818.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 133,624 shares in the company, valued at $4,056,824.64. This represents a 46.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew Bialecki sold 167,926 shares of Klaviyo stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.16, for a total transaction of $4,057,092.16. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,862,901 shares of company stock worth $52,846,182. Company insiders own 49.92% of the companys stock. Klaviyo Profile (Free Report) Klaviyo, Inc is a cloud-based marketing automation platform that enables businesses to leverage customer data for targeted email and SMS campaigns. The companys platform centralizes first-party data from various sourcesincluding e-commerce storefronts, websites, and CRM systemsto help organizations deliver personalized marketing across the customer lifecycle. Klaviyos core offerings include segmented email marketing, automated messaging workflows, and performance analytics designed to drive customer engagement and revenue growth. The platform provides a suite of tools for campaign creation and management, including drag-and-drop email and SMS builders, dynamic content rendering, and A/B testing capabilities. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding KVYO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Klaviyo, Inc. (NYSE:KVYO Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Klaviyo Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Klaviyo and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of UWM Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UWMC Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 114,989 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $700,000. A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in UWM by 116.6% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,991,072 shares of the companys stock worth $24,803,000 after acquiring an additional 3,224,806 shares during the last quarter. 683 Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of UWM in the second quarter valued at approximately $19,872,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of UWM by 93.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,758,600 shares of the companys stock valued at $15,561,000 after buying an additional 1,819,129 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in UWM by 47.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,414,282 shares of the companys stock worth $9,997,000 after buying an additional 777,264 shares during the period. Finally, Azora Capital LP purchased a new position in UWM in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $9,032,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.59% of the companys stock. Get UWM alerts: Insiders Place Their Bets In other UWM news, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 632,874 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.20, for a total value of $3,290,944.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 6,856,643 shares of the companys stock, valued at $35,654,543.60. This trade represents a 8.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,456,463 shares of company stock worth $108,030,210. Corporate insiders own 87.50% of the companys stock. UWM Stock Performance UWMC opened at $5.11 on Tuesday. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $5.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.41. UWM Holdings Corporation has a 52 week low of $3.80 and a 52 week high of $7.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.45. UWM (NYSE:UWMC Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $151.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $651.51 million. UWM had a negative return on equity of 6.81% and a net margin of 0.61%. On average, analysts predict that UWM Holdings Corporation will post 0.2 EPS for the current fiscal year. UWM Dividend Announcement The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 18th. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In UWMC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price target on UWM from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley set a $6.00 target price on UWM in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $5.00 target price on UWM in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of UWM from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of UWM from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UWM has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $6.53. Get Our Latest Stock Report on UWM UWM Company Profile (Free Report) United Wholesale Mortgage (NYSE: UWMC) is a leading mortgage lender in the United States specializing in the wholesale channel. The company partners with independent mortgage brokers, community banks and credit unions to offer a full suite of residential mortgage products. Through its network of third-party originators, United Wholesale Mortgage underwrites, funds and closes loans, allowing its partners to focus on customer acquisition and service. The companys product offerings include conventional fixed- and adjustable-rate mortgages, Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans, Veterans Affairs (VA) loans, U.S. Read More Receive News & Ratings for UWM Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for UWM and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. KGHM Polska Miedz S.A. (OTCMKTS:KGHPF Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 111,065 shares, a growth of 33.0% from the December 31st total of 83,510 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,404 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 79.1 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,404 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 79.1 days. KGHM Polska Miedz Stock Performance Shares of OTCMKTS KGHPF opened at $90.00 on Tuesday. KGHM Polska Miedz has a 1-year low of $29.97 and a 1-year high of $107.55. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $76.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.60. Get KGHM Polska Miedz alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes Separately, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an overweight rating on shares of KGHM Polska Miedz in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Buy. About KGHM Polska Miedz (Get Free Report) KGHM Polska Miedz (OTCMKTS: KGHPF) is a leading Polish mining and metallurgical company specializing in the extraction and processing of copper and precious metals. Headquartered in Lubin, Poland, the company operates an integrated business model that spans exploration, mining, smelting and refining. KGHM is known for producing copper cathodes, wire rod and a range of semi?finished copper products, along with significant volumes of silver, gold and other byproducts such as molybdenum and nickel. The companys core operations are anchored in the Legnica?G?ogow Copper Belt in southwestern Poland, where it runs several underground and open-pit mines. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for KGHM Polska Miedz Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for KGHM Polska Miedz and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Wooden blocks spelling ETFs on a light blue surface, with a blurred candlestick stock chart on a screen behind. Key Points The market rotation that began in fall 2025 and continued into 2026 has benefited less popular sectors as well as equal weighted funds. Tech stocks have staged a comeback over the past week in the lead-up to the Magnificent Sevens earnings. Still, the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF is outperforming weighted index funds like the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF by 100 basis points. Interested in Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF? Here are five stocks we like better. The market rotation out of stocks heavily leveraged to AIsuch as the Magnificent Sevenand into defensive corners of the market has continued into the new year. In turn, those inflows have helped sectors such as energy, materials, and consumer staples lead the way over the past month. During that period, those three groups have generated gains of more than 12%, 8%, and 6%, respectively, ranking them atop the S&P 500. Insiders Rang in the New Year Selling These Stocks, Buyers Beware In doing so, they have also helped equal-weighted exchange-traded funds (ETFs) outperform their market cap-weighted counterparts as the tech and communication services sectorswhich are home to the Mag 7have floundered their way to an uninspiring gain of 1.04% and a loss of 0.91%, respectively. But with Q4 2025 earnings season underway and Big Tech starting to report this week, the mega-cap companies could be poised to rebound. That begs the question: How much longer can equal-weighted ETFs continue to outperform the S&P 500? How Long Can Equal-Weighted ETFs Keep Outperforming the S&P 500? Historically High Valuations and Concentration Risk Have S poo ked Investors One issue that arises from that lack of diversification is concentration risk. Investors portfolios are overexposed to certain markets, sectors, and industries. Take, for example, the VOOs allocations: 96.5% of the stocks are based in the United States. 32.6% of the stocks fall into the tech sector. 14.1% of the stocks belong to the semiconductor and semiconductor equipment industry. As a result, institutional buying for the VOO has slowed dramatically from $72 billion in Q4 2024 to just $7.51 billion in Q4 2025a year-over-year (YOY) decrease of nearly 90%. At the same time, institutional selling slowed from $7.24 billion to $588 millionor a nearly 92% YOY decrease. Mag 7 Outlook: What Apple, Microsoft, Meta, and Tesla Just Told Us The Magnificent Sevens underperformance over the past year has been well-documented. Until those hyperscalers and chipmakers can prove that their record-high CapEx spending canand willtranslate into increased earnings, both institutional and retail investors are likely to continue piling into ETFs offering more appealing weightings. Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by equities researchers at Evercore ISI from $200.00 to $210.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has an in-line rating on the specialty retailers stock. Evercore ISIs target price points to a potential downside of 2.70% from the stocks previous close. WSM has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. UBS Group set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. TD Cowen restated a buy rating and set a $245.00 price target (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from an underperform rating to a neutral rating and set a $205.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $201.83. Get Williams-Sonoma alerts: Get Our Latest Stock Report on WSM Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.8% NYSE:WSM traded up $1.79 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $215.82. 58,318 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,022,698. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $192.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $193.04. Williams-Sonoma has a one year low of $130.07 and a one year high of $220.00. The company has a market cap of $25.76 billion, a PE ratio of 23.47, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.64. Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 19th. The specialty retailer reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 53.10%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma will post 8.36 EPS for the current year. Insiders Place Their Bets In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.39, for a total transaction of $7,258,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 806,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,267,708.43. This represents a 4.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 767 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.16, for a total value of $157,357.72. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,236 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,715,497.76. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 65,767 shares of company stock worth $12,802,440. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 111.8% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 144 shares of the specialty retailers stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 130.8% during the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 180 shares of the specialty retailers stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 220 shares of the specialty retailers stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 57.2% in the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 228 shares of the specialty retailers stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. About Williams-Sonoma (Get Free Report) Williams?Sonoma, Inc is a specialty retailer focused on the home and culinary markets, best known for premium cookware, kitchen tools and home furnishings. The company traces its roots to a single cookware store founded by Chuck Williams in 1956 in Sonoma, California, and has evolved into a multi?brand home furnishings and housewares business. Its merchandise mix spans cookware and kitchen electrics, tabletop and food prep items, furniture, bedding, lighting and decorative accessories designed for both everyday use and higher?end interiors. The company operates a portfolio of consumer brands that target distinct segments of the home market. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Williams-Sonoma Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Williams-Sonoma and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. El Puerto de Liverpool, S.A.B. de C.V. (OTCMKTS:ELPQF Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 74,212 shares, a drop of 13.2% from the December 31st total of 85,516 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 371.1 days. Based on an average trading volume of 200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 371.1 days. El Puerto de Liverpool Stock Performance ELPQF remained flat at $5.97 during trading hours on Tuesday. El Puerto de Liverpool has a 1-year low of $4.64 and a 1-year high of $5.97. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $5.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.07. Get El Puerto de Liverpool alerts: El Puerto de Liverpool Company Profile (Get Free Report) El Puerto de Liverpool SAB. de C.V., commonly known as Liverpool, is Mexicos leading department store chain. Founded in the mid-19th century, the company has grown from a single urban emporium in Mexico City into a nationwide retail network. Over its history, Liverpool has positioned itself as a full-service retailer, catering primarily to middle- and upper-income consumers seeking apparel, footwear, accessories, cosmetics and home furnishings. Liverpool operates its flagship stores under the Liverpool name and maintains a secondary banner, Suburbia, which targets value-oriented shoppers. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for El Puerto de Liverpool Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for El Puerto de Liverpool and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Aptiv (NYSE:APTV Get Free Report) had its target price raised by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $99.00 to $102.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the auto parts companys stock. Wells Fargo & Companys price objective would suggest a potential upside of 27.42% from the companys current price. APTV has been the subject of a number of other research reports. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on shares of Aptiv from $100.00 to $107.00 in a report on Friday, November 21st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Aptiv from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Fox Advisors raised shares of Aptiv from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $84.00 price objective on Aptiv and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Aptiv from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Aptiv currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $99.95. Get Aptiv alerts: Read Our Latest Research Report on APTV Aptiv Stock Performance APTV stock traded up $2.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $80.05. The companys stock had a trading volume of 637,847 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,421,728. The stock has a market cap of $17.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.24, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $78.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.86. Aptiv has a 1 year low of $47.19 and a 1 year high of $88.93. Aptiv (NYSE:APTV Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The auto parts company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.07 billion. Aptiv had a return on equity of 18.51% and a net margin of 1.46%.The businesss revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.75 EPS. Aptiv has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.550-1.750 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.150-8.750 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Aptiv will post 7.2 EPS for the current year. Insider Buying and Selling In other Aptiv news, EVP Katherine H. Ramundo sold 5,000 shares of Aptiv stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $425,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 116,959 shares of the companys stock, valued at $9,941,515. The trade was a 4.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. Institutional Trading of Aptiv A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Aptiv in the third quarter valued at approximately $297,917,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Aptiv by 14,336.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,411,780 shares of the auto parts companys stock worth $291,127,000 after buying an additional 3,388,147 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new position in shares of Aptiv in the 2nd quarter worth $220,911,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Aptiv during the 2nd quarter valued at $187,652,000. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its holdings in shares of Aptiv by 54.5% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 4,523,145 shares of the auto parts companys stock worth $389,986,000 after acquiring an additional 1,595,276 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.21% of the companys stock. Key Stories Impacting Aptiv Here are the key news stories impacting Aptiv this week: About Aptiv (Get Free Report) Aptiv plc is a global automotive technology company that develops safer, greener and more connected solutions for the mobility industry. The company designs and supplies advanced electrical architectures, electronic systems and software that enable vehicle connectivity, active safety, advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving capabilities. Aptivs customers include major automakers and mobility service providers seeking to integrate higher levels of automation, electrification and software-defined features into production vehicles and mobility platforms. Product and service offerings span vehicle electrical systems and wiring, connectors and harnesses, high-voltage electrification components, power electronics and charging solutions, sensors and compute platforms that support ADAS and autonomous functions, and the software and services required to integrate and manage these systems. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Aptiv Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Aptiv and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Thomson Reuters Co. (TSE:TRI Get Free Report) (NYSE:TRI) shares were down 15.8% on Tuesday after National Bankshares lowered their price target on the stock from C$300.00 to C$190.00. National Bankshares currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Thomson Reuters traded as low as C$124.13 and last traded at C$125.46. Approximately 741,010 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 43% from the average daily volume of 517,837 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$149.00. Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on TRI. Huber Research upgraded shares of Thomson Reuters to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Thomson Reuters from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Thomson Reuters from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Thomson Reuters has an average rating of Strong Buy and a consensus target price of C$243.80. Get Thomson Reuters alerts: View Our Latest Report on Thomson Reuters Thomson Reuters Stock Down 15.8% The companys 50 day moving average price is C$177.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$211.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 24.28. The stock has a market cap of C$55.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.14. Thomson Reuters (TSE:TRI Get Free Report) (NYSE:TRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported C$0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$2.48 billion for the quarter. Thomson Reuters had a return on equity of 20.19% and a net margin of 32.12%. As a group, research analysts expect that Thomson Reuters Co. will post 5.6395803 earnings per share for the current year. About Thomson Reuters (Get Free Report) Thomson Reuters is the result of the $17.6 billion megamerger of Canadas Thomson and the United Kingdoms Reuters Group in 2008 and the 2018 carve-out of its finance and risk business, Refinitiv, in which it holds a 45% stake. In 2019, the company agreed to exchange its 45% stake in Refinitiv for a 15% stake in LSE. Since the divestiture, the company is more concentrated on selling its flagship legal data and software, WestLaw, and its tax accounting software, OneSource. In addition, the company does hold a significant investment in the publicly traded Tradeweb, which operates a fixed income exchange. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Thomson Reuters Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Thomson Reuters and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG Get Free Report)s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $66.18 and last traded at $65.6480, with a volume of 181186 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.86. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CFG shares. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Citizens Financial Group from $65.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a buy rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird restated a neutral rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. New Street Research set a $73.00 price target on Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Stephens reissued an overweight rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Citizens Financial Group in a report on Thursday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Citizens Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $67.55. Get Citizens Financial Group alerts: Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Citizens Financial Group Citizens Financial Group Price Performance The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company has a market capitalization of $28.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.99, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.72. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $59.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.79. Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.16 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a net margin of 15.19% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year. Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 4th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 4th. Citizens Financial Groups payout ratio is presently 47.55%. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citizens Financial Group A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CFG. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 2.4% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,531 shares of the banks stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,838 shares of the banks stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 39.5% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 36,932 shares of the banks stock valued at $1,513,000 after purchasing an additional 10,466 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 93.4% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,814 shares of the banks stock valued at $439,000 after purchasing an additional 4,739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Citizens Financial Group by 1.5% during the second quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 35,352 shares of the banks stock worth $1,582,000 after buying an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.90% of the companys stock. Citizens Financial Group Company Profile (Get Free Report) Citizens Financial Group, Inc (NYSE: CFG) is a bank holding company that provides a broad range of banking and financial services to individuals, small and middle-market businesses, corporations and institutional clients. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens conducts its banking operations principally through its primary banking subsidiary, Citizens Bank, and serves customers through a combination of branch locations, ATMs and digital channels. The company is publicly traded and operates under the regulatory framework applicable to U.S. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Citizens Financial Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Citizens Financial Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. MasTec, Inc. (NYSE:MTZ Get Free Report)s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $252.00 and last traded at $247.7860, with a volume of 12676 shares. The stock had previously closed at $245.40. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of MasTec from $214.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on MasTec from $253.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Guggenheim reissued a neutral rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of MasTec in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. KeyCorp restated an overweight rating and issued a $264.00 target price on shares of MasTec in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on MasTec from $240.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MasTec has a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of $238.16. Get MasTec alerts: Check Out Our Latest Analysis on MasTec MasTec Stock Performance Institutional Investors Weigh In On MasTec The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.33. The company has a market cap of $19.53 billion, a PE ratio of 58.95 and a beta of 1.94. The businesss 50-day moving average is $226.54 and its 200 day moving average is $205.18. Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MTZ. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of MasTec by 92.3% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 65,027 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $13,981,000 after acquiring an additional 31,218 shares in the last quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC boosted its stake in MasTec by 27.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC now owns 49,357 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $8,412,000 after purchasing an additional 10,565 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group bought a new stake in shares of MasTec in the 2nd quarter worth $12,366,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of MasTec by 16.3% in the second quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 79,049 shares of the construction companys stock worth $13,472,000 after purchasing an additional 11,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MasTec by 71.6% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 30,118 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $5,132,000 after purchasing an additional 12,567 shares in the last quarter. 78.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. About MasTec (Get Free Report) MasTec, Inc is a diversified infrastructure construction company that provides engineering, fabrication, installation and maintenance services across a broad range of end markets. Its principal activities encompass the development of communications networks, oil and gas pipeline systems, electrical transmission and distribution facilities, industrial installations and renewable energy projects. The company traces its roots to a small cable installation operation in Miami and has grown through a series of strategic acquisitions to become one of the largest infrastructure contractors in North America. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for MasTec Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for MasTec and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Holcim Ltd Unsponsored ADR (OTCMKTS:HCMLY Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 59,574 shares, a drop of 17.1% from the December 31st total of 71,851 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 151,441 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.4 days. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 151,441 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.4 days. Holcim Stock Performance Holcim stock traded up $0.42 on Tuesday, hitting $21.21. The companys stock had a trading volume of 15,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 79,407. Holcim has a one year low of $15.14 and a one year high of $30.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $19.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.23. Get Holcim alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes HCMLY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. DZ Bank cut shares of Holcim from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a sector perform rating on shares of Holcim in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an overweight rating on shares of Holcim in a report on Monday, October 27th. UBS Group upgraded Holcim from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Holcim from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $16.80. Holcim Company Profile (Get Free Report) Holcim is a global building materials and solutions company headquartered in Switzerland that produces and supplies cement, aggregates, ready-mix concrete, asphalt and a range of prefabricated and construction-related products and services. Its offerings are aimed at construction and infrastructure markets, serving contractors, developers, municipalities and industrial customers with materials for residential, commercial and civil engineering projects. The company traces its modern form to the 2015 combination of Swiss cement maker Holcim and Frances Lafarge, which created one of the worlds largest building-materials groups; the combined enterprise later simplified its name to Holcim. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Holcim Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Holcim and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Fraport AG (OTCMKTS:FPRUY Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 29 shares, a drop of 14.7% from the December 31st total of 34 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 21 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days. Based on an average trading volume of 21 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Fraport from an underperform rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a hold rating on shares of Fraport in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Fraport from an overweight rating to a mixed rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. Get Fraport alerts: View Our Latest Report on FPRUY Fraport Stock Performance About Fraport Shares of FPRUY stock remained flat at $40.90 on Tuesday. Fraport has a twelve month low of $28.75 and a twelve month high of $45.66. The firms 50-day moving average is $40.86 and its 200-day moving average is $42.28. (Get Free Report) Fraport AG is a global airport management company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany. The companys primary business revolves around the operation and development of Frankfurt Airport, one of Europes leading aviation hubs, as well as a portfolio of regional and international airports. In addition to airport infrastructure, Fraport offers ground handling services, security screening, retail management and real estate development within its terminals. These diverse operations aim to enhance passenger experience and maximize airport efficiency through integrated service offerings. Beyond its flagship airport in Frankfurt, Fraport has expanded its footprint to airports in more than 30 countries across Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Fraport Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Fraport and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Nuveen Arizona Quality Municipal Income Fund (NYSE:NAZ Get Free Report) announced a monthly dividend on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a dividend of 0.0655 per share by the investment management company on Monday, March 2nd. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. Nuveen Arizona Quality Municipal Income Fund Price Performance NAZ stock traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $12.03. The companys stock had a trading volume of 15,009 shares, compared to its average volume of 30,404. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $11.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.89. Nuveen Arizona Quality Municipal Income Fund has a 52 week low of $11.40 and a 52 week high of $13.55. Get Nuveen Arizona Quality Municipal Income Fund alerts: Nuveen Arizona Quality Municipal Income Fund Company Profile (Get Free Report) Nuveen Arizona Quality Municipal Income Fund (NYSE: NAZ) is a closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide shareholders with a high level of current income that is exempt from regular U.S. federal income tax. Managed by Nuveen Asset Management, the fund focuses on investment-grade municipal obligations issued by or on behalf of entities located in the state of Arizona. Its portfolio typically includes general obligation bonds, revenue bonds and essential-purpose municipal securities backed by state and local governments and quasi-governmental agencies. The fund employs fundamental credit analysis to select bonds that meet rigorous quality standards, aiming to preserve principal while generating tax-advantaged income. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Nuveen Arizona Quality Municipal Income Fund Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Nuveen Arizona Quality Municipal Income Fund and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. DPM Metals Inc. (OTCMKTS:DPMLF Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $34.36, but opened at $38.27. DPM Metals shares last traded at $36.13, with a volume of 2,567 shares traded. Analyst Ratings Changes DPMLF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank reiterated an outperform rating on shares of DPM Metals in a report on Monday, January 26th. Zacks Research upgraded DPM Metals from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. CIBC restated a neutral rating on shares of DPM Metals in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, National Bankshares reiterated an outperform rating on shares of DPM Metals in a report on Friday, December 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, DPM Metals has a consensus rating of Buy. Get DPM Metals alerts: Read Our Latest Report on DPMLF DPM Metals Price Performance The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $31.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.62. The company has a market capitalization of $8.04 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.82. DPM Metals (OTCMKTS:DPMLF Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.15. DPM Metals had a net margin of 39.03% and a return on equity of 22.84%. The business had revenue of $267.41 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $227.95 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that DPM Metals Inc. will post 1.52 EPS for the current year. DPM Metals Company Profile (Get Free Report) Dundee Precious Metals Inc (OTCMKTS:DPMLF) is a Canada?based precious metals producer with a focus on gold and copper mining. The companys primary operations are located in southeastern Europe, where it owns and operates the Chelopech mine, a high?grade gold?copper?silver underground mine in Bulgaria. In addition to gold?copper production at Chelopech, Dundee Precious Metals is advancing the Krumovgrad gold project, also in Bulgaria, which is expected to further diversify its output and extend the companys production profile. At Chelopech, Dundee Precious Metals employs a conventional flotation process to recover gold, copper and silver from sulphide ores. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for DPM Metals Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for DPM Metals and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. When it comes to Bitcoin mining, many in the industry are split about continuing in the business. Last year, we saw several high-profile miners shut down facilities, pivot business models, or exit the sector altogether in search of more predictable returns in sectors like AI. But one major player is doubling down on Bitcoin mining and giving it another shot after shutting down one of its mining facilities. Tether, the issuer of the world's largest stablecoin by market cap, is coming up with a new strategy to improve the process of Bitcoin mining. Related: Explained: What is sustainable Bitcoin mining? Tether doubled down after moving away from mining Last November, Tether announced its decision to shut down its Bitcoin mining facility in Uruguay. It was once a part of Tether's ambitious $500 million project. The company cited high energy costs and the absence of a competitive tariff framework as key reasons for pulling out, saying the economics no longer aligned with the scale of its planned investment. Around 30 of the sites 38 employees were laid off. Local media had earlier reported that Tether was exiting the project amid a $4.8 million dispute with Uruguays state-owned power company, UTE, though Tether denied those claims at the time. Either way, the message seemed clear: traditional mining operations were no longer the focus. Popular on TheStreet Roundtable: Tether's new bet: open-source Bitcoin mining software On Feb. 2, Tether unveiled Mining OS (MOS), an open-source operating system designed to manage, monitor, and automate Bitcoin mining operations at scale. The announcement was made at the Plan Forum in San Salvador. Instead of running physical mining sites, MOS focuses on the software layer. It brings hardware, energy usage, infrastructure, and operational data into a single system, giving operators full visibility across mining environments. A Bitcoin mining setup is notoriously complex. It is a mix of machines, power systems, containers, and on-site infrastructure. MOS treats every component as a worker inside one unified operational layer, tracking not just hashrate, but device health, energy efficiency, and site-level performance. The system is built to scale, supporting everything from small, lightweight installations to industrial-scale deployments managing hundreds of thousands of machines. Alongside MOS, Tether also announced Mining SDK, the open-source framework underlying the operating system. The toolkit allows developers to build custom mining software without reinventing core integrations, complete with APIs, ready-made components and UI tools. Skeena Resources Limited (NYSE:SKE Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $29.16, but opened at $31.51. Skeena Resources shares last traded at $30.8080, with a volume of 135,840 shares traded. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several analysts recently commented on SKE shares. Wall Street Zen raised Skeena Resources from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Sunday, January 25th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a strong-buy rating on shares of Skeena Resources in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a sell (d-) rating on shares of Skeena Resources in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Desjardins raised Skeena Resources to a moderate buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an outperform rating on shares of Skeena Resources in a research note on Monday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Skeena Resources has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. Get Skeena Resources alerts: View Our Latest Research Report on Skeena Resources Skeena Resources Stock Performance The firm has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.30 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $25.27 and a 200-day moving average of $19.87. Skeena Resources (NYSE:SKE Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The company reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by ($0.03). Sell-side analysts predict that Skeena Resources Limited will post -0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Skeena Resources A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Skeena Resources by 431.1% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,390 shares of the companys stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,940 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Skeena Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $119,000. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in shares of Skeena Resources during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $99,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Skeena Resources during the 1st quarter worth approximately $89,000. Finally, Georgetown University acquired a new stake in shares of Skeena Resources in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $226,000. 45.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Skeena Resources Company Profile (Get Free Report) Skeena Resources Limited explores for and develops mineral properties in Canada. The company explores for gold, silver, copper, and other precious metal deposits. It holds 100% interests in the Snip gold mine comprising one mining lease and nine mineral tenures that covers an area of approximately 4,724 hectares; and the Eskay Creek gold mine that consists of eight mineral leases, two surface leases, and various unpatented mining claims comprising 7,666 hectares located in British Columbia, Canada. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Skeena Resources Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Skeena Resources and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Taseko Mines Limited (NYSE:TGB Get Free Report)s share price rose 7.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $8.35 and last traded at $8.3070. Approximately 896,493 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 9,209,495 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.71. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Separately, BMO Capital Markets reissued an outperform rating on shares of Taseko Mines in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $5.00. Get Taseko Mines alerts: View Our Latest Stock Report on Taseko Mines Taseko Mines Price Performance Institutional Trading of Taseko Mines The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -285.17 and a beta of 1.27. A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Taseko Mines during the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Taseko Mines in the second quarter worth approximately $52,000. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. bought a new position in Taseko Mines during the second quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Taseko Mines in the third quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Taseko Mines in the third quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 17.94% of the companys stock. Taseko Mines Company Profile (Get Free Report) Taseko Mines Ltd. is a Vancouver?based mining company primarily engaged in the exploration, development and production of copper?based projects. Its flagship operation is the Gibraltar copper mine in central British Columbia, which ranks among Canadas largest open pit copper producers. In addition to copper, Gibraltar yields byproducts such as molybdenum and silver, reflecting Tasekos focus on base and precious metals. Beyond Gibraltar, Taseko holds two advanced development assets. The Florence Copper project in Arizona employs an in?situ recovery process to extract copper, positioning it as one of North Americas first large?scale applications of this technology. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Taseko Mines Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Taseko Mines and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Direxion Daily CSI 300 China A Share Bull 2x Shares (NYSEARCA:CHAU Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 240,570 shares, a growth of 25.9% from the December 31st total of 191,108 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 232,935 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.0 days. Currently, 4.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Currently, 4.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 232,935 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.0 days. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Direxion Daily CSI 300 China A Share Bull 2x Shares An institutional investor recently raised its position in Direxion Daily CSI 300 China A Share Bull 2x Shares stock. Capital Investment Counsel Inc lifted its stake in shares of Direxion Daily CSI 300 China A Share Bull 2x Shares (NYSEARCA:CHAU Free Report) by 12.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,700 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc owned 0.40% of Direxion Daily CSI 300 China A Share Bull 2x Shares worth $617,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Get Direxion Daily CSI 300 China A Share Bull 2x Shares alerts: Direxion Daily CSI 300 China A Share Bull 2x Shares Trading Up 0.7% CHAU stock traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $21.29. The stock had a trading volume of 118,941 shares, compared to its average volume of 215,721. Direxion Daily CSI 300 China A Share Bull 2x Shares has a 52-week low of $10.88 and a 52-week high of $22.89. The companys fifty day simple moving average is $21.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.78. The company has a market cap of $125.58 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.27 and a beta of 0.56. About Direxion Daily CSI 300 China A Share Bull 2x Shares The Direxion Daily CSI 300 China A Share Bull 2X Shares (CHAU) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the China Shenzhen SE \u002F CSI 300 index. The fund provides daily 2x leveraged exposure to an index of the 300 largest and most liquid Chinese shares traded on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges. CHAU was launched on Apr 16, 2015 and is managed by Direxion. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Direxion Daily CSI 300 China A Share Bull 2x Shares Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Direxion Daily CSI 300 China A Share Bull 2x Shares and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. O-I Glass, Inc. (NYSE:OI Get Free Report)s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $16.09 and last traded at $15.91, with a volume of 398515 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $15.60. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of brokerages have commented on OI. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of O-I Glass in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered O-I Glass from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Sunday, December 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a sell (d-) rating on shares of O-I Glass in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of O-I Glass from $17.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of O-I Glass from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, O-I Glass currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $17.88. Get O-I Glass alerts: Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on OI O-I Glass Stock Up 0.4% The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $14.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.67, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 0.78. O-I Glass (NYSE:OI Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. O-I Glass had a positive return on equity of 16.02% and a negative net margin of 2.26%.The businesss revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.04) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that O-I Glass, Inc. will post 1.33 EPS for the current fiscal year. Institutional Trading of O-I Glass Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in O-I Glass by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,349,218 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $250,959,000 after purchasing an additional 691,989 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in O-I Glass by 2.1% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,232,239 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $106,773,000 after purchasing an additional 170,696 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of O-I Glass by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 7,996,786 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $103,718,000 after purchasing an additional 56,945 shares during the last quarter. Highland Peak Capital LLC increased its position in O-I Glass by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Highland Peak Capital LLC now owns 3,113,780 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $40,386,000 after acquiring an additional 566,703 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of O-I Glass by 18.7% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,618,748 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $33,965,000 after purchasing an additional 412,497 shares in the last quarter. 97.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. About O-I Glass (Get Free Report) O-I Glass, Inc is a leading global manufacturer of glass containers, supplying the food and beverage, wine and spirits, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and personal care industries. Headquartered in Perrysburg, Ohio, the company produces a broad range of glass packaging solutions, including bottles and jars, designed to meet customer specifications for size, shape, color and performance. O-I leverages proprietary technologies in forming, decoration and quality control to serve both mass-market and premium brands. Tracing its origins to the early 20th century through the merger of prominent regional glassmakers, the company adopted the Owens-Illinois name in 1929 before rebranding as O-I Glass in 2015. See Also Receive News & Ratings for O-I Glass Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for O-I Glass and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Wajax Co. (TSE:WJX Get Free Report)s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as C$29.50 and last traded at C$29.40, with a volume of 29618 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$28.67. Analyst Ratings Changes A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Wajax from C$26.00 to C$27.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Wajax from C$26.00 to C$27.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, National Bankshares raised their target price on shares of Wajax from C$25.00 to C$27.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of C$26.50. Get Wajax alerts: View Our Latest Stock Report on WJX Wajax Stock Performance The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 116.61, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stocks 50-day moving average price is C$27.91 and its 200-day moving average price is C$25.47. The company has a market cap of C$636.07 million, a P/E ratio of 14.00, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.67. Wajax (TSE:WJX Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported C$0.75 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$483.15 million during the quarter. Wajax had a net margin of 2.55% and a return on equity of 10.40%. Equities analysts anticipate that Wajax Co. will post 3.4850136 EPS for the current year. Wajax Company Profile (Get Free Report) Wajax Corp is a Canadian distributor of industrial components. The companys core business is the sale of parts and service support of equipment, power systems, and industrial components through a network of branches in Canada. Most of its revenue is generated from the sale of equipment which includes machinery and components used for construction purposes and its industrial components find utility in businesses like mining, forestry, and material handling for other industrial purposes. It sells to leading manufacturer brands such as Hitachi, JCB, Bell, Hyster, Palfinger and other similar industries. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Wajax Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Wajax and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of iShares MSCI Israel ETF (NYSEARCA:EIS Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $122.99 and last traded at $122.18, with a volume of 108220 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $120.72. iShares MSCI Israel ETF Trading Up 0.2% The company has a 50 day moving average of $112.82 and a 200 day moving average of $102.59. The firm has a market cap of $780.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.79 and a beta of 1.03. Get iShares MSCI Israel ETF alerts: Institutional Trading of iShares MSCI Israel ETF Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in iShares MSCI Israel ETF in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its position in iShares MSCI Israel ETF by 49.8% in the 3rd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 301 shares of the companys stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in iShares MSCI Israel ETF in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new position in iShares MSCI Israel ETF in the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in iShares MSCI Israel ETF during the 3rd quarter worth about $52,000. About iShares MSCI Israel ETF The iShares MSCI Israel ETF (EIS) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI Israel Capped index, a market-cap-weighted index of Israeli firms. EIS was launched on Mar 26, 2008 and is managed by BlackRock. See Also Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI Israel ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares MSCI Israel ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Wartsila (OTCMKTS:WRTBY Get Free Report)s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $8.3050 and last traded at $8.3050, with a volume of 8124 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $8.07. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on WRTBY shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a hold rating on shares of Wartsila in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Barclays reiterated an underweight rating on shares of Wartsila in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Pareto Securities cut Wartsila from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Monday, January 19th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a sell rating on shares of Wartsila in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Strong Sell. Get Wartsila alerts: Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Wartsila Wartsila Price Performance Wartsila Company Profile The firm has a market capitalization of $24.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.02 and a beta of 1.22. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $7.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.90. (Get Free Report) Wartsila (OTCMKTS: WRTBY) is a Finnish technology company specializing in sustainable solutions for the marine and energy sectors. Founded in 1834 and headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, Wartsila designs, manufactures and services equipment ranging from marine engines and propulsion systems to complete power plants. The companys Energy Business provides flexible gas, multi-fuel and hybrid power plants, as well as long-term operation and maintenance services. In its Marine Business, Wartsila delivers integrated systems for ship design, digital operations and lifecycle support. With a presence in over 80 countries, Wartsila serves shipowners, shipyards, power producers and utilities around the world. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Wartsila Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Wartsila and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. LiveRamp Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:RAMP Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday after Benchmark lowered their price target on the stock from $53.00 to $38.00. Benchmark currently has a buy rating on the stock. LiveRamp traded as low as $22.81 and last traded at $22.7850, with a volume of 194338 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $24.51. Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on RAMP. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a hold (c) rating on shares of LiveRamp in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded LiveRamp from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on LiveRamp from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Cross Research set a $53.00 target price on LiveRamp in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of LiveRamp from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LiveRamp presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $41.33. Get LiveRamp alerts: View Our Latest Analysis on LiveRamp Institutional Investors Weigh In On LiveRamp LiveRamp Trading Down 8.2% Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its holdings in shares of LiveRamp by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 1,431,189 shares of the companys stock worth $42,034,000 after buying an additional 145,745 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in LiveRamp by 56.6% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,269,623 shares of the companys stock worth $34,746,000 after acquiring an additional 459,094 shares in the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LiveRamp by 134.0% in the third quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 1,059,040 shares of the companys stock worth $28,742,000 after acquiring an additional 606,389 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of LiveRamp by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 721,579 shares of the companys stock valued at $19,584,000 after purchasing an additional 42,026 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of LiveRamp by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 710,361 shares of the companys stock valued at $19,279,000 after purchasing an additional 51,466 shares during the last quarter. 93.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.90 and a beta of 1.13. The stocks 50-day moving average is $28.00 and its 200-day moving average is $28.30. LiveRamp (NYSE:RAMP Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $199.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $197.31 million. LiveRamp had a return on equity of 4.44% and a net margin of 5.15%.The businesss quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that LiveRamp Holdings, Inc. will post 0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year. LiveRamp Company Profile (Get Free Report) LiveRamp Holdings, Inc is a leading provider of data connectivity and identity resolution services for marketers, publishers and platforms. The companys core technology enables organizations to link disparate data sourcessuch as CRM systems, web engagements and offline transaction recordsinto a single, privacy-safe view of individual consumers. By standardizing and anonymizing identifiers, LiveRamps platform facilitates targeted media activation, measurement and analytics across digital, mobile, addressable TV and offline channels. The company offers a suite of products designed to support every stage of the data lifecycle. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for LiveRamp Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for LiveRamp and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR Get Free Report) issued its earnings results on Tuesday. The industrial products company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.05, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $4.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.37 billion. Emerson Electric had a net margin of 12.73% and a return on equity of 15.87%. Emerson Electric updated its FY 2026 guidance to 6.400-6.550 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance to 1.500-1.550 EPS. Here are the key takeaways from Emerson Electrics conference call: Get Emerson Electric alerts: The company reported a strong fiscal 2025 with sales up 3% , operating cash flow up 11% , free cash flow up 12% and EPS up 43% , and highlighted strategic moves including the acquisition of Aspen Technology and National Instruments and the divestiture of Copeland to build a cohesive automation portfolio. The company reported a strong fiscal 2025 with , , and , and highlighted strategic moves including the acquisition of and National Instruments and the divestiture of Copeland to build a cohesive automation portfolio. All three incumbent director nominees (Martin Craighead, Gloria Flach, Matthew Levatich) were elected to three-year terms by a substantial majority, maintaining board continuity. All three incumbent director nominees (Martin Craighead, Gloria Flach, Matthew Levatich) were elected to three-year terms by a substantial majority, maintaining board continuity. The advisory say-on-pay vote for fiscal 2025 executive compensation was approved by approximately 90% of votes, though the vote is non-binding. The advisory say-on-pay vote for fiscal 2025 executive compensation was approved by approximately 90% of votes, though the vote is non-binding. Shareholders ratified the Audit Committees appointment of KPMG LLP as Emersons independent registered public accounting firm for fiscal 2026 by roughly 92%. Shareholders ratified the Audit Committees appointment of KPMG LLP as Emersons independent registered public accounting firm for fiscal 2026 by roughly 92%. The proposal to amend the Restated Articles to declassify the board did not reach the required 85% of outstanding shares and therefore was not approved. Emerson Electric Stock Performance Shares of EMR traded up $3.52 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $152.15. The company had a trading volume of 4,897,201 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,208,403. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $139.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $135.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.66, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.26. Emerson Electric has a 52-week low of $90.06 and a 52-week high of $154.04. Emerson Electric Increases Dividend Analyst Ratings Changes The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th were issued a $0.555 dividend. This is a boost from Emerson Electrics previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Emerson Electrics payout ratio is presently 54.95%. A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on EMR shares. Oppenheimer reissued a market perform rating on shares of Emerson Electric in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Emerson Electric in a research report on Monday, December 15th. They issued an outperform rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Emerson Electric from $143.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. TD Cowen cut shares of Emerson Electric from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Emerson Electric from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $154.76. View Our Latest Report on EMR Insider Transactions at Emerson Electric In other Emerson Electric news, CEO Surendralal Lanca Karsanbhai sold 7,263 shares of Emerson Electric stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.00, for a total value of $965,979.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 196,292 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $26,106,836. The trade was a 3.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.23% of the companys stock. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Emerson Electric A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EMR. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Emerson Electric during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new position in shares of Emerson Electric during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Emerson Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. grew its stake in Emerson Electric by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 740 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in Emerson Electric during the second quarter worth $113,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.30% of the companys stock. Key Emerson Electric News Here are the key news stories impacting Emerson Electric this week: Positive Sentiment: Q1 EPS beat Emerson reported adjusted EPS of $1.46 vs. $1.41 consensus, showing underlying profitability strength. Q1 Press Release Q1 EPS beat Emerson reported adjusted EPS of $1.46 vs. $1.41 consensus, showing underlying profitability strength. Positive Sentiment: Full-year revenue and dividend Emerson raised/fixed FY2026 revenue at $19.0B (slightly above Street) and declared a $0.555 quarterly dividend, supporting income-seeking investors. PR Newswire Release Full-year revenue and dividend Emerson raised/fixed FY2026 revenue at $19.0B (slightly above Street) and declared a $0.555 quarterly dividend, supporting income-seeking investors. Neutral Sentiment: FY EPS outlook roughly in-line Emerson guided FY26 EPS to $6.40$6.55, which essentially brackets the Street estimate of ~$6.48 (range implies moderate execution risk but no major surprise). PR Newswire Release FY EPS outlook roughly in-line Emerson guided FY26 EPS to $6.40$6.55, which essentially brackets the Street estimate of ~$6.48 (range implies moderate execution risk but no major surprise). Neutral Sentiment: Q2 revenue guide in-line Management guided Q2 revenue to about $4.6B, matching consensus; suggests top-line stability even as growth drivers are assimilated. PR Newswire Release Q2 revenue guide in-line Management guided Q2 revenue to about $4.6B, matching consensus; suggests top-line stability even as growth drivers are assimilated. Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary mixed Previews and coverage highlight software integration as a key growth test; brokers still cluster around a Hold consensus, so expectations are cautious. Investing.com Preview Analyst commentary mixed Previews and coverage highlight software integration as a key growth test; brokers still cluster around a Hold consensus, so expectations are cautious. Negative Sentiment: Q2 EPS guide slightly soft Management set Q2 EPS at $1.50$1.55 vs. the $1.56 consensus, a small miss that introduces short-term earnings risk. PR Newswire Release Q2 EPS guide slightly soft Management set Q2 EPS at $1.50$1.55 vs. the $1.56 consensus, a small miss that introduces short-term earnings risk. Negative Sentiment: Quarterly revenue slight miss Q1 revenue came in at $4.35B vs. ~$4.37B expected, a small top-line shortfall that underscores sensitivity to end-market demand. Q1 Press Release Emerson Electric announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the companys leadership believes its shares are undervalued. Emerson Electric Company Profile (Get Free Report) Emerson Electric Co is a global technology and engineering company that designs and manufactures products and provides services for industrial, commercial and consumer markets. Founded in 1890, the company is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, and has built a long-standing presence in automation, control and climate-related technologies. Emersons offerings are aimed at improving productivity, energy efficiency and reliability for a wide range of end markets. Emerson operates through two principal platformsAutomation Solutions and Commercial & Residential Solutionsproviding process automation systems, measurement and analytical instrumentation, valves and actuators, control software, and related aftermarket services, alongside products for heating, ventilation and refrigeration, residential and commercial climate controls, tools and storage solutions. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Emerson Electric Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Emerson Electric and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Rio Tinto Group (LON:RIO Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as GBX 7,038 and last traded at GBX 7,038, with a volume of 2923400 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 6,802. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several brokerages have weighed in on RIO. Berenberg Bank reissued a hold rating and set a GBX 5,300 price objective on shares of Rio Tinto Group in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup raised their price target on Rio Tinto Group from GBX 4,600 to GBX 5,700 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Rio Tinto Group from GBX 6,000 to GBX 6,100 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Rio Tinto Group from GBX 6,100 to GBX 6,950 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of GBX 5,830. Get Rio Tinto Group alerts: View Our Latest Analysis on RIO Rio Tinto Group Price Performance Insider Activity The company has a market cap of 114.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.21, a P/E/G ratio of -0.64 and a beta of 0.59. The companys 50-day moving average price is GBX 6,008.51 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 5,274.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 25.28, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.34. In related news, insider Peter Cunningham sold 3,108 shares of Rio Tinto Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 5,464, for a total value of 169,821.12. Insiders own 0.10% of the companys stock. Rio Tinto Group Company Profile (Get Free Report) We operate in 35 countries where our 60,000 employees are working to find better ways to provide the materials the world needs. Our portfolio includes iron ore, copper, aluminium and a range of other minerals and materials needed for people, communities and nations to grow and prosper, and for the world to cut carbon emissions to net zero. We continuously search for new projects that can support the energy transition, currently exploring for 7 commodities in 17 countries. We have more than 150 years of mining and processing experience guiding our work. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Rio Tinto Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Rio Tinto Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. During his campaign, Mamdani proposed raising the citys income tax rate by two percentage points on residents earning more than $1 million annually, along with increasing the corporate tax rate to match New Jerseys 11.5% (4). There will not be one single thing that can answer that crisis, he said (1). It will require us to pursue every single avenue. That means looking inward into savings and efficiencies. That also means raising taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers and the most profitable corporations. And it means recalibrating the relationship with the state. To close the gap, Mamdani said the city cannot rely on a single fix. Bond raters gave my administration one of the strongest credit ratings in NYC history because we governed with discipline, not fantasy economics, Adams wrote on X (3). Adams quickly pushed back, rejecting the claim that his administration left the city in fiscal distress. We are speaking about a fiscal crisis at [a] scale greater than the Great Recession, he said (1). Mamdani described the situation in dire terms, arguing that the scale of the challenge eclipses even the financial fallout from the 2008 downturn. The warning follows recent figures from New York City Comptroller Mark Levine, who said the city is facing a $2.2 billion budget shortfall in the current fiscal year, along with a projected $10.4 billion gap in the next (2). We did not arrive at this place by accident, he said. This crisis has a name and a chief architect. In the words of the Jackson 5, it's as easy as A-B-C. This is the Adams Budget Crisis. Dave Ramsey warns nearly 50% of Americans are making 1 big Social Security mistake heres what it is and 3 simple steps to fix it ASAP Build a portfolio of the worlds best private tech companies and make it accessible to everyone thats the mission of Fundrise Venture Capital. You can start investing today with just $10 Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now become a landlord for as little as $100 and no, you don't have to deal with tenants or fix freezers. Here's how I will be blunt. New York City is facing a serious fiscal crisis, Mamdani said at a press conference on Jan. 28 (1). There is a massive fiscal deficit in our City's budget to the tune of at least $12 billion. Just four weeks after being sworn in as New York Citys mayor, Zohran Mamdani delivered a stark warning about the citys finances one he said rivals the worst downturn in recent memory. Moneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue through links in the content below. Story Continues While city leaders can debate tax hikes and budget fixes to close multibillion-dollar gaps, most Americans dont have that luxury. When expenses rise or taxes creep higher, households cant simply vote themselves new revenue they have to adjust, plan and protect what they already have. This everyday expense has jumped 55% heres how to cut it Over the past few years, inflation has taken a growing bite out of household budgets across the U.S. One essential expense that has skyrocketed is car insurance. Nationwide, the average cost of car insurance has surged 55% since 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (5). Car insurance is a major recurring expense, and many people overpay without realizing it. According to Forbes, the average cost of full-coverage car insurance is $2,149 per year (or $179 per month). However, rates can vary widely depending on your state, driving history and vehicle type and you could be paying more than necessary. By using OfficialCarInsurance.com, you can easily compare quotes from multiple insurers, such as Progressive, Allstate and GEICO, to ensure youre getting the best deal. Shopping around can help drive down your rates, and potentially get you a better deal. Even better, in just two minutes, you could find rates as low as $29 per month. Keep in mind that you can often cancel your policy before its up for renewal, just look out for any early cancellation fees. And its not just your car that might be costing you more than it should. Home insurance costs have also risen and its another major expense where smart shoppers can save big. With OfficialHomeInsurance.com, comparing home insurance rates is fast and hassle-free. Just fill in a bit of information and the platform will instantly sort through over 200 insurers to find you the best deals available in your area. Youll be able to review all your offers in one place and quickly find the coverage you need for the lowest possible cost, saving an average of $482 a year. Read More: Approaching retirement with no savings? Dont panic, you're not alone. Here are 6 easy ways you can catch up (and fast) Put your spare cash to work One of the easiest ways to cut financial waste is by putting your spare cash to work instead of letting it sit idle. If youre building a financial safety net, a high-yield account like a Wealthfront Cash Account can be a great place to grow your emergency funds, offering both competitive interest rates and easy access to your cash when you need it. A Wealthfront Cash Account can provide a base variable APY of 3.30%, but Moneywise readers get an exclusive 0.65% boost over their first three months for a total APY of 3.95% provided by program banks on your uninvested cash. Thats ten times the national deposit savings rate, according to the FDICs January report. With no minimum balances or account fees, as well as 24/7 withdrawals and free domestic wire transfers, you can ensure your funds remain accessible at all times. Plus, Wealthfront Cash Account balances of up to $8 million are insured by the FDIC through program banks. But even your spare change can be put to work. Micro-investing apps like Acorns let you invest small amounts automatically, turning everyday purchases into long-term investments. When you make a purchase on your credit or debit card, Acorns automatically rounds up the price to the nearest dollar and invests the difference the coins that would wind up in your pocket if you were paying cash into a diversified portfolio of ETFs. Buying a coffee for $3.40? The app rounds it up to $4 and invests the extra $0.60. Over time, those small amounts can add up especially if youre consistently spending and saving. Its a simple, set-it-and-forget-it way to build wealth from money you might not even miss and, if you sign up today with a recurring monthly investment, Acorns will add a $20 bonus to help you begin your investment journey. Dont let hidden expenses drain your budget If you want to improve your finances, a key step is understanding where your money actually goes each month. You could try tracking all your expenses for 30 days and sort them into two categories: essentials like rent, groceries, utilities and healthcare and discretionary spending, such as dining out, entertainment, shopping and hobbies. This breakdown not only shows you where your money is going, but also highlights the hidden leaks the forgotten subscription, the auto-renew you didnt notice, or the small impulse purchases that quietly add up. A quick daily check-in of your accounts can show you exactly where your money is going. An app like Rocket Money can easily flag recurring subscriptions, upcoming bills and unusual charges by pulling in transactions from all your linked accounts. This can help you cut unnecessary costs, and then you can manually redirect savings straight into your retirement fund. No spreadsheets, no guesswork, no stress. Small habits like this can make a big difference over time. Rocket Moneys intuitive app offers a variety of free and premium tools. Free features include subscription tracking, bill reminders and budgeting basics, while premium features like automated savings, net worth tracking, customizable dashboards, and more make it easier to stay on top of your retirement contributions and overall financial goals. You May Also Like Article sources We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines. NYC Mayors Office (1); New York City Comptroller Mark Levine (2); @ericadamsfornyc (3); Zohran for New York City (4); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (5) This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind. This story was originally published on Retail Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Retail Dive newsletter. The fate of Eddie Bauers brick-and-mortar fleet is uncertain as its operating company prepares to file for bankruptcy. There are more than 250 Eddie Bauer locations in North America. In January Eddie Bauer IP owner Authentic said that Catalyst Brands responsible for the operations of several brands in Authentic's stable would continue to operate those retail and outlet stores. But Catalyst is readying a bankruptcy filing for the entity that runs Eddie Bauers locations, according to a source familiar with Authentic Brands Group. Authentic last month also shifted the Eddie Bauer e-commerce and wholesale licenses to another operator, Outdoor 5, which has taken over those operations in the U.S. and Canada. There are parties interested in taking over the operation of a handful of Eddie Bauer stores in the U.S. and Canada, the source said. Most, if not all, of the brand's hundreds of stores in the region are set to shutter. Catalyst didnt immediately respond to a request for comment for this story. Authentic and Simon Property Group, via a 50/50 venture dubbed Sparc, acquired Eddie Bauer about five years ago. Sparc and its entities became part of Catalyst when Catalyst formed a year ago, incorporating J.C. Penneys operations and leadership into the mix. Less than three years ago, Eddie Bauer and Authentic unveiled a new logo and growth strategy for the century-plus-old outdoor retailer, including the expansion of wholesale and international sales. Before joining Sparc, Eddie Bauer, along with PacSun, was run by an operating setup established in 2018 by private equity firm Golden Gate Capital. Authentic owns the intellectual property of several brands including Eddie Bauer and licenses those rights to others to run operations; the brand management firm also owns a stake in Catalyst. The U.S. operating company of Forever 21, whose brand is also owned by Authentic, filed for bankruptcy last year. Recommended Reading In a recent conversation with insiders . . . A not-so-fun fact emerges that threaten to wreck the financial future of Kansas City. The basics . . . RECENT POLLING FOR KANSAS CITY E-TAX RENEWAL REVEALS "SOFT" NUMBERS OF SUPPORT AMID DIRE ECONOMIC CIRCUMSTANCES!!! Translation . . . Local voters are just too broke to get excited about voting for this longstanding local tax yet again. Even worse . . . CONSULTANTS FEAR MAYOR Q NO LONGER HAS ENOUGH INFLUENCE TO LEAD AN EFFECTIVE E-TAX CAMPAIGN!!! With 45% of the KCMO general fund at stake, local leaders want to quiet any panic amongst council and that's how word was sent our way . . . "I think we're taking another E-tax victory for granted. The Mayor isn't engaged in this latest campaign and we're hoping that there isn't any serious opposition because the numbers are soft to start. It's not rocket science: The Trump years have been hard on working people in Kansas City and there's not much appetite to support more taxes." A bit more background for www.TonysKansasCity.com readers . . . - The E-Tax generates more than $292 MILLION bucks. - Again, the E-Tax represents about 45% of the KCMO general fund. - 50% of the E-Tax is paid by non-residents. - IF voters reject E-tax renewal, it will be phased out by 10% over 10 years. Now . . . The city will assign newsies to contradict this report despite the polling confirming TKC inside word. The main talking point to calm nervousness about E-tax renewal is that the tax typically wins by a margin of more than 50% to no less than 20% and organized opposition has given up on any significant challenges. This time around a low-turnout vote scheduled for April during an election year might be the saving grace of the E-Tax and impending KCMO economic ruin. Meanwhile . . . Consultants fear that economic reality and lackluster support risk imploding the major 12th & Oak funding source. Developing . . . Today, biz lady, fashion diva and Insta hottie Lindsey inspires our latest glimpse at pop culture, community reporting and top headlines. Check TKC news gathering . . . Home Team Launches Disaster Royals announce new streaming service for games in 2026 The Kansas City Royals announced on Monday that all of its games will be broadcasted on a new streaming service called Royals.TV. Downtown Destruction Cont'd Car crashes into bar in Kansas City's Crossroads Arts District, injuring one One person was injured Monday evening after a vehicle crashed into a business in Kansas City's Crossroads Arts District. Singing For EPIC Cash Starlight Theatre receives $3 million in tax credits for upgrades The iconic Starlight Theatre received $3 million in tax as part of the Uniquely KC Campaign on Monday. Doubling Down On Flying Hype Kansas City leaders say new study shows KCI created 40,000 jobs, generated $6.3B in economic output According to a new study commissioned by the KC Aviation Department, KCI created nearly 40,000 jobs and generated $6.3 billion in total economic output. Brewing Trouble Inside Loop Common Grounds: Meeting Downtown Where It Happens - Downtown Council of Kansas City Join us at Cafe Corazon, 110 Southwest Blvd, Kansas City, MO, on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, from 8:30 to 9:30 AM for this upcoming gathering. Wardrobe Malfunction Redux Lindsey Pelas Popping Out Her String Bikini Asked About Shopping Lindsey Pelas is nearly busting out of her teeny yellow bikini as she stuns in sneakers and attracts interesting questions. MAGA Teaches Costly Lesson Trump seeks billion dollars in damages from Harvard University in raging Truth Social post Donald Trump has threatened Harvard University with a one billion dollar lawsuit in a late night post on Truth Social. The president called out the Massachusetts-based institute in a post to the social media app after it was reported the Trump administration had to backtrack from a $200million payme... AI Slop Dominates Discourse FACT FOCUS: Images of NYC mayor with Jeffrey Epstein are AI-generated. Here's how we know Images circulating online that show New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani as a child with millionaire financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein are generated by artificial intelligence. Legal Moves Harder Than Memes Biden Judge Blocks Trump's Cancellation of Haitian Migrants' 'Temporary' Amnesty A Uruguayan-born judge appointed by President Joe Biden has invented a novel excuse to block President Donald Trump from terminating Biden's award of Temporary Protected Status to 350,000 illegal-migrant Haitians. Bubba To Start Talking Clintons agree to testify in House Epstein investigation ahead of contempt of Congress vote Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton agreed to testify in a House investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but the Republican leading the probe said an agreement had not yet been finalized. Scary TV Investigation Starts Timeline: NBC host Savannah Guthrie's mother disappears as sheriff says she may have been 'abducted' Savannah Guthrie's mother missing after Nancy Guthrie, 84, disappeared from her Tucson home Saturday night, with Sheriff Chris Nanos saying officials believe a crime has been committed. Vlad Launches Latest Power Play Russia ends week-long pause with major attack on Ukraine energy sites The attack - which reportedly consisted of more than 70 missiles and 450 drones - comes after a so-called "energy truce" expired at the weekend. French Disconnection Against Tesla King Paris prosecutors raid X offices as part of investigation into child abuse images The prosecutors raided the offices of X as part of a preliminary investigation into allegations including spreading child sexual abuse images and deepfakes. They also summoned owner Elon Musk for questioning. Racist Stockpile Exposed Credit Suisse investigation reveals 890 Nazi regime accounts, Sen Grassley says Sen. Chuck Grassley says new investigations have uncovered 890 Nazi-linked accounts at Credit Suisse after the company was acquired by UBS in 2023. Beauty Beyond Grave Exclusive | Back(side) from the dead! Women chasing the perfect body are pumping 'ethically sourced' cadaver fat into boobs and butts: 'We're recycling' First, they lost the fat on Ozempic - now they're harvesting human remains to get it back in the right places. "The results outweigh any creepiness," one satisfied NYC mom explained to The Post. Tasty Lunch Suggestion Good News: Woodyard Still Gets Grease on Your Wrist I will confess up front that Woodyard Bar-B-Que is a longtime favorite local barbecue spot of mine in Kansas City. More Deets About Temp Bounce Cool Tuesday and Wednesday before big warmup in Kansas City A few flurries are possible Tuesday with cooler highs in the upper 30s. Once again, Rocket - Another Second Chance is the song of the day one more time and this is the OPEN THREAD for right now. BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 3. A memorandum of understanding was signed between the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan and the National Artificial Intelligence Directorate under the Office of the Prime Minister of Israel, Trend reports, citing the ministry. The document was signed during Minister Rashad Nabiyev's visit to Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke at the signing ceremony. Then, discussions took place on the mechanisms for implementing this document. An exchange of views took place during the meeting on issues of mutual interest, particularly in the areas of cybersecurity, digitalization, and space. 21:07 (GMT+4) Israel and Azerbaijan have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence, Trend reports via the Office of Israeli Prime Minister. The document was signed by Head of Israels National AI Directorate Erez Eskel and Azerbaijans Minister of Digital Development and Transport Rashad Nabiyev. The agreement covers cooperation in supercomputing infrastructure, the application of AI in key civilian sectors, joint research initiatives, and the development of human capital. According to the Israeli side, the memorandum strengthens the strategic partnership between the two countries and opens new opportunities for technological leadership. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized the significance of the agreement, noting that artificial intelligence is already a tool of the present, not the future. We must ensure that we are among the leading countries in this field, and I believe that together we can achieve much more and far better results, Netanyahu said. Photo: Ministry of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb.3. Azerbaijani banks have had the most pronounced improvement since 2021, aided by a shift to granular local-currency lending and tighter affordability criteria, Trend reports via Fitch Ratings. Fitch notes that easing legacy asset-quality risks supported Azerbaijani banks profitability. Rapid loan growth and dividends have reduced capital buffers, but Fitch expects capitalisation to remain broadly stable in 2026. Adequate profitability and moderate asset growth will support this. Foreign-currency loans in Azerbaijan were a low 14% at end-9M25, supported by the Azerbaijani manats effective peg to the US dollar and strict foreign-currency lending rules, reads the latest report by Fitch. Banks in Azerbaijan are rated below the sovereign (BBB-/Stable), reflecting Fitchs assessment of the banks standalone profiles and of the operating environment (bb-/stable). Strengthened regulations and sustained financial metrics may lead to rating upside in Azerbaijan. Baku and Abu Dhabi have maintained an ongoing conversation that flows effortlessly, without the need for meticulous statements. It's grounded in a grasp of the region's framework, discerning which risks are here to stay and which are temporary, and which solutions work in practice, not just in rhetoric. That's why the agenda of yesterday's meeting between the presidents of Azerbaijan and the UAE in Abu Dhabi was broad yet focused: politics, economics, energy, defense, and humanitarian issues. Ilham Aliyev and Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan discussed practically the entire spectrum of bilateral relationsfrom politics and economics to energy, and from defense to humanitarian cooperation. Without excessive declarations, but with a clear understanding of where the parties already align and where they are ready to move further. It's symbolic that the focus was on long-term areas: energy, security, and investment. Azerbaijan and the UAE today speak the language of states that think not in terms of seasons or years, but of the horizon. This is especially evident in Abu Dhabi. They know how to "play the long game" here and value partners who possess a vision for development decades ahead. And the sincere personal relationship between the leaders has become a solid foundation upon which this long-term cooperation is successfully moving forward. The signing of a document related to the sale of a portion of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Economy's non-controlling stake in the Southern Gas Corridor project to XRG, the investment arm of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), became a logical continuation of this dialogue. For Baku, this signifies widening the net of trustworthy allies surrounding a pivotal infrastructure endeavor. For Abu Dhabi, it is participation in a route that has long since turned into an important element of the European energy configuration. Defense cooperation stood as an independent subject. The joint operational-tactical exercises "Peace Shield - 2026," currently taking place in Abu Dhabi, are perceived as a working tool for building cooperation between the armed forces of the two countries. Without loud formulations, without demonstrative gestures. Sharing experiences, enhancing compatibility, and building professional contacts are precisely what is valued more than any mere declaration in today's world. The letter of intent on cooperation between the Ministries of Defense of Azerbaijan and the UAE carefully outlines this vector. Here, too, a shared philosophy is evident: security is viewed as part of sustainable development, not as a separate, isolated sphere. The meeting between President Ilham Aliyev and Mohamed Abdelsalam, Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Elders, was a highlight of the visit and went far beyond formalities. They reminisced about visits to Azerbaijan, discussed the activities of the Zayed Foundation, and discussed the humanitarian legacy of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and how the values of dialogue and respect are practically embodied in contemporary politics. In this context, awarding Ilham Aliyev the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity is perceived as an important symbolic, yet tangible, gesture. It showcases Azerbaijan's stance toward a nation that continually champions conversation and works to ease tensions whenever it can. The visit continues, fostering an atmosphere of openness. It is in this mode that partnerships that live long are usually formed. Photo: Press service of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan ABU DHABI, UAE, February 3. On February 3, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan observed the joint operational-tactical exercise Peace Shield 2026, conducted with the participation of servicemen from the armed forces of both countries in Abu Dhabi, Trends special correspondent reports. The exercise, conducted in urban, mountainous, and maritime environments, involved tasks such as detecting and neutralizing illegal armed groups, restoring control over a seized vessel, neutralizing terrorist elements and releasing hostages, evacuating the wounded, preventing riots and sabotage-type activities threatening public security, and conducting firefighting operations. The main goal of the exercise is to enhance the professional skills of military personnel in counterterrorism operations, contribute to lasting peace, and facilitate the exchange of experience between the armed forces of Azerbaijan and the UAE. BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 3. The leadership of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan is on a working visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Trend reports via the ministry. As part of the visit, a bilateral meeting was held between the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov and the UAE Minister of State for Defense Affairs, His Excellency Mohamed bin Mubarak Fadhel Al Mazrouei. During the meeting, the current state and prospects for the development of Azerbaijani-UAE military cooperation were discussed. It was highlighted that joint exercises and mutual visits contribute to the expansion of military relations between the two countries. The sides held an extensive exchange of views on issues of mutual interest in the military, military-technical and military-educational fields. Additionally, the First Deputy Minister of Defense Chief of the General Staff of the Azerbaijan Army Colonel General Karim Valiyev met with the Chief of the General Staff of the UAE Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Issa Saif bin Ablan Al Mazrouei. During the meeting, the Chiefs of the General Staff emphasized the importance of the Peace Shield 2026 joint exercise, conducted with the participation of military personnel from both countries, in terms of enhancing the exchange of experience, and also discussed a number of other issues. Then the leadership of the Ministry of Defense participated in the Distinguished Visitors Day of the Peace Shield 2026 joint operational-tactical exercise. It should be noted that on February 3, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, and President of the UAE Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan observed the joint operational-tactical exercise conducted with the participation of servicemen from the armed forces of both countries in AbuThe leadership of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan is on a working visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). As part of the visit, a bilateral meeting was held between the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov and the UAE Minister of State for Defense Affairs, His Excellency Mohamed bin Mubarak Fadhel Al Mazrouei. During the meeting, the current state and prospects for the development of Azerbaijani-UAE military cooperation were discussed. It was highlighted that joint exercises and mutual visits contribute to the expansion of military relations between the two countries. The sides held an extensive exchange of views on issues of mutual interest in the military, military-technical and military-educational fields. Additionally, the First Deputy Minister of Defense Chief of the General Staff of the Azerbaijan Army Colonel General Karim Valiyev met with the Chief of the General Staff of the UAE Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Issa Saif bin Ablan Al Mazrouei. During the meeting, the Chiefs of the General Staff emphasized the importance of the Peace Shield 2026 joint exercise, conducted with the participation of military personnel from both countries, in terms of enhancing the exchange of experience, and also discussed a number of other issues. Then the leadership of the Ministry of Defense participated in the Distinguished Visitors Day of the Peace Shield 2026 joint operational-tactical exercise. On February 3, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Iham Aliyev, and President of the UAE Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan observed the joint operational-tactical exercise conducted with the participation of servicemen from the armed forces of both countries in Abu Dhabi. Dhabi. BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 4. On February 3, multilateral political consultations were held in Baku between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Serbia, Trend reports with reference to the Azerbaijani MFA. The delegation was headed by Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Yalcin Rafiyev and State Secretary of Serbia Nevena Jovanovic. A detailed exchange of views took place during the political consultations on the foreign policy priorities of both countries, international and regional processes of mutual interest, as well as key challenges in the context of changing geopolitical realities. The meeting also discussed cooperation between the two countries, which have a strategic partnership, within the framework of multilateral formats in the political, economic, energy security, transport, climate change and other areas. Particular attention was paid to the development of bilateral and multilateral cooperation with leading regional and global partners, strengthening interaction within global platforms, and providing mutual support for initiatives and candidacies in international organizations. The parties emphasized the importance of continuing mutual support on foreign policy issues of fundamental importance to both countries within a multilateral format. AzerGold CJSC represented Azerbaijan at the World Money Fair in Berlin, where gold and silver coins reflecting the countrys historical and cultural heritage, as well as its rare fauna were exhibited for the first time. Within the framework of the three-day exhibition, around 320 participants from over 50countries, including national mints and central banks, presented their products and services to the international community. During the exhibition, visitors to the AzerGold stand were provided with detailed information about the gold coin titled 100 Years and a Legacy Beyond, produced in a three-dimensional format using Smartminting technology and dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the birth of National Leader Heydar Aliyev, the Victory coin commemorating the 5th anniversary of Azerbaijans historic Victory, valuable items from the Karabakh collection as well as other coins promoting Azerbaijans modernity, history, art, and ancient traditions. The new-generation silver coin collection, developed within a numismatic project that combines Azerbaijans enchanting nature, the idea of protecting rare species, and advanced production technologies, attracted particular interest from exhibition participants. At the same time, several business meetings were held during the exhibition to discuss potential partnership opportunities with European companies. It is worth noting that the World Money Fair, which is significant for closely following global trends in the production of precious items, was first launched in 1972 in Basel, Switzerland, under the name International Coin Exchange Exhibition. Since 2006, this international event has been held in Berlin, Germany, and is now recognized as a prestigious global platform that brings together collectors, dealers, technical specialists, and mints from all continents. Elon Musks SpaceX has acquired his social media and artificial intelligence business xAI in a deal that unites much of his business empire - Hannibal Hanschke-Pool / Getty Images When Elon Musk declared his intention to buy Twitter, his friends and allies were quick to rally behind his $44bn (32bn) bid. A billion or whatever you recommend, Larry Ellison, the billionaire Oracle founder, messaged Musk at the time. Id recommend maybe $2bn or more, Musk replied. Other notable investors included Marc Andreessens Andreessen Horowitz, Qatar, Saudi Arabias Kingdom Holdings and hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman. Yet once the deal was completed in 2022, it didnt take long for Musks social media gamble to unravel. By reinstating controversial accounts and hailing a new era of free speech, Twitter later renamed X by Musk saw its valuation plunge as advertisers fled and revenues fell. However, the tech billionaires allies are now about to have their loyalty repaid following a series of deals and a planned $1.5tn stock market listing. It was last year that Musk combined Twitter with xAI, the business behind his Grok AI chatbot, valuing the social media site at $30bn. The worlds richest man then revealed plans on Monday to merge his emboldened xAI business with his rocket company, SpaceX. The merger, already dubbed the biggest in history, will pave the way for a proposed float that is expected to value the businesses at $1.5 trillion. And investors in xAI will receive a slice of that pie. This marks not just the next chapter, but the next book in SpaceX and xAIs mission, Musk said on Monday. Scaling to make a sentient sun to understand the universe and extend the light of consciousness to the stars. According to Musk, the venture will ultimately launch a fleet of up to one million data centre satellites aboard his SpaceX rockets. These satellites will be boosted by solar power, with Musk claiming he could ultimately launch one terawatt of computing power into space. Musk: Deal will benefit humanity In a blog post, he said that within three years, space would be the cheapest way to generate AI computing power helping to train a future AI superintelligence and allowing his businesses to overtake rivals such as OpenAI. This cost-efficiency alone will enable innovative companies to forge ahead in training their AI models and processing data at unprecedented speeds and scales, Musk wrote, accelerating breakthroughs in our understanding of physics and invention of technologies to benefit humanity. BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 3. The first meeting of the Supervisory Board of the Media Development Agency (MEDIA) for the year was held on February 3, Trend reports. The meeting was chaired by Supervisory Board Chairman Daghbeyi Ismayilov and attended by Board members Vugar Aliyev, Shafag Mehraliyeva, Sevil Mikayilova, Elchin Shikhli, MEDIA Executive Director Ahmad Ismayilov, and Deputy Executive Director Natig Mammadli. In line with the agenda, Head of the MEDIA Apparatus Ragsana Karimova presented a report on the agencys activities for 2025. The report provided detailed information on measures implemented to strengthen the economic independence of media entities, enhance the professional competence of journalists and communication specialists, improve media literacy in society, as well as efforts to establish and develop international cooperation in the media sphere and organize international events. Members of the Supervisory Board put forward new proposals to further expand the scope of projects implemented in accordance with the charter and identified priority areas for organizing the agencys activities in the upcoming period. Subsequently, Director of the Financial and Support Department, Orkhan Humbatzade, provided comprehensive information on financial planning for the current year, covering all areas of activity in accordance with the agencys charter. The allocation of funds within the budget envisaged for 2026 was deemed appropriate and satisfactory by the Board members. In addition, discussions focused on the implementation of strategic projects to ensure the sustainable development of the media sector, promotion of innovative approaches, and effective use of existing resources, with an exchange of views held on these areas. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 3. A series of high-level international events dedicated to the thirteenth session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) under the theme Housing the world: Safe and resilient cities and communities were held at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York, Trend reports. A meeting of the Group of Friends (GoF) of UN-Habitat, Sustainable Urbanization and the New Urban Agenda was held on 29 January, co-chaired by the Permanent Missions of Poland and Zimbabwe to the United Nations. The meeting was organised in the lead-up to the mid-term review of the implementation of the New Urban Agenda and brought together representatives from a broad range of UN Member States. The meeting began with opening remarks from the co-chairs of the Group of Friends. It was followed by a presentation from Anaclaudia Rossbach, Executive Director of UN-Habitat, on the overarching framework, commitments, priorities and accountability mechanisms for implementing the New Urban Agenda. Subsequently, the co-facilitators of the political declaration of the New Urban Agenda review, the Permanent Representatives of Malawi and Poland to the United Nations, shared their perspectives on current challenges in urbanization and on the process of preparing the midterm review report. It is worth highlighting that the UN-Habitat Group of Friends brings together 50 member states from all regions of the world, with the aim of strengthening dialogue and cooperation to promote inclusive, safe, sustainable and resilient urban development. Within the framework of the meeting, a presentation on the Thirteenth Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) was delivered by the State Committee for Urban Planning and Architecture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, providing information on the Forums theme, key events, and the preparation process for WUF13. On 30 January 2026, a diplomatic briefing dedicated to WUF13 was jointly organised by the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and UN-Habitat. The event was attended by the heads of more than 100 permanent missions accredited to the United Nations, as well as observers and members of the diplomatic corps. Delivering the opening remarks, Elvin Ashrafzada, Charge dAffaires a.i. and Deputy Permanent Representative of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the United Nations, highlighted Azerbaijans contributions to global dialogue on sustainable urban development and underscored the importance of WUF13 in shaping collective responses to todays pressing challenges. In her remarks, Anaclaudia Rossbach, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN-Habitat, said WUF13 is a vital platform for broadening dialogue, strengthening partnerships and promoting practical solutions to the global housing crisis affecting some three billion people worldwide. She stressed that the event will support implementation of the New Urban Agenda and contribute to the development of cities that are inclusive, safe, sustainable and resilient. In her remarks, Gulshan Rzayeva, Deputy National Coordinator of WUF13, spoke about the new initiatives put forward by Azerbaijan within the framework of WUF13, including the organisation, for the first time, of a Summit involving heads of state and government, the holding of a Ministerial meeting in a more interactive and results-oriented format, and the Urban Expo exhibition to be staged across 35,000 square metres. She noted that, as host country, Azerbaijan is demonstrating its strong commitment to the global development agenda by sharing national experience and presenting innovative solutions. As part of the briefing, Omar Siddique, Head of UN-Habitats Canada Office, delivered a presentation outlining the WUF13 programme, key events and opportunities for participation. The briefing continued with a QA session, during which diplomats from Turkiye, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, Pakistan, El Salvador and other countries expressed their confidence in Azerbaijans ability to deliver WUF13 to a high standard. BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 3. On 30 January 2026, an international online event dedicated to WUF13 was held with the participation of 32 parliamentarians from 30 countries, Trend reports. The event focused on Role of Parliament in Advancing Resilient Cities and Sustainable Urban Development." The main purpose of the event was to brief participants on the main objectives and programme of WUF13 as well as to encourage the participation of parliaments in WUF13. The event was organized at the initiative of Parvana Valiyeva, a member of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Global Changemakers Academy for Parliamentarians (GCAP), in cooperation with the State Committee for Urban Planning and Architecture. Alongside parliamentarians, representatives of UN-Habitat and other specialized agencies also participated. At the opening remarks, Member of Parliament Parvana Valiyeva expressed her gratitude to her international counterparts for supporting the initiative and for their participation in the meeting dedicated to WUF13. As a special guest at the opening session, the Hon. Cozier Frederick, Minister of the Environment, Rural Modernisation, and Kalinago Upliftment of the Commonwealth of Dominica, addressed the participants, sharing insights into the urbanization experiences of small island states, the challenges they face, and the steps taken by the Parliament of Dominica in developing building standards, zoning regulations, and planning systems. During the event, the State Committee for Urban Planning and Architecture presented an overview of WUF13, outlining Azerbaijans new initiatives within the forum, including a Summit with participation of heads of states and governments which will be organized for the first time in the World Urban Forum. The importance of parliamentary diplomacy in urban development forums was also emphasized. Foreign parliamentarians participating in the discussion commended Azerbaijan for hosting WUF13 and for its rich urban development experience, and they submitted a joint appeal to the WUF13 National Coordinator, which states: We, parliamentarians representing 30 countries, recognize that cities lie at the heart of todays most urgent global challenges and, at the same time, they are key element to address them. Rapid urbanization, climate risks, inequality, forced displacement, and the growing global housing crisis demand coordinated political leadership, legislative action, and sustained investment. We reaffirm that parliaments play a critical role in translating global urban commitments into national laws, policies, and financing mechanisms. We express our strong support for the Republic of Azerbaijan as the host of WUF13 and commend Azerbaijans commitment to promoting global dialogue on sustainable urbanization and positioning cities as drivers of resilience, peace, and inclusive development. Parliamentarians are one of the key stakeholder groups of the World Urban Forum. Subscription to paid content Gain access to all that Trend has to offer, as well as to premium, licensed content via subscription or direct purchase through a credit card. BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 3. Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are set to convene the inaugural meeting of the Council of Heads of Regions in 2026. This new platform aims to facilitate direct regional interactions and expedite the execution of collaborative economic and infrastructure initiatives. Within the framework of the Council, the regions are expected to focus on practical issues, including the development of industrial cooperation, the attraction of investments, the expansion of logistics links, and cooperation in the agro-industrial sector. The main objective of the new format is to move from general agreements to the implementation of concrete joint projects that can be launched and carried out with the active involvement of regions from both countries. The formation of the Council of Heads of Regions is seen as a natural progression in the deepening of Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan cooperation. Bilateral ties have been steadily advancing in recent years, with trade turnover between the two nations reaching $4.97 billion by the close of 2025, reflecting an 11.4% year-on-year growth. Exports amounted to $1.55 billion, while imports increased by 16.6% to $3.4 billion. As of December 1, 2025, 1,199 enterprises with Kazakh capital were operating in Uzbekistan, underscoring the growing economic collaboration. Looking ahead, both countries aim to elevate mutual trade to $10 billion by 2030. In parallel, there is a shared emphasis on enhancing the regional dimension of their partnership. This focus is intended to enable more agile responses to business needs, provide stronger support for investment initiatives, and foster greater local-level cooperation between enterprises. The idea of establishing the Council gained additional momentum following the visit of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to Uzbekistan on November 14-16. As a result of the talks, the sides signed several agreements whose implementation largely depends on active engagement at the regional level. Accordingly, special emphasis was placed on cooperation between the regions of the two countries. The first meeting of the Council is expected to result in the formation of a list of priority projects and the coordination of further steps for their implementation. The focus will be on initiatives in industry, the agro-industrial sector, logistics, and infrastructure, where regional cooperation can deliver rapid and tangible results. Discussions are also expected to cover project support mechanisms and the removal of administrative barriers. Industrial collaboration remains a cornerstone of the partnership between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. To this end, the International Center for Industrial Cooperation Central Asia has been established to foster production linkages between enterprises in both countries. Additionally, new joint ventures, valued at a total of $1.3 billion, have been launched across priority sectors, with the overall project portfolio surpassing $8 billion. To further drive these initiatives, the creation of a joint Investment Platform has been proposed. Uzbekistans regional entities are already actively engaged in these developments. In the Syrdarya region, work has commenced on a 70-hectare industrial cluster, which will accommodate production facilities for polyethylene pipes, construction materials, and agro-industrial goods. Similar initiatives are underway in Karakalpakstan, as well as in the Tashkent and Samarkand regions, further expanding the scope of bilateral industrial cooperation. On the Kazakh side, the Turkistan, Kyzylorda, and Zhetysu regions are participating in joint regional projects. These regions are focusing on the processing of agricultural raw materials and the production of food products with high added value. Beyond industrial cooperation, the Council of Heads of Regions is also seen as a platform for coordinating projects in the transport and energy sectors, where implementation largely depends on coordinated regional actions. The sides are paying particular attention to the development of international transport corridors, including the Trans-Caspian route, the NorthSouth corridor, as well as new routes via China, Iran, and Turkiye. The Trans-Afghan railway project is also under consideration, as it could significantly expand Central Asias transit capacity and strengthen the regions role in international logistics. Close coordination at the regional level is also required in the energy sector. At present, gas transportation systems are operating in a stable and coordinated manner. Over the first seven months of 2025, transit of Kazakh gas through Uzbekistan amounted to 921.7 million cubic meters. Kazakhstan remains a key transit partner for Russian gas supplies to Uzbekistan, with volumes planned to increase to 11 billion cubic meters per year from 2026 through 2038. In addition, in 2026, Uzbekistan plans to supply Kazakhstan with around 900 million kilowatt-hours of electricity, helping to cover potential shortages in certain regions of the country. The holding of the first meeting of the Council of Heads of Regions is regarded by both sides as a step toward more practical and closer cooperation. The new format is expected to accelerate the implementation of joint projects, strengthen coordination between regions, and provide additional momentum to the development of the UzbekistanKazakhstan partnership in trade, industry, transport, and energy. TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, February 3. Uzbekistan and the United Arab Emirates discussed the development of a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), Trend reports via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan. The discussions took place during a meeting between Inomjon Abdurakhmonov, Head of the Directorate General for Foreign Trade at Uzbekistans Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade, and representatives of the UAE Ministry of Foreign Trade on the sidelines of the Gulfood 2026 exhibition in Dubai. During the meeting, the sides agreed to establish a joint working group to work on the development of the agreement and to introduce preferential trade conditions for more than 500 product categories within the current year. In parallel, Uzbekistan held B2B negotiations with more than 20 leading retailers and distributors from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and other Gulf countries, including Lulu Group, Ali Bin Ali Holding, and Sunberry Vegetables, as well as other major market players. As a result of the talks, agreements were reached to place Uzbek products in Lulu retail chains and to organize direct supplies from Uzbekistan. The sides also agreed on mechanisms for entering new markets and the phased development of a pool of exporters in cooperation with partners from the UAE and Qatar. Meanwhile, Uzbekistans foreign trade turnover with the United Arab Emirates amounted to approximately $1.2 billion in 2025, marking an increase of about 46% year-on-year compared to $821.8 million recorded in 2024, reflecting a sharp expansion in bilateral trade. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, February 3. Iraq plans to launch direct air services with Uzbekistan, Trend reports via the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan. The initiative was discussed during an informal business dialogue organized by Iraqs economic consulate on the sidelines of the Baghdad International Fair, bringing together government officials and business representatives from both countries. During the discussions, the Iraqi side also announced plans to simplify visa procedures, a step thats set to pave the way for smoother business travel and strengthen bilateral ties. According to the Chamber, these measures are expected to provide additional momentum to the development of trade, economic, and business ties between Uzbekistan and Iraq. With a population of approximately 46 million and an estimated annual import demand of about $53 billion, Iraq represents a large and promising market for Uzbekistan. The country annually imports textiles, carpets, and leather products worth around $3 billion; food products and construction materials valued at about $4 billion; electrical equipment worth nearly $3 billion; furniture valued at approximately $1.2 billion; and pharmaceutical products amounting to around $2 billion. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, February 3. Uzbekistan and the European Union discussed issues related to the implementation of investment projects in the pharmaceutical industry, including the localization of production, Trend reports via the Pharmaceutical Industry Development Agency of Uzbekistan. The discussion took place during a meeting between Abdulla Azizov, Director of the Pharmaceutical Industry Development Agency, Toivo Klaar, Ambassador of the European Union to Uzbekistan, and Akmal Rustamov, Project Manager. During the meeting, the parties exchanged views on the European Unions research and innovation program Horizon Europe, including its potential application in Uzbekistans pharmaceutical sector, future cooperation prospects, and expected outcomes. A presentation was also delivered on the opportunities offered by the Tashkent Pharma Park innovative pharmaceutical cluster, highlighting its modern scientific, research, and manufacturing infrastructure. At the conclusion of the meeting, the parties expressed interest in developing joint investment and research projects, strengthening practical cooperation, and implementing joint initiatives in science, education, and innovation within the pharmaceutical sector. Meanwhile, in October 2025, Uzbekistan and the European Union signed the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA), which provides an expanded framework for political dialogue and economic cooperation. The agreement aims to deepen EU engagement with Uzbekistan, including cooperation in industry, innovation, and investment-oriented sectors such as pharmaceuticals. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, February 3. The Ministry of Agriculture of Kyrgyzstan has developed a new method for the rapid assessment of pasture conditions across the country, Trend reports via the press service of the ministry. A dedicated methodological guide has been introduced to enable timely and accurate evaluation of pastureland quality. The main assessment indicators include the condition of vegetation cover, signs of land degradation, and the spread of weeds and shrubs, as well as the degree of soil stoniness. Assessing a single pasture plot takes approximately 30-40 minutes and allows specialists to determine its condition with a high level of accuracy. Research findings indicate that the pastures of the Susamyr Valley are generally in good condition and are classified as areas with rich forage vegetation. At the same time, certain sections have shown active spread of the caragana shrub (altygana), an issue that was initially raised by local residents. Experts have tested both chemical and mechanical methods to control the shrub. On fenced and level areas, the use of low-toxicity glyphosate-based herbicides has produced positive results. After the removal of caragana, forage vegetation remains intact and, provided the pasture is given a rest period, recovers within one year. A mechanical approach is also applied, involving uprooting the shrubs followed by the sowing of perennial grasses. The ministry emphasized that measures to combat caragana are implemented selectively and without harming the ecosystem. Ensuring the dominance of forage grasses on pastures is essential, as caragana restricts free livestock grazing and poses safety risks. Work in this area will continue to preserve pasture resources and prevent further degradation. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, February 3. Kyrgyzstan's Bishkek city will host the second "B5+1" Forum on February 45, 2026, Trend reports via the press service of the Cabinet of Ministers. The forum is organized in cooperation with the government of Kyrgyzstan and serves as a platform for dialogue between business leaders and governments of Central Asian countries and the U.S., aiming to strengthen regional economic cooperation and enhance public-private sector interaction. According to the Cabinet, the forum will focus on key sectors including agriculture, banking and finance, critical mineral resources, e-commerce and information technology, transport and logistics, and tourism. The government also noted that the first B5+1 forum took place in Almaty on March 1415, 2024, gathering more than 250 participants and stakeholders from ten countries. Meanwhile, the "B5+1" Forum is regarded as a commercial counterpart to the diplomatic platform C5+1, which brings together Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and the U.S. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Earlier in his career, Dr. Armstrong built extensive hands-on experience in Archean gold systems. He worked as an underground production geologist at Placer Dome's Campbell Mine in Red Lake (1995-1997) and Miramar's Con Mine in Yellowknife (1994-1995), where he was responsible for daily grade control, stope mapping, and definition drilling. Dr. John P. Armstrong is a seasoned mining executive with more than 34 years of experience in mineral exploration, mining, and government in Canada and Botswana. He spent over a decade with Lucara Diamond Corp., serving most recently as Vice President, Technical Services (2018-2024), where he led the technical team through pre-feasibility and feasibility study phases for the Karowe Underground Expansion - Botswana's first shaft-accessed underground diamond mine. Dr. Armstrong was also responsible for modelling Karowe's unique diamond size distribution and implementing innovative sensor-based XRT recovery circuits designed to preserve the value of the mine's largest, highest-value stones. Ms. Thomas continued, "John also brings more than a decade of experience working in Botswana with Lucara Diamond Corp., where he played a key leadership role in advancing the Karowe Diamond Mine. His established relationships and operational knowledge in-country will be invaluable as we build on the momentum from our successful 2025 exploration program. John has been tasked with overseeing the Kraaipan Gold Project while also evaluating new gold opportunities across southern Africa to expand our project pipeline." Eira Thomas, CEO of North Arrow, commented, "I am delighted to welcome John to North Arrow at this pivotal time for the Company. As we accelerate our gold exploration activities in Botswana and pursue additional opportunities across sub-Saharan Africa, John brings exactly the expertise we need. His early career was built in some of Canada's most renowned Archean gold camps - working underground at the Con and Campbell mines in Yellowknife and Red Lake and exploring the Hope Bay Greenstone Belt. His Ph.D. research focused specifically on the mineralogy and genesis of gold ores at the Con Mine in the Yellowknife Greenstone Belt, giving him deep technical insight into gold mineralization styles including the types of BIF-hosted gold systems we are targeting at the Kraaipan Gold Project." Story Continues He also worked on gold exploration at BHP's Boston Camp in the Hope Bay Greenstone Belt (1993) and contributed to regional compilation work in the Yellowknife Greenstone Belt with NERCO Minerals (1990-1992). His Ph.D. research at the University of Western Ontario focused on the silicate and sulphide mineral chemistry of free-milling and refractory gold ores of the Con Mine, Yellowknife. Dr. Armstrong served as District Geologist - Diamonds with Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) from 1997-2004, where he tracked diamond exploration activities across the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. He held the Hutchison Visiting Chair for Mineral Deposits at the University of Western Ontario (2009-2012), where he mentored the next generation of exploration geologists. Dr. Armstrong currently serves on the board of directors of Tectonic Metals Inc., which is actively exploring the Flat Gold Project in Alaska within the Tintina Gold Belt. He holds a Ph.D. in Geology (1997) and an Honours B.Sc. in Geology (1989) from the University of Western Ontario and is a registered Professional Geologist with NAPEG. Dr. Armstrong is a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. North Arrow has granted 350,000 incentive stock options to Dr. Armstrong pursuant to the terms of the Company's Stock Option Plan approved by shareholders at the Annual General Meeting held on December 18, 2025. The options are exercisable at CDN$0.27 per share and can be exercised until February 3, 2031. Following this grant of stock options there are 2,427,500 stock options outstanding, representing 8.49% of the Company's issued and outstanding common shares. About North Arrow Minerals: Vancouver-based exploration company focused on evaluating the Kraaipan Gold Project. Management and advisors bring significant global exploration and mining experience. North Arrow's exploration programs are conducted under the direction of Dr. John Armstrong, P.Geo. (NWT/NU), President and COO of North Arrow and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. North Arrow Minerals Inc. /s/ "Eira Thomas" Eira Thomas President and CEO Website: www.northarrowminerals.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release contains "forward-looking statements" including but not limited to statements with respect to North Arrow's plans, the estimation of a mineral resource and the success of exploration activities. Forward-looking statements, while based on management's best estimates and assumptions, are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: risks related to the successful integration of acquisitions; risks related to general economic and market conditions; closing of financing; the timing and content of upcoming work programs; actual results of proposed exploration activities; possible variations in mineral resources or grade; failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents, labour disputes, title disputes, claims and limitations on insurance coverage and other risks of the mining industry; changes in national and local government regulation of mining operations, tax rules and regulations. Although North Arrow has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. North Arrow undertakes no obligation or responsibility to update forward-looking statements, except as required by law. North Arrow Minerals new logo. (CNW Group/North Arrow Minerals Inc.) Cision View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2026/03/c0209.html Azerbaijan spills beans on trade turnover with Iran in 2025 Trade between Azerbaijan and Iran showed a slight decline in 2025. Exports from Azerbaijan to Iran experienced notable growth, while imports from Iran decreased. The trade with Iran made up a small portion of Azerbaijans total trade turnover during the year. Access to paid information is limited If You already have a account, please log in Login Register TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, February 3. Uzbekistan and China have agreed to jointly implement projects for the construction of a modern hospital and an aquapark in Andijan, Trend reports, citing the Andijan city administration. The agreements were reached during a meeting between the Hokim of Andijan region, Shukhratbek Abdurakhmonov, and representatives of the Chinese Qingdao Wanlin Health and Wellness Industry Group, headed by Li Yantao. During the discussions, the regional governor presented the investor with a comprehensive overview of potential construction sites, providing in-depth information on the infrastructure capacities and logistical conditions of each location. According to the city administration, the proposed projects are anticipated to significantly enhance healthcare services, introduce state-of-the-art recreational facilities, and create a substantial number of new employment opportunities in the region. Meanwhile, Uzbekistans trade turnover with China reached an impressive $17.2 billion in 2025, further solidifying China's status as Uzbekistans principal trading partner. Yelo Bank held another networking meeting as part of its mission to support female entrepreneurs and expand their networking opportunities. Organized jointly with the Association for the Development of Women's Entrepreneurship in Azerbaijan (AQSIA), the guests of this "Tea Talk" format meeting were successful female entrepreneurs operating in the healthcare sector. The main goal of the event is to strengthen professional relations between female entrepreneurs and share experiences in various business areas. Nigar Rustamli, the Head of the Corporate Cooperation Department at TBIB, who was a special guest of the meeting, spoke about her career path, the challenges she faced, and the interesting experiences she gained. The meeting, which took place in an atmosphere of sincere conversation, was useful for the participants in terms of both motivation and new business perspectives. Such meetings are a valuable platform for female entrepreneurs to learn from each other and unite around common ideas. Yelo Bank will always continue to support initiatives aimed at the development of female entrepreneurs and strengthening their role in society. Need more information about our banking services? Then call 981 or visit our Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, or yelo.az accounts. Yelo Bank Brighter Banking! ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, February 3. Turkmenistan plans to build two Ro-Ro ferries and three additional cargo ships at the Balkan Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Plant, Trend reports via the State Service for Maritime and River Transport of Turkmenistan. Currently, construction is underway on two cargo ships and a dredger at the same plant as part of efforts to expand the countrys maritime transport capacity and modernize its fleet. The Balkan Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Plant, Turkmenistans first major shipbuilding facility, is capable of constructing up to four vessels and repairing up to 20 ships annually. It is equipped with a 10,000-ton synchrolift, modern technologies, and cranes for handling various production tasks. Ro-Ro (roll-on/roll-off) ferries are vessels designed to carry wheeled cargo such as cars, trucks, and trailers that are driven on and off the ship via ramps, allowing faster loading and unloading compared to conventional cargo ships. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, February 3. Turkmenistan and Romania reaffirmed their commitment to expand economic and scientific-technical cooperation, Trend reports via the Turkmen MFA. The issues were raised during a meeting between Deputy Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan Ahmet Gurbanov and Romanian Ambassador in Ashgabat Ion Naval. The sides discussed a wide range of bilateral issues, emphasizing the need to organize contacts at the highest and high levels through both bilateral visits and multilateral platforms. The significance of ongoing political consultations and the sessions of the Turkmen-Romanian Intergovernmental Commission on Economic and Scientific-Technical Cooperation was also emphasized. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, February 3. Kyrgyzstan and the Italian company TRITOR S.R.L. discussed prospects for bilateral cooperation in sustainable development, the implementation of "green" technologies, the processing of solid household and medical waste, and the potential for pilot investment projects in the country, Trend reports via the Kyrgyz National Investment Agency. The discussion took place on February 2 at the National Investment Agency under the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, during an official meeting with representatives of TRITOR S.R.L., which specializes in innovative and environmentally friendly waste processing technologies. The meeting was also attended by representatives from municipal administrations across Kyrgyzstan as well as the Ministry of Health. The participation of relevant state and municipal bodies focused on practical issues, including the preliminary identification of potential sites for project implementation and the installation of pilot waste processing facilities for household and medical waste. Speaking at the meeting, Head of the National Investment Agency Ravshanbek Sabirov emphasized the importance of such initiatives for the country. "The issue of waste management is particularly urgent today, and Kyrgyzstan is interested in introducing modern, environmentally safe technologies. We value not just ideas, but workable solutions that can be adapted to our conditions. We are open to cooperation and ready to support such projects at every stage of implementation," Sabirov delineated. Following the talks, a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between the National Investment Agency under the President of the Kyrgyz Republic and TRITOR S.R.L. The document aims to establish partnership relations and develop long-term, effective, and mutually beneficial cooperation. The memorandum provides for the implementation of pilot projects to process up to 200 tons of unsorted household waste per day, the use of alternative eco-friendly fuel at cement plants, the introduction of modern solutions for landfill reclamation and treatment, and the launch of medical waste processing projects in public healthcare institutions. Special attention is given to training local personnel, attracting investments, and ensuring transparency in financial processes. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Azerbaijan's business lending in construction sector grows The business loan portfolio of Azerbaijani banks in the construction sector has seen significant growth as of January 1, 2026. Data from the Central Bank of Azerbaijan shows a notable increase compared to both the previous month and the same period last year. This reflects continued support for the construction industry. Access to paid information is limited If You already have a account, please log in Login Register TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, February 3. Uzbekistan and OECD have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, marking a new phase in the countrys integration into the global economy, Trend reports via the Uzbek Ministry of Investments, Industry and Trade. Meanwhile, the agreement was signed on the sidelines of the OECD Eurasia Week. According to the Ministry, the memorandum outlines 19 key priority areas, including the enhancement of the investment climate, the advancement of digital transformation, the reinforcement of anti-corruption initiatives, and the promotion of green energy development. Under this framework, Uzbek businesses will gain access to OECDs analytical tools and internationally recognized best practices, which are anticipated to bolster competitiveness and increase investor confidence. Uzbekistan has also formally applied to accede to the OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises, a document endorsed by over 50 countries. This move is expected to further elevate Uzbekistans standing in global rankings while providing added safeguards for foreign investors. The cooperation framework also envisions the modernization of critical sectors, including education and healthcare, job creation, the expansion of renewable energy capacity, and the strengthening of social protection mechanisms. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an intergovernmental organization that conducts economic analysis and develops policy frameworks across a range of sectors. Investing.com - Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) plummeted after the Wegovy-maker posted fourth-quarter results and issued a sales warning for 2026. The company stated adjusted sales growth for 2026, which excludes revenue from the reversal of 340B provisions, is expected to be -5 to -13% at CER. In 2025, sales grew 10%. The company stated the lower outlook is related to lower prices due to the "Most Favoured Nations" agreement in the U.S., the patent expiry of the semaglutide molecule in certain IO markets, as well as competition. Shares of Novo closed 14.6% lower in New York trading, while its Copenhagen-listed shares plunged around 16% on Wednesday. The 2026 sales guidance was about 8% below the consensus at the midpoint, BofA analyst Sachin Jain highlights. Separately, Morgan Stanley analyst Thibault Boutherin said the "2026 guide surprised to the downside, confirming our concerns on U.S. prices and mix." "Our new forecasts are at the top end of the new guidance, but we see downside risks if our volume growth assumptions do not materialise," he noted. For 2025, the company reported that sales increased by 6% in Danish kroner and by 10% at constant exchange rates to DKK 309.1 billion. Meanwhile, for the year operating profit decreased by 1% in Danish kroner and increased by 6% at constant exchange rates (CER) to DKK 127.7 billion. Excluding a company-wide transformation, operating profit would have increased by 6% in Danish kroner and 13% at CER. Sales in US Operations increased by 3% in Danish kroner (8% at CER) in 2025, while sales in International Operations increased by 10% in Danish kroner (14% at CER). The company also announced that Dave Moore, Head of US Operations, will leave for personal reasons and will be succeeded by Jamey Millar. "Pricing concessions weigh on the topline in 2026 as Novo looks for volumes to flow through," BMO Capital analyst Evan David Seigerman stated following the results. "Following Trump MFN deals and new needed efforts to maintain access in the obesity market, Novo now faces extensive pricing headwinds in the US. While early signs of growth exist for the Wegovy pill, concessions for injectable GLP-1s are clearly impacting the topline offsetting gains in the oral market." The news from Novo also affected shares of U.S. rival Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY), which closed down 3.9%. Related articles Novo Nordisk shares fall 18% amid lower 2026 sales outlook Nvidia's new Alpamayo project: What it means for Tesla? Morgan Stanley CIO survey: Why AI hype isnt boosting 2026 IT budgets BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb.3. The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) held a meeting at its headquarters to discuss the draft Social Development (Sustainability) Program for 20262028 and the associated action plan, Trend reports citing the company. At the meeting, participants reviewed the results of the 20212025 Social Development Program, exchanged views on priority areas for the next period, and set future objectives, the company said. SOCAR plays a strategic role in regional and international energy security and in the development of the countrys oil, gas, and petrochemical industries. The company supports the growth of Azerbaijans economic, scientific, technical, and intellectual potential, maintains a leading position in energy projects, and aims to maximize revenue from the sale of hydrocarbon resources and related products in domestic and international markets. Guided by these principles, SOCAR pursues sustainable and continuous development while generating value for Azerbaijani citizens and legal entities. Its operational approach emphasizes quality, health, workplace safety, and environmental protection, aiming to carry out all activities with minimal environmental impact, prevent accidents and occupational illnesses, and align management processes with leading international standards. Through integrated processes and procedures, the company seeks to optimize its value chain across all operations. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb.3. The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group maintained a high level of activity in Belgium in 2025, providing 2.6 billion in financing to support climate action, energy security, social housing and innovation, the Bank said, Trend reports. The financing, which included 157 million from the European Investment Fund (EIF), focused on priority areas such as social and affordable housing, energy efficiency, and energy and water infrastructure as part of the green transition. More than two thirds of the Groups total investment volume in Belgium around 1.76 billion was climate-related. At the global level, the EIB Group signed close to 100 billion in new financing in 2025, supporting hundreds of projects aligned with EU policy priorities, including approximately 57 billion for green projects. Energy security remained a key focus in Belgium, reflecting the Groups overall 33 billion commitment across Europe in 2025. In Wallonia, the EIB provided a 280 million loan to ORES to modernize and future-proof its electricity distribution network. This was complemented by a 100 million cooperation with Wallonie Entreprendre to help small businesses finance sustainability investments. In addition, Societe wallonne du credit social (SWCS) signed a first 250 million tranche under a larger facility to support energy-efficient renovation of private homes. Innovation financing also featured prominently. The EIB provided venture debt to two Belgian scale-ups, including 37.5 million to space technology company Aerospacelabs and 20 million to SamanTree, whose microscopic scanning technology aims to improve the precision of cancer surgeries. In Flanders, the EIB signed the first 700 million tranche of what will become its largest-ever financing operation in Belgium: a 1.7 billion agreement with the Flemish government to support the construction of 56,000 new social housing units by 2042, alongside the energy-efficient renovation of thousands of existing homes. The Bank also renewed its long-standing partnership with water company Aquafin, providing 265 million for wastewater treatment infrastructure. In the Brussels Capital Region, EIB Group financing focused on improving access to finance and boosting competitiveness for small and medium-sized enterprises, including a 50 million agreement with finance&invest.brussels to support small entrepreneurs. The EIF continued to back Belgian SMEs through guarantees and equity investments in specialised funds. With support from the European Commissions InvestEU programme, the EIF invested in initiatives such as Avante, a pan-European fund targeting biotech scale-ups, and Heran Healthtech Fund II. With a strong pipeline of projects in mobility, healthcare and innovation, the EIB Group said it will continue to finance investments that deliver tangible benefits for citizens and businesses. The European Investment Bank Group comprising the EIB and the EIF is the European Unions financial arm and is owned by its 27 Member States, with Belgium holding a 5.2% share. The EIB provides long-term financing for investments that support EU policy objectives, while the EIF focuses on improving access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises through guarantees, equity investments and microfinance. BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 3. The International Transport Forum (ITF) highly appreciated Azerbaijan's chairmanship of an extraordinary session of the ITF Transport Governance Council held in Paris, the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport told Trend. The statement shared on the ITF social media account after the session expressed special gratitude to Azerbaijan for the successful management of the meeting and the effective direction of the discussions. The extraordinary session played an important platform for dialogue on transport policy and once again demonstrated our country's commitment to international cooperation in this area. Azerbaijan's presidency of the ITF will conclude with a summit on "Funding Resilient Transport" to be held on May 6-8, 2026 in Leipzig, Germany. The ITF presidency will further strengthen our country's role in shaping global transport policy. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel ASTANA, Kazakhstan, February 3. The export of wheat from Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan between September and December 2025 decreased by 34% compared to the same period in 2024, reaching about 126,900 tons, Evgeny Karabanov, Head of the Grain Union of Kazakhstan analytics committee said, Trend reports via the union. He noted that Kazakhstan exported 4.123 million tons of wheat (both soft and hard) over the past four months, which is almost 1.5 times more than in the same period last season. December saw a record monthly export of 1.778 million tons, which was 2.1 times higher than November and 1.85 times more than in December 2024. "Thus, over the past four months of the current marketing year, about 50% of the wheat export potential has been utilized," said Karabanov. Additionally, since the start of the marketing year in September 2025, Kazakh wheat has been shipped to countries that did not receive exports between September and December of the previous year. Algeria received 140,000 tons (56,500 tons in December 2025), Iran received 56,500 tons, the Netherlands received 2,900 tons, and Portugal received 2,200 tons. Kazakhstan plays a significant role in global wheat production and exports, with an estimated annual export capacity of 712 million tonnes. As the 14th largest producer, it is a crucial food supplier for Central Asia, Afghanistan, and increasingly, China. The country typically produces between 12 and over 16 million tonnes of wheat annually, with the 2024 harvest projected between 15.8 and 16.5 million tonnes, contributing to a total grain harvest of 26.5 million tonnes. With over 13 million hectares of arable land primarily in the northern regions, Kazakhstan focuses on high-quality milling wheat; however, some production may grade lower depending on weather conditions, leading to its use as animal feed. ASTANA, Kazakhstan, February 3. Kazakhstan has suggested to Vietnam the broader use of the Middle Corridor infrastructure, Trend reports via the Ministry of National Economy of Kazakhstan. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin made the statement during a meeting with Nguyen Hoa Binh, Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam. Zhumangarin noted that the Middle Corridor can significantly shorten delivery times by 3-4 times compared to the southern maritime route. Kazakhstan expressed its readiness to create optimal logistics conditions and develop joint projects, including in the light industry and automobile manufacturing sectors. Additionally, in 2026, regular flights between Hanoi, Almaty, and Prague will be launched by VietJet Air. Kazakhstan has proposed the possibility of establishing direct flights between Astana and Hanoi, as well as restoring the Almaty-Ho Chi Minh route. Meanwhile, there are fresh advancements in the investment collaboration between the two nations. A number of projects involving Vietnamese capital are being implemented in Kazakhstan, including the construction of the Ak Bulak Village tourist complex in the Almaty region and a food production factory in the "Arna" industrial zone in the city of Konaev, with investments totaling $90 million. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel ASTANA, Kazakhstan, February 3. Kazakhstan has set a goal to double its mutual trade turnover with Vietnam in 2026, Deputy Prime Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin said, Trend reports via the Ministry of National Economy of Kazakhstan. This statement was made during his meeting with Nguyen Hoa Binh, Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam. It was noted that Kazakhstan also plans to send a trade and economic mission to Vietnam in mid-2026. As reported, Kazakhstan in 2025 exported over 15,000 tons of wheat to Vietnam for the first time in eight years. Last year, Kazakhstan launched its first direct combined shipments of Kazakh grain using multimodal logistics, which helped reduce delivery time and costs. According to the ministry, the potential for expanding exports to Vietnam includes flour, meat and dairy products, and oilseeds. In this context, Kazakhstan proposed to expedite the approval of the Veterinary Cooperation Agreement and sign it during the second meeting of the Agriculture Subcommittee. Post-meeting, the Vietnamese delegation endorsed the establishment of a Kazakhstan-Vietnam Business Council. As per the data released by the Bureau of the National Statistics of Kazakhstan, the trade turnover between the nations reached $737.341 million during the period from January through November 2025. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel ASTANA, Kazakhstan, February 3. Kazakhstan is set to implement artificial intelligence (AI) in the examination of construction projects, Trend reports via the Ministry of Industry and Construction of Kazakhstan. In the first quarter of 2026, AI-powered solutions are expected to be piloted on the Unified Construction Portal (Qportal.kz). These solutions will streamline the verification process for the completeness of initial and permitting documents uploaded during the thorough interdepartmental review of construction projects. The technology's further development will focus on verifying the accuracy of cost estimates and ensuring compliance with project design standards. The Unified Construction Portal, launched in early 2026, serves as a "one-stop shop" for various industry and government services used throughout the construction process. Additionally, the portal features a BIM (Building Information Modeling) modulea digital tool that allows users to view building models alongside all related information. The portal also hosts regulatory and legal frameworks related to building information modeling. On January 6 of this year, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a decree declaring 2026 as the Year of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence in Kazakhstan. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel ASTANA, Kazakhstan, February 3. Alibe Zhamauov, Chairman of the Board of JSC National Company QazaqGaz, and Li Shufen, General Director of CNPC (China National Petroleum Corporation) in Central Asia and Kazakhstan, discussed the future prospects of investment cooperation, Trend reports via QazaqGaz. Zhamauov expressed confidence in further strengthening the partnership between the two companies. During the meeting, the participants focused on potential areas for expanding cooperation, including the joint implementation of mutually beneficial projects. CNPC, a major Chinese state-owned oil and gas corporation, is the largest oil and gas producer and supplier in China and one of the largest integrated energy groups in the world. CNPC operates with a portfolio spanning more than 30 nations. CNPC entered Kazakhstan in 1997, engaging in operations such as upstream oil and gas investments, downstream refining, construction and operation of oil and gas pipelines, oil product distribution, and engineering and technical services at oil and gas fields. According to the company, CNPC holds investments in various projects, including AktobeMunaiGas, PK, Mangistau, Kashagan, North Buzachi, ADM, and KAM. Additionally, CNPC is the EPC contractor for major pipelines, including the Kazakhstan-China Crude Oil Pipeline, Kazakhstan-China Gas Pipeline, Beineu-Shymkent Gas Pipeline, and Kenkiyak-Atyrau Crude Oil Pipeline, which are jointly operated with Kazakh partners. In June 2025, QazaqGaz and CNPC-Aktobemunaygaz signed a framework cooperation agreement for a subsoil use project at the North-1 site in the Aktobe region. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Novo Nordisk A/S shares plunged after the company shocked investors by forecasting a steep decline in sales, evidence of an intensifying price war in obesity drugs. Sales will fall by as much as 13% this year, the company said Tuesday. Pressure from lower prices for its blockbuster weight-loss drugs, in part due to the US governments push to cut prices, will contribute to the decline. Most Read from Bloomberg It really paints a picture of a challenged Novo, Lars Hytting, head of trading at ArthaScope, an investor in the Danish drugmaker, said in an interview. Even the most skeptical analyst didnt anticipate this big of a drop, he said. The shares fell as much as 20% in early Copenhagen trading, the biggest intraday decline since July, more than wiping out the previous gains for this year. The companys market value has fallen to about $215 billion from more than $600 billion in 2024, when it became Europes most valuable company. Novos warning reflects mounting competition in the fast-growing market for weight-loss drugs, as it fights for market share with Eli Lilly & Co. and telehealth companies selling cheaper copycat versions of their drugs. It also highlights how drugmakers are under pressure from President Donald Trump to lower pharmaceutical costs for many Americans. WATCH: Novo Nordisk CEO Mike Doustdar speaks on Bloomberg Television.Source: Bloomberg The Trump administration in November announced steep discounts for Novos blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy sold to Medicare, the federal health insurance program for the elderly. Those prices go into effect in 2027. The surprisingly downbeat outlook deepens the challenges facing Chief Executive Officer Mike Doustdar, who has moved to cut jobs and instill a more performance-oriented culture at Novo after it lost its early lead in the market for revolutionary weight-loss treatments that have generated billions of dollars in sales and attracted growing competition. While today you see negative growth on the financial numbers, I see a lot of positive growth on the other side of the business, said Doustdar on Bloomberg TV on Tuesday, hailing the success of the recent launch of the Wegovy pill. He said Novos main aim is now to stay focused on its transformation and develop new drugs. Management changes are already taking place with Dave Moore, who headed the US business for a year, leaving to be replaced by Jamey Millar, who is currently at UnitedHealth Group and has also worked at GSK Plc. Novo also appointed Hong Chow to lead product and portfolio strategy starting Feb. 15. She most recently oversaw the China and international business for Merck Healthcare, part of Merck KGaA in Germany. BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 3. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, taking into account U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal for talks, has ordered the Iranian Foreign Ministry to create conditions for negotiations and hold discussions in appropriate conditions, Trend reports via the information portal of the Iranian president. The Iranian president said that Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi was instructed to create conditions for fair discussions within the framework of national interests in the circumstances and in an environment free from unreasonable expectations and threats. On April 12, 19, and 26 and May 11 and 23, 2025, five rounds of indirect talks between Iran and the U.S. on Iran's nuclear program took place. The indirect talks were organized through the mediation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Sultanate of Oman, Sayyid Badr Hamad Al Busaidi, and were conducted by an Iranian delegation led by Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi and a U.S. delegation led by U.S. Special Representative for the Middle East Steve Witkoff. The first, third, and fourth rounds of talks took place in Muscat, the capital of Oman, and the second and fifth rounds took place in Rome, the capital of Italy. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 3. Talks between the United States and Iran are still scheduled for this week despite the downing of an Iranian drone, White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt said, Trend reports. "Special Envoy Witkoff is preparing to negotiate with the Iranians this week. As of now, those are still scheduled," Leavitt said in an interview with local media. She also noted that US President Donald Trump "has a number of options on the table [regarding Iran], including the use of military force." Earlier, The United States military shot down an Iranian drone that was heading towards the American nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea. The Shahed-139 drone was destroyed by an F-35 fighter jet. This pilot of the Honda Proactive Roadway Maintenance System empowers drivers to play an active role in creating safer roadways and communities while helping agencies like ODOT improve maintenance operations, said Sue Bai, chief engineer, Sustainability and Business Development at American Honda Motor Co., Inc. By using real-time vehicle data to detect road hazards and infrastructure issues, Honda, ODOT and our project partners are demonstrating how smarter, adaptive solutions can enhance safety, reduce costs and enhance safety for everyone sharing the road. By reducing the need for manual inspections, the system enhances safety for maintenance crews and minimizes their exposure to traffic hazards. The project team estimates that automated road condition detection could save Ohio taxpayers $4.5 million annually. We are introducing cutting-edge technologies for evaluating and maintaining transportation infrastructure, enabling agencies to make more timely and informed decisions, said Nazzal, director of UC's Center for Smart, Sustainable & Resilient Infrastructure. This project represents a first-of-its-kind collaboration among an automotive OEM, a state Department of Transportation, a university and industry partners to leverage vehicle sensor data for assessing roadway conditions, enhancing safety and reducing infrastructure maintenance costs. During the pilot, ODOT team members drove Honda test vehicles equipped with advanced vision and sensors to monitor approximately 3,000 miles of roads in central and southeastern Ohio. The vehicles operated under a wide range of real-world conditions, including multiple road types in rural and urban environments, varied weather, and different times of the day. The Proactive Roadway Maintenance System detected road conditions and infrastructure deficiencies, providing ODOT with actionable insights by identifying: Worn or obstructed road signs. Damage to guardrails and cable road barriers. Pothole development, including size and location. Condition of shoulder drops. Insufficient roadway striping. Rough road. At the heart of this technology is our shared goal to keep our roadways safe for all users, ODOT Director Pam Boratyn said. This Proactive Roadway Maintenance System also creates a safer environment for our workers while they gather the critical information and data needed to ensure Ohios highways are maintained. Read the Columbus Business First story. Featured image at top: UC Professor Munir Nazzal stands outside UC's Digital Futures with the vehicle used in a pilot project to test Honda's Proactive Roadway Maintenance System. Photo/Connor Boyle/UC Marketing + Brand This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Nvidia Corp. (NVDA, Financials) CEO Jensen Huang said the company's reported $100 billion investment plan for OpenAI was never a commitment, clarifying that any funding would be considered gradually rather than as a single deal. Speaking with reporters in Taipei, Huang said Nvidia was honored by the invitation to invest but emphasized it would proceed one step at a time. His comments followed reports that the proposed plan had stalled amid internal doubts about its scope and structure. Nvidia originally indicated it could invest up to $100 billion alongside partners such as Microsoft to build 10 gigawatts of AI data centers powered by Nvidia systems. Huang described any eventual investment as huge but said it would not approach that amount. The remarks come as investors question the circular nature of AI partnerships, where major tech firms fund customers that also purchase their hardware. Nvidia shares were little changed after the comments. PERFORMANCE: Prices as of 11.30 am ET on Monday, February 2 UPCOMING IPOS: Upcoming IPO and direct listings expected include OpenAI, AGI Inc (AGBK), Speed Group (SPED), and Lendbuzz (LBZZ). Click here to see upcoming IPO calendar on TipRanks. OpenAI is accelerating its plans for a public listing as rivalry with Anthropic intensifies, now planning on listing in Q4 of this year, Berber Jin, Corrie Driebusch, and Kate Clark of The Wall Street Journal reports. OpenAI is holding discussions with Wall Street banks about a potential initial public offering and has hired several executives to oversee its finance team, sources told the Journal. AGI Inc, or Agibank, has filed with the SEC for an initial public offering of its Class A common shares. The company intends to apply to list its Class A common shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AGBK. The prospectus states, Agibank Brazil is a privately held financial holding company and the holder of 100% of the outstanding share capital of Banco Agibank S.A., or Banco Agibank. In turn, Nuova Holding S.A., or Nuova, was a privately held, non-financial holding company controlled by our controlling shareholder, Mr. Marciano Testa Our mission is to revolutionize financial services for the largest and fastest growing segment of Brazils population: individuals who have been underserved by incumbent banks and have not been effectively reached by digital-only banks. We seek to make credit and banking solutions more accessible and affordable for the Brazilian consumers who we believe need it the most, including social security beneficiaries and private and public sector workers. Speed Group filed a prospectus for 2.5M share initial public offering. It expects the IPO price to be in the range of $4.00 to $5.00 per. The companys operating subsidiary, Speed Logistics, is an e-commerce logistics provider providing end-to-end logistics solution in Hong Kong, Europe and North America. The services include warehousing, customs clearance, air transportation, and final delivery from the European airports. For the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2025, Speeds revenues were $17.9M and $22.64M, respectively. What Happened? A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after fears of disruption from artificial intelligence spooked investors, leading to a broad-based sell-off. The market witnessed a "basket-style reaction," a term for when investors reduce exposure to an entire segment without differentiating between individual company business models. The negative sentiment was widespread, pulling down all of the Magnificent Seven stocks and sending the S&P 500 Information Technology Sector down nearly 3%. Adding to the pressure, AI company Anthropic triggered a wave of selling across the broader software industry after releasing a suite of automation tools specifically tailored for the legal profession. The markets reaction reflected a systemic fear: if a foundational model company can successfully productize its agentic capabilities to cannibalize a specialized vertical like legal tech, no software niche is safe. The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks. Among others, the following stocks were impacted: Zooming In On AppLovin (APP) AppLovins shares are extremely volatile and have had 59 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, todays move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business. The previous big move we wrote about was 13 days ago when the stock dropped 5.6% on the news that a scathing report from short-seller CapitalWatch alleged the software firm had become a "safe haven" for illicit funds and had ties to a global money laundering syndicate. The report claimed AppLovin's capital structure was deeply intertwined with moving billions in "black money" from Chinese Ponzi schemes and Cambodian fraud rings into U.S. markets. The investigation focused on AppLovin's main shareholder, Hao Tang, who was described as a fugitive linked to a collapsed financial platform. CapitalWatch also alleged the company's software allowed illicit apps, such as those for illegal gambling, to be implanted on user devices without their consent. This process allegedly allowed criminal groups to pay massive advertising fees to AppLovin, turning illegal funds into legitimate revenue. President Donald Trump announced late Monday that his administration is now seeking $1 billion in damages from Harvard University, dramatically escalating a months-long standoff over allegations of antisemitism, "woke" ideology, and federal funding leverage that has already seen other Ivy League institutions pay hundreds of millions to settle similar disputes. "We are now seeking One Billion Dollars in damages, and want nothing further to do, into the future, with Harvard University," Trump wrote on Truth Social around 11:30 p.m. Monday, disputing a New York Times report published hours earlier that claimed the White House had dropped its demand for financial payment from the university. The explosive declaration marks a dramatic reversal from the $500 million settlement the administration had been negotiating with Harvard for months, and comes as Trump's pressure campaign against elite universities enters its second year with mixed resultssome schools capitulating to federal demands while Harvard fights on in federal court. The Timeline: Months of Failed Negotiations Officials from Harvard and the White House have been in discussions since last year about a high-dollar deal to restore all federal funding to the university and end ongoing lawsuits against the administration. The dispute began after Trump's administration moved to freeze more than $2.2 billion in federal grants and $60 million in contracts to Harvard. The administration initially sought $500 million from Harvard, along with sweeping reforms to address what Trump characterized as the university's failure to protect Jewish students during pro-Palestinian protests, its embrace of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and what he termed "radical left" ideology permeating the campus. According to CNN reporting from last fall, the White House was close to finalizing a deal involving Harvard paying $500 million to operate trade schools. However, Trump dismissed that proposal Monday as "wholly inadequate." "They wanted to do a convoluted job training concept, but it was turned down in that it was wholly inadequate and would not have been, in our opinion, successful," Trump wrote on Truth Social. The New York Times reported Monday afternoon, citing four unnamed sources briefed on the matter, that Trump's administration had dropped its demand for a $200 million payment to the government in hopes of finally resolving conflicts with the university. The report prompted Trump's late-night post dramatically increasing the demand to $1 billion. Trump's Fury at Harvard and The Times Trump's Monday night posts revealed raw anger at both Harvard and the newspaper, which he characterized as running "fraudsters" who deliberately misrepresent stories about him. "Harvard has been feeding a lot of 'nonsense' to the failing New York Times," Trump asserted, adding that the university has been "for a long time, behaving very badly!" Trump labeled Harvard "Strongly Antisemitic" and suggested the university should face criminal rather than civil consequences. "This should be a criminal, not Civil, event and Harvard will have to live with the consequences of their wrongdoings," he wrote. "In any event, this case will continue until justice is served." In a follow-up post, Trump demanded The Times retract its story. "I hereby demand that the morons that run (into the ground!) the Times' change their story, immediately," he wrote, referencing his $15 billion lawsuit against the newspaper. Trump did not specify in his posts what specific damages Harvard had caused to justify the $1 billion figure, what formula produced that amount, or what legal mechanism would compel payment absent a settlement agreement or court judgment. The Federal Task Force Findings The Trump administration's case against Harvard centers on a federal task force report issued last June that accused the university of "deliberate indifference" and "willful participation" in antisemitic harassment of students and faculty following the October 7, 2023 Hamas terror attack on Israel. "This hostile environment includes harassing speech, threats, and intimidation targeting Jewish and Israeli students, including calls for genocide and murder," the administration stated in its report. "Findings also extensively detail acts of physical intimidation and violence between students." The administration argued that Harvard became a hotbed for anti-Israel protests and antisemitism, creating an environment hostile to Jewish students. Officials claimed the university's leadership failed to take adequate steps to protect Jewish community members or discipline students and faculty engaging in harassment. Harvard has disputed these characterizations, arguing that it took appropriate measures to balance free speech protections with student safety, and that the administration weaponized antisemitism allegations to pursue a broader ideological agenda against universities Trump views as liberal bastions. Harvard's Court Victories Unlike other Ivy League schools that have settled with the Trump administration, Harvard has fought back aggressively in federal courtand won significant victories. In September 2025, a federal judge ruled in Harvard's favor to restore more than $2 billion in federal funding for research frozen by the White House. The judge found that the administration had unlawfully terminated grants and could no longer cut off research funding to the university. The court ruling represented a major legal setback for Trump's pressure campaign, concluding that the administration violated free speech protections and used antisemitism claims as a "smokescreen" to punish Harvard for protected expression and academic positions the administration disfavored. In December 2025, the Trump administration appealed the ruling, setting up a protracted legal battle that could ultimately reach the Supreme Court. The court victories have emboldened Harvard to continue resisting administration demands that other universities accepted. Where Columbia, Brown, and Cornell negotiated settlements, Harvard appears committed to defending what it views as fundamental principles of academic freedom and institutional autonomy. The Comparative Landscape: Other Ivies Settle Harvard's defiant stance contrasts sharply with decisions by peer institutions to reach agreements with the Trump administration, albeit at considerably lower price points than the $1 billion Trump now demands from Harvard. In July 2025, Columbia University agreed to pay the U.S. Treasury a $200 million settlement to restore all federal funding. Columbia pledged to obey rules barring it from taking race into consideration in admissions or hiring, accepted restrictions on diversity programming, and committed to strengthening protections for Jewish students. Days after Columbia's settlement, Brown University reached a deal paying Rhode Island workforce development organizations $50 million in grants over 10 years. Brown avoided direct payment to the federal government by instead funding workforce initiatives in its home state. In November 2025, Cornell University agreed to pay the Trump administration $30 million over three years, along with accepting various policy changes regarding campus protests, diversity initiatives, and antisemitism education. The settlements suggest that most elite universities concluded resistance was futile given the Trump administration's willingness to weaponize federal funding and regulatory authority. Harvard's refusal to settleand its success in federal courtmakes it an outlier among its Ivy League peers. The Question of Leverage The fundamental question in Trump's confrontation with Harvard is whether the administration possesses legal authority to compel the billion-dollar payment absent a voluntary settlement or adverse court judgment. The federal judge's September ruling suggests significant legal obstacles to the administration's approach. If courts determine the funding freeze was unlawful and that Harvard's conduct fell within protected speech and academic freedom, the administration may lack grounds to demand damages. Trump's ability to "want nothing further to do, into the future, with Harvard University" also faces practical and legal limits. Harvard receives federal funding through competitive grant processes governed by statutes and regulations. The administration cannot simply exclude Harvard from consideration for grants if the university submits qualified applications, nor can it refuse to fund students attending Harvard through federal financial aid programs without statutory authorization. The administration retains significant regulatory power over universities through Department of Education rules, accreditation oversight, and conditions attached to federal funding. However, using those tools to punish a specific institution for ideological reasons or protected speech raises constitutional concerns that have proven persuasive to federal judges thus far. Harvard's Strategic Calculation Harvard's willingness to fight rather than settle reflects both principle and pragmatic calculation. University leaders appear convinced that capitulating to Trump's demands would establish dangerous precedents undermining academic freedom at all universities. Former Harvard President Claudine Gay, who resigned in January 2024 amid controversy over her congressional testimony about campus antisemitism and plagiarism allegations, framed the stakes in stark terms during a September 2025 appearance in the Netherlands. "The truth here is that our government, the American government, is attacking higher ed and universities," Gay said. "The agenda here is about destroying knowledge institutions because they are centers of independent thought and information." Gay's comments, though she no longer leads Harvard, articulate the view that Trump's pressure campaign aims not simply to address legitimate concerns about antisemitism but to subordinate universities to political control and punish institutions for viewpoints the administration opposes. Harvard's legal strategy appears designed to establish judicial precedents protecting university autonomy from politically motivated funding threats. If successful, such precedents could benefit higher education broadly by constraining future administrations from similar tactics. However, the strategy carries enormous risks. Prolonged legal battles consume resources, create uncertainty for researchers dependent on federal grants, and expose Harvard to potential reputational damage from sustained presidential attacks. And if Harvard ultimately loses in higher courts, it could face even harsher terms than it might have accepted in earlier settlement negotiations. The International Student Dimension The Harvard-Trump conflict extends beyond domestic policy disputes to include international education. Trump suspended foreign student visas for six months in 2025, citing national security concerns and alleged foreign ties, a move Harvard condemned as illegal retaliation. International students constitute roughly a quarter of Harvard's student body and contribute substantially to the university's academic environment, research productivity, and financial stability. Blocking their admission represents a powerful lever for presidential pressure. Harvard challenged the visa restrictions in court, arguing they violated due process, exceeded presidential authority, and constituted viewpoint discrimination against an institution that had criticized administration policies. The legal challenges continue as the Trump administration maintains that preventing potential foreign influence on American universities justifies broad restrictions. The $40 Billion Endowment Question Harvard's $40 billion-plus endowmentthe largest of any university globallycomplicates public perception of the dispute. Critics argue that an institution with such massive financial resources should either accept Trump's demands or forgo federal funding rather than relying on taxpayer support while resisting government accountability. Trump has repeatedly referenced Harvard's wealth in attacking the university, suggesting it doesn't need federal funds and should be willing to pay settlements from its endowment to resolve disputes. However, university endowments typically consist of restricted funds donated for specific purposes that cannot be redirected to general operations or settlement payments. Only a fraction of Harvard's endowment represents unrestricted funds available for discretionary use. Additionally, federal research grants support specific scientific investigations that advance knowledge in ways benefiting society broadly. Arguing that wealthy universities should forgo such funding conflates institutional endowment with individual research projects that compete on merit regardless of institutional wealth. What Happens Next The immediate question is whether Trump's $1 billion demand represents a negotiating tactic or a final position. Given that the administration previously sought $500 million before reportedly dropping monetary demands entirely according to The Times, then jumping to $1 billion, the figure may reflect tactical positioning rather than calculated damages. Harvard's response will indicate whether the university views Trump's latest demand as something requiring formal reply or political theater that will be resolved through ongoing litigation. The university has not yet issued a public statement regarding Trump's Monday night posts. Legal proceedings will continue in federal court on multiple fronts: the administration's appeal of the September ruling restoring Harvard's funding, Harvard's challenges to visa restrictions, and potential new litigation depending on what enforcement actions the administration pursues. Other universities will watch closely, potentially reconsidering their own settlement decisions if Harvard successfully defends against Trump's pressure without making the kinds of compromises Columbia, Brown, and Cornell accepted. For the broader higher education sector, the Harvard-Trump confrontation raises profound questions about university autonomy, the limits of federal leverage, the role of ideological viewpoint in government relations with universities, and whether academic institutions can maintain independence from political pressures when dependent on federal funding. The outcome will shape not just Harvard's future but the relationship between government and higher education for decades to come. USF Professor Zorka Karanxha is presented with a Khari Bulbul, Azerbaijans revered floral symbol by students at ADA University. The presentation of a flower to a visitor is a significant gesture symbolizing peace, love and respect. USF Professor Zorka Karanxha is presented with a Khari Bulbul, Azerbaijans revered floral symbol by students at ADA University. The presentation of a flower to a visitor is a significant gesture symbolizing peace, love and respect. The Fulbright Program is again recognizing the University of South Florida as one of the nations colleges and universities with the highest number of faculty and administrators selected for the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. This is the 10th time USF has made the coveted and prestigious list since 2015. USF is the only public university in Florida to be recognized as a Top Producer of Fulbright Scholars this year. With eight USF faculty scholars selected for Fulbright awards for academic year 2025-26, participating faculty spanned a range of colleges, countries and disciplines. Among the group are College of Education leaders traveling to Serbia and Azerbaijan to share knowledge and a civil engineering professor connecting with South Korea on the development of advanced air mobility, technology thats also quickly approaching Floridas future. The Fulbright Program, established in 1946, is the U.S. governments premier international academic exchange program. Each year, it provides opportunities for participants from 160 countries and locations to study, teach and conduct research abroad, advancing knowledge, science, and industry through international exchange and collaboration. Fulbright Alumni achieve distinction and are recognized as leaders in government, business, science, technology, research, education, and the arts. Being named a Fulbright Top Producer is a prestigious recognition that reflects USFs commitment to global engagement and faculty excellence. USF World Vice President Kiki Caruson Being named a Fulbright Top Producer is a prestigious recognition that reflects USFs commitment to global engagement and faculty excellence, said USF World Vice President Kiki Caruson. For over a decade, our faculty and student Fulbright awardees have built partnerships that expand knowledge, strengthen international collaboration, and create meaningful impact on our campuses, across the Tampa Bay region, and around the world. Applicants to the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program at USF are supported by Dr. Darlene DeMarie, the universitys Fulbright Faculty Advisor and a two-time Fulbright scholar herself in Hungary and South Africa. As a College of Education retired faculty member she collaborated on early childhood education programs. She continues to provide hands-on assistance with the competitive application process, assisting faculty members refine their research and teaching proposals, as well as conducting workshops and strategic advising. Fulbright is a program of the U.S. Department of State, with funding provided by the federal government. Fulbright alumni work to make a positive impact on their communities, sectors, and the world and have included 44 heads of state or government, 63 Nobel Laureates, 93 Pulitzer Prize winners, 83 MacArthur Fellows. USF College of Education Professor Zorka Karanxha spent time with students and faculty at ADA University in Baku, a city of more than 2.5 million on the Caspian Sea. The ADA University School of Education is recognized internationally for its modern approach to teach training and educational leadership. Karanxha shared insights on education governance, policy and the impact of school choice on communities, in a series of lectures the university celebrated as inspiring both students and faculty alike. Meet USFs 2025-26 faculty Fulbright scholars Dario Alejandro Arena Dario Alejandro Arena is an associate professor in the Department of Physics and the principal investigator of the Magnetic Materials and Spin Dynamics Lab in the College of Engineering. Arenas research focuses on nanomagnetism and advanced materials characterization, with an emphasis on quantum probes (primarily Xrays and neutrons), electronic structure and spin dynamics. He has been awarded a second Fulbright Scholar Fellowship for the 20252026 academic year at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland, where he is focusing on growing and studying ferrimagnetic thin films for spintronic applications. YaHui Cheng YaHui Cheng, associate professor of music theory, the College of the Arts, researches transcultural sound in global Chinese popular and folk music, exoticism in Italian opera and Buddhist music within the Mahayana tradition. As a Fulbright senior scholar, she traveled to Taipei National University of the Arts in Taiwan for a project exploring the integration of folk elements into contemporary Chinese music and tracing the evolution of global musical modernity within the Chinese context. Getachew Dagne Getachew Dagne is a professor of biostatistics in USFs College of Public Health and is training graduate students at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia over a 10month period. The students are learning Bayesian methodology and survival analysis while investigating economic and cultural disparities in colorectal cancer incidence and mortality in their country. Zorka Karanxha Zorka Karanxha, a professor in the College of Educations Department of Leadership, Policy & Lifelong Learning, traveled to Azerbaijan for her research focusing on educational leadership preparation, special education law and charter schools, with an emphasis on analyzing educational leadership policies and their influence on school communities. Tatsiana Kulakevich Tatsiana Kulakevich is an associate professor of instruction in research methods and quantitative analysis from the USF School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies and the USF Institute on Russia. She is conducting research in Poland. Her work focuses on trade and deterrence in Eastern Europe. Glenn Smith Glenn Smith is a professor in the Department of Educational and Psychological Studies in the College of Education and traveled to Serbia for a combined teaching and research project in the field of educational technology. He previously served as a Fulbright Scholar in Slovenia, where he conducted research aimed at improving fourthgrade students reading comprehension and motivation through the creation of eBooks featuring gamelike characters, social interaction and openended questions. Alexei Volinsky Alexei Volinsky, an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, is serving as an associate professor at the KazakhBritish Technical University. Volinsky is an expert in thin films, and his research is supported by his industrial experience at technology companies. Yu Yu Zhang Yu Yu Zhang is a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and leads the Smart Urban Mobility Laboratory at USF. Her Fulbright award is through the U.S.Korea Presidential STEM Initiative to visit KAIST University in South Korea. She is collaborating with researchers from KAISTs Center for Advanced Urban Systems on integrating advanced air mobility into multimodal transportation systems. For more information about the Fulbright Program, visit the Fulbright Program website. By Kate Abnett BRUSSELS, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Long delays to get power grid connections are challenging Amazon's plans to expand data centers in Europe, the company told Reuters, as industries ramp up pressure on policymakers to upgrade ageing energy grids. Energy-intensive industries have urged the European Union to invest more in grids, warning that a fast connection to stable, reliable power networks is a key criteria for investments in new industrial sites in Europe. Pamela MacDougall, Amazon Web Services' (AWS) head of energy markets and regulation in EMEA, said the timeline for getting a grid connection had become one of the biggest deciding factors in the company's data center investments. Connecting to the transmission network in Europe can take up to seven years - versus the roughly two years it can take to develop a data center, she said. In the United States, connection queues average one to three years, according to the International Energy Agency, although they can sometimes also stretch to seven years. "And we're finding more and more across Europe that certainty of the delivery date has continued to be delayed," she said in an interview. The European Commission proposed legal changes last year to cap deadlines for authorities to approve grid permits at a maximum of two years, and exempt grids projects from environmental assessments, to speed up the modernisation of Europe's power networks. EU countries and lawmakers are negotiating the proposals. NETWORK CONGESTION MacDougall said "in many countries" in Europe, Amazon had wanted to build infrastructure but missing grid connections or power network congestion had made the project unfeasible. "There's a misalignment. We want to expand and grow within two years," MacDougall said, adding that the delays were "challenging our growth aspirations". Italy and Spain are among the countries where grid connections are slowed down by a backlog of so-called "speculative" projects which applied for connections as a precaution but will likely not go ahead, electricity industry association Eurelectric has said. First-come, first-served rules mean other projects cannot overtake them in the queue. Another factor is long wait times for permits to upgrade European power grids. Slashing these deadlines are among the legal changes proposed by the European Commission. MacDougall is vice-chair of GIGA, an industry association launched last month to push policymakers to modernise Europe's power grids. Other members include energy-hungry tech companies Meta and Google, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure firm Fastned. Tending crops by day and then logging on for a night shift of data labelling, 27-year-old Chandmani Kerketta is part of a rising rural Indian workforce helping power an artificial intelligence revolution. From her home in India's eastern Jharkhand state, Kerketta is part of an AI-driven labour shift that the government hopes will transform lives, including by bringing more women into the workforce. The work is basic but essential for machine learning: data labelling, annotation and quality checks. It is the type of information key for driverless cars, for example. "This job helped me finish my studies, and help at home on our farm," Kerketta said as she tended tomatoes and peas. Kerketta, from one of India's constitutionally recognised tribal communities, was the first in her family to attend college. She initially worked as an office assistant at a data-processing firm in Jharkhand's capital Ranchi, where she watched employees working at computers. But after a computer course at her village school, Kerketta joined an estimated workforce of at least 200,000 annotators in India's villages and small towns -- a growing figure, and roughly half of the world's data-labelling workforce, according to US-based Scry AI. Rural-based workers can label hundreds of images, videos and documents during eight-hour shifts, either from home or from modest internet-connected centres. "After my night shift of data work, I sleep a little, and then help in farming," said Kerketta, who now holds a history degree. "In Jharkhand, farming is everything." Anju Kumari, 25, another rural AI worker in Jharkhand using a national fibre-optic cable network laid by Indian Railways, said the job had provided her with a pathway to a wider world. Kumari said work can include painstaking "labelling videos frame-by-frame", giving the example of teaching AI whether a person using an ATM is "likely a burglar, or someone genuinely drawing cash". - Small-town offices - India, which will host an international AI summit next month, has ambitious plans. It is now third in a global AI power ranking, overtaking South Korea and Japan, based on more than 40 indicators from patents to private funding calculated by Stanford University's Institute for Human-Centered AI. In recent months, US tech giants including Google, Microsoft and Amazon have announced multi-billion-dollar investments to build some of the world's biggest data centres in India. The country is no stranger to back-end work for global technology firms. Cities such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai host major international players, but India's AI push is also expanding into more remote regions. In Tamil Nadu state, along a winding rural road, Indu Nadarajan travels to a small-town office where she labels images for autonomous vehicles, such as road markings, headlights and animals. Nadarajan works for NextWealth, an AI-enabling services firm headquartered in Bengaluru, with offices across small towns, supporting clients from the United States, Europe and Asia. "Many go to Chennai and Bengaluru to learn about AI," said Nadarajan, who has a master's degree in mathematics. "But being here in our hometown and learning about AI makes me feel very proud." - 'Anybody can be anywhere' - Every AI model relies on vast amounts of labelled data, regardless of its complexity. The more precise the labelling, the better the technology performs. "When I can design a product for a US company 5,000 miles away, why can't I do it from 200 miles away?" said NextWealth founder Sridhar Mitta, 80, a former chief technology officer at Indian tech giant Wipro. "Anybody can be anywhere and do the things, because the value goes through the internet." His scattered employees earn anywhere between $275 to $550 a month. While AI-driven automation may render some jobs obsolete, Mitta believes it will also generate opportunities. "Micro-entrepreneurship will be the next phase for small towns," Mitta said. "It may not be another billion-dollar company, but they will produce something which will be useful to the region." As AI reaches rural India, it is quietly reshaping lives -- particularly for women from conservative backgrounds. For Amala Dhanapal, a colleague of Nadarajan and the first graduate in her family -- her father is a tailor and her mother a homemaker -- working in AI has changed attitudes. "It's a big thing," Dhanapal said, saying it both provided a gateway to learning and greater financial independence. "Most girls find it difficult to even pursue their education due to their family background." When Kerketta first began her data-annotation work, villagers mocked her. "Now, when they see me going around on my scooter, they look at me with pride," she said. "Just like I do myself." ash-pzb/pjm/kaf/lb Contribute: Leave a comment if you find a particular report interesting or want to add to it. Flag as inappropriate. Mark as helpful or interesting. Send your own user report! User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale Translate Bali, Howrah, West Bengal (629.4 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : I was just using my laptop, in my house's 1st floor while the earthquake happened and it moved my bed horizontalally for around 2-3 seconds | 13 users found this interesting. Aunglan (178.8 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / complex motion difficult to describe / very short : I'm sitting on the chair and chair is shaking | 11 users found this interesting. Mandalay (276.1 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : i feel now | 9 users found this interesting. Basirhat (578.3 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 15-20 s : Enormous shaking near the Ichamati river front area | 7 users found this interesting. 26 km of Kyaukpadaung, Nyaung-U District, Mandalay Region (155.9 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) : A little shake bed | 7 users found this interesting. Bardhaman (699.5 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) : I was sitting in my bed and suddenly it started shaking hard , lasted for a minute. And my mom also said that the door was also shaking. | 4 users found this interesting. Dam Dam, North 24 Parganas, West Bengal (614.2 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) : I was studying at that time but suddenly my table was like vibrating and I get up and left my room and family told me that it was earthquake | 4 users found this interesting. sodepue (626.2 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s : I was lying on my bed and suddenly it started to shake. And then I glanced at the water bottle and the water was shaking as well. The tremor was there for 20-30 seconds. It was well felt. No damages to anything though. | 3 users found this interesting. Howrah (629.7 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 1-2 minutes : I was sitting on a chair shaking i thought my brother was doing it but it was an earthquake the 20l water barrel we had it was shaking vibrantly | 3 users found this interesting. Dhanyakuria,West bengal (622.7 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 2-5 s : I just sit on my bed and suddenly felt that my bed was moving frist i thought it might be someone but then i realised that I am alone at home .then I asked gemini for latest earthquake reports with is lead me to this site | 3 users found this interesting. Nongmynsong (608 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : Could feel the vibrations while sitting in bed | 4 users found this interesting. Joka, South Twenty Four Parganas, West Bengal (619.5 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 s : Shaking from east to west for very few seconds | 4 users found this interesting. Dumjor, Howrah, West Bengal (636.2 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : I was sitting on my chair and felt it shaking, my family felt it too | 4 users found this interesting. Begampur, Hooghly, West Bengal (635.1 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) : I was seeting at the office & suddenly vibrate the building, and I realised it's earthquake, ad per my knowledge it's over 5 . | 2 users found this interesting. Uttarpara (628.7 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : Was sitting and doing my work , when suddenly felt the table chair and the dressing table started moving. | 2 users found this interesting. kolkata (623.8 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : Felt lightheaded and saw ceiling fan and my monitor swing horizontally. | 3 users found this interesting. Howrah (626.3 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / very short : My cupboard keys started shaking, I was on bed and felt shake as well | 3 users found this interesting. Shibpur (627 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 2-5 s : I was lying on bed. Entire bed fan and lights were shaking. It lasts for 4-6 seconds | 3 users found this interesting. Rajpur Sonarpur, South Twenty Four Parganas, West Bengal (615.2 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : I was on my bed I felt swinging i thought I was fainting but then I looked up and saw the ceiling fan swinging as well | One user found this interesting. Hugli chinsurah (633.2 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) : I was sitting in my bed, studying, when the bes suddenly started swinging and I felt the shake for real. The dressing table also shook a bit | One user found this interesting. Belur (625.2 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 2-5 s : Suddenly I felt a shake for 3-5 sec on my bed and from north to south direction my fan also started shaking slowly. | One user found this interesting. Budge budge trunk road (628.4 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 10-15 s : I was on my bed and studying while the bed started shaking and confirmed with my parents in the other room they too felt it | One user found this interesting. Howrah (627.1 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 5-10 s : I was sitting on my couch and heard by bed started to sound and I was also shaked like someone is trying to wake me up .it was horrible | One user found this interesting. Ambuja (764.8 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) : Like I want something the bed the bed started shaking and my head felt dizzy I went up asked my family members and my grandma said that she felt a shake on her chair and felt dizzy | One user found this interesting. Joka, South Twenty Four Parganas, West Bengal (625.6 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) : Feel while seating in chair at balcony at 12th floor. | 2 users found this interesting. Uttarpara (628 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : Was in the living room when the room shook up | 2 users found this interesting. Uttarpara,hoo (628.2 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) : Bohut jor ka tha bhai | 2 users found this interesting. Serampore (633 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) : Felt like my bed was moving | 2 users found this interesting. Tangail, Dhaka Division (590.8 km NW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) : Bed shaking | 2 users found this interesting. Yangon, Myanmar (468.4 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt : I've forgotten what I did at that time (even though it was only about 20 minutes ago), but I think I was either laying down or sitting on the floor. I didn't feel it, probably because I was distracted. Howrah (633.2 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 2-5 s : I experienced the earthquake as any other earthquakes. I thank to God that the earthquake is weak earthquake. The European Union has been shaken by: Washingtons dubious dealings with Moscow regarding Ukraine; President Trumps creation of the Peace Council; Operation "Absolute Resolve" against President Maduro and his wife; US claims to Greenland. The EU understood, belatedly, that President Trump wasnt joking when he told Europeans, during his first term, that they would have to ensure their own security. Similarly, Vice President JD Vance was serious when he declared at the Munich Security Conference that what worried him was "the threat from within, the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America." [1]. In this context, the members of the European Union (not to be confused with Europeansa geographical and cultural term that also includes Russia) were stunned by the release of the US National Security Strategy 2026. [2] They read there, in no uncertain terms, that EU production had declined, in thirty-five years (that is, not since the Maastricht Treaty, but since the completion of the single market), from 25% to 14% of global output. But this economic decline is overshadowed by the very real and darker prospect of a civilizational collapse. Its restoration depends on controlling its immigration (some member states could soon have a non-European majority) and abandoning its sterile obsession with excessive regulation [3]. Only two options were available to the EU: Either that of Mark Carney, the Canadian Prime Ministerand former Governor of the Bank of Englandaccording to whom Westerners must admit that the rules-based international order was nothing but lies from which they benefited. It is now necessary to completely rebuild international relations [4]. There is also the view of Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary Generaland former Prime Minister of the Netherlandswho believes that all is not lost since the Ukrainians are gaining on Russia (?), but that Europeans in the Union must admit that the EU cannot guarantee their security alone. It must invest more in its defense, while remaining in NATO [5]. Based on this, the European Union decided: to remain within NATO for as long as necessary to acquire military capabilities, without being under any illusions about the permanence of the transatlantic link (even though many believe that Donald Trump will lose the midterm elections next November); to invest massively in its defensethat is, to increase it from 2.5% of GDP to 5% or even 10% in a few years; to increase partnerships with powers other than the USA. Hence the sudden conclusion of the EU-Mercosur and EU-Bahrat free trade agreements. As soon as European federalists became aware of President Trumps intentions, that is, at the very end of 2025, they sent a letter to the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa [6]. To achieve genuine strategic sovereignty in the face of the transatlantic rupture, they propose to: suspend the Turnberry Agreement of August 21, 2025 (which set the conditions accepted by the EU for not being subject to prohibitive tariffs in the United States); implement the 93 billion countermeasures prepared in response to the escalation of April 2025; activate the anti-coercion instrument; place the troops deployed in the Arctic under European command; replace the US satellites protecting the EU; activate Article 42.2 of the European Treaty (common defense); and abandon the unanimity rule. Since the letter was circulated, meetings have been held in Brussels. The European bureaucracy is trying to implement it. Its important to understand that historically, the EU has reacted to every political crisis it has faced in the same way, following the federalist agenda. While this was a logical reflex during the Cold War, since the ECSC, then the European Communities, and finally the EU were structures supported by the American "big brother," it is no longer the case. The United States is no longer the "big brother" of Western Europe, but a partner like any other. European federalism, which was one of the objectives of the secret clauses of the Marshall Plan, no longer has a raison detre.. At the end of the Second World War, the British (who had founded the ECSC without being members) wanted to prevent the USSR from influencing Western Europe by transforming it into a coherent and homogeneous buffer zone. They were not concerned with preserving the national identities of Western Europeans, but solely with protecting their own. It was for the sake of effectiveness against the Soviets that they chose Walter Hallstein as the first president of the ECSC (the precursor to the EU). However, Hallstein was the strategist who had conceived the Nazi plan to occupy Western Europe. He had plundered it to finance the war of extermination in the East. The European aristocracies supported this Anglo-Saxon plan not out of fear of the massacres perpetrated by the Bolsheviks, but out of fear of the advance of communism, which threatened their privileges. This is precisely what is happening today: Western states are financing Germanys expansion into Central and Eastern Europe. Its in the EUs DNA. We saw it, for example, when Germany imposed its energy policy on its partners. Or again, with the signing of the free trade agreement with Mercosur, to the detriment of French and Italian farmers. Once more, the EUs upper classes support this development as the only way to preserve their privileges. Contrary to what we have been led to believe, there has never been a structure conducive to cooperation among all European states. The ECSC, the European Communities, and the EU never sought to unite Europeans while respecting their diversity, but rather to melt them into a single empire. This is the project that continues unabated. As if it were the inevitable solution. The European bureaucracy has always thought this way and is incapable of adapting to the new reality. JD Vance was right to observe that the danger is "the threat from within, the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America." No one can do anything about it. Our politicians and senior civil servants have been trained this way. They dont know how to do anything else. The future of the EU, if it has one, depends on the dismissal of all its leaders. An example of what awaits us was provided by the Greenland crisis. The United States, reviving a very old claim, is demanding the annexation of this Inuit territory (Kalaallit Nunaat), located on its continental shelf (and not on that of the Europeans). They thought they could buy it and put forward their price as early as 1867, then again in 1910, 1946, 1955, 2019, and most recently in 2025. This has nothing to do with President Trumps arguments: the rare earth elements that could be mined there, and the opening of Arctic sea lanes. Since June, this territory has been protected by the Northern Command (NorthCom) and no longer by the European Command (EuCom). In any case, it has been and remains under the military protection of the United States of America. The US illegally placed nuclear weapons there, under a secret tacit agreement with Denmark and in violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. This affair was only revealed in 1995, during the investigation into the US strategic bomber that, while participating in a routine Cold War operation, accidentally crashed near Thule in 1968, contaminating the region with a cloud of enriched uranium. Western Europeans reacted to the US claims with the old colonial mindset. Germany, Denmark, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, and the United Kingdom declared on January 6: Greenland belongs to its people. It is up to Denmark and the Greenlanders alone to decide matters concerning Denmark and Greenland. But a choice must be made: does this territory belong to the Greenlanders or the Danes? To the Greenlanders, of course, who have the right to self-determination, not to the Danish settlers. Since then, European colonialists have sent about a hundred soldiers to the island, roughly the same number as the US garrison at the Pituffik Air and Space Force Base. Ultimately, beyond the bluster, the crisis was resolved in Davos. Not by a European state, but by NATO. As far as we know, the United States has begun reactivating the military bases it had in Greenland during the Cold War. They will be deploying NATO troops there. In other words, they will be protecting Greenland with European soldiers, paid for by Europeans, but under the command of US officers. Today, the EU is debating how it will ensure its own security, without the United States. If the Brussels bureaucracy handles it, it will end the same way. For example, Andrius Kubilius, the European Commissioner for Space, announced at the 18th European Space Conference in Brussels on January 27th that the EU will launch observation satellites at its own expense to guarantee its defense. But the United States will collect and synthesize the data. Europeans will be no more independent than they are today. Yet, they will continue to accumulate debt while producing less. Homeownership has long been promoted as the ultimate financial milestone and the cornerstone of the "American Dream." "If your goal is to become financially independent at a young age, you probably don't want to go buy a house," best-selling author JL Collins said recently on "The Diary of a CEO" podcast, as housing prices, interest rates, and everyday costs continue to rise. Collins, author of "The Simple Path To Wealth," said buying a home often ties up capital that could otherwise be invested. "You're putting your capital into that house and now it's not going to be earning anything," he told host Steven Bartlett. Don't Miss: He added that buyers are often encouraged to stretch to the maximum amount a bank will approve. "People typically buy the most house they can possibly afford," Collins said. "The industry drives them that way." The Costs That Don't Show Up On Paper Renting was cheaper than owning across the major U.S. metro areas it reviewed, a recently published study from LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) found. It estimated homeowners with mortgages pay 36.9% more per month than renters, with median 2024 monthly homeowner costs at $2,035 versus $1,487 in median gross rent about a $550 monthly gap. Collins said additional costs often follow after purchasing a home, including maintenance and other ownership expenses. "Your mortgage is just the starting point," he told Bartlett. Trending: Arrived Home's Private Credit Funds has historically paid an annualized dividend yield of 8.1%*, which provides access to a pool of short-term loans backed by residential real estate with just a $100 minimum. Why Flexibility Still Has Value Another overlooked benefit of renting, Collins said, is mobility. Renting keeps costs predictable and makes it easier to relocate for work or opportunity without the friction of selling a property or becoming an accidental landlord. That flexibility matters in a job market where careers can change quickly. Collins told Bartlett that owning a home can create pressure to stay put even when better options appear elsewhere. "Getting in and out of an apartment doesn't cost anything," he said. "If you buy a house and then decide you want to go do something else, now you've got to sell itor rent it. Now you're a landlord, and that's not optimal." Image Credit: Jengtingchen - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia. For years, Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) made headlines for one thing only: their rock-bottom prices. But that narrative is rapidly shifting. In 202526, Chinese EV makers didnt just force the global industry to reconsider cost competitiveness; theyre now challenging outdated assumptions about quality, reliability, and technological maturity, with growing confidence from buyers, regulators, and world leaders who are increasingly opening their markets to Chinese brands. Several high-profile industry leaders have explicitly warned that Chinese automakers pose a serious threat to Western car companies, especially in the electric vehicle (EV) space. The most striking comments come from Fords CEO Jim Farley, who has repeatedly described Chinese cars as an existential threat. In a Wall Street Journal interview, Farley emphasized: The Chinese EV industry is the biggest threat to my business. Its an existential threat to Ford. Image Credit: BYD. Again, at the Aspen Ideas Summit, he reflected on visiting Chinas auto industry: It was the most humbling thing Ive ever seen. Their cars have far superior technology, lower costs, and great quality. Farleys repeated use of that phrase existential threat underscores that he sees Chinese automakers not just as competitors, but as potentially overwhelming rivals that could upend Fords future. He points out that Chinese EVs are highly competitive globally because they combine advanced tech with lower production costs. Once dismissed as copycats, Chinese automakers are now producing vehicles that rival or surpass Western brands in engineering and design. When a major U.S. automakers CEO openly admits being humbled by Chinese competitors, it signals a seismic shift in global automotive power. Such statements often fuel debates in Washington and Brussels about tariffs, subsidies, and industrial strategy to protect domestic carmakers. Chinese EVs are already dominating their home market and are expanding aggressively into Europe, Latin America, and Africa. From Cheap and Questionable to Tech-Rich and Reliable Image Credit: Jengtingchen - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia. The early wave of Chinas EV exports was marked by skepticism. Reviewers and buyers often pointed to inconsistent build quality and software quirks, and for good reason: initial market entries from some start-ups saw quality issues including panel gaps and early software bugs. But that story is evolving fast. Recent industry and consumer data show that Chinese EV quality is rising meaningfully. According to a China Dailyreported survey, owner-reported quality and reliability satisfaction for New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) hit 80.8 points in 2025, up year-on-year, while performance satisfaction also climbed. The School of Hibernia comes to Rome for St Brigid's Day. An ambitious art project titled The School of Hibernia, described as an Irish all-female reboot of Raphaels School of Athens fresco, was presented in Rome on Monday. The event, which comprised a symposium and a screening, was held with the support of the Embassy of Ireland to Italy, and Ireland-Italy Projects, as part of celebrations to mark St Brigid's Day. Na Cailleacha Created by the art collective Na Cailleacha, the project is a full-scale, all-female re-enactment of Raphaels High Renaissance masterpiece, in a tableau that was staged in the Museum Building in Trinity College Dublin. The work features 41 influential Irish women, including former president Mary Robinson and Trinity provost Linda Doyle, purposefully replacing the original male philosophers to challenge patriarchal standards in art and education. The eight members of Na Cailleacha - an Irish term for "witches", "divine hags" or "wise women" - consist of six visual artists, a jazz musician and a curator/writer who joined forces to explore being female and being older creatives. Symposium and screening The symposium, held in the crypt of St Brigids Church in Piazza Farnese, featured illustrious speakers including Caroline Campbell, director of the National Gallery of Ireland, and Professor Arnold Nesselrath, formerly of the Vatican Museums. The event concluded with the screening of Rootstock, a documentary by Therry Rudin detailing the creation of the tableau, at Cinema Farnese in Campo de' Fiori. "St. Brigids Day is a wonderful opportunity to highlight and celebrate the many achievements of women in Ireland and around the world" - Ambassador of Ireland to Italy, Elizabeth McCullough, stated, hailing the Rome event offered the chance "to reflect on the significant progress attained since The School of Athens was created, and the important work that remains to ensure full equality for women in todays world. Ireland-Italy Projects was founded by Brenda Moore-McCann and Jane Adams in 2024 to promote cultural exchange between Ireland and Italy. St Brigid's Day, celebrated on 1 February, became Ireland's newest public holiday in 2023 to honour the country's female patron saint and the beginning of spring. Photo: The School of Hibernia (after Raphael). 2024. Credit: Na Cailleacha. Amatrice to host first edition of International Amatriciana Day. The world will celebrate the inaugural International Amatriciana Day on 6 March 2026, in a global event dedicated to one of Italys most iconic pasta dishes. Launched by the Associazione dei Ristoratori e degli Albergatori di Amatrice (ARAM), this first edition aims to transform a local tradition into a worldwide movement. Although considered a Roman staple along with Carbonara and Cacio e Pepe, the true home of the Amatriciana is still the small Lazio town of Amatrice, located about two hours north-east of Rome. Every year, at the end of August, the town holds the Sagra dellAmatriciana, a festival to celebrate the dish which is most commonly served with bucatini pasta. But now the town has the world in its sights. The mission is designed to protect the authentic recipe of the Amatriciana Tradizionale and to send a message of rebirth of Amatrice, which has been rebuilding since it was devasated by an earthquake 10 years ago. Why 6 March? The date was chosen to honour a major milestone in Italian culinary history. On 6 March 2020, the European Union officially recognised Amatriciana Tradizionale as a Specialita Tradizionale Garantita (STG). This prestigious status ensures that only dishes following the strict, original recipeusing specific ingredients such as guanciale from Amatrice and Pecorino Romanocan bear the name. As part of the 2026 celebrations, ARAM and the town of Amatrice are highlighting the essential components that distinguish the real deal from the "fake" versions found abroad: Guanciale (cured pork jowl), never pancetta or bacon. A specific Pecorino cheese that is savoury but not overly salty. No-go list: The official recipe strictly forbids the use of garlic, onions, or cream. 2026 event highlights While the official day is 6 March, the festivities in 2026 will extend through the weekend (6-8 March) with a series of high-profile events. There will be a formal presentation in Rome featuring the new International Amatriciana logo, as well as a symposium on food as an intangible heritage at Roma Tre University. Amatrice is host a massive open-air kitchen serving thousands of plates to visitors and "gastronomic pilgrims." Restaurants across the globe are invited to feature a dedicated "Amatriciana STG" menu for the day. Beyond the food International Amatriciana Day is seen as key to giving an economic boost for the Rieti province. By encouraging tourism and global awareness, the festival will also help to ensure that the culture of Amatrice thrives year-round, not just during the peak summer months. An event was recalled at the weekend of a time last year when a pot of traditional colcannon invoked fond memories of times gone by among the members of one social group in County Waterford. Tom Murphy brought in a pot of the traditional Irish dish to the members of Tay and Mahon Valley Active Retirement Association during the year and in addition to being a hit with members at the time it was fondly recalled at the weekend by one of the ARA members. Tom's colcannon was cooked over an open fire and as a spokesperson for the group said: "Tom brought in pot of colcannon, cooked on open fire, and with lumps of butter it was perfect and enjoyed by all present." "It brought back memories," he added. One of those memories recalled revolved around attending primary school around 1960 in the building now known as Barron Hall. "The children, pupils would bring in bottles of tea or chocolate, [and] those bottles were put in front of the fire in a semi-circle for approximately 30 minutes to warm before lunch break," said the group member. The next meeting of the group will take place on Monday, February 9, appropriately enough, in Barron Hall, from 2pm to 4pm. "We will have our 2026 AGM at this gathering, and for anybody interested, we will have an update on WCC Private Home Upgrade Grants, which include key local authority and supported grants, Mobility Aid Grants and Housing Adaptation grants," said the group spokesperson. "If you want to join us for the chat and cuppa you are more than welcome," he added. For more queries about the group contact Eileen 087 9365035 or Tom 087 9386209. Paddy O'Shea and Tom Murphy of Tay and Mahon Valley ARA with Tom's pot of colcannon. Pic: Eileen Rabbett. Advertisement NationalCBD Exclusive Brethren, the PM and the worthless PR push John Buckley and Rachael Dexter February 3, 2026 2:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Regular readers of this column will remember how, a year ago, our friends at the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church started a PR campaign in response to misinformation in the media. Making this church, formerly known as Exclusive Brethren, look good was always going to be a big ask. It preaches a radical doctrine of separation from the world, under which its members are urged to hate the rest of us because of the risk of contamination and defilement, while extracting as much financial benefit as it can under another doctrine called spoiling the Egyptians. And even though its members dont vote, it ordered thousands of them onto the streets to volunteer for the Liberal Party during the federal election campaign, without declaring who they were. Well, over the summer recess, there have been a few updates to the PR push. Secret tape recordings of sermons by Bruce Hales, the churchs Grand Poobah (real titles: Man of God, Elect Vessel, Paul of our Day) show him pronouncing to his flock that trying to maintain a reputation its never appealed to me. Ive always thought trying to maintain a reputation was a bane. Basically worthless, he said. Advertisement But that might come as a surprise to his loyal functionary, church spokesman Lloyd Grimshaw, who spent last year squiring friendly media outlets through the churchs previously top secret services and producing a series of mind-numbingly dull podcasts professing how normal they all are. Grimshaw did not respond to a request for comment. It also might come as a surprise to the churchs Rapid Relief Team. This is a registered charity that hands out refreshments at natural disasters and with Australias season of bushfires and floods, theyve had a busy summer. A cynic would suggest the real reasons for RRTs existence is to make the church look good, to justify its charitable status and to curry favour with politicians. The church has even drawn the attention of the Australian Taxation Office in recent years. You would think it would have to work pretty hard to curry favour with Anthony Albanese, who called the church a cult during the election campaign. And yet, there was Albo pictured at the Victorian fire front with an RRT snack and chatting away to one of the PBCCs local nabobs photos the church was quick to upload onto its Facebook page. Anthony Albanese with members of the Rapid Relief Team, the charity of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, formerly known as the Exclusive Brethren in January 2026. Advertisement RRT volunteers were greeted and cheered on by a friendly visit from the PM Anthony Albanese, showing support for our community and recovery efforts, the caption said. The Prime Ministers Office would not be drawn on whether Albanese was aware of who he was pictured with, or whether he stands by his description of the church as a cult, as he did last year. But a government spokesman did offer up this line: Its up to the Liberal Party to explain what the arrangements were and what promises were made to this group to reward their significant investment in the Liberal Partys campaign. Our colleague, chief photographer Kate Geraghty, later saw the RRT PR push in action on the police line surrounding the apparent domestic violence triple murder at Lake Cargelligo. The RRTs local leader, Rod Martin, showed up at the police tape near where Sophie Quinn and John Harris had been shot dead. He introduced himself to the media and said his team was available if journalists wanted to do a story about RRT relief efforts. Then he offered food to police and the media. Advertisement Rod Martin a member of the Plymouth Brethren Christin Church Rapid Relief Team, at the crime scene on Bokhara Street in Lake Cargelligo where Sophie Quinn and John Harris were shot dead. Kate Geraghty Were not sure exactly how all this squares with the Brethrens big boss saying: We dont really want to pursue favourable reporting. Maybe that scripture has not yet had time to penetrate the regions. When we asked the church for a comment, it said: The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church declines to comment, other than to say no one in our church is interested in reputation or image. What we are interested in is letting people know the facts about us after years of misreporting. Ex-News Corpers garage sale Life after News Corp can be tough. Just ask any of the ex-editors and executives who make up a graveyard of Murdoch formers, and the many more who have turned their previous employment into a crusading identity. Advertisement Former News Corp exec John McGourty is selling a designer Nerocactus made by Gufram on Facebook marketplace. Among the most recent to join the club is John McGourty, defenestrated as part of the publishers most recent cull. Of course, the cull were referring to occurred in 2024, when the Australian outpost of News Corp called in PwC to reorganise the business as part of a plan then aimed at saving in the order of $65 million. The restructure hit a number of high-profile editors and executives, of which McGourty was among the most senior, as the group director of News Corps editorial innovation centre. Now, it would seem, the McGourty household is dispensing with some of the excesses of times past. We were dutifully informed that McGourty has taken to flogging some of his luxury household items. Up for grabs was a Hermes chess set priced to go at $3250 (since sold!) and a designer Nerocactus made by Gufram, for just $4500. One of only 500 made, read McGourtys ad caption, on Facebook marketplace no less. When asked to comment, McGourty was suspicious that these listings were even newsworthy, before calling the line of inquiry weird. Advertisement All in good jest, we said. He explained the sales came as part of some good old-fashioned decluttering. You start the new year, and youre kind of decluttering your life, and theres some things I want to declutter as I downsize, he said. The former News Corp man spent more than two decades at the Murdoch-controlled publisher, after moving from Scotland in the late 1990s. He started his News Corp Australia career at The Daily Telegraph, where he ascended to deputy editor, before heading into corporate roles. As things stand, we cant decide which of these tasks is tougher: innovating at News Corp, or finding a market for his Nerocactus. Summer spots The favourite lunchtime haunts of the nations bankers and politicians tend to get quiet heading into Christmas and on through January, leaving behind a string of empty tables. Still, there were a couple of familiar faces seen around town over the summer break. Advertisement Among them was one of this columns favourites, former Long Bay jailbird turned venture capitalist Rodney Adler. The former high-flyer was seen hobnobbing at the Grill Americano just before Christmas. The Adler redemption arc keeps on giving, but his office was not interested in talking to us. It was only a couple of weeks later that Australias top law officer was spotted out at Neptunes Grotto, in Sydneys CBD, with an as yet unidentified lunchmate. Attorney-General Michelle Rowland was spied in a booth next to the bar on January 14 with a bald, stocky friend. No dice on who it was or what they were discussing and her office was in no mood to enlighten us. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter. Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A Valentines Day is fast approaching. While you never need a reason to celebrate love, February 14 is a nice reminder to cherish that special someone, even if that someone is yourself. If you need help picking out a gift, look no further. Here are our picks that go beyond roses to give your loved one this V-day. Whether you are in a new relationship or flying solo, spread the love with these finds. For the new lovers Meadowlark cherub charm necklace, $299 Jewellery seems like an easy gift to celebrate a new relationship, but it can be tricky to nail what your sweetheart would like. This cherub charm necklace from New Zealand brand Meadowlark is the perfect, subtle romantic talisman. Take note of whether they wear gold or silver as it is available in sterling silver ($189), 23k gold-plated ($299) and 9ct yellow gold ($2209). Advertisement Cambridge Imprint origami heart bunting kit,$28 The Cambridge Imprint is a small paper-making business, and their heart bunting origami kit ($28) is a love-themed gift that is a little different. Its a great idea if you know your pookie-bear often enjoys a little arts and crafts, or you could make it a date and sit down together to learn some origami together. Daily Blooms seasonal Bellas Blooms subscription, $65 Florists estimate that approximately 5 million roses will be delivered on Valentines Day. Flowers are a must to make your partner feel special, but if you are looking to out-do everyone else get them a flower subscription. The seasonal Bellas Blooms offer a florists choice bundle, which includes limited edition bundles for V-day, Christmas and Easter. Fortnightly or monthly national delivery is available and you pay ($65) as you go. They offer same-day delivery when ordered before 3pm, so also a great option if youve left your planning to the last minute. Advertisement Gentle Habits perfume oil in Byron Bay, $50 You cant go wrong with perfume, and the Gentle Habits perfume oil (10ml/$50) in the Byron Bay scent is a best-selling roll-on fragrance that is perfect for on the go. The formula is alcohol-free safe for your lover if they have sensitive skin and infused with coconut oil to moisturise. The packaging is sustainably refillable so when they love it, you can buy them more next year. LeTAO gateau pudding tiramisu, $49 Homemade from the heart is a sweet gesture, but this is an impressive dessert and you dont need to lift a finger. LeTAO is known for their famous cheesecakes made with Hokkaido milk, and their gateau pudding tiramisu has layers of soft cream, mascarpone mousse, coffee, and caramel. Free next-day delivery is available if you order before 2pm. Advertisement Do it together Learn to salsa dance Photo: Getty Images Sure, you could do any dance class, but salsa is all about passion. If you want to take your sweetie for a spin, surprise them with a beginner lesson. By the end of the session, you will have picked up a few basic steps to whip out next time you come across a dance floor. Beginner classes are easy to find, often free of charge and accommodate every experience level, even if you have two left feet. Some free beginner trial classes to check out: Sydney Salsa Classes (CBD and Five Dock) The Salsa Foundation (Melbourne CBD) Rio Rhythmics Latin Dance Academy (Brisbane) Advertisement Advertisement Exclusive NationalInvestigations Security boss moves offshore amid probe into loan millions Nick McKenzie and Cameron Houston February 3, 2026 2:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A The chief executive of Australian security giant MA Services has moved to Dubai as corporate investigators pursue millions of dollars in loans he took from the firm prior to its collapse amid revelations of its links to bikies, as well as tax evasion, sex harassment and systemic worker exploitation. Along with MAs still growing tax debt of $19 million, administrators are chasing almost $13 million in loans from the firm prior to its collapse before Christmas, including at least $4.8 million lent to founder Micky Ahujas personal accounts. Micky and Sasha Ahuja. Preliminary inquiries by administrator Jason Tracy of Alvarez and Marsal have also identified at least $20 million owing in superannuation and entitlements to some of the thousands of security guards who worked for MA Services around Australia. Ahuja is suspected of potentially breaching his statutory duty not to trade whilst insolvent, which warranted further investigation. Given the quantum of employees who have outstanding entitlements, we have been working to ensure employees are able to lodge claims and access information with respect to amounts owed to them as soon as possible, Tracy said in a report to creditors obtained by this masthead. Advertisement Prior to his companys collapse, Ahuja lived a lavish lifestyle that included driving a Rolls-Royce 4WD, two Mercedes G-Wagons and a Lamborghini Urus; he took luxury holidays; and made property acquisitions. Company insiders also told this masthead the actual amount in unpaid wages and superannuation owed to the firms largely migrant workforce and the Tax Office is likely to be far higher, given MA used a network of front companies to operate and disguise the suspected underpayment of staff and rorting of the Tax Office. Editor's pick Exclusive Investigations Watchdogs spent millions with security firm linked to Finks bikie gang Over the past month, this masthead has been contacted by more than a dozen security guards who say they were underpaid for years. Even though they wore the distinctive MA uniform while working for the firms clients which include Coles, Amazon, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet they were actually employed and paid via a network of front companies that had no formal legal relationship with MA. The MA Services story has emerged as a shocking and still unfolding tale of corporate greed and questions of governance failures. The latter extends beyond the once darling of Australias security sector to some of the firms blue chip corporate, sporting and government clients. Advertisement Companies including Coles and Kmart, several AFL clubs and the Department of Home Affairs have faced questions about whether they missed red flags suggesting the firm Ahuja built into one of Australias biggest security providers was engaged in worker exploitation and tax rorting. Meanwhile, Ahuja, whom this masthead has confirmed has moved to Dubai, has sought to publicly minimise the scandal, releasing a series of press releases and advertorials over the past week proclaiming himself as one of Australias greatest emerging entrepreneurs and founders. When asked by this masthead about the allegations dogging Ahuja and his firm, his wife, Sasha Ahuja, declined to comment on his behalf while describing the claims of wrongdoing as false, unjust, and deeply damaging to his reputation, livelihood, and family. A fleet of luxury cars outside the mansion of Micky Ahuja. Micky spent more than 15 years building a workforce-intensive organisation and took on risks that many founders choose not to, she wrote in a lengthy text message that sought to shift responsibility for MAs woes away from her husband. Advertisement In large workforce environments, when ... businesses employ hundreds or thousands of people across multiple sites, shifts, and jurisdictions, no founder can realistically control every individuals past or every conduct, even where licences, checks, and systems are in place yet that complexity is often overlooked. Staying anchored in the past would take away his ability to build a future. He needs space to focus forward, not revisit what has already taken so much from him. Micky Ahuja may not have that option: administrator Tracy is now pursuing him to recover funds from a series of suspect transactions and moving to liquidate the firm, having sacked several thousand employees just prior to Christmas. MA Services Group boss Micky Ahujas company was until recently a major sponsor of the Melbourne Demons. In a report to creditors, Tracy said he was recommending the firm be dissolved because it was insolvent. MAs inability to pay its debts was triggered by a Tax Office investigation determining the security firm had failed to remit millions in GST, but Tracy also said in his report that this mastheads series revealing wrongdoing at MA had sparked the companys demise. Advertisement Tracy said he would pursue further action against Ahuja to recover loans of $4,791,987 that arose as a result of the company paying the directors [Ahujas] personal expenses or the directors drawings. We have issued a demand to the director for repayment of the loan. As at the date of this report, the director has not responded to our demand. Editor's pick Investigations Guards sacked and retailers scrambling as embattled security firm calls in administrators If Ahuja fails to repay the funds, he could be declared bankrupt or have his portfolio of properties across Melbourne seized and sold. Tracy is also pursuing unsecured loans to companies linked to Ahuja worth at least $8.29 million, his report said. Advertisement Another line of investigation involved dozens of company cars, including a number of vehicles that had been transferred to various parties either for no consideration or in lieu of payments allegedly owing to them. Where appropriate, we have already commenced (and will commence further as required) recovery action, including with police involvement, the report said. The collapse of MA Services sparked an unprecedented crisis in the nations private security industry. More than 1500 guards working at major retailers such as Coles, Kmart, Bunnings, Dan Murphys and Amazon were told in late December to cease work immediately. Before this, the ATO was pursuing MAs subcontractors for millions of dollars in allegedly unpaid tax in what liquidators and authorities suspect may involve a major tax fraud scheme. This mastheads major and ongoing investigation into MA also revealed how the firm had faced sustained scrutiny from authorities and liquidators but had still won contracts with major corporate and government clients. MA also won lucrative but since abandoned contracts with several AFL clubs and major sporting events, elite schools and universities, and state government infrastructure projects in NSW and Victoria. Advertisement Moving in retirement is a great opportunity for a fresh start. You can be closer to family, or further away if that's what you prefer, maybe somewhere with a better climate. But moving comes with its challenges, too. You have to figure out where you want to live and how you're going to move all of your stuff. You could also experience some changes to your Social Security and Medicare benefits, so it's important to prepare for these in advance. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now, when you join Stock Advisor. See the stocks Image source: Getty Images. How moving can affect your Social Security benefits Moving within the U.S. shouldn't affect the Social Security benefits you receive, and moving to another country usually doesn't either. However, a few exceptions exist. If you're retiring in Cuba or North Korea, the U.S. government will not send Social Security checks there. And if you retire in one of the following countries, you may have to agree to restricted payment conditions to continue receiving benefits: Azerbaijan Belarus Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan If you're unable to receive Social Security checks because you're living in one of these countries and you later move back to the U.S. or to a different country where you can get Social Security, you'll receive all the money the Social Security Administration withheld from you before. The bigger concern for most Social Security beneficiaries is how moving in retirement will affect their taxes. Federal Social Security benefit taxes apply to all seniors with incomes over a certain amount. But if you move to a state with its own benefit tax, you could lose more of your checks than you had before. On the other hand, you might save money if you move out of a state with its own Social Security benefit tax to a state that doesn't tax benefits. How moving can affect your Medicare benefits Moving within the U.S. shouldn't affect Original Medicare. But if you have a Part D plan for prescription drugs or a Medicare Advantage plan, the move could cost you access to this plan. That's because these plans are offered by private insurers with specific provider networks. That doesn't mean you'll just be without insurance, though. You'll qualify for a Special Enrollment Period, where you'll be able to view all plans available in the area where you're moving to and select the one you like the most. Moving outside the U.S. usually means Medicare coverage is no longer available to you. You'll have to purchase new health insurance coverage in the country you plan to live in. You may be able to research some of this yourself, but it can also be helpful to reach out to other expats or organizations that help expats get set up in their new countries. They may be able to help point you in the right direction. Advertisement NationalWACrime A horrific act of overt hate: Senate condemns attempted bombing at Perth Invasion Day rally Heather McNeill and Nick Newling February 3, 2026 12:15pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Australias senate has condemned an attempted bombing at Perths Invasion Day rally on January 26, with Senator Lidia Thorpe labelling the incident an act of horrific, overt hate and racism. A Perth man, 31, was arrested moments after allegedly throwing a homemade bomb packed with ball bearings, screws and chemicals into a 2500-strong crowd who had peacefully gathered at Forrest Place to protest the date of Australia Day. Senator Lidia Thorpe speaking on the motion. Alex Ellinghausen The bomb, which police allege was designed to explode on impact, did not detonate, and the area was evacuated. The accused man, whose identity has been suppressed, was charged with intent to cause harm and making an explosive device with suspicious intentions. Advertisement WA Police, the Australia Federal Police and ASIO are jointly investigating whether the attack will be classified as a terrorist act, with a decision expected this week. The WA Joint Counterterrorism Team investigation is ongoing, and further charges have not been ruled out, a spokeswoman said. Moving a motion to condemn the bombing in the senate on Tuesday, Thorpe said an attack against First Nations people was an attack against all Australians. The attempted bombing was an act of horrific, overt hate and racism. What followed was the quieter, insidious thrum of the entrenched, systemic racism that shapes this country, she said. Decisions were made in newsrooms, in ministerial offices, in the daily rhythms of power, about whether this was urgent, whether it mattered, whether our lives mattered. Advertisement Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy called the incident an attempted bombing of a peaceful, First Nations rally, led by First Nations, Australians and their allies. This was an attack on the social cohesion of the Australian community, it was an attack on all Australians, she said. Police released grainy video of the suspect hurling something towards the crowd in Perth on January 26. WA Police When our social cohesion is attacked, all of us in this chamber, the government, the opposition, the cross bench, must apply consistent focus and condemnation. Leaders, words carry meaning, and our government will not be silent. The Albanese government condemns this sickening and abhorrent. Advertisement Opposition Indigenous spokesperson Kerrynne Liddle said it was just luck that the homemade bomb did not detonate. This act of violence is about behaviour, not about politics. Violence is wrong, no matter who commits it, when they commit it, or why they commit it, she said. Senator Kerrynne Liddle speaking on the motion. All people must be free to protest lawfully and peacefully without fear harm, regardless of their views. Greens leader Larissa Waters said the silence from media and conservatives on the incident had been deafening, and that the courts decision to suppress the accused mans identity speaks volumes. Advertisement Related Article Updated Australia Day Perth Invasion Day rally bomb scare being investigated as potential terrorist act The attacks in Naarm [Melbourne] and Boorloo [Perth] are an escalation of violence against First Nations people who are already facing entrenched racism and systemic abuse, yet the responses to the attacks highlight a brutal truth, not all acts of hate are treated equally in this country, she said. The motion to condemn the attempted bombing was passed without amendment. On Monday, WA Premier Roger Cook indicated that Commonwealth authorities were preparing to make a call on whether the incident was a terrorist act in the coming days. Cook said from his point of view, the incident appeared to be a terrorist act, but that there were certain definitions that must be met for it to be formally deemed as such. Advertisement The actual assigning of an act of terror is undertaken by a joint taskforce between Commonwealth and state agencies, and then ultimately the Commonwealth agency is the one that declares whether it is a terrorist attack, he said. We look as bystanders at the circumstances of this horrible act, and you would not be surprised if ultimately the Commonwealth makes that decision. Police moving protesters from Forrest Place in Perth after a bomb scare. WA Police Australian National University terrorism researcher Dr Michael Zekulin said the decision to call something an act of terror by WA Police or federal authorities would ultimately come when investigators were able to determine the accused mans main alleged motivation. Specifically whether an incident is being done for personal reasons or if there is a broader political, ideological goal, he said. Advertisement The political fallout of the incident has also continued in West Australian politics, with Cook accusing Opposition leader Basil Zempilas of being silent on the issue. I dont think it received enough attention from some Western Australian politicians, he said. Zempilas first decried the incident in a weekly column on Friday, when he said any action that deprived or endangered West Australians right to gather and protest lawfully should be condemned and punished with the full force of the law. On Sunday, Zempilas defended the time it took him to comment on the incident, saying it was the first opportunity he was given to do so. I note that the Premier, the Police commissioner and the Police Minister spoke hours after what took place in Forrest Place. They were the right authorities and the right leaders to be taking charge and carriage of what was an unfolding situation, he said. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter. Advertisement WorldEuropeCrime Son of Norways crown princess detained on fresh allegations ahead of trial February 3, 2026 12:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A Oslo: Norwegian police said they have detained the eldest son of Norways crown princess over fresh criminal allegations against him ahead of a separate trial this week in which he faces multiple charges of rape and other crimes. Police in a statement said Marius Borg Hiby, 29, son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit and stepson to Crown Prince Haakon, was apprehended on Sunday on suspicion of causing bodily harm, wielding a knife and violating a restraining order. Norways Marius Borg Hiby and Crown Princess Mette-Marit in June 2022. AP Following the latest accusations, police said they would seek permission from a judge to keep Hiby in their custody for the next four weeks. He had been at large awaiting the trial, which begins on Tuesday (Norway time), on four counts of rape as well as domestic violence, assault and drug possession, among other crimes, one of several cases that have shaken the Norwegian monarchy. Advertisement He could face new charges from the latest allegations on top of the 38 counts he currently faces. His lawyer declined to comment on the new accusations presented on Monday. Related Article Epstein fallout How the Epstein files exposed the rich, the royal and the European elite Hiby does not admit criminal guilt for the charges of rape and domestic violence, but has admitted to some lesser crimes and plans to give a detailed explanation of this in court, his lawyer has previously said. His trial is due to last until March 19. The case against Hiby began in 2024 when police named him a suspect of physical assault against a woman with whom he had been in a relationship. In a statement to the media at the time, Hiby admitted to causing bodily harm to the woman while he was under the influence of cocaine and alcohol and to damaging her apartment. Hiby said he regretted his acts. Advertisement Hibys defence team has said that he denies all charges of sexual abuse, as well as the majority of the charges regarding violence. Related Article Norway Son of Norways crown princess indicted on multiple counts including rape Last week, Haakon said that he and Mette-Marit didnt plan to attend court and that the royal house did not intend to comment during the proceedings. He emphasised that Hiby wasnt part of the royal house and that, as a citizen of Norway, he has the same responsibilities and rights as all others. He said he was confident that all concerned would make the trial as orderly, proper and fair as possible. While the royals are generally popular in Norway, the Hiby case has cast a shadow on their image. And the trial is opening just as his mother faces renewed scrutiny over her contacts with Jeffrey Epstein. Advertisement Fridays release of the latest batch of documents from the Epstein files contained several hundred mentions of the crown princess, who already said in 2019 that she regretted having had contact with Epstein, Norwegian media reported. Reuters, AP Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on whats making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter. Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share More: Crime Norway Epstein fallout Jeffrey Epstein rsted has agreed to sell its entire European onshore business to Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) for DKr10.7bn ($1.69bn). CIP is executing the divestment via its fifth flagship fund, Copenhagen Infrastructure V (CI V). rsteds European onshore activities include projects across Ireland, the UK, Germany and Spain. They encompass wind, solar energy and battery energy storage systems (BESS), with a total of 578MW in operation and an additional 248MW under construction. CIP chief investment officer and partner Mads Skovgaard-Andersen said: With this significant acquisition across multiple markets and technologies, we further strengthen our presence in Europe. The combined onshore wind, solar and BESS portfolio complements our existing project portfolio and give us the scale to further accelerate the deployment of renewable energy and strengthen Europes energy independence while delivering strong, risk-adjusted returns to our investors. For rsted, the divestment aligns with its strategy to concentrate on offshore wind projects within Europe, where substantial capacity tenders are projected in the upcoming years. The transaction is due to be finalised in the second quarter of this year, pending regulatory approvals. Despite this sale, rsted will maintain its onshore operations in the US, which have been independently managed since October 2025. This deal, along with the sale of a 50% stake in Hornsea 3 and a majority share divestment in Changhua 2, completes rsted's previously announced divestment programme. These transactions collectively aim to enhance rsteds financial stability, with total expected proceeds amounting to approximately DKr46bn by the end of 2026, surpassing its initial target of more than DKr35bn. rsted chief financial officer Trond Westlie said: rsteds European onshore business has developed a very solid pipeline and project portfolio, and I am very satisfied that we have found a new owner of that business in CIP, as we have decided to concentrate our efforts on offshore wind in our core European markets. The divestment of our European onshore platform finalises the divestment programme that we have laid out, and we have now substantially strengthened rsteds financial position. Last December, rsteds wholly owned subsidiary Sunrise Wind secured a preliminary injunction from the US District Court for the District of Columbia. The injunction allows for the resumption of activities halted by an earlier suspension order issued by the Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). Authorities believe 'Today' show host Savannah Guthrie's mother was taken against her will Authorities believe the 84-year-old mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie was kidnapped, abducted or otherwise taken against her will BitRiver, Russias largest crypto mining firm, is facing potential bankruptcy after a regional arbitration court opened insolvency supervision proceedings against its controlling shareholder. Igor Runets, BitRivers founder and chief executive, was reportedly placed under house arrest on tax evasion charges after a Moscow district court issued a ruling last week. Proceedings that would evaluate BitRiver were initiated by the Arbitration Court of Sverdlovsk Oblast, which on January 27 opened bankruptcy observation against Group of Companies Fox, which owns 98% of BitRivers authorized capital. The move follows a claim filed by Infrastructure of Siberia, an En+ Group subsidiary, according to court filings cited in reporting from Kommersant, a Russian paper of record for corporate and legal affairs. The subsidiary reportedly paid BitRiver more than $9.2 million (700 million rubles) in advance under an equipment supply contract that was later terminated after the equipment was not delivered. Enforcement proceedings failed to recover the assets under claim, per the report. Court documents cited were not immediately available for public review. Decrypt has reached out to BitRiver and relevant Russian authorities for confirmation and comment. Leaked Documents Expose $8 Billion Crypto Web Behind Russia Sanctions Evasion Sanctions and deterioration As part of the dispute, accounts linked to BitRiver companies were reportedly frozen, a move that could paralyze an already deteriorating business marred by sanctions. In separate proceedings found by Decrypt through the companys state registration number, a company named Rosseti Siberia is seeking to recover about $60,000 (5.4 million rubles) in unpaid electricity bills from Management Company BitRiver under a June 2024 service agreement. By late 2025, other BitRiver entities had deteriorated to the point where it failed to produce required documents for lawsuits properly. In one instance, a January 23 Irkutsk court ruling returned an equipment recovery case after the plaintiffs failed twice to meet basic requirements like providing equipment valuations and proof of ownership, despite deadline extensions. Court notices to BitRiver addresses were returned unclaimed after seven days, though the company had submitted some documents back in December. These dysfunctions are consistent with local reporting of mass executive departures and office closures from the company. Its social media accounts have remained inactive since early 2022. BitRiver has been under U.S. sanctions since 2022, Decrypt previously reported. Russias natural gas exports via the TurkStream pipeline to Europe jumped by 10.3% in January from a year earlier, Reuters calculations showed on Monday, as Gazprom boosted supply via the only gas route left from Russia to the EU. Last month, Russian gas supply via TurkStream totaled 1.73 billion cubic meters (bcm), up from 1.57 bcm in January 2025, according to the calculations made by Reuters. On January 1, 2025, Russian pipeline gas supply to Europe crumbled again, after Ukraine refused to extend the pipeline transit deal with Russia. Russian gas supply via pipelines to Europe has slumped since 2022, after Russia cut off many EU customers from its gas deliveries, and Nord Stream stopped supplying gas to Germany, after Russia reduced flows and after a sabotage in September 2022. Russian pipeline gas supply via Ukraine stopped on January 1, 2025, after Ukraine refused to negotiate an extension to the transit deal. That left only TurkStream as the conduit of Russian natural gas via pipeline to Europe. Some European countries, including Hungary and Slovakia, continue to receive Russian gas through the TurkStream pipeline via Turkey and the Balkans. Supplies via TurkStream have increased over the past year. Daily flows in January 2026 averaged 55.8 million cubic meters (mcm), up from 50.6 mcm in January 2025, per the Reuters calculations based on data from European gas transmission group Entsog. December 2025 flows averaged 56 mcm per day, so the past two months have seen consistent flows via TurkStream. Despite higher gas flows on TurkStream, Russias gas sales to Europe last year plunged to a 50-year low, after crashing by 44% from 2024 in the absence of transit via Ukraine. Moreover, the 27 EU member states last month formally adopted the regulation on phasing out Russian imports of both pipeline gas and LNG into the EU. A full ban will take effect for LNG imports from the beginning of 2027 and for pipeline gas imports from the autumn of 2027. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Oilprice Intelligence brings you the signals before they become front-page news. This is the same expert analysis read by veteran traders and political advisors. Get it free, twice a week, and you'll always know why the market is moving before everyone else. You get the geopolitical intelligence, the hidden inventory data, and the market whispers that move billions - and we'll send you $389 in premium energy intelligence, on us, just for subscribing. Join 400,000+ readers today. Get access immediately by clicking here. Schroders Greencoat has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) and Lochpine Capital to jointly explore, develop and invest in battery energy storage projects across Europe. The agreement provides for the creation of an investment platform focused on European battery energy storage systems (BESS), with CATL named as the primary supplier of battery units under the arrangement. The signing took place in Beijing, China, during a visit by Schroders group CEO Richard Oldfield, as part of a business delegation led by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer aimed at strengthening commercial and investment ties between China and the UK. Lucy Rigby, Economic Secretary to the Treasury of the UK, attended the signing alongside senior representatives from each company. Through this collaboration, the parties intend to combine their respective experience in renewable infrastructure and technology to support the development of up to ten gigawatt-hours of renewable energy storage capacity in Europe. The partnership also aims to contribute towards Europes ongoing transition toward net-zero emissions. Schroders Greencoat operates as part of Schroders Capital and manages approximately 450 renewable infrastructure assets across the globe, representing a net generation capacity exceeding 7.7GW. Its teams are based in international cities including Beijing, Chicago, Copenhagen, Dublin, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Madrid, New York and Shanghai. The alliance is expected to support both the growth of Schroders Greencoats activities in Europes energy sector and CATLs efforts towards further international expansion following its planned listing in Hong Kong next year. Schroders Capital Infrastructure chair Richard Nourse said: Accelerating Europes energy transition requires the deployment of significant amounts of capital. We look forward to working with Lochpine to provide investors with innovative ways to broaden access and investment into battery energy storage and other energy transition-related infrastructure. Lochpine Capital focuses its infrastructure investment strategy on global BESS assets and related renewable solutions utilising CATL technology. This MoU builds upon more than three decades of Schroders business presence in mainland China. "Schroders, CATL and Lochpine sign MoU for European BESS projects" was originally created and published by Energy Monitor, a GlobalData owned brand. Bloomberg Analog chipmaker SiTime Corp. is nearing an agreement to acquire Renesas Electronics Corp.s timing unit in a deal that could be worth about $3 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. Santa Clara, California-based SiTime is putting the final touches on a purchase of the Renesas division, which makes the clocks that synchronize signals in wireless infrastructure, the people said, asking not be identified because the discussions arent public. Most Read from Bloomberg Shares of Renesas rose as much as 7.5% in Tokyo on the news Tuesday. Shares of SiTime closed down 6.1%. The companies could reach an agreement as soon as Thursday, when Renesas is scheduled to report its full-year earnings, the people said, adding that negotiations are ongoing and could still fall apart. SiTime and Renesas confirmed the discussions in separate statements. SiTime said no agreement has been reached, and that there can be no assurance that the talks would result in a transaction. Renesas said no decision has been made. SiTime specializes in silicon oscillators and resonators that keep complex circuits in sync inside artificial intelligence data centers. Nintendo Co. supplier MegaChips Corp., based in Osaka, holds a stake in SiTime. A deal for the Renesas unit would represent SiTimes largest acquisition to date, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The companies have been in talks about a potential transaction, people familiar with the matter have said. A sale of the unit would give Renesas more funds to chase acquisitions in high-growth areas and move toward a platform-based business. The maker of automotive chips in 2024 bought US-based Altium Ltd., a provider of electronic design software, as part of a shift away from one-off product sales. Shares of SiTime have surged 83% in the past 12 months, giving the company a market value of about $9.8 billion. Renesas has gained almost 30% in the same period, for a market capitalization of about 4.9 trillion ($31 billion). --With assistance from Yuki Furukawa, Edwin Chan and Will Davies. (Updates with market reactions and company comments.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2026 Bloomberg L.P. Gordon Deegan A Co Galway farmer has pleaded guilty to the sexual assault of a then 16-year-old girl on board a transatlantic Aer Lingus flight bound for Boston. At Ennis Circuit Court on Tuesday, Patrick Noone (58) pleaded guilty when arraigned on two counts of sexual assault contrary to Section 2 of the Criminal Law (Rape) Amendment Act on November 15th, 2023. As a result of cabin crew informing the captain of the Aer Lingus flight that a male passenger had allegedly inappropriately touched a teenage girl sitting beside him on the flight, the captain turned the Boston-bound plane around and journeyed back to Shannon airport. In the case, Mr Noone of Curragh, Kilconnell, Ballinasloe, Co Galway, pleaded guilty to sexual assault of the girl by rubbing and grabbing her buttocks on board the E1 135 Aer Lingus flight within the jurisdiction of the Irish State. Mr Noone also pleaded guilty to the sexual assault of the girl by kissing her arm and rubbing her thigh on the flight. Counsel for Mr Noone, Antoinette Simon BL told the court today that her client is a self-employed farmer and has no previous convictions. Ms Simon (instructed by solicitor, Kieran OBrien) asked for a Probation Report on her client for the sentencing hearing as it may provide insight into his offending. Judge Francis Comerford granted the request and also directed that Gardai seek a victim impact statement from the complainant in the case. Mr Noone has not been named before now in connection with the sexual assault and Judge Comerford said that he didnt see any basis for reporting restrictions on the accused. Counsel for the State, Sarah Jane Comerford BL (instructed by State Solicitor for Clare, Aisling Casey) told Judge Comerford that there is no connection between Mr Noone and the injured party. Ms Comerford said that Mr Noones side more than two weeks ago offered the guilty plea. Ms Comerford said that this was of some assistance as arrangements had been made for the US based witnesses to provide their evidence via video-link for the trial. In December, Judge Comerford granted permission for four State witnesses to give evidence via video link from the US in the trial. Ms Comerford told the court in December that one of the four to give evidence via video-link is the complainant in the case. Ms Comerford said that the complainant - now aged 18 and 16 at the time of the alleged offence - is currently studying in a US college. Ms Comerford said that the complainants grandmother was a witness in the Book of Evidence and as she is an elderly lady and a resident of the US, as are two other females who were on the flight. When the case was before the district court, Judge Alec Gabbett transferred the case to the circuit court where more serious penalties apply on conviction after hearing an outline of the case against the man. Det Garda Ruth OSullivan told the court previously that the costs to Aer Lingus of returning the Boston bound aircraft to Shannon is 28,213. Giving an outline of the alleged sexual assaults, Det Garda OSullivan said that an hour into the transatlantic flight at around 3.30pm, a young girl informed cabin crew that a male passenger sitting beside her had touched her inappropriately. Det Garda OSullivan said: They then informed the captain who took a decision to turn the flight back to Shannon. She said that the young girl and her family returned to Shannon airport where statements were obtained in the short turnaround before they took off again for the US. If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help. In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112. COMMUNITY NOTES: BALLYHAUNIS - WESTERN PEOPLE (FEBRUARY 3 EDITION) Contractors have installed new lighting at Ballyhaunis train station while works are also underway to investigate the addition of a structure to allow wheelchair users access the platform for west-bound trains -access which is currently only possible via a footbridge. It is to do with station infrastructure, an Irish Rail spokesperson told this column. Possibly a bridge or other upgrades, but this is only at the feasibility stage. Last July, Irish Rail told this column that the company intended to lodge a planning application for a new bridge with lifts at Ballyhaunis. Passengers are currently required to cross via footbridge to board west-bound trains, a challenge for those with mobility issues. Planning and funding will determine the timing of works, but it is a priority for us, noted Irish Rail at the time. In the interim, where we receive notice, we can arrange for trains to call to the accessible platform customers who require this can contact access@irishrail.ie. Meanwhile, a review of car parking facilities at the station is still in process. It still with the National Transport Authority for final comment, noted Irish Rail. We hope to have it back soon and should have more information then. Lack of parking at the Ballyhaunis station has seen passengers parking along and on footpaths near the station - to the inconvenience of pedestrians. We do recognise that the car park at Ballyhaunis is regularly oversubscribed, and any timing of works to add further spaces will be subject to the outcome of the national review, and funding from the NTA, Irish Rail told this column in July. The 2025 judging report for Ballyhaunis published by the Tidy Towns competition highlighted an overflowing car park at the train station as a negative for the town and also highlighted the lack of cycle space or parking at the station. COMMUNITY NOTES: ERRIS - WESTERN PEOPLE (FEBRUARY 3 EDITION) Local motor dealer Micheal Conroy attended a meeting in government buildings on December 9, to discuss the possibility of Belmullet having its own NCT Centre. Very positive talks were held with Sean Canney, Minister of State of the Department of Transport on the day in which he was advised that talks for the new rollout will start in 2027. Michael said that "Belmullet is being forgotten about in many ways. We have a hospital which is also being forgotten about when we need it now more than ever with the population of the Erris area. The main road to Castlebar is not fit for farm machinery, never mind an ambulance to travel it, and to travel 130-170km return to get your car tested, pending it doesnt fail, just isnt right. Belmullet is a fantastic town, but we need these facilities here." Beginning on Monday, January 26, Michael Conroy Motors will have a petition in the reception of his outlet, and he is asking people to drop in and show their support for this much-needed centre. COMMUNITY NOTES: KILTIMAGH - WESTERN PEOPLE (FEBRUARY 3 EDITION) A special Mass will be held in Knock Basilica on Sunday, February 22nd, at 12 noon to mark European Day for Victims of Crime and Trauma. The event is being organised by Victim Assistance, the national charity based in Kiltimagh, which supports victims of crime across Ireland. Representatives from the emergency services, along with victims of crime and their families, are invited to attend the Mass, which will be celebrated as part of a wider programme of events taking place across Europe in the lead-up to European Day for Crime Victims. Refreshments will be served afterwards in St Johns Rest and Care Centre. European Day for Crime Victims has grown into a week-long series of events across many countries, with organisations hosting commemorations, discussions and support initiatives aimed at raising awareness of the impact of crime and the importance of victim support services. Last years special Mass in Knock drew an attendance of approximately 1,000 people, with participants travelling from across the country. The ceremony was organised by the Kiltimagh-based charity and was celebrated by Fr Richard Gibbons, Parish Priest and Rector of Knock Shrine. Organisers say this years Mass will once again provide an opportunity for reflection, remembrance and solidarity with victims of crime, while also recognising the vital work carried out by frontline and voluntary services throughout the country. Authorities believe the 84-year-old mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie was kidnapped, abducted or otherwise taken against her will. The Pima County sheriff says its imperative Nancy Guthrie is found soon because she could die without her medication. Guthrie was last seen around 9:30 p.m. Saturday at her home in the Tucson, Arizona, area where she lived alone. Guthrie had limited mobility and officials dont believe she left on her own. The sheriff says it was Guthrie was of sound mind and her disappearance is not dementia-related. A crucifix, made by a friend of the captain of the fishing boat "Lily Jean", is displayed on the pier of the homeport of the fishing boat that went missing with seven onboard, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, in Gloucester, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) SpaceX has been preparing for a public offering that could land this year and aim north of a $1.5 trillion valuation, with fundraising chatter reaching into the tens of billions. xAI, for its part, has been guzzling capital the way frontier-model companies do, including a $20 billion Series E round at a $230 billion valuation one report put its burn at around $1 billion a month while trying to chase rivals with bigger distribution and deeper cash engines such as OpenAI and Alphabet. And one ugly Grok scandal can travel faster than a rocket and land in exactly the wrong place a procurement office, a regulators docket, an oversight hearing. A space-and-defense contractor can survive a product controversy, but it survives by being boringly compliant, not by improvising safety policies while the headline churns. Tesla is already in the blast radius. The company disclosed a $2 billion investment in xAI even as its ramping spending for its own AI ambitions planned capex above $20 billion this year, per its chief financial officer. Longtime Tesla bull Dan Ives put the empire logic bluntly in a Tuesday note from Wedbush: If youre trying to build robots, and build autonomous cars, and build rockets, these things all fit together. The fit may be real. The financing tab will be, too. This isnt a normal tech tie-up where the biggest risk is a Slack migration. SpaceX is a launch provider, a satellite operator, and a defense contractor with billions in federal contracts the sort of company that gets measured in clearances, audit trails, and please dont make us brief this to Congress. Those government relationships give agencies authority to review M&A transactions for national security and other risks, and the transaction invites extra scrutiny around governance and conflicts, given Musks overlapping leadership across his companies. The mechanics are clean, which is exactly why the implications arent. SpaceX is taking xAI in a transaction that pegs SpaceX at $1 trillion and xAI at $250 billion, with xAI holders getting 0.1433 share of SpaceX per share (or, for some, cash at $75.46). Yes, thats as enormous as it sounds; its a record-setting deal, eclipsing the long-standing largest M&A crown jewel. And thats another consolidation move by Musk, who has already shown a fondness for corporate nesting dolls; last year, xAI absorbed the social platform X via a share swap. CEO Elon Musk, never one to make a deal announcement without a little cosmic flair, called it the next book in a mission that involves scaling to make a sentient sun. SpaceXs brand is physics: unforgiving, audited, checklist-deep the kind that punishes improvisation. Groks brand is the internet: reactive, unregulated, frequently allergic to consequences the kind that rewards it. Now, SpaceX is buying xAI, the company behind Grok, and folding their reputations together is less a moonshot than a wager that the most regulated kind of company can safely adopt the least regulated kind of product. Story Continues SpaceX brings Starlink, global connectivity, and a hardware backbone that makes AI everywhere feel less like a product strategy. And for an IPO-bound company, adding the word AI to the story can turn a launch business into a platform business, and a platform business into a religion. A rocket company selling launches and satellite internet has financial gravity; an AI company selling subscriptions and dreams has narrative gravity. Put them together and youve built a valuation engine that can, in theory, run on belief for a very long time. If SpaceXs core value proposition is we can do hard things reliably, then importing Groks current baggage is a choice to be less of that. Maybe the market will pay for it anyway. The market has certainly paid for worse. And in the meantime, the best (maybe) rocket company in the U.S. just adopted the hungriest (definitely) hobby in Silicon Valley. Musks roadshow heads into orbit The strategic pitch writes itself: AI needs power; power is scarce; space has sunlight; therefore, data centers in orbit. In an FCC filing late last week, SpaceX asked for permission to build an orbital data center system of up to 1 million satellites designed to harness the sun to power AI data centers, arguing that solar-powered computing in space could scale faster and cheaper than terrestrial data centers choking on land fights, permitting timelines, cooling, and local politics. On paper, that looks like a neat little Muskian inversion: If the bottleneck is Earth, then quit Earth. Musk has said he expects the most cost-effective AI compute to be in space within two to three years. But in practice, the filing reads less like a well-thought-out construction plan than a starting bid. SpaceX has a history of asking regulators for headline numbers that create room to negotiate down later, and orbital real estate is already crowded enough to make one million feel like a dare. There are about 15,000 satellites currently in orbit, and SpaceXs existing network is roughly 9,500 satellites. SpaceX has asked for big numbers before; it sought approval for 42,000 Starlink satellites ahead of deployment. Back down on Earth, analysts at MoffettNathanson did the math and concluded that sustaining a million-satellite constellation with five-year lifespans would require launching about 200,000 satellites annually a pace that turns ambitious into logistics problem, and logistics problem into capital markets event. MoffettNathanson also flagged that the capital demands could be so large that SpaceX might have to tap public equity markets. The orbital compute dream is being stapled to the IPO because the orbital compute dream needs IPO money. Deepwater Asset Management investor Gene Munster, who has cheered the datacenters in the sky idea, pointed to two advantages in a video posted to X: better solar access and less need for cooling. But that tidy little sentence skips past the part where space hardware has to survive radiation, operate without convenient human maintenance, and get replaced on schedules dictated by physics, not product roadmaps. If this is the future, its a future with a lot of rockets in it. Still, the point isnt whether SpaceX can launch one million satellites. The point is that SpaceX wants investors picturing AI capacity as something it can manufacture the way it manufactures launches industrially, repetitively, at scale. Wall Street, predictably, cant resist a grand narrative when it comes with rockets. AJ Bells Russ Mould wrote that others may buy into Musks grand vision of data centers in the cosmos, and that may whet the appetite ahead of what could be the largest IPO ever. And Seraphim Space CEO Mark Boggett called the merger the strongest validation yet that space will be the backbone of the next wave of AI. To be fair, this merger does glue together two things that actually do fit. SpaceX is an infrastructure beast with a distribution system (Starlink) and a rocket roadmap built around getting mass to orbit at scale. XAI is in the business of turning compute into models and models into more compute. Theres also a more practical pitch, the one analysts like because it has nouns you can model. Ali Javaheri, a senior emerging-spaces analyst at PitchBook, wrote, Starlink was already a cash flow engine and now it adds an AI revenue layer on top while also becoming a distribution surface for AI services and data. Thats the cleanest argument for bundling the businesses: a built-in pipe to deliver AI services, plus a torrent of user data, plus the ability to launch infrastructure without negotiating with a hundred local utilities and zoning boards. So yes, orbital compute is a pitch. Its also a permission structure. It makes xAIs burn rate feel like an investment in a platform rather than a bonfire in a basement. And it recasts a merger that looks, financially, like a bailout into something grander: an infrastructure strategy with rockets as the ultimate workaround. But folding a consumer chatbot into a rocket contractor means SpaceX inherits the chatbots problems not abstract, philosophical AI ethics problems, but active legal and regulatory ones with names, deadlines, and prosecutors who dont care how cool Starships latest and greatest rockets look. A rocket company inherits internet problems The orbital storyline cant laser-link away the fact that Grok isnt a neutral asset. Grok is a consumer-facing AI product plugged into a social platform that has spent the last few years making regulators learn new headache symptoms. In January, a bipartisan coalition of 35 state attorneys general urged xAI to do more to prevent Grok from generating nonconsensual intimate images and child sexual abuse material, according to a release from Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sundays office and a separate release from New York Attorney General Letitia James. In California, Attorney General Rob Bonta sent a cease-and-desist letter demanding xAI halt the generation and distribution of nonconsensual sexual images via Grok; xAI said it had implemented new restrictions, while scrutiny was spreading internationally. On Tuesday, Britains Information Commissioners Office opened a formal investigation into Grok over personal-data processing and its potential to generate harmful sexualized content. The regulator said the reported creation and circulation of non-consensual sexual imagery including involving children raises serious concerns under UK data-protection law. Separately, Ofcom has its own investigation into X under the Online Safety Act framework. In France, prosecutors raided Xs offices as part of an investigation into those same behaviors and requested voluntary interviews with Musk and former CEO Linda Yaccarino. Theres growing pressure from EU regulators as well. This is what an active controversy pipeline looks like when its one million statues in a trench coat. Now, zoom out and put that controversy inside SpaceXs world. SpaceX isnt a normal consumer-tech company that can treat moderation blowups as reputational potholes. Its a major government contractor with billions in federal contracts with NASA and the Department of Defense, among others the kind of relationship where governance questions dont stay theoretical. There are, then, tons of regulatory scrutiny risks tied to conflicts of interest and the sensitivity of SpaceXs contracts. There is, of course, at least one more twist, because Musk never makes anything simple. XAI has a contract worth as much as $200 million to provide Grok products to the Pentagon, and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Grok would be integrated into military networks as part of an AI acceleration strategy. Thats the upside case in its sharpest form: Grok graduates from internet goblin to defense tool, and SpaceX sells itself as the infrastructure backbone of next-generation national security. The problem is that the market will be asked to believe both stories at once. Grok as a defense-grade asset. Grok as a consumer-facing model that has already triggered cease-and-desist demands and multi-country investigations. SpaceX as a pristine engineering brand. SpaceX as the corporate parent of a product that regulators keep describing in language no IPO roadshow wants to repeat. Groks myriad and incredibly serious reputational risks dont necessarily guarantee a catastrophic outcome for SpaceX. But it changes the risk profile in a way thats hard to hand-wave away. A company preparing for an IPO can usually pitch around losses and capex if the growth story is clean. Its much harder to pitch around a consumer product that arrives with an ever-growing and ever-spiraling controversy pipeline, especially when the parent companys customer list includes governments that are famously cautious about reputational shrapnel. SpaceX has always sold trust. It sells, We will put the payload where we said wed put it and where you paid us ungainly amounts to do so to commercial customers, and it sells We will not embarrass you to governments. Grok sells immediacy. It sells, Ask me anything (and we do mean anything) on a platform that treats virality as a feature, not a bug. If youre pricing the combined company for an IPO, you now have to underwrite both. Because the IPO story, if it comes this year, wont just be about launch cadence and satellite economics. Itll be about legal exposure, regulatory patience, and whether move fast culture can coexist with dont break national security clearance reality. Itll be about whether Groks next scandal lands as a platform issue, an xAI issue, or now that the corporate line is one line a SpaceX issue. This is the bet, stripped of romance: that the market will treat Groks liabilities as temporary turbulence, while treating orbital compute as inevitable runway. SpaceX has pulled off bigger engineering feats than reputational integration. But engineering has a gift that governance doesnt: Physics is consistent. Regulators, investors, and the internet are not. [Reuters] Elon Musk's SpaceX is taking over his artificial intelligence (AI) start-up, as the billionaire continues to unify some of his many business interests. SpaceX confirmed the deal to acquire xAI, a smaller firm known for its Grok chatbot, posting a memo from Musk about the merger on its website. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. However, a source familiar said it valued xAI at $125bn (91bn) and SpaceX at $1tn, making it the most valuable private company ever. In his memo, Musk said the combination would form an "innovation engine" putting AI, rockets, space-based internet, and media under one roof. xAI began as a segment of X, formerly known as Twitter, after Musk acquired the social media platform in 2022, using its access to real-time text and information as AI training data. By spring of 2025, it was independently incorporated and valued more highly by investors than X. Its main product is Grok, which has come under scrutiny several times over its AI image generation feature. In recent weeks, the European Commission and UK watchdog Ofcom both launched investigations into X over concerns Grok was used to create sexualised images. xAI said in January it had imposed restrictions on Grok users that limit image editing. Emma Wall, chief investment strategist at Hargreaves Lansdown, said Musk was the market leader in the "two incredibly frontier technologies" of AI and space exploration. She said because the new merger is entirely private, it hasn't been tested by the market in the same way as Tesla, which is publicly listed. "But what you're seeing priced in at these valuations is a kind of multi-decade vision for the company to put... energy and energy generation into space, data centres into space," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. However, Wall said any potential benefits would not be seen on earth for "10, 20, 30 years". 'Super company' The huge merger comes after Musk's electric car company, Tesla, announced a $2bn investment in xAI last month. Musk told Tesla investors that he envisioned xAI functioning as an "orchestra conductor" for Tesla factories employing autonomous robots. He also said it would stop manufacturing two car models in favour of producing robots - one of the most significant pivots the company has made. "It's those type of technologies that he'll be looking to leverage with this new kind of super company," Wall told the Today programme. Musk has said humanoid robots are central to Tesla's future as an AI market leader [Reuters] Tesla moved forward with the xAI investment despite objections from some shareholders, who had questioned the decision to divert resources to another Musk firm. Starling Bank is looking to extend its reach in the US by offering its Engine software platform to American banks, according to Financial Times (FT), which referenced statements from the CEO of Engine by Starling. Advisers from Deloitte and PwC have been brought on board to assist Starling in finding potential banking clients for Engine, a cloud-based system that enables financial institutions to construct their own digital banking services. The UK fintech is aiming to engage with mid-sized banks and credit unions across North America. In a statement to Retail Banker International, the bank confirmed its move: We have put the infrastructure in place (team and New York office) to sell into the US market. The US market is home to thousands of small and mid-tier banks that are facing technology obsolescence and that would benefit from the customer-focused, cloud-native core banking solutions that Engine offers. Engine operates as Starlings Software-as-a-Service division. The bank began licencing this technology externally in 2022. To date, Engine is in use with clients in Romania and Australia; a ten-year contract was also concluded with a Canadian client last year. The bank also told Retail Banker International it is exploring various entry options for launching Starling Bank itself in the US, either through an acquisition or by applying for a de novo licence. We haven't decided yet, it said. The opportunity, as we see it, would be to have a live case study for Engine in the US (whether we re-platform an acquired bank or set up our own) and we believe that the small business market in the US is underserved by banks there today. In an interview to FT, Engine CEO Sam Everington explained: The big focus this year is North America, focused on the US. The banks havent had the same pressure to transform their systems [which] are very static. But that is changing. He added: Theres a lot of consolidation going on in the small end of the regional banking markets. So we think the time is right. Everington indicated that Starling is aiming to secure a deal with an American institution within the $5bn-50bn asset range by early next year, following discussions with several prospective clients. The identities of these organisations were not disclosed. In line with these plans, Engine set up a Delaware branch last year and named Jody Bhagat, previously at McKinsey, as president of its US operations. The business plans to expand its New York office with an investment of $50m, targeting a team of 20-25 employees at that location. Transition services: Stoneridge will provide IT, finance, and HR support for as long as one year during the transition period. Suzhou supply: Center Rock will supply electronics parts to Stoneridge from Suzhou as Stoneridge transitions products out of that facility. Juarez supply: Stoneridge will supply parts from the Juarez facility while Center Rock prepares to manufacture independently. Management detailed several agreements designed to support continuity as ownership changes hands. Stoneridge and Center Rock entered into a transition services agreement as well as supply agreements related to Mexico and China. As part of the transaction, Stoneridge sold the Lexington, Ohio, and Suzhou, China, manufacturing facilities to Center Rock. The company will retain its Juarez, Mexico, facility. Zizelman said the deal carries a base purchase price of $59 million , which he described as roughly 5x the expected 2025 Adjusted EBITDA for Control Devices. The total consideration will be subject to adjustments for delivered working capital as of the transaction date. President and CEO Jim Zizelman said the company completed its previously announced review of strategic alternatives and closed the sale of the Control Devices segment on Jan. 30. The buyer is Center Rock Capital Partners, a private equity investment firm. Stoneridge (NYSE:SRI) used a business update webcast to discuss the completed sale of its Control Devices segment, outlining the transaction terms, transition arrangements, and how the company expects the divestiture to sharpen its strategic focus and support balance sheet priorities. Post-sale, Stoneridge will concentrate on advanced electronic platforms Vision & Safety, Connectivity, and Vehicle Intelligence targeting a 5-year CAGR of 812% through 2030 and plans to amend its credit facility before reporting Q4 results. Management said net proceeds will be used primarily to reduce debt and related interest expense , and confirmed the sold business was acquired without Stoneridge-attached debt. Stoneridge closed the sale of its Control Devices segment to Center Rock for a base purchase price of $59 million roughly 5x expected 2025 adjusted EBITDA transferring the Lexington and Suzhou facilities while retaining its Juarez plant; final consideration is subject to working capital adjustments. Story Continues How Stoneridge plans to use proceeds Zizelman said Stoneridge intends to use net sale proceeds to reduce debt and related interest expense, which he said would create immediate value for shareholders. During the Q&A, CFO Matt Horvath said tax impacts were not expected to be significant, noting there could be a little bit of tax here and there depending on jurisdiction, but nothing dramatic. Mag 7 Outlook: What Apple, Microsoft, Meta, and Tesla Just Told Us Asked whether the bulk of proceeds would go toward debt reduction, management responded affirmatively. Horvath also clarified that Stoneridge did not push debt down to the sold business; Center Rock bought the segment without attached debt. Post-sale portfolio focus and growth platforms Following the divestiture, Zizelman said Stoneridges remaining portfolio will focus on advanced technologies and electronic solutions primarily for global commercial vehicle and off-highway end markets, supported by manufacturing in North America, South America, and Europe. He described three primary product categories: Vision and Safety Connectivity Vehicle Intelligence and Electronic Controls Zizelman highlighted continued expansion of Vision and Safety systems, including MirrorEye and adjacent products, as well as new offerings such as Connected Trailer and SurroundView technologies. He said MirrorEye is expanding globally through ramp-up of existing programs, increasing take rates, and record new business awards, and characterized Stoneridge as the dominant leader in camera monitor systems for commercial vehicles globally. He also framed the companys broader strategy around the cockpit of the future and domain integration, citing MirrorEye, digital driver information systems, secondary displays, and tachograph and other connectivity devices as areas where Stoneridge develops products used by drivers and fleets to interact with vehicles. In addition, Zizelman pointed to growth in Brazil, where he said the company has seen record OEM awards, and described Stoneridge Brazil as a critical engineering center as the company rotates its global engineering footprint to pursue a more cost-effective structure. Targets, margins, and balance sheet priorities Looking ahead, Zizelman reiterated priorities including new product development, gross margin expansion, operating cost discipline, and a strong balance sheet. He said the company expects opportunities over the next five years to enable it to exceed weighted average end markets by at least 2x-3x, resulting in a 5-year compound annual growth rate target of 8% to 12% through 2030. On margins, he referenced increased resources allocated to quality-related costs and processes and cited a pipeline of material cost reduction opportunities in both product engineering and supply chains, including reduced supplier complexity, which he said should accelerate with the transaction. On capital structure, Zizelman said Stoneridge expects to amend its existing credit facility by the time it files fourth-quarter results in early March, providing time to refinance and align its capital structure with the remaining business. He added that the company plans to provide 2026 guidance and updated long-term targets on its fourth-quarter call scheduled for Thursday, March 12. In response to an analyst question about unallocated corporate costs, management did not provide a specific reduction estimate, saying it would address opportunities to streamline operations in more detail on the early March call. About Stoneridge (NYSE:SRI) Stoneridge, Inc (NYSE: SRI) is a global developer and manufacturer of highly engineered electrical and electronic components for the automotive and commercial vehicle markets. The company's product offerings span a range of safety, convenience and control systems, delivering tailored solutions that help original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) meet increasingly stringent regulatory and performance requirements. Among Stoneridge's core products are rearview and side-view mirror systems, camera-based advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and interior and exterior lighting solutions. The article "Stoneridge Sells Control Devices for $59M, Targets Debt Paydown and Sharper Tech Focus" was originally published by MarketBeat. TechWomen @ Wits to ignite meaningful collaboration Wits to host U.S TechWomen alumnae and delegation in STEM showcase. The South African Techwomen alumni will host an event on 16 February 2026 at Wits University that features TechWomen alumnae and a visiting delegation. This gathering will strengthen international collaboration in technology, innovation, and women's leadership in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. TechWomen is a flagship initiative of the U.S. Department of States Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, administered by the Institute of International Education (IIE). The programme empowers emerging women leaders in STEM from countries across Africa, Central and South Asia, and the Middle East through mentorship, professional exchange, and networking opportunities. Participants build connections with U.S. counterparts, access resources to advance their careers, and inspire the next generation of women and girls in their communities. The event at Wits University builds on the programmes legacy by convening TechWomen Fellows (alumnae) showcasing Wits vibrant community of programme participants, and fostering continued mentorship, knowledge-sharing, and partnerships. It underscores Wits longstanding commitment to cultivating women leaders in STEM and promoting inclusive, forward-looking innovation. The TechWomen @ Wits event will feature: Interactive discussions on key topics including technology, innovation, STEM education, and leadership development. Opportunities for engagement between visiting TechWomen alumnae/delegates and local experts from academia and industry. Networking sessions with Wits University faculty, students, researchers, and innovation partners. Wits-affiliated TechWomen Fellows include Mrs Amanda Jankowitz (2026 Wits TechWomen convener and 2020 TechWomen Fellow), Dr Chioniso Kuchwa-Dube (2013 TechWomen Fellow), and Ms Thulile Khanyile (2022 TechWomen Fellow), amongst nine others. Jankowitz says, As a Witsie and a TechWomen Fellow, I am excited to see these two communities come together. I am looking forward to welcoming the TechWomen delegation to Wits in February, where our shared commitment to integrity, curiosity, and social impact can ignite meaningful collaboration. My sincere thanks to the Wits community for making this possible, to Digital Arts in the Wits School of Arts for hosting us, and to the School of Therapeutic Sciences for their unwavering support." The TechWomen @ Wits event celebrates this growing alumna pathway and creates space to engage with a global network in which Wits women are already making an international impact. This event reaffirms Wits Universitys role as a leading hub for cutting-edge research and global academic partnerships. All Wits academics and postgraduates are welcome to attend the event on Monday, 16 February, 14:00-17:00 in Digital Arts, Braamfontein Campus East, Wits University, but registration is essential as seats are extremely limited. American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) is included in our list of the best AI data center stocks to buy now. Strong Analyst Sentiment on American Tower (AMT) Amid Favorable 2026 Outlook As of January 30, 2026, over 70% of analysts remain bullish on American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT), implying a 19.92% upside potential. On January 20, 2026, UBS maintained its Buy rating on American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) and lowered its price target from $260 to $254, citing a favorable risk-reward outlook for tower companies in 2026. Similarly, on January 14, American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT)s Outperform rating was reiterated by Scotiabank analyst Maher Yaghi, who also lowered the firms price target from $248 to $220. Scotiabanks revised target on American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) came as part of the U.S. real estate and REITs outlook, ahead of Q4 results. Meanwhile, the firms favorable 2026 projections stem from strong investor demand for multifamily and self-storage assets. In addition, on January 12, JPMorgan continued to rate American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) Overweight. At the same time, the price target for the stock was lowered from $250 to $245 due to concerns associated with EchoStar. These headwinds are expected to adversely affect the tower business segment. American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) focuses on managing a portfolio of multitenant communications infrastructure assets and providing colocation services, serving as a tenant-neutral host. The company owns and operates data centers through its subsidiary CoreSite. While we acknowledge the potential of AMT as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: What Are the Best Stocks to Buy Right Now? and 10 Stocks Under $1 That Will Explode. Disclosure: None. McIlhenny Company, the US-based manufacturer of Tabasco sauce, has appointed Nestle executive Adam Graves as its new CEO. He replaces Harold Osborn, who retired in April after 25 years with the family-owned business, including the past five years as CEO. In a statement yesterday (2 February), McIlhenny said Graves has a proven track record of growing brands in the consumer-packaged goods industry. Graves, who joined the company on 26 January, spent 20 years at Nestle, with roles across the Americas. Most recently, he was president of Nestles pizza and snacking division in the US, which sells brands including DiGiorno, Tombstone and Hot Pockets. Earlier in his career, Graves held roles including president at Nestle Waters Canada and general manager of Purina Pet Care Latin America. Christian Brown, the executive chairman of McIlhenny Company, said: Adams success in leading major powerhouse food brands and his commitment to building high-performing teams inside a culture of innovation and collaboration make him an ideal choice to lead McIlhenny Company at this exciting juncture. McIlhenny was founded by Tabasco creator Edmund McIlhenny in 1868 on Avery Island, Louisiana, and does not reveal details of its turnover nor financial performance. Commenting on his appointment, Graves said: Leading McIlhenny Company and the iconic Tabasco brand is the role of a lifetime. The brands 158 years of experience defining the hot sauce category, inspiring consumer connection, and unmatched global footprint, in conjunction with the companys long history of prioritising its incredible team and unique culture, make this the most exciting opportunity of my career. "Tabasco sauce owner Mcllhenny hires new CEO from Nestle" was originally created and published by Just Food, a GlobalData owned brand. Tens of thousands took part in the 34th national demonstration on January 31 in London against the genocide of the Palestinians and the war on Gaza. Socialist Equality Party members ran a stall at the Russell Square assembly point, distributing copies of the article Trump administration threatens new war against Iran and discussing the situation in the Middle East, the US invasion of Venezuela and threats against Greenland and Cuba, and the mass protests against Trumps Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) occupations and murders. Socialist Equality Party stall at the national demonstration in London Below are interviews with several of the demonstrators. Beau, a health worker, spoke in solidarity with US protests against the ICE murder of nurse Alex Pretti. Nathania, a student, spoke in favour of a general strike. Colin, a former cabinet maker, told us, The call for a national strike in America is also a must. I back them. All the nurses in New York, the nurses all over America that are on strike. Damian, a young worker, also spoke on the ICE executions of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. The strike by 31,000 Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers has entered its second week. The walkout coincides with a three-week strike by 15,000 nurses in New York City. Meanwhile, several thousand pharmacy and laboratory workers in Southern California, members of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), have voted to authorize a strike beginning February 9 after being kept on the job for months without a contract. A nurse from Taiwan supporting striking nurses in Baldwin Park, February 2, 2026. The convergence of these struggles reflects a deepening militancy among healthcare workers nationwide, driven by intolerable working conditions, chronic understaffing, falling real wages and the indifference or outright hostility of corporate healthcare systems and the political establishment. It also highlights the need for a broad, working class movement in defense of public health, which the union officialdom is doing everything it can to prevent. Despite expired contracts, the UFCW has deliberately prevented pharmacy and lab workers from joining their coworkers already on strike. A Kaiser nurse told the World Socialist Web Site on Monday that negotiations between UNAC/UHCP (United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals) and Kaiser Permanente are expected to resume imminently. A top priority in restarting such discussions is to shut the strike down before the UFCW strike begins. The urgency of unity is underscored by events in New York. Nurses at New York-Presbyterian, Montefiore and Mount Sinai are being threatened with mass firings if they do not return to the job in two weeks, and the union has issued a streamlined proposal to shut the strike down without nurses demands being met. Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul has strengthened hospital management by issuing Executive Order 56, declaring a state of emergency and suspending licensing requirements for out-of-state nurses, effectively facilitating strikebreaking. Kaiser is seeking through its legal team to reclassify the strike as an economic strike, narrowing its scope to wages. If successful, the company could permanently replace striking workers. But Kaiser nurses are objectively positioned to unite with their counterparts in New York. Such unity cannot be entrusted to union bureaucracies with long records of isolating struggles and cutting deals behind workers backs. It must be organized through rank-and-file committees based on workers democratic control. Solidarity must extend beyond symbolic gestures. What is required is the building of a national network of rank-and-file committees linking healthcare workers with broader sections of the working class to coordinate strikes, mutual aid and political strategy. This raises political questions, including the assault on democratic rights, extreme social inequality and war, demanding a unified working class response. Meanwhile, the UNAC/UHCP have refused to distribute strike pay to prepare nurses for a protracted fight. Instead it has announced applications for limited hardship grants, restricted to members facing immediate crises, such as eviction or utility shutoffs. Combined with the risk that unemployment benefits may have to be repaid if a settlement includes back pay, these measures function not as support but as pressure mechanisms to force workers back to work on unfavorable terms. Blanca, a registered nurse with five years at Kaiser Permanente Baldwin Park in the Los Angeles area, described the daily reality of understaffing and unsafe patient care. We work with two nurses in the ambulatory care, one LVN and one RN, and you have 15 patients checked in, she explained. How do you expect us to cater to all of you? Patients often expect brief visits, she said, but appointments stretch to 45 minutes or an hour. That is not good. So that is what we are fighting for. Management has ignored repeated demands to increase staffing. Nobody wants to stay, Blanca noted, pointing to a big wage disparity between Kaiser and other hospitals. Kaiser claims it pays above market rates, but Blanca recounted that even five years ago, a coworker working at a hospital in Bakersfield earned $20 more per hour than she did in Los Angeles. And Kaiser is saying that we are paying you more and enough and above the market rate, which is not true. She also highlighted concessions made during the COVID-19 pandemic that were never reversed. Workers agreed to a very low rate with the promise it would be addressed in the next contract, which is now, Blanca said. But Kaiser has not budged. Asked about the police killing of nurse Alex Pretti, she responded with visible anger and grief. It was very unfortunate. He was a nurse. I dont feel that it is right that people work against the citizens of the country. There was no need to kill and shoot the person. She emphasized that Pretti posed no danger and could have been questioned or tried, not executed. Addressing nurses in New York facing replacement threats, Blanca said, We are here to support you, though we are far in the West. Still, we support you and go on striking until you get what you want. She also challenged Kaisers claims of financial constraint. They have a lot of assets, she said, referencing recent revelations. On January 14, 2026, the Department of Justice announced that Kaiser agreed to pay $556 million to settle allegations of upcoding fraud. Earlier in January, Kaiser began notifying 13.4 million members about a $46 million$47.5 million class action settlement over a massive data breach. If they can pay out for all these, why cant they support their staff? Blanca asked. Angie, another nurse, emphasized that Kaisers attempt to frame the dispute as primarily about wages is a deliberate distortion. The workloads that weve been having here at Kaiser have been unsustainable. The nurses are burnt out, she said. Really the thing that puts fire in our bellies is keeping our patients safe. The narrow gap between Kaisers 21.5 percent wage offer and the unions 25 percent demand exposes how far the union has retreated from its initial 38 percent demand. On the soaring cost of living, Angie added, Its extremely hard to live in this area with the wages. A lot of my co-workers commute from very far. Karen, a vascular RN, was blunt when asked what kind of future capitalism offers workers. Nothing, she replied. They want to take away from our pension, from our health benefits to make up for the wages they are offering. On the New York nurses, she said, Im with them. I feel for them [also] because the weather there is horrible right now too. She linked deteriorating living conditions directly to the economic system. The cost of living is going up and up, and were pretty much staying about the same, she said. On Prettis killing, she added, It is heartbreaking. It is pretty much a political thing: [Its] the government, the corporate [executives] in Kaiser or any other hospital. Erin, a pharmacist, placed these experiences in a broader social context. Everyone, especially healthcare workers, theyre kind of at their breaking point right now, she said. Were underpaid, were understaffed especially after the pandemic. She denounced the growing entanglement of major corporations with ICE, calling it evidence of a lot of corruption with big corporate organizations. She stressed that these conditions affect all workers. Its just not one certain group or demographic. Its becoming a problem for everyone. In the pre-dawn hours of January 26 in the Philippines, the roll-on/roll-off passenger ferry MV Trisha Kerstin 3 sank in the Sulu Sea off BalukBaluk island while on its regular run from Zamboanga City on Mindanao island to Jolo City on Sulu island. Dozens have been killed while the exact cause of the disaster is still under investigation. Philippine coast guard personnel carry a body bag in Zamboanga city, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026, after MV Trisha Kerstin 3, an inter-island cargo and passenger ferry sank. [AP Photo] As of February 3, the Philippine Coast Guard has confirmed 42 dead, including two children and a crew member. About 40 are still listed as missing, while 316 people were rescued. Ten crew members, including the captain, have also been reported missing. As is often the case in the Philippines, overloading of passengers leads to inconsistent passenger data, making exact casualty figures unclear. This is the second serious deadly accident connected to the ferrys owner, Aleson Shipping Lines, in the last three years. Many of the survivors floated in the water for several hours as they waited for rescue. Were near Basilan, but it took them more than three hours to respond to us, said survivor Aquino Sajili, who called the response from the Philippine coast guard unacceptable. Instead, local fishing vessels were the first to arrive on the scene to rescue those in the water. Sajili also pointed out that it was fellow passengers who organized the evacuation of the ship and distribution of lifejackets. No one from the crew alerted us, he stated. Despite claims by the Maritime Industrial Authority, which operates under the Department of Transportation (DOTr), survivors also reported that there were not enough life vests available or that they were locked up and inaccessible. Other passengers also reported the absence of a warning system on the vessel to alert them of the danger as the ferry sank. Various accounts point to different causes for the ferry capsizing. Zamboanga City Mayor Khymer Adan Olaso, a former ship captain and married to one of the ferry companys owners, suggested, Perhaps the lashing materials couldnt handle the strain. Maybe a truck was heavy, perhaps it was overcapacity, so they didnt notice it. The rolling materials snapped and the ship rolled to one sidewhen it rolled, the truck went with it and tilted. As the truck tilted, the ship hit an angle of loll, and then the ship proceeded to sink. The Philippines coast guard has suggested a squall, or sudden intense wind led to the capsizing, though Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration weather forecaster Benison Estareja noted that it is rare for such an event to cause ships to sink. Another survivor, Jun Guro, also contradicted the claim of a squall, stating, I hope there will be an investigation, because the weather was fine. We sank even though there was no typhoon. The DOTr on January 27 ordered a ten-day safety audit of Aleson Shipping Lines and its vessels, which have been grounded. However, poor vessel maintenance, overloading, and a lack of safety enforcement is commonplace throughout the Philippines, where many working class people rely on ferries for travel due to its relatively inexpensive costs. In the meantime, the ruling class has provided paltry assistance to the survivors and the families of the dead. The Department of Social Welfare and Development, for example, pledged just 10,000 pesos ($US169) each to the families of the only two confirmed fatalities, to assist with burials, and 5,000 pesos ($US85) each to 134 survivors for medical expenses. Ferry transport is essential to millions in an island nation like the Philippines. It should be a public utility run safely for the benefit of the working people, yet private operators cut maintenance costs, skimp on crew training, and overload vessels while state agencies simply look the other way. Whatever the results of the DOTrs safety audit, it will ultimately lead to nothing more than issues being covered up and ignored. The result is an ongoing pattern of social murder, where working people and the poor pay with their lives for corporate gain. This is evident from the fact that inquiries have followed every major incident in recent decades and yet have not prevented tragedies from repeatedly occurring. Temporary probes and token punishments are meant to obscure the fact that under capitalism safety is subordinated to the drive for profit. According to the DOTr, Aleson has been involved in 32 safety-related incidents since 2019. Despite this record, the company was allowed to continue operating. The record of Aleson Shipping Lines includes the MV Lady Mary Joy 3 fire in March 2023 that killed 33 people. The ferry was operating the same route as the one involved in the most recent disaster. Such catastrophes across the Philippine archipelago are far from rare. In 1987, in the deadliest peacetime maritime disaster in history, the ferry, MV Dona Paz sank after it collided with the oil tanker MT Vector in the Tablas Strait while en route from Tacloban to Manila, the capital. An estimated 4,386 people died. The ferry was discovered carrying more than double its capacity, had no radio, and life jackets were reportedly locked away. The MT Vector itself was found to be unseaworthy and operating without a license. In 1980, MV Don Juan collided with an oil tanker off Mindoro island, resulting in hundreds of deaths. As a result of overloading and missing passengers, the true figures for this and many other tragedies are unknown. Eight years later, MV Dona Marilyn capsized while sailing from Manila to Tacloban City during Typhoon Ruby, in which 389 people died. In 1994, the MV Cebu City collided with a Singaporean freighter in Manila Bay, killing around 140. In 2008, the MV Princess of the Stars capsized near Sibuyan island during Typhoon Fengshen, leading to 814 deaths. Strike at Berlin local transit operator BVG On Monday, around 100,000 bus, train and tram drivers in 150 municipal transport companies across Germany are paralysing local public transit. In all 16 federal states, Verdi is negotiating with the Municipal Employers Associations (KAV) on the framework contracts that regulate working conditions. In Bavaria, Brandenburg, Saarland, Thuringia and at Hamburger Hochbahn, negotiations on wages and salaries are also taking place. Verdi is reacting to the growing anger among public transit workers over unbearable working conditions and low wages by holding warning strikes. In Bavaria, where wages are particularly low, just as in Berlin and Saarland, Verdi has made wage demands of 68.75 in addition to the reduction of the weekly working time from 38.5 to 35 hours, which the employers side quantifies at 17 to 27 percent plus 9.1 percent for the reduction in working hours. Magdalena Weigel, board member of Nuremburgs VAG public transport corporation and chief negotiator on the employers side in Bavaria, has already rejected this as unrealistic. She proposes a 5 percent wage increase in two stages for the next two years, some minor cosmetic corrections and the possibility for employees to voluntarily increase working time to 42 hours. In Berlin, the employers themselves rejected Verdis laughable demands. While in 2024, Verdi had demanded a 10-minute turnaround time at the terminus before driving off again, it is now satisfied with six minutes without exception. The state of working conditions in Berlin can be seen in the demand to limit the maximum shift length of split shifts to 12 (!) hours. The Verdi apparatusforced by transit workers anger over the unbearable working conditions and low wages that Verdi has prescribed in recent yearshas put forward demands that it never intends to enforce. We can be sure that the Verdi negotiators will agree to one sell-out after another with the respective employers in the coming negotiations. The most recent example is the contract in Berlin from last year. Here, Verdi had demanded at least 750 more per month, based on a survey of the workforce. By agreeing to arbitration, not even a third of the wage demand was subsequently imposed on transit workers in the capital by Verdi and Berlins local operator BVG. In Bavaria, Brandenburg, Saarland, Thuringia and Hamburg, cuts in real wages are being agreed. Every percent more in wages is paid for with dirty deals like the extension of working hours. Given the already low wages, the voluntary nature of such deals is not worth the paper it is written on. Working conditions nationwide are not being improved, but worsened, and the risk of accidents increased. The union leadership, in which members of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Left Party primarily call the shots, has no intention of improving working conditions and increasing wages appropriately. The contract bargaining in all federal states, including the city-states, sees members of the SPD, Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Greens and Left Party, and frequently even union members, often sitting opposite each other on both sides of the negotiations. Lucrative posts in municipal transit companies usually go to local politicians and not infrequently to deserving union officials, works council or staff council members. Verdi boss Frank Werneke himself has been a member of the SPD for decades and supports the governments rearmament and war policy. The Verdi apparatus agrees with the representatives of the municipal employers that hundreds of billions must be poured into rearmament and war and that the money must be saved elsewhere for this purpose, including from us bus and train drivers. Various studies demonstrate that the financial requirement for a nationwide functioning public transport system will rise to almost 60 billion annually by 2030. Instead, one austerity programme after another is decided and enforced. The Verdi bureaucrats fear one thing above all: that our anger develops into a rebellion against their domination and we take control of the dispute into our own hands. That would be the first step in opposing the conversion of society to a war economy and the bleeding dry of public services, including public transport. And exactly that is necessary. Therefore, the Transport Workers Action Committee calls on transit workers nationwide to organise themselves in local action committees independently of Verdi and to network in order to prepare a serious fight for better working conditions and wages. We propose the following non-negotiable demands: 30-hour week with no loss of pay and automatic adjustment to regional costs of living 30 minimum hourly wage in public transport nationwide Maximum 8 hour shift length, abolition of split shifts, mandatory rest periodsat least 12 hoursand genuine breaks No extensions of working hours, not even voluntary onesfor the protection of drivers and passengers No staff cuts, immediate hiring offensive to relieve the burden; No privatisation; public investment instead of billions for rearmamentmoney for public transport, not for war. These demands are the minimum to enable dignified working and living conditions in major cities. These demands cannot be enforced with, but only against the Verdi apparatus. We reject any cronyism with the Municipal Employers Association, state governments and administrations in the municipalities, city-states and the federal government. The interests of working people must be placed unreservedly above the rearmament and war policies of the government and its union lackeys. Preparations for a real strike must therefore be made immediately. The current nationwide warning strike shows what power we have. But under the control of Verdi, it serves only to vent our anger and then sideline us. We cannot let ourselves be divided and must build contacts with colleagues in other sectors who are also being made to pay for militarisation with job cuts and wage reductions. In particular, we must coordinate with public sector workers in the federal states. Verdi is currently in contract bargaining negotiations for them as well. Here too, strikes are carefully isolated from one another and deliberately kept small, intended to absorb workers anger. Part of such a reorientation must be close international cooperation. All problems take on an international form nowadays. Workers everywhere in the world face the same or similar problems. For example, bus transport in the Greater Paris area is to be privatised by the end of 2026. Around 19,000 bus drivers and technicians are to be forced to switch to private operating companiesat significantly worse wages, longer working hours and with the loss of central achievements such as protection against dismissal, holiday regulations and social security. In Chicago, more than 40 percent of public transport faces being broken up because the deficit of $700 to $730 million is no longer being covered by the state government. The consequence will be the destruction of thousands of jobs as well as the destruction of public transport. In Minneapolis and the entire US, a strong movement is currently developing against Trump and his ICE Gestapo. Workers are discussing a general strike against the fascist in the White House. These questions are coming to a head all over the world and we can only defend our rights if we fight together. Therefore, we from the Transport Workers Action Committee stand in close political cooperation with the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC). We call on all employees and beyond: Build independent action committees in your depots with trustworthy colleagues. Link up with the Transport Workers Action Committee in Berlin. Contact us via WhatsApp at +491748402566 and register via the following form to build the Transport Workers Action Committee. Dock and port workers across the Mediterranean and beyond are planning an International Day of Protest on February 6, titled Dockworkers dont work for war. The initiative involves unions from Greece (Enedep), Spains Basque Country (LAB), Turkey (Liman-Is), Morocco (ODT) and Italy (USB), calls for actions in more than 20 major Mediterranean ports, with recent support in German ports and emerging mobilizations in the United States. Mediterranean dockworkers [Photo: @TheCradleMedia] The protest explicitly opposes the use of port infrastructure and workers for military purposes, including the handling of arms shipments. Workers frame their mobilization as part of broader opposition to militarism, connecting war to wage suppression, deteriorating working conditions and the erosion of labor rights. The diversion of financial resources to the war economy involves slashing living standards and public services, imposing longer working hours, and denying recognition of physically demanding labor for pension purposes. Dockworkers are making a statement: they oppose war abroad and what flows from it, social counterrevolution at home. Their protest coincides with the opening of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in Italy, where the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been met with protests against deportations, state violence and the murderous police agencys presence in Italy. These demonstrations follow ICEs murder of Renee Nicole Good and ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, state crimes that triggered mass protests across the United States and intensified opposition to Trumps escalating war against the American working class. Demonstrators rallied in Milan on Saturday, chanting ICE out and ICE no grazie (ICE no thanks), showing their solidarity with communities in Minnesota and other U.S. states targeted by ICE. This international mobilization unfolds amid deepening global war and the disintegration of the postwar imperialist order. The growing rupture between the United States and the European Union reflects deep conflict between rival sections of the global ruling class over markets, resources and strategic influence. Trade coercion, military threats and diplomatic confrontations such as the US-EU conflict over Greenland are symptoms of this systemic breakdown. The European imperialist powers find themselves both dependent on and in competition with US imperialism. Economic confrontation has intensified alongside territorial disputes, as US tariff threats led the EU to consider retaliatory measures, including financial countermeasures and use of the Anti-Coercion Instrument. Politically and militarily, the rupture is driving European rearmament and debates over strategic autonomy, as the European imperialist powers still depend upon US military support to wage their war against Russia in Ukraine. This global crisis of capitalism poses great political tasks to the workers. The growing opposition to war in the working class that has pressed the union leaderships into scheduling the February 6 action points to deep-rooted developments in the working class. Among workers and youth, there is a growing, instinctive search for ways to build an internationalist, class-based struggle against a social order that is tobogganing towards catastrophe. The International Day of Protest on February 6 represents an important development, but it poses a decisive political task that goes beyond symbolic opposition to war. Critical historical lessons must be drawn, in particular from the experience of three years of mass protests against the Gaza genocide. Workers cannot halt genocide, fascism and war while remaining tethered to national bureaucracies who work politically within the framework of the capitalist nation-state system. Many of the unions involved in the February 6 actionparticularly those in Italy, Greece, and Spainemerge from a Stalinist tradition. Without explicitly rejecting internationalism in words, they reject it in practice. Instead of building a unified struggle of the global working class, they advocate international coordination between national union bureaucracies, each of which attempts to influence supposedly progressive politicians in their own capitalist national-state machine. Antiwar sentiment among workers participating in the February 6 action highlights the objective basis for socialist internationalism: the shared interest of workers across borders in stopping war and dictatorship, and opposing their own capitalist oligarchies at home. The syndicalist perspective of unions controlling the February 6 action does not, however, tend in this direction. It presents workers opposed to war with no perspective beyond using the strike to build parliamentary pressure, via moral appeals to national or municipal officials. The involvement of figures like US Amazon Labor Union founder Chris Smalls in the February 6 protest illustrates this point. Smalls is known for founding the Amazon Labor Union and a successful vote at JFK8. Yet within months, the ALU displayed tendencies common to other unions: bureaucratic disputes and reliance on the official union bureaucracies and the Democratic Party, which under President Joe Biden armed and backed the Gaza genocide. Another example is provided by Italys Collettivo Autonomo Lavoratori Portuali (CALP), affiliated with the USB and at the forefront of industrial action in recent months. In an open letter to the Genoa city council, CALP denounced war, arms trafficking and the transformation of ports into logistics hubs for mass murder. This reflected widespread antiwar sentiment in the working class, amid the genocide in Gaza and war in Ukraine. Yet the letter also appealed to local authorities integrated into the capitalist state and NATO alliance to exercise oversight of the port. Such emphasis on national limits, municipal oversight or coordination through existing institutions blocks an independent, cross-border struggle for working-class power which is the only way to stop imperialist war and genocide. This flows from the politics of the USB leadership. The USB called its October 2025 We don't work for war protest alongside Rifondazione Comunistaa party built in 1991 by Stalinist factions of the Italian Communist Party, anarcho-syndicalist forces, and Pabloite descendants of renegades from Trotskyism. Rifondazione is a longstanding ally of Italian capitalist parties. It deeply discredited itself in 2007, when Rifondazione legislators cast key votes to pass pension cuts and fund NATO war in Afghanistan. Growing mass demonstrations and calls for a general international strike indicate that hostility to war resonates deeply among workers. However, this sentiment can only become a material force if it is consciously organized and politically clarifiedin particular, on the necessity of left-wing opposition to pro-imperialist parties of the affluent middle class like Rifondazione. It is urgently necessary to build rank-and-file committees, democratically controlled by workers themselves and united across national borders. Such committees must be independent of union bureaucracies, capitalist parties and governments, and unified in the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC). The construction of the IWA-RFC provides the organizational foundation for a unified international movement of the working class against imperialism, genocide, and far-right dictatorship. Such a movement can only be built in a political war against capitalist police states led not only by fascist politicians like Trump or Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni, but also by forces like the Socialist Party-Sumar coalition in Spain. This underscores the decisive importance of the International Committee of the Fourth Internationals (ICFI) decades-long defense of Trotskyism against both Pabloism and Stalinism. Overcoming the political obstacle presented by such forces to the international unification of the working class in struggle requires building a political movement fighting for the perspective of Trotskyism, an international struggle to transfer power to working people and build socialism. Elevenlabs AudioNative Player A section of the protest outside the Dilley detention facility in south Texas, January 28, 2026. A measles outbreak is now ripping through the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in South Texas, where the Trump administration confines hundreds of immigrant families and children under conditions of deliberate brutality and medical neglect. The outbreak, confirmed January 31 by the Texas Department of State Health Services, is a social crime committed by a fascistic regime that treats human beings as disposable and public health as an obstacle to profit. In a letter dated February 1 and addressed to Texas health officials, Dr. Lee C. Rogers, Chief of Podiatry at UT Health San Antonio, called for an immediate, unified public health command-and-control to stop the outbreak, warning that congregate detention creates near-universal exposure risk and that the outbreak has the potential to quickly overwhelm local health resources. Rogers stressed that any large-scale dispersal of exposed persons without a coordinated public health plan would materially increase the risk of multi-jurisdictional transmission. He concluded, Viruses are not political. They do not care about ones immigration status. Measles will spread if we allow uncertainty and delay to substitute for reasoned public health action. Measles spreads through the air and can linger in a room for up to two hours after an infected person leaves. In crowded, poorly ventilated facilities where medical care is rationed such as at the Dilley detention center, a single case can ignite mass transmission. The conditions now exist for explosive spread among children, parents, workers and surrounding communities. The Dilley center, run by the for-profit prison contractor CoreCivic, has a capacity of 2,400. It is the same facility where 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was held before his recent release home to Minneapolis. On January 24, a protest broke out at the facility, with hundreds shouting, Let us out! and Liberty for the kids! This was first made public by attorney Eric Lee, who represents the El Gamal family, which includes five childrentwo five-year-olds, a nine-year-old, a 16-year-old and an 18-year-oldwho have been detained at Dilley for eight months, far exceeding the 20-day limit for child detention under the Flores settlement. In interviews following these protests, Lee described conditions inside Dilley, noting that baby formula is mixed with putrid water, food has bugs in it, and guards are often verbally abusive. When one of his clients with appendicitis collapsed in the hallway, he was initially denied treatment and told to take a Tylenol and come back in three days. The Department of Homeland Securitys response to the measles outbreak at Dilley has been to issue empty statements through Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, who claimed that ICE immediately took steps to quarantine and control further spread and that all detainees are being provided with proper medical care. This statement is a blatant lie. The same apparatus that denies medical treatment to children with appendicitis and provides them with putrid water and food couldnt care less about the health of those it incarcerates. The lockdown is a control measure designed to keep journalists, independent doctors and attorneys out while giving ICE full discretion to conceal illness and continue the neglect that created the outbreak. There is a growing danger that hundreds of children and their parents will be infected inside Dilley, and that some will die, with virtually nothing reported to the outside world. The Dilley outbreak is unfolding amidst a national measles resurgence. In 2025, the US recorded 2,255 measles cases, the highest annual total since 1992, while two unvaccinated children succumbed to the disease. In January 2026 alone, 607 cases were confirmed. The largest outbreak is currently in South Carolina, where 847 cases have been confirmed, 813 of them in Spartanburg County. Kindergarten vaccination coverage for measles, mumps and rubella has fallen to 92.5 percent nationally, below the 95 percent threshold required for herd immunity, with 39 states failing to meet this standard. Only 28 percent of US counties now maintain herd immunity, down from 50 percent before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 5.2 million kindergarten-aged children live in counties where vaccination rates have fallen below the protective threshold. The nations measles elimination status, maintained since 2000, is now in jeopardy. Dr. Demetre C. Daskalakis, a former CDC official who resigned amid the Trump administrations mass purges last year, warned that the US public health system is about to code and stated bluntly: We do not have the capability to actually control measles. Im going to say that elimination is already lost. The Trump administration, above all Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr., bears central responsibility for this catastrophe. For decades, Kennedy has played a major role in spreading anti-vaccine disinformation. As HHS director, last year Kennedy purged all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the first time in the committees 61-year history its entire membership has been dismissed. He fired CDC Director Susan Monarez after she refused to pre-approve anti-vaccine recommendations and, most recently, revised the childhood vaccine schedule at the start of January to no longer recommend universal vaccination for influenza, COVID-19, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and meningococcal disease. Under the banner of Make America Healthy Again, the Trump administration has fired more than 20,000 scientists and public health workers from HHS, dissolved the CDCs Global Health Center, and scrubbed thousands of pages of scientific information from government websites. These policies mark a deepening and broadening of the bipartisan assault on public health throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, which began under the first Trump administration and escalated under Biden. In total, over 1.5 million Americans have now died from COVID-19 or its aftereffects, while Long COVID continues to impact tens of millions. The measles outbreak at Dilley concentrates many of the main features of the Trump administrations fascist program: the expansion of the police-state apparatus and ICE terror gangs, the erection of a network of modern-day concentration camps, the subordination of human life to profit, and the destruction of all public health protections. The imprisonment of immigrant families under increasingly barbaric conditions is inseparable from the global crisis of capitalismthe wars, economic plunder and climate disruption that have displaced tens of millions, whom the imperialist powers then criminalize and cage. But the working class cannot rely on the Democratic Party, which has continuously enabled the expansion of the detention regime and the destruction of public health. The Dilley child detention center was built under the Obama administration in 2014 and operated for most of the Biden administration. Today, as ICE agents prowl the streets of Minneapolis and murder innocent civilians including Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, the Democrats are working with Trump to suppress opposition and ensure the ongoing funding of the repressive state apparatus. The necessary response must come from below through the independent mobilization of workers in every industry and every country. Already, there are countless signs of a developing movement among workers and youth across the United States, with two rounds of mass protests across the country in January following the murders of Good and Pretti and growing support for a general strike. Neighborhood committees are beginning to form in Minneapolis and across the US, serving as critical means of communication and organization. The Socialist Equality Party calls for the expansion of these neighborhood committees and the building of a network of rank-and-file committees in every factory and workplace, to unify with workers globally through the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC). This network of committees, organized independently of the corporate-controlled union bureaucracies and the entire political establishment, must advance the following demands: All immigrant detention centers, including Dilley, must be closed immediately, with those released free to live and work where they please. A massive public health program must be launched to test everyone at Dilley, in the surrounding community, and wherever measles is currently spreading in the US, with patients safely isolated and treated. Vast resources must be provided to vaccinate all those eligible for the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), COVID-19, influenza and other vaccines essential for public health, both in the US and internationally. All ICE operations, detentions, deportations and the criminalization of migration must end now. The fight to stop the measles outbreak at Dilley, defend the right to asylum, and halt the Trump administrations war on science is inseparable from the fight for socialism. Public health and democratic rights cannot be defended within a system that subordinates every social need to private profit and state repression. The task before the working class is to take up this fight consciously and internationally, building the political leadership necessary to put an end to capitalism and establish a society based on economic planning and with the aim of providing for human needs, not the wealth of oligarchs. A World Socialist Web Site (WSWS) reporting team spoke to striking workers who are members of Unison on their picket line outside the National Coal Mining Museum for England (NCMME) in Wakefield, Yorkshire about their 5-month-long strike and distributed the article UK National Coal Mining Museum management issues disciplinary threats against strikers. NCMME picket line Two workers employed as underground guides at the museum gave interviews. Both had formerly worked as miners at the UKs last remaining deep coal mine Kellingley Colliery, before it was closed in 2015. Trevor explained: The original offer was a pound an hour across the board, or 5 percent which ever was better. I mean, were on 12.83 an hour, which wouldve made it 13.83. This is barely above the minimum wage which is uplifted to a meagre 12.71 an hour this April for workers aged 21 years an above. Weve got a very, very skilled workforce here. Weve got electricians, weve got fitters, weve got people that do numerous tasks. That [offer] was withdrawn, and just before we came out on strike, were offered eighty pence. We asked that the one pound an hour be reinstated. And then it went down to about 62 pence an hour! Trevor We had a meeting about six weeks into the strike with the management. Their offer was that the fitters and electricians receive a pound an hour and everybody else would be on the 62 pence, which we found ridiculous. The latest offer that weve had is 84 pence an hour. So we still thought that was a little bit derisory. That was across the board, of course, or 5 percent which is the highest. I mean, 5 percent of 12.62 is not a great deal of money. If youre on 50,000, it would be a lot of money. Along with this latest offer there was also a threat of disciplinary action for people that have said things or done things on the picket line. When we did investigate it; apparently there had been two comments made on social media, not by any pickets or anything, but we understand that one of the pickets had put a thumbs up to one of the statements and another one that shared it. Sharing it doesnt mean that you agree with it. You dont go into negotiations with threats. So we dont think that theyre acting in good faith, you know, we dont think that they want to end this. Its become a war of attrition. Asked to respond to management allegations of abuse, harassment and extreme bullying by those on strike, Trevor said, Well, the bullying and the insults, thats what we received because they [management] had a security company here originally and from day one, all they wanted to do was antagonise us to get a reaction. Yeah, provocation. We believe that they brought in a proper antagonist, you know, who stood there just called us every name under the sun. Youve probably seen the videos. I just went up and said, who are you? You probably saw the reaction I got off him. I didnt curse and swear at him. Yeah, we just asked who he was. We got abuse. He threatened us. He says, tomorrow Ill have 100 people here. He said, basically they will knock us off the picket line. Well, he didnt come the next day. A veteran of the 1984-85 Miners strike, when the full force of the British state was employed to smash the miners struggle and the media regularly vilified them, Trevor recounted the series of horrendous provocations employed by management against the pickets. The security firm used predominantly south Asian staff and opposition to their provocations was initially attempted to be branded as racist, which Trevor explained was definitely not the case ; From day one, everybody said, be very, very careful what you say here, because the wrong word and its going to be taken out of context. They were looking for any way they could pin that racist tag on to us. When this did not work, security guards tried to turn members of the public against the strikers by even resorting to accusations of paedophilia. You might have seen it on social media, where they were telling women with kids, [visiting the museum] be careful with your kids. These are paedophiles. We found that abhorrent. I went up to them and I said, Who on this picket line is a paedophile? Security personnel then set about physically assaulting the strikers. The next thing we know, a car turned up, and we think it was some of the security family members that got out. They began pushing the pickets around. And little Sue, they actually manhandled her. They knocked her out of the way which is basically assault. The bullying was against us. Trevor recounted how he had narrowly avoided a car that was driven at him. Proving that for those like Trevor the job is a labour of love and a million miles away from seeking financial rewards, he concluded, Pay is nothing to us really. Its our heritage. Its what were fighting for. Thats what means more to me than anything else, more than any pay or anything like that. Russs wife comes from a fifth-generation mining family tracing their roots to immigrants fleeing the potato famine in Ireland during the 1840s. Russ worked at Sharlston pit from the age of 16 before finally ending up in the Selby coalfields and Kellingley. Russ was asked why after five months on strike, over pay that is close to the minimum wage, did he think management has chosen confrontation rather than settling a dispute: Russ They can clearly afford it. I dont know. Its just a question of, Im in charge. Youll do what I say. Its very Victorian values. Its not democratic. Were a very democratic union. We go on numbers, so well have meetings every so often, and rather than one person saying were going to do this, we vote on things, and its done democratically... Well never accept anything where theyre going to discipline somebody. Theyve taken advantage of our goodwill. We did everything here on basic wages. Built everything and willing to help share our history and this heritage. We need to tell people how big it is. There was a palpable sense among the pickets that their struggle was part of something much larger. Russ added; Its just not just. The poor old bin workers [Birmingham refuse workers], theyre not asking for anything. Not asking for a change in the system. And theyre going to take eight grand [8,000] a year off them. What do you do if theyre going to take eight grand a year off you? Its similar to our dispute. And I just cant believe the Labour government is letting all this happen. The discussion continued among the pickets over broader political and historical issues with copies sold of a WSWS pamphlet marking the 40th Anniversary of the 1984-5 strike which addressed the lessons for the class struggle today. A recognition that this is part of a broader clampdown by the Starmer government to impoverish workers underlines the need to overcome the isolation of just 40 workers making a defiant stand: Unison the largest union in the UK has 1.3 million members. As the WSWS article explained: The five-month isolation of Unison members at the coal mining museum highlights a broader imperative: to remove the dead hand of the union bureaucracy that has blocked resistance across councils, the NHS, and other workplaces. This would unleash workers collective strength in a genuine fight that draws together all confronting austerity, irrespective of sector, profession, or employer. Company Logo Tanzania's construction industry is set for growth driven by infrastructure investments in manufacturing, transport, and energy. Rising FDI, US trade ties, and projects like the TAZARA railway refurbishment present key opportunities. Water infrastructure bolstered by German grants enhances sector prospects. Dublin, Feb. 03, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Tanzania Construction Market Size, Trends, and Forecasts by Sector - Commercial, Industrial, Infrastructure, Energy and Utilities, Institutional and Residential Market Analysis to 2029 (H2 2025)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Construction industry in Tanzania to grow by 6.2% in real terms in 2025, supported by investments in manufacturing, transport and energy infrastructure projects. According to the Tanzania Investment and Special Zones Authority (TISEZA), the country registered 201 investment projects worth TZS6.2 trillion ($2.3 billion) between July and September 2025. The main sectors attracting the most capital were manufacturing, commercial building construction, and transportation. Rising foreign direct investments (FDI) is also expected to bolster industry growth in the coming quarters. According to the Tanzania Investment Centre, FDI inflows to Tanzania rose 21.6% year-on-year (YoY), from TZS14.6 trillion ($5.4 billion) in the fiscal year (FY) 2023-24 (July 2023 to June 2024) to TZS17.8 trillion ($6.6 billion) in FY2024-25. The government is further targeting TZS40.4 trillion ($15 billion) in FDI by 2026. To achieve this target, the Tanzanian government is pushing for deeper US ties. In the Tanzania-US Trade and Investment Forum that was held in September 2025, the Vice President of Tanzania has pitched the mining sector, highlighting the country's abundant mineral reserves. In addition to mining, the Tanzanian government is also seeking US investment in the agro-processing, pharmaceutical, and logistics sectors, among others. The Tanzanian construction industry is expected to register an average annual growth of 7.2% between 2026 and 2029, supported by investments in cross border transport infrastructure, water infrastructure projects. In October 2025, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) signed a TZS3.8 trillion ($1.4 billion) deal to refurbish and operate the 1,860km Tanzania-Zambia Railway (TAZARA), which connects Zambia's Copperbelt to the port city of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. This agreement combines an initial investment of TZS3 trillion ($1.1 billion), with an additional TZS641.4 billion ($238 million) reinvested into the severely degraded railway, involving extensive track rehabilitation, upgrades to workshops, and maintenance. Additionally, in July 2025, Tanzania has signed three grant agreements totaling TZS78.58 billion ($29.2 million) with Germany, facilitated by the German Development Bank (KfW). Over the weekend, the two federal immigration agents who shot and killed 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex F. Pretti on January 24 were identified as Jesus Jesse Ochoa and Raymundo Gutierrez. Records reviewed by ProPublica indicate that Ochoa, 43, and Gutierrez, 35, are both from south Texas. As of this writing, the government has neither confirmed nor denied ProPublicas reporting. It has now been more than 10 days since Pretti was attacked and gunned down in Minneapolis, yet the Trump administration has refused to identify, much less charge, his killers. Only because of mass outrage and sustained protest following Prettis killing did the Department of Justice announce that there would even be an investigation, conducted by the Department of Homeland Security into itself. Whatever investigation takes place, justice will not be served. It has been nearly a month since Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent Jonathan Ross murdered 37-year-old mother and poet Renee Nicole Good. The only people being investigated by the government in her death are her wife and their associates. Neither Ross, who deliberately placed himself in front of Goods vehicle before opening fire, nor the other agents who refused to render aid or allow others to do so, have been investigated, much less charged, for their criminal actions. Democratic Party claims that the only problem with the federal occupation and mass deportation operation is that the immigration Gestapo is insufficiently trained collapse in the face of the evidence. Like ICE murderer Ross, both Ochoa and Gutierrez are not new recruits but longtime Customs and Border Protection agents. Ochoa joined CBP in 2018, while Gutierrez began working for the agency under the Obama administration in 2014. Democrats raise the issue of training to divert attention from and obscure the class purpose of these agencies, which exist not to defend workers democratic rights from external threats, but to function as an auxiliary federal paramilitary force loyal to the executive branch and the financial oligarchy. Terrified of a mass movement of the working class, which is increasingly demanding a general strike to abolish the immigration police and drive the fascists out of Washington, both capitalist parties have supported the expansion of these agencies for decades, alongside the construction of a nationwide network of for-profit concentration camps. A week after the Trump administration announced that White House border czar Tom Homan would assume control of the federal occupation of Minnesota, nothing has fundamentally changed. Immigration police continue to violently abduct residents and deliberately provoke confrontations to manufacture pretexts for violence against the working class. On Sunday, federal agents, illegally staging at a public park in Minneapolis where children play, deployed tear gas and detained at least one US citizen. Video taken by residents shows agents tackling a man to the ground before indiscriminately throwing multiple tear gas grenades. One masked agent is seen firing a less-lethal round at point-blank range at an observer. On Saturday, video from a legal observers body camera was released showing DHS agents kidnapping a US citizen at gunpoint for the crime of filming them. The footage, taken January 29 in St. Peter, Minnesota, begins with the woman expressing fear over the aggressive behavior of federal agents pursuing her. A red SUV filled with masked, armed agents illegally passes her on the left, cuts her off, and slams on the brakes. The woman is heard on the phone pleading for the person on the other end to call emergency services. After blocking the road, the agents exited the vehicle and within seconds had their guns drawn, ordering the woman to exit her car. As in the murder of Good, the agents deliberately placed themselves in front of the vehicle as they advanced, providing themselves with a ready-made justification to kill her. MPR News reported that the woman, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation, was dragged from her car, thrown to the ground, handcuffed, and taken by agents. She told the outlet she suffered scrapes and bruises during the assault. As the woman was being taken, her husband arrived and demanded that agents release her. The agents ignored him and proceeded to search her vehicle over his objections. He informed the agents that the search was illegal because they lacked a warrant or probable cause. Reflecting open contempt for the Constitution, one agent replied, Im not getting into the legality of everything. The woman was eventually released only after her husband contacted the local sheriff, a personal acquaintance of the family. MPR News reported this appears to be the sole instance in which a local Minnesota police official intervened to prevent federal agents from abducting someone. Seeking to distance itself from the incident, the St. Peter City Council issued a statement claiming the police department did not participate in, coordinate with or intervene in any federal enforcement activity. Far from defending residents, local police departments are actively coordinating with federal immigration agents while refusing to investigate or arrest those who carry out violent crimes. The same day agents pulled guns on a US citizen in Minnesota, federal agents violently assaulted a US citizen in Salem, Oregon. The woman, identified only as Maria, is a member of Service Employees International Union Local 503. She was pulled over by federal agents at approximately 11 a.m. while on her way to pay rent and buy a cake for her grandsons birthday. In a statement released by the SEIU, Maria said agents demanded to see her papers. She feared for her life, noting that she suffers from severe asthma and was terrified she would be tear-gassed. The agents shattered her car window, forcibly removed her from the vehicle and threw her to the ground, causing numerous injuries, the union stated. After dumping out her purse and discovering her US passport, the agents fled the scene. Maria later sought medical treatment for a torn rotator cuff, concussion, and bruised ribs. Days after the masked federal thugs violently assaulted Maria, a GoFundMe in support of her notes she is still terrified of going out of the house and has asked her daughter to carry a tracking device when she goes out. Her spirits are still suffering. She will be out of work for some time, so these donations make all the difference. Maria contacted the Salem Police Department but was told to contact the FBI. Journalists with the Salem Reporter sought comment from the police department regarding the assault and its policy on crimes committed by federal agents. As of this writing, the department has not responded. As with the assault on SEIU official David Huerta last year, the union has proposed no concrete action to defend workers. Instead, it organized a protest centered on appeals to capitalist politicians for accountability. Following another weekend of mass protests demanding a general strike, Democrats in the House signaled support Monday for a spending deal negotiated between Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and the White House that will maintain funding for the immigration police for at least two more weeks. In a statement to Politico, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Connecticut) said she would vote for the package on Tuesday: I will support this package. The Democrat argued that if DHS was not provided funding then Democrats, wont be able to bring the kinds of pressure needed to influence the larger DHS funding bill. Under conditions in which a clear majority of Democratic voters, a majority of independents, and even a significant minority of Republicans support abolishing ICE, congressional Democratic support for continued DHS funding exposes the fraud of portraying the Democrats as an opposition party. The Democrats are not intimidated by Trump and his federal paramilitary forces. They are far more terrified of workers and students organizing independently, above all through a general strike that would cut across the unions, the courts, and the two-party system and pose a direct challenge to capitalist rule. This is why the fight against repression, war and dictatorship requires the building of independent rank-and-file organizations, uniting workers across industries and national borders in a conscious political struggle against the capitalist system itself. Polling and worried commentary in the financial press is underscoring the reality that the breakup of the Coalition on January 22 is only the sharpest expression of an historic crisis of the entire two-party set-up that has defended capitalist rule for more than 80 years. On the first regular sitting day of parliament for the year today, the Liberals and the Nationals, the component parties of the erstwhile Coalition, sat separately. Talks between Liberal leader Sussan Ley and Nationals David Littleproud prior to the sitting had failed to reunify the federal opposition. Australian Nationals leader David Littleproud and Liberal Party leader Sussan Ley [Photo by Commonwealth of Australia, North East CMA / CC BY 3.0 That graphic display of the split followed the release of polling by the Australian Financial Review (AFR) on Monday, which showed the depth of the crisis confronting the Coalition parties and the extent to which the entire framework of parliamentary politics is being upended. According to the polling, the primary vote of the Liberals and the Nationals combined now sits at just 19 percent, the lowest level ever recorded. It is 13 percentage points beneath the tally recorded by the Coalition in the May 2025 federal election, when it suffered a rout and the Liberals received their lowest vote since the party was founded in 1944. The far-right One Nation party received its highest ever polling at 26 percent, comfortably eclipsing the old parties of the Coalition. The governing Labor Partys polling, by the AFRs measure, remained stagnant compared to its December levels, at 34 percent of the primary. That is the same level as in the May election, when Labor returned to office with its second-lowest ever winning total on the back of the Coalition meltdown. That points to a situation where, increasingly, discontent and crisis within one or the other of the traditional parties is not benefitting the other. The hemorrhaging support for the Coalition appears to have flowed directly to One Nation and has not improved the position of Labor even slightly. There is an increasingly clear parallel with the political situation in the United Kingdom. There, the Labour government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer is implementing a program of sweeping austerity and a vast militarisation, provoking widespread opposition. The Conservatives, the traditional opposition, has effectively been supplanted by Nigel Farages Reform, which is being promoted by sections of the ruling elite to shift politics even further to the right, and is making a reactionary, anti-immigrant pitch to social discontent. Similarly in Australia, the Labor governments pro-business program has inflicted the biggest reversal to working-class living standards in history. Its central focus has been on increasing military spending, above all to prepare for a US-led war with China. Labor is implementing a right-wing program that is indistinguishable from those of previous Coalition governments. Deeply divided, the Coalition has not been able to present any credible opposition. Instead, One Nation, like Farage, is posturing as an opponent of the widely-reviled two-party system, and is similarly making a populist appeal centred on the scapegoating of immigrants. An editorial in the AFR accompanying the release of the polling, noted in worried tones that A structural realignment appears to be challenging Australias entrenched two-party duopoly. The fragmentation of the electorate has gathered pace, fuelled by similar factors to those that have led to the populist uprisings overseas, such as Donald Trumps America First movement and ex-Brexit leader Nigel Farages Reform Party in Britain. The plunge in the Coalitions support, it stated, was not simply due to hostility to Liberal leader Sussan Ley, but reflected an anti-establishment sentiment, lack of confidence in the political system, and the perception that the major parties are Tweedledee and Tweedledum. While pointing to One Nations anti-immigrant demagogy, the AFR commented that a more fundamental motivator of the shift away from the major parties was the reality that living standards have now gone backwards for the majority of the population. The editorial and similar commentary have highlighted that this is not a conjunctural crisis but a new stage in the protracted breakdown of the old political mechanisms of capitalist rule. The Labor Party has lost any stable, mass base in the working class, having dispensed with even a nominal connection to social reform more than 40 years ago, and having served as an unalloyed instrument of the corporate elite ever since. Labors real base is an affluent upper middle-class, the corrupt trade union bureaucracy and the intelligence and policing agencies. For its part, the Coalition has been roiled by the disintegration of the relatively large middle-class of the post-World War II period, upon which it was once based. Small businesses account for a smaller share of economic activity than they once did. Increasing numbers of professionals, such as teachers and medical staff, have entered the ranks of the working class. Those processes have found political expression in the Coalitions deepening crisis over more than a decade. In successive elections, the Liberals have lost once safe, blue-ribbon seats to Teal independents, who combine right-wing, free market policies with a pitch to the lifestyle concerns of a new, more affluent and concentrated middle class. That shift in social demographics culminated in the Liberals, the urban party of the Coalition, retaining just nine of 88 metropolitan seats at the last election. The advent of the Teals has corresponded to the marginalisation of a moderate faction within the Liberals and a growing shift to the right. Following the loss of former Liberal leader Peter Duttons own seat in the rout of the 2025 election, current leader Sussan Ley assumed the reins, based on a program of keeping the factions, along with the Coalition, together. But that is increasingly recognised as unviable. The bust-up of the Coalition, which had been repeatedly presaged after the May election, was triggered by the Labor governments new hate speech laws. Introduced in the wake of the Bondi terrorist attack, they create the framework for criminalising anti-war and oppositional organisations, particularly those that oppose the Israeli genocide of the Palestinians. While the Coalition had agreed to pass the legislation providing for hate groups to be banned, three shadow cabinet Nationals MPs crossed the floor and voted against it, deliberately provoking the split. The Nationals MPs were not opposed to the attack on civil liberties. They were adapting to far-right forces that are fearful their own racist rhetoric could fall foul of the sweeping new laws. That underscores the extent to which the old centre is breaking apart and a significant section of the political establishment is stampeding to the right. Last December, former Nationals leader and deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce defected to One Nation. Yesterday, Corey Bernardi, a former Liberal MP announced that he too was joining the right-wing populist outfit. At the rank-and-file level, there are reports of entire branches of the Nationals defecting to One Nation. Within what remains of both former parties of the Coalition, chaos reigns. Nationals leader David Littleproud yesterday saw off a leadership challenge, which was based on a demand for an immediate reunification with the Liberals. Ley is widely viewed as a lame duck. There is no attempt among her factional opponents to conceal the fact that they have no respect for her leadership. Right-wing Liberals Angus Taylor and Andrew Hastie have been publicly working out which of them will lead a challenge against Leys leadership, with Taylor appearing to be anointed as the candidate late last week. Hastie has openly campaigned for a right-populist pitch, based on even more aggressive vilification of immigrants and an Australia First line. Taylor has not gone as far, partly because he may need the votes of several moderates to secure the leadership. But in a statement over the weekend he declared that he shared many of Hasties values. Whatever the twists and turns, it is clear that the political situation in Australia is transforming. The old exceptionalist nostrums, including that a far-right movement could not develop in this country, are being exposed as a fraud. Powerful sections of the ruling elite, including the countrys wealthiest individual, mining magnate Gina Rinehart, are increasingly seeking to cultivate a Trump or Farage-style formation. They are doing so, because they recognise that the deepening social crisis and discontent presages major struggles by the working class against the entire political establishment. The aim is to channel discontent in a reactionary direction, and to create political mechanisms for openly dictatorial rule, aimed at suppressing workers and youth. For the present, the ruling class is reliant entirely on Labor carrying out the program required in the interests of Australian capitalism. This means the intensification of the assault on working and living conditions, wage rates and democratic rights of the population. The scenes unfolding in the United States, the UK and more broadly are the outcome of international conditions expressed sharply in this country. The critical issue for the working class is to establish its political independence from the entire decrepit establishment. A mass socialist movement must be built, in opposition to Labor, the Liberals, Nationals, One Nation and all the parliamentary parties. That is the only way in which to oppose the capitalist program of war, austerity and authoritarianism that they all represent. Frente Amplio, CAC and PLN supporters rally against Chaves in San Pedro the day before the elections The first round of Costa Ricas 2026 presidential elections, as reported by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), delivered a resounding victory for Laura Fernandez of the ruling Sovereign Peoples Party (PPSO), with 48.2 percent of the vote, avoiding a runoff. In the unicameral Congress, the PPSO led by incumbent President Rodrigo Chaves tripled its seats to 31 out of 57, securing a majority and the most right-wing Congress in the Central American countrys history. Fernandez served as a stand-in for Chaves, who was barred by constitutional term limits from re-running. She has pledged continuity, even offering Chaves the Ministry of the Presidency. On election night, Fernandez shared a video call with Chaves before her acceptance speech, where he expressed confidence in her ability to push back against Communism and advance free-market policies. Voter turnout reached a historic high, with abstention dropping to just 30 percentthe lowest in decades. Unlike any recent elections, streets brimmed with political flags and honking drivers, reflecting a sharp polarization between supporters of Chavess continuity and those opposing it. The elections result is the political responsibility of the nominal left, in particular the pseudo-left Broad Front (FA) and its satellite organizations, which entered a de facto alliance throughout the legislative period and electoral campaign with the traditional parties of the local oligarchy in opposition to Chaves. This coalition included candidates Ariel Robles of the FA, Claudia Dobles, the former first lady under the Citizens Agenda (CAC, formerly PAC)Costa Ricas version of the pink tide and Alvaro Ramos of the National Liberation Party (PLN). While banding together to ostensibly defend democratic freedoms, none of these candidates made any attempt to address the underlying causes of the authoritarian surge. Why should workers and youth vote for forces directly implicated in defending one of the highest inequality levels in Latin America, synonymous with massive corruption and incompatible with genuine democracy? A young FA supporter at a Curridabat voting center captured this bankruptcy: I believe I represent youth when I say the priority is kicking Chaves out of power. I actually feel very comfortable with the fact that Frente Amplio has joined PLN and the old parties for this. Asked about the international push toward dictatorship and relations with the Trump administration, he dismissed it: Im not interested in that. This nearsighted perspective is the product of the pro-capitalist and nationalist politics fomented by the FA, whose roots lie in the Stalinist Vanguardia Popular and its long record of popular-front coalitions with democratic sections of the oligarchy. The ideological closeness between the Chaves-Fernandez regime and the Trump administration is unmistakable. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated Fernandez on Monday, stressing Washingtons enduring partnership with San Jose. Rodrigo Chaves and Laura Fernandez present bill for Modernization of the State, July 2022 [Photo: mideplan.go.cr] Early in Trumps term, Rubio visited Costa Rica, meeting with Fernandez even after her decision to resign as minister and begin campaigning for the Presidency, along with ex-minister Mauricio Batalla. After the meeting drew protests from the electoral body, Rubio said he wanted to give thanks for all their cooperation. They have been very vocal in support of everything we have discussed today, two people who understand very well the threat that these Chinese companies pose to the economic sovereignty and security of countries. Fernandez centered her campaign around fascistic anti-immigrant poison and the promotion of close cooperation on security with Washingtonbolstered by Costa Ricas increasingly militarized police force. Although there was no open Trump endorsement, unlike in Honduras, Chile and Argentina last year, this was due to widespread repudiation of Trumps policies. Yet Nayib Bukele of El Salvador, Trumps close ally, was among the first to back and then congratulate Fernandez. This follows Chavess visits to El Salvadors CECOT counter-terrorism prison, amid promises to build a similar massive facility in Costa Ricaopen to US deportees. Those hoping to oppose Trump needed only look to Venezuela to understand that the FA and their partners are not an option. At breakneck speed, the Bolivarian Revolution submitted to Trumps demands, handing over control of oil and the economy. However, no Costa Rican party even challenged this subordination as Trump pursues Hitlerian ambitions for direct military control over Latin America. For US imperialism, Costa Rica remainsas in the Nicaraguan civil wara key staging ground for Pentagon and CIA operations, especially defending the Panama Canal. In her acceptance speech, Fernandez vowed to oppose authoritarianism while continuing Chavess attacks on the press and his pledge to establish a Third Republicwith the first marking independence from Spain and the second the 1948 civil wars abolition of the army. Such statements go beyond sloganeering. Fernandez has promised to change the rules, which can only mean plans for doing away with what little remains after a decades-long erosion of the right to strike, democratic guarantees, and social conquests like universal healthcare and public education. Chaves retained high approval, with Fernandez drawing broad working class support across ages and genders. This stems from illusory economic stability: low oil prices, a strong colon-dollar exchange rate, and near-shoring investments pushed by Trump to relocate production from Asia amid war preparations against China. Poverty dipped to 15.2 percent (INEC 2025), middle-bracket incomes rose 34.4 percent since 2018 and unemployment has dropped to 5.7 percent, the lowest level since 2010. However, 37.7 percent of workers still depend on informal jobs. In this favorable context, Chaves focused on funneling resources to banks and corporations via free-trade zones and tax breaks, while slashing social spending. Public debt service now consumes 44 percent of the budget10 percent of GDPwhile hospital projects in Cartago and Limon were abandoned. Education spending fell to 5 percent of GDP under Chaves, below the constitutional 8 percent mandate. Recent cuts bankrupted the Red Cross, gutted health research and crippled addiction prevention. Two elderly Chaves supporters in San Jose told this reporter: Costa Rica is still one of the most expensive countries in Latin America. Our pensions of $1,000 monthly from public-sector careers dont cover the basics, but at least Fernandez wont touch them. As the country has become a drug-transit hub, organized crime has driven homicides to record highs (18 per 100,000 in 2025), which has been exploited by all parties to push for iron fist tactics akin to those of Salvadoran President Bukele. The anti-corruption line, now threadbare but still adopted across parties, favored Fernandez most. The president uncovered lots of corruption, said a Chaves supporter in San Jose, but his party was exposed too, including Villalobos, referring to PPSO candidate Jose Miguel Villalobos. Debates were just about personal attacks. Fernandez lost support for not defending herself well, but it was clear that all the others had agreed to avoid attacking each other and focus on her. While the far-right is now emboldened, Fernandezs triumph reveals that dominant sections of the Costa Rican bourgeoisie and their US imperialist overlords recognize the fragility of this stability. The rise of Chaves and Fernandez, like that of similar forces internationally, lays the groundwork for a direct confrontation with a working class that is immensely more powerful than at any other time. Recent decades have seen the arrival of key levers of US industry to the countryincluding the production of medical devices, microchips and other high-tech products. At the same time, workers have now become an even greater target for Wall Street as it intensifies the exploitation of workers across Latin America and the US itself to counter the crisis of US hegemony and finance preparations for war. It would be fatal to believe economic tides wont turn harsh. The Chaves-Fernandez regime and the ostensible opposition are equally subordinate to foreign capital and will impose the full burden on the working class and poor to shield the oligarchy. The Costa Rican working class and youth cannot secure democratic rights or social gains and oppose imperialism through alliances with bourgeois factions. It must seize power through independent action, expropriating the banks, corporations, and imperialist holdings, and forging a socialist federation with their brothers and sisters across the continent as part of the world socialist revolution. The building of a Costa Rican section of the International Committee of the Fourth International, fighting for this program, is the urgent task facing workers, youth and the oppressed. Federal agents approach a vehicle on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in Minneapolis. [AP Photo/Adam Gray] Several recent media reports have revealed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has assembled a complex surveillance apparatus that merges biometric identification, mass data collection and predictive policing tools to target both immigrants and citizens alike. This sprawling system is being used to track and locate individuals for apprehension, detention and violence by lawless gangs of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents. Awareness of this infrastructure has grown following the public assassinations in Minneapolis of anti-Trump activists Renee Good, who was murdered at point blank range by ICE officer Jonathan Ross on January 7, and Alex Pretti, who was beaten and murdered execution-style by CBP thugs who have yet to be named, on January 24. In flagrant violation of core constitutional rights, including the First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments, this surveillance infrastructure represents the consolidation of a domestic spying regime aimed at suppressing opposition to the governments antiimmigrant crackdown and its broader policies of war and social counterrevolution. Reports in the New York Times and Washington Post describe how ICE, CBP and other DHS components have deployed facial recognition apps, licenseplate databases, cellphone location tracking, AIdriven target maps, socialmedia monitoring and drones against both undocumented workers and citizens participating in protests. These technologies are integrated through platforms built by companies like Palantir under multimilliondollar contracts to compile dossiers that fuse immigration records, travel data, Social Security files, commercial data brokers feeds and socialmedia activity into a single, continuously updated system. This network directly is being used to attack rights to free speech, protest, association and the press, by identifying, tracking and blacklisting those who oppose the government, including legal observers and bystanders filming ICE operations. It also violates constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures, through warrantless facial scans, mass cellphone location tracking, dragnet licenseplate collection and data mining via fusion centers and private brokers. Finally, the clandestine surveillance apparatus contradicts dueprocess and equalprotection guarantees of immigrants and protesters who are being placed under automated suspicion, often misidentified and subjected to raids, detention and even lethal violence without legal recourse. DHS officials have acknowledged that facial recognition and other tools are routinely used in the streets without consent and civil rights organizations have warned that there is no effective government framework limiting these practices. As one ACLU attorney put it, the combination of these technologies is giving the state unprecedented capabilities. Such capabilities are a component part of the policestate apparatus being erected by the Trump administration across the country. On January 28, the WSWS published a perspective entitled, Was Alex Pretti the subject of a targeted assassination? which argues that the killing of the beloved Minneapolis ICU nurse and legal observer by federal agents was a targeted assassination carried out by the Trump administrations paramilitary forces in order to terrorize Minneapolis citizens opposing and recording its criminal activities. CNN and other outlets confirmed that roughly a week before his murder, Pretti had intervened when he saw ICE agents chasing a family, blowing a whistle and shouting at the agents, who then tackled him, broke his rib and later described him as known to federal agents. The WSWS perspective notes that cellphone video from January 24 shows Pretti intervening to protect a woman knocked to the ground, being tackled, disarmed and held facedown while one agent removed his holstered firearm, after which another agent pushed this colleague aside and fired four shots into Prettis back, followed by six more shots into his motionless body. The article concludes: Emerging evidence strongly indicates that the murder of ICU nurse Alex Pretti by federal agents on January 24 in Minneapolis was a targeted assassination. Critically, the WSWS explained that Pretti and fellow observer Renee Good were already being tracked by ICE and CBP through centralized systems that collect license plates, IDs, photographs and video of agitators, with Palantir and similar vendors compiling lists of protesters and those filming immigration operations. A DHS memo obtained by CNN ordered agents to gather such data for a centralized surveillance database, making it overwhelmingly probable that Prettis earlier confrontation, his identity, his vehicle details and his role as a documenter of ICE abuses were recorded and flagged well before the fatal shooting. This contextcombined with the bystander video evidence and the prior assault by ICE agentsmakes the likelihood of a targeted political assassination on US soil not only plausible but compelling. The use of bodycamera footagepartially withheld from the publicto reconstruct events further underscores how every interaction with these agencies is now mediated by a digital infrastructure that can be selectively used to justify or conceal state violence. The surveillance toolkit fielded by DHS and its partners is extensive and expanding. Among the known tools are the following: Mobile facial recognition (NECs Mobile Fortify and similar apps): - Purpose: Instantly match face scans against trusted source photos including passport, drivers license, immigration and watchlist databases. - Use: ICE and CBP agents point phone cameras at people in the street, at traffic stops and at protests to verify identity and immigration status; numerous citizens in Minneapolis report being scanned without consent near demonstrations against ICE. Irisscanning and other biometrics: - Purpose: Rapid biometric confirmation at close range, often integrated with mobile devices. - Use: Deployed in field operations, detention centers and border zones to enroll migrants in databases that can track them indefinitely and flag them whenever they interact with state institutions, from airports to local police. - Purpose: Rapid biometric confirmation at close range, often integrated with mobile devices. - Use: Deployed in field operations, detention centers and border zones to enroll migrants in databases that can track them indefinitely and flag them whenever they interact with state institutions, from airports to local police. Automated licenseplate readers (ALPRs): - Purpose: Capture and store images of vehicle plates, locations and times, building a historical map of movements. - Use: ICE purchases mobile readers from Motorola Solutions and taps into commercial systems like Thomson Reuters 20billionrecord database, as well as local police networks and Flock Safety cameras, to track where the owners of targeted vehicles live, work, attend meetings and protest. - Purpose: Capture and store images of vehicle plates, locations and times, building a historical map of movements. - Use: ICE purchases mobile readers from Motorola Solutions and taps into commercial systems like Thomson Reuters 20billionrecord database, as well as local police networks and Flock Safety cameras, to track where the owners of targeted vehicles live, work, attend meetings and protest. Cellphone location tracking (Stingrays and bulk data): - Purpose: Use cellsite simulators that mimic towers, and commercial location data, to identify and follow mobile devices in real time. - Use: Agents can either search for a specific device or sweep entire areas around protests and immigrant neighborhoods, mapping networks and identifying who attends demonstrations or visits targeted homes. - Purpose: Use cellsite simulators that mimic towers, and commercial location data, to identify and follow mobile devices in real time. - Use: Agents can either search for a specific device or sweep entire areas around protests and immigrant neighborhoods, mapping networks and identifying who attends demonstrations or visits targeted homes. Digital forensics and device exploitation (Cellebrite, Paragon, others): - Purpose: Break into locked phones and computers, bypass encryption, extract and recover deleted files, messages and app data. - Use: Once ICE or CBP seize a deviceduring raids or arrests, at checkpointsspecialized teams use these tools to download years of communications, contacts and media, feeding this data into central systems for further analysis and crossmatching. - Purpose: Break into locked phones and computers, bypass encryption, extract and recover deleted files, messages and app data. - Use: Once ICE or CBP seize a deviceduring raids or arrests, at checkpointsspecialized teams use these tools to download years of communications, contacts and media, feeding this data into central systems for further analysis and crossmatching. AIdriven ImmigrationOS and Palantir targeting platforms: - Purpose: Integrate multiple data streamsimmigration records, travel histories, commercial databases, social media, license plates and biometricsinto a single mapbased interface that assigns confidence scores to addresses and individuals. - Use: A Palantir app shows agents a map dotted with potential deportation targets, providing dossiers that include names, photos, Alien Registration Numbers and calculated likelihood of presence at given locations, effectively automating where to raid and whom to prioritize. - Purpose: Integrate multiple data streamsimmigration records, travel histories, commercial databases, social media, license plates and biometricsinto a single mapbased interface that assigns confidence scores to addresses and individuals. - Use: A Palantir app shows agents a map dotted with potential deportation targets, providing dossiers that include names, photos, Alien Registration Numbers and calculated likelihood of presence at given locations, effectively automating where to raid and whom to prioritize. Socialmedia monitoring and databroker contracts: - Purpose: Monitor platforms such as X, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Reddit around the clock, scraping posts and metadata to identify organizers, slogans, locations and networks. - Use: ICE has assembled teams that track protest hashtags, livestreams and viral clips of raids, linking online speech to physical identities via facial recognition, IP tracing and data purchased from private brokers. - Purpose: Monitor platforms such as X, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Reddit around the clock, scraping posts and metadata to identify organizers, slogans, locations and networks. - Use: ICE has assembled teams that track protest hashtags, livestreams and viral clips of raids, linking online speech to physical identities via facial recognition, IP tracing and data purchased from private brokers. Drones and aerial surveillance (including MQ9 Predator): - Purpose: Provide persistent overhead monitoring of wide areas, using highresolution cameras and, in some cases, signalsintelligence payloads. - Use: Small drones have been deployed over immigration protests, while CBP flew a militarygrade MQ9 Predator over antiICE demonstrations in Los Angeles, demonstrating the fusion of foreignwar technology with domestic repression. - Purpose: Provide persistent overhead monitoring of wide areas, using highresolution cameras and, in some cases, signalsintelligence payloads. - Use: Small drones have been deployed over immigration protests, while CBP flew a militarygrade MQ9 Predator over antiICE demonstrations in Los Angeles, demonstrating the fusion of foreignwar technology with domestic repression. Fusion centers and nationwide data sharing: - Purpose: Aggregate data from federal, state and local police, as well as private sources, under DHS coordination. - Use: Fusion centers act as clearinghouses for Suspicious Activity Reports, gang databases and immigration intelligence, allowing ICE, CBP, FBI and local departments to share watch lists and surveillance data outside traditional warrant procedures. - Purpose: Aggregate data from federal, state and local police, as well as private sources, under DHS coordination. - Use: Fusion centers act as clearinghouses for Suspicious Activity Reports, gang databases and immigration intelligence, allowing ICE, CBP, FBI and local departments to share watch lists and surveillance data outside traditional warrant procedures. Bodyworn cameras and evidence management systems: - Purpose: Record encounters and feed video into analytic tools, including face recognition and pattern detection. - Use: Though DHS scaled back plans for universal ICE bodycams, some agents involved in the Pretti killing wore them, and the selective release or suppression of this footage is part of how the state shapes the narrative of its own crimes. Each tool, taken alone, undermines basic rights. In combination, these technologies are an integrated apparatus of population control directed especially against immigrants and political opponents of Trumps presidential dictatorship drive. Civil rights lawyers and privacy advocates have sounded the alarm over this expansion. The ACLU has warned that what is at stake is not isolated abuses but a structural capacity for continuous monitoring of entire communities. The US Commission on Civil Rights has previously documented, for example, how facial recognition programs raise grave concerns around accuracy, discrimination, lack of oversight and barriers to challenging misuse, particularly for poor and minority populations. A former CBP adviser now at the Center for American Progress notes that DHS has access to a vast amount of trade, travel, immigration, and screening information, and explicitly warns that everyone should be alarmed at the possibility of this data being weaponized for inappropriate reasons. Others have called for shutting down all DHS fusion centers and ending informationsharing pipelines and predictivepolicing programs such as those devised by Palantir because they violate Fourth Amendment protections and enable dragnet targeting of immigrants and working class communities. The warnings point to the fact that ICE and CBP are not rogue actors but spearheads of a bipartisan assault on democratic rights by the Trump administration using vulnerable sections of the population such as immigrant workers for testing purposes. Their highly targeted operations, as DHS officials euphemistically describe them, are in fact mass sweeps backed by data systems deliberately insulated from public scrutiny and judicial review. For more than two decades, the World Socialist Web Site has warned that the war on terror launched after September 11, 2001, provided the pretext for building a comprehensive surveillance and repressive apparatus that would be turned inward against the working class. The Snowden revelations in 2013 exposed the National Security Agencys (NSA) bulk collection of Americans phone records and its PRISM program to harvest emails, photos and other content from major internet companies, revealing that the intelligence agencies were systematically lying about domestic spying and working directly with the telecom and tech monopolies. In January 2014, then-President Obama announced that the NSAs bulk data collection operation was being ended and, in June 2015, the USA Freedom Act was signed into law formally claiming that mass surveillance was being halted. However, as Edward Snowden himself pointed out, these programs continued in more sophisticated forms. In 2020, a federal appeals court ruled that the NSAs telephone metadata dragnet was illegal and likely unconstitutional, confirming that the state had violated both statutory limits and constitutional protections on a vast scale. Yet rather than dismantle this machinery, successive administrationsincluding Obama, Trump and Bidenadapted it, shifting from overt NSA programs to a more fragmented system of policing, immigration and homeland security surveillance that relies heavily on private contractors, data brokers and fusion centers. The present DHS technology stackPalantirs realtime tracking platforms, AIdriven targeting, ubiquitous biometric collection and corporate databroker feedsrepresents the continuation, not the abandonment, of the system exposed by Snowden. It has been repurposed to criminalize immigrants and dissenters. The integration of Social Security records with immigration databases discussed in internal DHS communications shows that the same logic of total information awareness is now being applied to every aspect of social life, from work to travel. Moreover, the recent attempt by Trumps Attorney General Pam Bondi to blackmail the state of Minnesota into handing over its databases of Medicaid and SNAP benefit recipient data and voter registration data is particularly ominous. The WSWS has consistently argued that mass surveillance is not an aberration but a necessary instrument of a ruling class preparing for deepening war abroad and class conflict at home. The targeted killing of figures like Alex Pretti, selected through these systems because they dared to oppose the regime, is the outcome of this trajectory. The exposure of DHSs surveillance infrastructureincluding the role of tech corporations, data brokers and a vast network of fusion partnershipsdemonstrates that democratic rights cannot be defended within the framework of capitalism. A state that protects the wealth of a tiny oligarchy amid staggering inequality, domestic militarization and imperialist war will inevitably treat immigrants, protesters and workers as enemies to be monitored, controlled, suppressed and killed. The working class, which produces everything in society and operates the very technologies being used by the state, is the only social force capable of dismantling this machinery. The ICE and CBP repressive apparatus and the entire system of immigration raids, detention and deportation must be abolished and the full legalization and equal rights of all immigrants guaranteed. DHS fusion centers, predictivepolicing and databroker contracts, facial recognition and mass biometric collection by the state must be shut down. The tech giants and surveillance contractors like Palantir and critical infrastructure must be seized and placed under the democratic control of the working class to address social needs, not the profits and repressive requirements of the capitalist oligarchy. The struggle against surveillance and policestate measures must also be linked to the fight against war, austerity and authoritarian rule. Only the conscious, independent mobilization of the working class in the struggle for socialism can halt the descent into dictatorship and secure a future for workers and young people free of police repression and based on genuine democratic rights for all. The Indonesian stock market plunged last Wednesday and Thursday in what has been characterised as the most severe fall since the Asian financial crisis in 1998. There was a slight rally on Friday, but the market fell nearly 5 percent yesterday. A man stands near an electronic board displaying stock prices and Jakarta Stock Exchange Composite Index, at the Indonesia Stock Exchange in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. [AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana] Last weeks fall, which wiped off around $80 billion from the market, was sparked by an adverse report from the global index provider Morgan Stanley Capital Investment (MSCI) which sets ratings for markets. It warned that it may downgrade Indonesia from an emerging to a frontier market. The designations cover issues like good corporate governance, fair dealing in financial markets and transparency in the ownership of assets. Emerging market status sits between frontier and developed, indicating that the country has a better system than the lowest grade but still carries risks. The MSCI said it could carry out the downgrade in May if problems were not rectified by then after finding that there were fundamental investability issues in its structure. An article in the Financial Times yesterday cast some light on the issues behind the MSCI decision which centred on the operations surrounding so-called deep-fried stocks which have highly restricted ownership that contribute to rallies that can lift their tycoon owners into the ranks of Asias richest people overnight. In its announcement the MSCI cited opacity in shareholding structure and concerns about possible co-ordinated trading behaviour that undermines proper price formation. In the wake of the MSCI report, the heads of both the Financial Services Authority and the Indonesia Stock Exchange resigned from their posts on Friday. A statement from the financial regulator said the resignation of its chief, Mahendra Siregar, was a form of moral responsibility to support the creation of the necessary recovery steps. The stock exchange said its head, Iman Rachman, was stepping down as a form of accountability over the condition of the Indonesian capital market over the past few days. One of the chief reasons for the sharp fall was that major large investment funds which scour global markets for profitable opportunities are not permitted to hold assets in countries with a frontier status. Bloomberg reported that according to analysts at Goldman Sachs in an extreme scenario the outflow of such funds in the event of a downgrade could be as much as $13 billion. The exit of such a large chunk of capital would put pressure on Indonesias rupiah currency and make Indonesia more dependent on domestic savings and official funding sources. The concern of the MSCI agency centres on the structure of the market and Indonesias very low free floatthat is the proportion of a companys shares that are freely available for public trading. This means that a large proportion of the shares are in the hands of company founders, family groups and large conglomerates and thereby more subject to price manipulation, making it more difficult to large investors to enter and exit markets safely. There have long been concerns about the concentration of share ownership in Indonesia, especially the control exercised by conglomerates owned by billionaires. In its report the MSCI said investors had expressed concerns over Indonesias shareholder reporting rules and opaque ownership structures that created conditions for improper trading and market manipulation. In response to the sell-off, Indonesian regulators said they would double the minimum free float level to 15 percent and would undertake an overhaul of stock market ownership to encourage greater diversification. The MSCI warning came at a very unfortunate time, in the words of one asset manager in Singapore, because of growing problems in the economy and a weakening currency. No doubt investors also have their eye on the prospect of further social upheavals following the demonstrations and protests last August. The immediate trigger for the protests, which extended from the capital, Jakarta, to major cities throughout the country, was the decision to pay an accommodation allowance to parliamentarians as much as 10 to 20 times the minimum wage paid to millions of workers. It was a catalyst for the eruption of social anger over deepening inequality, expressed not least in the elevation of the stock market tycoons. In the wake of the protests, which led to death of at least 11 people in clashes with the police and military, president Prabowo announced some changes in economic policy. He sacked the finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who insisted on so-called fiscal prudence. Prabowo then declared he was on a pro-growth course aimed at lifting annual growth to 8 percenta rate last achieved in the 1990sfrom its present level of 5 percent. Sri Mulyani was replaced by Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, who claimed, on taking office in September, that with the right fiscal and domestic policies we can build the foundation to faster growth relatively easily. But there is concern in financial markets over this assertion and the policies that have followed in conditions of a slowdown in consumption spending and a weakening jobs marketyouth unemployment is around 16 percent, and many young people are in poorly paid causal work. Investors are concerned that an expansion of the government deficit beyond a 3 percent limit will lead to market turmoil. Those concerns were heightened with the decision last month by Prabowo to appoint his nephew, Thomas Djiwandono, as deputy governor of the central bank. The rupiah, which has been trading at lows approaching the levels seen in the 1998 crisis, fell on the news as it was seen as compromising the independence of the central bank. In response, finance minister Purbaya said the appointment has no connection to central bank independence. But, in a remarks the following day, he said the government would maintain the independence of the central bank to the maximum extent possible. Financial and economic analysts have likened the situation to that in the US where president Trump is insisting that the central bank pursue a more pro-growth monetary policy. But economists maintain that even the growth of 5 percent may be difficult to sustain in present conditions. There is also concern in financial circles that populist economic measures undertaken by Prabowo in the effort to quell social opposition, in particular the $28 billion free lunch program for school children, will blow out the fiscal deficit under conditions where government revenue is failing to grow. Commenting on the market selloff, Purbaya said: This is surely just a temporary shock because there is no issue in our fundamentals. But the movements in financial markets and the lowering of the value of the rupiah point in the other direction and the potential for the emergence of further economic and financial turmoil, leading to the re-emergence of the social struggles which erupted last August on a wider scale. Facing escalating protests by doctors and school development officers, the Sri Lankan government has issued a draconian decree declaring electricity supply, fuel, hospitals and 15 other sectors essential. The decree effectively criminalises all strikes and other forms of industrial action by tens of thousands of employees in these sectors. School Development Officers picketing at Colombo Fort on January 20, 2025 Issued on January 28, the extraordinary gazette notification invokes the notorious Essential Public Services Act No. 61 of 1979legislation with a blood-soaked history of crushing working-class resistance. Elected to power in a landslide election in mid-November 2024, after falsely pledging to improve living standards, halt austerity and defend democratic rights, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna/National Peoples Power (JVP/NPP) government now confronts thousands of workers up in arms over its failure to fulfil these promises. On January 23, around 20,000 doctor members of the Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) held a 48-hour protest strike over the governments refusal to grant their demands for wage revisions, allowances and improved working conditions. The walkout, which occurred amid a deepening crisis in the public health system, also involves ongoing industrial bans, including the withholding of prescriptions for medicines from private pharmacies. On January 26, a group of school development officers began staging a fast unto death protest outside Colombos Presidential Secretariat because the government continues to reject their demands. Around 16,000 school development officers, who have been performing teaching duties in state schools but are not paid teachers wages, have been demanding integration into the formal teaching service for years. At the same time, there is rising anger among thousands of Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) workers, and the prospect of future industrial action, over far-reaching structural reforms and privatisation measures dictated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Similar concerns are reflected in growing unrest among other public sector workers facing similar IMF attacksmeasures that will drastically impact the rural poor, farmers and other oppressed masses. This is the backdrop to Dissanayakes draconian essential services order. Under the Essential Public Services Act, workers who refuse to work, or participate in industrial action, can be dismissed without due process, stripped of pension rights, fined and imprisoned. The law allows the deployment of police and armed forces to enforce compliance. Sri Lankas essential services law was introduced by President Jayawardenes United National Party (UNP) government in 1977 to crush workers resistance to his administrations pro-investor, free-market agenda. The draconian law has been invoked around 100 times by successive Sri Lankan administrations since then, and for the same purpose. President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was undemocratically installed after the mass uprising that brought down the Rajapakse government in 2022, utilised the law 32 times against workers in just 26 monthsthe most intensive use of the measure for a comparable period. The JVP/NPP, having already imposed it four times, is following in his footsteps. The JVP/NPP government imposed the Essential Services order on November 29, 2025, immediately following Cyclone Ditwah. The disaster claimed over 640 lives, displaced 230,000 people, and affected more than 1.4 million across 25 districts. Electricity workers protesting outside CEB head office in Colombo, July 22, 2025 Framed as a response to Ditwahs devastation, the decision represented far more than disaster management. It was a clear political signal that the JVP/NPP government will ruthlessly impose the IMFs austerity measures, crushing all resistance from workers facing wage cuts, job losses, the destruction of public services, and any mass anger over the governments inadequate response to the disaster. This agenda was reaffirmed by IMF mission chief Evan Papageorgiou during a recent visit. He told the media that the Sri Lankan government would safeguard the gains that were achieved on fiscal and debt sustainability, making clear that the disaster would not alter this commitment. The IMF insisted that cyclone reconstruction costs had to be absorbed within the existing program framework, meaning even further pressure on wages, services and public sector employment. IMF officials lauded the Dissanayake government for its commitment to fiscal discipline and governance reformseuphemisms for spending cuts, privatisation, intensified labour exploitation and the curtailment of democratic rights to maintain international debt servicing and increase corporate profits. Within days of taking office in late 2024, President Dissanayakes JVP/NPP government rapidly abandoned its election promises and began attacking workers struggles. On December 2, 2024, Sri Lankan police violently broke up a demonstration of school development officers, arresting activists and initiating witch hunts against protesters. Hundreds of police, backed by water cannons, clearly demonstrated the governments readiness to crush all dissent by public-sector workers opposing austerity. In March 2025, police arrested 27 student activists, including Madushan Chandrajith, convener of the Inter-University Students Federation, during a protest outside the Ministry of Health demanding fair recruitment processes. Police brutally attacked demonstrators. The Maligakanda Magistrates Court then issued a sweeping order prohibiting these students from holding future actions in key areas, including Hospital Square and the Ministry of Healtheffectively criminalising the right to protest. In August 2025, the JVP/NPP government deployed the military and police to break an indefinite national strike by around 17,000 postal workers, by clearing the Central Mail Exchange and acting as strike-breakers to move mail. Senior ministers issued ultimatums and threats of mass sackings against the striking postal workers. In September 2025, the government declared electricity an essential service, banning all industrial action after CEB workers struck in protest over restructuring issues. This anti-democratic attack was a continuation of the same measures used by previous governments, including the Wickremesinghe governments suspension of 62 CEB workers for protesting in 2024. These repressive measures are in line with the JVP/NPP governments Protection of the State from Terrorism Act (PSAT), a new anti-terrorism bill to replace the existing Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). While Dissanayake promised during the 2024 elections to abolish the PTA, his government quickly used it to arrest and detain two Muslim youth because they opposed Israels genocidal war in Gaza. Rather than abolish the PTA, the PSAT broadens the definition of terrorism to encompass strikes, protests and dissent against government policies, with all such actions characterised as potential terrorist acts. Confronted with this anti-democratic onslaught, Sri Lankas trade union bureaucracy has refused to organise any sustained campaign against the Essential Services orders, the new anti-terrorism legislation, or the governments accelerating attacks on workers fundamental rights. While JVP/NPP-affiliated trade unions maintain a deathly silence and actively block all anti-government action by their members, unions tied to opposition parliamentary partiesincluding the Samagi Jana Balawegaya and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramunahave called only limited actions aimed at defusing genuine working-class opposition. The Frontline Socialist Party, which falsely postures as a left-wing opponent of the government, collaborates with this union apparatus, whitewashing its betrayals and channelling workers into dead-end negotiations and appeals to parliament. Workers cannot trust any of these capitalist parties and their affiliated trade unions. To fight the governments anti-democratic measures and its IMF-dictated program, workers need to establish independent, democratically controlled rank-and-file action committees across all sectorsin hospitals, power stations, schools, offices, plantations and workplaces. Doctors, electricity workers, education workers, state employees, plantation workers, rural masses and students all face the same attack on jobs, wages, public services and democratic rights. Sri Lankan workers are not alone. Internationally, workers are fighting similar attacks from a common enemyglobal capitalism and its state institutions. In the US, nurses and other healthcare workers are striking against unsafe staffing levels, low pay and the privatisation of healthcare. In Europe, Asia and Latin America, workers are fighting job cuts, rising living costs and austerity imposed by governments acting on behalf of banks and corporations. The fight against IMF austerity in Sri Lanka can only succeed as part of a broader struggle of the international working class. By linking up with their class brothers and sisters across borders, sharing experiences and coordinating struggles through rank-and-file organisations, workers can transform isolated national battles into a powerful global movement. The unity of workers internationally is the decisive force needed to defeat repression, overturn austerity and open the way for a socialist society based on social need, not profit. As President Recep Tayyip Erdogans government deepens cooperation with the Donald Trump administration, Turkiye is attempting to mediate against the USs upcoming attack on Iran. In recent days, Turkish government officials have voiced growing concerns and made efforts to establish diplomatic relations between Washington and Tehran. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian announced on social media that he had instructed Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to begin negotiations with the US. Erdogan embarked on a two-day trip to Saudi Arabia and Egypt on Tuesday and said that discussions would cover what can be done to prevent the Iran crisis from escalating further. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met in Ankara on January 30 [Photo: X/Official Account of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkiye] According to a report on Axios, White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi are expected to meet on Friday in Istanbul together with representatives of several Arab and Muslim countries to discuss a possible nuclear deal, according to two sources with knowledge and a U.S. official. This meeting was planned after a meeting between Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Araghchi in Ankara on January 30. During a joint press statement, Fidan said, ...we are against resorting to military options to resolve the issues. We do not believe that [the military option] will be very effective. We advocate negotiation and diplomacy. We call on the parties to come to the negotiating table, Fidan said, adding that negotiations will pave the way for Irans integration into the international system. Fidan stated in an interview with Al-Jazeera television at the end of January, Its wrong to attack Iran. Its wrong to start the war again. Iran is ready to negotiate on the nuclear file again. Reports in the Turkish press around the same time that Ankara was developing plans to establish a kind of buffer zone along its border with neighboring Iran to prevent a wave of migration underscored the seriousness of the possibility of a US attack on Iran. A new imperialist attack on Iran, with its population of 93 million, carries the danger of turning into a regional war that rapidly draws in US-allied forces, including Turkiye. Such a war would deepen geopolitical instability across the Middle East, radicalizing the working-class and youth masses who despise imperialism and Zionism, thereby shaking the collaborative regimes. The Trump administration, has amassed a large military buildup in the Middle East and threatened Iran with a new war following last Junes illegal attack. Meanwhile, speaking in Tehran Sunday, Irans Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, warned, They should know that if they start a war this time, it will be a regional war. In mid-January, while Trump threatened to strike Tehran, exploiting the ongoing protests in Iran for its own benefit, an unnamed senior official reportedly stated that Iran had asked regional states to prevent a US attack. According to Reuters, the same official said, Tehran has told regional countries, from Saudi Arabia and the UAE to Turkiye, that US bases in those countries will be attacked. Turkiye hosts the Incirlik air base, which the US uses for its operations in the region. The radar base in Kurecik provides intelligence against Iran and its allies. After Venezuela, the Trump administration wants to seize Irans energy resources and control the energy and supply chains of its global rivals, primarily China. Turkiye, led by Trumps friend Erdogan, fears that a large-scale US-Israel war against Iran could negatively affect it as well, and is playing the role of good cop in helping Washington achieve its goals through negotiation. Turkiyes ruling elite is concerned that such a war could eliminate Irans role as a counterweight, further increasing Israels regional influence and encouraging Kurdish separatism in Iran. Following his meeting with Araghchi, Fidan stated, We have seen that the PKK terrorist organization is attempting to take advantage of recent developments. This situation demonstrates that the PKK/PJAK terrorist organization poses a threat not only to Turkiye but also to Iran. We would like to reiterate the need for joint action against the PKK. Irans Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), and Syrias Democratic Union Party (PYD) are affiliated with the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), which recognizes Abdullah Ocalan, who is in prison, as its leader. The Turkish bourgeoisie is not a victim of 35 years of imperialist aggression now targeting Iran in the Middle East, but an accomplice. The Turkish ruling elite directly aided the US in its crimes across the region, from the attack on Iraq to the regime change wars in Syria and Libya. As a result of these imperialist attacks and regime change wars, Ankara has established strong ties with the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq, despite occasionally threatening it. On the other hand, Turkiye has attempted to suppress the de facto Kurdish autonomy that has emerged in Syria and make it subordinate to the new Damascus regime. Turkiyes ruling elite played a hypocritical and facilitating role in Israels genocide in Gaza, made possible with US support. Ankara aided Israels war machine by indirectly continuing trade and facilitating the flow of Azerbaijani oil through Turkiye. Meanwhile, as competition with Israel intensified in Syria and the Middle East in general, Erdogan attempted to position himself as a defender of the Palestinians by using anti-genocide rhetoric. Ankara also played a role in getting Hamas to accept Trumps new colonialist Gaza peace plan. Erdogan now gladly accepts membership in Trumps Peace Council in Gaza. The current border between Turkiye and Iran is largely based on the 1639 Treaty of Qasr-e Shirin. Since this treaty ended the Ottoman-Safavid War of 16231639, the two countries have not fought each other. Iran is also a major supplier of natural gas to Turkiye, with 15-20 percent of Turkiyes annual consumption supplied by Tehran. However, neither the concerns of the Turkish ruling elite nor the bankrupt attempts at compromise by the bourgeois-clerical regime in Iran can put an end to imperialist aggression and the new colonial war in the Middle East. Imperialism pursues total submission and domination everywhere. There is no way forward other than a revolutionary strategy that will eliminate imperialism. The Sosyalist Esitlik Partisi (Socialist Equality Party), the Turkish section of the International Committee of the Fourth International, calls on the working class in Turkiye, the Middle East, and worldwide to unconditionally oppose and take action against the threats of war against Iran, a historically oppressed country, by US imperialism and Israeli Zionism. US-NATO bases in Turkiye must be closed, and Ankaras support for imperialist-Zionist aggression must end. The struggle against imperialism must be based on a genuinely revolutionary, that is, Trotskyist perspective. As stated in the Statement of Principles of the Sosyalist Esitlik Partisi, the causes of war are embedded in the economic structure of society and its political division into nation-states, the struggle against imperialist militarism and war can be successful only to the extent that it mobilizes the working class on the basis of an international revolutionary strategy and program. A mass anti-war movement must reject the bankrupt perspective of demanding that governments change their policies and aim for the working class to take power and abolish capitalism, the source of war. the Sosyalist Esitlik Partisi insists that the only way to the lasting peace and democratic rights that the working people long for is the unification of workers of all nationalities in the Middle East and in the imperialist countries in the fight for global socialism and against war and neo-colonial oppression. It means fighting for the Socialist Federation of the Middle East, which will be part of a world socialist federation. We call on Middle Eastern workers, youth, and intellectuals who agree with this perspective to contact us to build Socialist Equality Parties affiliated with the ICFI in their countries. The handover of Venezuelas oil reserves to US imperialism by its Bolivarian regime is unmasking anti-Trotskyist forces internationally, including the Communist Party MarxistKenya (CPM-K). Its general secretary, Booker Omole, has responded hysterically to the WSWS exposure of his support for the Venezuelan regime, in its January 19 article Kenyan Stalinist CPM-K attacks WSWS while praising Venezuelas Delcy Rodriguez ahead of CIA talks. On the left, Booker Omole congratulates interim President Delcy Rodriguez in a tweet on January 9, just days before Rodriguez met with CIA Director John Ratcliffe on January 15 (photo on the right) Omoles reaction constitutes a devastating political self-indictment. Even as US workers enter into mounting struggles against the Trump administration, such as the mass strike in Minneapolis, Omole is doubling down on defence of Rodriguezs collaboration with Trump. He tries to justify this by hailing Stalin and Stalins 1939 alliance with Nazi Germany in the Stalin-Hitler Pact as a model of political realism which he applauds the Bolivarian regime for following. Within hours of the WSWS articles publication, Omole erupted into a frenzied campaign of on X/Twitter, claiming that Trotskyists of WSWS are peddling slander. Defending his support for Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodriguez, he asserted that to praise resistance to US aggression is not CIA collaboration. It is anti-imperialism. But it is Omole, not the WSWS, that builds an argument on slanders. The regime he is defending is collaborating with the CIA to subjugate Venezuela to imperialism. After US forces invaded Venezuela and kidnapped its President Nicolas Maduro, interim President Delcy Rodriguez announced an exploratory diplomatic process reaching out to Washington. The Bolivarian regime worked with the US Navy to seize shipments of Venezuelan oil purchased by China that were being transported on a Russian tanker. Trump praised Rodriguez as a terrific person and promised a spectacular partnership centered on oil, aiming to exclude Russia and China. Rodriguez agreed to place Venezuelan oil revenues in a Qatari bank account administered by Washington. On January 14, the CPM-K organised a protest outside the US embassy in Nairobi that was violently suppressed by Kenyan police. Seeking to posture as an opponent of imperialism, the party tweeted that the police had acted with instructions from Washington and CIA intelligence. Barely had the ink dried, however, when Rodriguez met directly with the CIA Director John Ratcliffe himself in Caracas for talks. Omole then took the WSWS to task for opposing Rodriguez, arguing that imperialist coercion means that free choice does not exist. The WSWS, Omole tweeted, admits the US invaded Venezuela, kidnapped its president, imposed sanctions and naval force. Then they pretend Venezuela acts freely. Coercion and free choice cannot coexist. Omoles utterly demoralised and false argument endorsed the bourgeois nationalists capitulation to imperialist attack as realism. Effectively, he was telling Venezuelan workers facing attempts by Trump and Rodriguez to loot their resources that there is no alternative, and that they must accept the imperialist plundering of natural resources and the resulting dismantling of remaining social programs. Since then, Omole has escalated his defence of the Rodriguez regime, even as it accelerates the handover of Venezuelan oil and treasure to Washington. On January 23, Venezuelas parliament advanced a reform of the Hydrocarbons Law preparing the privatisation of the countrys nationalised oil sector, fulfilling a central US demand. The law grants private firms expanded control over oil production and sales and shifts legal disputes out of the control of Venezuelan courts, a key demand of US oil firms. The bill caps royalties collected by the government at 30 percent. Omole could barely contain his enthusiasm for this blatantly neocolonial policy. The next day, he responded by tweeting, We defend the Bolivarian Revolution because it objectively weakened imperialism in Latin America. Omoles response to the Venezuelan crisis exposes the class forces underlying Kenyan Stalinism. The CPMK leadership does not aim to improve workers living standards in former colonial countries; in fact, it hails measures that plunder social resources from workers to hand them over to imperialist banks and courts. Rather, it is driven by petty-bourgeois hostility to the independent, international movement of the working class that it justifies theoretically by defending the crimes of Stalin. Indeed, Omoles escalating defense of the Venezuelan regimes collaboration with Americas fascist president has gone hand-in-hand with an escalating promotion of the Hitler-Stalin Pact of 1939. The day that Rodriguez signed the reforms to the Hydrocarbons Law, Omole hailed the Pact and praised Stalin as a master of tactics. When another X user challenged this degraded statement, asking, What part of tactics was it when he [Stalin] sent critical war materials to the Nazis?, Omole lashed out in defence of the StalinHitler Pact. Omole hailed the pact as the tactic of buying time to defeat fascism, not appeasing it and attacked Trotskyist opposition to fascism and imperialist war as adventurism. Omoles portrayal of the StalinHitler Pact as a nationalist masterstroke that defended the Soviet Union is a despicable political lie. The Stalin-Hitler Pact disoriented workers in the Soviet Union and internationally amid the eruption of Hitlerite military aggression. It came on top of Stalins Great Purges, a political genocide of Soviet Marxists that killed much of the top military leadership of the Red Army. This left the Soviet Union vulnerable and unprepared for the Nazi invasion when Hitlers surprise attack came in June 1941, leading to a war in which the Soviet Union was victorious, but at the cost of a staggering 27 million Soviet lives. Omoles praise for Stalins pact with Hitler as he defends the Bolivarian regimes emerging pact with Trump, on the false and cowardly pretext that capitulation to fascism buys time, exposes the CPMK. Omole is defending a genocidal leader such as Stalin and covering up the reactionary role of the Bolivarian bourgeois regime, even as conditions rapidly develop for an international struggle of the working class against imperialist war and fascism. Across Africa, a wave of Gen Zled protests has erupted from Kenya and Nigeria to Madagascar and Tanzania, as anger explodes over mass youth unemployment, poverty wages, corruption and police-state repression. In the US, a powerful resurgence of class struggle is unfolding in direct opposition to Trumps far-right dictatorship. Mass strikes have erupted against ICE police murders in Minneapolis in line with a growing strike wave across key industries. Fifteen thousand nurses in New York City have been on strike for three weeks, while 31,000 Kaiser Permanente workers launched a nationwide strike last week. Critically, 30,000 US oil refinery workers are set to enter into struggle as their contracts expired on Sunday. These workers, who account for approximately two thirds of total US refining capacity, occupy a strategic position at the heart of US energy infrastructure and the global oil supply chain. They process the Venezuelan oil Rodriguez is now handing over to US imperialism. Omole has nothing to say to the emerging movement in the American working class, to which he is in reality profoundly hostile. His pathetic and impotent response, in line with his promotion of Stalins pact with Hitler, is to advocate a letter-writing campaign to make moral appeals to Americas would-be Fuhrer. He tweeted: Send your letters demanding Freedom for Nicolas Maduro Moros and Cilia Flores directly to President Donald J. Trump, seeking to divert US workers away from class struggle and toward appeals to the Democratic Party, Congress and the imperialist state. In reality, events themselves are vindicating Trotskys theory of Permanent Revolution. The international upsurge of working class struggleseven as the Bolivarian regime capitulates to Trump with the support of Stalinists like Omoleis the objective basis of a world revolutionary policy. In the epoch of imperialism, the struggle against imperialist domination and for democracy cannot be left to the bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie in countries of belated capitalist development are corrupt, tied to imperialism by a thousand threads, and incapable of realizing the progressive tasks carried out by the great bourgeois-democratic revolutions in the 18th century. These tasks fall to the revolutionary movement in the working class, fighting to take power and use the resources of the world economy to build socialism, a society in which economic resources are used for social needs, not private profit. Omoles defence of Stalin and his support for Rodriguezs collaboration with CIA underscores the urgency of building a Trotskyist revolutionary leadership, sections of the International Committee of the Fourth International in every country. The statements of Omole are, on the other hand, a warning as to the defeats and crimes towards which he is leading those that would place their faith in the CPMK. Recent reports in the Australian press have exposed that the federal Labor governments housing policies are not only failing to address the national affordability crisis, but are actually driving home prices further out of reach. Internal Treasury documents cited last month by the Australian reveal that Labor knew its expansion of the First Home Buyers scheme would increase housing prices by far more than the 0.6 percent publicly stated by the government. In fact, in just the last three months of last year, the price of homes eligible for the scheme rose by 3.6 percent, compared with 2.4 percent for ineligible homes. House under construction in Manly, Queensland [Photo by Orderinchaos via Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0 The scheme allows first home buyers to take out a mortgage with just a 5 percent deposit, rather than the standard 20 percent, without paying for costly Lenders Mortgage Insurance. The federal government guarantees the remaining 15 percent, insulating banks from additional risk, while allowing them to reap the rewards of writing more and larger home loans. Labors eligibility changes, which commenced in October, scrapped income tests, removed the limit on how many buyers could enter the scheme and significantly raised the property price capswhich vary regionallyto bring them in line with soaring median housing prices. In 1980, the average home price in Australias eight state and territory capital cities was $59,000, while the average salary was $13,500, according to Integrity Finance Australia. The median capital city house price has now skyrocketed to over $1.1 million, a rise of almost 1,800 percent, while average annual wages have increased by just 450 percent to $74,100. According to the PropTrack Housing Affordability Report 2025, 43 percent of homes sold in 202021 were affordable for median-income households. Today, a typical household can afford only 15 percent of houses sold in Australia. Since Labors expansion of the First Home Buyers scheme, prices of lower-cost homes, under the eligibility cap, have risen 50 percent more than those of more-expensive properties, according to data analytics firm Cotality. In Perth, Western Australia, eligible home prices jumped 8.4 percent while ineligible homes rose 7.3 percent in that three-month period. In Sydney, the price of eligible homes rose 2.3 percent, while those priced above the $1.5 million capthe highest in the countryactually declined in value, albeit by just 0.1 percent. The 3.6 percent national average increase means that a house or unit valued at $500,000 in Octoberalready a rarity in most of the major capitalshas since increased in price by $1,384 a week, almost equivalent to the national median wage. One prospective first home buyer told the Australian Financial Review (AFR), It feels a little bit like a treadmill. Well look, and well have an idea around, all right we need to save this much money for a deposit, and then well check again six months later, and the needles moved. Significantly, the percentage of homes even eligible for the First Home Buyers scheme has dropped from 51.1 percent in August to 43.8 percent in December, due to the increase in prices. The soaring cost of housing since Labors expansion of the scheme is not an unintended consequence. It was designed to further excite the over-stimulated property market, under conditions where the vast majority of homes are already unaffordable for working people. Its intended beneficiaries are the banks and property developers, which will be able to increase their customer base without reducing profits or taking on additional risk. According to the Australian, Treasury modellingrequested only in late July 2025, after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had already announced the policy and three months before its rolloutpredicted demand would surge more than 30 percent above existing levels in the first year alone. Treasury reportedly advised that offsetting the surge in demand from the expanded First Home Buyers scheme would require the construction of an additional 18,560 homes in the schemes first year and 3,524 homes annually thereafter. These targets were never remotely achievable, as the shambolic rollout of Labors $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) makes clear. The HAFF scheme supposedly aims to build 30,000-40,000 social and affordable homes over five years, nowhere near the estimated 600,000 additional affordable properties required across the country. While the HAFF was central to Labors campaign for the May 2022 federal election, it was only actually established in November 2023. At the first official meeting of Housing Australiathe government body overseeing the HAFFon November 30 2023, The chair introduced the session by emphasising that the board were very keen to work with management to come up with a minimum viable product that could be launched on December 18, 2023, in line with the governments expectation, according to leaked board minutes cited by the AFR. The government-appointed chairs demand that the board produce a minimum viable product in less than a month illustrates Labors prioritisation of political expediency over the planning actually required to address the dire housing shortage. Despite cautions from the then Housing Australia CEO against moving too quickly, at a board meeting in December 2023 the chair pressed for publicly calling for funding applications on 15 January 2024. Another former senior Housing Australia official told the AFR, We definitely were not ready to launch in January 2024. HAFF lacked adequate staffing to process the more than 26,000 applications received in the first round of development proposals in 2024 and relied extensively on consultants to handle the workload. In addition to extending a $1.59 million contract with consultancy firm EY in January 2025, the Housing Australia board in June raised their contract with Deloitte to $5.3 million for execution supportmore than half of HAFFs $8.3 million administrative budget for the 2026 financial year. Amid the government-led deadline squeeze, Housing Australia lost 26 percent of its staff over the 12 months to August 2025. The Housing Australia chair, six of the top eight executives and other less senior staff left between June 2023 and October 2025 according to the AFR. The leaked minutes showed that while the government had reported that 279 HAFF projects had reached contractual close by the end of June, fewer than onetenthrepresenting just 3,315 homeswere ready to be funded by the end of October, let alone built. Housing Australias most-recent figures show that two years after the HAFFs establishment, just 889 homes have been completed and only 9,501 are under construction. The fraudulent character of Labors claim to be addressing the housing crisis is further exposed by the fact that while the federal Labor government celebrates the construction of homes at the pathetic rate of a few hundred a year, state Labor governments are destroying public housing at a far more rapid pace. The Victorian state Labor government is in the process of demolishing 44 public housing towers in Melbourne, which will displace some 10,000 poor and working-class residents, many of them elderly, from their homes and communities. The transparent purpose is to free up valuable inner-city land for property developers. The New South Wales Labor government has begun the eviction of more than 3,000 people from the Waterloo South housing estates in Sydney, with the same agenda. The housing crisis is one of the starkest expressions of the reality of capitalism. While masses of people cannot afford a decent home or are driven into poverty by surging rents and mortgages, the profits of the banks and property developers soar. The alternative is a fight for socialism. The working class must take political power and reorganise society to meet its needs. The banks and the corporations should be placed under public ownership and democratic workers control, to make societys vast resources, currently monopolised by the wealthy elite, available to fund social necessities. To address the housing shortage, a massive public works program must be undertaken to build high-quality housing, with decent wages and conditions for workers. On Monday morning, ICE and other federal agents raided the Amazon facility in Hazel Park, part of an escalating series of actions in Southeastern Michigan. Sources confirm the arrest of one person, Edwin Romero Guttierez, a Venezuelan national. ICE agents take a worker from inside the Amazon facility in Hazel Park, Michigan, February 2, 2026. [Photo: Detroit Metro News] A video posted on Instagram by the Metro Detroit News shows the interior of the Amazon facility during the raid. One individual, apparently Romero Guttierez, is shown surrounded by four or five agents. Comments on the video were overwhelmingly hostile to ICE. We have to stand against this, one worker wrote. Another commented, Why would Amazon allow them on the premises? Another declared that the whole shift shouldve walked out with [Guttierez]. According to ICE, as reported by the Detroit Free Press, Romero Guttierez entered the United States in 2023, at which time he was arrested by Border Patrol. ICE agents claim that they attempted to pull Guttierez over in his vehicle on Monday, and he attempted to flee by car and then on foot, before entering the Amazon warehouse. ICE also stated that a security guard at Amazon permitted agents to enter the facility to make the arrest. It is unknown at this time whether ICE made additional arrests at the facility. There is still much that is not known about Guttierezs arrest, and nothing ICE says can be believed. However, ICE has not alleged that Romero Guttierez has committed any crime that could justify his arrest, as living in the US without documentation is not a crime, and entry into the US without inspection can be a misdemeanor. The report from ICE on the arrest treats Romero Guttierezs 2023 arrest when he entered the United States as particularly relevant to Mondays arrest. However, he was clearly released from immigration custody after this initial arrest, demonstrating that Border Patrol did not consider him a threat. The arrest in Hazel Park is part of a campaign of state-sponsored terror across the United States, including the murder of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, which has sparked mass protests. While the Democrats are trying to present tactical maneuvers on the part of Trump as a retreat, the administration is in fact continuing ICE raids throughout the country, including in Minneapolis itself. Romero Guttierez, as an undocumented immigrant, would have been acutely aware of his precarious legal status and personal safety when confronted by immigration agents. As of this writing, it is unclear whether the security guard who permitted ICE entry to the premises was under direct instructions from Amazon to cooperate with immigration operations. Amazon and Jeff BezosAmazons largest individual shareholder and the worlds fourth richest person, with a net worth of $253 billionhave deep ties to the Trump regime. Amazon donated $1 million to Trumps 2025 Presidential Inaugural Committee, and Bezos is actively allying himself with the Trump administration. Amazon is slated to slash 16,000 jobs, on top of the 14,000 jobs cut in late 2025, as it uses advances in technology to implement a jobs massacre. More than 2,000 Amazon jobs have already been eliminated in the Seattle, Washington area. Amazon made $56.4 billion in profits in the first nine months of 2025. Hazel Park, a working class suburb of Detroit, has a population of approximately 15,000, more than 97 percent of whom are US citizens. Approximately 4.5 percent of Hazel Park residents were born outside the United States, lower than the Michigan average of 7.4 percent. However, as ICE has made repeatedly clear, its mission is not that of immigration enforcement but as a federal occupying force aimed at suppressing the working class. ICE operations in Michigan have increased in recent weeks. In late January, federal agents abducted at least four immigrant parents while they were waiting to pick up their children from school in Ypsilanti. The operations were carried out with such secrecy and violence that the local school district issued warnings urging students to walk in groups and use trusted carpools. Earlier in the month, three immigrants were arrested during a traffic stop in Sterling Heights, one of many such routine encounters now used to detain and deport people with no criminal background. ICE has also reportedly been sighted near Canton, Royal Oak and other cities in Southeastern Michigan. According to the most recent available data, ICE arrests in Michigan more than doubled in 2025, reaching 2,349, a staggering 230 percent increase from the previous year. Nearly three-quarters of those arrested had no prior criminal history. Many were seized in everyday settings: at green card interviews, on the way to work, near schools and in their own homes. Agents now frequently wear plain clothes, refuse to identify themselves and operate in unmarked vehicles. In one case last fall, a Honduran immigrant with a US citizen spouse and two children was abducted during his morning commute. There is mounting public resistance to this campaign of terror. Protests, marches and school walkouts have taken place in Ann Arbor, Detroit, Traverse City and other cities. On February 4, thousands of students in the Canton and Plymouth school districts are planning to walk out in solidarity with their immigrant classmates and families. The change in the SALT deduction applies to taxpayers who itemize deductions on Schedule A, meaning some taxpayers who claimed the standard deduction last year might want to itemize when filing 2025 returns. They'll need to run their own numbers. She referred to benefits that include the tax deductions for tip income, overtime pay, interest paid on auto loans, the additional deduction for senior citizens, as well as the increased maximum deduction for state and local taxes. National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins warned in her report issued Wednesday, Jan. 28, that the deductions and benefits are subject to complex eligibility rules, income thresholds, and phaseouts that will be difficult for many taxpayers to understand and for the IRS to administer accurately during the filing season. Don't kid yourself into thinking that claiming many new tax breaks will be simple. Or that everyone will automatically get or even qualify for some well-publicized tax break on tips, overtime, car loan interest or a bonus for being a senior. Some tax changes only took hold in 2026, such as one involving charitable deductions, so they won't apply to 2025 tax returns. Many other new tax breaks, though, are retroactive for all of 2025 and must be reported when you file your 2025 tax returns this year. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act made more than 100 changes to the tax code, according to a new report by the National Taxpayer Advocate. And we're talking about some extremely detailed rules that could trip taxpayers when filing 2025 federal income tax returns. At the same time, though, some tax filers could see refund delays if they're not careful with all the extra paperwork associated with some new attractive tax deductions, including one on new car loan interest . It's expected that we're looking at up to $100 billion more in tax refunds that will head into bank accounts on top of the $328.88 billion refunded to U.S. taxpayers in 2025. Millions of people could face smaller tax bills, too. Last year, the Internal Revenue Service processed more than 165 million individual income tax returns and about 63% of those taxpayers received refunds. The average refund amount was $3,167. Many people will be thrilled to see larger-than-usual federal income tax refunds some may end up $500 to $1,000 bigger than a year ago thanks to several new changes in the tax rules, including special tax deductions on overtime and an extra bonus deduction for many taxpayers age 65 and older. It's likely to turn into one wild and wonky tax season. Story Continues The new deductions, including those for tip income, seniors and overtime, oddly enough, could apply if you qualify, to taxpayers who claim the standard deduction, as most people do, as well as a much smaller group that itemizes deductions, such as mortgage interest, on a Schedule A. Key 2026 tax tip: You must file a brand new tax form called Schedule 1-A to claim tax breaks on tips, overtime, car loan interest, and an enhanced deduction for those age 65 and older. In case you missed it: IRS faces big tax season challenges, report says. What about my refund? Many like to think their tax software will handle it, but you need to know the rules, plug in the right information, and carefully type in the correct numbers, such as adding a 17-digit VIN or vehicle identification number to Schedule 1-A to prove the new car or truck you bought last year was assembled in the United States if you claim a deduction for "No Tax on Car Loan Interest." Many will spend far more time doing their taxes We are not heading anywhere close to tax simplification. It's a "clear step in the direction of increased complexity," says George Smith, a CPA with Andrews Hooper Pavlik in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Need some numbers? Filing a Form 1040, essentially has grown from two pages several years ago to at least four pages for 2025 if you're adding in a new Schedule 1-A, as many people will be doing to claim the new additional deductions for categories labeled as "no tax on tips," "no tax on overtime," "no tax on car loan interest" and the "enhanced deduction for seniors." And you can climb to nine pages, Smith, said, if you need to include other forms. "In my opinion, changes this significant and complicated have not arisen since President (Ronald) Reagans Tax Reform Act of 1986," Smith said. Maybe, some say, we don't need to go quite that far back to find a tax season packed with a fair share of turmoil. The 2021 and 2022 tax filing seasons faced plenty of complications with all the additional COVID-19 stimulus provisions, according to Mark Luscombe, principal analyst for Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting in Riverwoods, Illinois. Even so, Luscombe acknowledged that this year we're not only dealing with some key tax changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, but also are up against reduced staffing levels at the IRS, which may add some frustration this season. How much more time you will need to do your taxes in 2026 and the intensity of your headaches will vary based on how you make your money and where. "If you're a middle-income, middle-aged worker with only wage and salary income, your taxes probably won't change that much from what they've been," said Alex Muresianu, senior policy analyst for the Tax Foundation. But if you're working in an occupation where you received tip income or overtime in 2025, your taxes are likely to be more complicated and take more time to do, he said. The same's true, Muresianu said, if you're one of the millions of taxpayers who now will find it more advantageous to itemize rather than take the standard deduction on 2025 federal income tax returns. "Then, your taxes probably change a good bit," Muresianu said. The Tax Foundation estimates there will be 23.9 million itemizers which is roughly 6.9 million more itemizers than would be predicted under the previous tax rules. Significant changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, on the whole, will make completing and filing an individual income tax return more complex than it has been in the years since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which overall made many reforms that simplified the tax code, Muresianu said. A glimpse at long list of rules for claiming a tax break on car loan interest Collins gave one example that is of particular interest to the Motor City the long list of requirements that must be met for a taxpayer to claim a shiny, brand new deduction on 2025 returns for interest paid on auto loans. Here we go: The vehicle must be new. Used car purchases do not qualify. The new car, truck or SUV must have been bought for personal use. Lease payments do not qualify. The new car loan must have originated after Dec. 31, 2024. The loan must be secured by a lien on the vehicle. The vehicle must carry a gross vehicle weight rating of less than 14,000 pounds. The vehicle identification number must be included on the tax return. The loan must not have been obtained from a related party. Borrowing money from Mom or Dad and paying them back with interest will not count. The vehicle must have undergone final assembly in the United States. Most people don't pay $10,000 in interest on their car loans each year, unless maybe they bought two pricey vehicles in 2025. But the deduction is capped at $10,000. And well-off taxpayers might only be able to claim a partial deduction or no deduction at all. The deduction on car loan interest begins to phase out for taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income above $100,000 for single taxpayers and above $200,000 for married filing jointly taxpayers. The phaseout takes place at a rate of 20% for each additional dollar of income. No deduction is available for single filers with a modified adjusted gross income that is more than $150,000 and $250,000 for married couples filing a joint return. And other changes in the tax law have similarly complex requirements, according to Collins. Such changes, Collins warns, are likely to create taxpayer confusion, generate more taxpayer calls to the IRS, and potentially result in errors that will lead to refund delays. Here's a look at other tax changes that could throw you for a loop: What is that 1099-DA that just showed up at my door? This tax season, taxpayers might be receiving a 1099-DA relating to cryptocurrency and digital assets for the first time ever. The forms should be sent by Feb. 17. For 2025, Luscombe said, digital asset brokers are only required to report gross proceeds from digital asset transactions, including using digital assets to buy goods and services. In 2025, he said, taxpayers are likely to be required to calculate the cost basis on their own and come up with the records to do those calculations. You might be required to recognize a taxable gain from such transactions. Why are people talking about SALT? No, we're not obsessed here with icy roads or miserable winters at least not when it comes to federal income tax returns for 2025. Instead, SALT refers to a new relaxed cap on the deduction for certain state and local taxes that you paid in 2025. But this tax break only comes into play if you choose to itemize your tax deductions, instead of claiming the standard deduction. The SALT cap increases to $40,000 for 2025 up from $10,000 in 2024. The maximum deduction phases down at higher income levels starting at $500,000 in adjusted gross income for 2025 and the benefit of the higher cap will phase out. But O'Saben noted the SALT deduction doesn't go below $10,000. Confusion is likely to crop up, O'Saben said, when some people think they'd qualify for $40,000 automatically. "You must itemize; many taxpayers still take the standard deduction, so the bigger cap doesnt help them," O'Saben said. The standard deduction for 2025 for a married couple filing a joint return is $31,500. It is $15,750 for a single filer or a married couple filing separately. O'Saben noted that taxpayers over the $500,000 income threshold in 2025 can see the cap reduced but still might get a decent break. And many people, he said, often do not realize that the cap wont drop below $10,000. Plenty of homeowners with solid property taxes, as well as state income taxes, can now exceed $10,000 in 2025, O'Saben said. For more taxpayers, it could be worthwhile to review whether they'd be better off itemizing their deductions. Muresianu, of the Tax Foundation, said policies that shape the decision to itemize primarily to raising the cap on the SALT deduction from $10,000 to $40,000 in 2025 should lead to about 6.9 million more individuals nationwide who opt to itemize deductions instead of taking a simpler route by taking the standard deduction. Jessica Newport, a certified public accountant and manager for Andrews Hooper Pavlik in Bloomfield Hills, said the expanded SALT deduction is reduced by 30% of the amount by which modified adjusted gross income exceeds $500,000 in 2025. The $500,000 threshold applies to both married couples filing joint and those filing as single, while a $250,000 threshold applies to married taxpayers filing separately. The maximum SALT deduction is capped at $20,000 per person for married couples who file separately. A new worksheet is included with the Schedule A for 2025 to assist with these calculations. Yet she, too, suggests that taxpayers could end up confused by several points when it comes to the increased maximum deduction for SALT in 2025. Calculating the phaseout and when it applies, for example, could prove difficult for some taxpayers. "Misunderstanding could lead to errors," Newport said. Many taxpayers, Newport added, adopted the standard deduction after the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act increased the standard deduction and eliminated or restricted many itemized deductions starting in 2018. "The new, higher cap may make itemizing more valuable, but determining if total deductions exceed the standard deduction will require calculation," Newport said. The higher SALT cap is temporary, though, and currently the maximum is set to fall back to the $10,000 limit in total in 2030. Why is my tax refund bigger? The tax changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act went into law July 4 but remember, many are retroactive back to January 2025. "Overall, we estimate the major tax changes for 2025 will lead to an average tax cut of $611, or a 0.8% increase in after-tax income," said Garrett Watson, director of policy analysis at the nonpartisan Tax Foundation. "Middle- and upper-middle income groups will see the largest share of filers with a tax cut," Watson said. "Lower-income filers with little to no tax liability do not benefit, while the very highest-income taxpayers are ineligible to benefit from most of the new tax cuts due to income limits. The Tax Foundation noted that the IRS did not adjust withholding tables after the law passed. As a result, your paycheck likely continued to withhold more taxes than the new law required. When filing a 2025 tax return, many will benefit from a $200 increase to the maximum child tax credit and seeing the standard deduction go up by $750 for single filers and $1,500 for married couples filing a joint return, based on changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. "Instead of gradually receiving the benefit of the tax cuts through higher take-home pay during the year, most taxpayers will receive it all at once when they file their returns," the Tax Foundation noted in a Jan. 15 report. Beginning in 2026, though, withholding tables will reflect changes so that taxpayers receive many tax cuts through higher take-home pay going forward. Contact personal finance columnist Susan Tompor: stompor@freepress.com. Follow her on X @tompor. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: IRS warns new tax rules may delay refunds despite larger savings The coalition agreement for a future Dutch government unveiled on January 30 is no national compromise, as hailed by the bourgeois press, but a calibrated document by the Dutch ruling elite declaring class war following last Octobers snap elections. It is the Dutch expression of a continentwide reorganisation of capitalist rule around permanent war, authoritarianism and a frontal assault on the working class. Rob Jetten (D66), the deisgnated Dutch prime minister [Photo by Martijn Beekman / D66] It is the outcome of nearly 100 days of postelection maneuvering. The Democrats 66 (D66), the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and the Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) have cobbled together a right-wing minority cabinet commanding just 66 of 150 seats in the Tweede Kamer. The future government rests not on popular support but on the backing of finance capital, big business and the imperialist alliances that determine Dutch foreign and domestic policy. Under the title Getting to WorkBuilding a Better Netherlands, the 67page pact binds Dutch capitalism more tightly to NATOs global war drive and the European Unions accelerating rearmament, while at the same time enshrining a domestic programme of austerity measures and state repression. Central to the agreement is the socalled Vrijheidsbijdrage, the freedom contributiona euphemism for a war tax imposed on the working population. Marketed as a shared national effort, the levy on incomes is expected to fund roughly 5 billion annually, each euro earmarked specifically for military and security spending, pressing ahead with the course of the previous government of Dick Schoof. Defence expenditure is expected to climb from around 2 percent of GDP to nearly 3 percent by 2030, reaching approximately 3.5 percent by 2035 in line with NATO and EU directives. This escalation mirrors the remilitarisation sweeping across Europe. Under the NATO Defence Investment Pledge and EU structures, such as PESCO and the European Defence Fund, every member state is binding its budgetary policy to the requirements of war. Just days ago, the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz declared that Europe must learn to speak the language of power politics, a formula also embraced by The Hague as it transforms the Netherlands into an indispensable node of the European military machine. The primary beneficiaries of this vast transfer of public wealth are the major arms consortiumsRheinmetall, Thales, Lockheed Martin and their Dutch equivalents and subcontractorswhile the working class foots the bill through social cuts and regressive taxation. D66 leader and incoming Prime Minister Rob Jetten, who was swept to power by a surprise win, celebrates this as a new direction and an investment in freedom. In fact, it is a transfer of social wealth to imperialist war preparations under an Orwellian slogan that forces workers to pay for the freedom of capital to wage wars abroad and suppress dissent at home. The economic core of the new coalition agreement is defined by a new 2 percent of GDP deficit ceilingstricter than the EUs Maastricht criterionpromoted as ensuing predictability for investors. This selfimposed straitjacket institutionalises a permanent regime of austerity. Key suggested measures include the shortening of unemployment benefits from two years to one, pushing the jobless into cheap, insecure temporary job contracts, currently filled by half by nonEU migrant labour. Also, the statutory pension age (AOW) is expected to rise further and from 2033 be automatically tied to life expectancy, forcing aging workers to remain in often grueling jobs regardless of declining health. Furthermore, the healthcare deductible (eigen risico) is to rise from 385 to 460 by 2027, while targeted allowances are abolished, shifting the burden of medical costs onto working class households. These are not technical adjustments but deliberate instruments of austerity aimed at transferring social wealth to capital, expanding the reserve army of precarious labour and intimidating potential resistance. The same class logic governs the coalitions muchtrumpeted investment in education and research. In the wake of student protests last December against the planned 1.2 billion cuts to higher education, the redirection of an almost equivalent sum is portrayed as proof that the government is investing in the future. In fact, the money is tightly ringfenced for universities and research institutes tasked with bolstering the knowledge economy in sectors the agreement designates as strategic technologies: artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, semiconductors and data infrastructure. These fields are intimately bound up with surveillance, trade and technology wars, military logistics and weapons systems. Dutch universities and tech firms were exposed for their involvement in projects linked to the genocide in Gaza, drawing thousands to last years Red Line demonstrations in The Hague and Amsterdam. The coalition openly defines digitalisation as a strategic instrument that directly shapes national security, economic strength and the democratic rule of law and calls for the rapid implementation of EU cybersecurity rules, stronger central governance of cyber policy, an expansion of offensive and defensive cyber capabilities and a broadened legal framework for data sharing between state and private actors under the pretext of early threat detection. In practice, this means integrating universities, tech companies and communications providers ever more deeply into an intelligencesecurity complex in which digital resilience and cyber defence serve as pretexts for mass surveillance, data collection and repression. On the burning issues confronting the Dutch working classabove all, the housing crisis and the rising cost of livingthe coalition offers only empty phrases and inducements to capital. In fact, it rejects social housing construction, refuses rent caps and shields rent sharks. Developers are granted incentives to build where returns are highest, perpetuating chronic shortages in affordable housing (currently at 400,000 housing units) resulting in soaring rents that are already driving broad layers of youth and workers out of the major cities. Parallel to this, the agreement places economic resilience and competitiveness at its centre, signalling further deregulation, weakened labour protections and an even more flexible labour market. This dovetails with the restructuring strategies of corporations across Europe, including mass layoffs and accelerated automation in logistics, manufacturing and services, as seen in the wave of industrial job cuts in Germany over the winter months. On migration, the coalition refrains from adopting the full arsenal of openly racist measures demanded by Geert Wilders far-right Party of Freedom (PVV), whose calculated move over asylum policy helped precipitate the previous governments collapse. Yet, the new programme continues and deepens the repressive trajectory of recent years. Migration is framed not as a question of war, poverty and imperialist plunder driving people from their homes but as a problem of order, capacity and control within Fortress Europe. The agreement calls for tougher procedures, stricter conditions and expanded powers for border and immigration authorities, presented as unavoidable measures to safeguard social cohesion. In reality, this normalises the far rights criminalisation of refugees through supposedly centrist language, while the true causes of social crisisdecades of austerity, housing speculation and the diversion of resources to military spendingare concealed. In this backdrop, the scapegoating of refugees and migrant workers will continue to serve as a crucial political function in diverting popular discontent away from the capitalist system itself and seeking to fracture the class unity of Dutch and immigrant workers, the latter comprising 30 percent of the nearly 10 million-strong workforce. The reaction of the official left and the trade union bureaucracies demonstrates that no genuine opposition to this right-wing agenda exists within the existing parliamentary framework. The leadership of the newly merged GroenLinksPvdA issued ritual criticisms of the coalitions social cuts and its inadequate climate policy, promising to fight for a more social and greener Netherlands in parliament but accepting without question the 2 percent deficit ceiling, the integration of the Netherlands into NATOs war plans and the subordination of all social needs to fiscal sustainability. The Socialist Party (SP) denounces the freedom contribution as unfair to ordinary people and condemns the shortening of unemployment benefits, yet offers no perspective beyond appeals to protect purchasing power within the parameters laid down by big business and the state. The trade union confederations FNV and CNV, for their part, respond with carefully worded statements of concern about pensions, health costs and working conditions, coupled with calls for dialogue and fair burdensharing with the government that is imposing them. They explicitly reject any serious political mobilisation against the war budget and austerity, remaining wedded to their cooperationist role as partners in consultation with the government and employers. These positions replicate the role played by pseudoleft parties and union bureaucracies across Europe and internationally that channel popular anger into parliamentary avenues, legitimising the rearmament and austerity programmes of their own ruling classes and paving the way for the fascistic far right. The course of the new Dutch coalition government forms one link in the global chain of imperialist reaction. In Germany, the ruling coalition has allocated over a trillion euros for armament and military infrastructure and has taken preliminary measures to reintroduce conscription. In a similar process the incoming Dutch government wants to increase the strength of the Dutch army from 70,000 to 122,000. Britain and Frances record military spending is likewise fused with attacks on pensions, wages and democratic rights. In the US the Trump administration has escalated war preparations against Russia, China and Iran alongside mass layoffs coupled with autocratic measures across major US cities. Thus, Dutch developments closely follow the imperialist agenda of Berlin, Paris and London. The minority character of the new cabinet, its dependence on fragile parliamentary alliances testify to the advanced crisis of bourgeois rule. With democratic institutions hollowed out, austerity weaponised, and militarism normalised, the Dutch model is collapsing under the same contradictions afflicting the entire European order. No appeal to the coalition parties, to GroenLinksPvdA, the SP or the union bureaucracy will alter this downward trajectory. All of these forces accept the inviolability of private property, the nationstate system and the imperialist alliances that generate war, austerity and genocide. Their collaboration has opened the door for the far right and prepared the conditions for deeper authoritarian reaction and social counter revolution. The only viable way forward lies in the conscious, independent and international mobilisation of the working class within the Netherlands, across Europe and worldwide on the basis of a socialist programme that links the fight against war, austerity and authoritarianism to the abolition of capitalist property relations. This requires the building of rankandfile committees in workplaces, schools and neighborhoods to coordinate upcoming strikes and mass protests against the ruling class that has declared intensified class war, unifying Dutch and migrant workers in a common struggle. It demands the forging of international links with workers resisting the same attacks across the border in Germany, France and beyond. Above all, it necessitates the construction of a new revolutionary leadership, based on the programme of the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI), to arm the emerging movement of the working class with a clear perspective: the fight for workers power and a socialist reorganisation of society, redirecting the vast resources now squandered on militarism and profit into housing, healthcare, education, culture and the protection of democratic rights. Only in this way can the working class in the Netherlands and internationally put an end to the war policies, austerity and authoritarianism embodied in the new Dutch coalition and open the road to genuine equality and human emancipation. A four-day partial US government shutdown is now over after the House of Representatives gave final approval Tuesday to a funding measure and President Trump signed it into law. Im thrilled to sign the consolidated appropriations act to immediately re-open the federal government, Trump said in the Oval Office late Tuesday afternoon. The vote in the House came down to the wire, ending with a tally of 217-214. After a day of arm-twisting, Republicans unified on a key procedural step earlier in the day, which set up the narrow bipartisan vote where 196 Republicans joined 21 Democrats to push the measure over the line and send it to White House. Tuesday's vote follows the Senate's 71-29 passage of the measure last week and a White House pressure campaign that brought House Republican holdouts into the fold. The bill contains five spending measures while delaying a final decision on funding the Department of Homeland Security until next week. Trump's signature means that key government functions will reopen soon but only after a delay in the January jobs report was announced on Monday. The Job Openings and Labor Turnover survey (JOLTs) for December 2025 was also scheduled to be released on Tuesday, but was likewise delayed. President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House on Feb. 3 before signing a spending bill to end a partial shutdown of the federal government. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) ASSOCIATED PRESS All told, funding for departments, including the Pentagon, State, Transportation, and others, will be authorized until Sept. 30 once the deal is enacted. Other areas in focus for markets from the Federal Aviation Administration to the Internal Revenue Service would be able to fully come back online, with minimal disruptions expected. The politically charged funding for the Department of Homeland Security will be on a separate track, with funding extended only until Feb. 13. A fierce debate is expected over new restrictions for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in particular. The movement on the bill came after President Trump himself stepped in to get his party in line. "There can be NO changes at this time," Trump posted on Truth Social Monday before meetings and calls that led Republican opposition to largely crumble. Read more: How a government shutdown would impact your money: Student loans, Social Security, investments, and more Two key GOP holdouts were Anna Paulina Luna of Florida and Tim Burchett of Tennessee, who had been looking to attach a separate election bill to the package. They backed down, they said, after a White House meeting Monday evening that gave them assurance that their bill could be addressed separately. "Rep. Luna and myself are now willing to allow that to happen," Burchett told reporters of the key vote to approve a rule for debate and a final vote on the bill. UK tofu business The Tofoo Co has struck a deal to buy German seitan-products supplier Topas. The Tofoo Co, backed by private-equity firm Comitis Capital, is adding seitan to a range centred on tofu and tempeh. Topas, based close to Stuttgart, manufactures seitan products, which it markets under the Wheaty brand in Germany, as well as in Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands. The company, which employs more than 100 staff, reported turnover of 14m ($16.6m) in its most recent financial year, a statement from The Tofoo Co said. The Tofoo Co said it plans to accelerate growth of the Wheaty brand in Germany and look to expand the international distribution of the products. The company will seek to unlock new opportunities for Wheaty in the UK. The Tofoo Co is planning to launch its products in Germany this year. David Knibbs, The Tofoo Cos CEO, said: Wheaty has an exceptional heritage and reputation within organic plant-based products. We see huge potential to build on this strong base, grow the brand further across Europe and introduce exciting new opportunities in the UK. This partnership also gives us strong roots in Germany as we bring The Tofoo Co to the market. The deal will see Topas founded in 1993 by Klaus Gaiser and his wife Sanni Ikola-Gaiser get a new managing director. Organic-industry executive Sebastian von Eltz will assume the position. Topass current MDs Klaus and Miikka Gaiser will stay on. Klaus will focus on product development, with Miikka leading production and organisational matters. In the statement, Klaus Gaiser said: Finding the right home for the business was incredibly important to us. The Tofoo Co and its shareholders align with our values, our commitment to organic quality and our belief in doing things the right way. They are good stewards of the business and there are many obvious areas for collaboration, particularly in bringing better-for-you, natural products to more people across Germany and the UK. Felix Jauch, principal at Comitis Capital, described the deal as a highly strategic and complementary acquisition for The Tofoo Co. He said: Topas brings deep expertise in organic seitan-based products, and a strong manufacturing and brand presence in Germany, enhancing The Tofoo Cos existing platform and providing a strong local foundation at the heart of Europe. Comitis Capital invested in The Tofoo Co two years ago. Knibbs acquired the business in 2016 alongside Lydia Smith. "The Tofoo Co snaps up German seitan firm Topas" was originally created and published by Just Food, a GlobalData owned brand. Tyler Technologies (TYL) announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire For The Record, a digital court-recording pioneer with over 30 years of experience as a trusted category innovator. The transaction, which has a cash purchase price of approximately $212.5M, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. For The Records SaaS solutions offer sophisticated, secure, and accurate digital recordings that solve operational challenges and industry demands in all 50 U.S. states and around the world, in an industry facing a declining number of court reporters. For The Record has advanced its platform to include legal grade speech-to-text and real-time, multilingual transcription technology powered by artificial intelligence. Its proprietary, cloud-enabled software is specifically designed for the complexities of todays courtrooms, the company stated. Published first on TheFly the ultimate source for real-time, market-moving breaking financial news. Try Now>> See todays best-performing stocks on TipRanks >> Read More on TYL: Disclaimer & DisclosureReport an Issue NEED TO KNOW Aquarabia is Saudi Arabias first water theme park and will open next to Six Flags Qiddiya City The waterpark is home to the worlds tallest and longest water coaster, the Junoon Drop, along with multiple other record-breaking attractions The park will have a total of 22 rides and attractions, as well as eight themed areas Another thrilling amusement park is set to break world records when it opens in Saudi Arabia soon. Located next to the brand new Six Flags Qiddiya City about 40 minutes outside the countrys capital city of Riyadh Aquarabia is the first water theme park in the country and will boast the worlds largest water coaster. Advertisement Advertisement According to the parks website, the Junoon Drop will be the worlds tallest and longest water coaster with gravity-defying thrills. The ride is described as starting with an exhilarating uphill blast, followed by navigating dark and light turns, a mega drop, and a twisting flume with dazzling AquaLucent stripes, ending in a high-banking 180-degree turn. Rendering for Aquarabia Six Flags Qiddiya City Along with the Junoon Drop, the Slithereel ride is set to be the worlds longest rotating slide wheel that combines the excitement of a ferris wheel with a water slide. Other record-breaking attractions include the Speedy Jamezales, which will boast the worlds tallest Aqualoop made out of translucent fiberglass. The layout will offer an exciting ride for both thrill-seekers and spectators alike, per the parks website. Advertisement Advertisement Last but not least, riders can experience even more thrills on the Jamal Joom, which is expected to hold the title of the worlds longest mat blaster. According to a November 2025 press release, the upcoming water theme park will have a total of 22 rides and attractions, eight themed areas and Saudi Arabias first surf pool, Surftopia. While the parks website still says to stay tuned for ticket information and the parks exact opening date, local outlet Saudi Gazette reported the park will open in March 2026, according to Qiddiya Investment Companys managing director, Abdullah Al-Dawood. Six Flags is open. After Eid al-Fitr, we will open Aquarabia. Every three months, each year, something new will open, gradually shaping the city, Al-Dawood reportedly said on the television program, Fi Alsurah In the Picture, and noted the opening would happen around the Eid al-Fitr holidays. Advertisement Advertisement However, a spokesperson for Qiddiya Investment Company told PEOPLE on Feb. 2, "At this time, there has been no official announcement confirming a specific opening date for Aquarabia." They added, "Were excited about the interest surrounding the park, and encourage guests and media to stay tuned to our official channels for the latest updates and announcements as they become available." Six Flags Qiddiya City Six Flags Qiddiya City/X Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Aquarabias upcoming debut comes just a few months after Six Flags Qiddiya City had its grand opening on Wednesday, Dec. 31. Advertisement Advertisement The new amusement park is home to five record-breaking attractions, including the highly anticipated Falcons Flight. The ride the worlds tallest, fastest and longest roller coaster is considered the parks signature attraction, according to its website. Read the original article on People Originally appeared on E! Online Catherine Zeta-Jones has no regrets about leaving Hollywood. The Gallerist star offered a rare glimpse into her life in New York with husband Michael Douglas, explaining how being based on the East Coast has impacted her career as an actress. It's funny. Ive lived on the East Coast for many, many years with Michael, and it's interesting whether it's been detrimental to my career, the 56-year-old shared with People in an interview published on Feb. 2. I never quite know because I've never been in L.A. schmoozing. Advertisement Advertisement The couplewho have been married for close to 26 years and share son Dylan, 25, and daughter Carys, 22currently live 40 minutes outside of the city after selling their Westchester County home in June 2024. Despite not being based right in the Big Apple, Catherine and Michael, 81, still manage to keep up with their social circlesbut the people inside them are not what others may think. More from E! Online Advertisement Advertisement In fact, I spend more time with New York business people, Wall Street people, art people, she explained. Our friends and our people we bump into are different than I would be if I was in L.A. And that's not detrimental to L.A. and people who live there at all; it's just I swing in a few different roundabouts here in the city. Maya Dehlin Spach/WireImage Catherine and Michael have owned property all over the world, including Bermuda, the actress' native Wales in the U.K., California and the Spanish island of Majorca. In fact, when they sold their riverfront mansion in the suburban village of Irvington in Westchester back in 2024, the Wednesday actress told The Wall Street Journal they planned to spend more time in Bermuda and Europe." Rich Fury/Getty Images "When I purchased our Irvington home, I knew our family would share many happy times here, and we have," she shared at the time, adding, "Now that both our son and daughter have left the nest it seems like the right time to sell. Advertisement Advertisement The duo are not the only stars who have opted to leave Hollywood. Keep reading for more celebrities who decided to settle down outside of La La Land Ellen DeGeneres The Ellen DeGeneres Show host's eponymous talk show ended in 2022 after a 19-season run amid allegations of a toxic work environment that prompted an internal investigation, multiple firings of executives and public ire. Ellen returned to the spotlight for her final standup special For Your Approval, which released on Netflix in September 2024. During the lead-up to that special, she revealed she would be leaving Hollywood altogether. "This is the last time youre going to see me," she told a crowd during her Ellens Last StandUp tour, per SFGate. After my Netflix special, Im done." Ellen and her wife Portia de Rossi have since moved to the Cotswolds, deciding to stay put in November 2024 after Donald Trump's reelection, the talk show host told to Richard Bacon in a July 2025 conversation at the Everyman theater in Cheltenham. "It's absolutely beautiful," she gushed about the English countryside, per the BBC. "We're just not used to seeing this kind of beauty. The villages and the towns and the architectureeverything you see is charming and it's just a simpler way of life. "It's clean," Ellen continued. "Everything here is just betterthe way animals are treated, people are polite. I just love it here. We moved here in November, which was not the ideal time, but I saw snow for the first time in my life. We love it here. Portia flew her horses here, and I have chickens, and we had sheep for about two weeks." Tyra Banks One of the reasons the America's Next Top Model host moved to Australia? To stay on top of her ice cream brand. "So I have this ice cream company, SMiZE and Dream," Tyra explained on an April 2025 episode of Today with Jenna & Friends. But we've been more what we call B2B, like on an airplane and on cruises. Ive been going to Australia a lot because we were making a lot of our ice cream there in a big facility doing our recipes. And I just fell in love with it every time I went back and went back." Not only was she happy there, but she also knew it was a good market for her business. "The three countries that eat the most ice cream?" she continued. "America, New Zealand and Australia." So, the supermodel moved to Australia with her son York (his dad is her ex Erik Asla) and boyfriend Louis Belanger-Martin, noting, "Australia has been a dream come true for me and my family." Eva Longoria While it's been a minute since the Desperate Housewives star lived on Wisteria Lane, she's since found a new address IRL. "I had my whole adult life here," Eva told Marie Claire in November 2024 about leaving Los Angeles. "But even before [the pandemic], it was changing. The vibe was different. And then Covid happened, and it pushed it over the edge. Whether its the homelessness or the taxes, not that I want to s--t on Californiait just feels like this chapter in my life is done now." So for the past few years, the actress, her husband Jose Baston and their son Santiago have split their time between Mexico and Spain. "Im privileged," she continued. "I get to escape and go somewhere. Most Americans arent so lucky. Theyre going to be stuck in this dystopian country, and my anxiety and sadness is for them." However, Eva noted her move wasn't because of President Trump's re-election. "I didn't leave because of the political environment," the Flamin' Hot director said on The View: Behind the Table podcast in November 2024. "I left because my work took me there since Land of Womenshooting six months in Catalonia, then four months in Mexico for Searching for Mexico, then back to Spain. Now I've been there for years. So I just don't like that it's politicized." Since moving, Eva has continued to stay busy, with recent projects including her roles in Only Murders in the Building and Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip. Richard Gere The actor has gone from Chicago to Spain. "My wife is Spanish, and she gave me about seven years here," Richard said of Galicia native Alejandra Silva on a November 2024 episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. "And so we're going to spend some years in Madrid." He also expressed his excitement over what the move would give the couple's young sons Alexander and James. "Our kids are bilingual," Richard, who also has an adult son Homer with ex Carey Lowell, added, "so they're going to flourish there." Indeed, it seems the whole family has. "The truth is that you are seeing us in our momentum," The Agency: Central Intelligence star told Elle Espana in January 2025. "We are happier than ever." Advertisement Advertisement Christina Milian From AM to PM, the singer is living in Paris "My husband is French, and we've been together for over seven or eight years," Christina, who is married to singer Matt Pokora, said on a November 2024 episode of The Jennifer Hudson Show. "And for the last three or four years we were commuting back and forth every six months." However, they decided to officially say au revoir to the U.S. so her kidswho include daughter Violet from her former marriage with The-Dream and sons Isaiah and Kenna from her union with Mattcould study in France. "They're all going to school in Paris," she continued. "I was like, 'What better than an opportunity than that?" And life for the family appears to be magnifique. "My kids are happy there," the Dexter: Original Sin actress told E! in December 2024. "They know French. We go to the park. I have an active lifestyle that's really nice during the day. Then at night time, I do my work because I work hours ahead. It's a nice, healthy balance for me." Lindsay Lohan Lindsay is tired of rumors starting about why she left Los Angeles. So, she set the record straight while looking back at her hectic work schedule and partying in the aughts. "I feel like some of [my work] got overshadowed by paparazzi and all that kind of stuff when I was younger, and thats kind of annoying," The Parent Trap alum told Bustle in March 2024. "I wish that part didnt happen. I feel like that kind of took on a life of its own. So thats why I wanted to disappear. I was like, 'Unless theres no story here, theyre not going to focus on just my work.'" Lindsay moved abroadfirst to London then to Dubai (also opening beach clubs in Greece). However, there was another reason she sought a life away from the spotlight. "I was like, 'What if I never fall in love? What if this never happens?'" the Mean Girls star added. "And it took me just taking time for me for all those doors to open and the yeses to comethe things I wanted to say 'yes' to." Of course, Lindsay did find love with Bader Shammas, the pair marrying in 2022 and welcoming son Luai the following year. They still live in Dubai, but the Freaky Friday actress hasn't left the Hollywood industry completely, starring in movies like Our Little Secret, Irish Wish and Freakier Friday. Josh Hartnett For Josh, the decision to leave Hollywood came after some self-reflection. "Hollywood is more than a place; it's like a state of mind," the Black Mirror actor told People in July 2024. "If you're around people who are constantly talking about the movie business, your life is going to be pretty much one note. And I've never wanted that." Instead, he wanted more. "I've always wanted to be around ... people generally doing lots of other things that would bring my mind off of my work and force me to grow in different directions," Josh added. "To me, that's the spice of life." So, the Black Hawk Down alum, his wife Tamsin Egerton and their four kids moved to England's Hampshire countryside. "Time passes quickly," he told The Guardian in July 2024. "With four children, you have so much to do. In a way, less is happening. But more of the important stuff is happening." Still, Josh has stayed plenty busy and landed roles in Verity, Fight or Flight and Trap. Jesse Eisenberg If you haven't checked your social network lately, then you might not know that Jesse doesn't live in L.A. "Ive lived in Indiana for the last decade on-and-off," the A Real Pain star told CBS News Sunday Morning in February 2025. "Thats where I feel the most comfortable. Im not somebody who wants to surround myself in an industry that just feels kind of unstable to me." And while he's an Oscar nominee, he lives a pretty normal life with his wife Anna Strout and son Banner. "I'm not on social media, and I'm not a person who's on the phone with industry people all the time," Jesse also shared. "So, my life feels pretty separate. My wife is a teacher. My kid doesn't really even watch movies. So, I'm not like knee-deep in the world of constantly trying to assess my own status in an industry." Advertisement Advertisement Eliza Dushku Palandjian After appearing in such projects as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and 2000's Bring It On, Eliza revealed in September 2024 that she had become certified in psychedelic-assisted therapy and is furthering her studies as a mental health professional. "I had the means to shift directions and choose a course in my life that focused on healing myself so that I could help heal others," she told Boston Magazine. "I would be remiss if I didnt now share the transformation and the peace and the passion that I have. This is just absolutely so clearly my real calling, my real purpose." Rosie O'Donnell The Flintstones star revealed that she moved to Ireland in January 2025 with her youngest child Clay and was in the process of getting her Irish citizenship as her grandparents are from the European country. But while Rosie cited recent political developments as her reason for leaving, she didnt rule out an eventual return home. "I miss my other kids," she said in a video on TikTok. "I miss my friends. I miss many things about life there at home and I'm trying to find a home here in in this beautiful country. And when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America, that's when we will consider coming back." Evangeline Lilly The Ant-Man and the Wasp star announced she's taking an indefinite hiatus from acting after 20 years in the industry. "I am so filled with joy and contentment today as I live out my vision," Evangeline wrote on Instagram in June 2024. "I feel so grateful for my blessings. Stepping away from what seems like the obvious choice (wealth and fame) can feel scary at times, but stepping into your dharma replaces the fear with fulfillment." But she isn't necessarily shutting the door, either, adding, "I might return to Hollywood one day, but, for now, this is where I belong." Ian Somerhalder The Vampire Diaries alum hasn't sunk his teeth into a new role since Netflix's 2019 series V-Wars. Instead, he has dug a little deeper into a passion project, namely his mission to combat climate change by improving the world's soil. "I stepped away from acting a little over four years ago to raise my kids, build my companies and get these films launched," Ian, who shares two children with wife Nikki Reed, told E! News in November 2023 of launching the 2020 documentary Kiss the Ground and its follow up Common Ground, each detailing the need for regenerative farming. When he looks years down the road, the actor continued, "I will be a rancher and building legacy brands, whether it's my bourbon or my health and wellness company, and the regenerative agriculture and healthy soil management practices that I live by and our family lives by. That's where my life was going. So when people say 'Why do you care?' That's why I care. Because that's who I am, that's what I'm going to become." Advertisement Advertisement Jennette McCurdy On a February 2021 episode of her podcast Empty Inside, the iCarly alum told guest Anna Faris that she decided to stop acting a few years back and is now focused on opportunities in writing and directing, in addition to hosting the podcast. "My experience with acting is, I'm so ashamed of the parts I've done in the past," revealed Jennette, who detailed her experience in her 2022 memoir I'm Glad My Mom Died. "I resent my career in a lot of ways. I feel so unfulfilled by the roles that I played and felt like it was the most cheesy, embarrassing. I did the shows that I was on from like 13 to 21, and by 15, I was already embarrassed. My friends at 15, they're not like, 'Oh, cool, you're on this Nickelodeon show.' It was embarrassing." Though she hasn't totally written off a second act. "I do feel like only through writing the book have I gotten to a place where I think there might be a way of exploring acting that doesn't carry that baggage that I carried with me for so long," she told E! News in October 2022. "Maybe if I write something for myself. I think that'd really be maybe one of the only ways I could kind of try exploring it again." Meghan Markle This felt like something of a no-brainer. If we had a shot to marry Prince Harry, dedicate our life to the philanthropic causes that matter most to us and gain access to the Queen's impressive collection of tiaras, bidding ta-ta to Tinseltown would feel like an okay sacrifice. Following the path Grace Kelly took from Hollywood to the Palace of Monaco, Meghan left behind her home in Torontoand her breakout role on Suitsfor a life in The Firm. Though, now that she and Harry have shed their senior roles and live in Montecito, Calif., she's edging back into the business thanks to business moves like their multi-year production deal with Netflix. The Duchess of Sussex released her 2022 docuseries Harry & Meghan as well as her 2025 lifestyle show With Love, Meghan on the streaming service. She's also launched podcasts and her brand As Ever. Cameron Diaz Having made upwards of 40 movies since her debut in 1994's The Mask, the actress was long overdue for a break when filming wrapped on 2014's Annie. "I just decided that I wanted different things out of my life," she explained to pal Gwyneth Paltrow of her ultimate act of self-care. "I had gone so hard for so long, working, making films and it's such a grind. When you're making a movieit's a perfect excusethey own you. You're there for 12 hours a day for months on end and you have no time for anything else." And there was plenty more she'd like to explore, from writing (she followed up her 2013 New York Times best-seller The Body Book with 2016's The Longevity Book) to starting a family with husband Benji Madden. But while Cameron confessed to InStyle in 2019, "I don't miss performing. Right now I'm looking at the landscape of wellness and all that," apparently she could be swayed into making at least one encore. "We just begged and pleased on my knees, like, 'Just give the people one more again,'" Jamie Foxx told E! News of getting Cameron to sign on for the 2025 Netflix film Back in Action. "We love her, we've been waiting on her and this is just gonna be fantastic." Terrence Howard The actor insisted there'd be no encore after he finished his five-year run on Empire. When Extra asked Terrence about his future ahead of the musical drama series' sixth and final season in 2019, he responded, "Oh, I'm done with acting. I'm done pretending." And though he returned to set for a handful of projects, the Oscar nominee again announced his plans to quit acting while promoting his Peacock series The Best Man: The Final Chapters in 2022. "I've gotten to the point where now I've given the very best that I have as an actor," he told ET. "Now I'm enjoying watching other new talent come around, and I don't want to do an impersonation of myself." Despite these comments, though, Howard has since appeared in a few more shows and movies, including the TV series Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist and Netflix film Shirley, with multiple projects lined up in the future. Advertisement Advertisement Jack Gleeson Once his time as King Joffrey came to a sudden, purple-faced end in 2014, the then-21-year-old told EW he was getting out of the game. "I've been acting since age 8," the Game of Thrones star explained of his decision. "I just stopped enjoying it as much as I used to." No longer a child star, a bit of the magic had worn off. "Now there's the prospect of doing it for a living, whereas up until now it was always something I did for recreation with my friends, or in the summer for some fun," Jack continued. "I enjoyed it. When you make a living from something, it changes your relationship with it. It's not like I hate it, it's just not what I want to do." But after a six-year break, he was ready to resume his reign, joining the cast of BBC's series Out of Her Mind in 2020. Since then, Jack has also appeared in movies like Rebecca's Boyfriend and In the Land of Saints and Sinners as well as TV shows like Safe Harbor and The Famous Five. Phoebe Cates When Fast Times at Ridgemont High's dream girl (Jennifer Aniston took on her part in September 2020's virtual table read) wed fellow actor Kevin Kline in 1989, they "agreed to alternate so that we're never working at the same time," he told Playboy of their plan to care for son Owen and daughter Greta (a singer who now goes by the stage name Frankie Cosmos). However, he continued, "whenever it's been her slot to work, Phoebe has chosen to stay with the children." Though she made a cameo in pal Jennifer Jason Leigh's 2001 indie The Anniversary Party, Cates devotes most of her time to operating her New York City boutique Blue Tree. Rick Moranis At the height of his Ghostbusters and Honey, I... fame, the '80s star stepped away from filmmaking not long after his wife passed away from breast cancer in 1991 to focus on raising his kids Rachel and Mitchell. Though Rick hasn't had a live-action movie role since 1997, even passing on a cameo in Paul Feig's 2016 Ghostbusters remake, he's remained a treasured cultural icon, as evidenced by the outrage over reports that he'd been assaulted while walking in New York City in 2020. Thankfully there's good news for fans: He'll make his triumphant return alongside Josh Gad in the forthcoming Disney reboot Shrunk. Leelee Sobieski Once she wed fashion designer Adam Kimmel in 2010, the Never Been Kissed standout hinted that she was maybe kinda done with movies. "Ninety percent of acting roles involve so much sexual stuff with other people, and I don't want to do that," she explained to Vogue. "It's such a strange fire to play with, and our relationship is surely strong enough to handle it, but if you're going to walk through fire, there has to be something incredible on the other side." Her decision was solidified after son Martin joined older sister Louisanna in 2014. "I don't do movie stuff anymore. I am totally an outsider! I am just a mom and an outsider," she noted to Us Weekly at a 2016 event, explaining that she helps Kimmel with his business and paints on the side. "I am just focused on my kids. I think that's mainly why I stopped." Advertisement Advertisement Portia de Rossi She'd done Ally McBeal. And Nip/Tuck. Then Arrested Development and finally Scandal when the Aussie realized that maybe she was ready to turn the dial. "I was approaching 45 and I just kind ofwas wondering is there something that I could tackle now that I've never done before that would be really challenging and different," she explained on wife Ellen DeGeneres' eponymous talk show in 2018. "I kind of knew what acting would look like for me for the next 10, 20 years, so I decided to quit and start a business." Her consumer-art company, General Public, already a work in progress, she had just one piece to finish. "I called Mitch Hurwitz, who's the creator of Arrested Development and I said, 'If there is a season 5, I won't be doing it because I quit acting. And he seemed really understanding and he totally got it. We had a great conversation, and then he wrote me into five episodes." Daniel Day-Lewis To be fair, once you've won three Academy Awards, what's left to accomplish? Shortly after receiving his sixth Oscar nod for his final film, 2017's Phantom Thread, the thespian had his rep issue a statement informing fans that he "will no longer be working as an actor. He is immensely grateful to all of his collaborators and audiences over the many years. This is a private decision and neither he nor his representatives will make any further comment on this subject." But just when Daniel thought he was out, his son pulled him back in. In October 2024, production company Focus Features announced the Oscar winner would star in Anemone, the film he wrote alongside son Ronan Day-Lewis (who will also direct). Bridgit Mendler The Good Luck Charlie alum took a step back from the spotlight in 2018 when she began pursuing a master's degree from MIT, later earning a PhD from the institution. She also enrolled in Harvard Law School. And as if that weren't enough, Bridgit launched her own startup Northwood Space, which aims to build ground satellite stations to help send and receive data from space, becoming CEO of the brand in February 2023. For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App Comedian Ben Bankas is scheduled to perform in Rochester, New York, this weekend, even as recent controversy over his comments about a fatal shooting has led to canceled shows at other comedy clubs across the country. Bankas is set to appear at Comedy at the Carlson, located off Blossom Road in Rochester, for four adult-only shows on Friday, Feb. 6, and Saturday, Feb. 7, with performances at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. both nights. One of the four shows was sold out as of Tuesday morning, and tickets cost $30 per person. Remarks followed fatal Minneapolis shooting The controversy stems from comments Bankas made after the shooting death of Renee Good, 37, who was killed last month by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Advertisement Advertisement According to authorities, Good was shot after driving her SUV forward near the agent after being told to exit the vehicle. Widely circulated video footage of the encounter has drawn national attention and sharply divided public opinion. Joke at New York show sparks backlash Days after the shooting, Bankas referenced Goods death during a performance in Poughkeepsie, New York. In a video clip from the show that later circulated on social media, he made a remark about Goods last name while joking about the shooting. The clip prompted widespread criticism online. Shows canceled elsewhere over safety concerns Following the backlash, a comedy club in St. Paul, Minnesota, canceled six of Bankas sold-out shows that were scheduled for late January and early February. According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, local residents were preparing to protest the performances, and the club owner cited safety concerns for audiences and staff as the reason for the cancellations. The Democrat and Chronicle reached out to Comedy at the Carlson regarding Bankas' scheduled Rochester shows and any connected safety concerns. Club representatives have not yet responded. Background Bankas, who is originally from Toronto, currently lives in Austin, Texas, according to his website. This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Controversial comedian Ben Bankas set to perform in Rochester NY BRANSON, Mo. New court documents filed today provide a new insight into why a performing couple in Branson was recently indicted by a Federal Grand Jury. Garry and Janine Carson were indicted last week on one count each of sexual exploitation of a minor, which the minor claims happened between January 2023 and June 2025. Today, ahead of detention hearings for both Carsons, federal prosecutors outlined some of the details in the case. Advertisement Advertisement Court documents say that in June 2025, members of the Southwest Missouri Cybercrimes Task Force seized multiple storage devices, including a cell phone and computer. Nearly 46 videos were found of an identified minor. The documents dont provide details for every video, but say several of them show the minor doing a suggestive and provocative dance along with Janine Carson. One detailed example says in one video, the minor dances for the camera and then leaves the room, and then Janine Carson allegedly enters, wearing a see-through robe, exposing Janines privates to the camera. Other videos say videos show the minor completely nude, tumbling down a cushion, and the court documents say videos are in slow motion. Advertisement Advertisement When pressed by authorities, court records say both Garry and Janine said that they were doing a fashion show. Janine Carsons attorney, Adam Woody, was asked for comment by Ozarks First and said, The fact that federal authorities chose to take the Carsons case before a grand jury to seek an indictment is not evidence of guilt, and they are presumed innocent. The Missouri Division of Family Services did an extensive investigation into the matter and determined that there was no preponderance of the evidence to believe that any abuse or neglect occurred. Our investigation is still ongoing and Mrs. Carson looks forward to clearing her name consistent with the findings by Missouri DFS. Garry Carsons attorney, Brandon Twibell reached out to Ozarks First this evening and sent this statement, which reads, Mr. Garry Carson is not guilty of this charge and voluntarily turned himself in to federal authorities in Springfield this morning. Garry looks forward to clearing his name through the court process. Angela Fetterhoff, who lives at a hotel near the Carsons venue, The Cabaret, says the news of the indictment was shocking. Advertisement Advertisement I couldnt believe it because they, I mean, they dont seem like that kind of people when you meet them. My main worry is their daughter. I worry about her and what shes been through and where shes at now, Fetterhoff said. They definitely deserve to be where theyre at if thats what theyve been doing. Fetterhoff says accusations like that, dont represent Branson. It doesnt represent Branson at all, because this is a Branson you know? You dont hear of this stuff here. You dont hear it from somebody like this, running a family-oriented show. Its just wrong, Fetterhoff said. The Carsons had previously performed at The Hughes Brothers Theatre, which made a post on social media the week the indictment came down that said, We are aware of recent legal matters involving independent performers who have previously appeared at our venue. These individuals are not employees of the theatre, and we are not involved in the legal proceedings. They do not currently have any scheduled shows at the theatre. The Hughes Theatre remains committed to providing a safe, family-friendly environment for our guests, performers, and staff. We will continue cooperating fully with authorities if any information is requested. As this is an ongoing legal matter, we cannot provide any more information. Advertisement Advertisement The Carsons have detention hearings scheduled this week. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOLR - OzarksFirst.com. Don Lemon is speaking out on what he calls an effort to "embarrass" him following his arrest after covering a protest inside a Minnesota church. The former CNN broadcaster, 59, was arrested Friday, Jan. 30, weeks after covering the protest reportedly inside the church of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official according to The New York Times and CBS News. In his first interview since the arrest, the independent journalist reflected on his detainment during a Monday, Feb. 2, appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" Recalling the moment he was arrested in Los Angeles, Lemon said, "It had to be, maybe, a dozen people, which is a waste of resources because I had told them weeks before ... that I could just go in." He added, "They want that. They want to embarrass you. They want to intimidate you. They want to instill fear. And so that's why they did it that way." Former CNN Anchor Don Lemon has been arrested on Jan. 29, 2026, days after being present at a protest inside a Minneapolis Church. Don Lemon (left) speaks with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), following a press conference alongside alleged victims of Jeffrey Epstein at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on September 3, 2025. Don Lemon attends the 2022 CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Tim Malone (left) and Don Lemon attend the 2023 Center Dinner at Cipriani Wall Street on April 13 in New York. Mindy Kaling (from left), Kate Hudson, Katie Holmes, Alan Cumming and Don Lemon sit front row at Michael Kors' fall/winter 2023 runway show on Feb. 15, 2023, during Fashion Week in New York. Kaitlan Collins (from left), Don Lemon and Poppy Harlow attend CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute on Dec. 11, 2022, in New York. Don Lemon and his mother, Katherine Lemon, attend the "Acrimony" premiere in New York on March 27, 2018. Don Lemon and Brooke Baldwin attend CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute at the American Museum of Natural History on Dec. 17, 2017, in New York. Don Lemon (left) and CNN political commentator Van Jones at the GLAAD Gala at City View at Metreon on Sept. 9, 2017, in San Francisco. Andrew Rannells (from left), Debra Messing and Don Lemon pose backstage at the 28th annual GLAAD Media Awards at The Hilton Midtown on May 6, 2017, in New York. Teddy Davis (from left), Noah Gray, Don Lemon, Jim Acosta, Brianna Keilar, Suzanne Malveaux, Jake Tapper and Dana Bash of CNN attend the White House Correspondents' Dinner at DAR Constitution Hall on April 29, 2017, in Washington. Don Lemon takes a sefie with a photo of himself during The Hollywood Reporter's 35 Most Powerful People in Media event at The Pool on April 13, 2017, in New York. Don Lemon (from left), Kate Bolduan, John Berman and Joey Jackson attend CNN's "The Seventies" launch party at Marquee on June 9, 2015, in New York. Former CNN host Don Lemon arrested. See his career in photos 1 of 12 Former CNN Anchor Don Lemon has been arrested on Jan. 29, 2026, days after being present at a protest inside a Minneapolis Church. Don Lemon (left) speaks with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), following a press conference alongside alleged victims of Jeffrey Epstein at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on September 3, 2025. After arrest, Don Lemon's post-CNN pivot faces biggest test yet Advertisement Advertisement While introducing the interview, host Jimmy Kimmel told viewers Lemon was arrested for "committing journalism, which is a very serious crime under our current administration." When the host asked Lemon how he is doing, the journalist said he wasn't sure. "I don't know," he said. "I'm OK. I'm not going to let them steal my joy. But this is very serious." After a Friday court appearance, the former broadcaster spoke to the media, saying the Department of Justice federal agents arrested him in the "middle of the night" for "something that I've been doing for 30 years, and that is covering the news." He added, "The First Amendment of the constitution protests that work for me and for countless other journalists. I stand with all of them, and I will not be silent." He later appeared at Sunday night's Grammy Awards, but did not cover the ceremony. Don Lemon attends the 68th Grammy Awards at Crypto.com Arena on Feb. 1, 2026, in Los Angeles. Lemon was one of several reporters at the protest of Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. During the coverage at the center of his arrest, he streamed for nearly seven hours on his YouTube channel, speaking with congregation members, protestors and one of the church's pastors. During the livestream, Lemon at one point said, "I'm just going to be as respectful as possible. I'm not here to intimidate anybody. I'm just here to chronicle and get some answers." Why was Don Lemon arrested? A federal indictment unsealed Friday shows Lemon, another journalist Georgia Fort and several activists present at the protest at the church were charged with multiple counts related to interrupting religious freedoms at a place of worship. Advertisement Advertisement A federal magistrate judge previously rejected a proposed criminal complaint from the Department of Justice for charges against Lemon connected to the protest, CNN, Reuters and CBS News reported on Jan. 22, citing anonymous sources. Don Lemon tells Jimmy Kimmel he offered to turn himself in During his interview with Kimmel, Lemon noted he could not say a lot about the situation amid the ongoing legal process, but he said he is "not a protester" and went to the protest "to be a journalist." He also said his attorney told prosecutors that he was "perfectly willing to" turn himself in and avoid "this whole rigamarole," but "never heard back." "People who are accused of much worse things than I am accused of doing, they are allowed the courtesy" to turn themselves in, he said. Don Lemon says jail showed CNN coverage of his arrest Lemon also said he had "no idea" while he was detained how big of a story his arrest was becoming, though he got an inkling when he saw it was being covered on his former network. Advertisement Advertisement "I asked to use the restroom early in the morning," he said. "...I go out and they open the door to the room where the agents are housed, and there was CNN on the monitor, and on the thing I could see, 'Former CNN anchor Don Lemon arrested in Los Angeles.' And I said to the guy, 'Is that happening a lot?' He goes, 'You've been on all morning. This is a big deal." Contributing: Melina Khan and Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Don Lemon on Jimmy Kimmel says arrest, jail was meant to 'embarrass' Family and friends of Linton Blackwell took to the podium at City Hall on Monday to express their frustration with the Atlanta City Council over the lack of accountability for police officers who use lethal force. I want to understand why this officer, Gerald Walker, is not being held accountable for my brothers death. He was murdered and shot 17 times; hes still working [and] being paid, Veronica Grant said during public comment. Walker was working an off-duty security job on the night of Oct. 11 when he shot and killed Blackwell in the parking lot behind the 5 Paces Inn, a popular bar in Buckhead. According to William Stanley, a witness who went to the bar with Blackwell that night, Walker patted both men down before they entered the bar and spoke like he and Blackwell had met before. Stanley was later killed outside a convenience store in DeKalb County on Jan. 6. Advertisement Advertisement An autopsy performed by the Fulton County Medical Examiners office found that Blackwell, a father and local rapper who went by the stage name BGreen, had been shot 17 times in the back. The shooting investigation is being handled by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The Atlanta Police Departments internal affairs unit will conduct its own inquiry into the incident, however. We gotta stop the killing. And not just the community killing each other, we gotta stop the police from killing us. We gotta stop the police from harming our citizens of Atlanta, Santana Lambert said to the council. He and Blackwell grew up together in East Lake Meadows, a former public housing project in east Atlanta. Blackwells family has used the public comment period to call attention to the shooting before. On Dec. 1, after a number of Blackwells friends and family called for more transparency, the council unanimously passed a resolution to grant Blackwells family access to view the video recording of the incident. Walker was not wearing a body camera because he was off-duty, but the shooting was captured by a surveillance camera in the area. Advertisement Advertisement Blackwells cousin Jimmy Hill told Capital B Atlanta that the family still hasnt been allowed to watch the video. Mayor Andre Dickens office did not respond to Capital B Atlantas request for comment regarding the councils resolution to allow Blackwells family to view the footage. This is not about a lack of information or power, this is about a lack of political will, lack of courage, Hill told the council on Monday. Since the shooting, Capital B Atlanta has reported on Walkers disciplinary history with the department, which included six violations related to body-worn camera and arrest procedures that were sustained by internal affairs. Advertisement Advertisement For each of the violations, Walker received either a written or oral admonishment in accordance with APDs standard operating procedures. Blackwell was the second person shot by Walker last year. On March 26, he shot Travis Walker, no relation, while responding to a 911 call at an auto repair shop in Sylvan Hills. Brandon Pink, a community organizer with the Atlanta Alliance Against Racism and Political Oppression, told council members that officers should not be given special treatment just because they have a badge. It was a failure by APD to allow this officer to continue to be on the force even after the multiple violations and misconduct issues that he had, Pink said. Advertisement Advertisement A spokesperson for the APD confirmed to Capital B Atlanta that Walker is still employed with the police department but has been reassigned from the field operations division. In his six minutes of speaking time, Hill accused council members of offering little more than lip service to the families of police brutality victims until they hold law enforcement to a higher standard. Why havent you used your power to stop officers with repeat violations from staying on the force? he said. You have the power and you have to use it. You refuse to use it. Until you do, your condolences are really just to make yourself feel better. Read More: The post Family of Rapper Shot 17 Times by Atlanta Officer Demands Accountability appeared first on Capital B News - Atlanta. The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) ranks among the biggest publicly traded asset managers. UBS boosted its price target for The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) to $125 from $123 on January 22, maintaining a Buy rating on the company. The hike follows Charles Schwabs Q4 2025 results, which showed earnings per share roughly in line with expectations, although revenues fell somewhat lower than expected. UBS raised its forecasts for 2026, 2027, and 2028 by about 2% owing to solid 2026 guidance and strong core key performance metrics like cash generation, capital growth, and core net new assets. The firm observed that managements guidance is conservative, with opportunity for growth across various categories. UBS believes that The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) will deliver a 17% compound annual earnings-per-share growth rate through 2028, with further growth opportunities from efforts yet to be included in consensus projections. The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) is a savings and loan holding company that engages in securities brokerage, wealth management, custody, asset management, and financial advisory services. While we acknowledge the potential of SCHW as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 10 Best Magic Formula Stocks for 2025 and 10 Best Retirement Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Savannah Guthrie is facing every child's worst nightmare as the search for her missing mother has officially taken a dark and urgent turn. Law enforcement officials in Arizona now believe that 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie was forcibly taken from her home in what they are calling a probable kidnapping. With a critical 24-hour window for life-saving medication already closed, the "Today" show star is pleading for the public to help bring her mother back to safety. A Quiet Night Turns Into A Crime Scene The peaceful suburbs of the Catalina Foothills near Tucson are currently the center of a massive criminal investigation. Nancy Guthrie was last seen at her home on Saturday night (January 31st 2026) around 9:30 p.m., but when she failed to show up for her Sunday morning church service, the alarm bells started ringing. By the time the Pima County Sheriff's Department arrived at her residence at noon on Sunday, it was clear that this was not a simple case of a senior citizen who had become disoriented and wandered off. Screenshot from @kfwalker1, via Instagram.com. Used under fair use for editorial commentary. Sheriff Chris Nanos has been blunt about the reality of the situation. He told reporters that the evidence inside the house was concerning enough to bring in homicide detectives right away. While the sheriff initially stated that Nancy was taken from her bed, he later clarified that he was speaking figuratively about the intrusion. However, the core message remains the same: the 84-year-old woman did not leave her house on her own. She has physical challenges that make walking even 50 yards a struggle, yet she vanished into the night without her phone or her essential medication. Advertisement Advertisement The sheriff has described the investigation as a race against time because of Nancy's health. She requires daily medication that can be fatal if missed for more than a day. As the investigation enters its third day, the stakes could not be higher. Law enforcement has shifted from a search and rescue mission to a full-blown criminal probe, shutting down local search efforts to preserve the integrity of the home as a crime scene. The Mystery Of The Targeted Home One of the biggest questions looming over this case is whether Nancy was targeted because of her famous daughter. Savannah Guthrie is one of the most recognizable faces in American news, and the thought of a targeted abduction is chilling. Screenshot from @todayshow, via Instagram.com. Used under fair use for editorial commentary. Sheriff Nanos has stated that there is currently no evidence that Nancy was singled out due to her connection to the "Today" show, nor has Savannah received any specific threats. Still, the fact that an elderly woman living alone was removed from her house in the middle of the night has put the entire community on edge. Detectives are currently scouring security camera footage from the home and the surrounding area. They are also working with tech giants like Google and Apple to analyze any digital breadcrumbs that might lead to a suspect. The FBI has also joined the fray, lending their technical expertise to track cell phone tower data near the Guthrie home. It is a massive mobilization of resources for a woman whom the sheriff describes as being as sharp as a tack despite her limited mobility. The house staff and members of the local church have been interviewed as police look for any leads. So far, the tips have been steady, but nothing has led to a breakthrough. An 88 Crime nonprofit organization has put up a 2500 dollar reward for information, hoping that a small detail from a neighbor or a passerby might crack the case open. The sheriff has noted that Nancy is a woman of deep conviction and a pillar of her community, making her disappearance feel like a hole has been ripped in the fabric of the neighborhood. A Network Unites In Prayer Back in New York, the "Today" show family has rallied around their colleague with a show of support that has moved many viewers to tears. Hoda Kotb and Al Roker have used their massive social media platforms to share Nancy's description and the sheriff's tip line. Advertisement Advertisement They are not just reporting the news; they are fighting for their friend. Savannah herself has traveled to Arizona to be with her family and stay close to the investigation, issuing a statement that thanks the public for their prayers while urging anyone with information to come forward. In a poignant Instagram post, Savannah shared a message of faith, quoting scripture and asking for a miracle. She described her mother as a good and faithful servant and asked people to believe with her that Nancy will be found. The bond between the two women has always been a public part of Savannah's life. Screenshot from Savannah Guthrie's official Instagram page, via Instagram.com. Used under fair use for editorial commentary. She often tells the story of how her mother, who became a single parent when Savannah was only 16, encouraged her to follow her dreams of being a journalist even when it meant moving far away. The "Today" anchor has always portrayed her mother as a source of strength and independence. Now, that independence is being tested in the most harrowing way imaginable. The community of Tucson and the millions of viewers who watch Savannah every morning are holding their collective breath. Every hour that passes without a lead is a heavy weight, but the resolve of law enforcement and the Guthrie family remains unshaken. The Vulnerability Of Those We Love This story hits home for so many people because it touches on the universal fear of our parents being vulnerable. We want to believe that our homes are the one place where the world cannot get to us, especially when we are at our most frail. The idea that an 84-year-old woman could be taken from the place she felt safest is a violation that goes beyond a simple criminal act. It is a reminder of the fragility of the peace we often take for granted. Advertisement Advertisement This investigation is not just about a celebrity mother; it is about the right of every person to feel secure in their own home. The sheriff noted that everyone just wants to know they can go outside and enjoy their community and then come home and be safe. That basic human right was stolen from Nancy Guthrie on a Saturday night in Arizona. As we wait for updates, the focus remains on the safe return of a woman who is clearly the heart of her family. The cultural impact of this case is a somber reflection on safety, age, and the bonds that keep us together during the darkest times. Whether through high-tech FBI surveillance or a simple tip from a neighbor, the hope is that the next update will be the one that brings Nancy Guthrie back to the arms of her children. Jana Kramer almost had an awkward moment with ex-husband Mike Caussin. Kramer, 42, opened up about a recent winter storm that almost caused her to spend time with Caussin, 38, during a recent episode of her Whine Down With Jana Kramer podcast. After explaining that she felt prepared for the storm to hit Tennessee because she grew up in Michigan, Kramer realized that her car was not properly equipped for the icy weather. She planned to meet husband Allan Russell at the gym with one of her kids and exchange children so she could also get a workout in. Advertisement Advertisement It had started to snow but it wasn't bad, she explained. Im like, OK, I got this. [Im] from Michigan. And then [I] finish working out, come out, and what I realized is my car is amazing, but it's really not in the snow. Kramer then called Russell, 45, and told him that her car was slipping and sliding. She pulled over at a Whole Foods and met him. In his truck, they all got home safely. Jana Kramers Ex-Husband Mike Caussin Reveals He Is Seeing Someone Right Now After getting back to the house, Kramer realized they were out of power. I will say, not having power for those five hours, it got really chilly, she explained. So I can't imagine the people that are still without power. Advertisement Advertisement One of those people who is still temporarily sans electricity is Caussin, 38. My ex-husband did not have power still doesnt, she said. And so I was just like, Do you need to come here? Caussin ended up staying at a friends house instead. I would never not offer, she added. He went to a friend's because that would have been weird. Kramer is the mom of daughter Jolie, 9, and son Jace, 6, whom she shares with Caussin. In November 2023, she welcomed son Roman with Russell. Kramer and Caussin have faced many highs and lows throughout the years. They tied the knot in 2015, but Us Weekly broke the news the following year that he cheated on her with multiple women. He then entered treatment for a sex addiction. David Becker/Getty Images for iHeartRadio After welcoming Jolie in 2016, the duo reconciled and renewed their vows in 2017, which Kramer told Us was a really amazing healing experience. Advertisement Advertisement In 2021, the parents split for good after six years together and finalized their divorce later that year. Kramer met Russell in 2022 through a dating app. After six months of dating, the lovebirds announced their engagement during an episode of her podcast. Jana Kramer Reveals How Ex-Husband Mike Caussin Reacted to Her Engagement to Allan Russell "We had some people over during the day, like, a little pool party thing, summer hang, and he took me and the kids, hes like, 'Hey, its a beautiful night. Lets go for a walk and lets go walk up to the new house, she recalled in May 2023. We were all sitting on the front porch steps and just looking out at the view because the view is just, I mean, stunning. And he, like, said my name. And ... then he got down on one knee. Kramer went on to gush that Jolie was so excited that she started jumping up and down. They tied the knot in July 2024. Joe Giudice is one proud dad. Over the past several days, The Real Housewives of New Jersey ex-husband shared a series of messages for daughters Milania Giudice and Gabriella Giudice, who each recently arrived at exciting milestones. On Monday, February 2, Joe celebrated Milanias 20th birthday that's right, little Milania is officially out of her teens with a heartwarming tribute that included a mix of older and more recent photos of The Real Housewives of New Jersey daughter. Joe Giudice celebrates Milania Giudice's 20th birthday Happy Birthday my beautiful Milania, he captioned the carousel. From the moment you came into my life, youve been nothing but pure fire, love, and strength. Youve always had your own voice, your own mind, and the biggest heart. Watching you grow into the young woman you are today makes me so proud words cant even explain. RELATED: Joe Giudice Shares New Insight into His Work and Family Life: "Bigger, Better, and Blessed" Related: Take a Look at Joe Giudice's Life Amid New Adventures: "Turned Into a Lifestyle" Advertisement Advertisement Joe reassured Milania that shed always be [his] little girl before emphasizing just how much he missed her as she continued her college journey in Tampa, Florida. I love you more than youll ever know, and Im so grateful to be your dad, he added. Never stop being you bold, fearless, and real. Daddy loves you always. About a week before the birthday post, Joe shared a photo of himself and Milania in the Bahamas, where hes resided since 2021. The throwback was accompanied by a brief but sweet message in which Joe reiterated his unconditional love for Milania. No matter where life takes us, my love for you never changes, he wrote on January 24. Counting the days until I see you again. Get more with Bravo Insider Sign up for Bravo Insider for FREE and read behind-the-scenes features including: Advertisement Advertisement Cynthia Bailey Unpacks the Differences Between Filming RHOA and RHOBH: "Night and Day" How to Survive a Real Housewives Dinner Party, According to the Casts Themselves Brittany Cartwright Reveals the Real Reason She Wore That Tiny Romper to a Job Interview: "Backfired" Summer House Cast Reveals Behind-the-Scenes Filming Secrets (Including Those Mystery Packages) Confessional Interviews 101: What Bravolebs Eat, How They Prepare & More Behind-the-Scenes Secrets The Ultimate Guide to Charleston, According to the Southern Charm Cast The RHOSLC Cast & Producers Spill on How the Sprinter Van "Makes the Magic" Advertisement Advertisement BravoCon 2025 Behind-the-Scenes Moments with the McBees, Melissa and Teresa, Rachel Zoe, & More Joe Giudice gushes over Gabriella Giudice as she embarks on a new chapter Related: Teresa Giudice Shares an Update on Ex Joe Giudice's Love Life: "He's Dating a Lawyer" Joe shared a similar message for Gabriella, who is now a junior at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Miss you more than you know, Gabby, he captioned a January 22 photo of him and Gabriella in the Bahamas. So proud of the strong, beautiful woman youve become. No matter where life takes you, Im always proud to be your dad. RELATED: Teresa Giudice Drops a Big Update on Gabriella Giudices Career Plans (EXCLUSIVE) Joe shared the message just days after Gabriella said goodbye to the U.S. and headed overseas for a semester abroad. The 21-year-old economics major will study in Barcelona over the next three months with some travel adventures in between. As seen in her frequent TikTok vlogs, Gabriella has already visited Portugal, Budapest, and Amsterdam. So proud of my girl. Watching Gabriella chase her dreams, study abroad, and see the world is one of my greatest blessings, Joe wrote in a January 31 Instagram. Europe looks good on you, but your heart and hard work make it even better. Love you always. So grateful, so blessed. Advertisement Advertisement In addition to Milania and Gabriella, Joe shares two other daughters Gia Giudice and Audriana Giudice with his ex-wife, Teresa Giudice. The former couple divorced in 2020, about two years after Joe was deported from the U.S. Get more details about Joes life in the Caribbean, including his major career moves. Savannah Guthrie's mom, Nancy Guthrie, has been reported missing in her home state of Arizona. According to authorities, the 84-year-old was last seen at her home in Catalina Foothills on Saturday, January 31. Nancy's last Facebook post appears to have been uploaded on January 27, just four days before she was reported missing. On that day, Nancy uploaded a Reel from Instagram about Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old American intensive care nurse who was shot by ICE during a protest in Minnesota. Less than one hour earlier, Nancy shared a video explaining Mahjong, a popular four player tile game. Prior to that, Nancy was active on Facebook, with most of her re-shares and uploads consisting of political content. Advertisement Advertisement Nancy also has an Instagram account, but it is private. Related: Savannah Guthrie Receives Message of Hope From Dear Friend as Moms Whereabouts Remain Unknown In a press conference on Sunday, Feb. 1, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos shared some additional details about the case. He said that search and rescue teams were searching by ground and by air and he confirmed that a homicide team has been brought in to aid in the investigation. Were pretty much just throwing everything at this that we can. Guthrie is 84 years old and is not of good physical health, and so naturally thats a great concern," Nanos told reporters. "This is very concerning to us. We dont typically get the sheriff out at a scene like this. But its very concerning what were learning from the house," he continued, adding, "And so well just continue. The detectives homicide team is out right now looking at the scene as well." Advertisement Advertisement Savannah was absent from Today on Monday, Feb. 2. She did release a statement, thanking fans for their thoughts and prayers and encouraging anyone with information to contact authorities. This story was originally published by Parade on Feb 2, 2026, where it first appeared in the Celebs section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here. NBC star Savannah Guthrie is backing out of her hosting duties at the Winter Olympics opening ceremony later this week as the disappearance of her mother has gotten a national spotlight. Eighty-four-year-old Nancy Guthrie was last seen Saturday evening at her Arizona residence. A relative of Guthries contacted authorities around noon Sunday to report her missing, according to Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos. Page Six was first to report Monday that her "Today" co-host daughter will no longer co-host the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, this Friday. The Olympics are being held from Feb. 6 to 22. Advertisement Advertisement Mom Of Nbc's Savannah Guthrie Reported Missing In Arizona, Sheriff Say There Is A Crime NBC's "Today" host Savannah Guthrie is backing out as co-host of the Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Milan, Italy, as her mother Nancy remains missing. (Getty Images) NBC did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. During a news conference on Monday, Nanos said Nancy Guthrie's house is a crime scene and that she didn't leave on her own. Read On The Fox News App "We believe now, after we processed that crime scene, that we do, in fact, have a crime scene that we do, in fact, have a crime," Nanos said. "She did not leave on her own. We know that." Nbc's Savannah Guthrie Shrugs Off Bias Accusations Against Journalists In Conversation With Monica Lewinsky Savannah Guthrie and mother Nancy Guthrie pictured on "Today" on June 15, 2023. Nanos confirmed the woman is Savannah Guthries mother. He said she is of "good sound mind" but has physical ailments that limit her mobility. Nanos added that someone from Nancy Guthrie's church called family members on Sunday morning to report she didn't show up. Nancy Guthrie's family went to her house and spent "some time" looking for her before calling 911, the sheriff said. Advertisement Advertisement The sheriff said investigators are not ruling out foul play and noted that the circumstances were serious enough to involve the departments criminal investigation unit. Click Here For The Latest Media And Culture News A missing person bulletin from the Pima County Sheriff's Department. Fox News' Bradford Betz, Stephen Sorace, Adam Sabes and Christina Dugan Ramirez contributed to this report. Original article source: NBC's Savannah Guthrie to pull out as host of Winter Olympics opening ceremony as mother remains missing Queen Maxima of the Netherlands put a muted, Mod spin on her ordinarily whimsical style for a visit to Rotterdam alongside her husband, King Willem-Alexander, on Monday. For the outing, the Netherlands queen consort wore a coordinated dress and cape in a shade of gray by French designer Vanessa Seward. The Vic dress and Van cape hail from the winter capsule collection for Begg x Co., per Sewards Instagram post about Queen Maximas look. More from WWD King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of The Netherlands The designer also noted the sentimental significance of Queen Maximas sartorial choice she wore Sewards design on her 24th wedding anniversary. Queen Maxima added a nostalgic touch to her look, donning her wedding-day earrings. Advertisement Advertisement As for footwear, the Dutch royal styled a pair of black leather knee boots by Gianvito Rossi. Queen Maximas modern gray motif with accents of black and her sentimental jewelry touch is a slight departure from the European royals average fashion statement. Queen Maxima often favors colorful displays and whimsical variations on daytime dress, from vibrant blue pantsuits by Max Mara to textural midi dresses with statement headpieces and more by Natan. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of The Netherlands Twenty-four years ago on Monday, King Willem-Alexander married Queen Maxima in civil and religious ceremonies in Amsterdam. For the religious ceremony, the Netherlands queen consort wore an ivory Mikado silk wedding gown designed by Valentino Garavani. Among special guests, King Charles III, then the Prince of Wales, attended the wedding alongside his brother, Prince Edward, and sister-in-law Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh. The Dutch royal couple were updated on various social initiatives supported by the Oranje Fonds in recent years and to mark their 250th anniversary as patrons of the fund during their visit to Rotterdams Wijkpaleis community center on Monday. BORCULO, NETHERLANDS - MAY 06: Queen Maxima of The Netherlands arrives at the start of a regional tour of The Achterhoek on May 6, 2014 in Borculo, Netherlands. (Photo by Michel Porro/Getty Images) MIDDELBURG, NETHERLANDS - MAY 24: Queen Maxima of The Netherlands attends the Four Freedoms Award ceremony on May 24, 2014 in Middelburg, Netherlands. (Photo by Michel Porro/WireImage) APELDOORN, NETHERLANDS - JUNE 03: King Willem-Alexander of The Netherlands and Queen Maxima of The Netherlands arrive for dinner at the Loo Royal Palace on June 3, 2014 in Apeldoorn, Netherlands. (Photo by Michel Porro/Getty Images) Advertisement Advertisement View Gallery Launch Gallery: Queen Maxima of The Netherlands' Style Through the Years: Bright Colors, Whimsical Patterns & More Best of WWD Sign up for WWD's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. A rapper and Twitch streamer known as Aspen Kartier has been arrested in Georgia after a video allegedly showing her abusing a puppy went viral, according to police and news reports. The 19-year-old, whose legal name is Aspen Easterling, was arrested at her Brookhaven home on an animal cruelty charge the evening of Friday, January 30, the Brookhaven Police Department announced in a news release the next day. Her arrest comes after the department received a series of complaints from the local community about a video of a dog being abused at her Brookhaven residence, authorities said. Brookhaven is an Atlanta suburb, located about a 10-mile drive northeast from the city. Advertisement Advertisement The complaints led officers to investigate social media posts circulating online in relation to Easterlings three-month-old Maltipoo puppy, according to police. Information on Easterlings legal representation was not immediately available on Monday, February 2. A video of the alleged animal abuse was shared by PETA on X. The disturbing footage appears to show Easterling repeatedly hitting her young puppy and grabbing it by its neck, holding it in the air. The puppys cries are heard in the clip. Georgia Police Identify Suspect In Sickening Crime After Dogs Found Dead in Parking Garage @Twitch streamer Aspen Kartier was apparently caught on video striking her puppy as he wailed in fear, the organization wrote on January 30. Anyone who would beat and terrify their dog should never go near one! Advertisement Advertisement Brookhaven police executed search warrants at Easterlings home that night and detained her, according to authorities. Her dog was also rescued. The puppy appeared to be in good health, police said. DeKalb County Animal Control took custody of the puppy. Police said that the agency can be contacted for information on adopting the puppy, as well as its status. Easterling, meanwhile, was booked at the DeKalb County Jail. As of February 2, Easterlings Twitch channel appeared to be temporarily suspended. It is unclear how long the suspension will last. This channel is temporarily unavailable due to a violation of Twitch's Community Guidelines or Terms of Service, reads a message associated with her Twitch profile. Advertisement Advertisement After the video of Easterling appearing to hurt her dog emerged, she posted another video addressing the matter and denied that the puppy was hurt, TMZ reported. Easterling has more than 71,000 Twitch followers, according to Complex magazine, which reports that she is a drill rapper originally from Chicago. On Spotify, she has nearly 240,000 monthly listeners. Her songs include I Do, Percocet Love, and Free Clout. Over 2 Dozen Dogs Found Dead in Backyard Pile, Others Found Alive at Alabama Home: Sheriff Following Easterlings arrest, PETA shared another post on X, in which the organization wrote Thank you to everyone who spoke out about this case! Advertisement Advertisement Never be silent if you see abuse, PETA added. The Brookhaven Police Department continues to investigate the animal cruelty case. The department asks that anyone with information relevant to the investigation to contact the agency at 404-637-0600. If you know of or suspect animal abuse or neglect, you are urged to contact the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals through their website or call your local animal control officer. Nancy Guthrie, the mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie who is missing in Arizona, attended the University of Kentucky, according to the Kentucky Kernel. Nancy Guthrie attended the University of Kentucky and is a Kentucky Kernel alumna, Jack Guthrie, editor-in-chief of the Kernel in 1963, told the Kernel. Nancy Guthrie, who attended UK under her maiden name Nancy Long, was a staff member and society editor at the Kernel in 1963, the Kernel reported. Jack is unrelated to Nancy. Guthrie, 84, from Fort Wright in Northern Kentucky, was last seen at her Tucson home at about 9:30 p.m. Saturday and was reported missing the next day by her family. Police say they believe she was taken against her will. Advertisement Advertisement In 2017, the Herald-Leader reported Guthrie, a co-host on Today since 2012, revealed during the morning TV show that her parents met on a blind date at a University of Kentucky mens basketball game. Shes quick. Shes smart. Shes well-read. Shes curious about everything. Shes daring and adventurous, Savannah Guthrie told TV station WCPO in 2022. Shes willing to jet off anywhere, and I really do mean jet. She once got in an F-16 in Fort Wright, the television station reported. Savannah said both of her parents grew up in Kentucky. Her father was stationed in Melbourne, Australia, when Savannah was born. They then returned to the U.S., moving to Tucson, WCPO reported. The Facebook Alumnae group for Notre Dame Academy, a Catholic High School in Northern Kentucky posted Wednesday: We ask our community to join us in prayer for the safety and protection of our 1959 alumna, Nancy Long Guthrie, who is missing in Arizona. Savannah Guthries mom, Nancy Guthrie, posted a happy family photo on Christmas just one month before going missing. Nancy shared the last photo before the disappearance on Facebook on Dec. 25. In the sweet snap, Nancy is joined by her daughters Savannah and Annie, as well as Savannahs husband, Michael Feldman. Her grandchildren are also in the pic, including Savannah and Feldmans daughter Vale, 11, and son Charles, 9. Advertisement Advertisement The group wore matching festive pajama sets consisting of plaid pants and a black long-sleeve t-shirt with a gold Christmas tree printed on it. Nancy Guthrie posted a happy family photo on Facebook to celebrate Christmas, one month before going missing from her Arizona home. Facebook/Nancy Guthrie Nancy, whose daughter is Today host Savannah Guthrie, was reported missing by a family member on Sunday. savannahguthrie/Instagram Nancy captioned the pic, Merry Christmas sweet ones. Nancy, 84, was reported missing from her Arizona home Sunday after a concerned family member called 911 earlier in the day. According to the Pima County Sheriffs Department, she was last seen Saturday night around 9:30 p.m. local time at her home in Catalina Foothills. Authorities are now treating her disappearance as a crime. We believe now, after we process that crime scene, that we do, in fact, have a crime scene, that we do, in fact, have a crime, and were asking the communitys help, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said in a press conference Monday. The Pima County Sheriffs Department is treating her disappearance as a crime. Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos asked for the publics help to find Nancy in a press conference Monday, noting she needs daily medication to survive. savannahguthrie/Instagram Advertisement Advertisement [Nancy] did not leave on her own, he continued, explaining that they believe the circumstances on scene [] are suspicious in nature since Nancy is sharp as a tack and isnt somebody who just wandered off due to her age and physical limits. Nanos noted that Nancy needs vital daily medication to survive. Savannah, 54, is set to drop out of hosting the 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony for NBC due to her family emergency, Page Six exclusively reported Monday. Nancy is 84 years old and was last seen Saturday night around 9:30 p.m. local time at her home. savannahguthrie/Instagram Savannah is set to drop out of hosting the 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony due to her family emergency, sources told Page Six. Instagram/savannahguthrie Sources told us that the Today host was due to be in Italy for the start of the 2026 Games on Friday, but likely wont be there. Advertisement Advertisement Savannah is close with her mother, saying she is her everything in a sweet birthday tribute back in 2020. My mom Nancy is my heart and my everything and my model for what a mother should be, the broadcast journalist wrote at the time. "Today" host Savannah Guthrie's missing mother, Nancy, was "taken" from her Arizona home against her will, police have saidafter uncovering evidence inside the property that suggests the 84-year-old was "harmed" during the alleged "abduction." Nancy was reported missing on Sunday around lunchtime after failing to turn up at her usual church service, having last been seen by her loved ones at around 9:45 p.m. the previous night, when she was dropped off at home following a dinner. At a press conference held Tuesdaymore than 48 hours after Nancy's disappearance was reportedPima County Sheriff Chris Nanos admitted that authorities have made no major breakthroughs in the case, telling reporters that his department has "a lot of work in front" of them. Advertisement Advertisement He admitted that Nancy's life is "in jeopardy," noting that his department, in collaboration with the FBI, is working to pursue any and all leads but conceded they have yet to pull together enough evidence to identify a specific suspect or suspects in the case. Nanos refused to elaborate on reports that Nancy's pacemaker stopped syncing with her Apple phone and watch in the early hours of the morning on Feb. 1, nor would he confirm sources' claims that blood was discovered in her home. "Someone's life is in jeopardy," he said during the media briefing. "We've got to find her, and we've got to work hard to do that." When asked whether he was able to share any information about what Nancy might have been wearing, or what kind of car she might have been traveling in, Nanos said he had none to share. He also confessed that they do not currently know if they are searching for one suspect, or multiple. "Today" host Savannah Guthrie's missing mother, Nancy, was "taken" from her Arizona home against her will, police have said. (Don Arnold/WireImage) At a press conference held Tuesdaymore than 48 hours after Nancy's disappearance was reportedPima County Sheriff Chris Nanos admitted that authorities have made no major breakthroughs in the case. (YouTube/New York Post) "Someone's life is in jeopardy," he said during the media briefing. "We've got to find her, and we've got to work hard to do that." (YouTube/New York Post) The Pima County Sheriff's Department initially revealed that officers had found "gravely concerning" evidence inside Nancy's Tucson, AZ, property during their search and have now stated that they believe the "Today" show star's mother was "taken against her will." Advertisement Advertisement "I think she was abducted," Sheriff Nanos told NBC News. "When youre taken from your bed and you dont want to go somewhere, thats an abduction." Nanos' department later clarified that he was speaking figuratively and not suggesting that Nancy was taken from her bed at the home. He added that his officers had found evidence inside the home that suggests Nancy was "harmed" before being removed from the property, but did not provide any other information. "We know she was harmed at the home, but we dont know to what extent," he said. However, law enforcement sources told the Los Angeles Times that blood had been found inside Nancy's home, alongside signs of forced entry. It is not immediately clear who the blood belonged to. Advertisement Advertisement Law enforcement sources told Fox News that Nancy's Apple devices stopped syncing with her pacemaker at around 2 a.m. local timeand they believe this is when she was taken from the home. An Apple Watch was discovered inside the property, which is understood to have been connected to Nancy's pacemaker via Bluetooth. During an appearance on the "Today" show on Tuesday morning, Nanos stressed the urgency of the situation, describing Nancy's case as a "race against time." He added that detectives have taken samples of DNA found in the home, noting that they are using them to try and pin down the identity of a suspect who may have entered the property. "It is a race against time, and I hope that window hasnt closed," he said. "We took some samples that we hope will have enough profile of a DNA profile that gives us some identification of what were looking at." Advertisement Advertisement The 84-year-old is described as being physically frailand disappeared from her home without medication that she has to take every 24 hours in order to survive. However, she is understood to have had no cognitive impairments and is described as being "of sound mind." Savannah, who had been due to fly out to Milan to begin coverage of the Winter Olympics when she received the call alerting her to her mother's disappearance, issued a plea to her fans and followers for "prayers" on Monday night. In a post shared to her Instagram account, the anchor wrote: "We believe in prayer. We believe in voices raised in unison, in love, in hope. We believe in goodness. We believe in humanity. above all, we believe in Him. "Thank you for lifting your prayers with ours for our beloved mom, our dearest Nancy, a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant. Raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment. Advertisement Advertisement "We need you." Savannah ended the post with a verse from Isaiah: "He will keep in perfect peace those whose hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord," before writing, "Bring her home." Nancy, 84, was reported missing Sunday after failing to show up at church. (Pima Country Sheriff's Department) Police have said that they uncovered evidence inside Nancy's home that suggests she was "harmed" in the alleged abduction. (Instagram/Savannah Guthrie) The "Today" host is understood to have "immediately scrambled" to fly to Tucson after learning of her mother's disappearance, according to CNN. Police are now offering a $2,500 reward to anyone who is able to provide images, videos, or information that leads to the arrest of Nancy's alleged abductor. Savannah, 54, was absent from Monday's episode of the "Today" show but issued a statement via her co-hosts, Craig Melvin and Sheinelle Jones, thanking viewers for their messages of supportand urging anyone with any information about her mother's whereabouts to contact local authorities in Pima County. Advertisement Advertisement "On behalf of our family, I want to thank everyone for the thoughts, prayers and messages of support," the statement began. "Right now, our focus remains on the safe return of our dear mom. "We thank law enforcement for their hard work on this case and encourage anyone with information to contact the Pima County Sheriffs office at 520-351-4900." Sheriff Nanos had confirmed to reporters on Monday that authorities suspect foul play in the case, after previously admitting that officers had been left "gravely concerned" by evidence found inside Nancy's property. "We do in fact have a crime scene, we do in fact have a crime," he said, per CNN. "We know she didnt just walk out of there. She did not leave on her own." Advertisement Advertisement According to the Daily Mail, a source close to the Guthrie family revealed that some of the evidence uncovered at the home included Nancy's many personal effects, which had been left behind, including her wallet, keys, ID, and phone. "Its not a situation where she voluntarily went away, because she didnt take any of the things you would normally take if you voluntarily went out," the insider claimed. Nanos had revealed Sunday that homicide detectives had been called in to work on the case, adding that certain details found inside Nancy's home had given cause for "grave concern" among the attending officers, although he did not give any further information about what had been discovered. Savannah is understood to have "immediately scrambled" to fly to Tucson after learning of her mother's disappearance. (NBC) Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said: "I think she was abducted. When youre taken from your bed and you dont want to go somewhere, thats an abduction." (CNN) Later on Monday, Savannah's co-star and close friend, Jenna Bush Hager, broke down in tears as she revealed during the final hour of the "Today" show that Nancy is currently without medication that she needs to survive. Advertisement Advertisement According to Today.com, Sheriff Nanos added that his department is particularly concerned for Nancy's welfare because of her age and physical condition, although he noted that she is understood to have full control of her cognitive abilities. "She has some physical ailments that limit her ability to move around, Nanos said, later adding: "Miss Guthrie is 84 years old and is not in good physical health." Multiple law enforcement departments responded to the scene, including homicide detectives, he further revealed, stating: "You dont typically get the sheriff out at a scene like this, but its very concerning what were learning from the house. "I hope we find her safe and sound, but we cant ignore whats in front of us." Advertisement Advertisement Missing person posters describe Nancy as being 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighing 150 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. Local authorities are using every tool at their disposal in the search for Nancy, including drones, a helicopter, an airplane, and search-and-rescue dogs. Volunteers are also combing the area surrounding the Guthrie home in search of Savannah's mother. "Weve pretty much just thrown everything at this as we can," Nanos added. Speaking to "Today" early on Monday morning, NBC crime reporter Tom Winter revealed that the FBI has also been brought into the search. "Theyve enlisted the help of the Customs and Border Protectionobviously, not too far from the border there in Mexico. They have some special resources. The FBI is also aware of this case as well," he said. As the eurozone economy continues its modest recovery with stronger investment and consumer confidence, European markets are showing resilience despite mixed performances among major stock indexes. In this environment, identifying hidden gems within the small-cap sector can be particularly rewarding, as these stocks often offer unique growth opportunities that align well with improving economic sentiment and expanding household consumption. Top 10 Undiscovered Gems With Strong Fundamentals In Europe Name Debt To Equity Revenue Growth Earnings Growth Health Rating Dekpol 61.42% 9.03% 14.54% Intellego Technologies 5.42% 70.25% 79.14% Caisse Regionale de Credit Agricole Mutuel Brie Picardie Societe cooperative 37.61% 3.36% 6.34% Evergent Investments 3.63% 11.51% 22.05% KABE Group AB (publ.) 3.82% 3.46% 5.42% Freetrailer Group 38.17% 23.13% 31.09% Procimmo Group 141.47% 6.84% 6.01% Medinice NA -20.69% 66.86% Practic NA 4.86% 6.64% MCH Group 126.04% 19.05% 60.90% Click here to see the full list of 301 stocks from our European Undiscovered Gems With Strong Fundamentals screener. We're going to check out a few of the best picks from our screener tool. Simply Wall St Value Rating: Overview: Caisse Regionale de Credit Agricole Mutuel du Languedoc Societe cooperative offers a range of banking products and services to diverse clients including individuals, businesses, and local authorities in France, with a market cap of 1.59 billion. Operations: The cooperative generates revenue primarily through its diverse banking products and services tailored for various client segments in France. It operates with a market cap of 1.59 billion. CRLA, a cooperative bank in France, showcases solid financial health with total assets of 35.9B and equity of 5.7B. The bank's liabilities are primarily low-risk, with 95% sourced from customer deposits, reducing exposure to external borrowing risks. Its price-to-earnings ratio of 8.6x suggests better value compared to the French market average of 16.6x. With an appropriate bad loans level at 1.5% and a sufficient allowance for bad loans at 136%, CRLA's risk management appears robust while earnings growth outpaced the industry last year by achieving a modest increase of 1.2%. TODAY anchor Savannah Guthrie's mom Nancy Guthrie went missing over the weekend and was last seen outside of her home on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. The 84-year-old matriarch is reportedly in poor health and has mobility issues, and authorities announced on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, that they were treating the disappearance as a "crime." Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told PEOPLE of Nancy and Savannah Guthrie's family, "They're just devastated like anyone would be. They are a family and they lean on each other. We're just staying in touch with them and they know this community supports them as well. Advertisement Advertisement Savannah missed the week's broadcasts of TODAY and pulled out of covering the 2026 Winter Olympics. She said in a statement, "On behalf of our family, I want to thank everyone for the thoughts, prayers and messages of support. Right now, our focus remains on the safe return of our dear mom. We thank law enforcement for their hard work on this case and encourage anyone with information to contact the Pima County Sheriffs Department at 520-351-4900. Learn more about Savannah Guthrie's family, including Savannah Guthrie's mother, father and siblings. SIGN UP for Parades Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox All About Savannah Guthrie's Mom Who is Savannah Guthrie's mom? Savannah Guthrie and her mother Nancy Guthrie on the set of TODAY on June 15, 2023Photo by NBC on Getty Images (Photo by NBC on Getty Images) Savannah Guthrie's mother is Nancy Guthrie, and is, the TODAY anchor says, "a mother like no other." Advertisement Advertisement "My mom Nancy is my heart and my everything and my model for what a mother should be," Savannah wrote in a heartfelt birthday tribute to her mother on Jan. 27, 2020. Savannah gushed about her mother often. Shes lived a life of integrity and loyalty. She is a consistent doer of the right thing and the hard thing, gushed on TODAY in January 2022. Shes a truth teller, whether you really want to hear the truth or not. Shes quick and shes smart, shes well-read, shes curious about everything. Savannah also said her mother, who was a stay-at-home mom, is "selfless," and that trait played a huge role in Savannah's success as a broadcast journalist. Advertisement Advertisement "My father died when I was entering my senior year in high school. I then lived at home all through college," she said. "We didn't have money to afford the dorm. And that was thing one, but the other was that my sister and I really felt like we should stick with my mom and not leave her alone." When Savannah was 21 years old, she got a job offer at a small newsroom in Butte, Montana, at the NBC affiliate KTVM. She said her mother encouraged her to accept it and chase her dream instead of staying home with her. "When I moved to Butte, Montana, this was it, and it was really hard for me to leave her," Savannah recalled. "And that's when she said, 'If you can't leave me, then I didn't do my job right, Savannah,'" Savannah said of her mom's unselfish stance. "She just gave me permission to go, you know? She could have held onto me. It wouldn't have taken very much. If she said, 'Well, you know, Savannah maybe you could find something a little closer to home...'" She added, "It's not because she didn't want me to stay. Of course she wanted me to stay! But she's like, 'I'm not going to stand in the way of your dreams. I'm going to tell you, go go go go go.'" Advertisement Advertisement In a tribute to Nancy also in 2022, Savannah said on TODAY, "She has met unthinkable challenges in her life with grit, without self-pity, with determination, and always, always with unshakeable faith. She loves us, her family, fiercely, and her selflessness and sacrifice for us, her steadfastness and her unmovable confidence is the reason any of us grew up to do anything." "She's daring and adventurous," Savannah added. "She's willing to jet off anywhere, and I really do mean jetshe once got in an F-16 in Fort Wright." Similarly, on Mother's Day 2024, she wrote that Nancy was "God's first, best and most important gift to me." A friend of Nancy, Mary Ann Blevins, told Page Six that Nancy was "a beautiful person." Nancy is a longtime member of their book club and that she regularly played mahjong with friends and watched her grandson (believed to be Annie's son). She said that Nancy never mentioned being afraid of anyone, explaining, Anybody that knows her and met her loves her. I dont think she has any enemies, and thats why this whole thing is very scary. Advertisement Advertisement Nancy is also the aunt to Jimmy Eat World drummer Zach Lind's wife. Lind wrote (via AZCentral), "My wifes aunt from the Tucson area is missing. Please come forward if you have any information." Related: What Happened to Savannah Guthries Mom? A Timeline of Nancy Guthries Disappearance Where did Savannah Guthrie's mom live? Nancy Guthrie lived near Tucson, Arizona, not far from where Savannah and her siblings grew up. Related: Savannah Guthrie Receives Message of 'Hope' From Dear Friend as Mom's Whereabouts Remain Unknown Does Savannah Guthrie's mother live alone? According to AZCentral, Nancy Guthrie lived alone in Pima County, Arizona, in the Catalina Foothills area outside Tucson. What happened to Savannah Guthrie's mom? So far it's unclear what happened to Nancy Guthrie. According to a statement from the Pima County Sheriff's Department, Nancy could not have left her home on her own due to mobility and health issues. Sgt. David Stivers also told AZCentral that there were "some suspicious circumstances" that made authorities treat her disappearance as a crime, though no specifics have yet been reported. Advertisement Advertisement Nanos urged in a press conference, "Anyone who knows anything about this, who has seen something, heard something, to contact us. Call 911. We don't need another bad, tragic ending. We need some help. This is an 84-year-old lady who suffers from some physical ailments, has some physical challenges, is in need of medicationmedication that, if she doesn't have in 24 hours, it could be fatal." Nanos added that Nancy was "of great sound mind" and did not leave her home on her own free will. Authorities urge anyone with information about Nancy's whereabouts or how and why she went missing to contact the Pima County Sheriffs Department at 520-351-4900, 88-CRIME or 520-882-7463. You can also use the P3TIPS app or visit 88crime.org to share any possible information about the case. All calls and tip submissions will reportedly remain anonymous. Related: How Savannah Guthries Family Learned Her Mom Nancy Was Missing Who is Savannah Guthrie's father? Savannah Guthrie's father was Charles Guthrie. Little is known about him beyond what Savannah herself has shared. Advertisement Advertisement She previously described him in an essay for TODAY as "always strong, sometimes terrifying, loyal to the end, and disarmingly gentle and tender when it counted." "People adored him and gravitated towards him. But for all these wonderful and magnetic traits, the one I remain most grateful for is his integrity," she added. "He had an unbending notion of right and wrong. His moral clarity was demanding and sometimes intimidating, but he tempered it, at the moment you most needed and least expected it, with kindness and mercy." Related: Savannah Guthrie Faced Tragedy When Her Dad Died Suddenly in 1988 What happened to Savannah Guthrie's dad? Charles Guthrie died of a heart attack when he was 49 years old. Savannah was 16 years old at the time. Advertisement Advertisement She told PEOPLE that her father "spent so much time with us and he took us so seriously," making it hard to adjust to life without him. "The loss of my father was shocking and devastating. It cracked open our family and crushed us," she said. "He was our center. We just idealized him and adored him. He was larger than life, and funny, and charming, and adorable. His loss was so sudden and so shocking." She previously said on Brooke Shields'What Now? podcast that the grief from losing her father largely shaped her as a person and influenced her career choices. I know it changed me and probably changed the whole trajectory of my life, she said. I often think that I would have been totally different if my father had lived. I just dont know that I would have chosen this career. I dont know if I would have left home. I mightve stayed in my hometown. I dont know what I would have done, but I know fundamentally it changed everything. And some things it changed for the better, in the sense of, I know that my heart is more tender because of it. Advertisement Advertisement I think it changes everything. I always think of it as on our calendars we have B.C. and A.D. Theres a before and after," she explained. "Its just this stark dividing line. Theres before my dad died and theres after, and its profound. Grief is a lifelong process. I really believe that. Theres acute grief. Related: Savannah Guthries Mom: Harrowing Video Appears to Show Blood Outside Nancy Guthries Home Does Savannah Guthrie have siblings? Savannah Guthrie has two older siblings. Her brother Charles Camron Guthrie, named after their father, is a retired military pilot. Annie Guthrie and Savannah Guthrie on Dec. 20, 2024Photo by MediaPunch/Bauer-Griffin on Getty Images (Photo by MediaPunch/Bauer-Griffin on Getty Images) She also has an older sister, Annie Guthrie. In a 2017 guest appearance on TODAY, Annie said, My sister and I are like the sun and the moon. Her sorrows are my sorrows. And her successes are my successes. On Feb. 4, 2026, Savannah, Charles Camron and Annie Guthrie all appeared in a video begging for proof of life for Nancy and to bring their mother home. Related: Savannah Guthries Missing Mom: Police Release Statement After Unverified Reports About Tommaso Cioni Who is Annie Guthrie? Annie Guthrie and Savannah Guthrie in New York City in December 2024Photo by MediaPunch/Bauer-Griffin on Getty Images (Photo by MediaPunch/Bauer-Griffin on Getty Images) Annie Guthrie is Savannah Guthrie's older sister. She is reportedly the last person who saw Nancy Guthrie before she disappeared. Annie went out to dinner with Nancy and dropped her off at home on Saturday night between 9:30 and 9:45 p.m. Annie is an author, poet and jeweler and lives in Tucson, Arizona. She is a publicity and marketing director for Kore Press and teaches oracular writing at the University of Arizona Poetry Center. Related: Savannah Guthries Mom: TMZ Reports Receiving Unverified Ransom Note About Nancy Guthrie Who is Tommaso Cioni? Tommaso Cioni is Annie Guthrie's husband and Savannah Guthrie's brother-in-law. On Feb. 3, 2026, reporter and podcaster Ashleigh Banfield claimed that a law enforcement source told her Cioni is a "prime suspect" in the case and that investigators seized his vehicle. However, the Pima County Sheriff's Department struck down the allegations the next morning, saying on Feb. 4, 2026, that they have no persons of interest or suspects and that they couldn't confirm if Cioni's car was seized. Related: Savannah Guthrie's Headline-Grabbing Net Worth in 2026 and What She Makes on 'Today' This story was originally published by Parade on Feb 5, 2026, where it first appeared in the Celebs section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here. The search for Savannah Guthrie's missing mother, 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, continues as Arizona officials say they "hope" they're searching for someone who's still alive. After news broke on Monday, Feb. 2, that Guthrie's mother had disappeared, the Pima County Sheriff's Department in Arizona held a press conference Tuesday to give an update on the case. Speaking to reporters, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said his office is aggressively pursuing "hundreds of leads" in the Nancy Guthrie case and reiterated that "we do believe that Nancy was taken from her home against her will." Advertisement Advertisement During the Feb. 3 press conference, Nanos was asked whether officials believe they are looking for someone who is still alive. "We hope we are," he replied. LATEST UPDATES: Savannah Guthrie speaks out on missing mom, investigation continues Live developments Today show host Savannah Guthries 84-year-old mother, Nancy Guthrie, was seemingly abducted from her home outside Tucson, Arizona, in the early hours of Feb. 1, 2026. Authorities released photos and videos on Feb. 10, of a potential suspect who was caught tampering with a camera on her front door on the morning of her disappearance. New images from a Nest camera show an armed individual appearing to have tampered with the camera at Nancy Guthrie's front door on the morning of her disappearance. New images from a Nest camera show an armed individual appearing to have tampered with the camera at Nancy Guthrie's front door on the morning of her disappearance. New images from a Nest camera show an armed individual appearing to have tampered with the camera at Nancy Guthrie's front door on the morning of her disappearance. New images from a Nest camera show an armed individual appearing to have tampered with the camera at Nancy Guthrie's front door on the morning of her disappearance. U.S. journalist and television host Savannah Guthrie speaks in a video message, thanking supporters and asking for help in locating her elderly mother, Nancy Guthrie, who went missing from her Arizona home several days ago, in this screen grab obtained from social media video taken at an unspecified location and released Feb. 9, 2026. Broadcast journalists report live outside the home of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of U.S. journalist and television host Savannah Guthrie, who went missing from her home in Tucson, Ariz. on Feb. 9, 2026. U.S. journalist and television host Savannah Guthrie, accompanied by her siblings Annie and Camron, speaks in a video message, addressing that they are willing to pay for the release of their elderly mother, Nancy Guthrie, who went missing from her Arizona home several days ago, in this screen grab obtained from social media video taken at an unspecified location and released February 7, 2026. A Pima County Sheriff's Department deputy patrols the home of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of U.S. journalist and television host Savannah Guthrie, who went missing from her home in Tucson, Ariz. on Feb. 9, 2026. Live-streamers, journalists and a Pima County Sheriff's Department deputy gather at the home of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of U.S. journalist and television host Savannah Guthrie, who went missing from her home in Tucson, Ariz. on Feb. 9, 2026. A sign and other objects showing support from neighbors is posted at the home of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of U.S. journalist and television host Savannah Guthrie, who went missing from her home in Tucson, Ariz. on Feb. 9, 2026. Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of "Today" anchor Savannah Guthrie is missing, and Arizona officials say they are investigating her disappearance as a "crime." "Today" show cohost Savannah Guthrie, accompanied by her siblings Annie and Camron Guthrie, speaks in a video message addressing a possible kidnapper who might be holding her 84-year-old mother, Nancy Guthrie in this screen grab obtained from social media video taken at an unspecified location and released Feb. 4, 2026. Chris Castorena, a private detective based in Phoenix volunteering his time to search for Nancy Guthrie, scans her street for clues after the disappearance of Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of U.S. journalist and television host Savannah Guthrie, who went missing from her home in Tucson, U.S. February 5, 2026. The Pima County Sheriff's Office in Arizona received a 911 call reporting Nancy Guthrie missing from her home outside Tucson around noon local time on Sunday, Feb. 1. Investigators showed renewed interest at the home of Nancy Guthrie on Feb. 4, 2026, stringing up crime scene tape for a time in the late afternoon. They removed it shortly before 6 p.m. Guthrie had been missing since Jan. 31, 2026, with investigators saying she had been taken from her home northeast of Tucson. Guthrie is the mother of "Today" show anchor Savannah Guthrie. Investigators showed renewed interest at the home of Nancy Guthrie on Feb. 4, 2026, stringing up crime scene tape for a time in the late afternoon. They removed it shortly before 6 p.m. Guthrie had been missing since Jan. 31, 2026, with investigators saying she had been taken from her home northeast of Tucson. Guthrie is the mother of "Today" show anchor Savannah Guthrie. Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of "Today" show co-host Savannah Guthrie, went missing from her home (pictured here) in the affluent Catalina Foothills area just north of Tucson on Feb. 1, 2026. She was reported missing from her home in a community just north of Tucson on Feb. 1, 2026. Media broadcasts as private security stands guard in the driveway of Nancy Guthrie's house after the disappearance of the 84-year-old mother of U.S. journalist and television host Savannah Guthrie, who went missing from her home in Tucson, Ariz. on Feb. 4, 2026. The front of the home of Nancy Guthrie, mother of "Today" show co-host Savannah Guthrie, on Feb. 3, 2026. Nancy Guthrie was abducted from the home some time after about 9:30 p.m. on Jan. 31, the Pima County Sheriff's Department said. She was reported missing after not attending church the next morning, the Sheriff's Department said. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos gives an update on the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, mother of Savannah Guthrie, on Feb. 2, 2026. Television media set up at the house of Nancy Guthrie, NBC host Savannah Guthrie's mother, on Feb. 3, 2026, in Catalina, Ariz. A sign is posted at the house of Nancy Guthrie, NBC host Savannah Guthrie's mother, on Feb. 3, 2026, in Catalina, Ariz.The search continues in the Tucson area for Nancy Guthrie, after she was reported missing on February 1. Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of "Today" anchor Savannah Guthrie, is pictured in an undated photograph provided by NBC. Arizona officials say they are investigating Nancys disappearance as a "crime." Nancy Guthrie and "Today" anchor Savannah Guthrie are pictured on Wednesday, April 17, 2019, on "Today with Hoda & Jenna. Arizona officials say they are investigating Nancys disappearance as a "crime." Nancy Guthrie and "Today" anchor Savannah Guthrie are pictured in an undated photograph provided by NBC. Arizona officials say they are investigating Nancys disappearance as a "crime." Nancy Guthrie and "Today" anchor Savannah Guthrie are pictured in an undated photograph provided by NBC. Arizona officials say they are investigating Nancys disappearance as a "crime." Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of "Today" show co-host Savannah Guthrie, went missing from her home (pictured here) in the affluent Catalina Foothills area just north of Tucson on Feb. 1, 2026. Chris Castorena, a private detective based in Phoenix volunteering his time to search for Nancy Guthrie, scans her street for clues after the disappearance of Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of U.S. journalist and television host Savannah Guthrie, who went missing from her home in Tucson, U.S. February 5, 2026. Nancy Guthrie kidnapping suspect seen in new photos as search continues 1 of 29 Today show host Savannah Guthries 84-year-old mother, Nancy Guthrie, was seemingly abducted from her home outside Tucson, Arizona, in the early hours of Feb. 1, 2026. Authorities released photos and videos on Feb. 10, of a potential suspect who was caught tampering with a camera on her front door on the morning of her disappearance. Officials previously said that Guthrie requires daily medication and that it "could be fatal" if she doesn't receive it. The Pima County Sheriff's Department in southern Arizona confirmed Monday that Nancy "didn't just walk out" of her home, which is being considered a crime scene. "We don't know where she is," Nanos said Tuesday, noting police are starting the investigation from where she was last seen and fanning out from there. Investigators believe Nancy Guthrie "was taken" from her home outside Tucson, Arizona, after receiving a 911 call reporting she was missing around noon local time on Sunday, Feb. 1. Nanos noted Guthrie has limited mobility and "couldn't walk 50 yards by herself." Advertisement Advertisement On Monday evening, Guthrie asks fans to pray for her mother in a statement shared on Instagram. "We believe in prayer," she wrote. "We believe in voices raised in unison, in love, in hope. We believe in goodness. We believe in humanity Thank you for lifting your prayers with ours for our beloved mom, our dearest Nancy, a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant." "Today" anchor Savannah Guthrie's 84-year-old mother Nancy Guthrie was reported missing in February 2026. See photos of the mother-daughter duo together through the years on NBC and beyond. Here, they're pictured in an undated photograph. Arizona officials say they are investigating Nancy Guthrie's disappearance as a "crime." Nancy Guthrie and "Today" anchor Savannah Guthrie are pictured in an undated photograph provided by NBC. Arizona officials say they are investigating Nancys disappearance as a "crime." Nancy Guthrie and "Today" anchor Savannah Guthrie are pictured in an undated photograph provided by NBC. Nancy Guthrie and "Today" anchor Savannah Guthrie are pictured in an undated photograph provided by NBC. Nancy Guthrie and "Today" anchor Savannah Guthrie are pictured on April 17, 2019, on "Today with Hoda & Jenna. Nancy Guthrie and "Today" anchor Savannah Guthrie are pictured in an undated photograph provided by NBC. Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of "Today" anchor Savannah Guthrie, is pictured in an undated photograph provided by NBC. Pictured here are Savannah and her mother on the set of the "Today" show on June 15, 2023. Nancy Guthrie and "Today" anchor Savannah Guthrie are pictured in an undated photograph provided by NBC. Nancy Guthrie kidnapping suspect seen in new photos as search continues 1 of 8 "Today" anchor Savannah Guthrie's 84-year-old mother Nancy Guthrie was reported missing in February 2026. See photos of the mother-daughter duo together through the years on NBC and beyond. Here, they're pictured in an undated photograph. Arizona officials say they are investigating Nancy Guthrie's disappearance as a "crime." FBI 'aggressively' pursuing leads in Nancy Guthrie case During the Tuesday presser, Jon Edwards, the assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's office in Tucson, said the FBI is providing the sheriff's office with support in the case. The FBI, Edwards said, is "downloading and analyzing cell phones, obtaining cell tower information, conducting interviews" and providing additional investigative support. "We are looking at this from every angle, but we need your help," he said, adding, "Every lead and tip is important. We are aggressively pursuing and looking into every single one." Reward offered for information in Nancy Guthrie's disappearance The Pima County Sheriff's Department said Monday it is offering a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons involved in Nancy Guthrie's disappearance. Advertisement Advertisement "Any video and photograph information is strongly requested for evaluation and analysis of evidentiary value," the department said. Anyone with information can call (520) 882-7463. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Savannah Guthrie's mother taken 'against her will,' police say Teyana Taylors style has changed and evolved over the years, but one thing she has always maintained is her love of sneakers. Her taste level for sneakers has led the Harlem native to numerous shoe collaborations, and she, an Oscar nominee, has released her own sneaker designs with brands such as Air Jordan and Reebok. Over the years, she has been spotted wearing Nike Dunks, Bape sneakers, Vans, and designer sneakers from Dior and Balenciaga. While she has been taking over the red carpet in custom designer gowns and towering heels, Taylor showcases her personality and edge through her New York-inspired street style, often centered on a strong, highly coveted sneaker. As she gears up to release her second Jordan sneaker in March, take a look at Teyana Taylors sneaker game over the years. More from WWD Best of WWD Advertisement Advertisement Sign up for FN's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylor poses backstage during The Hills: Live Finale Party at the MTV Times Square Studios April 2, 2007 in New York City. Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game She wore the A Bathing Ape (BAPE) x Pharrell Williams Roadsta sneakers in the metallic purple and green colorway. Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylor attends Chris Browns Off The Wall 18th birthday party held at 40/40 club on May 6, 2007 in New York City. Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Advertisement Advertisement She wore a pair of rare and colorful Nike SB Dunk x Atmos sneakers, which she also wore to her Sweet 16 party and purchased for $700. Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylor appeared onstage during MTVs Total Request Live at the MTV Times Square Studios on Feb. 27, 2008 in New York City. Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game She wore a pair of Nike SB Blazer Premium SB Independent sneakers in the medium grey and shock orange colorway. Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylor attends the Mercedes-Benz Fall 2009 Fashion Week at Bryant Park on Feb. 15, 2009 in New York City. Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Advertisement Advertisement She wore Nike Air Jordan Spizike Light Graphite sneakers. Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylor attended a Brand Jordan cocktail party for the release of the Jordan 24 Sneaker at Event Space on Jan. 8, 2009 in New York City. Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game She wore a pair of Nike Air Jordan 3 Retro Black Cement sneakers. Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylor at SOBs for a special limited edition Ewing Sneaker launch event on March 26, 2015 in New York City. Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Advertisement Advertisement She wore the special edition Teyana Taylor x Packer x Ewing 33 Hi Fame sneakers in rose gold and black. Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylor backstage at the Vera Wang Collection fashion Show during New York Fashion Week: The Shows at The Arc, Skylight at Moynihan Station on Sept. 13, 2016 in New York City. Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game She wore the Rick Owens Ramone Sock Sneaker in black stretch leather with a cream rubber sole. Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylor launched her Reebok Question Mid Teyana T Sneaker at Villa on Oct. 6, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Advertisement Advertisement Taylor modeled the pair of her Reebok Question Mid Teyana T Sneaker in all red. Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylor attended VH1s third annual Dear Mama: A Love Letter To Moms screening at The Theatre at Ace Hotel on May 3, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game She brought her love for sneakers to the pink carpet, wearing a pair of Balenciaga Speed sneakers, featuring a black knit upper with sparkling embellishments, a sock-like design, and a white and black contrasted sole. Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylor attended the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall on Aug. 20, 2018 in New York City. Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Advertisement Advertisement She wore a pair of Dior B22 sneakers in black technical mesh and smooth calfskin with white and red details. Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylor attends the Los Angeles premiere of The Harder They Fall at Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall on Oct. 13, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game She slipped into another pair of Rick Owens, this time wearing the DRKSHDW Zebra high-top canvas sneakers. Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylor attends the 2023 Rolling Stone Super Bowl Party at The Clayton House on Feb. 10, 2023 in Scottsdale, Arizona. Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Advertisement Advertisement Taylor wore oversized Dior B9S Skater ERL fuchsia Kumo Cannage satin sneaker. Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylor attends Hennessy X.O x Kim Jones X.O Lab pop-up in NYC on April 26, 2023 in New York City. Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game She wore the Balenciaga Runner lace-up sneakers in gray, blue and green, with the size 38 on the edge of the shoe. Summer Walker Concert Atlanta, GA Summer Walker Concert Atlanta, GA Teyana Taylor backstage during Summer Walkers One Night Only CLEAR EP Series Concert at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre on June 1, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Advertisement Advertisement She showed off her own with Air Jordan x Teyana Taylor Air Jordan 1 Zoom CMFT 2 A Rose From Harlem sneakers in red and white. Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylor attended the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures 3rd Annual Gala Presented by Rolex at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on Dec. 3, 2023 in Los Angeles. Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game While she arrived in sky-high metal heels, she switched into the Balenciaga 3XL sneakers in white with rhinestones, which feature a chunky, multi-layered sole and an embellished upper with glass crystals. Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylor and Karrueche Tran attends Neon Carnival on April 12, 2025 in Thermal, California. Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Advertisement Advertisement She wore a pair of Satoshi Nakamoto x Vans Old Skool Reissue 36 Pearlized Army Sneakers with burgundy laces and faux-pearl embellishments. Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylor attended at a Jordan Brand launch party for her second capsule with the brand in Los Angeles during Grammy weekend in February. Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Teyana Taylors Sneaker Game Taylor showed off a preview of her upcoming Air Jordan 3 Concrete Rose sneaker, which is forest green with red rose accents. The shoes are slated to release on March 7. The disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, mother of Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, is being investigated as a crime, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told NBC News. Nanos labeled Guthrie's Arizona home a "crime scene" as police believe the 84-year-old may have been taken against her will in the middle of the night. Guthrie was last seen Saturday night at home. Her family reported her missing around noon Sunday. Initially, Nanos said Guthrie was harmed during the potential abduction, though he declined to provide further details. He later backtracked on his comments, telling the Arizona Daily Star he misspoke or something. Advertisement Advertisement Guthrie had no cognitive issues prior to her disappearance. Nanos even described her as "sharp as a tack." However, she is physically limited and requires daily medication, and if she doesn't get it, Nanos says "it could be fatal." This is just really sad for our community, Nanos told NBC News. Savannah is family to us. Shes a big part of this community. Her family is devastated, the entire family. And you know, this just doesnt happen in Tucson. In coordination with southern Arizona police, the nonprofit organization 88-Crime announced Monday it's offering $2,500 for information leading to the arrest of those involved in Guthrie's disappearance. Let's hope Guthrie is found safe soon. This article originally appeared on For The Win: Where is Savannah Guthrie's missing mom? Police give troubling update Its beginning to look like Iman Vellanis next Marvel Cinematic Universe appearance as Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel will be in Avengers: Doomsday. Avengers: Doomsday update sheds new light on Ms. Marvels MCU return So far, Vellani has made three appearances in the MCU as Ms. Marvel: the six-episode first season of Ms. Marvel, the 2023 movie The Marvels, and the What If? spin-off miniseries Marvel Zombies. While Vellani has been rumored to appear in Avengers: Doomsday, her inclusion has not been officially confirmed by Marvel Studios at this time. However, trusted scooper Alex Perez of the Cosmic Circus recently hinted on X that Vellanis Ms. Marvel will be part of the fifth Avengers movie. Addressing Ian McKellens recent comments about Magneto destroying New Jersey in Doomsday, Perez revealed that the X-Men villain has destroyed the New Jersey of his universe, not the MCU, going on to state that Kamala and WestView are fine. Advertisement Advertisement The scooper also pointed out that even if Magneto destroyed the MCUs New Jersey, Kamala and the Khans are still residing in New Orleans, Louisiana. The family was shown helping Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel move into the Rambeaus house at the end of The Marvels, which is located in Louisiana. And by the way, Kamala and the Khans are still residing in New Orleans, Louisiana. https://t.co/jMV0h8VXmh Alex P. (@AlexFromCC) January 31, 2026 After a fan pushed back on Kamala leaving New Jersey and her friends behind to live in Louisiana, Perez dropped his final Doomsday update, revealing that Kamalas got a new fam now. Kamalas got a new fam now https://t.co/0NfQG4kCwZ Alex P. (@AlexFromCC) January 31, 2026 The new fam part of Perezs update has many believing that he is teasing the Young Avengers, who Kamala began assembling at the end of The Marvels, beginning with Hailee Steinfelds Kate Bishop. Perezs Young Avengers tease comes roughly two weeks after another insider, James Mack, stated that three members of the team would appear in Doomsday. Unfortunately, Mack did not disclose which Young Avengers exactly would appear, although Kamala Khan and Kate Bishop are likely two of them. Avengers: Doomsday is set to hit theaters on December 18, 2026, as part of Phase 6 of the MCU. Jacob Lofland's Cooper Norris stands outside next to an oil rig in Landman.jpg - Emerson Miller/Paramount+ "Landman" has become the latest hit series from Taylor Sheridan. While "Landman" might not be the most accurate show on TV, there are many things that make it so watchable, and one of the more subtly compelling examples is Jacob Lofland's performance as Cooper Norris. Long before he was bolstering Sheridan's drama with his talents, Lofland appeared in the intense Civil War drama "Free State of Jones," in which he was similarly compelling, even if he only had a few brief scenes. "Landman" fans will surely have been impressed by Lofland. The young actor is a revelation as the ambitious son of Billy Bob Thornton's Tommy Norris, bringing a naturalism to the role that should feel out of place in Taylor Sheridan's melodrama but which only adds to the show's appeal. While Lofland's star has only started to rise with the oil drama, he's far from a rookie. Although it may seem as if he came out of nowhere, he's actually been acting since he was 15 years old. Lofland was cast in Jeff Nichols' 2012 drama "Mud," in which he appeared alongside star Matthew McConaughey. It was an auspicious start for the youngster, who had previously never considered acting but was cast after his mother spotted a casting notice in their local Arkansas paper and asked Lofland to fill out an application. "Mud" was met with widespread critical praise, and while almost all of it was directed towards McConaughey's performance and Nichols' direction, Lofland was a quiet standout. Like with "Landman," the charmingly diffident youngster didn't have a hint of artifice in his performance, and it launched a career that, long before he appeared alongside Thornton, would see him re-team with McConaughey for the somewhat overlooked Civil War drama, "Free State of Jones." Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Every Taylor Sheridan Movie, Ranked From Worst To Best Free State of Jones is one of Jacob Lofland's most overlooked films Jacob Lofland's Daniel Knight looks into the eyes of Matthew McConaughey's Newton Knight in Free State of Jones - STX Entertainment Since launching his career with "Mud," Jacob Lofland has appeared in multiple high-profile projects and several that have flown under the radar. Lofland played a small but important role in "Joker: Folie a Deux" and even guest-starred in 10 episodes of the hit Western series "Justified." Less well-known projects include a role in five episodes of Ray Liotta's only Western: the star-studded miniseries "Texas Rising" (which is streaming on Prime Video). Another Civil War era-set example would be "Free State of Jones," which saw Lofland once again appear alongside Matthew McConaughey for a decidedly less celebrated but just as heartfelt a drama as "Mud." That's not to say "Free State of Jones" was a complete disaster. The film was written and directed by Gary Ross ("The Hunger Games," "Ocean's 8") and was based on the life of Southern Unionist Newton Knight. McConaughey stars as Knight, who, during the Civil War, led a group of rebels against the Confederacy, establishing a mixed-race community in Jones County, Mississippi. The film follows McConaughey's Knight as he becomes a medic for the Confederate Army but is vehemently opposed to slavery, preventing him from fully joining the fight against the Union. Lofland plays his nephew, Daniel Knight, who unfortunately doesn't last too long in the movie. That said, he is a hugely important character as his death is what finally prompts Knight to desert the Confederate Army and return home to Ellisville, Mississippi. Once there, he's forced to flee due to his deserter status and joins with a group of runaway slaves to lead a rebellion and establish his tiny utopia. Free State of Jones wasn't a hit, but its performances were great Matthew McConaughey's Newton Knight looks off to his left in closeup in Free State of Jones - STX Entertainment During the press tour for "Free State of Jones," Gary Ross spoke widely about the trouble he had getting financing for the movie, which was very much a passion project for the writer/director. He had noble intentions, too, as the way he saw it, much of the Reconstruction era of American history had been presented inaccurately in film. As Ross told /Film back in 2016, "[Reconstruction is] not an area most people investigate. In fact, the last movies that did it, I think, are 'Gone with the Wind' and 'Birth of a Nation,' both of which didn't tell the truth. And so, the chance to set the record straight is something that appealed to me." Advertisement Advertisement Unfortunately, the final result wasn't quite as well-received as the last film to feature Matthew McConaughey and Jacob Lofland. "Free State of Jones" was released in June 2016, making just $25 million on a $50 million budget and earning mixed reviews. The film currently has a 48% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, with reviewers either mildly impressed by Ross' attempt to accurately showcase history or disappointed with the film's long run time and reluctance to interrogate the "white savior" narrative. Still, one thing most critics did like were the performances, with McConaughey maintaining his post-McConaissance commitment to delivering some of the best performances of his career. Lofland, who is changing his approach to Cooper Norris ahead of "Landman" season 3, isn't in the film long enough to have been the focus of any reviews. That said, his scenes once again showcase the actor's remarkable ability to seem effortlessly genuine something we'll thankfully be getting more of when season 3 of his hit oil drama arrives, likely later this year. If you're looking for the easiest way to keep up with all the major movie and TV news, why not sign up to our free newsletter? You can also add us as a preferred search source on Google. Read the original article on SlashFilm. The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) is investigating the death of fishing boat captain and reality TV star Gus Sanfilippo, who died last week when his vessel capsized in Massachusetts (per CBS News). Sanfilippo was the veteran captain of the Lilly Jean, which operated out of Gloucester, and a cast member on the reality show NorEaster Men. He died along with five of his fellow crew members and a NOAA fisheries observer when the 72-foot vessel capsized on Friday night as temperatures dipped to approximately 12 degrees Fahrenheit. The other victims have been identified as father and son Paul Beal Sr. and Paul Beal Jr.; John Rousanidis; Freeman Short; Sean Thierren; and 22-year-old NOAA observer Jada Sammitt, who recently graduated from an environmental biology program. The Coast Guard will oversee the investigation from this point on. The purpose of a Coast Guard investigation is to identify measures that can improve the safety of life and property at sea, not to assign civil or criminal blame, said Lt. Cmdr. Brett Igo, the USCG Northeast District investigation oversight coordinator. Igo added that the investigation is expected to last several months, and that information will be released to the public as it becomes available. Rescuers Eventually Called Off the Search Rescue officials responded to a distress call at around 7 a.m. local time on Jan. 30 roughly 25 miles off the coast of Cape Ann. After officials were unable to make contact with the crew, the Coast Guard issued an emergency alert and sent a helicopter along with a boat crew to the location. Rescuers found one person dead floating amongst debris of the Lilly Jean, though they have not confirmed whose body was found. Search and rescue efforts were suspended the following day after workers had searched a 1,000-square-mile radius and exhausted all efforts. All of the boat's seven occupants were officially declared dead later that day. Advertisement Advertisement The decision to suspend the search was incredibly difficult, said Capt. Jamie Frederick, commander of Coast Guard Sector Boston. Our thoughts and prayers are with all the family members and friends of the lost crew of the Lilly Jean, and with the entire Gloucester community during this heartbreaking time. Sebastian Noto, a fellow fisherman who worked closely with Sanfillipo, told NBC Boston that he spoke with his friend just hours before his death. I quit. Its too cold, Sanfilippo reportedly told Noto. He was calm. He just couldnt do the cold because the air holes were freezing. I was about 30 miles east of him, Noto continued. We usually work together all the time. We are like glue, man. We give a lot of information back-and-forth. This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Feb 3, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here. A well-known local anchor on a Myrtle Beach television station is moving on from the Grand Strand. Evening anchor Rachel Bogle announced on social media that her final day on air at WMBF News will be Tuesday, Feb. 10. My time at WMBF News has been more meaningful than I can adequately put into words. From historic winter weather to hurricanes and tropical storms breaking news, CCMF, the Myrtle Beach Classic, and everything in between these past four years have been transformative and unforgettable, Bogle wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Although shes leaving WMBF, Bogle plans to stay with the channels parent company, Gray Media. Shell join Fox Carolina News in upstate South Carolina as an evening anchor. To everyone who welcomed me into your homes each day to bring you the news, and hopefully a few laughs along the way thank you from the bottom of my heart, wrote Bogle. Its unclear who will replace Bogle in the evening broadcast, and The Sun News was unable to reach WMBF with questions before publication. RACHEL MADDOW: Following day, Wednesday, a big outdoor advertising company that does tons of business with that billionaires company, advertising company called Point Blank, they send the billionaire a letter saying, hey, you know, if you help ICE build a fricking prison camp in America, in Virginia, were never doing any business with any of your companies ever again. Well, that night back in Virginia, back in Hanover County, theres a board of supervisors meeting. When when they first got those local news reports that this prison camp was coming to town, that ICE wanted to build a prison camp there, those local news reports had mentioned that the local board of supervisors was, quote, set to consider the proposal and potential next steps at its next regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday, January 28th, weather permitting. Well, as of Wednesday, January 28th, weather was not permitting. It was absolutely freezing, snow everywhere. The roads were completely covered in ice. Nevertheless, the local board of supervisors in Hanover County, Virginia, met that night, Wednesday, and the place was absolutely packed with locals. The public comment period at the board of supervisors meeting went on and on and on for hours. And nobody was allowed to speak at that public comment period unless they were from Hanover County. And, again, this is a Trump plus-26 county. But basically the whole community turned up on this icy cold, snowy, dangerous night to tell the board of supervisors there exactly what they thought. There were so many people there in the cold and the snow that once the room was full, people queued up outside despite the weather. They knew they wouldnt get in. They were told they wouldnt get in. They said they werent leaving. They were staying. They had to say their peace. And then this happened. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED: Hey there, Indivisible Virginia, were here outside the Hanover Board of Supervisors meeting. You can see people turned out hugely. They are cheering and excited right now because the rumor is that theyve just voted it down. Im going to see if I can get confirmation, if that is what has actually happened. People there was chanting, this is what democracy looks like. (CHEERING) UNIDENTIFIED: This looks awesome. Sorry, (inaudible). Do you know why people are excited? UNIDENTIFIED: They just announced proposal rejected, and everyone screamed. UNIDENTIFIED: So that so that is it. So they so these wonderful patriots have defeated the concentration camp. CROWD: Were not leaving! Were not leaving! (END VIDEO CLIP) MADDOW: Saying, were not leaving. Were not leaving. You hear the cheers that go up when they hear the result of what happened inside the board of supervisors in deep, deep red Hanover County, Virginia, said no. That night, with all those people packing the meeting with all those people outside, they said, we do not want a Trump prison camp here. In the statement that the board put out saying that they oppose this prison camp being sited in their county, they called on their state representatives in state government. They called on their federal delegation in Congress to please help them, to please make this not happen, to tell ICE and to tell the Trump administration that they were not going to have one of these prison camps in their county. So that was Wednesday night. Then, less than 48 hours later on Friday, this past Friday, the Canadian billionaire, the guy who owns that half million square foot warehouse in Ashland in Hanover County, Virginia, his company put out a very simple one line statement. It says, quote, The transaction to sell our industrial building in Ashland, Virginia, will not be proceeding. Will not be proceeding. Done. Lets go to another red part of the country. Lets go to Utah. We covered over the past couple of weeks local organizing in Utah to stop yet another huge warehouse from being bought by the Trump administration and turned into a huge immigrant prison camp there. Local organizers in Utah focused their attention on the real estate company that was trying to broker the sale of that Salt Lake City warehouse to ICE. Saw organizing like this one, Contact the real estate company today. Let them know what you think of their plan to profit off the suffering of countless human beings. Call their offices, email them, review them on Google, Yelp, and Facebook. There was a big protest at the offices of that local real estate company. The mayor of Salt Lake County got involved. She says publicly that the the size of this prison camp that Trump wants to put there, it would hold more people than the entire Utah Department of Corrections. It would hold more people in that one facility than all Utah state prisons combined. And that community is not willing to bear that cost. She said she will use, quote, all available legal and policy avenues, including land use authority, regulatory review, and coordination with local partners to oppose this thing. Then we get the Salt Lake City mayor involved. Shes contacting the local real estate group thats been getting all these calls and these emails, thats having protests at its offices. Its getting the most pressure and the worst press of its life over its choice to do business with ICE, to put a prison camp in their hometown. Salt Lake City mayor tells them, do not do it. Then this Saturday, this weekend, that local real estate company, the one that owns the warehouse, they put out their own brief, to-the-point statement, We, quote, have no plans to sell or lease the building to ICE or any other federal government agency. Done, in Salt Lake City. The 2026 Winter Olympics are set to kick off on Friday, February 6, with the Opening Ceremony for the Milano Cortina Games in Italy, but there will be a noticeable absence. NBCs Savannah Guthrie, who hosts TODAY, has reportedly pulled out of the broadcast as her mother, Nancy Guthrie, remains missing. The 54-year-old Guthrie was set to co-host the Opening Ceremony alongside Terry Gannon, but is not expected to make the trip. Savannah had planned to stay in Italy for a week to co-host TODAY with former co-host Hoda Kolb, who will be in Italy throughout the Olympics. MORE: Jason and Travis Kelces gesture for Team USA player wins hearts ahead of Winter Olympics Olympic champion Shaun White is set to join Gannon on the broadcast. May 9, 2024; New York, NY, USA; Today Show host Savannah Guthrie leaves the trial of former President Donald Trump at Manhattan criminal court. Mandatory Credit: Steven Hirsch/Pool via USA TODAY NETWORK I couldnt be more thrilled to host the Opening Ceremony alongside the incomparable Terry Gannon and snowboarding legend Shaun White, Savannah said in a statement when the news was first announced. Its such an honor to celebrate the worlds best athletes and introduce the magic and wonder of the Winter Games and northern Italy to viewers at home. Advertisement Advertisement Guthries mother was last seen at her home in the Catalina Foothills near Tucson on Saturday night, and the Pima County Sheriffs Office is investigating Nancys disappearance as a crime. We believe now, after we process that crime scene, that we do, in fact, have a crime scene, that we do, in fact, have a crime, and were asking the communitys help, Sheriff Chris Nanos said in a statement. Authorities were alerted after Nancy did not show up to church services on Sunday morning, and they are currently analyzing her cellphone. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Pima County Sheriffs Department at 520-351-4900. NFL: Ranking the greatest Super Bowl quarterback performances Advertisement Advertisement NBA: Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpos mom hints at next NBA team MLB: Mets sign former Dodgers World Series champion SPORTS MEDIA: Mattress Mack reveals massive $2 million Super Bowl 60 wager ENTERTAINMENT: WWE star calls Pat McAfee to reveal shocking 2026 Royal Rumble return VIRAL: Kendall Jenner halts interview for Tom Brady Super Bowl 60 prediction on FaceTime The post NBCs Savannah Guthrie to skip 2026 Winter Olympics with mom missing appeared first on The Big Lead. This story was originally published on CFO Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily CFO Dive newsletter. Dive Brief: Tobacco and agriproducts maker Universal withdrew its offer of employment to Archer-Daniels-Midland alum Anubhav Mittal for the position of CFO, the company reported in a Jan. 28 securities filing. The change came roughly a week after Mittals hiring was announced and one day after the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against ADMss former finance chief Vikram Luthar alleging accounting fraud. Mittal, whose time at his former employer overlapped with that of Luthars, is not a named defendant in the SECs suit. He was slated to succeed Johan Kroner as finance chief for the Richmond, Va.-based Universal on Feb. 17, the company said in a Jan. 20 press release and SEC filing first announcing his hiring. The Thursday filing did not detail the reasons behind the Richmond, Va.-based companys decision to rescind the offer it made to Mittal, but noted Kroner will remain in the seat until a successor is named. Based on the companys recent executive search, the company anticipates electing a successor in the near term, the company said in the filing. Dive Insight: Mittal, whose previous experiences also include various finance and senior roles at the Kellogg Company, joined ADM in 2016, where he served in a variety of roles including as CFO of its global pet solutions business and as VP of global corporate development and M&A, according to the Jan, 20 filing. He assumed his most recent role as CFO of ADMs Nutrition business in December 2023, shortly after Lutharwho served as finance chief for the segment for approximately a year was promoted to ADMs top finance seat in April 2022. Universal did not respond to requests for comment regarding whether the outstanding lawsuit against ADMs ex-CFO contributed to its decision to rescind its offer. Filed in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division, the SECs suit against Luthar is the latest twist in an ongoing saga related to ADMs accounting practices, particularly surrounding its nutrition segment. The suit alleges that Luthar materially inflated the performance of the companys nutrition segment for fiscal years 2021 and 2022, when it was failing to meet its operating profit goals, CFO Dive previously reported. The SECs suit also alleges that Luthar and other ADM executives knew that Nutritions growth was important to investors, according to the complaint. To amplify that message, ADM offered monetary incentives to its executives that were based on Nutritions performance. The pros say that the key to drinking coffee is to sip it like wine, but you might not want to savor Mt. Comfort coffee from Costco, specifically the Peru roast. Or, maybe you would? Therein lies the quandary with this 2.5-pound bag of whole-bean coffee: some folks love it ... and some folks absolutely hate it. Taste is, of course, subjective, so we're not sure that there's a "right" answer as to whether you should buy these beans. Listening in on the online conversation about this product is not unlike watching a particularly contentious game of ping-pong. "I got some Mt. Comfort Coffee (Peru) from Costco today, and honestly, I'm disappointed," reads the headline of a Reddit post. "It just tasted like a bland medium Columbian roast. It was almost like, the first sip was great, and every sip afterwards tasted worse and worse." On Costco's own website, a review entitled, "No ... Just no," ranted: "Store was out my regular Columbia Supremo. Tried this instead. God awful stuff. Choked down 2 sips, but could do no more. Just a terrible flavor." Several Reddit and Costco reviews complained of coffee tasting burnt or stale. Meanwhile, also on Reddit: "Very good for espressos. The medium roast is excellent." And, on Costco, where 26/49 reviews are five-star: "Best coffee I've had from Costco in a long time! I used to buy from specialty roasters [...] This is the closest thing that I have had to what I would get from local roasters in San Diego. [...] [F]or the price, this coffee is an insanely good deal." Advertisement Advertisement Read more: 12 Costco Grocery Products To Buy And 7 To Avoid Should you take a chance on Mt. Comfort coffee? white bag of mt. comfort coffee from costco - Costco If you are suspicious about buying the Peru roast from Mt. Comfort, ask yourself a few questions. Do you have some of the gadgets needed for great home-brewed coffee? You can have the best beans in the world, but, if your brewing rig is sub-par, you may not get the best-quality coffee from it. You should also ask yourself what matters to you in a coffee. Mt. Comfort Coffee's Instagram brags that the company sells single-origin coffee beans, but some of the aforementioned Reddit comments mentioned that, if you held some of the beans in your hand, you would see that they vary in appearance, suggesting a blend. Perhaps lofty versus realistic standards are a big part of the major difference in opinion regarding this product? Again, because matters of taste are matters of taste, there isn't a great objective way to tell. If you've bought this coffee or any java, for that matter and are experiencing buyer's remorse, there are a few tricks you can engage in to make your situation a bit better. Salt and cinnamon are the two-ingredient trick to upgrade cheap coffee, and you might find that these inexpensive, plentiful pantry staples make your subpar coffee drinkable. Knowing your own preferences will also help guide your decisions. Do you like drinking your coffee black, and letting its innate flavors stand on their own? You might do better to use caution than someone, for example, who takes cream and sugar with their cuppa joe. For more food and drink goodness, join our newsletter or add us as a preferred search source. Get taste tests, food & drink news, deals from your favorite chains, recipes, cooking tips, and more! Read the original article on Foodie. A while back, we wrote about the various salaries men were earning . Then, a TON of readers shared their own, and it was just as fascinating. Here are some of those responses from our female readers: 1. "I am a registered veterinary technician with 15 years of experience. I make $28 as an emergency tech, which is by far the most I have ever made. It is such a demanding job in every way, but we make so little that most people in vet med have multiple jobs." Anonymous, 41, female, North Carolina MoMo Productions / Getty Images 2. "I work in middle management for a nonprofit and make $93k a year plus bonuses and stipends, so my take-home pay is almost six figures." Anonymous, 39, female, Baltimore, Maryland 3. "I make about $146k at a public research center with almost 20 years of experience and an advanced degree. Not worth it." Anonymous, mid-40s, female, Southern California Nitat Termmee / Getty Images 4. "I'm a branch manager for a library. I make $91k. I have 12 years of experience and FINALLY just paid off my student loans." Anonymous, 48, female, Arizona 5. "Im a fifth-grade teacher. I am in my ninth year, I have my masters degree, and I make $62,000 a year." Anonymous, 40, female, Michigan Related: 19 Hilarious Screenshots Of Workers Who Absolutely Did NOT Understand The Assignment 10'000 Hours / Getty Images 6. "I make $31.48 an hour as a school cafeteria manager. I don't work nights, weekends, or holidays, and I get the summer off. I love it." Anonymous, 54, female, Charleston, South Carolina 7. "I have worked as an ophthalmic technician for 40+ years and only make $58,000 per year with two weeks of PTO." Anonymous, 62, female, Ohio Viktor Cvetkovic / Getty Images Advertisement Advertisement 8. "I'm an outpatient pediatric speech-language pathologist with 10 years of experience. I make $81k." Anonymous, 34, female, Midwest 9. "I own a small healthcare consulting firm, and I earn $200k-$250k per year. I take off six weeks a year and have two subcontractors who work part-time." Anonymous, 62, female, California Halfpoint Images / Getty Images 10. "Ive been a Medicaid supervisor at a hospital for 13 years. I started at $13/hr; now Im at $37/hr. No bonus, but pretty good health benefits. I get five weeks of vacation annually." Anonymous, 58, female, Upstate New York 11. "I'm an account executive for a large print and promo company, and I make about $100,000 per year base salary, plus another $50,000 per year in commissions. I have a degree in sociology and have more than 30 years of experience in the industry." Anonymous, 57, female, Modesto, CA Maskot Bildbyra / Getty Images 12. "I'm an analyst for a STEM nonprofit. I make $73k base and $85k with overtime." Anonymous, 57, female, Central Ohio 13. "I make $170,000 as a manager in the IT project management department for a tech company." Anonymous, 41, female, MA Luis Alvarez / Getty Images Related: 31 "Rich People Behaviors" That Non-Rich People Practice No Matter What 14. "I have 20+ years of experience, both in large corporations and small nonprofit. Just now earning $75k. I love what I do, but geez..." Anonymous, 44, female, Northeast Ohio 15. "I'm an RN, and I do inpatient dialysis at a major hospital in Pittsburgh. I have an associate's degree and no student loan debt. I make $58/hr with a flexible schedule, so about $120,000 a year. I have 11 years of experience. The flexibility and ability to travel to new sites are my favorite things about my job. " Anonymous, 44, female, Pittsburgh MoMo Productions / Getty Images Advertisement Advertisement 16. "I'm a teacher with a masters degree and 16 years of experience. I make $53,000/year." Anonymous, 66, female, Florida 17. "I'm an exotic dancer making $400 a night (that's for four hours of work)." Anonymous, 64, female, Chicago Viktoriia Makarova / Getty Images 18. "I teach fifth grade at a private Catholic school. I make about $35,000 per year. I have a Master's degree in education." Anonymous, 37, female, USA 19. "I'm a teacher. I have a master's degree and 11 years of experience. A ton of student loan debt. I make about $52,000 a year. No bonuses." Anonymous, 44, female, Maine 10'000 Hours / Getty Images 20. "I make $60,000 per year as a nonprofit development manager, raising money for the arts in Washington, DC. I have one master's degree and three roommates." Anonymous, 35, Female, Washington D.C. Related: 34 Absolutely Horrible, Unprofessional, Unhinged Things Doctors Have Actually Said To Their Patients I Wish I Were Joking 21. "I make $68k a year as a finance manager for a small social services nonprofit. I have 13 years of experience at the organization and a Bachelors in Behavioral Science. No student debt." Anonymous, 39, female, Nevada Jacob Wackerhausen / Getty Images 22. "I'm a medical technologist, making about $82,000. I have seven years of experience in the field. This job requires a bachelor's degree, but there are associate-level programs people can start with (such as a medical laboratory technician) to get into the field. Often, hospitals will help pay your school tuition if you're full-time." Anonymous, 35, female, Maryland 23. "Im a special education assistant at an elementary school. I have a bachelors degree. I make just south of $17,000. I only work during the school year, but those days are demanding physically and emotionally. I was making in the low $40s at an office when I quit to have babies. Then my babies started school, so I kept this job to keep their schedule." Anonymous, 46, female, Kentucky FatCamera / Getty Images Advertisement Advertisement 24. "I make $125k as a product manager for a tech company. I have a Master's degree in Education. I'd be making maybe half as much if I were still teaching. I work 100% remote and have so much less stress." Anonymous, 34, female, Maryland 25. "I am a VP of marketing without a college degree, at a mid-size tech company. My base salary is $265,000, with a 30% bonus based on revenue attainment, for a total of $344,500." Anonymous, 40, female, Texas Maskot / Getty Images/Maskot 26. "Im a teacher in the public school system. I made the wrong career choice! I am not respected and make $43,000 a year. Dont become a teacher unless you hate money." Anonymous, 49, female, Hawaii 27. "I'm an English teacher making $62,000, but in actuality, it is less due to the money spent on students over the course of a year. The $300 stipend is not sustainable given the cost of teacher-supplied materials for students. Also, need to deduct money to supplement health insurance, vision, and dental this is not free for teachers." Anonymous, 56, female, Florida Peter Muller / Getty Images/Image Source 28. "I'm a proposal manager for a Big Four. I get good benefits, I'm fully remote, and I have four years of relevant experience. I get $130k base with $2-5k bonus." Anonymous, 33, female, Long Island 29. "I have an Associate's Degree in Diagnostic Medical Sonography, and after working five years in a busy hospital, I started teaching at a college full-time. I have been there for over three years, am now a Clinical Director for DMS, and make $95k." Anonymous, 38, female, Texas Nortonrsx / Getty Images 30. "I was a certified teacher with a master's degree. I made $40,000 a year last year, I had six years of experience, and I brought home $30,000 after retirement and taxes were taken out." Anonymous, 39, female, Missouri Related: 33 Employees Of Wealthy People Are Exposing What Goes On Behind Closed Doors, And Good God 31. "I make $160k as an insurance agent. All it took was a six-day course. I work from home on the telephone." Anonymous, 65, female, SoCal Halfpoint Images / Getty Images Advertisement Advertisement 32. "Ive been a teacher for eight years. I have my master's and still have not hit $70,000 a year. My brother, who is seven years younger than I am, is about to graduate from college. He already has a job lined up, and his starting salary is what I will make by year 11 of my career. The health insurance is great, Im paying into a great retirement plan, and yes, we get summers off, but money can be tight!" Anonymous, 29, female, Ohio 33. "I'm a labor and delivery nurse with an associate degree and five years of experience. My base pay is $47/hour. Working the night shift, I get an additional $4/hr differential. As a charge nurse, I get another $3/hr differential on top of that. So, I make about $54/hr most nights. Working full-time, my gross pay is about $101,000/year before taxes." Anonymous, 31, female, South Metro Minneapolis, Minnesota Halfpoint Images / Getty Images 34. "I'm a private school teacher with 10 years of experience. I have $40k in student loan debt, and I make $56k a year." Anonymous, 34, female, Wisconsin 35. "Im the head of social media at a large ad agency holding company for one of our largest clients. I oversee a team of about 60. Ive been with my current company for a year, but have been working in social media marketing and marketing strategy at ad agencies as well as in-house for my whole career, so about 17 years. I make $250k a year." Anonymous, 39, female, NYC Luis Alvarez / Getty Images 36. "I work as a nurse executive. I've worked for 40 years as an RN, the last decade as the top nurse executive. I make $327k/yr." Anonymous, 63, female, California 37. "I make roughly $107k/year as a mental health therapist for the military. I get full benefits, a pension, and retirement, as well as school loan forgiveness. I have a master's degree and about $100k in student loan debt." Anonymous, 38, female, San Diego, California Maskot / Getty Images/Maskot 38. Lastly, "I'm a veterinarian. I make about $112,000 with 30 years of experience. I owed almost $200,000 in student loan debt. And yet so many people complain we are in it for the money." Anonymous, 55, female, Buffalo, NY Responses have been edited for length/clarity. What do you do for work? And how much do you get paid? Let us know (only if you're comfortable) in the comments. Or, if you prefer to remain anonymous, leave your submission in the form below. Also in Work & Money: Employees Are Revealing The "Common Knowledge" In Their Jobs That Would Leave The Average Person Completely Shocked, And Whoaaaaa Also in Work & Money: 25 Jobs That Are So Much More Difficult Than People Think, I'm Honestly Shocked People Actually Do Them For A Living Also in Work & Money: Low-Income Folks Are Revealing The Daily Struggles That Wealthy People Couldn't Even Begin To Comprehend Read it on BuzzFeed.com A Collierville 11-year-old is showing you can make a difference in your community no matter how old you are. In November, Jack Knight along with the help of his father, Alex Knight launched Help Memphis, which focuses on addressing food insecurity through small, accessible community pantries. The idea was inspired by Little Free Pantries, which are similar to the Little Free Libraries model but instead of books, people fill the little pantries with nonperishable food. Advertisement Advertisement Jack's first and only cabinet so far is located at The Mercantile Off Main at 164 Washington St. on the Collierville Town Square. It is stocked with everyday essentials such as canned goods, pasta, cereal and peanut butter. Jack Knight, 11, of Collierville launched Help Memphis, which focuses on addressing food insecurity in the Memphis area through small, accessible community pantries. These pantries are like Little Free Libraries in a sense (where) you can take a canned good out of it or put a canned good in, said Jack, a fifth grader at St. Georges Independent School. The idea is if they (pantries) get too low that well restocked them, but the hope is that we never have to restock them. People can come by with a nonexpired canned good or nonperishable (food) and put it in the pantry. You dont have to fill out a form. Were trying to make it as easy to donate as possible. Bringing community together to solve a problem Alex is a volunteer substitute teacher at St. Georges Independent School. Jack said one school day his dad saw a couple students not eating their lunch. He said one of them stated that they needed the leftovers to have food for when they go home. Jack had compassion for his fellow students. The situation sparked something in him where he wanted to help those in the community who don't always have the means to buy food. Alex said Jack was more driven after he learned how people locally with SNAP benefits were going to lose the ability to purchase food and feed their families due to the federal government shutdown. Advertisement Advertisement I dont think anyone should have to experience not having enough food since thats something thats a basic necessity for life, Jack said. Jack Knight loads up on canned goods for his food pantry effort. INSPIRING STORIES: How a lost ID helped campus police officer find his way to UTHSC dental care program Jack sprung into action and started doing research on what affordable cabinet they should purchase for the pantry, which led them to buying one from Lowes and getting canned food goods from Aldi. Help Memphis is also working with schools, churches and community organizations to expand the initiative across the area in places including Orange Mound, Frayser and Whitehaven. While we only have one pantry, we have 15 other locations (in Memphis) that said we can set up there, Jack said. Were just trying to get the pantries and canned goods to set up there. ... Its amazing how the community can come together to help solve this horrible issue. Expanding beyond food needs in community Jack said the reason why they decided to name the initiative Help Memphis is because of other ideas he has for the pantry cabinets. These ideas include possibly filling them with school supplies in August for children going back to school or coats in the winter for those who need them. Jack said several of the Memphis locations he and his father have talked with are preschools, and the hope there is to fill those pantries with diapers and baby supplies in addition to canned goods. Advertisement Advertisement We heard that they give the kids diapers at school and then they leave with that diaper and then they come back with the same diaper on, which is really sad, Jack said. Jack Knight has a food pantry cabinet located at The Mercantile Off Main at 164 Washington St. on the Collierville Town Square. Having the heart to help people in need and doing community-minded work is something that has been instilled in Jack from his parents. His mother, Amy Knight, serves as a community volunteer on the boards of the Childrens Museum of Memphis and The Orpheum Theatre Group. Were pretty philanthropic, and my son sees a lot of charity in our household, Alex said. So clearly, he has figured out a way to make something for himself for him to do. It has been a great experience, especially seeing his confidence level increase and molding it to what he wants it to be. While theres no profit opportunity at all, hes running it like a little business. Jack is learning that making a difference in the community can go a long way. Advertisement Advertisement Anyone can help with any communal issue," he said, "and what Im doing is hopefully just a small part of what the community is planning to do for people in need." Corey Davis is the Collierville and Germantown reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Corey.Davis@commercialappeal.com or 901-293-1610. To keep up with the latest news from the Shelby County suburbs, sign up here for our Suburban Pulse weekly newsletter. This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Tennessee fifth grader starts community food pantries in Memphis area 24-year-old Zina Malas moved to Canada from Lebanon, but decided it wasn't for her after 3 years. Malas had high expectations when she moved abroad, and advised against repeating her mistake. She also said to keep an open mind and finding a support system. When Zina Malas decided to relocate to Canada at the age of 21, she was desperate to leave her home country of Lebanon, feeling the political and economic instability there had robbed her of her youth. Hoping to start a new life, Malas moved to Montreal alone in 2022. Advertisement Advertisement But she was surprised by how hard it was to find work, how isolated she felt, and that she lived paycheck to paycheck, she told Business Insider. After launching her own business, Malas moved back to Lebanon three years after she left, and said she feels happier. Although Malas realized Canada wasn't for her, she'd still encourage others to try to make living abroad work for them. She shared three pieces of advice she would give anyone tempted to take the plunge. 1. Manage your expectations To avoid being let down after moving countries, Malas advised setting realistic expectations. "It's very easy to romanticize moving abroad. Most people want something new, a change, or an escape from where they currently are. That's human. But those expectations are often not met in the way people imagine," she said. Advertisement Advertisement She moved to Canada with grand expectations of the West, and was excited to live in a country more politically stable than Lebanon. Malas' expectations of Canada weren't met when she got there. Courtesy of Zina Malas Malas imagined having the time of her life, making new friends and being social, but found Canadian culture to be highly individualistic when compared to Lebanese. When she tried striking up conversations with people while she was out, the chatter would quickly hit a dead end, she said. It's important to research a country's culture and social dynamics, she said, but the differences may feel more pronounced when you're there. Remind yourself that you are in a new environment, and that things will probably feel unfamiliar and uncomfortable at first, Malas said. 2. Find a good support system Although making friends was difficult, Malas was still able to make some meaningful connections in Canada, primarily through her roommate. Advertisement Advertisement Engaging in hobbies, like pottery or climbing, could be another natural way to meet new people while living abroad, Malas said. Thanks to her social circle, Malas was able to leave Canada with great memories, including hikes, road trips around Quebec, and visits to chalets. "There's no way I could have survived without their help and constant encouragement," Malas said of her friendship group. "Living abroad can quickly turn into a loop of work, chores, sleep, repeat. Over time, that leads to isolation," Malas said. But leaning on a support system can help you break up your routine and get out of your own head. Advertisement Advertisement "Everything else will be difficult, but it's not going to be nearly as difficult if you have cool people around you," she said. 3. Keep an open mind Expect to struggle with your move abroad if your mind isn't open, said Malas. She believes that constantly criticizing your new environment and comparing it to a romanticized version of your home country are the fastest ways to ruin your experience. Malas said it's good to stay curious when you move to a new place. Courtesy of Zina Malas Although Malas eventually decided Canada wasn't the right place for her, she believes that she stayed there as long as she did by keeping an open mind. It helped her to discover several things she really liked about living in Canada, even though it was different to her life in Beirut. For example, she had more access to green spaces, such as parks, and discovered that spending time outdoors helped her feel more childlike. Advertisement Advertisement "An open mind paired with an open heart makes life abroad far easier to move through. You don't have to love everything. You just have to stay curious long enough to let the experience do its work," she said. Read the original article on Business Insider This story was co-published with Mother Jones. It was January 2022, and Rhian Allvin was in search of a space that could bring her vision to life. The early childhood leader had just finished up her nearly decade-long tenure as CEO of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, a large, national nonprofit that promotes high-quality early learning. Shed been steeped in early childhood policy, advocacy and research for years. She was ready for something new, something hands-on. She wanted to start her own early care and education program. Advertisement Advertisement Thats how she found herself, on that winter day, driving alongside a red-brick prison wall, past imposing watch towers, and onto the sprawling grounds that were once home to a notorious maximum-security prison at the Lorton Reformatory, a correctional complex in Lorton, Virginia. A pair of the former penitentiarys buildings were among the first Allvin toured in her pursuit of a property that would become her flagship location. The site intrigued her how could it not? But she walked away at least at first. I said, Im already out over my skis. This isnt a great idea, Allvin recalled. I mustve looked at 40 or 50 other spaces in Virginia. They were all so vanilla. Office buildings. I couldnt get it out of my mind. I took friends to see it. Allvin saw, in the former prison, a possibility for a second life, a rebirth. Eventually, she decided she would turn this historic site, awash in nearly a century of violence and trauma, into a place of light and joy. Advertisement Advertisement It took over a year to prepare the space, but Allvin opened the doors to Brynmor Early Education & Preschool in October 2023, with capacity to serve up to 152 children. Today, the shuttered correctional facility is home to a thriving, high-quality early learning program. Inside the 15-foot-tall walls, where blood was shed and brutality unfolded, babies now sleep soundly, practice newfound motor skills, learn to communicate with gestures and words, and explore the boundaries of their bodies. Under a roof that has overseen riots, escapes and assaults, toddlers now sit at tiny tables for mealtime, learn to wash their hands at little sinks, and attempt to regulate their big emotions under the tutelage of patient caregivers. On the same grounds where prisoners were once on lockdown for 23 hours a day, children now move about the courtyard freely, riding bicycles and scooters around a racetrack, letting their imaginations guide them in a mud kitchen. Advertisement Advertisement To get to this point, Allvin and many others had their work cut out for them. But the program is named Brynmor Welsh for great hill for a reason. Though Allvin saw a steep hill to climb in transforming this site, and in creating a high-quality, profitable early care and education business, she decided to take that first step anyway. The Lorton Reformatory comprised eight prison facilities across three campuses in the relatively small Northern Virginia community, located about 20 miles outside of Washington, D.C. The complex, which operated from 1910 to 2001 and was primarily used to incarcerate D.C. inmates, began as a progressive work camp and evolved to include distinct buildings for women, youth and eventually a maximum-security penitentiary. By the late 20th century, the Lorton Reformatory, like so many other maximum-security prisons in the United States, had become overcrowded. Violence became an everyday occurrence, according to former guards and inmates featured in Lorton: Prison of Terror, a documentary produced by former inmates and released in 2022. The facility was described as unfit for humans and dusty, dirty and dangerous. Advertisement Advertisement After it closed, the site was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Over subsequent years, much of the old prison complex was gutted, redeveloped, and converted into art studios, gyms and luxury apartments. There have been several comparable efforts to repurpose closed prison facilities across the United States over the last couple of decades, said Nicole D. Porter, senior director of advocacy at The Sentencing Project, a nonprofit organization that studies policies impacting the criminal legal system. Though a common outcome is mixed-use developments, she has noticed a trend of these spaces being converted into education centers to serve youth typically teenagers already involved in the criminal justice system or viewed as at risk. But Porter believes Brynmor is unique; shes not aware of any other former prison facility that hosts young children. And she pointed out the irony of a program serving early learners in a building that once housed incarcerated people, since early childhood investment has been associated with lower rates of crime in adulthood. Advertisement Advertisement The idea that a site that caused so much harm is converted into a site of learning, of teaching young people in a healthy way and a holistic way, is very encouraging, Porter said of Brynmor. I would hope it serves as a point of inspiration in what could be possible at closed prisons going forward. By the time Allvin was touring the maximum-security unit in 2022, only a small portion of the original prison cells were intact, preserved in a separate, undeveloped building on the grounds. The two buildings she visited 9050 and 9060 Power House Road had already been hollowed out. The two-story-high cell blocks had been removed. There was no HVAC or plumbing. Just two vast rectangular buildings. I got a cold, dark shell, said Allvin, who signed a long-term lease for the buildings. Advertisement Advertisement But the high ceilings and large, striking glass windows, which Allvin described as cathedral-like, drew her in. Brynmor Early Education & Preschool now occupies a pair of red-brick buildings that once housed inmates in a maximum-security prison. By the time CEO Rhian Allvin saw them, they had been gutted for redevelopment. (Maginniss + del Ninno Architects) The buildings were completely empty. We had a blank slate here, said Theresa del Ninno, principal at Maginniss + del Ninno Architects, a small, women-owned architectural firm that has done a number of adaptive reuse projects for early childhood, including Brynmor. You dont really think, This was a maximum-security prison. One might imagine a former prison as gray and drab, an eyesore. That is not the reality of the Lorton site. Advertisement Advertisement There was always talk about whats going to happen with these beautiful, historic brick buildings, said del Ninno. For years weve seen them there, so it was exciting to get a chance to work in two of them. The symmetrical Brynmor buildings, at about 6,700 square feet apiece, are connected by a brick colonnade portico, with ample green space in between. Inside each two-story building, the ceilings are nearly 20 feet tall. Great big windows 100 in all allow natural light to pour in. The two symmetrical Brynmor buildings, at about 6,700 square feet apiece, are connected by a brick colonnade portico, with ample green space in between. (Maginniss + del Ninno Architects) These elements created design challenges and opportunities. Advertisement Advertisement Natural light is an obvious advantage, the architects shared. Its so bright and light-filled and open, del Ninno noted. I could picture a child care center being there, said Kim Jesada, project architect, about her first impressions upon seeing the space. But the same tall, rectangular windows that allow all that light in also created challenges. We like to have windows down at a childs eye level, del Ninno explained. The bottom sills of these windows, however, sit nearly eight feet off the ground. Each building has 50 tall, rectangular windows, allowing natural light to pour in. The windows created design challenges and opportunities for the architects. (Maginniss + del Ninno Architects) The architects made cutouts in interior classroom walls and added internal windows along the corridors to allow light from outside to penetrate the innermost parts of each building. To take full advantage of the natural light coming in from 100 large windows, the architects made cutouts in interior classroom walls and added windows along the corridors. (Judy Davis) They also had to do something about those two-story ceilings, which are more than twice as high as a standard room. Advertisement Advertisement Because the ceiling is so tall, and the kids are so small, we wanted to bring the scale down, del Ninno said. They added acoustic baffles sound-absorbing panels that hang from the ceiling to create the feeling of a lower ceiling and smaller space without obstructing natural light. To make the Brynmor space inviting to a young child, the architects needed to bring the scale down. They used acoustic baffles to absorb sound and create the sense of a lower ceiling without obstructing the abundant natural light. (Judy Davis) The buildings shape is very unusual, Allvin said. That, too, was a problem to solve. Because the buildings are so long, Jesada said, we didnt want to have one single corridor running down that feels like one endless shaft. Instead, the corridor charts a diagonal path through each building. That design choice resulted in what del Ninno called non-rectilinear classrooms or what Allvin described as funky-shaped. This birds-eye map of the Brynmor project illustrates some of the design challenges the architects faced. Among the workarounds they used to make the space more approachable was a diagonal corridor. (Maginniss + del Ninno Architects) They landed on a design that had infant and toddler classrooms in one building, and Pre-K in another. The buildings are connected by an open, covered walkway that overlooks a shared play area thats almost as big as each of the buildings. It includes an outdoor storytime space, a concrete racetrack, an infant play area and natural climbing structures with timber. Children play outside at Brynmor Early Education & Preschool in Lorton, Virginia. (Rhian Allvin) The process of transforming the buildings into the welcoming, child-friendly haven they are today was long and arduous. I had moments where I was like, Was this really a good idea? Allvin recalled. There were days where it felt like too much work. It was an expensive undertaking, she said. I was building a 14,000 square-foot child care center on a family child care home budget mentality. She paid for the multimillion-dollar project with a combination of socially conscious investors, a loan from a community development financial institution and private foundation support, she said. And fortunately, there was no shortage of help. Allvins own children, now grown, assembled cribs. A network she built throughout her career, including leaders of other early care and education organizations, such as ZERO TO THREE and Child Care Aware of America, pitched in too, putting together furniture. But it wasnt just friends and family who stepped up. Members of the community were moved by the transformation and wanted to be a part of it. Shortly before the center opened, Allvin realized she needed more hands on deck, so she hired a few workers through a local company to help. One of the workers shared with Allvin that hed grown up in D.C. with a very clear idea about what Lorton Reformatory represented. He said, Anytime you need help, let me know. All I knew this place to be was where people came to die. Now its a place where babies are born, where light happens, Allvin recalled. So many people have had that reaction. Around two weeks before opening day, a local couple who had heard about the preschool showed up to see it for themselves, Allvin said. Both of them were former prison guards at Lorton. Allvin took them inside to see the progress, and standing in the infant classroom, the man commented that he wished society designed spaces as intentionally for incarcerated people as it does for kids, she recalled. The woman, Allvin said, returned every day for two weeks to help get the space ready to serve children and families. When the ribbon cutting ceremony came, Jesada, one of the architects, brought her young daughter with her. She got to see the space anew through her daughters eyes. The girl was not privy to the buildings history. Her face lit up as she walked in, Jesada remembered. The kids arent coming into this space thinking, Im going to preschool in what used to be a prison, Jesada said. [My daughter] saw a warm and inviting space filled with light. She added: I think that with any project, seeing any of the users walk in and their reaction to the space, is what makes me want to keep designing. You see how people get to enjoy the space. Seeing this space filled with kids was my favorite part of it. They feel comfortable and safe learning. Tiara Smith, an infant teacher at Brynmor who joined a few months after the center opened, didnt realize the program was housed in a former prison until she started the job. After seeing the still-intact cells on campus, though, she said the significance of the turnaround is not lost on her. A portion of the former maximum-security prison unit at Lorton Reformatory remains intact, with cell blocks preserved. (Maginniss + del Ninno Architects) Were the change, she said. Were making a difference to new lives infants, toddlers and preschoolers. We can give them that foundation to learn to love school and love life and enjoy life. We can be that partnership with families. Its definitely a powerful thing. Brynmor has been open for just over two years, and already, it has demonstrated what so many in early care and education believe to be impossible. From the start, Allvin was committed to serving children from all socioeconomic backgrounds. Drawing from her experience as a national early childhood leader, Allvin has been able to build a thoughtful revenue and fee structure that makes that possible. About 60% of Brynmor families receive some form of financial assistance either through government subsidies, child care scholarships with the support of a private foundation, or military subsidies. The rest pay the full price out of pocket. The center recently earned NAEYC accreditation the gold standard for quality in the field, yet a designation that only a fraction of programs can claim. And it invests in its staff. In a field where the average wage is $13 per hour and nearly half of early childhood educators use at least one form of public assistance, Brynmor pays its teachers on par with public school employees, and provides them with health insurance, retirement matching, paid leave and other benefits. Thats why we exist, Allvin said. Thats our North Star. The model is working so well that Allvin is busy scaling the business. Brynmor now has two more locations, one in the heart of D.C. and another inside a 250-year-old Baptist church in Virginia. Next up, she said, is an effort to convert a former elementary school into an early learning program. In a field where scarcity is the default, each of these realities is rare. Together, theyre remarkable. Yet it tracks with the narrative surrounding this project. Light chases out darkness. Hope overcomes despair. And bit by bit, the promise and potential of our nations youngest children rewrites the story of a space that, for decades, represented pain and despair. After Finlands Oulu took on the mantle last month, Trencin in Slovakia is set to launch its European Capital of Culture programme in mid-February. The city, which is located around an hour and 15 minutes away from the capital Bratislava, has planned events around the theme of curiosity. The team behind the programme has said it hopes to inspire bridge-building between people, between past and future, and between imagination and reality. Heres what to expect if youre planning a visit in 2026. All the events not to miss in Trencin in 2026 Trencin Castle, the citys top tourist attraction, is being transformed into a space for contemporary art with three exhibitions set to open on 7 February. Advertisement Advertisement The Well of Love takes the legend of Turkish man Omar, who supposedly dug into the rock at the castle after his partner Fatima was imprisoned, and translates the story into contemporary works using light, sound and holograms. Barboras Thread, from Portuguese artist Carla Rebelo, makes use of fragments from the Merina textile factory in the city to create an installation that deals with collective memory, while Japanese artist Yasuaki Onishi has created Crystalline Silence using transparent materials. Related Advertisement Advertisement In April, Trencins Light Art Festival will be back, with a number of installations popping up across the city for two days, while July will see the return of Splanekor, an event where handmade vessels attempt to sail along the River Vah. Another unmissable event in July is Garage, a music festival focusing on emerging artists from Slovakia. Then, in September, Trencin will celebrate the transformation of the former railway bridge into a cultural space with the Fiesta Bridge Festival, which will be followed by Altofest in October, with performances taking place inside homes across the city. Slovakia and the European Capital of Culture programme Trencin is the second city in Slovakia to be named a European Capital of Culture, with Kosice holding the title in 2013. Advertisement Advertisement Ahead of that years programming, the industrial city opened the Kulturpark, a former 19th century Hungarian army barracks that was turned into a cultural space, as well as the Kunsthalle, a former swimming pool that now hosts concerts and exhibitions. The European Capital of Culture programme, which has been running since 1985, aims to transform a city long after its closing ceremony. Receiving the title is a historic moment, but even more, it is an opportunity for transformation of our city, our region, and the people who live here, said Patrik Zak, Deputy Mayor of Trencin. A scuba diver on the California coast came across a rare, exotic fish in the shallow waters of the Pacific. Divernet reported that Ted Judah had an unforgettable dive when he got up close and personal with what he thought was a small oarfish on McAbee Beach in Monterey. Judah's eyes caught sight of a semi-invisible "silvery knife-blade undulating thing," and when he followed the fish up to the surface, he called out to his wife that he had seen "something amazing." Advertisement Advertisement The fish was quite shy, only letting Judah observe from the side, changing its stance as the diver tried to get a better look. Footage was captured on Judah's GoPro before he left the fish alone, not wanting to stress it any further. After posting the encounter on a Facebook diver group page, a marine biologist from Monterey Bay Aquarium identified the "amazing, cool, spectacular, rare fish" as a juvenile, deepwater ribbonfish known as a king-of-the-salmon. It is believed the Makah Tribe from the Pacific Northwest named the fish, believing it would guide salmon back to their spawning grounds upon their return. Rarely seen alive, especially at such a shallow depth, the fish can grow as long as a human and is typically found more than half a mile below the surface. Seeing one is most certainly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Advertisement Advertisement "I am so honored," Judah wrote in the post. While the sighting itself is a phenomenon, it's not exactly great news. When this ribbonfish comes to the surface, it's typically because it's sick, disoriented, or injured. It can also be a signal of stress or a shift in their deep-sea dwelling, such as warming waters. The California coast is no stranger to rare sightings of remarkable creatures. Scientists spotted a North Pacific right whale one of the rarest whale species in the world off the coast of Marin County, California. Not to be outdone, a whale watching tour was brought to tears on the East Coast when they were greeted with a rare visit from the largest animal on the planet: a blue whale. Advertisement Advertisement Documenting these unique sightings helps experts gauge population health, which is vital for endangered species and rehabilitation efforts. This is why trail cameras can be immensely important tools for conservation, as they track wildlife and their behavior without human interference. Rare encounters like these are a reminder of just how big and beautiful the world and all of its creatures are. It's also an inspiration to take action and help the environment thrive in every way possible. A cleaner, greener future is what every living species needs, and while it will take a collective effort, our everyday habits can make all the difference. Walking whenever possible, switching to an EV, and avoiding single-use plastic, such as coffee products and water bottles, are great places to start. Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips to save more, waste less, and make smarter choices and earn up to $5,000 toward clean upgrades in TCD's exclusive Rewards Club. A new promotion from Southwest Airlines will let you and a friend travel like elite frequent flyers, at least for a little while. The Companion Pass promo lets any Rapid Rewards member earn a buddy pass for their future travels. With a Companion Pass, you can designate a +1 to fly with you on any future flights you take with Southwest (I'll get to the terms and conditions in a second). Normally to earn a Companion Pass, you'd have to take 100 qualifying one-way flights in a calendar year or earn 135,000 qualifying points. But under the promotion, you need to take just two one-way flights or book a single round-trip itinerary. Advertisement Advertisement Here's how it all works: With a normal Companion Pass, you designate a buddy to fly with you on Southwest flights. You can change the designee up to three times per year. Once that person is selected, you simply book your own flights, and then add them to your reservation online or by calling customer service. When Southwest started in 1971, it flew just two routes: Dallas-San Antonio and Dallas-Houston. That's not the only thing that was different back then: The flight attendants wore hot pants and go-go boots. Click ahead for more photos from the airline's history. Southwest Airlines co-founder Herb Kelleher at the launch of the airline's Boeing 737-300s in 1984. A Boeing 737-300 aircraft in Southwest Airlines' historic colors. Southwest planes at one time featured lounge-style seating, with passengers facing each other. In 1992, Southwest co-founder Herb Kelleher famously arm-wrestled Kurt Herwald, the chairman of Stevens Aviation, for the the rights to the phrase "Plane Smart.'' Kelleher lost. Southwest airlines employee Darlene McKinney takes boarding passes from passengers at the gate at the BWI airport on Aug. 27, 1996. Southwest Airlines flight attendant uniforms in the 1990s. The tail section of two Southwest Airlines jets are seen Jan. 10, 2003 at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, Nev. Southwest announced today that the company flew 3.9 billion revenue passenger miles in December 2002, a 9.7 percent increase from the 3.5 billion flown in December 2001. Southwest's planes got a new look when the airline turned 30 in 2001. Kelleher kissed the Liberty Bell to mark Southwest's new flights to and from Philadelphia in 2005. Southwest had Shamu planes to celebrate its partnership with SeaWorld. Southwest featured baggage handlers in its Bags Fly Free advertisements. Southwest announced its acquisition of AirTran Airways in 2010. Boeing unveiled Southwest Airlines' first 737-800 in 2012. The company's latest look features a heart on the belly of the plane. Southwest Airlines added the Boeing 737 Max 8 to its fleet in 2017. Southwest Airlines' website paid tribute to co-founder Herb Kelleher on Friday, Jan. 4, 2019. Kelleher died Jan. 3 at age 87. Southwest Airlines debuted service to Hawaii in March 2019. Mario poses for a photo for the Nintendo of America and Southwest Airlines Partnership at San Diego International Airport on July 17, 2019 in San Diego, Calif. Baggage is loaded onto a Southwest Airlines plane Aug. 12, 2020, at Mitchell Airport. in Milwaukee. The COVID-19 pandemic severely affected multiple airlines and the travel industry as a whole. Southwest Airlines 737 MAX 8 airplanes are stored at the Southern California Logistics Airport on April 4, 2020 in Victorville, Calif. Commercial aircraft are being parked at the remote desert airport about 90 miles northeast of Los Angeles as demand for travel drops amid the global coronavirus pandemic. A Boeing 737-700 flying for Southwest airlines approaches the Palm Springs International Airport passing by snow-capped mountains as seen from Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif. on March 22, 2023. A Southwest Airlines jet takes off from Sky Harbor International airport heading for San Francisco on July 13, 2023 in Phoenix, Ariz. A Southwest Airlines plane takes off from Hollywood Burbank Airport as other Southwest planes are parked at their gates on July 25, 2024 in Burbank, Calif. Southwest Airlines has announced it will discontinue its 50 year policy of open seating and will assign seats including premium seating in an effort to broaden its appeal. A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 at Denver International Airport. See Southwest Airlines history in photos from the beginning in 1971 1 of 25 When Southwest started in 1971, it flew just two routes: Dallas-San Antonio and Dallas-Houston. That's not the only thing that was different back then: The flight attendants wore hot pants and go-go boots. Click ahead for more photos from the airline's history. Under the promotion, you don't need to do nearly as much flying or credit card spending to earn the pass. If you book travel by Feb. 5 and fly by March 31, you'll earn a Companion Pass valid from Aug. 10 to Oct. 7, 2026. Normal Companion Passes are valid for the remainder of the calendar year in which it is earned, plus full next calendar year. You must be a Rapid Rewards member to take part in the promotion. Travelers lining up to board a Southwest Airlines flight on the first day of assigned seating. Southwest Airlines recently switched to assigned seating and boarding by group. According to the airline's website, the boarding position and seat assignment options for both the primary traveler and their Companion will be determined by "the most favorable seat options conferred by either the Companion Pass holder or Companion's Tier status, Credit Cardmember status, or fare." Advertisement Advertisement Zach Wichter is a travel reporter and writes the Cruising Altitude column for USA TODAY. He is based in New York and you can reach him at zwichter@usatoday.com. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What to know about the Southwest Airlines Companion Pass promotion Valentine's Day gifts drop early this year with Starbucks Valentine's menu 2026 expected to drop as early as today, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, giving Strawberry Shortcake lovers something to swoon over. Starbucks' February menu drop features two new, limited-edition Starbucks Valentine's drinks, ideal for lovers of strawberries, white chocolate, banana bread, matcha, and cold foam. The Starbucks Valentine's Day 2026 menu release also includes new bakery menu items including Dubai chocolate bites, the release of 1971 dark-roast coffee, and the permanent return of Starbucks Raspberry Syrup. Amid the possible release of Starbucks mango syrup, according to notable food blogger Markie_Devo, the new Valentine's Day menu drops amid Starbucks' MrBeast Cannon Ball Drink collab and Lunar New Year cup collection, featuring Lunar New Year 2026's Year of the Horse. Advertisement Advertisement Here's what we know about when Starbucks' V-Day menu drops, what's on Starbucks' Valentine's Day menu 2026, and how to get it at a Starbucks near you in NJ. Does the Starbucks Valentine's menu 2026 release today? It's speculated the Starbucks Valentine's menu 2026 comes out Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, according to notable food blogger Markie_Devo. Starbucks has not said when the Valentine's Day menu or their V-Day drinks drop; however, Starbucks' 2025 Valentine's menu was released on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. Keep an eye on your Starbucks app or Starbucks store for the latest February menu updates. To celebrate the season of love, Starbucks will offer two Valentines Day beverages White Chocolate Strawberry Cream Cold Brew and Strawberry Shortcake Frappuccino, for a limited time. When does Starbucks Valentine's menu 2026 come out? It's possible the Starbucks Valentine's Day 2026 menu drops Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, with the menu featuring two new, limited-edition Starbucks Valentine's drinks. In 2025, Starbucks' Valentine's menu came out Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025; however, the Starbucks Valentine's menu 2026 release date has not been revealed by the popular coffee chain, as of Monday afternoon, Feb. 2. Keep an eye on Starbucks social media pages and Markie_Devo for Starbucks menu releases. Starbucks Valentine's drinks 2026 Starbucks February 2026 menu will lean heavy on two limited-edition Valentine's drinks for 2026, the White Chocolate Strawberry Cream Cold Brew and the Strawberry Shortcake Frappuccino. Pricing will vary by locations and drink size. What's on Starbucks February 2026 menu? Starbucks 2026 Valentine's menu features two Valentine's Day-themed drinks this February. Four drinks are speculated to drop Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026: Strawberry Shortcake Frappuccino, White Chocolate Strawberry Cream Cold Brew, Iced Banana Bread Matcha., and Iced Double Berry Matcha, Strawberry Shortcake Frappuccino, plus the return of Raspberry syrup to the year-round menu. Advertisement Advertisement Starbucks' may drop these new menu items on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, per Markie_Devo: Dubai Chocolate Bite, Cookie Croissant Swirl, Berry Blondie, Yuzu Citrus Blossom, Strawberry Matcha Loaf, and Chocolate Pistachio Loaf. Other Starbucks February menu items dropping this month are 1971 Roast, a dark roast coffee blend, and 1971 merch collection. How to find a Starbucks near me in NJ? There are over 17,000 Starbucks locations in the U.S., and 348 Starbucks stores in New Jersey, according to ScrapeHero. To find a Starbucks near you and grab the new Starbucks Valentine's menu in New Jersey, visit Starbucks locator tool here. Lori Comstock is a New Jersey-based journalist with the Mid-Atlantic Connect Team. This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Does Starbucks Valentine's menu 2026 come out today? See V-Day menu Researchers tracked a massive great white shark swimming off the Mississippi Coast on Friday, Jan. 30, just weeks after the animal surfaced near the shore in Alabama. The 12-foot-long, 1,009-pound shark has been swimming south of Horn Island this week, according to OCEARCH, a nonprofit organization that tags and tracks sharks. The shark, who researchers named Ernst, surfaced on Jan. 24 and again early Friday morning, Jan. 30. Ernst traveled toward Mississippi after researchers tracked her just 4 miles off the Alabama coastline, near Dauphin Island, on Jan. 11. Ernst, a 1,009-pound great white shark, was spotted near the Mississippi-Alabama coastline in January 2026. Another great white in the Gulf Where is LeeBeth, the massive great white shark that swam off Mississippi Coast? Advertisement Advertisement Ernst arrived in the waters near Mississippi and Alabama after a long journey around the countrys coastline. She was tagged last October in Nova Scotia, swam down the Atlantic seaboard, rounded the Florida peninsula and reached the Gulf of Mexico in November. Researchers said earlier this month that it was uncommon for a great white shark to swim close to shore, as Ernst did in Alabama. Great white sharks prefer water between 50 and 80 degrees, and young sharks often stay in warmer water close to shore. A screenshot from OCEARCHs website shows Ernsts travels this month near the Mississippi and Alabama coastlines. But Ernst was nearing adult age when researchers tagged her last October. Ernst returned to deeper water this week, according to her tracker. Researchers capture her location when the tag on her dorsal fin breaches the waters surface. Researchers named Ernst in honor of a ferry called William G. Ernst, which has connected rural communities on two islands in Nova Scotia to the mainland for decades. Advertisement Advertisement Her arrival near the Mississippi-Alabama coastline is the latest of several shark visits in recent years. OCEARCH tracked a huge, pregnant tiger shark named Hanna off the Mississippi Coast last September. A great white shark named Keji was also spotted south of the Mississippi Coast in 2024. This story was originally published at sunherald.com and is republished here with the Sun Herald's permission. This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Ernst the great white shark pinged off Mississippi Coast By Marianna Parraga and Shariq Khan HOUSTON/NEW YORK, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Oil refiners on the U.S. Gulf Coast are struggling to absorb a rapid surge in Venezuelan crude shipments since last month's flagship $2 billion supply deal between Caracas and Washington, pressuring prices and leaving some volumes unsold, according to traders and shipping data. The soft U.S. demand represents an early obstacle for President Donald Trump's hopes of sending the majority of the South American country's oil to the United States since U.S. forces captured Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro last month in a raid in Caracas. Trading houses Vitol and Trafigura were granted U.S. licenses to market and sell millions of barrels of Venezuelan oil following the U.S. operation and a subsequent supply agreement with interim President Delcy Rodriguez. The trading houses, which joined energy major Chevron in holding approval to export Venezuelan oil, struck several early deals to sell some cargoes to refiners in the U.S. and Europe. However, with Chevron also raising exports quickly, the trading companies are now finding it harder to secure enough buyers among Gulf Coast refiners, traders said. "We're all facing this issue where there's more to place and not enough takers," one of the traders said, citing reluctance from U.S. refiners to buy Venezuelan crude. Some refiners are complaining that prices, albeit declining, remain high compared to competing Canadian heavy grades. Venezuelan heavy oil cargoes for delivery at the Gulf Coast are being offered at about $9.50 per barrel below benchmark Brent, versus discounts of between $6 and $7.50 per barrel in mid-January. Last month, total Venezuelan oil exports to the U.S. almost tripled to 284,000 barrels per day (bpd), according to data based on tanker movements. The U.S. was absorbing some 500,000 bpd of Venezuelan oil before Washington imposed sanctions on the country in 2019. But exports to the U.S. went to zero in mid-2025 after Trump revoked all licenses to trade and ship. Reaching the U.S. refiners' maximum capacity again will require time, one of the traders said, in part because some facilities would require adjustments to process heavier oil. The chief executive of refiner Phillips 66, Mark Lashier, said on Tuesday the company can process around 250,000 bpd of Venezuelan crude, but prices must be competitive for Venezuelan grades to displace other sources of heavy oil. Chevron and Trafigura declined to comment. Venezuela's state oil firm PDVSA and Vitol did not reply to requests for comment. From the first Black president to the first African-American woman ever elected to the United States Congress, Black people have made considerable gains and helped to change the face of U.S. politics as we know it. Historically, Black political power has not come easily in the United States. The institution of slavery and systems of racial inequality from Black Codes to Jim Crow restricted the civil and political rights of African Americans for centuries. But through activism and great sacrifice, Black Americans have built political power over time. That power is not more exemplified than in Washington, D.C., the nations capital. From the first Black president to the first African American woman ever elected to the United States Congress, Black people have made considerable gains and helped to change the face of U.S. politics as we know it. Advertisement Advertisement Here is theGrios list of the most influential Black politicians in American history. Barack Obama TOPSHOT Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th US president by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts in front of the Capitol in Washington on January 20, 2009. AFP PHOTO/ TIMOTHY A. CLARY (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP) (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images) It goes without saying that Barack Obama is one of the most popular and famous figures in American politics. Before his historic rise as the first Black president of the United States, Obama blazed trails for Black people in academia and politics. As a student at Harvard Law School, he served as the first Black president of the prestigious Harvard Law Review. He was also the first African-American man elected to the U.S. Senate in the state of Illinois. Where other Black politicians tried and failed at running for the highest office in the land, Obama managed to capture the hearts and minds of millions of Americans with his charisma and message of hope and change. As president, he signed into law the landmark Affordable Care Act known at the time as Obamacare which to date has led to a 40% decline in the uninsured rate for Black Americans. He also appointed the first Black U.S. attorney general and Black woman attorney general; and the first African-American secretary of homeland security. Advertisement Advertisement Among other notable actions, Obama also convened the first U.S.-Africa summit, was the first president to publicly support same-sex marriage and LGBTQ equality, and created through executive order the first of its kind police task force to improve American policing after the deadly police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. While Obamas presidency was polarizing, it no doubt shifted the state of politics and the role of Black leadership on the biggest stage in the world: The White House. Shirley Chisholm Democratic U.S. Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm Announcing her Candidacy for U.S. Presidential Nomination, Thomas J. OHalloran, January 25, 1972. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) In 1972, Shirley Chisholm became the first woman and first Black person to run for president through a major party. At the time, Chisholm was already a giant in Black politics as the first Black woman elected to Congress in 1968. Chisholms campaign slogan, Unbought and Unbossed, probably best captures the New York congresswomans flair and determination to serve on her own terms. She used her public microphone to champion not just Black rights, but womens rights and was a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus and Congressional Womens Caucus. Chisholm also spoke out against the Vietnam War in her first House floor speech in 1969. Advertisement Advertisement As a presidential candidate, her unabashed style as a politician resulted in pushback from the status quo in Washington, including among her fellow Black male lawmakers signaling an inability for women to overcome the weight of sexism in U.S. politics. While her campaign for president was largely seen as symbolic, today she is regarded as one of the most influential politicians in U.S. history, paving the way for the likes of former President Barack Obama, Vice President Kamala Harris, and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Jesse Jackson, Sr. BOSTON JULY 28: The reverend Jesse Jackson addresses delegates during the Democratic National Convention July 28, 2004 at the FleetCenter in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) Minister and civil rights activist Jesse Jackson Sr. wasnt the first Black person to run for U.S. president, but he is considered the first candidate to have a legitimate shot at clinching the Democratic Partys nomination. Prior to his two bids for the White House, Jackson was a prominent civil rights leader who worked alongside Martin Luther King Jr. and ran the Chicago branch of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. In the 1970s and 1980s, Jackson founded and operated his own nonprofit organizations: Operation PUSH and the Rainbow Coalition. Advertisement Advertisement In 1984, Jackson became the second African American to run for president. While his candidacy was initially dismissed as a fringe campaign, he would ultimately finish third in the Democratic primaries with more than 3 million votes. He ran again in 1988 and doubled the total votes he received in the previous presidential election. Following his unsuccessful presidential bids, Jackson continued to influence Democratic politics from within the activist community. He also built a political legacy. His eldest son, Jesse Jackson Jr., was elected to Congress in 1995, and his younger son, Jonathan Jackson, was elected to Congress in 2022. Kamala Harris WASHINGTON, DC NOVEMBER 06: Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks on stage as she concedes the election, at Howard University on November 06, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Vice President Kamala Harris entire career has been filled with breaking glass ceilings for women and women of color. Before being elected the first Black and first South Asian vice president in United States history, Harris served as the first Black U.S. senator in California, the first Black and first female California attorney general, and the first Black and first female district attorney of San Francisco. As the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, Harris aimed to make history again as the first woman, first Black woman, and first South Asian person to be elected president of the United States; however, she was unsuccessful. Still, Harris made history as the first Black and South Asian woman to win a major party presidential nomination and managed to pull off a national campaign in just 107 days after President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 election. As a graduate of Howard University and member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Harris is the first vice president to graduate from an HBCU and to be a member of a historically Black Greek Letter organization, also known as Divine Nine. She has used her role as VP to increase visibility for the legacy and value of HBCUs and Divine Nine organizations. Advertisement Advertisement As vice president, following in the legacy of former President Obama, Harris has established a renewed representation of Black power both domestically and abroad. Her unique role as an African-American and as a Black woman has been leveraged in the Biden administrations effort to improve U.S. relations with African and Caribbean nations, as well as taking the lead on the White Houses efforts to protect reproductive rights after the Supreme Court overturned the federal right to an abortion. Harris has also used her powerful position to continue advancing the policy issues she worked on as a U.S. senator, including addressing Black maternal health and investing in Black- and minority-owned businesses. John Lewis Congressman/Civil Rights Icon John Lewis (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images) The legacy of the late John Lewis runs deeper than American politics. Before he was elected to the U.S. House to represent Georgias 5th Congressional District, Lewis was a civil rights giant who fought for racial equality under the mentorship of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and nearly lost his life during the 1965 Selma to Montgomery march for voting rights, which later became known as Bloody Sunday. Inspired by Kings leadership in the civil rights movement in the early 1960s, Lewis was involved in organizing and civil disobedience at a young age. He was arrested and jailed many times for his activism and quickly rose to become a leader of his generation. Lewis served as head of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, or SNCC, of which he was a founding member. Lewis was also one of the 13 original Freedom Riders who protested segregation on public buses and helped organize the 1963 March on Washington. While in the U.S. House, where he served for 33 years, Lewis continued his activism including protesting apartheid in South Africa, for which he was arrested outside the countrys embassy in Washington. Lewis was also instrumental in the creation of the National Museum of African American History and Culture; he introduced legislation for its construction over 15 years, which was signed into law by former President George W. Bush in 2003. Advertisement Advertisement Today, Lewis name is a rallying cry in Washington, as the most recent legislation on voting rights in Congress is named after him. Carol Moseley Braun Mayoral candidate former U.S. Senator Carol Moseley Braun speaks to reporters following a televised debate at the Oriental Theater February 17, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. The election to replace current Mayor Richard Daley, who has ran the city for the past 22 years, will be held Tuesday February 22. To avoid a runoff election the winner of Tuesdays election will need to get more than 50 percent of the votes. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) Before there was Kamala Harris or Barack Obama, there was Carol Moseley Braun. Moseley Braun has the distinction of becoming the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Senate, the first African American from the Democratic Party elected to the Senate, and the first Black American to serve in the U.S. Senate from the state of Illinois. Before her historic election to the Senate, Moseley Braun served as an Illinois state representative and a Cook County executive. Moseley Braun, who came of age during the Civil Rights Movement, previously worked as a lawyer. She served as an assistant U.S. attorney in Chicago, primarily focusing on work in housing, health policy, and environmental law. While serving in the Senate, Moseley Braun notably defied an unofficial rule that required women to wear dresses or skirts. In 1993, she and fellow U.S. Senators Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., and Nancy Kassebaum, R-Kan., intentionally violated the rule by wearing pants. Later that year, the rule was amended to allow women to wear pants, provided they also wore jackets. Advertisement Advertisement Despite breaking glass ceilings for women and African Americans in politics, Moseley Braun only served one term in the U.S. Senate. She would later be nominated by President Bill Clinton to serve as U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand. She also ran unsuccessful campaigns for U.S. president in 2004 and for Chicago mayor in 2010. In 2023, the political trailblazer was nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as chair of the United States African Development Foundation. Colin Powell In this Sept. 25, 1991, file photo, Gen. Colin Powell, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, at a House Armed Services subcommittee. (AP Photo/Marcy Nighswander, File) Colin Powell was a trailblazer in national security, becoming the first African American to serve as U.S. Secretary of State. He was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2001 and served for four years. The 35-year Army veteran used his military and foreign policy expertise to serve in crucial roles, including as deputy national security advisor and national security advisor, from 1987 to 1989 under the Reagan administration. Before becoming the first Black secretary of state, Powell was the first Black person to serve as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Bush administration. Powells high-ranking national security positions were rare and groundbreaking on the domestic and international stage, where white men historically dominated. The country and the world witnessed, for the first time, an African-American leading diplomacy and foreign policy something that led many to call for his run for president. The four-star general ultimately decided not to run for higher office due to a lack of desire to get involved in politics. Advertisement Advertisement Powell is also credited with playing a role in the historic election of Barack Obama as the nations first Black president. During the 2008 presidential election, Powell endorsed Obama. He also slammed false assertions that suggested that Obama was Muslim. As a Republican, it reaffirmed Powells reputation as a leader who put the country before his political party. Andrew Young FILE Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young talks to the media on the steps of City Hall, Nov. 10, 1982, in Atlanta. At right is City Councilman John Lewis. (AP Photo/Charles Kelly, File) A former pastor, Andrew Young, was a leader in the civil rights movement before running for public office and later breaking down barriers in the U.S. diplomacy community. Young served as executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and was a close confidant to Martin Luther King Jr. He was notably with King when he was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1968. Young embarked on a political career, first running for Georgias 5th Congressional District unsuccessfully in 1970. He won the U.S. House seat two years later and was reelected twice. While in Congress, Young helped sponsor legislation to establish the U.S. Institute of Peace a precursor to his international work in building peace around the world. In 1977, Young retired from Congress and was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to become the first African American to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. After his ambassadorship, he served as mayor of Atlanta and later served in many roles in advocacy and academia. John Conyers Jr. Washington, D.C.: Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) during press conference. (Photo: Getty Images) John Conyers Jr. broke major barriers for African Americans in the halls of Congress and beyond, serving in the U.S. House of Representatives for more than 50 years. The Michigan lawmaker, who died in 2019, became the first Black member of Congress to introduce legislation supporting reparations a bill known today as H.R. 40 that remains to be passed and the first bill to make Martin Luther Kings birthday a federal holiday. Advertisement Advertisement Conyers, a Detroit native, was the first African-American to serve on the powerful House Judiciary Committee and the first African-American to become Dean of the House. He was also a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus. Conyers long run in Congress came to an end in 2017 during the #MeToo Movement when it was disclosed that, two years prior, he used funds from his congressional office to settle a sexual harassment charge brought by a former female staff assistant. He later resigned. Joseph Hayne Rainey Joseph Hayne Rainey of South Carolina, 1865-1880. Rainey, Hon. Joseph Hayne of S.C., between 1865 and 1880. [Politician, barber, banker. Born into slavery, he was the first black person to serve in the United States House of Representatives and the second black person (after Hiram Revels) to serve in the United States Congress. During the Civil War he was conscripted by the Confederates to work on fortifications in Charleston. Escaped to Bermuda and worked as a barber; supported legislation that became known as the Enforcement Acts, to suppress the violent activities of the Ku Klux Klan; supported what was finally passed as the Civil Rights Act of 1875]. Artist Unknown. (Photo by Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty Images) Joining his fellow Republican Party member, Hiram Revels, in Congress in 1870, Joseph Hayne Rainey was the first African American elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, representing South Carolina. The son of Bermudian immigrants, Rainey worked as a barber before he was forced by the Confederate army to build defenses in the American Civil War. During the war, he and his wife escaped to Bermuda, where he operated a barbershop and his wife owned a dress store. They returned to the United States in 1866 when the war ended. Rainey then served in the South Carolina Senate before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives to fill a vacant seat, and later served four full terms. While in Congress, Rainey served on the House Select Committee on the Freedmens Bank and was the first African American to preside over the House of Representatives from the Speakers chair. Raineys time in Congress marked the first emergence of Black political power in Congress. During Reconstruction, he was one of 13 Black members of Congress. They would remain in office until Democrats gained back control in the former Confederacy and began eradicating the civil rights of African-Americans, leading to voter suppression and a mass exodus of Black representation in Congress. Hiram Rhodes Revels Hon. Hiram R. Revels of Miss., ca.1870. Artist Unknown. (Photo by Heritage Art/Heritage Images/via Getty Images) Hiram Rhodes Revels broke political barriers in 1870 when he was elected to the United States Senate, becoming the first African-American person to enter either chamber of Congress. Revels, born in North Carolina, was a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. During the Civil War, he served as a chaplain for the United States Army. He later relocated to Mississippi and served in the state Senate. During Reconstruction, the Mississippi State Legislature voted for Revels to represent the state in the U.S. Senate. The Republican politicians historic election did not come without opposition from white southern Democrats, who challenged the constitutionality of his election given the fact that Mississippi was under military rule and lacked a civil government to confirm his election, according to U.S. Congress records. Democrats at the time also argued that Black people had only gained citizenship two years prior under the 14th Amendment and that he needed citizenship for at least nine years to serve in the Senate. Revels was serving out the remainder of a term left vacant during the Civil War and remained in the U.S. Senate for a little over a year before his term expired. During his time in the Senate, he advocated for the eradication of segregation statutes and promoted the civil rights of Black Americans. He also notably caused controversy when he nominated a Black candidate to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Hakeem Jeffries CHICAGO, ILLINOIS AUGUST 21: U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) speaks on stage during the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 21, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) On Jan. 6, 2023, U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., made history when he was elected by House Democrats to serve as minority leader in the U.S. House of Representatives. Jeffries, who has served in U.S. House since 2013, is the first African American to lead a major political party in either chamber of Congress. After being passed the baton by U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the former longtime House speaker, Jeffries represents the next generation of Democratic leadership. While his party is presently in the minority in the U.S. House, Jeffries has been praised by Democrats for his leadership, including keeping the party united against Republicans, who for the first time removed their House speaker, U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., from office. The House Republican majority has also had the least productive legislative sessions in decades. Democrats, led by Jeffries, are hoping to take back the House majority after the November 2024 elections. If they are successful, Rep. Jeffries will make history yet again as the first Black American to be elected House speaker. More must-reads: NEED TO KNOW A 16-year-old boy has died after the snowmobile he was operating hit a tree in Upstate New York, according to state police The teen, whose name has not been released, was pronounced dead at the scene State police are still investigating the fatal incident A teenager has died after his snowmobile collided with a tree in Upstate New York. The incident occurred around 7 p.m. local time on Monday, Feb. 2, near Riggerman Road in the town of Russia, according to a news release from New York State Police. Advertisement Advertisement A preliminary investigation determined a snowmobile was traveling southbound on a secondary trail when the operator lost control and veered into a tree. The operator of the snowmobile, a 16-year-old male, was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities have not released the name of the victim. An investigation into the crash is ongoing, they said. This crash occurred nearly two weeks after another teen snowmobiler broke his back in a similar incident in Alaska. Ryan Wheat, 15, was riding a snowmobile on Jan. 20 when he accidentally caught a stump, causing the vehicle to fly over a 30-foot ledge," according to a GoFundMe set up by his aunt, Nancy Beratto. Advertisement Advertisement The teen told KTUU that he was riding snowmobiles with his dad and friend when he hit the stump while going over a hill. He broke his back in four places. Ryan reportedly had to wait three hours to be rescued, and was airlifted to Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The teen then underwent surgery, having 14 screws and two rods inserted into his back, according to KTUU. His parents said Ryan has a pretty long road to recovery. Nearly $15,000 has been raised through the GoFundMe as of Tuesday, Feb. 3. Read the original article on People Two suspects are accused of a fake money order scheme that happened last summer at the Truist bank in Denver, the Lincoln County Sheriffs Office stated. Charles Warren Spikes, 28, of Gastonia deposited six fake money orders into the account of Jasmine Goode, 34, of Gastonia, the sheriff said. ALSO READ: Man breaks into NC Little Caesars, makes and sells pizzas The two are accused of committing this type of fraud at other Truist locations in the Carolinas, as well. Advertisement Advertisement Spikes was charged with one count of felony obtaining property by false pretenses, six counts of felony uttering of a forged instrument, and one count of felony conspiracy. He got a $7,500 secured bond for all charges and is currently being held in the Cabarrus County detention facility on other charges. Goode was charged with one count of felony conspiracy and was released on a $5,000 unsecured bond. VIDEO: Action 9: How to prevent senior credit card fraud INDIANTOWN, Fla. (WFLA) Two young Florida girls were found safe over the weekend after authorities said a man drove nearly 24 hours straight from Nebraska to abduct them and take them back home with him. This was a sobering case for us here at the county sheriffs office, but were thankful with how it ended, Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek said during a Monday press conference. St. Petersburg rape suspect arrested, police believe there may be more victims Advertisement Advertisement The suspect, identified as Hser Mu Lah Say, 19, of Omaha, Nebraska, began communicating with the two sisters, ages 12 and 15, on the gaming app Roblox in mid-2025, according to the sheriffs office. (Credit: Martin County Sheriffs Office) Family members immediately brought this up to detectives when the two girls from Indiantown went missing on Saturday evening. According to the sheriff, in the summer of 2025, the family had noticed weird things going on, involving gifts like food showing up to the house. All these things that I just mentioned were indicative of what we believe to be a grooming process that the suspect was doing with these young girls, Budensiek said. Officials said the family believed they had put a stop to the girls communication with Lah Say, but detectives learned their conversation moved off Roblox to Snapchat. Advertisement Advertisement The sisters had their phones taken away earlier Saturday morning as punishment after they went to a park by themselves and did not return home on time. Detectives believe they were trying to meet up with Lah Say, who had left from Omaha, Nebraska on Friday. Family brought the girls home from the park. The girls then vanished Saturday evening. After receiving the report, investigators began scouring local hotels and parks. They also looked through the girls confiscated phones. Snapchat had been deleted off the devices, but detectives reloaded the app and discovered a constant thread of communication between Lah Say and the girls, the sheriff said. Budensiek described their conversations as romantic, with Lah Say calling the older girl baby. However, the sheriff said there was no sexually explicit language in the messages. Advertisement Advertisement A more recent message stated that Lah Say was driving to Indiantown to pick the girls up and leave, according to officials. Part of that communication was the suspect saying, I drove all this way, please dont leave me hanging, Budensiek said. According to the sheriffs office, Lah Say had been able to keep communicating with the girls via a family tablet at their home, despite their phones being taken away. At that point, our deputies that were on scene realized what we were dealing with. We were dealing with a type of abduction, Budensiek said. I know these girls went willingly, but their age suggested that they had been taken and were probably being removed from our area. Advertisement Advertisement The sheriff said he and his deputies entered full crisis mode, and called on other agencies to assist in the case. Detectives used various investigative techniques to determine a timeline and what route Lah Say would likely be taking back to Nebraska with the two girls. A selfie Lah Say had taken at a gas station in Indiantown was key to the investigation, the sheriff added. Investigators believe he picked the girls up around 6:45 p.m. Georgia State Police found Lah Say and the girls around 1 a.m. on Sunday, according to the sheriffs office. At that point, they were about six hours away from Indiantown. When we finally got the phone call that he was stopped and the girls were safe, it was like we all decompressed, Budensiek said. The family actually came out and hugged us. They were tearful, they were just elated that those girls were safe. Advertisement Advertisement Lah Say was arrested and charged with two counts of kidnapping and two counts of interfering with child custody. He was being held in jail in Georgia Monday, but authorities expect him to be taken back to Florida to face his charges by the end of the week. Budensiek said hes unsure what Lah Says intentions were with the girls, but he believes they potentially prevented something disastrous. We have gone through the devices that we had available to us at the time, the sheriff said. Weve not seen anything explicit necessarily, but we know our suspect was repeatedly warning these young girls that he could get in a lot of trouble for what he was fixing to do, so he knew he was violating the law. Investigators plan to search Lah Says phone to find out more information. Advertisement Advertisement The sheriff warned parents that no online app is safe and said this case is a reminder to be vigilant when it comes to childrens online activity. He added that this case was resolved quickly partially due to the parents warning them of previous suspicious activity. There is no application online thats safe, be it a gaming app, be it Snapchat, be it something as user friendly as Instagram or any social media application, Budensiek said. If you can communicate with somebody away from your house in the quiet of your room, it can be a problem. So parents have to be vigilant. In this case, they were vigilant. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA. Two Illinois men are set to appear in a Kentucky courtroom the morning of Monday, February 2, after police arrested the pair for allegedly trying to kidnap a teenage girl right from her home. The Laurel County Sheriff's Office arrested the men Gabriel Waibel, 19, and Chad Goffinet, 43 on Saturday, January 31, after getting a call from the teen's mother. The mom told county dispatchers Waibel and Goffinet showed up at their London home before 6 a.m. and informed her that they would be leaving with her daughter. Waibel even told the mother that her child was his girlfriend, according to a statement from police. Advertisement Advertisement The mother said that she told the two men to leave, which they did in a silver vehicle. She then called 911 with a description of their car. Within minutes, deputies caught up with the men who are both from Peoria in a nearby business' parking lot and questioned them. Other deputies arrived at the home to find footprints in the snow leading up and away from the home. The same footprints were found around an accessory building and other areas of the property, police explained in the statement. Long Island Man Arrested After Kidnapped 11-Year-Old Girl Found Undressed in His Bed Investigators eventually learned that the girl, who is 17, had been communicating online with Waibel for the last two months. Advertisement Advertisement Police said that they believe the two suspects were planning on traveling to Texas with the teen. It was unclear what they planned on doing once they arrived in the Lonestar State. A news release on the mens arrests does confirm that Waibel allegedly told police he planned on bringing the girl back to his home in Illinois at some point without her parents' consent. Waibel was formally charged with attempted kidnapping of a minor, first-degree unlawful transaction with a minor, illegal sex act with a minor under 18, and first-degree sexual abuse. Laurel County Correctional Center Meanwhile, Goffinet, who was driving the silver car, was charged with complicity in the kidnapping of a minor and possession of marijuana. Advertisement Advertisement Waibel is being held on a $75,000 bond while Goffinet has been remanded on a $50,000 cash bond. It was unclear how the two men knew each other. It was also unclear what led to the sexual abuse charge. Us Weekly was unable to determine what pleas the men entered on Monday. Information about their attorneys was also unavailable at press time. Texas Teen Who Was Kidnapped on Christmas Day Saved by Dad Who Tracked Her Phone Waibel is facing a serious amount of jail time if convicted. First-degree unlawful transaction with a minor is punishable by up to 12 months in jail. He could be sent to prison for up to 20 years if he's convicted on the attempted kidnapping count. Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, a conviction for first-degree sexual abuse carries a one- to five-year prison sentence for those found guilty. If you know of a young person who is being exploited or are the victim of a crime, you are urged to report it to your local FBI field office by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI. Tips can also be left at tips.fbi.gov Two teens were shot and critically wounded in the South Shore neighborhood Tuesday morning, Chicago police said. The shooting took place at about 2:45 a.m. in the 2200-block of East 67th Street. Officers responded to scene and found a 16-year-old boy unresponsive near an apartment building, police said. The boy had multiple gunshot wounds and was transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition, police said. Advertisement Advertisement After canvassing the scene, officers found an 18-year-old boy with multiple gunshot wounds inside an apartment, police said. The boy was transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition, police said. Dr. Danielle Cooper lives in the building. "We've reached out to the property managers," Cooper said. "They're just unbothered, unemotional about it. They really don't care." Cooper said there's not enough security in the building. "These kids are always up and down 67th Street, Lakeshore drive, and they are compromised, not just the children, but even the young adults," Cooper said. Advertisement Advertisement Neighbors say something needs to be done to help stop the violence "Just returned back home from Tennessee after being gone for 18 years, so coming back and seeing that this historical violence is still here, is asinine, you know," Cooper said. Two guns were recovered from the scene and no one is in custody, police said. Area One detectives are investigating. INTERACTIVE SAFETY TRACKER Track crime and safety in your neighborhood Physical violence targeting cryptocurrency holders escalated sharply in 2025, with wrench attacks surging 75% year over year, according to blockchain security firm CertiK. This rise marks a critical inflection point in crypto security, where technical safeguards are no longer sufficient against real-world violence. From Code to Coercion: Wrench Attacks Expose Cryptos Human Security Gap A wrench attack is a form of theft in which attackers use physical force or threats to coerce someone into handing over crypto private keys or passwords, bypassing all technical security measures. It targets the person, not the technology. Advertisement Advertisement CertiK noted that while these types of attacks were once regarded as an "edge-case risk," they have transformed into "a structural threat to digital asset ownership." "2025 is officially the most violent year in the history of cryptocurrency," the firm wrote. In its Skynet Wrench Attacks Report, CertiK revealed that verified physical coercion incidents rose sharply in 2025, increasing to 72 cases worldwide from 41 in 2024. This marked a 75% year-over-year increase. The trend accelerated early in the year. The first quarter of 2025 alone accounted for 21 incidents. Although the second quarter saw a slight slowdown with 16 cases, activity picked up again in the second half of the year. 17 incidents were recorded in Q3 and 18 in Q4. May 2025 stood out as the most violent month, with 10 reported attacks, followed by January 2025 with 9. Crypto Wrench Attacks in 2025. Source: CertiK Kidnapping remained the most common tactic, accounting for 25 incidents in 2025. This represented a 66% increase compared to 2024, when 15 such cases were reported. Physical assaults also surged, rising from four incidents in 2024 to 14 in 2025, a 250% increase. Advertisement Advertisement Losses linked to these attacks have grown alongside their frequency. In 2024, total losses from physical coercion cases were estimated at $28.3 million. In 2025, stolen funds exceeded $40.9 million, marking a 44% increase in value lost. "Though this figure significantly understates the true impact due to under-reporting, silent settlements, and untraceable ransoms," the firm stated. "The data indicates that attackers are no longer focused only on whales, but also on individuals with modest holdings, simply because they are known to own crypto." Europe Emerges as Epicenter With France Leading Attack Frequency The report further highlighted that in 2025, Europe accounted for over 40% of global wrench attacks, making it the "most dangerous region" for crypto holders. France led this trend, recording 19 cases, more than any other country. Physical Attacks on Crypto Holders By Region. Source: CertiK The data also pointed to a relative decline in North Americas share of wrench attacks. The region accounted for 12.5% of global incidents in 2025, down from 36.6% in 2024. Reported cases fell from 15 to 9. "This does not necessarily imply that the US is a safer place, but rather that the global volume has expanded elsewhere," the report stated. Asia remained a "high-risk" region. Its share of global wrench attacks remained relatively stable, rising slightly from 31.7% in 2024 to 33.3% in 2025. Advertisement Advertisement According to CertiK, the threat in Asia remains heavily concentrated on crypto tourists and expatriates, particularly in hubs such as Thailand and Hong Kong. "The psychological fallout is perhaps the most damaging long-term effect. The rise in extreme violence has created a climate of fear that is driving high-net-worth individuals into hiding. Founders and early adopters are scrubbing their digital footprints, withdrawing from public events, or relocating to jurisdictions with lower crime rates," CertiK mentioned. Several high-profile cases in 2025 highlighted the escalating brutality of wrench attacks. In France, a highly organized transnational crew kidnapped Ledger co-founder David Balland and his wife in January and demanded a 10 million crypto ransom. After a two-day manhunt, authorities rescued both alive and arrested multiple suspects. In December, the 21-year-old son of a Ukrainian politician, Danylo Kuzmin, was murdered in Vienna after being lured into a trap and tortured for access to his crypto wallets. Attackers stole about $200,000 before killing him. The authorities detained the suspects later. In the UAE, crypto entrepreneur Roman Novak and his wife were killed after being ambushed during a staged business meeting. The attackers sought access to crypto holdings reportedly worth hundreds of millions, but executed the couple when the wallets failed to deliver the expected funds. Advertisement Advertisement These are just some of the many incidents that occurred in 2025. They show that crypto crime has moved far beyond online theft. Physical violence, including torture, ambushes, and even murder, is now being used to target digital asset holders. How Crypto Holders Can Reduce Real-World Risks Amid Rising Wrench Attacks CertiK warned that wrench attacks are likely to become more sophisticated, shifting from purely physical coercion to psychologically driven and highly scalable threats. The firm expects attackers to increasingly use deepfake extortion and AI-powered social engineering. This includes fake video calls and mass-produced honeypot schemes designed to pressure victims. To reduce risk, CertiK recommends that individuals focus on minimizing their visibility and exposure. This includes avoiding sharing wallet addresses, portfolio screenshots, travel plans, or routine details linked to crypto activity. The firm also added that users could maintain decoy wallets alongside secure primary vaults. "Never co-locate seed material and signing devices; avoid keeping recovery material at home. Use a travel phone with minimal accounts, disable lock-screen previews, and keep high-value wallets off daily devices," CertiK said. For institutions, CertiK emphasizes structural protections. These include adopting multi-signature or MPC systems with withdrawal limits and delays, adding friction to large transactions, and formalizing executive security and travel protocols. Advertisement Advertisement The firm also urges companies to extend security training beyond executives to include family members, close associates, and employees. They are increasingly being targeted as proxy victims. Read original story 2025 Was the Most Violent Period for Crypto-Related Crime, CertiK Reports by Kamina Bashir at beincrypto.com Property taxes may not end with a bang, but with a ballot measure and a billion-dollar whimper, as more states move away from reforming and instead aim to kill the tax that funds schools and many public services. For decades, state lawmakers have tinkered around the edges of property tax reform, capping increases, compressing rates, and carving out relief for the most burdened of homeowners. But in 2026, at least five state legislatures are throwing that playbook out and moving to eliminate property taxes outright. A mix of election-year pressure, swelling assessments, and an affordability crisis thats squeezing long-tenured homeowners on fixed incomes is fueling a bold new wave of proposals. The plans vary in structure and ambition, but they share one thing: a belief that its time to fundamentally rethink how states fund public services and whos footing the bill. Advertisement Advertisement Some of these states, namely Texas, have high property tax rates that are unpopular among voters, especially when the state runs a budget surplus nearly every year, explains Joel Berner, senior economist at Realtor.com. The rest have all seen major increases in the taxable value of homes that are leading to higher property tax burdens. Its that tension thats now pushing states to test just how far voters and budgets are willing to go. North Dakota eyes oil and tax savings/credits to replace lost revenue Of all the states experimenting with property-tax abolition, North Dakota has moved furthest toward a workable funding model. Gov. Kelly Armstrong has outlined a plan that would commit roughly $483 million from the states general fund, plus future earnings from the oil-tax savings account, to offset property tax cuts and credits. Advertisement Advertisement This plan is aggressive, durable, and responsible, he told lawmakers. The proposal builds on the states primary-residence tax credit, delivering up to $1,550 in initial annual relief per household. That credit would increase every two years and gradually rely more on oil-tax earnings over time, while a 3% cap on annual growth in local property-tax budgets limits future increases. When paired with an expanded property-tax credit for income-eligible seniors and people with disabilities, Armstrong argues the plan would eliminate property taxes for an entire class of homeowners who need that relief the most, and it would put the bulk of primary residences on a path to zero within the next decade. That could make a significant difference for North Dakota homeowners under pressure. The states median home price is about $342,400, and the median property tax bill tops $3,000 a year, according to data from Realtor.com. Georgia and Florida battle for the ballot But not every state has the luxury of oil and gas windfalls to fund bold tax experiments. And further south, Georgia and Florida are battling in the state legislature to approve ballot initiatives that would end property taxes while scrambling to find alternative funding sources. Advertisement Advertisement In Georgia, Republican legislators, including state Rep. Jon Burns, have backed a plan to eliminate most homeowner property taxes by 2032. The proposal would begin with a $1 billion state outlay to reduce current property tax burdens, followed by a dramatic raising of the exempt value of primary residences from $5,000 to $150,000 in 2031, and eliminating most property taxes the next year. To replace the revenue, homeowners would be billed directly by their local government for services like garbage pickup, stormwater control, and fire protection, while any government or school improvements would need to be approved by voters. But that swap comes with heavy baggage. Sales taxes are more volatile than property taxes and vary widely by region and economy, as shown by Florida. While momentum has been building since early 2025 to eliminate property taxes on homesteads in the Sunshine State, replacing the lost revenue would require lawmakers to nearly double the statewide sales tax ratefrom an average of 7.02% to a staggering 15.34%just to offset the shortfall, not including the likely behavioral changes that would erode collections further, according to an analysis from the Tax Foundations Jared Walczak. Advertisement Advertisement Still, state lawmakers floated more than seven different proposals last year aimed at softening or phasing out property taxes, mostly focused on primary residences. But Gov. Ron DeSantis has pumped the brakes on this throw everything at the wall and see what sticks strategy. Rather than backing multiple bills, hes urged lawmakers to consolidate their efforts behind one clearly defined ballot initiative that stands a real chance with voters, even teasing the possibility of a special session. Texas takes aim at school funding Meanwhile, in Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott has made eliminating school property taxes a marquee issue heading into the 2026 election. While lawmakers passed a series of tax relief measures in 2023 and 2024, including rate compression and homestead exemptions, Abbott has repeatedly said those changes dont go far enough. Advertisement Advertisement Every single year, you, my constituents, keep saying our property taxes are too high, Abbott told supporters at a campaign stop in late 2025. We have to do more to lower them. Abbott has floated a long-term plan to use state surpluses to buy down school property taxes until they can be phased out entirely. But so far, a clear road map to replace the lost education funding remains elusive. Still, with the governors backing and broad support from conservative voters, the idea has become a central talking point and a test of whether one of the largest and most complex school funding systems in the country can be reimagined. Indiana joins the fray Indiana is also joining in, throwing its weight behind full-scale property tax repeal. In a post on X, Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith positioned eliminating property taxes as his top priority for the 2026 legislative session. Advertisement Advertisement Hes backing House Bill 1288, one of the most sweeping proposals in the country. The bill would abolish the assessment of tangible property after Dec. 31, 2026, and end property tax collection entirely beginning in 2027. To offset the billions in lost revenue that currently fund local services, HB 1288 proposes broadening Indianas sales and use tax to include most serviceseverything from legal fees to haircutsand redistributing that revenue through a local government sharing fund. Zero slogans collide with budget realities For every bold promise to eliminate property taxes, theres an inescapable fiscal truth: Property taxes account for 70% of local revenue, 90% of school funding, and 25% of all state and local tax revenue in aggregate, according to Billy Hamilton, deputy chancellor emeritus, Texas A&M University. Replacing that revenue requires a level of long-term financial engineering that few lawmakers have fully worked out. Advertisement Advertisement Even in proposals that bank on redirection of general fund dollars or dividends from oil tax savings, the math remains stubborn: Property taxes are unusually stable and predictable. Sales and income tax revenues, by contrast, are more volatile, especially during economic downturns. Thats why the most ambitious plans are also the most fraught. Eliminating property taxes means either slashing services, shifting the burden to more regressive taxes, or hoping for a level of economic growth and political consensus that rarely holds over time. And that tension is already surfacing. As one-time relief packages give way to permanent elimination plans, voters will have to decide not just whether they want lower taxes, but whether theyre comfortable with what gets cut to make that happen. Soon, well spotlight the citizen-led movements pushing similar goals from the ground up. In many states, its not just lawmakers driving this shift but the voters themselves. This story appeared in The Logoff, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here. Welcome to The Logoff: We have a new tranche of documents from the Epstein files but not much more clarity. What do we know? On Friday, the Justice Department released about 3 million new documents from the Epstein files, or the DOJs collected investigative materials from its investigations into deceased financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Advertisement Advertisement Among the revelations: emails between Epstein and Steve Bannon, Trumps White House chief strategist from his first term and now a MAGA media titan, as well as between Epstein and current Trump Commerce secretary Howard Lutnick (contradicting past statements by Lutnick), and Epstein and Elon Musk. One particularly lurid item released last week was an FBI tip sheet with disturbing allegations of sexual abuse by Donald Trump and Epstein, but the claims on the sheet are unsubstantiated and unvetted. Also included in the release was a draft of a 2007 indictment, which was ultimately not filed after Epstein reached a deal with prosecutors. Whats the context? Congress passed a law late last year mandating the disclosure of the files, which began in December but has moved slowly since then, despite hundreds of DOJ lawyers working on it including more than half of the lawyers for the Southern District of New York. Advertisement Advertisement That rush has resulted in sensitive material being published by mistake, including the unredacted names of dozens of Epstein victims and unredacted nude photos. Its a good reminder of something Voxs Ian Millhiser wrote last year: Theres a good reason the DOJ has strong norms against releasing these kinds of materials. What dont we know? As my colleague Andrew Prokop wrote last year, there were some big-picture questions that could have been answered by releasing the files. Chief among them: Did Epstein traffic women or girls to other men, as some of his victims have said? And if so, why werent those men charged? As was the case in December, though, this latest and much larger release of files did little to clear up those or other questions. Whats next? This is likely to be the last substantial release of files by the DOJ, if not the last outright. On Sunday, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told ABC that the review is over, though a judge is still considering some materials for release. Advertisement Advertisement That doesnt mean the Epstein story is over, however: Ghislaine Maxwell, an Epstein confidante and convicted child sex trafficker, will be deposed by a House committee next week. And new details may still come to light out of the millions of documents still being reviewed by journalists. And with that, its time to log off Its that time again: My colleagues over at Voxs Unexplainable made something delightful and Im going to tell you to listen to it. This time, its a follow-up to a 2025 episode about the musical note A, featuring listener and violin and cello maker Michael Doran. You can listen to the full episode here. Thanks for reading, and well see you back here tomorrow! A 33-year-old Ohio woman was sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison for setting fire to an apartment building that killed a residents cat in Akron. In November 2024, the Summit County Sheriffs Office responded to reports of a fire on South Turkeyfoot Road, according to our CBS news affiliate, WOIO. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement When the first deputy arrived on the scene, he found the first floor of an apartment building in flames, immediately searching the remaining units to make sure everyone had evacuated. The Coventry Township Fire Department arrived shortly after and extinguished the blaze. No injuries were reported; a residents cat named Lily died in the fire. The resident who called 911 reported that he had been in a verbal altercation with an acquaintance, identified as Courtney Cooney, earlier in the day. He told deputies that she returned to the apartment building after their argument, yelling that she had set fire to one of the downstairs apartments and warned him to evacuate. Advertisement Advertisement Cooney took off from the building before law enforcement could arrive. Deputies located burned clothing at the scene that they believed to be Cooneys. Deputies later found Cooney and arrested her in the driveway of a residence off of Flynn Avenue. Cooney admitted to officers that she had an argument with the 911 caller and then left his apartment. She said she had kicked out an air-conditioning unit to gain access to one of the ground level apartments. Once inside, she told officers that she poured gasoline on a couch and set it on fire. Officers said Cooney also attempted to set a piece of clothing on fire and place it in the 911 callers vehicle gas tank. Advertisement Advertisement She pleaded guilty to the following charges in December: One count of Aggravated Arson a Felony of the 1st Degree; One count of Aggravated Arson a Felony of the 2nd Degree; One count of Burglary a Felony of the 2nd Degree; One count of Cruelty to Companion Animals a Felony of the 5th Degree; and One count of Criminal Damaging or Endangering a Misdemeanor of the 2nd Degree. Courtney Cooneys selfish rage and spite led her to displace innocent residents of an apartment building and cause the death of a beloved pet, said Prosecutor Kolkovich. Cooney will also be placed on the Ohio Arson Registry and will be required to register with her local county sheriffs office once a year for the rest of her life, when she is released from prison. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] By Jaspreet Singh Feb 3 (Reuters) - U.S. space stocks rose on Tuesday after Elon Musk announced the merger of SpaceX and xAI in a deal that valued the combined entity at $1.25 trillion, a major push to expand artificial intelligence infrastructure outside Earth. Musk estimates that within two to three years, the most cost-effective way to generate AI compute will be in space, as Big Tech companies spend hundreds of billions in the pursuit of artificial general intelligence, a theoretical milestone where machines could surpass human capabilities in cognitive tasks. The record-setting deal sparked a rally in a relatively nascent industry. Shares of Rocket Lab and Planet Labs rose 3.9% and 1.2%, respectively, while AST SpaceMobile added 4.3%. Intuitive Machines gained 4.7% and Redwire was up about 2%. Musk said the combination aims to create a vertically integrated and ambitious innovation powerhouse, combining AI, rocket technology, space-based internet services, direct-to-mobile communications and a platform for real-time information and free speech. "Others may buy into Musk's grand vision of data centers in the cosmos, and this may only whet the appetite ahead of what could be the largest IPO of all time," AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said. The merger of two of the largest privately held companies in the world comes as SpaceX plans a blockbuster public offering this year that could value it at more than $1.5 trillion, two people familiar with the matter have said. Global investment in space technology is poised to climb further this year, propelled by government spending on defense-linked satellite systems and private sector bets on launch capacity, investment firm Seraphim Space said last month. "This is the strongest validation yet that space will be the backbone of the next wave of AI," said Seraphim Space CEO Mark Boggett. MUSK'S BIG DREAMS Musk, the world's richest man, has a long history of making ambitious promises and often delivering late. Many of his biggest ideas are still in the works, including Tesla's FSD, which still is not fully autonomous despite years of predictions that it soon would be. The billionaire's ambition also included the Department of Government Efficiency, which upended Washington with its rapid-fire drive to slash thousands of federal jobs. His far-flung business empire what some investors and analysts informally call the "Muskonomy" also includes brain-chip maker Neuralink and tunnel firm the Boring Company. Tesla, which last year lost its global EV sales crown to China's BYD, plans record capital spending of more than $20 billion this year, which will be used to build factories for Cybercab autonomous vehicles, Optimus robots, semi-trucks, batteries and lithium production. A 7-Eleven employee was attacked at a store in downtown Los Angeles. The incident happened at the convenience store location on Los Angeles and 2nd Street around midnight Tuesday. The employee was treated at the scene, and investigators don't think anything was taken. Meanwhile, there was another incident at a separate 7-Eleven store in the Westlake area. According to the Los Angeles Police Department, the store on Witmer Street and Wilshire Boulevard was robbed by an adult man around the same time as the downtown L.A. incident. The suspect allegedly used force to rob the store and then dropped stolen goods while making his escape in a waiting car. No arrests have been made in either incident. Almost 700 pounds of cocaine have been seized in Nassau County in what is being called one of the largest drug busts in the county's history. Two people are facing charges in connection with the bust of 687 pounds of cocaine that was found in a car last Thursday. On Tuesday, $20 million in cocaine was stacked up on a table in front of authorities during a news conference at Nassau County Police Headquarters in Mineola. Advertisement Advertisement Police say officers were staking out the parking lot of a Holiday Inn on Sunnyside Avenue in Plainview. When they saw what was believed to be a sale go down, they approached the truck with the defendants inside and saw cocaine in the front seat. "They got the two individuals out, they placed them under arrest, they opened up the trunk of the pickup truck and this is what you got? 312 kilos of cocaine," said Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder. Police arrested Michael Viera, 40, and Daniel Santana, 35. They were arraigned on charges of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first and third degrees. Both of those charges could carry maximum sentences of 20 years behind bars. Advertisement Advertisement The two men are from Deland, Florida, but according to officials, they also previously lived in Puerto Rico where they had faced homicide charges. "This is over $20 million of street value that was going to go out into the streets of Long Island and affect our kids that are out there," Ryder said. Nassau County Executive and Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman spoke about the massive takedown. "We have here one of the largest, if not the largest, drug bust we've ever had on Long Island," Blakeman said. Prosecutors say they are going to try to upgrade the charges to include drug trafficking. The suspects were remanded to jail and authorities say the investigation is ongoing. Advertisement Advertisement ---------- * More Long Island news * Send us a news tip * Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts * Follow us on YouTube Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply. School drop-offs and pick-ups across Minneapolis look a lot different since Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents came to town. Kate Lundquist, a mom of six and a local teacher, told CNN, these days as she hustles her children out the door she finds herself checking to make sure her two adopted sons have their citizenship documents. As the mother of a Black teenager who lives mere miles from where George Floyd was murdered Lundquist said her blended family has already had tough conversations around how to interact with local police officers. Advertisement Advertisement But, she added, its an entirely different thing when federal immigration agents are stopping people and questioning their right to even be in the country. There was one day specifically where it was known that agents were pulling over people at random in my neighborhood just blocks from my home, she said. Knowing my son was going to be driving home from high school how do I prepare my kids for that potential danger? A sense of fear hangs like fog over this diverse, close-knit city. In the weeks since the Department of Homeland Security launched Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis and the surrounding areas, much of the nations focus has centered on federal immigration agents hardline and at times fatal tactics. But parents and teachers in the Minnesota communities most impacted by the surge tell CNN the ripple effects of the operation have spread well beyond the streets and into their classrooms. Advertisement Advertisement And its robbing students not only of their opportunity to learn, but also of their innocence. A balloon in an empty hallway at a Minneapolis high school. - Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images Our kids hear the whistles, and they hear the car horns, and they know that means that theres a bad person nearby, said Elizabeth, a south Minneapolis mom who asked to be identified only by her first name. My child hasnt had recess since December its not safe for them to be outside, she added, (Federal agents) dropped tear gas a block-and-a-half away from a school last week during dismissal. I wish that people on both sides of the aisle could look at these kids and see that something needs to change. Why dont my friends feel safe? Breonna Robinsons third grade classroom has grown gradually quieter in recent weeks. Advertisement Advertisement Robinson teaches in the Columbia Heights School District the same district where 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father were detained by ICE last month. Although the preschooler and his father were released from detention this weekend, many families in their community remain fearful the same thing could happen to them, as long as the operation continues. The district said, in addition to Liam, five other students have been detained in recent weeks and classes were canceled Monday while local police investigated bomb threats sent to schools in the district. In December, Robinson said she began noticing a few of her students who were normally engaged and excited to learn had begun to withdraw. Advertisement Advertisement Her classroom is like an ecosystem, she said, where everybodys personality matters; everybody has something to contribute. As federal agents ramped up activity across Minneapolis, Robinson said some of her students began describing how terrified their parents were. And after the holidays, she added, many of those same students didnt return to class. Liam Ramos' school cubby still held his personal belongings while he was detained. - Obtained by Erin Burnett OutFront/Roosevelt Mansfield/Columbia Heights Public Schools A photo of Liam Ramos' cubby at school. - Obtained by Erin Burnett OutFront/Roosevelt Mansfield/Columbia Heights Public Schools Then, the fatal shootings began first Renee Good; then Alex Pretti. Now, Robinson said, many undocumented parents at the school and indeed across Minneapolis are too afraid to leave their homes for a simple grocery run, let alone to take their children to school. In response, some school districts have scrambled to offer online classes. Advertisement Advertisement When I log in to take attendance, it shows who is dropping off my roster because theyre going (to school) online and its like 20% of my class that Im losing, she said. And their absence has been felt most of all by their classmates, who Robinson said now pepper her with questions like, What are ICE agents? Whats their job? What isnt their job? And why dont my friends feel safe coming to school anymore? Initially, I tried to kind of sweeten how I was talking about the situation, but I have found I cant really do that anymore, Robinson said because most of her students are exposed to the news and their parents conversations. So, Im having really difficult, candid conversations with eight and nine-year-olds. Advertisement Advertisement Admittedly, Robinson said, this is not how she imagined her second year of teaching. Raids leave a palpable weight Last month, the state of Minnesota sued multiple Trump administration officials over the surge in immigration enforcement agents. The lawsuit claimed the increase in federal agents is a violation of the 10th Amendment and of Minnesotas state sovereignty and zeroed in on the impact the immigration enforcement has had on the states core governmental functions, including public schools. Over the weekend, a federal judge denied a request to temporarily halt the operation that has seen thousands of agents dispatched to the state. But the impact of the raids has spread beyond the Twin Cities. In Rochester, Minnesotas third largest city, school Superintendent Kent Pekel told CNN more than 500 students were absent in his district in January compared to the previous month. Advertisement Advertisement Pekel said his district has a large Somali population and when you drill down into demographics, the absences have skyrocketed especially among students whose first language is not English and those of Latino descent. Two children draw in coloring books in a Minneapolis safe house on January 16, 2026, where their family relocated them after their mother and grandmother were detained earlier that month by federal immigration agents. - Jack Brook/AP I think for all students and staff, theres just a gigantic psychological weight that is really palpable, he said. Ive had teachers email me and just say, I dont know how I can teach right now. But they keep showing up, he added, because they care deeply about their students and their families. Pekel said hes worked in education for decades and while illegal immigration has always been a divisive issue, there used to be a tacit agreement that students should not be caught in the crosshairs. Advertisement Advertisement The one point of agreement among most people was: We got to educate the kids, he said. That has broken down in such a profound way. Education Minnesota, a leading advocate for public education in the state, has called for ICE to stay away from local schools and argued their actions put students and educators at serious risk. This disruption comes on top of the ongoing fear and emotional harm students experience when ICE operates in their communities, said Monica Byron, president of the organization. As both a teacher and a parent, Lundquist said the ICE arrests have changed the way she feels about greeting her students each morning. Advertisement Advertisement When I say, I am happy to see you. Im so glad youre here, I mean that with the depths of my soul, she said. When those babies are in our building, that is a win for the day because theyre in a safe place with us they got to school and they didnt have to hide. A sign reading "Protect Neighbors" is posted near a bus stop as a school bus passes on Friday, January 30, 2026, in Minneapolis. - Kerem Yucel/Minnesota Public Radio/AP Children dont deserve this Like many kids across Minneapolis, Elizabeth said her childs young life has been punctuated by tragedies that have marred the landscape of their hometown. George Floyd was murdered blocks away from their daycare. Not to mention the assassination of Minnessota State Rep. Melissa Hortman, or the shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church last summer. And now, Pretti and Good have both been killed a few miles away from their home. The compounding tragedies, Elizabeth said, have forced her family to have tough conversations about life, death and how people in uniform do not always treat Black and Brown families the same way. But in the wake of each tragic event, nearly everyone who spoke to CNN said theyve also seen a groundswell of community support. After school, Robinson said the lunchroom transforms into a food pantry as teachers and staff work to pack canned goods, produce and other food for students whose parents havent felt safe enough to leave their homes. Teachers, she said, have been delivering the food in their personal time. I think just the spirit of Minnesota is to step up when people need you to step up, Robinson said. A volunteer organizes a food pantry at a Minneapolis coffee shop that has served as a resource for those impacted by the ICE operations surge. - Erica Dischino/Reuters Elizabeth has joined a network of local parents who observe school pick-ups and drop-offs and help carpool students safely home. As the kids pile into the car and sing along to KPop Demon Hunters in the back seat, Elizabeth told CNN she often finds herself stealing furtive glances in her rearview mirror and wondering: Are there agents in that car? Does that SUV have out-of-state tags? Are we being followed? She admits its the kind of vigilance youd expect to see dramatized in a high-stakes thriller; but she said its unfortunately become the norm. I just have to be mindful that I have precious cargo in my car and make sure nobodys following us, she said. It makes me want to protect my community more, which is why we need ICE out of our schools. Children dont deserve this. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Feb. 2GRAND FORKS The American Civil Liberties Union of North Dakota has distributed a survey to Indigenous students to gauge their understanding of their rights within the state, particularly regarding tribal regalia and cultural expression. North Dakota is one of 14 states in the country that has legal protections outside of the First Amendment for tribal regalia, according to Cody Schuler, the North Dakota ACLU's advocacy manager. Schuler says despite these protections, he still receives calls annually from Indigenous students asking questions about their tribal regalia rights in public schools. He says the calls are often resolved easily, but highlights the need for more education around Indigenous rights in the state. Advertisement Advertisement "We're always looking for ways to better understand how people understand their rights, right? Like, what is the knowledge base?" he said. "It is a constitutional right for them as United States citizens, especially the people who were here before our constitution existed ... to honor and revere those cultures, but also for those individuals to express themselves and to share who they are." Tribal regalia in schools made news in Grand Forks last spring, when a group of parents said the local school district told Indigenous students they would not be allowed to wear traditional beadwork on their graduation caps. During a Advertisement Advertisement subsequent meeting with parents, district leaders said they plan to introduce stoles for American Indian students starting this year. The ACLU survey, distributed to Indigenous students across the state through their teachers, social media and word of mouth, is meant to be a "temperature check" about how well-versed students are in their own regalia and cultural expression rights. The survey is made up of 18 questions to gather students' experiences around wearing tribal regalia at school ceremonies. The survey asks students if they've ever felt tribal regalia has been treated differently than other forms of cultural expression, who makes decisions about whether regalia is allowed in their school, the personal impact when Indigenous cultural expression is restricted, and ideas for improving the protection of students' cultural expression. Advertisement Advertisement Schuler said ensuring Indigenous students can express their cultural identity during school ceremonies is vital and added that Indigenous culture is embedded in North Dakotan communities and in the identity of the state itself. "I think that it's so important for our Indigenous people to be able to share their culture and to express their culture and their religion," he said. "This is North Dakota. The very name of our state is taken from Indigenous language." The ACLU is a nonprofit organization focused on defending First Amendment rights and fighting censorship. According to Schuler, The Tribal Regalia and First Amendment Rights in North Dakota survey is an informal and non-scientific study intended to gather information and possibly lead to education or policy initiatives. "It will give us a little bit of a pulse on what's happening around the state," he said. Many upset Adelanto residents demanded a clean water solution from their elected officials in early December, detailing hair and skin problems due to the city's "brown, cloudy, foul-smelling" water. Less than two months later, Adelanto City Council has taken action to secure a qualified firm that will provide home water filtration systems at no cost to residents. The announcement came at the Jan. 28 Adelanto City Council meeting, three years after the synthetic chemical Perfluorooctane Sulfonic Acid (PFOS) was first detected in Adelanto water. Advertisement Advertisement Mayor Pro Tem Ramos met with California state representatives at the recent League of California Cities conference in Sacramento, who promised commitment to support the cost of both water filtration units and their installation. Although various Adelanto residents expressed concern over the use of taxpayer dollars for out-of-town conferences, Ramos emphasizes the importance of attending and meeting other elected officials, which, he said, helps "get things done" and put Adelanto on the map. Adelanto currently meets all minimum state water quality standards. Mayor Gabriel Reyes, however, says that meeting the minimum is not enough. He has vocalized a desire for Adelanto to exceed state standards to provide added assurance and peace of mind for Adelanto residents. Advertisement Advertisement Once a firm is selected, the city plans to assist approximately 500 households and apartments experiencing water quality-related concerns. Eligibility details will be available following contractor selection, of which the city promises to inform its residents. More: Detainees sue Adelanto ICE facility, alleging inhumane conditions What is wrong with Adelanto's water? PFOS contamination was detected at 4.3 parts per trillion (ppt) in an Adelanto water sample in early 2023. According to Marin & Murphy Law Firm, who are "closely following" the case, that is a concerning amount of contamination. PFOS is a specific type of PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which are a group of artificial chemicals that have been widely used in various industries since the 1940s. Theyre found in consumer products, like non-stick cookware, food packaging and stain-resistant fabrics. Advertisement Advertisement Adelanto isn't the first High Desert locality exposed to water contaminants. Similarly, PFAS toxins were detected at high levels in the groundwater at Edwards Air Force Base in 2018. These contaminants pose serious health risks to those exposed to them, including testicular and kidney cancer and ulcerative colitis, according to health experts. Resident Magda Torrellis stated that the water situation in Adelanto is "horrible" at the Dec. 10 council meeting, and she wonders if the bout with cancer she had in 2024 was directly linked to the poor quality of water in Adelanto. McKenna is a reporter for the Daily Press. She can be reached at mmobley@usatodayco.com. This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Free water filtration systems promised for Adelanto residents The head of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is warning that many thousands of people are at risk of death in Sudan's South Kordofan region, just a few months after the fall of the city of El Fasher in Darfur. Following a visit to the region, Jan Egeland said that militias are besieging the cities of Kadugli and Dalang, also known as Dilling. "This is a critical moment," Egeland said in a statement released on Monday. "We know exactly where this leads if the world looks away again. History will judge us if we abandon the civilians of Sudan again to face endless violence and deprivation." Advertisement Advertisement In Kadugli in particular, where the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia has cut off all supply routes to the city for weeks, hunger is rampant, he said. The number of people currently in the besieged city is unknown. A total of more than 160,000 people were living in the two refugee camps in the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan, which Egeland visited last week. These are almost exclusively women and children, as the men are not being allowed to leave the besieged cities. Talks with the RSF to bring food convoys to Kadugli had failed. Given the lack of funding and the rainy season starting in May, this is a race against time, Egeland said. Advertisement Advertisement There are around 12 million refugees in Sudan, and the UN describes it as the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world. There does seem to be hope for the besieged cities, with a military spokesman reporting that government troops had managed to break the siege of Kadugli and Dalang. Cheering people could be seen celebrating the soldiers on social media. Sudanese activists also confirmed the arrival of government soldiers in the two cities. India's aviation regulator said it found no defect in the fuel control switch of a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner jet grounded by Air India based on a pilot's report. The issue was reported on Sunday after the plane, which took off from London, landed in Indian's Bengaluru city. The regulator said that while starting the engine during take-off, the crew noticed that twice the fuel control switch - which regulates the flow of fuel into the plane's engines - did not "remain positively latched in the run position when light vertical pressure was applied". Advertisement Advertisement It remained stable the third time and the crew closely monitored the aircraft during the flight, which "was completed without incident". Air India had said in a statement on Monday that it informed India's aviation regulator about the issue and that it was getting the pilot's concerns checked on a "priority basis". A Boeing spokesperson had told the BBC in response to a question that the company was supporting Air India's "review of this matter". The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said on Tuesday that when the switches were operated according to Boeing's recommended procedure, they were found to be "satisfactory", staying at run instead of moving to cut-off (which can stop fuel supply to the engines). It added, however, that incorrectly handling the switch caused it to "move easily from run to cut-off". Advertisement Advertisement These checks were performed in the presence of DGCA officials on the affected aircraft and another aircraft, the statement said. The DGCA has also asked Air India to circulate Boeing's recommended procedure to operate the switch to its crew members. The grounding of the plane gained a lot of attention as it came amid an ongoing investigation into last June's plane crash involving an Air India aircraft of the same model which killed 260 people. The crash of the London-bound Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner occurred less than a minute after the plane took off from Ahmedabad airport in western India. India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is investigating the crash and a final report is expected to be released in a few months. Advertisement Advertisement A preliminary report last July said that the plane's engines shut down after its fuel switches moved from the 'run' to the 'cut-off' position shortly after take-off, but did not establish how this had happened. After the report was released, the US aviation regulator said that fuel control switches in Boeing airplanes were safe. India's aviation regulator had also ordered an investigation of cockpit fuel switches in Boeing 787 and Boeing 737 aircraft operating in the country after the crash. Air India had said then that its inspections did not find any issue with the locking mechanism of the switch, which it reiterated on Monday. Advertisement Advertisement "Air India had checked the fuel control switches on all Boeing 787 aircraft in its fleet after a directive from the DGCA [Directorate General of Civil Aviation], and had found no issues," the airline said in the statement. On Tuesday, Reuters news agency reported that Air India had begun re-checking the fuel switches on its Boeing Dreamliner aircraft following the incident flagged by the pilot. Aviation consultant and former air accident investigator Tim Atkinson told the BBC that he trusted Boeing's design of the fuel control switches. "These switches are designed with one purpose in mind, and that is that they cannot be moved unintentionally. There is no doubt in my mind that the design is good. I would be astonished to find it had some kind of latent defect," he said. With additional reporting from Theo Leggett. Follow BBC News India on Instagram, YouTube, X and Facebook. Cars drive aboard the Alaska Marine Highway System ferry Hubbard on June 25, 2023, in Haines. (Photo by James Brooks) Alaskas state ferry system is at risk of a partial or total shutdown this summer due to the failure of the federal government to issue a key annual grant. Currently right now, we have a shortfall in our budget, said Dom Pannone, director of program administration and management for the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, to members of the Senate Finance Committee during a Monday morning hearing. Advertisement Advertisement Money from the Federal Transit Administrations rural ferry program pays for almost half of the Alaska Marine Highway Systems operating expenses, but the administration failed to open its annual grant process in fiscal year 2025, which ended Sept. 30. The ferry systems budget runs according to the calendar year. Last spring, the Alaska Legislature and Gov. Mike Dunleavy budgeted $171 million for the 2026 ferry budget. Of that, almost $78 million was supposed to come from the rural ferry program. Without that money, the system could be forced to tie up its ships in midsummer, at the peak of the states annual tourist season. Right now, we have a federal chaos problem, said Sen. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau and a member of the Senate Finance Committee. Advertisement Advertisement Ryan Anderson, commissioner of the state DOT, said his agency is looking at several options to prevent a shutdown of the ferry system. If a federal grant isnt delivered, DOT would make significant changes to the summer ferry schedule, which is slated to begin in May. Anderson said the state could dispose of the Matanuska, the states oldest active ferry, which has been tied up dockside as a hotel ship because of maintenance costs. The ferry Kennicott, coming out of drydock, or the Columbia, another old mainline ferry, could be tied up as a hotel ship instead of the Matanuska, he said. On Monday, neither DOT officials nor state legislators could say why the Federal Transit Administration has failed to make grants available. Advertisement Advertisement What is going on in Washington, D.C.? Thats always a tough thing to work with, Anderson said. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, secured almost $1 billion in the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act bill for the rural ferry program, which was written in a way to steer much of the money to Alaska. By text after Mondays hearing, Murkowski spokesman Joe Plesha said the Federal Transit Administration told her office it will release the FY26 ferry grants this spring, but did not give a timeline. We are directly engaged with the FTA and working to advance the release of this grant funding as soon as possible, Plesha said. When Murkowski got the ferry language signed into law, it was the first time the federal government had significantly funded operational expenses for Alaskas ferry system. Advertisement Advertisement In this particular case, it can actually pay for the operations of those (ferry) vessels, Anderson said, noting that includes operating costs like crew and fuel. That billion dollars was to be spread across five years, and the program disbursed more than $252 million nationwide in FY22, $170 million in FY23 and $194 million in FY24. Alaska received more than five-sixths of the total distribution in that time, something that allowed Gov. Mike Dunleavy to divert state dollars to other parts of Alaskas annual budget. Alaska DOT estimates that about $410 million remains available for the federal government to disburse. In each of the three prior grant years, it took between 152 and 199 days from the time the grant application period opened to the time the grant was awarded. Advertisement Advertisement That timeline means that even if federal transit officials were to open the grant process tomorrow, a decision might not be made before the start of the summer ferry schedule in May. Dunleavy and the Legislature could extend the timeline by changing the ferry systems budget calendar so that it starts July 1 along with all other state agencies, but if theres still no federal money, that would just extend operations until January 2027, and then the system would face a $150 million cliff instead of a $78 million one. Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, said that finding backfill money will be difficult in either case. Our budgets are getting tighter and taking away the flexibility the (finance) committee has to backfill some of these holes, and this particular hole could be significant, pushing $80 million, he said. Advertisement Advertisement The ferry funding issue could persist even if the federal transit authority resumes paying grants, because its ferry operations program is set to expire this year. What happens when that grant money is gone? asked Sen. Mike Cronk, R-Tok. This year, the surface transportation reauthorization is up for renewal, Anderson said. This, we understand, is part of that discussion: Will the rural ferry program continue over the next subsequent four years? Anderson said that even if Congress renews the program, the current Alaska-favorable rules might be rewritten. Other states are very interested in this program as well because they have a lot of similar challenges, he said. Nationwide, theres support for a program such as this. The questions that are out: How will the rules be rewritten, and how competitive will the program be? That will be the challenge. Advertisement Advertisement SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Correction: This article previously misstated when the Alaska Marine Highway summer ferry schedule will be released. DOT officials say it should be this month. The summer schedule begins in May. Feb. 2The Alaska ferry system is at risk of running out of operating funds this summer because of a frozen federal grant program, according to state transportation officials. Nearly half of the Alaska Marine Highway System operating budget in the current calendar year was intended to be funded with a grant from the Federal Transit Administration, according to a budget approved by lawmakers last year. But the grant, which was expected to be issued last year, has not yet been released. That has left a nearly $78 million hole in the $170 million budget for the current calendar year. Without a solution, ferry boats that provide transportation to communities in Southeast Alaska, Kodiak and along the Aleutian chain could be left without the funds needed to continue running as soon as July. Advertisement Advertisement Amid a tight revenue outlook, the state has few options for backfilling the $78 million that it was counting on receiving from the federal grant, lawmakers in the House and Senate budget committees said in recent days. The federal grant, known as the Ferry Service for Rural Communities Program, was created through the bipartisan infrastructure bill that passed in 2022. Alaska's U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski was instrumental in creating the program and designing it to benefit the ailing ferry system, which has seen decreased service and reliability amid years of declining state investment. Murkowski's spokesperson Joe Plesha said Monday that the senator had "received a commitment" that the grant funding window would open "this spring." However, he said her office didn't have a specific time for releasing the funds, nor any specifics on the amount of funding that would be available this year, given that funding was not released last year. The state is again banking on a federal grant through the program to fund ferry operations in the 2027 calendar year. Advertisement Advertisement In the first three years of the federal program, the state received $45 million, $38 million and $66 million for ferry operations. Because of the grant timeline, the Alaska Legislature has built the grant into its annual budget each year before the specific funding amount has been announced. Last year, lawmakers at the request of Gov. Mike Dunleavy built a $78 million federal grant for ferry operations into the state budget. But after President Donald Trump took office, the grant application window never opened. In response to a request for comment, the Federal Transportation Administration said in a December statement that it "anticipates announcing a Notice of Funding Opportunity for its Ferry Programs in 2026." The FTA press office did not provide an explanation as to why the funding had not been awarded in 2025, or when in 2026 the funding opportunity would open. The office did not immediately respond to additional questions sent Monday. Advertisement Advertisement Murkowski personally reached out to U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy "to ensure that steps are taken so that this funding can get out the door as soon as possible," her spokesperson said in December. In previous years of the program, the application window has opened between April and July. Specific funding amounts were announced between five and six months after the window opened. That means that even if Trump administration opens an application window in the coming days or weeks, the funding amount awarded to Alaska likely won't be known until after the legislative session ends. State transportation officials, including Transportation Commissioner Ryan Anderson, told the Alaska Senate Finance Committee on Monday that they will be traveling to Washington, D.C., later this month to advocate for the funding to be released. But they provided few details on how they would proceed if the funding is not awarded in time to keep ferries running through the summer months, which are the system's most busy and most profitable. Advertisement Advertisement Department officials are proposing to move the ferry system from a calendar year budget cycle to a two-year cycle, which would give them more flexibility in balancing state and federal funding streams. One idea that Anderson raised was to shore up the system's available funding by selling the Matanuska, a mainline vessel built in 1963. That ferry has not been in regular operation since 2020 due to structural problems that have been deemed too costly and complicated to fix. Instead, the vessel has been used to house ferry workers in Ketchikan amid a housing crunch that has made it difficult to attract new workers and fill vacancies. But Anderson said other operational ferries, the Kennicott and the Columbia, could be used intermittently as so-called "hotel ferries," instead of the Matanuska. It is unclear how much the state would save by selling the Matanuska. In 2022, the state sold the Malaspina another mainline ferry built in 1963 to Alaska businessmen John Binkley and David Spokey for $128,250. Rep. Jamie Allard, R-Eagle River, speaks in the Alaska House of Representatives in 2023. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon) Alaska children who are deaf and hard-of-hearing would be guaranteed a local education under a proposal passed unanimously by the Alaska House of Representatives on Monday. The House passed a different version of House Bill 39, by Rep. Jamie Allard, R-Eagle River, during the 33rd Alaska State Legislature, but that bill never received a Senate vote and died at the end of that Legislature. Advertisement Advertisement Allard reintroduced the measure last year, at the start of the 34th Alaska State Legislature. Speaking on Monday, she called for its adoption, noting that other states have acted on this topic. When I first started this bill, we had 17 states that had passed the Childrens Deaf and Hard of Hearing Bill of Rights. Today we have 20. Id like to make us the 21st, she said. If enacted, HB 39 would require local school districts to provide comprehensive, neutral, and unbiased information and resources for the parents of deaf and hard-of-hearing students. Those students would not be required to attend a centralized, statewide boarding school for the deaf, though some residential services may still be required. Parents would be allowed to choose the method of communication sign language or something else most appropriate for their child. Advertisement Advertisement The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development said the bill would not add additional costs for the state. The measure is supported by the Alaska Deaf Council and the Governors Council on Disabilities and Special Education, among other groups. This bill, I wish they had it when I was a child, said Allard, who has struggled with hearing loss. Mondays 40-0 vote sends HB 39 to the Senate for further work. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Vanguard has disclosed plans to reduce expense ratios on 84 mutual fund and exchange-traded share classes across 53 funds. The company estimates these changes will result in approximately $250m in fee reductions for investors in 2026. In the last two years, Vanguard has implemented a broad range of fee decreases across most of its investment products. The cumulative savings for investors over this period is reported to be nearly $600m, the largest combined cost reduction over two years in the firms history. Following these changes, the average expense ratio for Vanguards product range across all asset categories and investment styles stands at 0.06%. The company further highlighted that a proportion of its funds have performed above their peer group averages over the past decade, with 84% of its mutual funds and 88% of its active fixed income funds meeting this criterion. Among the products affected are the companys range of US equity 9-box funds including the Growth ETF (VUG) and Value ETF (VTV) as well as large-, mid-, and small-cap growth, value, and blend funds. Fee reductions also extend to the FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO) and dividend-oriented ETFs such as the Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG) and High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM). Vanguard CEO Salim Ramji said: Vanguard is investor-owned-we have no outside stockholders or private owners profiting from our clients. These fee reductions-set to deliver more than half a billion dollars in savings across 2025 and 2026-are a clear expression of our purpose and commitment to our clients as owners. When investors keep more of what they earn, the benefits compound over the long term, helping our clients achieve their most important financial goals. In December, a Bloomberg report, citing Vanguard Latin America head Juan Hernandez, said that the company will triple the size of its Miami team from five to 15 over the next five years. According to the report, the company is also weighing expansion of its offshore services in US locations including California and Houston. "Vanguard cuts fees on 53 funds for 2026" was originally created and published by Private Banker International, a GlobalData owned brand. An Alaska sex offender is facing federal criminal charges in deep South Texas for allegedly paying $5,000 to smuggle a Honduran woman and her minor daughter into the United States. Douglas Eugene Price, 43, of Chugiak, Alaska, was arrested in Anchorage on Sunday, February 1, according to McAllen federal court records. As first reported by ValleyCentral, Price stands charged with one count of conspiracy to bring someone into the country illegally. Price allegedly paid coyotes $5,000 to smuggle the Honduran girl and her mother across the border in the Rio Grande Valley last month. The girl's mother and Price had allegedly planned for Price to become the girl's immigration sponsor, according to a criminal complaint filed against Price on Thursday, January 29. On January 16, U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended the girl - without her mother - "in the brush in Hidalgo." Hidalgo is a small town that hugs the Rio Grande about 9 miles south of McAllen. Shown are screenshots from the criminal complaint filed against Alaska resident, Douglas Eugene Price, in McAllen federal court on January 29, 2026. (Courtesy U.S. Department of Justice) At a McAllen processing center, the girl told investigators she was supposed to meet with Price in Chugiak, a suburb of Anchorage. On January 22, agents apprehended her mother attempting to cross the river. The following day, both the girl and her mother explained the plan to meet up with Price. Advertisement Advertisement The woman told agents she'd known Price for about four years, after having previously worked with him "in the hotel remodeling business" where they became friends. The woman had also worked as Price's housekeeper and as his children's babysitter. The woman "had been in frequent contact with Price throughout her journey from Honduras," according to the complaint. Together, the pair agreed that Price would help pay for the woman and her daughter's smuggling fees, and that Price would allegedly apply to be the girl's sponsor. The girl allegedly corroborated the mother's account. "The (unaccompanied child) stated that her mother informed them that Douglas Price would be the (child's) sponsor and would also assist the (child) with obtaining her U.S. citizenship," the complaint reads. Shown are screenshots from the criminal complaint filed against Alaska resident, Douglas Eugene Price, in McAllen federal court on January 29, 2026. (Courtesy U.S. Department of Justice) The complaint includes screenshots of text conversations between Price and the mother, as well as a screenshot that appears to show a $5,000 money transfer from Price's business, Black Bear Construction, to a payment app on the mother's phone. The mother told investigators she had planned to repay Price for the smuggling fees by working for him. Advertisement Advertisement Homeland Security investigators determined that Price "has a criminal history and is a registered sex offender." Public records show that Price has a December 10, 2020 conviction of "attempted sexual abuse in the first degree" in Oregon; however, a search of the Alaska sex offenders registry was not possible as of the time of publication due to ongoing maintenance. But Price's inclusion on the Alaska registry stems from the Oregon conviction, the Alaska Department of Public Safety told MySA on Monday. Public records show that Price has a series of arrests and convictions spanning as far back as 2002, in Alaska, Oregon, Washington state and Missouri. In August 2020, Price was charged with rape in the first degree, sexual abuse in the second degree, and attempted sexual abuse in the first degree, a class B felony, in Deschutes County, Oregon. Public records show that Price was convicted on the attempted sexual abuse charge, but the two other charges were dismissed. In July 2012, Price was apprehended on a fugitive warrant in Southwest Missouri, where he and his wife had fled after a fiery, two-vehicle crash in Portland, Oregon, in 2006, according to The Oregonian newspaper. Price had been driving a 1999 Ford Mustang with his wife, Andrea Price, and another passenger when he crashed into a taxi cab at a high rate of speed. Price's wife and mother-in-law were both charged in Missouri for hindering prosecution. This article originally published at Alaska sex offender paid $5K to smuggle Honduran girl, mom into South Texas. ALEXANDRIA, Va. (DC News Now) More than a week ago, a winter storm hit the DMV, leaving snow and sleet. However, as temperatures dropped, snowcrete formed, making it difficult to clear sidewalks, residential streets and intersections. Starting on Feb. 3, the City of Alexandria will begin enforcing the sidewalk snow removal ordinance. As a result, all business and property owners are urged to clear any snow and ice that remains from the storm as soon as possible. All vehicles should be parked on partially plowed streets to allow room for plow trucks. Advertisement Advertisement Endangered Asian elephant calf born at Smithsonian Zoo, voting for name begins According to the City Code Section 5-2-21, all snow along sidewalks, driveways and entrances is the responsibility of the adjacent property owner, occupant, community association or business. Typically, all snow and ice must be cleared from all paved sidewalks within 24-72 hours of the end of the snowfall, depending on the response level. Despite this, the city allowed residents additional time to recover from the storm, but fines will resume on Feb. 3. Failure to clear sidewalks may result in the city having the work done and charging the cost to the property owner, or issuing a $50 fine. Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | DC, Virginia, Maryland News, Weather, Traffic, Sports Live. NEED TO KNOW A male and female ordered $100 worth of food at a restaurant at a Colorado restaurant and allegedly left without paying Two restaurant staffers allegedly followed the customers out of the store, and confronted them, with one worker allegedly brandishing a gun and another putting the male customer in a chokehold, local police said Both restaurant workers have been charged with second-degree assault - strangulation, according to authorities Two Colorado restaurant staffers have been arrested and are facing assault charges after allegedly confronting two customers who they suspected of skipping out on a $100 tab. Fraser, Colo., residents Ezequiel Villa Penaloza, 50, and Juan Narvaez Castro, 23, were each booked on a felony second-degree assault-strangulation charge after allegedly following the restaurant customers, a male and female, out of the eatery and threatening them with a handgun, the Fraser Winter Park Police Department said in a release. Advertisement Advertisement On Sunday, Feb. 1, the restaurant patrons, who have not been publicly identified, ordered $100 worth of food and allegedly left without paying their bill, police said. Police allege that Penaloza and Castro followed the man and woman onto a bus at Murdochs Ranch and Home Supply. The restaurant workers then allegedly approached them after they got off at a Stop and Save convenience store, according to authorities. Penazola, who is also facing a felony menacing charge, allegedly brandished a handgun and aimed it at the male and female, while Castro allegedly put the male suspect in a chokehold, KDVR reported. They were booked at Grand County Jail. The two who allegedly left the restaurant, which has not been publicly named, were cited for petty theft and violating a protection order, according to police. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. "All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court," The Fraser Winter Park Police Department said in its social media release. "Community safety remains our top priority." PEOPLE reached out to the Fraser Winter Park Police Department. Read the original article on People A bluish-green fireball falling to Earth at more than 71,000 mph was reported by scores of Florida residents on Monday, Feb. 2, hours after the nearly full snow moon rose above the horizon and outside of any known meteor shower. About 75 people noted their experience seeing the fiery chunk of asteroid on the American Meteor Society's website with sightings from Pensacola to Hollywood. "It was an amazing experience to have, while completely unexpected," one person wrote on the AMS fireball log, describing a "small yellow/orange poof at the end of the arc." Advertisement Advertisement Molly Wasser, media lead for NASA's Planetary Science Division, said the fireball was seen at 9:37 p.m. and detected by two NASA meteor cameras. It was also captured by a camera on a Tesla truck. It was first spotted at an altitude of 56 miles above a point in the Gulf due west of Bonita Springs. "The fireball, caused by a small fragment of an asteroid moving at 71,600 miles per hour, traveled northwest for 60 miles before disintegrating 28 miles above the ocean," Wasser wrote in an email. "At its brightest, the meteor rivaled the full moon in intensity and exhibited a bluish-green color to both observers and cameras." Bob Lunsford, who writes for the American Meteor Society, said in a Jan. 30 column that February is the beginning of the fireball season for the Northern Hemisphere. A fireball is defined as a meteor brighter than the planet Venus, according to the AMS. Advertisement Advertisement He said in an email that the object seen Monday was not space debris because meteors usually only last a few seconds, while space debris is usually visible for a minute or two. The spring fireball season happens during a drought in meteor showers and near the vernal equinox, which is March 20. The next major meteor shower is in April when the Lyrid shower is active between April 14-30. But why spring is fireball season remains a mystery, said Bill Cooke, lead of NASA's Environments Office, in a NASA blog. Weve known about this phenomenon for more than 30 years, said Cooke. Its not only fireballs that are affected. Meteorite falls space rocks that actually hit the ground are more common in spring as well." Advertisement Advertisement About 10 people in Florida also reported seeing a bright object fall to the ground near 7 p.m. Those sightings ranged from Delray Beach to Deltona. "Out of nowhere and looked like shooting fire but fast and disappeared while going downward but no sound," someone from Delray Beach wrote on the AMS site about the 7 p.m. sighting. "Was huge and was close." Wasser said there was not enough information to draw any conclusions about the 7 p.m. sighting. Why are fireballs blue? The color of fireballs is believed to be partly dependent on what they are made of. Certain elements display signature colors when vaporized, according to AMS. Sodium produces a bright yellow color, nickel shows as green, and magnesium as blue-white. Advertisement Advertisement How fast the meteor is traveling may also play a role. Slow-moving meteors are often reported as appearing red or orange. Swift-moving meteors are frequently reported as blue. Kimberly Miller is a journalist for the USA TODAY NETWORK FLORIDA. She covers weather, the environment and critters as the Embracing Florida reporter. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. You can get all of Floridas best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at https://palmbeachpost.com/newsletters. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Blue green meteor fireball over Florida Feb. 2 seen by NASA and casual observers COLCHESTER, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) Saint Michaels College announced Monday that the university recently received a large anonymous donation that will go towards a new scholarship. According to a spokesperson for the Catholic university in Colchester, the $1 million donation not only will help it expand opportunity to students who will go on to make meaningful contributions to the world,, but has been supplemented by another $3 million from trustees, alumni, and others. Saint Michaels announces three new majors Advertisement Advertisement The university has previously announced several financial aid programs, including free tuition for Vermont households earning under $100,000, and a match with UVM for households earning more than that. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC22 & FOX44. A Cincinnati woman pleaded guilty in the U.S District Court to misappropriating money that she was managing on behalf of four United States military veterans. 46-year-old Ishwasnzya Rivers was arrested and charged federally in August 2025, according to a spokesperson. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Rivers allegedly stole more than $135,000 from an elderly, dying veteran who lives at the VA hospital in Cincinnati, according to court records. She also allegedly stole smaller amounts of money from three elderly or infirm veterans totaling more than $23,000. Rivers then allegedly used the money for shopping, restaurants, and trips to New Orleans, Montego Bay, Cancun, London, Panama, Zurich, Vienna, and the Maldives. Misappropriating funds as a fiduciary is a federal crime that is punishable by up to five years in prison. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Scammers are increasingly exploiting Arizona's approximately 600 crypto ATMs to defraud consumers, particularly older adults, prompting Attorney General Kris Mayes to issue an urgent warning and launch new tools to help victims recover funds. Arizonans lost over $177 million to crypto ATM scams in 2024 alone, Mayes announced Monday, warning that anyone directing consumers to use crypto kiosks represents a "very, very high chance" of running a scam. "My message to Arizonans is this: be careful around the physical cryptocurrency ATMs we're seeing pop up around the state, Mayes said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement The office also launched a new complaint form for victims, urging them to report scams within 30 days to improve the odds of recovery. The warning comes as crypto ATMs face mounting scrutiny nationwide, with Americans reporting $246 million in losses linked to the machines in 2024, with about 43% of victims over age 60, according to FBI data. The scams typically follow a familiar pattern: victims receive urgent calls from impostors claiming to be law enforcement, utility companies, or loved ones in distress, and are then pressured to withdraw cash and deposit it into crypto ATMs. "Crypto ATMs aren't just risky because people don't understand crypto; the machines themselves are built in a way that scammers can easily abuse," cybercrime consultant David Sehyeon Baek told Decrypt. Advertisement Advertisement Around 31,339 crypto ATMs had been installed across the U.S., according to CoinATMRadar data. Unlike exchanges or wallets, he explained, there's usually no account, no fraud desk, and no cooling-off period, so once the money is sent, it's effectively gone, Baek added. Bitcoin ATM Company Founder Charged in Alleged $10 Million Money Laundering Scheme Last year, Arizona enacted a law regulating crypto kiosks. The legislation requires crypto ATM operators to display multilingual fraud warnings, provide 24/7 live customer support, and cap daily transactions at $2,000 for new customers and $10,500 for existing users. Advertisement Advertisement The measure was the only crypto-related legislation Governor Katie Hobbs signed in 2025, having vetoed four Bitcoin-related bills, including the "Arizona Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act." Arizona joins several jurisdictions implementing restrictions on crypto ATMs, such as Spokane and Illinois. Crypto ATM operators have recently faced multiple penalties and enforcement actions as part of efforts to curb fraud, including a settlement this month involving Bitcoin Depot, which agreed to a $1.9 million deal with Maine regulators tied to scam-related transactions at its machines. People dont change behavior quickly, and scammers are experts in psychology and human behavior, Baek said, adding that stronger safety measures and a bit more friction at crypto ATMs could reduce fraud without seriously hurting user experience. Mayes pointed out that no legitimate company or government will ever request crypto ATM deposits, urging consumers to independently verify any urgent payment requests and consult trusted advisors before making large financial transactions. Armenia will establish a Ministry of Sex to ensure there are no unsatisfied women in the country, under plans proposed by an insurgent political party. Sargis Karapetyan, who helped form the Strong Armenia party ahead of this summers elections, suggested a rise in political activism by middle-aged white women was the result of sexual dissatisfaction, OC Media reported. When pressed if a ministry should be created to tackle that apparent issue, Mr Karapetyan said it should, and that it could also help tackle Armenias declining birth rate. Advertisement Advertisement The idea behind a Ministry of Sex was initially raised by Armenian sociologist Armen Khachikyan, who suggested on the Triangle podcast that women had become more politically involved because of sexual dissatisfaction. Mr Karapetyan, who founded the Armenia Strong party, responded: Can we now actually say that in a strong Armenia there will be no unsatisfied women? Mr Pashinyan has been trying to form closer ties with the West, including the US - Sipa US/Alamy Levon Sargizov, the host, suggested a ministry should be established to oversee these issues, which Mr Karapetyan said should be called the Ministry of Sex. Mr Karapetyan also suggested the ministry would be pivotal in tackling Armenias declining birth rate, though stopped short of suggesting specific measures. Advertisement Advertisement Sona Ghazaryan, an MP from the Civil Contract party, described Mr Karapetyans comments as pure sexism in a post on Facebook. Sargis Karapetyan suggested a Ministry of Sex could also help tackle Armenias declining birth rate - YouTube Stripping women of their agency, reducing them to the level of male fantasies and crude promises. It is disgusting, she wrote, adding that returning to the past, in all its forms, will not happen. Mr Karapetyans comments have been heavily criticised elsewhere on social media. Lucy Kocharyan, a feminist influencer, said in a post: Dont wrap your pre-election campaigns sexual lust around the women of Armenia. Mr Karapetyan (left) and Mr Sargizov (right), on the Triangle podcast with guest Armen Khachikyan Mr Karapetyan later suggested his words had been taken out of context. He accused Armenias political leadership of destroying the population from within. Advertisement Advertisement He questioned whether the Armenian government was upset by my wording, or by the fact that I am speaking openly about the problems? A healthy society and a healthy Armenia, in every sense, will be our main goal, he added. Mr Karapetyan is the son of Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, worth $4.4bn, who was arrested last summer and charged with publicly calling to seize power illegally. He has also faced allegations of tax evasion, fraud and money laundering, which he denies. The Strong Armenia party was founded after Samvel Karapetyans arrest. A banner reading Free Samvel Karapetyan outside a shopping centre owned by the Russian-Armenian businessman - Erik Romanenko/TASS via ZUMA Press The newly formed party will officially announce its candidate for prime minister on Feb 12, with local reports suggesting it could be Samvels nephew, Narek Karapetyan. Advertisement Advertisement Strong Armenia is currently polling second on 13 per cent ahead of Junes election. The ruling Civil Contract party leads on 17 per cent, with nearly half the electorate saying they do not know who they will vote for. There is no longer a true justice system in Armenia when it has to do with anyone who speaks out against our prime minister, Sargis Karapetyan claimed to The New York Post. There is almost no one significant person left in the political field in Armenia who hasnt been imprisoned at least once by the current regime. Mr Pashinyan, Armenias PM, with Donald Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January - Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images Armenia is currently led by Nikol Pashinyan, who has been trying to move the country away from Russian influence and build closer ties with the West, including the United States. Advertisement Advertisement The Armenian prime minister is also in a band, which made its debut in a performance last Friday. He played the drums at the sold-out concert in Yerevan. Try full access to The Telegraph free today. Unlock their award-winning website and essential news app, plus useful tools and expert guides for your money, health and holidays. NASA, which has waited for more than 50 years to launch another human moon mission, will have to wait at least another month. The U.S. space agency has announced that it will delay a mission known as Artemis 2 to at least March after ground teams encountered issues with the rocket during a key fueling test. Most prominently, engineers detected leaking hydrogen during the test, known as a wet dress rehearsal that simulates a launch day countdown. For that reason, NASA said it would no longer be working toward launching the towering Space Launch System rocket as early as Sunday, Feb. 8. Instead, the mission to send a crew of four astronauts around the moon has been bumped another month to give engineers time to review data and conduct another test. Advertisement Advertisement "As always, safety remains our top priority, for our astronauts, our workforce, our systems, and the public," NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in a statement posted on social media site X. "We will only launch when we believe we are as ready to undertake this historic mission." Firefly's Blue Ghost lunar lander captures its shadow on the moon's surface after completing a successful landing March 2 near a volcanic feature on the moon called Mons Latreille. The vehicle became the first of two landers manufactured by a U.S. company to reach the moon is 2025 in crucial missions to lay the groundwork for NASA to return humans to the lunar surface in the years ahead. Athena, the lunar lander on Intuitive Machines' IM-2 mission, captured this image of the moon's surface with Earth seen in the distance ahead of a March 6 landing attempt. While the lander was the second U.S. vehicle to reach the moon within a week, it ultimately landed on its side, which hindered much of its mission. NASA astronaut Suni Williams is helped out of a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft March 18 following a return to Earth after a nine-month stay at the International Space Station. She and NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore crewed the Boeing Starliner, which had launched in June 2024 on a failed test flight that was meant to return them to Earth a few days later. Butch Wilmore reacts after he and Suni Williams and two other astronauts splashed down March 18 in a Crew Dragon space capsule following their return to earth from the International Space Station off the coast of Florida. The astronauts' extended stay at the orbital outpost dominated the news cycle for months. A SpaceX support team member is seen airborne while working to lift the SpaceX Dragon capsule that returned the Starliner astronauts and two others onto a recovery vehicle following its landing off the coast of Florida. This picture shows the crew of a privately-funded mission known as Fram2, from left to right, mission specialist and medical officer Eric Philips, mission commander Chun Wang, pilot Rabea Rogge and vehicle commander Jannicke Mikkelsen on March 19, 2025 in Hawthorne, California. Launched March 31 from Florida using a SpaceX Dragon capsule, the mission became t first ever human spaceflight over the Earth's polar regions. Pop musician Katy Perry emerges April 14 from Blue Origin's New Shepard capsule in West Texas following a brief flight to the edge of space. Perry was part of an all-women crew that also included broadcast journalist Gayle King that took the ride from Blue Origin's facility called Launch Site One. The high-profile launch attracted plenty of headlines and even drew some backlash from those who viewed the mission as a wasteful publicity stunt. Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket carrying astronauts Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyen, Kerianne Flynn, Gayle King, Katy Perry, and Lauren Sanchez lifts off April 14 from Launch Site One near Van Horn, Texas. Blue Origin has since launched five more human spaceflights on the New Shepard in 2025. This photo depicts a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying the latest batch of Amazon's broadband satellites on Dec. 16 to low-Earth orbit after launching from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Formerly called Project Kuiper, the venture has since been renamed Amazon Leo. Since its debut April launch, Amazon Leo has deployed 180 of 3,000 satellites planned for its first constellation, which could challenge SpaceX's Starlink. A group of Blue Origin employees with their friends and families gather on the beach in Cape Canaveral for the launch of Blue Origin's second New Glenn rocket in 2025. Following its January debut, the rocket launched for the second time Nov. 13 from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, sending NASA's twin ESCAPADE spacecraft on their trek to Mars. Darkness falls Nov. 9 as a Blue Origin New Glenn rocket is prepped for its second-ever launch from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Blue Origin is developing the towering rocket for heavy-lift missions that could see Jeff Bezos' company compete with Elon Musk and SpaceX. The SpaceX Starship spacecraft sits Oct. 12, 2025 atop the Super Heavy booster before sunrise as preparations continue for its 11th test flight from the company's complex in Starbase, Texas. A SpaceX Super Heavy booster carrying the Starship spacecraft lifts off Oct. 13, 2025, on its 11th ever test flight at the company's launch pad in Starbase, Texas. The launch was Starship's fifth of 2025, and second consecutive successful test flight following a year that was early on marked by explosive failures. SpaceX is developing the rocket for future missions that would help NASA astronauts land on the moon and also potentially transport the first humans to Mars. 2025 spaceflight in photos. See images of Blue Origin, SpaceX missions 1 of 13 Firefly's Blue Ghost lunar lander captures its shadow on the moon's surface after completing a successful landing March 2 near a volcanic feature on the moon called Mons Latreille. The vehicle became the first of two landers manufactured by a U.S. company to reach the moon is 2025 in crucial missions to lay the groundwork for NASA to return humans to the lunar surface in the years ahead. Here's the latest on Artemis 2 a vital mission under NASA's bold vision of eventually returning humans to the moon ahead of crewed voyages to Mars. Space exploration: 6 spaceflights ahead in 2026, from NASA moon missions to SpaceX Starship When is the Artemis launch date? Moon mission delayed until March The Artemis 2 mission was due to get off the ground as early a Sunday, Feb. 8 from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Advertisement Advertisement But after NASA conducted a critical fueling test Feb. 2 known as a wet dress rehearsal, the agency decided the massive 322-foot Space Launch System rocket wasn't quite ready for liftoff. After bumping the mission, the earliest the SLS rocket could now launch on the Artemis 2 mission would be March 6. NASA, though, has not yet announced an official launch date. In early January, NASA identified three launch periods between Feb. 6 and April 6 during which the SLS rocket topped with the Orion spacecraft the astronauts will ride in orbit could lift off. Mission managers have to account for the moon's location in its orbit of Earth to ensure the spacecraft can launch on a precise orbital trajectory to meet mission objectives while keeping the crew safe. Why did NASA delay the Artemis 2 mission a month? NASA's elaborate launch day rehearsal beganFeb. 2 and extended for hours into the early morning of Feb. 3 as teams assessed whether the rocket was ready for takeoff. Advertisement Advertisement During the test, teams discovered a hydrogen leak within the rocket's 212-foot core stage while fueling the vehicle with cryogenic propellant, NASA said in a blog post. Though fueling was able to resume, the team later encountered multiple delays during the Orion spacecraft's final preparations. The NASA teams weren't able to complete the test, which ended with more than five minutes on the countdown clock. With the conclusion of the wet dress rehearsal today, we are moving off the February launch window and targeting March for the earliest possible launch of Artemis II. With more than three years between SLS launches, we fully anticipated encountering challenges. That is precisely NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman (@NASAAdmin) February 3, 2026 "These tests are designed to surface issues before flight and set up launch day with the highest probability of success," Isaacman said in his statement. NASA added in its blog post: "With March as the potential launch window, teams will fully review data from the test, mitigate each issue, and return to testing ahead of setting an official target launch date." Who will be on the Artemis 2 mission? Astronauts leave quarantine The crew of Artemis II (from left: Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, Pilot Victor Glover and Commander Reid Wiseman) answer questions at a press conference as their Space Launch System rocket is transported to Pad 39B January 17, 2026. Artemis II is tentatively scheduled to launch on a mission to th Moon in early February. Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY via USA TODAY NETWORK The crew of Artemis 2 includes three Americans and one Canadian. NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, as well as the Canadian Space Agency's Jeremy Hansen, had entered quarantine Jan. 21 at the Johnson Space Center in Houston to avoid exposure to illnesses ahead of the launch. Advertisement Advertisement Delaying the mission until March means the astronauts will exit quarantine until about two weeks ahead of the next launch opportunity. When a launch is imminent, the astronauts will fly to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida about six days prior to liftoff. What is the Artemis mission? NASA's Artemis program is the agency's ambitious campaign to return Americans to the surface of the moon for the first time since the Apollo era came to an end in 1972. The Artemis 2 astronauts won't be landing, but will instead circle the moon on a 10-day trip to test systems and hardware for future expeditions to the surface. The Orion capsule the crew will pilot built by Lockheed Martin is due to travel about 4,700 miles beyond the far side of the moon, taking its passengers the farthest humans have ever ventured in space before returning to Earth. The mission would come more than three years after Artemis I launched Nov. 16, 2022, from the Kennedy Space Center, sending the Orion capsule on a moon-orbiting mission without a crew in the first test of the vehicle. Advertisement Advertisement A moon landing would take place during Artemis 3, which President Donald Trump has signaled he wants to see happen before the end of his second term. Contributing: Brooke Edwards, Florida Today Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Artemis 2 delay has NASA looking at next launch window A former Atlanta Housing Authority executive pleaded guilty Monday in a federal court to collecting more than $300,000 in federal housing and pandemic funds. Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Ashli Lincoln was in the courtroom as former senior vice president Tracy Jones pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit theft of government funds, wire fraud and credit application fraud. She could face more than 20 years in prison. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Jones spoke softly, answering mostly yes-or-no questions. In the end, she told the judge she agreed with the facts laid out in a 16-page plea agreement and told the court she was guilty of using federal dollars to pay herself to rent a Fayetteville home she owns. Advertisement Advertisement A former Atlanta Housing Authority employee, who asked not to be identified, says the allegations leave a lasting stain on the agency meant to help families find stable footing. I think its devastating. When I saw the story, I was blown away by the level of deceit and arrogance, the former employee said. The indictment says Jones collected nearly $300,000 in three separate ways. More than $63,000, prosecutors say, came after Jones falsified documents to approve her sons girlfriend for federal housing vouchers used to rent a Fayetteville home that Jones owned. Court documents say Jones even staged a domestic violence incident to help secure voucher approval. Advertisement Advertisement Youre not only giving a voucher to a family memberthe family member is renting your house. Thats double-dipping, the ex-employee said. Court records also say Jones used a fake name and business to pocket around $36,000 in federal pandemic relief dollars. In 2022, attorneys say Jones falsified paperwork again - this time to secure nearly $300,000 in a Federal Housing Administration mortgage on that same Fayetteville home. Her formal sentencing is scheduled for May. The Atlanta Housing Authority shared a statement that read: We are aware of the outcome of todays court proceedings involving an Atlanta Housing senior leader. We take this matter seriously and respect the legal process. Atlanta Housing had policies and internal controls in place designed to safeguard public resources. During todays hearing it was established that safeguards were deliberately circumvented by the individual involved. Consistent with our policies and applicable law, Atlanta Housing has taken appropriate action and continues to strengthen its oversight and compliance practices. Our focus remains on serving residents, protecting program integrity, and maintaining public trust. Because this is an active legal matter, we will not comment further at this time. Atlanta Housing Authority spokesperson [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] The automotive industry has struggled to adopt hydrogen at scale, but industrial users and data centers might have better luck. Vema Hydrogen inked a deal in December to supply California data centers, and now it has completed a pilot project in Quebec to power industry with hydrogen that it produces deep underground. The startup drills wells in regions with specific types of iron-rich rock that release hydrogen gas when treated with water, heat, pressure, and some catalysts. Vema then draws the hydrogen to the surface and sells it to industrial users. To supply the Quebec local market, which is about 100,000 tons per year, you would need 3 square kilometers, which is nothing, Pierre Levin, CEO of Vema, told TechCrunch. Vemas first pilot well will produce several tons of hydrogen per day, and next year, it plans to drill its first commercial well, which will reach 800 meters into the earth. Vema expects to produce hydrogen from the first wells for less than $1 per kilogram, a widely used benchmark for clean hydrogen. Most hydrogen today is made by a process known as steam reforming of methane (SMR), in which steam is used to break hydrogen molecules off methane from natural gas. Its energy intensive, and both the process to make steam and the chemical reaction itself release carbon dioxide. Less polluting sources of hydrogen exist, but they tend to cost more. Hydrogen from SMR costs between 70 cents and $1.60 per kilogram, according to the IEA. Capturing carbon from SMR can add around 50% to those prices, while the cleanest process, which uses zero carbon electricity to power an electrolyzer, drives costs up several fold. Stimulated geologic hydrogen, or engineered mineral hydrogen, as Vema calls it, promises to be one of the cleanest sources of hydrogen, according to the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. Once Vema has refined its techniques, Levin expects it to produce hydrogen for less than 50 cents per kilogram. At that price, Vemas hydrogen would be cheaper than any other source on the market. Because the rocks that Vema is targeting are widely distributed, Levin said the company will drill wells close to companies that need power, including data centers. California, for example, has some of the largest formations of ophiolite, an iron-rich type of rock that was pushed up from the ocean bottom by plate tectonics. If Vema can deliver hydrogen at the price its forecasting, then a quirk of geology could turn California into a mecca for data centers. You have a ton of data centers who are trying to get some baseline, decarbonized electricity, Levin said. We have very strong traction with them. South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, Chair of the South Carolina Human Trafficking Task Force, released the 2025 Human Trafficking Task Force Annual Report on Jan. 12, and the data indicates that the work of the Task Force continues to result in lower numbers of human trafficking cases in Beaufort, Jasper and Hampton counties, while other areas face more challenges. The report shares data that details the extent of human trafficking in South Carolina at both the state and county levels, particularly in the number of cases reported, investigated and prosecuted. Statewide in 2025, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division investigated 315 tips that included over 300 potential victims. A majority of the tips investigated involved minor victims. Snapshots of the 2025 SC Human Trafficking Task Force Annual Report. SLEDs data also showed that there were human trafficking investigations in 41 counties, with only five not reporting a case. The counties with the most investigations in 2025 include Greenville (35), Berkeley and Charleston (30 each), Richland (28), Lexington (27), and Dorchester (21). Advertisement Advertisement Human trafficking is not a challenge any single agency can solve alone, said Attorney General Wilson. Through the leadership of the State Task Force and the dedication of our partners, South Carolina remains a model on how to best address this crime. Locally, in 2025 there were seven reported cases in Beaufort County, four in Jasper County, and one in Hampton County. Snapshots of the 2025 SC Human Trafficking Task Force Annual Report. In 2025, the Task Force launched the South Carolina Safe House Certification Program for service providers who work directly with human trafficking victims and survivors. The Task Force partnered with Safe House Project to certify programs at four organizations, including Doors to Freedom, the Formation Project, Jasmine Road and Lighthouse for Life. South Carolina is the first state in the nation to implement a statewide certification requirement for specialized human trafficking programs. The programs are listed on the Task Forces online resource directory to help victims, the public and courts identify specialized human trafficking services. Advertisement Advertisement The data continues to inform how we shape and implement statewide initiatives from specialized training and certification to public awareness and prevention education, said Monique Garvin, Director of the Task Force. To access the annual report, please visit the State Task Force website at humantrafficking.scag.gov or go directly to: https://www.scag.gov/human-trafficking/data-reports To report an incident or seek victim services, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888. The Hotline is confidential and open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. How does this compare to last year's annual report? Statewide in 2024, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division investigated 285 tips that included nearly 400 potential victims, cites last year's annual report. A majority of the tips investigated involved minor victims. Advertisement Advertisement The 2024 Annual Report noted that the number one location for labor trafficking is in small businesses while the top location for sex trafficking is hotels and motels. I am grateful for the collective contributions of many in South Carolinas anti-human trafficking efforts, Attorney General Wilson said last year. Our state continues to be a model of how best to address this heinous crime. In 2024, the General Assembly appropriated $6.5 million for the development of residential programming specifically for minor victims. How are Beaufort, Jasper and Hampton counties trending? Per the 2023 Annual Report, our four-county area of the Lowcountry Task Force reported 24 human trafficking cases total in Beaufort, Jasper, Hampton and Colleton counties in 2023. Advertisement Advertisement The 2024 reported numbers were half that number: Beaufort County - 5 human trafficking tips reported Jasper County - 4 tips Hampton County - 1 tip The 2025 reported numbers show only a slight increase in one county: Beaufort County - 7 tips Jasper County - 4 tips Hampton County - 1 tip Snapshots of the 2025 SC Human Trafficking Task Force Annual Report. More about the Lowcountry Human Trafficking Task Force The Lowcountry Human Trafficking Task Force, which covers the five-county 14th Judicial Circuit, is comprised of federal, state and local law enforcement professionals, members of state prosecutors offices, victim-services providers and others interested in creating a community free from human trafficking. The regional task force is a member of the larger State Human Trafficking Task Force, created to prevent human trafficking, to protect trafficked victims and to prosecute traffickers. Advertisement Advertisement To learn more, please contact Erinn McGuire at emcguire@scsolicitor14.org or by calling (843) 540-5130. To learn more about the state Task Force, please visit the State Task Force website at humantrafficking.scag.gov. This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Human trafficking cases remain low in our area of the SC Lowcountry LAS VEGAS (KLAS) Attorneys for six Nevada Republicans who submitted fake electoral certificates claiming President Donald Trump won the 2020 election, when he lost, asked a judge Monday to toss charges against them, citing the First Amendment. In December 2020, after former President Joe Biden won Nevadas six electoral votes, the group signed paperwork signaling their support for Trump in a symbolic ceremony devoid of any legal merit. The group then mailed the certificates to Washington. The ceremony happened the same day as the state certified its electoral results for Biden. The secretary of state overseeing that procedure, a Republican, was later censured by her party. Advertisement Advertisement In 2023, a Clark County grand jury indicted the six Nevada Republican Party Chairman Michael McDonald, former Clark County party chairman Jesse Law, Jim DeGraffenreid, Durward James Hindle III, Shawn Meehan and Eileen Rice on charges of offering a false instrument for filing and uttering a forged instrument, felonies that carry penalties of up to four or five years in prison. A screen for a teleconference is shown in court in Las Vegas, on Monday, Dec. 18, 2023, where six Republicans pleaded not guilty to two felony charges each, stemming from their roles as fake electors in 2020, where they signed certificates falsely claiming former President Donald Trump won Nevada over Joe Biden. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil) In 2024, Clark County District Court Judge Mary Kay Holthus dismissed the case in her court, citing improper venue. The state appealed to the Nevada Supreme Court afterward. Amid the appeal, the Nevada Attorney Generals Office filed a similar case against the six in Carson City. The high court ruled on Nov. 13 that Holthus was incorrect in her ruling, sending it back to Las Vegas. In court on Monday, Holthus heard arguments from the groups attorneys about why she should dismiss the case again. The attorneys presented similar arguments as in previous hearings, arguing their clients were acting on their Constitutional rights to challenge the election and not defraud. They focused on the specific statutes involving forgeries and evidence not shown to a grand jury. They also argued they signed the documents and mailed them to the judge and to the National Archives amid the Trump campaign and national Republicans legal efforts to challenge the election results. However, no case in Nevada yielded a favorable result, and at that point, in Dec. 14, 2024, no Nevada case remained open. Several judges in those cases noted no evidence of widespread election fraud. Advertisement Advertisement They wanted the outcome to be different, and thats why they sent them in, Chief Deputy Attorney General Alissa Engler said, adding the documents sent to Washington mimicked an official state document, which named Biden the winner. Biden won the 2020 election in Nevada by about 33,000 votes. President Donald Trump won re-election in November 2024 by more than 46,000 votes. In the same election where Trump and Republicans cited widespread fraud, Republicans gained seats in the Nevada Legislature. Republicans did not cite election fraud after the 2022 election, where Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo won by about 15,000 votes, nor the 2024 election, where voters elected Trump to a second term. Holthus indicated she would review state statutes and prior case law before issuing her ruling, saying she did not initially believe the group intended to defraud. Holthus scheduled another hearing for April 10. Advertisement Advertisement Last year, Trump pardoned the group of six, though the pardon does not apply to state charges. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. The United States Attorneys Office is charging four Massachusetts residents with using more than 100 stolen identities to obtain over $1 million in government benefits across multiple states, federal officials announced Tuesday, Feb. 3. The defendants used fraudulent Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefit cards to purchase large quantities of bulk food items like chicken, beef and pork to stock their restaurant, El Primo in Leominster, according to U.S. Attorney Leah Foley. As a result, they sold menu items at the restaurant at a complete profit, later wiring the fraud proceeds to individuals living in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, among other places, Foley said at a press conference. El Primo Restaurant at 1025 Central Street in Leominster Feb. 3. She said they received $440,000 in SNAP benefits using 115 stolen identities from victims from New York, Florida, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. They are also accused of submitting fraudulent documents to obtain over $700,000 in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits from state agencies in Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Nevada. Advertisement Advertisement SNAP, commonly known as food stamps, is a federal nutrition assistance program that provides food benefits to low-income individuals and families. Pandemic Unemployment Assistance provided temporary benefits to those who lost work for certain COVID-19 reasons. It expired in 2021. Alleged SNAP fraud In December, Foley announced charges against two other individuals for allegedly fraudulently obtaining SNAP benefits in Massachusetts. She said these cases were the tip of the iceberg and that her office would be naming a fraud coordinator. It is no secret that there is rampant fraud across this nation. The charges announced today are just a snapshot of the bigger picture, not just in Massachusetts but across the country, Foley said. You should anticipate seeing more and more of these cases coming here in Massachusetts. Advertisement Advertisement Her efforts follow those on the federal level. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is implementing major changes to SNAP that are intended to cut down on fraud, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has said. "Secretary Rollins wants to ensure the fraud, waste and incessant abuse of SNAP ends," the USDA previously told USA TODAY in a statement. The USDA has not provided evidence to back its claims of mass fraud. The U.S. Congressional Research Service described SNAP fraud as rare in an April 7, 2025, report, stating that available data and reports indicate that many overpayments may be attributed to unintentional errors. Who were the Massachusetts residents charged? Three of those charged appeared in federal court in Worcester Feb. 3. Advertisement Advertisement They include Joel Vicioso Fernandez of Fitchburg, 42, and two Venezuelan nationals, Roman Vequiz Fernandez and Coralba Albarracin Siniva, who live in Leominster. They were charged with conspiracy to use, transfer, acquire and possess SNAP benefits, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. Feb. 3, all three were released on conditions. According to an official of the probation office, Albaracin Siniva, 24, has said in an official statement that Vequiz Fernandez, 32, is her husband, although he added in court Feb. 3 that they were not legally married. They have a 5-year-old child. The fourth person arrested in the case, 37-year-old Raul Fernandez Vicioso of Fitchburg, was charged with conspiracy to commit SNAP fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, SNAP benefit fraud, aiding and abetting and money laundering. He will appear in federal court in Worcester at a later date. Advertisement Advertisement Fernandez Vicioso is due in court in March, his attorney, Stefanie A. Murphy, said. Contributing: Mary Walrath-Holdridge This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Feds charge 4 MA residents in alleged $1 million SNAP fraud scheme Australia's Social Media Minimum Age law, banning under 16-year-olds from social media, came into effect on 10 December, forcing platforms to take reasonable steps to keep them off, or face up to 29 million (Aus$49.5 million). After a week, tech platforms including Snapchat, Meta, TikTok and Youtube had blocked 4.7 million accounts Australia's eSafety online regulator reported, delivering "significant outcomes". Snapchat, which said it did not believe it should be part of the ban, as its platform is used primarily for communication, on Monday said it had blocked or disabled 415,000 teen accounts in Australia as of the end of January. Advertisement Advertisement French MPs vote to curb childrens screen time with under-15 social media ban In its announcement, the company critiqued the law, which it says leaves "significant gaps" as the technology to estimate a user's age is not accurate, with a 2-3 year margin. "In practice, this means some young people under 16 may be able to bypass protections, potentially leaving them with reduced safeguards, while others over 16 may incorrectly lose access, the company said. Snapchat joined Meta in calling on Australia to require app stores to check users' ages before allowing downloads as an "additional safeguard". France looking to Australia? As the first country to instate such a ban, Australia is a testing ground for such bans and French regulators are likely looking closely, as a bill that would ban under-15s from social media is making its way through the legislative process. Advertisement Advertisement Macron mulls social media ban as mother challenges platforms over sons suicide The bill was adopted by the National Assembly last week, and the Senate is expected to vote by mid-February, with the government hoping the ban can be applied by the start of the 2026 school year. The ban would initially only cover new accounts, and platforms would have until the end of the year to block or disable existing accounts that fail to meet the age requirement. Like this article? Keep independent journalism alive. Support HuffPost. Authoritarianism expert Ruth Ben-Ghiat says Donald Trump is falling into the same trap that has undone authoritarian-minded leaders throughout history. Despite declining approval ratings, Ben-Ghiat argued in a guest essay for The New York Times that the president is making the age-old error of believing his own hype. Read the full essay on The New York Times. I have seen this brand of strongman megalomania and the adverse effects it can ultimately have on leaders and their governments, wrote Ben-Ghiat, the author of Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present. Advertisement Advertisement Ben-Ghiat, a professor of history at New York University, described the phenomenon as autocratic backfire. It occurs when leaders cut themselves off from expert advice and objective feedback, promulgate unscrutinized policies that fail and then double down and engage in even riskier behavior, she said. Politics: Turning Point USA's Alternative Super Bowl Lineup Is Even Lamer Than You Thought The result: a disillusioned population that loses faith in the leader and elites who begin to rethink their support, she wrote, citing Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and Russian President Vladimir Putin as historical examples of the pattern she sees emerging around Trump. Ben-Ghiat has long drawn parallels between Trump and past dictators. Advertisement Advertisement She has previously noted that his bombastic self-praise echoes a fascist slogan from Mussolinis Italy: Mussolini is always right. Related... Read the original on HuffPost COLUMBUS, Ohio (WTVO) A newly released autopsy report shows Monique and Spencer Tepe were shot a combined total of 16 times, the latest update in the case against Chicago-based surgeon Michael McKee, who was arrested in Rockford. According to the report, released by the Franklin County Coroners Office, the couple was shot in the upper body, indicating a rapid, targeted attack. Spencer, 37, suffered seven gunshot wounds to his head, neck, chest, hand, and upper back. Pathologists recovered one largecaliber bullet from his right arm. The report found no evidence indicating shooting distance, labeling all wounds indeterminate range, and noted that injury patterns suggest Spencer may have moved or attempted to defend himself during the attack. He likely died within seconds to minutes. Advertisement Advertisement Monique, 39, endured nine gunshot wounds, including injuries to the cheek, chest, torso, forearm, hand, and upper arm. Two bullets and one fragment were recovered. Like her husband, toxicology testing found no alcohol or drugs in her system aside from an antihistamine. She also likely died within seconds to minutes. The total of 16 gunshot wounds aligns with what investigators say is consistent with a full handgun magazines worth of rounds fired in close succession. McKee, Moniques exhusband, was arrested on January 10 at a Rockford ChickfilA after investigators traced a vehicle linked to the crime scene to him while he was working at a local hospital. He faces four counts of aggravated murder and one count of aggravated burglary, with firearm and suppressor specifications. He has pleaded not guilty. Authorities have seized multiple firearms from McKees Chicago residence; at least one has been preliminarily linked to the crime scene through ballistics analysis. Advertisement Advertisement Investigators and court records also note past allegations of domestic abuse made by Monique during and after their brief marriage. Court proceedings will continue in Franklin County, and additional motions and forensic analyses are expected in the coming weeks. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to MyStateline | WTVO News, Weather and Sports. The autopsy reports for a Columbus couple who were fatally shot inside their home show a full magazine of bullets was fired into the victims. Monique Tepe, 39, and Spencer Tepe, 37, died on Dec. 30 after being found shot inside their home on the 1400 block of North 4th Street in Weinland Park. Their two young children were physically unharmed. Monique's ex-husband, Michael McKee, is charged with aggravated murder and aggravated burglary in connection with their deaths. Advertisement Advertisement McKee has pleaded not guilty and is currently being held without bail in the Franklin County jail. The autopsy reports for Spencer and Monique, released by the Franklin County Coroner's office on Feb. 3, show they were both shot multiple times. All of the wounds they each suffered were to their upper bodies. The autopsies cannot determine in what order Monique and Spencer suffered the injuries they sustained. According to the report, Spencer was shot at an indeterminate range, meaning there was no evidence showing just how close or far away the weapon that shot him was when it was fired. The gunshots Spencer sustained, according to the autopsy report, are: Advertisement Advertisement A wound to the left ear A wound to the left side of the neck A wound to the left upper chest A wound to the left lower chest A wound to the left hand A wound to the left upper back A wound to the right arm near the elbow The report says Spencer would have died within "seconds to minutes" of being shot. A toxicology report performed as a standard part of the autopsy procedure found no alcohol or drugs in Spencer's system. Pathologists recovered one bullet, described as "large caliber," from Spencer's right arm. The injuries described in the autopsy report, with trajectories from both front to back and back to front, indicate that Spencer may have moved during the shooting. The injuries to Spencer's hand and right arm also could indicate he was trying to defend himself or Monique. Monique's autopsy report shows she was shot nine times, also at indeterminate ranges. The injuries Monique suffered, according to the autopsy report, were: Advertisement Advertisement A wound to the right cheek Three gunshots to the right chest, all clustered together A wound to the right side of the torso A wound to the right forearm A wound to the right hand Two wounds to the left upper arm Monique had no alcohol or drugs in her system, aside from an antihistamine, according to the autopsy report. Pathologists recovered two bullets and one bullet fragment from Monique's body. The autopsy reports say both Monique and Spencer likely died within "seconds to minutes" of being shot. The injuries they suffered and the trajectories indicate they may have moved or attempted to defend themselves. A total of 16 gunshot wounds were discovered during the autopsy. A standard magazine for a handgun holds 15 to 17 rounds, depending on the size of the bullet. Advertisement Advertisement Both deaths were ruled homicides, which means the fatal injuries were sustained at the hands of another person. The ruling does not assign any criminality or guilt. Court records show McKee is accused of going to the Tepes' home weeks before the killings, staying at the location for several hours. A silver SUV with distinctive features that was seen on video multiple times with a stolen Ohio license plate and an Arizona license plate was also tracked to McKee. That SUV, which was found on Jan. 9 in the parking lot of the Rockford, Illinois, hospital where McKee worked, had fresh scrape marks on a window where a sticker seen on video had been, court records say. Friends of the Tepes told detectives Monique had previously spoken about McKee's abuse toward her during and after their marriage, including threats to her life and telling her he would buy the house next to hers. Advertisement Advertisement McKee was arrested on Jan. 10 in Illinois and extradited to Ohio on Jan. 20. Columbus police Chief Elaine Bryant said a search of McKee's Chicago condo resulted in multiple firearms being found. One of the weapons has been preliminarily linked to evidence from the crime scene through a national ballistics database, Bryant said. What's next in the case against Michael McKee? The next step in the prosecution of McKee will be setting a trial date. As of Feb. 3, a date had not been scheduled in Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Kim Brown's courtroom. When a date is set, it will likely not involve a hearing where McKee will appear in person. Evidence between prosecutors and defense attorneys must be exchanged, processed, and analyzed to determine which, if any, motions need to be filed to contest parts of the case. Advertisement Advertisement McKee's first trial date is likely to be continued and serve more as a status conference for the attorneys to meet with Brown to discuss where things stand with the evidence exchange process, called discovery, and the evidentiary issues they expect could arise as the case progresses. Reporter Bethany Bruner can be reached at bbruner@dispatch.com This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Spencer, Monique Tepe autopsy reports reveal 16 total gunshot wounds The autopsy report for Spencer and Monique Tepe has been released. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The couple was shot to death in their Columbus home two months ago. Moniques ex-husband, Michael McKee, was arrested and charged with murder in their deaths. The autopsy reports state that Spencer was shot seven times, while Monique was shot nine times. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Both deaths were ruled homicides resulting from gunshot wounds to the head, chest, and extremities. McKee was indicted on four counts of aggravated murder and one count of aggravated burglary. After his initial arrest in Winnebago County, Ill., he was extradited to Franklin County. McKee has since pleaded not guilty to the charges. If convicted, McKee faces a minimum of life in prison with the possibility of parole after 32 years. Court documents also allege that McKee was spotted at the Tepes property in the weeks leading up to the killings. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] NEED TO KNOW Spencer and Monique Tepe were fatally shot in their home in December weeks after Moniques ex-husband allegedly broke into their property Michael McKee, who Monique divorced nearly 10 years ago, has been arrested in connection with the killings An autopsy report released on Feb. 3 has revealed the official cause of death for Spencer An Ohio coroner's report sheds light on the injuries sustained by Spencer Tepe when he was killed alongside his wife Monique Tepe in December. The beloved couple was found slain in their Columbus, Ohio, home on Dec. 30, while their children, ages 4 and 1, slept just a few feet away. Advertisement Advertisement An autopsy report obtained by PEOPLE shows Spencer, 37, suffered seven gunshot wounds in his upper body. He was shot in the head once and in his torso three times, per the autopsy. He was shot in the chest twice, and one of the shots to his head went through his ear, per the report. He was also shot once in his left hand and once on his right upper arm, as well as once in his back. Spencer's cause of death is listed in the report as "gunshot wounds of head, neck, trunk, and extremities with visceral, skeletal, and soft tissue." Spencer and Monique, 39, who had been married for five years, were found dead by police responding to several calls for a welfare check after Spencer failed to show up for work on the morning of Dec. 30. Advertisement Advertisement Michael McKee, 39, Monique's ex-husband from nearly a decade ago was arrested 11 days later in Illinois, and has since been extradited to Ohio to face murder charges. Michael David McKee Winnabago County Sheriff's Office Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. Investigators now accuse McKee of breaking into the Tepes' home weeks before the killings. That evening, Monique left a gathering early due to concerns about McKee, according a probable cause affidavit previously obtained by PEOPLE. McKee has pleaded not guilty to four counts of aggravated murder and one count of burglary. Advertisement Advertisement If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages. Read the original article on People Former Democratic-NPL state lawmaker Tracy Potter speaks next to Dustin Gawrylow, left, managing director of the North Dakota Watchdog Network, and Scott Skokos, center, executive director of the Dakota Resource Council, at the Kennedy Center in Bismarck on Feb. 2, 2026, about the ballot measure process in North Dakota. (Photo by Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor) A discussion on three North Dakota ballot measures advanced by state lawmakers drew criticism from attendees on Monday with some opposed to changing the initiated measure process. About 50 people gathered at the Kennedy Center in Bismarck to learn more about measures that will be on the June and November ballots. The event, hosted by the North Dakota Watchdog Network and the Dakota Resource Council, is part of a series being held across the state. Advertisement Advertisement Theres a constant need for education because every time the Legislature meets, there seems to be these in-roads trying to remove the public from their decision-making process, said Brad Carroll of Bismarck. He said there seems to be a repeated ebb and flow of North Dakotans trying to constrain the Legislature and lawmakers trying to curtail the public. Measure 1, which will be on the June 9 primary ballot, would require future constitutional ballot measures from an initiated petition or legislative resolution to be a single subject. Dustin Gawrylow, managing director of North Dakota Watchdog Network, said the measure doesnt define what a single subject is, leaving it open to interpretation by the secretary of state. Advertisement Advertisement Gawrylow added that voters rejected a ballot measure with a single subject requirement two years ago. The November 2024 ballot measure also contained other provisions, including requiring voters to approve a measure twice, once in a primary and again during a general election. The measure also would have increased the signature requirement for ballot measures from 4% of the state population to 5%. Dustin Gawrylow, managing director of the North Dakota Watchdog Network, speaks on Feb. 2, 2026, at the Kennedy Center in Bismarck during a discussion on 2026 ballot measures. (Photo by Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor) A ballot measure known as Measure 2 that will go to voters during the Nov. 3 general election would require future constitutional measures to gain support from 60% of voters rather than a simple majority. The increased threshold would apply to citizen-initiated measures and legislative resolutions that would change the states constitution. The folks that support this say that the North Dakota Constitution is too easy to change and the state constitution should be as static as the national Constitution, which rarely ever gets changed, Gawrylow said. He said a 60% requirement actually empowers the minority. Advertisement Advertisement Forty percent plus one can tell the other 60% minus one what not to do, Gawrylow said. Gawrylow pointed to historic ballot measures that passed with less than 60% support, including the 1919 measure that established the state-owned Bank of North Dakota. Taylor Johnson of Bismarck said North Dakotans seem happy with the initiated measure process as it is now. It can cut through some of the noise of partisan politics, and I think it really helps us come together as a community and decide things for ourselves, Johnson said. Im frustrated with the repeated, I guess, power grabs from the Legislature. Ellen Chaffee, a member of the BadAss Grandmas for Democracy, a group that spearheaded an initiated measure in 2018 to establish the states Ethics Commission, said its never been more clear that state government officials do not respect the wishes of the people. Advertisement Advertisement You get seduced by the power and you come to own it as your own, unless you are really careful, Chaffee said. Thats whats happened to them (state lawmakers). They think theyre that smart. They think theyre that rightand they think you are wrong. She said initiated measure processes across the country are being championed by pro-democracy causes and organizations. Novembers Measure 1 would allow lawmakers to change the states term limits law to allow legislators to serve up to 16 years in one chamber instead of eight years in the House and eight years in the Senate. It would also repeal a section of the term limits law that prohibits legislators from altering or repealing the term limits law. The ballot measure is being challenged in court, with the North Dakota Supreme Court expected to hear the case this spring. North Dakota Monitor reporter Michael Achterling can be reached at machterling@northdakotamonitor.com. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX In October, new Verizon (NYSE: VZ) CEO Daniel Schulman said the company was going to make a fundamental strategy shift after continuing to lose wireless customers, saying it would move to a more customer-focused approach from a technology-centric one. It didn't take long for this new tactic to pay off, with the company seeing its highest quarterly net subscriber additions since 2019. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now, when you join Stock Advisor. See the stocks Image source: Getty Images. Strong subscriber growth During the quarter, Verizon added 1 million net subscribers, including 616,000 postpaid phone subs. It also added 372,000 broadband net additions, including 319,000 fixed wireless subs and 67,000 Fios households. Verizon's overall revenue rose 2% year over year to $36.4 billion, with service revenue edging up 0.1% to $28.2 billion and wireless equipment revenue climbing 9.1% to $8.2 billion. Consumer revenue increased by 3.2% year over year to $28.14 billion, with service revenue up 0.9%. The company's business unit continued to lag, with revenue decreasing by 1.8% year over year to $7.4 billion, as wireline customers continue to churn off. Overall adjusted EPS slipped by 0.9% to $1.09, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) fell 0.6% to $11.9 billion. Looking ahead, Verizon projected it would add between 750,000 to 1 million postpaid phone subscribers in 2026. It is looking for mobility and broadband service revenue to rise between 2% to 3%, and for adjusted EPS to climb by 4% to 5% to between $4.90 and $4.95. Verizon also announced a huge $25 billion buyback to be completed over the next three years, while reiterating its commitment to its dividend. This will be backed by its strong free cash flow, which the company sees climbing by 7% next year to $21.5 billion. At the same time, it plans to keep its unsecured leverage (net unsecured net/adjusted EBITDA) between 2 times and 2.25 times to maintain its balance sheet strength. Is it too late to buy the stock? Verizon has decided it will no longer be the wireless company that others steal customers from, and its net additions in Q4 were impressive. Meanwhile, with the closing of the acquisition of Frontier Communications, Verizon has a big cross-selling and bundling opportunity in front of it. The dividend looks secure, being well covered by Verizon's free cash flow, while the buyback should help lend support to its lagging stock price. Even after the stock's post-earnings jump, it still trades at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 9.2 times based on 2026 earnings estimates, compared to an 11.3 times multiple for rival AT&T. With a 6.5% forward yield, Verizon is a solid dividend stock to still buy. Kenya's central bank has warned people to stop using banknotes to make floral-like bouquets and decorations, which has become a trend in the East African nation. They are often ordered in the run-up to Valentine's Day - and have been popularised by celebrities and online influencers, who share videos of themselves presenting such bouquets during celebrations. To make the cash bouquets, notes of different colours and value are rolled and then fastened together in a style that makes them look like a bunch of flowers. Advertisement Advertisement But the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) says the creators are defacing the Kenyan currency and could face seven years in jail if arrested. According to the CBK, the banknotes tend to be "folded, rolled, glued, stapled, pinned or otherwise affixed using adhesives or fastening materials... compromising their integrity". This was affecting equipment such as automated teller machines (ATMs) and cash-counting machines, the CBK said in its statement issued on Monday. The cash bouquets had also led to more notes being rejected and unnecessary costs for both the public and the bank to replace the currency, it added. Advertisement Advertisement However, the bank said it was not opposed to cash being used as gifts, and asked people to find alternative ways of doing so that did not damage the banknotes. Kenya is a top global grower of flowers - so the announcement has been welcomed by some who say fresh blooms would be a more appropriate gift for Valentine's Day on 14 February. It has also drawn some amused reactions on social media. "The public notice from the Central Bank of Kenya has saved men ahead of this year's Valentine's Day. Back to basics, bouquet of flowers it is," Alinur Mohamed says on X. Another Kenyan says the "public has hailed this decision" as it provides "a much-needed relief for those who found such cash bouquets overly expensive and wasteful". You may also be interested in: [Getty Images/BBC] Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica BBC Africa podcasts Were Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates robbed of a gold medal? Former Olympian Jeremy Bloom wants to use AI to help end these kinds of judging controversies. WASHINGTON Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have agreed to give depositions to a House committee about accused late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, defusing a potential showdown between the legislative and executive branches. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee issued subpoenas in August 2025 and scheduled appearances for January, but the Clintons defied them at that time. Bill Clintons deputy chief of staff, Angel Urena, said on social media Feb. 2 that the former President and former Secretary of State will be there. They look forward to setting a precedent that applies to everyone. The announcement came as the House Rules Committee was considering resolutions to hold the Clintons in criminal contempt. If approved by the House and prosecuted by the Department of Justice, the charges could have potentially led to prison terms for the Clintons. Advertisement Advertisement The letter to lawmakers from Clinton lawyers, which USA TODAY has reviewed, said the former president and secretary of state accepted the terms that the Oversight chairman, Rep. James Comer, R-Kentucky, had offered and "will appear for depositions on mutually agreeable dates." The letter also asked the committee to confirm that "the House will not move forward with contempt proceedings." Comer said he would have to study their proposal because the Clintons had resisted testifying until then. His staff had not received the offer in the minutes before he began testifying about the contempt resolutions. He argued it would set a bad precedent to allow witnesses to avoid testifying until it was apparent that a majority of lawmakers would approve contempt proceedings. Were going to have to look at this and review this," Comer said. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, welcomed the news but did not say whether the chamber would drop its planned contempt vote. Advertisement Advertisement Thats a good development," he said. "We expect everyone to comply with Congresss subpoenas. The DOJ is in the midst of releasing millions of pages of documents from its criminal investigations. Despite a new law requiring the release of the documents, millions more pages remain confidential while hundreds of department lawyers scour them to prevent the release of the names of people who accused Epstein of abuse. Bill Clinton is among the political and business leaders who socialized with Epstein and showed up in the documents. Clinton appeared in pictures and in a handwritten note in a book Epsteins associate Ghislaine Maxwell assembled for Epsteins 50th birthday. But Clinton hasnt been accused of wrongdoing. The Clintons have said they have been out of office for more than a decade and had nothing to do with Epstein for more than 20 years. Advertisement Advertisement Comer argued that their testimony remains critical to understanding Epsteins alleged sex trafficking network and how he curried favor with powerful figures to evade scrutiny. Criminal contempt is a misdemeanor carrying a $100,000 fine and up to a year in prison. Steve Bannon, a former Trump political adviser, and Peter Navarro, a Trump trade adviser, were each convicted of contempt for defying subpoenas about the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, and sentenced to four months in prison. Navarro was fined $9,500 and Bannon was fined $6,500. But the DOJ could also decide against prosecution in such cases. The House voted to hold Trump aides from his first term in contempt, including deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino, former chief of staff Mark Meadows, former Attorney General Bill Barr and former Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. But none were prosecuted. In a scathing letter Jan. 13, Bill and Hillary Clinton had accused Comer of trying to embarrass them, calling the subpoenas "invalid and legally unenforceable." Former President Bill Clinton stands with Jeffrey Epstein in this image released by the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 19, 2025 as part of a new trove of documents from its investigations into the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. "We are confident that any reasonable person in or out of Congress will see, based on everything we release, that what you are doing is trying to punish those who you see as your enemies and to protect those you think are your friends," the Clintons wrote. Advertisement Advertisement After Bill Clinton skipped a hearing on Jan. 13 and Hillary Clinton skipped one on Jan. 14, the committee moved to hold them in contempt. Bill Clinton's staffer, Urena, said the former president offered on Jan. 30 to meet with Comer and the top Democrat on the committee, Rep. Robert Garcia of California, at his New York office. Clinton agreed to answer questions about travel with Epstein, his awareness of criminal activities and efforts by Epstein to gain leverage. Comer rejected the offer. "The Clintons do not get to dictate the terms of lawful subpoenas," Comer said on social media. This story was updated to add new information and a new video. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bill and Hillary Clinton agree to House depositions on Jeffrey Epstein WASHINGTON Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have agreed to testify in a House investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. Angel Urena, a spokesperson for Bill Clinton, responded in a post Monday to a letter from House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., saying the Clintons had "negotiated in good faith" and that Comer "had not." They told you under oath what they know, but you dont care, Urena wrote. But the former President and former Secretary of State will be there. They look forward to setting a precedent that applies to everyone." Advertisement Advertisement It was not immediately clear when and where the Clintons will testify. In a statement Monday night, Comer said that while attorneys for the Clintons said they agreed to the terms, "those terms lack clarity yet again and they have provided no dates for their depositions." "The only reason they have said they agree to terms is because the House has moved forward with contempt. I will clarify the terms they are agreeing to and then discuss next steps with my committee members," Comer said. The Oversight Committee previously voted to advance contempt resolutions for the Clintons to the House floor. The Rules Committee met Monday with the goal of approving the resolutions, followed by a floor vote this week. But on Monday night it suspended consideration of the resolution after the Clintons agreed to provide testimony. Advertisement Advertisement The Oversight Committee subpoenaed the Clintons in August along with several top former Justice Department officials, including former Attorneys General Merrick Garland, Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, William Barr, Jeff Sessions and Alberto Gonzales; and former FBI Directors James Comey and Robert Mueller requesting testimony related to the horrific crimes perpetrated by Jeffrey Epstein. The Justice Department on Friday released more than 3.5 million pages worth of files related to Epstein, which Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said constituted about half of the more than 6 million relevant documents the Justice Department collected. Much of the released materials were redacted. The first set of Epstein files released by the Justice Department in December included numerous pictures of Bill Clinton, who his spokesperson said had flown on Epsteins plane for Clinton Foundation trips in the early 2000s, before Epstein was charged with any sex crimes. Bill Clinton has denied any wrongdoing. He previously said that he cut ties with Epstein before the financier was accused in 2006 of having sex with a minor. Advertisement Advertisement In a December statement, Hillary Clintons spokesperson, Nick Merrill, said, Since this started, weve been asking what the hell Hillary Clinton has to do with this, and [Comer] hasnt been able to come up with an answer. Earlier on Monday, Comer rejected an offer that came in from attorneys for the Clintons over the weekend. On Saturday, the attorneys said that Bill Clinton would sit for a four-hour transcribed interview in New York City, according to a copy of the letter which was obtained by NBC News. The attorneys wrote that the scope of the interview would be confined to matters related to the investigations and prosecutions of Jeffrey Epstein. The attorneys also requested that additional questions for Hillary Clinton be addressed through a supplemental sworn declaration rather than in-person testimony. But they said that, if needed, she would sit for an in-person interview following the same format as the one requested for her husband. In his response to that offer Monday, Comer called the request for the committee to withdraw its subpoena and contempt resolution prior to the interview "not reasonable." This article was originally published on NBCNews.com WASHINGTON Former President Bill Clinton and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, reached an agreement to testify before lawmakers in late February about accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. House Republican leaders threatened to hold votes Feb. 4 on resolutions of criminal contempt for the Clintons if they couldnt reach an agreement for testimony before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. But the chair, Rep. James Comer, R-Kentucky, said on social media that the Clintons had CAVED at the threat of a contempt vote and would appear in closed-door depositions that will be filmed and transcribed. He said questions will focus on Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell. Advertisement Advertisement "We look forward to now questioning the Clintons as part of our investigation into the horrific crimes of Epstein and Maxwell, to deliver transparency and accountability for the American people and for survivors," Comer said. When will Clintons testify to a House committee? Hillary Clinton will testify Feb. 26 and Bill Clinton on Feb. 27. They had offered to appear at public hearings, but lawmakers often seek depositions ahead of time to follow lines of more detailed questioning than allowed in five-minute periods for each lawmaker at a hearing. I dont think its any secret. Depositions have historically been much more substantive than hearings," Comer told reporters Feb. 3. "Hearings have unfortunately become much more of an entertainment thing. The committee had subpoenaed the Clintons in July 2025 as part of an investigation into Epstein. The inquiry is part of a broad effort in Congress and through the courts to unearth information about Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Advertisement Advertisement Bill Clinton is among the political and business leaders who socialized with Epstein and showed up in the documents. Clinton appeared in pictures and in a handwritten note in a book Epsteins associate Ghislaine Maxwell assembled for his 50th birthday.But Clinton hasnt been accused of wrongdoing. The Clintons have said they have been out of office for more than a decade and had nothing to do with Epstein for more than 20 years. Comer argued that their testimony remains critical to understanding Epsteins alleged sex trafficking network and how he curried favor with powerful figures to evade scrutiny. Clinton testimony part of broad release of info about Epstein The dispute over testimony from the Clintons coincided with the Justice Department releasing millions of pages of documents from its criminal investigations. Despite a new law requiring the release of the documents, millions more pages remain confidential while hundreds of department lawyers scour them to prevent the release of names of people who accused Epstein of abuse. Lawmakers from both parties have blasted the department for withholding documents. President Donald Trump, who socialized with Epstein during the 1990s and early 2000s before a falling out, told reporters Feb. 2 that the department should move on to other business. Advertisement Advertisement Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche denied accusations that the department tried to protect powerful men. "We did not protect President Trump," Blanche said. "We didn't protect or not protect anybody." Chairman of the House Oversight Committee James Comer, R-Kentucky, speaks as ranking member Rep. Robert Garcia, D-California, looks on during a meeting to vote on whether to hold former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress for defying subpoenas to testify in the panel's investigation of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 21, 2026. Have other presidents testified before Congress? Bill Clinton wont be the first former president to testify before Congress. But the events are rare. For example, President George Washington testified before the entire Senate in 1789 about treaties with Native Americans. President Abraham Lincoln testified in 1862 before the House Judiciary Committee about a newspaper publishing one of his addresses before it was released. President Woodrow Wilson talked with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the White House about the peace treaty with Germany after World War I. And President Gerald Ford appeared before a House Judiciary subcommittee at the Capitol about his pardon of Richard Nixon. Why were the Clintons threatened with contempt? The compromise over Clinton testimony came after the threat of a criminal prosecution for contempt. Advertisement Advertisement Criminal contempt is a misdemeanor carrying a $100,000 fine and up to a year in prison. Steve Bannon, a former Trump political adviser, and Peter Navarro, a Trump trade adviser, were each convicted of contempt for defying subpoenas about the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, and sentenced to four months in prison. Navarro was fined $9,500 and Bannon was fined $6,500. The Republican-led committee held bipartisan votes Jan. 21 on two resolutions to hold the Democratic Clintons in criminal contempt of subpoenas for information about Epstein. Nine Democrats joined Republicans in the vote against Bill Clinton, and two voted present, which isn't voting for or against something. Three Democrats joined Republicans in the vote against Hillary Clinton. "The contempt motion is still on the table," Comer told reporters. "This is the third date we've given the Clintons. Three strikes and you're out. I think the votes are there for contempt. I think there are Democrats who will vote for contempt if the Clintons miss this next date." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bill and Hillary Clinton set dates to testify about Jeffrey Epstein Former US President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Clinton, the former Secretary of State, have agreed to testify in the congressional investigation into late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, allowing them to avoid being found in contempt of Congress. The House of Representatives had been poised to vote this week on holding the couple in contempt for refusing to appear before the chamber's Oversight Committee. Bill Clinton was acquainted with Epstein, who died in prison in 2019, but has denied knowledge of his sex offending and says he cut off contact two decades ago. Advertisement Advertisement He will appear for a deposition on 27 February, and Hillary Clinton will appear the day before. It will be the first time a former US president has testified to a congressional panel since Gerald Ford did so in 1983. The Republican-led House Oversight Committee has asked for the depositions to be filmed and transcribed, with no time limit. On Tuesday, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer said: "Once it became clear that we would hold them in contempt, the Clintons completely caved." "Republicans and Democrats on the Oversight Committee have been clear: no one is above the law - and that includes the Clintons," he added in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement When the Clintons agreed to Comer's requirements, they reportedly asked for the testimony to be public, multiple US news outlets reported. Whether or not Comer will oblige remains unclear. The House was expected to vote this week on holding the former president and former secretary of state in criminal contempt of Congress, but the plans were abruptly put on hold on Monday as the Clintons' legal team said they would agree to the committee's terms. The couple, both Democrats, had previously struck a defiant tone, saying they had already submitted sworn statements covering the "limited information" they had on Epstein. They had dismissed the legal summonses issued by the panel as "nothing more than a ploy to attempt to embarrass political rivals, as President Trump has directed". Advertisement Advertisement The oversight committee then approved a measure to hold the Clintons in contempt late last month, with the support of several Democrats. On Saturday, as a vote in the full House loomed, lawyers for the Clintons made an offer to provide limited testimony that would have centred on a four-hour interview by Bill Clinton. But Comer expressed concerns that the former president would stonewall questions and run down the clock. On Monday evening, Bill Clinton's Deputy Chief of Staff Angel Urena posted on X confirming the couple would appear before the panel. "They negotiated in good faith," Urena wrote in a tweet directed at the House Oversight Committee. "You did not. Advertisement Advertisement "They told you under oath what they know, but you don't care. But the former President and former Secretary of State will be there. They look forward to setting a precedent that applies to everyone." If the House had approved a contempt resolution, it would have been referred to the justice department, which then could have decided whether to prosecute the Clintons. Neither Clinton has been accused of wrongdoing by survivors of Epstein's abuse, and they have denied knowledge of his sex offending. Hillary Clinton, former US senator and secretary of state, and the Democratic presidential nominee in 2016, has said she never met or spoke to Epstein. Advertisement Advertisement Epstein's private jet logs show that Clinton took four international flights in 2002 and 2003. Shortly after Epstein was arrested on sex trafficking charges in July 2019, Clinton's spokesperson said the former president took trips on the plane including "stops in connection with the work of the Clinton Foundation". The former president also appears at the late financier's estate in photos that were among a batch of records released by the justice department to comply with a law passed by Congress mandating the disclosure of all investigative material relating to the late convicted paedophile. One picture shows the former president swimming in a pool, and another shows him lying on his back with his hands behind his head in what appears to be a hot tub. Advertisement Advertisement Urena, Clinton's spokesman, said at the time the photos were released in December that they were decades old and Clinton had stopped associating with Epstein before his crimes came to light. Last month, the Clintons wrote a letter to Comer criticising his handling of the Epstein investigation. "The decisions you have made, and the priorities you have set as chairman regarding the Epstein investigation, have prevented progress in discovering the facts about the government's role," the letter said. They added: "There is no plausible explanation for what you are doing other than partisan politics." Indiana lawmakers have advanced a bill allowing for relocation of the Rising Star Casino's license. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) A proposal allowing a new Indiana casino has cleared a major legislative hurdle. House members voted 67-30 on Monday in favor of House Bill 1038, which would give four counties a chance at becoming the new home for the casino currently in the Ohio River city of Rising Sun. Advertisement Advertisement Three Fort Wayne-area counties Allen, DeKalb and Steuben and eastern Indianas Wayne County could seek the casino. There was limited discussion on the last bill of the day. The measure now moves to the Senate, where it will have to win approval by the end of February in order to become law. The legislation follows release of a study by the Indiana Gaming Commission in October finding that Indianapolis was the top location for a casino relocation, followed by northeast Indiana. While the Indianapolis region would bring the state more tax revenue, the study found it would also hurt the two casinos nearby in Shelbyville and Anderson that also have horse tracks and help support the horse racing industry. The Fort Wayne area was seen as more of an open market, impacting casinos in Ohio and Michigan. Senate action stalled on similar bill A Senate committee in December endorsed a bill that would have allowed Full House to relocate its casino to Allen County. That bill, however, did not come to a full Senate vote by deadline last week. Advertisement Advertisement Republican Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray said he expected the Senate will support allowing the casino relocation. There continues to be support, I think, building for the idea of some option to move a casino up into northeast Indiana, Bray told reporters last week. The study obviously shows that it would be profitable up there. So, I look optimistically at the movement of that bill. The bill endorsed Monday would require the company building the new casino to spend at least $500 million on the project within five years of the doors opening to gamblers. The current Rising Star Casino owned and operated by Las Vegas-based Full House Resorts generates the least casino tax in the state and has seen revenues plummet since casinos opened in Ohio and gambling expanded in Kentucky. Casino companies would bid for relocation Full House has for several years sought permission to move the casino to a new location, but the revised bill would allow all operators of Indianas current 13 state-regulated casinos to submit proposals for the license transfer. Advertisement Advertisement Among details of the proposal: The Indiana Gaming Commission would select the new casino operator by April 15, 2027. A city mayor and board of county commissioners would need to endorse any casino proposals for a site in their communities. The bill allows counties to hold a voter referendum on local support, but does not require such a step as has been previously called for on all casino projects. The company winning the project would pay a $50 million fee to the state over a five-year period. If Full House doesnt obtain the transferred license, the winning company would have to pay the fair market value of the Rising Star Casino as determined by an independent consultant hired by the gaming commission. Another provision calls for the new casinos operator to pay a total of $30 million to the city of Rising Sun and Ohio County as compensation for their lost casino tax revenue. Local officials, however, have argued that compensation level was inadequate as the city and county have averaged about $5 million in annual casino tax revenue in recent years. They have asked for the city and county to share a small percentage of the new casinos revenue in perpetuity. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX A little bit of blood was found inside the Arizona home of "Today" show co-host Savannah Guthrie's mother, Nancy Guthrie, whose disappearance is being investigated as a crime, a law enforcement source familiar with the case told CBS News. It is unclear whose blood it is, but it is being tested. Investigators and analysts combed through Guthrie's Tucson, Arizona, home in search of clues to the 84-year-old's disappearance. During a news conference on Tuesday, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said the house was turned back over to the family on Monday. When asked about the blood, Nanos said evidence collected from the home was still being processed and that none of it pointed toward a suspect so far. Advertisement Advertisement "I'm not saying there's blood inside that house or outside that house," Nanos told reporters. He said he couldn't provide details about what was collected from the home. What appeared to be a small amount of dried blood was seen next to a doormat outside the front door of Guthrie's home on Tuesday. Investigators believe Guthrie was abducted from her home in the middle of the night over the weekend, Nanos told CBS News. Nanos told reporters Tuesday the search was ongoing. "We don't know where she is," the sheriff said. Nanos said it wasn't clear how many people took Guthrie. "It could be one, it could've been more, I don't know," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Asked if the perpetrators may have taken a security camera from the front of the home, he said investigators were looking into that. Nanos was asked if a ransom demand had been made for Guthrie. "We're following all leads," the sheriff said. He also said, "That's all I can tell you. We've got hundreds of leads." Nanos later confirmed to CBS News that a ransom note had been sent to a local Arizona news station, which had agreed not to report on it. He said it contained specific details about the home and what Nancy Guthrie was wearing that night, although he would not confirm the accuracy of that information or the legitimacy of the note. The Pima County Sheriff's Department had said on social media it was aware of "reports circulating about possible ransom note(s)" and that all tips and leads were being taken very seriously. "Anything that comes in, goes directly to our detectives who are coordinating with the FBI," the department said. Advertisement Advertisement Authorities had hoped to keep the information about the note from becoming public, but it was obtained by TMZ, which reported on it before contacting the sheriff's office, Nanos said. Investigators hadn't determined whether Guthrie was targeted or if the abduction was random, Nanos said. "We're going to assume both sides of that," he said. Jon Edwards, the assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's office in Tucson, said the bureau was working with the sheriff's department and providing support, including obtaining information from cell towers. He renewed a call for people to contact authorities if they saw anything in Guthrie's Catalina Foothills neighborhood Saturday night or Sunday morning. "We are looking at this from every angle, but we need your help," Edwards said. Advertisement Advertisement The sheriff has dismissed the possibility that Guthrie, who lives alone, may have wandered away from her home because he said she doesn't have any cognitive issues and her mobility is limited. Authorities have been searching for Guthrie since Sunday. She was last seen at her home Saturday night, but no one knew she was missing until she didn't show up for church the next morning, Nanos said. Guthrie takes daily medication, adding additional urgency to the search. Asked if investigators were looking for someone who was still alive, Nanos said, "We hope we are." Savannah Guthrie asked people on social media Monday to pray for her mother. Advertisement Advertisement "Thank you for lifting your prayers with ours for our beloved mom, our dearest Nancy, a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant," she said on Instagram. "Raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment. we need you." Savannah Guthrie and mother Nancy Guthrie on the (Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images) An official told CBS News that 88-Crime, an Arizona-based, non-profit program that works with law enforcement to help solve crimes, is offering a reward of up to $2,500 for "information leading to the arrest of the person or persons involved in the disappearance." Nancy Guthrie's family has asked residents near her home to review their security footage from over the weekend, especially between the hours of 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. on Sunday. When CBS News asked Nanos about the time frame, he said the department is starting with a narrow window and will expand outward. "Keep looking. You never know what you'll see," Nanos told CBS News. "Maybe it's just a pair of headlights. But if you see something that just doesn't seem right in that neighborhood, please let us know. We can come and download all your digital evidence and take a look at it ourselves." Advertisement Advertisement Authorities investigate ransom note in disappearance of Savannah Guthrie's mom, sheriff says Eye Opener: Possible ransom note investigated in Nancy Guthrie's disappearance Some blood found in Savannah Guthrie's mom's home, sources say A 13-year-old boy has been praised for his determination after he swam through rough waters in fading light to save his mother and two siblings who had been swept out to sea off Australia's coast. The family had been paddleboarding and kayaking at Geographe Bay in the south of Western Australia, on Friday when strong winds pushed their inflatables off course, police said. The teenager began to paddle back to shore to raise the alarm but his kayak took on water - so he swam the remaining 4km (2 nautical miles). Advertisement Advertisement "The bravery, strength and courage shown by this family were extraordinary, especially the young fella who swam 4km to raise the alarm," Naturaliste Volunteer Marine Rescue Group said. The organisation's commander Paul Bresland described the efforts of the teenager as "superhuman". "He swam in, he reckons, the first two hours with a life jacket on," he told ABC News. "The brave fella thought he's not going to make it with a life jacket on, so he ditched it, and he swam the next two hours without a life jacket." The boy was able to raise the alarm by 18:00 local time (10:00 GMT) on Friday evening, sparking a huge search for the missing relatives from Quindalup beach, near Busselton, WA Police said in a statement on Monday. Advertisement Advertisement The boy's 47-year-old mother, her other son, 12, and daughter, eight, were located at around 20:30 by a rescue helicopter clinging to a paddleboard about 14km offshore. "A volunteer marine rescue vessel was directed to their location and all three were successfully rescued and returned to shore," the force said. Insp James Bradley said the incident was an important reminder of how rapidly ocean conditions can change. "Thankfully, all three people were wearing life jackets, which contributed to their survival," he told local media. "The actions of the 13-year-old boy cannot be praised highly enough - his determination and courage ultimately saved the lives of his mother and siblings." The family were assessed by paramedics before being taken to a nearby hospital, police said. The family were later discharged and visited the marine rescue crew to say thank you, the ABC reported. Breeze Airways is celebrating three years at Vero Beach Regional Airport (VRB) with promotional flights starting from $69. Breeze Airways launched service in Vero Beach in 2023, with its inaugural flight coming back from Hartford, Connecticut Feb. 2. The budget airline offers eight destinations from the Florida city, and has since been joined by commercial airlines JetBlue and American Airlines. JetBlue, Vero Beach's second airline, began service in December 2025, offering daily service to Boston Logan International Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. Advertisement Advertisement American Airlines is a recent addition, beginning service Feb. 12, 2026, offering round-trip service to Charlotte, North Carolina. Where does Breeze Airways fly from Vero Beach Airport? Breeze Airways offers eight flights coming to or from Vero Beach: Hartford, Connecticut Islip, New York Newburgh, New York New Haven, Connecticut Ogdensburg, New York, which has a layover in Washington, D.C., Providence, Rhode Island Washington, D.C., White Plains, New York Seasonal flights between Vero Beach and Raleigh, North Carolina, will begin May 6, operating twice a week only on Wednesdays and Saturdays, according to the Breeze Airways website. Cheap Breeze Airways Florida flights from Vero Beach Here are flight ticket prices offered by Breeze Airways throughout February: Advertisement Advertisement Vero Beach flights to and from Hartford, Connecticut Flights from Vero Beach Airport to and from Hartford, Connecticut, are offered daily except for Mondays and Fridays in February. Departing ticket prices: $79 - $219 Returning ticket prices: $99 - $409 Vero Beach flights to and from New Haven, Connecticut Flights to and from Vero Beach Airport and New Haven, Connecticut, are offered on Wednesdays and Saturdays in February. Departing ticket prices: $69 - $179 Returning ticket prices: $54 - $577 Vero Beach flights to and from Providence, Rhode Island Flights from Vero Beach Airport to and from Providence, Rhode Island, are offered daily except for Mondays and Fridays in February. Departing ticket prices: $79 - $329 Returning ticket prices: $89 - $569 Vero Beach flights to and from Long Island/Islip, New York Flights from Vero Beach Airport to and from Long Island/Islip, New York, are offered on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays in February. Departing ticket prices: $79 - $449 Returning ticket prices: $79 - $369 Vero Beach flights to and from Ogdensburg, New York Roundtrip flights from Vero Beach Airport to Ogdensburg, New York, are offered on Thursdays and Sundays in February. Departing ticket prices: $82 - $402 Returning ticket prices: $59 - $669 Vero Beach flights to and from White Plains, New York Flights from Vero Beach Airport to and fromWhite Plains, New York, are offered daily in February. Departing ticket prices: $99 - $1,000 Returning ticket prices: $94 - $899 Vero Beach flights to and from Washington, D.C. Flights from Vero Beach Airport to and from Washington, D.C., are offered on Thursdays and Sundays in February. Departing ticket prices: $84 - $299 Returning ticket prices: $99 - $677 Breeze Airways offers new flights to these Florida airports Breeze Airways announced Jan. 28 it will add connections to Atlantic City, New Jersey, Brownsville, Texas, Nassau, Bahamas, and San Antonio, Texas, to the 80 cities it served in May, though none directly through Vero Beach Regional Airport. However, the new routes will fly from Florida airports in Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Tampa. Contributing: Laurence Reisman, Treasure Coast Newspapers Advertisement Advertisement Get all of Floridas best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free Florida TODAY newsletter at https://tcpalm.com/newsletters. This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Breeze Airways flights at Vero Beach Airport hit 3 years By Hannah Lang Feb 3 (Reuters) - A White House meeting aimed at breaking a monthslong stalemate between major U.S. banks and cryptocurrency firms ended Monday without any agreement, underscoring industry divisions that continue to threaten progress on landmark digitalasset legislation. The closeddoor session, convened by the White Houses crypto council, brought together representatives from the crypto industry and the banking industry in an effort to reach an agreement on stalled crypto market structure legislation. Both sides emerged from the meeting describing it as constructive, but fundamental disagreements that upended the bill's progress remained unresolved. Representatives from trade groups for the banking and crypto industries were in attendance, including the American Bankers Association, the Independent Community Bankers of America, the Blockchain Association and The Digital Chamber. Crypto market structure legislation has been held up by a clash between the two industries over how the bill treats interest and other rewards paid on stablecoins, a sticking point that has pitted the two sides against each other for months. Banks have been pushing for language in the bill prohibiting the practice. Crypto companies say providing rewards such as interest is crucial for recruiting new customers and that barring them from doing so would be anti-competitive. Banks say the increased competition could result in insured lenders experiencing an exodus of deposits -- the primary source of funding for most banks -- potentially threatening financial stability. Monday's White House meeting was intended to forge compromise after the Senate Banking Committee postponed a markup last month amid rising objections from both sectors and fears that the bill did not have enough support to advance to the full Senate. While both sides in statements called the meeting constructive, it did not result in an agreement, according to one source who attended and declined to be identified discussing private policy discussions. The source anticipated that there will be subsequent White House meetings in an effort to resolve the impasse. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. The Clarity Act aims to create federal rules for digital assets, the culmination of years of crypto industry lobbying. Crypto companies have long argued that existing rules are inadequate for digital assets, and that legislation is essential for companies to continue to operate with legal certainty in the U.S. The House of Representatives passed its version of the bill in July. (Reporting by Hannah Lang in New York; editing by Pete Schroeder and Chizu Nomiyama ) It's fairly common and seems to be getting more so. You're cruising the aisles at Publix, grabbing some cereal and garbage bags, when another shopper passes by with a little dog in the basket. Or possibly in a carrier, or walking alongside on a leash. Depending on your feelings about dogs, that encounter can be a pleasant little break in your errands or it can annoying or even a little scary. Or you may be the person with the pooch, bringing them along for friendly and harmless companionship. Is it legal? Dogs are prohibited in grocery stores unless they are trained service animals. Is it legal to bring a dog into a Florida grocery store? There is no specific law banning dogs from grocery stores in Florida, but there doesn't need to be. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration's Food Code is pretty clear: "Live animals may not be allowed on the PREMISES of a FOOD ESTABLISHMENT." Advertisement Advertisement The prohibition applies to any animals or birds, not just dogs, and is intended to protect food from contamination from drool, urine, feces and other material that pets carry on their coats and paws and might leave behind on store shelves or counters or exposed foods like produce. It also protects other shoppers and employees from unruly animals. Exceptions are made for service animals and law enforcement patrol dogs. The law also allows customers to bring animals into outside common areas of restaurants or stores or inside common dining areas of institutional care facilities such as nursing homes, assisted living facilities, group homes, or residential care as long as food is not prepared there and the business permits it. Publix has recently placed prominent signage reminding customers of their policy that no pets are allowed in the store except for service animals. This sign is a the front of the store in Palm Beach August 18, 2023. In 2023, Publix made news when its stores began displaying a prominent sign notifying shoppers of the chain's long-standing policy prohibiting animals unless they were service animals. "Under federal law, service animals are dogs or miniature horses trained to perform tasks for people with disabilities," the sign read. "Non-service animals are not allowed in grocery stores by the FDA. Dogs, pets, and other animals whose sole function is to provide comfort, companionship, or emotional support do not qualify as service animals and are not permitted in Publix, even with a doctor's note." Advertisement Advertisement Publix's policy also prohibits service dogs from "being carried in a Publix shopping cart (even on a mat) or in Publix wheelchair basket attachments." Winn-Dixie also bans non-service animals. "Friendly reminder that we do not allow pets of any kind inside the store," an employee posted on Facebook in 2024. Aldi has a similar message to Publix' posted on its website. Are service animals allowed in Florida grocery stores? Trained service animals are allowed everywhere the public is allowed to go, a right protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act, with a few exceptions for sensitive religious areas. Service animals are those that have been trained to serve specific tasks to help people with disabilities. They have also been trained to remain calm in crowds and not react to other people, dogs, or other potentially disruptive situations. Service animals are not considered pets. Advertisement Advertisement Business employees are not permitted under the ADA to ask what a person's disability is. They may ask only if the service animal is required because of a disability, and what work or task has the dog been trained to perform, according to DisabilityRightsFlorida.org. However, under Florida law even people with service animals may be asked to leave the premises "if the animal is out of control and the animals handler does not take effective action to control it, the animal is not housebroken, or the animals behavior poses a direct threat to the health and safety of others." Allergies and fear of animals are not considered valid reasons. The animal must also be on a leash or harness, unless that would interfere with their specific tasks, in which case it must still be under the control of its owner. The owner is also responsible for feeding and caring for the animal and cleaning up any waste products. Dog-friendly dining in Florida: What's required of restaurants allowing dogs in outdoor areas? Can I say my dog is a service animal? Not if it isn't. Florida law specifically comes down on people for doing that. Advertisement Advertisement Knowingly misrepresenting your pet as a service animal is a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by up 60 days in jail and/or a fine of up to $500, along with 30 hours of community service for an organization that serves individuals with disabilities, or for another entity or organization at the discretion of the court, to be completed within 6 months. Do any Florida stores allow dogs? Quite a few, actually, but it's usually a store-by-store decision so check with your local locations before you let Fido in the car. Some popular chains that have welcomed dogs in the past are: Ace Hardware Barnes & Noble Bass Pro Shops DICKS Sporting Goods Foot Locker Harbor Freight Home Depot Homegoods Kirklands Lowes Lush Macys Marshalls Michaels Nordstrom Petco PetSmart Ross TJ Maxx Tractor Supply Co. Again, check your local stores' policies first. Several malls allow dogs in common areas but non-service dogs are prohibited from entering food areas and each mall may have different restrictions on where and when they're allowed. Advertisement Advertisement C. A. Bridges is a journalist for the USA TODAY Network-Florida's service journalism Connect team. You can get all of Floridas best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY. This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida grocery stores rules on bringing dogs and what to know David Zini's father, Rabbi Yosef Zini, claimed that authorities' true target is not brother Bezalel, but the Shin Bet chief himself: "Most of the public understands this well." The brother of Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) Chief David Zini, Bezalel Zini, has been named as the suspect in a security case involving the smuggling of goods into the Gaza Strip, Judge Yaniv Ben Harush from the Ashkelon Magistrates Court permitted for publication on Tuesday. The decision came after Israel Police said earlier that it has concluded the investigation against Zini and two other suspects, and were preparing to issue a prosecutors statement, the step before an official indictment. Zini specifically is suspected of smuggling cigarettes into the enclave. Advertisement Advertisement Ben Harush noted in his decision that the argument that revealing Zinis identity would obstruct the investigation no longer stands, as it is nearing its conclusion, and that the scale tips in favor of the principle of open justice. Following the announcement, Zini's father, Rabbi Yosef Zini, claimed that the authorities' true target was not Bezalel, but rather the Shin Bet head himself. "Everything is done without fear of anything," Zini told Ynet. "They don't want to bring him down, but his brother. God willing, most of the public understands this well." Shin Bet director David Zini participates in the state memorial ceremony for the October 7 massacre on Mount Herzl, in Jerusalem, October 16, 2025 (credit: OLIVIER FITOUSSI/POOL VIA REUTERS) Courts lift publication ban on smuggling case Last week, Ben Harush confirmed publication of the existence of such an investigation, of which there were rumored investigations before. His decision revealed that Israeli authorities are probing a multi-suspect security case involving the alleged smuggling of goods from inside Israel into the Gaza Strip. Ben Harushs decision acceded to requests by journalists and media organizations to scale back a blanket publication ban initially imposed on December 20. Advertisement Advertisement According to Israel Police and the Shin Bet, the probe concerns dozens of items allegedly transferred clandestinely for financial gain. One of the suspects was announced last week as a relative of Zini, though law enforcement and the court stressed that there is no indication that the Shin Bet head himself is implicated in the alleged wrongdoing. A group of Buddhist monks reached a significant milestone today as they arrived in Richmond, Virginia, on the 100th day of their 2,300-mile journey from Fort Worth, Texas, to Washington, D.C. The monks, who began their "Walk for Peace" in Fort Worth in October, have been gaining momentum on social media and receiving increasingly larger welcomes in each city along their route. Their journey has taken them through multiple states, including a stop in the Houston area. RELATED: Buddhist monks on national peace walk injured in Liberty County crash Advertisement Advertisement Despite facing challenges, including a cold spreading among the group, the monks remain committed to their mission. Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, the lead Buddhist monk for the Walk for Peace, emphasized their determination to continue. "We will continue our walk until the end, until we finish. And Washington DC is not the final destination. Because we here need the world peace, is it? And world peace is something that we need to walk for the rest of our life." In recognition of their efforts, Governor Abigail Spanberger declared today "Walk for Peace" Day in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The monks are expected to reach Washington, D.C., later this month, where they plan to meet with members of Congress. Got a news tip or story idea? Email us at newstips@khou.com or call 713-521-4310 and include the best way to reach you. ATLANTA (AP) Health care business owner Rick Jackson announced his Republican run for governor in Georgia on Tuesday, shaking up a field of candidates that had seemed settled for months. Jackson, 71, is bidding to succeed Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who can't run again because he's term-limited. He's vying with Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who has already been endorsed by President Donald Trump, as well as with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Attorney General Chris Carr. Jackson dismissed them as career politicians who are going to do nothing, get rich and keep you in the dark. By contrast, he called himself a real-life conservative who knows how to fight the tough fights and win big for Georgia. Advertisement Advertisement Jackson is pledging to spend $50 million of his own money on his campaign. His entry comes after a shadowy entity called Georgians for Integrity has spent more than $13 million since November on television ads, mailers, texts and social media posts attacking Jones considered by many the GOP front-runner on claims that he's using his office to enrich himself. The ads make misleading assertions about Jones' record and Jones has dismissed them as fabricated trash. Jackson campaign spokesperson Lance Trover denied Tuesday that Jackson funded the attack ads. A four-candidate Republican field could make a June 16 runoff more likely if no one wins a majority in the May 19 primary. On the Democratic ballot, seven candidates are seeking the governor's nomination in May, hoping to wrest control of the governor's office back from the GOP after 24 years. Jackson is touting a sharply conservative message and rags-to-riches background, including a launch video that profiles his rise from foster care to owning Jackson Healthcare, one of the largest health care staffing firms nationwide. He pledged support for criminal deportations and promised to purge schools of woke ideology," while banning diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Advertisement Advertisement And if we cant cut the state income tax in half and freeze property taxes, I wont run again, Jackson pledged in the video, stepping straight into two key tax debates currently ongoing at the Georgia Capitol. Like Jones and Raffensperger, Jackson brings personal wealth to the race. Health care providers nationwide hire Jackson Healthcare to provide them with doctors, nurses and other medical professionals that Jackson employs. The company also helps health care providers find permanent employees and consulting with them on staffing. In 2021, Jackson also bought US Antibiotics, a Bristol, Tennessee, company that says its the only American manufacturer of two top antibiotics. Privately owned, Jackson Healthcare reports more than $3 billion in yearly revenue. Jackson said he would spend an initial $40 million on advertising and on Tuesday launched an ad that represents Raffensperger as Judas for betraying Trump and defying his efforts to overturn Georgias 2020 election. Jackson said he's a billionaire and bragged about making a $1 million donation to Trump, saying Trumps success inspired me to do this for Georgia. But he's been a big donor in Georgia Republican circles for more than a decade. Among the past beneficiaries of his donations are Carr, Raffensperger and former Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, who's now running for governor as a Democrat after Duncan fell out with Trump over the 2020 election. Advertisement Advertisement As one example of his influence, Kemp touted Jackson Healthcare's involvement in providing doctors and nurses to Georgia's hospitals during the pandemic. Jackson also takes credit for a law that provides free college tuition, room and board for students who were in foster care or placed for adoption by Georgia's child welfare agency. Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich backed Jackson, writing online Tuesday that He will be a great governor of Georgia and brings compassion and business experience to the race. Jackson has given money to some people who have opposed Trump, including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in 2015. Jones spokesperson Kayla Lott was dismissive of the idea that Jackson could threaten Jones' support, saying: The never-Trump lane just got way more expensive and way more crowded. Carr's campaign said their argument that he's best positioned to win the general election hasn't changed. Advertisement Advertisement Chris is who he has always been: a proven conservative leader with a record of results and the credibility to unite voters across Georgia, spokesperson Julia Mazzone said in a statement. Raffensperger's campaign declined to comment on Jackson's entry. Jones' campaign didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment. The Teamsters Union of California is asking the state to suspend Waymo's operating license in the state indefinitely. One of the company's self-driving cars hit a child in Santa Monica last month. The child suffered minor injuries. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened an investigation into the incident. Waymo says the car braked faster than a human driver would have been able to brake. PREVIOUS REPORT: Child struck by Waymo near elementary school in Santa Monica A child was hit and injured by a Waymo car near an elementary school in Santa Monica, an incident that has triggered an investigation. Advertisement Advertisement The Teamsters say policymakers have repeatedly ignored a growing list of red flags concerning robotaxis. They want the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to indefinitely suspend Waymo's license to operate in the state. Co-Chairs of Teamsters California, Peter Finn and Victor Mineros, issued the following statement: "The revelation that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened an investigation into Waymo after one of its robotaxis struck a small child should be a horrifying wake up call for California policymakers who have repeatedly ignored the growing list of red flags concerning robotaxis. This incident is emblematic of the broader goal Big Tech companies have to replace skilled human labor with AI. They want to force millions of people into destitution by destroying their livelihoods, seize money that belongs to workers, and force our communities to reckon with the fallout of automation's shortcomings. Robotaxis threaten workers' jobs and are now terrorizing our kids. Advertisement Advertisement Waymo vehicles have continued to illegally ignore school bus stop signs despite a company-wide software recall and another, separate NHTSA investigation. Parents, teachers, school workers, and community members have been demanding that these vehicles be kept away from school zones. Waymo and its parent company, Google, choose to ignore those warnings. In the interest of protecting our communities and working-class prosperity, the Teamsters are calling on the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to indefinitely suspend Waymo's license to operate in the state. Being a parent is hard enough - nobody should have to worry about a driverless car putting their child in danger. The CPUC must do its job and intervene now, because the next incident could be much worse." A motion before the Caddo Commission to ask state and regional authorities next week to halt large-scale water withdrawals from Caddo Lake died in Monday's work session without a second. An agenda item on the Caddo Commission's Feb. 2 work session agenda calls for the advancement of a moratorium to the Red River Compact Commission and the Louisiana Department of Energy and Natural Resources on the withdrawal of water from Caddo Lake for any use other than small or commercial residential use for 365 days or until a study of the effect of exceeding currently permitted levels can be obtained. The resolution cited concerns about the lake's long-term sustainability in light of a proposed data center near Caddo Lake. Advertisement Advertisement Without a second, no further discussion on the resolution was to be had. As the governing body moved toward an executive session, they offered the chance to speak to two citizens who came in after the public comments period. One of those citizens was Vicki L. Moore Moore, who has lived in Caddo Parish for 47 years and has spent the past two years living on Blanchard-Latex Road, an area where data center developer STACK Infrastructure has purchased more than 500 acres. "You are my representation on the commission," Moore said. She expressed concern over the water in Caddo Lake, noting she had been without water for days and saying in the two years she has lived in Blanchard, she's been without water more than she ever was in Shreveport. Mostly, she expressed disappointment in the Commission for not at least moving forward to discuss Kracman's proposal. Advertisement Advertisement "We don't know where you stand. So I don't know where I stand," she said. Commissioner Victor Thomas addressed the comments about proposal. "We plan to address this issue in the proper form, " he said. "I didn't want you leave here feeling defeated and that we cared nothing about your water issue and that we care nothing about Caddo Lake." Most commissioners who spoke felt it was too early, saying nothing has confirmed that the planned development is, in fact, a data center. What data center is in Blanchard? Data center developer STACK Infrastructure linked to Caddo, Bossier land deals. Kracman, however, said the resolution had nothing to do with Blanchard Utilities, or with data centers. "We all say how much we care about Caddo Lake, but if we're not willing to have the discussion about it, how much do we really care?" A sentence that drew applause from the audience. Advertisement Advertisement He went on to say that this was one of the most proactive things he'd done since becoming a commissioner, and he was simply asking for a pause so "intelligent" people could conduct a study. STACK Infrastructure is clearing land at Blanchard Latex and Stateline Roads a site straddling the Texas-Louisiana line between Blanchard and Mooringsport. This silent dismissal of the Kracman's legislation echoed as the Blanchard area struggles with a water crisis. Does Blanchard have issues with water? Blanchard Mayor Jim Galambos stated on Facebook Feb. 1 that the Blanchard Water System was experiencing a production issue affecting local municipalities. On Monday, Feb. 2, Galambos told the Shreveport Times that the Blanchard Water System had some production issues at the plant with equipment due to the cold weather. Advertisement Advertisement On Sunday, the Blanchard Water System cut the valves to some customers to allow the water system to fill up its tanks. As of Monday, the water disruption had yet to be resolved after leaks were discovered, forcing the water system to drain the tanks. Blanchard water crisis: Water outage at Blanchard Utilites affects multiple cities, closes schools "Weve been struggling," Galambos said. "We had to go find the leaks. We finally now have found them all, and weve got crews on site. Were getting them to make the repairs." Mooringsport Mayor Ty Gordon posted on Facebook, "Currently, Mooringsport and Oil City are still OFF... NO exact restoration time at this moment." Advertisement Advertisement This water disruption has caused the cancellation of Herndon Magnet School, Mooringsport Elementary School, Blanchard Elementary School, Donnie Bickham Middle School and Northwood High School. "District leadership continues to monitor the situation closely and will provide updates as additional information becomes available," Caddo Parish Schools said. Data center concern in Blanchard Kracman, who proposed the moratorium, told The Times in a previous interview that he had received calls from constituents opposed to the data center and from environmentalists concerned that Caddo Lake cannot sustain millions of gallons of daily withdrawals under the developers' contract with Blanchard. "Let's get the people who are qualified to assess what the lake can or cannot take before we're just arbitrarily against a data center," Kracman said. "I would rather weigh and measure that it's OK, and I think everybody can appreciate taking a pause and getting some facts together." Advertisement Advertisement A measure in New Orleans similar to the one Krackman is proposing led to the cancellation of a data center project. Is a data center planned for the Blanchard area? A global data center developer with a growing footprint across the United States is tied to several large land acquisitions in Caddo and Bossier parishes, according to public property records. STACK Infrastructure, a Denver-based digital infrastructure company, is connected to the purchases through SAC III Acquisition Co. LLC, which is listed on multiple purchase agreements for properties intended for data center development in northwest Louisiana. SAC III Acquisition Co. is listed as the buyer on several transactions in Caddo Parish and Bossier Parish, including more than 500 acres in Blanchard at the corner of Blanchard Latex and Stateline roads. The property sits on the Louisiana-Texas border. Advertisement Advertisement Public records show SAC III Acquisition Co. lists its address as 1700 Broadway, Suite 1750, Denver, Colorado, the same address used by STACK Infrastructure. STACK Infrastructure develops and operates hyperscale data centers for large enterprises, cloud service providers and companies focused on artificial intelligence and machine-learning workloads. The company provides data center capacity in major markets across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. The company is backed by investment firms IPI Partners and ICONIQ Capital, both of which specialize in large-scale infrastructure and technology investments. This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Caddo Commission kills Caddo Lake proposal with no debate Some researchers will go to almost any length to advance science. But for Luiz Rocha, it's more like any depth. Rocha and a team from the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco recently returned from an expedition to deep coral reefs, located off Guam. At more than 330 feet, it's a layer known as the Twilight Zone. "So those depths are very hard to get to. We can do it by technical diving, which is the way we do it. But you can also do it with ROVs and with submarines. They're much more expensive than the way we do it. But because it requires a lot of logistics, a lot of time, a lot of funding. The end result is that those that are really hard to study, very few people do it, and we don't know much about it," Rocha explains. What they're learning is both exciting and concerning. As we reported previously, the Academy team identified roughly 20 new deep-reef species, ranging from sea slugs to hermit crabs to a variety of unique ocean creatures never seen before. Terry Gosliner is senior curator of invertebrate zoology. RELATED: Oceanic heat wave caused by climate change could endanger marine life, Bay Area scientists say "So this is really filling in a gap in an area of the ocean. This depth range between about 300 ft to 500 ft, that we really know so little about. And we are finding that a lot of the species that inhabit this area are completely different than those that are found in shallow water. And we're also finding that, they're different than the organisms that have been found in deeper water," says Gosliner. Advertisement Advertisement To lure in specimens, the team deployed a multi-leveled scaffolding in the coral, known as an autonomous reef monitoring structure. Over time, Sea creatures enter and make themselves at home. But senior curatorial assistant Johanna Loacker says there's more to the process than what the eye can see. "We can get the DNA of fish that may have left some waste as they swam past, and now they're long gone. But we have this reference of when where they were there. Things that may have settled on arms plates and then died and were only there for a short time, but we still have remnants of their DNA," she says. But another emerging data set is more troubling. Luiz Rocha and his team have uncovered evidence suggesting that ocean warming, a trend blamed for bleaching and sometimes killing coral worldwide, is reaching deeper than expected, possibly into the Twilight Zone. MORE: New study raises alarms about ecosystems that may be on verge of irreversible collapse "We don't have all of the data analyzed yet, but it's strongly suggesting that there is a warming trend even at those depths. So for a long time, people thought that the, that those depths, Twilight Zone between 300 and 500 ft or so, it was a refuge for shallow, shallow water organisms that were really suffering with warming. But what we're seeing is that those deeper water, masses, they are warming as almost as quickly as the shallow ones, and the impact can be as great at those depths as it is in the shallows, so that the impact of that isn't just for the species that are native to those depths. That was a little escape hatch for other animals," Rocha explains. Advertisement Advertisement Rocha also uncovered evidence of corral damage at lower depths during a survey in the Indian Ocean. The data is helping to drive an initiative at the Academy known as Hope for Reefs - with the goal of reversing the damage in oceans around the world. "There's a lot of fish. And all of those are suffering with the impacts at those depths. And, one of the saddest things, I think, is that we might be losing species even before we get to know them," he adds. The academy team placed than a dozen ARMS collection pods in the water in 2018, they're believed to be some of deepest reef monitoring devices of their kind in the world. If you're on the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live By Daniel Wiessner Feb 2 (Reuters) - A Texas man has accused a California doctor of prescribing abortion pills to his partner in violation of state law, in what appears to be the first test of a Texas law that took effect in December allowing private citizens to sue abortion providers on behalf of the state. The man, Jerry Rodriguez, filed an amended lawsuit in Galveston, Texas, federal court on Sunday seeking to block the doctor, Remy Coeytaux, from continuing to allegedly mail abortion drugs to patients in Texas. Advertisement Advertisement The case represents another front in a nationwide legal battle over the abortion drug mifepristone, whose use Republican-led states are working to curtail after the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 opened the door for states to ban abortion. Mifepristone is used in 60% of U.S. abortions. It could also test California's so-called "shield law" protecting healthcare providers against out-of-state investigations and prosecutions. More than a dozen other Democratic-led states have adopted similar laws. Coeytaux has been indicted in Louisiana for allegedly prescribing mifepristone to women there. California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said last month that his state would not extradite Coeytaux to Louisiana. Rodriguez had sued Coeytaux last year for wrongful death of the fetus, claiming his partner had used abortion drugs prescribed by the doctor against his wishes. The amended complaint adds claims under a Texas law that took effect in December known as HB 7, which bans the prescribing, transporting, mailing and delivery of abortion-inducing drugs and allows state residents to sue for violations. Advertisement Advertisement Wrongful death cases against healthcare providers are complex and often difficult to win, requiring proof of negligence or deviation from accepted standards of medical care and that a provider directly caused a death. HB 7 only requires proof that a defendant engaged in conduct prohibited by the law. Rodriguez said he would seek to recover at least $100,000 in penalties from Coeytaux for each established violation of the law. Rodriguez is represented by Jonathan Mitchell, a former Texas solicitor general who reportedly crafted the state's 2021 law known as SB 8 that prohibits aiding or abetting abortion, including a novel provision allowing private citizens to sue for violations. HB 7's private right of action is based on the 2021 law but allows for up to 10 times the monetary penalties. Mitchell did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday. Advertisement Advertisement Coeytaux is represented by the Center for Reproductive Rights, which said in a statement that the case is the first under HB 7 by a private litigant. Texas officials have already been going after doctors outside their borders, and now they've incentivized private citizens to do their bidding," said Nancy Northup, the group's president and CEO. The office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, filed a lawsuit last week against a nurse practitioner in Delaware for allegedly violating HB 7. Paxton's office last year won a $100,000 judgment against a New York doctor accused of prescribing abortion pills in violation of the 2021 abortion ban, and is now trying to enforce it in New York. Texas is appealing a ruling by a judge that dismissed the case, citing New York's shield law. Advertisement Advertisement The case is Rodriguez v. Coeytaux, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, No. 3:25-cv-00225. For Rodriguez: Jonathan Mitchell For Coeytaux: The Center for Reproductive Rights Read more: Texas sues Delaware nurse practitioner to test abortion 'shield law' US abortion pill access under fire: Lawsuits and regulatory battles to watch in 2026 New York law seeks to shield doctors who provide abortion pills by mail Texas moves to enforce judgment against New York doctor over abortion pills (Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York) A woman from Southern California has been arrested, as has her alleged accomplice from Alabama, in connection with a murder that occurred earlier this year in Murrieta. According to the Murrieta Police Department, officers were dispatched to The Arbors at California Oaks Apartments, located in the 24000 block of Jackson Avenue, at approximately 9:13 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 13. Upon arrival, officers located an adult male deceased inside an apartment, MPD said on social media Monday. Based on preliminary information, the circumstances surrounding the death were investigated as a homicide. Advertisement Advertisement The victim was later identified as 30-year-old Aaron Parr, who lived at the apartment complex. A 30-year-old man was found dead inside his Murrieta apartment on Jan. 13, 2026. (Google Maps) Further investigation into the incident led to the arrests of two people, including Parrs ex-girlfriend, 40-year-old Ignacia Cadaos Perkins. She was arrested on Jan. 29 in Murrieta, police confirmed. Community devastated after congregant arrested during immigration raid on L.A. church grounds On the same day, police took custody of an acquaintance of Perkins in Alabama. James Lawrence Petri, 43, was located and arrested in Birmingham, where police say he lives, and is now facing extradition to California. Advertisement Advertisement Both he and Perkins are charged with murder and criminal conspiracy to commit murder. Police on Monday released a booking photo of Perkins, but not one for Petri. Ignacia Cadaos Perkins. (Murrieta Police Dept.) No further details were immediately provided surrounding the ongoing investigation. Anyone who may have information on the case is asked to contact Murrieta Police Department Detective Leitch at 951-461-6353. Information may also be provided anonymously at www.murrietapolice.org. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - California's proposed $200 million electric vehicle incentive program will be limited to first-time buyers and require participating manufacturers to contribute matching incentives, the administration of California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Monday. The proposal would allow incentives to defray the upfront purchase costs for new or used EVs but the incentive amounts have not yet been announced. Eligible vehicles will face price caps. (Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Chris Reese) Zurich Insurance Group has revealed a stake of approximately 1.47% in UK-based specialty insurer Beazley. This follows the recent rejection by Beazley of Zurich's takeover bid. The Swiss insurer now holds around 8.87 million shares in Beazley, which equates to roughly 1.47% of the companys listed shares, according to a filing. Last month, Beazleys board dismissed Zurichs $10.2bn (SFr8.06bn) buyout offer, which valued the specialty insurer at 1,280p (12.80) per share. As its rationale for rejecting the offer, the company said the proposal materially undervalues Beazley and its longer-term prospects as an independent company. The board unanimously turned down the new bid, noting it was still less attractive than a previous approach made by Zurich in June last year, which was also rejected. Beazley noted that it has nonetheless kept discussions open with Zurich, granting the Swiss insurance company certain limited due diligence information in a good faith effort. Alongside its interest in Beazley, Zurich is working toward establishing its first syndicate at Lloyds of London. The syndicate would give Zurich access to private capital for underwriting within the Lloyds insurance market and presents an alternative route should its attempt to acquire Beazley fall through. Details about the syndicate were initially reported by the Financial Times. Zurich CEO Mario Greco indicated that preparations for the Lloyds syndicate are nearing completion. Negotiations between Zurich and Lloyds are reportedly progressing, with a potential start date for the new syndicate as early as 2 April. "Zurich discloses stake in Beazley after takeover snub" was originally created and published by Life Insurance International, a GlobalData owned brand. Jeffrey Epstein appears to have visited Canada despite having been convicted of crimes that should have rendered him inadmissible. Among the more than three million documents released by the Department of Justice last week are travel reservations for Epstein in Vancouver for March 17-20, 2014, the CBC reported. He apparently booked a massage at a local hotel and attended a conference during this period. His apparent excursion to the Great White North came roughly six years after he pleaded guilty to several state charges in Florida including soliciting a minor for prostitution which resulted in an 18-month jail sentence. He was also required to register as a sex offender. Advertisement Advertisement Epstein, who died in jail in 2019, had been deemed inadmissible to Canada since he had been convicted of at least one offense that, if committed in Canada, would constitute an indictable offense under an Act of Parliament, according to a 2018 letter from the countrys consulate in California. The letter included in the DOJs latest release of documents concerning Epstein said the disgraced financiers application for a temporary resident permit was rejected. The permit would have given him an exception to travel to the country in spite of his criminal record. Canadian officials can't explain why Jeffrey Epstein was allowed to travel into the country after his conviction should have rendered him 'inadmissible' (DOJ) "After a careful and sympathetic review balancing all the factors, I have determined that there are insufficient grounds to merit the issuance of a permit in your case," the letter states. Yet the convicted sex offender seems to have traveled across the border years earlier. Advertisement Advertisement A Canadian customs clearance document dated March 20, 2014, indicates that Epstein passed through customs in Seattle after flying from Vancouver, according to the CBC, citing DOJ documents. The document appears to have disappeared from the DOJs website. Epstein emailed an unknown individual two days earlier that he was attending a TED conference. The individual responded: Jealous! I hear it's in Vancouver this year. Epstein also received an email confirming a March 17 massage appointment at the citys Four Seasons hotel. Epstein was deemed inadmissible to Canada since he had been convicted of a crime that would constitute an indictable offense under Canadian law, according to a 2018 letter (DOJ) Following his 2008 plea deal, Epstein was able to travel to multiple countries, including the UK and France (House Oversight Committee) When asked why Epstein was permitted to enter Canada in 2014, a Canada Border Services Agency spokesperson didnt provide a direct answer. We cannot provide comment on specific cases as a persons immigration and border information is considered personal information and is protected by the Privacy Act," Guillaume Berube, the agencys acting director of media relations, told The Independent. Admissibility of travellers is decided on a case-by-case basis and based on the information available at the time of entry. Advertisement Advertisement Berube added that, if a CBSA officer believes a foreign national is inadmissible, they may report them, allow them to leave the country or issue a temporary resident permit. Epstein, who died in a New York jail while awaiting trial on fresh charges in 2019, was known to possess multiple passports including a fake Austrian passport with his photo and a false name. A former Canadian official said that, if the convicted sex offender indeed traveled north of the border, it would constitute a major oversight. Chris Alexander, Canada's former minister of citizenship and immigration, told the CBC: If he did come to Canada at that time, that was a very serious lapse in immigration enforcement. Our governments position was very clearly that any persons (including U.S. citizens) with criminal records were inadmissible, and that these provisions of the law should be rigorously enforced. Even after his 2008 guilty plea, Epstein freely traveled to multiple countries, including the U.K. and France (he was arrested in 2019 shortly after returning from a trip to Paris). He also maintained business ties with major financial institutions despite at least one company raising concerns about suspicious activity and continued corresponding and meeting with countless high-profile figures. State lawmakers last June charged the Rhode Island Cannabis Control Commission with preparing recommendations for regulating the sale on hemp-derived THC beverages. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) Rhode Island hospitality and liquor industry representatives voiced their opposition to a proposed ban on restaurants and bars serving intoxicating THC beverages during a virtual public hearing with state cannabis regulators Monday afternoon. Approximately 120 licensed retailers, including restaurants and liquor stores, have been serving hemp-derived THC beverages since August 2024, when the states Office of Cannabis Regulation began allowing the sale of products containing low levels of delta-9 THC. Advertisement Advertisement State lawmakers last June charged the Rhode Island Cannabis Control Commission with preparing recommendations for regulating the sale on hemp-derived THC beverages. The commission presented its draft suggestions, including banning the sale of THC drinks at businesses licensed for onsite alcohol consumption, during a Zoom webinar to solicit feedback before submitting the final recommendations to the General Assembly by March 1. Putting hemp THC-derived beverages on premise at a restaurant or bar is actually the safest way to consume these products, Ryan Moot, manager of business development and government affairs for the Rhode Island Hospitality Association, told regulators. Commission staff did not state why they recommend banning sales at businesses that allow on-site consumption. Regulators were asked to study and propose what the state should do about hemp-derived drinks, most of which are produced out-of-state. Over the summer, the commission placed a moratorium on new retail licenses for businesses that allow on-site consumption. Advertisement Advertisement By itself, hemp produces little to no THC, the compound most commonly associated with cannabis intoxication, and is typically non-psychoactive when first harvested, unlike other cannabis plants. But its potency can be increased in a laboratory. And unlike cannabis products manufactured in Rhode Island, hemp-derived drinks are all tested at out-of-state facilities with different standards. Products made outside Rhode Island would still be tested out-of-of-state under the draft suggestions, but the commission recommends those labs should be certified by the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH). RIDOH has similar requirements for other industries for example: water, Carla Aveledo, chief of policy for the commission, said during the seven-minute presentation at the beginning of the 30-minute webinar. Further recommendations would be to have hemp-derived THC beverages to be tested to the cannabis equivalent standards. That would include pesticides, heavy metals, residual solvents, cannabinoid profiles, and microcontaminants. Advertisement Advertisement That proposal drew no comments from the industry representatives who attended the webinar. But a draft recommendation to restructure the tax on hemp-derived products did generate some discussion. Existing regulations charge a 7% sales tax on hemp products. The commission recommends applying the states cannabis tax structure, which adds another 3% local cannabis excise tax on top of the existing sales tax. Alternatively, the commission recommends the state place a 15% tax on wholesale cost on hemp-derived drinks. That doesnt really fall in line with the other states that are producing this, Chris Morgan, CEO of Nice Beverage Co. in Providence, said. Advertisement Advertisement Massachusetts regulators in May 2024 restricted the sale of intoxicating hemp-based products to only cannabis retail stores where they are taxed at a rate of 10.75% on top of the states 6.25% sales tax and up to 3% local tax. State lawmakers in the Bay State are now considering a 10.75% excise tax on all hemp products. As of 2024, Connecticut charged a $1 fee on each beverage can. Thats on top of the states sales tax of 6.35%. Not mentioned in the commissions slide deck: federal restrictions regulating hemps potency scheduled to take effect in November. Under the appropriations bill passed by Congress that reopened the federal government after a 43-day shutdown last fall, hemp products containing more than 0.4 milligrams of THC are effectively banned from being produced or sold. Existing state regulations allow up to 1 milligram of THC per serving of a product or 5 milligrams per package. The commissions slide deck only calls on state regulators to establish a standard THC limit per can and establish a limit for the maximum amount of THC a single consumer can purchase at one time. Advertisement Advertisement Congress is considering legislation that would delay enforcement of the ban for two years, which could still allow THC-derived drinks to be sold. But even if the ban goes into effect, one hemp farmer questioned what change would even be needed. Our state already violates all federal laws when it comes to THC in cannabis, said Mike Simpson, co-founder of Lovewell Farms in Hopkinton. Im not sure why all of a sudden we need to follow the law when it comes to hemp cannabis. During public comment, Cannabis Administrator Michelle Reddish acknowledged potential changes at the national level and that state regulators have been meeting with their regional counterparts to come up with a plan. There are so many thoughts and ideas of whats going to happen, Reddish said. But its still too very early. Advertisement Advertisement But not early enough for Simpson, who said hes worried his business will remain caught in the regulatory crossfire. Theres a lot of hard work weve put in building this industry in the state, he said in an interview. Charon Rose, spokesperson for the states Cannabis Office, told Rhode Island Current the goal now is to have draft recommendations finalized in the coming weeks for members of the Cannabis Control Commission to review before sending to the General Assembly. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The 55-year-old man who admitted to fatally strangling his ex-wife in her Bonney Lake area home was sentenced Friday to nearly 29 years in prison. The murder came after years of threats against the womans life while she sought legal intervention, court records show. Ronald Eugene Krier pleaded guilty to domestic violence first-degree murder and two counts of violating a no-contact order last month in Pierce County Superior Court. He pleaded guilty just as his trial was getting started with jury selection. Judge Philip Thornton sentenced the defendant Jan. 30, handing Krier a punishment at the high end of the standard sentencing range, 28 years, 11 months. Advertisement Advertisement Attorneys for Krier from the Department of Assigned Counsel had requested a low-end sentence of 21 years, nine months. In a sentencing memorandum, the defense attorneys included a psychological report that diagnosed Krier with major depressive disorder, anger dysregulation and an alcohol-use disorder. The defense attorneys argued that Kriers exposure to alcohol at a young age and his prolonged abuse of the substance likely affected not only his health and relationships but also his executive functioning, and that it likely exacerbated his anger and emotional dysregulation. None of it excused his behavior, the attorneys wrote, but they said it contextualized it. Mr. Krier acknowledges the terrible impact that his actions have had on his children and pled guilty, in part, to avoid forcing them to return to court to testify and relive the death of their mother, the sentencing memorandum states. Mr. Krier acknowledges the irreparable harm that he has caused and regrets his actions every day. In a victim-impact statement submitted to the court, Lisha Kriers grandson said he loved his Papa, but he didnt like that he took his Nana away from him. Advertisement Advertisement All I can do is sit here and stare at her dead ashes, the grandson wrote. Thats what makes me so mad that he took my Nana from me Sheriffs Office deputies found the victim, Lisha Krier, 53, dead the afternoon of July 5, 2024, when they responded to her home for a welfare check. According to court documents, the check was prompted by a 911 call from the victims daughter, who reported that her father had texted her that he had killed her mother or that she would be dead soon. Surveillance video from the front door of the house showed Krier backing his truck into the driveway hours earlier, according to court documents. Ronald Krier and his ex-wife argued on the porch, and Lisha Krier told her husband to leave several times before she went inside. Court documents state that a struggle could be heard as Ronald Krier followed her inside. He left the house a little more than 15 minutes later. Auburn police arrested Krier later that day after Pierce County deputies issued a notice to be on the lookout for him and Kriers truck was located. While he was transported to Pierce County, according to prosecutors trial brief, Krier said, Im just glad that [expletive] is dead. She deserved it. Advertisement Advertisement Ronald Krier and his ex-wife were married in 1989, and their divorce was finalized in June 2024, The News Tribune previously reported. Prosecutors said Ronald Krier threatened to kill Lisha Krier throughout their marriage. Between 2020 and 2023, she filed divorce petitions and domestic-violence protection orders that documented Ronald Kriers threats and attempts to take her life. The last protection order she petitioned for was made a day after Ronald Krier reportedly showed up at a grocery-store bakery where she worked. She reported that Krier told her she was going to die and made a slitting motion across his throat. The June 2023 incident was reported to the police, and a case was referred to prosecutors two weeks later, but felony harassment charges were not filed until after Lisha Krier was murdered. The protection order also expired two days before the murder. Prosecutors previously told The News Tribune that the delay was due to a backlog of cases, and that they had since increased staffing in their Domestic Violence & Human Trafficking unit to cut through it. Ronald Krier appears in Pierce County Superior Court in Tacoma, Washington, on Monday, July 8, 2024, for his arraignment on the charge of first-degree murder in the killing of his wife in Bonney Lake on July 5. (Tony Overman/toverman@theolympian.com) Before Krier pleaded guilty, prosecutors had charged him with aggravated first-degree murder, which carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole. He was also accused of first-degree murder and first-degree burglary. Advertisement Advertisement In a court filing about the amended charges, deputy prosecuting attorney Lena Berberich-Eerebout said the resolution was reached as part of plea negotiations and in consideration of the facts contained in police reports. This amended information is appropriate because it considers potential proof issues should this matter proceed to trial, the fact that this resolution prevents the children of the victim from having to testify against their father, as well as the fact that the Defendant is taking responsibility for his actions, Berberich-Eerebout wrote. In other news out of Superior Court Lakewood man arrested for threatening Gov. Bob Ferguson gets time served The 34-year-old Lakewood man who was arrested last year for sending veiled death threats to Gov. Bob Ferguson on social media was given no further jail time after he pleaded guilty. Casey Cutter Patterson pleaded guilty in Pierce County Superior Court on Jan. 29 to making threats against the governor or their family, a felony, and two misdemeanor offenses of harassment for threatening bodily injury. Advertisement Advertisement Judge Pro Tem Brian Tollefson sentenced Patterson the same day as a first-time offender, handing him 90 days in jail, which the defendant had already served. On the misdemeanor offenses, Tollefson gave Patterson a suspended sentence of a year in jail. He will remain on court supervision for two years with terms including maintaining law-abiding behavior, undergoing an alcohol/drug evaluation with follow-up treatment, a referral to Veterans Affairs for mental health services and a minimum 36 hours of counseling. Patterson also was ordered to forfeit any firearms and ammunition, not have contact with Ferguson for five years and not attend any political rallies attended by the governor. In his guilty-plea statement, Patterson apologized to Ferguson and his family, stating that he had let his mental health and alcohol issues go unchecked and untreated for too long. Advertisement Advertisement I now realize that I clearly went too far and took my speech and actions far beyond what is acceptable to others and myself, Patterson wrote. Ive said and done things that are clearly threats and caused fear and alarm in others. I regret them all and apologize for the distress they caused. Patterson began replying to Fergusons posts on X when the governor was the states attorney general in 2023. Investigators with the Washington State Patrol later described the replies in a report as protected by the First Amendment, but Pattersons tone began to change in 2024. He repeatedly posted a photograph of the front door of Fergusons home. Hey Bob, heres your frequent reminder that you actually have no power over the people, one post stated along with the photo. The constitution limits you, not us. We have the right to alter or abolish our government when it no longer serves us. Heres a picture of a quaint front door to help you sleep at night. Patterson stopped posting for some time after a State Patrol lieutenant spoke to him on the phone, but the posts started up again in November 2024 and continued into 2025. In August, Patterson posted a photo of an AR-15 rifle and referred to the governors personal security detail. Man serving life for Lakewood murder gets sentence reduced A man who was sentenced to life in prison without parole in 2016 under Washingtons three strikes law for his part in a botched Lakewood drug hit has been resentenced to 35 years, 10 months. Advertisement Advertisement Mazzar Gerald Robinson was one of seven defendants either convicted at trial or by plea for their involvement in the Nov. 12, 2012 killing of 32-year-old Jaime Diaz-Solis. When Robinson was sentenced in 2016 for first-degree murder and other offenses, prosecutors said the group planned to kill Diaz-Solis cousin and roommate, a rival drug dealer, and to keep drugs and cash they expected to find in his apartment. Diaz-Solis was shot instead. During the trial of Robinson and another defendant, according to previous reporting from The News Tribune, prosecutors said Robinson fired a gun during the attack. The murder was Robinsons third strike offense. His prior strikes were from convictions for second-degree robbery in 1998 and first-degree manslaughter in 1993. In 2019 the state Legislature removed second-degree robbery from the list of crimes considered most serious offenses. The change later became retroactive, eliminating a strike from Robinsons record and making him eligible to receive a new sentence. Advertisement Advertisement The man who ordered the attack that led to Diaz-Solis death, William Manuel Alvarez Calo, 39, is serving a 30-year, 10-month prison term at the Monroe Correctional Complex in Snohomish County for first-degree murder and burglary. The getaway driver, Michael Rowland, 41, is serving a 25-year sentence for the same offenses at the Stafford Creek Corrections Center in Grays Harbor County. The four other men convicted of manslaughter and other crimes received sentences of about seven to 12 years and appear to have since been released from prison. Ahead of Robinsons resentencing hearing Jan. 28, prosecutors requested in court filings that Robinson, now 54 should receive a high-end sentence of 55 years, eight months, which included two five-year firearm enhancements. Prosecutors argued Robinsons criminal history showed he was violent and used firearms, saying that the defenses request for a punishment below the standard range was not appropriate for a defendant convicted of killing two people in less than 20 years. Advertisement Advertisement Defense attorneys for Robinson asked for a sentence of 27 years, 11 months based on his rehabilitation during his incarceration and strong community support. The attorneys said during the 12-and-a-half years he has been in prison, Robinson has pursued educational and training programs, forged relationships with his family and in the community and worked to better himself and others. The first half of Mr. Robinsons life was marked with numerous adverse childhood experiences and traumas, a sentencing memo states. The second half has been filled with processing that trauma, healing, and being a source of support for others with similar experiences. His time incarcerated has been impactfully characterized with mentoring troubled incarcerated youth, helping them find a better path and encouraging them to do better, one day at a time. A federal judge has halted the termination of protections that allow hundreds of thousands of Haitians to live in the U.S. The change was scheduled to take effect on Tuesday but is now paused. Florida is home to more than 350,000 Haitians. Many of them are employed in Central Floridas largest industry, which is tourism. I was sad, Nattacha Wyllie, who runs the Haitian American Art Network, said. Knowing Haitis situation, the first thing that came to mind is where those people are going to go. Advertisement Advertisement Wyllie left Haiti when she was twelve and now calls Orlando home. Haitis Temporary Protected Status (TPS) was initially activated in 2010 after a catastrophic earthquake and has been extended multiple times. Wyllie said the country is racked by gang violence and is not safe to return to. Knowing the people who left Haiti to be here have nothing else in Haiti, Wyllie said. Going back would be like starting all over to them. While the order to end TPS for Haitians is on pause, Wyllie isnt sure what to expect in the days ahead. Florida Congressman Randy Fine reacted to the block. He sent Channel 9 this statement. Advertisement Advertisement This is the latest attempt by an activist judge to undermine President Trumps agenda. Judge Ana Reyes seems to have forgotten that Temporary Protected Status was never meant to be permanent. She can cry racism all she wants, but when that status ends, its time to go home. Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried also reacted. She said in part: Ending TPS for our Haitian neighbors is not just cruel, its inhumane. We know this is not permanent, that this is one step in a very long journey for these Haitian families. While TPS holders are granted the right to live and work in the U.S., it does not provide a legal pathway to citizenship. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. Credit: @ChineseArmy/ YouTube China has unveiled plans for a space carrier that can deploy unmanned fighter jets capable of firing missiles from the edge of the Earths atmosphere. State media released a concept video of the futuristic Luanniao, the worlds biggest warship, travelling through space above all current defensive systems. China claimed the carrier could become operational in 20 to 30 years time. However, experts were sceptical about the project and some likened it to a stunt designed to inspire the Chinese public. Advertisement Advertisement Resembling a spaceship from a Star Wars film, the Luanniao will be a huge grey triangular aircraft carrier 242 metres long and 684 metres wide. It will have a take-off weight of 120,000 tons significantly more than any similar craft in operation today. b' 3001 The futuristic Lunniao ' According to state media, the Luanniao will be designed to carry up to 88 unmanned Xuan Nu fighter jets. These will reportedly be highly manoeuvrable stealth aircraft capable of launching hypersonic missiles, but will be significantly heavier than drones. If completed, the new spaceship would outclass pretty much everyone, according to Peter Layton, a defence expert and a visiting fellow at Australias Griffith Asia Institute. Advertisement Advertisement It would be capable of flying over surface-to-air missiles and other fighter aircraft, he said, adding: Youre also out of range of the weather, generally speaking and youre out of range of most defensive systems. The Luanniao could also allow Beijing to position it directly above targets and launch missiles at them. Such capabilities would give China a significant advantage, including over Taiwan and in the South China Sea, which could be the scene of a future war against the United States. Credit: @ChineseArmy/YouTube The Luanniao is part of Chinas broader Nantianmen Project, which translates to South Heavenly Gate. Advertisement Advertisement Developed by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, the project encompasses a number of ambitious plans to expand the countrys air and space capabilities. One of the most prominent elements is a sixth-generation fighter, known as the Baidi fighter, that will also be able to operate near space. A model of the jet was displayed at Chinas International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in 2024. The Luanniao is the latest development in the ongoing space race between the US and China. Beijing has been investing in developing rockets and satellites in an effort to push the US out of the lead and, by some metrics, it is now winning. Taiwanese coastguard vessels and speedboats simulate a response to a possible conflict with China - Daniel Ceng/Anadolu via Getty Images In 2024, China successfully launched the Change-6, a robotic spacecraft, which reached the Moons far side and returned to Earth with lunar samples. Advertisement Advertisement The Change-7 mission, which has the goal of finding water on the Moons surface, is planned for August. While the US still has leading capabilities, its momentum seems to be slowing while Chinas is increasing. The Change-6 landed in the Inner Mongolia desert after a nearly two month-long mission The Luanniao, by far the most ambitious part of the Nantianmen Project, was first conceived more than 10 years ago, but was dismissed by most experts as a fantasy project. For many, it still is. The technology needed for an aircraft to hover at the edge of the Earths atmospheric boundary and launch missiles towards the surface does not currently exist. It would require enormous amounts of fuel as well as a new kind of propulsion system that had yet to be developed, said Mr Layton. Advertisement Advertisement One way in which China could achieve a similar result is by putting the carrier into orbit, similar to a satellite or rocket. However, in orbit the aircraft would be vulnerable to debris, which would destroy it in the event of a collision. To launch the Luanniao into orbit, China would also need a reusable rocket. It has been working towards one for years, but has been unable to achieve it so far. Beijing could look to Elon Musks SpaceX reusable rockets for inspiration. However, the country is probably 10 to 15 years away from developing its own, said Mr Layton. China has claimed the carrier could become operational in 20 to 30 years Given the major obstacles around the development of the Luanniao, the timing of Beijings announcement is likely to be part of a wider strategy both at home and abroad. Advertisement Advertisement Mr Layton explained that China used stunts like this to inspire the Chinese public and show itself to be at the cutting edge of technological innovation. Pushing the narrative around futuristic spacecraft was part of a greater effort to demonstrate to its neighbours that it was a leading military power, he said. For the external audience, it does paint the picture that they are working on technology that the region just cant aspire to its literally Star Wars stuff, he added. Try full access to The Telegraph free today. Unlock their award-winning website and essential news app, plus useful tools and expert guides for your money, health and holidays. BEIJING, Feb 3 (Reuters) - China and Uruguay should work together to advance an "equal and orderly multipolar world", President Xi Jinping told his counterpart Yamandu Orsi on Tuesday, as their nations signed up to cooperate in areas from trade to the environment. Both sides also hope to get negotiations started as soon as possible on a free trade deal between China and South American bloc Mercosur, according to a joint Chinese and Uruguayan statement published by the official Xinhua news agency. Orsi's visit was the first by a South American leader to the Chinese capital since U.S. President Donald Trump sent special forces into Venezuela in January to capture then-president Nicolas Maduro in a raid. Advertisement Advertisement A media pool report cited Xi as saying China backed Latin American and Caribbean nations in upholding sovereignty, security and development interests, to help defuse a volatile international situation and "escalating unilateral bullying". China and Uruguay should "work together to advance an equal and orderly multipolar world and an inclusive, universally beneficial economic globalization," Xi said in his remarks. The meeting comes in the wake of a flurry of visits to China by Western prime ministers this year, from Britain's Keir Starmer to Canada's Mark Carney and Finland's Petteri Orpo. Orsi said the strategic partnership of China and Uruguay was going through its "best moment," and called for both nations to "commit to raising it to a new level", the pool report added. Advertisement Advertisement He was leading a delegation of 150, including business leaders, on a visit from Sunday until February 7, which will also swing through the commercial hub of Shanghai. China and Uruguay on Tuesday signed a declaration to deepen a strategic partnership, as well as 12 documents to cooperate in areas ranging from science and technology to the environment, intellectual property and the meat trade. Uruguay would like to increase trade in goods, especially through diversification, and invest more strongly in services and investment, the pool report added. The timing of the visit is symbolically important for China, said Francisco Urdinez, a professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. Advertisement Advertisement "For Beijing, hosting Orsi ... signals that South American countries remain eager to engage, despite the increasingly polarised geopolitical environment." But Uruguay's engagement with Beijing is likely to be shaped by renewed U.S. attention to Latin America and concerns about China's involvement there, said Margaret Myers, director of the Asia & Latin America Program at the Inter-American Dialogue. "Following actions in Venezuela, both China and many Latin American nations are weighing the prospects of continued U.S. intervention in the region," she said. GLOBAL SOUTH TIES Advertisement Advertisement China "is willing to work with Uruguay and other regional countries to deepen and solidify the building of a China-Latin America community with a shared future," Xi said. Beijing backs Montevideo in taking on the rotating presidency of the Group of 77+, Xi added, aiming to boost solidarity in the Global South. "The world today is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, with a complex and volatile international situation and escalating unilateral bullying," Xi said, adding that China had always attached great importance to ties with Latin America. China was the top destination for Uruguayan exports in 2025, taking agricultural products including wood pulp, soybeans and beef. Advertisement Advertisement Uruguay, which ran a trade surplus of $187.1 million with China in the first half of 2025, imports Chinese machinery, electronics and chemicals. While exports of meat and soy traditionally have a central role in the two countries' ties, areas such as dairy and service exports hold potential, said Diego Telias, a professor at the Universidad ORT Uruguay. (Reporting by the Beijing newsroom; Writing by Farah Master; editing by Thomas Derpinghaus, Clarence Fernandez and Mark Heinrich) Idaho prides itself on strong communities places where neighbors look out for one another and everyone has the opportunity to contribute meaningfully and live with dignity. For generations, Idahoans across the political spectrum have embraced the hard work needed to build these communities. Fairness, personal responsibility, and respect for one another are not partisan ideals; these values are the foundation of Idahos civic character. Today, that foundation is under pressure, and our character is being tested. A newly introduced piece of legislation would prevent Idaho cities and counties from adopting local anti-discrimination protections that go beyond state law. Because Idahos Human Rights Act does not include sexual orientation or gender identity, the measure would eliminate some of the only legal safeguards currently available to LGBTQ+ residents in parts of the state. At its core, this bill raises a fundamental question: Are all Idahoans entitled to equal protection under the law? Advertisement Advertisement Idahos history shows that equality has often been contested. In the 1990s, voters came close to passing Proposition 1. This ballot initiative would have barred state and local governments from recognizing LGBTQ+ people as a protected class or extending legal safeguards based on sexual orientation, effectively locking discrimination into statute and preventing future efforts to protect civil rights. While that measure failed, Idaho did not act to close existing gaps. The Legislature has refused to Add the Words to the Idaho Human Rights Act to include sexual orientation and gender identity. As a result, LGBTQ+ Idahoans are left without consistent statewide protections. This policy decision has resulted in harm to the people in our state. Without clear statewide safeguards, individuals have reported being denied housing, passed over for jobs, and turned away from businesses. Families have faced uncertainty about whether they can remain safely in their hometowns. Young people have grown up amid public debates questioning their worth as people. These conditions strain mental health, contribute to youth isolation and suicide risk, and undermine trust in public institutions meant to protect everyone equally. In response, communities across Idaho have stepped in to uphold equality locally. Two counties and a dozen Idaho cities, including Idaho Falls, Meridian, Sandpoint, Boise and Driggs, have adopted ordinances affirming that discrimination has no place in their communities. In the absence of comprehensive statewide protections, these measures have helped establish clearer standards for fairness, safety, and accountability. They reflect a widely held belief that strong communities depend on respecting every persons rights. They also demonstrate that inclusion and economic vitality go hand in hand; many of these localities rank among Idahos most dynamic centers for innovation and growth. The proposed legislation threatens to undo much of this progress. Removing these protections would carry serious human consequences and weaken Idahos social and economic fabric. At a time when the state is grappling with budget shortfalls, potential Medicaid reductions and job losses, policies that allow discrimination risk destabilizing communities and discouraging businesses from locating or expanding here. Idaho has long valued pulling together and taking care of each other in difficult times. Inviting exclusion and discrimination runs counter to this tradition. Advertisement Advertisement The stakes extend beyond economics or local governance. For decades, Idaho has wrestled with how best to ensure that LGBTQ+ residents and others excluded from protective policies can live safely and without fear. Local ordinances have helped narrow that gap. This legislation threatens to undo that progress. Protecting people from discrimination regardless of who they are or whom they love is not merely a legal question. It is a declaration of our shared values and a measure of Idahos commitment to equality. At this pivotal moment, Idaho faces a choice. Communities thrive when every persons rights and humanity are respected. By learning from our history and reaffirming our shared commitment to fairness, Idaho can continue building a state where every neighbor is seen, valued and safe. Jess Westhoff is the education director for the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights. She also serves on the Human Rights Educators USA steering committee, is an Auschwitz Legacy Fellow and contributes to the Idaho Museum of International Diasporas Academics and Research Program team. Christina Bruce-Bennion is the executive director for the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights. She worked in various leadership capacities in refugee resettlement in the Valley for over 24 years before joining the Wassmuth Center in 2022. Lee el articulo en espanol After a year of insults, threats, tariffs and sanctions, the leaders of the US and Colombia will meet in Washington on Tuesday in an apparent attempt to put their bitter feud behind them. Colombian President Gustavo Petro accepted the invitation from Donald Trump last month following a cordial phone call that dramatically reversed their war of words. The meeting comes at an important moment for Petro. His government intends to prove to Washington that it has an effective grip on drug trafficking following the unprecedented US military operation in neighboring Venezuela that led to the capture of its President Nicolas Maduro, whom the US accused of cartel ties. Petro is also aiming to have US sanctions against him overturned. Advertisement Advertisement The US president said Monday that he was looking forward to a good meeting with Petro. Petro arrived in Washington on Monday using a special visa. His previous one was revoked in September by the State Department after a speech to a pro-Palestinian crowd in which Petro called on American soldiers to disobey Trump. Here is how their public quarrel unfolded: Deportations and tariff threats The US-Colombia relationship is often considered one of the most stable in the Americas, especially in terms of security and defense. But it showed signs of stress as early as January 2025, the month Trump began his second presidential term. As part of his crackdown on illegal immigration, one of Trumps first moves was to launch a mass deportation campaign, which included the use of military planes to expel immigrants, sometimes with their hands tied. Advertisement Advertisement Angered by the way deportees were being returned, Petro blocked two of those flights from landing in his country, saying he would never allow Colombians to be brought back in handcuffs on flights. However, Petro backtracked later that day after the Trump administration threatened to impose tariffs and sanctions. Colombia announced that it would accept all of Trumps conditions, including the unrestricted acceptance of undocumented immigrants who entered the US. Colombian soldiers near the Simon Bolivar border bridge with Venezuela after President Gustavo Petro ordered a military reinforcement to combat organized crime, August 29, 2025. - Carlos Eduardo Ramirez/Reuters Friends of Tren de Aragua In March 2025, during a meeting in Bogota, US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Petro had referred to members of the Venezuelan criminal organization Tren de Aragua as his friends and described them as misunderstood people who simply needed more love and more understanding. Petro denied making those comments and suggested the confusion may have stemmed from a misinterpretation of his words due to his limited English proficiency. Advertisement Advertisement Tren de Aragua, designated a foreign terrorist organization by the Trump administration, is a transnational criminal gang that originated in a Venezuelan prison and has slowly expanded its reach across the continent in recent years. Decertifying Colombia and revoking Petros visa The United States is Colombias main trading partner, and Bogota is considered one of Washingtons key allies in the fight against drugs and narco-terrorism. However, the Trump administration said in mid-September that Colombia had failed in its obligations to combat drug trafficking and decided to decertify the country as a counternarcotics partner. Decertification entails a series of restrictions by the US, although American authorities said they would continue to provide funding to Colombia. The Trump administration blamed Petro for the alleged failures, but Petro insisted that Colombia was helping the US and that drug use was an American societal problem and not a Colombian one. Advertisement Advertisement The US decertified us after dozens of deaths among police officers, soldiers, and civilians who were trying to disrupt cocaine trafficking, Petro said. Later that month, the South American president angered the US after he publicly called on American soldiers to disobey Trump. Petro had been in New York to speak at the UN General Assembly, where he also called Trump an accomplice to genocide in Gaza. In response, the US State Department announced it would revoke Petros visa due to his reckless and incendiary actions. Petro later claimed that he did not need a visa to travel to the US because he is a European citizen. Colombian President Gustavo Petro has his US visa revoked by the United States after attending a protest outside of the United Nations urging American troops to disobey President Trump. New York, New York, on September 26, 2025. - Robyn Stevens Brody/Sipa USA Sanctioned by the US In October, Trump intensified his attacks against Petro. Advertisement Advertisement He called him a thug and blamed him for the production of illicit drugs that reach the United States. It came the month after the US military launched a campaign in the Caribbean and Pacific to take out alleged drug trafficking vessels, an operation Petro criticized. Petro said he would defend himself against the slander that has been leveled against me with American lawyers. Just two days after that exchange, the US Treasury Department announced sanctions against the Colombian leader, accusing him of playing a role in the global drug trade. Since President Gustavo Petro came to power, cocaine production in Colombia has exploded to the highest rate in decades, flooding the United States and poisoning Americans, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. Advertisement Advertisement Petro, who has repeatedly rejected such accusations, said he had retained an American lawyer and intended to fight the sanctions. He also insisted that cocaine production had not increased during his term. On the contrary, my government has seized more cocaine than in the entire history of the world, he said. The list of people sanctioned by the US Treasury also included Petros wife Veronica Alcocer, his son Nicolas Petro and Interior Minister Armando Benedetti. In November, Petro made his bank accounts public to demonstrate, he said, that he has no links to drug trafficking. Two months of crossroads The spat between Trump and Petro heated up in the early days of December. Advertisement Advertisement After the US president suggested that any country that trafficked drugs into the United States would be subject to attack, Petro warned Trump not to threaten Colombias sovereignty. He also invited Trump to Colombia so he could see firsthand the countrys efforts to disrupt the drug trade. Days later, Trump suggested the US could apply the same pressure on Petro that it was exerting at that time on Venezuelas Maduro. He better wise up or hell be next, Trump said, claiming the Colombian leader had been fairly hostile to the United States. Petro responded by saying Trump was misinformed about Colombia. Law enforcement officials move captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores toward a courthouse in Manhattan on January 5. - Adam Gray/Reuters A turning point came on January 3, 2026, when the US military carried out an attack inside neighboring Venezuela and captured Maduro. Advertisement Advertisement Petro initially downplayed the consequences of the US operation, while Trump issued a stern warning to the Colombian president. Hes making cocaine and theyre sending it into the United States, Trump said. So, he does have to watch his ass. Trump followed that up by describing Petro as a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States, and hes not going to be doing it very long. Petro rejected the accusations and spoke of taking up arms if necessary to defend Colombias sovereignty. Days later, Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Yolanda Villavicencio indicated that she would meet with a representative from the United States to discuss Trumps threats. Advertisement Advertisement On January 7, the two leaders held an unexpected call that signaled a diplomatic truce. Petro said his phone conversation with Trump had helped ease tensions between the two governments. He said they agreed to restore direct communication channels but insisted that the US operation in Venezuela was illegal. Trump said he appreciated the call and invited Petro for a meeting at the White House, a gesture that abruptly halted months of increasing friction. Ahead of the meeting, Trump said Petro had shifted his tone over the past month or two. He was certainly critical before that. But somehow after the Venezuelan raid he became very nice. He changed his attitude very much, Trump told reporters on Monday. The Colombian presidency said the meeting would define strategic priorities and strengthen lines of cooperation. Petros trip also includes political, academic and business activities, as well as meetings with the Colombian diaspora in the United States. The presidency described it as a milestone in bilateral relations. Additional reporting from CNNs Fernando Ramos, Rocio Munoz-Ledo, Gonzalo Zegarra, Mauricio Torres, Sebastian Jimenez Valencia, Andrea Gomez, Samantha Waldenberg, Alejandra Jaramillo, Patrick Oppmann, Aaron Pellish, Stefano Pozzebon, Priscilla Alvarez, Jennifer Hansler, Diego Mendoza, Todd Symons and Max Saltman. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Feb 2 (Reuters) - Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton have agreed to testify before the House Oversight Committee for its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, President Clinton's deputy chief of staff said Monday on X. "They negotiated in good faith. You did not," Angel Urena said in a post on X. "They told you under oath what they know, but you dont care. But the former President and former Secretary of State will be there. They look forward to setting a precedent that applies to everyone." (Reporting by Ismail Shakil, Writing by Christian Martinez; Editing by Caitlin Webber) Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton finalized an agreement with House Republicans Tuesday to testify in a House investigation into Jeffrey Epstein this month, bowing to the threat of a contempt of Congress vote against them. Hillary Clinton will testify before the House Oversight Committee on Feb. 26 and Bill Clinton will appear on Feb. 27. It will mark the first time that lawmakers have compelled a former president to testify. The arrangement comes after months of negotiating between the two sides as Republicans sought to make the Clintons, both Democrats, a focal point in a House committees investigation into Epstein, a convicted sex offender who killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019, and Ghislaine Maxwell, his former girlfriend. Advertisement Advertisement We look forward to now questioning the Clintons as part of our investigation into the horrific crimes of Epstein and Maxwell, to deliver transparency and accountability for the American people and for survivors, Rep. James Comer, the chair of the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement. The negotiation with the Clintons For months, the Clintons resisted subpoenas from the committee, but House Republicans with support from a few Democrats had advanced criminal contempt of Congress charges to a potential vote this week. It threatened the Clintons with the potential for substantial fines and even prison time if they had been convicted. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday that any effort to hold them in contempt of Congress were on pause. Even as the Clintons bowed to the pressure, the negotiating between GOP lawmakers and attorneys for the Clintons was marked by distrust as they wrangled over the details of the deposition. They agreed to have the closed-door depositions transcribed and recorded on video, Comer said. Advertisement Advertisement The belligerence is likely to only grow as Republicans relish the opportunity to grill longtime political foes under oath. Comer told The Associated Press that Republicans, in their inquiry with the Clintons, were trying to figure out how Jeffrey Epstein was able to surround himself with all these rich and powerful people. Comer, a Kentucky Republican, also said that the Clintons had expressed a desire to make the proceedings public, but that he would insist on closed-door testimony with a later release of a transcript of the interviews. He added that he was open to holding a later public hearing if the Clintons wanted it. How Clinton knew Epstein Clinton, like a number of other high-powered men including President Donald Trump, had a well-documented relationship with Epstein in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Neither Trump nor Clinton has been credibly accused of wrongdoing in their interactions with the late financier. Advertisement Advertisement Both Clintons have said they had no knowledge that Epstein was sexually abusing underage girls before prosecutors brought charges against him. The Clintons argued the subpoenas for their testimony were invalid and offered to submit sworn declarations on their limited knowledge of Epsteins crimes. But as Comer threatened to proceed with contempt of Congress charges, they began looking for an off-ramp. Both Clintons have remained highly critical of how Comer has handled the Epstein investigation and argue that he is more focused on bringing them in for testimony rather than holding the Trump administration accountable for how it has handled the release of its files on Epstein. However, as Comer advanced the contempt charges out of the House Oversight Committee last month, he found a number of Democrats willing to help. A younger generation of more progressive Democrats showed they had few connections with the Clintons, who led the Democratic Party for decades, and were more eager to show voters that they would stand for transparency in the Epstein investigation. Advertisement Advertisement Nine Democrats out of 21 on the Oversight panel voted to advance charges against Bill Clinton, and three Democrats joined with Republicans to support the charges against Hillary Clinton. As the vote loomed this week, House Democratic leaders also made it clear they would not expend much political capital to rally votes against the contempt resolutions. That left the Clintons with little choice but to agree to testify or face one of the most severe punishments Congress can give. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW A VCA CareClub Plan covers a wide range of preventative care services for your dog or cat at VCA Animal Hospitals. The plans can pay for doctor-recommended vaccines, fecal testing, x-rays, and blood pressure checks as well as unlimited wellness, sick, and emergency exams. VCA CareClub isnt pet insurance, so it wont cover treatment for accidents or unexpected illnesses. Each plan covers predetermined routine care services and includes several optional add-ons. If youre looking for ways to save money on your pets preventative care, a VCA CareClub Plan could be a good choice. Learn more: The best pet insurance companies VCA CareClub Plan pros and cons Pros Includes unlimited exams for wellness, sick, urgent, and emergency visits Plans cover the cost of microchipping and an annual membership Customers get access to 24/7 live chat with a licensed veterinary professional Cons Doesnt cover accidents or illnesses Plans are locked in for one year, except in special circumstances Can only use the plan for services at VCA Animal Hospitals Learn more: Is pet insurance worth it? How does a VCA CareClub Plan work? VCA CareClub Plans cover certain routine care services most pets need annually, such as wellness exams and vaccines. Each plan includes a package of covered services and benefits that are valid at VCA Animal Hospital locations. Because VCA CareClub Plans arent pet insurance policies, they dont have a deductible, copayment, annual maximum limit, or waiting periods. The monthly cost of your plan covers all the services your plan includes, so you wont pay anything else out of pocket. Learn more: How does pet insurance work? A complete guide. VCA CareClub Plans dont require claims, which is another perk. When you visit a VCA Animal Hospital for a covered service, like a sick visit or dental cleaning, the cost is automatically covered. Unlike pet insurance, you dont have to pay upfront and file a claim for reimbursement. The major benefit of a VCA CareClub Plan is saving money on your pets preventative care. VCA says that its wellness plans can help you save up to 25% each year on your dog or cats routine care, rather than paying for each service individually. Learn more: Why a pet wellness plan is worth considering What does a VCA CareClub Plan cover? VCA CareClub Plans cover some of the most important preventative care services for dogs and cats. The Access Plan is a budget-friendly option with limited coverage. The Paws Plan is more expensive and provides personalized coverage for your pets age and breed. Heres what is covered under each VCA CareClub Plan: In addition to these veterinary services, both VCA CareClub plans provide exclusive member benefits, like discounts on pet health essentials, like medications, food, supplements, shampoo, and dental products. Learn more: Your guide to what pet insurance covers What does a VCA CareClub Plan not cover? A VCA CareClub plan only covers certain types of routine pet care. It wont pay for things that many pet insurance policies cover, including: Treatment for accidents or injuries Hospitalization Surgeries Prescription medications Pregnancy and breeding Behavioral therapy Alternative therapy Euthanasia Learn more: Pancreatitis in dogs: Does pet insurance cover it? How much does a VCA CareClub Plan cost? The cost of a VCA CareClub Plan depends on the type of plan you choose. The Access Plan has a fixed rate of $19.99, but it offers limited coverage. A Paws Plan has a higher premium based on your pet's specific needs and location. Some plans charge a one-time enrollment fee of $49.99. Learn more: How much does pet insurance cost? To give you an idea of what you might pay for a Paws Plan (minus the enrollment fee), we collected sample quotes for several dog ages and breeds in various locations. Learn more: How much does pet insurance cost? Is there a multi-pet discount? No, VCA CareClub doesnt offer a discount when you enroll multiple pets. If you have more than one dog or cat, they must be insured on separate plans. To compare, most pet insurance policies offer a discount of 5% or 10% when you insure multiple pets. VCA Animal Hospitals mobile app VCA CareClub members can use the myVCA mobile app to access the 24/7 vet telehealth line, schedule appointments, order prescription refills, and more. The app has excellent reviews on the App Store and the Google Play Store. myVCA mobile app ratings Apple App Store: 4.9 out of 5 stars Google Play store: 4.9 out of 5 stars VCA CareClub Plan FAQs Where are VCA CareClub Plans available? You can purchase a VCA CareClub Plan in all 50 states and Washington D.C. You can visit VCAs website to find a VCA Animal Hospital in your area. Do VCA CareClub Plans require an exam? No, your pet doesnt need a veterinary exam before you can purchase a VCA CareClub plan. Learn more: Pet insurance that pays the vet directly Heres how you can reach VCAs customer service: For questions about CareClub plans, call 800-743-8838 For general questions about VCA Animal Hospital and its services, call 800-966-1822 To send an email, use the online contact form VCAs mailing address is 12401 West Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90064 How do I cancel a VCA CareClub Plan? You can only cancel a VCA CareClub plan during the renewal period. Because the plan covers preventative care for one year, you cant cancel your plan during the term. The only exceptions are the loss of your pet or moving. To cancel your plan, you should call VCA at 800-743-8838. Tim Manni edited this article. By Ryan Patrick Jones and David Morgan WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Former U.S. president Bill Clinton and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton will testify later this month in a congressional investigation into the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Republican U.S. Representative James Comer said in a statement on Tuesday. Hillary Clinton will appear before the House Oversight Committee on February 26 and Bill Clinton will do so on February 27, said Comer, who chairs the committee. Both depositions will be transcribed and filmed. Advertisement Advertisement "We look forward to questioning the Clintons as part of our investigation into the horrific crimes of Epstein and (Ghislaine) Maxwell, to deliver transparency and accountability for the American people and for survivors," Comer said. The Clintons agreed to appear before the committee in person after the Republican-led House of Representatives planned a vote to hold the two prominent Democrats in contempt, which could have led to criminal charges. The House Oversight Committee recommended last week that the Clintons be held in contempt for refusing to testify about their relationship with Epstein. The Clintons had previously offered to cooperate with the panel but not appear in person, saying the investigation was a partisan exercise aimed at protecting Republican President Donald Trump. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said plans for the contempt vote were being put on hold for the moment. Advertisement Advertisement "Contempt is on pause to ensure that everybody goes through with their obligation," Johnson said. Asked whether the Clintons would be allowed to testify in public, Johnson said: "I have to talk to Chairman Comer about that. It's his operation." Spokespeople for Bill and Hillary Clinton didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. The U.S. Justice Department's recent release of millions of internal documents related to Epstein has revealed the late financier and sex offender's ties to many prominent people in politics, finance, academia and business - both before and after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to prostitution charges. Bill Clinton flew on Epstein's plane several times in the early 2000s after leaving office, while photos released by the Justice Department show him swimming and posing with women whose faces are redacted. He has expressed regret about the relationship and said he knew nothing about Epstein's criminal activity. Advertisement Advertisement Epstein's 2019 death in a Manhattan jail cell was ruled a suicide. Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite and Epstein's former girlfriend, is serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted of sex trafficking of a minor and other charges. (Reporting by David Morgan in Washington; Writing by Ryan Patrick Jones in Toronto; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien) Pennsylvanias prison agency has detailed where staff from Rockview state prison and Quehanna Boot Camp will be transferred after the facilities close, offering the first clear picture of how the shutdowns will affect employees statewide. About 86% of the 642 union-represented staff will remain in Centre County or neighboring Clearfield and Huntingdon counties, according to data shared by the state Department of Corrections. The largest concentrations of staff are slated for Benner Township state prison Rockviews next-door neighbor in Centre County and Houtzdale state prison in Clearfield County, which together account for two-thirds of the transfers. Advertisement Advertisement Benner is set to get 263 staff members and 161 are going to Houtzdale, according to the DOC. Smithfield will receive 69 staff, while its next-door neighbor Huntingdon will receive 69. Muncy would receive an additional 53. No other state prison would receive more than nine staff members. The DOC said all but five union-represented staff who were offered a position accepted placement. Four resigned or retired during the offer process and one rejected placement. The agency previously said 99% of staff received an offer at their first or second choice. Benner Township, Houtzdale and Huntingdon state prisons have historically faced high corrections officer vacancy rates, which the DOC said may be partly because nearby facilities compete for the same candidates. About 18.5% of staff at Benner Township, Houtzdale, Huntingdon, Smithfield and Muncy are currently eligible for retirement. Advertisement Advertisement Altogether, the Gov. Josh Shapiros administration said reallocating staff could help fill anticipated vacancies and provide much-needed relief. Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association President Mike Ohler told the Centre Daily Times he is happy for my members. He credited the state for attempting to alleviate as much stress on employees as possible. Inmates have been transferred to each of the DOCs remaining 22 facilities. As of Monday, 216 men remain incarcerated at Rockview about 8.5% of the facilitys capacity and none at Quehanna Boot Camp. All inmates were transferred from Quehanna as of Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement Rockview and Quehanna are expected to cease operations by March 1. Boot camp services for men will be established at Houtzdale, while services for women will be established at Cambridge Springs state prison in northwestern Pennsylvania. Shapiros administration has framed the closures as a cost-cutting measure to save tens of millions in taxpayer money, moving forward despite bipartisan pushback in Centre County. No decision about the future of either the facilities or the land they sit on has been made, prompting state legislators to push for transparency in the process. JOE BORELLI: If theres nothing to hide, why do it? In a YouGov poll that came out last year, 30 percent of Americans, only 30 percent of Americans believe that there is little to no fraud in our elections, right? Whether its true or not, my point is that Americans do believe PHILLIP: Whether its true or not? Its not true. BORELLI: The point is the poll, the poll of how Americans feel. PHILLIP: Sure. But why? BORELLI: And when you have counties, like when you have counties like Fulton County saying, no federal government under legal authority, you still cant see 700 ballots, then, Im sorry, it just seeds discontent and distrust. PHILLIP: But let me just ask you straight-up, do you think that Trump is right, that he, in fact, won Fulton County and won the State of Georgia? BORELLI: I dont think so. But whats the harm in seeing it? (CROSSTALKS) PHILLIP: So, you think that Trump is BORELLI: Well, what is the harm in seeing that? PHILLIP: Well, Trump has made up out of whole cloth an accusation that BORELLI: Why is this judicial warrant wrong in your opinion? PHILLIP: Joe, I just asked you a simple question. Do you think he won the state? BORELLI: I said I dont think so. PHILLIP: Okay. So, then what is he looking for other than what hes already told us that he wants, which is more votes that he actually wants. BORELLI: The U.S. attorney went to a judge that was not appointed by Donald Trump and gave evidence and got a warrant from a judge. (CROSSTALKS) PHILLIP: Did you think this has anything to do at all with Trumps false claims that he won that state? (CROSSTALK) PHILLIP: Hold on. Let him answer. BORELLI: How do you know definitively there is no PHILLIP: Im asking you a question. BORELLI: So, youre saying this from PHILLIP: Joe, I asked you question. BORELLI: Youre saying this from a high horse. PHILLIP: Im just asking you a common sense BORELLI: How do you know theres no evidence KEITH BOYKIN: This is how I know, Joe, because this has been litigated and re-litigated. There were 60 different cases in 2020. Trump lost all of them. And now youre coming back six years later and you want to say, lets look at the 2020 election? I think this is ridiculous. And if Trump wants and let me just say. BORELLI: Is the judge corrupt? BOYKIN: No, but I saw that. I read that five-page warrant today, and that warrant relies on an FBI agent who testified that there was evidence of illegal, of a criminal activity that took place in those files. Theres no evidence to prove that. That FBI agent is a liar! No more 15-year-old champions: Women's figure skating is finally growing up At the Milan Cortina Games, currently underway, a new rule is in effect raising the minimum age for figure skating competitors to 17. It has far-reaching ramifications for the sport. Colombian President Gustavo Petro is heading to Washington for a high-stakes trip to meet US President Donald Trump, the first in-person meeting between the two after months of escalating tensions and angry rhetoric. Venezuela, drug trafficking, oil, security and US strikes on alleged drug vessels will be high on the agenda when they meet at the White House on Tuesday. While the two men were cordial in a phone call after the 3 January US military operation to seize Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, Petro has since said he believes that there is a "real threat" of military action against Colombia. Advertisement Advertisement Trump, for his part, has previously said that a military operation in Colombia "sounds good". Tuesday's meeting follows months of the two leaders trading barbs - with Petro repeatedly criticising the repeat US strikes on the alleged drugs boats in the Caribbean and Pacific, as well as the White House's immigration policies. In an interview with the BBC last month, Petro went as far as to compare US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to "Nazi brigades" and accused the US of treating other countries as part of its "empire". On the US side, Trump has accused Petro's government of not doing enough to stop the flow of cocaine heading north, and has vowed to expand strikes to land targets across the region. Advertisement Advertisement But the acrimony seemed to dissipate following a "cordial" phone call between the two leaders, which a Colombian official later described as an 180-degree turn "from both sides". According to diplomatic sources, one man - Rand Paul, US Senator for Kentucky - was instrumental in setting up the conversation. "I believe in diplomacy and I thought our relations were going in the wrong way," the senator told the BBC. "And I'd like to see our relations improve." Paul, who has sometimes clashed with Trump himself, added that he believed the upcoming meeting in Washington could build on the earlier dialogue between the two men. Advertisement Advertisement Ahead of Tuesday's visit, Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Yolanda Villavicencio said that much of the conversation would focus on shared US and Colombian concerns over security in Venezuela, with which Colombia shares a 1,367 mile (2,200km) border. Much of that border is under the sway of the National Liberation Army, or ELN. This Colombian guerrilla group, which was founded in the 1960s, controls drug trafficking, extortion, contraband and illegal mining of gold and coltan in border states such as Zulia, Tachira, Apure, and Amazonas - and works with corrupt elements of the Venezuelan government. While in Colombia the group operates against the government, in Venezuela it often serves the interests of the state, according to security analysts, and operates as a paramilitary-style organisation. Advertisement Advertisement Insight Crime, a Medellin-based think-tank, estimates that 1,200 of the group's approximately 6,000 members operate in Venezuela, with a presence in eight of its 24 states. "There will be a constructive conversation about the path forward for stabilising and securing the Venezuelan-Colombian border and US-Colombia relations," Democratic Senator Chris Coons told the BBC ahead of the Trump-Petro meeting. ELN guerrillas could pose a threat to US oil firms moving into Venezuela [Getty Images] For Trump, addressing the threat of the ELN will be vital to ensuring security for US firms involved in Venezuela's oil industry after Maduro was seized. The removal of Maduro potentially creates an opportunity for a strategic partnership between him and Petro. Elizabeth Dickinson, deputy director for Latin America at International Crisis Group, said the ELN had the potential to spoil those ambitions by targeting foreign investors and employees, as it has previously done in Colombia. Advertisement Advertisement Money made by the ELN's mineral and drug trafficking operations, she explained, often included payments to elements of the Venezuelan military. "That money flowing up and down the system through the Venezuelan armed forces is fundamental to its cohesion," she said. "Asking the same Venezuelan military to go after the ELN would be quite challenging because their interests... are largely aligned." Following the fall of Maduro, Petro has already ordered 30,000 Colombian soldiers to the Venezuelan border to prevent the group from crossing over. Advertisement Advertisement An equally pressing issue for the two leaders will be the fight against cocaine trafficking from Colombia, the drug's largest producer. In November, Petro ordered a temporary pause of intelligence sharing with US security agencies after Trump's threats - making reference to the US boat attacks. The US, for its part, has formally named Colombia as a country which has "demonstrably failed" to uphold its obligations to control drug trafficking, as part of its annual certification of whether several countries are fully co-operating with its counter-narcotics efforts. It has also imposed sanctions on Colombian officials, including Petro and members of his family. Advertisement Advertisement Despite the tensions, co-operation has continued between the two nations' militaries, as well as between the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Colombian police. "There is no fight against the cocaine trade without Colombia," said Jeremy McDermott, the co-director of Insight Crime." The threat to cut off Colombian intelligence to the US could also undermine all investigations." Colombian officials have said that the visit will also serve as an opportunity to showcase their government's counter-narcotics efforts to a sceptical White House. But even with multiple areas in which the two can cooperate, there still exists the potential for an Oval Office clash of the sort that the presidents of Ukraine and South Africa both experienced with Trump last year. Advertisement Advertisement "Trump loves you one day, dislikes you the next day and reverts to loving you a couple days after," said Brett Bruen, a former diplomat who now runs the Global Situation Room, a Washington-based strategic communications firm. "My suspicion is that Petro will walk in with some concessions to avoid Trump's ire and any punitive measures," he added. "But one never knows what side of the bed Trump woke up on." But for Petro, even an ugly encounter could be beneficial. His presidential term is over in August, and the outcome of the meeting could impact the electoral chances of the man he backs to replace him, Senator Ivan Cepeda. Advertisement Advertisement "In some ways, he's kind of in a win-win situation," said Michael Shifter, a Latin American studies professor at Georgetown and the former head of the Inter-American Dialogue. "If it goes well, he takes the air out of one of the core arguments of the opposition, that the left can't have a good relationship with the US. "If it doesn't, it's not going to cost him his base. He's protecting national sovereignty and trying to negotiate with Trump," he added. "He could turn that in his favour." Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs said a meeting among most of the governors who are fighting over declining Colorado River water has put them on a path to get a deal, even if they remain at odds over details. Arizona has been hit hardest by shortages to date, recently having surrendered about a third of its allotted supply of the river through both mandatory and compensated voluntary cuts to keep Lake Mead from going dry. It has offered to do that and more in dry future years, but only if upstream states agree to their own mandatory cuts. Ive been really clear that Arizona isnt willing to go further, Hobbs said in a Feb. 2 news conference in Phoenix, without some meaningful, measurable, mandatory reduction from the Upper Basin. And they all said, we know we have to find a way to make our cuts into firm commitments. So that is the most commitment weve heard on this. Advertisement Advertisement The governor spoke after addressing the Arizona Reconsultation Committee, a roundtable of major Arizona water interests including cities, farms and tribes. At that meeting, leaders of the Central Arizona Project and Arizona Department of Water Resources made clear they are prepared to use the 1922 Colorado River Compact in court if other states wont make the necessary cuts to live up to it. That interstate agreement declared the Lower Basin of Arizona, California and Nevada should get on average 7.5 million acre-feet a year, and the four Upper Basin states should not fail in providing it. Colorado and its neighbors in Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico for months have argued they would only make voluntary cuts because they dont use as much water as the Lower Basin and cant control the drought that has afflicted them. Colorados lead negotiator reiterated that point in a statement after the governors met at the U.S. Department of Interior on Jan. 30, but both Hobbs and Arizona Water Resources Director Tom Buschatzke said Colorado Gov. Jared Polis appeared more willing to deal. It wont likely result in a deal by Feb. 14, when federal officials have said they want a seven-state consensus about how to manage shortage and dam releases on the river, Hobbs said. But she suggested it could bring enough movement to buy some more time. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation needs a plan in place by summer so it knows how to operate the dams when the current operating guidelines expire in October. While the February deadline may not be a firm one, the government will need a deal in hand well before expiration day so the Arizona Legislature and possibly Congress have time to ratify the details. Advertisement Advertisement Negotiators for the states have started to discuss the possibility of a phased plan rather than immediately imposing rules that would govern for the full 20 years that federal officials have proposed, Buschatzke said. They could make a short-term deal incorporating points of agreement for up to five years, then continue negotiating over what to impose for the 15 or so years to follow. Although that's an option, he said, no one is eager to reach one agreement and immediately start fighting again over the next. What's next: Without a deal on the Colorado River, deeper cuts loom. How 9 Arizona cities will respond Federal options could take Arizona 'off the map' Arizona officials said Interior Secretary Doug Burgum did not make any specific threats about what sort of rules his agency might impose unilaterally if the states cant make their own peace. But they also voiced substantial frustration over some options the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has studied. Those would impose most of the burden on Arizona and its Lower Basin neighbors and are silent on the question of what happens if the Upper Basin falls out of compliance with the compact. Advertisement Advertisement Central Arizona Project General Manager Brenda Burman said all of the options in a draft study of new shortage guidelines are unacceptable and would do untold damage to the state. The harshest of the options studied would result in a 98% reduction in the water CAP delivers to the Phoenix and Tucson areas, she said. She and Buschatzke noted that Arizona has other sources, including river water previously stored underground in the state, to keep taps flowing. But a federal government that would impose such draconian measures without spreading the pain up and down the river would be unreasonable, Burman said. In that alternative, they proposed to take us off the map, she said. River compact noncompliance is hardly a moot point, as federal river flow forecasters have made clear that there is a significant risk that continued drought this winter or next could require a reduction in flows out of Lake Powell to protect Glen Canyon Dam and its hydropower production capacity. Such reductions could drop the rolling decade average of releases below whats required to provide the Lower Basin and Mexico their shares, and could give Arizona and its neighbors grounds to sue. Advertisement Advertisement Arizona could decline to invoke the compact at that point only if the Upper Basin states have agreed to specific cuts instead of just seeking voluntary reductions, Buschatzke said. The Upper Basin states have sought assurances that Arizona will waive its demand for compact compliance, which Buschatzke has declined to do unless they make it clear what cuts they can promise in dry years. In essence, the Lower Basin has offered to take the first 1.5 million-acre-foot cut each year because they use the most water and is at risk if Lake Mead drops to dead pool and cant make deliveries downstream. But they want the upstream states to split any additional cuts 50-50 in years when 1.5 million is not enough. Each acre-foot represents about 326,000 gallons and is roughly enough to supply three households for a year. Farms consume most of the water. Changing conditions: The Colorado River used to be predictable as a water supply. What happens when it's not? CAP board president defends Arizona conservation Another sticking point is what to do with water currently sitting in smaller reservoirs upstream of Lake Powell. The Lower Basin has sought assurances it could be used to prop up Lake Powell and keep water flowing to Lake Mead, while the Upper Basin has sought to keep that water for its own use. Advertisement Advertisement There are 2.8 million acre-feet in Flaming Gorge Reservoir in Utah and Wyoming, Buschatzke said. He has suggested moving that much into Powell over five years. Upper Basin negotiators have countered that the government could move 500,000 in the first year and another 500,000 over the next four, Buschatzke said, but with the restriction that the second installment must stay in Lake Powell. Interior officials have recently suggested moving 1.5 million over five years and making all of it eligible to keep moving downstream, Buschatzke said, though he stressed they have not yet made a decision. CAP Board President Terry Goddard said he has read all of the statutes authorizing the dams in question and finds no basis for the Upper Basin to consider the resulting storage as its water. Goddard also bristled at what he said was an Upper Basin talking point about how Arizona wastes water. We are a national example for water conservation, he said. Advertisement Advertisement The Gila River Indian Community, with a seat on the Reconsultation Committee, made clear that it expects the federal government to uphold the compact and provide the water it promised would flow through the CAP canal under a tribal rights settlement. The tribe agreed to its sizable settlement with the understanding that the compact was ironclad, GRIC Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis said. It was a foundational principle, Lewis said, and any unilateral federal action to deprive that water would be a blatant violation of the United States trust responsibility to protect our settlement water. Although Arizona asserts it is on a strong legal footing should other states reject mandatory cuts, Hobbs said the meeting in Washington convinced her that none of the governors wants to risk a lengthy court battle with uncertain consequences. They committed to continue seeking consensus and understand that time is running out, she said. Well see if they now answer the call, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Buschatzke said he had been on the phone negotiating with his counterparts in other states just before the Reconsultation Committee meeting started, and would be again as soon as the meeting ended. Brandon Loomis covers environmental and climate issues for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. Reach him at brandon.loomis@arizonarepublic.com. Environmental coverage on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Follow The Republic environmental reporting team at environment.azcentral.com and @azcenvironment on Facebook and Instagram. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Hobbs says Colorado River deal is possible, within Arizona's limits By David Shepardson WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The commission overseeing a massive $16 billion Hudson River tunnel, the linchpin of rail travel between New York and New Jersey, filed suit to force the Trump administration to restore funding just days before construction is set to halt on Friday. U.S. President Donald Trump said in October he had terminated the project and the Transportation Department has refused to release any funding for the project approved during the prior administration. Advertisement Advertisement The Gateway Development Commission, created by New York and New Jersey in 2019 to oversee the project, filed suit late Monday in the U.S. Court of Claims, saying the U.S. Transportation Department breached its contractual obligations by withholding more than $205 million without any legal basis and was seeking to punish Democrats over last fall's government shutdown. The commission's suit said that, without federal funding this week, it "will be unable to pay its contractors to continue construction activities, causing work on this critical project to grind to a haltleaving unfinished work sites with massive holes in the ground, threatening the livelihoods of the many hundreds of construction employees working on the project, burdening GDC with astronomical costs in delays and penalties, and putting into question the future viability of the project." The White House and USDOT did not immediately comment, but the White House said last week that Democrats "are standing in the way of a deal for the Gateway Tunnel Project by refusing to negotiate with the Trump administration. There is nothing stopping Democrats from prioritizing the interests of Americans over illegal aliens and getting this project back on track. Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer of New York said the "lawsuit would be unnecessary if President Trump did the right thing for New York and New Jersey and lifted his arbitrary freeze." Advertisement Advertisement Trump's Republican administration has repeatedly targeted major transit and infrastructure projects in Democratic-led states. New York Governor Kathy Hochul and New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill -- both Democrats -- praised the lawsuit and urged Trump to relent. Any failure of the existing Hudson tunnel, which was built in 1910 and heavily damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, would hobble commuting in the metropolitan area that produces 10% of the country's economic output and is used by 200,000 travelers daily. Nearly $2 billion has been spent on the project. The initiative, which received about $15 billion in federal support -- involves repairs to an existing tunnel and the construction of a new one for passenger railroad Amtrak and state commuter lines between New Jersey and Manhattan. Gateway said it told USDOT that it was in compliance with federal law. Advertisement Advertisement Trump, a former New York City real estate developer, refused to approve funding for the project in his first term. The Trump administration is also trying to kill Manhattan's congestion pricing program introduced last year, designed to reduce traffic and raise billions in funds for mass transit. (Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Michael Perry) State Rep. Phil Jensen, R-Rapid City, speaks on the South Dakota House floor during the 2024 legislative session. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight) PIERRE South Dakota House Republicans have suspended Rep. Phil Jensen from their caucus meetings for two weeks because of his remarks about Democratic votes on legislation dealing with religion. Jensen, of Rapid City, is no stranger to controversy. Advertisement Advertisement Last month, leaders changed his committee assignments and publicly scolded him after he protested the seating arrangement in the House Education Committee. Last year, leaders stripped his vice chairmanship of that committee after he filed legislation to defund the Huron School District because of its bathroom policy toward transgender students. Jensens most recent run-in with leadership happened after remarks he made Thursday in the House of Representatives. The subject was a nonbinding resolution urging South Dakotans to seek the Lord Most High for His healing presence and mercy. Jensen said the Founding Fathers would be rolling over in their grave at the fact that were even having to debate this. This should be a no-brainer, he added. And I would venture to say the only ones that are going to be voting red up there are going to be Democrats. Advertisement Advertisement That comment sparked verbal protests from multiple members in the chamber. Rep. Kadyn Wittman, D-Sioux Falls, immediately lodged a formal point-of-order complaint, and House Speaker Jon Hansen, R-Dell Rapids, responded. Representative, Hansen said to Jensen from the podium, thats out of order. The debate then continued with remarks from other members, and the House approved the resolution 42-23. All five Democratic members of the House voted against it, and so did 18 Republicans, some citing concerns that the resolution represented a formal endorsement of a religion by the government in violation of the First Amendment. On Monday, the Freedom Caucus a subset of Republicans chaired by Jensen and describing themselves as for liberty, limited government, and conservative values issued a press release saying Jensen had been removed from the House Republican caucus. The caucus in that context is the name used to describe the private meetings of House Republicans to discuss bills and legislative strategy. Advertisement Advertisement The Freedom Caucus release said the removal appeared to be an effort to silence people from speaking out on their beliefs and their right to speak publicly on matters of public importance. The release said the removal could have a chilling effect on open discussion in the Legislature. Tuesday morning, Jensen told South Dakota Searchlight that the removal is for two weeks. House Majority Leader Scott Odenbach, R-Spearfish, said in a written statement to Searchlight that it wasnt just Democrats who objected to Jensens comments. Numerous Republicans expressed outrage as well, Odenbach said, because openly questioning House members Christian faith in the manner he did constituted a violation of rules regarding decorum and respect due to other members. Advertisement Advertisement Odenbach added that the decision to suspend Jensen from the caucus for two weeks was the collective decision of House Republicans. House Minority Leader Erin Healy, D-Sioux Falls, said she would like the House of Representatives to formally discipline Jensen. Being in the minority, Democrats are not well positioned to make that happen. Healy said Jensens remarks were hurtful. There were people who left who were very upset, she said. There were tears. Its very offensive to be questioned like that. Rep. Phil Jensen, R-Rapid City, speaks on Jan. 29, 2026, on the South Dakota House floor about a resolution dealing with religion. (Video courtesy of South Dakota Public Broadcasting) Costa Ricans have elected conservative populist Laura Fernandez as their next president, according to preliminary results, making her the latest right-leaning leader to win office in Latin America. With results from 96.8% of polling places counted, Fernandez of the Sovereign Peoples Party won 48.3% of the vote, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal reported. Her closest challenger, economist Alvaro Ramos of the National Liberation Party, trailed with 33.4%, the Associated Press reported. Advertisement Advertisement Ramos conceded the race on election night, with Fernandez, 39, to begin her four-year term in May. Trump-backed Candidate Asfura Wins Honduras Presidential Election Costa Rica elected conservative populist Laura Fernandez as president with 48.3% of the vote, making her the latest right-leaning leader in Latin America. (AP Images) A former government minister, Fernandez is the chosen successor of outgoing President Rodrigo Chaves, who is constitutionally prohibited from seeking re-election. Read On The Fox News App She campaigned on continuing Chaves populist agenda, which reshaped Costa Rican politics by arguing against traditional parties and promising tougher action on crime. Fernandez served as minister of national planning and later as minister of the presidency, giving her a central role in Chaves administration. Advertisement Advertisement Latin America Fractures Over Trumps Maduro Capture As Regional Allies Shift Right Crime had dominated the campaign in Costa Rica amid sharp rises in homicides, gang activity and drug trafficking by cartels. The murder rate had increased by 50% over the last six years, according to reports. Fernandez pledged a hard-line security strategy, including increased cooperation with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and tougher measures against organized crime. She has also floated controversial proposals inspired by El Salvadors President Nayib Bukele. This included construction of a special prison for gang leaders, the Associated Press reported. Advertisement Advertisement Marco Rubio Emerges As Key Trump Power Player After Venezuela Operation Costa Rica elects conservative populist Laura Fernandez as president with 48.3% of the vote. "My hand wont shake when it comes to making the decisions we need to restore peace in Costa Rican homes," Fernandez said during the campaign. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated Fernandez in a statement Monday. "Under her leadership, we are confident Costa Rica will continue to advance shared priorities to include combating narco-trafficking, ending illegal immigration to the United States, promoting cybersecurity and secure telecommunications, and strengthening economic ties," Rubio said. "I hope that we can immediately lower the flags of whichever political party and start working only in favor of the Costa Rican flag," Fernandez said after the result. "I believe the Costa Rican people expect nothing less of us," she added. Original article source: Costa Rica swings right as voters embrace tough-on-crime leader amid surging violence A notice posted to the Federal Register has consumer advocates concerned that it could soon become harder to file a complaint with the federal government about issues with credit bureaus. We are talking about Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, the companies that track your credit. Just two days after the trade organizations that represent those companies sent a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau asking for new restrictions on complaints, the CFPB posted a notice to the Federal Register that it was starting the process to make changes to how it accepts consumer complaints. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] What were concerned about is that the Consumer Bureau is responding to the industrys demands to make it harder to file complaints, said Chi Chi Wu from the National Consumer Law Center. Advertisement Advertisement Weve shown you before on Channel 2 Action News what can happen when credit bureaus make a mistake. Sheila Pughs credit reports showed an unpaid debt in 2023 for more than $16,000 for a McDonough rental home she never rented. Oh my god, it hurts. Its like what in the world, there is no way, she said. When that happens, you can file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In its letter to the CFPB, the Consumer Data Industry Association asks for new requirements that consumers supply sensitive personal information, such as date of birth, require two-factor authentication and only allow a certain number of complaints per phone number, and restrict IP addresses. MORE FROM 2 INVESTIGATES: Advertisement Advertisement The group says it is necessary to help ensure that only legitimate complaints are submitted through the complaint portal. But Wu says it will make it harder for consumers to get problems fixed. The Consumer Bureau has been able to get relief for consumers, and under previous administrations, has really leaned hard on the credit bureaus to provide relief. Now we are looking potentially at all that being gone, Wu said. The CFPB filing on the federal register asks for public comment but has little information on what changes are being considered. We reached out to the CFPB. A spokesperson tells us it is not trying to restrict complaints but, that the point of the rulemaking is to improve the process. Advertisement Advertisement A CFPB spokesperson tells Channel 2 Action News: Experts are quite misinformed, it does the opposite. By reminding people of the legal process to fix or investigate their credit, were able to help more people. Right now, the system is overwhelmed by issues that arent related or CFPB is not able to solve. Reminding people of the process will hopefully point them in the right direction to more expeditiously get their issues resolved and allow us to help those who need it. As you know, the by law, individuals who are reporting inaccuracies or incompleteness on their credit report first have to legally do so by reporting it to a CRA. We are not legally allowed to open an investigation until that step occurs. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Texas schools may soon use a new standardized test rooted in tradition and ethics to measure student performance. The Texas State Board of Education voted 9-4 last week to add the conservative-championed Classic Learning Test to an approved assessment list alongside a handful of others including the SAT and ACT. Currently, students can receive an acknowledgement on their transcript for high scores on the College Boards Advanced Placement tests and SAT, as well as the International Baccalaureate exams and ACT. The SBOEs decision last week adds the CLT to that list, pending a final vote from the board in April. Advertisement Advertisement With a mission to restore the foundations of education, the CLT is rooted in tradition, morality and ethics, according to the companys website. The test is currently accepted by more than 350 colleges and universities, including 22 higher education institutions in Texas. One of those schools is Austins newest private university, the University of Austin, where Jeremy Tate, CEO and founder of the CLT test, serves on the board. Tate has been openly critical of the College Board, which oversees the SAT and AP exams. He has accused the College Board for decentering Christian and classical education and for becoming too lax and too modern. Similar critiques inspired the founding of UATX, which advocates for a return to education grounded in the classics and denounces diversity, equity and inclusion, affirmative action and cancel culture. But critics have taken issue with both UATX and CLT for having a conservative ideological bent a claim that founders of both deny. Advertisement Advertisement Texas SBOE member Gustavo Reveles, D-El Paso, voted against adding CLT to the approved list because of concerns about potential cultural bias and vetting procedures. In a written response to questions, Tate said the exam is held to the same industry leading psychometric methods that other testing companies use, and that the exam is not partisan. He said the test aligns with the SBOEs exemplary reforms such as Bluebonnet instructional materials and public school reading lists. In 2024, the SBOE narrowly approved Bluebonnet instructional materials, a curriculum infused with Bible passages that supporters said would improve students world view. But dissenters, which include religious studies experts, said there was no evidence that it would improve student learning. The two most common standardized tests are the ACT, produced by the ACT Corporation, and the SAT, produced by the College Board. Both are slightly longer in length than the CLT but are similarly priced. The ACT has an optional science component. Advertisement Advertisement The CLT does not publish public reports of student results, but sends "detailed analytics and data reports" to partner schools, colleges and departments of education, said Soren Schwab, vice president of partnerships for CLT, in an email Tuesday. Meanwhile, SAT and ACT publicly share annual reports on student performance. The CLT is administered over two hours and costs $69, with sections in verbal reasoning, grammar and writing and quantitative reasoning. Tate said the CLT is the most rigorous college admissions test in the world, with longer reading passages from classic authors like Plato and Frederick Douglass. For the math portion, no calculators are allowed. The CLTs focus on the classics ensures that it transcends modern partisan disagreements and instead presents students with foundational texts that address universal human concerns such as justice, love, and wisdoms, Tate said. The type of texts that all college students should be able to read and understand. Harry Feder, executive director of FairTest, an organization critical of standardized testing as an unfair and unequal marker of performance, called the CLT a conservative marketing ploy that distracts from underlying educational issues. Advertisement Advertisement He said the CLT should be measured for bias, like the ACT and SAT have been, or be accompanied by a rigorous curriculum schools can adopt, like the International Baccalaureate test. CLTs website states it hopes schools will eventually teach to its test but does not have a suggested curriculum on its website. We have a bigger problem right now, which is that kids arent reading. And does the CLT correct that? No, because its still like a standardized test, Feder said. The vote, while not changing much materially for Texas students, is a symbolic victory for conservatives, he said. Its not a real battle. Its a political battle, Feder said. Advertisement Advertisement SBOE Member Julie Pickren, R-Pearland, supported the measure enthusiastically, and said she hopes the State Legislature will allocate funding for it. I dont want to limit Texas children on their opportunities, Pickren said. The test will face a second, final vote next meeting. The board's next scheduled meeting is in April. Heart reporter Isaac Yu contributed to this report. A federal judge in Seattle has dismissed a lawsuit brought by five people affiliated with the white nationalist group Patriot Front who accused a Washington man of infiltrating the group, hacking its computer systems and doxxing its members. U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones granted defendant David Alan Capito IIs motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim and dismissed the case without prejudice, allowing the plaintiffs 21 days to file an amended complaint. The plaintiffs Paul Gancarz, Daniel Turetchi, Colton Brown, James Johnson and Amelia Johnson alleged in a 2023 complaint that Capito, who later changed his name to Vyacheslav Arkhangelskiy, joined Patriot Front in July 2021 using a false identity and false statements about his background and beliefs. Advertisement Advertisement The complaint said Capito joined under the name Vincent Washington and was accepted as a member after agreeing to keep information about the group confidential. According to the lawsuit, Patriot Front assigned Capito to take photographs at group gatherings in the Pacific Northwest. The plaintiffs alleged that Capito used that role to secretly photograph members license plates and collect other personal information. The complaint also alleged Capito used hidden microphones and cameras to record members during social interactions. The plaintiffs further alleged that Capito worked with a group of hackers to gain unauthorized access to Patriot Fronts computer servers in late 2021. Advertisement Advertisement The complaint described a session hijack attack that allegedly gave Capito administrator-level access to private chat rooms, along with a separate denial-of-service attack intended to distract from the intrusion. The lawsuit said Capito downloaded private chats and video links that were later publicly released. After the alleged breach, the plaintiffs said Capito and others published confidential information identifying Patriot Front members, including home addresses and workplaces. The complaint alleged the information was used in a coordinated doxxing campaign that included harassing phone calls to employers, trespassing, slashed tires and hostile flyers placed in neighborhoods. Advertisement Advertisement Each plaintiff described specific consequences tied to the alleged disclosures. Gancarz said he lost his job as a civil engineer earning about $107,000 a year after repeated calls were made to his employer. Turetchi said he was fired from his real estate job after harassment of his broker and professional board. Brown said he lost his job, housing and family relationships. James Johnson said he lost about one-third of his income and benefits after relocating. Amelia Johnson said she was fired and unable to find new work. Judge Jones ruled that those alleged harms do not qualify as a loss under the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which is limited to costs related to responding to computer intrusions, restoring systems or interruptions of service. Advertisement Advertisement Job losses and emotional distress, the judge wrote, are not the type of technological harms covered by the statute. Because the federal claim was dismissed, the court declined to consider the remaining state law claims, including invasion of privacy, fraud and computer trespass, citing standard practice when federal claims are eliminated early in a case. The dismissal leaves open the possibility that the plaintiffs could amend their complaint. A former Indiana Department of Child Services caseworker faces felony charges after investigators say she documented visits with kids that never actually took place. Sylvia Mbilo Mundala, 47, faces one charge of official misconduct and one charge of falsifying child abuse records. Mundala, who worked for DCS between February 2021 and August 2024, was tasked with checking up on children who had been removed from their families and placed elsewhere, including in foster homes. The Indiana inspector general's office began investigating Mundala after her supervisor grew suspicious that she wasn't making all of the visits that she recorded in the agency's database. Advertisement Advertisement Mundala's most recent criminal charges stem from interactions or lack thereof with three families during summer 2024. Mundala's notes said she'd met with a child and her two guardians at their home at 5 p.m. on July 15. Mundala included a photo of the child purportedly taken during that meeting, but investigators found that it had been copy and pasted from their initial meeting in May of that year. A photograph taken by the child's guardian showed that the girl had a "distinctly different" braided hairstyle on July 15 than the one pictured, and cell phone location data showed that one of the guardians was an hour away from home at the time of the purported meeting. An entry for a different family's file said that Mundala met with a child and guardian at 5 p.m. on July 18, 2024. The guardian said that while there was a meeting scheduled for that day, Mundala did not show up. The guardian never saw Mundala again, she told investigators. Advertisement Advertisement In a third entry, Mundala said that she'd met with a child and guardians at 5:30 p.m. July 25, 2024. One of the child's guardians said Mundala canceled the meeting at the last minute. She showed investigators a text message she received from Mundala at 5:22 p.m. on July 25. "I am not going to be able to make it today," the message read in part. Mundala's employment with DCS ended on Aug. 2, 2024 three days after at least two of the allegedly falsified visits were entered into the agency's database. Court documents do not specify the circumstances under which she left DCS. Ron Green, director of communications for DCS, referred questions about Mundala's employment and hiring to the Indiana State Personnel Department, which had not responded at the time of publication. Advertisement Advertisement In an email, Green wrote that "it would not be appropriate for the agency to comment" on Mundala's arrest for falsifying child abuse records. Online court records did not list an attorney for Mundala at the time of publication. In 2013, Mundala was charged with felony identity deception in Marion County, according to a criminal history document filed in the new case. The case was later dismissed, and charging documents have since been destroyed in accordance with the state court system's records retention rules. IndyStar's inquiry to DCS about the agency's knowledge of Mundala's previous criminal history was also referred to the state's personnel department. Advertisement Advertisement In October 2025, DCS's annual staffing and caseload report showed that as the number of child welfare cases grew, the number of caseworkers fell. At the time of the report's publication, the agency needed to hire 201 more case managers to meet the standards set out by state law. Earlier this month, DCS announced that it had eliminated 75 jobs as part of an ongoing strategic plan, though no front-line case workers were laid off. Ryan Murphy is the communities reporter for IndyStar. She can be reached at rhmurphy@indystar.com. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Former DCS caseworker arrested on allegations of falsified visits JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) The Mississippi Court of Appeals reversed one of Beth Ann Whites convictions and reaffirmed her other convictions. White was convicted of causing a Hinds County crash that killed a mother and her six-month-old son. A jury found White guilty on four counts of aggravated DUI and guilty of 4th offense DUI, which is a felony in Mississippi. White was convicted of causing the crash that killed Allison Conaway and her six-month-old son, Alex, in November 2021. Conaways two other children, Chelsea and Chloe, sustained life-threatening brain and spinal injuries due to the crash. The girls survived their injuries. Advertisement Advertisement Judge Winston Kidd sentenced White to a total of 110 years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC). She was sentenced to 25 years for each count of aggravated DUI and 10 years for the DUI 4th offense. Brothers not indicted in 2025 Jackson mass shooting White appealed her sentencing, arguing that the states prosecution began after the statute of limitations on her offenses had expired, that the prosecution was barred by double jeopardy, and that the state committed prosecutorial misconduct. After reviewing the case, the Mississippi Court of Appeals said that the statute of limitations had run on Whites fourth-offense DUI charge. Advertisement Advertisement We find no error with the prosecution for aggravated DUI based on statute of limitations or double jeopardy grounds. Finally, White showed no prejudice as a result of the alleged prosecutorial misconduct, the Court of Appeals ruled. Beth Ann White (Courtesy: MDOC) According to the Court, Whites prosecution for aggravated DUI began at least upon the March 2022 indictment on those charges. The December 2023 indictment for aggravated DUI was not a new prosecution but was a continuation of the prosecution that was already in progress. However, the Court said the addition of the 4th offense DUI in the December 2023 indictment was the first time prosecution on that charge began. Because the indictment was returned after the two-year statute of limitations on that offense had passed, the states prosecution was barred. The Court reversed her conviction on that charge and rendered judgment barring prosecution of it. CO188181Download Advertisement Advertisement We find no prejudice to White caused by the states comments about plea negotiations. Therefore, we affirm Whites convictions of the four counts of aggravated DUI. We remand to the circuit court for consideration of resentencing on these convictions in light of our reversal of Whites conviction of fourth-offense DUI, the Court of Appeals ruled. White is being held at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility (CMCF). Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJTV. UPDATE: MONDAY 2/2/2026 4:03 p.m. (COLORADO SPRINGS) Two people were killed in a head-on crash on Highway 115 south of Lake Avenue on Monday, Feb. 2. According to CSPD, shortly after 2 p.m. Monday, officers responded to a report of a head-on crash on Highway 115 south of East Cheyenne Mountain Boulevard. When crews arrived, they found two people dead. The initial investigation revealed a car was heading southbound on Hwy 115, crossed over into northbound traffic, and hit another car head-on, killing both drivers. A third car was also involved, and that driver was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. At this stage in the investigation, CSPD said neither speed nor alcohol appear to be factors in the crash. Advertisement Advertisement CSPD said northbound Hwy 115 will be closed for several hours for the investigation. MONDAY 2/2/2026 2:56 p.m. ORIGINAL STORY: Crash closes Highway 115 near Quail Lake Northbound Highway 115 is closed due to a major crash near Stratton Meadows on Monday, Feb. 2. According to the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD), all northbound lanes of Highway 115 were closed around 2 p.m. Monday afternoon just south of East Cheyenne Mountain Boulevard, west of Quail Lake. One southbound lane is also closed at the intersection of Cheyenne Mountain. CSPD asks drivers to avoid the area and use caution if you must travel near the scene. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX21 News Colorado. When federal immigration agents shot and killed ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on 23 January, the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, wasted no time claiming to the press, without credible evidence, that Pretti had been engaged in domestic terrorism. Though the administration seems to be trying to soften that initial response after fierce backlash, its an accusation that members of the Trump administration have been leveling at wide swaths of people beyond Pretti including Renee Nicole Good, another Minnesotan killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents two and a half weeks prior, and Marimar Martinez, who survived being shot by ICE agents in Chicago in October as part of an ongoing strategy to criminalize dissent. Its a claim ICE agents themselves have started to make directly in confrontations with citizens, seemingly to try and intimidate legal observers, sometimes known as ICE watchers. In one recent video from Portland, Maine, an ICE officer told an observer to stop recording him on her phone, and when she wouldnt, he took her information down and said: We have a nice little database and now youre considered a domestic terrorist. A common pattern has also emerged in courts: ICE or other federal agents will initiate a violent confrontation with a protester pushing a 70-year-old veteran to the ground in Chicago outside the Broadway ICE facility, or shoving a US citizen at a protest in LA then the Department of Justice will press charges against the victim of that violence, rather than against the perpetrator. By one count, more than a hundred prosecutions relying on Section 111 of Title 18 of the US code, which deals with resisting federal employees, were filed in the second half of 2025. Advertisement Advertisement It absolutely seems to be the case that federal agents have ramped up their repression of legal observers, said Michelle Phelps, a sociology professor at the University of Minnesota and author of The Minneapolis Reckoning: Race, Violence, and the Politics of Policing in America. Though the hasty labeling of anyone who records or protests ICE a domestic terrorist has become particularly brazen under the second Trump administration, the criminalization of protest and dissent in the US is nothing new in fact, its as old as the country itself. The history of criminalizing protest Anti-protest bills proliferated around the country under both the Trump and Biden administrations, aimed at everything from expanding the definition of what counts as a riot to penalizing anyone who obstructs the flow of car traffic. Twenty-nine state and federal anti-protest bills passed during Trumps first term and 25 passed under Biden. According to the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL), which has been operating a protest law tracker since January 2017, when Trump first took office, these anti-protest bills are often introduced in response to prominent protest movements. Thats likely why the number of proposed anti-protest bills jumped so high in 2021 (90 total bills proposed, though only 12 passed), the year after protests sprung up across the nation in the wake of George Floyds murder by a Minneapolis cop. Advertisement Advertisement Other protest bills have emerged in response to other movements. In 2019, in the wake of the Dakota Access pipeline protests and the ramping up of climate protests, US states began to introduce extreme penalties (like five years in prison, in the case of one Louisiana law) for interfering with pipeline construction or trespassing nearby. In 2025, a host of bills targeting student protesters and universities cropped up as a response to pro-Palestinian student encampments. Other bills have seemed intent on making protest of any kind more dangerous to participants: an Iowa law passed in 2021 protects drivers who hit or kill protesters from liability, while a Florida law passed the same year protects people who injure or kill protesters from being sued, so long as the protester was participating in a riot. (What constitutes a riot, though, varies by state and in some places is defined in such a way that it can include peaceful protesters who are simply part of a larger crowd where a few individuals engage in property destruction even something as minor as kicking over a trash can, said the ICNL.) According to Gloria J Browne-Marshall, a professor of constitutional law at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (Cuny) and author of A Protest History of the United States, criminalization and violence against protestors have been part and parcel of this country for a long time. During the civil rights movement, for example, leaders were surveilled by the government and frequently jailed. If people see this moment as totally unprecedented, it might be because of the demographic being visibly affected. What had been happening to immigrants and to African Americans is now happening across the board to middle-class white people, she said. A war on solidarity According to Nick Estes, a historian at the University of Minnesota and enrolled member of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe who has written and co-edited multiple books on the Standing Rock protests against the Dakota Access pipeline, the shooting and killing of white people on the streets of Minneapolis is a war on solidarity. White supremacy is meant to control white people first and foremost, he said. So if theyre not complying with the status quo, and theyre trying to defend immigrant neighbors, I see this as retaliation [against them for that]. Advertisement Advertisement He pointed to Jessica Reznicek, a Catholic Worker and climate activist who was sentenced to eight years in prison, fined $3m and labeled a domestic terrorist in 2021 for damaging the Dakota Access pipeline using a pipe welder (no people were harmed). Meanwhile, no January 6 protester got terrorism enhancement charges or sentencing, Estes said, despite multiple fatalities resulting from the attack on the US Capitol. I think that largely has to do with the fact that [Reznicek] was in alliance with Indigenous water protectors. Regardless of who is being targeted, the criminalization of protest and a belief in the importance of protest have been present since the countrys founding, according to Browne-Marshall. On the one hand, the Insurrection Act was created to prevent people from protesting; on the other, the framers of the US constitution were very much afraid of the power of the government they had created, she said. There was always this fear of a charismatic leader who would somehow meld together these three branches of government that were supposed to be counters to one another and thats what we have right now. The goal of all this criminalization seems to be to further consolidate power and protect the Trump administration against dissent, she added. Advertisement Advertisement The White House did not respond to the Guardians questions about what criteria is being used to designate someone a domestic terrorist, nor why that label is being applied by the White House before evidence has been presented or considered in a court of law. Instead, Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, fully defended ICE agents, saying: ICE officers act heroically to enforce the law and protect American communities and local officials should work with them, not against them. Anyone pointing the finger at law enforcement officers instead of the criminals is simply doing the bidding of criminal illegal aliens. Neither ICE nor the Department of Justice responded to the Guardians questions or requests for comment. Insofar as criminalization is meant to scare people, its working to a degree, according to ACLU Minnesota organizer Paul Sullivan. Immigrants in the Twin Cities are increasingly staying indoors, relying on mutual aid efforts for food and other necessities, and many people of color, even if theyre citizens, are shrinking from public life as they look to avoid being racially profiled by ICE officers. But its also, frankly, had the opposite effect that I imagine that ICE and the Trump administration intended, which is that it has really, really activated and enraged a lot of our community, Sullivan said. They described stories of ICE officers pulling up across from a cafe and 90% of the people inside coming out to shout at them and blow whistles. Its really become something that the community has coalesced around, and that is that determination to oppose the regime for what theyre doing, Sullivan said. Its not just Minnesota in Chicago, posters declaring that ICE isnt welcome have become nearly ubiquitous in many neighborhoods. In Oregon, protesters are doubling down on their right to protest and bringing gas masks to help them weather pepper spray and other attacks from federal agents. Advertisement Advertisement Though the risks are high, continuing to show up is important, said Sullivan. That can and is taking many different forms in cities that are being targeted, including delivering meals and covering rent for immigrants who are sheltering in place to avoid ICE, continuing to blow whistles and alert neighbors when ICE is spotted nearby, filming their activities, and pressuring local elected officials to push back against this federal overreach. Browne-Marshall suggests that todays organizers study the strategies of their forebears in the anti-Vietnam war and civil rights movements to learn what works, including tactics like pressuring corporations to stop cooperating with federal agents. In the longer term, Sullivan notes that it will be important to fight the securitization that the US government has been ramping up since 9/11 under the banner of anti-terrorism that allows for such easy and widespread surveillance of US citizens and everyone who sets foot in the country. Many others are calling for the US to abolish ICE. Whatever the solution, one thing should be clear, said Estes: the law may be twisted such that the government can deem anyone it wants to punish or even kill with impunity a domestic terrorist. But law and order are actually supposed to be a reflection of the values of society, he said. What were seeing on the ground is people who are saying: This is not what we want; this is not something we agreed to; this is not something we asked for. To me, that shows that human solidarity is triumphing in the face of this really violent moment were living through. A leaked memo from a Texas-based Crunch detailed how employees should interact with immigration agents. Social media users posted screenshots of their canceled memberships. Business Insider spoke to Crunch employees at eight stores across the US. Crunch Fitness is responding to backlash after an immigration-enforcement-related memo from one Texas franchise spread online. The gym is the latest national brand caught navigating the immigration flash point even though the internal document was only meant for a handful of locations. Advertisement Advertisement The memo, which was leaked in a now-deleted Reddit post last week, was issued by Austin-based Undefeated Tribe Operating Company LLC. The franchisee operates roughly 40 of the company's 500 gyms, according to recent press releases. In the memo, the franchise said its policy was to "cooperate with any law enforcement officer," including ICE. Under a subsection titled "what to expect during a raid," the franchise told employees that some ICE raids "can last hours" and could include searches of "offices, lockers, or computers" all searches that would require a judicial warrant. Staff were instructed to contact management, keep members calm, and tell them "not to interfere with the agents." The franchisee and its owner didn't respond to multiple requests for comment. The guidance quickly sparked criticism online, with dozens of users across TikTok, Instagram, X, and Reddit saying they had canceled their Crunch memberships in protest. Advertisement Advertisement On Monday, a spokesperson for Crunch told Business Insider the memo "does not represent Crunch Fitness's corporate policy." The spokesperson also said the gym's lobby is the only area law enforcement can access without a warrant. "This approach is consistent with Crunch's standards and our long-standing commitment to maintaining welcoming, safe spaces for our members and employees," the spokesperson said. On Saturday, Crunch Fitness' national social media account distanced itself from the franchise's memo, saying the internal document had been "misinterpreted." Business Insider spoke with front-end managers and staff at eight Crunch locations across the US. All requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Advertisement Advertisement Two managers said they had discussed potential ICE scenarios directly with their franchise owners not with Crunch's corporate office. Front-end staff said they had not received guidance from the national brand, and three employees said they were unsure of any ICE policy as of Monday. Every employee interviewed said they had read the leaked memo from the Texas franchise. Online reaction has been divided. While several users said they were canceling memberships, others argued that customers were unfairly blaming Crunch's corporate brand for the actions of a single franchise operator. The controversy comes amid heightened public scrutiny of corporate relationships with federal immigration enforcement, particularly after two fatal shootings by federal agents in Minneapolis last month. Advertisement Advertisement In early January, Hilton Hotels faced backlash after one of its Minnesota franchises denied ICE agents access. Hilton removed the location from its system shortly afterward. Rental car giant Enterprise also faced protests after social media users accused the company of providing vehicles to federal agents. Activists have been calling for a national strike on billion-dollar businesses amid the rising tensions. Read the original article on Business Insider PRAGUE (AP) The new Czech Republic coalition government of populist Prime Minister Andrej Babis on Tuesday faced a parliamentary no-confidence vote over the handling of a dispute with the countrys president. The opposition parties that requested the vote have sided with President Petr Pavel, who accused Foreign Minister Petr Macinka of blackmailing him, because he refused to appoint a government minister representing the right-wing Motorists for Themselves euroskeptic party. Macinka heads the Motorists. Pavel said that Filip Turek was ineligible to become the environment minister after a daily newspaper published posts from his Facebook page found to be openly racist, homophobic and sexist. Advertisement Advertisement Turek apologized for some posts, but denied that he posted some others. Macinka accused the president of violating the countrys constitution and threatened him with consequences, including working to prevent Pavel from representing the country at a NATO summit this year, if he fails to appoint his associate. Tens of thousands of Czechs rallied Sunday in the capital, Prague, and elsewhere in support of the president. Babis has rejected opposition calls to dismiss Macinka, who has refused to apologize. The government has a majority to survive the vote in the lower house of Parliament. The timing of the vote is uncertain, but it could come as soon as Tuesday. Advertisement Advertisement The president and the prime minister are scheduled to meet Wednesday over the issue. Pavel swore in a new government on Dec. 15 after Babis and his ANO, or YES, movement won big in the countrys October election and agreed to form a majority coalition with two small political groups, the Freedom and Direct Democracy anti-migrant party and the Motorists. The coalition's agenda includes steering the country away from supporting Ukraine and rejecting some key European Union policies. Unlike the new government, Pavel, a retired army general, and the opposition, are staunch supporters of Ukraine in its fight against Russia's invasion. A father in Utah revealed that he has been reunited with his three kids and their half-brother after their mother abducted the children and traveled with them abroad, eventually leaving them at a Croatian orphanage. Kendall Seymour first announced that his kids were missing after his ex-wife, Elleshia Seymour, was seen getting on a plane with the four children on November 30, 2025. In a Sunday, January 25, update on his GoFundMe page, Kendall shared that the kids were located in a Croatian orphanage. However, he said that the family needed to hire Croatian lawyers who specialize in child abduction, create and submit Hague Convention applications, hire court-approved translators, and extend our stay here by an unknown amount of time in order to get the kids back. Advertisement Advertisement Kendall shared a happy update on Thursday, January 29, revealing that he was able to take all four of the children back to Utah. Lawyer Explains Next Steps Utah Father Should Take to Rescue Kids From Croatian Orphanage After so much work from SO many people, the Social Services employees informed us that the police had finished their investigation, returned the children's passports, and gave us the go ahead to pick up the kids from the children's group home in the morning! We are all excited to get back to (mostly) normal life, he wrote, alongside photos of his reunion with the kids. After he thanked everyone who helped locate and fight for these kids, Kendall continued, In no way, shape, or form could we have done this without all of you and our amazing network of family and friends. We don't even know where we would be (or where the kids would be) without you all. Advertisement Advertisement In his initial post, Kendall explained that there was a fifth American child at the orphanage who traveled to Croatia with his mother, Elleshia and her four kids. Kendall explained in the January 29 post that he didnt have an official update on the fifth child. We are reserving funds for any legal help he needs to get himself into a good situation, wherever he considers home to be. He has been very worried about not being able to communicate with family and friends (they probably think I'm dead!), so we've purchased him a decent phone with a plan, Kendall wrote. Luckily, he was able to log back into his old apps and re-connect with the friends he hasn't spoken to in a few weeks. We put our contacts in his phone so that he can reach out to us for help at any time. Kendall added that he and his family purchased a number of items for the children's group home, while he hopes to find other ways to give back to the orphanage. Advertisement Advertisement On Sunday, February 1, Kendall announced that he, his three kids and Elleshias fourth child were officially on their way home. We were able to take the three Seymour kids and their little half-brother, he wrote. Utah Mother Worried About Impending End Times Allegedly Abducted Her 4 Kids and Fled to Europe Not only are the kids heading home, but the Salt Lake County District Attorneys Office previously confirmed that Elleshia was taken into custody on Friday, January 16, in Dubrovnik, Croatia. She was previously charged with four counts of Custodial Interference Remove Child from State in December 2025. It is not currently clear if Elleshia has entered a plea, retained legal representation or was given bond. The Salt Lake County District Attorneys Office told Us Weekly that they did not have any updates to share regarding her arrest. Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Danish military veterans and others staged a protest march against U.S. President Donald Trump's recent comments regarding NATO members and Greenland. Trump criticized the amount of support the United States received from NATO allies during recent conflicts, and many veterans and others in Denmark took to the streets on Saturday to show their displeasure. One protester, Danish Lance Cpl. Soren Teigen, said only the president is responsible for the comments. Advertisement Advertisement "I don't blame American soldiers in any way -- we've fought side by side, and we still do," Teigen told The New York Times. "But when the president says something like this, of course it hurts." Trump earlier accused NATO allies of shying away from fighting after sending their troops to Afghanistan but allegedly keeping them away from the front lines. Officials with Danish Veterans & Veteran Support took exception to the president's comments. "Denmark has always stood side by side with the USA, and we have shown up in the world's crisis zones when the USA has asked us to," the group said in a prepared statement. Advertisement Advertisement "We feel let down and ridiculed by the Trump administration, which is deliberately disregarding Denmark's combat side by side with the USA," it added. Many veterans and other Danes also are unhappy with the president's efforts to annex or otherwise control Greenland. Hundreds of Danish military veterans on Saturday quietly marched to outside the U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen, where some placed 44 small Danish flags in planters located nearby. The flags are to commemorate the 44 Danish military personnel who died in Afghanistan. U.S. Embassy staff members were unaware of the flags' meaning and initially removed them, which further upset many Danes. Upon learning what the flags represented, the embassy staff left alone any that remained or were replaced. I am encouraged by the legislative attention that the flurry of data center plans in Wisconsin is causing. Elements of both Republican and Democratic proposals have some merit. I hope our state legislators can reach across the aisle and sincerely work together to produce a truly effective bill that not only grows Wisconsin's economy but errors on the side of caution regarding protecting Wisconsin's resources and natural environment. What I don't see is any specific requirement for on-site energy production besides that any renewable energy production serving the new facility needs to be done on site. This seems to be in response to outcry over solar fields replacing farm fields but doesn't really address the added power demand. Advertisement Advertisement Data center questions answered: Get free tickets to Journal Sentinel Feb. 23 event These buildings have huge flat roof areas. Seems like a no-brainer, but why not require each data center to fill their roofs with PV panels? These companies have more than enough money to provide these and it will reduce the amount of supplemental power utilities will need to provide. Russ Drewry, Milwaukee Letters: Silence of our Congress, Senate Republicans is appalling Big Tech companies should step up and fund 100% of their energy needs Thank you to the Clean Economy Coalition of Wisconsin for speaking out on sustainability and affordability (Environmentalists call for pause on data centers, Jan. 26). Advertisement Advertisement Big tech and the hyperscalers seem to think the national project for the late 2020s is to build out AI capacity at record speed. The thing is, we already have a big project: stewarding the stable climate given us by God and nature, while preserving the gains of modern civilization. Their ambitions threaten to fly in the face of it. Right now climate stewardship has two main lanes. First, clean and strengthen the grid with solar, wind and batteries, now the cheapest sources of new capacity. Second, convert our fossil vehicles and appliances to run on electricity. We needed to be growing the grid, cleanly, well before the AI craze. Big tech companies claim to care about climate change. And they have money. They need to step up and fund zero carbon energy and transmission to meet at least 100% of their needs, or step back and get out of the way. Michael Arney, Wauwatosa Advertisement Advertisement Opinion: Effort to reduce Milwaukee homicides dealt maddening blow Tips for getting your letter to the editor published Here are some tips to get your views shared with your friends, family, neighbors and across our state: Please include your name, street address and daytime phone. Generally, we limit letters to 200 words. Cite sources of where you found information or the article that prompted your letter. Be civil and constructive, especially when criticizing. Avoid ad hominem attacks, take issue with a position, not a person. We cannot acknowledge receipt of submissions. We don't publish poetry, anonymous or open letters. Each writer is limited to one published letter every two months. All letters are subject to editing. Write: Letters to the editor, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 330 E. Kilbourn Avenue, Suite 500, Milwaukee, WI, 53202. Fax: (414)-223-5444. E-mail: jsedit@jrn.com or submit using the form that can be found on the on the bottom of this page. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Data center plan flurry deserves attention from legislators | Letters As Winter Storm Fern swept across the United States in late January 2026, bringing ice, snow and freezing temperatures, it left more than a million people without power, mostly in the Southeast. Scrambling to meet higher than average demand, PJM, the nonprofit company that operates the grid serving much of the mid-Atlantic U.S., asked for federal permission to generate more power, even if it caused high levels of air pollution from burning relatively dirty fuels. Energy Secretary Chris Wright agreed and took another step, too. He authorized PJM and ERCOT the company that manages the Texas power grid as well as Duke Energy, a major electricity supplier in the Southeast, to tell data centers and other large power-consuming businesses to turn on their backup generators. Advertisement Advertisement The goal was to make sure there was enough power available to serve customers as the storm hit. Generally, these facilities power themselves and do not send power back to the grid. But Wright explained that their industrial diesel generators could generate 35 gigawatts of power, or enough electricity to power many millions of homes. We are scholars of the electricity industry who live and work in the Southeast. In the wake of Winter Storm Fern, we see opportunities to power data centers with less pollution while helping communities prepare for, get through and recover from winter storms. Data centers use enormous quantities of energy Before Wrights order, it was hard to say whether data centers would reduce the amount of electricity they take from the grid during storms or other emergencies. This is a pressing question, because data centers power demands to support generative artificial intelligence are already driving up electricity prices in congested grids like PJMs. Advertisement Advertisement And data centers are expected to need only more power. Estimates vary widely, but the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab anticipates that the share of electricity production in the U.S. used by data centers could spike from 4.4% in 2023 to between 6.7% and 12% by 2028. PJM expects a peak load growth of 32 gigawatts by 2030 enough power to supply 30 million new homes, but nearly all going to new data centers. PJMs job is to coordinate that energy and figure out how much the public, or others, should pay to supply it. The race to build new data centers and find the electricity to power them has sparked enormous public backlash about how data centers will inflate household energy costs. Other concerns are that power-hungry data centers fed by natural gas generators can hurt air quality, consume water and intensify climate damage. Many data centers are located, or proposed, in communities already burdened by high levels of pollution. Local ordinances, regulations created by state utility commissions and proposed federal laws have tried to protect ratepayers from price hikes and require data centers to pay for the transmission and generation infrastructure they need. Always-on connections? In addition to placing an increasing burden on the grid, many data centers have asked utility companies for power connections that are active 99.999% of the time. Advertisement Advertisement But since the 1970s, utilities have encouraged demand response programs, in which large power users agree to reduce their demand during peak times like Winter Storm Fern. In return, utilities offer financial incentives such as bill credits for participation. Over the years, demand response programs have helped utility companies and power grid managers lower electricity demand at peak times in summer and winter. The proliferation of smart meters allows residential customers and smaller businesses to participate in these efforts as well. When aggregated with rooftop solar, batteries and electric vehicles, these distributed energy resources can be dispatched as virtual power plants. A different approach The terms of data center agreements with local governments and utilities often arent available to the public. That makes it hard to determine whether data centers could or would temporarily reduce their power use. In some cases, uninterrupted access to power is necessary to maintain critical data systems, such as medical records, bank accounts and airline reservation systems. Advertisement Advertisement Yet, data center demand has spiked with the AI boom, and developers have increasingly been willing to consider demand response. In August 2025, Google announced new agreements with Indiana Michigan Power and the Tennessee Valley Authority to provide data center demand response by targeting machine learning workloads, shifting non-urgent compute tasks away from times when the grid is strained. Several new companies have also been founded specifically to help AI data centers shift workloads and even use in-house battery storage to temporarily move data centers power use off the grid during power shortages. Large amounts of power move through parts of the U.S. electricity grid. Joe Raedle/Getty Images Flexibility for the future One study has found that if data centers would commit to using power flexibly, an additional 100 gigawatts of capacity the amount that would power around 70 million households could be added to the grid without adding new generation and transmission. In another instance, researchers demonstrated how data centers could invest in offsite generation through virtual power plants to meet their generation needs. Installing solar panels with battery storage at businesses and homes can boost available electricity more quickly and cheaply than building a new full-size power plant. Virtual power plants also provide flexibility as grid operators can tap into batteries, shift thermostats or shut down appliances in periods of peak demand. These projects can also benefit the buildings where they are hosted. Distributed energy generation and storage, alongside winterizing power lines and using renewables, are key ways to help keep the lights on during and after winter storms. Advertisement Advertisement Those efforts can make a big difference in places like Nashville, Tennessee, where more than 230,000 customers were without power at the peak of outages during Fern, not because there wasnt enough electricity for their homes but because their power lines were down. The future of AI is uncertain. Analysts caution that the AI industry may prove to be a speculative bubble: If demand flatlines, they say, electricity customers may end up paying for grid improvements and new generation built to meet needs that would not actually exist. Onsite diesel generators are an emergency solution for large users such as data centers to reduce strain on the grid. Yet, this is not a long-term solution to winter storms. Instead, if data centers, utilities, regulators and grid operators are willing to also consider offsite distributed energy to meet electricity demand, then their investments could help keep energy prices down, reduce air pollution and harm to the climate, and help everyone stay powered up during summer heat and winter cold. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Nikki Luke, University of Tennessee and Conor Harrison, University of South Carolina Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Nikki Luke is a fellow at the Climate and Community Institute. She receives funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. She previously worked at the U.S. Department of Energy. Conor Harrison receives funding from Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and has previously received funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation. Native Vote 2026. On Monday, Deb Haaland, a candidate for New Mexico governor, rallied at the Roundhouse with land grant and acequia community leaders to support funding for land grant and acequia infrastructure. During the event, Haaland announced her support for House Bill 21, the Land Grant-Merced Acequia Infrastructure Act, which is currently under consideration in the Legislature. Haaland has long supported traditional land and water management systems that play a critical role in protecting natural and water resources in northern New Mexico and ensuring continued community access to those resources. Discussion at the event focused on the role acequias play in sustaining water resources across the state. Never miss Indian Countrys biggest stories and breaking news. Click here to sign up to get our reporting sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Advertisement Advertisement Acequias are not only living history, they are neighbors caring for land and water together which is critical in a time when water is threatened by natural disasters and climate change, Haaland said. Protecting them will not only support our northern communities, it will strengthen local governance, and preserve New Mexicos heritage. Its essential infrastructure for a changing environment. Lets invest in what makes our state strong. Since launching her campaign for governor, Haaland has toured land grants and met with acequia communities to discuss local needs and traditional land- and water-stewardship practices. She visited Morphy Lake in Mora County to see firsthand the impact of wildfire on the watershed. Haaland also outlined her priorities for strengthening New Mexicos water infrastructure at the Next Generation Water Summit this summer, including modernizing groundwater management in overdrawn basins, expanding stormwater capture systems statewide, and offering competitive grants to farmers for modern irrigation technology. Haaland has a record of supporting rural communities. As secretary of the Interior, she added acequias to traditional community water organizations eligible for water management engagement. Under her leadership, the Bureau of Land Management strongly supported the Land Grant-Merced Traditional Use Recognition and Consultation Act, legislation Haaland cosponsored while serving in the U.S. House that would improve consultation and communication between federal agencies and New Mexico land grant communities. She also oversaw hundreds of millions of dollars in investments in major rural water infrastructure projects, including funding for the New Mexico Acequia Association to support water resilience. About the Author: "Native News Online is one of the most-read publications covering Indian Country and the news that matters to American Indians, Alaska Natives and other Indigenous people. Reach out to us at editor@nativenewsonline.net. " Contact: news@nativenewsonline.net A wealthy engineer who attacked multiple women at Boston malls in the 80s has continued to "humiliate and exploit women" while incarcerated, according to two district attorneys offices. Phillip Pizzo, now 75, went in front of the parole board for the fourth time on Aug. 12, 2025. The Essex District Attorneys office and the Middlesex District Attorneys office both spoke against giving him parole fearing he would pose a significant threat to public safety if released. Between Aug. 12, 1983, and Jan. 19, 1984, Pizzo, 33, kidnapped between eight and 20 women in their late teens or early twenties from at least three Boston area malls. Officials said he would open the car door, hold a knife to the womans throat and push her over to the passengers seat. He would put the ski mask over the womans face and tie her hands behind her back. Advertisement Advertisement Pizzo told each woman that he was not going to harm her, and that he just wanted their money. Hed then take their money but would also drive the womans car to his vehicle, which was parked some distance away. He would then drive his car, with the women inside, to his Westford home. During the ride to his home, Pizzo would talk to the women, asking about their personal life, including questions about employment and relationship status. After entering the house from the attached garage, Pizzo would force the women to drink alcohol and then take them upstairs to the bedroom. Pizzo would then remove the ski mask from the womans face and rape them, according to the parole board. After raping the women, he would have them take a shower and return them to the shopping malls from where he had abducted them. Advertisement Advertisement One woman escaped after being stabbed in the mouth, The Daily Item reported in 1984. Officials reported finding several items from the women at his home, according to The Daily Item in 1984. On Nov. 6, 1984, Pizzo pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including seven counts of aggravated rape, three counts of armed robbery while masked and five counts of kidnapping in Middlesex Superior Court. He also pleaded guilty in Essex Superior Court to three counts of aggravated rape, armed robbery while masked and three counts of kidnapping. He was sentenced to eight concurrent life sentences. He became eligible for parole after 15 years. Advertisement Advertisement In 1985, Pizzo was declared a Sexually Dangerous Person and was sentenced to one day to life at the Massachusetts Treatment Center. In 2009, Pizzo was discharged from his civil commitment and was deemed by the court to no longer be a Sexually Dangerous Person. And in 2013, he completed the Sex Offender Treatment Program. He first went in front of the parole board in 2010 but was denied. He was also denied in 2015 and 2020. The parole board noted that he has received multiple disciplinary reports, including one in September 2025, and has continued to engage in inappropriate sex acts while incarcerated. Five of his seven disciplinary reports have been since his last parole board hearing. The nature of the increasing violations are particularly concerning given his years of (Sex Offender Treatment Program) participation, the Middlesex District Attorneys office wrote to the parole board. Advertisement Advertisement Three of the incidents revolve around female correctional officers announcing their presence in his unit. These three incidents demonstrate Pizzos continued desire to humiliate and exploit women specifically, the Essex District Attorneys office wrote. In one case, he also ignored the officers order to stop the behavior. These incidents overwhelmingly suggest that Pizzo would pose a significant threat to public safety if released, as he is not even able to control his urges in an institutional environment while engaging in programming to address these issues specifically. Two of the incidents were drug-related, according to officials. And it is unclear if he understands the role alcohol played in the crimes. He had previously denied that alcohol gave him the courage to commit the crimes during parole hearings. However, he then said in 2025 that alcohol helped boost his courage to commit the crimes. Advertisement Advertisement It is highly questionable whether Pizzo is merely trying to appear to the Board to have a mindset that could earn him release rather than an honest realization about his alcohol use, Middlesex District Attorneys office wrote. On Jan. 13, he was denied parole for the fourth time through a unanimous decision by the parole board members. He can go in front of the parole board again in three years. More on the Massachusetts Parole Board Read the original article on MassLive. Add MassLive as a Preferred Source by clicking here. Community members gather at the North Carolina Legislative Building to advocate for voting rights and democracy on Feb. 3, 2026. (Christine Zhu/NC Newsline) Civil rights leader Bishop William Barber announced plans on Tuesday for a march across North Carolina to push for voting rights, living wages, healthcare, and democracy. Along with clergy, impacted families and community members, Barber held a vigil filled with prayers and songs at the North Carolina Legislative Building. Advertisement Advertisement We have to love forward together, Barber said, referring to the title of the march. North Carolina enters 2026 as the only state in the country without an enacted budget. Republican House and Senate leaders have been at an impasse since the summer of 2025, leaving town in October of last year without passing a new spending package. Key points of contention are how much to bump pay for state workers and teachers, whether to adjust the states planned income tax cuts and whether to fund a planned childrens hospital. Legislators are coming back for an administrative session this month, but theres still no sign of progress toward a deal. No votes are expected in the Senate until April, WUNC reported. Faith leaders say this exposes a deep moral failure in governance. Advertisement Advertisement Speaking to the audience, Barber said when legislators are sworn into office, they vow to uphold the U.S. Constitution and citizens fundamental rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Theres no way you can claim that you are working on that immediate vision when you wont even pass a budget, Barber said. Theres no way you can claim that you love the Constitution and you love the rule of law [when] you are endorsing ICE agents being illegal and immoral and unconstitutional. Barber specifically named Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were shot by federal agents last month in Minneapolis. Speakers urged lawmakers to reject what they call hate budgets, instead pushing for adoption of a love budget that would fully fund public schools and protect labor and voting rights. Advertisement Advertisement Advocates held up messages supporting immigrant neighbors, as well as voting rights and healthcare for all. Others carried signs with the names and sometimes photos of people who had died in ICE custody. Yara Allen, music director for the Repairers of the Breach, recited a quote from Martin Luther King Jr., saying Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. Allen said she was proud to join the advocates in fighting for democracy. It means everything to me to be here, she told NC Newsline. The vigil served as a preview for the Love Forward Together March from Wilson to Raleigh, set for Feb. 11 through 13. During this event, community members will advocate for voting rights, healthcare and living wages, as well as protesting against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Advertisement Advertisement A couple of local Democratic lawmakers also addressed the group. Rep. Phil Rubin, a Democrat representing northwest Raleigh, said he felt honored and humbled to stand with such passionate community members. Looking at the crowd, he saw the signs with names of people whose constitutional rights had been violated. Among those were Renee Good and Alex Pretti. It makes me realize that the Constitution is not enough, Rubin said. It will depend on us in this generation, or its just a piece of paper. In the wake of ruthless arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort in Minneapolis, one Harvard political scientist is arguing something many of us have suspected for a long time: the US is moving away from its traditional democratic framework toward a fundamentally different system of governance. In an interview with the media industry publication Status, Harvard political scientist Steven Levitsky made the case that the Trump administrations assault on democratic norms has now become extreme, even by the standards of right-wing dictators. This is a new dimension, Levitsky told Status. In democracies, journalists dont get arrested. In authoritarian regimes, journalists get arrested. Advertisement Advertisement Levitsky went so far as to contrast Trump with notorious conservative nationalist Viktor Orban, the prime minister of Hungary since 2010. Since coming to power, the Hungarian strongman has systematically dismantled the countrys judiciary, as well as its election system by rewriting the constitution. Yet as Levitsky notes, even Orban has stopped short of the kind of paramilitary street enforcement emerging in the US. Orban doesnt arrest journalists, the Harvard academic claimed. In Hungary if you walk the streets of Budapest or other Hungarian cities, you will not find heavily armed masked men abducting people. That doesnt happen in Hungary. Notwithstanding that Orban has been criticized for arresting journalists, its true that Trumps attempts to silence the press and embolden armed federal agents speak to an alarming escalation of reactionary policies especially in a country that fashions itself a global beacon of democracy and freedom. Still, this moment in US politics doesnt begin or end with Trump. As University of Tulsa economic historian Clara Mattei has argued, the groundwork for democratic erosion was laid decades ago through neoliberal austerity policies that hollowed out the economic foundations of American democracy. Advertisement Advertisement In Matteis analysis, austerity functions as a tool to disempower people, worsening conditions for the majority to help prevent political action against the system as a whole. The dictatorial turn were seeing today manifested in the suppression of free speech and rising police state is the result of decades of policies that already reconfigured who holds power in American society. I see austerity fundamentally as one-sided class warfare, led by the state and its economic experts and aimed at refurbishing the capital order in moments when it is crumbling, Mattei said in a 2023 interview about her book, The Capital Order. As a political project, austerity is in fact the most rational way to safeguard capitalism: it structurally disempowers workers by increasing precariousness and market dependence. Indeed, as Levitsky observes, the damage this has done to American democracy may be irreversible. Even in the best case, we throw these guys out electorally, I dont think were going to go back, he told Status. Were not going to step back to a democracy with strong constitutional guardrails. The democratic norms have, at this point, been shattered and on the floor, and rules have been violated, twisted, manipulated. More on the United States: The United States Is Suffering Stomach-Churning Brain Drain Texas state Sen.-elect Taylor Rehmet (D) said President Trump was a nonfactor in his Tuesday election victory, when the candidate flipped the district from red to blue. Well, I dont believe he was able to vote in this race. He doesnt live here in Senate District 9, Rehmet said late Tuesday in an appearance on CNNs OutFront. So, I mean, just being honest, I was so focused on, you know, talking to the voters here and meeting with them, and the focus was really on community here, he told host Erin Burnett. Advertisement Advertisement Rehmet won Saturdays runoff race to fill a vacant seat in the state Senates 9th district with 57.2 percent of the vote. He touted his background as a machinist and Air Force veteran throughout the campaign, which helped him to defeat GOP candidate Leigh Wambsganss, who was endorsed by the president. The district also favored Trump by 17 points in the 2024 election. The race went to a runoff in November after neither candidate scored a majority of the vote. Rehmet told Burnett, They say my opponent outspent me, all these things, but you cannot replace hard work. And thats what I was focused on. And we focused on the issues, listening to voters, not just talking at them, but talking with them and learning how to best serve them, he added. So, clearly it worked. Advertisement Advertisement When asked about Wambsganss loss, the president told reporters, Im not involved at that. Thats a local Texas race. After prodding from the press, Trump said electing Democrats would result in poor immigration policies. You put the Democrats in, youll end up with open borders again, youll end up with crime all over the place, he continued. We have no crime anymore. I mean, think of it, the country has the lowest crime its had in 125 years. In recorded history. The year 1900, thats a long time ago. So, its very good. No, I dont know anything about it, I mean I know theres a race going there. Thats too bad. What can I say? I have nothing to do with it, the president added. Advertisement Advertisement Trump and other GOP lawmakers are prepping for this years midterms in hopes of keeping the majority in both the House and Senate. Redistricting efforts, seeking to add more pickup opportunities for both Republicans and Democrats, have been launched across the U.S. ahead of the election. Wambsganss urged the party to turn up the heat in local races in a statement after her loss. Tonight is a wake-up call for Republicans in Tarrant County, Texas, and the nation, she said. The Democrats were energized. Too many Republicans stayed home. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. DALLAS Democrat Taylor Rehmet may never get the chance to cast a vote from his new seat in the Texas state Senate. But merely affixing his name to a seat that hasnt had Democratic representation in decades set off alarms throughout Texas and U.S. politics. His victory in a deep-red Tarrant County-based legislative district is largely symbolic, with Rehmet winning when the Legislature is out of session. But a double-digit Democratic win in a place President Donald Trump carried by 17 points in 2024, according to data calculated by the left-leaning political site The Downballot, was nonetheless stunning a 9.5 on the Richter scale, according to Texas Tribune co-founder Evan Smith. Its the latest example of Democrats significantly outperforming Republicans compared with the 2024 election result in elections across the country in the last year-plus. A handful of those elections have flipped state legislative districts, like this one, in addition to big Democratic wins in the 2025 governors races in New Jersey and Virginia. Advertisement Advertisement In Texas, the result raises questions about whether Republicans new congressional map, which was designed to help the party net five additional House seats, can actually deliver victories in seats that werent as red in 2024 as the one Rehmet flipped. He can now claim to have been the first Democrat to flip his deep-red seat since 1991, upsetting a conservative political activist Leigh Wambsganss, who outspent him by millions of dollars. Leigh Wambsganss speaks to NBC Dallas-Fort Worth. (NBC Dallas Fort Worth) (NBC Dallas Fort Worth) But if you ask Rehmet, he wont frame it in such partisan terms. Maybe my success is I didnt see things that way, Rehmet told NBC News. I saw it as an opportunity to unify Texans. ... We look out for our neighbors, and that means our neighbors and our schools and our communities that are not being able to pay their medication or choosing between medication, food or rent. These are things that are a five-alarm fire. We have to address these issues, and voters are looking for something different. Im not focused on partisanship. On the Republican side, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who was a vocal supporter of Wambsganss, called it a low-turnout special election that should be a wake-up call for Republicans. Advertisement Advertisement But election analysis may show that Republicans didnt have a problem only with turnout, but also with retainment. The No. 1 takeaway is Republicans did not lose because of low turnout, not primarily. They lost it because a large number of independents and some Republicans voted for the Democratic candidate, Republican data analyst Ross Hunt of Hunt Research told NBC News. This election is definitely a warning bell for the Republicans this fall. According to Hunts data analysis of the special-election electorate in the 9th Senate District, only 35% of voters in the election were Democratic base voters, compared with 51% who were Republican base voters. For Rehmet to reach his 57% vote share, many Republicans and right-leaning independents defected, Hunt said. Advertisement Advertisement You dont have to be a genius in math to figure out what happened. We have a lot of independents, and some Republicans, voting for the Democrat, Hunt said. Its not yet clear what exact dynamics from this race could bleed over into the midterms, which will have significantly higher turnout. Its also possible that some of the specifics of Wambsganss candidacy, including her local school board activism, triggered an unusual degree of backlash that wouldnt translate to other races. But Saturdays results could be another sign, in addition to the 2025 election results, of Hispanic and suburban voters turning sharply against the GOP after they helped contribute to the partys strong 2024 election. Democrats margin of victory in the Texas special election amounted to a 32-point swing left compared with the 2024 presidential results and a 28-point swing from the 2020 result, according to The Downballot. Advertisement Advertisement A midterm swing of even a small fraction of that size would be a massive boon for Democrats, nationally and in Texas, where state Republicans put themselves on the front lines of the GOP drive to keep the House majority in 2026. Republican lawmakers carved up the states congressional map in hope of netting their party up to five more seats in Congress. When Republicans redrew the maps, they made a bet that they could hold onto the gains Trump and the party have been making among Hispanic voters. But if that support is crumbling, they might not be able to squeeze as much political gain out of the gerrymandered map. Netting five seats requires toppling Reps. Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez, two South Texas Democrats in overwhelmingly Hispanic districts who have won tough races before. And Republicans also have to win a new, majority-Hispanic district that runs outside Austin to San Antonio. Trump won all three districts in 2024 by about 10 points less than his 2024 margin in Texas 9th Senate District. Some local activists cautioned against overinterpreting Wambsganss loss as a national political signal, arguing instead that it reflected distinctly local fallout from her role in contentious school board fights that reshaped public education politics in North Texas. Advertisement Advertisement In 2020, Wambsganss co-founded Southlake Families PAC to back school board candidates who pledged to root out critical race theory, which centers on the idea that racism is systemic in the nations institutions, and what they described as woke diversity initiatives in local schools. She later expanded that work as director of Patriot Mobile Action, the political arm of a right-wing Christian cellphone company, which poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into school board races across the region, helping elect slates of anti-DEI Republicans. Wambsganss campaign to put God back in schools helped elevate her to national prominence, with frequent appearances on Steve Bannons War Room podcast and other conservative media. But in more recent elections, opponents say, the policies she championed including aggressive curriculum battles, book bans and public funding for private Christian schools triggered resistance not just from Democrats, but also from independent and Republican parents who said the fights sowed division and instability in high-achieving suburban school systems. Laney Hawes, a parent of four in one of those districts and a co-founder of the Texas Freedom to Read Project, said many in Tarrant County had come to see Wambsganss as the villain of public education. While Hawes said she was energized by the outcome, she warned that the result was being read too broadly outside the region. This win was about parents coming together from every notch on the political spectrum and trying to protect our children and our community, Hawes said. Even Republicans and moderates were pissed off at her. Advertisement Advertisement For Rehmets team, that is a rare dose of hope in the Democratic Partys long-plagued pursuit of a more competitive Texas. But the work starts again now to cement his place in the Senate for real legislative business. He will face Wambsganss again in November for a full four-year term. Both parties hope their colleagues take note of the lessons here. For Republicans, the message is this: Dont get comfortable. Even in Texas, in this political environment, they may be playing from behind. After last Saturday, no one can take anything for granted, said Hunt, the data analyst. Rehmet hopes Democrats learn from his example to sideline partisanship and even platforms, instead letting listening and authenticity lead. After having knocked on more than 30,000 doors, he and his team have heard their fair share and voters are done with disingenuousness, he said. Advertisement Advertisement This is much bigger than Democrats. This is honestly such an issue across Texas and especially, I know for certain, in my Senate district we want organic, honest folks, he said. Im a hardworking person myself. Im blue-collar. I am an aircraft mechanic, and in my machinists union, I think that we need to support candidates that are genuine and, you know, come from honest work. Thats one of my recommendations to anyone. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is warning a Democratic candidates victory in a Texas state Senate race could have implications for the Republican Party in the upcoming midterm elections. In a shocking win Saturday evening, Democrat Taylor Rehmet defeated Republican Leigh Wambsganss by 14 percentage points, garnering more than 13,000 more votes than his opponent, who was backed by President Trump. Special elections are quirky and not necessarily projectable re: a general election, DeSantis posted Sunday on the social platform X. That said, a swing of this magnitude is not something that can be dismissed. Republicans should be clear-eyed about the political environment heading into the midterms. Advertisement Advertisement Democrats cheered the victory, with Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) noting in an X post on Sunday that the seat hasnt been filled by a Democrat for 45 years. This isnt the finish line its only the beginning, Crockett said. The momentum is here, and its only growing stronger. Never forget who the power belongs to YOU, the people! Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), meanwhile, called Rehmets victory a wake-up call for Republicans across Texas in an X post. Our voters cannot take anything for granted, Patrick said. I know the energy and strength the Republican grassroots in Texas possess. We will come out fighting with a new resolve, and we will take this seat back in November. We will keep Texas red. Advertisement Advertisement Rehmet and Wambsganss will face off again in November to fill the seat for a full four-year term in the Texas state legislature. Wambsganss blamed the loss on low voter turnout. In a statement released by her campaign on election night, the Republican candidate said too many Republicans stayed home and said she believes the November election will turn in her favor. The dynamics of a Special Election are fundamentally different from a November General Election, Wambsganss said. I believe the voters of Senate District 9 and Tarrant County Republicans will answer the call in November. In an interview with MS NOW on Monday morning, Rehmet called the victory a win for working people. Advertisement Advertisement The folks that work every single day in this Senate district, theyre looking for something different: solutions, not partisan politics, Rehmet said. Bringing communities together, thats what its all about. In Texas, we look out for our neighbors, and thats exactly what we did in this campaign. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Governor Mike DeWine is speaking out for the first time since a federal judge blocked the Trump Administrations push to end the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian immigrants. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] DeWine was asked about the temporary pause while at an event in Circleville on Tuesday. Well, its a temporary pause. We dont know how long its going to last, DeWine told reporters. And look, the courts are going to do what they do, and so our job is to follow the law, whatever the courts tell us. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement DeWine added that his position remains the same regarding public policy. I think its a mistake to take away their temporary protected status because what that will mean when that happens is that they no longer can be employed, DeWine said. So you have a whole bunch of people, thousands of people in Ohio who are working, making a living, supporting their family, helping the economy grow. One day, if this is taken away, well no longer be able to work. Theyre going to be unemployed. Thats not a helpful thing for our economy." On Monday, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington, D.C. granted a pause on the termination of TPS for Haitians while a lawsuit challenging it proceeds. TPS for Haitians in the United States was scheduled to end on Feb. 3. Advertisement Advertisement As previously reported by News Center 7, there are an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 Haitian immigrants in Springfield. When talking about immigration on Monday, DeWine commended President Donald Trump for sealing the southern border and working to get violent criminal out of the country. "Everybody, I think, agrees, or almost everybody agrees with those two things. Where we have a disagreement is about people who are not violent offenders, who are non-offenders, but who are people who are out there working and making a living every day," DeWine said. And I can just say, as the governor of Ohio, it is not helpful to see those people taken out of the country or to see these people so they no longer can work. We need people who want to work, and we need people who will contribute to society. We need, too, people who will help build families and support their own families. Thats really what we need in Ohio." DeWine was asked what his message was to Haitians in Springfield, who are concerned that the pause may not last forever. Advertisement Advertisement I think you have to take it one day at a time, DeWine said in response. And the Haitians today are, after midnight tonight, will still be able to be employed and theyll still be able to work, and I think that is a change in the circumstances. While he added that he hopes it brings some calmness to the situation in Springfield, he still said we cant predict what the future is. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] "I was sobbing for a good hour and a half," Gabriella Cassone said last week. "We're still very, very upset about it." That's how Cassone, the co-owner of Middletown's Bareskin Beauty Bar, was feeling after a state plow drove a pile of snow through her front window, spilling snow into the spa and causing between $30,000 and $40,000 in damage. A Department of Transportation spokesperson said the agency was investigating the incident, which was captured on video. With thousands of snowplows out in force across the state last week - approximately 650 vehicles were deployed by the DOT on Jan. 25 alone, with many more used by cities and towns - there have been multiple high-profile collisions involving plows, including an East Lyme snowplow crash last week that officials said caused "life-threatening" injuries. Advertisement Advertisement And while plows have gotten less frequent on the state's roads as snow has abated, snow clearance operations remain ongoing, and piles of snow are ever-present on the side of many roads and sidewalks across the state. A city plow clears East Main Street in downtown Meriden, Conn., Monday afternoon, January 26, 2026. (Dave Zajac/Hearst Connecticut Media) Here's what state and municipal officials say to do if your car or other property is damaged by a plow. The first question consumers facing plow damage should try to determine is what kind of plow hit their property, Mary Quinn, a spokesperson for the Connecticut Insurance Department, said. If the damage was caused by a private plow company, Quinn says the consumer should contact the plow operator and submit a claim to the operator's insurance. Advertisement Advertisement If the plow is a state plow, consumers can submit a complaint to the DOT. The agency provides guidance on how to mail in notice of a complaint on its website. If a resident's property was damaged by a municipal plow, Quinn says that the best course of action would be to submit a claim with that city or town, generally through the corporation counsel. A truck plows snow on Main Street during Sunday's snowstorm in Stratford, Conn. Jan. 25, 2026. (Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media) In New Haven, police department spokesperson Christian Bruckhart said that if a resident has a video or a witness to what caused the property damage, they can file a police report on the incident. There is also the option for property owners to file a claim with their own insurance company, depending on the type of damage, Quinn said. Bruckhart suggested that in cases where someone does not know what caused the damage - likely because they lack witnesses, video or other solid evidence - their best course of action would be to contact their insurance company. Advertisement Advertisement "In that case, the damage would be covered subject to the policy deductible, and the insurer would determine whether another party was at fault and pursue recovery, including the insured's deductible, if appropriate," Quinn said. This story contains previous reporting from staff writers Cassandra Day and Josh LaBella. This article originally published at Did a snowplow damage your car or property in CT? Here's what officials say to do. When world leaders arrive at this years Group of 20 summit hosted by the United States in Miami later this year, theyll be greeted by a massive golden statue depicting the owner of the summit venue a man who also happens to be the President of the United States. A new statue of Trump has been funded by a group of cryptocurrency enthusiasts who have named the project Don Colossus and commissioned the likeness of the president as a way of drumming up publicity for their memecoin, $PATRIOT. According to the New York Times, a steel and concrete pedestal has been built for the statue, which is being sculpted by Alan Cottrill, at Trump National Doral outside Miami. Advertisement Advertisement Cottrill, an Ohio-based artist who has built other statues of former presidents and has at least one piece on display in the U.S. Capitols art collection, told the Times the crypto bros who commissioned the 15-foot bronze piece (it will be 22 feet on its pedestal) asked him to make some improvements to the look of the nearly 80-year-old president. I had him very lifelike, Cottrill told the Times. The crypto guys said I had to get rid of some of the turkey neck. I had to thin him down. A new status of Donald Trump is being created and will be placed at his golf club in Miami. A picture of a giant Trump statue made a year ago by artist Alana Cottrill (Instagram/alan cottrill) Small models of the planned Trump statue are depicted in this photograph from the sculptors Instagram page (Instagram/alan cottrill) Cottrill is currently holding the completed work at his Ohio foundry due to a dispute with the crypto bros who commissioned it. He has complained that they unlawfully used an image of his work to market their memecoin, which has since cratered in value. According to the Times, he says he is owed $90,000 by his patrons out of a $150,000 lump sum he was to be paid for the rights to the statue. Advertisement Advertisement That statue will not leave my foundry until everything they owe me is paid, he said. One of the people who commissioned the project, Ashley Sansalone, told the Times he would be paid in full before the statue is revealed. Under any business agreement, theres always some funds withheld until the finished product is complete, he said. Cottrill has shared his work on social media, including images of a giant Trump statue that was met with a host of praise including Very cool! from one user and The masters hand, Brilliant work Alan, from another. The statue is something similar to see in other nations - such as North Korea (AFP/Getty) The monument to Trump appears to be loosely based on an image taken of him just after a gunman narrowly missed his head during a July 2024 speech in Butler, Pennsylvania. Advertisement Advertisement The president is depicted with an open-collared dress shirt and suit with his fist raised to the air. Like most things Trump is fond of, it will be covered in pure gold leaf. But at 22 feet on the pedestal, it will be far smaller than other large monuments to world leaders, such as the 72-foot statue of late North Korean dictators Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il at the Mansudae Grand Monument in Pyongyang. The White House has maintained that it is not involved in the crypto project or the related statue setup, and the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But the Trump administration was and is involved in planning for this years Group of 20 summit including the choice of the Trump-owned resort as a venue this past September. Advertisement Advertisement At the time, Trump said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent would organize the agenda for the meeting, which he said will focus on "unleashing economic prosperity by limiting, eliminating the burdens of regulations, unlocking affordable energy, and pioneering new technologies." The White House has said Trump National Doral would host the meeting "at cost, and will receive no profit from either the State Department or a foreign government." The meeting has been scheduled for December 14 and 15. There is a critical need for all types of housing in America. However, America has delegated housing its most vulnerable to nonprofit entities, many of which are faith-based. When nonprofits seek to provide these services, they are subjected to intrusive, unnecessary and ad hoc regulations. Why? If we have made this choice, then why do we constrain willing nonprofits? When the U.S. Supreme Court found zoning constitutional in 1926, it unfortunately endorsed the specious claim that only detached residences protect children, reduce traffic, manage noise and are safe. The court observed that people seeking those benefits would utterly destroy residential neighborhoods if they were housed in anything other than single-family homes, being a mere parasite to the community. Advertisement Advertisement Those requiring supportive services face the most critical housing shortage. They seek shelter, transitional housing, shared rooms, co-housing, dormitories or apartments, not single-family homes. However, owners of single-family homes regularly hijack the review and approval process for these applications. These homeowners, individually and by association, make ad hoc discriminatory demands in the guise of safety and neighborhood protection. Zoning codes that require discretionary review empower these homeowners to proffer the most extreme demands. These demands injure the most fragile members of our community. These demands deny them needed resources. These demands, if accepted, frequently violate federal law. The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act prohibits land use regulations that impose a substantial burden upon religious exercise. Religious exercise includes the use, building, or conversion of real property for the purpose of religious exercise. Religious exercise includes housing and caring for the least among us. For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land. Deuteronomy 15:11. Advertisement Advertisement Regulations on religious land use must have a compelling governmental interest and be the least restrictive means of furthering such. When faith-based nonprofits seek to house the unhoused, opponents invariably seek conditions on operational control that are imposed on no other housing provider and which cannot be justified by a compelling state interest. Members of Boises planning commission reviewing a social service dormitory on the property of the Church of the Brethren recently cautioned that intrusion into the churchs operations as requested by opponents approaches this limit. The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of familial status, handicap and other specified classifications in both housing and the provision of services or facilities in connection therewith. Yet, opponents to faith-based nonprofits providing shelter and transitional housing also demand intrusive conditions upon operations. In approving Interfaith Sanctuarys application, the Boise City Council appropriately recognized the importance of the Fair Housing Act and the judicial rejection of arbitrary population regulations and intrusive oversight of services provided by nonprofits providing housing. The council excluded the most discriminatory demands of opponents: population caps beyond building code restrictions, exclusions from utilizing public services and facilities, denial of service to those with prior criminal citations and elimination of existing uses. Advertisement Advertisement We should all remember that in 2007, Boise County acquiesced to the arbitrary demands of neighboring homeowners in denying permits to the operators of drug and alcohol treatment residences. Thereafter, a jury found the county violated the Fair Housing Act, awarded a multimillion-dollar judgment, and Boise County attempted to file for bankruptcy. In 2005, after the city of Boise instituted a Men Only policy, evicting women and children from the Community House homeless shelter, a jury found the Act had been violated and awarded the nonprofit $1 million in damages. That was one of the events leading to faith leaders creating the Interfaith Sanctuary. Universal standards legitimately relating to safety and operations should be applicable to all housing and social service uses. Communitywide compliance should be expected of all providers. All housing types and social services should be allowed by right in appropriate zones subject to consistent standards established in the zoning and building codes. If oversight of the operation and security of shelter, transitional housing, shared rooms, co-housing, dormitories or apartments is appropriate, then it must be imposed upon all types of housing and all types of social services. It must not be the demand of discriminatory public clamor. Land use regulations embolden the cruelest voices in our community under the guise of safety. Acquiescence to ad hoc demands of those opposing faith-based nonprofits providing housing and social services will result in our local governments violating the law to the detriment of all. Everyone benefits from the Religious Land Use and Institutional Persons Act and the Fair Housing Act. If we demand nonprofits care for the most vulnerable, then we must allow them to act, as services delayed are services denied. Howard Belodoff and Geoffrey Wardle are Idaho attorneys working to ensure everyone in the community is housed. Donald Trumps approval rating polls released at the start of 2026 indicate a gradual decline in public support for the President. One year into his second term, the data suggest that voter confidence has softened, even as his presidency continues to provoke strong reactions on both ends of the political spectrum. Donald Trumps new approval rating polls revealed The polling data from early 2026 shows a decline in support for President Donald Trump as midterm elections near. Multiple surveys conducted in late January reveal a consistent trend: more Americans now disapprove of his job performance than approve. Trumps approval rating is currently mired in the upper 30s to low 40s, while his disapproval consistently registers above 50%. This negative shift comes after a year of big policy moves and political upheaval. This includes a protracted government shutdown and aggressive federal budget cuts, as well as the controversial domestic deployment of U.S. troops (via Democrat & Chronicle). Advertisement Advertisement A New York Times survey puts his support at 41%, with 56% opposed. The Economist shows a similar 38% to 56% split. Meanwhile, pollsters like Rasmussen and Morning Consult show a slightly tighter race, with approvals at 46%. Others, like Pew Research Center and American Research Group, report a starker deficit, with unfavorable ratings reaching 61% and 63%, respectively. This broad spectrum of Donald Trumps approval rating polls points to a challenging political environment for the White House. Analysts suggest this dip is rooted in more than just policy disputes. A detailed Pew Research Center study from late January probed deeper into public trust, finding widespread skepticism. According to their report, more Americans express little or no confidence in Trump than say they are extremely or very confident in him. This deficit of confidence spans critical areas, including his leadership, mental fitness, selection of advisors, and commitment to democratic values and ethics. The post Donald Trumps New Approval Rating Polls Show Major Changes appeared first on Mandatory. Mayor Zohran Mamdani is defending his sanitation workers who are a day behind on garbage collection as crews have been working 12-hour shifts since last week's snow storm. The heavy snow and the deep freeze have wreaked havoc across New York City, and one problem that can't be missed is the towering piles of trash bags, sitting for days in some parts of the city. Banks of dirty snow coupled with piles of trash are like a post-snow storm hangover that's lingering thanks to the unending cold temperatures. Advertisement Advertisement Snow melters are helping, but those frozen mounds of snow and ice are challenging. "It was like dealing with rock boulders that the workers were out there trying to chop up to try to open up the walkway," said acting DSNY Commissioner Javier Lojan. "So that definitely slowed down some of the progress. And obviously that was a big priority for us." And it has all had a domino effect of delaying some of the trash collection, according Lojan. "Even though we are on track on the Monday service areas, a lot of the people won't start receiving service until tonight at 6 p.m. and that will go into the overnight and into tomorrow morning," Lojan said. Advertisement Advertisement But the heaps of trash have prompted some outrage. Actor Michael Rapaport - who is no friend of Mayor Zohran Mamdani - complained about the trash on the Upper East Side. Council member Inna Vernikov also took aim at the mayor. The mayor says they're working on it. "Sanitation is currently running about 24 hours behind on trash collection... I know that they are working with everything that they have to come up to speed, and that will continue to be a focus for us, because what we want is a city where New Yorkers can continue to return back to their lives as they were," Mamdani said. Advertisement Advertisement And Eyewitness News found some New Yorkers who were willing to cut the city some slack. "It is freezing out, give them a little grace, maybe prioritize it at some point," one New Yorker said. The Sanitation Department offered an update on Monday, saying snow operations are ongoing. "Trash IS getting collected. Snow IS getting moved and melted," the department said in a statement. "We are still working round-the-clock - workers are working 24/7 - on both collection AND snow removal. We've got hundreds of collection trucks on every shift, 12 hours at a time, and we plan to keep it going until we are totally caught up." Advertisement Advertisement ---------- * Get Eyewitness News Delivered * More New York City news * Send us a news tip * Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts * Follow us on YouTube Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply. A Duke University professor appears in more than 700 of the newest Epstein files released by the Justice Department, one of which asks the convicted sex trafficker to provide the name and email of a redhead he wished to see again. The federal government released 3 million new pages Friday in response to the Epstein Files Transparency Act, 733 of which contain a reference to Fuqua School of Business professor Dan Ariely, whose research focuses on behavioral economics and the irrational ways people behave. The emails between Epstein and Ariely span almost a decade between 2010 and 2018, many of them just replies on a lengthy thread. But they show a close relationship between the two, who regularly spoke of meeting in New York or organizing conferences with writers and intellectuals. Advertisement Advertisement I encountered Jeffrey Epstein on only four occasions over the span of nearly a decade, Ariely said in an email to The N&O Monday. My correspondence with him was infrequent, largely logistical pertaining to conferences and academia, and was often mediated by assistants. Importantly, there was zero financial, professional, or ongoing relationship. Duke issued this statement Monday afternoon: Duke takes the information released on Friday seriously and is carefully evaluating it. We cannot comment on specific personnel actions that may be taken in response. The Duke professor and the Epstein files In 2011, according to the released documents, Ariely asked Epstein for contact with financial criminal Bernie Madoff for his research on dishonesty, and in 2015, he asked if he could introduce him to Noel Biderman, CEO of the controversial extramartial affairs site Ashley Madison, to help him think about life after a scandal. Advertisement Advertisement In a 2012 email, first reported by The Chronicle at Duke, Ariely wrote, Would you send the name and email of the redhead that was here with you? She seemed very very smart and I would love to be able to meet her again at some point. No further mention of the redhead appears in the new Epstein document release and it is not clear whether the mention had any connection to the late financiers crime. Dalai Lama, Ferrari factory In 2017, Ariely wrote Epstein about his desire to seek new adventures. I would love to go to an interesting monastery, maybe with a Dalai Lama, he said in the email. I would love to go to CERN and see the nuclear accelerator. I would like to go to Ferrari and see how they make cars and drive one. Advertisement Advertisement Epstein emailed back that he had arranged for a private Ferrari factory tour, to which Ariely responded, Seriously? This is just amazing. A wealthy financier and social jet-setter, Epstein died of apparent suicide in 2019 after his conviction on federal charges of sex trafficking of minors. The new documents that include Ariely came as part of 3 million-plus pages released on Friday, well past the Trump Administrations promised December deadline. Previous criticism of Duke professor Dan Ariely Ariely has taught psychology and behavioral economics at Duke since 2008. He has more than 180,000 followers on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, and has given Ted Talks with millions of views on YouTube. His book titles include The Honest Truth About Dishonesty and Misbelief. Advertisement Advertisement In recent years, Ariely has drawn fire for using fake data in his 2012 study on honesty in self-reports, The N&O has previously reported. In a July 28 episode of the popular NPR podcast Planet Money, the insurance company The Hartford confirmed the data it provided Ariely for the honesty study was manipulated inappropriately after Ariely received it. The paper has since been retracted, but Ariely denied manipulating data in statements to both NPR and The N&O. He is, however, not the only academic connected to the files. On Monday, the Yale News reported that a computer professor at the Ivy League school had written to Epstein describing an undergraduate as a good looking blonde. One way to visualize the Gaza strip is to think of our nation's first capital, Philadelphia. They are almost the exact same size: At 141.7 square miles, Philadelphia is at most a few city blocks larger than Gaza, which covers almost exactly 141 square miles. Gaza's current population is about 2.1 million people. Back in 1950, when its population peaked, Philadelphia was America's third-largest city with 2.07 million people. In May 1985, Philadelphia's police tried to end a standoff with a religious cult called MOVE by dropping a jerry-rigged bomb on the roof of the row house it occupied. The resulting fire eventually destroyed 61 homes and killed 11 people, including five children. Advertisement Advertisement Now imagine that the MOVE bomb had burned down the entire city, leaving homeless nearly all the nearly 1.7 million people who lived there at the time and you have a situation almost as bad as that in Gaza, where 1.9 million are homeless. Here's the point: In 1950 and even in 1985, a city of 2 million people within 141 square miles was entirely governable, barring its leaders making an outlandish mistake, like dropping a bomb on one of its row houses or starting a war against a vastly more powerful neighbor. There's yet another strong similarity between Philadelphia and Gaza: corruption. From the Civil War until the Great Depression, Philadelphia was run by a notoriously crooked series of Republican bosses. When the New Deal arrived, it was a case of out with the old crooks and in with the new. After a brief period of reform, a new generation of Democratic bosses, every bit as corrupt as the old Republican ones, took over. Gaza's history has striking similarities. For much of its recent history, it's been what American urban planners call PIRNO, an acronym for "property I'd rather not own." The 1947 United Nations partition plan for divvying up the then-British mandate designated Gaza as Palestinian territory. Advertisement Advertisement The 1949 armistice left Palestinians without any nation or government of their own, and Gaza ended up under Egyptian rule, mostly by default because Gaza was property Israel decided it would rather not own. That lasted until 1967's Six-Day War, when Israel, of necessity, occupied Gaza while capturing the Sinai Peninsula, and during eventual negotiations to give the Sinai back to Egypt, a central sticking point was Egypt's refusal to take Gaza back. The Egyptian position was: It's yours now; enjoy. By 2005, Israel had its fill of trying to govern the territory and dumped it onto hopelessly corrupt and inept Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian Authority dutifully held an election in 2006, and as in Philadelphia in the 1930s, it was a case of out with the old crooks, in with the new. Absurd as it sounds, Hamas won the 2006 election by running as a party of reformers, promising to clean out the Palestinian Authority's corruption. And then, as its first order of business, Hamas sent teams of gunmen to chase away or kill any Palestinian Authority loyalists. Next came diverting millions in foreign aid to built its leaders lavish villas all along Gaza's miles upon miles of pristine Mediterranean coastline. Those villas are all gone now - destroying them was a top Israeli priority during the recent war - but those sandy, sea-cooled beaches remain available for redevelopment by a team of 15 politically neutral Palestinian technocrats known as the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, working under the auspices of President Trump's newly created Board of Peace. Advertisement Advertisement The apparent plan is to turn those miles upon miles of beachfront into a high-end tourist destination, providing Gaza with jobs and a stable, lucrative income. That plan may seem far-fetched, but remember there's another American city of about 140 square miles and about 2 million people in its metro area: Las Vegas. Imagine Las Vegas with ocean beaches. Back in 1946, when Bugsy Siegel was putting the finishing touches on his pioneering Flamingo Hotel, everyone thought he was crazy, too. This article originally published at Editorial: Will Trump's Board of Peace deliver?. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired the governments vaccine advisers, replaced them with skeptics of the shots like himself and is now giving them a new mandate: investigating the harms of immunization. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has for decades served as an impartial outside group of experts to advise the government and reinforce public confidence that decisions on the vaccine schedule are backed by science. But the panels new chair, an evangelical pastor from Hawaii, pediatric cardiologist and Covid vaccine skeptic, says it needs to instead spend more time looking into vaccine side effects. Advertisement Advertisement Americans should view the panel "more as a safety committee," Kirk Milhoan told POLITICO. "Efficacy will be secondary, he said. The committees pivot goes against decades of best practices. The federal government once saw having a panel of outside, impartial advisers to weigh in on vaccine schedule changes as necessary. No longer. The members, who largely share Kennedy's vaccine ideology, are in position to help legitimize Kennedy's longstanding view that vaccines are unsafe. Public health experts who spoke with POLITICO worry that the groups new watchdog persona could cause it to downplay benefits and stoke fears about vaccines, leading to lower vaccination rates and the return of diseases Americans haven't worried about in decades. "They're going to be the mechanism to sow discord and confusion by presenting weird stuff, Demetre Daskalakis, who resigned last year from his post leading the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said. Advertisement Advertisement If the panel is even considering recommending a vaccine, it should work, Milhoan noted. In the year ahead, he wants the committee to focus on sussing out risk including for vaccines already on the recommended list which he says has been ignored in some cases. If you're not looking for safety signals, you won't necessarily find them," he said. Daskalakis said that sounded like an excuse to find reasons to discourage vaccination. Safety data is already meticulously tracked by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration and safety signals that emerge are thoroughly investigated, he argued. For decades, the decisions of the advisory committee Milhoan now leads have served as a precursor for changes to the federal childhood and adult immunization schedules. In the past, the panel reassessed recommendations only if significant new data warranted revisiting them. Milhoan is undeterred. Last month, he questioned whether the risk of taking the polio vaccine, which prevents disability and death and which President Donald Trump has said he supports, was worth it: "As you look at polio, we need to not be afraid to consider that we are in a different time now than we were then, he said on the podcast "Why Should I Trust You?" "Our sanitation is different, he said. Our risk of disease is different, and so those all play into the evaluation of whether this is worthwhile of taking a risk for a vaccine or not." Advertisement Advertisement Kennedy himself described the committee as Americans watchdog for vaccine safety and transparency in a statement when announcing two new members last month. Milhoan and Kennedys reframing of the advisory committee's mission follows a tumultuous year for the group. In June, Kennedy fired its previous members and replaced them with new picks, who largely share his suspicion of vaccines. As an independent advisory panel, the group can't directly change the vaccine schedule. Instead it makes recommendations to the CDC, which historically almost always adopts them. Kennedy has in multiple cases leapfrogged that process. Last spring, he changed the recommendations for Covid shots before the advisers considered it. Early last month, he downgraded a slate of childhood vaccine recommendations, including for flu, meningitis, hepatitis A and rotavirus, without committee input. Advertisement Advertisement But while the panel has been repeatedly left out of critical decisions, it remains useful to Kennedy because of its megaphone. Milhoan said he did not feel that ACIP needed to be involved in the recent schedule change. Both the president and the secretary have the right to do this, Milhoan said. It doesn't offend me that I wasn't specifically involved in the discussions, because I just don't think that's what my role is. A person familiar with Kennedys thinking, granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the matter, told POLITICO that Kennedy bypassed the committee during his January vaccine overhaul in order to move quickly on a presidential memorandum urging him to consider aligning the U.S. vaccine schedule with recommendations in other developed countries. A safety committee For decades, there was almost no daylight between the committee's recommendations and the federal governments, explained Jason L. Schwartz, an associate professor at Yales Department of Health Policy and Management. Advertisement Advertisement While under Kennedy, the group has been left out of major decisions, Schwartz said he's worried that ACIP is becoming a forum where fringe ideas about vaccine risks can be aired, rather than the centerpiece of how the federal government evaluates and promotes vaccines. When Joe Biden was president, former CDC Director Rochelle Walensky overrode the panels recommendations and broadly recommended Covid-19 boosters, but that was unusual. Schwartz said you can count on one hand" cases in which the director or administration overrode its advisers. The committee's role began to shift in 2025, he said, as Kennedy left it out of changes to the Covid recommendations and the panel abandoned best practices, such as its evidence-to-recommendation framework of reviewing existing vaccine data. In June, the panel dropped that framework and began devoting chunks of its meetings to presentations byvaccine skeptics. The panel voted to downgrade recommendations for the hepatitis B vaccine in December after panel members and presenters suggested giving a dose to newborns could be linked to health complications, though they did not present enough data to establish those risks. The panel voted in June to stop recommending flu shots containing thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative the anti-vaccine movement and Kennedy have long targeted. Advertisement Advertisement Those changes, which aligned with Kennedys views, were swiftly adopted by CDC Acting Director Jim ONeill and Kennedy. American Academy of Pediatrics spokesperson Molly O'Shea thinks that's by design. The way Secretary Kennedy is running HHS seems to be if ACIP agrees with his approach, and they can come to a quick decision . they will definitely be part of the process, she said. Otherwise, O'Shea said, Kennedy has shown he is willing to leave them out. Kennedy, for his part, said in January that future changes to the schedule will be up to ACIP. Its unclear how long that mandate will hold. The panel is scheduled to meet in February and hasn't said what members will vote on, but Milhoan told POLITICO he would like to revisit Covid vaccine safety. As for the meetings slated for this year, Milhoan said: What we're going to be doing is watching the safety signals." Egypt, sharing a 1,200 km border with Sudan, has strongly backed Sudans military in its nearly three-year conflict with the RSF paramilitary group. The deployment of a powerful model of Turkish combat drone to a remote airstrip on Egypts southwestern border signals a sharp escalation in Sudans civil war, suggesting one of its largest neighbors is being drawn deeper into the fray, more than a dozen officials and regional experts say. Egypt, which shares the Nile River and a more than 1,200-kilometer frontier withSudan, has provided staunch political backing to the countrys military in its nearly three-year conflict with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group. Advertisement Advertisement But while Egyptian security officials have privately acknowledged sending logistical and technical support to the Sudanese Armed Forces, until last year, Cairo mostly refrained from direct intervention in fighting that has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced millions and spread famine across the vast country. Cairos position toward the conflict started to change when the RSF made a series of advances in Sudans western Darfur region, first capturing a strategic northwestern triangle between Egypt and Libya in June and then overrunning the Sudanese militarys last foothold in Darfur, the city of al-Fashir, in October, according to eight regional analysts and three diplomats briefed by Egyptian officials. Egypts presidency warned in December that the countrys national security was directly linked to Sudans, and Cairo would not allow its red lines to be crossed. Those lines include preserving Sudans territorial integrity and rejecting any parallel entities that threaten the countrys unity, it said. A satellite image shows a Bayraktar Akinci, an unmanned combat aerial vehicle, at an airport in East Oweinat, Egypt, January 9, 2026. (credit: VANTOR/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS) Two Egyptian security officials told Reuters two airports in the south have been supplied with military equipment over the past eight months or so to secure the border and carry out military strikes to protect national security. The officials, who like other sources spoke on condition of anonymity, declined to provide details. Advertisement Advertisement Satellite images from Vantor, a U.S. space technology firm, show a large drone on the apron of one of the airports, in East Oweinat, on September 29, December 28 and January 9. Two military experts who reviewed the images told Reuters the aircraft was identifiable as a Bayraktar Akinci based on its distinctive body and wing design. The New York Times has also published imagery of Akinci drones at the East Oweinat airstrip, which they reported were being used for strikes in Sudan. The Akinci is one of the most advanced drones manufactured by Turkish defense firm Baykar, with the ability to travel at high altitudes, remain airborne for 24 hours and carry a wide range of munitions. Egypts Foreign Ministry and State Information Service did not answer questions about operations at East Oweinat or in Sudan. Sudans military also did not respond to requests for comment. A wide range of foreign actors Egypt along with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and United States is part of the so-called "Quad" of countries seen as most influential in the conflict, which has been trying, without success, to broker a ceasefire. Advertisement Advertisement Cairos toughening stance adds another potentially explosive element to a conflict that has drawn in a wide range of foreign actors since April 2023, when the countrys military and the RSF fell out over how to integrate their forces during a planned transition to civilian rule. UN experts have accused the UAE of providing weapons to the RSF, which Abu Dhabi denies. Sudans military has deployed Turkish and Iranian drones, and it has received political and other backing from Qatar and Saudi Arabia. RSF head Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo has accused Egypt of being involved in airstrikes against the group since at least October 2024, which Cairo denied at the time. Shortly before al-Fashir's fall, Dagalo said his forces were being attacked by aircraft taking off from "airports in neighboring countries, warning they would be considered a legitimate target for his fighters. The RSF did not respond to questions for this article. Advertisement Advertisement The New Arab, a London-based pan-Arab news outlet, quoted an Egyptian military official as saying Egypt carried out an airstrike on an RSF convoy in the border triangle area on January 9. A diplomat in Cairo briefed by Egyptian officials said the strike was carried out from an airbase in southern Egypt. Reuters could not independently verify the accounts. Samir Farag, a retired Egyptian military officer, said East Oweinat is one of the main bases through which Egypt can secure its southern borders. The airstrip is located in a remote farming region, about 60 km (37 miles) from the Sudan border, and was primarily used to support a desert reclamation project before the war. Egypt doesnt allow anyone to be present on its borders and threaten its national security, Farag said. It will intervene directly and manage the situation. This is the right of every country in the world. Drone deployment at the base While only one Akinci is clearly visible on any given day in the Vantor imagery, an image captured by U.S. satellite firm Planet Labs on December 28 almost certainly shows two outside one of the hangars, according to Jeremy Binnie, Middle East specialist at Janes, a defense intelligence company. Akincis can also be seen outside multiple hangars, suggesting more than one is being used to store drones when they are not flying, he added. Advertisement Advertisement The presence of support equipment and loading material around the aircraft, and the fact that they appear in different locations, suggest they are being used, said Wim Zwijnenburg, a military technology expert at Dutch peace organization PAX. The images reviewed by Reuters also show renovations underway at the airport between early July and the end of January. The runway was being repaved and possibly widened slightly, and several smaller roads were added. There were also signs of digging and construction, with at least two small structures added. The RSF says its territory has been attacked repeatedly with Akincis, claiming its fighters shot down at least seven since June. Reuters could not verify the claims. Two videos posted on social media in mid-January showed what RSF fighters said was an Akinci shot down near Nyala, the groups main stronghold in Darfur. The two military experts told Reuters the wreckage was consistent with a crashed Akinci, but the news agency could not determine when and where the videos were shot, or who was operating the drone. Advertisement Advertisement In February 2024, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Ankara would sell drones to Egypt as the two countries normalized ties following a decade-long rupture, but he did not specify what kind. A Turkish Defence Ministry source said the countries reached an agreement on the sale of Akincis the same year. The source did not provide further details. A Western diplomat, who meets regularly with Turkish officials, said they had privately defended Egyptian airstrikes on the RSF as legitimate and had confirmed drones were recently delivered for use in the war effort but did not give further details. Five of the six flights into East Oweinat that appear in flight tracking data from FlightRadar24 since September came from Turkey. Of these, three were Turkish Air Force-operated cargo planes from Tekirdag, the Turkish city where Akincis are tested, the data shows. Reuters could not determine what was on the flights, which took place on December 25, December 26 and January 7. Advertisement Advertisement The Turkish Defence Industries Presidency (SSB), which handles such agreements, the Akincis manufacturer, Baykar, and Egypts government did not respond to questions about the sale. Egypts shifting stance Justin Lynch, managing director of the Conflict Insights Group consultancy, which closely tracks the war in Sudan, said the drone deployment at East Oweinat was an indication of Egypts recent policy to be more involved in Sudan. The airport is less than 400 kilometers from Sudans border triangle, a strategically sensitive region on Egypts doorstep through which the RSF can receive supplies from southeastern Libya destined for Darfur. Supplies sent through that corridor proved instrumental to the fall of al-Fashir, during which the RSF was accused of widespread atrocities, including gunning down hundreds of civilians and holding residents hostage for ransoms. Advertisement Advertisement The citys fall was a turning point in Egypts previously ambiguous stance toward the conflict, said Jalel Harchaoui, a contributor to Britains Royal United Services Institute think tank. The Egyptian military harbors no affinity whatsoever for the Rapid Support Forces. Yet Egypt depends on the United Arab Emirates, a major backer of the RSF, for financial assistance, he said. When al-Fashir finally fell Cairos equilibrium shifted toward taking tougher measures against the RSF. Egypt may also have been emboldened by Saudi Arabias moves to curb the UAE's influence in Yemen, according to the analysts and diplomats who spoke with Reuters, a rivalry that has since spilled over into the Horn of Africa. An Emirati official said the UAE was working with regional partners including Egypt and Saudi Arabia to secure a ceasefire in Sudan and that its decisions have consistently favored restraint over escalation." Saudi Arabia did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Election officials across the Western United States, including Utah, are leaving office at a record pace, often citing personal reasons to resign from their positions before their terms have expired. About 50% of chief local election officials in Western states left their jobs between November 2020 and November 2025, often in the middle of their tenure, according to a new analysis by Issue One, a nonprofit political advocacy organization. That number was especially high in Utah, which ranked fourth of the 11 Western states included in the study. Utah has generally reported a higher rate of turnover compared to other states as 69% of the states 29 counties have experienced turnover in at least one election for a chief election official since 2020, the study shows. Of those who left, 90% stepped down voluntarily compared to just 10% who lost reelection or who were fired. Advertisement Advertisement Nearly half (47%) left before their terms were over. One of the election officials who resigned, former Utah County Deputy Clerk Josh Daniels, told Issue One he stepped down largely because of the political dynamic. Internal politics within the country, he said, had made the job difficult because (elected political officials) were giving credence to false and misleading election conspiracies and turning the administration of elections into a political issue. Arizona had the highest turnover rate with 100% of its counties reporting at least one chief election official leaving since 2020, according to the report. That was followed closely by New Mexico with 91% and Nevada coming in third with 65%. The report raises concerns as it compiled data from 11 states in the Western region Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming and is home to about 23% of the countrys population. Overall, more than 250 people have left their jobs over the last five years, amounting to 50% of the 430 chief local election official positions. Fifty-three of those officials left after the 2024 election alone. Advertisement Advertisement Officials as Issue One listed a number of policy recommendations to better protect election officials from political threats and better retain those in the highest positions overseeing local races. The group also suggested doing more to financially assist cash-strapped jurisdictions to ensure counties have the resources needed to carry out elections as well as dedicating resources to retain current officials. Election officials are the unsung heroes of our democracy, and they need additional support now more than ever. High turnover rates are alarm bells we cannot ignore, Issue One Policy Director Michael McNulty said in a statement. Lawmakers and policymakers across the country at every level of government can help alleviate the effects of this alarming trend. And instead of sowing confusion or distrust, political leaders in both parties should stand up for the dedicated officials who ensure free, fair, safe, and secure elections in our country. Paris prosecutors have raided the offices of Elon Musks social media platform X, formerly Twitter, as part of a cyber crime investigation, it said on Tuesday. The tech billionaire has also been summoned to a voluntary hearing in April, following a year-long investigation into suspected abuse of algorithms by X and its executives. Investigators later widened the probe to include complaints over the sites AI chatbot, Grok. They will look into the creation of child abuse images and sexually explicit deepfakes without peoples consent. Advertisement Advertisement The investigation, which an EU commission spokesperson said is being discussed between Brussels and Paris, will see tensions rise between Europe and the US over Big Tech and free speech. Musk has been summoned to a French court for a voluntary interview as part of an investigation into X (AFP via Getty) At this stage, the conduct of this investigation is part of a constructive approach, with the aim of ultimately ensuring that the X platform complies with French laws, insofar as it operates on national territory, the prosecutors office said. It added that the polices National Cyber Unit along with Europol were involved in the investigation. Mr Musk has been called to voluntarily speak at a hearing on 20 April along with the former CEO of X Corp, Linda Yaccarino. While several investigations have been opened into Groks parent company xAI, it marks the first time the 54-year-old has been summoned by prosecutors in relation to the scandal. Advertisement Advertisement The prosecutors office said it will now be leaving Mr Musks social media platform, and that it would only be communicating on LinkedIn and Instagram from now on. French police raided the X offices in Paris on Tuesday (Getty) A spokesperson for X said the claims are baseless and part of a politicised criminal investigation, adding that the company categorically denies any wrongdoing. The Paris Public prosecutor is plainly attempting to exert pressure on Xs senior management in the United States by targeting our French entity and employees, who are not the focus of this investigation, the statement added. The Prosecutors Office has ignored the established procedural mechanisms to obtain evidence in compliance with international treaties and Xs rights to defend itself. These procedural mechanisms are well known and used on a daily basis by judicial authorities around the world. Advertisement Advertisement Mr Musk has been facing intense scrutiny from governments around the world about sexualised images generated and edited using Grok. Sexually explicit images were created of real women without their consent, before the company finally implemented technological measures to prevent the Grok account from allowing the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing in mid-January. But campaigners and victims said this came too late to undo the harm done. Musk has faced intense public scrutiny over Grok in the US and abroad (Getty) On Tuesday, the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) also opened in investigation into Groks parent company xAI and X, saying they raise serious concerns under UK data protection law and presents a risk of significant potential harm to the public. It will also investigate whether Grok put the necessary safeguards in place to prevent this. The European Commission and UK regulator Ofcom had previously announced an investigations into xAI. Emergency crews are responding to a suspected norovirus outbreak at an assisted living facility in Massachusetts. At 8:38 a.m. Tuesday, Wayland Police and Fire received numerous reports of people at a local assisted living facility located at 10 Green Way experiencing symptoms consistent with norovirus. Online records identify the address as that of The Residence at Paine Estate, built on the grounds of the former Paine Estate. Advertisement Advertisement Five people have been transported from the facility to local medical centers for treatment of their symptoms, Wayland Acting Police Chief Mark Hebert and Wayland Fire Chief Neil McPherson said in a joint statement. The Town has engaged with Waylands Public Health Nurse, and personnel from the Town and Police and Fire Departments have met with the facilitys Assistant Executive Director, town officials said in their statement. Other assisted living facilities within Wayland have been notified of the situation. The Fire Department has increased staffing to be able to respond should further reports come in, officials said. Police will be taking extra precautions when responding to ensure the safety of crews. Mutual aid partners have also been contacted. So far, mutual aid has included Sudbury Fire and Brewster Ambulance. No further details were immediately released. Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal has said that over the past week Ukraine has received more than 38 tonnes of energy equipment from five countries. Source: Shmyhal on Facebook Quote: "International partners continue to strengthen their support in other areas as well. Over the past week alone, we received more than 38 tonnes of energy equipment from Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Austria and Slovakia." Advertisement Advertisement Details: The minister also added that generators, transformers, cogeneration units and other equipment are being delivered to Ukraine from the EU, Lithuania, Austria, Poland, Finland, France, Azerbaijan and the Netherlands, as well as from UNDP and UNICEF/WASH. Quote: "In addition, almost 342 tonnes of aid have already been distributed from the Energy Ministry's hubs to electricity distribution system operators, heat and power generation companies, oil and gas sector companies and local authorities." Background: In the second half of January, the European Commission announced the delivery of 447 generators to Ukraine worth 3.7 million from the EU's strategic reserves. In addition, Poland is sending hundreds of generators to Ukraine using EU funds. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also said after talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that the EU would soon deliver additional generators and energy equipment to Ukraine. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Do you have any Cincinnati education issues you'd like to raise to The Enquirer? I'm Grace Tucker, the Enquirer's education reporter as of September 2025. I report on all the K-12 public school districts across Greater Cincinnati as well as colleges and universities including University of Cincinnati, Xavier University and Northern Kentucky University. In the short time I've been an education reporter, I've written about school levies and property tax reforms, homelessness among students, international college students, school board politics and more. And I've merely scratched the surface of what's going on with education in the region. Advertisement Advertisement Are you a parent, teacher or simply a taxpayer in Greater Cincinnati wanting to share an education concern or story idea with The Enquirer? Join me at my office hours. Education reporter's February office hours Friday, Feb. 13 Time: 3 to 5 p.m. Location: Pleasant Ridge Branch Library Meeting Room, 6233 Montgomery Road, Cincinnati. Friday, Feb. 27 Time: 3 to 5 p.m. Location: Monfort Heights Branch Library Meeting Room, 3825 West Fork Road, Cincinnati. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Enquirer reporter to host February public office hours Paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein spent years trying to win an audience with Vladimir Putin, according to emails published by the US justice department. The Russian president is mentioned 1,055 times in the latest Epstein files release, which saw the DOJ share more than 3 million new documents on Friday. Emails with political figures show Epstein desperately trying to secure a meeting with Putin in the early 2010s, after his first conviction for procuring a child for prostitution. Advertisement Advertisement Putin has been president since 2012, but served as prime minister for four years before that and has been the countrys de facto leader since 2000. The updated files show how Epstein jostled friends to set up a meeting for him to discuss foreign investment in Russia from at least 2013 and until 2018, a year before Epstein died in prison. It is unclear whether they ever met. Jeffrey Epstein tried to meet with Vladimir Putin to discuss business (POOL/AFP via Getty) Epstein sought a Russian visa The Epstein library, now totalling some 3.5 million records, shows that Epstein tried to procure a Russian visa from at least 2010. He asked a contact: do i need to get visa, ? I have a friend of putin,s [sic], should i ask him? A year later, in August 2011, he told Emirati businessman Ahmed bin Sulayem that putin might come to the states, adding that he would rather meet him there, so sochi is unlikely. Advertisement Advertisement Over the years, the financier repeatedly discussed his hopes of meeting Putin with Thorbjorn Jagland, the former prime minister of Norway, who met with the Russian leader in his capacity as the secretary general of the Council of Europe. Mr Jagland characterised Epsteins interest in an email in May 2013, telling Epstein he would have to explain his proposals to Putin himself. You have to do it. My job is to get a meeting with him, he said, adding: Can I say this [to Putin]: I know that you want to attract foreign investment to diversify russian economy [...] I have a friend that can help you to take the necessary measures (and then present you) and ask wether it is interesting for him to meet with you. Epstein, pictured with Ghislaine Maxwell, died in his cell in 2019 (PA) Epstein wanted meeting with Putin That month, Epstein told Ehud Barak, the former Israeli prime minister, that he was hoping to meet Putin for the first time that June to discuss how Russia could encourage Western investment. Advertisement Advertisement Weeks later, he reported back that he had cancelled a meeting with Putin in St Petersburg, demanding the Russian leader set aside real time and privacy for him. Inclusion in the Epstein files does not imply guilt. Mr Barak has acknowledged visiting Epstein but maintains he never observed any inappropriate behaviour or parties. Mr Jagland distanced himself from Epstein late last year as it emerged in a previous release of files that they had discussed Russia and US president Donald Trump in 2018. In June 2013, Epstein emailed Jagland inviting Putin for dinner, the files show. He said: Bill Gates will be staying with me in paris , for sund monday, putin is welcome to join for dinner. Advertisement Advertisement The files show Epstein also tried to set up a meeting with Putin in early 2014, when Mr Jagland said he was going to meet the president in Sochi. That July, Epstein received an email from a contact saying: I wasnt able to convince Reid to change his schedule to go meet Putin with you. ;-) Epstein replied: Bad idea now after plane crash. Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashed three days prior, killing 283 on board. A UN body ruled last year that Russia was responsible, though the Kremlin always denied responsibility. Files show Epstein asked Mr Jagland for help again in 2015. He wrote: I still would like to meet putin and talk economy, i would really appreciate your assistance. Trump and Putin in Helsinki in 2018 (AFP/Getty) Epstein offered insight on Trump In 2016, he asked Mr Jagland when he would see Putin, and in 2017, he asked him to talk to putin re digital currencies . the future. Advertisement Advertisement On 20 June, 2018, as previously reported, he emailed Mr Jagland: Would love to meet putin. It emerged in a previous file dump that four days later, Epstein tried to pass a message on to Russias top diplomat via Mr Jagland. I think you might suggest to putin that lavrov can get insight on talking to me, he wrote in an email dated 24 June, 2018. Lavrov likely refers to Russias minister of foreign affairs and close Putin ally Sergey Lavrov. vitaly churkin used to .but he died. ? ! he added, referring to the late Russian ambassador to the UN, who had passed away a year prior. In the Epstein emails, Lavrov likely refers to Russias minister of foreign affairs and close Putin ally Sergey Lavrov (AP) Mr Jagland said he would meet with Mr Lavrovs assistant and suggest, to which Epstein replied: churkin was great . he understood trump after our conversations. it is not complex. he must be seen to get something its that simple. Advertisement Advertisement In a text message to Norwegian public broadcaster NRK last year, Mr Jagland said: In my work I have met a lot of people, many have put me in contact with even more. This is part of normal diplomatic activity. What has come to light about Jeffrey Epsteins private life, I strongly distance myself from. For me, it was particularly important to understand Donald Trump and what developed in the relationship between the United States and Europe Many wanted to start a process to exclude Russia from the Council of Europe and thus Russian citizens access to the European Court of Human Rights. I used every opportunity to get my view across on how serious this was. Many of the items referencing Putin only refer to him tangentially, such as in media bulletins sent to Epsteins email address. A separate 2010 email exchange between Epstein and an email address named The Duke, included in the new files, suggests Epstein also set up a dinner between the former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and a beautiful 26-year-old Russian woman. Advertisement Advertisement Epstein writes in the message: I have a friend who I think you might enjoy having dinner with. In response, The Duke replies: Of course. I am in Geneva until the morning of 22nd but would be delighted to see her. Will she be bringing a message from you? Please give her my contact details to get in touch. A. Asked for more information about the unnamed woman, Epstein replied: she 26, russian, clevere beautiful, trustworthy and yes she has your email. While quotes are taken directly from the U.S. Department of Justice, documents only tell one side of a story. Information and allegations have not been proven in a court of law. PARK CITY, Utah (ABC4) Amid the millions of documents released from the case against millionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, sporadic visits to Utah have been uncovered, along with a possible tuition payment to a BYU-Idaho student. On Friday, Jan. 30, the U.S. Department of Justice disclosed over 3 million pages of documents on millionaire financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after a law passed by Congress required the release. BYU-Idaho tuition payment Multiple emails released in the DOJs most recent batch of files related to the Jeffrey Epstein case show correspondence from 2011 with someone who is likely a female student at BYU-Idaho. Advertisement Advertisement Emails detail an agreement that indicates Epstein sent a check, likely to pay for the students tuition. However, the check may have been sent back. (Courtesy//U.S. DOJ) (Courtesy//U.S. DOJ) My aunt [redacted] said that you sent a check to BYU-Idaho, and it was sent back, the student says. A different email sent to Epstein just days later indicate the payment was made. I am so thankful for your willingness to help [redacted]; she will do well in school and make all of use [sic] happy. The second emails subject line says, Student [redacted] BYU Idaho. BYU-Idaho did not immediately respond to ABC4.coms request for a statement. Visits to Park City Darren said you liked the Stein Eriksen it still has suites available, a 2016 email to Epstein reads. Would you like to make reservations for Park City? Advertisement Advertisement Days later, an email memo indicates Epstein booked a two-bedroom superior suite for one night at the Waldorf in Park City for over $1,600. One year earlier, Epstein can be seen emailing with MIT Media Lab director Joi Ito about a visit, indicating he was in Utah at the time. Park City is 45 minutes from alberquq [sic] if you want to come visit. Now I want to go to your island and dive sometime, Ito says. Epstein responds with, Anytime, oct on. Blockstreams CEO Adam Back announced Ito introduced their company to Epstein, who became a limited partner in Itos fund. However, his fund divested its Blockstream shares due to a conflict of interest. Provo phone records DOJ documents show a cell phone registered to Epstein made five calls to a Provo number on Feb. 11, 2004, between 5:45 p.m. and 7 p.m. The calls range from one to five minutes long. Advertisement Advertisement Later that evening, between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., Epstein reportedly made two more phone calls to a number registered in Park City. Neither call lasted longer than one minute. Call records from the Epstein Files reveal he made multiple calls on different occasions, many of which went to Salt Lake City and Orem numbers. (Courtesy//U.S. DOJ) In the days following, Epstein made several more phone calls to a Park City number, along with one call to a phone located in Salt Lake City. Similar data shows three of the phone calls may have been made to an Orem number. It is unclear who Epstein was speaking with at the time. The Associated Press contributed to this reporting. Latest headlines: Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah. Jeffrey Epstein arranged a dinner with Nicolas Sarkozy at the Elysee Palace after being convicted of sex crimes against children, according to the Epstein files. The paedophile financier courted the former French president for years and fostered a close relationship with his aide, documents released by the US department of justice suggest. Epstein had been on release from house arrest for less than a year for the crime of soliciting a child for prostitution when he demanded that an associate procure a woman to join him for dinner. Advertisement Advertisement The meal was to be with Sarkozy and Carla Bruni, his wife, at the official residence of the president of France. On May 9 2011 at 1:53pm, Epstein emailed an anonymous associate to say that he had to have dinner at the palace with Sarkozy and needed someone to come along. Epstein in Paris: The late financier (right) is seen at the Louvre with Jack Lang, a former French culture minister - US Department of Justice/AFP via Getty Twenty-five minutes later, an associate informed Epstein by email that a woman had been found in Paris and asked him to vet the message they had written to convince her to attend. The draft email to the beautiful lady read: I dont know if u have time tmrw [sic] but my very good friend Jeffrey is in Paris, maybe I told u about him before. Advertisement Advertisement I know this is gonna sound a littl [sic] bit crazy but I thought it might be fun for you!! He is going to the palace on Thursday night to meet with President Sarkozy and Carla. They [are] good friends, he needs a beautiful lady to accompany him and he asked me if I know some interesting girl who is in Paris. And I thought that u are there and it might be cool for you to meet the president. The author described Epstein as fun, and cute and very smart and that a lot of women finds him sexy as well before claiming the dinner was not a date. Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni, his wife, in 2010 when he was still the president of France - Lionel Bonaventure/AFP/Getty Although it is not clear whether the dinner took place The Telegraph has asked Elysee Palace officials to confirm subsequent emails revealed a close relationship between Epstein and Olivier Colom, Sarkozys aide. Advertisement Advertisement In October 2013, Mr Colom met Epstein at his flat in Paris and discussed taking a walk through the Marais, a fashionable neighbourhood, before Mr Colom said in jest there were too many gays and regrettably did not have the time to join him for the walk. Mr Colom also encouraged Epstein to purchase a 12m (10m) flat in Paris, previously owned by the heirs of the distillery company Pernod-Ricard. Later that month, Epstein emailed Mr Colom asking whether Sarkozy was available to meet him in Paris. Mr Colom replied: I have lunch with him next Tuesday Nov 5 Ill ask. He can be fun. And he can speak English now. The emails disclosed last Friday show that Epstein was heavily interested in Mr Sarkozys career, asking contacts in France about the presidents election prospects and who his political adviser was. Advertisement Advertisement Epstein, who died in jail by suicide in 2019, also asked about the reputational fallout of the police investigations into Sarkozy for corruption. The following January, Epstein suggested in an email to Ehud Barak, the former prime minister of Israel, that the pair could have dinner with Sarkozy and a member of the Rothschild family in Paris. Mandelsons advice sought In 2010, Epstein even consulted Lord Mandelson, the Labour spin doctor who had become his confidant, before an alleged meeting with Sarkozy. On Nov 12, Epstein emailed Lord Mandelson What is your relationship with Sarkozy? I am speaking to them on Sunday. Lord Mandelson replied: Broadly ok despite some past ups and downs. He rates me but worried that I would not be faithful to him. I will explain. Advertisement Advertisement The Telegraph has sought comment from Mr Sarkozy through his former press attaches. Other French political figures have also been implicated. Bruno Le Maire, the former minister of economy and finance, visited the paedophile in New York, according to the emails, and Epstein offered to help fund his potential presidential election campaign after Sarkozys defeat. Try full access to The Telegraph free today. Unlock their award-winning website and essential news app, plus useful tools and expert guides for your money, health and holidays. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is visiting Saudi Arabia on Tuesday and Egypt on Wednesday to discuss deepening bilateral ties alongside regional and global developments, according to his communications office. In Riyadh, Erdogan is scheduled to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to review steps for deepening diplomatic and economic links, the office said on X late on Monday. On Wednesday, Erdogan will travel to Cairo to co-chair the second meeting of the TurkeyEgypt strategic cooperation council with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for talks "with particular focus on Palestine," said Erdogan's office. Advertisement Advertisement Erdogan is also slated to attend a business forum while in the Egyptian capital. The back-to-back visits come as Ankara seeks to rebuild security and diplomatic ties with key Middle Eastern partners following the war in Gaza, while simultaneously boosting trade and investment, state news agency Anadolu reported on Tuesday. The visits reflect a desire from Saudi Arabia and Egypt for closer coordination with Turkey, Anadolu further noted. This shift comes amid heightened concerns over the risk of a wider regional conflict and growing doubts over the reliability of US security guarantees, the agency added. MUNCIE, IN State Rep. Sue Errington will host a town hall meeting on Saturday, Feb. 7, at Maring-Hunt Library, 2005 S. Liberty St. The one-hour event is set to begin at 1 p.m. Sue Errington The meeting will focus on the ongoing session of the Indiana General Assembly and "give constituents an opportunity to share their thoughts, ask questions and engage directly with Errington on issues impacting their community," according to a news release. This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Errington town hall meeting set Saturday at Maring-Hunt Library Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Tuesday denied claims by President Donald Trump that the country's new mega-dam was funded by the United States. The $4-billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) straddles a tributary of the River Nile and will generate 5,150 megawatts of electricity, making it the largest dam by power capacity in Africa. Egypt, a close ally of the US which depends on the Nile for 97 percent of its water, considers the dam an "existential threat". Advertisement Advertisement In Davos last month on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, Trump backed that claim, saying the dam "was financed by the United States and it basically blocks the Nile". The Ethiopian premier pushed back in a speech to parliamentarians on Tuesday. "We did not receive a single birr (the Ethiopian currency) in loans or financial aid from any foreign sources for the construction of the mega-dam. We achieved this through the strong commitment of Ethiopians living in the country and in the diaspora," Abiy said. The GERD, whose construction began in 2011, was financed through taxes and loans from Ethiopians. Advertisement Advertisement The construction firm behind the dam says there is no reason why it would divert waters from Egypt. The dam "releases water to produce energy. They are not irrigation schemes that consume water," Pietro Salini, CEO of Webuild, the project's prime contractor, told AFP at the inauguration in September. Salini also said the project was entirely financed by Ethiopia. "Not one international lender was willing to put money in this project," he told AFP. Trump, a longtime ally of his Egyptian counterpart, pledged to "get negotiations back on track" between Cairo and Addis Ababa. Egypt has said it is ready "to relaunch mediation efforts" but Ethiopian authorities have not yet responded. dyg/jf/er/kjm Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has hit out at Eritrea's army for committing atrocities during the two-year war in the northern Tigray region, which ended in 2022. Eritrean forces fought alongside the Ethiopian army against local Tigrayan fighters for control of Tigray, which borders Eritrea. In an address to parliament, Abiy admitted for the first time that Eritrean troops had massacred people in Aksum - allegations Eritrea had previously denied following reports of mass killings that took place in the historic city over two days in November 2020. Advertisement Advertisement It is the latest twist in a volatile relationship between the two Horn of Africa neighbours, who flip flop from being friends to enemies. Abiy won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 for ending a 20-year military stalemate with Eritrea over a border dispute. Friendly relations were forged further during the Tigray war, but have of late given way to a war of words over the Red Sea - something landlocked Ethiopia wants access to through Eritrea. Ethiopia's foreign ministry has also recently accused Eritrea of changing allegiances in Tigray - leading to fears of a renewed conflict in the region. Advertisement Advertisement The African Union (AU) brokered a deal between the government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) to end the brutal Tigray war in November 2022, but Eritrea was not a signatory to the Pretoria Agreement. At the time Asmara opposed the truce, arguing it should not have been concluded before the TPLF was fully defeated. All sides were accused of committing atrocities during the Tigray war - with some of the worst abuses blamed on Eritrean troops. Most communications to the region were cut off during the war - and journalists were not granted access, but the BBC and rights groups like Amnesty International were able to piece together what happened in Aksum. Advertisement Advertisement Witnesses recounted how hundreds of unarmed civilians were killed by Eritrean soldiers - many of them boys and men - during house-to-house raids on 28 and 29 November 2020. Abiy had told parliament on 30 November 2020 that "not a single civilian was killed" during the operation. But during his parliamentary address on Tuesday the prime minister admitted that there had been mass killings of young people by Eritrean soldiers. He added that during the war when allied forces began taking control of Tigray's cities, Eritrean troops had demolished homes, looted properties, destroyed industries and seized machinery in places such as Adwa, Aksum, Adigrat and Shire. Advertisement Advertisement Abiy said he had dispatched envoys to Eritrea during the conflict, urging its government to halt the destruction and killings. His comments came as passenger flights between Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, and cities in Tigray resumed on Tuesday morning after a five-day suspension. They had been cancelled because of clashes between the federal army and Tigray fighters in a disputed area of western Tigray - sparking fears of a return to conflict. An AU envoy estimated that 600,000 people were killed during the two-year Tigray war. More about Ethiopia from the BBC: [Getty Images/BBC] Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica BBC Africa podcasts ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) Ethiopia's government Tuesday for the first time acknowledged the involvement of troops from neighboring Eritrea in the war in the Tigray region that ended in 2022, accusing them of mass killings, amid reports of renewed fighting in the region. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, while addressing parliament Tuesday, accused Eritrean troops fighting alongside Ethiopian forces of mass killings in the war, during which more than 400,000 people are estimated to have died. Eritrean and Ethiopian troops fought against regional forces in the northern Tigray region in a war that ended in 2022 with the signing of a peace agreement. Advertisement Advertisement Eritreas Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel told The Associated Press that Ahmeds comments were cheap and despicable lies and did not merit a response. Both nations have been accusing each other of provoking a potential civil war, with landlocked Ethiopia saying that Eritrea is arming and funding rebel groups, while Eritrea says Ethiopias aspiration is to gain access to a seaport. The rift did not begin with the Red Sea issue, as many people think, Ahmed told parliamentarians. It started in the first round of the war in Tigray, when the Eritrean army followed us into Shire and began demolishing houses, massacred our youth in Axum, looted factories in Adwa, and uprooted our factories." The Red Sea and Ethiopia cannot remain separated forever, he added. Advertisement Advertisement Ethiopia lost sovereign access to the Red Sea when Eritrea seceded in 1993 after decades of guerrilla warfare. Gebremeskel said the prime minister has only recently changed his tune in his push for access to the Red Sea. Ahmed "and his top military brass were profusely showering praises and State Medals on the Eritrea army and its senior officers. But when he later developed the delusional malaise of sovereignty access to the sea and an agenda of war against Eritrea, he began to sing to a different chorus, he said. Eritrea and Ethiopia initially made peace after Abiy came to power in 2018, with Abiy winning a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts toward reconciliation. Advertisement Advertisement In June, Eritrea accused Ethiopia of having a long-brewing war agenda aimed at seizing its Red Sea ports. Ethiopia recently said that Eritrea was actively preparing to wage war against it. Analysts say an alliance between Eritrea and regional forces in the troubled Tigray region may be forming, as fighting has been reported in recent weeks. Flights by the national carrier to the region were canceled last week over the renewed clashes. When Capital Public Radios employees discovered the extent of the stations debt, its then-general manager was on medical leave. The leader of the nations sixth largest NPR affiliate didnt answer questions about steering a $1 million contract to the nonprofits then-treasurer. And the executive didnt answer questions about why his credit card was used to buy lavish overseas retreats. Troubling accusations have swirled around Fidias Jun Reina since 2023. The scrutiny heightened as the Sacramento County District Attorneys Office filed embezzlement, forgery and grand theft charges against Reina last week, accusing him of misappropriating about $1.3 million. From 2016 until 2022, hes accused of taking donor money to buy luxury travel, fine dining and extensive home renovations. Some answers might come during the court proceedings. Reina, 60, appeared Monday for his initial court appearance. Reina, late for a 3 p.m. court appearance, walked in with his wife and three of his five children. He wore a dark navy suit, a white and blue pinstripe collared shirt and black dress shoes. The hearing lasted less than five minutes. Advertisement Advertisement Reina took measured steps to a microphone when Sacramento Superior Court Judge John P. Winn called forth his case. He remained stoic as he faced a phalanx of reporters and photographers. Correct, Reina simply said when Winn asked if he was indeed Reina. The succinct answer was clear in the packed courtroom also filled with prominent CapRadio personalities such as Jennifer Reason, the stations midday classical host, and former news anchor Mike Hagerty. Reina is accused of creating a fake proposal related to local tower construction company Magnum Towers and taking, destroying or damaging more than $1 million worth of property, according the complaint filed in Sacramento Superior Court. His attorney, former San Joaquin County Public Defender Mary Ann Bird, was granted by a judge a postponement of his arraignment until April 1. She declined to comment. Advertisement Advertisement Reinas appearance in court marks a full circle moment for CapRadio, a representative for the station has said. The NPR-affiliate licensed to Sacramento State almost stopped operating after accumulating mountains of debt in 2023 linked to plans by Reina and his predecessor to move off of its Folsom Boulevard space to new offices in downtown Sacramento. A California State University audit found widespread mismanagement at the station as questions arose about Reinas leadership capabilities. The former executive joined CapRadio in 2007, assumed dual positions of CFO and COO in 2013 and was promoted to general manager in 2020. Reinas alleged behavior became more apparent after a Sacramento State-commissioned forensic examination found he was linked to about $460,000 of expenses without receipts or expense reports. The Sacramento Bee, through its lawyers, obtained a list of expenses such as trips to Dubai, Fiji and St. Martin all apparently funded through donors paychecks. A January 2020 post from the Instagram account of former Capital Public Radio executive Jun Reina shows his accommodations at the Westin Denarau Island Resort & Spa in Fiji. (Jun Reina via Instagram) The investigation into Reina began in January 2024, involving interviews about three dozen people and poring over thousands of credit card statements and other expense reports, said Sacramento County sheriffs detective Monica Bustamante in an interview last week. Her investigation, which prosecutors ultimately used to charge Reina, delved into his dealings while in top positions at the radio station from 2016 until 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Reina filed expense reports for transactions that appeared to align with the nonprofits business purpose, but didnt file such reports for his international travel, Bustamante said. He linked the companys credit card to his Apple Pay, she added. Bustamante said she never spoke to Reina during her investigation. He turned himself into authorities last week and posted his $200,000 bail. On Monday, some of Reinas family kept their sunglasses on in the dim courtroom. They stood and exited the room as soon as Reinas hearing was finished, ignoring reporters trailing after them. Reina left the Sacramento County Main Jail surrounded by his family. He hugged his attorney, and she promised to call him. Then he slid into the backseat of a black Lexus NX 300 and drove away. The Brief Ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick reached agreement with federal prosecutors regarding restitution. Kilpatrick filed motions in both the criminal cases arguing that his restitution obligation should be considered fully satisfied. DETROIT (FOX 2) - Ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has reached an agreement with federal prosecutors regarding more than $823,000 in remaining restitution to the city, according to court filings. Big picture view An amended judgment ordered Kilpatrick to pay about $1.7 million in restitution, and the federal government has been pursuing collection through garnishment actions, including filing writs as recently as December 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Kilpatrick filed motions in both cases arguing that his restitution obligation should be considered fully satisfied. However, the court approved sealed, stipulated agreements for a continuing garnishment of Kilpatricks Michigan Legislative Retirement System pension and a payment plan. Both Kilpatrick and federal prosecutors agreed that the remaining restitution balance as of Jan. 27, 2026, is $823,649.09. Kilpatrick also waived his right to a garnishment hearing and agreed that his pension and other income are subject to garnishment. As a result, the court denied Kilpatricks motion as moot. DETROIT - OCTOBER 28: Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick appears in Wayne County Circuit Court for his sentencing October 28, 2008 in Detroit, Michigan. Kilpatrick will spend 4 months in jail as part of a plea deal he accepted back in September in which he plead guilty to two felonies and no contest to a felony assault charge. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images) The backstory Kilpatrick served in the Michigan House of Representatives from 1996 to 2001 and was elected House minority leader, becoming the first Black lawmaker to hold the position. He was later elected mayor of Detroit and sworn in January 2002. Advertisement Advertisement During his time as mayor, he was involved in an extensive corruption scheme that included accepting bribes and misusing nonprofit funds for luxury items. In March 2013, he was convicted on 24 federal counts and sentenced to 28 years in prison. In January 2021, then-President Donald Trump granted Kilpatrick clemency, commuting his prison sentence. The Source FOX 2 used information from federal court documents. WILMINGTON, Delaware A 77-year-old man who was once married to former First Lady Jill Biden has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of his current wife, the Associated Press reported. Police in New Castle County said William Stevenson was arrested Monday following a grand jury indictment accusing him of killing Linda Stevenson, 64, late last December at the couples home in the Oak Hill area, according to AP. People reported that officers initially responded to the Wilmington-area home on Dec. 28 after receiving a report of a domestic disturbance shortly after 11 p.m. and found the woman unresponsive in the living room. Medical personnel pronounced her dead at the scene after attempting to revive her. Advertisement Advertisement The cause and manner of Linda Stevensons death have not yet been publicly disclosed as the Delaware Division of Forensic Science continues to work, The Guardian reported. Stevenson was taken into custody without incident and is being held at the Howard Young Correctional Institution, after failing to post $500,000 bail, AP reported. William Stevenson was married to Biden, then Jill Jacobs, from 1970 until their 1975 divorce. She went on to marry then-Senator Joe Biden in 1977. Read the original article on cleveland.com. EXCLUSIVE: Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard detailed her ongoing election security assessment in a letter to congressional lawmakers Monday, saying President Donald Trump "specifically directed" her to be present for the execution of a search warrant in Fulton County, Georgia, last week as part of the probe. Gabbard sent a letter, exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital, addressed to Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chair Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., and House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn. The letter was also sent to House and Senate leadership, as well as GOP leadership on both committees. The letter is in response to one sent in late January by Warner and Himes, in which they requested Gabbard brief them on why she was present at the FBI search of an election office in Fulton County, Georgia. Advertisement Advertisement Gabbard announced in April 2025 that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) was investigating electronic voting systems in order to protect election integrity. Trump Confirms What Tulsi Gabbard Was Doing At Georgia Election Center Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard detailed her ongoing election security assessment in a letter to congressional lawmakers Monday. In the letter, Gabbard said Trump instructed her to be present at the FBIs execution of a search warrant at the Office of the Clerk of the Court of Fulton County, Georgia, Wednesday. Read On The Fox News App "For a brief period of time, I accompanied FBI Deputy Director Bailey and Atlanta Acting Special Agent in Charge Pete Ellis in observing FBI personnel executing that search warrant, issued by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia pursuant to a probable cause finding," she wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Gabbard said her "presence was requested by the President and executed under my broad statutory authority to coordinate, integrate, and analyze intelligence related to election security, including counterintelligence (CI), foreign and other malign influence, and cybersecurity." "The FBIs Intelligence/Counterintelligence divisions are one of the 18 elements that I oversee," she said. DNI Press Secretary Oliva Coleman told Fox News Digital in a statement, "President Trumps directive to secure our elections was clear, and DNI Gabbard has and will proudly continue to take actions within her authorities, alongside our interagency partners, including the FBI, to support ensuring the integrity of our elections." Gabbard said senior FBI officials in twelve field offices nationwide, including Atlanta, are "dual-hatted" as Domestic DNI-Representatives under a program established through a 2011 memorandum of understanding between ODNI and the FBI, adding that she has visited several of those officials as part of her oversight of domestic threats, including risks to critical infrastructure. Advertisement Advertisement "While visiting the FBI Field Office in Atlanta, I thanked the FBI agents for their professionalism and great work, and facilitated a brief phone call for the President to thank the agents personally for their work," Gabbard said. "He did not ask any questions, nor did he or I issue any directives." Fbi Agents Search Election Hub In Fulton County, Georgia Gabbard sent a letter, exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital, addressed to Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chair Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., pictured here, and House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn. Gabbard stressed that the ODNIs Office of General Counsel "has found my actions to be consistent and well within my statutory authority as the Director of National Intelligence." In late January, FBI agents were seen carrying out a search at an election hub in Fulton County, Georgia , a location that became ground zero for concerns and complaints about voter fraud beginning in 2020. Advertisement Advertisement The search warrant authorized the seizure of election records, voting rolls, and other data tied to the 2020 election, according to a copy of the warrant reviewed by Fox News. Gabbard went on to address specific questions initially posed by Warner and Himes, detailing how election security "is a national security issue." "Interference in U.S. elections is a threat to our republic and a national security threat," she writes. "The President and his Administration are committed to safeguarding the integrity of U.S. elections to ensure that neither foreign nor domestic powers undermine the American peoples right to determine who our elected leaders are." Gabbard said Trump "tasked ODNI with taking all appropriate actions" under her statutory authorities toward "ensuring the integrity of our elections" and specifically directed her to observe the execution of the Fulton County search warrant. Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., talks with reporters after a briefing in the U.S. Capitol. She added that ODNI has been "actively reviewing intelligence reporting and assessments on election integrity" since she took office. Advertisement Advertisement "As part of the National Counterintelligence and Security Centers responsibility to lead, manage, and coordinate counterintelligence matters related to election security, NCSC personnel traveled with me to Fulton County to support this effort," she wrote, noting that they were not present during the execution of the warrant. In the letter, Gabbard stressed that the DNI has "broad authority to coordinate, integrate, and analyze intelligence related to election security." She also said ODNI is "the lead intelligence agency in the Joint Cyber Planning Office," which coordinates and oversees the nations strategy to secure critical cyber infrastructure, "including cyber infrastructure used for elections." The DNI told lawmakers that ODNI "will not irresponsibly share incomplete intelligence assessments concerning foreign or other malign interference in U.S. elections." Advertisement Advertisement "As I publicly stated on 10 April 2025, there is information and intelligence reporting suggesting that electronic voting systems being used in the United States have long been vulnerable to exploitation that could result in enabling determined actors to manipulate the results of the votes being cast with the intent of changing the outcome of an election," she wrote. ODNI and the intelligence community continue to collect and assess intelligence related to the threat, she added, to ensure the security and integrity of U.S. elections. Gabbard previously raised similar concerns during an April 2025 Cabinet meeting, when she said ODNI had evidence that electronic voting systems have long been vulnerable to exploitation and argued the findings supported a broader push for paper ballots. Meanwhile, in the letter, Gabbard explained that the process of assessing the intelligence "ensures that the ICs finished intelligence products are objective, independent of political considerations, and based on all available sources." Advertisement Advertisement "I will share our intelligence assessments with Congress once they are complete," she said. Gabbard said that the National Security Act of 1947 specifically highlights that the law does "not require that the president obtain approval from the congressional intelligence committees before initiating a significant intelligence activity." "Moreover, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia issued the search warrant on the Office of the Clerk of the Court of Fulton County under seal," she writes, adding that ODNI had no ability, authority, or responsibility to inform the intelligence committees about the warrant ahead of its execution. Congressional Democrats have been pressing Gabbard to share additional information about the role she played in Fulton County, Georgia. Advertisement Advertisement "Much of the American public are quite reasonably alarmed and asking questions after the Director of National Intelligence was spotted bizarrely and personally lurking in an FBI evidence truck in Fulton County, Georgia yesterday," Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., said in a statement in late January. "There are only two explanations for why the Director of National Intelligence would show up at a federal raid tied to Donald Trumps obsession with losing the 2020 election," Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said in response to news of Gabbards presence at the FBI search. "Either Director Gabbard believes there was a legitimate foreign intelligence nexus in which case she is in clear violation of her obligation under the law to keep the intelligence committees fully and currently informed of relevant national security concerns or she is once again demonstrating her utter lack of fitness for the office that she holds by injecting the nonpartisan intelligence community she is supposed to be leading into a domestic political stunt designed to legitimize conspiracy theories that undermine our democracy," Warner added. FBI agents are seen at the Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Center, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Union City, Ga, near Atlanta. Fulton County is the most populous county in Georgia and includes the capital city of Atlanta. It most notably emerged as ground zero for voter fraud complaints in the wake of the 2020 election, though the claims did not survive court scrutiny. Advertisement Advertisement News of the search comes years after Fulton County emerged at the center of concerns and complaints about voter fraud in the wake of the 2020 elections, including from Trump, who lost the state to former President Joe Biden by a razor-thin margin. Despite a machine count and two recounts that confirmed the results, Trump continued to feud for years with Georgia officials and claimed that various instances of fraud had tainted the results, prompting Democrats to raise fresh concerns about why the FBI executed so broad a search warrant and what role Gabbard played in the process. Most recently, Trump reiterated those complaints earlier in January during a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He said then that "people will soon be prosecuted for what they did," though he declined to elaborate. Trump at the end of January touted Gabbard for her work to protect elections in the U.S. "She's working very hard on trying to keep the election safe. And she's done a very good job," Trump said. "And they, as you know, they got into the votes, you got a signed judge's order in Georgia And you're going to see some interesting things happening. They've been trying to get there for a long time." Meanwhile, the Justice Department sued Fulton County in December 2025 seeking access to ballots related to the 2020 lawsuit, though the FBI's search appears unrelated. Fulton County, Georgia, is fighting the lawsuit and says the Justice Department has not made a valid argument for accessing the records. Fulton County officials on Monday said they plan to file a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the FBIs raid, challenging the legality of the raid and the warrant authorizing the "seizure of sensitive election records" in Fulton County. The lawsuit also seeks to order the administration to "return the ballots taken," officials said. Original article source: EXCLUSIVE: Gabbard answers Democrats and explains why Trump personally sent her to Fulton County Electric transmission lines run through a clearing in Alexandria. (Photo by Molly Rains/New Hampshire Bulletin) The New Hampshire Department of Energy is hiring a consultant to assess whether it would be feasible for the state to cut itself off or step back from the regional power grid. The Executive Council approved a $230,056 contract with Boston-based London Economics International, LLC, for the study at its meeting on Jan. 28. The payment will be assessed to New Hampshires utilities, which can petition the Public Utilities Commission to recover costs through rates. Advertisement Advertisement The contract follows last years House Bill 690, which directed the New Hampshire Department of Energy to study the feasibility of withdrawal from the nonprofit that operates the regional electric grid, ISO-New England. No other state among the six served by ISO-NE, which formed in 1997, has withdrawn before. Executive Councilor Karen Liot Hill, a Democrat representing District Two, said many of her constituents regarded the study as a foolish exercise. Critics argued last year that regional transmission organizations like ISO-NE save ratepayer costs and fill regulatory roles that are costly and difficult for states to meet on their own. But a majority of the council approved the expenditure, and HB 690 co-sponsor Rep. James Summers, a Newton Republican, said in an interview the price tag was in line with his expectations for the studys cost. It may not lead to us leaving the ISO, but its a great learning experience, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Short for Independent System Operator, the nonprofit coordinates power flow from generators to users throughout the region and oversees the wholesale electricity market. It also conducts electrical demand analysis and market research it says are intended to inform planning around New Englands future energy needs, and is regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Utilities and transmission owners, not states themselves, are members of ISO-NE, according to the organizations website. So while New Hampshire itself could not withdraw from the organization, it could direct in-state members to do so. Summers said a major reason for the study was to learn more about whether other states renewable energy policies were affecting rates in New Hampshire such as investments in offshore wind and solar development, which New Hampshire has largely stepped away from. If New Hampshire were to separate from the grid, the state could no longer rely on neighbors to meet energy demand at times when in-state generation is insufficient. Summers noted that Seabrook Power Plant typically generates more energy than the state requires, though New Hampshire would need to pursue its own contract with the plant. At times the plant is down, such as during maintenance, Summers identified fossil fuel generation with coal or gas, or biomass, as possible ways to bridge the gap. Advertisement Advertisement Among other questions, the bill directs the Department of Energy to assess potential costs and benefits of withdrawing from the ISO, regulatory gaps that departure would leave, and new restrictions the state could face without oversight from the organization. The contract with the consultant was needed, said New Hampshire Department of Energy Commissioner Jared Chicoine at the meeting, because the department did not have the tools or experts to answer certain questions posed by the bill. We did need these technical experts to help us, he said, with tools like economic modeling software that the department did not have in house. Chicoine said he expected the study to be complete by July 2026. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro will announce Tuesday a landmark false claims clampdown targeting Medicaid fraud and providers that wrongfully use tax dollars. While Shapiro has supported crackdowns on social services fraud since he was attorney general, before his governorship, the issue has reached national prominence recently amid mounting scandal enveloping fellow Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota. Later Tuesday, Shapiro will declare in his budget address that the state must approve a False Claims Act and signal openness to working with Republicans who control the state Senate and are a few lawmakers short of a majority in the state House to "get it done." Advertisement Advertisement "To protect our kids and our seniors, we need to make sure every dollar we appropriate for their benefit goes to them and doesnt get fleeced from the system," Shapiro will say, before going on to cite his work as AG to jail people who stole public benefits from fellow Pennsylvanians. Bessent Blames Walz As Treasury Probes Whether Minnesota Fraud Funds Reached Terror Group Al-shabab Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro in Philadelphia. (Reuters) "We combat fraud wherever we find it and weve put real resources into this effort because its important to ensure public dollars go to the people who really need them," Shapiro will say. Read On The Fox News App Advertisement Advertisement Pennsylvania ranks first nationally in Medicaid fraud charges brought and third in convictions. He will also cite the work of State Inspector General Michelle Henry who succeeded him as attorney general and pledge to support her efforts through cooperation among his Cabinet agencies. Walzs Minnesota Mess Could Spark The Toughest Fraud Reforms In Decades While a major Democratic figure nationally, Shapiro has a handful of Republicans in key cabinet roles, including former Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt as secretary of the commonwealth and former state Sen. Pat Browne, R-Allentown, managing the purse as secretary of revenue. Advertisement Advertisement Shapiro said the commonwealth prosecuted 119 cases of Medicaid fraud in 2024, recouping $11 million that was stolen from those coffers. The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services also referred 744 other recent suspected fraud cases to the Attorney Generals Section of Medicaid Fraud Control. Gop Senator's Somalia Act Would Force Minnesota Fraudsters To Repay Stolen Taxpayer Funds The False Claims Act that Shapiro envisions would allow Pennsylvania to collect additional funds from convicted parties who misuse Medicaid or other social services dollars. Shapiro will also note on Tuesday that there is already bipartisan support for such a law. Advertisement Advertisement While attorney general, the then-Republican state House speaker and a top state senator joined his call for a similar plan. Convicted Minnesota Fraudster Alleges Walz, Ellison Were Aware Of Widespread Fraud "Every instance of Medicaid abuse or fraud hurts Pennsylvanians who truly rely on the program. We are overdue for relevant and important reforms that keep closer watch over those who are taking advantage of the system, and at the same time makes the program more useful and reliable for Pennsylvanians in need," then-Speaker Bryan Cutler of Peach Bottom said in a 2020 statement. "I applaud Attorney General Shapiro for bringing to light the glaring problems our Medicaid program faces. Every misspent or fraudulently used dollar is another dollar hard-working taxpayers have to make up for," added state Sen. Seth Grove, R-Dover. Advertisement Advertisement The Shapiro administration also pointed Fox News Digital to the results of a Medicaid fraud grand jury probe empaneled by then-AG Shapiro, which served as a predicate for his announcement Tuesday. Trump Admin Puts Minnesota On Notice, Moves To Audit Medicaid And Claw Back Funds To Protect Taxpayers The grand jury recommended that service providers without a "national provider identifier" number be required to specially register with Harrisburg. Medicaid providers would also have to go through standardized training on how to properly bill Harrisburg for services rendered and be required to include the date and start-and-end times on all Medicaid forms, which are not currently required by law. Advertisement Advertisement Shapiros efforts have had their critics, however, including the Pennsylvania Coalition for Civil Justice, a pro-tort reform group. They expressed concern while he was attorney general that an anti-fraud plan crafted then would allow "bounty hunter" plaintiffs to seek court-ordered payouts that could reduce the amount of funds the commonwealth is able to recover. Click Here To Download The Fox News App "Wisconsin repealed its False Claims Act in 2015, and there are good reasons why many states have decided not to enact their own False Claims Act," the group told the Penn-Capital Star. Advertisement Advertisement A top state hospital industry trade group also warned that, under the earlier proposal, trial attorneys would be the "only true winners," rather than patients, according to the outlet. Original article source: Eyeing 2028, Dem Gov Shapiro leans into fraud crackdown, boosting tough-on-crime image By Andy Sullivan Feb 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department's release of millions of internal documents related to Jeffrey Epstein has revealed the late financier and sex offender's ties to many prominent people in politics, finance, academia and business - both before and after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to prostitution charges, including soliciting an underage girl. Evidence in multiple legal and criminal cases has also shed light on these connections. Epstein was arrested again in 2019 on federal charges of sex trafficking of minors. His 2019 death in a Manhattan jail cell was ruled a suicide. Advertisement Advertisement The Justice Department has said that the material could include faked images or untrue allegations, as well as pornographic material. On Monday, the department said it had removed several thousand documents that inadvertently identified some of Epstein's victims. The Justice Department's No. 2 official, Todd Blanche, has said the material did not amount to evidence of criminal sexual activity by those named in the files. Here are some of the prominent people whose ties to Epstein were revealed in the newly released material. DONALD TRUMP Trump socialized extensively with Epstein in the 1990s and 2000s, and is quoted in a magazine profile during that period as saying that Epstein likes women "on the younger side." Documents released by the Justice Department include photos of Trump with several women whose faces are redacted and a suggestive note to Epstein, framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appears to bear Trump's signature. Evidence and testimony submitted in the 2021 trial of Epstein's associate Ghislaine Maxwell indicate Trump traveled on Epstein's plane multiple times. Epstein wrote in one email that Trump "knew about the girls," though it is not clear what he meant. Advertisement Advertisement The Republican president has denied any knowledge of Epstein's crimes and says he broke off ties in the early 2000s, before Epstein's plea deal. Trump denies ever flying on Epstein's plane and says the suggestive note was faked. BILL CLINTON The Democratic former U.S. president socialized with Epstein and flew on his plane several times in the early 2000s, after Clinton left office. Photos released by the Justice Department show him swimming and posing with women whose faces are redacted. Clinton has denied wrongdoing and says he regrets his past association with Epstein. ANDREW MOUNTBATTEN-WINDSOR Advertisement Advertisement The former Prince Andrew, Duke of York, maintained a social relationship with Epstein and has been stripped of his royal title due to the association. The Justice Department sought his cooperation in multiple criminal investigations but was rebuffed. He also settled a lawsuit brought by one of Epstein's victims in 2022, making an undisclosed payment without admitting wrongdoing. The Justice Department files include several photos of him with women, including one where he is kneeling over a woman and another showing him lying across the laps of several women. Mountbatten-Windsor has denied any wrongdoing and has expressed regret for his friendship with Epstein. He has said he never saw any sex crimes. HOWARD LUTNICK Trump's Commerce Secretary apparently visited Epstein's private island for lunch in 2012 and invited him to a fundraiser in 2015 for Hillary Clinton, Trump's Democratic rival in the 2016 presidential election, emails show. That would contradict Lutnick's claim that he vowed never to "be in a room" with Epstein following a 2005 incident in which the financier showed Lutnick a massage table at his townhouse and made a sexually suggestive comment. The former Cantor Fitzgerald CEO lived next door to Epstein in New York at the time. A Commerce Department spokesperson said Lutnick had limited interactions with Epstein and has never been accused of wrongdoing. Advertisement Advertisement ELON MUSK The billionaire Tesla CEO asked Epstein if he had any parties planned on his island in 2012 but apparently decided not to visit. Epstein responded that "the ratio on my island" might make Musk's female companion uncomfortable, without elaborating further. Musk invited Epstein to visit him for drinks on another island a few days later, but it is unclear whether they met up. Musk said on Saturday he had few interactions with Epstein and turned down repeated invitations to visit the island or fly on Epstein's plane. LARRY SUMMERS The former U.S. Treasury Secretary and Harvard University president flew on Epstein's jet several times as far back as 1998 and met with him to discuss economic and business matters while he served as president of Harvard. The two maintained a relationship as late as 2019, when email communications show Summers soliciting advice about a romantic interest. No evidence of wrongdoing has surfaced, but Summers stepped down from positions at Harvard, OpenAI and other prominent institutions in November following the release of those documents. Advertisement Advertisement Summers said in November he was "deeply ashamed" of his actions and said he would step back from public commitments to "repair relationships with the people closest to me." KEVIN WARSH Trump's nominee to head the Federal Reserve appeared in an email from a publicist to Epstein listing 43 people, including celebrities such as Martha Stewart, headed to a Christmas gathering in 2010. It was not clear whether Warsh knew Epstein or why Epstein was sent the note, and Warsh has not responded to a request for comment. MELANIA TRUMP The files include a 2002 email from Trump's wife, Melania Trump, to Maxwell about a magazine piece on Epstein. "You look great," the email says. Advertisement Advertisement BILL GATES The documents indicate Gates and Epstein met repeatedly after Epstein's prison term to discuss expanding the Microsoft founder's philanthropic efforts. They also include pictures of the Microsoft founder posing with women whose faces are redacted. Gates has said the relationship was confined to philanthropy-related discussions and has said it was a mistake to meet with him. JES STALEY The former JPMorgan and Barclays executive is listed as a participant in Epstein-hosted gatherings. He exchanged around 1,200 emails with Epstein between 2008 and 2012, some of which contained discussions about Disney characters and photographs of young women, according to court documents. Staley has denied knowing about Epstein's criminal activities. He was banned from the UK financial industry and has been sued by JPMorgan, which claims he concealed information about Epstein's misconduct. Advertisement Advertisement PETER MANDELSON UK police say they are reviewing reports of alleged misconduct involving the veteran British politician following the release of emails suggesting he had leaked discussions on possible UK asset sales and tax changes to Epstein during the financial crash, and that Epstein had recorded payments to Mandelson or his then-partner. He was fired as ambassador to the United States last year after an earlier batch of emails showed him calling Epstein "my best pal" and advising him on seeking early jail release. Mandelson has apologized to Epstein's victims. He has denied wrongdoing. PETER ATTIA The wellness influencer's name appears more than 1,700 times in the latest trove of documents released by the Justice Department. He said on social media he met with Epstein seven or eight times at his New York City home between 2014 and 2019, but never witnessed illegal activity or saw Epstein accompanied by anyone who appeared to be underage. Advertisement Advertisement BRAD KARP The head of the powerful Wall Street law firm Paul Weiss stepped down after emails revealed longstanding personal and business communications with Epstein through 2019. Karp attended dinners with Epstein and sought his help getting a job on a Woody Allen film, the emails show. The firm said Karp regrets his interactions with Epstein and never witnessed or participated in any misconduct. BORGE BRENDE The head of the World Economic Forum is under internal investigation following revelations that he attended dinners with Epstein in 2018 and 2019 and emailed with him. Brende said he would not have participated had he known about Epstein's criminal record. Advertisement Advertisement CASEY WASSERMAN The top U.S. official overseeing the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles is facing calls to step down after the release of flirtatious emails between him and Maxwell as early as 2003. Wasserman has denied having a personal or business relationship with Epstein. NORWEGIAN CROWN PRINCESS METTE-MARIT The spouse of the heir to Norway's throne apologized for her extensive email correspondence with Epstein, saying she showed poor judgment. ARIANE DE ROTHSCHILD The head of the family-owned Edmond de Rothschild Swiss bank agreed to multiple meetings with Epstein in New York and Paris before his 2019 arrest, emails show. They do not contain any sign of criminal wrongdoing, and a spokesperson for the bank said she had no knowledge of his conduct. KATHY RUEMMLER Goldman Sachs' top lawyer, a former White House counsel to Democratic President Barack Obama, accepted gifts from Epstein and gave him public relations advice between 2014 and 2019, emails show. She says she dealt with him as a defense attorney and was not aware of any ongoing criminal conduct. (Reporting by Andy Sullivan in Washington; Editing by Craig Timberg, Will Dunham and Matthew Lewis) A 29-year-old woman was found dead in Fishtown less than 24 hours after leaving a nightclub. Makea Matthews' family is searching for answers as Philadelphia police and the medical examiner's office continue to investigate. Her family says they were told she was frozen to death, but they still have questions about how she traveled from Delaware Avenue to underneath an Interstate 95 overpass more than a mile away on the 2000 Block of Richmond Street. Advertisement Advertisement "Kea was found frozen dead outside, and I'm like, 'Huh?' I start screaming," recalled her sister, Bayyinah Matthews. According to the family, on Friday, Jan. 23, Makea Matthews went to a nightclub on Delaware Avenue with two female friends but never returned home. Security at the club told the family she was escorted out for being intoxicated. The family says the friends told them they initially left with Matthews and then went back inside the club to look for something. When they returned, Matthews was reportedly gone. "Makea would have never been missing if somebody would have stayed with her. She would be alive, right?" Bayyinah Matthews said. Advertisement Advertisement The following day, Matthews' girlfriend reported her missing at approximately 4:25 p.m. About 20 minutes later, police say an officer responded to the area for a call and located Matthews' frozen body underneath the highway. That evening, the city was under a Code Blue with below-freezing temperatures. "They labeled it as hypothermia," Matthews said. "She has blunt force trauma to the left side of her face and bruises all over her body." Desperate for answers, Bayyinah Matthews posted videos to TikTok that have gained more than one million views. "I went to social media cause I'm like somebody gotta hear this, somebody gotta know about this, somebody gotta get the truth," she said. Advertisement Advertisement The family says they are also trying to retrace Matthews' steps on their own in an effort to piece together what happened. "I'm not stopping until I get my closure about my sister. I need closure," Matthews said. Police say Matthews' death remains under investigation by the Philadelphia Police Department and the Medical Examiner's Office. Attempts to reach the friends Matthews was last seen with have not yet been returned. In a pointed rebuke of the Trump administrations push to make hundreds of thousands of Haitian immigrants suddenly deportable from the United States, a federal judge in Washington blocked the Department of Homeland Security on Monday night from ending temporary immigration protections for Haitians, many of them in South Florida. The decision halts, for now, the termination of Haitis Temporary Protected Status designation, which was set to end at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday. The pending order of termination from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem had triggered a wave of fear among the more than 300,000 Haitians who benefit from the status, because it put them at risk of being detained and deported back to their violence-torn homeland. In her closely watched decision, U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes granted a motion to keep the administration from ending TPS for Haitians. Her decision means that, for the moment, Haitians who benefit from TPS will continue to have protections from deportations and will continue to have valid work authorizations. Advertisement Advertisement The judge noted in her 83-page ruling that Haitians would face irreparable harm if sent back to Haiti, a country the administrations own State Department says is overrun by criminal terrorists gangs and for which it has issued a Do Not Travel warning for U.S. citizens. A Biden appointee, Reyes saved her harshest criticism for Noem, whom she paints as someone prejudiced toward Haitians who did not base her termination decision on the law. Reyes noted that Noem had referred to Haiti as one of those (her word) damn countries. The DHS secretary, the judge said, ignored Congresss requirement that she review the conditions in Haiti only after consulting with appropriate agencies, and added: Indeed, she did not consult other agencies at all. Reyes also noted that Noem ignored the billions of dollars that Haitian TPS holders contribute to the economy. That substantial revenue, the judge said, generates $5.2 billion in taxes annually. Secretary Noem complains of strains unlawful immigrants place on our immigration-enforcement system. Her answer? Turn 352,959 lawful immigrants into unlawful immigrants overnight, Reyes said. She complains of strains to our economy. Her answer? Turn employed lawful immigrants who contribute billions in taxes into the legally unemployable. She complains of strains to our healthcare system. Her answer? Turn the insured into the uninsured. This approach is many things in the public interest is not one of them. Advertisement Advertisement DHS lawyers argued that Noems decision to end TPS was not reviewable by the court. They argued that it was Congress intention when they created the law in 1990, not to give individuals the right to challenge the secretarys decision, and asked for the case to be dismissed. Yes, the statute does grant her some discretion, Reyes wrote in the order about Noem. But not unbounded discretion. To the contrary, Congress passed the TPS statute to standardize the then ad hoc temporary protection systemto replace executive whim with statutory predictability, Reyes said. The judge countered Noems argument in her termination notice that having Haitians with TPS in the U.S. went against the national interest. Her national interest analysis focuses on Haitians outside the United States or here illegally, ignoring that Haitian TPS holders already live here, and legally so, said the judge. Killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies Instead of arguing that Noem discriminated against Haitians based on their nationality, advocates for Haitians had argued to the judge that the decision was made because they are Black and that Noem and the presidents animosity toward Haitians is based on race rather than nationality. It is the first time that the equal-protection claim has gone before the courts exclusively on the issue of race. Advertisement Advertisement Reyes notes that three days after announcing the end of Haitis TPS designation, Noem took to social media and announced a travel ban, which included Haiti. Noem referred to the nationals of those countries in the travel ban as killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies. But the judge noted in her ruling the five TPS holders who filed the lawsuit are a neuroscientist, a software engineer, a laboratory assistant, a college economics major and a registered nurse. In their suit, they argued that Noem preordained her termination decision and did so because of hostility to nonwhite immigrants. This seems substantially likely, Reyes said. Secretary Noem has terminated every TPS country designation to have reached her desktwelve countries up, twelve countries down. Advertisement Advertisement She concluded her ruling by highlighting an old adage among lawyers: If you have the facts on your side, pound the facts. If you have the law on your side, pound the law. If you have neither, pound the table, Reyes said. Secretary Noem, the record to date shows, does not have the facts on her side or at least has ignored them. Does not have the law on her side or at least has ignored it. Having neither and bringing the adage into the 21st century, she pounds X (f/k/a Twitter). Appeal expected Immigration advocates and lawyers involved in the litigation applauded the decision. Ira Kurzban, a nationally recognized immigration lawyer whose Miami-based firm helped litigate the case, said the facts of the case spoke for themselves. His firm is among a cadre of law firms that filed the case. Advertisement Advertisement Tonight, the district court, in the heart of our capitol, plainly and in a straightforward manner found that the Trump administration in ending Temporary Protected Status for the 350,000 Haitians in the U.S. engaged in race discrimination because of its hostility to nonwhite immigrants, mischaracterized who the Haitian plaintiffs are and their contributions to the U.S. and ignored the conditions in Haiti that would bar Haitians being sent back to that country, he said. Noems actions violated the TPS statute and the founding principles of our country when she prejudged their cases and decided to deny any extension of TPS for Haitians without considering the evidence she was required to by law, he added. The district court judge stayed the termination of TPS and plainly stated that the government may not remove or deport Haitians with TPS and may take no action to remove their employment authorizations. Todd Schulte, president of the advocacy group FWD.us, said Reyes ruling brings much-needed temporary relief to both beneficiaries of TPS and the communities they live in. These are parents raising U.S. citizen children, workers in essential jobs, and community members deeply rooted in the fabric of American life, he said in a statement. Stripping these protections wouldnt just put lives at risk. It would destabilize families, harm local economies, and weaken the very communities and workforce that strengthen America. Advertisement Advertisement The administration, which has canceled the TPS designation for a dozen other countries including Venezuela and Nicaragua, is expected to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court. In other cases, the administration has asked the court to lift injunctions imposed by lower court judges so that deportations can continue while litigation proceeds. President Barack Obama put the Haiti TPS designation in place after the countrys devastating 2010 earthquake left more than 300,000 dead and 1.5 million homeless. While the quake nearly destroyed the Haitian capital, the country today finds itself in even worse shape: there is not one elected official nearly five years after President Jovenel Moise was assassinated, gangs are running amok and the pending end of the mandate of a ruling presidential council has heightened fears of more violence and instability. Advocates and beneficiaries have said the end of TPS would send Haitians to their deaths, describing how armed gangs are responsible for thousands of killings, rapes and have left more than 6 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, including over 1.4 million who have been forced to flee their homes. In South Florida, where more than 150,000 Haitians hold TPS, business leaders have raised concerns about the potential economic impact of losing workers. Read more: Haitian TPS ends on Tuesday. No economy will be hit harder than Greater Miamis The suit was brought by the five plaintiffs after another group of Haitians and some of the lawyers prevailed in an earlier case, when Noem tried to reduce a Biden administration 18-month TPS extension by six months. In July, a federal judge in New York ruled that Noem had exceeded her authority, and restored the original Feb. 3, 2026, termination date. DHS said it disagreed with that ruling, but later announced plans to end the designation this week. Advertisement Advertisement In notices published in the Federal Register, DHS has acknowledged that criminal gangs are widespread in Haiti but said conditions are safe enough for Haitians to return and that keeping the TPS designation in place is contrary to U.S. national interests. The plaintiffs are represented by Kurzban Kurzban, Tetzeli & Pratt and Just Futures Law. Along with the lawsuit, Just Futures Law and NYU Professor Ellie Happel also assisted in filing Freedom of Information lawsuits demanding memos related to the decision. Read more: I am breathing, but I am not living: Fear rises among Haitians as TPS end nears Miami Herald staff writer Jay Weaver contributed to this report. A federal judge issued an 11th-hour order Monday night to block the termination of Haitian immigrants' Temporary Protected Status (TPS), saying that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem couldn't make such a decision on her own. The judge's order means more than 330,000 Haitian immigrants do not have to leave the U.S. starting Tuesday. U.S. District Court Judge Ana Reyes wrote in her order that Noem ignored provisions in the Immigration Act that required her to both review the country's conditions and to consult with other agencies before making a final decision. She wrote the order is effective for the duration of the lawsuit. Reyes said Noem couldn't prove that she'd talked to others about the TPS termination when she was pressed to do so. The judge said she didn't confer with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Ambassador to Haiti, U.S. Embassy in Haiti, State's regional office or Haiti desk, or with Congress. Advertisement Advertisement "Her national interest' analysis focuses on Haitians outside the United States or here illegally, ignoring that Haitian TPS holders already live here, and legally so," Reyes wrote. "And though she states that the analysis must include economic considerations,' she ignores altogether the billions Haitian TPS holders contribute to the economy." The ruling dealt a blow to Noem's increasing number of TPS revocations for various countries. Since she was appointed, Noem terminated status for at least a dozen countries, including Haiti, Venezuela and Somalia. Those terminations are facing legal challenges. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin wrote on X the Trump administration would appeal. "Supreme Court, here we come," McLaughlin wrote. "This is lawless activism that we will be vindicated on." Noem's post referenced in order Reyes pointed to Noem's X post in her order, noting that the secretary's words contradicted both her actions and the law governing the TPS program. Advertisement Advertisement She said the Dec. 1 post was made three days after terminating Haiti's status. I just met with the President. I am recommending a full travel ban on every damn country that's been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies. Our forefathers built this nation on blood, sweat, and the unyielding love of freedom-not for foreign - Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) December 1, 2025 "Kristi Noem has a First Amendment right to call immigrants killers, leeches, entitlement junkies, and any other inapt name she wants," Reyes wrote. "Secretary Noem, however, is constrained by both our Constitution and the APA to apply faithfully the facts to the law in implementing the TPS program. The record to-date shows she has yet to do that." Five Haitian TPS holders filed the litigation, Reyes said. They were neuroscientists, software engineers, laboratory assistants, a college student and registered nurses. "And so, the Government studiously does not argue that Plaintiffs will suffer no harm if removed to Haiti," the judge wrote. "Instead, it argues Plaintiffs will not certainly suffer irreparable harm because DHS might not remove them. But this fails to take Secretary Noem at her word: WE DON'T WANT THEM. NOT ONE.'" Haiti is still not safe U.S.-born Haitian American Natasha Atkinson told Straight Arrow News in January that the Caribbean Sea nation isn't safe to return. She noted that a number of major U.S. airlines are still refusing to fly to Port-au-Prince, and the State Department has a level four do not travel advisory out on the nation for heightened crime, terrorism, kidnapping, civil unrest and limited health care. Advertisement Advertisement Atkinson said a "perfect storm" of environmental and political disasters kept the country in need of humanitarian assistance and has led to an unstable government. "All of that, taken into consideration, and examined under the lens of why the United States even has TPS status, it meets the criteria," she said. Haiti faced devastation from Hurricane Matthew in 2016, a Category 4 storm, as it was still recovering from the 2010 earthquake. The events collectively claimed more than 200,000 lives and displaced millions of people. Protests against rising fuel costs led to the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021 and the government collapsed. Haiti faced another devastating earthquake at 7.2 magnitude in 2021, killing at least 304 people, the BBC reported. The country's government has since remained unstable as armed gangs and terror groups patrolled the nation. That conflicted with McLaughlin's assertion that protections were only granted for the 2010 earthquake. Advertisement Advertisement "Haiti's TPS was granted following an earthquake that took place over 15 years ago," she wrote, "it was never intended to be a de facto amnesty program, yet that's how previous administrations have used it for decades." Separate lawsuit challenged 75-country visa ban The judge's order could affect the outcome of a lawsuit the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Immigration Law Center and other immigrant-focused groups filed against Rubio for pausing visa processing for 75 countries "whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates." "The overwhelming majority of applicants for immigrant visas are not eligible for most government assistance programs and remain ineligible for years," according to the National Immigration Law Center. The Trump administration has not commented on the lawsuit as of Tuesday afternoon. Advertisement Advertisement Haiti is among the countries listed. Immigrants permitted into the U.S. under temporary protected status can seek visas to obtain permanent residency. The State Department noted that the rule doesn't affect current visas and people from the affected countries could still submit applications. Several people in the lawsuit alleged that they petitioned for their children and grandchildren to enter the U.S. and had their applications approved and paid, but were told at consular interviews they were ultimately denied due to inclusion on the list. The plaintiffs' were U.S. citizens and filed to have their families from Colombia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala and Jamaica to reunite the U.S. Advertisement Advertisement The post Federal judge blocks termination of temporary protected status for Haitian immigrants appeared first on Straight Arrow News. Related Links Finland is building a new fleet of icebreakers for the US but President Donald Trump's plans for Greenland, which he covets, and tense US-EU ties have raised concerns over the deal. Sixty percent of the world's icebreakers are Finnish-made and 80 percent are designed by Finnish companies, according to Arctia, the state-owned firm which manages the country's icebreaker fleet. Jukka Viitanen, Sustainability and Communications Director of Arctia, told AFP that Finland's expertise was born from necessity. Advertisement Advertisement It is the only country in the world where all ports can freeze in winter, Viitanen said. "We need to export and import stuff to be able to maintain people living in this country. That is why we need icebreaking," he said. Nations such as China, Russia and the United States are scrambling to secure a foothold in the Arctic for strategic reasons and to access huge reserves of natural resources. Many are now looking to enhance their icebreaker fleet. In October, Trump and Helsinki announced that the United States coast guard will procure 11 icebreakers. The US coast guard currently operates three ageing vessels. Advertisement Advertisement Four vessels will be built in Finnish shipyards, and the remaining seven in the United States. "It is not possible to sail through the Arctic Sea without icebreakers and many big nations have interests in the Arctic right now," Viitanen said. - US threats - The US order -- estimated at $6.1 billion according to media reports -- is a welcome boost for Finland, where unemployment is at a record high and the economy is in the doldrums. But Trump's desire to acquire strategically-located Greenland has now raised "more and more" suspicions about the deal, Sanna Kopra, an Arctic geopolitics and security professor at the University of Lapland, told AFP. Advertisement Advertisement Trump's long-standing territorial designs on Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, have triggered the most serious crisis in the history of US-led military alliance NATO. The US president last week backed off threats of using force to seize Greenland and began talks with Copenhagen and Nuuk. "But if Trump changes his mind about taking control over Greenland and the politics of the United States turns increasingly imperialistic, of course it raises questions about how wise it is to proceed," Kopra said. If Trump again starts talking about seizing Greenland, "the question of cancelling these deals could become a very important political issue," Kopra noted. Advertisement Advertisement Charly Salonius-Pasternak, an expert in geopolitics and the CEO of Finnish think-tank Nordic West Office, meanwhile doubted Trump's threats would endanger the deal. "There are voices," against it, he said, adding: "Are these people influential in the matter? No." - 'Greenland saga not over' - But Salonius-Pasternak conceded "the Greenland saga" was not over. "Trump said at the end of October 2025 that there were no plans to use military force in Venezuela," he noted -- but US forces seized its president in a raid there on January 3. In December, Finland's Rauma shipyard confirmed a contract from the US coast guard to build two icebreakers, to be completed in 2028. Advertisement Advertisement The Helsinki shipyard, owned by Canadian company Davie, is also expecting an order. Managing director Kim Salmi told AFP they expected to sign a contract with the US coast guard for two icebreakers shortly. "I'm preparing to start building those icebreakers as soon as possible," Salmi said. "When the ink drops on the paper, the first US icebreaker will be delivered 26 months from that," he said with a smile. ank/jll/ach/rlp A couple is suing a Florida fertility clinic after they were implanted with the wrong embryo, and asking for help locating their daughters biological parents. Tiffany Score and Steven Mills made a social media post asking for prayers as they navigate this deeply confusing and painful time with their daughter Shea, born December 11. They also expressed unbearable fear that their daughter might be taken from them at any time. I have a million things I want to say and so many emotions I wish I could share, but for now, this is what we are able to tell you: due to a medical error the wrong embryo implanted by the doctor Shea is not genetically related to either Steve or me, Score wrote. While we are profoundly grateful to have Shea in our lives and love her immeasurably, we also recognize that we have a moral obligation to find her genetic parents. Advertisement Advertisement The post went on to acknowledge this case has the potential for many potential outcomes. They likely will not comment further until their legal counsel has an update, although they did have a final request. If you have any information on the family who might be at the other side of this, please contact us, Score wrote. How a Florida couple knew a fertility clinic implanted them with the wrong embryo Questions were raised after Score gave birth from an emergency c-section and baby Shea looked to be a different race than Score and Mills, who are white. Testing confirmed the baby had "no genetic relationship to either of the Plaintiffs," according to the lawsuit filed this month in Palm Beach County Circuit Court. Advertisement Advertisement The couple underwent in vitro fertilization treatment at IVF Life, Inc. D/B/A Fertility Center of Orlando. Three viable embryos were created using their sperm and eggs. In March 2025, Score was implanted with an embryo, which resulted in Sheas birth. Score wrote despite the mix up, it resulted in a healthy baby girl whom we love more than words can express. GoFundMe account set up to assist Florida couple in IVF embryo mix-up Scores sister established a GoFundMe account to help cover extensive medical expenses, including prior IVF costs, hospital bills, and mental health therapies. Money raised also will support efforts to locate baby Sheas biological family and to find Score and Mills genetic embryos, which may or may not still exist. The couple also is hoping to retrieve Scores eggs that were frozen at a different clinic seven years ago, a process that could cost thousands. Advertisement Advertisement The emotional trauma produced by such a scenario is impossible to comprehend: desperately wanting to celebrate the miracle that is birth while battling utter shock and confusion, Scores sister Alexa Score wrote. Not to mention, being unable to talk to family and friends about their grief. This complex situation brings up multiple questions: Who and where are the babys biological parents? Where are Tiffany and Steves embryos? Were their embryos implanted into someone else? Do Tiffany and Steve have living breathing children in this world? The possibilities are hard to fathom. What Fertility Center of Orlando said about giving a patient the wrong embryo Located in Longwood, about 30 miles north of Orlando, the center offers various fertility services including testing, egg donation and help with male infertility. Calls to the clinic from USA TODAY Network have not been returned. The clinic acknowledged the situation in a now-deleted statement on its website. We are actively cooperating with an investigation to support one of our patients in determining the source of an error that resulted in the birth of a child who is not genetically related to them, according to the statement. Multiple entities are involved in this process, and all parties are working diligently to help identify when and where the error may have occurred. Our priority remains transparency and the well-being of the patient and child involved. We will continue to assist in any way that we can regardless of the outcome of the investigation. Advertisement Advertisement Michelle Spitzer is a journalist for The USA TODAY NETWORK-FLORIDA. As the networks Rapid Response reporter, she covers Floridas breaking news. This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Florida couple seeking baby's genetic parents following embryo mix-up Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate James Fishback said Monday he joined the dating app Tinder to meet young female voters in the state. Fishback, 31, wrote on the social platform X that he joined Tinder to meet young female voters where they are, and share my plan to make it easier for them to get married, buy a home, and raise a family. He also shared a screenshot of his Tinder profile, on which he said his hottest take is that Florida should offer paid maternity leave to all moms. Half an hour later, Fishback wrote on X that he ran out of likes and asked for donations so he could subscribe to Tinder Plus, which gives users unlimited likes and the ability to see who has liked their profile. Advertisement Advertisement Fishback, an investor and hedge fund manager, is running in the GOP primary to succeed term-limited Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). A survey conducted by Patriot Polling from Jan. 19-29 found that more than 22 percent of likely primary voters said they were more likely to back Fishback, as opposed to more than 37 percent who said they were more likely to support Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) the front-runner in the race whom President Trump endorsed last year. Fishback has directed multiple racist remarks at Donalds during the campaign, including when he wrote on X last month that the House member, whom he called Byrone, wants to turn Florida into a Section 8 ghetto. NBC News also reported in December that the Broward County School District cut ties with Fishback in 2022 following allegations he had an inappropriate relationship with a 17-year-old student when he was 27. The outlet reported that the woman asked a court for an order of protection from Fishback last year, with a judge ruling against her. Advertisement Advertisement Fishback has denied wrongdoing, telling NBC News the allegations are completely false. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) The Florida Panhandle Marine Institute (FPMI) is hosting a press conference regarding its new location and fundraising efforts on Friday. According to FPMI, it is a 501 (c) (nonprofit dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of marine mammals and sea turtles. FPMI said during the upcoming press conference that it will speak about its new location and the fundraising efforts needed to rebuild, relocate and fully equip its rehabilitation center and marine animal care. Advertisement Advertisement This press conference marks an important milestone for our organization and our community, FPMI President Pamela George said. We are committed to continuing our mission, but we cannot do it without community support. This new location and our fundraising efforts are essential to protecting the marine life that defines the Florida Panhandle. After more than 30 years, FPMI said it was forced to relocate but that its new location represents a natural opportunity for a long-term partnership with AMIkids Maritime Academy rooted in shared values and purpose. FPMI said that it has responded to more than 450 marine mammals and has assisted over 7,000 sea turtles. The press conference will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday at 200 E. Beach Drive in Panama City. Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to mypanhandle.com. Most of us were taught early that to stop bullies you stand up to them. Bullies prey on the weak and afraid. When confronted with courage, bullies lose their power. When President Donald Trump opens his toolbox, the only tool in it is a hammer. He needs power to succeed. Bullying has worked for him with colleges dependent on federal funds. Its worked on the media. ABC and CBS both caved under threats of being sued, and he took NPRs federal funding. The Wall Street Journal has stood firm so far. Trump threatens to primary GOP legislators who get out of step with him, and so far it has worked on most. Recently-resigned U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is an exception, and it was telling when she revealed to 60 Minutes that many Republicans talk negatively about the president behind his back but only behind his back because they are afraid of him. Bullying works on Israel and Ukraine too, because those nations are so dependent on U.S. support. Advertisement Advertisement Who doesnt his bullying work on? It doesnt appear to work on Russian President Vladimir Putin. He shows no fear of our president, and as a result our president backs down from him. The same can be said of Chinas Xi Jinping. Remember, bullies go after those they see as weak and afraid. Lets talk about Ukraine some more. Remember that embarrassing moment for the United States In February 2025 when our president and vice president attacked President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office? They really gave Zelenskyy the business and he had to take it because he needs us in his war against Russia. It was a demonstration of bullying at its worst. But wait: Do you remember Zelenskyys next visit to the White House? Several European leaders and officials, in a strong show of support, showed up with the Ukrainian president to keep Trump in check. Those who joined Zelenskyy at the White House included NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and leaders from the United Kingdom, Finland, France and Italy. And it worked. And it has recently worked again in the case with Greenland. Trump rattled his saber, threatening to take the island from Denmark by force if necessary. Once again, many smaller and mid-sized countries stood in solidarity with Denmark against Trump. It was a good example of how we teach our children to respond when they see one of their classmates being bullied. As a result, Trump put away his saber and said he wouldnt take Greenland by force. Advertisement Advertisement Mark Leonard, the director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, made an interesting comment at Davos. He said he hoped that Europeans will take the lesson of the last few days, that when they stand up for sovereignty and territorial integrity and these rules, they can defend them. I think there is a lesson there for our GOP legislators. I could reword Leonards statement to say Republicans can take a lesson from the last few days at Davos: that if they stand up together for the Constitution, the ideas of separation of powers, free speech and the rule of law, then together they can defend them. Kansas Sens. Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran have fought against bullying before. Marshall stood against the Biden administration forcing vaccines on members of the armed services and Moran was key in the investigation of Facebook over cyberbullying. Those stands did not require courage. They were popular positions with their party. If our senators stand up together for the Constitution, the ideas of separation of powers, free speech and the rule of law, then together they can defend them. I believe it would work because courage is kryptonite to bullies. Mike Souder is a retired Army lieutenant colonel, manufacturing manager and educator. He lives in Prairie Village. A Franklinville woman faces criminal charges in connection with a fatal crash in Washington Township. Barbara A. Stell, 49, was driving a car Nov. 24 that rear-ended an SUV on Hurffville Crosskeys Road near Chapel Heights Road, killing a passenger in her car, according to Washington Township police. The crash occurred at approximately 5:10 p.m. within the school zone for Washington Township High School. Advertisement Advertisement Fatal crash: Trucker gets prison term for NJ Turnpike accident Stell and the SUV's driver reported neck and back pain. Stell's passenger, identified only as an adult male, had to be extricated from the car. He was pronounced dead at an area hospital. Stell allegedly was driving recklessly and under the influence of alcohol and illegal drugs, police said in a statement Jan. 30. She's charged with reckless vehicular homicide, assault by auto and operating under the influence. The charges are only allegations, as Stell has not been convicted in the case. Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email: Jwalsh@cpsj.com. This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Franklinville woman charged after crash on Hurffville Crosskeys Road BOSTON (WWLP) Four individuals have been charged with allegedly using over 100 stolen identities to fraudulently obtain over $1 million in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits. In a statement issued by the Department of Justice in Boston, the scheme involved 115 stolen identities used to obtain $440,000 in SNAP benefits from Massachusetts and Rhode Island and over $700,000 in PUA benefits from Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Washington and Nevada. Massachusetts audit reveals over $11 million in public assistance fraud Advertisement Advertisement The following three men were charged by a criminal complaint with conspiracy to use, transfer, acquire and possess SNAP benefits: Joel Vicioso Fernandez (42) of Fitchburg Roman Vequiz Fernandez (32), a Venezuelan national living in Leominster Coralba Albarracin Siniva (24), a Venezuelan national living in Leominster In addition, 37-year-old Raul Fernandez Vicioso of Fitchburg has been charged with conspiracy to commit SNAP fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, SNAP benefit fraud, aiding and abetting, and money laundering. A number of the stolen identities used to fraudulently obtain SNAP benefits in Massachusetts and Rhode Island were from the following states: Advertisement Advertisement Connecticut Florida Kentucky New Jersey New York Pennsylvania Puerto Rico According to charging documents, the defendants used the stolen personal information of real people to create 24 fraudulent households for SNAP. All of those applications were listed as living in two single-family apartments in Providence, R.I. Between April 2020 and December 2021, the defendants also allegedly obtained more than $700,000 in fraudulent PUA benefits. Press Conference: The defendants allegedly used the fraudulent SNAP cards to purchase large quantities of bulk food, including packages of beef, chicken, and pork, from local wholesalers and food markets. These items were used to stock El Primo Restaurant in Leominster, operated by Fernandez Vicioso. Because the supplies were obtained for free, the defendants sold menu items at a complete profit and wired the proceeds to individuals in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. During a search of Fernandez Viciosos residence and El Primo Restaurant, law enforcement recovered fraudulent documents, printed ledgers, and handwritten lists of more than 100 identities and SNAP-related mailings. Photo via Department of Justice criminal complaint. The pandemic-related portion of the fraud occurred between April 2020 and December 2021. The defendants allegedly submitted fraudulent PUA applications in Massachusetts, N.Y., Pa., Ohio, and Nevada. At least 29 different identities were used in these applications, all of which listed the address for El Primo Restaurant as the residential address. Advertisement Advertisement Bank records obtained during the investigation show that approximately $276,021 in fraudulent PUA benefits were deposited into bank accounts held by the restaurant, the defendants, and other co-conspirators. Other benefits were issued to prepaid cards using addresses and telephone numbers associated with the defendants. Local News Headlines WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Download the 22News Plus app on your TV to watch live-streaming newscasts and video on demand. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. The Kentucky House of Representatives on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Sarah Ladd) FRANKFORT A bill exempting cigar bars from local smoking bans in Kentucky passed the House Tuesday 69-24 with bipartisan support and opposition. HB 194 progress House Bill 194 would carve out an exemption in local smoke-free laws for businesses to operate as cigar bars if they meet certain requirements: Businesses would have to hold a valid alcoholic beverage license and make at least 25% of their annual gross income from from the on-site sale of cigars, pipe tobacco, paraphernalia and accessories related to the consumption of cigars and pipe tobacco, and rental of humidors, or a combination thereof. A previous version of the bill set that income level at 15%. Advertisement Advertisement Health organizations say what they call a loophole for cigar bars would compromise public health and undermine local smoke-free ordinances that protect workers and the public. Breathing secondhand smoke can cause cancer, heart disease, stroke and other health problems. Rep. Chris Lewis, R-Louisville. Jan. 28, 2026. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Sarah Ladd) Sponsor Rep. Chris Lewis, R-Louisville, said his bill does not fully roll back any existing smoke-free laws in any local municipality in the commonwealth. This is not about smoking cigars in a regular bar, your local bowling alley or restaurant or any other public place that doesnt currently allow smoking, he said. If you dont want to be exposed to cigar smoke in a public place where smoke-free laws currently exist, nothing in this bill changes your ability to maintain that separation. The bill would also require cigar bars to notify people that they will be exposed to smoke at the facility, which would be required to have a smoke-free space for deliveries and related business with non-employees. It would subject cigar bars to any local ordinances that are not in conflict with the bill, including local regulations on permits and inspections. Advertisement Advertisement Lewis said on the House floor that his bill would not prevent any municipality from creating a new smoke-free ordinance, but it would not allow them to ban a cigar bar. Doug Hogan, the government relations director in Kentucky for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, told the Lantern after the Tuesday vote that the proposal creates a huge loophole in local smoke-free ordinances that currently require all bars to be smoke-free and said the Senate should reject it. The bill, Hogan said, will expose more people to the toxic compounds and chemicals in secondhand smoke and tie the hands of our local elected leaders to protect the health and safety of residents in their local community. A letter sent to legislators when the bill was in committee said Kentucky has 44 popular and effective smoke-free laws at the local government level. Eleven organizations including the Foundation For A Healthy Kentucky, Kentucky Medical Association, Kentucky Youth Advocates and more asked lawmakers to reject the bill, saying it preempts local authority and sends the wrong message to Kentuckys youth. Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Al Gentry, D-Louisville, said his vote in favor of the bill was about personal choice. Ill be the first one to say here that I dont smoke, he said. I will probably never go into a cigar bar, but I voted yes because I am a proponent of freedom and accountability. Rep. Anne Gay Donworth, D-Lexington, said that while this years version of the bill is a much better version than what we passed last year she voted against it because my district has a very, very, very popular indoor smoking ban that she didnt want to jeopardize. HB 194 can now go to the Senate for consideration. Rep. Anne Gay Donworth, D-Lexington, voted against HB 194. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Sarah Ladd) Health organization letter KY - Cigar Bar Partner Letter FINAL 012626 SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The French judiciary is investigating 10 men who are alleged to have drugged and sexually abused a 5-year-old boy during a drug-fuelled sex party. The father of the boy is said to have made contact with the men, the prosecutor's office in the north-eastern city of Lille said on Tuesday. He is accused of incest and complicity. The abuse is alleged to have taken place at a so-called chemsex evening, which refers to sex usually involving multiple partners that lasts hours under the influence of psychoactive substances such as cocaine, ketamine, ecstasy or crystal meth. Advertisement Advertisement The father is also said to have been raped and abused under the influence of drugs on the same evening. Specifically, the judiciary is investigating 10 men aged between 29 and 50. Almost all of them were placed in pre-trial detention. One of the men has since died. The prosecutor's office also accused some of them of sexual assaults on a pet during the preliminary investigations. The police were called in due to the alleged acts in Lille last February. The investigations relate to the period from November 2024 to February 2025. The child is now in the care of his mother. The father's custody and visitation rights have been suspended. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told lawmakers Monday that President Donald Trump personally asked her to be on site as FBI agents executed a politically sensitive search warrant at an Atlanta-area elections office, according to a copy of a letter sent by Gabbard and obtained by POLITICO. Gabbard also confirmed news reports earlier Monday that she facilitated a call the next day between Trump and some of the FBI field agents who participated in the raid in Fulton County, Georgia but denied that she or Trump pressured them. While visiting the FBI Field Office in Atlanta, I thanked the FBI agents for their professionalism and great work, and facilitated a brief phone call for the President to thank the agents personally for their work. He did not ask any questions, nor did he or l issue any directives, Gabbard wrote in a letter sent to Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.). Advertisement Advertisement Gabbards Monday missive came in response to a letter last Thursday from Warner and Himes the top Democrats on the Senate and House intelligence panels about the scope, legality and justification for her involvement in last Wednesdays FBI raid. Lawmakers first learned she was on the scene via a photograph that circulated online. It also followed the New York Times reporting earlier Monday that Gabbard arranged a call last Thursday between Trump and members of the FBI field office in Atlanta, which led the operation. The Justice Department is supposed to operate free from political interference, and it is highly unusual for a sitting president to have direct communication with frontline law enforcement personnel handling a sensitive case. Trump continues to claim the 2020 election was rigged in favor of Joe Biden, and Georgia has long been at the center of his unproven claims of widespread fraud. Even before news emerged about the call, Gabbards presence at the raid alarmed Democrats and current and former state election officials because the director of national intelligence is traditionally focused on foreign intelligence matters and rarely if ever plays a direct or highly visible role in domestic criminal investigations. Advertisement Advertisement Gabbard said in the letter that her presence came at the explicit direction of the president and was well within her legal authority: My presence was requested by the President and executed under my broad statutory authority to coordinate, integrate, and analyze intelligence related to election security, including counterintelligence (CI), foreign and other malign influence and cybersecurity, she wrote. She said she accompanied FBI Deputy Director Andrew Bailey and Atlanta acting Special Agent in Charge Pete Ellis only for a brief period of time to oversee FBI personnel executing the search warrant. To justify her presence, Gabbard cited three statutes, one executive order and one presidential policy directive that broadly outline her offices role in coordinating or overseeing intelligence on foreign election interference efforts and foreign threats to U.S. critical infrastructure, including election systems. She also wrote that the ODNIs general counsels office had found my actions to be consistent and well within my statutory authorities. Advertisement Advertisement The White House did not respond to a request for comment on Gabbards letter. In a statement, Rachel Cohen, a spokesperson for Warner, said Gabbard's letter only raises more questions than it answers. She added: Senator Warner plans to continue pressing for accountability. On a podcast Monday, Trump repeated his claim that the 2020 election was stolen, and urged Republicans to nationalize the election process. Presidential elections are largely run at the state and local level. The News The philanthropic community is losing the argument on the benefits of global aid, the CEO of the Gates Foundation warned, after cuts in development spending led to the first increase in child mortality rates since the start of this century. Weve hopefully not lost [it], but Im very conscious that we are currently losing the argument, and that is very damaging, Mark Suzman said in an interview accompanying the release of his annual letter. It has become very easy in rich countries, broadly, to target foreign aid as a big lump of spending that is in competition with budgets for pressing domestic needs, he said. The foundation is now looking to reframe its messaging as it details a road map for spending a final $200 billion of Bill Gates Microsoft fortune before closing in 2045. Advertisement Advertisement Most Western taxpayers still support foreign aid if they are told that the money will be spent effectively to save childrens lives, Suzman said. Trying to articulate that case in its very human, deliverable context is a key part of reframing that [message to] see if we can actually rebuild some support for this kind of targeted, high-impact aid. Know More The number of children dying of preventable diseases halved from 10 million to 4.6 million between 2000 and 2024, but rose again by an estimated 200,000 in 2025, according to modeling by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. Suzman said he believed the withdrawal of tens of billions of dollars in health and development funding by the US and other wealthy countries was the primary cause of that increase. There are massive inefficiencies and lots of room for improvement in the international aid system, he said, but in these specific areas where we work, especially in health, that is not the area that should be cut. In his letter, Suzman called for a new era of cooperation to fight preventable deaths and diseases, and said the foundation would step up its focus on building government capacity in low- and middle-income countries and bringing in other donors and philanthropists before it shutters. Advertisement Advertisement The Gates Foundation announced last year that the nonprofit would close in 20 years. To accelerate its impact before then, it will focus on three goals, Suzman said: ensuring that no mother or child dies of a preventable disease; eradicating polio and malaria while turning tuberculosis and HIV into manageable conditions; and freeing hundreds of millions of people from poverty through educational and agricultural reforms. That will entail ending some other programs, such as a financial inclusion initiative, which have achieved their goals or can be transitioned to other partners. Last year was the the most disruptive year in terms of global health and development this century, Suzman said, but it was not yet clear whether it was an anomaly, or the beginning of an extended reversal of progress. Room for Disagreement The World Health Organizations agenda is being skewed by a growing reliance on the Gates Foundation as the US and other rich countries cut funding, according to research published in BMJ Global Health last year. The UN agency denies its work is being slanted by external donors. Notable New York, New Jersey and the Gateway Development Commission are suing the federal government for cutting off funding for the Hudson River Tunnel, a move that could suspend construction by the end of the week. New York and New Jersey filed their lawsuit Tuesday night in federal court in the Southern District of New York, seeking emergency relief to stop the U.S. Department of Transportation from continuing to implement its indefinite funding freeze. Both governors Kathy Hochul and Mikie Sherrill said they will fight this effort by the Trump administration. Advertisement Advertisement "Donald Trump's revenge tour on New York threatens to derail one of the most vital infrastructure projects this nation has built in generations, putting thousands of union jobs and billions of dollars in economic benefits in jeopardy and threatening the commutes of 200,000 riders," Hochul said. "Every time the Trump Administration gets involved, costs go up and working people suffer. The illegal attack on the Gateway Tunnel is yet another example. New Jersey will not back down from this fight," Sherrill said. A day earlier, the Gateway Development Commission filed their lawsuit in federal court in Washington, alleging the U.S. Department of Transportation breached its contractual obligations by withholding more than $205 million without any legal basis, claiming the funds were cut to punish Democrats over last fall's government shutdown. President Donald Trump said in October that he had terminated the project, and without additional funding, the Gateway Development Commission warned it will be unable to continue work on the $16 billion project after Friday. That could leave about 1,000 union workers without jobs. Advertisement Advertisement In the lawsuit, the commission said that without federal funding this week, it will be unable to pay contractors to continue construction activities, causing work on the critical project to grind to a halt. The filing warns this would leave unfinished work sites with massive holes in the ground, threaten the livelihoods of hundreds of construction employees, burden the commission with enormous costs from delays and penalties, and put the future viability of the project into question. The tunnel project would build two new rail tubes under the Hudson River and is widely seen as critical to avoiding future disruptions in rail travel. White House spokesperson Kush Desai last week tied the tunnel funding to an ongoing dispute over immigration enforcement, saying, "It's Chuck Schumer and Democrats who are standing in the way of a deal for the Gateway Tunnel Project by refusing to negotiate with the Trump administration. There is nothing stopping Democrats from prioritizing the interests of Americans over illegal aliens and getting this project back on track." "As this lawsuit makes clear, President Trump has illegally frozen congressionally appropriated and contractually obligated funding for Gateway," said Senator Chuck Schumer. "This lawsuit would be unnecessary if President Trump did the right thing for New York and New Jersey and lifted his arbitrary freeze. Gateway is the most important infrastructure project in the country, and tens of thousands of union workers depend on it moving forward." Advertisement Advertisement ---------- * Get Eyewitness News Delivered * More New Jersey news * Send us a news tip * Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts * Follow us on YouTube Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply. Independent Minneapolis journalist Georgia Fort appeared Monday night on The Rachel Maddow Show to discuss her arrest by federal authorities last week and warn that the indictments against her and fellow journalist Don Lemon have taken the misinformation war to another level. Both Fort and Lemon were arrested by federal authorities Friday for covering an anti-ICE protest in Minnesota that saw protesters take over a local church in the middle of its service. The two journalists have been accused of violating those churchgoers Constitutionally protected religious worship rights. Fort live-streamed her arrest and told Maddow that the targeting of her by the Department of Justice just marks another example of the increasingly antagonistic relationship between the Trump administration and the press. I think in the last few years weve seen an exodus of not just Black journalists but journalists in general from mainstream media. Theres been a series of things that have happened, right? Fort said. She went on to reference the reshaping of the Pentagon Press Corps by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Jimmy Kimmels suspension last year and the delayed release under new CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss of a 60 Minutes segment about the detention of Venezuelan men deported from the U.S. to a prison in El Salvador. Advertisement Advertisement Theres been a strategic attack on the free press for quite some time, but recently it is intensifying and I would say that the arrest of myself and Don Lemon is a new level, Fort told Maddow. To try and criminalize journalism? Journalism is not a crime and, for me, when I think about the attack that were currently seeing on the press, I really want the American people to understand [that] attacking the press is not simply just attacking journalists. Its attacking the publics right to know. So often there are things that have happened with government agencies, people in power, big institutions [where] they sometimes may cover up their misdeeds, she explained. It is the act of journalists and journalism that oftentimes reveals those truths. So, if we are going to attack this pillar of our democracy, Im concerned that the misinformation war that weve been experiencing is going to escalate to another level. Unfortunately, Fort told Maddow she does not believe the Trump administrations attacks on the press will end with her and Lemons arrests. We saw AI images being published by the White House that [misrepresented] the reaction of one of the [Minneapolis] protesters being arrested, she noted. The only way that we knew it was fake was because someone was there to document what really happened. I do believe that this is an information war, the independent journalist continued. The people who are standing up for truth, the people who are not afraid to document whats happening, I think that were going to continue to be attacked. Elsewhere in her interview, Fort spoke briefly about the traumatic effects that her arrest, which involved nearly two dozen federal agents arriving at her door, have had on her and her children, the latter of whom have been afraid to be alone in the days since. Advertisement Advertisement Were trying to recover from this, Fort said. She went on to express her gratitude for the support she has received not only from her legal team but also from members of the Minneapolis community. Folks have been going to my website and making contributions there, but not just to the legal fund. Folks are wanting to support my ability to continue telling [these] stories, she shared. This is something, I think, that definitely would probably silence a lot of journalists, and Im committed to continuing to tell the story. Maddow, for her part, emphasized the importance of meeting Lemon and Forts arrests head-on. That attack for democracy defending itself has to be met with not just an equal-sized and equally aggressive defense of journalism and journalists, the MS NOW anchor explained, but one that is a defense effort that, I think, is larger than the attack that engendered it in the first place. The post Georgia Fort Warns Rachel Maddow of Escalating Misinformation War: Journalism Is Not a Crime | Video appeared first on TheWrap. Germany's Interior Ministry sees no signs of moderation in the new youth organization of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), saying it shows strong continuity with its dissolved predecessor. Responding to a question from a Green lawmaker, the ministry said in a statement that the leadership of the group, known as Generation Deutschland (GD), was largely made up of former officials and members of the AfD's previous youth wing, the Junge Alternative (JA). GD was founded in November 2025 after the JA was dissolved. Germany's domestic intelligence agency had previously classified the JA as a proven right-wing extremist organization. Advertisement Advertisement The ministry said it was aware of links between members of Generation Deutschland and other extremist organizations. It added that statements made by board members at the group's founding event indicated that the organization did not intend to moderate its political positions but rather to adhere to the same ideological content as its predecessor. According to the Interior Ministry, remarks made at GD's founding congress in November constituted concrete indications of efforts directed against Germany's democratic constitutional order. The ministry cited speeches that reflected an ethnic definition of the German nation and suggested demands for the legal discrimination of German citizens with a migration background, saying this underscored ideological continuity between the two groups. Unlike the JA, Generation Deutschland is formally integrated into the AfD party structure. The AfD severed ties with the JA earlier in 2025 and had little control over the organization, whose repeated controversies damaged the party's public image. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Tuesday rejected accusations from Moscow that Berlin's support for Ukraine is driven by revanchism, calling the claims a distraction from Russia's own actions. Russia earlier said German foreign policy towards Ukraine was shaped by revenge fantasies, accusing Berlin of being obsessed with settling historical scores. In a statement issued after Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's annual press conference at the beginning of the year, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Germany's unconditional backing of Ukraine formed part of what it described as a revanchist agenda. Advertisement Advertisement Speaking during a meeting with New Zealand's Foreign Minister Winston Peters in the Bay of Islands on New Zealand's North Island, Wadephul said Russia was seeking to divert attention from its current conduct. He said Germany had no difficulty confronting its own past and acknowledged the role of the Soviet Union in defeating Nazi rule during World War II. Wadephul said Germany recognized that victims of Nazi aggression included people from Ukraine as well as other nations of the former Soviet Union, adding that this historical reality was not disputed in Germany. At the same time, he said Berlin would not accept attempts to silence criticism of Russia's present-day actions. Germany would continue to speak out clearly about what he described as Russia's criminal conduct, he added. Moscow warns against German troops in Ukraine The Foreign Ministry in Moscow also criticized the fact that 80 years after the end of World War II, German weapons are once again being used en masse to target Russian territory. Advertisement Advertisement The German armed forces are already stationed in Lithuania, the Russian statement pointed out. If Berlin were to try this in Ukraine, the soldiers would be fought as "legitimate targets," referring to the discussion about Germany's participation in an international security force after the end of the Ukraine war. Wadephul said any possible deployment of German troops to help secure a future peace settlement in Ukraine would depend on Russia creating the conditions for a stable security order to emerge. He said a potential agreement would include provisions on whether foreign forces could be stationed on Ukrainian territory and in what form. Germany was working constructively to bring the war to an end, Wadephul said, adding that for now Russia's behaviour could only be described as destructive. Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine four years ago, claiming that his own security was threatened by NATO ambitions in the neighbouring country. To end the hostilities, Moscow demands not only that Ukraine renounce joining NATO but also make significant territorial concessions. Germany and New Zealand are stepping up cooperation in Antarctica as a signal against future ambitions by major global players. "We are jointly committed to ensuring that the continent remains a place of scientific cooperation and international research, and does not become the next arena of great power competition," German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Tuesday during a meeting with his New Zealand counterpart Winston Peters. Peters invited Wadephul to his home region of the Bay of Islands near the town of Kerikeri on New Zealands North Island. Advertisement Advertisement Wadephul said New Zealand is not only a gateway to the Pacific but also a gateway to Antarctica, "a continent that may not feature in the headlines in Germany every day, but is increasingly taking on foreign and security policy significance." Germany has long worked closely and in a spirit of trust with New Zealand on Antarctic research and now wants to take this cooperation to the next level, he added. In a joint Antarctic declaration published on Tuesday, Germany and New Zealand said they shared a strong interest in keeping "this unique part of the world peaceful, demilitarized, free of commercial mining indefinitely and comprehensively protected." Wadephul is currently on a multi-nation trip across South-East Asia and the Pacific. Advertisement Advertisement Also on Tuesday, the foreign minister formally established diplomatic relations with the South Pacific island nation of Niue. Wadephul signed a joint declaration with Niue Prime Minister Dalton Tagelagi in Auckland, marking the official start of bilateral ties between Germany and the self-governing island, which has a population of around 1,700 and covers roughly 260 square kilometres. Might want to keep the snow shovels and snow salt near, Washington DC, Virginia and Maryland, we're getting snow tonight, according to AccuWeather and the National Weather Service. NOAA's NWS issued a winter weather advisory in northern Virginia and a hazardous weather outlook in DC, northern Virginia, the I-95 corridor through central Maryland and the Delmarva area with up to 3 inches of snow expected to fall across the Mid-Atlantic region tonight, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. Light snow will start this afternoon and continue late tonight, tapering off Wednesday morning, Feb. 4, according to the latest snow forecast from the NWS Baltimore/Washington office. With another Arctic front arriving this week, bringing bitter cold polar vortex win chills and another snow storm Friday, here's the latest NOAA's NWS and AccuWeather snow forecast the DC area, Maryland and Virginia. Is it going to snow in DC, VA, MD? Yes, it is going to snow tonight, Feb. 3, in DC, Maryland and Virginia, NOAA said, and it will also snow tomorrow, Wednesday, Feb. 4, across the Mid-Atlantic region, but how much snow you get depends on where you live. Advertisement Advertisement Snow is expected to start late evening tonight in the DC area and last until pre-dawn hours on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service. A second snow system will pass Wednesday afternoon and evening, resulting in more snow from central Virginia to southern Maryland, NOAA said. Snow is expected in the DC area later this afternoon, Feb. 3 and late tonight with up to 3 inches possible in higher elevations. How much snow are we getting? See winter weather snow forecast The National Weather Service says the DC area will get about a half inch of snow tonight, Feb. 3, 2026, with Baltimore expected to see a trace of snow. Light snow coupled with sub-freezing temperatures could make for a slippery Wednesday morning commute, according to NOAA NWS Baltimore/Washington forecasters. The most significant snow this evening will accumulate west of the Allegheny Front in Virginia, with up to three inches of snow or more, and a steady band of snow between I-66 and I-64 could at least an inch of snow, NOAA said. Little or no snow is expected near the Pennsylvania border. A second wave of snow will pass through the region Wednesday afternoon and evening, and if it trends north, per NOAA guidance, it could bring light snow from central Virginia to southern Maryland. When is next snow storm coming to DC, VA, MD? The National Weather Service forecasts a "potent winter storm" in DC, Virginia and Maryland in their latest weather briefing via the NWS Baltimore/Washington office. The next snow storm likely to hit DC, VA and MD has "multiple hazards," and is expected to stary Friday and into the weekend. The storm will track with an Arctic cold front heading to Northeast this weekend, AccuWeather said. NWS, AccuWeather weather forecast DC, MD, VA AccuWeather forecasters and NOAA's NWS is tracking a bitter arctic front and frigid cold air this weekend, and the next snow storm headed to DC, VA and MD. To find your local weather forecast in the DC area, head to your local office, NWS Baltimore/Washington at weather.gov/lwx or on Facebook. In eastern and central Virginia and Maryland, head to the NWS Wakefield, VA office website. In western Virginia, your local forecast office is NWS Blacksburgs, VA. Winter storm warnings DC, VA, MD To keep track of NOAA's NWS winter storm warnings, watches or advisories in DC, Virginia and Maryland, see the map below, which is updated in real-time. Live weather radar DC area To check live weather radar near you, see the National Weather Service live Doppler radar below. Hit refresh on your browser for the latest radar loop. This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Will it snow tonight in DC, MD, VA? How much snow to expect and when Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton agreed to testify in the Epstein investigation by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in February. Hillary Clinton agreed to testify on Feb. 26 and Bill Clinton on Feb. 27, committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., announced on Tuesday. "Republicans and Democrats on the Oversight Committee have been clear: no one is above the law -- and that includes the Clintons," Comer said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon. Advertisement Advertisement "Once it became clear that the House of Representatives would hold them in contempt, the Clintons completely caved and will appear for transcribed, filmed depositions this month." The Clintons have "been so dishonest about the negotiation process, and their attorneys have been so dishonest about the negotiation process," Comer told The Hill earlier on Tuesday. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., speaks to the press after former U.S. Secretary of State and first lady Hillary Clinton did not appear for a closed-door deposition in the Rayburn House Office Building near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on January 14. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI The committee sent them the basic standard terms of a congressional deposition," he said. "They have to sign it, and then if they sign it, then we agree to terms, and we'll be deposing the Clintons in the month." Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks during a press conference after the House republican weekly caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. He said the House will vote on contempt of Congress charges against the Clintons if they don't agree to the testimony terms. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI Angel Urena, a spokesperson for former President Clinton, called Comer disingenuous amid the negotiations Monday. Advertisement Advertisement The Clintons "negotiated in good faith. You did not. They told you under oath what they know, but you don't care," Urena said in a post on X. "But the former president and former secretary of state will be there." House Speaker Mike Johnson earlier said if the Clintons did not sign the terms by noon, Republicans would move forward with holding them in criminal contempt of Congress. Agreeing to testify this month negated the potential contempt charges, but the Clintons have asked for their respective hearings to be public, committee ranking member Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., told media. Unnamed sources familiar with the negotiations told Politico and The Hill that the committee wants the Clintons to accept the terms under which they were initially subpoenaed in the case -- transcribed, filmed depositions with no time limits. Advertisement Advertisement Bill Clinton, however, sought to narrow the focus of the testimony to "matters related to the investigations and prosecutions of Jeffrey Epstein." He also didn't want a transcribed interview, but instead wants a deposition under oath, and sought a 4-hour time limit. Hillary Clinton sought a secondary sworn declaration instead of appearing in person for a deposition. The committee issued subpoenas in August compelling the Clintons to testify. Bill Clinton is a former associate of the late Epstein but said he broke off relations with the disgraced financier in the early 2000s before his crimes became publicly known. Hillary Clinton has said she doesn't recall ever speaking with Epstein. Democrats have accused the Republican-led committee of trying to focus on the Clintons as part of President Donald Trump's pursuit of investigations of political rivals and to deflect from Epstein's relationships with notable Republicans, including the sitting president. Republicans are stepping up their warnings about the midterms after a stunning Democratic upset in Texas over the weekend. The Republican Party was already grappling with growing backlash to a pair of immigration-related shootings in Minneapolis before Democrat Taylor Rehmets shock win in a state Senate race in the Lone Star State on Saturday. Multiple Republicans have framed the race as a wake-up call for the party, as polls show Democrats leading on the generic ballot ahead of what will be a fierce battle for both the House and Senate in November. Advertisement Advertisement This is definitely something Republicans should take seriously and get to the bottom of, and understand why this race didnt go well in Tarrant County, and what the national implications might be, said Texas Republican strategist Brendan Steinhauser. Rehmet, a machinist and Air Force veteran, defeated Republican Leigh Wambsganss by roughly 14 points to fill the vacant state Senate District 9, a dramatic swing to the left in a district that went to President Trump by 17 points in 2024. The race had shifted into a runoff after no candidate clinched a majority in November, rattling Republicans even before Saturday. Despite a significant fundraising edge and support from prominent party leaders, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) plus a last-minute Trump endorsement Wambsganss lost decisively, allowing the seat to fall into Democratic hands for the first time in more than 40 years. Advertisement Advertisement Tonight is a wake-up call for Republicans in Tarrant County, Texas, and the nation. The Democrats were energized. Too many Republicans stayed home, Wambsganss said in a statement after her loss. Texas Lt. Gov Dan Patrick (R) also said on the social platform X that the results are a wake-up call for Republicans across the Lone Star State. Our voters cannot take anything for granted, Patrick said, pushing Republicans to come out fighting with a new resolve and flip the seat back in November, when the contest for a full term in the district will take place. Rehmets win adds to a string of Democratic special election victories and overperformances since Trump returned to the White House results that have boosted the partys hopes of breaking the GOPs slim majority in the House and potentially even the Senate. Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, Trump faces sunken approval ratings and growing frustration over his immigration crackdown, which led to two fatal shootings at the hands of federal officers in Minnesota this month and complicated what has long been a winning issue for the GOP. Special elections are quirky and not necessarily projectable re: a general election. That said, a swing of this magnitude is not something that can be dismissed. Republicans should be clear-eyed about the political environment heading into the midterms, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said on X following the Texas election. On a generic congressional ballot, Democrats are favored over Republicans by more than 5 points, according to Decision Desk HQs polling aggregate. Thats a significant change from the first month of Trumps term, when Republicans were ahead. Democrats need to net just three seats to flip the House. Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin said the Texas election results prove that no Republican seat is safe. Advertisement Advertisement Backlash to the immigration crackdown and the treatment of Latinos in particular is definitely turning Latino voters away from the Republican Party, said Jon Taylor, the University of Texas at San Antonios department chair of political science. Is it a bellwether for the midterms? I think that is way too early, Taylor said. But as a one-off, it definitely sent a message. It was a shot across the bow. And it definitely spooked Republicans. Just a day after his Complete and Total endorsement of Wambsganss, Trump appeared to distance himself from the race on Sunday, telling reporters, Im not involved in that. Thats a local Texas race. He did, however, say hed give a very serious look at endorsing in the U.S. Senate race in Texas, where Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) faces a tough challenge from his right in state Attorney General Ken Paxton (R). Meanwhile, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (Texas) and state Rep. James Talarico are vying for the Democratic nod. Advertisement Advertisement In hypothetical general election match-ups, a recent Emerson poll found Paxton tied with both Talarico and Crockett while Cornyn defeated Talarico by 3 points and Crockett by 5 points. Democrats have struggled for decades to clinch a statewide win in red Texas, which voted for Trump by roughly 14 points in 2024. But operatives in the state have drawn comparisons to the 2018 midterms, when Democrat Beto ORourke came within 3 points of ousting Sen. Ted Cruz (R) amid a national blue wave. I dont think we can spin our way out of this one. Theres just no justification for a 31-point swing in Texas, Republican strategist Jason Cabel Roe said of the Texas special election. And frankly, when you look at the Senate majority and seats we shouldnt have to defend, Texas is at the top of that list. If we are underperforming at that level, and have the kind of primary that we have there, that is not a good sign. Advertisement Advertisement Many are placing blame on low turnout in a downballot race. Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) faulted this months winter storm in the Lone Star State. And Wambsganss projected confidence that the dynamics will be fundamentally different when she and Rehmet square off to win a full term in this falls general election. Others argue its the latest warning sign for Republicans in Texas and beyond. Its only a wake-up call if you had hit the snooze button on every single other indicator weve had in the past six months, Republican strategist Matthew Bartlett said. This is not a wake-up call. This is an additional significant data point, which is pointing towards a very, very ugly midterm. Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Gov. Josh Shapiro delivered his fourth spending plan on Feb. 3, 2026, starting budget negotiations for the next year. (Photo courtesy of PAcast) This story will be updated throughout the day with more details about the governors budget plan, as well as reaction from lawmakers, county commissioners, advocates, and other groups. It was last updated on Feb. 3, 2026 at 4:58 p.m. to include additional reporting. Gov. Josh Shapiro made a pitch Tuesday in his fourth budget address for spending $53.2 billion in the 2026-2027 fiscal year, more than the $50.8 billion the state expects to bring in during the same period. Advertisement Advertisement The projected revenue includes an estimated $2 billion in new taxes that would come from legalizing recreational cannabis and electronic skill games slot machine-like devices that have proliferated in Pennsylvania corner stores and gas stations. But, Shapiro has failed to build a legislative consensus to implement either measure over the last three years. Even with the proposed new revenue, the plan would require dipping into the states $7.5 billion rainy day fund. The spending would allow for increased funding for education, healthcare, economic development and safety programs, among others. Governor Shapiro unveils 202627 budget proposal on Feb. 3, 2026. (Photo by courtesy of PAcast) The biggest would be for the Department of Education and the Department of Human Services. Shapiros proposal includes roughly $665 million in new funding for K-12 schools. And the Department of Human Services would also receive roughly $2.7 billion in new funding for health initiatives and increased Medicaid spending. I know government can be a productive force for good in peoples lives, Shapiro said in his address. I know because Ive seen it over the past three years. Our kids are getting a better quality education, our workers have more opportunities to chart their own course, our economy is growing and our communities are safer. Advertisement Advertisement Along with long-sought policies legalizing recreational cannabis and skill games, the budget proposes raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Currently, Pennsylvanias minimum wage is $7.25, lower than all neighboring states. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Shapiros proposal also sets aside $100 million in a Federal Response Fund to compensate for any federal actions that could cost the commonwealth. Though not intended to cover litigation costs, the fund is supposed to be flexible enough to cover all agencies. Shapiros address comes less than three months after last years budget was passed in November, well past its June 30 deadline. The Republican majority in the Senate and the Democratic majority in the House struggled to come to an agreement over how much deficit spending the commonwealth should take on, with Republicans calling for cuts to Democratic priorities like education and transit funding. Advertisement Advertisement Ultimately, that budget saw the state spend $50.1 billion, more than $3 billion less than what the governor pitched on Tuesday Shapiro is running for reelection. State Treasurer Stacy Garrity, who has already earned the state Republican Partys endorsement in the primary, is the leading candidate to face him on the ballot. Garrity has knocked Shapiro in the past for his willingness to take on deficit spending. Senate Appropriations Chair Scott Martin (R-Lancaster ) at a press conference on Shapiros budget proposal on Feb. 3, 2025. (Photo by Ian Karbal/Capital-Star) More budget details Despite Shapiro touting a 2024 Moodys credit rating upgrade during his address Tuesday, the delay in passing last years budget recently resulted in a downgrade by S&P. Deficit spending can hurt a credit rating as well, leading to higher borrowing costs. His proposal Tuesday relies on issuing bonds to pay for critical infrastructure investment to benefit schools, housing, energy and local governments. Advertisement Advertisement General obligation bonds typically are repaid over decades. GO debt repayments this year spiked about 19 percent above what was due last year. Thats double or triple, or even more in some years, annual increases during the prior decade, according to an analysis by the Capital-Star. Aside from using debt to build out the states housing stock, Shapiro pitched four legislative actions to protect the states 1.5 million renter households, including: Establishing a statewide cap on rental application fees that would be limited to actual screening costs and couldnt be charged before a tenant can view the property Affirming a tenants right to terminate a lease if theyre experiencing domestic violence Sealing eviction records for people who havent been evicted Limiting when landlords can consider criminal history in rental applications, which would prevent denials based on old or non-violent criminal convictions He also called for addressing so-called tangled titles by creating transfer-on-death deeds, where a disputed legal title can be inherited more smoothly and bypass probate costs. Advertisement Advertisement Universal costs such as higher interest rates likely contribute to the additional expense, in part. Rep. Matt Bradford (D-Montgomery) defended the choice to take on debt, pointing to economic development grants funded through a similar mechanism that convinced a pharmaceutical giant to invest $3.5 billion in the Lehigh Valley. We borrowed that money to make sure that we can grow this economy. It is already bearing fruit, said Bradford. We dont want to hear the hypocrisy that we cant make outyear investments, but we can cut outyear taxes for businesses. Responding to Shapiros proposal in a press conference, Republican leaders criticized the level of deficit spending, and promised to do their part to rein in spending through negotiations. Rep. Danilo Burgos (D-Philadelphia) applauds during Gov. Josh Shapiros fourth budget address Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, during a joint session of the Pennsylvania General Assembly (Photo by Peter Hall/Capital-Star) This is our fourth budget from the governor that spends way too much, a lot more than we are bringing in in revenue, said Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R-Westmoreland). We plan to be as fiscally responsible to the people of Pennsylvania that we are able to be. Advertisement Advertisement Ward also denounced the use of multi-year bonds to pay for infrastructure improvement, noting Shapiros rumored presidential aspirations. One thing I think is the governor brought up the housing issue and bonding in 2028, when he plans on being gone. He plans on being somewhere else, in another office and he leaves that burden for all of us, putting all that money into a bond, said Ward. We, again, will be left holding the bag. Its also unclear whether Republicans will support policies like legalizing cannabis and regulating skill games, which Shapiros budget proposal relies on for revenue. Democrats have supported the efforts for years, unsuccessfully. After Shapiros address, GOP legislative leaders threw cold water on the proposals, but expressed openness to working on legislation, especially when it comes to skill games. Advertisement Advertisement We still believe there is something that needs to be done on gaming reform, said Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R-Indiana). But I will tell you, I would also like to see the Governors words on paper. The governor talks about gaming reform, but we have yet to see a legislative proposal put in front of us. On cannabis, Pittman called a previous Democrat-backed proposal to sell marijuana in state-run stores, like liquor, a crazy plan. He did not say whether his caucus would support a private store model. A State Police vehicle equipped with new lights and sirens in PSPs Harrisburg transportation building on Jan. 29, 2026. (Photo by Ian Karbal/Capital-Star) The proposal includes an increase of 9.4 percent or $117 million for Pennsylvania State Police, with $16.2 million of that for additional troopers. Advertisement Advertisement The agency got a nearly $70 million funding boost last year. Shapiro also wants to eliminate the cap on the number of state troopers last raised in 2023. Its at 4,300 and set by statute. He is calling for removing the legislatures discretion over state police hiring levels and instead allow the agency to determine staffing needs, as it continues to face retirements and an increasing demand for coverage from municipalities. PSPs money for gun checks would nearly double under this proposal to $8.9 million. (This article was updated at 10:45 a.m., Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026 to correct a caption that misidentified Philadelphia Democratic state Rep. Danilo Burgos.) RICHMOND, Va. (WFXR) A 2,300 mile route where every step taken is to promote peace and unity around the nation and around the world. That is the goal of about two dozen Buddhist monks and their rescue dog, Aloka, who embarked on a cross-country trek beginning in October of 2025. The Walk for Peace is a moving meditation where organizers from the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth, Texas, say the trek is to raise awareness of inner peace and mindfulness across America and around the world. On Feb. 2, 2026, Governor Abigail Spanberger welcomed the monks into Richmond with a proclamation (her first since taking office) of their impact. This Monday marked the 100th day of the Monks journey across America. Advertisement Advertisement (Video courtesy of WRIC, 8News) A post from the Governor says, The venerable Buddhist Monks arrived in Richmond on their 2,300-mile Walk for Peace. I was honored to welcome the monks to our capital city and mark today, February 2, 2026, as Walk for Peace Day in the commonwealth. She says, Thank you, Virginia, for showing up for peace, for unity, and for justice. Advertisement Advertisement To follow along the monks journey, check this map for their live location and this map for the route overview. Visit Walk for Peace for daily updates and more information. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFXRtv. WASHINGTON President Donald Trump signed legislation passed by the House of Representatives on Tuesday to end the partial government shutdown, bringing a relatively swift resolution to a brief funding lapse caused by widespread concern with federal immigration enforcement since Alex Pretti's killing. Weve succeeded in passing a fiscally responsible package that actually cuts wasteful federal spending while supporting critical programs for the safety, security and prosperity of the American people, Trump said during an Oval Office ceremony as Republican members of Congress stood behind him. Most Republicans and 21 Democrats supported the funding package, which made it through the House on a 217-214 vote. It passed the Senate unanimously last week. Advertisement Advertisement The race is now on for lawmakers to reach a deal in just over a week about reforms to the Department of Homeland Security, which includes ICE and Border Patrol. That agency's funding now runs out next Friday, Feb. 13. The small extension was meant to buy time for Democratic lawmakers to negotiate with the GOP and White House over changes to DHS in the wake of the fatal shootings of Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis last month. More: Trump urges Republicans to nationalize elections. What does that mean? After the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good by federal immigration agents (ICE), communities across the U.S. are protesting against Trump's surge of immigration enforcement actions. Pictured here, Demonstrators gather for a protest calling for the removal of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Jan. 30, 2026 in the Chinatown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Protests were held across the United States in response to ICE enforcement activity. Savannah Gritter, 12, holds signs during the "ICE Out Everywhere" protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on January 31, 2026, in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. A federal agent goes to clear a makeshift shield a protester placed over a gas canister during an anti-ICE protest at the Eugene Federal Building on Jan. 30, 2026, in Eugene, Oregon. Hundreds of people gather to protest ICE at the corner of Palafox and Garden Streets in downtown Pensacola, Florida, on Jan. 30, 2026. In an aerial view, demonstrators spell out an SOS signal of distress on a frozen Lake BdeMaka Ska on Jan. 30, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Protesters marched through downtown to protest the deaths of Renee Good on January 7, and Alex Pretti on January 24 by federal immigration agents. Protesters chant as they march down University Avenue during a Party for Socialism & Liberationsponsored antiICE demonstration in downtown Gainesville, Fla., on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. The march began at Southwest 13th Street and University Avenue and ended at Bo Diddley Plaza, where participants protested ICE and recent killings in Minnesota. A protestor is shoved by a federal agent after getting face-to-face with the agent, who stood among a line of agents blocking off the federal detention center in Los Angeles, Calif., Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. People hold signs along PGA Blvd., and Military Trail during the "ICE Out Everywhere" protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on January 31, 2026, in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Demonstrators march down Walnut Street as Cincinnati Police officers clear traffic during an ICE Out! rally in downtown Cincinnati on Jan. 30, 2026. Protestors clash with police during a "National Shutdown" protest against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Los Angeles on Jan. 30, 2026. Donald Trump's border chief said Jan. 29, 2026 that some federal agents could be withdrawn from Minneapolis, the northern US city that has become the flashpoint for the president's immigration crackdown. The Trump administration, facing a public backlash over the shooting deaths of two Americans by federal agents in Minneapolis, also eased immigration operations in the northeastern state of Maine. Penn High School students participate in a walkout protesting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, in Mishawaka, Indiana. People hold signs along PGA Blvd., and Military Trail during the "ICE Out Everywhere" protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on January 31, 2026, in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Federal agents drive out protesters from the grounds of the Eugene Federal Building on Jan. 30, 2026, in Eugene, Oregon. Protesters gather at City Hall in response to recent actions by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, commonly referred to as "ICE," and the presence of Flock cameras in the community and Indiana University campus, in Bloomington, Indiana, on Jan. 30, 2026. People partake in a "National Shutdown" protest against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Los Angeles on Jan. 30, 2026. Donald Trump's border chief said Jan. 29, 2026 that some federal agents could be withdrawn from Minneapolis, the northern US city that has become the flashpoint for the president's immigration crackdown. The Trump administration, facing a public backlash over the shooting deaths of two Americans by federal agents in Minneapolis, also eased immigration operations in the northeastern state of Maine. A Penn High School student confronts a man in a car line at the school who was shouting, "Let's go ICE!" as students were marching past during a walkout protesting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, in Mishawaka, Indiana. People partake in a "National Shutdown" protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Boston, Massachusetts on Jan. 30, 2026. Donald Trump's border chief said Jan. 29, 2026 that some federal agents could be withdrawn from Minneapolis, the northern US city that has become the flashpoint for the president's immigration crackdown. The Trump administration, facing a public backlash over the shooting deaths of two Americans by federal agents in Minneapolis, also eased immigration operations in the northeastern state of Maine. People hold a photo of Alex Pretti, who was shot dead by federal agents, during a protest in Minneapolis on Jan. 30, 2026. People hold a photo of Renee Good, who was shot dead by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, during a "National Shutdown" protest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 30, 2026. Donald Trump's border chief said Jan. 29, 2026 that some federal agents could be withdrawn from Minneapolis, the northern US city that has become the flashpoint for the president's immigration crackdown. The Trump administration, facing a public backlash over the shooting deaths of two Americans by federal agents in Minneapolis, also eased immigration operations in the northeastern state of Maine. Protestors clash with police during a "National Shutdown" protest against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Los Angeles on Jan. 30, 2026. Donald Trump's border chief said Jan. 29, 2026 that some federal agents could be withdrawn from Minneapolis, the northern US city that has become the flashpoint for the president's immigration crackdown. The Trump administration, facing a public backlash over the shooting deaths of two Americans by federal agents in Minneapolis, also eased immigration operations in the northeastern state of Maine. Students walked out or skipped school to join others in the student-led ICE Out protest in downtown Knoxville, Tenn., on Jan. 30, 2026. A protestor reacts to being hit by tactical gas used by federal agents in Los Angeles, Calif., Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. LAPD officers attempt to clear protestors during 'National Shutdown" anti-ICE protests on Jan. 30, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. Across the country, thousands participated in similar protests as the nation continues to react to events in Minneapolis, where two people were killed in confrontations with ICE and other government immigration agents. Thousands of protestors begin to march away from city hall in Los Angeles, Calif., Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. Demonstrators gather in front of the Hamilton County Courthouse during an ICE Out! rally in downtown Cincinnati on Jan. 30, 2026. Hacks actress Megan Stalter holds up a protest sign outside of city hall in Los Angeles, Calif., Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. Protesters gather at the Rhode Island State House on Jan. 30, 2026 as part of the nationwide 'ICE Out' national strike. People protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration policies outside the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Los Angeles, California, Jan. 30, 2026. A demonstrator reacts in front of Los Angeles Police Department officers standing guard during a protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration policies, near the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Los Angeles, Jan. 30, 2026. A Los Angeles Police Department helicopter circles the area over protestors outside of the federal detention center in Los Angeles, Calif., Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. Demonstrators gesture towards Los Angeles Police Department officers approaching them during a protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration policies, near the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Los Angeles, Jan. 30, 2026. People march down the road during a protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S, President Donald Trump's immigration policies outside the CoreCivic ICE detention center in Houston, Texas, Jan. 30, 2026. Protesters gather at City Hall in Bloomington, Indiana, on Jan. 30, 2026, in response to recent immigration enforcement actions by the government. 'ICE Out' protests spark marches, confrontations across US 1 of 33 After the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good by federal immigration agents (ICE), communities across the U.S. are protesting against Trump's surge of immigration enforcement actions. Pictured here, Demonstrators gather for a protest calling for the removal of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Jan. 30, 2026 in the Chinatown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Protests were held across the United States in response to ICE enforcement activity. Whether that agreement will rapidly come to fruition on such a tight timeline is looking increasingly difficult especially amid disunity among House and Senate Democrats. Advertisement Advertisement "The Democrats are in a family squabble," Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Tuesday. Trump signs funding bill ending government shutdown President Donald Trump attends a bill signing in the Oval Office of the White House on February 03, 2026 in Washington, DC. President Trump signed legislation Tuesday reopening the government and ending the brief shutdown during an Oval Office ceremony shortly after the House passed the funding package. Weve succeeded in passing a fiscally responsible package that actually cuts wasteful federal spending while supporting critical programs for the safety, security and prosperity of the American people, Trump said as Republican members of Congress stood behind him. House Speaker Mike Johnson called passage of the legislation a big deal, touting health care measures it funds. The speaker picked up a red hat sitting on Trump's Resolute Desk with the words, America is back. Advertisement Advertisement America is back, Johnson said. The hat is appropriate. Joey Garrison Trump to sign bill ending shutdown Tuesday afternoon President Donald Trump will sign the funding bill to end the shutdown and reopen the government in the Oval Office at 4:30 pm ET on Tuesday afternoon. The White House released an update to the presidents daily schedule after the House voted 217-214 to approve a legislative package ending the shutdown, with 21 Democrats joining all but 21 Republican to vote for it. Joey Garrison 21 Democrats back government funding bill, 21 Republicans oppose Most Republicans in the House supported a deal worked out between President Donald Trump and Senate Democrats to fund the government, while most Democrats opposed the measure that passed 217-214. Advertisement Advertisement But there were a notable number of lawmakers on both sides who didnt go along with the majority in their party, as 21 Democrats backed the legislation and 21 Republicans opposed it. The compromise measure breaks out funding for the Department of Homeland security and only extends spending at the agency for two weeks while lawmakers discuss ICE reforms. While many Democrats opposed the compromise as the left pushes for an aggressive stance against ICE, the party isnt united on the issue. Among those backing the deal: Democratic Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, a retiring lawmaker who represents a battleground district and is known for a more centrist approach. Meanwhile, some hardline Republicans opposed the compromise despite Trump advocating for it. Some conservatives are leery of reforming ICE and giving Democrats leverage over the agencys funding. Zac Anderson Massie only GOP no vote to advance funding package Johnson could only spare one Republican defection in advancing the government spending package to end the four-day partial government shutdown. That's exactly what happened, but not without some drama first. Advertisement Advertisement Republicans Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, and John Rose, R-Tennessee, initially voted against advancing the legislation. Four GOP lawmakers initially abstained during the voting. Had they not changed their minds, the vote would have failed 212-216 after every Democrat voted against the measure. Instead, Republican leaders kept the vote open and worked to convince the holdouts. The four lawmakers who initially abstained Byron Donalds, R-Florida, Andy Ogles, R-Tennessee, Victoria Spartz, R-Indiana and Troy Nehls, R-Texas eventually voted to advance the bill and Rose flipped his vote, leaving Massie the only no vote. The measure advanced 217-215. The vote on a procedural question set the legislation up for a final House vote. Zac Anderson Advertisement Advertisement More: Which House GOP lawmaker voted against ending shutdown? Johnson scrambles amid GOP holdouts Johnson huddled with several Republican holdouts on the House floor on Tuesday afternoon as a high-stakes procedural vote to end the shutdown seemed to be on thin ice. The drama underscored just how thin Republicans' majority is in the House, making virtually any piece of legislation a chance for lawmakers to flex their political leverage. Zach Schermele Johnson looks ahead to debate over ICE reforms House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks with reporters at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 3, 2026, in Washington, DC. Ahead of a vote on government funding legislation, Speaker Johnson laid out the fight ahead over immigration issues that will quickly consume lawmakers if the House passes the spending bill. Advertisement Advertisement The funding measure only extends Department of Homeland Security spending for another week while lawmakers debate immigration enforcement issues. Trump has been negotiating with Senate Democrats on ICE reforms, but Johnson said the House Republicans would engage on the issue as well and wont go down the road of amnesty. You cant in any way lighten the enforcement requirement of federal immigration law, Johnson said in a press conference. We have to enforce our immigration law. The American people made that their number one issue in the last election. Zac Anderson Conservatives back off threat to vote down funding bill Republican lawmakers have dropped their threat to vote against the government funding bill unless it is amended to incorporate voter ID legislation. Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Florida, wrote on social media that the price for her vote was amending the legislation. But she later told reporters Feb. 2 that she and fellow GOP lawmaker Tim Burchett, R-Tennessee, had dropped their demand and would vote to advance the legislation when it comes up for a procedural vote this morning. "As of right now, with the current agreement that we have, as well as discussions, we will both be a yes on the rule," Luna said, according to Fox News. Trump had pushed back against lawmakers demands for changes to the funding bill in a social media post, and Luna said Senate Majority Leader John Thune agreed to hold a vote on the voter ID bill, according to Fox News. The GOP opposition to the legislation threatened its chances of passing in a chamber where Republicans hold a slim majority. Zac Anderson Votes to end shutdown may hinge on tight margin Tuesday's votes one around 11:15 a.m. and another at approximately 1 p.m. may hinge on a tight margin, depending on how many Democrats get on board. Advertisement Advertisement While House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, signaled Monday that Democrats wouldn't be voting en masse for the shutdown-ending funding package, signs emerged this week that others in his party were taking a different tack. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Connecticut, who represents Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee, said she'd be supporting the bills. The shift was notable given she was a no vote when the House first sent the initial versions of the measures, which she played a big role in negotiating and originally fully funded DHS, over to the Senate. Zach Schermele Blue wave forming? Democrat's Texas romp may be biggest sign yet. The dome of the U.S. Capitol is framed through a window, as members of Congress work to resolve a dispute over immigration enforcement on Capitol Hill on January 30, 2026. Stark partisan divide over immigration enforcement funding Leaders of the House Rules Committee, which moved the shutdown-ending funding package forward on Monday night, revealed a sharp partisan divide. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-North Carolina, said the House never flirted with a government shutdown, but she said the Senate torpedoed a previous spending package. She encouraged quick approval of the measure to allow lawmakers to work on other matters. To describe this as disappointing would be an understatement, Foxx said. This process should have been over and done with by now. The top Democrat on the committee, Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, spoke for many Democrats in opposing the spending legislation for DHS, citing the fatal shootings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti last month. Im not voting to fund this agency for two seconds let alone two weeks, McGovern said. They are terrorizing our communities and acting like theyre above the law. Is Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid impacted during government shutdown? No, certain types of mandatory spending that are not fully subject to the annual appropriations process, including Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, do not completely stop during a partial shutdown, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (though they can still be impacted by disruptions). National parks and food inspection services typically run as normal, too, the CRFB says. But a partial closure can mean certain federal operations are stopped or scaled back to ensure only essential work is happening. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump signs legislation to end government shutdown. Recap Feb. 2GRAND FORKS The Grand Forks Public Schools Superintendent Evaluation Committee approved a revised evaluation for Superintendent Terry Brenner, adding back in questions referencing Brenner's performance in regard to the district's strategic plan. Under North Dakota Century Code, the Grand Forks School Board is required to complete a superintendent evaluation twice per year. In November, the board completed the first evaluation and the second will be completed next month. The upcoming evaluation consists of 47 questions, evaluating Brenner on his job description duties and his performance under the district's five-year strategic plan. The 47 questions are condensed from the usual 96, although Brenner and committee member Josh Anderson are confident that no content has been cut in the condensing. Advertisement Advertisement "Content is still the same, it's just fewer questions," Brenner said. "This will allow for some more efficiencies." This evaluation will be the first time Brenner is evaluated on his work with the 2026-2030 strategic plan, which guides the district's priorities and vision for the coming five years. In September, the committee voted to reduce the number of questions in the November evaluation of Brenner, stating that there hadn't been enough time to properly evaluate him on the district's recently adopted plan. The number of questions in the March evaluation won't be the only difference. Instead of using Survey Monkey, an online survey platform, board members will fill out the evaluation on a portable document format (PDF), which they will then send to Executive Secretary to the Superintendent of Schools and School Boards Cindy Johnson, who will compile the information. Advertisement Advertisement This change will save the district around $600 annually in Johnson's individual subscription to Survey Monkey. Johnson advocated for the switch to PDF, referencing the district's ongoing commitment to save money wherever possible as part of the larger budget realignment process . The PDF format will allow board members to complete the survey in multiple sittings. In the past, the committee discussed complaints from board members who argued the survey was too long to complete in one sitting. This switch will also address those concerns. "Having the ability to save and come back if somebody has questions, hopefully this will allow them the opportunity to reach out to you or whoever is appropriate to get the answer to their questions so that they can then appropriately answer," Anderson said. Advertisement Advertisement For the March evaluation, board members will be able to view their past ratings, which Grand Forks Air Force Base School Board President Michelle Sheppard said allows board members to hold the superintendent accountable to past metrics. "What did I rate?" she said. "Are we continuing that level of excellence, you know, or do we need to adjust?" On Feb. 13, the revised evaluation will be sent to all School Board members for input, with a completion deadline of Feb. 26. On March 2, the committee will consider all board members' input and formulate the draft evaluation. Then, on March 9, the School Board will officially consider the evaluation for approval. NEED TO KNOW Kansas moms Veronica Butler, 27, and Jilian Kelley, 39, were reported missing after their vehicle was found abandoned on the side of an Oklahoma highway Their bodies were found two weeks later, buried in a chest freezer, police said Investigators later learned that Butler was in a custody battle with Tifany Adams, the grandmother of her two children An Oklahoma grandmother convicted of orchestrating the stabbing deaths of two Kansas moms whose remains were found buried in a freezer has learned her fate. On Monday, Feb. 2, Tifany Adams, 56, of Keys, was sentenced to two life terms in prison without the possibility of parole for her role in the murders of Veronica Butler, 27 who was the mother of her grandchildren and Butler's friend Jilian Kelley, 39, according to online court records. Advertisement Advertisement Adams was also sentenced to two five-year sentences for unlawful removal of a dead body, and two seven-year sentences for unlawful desecration of a human corpse. At the time of the killings, Adams was in a custody battle with Butler over her grandchildren, who were Butler's children. Veronica Claire Butler Robinson Funeral Homes In October 2025, Adams was convicted of the charges after she entered a no-contest plea, according to online court records. As PEOPLE previously reported, the two moms were reported missing on March 30, 2024, after their van was found abandoned on a highway in rural Texas County in Oklahoma, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Butler, who had two children with Adamss son, was traveling from Kansas with Kelley to meet Adams to pick up the kids, then 6 and 8, in Oklahoma to go to a birthday party, police said at the time. Jilian Kelley Robinson Funeral Homes The womens bodies were found two weeks later, buried in a freezer in Texas County. They had both been fatally stabbed. Butler was stabbed nine times and suffered from 21 other cuts, which included defensive wounds, an autopsy showed, KVII reports. In April 2024, Adams and three other suspects were arrested in connection with the womens deaths: Adams's boyfriend Tad Bert Cullum, Cole Earl Twombly, 50, and Cora Twombly, 44. Advertisement Advertisement Related: 'God's Misfits' Grandma Allegedly Confessed Role in Deaths of 2 Kansas Women Amid Custody Battle: Affidavit They were charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping, and one count of first-degree conspiracy to commit murder. The four were members of a fringe anti-government religious group called "God's Misfits," according to an affidavit cited by the Des Moines Register and FOX 25. Ten days later, police issued a warrant for a fifth suspect, Paul Grice, 31, who was arrested and charged with the same alleged crimes, KFDA reports. The investigation revealed that Butler and Kelley were ambushed by Adams and the other suspects when they arrived at the intersection where they agreed to meet, police said at the time, KVII reports. Advertisement Advertisement According to court documents, Adams bought five stun guns and burner phones, KVII reports. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. Cora Twombly allegedly told authorities, The plan was to throw an anvil through Butlers windshield while driving, making it look like an accident because anvils regularly fall off of work vehicles," KVII reports. According to KFDA, Grice and Cora Twombly have entered into plea agreements with prosecutors. Tad Cullums trial is scheduled to begin in October 2026. Cole Twomblys trial is set for February of 2027. Their attorneys did not immediately respond to PEOPLEs requests for comment. Read the original article on People GRENADA, Miss. (WJTV) Grenada was one of the many cities in Mississippi that was severely impacted by the recent winter storm. As of right now, we have a good amount of residents that are still without power. And so, we have been in constant contact with that energy representative, and we actually had the CEO to come back here last week to check in on us in Grenada. And we were, as you know, one of the hardest hit in Mississippi, said Dr. Trina George, City Manager for Grenada. As the ice melts, the city is beginning to recover. Downtown Grenada is starting to look normal, but crews are still working to help the city recover. Advertisement Advertisement Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily Weather Forecast Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJTV. NEED TO KNOW A groom was resuscitated by a guest after collapsing and suffering cardiac arrest at his wedding on Monday, Feb. 2 The wedding was being held at an event hall in Israel's Gezer Regional Council The groom, 34, was transported to the hospital in "serious but stable" condition A groom was celebrating his wedding when he suddenly collapsed amid the festivities. The 34-year-old man suffered cardiac arrest at his nuptials, held at an event hall in Kibbutz Hulda in Israel's Gezer Regional Council on Monday, Feb. 2, per The Times of Israel and Israel National News. Advertisement Advertisement One of the wedding guests, Ben Sinai, an EMT for United Hatzalah, rushed to the groom's aid and began performing CPR, according to a Facebook post from United Hatzalah, a volunteer-based emergency medical services organization. I was attending the wedding as a guest when I suddenly noticed a commotion and shouts for help," Sinai recalled in a statement in the post. "I saw the groom had collapsed and suffered a sudden cardiac arrest." Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Sinai said he then "immediately radioed for assistance" and started CPR on the man, with the help of additional EMTs who responded to the scene. The event hall's defibrillator was used. Advertisement Advertisement "Following prolonged resuscitation efforts, the groom achieved return of spontaneous circulation," Sinai added. The 34-year-old was then transported "in serious but stable condition" to Kaplan Medical Center in nearby Rehovot while sedated and on a ventilator, per The Times of Israel and Israel National News. PEOPLE reached out to Hatzalah United for additional information about the incident. Read the original article on People A mother says her daughter is spending her 18th birthday at Grady Memorial Hospital after being shot inside their Southwest Atlanta home. The mom identified the teen as Raven. She said she is a senior at Carver High School. Atlanta police say Raven was shot Sunday night around 11:40 p.m. while inside her home on McDaniel Street. According to her mother, multiple bullets shattered glass, broke through the front door, traveled underneath a television, and pierced through the wall of her daughters bedroom while she was on the phone with a friend. Advertisement Advertisement We were in the house, and we heard a loud boom. I thought it was one gunshot, but it was multiple, the teens mother said. She told Channel 2s Cory James that her daughter ran into her bedroom to tell her she had been shot. I thought she was gone because she was out of breath and gasping for breath, she said. The teens mom said her daughter has a broken left shoulder, broken rib, and a damaged lung. She told James the bullet is still lodged in her chest and doctors are trying to decide if its necessary and safe to remove it. Atlanta police have not released suspect information. Anyone with information about this shooting is asked to contact Atlanta police. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Residents of Springfield, OH voice their concerns during a town hall about the 2024 presidential election's focus on the town's influx of Haitian immigrants, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. Credit - Dominic GwinnMiddle East Images via AFP via Getty The fate of hundreds of thousands of Haitian immigrants in the United States hangs in the balance, despite a federal judges injunction that stopped their immigration status from expiring. A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked the Trump Administrations decision to terminate Haiti's designation for Temporary Protected Status (T.P.S.), an immigration program that allows migrants from countries facing wars or natural disasters to stay in the U.S. temporarily. Advertisement Advertisement The termination, which was due to take effect on Tuesday, would have meant that over 300,000 Haitians would have lost their legal status overnight. The Trump Administration has already said it will appeal, leaving many Haitians fearing the worst. We can't give ourselves the luxury of living as if it is a normal time, because it's not an extensionIt's just like a pause, Viles Dorsainvil, a Haitian immigrant and community leader who lives in Springfield, Ohio, told TIME. Read more: On Thin ICE in Minneapolis: How Trumps Immigration Crackdown Sparked a Crisis of Trust Springfields roughly 15,000-strong Haitian population had been dreading Tuesdays decision for weeks, as local leaders prepared for a surge of federal immigration agents to coincide with the loss of their status. Advertisement Advertisement The city had been in the crosshairs once before, during the 2024 presidential campaign, when both President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance falsely claimed Haitians were eating cats and dogs. According to Dorsainvil, who runs a nonprofit that helps newly arrived immigrants integrate into Springfield, many Haitian families have been keeping their children home from school in recent days out of fear of being separated. Some Haitians have left Ohio for other states, or even Canada. Most have stayed, howeveryears after fleeing their home country, which is still mired in gang violence and natural disaster, people dont want to move again. The feedback I get from them [Haitian immigrants] is that they feel like they are tired. They are tired of running away. They're tired of becoming a target, he said. Its unclear how long the reprieve for Dorsainvils community will last. On Monday evening, Judge Ana C. Reyes of the Federal District Court in Washington denied the administrations motion to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the Department of Homeland Securitys (DHS) termination of T.P.S. Advertisement Advertisement In her 83-page decision, Judge Reyes ripped into DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. Secretary Noem complains of strains unlawful immigrants place on our immigration enforcement system. Her answer? Turn 352,959 lawful immigrants into unlawful immigrants overnight. She complains of strains to our economy. Her answer? Turn employed lawful immigrants who contribute billions in taxes into the legally unemployable. She complains of strains to our healthcare system. Her answer? Turn the insured into the uninsured, she wrote. Judge Reyes argued that the Trump Administration had not determined whether it was safe to return people to Haiti, and noted that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had said publicly that Haiti was facing immediate security challenges. Immediately after the ruling, the federal government announced that it would appeal the decision. Advertisement Advertisement Temporary means temporary and the final word will not be from an activist judge legislating from the bench, DHS Spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said on Monday night. DeWine, who is a Republican, said on Friday that the decision made by the federal government to end the TPS was a mistake. The situation in Haiti is as dire as I have ever seen it. The gangs are controlling a good part of the country, it's extremely violent, the economy is in shambles, the government does not function, the police are virtually worthless, so this is a very dangerous place, DeWine said. If Temporary Protected Status goes away next week, thousands of Haitians who are working, and contributing members of the community will not be able to work. The humanitarian crisis in Haiti continues to deteriorate, as armed gangs control 90 percent of the capital city, Port-au-Prince, while continuing to expand their presence elsewhere, according to the United Nations. The State Department has issued a warning not to travel to Haiti for any reason since July 2025. Gang violence and repeated natural disasters have forced 1.4 million people, around 12 percent of the population, to flee their homes. Advertisement Advertisement Springfield has a population of around 60,000, roughly a quarter of whom are Haitian migrants. During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump said that he would launch the largest deportation in U.S. history, starting with Springfield, Ohio. The city has since received a bomb threat, and a neo-Nazi group has marched across the city. Contact us at letters@time.com. Artivion's aortic stent systems have shown their potential in two interventional studies presented at the 2026 STS Annual Meeting. Image credit: sdecoret via ShutterStock.com. Artivion's aortic stent systems have shown their potential in two interventional studies presented at the 2026 STS Annual Meeting. Image credit: sdecoret via ShutterStock.com. (sdecoret via ShutterStock.com.) Artivion has debuted long-term clinical data on two of its cardiac stent products, revealing eachs solutions potential to offer extended benefits to patients. This includes one-year data from the TRIOMPHE study (NCT04471909), which evaluated the clinical benefit of Artivion and Endospans NEXUS Aortic Arch System. After one year, 94% of the 94 high-risk patients enrolled onto this study avoided experiencing a lesion-related death. Meanwhile, 97% of patients remained free from endoleak-related reintervention following surgical fitting, with no observed formulation of clots in the branch of the aortic arch while 91% remained free of disabling stroke. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This effect was seen in patients characterised as ASA risk class III and IV meaning all the patients enrolled in the TRIOMPHE trial have severe systemic disease that either causes functional limitations or a consistent threat to life. The Nexus Aortic Arch System is an off-the-shelf, two-stent, single-branch device that is fitted directly into the aortic arch. According to Artivion and Endospan, this stent allows surgeons to repair the aorta without the need for open heart surgery improving outcomes for patients at high risk of adverse surgical outcomes. Artivion first presented the results from the NEXUS TRIOMPHE IDE trial at the 62nd Society of Thoracic Surgery (STS) Annual Meeting held in New Orleans, from 29 January to 1 February 2026. PERSEVERE trial reports positive two-year data Alongside the success of its aortic stent, Artivion also posted positive results from the two-year follow-up on the PERSEVERE study (NCT05174767) at the 2026 STS Annual Meeting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In this trial, Artivion tracked the clinical and radiographic outcomes in 93 patients who underwent open repair of an acute DeBakey type I aortic dissection with its Ascyrus medical dissection stent (AMDS), which is designed to stabilise the aorta and reduce the risk of further tearing. Two years after the procedure, minimal additional mortality was recorded, with four patient deaths attributed to unrelated causes. At this timepoint, there was also a low rate of aortic reoperation, with 4.3% of patients requiring another procedure. Of those who did need another operation, Artivion noted that none were considered unanticipated. Patients fitted with AMDS also experienced no new aortic tears, which can often occur within the inner layer of the artery after surgical repair of a type I aortic dissection. After two years, the diameter of the aorta also remained consistent, with an average 1.7mm diameter expansion of the arterys lumen. Aortic aneurysms remain strong area of growth While several devices have now gained approval for use in patients with aortic aneurysms, a 2024 paper published in the Journal of Vascular Surgery notes that the number of deaths related to this cardiovascular event have seen an 81.6% increase between 1990 and 2019. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Though the paper notes that this observed increase was primarily driven by a rise in average age amongst the global population, the rise in deaths highlights the need for effective device strategies that can mitigate this impact. Many companies within the medtech space have achieved this through the commercialisation of their aortic stent graft products, with Medtronic, Becton Dickinson (BD) and GE HealthCare Technologies being the top three companies, as highlighted by GlobalData. GlobalData forecasts that the value of the aortic stent graft market will rise from $3.2bn in 2024 to $5bn in 2034 expanding at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.5%. Meanwhile, the wider cardiovascular devices market is set grow at a CAGR of 6.4% reaching a value of $134.7bn in 2034. "Artivions aortic stents boost post-surgical outcomes in interventional studies" was originally created and published by Medical Device Network, a GlobalData owned brand. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Jan. 12, 2010, Haiti was hit by a 7.0 earthquake that ended up killing 300,000 people and injuring another 300,000. More than 1.5 million people were displaced and had to seek shelter in inadequate camps. On Jan. 15, President Barack Obama granted Haiti Temporary Protected Status, beginning the flow of Haitian migrants to the U.S. In 2011, Obama extended Haitis TPS status through 2013. The status was later extended through 2017 due to Hurricane Sandy, a cholera outbreak and crumbling infrastructure. Advertisement Advertisement Corruption and gangs combine for violence in Haiti and its capital, Port-au-Prince. Rape, kidnappings, violence against children and more become common. Gangs fill the power vacuum left when the United Nations peace-keeping force leaves. A governmental logjam hinders the countrys ability to rebuild/recover from the earthquake. Migrants to the U.S. begin arriving from Haiti. Lured by low cost of living and plentiful employment, many make their way to Ohio, and Clark County specifically. Word spreads from the Haitians in Ohio to those in other parts of the country, luring more to the region. 2017 On May 24, President Donald Trump extended Haitis TPS eight months, not its usual 18 months. Despite his stated desire to end it, court proceedings kept the status in effect through his term. 2018 Rising gas prices in Haiti stir unrest and calls for the resignation of President Jovenel Moise. 2020 Battles begin in Haitis capital, Port-au-Prince. 2021 On May 22, President Joe Biden announced Haitis TPS status would be renewed Advertisement Advertisement On July 7, Moise is assassinated. On July 20, Ariel Henry becomes acting prime minister. On Aug. 21, Haiti was hit again by a massive earthquake, this one measuring 7.2. The Biden administration announced extensions of the TPS status through Feb. 3, 2023, later extended until Feb. 3, 2026. 2024 In September, someone on Facebook claims that Haitian migrants had been killing and eating house pets in Springfield. The lie was soon repeated by U.S. Sen. JD Vance and President Trump, notably during the latters Sept. 10 presidential debate with Vice President Kamala Harris. Later that month, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine pledged state support for Clark County, including a new mobile health clinic to relieve the burden on existing facilities. 2025 On June 27, the second Trump administration announced it would end TPS for Haitian migrants, claiming that allowing them to stay was not in the national interest. Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com. New Hampshires pitch to get back a top spot on the Democratic National Committees presidential primary calendar in 2028 started out much better than it did four years ago. In 2022, the die had been cast with then-President Joe Biden leading the campaign to strip New Hampshire of the first primary and hand it to South Carolina, the state that had rescued Bidens White House run three years earlier. The DNC calendar-setting process was a mere formality; New Hampshires position was lost from the start. Advertisement Advertisement Last weekend in San Juan, Puerto Rico, state Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley and his contingent listened for more than 20 minutes as several members of the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee praised New Hampshire for making a much better presentation than it did last time. It (the application) does a really good job to me (with the argument) that New Hampshire deserves a shot at the early process, said Frank Leone, a committee member from the District of Columbia. Luis Davila Pernas, a committee member from Puerto Rico, urged Buckley and fellow DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee member Joanne Dowdell of Portsmouth to show ways in which the states long tradition of civic engagement could help Democrats win battleground states in future elections. One of the most compelling arguments in this application is New Hampshire actually forces presidential candidates to engage in a meaningful way, Pernas said. Advertisement Advertisement David McDonald, another member from Washington, D.C., questioned if the states lack of sales or income tax revealed a bias among its voters. It makes me wonder how regressive a tax structure is in New Hampshire and alternatively how social services are provided for, McDonald said. Same-day voting seems to be an asset Theres no doubt some on the DNC remain vocal critics of New Hampshire getting an early spot as a state with a low-minority population. What New Hampshire has that many of those battlegrounds dont is a record of Donald Trump having lost all three general elections here. Donna Brazile, a seasoned Democratic presidential campaign adviser, quipped Buckley always provided me with warm socks when she visited the state. Advertisement Advertisement She questioned if the state was inclined to get rid of same-day voter registration that allows new voters to sign up and vote at the polls on Election Day. An estimated 90,000 people registered to vote on Election Day 2024 in New Hampshire. Some political observers said this helped Democratic nominee Kamala Harris defeat Trump in the state. I would like to ensure the same-day voter registration remains in place, Brazile said. Committee member Leah Daughtry, a Dartmouth College alumnus, urged New Hampshire to lean into other assets the state has and put less stress on the state law that requires the secretary of state to schedule New Hampshires primary at least seven days before any similar contest. Advertisement Advertisement Any of our states can pass a statute to make that state go first, Daughtry said. Thats not your strongest argument. During the last cycle, Secretary of State David Scanlan scheduled New Hampshire to hold the first primary ahead of South Carolina. Biden boycotted the contest and still won a write-in campaign here in a walk. Despite that defiance, the DNC agreed to seat New Hampshires delegates at the nominating convention after Buckley organized a party caucus event later that formally ratified support for Biden, who ultimately decided not to seek a second term. During a three-hour meeting, the panel discussed presentations for all the requests for early contest waivers that included bids from Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. All were allowed to proceed to the next round. The committees next meeting is April in New Orleans. klandrigan@unionleader.com "Health care spending in the United States is approaching $5 trillion annually. New Hampshire reflects that national trend, spending roughly $13 billion each year on health care." (Getty Images) When Gov. Kelly Ayotte delivers her State of the State address on Feb. 5, Granite Staters will be listening closely for signs that state leaders understand what families, employers, and communities already know: Health care has become unaffordable and the runaway costs are slowing our economy. Rising health care costs are touching nearly everyone. Premiums continue to climb, deductibles are growing, and out-of-pocket expenses are forcing difficult choices for households and businesses alike. This is not a problem that will resolve itself. It requires intentional policy attention and a clearer sense of direction. Advertisement Advertisement Health care spending in the United States is approaching $5 trillion annually. New Hampshire reflects that national trend, spending roughly $13 billion each year on health care. More than half of that total goes to inpatient and outpatient hospital services alone. These costs are not driven solely by increased use or better outcomes, but by long-standing structural choices about how care is delivered, priced, and regulated. Affordability, in particular, is in crisis. While only around 4.5% of New Hampshire residents are uninsured, coverage does not guarantee access. More than half of commercially insured residents now face deductibles over $1,500, and many report delaying or forgoing care because of cost. Employers, especially small and mid-sized businesses, report feeling this acutely. Health insurance expenses have become a major barrier to hiring, retention, and long-term planning. Some employers have already stepped away from offering coverage altogether. At the same time, spending trends are accelerating. Commercial medical costs are projected to rise sharply in the coming year, with pharmacy spending particularly for high-cost specialty drugs continuing to surge. Yet investment in primary care, which is consistently associated with better outcomes and lower long-term costs, remains stubbornly low. How New Hampshires health care system is owned and operated also matters. Over time, consolidation has concentrated market power among a small number of hospital systems, many with out-of-state ownership and for-profit operations. Decision-making about care delivery, expansion or reduction of services, and pricing is often removed from the communities most affected. At the same time, the state has seen rapid growth in high-cost sites of care, such as freestanding emergency departments, without a coordinated plan to ensure they meet real community needs. Advertisement Advertisement None of this is inevitable. It reflects policy choices or the absence of them. The rise of private investment in health care adds another layer of complexity and concern. Across the country, private equity has played an increasing role in acquiring physician practices and specialty providers. While investment can bring capital and efficiency, it can also drive price increases when oversight is limited and market competition is reduced. More transparency around ownership and accountability for long-term impacts is essential if patients and communities are to be protected. The current federal context makes state leadership even more important. Recent reductions in Medicaid funding and changes to eligibility and enrollment rules will place additional pressure on providers, employers, and patients. In New Hampshire, where a significant share of Medicaid spending is federally funded, this pullback will reverberate throughout the system. While recent federal grants to strengthen rural health care are promising, they are no substitute for a comprehensive state strategy. The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services just awarded the State of New Hampshire more than $204 million for 2026 as part of the federal Rural Health Transformation Program, more than any other New England state. The aim of the program is to strengthen rural health care access, quality, and long-term sustainability. And that funding can be transformative for a state this size, if properly allocated. Advertisement Advertisement New Hampshires size can be an advantage. With 1.4 million residents, a practical roadmap is within reach. It starts with: Greater transparency around who owns and controls health care assets in the state and where health care dollars are being spent; A statewide approach to managing cost growth, such as setting clear targets and tracking progress across stakeholders; Stronger consumer protections, so patients can navigate access to coverage and care, make informed decisions, and avoid unnecessary financial harm, and; Increased investment in primary care, behavioral health, and prevention areas that keep people healthier and deliver value over time. Without accountability, clear priorities and a framework for state-level oversight, costs will continue to rise and confidence will continue to erode. As the governor sets the tone for the year ahead, New Hampshire can choose to keep reacting to symptoms or begin addressing the underlying causes. The latter will not be easy, but it is both necessary and achievable. For the third time in less than a year, a spending deal brokered in the Senate has House Democrats feeling left out and grumbling about their counterparts across the Capitol. This time, the agreement between President Donald Trump and Senate Democratic leaders would spare the vast majority of federal agencies from an extended shutdown. Most would be funded through the end of the fiscal year in September, while Homeland Security funding would extend only through Feb. 13. But to Democrats up in arms over Trumps immigration enforcement agenda, thats still 10 days of DHS funding too many assuming the deal passes the House as planned Tuesday leaving them to vent once again about the other chamber. Advertisement Advertisement There are some Senate Democrats who always signal nervousness and are so reluctant to be strong, said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.). We end up having to answer for what they won't do, and it can be very frustrating. We are far closer to the people, said Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), adding that its critically important that House members be brought in during negotiations over immigration enforcement constraints considering ICE, Border Patrol and other agencies are deployed in their districts. The interchamber tensions between Democrats are becoming a regular feature of funding fights in the second Trump term. Lawmakers, strategists and voters alike exploded in anger last March when Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and a handful of colleagues allowed a spending package to move forward amid the Elon Musk-led DOGE assault on federal agencies. In November, tempers again flared when a handful of Senate Democrats joined with Republicans to end a record 43-day shutdown. This time, the situation is more nuanced. At stake is $1.2 trillion in full-year funding that was negotiated on a bipartisan basis; Democrats generally support the vast majority of the agreement. But the inclusion of the DHS money has been a sore spot especially after the killing last month of two U.S. citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis. Advertisement Advertisement A version of the DHS bill passed in the House before the Jan. 24 killing of Alex Pretti garnered only seven Democratic votes. Senate Democrats immediately declared a no-go on full-year funding for the department after the incident, and Schumer and Trump negotiated a two-week punt to allow for further talks. Fewer than half of Senate Democratic Caucus members ultimately ended up voting for the deal, however, and support among House Democrats is considerably more scant. Asked if House Democrats were sufficiently read in on the Trump-Schumer deal, Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar said no but added, I dont think that thats surprising. But I think the split among senators was kind of surprising, the California lawmaker added. And so we'll see what happens. Advertisement Advertisement The spending package is headed to the floor Tuesday, where it remains an open question if House Republicans will be able to unite on a key test vote. Late last week facing dissension in his own ranks over having to pass a bill with only temporary DHS funding Speaker Mike Johnson entertained using a bipartisan fast-track process. But members of Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries leadership circle were caught unaware with some downright livid at Johnsons confidence that he could pass the bill under that process which would require a two-thirds-majority vote, meaning at least 70 Democrats would be needed to get it across the line. Such a move generally requires tacit agreement from minority party leaders to supply the votes. But Republicans at that point hadnt asked their Democratic counterparts for a more formal private count of how many Democrats might support the measure, according to three people granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter. Jeffries told Johnson just hours later on a private call that Democratic leadership would not commit to delivering the required votes for a fast-track vote, forcing Johnson to gather GOP votes to jump through a procedural hurdle first. Johnson has since accused Democrats of playing games with the shutdown-ending package. Advertisement Advertisement Those interparty antics have helped deflect attention from internal Democratic tensions over the Senate-brokered funding deal, with Jeffries playing down any such rift Monday. I speak regularly with Leader Schumer, and I speak regularly with Mike Johnson, he said when asked if House Democrats were properly consulted in the funding package negotiations. There's no daylight between House and Senate Democrats on accomplishing the objective, which is dramatic reform of ICE. Jeffries opposed the prior package, with full-year DHS funding, but would not say Monday how he intended to vote on the revised bill with the short-term stopgap. Schumer, for his part, said he spoke with Jeffries during the negotiations that erupted in the Senate following Prettis killing. He said after the Senate vote Friday night that Jeffries had agreed on limiting DHS funding to Feb. 13. Advertisement Advertisement This bill was negotiated by [Senate Majority LeaderJohn] Thune and me, Schumer said. But Ive talked to Hakeem Jeffries. For instance, we talked about how long a [stopgap] should be, because we wanted to limit it greatly. Asked about Schumers comment Monday, Jeffries said, I think what we made clear to the Senate is that the original three-month proposal was completely and totally unacceptable. Behind the scenes, Schumer told the White House and congressional Republicans last week that they would need to talk to Jeffries because the bill was going back to the House, according to a person granted anonymity to disclose a private conversation. If Republicans can get the bill over the procedural hurdle Tuesday, more Democrats are expected to support it than the seven who backed the previous version. But the party remained sharply divided Monday. Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the top Appropriations Committee Democrat, said Monday she would support the bill on the floor, while another panel leader, Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern of the Rules Committee, said he would oppose it. "I will not vote for business as usual while masked agents break into people's homes without a judicial warrant in violation of the Fourth Amendment, McGovern said. Others declined to forecast their plans, including members of the Democratic leadership team. Rep. Ted Lieu of California, the caucus vice chair, said he planned to attend Tuesday mornings caucus meeting before deciding. Several Democrats said they do not expect party leaders to formally whip votes for or against the funding package, with some acknowledging that it would not be an easy decision for members who support the vast majority of the funding bill and also dont want to see noncontroversial DHS agencies such as FEMA and TSA shut down. Advertisement Advertisement And blaming the Senate for having to take a tough note, one Democrat noted, is hardly new. I've been here long enough that people always complain about the other chamber, so that's always an easy out, Aguilar said. Jordain Carney contributed to this report. The House Republican majority just got reduced to a perilously slim one-vote margin thanks to a Democrat's victory in Texas over the weekend. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., swore in newly minted Rep. Christian Menefee, D-Texas, on Monday evening, bringing the overall House of Representatives margin to 218 Republicans and 214 Democrats. That means if a bill gets no Democratic support and the House is in full attendance, losing more than one GOP vote will result in a 216-216 tie meaning it would fail to pass. Advertisement Advertisement Democratic Takeover Fears Soar As House Republicans Cling To Fragile Majority Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., walks from the chamber to speak with reporters after the final vote to bring the longest government shutdown in history to an end at the Capitol in Washington, Nov. 12, 2025. Johnson is no stranger to dealing with slim margins and has eked out significant GOP victories while dealing with majorities between two and three seats. But this is a particularly difficult week for House GOP leaders who are scrambling to end an ongoing partial government shutdown. Read On The Fox News App The House is expected to vote on a funding compromise hashed out between Senate Democrats and the White House sometime on Tuesday, and Republicans will need nearly everyone in lockstep for the legislation to survive a chamber-wide "rule vote." Advertisement Advertisement Rule votes are procedural hurdles that traditionally fall along partisan lines. Reporter's Notebook: House Exodus Threatens Johnson's Grip On Power As Over 40 Members Head For Exit Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee was endorsed by the Congressional Progressive Caucus Political Action Committee. Menefee, a former attorney for Houston's Harris County, won a special congressional election in a left-leaning district in Texas that has been vacant for nearly a year. He's replacing the late Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Texas, who died while in office in March 2025. The Associated Press reported that Menefee defeated former Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards, a fellow Democrat, in Saturday's runoff election to fill the seat left vacant when Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner died last March. Advertisement Advertisement Sylvester, a former longtime state lawmaker, served two terms as Houston mayor before winning election to Congress in 2024 to fill the seat of the late longtime Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee. The U.S. Capitol Building seen at sunset on Jan. 30, 2025. Click Here To Download The Fox News App While Texas has redrawn its congressional maps for the 2026 midterms, as part of the high-stakes redistricting battle between President Donald Trump and Republicans versus Democrats, the special election used the state's current district lines. The addition of another lawmaker into the House Democrats' ranks will give Republican leadership in the chamber further headaches. Advertisement Advertisement And House GOP leaders are painfully aware of the politically difficult situation they're in. "They'd better be here," Johnson said of his Republican members last month. "I told everybody, and not in jest, I said, no adventure sports, no risk-taking, take your vitamins. Stay healthy and be here." Original article source: House GOP majority shrinks to just one vote as Johnson swears in new House Democrat Combined, Human Services and Education are 80% of the total spending plan Gov. Josh Shapiro proposed for the 2026-2027 year.(Getty Images) Gov. Josh Shapiro brought his proposed budget for the next year to lawmakers on Tuesday, pitching more than $53 billion in general fund spending with nearly 80% of the money going to just two state agencies. The Department of Human Services continues to receive the most dollars from the general fund at $21.9 billion, followed closely by the Department of Education at $20.6 billion. Roughly $1 billion in new spending for Human Services will fund Medicaid increases. As health care prices go up, so do Medicaid costs and those covered by Medicaid are generally poorer, older and sicker than the general population. Advertisement Advertisement Increasing the states minimum wage could shrink Medicaid rolls, Shapiro said, estimating that a $15/hour wage up from the current $7.25 would save Pennsylvania $300 million annually on entitlement programs. We can put more money in their pockets so they dont need Medicaid anymore, Shapiro said. His proposal earmarks $10 million to build out capacity for the 988 crisis hotline for mental health. Roughly 90% of calls are picked up by in-state operators, who answered more than 13,500 calls in the month of December. Another $5 million would be directed to mental health crisis stabilization centers a priority for county governments. The governor also recommended legislation to ensure direct payments toward medication counted toward annual out-of-pocket health insurance costs a move that wouldnt cost money, but would need legislative approval. Advertisement Advertisement Home care workers didnt get their sought after rate increase under Medicaid, though Pennsylvanias current payments lag behind neighboring states. The Pennsylvania Home Care Association estimated that more than 112,500 shifts for seniors were missed each month and said 29% of nursing hours for children were unfilled due to low wages. Access to care at home is already severely strained for families in every region of Pennsylvania, said PHA CEO Mia Haney. This budget does not respond to the reality providers, workers, and care recipients are facing today, and that is deeply concerning. Pennsylvanias rapidly aging population strains its health care system, increasing the demand for home- and community-based options which cost less than nursing homes or assisted living facilities. This proposed budget fails to recognize that an investment in home care is no longer optional its essential, said Haney. Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D-Philadelphia) applauds during Gov. Josh Shapiros fourth budget address Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, during a joint session of the Pennsylvania General Assembly (Photo by Peter Hall/Capital-Star) Education funding Administration officials touted a 30% overall increase in education spending since 2023, including a shift in adequacy and tax equity dollars following a court ruling. It declared the states school funding system unconstitutional, meaning schools with inadequate resources get less than their wealthier counterparts. Advertisement Advertisement Under the governors spending plan, an additional $565 million would be directed toward adequacy and tax equity on top of the $3 billion currently spent. Rachel Nagy, an elementary school principal in the California Area School District in Washington County, told reporters that the extra $360,000 in adequacy funding in her district had a transformative impact. We used these funds to strategically reduce class sizes in kindergarten, while also expanding career and technology education opportunities at the high school level. These were not add-ons, they were deliberate investments aligned to student need and workforce demand, said Nagy. New career and technical education pathways included veterinary science and emergency medical technicians, she said, with 41% of high school students enrolled in a CTE program. Advertisement Advertisement SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Advocates with the Education Law Center and the Public Interest Law Center issued a joint release applauding the continued spending, which has already begun to deliver real benefits for students across the state. Despite these investments, schools today remain $3.8 billion underfunded, and the current timeline for compliance is far too slow, the statement continued. Those children who have constantly borne the weight of this neglect low-income children, children of color, and children with disabilities will continue to absorb the consequences of that failure until this job is completed. Shapiro would also continue to tighten cyber charter school funding. In the last budget, districts were allowed to reduce their per-pupil payments for students who attend the virtual schools, which dont pay for physical upkeep of classroom facilities. The decision saved public schools an estimated $175 million, with another $75 million in shifting costs proposed. Advertisement Advertisement Another $100 million would be split equally between basic education and special education, for a total of $8.3 billion and $1.6 billion, respectively. Funding for student teacher stipends, established just three years ago, paid for current teachers like Hallie Sill while they were training. Sill, who now works at the Susquehanna Township High School in Dauphin County, was a special guest of Shapiro and named by the governor in his address. We need more Hallies in our classrooms, so lets increase our commitment to this initiative that we know works, said Shapiro. As she and the other 2,000 student teachers (from the first year) show if we put more money in peoples pockets, we can get them into the jobs they love. The $35 million for student teacher stipends, a $5 million increase from last year, falls short of the $40 million sought by PA Needs Teachers. Advertisement Advertisement There are over 4,000 Hallies a year across Pennsylvania who are excited to give back to the next generation but need help making ends meet during their semester of unpaid student teaching, said Emily Sagor, of PA Needs Teachers. Were encouraged that Governor Shapiro proposed $35 million for this popular, bipartisan program. We also recognize that additional funding is needed to fully fund the program and ensure that every future teacher like Hallie can benefit from this life-changing opportunity. The organization also called for removing unnecessary barriers to certification another focus in Shapiros speech across professional licenses, including cosmetology and nursing. Missed opportunities and criticism But others noted missed opportunities. The PA Literacy Coalition urged the state to add $50 million for early literacy, building upon previous directives to improve school reading by pivoting to science of reading instruction. Advertisement Advertisement As Pennsylvania continues to invest in education, we must ensure those investments lead to measurable student outcomes, and literacy is the most urgent place to act, said Rachael Garnick, with the Pennsylvania Literacy Coalition. In recent years, our commonwealth has taken important steps forward, but there is more work to be done. We must meet this moment with the urgency, leadership, and sustained investment required to ensure that no childs future is determined by whether the system was prepared to teach them to read. House Majority Leader Jesse Topper (R-Bedford) at a press conference on Shapiros budget proposal on Feb. 3, 2025. (Photo by Ian Karbal/Capital-Star) Republicans in the legislature panned the increase in education spending, calling to rein it in as enrollment falls. We believe that its not just money that makes schools effective, said House Minority Leader Jesse Topper. That is what the other side would have you believe. We believe that theres a lot of policy similar to the literacy initiatives that we were able to get in the last budget that will actually help to turn the results around. And that has to go hand in hand with any amount of money. In prior years, Republicans have pushed for a broader school voucher program, believing that parents and caregivers should be able to choose the best educational environment to meet their childrens learning needs. Republicans have a small majority in the state Senate, while Democrats hold a slim majority in the House, meaning that the final budget will need bipartisan support. The states fiscal year ends on June 30. This story was produced by the Berks County bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom. Sign up for Good Day, Berks, a daily dose of essential local stories at spotlightpa.org/newsletters/gooddayberks. UPPER BERN The Trump administration has quietly purchased a nearly 520,000-square-foot warehouse in Berks County as it plans to convert such facilities into immigration detention centers across the U.S. The warehouse, located at 3501 Mountain Road in Upper Bern Township, was sold to the U.S. government on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security and ICE for $87.4 million, deed records show. The purchase was recorded on Feb. 2. Advertisement Advertisement Spotlight PA visited the warehouse, which is located about a mile from I-78, on Jan. 15 and witnessed about two dozen individuals touring the exterior of the building. One man who arrived early to the site that day identified himself to a reporter as ICE. The property was most recently called the Hamburg Logistics Center, and before that was the site of the Mountain Springs Arena, a county landmark known for rodeos and demolition derbies. It neighbors an Amazon warehouse and the Mountain Springs Camping Resort. The building is one of at least 23 that ICE plans to convert into an immigration detention facility, Bloomberg reports. The Berks County warehouse could house up to 1,500 beds. ICE also finalized the purchase of a warehouse in nearby Tremont Township, in Schuylkill County, on Monday, according to a deed. The Tremont property is located less than 300 yards from a daycare center and has already faced fierce resident opposition. Advertisement Advertisement A spokesperson for ICE did not answer any questions about the Berks County warehouse purchase and instead lauded the agencys targeting of vicious criminals. Thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill, ICE has new funding to expand detention space to keep these criminals off American streets before they are removed for good from our communities, the spokesperson said. Upper Bern Townships solicitor said in an emailed statement that community leaders learned about the sale on Monday. They declined to answer questions. The township was not involved in this transfer and has not received any applications from either the prior or new owners regarding the future use of the property, the statement reads. The township has no further comment on this matter at this time. Advertisement Advertisement State Sen. Chris Gebhard and Rep. Jamie Barton, Republicans who represent the area, said they have reached out to federal contacts to gather more information on how the Department of Homeland Security plans to use the warehouse. Our immediate concerns include the potential loss of property tax revenue for the host municipality, county, and school district, as well as security and perimeter considerations, the lawmakers said in a joint statement. We look forward to engaging directly with the appropriate federal officials to address these issues. Once additional information is available, we will provide an update. The property is assessed at $22 million and currently pays $198,286 annually in county property taxes under the current tax rate of 9.013 mils. Combined with Hamburg Area School District and township taxes, the loss of tax revenue from the federal governments purchase would be about $624,000. State Sen. Judy Schwank (D., Berks) declined to comment on the warehouse purchase on Monday. In an earlier interview with Spotlight PA, she called the then-potential sale deeply concerning, especially given the reports of mistreatment of people detained in ICE facilities. She released a statement about ICEs action in Minneapolis on Jan. 27, shortly after federal agents killed Alex Pretti. Advertisement Advertisement My concern is, knowing the track record of some of these other facilities located throughout the country, its not good, she said. I dont necessarily want to see something like that being housed in our county. The deed finalized on Monday shows the property was sold to ICE by an LLC connected to PCCP, a national commercial real estate equity firm. The firm purchased the warehouse in 2024 for $57.5 million, deed records show. Reached by phone Monday afternoon, PCCP partner Greg Eberhardt who is the authorized signatory for 3501 Mountain Road Owner LLC on the latest deed denied knowledge of the property and its sale, and refused to comment further. I have no idea what youre talking about, Eberhardt said before hanging up on a Spotlight PA reporter. Im not making company comments. Advertisement Advertisement Upper Bern Township is situated on the edge of Berks and Schuylkill Counties, with a population of roughly 1,600 people. The community is mostly white, with only 2.8% of residents identifying as another race, according to the 2020 census. Bridget Cambria, attorney with Aldea, a nonprofit that provides pro bono immigration legal services, said the detention center will have a disruptive and chilling impact on Berks Countys immigrant community. If there are people that live freely and at peace knowing that they do the right thing, they can do their immigration process or stay with their family or figure out a way to legalize their status, theyre going to be more afraid to do that with a giant detention center in their backyard, Cambria said. A 2022 study by the Detention Watch Center and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center found that immigrants were more likely to be arrested by ICE in counties with more detention bed-space. Advertisement Advertisement BEFORE YOU GO If you learned something from this article, pay it forward and contribute to Spotlight PA at spotlightpa.org/donate. Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27. A Brazilian influencer who openly supported President Donald Trumps immigration crackdown has been detained by ICE. Junior Pena, whose full name is Eustaquio da Silva Pena Junior, was taken into custody on Saturday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in New Jersey, the Brazilian Times reported. According to a friend who spoke with the outlet, the influencer was detained due to an administrative issue related to the postponement of an immigration hearing that was not correctly recorded in the system, causing Penas name to appear as absent when he missed the court hearing. Junior Pena came to the U.S. in 2009 and openly supported President Donald Trump. / Jorge Saboia/ GoFundMe The Brazilian influencer, who has 1.3 million followers on TikTok and nearly half a million on Instagram as he chronicles the reality of the USA as an immigrant, previously announced on his account that he supports Trump, 79, and declared, I like the guy. Advertisement Advertisement When Trump was inaugurated in January 2025 and promised an immigration crackdowntargeting primarily Latin American immigrants in the first six monthsPena told his Brazilian followers that everyone being targeted was a crook. Anti-ICE protests have erupted across the country. / Star Tribune via Getty Images / Star Tribune via Getty Images I wanted to tell you not to be so scared, there are many people scared. There are many influencers spreading fear among immigrants without having facts, evidence, or proof that so-and-so was deported, Pena said in one of his videos. His words echoed those of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who has repeated the Trump administrations slogan that its immigration crackdownwhich has led to the deaths of two American citizens in Minneapolis and sparked anti-ICE protests across the countryis focused on capturing the worst of the worst. Yet records released by the Deportation Data Project show that the share of detainees with criminal convictions fell to about 28 percent by midOctober during crackdowns that targeted primarily Democratrun cities. Advertisement Advertisement According to a December report citing Brazils Federal Police, 2,268 Brazilian nationals were deported from the United States in 2025the highest number recorded since data became available in 2020. Following his detention on Saturday, Penawho came to the U.S. in 2009 is reportedly being held at Delaney Hall Detention Center in Newark, New Jersey, while his lawyer, Andrew Lattarulo, seeks to prevent his transfer to another state. Nao tem como nao rir do Junior Pena. O brasileiro que faz campanha pro Trump e termina preso pelo ICE. E um nivel de autossabotagem que precisa ser estudado. O cara ta incomunicavel enquanto passa vergonha com esse video que ele postou em seu proprio perfil no instagram em 2025. pic.twitter.com/IIVAH2KSGJ Tulio Veneno (@tulioveneno) February 1, 2026 Penas arrest made waves on social media, where commentators said the influencer had engaged in self-sabotage by supporting a president who is vocally critical of immigrants, and some users warned that he promoted a vision of the American dream that he never achieved himself. Meanwhile, the influencers friends have launched a fundraising campaign to cover legal representation and court expenses for their detained friend. Advertisement Advertisement Every dollar will make a real difference in ensuring Junior has the best chance possible to resolve his case and return to the community hes always supported, wrote Jorge Saboia, the organizer of a GoFundMe campaign that had reached its $32,000 target as of Monday. The Daily Beast has contacted ICE and Penas attorney for comment. Editors note: An email address has been removed from the bottom of this story. MEMPHIS, Tenn. Two women are asking for help caring for their four young nieces and nephews after their sister was picked up by ICE last week. The women who are afraid to be identified said their sister, Antonia Lopez, was stopped on Jackson Avenue for having a broken headlight and detained by ICE. Her sister said Lopez, who is originally from Honduras but has been in the United States for 15 years, was seeking asylum. The 32-year-old is now being held at the West Tennessee Detention Center in Mason, Tennessee. Antonia Lopez. Submitted photos Lopezs sisters said they are now caring for her four children, ages 1 to 14. Advertisement Advertisement Its hard and not only that, I mean. I dont know how to explain it. Weve been through hell and back. We are going through it. My kids are depressed. Everybodys depressed, said one of Lopezs sisters. ICE fears impacting school attendance She said her husband, her 75-year-old father, and her daughters biological father were also taken by ICE back in November. She said her husband had asylum, and her father, who was not a legal resident, had been in this country for 26 years. Her father and husband are being held in the Winn Correctional Center in Winnfield, Louisiana. I talk to them, and theyre in very bad conditions there. They dont get medical, and my father has dementia, and they dont get medical treatment, and then they have, um, yellow drinking water. Antonia Lopezs 4 kids. Submitted photo. Family making room for kids after mom detained by ICE. Submitted photo. She said that, in addition to her own four children, she is looking after her sisters daughters, ages 1 and 14, and her sisters sons, ages 9 and 13. She said she has not been able to get inside her sisters house, and the kids need everything. Advertisement Advertisement They need clothing, bed covers, a pack and play crib. I got them blow-up beds for right now. But they need something to soothe them, said Lopezs sister. Their emotions are coming out. Its like theyre grieving. She said its been a financial burden buying food for everyone in her house, and her nieces and nephews are constantly asking about their mother. I try to be a comfort for every single one of them, and then its just, they all start fighting because everybodys hurt, she said. ICE agents have been working alongside the Memphis Safe Task Force, but have not released numbers on ICE arrests. Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. Daily tasks, like grocery shopping, have come to a standstill for Thi Dua Vang and her husband, A Pao Giang. On Monday, community members dropped off fresh food for the family. Vang despite being in the country legally is afraid to go outside after ICE agents detained her in Minnesota and sent her to Texas for nearly two weeks. On the morning of Jan. 8, their son opened the door to their St. Paul home but was unaware that it was ICE. Advertisement Advertisement According to Vang, six ICE agents were at her doorstep. Vang and her family fled Vietnam after spending decades persecuted for being Christian. Family members, including her brother Wa Chi Minh Vang, have even been imprisoned for their faith. Vang and her family experienced more hardship in Thailand as undocumented refugees for more than seven years. In December 2023, Vang and her family found asylum in the United States. Vang applied for her green card and is awaiting final approval. So when ICE agents showed up, Vang thought it must have been a mistake. Vang speaks Hmong and needed her brother to communicate with the agents. She said when her brother asked ICE agents why she was being detained, they did not give him a reason. Advertisement Advertisement Vang was detained Jan. 8, and by the next day, she was transferred to the El Paso Service Processing Center in Texas. On Jan. 14, the family learned she had been transferred to the Houston Processing Center. At one point, Vang believed she was in the process of being deported back to Vietnam. While on the plane on the runway, they pulled her off the plane. "I'm worried that if I'm the only one that goes, my kids will still be in this country and if I go, how am I supposed to live? That's what I think about," said Vang, through an interpreter. Vang's husband, A Pao Giang, said through an interpreter, "I just arrived to America and I haven't broken the law at all.... they arrested my wife like she's an animal. My wife did nothing wrong. This is not right." Advertisement Advertisement After nearly two weeks detained, an immigration judge ordered that she be released on bond. As her brother and husband drove to her, she spent nearly three hours waiting outside at night in a city she didn't know. "They took me to sit by the chairs and I stayed until my brother and my husband came and I when I saw them I was very happy. Today, I get to be back with my family," said Vang, a mother to three sons. Five days after returning, Vang was required to do a check-in with ICE but was then free to go. She said she is required to check in once per year. But since that check-in, the family said ICE has come back to their home three times and attempted to make contact. Advertisement Advertisement KARE 11 reached out to the Department of Homeland Security to find out why and is waiting to hear back. Vang lost her job because of the detainment and does not feel safe going out. Their youngest son is also going to school online. There is a GoFundMe set up to help the family with expenses, including attorney fees. Novo Nordisk has already filed for approval of CagriSema in obesity but will await further trial data before approaching regulators about its potential in type 2 diabetes. Image credit: Kittyfly / Shutterstock.com Novo Nordisk has already filed for approval of CagriSema in obesity but will await further trial data before approaching regulators about its potential in type 2 diabetes. Image credit: Kittyfly / Shutterstock.com (Kittyfly / Shutterstock.com) Novo Nordisks CagriSema has outperformed the companys flagship type 2 diabetes drug Ozempic (semaglutide) in both HbA1c levels and weight loss in a Phase III trial. In the REIMAGINE 2 study (NCT06065540), CagriSema achieved a superior HbA1c reduction of 1.91%-points compared to 1.76%-points with Ozempic after 68 weeks. CagriSema also led to superior weight loss of 14.2% compared to 10.2% with Ozempic at the same time point. There was also no weight loss plateau observed with CagriSema, with 43% of the patients achieving 15% weight loss and 24% achieving 20% weight loss. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CagriSema appeared to have a safe and well-tolerated profile, with the most common adverse events (AEs) being gastrointestinal. The vast majority of gastrointestinal AEs were mild to moderate and diminished over time, consistent with incretin and amylin-based therapies. Executive vice president, chief scientific officer and head of R&D at Novo Nordisk, Martin Holst Lange, said: We are very pleased by the clinical profile of CagriSema in type 2 diabetes patients, including a confirmation of the very strong weight loss data seen with CagriSema in the obesity trials. By combining semaglutide and cagrilintide, we're seeing superior outcomes in both blood glucose control and weight reduction beyond those achieved with each therapy individually. The results strengthen our belief that CagriSema could be the first amylin-based combination therapy and a promising treatment option for individuals with type 2 diabetes, who also have a focus on weight loss, Lange added. REIMAGINE 2 was a 68-week efficacy and safety trial investigating once-weekly subcutaneous CagriSema, a fixed-dose combination of the amylin receptor agonist, cagrilintide, and the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA), semaglutide, compared to semaglutide and placebo. The data announced on 2 February came from the high-dose, 2.4mg cohorts; the trial also pitted 1mg/1mg CagriSema and 1mg semaglutide against each other. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The study enrolled 2,728 patients with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled with metformin with or without an SGLT2 inhibitor. Alongside REIMAGINE 2, the drug has also been investigated in type 2 diabetes in the REIMAGINE 1 (NCT06323174) and REDEFINE 3 (NCT05669755) trials; however, data have not yet been released. Once the company has the results of REIMAGINE 1 and REDEFINE 3, it will approach authorities to discuss the regulatory pathway for CagriSema in type 2 diabetes. Successful but underwhelming in obesity Novo Nordisk is also hoping to gain approval of the candidate in obesity based on the REDEFINE 1 (NCT05669755) and REDEFINE 2 (NCT05394519) pivotal trials. In REDEFINE 1 data released in December 2024, patients achieved a weight loss of 22.7% after 68 weeks on CagriSema compared to a reduction of 11.8% with cagrilintide 2.4 mg or 16.1% with semaglutide, marketed in obesity at Wegovy, alone. While this was superior, the results fell short of the 25% weight loss the company had previously set as its goal. In REDEFINE 2, CagriSema was linked to a 15.7% average weight loss at 68 weeks against the placebo groups 3.1%. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CagriSema for weight management was submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December 2025 based on the REDEFINE 1 and REDEFINE 2 trials. According to GlobalDatas patient-based forecast, CagriSema is set to bring in $16.4bn in obesity. A similar forecast for type 2 diabetes has not been completed. GlobalData is the parent company of Clinical Trials Arena. Novo Nordisk vs Eli Lilly This comes as the weight loss battle between Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly intensifies. Novo Nordisk became the first company to market an oral GLP-1RA for obesity after its oral version of semaglutide gained FDA approval in December 2025. Lilly is awaiting the FDA's decision on its oral candidate orforglipron. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While this is a blow to Lillys pipeline, the company is on top when looking at sales of its injectable GLP-1RA tirzepatide, which is marketed as Mounjaro and Zepbound, in type 2 diabetes and obesity, respectively. Other big pharma companies are also trying to enter the lucrative weight loss market, including pharma giant Pfizer, which acquired weight loss biotech Metsera following a heated bidding war with Novo Nordisk. Roche is also eyeing the space, having released positive Phase II results for its dual GLP-1/GIPRA in January 2026. "Novo Nordisks CagriSema outperforms Ozempic in Phase III trial" was originally created and published by Clinical Trials Arena, a GlobalData owned brand. Advertisement Advertisement The shuttered Augusta Correctional Center in Craigsville closed in 2024 after decades of operation and is now the subject of renewed scrutiny over a proposed sale and potential future use. (Photo courtesy of Nyttend) On his last full day in office, outgoing Gov. Glenn Youngkin instructed state officials to move forward with selling the shuttered Augusta Correctional Center to a private asset management company, a directive Gov. Abigail Spanberger has since withdrawn pending further review. Details of the now-stopped sale first came to light last week, against the backdrop of a broader push by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to expand immigration detention capacity in Virginia including controversial proposals in Hanover and Stafford counties. In a Jan. 16 memo obtained by The Mercury, Youngkin instructed the Virginia Department of General Services, which oversees the sale of state-owned property, to proceed with selecting Moxie Asset Group, LLC as the buyer for the prison complex in rural Augusta County. Advertisement Advertisement Spanbergers directive, issued less than two weeks after she took office, formally withdrew that order and reopened the decision-making process a move that comes as the former prison has emerged in public debate over potential new immigration detention facilities in Virginia. As of Monday, the property remained listed for sale by Jones Lang LaSalle. From full capacity to closure Owned and operated by the Virginia Department of Corrections in Craigsville, the Augusta Correctional Center opened in 1986 and for decades housed up to 1,222 inmates at a Level 3 security classification. Prisoners were required to maintain two years without disciplinary infractions to be eligible for transfer to a less secure facility. Advertisement Advertisement In December 2023, VADOC announced that Augusta would permanently close, alongside three other state prisons, effective July 1, 2024. The agency cited persistent staffing shortages, rising overtime costs and concerns about employee safety. According to VADOC, more than $1 million a year was being spent on overtime at Augusta alone, and as of January 2024 months before its closure the prisons population had dropped to 489 inmates. The decision to shut down the facility sent economic shockwaves through the surrounding community, where the prison had long been one of the regions largest employers. Local officials warned at the time that the loss of hundreds of jobs would reverberate through Augusta Countys tax base, schools and small businesses. In his memo to DGS Director Banci Tewolde, Youngkin said the proposed sale of the prison followed a competitive process and complied with state law and legislative authority. Advertisement Advertisement He wrote that the administration sought informal guidance from members of the Joint Money Committees, who declined to provide written comments and indicated that they had no notable concerns with proceeding under the authority granted by the General Assembly. The memo made no reference to the prisons potential future use, including whether it could be repurposed as an immigration detention facility. Youngkin said DGS evaluated multiple offers and concluded that Moxie Asset Groups $3.25 million bid represented the best outcome for the commonwealth, citing its higher price, fewer contingencies and lack of financing risk compared with other proposals, which he said were lower in value or carried greater execution risks. He directed DGS to proceed with selecting Moxies offer and to coordinate with the Office of the Attorney General to complete the transaction. Advertisement Advertisement The Mercury has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with DGS seeking all correspondence, records and communications related to the marketing, bidding, evaluation and proposed sale of the Augusta Correctional Center, including any contacts with prospective buyers or other state and federal agencies. Spanberger pulls the plug Spanberger moved quickly to undo the directive after taking office, ordering DGS to halt any action taken under Youngkins instructions. Any directives previously issued by the Office of the Governor to the Department of General Services related to the sale of the Augusta Correctional Center and related property are hereby withdrawn and should not be followed, Spanberger wrote in a memo to Tewolde last week. She added: Given the existing comprehensive and competitive bidding process that resulted in multiple officers for the property, I hereby direct the Department of General Services to promptly review all received offers and and provide a recommendation for a sale in a manner consistent with Virginia law. Advertisement Advertisement A spokeswoman for Spanberger declined to comment further for this story. Responding to an email from The Mercury, an ICE spokesperson said the agency had no new detention centers to announce at this time, while emphasizing that it is continuing to expand detention capacity nationwide. The statement added that DHS continues to conduct law enforcement activities across the country and that it should not come as news that ICE will be making arrests in states across the U.S. and is actively working to expand detention space. It remains unclear whether there is any connection between Moxie and the Department of Homeland Security or its immigration enforcement arm, Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Attempts to reach the company continue. Advertisement Advertisement Local officials in Augusta County emphasized that they oppose the use of the former prison as an ICE facility. In an email to The Mercury, Augusta County Administrator Timothy Fitzgerald said, The Augusta County Board of Supervisors has made it clear that they do not support an ICE facility at this location. Augusta County understands that several proposals for the Augusta correctional property were previously presented to Governor Youngkins office for consideration, some of which include options for ICE detention facilities, Fitzgerald wrote. It is our understanding that these proposals have been transitioned to the Virginia Department of General Services (DGS) for the selection of a proposal for final negotiations. Advertisement Advertisement Augusta County, he concluded, has been in communication with DGS to share our position regarding the sale of the property. The controversy in Augusta echoes a recent fight in Hanover County, where the local Board of Supervisors last week announced its opposition to ICEs proposal to open a detention center in a privately owned warehouse. The announcement followed days of public backlash and a single, packed public meeting that drew widespread attention and opposition from residents and immigrant rights advocates. After the mounting backlash, the buildings owner withdrew plans to sell the warehouse to ICE, effectively halting the proposal. ACLU documents put spotlight on Augusta Plans for the Augusta Correctional Center first surfaced publicly last week through new documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union, along with the ACLU of Virginia and the ACLU of North Carolina. The records reveal that ICE is considering six new locations nationwide for potential detention centers including Augusta Correctional Center. Advertisement Advertisement The 98 pages of records were disclosed in response to a lawsuit filed by the ACLU and its affiliates in October 2025, after ICE failed to respond to a Freedom of Information Act request. The litigation is part of a broader series of lawsuits seeking details about ICEs plans to expand detention capacity across the Midwest, South and West Coast. According to the heavily redacted documents, the Augusta proposal notes that the detention center is in discussions with a private operator to run the facility, which is not named. The ACLU said people held at the facility previously endured sexual assault and that former officers pleaded guilty to smuggling drugs into the prison. The disclosures came less than a month after The Washington Post reported that President Donald Trumps administration is planning to convert industrial warehouses into large-scale ICE detention facilities capable of holding more than 80,000 people at a time which ICE denied in the statement emailed to The Mercury. Advertisement Advertisement These will not be warehouses they will be very well-structured detention facilities meeting our regular detention standards, the ICE spokesperson said. Sophia Gregg, senior immigrants rights attorney with the ACLU of Virginia, said the organization pursued the records because of what they view as a dangerous and opaque expansion of immigration detention particularly in Virginia, which already hosts two large ICE facilities in Farmville and Caroline County. Its important that the public knows that ICE is continuing to expand detention across the country, and especially in Virginia, Gregg said. Any detention center that has capacity like the Augusta facility, or others, would dramatically increase the tension here in Virginia, which would have just really devastating effects on the communities that they would be put in, and to the people that would be impacted, who could be detained there, she said. Gregg pointed to rising deaths in ICE custody, alleging systemic failures in medical care and oversight. What we do know about immigration detention in the last year is that it has had more deaths in ICE custody than in two decades, and theres been six recorded deaths so far in this year alone, she said. She also cited reports that ICE has stopped paying medical providers as detainee populations surged, and that oversight mechanisms within DHS have been dismantled. These are deadly detention centers that are being expanded exponentially across the country, in secret, and no community wants them there, Gregg said. They are a blight on any community, and in Virginia, theres no need for any new detention facilities. A new survey by the Republican polling firm Cygnal, released by the White House Monday, found majority support for several core aspects of federal immigration enforcement. According to the poll, 73% of respondents said entering the United States without authorization is breaking the law, 61% said they support deporting people who are in the country illegally to their home countries, 58% said they oppose efforts to defund Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and 54% said they support ICE enforcing federal immigration laws. In contrast, a CBS News/YouGov poll conducted Jan. 14-16 found public sentiment toward Immigration and Customs Enforcement shifting in the opposite direction. The survey found that about 61% of Americans said ICEs operations are too tough when stopping and detaining people, and roughly half said they believe the agency is not prioritizing serious criminals but instead targeting broader groups of people. The poll also found that a majority viewed ICE as making communities where it operates less safe, with 52% saying so compared with 31% who said operations make communities safer. Lawmakers enter the fray Concerns over detention expansion reached Capitol Hill last week, when U.S. Rep. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, led Virginias House Democrats in sending a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons opposing planned ICE facilities in the commonwealth. Since early last year, we have witnessed an increasingly aggressive and militant ICE under your leadership, the members wrote. Most recently in Minneapolis, we have seen federal immigration agents kill two American citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and injure dozens more. Across the nation, there have been reports of overcrowded detention facilities with poor ventilation, inadequate climate control, limited access to shower facilities and basic hygiene, and insufficient food and access to meals, the letter continued, citing conditions reported at ICEs Washington Field Office in Chantilly last summer. We do not want the commonwealth to be home to large detention facilities rejected by our local communities, which make no one safer, the lawmakers wrote. Rather, these facilities undermine public safety, erode trust between local law enforcement and the public, and place a federal agency indifferent to constitutional liberties near our schools, hospitals, and residential areas. For now, the fate of the Augusta Correctional Center remains unresolved. Spanbergers decision to rescind Youngkins directive has paused the sale and reopened scrutiny of how the state disposes of former prisons particularly when those properties could be repurposed for controversial federal uses. Hundreds of people gathered outside Hanover County Courthouse on Jan. 28, 2026 in opposition to a proposal to create an ICE detention facility in the county. (Photo courtesy Ryan Burgess) SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Demonstrators protesting anti-LGBTQ+ legislation dropped 48,000 handmade hearts meant to represent LGBTQ+ Idahoans down the rotunda of the Idaho State Capitol Building in Boise on April 2, 2024. (Kyle Pfannenstiel/Idaho Capital Sun) An Idaho House committee on Monday advanced a bill that would block local policies that ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. House Bill 557 would prevent local governments in Idaho from having or enforcing antidiscrimination policies that go beyond state law. Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Bruce Skaug, a Nampa Republican, is sponsoring the bill, which was written by the Idaho Family Policy Center, a conservative Christian lobbying group. Idaho state Reps. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, and Mike Pohanka, R-Jerome, listen to proceedings during the House State Affairs Committee on Jan. 7, 2025, at the State Capitol Building in Boise. (Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun) Skaug said local antidiscrimination policies are often weaponized against different businesses and people. Its happened across the country. We see those in the headlines. Weve heard stories: the bakers, the photographers, the wedding venues being forced to participate in ceremonies which they hold a close religious belief that they cannot do that, Skaug told the committee. The bill comes after more than a decade of failed efforts in the Republican supermajority-controlled Idaho Legislature to add LGBTQ+ discrimination protections to state law. Idaho state law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin or disability. Advertisement Advertisement More than a third of Idahoans over 720,000 people live in Idaho communities with local nondiscrimination ordinances, the ACLU of Idaho estimates. Since 2011, 13 Idaho cities and towns passed nondiscrimination ordinances including Sandpoint, Boise, Idaho Falls, Moscow, Lewiston, Meridian, Ketchum, Hailey, Bellevue, Driggs, Victor, Pocatello and Coeur dAlene. In 2020, Ada County, home to Boise, passed its own. Nikson Mathews, who is transgender, told the committee that the issue is more than just about cake orders or weddings. What we are talking about is people having the right to have a home, to have a home for themselves and for their families, Mathews said. We are talking about the right for people to have a job in order to make a living for themselves and their families. In the coming days or weeks, the bill could go up for vote in the House, before it would advance to the Senate. Advertisement Advertisement SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Only one Republican opposed the bill arguing the state shouldnt interfere with local government The Idaho House Local Government Committee advanced the bill to the full House on a nearly party-line vote Monday. All but one of the 14 Republicans on the committee supported the move, and the committees two Democrats opposed it. Rep. Rick Cheatum, R-Pocatello, (center) chats with Rep. Brandon Mitchell, R-Moscow, on Idaho House of Representatives floor before it officially gavels into session on Jan. 14, 2026, at the State Capitol Building in Boise. (Photo by Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun) Rep. Rick Cheatum, of Pocatello, was the sole Republican to vote against the bill. He said he opposed it because it preempts local decisionmaking. I dont think the state should be fiddling with what happens in local government, he said. Let local government officials manage their own affairs. Rep. Steve Berch, a Boise Democrat, told lawmakers they need to recognize why the ordinances are in place. Advertisement Advertisement It is not a special right to not be fired from your job. It is not a special right to (not) be evicted from your apartment, he said. It is not a special right to (not) be asked to leave a restaurant because of who you are. Boise hasnt prosecuted under its nondiscrimination ordinance, official says The Association of Idaho Cities opposed the bill over it preempting local policies, said the organizations deputy director Jonathan Wheatley. In November, Sandpoint repealed its nondiscrimination ordinance after public complaints claimed a transgender woman used a local womens locker room, the Spokesman-Review reported. The North Idaho city was the first Idaho city to pass a local nondiscrimination ordinance. Sandpoint Mayor Jeremy Grimm testified in support of the bill. He cast tie-breaking votes in the city councils decisions to effectively repeal the towns anti-discrimination ordinance recently. Advertisement Advertisement That decision was not about withdrawing protections. It was about restoring clarity, consistency and defensibility to our local code and acknowledging the limits of municipal capacity, he told the committee. A pride flag flies in front of Boise City Hall, just blocks from the Idaho Capitol. The flag flies below the citys own banner and in April shared the flagpole with a flag honoring organ donation. The city also displays the U.S. flag, a POW/MIA flag and a state of Idaho flag. (Photo by Erika Bolstad/Stateline) The city of Boise opposed the bill. Boises government affairs director, Kathy Griesmyer, told the committee that since Boise adopted its ordinance in 2012, no business complaints have been filed with the city, and there havent been any prosecutions against any business resulting in their market departure Instead, this false reasoning is being used to advance state legislation that restricts city authority while severely harming our LGBTQ residents in our community, she told the committee. The bill would allow Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador and local businesses and property owners affected to sue local governments that violate the block on local antidiscrimination policies. To become law, Idaho bills must pass the House and Senate, and avoid the governors veto. If the bill becomes law, it would take effect July 1. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Local officials on Feb. 5 identified two more people on board a private plane linked to a law firm that crashed late last month during takeoff from a Maine airport. The Jan. 25 jet which was headed to France crashed after the aircraft took off from Bangor International Airport in the city of Bangor, about 130 miles northeast of Portland. The Bangor Police Department told USA TODAY that the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner positively identified two victims of the crash as: Advertisement Advertisement Shawna Collins, 53, of Texas Nick Mastrascusa, 43, of Hawaii Earlier in the week, on Feb. 3, officials identifed the four other people who died in the crash All six people on the plane four passengers and two crew members died, according to a joint release from the Bangor Police Department and airport officials. City officials previously identified the other four of the victims of the crash as: Tara Arnold, 46, of Texas Jacob Hosmer, 47, of Texas Shelby Kuyawa, 34, of Hawaii Jorden Reidel, 33, of Texas The aircraft's registered owner shares a Houston address with Arnold & Itkin, a personal injury law firm. Advertisement Advertisement USA TODAY has repeatedly reached out to the firm for comment. What caused Bangor, Maine, plane crash? The aircraft, a Bombardier CL-600, was headed to Paris-Vatry Airport. Prior to the crash, officials wrote, the plane had departed from Houston and stopped in Maine to receive fuel and de-icing services, local authorities said. The Federal Aviation Administration said the jet crashed as it took off from the airport's single runway around 7:45 p.m. ET. According to a preliminary federal report, the plane crashed under unknown circumstances on departure, came to rest inverted and caught on fire. FAA records show the aircraft went into service in April 2020. Advertisement Advertisement The National Transportation Safety Board is also investigating the cause of the crash. Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Six victims identified after private plane crash in Bangor, Maine A suspected illegal operation in Las Vegas appears linked to the illegal bio-lab discovered in Reedley more than three years ago. Local and federal investigators in Nevada are actively working to determine what substances were found inside a home searched on Saturday morning. More than 1,000 pieces of evidence have already been collected following raids at several locations. The investigation led to the arrest of Ori Solomon, the property manager for the Las Vegas home. Advertisement Advertisement In a press conference on Monday, officials with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department confirmed the investigation is connected to the illegal Reedley lab first discovered in late 2022. "As our investigation progressed, we determined that the home was owned by the same individual connected to a prior, illegal bio-lab investigation in Reedley, California that occurred in 2023," said LVMPD Sheriff Kevin McMahill. That individual was David He, a Chinese National accused of operating the illegal lab in Reedley. The FBI was seen searching the Reedley facility again on Sunday, after news broke of the Las Vegas property one day prior. That lab's initial search in 2023 revealed thousands of vials of biological material, including potential pathogens such as HIV, malaria, tuberculosis, COVID-19, and Ebola. Advertisement Advertisement He has pled not guilty in that case, and as his trial approaches, his attorney says he believes his client had nothing to do with the Nevada operation. "He never mentioned anything about Las Vegas properties or any other properties to me about storing any kind of materials, or anything of that nature," said He's attorney, Tony Capozzi. Meanwhile, officials in Reedley say they were not surprised by the latest development in Las Vegas. "Back then, we knew there were ties to Las Vegas," Reedley City Manager Nicole Zieba told Action News Monday. Zieba worked with federal leaders during a Congressional investigation in 2023 under the Biden Administration. The report that came out of that investigation found that the CDC refused to test any of the samples found in Reedley, and that the FBI had closed its investigation early on the basis that it found no weapons of mass destruction on the property. Advertisement Advertisement "There's a lot of frustration on my part because we were raising red flags about the loopholes in national security for biologicals way back in 2023 when this all occurred," said Zieba. Now, some federal leaders are urging Congress to reintroduce the "Preventing Illegal Laboratories and Protecting Public Health Act of 2025," a bill they say would strengthen federal oversight of pathogens and high-containment laboratories to protect national security. State Rep. Ed Clere, R-New Albany, has been expelled from the House Republican caucus following his announcement that he plans to leave the party and run for mayor as an independent. Over the weekend, Clere shared tough reflections on the Republican party, calling it "unrecognizable" in the age of President Donald Trump and saying the party had "lost its way." Even so, expulsions from the caucus are rare if unheard of: Only one other Republican in the Statehouse is not part of his party's caucus, and that's because Sen. Mike Young of Indianapolis left voluntarily in 2022 because he thought Republicans didn't go far enough with the abortion ban. The Feb. 2 decision took Clere by surprise, he said: He was on his way to a caucus meeting when House Speaker Todd Huston pulled him into a meeting to inform him of his expulsion, citing his weekend announcement. Advertisement Advertisement "It was a very short conversation," Clere told IndyStar. "I was surprised, and I am very disappointed, but I will continue to represent my district to the best of my ability, as I have for 18 years." Asked why this decision was made, through a spokesperson, Huston only reiterated the news. "Following this weekend's announcement that he's left the Republican party, Rep. Clere will no longer caucus with the House Republicans," he said. "No committee assignments will be impacted." Instead of running for reelection to his House seat, Clere plans to run for New Albany mayor in 2027 as an independent. He previously ran in 2023 as a Republican but lost to the incumbent by a few hundred votes. Representative Ed Clere and fellow lawmakers gather in the Indiana Statehouse on Org Day, or organization day on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Indianapolis. Clere has broken with his party multiple times over the course of his time in the Statehouse, from abortion to gay marriage to transgender rights. Most recently, he was one of a dozen House Republicans who voted with Democrats against the mid-decade redistricting bill pushed by Trump. Indiana state police are still investigating bomb threats against multiple lawmakers who voted against the bill, including Clere. Advertisement Advertisement The redistricting battle was only the latest example of the nationalization of politics seeping into state policy, he said previously. "Youve heard that saying before: 'I didnt leave the party. The party left me.' Thats how I feel," Clere said. He also specifically called out Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith as the sort of "polarizing" and divisive figure that represents what he sees as wrong with the GOP. "Hes a bomb thrower and a very polarizing figure and he seems to thrive on that," he said. "Its a good example of why I couldnt run again as a Republican." In a post on X, Beckwith retorted by referencing Clere's comments at an ACLU rally supporting transgender youth. Advertisement Advertisement "Pretty sure we'll manage just fine without you, Ed," Beckwith wrote. While announcing his decision to leave the Republican Party over the weekend, Indiana Rep. Ed Clere cited his issues with President Trump, myself, and the current direction of the conservative movement. Last summer during a Transgender Youth Rally at the State House hosted by https://t.co/pW1Frcz6C3 Lt. Governor Micah Beckwith (@LGMicahBeckwith) February 2, 2026 Clere will retain his staff, bills and committee assignments. Beyond the symbolic excommunication, practically speaking, being expelled from the caucus means he cannot participate in closed-door caucus meetings with the rest of the Republicans. Caucus members also receive support from leadership in election time, though Clere is not running for reelection in 2026. Legislative leadership has traditionally found other ways to punish members they've found out of line, Clere included. In 2015, after Clere championed a bill to legalize needle exchange programs, he was removed as chair of the House public health committee. Lawmakers like Rep. Jim Lucas, R-Seymour, and former Sen. Mike Delph have been taken off committee roles over social media activity. But Clere can't recall any other expulsions in the House during his time. Contact IndyStar Statehouse reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@indystar.com or follow her on X @kayla_dwyer17. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana House GOP caucus expels longtime rep who said he plans to leave the party Indianapolis is on the verge of implementing a "revolutionary" public education framework that would unite two warring education sectors under a single umbrella. But after decades of simmering tensions, can both traditional public schools and charter schools a less state-regulated form of public school held accountable by independent charter authorizers find common ground? That transformation came one step closer Feb. 2, when House Bill 1423, which establishes a central board to govern operational aspects of all public schools within Indianapolis Public Schools boundaries, passed the House by a 68-30 vote. It now awaits consideration in the Senate, where it could still be amended. Advertisement Advertisement The policy behemoth, pushed by the school choice-friendly legislature, would require the new board to establish a single performance framework where public schools of all types deemed "chronically low performing" would close. The board's nine members would serve at the mayor's behest, and charter and traditional public schools would each be guaranteed three representatives. Though the IPS school board would still oversee academics, the proposal would shift some of its power to the non-elected board. If the new board works as intended, the long-fragmented public education ecosystem in Indianapolis will become more equitable, efficient and produce better outcomes for students. IPS will find solid financial footing. The opportunity gap will narrow. Charter and traditional schools will be unified. That's what advocates of the legislation say, at least. But much of that vision relies on collaboration, a seemingly paradoxical value in a system where survival means competing for a bigger slice of the pie, whether its students, political influence or state and local dollars. For months, public discussion around the bill's core proposals has been heated and divisive. Already, charter school advocates have pushed for assurances than charter school authorizers will keep the final say on closing schools and language that would let charter schools opt out of part of the plan. IPS, which declined an interview with IndyStar, has called House Bill 1423 "a necessary evolution" in an unfriendly political climate. Advertisement Advertisement But whether reform efforts help or hurt IPS, one thing advocates can agree on is the radical nature of the proposal particularly when it comes to closing schools that fail to perform. "That's a revolutionary change," said Brandon Brown, CEO of the charter advocacy group The Mind Trust, "that I don't think is applied to any other school district in the entire country." A power struggle in the details When the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance sent their final suggestions to the legislature, they left a few details to iron out later. The state-mandated group, which was formed in the wake of legislation requiring property tax revenue be shared with charters, left open questions of how the new authority would acquire school facilities, if it would have the final say in closing schools and whether property tax distribution would flow through it or to schools directly. Advertisement Advertisement Those question marks were the central concern of IPS teacher Tina Ahlgren, the sole "no" vote among the nine-member group. Now, they've become the vehicle for a power struggle. "There are too many vested interests for this to be a free-for-all," she told IndyStar. Following the bill's passage from the House Education Committee in mid-January, The Mind Trust announced it was working to clarify "that charter school accountability and any non-renewal decisions will continue to live with authorizers, not the corporation" and ensure charter schools can opt out of the facilities portion of the plan and continue to own or lease their buildings. IPS, too, sought clarity, writing on its 2026 Legislative Priorities website that closures, consolidations and other requirements in the bill "must apply to all public schools evenly and equally." But the goal of an equal and even application was called into question by some lawmakers Jan. 29 when the House passed an amendment to grant The Mind Trust its desired changes. Advertisement Advertisement "Are we backing off of uniformity?" Rep. Ed Delaney, an Indianapolis Democrat who had previously expressed support for the bill, asked bill author Rep. Bob Behning, R-Indianapolis. He replied no just adding flexibility. IPS saw it differently, calling the change a "glaring double standard." But charter school advocates point to the fact that many charter schools operate within facilities funded with philanthropy, putting them in a different category than taxpayer-funded district facilities. Plus, opting out would require charter schools to give up revenue from debt service or controlled project levies under the current version of the bill. The amendment also allows charter school authorizers as well as the IPS school board final say in closing schools, though either body could be overridden by the state board. A brewing sense of distrust While Indianapolis' education debate doesn't cut neatly across party lines, it's far from apolitical. Advertisement Advertisement Both ideological camps are composed of strange bedfellows. The charter lobby spans local education reformers and powerful city leaders to free-market conservatives, while traditional public schools have the support of teachers' unions, parent groups and even the Central Indiana Democratic Socialists of America. But not all view the debate through the same lens. Brown, of The Mind Trust, said while conversations can be divisive, it's not coming from his camp. Instead, it is a portion of the traditional schools' crowd that he said is engaging in "the politics of personal destruction." "This is an asymmetric conversation where one side is earnestly working to move forward policies that serve all kids," he said. "And a segment of the other side is choosing something very different from that." Advertisement Advertisement Traditional school advocates, meanwhile, have accused charter advocates of pursuing expansion for the purpose of initiating "Project 2025-style attacks, all under the guise of progressive change." Both sides of the argument have used the demographics of the students they serve to advance their perspectives, whether it's a conversation about IPS' funding gap regarding students with disabilities or charter schools touting how they serve more students of color than IPS. "One thing I'd encourage you all to look at is the demographics of enrollment within the IPS boundaries," said Kim Preston, senior vice president of policy and strategic partnerships for The Mind Trust, during House Education Committee testimony, "the demographics of speakers who have come before the ILEA and this body today." But while some charter advocates distrust the motives of the opposing side's arguments, they described HB 1423 as a "pro-IPS" plan. Advertisement Advertisement "The reality is that the status quo would have likely led to insolvency, then state takeover, and then no more IPS," Brown said. Proponents of traditional schools, however, are wary, seeing the legislation as a trojan horse for further charter school expansion. "If you're not getting to the root of the problem," said Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary, during a House Education Committee meeting, "I think you could end up closing a lot of schools and creating more charter schools." How we got here, and where we could go When IPS was just a few years into implementing a desegregation court order, during which the district lost more than 60,000 students and closed dozens of schools, a Massachusetts educator was tinkering with a theory that would transform education: empowering teachers to set up their own schools, which would receive direct funds and have the autonomy to develop curriculum. Advertisement Advertisement The idea gained steam when a national commission warned the nation was falling behind its competitors in educating the youth and the educator's theory was promoted in 1988 by the president of the American Federation of Teachers. The group would eventually change its tune on charters after the model exploded across the nation in the following decades. Today, more than half of the students within IPS' district attend charter schools after the state passed a law to allow them in 2001. Thousands of students have left the district for charters, contributing to a nationwide trend of declining enrollment within urban districts, though charters also lost students between this school year and the previous year. While IPS has closed schools, it still has more capacity than it does students and is staring down a fast-approaching budget shortfall. To many charter school advocates, declining enrollments are a result of IPS' failures to educate historically underserved students, sparking their flight to charters. But IPS argues legislative intervention and a lack of sufficient funding for its students with disabilities and English language learner students have made financial recovery difficult, while pointing to recent academic successes like a 93% graduation rate. And regardless of who's to blame, the politics behind it are likely to haunt any potential board to govern them both. Advertisement Advertisement "Political power follows the students," Kevin Welner, director of the National Education Policy Center, said. That means whatever sector has the strongest grip on enrollment, money and power is more likely to keep the upper hand, he said, creating a cycle of disinvestment in the other sector. Meanwhile, a mayor-appointed board, while described by advocates as better suited to close schools as a form of accountability, ups the chances of industry capture, Welner said where a board starts to favor a group it's charged with overseeing. In some cases, mayoral control has been successful, Bryan Duarte, an education policy professor at Purdue, said; in others, it's been a "total disaster." Duarte, who clarified with IndyStar that he does not speak for his university, testified against the bill in part because the research in favor of mayoral control was inconclusive, and because some cities that have it are moving away from the model. And while there's evidence to suggest that a competitive education environment can push traditional schools to improve, Duarte said, those school districts can sometimes be left with the most disadvantaged kids, especially as some charter schools market themselves as offering elite educational experiences. "It becomes very easy to point to those and say 'the district-run schools are failures,'" Duarte said, "when in fact they are actually educating...the ones that are left out of choice." Contact breaking politics reporter Marissa Meador at mmeador@gannett.com or find her on X at @marissa_meador. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Can charter and traditional public schools unite after years of fights? For weeks, administrators at this charter high school have arrived an hour before class, grabbed neon vests and walkie-talkies, and headed out into the cold to watch for ICE agents and escort students in. Lately, fewer than half of the 800 students show up. "Operation Metro Surge," the immigration crackdown in Minnesota that led to nationwide protests after federal agents shot and killed two US citizens, has had students, parents and teachers on edge regardless of their immigration status. Advertisement Advertisement Signs of a fearful new normal are all over the school. Green craft paper covers the bottom of many first-floor windows so outsiders can't peer in. A notice taped outside one door says unauthorized entry is prohibited: "This includes all federal law enforcement personnel and activities unless authorized by lawful written direction from appropriate school officials or a valid court order." Staff coordinate throughout the day with a neighbourhood watch group to determine whether ICE agents are nearby. When they are, classroom doors are locked and hallways emptied until staff announce "all clear." Similar tactics have been utilized by schools in other cities hit by immigration raids across the country. Advertisement Advertisement But it appears nowhere have students felt the repercussions of local raids more than in Minneapolis. Many schools have seen attendance plummet by double-digit percentages. At least three other, smaller charter schools in Minneapolis have completely shut down in-person learning. At this high school, which administrators asked The Times not to identify for fear of retaliation by the Trump administration, 84% of students are Latino and 12% are Black. Staff and students are being identified by first or middle names. Three students have been detained and later released in recent weeks. Two others were followed into the school parking lot and questioned about their immigration status. Several have parents who were deported or who self-deported. Latino staff said they have also been stopped and questioned about their legal status. Advertisement Advertisement "Our families feel hunted," said Noelle, the school district's executive director. Students returned from winter break in early January, the same day 2,000 additional immigration agents were dispatched to Minneapolis to carry out what Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Todd Lyons called the agency's "largest immigration operation ever." The next day, an ICE officer fatally shot Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three. "I describe that day as if you're on an airplane and it's really bad turbulence, and you have to keep your cool because, if you don't, you lose the entire building," said Emmanuel, an assistant principal. "It felt like we went through war." Advertisement Advertisement Attendance dropped by the hundreds as parents grew too afraid to let their children leave home. School leaders decided to offer online learning and scrambled to find enough laptops and mobile hotspots for the many students who didn't have devices or internet. Some teachers sent packets of schoolwork to students by mail. Noelle said in-person attendance, which had dropped below 400 students, increased by around 100 in the third week of January. Then federal agents shot and killed 37-year-old intensive care nurse Alex Pretti and attendance plummeted again. Rochelle Van Dijk, vice president of Great MN Schools, a non-profit supporting schools that serve a majority of students of colour said many schools have redirected tens of thousands of dollars away from other critical needs toward online learning, food distribution and safety planning. Advertisement Advertisement For students still attending in person, recess has frequently been cancelled and field trips and after-school activities paused. Even if students return to school by mid-February, Van Dijk said, they will have missed 20% of their instructional days for the year. "A senior who can't meet with their college counsellor right now just missed support needed for major January college application deadlines. Or a second-grader with a speech delay who is supposed to be in an active in-person intervention may lose a critical window of brain plasticity," she said. "It is not dissimilar to what our nation's children faced during COVID, but entirely avoidable." At the high school, administrators said they tried to create "a security bubble," operating under protocols more typical of active shooter emergencies. Advertisement Advertisement If agents were to enter the building without a judicial warrant, the school would go into a full lock down turning off lights, staying silent and moving out of sight. That hasn't happened, though ICE last year rescinded a policy that had barred arrests at so-called sensitive locations, including schools. Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, said that blaming ICE for low school attendance is "creating a climate of fear and smearing law enforcement." "ICE does not target schools," McLaughlin said. "If a dangerous or violent illegal criminal alien felon were to flee into a school, or a child sex offender is working as an employee, there may be a situation where an arrest is made to protect the safety of the student. But this has not happened." Advertisement Advertisement Alondra, a 16-year-old junior who was born in the US, was arrested after school January 21 near a clinic where she had gone with a friend, also 16, to pick up medication for her grandmother. She said that as she was about to turn into the parking lot, another car sped in front of her, forcing her to stop. Alondra saw four men in ski masks with guns get out. Scared, she put her car in reverse. Before she could move, she said, another vehicle pulled up and struck her car from behind. Alondra shared videos with The Times that she recorded from the scene. She said agents cracked her passenger window in an attempt to get in. Advertisement Advertisement "We're with you!" a bystander can be heard telling her in the video as others blow emergency whistles. She said she rolled her window down and an agent asked to see her ID. She gave him her license and US passport. "Is it necessary to have to talk to you or can I talk to an actual cop?" she asks in the video. "Can I talk to an actual cop from here?" "We are law enforcement," the agent replies. "What are they gonna do?" In another video, an agent questions Alondra's friend about the whereabouts of his parents. Another agent is heard saying Alondra had put her car in reverse. Advertisement Advertisement "We're underage," she tells him. "We're scared." Alondra and her friend were handcuffed and placed in a US Customs and Border Protection vehicle as observers filmed the incident. At least two observers were arrested as agents deployed tear gas and pepper spray, according to an MPR report. The agents took the students to the federal Whipple Building. Alondra said the agents separated the friends, looked through and photographed her belongings and had her change into blue canvas shoes before chaining her feet together and placing her in a holding cell alone. "I asked at least five times if I could let my guardian know what was happening, because I was underage, but they never let me," she said. Finally, around 7 pm, agents released Alondra with no paperwork about the incident and she called her aunt to pick her up. Her friend was released later. Meanwhile, school administrators who saw the MPR video called Alondra's family and her friend's. Alondra said officers didn't know what had happened to her car and told her they would call her when she could pick it up. But no one has called, and school administrators who helped her make calls to Minneapolis impound lots haven't been able to locate it either. Though Alondra could attend classes online, she felt she had to return to campus. "I feel like if I would have stayed home, it would have gone worse for me," she said, her lip quivering. "I use school as a distraction." The backstage of the auditorium, dubbed the bodega, has been turned into a well-stocked pantry for families who are too afraid to leave their homes. Teachers and volunteers sort donations by category, including hygiene goods, breakfast cereals, bread and tortillas, fruit and vegetables, diapers and other baby items. Bags are labelled with each student's name and address and filled with the items their family has requested. After school, teachers deliver the items to the students' homes. Noelle said some students, particularly those who are homeless, are now at risk of failing because they're in "survival mode." Their learning is stagnating, she said. "A lot of these kids are I mean, they want to be college-bound," Noelle said. "How do you compete [for admission] with the best applicants if you're online right now and doing one touch-point a day with one teacher because that's all the technology that you have?" One afternoon, 20 of 44 students had shown up for an AP world history class where the whiteboard prompt asked, "Why might some people resort to violent resistance rather than peaceful protest?" Upstairs, in an 11th-grade US history class, attendance was even worse four students, with 17 others following online. Close to the 4:15 pm dismissal, administrators again donned their neon vests and logged on to the neighbourhood Signal call for possible immigration activity. Dismissal used to be a free-for-all once the final bell rang, students would rush outside to find their bus or ride or to begin the walk home. Now pickups are staggered, with students escorted outside one bus at a time. Teachers grab numbered signs and tell students to line up according to their route. If ICE agents pull up, administrators said, they could rush a smaller group of students onto the bus or back inside. In yet another example of how the immigration raids had crippled attendance, some buses were nearly empty. On one bus, just two students hopped on. The tactical unit of the Hennepin County Sheriffs office control the crowd during a rally against federal agents with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency as they continue their immigration crackdown in Minneapolis. Dave Decker/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa A gas leak that sparked an explosion and massive fire on Monday afternoon at a mental health facility in New Hampshire, injuring multiple firefighters and rattling nearby businesses, may have been caused by falling ice, according to investigators. Fire officials say crews were inside the Greater Nashua Mental Health Center responding to a reported gas leak when the explosion occurred. Firefighters had been in the facility for only a few minutes before the building burst into flames. Cellphone video from the scene showed thick plumes of smoke rising into the air as firefighters worked to knock down the raging blaze. The incident began around 2 p.m. and continued well into the evening. Advertisement Advertisement Nashua Fire Chief Steve M. Buxton said the gas leak was isolated to the mental health facility, with no threat to surrounding homes or businesses. However, nearby roads along Amherst Street were shut down as hoses stretched across the area. While all aspects of the incident remain under investigation, officials say they are looking into whether the gas line was damaged by falling ice. Several nearby businesses reported feeling the explosion, which was powerful enough to shake buildings blocks away. Some employees said they were confused and alarmed after receiving emergency phone alerts warning of a gas leak and advising them to turn off burners and prepare to evacuate. I felt like a boom it shook a little, but you couldnt see where it came from, said Ae Sahasakmontri of Thon Khao Thai Restaurant. Advertisement Advertisement Another business owner, Leanna Wong of Pho Street, said the blast caused her door to swing open. It shook one time my door opened. I thought something fell from the ceiling, she said. Fire officials say approximately 40 people were working inside the mental health facility at the time of the explosion. All employees were able to evacuate safely. Three firefighters were injured in the blast. One has since been released from the hospital, and the other two are expected to recover. Anyone with information that may assist the investigation is encouraged to contact the New Hampshire State Fire Marshals Office. Advertisement Advertisement This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW By Parisa Hafezi, Humeyra Pamuk and Idrees Ali DUBAI/WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Iran is demanding that talks with the U.S. this week be held in Oman not Turkey, and that the scope be narrowed to two-way negotiations on nuclear issues only, a regional source said on Tuesday, adding new complications to an already delicate diplomatic effort. Iran's move to change the venue and agenda for the talks, scheduled for Friday in Istanbul, came amid heightened tensions as the U.S. builds up forces in the Middle East. Advertisement Advertisement Regional players have pushed for resolution of a standoff that has led to mutual threats of air strikes and stirred fears of escalation into a wider war. The U.S. military on Tuesday shot down an Iranian drone that "aggressively" approached the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea, the U.S. military said, in an incident first reported by Reuters. President Donald Trump, who warned on Monday that "bad things" would probably happen if a deal could not be reached with Iran, told reporters at the White House on Tuesday: "We are negotiating with them right now." But he did not elaborate and declined to say where he expected the talks to take place. The regional diplomat with knowledge of Iran's demands said Tehran sought "to change the format, they want to change the scope." Advertisement Advertisement "They only want to discuss the nuclear file with the Americans while the U.S. wants to include other topics such as the (ballistic) missiles and the activities of Iran's proxies in the region." White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News that talks with Iran were still scheduled to take place later this week. Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson said consultations on the venue were still under way, Iranian Nour News reported later on Tuesday. The spokesperson said planning has been carried out to hold the negotiations in the coming days and that Turkey, Oman and several other countries had expressed a readiness to host the meeting. A source familiar with the situation said earlier on Tuesday that Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner was due to take part in the talks, along with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi. Advertisement Advertisement Ministers from several other countries in the region including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates had also been expected to attend, but the regional source told Reuters that Tehran now wanted only bilateral talks with the U.S. US BUILDUP FOLLOWS STREET PROTESTS IN IRAN The U.S. naval buildup follows Iran's violent crackdown against anti-government demonstrations last month. Trump, who stopped short of carrying out threats to intervene, has since demanded nuclear concessions from Iran and sent a flotilla to its coast. The priority of the diplomatic effort is to avoid conflict and de-escalate tension, a second regional official told Reuters earlier. Advertisement Advertisement Irans leadership is increasingly worried a U.S. strike could break its grip on power by driving an already enraged public back onto the streets, according to six current and former Iranian officials. With tensions running high, an Iranian Shahed-139 drone flying toward the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier "with unclear intent" was shot down by an F-35 U.S. fighter jet, the U.S. military said. Iran's Tasnim news agency said connection had been lost with a drone in international waters, but the reason was unknown. The U.S. Central Command said in another incident on Tuesday, this one in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces harassed a U.S.-flagged tanker. Advertisement Advertisement "Two IRGC boats and an Iranian Mohajer drone approached M/V Stena Imperative at high speeds and threatened to board and seize the tanker," said Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for the Central Command. Maritime risk management group Vanguard said the Iranian boats ordered the tanker to stop its engine and prepare to be boarded. Instead, the tanker sped up and continued its voyage. Hawkins said a U.S. Navy warship, the McFaul, was operating in the area and escorted the Stena Imperative, which was "proceeding safely." Earlier the United Arab Emirates, a highly influential Gulf Arab oil producer and close U.S. ally, said the region cannot afford another conflict and negotiations were needed. Advertisement Advertisement Gulf Arab states are worried that Iran will carry out its threat to target U.S. bases on their territory should Trump attack the Islamic Republic again. In June, the United States struck Iranian nuclear targets, joining in at the close of a 12-day Israeli bombing campaign. Since then, Tehran has said its uranium enrichment work - which it says is for peaceful, not military purposes - has stopped. Iranian sources told Reuters last week that Trump had demanded three conditions for resumption of talks: Zero enrichment of uranium in Iran, limits on Tehran's ballistic missile programme and ending its support for regional proxies. Iran has long said all three demands are unacceptable infringements of its sovereignty, but two Iranian officials told Reuters its clerical rulers saw the ballistic missile programme, rather than uranium enrichment, as the bigger obstacle. Advertisement Advertisement One Iranian official said there should be no preconditions and Tehran is ready to show flexibility on uranium enrichment, including handing over 400 kg of highly enriched uranium, accepting zero enrichment. Tehran's regional sway has been weakened by Israel's attacks on its proxies - from Hamas in Gaza to Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and militias in Iraq - as well as by the ousting of Iran's close ally, former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. (Additional reporting by Nayera Abdallah, Maha El Dahan, Jana Choukeir, Federico Maccioni and Parisa Hafezi; Writing by Michael Georgy and Matt Spetalnick, Editing by Philippa Fletcher, Aidan Lewis, Deepa Babington and Cynthia Osterman) DUBAI, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Talks with the U.S. should be pursued to secure national interests as long as "threats and unreasonable expectations" are avoided, President Masoud Pezeshkian posted on X on Tuesday. "Taking into account demands from friendly regional countries to respond to the U.S. President's suggestion for talks, I instructed the foreign minister to prepare the ground for equitable and fair negotiations ... should an atmosphere free of threats and unreasonable expectations arise," Pezeshkian said. (Reporting by Dubai Newsroom; Editing by Tom Hogue) DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Iran's president said Tuesday he instructed the countrys foreign minister to pursue fair and equitable negotiations with the United States, the first clear sign from Tehran it wants to try to negotiate as tensions remain high with Washington after the Mideast country's bloody crackdown on nationwide protests last month. The announcement came as a U.S. Navy fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone that approached an American aircraft carrier early Tuesday morning. Iranian fast boats from its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard also tried to stop a U.S.-flagged ship in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, the Navy said. Iran did not immediately acknowledge either incident. The incidents strained but apparently did not totally derail hopes for talks between Iran and the U.S. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff has been planning to hold talks with Iranian officials in Turkey later this week. Advertisement Advertisement President Donald Trump "is always wanting to pursue diplomacy first, but obviously it takes two to tango, Leavitt said. "You need a willing partner to achieve diplomacy and thats something that special envoy Witkoff is intent on exploring and discussing. The shift toward negotiations marked a major turn for reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian, who had broadly warned Iranians for weeks that the turmoil in his country had gone beyond his control. It also signals that the president received support from Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for talks that the 86-year-old cleric previously had dismissed. Turkey attempting to broker negotiations Turkey has been working behind the scenes to make the talks happen there later this week as Witkoff is traveling in the region. A Turkish official later said the location of talks was uncertain but that Turkey was ready to support the process. Advertisement Advertisement Foreign ministers from Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have also been invited to attend the talks, if they happen, according to the official who spoke on condition of anonymity as they did not have permission to speak to journalists. But whether Iran and the U.S. can reach an agreement remains to be seen, particularly as Trump now has included Iran's nuclear program in a list of demands from Tehran in any talks. Trump ordered the bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites during the 12-day war Israel launched against Iran in June. On Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke by phone with his counterparts from Oman, Qatar, Turkey and Kuwait, but did not mention a possible venue. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told Iranian state television that the talks are still expected to happen in the next few days but that the details, including where it will take place, are still being discussed. U.S. shoots down drone Advertisement Advertisement U.S. Central Command said the drone aggressively approached the aircraft carrier on Tuesday, with unclear intent and it continued to fly toward the ship despite deescalatory measures taken by U.S. forces operating in international waters. The Shahed-139 drone was shot down by an F-35C fighter jet from the USS Abraham Lincoln, which was sailing about 500 miles (805 kilometers) from Irans southern coast, Central Command spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins said. The incident took place just before sunrise, he told The Associated Press. In a separate incident later Tuesday, the Revolutionary Guard harassed a merchant vessel flying the American flag and carrying an American crew, Hawkins said. Two boats and an Iranian Mohajer drone approached the ship, the tanker Stena Imperative, at high speeds and threatened to board and seize the tanker, Hawkins statement said. Advertisement Advertisement The position of the incident appeared to be in Iranian territorial waters, according to the British militarys United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center. Iran had warned of a naval drill by the Guard in recent days. The guided missile destroyer USS McFaul responded and escorted the Stena Imperative with defensive air support, authorities said. Witkoff meets with Netanyahu in Israel Witkoff met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday and discussed plans for disarming Hamas ahead of possible reconstruction and the situation in Iran, Netanyahus office said. Netanyahu warned Witkoff that Iran has repeatedly proven it cannot be trusted to meet its commitments. Advertisement Advertisement Israel demands that any agreement with Iran include removing enriched uranium from the country, stopping the enrichment of uranium, limiting the creation of ballistic missiles and ending support for Tehrans proxies, according to an official familiar with the talks who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. Mike Pompeo, a hard-liner on Iran who served as CIA director and secretary of state in Trumps first term, said it was unimaginable that there can be a deal. I think they may come away with some set of understandings, Pompeo said at Dubais World Governments Summit. But to think that theres a long-term solution that actually provides stability and peace to this region while the ayatollah is still in power is something I pray for but find unimaginable. Khamenei adviser speaks on the nuclear issue Advertisement Advertisement Late Monday, the pan-Arab satellite channel Al Mayadeen, which is politically allied with the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, aired an interview with Ali Shamkhani, a top Khamenei adviser on security. He suggested that if the talks happened, they would be indirect at the beginning, and move to direct talks only if a deal appeared to be attainable. Direct talks with the U.S. long have been a highly charged political issue within Iran's theocracy, with reformists like Pezeshkian pushing for them and hard-liners dismissing them. The talks would solely focus on nuclear issues, he added. Iran does not seek nuclear weapons, will not seek a nuclear weapon and will never stockpile nuclear weapons, but the other side must pay a price in return for this," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Iran had been enriching uranium up to 60% purity, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels. The International Atomic Energy Agency had said Iran was the only country in the world to enrich to that level that wasn't armed with the bomb. Iran has been refusing requests by the IAEA to inspect the sites bombed in the June war. ___ Associated Press writers Melanie Lidman in Jerusalem, Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, Farnoush Amiri in New York, and Aamer Madhani, Matthew Lee and Konstantin Toropin in Washington contributed to this report. The Jerusalem Post learned that Iran told mediators that it is ready to discuss the nuclear issue and is even willing to consider compromises. Nuclear talks between the US and Iran are expected to take place in Oman on Friday, Axios reporter Barak Ravid said on Tuesday, citing an Arab source. President Donald Trump's administration agreed to Iran's request to move the talks from Turkey, and negotiations are still ongoing on whether Arab and Muslim countries in the region will join the talks in Oman, Ravid added, citing the source. Advertisement Advertisement Iran has requested changes to the venue and format of nuclear talks with the United States, Axios reported on Tuesday, citing two sources knowledgeable of the matter. Reuters reported that Iran is seeking to move the talks from Istanbul to Oman. "They want to change the format, they want to change the scope," said the regional diplomat with knowledge of Iran's demands. Steve Witkoff, US Special Envoy to the Middle East, (C) Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of the United States CENTCOM, (L) and Jared Kushner listen as U.S. Vice President JD Vance speaks during a press conference following a military briefing at the CMCC on October 21, 2025 in Kiryat Gat, Israel. (credit: Nathan Howard - Pool/Getty Images) "They only want to discuss the nuclear file with the Americans, while the US wants to include other topics such as the (ballistic) missiles and the activities of Iran's proxies in the region." The Iranian Foreign Minister claimed that consultations for the venue of talks with the United States were underway, and confirmed that they would happen later this week. Advertisement Advertisement It also claimed that the location and timing of the talks were not "complicated issues" and that the issues should not be used as "a pretext for media games." Iran, US to meet later in February This comes after Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced that they would meet in Istanbul on Friday. Senior officials, likely foreign ministers, from Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Turkey were expected to join the talks, sources confirmed to The Jerusalem Post. Trump's advisor and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, will also attend. "It remains to be seen whether the United States intends to engage in serious, results-oriented negotiations," one source commented. Advertisement Advertisement The Post learned that Iran told mediators that it is ready to discuss the nuclear issue and is even willing to consider compromises. Additionally, the Islamic Republic seemed amenable to discussing the ballistic missiles issue and its proxies in later talks, according to a source familiar with the details. Iran reportedly believes that reaching an agreement on the nuclear issue will cause Trump to abandon the idea of war. The source added to the Post that if there is a nuclear deal, it will probably prevent Israel from conducting strikes against Iran's missile storage facilities. However, in Israel and the US, the assessment is that the chance of reaching an agreement with the Islamic Republic is slim to none. US asserts talks still on after Iranian threatens to withdraw Separately on Tuesday, Iranian officials threatened to withdraw from the upcoming Istanbul talks, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter, though it is unclear what triggered the remarks. Advertisement Advertisement White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Tuesday that talks with Iran were still scheduled to take place later this week. A source familiar with the situation said on Tuesday that Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, was due to take part in the talks, along with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. An Iranian diplomatic source told Reuters that Tehran's view of the talks is neither optimistic nor pessimistic, adding that the Islamic Republic's defensive capabilities are non-negotiable and that it is ready for any scenario. "It remains to be seen whether the United States also intends to conduct serious, results-oriented negotiations or not," the source said. Amichai Stein contributed to this report. Six Iranian gunboats unsuccessfully attempted to halt a U.S.-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reported. The security firm Vanguard Tech told its clients on Tuesday that the Iranian vessels were armed with .50-caliber guns, and they ordered the oil tanker to turn off its engines and prepare to be boarded. Instead, the tanker sped up and was ultimately escorted to safety by a U.S. Navy vessel, according to the Journal. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Advertisement Advertisement The incident comes as the U.S. continues to ramp up its military presence surrounding Iran, with President Donald Trump describing an "armada" arrayed in the area. Iran To Hold Live-fire Drills In Strait Of Hormuz With Us Armada In Middle East Iranian gunboats like the ones described Tuesday operate in the Persian Gulf. (Getty Images) Iran's regime has vowed that any military strike on its territory would ignite a regional conflict, even as senior Iranian officials signaled a willingness to negotiate with the U.S. Read On The Fox News App U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to arrive in Israel on Tuesday for meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, according to Axios. The publication also reported that Witkoff will meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Istanbul on Friday. Advertisement Advertisement The talks in Israel are expected to focus on Iran, following Zamirs weekend visit to Washington, where he held a series of meetings with U.S. defense officials on the Islamic Republic. Iran Revolutionary Guard Commander Says Regime Has 'Finger On The Trigger' As Us Warships Head To Middle East President Donald Trump says Iran is taking talks "seriously" amid U.S. threats. Trump said on Saturday he believes Iran is negotiating "seriously" with the U.S., stressing that he hopes an "acceptable" deal can be brokered. When asked by a reporter aboard Air Force One whether he had decided on a strike against Iran, Trump responded, "I certainly can't tell you that." Advertisement Advertisement "But we do have very big, powerful ships heading in that direction," he added. "I hope they negotiate something that's acceptable." The president then sidestepped a question about whether Tehran would be emboldened if the U.S. opted not to launch strikes on Iran, saying, "Some people think that. Some people dont." Click Here To Download The Fox News App "You could make a negotiated deal that would be satisfactory with no nuclear weapons," Trump said. "They should do that, but I don't know that they will. But they are talking to us. Seriously talking to us." Fox News' Efrat Lachter and Michael Sinkewicz contributed to this report. Original article source: Iranian gunboats unsuccessfully attempt to board US oil tanker as Trump builds military presence Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday said he has instructed his foreign minister to conduct "fair and equitable negotiations" with the United States. Pezeshkian said in a post on social media platform X that he instructed Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi "to pursue fair and equitable negotiations, guided by the principles of dignity, prudence, and expediency," adding: "provided that a suitable environment existsone free from threats and unreasonable expectations." The Iranian president went on to say that the negotiations would "be conducted within the framework of our national interests." Advertisement Advertisement Iranian officials had previously said that Tehran was preparing for negotiations with the US. According to US media reports, the meeting between Araghchi and US special envoy Steve Witkoff is to take place in Istanbul on Friday. Washington and Tehran had already negotiated Iran's controversial nuclear programme last year, but the talks stalled on key issues. A core US demand is a complete halt to Iran's uranium enrichment programme. While Tehran is willing to limit its nuclear programme, Washington's maximalist demand is a red line. Many Iranians are extremely critical of negotiations with the US following the bloody crackdown on protests at the beginning of January. Advertisement Advertisement At the height of anti-government protests in Iran, US President Donald Trump pledged his support to the protesters. According to Iranian human rights activists, thousands - possibly tens of thousands - of people are said to have been killed during the violent suppression of the protests. The fact that Trump now wants to negotiate with the Iranian leadership is seen by many in Iran as a betrayal. Tehran MP Mojtaba Zarei; illustrative. (photo credit: SCREENSHOT/X/VIA SECTION 27A OF THE COPYRIGHT ACT) Iranian MP Mojtaba Zarei urged Jordanians to seize the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base and take US soldiers captive after Tehran strikes the base in a threatened upcoming ballistic missile attack. Pro-regime Tehran MP and member of Irans Foreign Policy Commission, Mojtaba Zarei, called on Jordanian "fighting brothers" to take control of a US military base in the kingdom in a post on X/Twitter on Monday. Zarei, who has an account in both Farsi and Arabic, posted his call to action in both languages, noting that a Muwaffaq Salti Air Base was utilized for operations countering "Iranian missiles and in protecting Tel Aviv and the Zionist cannibals," during the Israel-Iran war in June. Advertisement Advertisement "It has turned into the most important American base in the world-devouring empire, and a partner of Israel," he claimed. "Prepare yourselves to seize it and take American soldiers captive after the missiles strike this base," he concluded, hinting towards an Iranian missile strike targeting US military facilities across the Middle East. The air base is primarily operated by the Royal Jordanian Air Force but has hosted US Air Force F-15 Strike Eagles for approximately 10 years. Several Navy EA-18G Growlers have also been deployed to the base amid heightened tensions between the US and Iran in recent days, according to military trackers and analysts. Zarei linked the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base with air force operations to counter Iranian ballistic missile launches during the Israel-Iran war in June. The Jordanian Armed Forces-Arab Army at the time stated that it would intercept Iranian missiles that pose a risk to its own territory. The US military did not comment on the area of operations for its aircraft stationed in the region. Advertisement Advertisement Notably, Zarei's call for Jordanians to act implies an upcoming military strike on US bases in the Middle East, amid rising tensions as talks are about to begin between US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. The two are slated to begin talks in Istanbul on Friday. Witkoff visited Israel on Tuesday to discuss regional concerns with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Zarei calls on Iran to strike Dimona amid June's Israel-Iran war During the Israel-Iran war, Zarei affirmed that "Now its time to strike Dimona, the Zionist criminals nuclear center. You hit our nuclear sites, well hit yours, and with a 2-ton warhead." In a previous post on X, Zarei threatened a journalist from a London-based anti-regime outlet, Iran International, calling him an "idiot mercenary." "The Imam's message has been delivered to all the intermediaries and regional governments: All US bases and all American interests in the host countries would be completely crushed, plus 500 missiles on Tel Aviv in the first step!! So whos the one kneeling now, you mercenary?!" he threatened, implying that there will be upcoming attacks on Israel and US facilities in the region. In another post on January 29, he threatened US military forces posted in the Middle East. "O oppressed American people, bring back your invading army from the region of the Muslims and the Iranians to your home and your country, its numbers reaching at most 40,000 people, but we have prepared 80,000 drones, meaning two for every one of the invading soldiers! Force the mentally ill president to leave the White House!" he wrote on X. The terrorist had "extensive knowledge in preparing explosives and various weapons," according to N12, and had been involved in other attacks against IDF soldiers operating in the area. An illegal resident from the West Bank was arrested earlier this week on suspicion of preparing explosives and carrying out "additional terror activity" targeting IDF soldiers, Israel Police said on Tuesday night. "The suspect was transferred for questioning by the Shin Bet [Israel Security Agency]," the statement ended. Advertisement Advertisement Earlier on Tuesday, N12 News reported that Israel Police and the Shin Bet arrested a wanted individual after they had infiltrated Israel and hid on the roof of a building in Kafr Kassem. According to N12, the individual was suspected of planning a terror attack in central Israel. (Illustrative) Israel police block a road, as rockets are launched from the Gaza Strip, near Ashkelon, southern Israel October 7, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/ILAN ROSENBERG) Source to N12: Police prevented major incident The terrorist had "extensive knowledge in preparing explosives and various weapons," N12 reported, and had been involved in other attacks against IDF soldiers operating in the area. "We may have prevented a particularly serious incident from a highly wanted individual who is responsible for quite a few terrorist acts against soldiers in the [West Bank]," N12 quoted a security force as saying. The source added that the suspect is "an individual who holds intelligence that could assist in foiling future attacks." Italy's government is fast-tracking a security decree after violent clashes in Turin left more than 100 officers injured and a policeman beaten with a hammer by masked protesters, an attack Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called "attempted murder". The officer, 29-year-old Alessandro Calista, of the Padua Mobile Police Unit, was surrounded by masked demonstrators and struck repeatedly including with a hammer before another officer intervened with a riot shield to extract him from the crowd. He sustained multiple contusions and a hammer injury but was discharged from the hospital later on Sunday with an expected recovery, alongside at least one other officer also admitted to Turins Molinette hospital. Advertisement Advertisement Authorities arrested three men aged 22, 31 and 35 following Saturday's violence during a demonstration supporting the evicted Askatasuna anarchist social centre. The 22-year-old from the province of Grosseto was taken into custody and identified from video footage as one of those who attacked Calista. He faces charges of complicity in causing personal injury to a public official during a public order demonstration, along with robbery charges for taking Calista's shield, equipment and gas mask. Several government ministers are pressing for attempted murder charges instead of assault. Additionally, more than 20 individuals were reported by police on various charges including carrying improper weapons, resisting authorities, and disguising themselves, with objects such as stones, wrenches, and knives seized from some. Advertisement Advertisement Authorities said 108 security personnel were injured in the clashes, including 96 police officers, seven financial police and five carabinieri. Protesters threw bottles, stones, homemade incendiary devices and smoke bombs, set fire to rubbish bins and a police armoured vehicle, and used street furniture and uprooted lampposts as weapons. Police said the most aggressive group numbered approximately 1,500 protesters, including participants from France and northern Europe, raising concerns for public order planning ahead of the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics in 2026. Government proposes sweeping measures Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the violence, calling the attack on the officer attempted murder language she reiterated after visiting injured officers at Molinette hospital Sunday. Advertisement Advertisement She announced that the government would accelerate a security package already in development, holding a meeting on Monday to finalise measures expected to go to the Council of Ministers later in the week. The measures under consideration include preventive police detention of at least 12 hours for repeat violent offenders, restrictions on knife sales to minors, and expanded self-defence protections extending beyond police to other citizens. "When you hit someone with a hammer, you do so knowing that the consequences can be very, very serious. This is not a protest, these are not clashes. This is called attempted murder," Meloni said on Sunday. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi will brief parliament Tuesday on the violence, which government officials labelled "urban terrorism" and "attempted murder". Advertisement Advertisement Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini called for immediate approval of the security package, describing it as "the best antidote to immediately block the extreme left's attempt to bring violence back to the streets of Italian cities". Opposition leaders condemned the violence while criticising the government's approach. Democratic Party leader Elly Schlein called the attacks "unacceptable" but questioned the government's broader security strategy. Critics argue the government's framing of events as "urban terrorism" represents a politically motivated tactic to delegitimise protest movements and distract from social issues. The Askatasuna social centre had been occupied for nearly 30 years before authorities evicted it in December following an attack on newspaper La Stampa's headquarters. Italian President Sergio Mattarella called Piantedosi on Saturday evening to express solidarity with the attacked officers and all security forces who suffered violence during the demonstration. Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville has explained why he believes Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker could be the ideal Democratic presidential nominee in 2028. Appearing on Fox News personality Raymond Arroyos Arroyo Grande show, Carville downplayed the prospects of former Vice President Kamala Harris and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) while suggesting that former U.S. Ambassador Rahm Emanuel would have an effect on the dialogue. Politics: James Carville Explains His Wrong Prediction About The Presidential Election Watch the full episode on YouTube. But Pritzker, Carville said, checks two crucial boxes. Advertisement Advertisement He can raise a lot of early money, Carville said, adding that Pritzker can also walk into any Black establishment and have people pay attention to him. Carville acknowledged that California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro could also generate significant fundraising support. Politics: Melinda French Gates Felt 'Unbelievable Sadness' At Latest Epstein Files Expose Of Ex-Husband But Pritzker stood out. If I had to say one guy I really dont know him, very superficially but if I were betting the Kentucky Derby and I saw this 12-to-1 horse and I said, I want to get a prize, Id take JB Pritzker, Carville said. Advertisement Advertisement Like this article? Keep independent journalism alive. Support HuffPost. Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville has explained why he believes Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (above) could be the ideal Democratic presidential nominee in 2028. Daniel Boczarski via Getty Images When Arroyo asked why not Harris, noting that she is Black, Carville replied that Harris, who lost the 2024 election to President Donald Trump, has no chance. No Democrat wants anything to do with anybody that had anything to do with 2024, he said. Not that we dislike them thats not what this is. Theres no enthusiasm. Politics: JB Pritzker Explains The Big 'Problem' With Biden Dropping Out Carville dismissed the power of name recognition: If you do a poll and you say for 2028 its Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, any name theyve heard of, the person theyve heard of is always going to be on top. But thats meaningless. Advertisement Advertisement By contrast, Carville said, Pritzker is well-liked within the Black community. He campaigns hard, he said. I bet you theres not a Black church in South Carolina that JBs not part of the building fund committee. Hes bigger than life, he added. Hes worth $3 billion and won a million and a half dollars shooting craps and blackjack in Las Vegas. That makes people like him. Harris currently leads in the polls, with Newsom in second, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in third and Ocasio-Cortez in fourth. Related... Read the original on HuffPost AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro spent Tuesday morning in damage control mode after she invoked the fury of Second Amendment advocates with comments she made threatening to jail anyone who brings a gun into Washington D.C. During an interview Monday with her former Fox News colleague Martha MacCallum about a recent decrease in crime in D.C., Pirro bragged about her office taking guns off the street, so that those guns cannot be used in homicides, or assaults with deadly weapons, or in any kind of carjacking, or any kind of robbery. Advertisement Advertisement You bring a gun into the district, you mark my words, youre going to jail, Pirro added. I dont care if you have a license in another district, and I dont care if you are a law-abiding gun owner somewhere else, you bring a gun into this district, count on going to jail, and hope you get the gun back and that makes all the difference. Her comments drew a swift and loud condemnation from the right, with numerous gun rights advocates and organizations shredding her for what they described as moronic and a betrayal of President Donald Trumps claims to support the Second Amendment. Tuesday morning, Pirro attempted to quell the outrage with a post on X (formerly Twitter). Let me be clear: I am a proud supporter of the Second Amendment. Washington, D.C. law requires handguns be licensed in the District with the Metropolitan Police Department to be carried into our community. We are focused on individuals who are unlawfully carrying guns and Jeanine Pirro (@JudgeJeanine) February 3, 2026 Let me be clear: I am a proud supporter of the Second Amendment, she wrote. Washington, D.C. law requires handguns be licensed in the District with the Metropolitan Police Department to be carried into our community. We are focused on individuals who are unlawfully carrying guns and will continue building on that momentum to keep our communities safe. Advertisement Advertisement Her post got a fairly hostile reception; the majority of the replies and quote tweets were from conservatives expressing deep skepticism or liberals mocking her and Trumps MAGA supporters. Pirro tried again a few hours later with a video that was captioned [a] message to my fellow gun ownersput your safety back on. A message to my fellow gun ownersput your safety back on pic.twitter.com/fkgWD7GsuB Jeanine Pirro (@JudgeJeanine) February 3, 2026 Good morning everyone, Im here in the office and some people are concerned about something I said yesterday, so I want to be crystal clear, said Pirro in the one-minute video clip. She continued: I am a proud supporter of the Second Amendment. I have guns myself: long guns, hand guns, and Im a proud high-heeled gun owner. In fact, I even keynoted an NRA convention. However, you need to be responsible, and every responsible gun owner that I know makes sure that they understand the laws where they are going, and understands whatever registration requirements there might be. President Trumps goal here, and my goal as well, is to make sure that we take guns out of the hands of criminals. There is a reason that we have the lowest homicide rate in recorded history. Were taking guns off the street illegal guns in the hands of criminals who wanna use those guns to victimize law-abiding citizens. Theres a big difference here: youre responsible, you follow the laws, youre not gonna have a problem with me. The post Jeanine Pirro Attempts Damage Control After Being Shredded by the Right Over Her Gun Comments first appeared on Mediaite. On December 28, 2025, Jill Bidens ex-husband Bill Stevenson called the police following a domestic dispute with his wife Linda. When police arrived, they found his wife unresponsive in the living room of their Delaware home. Though first responders tried to revive her, she was pronounced dead. William Bill Stevenson is accused of killing wife Linda Stevenson One month after Linda Stevensons tragic death, her husband Bill has been arrested. Following an autopsy by the Delaware Division of Forensic Science, the authorities apparently have enough evidence to charge him. Advertisement Advertisement Jills ex has been charged with first-degree murder, with a cash bail of $500,000. After being unable to post bail on February 2, Bill was reportedly booked into the Howard Young Correctional Institution in Wilmington, Delaware. The former First Lady met Bill while she was a college student. The couple married in 1974, but were only married a short time, separating after just a year of marriage. The relationship between Jill and her first husband reportedly became rocky when Bill purchased a college bar near the University of Delaware campus. Apparently, Jill thought, as his wife, she should be co-owner of The Stone Balloon, but it never happened. Following a fight with her then-husband, Jill moved out in late 1974. Their divorce was finalized in 1975, the same year she met then-Senator Joe Biden. She and Joe married in 1977. Advertisement Advertisement Over the years, Jill has repeatedly denied ever having had an affair with Joe while she was still married. Jill Biden separated from her first husband irreconcilably in the fall of 1974 and moved out of their marital home, a 2019 statement confirmed. Joe and Jill Biden had their first date in March of 1975, and they married in June of 1977 These claims [of infidelity on Jills part] are fictitious, seemingly to sell and promote a book. Even though theyve been divorced for over 50 years, its possible that Jill could be brought in to testify as to her ex-husbands character. TELL US DO YOU THINK JILL COULD BE CALLED TO TESTIFY? The post Jill Bidens Ex-Husband Charged With Wifes Murder: Details appeared first on Reality Tea. (New Castle County Police Department/Susan Walsh/AP photo) Bill Stevenson, the former husband of Dr. Jill Biden, has been charged with the murder of his current wife, Linda Stevenson, who was found unresponsive in the couples Delaware home in December, authorities said Tuesday. Stevenson, 77, was taken into custody by the New Castle County cops on Monday after a weeks-long investigation into the death of his wife. The case was presented to a grand jury, which handed down a murder indictment, according to a statement from the police department. Advertisement Advertisement The former first ladys ex was arraigned on a charge of first-degree murder and sent to the Howard Young Correctional Institution after failing to post $500,000 cash bail, cops said. Back on December 28, police were called to the Stevenson home just after 11 p.m. to investigate a possible domestic dispute, according to local reports. Inside, they found Linda Stevenson unresponsive. Despite efforts to revive her, she was later pronounced dead. Linda Stevenson has been married to Bill Stevenson for nearly 40 years, after his marriage to Jill Jacobs ended in divorce in 1975. Jacobs married then-Senator Joe Biden in 1977. Advertisement Advertisement Bill Stevenson opened the popular University of Delaware hotspot The Stone Balloon in 1972. It was later named One of the 100 Top College Bars in America by Playboy magazine, according to its website. The post Jill Bidens Former Husband Bill Stevenson Charged in Murder of His Current Wife first appeared on Mediaite. NEED TO KNOW Dr. Jill Biden's ex-husband, Bill Stevenson, has been charged with the murder of his wife, Linda The former first lady was married to Bill from 1970 to 1975, before she met her future husband, Joe Biden In her 2019 memoir, Jill wrote about being "horrified" at the idea of divorce back then, saying, "I had never failed at anything serious" Dr. Jill Biden's ex-husband, Bill Stevenson, has been charged with the murder of his wife, Linda Stevenson. Bill was indicted on a first-degree murder charge and taken into custody without incident on Monday, Feb. 2, the New Castle County Police Department said in a press release. Advertisement Advertisement Linda, 64, was found dead in the couple's home in Oak Hill, Del., after police responded to "a reported domestic dispute" and found her unresponsive on Dec. 28, according to the department. Bill, 77, was arraigned and is currently being held in lieu of $500,000 bail, police said. Jill, now 74, was married to Bill from 1970 to 1975. They met as college students at the University of Delaware, and the future first lady was just 18 years old when they tied the knot. "Looking back, it may seem like that relationship was a mistake of youth," Jill wrote in her 2019 book, Where the Light Enters: Building a Family, Discovering Myself. "But there was a time when I truly believed we were destined for each other." Advertisement Advertisement "He was charismatic and entrepreneurial and eventually started his own business," she wrote of Bill. "We rented a sleek modern house. Suddenly, I wasnt just a student, eating cheap food and living in student housing any longernow I was a wife... My parents didnt object; in fact, my parents loved him. And most importantly, I thought I had found a love like my parents, a partnership built on loyalty and devotion." "For a moment, we were happy. I had found my Prince Charming, and I was sure it would last forever," she added. Ironically, Jill wrote, Bill was a "big supporter" of Joe Biden's Senate campaign in 1972. On election night, the young couple even attended the victory party, where Jill met her future husband's first wife, Neilia Hunter Biden. Joe Biden takes the oath of office to join the U.S. Senate in his sons' hospital room on Jan. 6, 1973 Bettmann Archive/Getty Just weeks later, Neilia and the couple's 1-year-old daughter, Naomi, would be killed in a car accident, leaving Joe a single father to two sons: Beau and Hunter. But before Jill more prominently entered their lives, she had to endure the dissolution of her first marriage. Advertisement Advertisement "My parents loved each other until they left this earth," Jill recalled in her book. "Even in their old age, they were playful and affectionate. They loved faithfully and unconditionally. Marriage, for them, meant forever. And I knew, deeply, unquestioningly, that was what I would have as well. So, when my marriage fell apart, I was lost. I watched, devastated, as it slipped from my fingers before I could even figure out how to hold on." "We were young, and it didnt take long before we grew in different directions," she continued. "I tried to make the relationship work. I thought I could will our marriage back to life. But I had to separate what I thought my family should be from the reality of what this relationship was." Jill wrote that after a while, she realized their differences were "beyond repair," saying she didn't want to settle for a "counterfeit love" with Bill. "Im not sure if I knew anyone who was divorced back then," she said. "The very idea horrified me. It meant failure, and in my still-young life, I had never failed at anything serious." Advertisement Advertisement Jill wrote that she hated feeling like she let her parents down by divorcing her first husband especially her father but even worse was the feeling of letting herself down. "I felt ugly and inadequate; I was embarrassed and ashamed," she said. "In a single devastating year, I went from thinking I had it all to feeling shattered and alone. I questioned if I would ever find love, if I would ever have a family of my own. How could I give my heart to someone again? How could I again risk this humiliation, this hurt? And how could I figure out who, exactly, I was?" She said her parents stood by her and she even declined their offer for her to move back home. "In my mind, my former husband thought I would disintegrate without him, and I aimed to prove him wrong," she wrote. Advertisement Advertisement After putting her life back together, away from the University of Delaware campus and the memories of her feelings of failure, Jill did find love again. She agreed to a blind date in 1975, which turned out to be with Joe, and the future first couple married two years later. Jill helped raise Joe's two sons and together, the couple welcomed daughter Ashley in 1981. Joe Biden and Jill Biden arrive for a celebration of the Louisiana State University NCAA Division I women's basketball national championship team at the White House on May 26, 2023 Chip Somodevilla/Getty It was this personal turnaround that helped Jill offer some uplifting advice to a newly separated Kelly Clarkson during a 2021 appearance on her talk show. "This is what I would say to you if I were your mother: My mother always said to me, 'Things are going to look better tomorrow. And if you can take one day at a time, things will get better,' " the first lady shared. Advertisement Advertisement At the time, Clarkson had recently filed for divorce from her husband of seven years, Brandon Blackstock. Their divorce was finalized the following year. Blackstock died in August 2025 of an aggressive form of skin cancer. Despite their personal struggles, Jill assured Clarkson that better days were ahead. "If I hadn't gotten divorced, I never would've met Joe," she said. "I wouldn't have the beautiful family I have now, so I really think things happen for the best." Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The Bidens gave PEOPLE their first White House interview in January 2021, and Jill shared a similar sentiment at the time, expressing how the pair leaned on each other through good times and bad. Advertisement Advertisement "All that we've been through together the highs, the lows and certainly tragedy and loss there's that quote that says sometimes you become stronger in the fractured places. That's what we try to achieve," she said. Read the original article on People Former first lady Jill Bidens ex-husband Bill Stevenson has been charged with first-degree murder after his wife was found dead in their home late last year. Linda Stevenson was found unresponsive after police in New Castle County, Delaware, were called to investigate a domestic dispute at the Stevensons home around 11:15 p.m. on Dec. 28, 2025. Bill Stevenson is being held at the Howard Young Correctional Institution after failing to post $500,000 cash bail. Bill Stevenson was arrested Monday in connection with the killing of his 64-year-old wife Linda Stevenson. / New Castle County Police The cause of Lindas death remains unknown. Life-saving measures were attempted, but she was ultimately pronounced dead at the scene. Audio from the police dispatch from the scene mentioned cardiac arrest, according to a TMZ report at the time. Advertisement Advertisement Linda Stevensons obituary states that she passed away unexpectedly. It makes no mention of her husband. She had been married to Bill Stevenson for nearly 40 years at the time of her death. Jill Biden, 74, was married to Bill Stevenson, 77, for five years, separating in 1974, and getting legally divorced a year later in 1975. She married then-Senator Joe Biden two years later in 1977. Jill Biden married Joe Biden two years after her divorce. Joe Biden's first wife died in a car accident in 1972. / Rick Maiman / Rick Maiman Bill Stevenson had claimed to be at one time a supporter of Joe Bidens political career, but he alleged that Jill Biden had an affair with the future president towards the end of their marriage. He said that in 1974, he drove from Delaware to New Jersey to pay Bruce Springsteen ahead of his appearance at the student bar he founded at the University of Delaware, The Stone Balloon. Advertisement Advertisement I asked Jill to go with me and she said noshe had things to do, she had to look after Joes kids, Beau and Hunter. It was kind of a big deal to go meet Springsteen. I had no idea she and Joe were that kind of friendly, he told the Daily Mail in 2020. Then one of her best friends told me she thought Joe and Jill were getting a little too close. I was surprised that she came to me, he added. He told the outlet that one saving grace of his divorce from Jill Biden was that it allowed him to meet his next wife, Linda. Im not bitter because, if it wasnt for my divorce, I would never have met my wife Linda and shes the greatest thing in my life, he told the outlet at the time. Advertisement Advertisement Bill Stevenson said he voted for former President Barack Obama, when Biden was Obamas vice president, in 2008 and 2012, but he grew critical of Biden over time. Stevenson said he voted for the Obama-Biden ticket twice. / NBC NewsWire / NBC Newswire/NBCUniversal via Ge In 2023, he called President Donald Trump a president that I love and respect, and claimed the Biden crime family was targeting Trump due to several criminal investigations into Trump at the time. Bill Stevenson had also been critical of Jill Biden during the waning days of the Biden presidency before Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential election. I just dont understand why she is so adamant about defending him and keeping him in the race since it appears that hes struggling, added Stevenson. It appears that hes struggling with everybody these days. Like this article? Keep independent journalism alive. Support HuffPost. William Stevenson, who was briefly married to former first lady Jill Biden more than five decades ago, has been charged with the murder of his longtime wife, Linda Stevenson, Delaware police announced Tuesday. On Dec. 28, just before midnight, police responded to a domestic dispute at the Stevensons New Castle County home. Police said they found Linda Stevenson unresponsive in the living room, and after attempting life-saving measures, she was pronounced dead. Police provided few details of the incident and did not say how she died. News: Surgeon Charged With Ex-Wife And Her New Husbands Killing Nearly 10 Years After Their 2 Year Marriage Ended On Monday, authorities presented the case to a grand jury and an indictment was returned, charging the 77-year-old with first-degree murder. Police took him into custody without incident that same day. His bail was set at $500,000 cash. Advertisement Advertisement William and Linda Stevenson had been married for about 40 years. Linda Stevenson, 64, was a mother, grandmother and business owner. Linda will be remembered as tenacious, kind-hearted, and fiercely loyal, reads her obituary, which does not mention her husband. Her strength, resilience, and unwavering love for her family and friends will never be forgotten, and her absence will be felt deeply by all who knew her. Politics: Jill Biden Opens Up About 'Hurtful' Attacks On Joe Biden's Cognition William Stevenson sparked headlines in the 2020 presidential election when he told Inside Edition that he believed Jill and Joe Biden had an affair. Jill Biden was married to William Stevenson from 1970 to 1974. Advertisement Advertisement Stevenson claimed that he and Jill got to know Joe Biden in 1972 when Stevenson threw a fundraising event for the future president, who was then a county council member in New Castle, Delaware. Stevenson said he began to suspect the two were having an affair in 1974 one year before Jill and Joe Biden have said they were set up by Joe Bidens brother on a blind date. Jill Biden denied Stevensons claim, telling Inside Edition in a statement at the time that the claim of an affair is fictitious. William Stevenson came forward with the allegations when he was thinking about releasing a book about his life. In 2020, he told the Daily Mail that he didnt want to harm Jill Bidens chances of becoming first lady. Politics: Kamala Harris Opens Up About Her Role In Biden's Decision To Run In 2024 She would make an excellent first lady but this is my story, he said. Advertisement Advertisement He added: Its not a bitter book Im not bitter because, if it wasnt for my divorce, I would never have met my wife Linda and shes the greatest thing in my life but it does have facts in it that arent pleasant to Jill and Joe. Related... Read the original on HuffPost A federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration from ending temporary protections that have allowed roughly 350,000 Haitians to live and work in the U.S. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] As reported on News Center 7 at 11:00, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington, D.C. granted a pause on the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians while a lawsuit challenging it proceeds. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement TPS for Haitians in the United States was scheduled to end on Feb. 3. As previously reported by News Center 7, there are an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 Haitian immigrants in Springfield. Springfield Mayor Rob Rue provided a statement to News Center 7 on the ruling Monday evening. This ruling provides clarity and stability for families who are already part of our community. It reflects the reality that many individuals are working, paying taxes, raising families and contributing every day to the life of our City. Maintaining that stability matters because unnecessary disruption creates uncertainty that serves no one. We respect the judicial process and remain committed to the well-being of the people who call our city home. Rue said. As previously reported by News Center 7, Springfield City Schools Superintendent said he learned in a meeting with state leaders that there may be a federal enforcement operation in the city starting Wednesday. Rue said the city has not been made aware of any confirmed ICE activity happening in the city. Senator Bernie Moreno posted a comment on the move to block the termination on Monday night. When a Democrat president can create a TEMPORARY program and an unelected Democrat judge can unilaterally block a duly-elected Republican president from ever undoing it, we do not live in a democracy. Its not Permanent Protected Status. This outrageous decision cannot stand." Moreno wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter The Homeland Security secretary can grant this status if conditions in home countries are deemed unsafe for return due to a natural disaster, political instability, or other dangers. Advertisement Advertisement TPS for Haitians was initially granted more than a decade ago due to a catastrophic earthquake and gang violence. It has been extended multiple times. While it grants TPS holders the right to live and work in the U.S., it does not provide a legal pathway to citizenship. As previously reported by News Center 7, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the decision to end TPS for Haitians at the end of November. Judge Reyes said in an accompanying 83-page opinion that the Trump administrations decision to end this program might have been unfair. During the stay, the Termination shall be null, void, and of no legal effect, the judge said in her two-page order, adding that for now, the termination has no bearing on their ability to work and to be protected from detention and deportation. Advertisement Advertisement Attorneys for Haitian TPS holders said in a court filing in December that the decision to end the countrys status was motivated by racial animus. They added that Noem failed to consider whether there was an ongoing armed conflict that would pose a serious threat to personal safety, as required by law. If the termination stands, people will almost certainly die, the attorneys wrote. Some will likely be killed, others will likely die from disease, and yet others will likely starve to death. The Department of Homeland Security said conditions in Haiti had improved. In a court filing in December, attorneys for the administration said the plaintiffs claims of racial animus were based on statements taken out of context, often from other speakers and from years ago, and without direct links to the Secretarys determinations. A spokesperson with DHS said their next step is to ask the Supreme Court to intervene in this case. The Associated Press contributed to this story. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] A federal judge blocked the Trump Administrations push to end the Temporary Legal Status for Haitian immigrants, hours before it was set to expire. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] As reported on News Center 7 Daybreak, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington, D.C., ruled the Trump Administrations decision to end the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) of Haitians to be unfair. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement With the potential end of the TPS program, there has been so much uncertainty for the City of Springfield, which is believed to be the home of 10 to 15 thousand Haitians. Judge Reyes decided to indefinitely pause that planned termination, which stops the federal government from revoking the legal status and work permits of active enrollees. The decision also stops the enrollees from being arrested or deported. The City of Springfield Mayor Rob Rue said in a statement that this Provides clarity and stability for families who are already part of our community. Rue then goes on to say that the unnecessary disruption has created an uncertainty that serves no one. Advertisement Advertisement Residents are worried that Springfield might become the next stop for ICE. Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno was critical of the judges ruling. He said, When a Democrat president can create a temporary program and an unelected Democrat judge can unilaterally block a duly-elected Republican president from ever undoing it, we do not live in a democracy. Its not Permanent Protected Status. Moreno also said that the outrageous decision cannot stand. News Center 7 has reached out to Governor Mike DeWines Office about the ruling, but we have not heard back. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from revoking temporary protected status (TPS) for hundreds of thousands of Haitians on Monday. District Judge Ana Reyes implemented a stay on Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noems order ending TPS for Haitians in the U.S., which was set to go into effect Tuesday. The order is postponed pending the result of a lawsuit filed by five Haitian TPS holders last year. Reyes, an appointee of former President Biden to the District of Columbia, wrote in an 83-page memorandum opinion that it seems substantially likely that Noem preordained her termination decision and did so because of hostility to nonwhite immigrants. Advertisement Advertisement Noem announced in November that TPS status for Haitians would expire this month. The Homeland Security secretary initially said on July 1 that protected status for Haitians would be terminated in September, but the order was delayed due to the five individuals filing suit against Noem and the administration on July 30. Reyes wrote in her opinion that Noem did not consult with appropriate agencies before revoking TPS for Haitians, required under the Immigration Act of 1990, which created the program. She also noted that while the administration contends that the harms to Haitian TPS holders are speculative, the State Department issued a travel advisory on July 15 that individuals should travel to Haiti due to kidnapping, crime, terrorist activity, civil unrest, and limited healthcare. The department also ordered nonemergency government employees and their families to leave Haiti due to security risks in July 2023. Do not travel to Haiti for any reason does not exactly scream, as Secretary Noem concluded, suitable for return, Reyes wrote. Advertisement Advertisement DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told The Hill on Tuesday that the administration is willing to take the case to the Supreme Court. She added that TPS for Haitians was granted following an earthquake that took place over 15 years ago, it was never intended to be a de facto amnesty program, yet thats how previous administrations have used it for decades. Temporary means temporary and the final word will not be from an activist judge legislating from the bench. As of last March, over 330,000 Haitians had been approved for TPS, according to the Congressional Research Service. In total, nearly 1.3 million individuals from 17 countries were covered under the program. The five Haitians who filed suit against the administration, Reyes said, are a neuroscientist researching Alzheimers disease, a software engineer at a national bank, a lab assistant in a toxicology department, a college economics major and a full-time registered nurse. Advertisement Advertisement Reyes said those backgrounds indicate that the plaintiffs are not killers, leeches, or entitlement junkies, quoting Noem, who referred to migrants as such in a post on social platform X in December. If you have the facts on your side, pound the facts, the judge wrote in her conclusion. If you have the law on your side, pound the law. If you have neither, pound the table. Secretary Noem, the record to-date shows, does not have the facts on her side or at least has ignored them. Does not have the law on her sideor at least has ignored it. Having neither and bringing the adage into the 21st century, she pounds X (f/k/a Twitter). Updated at 11:28 a.m. EST Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. (Photo: Hugh Jackson/Nevada Current) A legal effort to derail NV Energys attempt to change the way it calculates customers bills will be heard in Clark County District Court, Judge Mary Kay Holthus ruled Tuesday. Holthus rejected a motion filed by the utility and the Public Utilities Commission to consolidate the case with another filed in Carson City. Im not going to grant the motion to transfer at this point, Holthus said. I just dont think theres a reason to, based upon the totality of it. Advertisement Advertisement In September, the PUC approved NV Energys application for a $119 million rate hike to be achieved by imposing a peak demand charge on residential and small business customers in Southern Nevada and changing the way net metering credits are calculated for some Northern Nevada ratepayers. NV Energys plan calls for calculating net usage the difference between energy consumption and the excess energy generated by a rooftop solar system every 15 minutes rather than monthly for Northern Nevada customers who install solar after Oct. 1, 2025. The change is projected to increase monthly bills for those customers by about $11 a month. Its also expected to deter future investment in rooftop solar, because it delays the return on investment in the system, say clean energy advocates. NV Energy contends the change is intended to reduce the disparity between rooftop solar and full-service customers, who subsidize solar customers to the tune of $50 million a year, according to the utility. Advertisement Advertisement In Southern Nevada, the PUC approved NV Energys bid to base residential and small business power bills on peak demand the 15 minutes of the day with the highest electricity usage, beginning in April. No other investor-owned electric utility in the U.S. mandates a peak demand charge. The PUC doubled down in November, rejecting petitions for reconsideration filed by the Attorney Generals Bureau of Consumer Protection and several intervening parties who argued the billing changes are prohibited by state law. In late November, Vote Solar, a non-profit solar advocacy organization, filed a petition for judicial review in Carson City. In December, the BCP and other parties, including several large casinos, filed a similar petition in Clark County. Advertisement Advertisement Nevada law, the BCP argues, prohibits the PUC from approving a rate that requires a residential customer to purchase electric service at a rate which is based on the time of day, day of the week or time of year unless the customer chooses to do so. The PUCs order approving NV Energys application acknowledges the demand charge varies based on the time during which the electricity is used. Additionally, the BCP contends another law prohibits the utility from charging solar generators (primarily rooftop solar customers) any fee or charge that is different than that charged to other customers of the utility in the rate class to which the customer would belong if they did not have a net metering system. Attorneys for the PUC and NV Energy argued Tuesday that consolidating the BCPs case with one filed by Vote Solar would prevent conflicting rulings and conserve court resources. Advertisement Advertisement The petitions both arise from the same commission order, same consolidated dockets and depend on the same voluminous administrative record, PUC attorney Jill C. Davis told Holthus. Absent the transfer, two different courts are independently going to review the same record, the same legal questions for the most part, and potentially issue inconsistent rulings on those issues. Holthus rejected the argument but suggested Vote Solar, which did not attend the hearing, consolidate its case with the BCPs in Las Vegas. Ruling Preserves TPS for Haitians The top line here is that U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes of D.C. temporarily blocked the Trump administration from ending protections for more than 350,000 Haitian immigrants in the United States. In doing so, she averted, at least for now, a feared draconian roundup of Haitians who have been legally in the United States. Of particular concern was that the Trump administration would target Springfield, Ohios Haitian community in the same way it did with racist rhetoric and fear-mongering during the 2024 campaign, except this time with masked and armed federal agents. Beyond the top line, what made Judge Reyes ruling especially memorable was the way she obliterated the Trump administrations arguments and zeroed in on DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, ruling that it seems substantially likely that Noem terminated the humanitarian protections for Haitians because of her hostility to nonwhite immigrants. Reyes began by juxtaposing a 1783 letter penned by George Washington with a 2025 tweet by Noem: From there it was a bloodbath for Noem, but Reyes wasnt done. She concluded the 83-page opinion with a flourish by circling back to the scurrilous Noem tweet: There is an old adage among lawyers. If you have the facts on your side, pound the facts. If you have the law on your side, pound the law. If you have neither, pound the table. Secretary Noem, the record to-date shows, does not have the facts on her sideor at least has ignored them. Does not have the law on her sideor at least has ignored it. Having neither and bringing the adage into the 21st century, she pounds X (f/k/a Twitter). Kristi Noem has a First Amendment right to call immigrants killers, leeches, entitlement junkies, and any other inapt name she wants. Secretary Noem, however, is constrained by both our Constitution and the APA to apply faithfully the facts to the law in implementing the TPS program. The record to-date shows she has yet to do that. Reyes ordered the protections for Haitians remain in place while he case proceeds. The Trump administration is all but guaranteed to appeal Reyes decision. Trump Admin to Boasberg: Pound Sand In the original Alien Enemies Act case, the Trump administration again rebuffed U.S. District Judge James Boasberg of D.C. in an abrupt and injudicious filing that rejected any possible avenue for giving the due process that he has ordered for the Venezuelan nationals removed under the wartime statute. Advertisement Advertisement The administrations position continues to be that there is no legal, practical, or constitutional way for it to provide the former detainees of El Salvadors notorious CECOT prison with the due process they were denied when they were unilaterally labeled Tren de Aragua members and whisked out of the country in March. After making an elaborate show of how much it continues to object to Boasbergs prior incorrect orders and his claim to have jurisdiction in the case, the Trump DOJ concludes its latest filing by needlessly warning Boasberg it will go over his head again: If, over Defendants vehement legal and practical objections, the Court issues an injunction, Defendants intend to immediately appeal, and will seek a stay pending appeal from this Court (and, if necessary, from the D.C. Circuit). Alex Pretti Shooting Aftermath A new round of mass resignations are underway in the Minnesota U.S. Attorneys Office, with eight additional government lawyers either leaving or intending to leave, the Star Tribune reports. Among the recent departures is Ana Voss, the chief of the offices civil division. That brings the total number of resignations in the office to an unprecedented 14. The office has been decimated in recent years, the newspaper reports: Since 2022, more than 40 assistant U.S. attorneys have quit or retired, bringing total staffing in the criminal division to fewer than 20 attorneys, according to an analysis of the offices staffing totals by the Minnesota Star Tribune. In prior years, people familiar with the offices operations said, there were often at least 50 attorneys working on criminal cases. A federal judge lifted his order that the Trump administration preserve evidence in the Pretti shooting, ruling that the Trump administration is not likely to destroy or improperly alter evidence while criticizing as troubling public statements about the shooting from White House Deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem: They reflect, not a genuine interest in learning the truth, but snap judgments informed by speculation and motivated by political partisanship. An Ecuadorian immigrant being pursued by federal agents in the lead-up to the Pretti shooting spent four hours hiding in a nearby locked business and says he witnessed the shooting. Mass Deportation Watch: Minnesota Over the weekend, the U.S. Northern Command quietly took more than 1,500 active-duty troops in Alaska and North Carolina off heightened alert for possible deployment to Minnesota, the NYT reports. Detainees describe conditions inside Minneapolis Whipple federal Building: The interviews and court documents paint a picture of a place that was never intended for long-term detention and quickly became overwhelmed after the surge in Minnesota began. MUST READ: DHS Smears Exposed Again A great piece in The Guardian reveals how the Trump administration has already pulled back in court from some of its most inflammatory public allegations against an immigrant couple shot during a detention operation last month in Portland, Oregon (emphasis mine): According to a DHS press release and social media posts issued the following day, border patrol agents were conducting a targeted stop of a vehicle in Portland occupied by two members of Tren de Aragua, the Venezuelan gang. Yorlenys Zambrano-Contreras, a woman in the passenger seat, had been involved in a Portland shooting last year, the agency wrote. But court records obtained by the Guardian reveal a Department of Justice prosecutor later directly contradicted DHS Tren de Aragua statements in court, telling a judge, Were not suggesting [the driver Luis Nino-Moncada] is a gang member. An FBI affidavit issued following the incident also suggests that in the previous shooting cited by DHS, Zambrano-Contreras was not a suspect, but rather a reported victim of a sexual assault and robbery. Neither Nino-Moncada or Zambrano-Contreras have prior criminal convictions, their lawyers have said. You may recall the incident because it happened the day after the Renee Good shooting in Minneapolis, when the country was already on high alert to such encounters, but it has not received as much national attention because there wasnt immediate video of the confrontation with federal agents, who were not wearing body cameras. Great Read: DHS Secretive Legal Weapon The WaPo tells the story of DHS use of administrative subpoenas through the experience of one retiree in suburban Philadelphia. After reading a WaPo article about the asylum case of an Afghan man, the retiree sent a brief email to a federal prosecutor urging him to show common sense and decency. Within hours, he received notice from Google that DHS had subpoenaed his account. Soon would come a knock at the door by men with badges Trump: Nationalize Voting! In a podcast interview with former Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, President Trump made an alarming anti-constitutional call for Republicans to nationalize voting. Not only did Trumps comments run counter to the Constitutions delegation of the running of federal elections to the individual states, but it was peculiarly specific: The Republicans should say, We want to take over, he said. We should take over the voting, the voting in at least many 15 places. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting. It wasnt a federal takeover of voting per se, but a Republican one. The strange reference to 15 states makes no sense on its face, but Trump has a track record of telegraphing moves in advance and of seizing on specific details from cockamamie conspiracies, plans, and schemes that only become clear in retrospect. Stay tuned. Gabbard Confirms Trump Call With FBI Agents In a letter to Congress obtained by Politico, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard acknowledged that she arranged a call, first reported by the NYT, between President Trump and FBI agents the day after they seized 2020 voting records from a Fulton County voting center. Gabbard said in the letter that she was present for the FBI search at Trumps request. What Happened to Ed Martin?!? Yesterdays many reports about Ed Martins current status at the Trump DOJ were a bit muddled in the particulars, but they all seem to agree that the multiple-hat-wearing Trump partisan reached the zenith of his power sometime last fall but has seen his star fall since then, in part because he is on the outs with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. Here are all the various tendrils: Advertisement Advertisement Martin was demoted at the end of 2025 and is no longer chief of the DOJ Weaponization Working Group, the WaPo reports. It is not clear who now runs that group, which is under pressure from President Trump to ramp up is efforts, CNN says: The Weaponization Working Group is now expected to start meeting daily with the goal of producing results in the next two months, according to the person familiar with the plan. Martin also lost his title of assistant attorney general, according to the WaPo. Martin remains as U.S. pardon attorney, DOJ told NBC News. But he has been transferred from Main Justice to a less central DOJ office in D.C., the WaPo reports: It is unclear whether he will remain in the pardon attorney role and, if so, for how long. Martin is expected to leave DOJ entirely in the coming weeks, reports CNN, which describes his departure as imminent. CNN hinted that Martin may end up at the White House, where he spent most of last week. Mad King Big Mad Over Harvard Hours after the NYT reported that the Trump administration had dropped its demand that Harvard pay the government $200 million as part of a settlement of weaponized claims of antisemitism, President Trump went nuts on social media and upped the settlement demand to $1 billion while newly threatening the university with criminal charges: This should be a Criminal, not Civil, event, and Harvard will have to live with the consequences of their wrongdoings. The Destruction: Kennedy Center Edition In the course of publicly denying he has any plans to demolish the Kennedy Center, President Trump admitted that he plans to demolish the Kennedy Center: Im not ripping it down. Ill be using the steel, Trump told reporters Monday, when asked whether he would demolish the building. So were using the structure, were using some of the marble and some of the marble comes down, but when its open, itll be brand new and really beautiful. It is a classic Trump move. To save face as artists and patrons flee the Trump-run performing arts venue, the president moves to destroy the source of his personal embarrassment. Judge Blocks Trumps Racist Revisionism We began with George Washington, and we end with George Washington. Advertisement Advertisement U.S. District Judge Cynthia M. Rufe of Philadelphia blocked the U.S. Park Service from making any further changes to the historic site where George Washington lived during the final six years of his presidency, but she stopped short of ordering it to reinstall the exhibits on slavery that it had removed. Hot tips? Juicy scuttlebutt? Keen insights? Let me know. For sensitive information, use the encrypted methods here. Feb. 2 (UPI) -- A federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration from ending Temporary Protected Status for Haitians in the United States, allowing at least half a million people from the island nation to remain in the country. Judge Ana Reyes of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted a temporary stay for more than 500,000 people from Haiti, who have fled their home country because of the ongoing dangerous instability there, The New York Times and the Guardian reported. In her 83-page decision, Reyes called the Trump administration's justification for ending the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program for people from Haiti is flawed, noting that it ignores that "TPS holders already live here, and legally so." Advertisement Advertisement Congress created the TPS program in 1990 to provide protection for foreign nationals who are in the United States until their countries are safe to return to -- be it because of natural disasters, armed conflicts or other dangerous situations -- according to a 2025 report from the Congressional Research Service. Based on current law, the Secretary of Homeland Security can designate people from countries experiencing some type of dangerous circumstances for at least 6 to 18 months, but can extend the time frame based on conditions in these people's home countries. As of March 2025, there were more than 1.3 million people in the United States granted TPS status from 17 countries, CRS reported. Over the course of 2025, however, DHS has revoked TPS status for at least seven of the countries since President Donald Trump was inaugurated back into office in January 2025. Advertisement Advertisement TPS protection for Haitians in the United States, as well as employment authorization, is scheduled to end on Tuesday, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website, but Reyes' ruling puts that on hold for an unknown period of time. Monday's ruling comes on the heels of three judges of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week ruling against DHS Secretary Kristi Noem's efforts to end TPS protection not only for people in the U.S. from Haiti, but also from Venezuela. On Monday evening, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Axios that the administration would appeal the ruling. "Supreme Court, here we come," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said. "Temporary means temporary and the final word will not be from an activist judge legislating from the bench." By Deena Beasley Feb 3 (Reuters) - Kaiser Permanente urged members on Tuesday to get laboratory tests done this week after unions representing pharmacy and lab workers filed to begin striking in Southern California on Monday and an ongoing strike by thousands of nurses and other health workers continued into a second week. The non-profit healthcare system said the United Food and Commercial Workers union notified it of a planned strike by about 3,000 members starting February 9. The United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals, which represents more than 31,000 Kaiser employees, began its open-ended strike in California and Hawaii on January 26. Advertisement Advertisement Kaiser, a health maintenance organization combining insurance coverage with medical care, notified members on its website to complete any urgent lab tests by Saturday and to postpone routine testing until after the strike. It said some outpatient lab services, including routine blood draw locations, may be temporarily closed starting on Monday and results for certain non-urgent tests may be delayed. " Priority will be given to patients who are hospitalized, in the Emergency Department, or require urgent care services," Kaiser said. It said hospitals and medical offices remain open, but some pharmacies and clinics operated at Target stores have been temporarily closed. It encouraged members to use a mail-in option for non-urgent prescriptions. Some appointments would be shifted to virtual care and some elective procedures may be rescheduled. During the current strike, Kaiser said its facilities will be staffed by physicians, managers and trained staff, with licensed contract professionals added as needed. Advertisement Advertisement The UFCW Southern California locals said members, including pharmacy technicians and clinical lab scientists, will begin striking on Monday "after Kaiser stalled bargaining and violated federal labor law." The UFCW, as well as the UNAC/UHCP, said that Kaiser unlawfully walked away from an agreed-upon national bargaining process. Kaiser, which has around 250,000 non-physician employees, said in a statement that it has been negotiating in good faith to reach agreement on a new set of national and local contracts. Kaiser provides medical care for around 12.6 million members in California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Oregon, Virginia and Washington. Advertisement Advertisement In New York, more than 15,000 nurses represented by the New York State Nurses Association have been on strike for more than three weeks at private hospitals including Presbyterian, Mt. Sinai and Montefiore hospitals. (Reporting By Deena Beasley; Editing by Caroline Humer and Mark Porter) A suspect has been arrested in connection with a mother's murder at the far south suburban bar she owned, officials said on Tuesday afternoon. The arrest came just a couple of hours after the Kankakee County sheriff went in front of cameras and made an appeal for the public's help. Investigators say a flood tips helped lead them to that suspect, 47-year-old Julius E. Burkes Jr. "We were overwhelmed at the response from so many people throughout the community in terms of tips and information provided to our investigators," said Kankakee County Sheriff Mike Downey. Advertisement Advertisement Burkes was arrested as he left his Hammond, Indiana home and is being held on suspicion of murder as he awaits an extradition hearing to bring him to Illinois. He is due in court on Wednesday. The arrest came after investigators released images of Burkes to the public and offered a $5,000 reward in connection with the Monday morning killing of 30-year-old Courtney Drysdale, who was found dead at the rural Momence bar she owned. "Courtney was deeply loved, not only by her family and her young daughter, but also by the many patrons and friends whose lives she's touched," Downey said. Investigators say Drysdale was getting ready to open The Line bar along Route 114 around 11 a.m. Monday when Burkes allegedly entered the business, showed a gun and demanded money from the cash register. Kankakee County Sheriff Mike Downey gives an update on the killing of Momence bar owner Courtney Drysdale. Advertisement Advertisement "Despite her cooperation, the suspect shot her twice execution-style before fleeing the scene," Downey said at a press conference earlier Tuesday. Surveillance cameras from the bar captured images showing Burkes in a baseball cap, glasses, and a bright yellow jacket. "If you see this person or someone resembling his physical appearance, I am pleading with you to simply keep a distance and call authorities," Downey had said. The Kankakee sheriff said Burkes tried to remove the recording device from the wall, but investigators were still able to recover surveillance video. Investigators said the suspect then left in a white BMW sedan, driving toward Indiana. Advertisement Advertisement Investigators added that it is unclear if the suspect was a regular at the bar. Earlier Tuesday, a deputy was seen carrying a brown bag out of The Line bar, where a lit candle was left outside in Drysdale's honor. Those who knew Drysdale say they do not understand why someone would want to harm her. "It feels like a really big relief, if I'm being honest, that someone is in custody to do justice for Courtney because he took a beautiful soul," said Hailey Gershon. Gershon, a longtime friend who also works at the bar, says Drysdale leaves behind a fiance and a school-age daughter. "I mean it, she was probably the nicest person. I could always go to her for anything," Gershon said. "She would literally give up the whole world for somebody and would always be there for everybody, even though if she was upset or going through things. She would push those aside for others and, like, make sure they were happy." Advertisement Advertisement The Line bar posted that it will be closed until further notice. Drysdale was a longtime bartender at that bar before becoming the owner and is well known to the patrons there. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (815) 93-CRIME | (815) 932-7463. WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) Tax collections exceeded expectations in January in Kansas. Gov. Laura Kellys office said Monday in a news release that the state collected $988.2 million in taxes in January. That is $12.2 million, or 1.2%, above the estimated forecast and 4.8% above January 2025 collections. Over the past few years, the Legislature has spent more than Kansas has been taking in, creating a structural imbalance of hundreds of millions of dollars, Kelly said. My final budget puts Kansas on a path to rectify that unsustainable balance over time. Advertisement Advertisement Kansas tax collections fall $58 million short of December estimate Of the January revenue, $542.3 million came from individual tax collections. Corporate income tax collections were $86.2 million. Those are both higher than expected. Retail sales and compensating use tax receipts were $337.8 million, which is $12.2 million below the projection. You can read the full report for January online. For more Kansas news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news by downloading our mobile app and signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track 3 Weather app by clicking here. To watch our shows live on our website, click here. Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSN-TV. Someone robbed a KAY Jewelers outlet store at gunpoint in Woodstock on Sunday. Police now have the suspect in custody. John Mendoza, 26 of Powder Springs, faces aggravated assault and armed robbery charges. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Police say Mendoza robbed the KAY Jewelers location at the The Outlet Shoppes at Atlanta on Ridgewalk Parkway. Woodstock police received a call about jewelry being stolen around 4:30 p.m. Officers spoke with the staff, who saw the suspect get away in a car. Advertisement Advertisement An officer spotted a car that matched the description near Interstate 575 and Towne Lake Parkway, two miles from the scene. The officer pulled over the driver, identified as Mendoza, and said he had the stolen jewelry and gun used in the robbery. I am proud of Officer Hinkle and the coordinated response of all officers who bravely and quickly arrived on scene, taking the suspect into custody within minutes of the robbery, Woodstock Police Chief Roland Castro said. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] The director of a new documentary film about the 2008 Lane Bryant store murders says the crime is the largest unsolved mass shooting in modern America. Police said the killer posed as a delivery man on that Saturday morning, on Feb 2. He tied up four customers and two employees in the back of the 191st Street store in south suburban Tinley Park. Then, he shot the six women. Five of them died, and one survived. Advertisement Advertisement Rhoda McFarland was the store manager at Lane Bryant. She called 911, sending police to the scene. The first officer arrived within two minutes, but it was already too late. The gunman was gone. The crime horrified the entire Chicago area and beyond. Few expected it would go unsolved for this long. Mike Hudek lost his 33-year-old sister in the shooting. Carrie Chiuso was a social worker from Frankfort. Its been 18 years since five women were shot to death inside a Tinley Park Lane Bryant store. "At the end of the day, somebody knows, and shame on that person for keeping it quiet so long," Hudek said. The four others killed were Rhoda McFarland of Joliet, Connie R. Woolfolk of Flossmoor, Sarah T. Szafranski of Oak Forest, and Jennifer L. Bishop of South Bend, Indiana. Advertisement Advertisement Police maintained it started as an armed robbery that led to sexual assault and the murders. One other victim survived and helped police develop a sketch of the suspect, a Black man in his late 20s with cornrowed hair and a receding hairline. Does the man in this sketch look familiar? If so, please call Tinley Park Police (708) 444-5394 Charlie Minn spent about four months working on and directing a documentary about the case. He talked to families of the victims, witnesses, and others. Minn, who has produced around 45 documentaries about unsolved crimes, says Tinley Park police have done a poor job. "Solve it already. It's been 18 freaking years. And the families deserve better, a lot better," Minn said. Minn says he is troubled by some of the facts in the case, such as why the killer spent 40 minutes inside the store before leaving the scene and why he would rob a women's clothing store on a Saturday morning in the first place. But, he says, the answers are out there. Advertisement Advertisement "Tinley Park PD will not solve this case; social media will. That's why I'm making this, to raise as much awareness as possible," Minn said. Tinley Park leaders say solving the horrific crime remains a major priority. "This investigation has never stopped," Tinley Park Police Chief Tom Tilton said. "Our detectives and partners continue to evaluate leads, review evidence, and apply available investigative and forensic tools as they evolve. This work occurs every day." In a statement, Mayor Michael Glotz said, "We're more determined than ever to solving this case. Our diligence has never wavered, nor has our passion for seeking justice for the women we lost that day." Advertisement Advertisement Hudek still hopes for answers, but his anger has softened over the years. "To be honest, I've forgiven this person, because I couldn't keep going down that dark rabbit hole of, 'What if?' and, 'Why?' because it doesn't matter," Hudek said. Investigators believe someone is out there that knows something, someone who maybe didn't feel comfortable talking back then, but who will someday come forward. A $100,000 reward is still being offered for any information that leads to an arrest. Hudek's daughter was born one day after his sister was murdered. He named her Carrie, after his sister. The film comes out next Friday at several theaters, including the AMC River East downtown. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: - Lane Bryant murders remain unsolved, but 2 new detectives assigned to case Advertisement Advertisement -Deluge of tips heats up Lane Bryant mass murder case -Lane Bryant Mass Murder: 10 hard years -Lane Bryant Murders - A Full Timeline -Tinley Park police release new 3D sketch of Lane Bryant murder suspect There was a large police response on Chicago's Near West Side Tuesday afternoon after at least two deadly shootings in the area. Chicago fire officials said there was a fatal shooting at 1100 S. Wood St., which is a University of Illinois Chicago parking structure. UIC police are investigating the shooting, in which a female victim visiting UI Health for an appointment was killed. The shooting may be related to a domestic dispute, UIC said. Advertisement Advertisement Police were on the scene on the third level of the Wood Street Parking Structure. The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office identified the victim as Shawnquanice Q. Kimbrough, 34, of Chicago. Nearby, in the 2300-block of West Roosevelt Road, three men were inside a vehicle about 1:20 p.m., when three armed male suspects approached them, CPD said. They fired shots into the vehicle, police said. During the shooting, the vehicle caught fire, CPD said. Citizen app video shows police rushing into a thick plume of smoke. A 35-year-old man was shot and pronounced dead on the scene, and a 48-year-old man was shot and pronounced dead at Mt. Sinai Hospital. Advertisement Advertisement A 44-year-old man was shot and taken to Stroger Hospital in good condition, police said. Chopper 7 was over the scene in a Tri-Taylor White Castle parking lot about 3 p.m. SEE ALSO: Kankakee Sheriff's Office releases images of person of interest in Momence bar owner homicide Police tape blocked off the parking lot of the restaurant, located at 2356 Roosevelt Road. The mangled SUV that engulfed in flames during the shooting was towed away with its windows shattered and its exterior charred. Employees at a nearby business said they heard what sounded like 20 gunshots. "I'm sure the neighborhood is very concerned, because this is a very safe neighborhood. Like I said, the three years I've been here, I've never encountered any reactions like this. It's something new, and I wanted to make sure that everybody is safe. That's why I came out here," said Kiesha Byrd, who works nearby. "I was in there just working. I just came out. I see a lot of police and stuff, and my concern was just basically making sure that me, my staff, and White Castle's people were safe." Advertisement Advertisement Police said no one has been arrested in connection to the White Castle shooting. Crime Stoppers are offering a $10,000 reward for information. "People just don't care, and the reason why the bad guys will do that because they know that people won't step up and say something. So, we're out here giving you, the public, the outlet to report that crime," said Cook County Crime Stoppers Executive Director and Chairman Paul Rutherford. UIC students and staff were asked to stay away from campus amid the police activity Tuesday. UIC officials said no threat exists to the campus as of about 3 p.m. No. 12 Roosevelt CTA buses were rerouted for hours. Advertisement Advertisement Chicago police said the two incidents were not related. Police said the three gunmen got away, and no one has been arrested. But there are multiple security cameras near this intersection, possibly with footage of the shooting that could help in the investigation. A spokesperson at White Castle said in a statement, "We are deeply saddened by the senseless violence that occurred outside of our Roosevelt Road location today. We are cooperating with the Chicago Police Department as they investigate what happened. The restaurant will remain closed as they continue their work." INTERACTIVE SAFETY TRACKER | Track crime and safety in your neighborhood A plan is being considered to reintroduce the largest bird to have ever lived in Britain. The Dalmatian pelican lived in Britain thousands of years ago, but was driven to extinction during medieval times. Nature restoration company RESTORE said it has been conducting studies to explore whether the bird could be reintroduced to British wetland landscapes including sites across the Norfolk Broads, Essex marshes and the Somerset Levels. Advertisement Advertisement "Experts are of the view Britain is definitely worth exploring further [as to] whether the Dalmatian pelican could be reintroduced," said Benedict MacDonald from RESTORE. More from Somerset The Dalmatian pelican is one of Europe's largest flying birds with a wingspan of up to three metres (9ft 8in). There are thought to be about 10,000-20,000 of them left in the world, with the largest colony at Lake Mikri Prespa in Greece. The bird was wiped out in Britain due to a combination of wetland drainage and human disturbance, with Macdonald adding they were considered a "very good source of food" by our ancestors. Advertisement Advertisement According to fossil records, they were very common in Somerset, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Gloucestershire and Yorkshire. In order to thrive, they depend on networks of healthy, connected wetlands, abundant fish stocks and suitable nesting areas. The largest colony of Dalmatian pelicans is thought to be in Greece [Getty Images] According to Rewilding Britain, supporting the bird's return would encourage the large-scale restoration and protection of wetland habitats. Giorgos Catsadorakis, chair of the pelican specialist group IUCN-SSC said: "Looking ahead, healthy pelican populations could serve as a powerful indicator of successful wetland management, reflecting the care, coordination and long-term commitment needed to conserve these landscapes while supporting the many social, cultural and ecological benefits they provide." Advertisement Advertisement Follow BBC Somerset on Facebook and X. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. More on this story Related internet links NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) A newly-released batch of files in the case against convicted sex offender Jeffery Epstein ties him to Nashville. Dozens of emails show Epsteins team booking flights to and from Nashville, and paying tens of thousands of dollars to support a woman living in Middle Tennessee. Email after email sent over the span of several years painted a picture of his travels to Nashville to visit a woman and pay for nearly every part of her life. DECEMBER 2025 | Unsealed Epstein files reveal Nashville connection Advertisement Advertisement In a 2015 email sent to Epstein, there was an expense reimbursement list from May 2014 until May 2015. It included more than $1,000 on vitamins, more than $5,000 for bedding and furniture and tens of thousands more for living expenses including a ski trip. It all added up to more than $51,000. There were also some more intimate emails. Still in Nashville, right where you left me, one read, in part. sorry you made out with some hot chick and caught a cold, we have lots of hot chicken and hot fish around here. A reply from Epstein said, why dont you spend some real time there, in reference to Nashville. Advertisement Advertisement RELATED | Victims complain of death threats as government says its fixing redactions in Epstein-related files As more documents have been released, some of Epsteins victims said theyre angry their names were not fully redacted in the newly released files. In the files related to Nashville, there were instances where a womans name was not redacted. News 2 is not sharing that information. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. Rep. Trish Ranson, D-Stillwater, writes a note during the State of the State Address on Feb. 2, 2026, at the state Capitol in Oklahoma City. (Photo by Kyle Phillips/For Oklahoma Voice) OKLAHOMA CITY As Oklahoma struggles with a lack of child care options, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and advocates are looking toward long-term solutions. A statewide study released last week by United WE, a nonpartisan nonprofit focused on economic security for women, found that there is a pressing need for greater child care capacity in nearly all counties in Oklahoma. Gaps in caregiving, especially child care, causes states to lose billions of dollars in economic productivity and is a top reason for women leaving the workforce, the group found. Advertisement Advertisement The study found that Oklahoma has systemic challenges that make it harder for providers to open businesses. Those challenges include regulatory fragmentation and licensing barriers. Our research shows that when child care systems are fragmented and overly complex, women pay the price through fewer affordable options, longer waitlists, and impossible choices about staying in the workforce, said Wendy Doyle, president and CEO of United WE. The groups study found that while Oklahoma operates 19 early child care-related programs, theyre run by five different agencies. Rep. Trish Ranson, D-Stillwater, said if the state could consolidate all programs under one roof, it would reduce redundancies. Advertisement Advertisement We could actually take that money and put it back into services for our families, she said. Ranson has authored House Bill 1979, a carryover bill from last session, that would create a task force to issue recommendations on how to consolidate and streamline governance of the child care industry in Oklahoma. Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas have also implemented a more consolidated structure for governing early childhood services, according to a United WE news release. Rep. Daniel Pae, R-Lawton, said he hopes lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in the House and Senate are able to find solutions for the child care industry this session. Advertisement Advertisement Theres tremendous need, and weve got to make sure were supporting everyone involved in the system, he said. And so long as you remember that this is truly a workforce development issue that can pay dividends for us and the economy, I think well be heading in the right direction. Child care providers have said there is a lack of funding to keep their doors open, most recently with DHS announcing plans to end a $5 per child, per day subsidy program in April because federal relief funding had been exhausted The Oklahoma Department of Human Services this year requested $70 million for the upcoming budget year to stabilize the child care industry and prevent future funding cliffs. In his budget plan released Monday, Gov. Kevin Stitt recommended a flat budget for DHS. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Multiple people were injured during a fire at a senior high-rise building in Washington County. Dispatchers said firefighters were called to Bentley Tower on the 700 block of Washington Street in Bentleyville shortly after 9 p.m. on Monday. Two people were flown to a hospital from the scene. According to the Washington County Housing Authority, Bentley Tower is an elderly high-rise building that was built in 1985. It has 90 units. Advertisement Advertisement Channel 11 has a crew at the scene and is actively working to learn more. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW " " It's impossible to make this kind of list without including Hitler. Andreas Wolochow / Shutterstock This list focuses on historical figures whose leadership decisions led to mass murder, genocide, and horrific losses across generations. The goal of listing the worst people in history is not pop culture shock value but clear-eyed history grounded in documented crimes and consequences. Lebanons army chief, Gen. Rodolphe Haykal, met US officials this week to strengthen military support and discuss efforts to disarm Hezbollah amid ongoing regional tensions. In an important visit, the head of the Lebanese military met with US counterparts this week. Al-Arabiya noted that the meetings took place in recent days as Beirut looks to shore up international support for the countrys military and state institutions. The report added that Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) commander, Gen. Rodolphe Haykal, visited the United States Central Command headquarters in Tampa, Florida, on Monday. Advertisement Advertisement Haykal was supposed to visit the US last November, but the meetings were cancelled. Lebanon continues to claim progress regarding disarming Hezbollah. Israel also continues almost daily airstrikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon, which is evidence that the group apparently is re-arming or at least not disarming. Al-Arabiya noted that the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have been at the forefront of the Lebanese states efforts, under President Joseph Aoun, to disarm Hezbollah and all other non-state groups in the country. This plan was devised at the request of Aoun and his cabinet following the election of a new government last year. It also came after Hezbollah was severely weakened during an Israeli campaign that took out the groups top leaders, including Hassan Nasrallah. US Central Command, which is based in Florida even though it deals with the Middle East, posted photos of the visit US Marine Corps Forces, Central Command (MARCENT) hosted a bilateral engagement with senior Lebanese Armed Forces leaders at MacDill AFB, reinforcing continued coordination and dialogue through the Cessation of Hostilities Supervisory Committee (the Mechanism). Members of the Lebanese army stand at the entrance of Deir Mimas, after an Israeli military spokesperson said on Monday that Israel would keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past a February 18 deadline for them to withdraw, in Deir Mimas, Lebanon February 18, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/KARAMALLAH DAHER) Lebanese army seeks US support to disarm non-state actors The US Embassy in Beirut also noted the LAFs ongoing work to disarm non-state actors and reinforce national sovereignty as Lebanons security guarantor is more important than ever. Advertisement Advertisement Al-Arabiya concluded that Haykal will head back to Washington this week for meetings with Trump administration officials. Among others, he will meet the Pentagons Assistant Secretary for International Security Affairs, Daniel Zimmerman. Haykal will also meet with US lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Other reports say that the Lebanese army chief will return to Beirut on February 5, where he will report to the Lebanese cabinet. The IDF said on February 2 that the IDF struck several Hezbollah weapons storage facilities in southern Lebanon, in order to prevent reestablishment attempts of the terrorist organization. One of the facilities struck was located in the heart of a civilian area. This is yet another example of Hezbollah's cynical use of Lebanese civilians as human shields, and continued operations from within civilian infrastructure. Lebanon police suspect a dog left outside in bitter cold temperatures froze to death and have charged a local woman with five counts of animal cruelty. Officers found the dog's body Feb. 1 in an outdoor kennel in the backyard of a property on Cainsville Road. Four other dogs, all still alive, were also found, according to the department. After a preliminary investigation, police believe freezing temperatures were to blame for the first dog's death. Advertisement Advertisement Officers and animal control personnel found that the four remaining dogs had no available food or heat source available and the water outside was frozen. A Lebanon police car. The four surviving dogs were taken by Lebanon's Animal Control Division for health and behavioral assessments. Police said they hoped the dogs could be put into permanent homes after the assessments. When temperatures drop below 32 degrees, pet owners should look at providing adequate shelter for their animals, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Alyssa Clements. That includes bringing animals inside or providing heated shelter with adequate food and water. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Lebanon police suspect dog died from bitter cold, woman charged BEIRUT (AP) Lebanon's relationship with Syria is radically different since the fall of former President Bashar Assad, the senior Lebanese minister tasked with managing the countrys relations with its neighbor said on Tuesday. Under the Assad regime, Lebanon was de facto under Syrian tutelage. The Syrian regime interfered in domestic affairs in so many ways, Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri told The Associated Press. The present Syrian government is neither interested in hegemony over Lebanon nor is it interfering in our internal affairs. Mitri was speaking days after Lebanons cabinet approved a treaty with Syria under which Lebanon will transfer more than 300 sentenced prisoners to finish their prison sentences in Syria. Advertisement Advertisement Mitri said the transfers are expected to start within weeks. Syrian prisoners Lebanon and Syria have a complicated history, with grievances on both sides. Many Lebanese resent the decades-long occupation of their country by Syrian forces that ended in 2005. Many Syrians resent the role played by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah when it entered Syrias civil war in defense of Assads government. Despite improving relations, the two countries have wrestled with a number of thorny issues since Assad's fall, particularly the issue of Syrian prisoners held in Lebanese prisons. There are about 2,500 Syrian prisoners in Lebanese jails, some of whom are held on charges related to their involvement with armed opposition groups that sought to overthrow Assad in some cases, the same groups that are now ruling Syria. Advertisement Advertisement Most of the prisoners to be transferred under the deal approved last Friday were not convicted of violent crimes, Mitri said. Those convicted of major crimes including murder, fighting the Lebanese army and rape are only eligible for transfer if they have already served 7.5 years of their sentence in Lebanon. Another treaty is in the works under which Syrian prisoners awaiting trial could be transferred to their country, Mitri said, but that will need to be ratified by the Lebanese parliament and is likely to take more time. The two countries have also formed a working group to investigate the fate of Lebanese citizens who disappeared in Syria and Syrians who disappeared in Lebanon, he said. Many of the disappeared Lebanese are believed to have been imprisoned and potentially died in detention during Assads iron-fisted reign. Since Assads fall in a lightning offensive led by Islamist rebel groups in December 2024, reports have circulated that Assad-era officials who have taken refuge in Lebanon are plotting attacks against the new government. Advertisement Advertisement Mitri said that Lebanon has not received from Syria a list of names of people they want extradited and has not found evidence of any armed plots. While there are middle-ranking leaders from the former Syrian military and the Assad-era ruling Baath party now living in Lebanon, Mitri said, theyre not militarily organized or militarily active. Lebanese security agencies have investigated those areas where there was suspicion that there might be Syrian former military (officials) organizing themselves to to prepare subversive operations in Syria and found no proof of that, he said. Hezbollah's weapons Advertisement Advertisement The more difficult relationship facing Lebanon is with its southern neighbor. Despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire that nominally ended the latest Israel-Hezbollah war in November 2024 Israel continues to strike Lebanon near daily and occupies five strategic hilltop points along the border. Israel has accused Hezbollah of seeking to rebuild. Lebanons military announced last month that it had concluded the first phase of a plan to disarm non-state groups, including Hezbollah, in the border area south of the Litani River. Future phases are to progressively cover areas north of the river. The army is expected to present its plan for the second phase later this week after its commander, Gen. Rodolphe Haykal, returns from a trip to the U.S. Hezbollah insists that the ceasefire only requires it to end its military presence south of the Litani and has said it will not discuss disarming in the rest of the country until Israel stops its strikes. Advertisement Advertisement Mitri said that moving forward with the disarmament plan is not conditional on steps from Israel. But of course, as long as Israel does not respect the cessation of hostilities agreement - and theyve not done it for the last year and three months - this makes the work of the army more complicated, he said. Neutral, internationally mandated force While there has been speculation that Lebanon and Israel might move to political negotiations and eventually to normalization of diplomatic relations, Mitri said their discussions currently remain confined to the ceasefire monitoring committee, which also includes representatives of the U.S., France and the UN peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL. Advertisement Advertisement It there is full compliance with the agreement that is withdrawal of the Israelis from from Lebanese outposts that they have occupied, stopping their strikes, freeing or handing over the Lebanese prisoners (held in Israel), then there might be other issues to negotiate, such as demarcating the land border between the two countries, he said. But short of of implementing the agreement, I cant see what are we going to negotiate about in the immediate future." Another looming question is the future of the border area after the expiration of UNIFIL's mandate at the end of this year. Mitri said a number of proposals are under discussion for a successor force. From Lebanon's perspective, he said: We need a neutral, internationally mandated force to observe and make sure that whatever is agreed upon in negotiations is fully respected by parties and document violations." TUPELO Over a week after freezing temperatures left most of the region without power and millions in damages reported, Lee County officials convened to authorize the cleanup effort with hopes of state and federal reimbursement on the other side of the disaster. The Lee County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to approve officials to procure multiple temporary contracts for debris monitoring and removal during a Monday morning regular meeting before hearing an update from local emergency management officials. (The debris) is going to get picked up, District 5 Supervisor and Board President Barry Parker said. Please be patient. Advertisement Advertisement As of Monday, County Road Manager Tim Allred said all roads are passable in Lee County, and County Administrator Ronnie Bell, who is a resident of neighboring Lafayette County, said power should be restored to most, if not all, residents in Lee County. The reason for these temporary contracts, Bell said, was to fall in line with state and federal restrictions for emergency cleanup reimbursement. For reimbursement, all debris cleanup and disposal must have a monitor logging all of the work. Once contracts can be procured and set in stone, the county and contractors will have 60 days to complete the debris removal. Any work done after the 60-day window will need a new, permanent contract, which will not be subject to the same federal reimbursement. Emergency Management Director Lee Bowdry said the county and the state will not have trouble meeting the damage threshold, estimating $1.2 million in costs for Lee County alone, well above the minimum requirement. Tombigbee Electric Power Association reported to Bowdry that its labor costs were $500,000. The state is also projected to go well above its threshold. Advertisement Advertisement While property took a beating, Bowdry said he was proud the storm and loss of power did not lead to any loss of life, adding that at its peak, there were only about 100 people in shelters around the county during the weather event. As for cleanup, District 2 Supervisor Mike Smith asked if the contractors will be able to go on private property, which officials said no to, noting it is best that residents make debris piles on the right-of-way to ensure their debris is removed. Officials are also scouting three options for areas to burn the debris. One of the three, which is owned by Smith, has already gotten Mississippi Emergency Management Agency approval, as it was used for burning during the previous storm cleanup caused by flooding in March and a tornado in February. While Lee County fared well, Bowdry noted that surrounding counties are still suffering the effects of the storm, noting that much of this week, he will be visiting Lafayette and Tippah counties to help out. Meanwhile, Bowdry noted the emergency from early last years flooding and wind damage has been completely closed out, with the state reimbursing over $300,000, which accounts for 75% of the cost. The state is on the hook to reimburse the county 12.5%, and the county will have to eat the cost of the remaining 12.5%, Bell said. VILNIUS, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Lithuanian prosecutors said on Tuesday they were launching an investigation into potential human trafficking, after the U.S. release of documents related to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein which included references to prominent Lithuanians. "An objective and thorough investigation of the circumstances of doubtful legality as well as international legal cooperation is only possible if a pre-trial investigation is launched," Lithuania's prosecutor general's office said in a statement, without naming any suspects or specific crimes. Earlier on Tuesday, President Gitanas Nauseda called for a principled law enforcement investigation into the case. Advertisement Advertisement Lithuanian media have reported that the names of several Lithuanian models and arts figures are reported in the files, published last week by the U.S. Justice Department. Several performers have announced a boycott of an arts festival, Midsummer Vilnius, whose promoter, Valdas Petreikis, is mentioned in the files as having received payments from Epstein. Petreikis has said he was unaware of Epstein's crimes at the time of their acquaintance, denies wrongdoing and is withdrawing from promoting arts events due to the public backlash. Lithuanian police and prosecutors are currently assessing publicly released information, analysing the legal framework and exchanging information with partners, the prosecutor general's office said. (Reporting by Andrius Sytas, writing by Louise Rasmussen, editing by Terje Solsvik) The Brief Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, returned to Minnesota Sunday after a judge ordered their release from an immigrant detention center in Texas. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner ruled Alex Pretti's death as a homicide, noting he died of multiple gunshot wounds. Find live updates below on immigration operations in Minnesota below. MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Immigration operations continue in Minnesota on Monday. Here are the latest updates. Advertisement Advertisement Recently, a ProPublica report identified Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez as the two federal agents who fired shots during the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti. DHS would not confirm the names of the agents involved. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump says starting Monday the federal government will begin cutting funding to sanctuary cities and states, including Minnesota. However, no details have been announced and states are already taking legal action to block the cuts. Plus, Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, returned to Minnesota Sunday after a judge ordered their release from an immigrant detention center in Texas. The arrest of the 5-year-old boy in a bunny hat sparked outrage after a photo showed him in ICE custody. The familys attorney says they are in the country legally as they pursue a claim for asylum. Find live updates on ICE operations in Minnesota below. Watch FOX 9 in the player at the top of the page. Additional coverage, including of live events, can be found in the player below. 5:30 p.m. - Federal judge lifts restraining order over evidence in Alex Pretti shooting A federal judge has decided to lift the temporary restraining order on federal authorities in a lawsuit filed by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, stating that they are unlikely to destroy evidence related to the Jan. 24 fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in south Minneapolis. Advertisement Advertisement The BCA was denied access to the scene by federal authorities, despite having a signed judicial warrant to be there and survey evidence. 5 p.m. - Lt. Gov. Flanagan denies Signal chat connection In an interview with FOX 9 on Monday, Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan denied allegations that she was involved in a Signal chat group that coordinated anti-ICE protests and donation efforts. Last week, allegations surfaced on social media that Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan was involved in a Signal chat group under the alias "Flan Southside." The group was said to coordinate information regarding ICE operation protests and donations. Speaking with FOX 9's Corin Hoggard, Flanagan called the reports of her involvement "ridiculous" while saying, "Lets not get distracted from what really matters here and that is getting ICE out of Minnesota, and making sure that people are safe." 3 p.m. - DHS deploying body cameras to federal agents Department of Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem announced Monday afternoon that effective immediately, all federal agents in Minneapolis for Operation Metro Surge will be supplied with body cameras. Noem said she spoke with Border Czar Tom Homan about the initiative. Advertisement Advertisement "As funding is available, the body camera program will be expanded nationwide. We will rapidly acquire and deploy body cameras to DHS law enforcement across the country. The most transparent administration in American history thank you," Noem said. 2 p.m. - Alex Pretti's death ruled a homicide The Hennepin County Medical Examiner has ruled Alex Pretti's death as a homicide, noting he died of multiple gunshot wounds. Read more here. 1:20 p.m. ProPublica reporter discusses identifying CBP agents in Alex Pretti shooting ProPublica investigative reporter David McSwane, who worked on the story identifying the two Customs and Border Protection agents who fired shots in the incident that killed Alex Pretti, joined FOX 9 All Day to discuss the reporting. Advertisement Advertisement McSwane said he reviewed government documents that show the government identifying these agents as having fired their weapons in the Alex Pretti shooting, adding that "Thats what we can say for now." According to ProPublica, the agents are identified as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez, both of whom had been with the agency for several years before being deployed to Minnesota as part of Operation Metro Surge. DHS and CBP have not confirmed their identity. 1 p.m. - Nebraska restaurant collecting Valentine's Day cards for MN students Kitchen Table in Omaha, Nebraska, is collecting Valentine's cards for elementary school students in Minnesota who are affected by ICE detentions, according to Instagram posts from the restaurant. Advertisement Advertisement The restaurant has already collected dozens of cards for the students, and will continue to collect them through Feb. 8, 3 News Now in Omaha reports. 12:30 p.m. - Minneapolis continues to share ICE resources for residents The City of Minneapolis continues to share resources for residents amid the surge of ICE agents in Minnesota. Here are links provided by the city. 8:25 a.m. Pam Bondi announces additional arrests in church protest In a post on X, U.S. Attorney General Bam Pondi announced two additional arrests in the protest at a St. Paul church. "If you riot in a place of worship, we WILL find you," Bondi wrote. "We have made two more arrests in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota: Ian Davis Austin and Jerome Deangelo Richardson." 8 a.m. Rally at Target HQ A rally and press conference is being held outside Target headquarters in Minneapolis to call on the companys new CEO, Michael Fiddelke, call for ICE to leave Minnesota. Protesters are asking Target to "end their silence", stop allowing ICE into their stores and parking lots and stand up to ICE. Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Firefighters responded to a pond in Kentucky where a horse wandered out onto the ice and found itself unable to stand on the slippery surface. The Franklin County Fire Department said on social media that crews responded to multiple calls Friday about a horse stuck on the ice of a frozen pond. Firefighters were able to pull the equine, named Shooter, back to shore, where it was found to be free of serious injuries. "We are happy to report that Shooter is recovering well," the post said. NEED TO KNOW Jack Schlossberg's competitive House campaign has early donors, including actor John Goodman and Schlossberg's mom, Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg's campaign website, Jack for New York, said hes running for Congress because the best part of the greatest city on Earth needs to be heard loud and clear in Washington and deserves a representative who won't back down" The primary election is scheduled for June 23 Jack Schlossberg's campaign for Congress is bringing in notable donors. Schlossberg, 33, announced his campaign to represent New Yorks 12th Congressional District in an email to supporters in November 2025 and in an interview with The New York Times that same month. He told the outlet he believes that a Democratic majority in the House of Representatives is needed to restore democratic norms. Advertisement Advertisement Schlossberg has so far gathered nearly $600,000 from over 200 supporters, according to the Federal Elections Commission. Actor John Goodman and his mom, Caroline Kennedy, are among the donors, alongside grassroots donations to the campaign. Other donors include: Saturday Night Live executive producer Lorne Michaels, Bette Midler, Paul Simon, former White House press secretary Jay Carney and former HBO CEO Richard Plelper. There is nothing our party cant do to address costs of living, corruption and the constitutional crisis that were in, he told the Times in November. But without the control of Congress, theres almost nothing that we can do. Before announcing his run, Schlossberg, the only grandson of President John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy, created a significant social media presence with a following to match. Advertisement Advertisement "I think that the internet is a place where it's difficult to break through, and it's difficult to break through, especially if you're not saying something that's controversial, or at least, somehow unexpected," Schlossberg explained to MSNBC's Jen Psaki in February 2025. "And I think that I see that Democrats play that game not as well as we could." Schlossberg's journey into the spotlight began after his controversial relative, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., launched a long-shot presidential bid in 2023, even though the Kennedys had overwhelmingly rallied behind Democratic candidate Joe Biden. Schlossberg accused RFK Jr. an anti-vaccine activist and political outlier in the family of using the Kennedy name for personal gain without advancing the work that his uncles and father, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, began. RFK Jr. now serves as President Donald Trump's Secretary of Health and Human Services. "President John F. Kennedy is my grandfather and his legacy is important," Schlossberg told the Times while announcing his bid for Congress. "Its about a lot more than Camelot and conspiracy theories. Its about public service and courage. Its about civil rights, the Cuban missile crisis, and landing a man on the moon. Advertisement Advertisement "If my cousin, Bobby Kennedy Jr., cared about any of them, he would support Joe Biden, too," he added. Schlossberg said he is running for Congress because the best part of the greatest city on Earth needs to be heard loud and clear in Washington and deserves a representative who won't back down," according to his campaign website, Jack for New York. He launched his campaign after Rep. Jerry Nadler announced his retirement from Congress, putting the coveted NY-12 House seat up for grabs after 14 terms, saying he wants generational change to follow him. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Nadler, 78, later clarified his remarks after learning that Schlossberg was running. Advertisement Advertisement Well, theres nothing particularly good or bad about a Kennedy holding my seat," Nadler told CNN. "But the Kennedy, unlike Schlossberg, should be somebody with a record of public service, a record of public accomplishment, and he doesnt have one." Nadler predicted that Schlossberg "certainly is not going to be a major candidate." Schlossberg is one of nine Democratic candidates vying to fill Nadler's seat in the competitive race for the Manhattan district. Other candidates include State Assemblymembers Alex Bores and Micah Lasher, Councilman Erik Bottcher, civil rights attorney Laura Dunn, attorney and journalist Jami Floyd, Alan Pardee, Liam Elkind and activist Cameron Kasky. The primary is scheduled for June 23. Read the original article on People A 25-year-old man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for failing to get his 5-month-old son immediate medical attention after suffering internal injuries that would eventually kill the child two years ago. Casey Harbison, who has been held at the Lubbock County Detention Center since his May 10, 2024 arrest, pleaded guilty last week to a count of causing injury to a child by omission, a second-degree felony that carries a punishment of two to 20 years in prison. He was initially charged with a count of aggravated assault of a household member causing serious bodily injury with a deadly weapon, a first-degree felony that carries a punishment of five years to life in prison. Casey Harbison is escorted Jan. 28, 2026 out of the 364th District Court where he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for failing to get immediate medical care for his 5-month-old son who suffered fatal, non-abusive injuries two years ago. As part of his plea deal with the Lubbock County District Attorney's Office, that charge was dismissed. Advertisement Advertisement He is one of three people facing charges in connection with the boy's death. Kristal Morse, 24, remains held at the Lubbock County Detention Center awaiting trial on the enhanced aggravated assault charge Harbison initially faced. Her mother, 44-year-old Tiffany Whalen, is also in custody, facing a second-degree felony count of injury to a child with intent to cause serious bodily injury. Investigating child abuse in Lubbock The charges stem from a a Lubbock police Major Crimes Unit investigation that began May 8, 2024, after patrol officers were dispatched to Covenant Children's where an infant was being treated for a brain bleed and skull fractures -- injuries that a child abuse specialist said were consistent with non-accidental injury. The indictment filed against Morse accuses her of intentionally, knowingly and recklessly cause her son, Liam, serious bodily injury by striking him with her hands. Advertisement Advertisement Hospital staff also noted the child "exhibited very labored breathing." Detectives were later called and interviewed Harbison, Morse and Whalen separately. Investigators learned that Morse and Harbison moved in February to Lubbock from Washington State, where they were under investigation by Child Services there for neglect, the affidavit states. Morse reportedly said her son was born a month premature and was using a feeding tube, which she removed before moving to Lubbock, the affidavit states. The couple were living in Whalen's home, which investigators described as "extremely dirty," littered with dog feces and smelling of cat urine and smoke. Advertisement Advertisement Morse reportedly said her son slept in a crib padded with pillows instead of a mattress. Harbison said it was his day off the day before and he was taking care of the child most of the day while Morse slept. He said the baby was fine but fussy most of the day because he believed he was constipated. Harbison said in the earlier morning hours of May 8, he and Morse went to a laundry mat and left the child with Whalen. They returned an hour later and the boy was asleep. At noon that day, he changed the baby's diaper, went back to sleep and woke up nearly two hours later to drive Whalen to work. When he returned he checked on the child and found him "limp and cold," and his eyes appeared to "roll back." Advertisement Advertisement Harbison said he blew small breaths into his son's mouth, woke up Morse and drove to the hospital. Morse and Harbison reportedly initially told investigators they didn't know how the child was injured. Then Morse initially said she dropped her phone on the child twice a few weeks before. Harbison initially said he accidentally pushed the child off their bed. She reportedly denied injuring the child on purpose, saying she becomes angry when she is frustrated and overwhelmed and "wants to punch things." The affidavit states the boy suffered brain bleeds and a skull fracture in the back of his head. "These incidents were consistent with non-accidental trauma," the affidavit states. "Due to respiratory failure, (the boy) was intubated and sent to surgery to relieve pressure in the brain." Advertisement Advertisement A child abuse specialist who reportedly spoke with Morse told investigators Morse showed her a picture of the child from five days before. The specialist reportedly saw on the picture injuries on the infant that appeared to be signs of petechiae, the bursting of blood vessels often caused by strangulation or suffocation. Detectives interviewed Harbison again. This time, he was asked to write down his statements and reportedly admitted to suffocating his child with a blanket. "It was an accident," he wrote in his statement. "I never wanted to hurt him. There will be no next time regardless." Harbison also wrote that the baby "had a blanket over his head" and "I think think I suffocated him." Advertisement Advertisement Harbison wrote he was tired and was running on an hour of sleep. "I think I put the blanket on my sweet boy, this is my fault," he wrote. Meanwhile, Morse failed a lie detector test and reportedly admitted to punching the boy. Morse reportedly told investigators after the test that she reportedly saw Harbison put a blanket on the boy's face to stop him from crying on two occasions. She said her mother, Whalen, was present when he smothered the child. Morse also reportedly admitted to punching her infant son in the back of his head where she believed doctors found the skull fracture. The two were arrested and booked into the Lubbock County Detention Center while their son was being treated at the hospital. The child died shortly after. This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Lubbock man sentenced for role in infant son's death, 2 others charged It was all a lie. Thats the word from former MAGA Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, according to The Hill. During a radio interview with host Kim Iversen, the Georgia Republican said, I think people are realizing it was all a lie. It was a big lie for the people. What MAGA is really serving in this administration, who theyre serving, is their big donors. Greene had been a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump before having a major falling out with the commander-in-chief over the Jeffrey Epstein files, Trumps focus on foreign affairs and other issues. Advertisement Advertisement The big, big donors that donated all the money and continue to donate to the presidents PACs and donate to the 250th anniversary and are donating to the big ballroom, said Greene, who recently announced her resignation from Congress. Said Greene: Those are the people that get the special favors. They get the government contracts, they get the pardons, or somebody they love or one of their friends gets a pardon. Greene also hit out anew at the president for focusing on foreign affairs instead of tending to problems at home. Its the foreign countries, Greene said. They are running the show here. Its the major big corporations and what is best for the world. Thats really what MAGA is. Advertisement Advertisement Greene continued, We are seeing war on behalf of Israel, we are seeing the people in Gaza, innocent people in Gaza, hundreds of thousands of them completely murdered so that they can build some new real estate development. Money can pour in and everybody can get rich there in the new Gaza. Read the original article on silive.com. WASHINGTON (AP) On New Year's Eve, Lee Zeldin did something out of character for an Environmental Protection Agency leader who has been hacking away at regulations intended to protect Americans' air and water. He announced new restrictions on five chemicals commonly used in building materials, plastic products and adhesives, and he cheered it as a MAHA win. It was one of many signs of a fragile collaboration that has been building between a Republican administration traditionally supportive of big business and the Make America Healthy Again movement, which argues that corporate environmental harms are putting people's health in danger. Advertisement Advertisement The unlikely pairing grew out of the coalition's success influencing public health policy with the help of its biggest champion, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. As health secretary, he has pared back vaccine recommendations and shifted the government's position on topics like seed oils, fluoride and Tylenol. Building on that momentum, the movement now sees a glimmer of hope in the EPA's promise to release a MAHA agenda in the coming months. At stake is the strength of President Donald Trump s coalition as November's midterm elections threaten his partys control of Congress. After a politically diverse group of MAHA devotees came together to help Trump return to the White House a little more than one year ago, disappointing them could mean losing the support of a vocal voting bloc. Activists like Courtney Swan, who focuses on nutritional issues and has spoken with EPA officials in recent months, are watching closely. Advertisement Advertisement This is becoming an issue that if the EPA does not start getting their stuff together, then they could lose the midterms over this, she said. Christopher Bosso, a professor at Northeastern University who researches environmental policy, said Zeldin didnt seem to take MAHA seriously at first, but now he has to, because theyve been really calling for his scalp. MAHA wins a seat at the table Last year, prominent activist Kelly Ryerson was so frustrated with the EPA over its weakening of protections against harmful chemicals that she and other MAHA supporters drew up a petition to get Zeldin fired. Advertisement Advertisement The final straw, Ryerson said, was the EPAs approval of two new pesticides for use on food. Ryerson, whose social media account Glyphosate Girl focuses on nontoxic food systems, said the pesticides contained forever chemicals, which resist breakdown, making them hazardous to people. The EPA has disputed that characterization. But Ryersons relationship with the EPA changed at a MAHA Christmas party in Washington in December. She talked to Zeldin there and felt that he listened to her perspective. Then he invited her and a handful of other activists to sit down with him at the EPA headquarters. That meeting lasted an hour, and it led to more conversations with Zeldins deputies. The level of engagement with people concerned with their health is absolutely revolutionary, Ryerson said in an interview. She said the agency's upcoming plan will say whether or not they take it seriously, but she praised MAHA's access as unprecedented. Rashmi Joglekar, associate director of science, policy and engagement at the University of California, San Franciscos Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, said its not typical for an activist group to meet with the EPA administrator. She said MAHA's ability to make inroads so quickly shows how powerful the coalition has become. Advertisement Advertisement The movements influence is not just at the EPA. MAHA has steered federal and state lawmakers away from enacting liability shields that protect pesticide manufacturers from expensive lawsuits. In Congress, after MAHA activists lobbied against such protections in a funding bill, they were removed. A similar measure stalled in Tennessees legislature. Zeldin joined a call in December with the advocacy group MAHA Action, where he invited activists to participate in developing the EPAs MAHA agenda. Since then, EPA staffers have regularly appeared on the weekly calls and promoted what they say are open-door policies. Last month, Ryersons petition to get Zeldin fired was updated to note that several signers had met with him and are in a collaborative effort to advance the MAHA agenda. Zeldins office declined to make him available for an interview on his work with MAHA activists, but EPA Press Secretary Brigit Hirsch said the forthcoming agenda will directly respond to priorities weve heard from MAHA advocates and communities. Advertisement Advertisement The American Chemistry Council said smart, pro-growth policies can protect both the environment and human health as well as grow the U.S. economy. EPA's alliance with industry raises questions Despite the ongoing conversations, the Republican emphasis on deregulation still puts MAHA and the EPA on a potential collision course. Lori Ann Burd, the environmental health program director at The Center for Biological Diversity, said the administration has a particularly strong alliance with industry interests. As an example, she pointed to the EPAs proposal to allow the broad use of the weed killer Dicamba on soybeans and cotton. A month before the announcement, the EPA hired a lobbyist for the soybean association, Kyle Kunkler, to serve in a senior position overseeing pesticides. Advertisement Advertisement Hirsch denied that Kunkler had anything to do with the decision and said EPAs pesticide decisions are driven by statutory standards and scientific evidence. Environmentalists said the hiring of ex-industry leaders is a theme of this administration. Nancy Beck and Lynn Dekleva, for example, are former higher-ups at the American Chemistry Council, an industry association. They now work in leadership in the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, which oversees pesticide and toxic chemical regulation. Hirsch said the agency consults with ethics officials to prevent conflicts of interest and ensures that appointees are qualified and focused on the science, unlike previous administrations that too often deferred to activist groups instead of objective evidence. Alexandra Munoz, a molecular toxicologist who collaborates with MAHA activists on certain issues and attended the hour-long meeting with Zeldin, said she sensed the industry's influence in the room. Advertisement Advertisement They were very polite in the meeting. In terms of the tone, there was a lot of receptivity, she said. However, in terms of what was said, it felt like we were interacting with a lot of industry talking points. Activists await the EPA's MAHA agenda Hirsch said the MAHA agenda will address issues like lead pipes, forever chemicals, plastic pollution, food quality and Superfund cleanups. Ryerson said she wants to get the chemical atrazine out of drinking water and stop the pre-harvest desiccation of food, in which farmers apply pesticides to crops immediately before they are harvested. She also wants to see cancer warnings on the ingredient glyphosate, which some studies associate with cancer even as the EPA said it is not likely to be carcinogenic to humans when used as directed. Advertisement Advertisement While shes optimistic that the political payoffs will be big enough for Zeldin to act, she said some of the moves hes already promoting as MAHA wins are no such thing. For example, in his New Year's Eve announcement on a group of chemicals called phthalates, he said the agency intends to regulate some of them for environmental and workplace risks, but didn't address the thousands of consumer products that contain the ingredients. Swan said time will tell if the agency is being performative. The EPA is giving very mixed signals right now, she said. ___ Govindarao reported from Phoenix. Advertisement Advertisement ___ The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of the APs environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment. Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills, who is bidding to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins, assured that her health was in good standing after a CNN journalist on Monday questioned her viability to campaign at her age. "Speaking of electability, the one concern, one of the big concerns I hear about you is your age," CNNs Manu Raju told the 78-year-old Mills. "No! Really? Damn! I thought that wouldn't come up," Mills sarcastically replied. Advertisement Advertisement Anti-ice Law Set To Take Effect In Maine As Governor Faces Increased Criticism For Allowing It Amid Senate Run Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills, who is bidding to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins, assured that her health was in good standing after a CNN journalist questioned her viability to campaign at her age. (AP Newsroom) "Do you think that the memory in your party about Joe Biden, is that going to be too much for you too?" Raju asked. "Good Lord! Oh, I'm not Joe Biden, for God's sake. I'm healthy. People see me at work every day. They know that I can deliver. And I have delivered," she said. Read On The Fox News App Throughout the 2024 presidential race, speculation about Bidens mental health decline grew overtime, eventually leading to immense pressure for the presidential hopeful to drop out of the race. Advertisement Advertisement Democrats Eye Narrow Path To Capture Senate Majority, But One Wrong Move Could Sink Them Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. Viral videos of Biden looking confused and reporting about his faltering behind-the-scenes demeanor started a discussion about his mental health decline. After a poor debate performance against President Donald Trump, pressure on Biden to drop out of the White House race grew so strong that he quit weeks later, despite first pledging he was staying in the fight. This is not the first time Mills age has been called into question after she entered the Senate race. When speaking to voters, one of them asked how she would push back against the narrative that she is too old. "How are you and your campaign going to push back against the argument that you are too old?" the voter asked. Advertisement Advertisement Maine Rep Laurel Libby Wont Seek Re-election, Partners With Sentinel Action Fund In $4M Boost For Sen Collins "The times are too urgent, too dangerous not to send the best person we have, the most tested candidate." Click Here To Download The Fox News App Mills seeks election in what could be one of the most critical races in the midterms as it would decide which party will control the chamber. Original article source: Maine Gov Mills takes brutal shot at Joe Biden when pressed on age concerns in Senate race EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) A man was recently arrested in connection with a shooting that injured another man on Sunday, Feb. 1, in Central El Paso, according to El Paso Police. El Paso Police investigate shooting in Central El Paso Police say Cesar Vite Pineda is facing three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after they located a 58-year-old man with gunshot wounds at the 2500 block of Morehead Sunday. Advertisement Advertisement Pineda was booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility under a total bond of $150,000. Body camera footage provided by EPPD shows officers responding to the incident, and their SWAT team in the area. Video also shows officers arresting Pineda. As KTSM 9 News previously reported, the call came in shortly before 4 p.m., and EPPDs SWAT team was seen in the area. Crews with the El Paso Fire Department were also seen in the area with the departments Fire-STAR helicopter. No further information has been released. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. A man broke into a North Carolina Little Caesars, prepared pizzas and sold them to customers before pocketing the money, Kinston police stated. Jonathon Hackett, 41, a former employee, unlawfully entered the pizza restaurant twice last weekend. The first time, Hacket entered the business, made the pizzas and sold them while keeping the proceeds. The second time, Hackett broke into it while employees were inside. However, they tried to stop him from getting in, and a fight broke out, police said. Advertisement Advertisement He was treated at a hospital then arrested and taken to the Lenoir County Jail. He was charged with felony breaking and entering, felony obtaining property by false pretenses, felony larceny after breaking and entering, and misdemeanor breaking and entering, police said. The Brief A 31-year-old man faces felony and misdemeanor charges after police say he was found with a stolen Rolls-Royce. The vehicle had been reported stolen out of Fort Bend County, Texas. The man was released with his next court date set for Tuesday. COOK COUNTY, Ill. - A 31-year-old man is facing charges after Orland Park police say they found him in possession of a luxury vehicle reported stolen out of Texas. What we know Officers arrested Husamuldeen Abed on Saturday outside Papa Joes Italian Restaurant, according to police. Husamuldeen Abed That day, officers found a 2023 Rolls-Royce parked and unoccupied without license plates in the restaurant's parking lot. A check of the vehicle's identification number showed it had been reported stolen from Fort Bend County, Texas, on Jan. 24. Advertisement Advertisement Police said officers watched the vehicle while waiting for the driver to return. Abed later came back to the parking lot, used keys to unlock the vehicle and got inside. He was then taken into custody. Witnesses identified him as the same person who had parked the vehicle there earlier in the day, according to police. Abed was also allegedly found with a stolen Illinois license plate registered to a 2006 Audi, along with hardware commonly used to attach license plates to cars. Investigators later determined the Rolls-Royce had been stolen while it was being shipped from Texas to North Carolina, police said. Advertisement Advertisement Abed was charged with: Aggravated unlawful possession of a stolen motor vehicle, a Class 1 felony Possession of stolen property, a Class A misdemeanor What's next Abed was taken for a first court appearance and later released. He is scheduled to appear again Tuesday at the Bridgeview Courthouse. The Source The information in this story came from the Orland Park Police Department. A Springfield man is facing charges for a deadly crash that happened at a park over a year ago. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Edward Balliet, 70, was indicted by a Clark County grand jury on Monday on murder, felonious assault, involuntary manslaughter, aggravated vehicular homicide, and operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, according to Clark County Common Pleas Court records. Advertisement Advertisement The charges stem from a deadly crash at Snyder Park in August 2024. TRENDING STORIES: As News Center 7 previously reported, 69-year-old Larry Blevins was outside his car at Snyder Park when another car hit and killed him. A crash report lists Balliet as the driver of the Chevrolet Cruze that hit Blevins. An employee for the Clark County Public Library previously told News Center 7 that Blevins was a beloved security officer for one of the branches. Advertisement Advertisement He was also a one-time council member in Tremont City. A warrant has been issued for Balliets arrest, according to court records. Were working to learn when hes set to appear in court. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] A 24-year-old man was found fatally shot in a vehicle in St. Paul Monday night. Police responded about 10 p.m. to reports of shots fired in the West Seventh neighborhood, in the 100 block of Oneida Street, and located the victim. Hed been shot multiple times in the chest. Officers began live-saving measuring, but St. Paul fire department medics pronounced the man dead at the scene. Homicide investigators are looking into the circumstances of the shooting. Police did not announce an arrest as of Tuesday morning. Advertisement Advertisement The mans homicide was the second in St. Paul this year and was not related to Saturdays homicide, according to police. This first happened Saturday afternoon when Christ Hae, 25, was shot in the 900 block of York Avenue, in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood. Related Articles A man has been found guilty of several felony charges for a 2023 shooting in Glendale that resulted in the death of a 20-year-old woman. Rueben Rocha, 24, was found guilty on all counts following a trial in Maricopa County Superior Court for a shooting reported near 51st and Northern avenues on June 4, 2023. Glendale police said Rocha had arrived at an apartment dressed in black and forced his way inside the unit. The intruder fired several gunshots and then fled. Advertisement Advertisement Jordin Castillo died from a gunshot wound and two others sustained injuries. Glendale police said Rocha turned himself in not long after the shooting. Online court records show the defendant was found guilty of murder, aggravated assault, burglary and disorderly conduct. Rocha is scheduled to be sentenced on March 20. RELATED: Suspect arrested for killing young mother in Glendale, injuring two others *Editor's Note: The above video is from an earlier broadcast.* Watch 12News for free You can now watch 12News content anytime, anywhere thanks to the 12+ app! The free 12+ app from 12News lets users stream live events including daily newscasts like "Today in AZ" and "12 News" and our daily lifestyle program, "Arizona Midday"on Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV. Advertisement Advertisement 12+ showcases live video throughout the day for breaking news, local news, weather and even an occasional moment of Zen showcasing breathtaking sights from across Arizona. Users can also watch on-demand videos of top stories, local politics, I-Team investigations, Arizona-specific features and vintage videos from the 12News archives. Roku: Add the channel from the Roku store or by searching for "12 News KPNX." Amazon Fire TV: Search for "12 News KPNX" to find the free 12+ app to add to your account, or have the 12+ app delivered directly to your Amazon Fire TV through Amazon.com or the Amazon app. A man has been arrested in connection with the stabbing of another man inside a bar in southeastern Massachusetts, authorities announced Tuesday. Officers responding to a report of a disturbance at Stevens Lounge in Onset, a census-designated part of Wareham, just after 12:30 a.m. Monday, found large amounts of blood in the bar area and a victim suffering from multiple stab wounds, according to the Wareham Police Department. The victim, whose name hasnt been released, was rushed to St. Lukes Hospital in New Bedford for treatment. Police didnt share an update on the severity of his injuries. Advertisement Advertisement Investigators later identified the suspect in this case as 27-year-old Alexx Rezendes, of Wareham, according to police. Rezendes was arrested hours later at his home on charges of assault to murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. He was ordered held on $10,000 bail pending arraignment in Wareham District Court on Tuesday. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW The son of Norways Crown Princess has gone on trial on charges of rape, domestic violence, assault and drug possession. Marius Borg Hiby took the stand at a court in Oslo this week to enter a not guilty plea to four counts of rape and one of domestic violence, while admitting a number of lesser offences. The 29 year-olds trial has been described as the biggest scandal the Norwegian royals ever had. It comes as the royal family faces increased scrutiny over his mother the crown princess ties to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. Advertisement Advertisement Heres what we know about Hiby and the case against him. Who is Marius Borg Hiby? Marius is the son of Mette-Marit Tjessem Hiby, the Crown Princess of Norway and stepson to Haakon, the Crown Prince and heir to the Norwegian monarchy. Because Marius is only related to the royal family by marriage, he possesses no royal titles and is outside of the line of succession. His mother was a waitress at the the time she met his father Morten Borg, a convicted felon and cocaine dealer. Borg was said to have been in prison when his son was born. Marius Borg Hiby faces up to to ten years in prison if convicted (NTB/AFP via Getty Images) Mette-Marit was introduced to Borg by her former fiance John Ognby, another convicted felon, with whom she split up after he allegedly chased her down the street with a knife. Advertisement Advertisement She met the Crown Prince of Norway, Haakon Magnus, through mutual friends in 1999 and married in 2001. They have two children together; Princess Ingrid Alexandra born in 2004 and Prince Sverre Magnus born in 2005. When the couple entered the public spotlight, Marius was nicknamed Little Marius in the media after an illegitimate child in the 1883 novel Poison. Marius is rarely seen in public, in contrast to his half-siblings, due to his lack of royal title. The Crown Prince said: We love him. He is an important part of our family. He is a Norwegian citizen, so he has the same responsibilities as everyone else, as well as the same rights. (Getty Images) Marius briefly studied business in the US in 2017 but dropped out without completing his degree. He worked as an intern for German fashion designer Philipp Plein and then as a style editor for UK-based fashion magazine Tempus. When he was referred to as the prince of Norway in the publication, the magazine was forced to remove every such reference from print and digital editions after backlash. Advertisement Advertisement In 2017, Marius was convicted and fined for drug possession after being arrested at the Palmesus festival. Crown Prince Haakon said of Marius ahead of the current trial: We love him. He is an important part of our family. He is a Norwegian citizen, so he has the same responsibilities as everyone else, as well as the same rights. He said of the alleged victims: We think about them, we know many are going through a difficult time. Crown Princess Mette-Marit Tjessem Hiby (left), with husband Crown Prince Haakon (middle), and Marius (right) in 2011. Also pictured are Prince Sverre Magnus (front left) and Princess Ingrid Alexandra (front middle). (Getty Images) What are the charges against him? Hiby faces 38 charges at the Oslo district court. On Tuesday, he pleaded not guilty to four counts of rape and one of domestic violence. He pleaded guilty to one count of offensive sexual behaviour, driving too fast and driving without a valid license, among other charges. He also said he was partially guilty - a plea allowed under Norwegian law - of aggravated assault and reckless behaviour. Advertisement Advertisement The proceedings will take place over a period of seven weeks, and Marius is expected to testify on Wednesday. The most serious allegations include rape and sexual intercourse while a woman was unconscious in October 2023 and three counts of rape by sexual assault on incapacitated women in December 2018, March 2024 and November 2024. Marius took the stand on Monday to face 38 charges including rape, sexual assault, and domestic violence (Reuters) Hiby could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted in the trial, which is scheduled to last until 19 March. Seven alleged victims are expected to testify. There is equality before the law, lead prosecutor Sturla Henriksboe told the court. The defendant is the son of the crown princess. He is part of the royal family. He shall nevertheless be treated in the same way as any other person who is charged with the same offences. Advertisement Advertisement On Sunday, Hiby was detained on separate allegations, on suspicion of assault, making threats with a knife and violating a restraining order. He was placed on remand for four weeks. Crown Princess ties to Epstein Crown Princess Mette Marit is facing questions over her ties to Jeffrey Epstein (Getty Images) Hibys mother the Crown Princess is mentioned hundreds of times in the latest tranche of Epstein files released by the US justice department at the end of January. In 2012, according to the documents, Mette-Marit asked Epstein about Marius, questioning if it were inappropriate for a mother to suggest two naked women carrying a surfboard for my 15 yr old sons wallpaper?. He replied: Let them decide, mother shoudl [sic] stay out of it. Advertisement Advertisement The files also revealed that Mette-Marit spent four days in Epsteins house in Palm Beach, Miami in January 2013. The royal has since issued a statement, saying she showed poor judgement over he contact with the disgraced billionaire and offering her sympathy to his victims. Jeffrey Epstein is personally responsible for his actions, she said. I must take responsibility for not checking Epstein's background more closely and for not understanding quickly enough what kind of person he was. I deeply regret that, and this is a responsibility I must take. 20i, which describes itself as a leading global provider of managed hosting services, has announced the launch of its latest data centre in Singapore. The expansion marks a significant milestone in the companys international growth, enabling customers across APAC to deploy autoscaling cloud hosting closer to their users. 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Were incredibly excited to bring our most advanced, high-performance hosting platform to Asia, giving customers across the APAC region local access to a resilient, ultra-fast hosting platform." This expansion enables existing and new customers to host services closer to their audience, improving Time to First Byte (TTFB), reducing bounce rates and driving higher engagement across business-critical websites and ecommerce platforms. About 20i 20i delivers high-performance, sustainable cloud hosting for over 1 million websites, with an emphasis on speed, scalability, and simplicity. Designed for professionals and businesses of all sizes, its hosting platform includes Autoscaling High Frequency WordPress Hosting, Reseller Hosting, VPS and a global CDN all backed by expert support and powered by 100% renewable energy. Learn more at www.20i.com. BALTIMORE In separate party-line votes Tuesday, the Maryland House and Senate passed legislation to end local law enforcement cooperation agreements with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, fast-tracking two identical bills that have ignited heated debate across party lines over immigration policy and public safety. In the Senate, 32 Democrats voted for the bill, and 12 Republicans voted against it. In the House, the measure passed 99-40, with Democrats in favor and Republicans opposed. The legislation would prohibit new and existing 287(g) agreements, which allow local police and correctional officers to assist ICE with immigration enforcement duties. Advertisement Advertisement The votes came just days after committees in both chambers advanced the bills following hours of partisan debate and a flurry of Republican amendments aimed at carving out exceptions to the proposed ban. None of the amendments secured the three-fifths majority required under Maryland law and were rejected. Partisan deliberations across the State House On Tuesday, the final day of deliberations on these bills, House Republicans warned the legislation would undermine public safety and restrict cooperation with federal authorities. Im really disappointed that the solution this body has come up with is handcuffing law enforcement, Del. Robin Grammer Jr., a Republican representing Baltimore County, said. The question of what we do with regard to the detention of criminals pending deportation deserves an answer, and this is the wrong solution. Advertisement Advertisement House Minority Whip Jesse Pippy of Frederick County said the bill targets a very narrow program and conflates it with broader national immigration enforcement tactics. Ending [287(g) agreements] is not going to solve the problems were seeing on television, Pippy said, describing the bill as nothing more than virtue signaling to your base and adding that it comes at the expense of public safety. Still, Democrats countered that the legislation would strengthen public safety by limiting local law enforcements role in federal immigration enforcement and rebuilding trust between police and immigrant communities. Del. Nicole Williams, a Prince Georges County Democrat and the House bills sponsor, said the measure is intended to ensure residents feel safe interacting with police, regardless of immigration status. Advertisement Advertisement This bill is about the state of Maryland every single person who lives here and ensuring that everyone feels protected by law enforcement, Williams said. No one should fear being separated from their family after a routine encounter with police. Williams also pushed back on Republicans repeated references to polling used to justify continued cooperation with ICE, saying the data was being mischaracterized. The poll thats been referenced doesnt even mention 287(g) agreements or explain their effects, she said. Using it to justify these agreements is misleading. Del. Gabriel Acevero, a Montgomery County Democrat and immigrant of Trinidadian descent, said that protecting public safety does not mean expanding immigration enforcement at the local level, rather ensuring due process and accountability. We have laws. We have due process, Acevero said. Public safety does not mean deputizing local police to do the work of immigration agents. In Maryland, we wont be complicit in what were seeing nationally. Senate deliberation Across the building, state Sen. Nancy King, a Montgomery County Democrat, argued in favor of ending 287(g) agreements, noting that ICEs approach to law enforcement could jeopardize the safety of even immigrants without criminal records. She added that Republicans have falsely characterized most immigrants as criminals. Advertisement Advertisement I have never met one [immigrant] that came to this country to get rich. Most of them are coming here because theyre escaping the oppression in the country theyre coming from. If youre in that country and youre desperate, youre desperate to get your children, your family out of there any way you possibly can, King said. So where is the best place for them to be? These arent, these arent people that are, you know, out for the big buck. Sen. Charles Sydnor, a Baltimore County Democrat, struck a similar tone, quoting a Bible verse often associated with being friendly and welcoming toward refugees. If a stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him, Sydnor said. The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. Senate Republicans, particularly Minority Whip Justin Ready, maintained that coordination between ICE and local jails ensures bad actors are not released back into society. If you dont want more active, visible, intense ICE operations, you should vote against this bill, Ready said. They have to do their job. And if they cant work through documented systems, theyre going to have to bring more people in to get the truly dangerous people. And when they go find a dangerous person in a community and they happen to be living with other people who maybe are not convicted hardened criminals, but are here illegally, theyre going to get them too. ICE presence in Maryland Eight Maryland counties currently participate in 287(g) agreements: Allegany, Carroll, Cecil, Frederick, Garrett, Harford, St. Marys and Washington. Three Cecil, Frederick and Harford counties operate under the jail model, which authorizes correctional officers to screen detainees for immigration status and contact ICE. Advertisement Advertisement The remaining counties use the warrant model, under which officers cooperate with ICE only when there is an active Department of Homeland Security warrant. Under the agreements, counties may hold detainees for up to 48 additional hours to allow ICE to take custody. The legislation would not bar law enforcement from notifying ICE altogether but would prohibit formal cooperation agreements and require changes to existing ones. Democratic leaders say the political landscape has shifted since last session, when similar legislation failed. Senate President Bill Ferguson, who opposed the measure last year, has cited increased national scrutiny of ICE operations and the Department of Homeland Security as reasons the bill could pass this year. While lawmakers in both parties told The Baltimore Sun ahead of the session that immigration would be a top priority during the 90-day term, Democrats have accelerated their push amid a broader national crackdown. The effort intensified following protests in Minnesota, where federal officers have killed two people this year, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, and after several ICE detentions in the Annapolis area on Jan. 13, the day before the General Assembly convened. Advertisement Advertisement The fast-tracking of the bills also comes as ICE expands its physical presence in Maryland. One detention facility is operating in Washington County, and a second in Baltimore City has recently drawn scrutiny over cramped and overcrowded conditions. A third facility was slated to be built in Howard County, but the permit for this project has been revoked. The bills will now be sent to the opposite chambers for consideration. Because the measures are identical, each chamber is expected to pass the others version before sending the legislation to Gov. Wes Moores desk, which State House leaders say could happen as early as Friday. _____ Tinashe Chingarande contributed to this report. _____ The two federal agents who shot and killed Alex Pretti during anti-ICE protests in Minneapolis were identified Sunday in a report. Jesus Ochoa, 43, and Raymundo Gutierrez, 35, were identified as the shooters in government documents, ProPublica reported. They had not been named publicly prior to ProPublicas reporting Sunday. Ochoa is a Border Patrol agent who joined in 2018, and Gutierrez is a Customs and Border Protection officer who started at the agency in 2014, according to the outlet. Both men are from south Texas. Advertisement Advertisement While leaders at the Department of Homeland Security promised a transparent investigation into the killing of Pretti, they refused to publicly identify the suspects themselves and did not comment on the report. Ochoa and Gutierrez were both placed on paid administrative leave following the shooting, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. In the immediate aftermath of the killing, Border Patrol leader Gregory Bovino said theyd simply been reassigned out of Minneapolis. Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, was part of a group of demonstrators protesting against President Trumps immigration crackdown on Jan. 24 in Minneapolis. Ochoa and Gutierrez were among a group of officers who tackled Pretti and removed a handgun from his waist; then Ochoa and Gutierrez shot him dead, according to multiple bystander videos of the incident. On Monday, the Hennepin County medical examiners office classified Prettis death as a homicide due to multiple gunshot wounds, The Minnesota Star Tribune reported. However, state and local authorities have been shut out of the investigation. Advertisement Advertisement It was the second killing of a U.S. citizen protester during demonstrations in Minneapolis in January, coming less than three weeks after another person, 37-year-old Renee Good, was killed by an ICE agent while sitting in her car. The federal government also refused to identify that agent, but The Intercept first revealed his identity as 43-year-old Jonathan Ross. While some countries publicly withhold the identities of criminal suspects, such protections are not typical in the U.S. _____ WESTFIELD The hottest TikTok video? A shoutout on Snapchat? The Instagram post with the funniest meme? Blocked, blocked and blocked. A text from mom reminding you again to take the garbage out? Clear as a bell. Thats how cell phones are going to work during the school day for 1,500 students at Westfield High School starting this week. The administration is rolling out Doorman, a new app created by tech entrepreneurs who want to help schools operate 10 years ahead, not 10 years behind, according to their LinkedIn profiles. Advertisement Advertisement Westfield wants to keep kids focused on the classroom, but also prepare them for the workplaces and college classrooms theyll head off to in a few years, said Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski. Cell phones are a reality, Czaporowski said in an interview Monday as the new technology was being implemented. I think responsible use has to be our goal. Wed like to make this a teaching opportunity and not something punitive, he said. Andrew Joseph, an assistant principal at Westfield High School, said the school is not making students download the app. There are plenty of other ways to do this, he said. Advertisement Advertisement But making students put their phones in a box doesnt really teach them anything. With Doorman, their phones are still with them, just in a less capable and less addictive state. The kids have to exercise some choice, Joseph said. They still have to decide how they are going to handle a situation. Whereas locking their phone in a box robs them of that. The communities of West Springfield, Chicopee and elsewhere use Yondr pouches to keep student phones inaccessible during the day. But Czaporowski said students can thwart the Yondr pouches by putting in an old, unused phone. And Yondr pouches cost $25. The school is paying Doorman $5 a student. Advertisement Advertisement Thats a significant cost savings, he said. Monday was only the second day of the Doorman experiment, said Joseph. So far, 200 students had tapped into the system as of Monday and 13 classrooms are enabled with the technology. A big job Monday was getting the high schools scheduling software to communicate with the Doorman app. Thats how the app knows a student is in class and not in a study hall, lunch or another place where full cell phone use would be allowed. Czaporowski said cutting off all connectivity is impractical. Doing so interferes with some educational programs, like Google Classroom. And some students depend on their phones to help manage medical conditions, for example by checking their blood sugar levels. Advertisement Advertisement On top of that, parents object to total phone blackouts. They still want to be able to contact their children during the school day, Czaporowski said. Doorman, a New York startup founded last year by a pair of California-trained tech entrepreneurs, offers educators the ability to block what it calls the high-dopamine apps such as TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram. It works by creating a VPN, or virtual private network, said Brian Dutko, Westfield schools instructional technology coordinator. Doorman works through an NFC, or near field communication tag, on the wall of the classroom. Students tap into the system as they enter. Advertisement Advertisement The Doorman blocks web-based applications inside the classroom but not in all school areas, including lunch periods. If there is something loaded on the phone, it will work, Dutko said. But then if it goes to load something new, it just stops. Apples iMessage wont work. But SMS, or the short message service texts that use cellular networks, will go through. We tested it out Friday, he said. And how are the kids doing? I dont think they are super happy, Dutko said. They understand this is a compromise. Students at Watertown High School are also adjusting to the use of Doorman, said Joel Giacobozzi, the schools principal. Advertisement Advertisement Watertown was the first high school to use Doorman starting this fall for the 2025-26 school year. Today, there are only about 10 schools with Doorman, Giacobozzi said. We were piloting it while they were building it, Giacobozzi said. Since starting use of the app, the 750 students at Watertown High are more engaged in the classroom. Not everyone uses it. Some students dont have phones and others turn them in at the office every morning. Its given us the ability to focus on instruction and not on monitoring cell phone use, Giacobozzi said. All we ask for is 56 minutes of attention. And they are getting it. Advertisement Advertisement Kids are talking more in the classroom, Giacobozzi said. Kids feel its a healthy balance. More News Read the original article on MassLive. Add MassLive as a Preferred Source by clicking here. NEW: Find our updated report on this news conference here. Federal authorities in Massachusetts are slated to announce charges in connection with an alleged multi-state fraud scheme involving more than 100 stolen identities. United States Attorney for Massachusetts Leah B. Foley is scheduled to detail the charges at an 11 a.m. news conference at the Moakley Federal Courthouse in Boston. Foleys office says the alleged fraudsters used the stolen identities to obtain over $1 million in SNAP and Pandemic Unemployment benefits from more than half a dozen states. Advertisement Advertisement Additional information on the case wasnt immediately available. Representatives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Department of Labor, and Internal Revenue Service will join Foley at the news conference. BREAKING U.S. Attorney to hold press conference TODAY @ 11 am in connection w/ alleged fraud scheme involving more than 100 stolen identities used to obtain over $1 million in SNAP and PUA benefits from more than half a dozen states. Livestream here: https://t.co/VtFAYvlrAu pic.twitter.com/v5HWeA5Di3 U.S. Attorney Massachusetts (@DMAnews1) February 3, 2026 This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Massachusetts is losing residents at a worrisome rate as many as 33,000 over the one-year stretch from July 2024 to July 2025, according to fresh U.S. Census Bureau data. And the state ranks 46th in the country for population growth, according to a January report from the truck rental giant U-Haul. (The only consolation from the U-Haul list: New York and California are even lower on the U-Haul list.) Numbers tell part of the story. The 33,000-person outflow is 53% higher than the previous year. I should note that, due to immigration from other countries, the state is actually gaining population overall. But who are the people whove left? I reached out to my extended network to find a half-dozen former denizens of Massachusetts now living elsewhere. I was primarily hunting for people who hadnt moved because they retired, and also hadnt moved during the COVID pandemic. Advertisement Advertisement The top three factors that influenced their decision probably wont surprise you: housing costs, taxes and the weather. Day care costs popped up for families with young kids. None of these people moved because they couldnt find work here. The last time I saw Scott Bailey in Massachusetts, he was working on a modular housing startup that had set up a few model homes in Chelsea. He left the state in 2021. We had two kids in an 800-square-foot condo in (Dorchester), with plans for a third... Taxes were over $10,000 a year. Child care was on track for $8,000 a year, Bailey wrote via email. In Charlotte, Bailey and his wife bought a house for less money than they had sold their condo for, and found child care for three kids that cost less than they had paid for their first two in Boston. Despite that, Bailey, 38, said that the ability for new arrivals to Boston to get connected to people on accelerated timelines shouldnt be understated. Charlotte is fragmented and doesnt have the same kind of hometown pride from its leaders. Advertisement Advertisement Bill Shander, 57, an author and information design specialist, said he shifted his life from Hopkinton to Placitas, New Mexico, on the outskirts of Albuquerque, in part for the weather. I am approaching retirement, and selling our expensive real estate in Boston and trading for much less expensive digs in New Mexico, as well as a second residence in Todos Santos, Mexico, was appealing, he added. Shander has no mortgage now and is paying less in property taxes. Housing costs were also a factor for Austin Williams and his wife, both in their mid-30s. They were renting in a Charlestown triple-decker, with one child and a second on the way. Williams said they were feeling like the price of admission for ownership (was) north of $1 million in that part of the city. Advertisement Advertisement So in 2023, they purchased a home just outside Portland, Maine, near a beach. Williams said they found affordable child care, top-notch people (and) endless activities. Their old friends in Boston are only 90 minutes away. Like many newly-minted graduates before her, Jolie Gan ended up in San Francisco after finishing a masters degree in computational neuroscience at MIT. Rather than remaining in academia or working for a large biopharma company in Cambridge, Gan went west in 2025. California has more of an appetite for risk and failure, she said, not to mention higher wages and more of a willingness to push the sci-fi. Family drew Aquil Abdullah from Ipswich to Washington, D.C. in 2024. Initially, he kept working remotely for a Boston company, Hydrow, which makes an Internet-connected rowing machine. Advertisement Advertisement Abdullah was both a software developer for the company and a rowing instructor. He left that job in September 2025 and now has his own consulting firm. Abdullah hypothesized that while the opportunity to work remotely first cropped up for many people during COVID, more of them are now redesigning their lives to take advantage of that flexibility. I think that theres definitely a population that is moving as a result of the digital nomad life being more accessible now, he said. That was true for David Hayes, a longtime tech recruiter in Boston who began spending more time working from Florida and New Hampshire during COVID, and then became a Utah resident in January 2025. Advertisement Advertisement One factor was a daughter and son-in-law who earned their college degrees in New England, but wound up employed by tech companies in the San Francisco Bay Area. Hayes and his wife wanted to be close to them, so they bought a condo in Park City, Utah. While Hayes contended that hes not a Massachusetts basher, he found the weather here oppressive, the cost of living very high, and said the access to outdoors was limited. In Park City, Hayes, who is in his 50s, said he found that people are here because they want to be here, and theyre happy. Scott White and his husband bought a house in Fort Lauderdale in February 2020, and used it for vacation rentals at first. But it became their permanent residence in 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Even though we both grew up in New England, each winter we became less tolerant of the cold and snow, White said. We were at a point in our lives where we were looking for a change, and we sold our place in (Bostons) South End and moved down here. As a recruiter in the biotech and pharma industries, White said he set up a home office and worked remotely. (Coincidentally, he used to work with Hayes.) While White, 54, said he misses all of the cultural richness that the city offers, he appreciates having a house, a pool, more privacy and a quieter lifestyle. If state officials want to stem this exodus, they should probably move fast, rather than spending the next decade debating what to do. Once people leave, it can be pretty challenging to get them back. Asked if he could see moving back, White said he might consider it if one of us needed serious medical care, or potentially coming back for half the year, but remaining a Florida resident. (That state has no income tax.) Advertisement Advertisement Williams, who previously worked in economic development for the city of Boston, referred to the high switching costs of anyone moving back to a higher-cost city once a couple wanted to own a home or had kids attending schools elsewhere. Im a happy customer of Maine at this point, he said. The hypothesis that we had, which was that Maine would ... check a lot of the boxes that we wanted to check, lo and behold, they all got checked. He didnt rule out returning to Massachusetts once he and his wife were empty-nesters, but said that we would just as easily consider New York City or someplace else. Sounding a little wistful but also content in North Carolina Bailey wrote, Ill always love Boston. Stories by Scott Kirsner Read the original article on MassLive. Add MassLive as a Preferred Source by clicking here. All the staff members who were in a building at a New Hampshire mental health facility moments before a gas explosion Monday afternoon have been found and accounted for, according to fire officials. About 40 people were in the Greater Nashua Mental Health facility when someone called 911 to report an odor of gas, State Fire Marshall Sean Toomey said. Firefighters were still investigating when the explosion happened and part of the building began to collapse, said Nashua Fire Chief Steve Buxton. He said the three injured firefighters were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Jashua Fire Chief Steve Buxton also shared that one of the three firefighters injured in the explosion was also already out of the hospital. The other two firefighters remained in the hospital but their injuries are considered non-life-threatening. Advertisement Advertisement Firefighters first responded to the Greater Nashua Mental Health Center on Ahmherst Street around 2:15 p.m. after someone reported the smell of gas. When firefighters were on scene, there was a gas explosion that set the building on fire. They were already working on evacuating the building, mayday was transmitted which is the firefighters call for help and we deployed the resources to rescue them and everybody we could from the building, Buxton said. The New Hampshire State Fire Marshals Office says they are investigating whether falling ice may have ruptured the gas line. Well be interviewing the first arriving firefighters that were here to determine if we can figure out where that explosion happened and why that explosion happened, Fire Marshall Toomey said. Advertisement Advertisement Fire officials also say the building typically has around 40 people working in it around the time of the explosion, but all were able to escape the building before the explosion. Video from the scene showed firefighters dousing one of the wooden buildings with water as the top floor burned. Part of the roof can even be seen crumbling away. The building is considered a total loss. The incident prompted authorities to send an alert to nearby homes and businesses telling people to extinguish any burners or flames and to prepare to evacuate. Many couldnt help but think about the gas explosions that rocked the Merrimack Valley in 2018. Advertisement Advertisement I used to work in North Andover and I switched jobs that same year. I switched jobs they had the issue with Columbia Gas there so thats pretty frightening to think of that, said Brandon Pierotti. Police also asked residents and drivers to avoid the area around Amherst Street. Active incident involving gas leak in the area of 440 Amherst Street. Avoid the area and seek an alternate route. Nashua Police (@NashuaPolice) February 2, 2026 The gas company for the property, Liberty of New Hampshire, said crews are on-site and assessing the fire. Until further information is known, avoid the area and please follow all safety precautions as directed by the Nashua fire department and other public officials, Liberty wrote on Facebook. I think the biggest safety message is if you smell gas, call 911 and get out, Toomey said. Investigators with @NH_FMO are responding to a reported explosion that resulted in a building fire in Nashua. Please avoid the area. Updates to follow. #NHSFMO pic.twitter.com/TuxLq2itNg NH State Fire Marshal's Office (NHSFMO) (@nhfmo) February 2, 2026 This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Monday the Texas Democrat who won a state Senate seat over the weekend looked like a Republican, which he argued helped him successfully flip the district. This is a state Senate race, and its a special election. Democrats always do well in a special election down here, but the Democrats did something very smart. They got a candidate that looked like a Republican, he said during an appearance on NewsNations Katie Pavlich Tonight. He ran on issues of President Trump, so President Trump would still carry this seat by 17 points, McCarthy told host Katie Pavlich. Advertisement Advertisement The victorious Democrat, Taylor Rehmet, ran his campaign with a focus on public schools, affordable housing, and real results for everyday people, according to his campaign website. Rehmet touted his past experience as a veteran, aircraft mechanic and union leader on the trail. When asked if the Democratic win could signal GOP troubles for midterm elections, McCarthy said yes and no. I think Republicans have the advantage when it comes to money, Republicans have advantage. Democrats are probably the weakest theyve ever been in leadership with Schumer and Hakeem, and then if you look at favorability, Republican Party is still up by another 10 points, the former House Speaker said, referring to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.). Advertisement Advertisement But what concerns me is what other Republicans have done with their majority, he added. When the Democrats shut down the government, they kept all the Republicans out for two months. You only had the majority for 24 months, and you gave them two months you should have been passing bills that were 80/20 approval and putting these Democrats in tough positions. Both parties are pouring millions of dollars into midterm elections as the GOP looks to retain its majority and Democrats look to regain power in the lower chamber. The Republican National Committee (RNC) holds a near $100 million cash advantage over Democrats, according to new filings from the Federal Election Commission. Despite funding challenges, Democrats emerged victorious in the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial races, as well as the New York City mayoral race last November, raising concerns for some GOP lawmakers. Advertisement Advertisement However, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said at the time that offyear elections are not indicative of whats to come. Thats what history teaches us, he said, adding that he didnt think the loss was any reflection about Republicans at all. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. In the span of a week, Los Angeles County public health officials have confirmed three measles cases with one thing in common: Each person recently traveled internationally. Orange County officials also said one of those travelers flew into Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) before visiting Disneyland Resort. Measles cases in the United States are the highest theyve been in more than 30 years. Los Angeles County is urging travelers to ensure they have immunity before setting off on trips. Advertisement Advertisement Heres what we know about these recent cases and the highly contagious illness. What's one way to feel happier? Go on a trip. According to G Adventures' recently released Happiness List 2026, 89% of the 8,000 adults intending to travel in 2026 across the US, UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand agree that purpose-driven travel contributes to their long-term happiness. Those trips offer a sense of wonder along with a chance to decompress and find connection. Here are 10 travel experiences that G Adventures' travelers said made them feel happiest: Panama's San Blas Islands are ideal for unplugging while enjoying turquoise waters and white-sand beaches. Travelers can stay in Indigenous-owned accommodations, including traditional huts, and explore the archipelago by boat. Witnessing a solar eclipse is one way to experience wonder. G Adventures offers five trips for the Aug. 2027 eclipse, including an exclusive viewing party in Chefchaouen, Morocco. Travelers can dive into Guatemala's history and culture, from learning how to make beloved local dishes to exploring the ancient ruins of Tikal. Exploring the wild, remote landscapes in the Arctic aboard an expedition cruise can leave travelers with a newfound appreciation for Mother Nature. Imagine having a close encounter with Africa's wildlife while also supporting ethical travel and conservation. G Adventures offers a trip to Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park, where travelers can see Victoria Falls, track elephants and cruise rivers looking for hippos. Sail down Sri Lanka's South Coast on a seven-day trip on a 54-foot catamaran for the chance to swim at remote beaches, explore fishing villages and more. Ecuador offers much more than being a gateway to the Galapagos. Travelers can go chocolate tasting, learn more about Indigenous culture and explore the wild jungle. Rather than falling into the typical tourist traps, travelers can try to live like a local and go off the beaten path. On G Adventures' East Iceland trip, guests go to a remote hamlet, enjoy geothermal pools and hike coastal trails. The Stans Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan offer a rich history steeped in the Silk Road trade along with stunning nature, like Kaindy Lake's otherworldly sunken forest. Moldova may not be on everyone's radar, but this underrated Eastern European destination is perfect for foodies. Travelers can sip wine, taste local cuisine and visit spots like an eco-friendly cheese factory. 10 destinations where travelers feel happiest 1 of 10 What's one way to feel happier? Go on a trip. According to G Adventures' recently released Happiness List 2026, 89% of the 8,000 adults intending to travel in 2026 across the US, UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand agree that purpose-driven travel contributes to their long-term happiness. Those trips offer a sense of wonder along with a chance to decompress and find connection. Here are 10 travel experiences that G Adventures' travelers said made them feel happiest: Panama's San Blas Islands are ideal for unplugging while enjoying turquoise waters and white-sand beaches. Travelers can stay in Indigenous-owned accommodations, including traditional huts, and explore the archipelago by boat. First measles case The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health announced their first confirmed measles case of 2026 on Jan. 30. According to a news release, the person was a local resident who recently traveled internationally. At the time, there were no known public exposure locations in the county, aside from health care settings, where potentially impacted patients and staff were being notified directly. Second measles case The second confirmed measles case involved an international traveler who flew into LAXs Tom Bradley International Terminal, Terminal B, on Jan. 26. Advertisement Advertisement According to a news release, the traveler arrived at Gate 201A, on Viva Aerobus Flight 518. Individuals who were at Terminal B from 10:45 p.m. on January 26 to 1 a.m. on January 27 may have been exposed to the measles virus, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said. Flyers who were seated nearby will be notified by their local health departments. Those who visited a Dunkin Donuts location at 22020 Ventura Blvd. in Woodland Hills on Jan. 30 may have been exposed, as well. Officials listed the exposure window as between 3 p.m. and 4:45 p.m. The same traveler also visited Disneyland, the LA County Department of Public Health told USA TODAY. The OC Health Care Agency said an international traveler with measles who flew into LAX also visited Goofys Kitchen at Disneyland Hotel on the morning of Jan. 28, followed by Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park from 12:30 p.m. until closing time. Advertisement Advertisement In a statement to USA TODAY, Disney Experiences Chief Medical Officer Dr. Pamela Hymel said area health authorities notified the resort about the case on Jan. 31. "We are closely following all guidance and recommendations by local health officials to support the well-being of our guests and cast members," Hymel said. Third measles case Officials are investigating a third case in a resident who recently traveled internationally and visited at least one public location in LA County while infectious, a news release said. People who were at Sherman Oaks Mardi Gras Tuesday restaurant at 14543 Ventura Blvd. between 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 24 may have been exposed. Nation's measles-free status in danger: How doctors are handling it. Faux snow dusts the top of Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland ahead of the holidays. What are measles symptoms? Measles is highly transmissible, and typically starts with a cough, runny nose, red and watery eyes and a high fever, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those may be followed by small white spots in the mouth within two or three days, and a rash usually beginning on the face before spreading downward. Advertisement Advertisement The first symptoms typically present seven to 14 days after exposure. Measles can result in serious complications, including pneumonia, encephalitis and death. The best way to protect against measles is to get the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, the health agency said. Children may get the measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (MMRV) vaccine instead, which protects against chickenpox too. Protection provided by the vaccine typically lasts a lifetime. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Measles cases linked to travelers. One went to Disneyland. Robert Larson, Matt Moldenhauer and Zack Sowieja will compete for the open District 10 seat on the Stevens Point Common Council in the Feb. 17 primary election. Current District 10 Alderperson Dustin Buse filed a statement of noncandidacy in the race. Alderpersons on the Common Council serve two-year terms. The two candidates that receive the most votes in the primary will advance to the April 7 spring election. To learn more about registering to vote and to find your polling place, visit My Vote Wisconsin. Advertisement Advertisement The Stevens Point Journal asked each of the candidates to address important issues in the district and why they are running for the position. Robert Larson The candidate did not respond to the questionnaire. Matt Moldenhauer Matt Moldenhauer Age: 24 Residence: City of Stevens Point Occupation and education: My title is "Field Support Engineer, IE&O US." My role mainly consists of IT support and maintaining infrastructure. I have an Associate of Applied Science degree in IT security specialist. Relevant experience: Most of my experience is related to customer service. This gives me experience that will help with listening to constituents and understanding their point of view. My experience in IT gives me problem-solving skills and experience with policies, resource management and governance. Advertisement Advertisement Campaign website/Facebook page: Matt Moldenhauer for Stevens Point on Facebook Zack Sowieja Zack Sowieja Age: 38 Residence: City of Stevens Point Occupation and education: Human resources business partner at Delta Dental of Wisconsin. Graduated from UW-Madison with degrees in political science and sociology. Relevant experience: Bachelor's degree in political science, have interned in the office of a state representative and have over 15 years of professional HR experience. Campaign website/Facebook page: N/A More election news: Who will appear on the spring ballot in Stevens Point and Portage Co.? Why are you running for office? Larson: Candidate did not respond to this questionnaire. Advertisement Advertisement Moldenhauer: Primarily I'm running to increase affordable housing and make our government more transparent. I'd like to see our zoning code modernized to allow for more diverse and affordable housing options. I'd also like to make sure we're making the most of our resources so we can provide the best services we can while avoiding property tax increases. Sowieja: I want to ensure the Citizens of Stevens Point are represented in what I view is a crossroads for the future of the city. We need to ensure we embrace growth while maintaining the things that make our community great. What makes you the better candidate in this race? Larson: The candidate did not respond to the questionnaire. Moldenhauer: I have experience solving varied and complex problems working in IT. I'm often tasked with finding solutions that work for multiple different stakeholders that have different needs and priorities. I'm also often tasked with working on projects for areas I don't have experience in. In those situations I find leaning on the subject matter expert is vital to ensure you're making a positive impact and seeing the whole picture. Advertisement Advertisement Sowieja: I will fight to ensure the voices of my district are heard. I am not running so I can force my agenda on the city, rather I want to make sure District 10 feels heard and represented. What is the most pressing issue facing Stevens Point Common Council, and how would you address it? Larson: The candidate did not respond to the questionnaire. Moldenhauer: Transparency. The city government should make it clear when meetings are happening, what will be discussed and what actions residents may take if they want to get involved. The city needs to do a better job explaining how and why decisions are made along with proactively updating residents on events and changes. Sowieja: Embracing growth while ensuring citizen voices are heard. I would work to make sure that Stevens Point is a place that embraces business growth while listening to the concerns of those who may be affected. What are residents telling you are their most important issues, and how would you address them? Larson: The candidate did not respond to the questionnaire. Advertisement Advertisement Moldenhauer: Affordable housing. We need to modernize our zoning code to allow for more diverse housing options. I'd like to see things like row houses, cottage courts, tri/quad-plexes and smaller detached homes. These options would be more affordable and provide more options than just luxury apartments or very large homes. There's also the matter of property tax increases. I want to make sure we're making the most of the funding we already have and stop creating new TIF districts, which reduce city revenue often with little public benefit. Sowieja: Right now I know that the pending Kwik Trip on Hoover is a large issue. I would ensure that everyone is heard and work toward a decision that is beneficial to our community. I have also heard that citizens would like more quiet crossings at railroad crossings and would explore grants, funding, etc. to make this happen. Erik Pfantz covers local government and education in central Wisconsin for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin and values his background as a rural Wisconsinite. Contact him at epfantz@usatodayco.com. This article originally appeared on Stevens Point Journal: Meet the candidates running for Stevens Point District 10 in primary An angel apparently painted with the face of Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in one of Rome's oldest churches could be restored back to its original appearance after it suddenly gained international notoriety. The Italian authority in charge of historical monuments said on Tuesday it was examining the case of the now famous angel, which is on a fresco in the Basilica of Saint Lawrence in Lucina. The fresco, which had previously received little attention, has become a magnet for visitors to the Italian capital since the angel's new face was noted for its similarity to Meloni. Advertisement Advertisement The monument authority is attempting to clarify whether the alteration by an amateur restorer had been authorized. If not, the angel is to be restored to its original appearance. Parish priest Daniele Micheletti said to the La Repubblica newspaper: "We are looking for a solution." Meloni, of the right-wing Brothers of Italy party, has governed Italy for more than three years - longer than almost any other head of government since the Second World War. The "Meloni angel" holds a scroll with the outline of Italy. The artist was church volunteer Bruno Valentinetti. The 83-year-old is considered an admirer of Meloni. Advertisement Advertisement In a podcast, he said that the idea for the new angel's face came to him while he was sleeping. "Meloni appeared to me in a dream, dressed in white. She said to me: 'Bruno, paint the angel in my image. Give him my face!' My hand then moved of its own accord." Valentinetti had previously questioned whether there was a resemblance to the Italian leader, emphasizing that he had only "restored what was already there 25 years ago." Belkin enters a new chapter of accessories with affordable and high-quality content creation solutions, including its first pair of wireless microphones - and keeps getting better and better. Star Trek has "Strange New Worlds", but I say Belkin lets you "Stage New Worlds"... so get creative! Belkin is an incredibly innovative and leading consumer electronics brand, in business for over 40 years. Celebrated by crowds of tech-loving global citizens, Belkin actively advances by astutely adding to its cleverly crafted and keenly curated collection of genuinely great quality technologies - and with nary a mention of AI needed on its product pages. That said, Belkin is very aware of the ultra-modern AI revolution we're living in right now, as this new technolgical paradigm shift delivers a new level of synergy between man and machine evolving before our very eyes. It's products are at the ready for its customers - you, me and everyone else - which you can see in Belkin's articles, titled "What You Need to Know About AI-integrated Devices", and "Keep Your AI-workflows Wired for Efficiency". I can only imagine Belkin is using the fruits of modern AI systems to more efficiently runs its business, design, manufacturing, supply chain and logistics, and will add AI specific features to its products as great reasons emerge to include them, if it doesn't already offer AI specific features that I've missed, but this is the future: from LLMs to world-models bringing AI from text, image and video creation to the understanding of the real world Always innovating new products into creation and regularly bringing the best of its ideas to market, Belkin aleady offers a range batteries, adult and child-safe headsets, effortlessly cool Magsafe and wireless charging solutions, alongside a cornucopies of capable cables and chargers, screen protectors, adaptors and docks, we now enter a new chapter that adds wirelss microphones, an iPhone magsafe camera grip, and a new creator kit with Magsafe-enhanced tripod, as you'll see below! This new Content Creation collection is designed to empower consumers to create high-quality content on the go while staying powered up. The range consists of the new Belkin Stage PowerGrip, a magnetic portable camera grip which doubles up as a power bank and phone stand, as well as the ready-to-go 3-in-1 Stage Creator kit, consisting of a tripod, magnetic phone mount and a pair of wireless microphones. Created with both hobbyists and professional content creators in mind, these new products from Belkin are designed to help capture high-quality content on the go while staying powered up. Now, creators can be confident that they can capture high quality content anytime anywhere when inspiration strikes at the touch of a button. Designed for vloggers, bloggers and TikTokers to create captivating content, the ergonomically-designed Belkin Stage PowerGrip transforms your iPhone into a true camera to capture steadier, smoother pictures and videos. Content creators simply snap it on magnetically and connect via Bluetooth using a button to control the shutter. Create away with a long-lasting 9.3K mAh* capacity power bank that charges up to three devices, it also offers 7.5W magnetic wireless charging, USB-C output ports, a retractable USB-C charging cable and LED screen to show battery percentage. While providing the user a steady and satisfying hold, it can also act as a phone stand, allowing creators to rewatch recently filmed content with ease. It also easily mounts onto the Belkin Stage Creator Kit with its built-in " tripod attachment, allowing the user to attach, keep charged and create! The Belkin Content Creator Kit is comprised of three components working together to create a seamless filming solution; the Stage Tripod, Stage Magnetic Phone Tripod Mount and Stage Wireless Microphone. The light weight yet durable tripod has an adjustable height from 0.44m to 1.7m. It is equipped with a universal compatible " mount, has a strength capacity of up to 2kgs, and comes with spirit levels on both the mount and base. The Phone Tripod Mount fits securely with ease and allows for on-the-go' phone footage, capturing any angle with an adjustable head and weighing only 88g. Also included are two compact clip-on wireless microphones, enabling users to record audio clearly and reliably, within a distance of 100m. A first for Belkin, these wireless microphones are housed in a durable and stylish charging case, have a battery life of up to 6 hours of use per microphone and an 8 minute quick charge that delivers up to 36 hours when using the charging case. The Stage Wireless Microphone also comes with a USB-C receiver and a USB-C to USB-C cable. Belkin Stage PowerGrip Features At A Glance - Magnetic Charging Camera Grip with Power Bank - Available at Belkin's online store now - RRP $ 99.95 AUD - Available in Charcoal, Ice Blue and Sand Portable, convenient, ergonomic camera grip design Long-lasting 9.3K mAh* power bank charges phone up to 1.6x 15W to charge up to three devices wirelessly at the same time Capture photos with Bluetooth connection Doubles as a phone stand in portrait and landscape modes Retractable 0.75m/29.5in USB-C cable Additional in/out USB-C port Secured magnetic phone attachment Lanyard loop for easy transport LCD screen shows battery level Tripod-ready with -inch screw thread 100% plastic-free packaging 2-year warranty *Contains a 9,300 mAh internal battery. 1.6x phone charge has been achieved when tested with certain phones but actual results will vary depending on phone and conditions Vertical Portrait Mode not supported for Samsung phones. Belkin Stage Creator Kit Features At Glance - Tripod, Magnetic Phone Mount & Wireless Microphones - Available at Belkin's online store now - RRP $199.95 AUD - Available in Sand Complete creator kit with adjustable aluminium tripod, magnetic phone mount, and dual wireless microphones. Hands-free recording with 360 magnetic phone attachment and flexible angle adjustment. Pro-quality audio from two 24-bit/48kHz wearable microphones with noise reduction and fast USB-C pairing. Long-lasting performance with up to 36 hours of microphone battery life using the charging case* Lightweight, compact design for easy setup and on-the-go shooting. President Trump may finally be crashing up against some limits to his power. The past few weeks alone have seen Trump meet resistance of a strength and breadth that was mostly lacking during 2025. The backlash is made more potent because it comes at a time when the presidents overall approval ratings are mediocre and voters are worried about the economy. The upshot is that Trump has retreated on several fronts, at least temporarily whether he wants to admit it or not. Advertisement Advertisement The most glaring example is the shift in immigration actions in Minnesota after public outrage following the killing of two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, by federal immigration officials. Both killings were captured on video. Gregory Bovino, a combative Border Patrol official, has been replaced as the public face of the operation by border czar Tom Homan, who has talked about a drawdown plan being crafted. On the global stage, a rare and rapid show of unity from European nations forced Trump to ease off his rhetoric about seizing Greenland, at least by military force. The drama played out in public at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. In the world of culture, Trumps weekend announcement that he would close the Kennedy Center for about two years beginning July 4 purportedly to expedite renovations was widely interpreted as a measure aimed at avoiding embarrassment amid a spate of artist cancellations. Several of those cancellations followed Trumps decision to append his own name to that of the institution. Advertisement Advertisement Trumps appetite for verbal combat is undiminished, of course, regardless of these moves. In the early hours of Monday, he dispatched an irate social media post threatening to sue comedian Trevor Noah over a joke the Grammy Awards host delivered about Trump, former President Clinton and sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein. Get ready Noah, Im going to have some fun with you! Trump wrote. Alongside those kinds of rows, Trumps strongest critics contend he poses a threat to American democracy itself a threat they see as sharpening as the midterms loom. An interview Trump gave to his former Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino on Monday ricocheted around liberal-leaning social media in part because the president said, The Republicans should say, We want to take over. We should take over the voting. Advertisement Advertisement Trumps exact meaning was not fully clear, but he suggested Republicans should nationalize the running of elections in roughly 15 places, ostensibly to counter the threat of noncitizens casting ballots. Responding to Trumps comments, MS NOW host Joe Scarborough wrote on X: Try sane washing this. Even your anti-anti-Trump drivel cant compete with this threat level. At the same time, the disparate forces opposed to Trump are claiming at least some tactical victories in grinding down the sharpest edges of his second-term agenda. All we had was a whistle and a phone and we were able to beat them, one activist told the London Times last week. regarding the immigration battles in Minnesota. Advertisement Advertisement Timothy Snyder, a prominent author and historian who has repeatedly warned of an erosion of democracy in the U.S. under Trump, posted a video on social media Sunday in which he said of Trump and his allies, If it hadnt been for protests in Chicago, Minneapolis, L.A., other places, theyd be much further along. After the moment of peak threat to Danish sovereignty over Greenland appeared to have passed, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen visited British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at his official country residence, writing in the guest book, Well get by with a little help from our friends. Meanwhile, the domestic political landscape is replete with warning signs for Trump and his party. In the current polling average maintained by The Hills partners Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ), Trump is significantly underwater, with roughly 55 percent disapproval and 43 percent approval. Advertisement Advertisement DDHQ also gives Democrats a 5-point advantage over Republicans entering the midterm elections. A shock result in a Texas state Senate race Saturday caused new GOP tremors. Democrat Taylor Rehmet defeated Trump-backed Republican opponent Leigh Wambsganss by 14 points in a district Trump had carried by 17 points in 2024. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) warned party colleagues such an outcome is not something that can be dismissed. Some right-leaning voices are warning Trump critics not to get too gleeful, however, David Winston, a veteran Republican pollster, asserted that key independent voters were drifting from Trump not because of the specifics of recent controversies, but because of the broader sense that the president has lacked focus on their chief concern: the economy. Advertisement Advertisement Ultimately, he got elected to fix the Biden economy and that still stands as the primary thing the electorate is looking for him to do, Winston told this column. Winston compared the situation to then-President Obamas focus on passing the Affordable Care Act in 2010, a time when unemployment was still massively elevated following the financial crisis. The electorate was saying, When are you going to ask the question, where are the jobs? Ultimately, President Obama lost 63 seats in the House, Winston recalled. The Obama comparison, of course, is hardly a heartening one for Trump and the GOP facing into the midterms. Advertisement Advertisement That, in turn, is one reason liberals view Trumps comments to Bongino as well as last weeks FBI raid on a Georgia election hub, and the GOP-led redistricting efforts nationwide with real alarm. Colin Seeberger, a senior adviser at the liberal Center for American Progress, said political gravity has set in with regards to Trumps popularity. Because of this erosion, the president is working to consolidate power, and to rig the results of politics and elections in his favor, Seeberger claimed. There are, plainly, huge battles ahead. But for now, Trumps opponents are taking some satisfaction from having forced him onto the back foot. Advertisement Advertisement The Memo is a reported column by Niall Stanage. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. There is a word for receiving favours in return for divulging the secrets of the Crown; it begins with a T and ends in the Tower of London. I met Peter Mandelson only twice, on each occasion at a social event. Had I been a hedgehog, my spines would have stood to attention. Few people have ever inspired in me such an instinctive aversion. As I had voted for Tony Blair and was still in the honeymoon phase with his government, this was about as welcome as discovering that your new husband has a sexually transmitted disease. The word that came unbidden to mind in Mandelsons presence was diabolical. A sinewy man, pale as a sepulchre in moonlight, he had a superficial sheen of charm, but during conversation he would stare over your shoulder, his eyes greedily scanning the room for someone richer or more powerful to become a friend of Peter or to be useful to him in some way. He was a raptor: a rapacious user without question, enthralled by wealth, an egotist spinning a silky skein of gossip that made him a favourite with London hostesses. Mandelson was often compared to Machiavelli for his steely diplomatic skills, but the then secretary of state for trade and industry reminded me more of a pantomime villain. The only surprise was that his entrances were not accompanied by a thunderclap and a cloud of sulphur. Advertisement Advertisement I remember saying to some friends who were in Mandelsons circle that I thought he was the devil incarnate. They laughed merrily and said, Oh, thats just Peter being Peter. Power not only attracts the worst; it blinds the best, who indulge the powerful, extending to them a leniency they would never show to less important mortals. That is how Peter Mandelson, who announced today that he was stepping down from the House of Lords (to avoid a law being introduced to kick him out), came to possess a rotten soul. His party forgave him again and again because they believed he possessed dark gifts that could help them win, and that belief made him feel untouchable. To a remarkable extent he was until now, when a picture of him in his underwear, not even Y-fronts, barely a jockstrap (Eeuw), has emerged in the latest instalment of the Epstein files. A grandee can survive most losses, except the loss of dignity. Mandelson stands in his underwear in a photo from the Epstein files Not long after I observed him working a party thrown in 1998 by Max Hastings, then editor of the London Evening Standard, Mandelson was forced to resign after it was revealed that he had made a mortgage application on a house in Notting Hill. He had been helped by an interest-free loan of 373,000 from fellow minister Geoffrey Robinson, at a time when Mandelsons department was responsible for investigating Robinsons business dealings. He failed to declare the loan in the Register of Members Interests. Of course he did. Mandelson has often had trouble recalling generous gifts from wealthy benefactors, or has claimed to have no record of them. Selective amnesia, and an unfamiliarity with his own bank account, have played a remarkable role in his seemingly unstoppable career. Advertisement Advertisement That was the first of two Cabinet resignations during the New Labour era. In 2001, Mandelson resigned again following accusations that he had used his position to influence a passport application for an Indian billionaire. Mandelson said that he did not accept that he had acted improperly in any way. An inquiry later found that he had done nothing wrong. In 2004, Tony Blair helped his friend and close adviser bounce back, appointing him EU Trade Commissioner, where it was soon business as usual. I was on holiday in Corfu when someone pointed out a preposterous superyacht in the harbour and told me that Peter Mandelson was on board, the guest of the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, known as the King of Aluminium. Sitting next to Jeffrey Epstein on a yacht - Department of Justice Twice in three years, Mandelson acted to cut European aluminium import duties, a move that would have saved his Russian host an estimated 50m a year. A complete coincidence, darling and if anyone asks, I have no recollection. Another glass of Dom Perignon, please, steward. Anyone spot a pattern here? An averagely bright 10-year-old could tell you what Peters game was, but that did not prevent a desperately unpopular Gordon Brown from recalling the serial scoundrel and putative saviour to the Cabinet in 2009, effectively making him deputy prime minister and elevating him to the peerage. Advertisement Advertisement The latest tranche of Epstein files alleges that, during this period, Mandelson used his high office to share classified, market-sensitive information not only with the paedophile billionaire, but also with US bankers who were apparently paying him a million-dollar retainer. One email appears to show Mandelson giving Epstein advance notice of a 500bn (430bn) EU bank bailout. In others, he seems to tell Epstein that he was trying hard to change government policy on bankers bonuses mere months after the convicted sex trafficker had paid thousands of pounds to Peters then Brazilian boyfriend (now husband), Reinaldo Avila da Silva, for an osteopathy course. b' ' Advertisement Advertisement What? Almost every aspect of this story is so bizarre and despicable that it cries out to be placed in a giant set of flashing inverted commas. Imagine poor Alistair Darling, then chancellor of the exchequer and now sadly no longer with us, trying to tax bankers bonuses after the financial crisis, little suspecting that his own senior Cabinet colleague was allegedly advising the JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon to call Mr Darling, a man of the utmost rectitude, and mildly threaten him. b' ' I do not want to live by salary alone, Mandelson said to Epstein in an email on Christmas Day 2010. Thats why I need to do as much as possible to build with JPM [JP Morgan]. The sometime Labour MP for Hartlepool (a town with an average income of 32,384 a year) could hardly be expected to rub along on a mere ministerial salary, supplemented only by a House of Lords daily allowance, chauffeur, limousine and assorted perks. Advertisement Advertisement If any of this turns out to be true, it is by far the worst political scandal of my lifetime. A man trusted to be Britains ambassador to the United States stands accused of betraying his country for personal gain. Boriss piece of cake is crumbs by comparison. The Metropolitan Police are investigating allegations of misconduct in public office and have called Mandelson in for questioning. Insider trading, if proven, is a serious offence, with punishments including asset seizure and up to 10 years in jail. Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer yesterday handed police a dossier about his former favourites emails to the paedophile financier, in which strict handling procedures appeared to have been compromised. You could say that. Before Mandelson announced he was standing down, Starmer had also asked officials to draw up legislation to remove his peerage as quickly as possible. The Prime Ministers scramble to seize the moral high ground is fooling no one. Defying advice, it was Starmer who decided to install the pervert-adjacent best mate of a disgraced sex criminal in Washington DC, an appointment described as imaginative by a flailing Emily Thornberry. Or unbelievably reckless and stinking to high heaven, as most of us would see it. Many previous prime ministers would have surely tended their resignation by this point. Shameless Starmer should go. The previous cache of Epstein emails was highly embarrassing, revealing a creepy crush between Peter and the serial rapist he called his best pal. When Epstein was in jail following his 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor for prostitution, Mandelson wrote: Your friends stay with you and love you. Mandelson with Jeffrey Epstein in 2003. In a birthday message, Mandelson described him as my best pal Under a photograph of the island home where hundreds of girls, imported from around the world, were treated as livestock for the delectation of the rich and powerful, Mandelson added two gag-worthy words: Yum Yum. Advertisement Advertisement It was a mortifying setback, but clearly the ultimate survivor judged it survivable, securing notably softball interviews with Laura Kuenssberg and Radio 4s Today programme. Both gave him a platform to hold forth on foreign policy before explaining his terrible mistake. Like the outcast Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Mandelson reached for the excuse of misplaced loyalty to a friend. Shamelessly, he also played the gay card, claiming he never saw any of Jeffreys trafficked young victims because, as a gay man, he was kept separate from the sexual side of his life. Funny how Peter managed to miss the gallery of Lolita artwork in Epsteins mansions. And what of the emails in which Epstein offered to set him up with friends, to which the government minister appears to reply, Is the boy okay? Dear God. You wonder what further horror is still to emerge. Mandelsons nine lives have now officially expired. In a rather pathetic interview with The Times, bearing the unmistakable fingerprints of a crisis PR team, he was pictured posing beside a lilac Aga in his country house, touting for sympathy. It felt like being killed without actually dying, he said of being sacked as British ambassador. Oh, dear, Peter. Try being the trafficked young Ukrainian girl described in two words in one email as Ass: 10. That was the mark a villainous Mandelson, allegedly dispatched to procure nubile flesh for Epstein, gave the teenagers body. The MandelsonEpstein scandal marks the end of the globalist era. We can now see quite clearly that government is rotten to the core. Whether it is human rights lawyers earning tens of millions by pursuing innocent veterans, socialists preaching virtue to working people while practising the opposite, or thousands of young girls raped and ignored because powerful men consider them beneath notice, the system is morally bankrupt. We deserve far better than this, and we will take it from them if necessary. Advertisement Advertisement Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder, George Washington said. Peter Mandelson did not even try. Everyone who indulged him, everyone who handed him another plum job, everyone who laughed and said, Thats just Peter being Peter, must take a share of responsibility. I stand by my first impression. If Jeffrey Epstein was the devil, his best pal was diabolical. Conspiracy theorists are mocked for claiming that the world is run by a vastly wealthy, arrogant global elite who despise ordinary people, believe themselves above the law and pretend to care about society while pursuing a greedy, borderless and depraved agenda of their own. Peter Mandelson has done us the courtesy of proving that this is no theory at all. I hope the varmint ends up in jail, preferably the Tower of London in his underpants, of course. Yum Yum. Join Allison Pearson and Liam Halligan for an unmissable live recording of Planet Normal on Feb 24, with special guests, Lionel Shriver and Suella Braverman. Limited tickets available. Try full access to The Telegraph free today. Unlock their award-winning website and essential news app, plus useful tools and expert guides for your money, health and holidays. Left: U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.) speaks with a member of Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman's staff on Feb. 3, 2026 as GOP gubernatorial candidate Duke Rodriguez exits an elevator for "filing day" at the Secretary of State's Office. (Patrick Lohmann/Source NM) Major party candidates for statewide and federal offices on Tuesday streamed into the New Mexico Secretary of States office for filing day, the deadline to submit paperwork declaring their candidacies for the June 2 primary election. Filing day festivities kept the third floor of the North Capitol annex buzzing with candidates and staff members coming and going. Around 10:30 a.m., GOP gubernatorial candidate Duke Rodriguez stepped out of an elevator onto the third floor carrying a box of documents, and U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), having already filed, left along with his staff via the car Rodriguez left open. Advertisement Advertisement Lujans campaign submitted more than 11,000 signatures to the Secretary of States office to qualify for the ballot, according to a news release from his campaign, more than four times the state requirement. To qualify, candidates are required to collect signatures comprising at least 2% of the vote total their party received in the previous primary election. Democratic socialist Matt Dodson has announced a primary campaign against Lujan. He told Source in a phone interview Tuesday that he submitted a little over 3,300 signatures Tuesday. However, he noted that many of his signatures came from university students and in Indigenous communities, and he hopes the Secretary of States Office accepts their addresses. Advertisement Advertisement Rodriguez told Source NM that he had submitted more than 8,000 signatures for approval, which he said marked the most signatures ever for a Republican GOP candidate. (A Secretary of States Office spokesperson did not immediately confirm the accuracy of Rodriguezs statement.) We were very fortunate to have signatures from Pie Town to Penasco, he said. Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull, one of Rodriguezs primary opponents, told Source he was filing for office while also paying close attention to the 30-day legislative session happening nearby, including Senate Bill 18, known as the Clear Horizons bill and House Bill 118, which requires municipalities to collect more data on how quickly they grant building and other permits. Were listening to what everybodys saying, how these things are going to impact not just New Mexicans, but our communities as a whole, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Democratic gubernatorial candidates Deb Haaland and Sam Bregman arrived within minutes of each other but did not speak to each other. Both spoke briefly to reporters afterward about the race ahead and the recent departure of Ken Miyagishima from the Democratic primary. Miyagishima told Source on Monday that he was exiting the primary to run as an independent, in part, because the Democratic primary feels as if it is all about Washington DC. Haaland said that she wishes Miyagishima the best in his independent run but defended her focus on President Donald Trump and Washington in general, given the states reliance on the federal government. We have two national labs here; we have federal lands, more than many states across the country, she told reporters after filing. We have 23 Indian tribes, right? The federal government has a trust responsibility of those tribes. We are tied to the federal government, no matter if we try to deny that. Advertisement Advertisement Haaland, in a news release Tuesday, said she hit the required 2,505 signatures she needed in less than 24 hours, which her campaign said shows the momentum behind her. Bregman submitted roughly 7,200 signatures, according to his campaign, and told Source that President Donald Trumps deployment of federal immigration agents across the country requires sustained focus and attention from candidates and elected officials. As a governor candidate and as the next governor, I can tell you, Im going to focus on pushing back on Trump every time its necessary, he said. This stuff with ICE which were seeing across this country is really horrific in many ways, and its not an example of the country that I grew up in. Candidates have until 5 p.m. Tuesday to submit their names for the primary election. The Secretary of States Office has until Feb. 10 to make a final determination, which includes vetting nominating petitions to ensure candidates have enough signatures and also reviewing financial disclosure forms that detail candidates personal finances. (Edits first bullet point to make clear UAE is not mediating in US-Iran standoff) DUBAI, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The Middle East does not need another confrontation between the U.S. and Iran, and Tehran needs to reach a nuclear deal with Washington, the diplomatic adviser to the president of regional power United Arab Emirates said at a World Governments Summit panel in Dubai. Iran and the United States will resume nuclear talks on Friday in Turkey, Iranian and U.S. officials told Reuters on Monday. U.S. President Donald Trump warned that with big U.S. warships heading to Iran, "bad things" would probably happen if a deal could not be reached. Advertisement Advertisement The UAE, a highly influential Gulf Arab power, said a long-term solution was needed. "I think that the region has gone through various calamitous confrontations. I don't think we need another one, but I would like to see direct Iranian-American negotiations leading to understandings so that we don't have these issues every other day," the UAE president's advisor Anwar Gargash said. U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi will meet in Istanbul in an effort to revive diplomacy over a long-running dispute about Iran's nuclear programme and dispel fears of a new regional war. A regional diplomat said representatives from countries such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt would also participate. The U.S. naval buildup near Iran follows a violent crackdown against anti-government demonstrations last month, the deadliest domestic unrest in Iran since its 1979 revolution. Advertisement Advertisement Trump, who stopped short of carrying out threats to intervene during the crackdown, has since demanded Tehran make nuclear concessions and sent a flotilla to its coast. He said last week Iran was "seriously talking", while Tehran's top security official Ali Larijani said arrangements for negotiations were under way. The UAE, a regional trade and business hub, has been in the spotlight since December when tensions rose with Saudi Arabia over developments in Yemen. The withdrawal of Emirati forces from Yemen following a Saudi airstrike did not defuse tensions between two Gulf oil powers with long-running differences. Since then the UAE has faced withering criticism on social media over its support for separatists in Yemen and alleged backing for a paramilitary group accused of atrocities in the devastating war against Sudan's military. Advertisement Advertisement Gargash dismissed the criticism, saying the noise should be separated from reality. "I was reading a message that said we were getting 45,000 hate tweets every day on the Sudan issue and on our position in Sudan. And suddenly Yemen was an issue, and suddenly the Sudan bots were reduced from 45,000 to 3,000 a day, so the whole group moved on to another fight," he said. (Reporting by Nayera Abdallah, Maha El Dahan,Jana Choukeir, Federico Maccioni; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Sonali Paul, Jacqueline Wong, Philippa Fletcher) DUBAI, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The Middle East does not need another confrontation between the U.S. and Iran, and Tehran needs to reach a nuclear deal with Washington, the diplomatic adviser to the president of regional power United Arab Emirates said at a World Governments Summit panel in Dubai. Iran and the United States will resume nuclear talks on Friday in Turkey, Iranian and U.S. officials told Reuters on Monday. U.S. President Donald Trump warned that with big U.S. warships heading to Iran, "bad things" would probably happen if a deal could not be reached. The UAE, a highly influential Gulf Arab power, said a long-term solution was needed. Advertisement Advertisement "I think that the region has gone through various calamitous confrontations. I don't think we need another one, but I would like to see direct Iranian-American negotiations leading to understandings so that we don't have these issues every other day," the UAE president's advisor Anwar Gargash said. "They need to rebuild their relationship with the United States. I think through reaching a deal, a political deal, a wider geo strategic deal that will actually be beneficial to the area, the Iranians are also helping themselves in ultimately, what they need, which is to rebuild their economy." U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi will meet in Istanbul in an effort to revive diplomacy over a long-running dispute about Iran's nuclear programme and dispel fears of a new regional war. A regional diplomat said representatives from countries such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt would also participate. The U.S. naval buildup near Iran follows a violent crackdown against anti-government demonstrations last month, the deadliest domestic unrest in Iran since its 1979 revolution. Advertisement Advertisement Trump, who stopped short of carrying out threats to intervene during the crackdown, has since demanded Tehran make nuclear concessions and sent a flotilla to its coast. He said last week Iran was "seriously talking", while Tehran's top security official Ali Larijani said arrangements for negotiations were under way. The UAE, a regional trade and business hub, has been in the spotlight since December when tensions rose with Saudi Arabia over developments in Yemen. The withdrawal of Emirati forces from Yemen following a Saudi airstrike did not defuse tensions between two Gulf oil powers with long-running differences. Since then the UAE has faced withering criticism on social media over its support for separatists in Yemen and alleged backing for a paramilitary group accused of atrocities in the devastating war against Sudan's military. Advertisement Advertisement Gargash dismissed the criticism, saying the noise should be separated from reality. "I was reading a message that said we were getting 45,000 hate tweets every day on the Sudan issue and on our position in Sudan. And suddenly Yemen was an issue, and suddenly the Sudan bots were reduced from 45,000 to 3,000 a day, so the whole group moved on to another fight," he said. (Reporting by Nayera Abdallah, Maha El Dahan,Jana Choukeir, Federico Maccioni; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Sonali Paul, Jacqueline Wong, Philippa Fletcher) MyPillow founder Mike Lindell speaks to Steve Bannon during a livestream in front of his new Minnesota governor campaign bus on Dec. 11, 2025. (Photo by Michelle Griffith/Minnesota Reformer) Mike Lindells memoir, What Are the Odds? From Crack Addict to CEO, has enjoyed a new surge of sales since he announced a run for governor late last year. Whos buying the book, which details his addictions and his rise to fame? Advertisement Advertisement His campaign for Minnesota governor. Lindell, the CEO of MyPillow, spent more than half the money he raised for his campaign last year buying copies of his book, according to Minnesota Campaign Finance Board data released Tuesday. Lindell launched his campaign for Minnesota governor on Dec. 11, 2025, and in about two-and-a-half weeks raised $352,000 in individual donations. In December, the Lindell campaign bought nearly $190,000 worth of Lindell autobiographies from MyPillow. Lindells campaign finance report lists the expense as Advertising general: Mike Lindell Books. Mike Lindells memoir What Are the Odds? From Crack Addict to CEO sits on a display with its holographic cover at the My Pillow factory and outlet in Shakopee, Minnesota Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer) Reached by phone Tuesday, Lindell said instead of typical campaign flyers, hes giving out his book. He said MyPillow owns the books and that MyPillow is employee-owned. Advertisement Advertisement When were going around to all the places in Minnesota, other people are giving a flyer, Lindell said. Im giving them the whole book so they know who I am. The MyPillow CEO said he isnt sure how many copies of his book hes given away so far, but estimated around 20,000 or 25,000. Its unclear if the campaign paid the full price $19.97 or was able to use the promo code for a $10 discount. Lindell is among 10 candidates who are seeking the Republican nomination for governor, including House Speaker Lisa Demuth; state Rep. Kristin Robbins, 2022 GOP nominee for governor Scott Jensen; and Kendall Qualls, an army veteran and health care executive. Despite his one-time riches after developing his famous lumpy pillow, Lindell has gone broke. At his December campaign launch, a reporter asked him if he would self-fund his campaign. Lindell said no. Advertisement Advertisement Absolutely not. I cant self-fund. I dont have any money left, Lindell said. Lindell says hes spent millions defending his false claim that the 2020 election was stolen. In June, a federal jury found that Lindell defamed a former Dominion Voting Systems employee and was ordered to pay $2.3 million, pending appeal. Then in September, a federal judge ruled that Lindell defamed voting machine company Smartmatic. The company is seeking $1.5 billion in damages, which will be decided by a jury. During the defamation lawsuit brought by a Dominion Voting Systems employee over the summer, Lindell in court testimony said he was $10 million in debt. Advertisement Advertisement On Tuesday, Lindell said hes the only GOP candidate who can attract donations from across the country. Lindell said the GOP nominee needs to raise enough money to beat Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who launched her campaign for governor last week. Lindell said that since the end of the year, his campaign has raised well over a million, though that cant be verified until the next round of campaign finance disclosure. In December, Lindells campaign spent nearly $26,000 for an RV Wrap, according to the Campaign Finance Board. This presumably was to plaster his face, name and campaign website on an RV he premiered at his campaign launch. An Ohio man has been arrested in the disappearance of 17-year-old Hailey Buzbee, who is believed to be dead after she went missing from her Indiana home nearly a month ago, according to police. After extensive investigation, we feel that Hailey is deceased, Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness said at a Sunday, February 1, news conference, where he was joined by Fishers Police and the FBI. Detectives identified 39-year-old Tyler Thomas, of Columbus, Ohio, as a suspect in the case when they learned his car had been spotted in Haileys neighborhood in Fishers the night she had gone missing, according to Fishers Police Department Chief Ed Gebhart. Advertisement Advertisement Thomas and Buzbee had met while gaming online, Gebhart said at the news conference. Thomas is in police custody in Ohio on charges associated with this case but has not been charged with the murder at this time, the police chief said. During Thomas initial court appearance on Monday, February 2, his defense attorney, Samuel Shamansky, said that Thomas brought authorities to Buzbees remains, which were found in Perry County the evening of February 1, WRTV reported. Perry is about a 50-mile drive southwest from Columbus. In response to an inquiry from Us Weekly regarding Buzbees remains, the Fishers Police Department said on February 2 that the agency "is no longer the lead agency on the case" and referred inquiries to FBI Indianapolis. Advertisement Advertisement Monster Woman Accused of Exploiting Foster Teen and Forcing Her Into Prostitution in Ohio Buzbee was last seen at her home the night of January 5, police said, Us previously reported. Her parents told investigators that she had left overnight, according to Gebhart. Using technology, our detectives identified Thomas as the suspect she had left with, Gebhart said. Authorities ultimately located Thomas in Ohio, where he admitted picking Hailey up at her home, Gebhart added. Thomas claimed to have dropped Buzbee off on the side of the road in western Ohio, according to Gebhart, who said that the investigation ultimately revealed his claim was a lie. Advertisement Advertisement Authorities found evidence that Buzbee had been at Thomas home in Columbus as well as at a short-term rental in Hocking County after executing search warrants at both locations, Gebhart said. Buzbee is believed to have died within a few days after she was picked up, Gebhart shared. Thomas was initially booked in jail on a charge of tampering with evidence in Franklin County, Ohio, on Saturday, January 31, according to jail records. He is also charged with another felony, pandering obscenity, Gebhart said. Jail records show that the pandering charge relates to sexually oriented matter involving a minor. Advertisement Advertisement The investigation into Buzbees disappearance continues in Ohio, Gebhart said. Hailey was a smart, beautiful, kind, and caring young lady with a bright future, her father, Beau Buzbee, said in a statement shared to Facebook on Sunday, February 1. She had a deep love for her family and holds a very special place in so many hearts Our family is devastated, Beau wrote. We want the community and others to know that we are so thankful for the support we received. Police Search for Missing 17-Year-Old Girl Hailey Buzbee Who Hasnt Been Seen for Days in Indiana Buzbee attended Hamilton Southeastern High School in Fishers, according to Gebhart. Advertisement Advertisement Our hearts are with her family, her friends and our community as we try to get through this terrible time together, Gebhart said of Hailey. Tim OMalley, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Indianapolis Field Office, promised that the FBI is committed to pursuing justice for the teen. NEED TO KNOW Missouri authorities issued an endangered person advisory for Amanda Rodgers, who disappeared on Jan. 26 when she didn't arrive to pick up her kids Rodgers' body was found on Feb. 2 after authorities responded to a motor vehicle collision on U.S. 54 near Howser Road, the coroner's office said Authorities said no foul play is suspected and the death is being investigated A 35-year-old woman in Missouri who went missing last week as she was supposed to pick up her children has been found dead following a traffic crash. The Miller County, Missouri Coroners Office announced in a news release that authorities responded in the early morning hours of Monday, Feb. 2, to a motor vehicle collision on U.S. 54 near Howser Road where the body of Amanda Rodgers was located. Advertisement Advertisement Ms. Rodgers vehicle was located off the roadway and concealed by a fallen tree, making it difficult to observe from the roadway, the coroners office said. The vehicle was discovered by a Miller County Sheriffs Office deputy who was actively searching the area. The coroners office added in its statement that foul play or suspicious circumstances are not suspected, and that the incident appears to be an accidental motor vehicle crash. According to a Saturday, Jan. 31, alert from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Camden County Sheriffs Office issued an endangered person advisory for Rodgers, who went missing on Jan. 26. Authorities said Rodgers left the Eldon area to pick up her children in the Camdenton area but never arrived. Advertisement Advertisement At the time, Rodgers drove a 2003 tan Chevrolet Malibu, the Camden County Sheriffs Office said in its advisory. The coroner's office said it is investigating the death along with the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Out of respect for the family, no further details will be released at this time, the coroners statement read. The Miller County Coroners Office extends its deepest condolences to Ms. Rodgers family and loved ones during this difficult time, the statement concluded. Read the original article on People NEED TO KNOW A boy fell through an icy retention pond in Virginia on Feb. 1, prompting a neighbor and the boy's dad to work together to rescue him Both adults also fell in, but they were able to get out of the frigid water The rescue comes a year after a 12-year-old boy's body was found in a pond in the same region A woman helped save a child who fell into an icy pond in southeastern Virginia, just a year after a 12-year-olds body was recovered from a pond in the same region. On the afternoon of Sunday, Feb. 1, first responders rushed to an apartment complex off Sellger Drive in Norfolk following reports that a child had fallen into a retention pond, NBC affiliate WAVY and CBS affiliate WTVR reported. Advertisement Advertisement A nearby mom, identified as Ms. White, helped ensure the accident didnt become a tragedy. The woman recalled hearing her son cry for help because his friend had fallen into the pond, and she rushed to assist, according to WAVY. So once I get out here, I see the little boy in the opening right there, in that hole right there, White told the outlet during the on-air interview, pointing out a hole in the ice. Hes sitting up there with his arms on the ice, just kind of floating and crying. Riverside Station Apartments Norfolk, VA. Google Maps As White edged closer to the pond, she fell in after stepping onto a pipe. I started on the side to try to work all the way around to the middle, and I fell, she said. So once I fell in right there, thats when I realized like, Okay, let me try other measures before I get any further and break more of the ice. Advertisement Advertisement The mom didnt want to break the ice while the child was sitting up. By that time, the boys father was also running over to assist. White warned the man that the ice was thin, and he was able to walk across it for about a minute before he fell in as well, WAVY reported. So at this point, [his] dad was able to get over to the front, and [he] grabbed him, the woman told the outlet. And he carried him over to me and passed him off to me. The trio managed to get out of the retention pond, and White had her son get a blanket for his friend while they waited for first responders to arrive, according to WAVY. The young boy was subsequently transferred to the hospital. Advertisement Advertisement Norfolk Fire-Rescue, the responding agency, did not immediately respond to PEOPLEs request for comment. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The brave rescue comes a year after the body of 12-year-old Juan Sebastian Mejia Acevedo was recovered from a pond at an apartment complex in Virginia Beach on Jan. 27, 2025, three days after he was reported missing, PEOPLE previously reported. Officials later determined that the child died from accidental drowning, CBS affiliate WTKR reported. Read the original article on People Popote and Vitagermine, makers of Babybio, recalled batches of infant milk on Monday due to cereulide contamination, following similar recalls from Nestle, Danone and dairy giant Lactalis Popote said levels of cereulide in two batches were above the new, lower threshold announced by the Agriculture ministry on Friday. Infant formula produced in France must now have less than 0.014 microgrammes of cereulide per kilogramme of weight, compared to 0.03 microgrammes previously. Advertisement Advertisement French dairy giant Lactalis recalls baby milk over bacteria fears The company said the toxin, which can cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea, came from an omega-rich oil produced by Cabio Biotech. The oil from the Chinese company is suspected to be the source of the contamination. Vitagermine, which already recalled three babches of Babybio milk in January, said the three new batches are being recalled as a precaution, because they "conformed to the standards in place until last week. The presence of the toxin has triggered recalls in dozens of countries and raised concerns among parents. Two judicial investigations are underway into the deaths of two babies who were given Nestle milk that was later recalled, though a direct link between the symptoms and the milk consumed has yet to be established. The European Commission has asked the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to make a decision Monday on a standard for cereulide in children's products. (with newswires) SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY JWR UPDATE. IT'S FREE. (AND NO SPAM!) Just click here. For years, parents alleged that top social media companies had gotten teens hooked on their products with addictive design features, arguing in legal filings that these choices led to depression, anxiety, eating disorders and, in some tragic circumstances, death. These stories helped spur a sweeping regulatory movement that has led states and governments around the world to pass laws restricting teens' use of social media and forced tech companies to take bolder actions to protect young people. Now, some of those concerned parents will make their argument in court this week when the first of several high-profile social media addiction lawsuits against Meta, TikTok and YouTube goes to trial. These suits will test the proposition of whether social media causes psychological harm, which could have profound implications for the industry along with consumers. The first bellwether case representing families and social media users, which will appear in Los Angeles County Superior Court, focuses on a teen girl who says she suffered from anxiety and depression after she used various social media platforms throughout her childhood. Since 2022, school districts, dozens of state attorneys general and families have filed a deluge of lawsuits against big tech platforms; a number of those suits have been consolidated into a separate case before U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Many of the cases accuse the technology industry of designing algorithms to keep teens scrolling, viewing and checking their social media, maximizing profits while fueling a youth mental health crisis. Instead of warning the public about the dangers of their products, the lawsuits charge, tech companies downplayed what they knew about the harmful effects. Tech companies dispute those claims, arguing that families are complaining about the effect of content made by users, for which the companies are not legally responsible. They also say they offer ways for people to protect themselves from undesirable experiences on their platforms, including a suite of youth safety tools. In some cases, lawyers for the industry also argue in court filings that the victims' injuries might instead be a result of outside factors, including complex family and school circumstances. The trial will put a spotlight on a debate within the mental health field about the connection between social media and climbing teen rates of depression, anxiety and suicide ideation. The Biden and Trump administrations have argued that social media is exacerbating mental health issues among adolescents. But a 2023 report by the American Psychological Association found that social media use "is not inherently beneficial or harmful to young people" and called for more research. "It's a complex issue. Research doesn't show that all digital media use is bad or addictive," said Tamar Mendelson, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, who added that there is no official psychiatric diagnosis of social media addiction. One study "actually shows that the kids who seem to have the most mental health problems were actually ones who used almost no digital media, as well as the ones who used it excessively," she added. "There seemed to be sort of a medium point of use where teens were actually the most mentally healthy." YouTube spokesman Jose Castaneda denied the families' allegations, saying that the company worked with youth and mental health experts to build "services and policies to provide young people with age-appropriate experiences, and parents with robust controls." Meta spokeswoman Liza Crenshaw also denied the allegations in a statement, arguing that the company has introduced "meaningful changes" to its platforms, including offering "Teen Accounts with built-in protections and providing parents with tools to manage their teens' experiences." Representatives for TikTok didn't respond to requests for comment. Eric Goldman, who is associate dean for research at Santa Clara University School of Law and has studied internet regulations, said it might be difficult to prove legally that it's the internet platforms that are causing the mental distress teens are experiencing. "Assuming that there is this thing called addiction that's legally recognized, who causes that addiction?" he asked. "How do we measure the causal components of that?" Still, if the legal movement against the tech companies is successful, the verdicts could prompt the companies to change the design of their social media platforms or expand the legal liability for potential harms their users experience. Social media victims could also recoup lucrative payments for the harms they experienced. Jury selection is scheduled to begin Tuesday for the consolidated case representing families before California Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl. The case focuses on the claims of K.G.M., a 19-year-old whom the court is allowing to testify anonymously. As a minor, she used four social media platforms, and later became addicted and suffered from anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicidality, according to legal filings. "She is going to be able to explain in a very real sense what social media did to her over the course of her life and how in so many ways it robbed her of her childhood and her adolescence," Matthew Bergman, founder of the Social Media Victims Law Center, who is representing K.G.M. and other victims in the suits, said during a media briefing last week. "She is very typical of so many children in the United States - the harms that they've sustained and the way their lives have been altered by the deliberate design decisions of the social media companies." In court filings, Google has challenged that narrative, alleging that K.G.M. experienced difficult family relationships, abuse and bullying at school, which played a role in her mental health struggles. Trials for school districts, which allege they have been forced to address the harms to kids caused by social media, are expected to start being heard this summer by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in the Northern District of California. She is also expected to hear cases brought by dozens of state attorneys general against Meta, arguing that the company violated consumer protection laws because it was deceptive about the safety of its products. The cases echo lawsuits brought by states in the 1990s against tobacco companies that successfully alleged the industry targeted young people, knowingly covered up the risks of cigarettes and contributed to public health problems that strained the health care system. The current lawsuits often point to how the companies use product design such as "infinite scroll," which delivers an endless stream of content; "autoplay," which automatically plays the next video; notifications; and "like" counts to keep young people engaged on their services. Unlike with tobacco, however, experts say the plaintiffs might face a challenge in proving that those features cause addiction. A lot of the academic literature about the potential harms of social media for teens demonstrates a correlation between internet use and mental health struggles, but not causation, said Mendelson, the Johns Hopkins professor. But the families suing tech companies are banking on the companies' internal research to demonstrate the extreme steps they took to attract teens, how the companies tracked how much time teenagers spent on their platforms and what they knew about the effect of their services on adolescents' mental health. One legal filing alleges that Meta researchers designed a study - code-named Project Mercury - in which people were asked to randomly stop using Facebook and Instagram for a month and then compared with a control group. The group that stopped using Facebook after a week reported lower feelings of depression, anxiety, loneliness and social comparison, but the company halted the research project, arguing that the results were biased because of an existing media narrative, according to the lawsuit. Crenshaw, of Meta, said the study confirmed an expectation effect, meaning that people who reported a reduction in bad feelings already thought Facebook was bad for them. "Internal documents that have been held establishing the willful misconduct of these companies are going to - for the first time - be given a public airing," Bergman said. "The public is going to know for the first time what social media companies have done to prioritize their profits over the safety of our kids." (COMMENT, BELOW) The Louisville area could see a mix of rain and snow showers beginning Tuesday, Feb. 3, and continuing into the morning of Wednesday, Feb. 4, according to the National Weather Service in Louisville. The agency said in a post to X, formerly Twitter, that Louisville could receive up to an inch of snow, while other Kentucky cities including Frankfort, Lexington, Richmond and Morehead could see totals closer to two inches. Some forecasts, however, show the snow missing Louisville altogether. Here's what to know. See forecast in Louisville Tuesday There is a 20-70% chance of precipitation, with snow showers possible before 2 p.m. and again after 4 p.m. Less than half an inch of snow accumulation is expected during the day and rain showers are also possible. Cloudy skies will become mostly cloudy, with a high near 35 and a low around 20. Calm winds will shift to the northeast at about 5 mph in the afternoon, then north at around 6 mph in the evening. Wednesday Mostly cloudy skies become partly cloudy with a high around 29 and a low near 11. North winds of around 7 mph become calm after midnight. Thursday Partly sunny skies become mostly cloudy with a high near 29 and a low around 22. Calm winds become southwest of around 5 mph in the afternoon. Friday Partly sunny skies become mostly cloudy with a high around 44 and a low near 24. Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Russian forces resumed large-scale attacks on Ukraine overnight, launching 450 drones and more than 60 missiles against energy and residential targets in cities across the country including Kyiv, Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipro and Odesa, amid extreme winter conditions. In a post on X, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of using a pause in strikes requested by U.S. President Donald Trump to stockpile weapons to wait for temperatures to drop to their lowest of the winter to launch fresh "genocidal attacks against the Ukrainian people." "Neither anticipated diplomatic efforts in Abu Dhabi this week nor his promises to the United States kept him from continuing terror against ordinary people in the harshest winter," wrote Sybiha who called for the world to help strengthen Ukraine's air defenses and energy resilience and cut Russia's war machine off from energy revenues and western technology. Advertisement Advertisement "Isolate the Russian regime. Stop and confiscate Russia's illegal oil tankers," he urged. The temperature fell to -4 degrees Fahrenheit overnight in Ukraine and was expected to hit a low of -11 F in Kyiv first thing Tuesday. President Zelensky said in a post on X that nine people had been injured across the country, but that the main target of the attacks was Ukraine's energy facilities. At least five of those hurt were in Kyiv, two of whom were being treated in the hospital, Ukraine National Police said in a social media update, after at least three apartment blocks were damaged as well as other buildings, including administrative offices, a kindergarten, a warehouse and a gas station. Advertisement Advertisement Private energy provider DTEK said its thermal power stations had been attacked and equipment at the plants was "significantly damaged," but provided no specific details. However, it said a separate strike in the Odessa region had badly damaged an energy facility operated by its sister company, DTEK Odessa Power Grids, cutting the electricity supply to residential and business customers. It said emergency response crews were working flat out to restore electricity to homes as soon as possible. In Kharkiv in the northeast, Ukraine's second largest city, authorities threw open more than 100 emergency shelters to residents of more than 800 apartment buildings after the city's largest Combined Heat and Power plant was badly damaged during a three-hour-long attack. Advertisement Advertisement Apologizing on social media, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said engineers were forced to drain coolant from the heating system in the buildings to prevent the network from freezing. "I understand how difficult it is in twenty-degree frost," he wrote. The strikes overnight came after a 10-day relative lull in Russian attacks amid a flurry of activity on the diplomatic front that began on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum and ended up bringing Russia, Ukraine and the United States around a table in Abu Dhabi to talk peace for the first time on Jan. 23. Moscow subsequently acquiesced to Trump's request for a week-long halt to its attacks on Kyiv and various other unspecified cities and towns during the unprecedented cold snap enveloping the country, amid some confusion with Moscow claiming Friday the pause only covered Kyiv and only through Monday. Advertisement Advertisement Trump revealed Thursday that he had requested the pause and that it had been accepted, but did not say when he made the request. A second round of U.S.-brokered trilateral peace talks is set to get underway in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday as the fourth anniversary of the conflict approaches. Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. A homicide investigation is underway after a woman was found dead the rural Kankakee County bar she owned on Monday, the sheriff's office and her friends told ABC7. For the latest on this story, click here The Kankakee County Sheriff's Office said deputies responded to a local bar in rural Momence, near the Illinois-Indiana state line along Illinois Route 114, just before noon. There, deputies found the body of 30-year-old Momence woman Courtney M. Drysdale. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Advertisement Advertisement Friends say Drysdale was the owner of that bar, called The Line, and she would have just opened the business at 11 a.m. on her own. Hailey Gershon, a longtime friend who also works at the bar, says she has no idea who would want to harm Drysdale. "I mean it, she was probably the nicest person. I could always go to her for anything," Gershon said. "She would literally give up the whole world for somebody and would always be there for everybody, even though if she was upset or going through things. She would push those aside for others and, like, make sure they were happy." Gershon says Drysdale leaves behind a fiance and a school-age daughter. Drysdale was a longtime bartender at that bar before becoming the owner and is well known to the patrons there. The bar The Line posted Monday that it will be closed until further notice. Advertisement Advertisement Sheriff's detectives classified her death as a homicide investigation based on evidence they gathered during their preliminary investigation. Details about that evidence were not immediately available. The investigation is ongoing, and the Kankakee County Sheriff's Office asked anyone with information to call them at (815) 802-7150 or, to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at (815) 93-CRIME. A mother and her son were shot and killed by her boyfriend at a Massachusetts home, where officers found the suspect with a gun believed to be the murder weapon, according to police. Arlington Cole, 54, has been charged with two counts of murder and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm in the deaths of Nicholas Almeida, 25, and his mother, Elizabeth Almeida, 54, the Bristol County District Attorneys Office said in a news release issued Sunday, February 1. Cole is accused of killing Nicholas and Elizabeth at a Fall River home the evening of Friday, January 30, when police were called to a double shooting, according to an earlier release shared by the district attorneys office. Advertisement Advertisement There, they found an armed Cole, who police said was in a dating relationship with Elizabeth. On Monday, February 2, Cole appeared in Fall River District Court for an arraignment and agreed to be held without bail, a spokesperson with the district attorneys office confirmed to Us Weekly via email. Massachusetts Man Charged With Murder After Fatally Shooting 2 People at Birthday Party It is unclear what led to the fatal shootings, as authorities have not specified a potential motive. Nicholas and Elizabeth were declared dead at a hospital after they were found shot on January 30, according to the district attorneys office. Advertisement Advertisement Coles defense attorney, Tim Bradl, told WPRI-TV that We have a lot to sort through Its really too early to tell exactly what that is yet. Personal thoughts are with the family for such a terrible loss, he added, according to the TV station. I have a job to do and Ill do it, but [its] a terrible case. According to a GoFundMe page established for Elizabeth and Nicholas funeral costs, the shooting unfolded after Elizabeths daughter and Nicholas sister, Marissa, was hospitalized in connection with a mental health condition. Nick Almeida and his mother, Elizabeth, were brutally taken from this world in a senseless act of violence by someone who was supposed to protect them, reads the GoFundMe page. Advertisement Advertisement Marissa, described as having mental health Disorders that prevent her from caring for herself, has lost the only two people who loved and cared for her unconditionally, the page says. The page was also established for costs associated with Marissas care. The cruelty and finality of this act has left a family shattered beyond comprehension [Marissa] is now alone, grieving, mentally vulnerable, and facing an uncertain future through no fault of her own. New Jersey Man Shot by Cops Before Being Arrested and Charged for Fatally Beating Parents Cole is set to appear in court next month for a probable cause hearing on March 6, the district attorneys office said. Advertisement Advertisement Bristol County District Attorney Tom Quinn III told WPRI-TV that his office will be presenting evidence against Cole to a grand jury. Tensions can be high, emotions are high, Quinn said, according to the TV station. Youve got two people whose lives have been taken. Its tough to come to grips with that ever, but especially at this point in time so shortly after the homicides. Fall River is about an 18-mile drive southeast from Providence, Rhode Island. BURLINGTON, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) A Staten Island man will spend at least a decade in jail after he pleaded guilty to federal charges for trafficking cocaine and fentanyl in Vermont. Mugshot of Trayvon Kisling Trayvon Kisling, 21, was arrested in Brandon in 2023 as a suspect in the murder of Jonathan Naranjo the previous year. Police said that the killing was targeted. Staten Island man arrested for 2022 Rutland homicide According to court records, police found more than seven ounces of fentanyl and over 20 ounces of cocaine after searching a Winooski apartment where Kisling had been staying in February 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Less than a month later, police stopped Kisling and arrested him in Brandon. Police reportedly found hundreds of bags of fentanyl and a quantity of cocaine base in Kislings car. Kisling pleaded guilty in October to conspiracy to distribute cocaine base and fentanyl, as well as possessing firearms in connection with trafficking. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC22 & FOX44. Pro-Kremlin TV just advocated for the most expensive temper tantrum in history. Vladimir Solovyov, a prominent Russia-1 propagandist, demanded Moscow use nuclear weapons in space to destroy Elon Musks Starlink satellites. His reasoning? Ukraines internet access is somehow unfair in warfare. Imagine your Netflix cutting out because someone decided to nuke space over military communicationsthats essentially Russias threat. Nuclear Solutions for Internet Problems Solovyovs space strike proposal dismisses collateral damage to Russias own satellites. Advertisement Advertisement Solovyov claimed one nuclear detonation in space would solve this problem quite seriously, referring to Starlinks role in Ukrainian battlefield coordination. When reminded that nuclear explosions dont discriminate between enemy and friendly satellites, he joked about reverting to carrier pigeons for communications. Even Russian military expert Lt-Gen Evgeny Buzhinsky warned that a nuclear explosion in space is not selectiveit affects our own [satellites] as well. This meltdown followed SpaceX blocking unauthorized Russian use of Starlink on attack drones. Your satellite internet provider just became a military target because it stopped enabling war crimes. The Real Weapon Russias Building NATO intelligence reveals an area-effect anti-satellite weapon targeting Starlinks orbital altitude. Advertisement Advertisement While Solovyov fantasizes about nuclear space strikes, Russias military is developing something more practical and equally dangerous. NATO intelligence from two countries indicates Moscow is building an area-effect weapon that scatters dense pellets into Starlinks 550-kilometer orbital zone. Think shotgun blast, but in space. This approach would disable multiple satellites simultaneously while creating debris clouds that threaten everything in low-Earth orbit. The International Space Station, Chinas Tiangong, and ironically, Russias own space assets would all face collision risks. The weapon differs from traditional anti-satellite missiles by targeting multiple spacecraft through small satellite formations. Your GPS and Weather Apps Are at Stake Space warfare escalation threatens everyday digital services beyond military communications. Advertisement Advertisement Russia views Starlink as a legitimate military target since it enables Ukrainian coordination, but orbital debris doesnt respect national boundaries. Your GPS navigation, weather forecasts, and streaming services all depend on satellite infrastructure operating in increasingly crowded orbital highways. Dead internet during wartime creates tactical nightmares, but Starlink changed everything for Ukraines defense capabilities. Russias responsewhether through nuclear space strikes or hypersonic missilesrisks turning low-Earth orbit into a debris field that could cripple global satellite communications for decades. Welcome to warfare where your smart TV becomes collateral damage in geopolitical space tantrums. From the coolest cars to the must-have gadgets, GadgetReviews daily newsletter keeps you in the know. Subscribe - its fun, fast, and free. Rep. Nancy Maces former staffers have revealed the congresswoman was making wild demands in private long before she was having increasingly frequent public meltdowns. The South Carolina lawmaker would demand that staffers bring liquor to her home to keep her parties going well past midnight during her first termbehavior that technically constitutes an abuse of office under House rules, unnamed sources told New York Magazine, When I worked for her, our poor scheduler was getting calls at two oclock in the morning to come bring her bottles of tequila, a former staffer told the magazine. Rep. Nancy Mace has been touting her ties to President Trump as she mounts a bid for South Carolina governor. / x.com/NancyMace Mace also had her staff create burner accounts to defend her from online criticismand to boost her hotness ranking on Reddit. The 48-year-old allegedly instructed a staffer to visit forums ranking the hottest women in Congress to boost her rating and comment, multiple sources told the magazine. Advertisement Advertisement She was very adamant that the staffer upvote posts about her attractiveness, according to a former staffer. These allegations are so ridiculous they dont even merit a response, Cameron Morabito, Maces director of operations, told New York Magazine. I hope she sues you for every dime you got paid to write this defamatory bullshit. In a video posted on X.com ahead of the articles release, Mace called the story a hit piece. As NY Mag publishes the next national hit piece against me tomorrow, the establishment doesnt go after people who fall in line. They go after people who dont. Ill take that as a compliment. When you stand for something, you make enemies. Ive never let that stop me from doing pic.twitter.com/WYdU8BKJCg Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) February 2, 2026 The establishment is coming after me again, she said. If I have enemies, good. Get in line. It means Ive done something, it means Ive stood for something Ive never been a good old boy, I never will be. Advertisement Advertisement The Daily Beast has also reached out for comment. The allegations come as Mace, a Donald Trump loyalist who is running for governor of South Carolina, has become more erratic in public. Last year, she accused her ex-fiance Patrick Bryant, 51, of assaulting her and engaging in a conspiracy to drug, rape, and film other women during a speech on the House floor. Bryant has denied the allegations and sued Mace for defamation. During the government shutdown, she went on an expletive-laden tirade against police officers at the Charleston Airport, and earlier this month, she got in a yelling match with Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts during a House Oversight Committee meeting. Advertisement Advertisement Her former staffers say theyre inclined to believe her accusations against Bryant, though they never saw anything untoward, but that they question her judgment and overall well-being. They said she drinks and uses marijuana excessively, and that they were scared of her. She would make staffers cry, one unnamed former aide said. She would threaten to fire them, take their money away, not give them raises, not to give them days off, religious days. They said she would also make her aides clean her properties that she rented out on Airbnbincluding a $3.9 million home in Isle of Palms, South Carolina, and her Washington townhouseinstead of hiring a maid. Its a classic story of never meet your heroes, a different former aide said. A Wrightstown woman accused in what's been called the largest animal rescue case in Bucks County history is headed to trial, but facing a fraction of her original charges. The Bucks County District Attorneys Office has agreed to drop all but nine of the more than 150 animal cruelty and neglect charges against Narrow Way Farm owner Abigail Tuttle OKeeffe, 54, who left her livestock and farm in 2024 to move to Central America. In return, OKeeffe waived her right to a preliminary hearing, sending her case directly to the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas at a Jan. 30 district court appearance. She remains free on unsecured bail. Advertisement Advertisement OKeeffe still faces a felony charge of aggravated animal cruelty for the death of one goat as a result of alleged neglect. The charge carries a potential maximum penalty of up to seven years in prison. But she received a break with the other nearly 150 lesser charges against her. She's now to face three misdemeanor counts instead of 23, and four summary counts instead of 123, for neglecting to provide the animals veterinary care and adequate food and water. O'Keeffe also faces a summary charge of neglecting to provide animals adequate shelter. Photos of one of the steer and two of the 10 pigs seized from Narrow Way Farm in Newtown Township, where livestock and farm animals were living in squalid, unhealthy conditions, according to the Bucks County SPCA. The Bucks County SPCA filed charges against OKeeffe in December 2024 following a four-month investigation at the 37-acre farm in the 800 block of Worthington Mill Road. Advertisement Advertisement Newtown Township police and Bucks County SPCA officers removed 124 sick, dying and neglected animals after receiving complaints, photos and video of sick animals, and reports of dying animals. OKeeffe reportedly left the United States for a one-week vacation in July 2024 but later announced in Facebook posts that she relocated to Belize and she didn't plan to return to Narrow Way Farm. OKeeffe and her former husband bought the property in 2017 for $550,000, according to county property records. She operated a farm store on the property for at least four years, though she allegedly didn't have state or federal licenses to operate a retail store or sell some items. She also hosted community events and activities at the farm that allowed members of the public to interact with the animals. Advertisement Advertisement During her 2024 absence, volunteers and the farm manager oversaw the farm and its animals. When the farm manager informed her of the deteriorating health of the animals, OKeeffe allegedly told him to treat them with only over-the-counter medications, authorities allege. More about Narrow Way Farms: Why items sold on local farms might not be safe to eat. What you need to know before buying After OKeeffe surrendered custody of the animals an SPCA veterinarian found they were infected with contagious parasites. The animals were also allegedly malnourished. Some had respiratory problems and a preventable contagious foot condition. Advertisement Advertisement Investigators found no evidence that OKeeffe provided veterinary care for the livestock, which lived in unsanitary conditions, according to court documents. The criminal case remained dormant until September when U.S. Marshals returned OKeeffe to Bucks County as part of an arrangement with the Belize government to drop a firearm possession charge against her there. Reporter Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at jciavaglia@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: What's next in the largest animal rescue case in Bucks County memory? NASA said on Tuesday that it was delaying its mission to send four astronauts on a journey around the moon, after issues arose during a critical test of its rocket. Mission managers were conducting an elaborate launch day walkthrough, known as a wet dress rehearsal, at Kennedy Space Center in Florida when engineers detected leaking hydrogen at the base of the Space Launch System rocket. NASA was forced to end the test with around 5 minutes and 15 seconds remaining in the simulated launch countdown. Shortly after 2 a.m. ET on Tuesday, NASA announced that it would forgo Februarys launch window (which lasted until Feb. 11) for the Artemis II mission around the moon to allow teams to review data and conduct another wet dress rehearsal. The agency said it will aim for March as the earliest possible launch opportunity. Advertisement Advertisement NASA has said launch opportunities are available from March 6 through March 9 and on March 11, with additional dates in April, if needed. To me, the big takeaway was we got a chance for the rocket to talk to us, and it did just that, John Honeycutt, the Artemis II mission management team chair, said Tuesday afternoon in a news briefing discussing the wet dress rehearsal. He added that the elaborate practice run is designed to put the rocket and team through their paces before we ask our crew to go fly on launch day. NASAs wet dress rehearsals are a standard part of its process and allow mission managers to assess the performance and readiness of a rocket. That is especially important in this case, since the agency's Space Launch System (SLS) booster and Orion spacecraft have never launched with astronauts onboard and haven't flown since late 2022. Advertisement Advertisement With more than three years between SLS launches, we fully anticipated encountering challenges, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman wrote in a post on X. That is precisely why we conduct a wet dress rehearsal. These tests are designed to surface issues before flight and set up launch day with the highest probability of success. The hourslong rehearsal involved filling the rocket with more than 700,000 gallons of cryogenic propellant and simulating each step of the launch countdown as would occur on the actual day. The Orion spacecraft, integrated for the Artemis II mission, at the Kennedy Space Center on Friday. (Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP via Getty Images) (Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo) During the fueling process, which got underway around 12:30 p.m. ET on Monday, mission managers twice paused proceedings to investigate leaking hydrogen fuel at the tail end of the rocket. Super-chilled liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen are common propellants for rockets, but because hydrogen molecules are so tiny, they can be tricky to contain and are notoriously prone to leaking. Advertisement Advertisement When youre dealing with hydrogen, its a small molecule, its highly energetic, Honeycutt said. We like it for that reason. And we do the best we can. Hydrogen leaks cropped up again in the final minutes of the simulated launch countdown. Systems on the rocket that are designed to take over control of the booster in the final minutes before liftoff automatically stopped the countdown due to a spike in the liquid hydrogen leak rate, NASA said. In the days ahead, engineers will also investigate several audio issues in communications channels used by ground teams that occurred during the wet dress rehearsal, NASA said. Well figure it out, and well be back here talking to you once again about when were going to target our next wet dress and the results from that, Artemis launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson said in the briefing. Advertisement Advertisement Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator for NASAs Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, said teams need to analyze the full results of the wet dress rehearsal before another practice run can be scheduled. So far, work is proceeding at the launch pad, she said. If more extensive repairs are needed, NASA could roll the rocket back to the Vehicle Assembly Building, which would likely result in further delays. The four astronauts set to fly on the Artemis II flight NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch and Victor Glover and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen had been in quarantine in Houston since Jan. 21 to protect against preflight exposure to germs. They were expected to arrive at Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday afternoon. Instead, NASA confirmed Tuesday that the astronauts have been released from quarantine and will remain in Houston. In a statement on X, Wiseman said he and his fellow crew members had breakfast with their families and will resume training on Wednesday. Immense pride seeing the rocket reach 100% fuel load last night, especially knowing how challenging the scenario was for our launch team doing the dangerous and unforgiving work, he wrote. Advertisement Advertisement The crew is expected to enter quarantine again roughly two weeks before the next targeted launch opportunity. Artemis II will be the second trip to space for NASAs Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule, but the first time they carry humans. The much-anticipated launch represents a crucial step toward realizing NASAs goal of returning astronauts to the lunar surface. A previous uncrewed Artemis I flight around the moon in 2022 was delayed six months because of similar hydrogen leaks identified during its first wet dress rehearsal. As always, safety remains our top priority, for our astronauts, our workforce, our systems, and the public, Isaacman said on X, adding that NASA will only launch when we believe we are ready to undertake this historic mission. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com A dress rehearsal countdown for NASA's Artemis II moon rocket, intended to clear the way for a possible February launch, ran into a variety of problems and ultimately was called off early Tuesday because of an out-of-limits hydrogen leak. Shortly after, NASA announced the long awaited flight to send four astronauts on a trip around the moon, was being delayed to March at the earliest. "With the conclusion of the wet dress rehearsal today, we are moving off the February launch window and targeting March for the earliest possible launch of Artemis II," NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in a post on X. "We fully anticipated encountering challenges," he said. "That is precisely why we conduct a wet dress rehearsal. These tests are designed to surface issues before flight and set up launch day with the highest probability of success." Advertisement Advertisement Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, in pre-flight medical quarantine at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, had hope to fly to Florida Tuesday to begin final preparations for launch. Instead, they will remain in Houston and rejoin family, friends and co-workers. The practice countdown began Saturday evening two days late because of frigid weather along Florida's Space Coast -- and after a meeting Monday morning to assess the weather and the team's readiness to proceed, Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson cleared engineers to begin the remotely-controlled fueling operation. NASA's Space Launch System rocket stands atop pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center on night of Feb. 2, 2026. / Credit: NASA (NASA) The test got underway about 45 minutes later than planned, but it initially appeared to be proceeding smoothly as supercold liquid oxygen and hydrogen fuel were pumped into the Space Launch System rocket's first stage tanks. Shortly after, hydrogen began flowing into the rocket's upper stage as planned. But after the first stage hydrogen tank was about 55% full, a leak was detected at an umbilical plate where a fuel line from the launch pad is connected to the base of the SLS rocket's first stage. After a brief pause, engineers resumed fuel flow but again cut it off with the tank about 77% full. Advertisement Advertisement After more discussion, engineers were able to press ahead by stopping the flow of hydrogen, "allowing the interface to warm up for the seals to reseat, and adjusting the flow of propellant," NASA said in a blog post. With all the rocket's tanks full and in "stable replenish," a five-member closeout team was dispatched to the pad to ready the Orion crew capsule for a simulated crew arrival and then to close and test the two hatches leading into the spacecraft. The countdown was originally timed for a simulated launch at 9 p.m. EST, But troubleshooting the hydrogen leak, communications dropouts and other issues caused the test to run longer than planned. As of 10 p.m., the countdown was in an extended hold at the T-minus 10-minute mark. The count finally resumed just after midnight only to be stopped a final time at T-minus five minutes and 15 seconds when the automated Ground Launch Sequencer detected an increase in the leak seen earlier and stopped the clock for good. Advertisement Advertisement "The team will fully review the data, troubleshoot each issue encountered during WDR, make the necessary repairs, and return to testing," Isaacman said. "We expect to conduct an additional wet dress rehearsal and then target the March window." Five launch opportunities are available next month, beginning March 6 and ending on March 11. The SLS is the rocket NASA plans to use to send Artemis astronauts to the moon aboard Orion crew capsules. It is the most powerful operational launcher in the world, a towering 332-foot-tall rocket powered by two strap-on solid fuel boosters and four main engines burning liquid oxygen and hydrogen fuel that generate 8.8 million pounds of thrust at liftoff. The SLS rocket's first and so far only mission came in 2022 when it was launched on an unpiloted test flight. In the campaign leading up to launch, engineers ran into a variety of problems ranging from fuel leaks to unexpected propellant flow behavior in the launch pad's plumbing. Launch was delayed for months while engineers worked to resolve the problems. Advertisement Advertisement For the rocket's second launch, multiple upgrades and improvements were implemented and Blackwell-Thompson said last week she was optimistic the fueling test would go well. "Why do we think that we'll be successful? It's the lessons that we learned," she said. "Artemis I was the test flight, and we learned a lot during that campaign, getting to launch," she said. "And the things that we learned relative to how to go load this vehicle, how to load LOX (liquid oxygen), how to load hydrogen, have all been rolled in to the way in which we intend to load the Artemis II vehicle." Most of the fixes and upgrades appeared to work as planned. But leakage at the tail service mast umbilical, a problem during the first Artemis flight in 2022, cropped up again the second time around. Advertisement Advertisement Some blood found in Savannah Guthrie's mom's home, sources say Democratic, Republican strategists react to stunning wins in Texas special elections Democrats react to Trump's push for Republicans to nationalize voting: "Outlandishly illegal" When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. NASA fuels its Artemis 2 moon rocket during a crucial prelaunch test on Feb. 2, 2026. | Credit: NASA Editor's note: The issues encountered during the fueling tests have led NASA to delay the Artemis 2 mission to March . NASA's big moon rocket leaks a little bit, but it just might be ready to carry astronauts beyond Earth. The space agency conducted a crucial fueling test today (Feb. 2) with the Artemis 2 mission's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, loading more than 700,000 gallons (2.65 million liters) of cryogenic liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LOX) into the two-stage vehicle on Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Advertisement Advertisement Teams had to stop loading LH2 into the SLS core stage twice to deal with leaks, but they managed to troubleshoot the issue in relatively short order and top up the rocket's enormous tanks. Today's tanking was the trickiest part of the Artemis 2 wet dress rehearsal, a two-day-long practice run through the operations that will precede an actual launch. Currently, NASA is targeting Feb. 8 for the liftoff of Artemis 2, which will send NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and Canada's Jeremy Hansen on a 10-day trip around the moon . But that's contingent upon a successful wet dress, as well as a number of other factors good weather conditions, for example. It's too soon to tell whether or not NASA considers the wet dress a complete success; the exercise is still going on, after all, and may not conclude until 1 a.m. EST (0600 GMT) on Tuesday (Feb. 3). Advertisement Advertisement But we may get an answer on Tuesday at 12 p.m. EST (1700 GMT), when the agency holds a press conference about the wet dress. You can watch that briefing live here at Space.com when the time comes. It wasn't surprising that leaks sprang up during LH2 loading today, given how small that molecule is; it can slip through the tiniest of cracks. And history is a guide here as well: The Artemis 1 launch campaign was delayed repeatedly by LH2 leaks and other issues. That mission, the first of NASA's Artemis program of moon exploration, was originally scheduled to launch in the spring of 2022, but it didn't get off the ground until Nov. 16 of that year. Things went well after liftoff, however: Artemis 1 successfully sent an uncrewed Orion capsule to lunar orbit and back to Earth, showing that Artemis hardware can handle a crewed mission to deep space. Advertisement Advertisement NASA is taking many lessons learned from Artemis 1 to Artemis 2 and beyond and some of those lessons apparently helped out today. Frozen weapons are among the many challenges NATO soldiers would face in an Arctic conflict. Soldiers have to be careful not to let the harsh elements cause their guns to malfunction. But they also can't let the guns get too warm, as that creates new problems. SODANKYLA, Finland Among the many challenges NATO soldiers face in the harsh Arctic environment, the possibility of frozen weapons is one that risks leaving them most vulnerable. It's anything but easy to keep guns, drones, and other equipment in the right conditions far above the Arctic Circle, where temperatures routinely drop below 0 degrees Fahrenheit, and the heavy snow brings unwanted moisture that can cause jamming and other problems. Advertisement Advertisement NATO military personnel training in northern Finland told Business Insider during a visit to the region in late January that they can't afford to let their guns get too warm if they want them to work in this climate. The biggest problem with weapons in these conditions is temperature variation, said Maj. Mikael Aikio, the Arctic section leader of the Finnish Army's Jaeger Brigade, which is leading a winter warfare training and cold-weather survival course for roughly 20 NATO soldiers. The monthlong course, hosted in Finland's northern Lapland region, teaches NATO soldiers how to live, move, and fight in the harsh Arctic environment. This type of training has become a growing priority for NATO as officials call for greater Arctic defense amid increasing Russian and Chinese activity in the High North. Western forces could find themselves fighting on frozen battlefields as the alliance and its adversaries compete for influence in this strategic region. 'My hands are the worst enemy' Lapland, like other northern regions in NATO's seven Arctic states, is a tough place to operate in winter. The biting cold, limited sunlight, and deep snowfall force troops to move slowly and with caution. And limited support infrastructure makes sustainment even more difficult up north. Advertisement Advertisement In the Arctic, survival is only the first challenge. Troops must also keep their weapons functioning; even minor equipment failures can hand the enemy an edge. Cold temperatures and wet snow can be problematic for gear and weapons in the Arctic. Jake Epstein/Business Insider Canadian Cpt. Vincent Lemelin, one of the participants in the Arctic warfare training course, said all technology struggles in this part of the world, especially anything that requires charging, such as drones. Anything that gets covered in snow eventually becomes damp or wet, Lemelin said, so soldiers try to keep their guns cold at all times to avoid having ice or snow melt and introduce any moisture that might freeze and prevent it from working properly. Finnish Lt. Laura Lahdekorpi, another course participant, said she carries a brush with her at all times to clear snow from her gun, especially from sensitive areas like the optics, which are more vulnerable to buildup. Soldiers are trained to ensure their weapons are dry to prevent anything from freezing up. Advertisement Advertisement Lahdekorpi said firing a cold gun is a challenge. Her outer gloves are too bulky, so she strips them off and uses a thin liner to pull the trigger, but that leaves her hands exposed to the weapon's metal frame, which holds the cold. "I think my hands are the worst enemy for me," she said. "I have to keep them warm." Proper weapon care doesn't end when training stops. Soldiers are taught to keep their guns at a steady ambient temperature. Bringing them into a warm tent, for instance, can cause condensation that later refreezes. Soldiers can't leave the guns outside their tents, as they might be stolen in real-world conditions. Instead, they bring them inside but place the weapons on the ground or in a space that is almost as cold as it is outside. Advertisement Advertisement Proper firearm temperature management is not the only equipment struggle in the harsh Arctic. Drones are also relatively limited in their capabilities, especially in extreme cold, when temperatures drop below -14 degrees Fahrenheit. During a combat exercise in the middle of the Arctic warfare course, soldiers practiced using drones to collect targeting data and call in artillery strikes against a simulated enemy force made up of Finnish conscripts. Soldiers can't fire their weapons while wearing bulky gloves, but touching the cold metal can be unpleasant. Jake Epstein/Business Insider NATO military personnel training in Finland say they can't let their guns get too warm if they want them to work in the Arctic. Jake Epstein/Business Insider Using small drones for reconnaissance, targeting, and fire support missions is standard practice in the Russian war against Ukraine, and they are expected to continue to be a key part of the kill chain in future conflicts, despite their limitations. Aikio, a Jaeger Brigade major, said drones need special handling in Arctic conditions. Leaving them exposed on snowmobiles before launch risks damage from the elements, and once airborne, icing on small propellers and limited visibility can quickly degrade performance. Advertisement Advertisement Learning to keep weapons and other gear operational in this environment is one of many skills NATO soldiers are being taught to master in Finland, roughly a third of which lies above the Arctic Circle. The country also knows cold-weather combat, making it well-suited to teach the rest of the alliance winter warfare. Lemelin, the Canadian captain, described the course as a "humbling experience;" it's critical exposure for the NATO alliance as Western militaries grapple with a rapidly changing Arctic environment and an expanding adversarial footprint. Read the original article on Business Insider Several military technological innovations have changed the course of history. From the sailing ship to the stirrup, these advances have pushed the world into new directions, and chief among them is nuclear weapons. The first nukes were some of the most notorious weapons developed during World War II, used in the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. After the war, nuclear weapons became the tentpole of military and foreign policy, and other nations have followed the U.S. in developing their own arsenals. As of writing, there are nine countries with nuclear weapons: Russia, China, the United Kingdom, India, North Korea, France, Pakistan, Israel, and the U.S. It should be noted that Israel has never confirmed whether it has nuclear weapons, despite most international agencies believing that it does. Additionally, Israel is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Regardless, there are numerous nations with weapons of all kinds, and together, these account for more than 12,300 warheads, 9,600 of which remain in active military stockpiles. While that's a lot of nukes, just two countries collectively hold 86.8% of the world's nuclear weapons, with the remaining split between the other seven. Those two nations are the U.S. and Russia, the latter of which has more than the former. These stockpiles represent the legacy of the U.S. policy of Mutually Assured Destruction, which ensured that both the U.S. and the former Soviet Union maintained enough firepower to wipe out the other should either deploy a nuclear weapon in combat. Advertisement Advertisement Read more: 10 Of The Most Advanced Nuclear Submarines In The World America's nuclear weapons stockpile Three nuclear missiles launched over a backdrop of the American Flag. - Dancingman/Getty Images While the Cold War ended decades ago, the United States still maintains a large stockpile of nuclear weapons. This is in line with the U.S.' nuclear triad, which is a policy requiring three nuclear deployment methods at all times: submarine-launched ballistic missiles, intercontinental ballistic missiles, and aircraft-dropped nuclear weapons. While the stockpile has decreased significantly since the end of the Cold War, the U.S. maintains 5,177 warheads, according to the Federation of Atomic Scientists' 2025 Status of the World's Nuclear Forces report. The weapons are broken down into three categories. Deployed warheads are those on ballistic missiles and those at bomber bases, and the U.S. has 1,670 of these. It has 1,930 stockpiled warheads, which are available for use when needed. Finally, there are the retired nuclear warheads, accounting for 1,477 of America's total. These are weapons that aren't intended for use, but have yet to be dismantled. This leaves the U.S. with a total of 3,700 usable nuclear warheads. The U.S. continues to develop nuclear weapons technology, though testing is heavily restricted via numerous treaties. Several defense contractors and government agencies manufacture the nation's nuclear missiles and their warheads, with modernization efforts carried out at multiple facilities in Texas and Tennessee. These ensure that the nation's nuclear capabilities are spread out and maintained in a constant state of readiness should the need arise. Russia's nuclear arsenal Missiles preparing to fire over a backdrop of a nuclear detonation, the Russian flag, and a nuclear symbol - Bymuratdeniz/Getty Images When it comes to nuclear warheads, Russia and the former Soviet Union reign supreme. The Soviet Union developed and tested the largest nuclear weapon ever tested, the Tsar Bomba, which detonated at an estimated 50 megatons. Of course, that's only one of many, and when the U.S.S.R. collapsed, its constituent nations retained some weapons. Ukraine briefly held the third-largest stockpile before denuclearization, and other nations followed suit. These days, Russia has a stockpile of 5,459 total warheads, according to the FAS' 2025 report. Advertisement Advertisement Russia's weapons break down to 1,780 deployed warheads, 2,591 stockpiled, and 1,150 retired, leaving a usable total of 4,309. As a result, Russia maintains 609 nuclear warheads more than the United States, but the difference means little when you're talking about weapons capable of total annihilation of the world in a nuclear war. Like the U.S., Russia maintains its weapons for use in numerous ways, as the nation has nuclear-armed submarines, strategic nuclear bombers, and ICBMs ready to go should the unfortunate need arise. While Russia and the United States have a lot of nukes, accounting for almost 90% of the total world stockpile, they're nowhere near the numbers of the past: There were an estimated 70,374 nuclear warheads worldwide in 1986. It took a long time to dismantle and draw down from that amount, and treaties continue to push nations to reduce their total number of deployable weapons. Unfortunately, neither the U.S. nor Russia is a signatory to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Want the latest in tech and auto trends? Subscribe to our free newsletter for the latest headlines, expert guides, and how-to tips, one email at a time. You can also add us as a preferred search source on Google. Read the original article on SlashGear. BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) A man accused of indecent behavior with juveniles was arrested following a Livingston Parish internet crimes investigation. According to Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard, Eric Leigh Norton, 55, of Nevada, was identified as a suspect in the investigation. LPSO said Norton is accused of committing indecent behavior with someone he believed to be a 15-year-old girl. He was arrested by the Washoe County Sheriffs Office. Advertisement Advertisement Norton was booked on charges of indecent behavior with juveniles and computer-aided solicitation of a minor. Latest News Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Louisiana First News. 2025 Harrison Township Trustee's financial report completed The Harrison Township Trustee's financial report has been completed for 2025 and is available for public inspection at the township garage by appointment, required by ORC 117.38. An organizational meeting was held on Dec. 16, 2025, with Tyler Seibert being elected as president and Calvin Seibert as vice president. The other township trustee is Jim Fyffe. The township meeting for the year 2026 will be the third Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. at the Minford Fire Department, formally the EMS building. Advertisement Advertisement 2025 Clay Township financial report now available The Board of Trustees of Clay Township have prepared the financial report for 2025 and is now available for inspection by calling (740) 353-8511. Governor DeWine issues reprieves COLUMBUS Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced on Friday, Jan. 30, that he issued the following reprieves of execution: * Gerald Hand, who was scheduled to be executed on June 17, 2026. The new date of execution has been moved to April 18, 2029. * Danny Lee Hill, who was scheduled to be executed on July 22, 2026. The new date of execution has been moved to July 18, 2029. * Cleveland R. Jackson, who was scheduled to be executed on July 15, 2026. The new date of execution has been moved to June 13, 2029. Advertisement Advertisement DeWine is issuing these reprieves due to ongoing problems involving the willingness of pharmaceutical suppliers to provide drugs to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, pursuant to DRC protocol, without endangering other Ohioans. Secretary LaRose issues statement on the introduction of MEGA Act COLUMBUS Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose released the following statement following the introduction of the Make Elections Great Again Act: "Americans deserve confidence that their elections are secure and reflect the will of the people. Ohio has become a national leader in election integrity, but many states are falling short of the minimum standards. The MEGA Act builds on many of the practices that make Ohios elections the gold standard and establishes a baseline for election standards nationwide. Im grateful to Congressman Steil and congressional leaders for making this a priority. I urge Congress to set aside partisan blinders and pass these important and commonsense reforms." Advertisement Advertisement Sylvia awarded degree from Miami University OXFORD, Ohio Nathaniel Sylvia of Wheelersburg was among students from Miami University who received degrees during the fall commencement on Dec. 12, 2025. Sylvia graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in Data Analytics. Shawnee State University Board of Trustees to meet Feb. 13 The Shawnee State University Board of Trustees will meet Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, at1:15 p.m. in Morris University Center Room 214, located on the Shawnee State University campus. The Board Committees will also meet according to this schedule: * 8 a.m. - MUC 214 Executive Committee * 9 a.m. - MUC 214 Finance & Administration Committee * 10:30 a.m. - MUC 214 Academic & Student Affairs Committee Gerald Steinberg, NGO Monitors president, said seized files and photos show Hamas embedded liaisons inside aid groups, and had ties to hospitals and doctors. Documents captured by the IDF in Gaza over the past two years provide new details on how Hamas allegedly monitored and influenced humanitarian organizations and hospitals, according to Gerald Steinberg, founder and president of NGO Monitor. Speaking to The Media Line, Steinberg said the records describe Hamas-installed guarantors embedded inside NGO structures to collect information, pressure staff, and steer aid toward the groups priorities. He said the material moves long-running claims about Hamas diversion and infiltration from suspicion to what he described as documented internal protocols, while noting that most of the cache remains unreviewed. Advertisement Advertisement Steinberg pointed to the seized material as the basis for his argument that allegations now rest on internal paperwork, not inference. The documents that we have examined recently that [we] reported on were found [and] captured by the IDF in Gaza during the last two years in operations, he said. There are thousands, perhaps tens or hundreds of thousands of such documents, most of which have not been examined or been sorted through. Some of the material has begun to surface publicly, he said, and NGO Monitor has focused on documents that reference humanitarian organizations and their dealings with Hamas. Even within that narrower slice, Steinberg described the review as preliminary. Weve managed to examine closely around 50 of those documents and translated them from Arabic, he said, adding that the translation process relied on expert review and cross-checking. Smoke rises as displaced Palestinians take shelter at Al Shifa hospital, amid the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel, in Gaza City, November 8, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/DOAA ROUQA) In Steinbergs account, the documents reflect a wider system in which Hamas used civilian frameworks while building military infrastructure beneath them. There are many, many examples of the way that Hamas planted their people not just in humanitarian organizations but also in the frameworks of hospitals, he said. They used the hospitals, they used the mosques, they used all this massive underground network under schools, all of that. Advertisement Advertisement Foreign staff working in Gaza were aware of Hamas influence, Steinberg argued. Many of the foreign workers, foreign officials from organizations, were obviously aware of this. At the center of his account is what he called a guarantor system - Hamas-appointed liaisons assigned to aid organizations. These documents consist of protocols of meetings that were held with what they call guarantors, he said. Hamas-linked figure placed in NGO operations Steinberg said the arrangement placed a Hamas-linked figure inside NGO operations. Oxfam, Norwegian Refugee Council, Doctors Without Borders across the board, these organizations had assigned to them by Hamas an individual who was both reporting to Hamas and part of the organizations structure itself. NGO Monitor has described the guarantor structure as a tool for monitoring and influencing NGO activity. Steinberg characterized it as a coercive mechanism that went beyond coordination. Hamas first of all used these people to spy on, to collect information that they could use to manipulate the organizations and the leaders of those organizations, he said. He added that the information could be used to manipulate and blackmail officials, staff members of the organizations, and also to direct aid to the areas that Hamas emphasized and prioritized. Advertisement Advertisement Aid organizations did not publicly raise alarms about operating under pressure, Steinberg contended. None of the NGOs, in any way, manner, or form, said publicly, or to the Israeli officials, Hey, you know, Hamas is putting the squeeze on us in various ways, and that makes us uncomfortable. To illustrate diversion claims and disputes over oversight, Steinberg pointed to a case predating the current war: World Vision. In 2016, Israel arrested Mohammad El Halabi, the head of World Visions Gaza operation. He was accused of taking $50 million in aid and transferring them directly to Hamas for very specific military operations, Steinberg said, including money allocated for fishing that went to Hamas military undersea terror framework. Steinberg contrasted that allegation and Israels legal outcome with World Visions public stance. For years, he was tried, he was convicted, and the World Vision framework repeatedly said, this was a show trial, that he was innocent, that Israel had no evidence, he said. He then cited what he viewed as a politically telling detail: One of the first people that Hamas demanded to be released in the prisoner exchange was El Halabi. Steinberg said documents now describe closer coordination between Hamas and El Halabi and efforts to pressure the Israeli legal process. Advertisement Advertisement Hospitals and clinics were similarly embedded within Hamas governance and operations, Steinberg argued, shifting from NGOs to the medical sphere. The entire medical framework that operated in Gaza, hospitals, clinics, and doctors, was permeated by Hamas and controlled by Hamas, he said. He claimed Hamas used areas of hospitals both for command-and-control and terror operations, adding, hostages were brought into those wings. Steinberg also asserted that foreign staff knew. Every doctor and foreign worker that was at those hospitals knew that they were permeated. Palestinian hospital director and writer for 'New York Times' tied to Hamas One person Steinberg cited was Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, a Palestinian pediatrician and hospital director who wrote op-eds for The New York Times. Steinberg said he could not fully map Abu Safiyas personal networks but claimed there was visual evidence tying him to Hamas. We dont know at this stage what the various individuals, like Abu Safiya, who they were in connection with, he said. But we do know, because we now have pictures of him sitting with Hamas military leaders, we know what his rank was. Abu Safiya is currently held in Ofer prison in Israel. DR. HUSSAM Abu Safiya, circled in yellow, and Dr. Ahmed al-Kahlout, inset and circled in orange, with Hamas officials at a ceremony marking the opening of a hospital. (credit: Courtesy NGO Monitor) Writer and commentator Eitan Fischberger located early material, Steinberg said, and additional photographs reinforced the claim. He framed the issue as one of credibility and ethics: Abu Safiya wrote publicly as a doctor, as an expert in theory, while at the same time, he was a colonel in Hamas. Steinberg called such conduct, and the use of hospitals for armed purposes, absolutely a violation of all medical ethics and international law. Advertisement Advertisement Another allegation raised by NGO Monitor involved Ahmed al-Kahlout, a hospital director and Hamas officer, according to Vincent Chebat, a senior researcher at NGO Monitor. Chebat told The Media Line that a Facebook post pictured al-Kahlout alongside other Hamas officials, including Safiya. Israels Foreign Ministry issued a statement citing information from the IDF and Shin Bet (Israeli Security Agency) that said al-Kahlout, a director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Jabalia in northern Gaza, was a member of Hamas and admitted that the group turned Gaza hospitals into military facilities under their control. I was recruited to Hamas in 2010, the statement quotes al-Kahlout, with the rank of brigadier general. There are employees in the hospital who are military operatives of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades doctors, nurses, paramedics, clerks, and staff members. Steinberg argued that the documents, taken together, point to a persistent donor problem: large spending without enforceable monitoring. Funding rose sharply after October 7, he said, and oversight did not keep pace. After October 7 every government involved in providing aid massively increased by hundreds of millions of dollars again, with no oversight, he said. There is no mechanism for oversight. Advertisement Advertisement Beyond wartime funding, Steinberg said the underlying weakness is structural. There is a very thin layer of oversight in the United States. Its called the Internal Revenue Service, the nonprofit framework, 501c3 and 501c4 regulations, he said. And basically, all they can do under current legislation and regulations is to ensure to the best that they can that proper audits are being done. A change in the US administration altered the landscape, Steinberg said. When President Trump started his second term a little bit over a year ago, the USAID budget was frozen, he said. He added that an inspector general was appointed and investigations were conducted, and he cited scrutiny of communications and alleged links to Hamas-related structures, including propaganda and promoting the genocide blood libel, adding, the NGOs were involved in that as well. In Steinbergs view, donor questions also intersect with Israeli regulation and diplomatic pushback. He described an Israeli requirement instituted over almost a year ago, under which every NGO that operates in Israel as an aid source must register and provide certain information. He framed the move as a response to failed due diligence and described staff background checks as routine and certainly justified. European governments, Canada, demanded Israel allow NGOs to operate Steinberg said some European governments, joined by Canada, demanded that Israel allow NGOs to operate without meeting registration requirements, and that Israel refused to waive them. Advertisement Advertisement Those rules will remain in place regardless of political changes in Jerusalem, Steinberg predicted. No Israeli conceivable leadership or government, even in what we might call the post-Netanyahu era, is going to be able to relax those requirements and to waive them, precisely because of October 7. International bodies also came in for criticism. Steinberg named the UN and UNRWA and OCHA and UNICEF, and said: They all knew what was being built and what was being done in the hospitals, and they all stayed silent. Gazas governance proposals, Steinberg said, run into the same practical obstacle. He pointed to plans that would rely on technocratic administration alongside security arrangements, then returned to what he called the core issue: disarmament. The next stage is supposed to be disarming of Hamas, he said, but Hamas has said very clearly we are not going to disarm. He argued that international security forces have not demonstrated a record of disarming entrenched armed groups, pointing to no precedent, no successful precedent, of a foreign force, an international force, disarming a terror organization, and citing UNIFIL in Lebanon and Hezbollahs rearmament as a cautionary comparison. Advertisement Advertisement Israel would not accept a similar outcome in Gaza, Steinberg said, describing what he sees as an enduring Israeli enforcement posture. Turkey or Qatar, he added, would not be credible contributors of troops, since Israel is likely to refuse them. Steinberg referenced President Trumps warning of total disaster for Hamas if they dont disarm, but questioned how that translates into action, given that Hamas forces are in underground bunkers and completely integrated within the civilian population, concluding that continued Israeli action would be required until Hamas is disarmed at whatever time it takes. Beyond Gaza, Steinberg widened the lens to what he described as a broader ecosystem of NGO funding and political influence. He called NGOs a massive industry, measured in billions of dollars, and argued that oversight is thin compared with other regulated spheres. In the US, he described the nonprofit framework - 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) regulations - as focused largely on audits, and he said NGOs are easy takeover targets, pointing to ideological shifts within major organizations. A separate thread in the interview focused on protest funding and the WESPAC Foundation. Steinberg described it as a major, whats called a pass-through for the IRS, adding: We dont know who the donors were. Again, it could have been a foreign government. It could have been Qatar. He described lawsuits and heightened scrutiny: WESPAC now is in deep trouble and may not be able to function anymore. NGO Monitors reporting on WESPACs IRS filing described large funding flows, including a $1 million transfer to a framework listed as Honor the Earth, designated for a Palestinian youth movement. Advertisement Advertisement Steinberg said NGO Monitor has remained in contact with members of Congress and their staff regarding possible changes to IRS regulations and investigations into nonprofit political activity and foreign funding. Regarding Qatar, he said the limits of current disclosure rules leave a central question unanswered: In terms of Qatars involvement in NGOs, precisely because the IRS regulations allow these massive organizations to hide, not to report on their foreign and foreign government funding, we do not have concrete evidence. Steinberg added, No nonprofit organization registered in the government should be allowed to have secret funding from foreign governments. Media ecosystems can amplify narratives tied to state influence, Steinberg argued, naming Al Jazeera and outlets he said were reported to be connected to Qatar, like things called Middle East Eye and Middle East Monitor, and urging scrutiny of how those channels shape what NGOs and prominent figures treat as credible reporting. Voters file into Chavis Community Center in Raleigh to vote. (Photo by Clayton Henkel/NC Newsline) North Carolina Democrats are making a bid to host the first-in-the-nation presidential primary in 2028 and usurp the title from South Carolina. But obstacles remain, including a Republican-controlled General Assembly that will need convincing before signing onto a potentially expensive early primary. The state so far is one of 12 finalists picked by the Democratic National Committee to make their case in May for holding their primary before Super Tuesday, the first Tuesday in March, when the largest share of voters weigh in. Advertisement Advertisement In seeking first-in-the-nation status North Carolina is going up against Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. It would be a massive change for a state that held its primary in May as recently as the 2012 election. North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton said in an interview that the party should choose the state to empower Black voters and to recognize its history as a beacon of the Civil Rights movement. I think that North Carolina represents the true version of the Democratic Party, Clayton said. Investing in a state like North Carolina, especially for the Democratic Party, is not only righting wrongs of our partys past, but its also making the case to people that the South is truly important, not just for the next two to four years, but for the next 20 years. She also noted that in 2028, North Carolina will have 22 statewide races on the ballot the most in the country and an early primary would bring a highly beneficial national focus and investment. For me, this is about making sure that we have the resources to evenly compete. Advertisement Advertisement The DNC will select four to five states for the pre-Super Tuesday window, with at least one from the East, West, South, and Midwest. North Carolina will compete against Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia and South Carolina to lead the South, a spot that South Carolina held for years before receiving the first-in-the-nation primary in 2024. Dr. Michael Bitzer Michael Bitzer, a professor of politics and history at Catawba College, said North Carolina has an advantage as a proving ground for primary candidates in that it is among the most competitive and crucial swing states in the nation. It is certainly not surprising that political parties view this state so highly, Bitzer said. With increased electoral college counts, with potentially competitive statewide dynamics, North Carolina is seen as a prize get. Ahead of the 2016 election, some North Carolina lawmakers sought to become fifth in the nation but ultimately settled for a March 15 date. The primary moved ahead again for the 2020 election to vote on Super Tuesday. Advertisement Advertisement But jumping the line once more will require approval not only from the DNC but also from the General Assembly, whose Republican leadership have signaled that they remain unconvinced. We have started the conversation, and Im hopeful that Republicans would see this as a good economic opportunity for the state, Clayton said. She cited the money that high-profile presidential candidates would bring to the state by filling stadiums and university auditoriums on the campaign trail. Clayton added that they hope to receive confirmation from Republicans in the General Assembly that they would consider a date change ahead of the May presentation. Demi Dowdy, a spokeswoman for North Carolina House Speaker Destin Hall, said in a statement Monday that the topic has not been seriously discussed at the legislature or with any Democratic Party officials. Advertisement Advertisement Neal Inman, Halls chief of staff, expressed reservations on the logistical challenges of an early primary in a social media post last month. This would require convincing Republican legislators that the state needs to conduct three primary elections (presidential, everyone else, runoffs) every presidential election year, he said on X. Prof. Chris Cooper (Photo: wcu.edu) Chris Cooper, a political scientist at Western Carolina University, said the General Assembly would likely only approve an early primary date if national Republicans also agree to move North Carolina up the calendar. Theres also a financial impediment. Unless North Carolina moved up the primary date for all state races, which introduces challenges on its own, the presidential primary would have to be run on a separate date. More election dates means more taxpayer money spent running those elections, Cooper noted. One option is to separate them, which is expensive and complicated. The other option is to move everything up, Cooper said. I dont think any North Carolinian has ever thought, boy, I really wish we had a longer election year. A North Central College student is facing charges for allegedly bringing a loaded gun to campus. Prosecutors say Kurtis Cruz, 18, of Merrillville had the gun in a dorm room early Saturday morning. He's charged with unlawful possession of a weapon. SEE ALSO: 2nd Amendment backlash follows portrayal of Alex Pretti by some Trump administration officials Cruz is due back in court next month. He's being held, pending trial. "A college campus is supposed to be a safe place for learning and growth, not a place where students and staff alike have to be concerned for their personal safety," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said. "The allegation that Mr. Cruz was in possession of a fully loaded weapon with a twenty-six-capacity extended magazine on a college campus is very alarming." (FOX40.COM) Three Northern California men were arrested in Nevada in connection with two stolen semi-truck trailers, the Storey County Sheriffs Office said. Video Above: What to do if you witness a crime SCSO said that detectives received reports of two semi-truck trailers, holding over $500,000.00 in product, being stolen from the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center. Detectives began an investigation on Jan. 30, where they conducted surveillance and saw a semi truck and a passenger car approach one of the stolen trailers, hook up to it, and drive away. Advertisement Advertisement Local police conducted a traffic stop and arrested the three men. The suspects were identified as 26-year-old Deepindeer Singh of Manteca, 25-year-old Harman Pal Singh of Lodi and 21-year-old Arashdeep Singh of Fremont. They were booked into the Washoe County Detention Facility on felony charges that include possessing stolen property with a value of $100,000.00 or more and attempting to possess stolen property at a value of $100,000.00 or more. The sheriffs office said around $500,000.00 in stolen product was recovered. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40 News. Feb. 2 (UPI) -- The son of Norway's crown princess was arrested on new assault charges Sunday just before his trial begins on Tuesday for four rape charges. Oslo police said Marius Borg Hiby, 29, was arrested for alleged assault, making threats with a knife and violating a restraining order. Hiby's trial on 38 charges -- including four rapes, domestic abuse of a former partner and illegal filming of a number of women without their knowledge or consent -- is set to begin Tuesday and last seven weeks. Advertisement Advertisement He faces up to 16 years in prison. Hiby denied the most serious charges. For the new charges, police have requested four weeks of imprisonment to prevent him from re-offending. Oslo district court ruled that he could be kept in custody until March 2 unless otherwise decided by court. Norway's (front, R-L) Queen Sonja, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Crown Prince Haakon, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, King Harald V, and (rear, R-L) Princess Martha Louise, Marius Borg Hoiby and Prince Sverre Magnus attend the confirmation ceremony of Princess Ingrid Alexandra in the Palace Chapel in Oslo, Norway, in 2019. Hoiby was arrested Sunday on new assault charges. He is scheduled to face rape charges in a trial set to begin on Tuesday. File Photo by Vidar Ruud/EPA The Norwegian royal family has been embroiled in controversy as Hiby's mother, Crown Princess Mette-Marit's name showed up more than 1,000 times in the latest cache of Epstein files released by the Department of Justice on Friday. Mette-Marit, 52, is married to the future king of Norway, Crown Prince Haakon. She is the future Queen. Magnus Haakon, the Crown Prince of Norway, Queen Sonja of Norway, Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway attend the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize presentation ceremony at Oslo City Hall on Dec. 10, 2025 in Oslo, Norway. The son of Mette-Marit, Marius Borg Hiby was arrested Sunday on new assault charges. He is scheduled to face rape charges in a trial set to begin on Tuesday. Photo by Paul Treadway/ UPI The Norwegian parliament is scheduled to vote Tuesday on whether to keep the monarchy, which happens every four years. The effort to oust the monarchy isn't likely to succeed, but it may have more support this time. Advertisement Advertisement "It seems that nobody has been thinking. Where are the counsellors, where's the royal court and where's the foreign office?" said Ole-Jrgen Schulsrud-Hansen, a historian and royal correspondent for Norway's TV2, the BBC reported. Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Crown Prince Haakon attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony for laureate Nihon Hidankyo in 2024 at the Nobel Peace Prize Institute in Oslo, Norway. Marius Borg Hiby, son of Mette-Marit, was arrested Sunday on new assault charges. He is scheduled to face rape charges in a trial set to begin on Tuesday. File Photo by Paul Treadway/ UPI While Hiby is a private citizen and not officially part of the royal family -- he is Mette-Marit's son from a previous relationship -- Mette-Marit isn't. "She's never a private citizen, she's always the crown princess and what she's doing in a private capacity or official capacity it will always redirect back to Norway -- or ricochet," Schulsrud-Hansen said COPENHAGEN, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk warned on Tuesday that profits and sales could drop as much as 13% this year, the first declines in years, in a new setback for the obesity drug pioneer as it struggles to claw back market share from rival Eli Lilly. Novo said its outlook was hit by lower realised prices, especially in the U.S., fierce competition and the expiry of patents on semaglutide the active ingredient in its Wegovy and Ozempic drugs in some markets outside the U.S. The Danish group expects adjusted operating profit and adjusted sales at constant exchange rates to both fall by between 5% and 13% this year. Sales rose 10% last year and analysts had, on average, forecast a 2% decline this year. Advertisement Advertisement "In 2026, Novo Nordisk will face pricing headwinds in an increasingly competitive market," CEO Mike Doustdar said in a statement. "However, we are very encouraged by the promising early uptake from the U.S. launch of Wegovy pill, and we remain confident in our ability to drive volume growth over the coming years," he added. SHARES DROP Novo's U.S.-listed shares fell 12% after the company's earlier-than-expected earnings statement. Its market value peaked in June 2024, making it Europe's most valuable listed firm, but it has since shed about twothirds of its value. Advertisement Advertisement Novo and Lilly are locked in a tightening fight in the booming obesity-drug market, with steep U.S. price pressure under President Donald Trump, rising copycat drugs and fresh challengers lining up. Novo is trying to win back its crown after a bruising year in which Lilly's rival injectable drug Zepbound overtook Wegovy in U.S. prescriptions and wiped 50% off Novo's share price. Under Doustdar, Novo is betting on its newly-launched Wegovy pill and aggressive advertising to win back ground. On a non-adjusted basis, the mid-point of Novo's 2026 sales outlook would be about minus 1%, helped by a reversal of $4.2 billion in sales rebate provisions tied to the 340B Drug Pricing Program in the U.S. Advertisement Advertisement Novo also said two members of its executive management team - head of U.S. operations Dave Moore and head of product and portfolio strategy Ludovic Helfgott - would leave. They will be replaced by Jamey Millar and Hong Chow respectively. Operating profit fell 14% to 31.7 billion crowns in the fourth quarter, compared with the 31.2 billion expected by analysts. Global Wegovy sales fell 12% in the quarter to 21.9 billion crowns from a year earlier, versus analysts' expectations of 21.1 billion. (Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, Maggie Fick and Stine Jacobsen. Editing by David Goodman and Mark Potter) UPDATE: MONDAY 2/2/2026 5:08 p.m. (COLORADO SPRINGS) A suspect is in critical condition and a CSPD officer is in the hospital with serious injuries following a shooting near Platte Avenue on Monday afternoon, Feb. 2. In a second press conference on Monday, CSPD said officers with the Tactical Team were originally in the 2600 block of East Bijou Street around 1:30 p.m. on a joint operation with the Colorado Parole Fugitive Apprehension Unit. After the conclusion of that operation, CSPD said officers witnessed a man, unrelated to the operation, acting suspiciously in the area. Watch the full press conference in the video player below. Advertisement Advertisement A statement given in an earlier press conference that officers were responding to a suspicious person call were incorrect, CSPD clarified. When officers tried to make contact with the suspicious man, he ran from them, and then pulled a handgun. The man allegedly shot at officers, hitting one of them. Two CSPD officers returned fire, hitting the suspect. Emergency medical aid was rendered to both the officer and the suspect, and both were taken to the hospital. The officer sustained serious but non-life-threatening injuries, and the suspect is reportedly in critical condition. Investigators recovered at least one gun from the scene. The identities of the officer and suspect are not being released. CSPD said it also believes this to be an isolated incident and there is no continuing threat to the community. The El Paso County Sheriffs Office is leading the investigation into the shooting, per Colorado law. UPDATE: MONDAY 2/2/2026 3:35 p.m. An officer suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries in a shooting near Knob Hill east of Downtown Colorado Springs on Monday, according to a spokesperson for the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD). Advertisement Advertisement During a press briefing on Monday, CSPDs spokesperson said officers were in the area of the 2600 block of East Bijou Street shortly before 1:30 p.m. on a report of a suspicious person. During their response, an officer-involved shooting occurred, though CSPD could not provide any additional information at this early stage in the investigation. An officer suffered serious injuries from a gunshot wound and was taken to the hospital. The suspect was also injured by gunshot wound; however, their condition is unknown, CSPD said. Courtesy: FOX21 News chief photojournalist Dez Rowe Courtesy: FOX21 News chief photojournalist Dez Rowe Courtesy: FOX21 News chief photojournalist Dez Rowe Courtesy: FOX21 News chief photojournalist Dez Rowe Courtesy: FOX21 News chief photojournalist Dez Rowe Courtesy: FOX21 News chief photojournalist Dez Rowe Our thoughts and prayers are with the CSPD officer who was shot while responding to a call [on Monday], said the Police Foundation of Colorado Springs in a social media post. We are grateful that his injuries are not life threatening and wish him a swift, full recovery. We remain grateful for every officer that runs into danger to keep us safe. Advertisement Advertisement The investigation into the shooting is ongoing, and CSPD asked anyone with information or who may have witnessed the incident to contact the non-emergency line at (719) 444-7000. Bijou Street is closed in the area, and CSPD said law enforcement would be on scene for several hours. ORIGINAL STORY: Officer injured in shooting near East Platte Avenue MONDAY 2/2/2026 2:59 p.m. The Colorado Springs Police Department reported that an officer was injured during an officer-involved shooting near East Platte Avenue and North Circle Drive on Monday, Feb. 2. According to CSPD, the shooting took place in the 2600 block of East Bijou Street. An officer and a suspect were both injured during the shooting. The conditions of the officer and the suspect are currently unknown. FOX21 News has a crew on scene and will update this article as soon as information is available. Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX21 News Colorado. COLUMBUS The Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Industrial Compliance and the Ohio Board of Building Standards are urging homeowners to look for signs of winter damage, especially ice dams, which can lead to costly repairs if left unaddressed. An ice dam most commonly occurs when heat from inside a home melts snow on the roof, allowing water to flow toward the colder edges where it refreezes. This creates a ridge of ice that can grow over time. When outdoor temperatures remain extremely cold compared to indoor temperatures, a homes vulnerability to ice dams increases. Investigation into the cause of an ice dam is necessary to determine the best course of action. The Board of Building Standards, which is within the Division of Industrial Compliance, offers the following tips: Advertisement Advertisement What to watch for right now * Wet or damp areas inside the home near ceilings closest to the roof, especially where the ceiling meets exterior walls. * Icicles hanging from gutters or eaves. * Uneven snow depth on the roof, such as shallower snow over heated spaces (living areas) and deeper snow over unheated spaces (eaves, garages, porches). Steps to reduce risk * Regularly inspect and maintain attic insulation, adding insulation where needed. * Once the snow has melted and ice has thawed, regularly inspect gutters and keep them and downspouts clear of debris and flowing freely. * Inspect flashing along roof edges and penetrations; repair any areas that may be damaged. Advertisement Advertisement * Verify whether an ice barrier exists along eaves and roof valleys; consider adding one if one isnt already installed. * Look for any gaps between the attic and conditions spaces, and seal those gaps with caulk, insulation or weather stripping. This will help to prevent any accelerated melting on the roof over those areas, which can contribute to ice dams forming. * Consider thermal (infrared) imaging to identify and correct major heat leaks into the attic. What to do if you find an ice dam * Do not climb onto the roof and attempt to remove or melt the ice dam, especially since it may be slippery. Advertisement Advertisement * Call a reputable roofing company to inspect the damage and offer guidance. Ice dams often develop gradually and can cause serious damage if ignored, said Ohio Board of Building Standards Executive Secretary Regina Hanshaw. Homeowners should take time now to check their property, especially since early detection and timely repairs are the most cost-effective way to protect your property. Home energy auditors or weatherization contractors can also identify and fix air leaks and inadequate insulation in a homes attic, which is a common contributor to the formation of ice dams. ICE and The Onion The headline in the Jan. 30 paper, "Are guns allowed at protests?" made me look twice at the masthead to make sure I wasn't reading my latest copy of The Onion. The headline dripped with the type of satire at which The Onion excels. After decades of Ohio's right-wing politicians doing everything they could to make sure any Ohioan could carry any gun anywhere they want, to read a headline asking if guns are allowed at protests just about made me laugh. Ohio allows Proud Boys to open-carry semi-automatic rifles to protest parents taking their kids to see drag queens read stories at a church. Ohio allows anybody with a pulse to conceal carry weapons anywhere they want, except, of course, the Ohio Statehouse. Advertisement Advertisement To Ohio's Republicans, the Second Amendment is etched on a stone tablet delivered to Ohio by God himself. To ask if Ohioans can carry guns to a protest would be Onion funny but for one thing: the Dispatch is redirecting public discourse where the right wing wants it to go, down an alley instead of an interstate highway. Ohio Republicans and the MAGA faithful are doing everything they can to make the ICE story about the "bad protesters" instead of the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, MAGA's outright lies, and ICE trampling on constitutional rights in carrying out their brutal and inhumane attacks on anyone they choose to go after. If the headline was in The Onion, it would be funny. In the Dispatch, it was just sad. Lou Jannazo, Columbus Is Keith Faber self-aware? Re "Hysteria around ICE isn't justified," Jan. 28: Is guest columnist Keith Faber actually a sentient human being? His column would suggest that he isn't aware of what is happening in the USA particularly in Minnesota. Advertisement Advertisement Does he watch TV or read the news? Or does he get all his information straight from the Trump administration? Did he not see ICE breaking down the door to pull ChongLy Scott Thao (an American citizen) out of his house in his underwear? Is he not aware of ICE breaking car windows and dragging citizens out of their cars? Is ICE reimbursing citizens for damage to their property? Did he see ICE murdering two citizens in cold blood? ICE is out of control for citizen and non-citizen alike. They need to go. And Keith Faber needs to go. We cannot have an attorney general as unaware as this man appears to be. With his attitude, I can't see our rights as Ohioans and Americans being protected. Joe Robert Tilley, Columbus Ohios energy industry driving investment Ohios natural gas and oil industries have continued to drive economic development in the Buckeye State. This means a flourishing job market and economy, funding for community infrastructure and energy reliability. Advertisement Advertisement Cleveland State University found that total upstream investments were up $615 million in the second half of 2024 when compared to the first half. These numbers reflect the continued growth of drilling activity, especially for oil-producing wells. Ohios shale-energy "drew" in approximately $3.5 billion in fresh capital between July and December 2024. These investment numbers are not new. Since 2011, cumulative natural gas and oil-related investment has surpassed $114.6 billion. In our rapidly changing energy landscape, where global demand is consistently on the rise, Ohio is uniquely positioned to maintain an abundance of natural resources that not only ensure energy reliability but also economic growth and prosperity. Like the saying, What's good for the goose is good for the gander, the revenues from natural gas and oil have a direct and positive impact on all Ohioans that is unparalleled. Bruce Tague, executive director of the Ohio Natural Energy Institute NEED TO KNOW Olivia Clendenin, 29, was found guilty of attempted murder, two counts of felonious assault and one count of illegal discharge at or into a habitation Clendenin was accused of firing multiple rounds at a home on New Year's Eve Prosecutors said Clendenin discovered her husband and boyfriend were at the same party that night An Ohio woman who fired multiple rounds at a home during a New Years Eve party, seriously injuring one partygoer, was found guilty of attempted murder. Olivia Clendenin, 29, was also found guilty by a jury of two counts of felonious assault and one count of illegal discharge at or into a habitation, the Warren County Prosecutors Office announced in a news release on Tuesday, Feb. 3. Advertisement Advertisement The shooting occurred at a home in the 5500 block of Dearth Road in Clearcreek Township on Jan. 1, 2025, the release states. Prosecutors alleged Clendenin became aware that her husband and boyfriend were at the same party together soon after they both found out "about the relationship each had with Clendenin, per the release. Clendenin allegedly attempted to convince her husband to leave the party and when she wasnt successful, she returned with a .40 caliber handgun, prosecutors said. She allegedly fired eight shots hitting a 29-year-old male who was sitting on the porch of the home in the abdomen, according to the release. Advertisement Advertisement Clendenin's husband allegedly informed police that she might be involved in the shooting, WKRC reported. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. According to the Dayton Daily News, Clendenin was also involved in a car crash after the shooting. The victim had simply been invited to a New Years Eve party and found himself in the middle of Clendenins barrage of gunfire, said Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell in a statement, per the news release. Advertisement Advertisement Clendenin may have started 2025 as a free person but will spend the rest of 2026 and at a minimum the decade thereafter incarcerated for attempting to murder at least one of her romantic interests albeit striking and almost killing an innocent victim," he said. She has yet to be sentenced, per the Daily News. Read the original article on People WEST SILOAM SPRINGS, Okla. A human trafficking operation netted an Oklahoma man accused of sex trafficking two adult women, according to a Delaware County Sheriffs Office statement released on Monday. Michael Joseph Jackson, 53, of Arkoma, was arrested on Jan. 29. No charges have been filed, but Jackson is being held in the Delaware County jail on $24,500 bail on the following complaints. Human Trafficking Principals to a Crime Possession of a Counterfeit Bill Possession of a controlled dangerous substance marijuana Pandering/Procuging Transportation for the purpose of prostitution The investigation remains ongoing, and additional arrests are possible as the case continues. Cpt. Josh Bynum, Delaware County Sheriffs Department spokesman Others arrested in connection with Jacksons arrest are: Louis Sanchez, 62, of Siloam Springs, Ark.; Jonathan Labitad, 41, of Watts; Richie Thao, 44, of Jay, and have since bonded out. Advertisement Advertisement Taryn Cathrine Bellucio, 44, homeless, remains in the Delaware County jail held on $10,000 bail. She was allegedly found to be in possession of 34.8 grams of methamphetamine. Solicitation of Prostitution Procuring for prostitution Soliciting for prostitution Trafficking amphetamine or methamphetamine 20 grams or more Advertisement Advertisement Miami Police Chief Stephen Sigmon said the backstory of the two women is being investigated to see if they were being groomed. The Miami Police Department is part of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Division of Drug Enforcement Predatory Crimes, and the Oklahoma District 13, which works with tribal, local, and state agencies to combat human trafficking. Operational activities centered on major transportation corridors, particularly Highway 412, which runs through southern Delaware County, and Interstate 44. Those areas have historically been exploited for drug transit, criminal movement, and the distribution of illegal narcotics. From Jan. 14 through 17, law enforcement efforts took place across the sovereign lands of the Quapaw, Miami, Peoria, Modoc, Ottawa, Wyandotte, Eastern Shawnee, Seneca Cayuga, and Cherokee Nations. Advertisement Advertisement This level of cooperation reflects our shared mission to safeguard our citizens and communities in Miami and surrounding jurisdictions, Sigmon said. No single agency can address these challenges alone. Our partnerships are essential to success. The four-day operation seized 121.77 grams of methamphetamine, 43.7 grams of cocaine, 4,126.7 grams of marijuana, one prescription pill, and 18 firearms. Law enforcement issued 17 citations and arrested 31 individuals. Participating agencies included: Cherokee Nation Marshals, Oklahoma Attorney Generals Office, Oklahoma Highway Patrol, West Siloam Springs Police Department, Delaware County Sheriffs Office, Quapaw Nation, Miami Nation, Wyandotte Nation, Eastern Shawnee Tribe and Miami Police Department. Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com. The road once known as Austins Mexican Mile is losing another one of its long-time residents. Little Mexico is closing at the end of February after 34 years at that location. Rosa Martinez opened the homey restaurant that serves Tex-Mex and interior Mexican cuisine at 2304 S. First St. in 1994. She opened the original in North Austin in 1986 and moved it just south of Oltorf Road on South First Street for five years before settling the restaurant on the land she purchased in 1992. Advertisement Advertisement Im happy and kind of sad, Monterrey, Mexico native Martinez said Tuesday, fighting back tears between visits with a couple tables of regulars. These people are like family. The restaurant has been one of the stalwarts that has kept the old South Austin spirit alive on a street that has undergone massive development over the last decade. The road was once home to Jovitas, La Mexicana Bakery, which closed in 2022, and El Mercado, which closed in 2025. Little Mexico is closing on South First Street after more than 30 years at that location. (MATTHEW ODAM/AMERICAN-STATESMAN) In addition to serving tacos, migas, pork adobo and more culinary comforts to diners for decades, Little Mexico has been a music and community hub, hosting meetings of the Tejano Music Coalition and live performances from bands like Susan Torres y Conjunto Clemencia and Conjunto Los Pinkys over the years. Advertisement Advertisement Martinez is retiring from the restaurant business but not selling the land (assessed at about $3 million by the Travis County Appraisal District). She has rented the property to a new tenant that has not yet been named. Little Mexicos last day of business will be Feb. 28. Martinezs family posted a message on Facebook thanking their longtime customers and the restaurant's matriarch for her dedication over decades, As Rosa enters this next chapter, we do so with deep gratitude to our loyal customers and to every team member who helped make Little Mexico what it was. Your hard work, care and pride will always be remembered. Related: The latest version of New Hampshires public school open enrollment legislation (HB 751) is making its way quickly through the State House and may be law within weeks. This could be the knockout punch for universal public education in the Granite State. The promise of a quality education for all kids regardless of where they live, their familys income, the color of their skin, their unique abilities or disabilities, etc. might no longer be a promise at all. To understand how we got here, lets back up a bit. Concord has chronically underfunded public education for decades. No other state government contributes less to its public schools than New Hampshire. We are dead last among the 50 states. The New Hampshire Supreme Court has ruled, year after year, that our funding system is unconstitutional. And, year after year, the State House spends money fighting these rulings rather than funding our schools. Our state leaders fail to support our schools, cast education problems as local matters (not state matters) then, hypocritically enough, issue layer upon layer of bureaucratic, regulatory, and state reporting requirements. They are routinely burdensome, confusing, and sometimes illegal. Then, as if a bad joke, our school and district leaders are attacked as overpaid and unnecessary piling on to all the various campaigns demonizing teachers. Advertisement Advertisement On top of all this has been a decades-long effort to undo the very premise of universal public education. Rather than a system built and maintained together (federal, state governments, and local communities) aimed at educating all of our kids for the greater good of our communities and nation theyve sought to replace it with a private marketplace narrative. Education is an every man, woman, and child for themselves endeavor not a public good. The NH school voucher program (a.k.a. Education Freedom Accounts) has fit this narrative perfectly and done even more damage to struggling school systems. It seems only a matter of time before we offer vouchers (or tax rebates) to those among us who dont plan to use police services, the fire department, or local roads. No? And then, on top of all this, the state began actively promoting home schooling with no accountability throughout the past decade and pitched it as a parent right. But there might be a fine line between parent rights and child neglect on this one. Home schooling vouchers have also proven to be yet another way to reduce state funding to our schools. With all due respect to the families who take home schooling seriously (and I know there are many), if we are essentially allowing parents to opt their kids out of getting an education we might as well eliminate all of the laws and regulations that protect children. No? So here we are now. With many NH school systems already down on their knees, and the world in so much chaos that almost no one has the capacity to pay careful enough attention, our leaders in Concord are rushing a new open enrollment proposal through the State House. Supporters trumpet it as a win for parent choice. What it is, in reality, is legislation that will make poorer communities poorer and richer communities richer. Period. Devastating for most of our schools, kids, and families. Given how little our state government does to fund education, this legislation is not only irrational and unfair, it might very well be unconstitutional. Its a complicated idea that will surely be an unjust mess if it becomes law later this month but the fundamental premise is fairly straightforward. The aim is to allow families that live in one school district to send their kids to another school district, require all school districts to participate, and require sending districts to pay a hefty tuition bill to receiving districts. The devil, of course, is in the details. Advertisement Advertisement Here is a hypothetical example using round but fair numbers of what this might look like for a Somersworth family opting to send their kids to the Oyster River Cooperative School District (ORCSD) based out of Durham. The Smith family buys a home and moves to Somersworth. They pay annual property taxes of $8,500. Its a fair estimate that about $5,000 of this tax bill will go to the citys school budget. The Smiths have three school-aged kids. The Somersworth school department spends close to $70,000/year to educate these three kids. Somersworth gets close to $20,000/year from the state to help educate these three kids. The family decides, under the new open enrollment law, to send all three kids to Oyster River. The family has to provide transportation, but they have the means to do so. State law would require ORCSD to accept the three kids if they have capacity. And the law would then require that Somersworth send $70,000 per year to ORCSD. Given that ORCSD spends more per student than Somersworth, the family would be required to pay the difference themselves or ORCSD might choose to waive the additional tuition. The Smith kids are good students without any disciplinary problems and the marginal cost of adding three new students is wildly outweighed by the increased revenue. Its really a windfall for Oyster River. And quite the opposite for Somersworth. The Smith family might suggest that about $5,000 of this $70,000 transfer is fair because it represents their share of local property taxes that went toward Somersworths public schools. And the state could rationally argue that $20,000 of the $70,000 is also fair. Thus weve accounted for about $25,000 of the $70,000 bill. Where does the additional $45,000 come from? Well, it comes from the Smith familys neighbors in Somersworth. Let me repeat, please. It comes from the Smith familys neighbors in Somersworth. The Smith kids enroll in a district outside their home community and their neighbors carry the overwhelming burden of the cost. You can put all the lipstick you want on this parent choice pig, but its not going to get any prettier. Open enrollment will create mayhem across the state. More affluent communities with richer property tax bases and better-funded school systems will be flooded with open enrollment applications. Where there is capacity, we will inevitably have districts creaming top students, athletes, musicians, et al. from other districts and bringing in significant additional revenues at minimal marginal costs. Less affluent communities with poorer property tax bases and inadequately funded school systems will be crushed. The outgoing tuition expenses will far outweigh the savings in marginal cost reductions. It might very well crush entire communities. It could turn out to be like a bank run and the death knell of universal public education in New Hampshire. Advertisement Advertisement We might be just a few years away from a state where Concord does even less for public education than it does now and where the federal role in public education is entirely eliminated. Larger, more affluent, property-rich towns and cities will likely still operate locally-funded community schools. Smaller, less affluent towns without a strong property tax base will likely no longer operate public schools at all. Larger cities like Manchester might be able to do no better than offer some semblance of a public school system poorly funded and nothing more than a last resort. In stark terms, the rich white kids who live in the right places will be OK. A whole lot of others will not. Yet another example of New Hampshire leading the way further dividing and polarizing the rich and the poor, the privileged and the not-so-privileged, those with power and those without. This battle is playing out all over the nation. While the leaders of many states are fighting for fairness, justice, and equitable opportunity for all, our leaders in Concord are fighting for low taxes (at the state level, for big business and the wealthy without regard for regressive local property taxes) and championing individual self-interest (in the guise of liberty) above all else, the common good included. Its just plain sad. And un-American. We are talking about our children here. Lets please join together and stop HB 751. John Shea John Shea is the superintendent of schools of the Somersworth School District. More: Senate Republicans fast-track NH open enrollment for schools This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Open enrollment threatens to destroy public education in NH: Shea Ever since the Trump administrations major bombing disruption of Irans nuclear weapons program last year, followed by the partial decapitation of Nicolas Maduros narcotrafficking regime in Venezuela, the message for Americas allies and adversaries alike has been the same: Trump means what he says. The problem with Trumps approach, though, is that he is just as tough with U.S. friends as he is with our enemies. In fact, sometimes he is harsher. He threatens the use of force or economic coercion against Greenland, Panama and Canada if they dont submit to his territorial demands, for instance, yet he treats avowed adversaries such as Russia and China with kid gloves. Trump has always taken pride in disrupting the political establishment, especially in its conventional foreign policy thinking. And he has often been right though not always for the right reasons. But for someone who enjoys excoriating the naivete and stupidity of his predecessors, he has proven to be remarkably trusting, even gullible, in assessing the motives of Americas greatest enemies. Advertisement Advertisement His credulity has been most visibly on display in his dealings with Vladimir Putin. Despite the Russian strongmans transparent disdain for Trumps efforts to achieve peace in Ukraine, Trump keeps believing against all evidence Putins willingness to accept a negotiated settlement. Putin answers every Trump appeal and every forced concession by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with another deadly missile barrage on civilians and energy infrastructure that increases the misery of the population. Putins objective is to erode the will of the long-suffering Ukrainian people. Trump, for his part, is unwilling to give Ukraine the weapons it needs to win. Instead, Trump steps up the diplomatic, material and psychological pressure on the victim of Russias aggression rather than the aggressor himself, and has even blamed Ukraine for starting the war. Why is Trump so beholden to Putin? There are several possible explanations, none of them comforting. The most sinister, and probably least likely, is that Trump agrees with Putins strategic objectives and shares his goal of a revived Russian empire. This could tie in with a more likely Trump vision: that he, Putin, and Xi Jinping are the big three global powers that divide up and share mastery of the world. Advertisement Advertisement In this sphere-of-influence arrangement, the U.S. would control the Western Hemisphere and Japan; Russia would occupy or dominate most of Eastern, Western and Central Europe; and China would run the Indo-Pacific, including existing democracies like the Philippines and Taiwan. Trump has said several times, accurately, that former President Joe Bidens shameful abandonment of Afghanistan in 2021 showed U.S. weakness. It encouraged Putin to invade Ukraine again, after he had already seized Eastern Ukraine and Crimea during the flexible Obama-Biden administration. Trumps courageous decision to destroy Irans nuclear facilities in 2025 and to seize Maduro and his wife last month partially restored Americas credibility. It showed U.S. willingness to use force to protect vital national security interests. Subsequently, however, Trumps over-reaching threats and rapid backdowns on other issues have re-eroded Washingtons image. The prospect of seizing Greenland from Denmark, a loyal NATO ally, was an outrageous posture with the potential to destroy the most successful security alliance in human history. Symbolic military deployments to Greenland by other NATO members, in an honorable show of alliance solidarity, prompted further threats of punishment through additional tariffs, which Trump has since wisely withdrawn. Advertisement Advertisement The mass protests in Iran posed a danger to the survival of the fanatic Islamic regime that has harassed successive U.S. administrations and on which the Trump team has virtually declared war. Trump encouraged the protests not only to continue but to escalate; his failure to deliver on his promise of support contributed to the deaths of tens of thousands of Iranian dissidents. Trump cannot bring back the Iranian protesters who died relying on his assurance that Help is on the way, but he can still bring to fruition the cause for which they sacrificed their lives and end the regime. Hopefully, U.S. forces converging on the region have that as their mission. and Trump will demonstrate that his actions, in this case, do match his words. Joseph Bosco served as China country director for the secretary of Defense from 2005 to 2006 and as Asia-Pacific director of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief from 2009 to 2010. He is a nonresident fellow at the Institute for Corean-American Studies, a member of the advisory board of the Global Taiwan Institute and member of the advisory board of the Vandenberg Coalition. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Sen. Anthony Broadman, D-Bend, speaks on the Senate floor on Thursday, June 26, 2025. Broadman is among Oregon Democrats proposing to selectively disconnect from parts of the federal tax code that, if applied fully to Oregon's state tax code, could leave the state with nearly $1 billion less revenue than expected during the next 18 months. (Photo by Laura Tesler/Oregon Capital Chronicle) To prevent the states budget from hemorrhaging nearly $1 billion in revenue under federal tax changes during the next two years, Oregon Democrats in the state Legislature are proposing a strategy to selectively disconnect parts of the states tax code from its full, automatic connection to the federal code. The proposal, Senate Bill 1507, would disconnect Oregons state tax code from three of the 115 federal tax code changes that Congressional Republicans passed last summer in their tax and spending cut megalaw. Oregon is one of a handful of states that automatically ties its state tax code to the federal tax code when it changes, rather than selectively connecting to changes later. Advertisement Advertisement The Democratic plan also includes new state-level tax credits for businesses that boost in-state hiring, and for low- and moderate-income Oregonians. The plan would preserve a net $291 million in tax revenue for the state during the next 18 months that would otherwise have gone uncollected under the federal changes. Democratic chairs of the state House and Senate Revenue committees Rep. Nancy Nathanson, of Eugene, and Sen. Anthony Broadman, of Bend characterized the strategy Monday as closing tax loopholes that would disproportionately benefit wealthy Oregonians and corporations at the expense of public services and everyday residents. I think both Chair Nathanson and I believe that this is a plan that focuses both on affordability working to preserve the services that Oregonians rely on: healthcare, education, public safety and then, in a moment of scarcity in our country, of scarcity in our state given the impacts of the federal government on our budget, this is an opportunity to invest in Oregonians living more safe and more affordable lives, Broadman said. The plan is likely to go over poorly with state Republicans, who have called on their colleagues to keep the federal tax changes and instead focus on reducing spending. Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Mike McLane, a Republican from Powell Butte and vice-chair of the Senate Revenue Committee, called out Democrats for introducing the proposal Monday as an amendment to a much more bare bones bill posted before the session started. Like all gut-and-stuff amendments introduced without public transparency, I will need time to review the language that has been posted. That said, policies that further hinder Oregon businesses from growing are not something I can support, and this approach appears inconsistent with the governors stated economic goals, he said in an email. The proposal doesnt go as far as many of the states largest unions would have liked. A coalition of unions ramped up an ad and pressure campaign on moderate Democrats in the lead-up to the session, hoping to get them to completely disconnect state tax code from the federal tax code and to selectively reconnect. Selective cuts Federal tax code changes leave Oregons state budget with $888 million less than anticipated over the next 18 months, according to the states chief economist and the Legislative Revenue Office. The bulk of that is from new federal changes that end income taxes on overtime pay and tips, and that allow individuals and businesses to immediately deduct from their taxes 100% of the cost of depreciating assets, such as real estate and equipment, as well as research and development costs. Advertisement Advertisement The income tax cuts on overtime and tips, research and development and business properties as depreciating assets would stay under the Democratic proposal. But businesses would not be allowed to take the premium deduction on the purchase of new equipment, helping the state keep about $267 million in tax revenue it would otherwise have gone without during the next 18 months, the revenue chairs said. Oregons tax code under the plan would also disallow a new federal deduction for auto loan interest, preserving $36 million in state revenue, and it would disconnect the state from the Qualified Small Business Stock Exemption, which would preserve about $39 million in tax revenue for the state. The stock exemption is meant to encourage investment in smaller, sometimes riskier startup businesses, by allowing individuals to avoid paying capital gains taxes on the sale of qualified small business corporation stocks, which are different from publicly traded stocks. But, Broadman said, though its framed as helping small businesses, there are large corporations benefiting and investors avoiding taxes on tens of millions of dollars in passive earnings. He said it is part of the Republican changes to the federal tax code that many other states have disconnected from, including California, Pennsylvania and Alabama. Advertisement Advertisement Combined, if Oregon disconnects from the three federal provisions, the state could claw back about $342 million in tax revenue that it would otherwise not be able to collect during the next 18 months. New incentives The bill would direct $25 million of the preserved tax revenue to a new state tax credit for businesses that create new jobs in Oregon, as long as they pay above minimum wage. The credit would grow if those businesses show theyve also retained new employees. Another $26 million of preserved revenue would go to boosting the Earned Income Tax Credit for low- and moderate-income Oregonians by 5 percentage points, allowing individuals and households to claim a credit for up to 17% of their earnings depending on income and family size if they make less than $68,675. More than 212,000 taxpayers in Oregon qualified for the earned income tax credit in 2023 about 11% of all taxpayers according to the states most recent data, receiving an average of $222 each. Advertisement Advertisement Growing calls to end completely the states automatic connection and instead selectively connect, as most states do, is not on the table this session, Nathanson said, but is something lawmakers could take up during the long, six-month session in 2027. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Semi-professional paranormal investigator Johnny Turnip of Abergavenny, Wales, has weighed in on the American presidency, the Abergavenny Chronicle reports. "Trump isn't the real enemy, leprechauns are!" he told the paper. "They have been using world leaders and royalty as puppets and distractions from their own diabolical schemes for generations. I don't think either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris were ever aware that they were being used by these corrupt, gold-hungry, shamrock-obsessed, stove-pipe-wearing, alcoholic little pygmies." Turnip went on: "Most people don't think leprechauns are real, and neither did I until a wise man told me that I'd have a hard time finding a mermaid in this day and age because the leprechauns had systematically slaughtered most for them for their scales centuries ago." Unsurprisingly, Turnip had MUCH more to say than we can include here. Consider yourself warned. [Abergavenny Chronicle, 11/11/2024] In a packed town hall meeting Feb. 2, residents wanted to know how the Milwaukee Police Department would act if an immigration enforcement surge were to come to Milwaukee with the same force that federal agents have used on protestors in Minnesota. Hundreds of people lined up outside the Vivarium on North Farwell Avenue for the discussion, which was organized by Alderman Alex Brower for East Side and Riverwest residents. Only a fraction of the crowd made it into the venue before it hit capacity. Hundreds of others were directed to the livestream on Facebook instead. Advertisement Advertisement Many audience members talked of Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old Minneapolis resident shot by federal agents Jan. 24. Pretti was killed by U.S. Border Patrol agents after coming to the aid of a woman pushed to the ground by a federal agent. "We've seen ICE beat people when they're already on the ground, we've seen ICE agents spray pepper spray at people point blank," resident Mike Clouthier said. "If a federal agent is breaking the law by assaulting any one of us, even during a 'targeted raid,' will MPD step in to protect us?" Milwaukee Police Department Chief of Staff Heather Hough's answers throughout the night echoed those shared by the department when the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel asked top officials what they'd do if ICE ramped up enforcement in Wisconsin. "To the extent that we can, we are going to do our very best if we are present to deescalate situations," Hough told the audience. Advertisement Advertisement "We are there to enforce laws, we are there to make sure that people have their constitutional rights to free speech," she said. "But we also, as an agency, cannot obstruct another agency from doing their work." "What if they're breaking the law?" one person from the crowd shouted out. Hough told the crowd that anyone with concerns about police conduct, including in the event of an ICE surge, should file a complaint to the Fire and Police Commission, the citizen oversight board of the Milwaukee Police Department. Hundreds attended a town hall meeting on Feb. 2 at the Vivarium about federal immigration operations. The event was organized by Alderman Alex Brower. Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman has previously acknowledged that ICE enforcement creates a "challenge" for police to gain the trust of community members. Advertisement Advertisement Milwaukee police officers and sheriff's deputies do not ask for immigration status, nor do they detain people solely because of their immigration status. They will share information with ICE if the person has been arrested on suspicion of terrorism, gang violence or violent felonies. East Side town hall offered resources for Milwaukee Organizers and members of the public also shared resources and ways to get involved in supporting immigrant neighbors. Members of the Milwaukee Turners, Comite Sin Fronteras, Somali Resource Center of Milwaukee and other organizations were present to answer questions. Attendees and organizers stressed the importance of reporting rumored ICE activity with the local ICE verifier hotline run by immigrant rights organization Voces de la Frontera at 1 (800) 427 0213. Advertisement Advertisement They also shared legal resources and ways to support immigrant neighbors who may be fearful of going to the store, work and doctors' appointments with the heightened rumors. Some recommended families to develop a plan to prepare for possible interactions with immigration agents. Milwaukee Turners said it is training legal observers to document interactions with federal agents and law enforcement. While ICE has conducted ongoing enforcement in Milwaukee, rampant rumors of widespread ICE raids similar to those in Minneapolis have not materialized. More: After Minnesota shootings, here's what to know about your rights if approached by ICE Advertisement Advertisement More: We asked top officials what theyd do if ICE came to Wisconsin. Here's what they said. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Town hall revolves around how Milwaukee police would interact with ICE Of the 50 people waiting to leave Gaza, mostly for medical treatment, only five patients with seven relatives escorting them managed to cross into Egypt on Monday. Palestinian women, among the few people let back into Gaza after Israel's delayed reopening of the Rafah border crossing, have described being blindfolded, handcuffed, and interrogated by Israeli forces as they tried to get home. Their journey from Egypt on Monday through the frontier post and across the Yellow Line involved lengthy delays and the confiscation of gifts, including toys, one of the women said. Advertisement Advertisement "It was a journey of horror, humiliation, and oppression," said 56-year-old Huda Abu Abed by phone from the tent her family is living in at Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. Her account was supported by that of another woman Reuters interviewed, and by comments from a third woman interviewed on Arab television. In response to a Reuters request for comment, the IDF denied its forces had acted inappropriately or mistreated Palestinians crossing into Gaza, without addressing the specific allegations made by the two women interviewed. Palestinians passing through Rafah border crossing, February 3, 2026. (credit: SECTION 27A COPYRIGHT ACT) Palestinians returning to Gaza allege harsh questioning, mistreatment from IDF About 50 Palestinians had been expected to enter Gaza on Monday, but by nightfall, only three women and nine children had been let through, Palestinian and Egyptian sources said, with another 38 stuck waiting to clear security. Advertisement Advertisement Of these 50 people waiting to leave Gaza, mostly for medical treatment, only five patients with seven relatives escorting them managed to cross into Egypt on Monday. Abu Abed said the returnees, who were restricted to a single suitcase each, first encountered problems at the crossing where European border monitors confiscated toys they were taking home as gifts, she said. She spent a year in Egypt for heart treatment, but returned before it was finished because she missed her family. An adult daughter had also traveled to Egypt for medical treatment. An adult son was killed in December 2024, and she was not able to say goodbye to him, she said. Two other children are in Gaza. Once through the crossing and on the Gaza side of the border, the 12 returnees boarded a bus for their journey through the Israeli-controlled zone and across the Yellow Line. Advertisement Advertisement A second woman, Sabah al-Raqeb, 41, said the bus, escorted by two four-wheel-drive vehicles, was stopped at a checkpoint manned by the Abu Shabab militia. The women's family names were read out over a loudspeaker, and each was led by two men and a woman from Abu Shabab militia to a security point where Israeli forces were waiting. They were then blindfolded and handcuffed, she and Abu Abed said. They were asked about their knowledge of Hamas, about the October 7 massacre, and other issues relating to militancy, the two women said. The gunmen also said they could remain in the Israeli-held zone, Raqeb said. "The officer asked me why I came back to Gaza. He said it was destroyed. I told him I came back for my children and family," said Raqeb, who has returned to her seven children living in a tent after leaving Gaza two years ago for what she had expected to be a short trip for medical treatment. Advertisement Advertisement Abu Abed said the questioning lasted more than two hours. In a statement denying any wrongdoing, the IDF said there were no known incidents of inappropriate conduct, mistreatment, apprehensions, or confiscation of property by the Israeli security establishment. It said there was an "identification and screening process at the 'Regavim' checkpoint, which is managed by the security establishment in the territory under IDF control." The IDF further noted that the process followed screening by European personnel as part of a mechanism agreed upon by all parties. Some 20,000 Gazans are hoping to leave for treatment abroad. Despite the slow reopening, many of them said the step brought relief. On Tuesday, 50 Palestinians were expected to cross into Gaza from Egypt, according to an Egyptian source. 2/3 UPDATE: Precautionary Boil Water Notice for Capri Dr. and 3900, 3904, 3918, 3922, 3928 Milano Road rescinded following the satisfactory completion of the bacteriological survey showing the water is safe to drink. BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) The City of Panama City has issued a boil water notice on Monday for residents near Capri Drive and parts of Milano Road. According to officials, all of Capri Drive is affected, while Milano Road is affected at addresses 3900, 3904, 3918, 3922, and 3928. Advertisement Advertisement A loss of water pressure was experienced due to emergency water main work. The city has issued a boil water notice as a precaution. The city advises bringing water to a rolling boil and holding it for one minute. Water used for drinking, brushing teeth, cooking, washing dishes, and making ice should be boiled before use. Commercial bottled water may be used as an alternative, as well as purification tablets or iodine. This notice will remain in effect until the problem is corrected and a bacteriological survey has shown that the water is safe for consumption. Water may be discolored for approximately 24 hours after water is restored. Advertisement Advertisement If residents have any questions, they are encouraged to call the Public Works office at 850-872 3000. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to mypanhandle.com. Finding Our Voices, a domestic violence awareness nonprofit, organized a protest in Sanford, Maine on Jan. 10, 2025. (Photo by Eesha Pendharkar/ Maine Morning Star) A review of domestic violence homicides over the past few years revealed that friends, family members and co-workers often knew that victims were going through domestic abuse, and in many cases tried to help. Thats according to a Domestic Abuse Homicide Review Panel report published by the Maine Attorney Generals Office on Monday. The findings included several recommendations including stricter pre-trial and bail supervision to prevent future deaths, better collaboration between law enforcement and health care systems, and more resources for domestic violence hotlines and community service organizations to help victims. Advertisement Advertisement Domestic violence homicides generally account for about 50% of Maines overall homicides, according to Deputy Attorney General Lisa Bogue, who chairs the panel. In 2023, there were 53 homicides in Maine (including the 18 people killed in the Lewiston mass shooting), 15 of which were categorized as domestic abuse homicides by the Department of Public Safety. In 2024, 15 of 34 homicides were categorized as domestic abuse, and, as of November 2025, 10 of the 18 total homicides were due to domestic violence. Of the domestic abuse homicides since 2023, the panel analyzed 17 cases in which different perpetrators killed 20 victims , because others were pending or were dismissed. Four of the victims were under the age of 4 years old, with the youngest being just six weeks, according to the report. The report recommended changes to the legal, health care and judicial systems based on their analysis of the cases, which included both intimate partner violence and family members killing each other or bystanders. Advertisement Advertisement The group, which was established in 1997 by the Maine Legislature, meets monthly and compiles recommendations by reviewing legal cases of domestic violence deaths. Theyve seen some progress over the years, such as in safety checks during health care visits for women and children, and local law enforcement training, Bogue said. However, there are still many needed reforms to prevent domestic violence deaths. For example, 50% of domestic abuse deaths in the report were firearm-related. In the aftermath of the Lewiston shooting, use of Maines yellow flag law which allows law enforcement to confiscate ones firearms increased drastically. Bogue said the panel is hopeful that the red flag will be helpful, referring to the Extreme Risk Protection Order referendum that voters passed last November, which will allow family members to petition the court to take guns away from people who are considered a danger to themselves or others. What friends and family can do The strongest indicator for homicide is the victims belief that they are going to be killed, the report found. In several cases, people who knew the victim heard them fearing for their life before the actual incident. In 15 of the 17 homicide cases reviewed by the panel, relatives, friends or co-workers who were aware abuse was occurring attempted to intervene by encouraging victims to seek protection-from-abuse orders, helping them move out, contacting law enforcement or state child welfare officials, and helping victims retrieve belongings. Advertisement Advertisement But many people close to victims often did not realize domestic violence helplines and advocacy organizations are available to guide them on how best to help, according to the report. Domestic violence resource centers they want those people to know they have resources to help them. The quote is, help the helpers, Bogue said.I think its a way to give the person who wants to help their loved one or friend with resources and suggestions that they can bring forth to their person. The panel recommended expanded public awareness efforts emphasizing that domestic violence helplines are available to the helpers, not just victims, and urges the public to recognize coercive and controlling behavior not just physical violence as potentially lethal. But helping victims can be hard because people who experience domestic abuse and violence may initially report the abuse to authorities and then retract some or all of their statements something that occurs in approximately 80% of domestic violence related cases, according to the report. Lack of indigent defense services Maines indigent defense system, which provides representation to defendants who cant afford it, has been plagued with such backlogs that it has been declared a constitutional crisis. The report notes that this lack of representation can also take a toll on victims of domestic violence. Advertisement Advertisement Thirty to 40% of the indigent defendants waiting for counsel in recent years have been charged with domestic violence crimes, and most of them were felony-level abuse or instances of repeated or persistent domestic violence. There are concerns about how it impacts defendants, but its also victims who are in this limbo for a long time without resolution of their cases, Bogue said. Many defendants have been charged with conduct that has been consistently observed by the panel as precursors to homicide, the report said. But by delays caused in sentencing, victims safety is sometimes endangered. At least one domestic violence assault case has been dismissed due to a lack of assigned counsel, and another resulted in the release of a defendant who went on to commit homicide and arson, according to the report. Stricter pre-trial release and bail conditions Defendants charged with domestic violence-related crimes are typically released into their communities before their trials with no structured supervision that would ensure compliance with conditions of release, the report notes. Additionally, inconsistent documentation of where defendants will be staying after release makes enforcement of bail conditions more difficult, potentially exposing victims to further risk. Advertisement Advertisement Maine law allows courts to impose restrictive pre-trial and bail conditions, but these are not being used to their full potential, according to Bogue. There are some provisions within the bail code that are supposed to provide for safety that it seems like the judiciary may not be aware of, she said. The panel believes stronger pretrial supervision for high-risk defendants, improved information-sharing among courts and law enforcement, and greater use of conditions that actively monitor compliance would address these gaps. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE The French offices of Elon Musk's X have been raided by the Paris prosecutor's cyber-crime unit, as part of an investigation into suspected offences including unlawful data extraction and complicity in the possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The prosecutor's office also said both Musk and former X chief executive Linda Yaccarino had been summoned to appear at hearings in April. In a separate development, the UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) announced a probe into Musk's AI tool, Grok, over its "potential to produce harmful sexualised image and video content." Advertisement Advertisement Writing on X, Musk said the raid was a "political attack". The company said in a statement that it was "disappointed" but "not surprised," and accused the Paris Public Prosecutor's office of an "abusive act." X also denied any wrongdoing and said the raid "endangers free speech." The investigation began in January 2025 when French prosecutors started looking into content recommended by X's algorithm, before being widened in July that year to include Musk's controversial AI chatbot, Grok. Yaccarino also took to X to accuse French prosecutors of carrying out "a political vendetta against Americans." Advertisement Advertisement "To be clear: they are lying," added Yaccarino, who left the firm last year. Following Tuesday's raid, French prosecutors say they are now investigating whether X has broken the law across multiple areas. Among potential crimes it said it would investigate were complicity in possession or organised distribution of CSAM, infringement of people's image rights with sexual deepfakes and fraudulent data extraction by an organised group. New UK investigation Meanwhile, UK authorities have given an update on their investigations into sexual deepfakes created by Grok and shared on X. The images - often made using real images of women without their consent - prompted a barrage of criticism in January from victims, online safety campaigners and politicians. Advertisement Advertisement The company eventually intervened to prevent the practice, after Ofcom and others launched investigations. In an update on Tuesday, Ofcom said it was continuing to investigate the platform and was treating it as "a matter of urgency". But it added it was currently unable to investigate the creation of illegal images by Grok in this case because it did not have sufficient powers relating to chatbots. However, shortly afterwards the ICO said it was launching its own probe, in conjunction with Ofcom, into the processing of personal data in relation to the Grok. "The reports about Grok raise deeply troubling questions about how people's personal data has been used to generate intimate or sexualised images without their knowledge or consent, and whether the necessary safeguards were put in place to prevent this," said William Malcolm, the ICO's executive director for regulatory risk & innovation. Advertisement Advertisement In late January, the European Commission announced an investigation into its parent company xAI over concerns about the images. A Commission spokesperson said it was in touch with France over its search of X's office in Paris. 'Not a free country' Pavel Durov - founder of the messaging app Telegram - criticised the French authorities on Tuesday, accusing France of being "the only country in the world that is criminally persecuting all social networks that give people some degree of freedom". "Don't be mistaken: this is not a free country," he added in a post on X. Durov was arrested and detained in France in August 2024 over alleged moderation lapses on his messaging app, which the Paris prosecutor's office said had failed to curb criminal activity. Advertisement Advertisement He was permitted to leave the country last March after the platform made some changes to the way it operates following the arrest. These included sharing some user data with authorities in response to legal requests. PARIS (AP) French prosecutors raided the offices of social media platform X on Tuesday as part of a preliminary investigation into allegations that include spreading child sexual abuse images and deepfakes. They have also summoned billionaire owner Elon Musk for questioning. X and Musk's artificial intelligence company xAI also face intensifying scrutiny from Britain's data privacy regulator, which opened formal investigations into how they handled personal data when they developed and deployed Musk's artificial intelligence chatbot Grok. Grok, which was built by xAI and is available through X, sparked global outrage last month after it pumped out a torrent of sexualized nonconsensual deepfake images in response to requests from X users. Advertisement Advertisement The French investigation was opened in January last year by the prosecutors cybercrime unit, the Paris prosecutors' office said in a statement. It's looking into alleged complicity in possessing and spreading pornographic images of minors, sexually explicit deepfakes, denial of crimes against humanity and manipulation of an automated data processing system as part of an organized group, among other charges. Prosecutors asked Musk and former CEO Linda Yaccarino to attend voluntary interviews on April 20. Employees of X have also been summoned that same week to be heard as witnesses, the statement said. Yaccarino was CEO from May 2023 until July 2025. In a post on its own service denying the allegations, X railed against the raid on its Paris office as an abusive act of law enforcement theater designed to achieve illegitimate political objectives rather than advance legitimate law enforcement goals rooted in the fair and impartial administration of justice. In a message posted on X, the Paris prosecutors office announced the ongoing searches at the company's offices in France and said it was leaving the platform while calling on followers to join it on other social media. Advertisement Advertisement At this stage, the conduct of the investigation is based on a constructive approach, with the aim of ultimately ensuring that the X platform complies with French law, as it operates on the national territory, the prosecutors' statement said. European Union police agency Europol "is supporting the French authorities in this," Europol spokesperson Jan Op Gen Oorth told the AP, without elaborating. French authorities opened their investigation after reports from a French lawmaker alleging that biased algorithms on X likely distorted the functioning of an automated data processing system. It expanded after Grok generated posts that allegedly denied the Holocaust, a crime in France, and spread sexually explicit deepfakes, the statement said. Advertisement Advertisement Grok wrote in a widely shared post in French that gas chambers at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp were designed for disinfection with Zyklon B against typhus rather than for mass murder language long associated with Holocaust denial. In later posts on X, the chatbot reversed itself and acknowledged that its earlier reply was wrong, saying it had been deleted and pointed to historical evidence that Zyklon B was used to kill more than 1 million people in Auschwitz gas chambers. The chatbot also appeared to praise Adolf Hitler last year, in comments that X took down after complaints. In Britain, the Information Commissioners Office said its looking into whether X and xAI followed the law when processing personal data and whether Grok had any measures in place to prevent its use to generate harmful manipulated images. Advertisement Advertisement "The reports about Grok raise deeply troubling questions about how peoples personal data has been used to generate intimate or sexualised images without their knowledge or consent, and whether the necessary safeguards were put in place to prevent this, said William Malcolm, an executive director at the watchdog. He didnt specify what the penalty would be if the probe found the companies didn't comply with data protection laws. A separate investigation into Grok launched last month by the U.K. media regulator, Ofcom, is ongoing. Ofcom said Tuesday it's still gathering evidence and warned the probe could take months. Advertisement Advertisement X has also been under pressure from the EU. The 27-nation bloc's executive arm opened an investigation last month after Grok spewed nonconsensual sexualized deepfake images on the platform. Brussels has already hit X with a 120-million euro (then-$140 million) fine for shortcomings under the bloc's sweeping digital regulations, including blue checkmarks that broke the rules on deceptive design practices that risked exposing users to scams and manipulation. On Monday, Musk s space exploration and rocket business, SpaceX, announced that it acquired xAI in a deal that will also combine Grok, X and his satellite communication company Starlink. ___ Associated Press writers Nicolas Vaux-Montagny in Lyon, France, Mike Corder in The Hague, Netherlands, Sylvia Hui and Kelvin Chan in London contributed to this report. This story was updated to correctly name Save Pensacola Beach and reflect that Escambia County voted down fee simple property ownership on Pensacola Beach. There's a pier problem on Pensacola Beach. It was brought to the forefront at the Jan. 28 meeting of the Santa Rosa Island Authority Board of Directors, but it has existed for quite a bit longer than that. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has acknowledged its own culpability, but failed communication within the Authority's chain of command has also raised red flags, particularly among beach leaseholders. Advertisement Advertisement It all started with a request from Todd Michael Bourgeois to build a pier on the Santa Rosa Sound behind the $4 million home he purchased in 2024 at 1001 Panferio Drive. As established protocol required, according to Authority Executive Director Mike Burns' briefing to the governing board, Bourgeois notified the Island Authority that he would like to obtain a permit to construct the pier and the Island Authority shared that information with DEP. Several days later, Burns said, the required permit was issued. Once DEP issued the permit, the Board of Directors in December approved a walkover that would give the Bourgeois's access to their pier. And that's where things got wonky. The Bourgeois' don't own the land where the walkover was planned to be built. Due to the unique set up on the beach where there are no fee simple property ownership, all property not under lease is considered publicly owned. Advertisement Advertisement And some Santa Rosa Island leaseholders don't think it's right that a private pier, any private pier, should be allowed on public land. "We want our public areas 100% accessible to the public," said Rhonda Dorfman, the president of a group called Pensacola Beach Advocates. Pam Speer, a beach front leaseholder, agrees. The proposed pier threatens the health of Baby Beach, a popular local hangout, she said. "What makes Pensacola so wonderful is the beach," she said. "It needs to be open to the public." DEP weighs in on Pensacola Beach pier issue Residents also didn't like that they didn't receive more information about the pier approval ahead of the December meeting and they said that some of what they were being told about the permitting process wasn't quite adding up. Advertisement Advertisement One of them, Steve Luppert, contacted Elizabeth Orr, the director of DEP's Northwest Region. Luppert informed Orr that he believed Burns, the SRIA executive director, had "strongly implied DEP was responsible for the decision" to allow the dock to be built over public land. "The dock is proposed on SRIA-owned public property. DEP does not initiate or authorize SRIA land-use decisions; DEP reviews what SRIA submits. Any DEP authorization is based on the application and representations made by SRIA as the landowner," Luppert wrote to Orr. "Responsibility for allowing a dock on this property rests with SRIAnot DEP." To Luppert, the perceived misstatement was important, because it deflected accountability from SRIA "and creates a false narrative" that DEP was the agency approving the pier construction. Advertisement Advertisement On Jan. 12, Orr responded. "We recognize that this permit, and a few others that we recently issued on the island, should have included a clearer demonstration of riparian rights (also known as sufficient upland interest). We have notified SRIA and will be reaching out to the permittees to explain our error," Orr said in an email. "The permittees will need to submit modification requests and provide proof of sufficient upland interest. Proof of "sufficient upland interest" would be an indication from the Bourgeois family that it had either enlisted SRIA as a co-applicant for the DEP permit issued, that SRIA had revised their lease to basically extend their property to the mean high water line or to grant the Bourgeois family a "riparian easement" giving them the land below the pier walkover. Luppert shared his email exchange with associates and over social media. The uproar was apparently sufficient to prompt SRIA Board member Bruce Childers to call for reconsideration of the vote to grant the pier walkway authorization to the Bourgeois family. Advertisement Advertisement In the aftermath, the Bourgeois family dropped its request for the pier permit, Burns said on Monday. That won't make neighbors concerns go away, however, as beach residents argued this issue happened before and could happen again. Residents critical of SRIA Executive Director Mike Burns It also brought out members of the public to question Burns' actions as executive director. "You gave that owner a 90-foot easement to build a private walkway," one leaseholder told the board. "Then put up a smokescreen ... The whole thing stinks to high heaven." Melissa Pino, representing the organization Save Pensacola Beach, told the six member board that Burns had deceived them. Advertisement Advertisement "The DEP had communicated with us and acknowledged they had erroneously issued this (the Bourgeois) permit, and not only just this permit," Pino said. She alleged that Burns had been provided documents ahead of the Jan. 28 meeting and asked to distribute them to the board before it convened. His failure to do so, she said, spoke volumes. "This (the decision to authorize dock construction) is not the board's fault, it is (Burns) fault. I specifically asked him today to provide information to you. He is not telling you the truth. He has communication from DEP that says, literally, that they issued this permit to you in error and other permits in error ... DEP admitted allowing permits across public land in error." Dianne Krumel, founder of Save Pensacola Beach, recalled at the January meeting her efforts in 2018 to defeat then-Congressman Matt Gaetz's attempt to replace the leaseholder structure of property ownership. She said ordinances resulted from her efforts that "clearly states you cannot lease any unleased land" on Pensacola Beach. Advertisement Advertisement "Any piers constructed after Aug. 2, 2018 are illegal," Krumel said at the meeting. "Not to rescind the decision or permit on the pier issued in December of 2025 is blatantly illegal. Y'all permitted something you didn't have the ability to permit." More: Judge denies Bruce Childers' effort to be placed on Escambia Supervisor of Elections ballot Dorfman thinks fee simple property ownership, which failed miserably when put before Escambia County voters, needs to be reconsidered. "We have been fighting for comprehensive policies out here instead of executive directors doing what they want," she said. "SRIA is mismanaging things out here. Our lease system is kind of outdated." Advertisement Advertisement Board attorney Mary Jane Bass, however, defended the board's decision. "Legally, I don't think you did anything illegal," she said. "These are private piers. I don't think that there is any way you can construe them as public piers." Luppert argued just as passionately that the piers, every pier on the island, are public property. He said some 50 years ago, when he first started going to the beach, leaseholders had no problem with the concept of their piers or docks being shared publicly. He told the board he's strongly considering visiting some of the area's piers and wondered aloud what law enforcement officers might react to Pensacola Beach's unique conundrum. Hofberger appointee votes in favor of pier walkway construction Even with the crowd insistent that the board vote to rescind the Bourgeois' pier authorization, Elizabeth Timothy, County Commissioner Ashlee Hofberger's appointee to the governing body, said she couldn't go along with doing so. Advertisement Advertisement In a meeting attended by Hofberger, she said, she had learned that the Bourgeois family had spent more than $40,000 to this point to bring their pier construction to fruition and had received nothing from permitting bodies other than "green light, green light, green light." Timothy said the findings of the public would be useful going forward, but she could not support rescinding the SRIA issued authorization. "Part of what you're saying is that the board has been issuing pier permits in error since 2018. I think you've got this matter on our radar," she said. "Do we change going forward? Absolutely. Have you made valid points? Absolutely. I'm 100% in favor of changing procedures going forward, but I do have a concern with what we've already done and reversing that decision after the fact." Childers said he would rather reimburse the Bourgeois family for the expenses they'd incurred getting their pier project permitted, or even face legal action, than face the cost of what building the pier would cost leaseholders in the end. He said he had spoken to a coastal engineer who had opined that the pier in question would cause severe erosion in the Baby Beach area. "For me, $40,000 pales in comparison to what damage will be done to the beach if we allow the pier," he said. When the SRIA board finally voted at its January meeting on the issue of rescinding the construction authorization approved for the Bourgeois family in December, the vote ended in a 3-3 tie with chair Charles Thornton and Jeremy Johnson siding with Childers in favor of rescinding the approval. Timothy, David Peaden and Jerry Watson voted to let the project continue to move forward. The tie vote killed the move to rescind. DEP head says the permit discussion is not over yet Following the vote, Luppert reached out again to the DEP's Orr, this time seeking clarification on the DEP stance regarding the pier construction. "During the public meeting, board members and staff stated on the record that DEP has no remaining concerns, that all required documentation has been satisfied, and that the project is fully compliant from DEPs perspective," he told the Northwest Florida Director. Orr's response indicated questions still remain. "DEP does not consider this project fully compliant at this time," Orr said in the email. "Weve made SRIA aware that DEP will be reaching out to the permittee to request a permit modification to provide proof of sufficient upland interest," she said in the email. She said that staff are reviewing other recently issued permits to "ensure the appropriate path" to approval is "clearly defined." This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola Beach question Santa Rosa Island Authority seek DEP advice A Massachusetts man set fire to his home while using a torch to melt ice on his roof, a risky snow-removal technique that has led to several accidents during winter conditions. The man in Milton, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston, told WCVB-TV he was on a ladder using a torch to melt an ice dam on the front corner of the house when it caught fire and spread quickly on Jan 30. The incident came on the heels of a powerful and deadly winter storm that dumped heavy snow and thick ice across a large swatch of the country. Some parts of the Boston area received more than 20 inches of snow from Jan. 25 to 27 and additional snow has fallen since, according to the National Weather Service office there. Advertisement Advertisement The fire at the Milton home quickly spread through the whole attic, Deputy Fire Chief John Earner told WCVB-TV. It took hours to put the fire out, and nobody was injured, the outlet reported. It's not the first time something like this has happened. In recent years, there have been several reports of people accidentally starting fires while clearing away ice and snow, prompting fire officials to warn residents: Don't use an open flame to melt ice on your home. Eileen William of Tarrytown, NY gets the brunt of the snow being blown by her son William, as they clear the snow from their driveway at the height of the winter storm Jan. 25, 2026. The storm was predicted to drop up to a foot of snow on the lower Hudson Valley. A huge winter storm dumped heavy amounts of snow and ice across wide swaths of the U.S. See photos that capture the scale from around the country. Tom Ellish clears the snow in from of his property on Main Street in Hudson, Ohio on Jan. 25, 2026. Snow piles up on a roof on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026 in Warminster, Pennsylvania. Snow is expected to continue through Monday January 26, 2026 at 3 AM leaving 10-12 inches of snow. A man uses a snowblower as snow continues to fall on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026 in Warminster, Pennsylvania. Snow is expected to continue through Monday Jan. 26, 2026 at 3 AM leaving 10-12 inches of snow. Snow accumulates on a veterans statue outside the Ohio Statehouse as Winter Storm Fern continues to dump snow on the Columbus area on Jan. 25, 2026. A pedestrian clears snow from a driveway on West 8th Street during a winter storm in West Price Hill on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning until Monday at 6 p.m. for Hamilton County, Ohio. Seven inches of snow, as of 12:00pm in Neptune, as winter storm Fern hits Monmouth County, NJ on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2025. Tome Jolevski clears snow during a winter storm in Delhi on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning until Monday at 6 p.m. for Hamilton County, Ohio. Kelce plays in snow following a winter storm in Oklahoma City, Sunday Jan. 25, 2026. A man plods throw the snow on Van Wyck Road in Blauvelt, NY on Jan. 25, 2026. A snowplow at work on a parking lot in Blauvelt, NY on Jan. 25, 2026. A car drives past a snow bank on Convent Road in Blauvelt, NY on Jan. 25, 2026. Homeowners checking the snow total as of 2 p.m. in Lincoln Park, New Jersey. Ruler is showing just about 10 inches so far, with snow still falling at a fast pace. George Booth Oliphant III snowboards off a jump while riding down the hill at Mountainside Park, NJ on Jan 25, 2026. Jah Ramsey sits in a cooler while being toed behind a truck in Branch Brook Park, NJ on Jan. 25, 2026. How deep is the snow from the winter storm? Photos tell the story 1 of 15 Eileen William of Tarrytown, NY gets the brunt of the snow being blown by her son William, as they clear the snow from their driveway at the height of the winter storm Jan. 25, 2026. The storm was predicted to drop up to a foot of snow on the lower Hudson Valley. A huge winter storm dumped heavy amounts of snow and ice across wide swaths of the U.S. See photos that capture the scale from around the country. People set homes on fire while melting snow Certain methods to melt ice or snow such as using blow torches or heating up rubbing alcohol on the stove have led to accidental and costly fires in recent years, according to local authorities and news reports. In December 2025, a homeowner in Peoria, Illinois, set his porch on fire while using a propane kit to melt ice on his porch, WEEK-TV reported. Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire and everyone made it out of the home safely, the outlet reported. Firefighters get off the roof as flames break through the Craig Street home on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. The house was built in 1961. In another case of a torch mishap, a Cincinnati man set fire to his porch while thawing ice on his outside steps. Smoke spread through the home, but the fire was contained to the exterior, according to a January 2025 report from the Cincinnati Enquirer, part of the USA TODAY Network. Nobody was hurt, but the fire caused nearly $100,000 in damages. Advertisement Advertisement And in Racine, Wisconsin, in 2021, a woman told fire officials she was heating rubbing alcohol on the stove to melt ice on her car, but it caught on fire. She tried to take the pan outside, but tripped and spilled on an area rug. One person was injured, WTMJ-TV reported. In 2019, the Kennewick Police Department in Washington state issued a "friendly reminder to homeowners not to attempt to melt ice during this winter season with any type of open flame." The warning came after a resident tried melting ice on the front porch of their house using a propane weed-burning torch and set fire to the front of the home. How to safely remove snow from your roof Homeowners may want to expedite snow and ice removal from their roofs to prevent collapse. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the risk of a roof collapsing due to snow is influenced by the building's characteristics, including its materials and geometry. Another key factor is snow density, which affects how much weight the snow places on a roof and can vary from storm to storm. In many cases, the risk of roof collapse or leaks inside can be mitigated by removing the snow, according to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. While snow removal isn't always required, FEMA recommends consulting a local building inspector or qualified designer. If snow removal is deemed necessary, a professional should handle it using proper precautions, FEMA said. Advertisement Advertisement According to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, homeowners who choose to remove snow themselves can do so with a snow rake or plastic shovel while wearing protective headgear and goggles. They should start from the edge and work their way up the roof, shoveling snow over the side of the building, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency said in a snow removal guide. All gutters and drains should be cleaned of ice, snow, and other debris. "Try to shave the snow down to 2 or 3 inches on the roof instead of scraping the roof clean, which will risk damage to your shingles or other roof covering," the agency said. Homeowners should not stand on or place heavy equipment on their roof unless approved by a registered engineer, according to the agency. They also should be careful when using ladders, as ice can build up on the rungs. This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: House fire blamed on botched attempt to melt ice with torch (NewsNation) A Texas state senator-elect believes the people over party mindset was the key to his victory last weekend. I think my sticking to the issues, and really listening to the voter no matter what political camp they fell under, was key to my success, Taylor Rehmet told The Hill on Monday. This is all about the voters and constituents here. Rehment, a Fort Worth Democrat, and his party were victorious by 14 points in a special election, a major boost ahead of the November midterms. Advertisement Advertisement Noem: Immigration officers in Minneapolis will now wear body cameras The Air Force veteran defeated Republican Leigh Wambsganss, whom President Trump endorsed before suffering his defeat. Rehmets district had favored Trump and the GOP, but the race went to a runoff after none of the candidates secured a majority in the November election. Rehmet became 1 of 8 Democrats over the last several months to win seats formerly held by Republicans. Rehmet credited his hard work for the groundswell of support and also for focusing on the problems he termed a five-alarm fire. GAO estimates attempted Education Dept. layoffs cost at least $28 million Advertisement Advertisement People are so worried about affordability. We need to lower costs. We need to also make sure here in Texas that were protecting our public education system because its under attack with these voucher schemes, he said. Asked if he had advice for anyone whod want to run for office, Rehmet zeroed in on one aspect: Lean into the community. One of the good ways to do that is focus on labor leaders, he expressed. They have the heartbeat of the workforce. I know they do here in Texas, and its authentic, organic. And when you show up and want to learn and champion these issues, you can expect to get elected. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation. PEORIA The city of Peoria filed a lawsuit in Cook County on Tuesday asking a judge to approve a temporary restraining order against the Illinois Gaming Board to prevent the board from voting on Boyd Gaming's proposed new East Peoria casino. The gaming board is set to vote on Boyd's proposal to build a new casino in East Peoria on Thursday morning, but Peoria is hoping to stop that vote from happening. "This is the first next step in what I expect to be a long litigation process moving forward," Peoria Mayor Rita Ali told the Journal Star on Tuesday morning. Advertisement Advertisement The Illinois Gaming Board does not comment on litigation, spokesperson Beth Kaufman told the Journal Star on Tuesday. The lawsuit names Boyd Gaming, the city of East Peoria, Par-A-Dice Gaming Corporation and the Illinois Gaming Board as defendants. More: Peoria rejects settlement offer, will continue to fight casino plans On Monday night, the City Council rejected a settlement agreement proposed by Boyd Gaming, which operates the Par-A-Dice Casino, that would have paid Peoria roughly $1.8 million a year if the city dropped its objections to its proposed casino in East Peoria. Peoria contends the project is a land-based operation that violates state law and a 1991 intergovernmental agreement. Advertisement Advertisement Both a 2019 state law and a 1991 intergovernmental agreement signed between Peoria and East Peoria dictate that any land-based casino built in the area must be on Peoria's side of the river and any riverboat operation must be docked in East Peoria. In December, Boyd Gaming unveiled plans to the gaming board to construct a 29,000-square foot-building in the parking lot of the current Par-A-Dice property in East Peoria. Boyd brazenly, as members of the Peoria City Council see it will construct a basin of river water underneath the floor of its building and will then refer to the building as a riverboat because it rests on top of water. Par-A-Dice casino history: From the legalization of gambling in Illinois to modern-day disputes Advertisement Advertisement "We're asking a judge to stop the gaming board from voting, specifically because we feel the law and the proposal as presented does not comport with the law or the intergovernmental agreement," Urich said. The Illinois Gaming Board is scheduled to vote on Boyd Gaming's proposal Thursday morning at 9 a.m. Urich said it is difficult to know right now if a judge will take the matter up before then. Pursuing litigation could prove to be a costly endeavor for Peoria, city attorney Patrick Hayes told the council Monday night. If the matter goes to the Illinois Supreme Court, which Hayes said was likely, it could cost upward of $1 million to litigate, with no outcome guaranteed. Still, in a 5-5 split vote, the City Council moved on Monday night to reject Boyd's settlement offer and in turn moved to pursue litigation during an executive session following the meeting. This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Peoria moves to block Illinois Gaming Board vote on casino Mayor Corey OConnor announced Pittsburgh has been awarded more than $1.3 million in state grants for three infrastructure and mobility projects. The funding will support trail restoration, intersection planning and pedestrian safety improvements across the city. The grants, awarded to the Department of Mobility and Infrastructure, come from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. The projects target specific areas in the city, including the Emerald View Trail, the Bloomfield neighborhood and Lincoln Avenue. One grant provides $250,800 to rehabilitate a portion of the Emerald View Trail in Mount Washington through the Community Conservation Partnerships Program. A section of the trail was previously closed following a landslide. The grant requires matching funds from the city, which will bring the total investment in the trail restoration and surrounding mitigation to more than $500,000. Advertisement Advertisement The city also received $349,098 for the planning and engineering of a major intersection in Bloomfield. The project focuses on the junction of Liberty Avenue, Main Street and the Bloomfield Bridge. Funded by the DCED Multimodal Transportation Fund, the grant allows the city to study and reenvision the traffic area. The largest of the three awards provides $750,200 for the Lincoln Avenue Multimodal Safety and Accessibility Improvement Project. This funding will support pedestrian safety upgrades along Lincoln Avenue between Atwell Street and Verona Boulevard on the east side of the city. Mayor Corey OConnor emphasized that the grants from the DCNR and DCED serve as investments in the safety of local neighborhoods. This funding will help provide restoration to a popular trail used by families, exploring solutions to make a notoriously complex intersection easier to navigate and improve pedestrian safety along Lincoln Avenue, OConnor said. Advertisement Advertisement The grants will be presented to the Pittsburgh City Council for approval on Wednesday. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW Police Commissioner Daniel Levi has decided that the evidence from the investigation of the former military advocate-general (MAG) Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi won't be transferred to the Attorney General. The Israel Police on Tuesday announced the conclusion of the investigation into former military advocate-general Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi regarding the leak of CCTV footage from the Sde Teiman detention facility. Following a briefing with the head of investigations and the probe team, Police Commissioner Daniel Levi instructed the polices legal adviser to update Justice Minister Yariv Levins legal adviser on facts relevant to potential conflict-of-interest issues. Advertisement Advertisement Levi recommended appointing a senior external professional to review the case, according to a police statement. The police commissioner said that he decided to adopt the High Court of Justices position of waiting for the Justice Ministrys legal advisers opinion on a suspected conflict of interest issue. Levi has determined that the investigative evidence in the Sde Teiman case will not be transferred to Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara in the meantime, Maariv reported. The goal of the pause is to enable the transfer of the investigations findings to an external body, as decided by the High Court. Advertisement Advertisement According to the Israel Police, since the Sde Teiman case is of high public sensitivity, the commissioner believes it is appropriate to allow an additional senior professional authority, external to the police, to review the entirety of the investigative actions carried out, as is customary in investigations of this nature and as determined in a High Court ruling. Such an authority, they added, has not yet been appointed. Head of the Shin Bet David Zini and Police commissioner Daniel Levy. November 03, 2025. (credit: MOSHE SHAI/FLASH90) Prior to reaching a decision concerning how to progress, the police commissioner met with the head of the investigation team, along with other members, Walla reported. The Israel Police added that the commissioner reviewed various fundamental issues and received the necessary explanations from the investigative team. It should be noted that, contrary to inaccurate reports, the police commissioner did not interfere in the investigative work. Advertisement Advertisement In accordance with the opinion to be issued by the legal adviser of the Justice Ministry, the investigative material will be transferred to an authorized review body external to the police, which will be able to examine the investigations findings and the continuation of proceedings in the case, the police said. The need for additional investigative steps, the summoning of additional witnesses and suspects, or alternatively, the filing of indictments against suspects found to be relevant, are some of the elements that will need to be evaluated, the police continued. Following the Sde Teiman leak incident in 2024, an investigation into Tomer-Yerushalmi was launched, developing into a large national case into the IDFs actions regarding dealing with Palestinian detainees. Tomer-Yerushalmi Sde Teiman leak The investigation into the now former MAG stemmed from a July 2024 incident at the Sde Teiman detention facility, in which IDF reservists were suspected of severely abusing a Palestinian detainee from Gaza. The alleged assault, which occurred during the early months of the war, was investigated by the Justice Ministrys Police Investigation Department (PID) and later led to indictments against several soldiers. Advertisement Advertisement The case drew heightened public attention about a month later, when video footage documenting the alleged abuse was leaked to the media and aired by television outlets, despite an active investigation and ongoing legal proceedings. This intensified political backlash against the military prosecution, with coalition lawmakers accusing the IDF legal system of selectively targeting soldiers and undermining morale during wartime. In response to the leak, a separate criminal investigation was opened in late 2024 to determine how the media obtained the footage and whether its release violated confidentiality obligations or constituted an abuse of authority. As part of that probe, investigators examined decisions made within the Military Advocate Generals Office concerning access to and handling of the material. Advertisement Advertisement Tomer-Yerushalmi later acknowledged that she had approved the release of the footage, arguing that the decision was intended to counter misinformation circulating about the case and to demonstrate that the IDF was taking credible action. The admission placed the sitting MAG at the center of the leak investigation an unprecedented development given the offices role as the militarys chief prosecutorial authority. Following the disclosure, Tomer-Yerushalmi stepped down from her post, and law enforcement authorities continued to examine whether the authorization constituted a criminal offense or fell within prosecutorial discretion. As of now, the investigation remains ongoing, with no final determinations announced respecting potential charges. A nearly 30-year-old cold case is being revisited by the Philadelphia Police Department. A city employee was shot and killed in broad daylight. Now, a reward is being offered for the arrest and conviction of a suspect. "My good friend Joe Welsh was shot in a robbery attempt in our old neighborhood," says Jim Fitzgerald, a childhood friend of Welsh. Welsh worked for the city's Licensing and Inspection Department. Advertisement Advertisement On January 21, 1998, Welsh was walking to his car from the Fern Rock SEPTA Station in the middle of the afternoon when he encountered a would-be burglar at 7th Street and Medary Avenue in the city's Olney section. "Did he follow Joe off train? Did he see him at fern rock station, walking to his car? That we don't know. Somehow he came together with Joe on that fateful afternoon," says Fitzgerald. That question remains unanswered, 28 years later. What police do know is that the suspect first fired a shot from a distance, missing Welsh. At some point, the suspect shot Welsh in the head while trying to steal his wallet. Advertisement Advertisement However, the suspect dropped the wallet, leaving the cash inside while running away. "This was a completely unsuccessful robbery for the perp and ended up costing Joe his life 23 days later," Fitzgerald says. Joe Welsh would cling to life for three weeks, before he succumbed to his injury. A priest happened to see at least some of the crime from a nearby third floor window. He described the suspect as being between 5'8 and 6' tall, and wearing a bright yellow winter coat. Fitzgerald is hoping someone's memory is triggered from that fateful night. "I'm asking the public, someone knows what happened, this guy told someone back then or since then." Fitzgerald is adding $25,000 of his own money to the reward. A total of $45,000 is being offered for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in this case. The Roman diocese headed by Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV has ordered a church in Rome to fix a fresco of an angel that was updated to bear a suspicious resemblance to one of President Donald Trumps closest allies in Europe. An Italian newspaper noticed over the weekend that a newly restored fresco at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina in downtown Rome suddenly featured an angel whose face looked a lot like Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy party. The artist, Bruno Valentinetti, has denied modeling the angel after the prime minister, but the Roman diocese expressed its disappointment and vowed to investigate. On Monday, technicians from the diocese told the parish priest the painting needed to be changed to remove Melonis likeness, the Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported. Advertisement Advertisement As pope, the 70-year-old Leo is also the Bishop of Rome. Originally, the Basilica San Lorenzo parish priest, Daniele Micheletti, had defended the fresco, saying he didnt think there was anything wrong with Valentinetti painting the premiers likeness on an angel in a chapel dedicated to holy souls. It doesnt mean were Meloni supporters, he told La Repubblica on Saturday. Maybe we are Meloni supporters, but we dont say so. The face of King Umberto II is also there, does that mean were monarchists? The controversial angel was originally painted in 2000 in a historic basilica in Rome and restored by the original artist last year. / Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP via Getty Images An angel fresco that resembles Giorgia Meloni has caused an uproar in Italy. / Marco Iacobucci and Simona Granati via Getty Images But the Roman dioceses cardinal vicar, Leos close ally Baldassare Reina, responded to the news with a firm statement that images of sacred art and the Christian tradition can be misused or exploited, as they are intended exclusively to support liturgical life. Advertisement Advertisement After speaking to the diocese, Micheletti said the fresco would be modified. Archivists are looking for documentation of the original version of the fresco, which Valentinetti himself painted in 2000 within the historic basilica, which dates back to the 13th century. Pope Leo has been an outspoken critic of many of Trumps policies, including the presidents hardline immigration tactics and threats to invade foreign countries. Giorgia Meloni has been one of President Trump's closest allies in Europe. / Evan Vucci/Pool/Getty Images He shared some of those disagreements with the administration directly during a May sit-down with Vice President JD Vance, and has made a point of distancing himself from his older brothers pro-MAGA politics. In November, a White House spokesperson slammed Leo for saying that detained migrants should be allowed to receive communion. An unusually large number of Atlantic low-pressure systems are passing over Portugal and Spain. The weather services of both countries have predicted the arrival of another storm from the Atlantic for Wednesday. Low pressure system Leonardo will bring heavy rainfall and gale-force winds, they said. Last week, storm Kristin caused severe destruction in Portugal with wind speeds of more than 200 kilometres per hour in some places. The highest red warning level was declared for some coastal sections of the Portuguese Azores Islands due to the risk of very high waves from Leonardo, the state television station RTP reported on Tuesday. Advertisement Advertisement On the mainland, people prepared as best they could for further flooding. The already heavily saturated soil and well-filled reservoirs can hardly absorb any more water. The police in Portugal called on people to prepare an emergency pack for 72 hours with drinking water, non-perishable food, medicines, a power bank, important documents, clothing and other essential items. Around 116,000 people across the country were still without power at midday on Tuesday. There were also warnings of heavy rain and storms in Spain, particularly in Andalusia in the south of the country. The Spanish weather service AEMET warned of very high waves on the coasts in the south and even on Mallorca and the other Balearic Islands. An Iowa House subcommittee moved ahead with a bill Wednesday, Jan. 28, to change how state universities determine admission through different test scores. House Study Bill 547 would require the Iowa Board of Regents to develop a policy for students applying to state universities who do not qualify for admission based on the regent admission index, which combines ACT or SAT test scores, high school grade-point average and number of completed core classes. For these students, the bill would require universities to only use merit and likelihood of employment in Iowa after graduation in deciding whether to admit them or not. The board of regents would also have to incorporate the Classic Learning Test into the regent admission index if the legislation is passed. Advertisement Advertisement More: Chase opens first Ames branch, pledges $1M for Iowa's small businesses A report released by the board in April 2024 recommended leaving the Classic Learning Test out of the admission index until its viability can be better measured, and using it only in individual student cases. According to the Classic Learning Test website, more than 300 colleges and universities accept the test. The CLT "offers assessments that strengthen a traditional education, providing a meaningful metric of students abilities and helping them pursue a fulfilling future." Iowa Regents, legislators share split views on new admissions process Iowa Board of Regents State Relations Officer Jillian Carlson said the board is registered as undecided on the bill, and referenced the report. She said state universities do accept the test for admission, it just hasnt been incorporated into the regents admission index. Rep. Jeff Shipley, R-Birmingham, chaired the subcommittee and was joined by Rep. Dave Jacoby, D-Coralville. Rep. John Wills, R-Spirit Lake, was on the subcommittee but did not attend the meeting. The subcommittee approved the bill to head to the full Iowa House Higher Education Committee, Shipley said in a text message. Advertisement Advertisement More: St. Paul's denies reports of backlash for 'legal observer' training Jacoby was opposed to the legislation, saying in an interview after the meeting the board needs to have admissions measures that have been tested, and the Classic Learning Test is such a low denominator for potential students that hes not sure its accurate. Another concern he had was of students signaling their intent to stay in Iowa after graduation and then leaving after graduation anyway. There are no pre- and post-tests to measure this, he said, and the board of regents doesnt have staff to handle it. He is, however, in favor of taking a more holistic view in admissions than just looking at ACT and SAT scores and allowing students to create portfolios that they could submit to universities for admission. Advertisement Advertisement More: ISU's VEISHEA festival canceled over safety concerns could return Representatives with the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa declined to comment on possible admission changes, saying they can't speculate on pending legislation. Find this story at Iowa Capital Dispatch, which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions:kobradovich@iowacapitaldispatch.com. This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Iowa bill ties public university admissions to instate job prospects Rafah is one of the sticking points in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas and was often the focal point of the war that began in October 2023. The Rafah crossing, Gazas border with Egypt, will reopen on Sunday after being shut down by Israel for nearly two years. Rafah is one of the sticking points in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas and was often the focal point of the war that began in October 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Israel is caught between international pressure to open the crossing and to gradually begin the process of Gazas rehabilitation after a lengthy and costly war, and its security concerns. For Palestinians, Rafah is the only exit from Gaza not controlled by Israel. In the past, it supplied a rare conduit for medical treatment abroad, family reunifications, and relief from the territorys isolation and dire conditions. Last week, a statement released by the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the opening of the crossing was part of the implementation of US President Donald Trumps 20-point peace plan. The crossing will be limited solely to people with a full Israeli oversight mechanism, the statement read. The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt opens to pedestrian traffic on Feb. 2, 2026. (credit: TPS-IL) Quotes by unnamed officials in Israeli media gave different numbers of Palestinians that will be allowed through the crossing, both in and out of Gaza. The number of Palestinians ranged from 50 to 150. Foreign journalists are still not allowed to enter the territory Data released by the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health suggest at least 16,500 patients are in need of medical evacuation. Advertisement Advertisement International humanitarian organizations believe the reopening of the crossing is critical not only for medical cases but also for restoring the limited civilian movement that existed prior to the war, after months of near-total isolation, even though access will remain highly restricted and subject to Israeli approval. According to the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the European Union will also be part of the oversight mechanism. Only Gaza residents who left the territory during the war will be allowed to return, subject to advance Israeli approval. The opening of the crossing, Gazas main opening to the world, comes days after the remains of the last Israeli hostage were recovered by the Israeli military, marking the end of the first phase of the Trump peace plan. Rafah is the only point in Gaza which allows for movement to another country, Col. (res.) Eldad Shavit, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies and a former senior intelligence officer, told The Media Line. Its high sensitivity is the reason why Israel is putting emphasis on the matter. Advertisement Advertisement Rafah is important for all sides for Hamas, for the mediators, for the US and for Israel, which wants to make sure that there is no way to use Rafah against Israeli interests, Shavit added. One of Israels objectives during the war was to establish control over a narrow strip of land called the Philadelphi Corridor, which is approximately 13 kilometers (8 miles) long and located along Gazas southern border with Egypt. As part of the peace agreement between Israel and Egypt in 1979, the area was designated as a buffer zone that was monitored by Israeli forces. Coined the Philadelphi Corridor, Israel maintained control of it until its disengagement from the Gaza Strip in 2005. Egypt then deployed troops on its side of the border, with the Palestinian Authority taking over control of the Gaza side. In 2007, the Hamas terrorist organization violently overthrew the PA, seizing control of Gaza and the Philadelphi Corridor. Advertisement Advertisement Both Israel and Egypt imposed major restrictions on the Palestinians in Gaza, with Egypt restricting the flow of goods to and from the crossing, especially after Hamas took over in 2007. Egypt reopened the crossing after the 2011 revolution, but closed it in 2013 when President Mohamed Morsi was ousted. Morsi was a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist movement from which Hamas stemmed. Before the war, Rafah served as Hamas main armament lifeline, in addition to being where much of the humanitarian aid entered the Gaza Strip. According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israeli defense establishment, Rafah was the hub of Hamas intricate tunnel network that allowed its members to move freely throughout the Gaza Strip. Last week, Israeli defense officials quoted in the media said Hamas was already making headway in its rehabilitation efforts, using the humanitarian aid to make money from goods being sold in local markets. Advertisement Advertisement Hamas is making efforts to rehabilitate, said Shavit. The question is how successful it will be, and it largely depends on how much the Americans will hold Hamas to its promise to disarm. Under the terms of the ceasefire, the IDF will control the area between the Rafah crossing and the zone where most Palestinians live. During the second phase of the peace plan, Hamas is supposed to give up its weapons and control of Gaza, letting a government of technocrats rule the territory. The Israeli military is also supposed to withdraw from most of the Gaza Strip. President Trumps newly established Board of Peace and the proposed Gaza Stabilization Force are intended to oversee the implementation of the 20-point peace plan, aimed at sidelining Hamas and shaping Gazas postwar future. According to American officials, the Board of Peace will coordinate diplomatic efforts, oversee security arrangements, and promote economic incentives intended to weaken Hamas grip on Gaza. The Gaza Stabilization Force is supposed to oversee disarmament and prevent the rehabilitation of the terrorist group. Together, both are intended to create the conditions for a transitional administration in Gaza, reduce Israels direct involvement, and open the door to reconstruction efforts. Rafah is a major part of the puzzle Many Israelis are skeptical that Hamas will willingly disarm. With the Rafah crossing now open, Hamas may be able to speed up its efforts to regroup. Advertisement Advertisement Trump may have established the Board of Peace, but Israel needs to establish the Board of War, Israeli Cabinet Minister Avi Dichter said in a radio interview on Sunday morning. There are zero chances of Hamas disarming. No one seriously thinks an international force will do the job for Israel. Avi Melamed, founder of Inside the Middle East Institute and a former intelligence official, believes that two and a half years after the war between Israel and Hamas began, the terrorist organization is far from being sidelined. What we are seeing is international involvement in Gaza, Melamed told The Media Line. Theoretically, the control of the Rafah crossing is no longer in the hands of Hamas, but on the ground, Hamas still has control of the territory. Throughout the war, Israeli forces uncovered and destroyed Hamas tunnel shafts and underground infrastructure in Rafah. It is unclear how much of the infrastructure remains and whether Hamas is already rebuilding it. Advertisement Advertisement The reality on the ground is stronger than any speech or declaration, said Melamed. Israel cannot be calm. Hamas hasnt disappeared; it remains steadfast and is rebuilding, in addition to seeing Turkey and Qatar as major players in Gaza. Israels ability to control the area is getting smaller. Israels concern is compounded by the growing involvement of Turkey and Qatar, both of which seek to solidify their influence in Gaza through political mediation, financial support, and intense involvement in the reconstruction efforts of the territory. Since Qatar has long served as a key financial backer of Hamas and of Gaza, Israeli officials say Qatari funds and diplomatic cover have helped sustain the groups grip on the territory. Turkey, meanwhile, has increased its regional footprint through outspoken and often controversial political support for Hamas, while simultaneously engaging in Gaza-related initiatives. This has raised fears in Israel that external actors will assist in Hamas recovery while limiting Israels ability to shape postwar security arrangements. With eyes on the delicate setup in Rafah that could quickly become a reality over which Israel has no control, the central question for the Jewish state remains whether Gazas future will be shaped by a weakened Hamas or by an international framework that, intentionally or not, allows the terrorist group to survive, regroup and continue exerting control both beneath and above the ground. TRENTON An attorney for USA TODAY Co., publisher of this newspaper and MyCentralJersey.com, has argued to a state appellate court that police body camera footage of a meeting with former Spotswood mayor Jackie Palmer will show whether she made racist comments as alleged in a civil lawsuit brought by an officer. However, a lawyer for Palmer argued that the recordings were made "surreptitiously" without Palmer's knowledge and were "an intentional abuse of police body-worn cameras and the weaponization of OPRA (Open Public Records Act) to facilitate an ongoing smear campaign." Mathew Moench, Palmer's lawyer, also argued that release of the footage "would set a dangerous precedent and would incentivize the creation of surreptitious BWC (body-worn camera) recordings. Advertisement Advertisement "It would mean that New Jersey residents can be lawfully recorded without explicit notification," he wrote in a brief. But CJ Griffin, attorney for USA TODAY Co., stated in a court brief that the officers wore the cameras with a red light on the front of their uniforms and "they beeped more than 30 times during the meeting" which lasted 36 minutes. Both sides made their arguments on Feb. 2 before an appellate panel in the ongoing legal battle whether the 10 recordings made during an April 2022 incident when police were called to deal with a Black resident allegedly causing a disturbance at the municipal building should be made public. The controversy over the body camera footage began when Richard Sasso, president of the Spotswood PBA, filed a Superior Court lawsuit against Palmer and the borough, alleging violations of the state's Whistleblower Law and other charges. Advertisement Advertisement The recordings, Sasso argues in his lawsuit, will illustrate Palmer's "antagonism" toward police and possible inappropriate "racially charged" comments she made about the incident. USA TODAY Co. along with Spotswood resident Steve Wronko have filed Open Public Records Act (OPRA) requests for the recordings which Middlesex County Superior Court Judge Michael Toto has released only to the attorneys of the parties in the case. Toto ruled in May 2024 that some portions of the body camera footage were not subject to release under OPRA or common law but that other portions could be made public with redactions. Sasso's lawsuit against Palmer and the borough remains pending in Middlesex County Superior Court. Advertisement Advertisement Palmer lost her bid for reelection in 2024 by a 6-to-1 margin In a brief filed with the court, the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office agreed with USA TODAY Co.'s contention that the recordings were not made surreptitiously. The Prosecutor's Office said recording the interaction with Palmer was appropriate because it "may have been material to an ongoing bias investigation or the mayor's call for service." The Prosecutor's Office also maintained that the case should return to Superior Court to determine whether portions of the recordings should be redacted under OPRA's exemptions dealing with building security or deliberative discussions. Advertisement Advertisement Griffin argued in a brief that "there is a very strong public interest, to prove or disprove Sasso's allegation. The public needs to hear what the mayor said and the tone in which she said it." "The public already knows what Sasso alleged was said, and it can certainly make assumptions about whether the mayor would be fighting so hard to keep the video confidential if it cleared her of wrongdoing," Griffin continued. "But non-disclosure keeps the public and press from knowing whether the allegations are true, and whether her tone or demeanor negates the sting of the allegations." "Non-disclosure serves only to keep the public from verifying whether Sasso's allegations are true," Griffin wrote. The recordings will also show how the police and Palmer interacted with each other, the attorney said. Advertisement Advertisement "There are allegations in multiple lawsuits that the mayor unlawfully interferes with the police department," Griffin wrote. "The video will provide information on that issue." Griffin also argued that "the public's interest in disclosure far outweighs any purported privacy right. The mayor is a public official with a diminished right to privacy, especially when performing her duties and interacting with police." In an investigation into the incident, the Prosecutor's Office determined in an Internal Affairs report that though Palmer did not commit a crime, her comments were "unprofessional and inappropriate." However, the report, Moench wrote in his brief, did not state whether Palmer made any racist remarks. Advertisement Advertisement Moench argued that Palmer "believes the Spotswood Police Department command staff recorded her for the purpose of harassing, intimidating and retaliating against her." "She believes members of the Spotswood Police Department disseminated confidential information to harm her," Moench wrote. Palmer's belief that she was the target of the police department was further shown, her attorney contended, when the local PBA "packed" an October 2023 borough council meeting with law enforcement officers throughout the state who demanded her resignation. Moench maintained that the recordings were made in violation of body camera guidelines. Advertisement Advertisement "Surreptitiously recorded videos are not 'government records' and are not subject to OPRA," Moench wrote. "Nor does the common law right of access support release of illegal records obtained as part of an ongoing effort to harass and intimidate the borough's mayor by police officers." Moench also argued that the police officers should not have activated their cameras during the meeting because it was "a supervisory meeting in which consultative comments were made and attorney-client communications were discussed." Moench called the officers' actions "an intentional abuse of body-worn cameras." No date has been set for the appellate court decision. Email: mdeak@MyCentralJersey.com This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Recordings could shed light on allegations against ex-Spotswood mayor OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) Public records obtained by News 4 show the U.S. Department of Justice has been demanding Oklahoma turn over confidential voter data for months, despite the state Election Board saying last week it never received a formal request, because the DOJ repeatedly sent its emails to the wrong address. Emails obtained by News 4 show a Department of Justice attorney first contacted Oklahoma State Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax in July, requesting extensive voter information. Oklahoma lawmakers oppose transfer of personal ID data Advertisement Advertisement Responsive DocumentsDownload In the July email, the DOJ attorney asked the Election Board to turn over personal data for every registered voter in Oklahoma. That request included publicly available information such as names, birth dates, and party affiliations. It also sought private data, including drivers license numbers and Social Security numbers. Ziriax responded to the DOJ attorney days later, writing that her request did not align with Oklahoma law. In his response, Ziriax told the DOJ attorney she was free to access publicly available voter data already posted on the Election Boards website. Advertisement Advertisement He wrote that Oklahoma law clearly states drivers license numbers and Social Security numbers are not public records and required to be confidential. Ziriax also asked the DOJ attorney to provide the citation to any federal law that would override Oklahomas confidentiality requirements. That exchange appeared to be where communication ended. During the same period, the DOJ was sending similar demands to other states seeking the same voter data. Some states complied with those requests. Others filed lawsuits against the Trump administrations DOJ to block the release of private voter information. Advertisement Advertisement Governor delivers final State of the State address Attorney Ed Blau said states have legitimate concerns about handing over confidential voter data. Its concerning that this may be turned over and we dont know what protections will be in place to make sure the information is not disseminated, Blau said. And theres a real question as to whether or not this information will be used for a nefarious purpose. Federal judges have ruled that those states raised valid legal questions. Judges have stayed or told the states that they dont have to turn this over until this issue is litigated further, Blau said. Advertisement Advertisement Last week, News 4 asked the Oklahoma State Election Board whether it planned to turn over voter data or join those lawsuits. The board said neither, explaining it never received a formal follow-up request after Ziriaxs July response. After that story aired, the Election Board said the DOJ contacted them and claimed it had sent multiple follow-up emails demanding the data. The DOJ forwarded copies of those emails to the Election Board. Those included a December email formally requesting the Election Board turn over all voter data. Another email sent in January asked for a follow-up after receiving no response. Advertisement Advertisement Last Wednesday, the DOJ sent an email directly to the Election Boards communications director demanding a response to those earlier messages. In her response to the DOJ last week, the communications director pointed out that the December and January emails had been sent to an email address that does not exist. The Election Boards correct email address is info@elections.ok.gov. The DOJ instead sent the emails to ifo@elections.ok.gov, missing the letter n. The DOJ made that same mistake three separate times. To hear that these lawyers made such an elementary and easily solved mistake is very surprising, Blau said. I would not expect this type of mistake to come from our local Department of Justice attorneys or local U.S. attorneys. But the way the federal DOJ in D.C. is movingits not surprising. Advertisement Advertisement With the error now identified, the most recent emails obtained by News 4 show the DOJ continues to demand the Election Board turn over all voter data. News 4 again asked the Election Board whether it plans to comply or join the lawsuits filed by other states. As of Monday, the Election Board said its legal staff is still reviewing the request and has not made a decision. In its most recent email to the Election Board secretary, a DOJ attorney wrote that in the case of Oklahoma, we have not expected there to be any issues with turning over the data. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City. Two brothers of Renee Nicole Macklin Good, the queer Minnesota U.S. citizen fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis in January, are testifying in Washington, D.C., today at a Capitol Hill hearing examining the use of force by federal immigration agents. Keep up with the latest in LGBTQ + news and politics. Sign up for The Advocate's email newsletter. Brent Ganger and Luke Ganger, Goods brothers, were added to the speaking lineup just a day before the hearing. On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and California U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia, both Democrats, will convene a public forum to hear testimony on what they describe as the violent tactics and disproportionate use of force by Department of Homeland Security agents. Advertisement Advertisement Related: Renee Good's family will be represented by the same lawyer as George Floyd Related: Renee Good's family reveals she randomly encountered ICE and stopped to observe Blumenthal is the ranking member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, while Garcia, who is gay, serves as the ranking member of the House Oversight Subcommittee. Lawmakers say the forum is intended to highlight cases that, together, raise urgent questions about accountability for federal agents operating in U.S. communities. Goods killing has become one of the most closely watched cases in a widening national debate over immigration enforcement and federal policing power. ICE Agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Good on January 7, as she was trying to drive away in her SUV. Top government officials, including Vice President JD Vance and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, falsely called Good a domestic terrorist. Federal officials have said the ICE agent involved acted in self-defense, a claim disputed by eyewitnesses and video, local officials, and the Good family. The mother of threes death sparked protests in Minneapolis and intensified calls from Democrats for greater oversight of federal immigration operations far from the border. Advertisement Advertisement Related: Who was Renee Nicole Good? Remembering the Minneapolis poet and mother killed by ICE Related: Who is Jonathan Ross? ICE agent who killed Renee Good once broke a suspect's car window Related: Renee Good's family shares independent autopsy results, says DOJ is withholding evidence Friends and relatives have described Good as a devoted parent, a poet, and a deeply engaged member of her community, known for looking out for others. Days after Goods killing, two immigration agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, a VA intensive care nurse, who was filming enforcement activity with his phone when he was tackled to the ground after he tried to help a woman pushed to the ground by an agent. More than half a dozen men jumped onto Pretti, restraining him and taking his legally owned gun from his holster before agents Jesus Ochoa and Raymundo Gutierrez fired at the now unarmed health care provider multiple times, killing him. Advertisement Advertisement Related: Trump tries to smear Renee Good and her wife for ICE killing Related: Powerful House Oversight Democrat calls for Kristi Noems impeachment & ICE abolishment ]The witness list also includes Marimar Martinez, a Chicago resident shot five times by Customs and Border Protection agents; Aliya Rahman, a Minneapolis resident with autism and a traumatic brain injury who was dragged from her car after disclosing her disability; and Martin Daniel Rascon, who survived a traffic stop in which a CBP agent fired multiple shots into his familys vehicle. Antonio Romanucci, the Good family attorney, will also speak. This article originally appeared on Advocate: Renee Goods family will testify about ICE killing in Congress today RELATED Festive activities held as Chinese New Year approaches at Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou Xinhua) 08:58, February 03, 2026 Villagers take part in a Chinese New Year celebration event at Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 2, 2026. As the Chinese New Year approaches, Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou City has held a series of festive activities, recreating traditional Chinese New Year customs of a water town and creating a joyful atmosphere for the upcoming holiday. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) An aerial drone photo shows villagers watching a traditional water-town opera performance at Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 2, 2026. As the Chinese New Year approaches, Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou City has held a series of festive activities, recreating traditional Chinese New Year customs of a water town and creating a joyful atmosphere for the upcoming holiday. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) A villager writes spring couplets during a Chinese New Year celebration event at Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 2, 2026. As the Chinese New Year approaches, Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou City has held a series of festive activities, recreating traditional Chinese New Year customs of a water town and creating a joyful atmosphere for the upcoming holiday. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) A drone photo shows villagers watching a traditional water-town opera performance at Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 2, 2026. As the Chinese New Year approaches, Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou City has held a series of festive activities, recreating traditional Chinese New Year customs of a water town and creating a joyful atmosphere for the upcoming holiday. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) Villagers watch a traditional water-town opera performance at Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 2, 2026. As the Chinese New Year approaches, Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou City has held a series of festive activities, recreating traditional Chinese New Year customs of a water town and creating a joyful atmosphere for the upcoming holiday. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) A villager writes spring couplets at Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 2, 2026. As the Chinese New Year approaches, Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou City has held a series of festive activities, recreating traditional Chinese New Year customs of a water town and creating a joyful atmosphere for the upcoming holiday. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) A villager decorates with lanterns and festive ornaments at Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 2, 2026. As the Chinese New Year approaches, Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou City has held a series of festive activities, recreating traditional Chinese New Year customs of a water town and creating a joyful atmosphere for the upcoming holiday. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) Villagers make rice cakes at Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 2, 2026. As the Chinese New Year approaches, Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou City has held a series of festive activities, recreating traditional Chinese New Year customs of a water town and creating a joyful atmosphere for the upcoming holiday. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) An aerial drone photo shows villagers watching a traditional water-town opera performance at Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 2, 2026. As the Chinese New Year approaches, Mojiaqiao Village in Hangzhou City has held a series of festive activities, recreating traditional Chinese New Year customs of a water town and creating a joyful atmosphere for the upcoming holiday. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) Feb. 2GRAND FORKS Rep. Landon Bahl, R-Grand Forks, announced Sunday he will not be seeking reelection in 2026. Bahl, who serves District 17, said the decision not to run for office again was driven by professional responsibilities, having recently co-founded a new private equity firm called Alluvium Equity. "Any business in its early stages is challenging and demands the utmost attention," he said. "The Legislature, when you're gone for four-plus months every year, it can hinder that. We're just at such a critical phase with it being brand new, and I just needed to devote my sole time and attention to that." Advertisement Advertisement Bahl was first elected to the House in 2022. During that time, he has served on legislative committees like the Government and Veterans Affairs Committee, the Industry, Business and Labor Committee, the Judiciary Committee and more. Bahl said serving on some of those committees was one of his favorite parts of being a state lawmaker; being a part of the Industry, Business and Labor Committee, for example, he said was meaningful as a business owner himself. "We truly came to work every single day trying to implement new policies and get rid of old policies that hindered business growth," he said. He also said serving on the Government and Veterans Affairs Committee was "eye opening," giving him the opportunity to learn about what services are available to veterans in North Dakota and what services the state should be providing, as well as hear veterans' stories and experiences. Advertisement Advertisement He is also proud of playing a part in passing property tax relief during last year's legislative session. "It may not necessarily be what every single homeowner wanted, it may not be enough for some, but at the end of the day, it was truly historic property tax relief that the Legislature provided," he said, "so that, in and of itself, is pretty dang cool to have been a part of that." Another accomplishment he listed is the North Dakota Center for Aerospace Medicine, a mental health program for pilots at the University of North Dakota and throughout the state. Bahl introduced the bill to create the program in 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Looking forward, Bahl said he still plans to be involved in civic life, possibly running for a local elected office where he can be more involved in the community directly. "I'm really excited to stay actively involved on a local level, and maybe someday that might mean an elected office in or around our city," he said. "If that comes up and it ends up being the right role and allows me to actively contribute and continue to grow my business, that's exactly what I'm excited for." And until his tenure as representative is finished at the end of the year, he added he will continue to serve on interim committees like the Higher Education Education Institutions Committee and Employee Benefits Programs Committee and will continue to advocate for things like annual legislative sessions. Bahl also acknowledged and expressed his gratitude for his constituents in District 17, his fellow lawmakers Sen. Jonathan Sickler and Rep. Mark Sanford and state agency employees. U.S. Reps. Burgess Owens and Celeste Maloy of Utah joined 11 local leaders in filing a federal lawsuit on Monday alleging that the states court-ordered congressional map violates the U.S. Constitution. The lawsuit names Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson as the defendant. It seeks to prevent her, as the states chief election officer, from implementing the new district map for the 2026 elections. Plaintiffs in the case asked the U.S. district court for Utah to declare Utahs current map for U.S. House seats unconstitutional and to reinstate the one approved by state lawmakers in 2021 or to let lawmakers draft a new one. Advertisement Advertisement The lawsuit names Henderson as the defendant out of legal necessity because she is responsible for the implementation of congressional maps, Owens, Maloy and co-plaintiffs wrote in an op-ed published in the Deseret News on Monday. We do not allege malice, bad faith or improper motive on her part, they wrote. To the contrary, this federal lawsuit seeks to relieve her of being compelled to carry out a state court order that exceeds federal constitutional limits. Plaintiffs accuse 3rd District Judge Dianna Gibson of breaching the U.S. Constitutions Elections Clause when she imposed new congressional boundaries that had not been approved by the Utah Legislature. The Elections Clause states that, The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof. Advertisement Advertisement On Nov. 10 just minutes before a midnight deadline requested by the Lieutenant Governors Office Gibson ruled that the Legislature had failed to comply with her interpretation of Utahs Proposition 4 redistricting law. Instead of asking lawmakers to redraw a map in compliance with Prop 4s anti-gerrymandering criteria, Gibson ordered election officials to implement another map drawn by nonprofit advocacy groups that sued the state in 2022. In their 29-page legal complaint, plaintiffs allege that Gibson usurped legislative map-drawing authority and that implementation of the new map disrupts the states congressional representation ahead of the 2026 elections. What does the lawsuit say The 13 plaintiffs which include seven county commissioners, three sheriffs and one mayor argued in their Deseret News op-ed that the lawsuit is not an attempt to influence electoral outcomes. Advertisement Advertisement It is a necessary response to a breakdown in constitutional order that, if left unaddressed, will weaken representative government in Utah in ways that will not easily be undone, the plaintiffs wrote. But the political implications are unavoidable. Gibsons map reduces Utahs Republican-leaning congressional districts from four to three, and shuffles the electoral boundaries so as to make it unclear which districts Owens, Maloy or Reps. Blake Moore or Mike Kennedy should choose to run in. The new map would extend Kennedys 3rd District across all of southern Utah, including Maloys residence in Cedar City. Meanwhile, Maloys 2nd District would be reassigned to northern Utah, currently represented by Moore, and Moores 1st District would be concentrated in the Democratic stronghold of Salt Lake City. Advertisement Advertisement The new map, known as Map 1, did not follow the process outlined in Prop 4, according to Maloy. In a statement to the Deseret News, Maloy pointed out that the new electoral boundaries never passed through the redistricting commission or the legislature, as required by Prop 4. This map was wholly created by a group that holds no accountability to Utah voters, Maloy said. As a Utah voter and an elected official, it is my responsibility to allow Utah voters a choice on how they would like their representatives chosen. In a December special session, legislators changed the congressional candidate filing deadline from January to March. But after sifting through three potential maps over the past five months, plaintiffs argue that candidates have lost critical time to campaign before April convention elections. In addition to creating an electoral game of musical chairs, the new map appears to ignore geographic concerns that voters brought to the Legislature, and interferes with voters right to have an accountable process over how representation is decided, the lawsuit alleges. Advertisement Advertisement Plaintiffs point out that the new 3rd District would dilute representation among 17 counties three times as many as other districts. The new map would also sever current representatives from district projects that are dependent on federal funding, according to the complaint. The complaint highlights Hendersons commitment to comply with Gibsons order unless otherwise ordered by an appeals court. In a post on Nov. 11, Henderson acknowledged the new map may be appealed but said finalizing electoral boundaries needed to begin immediately to ensure county clerks were prepared. While our office hasnt yet seen the lawsuit or officially been served, we typically dont comment on pending litigation, a spokesperson for the Lieutenant Governors Office told the Deseret News. One of the plaintiffs in the multi-year lawsuit that secured Map 1, Katharine Biele, president of the League of Women Voters of Utah, told the Deseret News that Mondays federal lawsuit raises the same arguments that Judge Gibson carefully considered and rejected. Advertisement Advertisement The map currently in place is fair and legal. We will continue to defend Proposition 4 and the rights of Utah voters, Biele said. In a statement to the Deseret News, Utah Democratic Party chair Brian King framed the lawsuit as the latest attempt by Republicans to maintain politically lopsided districts despite the message sent by voters when they passed Prop 4, and despite receiving chances from Judge Gibson to remedy the map. Utahns want maps that fairly represent citizens, not maps the Legislature draws to protect incumbents, King said. The Court was forced to adopt a map that was not gerrymandered because the Legislature refused to do its job. The federal district court should reject this desperate effort to avoid the will of Utahns who voted for Proposition 4. How we got here The lawsuit represents a new chapter in Utahs yearslong redistricting saga starting with the passage of Prop 4 in 2018 by a narrow majority of voters. The ballot initiative established a redistricting commission to recommend maps in accordance with partisan fairness requirements. Advertisement Advertisement In 2021, legislators adopted new electoral boundaries that appeared to intentionally split Democratic voters in Salt Lake County after rejecting the redistricting commissions recommendations, which they had made nonbinding during the prior legislative session. This led to a lawsuit in 2022 filed by the League of Women Voters of Utah and Mormon Women for Ethical Government. This resulted in a 2024 Utah Supreme Court decision that ruled the Utah Legislature cannot, in most cases, amend ballot initiatives that reform government. While the court severely limited the Legislatures actions related to ballot initiatives, they clarified the Legislature retained the ultimate responsibility for redistricting. However, based on the Supreme Court ruling, Gibson threw out the Legislatures 2021 map in late August. In November, Gibson ruled that a replacement map adopted by lawmakers was an extreme partisan gerrymander, and did not comply with the original intent of Prop 4. Gibson then selected a map submitted by nonprofit plaintiffs creating a deeply Democratic seat in Salt Lake County. Advertisement Advertisement Over the past four months, disagreement over Prop 4 has boiled over into Republican allegations that Gibson purposefully gerrymandered a map to benefit Democrats. The new legal precedent undergirding her decision could derail Utahs representative form of government, GOP leaders said. (T)he difference between a balanced republic and a pure democracy is the difference between order and chaos, Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, told the Deseret News in a statement. Recent court actions have introduced uncertainty and disrupted long-standing constitutional precedent. What we are witnessing today is chaos. The Utah Legislature appealed a portion of the case to the Utah Supreme Court, arguing that Gibsons actions violated the Utah Constitution, which gives the Legislature the mandate to divide the state into congressional ... districts. But the appeal has been paused by a motion to dismiss. The U.S. and Utah Constitutions are abundantly clear: the authority to redistrict belongs to the peoples representatives, not unelected judges, House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, told the Deseret News. Advertisement Advertisement As elected officials across the state, our job is to ensure Utahns come first and that their voices are fairly represented through the process the Constitution establishes. In the meantime, the Utah Republican Party has launched an initiative to reverse Prop 4 the same way it was passed: by asking voters whether they would like to completely repeal the redistricting law. The group has until Feb. 15 to gather 141,000 verified signatures to place the question on the ballot. Utah GOP chair Rob Axson confirmed with the Deseret News that the political issues committee behind the ballot initiative Utahns for Representative Government also coordinated the federal lawsuit filed on Monday as part of the GOPs effort to use all available tools to protect the Utah Constitution and defend representative government. Whether by ballot initiative, litigation, or by supporting judicial reform, we will continue to fight for the rights of all Utahns by strengthening our constitutional republic, Axson said. We thank and commend each plaintiff, from those in Congress to county government leaders, for standing with us to fix these egregious judicial decisions. A Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll conducted in January found that more than 4 in 10 Utah voters dont know whether they support the GOPs effort to repeal Prop 4. The rest of voters are split, with 26% supporting the proposition and 29% opposing it. The states redistricting shakeup has already resulted in one local revolt. On Dec. 15, Washington County commissioners voted to reject the new court-ordered congressional boundaries. The reason cited by commissioner Victor Iverson, who is a plaintiff in Mondays lawsuit, was to protest what he called a constitutional crisis created by Gibsons Nov. 10 ruling. LEBANON State Representative Mark DeCaprio announced his re-election bid in the 48th district. His jurisdiction includes the towns of Bozrah, Colchester, Franklin and parts of Lebanon. DeCaprio cited affordability, utility rates and a rising cost of living as key reasons for renewing his campaign. He promises a stronger future for his constituents and to fight against soaring prices. We are in an affordability crisis in Connecticut. Families, seniors and small businesses are being squeezed by high taxes, high utility rates and rising costs, DeCaprio said. Advertisement Advertisement DeCaprio has lived in the town of Lebanon for over 40 years and is a U.S. Navy veteran. He has lived a life dedicated to public service and has raised his family among these same streets he represents. DeCaprio is on the boards of numerous committees, on top of his work in local politics, as part of the General Assembly. He serves on the Appropriations Committee, the Judiciary Committee, the Public Safety & Security Committee and the Veteran Affairs Committee. Ive worked hard to stand up for our veterans, DeCaprio said, to strengthen public safety and push back against policies that drive up costs and utility bills. DeCaprio earned a bachelors in biology from Eastern Connecticut State University, as well as an M.P.H from UConn. In his early career he worked as a biologist at UConn, advancing scientific development as part of the universitys Public Health Laboratory Division. Advertisement Advertisement DeCaprio first broke into local politics after spending many years as a legal marketing executive. He served as the emergency management director for the town of Lebanon for six years. After this success, he was appointed to the Zoning Board of Appeals in 2017, the Board of Education and even the Board of Selectman. Im running for reelection to keep fighting for relief and to make our state more affordable for the people who live and work here, DeCaprio said. On January 4, 2023, DeCaprio assumed office as a member of the House of Representatives of the 48th district. After a heated campaign against Christopher Rivers, the Working Families Party nominee candidate, he won re-election by a margin of 488 votes. He was in sworn for his second term on Nov 5, 2025, with his current constituency coming to an end in early 2027. I have worked very hard on behalf of all of our residents, DeCaprio said, It would be my honor to have that opportunity once again. Feb. 2Alaska's GOP congressional candidates continue to see a cash advantage heading into 2026. Republican incumbents U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan and U.S. Rep. Nick Begich ended 2025 with significant sums in their campaign accounts, as they head into what are expected to be expensive reelection bids this year. Sullivan, who is seeking to keep a seat he first won in 2014, had more than $5.8 million in his campaign account at the end of December. Advertisement Advertisement But Democratic challenger Mary Peltola is already making strides to catch up in a race that has drawn national attention. Alaska's U.S. Senate race is seen as one of a handful that could be pivotal in determining control of the chamber in this year's midterm elections. Peltola, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, entered the race last month, meaning her campaign did not report any fundraising for the last quarter of 2025. In a prepared statement, her campaign said that she raised $1.5 million in the first 24 hours after entering the race. Sullivan reported raising $616,000 in the final quarter of the year, including $225,000 from political action committees. Additionally, Sullivan received more than $720,000 in transfers from other fundraising committees. More than half of that came from a committee called Sullivan Victory, which raises large sums on his behalf, primarily from residents of Ohio where Sullivan was born and raised along with California, Florida and Texas. Begich, the state's lone U.S. House member, reported a large fundraising lead as he faces a Democratic challenger, the Rev. Matt Schultz, and an independent challenger who entered the race last month, Bill Hill. Advertisement Advertisement Begich, who won the seat in 2024 by defeating Peltola, reported $2.2 million in his campaign account at the end of the year after raising over $760,000 in the last three months of 2025, including $118,000 from political action committees. He also received $224,000 in transfers from other fundraising committees, the majority of which came from three committees that have been raising money to protect the GOP's razor-thin majority in the House. Schultz, an Anchorage pastor who entered the race in late October, reported raising $309,000 through the end of the year, with $220,000 remaining in his campaign account after expenses. He reported no donations from political action committees or transfers from other fundraising committees. Among Schultz's financial supporters were Alaska's independent former Gov. Bill Walker and Democratic former Lt. Gov. Fran Ulmer. Hill a commercial fisherman and former educator said in an announcement that he raised over $300,000 in the first week of his campaign. WASHINGTON Congress has yet to pass the bipartisan deal President Donald Trump struck with Senate Democrats to avert another government shutdown, but lawmakers are already at war over a key part of the package: a two-week negotiation over reforms to ICE following a pair of deadly shootings in Minnesota. Republicans are flatly opposed to many of Democrats demands, such as ensuring federal agents properly identify themselves and take off their masks when interacting with the public, as well as limiting the use of administrative warrants to enter homes during immigration raids. Politics: Maria Shriver Mocks Trumps Closure Of The Kennedy Center With Her Own Vicious Translation Theyll find out where they live, theyll harass their families, or worse, Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) told reporters on Monday. Im not interested in empowering these people who are hell bent on ending deportations altogether. I want the officers to be safe. I want the protesters to be safe. And theres a way to do that, which is: dont interfere with the operations of ICE. Advertisement Advertisement The most obnoxious thing the Democrats are pushing for is judicial warrants, which completely neuters our ability to enforce immigration laws, added Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) while complaining about judges appointed by Democratic presidents blocking Trumps immigration agenda. Thats the Democrats sneaky way of sounding reasonable, but being grossly unreasonable. Last week, Senate Democrats successfully fought to decouple funding for the Department of Homeland Security from a broader spending package, averting the threat of a wider shutdown while also giving Republicans two weeks to agree to reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Democrats are pushing to end roving immigration patrols in communities across the country, to institute a code of conduct, and to require federal immigration agents to wear body cameras, steps they described as common-sense solutions to address federal agents aggressive and sometimes violent tactics, including in the shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis. This idea [Mike] Johnson has [that] ICE people should be able to wear masks? Police officers dont wear masks all across the country, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a floor speech on Monday. If anyone needs to be identified, its these abusive thugs who are in the Border Patrol, who are in ICE. If Republicans cant come to the table on these very sensible changes, then the violence we see around the country is going to continue. Advertisement Advertisement Like this article? Keep independent journalism alive. Support HuffPost. Federal immigration officers are seen near the scene where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher) via Associated Press The Trump administration moved closer to one of Democrats demands on Monday, announcing it is deploying body cameras to every federal agent in the field in Minneapolis. That could ultimately help Congress hammer out an agreement on DHS funding later this month. But Democrats want it codified into law rather than just relying on the administrations word. The agreement to do something in one city for a couple of days aint going to take the pressure off, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who was among the Democrats who voted to end the last government shutdown, told HuffPost. We want statutory language that the president will sign, and frankly, we fully expect that when he does, hell still violate it, but well be able to get courts to enforce it. Politics: Turning Point USA's Alternative Super Bowl Lineup Is Even Lamer Than You Thought Although the Senate has approved the funding deal, the House has yet to take it up. House Democrats said they wouldnt help Johnson pass the bill quickly, increasing pressure on House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to get it done on his own. Trump has urged House Republicans to approve the legislation quickly and without changes, making Johnsons job easier. Advertisement Advertisement Even if the House can get its act together and avert a government shutdown this week, getting a deal to fund DHS in the long term with guardrails on ICE will be difficult. Republicans are making demands of their own, such as pushing to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE, Act. The legislation would limit mail-in voting and set a national photo ID requirement for voting, a nonstarter for Democrats. House Republicans shouldnt let Schumer dictate the terms of government funding, Rep. Eric Burlinson (R-Mo.) wrote in a post online. If Dems want to play games, no spending package should come out of the House without the SAVE Act attachedsecuring American elections must be a non-negotiable. Democrats maintain the SAVE Act is dead on arrival in the Senate. And if Republicans do attach it to the government funding package, they add, it will result in a prolonged shutdown. Politics: House Passes Government Funding Bill, Sets Up ICE Showdown The SAVE Act is not about securing our elections. It is about suppressing voters, Schumer said Monday. The SAVE Act seeks to disenfranchise millions of American citizens, seize control of our elections, and fan the flames of election skepticism and denialism. Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, progressives are rallying against the funding deal because it doesnt include any meaningful curbs on ICE. The left is skeptical that anything will result from the DHS negotiations in the Senate. And much of the partys base is lined up against it, including many up-and-coming Democratic senators who have been mentioned as potential 2028 presidential candidates. These guys killed two Americans in two and a half weeks, Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) told HuffPost. Giving them more money without any restrictions, I think its a very dangerous thing. We as Democrats have the power to stand up and be firm because, literally, Republicans are stealing our democracy and our constitutional rights before our very eyes, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said Sunday in an interview on MS NOW. And if that doesnt get us to stand up, I honestly dont know what else can. Politics: Democrats Torn Over Proposals To Rein In ICE With Funding Bill Still, there could be areas for agreement on ICE reform in the coming talks. Senate Republicans have expressed openness to some changes, including body cameras and additional training for immigration agents. Advertisement Advertisement I think that we ought to make sure they have all the adequate training and more training possible, Schmitt added. But like I said, you know, the other proposals that Democrats have, theyre meant to prevent ICE from doing their jobs. But Democrats arent ruling out the idea of shutting down DHS in two weeks if they dont get what they want, pointing to Trumps conciliatory tone in recent days as evidence that their arguments are breaking through to the public. Of course, a DHS shutdown would not end ICEs work Republicans separately funded it through their budget law last year. He realizes hes getting his head handed to him on this, and thats the reason hes suddenly willing to deal, Kaine said. You know, the chances may not be 50/50, but were going to do our best to get an agreement if we can, and if we cant get a reasonable agreement, people arent going to vote for it. Related... Read the original on HuffPost PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) Thousands of people marching towards the Portland Immigration and Customs Enforcement building this weekend were met with tear gas by federal agents. On Monday, people who were caught in the smoke or live across the street from the chaos spoke out about what they saw and felt this weekend. Saturday was a nightmare, said Brenda Worthington, a resident at the Grays Landing apartment complex. Tear gas is deployed by federal agents outside the ICE facility in South Portland during a protest. January 31, 2026 (KOIN). Around 3,000 people joined in the march on Saturday, including dozens of local unions leading the way towards the ICE building from a local park. Advertisement Advertisement One of the biggest shows of union solidarity that I think Ive ever seen in Oregon history, said Nick Caleb, the vice president of a communication workers union. When they approached the building, some protesters went onto the ICE property up a driveway. As the sea of people filled the streets surrounding the ICE building, KOIN 6 saw several cans of tear gas being hurled into the air, along with flash bangs and pepper balls, landing in the middle of the crowd sending protesters running. A residents at an apartment complex across the street say she tried to help people who were hurt. We watched people crying. Children, old people like me, everyone. It was awful, Worthington said. We just have to now update our risk profiles. Now we know that if you have a peaceful march in the middle of the day, the federal government might shoot you with chemical agents and pepper balls and things like that, Caleb said. Advertisement Advertisement In addition to the protesters who chose to be there, many residents in the apartment complex across the street from the ICE facility feel like theyre in a tough situation. We have suffered. We are collateral damage, everyone We dont deserve this, Worthington said. Grays Landing management confirmed that a tear gas canister broke a window in one of the tenants apartments. The complex is an affordable housing development, and some residents say they cant afford to move and want ICE out. Lets all stick together and get these people to move. They need to move, Worthington said. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. Federal agents block in and stop a woman to ask her about another persons whereabouts on Jan. 19, 2026, in south Minneapolis. Cellphone video taken by bystanders has contradicted the Trump administrations account of some recent immigration enforcement incidents. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer) Rep. Carrie Rheingans (D-Ann Arbor) introduced legislation on Jan. 29 that would prohibit law enforcement from making stops, detentions or arrests based on personal characteristics, including perceived race and language spoken, as well as prevent law enforcement officers from entering locations with just an administrative warrant as opposed to a judicial warrant. Rheingans bill is directly targeted to provide increased protections against federal law enforcement, which are explicitly included in the text of the proposed legislation, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. Advertisement Advertisement In January, an internal ICE memo was leaked stating that agents were encouraged to enter homes without a warrant signed by a judge. Instead, it instructs agents to do so based on just an administrative warrant, which the ACLU notes does not grant permission to enter or search a dwelling. If the government can detain you based on how you look or enter your home without a judicial warrant, then the Fourth Amendment is meaningless, Rheingans said in a press release from her office. My bill affirms our commitment to defending the freedoms of all Michiganders and says clearly: Michigan will not tolerate lawless enforcement. A federal badge or title does not place anyone above the Constitution, and agents who violate peoples basic rights should not receive immunity under our laws. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The bill also includes a number of personal characteristics including a persons employment or presence at a place where immigrants are known to work or residence in the known home of an immigrant, as well as perceived race or ethnicity and their language spoken or accent that would be prohibited from being the sole reasoning for a stop, detention or arrest. Advertisement Advertisement The bill has almost zero chance of passing the Republican-controlled Michigan House, and has been referred to the House Committee on Government Operations, where legislation is often sent to wither without either a hearing or a vote. The press release from Rheingans office also stated that she has introduced a House resolution urging the U.S. Congress to impeach and remove Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem for her role in allegations and reported abuses tied to ICE operations and broader civil rights concerns, though the resolution has not yet been published to the Michigan Legislature website. Under Trumps leadership, DHS and ICE are operating like a secret police force: accountable to no one, trampling constitutional rights and terrorizing communities. Congress needs to grow a spine and impeach and remove her from office now, she said. U.S. Senate candidates Mike Rogers (left) and Haley Stevens (right) | Photo Illustration by Michigan Advance The main players in Michigans must-watch U.S. Senate race filed their year-end campaign finance reports over the weekend, showing Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Haley Stevens prowess in fundraising as the two candidates lead the race in donations to their campaigns. Meanwhile, Democrats Mallory McMorrow and Abdul El-Sayed stayed competitive over the year by raising money in nearly similar amounts, which highlights fractured interest in all three of the Democratic campaigns. Advertisement Advertisement Federal Elections Commission data shows that Stevens, a sitting congresswoman from Birmingham, raised the most out of her collective opponents on both sides of the aisle at $2.11 million. Rogers was not far behind her at $1.96 million. It was Rogers, however, who ultimately walked away from the year with the upper hand in the money race. The candidate has a cool $3.45 million on hand, which puts him in a better position this cycle than during the same period in 2024 when he was up against current Democratic U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin. Mike Rogers is kicking the year off with force and taking nothing for granted, said Rogers spokesperson Alyssa Brouillet in a statement. As this race continues to cement itself in the country, we are running to every corner of the state to earn Michiganders vote with our grassroots-driven campaign and Michigan First message of restoring jobs, keeping families safe, and making life more affordable for working families. Stevens also has a campaign warchest heading into February with $3.05 million cash on hand. Advertisement Advertisement Haleys fundraising momentum is matched by polling that consistently shows she is the strongest Democrat in this race, her campaign said in a statement over the weekend. McMorrow, a state senator from Royal Oak, and El-Sayed, a former health official from Detroit, have far less cash on hand walking into the 2026 cycle than their opponent in Stevens, and potentially Rogers, if they can survive the primary. El-Sayed raised $1.77 million over the year and has $1.97 million cash on hand. McMorrow trailed him slightly, raising $1.74 million and ending the year with $1.24 million cash on hand. Also in the U.S. Senate race is Democrat Rachel Howard, but it is unclear if she filed a year-end report at the deadline. The FEC website does not show any new filings from her campaign, other than from the previous reporting cycle, and the federal government is currently shut down. Advertisement Advertisement On the Republican side, Rogers only real competition is former Michigan Republican Party co-chair Bernadette Smith, who only joined the race at the tail end of 2025. Her year-end report covers October 2025 through the end of the year. Smith raised $14,796, spent $6,385 and has $8,411. Rogers is raising money and socking it away while I would say that the two lesser known Democrats are having to spend more than Haley Stevens because they need to continue to boost their name recognition. Dave Dulio, director of Oakland Universitys Center for Civic Engagement Where the candidates got their money Raw campaign finance data compiled by Bridge Michigans Simon Schuster, the former executive director of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, shows that each of the candidates had large fundraising hauls in states outside of Michigan. Advertisement Advertisement In the case of Stevens, federal elections data shows that her largest share of fundraising came from outside of Michigan at $1.96 million, the largest total, $358,506, coming from New York. By contrast, Stevens netted $201,171 in donations from Michigan. She also received $284,540 from the state of Florida, and $186,745 from California. Data collected by Bridge Michigan shows that $192,000 from political committees also flowed to Stevens campaign, and that there were $276,877 in unitemized donations not shown on the nationwide donations map. Rogers was among candidates who received his largest fundraising totals from the state of Michigan at $304,234. He did receive a healthy sum from the state of Florida, where he maintains a home, with $105,636, and $68,040 from the state of Texas. California residents were close behind in supporting Rogers at $67,689. Bridges data showed Rogers with $95,999 in PAC contributions and $474,345 in unitemized donations not shown on the publications nationwide donations map. Advertisement Advertisement El-Sayed was another candidate whose fundraising haul mostly came from Michigan at $415,734. El-Sayed also gained support from residents in New York, who donated $134,301 to his campaign, followed by California residents, who donated $95,421. He had $21,825 in PAC money donated to the El-Sayed for Senate campaign, and there was $555,505 in unitemized donations not shown on Bridges nationwide donations map. McMorrow also saw her highest donation totals come from Michigan with $404,850. California residents, however, are apparently interested in giving McMorrow a boost, with $108,935 of her campaign dollars in 2025 coming from the Golden State. McMorrow has just $16,149 in PAC contributions and there are $792,445 in unitemized donations not currently shown on Bridges national donations map. Advertisement Advertisement The candidate from Royal Oak was in the unique position of getting donations from every single state in the nation beside North Dakota. Rogers, of White Lake, also had donations from every state in the nation besides South Dakota and Vermont. McMorrow, El-Sayed burning through cash for name ID Those watching the election closely said the candidates fundraising positions are rolling out as expected, but the dynamics in play are flipped from what voters saw in the 2024 cycle. Dave Dulio, a distinguished professor at Oakland University and the director of the universitys Center for Civic Engagement, told Michigan Advance that the scenario is flipped in terms of Rogers not having to go through a grueling primary and the Democrats having to duke it out into the summertime. Dulio said it was Rogers who ended up having to burn through cash and was somewhat at a disadvantage compared to Slotkin, who had only a glimmer of a challenger in Hill Harper. Advertisement Advertisement Now Rogers is raising money and socking it away while I would say that the two lesser known Democrats are having to spend more than Haley Stevens because they need to continue to boost their name recognition, Dulio said. Adrian Hemond, CEO of the Grassroots Midwest consulting firm, said McMorrow and El-Sayed are in a particular bind compared to Stevens: Theyre still introducing themselves to Michigan voters, even after a years worth of campaigning. In order to cure that, the way we typically do that in elections is with money, Hemond said. You go out and you buy name ID, and thats what theyre attempting to do with their burn rate. Ill leave it to others to judge the success of those efforts, but they basically dont have a choice, because Stevens started this race with a significant lead in name ID. Thats especially true of the metro Detroit media market, Hemond said, where 50% of the states population lives. Its there that Stevens has the edge, he added. Advertisement Advertisement The only real way to catch up in the race is to keep spending, but that takes resources McMorrow and El-Sayed dont have compared with Stevens or Rogers. Meanwhile, Rogers and Stevens appear to have money to burn. Hemond said that the year-end showing for McMorrow and El-Sayed wasnt necessarily great, considering their burn rates were already high and they have to keep spending money simply to boost their standing in the race. Looking at the race ahead Dulio said campaigns like the one unfolding in the U.S. Senate race are all about contrast. With McMorrow, El-Sayed and Stevens having some overlapping stances on key Democratic issues, the battle for contrast between them becomes more imperative. McMorrow might have that edge in terms of her growing national platform, as evidenced by her fundraising haul across the nation. Dulio said her numbers show she was able to take advantage of strong political moments and establish that profile at the right time. Advertisement Advertisement I think its very conceivable that there are more Democrats outside of Michigan than inside who know who she is because she was very vocal and sort of forward with her presence during those times of opportunity, he said. Shes taking advantage of that in the fundraising realm. For El-Sayed, who has carved out a particularly progressive lane in the race, Dulio said he needs to just stick with it, especially if the progressive wing of the party is as sizable as it appears to be. Thats a principled way of campaigning, he said. Hes not trying to be something that hes not, and I think thats probably a key. He is who he is. Maybe he needs to be careful to not hold back too much, because youre always going to raise more money, but hes got to gain ground in name ID. There are likely still some places in Michigan where Stevens, despite her own national profile, has to introduce herself, particularly in the northern part of the state. As a seasoned politician, Dulio said theres no doubt Stevens team has a plan in place to continue making those introductions. There are Democrats up there, Dulio said. I would bet shes going to spend some in Traverse City or maybe Houghton, other areas where her name ID might be lacking. The relative smallness of McMorrows footprint is noticeable. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged "maximum pressure" on Russia from the international community after Moscow fired hundreds of drones and missiles into Ukraine overnight into Tuesday morning, in a major attack that Zelenskyy said focused on the country's critical energy infrastructure. Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 71 missiles and 450 drones into the country overnight, of which 38 missiles and 412 drones were shot down or suppressed. Twenty-seven missiles and 31 drones impacted across 27 locations, the air force said. The strike was the largest reported by the Ukrainian air force of the year so far, and the largest overall number of munitions launched in a single night since the night of Dec. 27. Advertisement Advertisement The number of missiles fired on Monday night was also unusually high, and the largest total for a single night since April 24, according to air force data analyzed by ABC News. Russia's Defense Ministry said in a post to Telegram that its forces "carried out a massive strike" on "Ukraine's military-industrial complex and energy facilities used in their interests, as well as places of storage and assembly of long-range unmanned aerial vehicles." AP - PHOTO: In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire at a multi-storey apartment building following a Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 3, 2026. 'Normal life has disappeared': Russia's energy offensive plunges Ukraine into dark and bitter cold Zelenskyy said in a post to Telegram that the regions of Sumy, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Dnipro, Odesa and Vinnytsia were attacked, with energy infrastructure and residential buildings among those hit. At least nine people have so far been confirmed injured, the president said. Advertisement Advertisement "Taking advantage of the coldest days of winter to terrorize people is more important to Russia than resorting to diplomacy," Zelenskyy said. "This clearly demonstrates what is needed from partners and what can help. Timely delivery of missiles for air defense systems and protection of normal life is our priority. Without pressure on Russia, there will be no end to this war." "Right now, Moscow is choosing terror and escalation, and that is why maximum pressure is needed," Zelenskyy added. Ukrainian Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said that thermal power plants powering parts of Kyiv, Kharkiv and Dnipro were among the targets of the strike. "The targets were not military. They were exclusively civilian," Shmyhal wrote on Telegram. DTEK, Ukraine's largest private energy firm, said Russian strikes inflicted "significant" damage on its power plants, in what it said was "the ninth massive attack on the company's thermal power stations since October 2025." Alex Babenko/AP - PHOTO: People take shelter in a metro station during a Russian attack on Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 3, 2026. Next round of US-Russia-Ukraine talks to begin Feb. 4, Zelenskyy says Advertisement Advertisement Emergency power outages were implemented in Kyiv's Dnieper and Darnytsia districts, DTEK said. Energy infrastructure was also damaged in Odesa, DTEK added. Ukraine's state energy company Ukrenergo reported "a significant number of power outages in Kyiv, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Vinnytsia and Odesa regions," which it attributed to the "massive" overnight attack. "There are also damaged energy facilities in several regions," Ukrenergo wrote on Telegram. Moscow's latest strikes came after the expiry of a brief pause in attacks on energy infrastructure agreed to by both Moscow and Kyiv following a request from U.S. President Donald Trump. Russia said that the pause expired on Sunday. This winter -- the fourth of Russia's full-scale invasion -- has seen Moscow intensively target Ukraine's energy infrastructure, wreaking havoc on the national grid and precipitating rolling and extended blackouts for millions of Ukrainians. Advertisement Advertisement Monday night saw temperatures drop as low as -14 F in some parts of Ukraine. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha suggested on X that Russian President Vladimir Putin "waited for the temperatures to drop and stockpiled drones and missiles to continue his genocidal attacks against the Ukrainian people." Gleb Garanich/Reuters - PHOTO: Ukrainian servicemen hit a Russian missile during a Russian missile and drone strike on Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 3, 2026. Russia, Ukraine and US hold 1st trilateral talks since start of war Zelenskyy later made the same allegation in a post to Telegram. "The Russian army took advantage of the American proposal to pause the strikes for a short period, not to support diplomacy, but simply to stockpile missiles and wait for the coldest days of the year," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Russia launched its latest major strike despite an upcoming round of trilateral peace talks with U.S. and Ukrainian representatives in the United Arab Emirates, which are due to resume on Wednesday and continue into Thursday. "Every such strike by Russia confirms that the attitude in Moscow has not changed: they are still counting on war and the destruction of Ukraine, and they do not take diplomacy seriously," Zelenskyy said. "The work of our negotiating team will be adjusted accordingly." NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte visited Kyiv on Tuesday to meet with Zelenskyy and address the Ukrainian parliament. Rutte told Ukrainian representatives that "important progress has been made" in trilateral U.S.-Ukraine-Russia talks. "But Russia continues to attack, as it did last night," Rutte added. "This demonstrates their lack of seriousness about peace." Advertisement Advertisement Monday night's attack prompted the scrambling of NATO fighter jets in Poland, which borders Ukraine to the country's west. Poland's Armed Forces Operational Command Operational Command said that no violation of the nation's airspace was recorded. Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters - PHOTO: A police officer carries a part of a Russian drone that was found at the site of an apartment building in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 3, 2026. Russia downs 4,300 Ukrainian drones in December, setting new record, Moscow claims German fighter jets and Dutch anti-air defense systems were among the assets put on alert, the command said. Russia's Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its forces downed at least 10 Ukrainian drones overnight. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces confirmed in a post to Telegram that it struck several targets on Russian-held territory overnight into Tuesday. Advertisement Advertisement Ukraine's targets included a drone training and production site in occupied Zaporizhzhia, a concentration of Russian forces in the western Russian border region of Belgorod and an electronic warfare site in occupied Donetsk, the General Staff said. ABC News' Nataliia Popova, Oleksiy Pshemyskyi, Patrick Reevell and Ellie Kaufman contributed to this report. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Russia carried out a large-scale overnight attack on Ukraines energy infrastructure using a record number of ballistic missiles, one day before peace talks with Moscow and Washington are set to resume in Abu Dhabi. Zelenskyy said the attack involved more than 70 missiles among them 32 ballistic and 28 cruise as well as more than 450 attack drones that targeted eight regions, including Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Sumy, Vinnytsia, Odesa and Zaporizhzhia. Ukraines State Emergency Service said five people were injured and three more were rescued in Kharkiv after a drone strike caused a fire in a residential high-rise building. Advertisement Advertisement "The Russian army exploited the U.S. proposal to briefly halt strikes not to support diplomacy, but to stockpile missiles and wait until the coldest days of the year, when temperatures across large parts of Ukraine drop below -20C (-4F)," Zelenskyy wrote on X. Russia, Ukraine To Discuss Territory As Trump Says Both Sides 'Want To Make A Deal' The upper floors of a multi-story building burn after debris from a Russian drone fell in Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 3, 2026. (Getty Images) The large-scale strikes came after President Donald Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to pause attacks on Ukraines energy infrastructure for one week, as freezing temperatures caused widespread power and heating outages. Read On The Fox News App Advertisement Advertisement Trump announced the weeklong pause Thursday, but Russia resumed its attacks several days before the period was set to expire, striking a maternity ward in Zaporizhzhia and a bus of Ukrainian miners, leaving 12 people dead. The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digitals request for comment. Zelenskyy Announces Next Round Of Talks With Us, Russia As Ukraine Aims For 'Real And Dignified End To The War Kyiv residents shelter at the Dorohozhychi subway station during a Russian drone-and-missile strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 3, 2026. Residents took to subway and metro stations on Monday to hide underground as air raid alerts sounded throughout the night. "With temperatures dropping to -25C (-13F), Russia knowingly yet again aims to leave hundreds of thousands of people, including children and the elderly, without heating or electricity," said Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraines prime minister. Advertisement Advertisement "This is an attempt to freeze civilians into surrender. Thanks to Ukraines air defense forces, the majority of missiles and drones were intercepted," she added. Rescuers extinguish a fire in a multi-story building hit by debris from a Russian drone in Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 3, 2026. Zelenskyy said the work of his negotiating team will be "adjusted accordingly" as his country prepares for another round of meetings in the United Arab Emirates with U.S. and Russian officials on Wednesday and Thursday. Click Here To Download The Fox News App U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff met with his Russian counterpart Kirill Dmitriev in Florida on Saturday and said the discussions were constructive, amid ongoing hostilities in Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement "We are encouraged by this meeting that Russia is working toward securing peace in Ukraine and is grateful for @POTUSs critical leadership in seeking a durable and lasting peace," Witkoff wrote on X. Original article source: Russia launches record missile barrage against Ukraine one day before peace talks set to resume in Abu Dhabi Adobe Firefly image Since President George W. Bush signed the bipartisan Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) into law on Oct. 26, 2005, those bent on civilian disarmament have sought to bypass the legislation's clear commands. In fact, 20 years later, gunmakers were fending off a frivolous nuisance suit from the city of Gary, Ind., filed in 1999, despite the PLCAA and state-analogue legislation. More recently, gun-control advocates have sought to enact so-called "gun industry accountability" legislation in jurisdictions controlled by anti-gun lawmakers as an explicit attempt to subvert the PLCAA. These laws pose a threat to more than just the firearm industry's bottom line and directly impact law-abiding Americans' ability to access the firearms, ammunition and other equipment necessary to exercise their Second Amendment rights. First consider why the PLCAA was enacted. In the mid-1990s, gun-control supporters, trial attorneys and anti-gun, big-city politicians teamed up to abuse tort law to attack the gun industry (and by proxy American gun owners) by attempting to hold the industry accountable for the third-party criminal misuse of their products. U.S. tort law has long held that a person or entity cannot be held responsible for a third party's criminal acts. In enacting the PLCAA, Congress codified this longstanding principle of tort law that was under threat from the politicized litigation. By Guy Faulconbridge MOSCOW, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Russia is ready for the new reality of a world with no U.S.-Russian nuclear arms control limits after the New START treaty expires this week, Moscow's point man for arms control said on Tuesday. Unless the two sides reach a last-minute understanding, they will be left without any constraints on their long-range strategic nuclear arsenals for the first time in more than half a century when New START expires on Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement "This is a new moment, a new reality - we are ready for it," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who oversees arms control issues, told Russian news agencies during a visit to Beijing for "strategic stability consultations". New START, which caps the number of deployed strategic warheads at 1,550, was signed in 2010. In comments to the New York Times last month, U.S. President Donald Trump indicated he will let the treaty expire. But he has not formally responded to a Russian proposal to keep observing the treaty's missile and warhead limits for one more year to allow time to work out what to do after the pact expires. "The lack of an answer is also an answer," Ryabkov was quoted by TASS as saying in Beijing. Advertisement Advertisement Arms control supporters in Moscow and Washington say the expiry of the treaty would not only remove limits on warheads but also damage confidence, trust and the ability to verify nuclear intentions. Some fear an unrestrained nuclear arms race. ARMS CONTROL CRUMBLES The web of deals crafted after the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis to reduce the dangers of nuclear war has gradually unravelled, with confrontation growing between Moscow and the West over Ukraine and the U.S. concerned about China. The U.S. has suggested China, the world's third largest nuclear power by warheads, should join arms control talks. Beijing has shown no willingness to do so. Advertisement Advertisement Ryabkov said China had a clear position on arms control and that Moscow respected it. Former U.S. President Barack Obama, who signed the New Start treaty in 2010 with then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, urged the U.S. Congress to intervene. "If Congress doesnt act, the last nuclear arms control treaty between the U.S. and Russia will expire," he said on X. "It would pointlessly wipe out decades of diplomacy, and could spark another arms race that makes the world less safe." Medvedev said the world should be alarmed if the treaty expired without any understanding of what comes next, suggesting it would speed up the "Doomsday Clock". Advertisement Advertisement Ryabkov said that if the U.S. pumped missile defence systems onto Greenland, an autonomous territory of NATO-member Denmark, then Russia would have to take military measures to compensate. (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge, Editing by Mark Trevelyan and Timothy Heritage) MAUMELLE, Ark. After six days of winter weather closures, many Central Arkansas students are expected to return to the classroom Tuesday. The Little Rock School District, Pulaski County Special School District and Pine Bluff School District all announced that schools and offices will reopen, saying conditions have improved enough to safely resume classes. For 9th grader Gavin Stolzer at Maumelle High School, the return to school cant come soon enough. Stolzer has autism, and his favorite thing is going to school. Advertisement Advertisement While many students enjoy the extended break, Stolzer wanted to be back in the classroom. The reaction I was feeling, it was like, I was so sad when school was cancelled, Stolzer said. Multiple central Arkansas school districts returning to class on Tuesday after winter storm Stolzer says being in school gives him structure, purpose and connection, and he has plenty of favorite subjects. Im just excited about every class, like English, math, social studies, science, Spanish, band, everything, he said. Stolzer maintained contact with classmates through social media during the break, but he says its much better being with them in person. Advertisement Advertisement Doing some posting on social media, Facebook and Instagram all of that, Stolzer said. I really miss everybody. Im just ready to see them. His father, Todd Stolzer, says the lack of routine can be challenging for students with autism. That is the challenge, because obviously they want to stay up late, sleep in and everything like that, he said. Arkansas school closures impact parents, childcare facilities One of the biggest motivators for Stolzer is the band, where he plays percussion, a part of his school routine he missed the most. I like playing the percussion, and its just so nice, Stolzer said. Advertisement Advertisement Pulaski County Special School District officials say the decision to reopen followed careful consideration and that they believe it is safe for students and staff to return. Stolzer says hes ready to get back into his routine and back to school spirit. I was so sad when it was closed, and Im just ready to start the day off by going back, he said, adding, Go Hornets. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK. Seven workers for Baltimore-based Second Chance reached a $173,000 settlement with the secondhand furniture retailer over claims they were misclassified and denied overtime pay, according to court records. Filed in September 2024 in the U.S. District Court in Maryland, the lawsuit alleged the workers were treated as independent contractors rather than employees and were not paid wages required under state and federal law. A judge approved the settlement on Jan. 12. Second Chance, a nonprofit that operates a warehouse in Baltimore selling salvaged building materials, markets its work as creating living-wage, green-collar jobs, according to the lawsuit. Advertisement Advertisement The suit named Second Chance; its president and CEO, Mark Foster; and 300 Painting and Remodeling LLC, a subcontractor, as defendants. Prolonged litigation to prove the case was without merit regarding Second Chance was not a prudent financial decision, Foster said in a statement to The Baltimore Sun on Tuesday. We chose instead to focus our energy and resources on continuing our service to the community. The plaintiffs said they regularly worked up to 70 hours per week deconstructing homes across the East Coast, removing items such as cabinets, flooring, windows and fixtures for resale, without receiving overtime pay. The workers alleged that Second Chance controlled their job sites and schedules but routed their pay through the subcontractor to avoid legal responsibilities as an employer. Lead plaintiff Francis Betancourth said the workers were satisfied with the outcome after months of litigation. Advertisement Advertisement We are grateful to the legal teams that listened to us and helped us fight for our labor rights, Betancourth said in a statement. The case highlights broader concerns about worker misclassification, a practice labor advocates say is common in industries such as construction and home health care, defense attorneys said in a news release. Classifying workers as independent contractors can exempt employers from providing overtime pay, minimum wage protections, paid sick leave and benefits such as workers compensation and unemployment insurance. Despite being illegal, wage theft is pervasive, with employers seeming to believe they can operate with impunity in certain industries, Amy Gellatly, an attorney for the plaintiffs with the Public Justice Center, said in a statement. These workers stood up not just for their own wages, but to make a point that business as usual will not be tolerated. In May, Second Chance asked a federal judge to refund civil penalties the IRS imposed after determining the nonprofit and its CEO had helped certain donors improperly claim inflated tax write-offs. The agency fined both the organization and Foster $22,000 last year, alleging they aided and abetted donors who contributed houses in understating their tax liability. Advertisement Advertisement Foster and the nonprofit partially paid the fines, which only became public when they sued the federal government last year, denying the allegations and seeking a refund. Their lawsuit included a series of letters between the IRS and the nonprofits owners, revealing the scope of the agencys investigation. That case is still pending. Have a news tip? Contact Todd Karpovich at tkarpovich@baltsun.com or on X as @ToddKarpovich. A 28-year-old Selbyville man has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of a family member whose body was found the morning of Feb. 2, Delaware State Police said. Troopers were called around 8:30 a.m. to a home in the 37000 block of Pinto Drive after a 71-year-old woman was reported missing. Authorities said a family member contacted 911 after becoming concerned during a phone conversation with Jesus Palacio-Hernandez and being unable to locate the victim. While troopers were on the way to the home, family members discovered the womans body in a ditch behind the residence. She was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency medical personnel. Advertisement Advertisement Investigators later located Palacio-Hernandez in the Selbyville area and took him into custody without incident following a traffic stop. According to police, a preliminary investigation determined that Palacio-Hernandez had an altercation with the victim inside the residence during the overnight hours. He is accused of physically assaulting her and then moving her body to the ditch where she was later found. Palacio-Hernandez was charged with first-degree murder. He was arraigned in Justice of the Peace Court 11 and committed to the Sussex Correctional Institution on $1 million cash bail. This story was updated for accuracy. Advertisement Advertisement To share your community news and activities with our audience, join Delaware Voices Uplifted on Facebook. Nonprofits, community groups and service providers are welcome to submit their information to be added to our Community Resources Map. Contact staff reporter Anitra Johnson at ajohnson@delawareonline.com. This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Police charge Selbyville man in killing of family member Senate Democrats say they might not support another short-term Homeland Security appropriations bill when the next tranche of funding expires on Feb. 13 even as Republicans warn they may need more time for an immigration enforcement deal. Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the Senate Appropriations Committees top Democrat, told Semafor she wont support another stopgap, while Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., said its tough to imagine moving forward without some real movement. And Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin said it would be wrong to ask Democrats to ignore the two-week deadline. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the use of body cameras nationwide, but Democrats want more than that. The de-escalation in Minnesota is table stakes, that is a prerequisite to a negotiation, said Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii. The negotiation is about a statute. Executive action at this point gets you in the room. A mother of five, Anna Sobie's wooden home is one of many that has been demolished in a shanty town in a lagoon in Lagos, with critics describing it as a "land-grab" by the authorities to gentrify the prime waterfront spot in Nigeria's biggest city. Lagos State government officials deny the allegation, saying they are demolishing parts of Makoko - the country's biggest informal waterfront settlement - because it is expanding near high voltage power lines, posing a major health and safety risk. Sobie and her children now sleep on the narrow broken platform where their house stood until a few weeks ago on Lagos Lagoon. This is the biggest of 10 lagoons in a mega-city that is facing an acute housing crisis - and where life is becoming increasingly expensive, pushing more people to the margins of society. Advertisement Advertisement As Sobie spoke to the BBC, canoes - steered with paddles or long bamboo poles - moved through the narrow waterways, carrying mattresses and sacks of clothes belonging to the displaced people. Residents say the demolitions began two days before Christmas, when excavation teams accompanied by armed police moved into sections of the waterfront settlement facing the Atlantic Ocean. In a joint statement last month, 10 non-governmental organisations said that "armed thugs, security personnel and demolition teams with bulldozers descended repeatedly on the community" to tear down homes, and burn them. "Homes were set on fire with little or no notice, in some cases while residents were still [inside]," the NGOs added. Anna Sobie's family are living on the the ruins of their house [Gift Ufuoma/BBC] When the BBC visited Makoko, smoke, from the rubble of torched homes or from fires that people had lit, burning damp wood to dry their clothes, was hanging in the air. Advertisement Advertisement Excavators were at work along the shoreline - houses built on wooden stilts over the lagoon were still being pulled down, their planks collapsing into the water below. Corrugated metal sheets were falling from roofs and drifting between boats. Makoko was founded in the 19th Century by fishing communities who have lived in the settlement ever since, along with other low-income families and migrants who come to Lagos in search of better opportunities. Ownership of the lagoon is fiercely contested. The state government claims ownership of it under federal law, saying Makoko has been built without planning permission or occupancy rights. Older residents dispute this, saying the settlement predates modern Lagos, and they have what they call a customary right to it. Advertisement Advertisement Estimates of Makoko's population vary, from 80,000 to 200,000, but much of the settlement now lies in fragments. The NGOs said that more than 10,000 people have been displaced after the destruction of more than 3,000 homes, as well as schools, clinics and churches. The state government has not given any figures of the buildings demolished. Sobie's home was among those that have been destroyed. "I was inside when it started," she says. "The noise was very loud. When we came out, we saw the excavator." She says there was little time to move her family's belongings. Her son Solomon's school in Makoko was demolished the same day. Advertisement Advertisement Sobie's family moved briefly into a building nearby. That, too, was later pulled down. "We're sleeping in an open space under the rain, and they're currently setting properties ablaze," Sobie says, adding: "We don't have another place." Like many other children, Solomon no longer goes to school. He now helps his mother gather firewood from collapsed houses, pulling loose planks from the debris to sell. Even as the excavators work, canoe-borne business activities continue, with traders peddling their way through the remaining homes to sell fish and goods. But many other traders can no longer do business, as they lost their goods when their homes were demolished or torched. Advertisement Advertisement With the lagoon central to their lives, they have protested against the move to force them out of Makoko. The state government says it will give financial compensation to families whose homes have been destroyed [Gift Ufuoma/BBC] More than 1,000 angry residents marched last week to the state legislature, the House of Assembly, demanding an audience with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, whose offices are nearby. But police responded by firing tear gas, with protesters saying that at least one person was injured in the ensuing chaos. Community leaders and residents say that tear gas was also fired during the demolitions a few weeks ago, causing the death of five people, including children. "Children were weeping, some died, some were unconscious, and were taken to the hospital as a result of the tear gas," Sobie tells the BBC. Advertisement Advertisement The Lagos State government says it is unaware of their personnel using tear gas or of deaths linked to the demolitions. Speaking to the BBC, the state's commissioner for information, Gbenga Omotoso, says that any such claims would be investigated. "We would determine the actual cause of death," he says. "Our personnel will not knowingly kill anybody." Lagos lawmakers said that community leaders have been invited to a meeting on Tuesday to discuss their concerns. The state government has defended the demolitions, saying they are targeting homes built beneath high voltage power lines. Advertisement Advertisement "No responsible government anywhere in the world can allow people to live directly under high-tension cables or obstruct vital waterways," the governor's special adviser on urban development, Olajide Abiodun Babatunde, said in a statement. Governor Sanwo-Olu said that affected families would be provided with financial grants and other assistance, and it was wrong to accuse him of "destroying" Makoko. He raised concern that shanties were "sprawling" at an "incredible speed", getting closer to the Third Mainland Bridge, the longest and busiest of three bridges connecting the mainland to the islands - the commercial heart of the city and its wealthier neighbourhoods. For the governor this spells danger. Advertisement Advertisement "There are high-tension power lines right underneath there. I am not going to sit down, and something will drop off, and in one day, over 100 to 500 people will die," he was quoted by local media as saying. "So, what we have done is that we just pushed them back," he added. Some residents suspect their homes have been demolished to pave the way for an upmarket development [Gift Ufuoma/BBC] Lagos-based real estate developer Peacemaker Afolabi tells the BBC that demand for land in the city is huge. "Everywhere in Lagos is prime land," he says. "And waterfront is always prime." Some residents suspect that the demolitions are aimed at clearing the area for private developments, including luxury homes. Advertisement Advertisement This has been repeatedly denied by the state government, but suspicion remains. In an article published in the US-based Atlanta Tribune, Nigerian journalist Emmanuel Abara Benson argues that Makoko stands as the "most painful symbol" of the gentrification of Lagos. "This is not the slow, decades-long gentrification often seen in Western cities. It's a rapid, almost violent reshaping that is already forcing millions of residents to the margins," he writes. "In the next few years, Lagos may look more polished and globally appealing. But for many of its people, it will also become profoundly unliveable." In their joint statement, the NGOs said that demolitions in Makoko, and other settlements last year, were part of a "sinister agenda to grab land". "These actions against thousands of peaceful, hardworking residents represent a deliberate pattern of state-enabled violence against the urban poor, carried out to clear valuable land for elite interests and private mega-developments," the NGOs said. An official report released last year showed that while the city's "housing supply improved significantly from 1.4 million units in 2016 to over 2.57 million units in 2025, it has not kept pace with demand". "The housing deficit has thus grown from approximately 2.95 million units in 2016 to 3.4 million in 2025, a 15 per cent increase," Nigeria's Punch newspaper quoted the report as saying. Rapid population growth, rising rents and limited access to formal housing have pushed many low-income residents into informal settlements, particularly along waterfronts and transport corridors. The authorities have demolished homes in Makoko in the past - most recently in 2017, when residents obtained a court order to prevent forced evictions without adequate notice, compensation and resettlement. Megan Chapman, co-director of the Justice and Empowerment Initiatives campaign group, says the government has failed to provide residents affected by the latest demolitions with alternative accommodation. "They have to identify everyone who will be affected and make arrangements before homes are lost," she tells the BBC "When people are removed like this, it affects livelihoods, family structures and how communities function over time." "We were at the market when it started. When I came back, my house was gone"", Source: Elizabeth Kakisiwe, Source description: Makoko resident, Image: Elizabeth Kakisiwe When the BBC was in Makoko, boys were sitting along the lagoon, repairing their broken fishing nets. Children moved between piles of debris, collecting firewood from collapsed structures. A tractor pulled away from what was once a house. Only a small number of buildings remained standing, including the homes of traditional leaders. Elizabeth Kakisiwe says she sleeps nearby. Each evening, she lays wooden boards on damp ground for her children and packs them away again in the morning. "We were at the market when it started," she says. "When I came back, my house was gone." She says there was no clear warning and no time to remove belongings. Clothes, cooking utensils and mattresses were lost. When rain fell days later, they were drenched. "At night, we sit in the cold," she says. "If the children feel sick, we give them paracetamol." Cooking has become difficult, she says, because rain has made the ground wet and rats move through the debris. "Yesterday, we only drank garri," Kakisiwe says, referring to a popular cassava-based meal that is often made as a drink. "There is nothing to cook." Expressing a similar view, Sobie says: "The suffering is much. A lot of people have been dying. We just don't know what to say. It's only God that can help us." Additional reporting by Gift Ufuoma More BBC stories about housing in Lagos: [Getty Images/BBC] Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica BBC Africa podcasts House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi has announced that he will not run for governor this year, putting an end to months of speculation ahead of the 2026 election. On Tuesday, Feb. 3, Shekarchi, a 63-year-old, seven-term Democrat from Warwick, issued this statement: After deep personal reflection, I have decided to continue to serve as Speaker of the House and will not be a candidate for governor this fall." I am very grateful for the outpouring of support from so many friends, colleagues, constituents in House District 23, and people throughout the state who encouraged me to run for governor," he said in the statement. Advertisement Advertisement The best way for me to serve the people of Rhode Island is to continue my work as Speaker of the House," he continued. "My energy will remain focused on crafting a budget that supports Rhode Islanders and finding solutions for critical issues like health care, hospitals and housing. Gov. Dan McKee likely breathed a huge sigh of relief, as he and Shekarchi would have competed for many of the same relatively moderate, old-school and union-friendly Democrats. But now comes the debate among the state's spin doctors and pundits who benefits the most? Is it McKee, the reelection-seeking incumbent running under the shadow of the Washington Bridge debacle, or his Democratic primary challenger Helena Foulkes, who came within 3 percentage points of beating McKee in 2022? Here's how Brown University Political Science professor Wendy Schiller sees it: "In a two way race, McKee stands a more competitive chance of fending off Helena Foulkes as a challenger because he and Shekarchi would have likely split a good portion of the remaining votes in the primary. Advertisement Advertisement "But that works both ways because now Foulkes can spend all her resources against McKee. "Essentially we see a rematch of 4 years ago with the big difference that McKee has been an incumbent longer now, and will have to persuade voters that he has been successful over all that time. In general, incumbents across the board in both parties are facing stronger challengers from within their own parties, and a sour mood on government from the general voting public." House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi opens the first day of the Rhode Island General Assembly's legislative session on Jan. 6, 2026. Could Shekarchi win? With $4.4 million in his campaign account, Shekarchi had amassed four times as much money as McKee to run an aggressive campaign and build up his name-recognition outside the power-circles of the State House. Shekarchi also outraised Foulkes, who ended 2025 with $2.8 million in her own war chest. Shekarchi's record on high-priority labor issues would have given the state's boots-on-the-ground union members an alternative, if they felt the need for one, to both McKee and Foulkes, a former top executive at CVS who built her own resume in the corporate world. Advertisement Advertisement A University of New Hampshire poll conducted last November showed Foulkes with a slight lead (29%) over both Shekarchi, who placed second (13%) and McKee who placed third (11%), with a boatload of undecided voters. If Foulkes were not in the race, 29% said they would vote for Shekarchi, 15% for McKee and 7% for someone else, with 50% undecided, according to the UNH poll, which found McKee with a lower favorability in Rhode Island than President Donald Trump. One more data point in the poll: If Shekarchi were not in the race, 38% would vote for Foulkes, 12% for McKee, and 43% were undecided. McKee had a spot of good news on Monday, Feb. 2, when Morning Consult which reports a "three-month rollup" of daily tracking surveys showed 49% approve of the job McKee is doing and 36% disapprove. Advertisement Advertisement The results clash with results from the University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll from last November that showed 21% of Rhode Island voters approved of the job McKee was doing. 'A very personal decision' Shekarchi told members of the media assembled outside his State House office that he had "a lot of conflict inside of me. What was the right thing, the wrong thing?" and made his final decision after talking late last week to "several people I trust," whose opinions he values. "Ultimately, I think this is the right decision for me at this time," he said of what he characterized as "a very personal decision" that, among many considerations, took into account his daily visits to his father. "My dad is 99 years old," he said. "He'll be 100 [in] a couple of weeks, and every day my brother, my sister or I go visit him. ... If I ran for governor I wouldn't have that anymore. So that was part of it." Advertisement Advertisement He said he met with the governor in person on Saturday at a bakery in McKee's hometown in Cumberland to tell him his decision, which revolved, at least in part, on McKee's decision to remain in the race. When asked if he at any point thought he could win, Shekarchi said: "Some days I did, some days I didn't." When asked about whether he wanted to avoid a three-way race, Shekarchi said, "That was certainly part of it. ... I didn't think a three-way race would be an easy race, especially for me as the speaker of the House, but ... there [were] a lot of factors that went into it." Other politicos react Foulkes lauded Shekarchi's decision, and said she looks forward to working with him when she is governor. Advertisement Advertisement Joe Shekarchi has dedicated his career to building a stronger Rhode Island. As speaker, he has worked to advance affordable housing, strengthen our economy, and improve healthcare access for Rhode Islanders," she said. "He has brought a spirit of collegiality and collaboration to the State House that has made us all more effective. Im grateful for his friendship and continued service to the state we all love, and I look forward to working with him as governor. McKee, too, hailed "the work and dedication Speaker Shekarchi has shown to Rhode Islanders over the past 13 years" and said: "We have been strong partners together on advancing important health care initiatives, strengthening Rhode Islands education system and creating more affordable housing across the state." Moving on to his own campaign narrative, McKee said: The race is now set, and Rhode Islanders are now faced with a clear choice: someone who understands the challenges Rhode Islanders are facing everyday and will continue to fight to lower costs and make life a bit more easier, or a boardroom millionaire like Helena Foulkes, who, under her failed leadership, fueled the opioid crisis by caring more about her wallet size and in turn, destroyed the lives and families of thousands of Rhode Islanders in her path." Advertisement Advertisement Im the only Democrat in this race who has always fought to make life easier, safer and more secure for Rhode Islanders," he continued. "I look forward to that work in the months ahead, and to defeating Helena Foulkes in the fall. What comes next for Shekarchi? The 63-year-old Shekarchi is not ruling out a run for higher office at another point, including possibly a seat in the U.S. House or the U.S. Senate. Rhode Island's senior U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, age 76, is running for reelection this year. Would he choose to run again in six years, when he is 82? U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, 70, is not up for reelection for another four years. Shekarchi did not rule out a run for the Senate at some point in the future, noting that he knows how it works after having worked many years ago for the late U.S. Sen. Claiborne Pell. Advertisement Advertisement "Who would've thought two years ago that we would have two new congressmen? So things change in politics every day, and sometimes every hour. So we need to be ready for that opportunity," he said. With reports from Journal staff writer Patrick Anderson This story has been updated with new information. This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Shekarchi ends 2026 speculation, says he won't run for RI governor A day after a gunman killed one Gwinnett County Police officer and critically injured another, new details are emerging about the responding officers and the suspects lengthy criminal history. Officer Pradeep Tamang, 25, and Master Police Officer David Reed were investigating a fraud complaint at the Holiday Inn Express near Stone Mountain on Sunday morning when 35-year-old Kevin Andrews allegedly opened fire without warning, according to police. Tamang, who came to America from Nepal 10 years ago and had been with the department less than a year, died at the hospital. He leaves behind a fiancee. Advertisement Advertisement He was one who just had a smile, kind of a gentle spirit, said Stephen Fountain, lead pastor at First Baptist Buford where Tamang worked security on Sundays. Reed, a Marine Corps and National Guard veteran, was also shot but returned fire and injured Andrews. Reed remains hospitalized in critical but stable condition. Neighbor Nell Barrett says she is heartbroken over Tamangs death and praying for her neighbor Reeds recovery, saying he never hesitated to help. One day when my husband fainted in the garage and I couldnt get him up, I sought Davids help and he got him up right away and got him into the house, she said. Advertisement Advertisement DeKalb County Jail records reveal Andrews, who was in a wheelchair during the shooting, has been arrested 22 times since 2009, starting with allegedly bringing a gun to high school. He faces three pending DeKalb County cases including trafficking more than 400 grams of methamphetamine. Judges granted bond in all three cases over prosecutors objections before Andrews missed an April 2024 court appearance, according to the DeKalb County District Attorneys Office. A 2022 indictment charged Andrews with aggravated assault after allegedly shooting at a woman. Meanwhile, Pastor Fountain says the focus now must be on honoring the officers and supporting their families. Advertisement Advertisement Were thankful for those guys, he said. We love them and appreciate them, and were just being thankful for the sacrifice they make and their willingness to step in harms way. Donations to support the officers families can be made at https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/line-of-duty-support-fund [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Saturday Night Live this weekend featured one of its best political sketches in years. Its about a mother who dramatically reveals to her children that shes having sudden reservations about President Donald Trump. If you havent, you should watch it. And the satire has bipartisan bite. The right can enjoy the insufferable liberal adult children marring their moms moment of vulnerability with their apoplectic I-told-you-sos. The left can enjoy the caricature of someone theyve long anticipated would one day arrive in droves: The regretful Trump voter, finally starting to come to her senses. Advertisement Advertisement But how much does this mother reflect reality? It certainly appears that more and more Trump voters are coming to a similarly skeptical place. At the same time, its not clear how many of them were truly MAGA to begin with. And they generally express their emotions more subtly than the full-on regret that Trumps critics have long sought. A number of polls have gotten at this question in recent weeks. A Pew Research Center poll, for one, suggested significant erosion in Trumps support on the right. The survey showed 20% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents said the Trump administration has been worse than expected. Advertisement Advertisement Perhaps more strikingly, it showed the percentage of these voters who said they support all or most of Trumps policies dropping from 67% in February 2025 to 56% in late January. Fox News and New York Times-Siena College polls both recently broke out data on 2024 Trump voters, and the detractors were in many cases significant. In the Fox poll, 16% of Trump voters said they disapproved of his job performance as president. But it got worse from there. The survey also tested a dozen specific issues, and on 10 of the 12 everything except border security and immigration Trumps disapproval rating among his 2024 voters was north of 20%. It was at least 25% on half of those issues. Advertisement Advertisement Thats significant to have 1 in 4 or 1 in 5 Trump voters so consistently on a different page than the president. The Times-Siena poll showed a slightly smaller 12% of 2024 Trump voters disapproving of his job performance overall. But again, other data points were worse for him: 17% of Trump voters described his first year back in office as unsuccessful (including 9% very unsuccessful). 16% said Trumps first year back has been worse than they expected. 16% cited a negative emotion when asked to describe how they felt about it. (And just 72% offered an expressly positive one compared to 92% of Harris voters who offered a negative one.) Advertisement Advertisement What does all of that tell us? It suggests people might be understandably reluctant to say they disapprove of Trump when you asked for a straight up-or-down verdict. But the disapproval shows up more when you dig a little deeper and ask about specific things. And that tracks with what weve seen before when it comes to the more specific subject of Trump voter regret. We unfortunately dont have good recent, high-quality data on Trump voter regret. The last survey to test this was an October Washington Post-Ipsos survey. It showed 7% of Trump voters said they regretted supporting Trump compared to 3% of Kamala Harris supporters. Seven percent doesnt sound like a lot, but its a decent-sized chunk. And 19% of non-White Trump voters expressed regret. Advertisement Advertisement The previous data also suggested these kinds of emotions could be building slowly and subtly even if they havent necessarily manifested themselves as full-on regret. A University of Massachusetts Amherst poll, for instance, showed the percentage of Trump voters who were very confident in their 2024 vote dropping from 74% in April to 69% in August. Only 1% said they regretted their vote, but about 3 in 10 had some kinds of reservations about it ranging from some regrets (2%) and mixed feelings (6%) to remaining confident in their vote but having some concerns (19%). The data suggest Trump voters could actually be underselling their overall disenchantment with him, to some degree. They might not be full-on regretful or disapproving, but they seem to be coming to certain realizations about what Trump is doing a lot like the mother in the sketch. Advertisement Advertisement But just like the mother in the sketch, they might be apprehensive about admitting that to those around them (or even to a pollster). After all, nobody likes to admit they were wrong especially when the other side is so annoying about it. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com As Winter Storm Fern hit Oklahoma in the last week of January, many students got to enjoy some days off from school due to severe weather conditions. One day became two days, then three days. Some schools had the whole week off, while others opted for online classes while waiting for snowy roads to clear. Oklahoma requires public schools to be in session for 181 days and have 1,080 instructional hours per school year. At the district level, schools can designate "banked" or built-in snow days, allowing them to close in cases of inclement weather. If more days are needed, schools might have to extend the school year or switch to virtual learning. "The safety of our students and staff is always our top priority," an Oklahoma City Public Schools spokesperson told The Oklahoman. Advertisement Advertisement Following last week's storms, different school districts in the metro are exploring available options to make up the missed days. At Oklahoma City Public Schools, district officials are exploring all available options to make up instructional minutes. April 17 is marked as a snow day in the 2025-26 academic calendar. Similarly, Norman Public Schools doesn't have any weather days left and will be making a decision regarding how to plan to make up the time missed due to the recent winter weather. Families and staff will be notified once a decision is made. Snow make-up days are marked for Feb. 16 and March 13, if needed, per the academic calendar. Edmond Public Schools is looking to make up one snow day not accounted for in the original calendar. Advertisement Advertisement "We had four days built in to our instructional calendar," an Edmond Public Schools spokesperson said. "We're working on details on making up the fifth day and I'm hoping to have more information about that later this week." As for Yukon Public Schools, the district still has weather days available if needed and will not have to make up any days. Can Oklahoma use virtual learning for calamity closures? Starting in the 2026-27 school year, Oklahoma public schools will be limited to two days, or 12 hours, of virtual learning for calamity closures, including severe weather, per Senate Bill 758 authored by Senate Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, and Senator Kristen Thompson, R-Edmond. Gov. Kevin Stitt signed the bill into law in May 2025. Once this measure goes into effect in the fall, schools must have a state-approved plan and may only be used during declared emergencies. Advertisement Advertisement Virtual learning has its place, but in limited circumstances, Sen. Thompson said in a press release in March 2025. We have seen that in-person instruction is the most effective way to educate our students. Senate Bill 758 strikes a balance by allowing emergency virtual days when absolutely necessary while holding districts accountable for ensuring students are engaged and meeting learning requirements. The State Department of Education must publish an annual report detailing emergency virtual day usage by June 30, beginning in 2026, the press release said. The law effectively eliminates flexible virtual days, which have been used since the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill will not impact missed days caused by Winter Storm Fern. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Will Oklahoma City-area schools have to make up snow days? What to know. Last week, Congressomwan Ilhan Omar was giving a speech calling for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following the violence thats occurred at the organizations hands. During her speech, a man rushed towards her and sprayed her with an unknown substance before behind apprehended and arrested. Now, Donald Trump is saying Omar probably had herself sprayed despite admitting he hasnt seen the video of the attack, and social media is calling him out for spreading lies. Keep reading for more information. Donald Trump Says Rep. Ilhan Omar Had Herself Sprayed Congresswoman Omar was in the middle of her speech when a man from the front row jumped up and ran towards her, spraying her shirt with an unknown substance. According to witnesses at the town hall, the substance was strong-smelling. The police department quickly apprehended the suspect, later identified as 55-year-old Anthony Kazmierczak, and he was booked into jail on suspicion of third-degree assault, according to the Minneapolis Police Department. Advertisement Advertisement In response to the attack, Donald Trump suggested that Omar probably had herself sprayed. Speaking to ABC News Rachel Scott, the president admitted he hasnt seen the video of the attack. I dont think about her. I think shes a fraud, he said. She probably had herself sprayed, knowing her. Congresswoman Omar took to C, formerly Twitter, to respond to Trumps claims: Right on cue, youre deflecting from your failures with lies and conspiracy theories about me. donald trump Social Media Reactions Across social media platforms, users called out the president for his reaction to the attack on a government official. "Are we at all surprised?" one person asked on X. "Spreading lies is his shtick." "Is he joking?" another person said. "What would be the point of that?" Advertisement Advertisement "This is how misinformation spreads," another person said. "All of MAGA is going to think that she launched an attack on herself now." "This is so dangerous," a fourth person wrote. "I wish I could say I'm surprised but this is par for the course for him," wrote the next person. "Minimizing and waiving off an attack on a minority." By Gwladys Fouche and Nora Buli OSLO, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The son of Norway's crown princess pleaded not guilty to rape and domestic violence but admitted to some lesser charges on the first day of his trial on Tuesday, a case that has shaken the already embattled royal family. Marius Borg Hoiby, 29, son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit and stepson to Crown Prince Haakon, could face multiple years in prison if found guilty of the most serious of the 38 charges against him. Advertisement Advertisement As the trial started, a poll pointed to an erosion in Norwegians' traditionally strong support for their monarchy. The proceedings come days after Hoiby's mother apologised for her "poor judgment" in maintaining contacts with the late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after he was convicted in 2008. NO SPECIAL TREATMENT, PROSECUTOR SAYS On Tuesday, Hoiby pleaded not guilty to four counts of rape and one of domestic violence. He pleaded guilty to one count of offensive sexual behaviour, driving too fast and driving without a valid license, among other charges. He also said he was partially guilty - a plea allowed under Norwegian law - of aggravated assault and reckless behaviour. Advertisement Advertisement After a short adjournment, Hoiby - wearing a brown jumper over a white T-shirt, dark green trousers and white trainers - returned to sit behind his lawyers, his body sometimes shaking and his hands clasped tightly together. Lead prosecutor Sturla Henriksboe said Hoiby would be treated like any other Norwegian. "He will not be handled tougher or milder because he is part of this family," Henriksboe said in his opening statement. In response, Hoiby's lawyer said her client's treatment had been anything but fair. "The press coverage - which defendant sees 10,000 press articles written about him? ... He has experienced books being written about him and more are coming," Ellen Holager Andenaes told the court. Advertisement Advertisement "Our client has absolutely not received normal treatment. And he has not received any positive treatment." Crown Prince Haakon said in a statement he and his wife were not planning to attend the court proceedings. About Hoiby, Haakon said: "We love him. He is an important part of our family. He is a Norwegian citizen, so he has the same responsibilities as everyone else, as well as the same rights." Haakon expressed sympathy for the alleged victims. "We think about them. We know many are going through a difficult time," he said. FAMILY HIT BY TRAVAILS AND SCANDALS The case is the most serious crisis to hit the Norwegian royal family in peacetime, historian Trond Noren Isaksen said in the run-up to the hearing, though Hoiby does not have a royal title and is outside the line of succession. Advertisement Advertisement Norway's parliament on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly in favour of maintaining the monarchy, rejecting a proposed change to a republic after a long-planned-for debate. But an opinion poll conducted a day earlier for daily newspaper Verdens Gang showed a fall in the number of Norwegians favouring keeping the monarchy - to 61% from 72% last year - and a 10-percentage-point rise to 27% in support for a republic. The monarch has faced a series of other travails and scandals in recent years. King Harald, 88, Europe's oldest living monarch, cut back activity in 2024 after being hospitalised to treat an infection and later receiving a pacemaker. Advertisement Advertisement Mette-Marit needs a lung transplant after being diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in 2018. King Harald's daughter, Martha Louise, stepped down from official royal duties in 2022 to allow her to pursue her own business ventures, and said both she and her husband, an American self-styled shaman, would refrain from using her title as princess in a commercial setting. They were both criticised last year for starring in a Netflix documentary chronicling their daily lives. MULTIPLE CHARGES Among the charges against Hoiby are one count of rape with sexual intercourse and three counts of rape without intercourse, some of which he filmed on his telephone, the prosecution said. Advertisement Advertisement In January, it added new charges, including the possession and transport of 3.5 kg (7.72 pounds) of marijuana. In 2024, police named Hoiby as a suspect of physical assault against a woman with whom he had been in a relationship. Hoiby, in a statement to the media at the time, admitted to causing bodily harm to the woman while he was under the influence of cocaine and alcohol and of damaging her apartment. Hoiby said he regretted his acts. On Sunday, police detained Hoiby on suspicion of causing bodily harm, wielding a knife and violating a restraining order. (Reporting by Gwladys Fouche and Nora Buli; Editing by Alison Williams and Andrew Heavens) South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has sacked two senior aides following an embarrassing situation where he appointed a dead man to serve on a panel to lead discussions on elections scheduled for December. Steward Soroba Budia's appointment was announced in a presidential order dated 30 January, but local media pointed out that the member of the opposition United Democratic Party (UDP), had died five years ago. It led to people mocking the appointment on social media. Advertisement Advertisement Without giving reasons, an official statement said the president had sacked his press secretary David Amour Major and the chief administrator in the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, Valentino Dhel Maluet. Kiir was "pleased" to announce that the two had been relieved of their duties, and wished to express his "profound gratitude" to them for their service, said the statement posted on the president's official Facebook account, and signed by Minister of Presidential Affairs Africano Mande Gedima. On Monday, Amour said in a press release that the president's office had relied entirely on the "accuracy and currency" of the names submitted by "stakeholders" for inclusion on the panel. "It is now evident that a thorough verification was not done by one of the stakeholders which resulted in this unfortunate administrative oversight," Amour said. Advertisement Advertisement He did not name the stakeholder, while the UDP has not commented. It is unclear whether the statement led to Amour's dismissal. There had been speculation before the statement that he would be sacked. Budia had been a signatory to a peace agreement signed in 2018 to end conflict that had hit South Sudan after its independence in 2011. Kiir has set up the panel, made up of representatives of different parties, to pave the way for elections. But there are doubts as to whether the election will take place, as the country is still experiencing conflict. Previous elections have been postponed, with Kiir in office since independence. Advertisement Advertisement The UN says more than 180,000 people are believed to have been forced to flee their homes by recent fighting. Jonglei state is seeing the worst of it with the army battling forces aligned to South Sudan's suspended Vice-President Riek Machar. He is currently under house arrest and on trial for murder, treason and crime against humanity. He denies the charges. Kiir and Machar are supposed to be part of a unity government agreed in the 2018 settlement after a five-year war that followed a power struggle between the two men. [BBC] More about South Sudan from the BBC: [Getty Images/BBC] Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica BBC Africa podcasts Upcoming SpaceX launches suddenly are up in the air after SpaceX reported an investigation into a mishap during a Monday Starlink launch in California. A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched at 7:47 a.m. PT (10:47 a.m. ET) from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. While successfully carrying 25 Starlink internet satellites to orbit, the rocket's upper stage experienced a malfunction as it prepared for a deorbit burn. "During todays Falcon 9 launch of @Starlink satellites, the second stage experienced an off-nominal condition during preparation for the deorbit burn," SpaceX said in a statement on X.. "The vehicle then performed as designed to successfully passivate the stage. The first two MVac burns were nominal and safely deployed all 25 @Starlink satellites to their intended orbit. Teams are reviewing data to determine root cause and corrective actions before returning to flight." Advertisement Advertisement As of now, it remains to be seen what impact this will have on Falcon 9 launches from Cape Canaveral. The next launch was currently set for no earlier than 4:20 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 5 from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. That mission is also a Starlink mission. When is the next Florida rocket launch? Is there a launch today? Upcoming NASA, SpaceX, ULA launch schedule in Florida Also on tap is a NASA Crew-12 launch on a Falcon 9 set for no earlier than Feb. 11. It remains to be seen if this investigation into the upper stage malfunction will cause a delay. With NASA's Crew-11 having returned early due to an ill crew member, only one NASA astronaut currently remains among the crew onboard the ISS. Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at bedwards@floridatoday.com or on X: @brookeofstars. This article originally appeared on Florida Today: SpaceX launch in California experiences upper stage malfunction By Joey Roulette Feb 3 (Reuters) - Elon Musk's SpaceX has paused flights of its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket over an unspecified issue that its second stage experienced after successfully deploying Starlink satellites into orbit on Monday, the company said. After the two-stage Falcon 9 delivered 25 Starlink satellites to space in a routine mission from southern California, the rocket's second stage "experienced an off-nominal condition" as it prepared to deorbit itself as planned, SpaceX wrote on X, adding the rocket stage emptied all its remaining fuel as designed following a mishap. "Teams are reviewing data to determine root cause and corrective actions before returning to flight," SpaceX said. Falcon 9 is the world's most active rocket - it launched 165 times in 2025, most of them in-house SpaceX missions to expand its Starlink constellation. A mission failure in 2024 that doomed a batch of Starlink satellites was SpaceX's first such failure with the rocket since 2016. Monday's mission was not a mission failure. But a problem with the rocket's second stage, if unchecked, could risk future satellite deliveries to orbit or endanger populated areas if the vehicle fails to properly dispose of itself. Falcon 9's second stage body is designed to reenter Earth's atmosphere after boosting payloads into orbit, using its engines to target a reentry zone away from populated areas should any components survive deorbit. SpaceX did not indicate how long its mishap investigation will take. A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, which oversees rocket launch activities and their impact on public safety, was furloughed amid the government shutdown and did not return a request for comment. (Reporting by Joey Roulette; Editing by Andrea Ricci) Spain has become the latest European country to make plans to ban social media for children under the age of 16. "We will protect them from the digital Wild West," Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said at the World Governments Summit in Dubai on Tuesday. The ban, which still needs parliamentary approval, is part of a raft of changes that include making company executives responsible for "illegal or harmful content" on their platforms. Advertisement Advertisement Australia became the world's first country to bring in a ban last year, with others watching - and judging - its success. France, Denmark and Austria have also announced that they are considering their own national age limits. The UK government has launched a consultation on whether to implement a ban for under-16s. Social media companies have argued that the bans would be ineffective, difficult to implement and could isolate vulnerable teenagers. Reddit is challenging Australia's ban in the High Court. "Today, our children are exposed to a space they were never meant to navigate alone," Sanchez said, describing social media as a place of "addiction, abuse, pornography, manipulation [and] violence. Advertisement Advertisement "We will no longer accept that. We will protect them." Sanchez first mooted a possible ban in November, but on Tuesday, the plan was fleshed out. Under the changes, social media platforms would be required to have effective age verification systems, "not just check boxes, but real barriers that work," the prime minister explained, in a possible reference to the loopholes Australian children use to bypass checks - including simply using a photo of an adult. The new laws would also criminalise manipulating algorithms to amplify illegal content. "This is something created, promoted, and disseminated by certain actors whom we will investigate, as well as the platforms whose algorithms amplify disinformation in exchange for profit," Sanchez said. Advertisement Advertisement "Hiding behind code and claiming that technology is neutral is no longer acceptable." There would also be a new system designed to track "how digital platforms fuel division and amplify hate". No further details were given on how this would work. Another measure, Sanchez said, would be to "investigate and prosecute the crimes committed by Grok [X's AI tool], TikTok, and Instagram". The European Commission has launched an investigation into Grok over concerns it was used to create sexualised images of real people. The UK has announced its own investigation into Grok and on Tuesday in France, the offices of X were raided by the Paris prosecutor's cyber-crime unit as it looked into allegations of offences including unlawful data extraction and complicity in the possession of child pornography. Advertisement Advertisement X is yet to respond to either investigation - the BBC has approached it for comment. It has previously characterised the French investigation as an attack on free speech. Sanchez said he hoped to get the laws passed next week, but that could prove difficult because his left-wing coalition government lacks a parliamentary majority. Spain's main opposition party, the conservative People's Party, seems to approve of the ban, saying it has previously proposed similar restrictions. The far-right Vox party has spoken out against it, however. Advertisement Advertisement In response to the announcement, X owner Elon Musk labelled Sanchez as a "tyrant and traitor to the people of Spain". TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, Reddit, Discord and Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram have all been approached for comment. France has led the charge in Europe, with President Emmanuel Macron saying he wants a ban for under-15s in place by the start of the next school year in September. MADRID (AP) Spain plans to ban social media access for children under 16, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Tuesday, in a move designed to shield young people from the harms of online content. Sanchez chided the world's biggest tech companies in a speech at a Dubai summit, saying they allow illegal content such as child sex abuse and nonconsensual sexualized deepfake images to proliferate on their platforms. He said that governments also needed to stop turning a blind eye. Today, our children are exposed to a space they were never meant to navigate alone," Sanchez said. We will no longer accept that. Advertisement Advertisement Spain joins a growing number of countries, including Australia and France, which have taken or are considering measures to restrict minors' access to social media. In January, France approved a bill banning social media for children under 15, paving the way for the measure to take effect at the start of the next school year in September. The bill would also ban the use of mobile phones in high schools. Australia has started implementing the world's first social media ban for under-16s, after its government passed a measure that holds platforms including TikTok, Twitch, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram liable for failing to prevent children from having accounts. Denmark has introduced similar legislation to ban access to social media for users under 15, while the U.K. said last month it would consider banning young teenagers from social media, as it tightens laws designed to protect children from harmful content and excessive screen time. Advertisement Advertisement Sanchez said that Spain would require social media companies to enforce the ban with age verification systems, not just check boxes, but real barriers that work." Many social media apps require users to be at least 13, though enforcement varies. Users are often asked to declare their own age. Spain's ban will be added to an already existing measure centered on digital protections for minors that is being debated by parliament, a government spokesperson said. Sanchez said that could happen as early as next week. Its unclear if Sanchezs left-wing coalition will get the approval needed in Parliament, where his government lacks a majority. A spokesperson for the far-right Vox party said the Sanchez government's measure was aimed at "making sure that no one criticizes them, while the main opposition party the center-right Popular Party said it had proposed similar restrictions last year, seemingly offering its support. Advertisement Advertisement Social media companies Meta which owns Facebook and Instagram and X did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But Elon Musk, X's billionaire owner and the world's richest man, wrote that Sanchez is the true fascist totalitarian," in a post referencing the Spanish leader's speech at the World Governments Summit in the United Arab Emirates. In his address, Sanchez also said that Spain had joined five other European countries in what the Spanish leader dubbed a coalition of the digitally willing" to coordinate the regulation of social media platforms at a multinational level. Additionally, Spain would make it a criminal offense to manipulate algorithms to amplify illegal content and would hold tech executives liable for failing to take down criminal content from their platforms, he said. No more pretending that technology is neutral," Sanchez said. Both measures would require parliamentary approval to change Spanish law, a government spokesperson said. MADRID, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Spain and Greece on Tuesday proposed bans on social media use by teenagers as attitudes hardened in Europe against technology some say is designed to be addictive and the measures announced by Spain's Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, drew fury from Elon Musk. Spain wants to prohibit social media for under-16s, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said. Greece is close to announcing a similar ban for children under 15, a senior government source said. But Sanchez also said his government would create a law to hold social media executives personally responsible for hate speech on their platforms. Advertisement Advertisement The world's richest man and owner of X, formerly Twitter, reacted to socialist leader Sanchez's measures affecting social media platforms. "Dirty Sanchez is a tyrant and a traitor to the people of Spain," he wrote on X. About an hour and a half later, he escalated his criticism, posting on X: "Sanchez is the true fascist totalitarian." Representatives of Google, part of Alphabet, TikTok, Snapchat and Meta did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Spain's proposed measures. Spain and Greece join countries such as Britain and France in considering tougher stances on social media, after Australia in December became the first nation to prohibit access to such platforms for children younger than 16. Advertisement Advertisement 'COALITION OF THE DIGITALLY WILLING' Governments and regulators worldwide are looking at the impact of children's screen time on their development and mental wellbeing. "Our children are exposed to a space they were never meant to navigate alone ... We will no longer accept that," Sanchez said at the World Governments Summit in Dubai. "We will protect them from the digital Wild West." The Australia ban "leaves significant gaps that could undermine its goals," including limitations in age verification technology and users switching to unregulated messaging apps, Snapchat said in a statement on Monday. Advertisement Advertisement Spain joins five other European countries that he dubbed the "Coalition of the Digitally Willing" to coordinate and enforce cross-border regulation, Sanchez said, without naming the countries, set to hold their first meeting in the coming days. "We know that this is a battle that far exceeds the boundaries of any country," he said. His office did not respond to a request for clarification. EXPLOSION OF AI-GENERATED CONTENT Legislation to ban children under 15 from social media is currently passing through France's parliament. Britain is also considering similar measures. Advertisement Advertisement Spain's proposed regulation would give parents clear backing to set limits and would ease social pressure for children worried about missing out, said Diana Diaz, director of the ANAR Foundation for at-risk children and adolescents. The recent explosion of AI-generated content, and public outcry over reports of Elon Musk's Grok AI chatbot generating non-consensual sexual images, including of minors, has fueled debate over the risks of such online content. But there was no unanimous agreement that social media harms adolescents, said Jose Cesar Perales, a professor in experimental psychology at the University of Granada. HOLDING SOCIAL MEDIA EXECUTIVES ACCOUNTABLE Advertisement Advertisement Sanchez said prosecutors would explore ways to investigate possible legal infractions by Elon Musk's Grok, as well as by TikTok and Instagram, part of Meta. The proposed ban would be implemented as part of a change to an existing bill on digital protection for minors being debated in parliament, according to a government spokesperson. About 82% of Spaniards said they believed children under 14 should be banned from social media, according to a 30-country Ipsos poll on education published last August. That was up from 73% in 2024. It's a good measure to encourage children to play with each other and not be on their mobile phones in parks, which I think is terrible, to be honest, said Miguel Abad, a 19-year-old student in Madrid. Advertisement Advertisement In Australia, social media companies deactivated nearly 5 million accounts belonging to teenagers within weeks of the ban taking effect, the internet regulator said last month, suggesting the measure could have a sweeping impact. (Reporting by David Latona, Emma Pinedo, Victoria Waldersee, Renee Maltezou, Elizabeth Piper and Paolo Laudani; Writing by Charlie Devereux; Editing by Hugh Lawson, David Holmes, Bernadette Baum and Nick Zieminski) A 57-year-old registered sex offender with a decades-long history of sexually assaulting children, having graphic sexual images of children, and other felony crimes has been charged for new alleged crimes against children. Seattle Police Departments Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) said it had been investigating Richard Eugene Jackson since last summer. He was released from DOC custody on March 5, 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Jackson is believed to have possessed, distributed and solicited child sexual abuse material, according to police and court records. We got 18 cybertips over a short period of time accusing him of possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material, Sgt. Shawn Martinell said. This was an urgent case for us. With his history and his sex offender status he has been identified as somebody likely to reoffend. He has previously served time in state prison and at the Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island, where he was designated as a Sexual Violent Offender, according to court documents. When detectives got approved for a warrant for his devices, they allegedly found images and videos of child sexual abuse materials, according to first appearance court documents. Advertisement Advertisement Those documents allege that Jackson had a 48-minute-long video involving a preteen, and another short video involving a girl around the age of 4 or 5. Investigators say they found chats where Jackson allegedly said he would pay for child sex abuse materials, and there were alleged screenshots of gift cards and BitCoin transactions. According to court documents, Jackson also allegedly would take photos of children in public (unbeknownst to them) and masturbate in his car. He was arrested on Jan. 29 and booked into King County Jail. On Feb. 2, he was charged with: First-degree dealing in depictions of minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct Two counts of first-degree possession of depictions of minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct Advertisement Advertisement He remains held on $750,000 bail requested by King County Prosecutors at his first appearance. Jackson is a Level III registered sex offender who was living in the International District before his arrest. According to court documents, the Department of Corrections provided SPD investigators with a 16-page document tittled Notification of Sex Offender Release by DSHS (Department of Social and Health Services) detailing past violations and time served. Some of those prior offenses included convictions for raping a preteen and a 7-year-old boy in the 80s and for leaving sexually explicit notes at a few elementary schools in 1995 in hopes of getting boys to call him for sexual contact, according to his sex offender listing. Advertisement Advertisement His first conviction listed on his sex offender registry for possession of child sex abuse material was in 2006. This happened to be when he was already being held on McNeil Island. He is set to be arraigned on Feb. 5. Feb. 2Most of Spokane's public property may soon become off limits to federal immigration agents attempting enforcement actions without a judicial warrant after Councilman Paul Dillon introduced an ordinance expanding a more limited law passed in August. Immigration officers already need a warrant to enter a permitted event on most public property in Spokane, as long as organizers request protection and go through the proper steps to receive it, under protections created by the City Council last summer. Dillon's "Immigration Enforcement Free Zones" would ban the use of any city-owned or controlled property such as parking lots, vacant lots, garages and other buildings for immigration enforcement operations. This includes using the property for staging, surveillance, processing, interviewing or temporarily detaining people for civil immigration enforcement, among other prohibited activities. Advertisement Advertisement This ban would not prevent agents from serving a valid judicial warrant. The law also requires the city to post signs around its properties stating in both English and Spanish that: "This property is owned and controlled by the City of Spokane. It may not be used for civil immigration enforcement, including use as a staging area, processing area, or operations base." The law does not apply to open spaces such as parks. The City Council last year eyed barring immigration enforcement from city parks, but pivoted following pushback from the independent Parks Board and concerns that open spaces could not be regulated in this way. Violations of this new law, like the law approved in August, would not be enforced by local law enforcement. Instead, it grants private individuals the right to sue if the law is violated. Advertisement Advertisement The council is set to vote on it Feb. 23. Police Chief Kevin Hall has repeatedly stated he does not want to see his officers attempt to arrest armed immigration officers. "If you have one armed law enforcement agency confronting another armed law enforcement agency, there are going to be problems," Hall said Monday during a separate presentation. Asked by Councilwoman Sarah Dixit whether police could arrive on scene to document immigration actions, Hall expressed reservation. "If we're present, our body-worn cameras will be on," he said. "My caution with that is, Washington state's a little bit different, because (our officers) have a duty to intervene law, meaning the officers, if they see another law enforcement officer ... state, local, federal, doing something that they believe is unethical, criminal or excessive force, they are duty-bound to intervene." Advertisement Advertisement Hall reiterated that could force local police to have to confront armed federal officers. "It becomes a perilous path," he said. Kaylee Jackman, who also sits on the city's Transportation Commission, praised the law Monday afternoon but questioned the effectiveness if police won't arrest violators. What good are lawsuits and settlements to injured parties, Jackman asked, once they've been deported "or killed due to the deplorable, unsafe, unsanitary detention centers." "I'd be in support of towing vehicles that try to stage on city property, but I doubt there's willingness to do that either," Jackman said. "No settlement can undo the trauma and harm of being detained by ICE." Advertisement Advertisement Introducing the law Monday, Dillon said that it served as a "preventative measure" making sure the public is aware that "we are not consenting to the use of city resources ." The city's latest attempt to defy the federal government's ramped-up campaign of mass deportation comes on the heels of numerous other cities, including Chicago, approving similar bans. Not long after Dillon introduced the law, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson adopted a similar policy via an executive directive to Seattle police, among other instructions for responding to civil immigration actions. This also likely won't be the last attempt from Spokane. Even as the council mulled the "Immigration Enforcement Free Zones," members brainstormed other levers they could pull. Councilman Zack Zappone suggested banning ICE agents from seeking employment with the city of Spokane. Councilman Michael Cathcart questioned whether such a ban would violate an applicant's civil rights or infringe on the city's civil service commission, which is meant to create neutral hiring processes. (NewsNation) The community thrust into the national spotlight during the 2024 presidential campaign over false claims about Haitians eating neighbors pets is now bracing to be the next city on the Trump administrations list for immigration enforcement. The continued spotlight on Springfield, Ohio home to one of the Midwests largest populations of Haitian refugees remains difficult for residents, who are now refusing to leave their homes due to rumors of impending immigration enforcement. Springfield became a flashpoint of the Trump administrations immigration crackdown during the 2024 election. JD Vance, the vice president and former Ohio U.S. Senator who became President Donald Trumps running mate, suggested that Haitian refugees living in Springfield were stealing neighborhood pets and eating them. Trump repeated the claims during a debate despite the allegations being widely debunked. Advertisement Advertisement ICE detains mom, sisters left to care for four children Now, the Department of Homeland Security aims to remove protections for Haitians living in the U.S., and people in Ohio are bracing to be the Trump administrations next target following operations in cities like Minnesota, Chicago and Los Angeles. Viles Dorsainvil, executive director of the Haitian Community Help and Support Center, told NewsNation he continually tells Haitian immigrants to be careful, especially in light of what continues to happen in Minneapolis. He constantly repeats the mantra that immigration life is not for the weak, especially for Haitians who have experienced so much turmoil in their home country. Since Vances and Trumps comments, which Dorsainvil called heartbreaking, the continued spotlight has made living in the United States difficult. Advertisement Advertisement You wake up every morning, and you dont know what (people) are going to say about you, he said Tuesday. Its hard to see people give themselves permission to say anything about you. Calling you an animal, saying you are a low-IQ person, calling you the N-word. And the question we sometimes ask is, Why should we be here?' Jean-Michel Gisnel cries out while praying with other congregants at the First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025, in Springfield, Ohio. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao, File) Haitians would go home if they could, community director says Haiti is one of the countries under Temporary Protected Status, allowing residents to remain in the U.S. while conditions in their home country dont allow them to return safely. A judge blocked DHS Secretary Kristi Noems push to end the status for Haitians this week. It is like a relief, but folks cannot give themselves the luxury of being optimistic based on the way that this administration has been operating, Dorsainvil said. Residents near Portland ICE facility face sustained poisoning: Suit Advertisement Advertisement They do as they please, so even though that ruling came out (Monday), we are still cautious if we let go of ourselves, anything can happen to us. In the departments push to remove the protected status, Noem determined that there were no extraordinary conditions preventing Haitian nationals from safely returning to their home country. Noem acknowledged that the current situation in Haiti is concerning but that the U.S must prioritize its national interests, which does not include allowing Haitian nationals to remain here. Haiti is in a human rights crisis, according to the U.N., plagued by gang warfare and extreme poverty. Dorsainvil said most Haitians including himself would return to their home country if they could. State Department sued over immigrant visa ban affecting 75 countries Advertisement Advertisement The concept of Home is Home is not just for Americans. Its for every country, he told NewsNation. But we are here trying to thrive. But every day here for us is hard. He says government officials know precisely what is happening in Haiti but that knowledge is not taken into consideration when it comes to ending TPS. All they want to do is push us out, Dorsainvil said. Springfield on edge: What is going to happen to our town? Images of the chaos and violence from cities where Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and Border Patrol agents have publicly clashed with residents and protesters have those living in Springfield worried it could be coming to their doorstep. Advertisement Advertisement People are afraid, Marjory Wentworth, a member of the Clark County Haitian Coalition and director of Wittenberg Universitys Writing and Oral Communications, told NewsNation. Obviously, the immigrant population is terrified, and the general population is like, What is going to happen to our town? Reward offered for missing mother of Today host Savannah Guthrie Wentworth said anxiety levels among immigrants have increased based on the ongoing federal operation in Minneapolis. Now, uncertainty over whether ICE officers will surge into Springfield next has only made matters worse, the Wittenberg professor and former South Carolina poet laureate said. Ongoing rumors of a looming federal surge and the administrations previous stance on Springfield have changed dramatically in a city where Wentworth says everyone knows everyone. Advertisement Advertisement Everybody is talking about it and I think people are preparing for the worst, Wentworth said. But a lot of people feel like weve been through enough already and weve been made an example of, and so I think theres a lot of empathy (for Springfield) we wouldnt have otherwise. No ICE enforcement activities planned for Super Bowl, NFL official says Dorsainvil says in Springfield, the number of people who support the Haitian community outnumbers those who do not. Although many dream of a day when they can return home, the conditions do not allow for that. In the meantime, the community support center works with local Haitians to provide mental health support and Know Your Rights training in the wake of what could be coming in terms of federal law enforcement. Biden-era status brought violent terrorists to the US, DHS says A DHS spokesperson would not specifically address whether federal agents could be sent to Springfield. However, in a statement provided to NewsNation, Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary for public affairs, said the Biden administration abused TPS and allowed violent terrorists, criminals and national security threats to enter the country. Advertisement Advertisement TPS was never intended to be a de facto asylum program, yet thats how previous administrations have used it for decades, McLaughlin said. The Trump administration is restoring integrity to our immigration system to keep our homeland and its people safe. McLaughlin said that once TPS ends, Haitian nationals will face deportation unless they have another lawful basis to remain in the United States. Haitians see some reprieve, but protected status uncertainty remains Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine has called stripping Haitians of TPS a mistake. He raised concerns about what would happen to 1,000 U.S.-born children belonging to Springfields Haitian refugees should their parents be detained. He added that ending protections will eliminate refugees ability to work and contribute to the community. Advertisement Advertisement A DeWine spokesperson told NewsNation that the governors office has not received any information, guidance or confirmation about the possible deployment of agents from federal immigration officials. I have no idea whether ICE is going to come into Springfield, Ohio, or not. I really dont, DeWine told reporters last week. A mural is displayed in an alley downtown on September 16, 2024 in Springfield, Ohio. Springfield, home to a large Haitian community, was thrust into the national spotlight after former President Donald Trump made claims during the presidential debate against Vice President Kamala Harris, accusing members of the immigrant community of eating the pets of local residents. (Photo by Luke Sharrett/Getty Images) Springfield officials are aware of possible month-long federal stay Officials, including Springfield Public Schools Superintendent Bob Hill, have met with DeWine and other state leaders in anticipation of possible deployment. An email sent by Hill and obtained by the Springfield News-Sun indicated that he and others were made aware of the likelihood that ICE strike teams could remain in the area for 30 days if the TPS is revoked. A federal list of individual removal orders has been identified in Springfield as an initial focal point for enforcement activity, with discretion to detain additional individuals encountered who lack lawful status, Hills email stated. Advertisement Advertisement Hill has since told local reporters that the duration of a federal operation has not been specified for Springfield but instead referred to other U.S. immigration enforcement missions. Hill did not return a message from NewsNation seeking clarification on the guidance he has received from the governor. DeWine confirmed he has met with state and local law enforcement officers, who will work hard to protect Ohioans. A city spokeswoman told NewsNation that the Springfield Police Division has proactively engaged with DHS officials to establish professional working relationships, clear communication and coordinated responses to prioritize public safety. The city has not received information or confirmation about a possible deployment plan, the spokeswoman said. Springfield Mayor Rob Rue did not respond to multiple NewsNation requests for comment, and the city did not make officials available for interviews. In a statement issued after Mondays court ruling, Rue emphasized the importance of stability and community continuity. Attorneys representing plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit called Mondays ruling a significant victory and said they were prepared to continue to fight if the federal government appeals the decision. This decision provides clarity and stability for families who are already part of our community, Rue said. It reflects the reality that many individuals are working, paying taxes, raising families and contributing every day to the life of our city. Maintaining that stability matters because unnecessary disruption creates uncertainty that serves no one. New Jersey officials warn of ICE arrests with no federal notice The mayor added, We respect the judicial process and remain committed to the well-being of all who call our city home. Rue said at last weeks city commissioners meeting that the safety and security of local residents and businesses remain the citys top priority, according to NewsNation local affiliate WCMH. The city passed a resolution last week asking federal immigration agents not to wear masks and to properly display identification as federal law enforcement. Rue told commissioners that advance notice of a federal deployment is not guaranteed, although DeWine believes the state could receive word. 2 measles cases reported at immigration detention center in Texas If ICE comes in, we expect ICE to follow those good police practices as well, DeWine said after ensuring state troopers and local cops will maintain professionalism. Well follow the law. Well try to keep people safe. NewsNations Brooke Shafer contributed to this story. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation. Gunfire after one of Jacksons biggest annual celebrations led to two arrests. Now, those cases have fallen apart. Two brothers, Marquavius and Michael McLeod, are free after a grand jury declined to indict them last week. Each had been charged with one count of murder and multiple counts of aggravated assault in a shooting hours after the end of the 2025 Hals St. Paddys Day Parade near Lamar and Pearl streets. Marquavius lawyer, E. Carlos Tanner, confirmed in a phone call Tuesday, Feb. 3, that his client and his brother, Michael, were not indicted by a grand jury. Michael's lawyer, Brent Jones, did not respond to a request for comment. Firetrucks were on the scene in Downtown Jackson Saturday, March 22, 2025, after they were called to the scene of a shooting near the intersections of Capitol Street and West Street. Winter Storm Fern: MEMA reports 25 dead in Mississippi after winter storm Advertisement Advertisement The brothers, arrested in March 2025, were denied bond and had been awaiting a trial in the Hinds County Detention Center for 10 months. Both pleaded not guilty to their respective charges. A few days after being released, Marquavious was arrested again Wednesday, Feb. 4, in Hinds County and charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The shooting unfolded hours after crowds filled downtown Jackson for the Hals St. Paddys Day Parade, one of the citys largest annual celebrations that typically draws tens of thousands of people. Around 7:15 p.m. on March 22, 2025, gunfire erupted near the intersection of Lamar and Pearl streets, resulting in the death of 21-year-old Cortez George and injuries to seven others. The victims sustained various gunshot wounds, including injuries to the knee, abdomen, thigh, ear, buttock, face and multiple gunshot wounds in one case. Advertisement Advertisement It was the second time in three years that a murder occurred around the parade. Days after the parade, Michael and Marquavius were arrested by Capitol Police. Authorities stated that the incident stemmed from an ongoing conflict between the brothers and another group. However, the precise sequence of events and the identities of all involved remain under investigation. Michaels attorney, Jones, contended that his client acted in self-defense. At a previous court hearing last year, Jones said Michael was defending his family amid the chaos. According to Jones, Michaels cousin, who was with the brothers, was shot multiple times before Michael returned fire. West Jackson: Years later, West Jackson residents say City Hall still isnt listening Advertisement Advertisement Before the shooting, Michael worked as a police officer with the University of Mississippi Medical Centers Police and Public Safety Department for about a year, according to previous statements from UMMC communications director Patrice Guilfoyle. Guilfoyle said Michael was fired March 27, five days after the shooting. A third suspect, Kayne Davis, was arrested months later in July 2025 after fleeing the state. He was captured on July 10, by Capitol Police and U.S. Marshals in Texas. Davis is charged with one count of murder and seven counts of aggravated assault in this case. A judge previously denied his bond. In a statement, Capitol Police Chief Bo Luckey described the scene officers faced that night. The scale of the scene made the investigation especially challenging, he said. "Our officers responded to a scene that was extremely chaotic, with multiple people injured, and literally hundreds of people, if not thousands of people, on the street," Luckey said. "Our officers were able to work a successful investigation and identify three shooters involved in the incident, even though they had very little cooperation from anyone. Once they present the case to the grand jury, that takes it out of our hands. We cant speak on why the grand jury does or doesnt indict somebody. We present the case, and they choose whether or not they feel an indictment is necessary. Advertisement Advertisement Charlie Drape is the Jackson beat reporter. Contact him at cdrape@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Brothers not indicted in deadly Jackson St. Paddys parade shooting Glenn Maleyko, Michigans new state superintendent for public instruction, right, gives testimony to the Michigan House Appropriations School Aid and Department of Education Subcommittee, along with the department's chief deputy, Sue Carnell, left. Feb. 3, 2026 | Screenshot Glenn Maleyko, Michigans new state superintendent for public instruction, made his rounds to introduce himself before a key House appropriations subcommittee to discuss where his priorities for the Department of Education may gel with the lower chambers own goals. But the conversation turned fiery when the state Rep. Tim Kelly (R-Saginaw Township), chair of the House Appropriations School Aid and Department of Education Subcommittee, turned to student protests and whether they should be encouraged by school officials, and professional development training geared toward making schools more welcoming to LGBTQ+ students and issues. Advertisement Advertisement Maleyko was hired in late December 2025 to replace longtime superintendent Michael Rice, who retired last year. He was the superintendent of Dearborn Public Schools for 10 years prior to being elevated to lead the states educational programming and administration. The subcommittee hearing on Tuesday was more than just a mere introduction, however. Kellys powerful subcommittee will ultimately be the one advising House Appropriations Committee Chair and state Rep. Ann Bollin (R-Brighton Township) on the upcoming fiscal year budget fight. Kelly and his Republican colleagues showed a strong willingness in the last budget cycle to cut and reorganize per-pupil dollars and categorical line items that helped pay for things like the states free school breakfast and lunch program. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX A compromise was ultimately reached to restore some of that funding, but it was a large factor in the budget battle between the Republicans who lead the House and the Democrats who control the Senate. Advertisement Advertisement Maleyko told Kellys subcommittee on Tuesday that he wants to focus on increased literacy funding, balanced statewide assessments and new artificial intelligence guidance for school districts. The AI issue has come into greater consciousness as the technology rapidly advances and permeates nearly every aspect of everyday life, from chatbots to online search features and programs that help students cut corners on assignments meant to enhance their critical thinking skills. Sue Carnell, chief deputy superintendent, said one of the funding requests that the department plans to make is for guidance support for districts already using AI in the classroom, and to ensure that its application is seamless across Michigans education system in a coherent way. State Rep. Samantha Steckloff (D-Farmington Hills) said the AI question will be the biggest that the Legislature tackles in the current and coming decade, and while it can be used in myriad innovative ways, she wondered if the department was discussing how AI could also be disruptive in the classroom. Advertisement Advertisement Maleyko said thats why he and Carnell are asking for funding to address those very issues. Its not going anywhere, he said. Its here, so we need to embrace it but be cautious with how we do it. Carnell added that although the goal is to figure out how to use it effectively in the classroom, the department was aware of the precautions, and that would feed into the guidance. We dont want AI to generate or help not generate thinking or critical thinking with our students, so we want to provide guidance that ensures that students still can be critical thinkers, Carnell said. Student walkouts over ICE overreach comes into focus Kelly later turned the conversation to student protests seen recently in southeast Michigan over federal overreach and violence perpetrated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents, both in Michigan and abroad. Advertisement Advertisement The subcommittees chair alluded to situations where he believed district superintendents encouraged their students to engage in walk-out demonstrations, pointing the finger directly at Rochester and Detroit schools. Kelly said it was his belief that school officials who encourage students to freely exercise their First Amendment rights should have their days pay docked, and that School Aid dollars shouldnt be used to prop up protestations. Maleyko said he wasnt aware of the specifics regarding those schools, but Kelly clapped back by saying, it was all over the news. Still Maleyko said students have a First Amendment right in the United States to express their beliefs. State Rep. Tim Kelly (R-Saginaw Township), chair of the House Appropriations School Aid and Department of Education Subcommittee, listens to testimony from Glenn Maleyko, Michigans new state superintendent for public instruction. Feb. 3, 2026 | Screenshot We dont promote it. We dont get involved. We just make sure the students are safe, Maleyko said. We can look into those situations to make sure districts are following proper protocol, as far as their funding and other things for the specificity. Advertisement Advertisement Kelly was adamant, however, by the accounts he read, that those protests were not student initiated without giving clear examples on why he believed that. LGBTQ+ trainings criticized by chair Kellys ire moved next to his belief that the department was advertising professional development training for LGBTQ+ issues, and wondered if Maleyko, as the new head of the department, believed that was an appropriate use of funding, priority and development time. Maleyko said he would rather focus on other areas, like literacy, that were not so politically charged, but he did add that the issue was why Michigan emphasizes local control for individual districts. Kelly responded by saying that Maleyko was confusing the new school health standards conversation with professional development, and said that his line of inquiry was focused on development courses to help assist in the creation of LGBTQ+ clubs in schools. Carnell jumped in to say that the department is responsible for all children, regardless of how they feel about themselves and their identities. If theres going to be training, it should be training that helps all students, and we feel that a variety of training, in the end, will help all students, she said. State Rep. Scott Odenbach, R-Spearfish, speaks in the South Dakota House chamber on Feb. 7, 2024. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight) South Dakota lawmakers on Monday defeated a bill that would have tightened limits on groundwater pumping by eliminating an exception for some deep aquifers. The vote in the House of Representatives was 16-49. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Scott Odenbach, R-Spearfish, would require that annual withdrawals from any groundwater source could not exceed the sources estimated recharge rate. It would do so by striking language in state law that allows an exception when pumping from lower than the Greenhorn formation, a layer of limestone found across the state. Advertisement Advertisement Odenbach told fellow representatives he brought the bill after increased population growth in western South Dakota raised local concerns about whether the state is adequately tracking drawdowns from Black Hills area aquifers. Opponents, however, said the bill risked creating practical and financial problems for public water providers that rely on those aquifers, where recharge is difficult to estimate with precision. They cited uncertainty with the science, warning that eliminating the exception could force additional study and expensive monitoring wells. That could cause delays for growing communities. Rep. Kent Roe, R-Hayti, said the Greenhorn exception does not allow over-appropriation. It simply recognizes the legitimate scientific uncertainties in estimating recharge rates for these deep, complex, bedrock aquifers. The exception uses the word may approve, not shall, meaning its never automatic, he said. The bill had advanced out of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee on a 9-4 vote last week. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SPRINGFIELD For the first time in five years, certain forms of student loan forgiveness will be taxable following a change in federal tax policy this year. This comes after a provision of the American Rescue Plan Act expired Dec. 31. That measure, signed into law in 2021 by former President Joe Biden, temporarily excluded student loan debt from federal income taxes. And those tax implications could extend to Illinois state taxes as well unless lawmakers act. Advertisement Advertisement President Donald Trumps One Big Beautiful Bill Act, enacted last summer, did not make the student loan tax forgiveness provision permanent. As a result, student loans that are canceled or partially forgiven in 2026 and beyond will see taxes owed on those forgiven amounts, advocates said. These taxes could amount to as much as $10,000, depending on the borrowers income. More: Where's my refund? How to file taxes for free in Illinois This includes income-driven repayment plan-related forgiveness; some closed school discharges where 100% of a student loan obligation is wiped out if a school closes and private settlements. Meanwhile, some forms of loan forgiveness remain tax-free, such as public service loan forgiveness, teacher loan forgiveness, and death and disability discharge programs. According to a report from Protect Borrowers, a nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating the burden of student debt, two-thirds of people who receive loan cancellation under income-driven repayment plans earn less than $50,000 a year and have less than $1,000 in savings. Advertisement Advertisement A tax bomb on people with that amount of assets and that amount of income, it could be really financially devastating, said Jennifer Zhang, a researcher for Protect Borrowers. A group of congressional Democrats, including U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, sent a letter to Treasury Secretary and Acting IRS Commissioner Scott Bessent on Nov. 9 calling the tax reinstatement a financial disaster for working-class Americans. Illinois will also tax loan forgiveness In addition to federal taxes, some borrowers will also face a similar tax hike at the state level. Illinois is one of 20 states whose tax codes automatically conform to the federal change. This means that unless Illinois legislators decouple the conforming provision before taxes are due next year, student loan forgiveness amounts will also be taxed by the state. I would certainly be supportive of (decoupling), Sen. Mike Halpin, D-Rock Island, said, although its currently not an issue that has reached the Illinois state legislature. Advertisement Advertisement More: Hard Rock Casino Rockford phase 2 is on the way. Here's what to know Lawmakers passed a bill in their fall veto session to decouple the state and federal tax code as it pertained to certain corporate taxes to head off a budget shortfall for the upcoming year. But it did not address student borrowing. Other challenges facing student loan forgiveness are also expected to take effect this year. Student loan forgiveness under Bidens Saving on Valuable Education, or SAVE, plan has been blocked for more than a year after some Republican-led states mounted legal challenges, claiming the program is illegal. As a result, 7 million borrowers have been stuck in forbearance, which does not count toward loan forgiveness under income-driven repayment plans or the public service loan forgiveness provision. Advertisement Advertisement The SAVE plan is an income-driven repayment plan for federal student loans created to lower monthly payments, limit interest from ballooning payments, and accelerate loan forgiveness. If a proposed settlement agreement between the U.S. Department of Education and the state of Missouri is approved, the SAVE plan will end entirely. That would require borrowers to switch to another plan, like an income-based repayment plan, to qualify for loan forgiveness. This change shouldnt result in any loss of loan forgiveness credit. Income-based repayment currently is the only student loan repayment plan that remains preserved by the One Big Beautiful Bill. Trumps bill removed the partial financial hardship requirement from the income-based repayment, which makes it easier for borrowers with higher incomes to enroll. Income-based repayment is a federal student loan plan that caps monthly payments at a percentage of the borrowers discretionary income. It is intended to benefit borrowers who have a high debt relative to their income. Advertisement Advertisement The SAVE lawsuit also suspended student loan forgiveness under the Income-Contingent Repayment, or ICR, plan and Pay As You Earn, or PAYE, plan. The Department of Education agreed to resume processing student loans that had reached their 25-year or 20-year eligibility thresholds, after a lawsuit challenge. Although loan forgiveness under ICR and PAYE is expected to resume in February, these plans will be phased out under Trumps bill by July 2028. As with SAVE, borrowers enrolled in ICR and PAYE will need to switch to an income-based repayment plan or a new Repayment Assistance Plan, or RAP, that is supposed to launch later this year. More: Work requirement kicks in for Illinois SNAP recipients Feb. 1 RAP includes lower payments for some borrowers, an interest subsidy that will prevent loans from ballooning over time, and a 30-year repayment term before a borrower can qualify for student loan forgiveness. This repayment term is longer than current IDR options. Advertisement Advertisement When people have that much of a continual financial strain, they don't build up their savings. They might not ever buy a home. They might not ever have kids, Zhang said. They might not ever achieve these different kinds of financial milestones. RAP also will require higher monthly payments for the lowest-income borrowers. Finally, borrowers with federal Parent PLUS loans, who are typically limited to the ICR plan, also could face changes to their repayment options. Individuals with questions about their loans should call our Student Loan Helpline, 1-800-455-2456, which can direct struggling student borrowers to free resources about repayment options and information on avoiding default, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Borrowers can also use the Federal Student Aid websites loan simulator to calculate monthly payments, evaluate repayment plan eligibility and choose the repayment plan that best suits their needs. Sam Freeman is a graduate student in journalism with Northwestern Universitys Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, and a fellow in its Medill Illinois News Bureau working in partnership with Capitol News Illinois. Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Student loan borrowers in Illinois may face tax bomb in 2026 A large group of students from Washington Union High School walked out of class today in protest of ICE. They started from the school on Elm and American avenues near Easton with a goal of reaching Downtown Fresno. Their protest comes after a national call to action last Friday. Students say they wanted to raise awareness about immigration enforcement practices that they do not support. "I'm a senior and this is my last year and I just want to do something bigger than myself," said a student participating in the protest. Advertisement Advertisement "I'm an Oaxaquena and I think that it's really important that if you stand by your ethnicity and really truly support it, no matter if in good times or bad times, in the bad times, you should be using your voice to support your community," said sophomore Jareni Solano. The Fresno County Sheriff's Office said they checked on the students and told us their protest remained peaceful. By Nafisa Eltahir and Khalid Abdelaziz Feb 3 - The Sudanese army said it broke a years-long siege on the city of Kadugli on Tuesday, potentially providing tens of thousands of people a reprieve from famine and signaling a shift in the war's momentum. The conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has displaced millions, drawn in regional powers and caused a vast humanitarian crisis since it broke out in April 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Its latest frontline is the greater Kordofan region, which the RSF began sweeping through after the rainy season ended late last year. "With God's help and guidance, your Sudanese Armed Forces and supporting forces have succeeded in opening the Kadugli-Dalanj road, after a heroic battle," the army said in a statement. The RSF did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Kadugli and nearby al-Dalanj had been under siege on and off since the start of the war. There was an escalation in fighting after the SPLM-N, which controls territory in the state and elsewhere, joined forces with the RSF last year. Advertisement Advertisement The army broke the siege of al-Dalanj last week. 'MASSIVE, UNCHECKED SUFFERING' In Kadugli the siege caused famine conditions confirmed by a global hunger monitor last year, and in both cities civilians were subjected to devastating drone attacks that have continued since the sieges were broken, residents said. Jan Egeland, head of Norwegian Refugee Council, said he witnessed "massive, unchecked suffering" among those who fled Kadugli to camps in SPLM-N territory. "The mothers had one recurrent story," he said in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday. "The drones are hitting their homes that are torched, and the people flee for their lives after having been starved for months," Egeland said. Advertisement Advertisement People fleeing the siege of al-Fashir, which fell to the RSF in October, gave similar accounts. Few aid agencies remain active in Kadugli or elsewhere in South Kordofan. The siege has driven up prices, according to local aid workers, with a kilo of flour reaching 80,000 Sudanese pounds (about $22). That has put food out of reach for many, forcing them to eat leaves, while medicine and doctors are scarce, the aid workers said. According to the United Nations, more than 80% of Kadugli's population, or some 147,000 people, have fled. ADVANCE ENABLED BY DRONES The army's advance was aided by a breakdown in the RSF's supply lines from Libya into the Kordofan region, an army source and an SPLM-N source told Reuters. Advertisement Advertisement Reuters reported on Monday that Egypt had deployed drones at an airstrip near its borders with Sudan and Libya, in what experts and officials said was a sign of its deepening involvement in Sudan. Libya's Kufrah airport, a major conduit for RSF supplies, announced on January 16 it would close for one month for renovations, though airport officials denied this was linked to Sudan's war. Egypt has not acknowledged supporting the army militarily, but has said its national security is directly linked to Sudan's. The army's advance was largely enabled by drone attacks and by allied armed groups recently recruited from local Nuba tribes, both sources said. Egeland said that shifts in the war's frontlines had not alleviated civilian suffering, while efforts at a settlement, led by the United States, had failed. Advertisement Advertisement "The peace diplomacy has failed to prevent that armed men, ruthless men, do whatever they want with the civilian population that they first starve and then attack," he said. (Editing by Aidan Lewis) Sweden and Denmark will jointly procure mobile anti-aircraft artillery systems worth 245 million for Ukraine as the country continues to defend against intensifying Russian strikes on its energy infrastructure. Sweden will contribute 2.1 billion kronor of the 2.6 billion kronor total, with Denmark providing the remainder to supply Ukraine with the TRIDON Mk2 mobile anti-aircraft system, the countries' defence ministers announced on Tuesday. "This is a platform that can take out cruise missiles and can take out long-range strike drones and it's a capability that the Ukrainians need due to the increase of Russian long-range strike capabilities," Swedish Defence Minister Pal Jonson said in Gothenburg. Advertisement Advertisement The system was developed at "record pace" and adapted based on battlefield lessons from Russia's all-out war in Ukraine, Jonson said. The donation would be sufficient for Kyiv to establish its own air defence battalion. Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the contribution would "strengthen Ukraine's air defence capacity, which unfortunately has been under severe pressure in recent months". Energy infrastructure under sustained attack The announcement comes as Ukraine faces the most severe electricity, heating and water outages of Moscow's nearly four-year war, pushing the country towards the brink of a humanitarian crisis. Russia has systematically targeted Ukraine's energy infrastructure throughout the war, with attacks intensifying over recent months. Advertisement Advertisement An analysis published on Monday found that while Russia fired fewer drones and missiles in January, the attacks still crippled critical energy facilities, leaving millions of Ukrainians without power during the coldest months of winter. Related Russia launched one of its largest barrages of the war on Tuesday, firing around 450 drones and 70 missiles at Ukrainian targets in an apparent escalation ahead of US-brokered peace talks scheduled in Abu Dhabi. The TRIDON Mk2 system is designed specifically to counter cruise missiles and long-range strike drones, capabilities Russia has increasingly deployed against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure since the full-scale invasion began on 24 February 2022. By Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard TAIPEI, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Taiwan must look to fellow democracies, not China, for trade and economic cooperation, President Lai Ching-te said on Tuesday, as his government mapped out how the island plans to work with the United States on areas like AI and critical minerals. Senior Taiwanese and U.S. officials last week discussed cooperation in artificial intelligence, tech and drones at a high-level forum launched during the first Trump administration, with the U.S. State Department praising Taipei as a "vital partner." Advertisement Advertisement The two sides signed statements on cooperation on economic security and on the Pax Silica Declaration - a U.S.-led initiative aimed at securing AI and semiconductor supply chains amid intense competition from Beijing, Washington's main strategic rival and which claims Taiwan as its own territory. Speaking at a news conference at the presidential office about the U.S.-Taiwan Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue, Lai lauded the outcome of those talks. "Taiwan is on the right economic path and is striding confidently onto the world stage. Taiwan has both the capability and the confidence to work with its democratic partners to lead the next generation of prosperity," he said. Lai was speaking as the deputy chairman of Taiwan's main opposition party the Kuomintang (KMT), Hsiao Hsu-tsen, was in Beijing for a think-tank exchange with China's Communist Party on ostensibly non-political issues like AI and tourism. Advertisement Advertisement Lai said Taiwan's opposition "had their own positions", and pointed to the differences of Taiwan's slower economic growth under the previous KMT government, which signed a landmark trade deal with China, or the much faster growth since the Democratic Progressive Party took office in 2016. "Do we want to continue collaborating with the U.S., Japan, Europe and other allied nations, or again lock ourselves into China?" he added. BEIJING MEETING Hsiao told the opening of the forum in Beijing that "peaceful development" serves the interests of both sides, according to a read out of his remarks provided by the party. Advertisement Advertisement "We should cooperate across the Taiwan Strait to earn money from the world, rather than oppose each other across the strait and let foreign countries reap the benefits, exploiting Taiwan and hollowing it out," he said. China refuses to speak to Lai, calling him a "separatist". He says only Taiwan's people can decide their future. Speaking to reporters, Lai reiterated an offer to speak to Beijing, based on parity and equality. Taiwan's opposition has also blocked Lai's $40-billion special defence budget, instead pushing their own proposal that provides funding only for certain U.S. arms, not the full package Lai wants. Advertisement Advertisement On Monday, U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, chairman of the Armed Services Committee and one of the strongest advocates for Taiwan in the U.S. Congress, wrote on X that he was "disappointed" to see Taiwan's opposition parties slash Lai's defence budget. "The original proposal funded urgently needed weapons systems. Taiwan's parliament should reconsider - especially with rising Chinese threats," added Wicker, who met Lai in Taipei last August. In response, the KMT said it had always supported the defence budget, and regretted Wicker's remarks "made without sufficient information". It asked, "Would the U.S. Congress ever pass a blank-cheque budget for eight years with no specifics?" renewing previous criticism of the government that the party could not blindly pass spending without having more details. (Reporting by Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Clarence Fernandez) SINGAPORE The Taiwan-based company Tron Future has unveiled an AI-assisted system that guides anti-armor rockets, which could help to accelerate the training of civilians and soldiers during a war, according to company officials. The Singapore Airshow, organized here from Feb 3-8, marks the first time the T-Scope has been shown overseas. The device was designed specifically for unguided munitions and uses a variety of sensors and AI to instantly calculate and predict the projectile flight paths, taking into account environmental and physical factors. What were doing rather than placing sensors on the rocket itself, is we are putting them into an AI-driven guidance kit, which essentially transforms unguided rockets into precision-guided munitions to improve their accuracy for cheaper, Alan Kuo, Tron Futures director of sales, told Defense News. Advertisement Advertisement Taiwan has been gradually building up its inventory of anti-tank weapons, including an unknown number of unguided rocket-propelled grenades, to deter potential attacks. Wang said they were approached by one of the countrys leading defense institutes to develop a device that could help quickly mobilize personnel, if needed. By combining automated complex ballistic calculations and displaying a live corrected aiming point, T.Scope allows soldiers to achieve marksman-level proficiency within a very compressed training timeframe, Kuo added. It would allow for combat readiness even under limited preparation. (Tron Future) Although it has already been tested, the company is hopeful that it will receive army certification before the end of the year. Advertisement Advertisement Further testing has already been planned to see how it performs in shallow water, per a request from the undisclosed defense institute. The National Chung-Shan Institute of Science Technology, or NCSIST, is largely regarded as the leading research and development center in the defense sector in Taiwan. It focuses on designing and producing indigenous weapons, including missiles and unmanned systems. Tron Futures counter-drone radars have been used by the Taiwanese Army for several years. The company has also been assisting the government in integrating counter-drone technologies with Taiwans low Earth orbit satellites through its T.SpaceRouter user terminals to increase the islands communication resilience. Tensions are flaring along the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border in Central Asia with the Tajik government reporting multiple armed incursions this month, straining its fragile relationship with Afghanistans Taliban leaders. More than a dozen people have been killed in attacks by men whom Tajik authorities call terrorists and the resulting clashes with Tajik forces, officials in Dushanbe and Beijing said. Victims include Chinese nationals working in remote areas of the mountainous former Soviet republic. In the latest fighting this week, at least five people were killed in Tajikistans Shamsiddin Shokhin district, including three terrorists, officials said. Advertisement Advertisement Tajikistan has long opposed the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan, a country it shares a largely unsecured 1,340km (830-mile) border with. Despite cautious diplomatic engagement between the two countries to adjust to new regional realities, analysts said, the frequency of the recent border clashes risks eroding the Talibans credibility and raises questions about its capacity to enforce order and security. Here is all we know about the clashes along the Tajik-Afghan border and why they matter: A Taliban flag flies on top of a bridge across the Panj river on the Afghan-Tajik border as seen from Tajikistans Darvoz district [File: Amir Isaev/AFP] Whats happening on the Tajik-Afghan border? The border runs along the Panj river through the remote, mountainous terrain of southern Tajikistan and northeastern Afghanistan. Advertisement Advertisement On Thursday, Tajikistans State Committee for National Security said in a statement that three members of a terrorist organisation crossed into Tajik territory on Tuesday. The committee added that the men were located the following morning and exchanged fire with Tajik border guards. Five people, including the three intruders, were killed, it said. Tajik officials did not name the armed men or specify which group they belonged to. The officials, however, said they seized three M-16 rifles, a Kalashnikov assault rifle, three foreign-made pistols with silencers, 10 hand grenades, a night-vision scope and explosives at the scene. Dushanbe said this was the third attack originating from Afghanistans Badakhshan province in the past month that has resulted in the deaths of its personnel. These attacks, Tajik officials said on Thursday, prove that the Taliban government is demonstrating serious and repeated irresponsibility and non-commitment in fulfilling its international obligations and consistent promises to ensure security and to combat members of terrorist organisations. Advertisement Advertisement The Tajik statement called on the Taliban to apologise to the people of Tajikistan and take effective measures to ensure security along the shared border. Tajikistan has not suggested what the motive for the attacks may be, but the assaults have appeared to target Chinese companies and nationals working in the area. Workers of Talco Gold, a joint Tajik-Chinese mining firm, speak in front of a poster of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon at the Saritag antimony mine in western Tajikistan [File: AFP] How is China involved in all this? Beijing is Tajikistans largest creditor and one of its most influential economic partners with a significant footprint in infrastructure, mining and other border-region projects. China and Tajikistan also share a 477km (296-mile) border running through the high-altitude Pamir Mountains in eastern Tajikistan, adjacent to Chinas Xinjiang region. Advertisement Advertisement Two attacks were launched against Chinese companies and nationals in the last week of November. On November 26, a drone equipped with an explosive device attacked a compound belonging to Shohin SM, a private Chinese gold-mining company, in the remote Khatlon region on the Tajik-Afghan border, killing three Chinese citizens. In a second attack on November 30, a group of men armed with guns opened fire on workers employed by the state-owned China Road and Bridge Corporation, killing at least two people in Tajikistans Darvoz district. Tajik officials said those attacks had originated from villages in Afghanistans Badakhshan province but did not disclose any affiliation or motive behind the attacks. Chinese nationals have also come under attack in Pakistans Balochistan province and along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Advertisement Advertisement Chinas embassy in Dushanbe advised Chinese companies and personnel to evacuate the border area. Chinese officials demanded that Tajikistan take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of Chinese enterprises and citizens in Tajikistan. Who is carrying out these attacks? While the attackers have not been identified, analysts and observers believe the attacks carry the hallmarks of the ISIL (ISIS) affiliate in Khorasan Province (ISKP), which, they said, aims to discredit Afghanistans Taliban leaders. The ISKP has attacked foreigners inside Afghanistan and carried out attacks on foreigners inside Afghanistan as a key pillar of their strategy, said Ibraheem Bahiss, a Kabul-based analyst at the International Crisis Group think tank. The aim is to shatter the Talibans image as a security provider with whom the regional governments should engage, Bahiss told Al Jazeera. Taliban members participate in a rally to mark the third anniversary of the Talibans seizure of Kabul in the Afghan capital on August 14, 2024. [Sayed Hassib/Reuters] How has the Taliban reacted to these attacks? Kabul expressed its deep sorrow over the killings of Chinese workers on November 28. Advertisement Advertisement The Taliban blamed the violence on an unnamed armed group which, it said, is striving to create chaos and instability in the region and to sow distrust among countries, and it assured Tajikistan of its full cooperation. After this weeks clashes, Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Talibans interior minister, said Kabul remains committed to the 2020 Doha Agreement, its deal with the United States for a phased foreign troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in exchange for Taliban commitments to prevent Afghanistan from being used as a base for attacking other countries. Addressing a police cadet graduation ceremony at the National Police Academy in Kabul on Thursday, Haqqani said Afghanistan posed no threat to other countries and the door to dialogue remains open. We want to address problems, distrust or misunderstandings through dialogue. We have passed the test of confrontation. We may be weak in resources, but our faith and will are strong, he said, adding that security had improved to the extent that Taliban officials now travel across the country without weapons. Advertisement Advertisement The Taliban insists that no terrorist groups are operating from Afghanistan. However, in a recent report, the United Nations sanctions-monitoring committee cited the presence of multiple armed groups, including ISKP, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, al-Qaeda, the Turkistan Islamic Party, Jamaat Ansarullah and Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan. Jamaat Ansarullah is a Tajik group linked to al-Qaeda-aligned networks and active primarily in northern Afghanistan near the Tajik border. Afghans travel along a border road as seen from Tajikistans Darvoz district [File: Amir Isaev/AFP] How are relations between Tajikistan and the Taliban? For decades, the relationship between Tajikistan and the Taliban has been defined by deep ideological hostility and ethnic mistrust with Dushanbe one of the groups fiercest critics in Central Asia. In the 1990s, Tajikistan aligned with the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance, led by Afghan military commander and former Defence Minister Ahmad Shah Massoud. Advertisement Advertisement After the Talibans return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, Tajikistan stood as the lone holdout among its neighbours in refusing to officially recognise the new government. However, pragmatic diplomatic engagement quietly began about 2023, driven by economic necessity and shared security fears over the presence of ISKP. Stepping up the restoration of relations, a high-level Tajik delegation visited Kabul in November, the first such visit since the Talibans return to power. But the two governments continue to trade accusations that the other is harbouring terrorists, the major thorn remaining in their bilateral relationship, and that drug smuggling is occurring across their border. The Tajik-Afghan border has long been a major trafficking route for Afghan heroin and methamphetamine into Central Asia and onwards to Russia and Europe, exploiting the areas rugged terrain and weak policing. Advertisement Advertisement The rising frequency [of the clashes] is new and interesting and raises a point: whether we might be seeing a new threat emerging, Bahiss said. Badakshan province, from which Tajik authorities said the attacks on Chinese nationals originate, presents a complex security situation for the Taliban as it has struggled to stem the threat from armed opposition groups, Bahiss added. This security issue has been further complicated by the Talibans crackdown on poppy cultivation in the province, he said. The Taliban has faced resistance to this policy from farmers in the north. This is largely because the terrain of Badakshan means poppies are the only viable cash crop. Afghanistans Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi called his Tajik counterpart early this month to express regret about the attacks on Chinese nationals and say his government was prepared to boost cooperation between their border forces [Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters] How is the Taliban faring with other neighbours? Since the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan in 2021, some of its neighbours have maintained a pragmatic transactional relationship while others have not. Relations with Pakistan, previously its patron, have particularly deteriorated. Islamabad accuses Kabul of harbouring fighters of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, also known as the Pakistan Taliban. Tensions over this issue boiled over in November when Pakistan launched air strikes in Kabul, Khost and other provinces, prompting retaliatory Taliban attacks on border posts. Dozens of people were killed before a ceasefire was brokered by Qatar and Turkiye. However, both sides have engaged in fighting since, blaming each other for breaking the fragile truce. The Taliban denies Islamabads allegations and has blamed Pakistan for its own security failures. Meanwhile, the Taliban is now invested in developing a new relationship with Pakistans archrival, India, with delegations visiting Indian cities for trade and security discussions. New Delhi was earlier part of the anti-Taliban alliance. However, that approach has changed with the deteriorating ties between Pakistan and the Taliban. Under the Talibans penal code, which includes 119 articles, published on January 7, 2026, the penalty for animal abuse outweighs that of a serious case of domestic violence. The divisive new penal code introduced by the Taliban, which has reintroduced the legal recognition of slavery in Afghanistan and further limits the power and autonomy of women and minorities, is just the latest move in the terror groups quest to turn Kabul into a haven for Islamist terror groups, an expert told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday. Under the Talibans penal code, which includes 119 articles, published on January 7, 2026, the penalty for animal abuse outweighs that of a serious case of domestic violence. Advertisement Advertisement Under Article 32, If a husband strikes his wife with excessive beating resulting in fracture, injury, or the appearance of bruising on her body, and the wife proves her claim before the judge, the husband is deemed a criminal; the judge shall sentence him to fifteen days of imprisonment, while under Article 70, those who cause animals to fight can receive a five month sentence. The Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security published that the message behind the penal code is clear; under the Talibans hierarchy, women are afforded less protection than an animal. Mursal Sayas, an Afghan womens rights activist, journalist, and the CEO of Women Beyond Borders, told the Post that the Taliban had manufactured a climate of vulnerability for women and responsibility for men, the same climate that feeds into a culture of domestic abuse. The Taliban punishes the men of the family if a woman goes out without a chaperone or without full covering, puts families in a position where men are solely responsible for the expenses of a household, and reduces women to slaves in their homes, which have become cages, she said. Advertisement Advertisement UN Special Rapporteur for Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, said last week he was still analyzing the Talibans new Criminal Procedure Code, including from a human rights and sharia perspectives, but it is already very clear that the implications for #Afghans are extremely concerning. He has yet to make a more public comment. Afghan women prevented from working amid widespread poverty Approximately 85% of Afghans live on less than one dollar a day, 69% are experiencing subsistence insecurity, and only 6% of women are working across all sectors, according to statistics shared by the United Nations Development Programme. The women today, they cannot even buy their own pads during their periods. So how can they ask the men to always pay for their expenses? Even the basic expenses, they do not have money for that. It gives power to men to abuse women at home, Sayas explained, reflecting on how the financial strain was adding to the surge in domestic violence. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists economic stress, weak community sanctions against intimate partner violence, and income inequality as some of the main risk factors for the perpetration ofintimate partner violence. Advertisement Advertisement Adding further strain, new reports have revealed the Taliban quietly restricted womens access to contraception, forcing extra mouths to feed on already struggling families. Healthcare workers revealed to The Guardian last week that supplies of contraception gradually begun to reduce in 2023 and are now almost non-existent. One doctor told the British paper that the Taliban had made threats against him if he continued to administer birth control, and other medical officials reported seeing daily cases of abuse-induced miscarriages. Right now, with the poverty that existed already in Afghanistan, the families cannot feed the children they already have, she said. Its not just about producing the children and their sexual health, which is not being taken care of in Afghanistan, it can damage or hurt economically and socially, because it brings women down to a new kind of slaveryIt restricts them more and more, minimizes their roles to birth-giving machines. Many of the restrictions imposed on women will also have long-term consequences for the Afghan public sector, particularly in the field of health. There are currently 10.3 key health workers per 10,000 population in Afghanistan, according to the National Center of Biotechnology Medicine, falling significantly short of the World Health Organizations Universal Health Coverage threshold of 44.5 key health workers per 10,000. Advertisement Advertisement As nearly 2.2 million girls have been prevented from attending higher education, the next generation will suffer a shortage of nurses, doctors, and midwives, Sayas warned. On the other hand, the females who practice as a doctor or as a nurse in the hospitals [now], they also face problems and challenges and violence, even from the Taliban and their troops inside the hospitals, for not wearing the burka, for not covering their face, for not having a chaperone, Sayas continued, reflecting on how women were being ousted from the essential roles they carry out. Those who have braved the Talibans threats and continued to practice in healthcare, despite the challenges the legally mandated coverings have created, are paid less than men, she continued, making it financially unviable for families to spare a male relative to chaperone them at work. Earthquake sees shortage of rescue personnel due to restrictions on women The real consequences of these restrictions were felt during the devastating earthquake last year, as it created rescue personnel shortages hindering efforts to unbury survivors, she said. Damage caused by earthquake in Afghanistan, September 1, 2025. (credit: SCREENSHOT/VIA SECTION 27A OF THE COPYRIGHT ACT) UN Women Special Representative in Afghanistan Susan Ferguson shared similar information in September, stating What I heard from health workers and from some women was that there was a particular area in the earthquake-affected zone where there were cultural norms that meant that women themselves didnt want men to touch them and that men also didnt want to touch women as they were trying to rescue them. Advertisement Advertisement Resources are also being squandered as humanitarian organizations attempt to work around the Taliban rule, Sayas said. Organizations must now shell out the cost of male chaperones, directing much-needed resources away from supplies and personnel. Sayas filmed a documentary for Frances Channel 5 following the earthquake. It is horrible, horrible, she recounted. When you see the situation, the poverty, and the people who have to live in the tents, and the people who have young children, and they dont have a rag or dont have a closed space to live there. Even now, were living in the winter, and the winters in Afghanistan are quite cold in those areas so snowing, flooding, and all those things. Children are dying. Mothers are dying. People have been injured, and there werent any sufficient responses. Further restricting the resources reaching those most in need, Sayas cited reports that the Taliban had been taking a percentage of the aid for themselves and their soldiers. Advertisement Advertisement The Taliban didnt respond well because they dont have the capacity to respond well, she explained. They are not educated. They dont know about all those things. They just know how to shoot, and this, this can affect every aspect of peoples lives in Afghanistan. Outside of the gender apartheid and poverty, Sayas described how civilians in Afghanistan were left uncertain with vague and contradictory laws that leave people open to corporal punishment. While murder is punishable by the death penalty, the Taliban instructed that every citizen should follow Sunni Islam, and those attempting to follow Shia Islam or another religion should be killed by a vigilante, Sayas continued. So it gives the opportunity to people to punish others, like without law, without codifying it, and it provokes the people against each other. If you dance, you can be arrested, she continued, and we dont know which kind of dance, even if there are traditional dances. She added that anyone who attends a non-Islamic event, whether a poetry reading or a literature event, can be arrested by the Taliban. Advertisement Advertisement Expanding concerns to the international community, Sayas said there were reports that the Taliban is permitting different terrorist groups to set up bases in Afghanistan, creating a safe house for them. In less than 10 years, Sayas warned it would be too late for the whole world. In September 2024, Texas Rep. Ramon Romero was at a fundraiser in Fort Worth for Kamala Harris when he met a young labor leader named Taylor Rehmet. The Air Force veteran and union machinist told Romero he was mulling a run for public office. A lot of people think about running, Romero recounted telling him, but he offered to help should Rehmet actually file. The two stayed in touch, and Rehmet decided last summer to run in a special election for a ruby red Texas Senate district in Tarrant County that no Democrat had represented in nearly half a century and that President Donald Trump won by more than 17 points in 2024. When Romero mobilized to help Rehmet court Latino voters many of them from the same Fort Worth neighborhoods he represents in the House he saw a serious first-time candidate meeting power brokers, talking to voters on front porches and running a long-shot bid like he could win it. Advertisement Advertisement On Saturday, Rehmet did win it, in part thanks to a spike in support from the Latino vote. He defeated conservative activist Leigh Wambsganss whose campaign far outspent Rehmet by a decisive 14-point margin in a stunner that reverberated from Texas to Mar-a-Lago, refreshing Democrats dreams of a blue Texas and rattling Republicans as they brace for more aftershocks in November. Rehmets upset victory, according to interviews Sunday with half a dozen people who supported or worked on his campaign, is explained by a variety of factors, including the combination of Latino and suburban backlash to once-fringe conservative policies that have taken root in Tarrant County and Washington; a MAGA opponent who drove some of those policies and embraced them on the campaign trail; and a message from Rehmet, centered on his union background, that won over working-class voters, independents and even some moderate Republicans. Instrumental to Rehmets victory was the backing he received from Hispanics, who account for slightly more than one in five eligible voters in the district. One analyst found that Rehmet outperformed Harris, the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, by more than 50 points in some of the largely Hispanic areas of Fort Worth. The remarkable shifts occurred as those voters witnessed immigration agents in recent weeks kill two Americans while trying to carry out the presidents promised mass deportations. And those same voters, some observers noted, believed Trump would help their financial standing more than what he has delivered in his first year in office. Advertisement Advertisement Up against Rehmet was a ferocious campaign fueled by some of the GOPs biggest heavyweights Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Trump among them. They backed Wambsganss, whos set to get a rematch against Rehmet in November for a four-year term, as Rehmets victory was only to complete the remaining 11 months in a term Republican Kelly Hancock left to become Texas acting comptroller. He is a hard worker. People think that you can just win elections. Youre gonna have to really work it, and he did, Romero, who block-walked for Rehmet, said in an interview Sunday. I had more Republicans people calling me saying, I voted for Rehmet. I voted for Rehmet. Hey, I just want you to know I voted for Rehmet. To be sure, the election was unique. It was held on a Saturday in January, with no other candidates on the ballot, following a cold snap that affected campaigning and early voting. The singularity limits what can be gleaned from Rehmets stunning upset. But as the blame game among Republicans grew louder on Sunday, it also became clear that the 32-point swing for Democrats could not be simply dismissed as irrelevant. Still, some Democrats counseled restraint in interpreting the results. Advertisement Advertisement I dont think that Democrats should think that just because Taylor won last night, that its New York City time. Its not New York City time. Its not Vermont time. Its not LA time, said U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, a Fort Worth Democrat, noting that Texas is far from becoming one of the countrys liberal bastions. If you are a candidate running in a tough race in a place like Texas, it does not mean that you can start California dreaming. By numerous indications, the election should have been a sleepy one. Aside from Trumps margin in 2024, the district has been reliably red: Per one analysis, Republicans have carried it by an average of nearly 19 points in 44 state and federal contests since 2018. The first indication that the race would be a live one arrived in November, when Rehmet finished three points shy of winning the seat outright. In both rounds, but especially in the runoff, Texas GOP leaders went to bat for Wambsganss, tapping into their own funds, block-walking the district and ringing alarms about the race, saying they needed to keep the seat red and away from a radical Democrat. Advertisement Advertisement In all, Wambsganss campaign reported raising $2.6 million, almost two-thirds $1.6 million of which came from three of the most powerful and loaded groups in Texas GOP politics. Texans United for a Conservative Majority, started by right-wing West Texas oil billionaires Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks, gave her campaign nearly $603,000 more than Rehmets entire campaign haul of some $570,000. The Texas Senate Leadership Fund, a PAC started by Patrick, who oversees the state Senate, added $463,250. And the influential tort reform group Texans For Lawsuit Reform PAC added $550,000. Rehmets campaign knew it simply could not raise the same amount of money, his campaign strategist Jake Davis said in an interview Sunday. But the camp was also not interested in a strategy that involved matching Wambsganss dollar for dollar, Davis said. Knowing they would be outgunned on the advertising airwaves, Davis instead sought out to assemble a staff of Texans from across the state, based them in Tarrant County and identified a north star of knocking on 40,000 doors. Advertisement Advertisement Every week, they worked backward from that target spending time with people in their living rooms, kitchens and driveways. The staff received training on active listening, Davis said. If a voter had a question the volunteer did not have an answer for, Rehmets team would run it down sometimes calling the candidate himself in front of the voter. We had to stay relentlessly disciplined, Davis said. Every single dollar, every hour, every volunteer shift, had to have a purpose. There were so many un-sexy decisions that we had to make. Of course, the campaign received help, like from Romero as well as from Beto ORourke, the Democratic darling who shattered fundraising goals and expectations in 2018 when he almost unseated U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. ORourkes political group, Powered by People, helped register people to vote in the district, stayed in touch with them to encourage them to vote and called and texted 30,000 voters eligible to vote by mail. In an interview Sunday, the former El Paso congressman credited Rehmets campaign for the victory and struck an optimistic tone for Democrats in November. Advertisement Advertisement I dont think any Republican is safe right now, ORourke said. I think the people of Texas have absolutely had it and are looking for change. Bo French, until recently the Tarrant County GOP chair, blamed poor turnout among Republican voters. I see a lot of Republicans blaming everyone from the Governor to the county party, French wrote on social media. Republicans need to wake up. When you stay home during local elections and special elections, Democrats win. You cant blame others for your failure to vote. Some party superiors see a serious threat. In an early Sunday social media post, Patrick vowed to keep fighting and take the seat back in November. Advertisement Advertisement Low turnout special elections are always unpredictable, Patrick wrote. The results from SD 9 are a wake-up call for Republicans across Texas. Our voters cannot take anything for granted. Trump, for his part, distanced himself from the loss, spinning heads in the process after he had posted three different get-out-the-vote messages in the 48 hours leading up to the election. Im not involved in that, Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Thats a local Texas race. As political observers tried to make sense of the upset, a range of theories emerged to explain what still remained inexplicable to many as the dust settled: It was a referendum on Trump, it was a response to socially conservative policies, it was a response to the hard-right turn of local GOP leaders, it was a poorly run GOP campaign, and onward. Advertisement Advertisement John Huffman, the Republican former Southlake mayor who finished a distant third in the November election, chalked it up to failed opportunities to unify. There was no outreach to the 19,000 voters who supported our campaign in November, Huffman wrote on social media. Nor did Leighs campaign reach out to me until days before early voting began, leaving no time to unify Republicans or broaden the coalition. When she and I finally did meet, she ended the conversation almost as soon as it started. Wambsganss pushed back on Huffmans statement during an interview Monday morning with conservative radio host Mark Davis. She blamed Republicans who did not turn out to vote but said the weather also affected some voters. She also said it was time for the GOP to unite, adding Tarrant County is not as red as it once was. I think this is a really good wake up for Texas that Texas needed, she said. Republicans have to stop the infighting and move on and do whats best [for] keeping Texas conservative and free. Advertisement Advertisement On paper, Wambsganss conservative bona fides were unmatched by many GOP candidates seeking office in Texas. She is the chief communications officer for Patriot Mobile, a cellphone company that has helped back the Christian conservative school board candidates who overhauled libraries, curricula and raised hell in board meetings across the state about what children are taught. She had the backing of party state leaders and the districts former state senator. They could have built her in their garage, veteran Texas Democratic operative Matt Angle said. Taylor Rehmet is just an absolute reflection of that district. Leigh Wambsganss is an absolute reflection of national MAGA. The voters decided which one they like, and it wasnt a close call. Still, political observers reiterated the uniqueness of the election and the challenges of trying to draw conclusions from an election that only drew a sliver of registered voters. Jason Villalba, a former Republican state representative who now leads the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation, predicted Latinos the most important swing vote in the country, he said will continue to vote in surprising ways in coming elections. He cautioned that such voting trends in todays climate move at light speed. I dont think you can take what happened last night and say, thats gonna hold into November, and these numbers are now static and nothings going to change, Villalba said. Its early. This was a strong indicator that Hispanics are moving back toward Democrats. A third person has died from injuries sustained during a weekend shooting and police standoff at Mt. Juliet's Cedar Creek Marina, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Police were called to the shooting late Jan. 30. The resulting standoff lasted into the early morning hours of Jan. 31. Robert Brogden, 52, died after being taken to the hospital, according to the TBI. A Mt. Juliet police vehicle. Matthew Jones, 43, was also killed, according to the TBI. Advertisement Advertisement Gary Haley Jr., 45, is now identified by the TBI as the person who was killed after shooting at police officers during the standoff. No police officers were injured. Officers were called to the scene after someone reported that a man was threatening others on the dock of the marina on Saundersville Road at about 9:30 p.m., Jan. 30. When officers searched the area, gunfire was heard and police found a man with a gunshot wound. The man, now identified as Brogden, was moved to receive medical treatment. Police believed Haley, their armed suspect, was contained near the end of the marina's C-Dock and possibly hiding in one of several boats. The Mt. Juliet Police Department's Special Response team was activated. Advertisement Advertisement Haley allegedly fired at officers and five officers returned fire just before 1 a.m., Jan. 31. He was later found dead. Another man, now identified as Jones, was found dead with a gunshot wound, police said. TBI agents are working to independently determine the series of events leading up to the shooting. Findings will be provided to the District Attorney General for further review. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Third man dies after Mt. Juliet marina shooting, standoff. IDs given By Miguel Pereira and Pedro Nunes POMBAL, Portugal, Feb 3 (Reuters) - A new storm threatened Portugal and Spain with further flooding and damage from Tuesday, only a week after the deadly Storm Kristin destroyed homes, factories and critical infrastructure. The Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA) expects the new storm, named Leonardo, to hit mainland Portugal from Tuesday until Saturday and Spain from Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement The Iberian Peninsula has experienced a succession of storms bringing heavy rain, thunder, snow and strong gales in the last few months, with southern Spain facing what some residents said was its wettest winter in 40 years. IPMA said Leonardo may bring persistent and at times heavy rain, with wind gusts reaching up to 75 km/h (47 mph) along the coast south of Cabo Mondego in Portugal's central region, and 95 km/h in the highlands. However, the gusts should be less intense than those exceeding 200 km/h which were unleashed by Storm Kristin since last Wednesday, among the strongest winds on record in Portugal and have resulted in six deaths in the country. Daniela Fraga, deputy commander of national emergency and civil protection authority ANEPC, told reporters late on Monday that heavy rain in the coming days could lead to floods, mainly in the regions affected by Storm Kristin. Advertisement Advertisement RECOVERY 'COULD TAKE YEARS' Portugal's Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, on a visit to affected factories in the central town of Pombal, said it could take years for factories, public equipment, roads and railways damaged by the storm to fully recover. "It was a calamity that affected us it has already rained a lot, it will continue to rain, and there are many losses," Montenegro told reporters. Nearly 115,000 households were still without electricity, around 85,000 of them in the Leiria region in the centre of Portugal, power distribution company E-Redes said. In Spain, weather authorities warned of intense and persistent rainfall across the south of the country. Advertisement Advertisement In the Grazalema mountains, accumulated rainfall could exceed 200-250 mm in 24 hours. Officials have issued alerts for severe flood risk due to rising river levels. Authorities in the southern Andalusia region suspended most classes for Wednesday, urged residents to avoid nonessential travel and asked for Spain's military emergency unit be on standby in case it is needed. (Reporting by Sergio Goncalves in Portugal and Emma Pinedo in Madrid; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Alexander Smith) Gov. Bill Lee, shown here talking with House Republican Caucus Chair Jeremy Faison, didn't mention immigration in his final State of the State address despite a slate of anti-immigration bills filed by GOP lawmakers. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout) House Republicans continued their push to toughen immigration laws days before Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee made his final State of the State address. But the governor didnt talk about immigration Monday night, heading into the last year of his two terms. The omission was not lost on Democratic state Rep. Justin Pearson of Memphis, who opposes a massive deployment of Tennessee National Guard troops and state, local and federal officers to Memphis to cut down crime. Advertisement Advertisement I did think it was notable he didnt mention immigration considering that Stephen Miller has pushed forward a legislative agenda for (House Speaker) Cameron Sexton and people here to push forward, said Pearson, who is running for Tennessees Ninth Congressional District seat. Miller, President Trumps deputy chief of staff, is the architect of an aggressive national immigration enforcement strategy and met numerous times with Sexton and Tennessee officials to work on a set of bills designed to toughen state immigration laws. One that is drawing constitutional questions would create a new state crime for anyone who disobeys a federal deportation order. Pearson pointed out, though, that Lee talked about the occupation of Memphis that many Black lawmakers from Shelby County oppose. That occupation is detrimental to the economy. Its led to the deportation of hundreds of people, and our community has never asked for it, Pearson said. Advertisement Advertisement Lee said Monday in his State of the State address that more than 5,500 criminals have been arrested in Memphis since the safe task force made up of local, state and federal agencies started operating there last September. In addition, Lee said the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and other agencies formed a Missing Child Unit that found 146 missing kids. News organizations have been unable to independently verify these figures. Touting generational change in Memphis, the governor announced plans to keep the momentum going by spending $80 million on safety grants for items ranging from technology to workforce training for downtown Memphis, as well as stationing 100 state troopers permanently in the city. House Republicans issued a release Saturday morning, two days before the State of the State, about a District Attorneys General report on crimes committed in 2025 by immigrants who have no permanent legal documentation. The report classified 2,183 crimes as violent offenses, 41 homicides, 145 sexual offenses and 40 cases of aggravated kidnapping. I believe one victim is one too many, said Sexton, who is leading the charge for immigration legislation along with House Majority Leader William Lamberth. Advertisement Advertisement Compiled from information provided by local law enforcement, the report showed 12,193 driving-related offenses, including 2,920 cases of DUI. House Republicans cited a 2023 analysis by the Migration Policy Institute in saying 186,000 immigrants without permanent legal documentation are living in Tennessee. Democrats challenged the Republican bill package last month, saying the states 466,000 immigrants make up 8% of the labor force and paid $4.4 billion in taxes in 2023. They also pointed out the 2024 report from the DAs Conference shows immigrants, including legal and undocumented, have much lower incarceration rates than native-born Americans. Yet Republicans said the new report backs up the need to pass model legislation for the country. Advertisement Advertisement When Republican leaders unveiled their immigration package, Sexton was unfazed about the potential loss of tax dollars if Tennessee goes through a major deportation effort. What we are worried about is the number of illegal immigrants who have murdered, robbed, abused, raped people in the state of Tennessee and what that has done to victims and what that has done to dollars, and having illegals tarnish those who did it legally and lawfully, Sexton said. Asked Monday about Lees omission of immigration enforcement from his speech, Lamberth said he didnt think it was out of the ordinary. No, not at all. Hes had seven years to work on a variety of issues. I think we heard a transcendent speech tonight that covered the last seven years of his administration, Lamberth said. It covered the next year, what he wants to focus on, and we in the legislature will focus on a vast number of topics as well. Advertisement Advertisement Even if Lee doesnt support those Republican immigration bills, he isnt likely to veto them. The governor has blocked only one bill in seven years, even though he has let numerous bills take effect without his signature. Critics of the Republican legislation say Tennessee laws already restrict undocumented immigration. For instance, people in the state without documentation are prohibited from receiving public assistance such as TennCare, the states medical program for low-income women with children, the poor and elderly. A bill by Lamberth that would allow public school districts to charge tuition to non-citizen students or prohibit them from enrolling is languishing because of constitutional questions that could cost the state more than $1 billion. Instead, House Republicans want to pass a measure that would require school districts to keep a census of undocumented students. Democratic state Sen. Raumesh Akbari said Monday night she considers immigration enforcement a federal issue, even though Republican leaders are turning the state toward enforcement, including setting up an agency last year within the Department of Safety. Advertisement Advertisement I think thats something being driven by the legislature, and I hope that we can focus on issues that effectively impact Tennesseans and not try and play to a national agenda that, quite frankly, is harmful, Akbari said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Democrats' victories in a pair of special elections in Texas are raising the party's hopes for November, with one race cutting into Speaker Mike Johnson's already razor-thin majority in the House and the other sending shockwaves through the Republican Party nationwide. In a congressional runoff on Saturday, Christian Menefee defeated another Democrat to fill a vacant seat in a deep-blue district in the Houston area. This narrows House Republicans' majority in the chamber to 218-214. And it means that if conditions stay the same, Johnson can now only afford to lose a single Republican on party-line votes. But the weekend's bigger upset came in a lower-profile state Senate race in Fort Worth's Tarrant County, where Democrat Taylor Rehmet defeated Republican Leigh Wambsganss by a 57%-43% margin. It's a major flip for Democrats, gaining a seat that hadn't been won by the party in over 40 years in an area that went for President Trump in 2024 by 17 points. Advertisement Advertisement Mr. Trump had endorsed Wambsganss in a social media post on the eve of the election. In an interview with CBS News' "The Takeout" on Monday, Rehmet said his campaign made inroads by "going and showing up, knocking doors, making phone calls and really listening." Rehmet, a union leader, advised other longshot Democrats to "focus on their district and focus on the issues that working people face." It was a low-turnout race, but GOP Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who had sounded the alarm ahead of time that he was worried about Democrats' enthusiasm before the race, still referred to the upset as a "wake-up call." Advertisement Advertisement "Our voters cannot take anything for granted," Patrick wrote in a social media post. "I know the energy and strength the Republican grassroots in Texas possess. We will come out fighting with a new resolve, and we will take this seat back in November. We will keep Texas red." Political scientist Mark Jones, of Rice University in Houston, says the reason this race is making Republicans nervous is that it may be a sign that they're losing the support of moderates. "Texas Republicans have historically relied on the reality that when push comes to shove, moderate Republicans in November stay with the GOP instead of going with the Democratic alternative," Jones said. "And I think the risk you run is if the Trump administration and Republicans nationally go too far, the distance between them and moderate Republicans becomes greater than the distance between moderate Republicans and Democratic candidates." Rehmet and Wambsganss will face each other again in November, and since the state legislature is not scheduled to be in session until 2027, it's unlikely Rehmet will ever participate in any votes in Austin, making the victory largely symbolic. Advertisement Advertisement Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also sounded the alarm. While noting that special elections can often produce unexpected results, he said the swing in the Texas state Senate district is "not something that can be dismissed. Republicans should be clear-eyed about the political environment heading into the midterms." Mr. Trump told reporters Sunday that "you don't know whether or not" the results are "transferrable." Mr. Trump had posted twice before Election Day to get out the vote for Wambsganss. Texas Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha pointed out that Republicans seem to be losing support from a constituency they've had some success with in the past two elections. "What should absolutely terrify Texas Republicans is that Latino voters moved dramatically back to Democrats in this election," said Rocha, who is working on House and Senate races in the Lone Star State and nationally. "Texas Republicans made Latinos a centerpiece of their mid-cycle gerrymandering strategy, and now it's going to bite them in the ass." Advertisement Advertisement Republicans relying on boost from redistricting Mr. Trump, in an effort to help the GOP hold the House, last year kicked off a mid-decade push to redraw Texas' congressional districts especially in South Texas and net up to five seats for Republicans. The redistricting campaign could make Menefee's long-term future in Congress uncertain because the new maps put him in the same district as longtime Houston Rep. Al Green, a fellow Democrat. But Saturday's results in the Tarrant County state Senate race indicated the redistricting push could make Johnson's House majority more precarious. Redistricting comes with tradeoffs: In order to turn five Democratic districts into GOP-leaning districts, mapmakers needed to make some solid-red districts slightly more Democratic, creating some risks for the party, said Joshua Blank of the Texas Politics Project. Advertisement Advertisement "There's been no indication at the time of or since the redistricting effort here in Texas that those efforts were based off some overwhelmingly sophisticated analysis of the electorate," Blank said. "They appear to have been based off one year, one election and that may have been a mistake and I think that question that Republicans are asking themselves this morning." Democrats take advantage of low turnout Republicans have been quick to note that special elections often bring out low turnout, and this one in particular occurred on a Saturday in January during a historic cold front in a state with typically moderate winters. Jones noted that there were signs of trouble for Republicans ahead of Saturday, since Rehmet had already won the most votes in the November special election, but the Tarrant County Republicans didn't start sounding the alarm until much later. Advertisement Advertisement Even though Mr. Trump posted twice about the race last week, the GOP "didn't do the work they needed to mobilize the Republicans to turn out the vote the way they needed to," Jones said. While Mr. Trump will not be on the ticket in November, there will be a blockbuster U.S. Senate race for Sen. John Cornyn's seat that's likely to turn out far more Republicans than last weekend's special election. Texas isn't on the list of Senate seats Democrats are focusing on in November, but nonetheless, the Senate race is still likely to attract record fundraising money and national attention. "At the end of the day, there are more Republican voters in this district than there are Democratic voters," Jones said. "It's just that Democratic voters were more mobilized, and some of those moderate Republicans defected and voted for the Democratic candidate." But some Texas politics watchers see potential warning signs for Republicans. Advertisement Advertisement Jorge Martinez, strategic director of Libre, a national grassroots organization that mobilizes Latinos, says that there are Republicans who largely support Mr. Trump, others don't like everything he's doing. "When I look at independent voters and some Republicans that I've talked to, they're concerned with some of the ICE raids here locally as there have been operations at housing construction sites," Martinez said. Martinez has been leading the organization's efforts to knock on doors across Texas in efforts to identify the most pressing issues for voters ahead of rolling out endorsements in congressional races. The economy continues to be the most important priority, Martinez says, with voters acknowledging lower gas prices, but immigration is on people's minds. "People might be upset with what's happening around the country, but ICE is enforcing the laws in the books and if they don't like it, they have to work with a member of Congress to change that." Advertisement Advertisement Rehmet told CBS News that the most potent issues in Saturday's race were education and the cost of living. Although Tarrant County is a Republican district, it has become a moderate GOP district, Jones said, despite its strong support for Mr. Trump in 2024. Wambsganss, an executive for the Patriot Mobile phone company, was the more conservative Republican running in November's primary election. Texas' upcoming races Early voting kicks off on Feb. 17 for the March 3 primary. While Democrats are extremely unlikely to make significant gains in the GOP-controlled Texas Legislature, Democrats have zeroed in on the U.S. Senate race, which some see as winnable if Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton wins the GOP primary. Democrats have two candidates competing in the March primary for the Senate race: U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett and state Rep. James Talarico. Democrats have not won a statewide race in Texas since 1994. Advertisement Advertisement Paxton, who has faced a number of personal and professional scandals since taking office as the state's top law-enforcement officer, is challenging GOP Sen. John Cornyn, who has served in the Senate since 2003. Rep. Wesley Hunt is also running. Paxton is a close ally of Mr. Trump's, and was one of the first Republicans to endorse his 2024 election bid. But Mr. Trump has so far refused to make an endorsement in the race, although he appeared to be waffling on that on Sunday, saying he is "giving a very serious thought" to an endorsement. If Mr. Trump endorses Cornyn, who was the longtime GOP majority whip in the Senate and is generally seen as more electable, Jones, the political scientist, said Paxton would be the "major loser" in Sunday's results. Democratic, Republican strategists react to stunning wins in Texas special elections Eye Opener: Search continues for "Today" host Savannah Guthrie's mom Latest on disappearance of Savannah Guthrie's mother, sheriff believes she was abducted Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) is blaming his partys loss in Saturdays special election for a Texas state Senate seat on a winter storm in the Lone Star State. Democratic candidate Taylor Rehmet handily defeated his Republican opponent, Leigh Wambsganss, in the Saturday election for a vacant Senate seat in North Texass 9th District by a 14-point margin. Sessions, who represents areas of central and west Texas in the states 17th Congressional District, suggested during an appearance on CNN News Central on Monday that voters were deterred from participating in the special election due to icy conditions. Advertisement Advertisement The success of a rain dance has a lot to do with timing, Sessions said. And what happened is, there was a huge snowstorm, ice storm really, that hit north Texas and central Texas. Additionally, the Texas Republican responded to a warning from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Sunday that the Lone Star States special election results could be an indicator for the upcoming midterm elections. While DeSantis acknowledged special elections can be quirky, the governor said a swing of this magnitude is not something that can be dismissed. Rehmet will be the first Democrat to fill the seat in 45 years, and he and Wambsganss will be on the ballot again in November to fill a four-year term. Advertisement Advertisement In the 2024 presidential election, President Trump won the district by 17 points. It is listening to the music and waking up and finding out we need to be better. We need to understand what were doing, Sessions said. But this was a miscalculation by the people on the ground, and I dont know any of them, but what I will say is you should not lose any election in north Texas like this. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Storey County Sheriffs Office detectives recovered over $500,000 in stolen goods and arrested three individuals after semi-truck trailers were reported stolen from the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center. The theft was first reported on Jan. 29 when detectives were notified that two semi-truck trailers containing more than $500,000 in products had been stolen. Investigators quickly coordinated with the trailer owner and, with assistance from the Sparks Police Department and the Regional Crime Suppression Unit, located the trailers in an industrial area in Sparks, Nevada. Advertisement Advertisement The following day, Jan. 30, a Storey County detective observed a semi truck and a passenger vehicle approach one of the stolen trailers, attach it, and drive away. Sparks Police Department patrol officers conducted a traffic stop on the vehicles, resulting in the arrest of three suspects: Arashdeep Singh, 21, of Fremont, California Deepindeer Singh, 26, of Manteca, California Harman Pal Singh, 25, of Lodi, California All three were booked at the Washoe County Detention Facility on felony charges of possession and attempted possession of stolen property valued at $100,000 or more. Around $500,000 in stolen goods was recovered. Storey County Sheriffs Office detectives said the investigation is ongoing and additional charges may be filed. Watch more on ABC10: Esparto explosion investigation ends with evidence of illegal activity GUYMON, Okla. (KFOR) The accused mastermind behind the brutal murders of two Kansas mothers was sentenced Monday. Tifany Adams will spend the rest of her life in prison, without the possibility of parole, for the deaths of Veronica Butler and Jilian Kelley. She received a life sentence for each of the two counts of first-degree murder, five years each for two counts of unlawful removal of a dead body, and seven years each for two counts of unlawful desecration of a human corpse. Advertisement Advertisement Butler and Kelley were killed on Easter weekend in 2024 after driving from Hugoton, Kansas, to Texas County, Oklahoma. Kelley was supposed to supervise Butlers visit with her children. Tifany Adams waives right to preliminary hearing Court documents say Adams, the paternal grandmother of Butlers children, planned the killings because of a custody battle over the kids. In October, she pleaded no contest as part of a plea deal that took the death penalty off the table. The State of Oklahoma also agreed to dismiss a charge of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and two counts of child neglect. That is notable since custody over Butlers children was at the center of the case. Advertisement Advertisement Prosecutors are also not requiring Adams to testify in the cases of any other defendants in the killings. Court-appointed attorney fees were waived as part of the plea agreement for Adams, but she will pay all associated court costs and fees. However, during Mondays sentencing, this was discussed, and the judge said he would make a decision at a later date. Adams was emotionless during court, while she was sentenced, while loved ones of the victims spoke, and while people spoke about her grandchildren, who are at the center of these murders. Adams attorneys say this all happened because she was trying to protect them, saying its not an excuse, but a reason why. Advertisement Advertisement In closing statements, her attorney said, We know for a fact, the affidavit shows it, that the family member did sexual things with the grandkids. In return, the state said if this was really about the kids, then Adams wouldnt have used them to help in their mothers murder. Grandmother pleads no contest in deaths of two Kansas moms Family members of Butler and Kelley also read victim impact statements at the hearing. Adams was the first of five who could be sentenced in connection to the murders. Cora Twombly and Paul Grice will learn their fate at a later date; both took plea deals, which, if accepted by the judge, they can get life in prison with the possibility of parole after thirty years. Advertisement Advertisement Cole Twombly and Tad Cullum are fighting the charges against them. Cole Twomblys trial is scheduled to begin next year. Cullums is this October, but his attorneys filed many motions that need to be taken care of before then. Butlers family tells News 4 they are very pleased with the outcome of Adams sentencing. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City. A replica of the Declaration of Independence hangs in the rotunda of the Idaho Statehouse on Jan. 14, 2026, in Boise. (Photo by Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun) One of the perennial questions that gets asked each legislative session is How many bills are enough? Too often, monitoring legislative bill introductions can feel like that scene in the original Harry Potter movie, where thousands of pieces of mail are floating around the house. When it comes to bills, thousands of introductions arent an exaggeration. For example, just a few weeks into the 2026 legislative session, Washington lawmakers have already proposed more than 1,300 bills. Although just over 100 bills have been proposed so far in Idaho during that same time period, the Gem State will also see a voluminous number of bills by the time the session ends. Are numerous bill introductions just lawmakers being responsive to constituents, or does it adversely impact the efficiency and transparency of the legislative process? That is the question that may soon be debated by Idaho lawmakers. According to the Statement of Purpose for Senate Concurrent Resolution 114: In recent years the volume of legislation brought by lawmakers has ascended to problematic levels. This creates logjams for bill drafters and has placed unreasonable expectations on that critical human resource. This resolution seeks to add a new joint rule 24 that will help temper that volume, provide for quality over quantity, and provide faster turnaround times. This will benefit not just bill drafters but the committee process and legislators alike. Advertisement Advertisement The new proposed Joint Rule 24 would essentially limit the number of draft bills per member to 25 each session. There would be several exemptions, however. According to Idahos Legislative Services Office: During the 2025 legislative session, 1,378 proposed pieces of legislation were prepared for legislative committees and individual legislators with 790 bills, resolutions, memorials, and proclamations introduced. A bill chart by Legislative Service Office notes this was the largest number of bill introductions during the last seven years. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures: Proponents of bill introduction limits also feel that the limits reduce the number of hero bills going through the system. The idea is not to restrict lawmakers work, but to reduce the amount of time spent on superfluous proposals and to allow more time for substantive legislation. Most legislators do not have enough time to read and understand all bills. Bill limits help streamline the legislative process and reduce costs for staff, printing and paper . . . Opponents feel that bill introduction limits restrict legislators rights to propose bills and carry out their legislative responsibilities. Advertisement Advertisement National Conference of State Legislatures research shows that these are some of the ways legislatures limit bill introductions: Colorado House and Senate: Members may introduce up to five bills per year. Appropriations bills and committee bills are excluded from the limit. The Committee on Delayed Bills may grant permission to exceed the limit. Florida House: Member may introduce no more than six bills during the legislative session. Three additional bills are allowed if a lawmaker is trying to repeal obsolete laws. Bills that do not count toward the limit include claims bills, local bills and House resolutions. It takes a two-thirds vote to waive the limit. Nebraska Senate: Committees may introduce no more than eight bills in a session. Governors bills and bills introduced upon a motion adopted by three-fifths vote (that traditionally includes appropriation bills) are exempt from the limit. North Carolina House: Representatives may introduce only 10 public bills. Agency bills, local bills, committee bills, and resolutions are exempt from the limit. The rule limiting introductions may be suspended. Wyoming Senate: Senators may introduce seven bills during the first session of the biennium and three during the second. Appropriations bills are excluded from the limit. The limit may be suspended by two-thirds vote. Interestingly, the Washington Legislature once had a 10-bill introduction limit, but it was repealed in 1981. Whether or not the number of bills introduced is restricted, one sure way to help improve the transparency of the legislative process in Idaho is to provide citizens (and lawmakers) with more time to consider proposed legislation. This is why we are encouraging the Legislature to adopt rules requiring at least a 3-day notice before holding public hearings on bills after the text first becomes available for review. Based on the results of our 2026 Idaho Poll, 92% of Idahoans support this type of legislative transparency requirement. Advertisement Advertisement While the Legislature considers these various reforms, Mountain States Policy Center is helping to make it easier to understand legislative bills with WONK, a free AI legislative companion that reads, explains, and answers your questions about every bill in just seconds. You can utilize WONK here. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX PANAMA CITY BEACH An upcoming beachfront business expected to be a hotspot for locals and tourists is looking for its opening crew. According to a recent post on the Facebook Page of Tootsie's Orchid Lounge Panama City Beach, the business is slated to host a hiring event this month. Here's what we know: When is the event? Tootsie's Orchid Lounge Panama City Beach is slated to host a hiring event on Feb. 15 as it gears up to open its new location. The hiring event is scheduled for Feb. 15 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It will be held at Captain Anderson's Event Center at 5550 N Lagoon Drive #2 in the Panama City Beach area. Advertisement Advertisement "We're hiring," the post reads. "Tootsie's PCB is coming in hot, and we're building our opening team. ... Come ready. Leave hired." What was the public's reaction? As of Feb. 2, the Jan. 12 post announcing the hiring event had almost 275 reactions, about 50 comments and more than 110 shares. The comments were filled with people expressing their excitement for the business to open, as well as tagging their friends. When will it open? In a past interview, George Roberts, spokesperson for Culpepper Construction Company, said he expects for construction of the new Tootsie's to be finished by the middle of this month. The new Tootsie's Orchid Lounge will boast a 36,000-square-foot building with three floors, two stages and a pool. Roberts said plans call for the pool to open sometime next summer. Where is it located? The new Tootsie's is being built in the footprint of the former Spinnaker Beach Club. It was one of two wildly popular amenities in the area that closed after Category 5 Hurricane Michael hit the area in October 2018. The other was Club La Vela, which was among the largest nightclubs in the U.S. Advertisement Advertisement Incoming tourists: Panama City Beach spring break police recap: How many arrests in 2025? Crews began demolition of Spinnaker in about June 2024, with construction of the new Tootsie's beginning right after. Tootsie's was previously located in Pier Park. Its new location sits at 8795 Thomas Drive in Panama City Beach. This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Tootsie's in Panama City Beach is looking for its opening crew The Trump administration is running out of excuses to explain away the presidents relationship with deceased child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told Fox News Monday evening that pretty much everyone who partied with the pedophile island operator was off the hook. But in a pitiful attempt to brush off public backlash to the thousands of times that Donald Trumps name was mentioned in the Justice Departments latest release of the Epstein files, Blanche practically resorted to gaslighting. Is there any chance that any of these individuals who partied with Epstein and engaged with relations with minors will be prosecuted? asked host Laura Ingraham. Advertisement Advertisement Ill never say no, Blanche said. And we will always investigate evidence of misconduct. But as you know, it is not a crime to party with Mr. Epstein. Its not a crime to email with Mr. Epstein. Some of these men may have done horrible things, and if we have evidence that allows us to prosecute them, you better believe we will. But its also the kind of thing that the American people need to understand, that it isnt a crime to party with Mr. Epstein. It didnt look like that was all that was going on in some of those photos, pressed Ingraham. I mean, if the photos could speak, some of them look pretty bad. Thats right, and unfortunately photos cant speak, and so we need witnesses, Blanche responded. Advertisement Advertisement Trump was mentioned more than 38,000 times in the latest batch of Epstein files, according to a New York Times review of the DOJs Friday document dump, which consisted of some three million previously unseen pages. All in all, Trump was flagged in more than 5,300 files in the document cache, according to the Times. On Sunday, Blanche told CNNs State of the Union that the DOJ reviewed the files last summer but did not find credible evidence against the president warranting further investigation. The deaths of four British people in three months while on holiday in Cape Verde have sparked concerns over health and safety while travelling abroad. The Foreign Office released a statement in December that the UK Health Security Agency is investigating an increase in reports of Shigella sonnei infection in travellers returning from Cape Verde. Since 1 October 2025, there has been a rise in Shigella infections among people arriving in the UK following holidays on the Cape Verde islands. Advertisement Advertisement Shigella are bacteria that can cause severe diarrhoea, fever and stomach cramps. The infections are spread by contact with contaminated faeces either directly through person-to-person transmission, or indirectly from food, water, or surfaces. The Foreign Office notice comes as the deaths of four British holidaymakers made headlines after contracting severe stomach bugs while on trips to Cape Verde. While none of them tested positive for Shigella or other pathogens, the four people, who also had underlying health conditions, showed symptoms of gastric illness. Getting sick while travelling abroad is not uncommon in fact, Dr Richard Dawood, a travel medical specialist at Fleet Street Clinic, says that approximately two-fifths of travellers will suffer from diarrhoea on their travels to hot countries. Advertisement Advertisement However, the deaths last year and reports of Shigella in Cape Verde have raised concerns over how to avoid illnesses, especially gastrointestinal viruses, while holidaying in hotter climates. What does a travel doctor say Dr Dawood explains that, despite how common it is, getting ill on holiday can be distressing. A lot of people think of diarrheal diseases as something that's minor and non-impactful. These days, more than ever, when travel is so expensive, our leisure time is so precious that it can be highly disruptive, he told The Independent. Getting the right medical advice is vital, Mr Dawood explains. His practice offers health and wellness travel advice as well as pre-packed kits with all the essentials needed to help tackle things like diarrhoea. Advertisement Advertisement A lot of people think all you have to do is go to a pharmacy and get a couple of jabs. Vaccines are only part of the story. Anybody who's going to a destination like Cape Verde should be given some really careful advice about hygiene and eating safely, preventing mosquito bites, all the other advice that really should be part of a proper consultation, rather than just getting a couple of jabs, he says. The doctor added that while you are away, the focus is on prevention. You need to use things like hand sanitiser, hand wipes, pick your food more carefully. Make sure you're eating things that are freshly and thoroughly cooked. He adds that, however tempting a buffet might be, the safest way of eating in a hot country is to have food that's cooked to order and served hot. If you do end up getting ill with diarrhoea, the symptom that sends people to the hospital is usually dehydration due to losing hydration through heat, as well as vomiting and diarrhoea. Advertisement Advertisement Dr Dawood explains that the priority is to get fluid back on board using oral rehydration and control the symptoms, such as using an anti-nausea drug. Carrying antibiotics is also useful in case the treatment doesn't work, or if the illness is severe, he adds. Once you return home, Dr Dawood says that people should get a diagnosis and the correct treatment if they are still experiencing symptoms. Unfortunately, people are not really geared up for that. They often end up waiting until they're really ill before they seek treatment, he says. How many UK holidaymakers visiting Cape Verde have fallen ill with Shigella? Of the 137 confirmed UK cases of Shigella, 109 reported recent travel to Cape Verde, as of the most recent report in December 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Cases have also been observed in travellers returning from Cape Verde to four EU countries the Netherlands, Sweden, France and Ireland mainly reported between September and November 2025. The last official outbreak reported in Cape Verde was in 2022, with cases occurring in travellers from a number of European countries, including the UK. Most people recover within a week; however, some older people, those with underlying health conditions, pregnant women and children under five may be at greater risk of complications, including sepsis. Separately, the Cape Verde government has also raised the civil protection warning level for dengue on the islands of Santiago, Fogo and Brava. How to prevent Shigella infections? There is no vaccine to prevent Shigella infections; however, good hygiene can lower the risks. Advertisement Advertisement The UKs National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC) advises travellers to discuss travel plans with their healthcare provider if they have an underlying health condition or are immunosuppressed, and plan to travel to a destination with a Shigella outbreak. While travelling abroad, practice good food and water hygiene at all times, wash your hands often and eat recently prepared food that is fully cooked and served piping hot. Where there is no clean water supply, drink only bottled water or boiled tap water (including when brushing your teeth) and avoid ice in your drinks. Avoid fresh fruit that you have not peeled yourself and salads not washed with bottled or boiled water. Advertisement Advertisement Avoid swallowing waste from ponds, lakes and untreated swimming pools. The UKs Foreign Office adds that Cape Verde does not accept Global Health Insurance Cards (GHIC), so you must have insurance for local treatment or medical evacuation. What to do if you are unwell abroad If you become unwell while abroad, NaTHNaC advises you to drink plenty of safe fluids and use oral rehydration solutions so that you do not become dehydrated. Get early medical advice if you are at greater risk of complications from Shigella infection and seek medical help if symptoms last more than a few days or are not improving. It also advises washing contaminated clothes or bedding on a hot wash and cleaning toilets, taps, and door handles regularly. Advertisement Advertisement If you or your partner has had diarrhoea, avoid sexual contact for at least 48 hours. When returning to the UK, seek medical attention if you are unwell and tell the doctor or nurse about your recent travel. The Foreign Office also warns travellers that medical facilities in Cape Verde are basic and limited, and some medicines are in short supply or unavailable. Read more: Families of four Brits who died after Cape Verde stomach bugs pursue legal action ABERDEEN An extension of time for a former Corinth school superintendent to prepare for trial means his co-defendant, a former middle school teacher, will have to wait a couple of months to be sentenced for possession of child pornography. Wilson Frederick Jones, 30, of Tiplersville, pleaded guilty in November in federal court to using artificial intelligence to create child pornography using the faces of his students. At that time, Senior U.S. District Judge Glen Davidson scheduled the sentencing for March 2, which was well after the trial date of Jones co-defendant, former Corinth Schools Superintendent Edward Lee Childress. Childress, 66, of Corinth, was indicted by a federal grand jury for misprision of a felony which means he knew of a felony but did not report it to authorities. Advertisement Advertisement But following Jones plea, Childress asked for a continuance to allow the defense more time to prepare for the trial, which was set for January. The judge postponed the trial to late April. In order to keep Jones sentencing after the trial of Childress, Judge Davidson filed an order Sunday postponing the sentencing until May 11. Jones could face up to 10 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine. Jones must also register as a sex offender and has agreed to make full restitution to all minor victims. Childress is facing up to three years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine on the federal charge. Federal authorities arrested Jones in March 2025 after it was discovered that he had used AI to create pornographic videos using the faces of his students, ages 14-16. When it was later revealed that Childress waited months before reporting the incident to state authorities, the school board fired him from the $250,000 a year job. Advertisement Advertisement Both men are also facing felony charges in states court for the same incidents. Jones was indicted by an Alcorn County grand jury on three felony counts of depicting a child engaging in sexual conduct. The state charges carry up to 40 years in prison and up to a $500,000 fine on each count. A trial date has not been set on the state charges. Childress was indicted in May 2025 by the state of Mississippi for hindering prosecution for failing to report the incident. Hindering prosecution is a Class 1 felony that carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison and/or up to a $5,000 fine. Childress has filed a motion to quash the indictment. Circuit Court Judge John White has scheduled a hearing for March 16 to hear arguments from both the defense and District Attorney Jason Herrings office. Only five medical evacuees were allowed to leave Gaza, and just 12 Palestinians were allowed to return to the war-torn territory due to delays imposed by Israeli authorities as the Rafah border crossing with Egypt finally reopened. The long-awaited reopening of the territorys southern border crossing with Egypt on Monday was supposed to alleviate more than 18 months of a punishing military siege on Gaza. Instead, Israeli authorities continued with tight security restrictions and a complex bureaucratic process that allowed only a small number of people to travel in either direction leaving or entering Gaza and also blocked goods from passing freely through the border gate. Advertisement Advertisement The number of people allowed to pass through the Rafah crossing five sick patients leaving Gaza for treatment abroad and 12 people returning home on Monday fell far short of the 50 people Israeli officials had promised would be permitted to move in each direction. Al Jazeeras Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Gaza City early on Tuesday, said the reopening of the crossing was a long time coming, and the result was far less than promised. This is coming after a long time of waiting, Mahmoud said. They were expected to be entering the Gaza Strip throughout the past hours, but they were held for long hours, and this is in part due to the long process of security clearance set by the Israeli military on the Rafah crossing, he said. Advertisement Advertisement We expected to see 50 Palestinians returning from Egypt into the Gaza Strip throughout the day, and that was the expectation by the family members here in the Gaza Strip, he added. Instead, a bus carrying 12 people, the first of its type to enter Gaza through the Rafah crossing in more than 18 months, brought the first group of people home early on Tuesday. Palestinians coming from the Rafah crossing after its reopening on February 2, 2026, arrive in a vehicle at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip [Mahmoud Issa/Reuters] Among the many restrictions being imposed at the crossing by Israeli authorities is that only people who left Gaza during the war are being allowed re-entry through Rafah after undergoing an exacting security clearance process. While only five Palestinian patients were allowed to leave the Strip on Monday through the crossing, an estimated 20,000 children and adults in dire need of medical care are waiting to depart on the Gaza side of the border for medical treatment in Egypt and elsewhere, according to Gaza health officials. Advertisement Advertisement Ambulances queued for hours at the border on Monday, ready to ferry Palestinian patients across the border, Egypts state-run Al-Qahera News channel showed. Al Jazeeras Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Khan Younis in southern Gaza, spoke with Randa Abu Mustafa, whose son lost sight in both his eyes due to injuries sustained in Israels war on the territory. He was among the five patients lucky enough to be approved to leave on Monday. Another woman, Shimaa Abu Rida, told Al Jazeera that her daughter, Joumana, was seriously wounded in an Israeli air attack and she is still anxiously waiting to leave. Streams of people are lining up, hoping to cross to Egypt. But with 20,000 patients waiting for approval, most will be disappointed, Al Jazeeras Abu Azzoum said. Advertisement Advertisement And with the entry of much-needed medicine and humanitarian supplies still blocked, Palestinian lives remain at the mercy of Israel, he said. Tom Fletcher, United Nations undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said the partial reopening of the Rafah crossing was insufficient, stressing that the border post must function as a genuine humanitarian corridor to deliver life-saving aid. Qatar, which helped negotiate the ceasefire deal Israel continues to violate at will, welcomed the opening of the Rafah crossing as a step in the right direction. In a statement, the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged Israel to fully implement the deal to ensure the sustainable and unhindered flow of humanitarian aid to the Strip. Advertisement Advertisement The Ministry renews the State of Qatars steadfast and permanent position in support of the Palestinian cause and the resilience of the brotherly Palestinian people, based on international legitimacy resolutions and the two-state solution, which guarantees the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, the ministry added. Before Israels genocidal war on Gaza, Rafah was the main crossing for people moving in and out of the enclave. The territorys handful of other crossings are all shared with Israel, while Rafah, which links with Egypt, was seized by Israeli troops during the war in May 2024. Violence continued across the territory on Monday, with Israeli attacks killing at least three Palestinians in central and northern Gaza. Advertisement Advertisement The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Israeli drones bombed a location close to an area where people had gathered for a funeral in Nuseirat in central Gaza, killing two people and injuring several. Israeli forces also killed one Palestinian in Halawa Camp in the city of Jabalia in northern Gaza. The latest casualties in Gaza on Monday from Israeli attacks raised the number of people killed since October 2023 to at least 71,800, with 171,555 injured, according to Palestinian health authorities. A 1995 photo of the underground exploratory studies facility at Yucca Mountain. (Photo from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.) The Nevada Commission on Nuclear Projects is hoping federal efforts to find states willing to host sites that can handle the full nuclear lifecycle will steer nuclear waste storage away from Nevada. Last week, the U.S. Department of Energy announced it is seeking states interested in housing regional hubs that could support several parts of the nuclear fuel cycle. That includes fuel fabrication, enrichment, reprocessing used nuclear fuel, and nuclear waste storage. Advertisement Advertisement The Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses is the first step towards potentially establishing Federal-State partnerships centered on building an end-to-end nuclear energy strategy for the country, said the DOE. Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses give us the opportunity to work directly with states on regional priorities that support President Trumps vision to revitalize Americas nuclear base, said U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright in a statement announcing the search. The Trump administration wants to quadruple Americas production of nuclear power over the next 25 years, and a permanent repository for the radioactive waste created by nuclear plants will be needed to achieve that goal. The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 requires the Energy Department to build a deep geologic repository for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste. It was later amended to direct the agency to primarily consider Nevadas Yucca Mountain, located about 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Advertisement Advertisement While the law allows governors to veto proposed storage sites, Congress has the power to overturn that vetowhich is what happened with Nevada in 2002. A new permanent site would require a change in the law. The Nevada Commission on Nuclear Projects, was created in the 1980s, to advise state lawmakers on matters related to radioactive waste and nuclear activities. Richard Bryan, the chairman of the Nevada Commission on Nuclear Projects, said Nevada views this as further acknowledgement that the Yucca Mountain site is not a viable option for the long-term disposal of the nations high-level nuclear waste. Nevada leaders have long opposed making Nevada the permanent home of the nations nuclear waste, arguing that geological instability, water contamination threats, and proximity to a major population hub would make Yucca Mountain a poor choice. Advertisement Advertisement Despite strong opposition, the U.S. government spent at least $15 billion on developing Yucca Mountain as a nuclear waste repository over several administrations, according to the Government Accountability Office. In a statement, Bryan said he believes the initiative announced by the DOE Monday is the first step in identifying alternative locations that start with state buy-in. We applaud President Trump and his administration for listening to the voices of Nevadans and prioritizing public health and environmental protection over outdated mandates, said Bryan, who also formally served as a U.S. Senator and governor of Nevada. Bryan continued, This is a victory for common sense. However, the work is far from over. Our nations nuclear waste management system must learn from its past failures and leaders in Congress should swiftly pass legislation to ensure all states are able to fairly participate in a transparent site selection process that incorporates input from affected states, tribes, and stakeholders. A fresh start is essential to safely and responsibly manage our nuclear legacy. Augustine Volcano looms on Oct. 22, 2025, behind mist hanging over Lower Cook Inlet. The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is soliciting bids for exploration rights in federal waters of Cook Inlet in the first of six scheduled federal lease sales to be held through 2032. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon) The Trump administration is soliciting bids for what it intends to be the first in an annual series of oil and gas lease sales in federal waters of Southcentral Alaskas Cook Inlet. The upcoming sale will offer about 1 million acres in Cook Inlet, with bids to be opened on March 4, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said on Friday. Advertisement Advertisement The auction has been named the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Lease Sale 1 because it is the first of six lease sales mandated under the sweeping tax and budget bill passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump last summer. The six sales are to be held by 2032, under the bill. Regular and predictable federal leasing is the minimum standard for maintaining domestic energy production, BOEM Acting Director Matt Giacona said in a statement. Energy security is national security, and this sale reflects a clear, congressionally mandated path forward for Cook Inlet leasing. By offering predictable terms and a transparent process, we are supporting Alaskas role in meeting Americas energy needs, strengthening national readiness and creating opportunities for investment and jobs. Environmentalists criticized the planned sales. The relentless push for more oil drilling in Cook Inlet wont solve Alaskas energy problems but it will bring a massive risk to this already stressed and polluted waterway, Cooper Freeman, Alaska director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement. The federal government is required to protect our oceans and the fish and wildlife that call them home, but Trump is ignoring that responsibility. From critically endangered Cook Inlet belugas to salmon and razor clams, this sale puts so many species in the crosshairs of a devastating oil spill, the statement said. Advertisement Advertisement The federal lease sale coincides with the Alaska Division of Oil and Gas scheduled annual lease sale for state territory in the Cook Inlet basin. Results of the state lease sale, which is offering 2.9 million offshore and onshore acres, will also be released on March 4. The planned One Big Beautiful Bill Act Cook Inlet lease sales are in addition to several sales that the administration has proposed for nearly all areas of federal waters off Alaska, from the High Arctic to the Gulf of Alaska waters south of the Kodiak Archipelago and the Aleutian chain. The proposed lease sales are listed in a new five-year draft plan released by BOEM in November. Cook Inlet oil and gas lease sales, whether conducted by the state or federal government, have drawn little interest in recent years. The states 2025 lease sale drew five bids, and the most recent federal sale, held at the end of 2022, drew only one bid. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE By Andrew Goudsward WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department has demoted Ed Martin, a senior official tasked with reviewing alleged improper uses of the legal system against President Donald Trump and his supporters, a source familiar with the move said on Monday. Martin, a Trump ally, is no longer the head of the DOJ's Weaponization Working Group, the source said. Attorney General Pam Bondi started the effort last year to examine alleged political motivations behind the department's criminal cases against Trump, the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, and other actions taken during former President Joe Biden's term. Advertisement Advertisement Martin remains at the department as pardon attorney, tasked with recommending to the White House people who should be pardoned for federal crimes or have their sentences cut short. He no longer has an office in Justice Department headquarters and was moved to a satellite office where the pardon attorney staff are housed, the source said. The source spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an internal personnel move. Asked to comment on whether Martin had been demoted, a Justice Department spokesman said only: "President Trump appointed Ed Martin as Pardon Attorney and Ed continues to do a great job in that role." Martin could not immediately be reached for comment. Trump initially named Martin as interim U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., in January 2025, where he oversaw the dismissal of all remaining Capitol riot cases and the firings and demotions of prosecutors who worked on them. His nomination to serve in the role permanently stalled in the Senate, where some Republicans expressed misgivings about his support for rioters. Advertisement Advertisement Trump then named Martin to a varied Justice Department role that included overseeing the Weaponization Working Group and recommending pardons. His actions in the post have repeatedly drawn scrutiny. Martin's role has included working on a report re-examining the Capitol attack, Reuters reported in December. Federal prosecutors also sought information from a witness in a mortgage-related investigation into Democratic U.S. Senator Adam Schiff of California, a longtime Trump adversary, about communications with Martin and William Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The subpoenas suggested the DOJ was also scrutinizing the actions of Martin and Pulte, who both played important roles in mortgage investigations against at least three critics of the administration. Advertisement Advertisement The department in September retracted a demand from Martin for information from an FBI agent who previously testified against conspiracy theorist Alex Jones in a defamation case tied to the 2012 school massacre in Newton, Connecticut. (Reporting by Andrew Goudsward in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis) President Donald Trump called for a nationalized election. Trump suggested the radical voting change on a podcast by Dan Bongino, the former FBI deputy director in the Trump administration, on Feb. 2. "The Republicans should say, 'We want to take over. We should take over the voting in at least many, 15 places'," Trump said. "The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting." Advertisement Advertisement This conversation about federalizing elections comes after Trump's repeated insistence that he won the 2020 election against former President Joe Biden. These are false claims: Biden is the certified winner of that race. Here's what to know about the concept of nationalized voting, which is unconstitutional, and what it would mean for Tennessee. What does it mean to 'nationalize' an election? Trump did not describe what he meant by the nationalization of elections. However, his previous actions in office may provide insight. The president has made attempts to seize additional authority for the federal government in overseeing elections, including a March executive order seeking to implement a documentary "proof of citizenship" requirement for federal elections. The order also threatened to take specific federal funding from states that accept absentee or mail-in ballots received after Election Day. Advertisement Advertisement Several lawsuits challenged the president's March executive order. A federal judge partially blocked the order, ruling in October that the president cannot require voters to show passports or similar documents as proof of citizenship before voting. Trump has taken to social media on several occasions to voice his desire to end mail-in voting. "THE MAIL-IN BALLOT HOAX, USING VOTING MACHINES THAT ARE A COMPLETE AND TOTAL DISASTER, MUST END, NOW!!!" The president posted on Truth Social Aug. 18. Do states control elections? All election authority is delegated to the states in Article 1, Section 4 of the Constitution. States, including Tennessee, control everything from voter registration qualifications to certifying the election results. Advertisement Advertisement Congress can make laws altering voter regulations, but it can't revoke voting powers from the states. Do states run federal elections? Yes. The Constitution gives states the power to determine the "times, places and manner of holding elections." States are responsible for carrying out elections in the United States. In Tennessee, the secretary of state heads up the massive responsibility. Individual states are responsible for creating rules concerning public notices, voter registration, voter protection, fraud prevention, vote counting and the determination of election results, according to Ballotpedia. When are Tennessee midterm elections? Midterm elections will happen on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Tennessee voters will cast votes for the roles of governor, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, Tennessee Senate (odd-numbered districts), and Tennessee House, according to the Secretary of State election calendar. How to register to vote in Tennessee Tennessee voters can register by submitting an online application, according to GoVoteTN. Register to vote at ovr.govote.tn.gov. Advertisement Advertisement Voters must have a Tennessee driver's license or a Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security ID in order to submit this application online. You can also register to vote by mail. Allison Kiehl covers trending and breaking news from Knoxville for the Tennessee Connect Team. Email: allison.kiehl@knoxnews.com. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: What does it mean to nationalize an election? See Trump's comments During my pediatrics rotation in my third year of medical school, the most important skill I learned was how to listen more carefully. Children rarely have the language or power to fully articulate their needs. They are forced to rely on adults, systems, and institutions to advocate on their behalf. In pediatrics, that responsibility is not an abstract idea. It shows up in exam rooms where parents must choose to pay for either medication or groceries, in rural clinics already stretched thin, and in hospitals where prevention is discussed but not funded. That is why the recent funding cuts affecting the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) feel so disillusioning to me. I entered medicine believing that children represent one of our most vulnerable populations, deserving of special protection and sustained investment. I was taught that pediatric health is foundational, not optional. The decisions we make about childrens health today shape the adults, and by extension the world, we will live in tomorrow. Yet, the health care system I am coming up in increasingly sends a different message. The ripple effect of funding cuts Cuts to pediatric care ripple outward into medical training, clinical resources, and access. As a medical student training in Washington, D.C., but who grew up adjacent to small-town Indiana, I see and experience those ripples directly, especially as some of the AAP funding cuts directly target rural pediatric health. Fewer resources mean fewer mentorship opportunities, less robust education, and weakened advocacy pipelines for future pediatricians and child-focused clinicians. As medical students, we are taught to think in terms of prevention, equity, and long-term outcomes. We learn that investing early in areas like vaccines, nutrition, and developmental screening saves lives and reduces costs over time. Pediatric care embodies this philosophy more than any other field. When we underfund it, we contradict the very principles we teach. That contradiction is what troubles me most. Medical education is not value-neutral Medical education is not value-neutral. Systems that neglect supporting vulnerable populations also not-so-subtly imply to trainees that the health of some groups matters more than that of others. When childrens health is deprioritized at the national level, it reshapes how future physicians come to understand their role, their obligations, and the moral center of medicine. I want to feel proud of the system that is training me. I want to believe that the profession I am entering is one that values caring for its future generations. Protecting AAP funding means protecting the future pediatric physician workforce, the future patient population, and the integrity of medical education itself. It means recognizing that even though children cannot lobby, donate, or vote, they still deserve champions. ADVERTISEMENT As a student learner, I am idealistic enough to still believe that change is possible. But idealism alone is not enough. We need renewed advocacy from medical institutions, policymakers, and professional organizations. We need physicians to speak not only as clinicians, but as witnesses to what happens when children fall through the cracks. And we need medical education systems that reinforce, rather than erode, the idea that childrens health is central to our collective well-being. If we want a health care system worth inheriting, we must decide clearly and unequivocally that children are not an afterthought. They are the future. Umayr R. Shaikh is a medical student. WASHINGTON (NewsNation) President Donald Trump hosted Colombian President Gustavo Petro at the White House just after months of the two had heated public exchanges. In the past, the two have discussed the flow of drugs coming into the United States, with Trump alleging Colombia is the main perpetrator bringing cocaine into the country. Also, a point of the feud between them is when Petro refused to accept deportees on a flight sent over by the administration. When Petro arrived at the White House, it was far from the typical high-profile visit, with no traditional military honor guard or ceremonial protocol. Advertisement Advertisement State Department sued over immigrant visa ban affecting 75 countries Also in past remarks, Trump has called Petro a sick man when it came to the alleged flow of drugs, and has even threatened military action against Colombia, referencing the capture of Venezuelas Nicolas Maduro back in January as a sort of warning. Petro has not held back any words either, speaking out against the U.S.s strikes on the alleged drug boats and even accusing Trump of murdering a Colombian fisherman in one of those strikes. He also criticized U.S. immigration policy. Last month, however, the relationship between the two seemed to soften after a phone call they both had, and Trump even signaled some optimism ahead of the meeting. Advertisement Advertisement US shoots down Iranian drone that approached aircraft carrier Hes been very nice over the last month or two, Trump told reporters on Monday. He was certainly very critical before that, but somehow, after the Venezuelan raid, he became very nice. He changed his attitude very much. I look forward to seeing him. Trump added the conversation would be about drugs, but still said it would be a very good meeting. Back in October, the Trump administration said it was imposing sanctions on Petro, his family and a member of the Colombian government, but those sanctions were waived in order for him to visit Washington. Advertisement Advertisement Since Tuesdays bilateral meeting wrapped, Petro took to X to share photos of gifts he received from Trump, including a photo commemorating his visit. Trump later shared that he thought Petro was great shortly after the meeting, and added that they both got along. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation. US President Donald Trump announced a trade deal to reduce tariffs on India, sending Mumbai stocks soaring Tuesday, as he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised to stop buying Russian oil over the war in Ukraine. Trump said he was cutting levies on Indian goods to 18 percent. He had previously imposed 25 percent "reciprocal" tariffs on many products, plus an additional 25 percent for New Delhi's purchases of Moscow's oil. The deal eases months of tensions over India's oil purchases -- which Washington says fund a conflict it is trying to end -- and restores the close ties between Trump and the man he describes as "one of my greatest friends." Advertisement Advertisement But while Modi thanked Trump for the "wonderful" phone call and the easing of tariffs, he made no reference to Trump's assertion about halting Russian oil purchases. "Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. Trump said the United States would lower the reciprocal duty imposed on India during his waves of global "Liberation Day" tariffs last year from 25 percent to 18 percent. A White House official told AFP that an additional 25 percent tariff Trump had slapped on India in August for its purchase of Russian oil would also be dropped. Advertisement Advertisement Trump added that Modi "agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela. This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine." The United States has effectively been overseeing Venezuelan oil exports since toppling the South American country's leader, Nicolas Maduro, in a military operation in January. India had further agreed to buy more than $500 billion in US energy, tech, agricultural, coal and other products, Trump said, without giving further details. Indian investors welcomed the news, sending Mumbai's Nifty index up almost five percent at the open. Advertisement Advertisement - 'The Russia question' - Modi was one of the first leaders to visit the White House after Trump's return to the presidency a year ago, but efforts to secure a trade deal had foundered over India's Russian oil purchases. As recently as December, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a visit to New Delhi that he was ready to continue "uninterrupted shipments" of fuel to India despite US pressure. Trump also said in October that Modi had promised to stop buying Russian oil, but an agreement did not materialize at the time. "Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 percent," Modi said in a post on X on Monday. Advertisement Advertisement The Indian leader however made no mention of oil sales. A recent EU-India accord may have been a catalyst for the sudden Trump announcement, said Tanvi Madan, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution's Center for Asia Policy Studies. "It is possible that the Indian trade agreement with the EU... incentivized Washington to get to yes," Madan told AFP. Madan added that the "devil will be in the details" in the sectors that will get relief under the deal. For India "the Russia question remains," said Farwa Aamer, director of South Asia initiatives at the Asia Society Policy Institute. Advertisement Advertisement "Even though it has and will change its oil import structure away from Russia, India would still want to keep relations steady," Aamer added. India emerged as a major buyer of Russian oil after the start of the Ukraine war, providing Moscow with a crucial export market as Europe sharply reduced purchases. In 2024, Russia supplied nearly 36 percent of India's total crude imports, around 1.8 million barrels of discounted oil per day. Modi added however that "President Trump's leadership is vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity." Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for ending the brief but intense armed conflict between nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan in May. dk-bys/dan/mtp Feb. 3 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump late Monday said he is now seeking $1 billion in damages from Harvard University, as he lashed out at reports that his administration had dropped its demand for financial compensation from the Ivy League school. "We are now seeking One Billion Dollars in damages, and want nothing further to do, into the future, with Harvard University," Trump said on his Truth Social media platform. Harvard has been a main target of the Trump administration in its effort to increase federal leverage over higher learning institutions in the United States, which the president has criticized for being allegedly dominated by left-leaning ideology. Advertisement Advertisement Trump did not say what damages had been incurred or specified what the university had done. His administration was seeking $500 million, as well as reforms from the school, to end his pressure campaign, which included a freeze on more than $2 billion in funding, a civil rights investigation and regulatory changes, such as efforts to bar the admission of international students. Then on Monday, The New York Times reported, citing unnamed Harvard and administration officials, that Trump no longer was seeking any monetary restitution The Times report seemingly prompted Trump to make the escalated monetary demand, as he insulted both the newspaper and the acclaimed university. "Harvard has been, for a long time, behaving very badly!," Trump said late Monday in his statement. Advertisement Advertisement "This should be a criminal, not Civil, event and Harvard will have to live with the consequences of their wrongdoings. In any event, this case will continue until justice is served." The Trump administration in October announced it was on the verge of making a deal with Harvard, with Education Secretary Linda McMahon stating they were "finishing up the final details" of the plan. In December, the administration appealed a September court ruling that it unlawfully froze more than $2 billion in research funds for Harvard. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has roasted ICE Barbie Kristi Noem over her evolving wardrobe theatrics. The Donald Trump-hating governor slammed the homeland security secretarys groveling loyalty to the president, and mocked her obsession with playing dress-up for photo ops. I think her brain and head are shrinking because the hats are getting bigger, Pritzker, 61, said in a clip he posted on Monday from his appearance on the Ive Had It podcast. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem donned an oversized cowboy hat during a press conference she held minutes after Renee Good was fatally shot by ICE officer Jonathan Ross in Minnesota on Jan. 7. Noem labeled Goods actions an act of domestic terrorism before any investigation was launched. / Michael Gonzalez/Getty Images Pritzker is likely referring to the oversized cowboy hat that Noem, 54, donned during a press conference she held minutes after 37-year-old mother Renee Good was fatally shot by ICE officer Jonathan Ross in Minnesota on Jan. 7. Advertisement Advertisement Noem labeled Goods actions an act of domestic terrorism before any investigation was launched and claimed Good attempted to ram ICE agents with her car. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem strikes a dance pose while visiting Argentina in July. / Alex Brandon/Getty Images Kristi Noem participates in a ship assault demonstration with the Coast Guard. / Alex Brandon/Getty Images Noem flies in a flight simulator as she tours an air base in Ecuador in November. / Pool/Getty Images The former South Dakota governor then made the same claim after ICU nurse Alex Pretti, 37, was killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis on Jan. 24though without the hat this time. She claimed Pretti was a domestic terrorist who wanted to attack federal agents, and falsely claimed that the ICU nurse brandished a firearm before his death, even as video evidence contradicted those assertions. Shes just so unprepared for the job that shes got, Pritzker told hosts Jennifer Welch and Angie Sullivan. Its all about being a sycophant for Donald Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Sullivan quipped, Talk about corruption, alleging Noem has been funneling money to her buddies. RightCorey Lewandowski, Pritzker replied, alluding to rumors that Noems de facto chief of staff is also leading an affair with her. Yeah, Christian family values, Welch chimed in sarcastically. When reached for comment, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told the Daily Beast in a statement: Two words: actual. Malice. In the wake of Noems mishandling of the ICE killings, Pritzker accused the DHS of lawless havoc and demanded, Kristi Noem must go. Now. Corey Lewandowski, who has long been rumored to be having an affair with Noem, has emerged as the second most powerful person at the Department of Homeland Security despite being a special government employee. / Getty Images Noem and Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa ride horses. / Alex Brandon/Getty Images Pritzker, who is a potential contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, doubled down in the caption of his X post, writing, Kristi Noem is unprepared for the job shes got. Its past time for her to go. More than 160 House Democrats have backed filing articles of impeachment against her. Advertisement Advertisement Noem, who previously attempted to blame White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller for her incendiary language, went into damage control mode on Fox News last week when Sean Hannity confronted her directly about her use of the phrase domestic terrorist. The secretary repeatedly sidestepped the questions before pinning the blame on federal agents at the very chaotic scene. She added, [We were] seeking to be transparent with the American people and get them what we knew to be true on the ground. It appears that Noem continues to have the full backing of Trump, however. On Saturday, Trump claimed that Noem was only catching heat because she is a woman, and has done a really GREAT JOB! President Donald Trump on Tuesday escalated his ongoing feud with progressive Rep. Ilhan Omar, appearing to suggest baselessly the Minnesota Democrat is aligned with ISIS leaders in her birth country of Somalia. In a post to Truth Social, Trump linked to a news report about U.S. forces striking ISIS-Somalia leaders in Somalian caves. He captioned the post, Was Ilhan Omar there to protect her corrupt homeland? Omar, 43, is a Somalian-born Muslim and the first Somali American elected to Congress. She and her family fled the country when she was 8 years old and, after spending four years in a Kenyan refugee camp, the family moved to America. She became a U.S. citizen in 2000. Advertisement Advertisement The progressive legislator has drawn the president's ire for years. Trump has repeatedly accused Omar of profiting off of a widespread fraud investigation in her home state without providing any evidence; called her garbage; and insisted she be jailed and deported back to Somalia. He has previously mocked her hijab and recently announced the Justice Department will be investigating the congresswoman after Omars net worth skyrocketed. A spokesperson for Omar previously told POLITICO she has not received anything from the DOJ about an investigation. Her office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday, though Omar had previously said Trump is obsessed with her. A White House spokesperson pointed back to the presidents social media post when asked for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Tensions between Trump and Omar have only increased as the White Houses immigration crackdown has escalated in Minnesota. Omar has repeatedly issued calls to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She has also called Trump and his administration liars for calling Renee Good "a domestic terrorist" after she was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis last month. Then, after a man charged at Omar and sprayed her with what was later identified as water and apple cider vinegar during a town hall, she accused Trump of spewing reprehensible rhetoric that allows right-wing grifters to terrorize our community. Trump later said Omar probably had herself sprayed. The man was arrested and ultimately charged with assaulting or impeding a federal employee. The U.S. military has launched a series of strikes targeting ISIS facilities in Somalia, according to the United States Africa Command. The latest strike occurred near the Golis Mountains. President Donald Trump is seeking $1 billion in damages from Harvard University over its alleged failure to address campus antisemitism, doubling the price to drop his pressure campaign against the school. A Truth Social post by the president late Monday is the latest escalation of the fight between the federal government and the nations oldest and wealthiest private education institution. The Trump administration has frozen billions of dollars in federal grants and contracts to Harvard, threatened the university's tax-exempt status and attempted to halt the schools ability to enroll foreign students. The president slammed a Monday report from The New York Times that said his administration is backtracking on negotiations with Harvard, including dropping its demand for a cash settlement. In August, the president demanded the institution pay nothing less than $500 million. Advertisement Advertisement We are now seeking One Billion Dollars in damages, and want nothing further to do, into the future, with Harvard University, Trump wrote in the post. The president also emphasized a line in the Times report that said many believe Harvard must eventually reach a deal with the administration given that the university relies on federal funding. How this battle between Harvard and the federal government plays out and is resolved could shape how other colleges respond to federal probes. The Education Department has a list of 60 universities it is investigating over their responses to reports of antisemitic harassment and discrimination on their campuses. A Harvard spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Harvard has not discussed the dispute publicly, but Trump officials have previously insisted they are on the verge of striking a deal and the negotiations have been going on for months. They wanted to do a convoluted job training concept, but it was turned down in that it was wholly inadequate and would not have been, in our opinion, successful, Trump wrote, unveiling more details about their negotiations. It was merely a way of Harvard getting out of a large cash settlement of more than 500 Million Dollars, a number that should be much higher for the serious and heinous illegalities that they have committed. The president also said the investigations into antisemitism should now be criminal and slammed Harvard President Alan Garber for doing a terrible job of rectifying a very bad situation for his institution and, more importantly, America, itself. In March, the Trump administration launched a comprehensive review of Harvards roughly $9 billion in federal grants and contracts and later froze more than $2 billion as part of its campus antisemitism crackdown. When the school resisted, the Trump administration also went after Harvards eligibility to enroll foreign students and threatened its tax-exempt status. Advertisement Advertisement Harvard sued to reinstate its federal research cash and protect its international students. Garber has said the university chose to sue because the demands to reinstate its federal grants were unreasonable, an attempt to to control whom we hire and what we teach and did not address antisemitism. A federal judge in September appeared to agree with Garber and ruled the administrations attempt to freeze that money was illegal, delivering a major win for the school. The judge also barred the government from revoking the universitys ability to enroll international students. Trump has similarly demanded a $1 billion settlement from UCLA after his administration froze nearly $600 million in federal research cash. UCLAs faculty union successfully led the charge to fight the administration over its freeze, but the school is not a party to the lawsuit. A federal judge in November barred the administration from threatening funding cuts to coerce the University of California into changing its admissions practices and other policies. President Donald Trump has kicked off $12 billion project to stockpile critical minerals used by the defense and technology sectors as a hedge against Chinese dominance of the strategically important industry in what the White House will call Project Vault. The public-private effort first reported by Bloomberg would use $1.67 billion in private seed funds and combine that cash with another $10 billion from the U.S. governments Export-Import Bank for the purchase and storage of critical minerals and rare earths such as gallium and cobalt, a key ingredient in rechargeable batteries as well as modern jet engines used by military aircraft. It comes as Trump is looking to intensify efforts to re-shore manufacturing and bolster Americas military preparedness by shifting U.S. supply chains away from Beijing. Advertisement Advertisement Speaking in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said the purpose of the initiative is to ensure that American businesses and workers are never harmed by any shortage. Just as we have long had a strategic petroleum reserve and a stockpile of critical minerals for national defense, we're now creating this reserve for American industry so we don't have any problems, he said. China is the worlds largest supplier and processor of the important minerals, and the Chinese government has in recent months attempted to use its dominance of the sector as a leverage point in the trade war Trump started upon returning to office last year. The Trump administration plan, which an administration official compared favorably to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve that was created in the wake of the 1973 Arab oil embargo that sent fuel prices soaring across the U.S. and the West. Donald Trump is set to unveil a $12 billion project to stockpile critical minerals needed by the nation (Getty) Like the oil reserve, Trumps stockpile would act as a relief valve to guard against price shocks and shortages that could cripple key manufacturing sectors and have significant knock-on effects that could devastate the American economy. Advertisement Advertisement While the federal government does currently have a more limited stockpile reserved for the defense industrys exclusive use, the Project Vault stockpile would support civilian industries and guard against any retaliatory actions that Beijing could take in the event of a conflict. To that end, numerous technology and manufacturing companies have signed on to the project, including automakers GM and Stellantis, Boeing, Corning, General Electric Vernova and Google. The Trump administration shifted efforts to reduce mineral supply chain risks into a higher gear last year after China retaliated against Trumps tariffs by imposing stricter export controls on the materials, tightening supplies and causing manufacturers to slow domestic production in the U.S. It has made rare direct investments in mineral companies looking to boost domestic production and stuck deals with multiple countries on cooperation with regard to critical minerals. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will also press foreign leaders to join similar agreements when he hosts dozens of foreign ministers from allied nations for a multilateral critical mineral summit at the State Department on Wednesday, When President Donald Trump looks like hes gearing up to meddle in an election, still-raw history suggests he should be believed. He showed yet again Monday hes obsessing about the midterm elections two days after a Democratic upset in a reliably Republican state Senate district in Texas offered another ominous sign for the GOP in November. The Republicans should say, We want to take over, we should take over the voting, the voting in at least many, 15 places. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting, Trump said. We have states that are so crooked, and theyre counting votes. We have states that I won, that show I didnt win. Advertisement Advertisement The presidents latest threat to the integrity of Americas elections came in an interview with Dan Bongino, until recently the deputy director of the FBI, who has now reclaimed his mantle as the podfather on his MAGA-boosting show. In substance, Trumps comment was nonsensical, since the Constitution requires states to run elections. That principle has been upheld multiple times in court, including in cases brought by the president falsely alleging fraud. Article I, Section 4, of the Constitution could hardly be more plain. The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators. There is no mention of the president. Thats deliberate. Advertisement Advertisement David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation & Research, said Trump demonstrates an incredible lack of understanding about the constitutional protections that our founders created so wisely when they established our nation. He added: The founders, when they drafted the Constitution, were very concerned about an unscrupulous executive trying to seize power through seizing the mechanics of an election. John Jones, a former Pennsylvania US district court judge, said Trumps suggestion was flagrantly unconstitutional. I dont mean this disrespectfully, but I mean it directly. The president of the United States needs to read the Constitution, Jones told CNNs Brianna Keilar on Monday. What hes proposing is is not legal. Trumps warning was one of his most overt efforts yet to create a narrative of suspicion around Novembers elections in case the Republican Party does poorly because of his tanking poll numbers. This is a familiar tactic. Trump laid groundwork for his false claims the election was stolen in 2020 months before the first votes were cast in his defeat to Joe Biden. Now, as Trump blanches at the scrutiny hed face if Democrats win back the House, this process looks more sinister. The administration has created an infrastructure to cast doubt on the legitimacy of federal elections, or to shape them before they happen. Its a well of unquestioned loyalty to Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Almost every modern president avoided casting doubt on the probity of elections, aware that trust of citizens is the critical thread that preserves democracy. But Trump incessantly does the opposite. His false claims of voter fraud in 2020, disproven by multiple courts and Republican officials, led to one of the most infamous days in American history when a group of his supporters beat up US Capitol Police officers and invaded the Capitol on January 6, 2021, in a bid to halt the certification of Bidens victory. President Donald Trump speaks to supporters near the White House on January 6, 2021, in Washington, DC. - Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images Trump supporters storm the US Capitol following a rally with President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. - Samuel Corum/Getty Images Jokes about election fraud arent that funny Often, Trump aides portray questions about his frequent attacks on the US electoral system as media hysteria. The president was simply joking, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said last month when asked about Trumps comment to Reuters that We shouldnt even have an election. Leavitt added: He was saying, Were doing such a great job, were doing everything the American people thought, maybe we should just keep rolling. But he was speaking facetiously. Yet Trumps jokes about elections dont seem that funny when refracted through the prism of 2020, his incessant efforts to whitewash his own conduct, and new efforts to pollute faith in American elections. Advertisement Advertisement Last week, FBI agents descended on Fulton County, Georgia, and served a warrant before confiscating 700 boxes of election materials, including ballots. Trump falsely claimed he won the state in 2020. In an even more shocking move, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was on hand for the search, despite having no authority over domestic elections. And Americas top spy put FBI agents conducting the operation on the phone with the president, as the New York Times first reported. The conversation obliterated investigative safeguards and could prejudice any cases that ensue. The president gave the agents a pep talk, CNNs Kristen Holmes reported. Gabbard released a letter to two Democratic lawmakers Monday evening saying that her departments general counsel found her actions to be within her lawful authority. She said Trump had tasked the Office of the Director of National Intelligence with ensuring the integrity of US elections. The letter is only likely to further fuel concerns since she rejects the US intelligence communitys assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. Trump told The Times in an interview last month that he should have seized voting machines after the 2020 election. Advertisement Advertisement Last March, Trump signed an executive order apparently designed to circumvent legal and constitutional prohibitions on a president taking control of the election system. It included requirements for people to provide documentary proof of citizenship when voting and new restrictions on mail-in ballots. Most of the provisions of the order have been blocked in a series of court orders. The DOJ has demanded voter rolls from two dozen states. These records contain personal information such as Social Security numbers and home addresses. In Minnesota last month after federal agents killed a second protester, Attorney General Pam Bondi called on the state to hand over its voter registration records. Trump also cajoled Texas into a mid-decade redrawing of its electoral map to try to make a handful of districts more favorable for Republicans. The move backfired by setting off reprisal gerrymandering in Democratic-led California. And Trumps diving approval numbers might make the new Lone Star districts more competitive than hed hoped. CNNs Tierney Sneed has reported on how the administration is using the Civil Rights Act passed to protect Black voters from disenfranchisement to help clean voter rolls, in a move critics see as narrowing the franchise. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport, Florida, on January 19. - Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP A presidential tantrum This multifront initiative to inject the federal government into elections that should be the responsibility of states and Congress coincides with an accelerating effort to use the Justice Department for Trumps political aims. This includes increasing pressure on journalists for instance ex-CNN anchor Don Lemon, who was arrested last week and prosecutions and investigations targeting the presidents political opponents and critics. Advertisement Advertisement White House and DOJ officials insist their actions are simply intended to clean up US elections. But multiple academic and legal investigations, audits and recounts have repeatedly found that instances of fraud are miniscule. Some of this is about salving Trumps ego since the stain of defeat punctures the mythology of the president billed as lifes greatest winner. In 2020, a historic attempt to overturn the election result that led to scores of court cases, political chicanery and the bloodshed of January 6, started with an election night tantrum. We were getting ready for a big celebration. We were winning everything and all of a sudden it was just called off, Trump said, failing to understand that early GOP leads can be overtaken by ballots that are counted later. Trump has much to fear from a potential Democratic Congress that would severely curtail his power. His final two years in office would be miserable. This sounds to me like somebody who sees a wipeout coming at the ballot box, based on the energy weve seen in the streets with No Kings rallies, and also the results weve shown in special elections, Rep. Eric Swalwell, who is running for Californias Democratic gubernatorial nomination, told CNNs Kasie Hunt. Advertisement Advertisement The attempt by officials to access voter rolls is especially notable since it suggests an organized attempt by federal officials to become involved in intimate details of elections administered by states. Officials have argued in legal filings that the central government has standing to perform maintenance on voter lists. They say they are ensuring that non-citizens cannot cast ballots and that the federal government has the right to flag ineligible voters. Such heavy-handed interventions, which have attracted considerable resistance in the courts, have chilled election experts. Federal action could strike eligible voters from the rolls and remove their democratic rights. Government interference could disincentivize people from registering to vote amid concerns their vital data could be used for nefarious purposes. Some experts also believe that the Trump administration could flag minor irregularities to argue that elections across a key state or district are flawed. This might not pass muster in the courts. But its a political gambit and Trump has already displayed his talent for convincing millions of Americans that a fair election is fraudulent. Members of the FBI Evidence Response Team stand outside the Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Center after the FBI executed a search warrant there on January 28. - Alyssa Pointer/Reuters Georgia General Election 2020 ballots are loaded by the FBI onto trucks at the Fulton County Election Hub on January 28, in Union City, Georgia. - Mike Stewart/AP The seizing of election materials from Georgia an epicenter of Trumps interference in 2020 raises concerns that a small or manufactured glitch could be misrepresented to proclaim that election and therefore the voting in 2026 as flawed. Another worry is that many of the guardrails that thwarted Trumps attempt to steal power in 2020 have been ripped away. Many senior officials are fully bought into Trumps alternative electoral reality. Theres no one like then-Attorney General Bill Barr, who told Trump there was no evidence to support his voter fraud claims. Bondi has turned the DOJ into an arm of Trumps political operation. Many lower-level officials are also true believers. In 2020, other federal officials in the Department of Homeland Security, and even the White House counsels office pushed back on Trump and stood up for the rule of law. Trump now has total power over his administration. Advertisement Advertisement I dont know if there are members of this administration who are ready to stand up for their oath to the Constitution rather than their loyalty to this particular man, said Becker, a former senior trial attorney in the Voting Section of the Department of Justices Civil Rights Division. CNN reported last week on increasing preparations by Democratic officials for multiple scenarios following Novembers election. And there are many Republican officials nationwide who will honor their oaths to the Constitution. And theres a shining reason why Americans may still be able to trust the 2026 election, whatever the presidents intentions. Dedicated legions of election workers and monitors of all political persuasions will again be guarding the most basic democratic right. Our election officials are strong. Theyve weathered some very significant challenges over years, and they are dedicated to giving us all our voice, and theyre going to continue to do that, Becker said. I have every confidence that our voters in the United States are going to be able to vote conveniently and safely. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Welcome back to World Brief, where were looking at India striking a trade deal with the United States, the reopening of Gazas Rafah border crossing, and a presidential election in Costa Rica. Sign up to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday. Slashing Tariffs The United States and India have struck a trade deal, U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Monday, ending a monthslong stalemate in bilateral trade talks even as foreign powers are trying to lessen their economic dependence on Washington. Advertisement Advertisement Effective immediately, the United States will reduce the total U.S. tariffs on India from 50 percent to 18 percenteliminating the 25 percent duty imposed on New Delhi for its continued purchasing of Russian oil and reducing Trumps 25 percent reciprocal tariff by 7 percentage points. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela, Trump posted on Truth Social on Monday. Our amazing relationship with India will be even stronger going forward. In exchange, India will cut its duties on U.S. goods to zero and will commit to buy American at a higher level, including by investing more than $500 billion in U.S. agriculture, coal, energy, and technology, among others. When two large economies and the worlds largest democracies work together, it benefits our people and unlocks immense opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation, Modi posted on X. Trade talks between the two countries stalled last year over Indias refusal to stop purchasing Russian crude. Even after the United States imposed secondary tariffs last August to try and pressure New Delhi to terminate its relationship with Moscow, India continued importing roughly 1.5 million barrels of Russian oil each day, according to global trade data tracker Kpler. Advertisement Advertisement But new pressure on the United States in the form of last weeks mother of all deals between India and the European Union may have incentivized the White House to reignite trade talks. After nearly 20 years, Brussels and New Delhi clinched a monumental free trade agreement last Tuesday that aimed to decrease both economies dependence on the United States. They join a larger shift in global trade policy similarly working to counter Trumps trade war. Mondays U.S.-India deal appears to be a direct response to that growing trend, as Trump attempts to walk a line between his strong-arm trade policies and his reluctance to isolate the U.S. economy from its biggest partners. Todays Most Read Welcome to the Mad Max World Order by Steven M. Radil and Raphael Parens The Day Russias War Collided With History by Alexey Kovalev No, the International Community Isnt Dead Yet by Michael Hirsh The World This Week Tuesday, Feb. 3: Trump hosts Colombian President Gustavo Petro. Advertisement Advertisement Wednesday, Feb. 4: U.S., Russian, and Ukrainian officials begin two-day trilateral talks in the United Arab Emirates. Thursday, Feb. 5: The New START Treaty between the United States and Russia is set to expire. Friday, Feb. 6: The 2026 Winter Olympics kick off in Italy. Saturday, Feb. 7: The mandate for Haitis presidential transitional council expires. Sunday, Feb. 8: Thailand holds a general election. Japan holds snap parliamentary elections. Portugal holds a presidential election runoff. Israeli President Isaac Herzog begins a five-day trip to Australia. What Were Following Access through Rafah. Israel reopened Gazas Rafah border crossing into Egypt on Monday, fulfilling one of the remaining major requirements of the U.S.-brokered cease-fire deals first phase. Initial reports suggest that only a limited number of Palestinians have passed through the crossing during its first day in operation, as significant restrictions are placed on people hoping to cross. Advertisement Advertisement Rafah is the main route in or out of Gaza for the regions more than 2 million residents. Prior to its closure in May 2024, around 100,000 Palestinians had exited Gaza through this corridor. But for much of the Israel-Hamas war, the crossing remained closed, restricting Palestinians from accessing vital aid and medical treatment. Israel has said that Hamas has used the crossing for smuggling weapons. Last week, Israel finally agreed to reopen the border following the return of the remains of an Israeli killed during Hamass Oct. 7, 2023, attack. It is unclear how many Palestinians will be allowed to pass through the Rafah crossing. Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that only around 50 people will be allowed to enter Gaza daily, though we are not going to prevent anyone from leaving. Aid deliveries will not be permitted through the corridor at this time. Conservative win. On Sunday, Costa Ricans elected right-wing populist Laura Fernandez to be the countrys next president. The electoral success of the 39-year-old candidate, handpicked by outgoing President Rodrigo Chaves, marks the latest victory for Latin Americas conservatives, who have matched Trumps immigration crackdown with their own tough-on-crime policies. Early results showed Fernandez (who will be the countrys second woman president) getting more than 48 percent of the vote, giving her enough support to avoid a runoff. Fernandez has vowed to continue Chavess platform, including his decision last year to accept deported migrants from the United States; Chaves was ineligible to run in the 2026 election, as Costa Ricas constitution prohibits consecutive presidential terms. Advertisement Advertisement Fernandez will take office in May. She follows in the footsteps of several successful right-wing candidates, including Honduran President Nasry Asfura, who took office last week after Trump personally endorsed his campaign, and Chilean President-elect Jose Antonio Kast, who is expected to begin his term in March. Willing to talk? Iran and the United States will meet on Friday for negotiations in Turkey following a U.S. military buildup in the region. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff will meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Istanbul, Reuters reported, citing officials from the two countries. Other regional nations will also attend the meetings. On Monday, Witkoff was set to meet with Netanyahu and Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, a top Israeli military official who was recently in Washington to discuss Iran. Trump has reportedly pressed for significant concessions from Iran, including no further enrichment of uranium, stopping support for proxy forces in the Middle East, and restrictions on its missile program. An Iranian official quoted by Reuters said that Iran was willing to be flexible on uranium enrichment. Advertisement Advertisement On Monday, Iran separately protested a European Union decision to designate the countrys Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist group due to its recent repression of Iranian protesters. The EU decision follows a 2019 decision by the United States to label the IRGC as a terrorist group.Sam Skove Deadly assault in Balochistan. Pakistans separatist Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) launched a coordinated operation on Saturday that killed nearly 50 people. The militants came in dressed as civilians and indiscriminately targeted ordinary people working in shops, Pakistani Interior Minister Talal Chaudhry said, adding that the fighters used human shields. In response, Pakistani security forces confirmed on Sunday that they had killed at least 145 people connected to the separatist group in the southwestern Balochistan province. According to Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti, the number of fighters killed over the course of two days was the highest in decades. Pakistani authorities also imposed new security restrictions on the region, including bans on gathering and wearing face coverings in public spaces. Balochistan is Pakistans poorest province and has faced decades of bloody conflict between BLA members and state troops. On Sunday, Bugti accused Afghanistan and India of backing the militants, repeating past claims that BLA fighters operate out of Afghan territory with Indian support. However, both Kabul and New Delhi have denied these allegations. Odds and Ends Pour yourself a Moscow mule and celebrate the first time that a Spanish-language album has won the Grammys top prize. On Sunday, Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny won the Album of the Year award for his critically acclaimed Debi Tirar Mas Fotos. I want to dedicate this award to all the people who had to leave their homeland to follow their dreams, Bad Bunny said in English during his acceptance speech. Other Grammy winners also criticized U.S. immigration forces during the ceremony. When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Cuba cannot be fixed by an outside actor. | Credit: Illustration by Stephen Kelly / Getty Images / Shutterstock American presidents going back to Dwight Eisenhower have tried to dislodge the Communist regime in Cuba, but none succeeded. President Donald Trump thinks he may have found the pathway by cutting off Havanas access to oil. Last Thursday, the president signed an executive order mandating new tariffs on any country selling oil to Cuba during its ongoing energy crisis, said The Associated Press . The Communist government looks like its something thats just not going to be able to survive, said Trump. Advertisement Advertisement The White House is actively seeking regime change in Cuba by the end of the year, said The Wall Street Journal . American officials believe the countrys economy is close to collapse, and the loss of a benefactor in recently deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro leaves the regime fragile. If so, the islands government will not go quietly. Cuba hit back at the order, said Bloomberg . Trumps new directive reveals the fascist, criminal and genocidal nature of his government, President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on X. Analysts say his country has less than three weeks of fuel left, and that transportation, agriculture and other basic services could collapse if the fuel runs out, said Bloomberg. But the regimes American opponents say ending the Communist government would be worth the pain. Sometimes the cure is painful, said Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.). What did the commentators say? Losing oil supplies will be a devastating blow to Cubas economy, said William LeoGrande at Responsible Statecraft . But American officials have announced the imminent end of the Cuban government since 1959 without much success in their efforts. President John F. Kennedy supported the Bay of Pigs invasion, multiple presidents enforced an embargo on the island nation, and President George H.W. Bush thought the end of the Soviet Union would do the trick. Advertisement Advertisement None of them were right. Those failures partly stem from Cubas lack of a strong opposition party. Cubans have long found it easier to emigrate than to confront the government. Cuba cannot be fixed by an outside actor, said Ricardo Torres at Time . Geography and history mean the U.S. will play a role in the countrys path forward, but strong-arming Havana strengthens hardliners inside Cuba and invites overconfidence outside it. External shocks may accelerate the timeline of a failing system, but American leaders cannot determine Cubas future. The root cause of Cubas tragedy is Cuban; the remedy for Cuba will be Cuban, too. What next? Seoul Grand Park (Photo courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government) Seoul Grand Park will run a hands-on educational program titled Run with the Red Horse! from February 9 to 28, marking the Year of the Red Horse in the lunar calendar. The program is designed to help visitors learn about endangered species conservation through play-based activities and guided interpretation. Sessions will take place inside the First Africa Pavilion, home to the parks zebras. Participants will join animal interpreters to learn about zebras, ponies, donkeys, and other odd-toed ungulates such as rhinos and tapirs, while exploring how the role of zoos has evolved from exhibition spaces to conservation centers. Quizzes, photo zones, and a conservation pledge activity are included. Traditional games such as yutnori, ddakji, and paper drawing activities are also incorporated, linking cultural traditions with environmental awareness. At the end of the program, participants choose one of five eco-friendly actions to practice in daily life and receive a small souvenir. The program runs on Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays, with four sessions per day lasting about 35 minutes each. Participation is free, though zoo admission applies. Advance reservations opened February 2 through the Seoul Grand Park website or the Seoul Public Service Reservation system. The presidents claim that elections should be overhauled by the federal government draws outrage and concerns for its implications for Black voters. President Donald Trump seems poised to escalate his targeting of federal elections, saying on a recent podcast interview that the Republican Party should take over the election process in at least 15 states. The Republicans should say, We want to take over. We should take over the voting, the voting in at least many 15 places. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting, Trump told The Dan Bongino Show podcast, hosted by his former Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino. Advertisement Advertisement Trumps suggestion that elections, which are constitutionally controlled by states, should be overhauled by the federal government quickly drew outrage from leaders who also expressed concern for its implications for Black voters. This serves as yet another reminder that the Trump Administration is only looking to exhaust our nation with these deplorable and unconstitutional antics in hopes that we will grow tired and concede, NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson said in a statement to theGrio. Unfortunate for them, we are wide awake, and we will never surrender something our people fought, bled, and died for. Weve taken Trump to court before and weve won, even in the Supreme Court. If necessary, well take him to court again, and well win again. Since losing the 2020 presidential election, President Trump has repeatedly spread falsehoods and disproven conspiracies that his defeat was the result of mass voter fraud committed by Democrats in various states across the country. In an unprecedented move last week, the Trump administration seized 2020 election ballots and other materials in Fulton County, Georgia, where a majority of registered voters are Black and Latino. Weve seen this pattern of targeting Black voters for years racially gerrymandered maps, a Trump DOJ determined to gut the Voting Rights Act, and relentless attacks on mail-in voting that many Black voters rely on, Democratic strategist Marcus W. Robinson told theGrio. By calling for Republicans to take over elections, Trump is doubling down on a calculated effort to erase Black political power. WASHINGTON, DC OCTOBER 15: Activists and participants gather in front of the Supreme Court of the United States during Supreme Court re-argument of Louisiana v. Callais on October 15, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Legal Defense Fund) In a letter sent to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Tuesday, Georgia Democrats U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock and U.S. Reps. Nikema Williams and Lucy McBath said Trumps consistent spreading of misinformation and dangerous conspiracy theories about the 2020 election fundamentally undermines the electoral process, endangers election workers, and erodes public trust in our democracy. They added, This unprecedented seizure only heightens those concerns. Advertisement Advertisement Trumps recent remarks about nationalizing elections in at least 15 states, but not all, suggest he embraces a haphazard approach to election oversight, perhaps politically targeting only states with Democratic governors. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday that the president was referring to the SAVE Act, a Republican-proposed bill that would require voters to present ID and proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections. However, the bill does not explain the presidents suggestion that only 15 states should be nationalized rather than all states. Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the SAVE Act Jim Crow 2.0. This follows a very long trend line again, of the president using his force, using abuse of power, using the federal government to enact his political will, said former Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who is running for the Democratic nomination for governor. He told theGrio, Its no different than deploying the National Guard as President to different communitiesthe President has demonstrated so many times that he cannot be trusted. He has demonstrated so many times that this has nothing to do with the interest of safety, the interest of integrity, or the interest of advancing the cause of the majority of Americans. As Republicans stare down a potential wave of defeats in Novembers midterm electionssomething even Trump alluded to amid fears of being impeachedcritics of the presidents targeting of voting rights say he is simply abusing the presidency to shift the narrative. Advertisement Advertisement The reality is Republicans are losing election after election because theyve failed to offer a winning policy agenda. They are setting voters back, and we know when Trump and Republicans cant win fair elections, they try to rig the system to cling to power at any cost, said Robinson, the Democratic strategist. Barnes said Trump can see the tea leaves and recognizes his deep unpopularity, telling theGrio, Instead of actually doing whats right for people, instead of actually showing up and getting to work to solve our very real problems, he would rather change the way that elections are administered so that he can continue doing the bidding that harms a majority of Americans and enriches himself. More must-reads: President Trump said Monday that the federal government should "nationalize" elections, repeating without evidence his long-running claim that U.S. elections are beset by widespread fraud. Speaking on a podcast hosted by former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, Trump said Republicans should "take over the voting in at least 15 places," alleging that voting irregularities in what he called "crooked states" are hurting the GOP. "The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting," Trump said. Advertisement Advertisement The proposal would clash with the Constitution's long-standing framework that grants states primary authority over election administration, and underscored Trump's continued efforts to upend voting rules ahead of this year's midterm elections. Read more: Real, fake or overblown? Sorting fact from fiction in fraud allegations surrounding Newsom, California Trump, for example, lamented that Republicans have not been "tougher" on the issue, again asserting without evidence that he lost the 2020 election because undocumented immigrants voted illegally for Democrats. "If we don't get them out, Republicans will never win another election," Trump said. "These people were brought to our country to vote and they vote illegally, and it is amazing that the Republicans are not tougher on it." Advertisement Advertisement In his remarks, the president suggested that "some interesting things" may come out of Georgia in the near future. Trump did not divulge more details, but was probably teasing what may come after the FBI served a search warrant at the election headquarters of Fulton County, Ga. Days after FBI agents descended on the election center, the New York Times reported that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was with agents at the scene when she called Trump on her cellphone. Trump thanked them for their work, according to the report, an unusual interaction between the president and investigators tied to a politically sensitive inquiry. In the days leading up to the Georgia search, Trump suggested in a speech during the World Economic Summit in Davos, Switzerland, that criminal charges were imminent in connection to what he called a "rigged" 2020 election. Georgia has been central to Trump's 2020 claims. That's where Trump called Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on January 2021, asking him to "find" 11,780 votes to overturn the state's results. Raffensperger refused, affirming that a series of reviews confirmed that Democrat Joe Biden had won the state. Advertisement Advertisement Since returning to office a year ago, Trump has continued to aggressively pushed changes to election rules. Read more: FBI raid in Georgia highlights Trump's 2020 election obsession and hints at possible future actions He signed an executive order in March to require proof of U.S. citizenship on election forms, but months later a federal judge barred the Trump administration from doing so, saying the order violated the separation of powers. "Because our Constitution assigns responsibility for election regulation to the States and to Congress, this Court holds that the President lacks the authority to direct such changes," Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia wrote in October. Advertisement Advertisement In Congress, several Republican lawmakers have backed legislation to require people provide proof of citizenship before they register to vote. Some conservatives are using the elections bill as bargaining chip amid negotiations over a spending package that would end a partial government shutdown that began early Saturday. "ONLY AMERICAN CITIZENS SHOULD BE VOTING IN AMERICAN ELECTIONS. This is common sense not rocket science," Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) wrote on X on Monday as negotiations were continuing. Get the L.A. Times California Politics newsletter. Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond, in your inbox twice per week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. US President Donald Trump said Monday his administration would seek $1 billion in damages from Harvard University after a New York Times report said the college had won some concessions in ongoing settlement negotiations with the government. Trump administration officials have accused Harvard and other colleges of promoting so-called "woke" ideology while failing to sufficiently protect Jewish students during pro-Palestinian protests, filing legal complaints and demanding exorbitant payouts. Critics have called it a pressure campaign by the administration on liberal universities. Advertisement Advertisement "We are now seeking One Billion Dollars in damages, and want nothing further to do, into the future, with Harvard University," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. The New York Times earlier on Monday reported Trump had dropped his administration's demands for a settlement payout of $200 million from Harvard, after protracted talks. Trump told reporters last September that negotiations were close to reaching a $500 million settlement with Harvard, with part of the deal including the opening of trade schools. "They wanted to do a convoluted job training concept, but it was turned down in that it was wholly inadequate and would not have been, in our opinion, successful," Trump said in his post late Monday evening. Advertisement Advertisement "It was merely a way of Harvard getting out of a large cash settlement of more than 500 Million Dollars, a number that should be much higher for the serious and heinous illegalities that they have committed," he added, without specifying what laws Harvard has allegedly broken. "This should be a Criminal, not Civil, event," he added, without specifying the basis for criminal action or charges he envisaged could be involved. - Targeting of universities - The Trump administration's pressure on universities has sparked some academics, including Harvard's former president, to raise concern about the possibility of eroding academic freedom. Advertisement Advertisement "The truth here is that our government, the American government, is attacking higher ed and universities," former Harvard president Claudine Gay said in September at an event in the Netherlands. "The agenda here is about destroying knowledge institutions because they are centers of independent thought and information," the political professor, who stepped down as president in 2024, added. Trump has previously sought to cut more than $2.6 billion of funding to Harvard, and has moved to block entry of international students -- a quarter of its student body. Fellow Ivy League institution Columbia University agreed to pay the Trump administration $200 million last summer and pledged to obey rules that bar it from taking race into consideration in admissions or hiring. Advertisement Advertisement The University of Pennsylvania, another Ivy League institution, also bowed to Trump administration concerns last year, announcing it would ban transgender women from participating in women's sports. bur-ceg/ane WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he was working on sanctions, among other things, with Colombia President Gustavo Petro following their meeting in the Oval Office earlier in the day. Trump said the meeting between the two leaders was "very good." (Reporting by Bo Erickson and Jasper Ward in Washington) The News The long-running chill between Donald Trump and Chuck Schumer is thawing a little. The president and the Senate minority leader worked proactively in recent days to head off another government funding lapse, culminating on Tuesday with passage of a deal to fund most agencies through September and the Department of Homeland Security until Feb. 13. Trump and Schumer spoke multiple times last week to head off the immediate threat, according to two people familiar with the conversations. It was a clear shift from last falls interminable shutdown standoff, which kept the two men far apart as Schumer held out for negotiations on health care. Advertisement Advertisement But now they will have to pull off a much trickier feat: assembling an immigration enforcement agreement that keeps enough members of both parties happy enough to head off a prolonged shutdown at DHS. Trumps initial call to Schumer showed real leadership, Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., told Semafor. Im glad he did it, and I hope that Senator Schumer continues to have these conversations with him. The modest but significant bipartisan rekindling between the two New Yorkers, who are at odds on most issues and often tear down each other in public, started even before federal agents killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Before their phone calls, Schumer met with Trump last month about the stalled Gateway Tunnel project connecting New York and New Jersey. The immigration enforcement negotiations theyre plunging into after the deaths of Pretti and Renee Good, both US citizens, are the kind of politically delicate affairs that split both parties. Trump will be called upon to tame GOP hardliners and Schumer to deal with progressives who say they wont give ICE another dime. Advertisement Advertisement A senior White House official said it is certainly possible Trump and Schumer could meet in person once aides lay the groundwork for any immigration deal. Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., said that if Schumer and the president seem to indicate that theyre okay with [an agreement]? Thats a big deal. The more discussion that goes on, the more sharing of ideas and information, the better the potential outcome is to get something that people can support, said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. Still, lingering divisions from the latest round of haggling could complicate things. Democrats think Trump is only engaging because of his sagging poll numbers and his sensitivity to getting blamed for another shutdown. The situation is tricky for Schumer as well: Progressives want him to forcefully oppose Trump on everything, but he has a long-running predisposition for bipartisanship that belies his blue-state origin. Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Schumer is completely transactional, said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who has sparred with the New Yorker for years. And I think it depends on the circumstances. The senior White House official blamed Schumer for, during one of his calls with Trump, indicating that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and his Democrats would go along with the funding deal. (Most House Democrats opposed it on Tuesday.) Were about to negotiate reforms to the immigration system in good faith with people who have shown that they are pretty unreliable and disorganized negotiating partners, the official told Semafor. The president has had a relationship with Chuck Schumer that goes back decades in New York. But the Democrats are going to have to get their act together. A Schumer aide said the minority leader made clear on the call that the White House would need to talk to Jeffries. Know More For Schumer, more conversations with Trump represent both an opportunity and a risk, since quite a few members of his conference are unlikely to back any deal that funds ICE at all. Schumer said recently that without real strong change, they should not expect Democratic votes. Advertisement Advertisement If Schumer is trying to cobble together 15 people to vote for what I consider to be a weak deal, and Im telling people, Its a weak deal? Thats a bad position, one Democratic senator told Semafor. He has a lot of power here. He can strike a tough bargain, this senator added. And if theres no deal to be had, he can go out and say, They refused, they wouldnt agree. Trump and Schumers relationship has a long arc, from the presidents long-ago political donations to the senator all the way up to this winters conversations. During Trumps first term, Schumer and then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi bargained with the president, sometimes successfully and other times to no avail. Trump barely tried to deal with Democrats last year, using brute force to enact his agenda with GOP votes in both chambers of Congress. That approach ran aground in the fall, when Democrats refused to fund the government without a deal to revive health care subsidies. Advertisement Advertisement Eventually, the government reopened, though not because of Schumer and the president. Yet Britt, Shaheen and others have encouraged more conversations between Schumer and Trump. Theyre optimistic about the backchannel because its likely to decide whether or not DHS shuts down next weekend. Democrats are asking for judicial warrant requirements for ICE, an end to masking by agents, and use-of-force standards. The administration moved to standardize body cameras on Monday, satisfying probably the easiest area of agreement. Republicans are pushing back against warrant and mask demands while trying to end sanctuary cities, which wont fly with Democrats. Youre going to have to have a line of communication between the president and the Democrats, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said in an interview. In this case you have people who at least their incentives are aligned That wasnt the case last fall. Advertisement Advertisement The Trump administration has lots of money left over from last years tax cut bill to fund immigration enforcement operations, so a DHS shutdown would be unlikely to slow down the administrations priorities. But Democrats believe Trump genuinely wants to avoid a shutdown, said Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill. Room for Disagreement Democrats want to see major progress in negotiations before voting to keep the department open again, and they dont sound keen on a modest compromise with Trump. Its not going to be some gang that splits the difference between Lindsey Graham and Alex Padilla, said Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, the next No. 2 in leadership. Either Trump decides this is a political death spiral for him and he needs to get out of it or were not going to have a deal. Burgesss view Schumer and Trump are brash New Yorkers who like making headlines. They helped design the US response to the coronavirus, so they have muscle memory for collaboration. Advertisement Advertisement On the other hand, just this week, Schumer compared Trump to a dictator for wanting to nationalize elections. Trumps nickname for Schumer is Cryin Chuck. So, yes, the two can talk. But Democrats want Schumer to get the best of Trump, and the White House doesnt want to give Schumer anything that can be construed as a win. Those are tough parameters for a deal, even between two guys who love striking one. Notable COPENHAGEN, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen warned on Monday that while U.S. President Donald Trump has ruled out military force, Washington still fundamentally seeks to control the Arctic island. Trump intensified calls for U.S. control over Greenland at the start of the year, citing national security concerns related to Russia and China. Some European NATO allies have defended Denmark's sovereignty over Greenland and said Trump's pressure threatened to fracture the NATO alliance. The U.S. president has since backed away from threats of force and said he had secured total U.S. access to Greenland in a NATO deal, though details remain unclear. Advertisement Advertisement 'US CONTINUES SEEKING PATHS TO OWNERSHIP' "The view upon Greenland and the population has not changed: Greenland is to be tied to the U.S. and governed from there," Nielsen said in a speech to the island's parliament in Nuuk, speaking via a translator. Nielsen said the U.S. continues seeking "paths to ownership and control over Greenland". The island's government said last week it had launched a survey of the population's mental health situation at a time of extraordinary pressure. "Some of our compatriots have severe sleep problems, children feel the worry and anxiety of adults, and we all live with constant uncertainty about what may happen tomorrow," Nielsen said. "We want to say it very clearly: This is completely unacceptable". Advertisement Advertisement CRISIS DIPLOMACY HAS BEGUN Diplomatic talks between the U.S., Denmark and Greenland began last week with senior officials meeting to "discuss how we can address American concerns about security in the Arctic while respecting the Kingdom's red lines," Denmark's foreign ministry said. Nielsen also praised Denmark as a close partner throughout the crisis. He has previously stated that if Greenlanders were forced to choose between the U.S. and Denmark, they would choose Denmark. The speech made no mention of independence for Greenland. For Greenland's Inuit native population, the debate over ownership clashes with cultural values. Under Greenlandic law, people can own houses but not the land beneath them, reflecting the Inuit concept of collective land stewardship. (Reporting by Stine Jacobsen and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen; editing by Anna Ringstrom and Mark Heinrich) Donald Trump is now demanding $1 billion from Harvard after The New York Times reported hed backed down from a request for the university to pay his administration off. For a moment, it appeared that Trumps extortion scheme had failed at Harvard. Six other elite schools agreed last year to settle civil rights investigations and regain federal funding by adopting Trumps authoritarian compact on school policy and by signing checks that amounted to millions of dollars to the U.S. Treasury. Harvard, however, refused to settle, though it has faced a whopping 13 investigations by 10 federal agencies in the past year alone. Just hours after the Times reported that anonymous Trump officials and Harvard officials had both quietly accepted that the Ivy League institution wouldnt pay the presidents ransom, Trump attacked Harvard and the Timesand issued a furious new demand. Advertisement Advertisement Strongly Antisemitic Harvard University has been feeding a lot of nonsense to The Failing New York Times, Trump wrote in a lengthy post late Monday night. Harvard has been, for a long time, behaving very badly! This should be a Criminal, not Civil, event, and Harvard will have to live with the consequences of their wrongdoings, Trump wrote, adding: We are now seeking One Billion Dollars in damages, and want nothing further to do, into the future, with Harvard University. In a second post, Trump tried to dictate corrections to the original Times story. The Failing New York Times story was completely wrong concerning Harvard University. I hereby demand that the morons that run (into the ground!) the Times change their story, immediately, he wrote. Advertisement Advertisement He posted yet again Tuesday morning, clearly frustrated that his changes had not been immediately adopted. Why hasnt the Fake News New York Times adjusted its phony article on the corruption and antisemitism which has taken place at Harvard, he wrote. They never call for facts, or factchecks, because the Times is a corrupt, unprincipled, and pathetic vehicle of the Left. President Trump suggested in an interview with former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino on Monday that Republicans should take over the voting process in more than a dozen states ahead of the November midterms. The Republicans should say, We want to take over we should take over the voting the voting in at least many, 15 places, Trump told Bongino in the interview. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting. The president also reiterated false claims that he won the 2020 election and said that we have states that I won that show I didnt win. Advertisement Advertisement White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement when asked about the presidents comments that Trump cares deeply about the safety and security of our elections. Thats why hes urged Congress to pass the SAVE Act and other legislative proposals that would establish a uniform standard of photo ID for voting, prohibit no-excuse mail-in voting, and end the practice of ballot harvesting, she said, referring to legislation that would require proof of citizenship in order to register to vote. The Trump administration has sought to nationalize some aspects of the electoral system, including by requesting states to turn over voter rolls to the Justice Department. The Justice Department has sued about two dozen states for refusing to turn over the data, which includes personal information pertaining to individuals Social Security numbers and drivers license numbers, in a push to make sure states are maintaining compliance in keeping up their voter rolls. Advertisement Advertisement While some states have complied with the Trump administrations requests, most have not given the administration voter roll data with associated sensitive information. The latest comments are likely to unnerve Democrats, who have already raised worries that Trump will seek to interfere in the coming elections. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), for example, suggested in a recent interview with CNN that the president was trying to meddle in the November midterms. Donald Trump has made it clear that he intends to try to interfere in the upcoming 2026 election. He says that his one regret from 2020 was that he didnt take the voting machines, Murphy said. Advertisement Advertisement Murphy also took issue with a letter Attorney General Pam Bondi sent asking Minnesota to provide voter rolls. And it is really alarming that, in this letter, Bondi says, Well, we will get the ICE officers out of Minneapolis if you give us control of your voter lists, he said, referring to a letter from Bondi in which she requested that Minnesota produce several items, including the states voter rolls. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Donald Trump suggested on a conservative podcast released on Monday that Republican state officials take over and nationalize elections in 15 states to protect the party from being voted out of office. Trump framed the issue as a means to prevent undocumented immigrants from voting. Claims that noncitizens are voting in numbers that can affect an election are a lie. But it raises concerns about potential efforts by the president to rig the November midterm elections. While describing his victory in terms of counties he won in 2024 and ignoring the vast difference in population between large urban counties and rural counties Trump said of immigrants: If Republicans dont get them out, you will never win another election as a Republican. Advertisement Advertisement Trump said that immigrants were brought to the United States to vote, and they vote illegally. And the, you know, its amazing that the Republicans arent tougher on it. The Republicans should say: We want to take over. We should take over the voting in at least many 15 places the Republicans ought to nationalize the voting. Related: Dragged down by an unpopular president, Republicans are bracing for a midterm trouncing We have states that are so crooked and theyre counting votes we have states that I won, that show I didnt win, Trump continued. Now, youre going to see something in Georgia, where they were able to get with a court order the ballots. Youre going to see some interesting things coming out. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to questions on Tuesday about Trumps call for the nationalization of elections. Advertisement Advertisement The president believes in the United States constitution, Leavitt said. However, he believes there has obviously been a lot of fraud and irregularities that have taken place in American elections, and again, voter ID is a highly popular and commonsense policy that the president wants to pursue and he wants to pass legislation to make that happen for all states across the country. Trumps comments to Dan Bongino, the podcast host and short-lived former deputy director of the FBI, come less than a week after FBI agents served a criminal search warrant to obtain nearly 700 boxes of ballots and other election material from Fulton county, Georgia, long a target of Trumps false claims of election fraud. Trump reportedly held a short phone call with the agents, alongside the national intelligence director, Tulsi Gabbard, to congratulate them as the raid concluded. Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, a Democrat, responded to Trumps comments on Tuesday. That statement alone makes clear that this threat to our election security, the basic premise of our democracy, is forward looking, to 2026, to 2028, he said. This is about whether these same tactics were seeing now, or worse, will be used to disrupt free and fair elections. Voting is not a national process in the US: the constitution gives each state the responsibility to govern its elections. Congress can make laws to safeguard the constitutional rights of voters to preserve one-person-one-vote standards and prevent discrimination, but the federal government does not manage elections apparatuses. Advertisement Advertisement Trumps remarks also come as Congress considers several bills that would have a significant impact on US elections. Related: Alarm as Trump DoJ pushes for voter information on millions of Americans Anna Paulina Luna, a representative from Florida, led an effort by a group of Republicans to add the Save America Act to the spending bill necessary to end the government shutdown, but the effort failed. The act would require proof of citizenship not just a drivers license when registering to vote or updating voter registration. It also largely outlaws mail-in voter registration and government-funded voter registration drives, and would charge elections officials with a felony if they register a voter without citizenship documentation, even if that voter is a citizen. An earlier version passed in the House but has stalled in the Senate. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York described the legislation as a poison pill if added to the spending bill as an amendment. A more strident elections bill, the Make Elections Great Again Act, was introduced last week by Bryan Steil, a Republican representative from Wisconsin. In addition to the provisions of the Save America Act, the legislation would outlaw ranked-choice voting and universal vote-by-mail, require all mailed ballots to be at an election office before polls close, restrict third parties from helping voters and create a national elections auditing system. NEW YORK The Trump administrations rewrite of long-recognized immigration law has left the special-needs daughter of a Long Island man stranded in Guatemala, foiled a Manhattan grandmothers fight to reunite with her kids and grandkids, and indefinitely separated countless more Americans from their families, according to a lawsuit filed Monday. The Manhattan Federal Court complaint against Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the State Department says a policy categorically barring visa applicants from 75 countries is based on demonstrably false claims that immigrants of specific nationalities rely on cash welfare. The ban went into effect Jan. 21. Another action by Trumps State Department that redefined how noncitizens can be deemed at risk of relying on taxpayer-funded assistance or becoming a so-called public charge flies in the face of decades of settled precedent, the suit argues. Advertisement Advertisement There are no factual findings to support the sweeping refusal and suspension of nearly half of all prospective immigrants around the world seeking admission to the United States, reads the complaint, which was brought on behalf of Americans with relatives affected by the hard-line policies, foreign workers, and various community groups. The lawsuit outlines the toll the new approach has taken. Suffolk County man Cesar Andred Aguirre, a warehouse supervisor, has been separated from his wife and baby daughter for weeks after they traveled to Guatemala in January for a consular interview to obtain her visa. The ban went into effect on the day of the interview, and the mother and still-nursing baby were prohibited from traveling back to the U.S., despite the visa being approved and paid for, according to the lawsuit. Advertisement Advertisement The baby girl has Turners Syndrome and requires ongoing medical care, having recently undergone ear surgery, the suit details. The medical care she needs is not available in Guatemala. She has already missed medical appointments because of the Ban, the suit reads. New Yorker Agnes Kyeremaa, 80, began a long and challenging process to petition to bring her four adult sons and daughters and three grandchildren to the U.S. from Ghana more than a decade ago and was anxiously waiting to finally be reunited when the Trump administration changed the rules, the lawsuit details. The last-minute unexpected refusal and denial after a decade of waiting, and on the discriminatory basis of race, ethnicity and national origin simply because they come from Ghana has been extremely upsetting and acutely distressing for her, and for her affected children and grandchildren, reads the complaint. Advertisement Advertisement Diana Konate from African Communities Together, one of the groups party to the suit, said the ban had made what has long been an inhumane process even more so. Our immigration system already contains deeply embedded discrimination that makes obtaining a visa extraordinarily difficult for people across the African continent, Konate said. This ban makes an already broken system even more harmful by cruelly denying families the chance to reunite. ACT and its members will continue to fight these policies. For decades, the government determined, on a case-by-case basis, whether someone seeking lawful immigration status could become a public charge by analyzing whether they might someday become primarily dependent on cash welfare or need long-term institutional care. Advertisement Advertisement Under the new reading of the policy, the Trump administration has authorized immigration officers to mark against applicants any other form of public assistance, social welfare, or private charity used to help low-income people. Not only are they trying to bring in a whole new universe of benefits that you used at any time, or might at any time in the future you need a little bit of housing assistance after you had an accident, or something like that theyre saying, we dont even need to do an individual determination. Entire nations are blocked, said Hasan Shafiqullah, an attorney with The Legal Aid Society, which was one of five legal groups that filed Mondays suit. That is blatantly against the law. Though Trump and his top officials and aides have repeatedly accused immigrants of taking from American taxpayers, the vast majority of visa applicants are, in fact, ineligible for public benefits in their first five years in the U.S. The benefits afforded to the few who are eligible do not pose detrimental harm to the U.S., Congress has determined in the past. Advertisement Advertisement The case filed Monday accuses the Trump administration of bending the law as a pretext to limit the immigration of nonwhite immigrants and says the policies can be traced back to a 2016 policy proposal by the Center for Immigration Studies, whose late founder, John Tanton, advocated for a European-American majority. The memo recommended restricting low-income people and asylum seekers from countries outside Europe by leveraging the public charge doctrine to reduce the number of welfare-dependent foreigners living in the United States, the suit details. More than 85% of the countries included in the ban are non-European and have majority nonwhite populations. Shafiqullah said the bans had blatantly targeted communities of color, with Trump taking policies from his first term to the extreme. This time, Trump was actually explicit about one thing, immigration only from majority white countries like Denmark and Norway and Sweden. Opening the door to refugees from South Africa, if theyre white South Africans, Shafiqullah said. Theyre saying the quiet part out loud this time. The News reached out to the State Department for comment. _____ President Donald Trump is urging Republicans to "take over" voting nationwide, repeating unfounded claims about widespread voter fraud as his administration pushes to reshape election rules ahead of this year's midterms. The comments come as the White House and congressional Republicans move to overhaul election procedures. It's a push that has already drawn sharp criticism from voting-rights advocates and election officials. What Trump said In an interview with conservative podcaster Dan Bongino, who resigned from his post as deputy FBI director in December, Trump alleged that noncitizen voting is influencing election outcomes. It's a claim that election officials and multiple investigations have rejected. Advertisement Advertisement "The Republicans should say, 'We want to take over.' We should take over the voting... In at least many, 15 places," Trump said. "The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting. We have states that are so crooked, and they're counting votes." The president did not elaborate on how he wants Republicans to "nationalize" voting. However, in a statement to ABC News, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said Trump, "cares deeply about the safety and security of our elections. That's why he's urged Congress to pass the SAVE Act and other legislative proposals that would establish a uniform standard of photo ID for voting, prohibit no-excuse mail-in voting, and end the practice of ballot harvesting." Immediately after Trump made the comments, legislators began to respond. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, while on the Senate floor, said "Does Donald Trump need a copy of the Constitution? What he is saying is outlandishly illegal." Election investigation Trump's comments come after the FBI searched an election office in Fulton County, Georgia. They seized 700 boxes of election materials for an investigation into Trump's repeated but unproven claims of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Unbiased. Straight Facts.TM As Straight Arrow News previously reported, before Congress certified Joe Biden as the winner, Trump placed a phone call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which he asked that the official "find" enough votes to change the outcome. Advertisement Advertisement Joe Biden won Georgia by 11,779 votes, or less than one-fourth of 1% of all votes cast. In Fulton County, which includes most of the city of Atlanta, Biden received almost 73% of the more than 500,000 votes cast. Now, the county plans to file a federal lawsuit, claiming the seizure was unlawful. The post Trump thinks Republicans should nationalize' elections appeared first on Straight Arrow News. Related Links US President Donald Trump was "unsurprised" after Russia resumed intense attacks on Ukraine, ending a cold-weather pause he personally requested from Vladimir Putin, the White House said Tuesday. "I spoke with the president about it this morning, and his reaction was, unfortunately, unsurprised," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters outside the West Wing. "These are two countries who have been engaged in a very brutal war for several years, a war that have would have never started if the president were still in office," she added. Advertisement Advertisement Republican Trump has repeatedly blamed his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden for Russia's 2022 invasion, saying Putin would not have launched it if he was in power. But Trump's promise to end the war within 24 hours of taking office through what he claims is a friendship with Putin has so far come to nothing, and he has expressed frustration with the Russian leader on several occasions. Trump announced on Thursday that Putin had agreed to pause attacks on Kyiv for a week during a spell of freezing weather, and talked about the arrangement on Monday to reporters. But the Kremlin said that the week-long pause in fact ended Sunday. Ukraine overnight reported the "most powerful" Russian attack this year on its battered energy facilities. Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner would be in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday for "another round of trilateral talks" with Ukraine and Russia, Leavitt said. dk/aha According to President Donald Trump, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey endorsed "a very serious violation of the Law" last week when Frey said that "Minneapolis does not, and will not, enforce federal immigration law." But it is Trump whose understanding of the law is seriously impaired. Under both constitutional principle and judicial precedent, state and local authorities may decline to participate in the enforcement of a federal regulatory scheme. So-called sanctuary city policies that either limit or prohibit local enforcement of federal immigration law are themselves lawful. Why? Just ask the conservative legal hero Justice Antonin Scalia. Advertisement Advertisement "The Federal Government may neither issue directives requiring the States to address particular problems," Scalia wrote in the 1997 Supreme Court case of Printz v. United States, "nor command the States' officers, or those of their political subdivisions, to administer or enforce a federal regulatory program." The Printz case centered on a provision of the 1993 Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act that required state and local police to enforce federal gun control laws. But such "federal commandeering of state governments," Scalia held, violated the constitutional principles of federalism that were safeguarded by the 10th Amendment. Trump's attack on Frey thus runs counter to the Scalia-penned precedent elucidating the anti-commandeering doctrine. In this matter, the 10th Amendment trumps Trump. In Other Legal News Do you like April Fool's Day jokes? Me neither. So here's one for you anyway: The U.S. Supreme Court has announced that it will hear oral arguments on April 1 in the case about Trump's executive order purporting to deny the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship to millions of U.S.-born children. It's a fitting date, I suppose, since Trump is trying to make a laughingstock out of the original meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment. Advertisement Advertisement The continuing silence from the Supreme Court about the fate of Trump's tariffs has led to worrying speculation among some of the president's critics that the longer it takes for the Court's tariffs decision to come out, the better it is for the White House. Writing in The Washington Post, for example, Jason Willick argues that while "Trump is the underdog" in the legal dispute, "the longer the case drags on without resolution, the less likely it is that the president got licked." Willick bases this fretful view on the idea that "the longer a status quo stays in place, all else being equal, the less likely the Supreme Court is to disturb it." And Trump's tariffs, needless to say, have now been in place for some time. On the other hand, as Amy Howe points out at SCOTUSblog, there are plausible reasons to think that "even if the justices do strike down some or all of the tariffs, that might still not be enough to spur them to issue an opinion soon." For instance, Howe notes, a ruling against Trump could still "leave the question of refunds for the lower courts, in which caseat least in the justices' viewan additional month or two to finalize their ruling might not make much of a difference." Alternately, she adds, the justices could also "decide that the tariffs are invalid but hold either that they will not apply going forward (ruling out refunds for tariffs that had already been paid) or delay the implementation of their ruling, giving Congress time to enact a solution." Either way, as the unsung legal philosopher Tom Petty might have put it, waiting for SCOTUS "is the hardest part." The post Trump vs. Scalia on Sanctuary Cities and the Minneapolis Immigration Crackdown appeared first on Reason.com. Donald Trump and Xi Jinping rarely agree on anything. Different systems, different rhetoric, different visions of power. Yet when it comes to Canada building cars, the two men just so happens to land on the exact same uncomfortable conclusion from very different directions. Neither truly wants it to happen. That shared reality is becoming harder to ignore as global auto manufacturing enters its most disruptive era in decades. Trump has never been subtle about his view of the North American auto industry. When he talks about cars, he talks about geography and jobs, and in his mind, those jobs belong south of the border. Advertisement Advertisement He has repeatedly made it clear that he wants vehicles built in the United States, not in Canada, even if that means unraveling long standing trade agreements like CUSMA. To Trump, Canadian auto plants are not partners in an integrated supply chain. They are competitors siphoning away American manufacturing strength. Xis Strategy: China's Global Auto Dominance Xis position is quieter but far more consequential. Image Credit: JustAnotherCarDesigner - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia. Chinas global auto strategy is not about Canada specifically. It is about scale, dominance, and dependency. Beijing has poured enormous state resources into turning its automakers into export juggernauts, not just in electric vehicles but across the entire automotive spectrum. The goal is not simply to sell cars abroad. China may not say it as it thinks likelike Trumpbut Beijings ultimate goal is to reshape who builds them at all. Advertisement Advertisement This is already playing out across major markets. In Europe, Chinese automakers went from a fringe presence to double digit market share in a remarkably short time. In Brazil, they have surged past established European and Japanese brands, capturing more than a third of vehicle imports and dominating the electric vehicle segment. China isnt just talkingthese arent theoretical threats. They are measurable shifts. Canada Caught Between Two Forces Canada sits awkwardly between these two forces. Photo Courtesy: Autorepublika. On one side is the United States, where political pressure is growing to pull manufacturing back home, even from close allies. On the other is China, whose export machine thrives on entering markets with heavily subsidized vehicles that domestic producers struggle to compete against. In both scenarios, Canada loses strategic relevance as a manufacturing hub. Advertisement Advertisement The irony is that Canada once punched above its weight in auto production. A generation ago, it built nearly three million vehicles annually. Today that figure has fallen to around 1.3 million. Brazil, now feeling the full force of Chinese competition, produces roughly twice that number. If a country with Brazils scale is feeling exposed, Canadas vulnerability is obvious. Trumps approach is blunt force economics. Build here or lose access. His message to automakers is simple. If you want to sell to Americans, invest in American factories. Canada becomes collateral damage in a political argument framed as economic nationalism. Image Credit: Jengtingchen - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia. Chinas approach is more strategic and arguably more dangerous. By flooding markets with low-cost vehicles backed by state support, it erodes domestic manufacturing ecosystems over time. Once factories close and supply chains weaken, rebuilding them becomes nearly impossible. Consumers may celebrate cheaper cars in the short term, but the long-term cost is industrial dependency. The Convergence That is where Trump and Xi converge, intentionally or not. Advertisement Advertisement Both paths lead to a future where Canada builds fewer cars. One shifts production south. The other crowds it out entirely. In either case, Canada is left choosing between integration and irrelevance. This is not just an economic debate. It is about sovereignty, employment, and technological leadership. More than vehicles of transportation, cars are now rolling computers, data collectors, and energy platforms. Losing the ability to build them means losing influence over critical infrastructure. The question facing Canada, and by extension North America, is not whether Chinese cars are good or affordable. Many are. The real question is whether hollowing out domestic manufacturing is a price worth paying for cheaper sheet metal and software. Trump says he wants the jobs. Xi wants the market. Neither wants Canada in the drivers seat. With tensions high over federal immigration enforcement, some state and local officials are pushing back against the Trump administration's attempts to house thousands of detained immigrants in jails, converted warehouses and privately run facilities in their communities. Federal officials have been scouting cities and counties across the U.S. for places to hold immigrants as they roll out a massive $45 billion expansion of detention facilities financed by President Donald Trump's recent tax-cutting law. The fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by immigration enforcement officers in Minneapolis have amplified an already intense spotlight on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, increasing scrutiny of its plans for new detention sites. Advertisement Advertisement A proposed ICE facility just north of Richmond, Virginia, drew hundreds of people last week to a tense public hearing of the Hanover County Board of Supervisors. You want whats happening in Minnesota to go down in our own backyard? Build that detention center here, and thats exactly what will happen, resident Kimberly Matthews told county officials. As a prospective ICE detention site became public, elected officials in Kansas City, Missouri, scrambled to pass an ordinance aimed at blocking it. And mayors in Oklahoma City and Salt Lake City after raising concerns about building permits announced last week that property owners won't be selling or leasing their facilities for immigration detention. Meanwhile, legislatures in several Democratic-led states pressed forward with bills barring or discouraging ICE facilities. A New Mexico measure targets local government agreements to detain immigrants for ICE. A novel California proposal seeks to nudge companies running ICE facilities out of the state by imposing a 50% tax on their proceeds. Advertisement Advertisement The number of ICE detention sites has doubled More than 75,000 immigrants were being detained by ICE as of mid-January, up from 40,000 when Trump took office a year earlier, according to federal data released Tuesday. In a little over a year, the number of detention facilities used by ICE more than doubled, to 225 sites spread across a combined 48 states and territories. Most of that growth came through existing contracts with the U.S. Marshals Service or deals to use empty beds at county jails. Trump's administration now is taking steps to open more large-scale facilities. In January, ICE paid $102 million for a warehouse in Washington County, Maryland, $84 million for one in Berks County, Pennsylvania, and more than $70 million for one in Surprise, Arizona. It also solicited public comment on a proposed warehouse purchase in a flood plain in Chester, New York. Advertisement Advertisement Federal immigration officials have toured large warehouses elsewhere, without releasing many details about the efforts. They will be very well structured detention facilities meeting our regular detention standards, ICE said in a statement, adding: It should not come as news that ICE will be making arrests in states across the U.S. and is actively working to expand detention space. Detention site foes face legal limitations State and local governments can decline to lease detention space to ICE, but they generally cannot prohibit businesses and private landowners from using their property for federal immigrant detention centers, said Danielle Jefferis, an associate law professor at the University of Nebraska who focuses on immigration and civil litigation. Advertisement Advertisement In 2023, a federal court invalidated a California law that barred private immigrant detention facilities, finding it infringed on federal powers. A federal appeals court panel cited similar grounds in July while striking down a New Jersey law that forbade agreements to operate immigrant detention facilities. After ICE officials recently toured a warehouse in Orlando, Florida, as a prospective site, local officials looked into ways to regulate or prevent it. But City Attorney Mayanne Downs advised them in a letter that ICE is immune from any local regulation that interferes in any way with its federal mandate. Officials in Hanover County also asked their attorney to evaluate legal options after the Department of Homeland Security sent a letter confirming its intent to purchase a private property for use as an ICE processing facility. The building sits near retail businesses, hotels, restaurants and several neighborhoods. Although some residents voiced concerns that an ICE facility could strain the county's resources, there's little the county can do to oppose it, said Board of Supervisors Chair Sean Davis. Advertisement Advertisement The federal government is generally exempt from our zoning regulations, Davis said. Kansas City tries to block a new ICE detention site Despite court rulings elsewhere, the City Council in Kansas City voted in January to impose a five-year moratorium on non-city-run detention facilities. The vote came on the same day ICE officials toured a nearly 1-million-square-foot (92,903-square-meter) warehouse as a prospective site. Manny Abarca, a county lawmaker, said he initially was threatened with trespassing when he showed up but was eventually allowed inside the facility, where a deputy ICE field office director told him they were scouting for a 7,500-bed site. Advertisement Advertisement Abarca is trying to fortify Kansas Citys resistance by proposing a countywide moratorium on permits, zoning changes and development plans for detention facilities not run by the county or a city. When federal power is putting communities on edge, local government has a responsibility to act where we have authority, he said. As other ICE proposals have surfaced, officials in Social Circle, Georgia; Merrillville, Indiana; El Paso, Texas; and Roxbury Township, New Jersey, have raised concerns about a lack of water and sewer capacity to transform warehouses into detention sites. Officials in Leavenworth, Kansas, are seeking to hold private prison operator CoreCivic to its requirements. A city planning commission on Monday advanced a three-year permit that would be needed for CoreCivic to reopen a shuttered prison as an ICE detention facility capable of housing up to 1,000 detainees. Advertisement Advertisement Nationally, it remains to be seen whether local governments can deter ICE facilities through building permits and regulations. Were currently in a moment where it is being tested," Jefferis said. "So there is no clear answer as to how the courts are going to come down. New Mexico targets existing ICE facilities The Democratic-led New Mexico House on Friday passed legislation banning state and local government contracts for ICE detention facilities, sending it to the Senate. Similar bills are pending in Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island. The Otero County Processing Center, 25 miles (40 kilometers) from downtown El Paso, Texas, is one of three privately run ICE facilities that could be affected by the New Mexico legislation. The facility includes four immigration courtrooms and space for more than 1,000 detainees. The county financed its construction in 2007 with the intent to use it as a revenue source, and plans to pay off the remaining $16.5 million debt by 2028. Advertisement Advertisement Otero County Attorney Roy Nichols said the county is prepared to sue the Legislature under a state law that prevents impairment of outstanding revenue bonds. Republicans warned of job losses and economic fallout if the legislation forces immigrant detention centers to close. But Democratic state Rep. Sarah Silva, who voted for the ban, and said her constituents in a heavily Hispanic area view the ICE facility as a burden. Our state cant be complicit in the violations that ICE has been doing in places like Minneapolis," Silva said. "To me that was beyond the tipping point. Looking to get away? You might want to check to make sure you have the right identification first. Before boarding that flight to get away from the winter weather in our area, you'll be required to show a REAL ID or another acceptable form of identification to TSA agents. Starting Feb. 1, travelers taking domestic flights through Wilmington Airport or another airport now must pay a $45 fee if they do not have a Real ID-compliant drivers license or other approved form of identification. Advertisement Advertisement Here's what to know before booking your flight: Another winter storm in Delaware?: Here are early potential snow totals What if the groundhog sees his shadow?: Get ready for Groundhog Day 2026 What is TSA ConfirmID? TSA ConfirmID is a fee-based service designed to "enhance security and streamline identity verification for air travelers who do not have an acceptable form of ID," according to the TSA. TSA ConfirmID "ensures compliance with federal security standards and strengthens the safety of air travel by preventing unauthorized individuals, including terrorists, illegal aliens, and other bad actors, from accessing domestic aviation systems," the TSA said. How does TSA ConfirmID work? Travelers can pay the fee online in advance or at the airport security checkpoint. The online payment option is available at tsa.gov/tsaconfirm-id. Advertisement Advertisement Passengers who pay the fee online will receive a receipt they'll present at the security checkpoint. The verification process typically lasts 10 to 15 minutes but can take longer, TSA said. What is a REAL ID? REAL ID is a federally mandated identification standard established by the REAL ID Act of 2005. The act was passed by Congress following the 9/11 Commissions recommendation to improve the security of state-issued identification documents. How do I obtain a REAL ID in Delaware? If you dont have a REAL ID yet, you can apply for one at your states Division of Motor Vehicles. The application process typically requires you to present documents verifying your identity, Social Security number, and residency. You should check your states DMV website for specific requirements and schedule an appointment. Keep in mind that DMVs might be overloaded today. If I don't have Real ID, what other forms of identification are accepted? The TSA and other agencies may have alternative compliance options in place, but you can expect more difficulty accessing federally controlled locations that require ID if you dont have the right documents. Advertisement Advertisement Other TSA-approved forms of identification include: U.S. passport or passport card Permanent resident card State-issued Enhanced drivers license DHS-trusted traveler cards (Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, FAST) U.S. Department of Defense ID, including IDs for dependents Border crossing card Acceptable photo ID issued by a federally recognized Tribal Nation/Indian Tribe Foreign government-issued passport U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Authorization Card (I-766) Canadian provincial driver's license or Indian and Northern Affairs Canada card Transportation Worker Identification Credential Veteran Health Identification Card U.S. Merchant Mariner Credential Can I still get a REAL ID? Yes, you can still obtain a REAL ID even though the REAL ID deadline passed on May 7, 2025. The deadline was for select federal agencies and TSA to begin requiring it. What documents must you bring to get a Real ID To obtain a Real ID in Delaware, you must provide documents that verify your identity, legal presence in the U.S., Social Security number and Delaware residency. The Delaware DMV provides a list of approved documents that meet the requirements for each of these categories. Real ID center near me in Delaware To find the nearest DMV in Delaware to obtain a Real ID, check here. Which documents prove Delaware residency for Real ID in Delaware You will need two documents that show your current Delaware address. Acceptable documents include: Advertisement Advertisement Utility bills Bank account records Auto or life insurance policies Voter registration cards Rental or lease agreements U.S. Postal Service change of address confirmation or mail postmarked within the last 60 days Which documents are required for name changes for Real ID in Delaware If your name has changed due to marriage, divorce or a court order, you must bring original or certified copies of all name change documents. These may include: Marriage license or civil union certificate Court-ordered name change document Finalized divorce decree showing your legal name Before applying for a Real ID at the DMV, your name change must be updated with the Social Security Administration. Advertisement Advertisement All documents presented must be original or certified copies. Photocopies are not accepted. Each document will be verified electronically during your DMV appointment. For the full list of documents, visit the Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles website. How do I know if I have a Real ID? A gold star in the upper right-hand corner of the card distinguishes Real IDs. If your card is not a Real ID, "Not for Federal Identification" will be printed in the upper margin. Why was the REAL ID Act created? The REAL ID Act was signed into law in 2005 in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. It aimed to create a unified national standard for states to issue more secure identity documents. The USA TODAY Network contributed to this story. This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: TSA real ID fee to cost travelers $45 for TSA ConfirmID on Feb. 1 By Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said on Monday she was present at last week's FBI raid on an election facility in Georgia at the request of President Donald Trump and that her attendance was within her authority. Gabbard wrote in a letter to lawmakers dated Monday that she observed FBI personnel executing a search warrant in Fulton County and was present there for a "brief period of time." Advertisement Advertisement Top Democrats on the Senate and House of Representatives intelligence committees had called for Gabbard to brief their panels on why she was present at the raid and raised concerns about her presence. Gabbard also said that while visiting the FBI field office in Atlanta, she "facilitated a brief phone call" for Trump to thank FBI agents for their work on the probe, a departure from law enforcement norms. She added in the letter that Trump did not ask any questions and that she and Trump did not issue any directives. The FBI searched Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Center on Wednesday, pursuing Trump's false claims that his 2020 election defeat was the result of widespread voting fraud. Advertisement Advertisement Claims of voting fraud in the 2020 presidential election have been rejected by courts, state governments and members of Trump's own former administration. Gabbard's letter was addressed to Democratic U.S. Senator Mark Warner and Representative Jim Himes. Warner's office said Gabbard's letter "raises more questions than it answers." It is unusual for America's top intelligence official to be included in a domestic law enforcement operation as the remit of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) is overseas spying and protecting national security. "My presence was requested by the President and executed under my broad statutory authority to coordinate, integrate, and analyze intelligence related to election security, including counter-intelligence, foreign and other malign influence and cybersecurity," Gabbard wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Experts had raised legal questions over Gabbard's presence. "The DNI has authorities set out by statute and they don't include investigating past elections for potential fraud," Robert Litt, who served as the top ODNI lawyer from 2009 to 2017, told Reuters last week. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan) Arrest warrants have been executed for two men on suspicion of attempted sabotage on a ship intended for the German Navy. The arrests took place in Hamburg and in Greece, the Hamburg Public Prosecutor's Office announced on Tuesday. The suspects are reportedly a 37-year-old Romanian man and a 54-year-old Greek man. The homes of the accused in Hamburg, Romania and Greece were also searched, the office said. Advertisement Advertisement In addition to the European judicial authority Eurojust in The Hague, the Hamburg State Criminal Police Office was involved in the arrests as well as Greek and Romanian law enforcement agencies. The two suspects are said to have carried out acts of sabotage on several corvettes last year during their work in the port of Hamburg. The ships were located on a shipyard site and were intended for the German Navy. Significant damage feared Acting alone and sometimes together, the men are believed to have introduced over 20 kilograms of blasting grit into the engine block of one of the ships, punctured fresh water supply lines, removed fuel tank caps and deactivated safety switches for the ship's electronics. Advertisement Advertisement If the respective acts of sabotage had gone undetected, they could have led to significant damage to the ships or at least to their delayed departure, thereby potentially endangering the security of the Federal Republic of Germany and the operational capability of the troops, prosecutors said. The evaluation of the secured evidence is ongoing, according to the Public Prosecutor's Office. As part of the investigation, the question of whether the accused had been contracted to carry out the sabotage is also being examined. Incidents on corvette Emden subject of investigation Inspector of the Navy Jan Christian Kaack reported in February last year that saboteurs had deliberately caused damage to warships in Germany on more than one occasion. Advertisement Advertisement "There is destruction, that is, sabotage, on more than one unit," the vice admiral said at the Navy Talks event in Berlin. Corresponding measures have reportedly been taken in the shipyards. Public broadcasters WDR and NDR, and the broadsheet Suddeutsche Zeitung reported at the time that the Emden, built by the Hamburg shipyard Blohm+Voss but initially not delivered to the navy, was a target of sabotage. A spokeswoman for the Public Prosecutor's Office told dpa that the incidents on the Emden are the subject of the investigation, but the arrest warrant relates to an alleged act on another ship. Dubai British maritime security firm Vanguard Tech said Tuesday that a U.S.-flagged tanker was approached by Iranian gunboats, which threatened to board the vessel, in the Strait of Hormuz, before continuing on its way under military escort. The incident comes amid a tense standoff between the U.S. and Iran, and just days ahead of expected negotiations. The Stena Imperative was approached by three pairs of small armed boats belonging to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, approximately 16 nautical miles north of Oman's coast, the company said. The gunboats hailed the tanker by radio, ordering the captain "to stop the engines and prepare to be boarded," but the ship increased speed and maintained course, the firm added, stressing that it never entered Iranian territorial waters. Advertisement Advertisement "The vessel is now being escorted by a U.S. warship," Vanguard Tech said. U.S. Central Command issued a statement confirming the incident, saying, "Two IRGC boats and an Iranian Mohajer drone approached M/V Stena Imperative at high speeds and threatened to board and seize the tanker." CENTCOM spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins said the guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul immediately responded to the scene and escorted the ship with defensive air support from the U.S. Air Force. "The situation de-escalated as a result, and the U.S.-flagged tanker is proceeding safely," he said. The tanker was still on course for its destination in Bahrain on Tuesday afternoon, scheduled to arrive at the port Sitrah on Feb. 5, information from the MarineTraffic website showed. The U.S. tanker Stena Imperative is seen in a Feb. 4, 2024 file photo. / Credit: MarineTraffic.com/V. Tonic (MarineTraffic.com/V. Tonic) The British maritime security agency UKMTO had reported the incident earlier, without specifying the nationality of the ship nor of the boats that approached it, saying only that it had been "hailed on VHF by numerous small armed vessels," but ignored the request to stop and "continued on its planned route." Advertisement Advertisement "Authorities are investigating," UKMTO said in its statement, warning all vessels in the Strait of Hormuz "to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity." U.S. Central Command also confirmed Tuesday that U.S. forces shot down an Iranian Shahed-139 drone that flew towards a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, in the Arabian Sea earlier the same day. The Strait of Hormuz is a key passage for global transport of oil and liquefied natural gas, and it has been the scene of several incidents in the past amid tension between Iran and the West. Iran's Fars news agency, which is closely linked to the Revolutionary Guards, cited unnamed government officials on Tuesday as denying the report by Vanguard Tech, claiming a vessel was intercepted after it entered Iran's territorial waters without permission. A map shows the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, with Iran to the north and the UAE and Oman exclave Musandam to the south. / Credit: Getty/iStockphoto Tracking data from MarineTraffic showed the Imperative remained within Oman's maritime economic zone as it traversed the Strait. Advertisement Advertisement A senior Iranian official from the Revolutionary Guards threatened last week to block passage of the Strait in the event of a U.S. attack, and the Guards also held military exercises over the weekend in the strategic waterway. President Trump has threatened repeatedly that he could launch a new military strike on Iran over the country's brutal suppression of recent protests, or if it declines to negotiate a new deal on its nuclear program. Speaking to CBS News last week, Mr. Trump said "I have had" conversations with Iran in the last few days, and "I am planning" to have more. Mr. Trump said that, in those conversations, he "told them two things. No. 1, no nuclear. And No. 2, stop killing protesters. They're killing them by the thousands." Advertisement Advertisement At least 10 U.S. warships including an aircraft carrier and at least five destroyers were heading toward Iran's coastal waters as of last week, a deployment Mr. Trump has called an "armada," which he said he hopes he doesn't need to use. U.S. and Iranian officials are expected to hold talks at the end of this week. Some blood found in Savannah Guthrie's mom's home, sources say Democratic, Republican strategists react to stunning wins in Texas special elections Democrats react to Trump's push for Republicans to nationalize voting: "Outlandishly illegal" By Parisa Hafezi, Maha El Dahan and Tuvan Gumrukcu DUBAI, Feb 3 - Regional power United Arab Emirates urged Iran and the United States on Tuesday to use the resumption of nuclear talks this week to resolve a standoff that has led to mutual threats of air strikes, emphasizing that the Middle East does not need another war. Iran and the United States will discuss Iran's nuclear programme on Friday in Turkey, Iranian and U.S. officials told Reuters on Monday. U.S. President Donald Trump said that with big U.S. warships heading to Iran, "bad things" would probably happen if a deal could not be reached. Advertisement Advertisement A source familiar with the situation said on Tuesday that Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner would take part in the talks, along with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Kushner's plans. Ministers from other countries in the region are also expected to attend. An Iranian diplomatic source said Tehran's view of the talks is neither optimistic nor pessimistic, adding that the Islamic Republic's defensive capabilities are non-negotiable and that it is ready for any scenario. "It remains to be seen whether the United States also intends to conduct serious, result-oriented negotiations or not," the source said. Iranian sources have said Trump is also seeking to limit Iran's ballistic missile programme, which Iranian officials say is an essential component of the country's defence. Advertisement Advertisement Earlier the UAE, a highly influential Gulf Arab oil producer and close U.S. ally, said the region cannot afford another conflict. "I think that the region has gone through various calamitous confrontations," the UAE president's adviser Anwar Gargash told a panel at the World Governments Summit in Dubai. "I don't think we need another one, but I would like to see direct Iranian-American negotiations leading to understandings so that we don't have these issues every other day." Iran should rebuild its relationship with Washington to reach a wider geo-strategic deal which could help Tehran repair its economy ravaged by U.S. sanctions, Gargash said. Advertisement Advertisement IRAN FEARS US STRIKE MIGHT IMPERIL RULE, SOURCES SAY Gulf Arab states are worried that Iran will carry out its threat to target U.S. bases on their territory should Trump attack the Islamic Republic again. In June, the United States struck Iranian nuclear targets, joining in at the close of a 12-day Israeli bombing campaign. Since then, Tehran has said its uranium enrichment work - which it says is for peaceful, not military purposes - has stopped. Recent satellite imagery of two of the targeted sites, Isfahan and Natanz, appears to show new roofing over two destroyed buildings but no other signs of rebuilding, according to the imagery provided by Planet Labs and reviewed by Reuters. Advertisement Advertisement The meeting in Istanbul aims to revive diplomacy over the long-running dispute about Iran's nuclear programme and dispel fears of a new regional war. The U.S. naval buildup near Iran follows a violent crackdown against anti-government demonstrations last month. Trump, who stopped short of carrying out threats to intervene, has since demanded nuclear concessions from Iran and sent a flotilla to its coast. He said last week Iran was "seriously talking", while Tehran's top security official Ali Larijani said arrangements for negotiations were under way. The priority of the Istanbul talks is to avoid conflict and de-escalate tension, a regional official told Reuters. Regional powers including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates were also invited, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Irans leadership is increasingly worried a U.S. strike could break its grip on power by driving an already enraged public back onto the streets, according to six current and former officials. Officials told Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that public anger over last month's crackdown - the bloodiest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution-- has reached a point where fear is no longer a deterrent, four current officials briefed on the discussions said. Iranian sources told Reuters last week that Trump had demanded three conditions for resumption of talks: Zero enrichment of uranium in Iran, limits on Tehran's ballistic missile programme and ending its support for regional proxies. Iran has long said all three demands are unacceptable infringements of its sovereignty, but two Iranian officials told Reuters its clerical rulers saw the ballistic missile programme, rather than uranium enrichment, as the bigger obstacle. Advertisement Advertisement One Iranian official said: "Diplomacy is ongoing. For talks to resume, Iran says there should not be preconditions and that it is ready to show flexibility on uranium enrichment, including handing over 400 kg of highly enriched uranium (HEU), accepting zero enrichment under a consortium arrangement as a solution." Tehran's regional sway has been weakened by Israel's attacks on its proxies - from Hamas in Gaza to Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and militias in Iraq - as well as by the ousting of Iran's close ally, former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. (Additional reporting by Nayera Abdallah, Maha El Dahan, Jana Choukeir, Federico Maccioni and Parisa Hafeezi; Writing by Michael Georgy, Editing by Philippa Fletcher) An emotional day in court in the trial of a man accused of killing a UGA law student 25 years ago. Tara Bakers best friend got emotional as she testified about learning someone killed her classmate. I saw the headline, Student slain, Katherine Lahnstein testified. She told the jury how she reacted after learning someone killed her best friend and fellow UGA law school student in 2001. I fell down and then I started crying. And I dont know when I stopped, she testified. Advertisement Advertisement Lahnstein had studied with Baker the night before in the library in Athens and was supposed to call her once she made it home. She didnt call, so Tara called her. I think the last thing she ever said to me was that. I said, Hello, and she said, You did not call me. Prosecutors say that was the last thing Baker ever said to her because Edrick Faust murdered, raped and set her home on fire the next morning. It was a cold case until two GBI agents took another look at the case. Prosecutors say because of improved technology, they found Fausts DNA inside Baker. Fausts attorney says it doesnt mean he killed her. Advertisement Advertisement This guy is innocent. The evidence will show he is clearly innocent, said Ahmad Cruz. Cruz and the judge went back and forth a day after the judge found him in contempt for attempting to introduce a theory the court hadnt approved. I am handcuffed, Cruz told the judge. He wanted to know why he couldnt pursue a line of questioning, but the state could. We have restrictions on us that the state does not have, he said. The judge told him the state has filed motions and theyve had hearings for the states line of questions. The only reason that were having this discussion is because you have not filed the appropriate motions, Chief Judge Lisa Lott told Cruz. Advertisement Advertisement The back and forth between the judge and the Cruz went on for quite awhile. Both sides told the judge it will take six weeks to try this case. The judge said no way. She wants it to end much sooner. Faust faces 11 counts, including Malice Murder, Felony Murder, Rape, Burglary and 1st degree Arson. The trial resumes Wednesday. Channel 2 Action News will have a crew in Athens and will bring you the very latest. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Mark Kerrison/Getty Images On Monday, a Ugandan court dropped its case against the first man charged with aggravated homosexuality which is punishable by the death penalty under the countrys 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Act., The law, which is also commonly referred to as Kill the Gays, defines aggravated homosexuality as same-sex relations involving someone who is HIV-positive, a minor, or anyone deemed vulnerable. According to Human Rights Watch, the law categorizes all gay activity as nonconsensual, further criminalizing homosexuality in a country in which it was already illegal under a colonial penal code that made acts against the order of nature punishable by life in prison. Advertisement Advertisement In August 2023, a then-20-year-old man became the first Ugandan citizen to be charged with aggravated homosexuality after he was charged with having "unlawful sexual intercourse with a 41-year-old man. The mans lawyer, Douglas Mawari, told Reuters that, over more than two years worth of proceedings, prosecutors amended the indictment. Instead, they referenced Ugandas existing penal code, accusing him of having carnal knowledge against the order of nature. On Monday, the courts magistrate dropped the case upon ruling that the man is of unsound mind after a long detention on remand. Mawari added that although this ruling was delivered orally, a written version of the courts decision will also be available soon. Outside of aggravated homosexuality, Ugandas Anti-Homosexality Act also targets transgender people, criminalizing any person who identifies as anything contrary to the binary categories of male and female with up to a decade in prison. Meanwhile, anyone who engages in the offense of homosexuality can now be imprisoned for 10 years,while anyone found guilty of aiding in the promotion of homosexuality can be imprisoned for up to 20 years. A February 2024 report from the Ugandan nonprofit Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum (HRAPF) found that, at the time, at least 68 people have been arrested for sexuality-based offenses since June 2023, while 286 have been evicted from their homes. Advertisement Advertisement Despite then-U.S. President Joe Biden and other Western leaders condemning the Anti-Homosexuality Act upon its passage, other Western influences played a pivotal role in promoting the legislation particularly the evangelical, Arizona-based organization Family Watch International. According to the Southern Law Poverty Center, the group helped create Ugandas original Kill the Gays bill in 2009, which was eventually struck down in court soon after its passage in 2014. Get the best of whats queer. Sign up for Thems weekly newsletter here. Originally Appeared on them. The U.S. Department of Justice on Jan. 30 published over 3 million documents in accordance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Some of them had a direct connection to Ukraine. The files linked to late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein include email conversations with at least two modeling agencies in Ukraine, travel arrangements for women from Kyiv and Odesa, booking arrangements in the Hyatt hotel in downtown Kyiv allegedly involving the hotel's owner, a plan to purchase real estate in Lviv and the discussion of Ukraine's political scene during the 2019 presidential elections. Advertisement Advertisement The Kyiv Independent continues to review the documents published by the Department of Justice. The first findings are provided below. Ukrainian modeling agencies Two Kyiv-based modeling agencies are mentioned in the documents released by the DOJ. The agencies Linea 12 Models and L-Models were both founded in the 1990s and are still active today. In one email, a sender whose name is redacted tells Epstein that Linea 12 Models and L-Models were "the best" in Kyiv and that "all the other small agencies if you need I will find contacts but most of all its cheap escort." The same thread has photos of women attached, with an individual whose name is not shown choosing the women they had liked. Advertisement Advertisement In a separate letter, Epstein shares a contact for Yuliya Kiseleva, "who has around 400 girls for model agencies and wedding agencies based in Kyiv." Masha Manyuk, 58, a former Ukrainian model and TV presenter, has been running Linea 12 Models for nearly 30 years. Former model and TV host Masha Manyuk at Ukrainian Fashion Week in Kyiv, Ukraine, in 2011. (Masha&Models/Facebook) One of the emails, dated October 2010, shows Manyuk contacting Jean-Luc Brunel, a French model agent and longtime associate of Epstein, who had been charged with rape of minors and sexual harassment. He was found dead in his Paris prison cell in February 2022. In the email exchange, Manyuk and Brunel discuss a contract for a Ukrainian model, whom Brunel had met earlier in Paris. The discussion revolves around organizing her trip to the U.S. for a potential collaboration. Manyuk writes that the model is returning to Ukraine and asks about the best time for her to arrive in New York, the duration of the trip, and who will send the representation contract. Advertisement Advertisement Brunel forwarded the correspondence to Epstein. Manyuk described the email as a "standard, transparent letter" that she usually sends to decision-makers at modeling agencies in this case, it was a letter to Brunel, the owner of MC2 Model Management. "The point of the letter was to ask the American agency if they might be interested in representing a Ukrainian model abroad in America. Whether they would agree to take her to fashion week or not," Manyuk told the Kyiv Independent, adding that at the time, none of the agency's models were selected for the New York trip. Manyuk says she has known Brunel for 20 years. He had opened the Ukrainian branch of the French agency Karin Models and would visit Ukraine once a year, or every few years, for scouting purposes, Manyuk adds. Advertisement Advertisement "I didn't know Epstein or about his connections (with Brunel)," she said. "It was very strange to me because I saw (Brunel) for many years, and there was never even the slightest hint." Brunel was accused of sexual abuse in the late 1980s, in the early 2000s, and in the late 2010s. Another Ukrainian modeling agency mentioned in the files L-Models is co-owned by Stas Yankelevskiy. Yankelevskiy told the Kyiv Independent that L-Models, its owners and representatives, "have never had any involvement in escort services, the organization of escorts, or any similar activities, including in any context related to the case of Jeffrey Epstein." Advertisement Advertisement According to him, the agency also didn't collaborate with Kiseleva, who is mentioned in the letter. Ukrainian women The emails mention names and photos of several Ukrainian women, including those of models, as well as deal with planning of tens of round-trip flights to and from Kyiv and Odesa. In April 2011, Epstein received an email from an unknown person with three flight options from New York to Kyiv. All flights were with the Russian airline Aeroflot and had layovers in Moscow. It's unclear who the flights were for. Other emails also mention a stay at the five-star Hyatt hotel in Kyiv. In 2012, Epstein's former executive assistant Lesley Groff wrote to an unknown recipient that Thomas Pritzker, the executive chairman of hotel chain Hyatt, had booked a room for them "for the nights of Oct. 8-11." An email mentions a stay at the five-star Hyatt hotel in Kyiv, Ukraine. (United States Department of Justice/The Kyiv Independent) Hyatt Regency Kyiv in an undated photo. (hyatt.com) Previously released Epstein files have shown a connection between Epstein and Pritzker. Advertisement Advertisement In August 2018, Groff again appeared to have coordinated round-trip travel for women, with one of the destinations being the southern city of Odesa. In an email to one of the women in 2018, Groff writes that Epstein had arranged an apartment for her one-week stay. In a separate email, a man named Brock Pierce, allegedly the co-founder of Tether cryptocurrency, tells Epstein that "a boat in Atingua full of amazing Ukraine's finest" is waiting for him. Purchase of a Lviv building The Epstein files also include extensive correspondence in 2017 about the purchase of a mansion in Lviv between Epstein, Ukrainian-born art dealer Anastasiya Siroochenko, Michael Stein, an accountant at Goldglit & Company, and Jon Tomlinson, who appears to be a real estate agent. Advertisement Advertisement They did not respond to requests for comment. The building, which is located on 24 Borys Romanytsky St, was bought in 2015 by Siroochenko's mother, Tetyana, for $128,500 from Olga Kravchuk, a Ukrainian woman based in Poland. The funds were provided by a company called Lviv Enterprises LLC. Siroochenko's mother then gifted the building to her daughter, who intended to register it as Lviv Enterprises LLC's property. "(Anastasiya) and her mother have discussed several ideas for the use of the building, one of them being a pilates studio, which Tetyana would oversee," Stein wrote. "...Because (Anastasiya) is rarely in the Ukraine, finishing her university studies, and running Sublime Art, the process is happening over a period of a few years as her time allows." Advertisement Advertisement In one of the emails, Epstein alleged that the seller of the building, "Olga (Kravchuk) was a criminal type and wondered if she had fled Ukraine. Another email mentions that in 2015, Siroochenko transferred $400,000. Part of the money was used to buy the building on 24 Borys Romanytsky St, while $199,999 was an investment in a company called Curation Media. Ukrainian presidents In 2019, some email conversations began focusing on the ongoing presidential campaign in which then-President Petro Poroshenko was competing against an up-and-coming challenger, Volodymyr Zelensky. In May 2019, Epstein instructed an unknown interlocutor, presumably a Ukrainian woman, to "start following" Ukrainian politics, including the topics of Zelensky, parliament, and corruption. The email implies that this will contribute to the persons future success. The person answers that it would be interesting to follow. Epstein replies with a sobering comment, pointing out its not about fun, and apparently encouraging his interlocutor to engage in corruption. "Yes, it is funny, but sophisticated corruption," he said. "Huge amounts of money will be made. Huge. Id like to see you as a female oligarch." Advertisement Advertisement In another email, a sender whose name was redacted wrote on June 10, 2019, that he was "visiting Zelensky this Thursday." The conversation included former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers. Petro Poroshenko (L) debates with Volodymyr Zelensky (R) during a presidential election debate at Olimpiyski stadium in Kyiv, Ukraine on April 19, 2019. (Sergei Chuzavkov/AFP via Getty Images) Epstein and then Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak, an ally of the country's Russia-friendly Prime Minister Robert Fico, discussed Zelensky's victory over Poroshenko. "How do you view the Ukrainian election?" Epstein wrote. "The Russians hate Poroshenko, so this could be good for helping to solve the conflict," Lajcak responded. "But I have no idea if (Zelensky) is capable to run the country." Epstein suggested that it "seems like a perfect place for you to intercede." "I'm trying to," Lajcak added. Note from the author: Hello there! This is Kateryna Denisova, the author of this piece. The Kyiv Independent doesn't have a wealthy owner or a paywall. Instead, we rely on readers like you to keep our journalism funded. If you liked this article, please consider joining our community today. Thank you. Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. By Dan Peleschuk and Max Hunder KYIV, Feb 3 (Reuters) - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Russia on Tuesday of exploiting a U.S.-backed energy truce to stockpile munitions and using them to attack Ukraine with hundreds of drones and a record number of ballistic missiles, a day before peace talks. Zelenskiy said Ukraine was waiting for U.S. reaction to Russia's overnight attack that damaged Ukraine's energy infrastructure, as Washington had prompted a short-lived ceasefire in attacks on energy targets. Advertisement Advertisement U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters Russian President Vladimir Putin had made an agreement that expired on Sunday. "It was Sunday to Sunday, and it opened up and he hit them hard last night," he said at the White House. "He kept his word on that ... we'll take anything, because it's really, really cold over there. But it was on Sunday, and he went from Sunday to Sunday." Asked if he was disappointed, Trump replied: "I want him to end the war." The attack knocked out heating in cities, including the capital Kyiv, during freezing temperatures, even as Ukrainian negotiators headed to Abu Dhabi for a second round of U.S.-brokered trilateral talks set for Wednesday and Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement "It was a deliberate attack against energy infrastructure, involving a record number of ballistic missiles," Zelenskiy wrote on X, a day after saying Moscow had largely observed the moratorium agreed by the two sides on energy facilities. "The Russian army exploited the U.S. proposal to briefly halt strikes - not to support diplomacy but to stockpile missiles." PRESSURE ON UKRAINE Ukraine is under U.S. pressure to agree to a peace deal while attacks by Russia on its energy system appear intended to freeze Ukrainians into submission. The first round of trilateral talks in late January brought no movement on territorial issues, with Moscow demanding Kyiv cede more land in eastern Ukraine, which it refuses to do. Advertisement Advertisement Sharpening his tone from previous days, Zelenskiy said on Tuesday the work of Ukraine's negotiators would be "adjusted accordingly" after the attack, but offered no details. Speaking to reporters in Kyiv at a press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, he said Ukraine would approach Washington to discuss new consequences for Russia. In his nightly video address, Zelenskiy said: "We expect a response from the United States to the Russian strikes. It was America's proposal to stop strikes on energy infrastructure during diplomatic efforts and the cold winter period." Zelenskiy said Ukraine had been expected to make concessions, but it was also up to Russia to make concessions, mainly "to stop the aggression." Advertisement Advertisement And if the United States and Europe did not have the power to stop Russian strikes, he asked, "then who will believe there is the power to guarantee that the war will not reignite again?" NEW ATTACKS ON ENERGY SYSTEM Ukrainian officials said Russia launched 450 drones and over 70 missiles in strikes that wounded at least 12 people and struck apartment blocks and energy infrastructure as temperatures hovered around -20 Celsius (-4 Fahrenheit). An early evening strike on Tuesday in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia killed two 18-year-olds and injured nine people. Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said 1,142 apartment buildings in Kyiv remained without heating and officials in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, said 270,000 residents were in unheated apartments. Advertisement Advertisement "The goal is obvious: to cause maximum destruction and leave the city without heat in severe cold," Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov wrote on Telegram, adding that a thermal plant in the city had been badly damaged. Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said a power plant in Kyiv's eastern suburbs had also been seriously damaged and officials were considering how to redirect resources to restore heating. Russia and Ukraine said last week they had halted strikes on each other's energy infrastructure, but they disagreed on the timeframe for the moratorium. The Kremlin said it expired on Sunday. Kyiv said it should last until this Friday. Much of Ukraine has been gripped by a new wave of cold after what experts said was the coldest January in six years. Families languish in frigid and darkened apartments during power outages and cuts to heating that last hours and days. Advertisement Advertisement Kyiv resident Natalia Hlobenko, 35, described how she rushed to cover her 11-year-old son just on Tuesday before an explosion sprayed her apartment with broken glass. "Where is this ceasefire?" said a teary Hlobenko, bundled in her windowless apartment. "Honestly, how much can we take?" STICKING POINT REMAINS IN TALKS Zelenskiy has previously said Ukraine, which is struggling to stop grinding Russian battlefield advances, was ready for "substantive" talks. Moscow and Kyiv blame each other for the failure to agree a peace deal. Territory remains the main sticking point, with Ukraine resisting Russia's demands that it cede the remaining 20% of the eastern region of Donetsk that Moscow has been unable to conquer since its 2022 invasion. Advertisement Advertisement Ukraine's lead negotiator said Ukrainian officials would first hold bilateral talks with U.S. officials in Abu Dhabi to discuss U.S. security guarantees for any peace deal and a post-war reconstruction package, and later hold a trilateral meeting involving Russian negotiators. (Additional reporting by Yurii Kovalenko, Anna Pruchnicka and Yuliia Dysa; Writing by Dan Peleschuk and David Brunnstrom; Editing by Daniel Flynn, Timothy Heritage and Ron Popeski) DAKAR, Feb 2 (Reuters) - The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Congo will send its first team to monitor a ceasefire between Congos government and the AFC/M23 rebel group in the coming days, Qatars foreign ministry said on Monday after hosting talks in Doha. Qatar said the team would be deployed to Uvira, a strategic city in eastern Congo that AFC/M23 fighters captured in December during a rapid offensive, and which Congolese forces and allied militias reentered last month, restoring government control after the rebels announced they would withdraw. The announcement late Monday is a sign of progress in Doha-mediated direct talks between Congo and the AFC/M23 rebels, who last year seized more land than they had ever held before in eastern Congo. The United States is hosting separate talks between Congo and Rwanda, which the United Nations and Western powers say backs AFC/M23, an allegation Kigali denies. Advertisement Advertisement The Qatari foreign ministry said on Monday that Congo and M23 had agreed on detailed terms of reference for the ceasefire monitoring mechanism created under an agreement reached in October, and reaffirmed their commitments under the broader peace deal framework signed in November. The latest push to activate ceasefire monitoring comes amid persistent fighting in the east. Over the weekend explosiveladen drones targeted the airport serving the northeastern Congolese city of Kisangani, Congolese authorities said. If confirmed to be an AFC/M23 operation, it would be the furthest west the group has struck as part of its offensive against the government in Kinshasa. (Reporting by Clement Bonnerot in Dakar and Menna Alaa El-Din in Cairo; Writing by Clement Bonnerot; Editing by Robbie Corey-Boulet and Lincoln Feast) The Oregon Senate meets in the east wing of the Oregon State Capitol in Salem. (Photo by Ron Cooper/Oregon Capital Chronicle) Whether youre wondering when the state will finally fix that pothole, whether new restrictions on artificial intelligence are coming or if tips will be taxed despite new federal policies, what happens at the Oregon Capitol has impacts on all Oregonians. On Monday, the Oregon Legislature convened in Salem for a month-long legislative session, during which elected officials will pass state laws and decide which agencies and programs receive more funding and which face cuts in the states 2025-27 budget. Advertisement Advertisement This year, Oregons mostly-Democratic legislature is expected to craft bills addressing the federal governments immigration crackdown and Oregons cost of living, as well as a gap in the states budget caused by a new tax and spending law President Donald Trump signed in July. How does that process work? Lets start with the basics. What is the Oregon Legislature? The Oregon Legislature is the body that makes state laws. It consists of the House of Representatives, which has 60 members elected for two-year terms, and the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms. To find the lawmakers representing you, visit the states interactive map. Advertisement Advertisement Democrats hold 18 of 30 seats in the state Senate and 37 of 60 in the state House. That gives them the three-fifths supermajority needed to approve new taxes or fees or increase existing ones without Republican support. Each representative represents a geographic district of about 70,600 Oregonians, while senators represent districts of about 141,000. How often does the Oregon Legislature meet? In odd years, the Oregon Legislature has 160 days to craft laws and pass a budget for the next two years. In even years, lawmakers have 35 days to make laws and adjust the two-year budget they crafted from the previous year. If an emergency arises when the Oregon Legislature isnt in session such as in late August, when Gov. Tina Kotek called on lawmakers to address a major transportation maintenance funding gap the governor may call for a special session, mandating that lawmakers come back to Salem to resolve an issue. How does a bill become law? Each bill starts out as a legislative concept introduced by a lawmaker or committee. Once introduced, a bill gets assigned a number and then the bill is sent to a committee for a public hearing. Advertisement Advertisement There are dozens of committees between the Oregon Senate and House, each of which focuses on specific issues such as education, government, labor and housing. Committees have bipartisan membership and hold public hearings on bills to hear concerns from constituents and stakeholders. Committees dont take action on the bill until a work session, when a majority of members can vote to advance it to the floor or effectively kill the idea. This year, nearly all bills that havent had a work session scheduled by Feb. 9 will be unable to advance. Members of the Joint Committee on Addiction and Community Safety Response listen to testimony about drug overdoses on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. (Photo by Ben Botkin/Oregon Capital Chronicle) After the work session, the bill goes to the full House and Senate for a vote, referred to as the bills third reading. Most bills need a simple majority of 31 votes in the House and 16 in the Senate, though bills that raise revenue need more. If the bill passes, it is sent to the opposite chamber and undergoes the same process. While Democrats have the majority, Republicans have the power to block legislation from coming to the floor of the House or Senate by skipping floor sessions because the House needs 40 members present and the Senate 20 to conduct business. However, lawmakers who skip at least 10 days of floor sessions cannot run for reelection because of a voter-approved constitutional amendment intended to block frequent walkouts. Advertisement Advertisement If a bill passes both chambers, it goes to Kotek for approval. The governor may allow a bill to become law without her signature, or she can decide to veto the bill. A veto may be overridden by a two-thirds vote of both chambers. Want to get involved? In-person, virtual options are available One of the most direct ways to share your concerns about a policy is by testifying. To register to testify, you can call 1-833-588-4500, or fill out an online form using the Oregon Legislative Information System website, also known as OLIS. The online form is found at the OLIS page for a specific bill or at a committees agenda posted on OLIS under a Register to testify tab at the top of the webpage. Online testimony registration opens when a public hearing is scheduled and it closes 30 minutes before the meeting begins. Advertisement Advertisement People who need special accommodations to testify should contact committee staff 24 hours before the meeting. If an interpreter or translation is needed, share your request with languageaccess@oregonlegislature.gov or call 503-986-1813 within at least three business days before the hearing. Next to the Register to testify tab is a Submit testimony tab, where Oregonians can share their concerns in writing. Written testimony is accepted for up to 48 hours following a bills hearing. All information, except email addresses, included in written testimony is public record. To watch a livestream or a recording of a public hearing or floor session, click the Video tab on the OLIS homepage. This page includes links to live events as well as archives of past meetings. Oregonians can also attend rallies, follow their lawmakers on social media and email lawmakers directly. A lawmakers email can be found on their homepage on the OLIS website. Can I visit the Oregon State Capitol? The Oregon State Capitol, located at 900 Court St. NE, in Salem, is open to the public from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Oregon State Capitol rotunda is now open to the public after years of construction. (Photo by Mia Maldonado/Oregon Capital Chronicle) The public entrance is on State Street on the south side of the Capitol. Weapons are prohibited inside the building. Visitors must go through a metal detector and present their bags, packages and other items to security upon entering. A help desk is located upon entry. Advertisement Advertisement For the first time in years, visitors can see the buildings iconic rotunda after most parts in the historic building were under construction to retrofit it to withstand earthquakes. To plan your visit, visit the Oregon State Capitol website for more information about parking, events and accessibility concerns. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The Illini Republicans club at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is facing backlash after posting an illustration on social media of a masked gunman holding a weapon to a kneeling mans head alongside the caption, Only traitors help invaders. The Instagram post, published Friday, also says Alex Pretti and Renee Good who were both fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis last month had voided their liberties the moment they decided they were above the law. Our nation has come under invasion from the masses of the third world and those incompatible with Western civilization, the post says. Now, the current administration, as duly elected by its people to do so, has taken a stand against this invasion. Advertisement Advertisement The illustration was later deleted from the post, as first reported by the Daily Illini. But it prompted a complaint to the universitys Title VI Office, and drew a slew of criticism from U. of I. students online, who argue that it glorified the deaths of Pretti and Good as well as the unrest engulfing Minnesota. My first initial reaction was just disgust, horror and nausea, said sophomore Rylee Graves, 19, a member of Illini Democrats. For them to say that that post was not violent or they werent condoning violence is a lie, and they know exactly what theyre doing. The image, set against the backdrop of the American flag, depicts a bearded man with his back turned as the gunman looms above him. Some students said that both the man and the scene resembled the Jan. 24 killing of Pretti, who was shot multiple times in the back. Illini Republicans wrote in an email to the Tribune that the image was removed to prevent misinterpretation while we review concerns, but it was not an admission of wrongdoing. They declined a request for an interview. Advertisement Advertisement We take concerns raised by others seriously and are committed to engaging in good-faith dialogue while exercising our right to express political viewpoints as a registered student organization, the club wrote. The claim that the post glorifies or endorses violence is incorrect, the club added. At no point did it advocate harm, violence or extrajudicial action against any individual or group. The post is under review by the universitys Title VI Office, which investigates civil rights complaints, according to a statement from a U. of I. spokesperson. As a registered student organization, Illini Republicans are required to follow the student code of conduct, but U. of I. cannot discipline them for the viewpoint or content of protected speech, the spokesperson added. Hate and intolerance are not aligned with our university values, the spokesperson said. We strive to be a campus where every member of our community has a transformative and positive experience. Advertisement Advertisement More than 1,600 people have commented on the post since Friday. It was posted the same day as ICE Out demonstrations across the U.S., including a walkout on the Urbana-Champaign campus. The intensified immigration enforcement in Minneapolis, dubbed Operation Metro Surge, began in December. Good was shot during an encounter with agents Jan. 7, and Pretti was shot Jan. 24. The Trump administration said the use of force was justified but videos of both incidents contradict those claims. When Lillie Salas saw the Illini Republicans post, her emotions fluctuated from disbelief to outrage. Its jarring knowing that some of her classmates felt comfortable using phrases such as foreign invaders to refer to immigrants, the 22-year-old senior said. Citizens who stand against Trumps immigration arent traitors either, she added. She said that type of rhetoric is racist and shouldnt be acceptable on campus. Advertisement Advertisement I honestly felt very concerned and scared, Salas said. It kind of hits differently to see groups so close to you spewing hate so outspokenly. I know a lot of immigrants who are the most dedicated, hardworking people Ive ever met in my life. Its a feeling Salas, who is Mexican American, said shes grown accustomed to during Trumps immigration crackdown. Shes sensed anxiety on campus, particularly with her Hispanic friends whove told her about feeling frozen in time and stuck. Cat Lodico, a 20-year-old sophomore, likewise said shes seen the stress her friends who are international students have faced in recent months. They worry that if they do or say the wrong thing, their visa will get revoked, and they wont be able to continue their studies. U. of I. has one of the largest international student populations in the country. The Illini Republicans post calls immigrants without legal status enemies of the American people. Advertisement Advertisement Although the main focus is studying and getting good grades and the normal college life, because of whats going on in the country now, there is that anxiety and worriedness in the back of everyones mind, Lodico said, adding that her mom also immigrated to the U.S. from China. Lodico said as an engineering major, shes not the most politically involved, but she tries to stay informed. Even still, she said she was shocked and genuinely concerned that people her age could agree with Illini Republicans post. Saying we stand with enforcement of the law, like is it really lawful for random (immigration agents) to be killing other people, she said. I just feel like its so backward. College campuses have increasingly become flash points in national debates over free speech. Advertisement Advertisement In the wake of mass student protests over the war in Gaza in 2024, Republican lawmakers have criticized elite colleges and progressive campus culture. The Trump administration froze millions in federal research funding at universities, including at Northwestern University, accusing them of failing to address antisemitism. Meanwhile, in September, the killing of Charlie Kirk a right-wing activist and founder of Turning Point USA ignited a surge of conservative activism on campuses. Lodico said it seems hypocritical for Illini Republicans to seemingly make light of the deaths of Pretti and Good, given the outcry over Kirks killing. When people die from ICE suddenly it doesnt matter? Suddenly its valid to shoot people? The logic is not logic-ing, you know, she said. _____ Workers not washing their hands enough, sink inadequacies and various food safety violations caused an Aventura kosher supermarket to fail state inspection last week. Wednesdays visit to Kosher Kingdom Supermarket, 3017 NW 199th St., by Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services inspectors Lourdes Chantez and Carolyn Dragone included a flurry of Stop Sale Orders and ended with Re-Inspection Required, the designation of failure. READ MORE: Bugs in macaroni, swarms of flies among South Florida restaurant issues While their restaurant-inspecting counterparts in the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation can close places that fail inspection, thats not an arrow in these Ag inspectors quivers. They can put Stop Use Orders on equipment and areas, however, and that happened during this inspection. Advertisement Advertisement Heres some of what they saw: In the food area, an employee washed dishes without sanitizing them. At least the dishes got washed. In the meat area, a bandsaw, knives and cutting boards werent cleaned after four hours of use. Food service area slicers also werent cleaned within four hours after first slicing. The bakery areas large and small mixers have a buildup on the underside of the paddle attachment. In the bakery, an employee was frosting cakes without gloves and touching the frosting. Even when those working with food don gloves, theyre required to wash their hands before doing so. The inspectors saw that didnt happen in the food processing area, the pizza area and the bakery area. Advertisement Advertisement Then again, the pizza area didnt have soap or paper towels at the handwash sink. The bakery area went that one worse: no soap, no paper towels and the hot water turned off at the valve. The hot dog cart area didnt have soap, towels or hot water at the handwash sink because it didnt have a working handwash sink. An unplumbed hand sink on cart was fixed for immediate use. Establishment has 30 days to properly plumb a hand sink or to move the hot dog cart to an area with hand sink. Also, whether restaurant or supermarket, nothings supposed to be in a handwash sink but the dirt, water and soap from your hands. So, each of these counts as a no-no: an employee peeling hard-boiled eggs over items left thawing in the food processing area handwash sink; meat residue in the meat department handwash sink; and utensils stored in the pizza area handwash sink. The path to the sink must be clear, too. No rolling rack stored in front of the handwash sink as in the bakery or trash can in front of the hand sink as in the sushi area. Kosher Kingdom Supermarket, 3017 NW 199th St. aka Aventura Dr. (Google Maps via Google Earth) More things you dont want to see in a meat department: Multiple frozen meats left on the preparation table to thaw at ambient temperature overnight. When the manager returned, all the frozen meats were put in the walk-in cooler, under refrigeration, which is where all thawing should be done. Advertisement Advertisement Throughout the kitchen, bakery and meat departments, in-use wet wiping cloths were placed on preparation tables where food is exposed (instead of) in sanitizer buckets. The bakery areas three-compartment sink has old food residue and stains. Bakery shelves had old food residue and old food residue was accumulated on the bottom rung of the mixer and on the bakery floor. The inspectors saw a customer touching various cookies and muffins with bare hands in the self service area. Stop Sales zapped seven cookies and muffins. Multiple cans found to be dented on the seam on the retail shelves led to Stop Sales on three cans. Advertisement Advertisement Fruit in the retail display cooler for four hours after being cut in the morning measured 42 to 47 degrees instead of being at or under 41 degrees. Sprouts in the retail cooler measured 42 to 46 degrees. Stop Sales on the fruit and sprouts. Meatloaf cooked the day before still measured 44 degrees despite time in the walk-in cooler: Stop Sale. Same for beef in the walk-in cooler that hadnt properly cooled. At the food service area, five prepared items in the display case had an internal temperature of 43-50 degrees, bringing down the Stop Sale lightning. China and Uruguay have moved to deepen their strategic partnership despite pressure from United States President Donald Trump to keep Chinese influence out of Latin America. The two countries signed a dozen cooperation agreements on Tuesday in areas such as science, technology, and trade following a meeting between Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in Beijing. Orsi said in a post on social media that Uruguay is pursuing an active international engagement, strengthening long-term ties, and creating new opportunities for the countrys development. Advertisement Advertisement Xi spoke to the Uruguayan leader about the need to promote a multipolar world and inclusive economic globalisation while working together for common development as they deepen their comprehensive strategic partnership, according to a Chinese readout of the meeting. Orsis seven-day trip to China began on Sunday and will next take him to Shanghai. A 150-person delegation, including business leaders and other government officials, is accompanying the president. His trip is being closely watched as he becomes the first Latin American leader to visit China since US special forces abducted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a bloody night raid on Caracas in early January. Orsi said in the immediate aftermath of Maduros abduction that Uruguay rejected the use of military intervention but later added that his removal was good news, insofar as the authoritarian regime ceases to exist and democracy emerges, according to local media. Advertisement Advertisement Even so, Orsis dealings with China could still rile up Trump, who is trying to reassert US dominance over the Western Hemisphere. As part of this vision, the US aims to keep the region free of hostile foreign incursion a thinly veiled reference to China according to the White Houses November 2025 National Security Strategy. William Yang, senior analyst for Northeast Asia at the International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera that Orsi was signalling to the US that he would not be deterred from pursuing ties with China despite Trumps warnings. By bringing a delegation of 150 people, including business leaders, with him, the trip sends a message that China remains the top economic and trading partner for countries in Latin America, and they remain committed to continuing their engagement with Beijing, Yang said. Advertisement Advertisement China is a top export market for Uruguayan exports such as beef, soya bean and dairy, which were valued at $3.49bn last year, according to information released on Orsis Facebook account. Uruguay also imported $2.8bn in goods from China last year. Orsi is not the only leader willing to reach out to China regardless of upsetting Washington. The Uruguayan leaders trip follows recent visits by United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and French President Emmanuel Macron. Yang said it was important to note that this trend doesnt mean countries are initiating a fundamental shift away from the US. Advertisement Advertisement Rather, they are seeking to recalibrate the distance between themselves and the worlds top two economies, he said. China has also made use of the meetings with world leaders to send the message that it is a reliable diplomatic partner and one that prioritises building relationships unlike the Trump administration, Yang added. The US has shot down an Iranian drone that was aggressively approaching its aircraft carrier in the Middle East, the military has said. An F35 stealth warplane shot down the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) as it headed towards the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, according to a US military spokesman. The UAV was a Shahed-139 drone, which can carry an explosive warhead. An F-35C fighter jet from Abraham Lincoln shot down the Iranian drone in self-defence and to protect the aircraft carrier and personnel on board, Central Command spokesman Captain Tim Hawkins said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement The incident threatens to escalate the standoff between Iran and the US, which has amassed a significant military force in the region in response to Tehrans lethal crackdown on protests last month. Donald Trump is now threatening to use military force against the regime unless it enters negotiations about its stockpile of nuclear material and ballistic missile production. The incident happened on the same day an American-flagged ship was approached by Iranian regime gunboats, risking a further escalation. The Stena Imperative, an oil and chemicals tanker, was challenged by six armed vessels in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday. Advertisement Advertisement According to the British maritime security firm Vanguard Tech, the machine gun-mounted boats approached the ship in pairs and ordered it by radio to stop its engines and prepare to be boarded. The Danish-owned but US-flagged ship, which was in international waters about 16 nautical miles off Oman, ignored the command and increased speed. An American destroyer the USS McFaul responded with support from the US Air Force and escorted the tanker, which is now proceeding safely, Captain Hawkins said. The six armed boats belonged to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC), Irans elite ideological military force which is ultra-loyal to the ayatollahs. Advertisement Advertisement Last week, the IRGC threatened to carry out naval drills in the Strait of Hormuz, which the US warned against and it appears they were called off. It has also threatened to block the Strait in the event of a war. The narrow sea lane is a key passage for global transport of oil and liquefied natural gas, and has been the scene of several incidents in the past. b' ' Last year, the IRGC seized a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker, and before that a Portuguese-flagged vessel. In 2019, they seized the British-flagged Stena Impero for alleged navigational misbehaviour, prompting the UK Government to accuse Tehran of breaching international law. Advertisement Advertisement The IRGC infamously captured six Royal Marines and two Royal Navy personnel when they were training Iraq river patrol units in 2004. Iranian authorities disputed Vanguard Techs report of a security incident in the Strait of Hormuz, saying a vessel that entered territorial waters without authorisation departed immediately after being warned. Officials told the Fars news agency, which is affiliated with the IRGC, that monitoring units spotted the vessel entering Iranian territorial waters on Tuesday afternoon and requested the necessary permits for passage. The ship lacked any legal authorisation to be present in these waters, the officials said. Therefore, it was warned, and the ship immediately left Iranian waters after receiving the warning. Advertisement Advertisement Irans hardline Kayhan newspaper called for the closure of the Strait of Hormuz last week, claiming the Islamic Republic has a legal right under international law to block the strategic waterway. The newspaper, whose editor is directly appointed by supreme leader Ali Khamenei, said Iran could close the Strait based on the right of reciprocal action or retaliation recognised in international law. When the enemy has drawn the sword, we are not supposed to greet them with a diplomatic smile, the paper wrote. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, confirmed the drone was shot down by the US navy to protect our US Personnel and equipment in the region. The White House confirmed an F35 jet shot down the Iranian drone - Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto [Central Command] make the decision to shoot down that Iranian drone, Mrs Leavitt said. It was unmanned, it was acting aggressively towards our USS Lincoln. Advertisement Advertisement Mrs Leavitt said Mr Trump remains committed to pursuing diplomacy but it takes two to tango. You need a willing partner to engage, she said. And so thats something the president and special envoy [Steve] Witkoff are exploring and discussing right now. She reiterated that all options remain on the table including the use of military force. Meanwhile, Iran demanded that this weeks talks with the US are held in Oman not Turkey, and that their scope is narrowed to nuclear issues only, a regional source said on Tuesday, casting doubt on whether they will go ahead as planned. The talks are currently scheduled for Friday in Istanbul. Regional players have pushed for a resolution to the standoff. Advertisement Advertisement Mrs Leavitt told Fox News that talks with Iran were still scheduled to take place later this week. Try full access to The Telegraph free today. Unlock their award-winning website and essential news app, plus useful tools and expert guides for your money, health and holidays. An Iranian drone was shot down as it "aggressively approached" an American aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea on Tuesday, a US military spokesman has said. An F-35C stealth fighter jet which took off from the USS Abraham Lincoln warship shot down the drone "in self-defence" to protect the aircraft carrier and its personnel, US Central Command spokesman Capt Tim Hawkins said. The ship was approximately 500 miles from the Iranian coast when the drone approached it with "unclear intent". Advertisement Advertisement No US equipment was damaged and no service members were harmed. It comes as the US continues to build up a military presence in the region, with tensions high between Washington and Tehran. US President Donald Trump has threatened to take military action against Iran if it does not negotiate an agreement to restrict its nuclear programme. He previously raised the prospect of intervening during Tehran's deadly crackdown on anti-government demonstrations. Speaking after the downing of the Iranian drone, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News that negotiations between the US and Iran are still scheduled for later this week. Advertisement Advertisement She said Trump "remains committed to always pursuing diplomacy first", but added he "has always a range of options on the table, and that includes the use of military force". Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has previously warned that any attack on the country would spark a "regional war". Tehran has not commented on Tuesday's drone incident. In a separate incident on Tuesday, the US military said Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces had "harassed a US-flagged, US-crewed merchant vessel" in the Strait of Hormuz - the world's busiest oil shipping channel. Advertisement Advertisement Military support "de-escalated" the situation and the tanker proceeded safely, Capt Hawkins said. Also on Tuesday, Leavitt said US special envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump's most senior overseas envoy, will attend the talks on behalf of the White House. US media had previously reported he would meet Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Istanbul on Friday, with the foreign ministers of Egypt, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates also invited. But US news website Axios has since cited two sources as saying Tehran wanted the venue moved to Oman, with only Iranian and US officials present. Advertisement Advertisement The US had agreed to this request, the website reported, citing an Arab source. The BBC has reached out to the White House for comment. Earlier on Tuesday, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran was ready to negotiate with the US "provided that a suitable environment exists". Ahead of the planned talks, Washington has repeatedly reminded Tehran of the US strikes on Iran last year, which Trump said had "obliterated" the country's nuclear enrichment facilities. He said a fresh attack would be "far worse" than those air strikes, which were launched last June during Israel's 12-day war with Iran. Advertisement Advertisement The Israeli military also targeted Iran's nuclear facilities and scientists during a short direct conflict, as well as its military commanders and missile arsenal. Tehran responded to the strikes by launching hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel. It also carried out a missile attack on a major US air base in Qatar. Iran has insisted its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful and denies that it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons. Last week, Trump told reporters at the White House that Iranian officials "do want to make a deal", and that they must commit to "no nuclear" and to "stop killing protesters". Advertisement Advertisement The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) has said it has confirmed the killing of 6,424 protesters, 152 children, 214 people associated with the government, and 58 bystanders. It is also investigating reports of another 11,280 deaths. Norway-based Iran Human Rights has warned that the final toll could exceed 25,000. Iranian authorities have acknowledged that at least 3,117 people were killed, but said the majority were members of the security forces or bystanders killed by "rioters". The unrest was sparked by anger over the collapse of the Iranian currency and soaring cost of living, but it quickly developed into demands for political change. Advertisement Advertisement Khamenei described the unrest as "sedition" orchestrated by the US and Israel. The U.S. military shot down an Iranian drone on Feb. 3 that "aggressively" approached an aircraft carrier in the Middle East "with unclear intent," according to U.S. Central Command. The USS Abraham Lincoln was in the Arabian Sea around 500 miles from Iran's southern coast when an Iranian Shahed-139 drone approached the ship, Capt. Tim Hawkins, a Central Command spokesperson, said in a statement to USA TODAY. A fighter jet launched from the aircraft shot down the drone "in self-defense," according to Hawkins. No American servicemembers were harmed, and no equipment was damaged during the incident, the statement continued. Advertisement Advertisement According to the statement, Iranian forces "harassed" a U.S.-flagged merchant vessel with an American crew on board in the Strait of Hormuz in a separate incident hours later. Two Iranian military ships and a drone had approached the American ship, which is named Stena Imperative, "at high speeds and threatened to board and seize the tanker," Hawkins said. The USS McFaul, a guided missile destroyer that is also deployed in the area, escorted the vessel with support from the Air Force, and "the situation de-escalated," according to the statement. Anti-government protests in Iran appeared to accelerate on Jan. 9, sparked by anger over the collapse of the country's currency and a broader sense of hopelessness and disillusionment with Tehran's clerical leaders. The uptick in unrest also comes as President Donald Trump warned Iran's authorities against killing peaceful protesters, saying Washington "will come to their rescue." See the scenes in Iran, beginning here on the streets amid anti-government unrest in Tehran, Iran, in this still image obtained from social media video released on January 8, 2026. Witnesses told Reuters protesters gathered in the streets on Thursday, January 8, however this video's date taken has not been verified. Protesters gather as vehicles burn, amid evolving anti-government unrest, in Tehran, Iran, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video released on January 9, 2026. People tear down an Iranian flag after it was taken down in Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran, in this still image obtained from a social media video released on January 8, 2026. Date when the video was filmed could not be confirmed. An overturned car and multiple fires burn as protesters chant outside a police station, during Iran's biggest demonstrations in three years over economic hardship, in Azna, Lorestan Province, Iran, in this still image obtained from a social media video released on January 1, 2026. Protesters gather amid evolving anti-government unrest in Tehran, Iran, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video released on January 9, 2026. Witnesses told Reuters protesters gathered in the streets on Thursday, January 8, however this video's date taken has not been verified. People gather on the streets amid anti-government unrest in Tehran, Iran, in this still image obtained from social media video released on January 8, 2026. The date of the videos could not be verified. Witnesses in Tehran told Reuters that protesters gathered in the streets on Thursday, January 8. People gather on the streets during a protest in Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran in this screengrab obtained from a social media video released on January 8, 2026. The date could not be verified but multiple videos verified to Mashhad were posted online on January 8. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi speaks during a press conference in Beirut, Lebanon, January 9, 2026. Burning debris lies in the middle of a street during unrest in Hamedan, Iran on January 1, 2026. The demonstrations erupted after shopkeepers in Tehran's Grand Bazaar shut their businesses to protest the sharp fall of Iran's currency and worsening economic conditions, with clashes reported in several provinces and Iranian media and rights groups saying multiple people were killed in the violence, marking the largest protests to hit the Islamic Republic in three years. A person uses a lighter to set fire to a banner during demonstrations in Hamedan, Iran, on January 1, 2026. The demonstrations erupted after shopkeepers in Tehran's Grand Bazaar shut their businesses to protest the sharp fall of Iran's currency and worsening economic conditions, with clashes reported in several provinces and Iranian media and rights groups saying multiple people were killed in the violence, marking the largest protests to hit the Islamic Republic in three years. Burning debris lies next to an overturned dumpster in the middle of a street during unrest amid demonstrations in Hamedan, Iran, on January 1, 2026. The demonstrations erupted after shopkeepers in Tehran's Grand Bazaar shut their businesses to protest the sharp fall of Iran's currency and worsening economic conditions, with clashes reported in several provinces and Iranian media and rights groups saying multiple people were killed in the violence, marking the largest protests to hit the Islamic Republic in three years. Rocks, tree branches, and a toppled charity box remain on a street during unrest amid demonstrations in Hamedan, Iran, on January 1, 2026. The demonstrations erupted after shopkeepers in Tehran's Grand Bazaar shut their businesses to protest the sharp fall of Iran's currency and worsening economic conditions, with clashes reported in several provinces and Iranian media and rights groups saying multiple people were killed in the violence, marking the largest protests to hit the Islamic Republic in three years. A protester flashes victory signs as traffic slows during demonstrations in Hamedan, Iran, on January 1, 2026. The demonstrations erupted after shopkeepers in Tehran's Grand Bazaar shut their businesses to protest the sharp fall of Iran's currency and worsening economic conditions, with clashes reported in several provinces and Iranian media and rights groups saying multiple people were killed in the violence, marking the largest protests to hit the Islamic Republic in three years. Security forces detain protesters outside a commercial building on Ahmadabad Street in Mashhad, Iran on January 3, 2026. Iran has experienced recurrent waves of protests in recent years driven by political repression, economic hardship, rising living costs, and restrictions on civil and social freedoms, including women's rights. Demonstrations have frequently been met with arrests, heavy security deployments, internet disruptions, and, according to activists and rights groups, the killing of protesters, as authorities move to suppress dissent. People walk down the street, chanting in Farsi, "Reza Shah, rest in peace", in Tehran, Iran, in this still image obtained from a social media video released on December 30, 2025. Demonstrators attempt to force a gate open to gain access to a building during a protest in Fasa, Iran, in this still image obtained from a social media video released on December 31, 2025. See Iran's anti-government protests, huge crowds, unrest in photos 1 of 16 Anti-government protests in Iran appeared to accelerate on Jan. 9, sparked by anger over the collapse of the country's currency and a broader sense of hopelessness and disillusionment with Tehran's clerical leaders. The uptick in unrest also comes as President Donald Trump warned Iran's authorities against killing peaceful protesters, saying Washington "will come to their rescue." See the scenes in Iran, beginning here on the streets amid anti-government unrest in Tehran, Iran, in this still image obtained from social media video released on January 8, 2026. Witnesses told Reuters protesters gathered in the streets on Thursday, January 8, however this video's date taken has not been verified. The developments come as President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to use U.S. military force on Iran if it does not agree to a deal on its nuclear program. He has deployed a growing number of military assets towards the country, including the USS Abraham Lincoln and its accompanying warships. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a Fox News appearance that scheduled talks between the U.S. and Iran set for later this week were still expected to proceed as planned. Advertisement Advertisement Leavitt said that Trump maintains a range of options. "And that includes the use of military force," Leavitt said. The USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, is shown at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, California, U.S. August 11, 2025. REUTERS/Mike Blake Iran's supreme leader said in recent days that the country would strike back if attacked. "We are not the initiators and do not want to attack any country, but the Iranian nation will strike a strong blow against anyone who attacks and harasses them," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Feb. 1, according to Iranian state media. Asked about those comments, Trump told reporters on Feb. 1, "We have the biggest, most powerful ships in the world over there." "Hopefully, we'll make a deal. If we don't make a deal, then we'll find out whether or not he was right." Advertisement Advertisement Protests have exploded in Iran in recent weeks at an escalating degree not seen since the country's 1979 revolution. In response, the government has unleashed a bloody crackdown that has killed more than 6,800 people, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a U.S.-based human rights organization tracking the violence. Contributing: Francesca Chambers This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US shoots down Iranian drone that 'aggressively' approached ship By Tom Polansek CHICAGO, Feb 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture will disperse glow-in-the dark, sterile flies in Mexico, closer to the U.S. border, and in southern Texas, as officials race to keep flesh-eating New World screwworm pests from spreading in Mexico, the agency said. Screwworms are parasitic flies whose females lay eggs in wounds on warm-blooded animals, often livestock. Once the eggs hatch, hundreds of screwworm larvae use their sharp mouths to burrow through living flesh, eventually killing their host if left untreated. Advertisement Advertisement The USDA has halted U.S. imports of Mexican livestock to keep out the pest, worsening a cattle shortage that has pushed beef prices to record highs for consumers. The agency also produces 100 million sterile flies per week at a facility in Panama and disperses them in Mexico to prevent wild screwworm flies from reproducing. Now, the agency says, it is going to take the same flies further north near the border. The shift came after the USDA has reported 20 screwworm infestations since December 26 in animals in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, which borders southern Texas. "Given that we need to protect Texas and the U.S., I think it's definitely something that had to be done," Sonja Swiger, an entomologist at Texas A&M University, said on Monday. Advertisement Advertisement MORE STERILE FLIES NEEDED Experts said the USDA needs well more than 100 million sterile flies per week to eradicate the pest in Mexico. The agency announced last year that it intended to build a production facility in Texas, but that could still be at least a year away from opening. Last month, the agency said it would spend up to $100 million on other projects that aim to boost sterile fly production and help fight screwworm. For now, the USDA will start releasing sterile flies north of where Mexico has reported active cases to attempt to create a "buffer zone" to halt the pest if it continues moving north, according to a statement issued late on Friday. The new dispersal area will include operations about 50 miles into Texas, along the U.S. border with the state of Tamaulipas, according to the USDA. The northernmost active case in Mexico was about 200 miles away from the U.S. border, and cases have continued to spread in Tamaulipas and further south in Mexico, said Dudley Hoskins, a USDA under secretary. Advertisement Advertisement "Our highest priority is protecting the United States from screwworm," he said in the agency's statement. GLOWING FLIES The USDA said it would apply fluorescent dye to sterile flies before they hatch so officials can distinguish them from wild flies that pose a threat. The sterile flies will glow under ultraviolet light and may also be visible to the naked eye, the agency said. The U.S. decision to direct the release of sterile flies toward the border region was consistent with technical proposals Mexico has been making since November 2025, Mexico's government said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. eliminated screwworms in the 20th century by flying planes over hotspots to drop boxes packed with sterile flies. "They're pretty effective as long as you can outnumber the population," said Max Scott, an entomology professor at North Carolina State University. Screwworm can be detected in new areas when livestock are transported from an infested region. However, rising cases in Tamaulipas signal a local population of flies has likely started to establish there, experts said. Unseasonably cold weather in Texas could temporarily help prevent the pest's movement, Tyson Foods COO Devin Cole said on an earnings call. The meatpacker's beef business has bled money as tight cattle supplies have raised costs. Advertisement Advertisement "We don't really have anything that would give us any insight as to when the government would open the border," Cole said. (Reporting by Tom Polansek in Chicago. Additional reporting by Cassandra Garrison in Buenos Aires; Editing by Lincoln Feast.) Demonstrators rally in support of transgender Utahns at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (Will Ruzanski/Utah News Dispatch) Utah lawmakers are moving to expand restrictions for transgender renters beyond a law approved last year that limited where transgender students can live in public university housing. Now, theyre looking to extend those restrictions to off-campus and privately-owned shared housing despite warnings that legislation could violate federal anti-discrimination laws. Advertisement Advertisement HB404, sponsored by Rep. David Shallengerger, R-Orem, would create a new exemption in the Utah Fair Housing Act by allowing a landlord to designate housing as single-sex based on biological sex. The bill would specify that its not unlawful discrimination for a landlord to restrict renters in single-sex housing to individuals of the designated biological sex. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Shallenberger said its meant to narrowly apply to off-campus housing with intimate shared spaces like rooms or bathrooms intended for spaces that dont already fall under a Utah law passed last year that requires public universities that provide on-campus housing to only rent sex-designated rooms to biological females and biological males. Advertisement Advertisement So if youre offering a female apartment or a male apartment, this (bill) is saying, if theres a shared intimate space shared bathrooms or shared bedrooms in an all female apartment or an all male apartment that the applications, in order to live there, would be based off of the birth sex, Shallenberger told lawmakers during the bills first public hearing Friday. The House Business, Labor and Commerce Committee voted 10-3 (with one Republican joining Democrats voting against) to endorse HB404 and advance it to the full House for consideration. Thats even though Zoe Newmann, project manager for the Utah Housing Coalition, warned the bill directly conflicts with the federal Fair Housing Act, which bans discriminating in housing based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, or disability. She said federal law does not allow a broad exemption for sex-segregated housing outside of college dormitories, specific shelters and other very limited exemptions. Federal law, she noted, also already allows exemptions for owner-occupied buildings with less than five units, single-family homes rented by the owner without the use of an agent, and housing operated by religious organizations and private clubs. Advertisement Advertisement So my question is, what are we really trying to accomplish here? she said. Newmann argued that passing HB404 contradicts federal protections, puts tenants at risk of harm and confusion, and exposes landlords to serious legal liability. At a time when Utah faces a housing crisis, we should not be limiting access to safe and stable housing and not creating confusion and new barriers for already vulnerable communities, Newmann said. Shallenberger disputed that his bill would conflict with federal law, saying that were trying to narrowly tailor this to specific types of off-campus student housing. However, he added that if there was some type of federal discrimination designation, then were saying the federal law is going to trump this code. Advertisement Advertisement April Gardner, a Utahn, asked the committee not to advance the bill, urging them to instead uphold Utahs 2015 law, which was lauded as a unique compromise between LGBTQ+ advocates and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That law banned sexual orientation and gender identity-based discrimination in housing and hiring while also providing safeguards for religious freedom. Its been heartbreaking over the last five or six years to see pieces of that commitment be betrayed as bills have come every year that have nibbled away opportunity for trans people what activities they can participate in, what health care they can have, and last year and again this year, where they can live, Gardner said. Gardner said its horrifying to see proposals allowing housing discrimination for transgender people during a time when many Utahns already struggle to afford to rent or buy homes. Trans people are far more likely to experience housing instability, and narrowing that within private spaces, particularly when youre dealing with young people who are trying to go to college, Gardner said. Advertisement Advertisement Gardner asked what spaces are we allowing left for trans Utahns? Do we belong here anymore? Gardner questioned. Do you believe that trans Utahns are part of our communities? Do you value us? Or do you see trans people as dangerous? I beg you to recognize our humanity and stop taking away pieces of what trans people can do in our communities. Dalane England, vice president of the conservative advocacy group Utah Eagle Forum, spoke in support of the bill, arguing it targets the rights and sovereignty and privacy of every individual, especially those who do not want to share private space with someone of the opposite sex. She also spoke in support of a change some Republican lawmakers floated during Fridays committee, which would add a provision requiring landlords to give their renters notice to their renters whether they allow or dont allow transgender renters in sex-segregated apartments. Advertisement Advertisement I think people deserve to know what theyre getting into beforehand, she said. The committees two Democrats tried unsuccessfully to stop the bill in its tracks, but Republican lawmakers voted to endorse the bill while saying they would make changes to it as it advances to the House floor. HB404 is among several other bills Utah lawmakers are debating this year that target transgender people. Last week, legislators advanced a bill to turn Utahs current moratorium on new hormonal prescriptions for transgender kids into a full ban. They also advanced a bill to restrict public employee insurance benefits from being used on transgender treatments or procedures. Another bill which would erase the word gender from a variety of areas in Utah state code and broadly remove anti-discrimination protections for transgender Utahns for not just housing, but also hate crimes, employment and other areas has not yet received a public hearing. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Bryce Bird, the director of Utahs air quality department, delivered good news about the states pollution levels to Utahs Legislature on Tuesday morning. Over the past two decades, the Salt Lake Valleys emissions rate has declined, even as populations have increased, he told the Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environmental Quality Appropriations Subcommittee. In 2001, its PM2.5 emissions sat at 55 micrograms per cubic meter, and in 2025, it had fallen to 26 micrograms per cubic meter a 53% decrease. Meanwhile, the states population has grown from about 2.3 million in 2001 to more than 3.5 million in 2025 (a 52% increase). Advertisement Advertisement PM2.5 refers to any airborne particle that is 2.5 micrometers or smaller, and it mostly comes from combustion or chemical reactions in the air. This decrease is a good sign for Utah, since the Salt Lake Valley has the worst air quality of any region in the state. And on the whole, 99% of Utahs air quality data is acceptable to the federal Environmental Protection Agency, Bird told lawmakers. The federal Clean Air Act requires states to monitor the air of any metropolitan area with a population larger than 50,000 people. Bird suggests ways to continue bettering Utahs air quality Graph tracking Utahs PM2.5 emissions versus population, 2001-2025. Credit to Utah Department of Air Quality. | Utah Division of Air Quality If an area is found to have high levels of ground-level ozone, it is designated as nonattainment, and the federal Clean Air Act requires the state to reach a 15% improvement within a certain amount of time. Advertisement Advertisement In 2018, the EPA designated the northern Wasatch Front and the Uinta Basin as nonattainment areas. Bird referenced this federal requirement on Tuesday morning and said that paints, solvents, gasoline emissions and organic chemicals from petroleum are the materials holding the state back from improvement. He recommended several commercial and private fixes Utahns can make to reduce the states ground-level ozone. These included putting domed covers over floating roof gasoline storage tanks, reducing spills and drips at gas stations, and storing gasoline in better containers with less vapor loss. Utahs air quality department green-lights dormant coal plant Bird said that in the past year, his departments staff issued a permit to allow the continued use of coal-fired units in Delta in central Utah. Intermountain Power Project, the owner of the Delta coal plants, turned off the two coal-fired units last November. The plants were constructed in the mid-1980s to export coal power to Southern California, but restrictive emissions laws now prohibit the coastal state from using the Utah plants energy. Advertisement Advertisement The Utah Legislature has led efforts to save the coal plant, and at the beginning of December, there were 14 parties interested in the plant. But as of Jan. 8, Utahs Office of Energy Development told the Deseret News there are still no buyers. GLOUCESTER, Mass. (ABC22/FOX44) Families in Vermont, Massachusetts, Virginia and more are in mourning after a boat wreck off the coast of Massachusetts killed a recent University of Vermont graduate and all six of her shipmates. The family of Jada Samitt, 22, who graduated from UVM last year, confirmed she was one of seven people on board the Lily Jean, a commercial fishing vessel that went missing after departing from Gloucester, Massachusetts last Friday morning. According to officials with the U.S. Coast Guard, something went wrong when the boat was about 25 miles off shore. Advertisement Advertisement We received a radio distress beacon from the ship, indicating that there was an issue, said Lieutenant Commander Tim Jones, an active duty officer with the U.S. Coast Guard, at a news conference over the weekend. Our understanding is that they were coming back in, full of fish. We understand that they might have had a casualty to their fishing gear, which required them to come in to fix it before they could go back out. Once they got the distress signal, the Coast Guard took a helicopter and boats out to sea, covering hundreds of square miles. They eventually found a debris field that included an empty life raft and a body floating in the water. Officials have not yet said whose body it was, but the other six who are still missing are now also presumed dead, and searches have been called off. With fishing, we know, comes a lot of heartache, and a lot of uncertainty, and a lot of anxiety, said Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, commenting on the situation. In Gloucester, fishing is more than a way of life. It truly is the fabric of this community. There are a lot of us that go to work every day pretty assured that were going to come home tonight to our families. But in a fishing family, theres no telling whats going to happen. Originally from Virginia, Samitt came to UVM five years ago looking to expand her knowledge of the environment and how to preserve it. Her passion led her to take multiple courses at the universitys Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. Advertisement Advertisement Upon graduating, Samitt started working as a fisheries observer last summer, hopping aboard commercial fishing vessels to gather data and share it with sustainable fisheries back on land. Her family says it was a dream job of sorts that she had just started on, but ultimately ended up being a career, and life, cut far too short. In a statement shared over the weekend, Samitts family wrote, We are devastated by her loss and the pure tragedy of the unthinkable, unimaginable events that took her from us far too early. She was vibrant and compassionate with an infectious smile and spirit. And, above all, she was brave and determined. Many from UVMs Rubenstein School shared thoughts too, including Jed Murdoch, who said he had Samitt in his Wildlife Behavior course and worked closely with her on a wildlife monitoring project, using camera traps to collect info on bears and bobcats. On Monday, Murdoch wrote in-part, She was a gem A thoughtful and caring person that had a genuine interest in using science to tackle pressing environmental issues Jada had an eagerness to be an agent of good for people and environment and was passionate and committed to making the world a better place. Advertisement Advertisement Peter Newman, the Rubenstein Schools Dean, also commented, saying in-part, Jada represented the best of the Rubenstein School. She was empathetic and passionate, and she was working in the spirit of changing human-environment systems for the better. We are very proud of her legacy and devastated by this loss. Our thoughts are with her friends and family. Officials with the Coast Guard Northeast District said Monday theyve launched a formal investigation on the sinking of the Lily Jean and the deaths of the seven sailors. Theyll be joined in the investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. In the wake of this tragedy, the non-profit Fishing Partnership Support Services is collecting donations for the families of all seven people on board. You can find the link to donate on their website, just be sure to specify which family you would like your donation to benefit. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC22 & FOX44. When Americans are being killed in broad daylight by immigration agents and the Department of Justice continues to withhold millions of records related to Jeffrey Epstein, the FBI raiding Fulton County, Georgias election hub, last week and seizing 700 boxes of documents related to the 2020 elections might seem like just a distraction. The reality is much scarier than that and its not about 2020. As much as Trump obsesses about losing Georgia and the presidency to Joe Biden in 2020, and as much as he blames voters in Fulton County for his loss, Wednesdays raid wasnt about any past election in Georgia. It was about future elections in a critical swing state. I was inside the elections hub when the second warrant arrived. I serve as a Fulton County commissioner and was inside the elections hub Wednesday when the second warrant arrived. As I watched 25 FBI agents swarm the building as if geared up for a fight, it was abundantly clear what was going on; Trump and his cronies want you to believe there is some new evidence of foul play in the 2020 elections in Fulton County that would disqualify us from running our own elections in 2026 and beyond. There isnt. Advertisement Advertisement The 2020 election in Fulton County has been investigated over and over again audits and hearings have confirmed that the correct results were certified. Any irregularities that occurred were minor, within the normal margins of error, and would not have changed the fact that Trump lost. And Biden, who won that election, has already served his term and moved on. There are plenty of reasons to believe Wednesdays raid in Fulton County was about the Trump administration and MAGA Republicans attempting to control the outcome of the 2026 midterm election and the 2028 presidential election. And there are plenty of reasons every American who believes in democracy and free and fair elections should be afraid. To start, Wednesdays raid was not an isolated incident but the latest in what has been a concerted effort to take over our elections and obstruct the will of the people. In August, I was one of the county commissioners who defied a judges order and was threatened with jail time and a $10,000-per-day fine for the board for refusing to appoint two nominees to the Fulton County Elections Board: one who has direct ties to Cleta Mitchells so-called Election Integrity Network and who had refused to certify the results of a 2024 primary until a judge ruled she had to, and another who has challenged the voter registration of thousands of Georgia residents. Advertisement Advertisement (Mitchell was an adviser to Trump in late 2020 and January 2021 as he tried to overturn the 2020 election and was on the Jan. 2, 2021, phone call when Trump pressured then-Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to find enough votes to make him the winner. The Fulton County Board of Commissioners has appealed the judges ruling ordering us to seat those nominees.) On Dec. 18, 2025, Georgia was one of the four states Trumps DOJ sued for not turning over private voter data, such as Social Security numbers, home addresses, dates of birth and drivers license numbers. A federal judge tossed out that lawsuit. Lets be crystal clear. They are just getting started. In January, Trump mused that there shouldnt even be an election, warned Republicans that hed be impeached if they dont maintain control of the House in November and told The New York Times he regrets that he didnt have the National Guard seize voting machines in the swing states after the 2020 election. One of those swing states, of course, is Georgia. Lets be crystal clear. They are just getting started. Advertisement Advertisement Theres no shortage of attacks that could come next, from purging state voter rolls to taking control of voting machines to enacting legislation that makes it harder for eligible voters to cast their ballot. Trump wants to control the outcome of the 2026 and 2028 elections because he knows Republicans cant win without it. Americans are fed up fed up with the violence and killings in Minnesota, fed up with rising costs and a weakening economy, and fed up with a government that seems to have time to chase old ballots, but not to solve real problems. Thats why Trump has been attacking your freedom to vote. Thats why hes floating a ban on voting by mail, demanding that Republican legislatures redraw maps to protect their House majority, issuing unlawful executive orders and now sending federal agents after ballots and voter rolls. Heres my warning, and my ask, as a commissioner who watched FBI agents carry our votes out the door: Advertisement Advertisement Do not discount the raid in Fulton County as just another distraction. This is about the future of our democracy; a future that depends on our ability to choose our leaders by casting our votes. Stand with the election workers and local officials under attack, push back on the lies when you hear them and support the organizations defending voting rights and protesters. And most importantly, get ready to vote in numbers so big in 2026 that no raid, no lawsuit and no desperate power grab can erase what the people decide. The post Ive risked jail trying to protect Fulton Countys elections. Im not stopping now. appeared first on MS NOW. This article was originally published on ms.now Adults are quick to judge young people's cellphone use without carefully examining their own, writes Tara Wallace. (Getty Images) Adults are often reactive when challenges arise. In my work as a therapist, clients learn that reacting is still an action, but one that gives little attention to critical details while allowing intense emotion to lead the way. When children move through the world this way, we label it a behavior problem. When adults do the same, we call it a crisis response. Advertisement Advertisement I dont believe that distinction holds. A true crisis requires a shared and thoughtful understanding of the primary issue, and more often than not, that understanding is missing. One of my clients has a word for what happens instead: mudding. Theres a lot of movement. Sometimes intense movement. But it isnt always forward. Sometimes its sideways or backward, and it often leaves a mess without fixing anything. Kansas Senate Bill 302 feels like mudding. There is movement. Significant movement. The bill has the potential to create real disruption for school districts and students alike. But will it accomplish its stated goal of reducing harm to young people by removing electronic communication devices from Kansas schools? That depends entirely on who you ask and what harm we are actually willing to name. Advertisement Advertisement In my practice, I have clear boundaries around the use of electronic devices during sessions, unless they support the therapeutic process. That policy exists because wellness looks different for different people. For some clients, healing includes electronic journaling, music, guided meditation, breathing apps, or even digital art and coloring. Ive also been introduced to tools by clients, resources that were working for them long before they showed up in my office. That is one reason I support the thoughtful use of electronic communication devices or cellphones. What troubles me, and what clients consistently name, is not simply young peoples relationship with technology, but adults unwillingness to examine our own use of cellphones and social media. There is little accountability for how adults use cellphones and social media to engage with others. When leaders, of countries, institutions, organizations and communities model harmful, unchecked behavior online, efforts to fix youth behavior ring hollow. Advertisement Advertisement At best, its hypocritical. At worst, its harmful. Real talk: Adults are some of the biggest hypocrites walking right now. Maybe the issue isnt electronic communication devices. Maybe it isnt cellphones or social media at all. Maybe, just maybe, we have a behavior problem that cannot be legislated away. One that wont improve until we learn how to treat one another with greater care, responsibility, and humanity. And yes, that work starts with us. In family therapy, I often tell people to taste their words before they speak. If someone said to you what you are about to say to someone else, how would it land? If it doesnt taste good to you, it likely wont taste good to the person receiving it. So dont share it. Period. Season your words with intention, tone, and care so your message has a chance to be received and understood. Advertisement Advertisement Understanding, by the way, does not require agreement. It reflects respect for another persons position, even when you dont share it. Recently, I shared something using social media that did not land well. The immediate reaction, not response, made it clear the other person was not in a space to understand what was communicated. I had a choice: Defend my statement or clarify what I recognized as a miscommunication. I chose to clarify. That moment reminded me of something we dont talk about enough. The world of cellphones and social media moves faster than our nervous systems can regulate. Platforms change as quickly as we inhale and exhale. In that environment, there is little room to repair miscommunication in meaningful ways, especially when the only tool we rely on is the same platform where harm occurred. Connection does not live solely on screens. Genuine communication requires relationship, presence and a shared willingness to seek balance, whatever the relationship may be. Advertisement Advertisement Before we rush toward universal bans on electronic communication devices or social media, perhaps we should consider something far more challenging: a ban on divisiveness. A ban on cruelty. A ban on the normalization of harm, disengagement, and the absence of empathy. If we are committed to improving the mental and emotional wellness of our youths, our response must come from a place of healing. A place that allows us to be human enough, and accountable enough, to recognize where we, as adults, are falling short. Because no policy will ever replace what modeling, integrity, and care are meant to teach. Tara D. Wallace is a licensed clinician and trauma therapist in Topeka. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here. DENVER (KDVR) The Old Farmers Almanac is expecting warmer-than-normal temperatures across the country this spring, but it might look a little different in Colorado. The Old Farmers Almanac released its annual spring weather forecast, which looks at weather conditions from April to May across the United States. This year, the Old Farmers Almanac is expecting warmer-than-normal temperatures across most of the U.S. The Old Farmers Almanac predicts a warmer and drier spring Advertisement Advertisement In the high plains region, which spans from Bismarck, North Dakota, to Amarillo, Texas, there will be warmer-than-normal temperatures with periods of extreme heat through the summer. Despite this prediction, the Old Farmers Almanac said Colorado is one of the few states that may not see warmer-than-normal temperatures. In Colorado, the Old Farmers Almanac said they could see temperatures closer to or below seasonal averages. The Old Farmers Almanac said most of the country will experience drier-than-normal conditions, which includes Colorado. The Old Farmers Almanac said these predictions are based on solar science, climatology and meteorology. That said, Pinpoint Weather Meteorologist Greg Perez said forecasts are hard to predict and historically inaccurate. Advertisement Advertisement Denver weather: Partly cloudy Tuesday, chance of overnight rain/snow Perez said that accurate short-term forecasts regarding temperatures and precipitation are usually only accurate for four days out, and while the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has longer-term models available, these are only from February through April and tend to be less accurate. Perez said La Nina is switching to a neutral pattern, which could bring more moisture to the end of February, but its too soon to predict whether the spring will be mild or hot. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver. Democratic lawmakers in Washington state introduced a proposal Tuesday to impose a tax on residents whose annual incomes exceed $1 million, becoming the latest state to weigh a millionaire's tax. While legislators in Washington have introduced similar legislation in the past, Democrats claim the outlook for passage has never been this good. A recent poll showed that 61 percent of all Washingtonians and 54 percent of Republicans support an income tax on high earners. The proposed legislation would place a tax of nearly 10 percent on residents with annual incomes exceeding $1 million. Democratic Washington House Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon says his caucus optimism comes in part because the Trump administrations One Big Beautiful Bill Act added more tax breaks for wealthy people who have non-standard income. Washington remains one of the few states without an income tax. Advertisement Advertisement The magnitude of the tax cuts, both on individuals and on businesses that the federal government really stokes the fires of people's anger at both the federal administration and [at] wealthy people that they don't think are paying their fair share, Fitzgibbon told POLITICO ahead of the bill introduction. First-term Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson endorsed the legislation last December and championed it in his State of the State address in January. And Democrats, who control the state Legislature and governors office, are promoting the education and health care services the tax could fund, as well as possible tax reductions for lower- and middle-income earners they believe they could provide with the additional revenue. Republicans are attacking the bill for failing to solve the states current $2 billion budget deficit returns from the millionaire's tax would not be seen for a few years and for taking more resources to enact. Washington Senate Republican Leader Sen. John Braun, who is challenging Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez in Washingtons 3rd District this November, said it may be hard for Democrats to get a complex tax bill through the Legislature in a short session, even with the majority. Advertisement Advertisement Washington is not alone in considering a tax on high earners or a wealth tax this year: California and Rhode Island are also considering such legislation, and there are pushes in other states like Illinois to get similar bills introduced. Massachusetts and Minnesota enacted their own income taxes on high earners in recent years. Each proposed state millionaire's tax is slightly different in whom it taxes and how much, but legislators in all these states cite Trumps tax cuts for millionaires and the administrations cuts to services like Medicaid as motivating factors for legislators and for voters. In Rhode Island, for example, legislators last year introduced a tax on earners making over $625,000, and Democratic Gov. Dan McKees proposed budget this year included a 3 percent surtax on income over $1 million. While Rhode Island legislators have tried to pass this in the past, proponents say the federal funding cuts out of Washington, D.C., have changed the outlook. What I believe that it makes [the outlook this year] different is the Trump cuts they're already starting to hurt us, said Rhode Island state Rep. Karen Alzate, explaining that her state depends heavily on federal money. We don't have the financial means to do this ourselves, to fund [the gaps] ourselves. Advertisement Advertisement State Democrats introducing similar bills shoot down concerns that high-income earners will leave with new or additional taxes. Alzate said Rhode Island is already losing companies to states with higher taxes and more services nearby, while Fitzgibbon said that cutting education and health care at the state level could drive away companies that pick Washington because of the quality of life for their employees. Meanwhile in California, billionaires are already threatening to leave the state, and Gov. Gavin Newsom is staunchly against the proposal, which may appear on the November ballot. If the bill passes out of Washingtons Legislature this year, it will likely go before voters before becoming law. A ballot measure to repeal the tax law is expected to be proposed, and voters will have the ultimate say in November another reason why strong polling was so important. We just want to be sure that the public is on board with this approach, Fitzgibbon said. It looks like, from what we've seen so far, that they are. Colombian President Gustavo Petro and US President Donald Trump appeared to bury the hatchet on Tuesday, after a year of sparring that culminated in threats by Trump to topple the left-wing leader like in Venezuela. "My impression of the meeting a few hours ago is first and foremost that it was positive," Petro told reporters after meeting Trump at the White House behind closed doors. Trump said he "got along very well" with the leader whom he recently accused of pumping cocaine into the United States and had warned to "watch his ass" after the fall of Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro. Advertisement Advertisement "He and I weren't exactly the best of friends, but I wasn't insulted because I never met him. I didn't know him at all, and we got along very well," said Trump at the White House, hours after talks ended. Trump said the two countries were "working on" anti-drug trafficking cooperation, and also on lifting US sanctions the Republican had placed on the South American country. Fears in Bogota that Petro could be subjected to one of Trump's famously fiery televised Oval Office confrontations were dispelled when reporters were kept out. Instead it was Petro and his office who posted a series of pictures of the meeting. Advertisement Advertisement "You are great," Trump wrote to Petro as he signed a copy of his 1987 book "Art of the Deal," according to the photos. Despite being worlds apart politically, the Colombian returned praise for the 79-year-old US leader. "The truth is I like straightforward Americans, people who say what they feel. Were different, undoubtedly, by a lot. But frankness comes first," he said. The two leaders reclined in gold chairs in the Oval Office as they talked, accompanied by US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio and senior Colombian officials, according to photos released by Petro's office. Advertisement Advertisement They also shared a warm handshake in the West Wing colonnade, next to portraits of former US presidents that Trump recently installed along with unflattering biographies of some of his recent predecessors. Petro also said after the meeting that Trump had agreed to mediate Colombia's trade war with Ecuador. The South American neighbors have imposed import tariffs of 30 percent on one another in a dispute over how to tackle drug trafficking -- also a major political issue for Trump. - 'Common goal' - It was a far cry from the previous harsh rhetoric between a pair who come from absolute opposite ends of the political spectrum. Advertisement Advertisement The Colombian had repeatedly defended Venezuela's leader Nicolas Maduro, a fellow left-winger, before his capture by US forces on January 3. He also criticized deadly US air strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats. Trump meanwhile has been pressing Colombia to crack down on drug trafficking, threatening military strikes on its territory as he had against both Venezuela and Mexico. After the Maduro raid an emboldened Trump stepped up his barbs, saying a Venezuela-style action against Petro "sounds good to me." But things turned a corner after an unexpectedly warm phone call on January 7. Advertisement Advertisement "I mean, he's been very nice over the last month or two," Trump said on Monday on the eve of the visit. "He was certainly critical before that, but somehow, after the Venezuelan raid, he became very nice." Petro said on X shortly before the meeting that during the talks he was "determined to continue strengthening the relationship between two nations that share a common goal: the fight against drug trafficking." In an apparent reference to the strikes on drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific that have killed more than 100 people, he added that he wanted to do so "from an approach that prioritizes life and peace in our territories." In an olive branch to Trump hours before their talks, Petro extradited an accused drug lord to the United States after a months-long suspension on such transfers. Colombia also abruptly agreed on Friday to accept US deportation flights -- reversing the very decision that triggered the falling-out between Trump and Petro last year. dk/sla WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Self-driving company Waymo on Wednesday will defend its safety record before the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee after federal agencies opened investigations into a vehicle striking a child near an elementary school and incidents involving robotaxis driving past were loading or unloading parked school buses. The Alphabet-unit said in written testimony for Wednesday's hearing that its self-driving vehicles have "been involved in 10 times fewer serious injury or worse crashes" compared to human drivers covering the same mileage in the same conditions and said its safety efforts were recently the subject of an independent audit. Waymo also called on Congress to pass legislation to advance self-driving vehicles arguing U.S. leadership "in the autonomous vehicle sector is now under direct threat. The United States is locked in a global race with Chinese AV companies for the future of autonomous driving, a trillion-dollar industry comparable in strategic importance to flight and space travel." (Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington) WEST VIRGINIA (WBOY) Last weeks sudden release of several million more files related to the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein prompted many to dig in searching for names of celebrities, executives and other people of interest, but theres one subject that appears several hundred timesWest Virginia. Elkins-Randolph County Regional Airport In the latest batch of released files, correspondence between a man named Ron Moon and the FBI National Threat Operations Center reveals that Jeffrey Epstein and his associates may have made frequent stops in Randolph County, West Virginia. According to the files, Moon was a former contractor at the Elkins-Randolph County Regional Airport. In his correspondence, Moon said that approximately twice a month, a private jet, Learjet 35 or Learjet 32 would land at the airport to refuel. Each time the flight landed, workers referred to it as the Fantasy Island Flight, and it usually came from Timberline Four Season Resort or the Blackwater Outdoor Recreation Facility, both located in Canaan Valley. Advertisement Advertisement Moon said that the stewardesses on the flight were dressed in shorty pink shorts, see-through shirts, and black undies.' He added that while the stewardesses wore United Airlines badges, he knew that they couldnt be because they needed his help opening the airplanes door and they looked to be 16 years old. While refueling, Moon said that the girls would run around the hangar and tell him that they were on their way to Epsteins island. He added that the girls acted like giggly teenagers and that nobody seemed like they were captive. Moon said that the girls would sometimes travel with Bill Clinton and other congressmen and that the men would tip him and other employees very well. Joe Manchin attempted to rent/borrow a yacht from Epsteins associates According to the files, in 2014, then-West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin contacted the former first lady of the Virgin Islands, Cecile de Jongh, to attempt to secure a yacht for a vacation to the islands from Andrew Farkas, a known associate of Epstein. Advertisement Advertisement De Jongh then reached out to Epstein to request Manchins use of the yacht, but further correspondence revealed that he was unable to use it. Epstein paid a Charleston law firm, which then wrote a letter in his defense Documents show that on June 19, 2008, during the opening days of an investigation into Epstein in the Southern District of Florida regarding solicitation of topless photos of minors, a Charleston-based lawyer named Stephanie Thacker wrote a letter to the Department of Justice that said a federal prosecution of Epstein by the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) shouldnt be supported. Other documents in the Epstein database show that between Feb. 12, 2008, and May 23, 2011, Epstein had sent a total of $86,422 to the law firm that Thacker worked for at the time. Thacker was nominated as a U.S. Circuit Court Judge in 2011 by President Barack Obama and has served in that position since. We called Judge Thackers office and were told no comment by the person who answered the phone. Advertisement Advertisement Its worth noting that there is no concrete evidence in the Epstein database that connects these incidents. However, correspondence between Epstein and Steve Bannon in 2019 praises the letter, calling it bank. Government says its fixing redactions in Epstein-related files that may have had victim information Miscellaneous Now, while West Virginia may have hundreds of appearances within the Department of Justices official Epstein files database304 to be exactmany of them are fairly inconsequential and often only connect the Mountain State to Epstein tangentially or in passing. Below are a few somewhat interesting miscellaneous items we found in the Epstein database that mention West Virginia. Advertisement Advertisement Editors note: This article has been updated to correct information regarding a payment by Jeffrey Epstein to a Charleston-based law firm, as well as the results of our attempts to contact Judge Thackers office. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBOY.com. A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit that accused a Washington man of infiltrating a white nationalist group and using confidential information to harass and threaten people in the organization. Five members or affiliates of the group Patriot Front sued David Capito II, who apparently has ties to Tacoma, in July 2023. The suit alleged Capito used a fake identity and false pretenses to join, and then secretly gathered information from the plaintiffs by taking pictures of license plates, recording individuals with hidden microphones and cameras, and exploiting the groups website to gain unauthorized access to private chats and video links. Capito and accomplices allegedly released and used home addresses, places of employment and other information to harass plaintiffs and threaten them where they lived and worked, including by trespassing on their properties, making threatening calls to their employers, slashing their vehicle tires and putting up flyers in their neighborhoods, the suit said. Advertisement Advertisement The plaintiffs either lost their jobs or were forced to relocate because of Capitos doxxing, a term that means to maliciously expose someones personal identifying information, according to the suit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for Western Washington. Capito, 38, who allegedly changed his name, apparently had been a difficult person to locate. For more than a year, the plaintiffs unsuccessfully tried to serve him with the lawsuit, including at a Tacoma address listed among his last-known locations, court records show. Ultimately, the court allowed the plaintiffs to publish a notice of the lawsuit in a newspaper. Legal counsel for Capito appeared in court for the first time last summer and sought to get the case thrown out. In January, U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones granted Capitos attorneys motion to dismiss the case, citing a legal technicality, court records show. The plaintiffs claimed Capito violated the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, but Jones ruled that their argued loss of jobs didnt meet the definition of a loss under the act, which is concerned with damages sustained by computer systems, data and the like, according to court records. Plaintiffs alleged harms are not the type of technological harms contemplated by the CFAA, Jones wrote in his ruling. Rather, they are the downstream effects of Mr. Capitos alleged use of Patriot Fronts information. Advertisement Advertisement An attorney representing the plaintiffs didnt respond to messages from The News Tribune seeking comment Monday. Attorney Matthew Kellegrew, who represents Capito, said in an interview that Jones ruling was the right result and that white supremacists were trying to use the legal system to attack someone for exercising First Amendment rights. Our client engaged essentially in an act of journalism at great personal peril, Kellegrew said. Kellegrew noted his appreciation for the courts application of the law, but added, Im more so glad that these types of extremists were thwarted in their effort to use lawfare in this manner. Advertisement Advertisement Plaintiffs sued to vindicate the rule of law and basic principles of free expression for persons who espouse unpopular opinions, according to the lawsuit. In Jones ruling on Jan. 16, he gave the plaintiffs 21 days to allege new facts to support their federal claim. With the deadline approaching, there had been no amendment filed as of Monday. Jones also declined to hear state claims that were filed in the lawsuit, including invasion of privacy and fraud. The plaintiffs could potentially bring those allegations forth in a new lawsuit in state court. Kellegrew, whos with the Civil Liberties Defense Center, said attorneys would be prepared to make the same arguments. We had a substantive defense to the case, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Patriot Front is described by the Anti-Defamation League as a Texas-based white supremacist group whose goal is to form a new state advocating namely for white men. The Southern Poverty Law Center calls Patriot Front a hate group and said it splintered from another white supremacist organization following the deadly 2017 rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The plaintiffs are named in the lawsuit as: Colton Brown, a former electricians assistant in Washington who moved out of state; James and Amelia Johnson who lived in Washington at the time the case was filed; Paul Gancarz of Virginia; and Daniel Turetchi of Pennsylvania, who lived in Maryland at the time. Brown and James Johnson were among 31 Patriot Front members arrested in June 2022 for planning to riot at a Pride event in Coeur dAlene, Idaho, according to previous reporting by The Seattle Times. James Johnson and four others were sentenced to five days in jail, the Associated Press previously reported. In their complaint, the plaintiffs claimed that the groups activism was nonviolent and prompted physical violence, threats and harassment from others. The filing said Capito was a spokesperson for the Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club, which media reports call a leftist anti-facist organization created to counter white supremacist and far-right groups. Willem Van Spronsen, a club member, was fatally shot by police in 2019 outside the federal immigration detention center in Tacoma, where he allegedly had been carrying a rifle and using flares and Molotov cocktails, The News Tribune previously reported. Capito allegedly wore during a media interview a necklace fashioned from a bullet once belonging to Van Spronsen, the suit said. A Willoughby Hills man will spend time in federal prison after he and his wife both admitted to their roles in a scheme to set rental properties on fire in order to collect insurance money. Lonnie White will spend four years and four months behind bars and must also pay more than $2.3 million in restitution. The 48-year-old White pleaded guilty in August to the following charges: Conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Conspiracy to commit money laundering offenses. Conspiracy to use fire in commission of a felony. Advertisement Advertisement White's wife, 48-year-old Lisa Ogletree, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. She will technically avoid prison time, but will serve over two years of location-monitored house arrest as well as be under probation for five years. The prosecutions of White and Ogletree date back to 2023, when a federal grand jury indicted the couple for the conspiracy. From 2013-19, authorities say the pair bought up houses on the east side of Cleveland and transferred their deeds to "nominal owners with fake renters" before insuring the properties for hundreds of thousands of dollars. White then arranged to have the houses burned down and make the fires appear accidental, allowing he and his wife to collect the insurance payments. "It's traumatic for people to see a house in their neighborhood go up in flames, and these defendants shamelessly utilized devastating fires just to line their pockets with money," U.S. Attorney David M. Toepfer for the Northern District of Ohio said in a statement. "Additionally, insurance companies paid out millions in claims in good faith only to learn that they were deceived by these fraudsters. We commend the outstanding efforts of the ATF agents on the case and their regional partners who spent countless hours connecting the dots which eventually led to justice being served." The Cleveland Division of Fire and Ohio State Fire Marshal assisted the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives in its investigation of the crimes, along with the Cuyahoga County Fusion Center, IRS, and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. WINNEBAGO COUNTY, Wis. (WFRV) At a committee meeting packed with people upset with the partnership, Winnebago County sheriff department officials provided updated numbers and information on their work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Winnebago County is one of several municipalities in Northeast Wisconsin that have entered into a 287(g) program agreement with ICE. This arrangement allows local municipalities to assist ICE with immigration enforcement in up to three ways. Identify and process removable aliens with pending or active criminal charges. Enforce limited immigration authorities with ICE oversight during routine duties. Serve and execute administrative warrants on removable aliens in your jail. Advertisement Advertisement The Winnebago County Sheriffs Office utilizes only the third option to participate in the program. Essentially, deputies can identify people already in their jail who are in the country illegally, allowing ICE to place a detainer on that person and potentially deport them At the meeting on Monday night, Winnebago County Sheriff John Matz was adamant that this is the extent of their cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. Wisconsin cheese plant to lay off nearly 100 workers during transition to cottage cheese production There are no roundups being conducted in Winnebago County, Sheriff Matz said at the meeting. They havent occurred and I havent heard of them wanting to come here. I have no concerns at this point that ICE is coming here. We dont conduct a traffic stop and ask if people are here legally. We dont go out and look for individuals at any place of business. Advertisement Advertisement Matz said that in 2025, ICE placed detainers on 17 individuals in the Winnebago County jail. They had a variety of different charges, from OWIs to first-degree intentional homicide. The sheriffs department turned over ten of those people to ICE. The sheriff said that this year, there have been ICE detainers placed on three of their inmates. Matz said he plans to continue the partnership with ICE, saying he believes that it makes the county safer. I firmly believe that this is what is best for the 173,000 people that I represent, which you are included in, Matz said to the people at the meeting on Monday night, most of whom opposed the countys partnership with ICE. Advertisement Advertisement Wisconsin groundhog predicts early spring, disagrees with Punxsutawney Phil Sheriff department officials said that for over 25 years, theyve implemented this approach to handling inmates who are in the country illegally. Now its just done officially through the 287(g) program. There were about 25 people who spoke at the Judiciary & Public Safety committee meeting on Monday night, and every speaker said they didnt support the countys partnership with ICE. We weaken due process and normalize detention without judicial oversight, Oshkosh resident Andy Thoman said during his public comment opportunity. Our community shouldnt assume legal risk or moral responsibility for federal enforcement decisions that we dont control. Advertisement Advertisement Several attendees wore Ice Out buttons to the meeting to hammer home their message. By joining with this or collaborating with them, or helping in any way, shape, or form, nobody feels safe, Neenah resident Lois Loth said. Sheriff Matz said the plan moving forward is to provide a monthly update on the countys ICE detainer numbers. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFRV Local 5 - Green Bay, Appleton. On Tuesday, Feb. 4, the National Weather Service revealed a new winter storm is expected to bring a dusting of snow and strong winds across several states. "Across the northern tier states, a series of Alberta clippers will move across the region, bringing only occasional light snow across the Great Lakes mainly today. A modest reinforcement of arctic air will reach into the Great Lakes but anomalous warmth will emerge across the northern High Plains especially by Thursday as a stronger clipper in Canada induces stronger downslope winds from the northern Rockies. Meanwhile, much of the western U.S. will remain mild and dry," the NWS said. 8 States Bracing for Snow Alaska: Dalton, Elliott, and Steese Highway Summits in Alaska are set for a relatively light dusting of snow between one and three inches, but stiff winds - as high as 55 mph - are expected through Thursday morning. Advertisement Advertisement Indiana: Several cities in Indiana are expected to receive a light dusting of snow between one to two inches on Tuesday. "A narrow band of snow producing moderate to heavy snowfall rates is expected. There remains uncertainty as to where this band may set up. A shift north or south may result in less or more snow than currently anticipated," the NWS added. Kentucky: East central and north central Kentucky will be hit with accumulations of one to two inches of slushy, wet snow. "Be prepared for slippery roads. Slow down and use caution while driving. If you are going outside, watch your first few steps taken on stairs, sidewalks, and driveways. These surfaces could be icy and slippery, increasing your risk of a fall and injury," the NWS warned. Maryland: Western Garrett County in Maryland is expecting up to three inches of snow from 12 p.m. ET through midnight causing slippery road conditions. Michigan: The Mitten has already received heavy snowfall this season, but is in for more this week as up to four inches of lake effect snow is expected across the state. "Travel could be very difficult in the heavier snow bands. The hazardous conditions will impact the Tuesday morning and evening commutes," the National Weather Service warned. Advertisement Advertisement Pennsylvania: The cities of New Martinsville, Thomas, Kingwood, Bruceton Mills, Hazelton, Hendricks, Fairmont, Coopers Rock, Terra Alta, Canaan Valley, Parsons, Saint George, Davis, Morgantown, and Rowlesburg are expected to receive total snow accumulations between 1 and 3 inches "falling mainly during the afternoon and evening commute," according to the NWS. Meanwhile, locally higher amounts possible in the higher terrain of Preston and Tucker Counties. Ohio: Much of Ohio is bracing for up to three inches of snow that will cause "hazardous" travel conditions during the evening commute on Tuesday. West Virginia: Most of Northern West Virginia can expect up to four inches of snow, impacting commutes this week. "Slow down and use caution while traveling. The latest road conditions for the state you are calling from can be obtained by calling 5 1 1 or by accessing the online traffic and roadway portal for your state," the NWS warned. Related: Netflix Quietly Canceled 3 TV Shows in January This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Feb 3, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here. The Brief The Wisconsin Policy Forum will host a panel discussion Tuesday about the location of new data centers in Wisconsin. Microsoft is planning to build 15 additional data centers in Racine County. The expansion comes as the Wisconsin Assembly passed a bill that would place restrictions on large data centers. MILWAUKEE - Data center proposals are popping up across Wisconsin, and now there are dueling state bills to regulate them, including what it means for your utility bills. Advertisement Advertisement The Wisconsin Policy Forum says the state has 40 data centers with more proposed in Mount Pleasant, Janesville, Beaver Dam and Port Washington. On Tuesday night, Feb. 3, the Wisconsin Policy Forum will host a panel discussion about the location of new data centers in Wisconsin. The meeting will be held at the Wisconsin Club in downtown Milwaukee from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Microsofts data center What we know Microsofts data center project in Racine County is poised to grow significantly, as new government records show the tech giant plans to build 15 additional data centers in Mount Pleasant. The expansion comes as the Wisconsin Assembly passed a bill that would place restrictions on large data centers. Utility costs in focus What we know Republicans and Democrats agree that there should be new restrictions placed on data centers, but they disagree over what that should look like. Advertisement Advertisement Data centers require large amounts of electricity, sometimes prompting the need for new power plants and infrastructure. A central worry for lawmakers of both parties is whether utility companies should be allowed to pass those costs on to everyday customers. Under the Republican-backed proposal, the Public Service Commission would be responsible for ensuring that no utility costs associated with serving large data centers are passed on to other customers. FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android But Democrats have questions. "We have a public advocacy organization, Citizens Utility Board. Their whole, entire purpose is to keep rates as low as possible for customers," said State Rep. Angela Stroud, DAshland. "They also said that the Republican bill will not keep rates low for customers." The Source Information in this post was produced by FOX6 News. Western Illinois University's School Psychology Graduate Program received a $3.6 million federal grant to address a shortage of school psychologists in rural areas. The money from the U.S. Department of Education's Mental Health Service Professionals Demonstration Grant Program will be used to expand training for future psychologists, according to a community announcement. The initiative is a partnership between the university and the Illinois State Board of Education. The program will focus on rural communities in west-central Illinois where the shortage of school psychologists is most acute. Many rural districts require psychologists to take on additional responsibilities beyond their traditional roles due to limited staffing. The grant will provide structured support, mentoring, supervision and financial assistance to credentialed school psychologists, while also creating a clear training-to-employment pathway for graduate students. Advertisement Advertisement The goal is to train new school psychologists across a 10-district partnership with a 70% retention rate of practitioners in these area schools. Grant to begin in Fall 2026 The funding is expected to begin in Fall 2026 and will provide training stipends for graduate trainees, stipends for credential supervisors and expanded professional development opportunities to strengthen supervision and training capacity across partner districts, according to the announcement. We are really excited to partner with our LEAs that have been without an in-person school psychologist for the past few years, said Leigh Ann Fisler, associate professor and coordinator of WIUs School Psychology program. This project allows us to offer a supported pathway for credentialed school psychologists, while enabling our graduate students to secure employment and provide long-term stability for the districts. Tracy Cruise, a school psychology professor and director of the WIU Psychology Clinic, said the grant is a significant win for the university, its program and the communities it serves. Advertisement Advertisement The grant recognizes the strength of our training model and allows us to expand the reach of school psychologists across west-central Illinois, where districts have long needed consistent professional support. It positions the University as a key partner in addressing workforce needs while creating lasting benefits for schools throughout the region. This story was created by reporter Nida Tazeen, NTazeen@usatodayco.com , with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct. This article originally appeared on Galesburg Register-Mail: WIU expands school psychology pipeline with new $3.6M federal award The woman accused of posing as a Boston high school student has pleaded guilty to several charges stemming from the case. Shelby Hewitt was accused of using fake names and birthdates to enroll in classes at three different high schools across Boston in 2022 and 2023, according to prosecutors. In court on Tuesday, Hewitt pleaded guilty to three counts of forgery, identity fraud, and making a false claim to an employer. In exchange for the guilty pleas, prosecutors agreed to drop the remaining charges. Advertisement Advertisement During the hearing, Hewitt apologized, telling the court she was truly sorry for the harm that I know I have caused. As part of the courts conditions, Hewitt is barred from going near Boston Public Schools, prohibited from working as a social worker, and required to undergo mental health treatment. Her trial was slated to begin next Monday. Sentencing details were not immediately released. At various times during the 2022-2023 school year, she attended Jeremiah E. Burke High School, Brighton High School, and English High School while using the student transfer process and enrolling under multiple pseudonyms, officials said. Advertisement Advertisement The Massachusetts Department of Children and Families said Hewitt is a former employee of the state agency and says she was hired as a social worker by DCF from 2016 to 2017, during parts of 2018, and from December 2021 through February 2023. In 2023, Hewitt was indicted on a slew of charges, including fraud, forgery, and larceny. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW When was the last time your mother, sister, wife, or daughter let you forget something that they didnt like? We Persian women dont forget. I should know, I am one and was raised by one: a refugee of the Iran-Iraq war. Iranian women won their battle and are now helping the rest of the country take down their oppressors once and for all. The Islamic Republic of Irans regime has been testing its power on women since its birth: unofficially relaxing rules, which really means just not cracking down on the modesty of womens dress, and then snapping them back without warning. I first saw this push-pull tug of war in 2007, during a trip to Tehran. There, I saw a young woman, who was pushing the boundaries of the required Islamic dress, get snatched from the street by a woman in a chador (a full-body-length cloak) and pushed into the dreaded green-and-white van of the morality police. Advertisement Advertisement The regime controlled its population by easing up on social restrictions and then suddenly pulling the lever, a litmus test for its grasp on power over the people. I was wearing a bright-coloured tunic and not much fabric covering my hair had I been in the wrong place at the wrong time, that could have been me. While in the midst of this push-pull over hair coverings, the regime missed a thread that Persian women have been patiently pulling at for decades. Tugging at this thread has unravelled the fabric of the regime. The regime underestimated the ladies, those who had already begun to ditch the hijab before Mahsa Aminis death in 2022. The 22-year-old was killed at the hands of the morality police in Tehran having been arrested for allegedly not wearing the hijab according to official standards. Mahsa became a symbol of resistance against the oppressive regime and Iranians poured into the streets demanding freedom and the end of compulsory hair covering. An inevitable brutal crackdown ensued, with horrific stories of torture later confirmed by a trauma surgeon I happened across in urgent care in Washington. The doctor managed to escape after Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intelligence threatened her and her family if she ever spoke about what she saw. But the dam had burst. Oppression was no longer working like it had. Once the regime lost control of women, it was game over. Iranian demonstrators burning a rubbish bin in the capital Tehran during a protest following the killing of Mahsa Amini - AFP We hear that a revolution is coming, but the revolution began over three years ago, when women shattered the pillar of oppression that propped up the Islamic Republic. It could no longer enforce hijab at scale. The number of women risking their lives to defy the law outnumber the law enforcement. Advertisement Advertisement Now if a woman doesnt want to cover her hair, she just doesnt. The Woman, Life, Freedom uprising launched after Mahsas death laid the foundation for the path to regime change were seeing today. The wearing of the hijab is one way the regime exercises its power, and rejecting it is indeed rejecting the regime. So the Islamic Republic lost its biggest battle during Woman, Life, Freedom. The lifting of the compulsory hijab was the first admission of defeat. But the Left and parts of the media must stop laundering regime propaganda. These latest protests are not Mossad or CIA-led. Repeating that line helps Tehran and strips Iranians of agency. The BBC needs to do better, too. The corporations obsession with impartiality on Iran can become a performance of neutrality that results in false equivalence. When Woman, Life, Freedom kicked off, a BBC manager warned me that posting about what was happening in Iran could make it look like I was campaigning. They meant well, but I was not promoting my own opinion, despite that being very difficult given my personal ties to the country. The protests against the Iranian regime after the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022 spread to other cities around the world - AFP People inside Iran notice. They call it Ayatollah BBC. One contact of mine inside Iran tracked how long it took the BBC website to cover Decembers major developments. To be fair, Radio 4 moved quickly, but even then you hear the reflex to air regime claims about outside actors without proper push-back. Advertisement Advertisement The BBC gave wall-to-wall coverage of Donald Trumps ICE shooting another innocent civilian in the US, but there is still so little day-to-day reporting on Iran. Even the regimes health ministry has admitted the death toll from its suppression of protests is in the tens of thousands. The US state departments bureau of hostage affairs tells me it is extremely concerned for dual nationals. It urges them to under no circumstances travel to Iran, even in the case of a sick relative. My own uncle died when I was living in Beirut, where I was based while working for the BBC. It is a two-hour flight away from Tehran but a world apart. Above all, we cannot treat Tehran as a reliable narrator. At the BBC I managed to thaw the ice between the organisation and the Islamic Republic. I secured interviews with Iranian officials, including the then-foreign minister Javad Zarif, their charmer-in-chief. And yet Ive had Iranian presidents look me in the eye and lie. Hassan Rouhani, president from 2013-2021, denied Iran uses dual nationals as negotiation chips. In New York at UNGA Ebrahim Raisi, who succeeded Rouhani, denied to me that women are murdered over the hijab. This is a regime that lies as a governing method it gaslights and uses psychological manipulation. Advertisement Advertisement A confident government doesnt act like this. We havent seen this scale of brutality by a state against its own people in decades. The diplomatic response should match reality. The UK has led the way, everyone around the world needs to follow. Suzanne Kianpour was a BBC foreign affairs correspondent until 2023. She is the executive producer of short film That Night, telling the story of a woman who survived a fire at the notorious Evin prison during the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising in 2022 Try full access to The Telegraph free today. Unlock their award-winning website and essential news app, plus useful tools and expert guides for your money, health and holidays. KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) Many hoped the reopening of the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza would bring relief to the war-battered territory, but for the first few Palestinians allowed to cross, it proved more harrowing than a homecoming. Three women who entered Gaza on the first day of the reopening told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Israeli troops blindfolded and handcuffed them, then interrogated and threatened them, holding them for several hours and inflicting what they said was humiliating treatment until they were released. The three were among 12 Palestinians mostly women, children and the elderly who entered Gaza on Monday through Rafah, which reopened after being closed for most of the Israel-Hamas war. Israeli forces seized the crossing in May 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Asked about the reports, the Israeli military said, No incidents of inappropriate conduct, mistreatment, apprehensions, or confiscation of property by the Israeli security establishment are known. The Shin Bet intelligence agency and COGAT, the Israeli military body overseeing humanitarian aid in Gaza, did not immediately respond to questions about the womens allegations. A humiliation room The three women said the abuse took place at a screening station on the edge of the area of Gaza under Israeli military control that all returnees were required to pass through after crossing Rafah. The 12 returnees were brought by bus through the crossing, then drove until they reached the Israeli military zone, said one of the returnees, Rotana al-Regeb, who was coming back with her mother, Huda Abu Abed. The two had left Gaza in March last year for the mother to get medical treatment abroad. Advertisement Advertisement At the screening station, they were ordered out of the bus and members of an Israeli-backed Palestinian armed group, Abu Shabab, including one woman, searched their bags and bodies, she said. Israeli officers then called them one by one into a room, she said. She said her mother was called first. When al-Regeb was called, she said she found her mother, who is in her 50s, kneeling on the floor, blindfolded with her hands handcuffed behind her back. Al-Regeb said Israeli soldiers did the same with her and took her to an interrogation room or, a humiliation room. They questioned her about Hamas and other things in Gaza, "things we didnt know and had no connection to, she said. They also pressured her to act as an informant for the Israeli military, she said. They threatened that they will detain me and I wont return to my children, said al-Regeb, who has four daughters and a son, living with her husband in a tent in Khan Younis. There was no beating, but there were insults, threats, and psychological pressure. Advertisement Advertisement Abu Abed, her mother, confirmed the account to the AP. The third woman, Sabah al-Qara, a 57-year-old from Khan Younis who left for medical treatment in Egypt in December 2023, gave a similar account, describing being handcuffed, blindfolded and interrogated. They interrogated us and asked us about everything that happened in Gaza, she said. We were outside Gaza and knew nothing . The Israelis humiliated us." An arduous day Under the terms of Rafahs reopening, a European Union mission and Palestinian officials run the border crossing itself, though the names of those entering are first approved by Israel. Israel then has its screening facility some distance away. The military said authorities at the facility cross-check the identities of people returning to Gaza with Defense Ministry lists and screen their luggage. Advertisement Advertisement Israeli authorities banned returnees from bringing in any liquid, including drinking water, according to some of those who crossed back to Gaza on Monday. Each passenger was allowed to carry one mobile phone and 2,000 shekels, the equivalent of about $650, if they submitted a declaration 24 hours ahead of their travel. Other electric and digital devices, as well as cigarettes, are not allowed, according to instructions that were posted on the Palestinian side of the crossing and shared with the AP. Israel has said checkpoints both in Gaza and the occupied West Bank are for security. But Palestinians and rights groups have long claimed that Israel mistreats Palestinians passing through them and tried to gather information and recruit informants. The women's ordeal came after a long and arduous day for the returnees, with far fewer Palestinians entering than expected and confusion over the rules. Advertisement Advertisement Al-Regeb said 42 Palestinian patients and their relatives were brought to the Egyptian side of Rafah at 6 a.m. and completed their paperwork to cross at around 10 a.m. Monday. They then had to wait until around 6 p.m. for the gate to open for their buses. In the end, only one bus with the 12 people was allowed through, she and al-Qara said. On the Gazan side of the crossing, the European team searched their luggage loaded with gifts for relatives and took much of it, al-Regeb and al-Qara said. Al-Regeb said they took mobile phones and food, kids games and electronic games. "We were only allowed to take the clothes on our backs and one bag per person, she said. A person familiar with the situation speaking on condition of anonymity because they were discussing a diplomatic matter told the AP that returnees were carrying more luggage than anticipated, requiring additional negotiations. The military said the luggage entry policy had been published in advance, without elaborating. Advertisement Advertisement Tens of thousands seeking to come back to Gaza Al-Regeb said that after they were released from the Israeli screening facility, U.N. buses took them to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, where they finally arrived at 1 a.m. on Tuesday . Thank God that I have returned and found my loved ones," she said. "I am happy that I am in my nation, with my family and with my children." Hamas on Tuesday blasted Israel over the allegations of abuse against the returnees, calling it fascist behavior and organized terrorism. It called on mediators to take immediate action to stop the practices and ensure travelers safety and freedom during transit. Advertisement Advertisement Rights groups and Palestinian officials warn that abuses during the initial reopening could deter others from attempting to cross in the coming days, undermining confidence in the fragile process. More than 110,000 Palestinians left Gaza in the first months of the war before Rafah was shut, and thousands of patients were evacuated abroad for treatment. Many are expected to seek to return. So far, some 30,000 Palestinians have registered with the Palestinian Embassy in Egypt to go back to Gaza, according to an embassy official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information. But the crossing only gives a symbolic chance at return: Israeli officials have spoken of allowing around 50 Palestinians a day back into Gaza. ___ Magdy reported from Cairo, and Metz from Ramallah, West Bank. Following a collaborative effort that involved over $40,000 in donations and the generosity of strangers, the Worcester native who was stuck in Costa Rica for over a month with a spinal cord injury has returned to the United States. Kiara Diaz, 29, who worked as a nurse prior to the injury, has been in a rehabilitation hospital since she flew back to Boston via air ambulance Dec. 27, according to friends. The money raised was instrumental in Diaz's return, said Samantha Cruz, the GoFundMe organizer whose sister, Katy Cruz, was in Costa Rica with Diaz. Samantha Cruz said people also reached out to provide places for Diaz's family to stay, and Costa Rican locals provided them free meals. Advertisement Advertisement "The support from the people up here who saw her story and the people in Costa Rica was fantastic," she said. Diaz plummeted 15 feet and landed on her back while hiking in the Central American country Dec. 5. She had traveled to Costa Rica as part of an annual trip with two friends, Katy Cruz and Leah Shedd. Cruz and Shedd, both nurses, stabilized Diaz's spine for hours while they awaited first responders. Kiara Diaz is aided by medical workers in Costa Rica. While the Doherty Memorial High School graduate was initially told in Costa Rica that she had a complete spinal cord injury, meaning total loss of sensory and motor function below the trauma site, doctors in Boston now saw the injury is incomplete. Some sensation has returned to Diaz's legs, according to Samantha Cruz. Diaz, who last worked on Cape Cod prior to the fall, is in good spirits, she said. Advertisement Advertisement "The whole time, even when she was in Costa Rica and thought it was like a complete injury she had the mentality of, yeah, 'but I'm still going to walk.' So even now she has that a little bit more." Following the fall, Diaz was transported to two separate hospitals in Costa Rica where she initially struggled to get medical care due to the language barrier and Diaz being uninsured, according to comments Diaz's brother Gindember Diaz made previously to the Telegram & Gazette. Coordinating Diaz's return to the United States was equally complicated, a monthlong effort that involved coordinating between doctors in both countries, accessing medical records and multiple surgeries to stabilize Diaz. Diaz's brother and mother flew down and stayed with her until she was cleared to fly, according to Samantha Cruz. The GoFundMe donations paid for almost all of the costs of the air ambulance, which was required due to the severity of the injuries, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Since her return, Diaz has been in a full-time therapy program at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston. Soon she will be transported to an apartment nearby as part of the hospital's bridge program, where she will continue to receive physical and occupational therapy. Samantha Cruz said people in Diaz's life can finally breathe and look forward to the future. Diaz's friends are already tentatively planning their annual trip for next year, Cruz said. "They're thinking maybe Disney." This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester nurse injured in Costa Rica returns to US for recovery BERLIN, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Two workers have been arrested on suspicion of sabotaging several German warships at Hamburg harbour in 2025, the prosecutor general's office said on Tuesday. The accused, a 37-year-old Romanian and a 54-year-old Greek, tampered with the vessels by pouring more than 20 kg of steel pellets into an engine block, puncturing freshwater lines, removing fuel tank caps and disabling fuses in the onboard electronics, according to the investigators. The sabotage was discovered during pre-departure checks as one of the ships, the corvette "Emden", was preparing for its inaugural journey to the port city of Kiel. Advertisement Advertisement The activities could have led to significant damage if left undetected, the prosecutor general's office said, adding that investigations were still ongoing. The two men were arrested in Hamburg and a village in Greece, with their residences in Hamburg, Romania and Greece searched by authorities. According to Greek police officials and security sources, the 54-year-old man was arrested in the early morning hours inside his home in northern Greece following a European arrest warrant issued on behalf of Germany. Among the items confiscated from his home were six mobile phones, three USB sticks, a SIM card and a hard drive, and evidence of 19 bank accounts, officials said. Advertisement Advertisement According to Greek court documents, the arrested men were tasked with painting work on the corvette "Koeln" in June 2025. During the work, they manually shut the control panel, cutting power off on the vessel and risking starting a fire. Germany's defence ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for the prosecutor's office in Hamburg declined to say whether authorities suspected Russia of being behind the sabotage. Political leaders and military officials have accused Russia of engaging in acts of sabotage, espionage, and hybrid warfare since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Advertisement Advertisement The Kremlin has repeatedly denied such allegations, dismissing them as unsubstantiated. (Reporting by Sabine Siebold in Berlin and Yannis Souliotis and Renee Maltezou in Athens; editing by Philippa Fletcher and Maria Martinez) Hostilities flared in recent days in Tsemlet, western Tigray, an area claimed by forces from the neighbouring Amhara region, raising fears of a renewed conflict between local fighters and federal troops. Two drone attacks killed a truck driver in central Tigray, according to Dimtsi Woyane television, a media outlet close to the Tigrayan authorities. The Tigrayan official said the Ethiopian National Defence Force launched the strikes but did not provide evidence. Advertisement Advertisement Around three years ago, the volatile region emerged from a brutal war between Ethiopian forces and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) that the African Union says killed at least 600,000 people. TPLF-affiliated news outlet Dimtsi Weyane posted pictures on Facebook which it said showed the trucks damaged in the strikes. It said the trucks were transporting food and cooking items, while pro-government activists posting on social media said the trucks were carrying weapons. The TPLF, which is the main political force in northern Ethiopia, reaffirmed its commitment to the peace process despite the attacks. Similarly, the head of the interim regional administration, General Tadesse, called for dialogue. Advertisement Advertisement As Tigray clashes intensify, locals stockpile food and airline cancels flights Call for restraint The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres's office said in a statement that he was "closely following" developments in the region. "He is deeply concerned about the potential impact on civilians and the risk of a return to a wider conflict in a region still working to rebuild and recover," the statement added. Guterres called on "all parties to exercise restraint", said the statement. The European Union also warned on Saturday that any renewed conflict would have "serious consequences for civilians and regional stability". Advertisement Advertisement And the United Kingdom has warned against travel to all areas of Ethiopia's northern Tigray region due to ongoing tensions between local and federal forces. In its latest travel advisory, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office warned its citizens "against all travel to all parts of Tigray region following renewed violence". Ongoing tensions Tension has been brewing in northern Ethiopia for several months as Amhara and Eritrean forces remain present in violation of the peace deal. Last year, the head of Tigray's interim administration established by Addis Ababa was forced to flee Mekele, the regional capital, amid growing divisions within the TPLF. Advertisement Advertisement Addis Ababa has accused the group of forging ties with neighbouring Eritrea and "actively preparing to wage war against Ethiopia". Ethiopia's national army fought fighters from the TPLF Front for two years until late 2022, in a war researchers say killed hundreds of thousands through direct violence, the collapse of healthcare and famine. Earlier last week, the national carrier Ethiopian Airlines cancelled flights to Tigray, where residents rushed to try to withdraw cash from banks. Flights have been suspended for four days now. The Tigray war ended with a peace pact in November 2022, but disagreements have continued over a range of issues, including contested territories in western Tigray and the delayed disarmament of Tigray forces. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed remains silent despite the fighting, not commenting on the drone strikes. This uncertainty is causing concern among local residents. (with newswires) Paris, France French authorities have asked Elon Musk to appear to answer questions as part of a probe into his social media platform X, the Paris prosecutor's office said Monday, as authorities searched X's office in the French capital. "Summons for voluntary interviews on April 20, 2026, in Paris have been sent to Mr. Elon Musk and Ms. Linda Yaccarino, in their capacity as de facto and de jure managers of the X platform at the time of the events," the Paris prosecutor's office said in a statement. French cybercrime authorities were carrying out a search, meanwhile, at X's offices in Paris, the prosecutor's office said. The summonses for Musk and Yaccarino and the search at the X office were related to an investigation launched in January 2025 over complaints about how X's algorithm recommends content to users and gathers data, the prosecutor's office said. Officials have previously raised concern that the way X works could amount to political interference. Advertisement Advertisement The investigation is to ensure that X is in compliance with French laws, and the prosecutor added that it was broadened last year after reports that X was allowing users to share nonconsensual, AI-generated sexually explicit imagery, and holocaust denial content. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, and Shivon Zilis, a venture capitalist, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, Feb. 1, 2026. / Credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty X and Musk have dismissed the French investigation, and similar probes by European Union and British authorities, as baseless, politically motivated attacks on free speech. Yaccarino resigned as CEO of X in July last year after two years at the helm of the company. The investigation is being led by the cybercrime unit of the prosecutor's office, in conjunction with French police and the joint European policing agency Europol. Advertisement Advertisement A CBS News investigation found late last month that the Grok AI tool on Musk's X platform still allowed users in the U.S., U.K. and EU to digitally undress people without their consent, despite public pledges from the company to stop the function. The Grok chatbot, both via its standalone app and for premium X account holders using the platform, allowed people to use artificial intelligence to edit images of real people and show them in revealing clothing such as bikinis. A request for comment on the findings of CBS News' investigation was met with an apparent auto-reply from Musk's company xAI, saying only: "Legacy media lies." Scrutiny of the Grok feature has mounted rapidly in recent months, with the British government warning X could face a U.K.-wide ban if it fails to block the "bikini-fy" tool, and EU regulators announcing their own investigation into the Grok AI editing function on in late January. Advertisement Advertisement CBS News found Grok was still enabling users to digitally undress people in photos weeks after X said, earlier in January, that it had, "implemented technological measures to prevent the [@]Grok account on X globally from allowing the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing such as bikinis. This restriction applies to all users, including paid subscribers." Democratic, Republican strategists react to stunning wins in Texas special elections Eye Opener: Search continues for "Today" host Savannah Guthrie's mom Latest on disappearance of Savannah Guthrie's mother, sheriff believes she was abducted Just when Florida highways thought theyd seen it all, January gave us a new contender in the I was late for a flight sweepstakes one that clocked in at a blistering 114 mph and came complete with a courtroom cameo and a truly creative rationale straight out of a travel vlog gone wild. It was a routine Tuesday for Flagler County deputies cruising the morning traffic when one driver, later identified as Boaz Sinuani from Israel, turned an early-morning interstate into what might politely be called a personal racetrack. Deputy dash cams and radar clocks lit up as Sinuanis rented sedan zipped past other motorists at 114 miles per hour, weaving through vehicles like a commuter with a jet engine under the hood. Not In My Country Youre going to be late! might as well have been emblazoned across his windshield. It was the phrase that Sinuani himself offered up when deputies finally brought him to a stop, nearly a minute and a half after the radar first lit up. Even then, he took his sweet time pulling over. Apparently, nobody had told him the slower you go, the quicker you stop mantra. Image Credit: BLX Bodycam/YouTube. Once the vehicle was under control and the engine finally idling quietly, Sinuani delivered his explanation, and honestly, its a tough one to top: he was hightailing it to New York City because he had a flight to catch. Advertisement Advertisement Yes, you read that correctly: this wasnt just a case of a heavy foot and poor judgment. According to deputies, Sinuani claimed that missing that flight was not an option, and that his speed was justifiable because in his home country theres no speed limit on the highway. (Well unpack that in a moment.) While Florida does have speed limits, and folks from other states or countries sometimes forget that fact, the no speed limit defense didnt quite hold up. Deputies were quick to remind him that Floridas super-speeder laws are very real, and they dont care whether your final destination is JFK or any airport at all. Image Credit: BLX Bodycam/YouTube. Sinuani was promptly booked under Floridas super speeder statute, designed to slap hefty penalties on drivers caught going well above posted limits, especially when lives are at stake. After booking, deputies tell us he was taken to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, where he eventually posted his $150 bond and walked back out, presumably to catch something. The No Speed Limit Defense: Myth vs. Reality Sinuanis claim that theres no speed limit in Israel might make for a fun party anecdote, but its not actually accurate. Most countries, and that includes Israel, have strict highway speed limits, just like the U.S. does. Advertisement Advertisement The German Autobahn might have sections without posted limits, but thats a whole different continent and set of rules. You might want to read our story on Arizonas new legislation seeking to create Americas first version of the German Autobahn, a stretch of highway with no speed limit at all. In other words, Sinuanis rationale might be better suited for travel blogs and late-night talk show monologues than as a legal defense. Still, youve got to admire the confidence with which the story was delivered. He went full throttle into the my homeland highway rules are different lane and left no turns untried. Now What? Floridas super speeder laws are nothing to take lightly. Driving significantly above the posted limit, especially on interstates like I-95 or I-4, can be a serious public safety issue with real consequences. Advertisement Advertisement From hefty fines to possible license suspension, and yeah that little jail visit the cost of going fast can outweigh any Im late for a flight story you think youve got lined up. So, the next time your commute starts feeling like a drag, try some good old playlist upgrades or caffeine. Not 114 mph plus excuses. And if you do plan on racing to catch a flight, leave a little extra time or take a plane earlier. Your local traffic deputies will thank you. Sources: Spot On Florida Singapore plans to switch to its new ERP 2 system for toll charges from 1 January 2027 which means all Singapore-registered motor vehicles will be required to have the On-Board Unit (OBU) installed ahead of the transition. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) revealed that more than 93 per cent of vehicles in Singapore (about 930,000 vehicles) have completed the OBU set-up. Local media claim former actor Edmund Chen will appeal against his five-day jail sentence for careless driving. The 63-year-old filed a notice of appeal on Monday (2 Feb), based on court records. Chen was involved in an accident in March last year which left a 21-year-old motorcyclist with fractures to his wrist and hand. Read more in our live blog below, including the latest local and international news and updates. Its not every day that national Democrats and Republicans flip out over the results of a special election runoff for a state Senate seat in Texas (or anywhere else). But thats exactly whats happening after Democrat Taylor Rehmet defeated Republican Leigh Wambsganss by more than 14 percentage points Saturday night in the Lone Star States Ninth Senate District (SD-9), which covers the northern part of Tarrant County in and around Ft. Worth. The results from the special election in Texas are even worse for Republicans than they look, Dan Pfeiffer, a former Barack Obama adviser, wrote on social media. Every Republican on the ballot should be scared s***less. Advertisement Advertisement A swing of this magnitude is not something that can be dismissed, agreed Floridas Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. Republicans should be clear-eyed about the political environment heading into the midterms. On Tuesday, Nov. 3, President Trump will face midterm elections nationwide. Right now, the Republican Party narrowly controls both the U.S. House (by a margin of 218 to 214 ) and the U.S. Senate (by a margin of 53 seats to 47 seats). The incumbent presidents party almost always loses seats when voters return to the polls to judge his first two years in office. Sometimes, the backlash is so pervasive that the party loses almost every close contest a phenomenon known as a wave election. So could Nov. 3 bring a blue wave? Thats the argument Democrats are starting to make after Rehmets upset win in Texas and its the outcome that Republicans are starting to fear. But theres still a long way to go before Election Day. Heres what we know so far, and what we dont. 14 points is a lot particularly in a district like SD-9 Northern Tarrant County isnt just any old place. For one thing, its in Texas a historically Republican state where Democrats are perpetually promising, and failing, to really compete. For another, its considered an emerging bellwether, i.e., the kind of area where Democrats have to do better if they ever want to win statewide (and improve their national fortunes as well). Advertisement Advertisement Home to major defense contractors and a hotbed of tea party activism during the Obama years the district hasnt sent a Democrat to the state Senate since the early 1980s. And Trump won it just two years ago by more than 17 points. That means on Saturday, the district swung nearly 32 points to the left when it chose Rehmet, a machinist union leader and Air Force veteran, over Wambsganss, a well-connected local political activist. Special elections come with caveats but fewer here than elsewhere Trying to divine the outcome of a national midterm election from the results in one state Senate district is a fools errand especially nine months out. Skeptics will note that much can change between now and then; that the sample size is small; and that the electorate isnt representative. The skeptics have a point. Turnout was low on Saturday under 100,000 votes. In recent years, Republicans have developed a habit of showing up when Trump is on the ballot and staying home when hes not. As a result, Democrats have tended to overperform in precisely this sort of race. Advertisement Advertisement But there were some mitigating circumstances in SD-9 that could make it less of an outlier than other special elections. Wambsganss raised more than five times as much money as Rehmet, according to the latest filings. The Republican National Committee, top statewide Republicans and even Trump all tried to help Wambsganss win. (To all Voters in Texass 9th State Senate District: GET OUT AND VOTE for a phenomenal Candidate, Leigh Wambsganss, Trump wrote on social media Saturday, in one of three separate posts on the subject. You can win this Election for Leigh, who has my Complete and Total Endorsement.) Yet the district still swung away from the GOP by nearly 32 points. Advertisement Advertisement Then there are Saturdays actual voting patterns to consider. According to Ross Hunt, a Republican pollster and consultant in Texas, Republicans did not lose the TX SD-9 runoff because of low GOP turnout: They lost because almost all of the independents and some of the Republicans voted Dem. In other words, Rehmets upset had more to do with how people voted than which people voted. The electorate was still 16 percentage points more Republican (51%) than Democratic (35%). But Wambsganss performed much worse than Trump because lots of soft Trump voters moderate Republicans and Republican-leaning independents broke hard against her. If the trend continues, it spells trouble for the GOP in November. SD-9 isnt an isolated incident Trumps GOP has been losing races like SD-9 for the last year. According to leading political data journalist G. Elliot Morris, Democrats have flipped eight Republican-held state legislative seats in special elections across five states since Trump returned to the Oval Office while Republicans have flipped zero Democratic seats. Advertisement Advertisement Saturdays victory in SD-9 was the biggest flip so far. But on average, these seats have been swinging to Democrats by 19 points a sizable margin. The presidents own numbers arent helping his party. Before Trump took office, more independents said they expected Trump to change America for the better (41%) than said they expected him to change America for the worse (34%), a Yahoo/YouGov poll found. But today, a full 57% of independents say Trump has changed America for the worse while just 22% say hes changed America for the better a 42-point swing away from the president. Meanwhile, Trumps overall job-approval rating is as poor as its ever been, and immigration is becoming more of a weakness than a strength amid his ongoing mass-deportation crackdown in Minneapolis and elsewhere. Advertisement Advertisement All of which suggests that a big wave is gathering for 2026, according to Morris. There is at present no question of the existence of this wave, he adds, just its height. Things could change between now and November, of course. But when Morris overlaid the SD-9 results on the national map and the national electorate they corresponded to a 7-point Democratic victory in the U.S. House (which would be more than enough to flip the chamber). The latest Fox News poll, conducted from Jan. 23 to 26, showed something similar: that if the midterms were held today, 52% of voters would back the Democratic candidate in their House district while 46% would back the Republican. That 52% is the highest level of support Fox has ever recorded for either party. Get the day's news. Sign up for our Daily Headlines newsletter delivered to your inbox every morning at 7 a.m. City Life | Recently, Guangzhous Jiahewanggang Metro Station has gone viral online. The craze started with the release of its namesake song, which resonated nationwide. When the mayor publicly endorsed it, inviting visitors to Guangdong to listen to Jiahewanggang during the New Year, the trend sparked playful meme battles as other cities joined in cementing the stations status as a rising urban landmark. At Jiahewanggang, Lines 2, 3, and 14 of the Guangzhou Metro converge. Northbound trains head to the airport, while southbound lines lead to the railway stations. For many, its their first stop upon arriving in Guangzhou and the last when leaving earning it the nickname a pivotal point in life.#citylife 2314 Stay informed on all the latest news, real-time breaking news updates, and follow all the important headlines in india news andworld News on Zee News. New Delhi: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday that the trade deal finalised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the US is the best among the neighbouring countries and will protect the interests of the country's farmers, the dairy sector, and fishermen. Addressing a press conference, he said that the Prime Minister had used his friendship with US President Donald Trump to clinch a very good deal for India, giving priority to national interest. The trade deal will benefit the labour-intensive sectors of the economy, such as textiles, leather, seafood, and gems and jewellery, as it opens up significant opportunities for exports to the US. The engineering goods sector, which includes auto components and other goods, will also benefit from the deal, he added. Add Zee News as a Preferred Source The minister further stated that the MSME sector, which creates the highest number of jobs in the economy, would also benefit from the trade deal as the reduced tariff would make exports from the sector more competitive. Goyal said that PM Modi had clinched the deal, which was stuck in lengthy negotiations at the official and ministers level that were not producing results. He contended that it was essential to finalise the trade deal as Indian exports of labour-intensive products such as seafood and textiles to the US were hit due to the higher punitive tariff of 50 per cent imposed by the Trump administration. "On behalf of 140 crore Indians, I want to thank PM Modi because this deal will bring a lot of opportunities for India's economic growth, for farmers, poor, fishermen, women, and youth," he said. Goyal launched a scathing attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of misleading the country and lacking concern for Indias development. "Leaders with negative thinking, like Rahul Gandhi, are misleading the country. They have no concern for the nations progress. The Congress government reduced India to the fragile 5 economies, and if Rahul Gandhi has his way, he will take the country back to the same stage," he alleged. US President Trump on Monday announced a trade deal with India that slashes US tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent from 50 per cent in exchange for India halting Russian oil purchases and lowering trade barriers. Trump announced the deal on social media following a call with Prime Minister Modi, noting that India would now buy oil from the US and potentially Venezuela. "Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprocal Tariff, lowering it from 25 per cent to 18 per cent," Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social. The Delhi government has informed the Supreme Court that the Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixing and Regulation of Fees) Act, 2025, aimed at regulating school fees and preventing unjustified hikes by private schools, will not come into effect in the 202526 academic year. What did the Government say? According to ANI, a bench led by Justice P.S. Narasimha noted the Delhi governments submission that the courts main concern was the hurried implementation of the new law which has now been clarified. The bench said the government took a better approach by confirming that the Act will be implemented only from the next academic year. Add Zee News as a Preferred Source The Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Act, 2025, passed in August 2025, aims to regulate fees charged by private unaided schools and prevent arbitrary fee hikes. The law introduces a two-step approval process for fee increases and requires every private school to form a School Level Fee Regulation Committee. Petitioners argued that the government is trying to apply the Act to the 2025-26 academic year, even though school fees for that year were finalised before the law came into force in December 2025. They said the law cannot be applied retrospectively. After hearing the arguments, the court said the petitioners can raise their concerns before the Delhi High Court as the Supreme Courts role was limited to addressing the rushed implementation of the law. What the notification says According to the official notification, school fees for the academic year 2025-26 have effectively been frozen. Parents have been assured that there will be no increase in fees during the current session. Schools will be allowed to charge only the fees that they were already collecting as of April 1, 2025 and no additional amount can be imposed. The notification states that till the fee is fixed for the next block of three years, the schools shall not charge any fees over and above the fee already being charged with effect from 01.04.2025, meaning no new fee hike is allowed in the current academic year. It also says that any excessive fee charged for 2025-26 will be regulated under the law and may be reviewed later, depending on the final decisions of cases pending before the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court. This indicates that fee hikes made during the year are not automatically valid and could be reviewed later Why it is on hold The main issue was not whether private school fees should be regulated but when the new system should be applied. Bringing in a committee-based fee system in the middle of an academic year would have created problems for parents who had already paid fees and for schools that had already planned their budgets, making timing a matter of fairness. The Supreme Court did not decide on the validity of the law or stop it from being enforced. Instead, it accepted the Delhi governments assurance and limited its focus to the speed of implementation, leaving the larger legal questions to the Delhi High Court. As a result, 2025-26 will be a transition year with fees frozen at April 1, 2025 levels while committees and appeal bodies are set up for the future. The law has only been postponed, not cancelled and its real impact will be seen when it is fully implemented from 2026-27. Bengal election 2026: West Bengal is set to enter election mode in the coming months, leading to heightened political activity across the state. Leaders from both the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are gearing up for a high-stakes battle, with the chief ministerial position at the centre of the contest. TMC supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been in power since 2011. She rose to power on a strong anti-incumbency wave, effectively ending the three-decade-long rule of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Front government. In doing so, she became the first woman to hold the office of Chief Minister in West Bengal. Before this, she had also served as a Union Cabinet Minister. Popularly known as Didi in the state and in political circles, Mamata Banerjee remains one of the most influential and strongest figures in West Bengal politics, backed by a long political journey that comes from her established presence at both grassroot and national levels. However, with the elections approaching, it is essential to assess the factors that could potentially hurt the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government. Also Check- West Bengal Election 2026: Can Left Revive Itself From Dormancy? Expert Says Add Zee News as a Preferred Source Challenges TMC is facing in this election Kunal Debnath, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Rabindra Bharati University, explained that one of the major challenges confronting the TMC government is the anti-incumbency sentiment after nearly 15 years in power. "Anti-incumbency is not a new issue, but it is more concerning when coupled with huge corruption charges against top leaders and ministers," he stated. Notably, there is no concrete evidence to suggest whether allegations of corruption will play a decisive role in shaping electoral outcomes. Debnath further pointed out that beyond corruption, the TMC faces several structural challenges, including unemployment, fiscal constraints, low levels of industrialisation, and irregular or stagnant recruitment in public institutions, among others. How important is the urban vote for TMC? In the 2021 state elections, the TMC outperformed the BJP across urban, semi-urban, and rural constituencies. According to Debnath, this demonstrated that the partys electoral strength rested on broad-based support rather than dependence on urban centres alone. "There is no official, standardised classification released by the Election Commission or state authorities that splits these 294 constituencies explicitly into urban and rural categories. Approximately, 32 per cent of constituencies are urban, 20 per cent are mixed or semi-urban, and the remaining 48 per cent are rural. So, given this distribution, it would be misleading to argue that only the urban vote is decisive for the TMC," he said. What role is national politics playing in Bengals election? The TMC government has repeatedly levelled charges against the BJP-led central government, including alleged discrepancies in the Election Commissions Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise and the withholding of MGNREGA funds. This has brought centre-state relations into sharp focus ahead of the polls. "We cannot say that assembly elections in West Bengal are independent of national politics. Rather, it is important to note that the TMC or the CPI(M) always label the BJPs cultural nationalismlargely based on Hindi, Hindu, Hindustan, as exclusionary and cultural imposition, allowing them to frame the BJP as a cultural outsider rather than a locally rooted party," Debnath said. He further added that the CPI(M) seeks to differentiate itself from the TMC by arguing that the latter indirectly facilitates the BJPs national dominance, including through passive cooperation or abstentions in Parliament. The party further alleges that central agencies such as the CBI and the ED have not acted rigorously against corruption charges involving TMC leaders, suggesting a tacit understanding between the state and the Centre, he said. In addition, Debnath explained, "The TMC actively leverages national political developments, such as debates around the CAA, NRC, SIR, and symbolic projects like the Ram Mandir, to consolidate minority support by presenting itself as their primary protector. As a result, national politics in Bengal functions not merely as a background context but as a key arena of electoral strategy, ideological contestation, and inter-opposition rivalry." Youth and first-time voters in Bengal In the 2026 elections, youth voters, including Gen Z and first-time voters, are expected to play a significant role in shaping political narratives, even if they do not solely determine the final outcome. "This cohort, which makes up roughly one-fifth to one-quarter of the electorate, is highly visible, digitally connected, and sensitive to issues such as unemployment and economic opportunity, which are widely perceived concerns among young people in the state," Debnath emphasised. "Many youths also have socio-economic ties to the ruling party, through casual or contractual jobs in government-linked sectors, social welfare schemes, or beneficiary networks, which can influence their political outlook and voting behaviour," he noted. While Gen-Z and other young voters may not act as a monolithic bloc, their issue priorities and turnout are influencing party strategies and campaign narratives, particularly in competitive urban and semi-urban seats, even as final electoral outcomes continue to depend on how effectively parties consolidate support among rural and older voter groups. As West Bengal moves closer to the 2026 Assembly elections, Mamata Banerjee and the TMC face a complex electoral landscape shaped by governance challenges, national political currents, and shifting voter demographics. While the Chief Minister retains a strong personal brand, sustained challenges and emerging political alternatives could test the partys dominance. An encounter broke out between the security forces and terrorists in Jammu and Kashmirs Udhampur on Tuesday. Security forces launched an operation in the Basantgarh area of Udhampur district. The Indian Army and J&K Police are actively responding at the scene. Indian Armys White Knight corps in an X said, Operation Kiya, an intelligence-based joint Operation, contact has been established with the terrorists by the Troops of CIF Delta, #WhiteKnightCorps, @JmuKmrPolice and #CRPF at around 4 pm today in the general area of Basantgarh. Cordon has been established. Firefight is on. Operation is in progress. Add Zee News as a Preferred Source #WhiteKnightCorps | #OpKiya Operation Kiya In an intelligence based joint Operation, contact has been established with the terrorists by the Troops of CIF Delta, #WhiteKnightCorps, @JmuKmrPolice and #CRPF at around 4 pm today in the general area of Basantgarh. Cordon has been White Knight Corps (@Whiteknight_IA) February 3, 2026 Indian Armys White Knight Corps launched Operation Kiya, Security forces, Indian Army's CIF Delta (White Knight Corps), J&K Police, and CRPF, launched an intelligence-based joint operation at around 4 PM. They made contact with terrorists in the Basantgarh area. Troops have set up a tight cordon, and the firefight is ongoing. Operation continues. Earlier, the Indian Army launched a similar operation, Operation TRASHI-I in Kishtwar's Dolgam village, where three soldiers were injured on January 31, trapping JeM terrorists after re-establishing contact post, the January 18 clash that killed Havildar Gajendra Singh. Joint forces traced the group after 12 days of searches across rugged Chatroo-Sonnar terrain. Operations persist in both areas amid rising JeM infiltration from Pakistan. The operation comes ahead of Home Minister Amit Shahs Jammu and Kashmir visit. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is set to visit Jammu & Kashmir for three days starting Thursday, February 5, to assess the security situation amid rising terror threats in Udhampur, Kishtwar, and Kathua. India-US trade deal: The US tariffs on Indian goods stood around 2-3 per cent under the standard Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) rates, but after President Donald Trumps Liberation Day tariffs (mid/late 2025), the rates went up to 25 and then to 50 per cent total effective duty on many Indian products. When US President Donald Trump announced that Washington would lower reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods from 25 per cent to 18 per cent on Monday, the move was widely projected as a diplomatic and economic breakthrough. Trump, in his Truth Social post, said the United States would charge a reduced tariff while India would move forward to reduce their tariffs and non-tariff barriers against the United States, to ZERO. While the tariff cut was welcomed widely, the unequal structure of the agreement has raised a fundamental question: is India celebrating a strategic win, or accepting an uneven trade compromise? How fair is it that India reduces tariffs to zero while the US keeps them at 18 per cent? Also Check- Trade, oil and Ukraine: What Modi-Trump deal signals | EXPLAINED Add Zee News as a Preferred Source This question is of great importance right now because trade deals are not judged only by immediate relief but by what they signal for future negotiations. At a time when global trade is increasingly shaped by tactics and geopolitical pressures, the terms India accepts today are of immense significance. Addressing why the US continues to levy an 18 per cent tariff despite Indias zero-access commitment, Dr. Sumit Kumar, Assistant Professor, International Relations, at Manipal University, said that reciprocity in trade is rarely arithmetical. According to him, the US retaining an 18 per cent tariff reflects domestic political economy constraints, legacy protection for sensitive sectors, and leverage preservation rather than a rejection of reciprocity. "Indias zeroing of tariffs and non-tariff barriers should be read as along term strategic market access commitment, not immediate transactional symmetry. In return, India secures predictability, supply chain continuity and insulation from future tariffs. In an era of rising uncertainty, stable trade relations itself has become an asset, and India has negotiated for certainty rather than symbolic parity," he added. However, Dr. Siddharth Shukla, Assistant Professor of Economics, Manipal University, cautioned that the tariff reduction is conditional and incomplete. "Reduction of tariff from 25 per cent to 18 per cent is a welcome step from the USA, but this step is not comprehensively conveyed as it is subject to certain major conditions. One of the most significant of these is the complete cessation of importing crude oil from Russia and substituting the same with USA-occupied Venezuela and the USA itself. It is done to weaken the finances of Moscow, which in turn shall place pressure on Russia in the ongoing war with Ukraine," he said. Dr. Shukla added that India's investment in the Chabahar port also plays a dominant role in not reducing the tariffs. He further added that the reduction is tariff is also subject to increasing the share of local American goods in the USA's export. From a political lens, Akshaya Saroha, Ph.D., Political Science and International Relations, Assistant Professor at IMS Unison University, views the tariff cut as a reflection of the USs hegemonic trade posture. "The tariff has been slashed by the United States from the standpoint of a trade hegemon. This follows from its arms-twisting approach in its trade diplomacy, wherein it expects the trade partner to become subservient. India has been pressed to commit to buying American petroleum, defence, and agricultural products. This sort of tariff-threat diplomacy, which defines the Trumpian presidency, shows how, in the garb of trade, the fair trade practices and international regimes are being scuttled," Dr. Saroha said. On whether accepting such terms sets a precedent, Dr. Sumit Kumar frames the deal as strategic risk management. Faced with extreme tariff threats, India prioritised economic shock absorption over rhetorical parity. "The deal safeguards Indian export sectors deeply embedded in the US market while preventing escalation into a broader trade conflict. As our External Affairs Minister has noted, uncertainty is the new normal. This agreement preserves strategic autonomy, secures market reliability, and positions India pragmatically within an unstable global trade order," Dr. Kumar explained. Dr. Siddharth Shukla, however, warns that zero market access could constrain Indias future trade flexibility, increase dependence on the US, and expose vulnerable sectors such as agriculture to competitive pressure. "In light of the increased trade deficit with the USA, the Buy America clause will flood the Indian markets with local American goods, and within this point, the most vulnerable sector would be the Agricultural sector. Since the USA has an ongoing trade war with China, Mexico & Canada, its agricultural exports suffer a major setback, and at that point, access to the Indian market shall prove to be a lifeline for its agricultural exports. Accepting the reduction of tariffs on the mentioned terms might prove to be a trespassing of the USA in India's future trade agreements and its policy for the rural markets, which are threatened to be flooded with American goods," Dr. Shukla said. Meanwhile, Akshaya Saroha explained that the structural imbalance in the international institutions makes it convenient for the United States to keep the international law at its disposal. "Therefore, the absence of any enforcement mechanisms that could hold the unfair trade practices in check creates asymmetrical trade across the globe. India, however, has been instrumental in its diplomacy so far as its national interests are concerned; the clear picture of this deal or precedence will be best explained when the nuances of the details are out," he further added. The India-US trade deal reflects a pragmatic choice made under extraordinary global volatility, balancing tariff relief against strategic diplomacy and trade. The chaos in Lok Sabha continued on Tuesday, as Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi raised the China issue and mentioned an article in a magazine that talked of the unpublished memoir of former Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Narvane (Retd.). A heated argument broke out between the India bloc MPs and the Treasury Bench MPs over Rahul Gandhis address. Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi stated, "A very important matter in the President's speech is a matter relating to national security. Our relationship between the Pakistanis, the Chinese, and us. There is a very important point in this article that I have authenticated. It speaks about the PM's reaction... Our President's address was about the path India has to take. Today." Add Zee News as a Preferred Source "On the world stage, the main issue in international affairs is the conflict between China and the US. This is central to our President's address. All I am saying is let me make a statement about what happened between China and India and how our PM reacted to it. Why am I being stopped?" he added. After this, the MPs of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) objected to Rahul Gandhi speaking on this issue. Meanwhile, Lok Sabha was adjourned till 3 pm after the ruling party objected to LoP Rahul Gandhi raising the issue of China during the debate on the motion of thanks to the President's address. Also Check- Rahul Gandhis claims over India-China standoff sparks ruckus in Lok Sabha Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju opposed Rahul Gandhi's address and asked him not to quote the memoir, as Speaker Om Birla gave a ruling against it on Monday. "I requested Venugopal ji that we patiently wait to listen to LoP. Yesterday, the chair gave a ruling on the paper he had authenticated that was tabled in the House. But, when a ruling was given yesterday, he couldn't quote the same matter again. Please continue your speech, but avoid referring to the matter that has been settled," Rijiju said. Congress MP KC Venugopal objected to Kiren Rijiju and said, "He is misleading the House; he called me and Gaurav Gogoi." What happened in Lok Sabha on Monday? On Monday, Lok Sabha witnessed repeated interruptions and was adjourned for the day amid a prolonged stalemate over Rahul Gandhi's insistence on speaking about a specific matter regarding the standoff with China during border tensions in 2020. The Congress leader, referring to a report citing an unpublished memoir of former Army Chief General MM Naravane. BJP members strongly objected to Rahul Gandhi's remarks and said he was speaking against the rules of the House. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla ruled that Rahul Gandhi should not make references to the unpublished book and the magazine article. (with ANI inputs) Dehradun: At least three people were killed and several others injured after a Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus carrying over 30 passengers plunged into a deep ditch in Dehraduns Vikasnagar area on Tuesday morning, officials said. The accident took place near Sudoi Khad in the Kwanu area when the bus, travelling from Chaupal-Nerwa to Paonta Sahib in Himachal Pradesh, reportedly lost control and fell into the gorge. Three passengers died on the spot, while more than 15 others sustained serious injuries. Officials said the bus had left the Chaupal depot early morning and was heading towards Paonta Sahib via the Minas-Kwanu-Haripur route. The mishap occurred around 10 a.m. Preliminary findings suggest that while giving way to a truck, the road embankment collapsed, causing the bus to lose balance, overturn multiple times and plunge into the ditch. Add Zee News as a Preferred Source Local residents rushed to help with rescue efforts soon after the crash. Police teams and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) were also deployed at the site to carry out relief operations. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed grief over the incident and said he was monitoring the situation closely. He said district authorities and police had been instructed to ensure swift rescue and medical assistance, adding that nearby hospitals were on alert and critically injured passengers could be airlifted if required. Rescue operations are still underway, and authorities said more details are awaited. (With IANS inputs) NEW DELHI: Delhi BJP legislator Harish Khurana on Tuesday urged Chief Minister Rekha Gupta to release a white paper on ration distribution over the past 10 years, claiming the exercise was required to expose the irregularities under the previous Arvind Kejriwal government. Khurana also mounted a strong attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over faulting the ongoing ration card verification drive, accusing the Opposition party of running a decade-long racket that deprived genuine beneficiaries of their rightful entitlements. The Moti Nagar legislator dismissed AAPs allegations as a deliberate attempt to mislead the public, adding that people of Delhi are well aware of how ration cards were issued to ineligible families between 2015 and 2024. Khurana said the AAP leaders must disclose how many Rohingya and Bangladeshi infiltrators were issued ration cards during their partys tenure. Add Zee News as a Preferred Source Some jobless opposition leaders are trying to manufacture fake narratives, but the people of Delhi know how ration cards were indiscriminately issued during AAPs rule, he said. The BJP MLA said official data shows that 9,22,766 applications for ration cards were submitted in Delhi between 2014 and 2024. For nearly 10 years, ration cards were issued without any meaningful verification. The moment the process was subjected to scrutiny, large-scale irregularities surfaced, Khurana added. He said the Rekha Gupta-led government ordered a review of the ration card system in line with Government of India norms, which exposed serious violations: 2.02 lakh ration cards were found to be suspicious (7.07 L beneficiaries); 6,038 cards were issued in the names of deceased individuals; 16,000 duplicate ration cards were detected and over 1.44 lakh cards were held by individuals earning more than Rs 6 lakh annually, despite the scheme being meant exclusively for the needy and people from marginalised sections. If those earning over Rs 6 lakh are drawing subsidised ration, the needy people are bound to be pushed out, he said. The MLA further stated that the verification exercise revealed 2.76 lakh beneficiaries were sent notices via SMS, but only 227 responses have been received so far. He said the BJP governments verification drive showed that 1.59 lakh cardholders own land; 77,000 beneficiaries are vehicle owners; 2,700 ration cards were issued to GST holders with turnovers exceeding Rs 25 lakh, and 16,064 duplicate ration cards were linked to beneficiaries in other states. People owning land, cars and even holding positions as company directors were declared poor to corner benefits. This is the real face of the AAP model, Khurana alleged. Rejecting claims that Food Supply Offices (FSOs) were being shut, Khurana said the re-verification process is being carried out strictly under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) through district-level committees headed by District Magistrates. Not a single FSO office has been closed. All offices are fully functional. No ration card has been cancelled so far, and no eligible beneficiary will be denied foodgrains. Every cardholder is being given adequate opportunity to establish eligibility, he added. Several parts of the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) woke up to dense fog Tuesday morning, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) remaining in the moderate to very poor categories, as per the data released by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Dense fog led to reduced visibility in many areas. In Delhi, foggy conditions were reported from Akshardham, Africa Avenue, Anand Vihar, Sarai Kale Khan, India Gate and Lodhi Road. Air quality varied across locations. According to CPCB data, the AQI levels were recorded at '334' at Akshardham, '142' at African Avenue, '334' in Anand Vihar, 323 at Chandni Chowk, 293 at Dwarka Sector-8, 151 at IGI Airport (T3), 179 at IIT Delhi, 262 at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, and 254 at Sarai Kale Khan. Add Zee News as a Preferred Source Neighbouring areas in the NCR also witnessed similar conditions. Ghaziabad and Noida, particularly around Sector 15, were covered in dense fog, affecting visibility and vehicular movement. The foggy conditions followed a drop in temperatures across the region. Meanwhile, air quality in Ghaziabad remained in the very poor category, with the Air Quality Index touching 332 in the morning, as per data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Visibility in many parts of Delhi and the NCR dropped to below 50 metres, causing major disruptions to traffic on key roads and highways. Officials said conditions were expected to worsen in the next few hours as dense fog continued to persist. According to IANS, key transit hubs, including the Indira Gandhi International Airport and several railway stations, witnessed delays as shallow to moderate fog lingered well after sunrise. Commuters travelling the DND Flyway and the DelhiGurgaon Expressway were urged to exercise caution, switch on fog lights, and drive at reduced speeds due to poor visibility. Weather conditions in Delhi are expected to shift in the coming days. Skies are likely to gradually clear from February 3, though another western disturbance is forecast to impact north-west India from the night of February 5, which may bring increased cloud cover and light drizzle toward the end of the week. Morning fog is likely to continue for the next six days. During the first week of February, maximum temperatures are expected to rise gradually to around 2425 degrees Celsius, resulting in slightly warmer daytime conditions. Across north India, including Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, weather activity is also set to intensify as two western disturbances pass through the region in quick succession, potentially causing light rainfall in parts of north-west India later this week. Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh was also shrouded in a dense blanket of fog, significantly reducing visibility across the city. South and West India have also witnessed the foggy condition this morning. A layer of fog has covered several parts of Hyderabad and dense fogs in multiple areas of Mumbai. The Indian Parliament witnessed repeated disruptions for the second consecutive day as a heated confrontation erupted over Congress leader Rahul Gandhis remarks on foreign policy, particularly concerning China. The uproar led to multiple adjournments of the House and the suspension of eight opposition MPs. Rahul Gandhi has been questioning the governments foreign policy over the past two days, pointing to tensions surrounding the IndiaUS trade deal on one hand and relations with China on the other. As he began speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, he once again referred to China, triggering sharp protests from the ruling party. The Speaker termed the remarks a violation of parliamentary rules and intervened, following which chaos broke out in the House. Watch Today's Full Episode: Add Zee News as a Preferred Source During the exchange, Rahul Gandhi attempted to explain procedural rules to the Speaker. At this point, Congress MP K C Venugopal, seated beside him, used the word yaar, which further escalated tensions. Members of the ruling party objected to the usage, leading to a verbal standoff. What began as a debate on China and Doklam soon devolved into a dispute over parliamentary decorum. As the disorder intensified, opposition MPs raised slogans and allegedly threw papers towards the Chair. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju moved a motion seeking action against the MPs accused of breaching decorum. Subsequently, seven Congress MPsManickam Tagore, Gurjeet Aujla, Raja Warring, Hibi Eden, Kiran Reddy, Prashant Poddole, Dean Kuriakoseand CPI(M) MP S Venkatesan were suspended for the remainder of the session. Following the suspensions, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi joined the suspended MPs in protesting outside Parliament. Congress leaders accused the government of authoritarianism, while members of the ruling party rejected the allegations, asserting that indiscipline would not be tolerated. The disruptions came at a critical time, as February 2 and 3 were scheduled for discussions on the Presidents Address and the Union Budget. Key debates on national security, social justice, youth issues, and budgetary details could not take place. Former Swedish Prime Minister and Co-Chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations, Carl Bildt said that the European Unions trade agreement with India played a key role in prompting the United States to adjust its trade policies toward New Delhi. Reacting to US President Donald Trumps announcement of a trade deal between India and the United States, Bildt said the EU-India agreement had made Washington nervous, forcing a quick policy adjustment. The EU trade deal with India obviously made Trump, US nervous - and quickly he had to adjust US policies. That was a good thing for both countries -EU gave leadership, said Carl Bildt, Co-Chair European Council on Foreign Relations, he said in a post on X. Add Zee News as a Preferred Source Earlier, US President Trump announced that the United States had reached a trade understanding with India, citing friendship and respect for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the US had agreed to reduce reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods from 25 per cent to 18 per cent. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also confirmed and welcomed the trade deal with the United States, citing that two large economies and the worlds largest democracies work together. Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 per cent. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement, PM Modi wrote in a post on X. Bhutans Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Lyonpo Gem Tshering, held discussions with Union Minister of Power Manohar Lal, at a meeting here on Tuesday which focused on strengthening the longstanding cooperation between the two nations in the power sector. During the discussions, both sides deliberated on the commercial optimisation of power output from the Punatsangchhu-II Hydroelectric Project (1020 MW). Emphasis was also placed on the early commissioning of the Punatsangchhu-I Hydroelectric Project (1200 MW), according to an official statement issued after the meeting. The discussion also covered the way forward for the Sankosh Hydropower Project. In addition, India and Bhutan discussed the transmission infrastructure planning up to the year 2040, for which detailed consultations are currently underway. It also covered the need to streamline approval for scheduling of power, particularly during lean months in Bhutan, the statement said. Add Zee News as a Preferred Source The Ministers appreciated the mutual friendship of the two nations and looked forward to further strengthening it. Minister of State for Power and New and Renewable Energy, Shripad Naik, and senior officials of the power ministry were also present at the meeting. In November 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 1020 MW Punatsangchhu-II Hydroelectric Project constructed under a bilateral agreement between India and Bhutan, marking a major milestone in the energy partnership between the two countries. The two sides also reached an understanding on the resumption of work on the main dam structure of the 1200 MW Punatsangchhu-I Hydroelectric Project. India has extended a Rs 4,000 crore Line of Credit (LoC) to Bhutan to spur economic development in the Himalayan country. In another key development to strengthen bilateral cultural ties PM Modi announced the granting of land in Varanasi for building a Bhutanese Temple and Guest House in the holy city. Besides, the two sides have decided to establish an Immigration Check Post in Hatisar across Gelephu. Memoranda of Understandings (MoUs) signed during PM Modis visit include an MoU on cooperation in the field of Renewable Energy signed by Lyonpo Gem Tshering, Minister for Energy and Natural Resources, Bhutan and Pralhad Venkatesh Joshi, Indias Minister for New and Renewable Energy. The MoU seeks to institutionalise the bilateral engagements in the field of renewable energy and aims to work together in areas such as Solar energy, Wind energy, Biomass, Energy Storage, Green Hydrogen and capacity building in these areas. Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong marked the start of the 'Year of the Horse' on Tuesday by praising stronger India-China ties. He shared that trade between the two countries hit a record $155.6 billion in 2025. At a Chinese New Year event in New Delhi, Xu said relations have moved from a "reset" to a "new level of improvement" after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met President Xi Jinping in Tianjin last August during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. The Chinese Ambassador pointed out strong economic ties, with bilateral trade jumping over 12% from the previous year. In 2025, India-China trade hit a record $155.6 billion, as India's exports to China rose 9.7%, showing huge potential for a deeper economic partnership. Add Zee News as a Preferred Source China's Ambassador shared an update on his country's economy: its GDP now tops 140 trillion yuan, about $20 trillion, with 5% growth that accounts for over 30% of global economic expansion. The Chinese Ambassador stressed better people-to-people ties, with China reopening the pilgrimage for Indian devotees to sacred sites like Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar in Tibet, nearly 20,000 Indians joined last year. India has also restarted tourist visas for Chinese visitors, and direct flights between mainland China and India are back, making travel and exchanges much easier for both sides. Chinese Ambassador Xu compared the two ancient civilizations, saying China's goal of "a world of great harmony" matches India's idea of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, the world as one family. He also linked China's push for self-reliance to India's Atmanirbhar Bharat plan, noting both countries share deep-rooted traditions and similar goals. He also shared his visits to Ajanta-Ellora Caves and Rabindranath Tagore's Santiniketan, saying they deepened his feeling for the lasting cultural and spiritual bonds between India and China. Beijings envoy backed India's BRICS chair role, pledged closer teamwork for Global South goals and true multilateralism, and said, "We're ready to work with India, drawing from our cultures to see each other as partners and opportunities." The Chinese New Year event, just before spring's Lichun, drew diplomats, Chinese community members, and others, hinting at hope for the 2026 lunar year. (with ANI inputs) Following the announcement of the India-US trade deal on Monday, in which Washington reduced tariffs on India to 18 per cent, New Delhi now faces lower tariffs than its regional export competitors in South and Southeast Asia. With the new tariff structure, India now has a clear advantage over competing export economies in the region, with lower tariff rates compared to Indonesia at 19 per cent and Bangladesh and Vietnam with 20 per cent each. Compared to China, India now enjoys significantly lower tariffs, with tariffs levied on Beijing at 34 per cent. Add Zee News as a Preferred Source India also enjoys a slight edge over Pakistan, with tariffs on Islamabad currently levied at 19 per cent. Earlier on Monday, US President Donald Trump said that the US and India "have agreed to a trade deal" with Washington reducing the reciprocal tariff from 25 per cent to 18 per cent, "out of friendship and respect" for PM Modi. He further stated that the deal will come "effective immediately". In his Truth Social post, Trump referred to his conversation with PM Modi earlier in the day, noting that the Prime Minister was one of his closest friends and a powerful, respected leader of India. The US President also claimed that PM Modi had agreed to "stop buying Russian oil" and to buy much more from the US. Trump further noted that India would reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers against the US. "It was an Honor to speak with Prime Minister Modi, of India, this morning. He is one of my greatest friends and, a Powerful and Respected Leader of his Country. We spoke about many things, including Trade, and ending the War with Russia and Ukraine. He agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela. This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week! Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%. They will likewise move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO," Trump's post read. Following Trump's post, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a post on X, said that it was wonderful to speak with his "dear friend President Trump" and expressed delight that "Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%". "Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement," PM Modi wrote in a post on X. Meanwhile, a White House official confirmed to ANI that Washington will also drop the additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian imports imposed due to New Delhi's purchase of Russian oil, noting that India has to "cease, not just reduce, Russian oil purchases." When asked by ANI whether the tariffs on Indian imports would be lifted in exchange for reducing Russian oil purchases, the official said, "Yes, although the agreement is that India will cease, not just reduce, Russian oil purchases." For decades, Chickens neck or Silliguri corridor has long been a hot spot for enemies eyeing to break Indias territorial integrity. Since the ouster of Sheikh Hasina, the current regime in Bangladesh has been trying to raise the Chickens neck issue while attracting Chinas attention to the region as well. However, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has been cautioning Bangladeshi leaders against any provocative statement. Now, paying heed to the security threats to the region, India has decided to boost the connectivity between the north east and mainland via the Chickens neck. The Government of India has announced plans to set up new rail lines through the strategic area. Special plannings have been done for the strategic section of around 40 kms that connects the North eastern states with the country. Four new rail lines and underground lines have been planned for this. This will be a new dimension for the connectivity to the northeast, said Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. The project involves building two underground railway lines between Tin Mile Haat and Rangapani, while expanding the existing surface tracks to four lines. This will result in a six-line rail corridor, consisting of four overground and two underground tracks. Add Zee News as a Preferred Source The underground lines, located about 2224 metres below the surface, will enhance security and defence movement and improve connectivity, including routes toward Bagdogra. This is BIG. For decades, the Chickens Neck has been used as an intimidation tactic by anti-national forces, both within and beyond our borders. The proposed underground rail link marks a major strategic breakthrough, creating a secure and foolproof transportation corridor pic.twitter.com/8lypj7MoZJ Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) February 3, 2026 Reacting to the statement, Assam CM Sarma said, This is BIG. For decades, the Chickens Neck has been used as an intimidation tactic by anti-national forces, both within and beyond our borders. The proposed underground rail link marks a major strategic breakthrough, creating a secure and foolproof transportation corridor between the North East and the rest of the country. He also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking a giant step towards mitigating this long-standing strategic vulnerability - one that, in hindsight, should have been addressed much earlier, perhaps even in the aftermath of 1971. Earlier, Sarma said that while India has one Chickens neck, Bangladesh too has geographical vulnerabilities, asserting that the neighbouring country has two fragile corridors that are even more susceptible to disruption. Sarma highlighted that Bangladeshs own version of chicken necks includes the 80-km-long North Bangladesh Corridor, stretching from Dakhin Dinajpur to South West Garo Hills. Equally significant, he pointed out, is the Chittagong Corridor, a narrow strip running from South Tripura to the Bay of Bengal. Notably, India has already been fortifying the Chickens neck corridor. India is reinforcing its eastern flank through a major expansion of military infrastructure around the Siliguri Corridorthe narrow 22-kilometre land bridge that links the mainland to the countrys seven northeastern states. The construction of three new military facilities in this strategically vital zone reflects a clear recalibration of New Delhis defence strategy. Strategically placed, the new bases create layered security across the corridor. One installation at Chopra lies less than a kilometre from the Bangladesh border, giving Indian forces the ability to monitor activity well beyond the frontier and deploy troops swiftly if required. Together, these positions significantly reshape the tactical dynamics of the region. India-US trade deal: US President Donald Trump on Monday announced that he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced reciprocal tariff, lowering it from 25 pr cent to 18 per cent. In a post on his social media handle Truth Social, US President Trump referred to his conversation with Prime Minister Modi earlier in the day. He said that PM Modi was one of his greatest friends and a powerful and respected leader of his country. Also Read- India gains edge over regional export competitors after tariffs drop to 18%, beats China, Bangladesh Add Zee News as a Preferred Source It was an Honor to speak with Prime Minister Modi, of India, this morning. He is one of my greatest friends and, a Powerful and Respected Leader of his Country. We spoke about many things, including Trade, and ending the War with Russia and Ukraine, Trump said in his post. Trump also said PM Modi and he are two people that get things done. He claimed that the Prime Minister had agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the US. Indian government has for far not made any announcement about the trade deal with the United States. Trump also said that the new USIndia trade deal is effective immediately and claimed that India will buy over $500 billion in US goods. Trump further claimed India will reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers against the United States. He agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela. This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week! Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%, he added. They will likewise move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO. The Prime Minister also committed to BUY AMERICAN, at a much higher level, in addition to over $500 BILLION DOLLARS of U.S. Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal, and many other products. Our amazing relationship with India will be even stronger going forward. Prime Minister Modi and I are two people that GET THINGS DONE, something that cannot be said for most, Trump added. PM Modi's reaction to India-US trade deal Prime Minister Modi on Monday said that it was wonderful to speak with his dear friend President Trump today and expressed delight that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 per cent. Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement, PM Modi said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). The Prime Minister said that when two large economies and the worlds largest democracies work together, it benefits our people and unlocks immense opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation. Russian oil purchase The US will also drop the 25 per cent tariff linked to Russian oil purchases as part of Indias agreement to stop buying crude from Russia, the White House said on Monday. As part of Indias agreement to cease Russian oil purchases, the 25 per cent Russian oil-related tariff will be dropped, a White House official told the news agency IANS after President Trump said that the two countries have reached a trade deal. Jaishankar's US visit External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is on a visit to the United States from February 2-4 to participate in the Critical Minerals Ministerial convened by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to an official release by the Ministry of External Affairs. ANI reported that the Ministerial will focus on supply chain resilience, clean energy transitions, and strategic cooperation in critical minerals. During the visit, the EAM will also hold meetings with senior members of the US administration. (with agencies' inputs) India-US trade deal: US President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with India on Monday, and the Washington reduced the tariffs on India to 18 per cent. This comes following months of tariff-related tensions, after Washington imposed 50 per cent duties on Indian goods in August 2025, with half of that linked to India's crude oil purchases from Russia. The agreement has sparked buzz around US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor and his role in the ties between Washington and New Delhi. Also Check- India-US Trade deal live updates: New Delhi starts paperwork for US Tariff cuts, reports Confirming the agreement, PM Narendra Modi posted on X, "Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement." Add Zee News as a Preferred Source "When two large economies and the world's largest democracies work together, it benefits our people and unlocks immense opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation. President Trump's leadership is vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity. India fully supports his efforts for peace. I look forward to working closely with him to take our partnership to unprecedented heights," he added. Who is Sergio Gor? In January, Sergio Gor formally assumed charge as the United States ambassador to India. He has worked in multiple government organisations in the field of communications. Gor has served as a Communication and Research Analyst for the Republican National Committee, Director of Outreach for Americans for Limited Government, Press Secretary for the Office of Representative Michele Bachmann, and Communications Director for Randy Forbes for Congress, according to the US Department of State website. Sergio Gor graduated from The George Washington University and got his Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Political Science and International Affairs in 2008. He speaks three languages, Maltese, Spanish, and Russian, the website noted. Reacting to the India-US trade deal, Gor, in a post on X, wrote, "As I have said many times, President Trump genuinely considers Prime Minister Modi a great friend! Thrilled by the news of the trade deal this evening. The relationship between the United States and India has LIMITLESS POTENTIAL!" As I have said many times, President Trump genuinely considers Prime Minister Modi a great friend! Thrilled by the news of the trade deal this evening. The relationship between the United States and India has LIMITLESS POTENTIAL! Ambassador Sergio Gor (@USAmbIndia) February 2, 2026 Trump, in his Truth Social post, said, "It was an Honor to speak with Prime Minister Modi, of India, this morning. He is one of my greatest friends and, a Powerful and Respected Leader of his Country. We spoke about many things, including Trade, and ending the War with Russia and Ukraine. He agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela. This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week!" Detailing the agreement, Trump added, "Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%. They will likewise move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO. The Prime Minister also committed to 'BUY AMERICAN,' at a much higher level, in addition to over $500 BILLION DOLLARS of U.S. Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal, and many other products." "Our amazing relationship with India will be even stronger going forward. Prime Minister Modi and I are two people that GET THINGS DONE, something that cannot be said for most," he added. Against this backdrop, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is visiting the United States from February 2-4 to participate in the Critical Minerals Ministerial. (with agencies' inputs) Lok Sabha Budget Session: Eight opposition members were on Tuesday suspended from the Lok Sabha for the rest of the Budget Session following continued disruptions and alleged violation of House rules during proceedings. The action came amid an uproar over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi pressing to raise references related to the 2020 standoff with China in eastern Ladakh. The House witnessed multiple adjournments earlier in the day as tensions escalated during the discussion on the motion of thanks to the Presidents Address. Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition, said he would avoid quoting from an unpublished memoir or a magazine article but insisted on speaking about Chinese actions during the Kailash Range standoff and the governments response. The government maintained that references to unpublished material or reports based on them were not permitted. The Chair asked Gandhi to resume his speech in line with an earlier ruling and proceed within the rules. As he continued to press his point, other members were called to speak, triggering loud sloganeering from Congress and opposition benches. Add Zee News as a Preferred Source The situation worsened when some members were seen throwing papers towards the Chair, forcing another adjournment. When the House reconvened, BJP member Dilip Saikia, who was presiding, named eight opposition MPs for disorderly conduct. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju then moved a motion seeking their suspension for the remainder of the session for violating rules and throwing papers on the Chair. The motion was passed amid continued protests. Those suspended include Congress MPs Hibi Eden, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Manickam Tagore, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Prashant Yadaorao Padole, Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy and Dean Kuriakose, along with CPI(M) member S. Venkatesan. The Lok Sabha has seen repeated disruptions over the past two days, with opposition protests centred on Rahul Gandhis attempts to raise the China issue during the debate. (With inputs from ANI inputs) The India-US trade deal has been confirmed by President Donald Trump and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal as their social media posts sparked debate online. President Trump claimed that the trade deal opens Indias agriculture sector for the United States. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that he discussed Trade and ending the War with Russia and Ukraine with PM Modi. The Prime Minister also committed to BUY AMERICAN, at a much higher level, in addition to over $500 BILLION DOLLARS of U.S. Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal, and many other products. Our amazing relationship with India will be even stronger going forward, said Trump. Responding to Trumps tweet, PM Modi only confirmed a reduction in tariffs. However, Piyush Goyal hinted that farmers will benefit from the deal. Add Zee News as a Preferred Source Reacting to the US-India trade deal, Goyal said, This agreement unlocks unprecedented opportunities for farmers, MSMEs, entrepreneurs, and skilled workers to Make in India for the world, Design in India for the world, and Innovate in India for the world. It will help India get technology from the US. It is not just a trade deal - it is a historic turning point that will reshape IndiaUS relations and accelerate our journey towards Viksit Bharat 2047. Notably, India has refused to open its agriculture and dairy sector for the European Union and New Zelanad respectively, citing safety of domestic markets. Now, Congress is questioning the government of inclusion of agriculture in the trade deal. US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has said that American farmers products will now be sold in the Indian market. This will bring money into rural America. Indias market is extremely important for US farmers. Through this deal, Trump has ensured benefits for American farmers. This is deeply alarming for India. The US Secretary of Agriculture's statement makes it clear that the Modi government has entered into this deal by ignoring the interests of Indian farmers. This will harm farmers in India. Indian farmers will now be forced to compete with American farmers in their own country. This is nothing less than a direct attack on Indian farmers. Narendra Modi must answer: Why did he trade away the interests of Indias farmers? said Congress in a social media post. Congress MP KC Venugopal gave an Adjournment Motion Notice in the Lok Sabha to discuss the India-US Trade Agreement. "Despite the significant economic, agricultural, and strategic implications of these reported commitments, the Government has neither made an official statement nor taken Parliament into confidence. The country has the right to know the exact terms and conditions of the proposed trade deal, and it is imperative that the Government place all details before Parliament and the nation. Given the urgency and public importance of the matter, this issue warrants immediate discussion through an Adjournment Motion," said Venugopal in the notice. However, some media reports quoting government sources claimed that no compromise will be made on the agriculture and dairy sector. Whike details are awaited, all eyes on the Indian government to share the terms of the agreement termed art of the deal by the United States. By Tahir Kamran Opinion: After names, clothes, and language, we have now assigned religions to words as well. In a society where, after names and clothes, even words are being asked, "You belong to a different religion, so what are you doing here?" such hatred is even more dangerous than hatred expressed with sticks and swords. When such situations arise, understand that the problem lies deep within, not outside. Words are bridges, not borders; they connect cultures. But when checkpoints are placed on these bridges, civilization doesn't progress; it begins to shrink. The Kotdwar incident in Uttarakhand is a prime example of this narrowness. The name "Baba" in a shop has inflamed communal tensions. The question arises: what religion does this word belong to? Who can use it? This question may seem trivial, but the underlying sentiments are quite dangerous. In Kotdwar, some people objected to the word "Baba" in the name "Baba School Dress and Matching Centre." Perhaps this objection was because the word is used primarily by members of a particular religion, and perhaps they simply want to assert their ownership of the word. They believe it is a part of their personal culture. Culture, of course, is never anyone's personal possession. However, if they believe they have exclusive rights to the word, they are merely demonstrating their ignorance. Add Zee News as a Preferred Source To dispel such confusion, it's important to understand that the word "Baba" isn't the exclusive domain of any one religious tradition. Linguistic history reveals that the word has been used in Persian and Central Asian linguistic streams to mean "father," "elder," or "respected person." This explains why the word is naturally found in many religious and cultural traditions. Sufi saints - Baba Farid Sikh tradition - Baba Nanak Hindu saints - Many saints Folklore - Used to mean grandfather or elder. Gen-Z also call their friends 'Baba'. However, the practice of religiously cloaking languages began long ago. Urdu is a famous example. The Urdu language has now been reduced to a kurta-pyjama and a net cap. Interestingly, those who do this suffer from a similar mental illness. If they are associating the Urdu language with a particular religion, then the question arises: what is the religion of Persian? Relationship between Urdu and Persian It would not be wrong to call the Persian language the mother of Urdu. Urdu has been deeply influenced by Persian since its inception. Urdu borrows its meanings, modes of expression, figures of speech, meter (meter), poetic styles, poetic imagery, literary vocabulary, idioms, similes, metaphors, allusions, and even some grammatical structures from Persian. Many Urdu sentences, proverbs, and idioms are actually translations of Persian. For a long time, Urdu essay writers have considered Persian prose a role model. Urdu has very few words of its own; it borrows thousands from Arabic and Persian. Because Persian already had many Arabic words, Arabic words also entered Urdu via Persian. From its inception to the present day, Urdu has had a direct relationship with Persian, and this relationship with Arabic has evolved somewhat in a detour. Now that Persian has been proven to be the mother of Urdu, the question arises: when did those who hated Urdu develop a love for its mother? Because "Baba" is actually a Persian word. If we consider the history of the Persian language, it has the same connection to Islam and Muslims as Urdu, and in fact, this connection is even deeper than Urdu's. Persian is today the national language of Iran, but just like Urdu, it is wrong to associate this language with Islam or Muslims. History of the Persian language Persian predates Islam by centuries. It was the official language during the Achaemenid (550 BC 330 BC) and Sasanian empires (224 AD 651 AD), even before the rise of Islam. This means its origins are rooted in civilization, not religion. Later, with the expansion of Islamic empires, it became the language of administration, literature, and diplomacy. Another interesting thing is that even in India, the Persian language was promoted by those whom we, and these people who claim the word "Baba," hate. They are being erased from history books. History isn't good or bad; history is history, and it's our responsibility to pass on the history we inherited from our ancestors in the same form to the next generation. How does language advance society? Civilizations didn't advance solely through swords or wars, but communication played a greater role than anything else. When people connect through words, symbols, and language, cultures expand; when these are guarded, civilizations begin to shrink. Mesopotamia (3500 BCE) and the Indus Valley Civilization (3300 BCE) are prime examples of this. In Mesopotamia, cuneiform script gave written form to commerce, law, and literature. Could Hammurabi, who ruled Babylon (present-day Iraq), have engraved laws on stone? Were the symbols on the seals of the Indus Valley Civilization merely for decoration? They were symbols of communication. Evidence from Mohenjo-daro and Harappa suggests that trade extended to Mesopotamia. Despite different languages and different peoples, contact remained. The reason is clear: languages, words, and symbols served as bridges. When did the Persian language come to India? When we talk about the India connection of Persian, it entered India along with Central Asian rulers as early as the 11th century. During the Delhi Sultanate, Persian became the state languagethat is, the language of the court. Later, the Mughal Empire made it the principal language of administration, literature, and culture. The court, law, history, and poetry were all written in Persian. In such a situation, I dont think there should be such an outpouring of love among these rioters for the word Baba, a word connected to the language of the Mughals and royal courts. And if this supposed affection for the word turns into hatred, then the question is, how many words will they end up hating? We use thousands of words every day from languages like Urdu, Persian, and Arabic. Adalat (court), darbar (court), bazaar (market), duniya (world), kitaab (book), rang (color), raasta (path), tareekh(date/history), insaan (human being), all of these carry Persian or Arabic influence. Will we remove these too? Or is the problem only where it is convenient to view a word through a religious lens? Languages are not created in laboratories in a pure form; they are born out of the mingling of societies. Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, and Bengali are all children of a shared, blended heritage. A Constitutional Question This debate is not just cultural; it is legal as well. The Indian Constitution grants citizens freedom of expression (Article 19(1)(a)) and the right to practice any lawful profession or business (Article 19(1)(g)). As long as a name does not spread hatred or incite violence, pressuring someone over the name of a shop goes completely against the spirit of the Constitution. It is an encroachment on personal liberty under the cover of religious sentiment. Were Sentiments Safe for 30 Years? Another question is: who were the people who came to demand that the shops name be changed? Who gave them the right to walk into someones shop and pressure them to change its name? Has the administration given them some kind of contract, or is something else going on behind the scenes? Whats also interesting is that the shop is nearly 30 years oldso old that most of the people creating the uproar probably werent even born when it was established. It is only natural to ask how a name that didnt bother anyone for 30 years suddenly started hurting sentiments. Over the past three decades, countless people of different religions and sects must have passed by that shopdid their souls never feel wounded? Perhaps even now no ones soul is wounded; its just fear. And a mind drowned in fear starts looking for small excuses to justify that fear. The Real Fear Is Not of Words, but of Diversity When a society starts being afraid of words, it should be understood that the fear is not outsideit sits within. A confident society embraces diversity; an insecure one keeps searching for threats in everything that is different. Words are like human beings, their beauty lies in their multiple meanings. A word like *Baba* takes on different forms in different contexts, and that is precisely its beauty. Forcing it into a single meaning is like trying to trap a flowing river inside a bottle. The river diesand so does its flow. (Views expressed in the articles are those of the author; Zee News does not confirm or endorse the same.) The 9th edition of Pariksha pe Charcha with Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to be held on February 6, 2026. This year , PM Modi conducted Charcha with students from different parts of the country. Students from Devmogra, Coimbatore, Raipur, and Guwahati participated and met PM Modi at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg in Delhi. What is Pariksha pe Charcha? Add Zee News as a Preferred Source Pariksha Pe Charcha (PPC) is an annual interactive programme initiated by the Ministry of Education, where the Prime Minister of India interacts directly with students, parents, and teachers ahead of board examinations. This event prime focus is on helping students deal with exam stress, time management, career choices, mental well-being, and life values. During the session, the Prime Minister answers questions submitted by participants from across the country, offering practical advice and motivation. The initiative aims to promote a stress-free and positive approach to examinations, encouraging learning beyond marks. Who Can Participate in Pariksha Pe Charcha? Pariksha Pe Charcha is open to students from Class 6 onwards, as well as teachers and parents. The event will be telecast live on DD National, DD News, DD India, and several major private television channels, along with All India Radio. It will also be streamed online on the official platforms of the PMO, Ministry of Education, Doordarshan, and MyGov.in. Additionally, PPC 2026 will be available for viewing on YouTube (MoE), Facebook Live, and Swayam Prabha channels. Pariksha Pe Charcha and the Exam Warriors Initiative Prime Minister Narendra Modis Pariksha Pe Charcha has been organised annually since 2018, featuring a live interaction with students, parents, and teachers ahead of the examination season. For PPC 2026, registrations have seen a huge response. Over 4.5 crore students and more than 28 lakh teachers have registered so far. According to official figures, registrations include 4,19,14,056 students, 24,84,259 teachers, and 6,15,064 parents. The initiative is part of the governments Exam Warriors campaign, which focuses on reducing exam-related stress and helping students develop effective coping strategies. Previous editions of Pariksha Pe Charcha have attracted millions of participants nationwide. All participants receive acknowledgements, while selected winners are invited to attend future programmes. New Delhi: Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi guided NDA leaders on the upcoming state elections and advised them to continue working at the grassroots level to maintain the coalitions winning momentum. He also said that NDA MPs congratulated the Prime Minister for a series of trade agreements signed with developed nations, which, according to him, will greatly benefit the common people. The NDA Parliamentary Party convened a meeting on Tuesday to deliberate on the Union Budget 2026 and the governments broader vision for Viksit Bharat 2047. The meeting was held at the Parliament Library Building in New Delhi. Add Zee News as a Preferred Source Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda, BJP National President Nitin Nabin, along with other NDA ministers and Members of Parliament, were present at the meeting. Addressing mediapersons after the meeting, Rijiju said that the Bharatiya Janata Party formally welcomed its new national president, Nitin Nabin, during the session. There was discussion about historic trade deals under Prime Minister Modis leadership, including nine trade deals referred to as free trade agreements. The India-EU Free Trade Agreement was signed less than a week ago. Additionally, yesterday, a trade agreement with the United States was concluded, generating excitement among the public. Everyone here at the NDA Parliamentary Party meeting was also excited and congratulated the Prime Minister for it, he said. India and the United States reached a trade deal on Monday following a phone call between Prime Minister Modi and US President Donald Trump. This marked the second trade agreement concluded by India within the past ten days. These historic trade deals with 39 developed countries show that under the leadership of the Prime Minister, all these developed countries want to coordinate and work with India in partnership. This will greatly benefit the lives of our common people. All are developed countries -- be it all member states of the EU, or Australia, New Zealand or the UK, Rijiju said. Earlier in the day, as Prime Minister Modi arrived for the meeting, he was congratulated by a group of reporters over the India-US trade deal. The Prime Minister responded with a smile and waved at reporters, saying, Thank you! Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister said that the Prime Minister had given excellent guidance to all NDA MPs. He conveyed to all NDA colleagues that the NDA family is continuing to win elections one after another. Elections are not won in the air; to win, one must work on the ground and advance the country with good policies. Wherever the NDA government has been formed, whether at the central level, state level, or local bodies like corporations and councils, it is achieving success everywhere, Rijiju said. Rijiju also targeted the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of disrupting House proceedings on Monday by raising the Ladakh standoff issue while quoting from a magazine article linked to an unpublished book of former Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane. Yesterday, there was a very good debate and discussion in the Rajya Sabha. The discussion in the Lok Sabha also started on a very positive note. However, due to Rahul Gandhi, the entire debate of the day was disrupted. A wonderful debate took place in the Rajya Sabha, with MPs actively participating and several important suggestions emerging. In both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, discussions started well, but everything came to a halt because of Rahul Gandhi, he said. As a matter of procedure, everyone must follow the rules. We are all elected members, and the House functions according to the Rules of Business and the prescribed conduct. Therefore, no one should disrespect this, and everyone must adhere to it, he added. With good intentions, even if one does not express their own points well in the debate, they should not harm others. In the Congress and opposition parties, several MPs debate well, give good suggestions, and want to speak, but their time is being wasted because of Rahul Gandhi, Rijiju said. Congress can never appreciate anything good; it is their habit. They themselves cannot achieve anything good, and even if something beneficial happens for the country, they cannot tolerate it, he added. IndiaUS trade deal: The United States on Monday reduced tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent, with US President Donald Trump announcing that the trade deal between the two nations would be effective immediately. Following Trumps post, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed delight, saying on X that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. In his Truth Social post, Trump referred to his conversation with PM Modi and described the Indian leader as one of his closest friends and a powerful, respected leader of India. The US President said the two leaders discussed trade and efforts to end the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. Trump also claimed that PM Modi had agreed to stop buying Russian oil and to significantly increase purchases from the United States, a claim not confirmed by Prime Minister Modi. He further stated that India would reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers against Washington as part of the agreement. Add Zee News as a Preferred Source Why Ukraine is at the centre of this deal While India and the United States have announced a trade agreement, Ukraine remains central to the broader context of the deal. Earlier, Trump had imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on India, directly linking it to New Delhis purchases of Russian oil. The move was aimed at applying economic pressure on Moscow by discouraging key buyers from continuing energy trade with Russia, in the hope of pushing towards a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. However, there were assertions that Trump imposed tariffs on India as New Delhi refused to back his Nobel Peace Prize claim. Trumps tariff tactics Trump has used tariffs extensively over the past year as a pressure tool in trade negotiations, often linking them to strategic or political goals rather than purely economic considerations. While this approach has led to talks and negotiations with certain countries, many may have viewed tariff imposition as a negotiating tactic designed to extract concessions. Even US Congress leaders have criticized Trumps tariffs and the same was challenged before the US Supreme Court as well. China and Pakistan at a disadvantage With tariffs on Indian goods now reduced to 18 per cent, India gains a competitive advantage over several regional exporting competitors. The US currently levies: 34 per cent tariffs on China 19 per cent on Indonesia and Pakistan 20 per cent on Bangladesh and Vietnam This positions India more favourably in comparison to other Asian exporters. Role of the IndiaEU FTA Indias recently concluded Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU), described as the mother of all deals, is also seen as a significant backdrop to the US decision. The pact marked a major breakthrough between two large economies and strengthened Indias trade options. It can be speculated that Washington may have been concerned about India drifting closer to the EU as a preferred trading partner, prompting US officials to finalise negotiations and reduce tariffs to maintain Indias strategic and economic alignment with America. Piyush Goyal's reaction to India-US deal Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, in a post on X, congratulated to Prime Minister Modi, US President Trump, and the people of both nations on the landmark trade deal. "This unlocks the power of two large democracies working together for the shared prosperity of their people. Both India and US are natural allies and our partnership will co-create technologies, co-develop solutions, and work together for peace, growth, and a brighter future for India and US," he wrote. "This agreement unlocks unprecedented opportunities for farmers, MSMEs, entrepreneurs, and skilled workers to Make in India for the world, Design in India for the world, and Innovate in India for the world. It will help India get technology from the US," Goyal further said. "It is not just a trade deal - it is a historic turning point that will reshape IndiaU.S. relations and accelerate our journey towards Viksit Bharat 2047," the Minister added. Congratulations to Prime Minister @NarendraModi ji and President @RealDonaldTrump, as well as to the people of India and the United States, on the landmark trade agreement. This reflects the power of two like-minded, fair-trading democracies working together for shared Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) February 2, 2026 Whats next At the time of writing, no official statement has been issued by the Indian government detailing the terms of the agreement. Economists, traders, exporters, and business leaders are closely watching for clarity, as further details will determine the real impact of the deal and provide a clearer understanding of its scope and implementation. Also Check- India-US trade deal live updates: New Delhi starts paperwork for US Tariff cuts, reports BJP elected Yumnam Khemchand Singh as its leader in Manipur's assembly on Tuesday. This paves the way for a new BJP government after a year of President's Rule due to fierce ethnic clashes between Meitei and Kuki Zo communities. Yumnam Khemchand has held key roles earlier. He served as a minister in N Biren Singh's BJP government before President's Rule took over. Journey from speaker to CM Add Zee News as a Preferred Source Yumnam Khemchand Singh, a 62-year-old senior BJP leader and MLA serving his second term from Singjamei constituency in the Manipur legislative assembly, has been selected as the next Chief Minister of the strife-torn state. He played a key role in the internal BJP dissent against former CM N Biren Singh's leadership during the ethnic crisis and stood out as the only Meitei MLA to proactively visit a Kuki-Zo relief camp recently, signaling efforts to bridge community divides. Khemchand began his political journey in 2002 alongside former CM N Biren Singh. They both joined the Democratic Revolutionary Peoples Party, formed after Meitei groups protested the central government's extension of a 1997 ceasefire with Naga insurgents NSCN(IM). Meiteis opposed a new clause making the ceasefire "without territorial limits." They feared it threatened Manipur's borders, sparking widespread agitation that birthed the new party. Yumnam Khemchand entered Manipur's legislative assembly in 2017 from Singjamei on a BJP ticket, having joined the party in 2013 to help form the state's first BJP government. In the initial Biren Singh government, where many BJP MLAs were newcomers, he served as Assembly Speaker. After the stronger 2022 Biren Singh government took power, he became a cabinet minister. After Biren Singh quit amid uncertainty, Khemchand emerged as a top pick for CM during follow-up meetings, but instead of appointing a new leader, President's Rule kicked in on February 13, 2025. Soon after, as calls grew for the central government to bring back an elected setup, Khemchand joined voices pushing for a popular government to restore normalcy in the state. Formation of a new government in Manipur post-violence The new government can stay in power until 2027, when the current assembly's term ends. In the 60-seat Manipur assembly, the BJP holds a strong majority with 37 seats, backed by ally National People's Party (NPP), with seven. Former CM N Biren Singh said on Sunday that NDA partners were called to Delhi for a meeting, adding, "Let's hope for a positive response." Biren Singh resigned as CM after months of on-and-off violence sparked by ethnic clashes between Kuki Zo and Meitei groups. The Union home ministry extended the violence probe commission in December 2025, asking for a report by May 20, 2026, at the latest. The clashes broke out on May 3, 2023, and quickly spread across much of Manipur. New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has directed Bollywood actor Rajpal Yadav to surrender before the concerned Jail Superintendent by 4 p.m. on February 4 in connection with multiple cheque bounce cases. A single-judge Bench of Swarana Kanta Sharma deprecated the actors conduct after noting his repeated failure to honour settlement commitments despite being granted several opportunities. This Court is of the view that the conduct of the petitioner no. 1 (Rajpal Yadav) deserves to be deprecated. Despite repeatedly giving assurances and seeking indulgence of this Court, he has failed to comply with the orders passed from time to time, Justice Sharma observed. Add Zee News as a Preferred Source The Delhi High Court was dealing with a batch of petitions filed by Yadav and his wife challenging their conviction and sentence under the Negotiable Instruments Act. Also Read | Hum Hindustani Teaser Out: Saif Ali Khan and Pratik Gandhi lead period drama on Indias first election Taking a stern view of the conduct of the petitioners, Justice Sharma observed that despite considerable leniency shown over a prolonged period, the settlement amount was not paid in terms of undertakings given to the court. This Court finds no justification to continue the indulgence granted to the petitioner no.1 earlier, the Delhi High Court said, adding that the actor had repeatedly breached undertakings given before this Court. In its order, Justice Sharma noted that the sentence awarded by the trial court had been suspended as early as June 28, 2024, after the petitioners expressed willingness to amicably settle the dispute with the complainant company, and the matter was even referred to mediation. The order further recorded that no payment was made for nearly a year, despite assurances and specific timelines fixed by the Delhi High Court from time to time. While directing the release of the amount already deposited with the Registrar General to the complainant company, Justice Sharma granted limited indulgence by allowing time till February 4 for surrender, accepting the submission that the actor was presently engaged in professional work in Mumbai. However, in the interest of justice, the petitioner no.1 is directed to surrender before the concerned Jail Superintendent by 04.02.2026 at 4:00 PM, to serve the sentence awarded to him by the learned Trial Court, the Delhi High Court said. The matter was listed on February 5, seeking compliance from the concerned jail authorities. New Delhi: Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has launched the NPS Swasthya Pension Scheme. The pension body has said that NPS Swasthya Pension Scheme shall be introduced as a specific sector scheme under the NPS, intended exclusively to provide financial support for out-patient and in-patient medical expenses, within the framework of the Multiple Scheme Framework. The Scheme shall be a contributory pension scheme, governed by the provisions of section 12(1)(a) and section 20 of the PFRDA Act and shall be offered to citizens of India on a voluntary basis. Add Zee News as a Preferred Source From eligibility, charges to medical claim rules --11 key points of NPS Swasthya Pension Scheme Explained 1. Eligibility: Any Citizen of India is eligible for joining the NPS Swasthya Pension Scheme. A Common Scheme Account shall mandatorily be opened along with the NPS Swasthya Pension Scheme Account, if not already available. 2. Fees and charges: Fees and charges applicable under the Scheme shall be governed by the MSF and shall be disclosed transparently. Such charges shall include charges payable to the HBA. 3. Contributions: Subscribers shall be permitted to contribute any amount to the NPS Swasthya Pension Scheme, in accordance with the extant guidelines applicable to the Non-Government Sector under NPS. 4. Investment of contributions: Contributions under the Scheme shall be invested by the PFs in accordance with the investment guidelines prescribed under the MSF. 5. Transfer of Contributions from Common Scheme Account: Subscribers (excluding subscribers under Government Sector and Government-owned Corporates), aged above 40 (forty) years shall be permitted to transfer up to 30% (thirty percent) of their self and/or employee contributions from the Common Scheme Account to the NPS Swasthya Pension Scheme Account. 6. Partial Withdrawals for Medical Expenses: Subscribers shall be permitted to make partial withdrawals from their NPS Swasthya Pension Scheme Account to meet outpatient or inpatient medical expenses as and when such expenses arise. At any instance, withdrawal shall be permitted up to 25% (twenty-five percent) of the subscribers own contributions made to the Scheme, in accordance with the provisions of the PFRDA Act, 2013. There shall be no restriction on the number of partial withdrawals and no minimum waiting period shall apply, provided that the first partial withdrawal shall be permitted only after accumulation of a minimum corpus of 50,000 under the Scheme. 7. Premature Exit for Critical Medical Treatment: In case of inpatient medical treatment where medical expenses in a single instance exceed 70% (seventy percent) of the total corpus available in the subscribers NPS Swasthya Pension Scheme Account, the subscriber shall be permitted to undertake a premature exit with 100% (one hundred percent) lump sum, irrespective of the corpus size, solely for meeting such medical expenses. 8. Settlement of Claims: Amounts withdrawn or exited shall be remitted directly to the concerned HBA/TPA, as applicable, based on valid claims and supporting invoices. Any surplus amount remaining after settlement of medical expenses shall be transferred to the subscribers Common Scheme Account. 9. Exit in Other Cases: In all other cases, exit provisions applicable to All Citizens under NPS, including normal and premature exit, shall apply upon transfer of the accumulated amount from the NPS Swasthya Pension Scheme Account to the Common Scheme Account. 10. Grievance Redressal Mechanism: PFs, in association with the HBA/TPA, shall establish a robust grievance redressal mechanism to ensure timely and effective resolution of subscriber grievances. The responsibility for grievance resolution shall vest with the PF. CRAs shall provide necessary subscriber-level information to facilitate efficient servicing and grievance handling. 11. Data Sharing and Consent: Subscriber-level data required for claim processing shall be shared with the HBA/TPA or hospital, as applicable. In compliance with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 and rules framed thereunder, explicit digital consent shall be obtained from the subscriber by the PF or CRA at the time of activation of the NPS Swasthya Pension Scheme. A long-tracked Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist has been killed in a fierce gunfight with security forces in J&K's Udhampur. "Operation Bihali" is ongoing to neutralize three more militants, intensifying security just days before the Amarnath Yatra. Supreme Court on WhatsApp, Meta privacy policy: The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a strong warning to WhatsApp and its parent company, Meta, over concerns related to user data sharing. The apex court made it clear that citizens right to privacy cannot be compromised in the name of technology or business interests. A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justice Joymalya Bagchi, strongly reprimanded the US-based company, saying, You cannot play with privacy we will not allow you to share even a single digit of our data. The court added that it would not tolerate the exploitation of Indian users. The hearing was related to WhatsApps 2021 take it or leave it privacy policy and the company law tribunals decision to uphold the Competition Commission of Indias Rs 213 crore fine on the company. Meta has also challenged the National Company Law Appellate Tribunals November 4 ruling, which largely upheld the Competition Commission of Indias findings and the penalty, but removed a key restriction. Add Zee News as a Preferred Source The court also directed Meta to file an affidavit clearly stating that it will not share WhatsApp user data for advertising purposes. It warned that failure to do so could lead to the dismissal of Metas case. However, there was also a cross-appeal by the CCI about sharing of user data for advertising purposes, which the tribunal allowed after ruling there was no 'abuse of power' by the company. Adding further, the Supreme Court on Tuesday described the practice as a mockery of constitutionalism and questioned how user consent could be considered valid when acceptance of the policy was enforced on a take it or leave it basis. Justice Joymalya Bagchi said the issue against the companies was that the consent obtained was manufactured consent. Now, the court gave Meta and WhatsApp time to file a detailed response and scheduled the case for next Monday (February 9). WhatsAppMeta privacy policy case In November 2024, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) ruled that WhatsApp had abused its dominant position with its 2021 privacy policy update. The regulator said the company was effectively forcing users to accept the new terms to continue using the app. The CCI specifically objected to WhatsApp requiring users to share data with other Meta platforms. As a result, it imposed a Rs 213 crore fine, which senior lawyers Mukul Rohatgi and Kapil Sibal informed the court had already been paid. In January 2025, Meta and WhatsApp challenged the CCIs decision. By November 2025, the company law tribunal lifted the five-year restriction on WhatsApp sharing user data, while keeping the fine intact. Three Indian nationals, including a teenager, were arrested in Canada and charged in connection with an incident in which multiple shots were fired at a residence, reportedly as part of an extortion attempt in Surrey. They have been charged with a firearm offence and sent to police custody till February 5. All three were taken into custody early on Sunday, and their names and images released on Monday as charges registered against them, NDTV reported. They were identified as Harjot Singh, 21, Taranveer Singh, 19, and Dayajeet Singh Billing, also 21. Surrey Police said, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) had engaged in the matter as they were foreign nationals. Add Zee News as a Preferred Source Just before 4 am on Sunday, local police in Surrey, British Columbia, were patrolling a neighbourhood when they received reports of gunfire and a small blaze outside a home. Officers from the Surrey Police Service, the Lower Mainland District Integrated Police Dog Service, and the Delta Police Department responded. Surrey police spotted a suspicious vehicle in the area, and its occupants fled on foot. Shortly afterward, three suspects were arrested after they attempted to get into a rideshare vehicle, according to an SPS statement released on Monday. The Surrey Police Service has urged the public to provide any information related to the case, including CCTV or dashcam footage, to help the investigation into the matter. Just the previous week, on January 26, two Indian men were arrested in a separate shooting incident, during which police recovered a loaded handgun. Those two were identified as Harshdeep Singh (20) and Hanspreet Singh (21), and both were charged with occupying a vehicle knowing a firearm was present, while Harshdeep also faces an additional charge for operating the vehicle. Pakistan has been struggling to restore control in Balochistan as the situation escalates drastically. Recently, while addressing the national assembly, Pakistan Defence Minister Khwaja Asif was heard saying that The area (Balochistan) is very gigantic, it is difficult to manage the region due to its sheer size. Pakistans Defence Minister Khwaja Asif's stark admission that Pakistan "can't handle" the escalating insurgency has fueled fears of provincial collapse, as separatists block highways and target infrastructure in the resource-rich region. Balochistan's unrest has spiked dramatically in the past couple of days, with the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) launching coordinated attacks across multiple districts, killing dozens, including civilians and security forces. Add Zee News as a Preferred Source Pakistani forces on the other hand have calimed of, eliminating over 145 BLA militants in intense operations, amid accusations of foreign backing from Afghanistan and India. Managing it a gigantic task: Khwaja Asifs surrender Pakistans Defence Minister made a statement in the National Assembly that it is a gigantic task to manage the area, referring to the vast territory of Balochistan Province. He also added that Pakistan faces terrorism in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, but the presence of security forces is huge. He further added that Balochistans geography is not like that of Punjab and Sindh province, providing an advantage to the Balochs. The most stark statement made in the assembly by Pakistans Defence Minister was admitting to the drawbacks of his security forces and the shortage of advanced weaponry. During his speech, he said, the Balochistan rebels own advanced weapons, with rifles worth 20 lakh Pakistani rupees, and admitted that the Pakistan security forces lack the weapons. Baloch rebels own heat-detecting lasers worth 4000 to 5000 dollars, which our security forces lack, with a total gear of 20,000 dollars, added Asif. Is Pakistan on the verge of a collapse? Khwaja Asifs remarks signal a crisis Pakistan faces in the Balochistan region. Are the Pakistan forces handicapped? Pakistan faces growing fears of collapse as Balochistan's tensions boil over with deadly attacks by separatists. The coordinated strikes killed dozens, including civilians and police, prompting Pakistani forces to kill over 145 militants in response. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif's warning that the country "can't handle" the insurgency highlights stretched resources amid economic woes and threats to key projects like ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). While if not on the immediate verge of total breakdown, the unrest signals big risks from local anger over resource grabs and disappearances. Security crackdowns buy time but fail to fix root issues. Without political talks and aid, violence could spread, echoing past crises and weakening Islamabad's grip. The ignored mineral-rich province Balochistan is Pakistan's largest province, which sits on a treasure trove of minerals like copper, gold, coal, chromite, and rare earths worth trillions, yet locals see little benefit as profits flow to Islamabad and foreign firms. Recent attacks by the Balochistan Liberation Army targeted these resource sites, hitting CPEC projects and highways to protest exploitation, while Defence Minister Khawaja Asif admits the military can't cope. Grievances boil over because mining deals like Reko Diq give locals just 2% royalties despite massive reserves, 5.9 billion tons of copper-gold ore alone. Chief Minister Bugti calls these resources "collective property," but enforced disappearances and poverty fuel separatists who block extraction, according to a report by the Dawn. As violence disrupts $6-8 trillion in untapped rare earths vital for global tech, Pakistan risks losing control of its richest land. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived in New York on Monday for a three-day official visit to the United States focused on cooperation in critical minerals and meetings with senior officials from the Trump administration. Jaishankar is scheduled to travel to Washington during the visit, where he will attend the Critical Minerals Ministerial convened by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to an official announcement. US Vice President JD Vance is expected to address the conference. The visit runs from February 2 to February 4. The Critical Minerals Ministerial will focus on supply chain resilience, clean energy transitions, and strategic cooperation in the critical minerals sector. These materials are considered essential for advanced manufacturing and emerging technologies. Add Zee News as a Preferred Source Jaishankar is likely to hold a bilateral meeting with Rubio on Tuesday. He is scheduled to attend the ministerial on Wednesday. The engagements are expected to review cooperation between India and the United States in the critical minerals sector. During the visit, Jaishankar will also meet senior members of the US administration. Details of those meetings were not disclosed. India and the United States have increased engagement in recent years on issues linked to economic security. Critical minerals have emerged as a central element of those discussions. Both countries see them as vital to clean energy goals and long-term industrial growth. The US State Department said that on February 4, the United States will welcome delegations to advance collective efforts to strengthen and diversify critical minerals supply chains. This historic gathering will create momentum for collaboration to secure these critical components vital to technological innovation, economic strength, and national security, the State Department said. Jaishankars Washington meetings are part of regular high-level exchanges between New Delhi and Washington. The two sides hold frequent talks on diplomacy, trade, technology, and security. Critical minerals have gained importance in recent years as countries expand renewable energy and advanced manufacturing. They are widely used in clean energy systems, batteries, and other strategic sectors, with demand rising steadily worldwide. India-US trade deal: New Delhi began the week with an announcement from Washington that sounded decisive, generous and historic. President Donald Trump declared on Truth Social that India and the United States had sealed a trade deal to ease barriers between two economies, which together account for nearly $33 trillion in output. The announcement sounded like a victory. The substance of the agreement, however, is largely out of public view. According to the US president, the announcement followed a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said the United States would cut tariffs on Indian goods from 50 percent to 18 percent and that New Delhi would stop buying Russian oil and increase purchases from American suppliers. The announcement came after a year of a tough US trade push that hurt India and strained ties between the two governments. For months, trade talks had stalled, tempers had risen and tariffs had increased. The deal was projected as a reset. Add Zee News as a Preferred Source A day later, Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said that a formal agreement would be signed soon and that a joint statement would follow once negotiations were fully wrapped up. No details were given, no written text was released and no timeline was provided. That silence has created a gap between what has been claimed and what can be confirmed. From Washingtons side, the narrative was expansive. Trump said India had committed to ending purchases of Russian crude and would instead source energy from the United States and possibly Venezuela. He also said India had agreed to remove tariffs and non-tariff barriers on American goods entirely, opening the door for duty-free access across sectors. Added to this was an assertion that India would buy more than $500 billion worth of US products, spanning energy, technology, agriculture, coal and other industries. From New Delhi, the message was far narrower. Welcoming the understanding, Prime Minister Modi publicly acknowledged that tariffs on Indian-made products would now stand at 18 percent. References to a trade deal, Russian oil, zero tariffs for US goods or massive purchase commitments were absent in his post on X. The focus stayed on goodwill, leadership and broader global stability. The mismatch has become the story. Economists and trade watchers point out that nothing has been signed, ratified or released for scrutiny. What exists so far is a pair of political statements that do not fully overlap. That uncertainty has made it difficult to judge whether this is a negotiated agreement or a preliminary understanding made for political effect. The numbers raise eyebrows. Trade between India and the United States has been growing. Last year, bilateral trade touched about $129 billion, slightly higher Indias trade with China. India exported around $87 billion worth of goods to the United States, including medicines, electrical equipment and gems. US exports to India were about $41 billion, mainly oil, fuel, precious stones and industrial machinery. If seen in this context, a promise to buy more than $500 billion worth of American goods is far bigger than present trade levels. This would mean buying more than 11 times what the United States presently exports to India. The amount is almost equal to 85 percent of Indias total government spending planned in the latest budget. Such a jump would change what India imports from abroad. Analysts say that scale makes the claim difficult to reconcile with economic reality. The tariff math has also raised questions. An 18 percent duty on Indian goods entering the United States, along with zero duty on US goods entering India, would be uneven. Whether this has actually been agreed to is still unclear as New Delhi has not confirmed it. Agriculture is at the centre of the concern as well. For years, it has been the most sensitive and political issue in Indias trade talks with the United States. Washington has repeatedly sought access to Indias large food market, including genetically modified crops. India has pushed back to protect farmers livelihoods and food security. Nearly half of Indias population still depends on agriculture for income. Farm policy has triggered some of the largest protests the country has seen in decades, forcing the government to roll back three agricultural laws that were touted as reforms. The political memory of those protests is fresh. Against that background, statements from the United States suggesting expanded access for American agricultural products into India have caused alarm. US officials have talked about boosting farm exports to Indias growing market and narrowing Americas agricultural trade deficit with New Delhi. Indian officials have not publicly addressed these claims. Source-based reports suggest that India has agreed to increase purchases in sectors like telecommunications and pharmaceuticals. Whether agriculture is part of the package is unanswered. Trade experts warn that opening the agricultural sector would have far-reaching consequences. Large US agribusiness firms operate at a scale that Indian farmers cannot match. A sudden influx of subsidised imports could disrupt prices, incomes and rural stability across vast regions of the country. Apart from farming, there are questions that are unanswered. It is still unclear whether this announcement is part of a formal free trade agreement. India recently announced a detailed trade deal with the European Union that clearly sets out rules on investment, standards and market access. No such details have been shared in this case. Several policy areas are opaque. There is no information on whether Indias patent laws will change, which could affect the price of medicines. Environmental and labour rules linked to trade have not been explained. It is also not known whether Indias proposed digital services tax will apply to major US technology companies under this arrangement. Inside India, the political reaction has been split. Within the government, the mood has been celebratory. Senior ministers have described the announcement as historic and transformative, promising new opportunities, job creation and momentum for long-term economic goals. Assurances have been offered that sensitive sectors like agriculture and dairy will be protected, though no mechanisms have been spelled out. The Opposition has taken a far more combative stance. Leaders have demanded full disclosure of the terms and accused the government of compromising national interests without parliamentary debate. The alleged lack of transparency has become a rallying point, with critics arguing that such sweeping claims require public scrutiny. Internationally, the announcement is being read as a signal of warming ties after a tense period. Frictions over visas, immigration rules, Russian oil purchases and stalled negotiations had cooled relations over the past year. The declaration suggests an attempt to reset the tone. Strategic analysts say both leaders have incentives to project success. For Washington, the message plays well domestically as evidence of tough trade tactics yielding results. For New Delhi, it offers a chance to show resilience under pressure and relevance in a changing global order. Even so, experts say trust will depend on what is finally written and signed. Indias energy ties with Russia run deep and are unlikely to end so fast. Trade disputes linger, and rebuilding trust takes time. For now, the India-US trade story is unclear. Big promises have been made, but details are missing. Until an agreement is signed and made public, the announcement is more political than practical, leaving businesses, farmers and markets waiting for answers. International space agency NASA reported a leak while fueling its new moon rocket on Monday during a critical test that will decide when astronauts can launch on a lunar flyby mission (Artemis II). The launch team started loading the 322-foot (98-meter) rocket with extremely cold hydrogen and oxygen at Kennedy Space Center around midday. The process required over 700,000 gallons (2.6 million liters) to fill the tanks and stay onboard for several hours, simulating the final moments of a real launch countdown. However, just a few hours into the daylong fueling process, unusually high levels of hydrogen were detected near the base of the rocket. As a result, hydrogen loading was paused, leaving only half of the core stage filled. Add Zee News as a Preferred Source The launch team quickly worked to address the issue using methods developed during the first Space Launch System rocket launch three years earlier, which had also experienced hydrogen leaks before eventually taking off. The crew members, including three Americans and one Canadian, monitored the final important dress rehearsal from distance of nearly 1,600 kilometrs The crew members, three Americans and one Canadian, monitored the important dress rehearsal from nearly 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) away in Houston, where Johnson Space Center is located. They had been in quarantine for the past week and a half, waiting to see the results of the practice countdown. The all-day operation will decide when they can blast off on the first lunar mission by a crew in more than half a century. The mission has already suffered two days delay because of bitter cold snap. As per the reports the Hydrogen leaks had prompted the first SLS rocket on the pad for months in 2022. If the fueling test is finished successfully and on schedule, NASA could launch commander Reid Wiseman and his crew to the moon as early as Sunday. The rocket must be launched by February 11, or the mission will be postponed until March. NASA only has a limited number of launch days each month, and Februarys already tight window has been reduced by two days due to extreme cold conditions. During the Artemis II wet dress rehearsal, NASA teams have switched all cryogenic tanks on the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket to replenish mode. This applies to both the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen tanks in the core stage as well as the interim cryogenic propulsion stage. Space Agency said Engineers are actively monitoring hydrogen concentrations at the tail service mast umbilical, the site of a previous leak and report that the levels are currently stable. What is Artemis II mission and why it is important? Artemis II is NASA's upcoming crewed lunar mission, the second in the Artemis program, set to launch in February 2026. It will send four astronauts, Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist; Victor Glover, pilot; Reid Wiseman, commander; and Christina Hammock Koch, aboard the Orion spacecraft on a 10-day flight using the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The crew will orbit Earth, travel to the Moon, perform a flyby around its far side on a free-return trajectory, and return to Earth without landing, marking the first human venture beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972. According to the NASA, Artemis II builds on the success of the uncrewed Artemis I in the year 2022, and will demonstrate a wide range of capabilities needed on deep space missions. The Artemis II test flight will be space agency's first mission with crew aboard the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft. This marks a crucial move toward long-term return to the Moon and future mission to Mars. This mission's importance lies in testing Orion's life-support, navigation, and deep-space capabilities with humans aboard, paving the way for Artemis III's lunar landing and establishing a sustainable Moon presence. New Delhi: On February 3, 1959, a small plane crashed near Clear Lake in Iowa, a Midwestern US state known as the Hawkeye State, killing three young rock and roll stars and the pilot. Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. The Big Bopper Richardson died in the crash, along with 21-year-old pilot Roger Peterson. The tragedy was later known as The Day the Music Died, a phrase made famous by Don McLeans 1971 song American Pie. The musicians were travelling on the Winter Dance Party tour, a busy series of shows across the US Midwest during an extremely cold winter. The schedule was tough, the travel distances were long and the tour bus often lacked proper heating. As a result, exhaustion and discomfort became part of their everyday routine. After performing at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Holly decided to charter a small Beechcraft Bonanza plane to reach the next stop. The aircraft had room for only four passengers. Originally, Hollys bandmates, Waylon Jennings and Tommy Allsup, were supposed to join him. That plan changed when Richardson, who was suffering from illness, took Jennings seat and Valens secured his place after winning a coin toss with Allsup. Add Zee News as a Preferred Source The plane took off shortly after midnight in snowy and icy conditions. Within minutes, the pilot lost control. The aircraft crashed into a nearby cornfield, killing everyone on board. By morning, news of the accident spread like a wildfire. It sent shockwaves through the music world. Holly was only 22 but was helping define modern rock music. Just 17, Valens had brought Mexican-American sounds into the mainstream with songs like La Bamba and Donna. The Big Bopper had scored a hit with Chantilly Lace and was gaining fame as an energetic performer and songwriter. Their sudden deaths were a major loss for rock and roll at a time when the genre was still growing. In the following years, the crash took on a meaning beyond the immediate tragedy. Don McLeans American Pie transformed the event into a powerful symbol of cultural loss. The songs line, the day the music died, fixed the date in public memory and turned it into a reference point for an era that seemed to vanish overnight. Decades later, the night continues to be remembered. The Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake now houses exhibits that honour the musicians and the era they helped define. It draws visitors from across the world. Each year on February 3, fans and artists pause to reflect on the lives that ended in the crash. Memorabilia and stories from that time continue to appear, keeping the memory alive. The phrase the day the music died is now commonly used to describe moments of the major loss in music and popular culture. The deaths of Holly, Valens and Richardson changed the course of rock and roll. Their influence lived on through many musicians who came after them and became part of the genres sound and spirit. More than 60 years later, the crash is still one of the most remembered incidents in American music history. February 3 continues to hold deep meaning for fans, artists and historians. The US military shot down an Iranian drone that got too close to the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea on Tuesday. The Iranian Shahed-139 flew aggressively toward the carrier with unclear intent and was taken out by a US F-35 fighter jet, reported Reuters. The report further quoted Navy Captain Tim Hawkins from US Central Command, who said an F-35C fighter jet from the Abraham Lincoln shot down the Iranian drone in self-defense to protect the carrier and its crew. Add Zee News as a Preferred Source No US service members were hurt, and no American equipment was damaged during the incident, he added. This happened as diplomats worked to set up nuclear talks between Iran and the US, while President Donald Trump warned that with US warships moving toward Iran, "bad things" could happen if no deal is reached. The Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group leads a major US military buildup in the Middle East after Iran's violent crackdown on anti-government protests last month, the deadliest unrest since the 1979 revolution. Trump held back from intervening in Iran's crackdown but now demands nuclear concessions from Tehran and has sent warships to its coast. Last week, he said Iran was "seriously talking," while top Iranian official Ali Larijani confirmed negotiations are being arranged. Hours later in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's Revolutionary Guard harassed a US-flagged merchant ship, with two IRGC boats and a Mohajer drone racing toward the M/V Stena Imperative and threatening to board and seize it, per US Central Command's Captain Hawkins. Tensions between the US and Iran have simmered for months, driven by stalled nuclear talks and Iran's aggressive regional moves. The White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, also confirmed the US striking an Iranian drone near the Arabian Sea, saying CENTCOM decided to shoot down the Iranian drone because it was unmanned and acting aggressively toward the USS Lincoln. As for the President, Trump, he remains committed to pursuing diplomacy first, but diplomacy requires effort from both sides. US Official White House Rapid Response shared on its X handle, quoting Leavitt, CENTCOM did make the decision to shoot down that Iranian drone. It was unmanned, it was acting aggressively towards our USS Lincoln...As for @POTUS, he remains committed to always pursuing diplomacy firstbut in order for diplomacy to work, of course, it takes two to tango." .@PressSec: "CENTCOM did make the decision to shoot down that Iranian drone. It was unmanned, it was acting aggressively towards our USS Lincoln...As for @POTUS, he remains committed to always pursuing diplomacy firstbut in order for diplomacy to work, of course, it takes two to pic.twitter.com/wBwyl4MfFT Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 3, 2026 Tensions within Tehran started last month with anti-regime protests. Security forces killed hundreds, prompting global outrage and US threats of intervention. President Trump stopped short of military action but vowed consequences. Trump then demanded that Tehran offer nuclear concessions to restart talks. He deployed the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group and other warships toward Iran's coast as leverage. Last week, Trump said Iran was "seriously talking," while official Ali Larijani confirmed negotiations were advancing. The US buildup aimed to deter Iranian provocations amid fragile diplomacy, but both sides escalated with direct confrontations. The sky cleared, allowing the sunlight to shine over the wet landscape in Riverview, Fla. (sonia-cervantes via Getty Images) In Riverview, Florida, homeowners know that the same sunshine that fills the Hillsborough River with shimmering light can be tough on rooftops over time. Afternoon storms sweep in from Tampa Bay with little warning, testing shingles, gutters and underlayment year after year. To find the areas most trustworthy roofing companies, we reviewed contractors with solid Better Business Bureau (BBB) ratings, positive homeowner feedback and a track record of dependable service throughout Hillsborough County. We also contacted top-rated roofers to verify pricing methods, warranty coverage and staff vetting practices. Whether your home sits near Boyette Road or overlooks Bell Creek Preserve, these Riverview roofing experts bring local experience and attention to detail that help rooftops last through Floridas shifting weather. Top Riverview roofers The best roofing company in Riverview for YOU In Riverview, where summer storms can appear out of nowhere and the sun beats down with relentless intensity, roofing choices matter just as much as timing. Before hiring a contractor, take a close look at whether your roof needs a full replacement or a few targeted repairs to handle the areas tropical climate. Materials like metal and dimensional shingles stand up well to Floridas mix of heat and rain while maintaining your homes curb appeal. Once youve settled on the scope of work and an attainable budget, look for a roofer with solid references and experience working in Hillsborough Countys unpredictable weather. The right local professional can help ensure your roof stays strong through both hurricane season and the long, sun-soaked days that follow. Steadfast Roofing and Westfall Roofing rank as our top local contractors, holding the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively. Both companies provide a range of home improvement services in addition to their comprehensive roofing solutions. Best roofing companies in Riverview, Fla. Steadfast Roofing is the best overall Riverview roofing company A roofing job from Steadfast Roofing (Steadfast Roofing) Steadfast Roofing, a Ruskin-based, family-run company, brings local know-how to residential and commercial roofing throughout the Gulf Coast. Its crews handle everything from installing shingles, metal, or tile roofs to fixing leaks and repairing storm damage. All work takes into account Floridas heat, humidity and hurricane seasons. Available day and night, the business focuses on new construction, urgent repairs and insurance-supported projects, and offers roof tarping when severe weather strikes. Homeowners can start the estimate process through Steadfasts online pricing tool. After entering a few details, customers receive a quick ballpark range for a total roof replacement along with several pricing tiers. The official quote, however, comes only after an in-person roof inspection. That detailed proposal breaks down the cost of materials, labor, disposal, cleaning, and permitting. For instance, a 2,200-square-foot home in Riverview might fall anywhere between $9,000 and $24,000, depending on preferred material and warranty length. Appointments can be booked online or by calling the office directly. Deposit requirements vary by job size and product choice and are confirmed during the inspection. Steadfast accepts a wide variety of payment options, including cash, check, wire, ACH, card, Venmo and Zelle, with a modest service fee for card use. Customers can also use insurance proceeds or financing options. Each technician passes a background check before joining Steadfasts team. Most roofing jobs take just one to three days, and homeowners dont need to vacate their property during the work. When a weather delay occurs, the team expects to return on the next clear day. Services offered Residential and commercial roofing Urgent repairs Insurance-supported projects Roof tarping for storm protection As an independent contractor, Steadfast Roofing partners with several major manufacturers, including Atlas, IKO and Owens Corning, giving customers flexibility in materials, colors, and warranty coverage that one-brand firms cant easily match. Steadfast Roofing holds an accreditation from the BBB with an A+ rating and an unblemished complaint record. The companys strong reputation is also reflected in its online reviews customers have awarded it an impressive five stars on Google based on 1,034 reviews and a 4.8-star average from 25 Yelp reviewers. Its main office is located at 9613 Ivory Drive, Ruskin, Fla., 33573. Steadfast Roofing is available around the clock, and customers can reach the team anytime by calling 813-851-2276 or visiting the companys website. Customer testimonial Ethan Weatherman with Steadfast Roofing was responsive and quick. I reached out to 7-8 companies in the area for my moms roof. The quote was identical for almost all. I also spoke to my moms neighbors to find a good roofing company. The difference was in Ethans timely and respectful communication. We chose Steadfast because Ethan provided the most clear, detailed, and respectful communication. - Rose S., Google reviews () * See Google reviews * See Yelp reviews Steadfast Roofing Best overall roofer in Riverview Steadfast Roofing Steadfast Roofing is a family-owned roofing company based in Ruskin, offering residential and commercial services across the Gulf Coast. The company specializes in installations, leak repairs and storm restoration, with 24/7 availability for emergencies and insurance-backed projects. Customers can start with an online estimate tool before booking an on-site inspection to receive a detailed proposal that includes material, labor and permitting costs. Known for its use of leading brands like Atlas, IKO, and Owens Corning, Steadfast Roofing offers flexible payment options and financing, along with high customer satisfaction reflected in hundreds of five-star reviews and an A+ BBB accreditation Pros Wide range of services covering installation, repair, and storm protection 24/7 availability, including emergency roof tarping Flexible payment and financing options Transparent pricing process Background-checked technicians Cons Card payments include a service fee Deposit requirements vary based on job and materials Get estimate Westfall Roofing is our top alternative Riverview roofer A roof being completed by Westfall Roofing (Westfall Roofing) Founded in 1989, Westfall Roofing is a family-owned business headquartered in Tampa and serving homeowners and businesses across Central and Southwest Florida. The companys experienced crews handle everything from full roof replacements to storm restorations, offering services throughout Tampa Bay, Sarasota, Ocala, Port Charlotte and the Space Coast. It works with all common roof types, including shingle, tile, metal, and flat systems such as TPO, PVC, and modified bitumen. The company also installs gutters, attic insulation, solar fans, skylights and siding. Requesting an estimate is easy, as homeowners can call or complete an online form, and inspections are typically booked within a few days. The written proposal outlines material and labor costs, roof removal, and end-of-job cleanup. Most projects wrap up within several days, though scheduling can shift with the weather. If a storm interrupts work, crews return as soon as conditions clear. Customers may remain at home during construction. A 10% deposit is required for each project, and the balance is due upon completion and approval. Payments can be made by credit or debit card through the website or by phone, though a convenience fee of 2.5% applies to card payments. The company also accepts checks delivered in person. All field employees are thoroughly background-checked and hired directly rather than subcontracted. Services offered Services for residential and commercial Storm restorations Gutter installation Solar fans and siding Attic insulation Westfall holds high-level certifications from recognized manufacturers, including Owens Corning Platinum Preferred, GAF Certified and CertainTeed SELECT ShingleMaster. These credentials allow the firm to offer extended warranties, covering workmanship and labor for up to a lifetime, depending on the selected roofing materials. Westfall Roofing maintains an A+ rating from the BBB, where it is accredited, and operates multiple locations throughout Florida. Over the last three years, the company has received 17 complaints through the organizations corporate system. Its online reputation varies by platform: Google users have given it an average rating of 4.8 stars from 1,732 reviews, while Yelp reviewers rate it 3.6 stars from 70 reviews. The Tampa office is situated at 5413 West Sligh Avenue, Tampa, Fla., 33634. Like Steadfast Roofing, Westfall Roofing provides 24/7 availability and can be reached at 844-588-9378 or anytime through its website. Customer testimonial Westfall Roofing just replaced our roof and we are very happy with it. Cameron Smith came out almost immediately when we called to give us an estimate. I know so many people that have used Westfall Roofing due to their exceptional reputation and they have all been very happy so I did not hesitate to call them. - Salinda R., Google reviews () * See Google reviews * See Yelp reviews Westfall Roofing Top alternative roofer in Riverview Westfall Roofing Founded in 1989, Westfall Roofing is a family-owned roofing company based in Tampa that serves Central and Southwest Florida. The company offers comprehensive residential and commercial services, including full roof replacements, storm restorations, gutters, attic insulation, skylights and siding. Westfall works with all major roofing systems and holds top-tier manufacturer certifications from Owens Corning, GAF, and CertainTeed. These distinctions enable extended warranties of up to a lifetime. Westfall Roofing also emphasizes safety and trust by employing only background-checked, direct-hire crews. Pros Established, family-owned business Wide service area Certified by top roofing manufacturers Transparent estimates and modest deposit policy Full range of additional exterior services Cons 2.5% convenience fee Mixed Yelp reviews Get estimate Power Home Remodeling Group is the best national roofer for Riverview homeowners A home with a new shingle roof installed by Power Home Remodeling Group (Power Home Remodeling Group) At Yahoo Local, we aim to help homeowners make informed decisions when selecting service providers for major home improvement projects. While many homeowners prefer working with local roofing contractors, there are situations where a national roofing company can offer broader capabilities, stronger warranty coverage, and more consistent installation standards. For homeowners in Riverview who are comparing local vs. national roofing companies, understanding these differences can be helpful. For those seeking a nationwide provider with proven systems and decades of experience, Power Home Remodeling Group is the best national roofer serving the Riverview area. Based in Pennsylvania, Power Home Remodeling Group is a long-established roofing and home remodeling company serving much of the Northeast, Southeast, and South. Founded in 1992, Power Home provides comprehensive residential roofing services. With an average 4.4-star Google rating from approximately 3,300 reviews, Power Home Remodeling Group stands out as one of the best national roofing companies available to Florida homeowners. Power Home operates 24 locations across 18 states, including Florida, Texas, and Arizona, making it a strong option for homeowners who value standardized installation practices and national resources. The company is a GAF Premium System Professional, meaning its roofing systems are backed by industry-leading GAF material warranties. Power Home also offers an in-house lifetime labor warranty, though some customers have reported challenges during the warranty claims process. As is common with nationwide roofing contractors, Power Home Remodeling Group does not provide estimates over the phone. Homeowners can instead schedule a free in-home consultation with a Power representative to receive a detailed roofing quote. Roofing projects require a $5,000 minimum, including repair work. Services offered Residential asphalt shingle roofing Roof replacement Roof repair Roof installation Solar panel installation Attic insulation Home weatherproofing Window, siding and door installation and repairs Power Home offers a variety of financing options, which most customers choose to use. Down payment amounts vary depending on the financing plan and project scope. Customers paying without financing may use a credit card, debit card, check, or bank transfer. Cash payments are not accepted, and some locations may charge additional credit card processing fees. Helping Power Home stand out from competitors is its Project Pulse app, which allows customers to track their project in real time, review and sign documents, view progress photos, and stay informed about upcoming appointments. Power Home Remodeling Group is BBB-accredited with an A+ rating and has received 849 complaints through the BBB over the past three years. While that number is high, it is not unusual for large national roofing companies. Power Home uses subcontracted roofing crews, but states that all workers are vetted, trained, and background-checked. The company has mixed reviews on Yelp, where it holds a 2.3-star rating from roughly 1,700 reviews, though its Google reviews are significantly stronger. To learn more about this national roofer serving Riverview, homeowners can visit or contact Power Home Remodeling Group at 4135 Crescent Park Dr., Riverview, Fla., 33578 or call 813-471-9713. The Riverview office is closed on Sunday, open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday and Friday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. Yahoo Local's review of Power Home Remodeling has all the details you need to decide whether or not this national roofer is right for you. Customer testimonial After having my roof, doors, siding, shutters, and attic insulation completed by Power, I could not be happier. The quality of materials and workmanship were outstanding. Work ethic was fabulous! Power communicated directly with me via text, phone conversations, supervisors, and their app. They made making a financial commitment to improve my home easy. Work was completed in a timely manner and clean up was minimal. - April A., Google reviews () * See Google reviews * See Yelp reviews Power Home Remodeling Group Best national roofer serving Riverview Power Home Remodeling Group In business for more than two decades, Power Home Remodeling Group is a comprehensive roofing and exterior home services contractor based in Chester, Pa. It offers dedicated asphalt shingle roof repairs, replacements and installation, as well as solar roofing options, attic insulation, window installation and siding repair. With offices in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and more, Power Home Remodeling is the best national roofing company for Riverview. Pros Lifetime labor warranty Project tracking through Project Pulse app Solar roofing options Window, siding and door services Attic insulation and weatherproofing Cons Some mixed reviews and customer complaints Limited roofing types $5,000 minimum project fee Get estimate More best Riverview roofers Shingle Masters Roofing and Construction Best commercial roofer in Riverview Shingle Masters Roofing and Construction Shingle Masters Roofing & Construction is a family-owned and operated roofing company serving the Tampa Bay area, including Hillsborough County. With over 20 years in business, it specializes in residential and commercial roofing tailored to Florida's harsh weather, such as storms and humidity. The business also handles gutters, siding, repairs, replacements, and construction services. Pros Competitive pricing Fast and efficient installations Strong cleanup practices Owens Corning Platinum Preferred Contractor Cons No weekend hours Get estimates CB Roofing Solutions Best Riverview roofer for gutter repairs CB Roofing Solutions CB Roofing Solutions is a family-owned roofing company operating since 2010 in Central Florida and Utah, specializing in residential and commercial roofing, gutters, repairs and truss restoration. As a Platinum Preferred Roofing Contractor, the company highlights insured workmanship, professional training and customer service. Pros Strong warranties and guarantees Quick estimate turnaround Offers financing Emphasizes expertise with roof leaks Cons Mixed online customer ratings No weekend hours Get estimate Tosca Roofing Best Riverview roofer for insurance claims Tosca Roofing Tosca Roofing is a family-owned and locally operated roofing contractor based in Valrico and Plant City, Fla. Established in 1982, it has over 40 years of experience serving the Central Florida area (East and West). It specializes in both residential and commercial roofing, offering a wide range of materials, including shingle, tile, metal, flat and composite roofing. Pros Longevity and experience Strong warranty protection High customer satisfaction Insurance expertise Specialized discounts Cons Limited operating hours Get estimate You can count on Yahoo Local roofing advice, and this is why At Yahoo, trust in local business information isnt something we claim its something we earn through decades of experience and transparent practices. Our ranking system is built on verified input from respected review sources, analyzed through a proprietary process that weighs each factor to create balanced, reliable results. We outline exactly how our rankings are determined so you can see the reasoning behind every placement. Most importantly, Yahoo Local maintains its independence, as no business can pay for inclusion or a higher position. Every listing stands on its own merit. For a full explanation of our approach, visit our methodology page. Below is everything that went into the rankings for our list of the best roofing companies in Riverview: 41 roofers evaluated 12,498 customer reviews and ratings from five sources Eight ranking criteria incorporated Interviewed or connected with all three featured roofers Independent price quotes sought from all three featured roofing companies Independently researched and fact-checked by Yahoo Recommendations are maintained and updated regularly Florida roofing FAQs How much does the average roof replacement cost in Florida? Homeowners in Florida can expect to spend anywhere from $9,000 to $40,000 to replace the roof on a 2,000-square-foot house, according to Florida-based contractor Pitch Roofing. The final price depends on several major factors, with roofing material being one of the biggest influences. Asphalt shingles tend to be the most budget-friendly choice, while metal and clay tile roofs cost more upfront but often deliver stronger long-term value. The design and pitch of the roof also come into play, as complex layouts, steep angles or additional elements such as skylights can increase labor and installation costs. For more details, check out our guide on whether your homeowners insurance covers roof damage. How do I know if my roof needs repairs or a full replacement? Choosing between roof repair and replacement depends largely on the roofs age and condition. Minor problems such as a few missing shingles, light leaks or surface stains can often be fixed with simple repairs that preserve both appearance and function, particularly on newer roofs. But when wear is extensive or the roof is reaching the end of its lifespan, replacing it typically offers better long-term value. Indicators like sagging areas, sunlight visible from the attic or overall material decay suggest repairs wont last. An experienced roofing professional can evaluate the damage and advise whether a repair will suffice or if investing in a full replacement makes more sense. Are there roofing regulations or permits required in Florida? Floridas roofing trade operates under strict oversight to protect homes from the regions relentless storms. The Florida Building Code requires that when roofing work covers more than 25 percent of a roofs surface within a year, that portion must be upgraded to comply with the latest construction and safety standards. Most substantial roofing projects also demand a building permit and must be completed by a contractor holding a valid state license. Homeowners should confirm that the contractor is responsible for obtaining the necessary permits, as reputable roofing firms typically include this service in their process. To learn more about contractor licensing and building code requirements, check out Yahoo Locals comprehensive guide on Florida roofing licenses and regulations. How long does a roof typically last in Florida? In the state, a roofs lifespan is largely determined by the materials chosen for construction. Data from the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (InterNACHI), the largest organization of property inspectors worldwide, shows that each roofing type offers different levels of durability. Asphalt shingles generally last 10 to 20 years, while metal roofing can last 20 to 30 years. Clay and concrete roofs, common throughout the state, are the most durable options, often lasting 80 years or more before needing replacement. Learn more in our guide to the key signs your roof may need repairs. What is the best time of year to replace a roof in Florida? Miami roofing specialists at M3 Roofing note that the ideal seasons for roof replacement in Florida are winter and spring. The warmer months pose more challenges due to extreme heat and the increased chance of hurricanes or severe storms that often disrupt work schedules. Even when the weather looks steady, summer projects tend to stir discussion since there are valid points for and against taking on the job at that time. More Yahoo Local-approved Florida providers Best Florida roofers Boca Raton / Cape Coral / Clearwater / Gainesville / Jacksonville / Lakeland / Miami / Orlando / Pensacola / Port St. Lucie / Riverview / Sarasota / Tampa / Westchester Best Florida movers Boca Raton / Fort Lauderdale / Fort Myers / Gainesville / Jacksonville / Melbourne / Miami / Naples / Ocala / Orlando / Pompano Beach / Sarasota / St. Petersburg / Tallahassee / Tampa / Westchester / West Palm Beach Deutsche Bank predicts that Macaus gross gaming revenue (GGR) will reach USD2.79 billion (MOP22.54 billion) in February, a 12.8% year-on-year increase that surpasses consensus estimates of 11.5% growth. The projection, outlined in a weekend investor note, follows Januarys GGR performance, which beat expectations and kicked off 2026 on a high note. The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau reported that GGR hit MOP22.63 billion ($2.79 billion) last month up 24% from a year earlier and marking the strongest January since 2019. Notably, January featured five weekends, which helped boost activity. Februarys forecast matches Januarys total despite three fewer days and one less weekend. Analysts attribute this resilience to the upcoming Chinese New Year Golden Week holiday, which is expected to spur higher visitation along with increased gaming and non-gaming spending. Deutsche Bank cited early market signals of sustained growth ahead of pre-pandemic patterns. Looking ahead, the bank projects 16.1% year-on-year growth to $8.4 billion in the first quarter of 2026. It forecasts full-year GGR at $33.2 billion, a 7.1% rise, followed by 5% growth to $34.8 billion in 2027. NS Like this: Like Loading... China has been flooding Latin American markets with low-priced exports, especially autos and e-commerce goods, as its exporters adjust to U.S. President Donald Trumps tariffs and geopolitical moves. The worlds second-largest economy has become a major trading partner for many Latin American nations, seeking access to their abundant natural resources and growing markets while expanding its influence in a region Trump views as Americas Backyard. Chinese businesses face slow demand at home. They need new markets for their products as the country ramps up production in many industries. Exports to Latin America, a market of more than 600 million people, and other regions have climbed while exports to the U.S. fell by 20% last year. Latin America has a solid middle class, relatively high purchasing power and real demand, said Margaret Myers, director of the Asia and Latin America program at the Inter-American Dialogue think tank in Washington. Those conditions make it one of the easiest places for China to offload its excess industrial production. The influx of made-in-China cars, clothing, electronics and home furnishings has rankled countries trying to build their own globally competitive industries. Some, such as Mexico, Chile and Brazil, have raised tariffs or taken other measures to protect their local industries. Cheap e-commerce goods gain share Cheap goods from China are welcome news for many Latin American consumers, but theyre a headache for local businesses. Chinese e-commerce platforms, led by Temu and Shein, have accelerated that trend. I use Temu all the time, whether to buy clothes or household items. The same things I would find in brand-name stores or shopping malls, I find on Temu at a much lower price, said Chilean restaurant manager Lady Mogollon. Temu averaged 114 million monthly active users in Latin America in the first half of 2025, a 165% increase year-on-year from 2024, market intelligence company Sensor Tower estimates. Sheins monthly active users in the region grew 18%. Its not just online shopping. T-shirts, jackets, pants, toys, watches and furniture and more products made in China fill the stalls of street vendors in downtown Mexico City. Angel Ramirez, manager of a downtown lamp shop, is struggling to compete. The Chinese have invaded us in terms of merchandise, said Ramirez, sitting behind the counter of his completely deserted store. Over the past few years the number of shops selling Chinese-made goods in Mexico City s downtown has more than tripled, Ramirez said, in some cases putting long-established Mexican stores out of business. Jobs are being lost to imports Argentina is bearing much of the brunt of rising Chinese imports, as local factories shut down and lay off workers in a manufacturing sector that employs almost a fifth of its workforce. The volume of e-commerce imports mostly from China soared 237% in October from the same month a year earlier, Argentine government statistics show. Were operating at historically low capacity as imports break record highs, said Luciano Galfione, president of the nonprofit Pro Tejer Foundation, which represents textile manufactures. Were under indiscriminate attack. The number of Chinese products arriving in Argentina, this ultra-fast fashion, is deeply worrying, said Claudio Drescher, head of the chamber of industry and owner of the Buenos Aires-born Jazmin Chebar clothing brand. Its an international phenomenon but its now really beginning to have dramatic importance here. A Temu spokesperson said it has been giving Latin America local businesses access to a low-cost, scalable online channel that was previously out of reach for many of them, including the opening of its marketplace to domestic sellers in Mexico and Brazil in 2025. Shein said in a statement that the company respects the importance of local industries and fair competition. It would not comment on broader trade policy debates. Chinese autos make inroads Mexico and Brazil Latin Americas regional auto manufacturing centers also are under pressure from rising imports of low-priced Chinese cars. Chinese automakers such as BYD and GWM see huge growth opportunities in Latin America. More than 80% of the 61,615 EVs sold in 2024 in Brazil, the worlds sixth-largest auto market, were Chinese brands, according to the Brazilian Association of Electric Vehicles. Mexico has become the largest destination for Chinese auto exports, importing 625,187 vehicles last year, according to the China Passenger Car Association, surpassing Russias imports. Both Brazil and Mexico already have their own robust auto industries. Mexico, as a base for major global manufacturers, is estimated to be the worlds seventh-largest auto producer, though about 3.4 million of the nearly 4 million vehicles it made last year were exported. Brazil turned out about 2.6 million vehicles, including many EVs and hybrids. That compared with Chinas output of 34.5 million vehicles, including more than 7 million exported overseas. In an industry where scale is vital, China does have a comparative advantage on EVs, with affordable prices and massive government support, said Jorge Guajardo, a partner at the consultancy DGA Group and a former Mexican ambassador to China. Affordable Chinese cars appeal to many drivers and will continue to make inroads in Latin America, said Paul Gong, head of China Autos Research for the Swiss bank UBS. Chinese automakers also are investing in local production. BYD and GWM are building factories in Brazil to expand capacity in the region, potentially creating hundreds if not thousands of jobs. Last year, however, Brazilian prosecutors sued BYD over allegations of poor labor conditions for workers, which the company denied. Commodity-rich countries have limited leverage China needs Latin Americas vast natural resources for its hungry industries, from lithium in Brazil to copper in Chile and fishmeal in Peru. But trade deficits with China are growing across the region. For some nations, China just sells, they dont buy, said Guajardo. Mexicos deficit with China, its second largest trading partner after the U.S., reached $120 billion in 2024, with exports of those including raw materials such as copper and its concentrates, electrical and electronic equipment and agricultural goods totaling only about $9 billion. Argentinas trade deficit with China rose to nearly $8.2 billion in 2025, fueled by imports of more items such as electrical machinery and equipment and manufactured goods than its exports including of raw materials such as soybean and meat. Brazil recorded an about $29 billion trade surplus with China last year, according to Brazilian official data. Thats partly due to surging exports of soybeans after Beijing paused its purchases of U.S.-grown soy. Chile runs a surplus with China thanks to its exports of copper, lithium, fruits and wine. In most cases, China exports mostly manufactured goods and imports raw materials. But the relationship goes far beyond those basics. China provided loans and grants to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2014-2023 worth roughly $153 billion the largest source of official sector financing for the region compared to approximately $50.7 billion that the U.S. provided, according to AidData, a research lab at William & Mary, a public university in Virginia. That means for every dollar donated or lent by Washington, Beijing provides $3. Latin America is a pillar of Chinas Global South strategy of countering Western influence, said Andy Mok, a senior research fellow at the Center for China and Globalization. China financed a $1.3 billion megaport in Perus Chancay, which opened in 2024 that may eventually connect by a planned railway with Brazils coasts on the Atlantic. State-backed Chinese companies also have made massive investments in dams, mines and other infrastructure across the region. There may be deep concern about competitiveness, but politically, many countries dont feel they have the space to resist Chinas export surge, said Meyers from the Inter-American Dialogue think tank. The relationship has become too important economically. CHAN HO-HIM, HONG KONG, MDT/AP Like this: Like Loading... An outbreak of the Nipah virus has recently occurred in West Bengal, India, and neighboring regions, and the Health Bureau (SSM) assures residents that the region is well prepared with the necessary testing capabilities and treatment protocols in place, alleviating any concerns about potential risks. However, residents should remain vigilant, urged Alvis Lo, director of the bureau. The Nipah virus outbreak in India has drawn international attention, with the Indian government reporting two confirmed cases of infection as of early last week. More than 190 individuals who had contact with the infected persons have been isolated and tested. Concerned by related reports, neighboring countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, and Nepal have announced enhanced airport screening measures for travelers arriving from affected areas. Local residents are advised to avoid traveling to affected areas, and those currently in those locations should take preventive measures. Lo stated during a recent interview that while cases have emerged in certain regions of India, there is no significant risk of widespread transmission. He also noted that no specific antiviral drugs exist for the disease, while emphasizing that Macau has the necessary testing capabilities and treatment protocols in place. Like this: Like Loading... Iran said yesterday it had summoned all of the European Union ambassadors in the Islamic Republic to protest the blocs listing of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard as a terror group. The move came as Turkey tried to organize a meeting between the U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian officials, seeking to jump-start talks to ease the threat of U.S. military action against the Islamic Republic, two Turkish officials said. The American military has moved the USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided-missile destroyers into the Mideast. It remains unclear whether President Donald Trump will decide to use force, though regional countries have engaged in diplomacy in an effort to halt a new Mideast war breaking out. Trump is trying to calibrate a response to Irans mass killing of protesters that punishes Iranian leaders without also embroiling the United States in a new, open-ended conflict in the region, the New York-based Soufan Center think tank said yesterday. Some Trump aides seek to exploit Tehrans weakness to secure major concessions from the regime, but Trump has set conditions for a diplomatic resolution that Tehran cannot accept. EU sanctions draw Irans anger The EU agreed to list the Guard as a terror group last week over its part in the bloody crackdown on nationwide protests in January that killed thousands and saw tens of thousands detained. Other countries, including the U.S. and Canada, have previously designated the Guard as a terrorist organization. While the move is largely symbolic, it does add to the economic pressure squeezing Iran, particularly has the Guard has a major influence on the countrys economy. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told journalists that the ambassadors had begun to be summoned on Sunday and that process went into yesterday as well. A series of actions were reviewed, various options are being prepared and were sent to the related decision-making bodies, Baghaei said. We think that in coming days, a decision will be made about a reciprocal action by the Islamic Republic of Iran toward the illegal, unreasonable and very wrong move by the EU. Irans parliament speaker said Sunday that the Islamic Republic now considers all EU militaries to be terrorist groups, citing a 2019 law. The Guard emerged from Irans 1979 Islamic Revolution as a force meant to protect the Shiite cleric-overseen government and was later enshrined in its constitution. It operates in parallel with the countrys regular armed forces and has expanded into private enterprise, allowing it to thrive. The Guards Basij force likely was key in putting down the demonstrations, starting in earnest from Jan. 8, when authorities cut off the internet and international telephone calls for the nation of 85 million people. Videos that have come out of Iran via Starlink satellite dishes and other means show men likely belonging to its forces shooting and beating protesters. Turkey tries to organize Iran-US talks In Turkey, officials have been trying to organize talks with Iran and Witkoff there, two Turkish officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to brief journalists. One described the goal as trying to have Witkoff meet the Iranians by the end of the week, if possible. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Witkoff met multiple times last year in negotiations over Irans nuclear program in Rome and Oman, but never finalized a deal. On June 13, Israel launched a series of attacks on Iran that sparked a 12-day war between the countries, effectively halting those talks. The U.S. during the war bombed three Iranian nuclear sites. Baghaei declined to give any specifics about the possibility of talks in Ankara. What is clear is that we are engaged with reviewing either principles and details related to this diplomatic process, he said. It is natural that regional countries have intensified their efforts. Axios first reported on the possible talks in Turkey. Guard drill in Strait of Hormuz ongoing Baghaei also said a drill by the Guard in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all oil traded passes, was ongoing based on its timetable. Iran warned ships last week that a drill would be carried out on Sunday and Monday, but prior to Baghaeis comments had not acknowledged it taking place. The U.S. militarys Central Command issued a strong warning to Iran not to harass its warships and aircraft, or impede commercial vessels moving through the strait. Satellite photos taken Sunday by Planet Labs PBC and analyzed by The Associated Press showed small vessels moving at speed in the strait between Irans Qeshm and Hengam islands, some distance away from the corridor commercial vessels take. The Guard relies on a fleet of small, fast-attack ships in the strait. Asked about whether Iran could face a war, Baghaei told the public dont worry at all. He declined, however, to discuss whether Trump set a deadline for Iran to respond to Americas demands. JON GAMBRELL & SUZAN FRASER, DUBAI, MDT/AP Like this: Like Loading... The Jetfoil Conservation Concern Group announced yesterday that the Madeira, the first Hong Kong-Macau Jetfoil to enter commercial service in 1975, has been relocated to its shipyard area for dismantling. Sources within the group revealed that the vessel was relocated to the area of the shipyard where vessels are dismantled. This follows the scrapping of the Taipa vessel in November 2025 at the same site. Taipa was the third Premier Jetfoil dismantled and the youngest in TurboJETs fleet. The Jetfoil Conservation Concern Group highlighted that Madeira was the very first Jetfoil to enter commercial service, despite the 002 serial number. Madeira made its debut voyage to Macau on April 25, 1975. That day, the vessel carried passengers aboard at 9 a.m. and completed three round trips. At the time, Madeira reduced travel time between Hong Kong and Macau from 1 hour and 15 minutes to just 50 minutes while doubling passenger capacity to about 280, according to the groups statement. Madeira served on the Hong Kong-Macau route until late November 2013, when it crashed into an unknown object at sea and retired to the shipyard for over a decade. Madeira never received upgrades to Premier Jetfoil status. Now, four vessels remain in the shipyard: Terceira, the only one to resume service after the pandemic before suspending operations in November 2025; Cacilhas; Horta; and Flores. Flores holds special historical relevance as the worlds first Jetfoil ever built. It was produced by Boeing in 1974 with hull number 929-100-001. After its initial service in Hawaii, it operated between Hong Kong and Macau for TurboJET. Like this: Like Loading... The extension of the light rapid transit (LRT) system from Seac Pai Van to Coloane Village has faced significant opposition from residents there, with social media discussions highlighting connections to the long-standing controversy over the LRT route in Areia Preta. The government has scheduled consultations on multiple LRT routes, including one connecting Seac Pai Van to the outskirts of Coloane Village. However, this has led many Seac Pai Van residents to voice concerns about the design of the extension line, with participants in a recent public consultation reportedly accusing the development plan of sacrificing the communitys safety, tranquility, and harmony. This social controversy has drawn online comparisons to the 2014 Areia Preta incident, when a proposed elevated LRT plan for the Areia Preta Urban Park station sparked public debate due to its severe impact on residents recreational environment. Urban planner Lam Iek Chit acknowledged that residents perceptions may not be entirely aligned, potentially leading to misunderstandings. He noted that while the controversy surrounding Areia Preta primarily revolved around the elevated structure crossing the park, the Seac Pai Van project is situated along the roadway and does not encroach on green spaces. The northern district has a high population density with insufficient parks and green spaces, Lam explained in an interview with the Times yesterday. Residents are understandably concerned about the LRT being built over the park, as this would reduce park area and the elevated structure could obstruct views. He expressed apprehension about the potential discrepancies in understanding between residents and the government, stating, Such differences could create communication and comprehension issues, which would be highly challenging. In contrast, Lam said that the Seac Pai Van proposal runs entirely along the road and occupies no green space. He went on to stress that the government must provide comprehensive information and arrangements to build residents trust and prevent misunderstandings arising from information asymmetry. During discussions on the Seac Pai Van expansion, residents proposed an underground extension of the line. In response, the governments consulting firm cited significant geographical constraints in the area, suggesting that underground construction might not be technically feasible. However, Lam expressed a different perspective, stating, Technically, underground construction is feasible. He acknowledged that the costs and time associated with underground construction are significantly higher than those for elevated structures, which may contribute to the difficulties in implementation. From an urban planning perspective, Lam noted that this decision requires deeper discussion and consideration. He noted that underground construction is typically suitable for densely populated areas, such as Central in Hong Kong. In contrast, Seac Pai Van is relatively distant from the city center and has wide roads, making surface-level tracks a viable option. Continuing with elevated structures in this context is understandable, particularly considering the impact of costs and construction on the environment and residents lives, Lam said. He further explained, This actually involves a cost-benefit issue. Prolonged underground construction may not be an ideal approach, as it would entail greater disruption and extended construction periods. Therefore, from a scientific perspective, continuing with the elevated solution for the Seac Pai Van extension is understandable. While acknowledging that both elevated and underground options have their pros and cons, Lam stated bluntly, Elevated may be more cost-effective, citing the high expenses associated with underground construction and noting that limited population growth near Seac Pai Van makes such an investment seem less worthwhile. The urban planner emphasized the importance of engaging residents in more detailed discussions covering aspects like LRT height, noise levels, and privacy concerns to maintain transparency and dispel misunderstandings. This proactive approach, he believes, can help avoid the confrontations seen in projects like Areia Preta, where insufficient communication fueled opposition. When community divisions deepen, issues that could have been negotiated become intractable. Opportunities for resolution remain when tensions are less acute. Lam also pointed out that some residents may be undecided, so efforts should focus on winning their support rather than dismissing communication based solely on technical rationality. During the first public consultation session for the Macau LRT Development Strategy Study, citizens proposed extending the elevated line toward the University of Macau (UM). Lam noted that a single-track elevated line entering Coloane township from the proposed Lai Chi Van station is already a feasible solution. However, environmental constraints surrounding Coloane limit expansion space, particularly due to mountain conservation zones. He said that design considerations must ensure the light rail infrastructure harmonizes with Coloanes landscape to avoid jarring visual impacts. The single-track elevated solution has become an unavoidable choice, as Rua de Entre-Campos in Coloane lacks expansion space, and mountain conservation areas restrict excavation, Lam stated. Nevertheless, the single-track light rail remains a viable solution for accessing Coloanes urban center. Meanwhile, some residents have proposed extending the Seac Pai Van line westward to the University of Macau. However, Lam believes this proposal faces challenges, particularly due to the need to cross waterways and the current single-track system of the Hengqin branch line, which limits its capacity. To better serve university students, he recommends expanding the Hengqin branch line to allow for future station placement closer to the university. According to him, this would necessitate negotiations with mainland authorities, as control over the waterways does not fully reside with Macau. While some residents reportedly expressed understanding of the need for city development, Macau authorities also addressed their concerns regarding the Seac Pai Van Extension Line, stating that all future lines will undergo comprehensive environmental and traffic assessments. These evaluations will include assessments of air quality, noise levels, and ecological impact to safeguard residents quality of life. Authorities emphasized the planned distance between the LRT viaduct and residential areas, noting that, using the Seac Pai Van line as a reference, the viaduct is expected to maintain a distance equivalent to three traffic lanes from homes. Additionally, sound barriers will be installed above the tracks to effectively reduce noise, while the LRT system utilizes rubber-tired vehicles, which generate significantly less noise. Like this: Like Loading... Ghanas Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration issued a clear and categorical denial of allegations circulating on social media that it had requested or received any money from the family of Nana Agyei Ahyia, the Ghanaian student who died in Riga, Latvia, in June 2025 under contested circumstances. The Ministry described the claims including assertions that government officials demanded payment for travel arrangements, issued a fake airline ticket, or travelled without a family representative as false, misleading and unfounded. According to the official press release, the Government of Ghana has borne the full cost of travel for two nominated family members and a pathologist intended to support the ongoing inquiry, and has been in constant and transparent engagement with the bereaved relatives. Delays in travel scheduled for 31 January 2026 were attributed to visa processing challenges and incomplete documentation, not to any impropriety by ministry officials. The statement also clarified that the document carried by the students mother misrepresented by critics as a confirmed flight ticket was only an itinerary for visa support, and that officials had informed her that travel was not feasible without a valid passport and issued visa. The Ministry stressed that the spread of misinformation undermines efforts to secure justice and transparency in the complex case, which has drawn significant public attention and calls for a thorough and transparent investigation. It reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to protecting Ghanaians abroad and to sustaining diplomatic engagement with Latvian authorities to establish the facts surrounding the young students death. In parallel, Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has travelled to Latvia as part of a ministerial delegation to pursue clarity and accountability in the case, reinforcing Ghanas commitment to resolving the matter through official diplomatic channels. The European Commission announced yesterday an additional 2 million in humanitarian assistance to support relief operations addressing severe flooding in Mozambique, bringing the blocs total commitment to over 3 million. This funding is in addition to 1.15 million already mobilised earlier to aid victims affected by relentless rains and flooding that have triggered a humanitarian emergency across the Southern African nation. According to provisional data from the National Institute for Disaster Risk Management and Reduction (INGD), the flood crisis which began in early January 2026 has impacted 723,289 people, caused at least 22 deaths, injured dozens, and left numerous families displaced or with damaged homes. The disaster has also ravaged agricultural land, affecting hundreds of thousands of hectares and threatening the livelihoods of thousands of farmers, while livestock losses have been significant. Rescue operations are ongoing, particularly in the Maputo and Gaza provinces, where heavy rainfall has led to widespread inundation. The European Commissions support will complement emergency aid from the United States, Portugal, Angola, Spain, Timor-Leste, Norway, Japan, and neighbouring countries already assisting on the ground. On 2 February 2026, a Federal High Court in Abuja arraigned nine individuals accused of involvement in a deadly attack on the Yelwata community in Benue State that occurred on 13 June 2025, resulting in the deaths of about 150 residents. The prosecution, led by Nigerias Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, filed an amended 57-count charge of alleged terrorism offences against the suspects under cause FHC/ABJ/CR/471/2025, replacing an earlier charge from September 2025. Defence lawyers did not oppose the amendment, and the court struck out the name of one defendant previously listed, leaving nine to face the charges. All nine pleaded not guilty to the charges, which outline coordinated planning and execution of the violent assault including the burning of homes and mass casualties in north-central Nigerias volatile Middle Belt region. Following the arraignment, the court ordered the suspects remanded in custody as their bail applications are considered and adjourned the matter for further hearing later in February 2026. The case underscores ongoing efforts by Nigerian authorities to pursue legal accountability for one of the most lethal community attacks in recent years amid broader security challenges in the country. The fiercely fought elections at Bandra Gymkhana have been cleared of vote manipulation, but questions remain about what transpired after ballots were counted. An inquiry led by former Bombay High Court judge Justice Suresh SC Gupte has ruled that the polling and counting process was conducted in a proper and fair manner and that the declared results are reliable and acceptable. Yet, the report flags two post-poll actions as highly suspicious the CCTV system being reformatted the very next evening, wiping crucial footage, and nearly 18 election-related files being taken out of the club office to the president-elects residence before being returned. Voting to elect a new president and managing committee for the 202527 term took place on September 28, with Chief Election Officer Conrad DAbreo supervising. According to the inquiry, 1,206 ballot papers were issued and 1,204 votes cast. Ballots were opened in batches of 250, with live tallies projected on a screen to ensure transparency. However, after 750 votes, the display was halted, prompting the CEO to announce the remaining 454 votes together at the end. This change became the root cause of tensions. Dr Cheryl Misquitta scraped through by just six votes, defeating Derrick Miranda 559 to 553, while Denzil Fonseca secured 55. For the Managing Committee, 1,150 ballots were valid and 54 invalid, with several winners winning on thin margins. Candidates alleged they werent allowed close enough to observe scrutiny, questioned the gap between counting and declaration, demanded recounts, and flagged one instance where a ballot appeared to be briefly removed, later explained as a misplaced vote being corrected. Justice Guptes report, however, found no evidence that any of these incidents affected the integrity of the count, noting that procedural deviations did not amount to malpractice. The very next evening, around 5.45 pm, the administrative offices CCTV system was reformatted by a technician erasing recordings from the critical election period. With the footage gone, independent verification became impossible. What little survived showed a person leaving the office carrying a bag, returning minutes later without it. Separately, the report records that around 18 election-related files were taken out of the premises to the President-elects residence and brought back roughly 90 minutes later. Justice Gupte observed that such handling of sensitive records, especially amid a disputed election, was bound to fuel suspicion and should never have happened. President reacts An independent former High Court judge has examined every document, every procedure and every claim, and has categorically affirmed that the elections were fair, transparent and by the book. While the past months have been personally painful for me and my family, I chose to let the truth take its course. My focus has always been and will continue to be the welfare of the Gymkhana and its members, not personal rivalries or smear campaigns, says Dr Misquitta. It pains me deeply that the Gymkhanas funds were diverted and misused simply to target and frame me through this inquiry. What was projected as an investigation was, in reality, nothing more than a witch-hunt. Clubs newly elected General Secretary Theresa Aguiar, who had earlier alleged the election process was tampered with, refrained from commenting on Guptes report, but said that an official statement will be issued on Wednesday. The simmering merger talks between the two factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) have run into fresh turbulence following the demise of Ajit Pawar, with sharp differences emerging over leadership, timing, and intent. While both factions acknowledge that merger discussions had taken place when Pawar was alive, his death has deepened the rift particularly over who should lead the party if the merger eventually materialises. The Ajit Pawar faction has remained firm in its position that his wife, Sunetra Pawar, should take over as party president in the event of a merger, asserting that this arrangement was discussed and broadly agreed upon with Pawar before his demise. As per this understanding, Supriya Sule was expected to move to the Centre, a plan that leaders from Maharashtras former deputy chief ministers camp say was finalised during internal deliberations before his death. According to leaders aligned with Pawar, this succession plan formed part of a broader roadmap aimed at ensuring organisational continuity and political stability within the party. They insist that any deviation from this understanding would amount to reneging on commitments made when he was alive. Merger timing sparks resentment Tensions escalated when leaders from the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) faction began making public statements about the merger barely one day after Pawars last rites were performed. The timing of these remarks left the Ajit Pawar faction deeply upset, with leaders alleging that it sent the wrong signal to party cadre and legislators at a particularly sensitive moment. The way Jayant Patil and other leaders of the NCP (SP) faction started making statements about the merger talks soon after the last rites of Dada were performed did not go down well with the Ajit Pawar faction. They could have waited and continued the merger talks with both factions at a later stage, said a senior leader from the NCP Ajit Pawar faction, speaking on condition of anonymity. According to leaders from Ajit Pawars camp, these public statements created a perception that the Sharad Pawar faction was attempting to assert control over the party in the immediate aftermath of his nephews death. They argue that such messaging unsettled party workers and elected representatives at a time when restraint was expected. The party cadre and MLAs felt that it was deliberately done to project that they control the party since the demise of Dada. But this is not the fact. Sunetra Pawar comes from a strong political background, and she understands politics well. She cannot be underestimated, the leader added. Competing claims deepen uncertainty Another flashpoint between the two factions was Sharad Pawars public statement claiming that he had no knowledge of Sunetra Pawar taking the oath as Deputy Chief Minister. This remark did not go down well with Ajit Pawars supporters, who insist that her swearing-in was an internal party matter and had no connection with the Sharad Pawar-led NCP faction. Leaders from Ajit Pawars camp argue that Sharad Pawar currently heads the NCP (SP) and, therefore, matters relating to Sunetra Pawars oath as Deputy Chief Minister should not have been questioned publicly. They contend that such statements only added to the confusion and mistrust surrounding the merger talks. Sources further revealed that while the merger discussions have not been called off, they will proceed strictly in accordance with the understanding reached with Ajit Pawar when he was alive. According to these sources, Sunetra Pawar is expected to step into Ajit Pawars role, having already taken oath as Deputy Chief Minister, and should now be elected as party president. All the MLAs are in favour of electing Sunetra Pawar as party president. The merger will only happen if Sharad Pawar considers Sunetra Pawar as the party president, the senior leader said. On the other hand, leaders from the Sharad Pawar faction believe that Supriya Sule has the political stature, organisational experience, and public acceptance required to lead the party in the absence of Ajit Pawar. This fundamental disagreement over leadership has widened the fault lines between the two camps and is likely to further delay any formal merger announcement. Adding another dimension to the unfolding political developments, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis stated that Ajit Pawar used to share everything with him and never mentioned any merger plans. Fadnavis also said that Ajit Pawar would not have taken such a step without keeping the BJP in the loop, stressing that he was content within the NDA government. With positions hardening on both sides, the proposed NCP merger now appears increasingly uncertain, with leadership ambitions, contested narratives, and a growing trust deficit threatening to derail talks that once seemed close to fruition. The sudden death of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in a plane crash has left the state in shock. His passing comes at a time when Maharashtras political alignments were in flux, with questions of power, succession, and political survival becoming increasingly prominent. His death could also complicate a possible merger between the two rival factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). After years of acrimony following the partys split, recent months had seen growing indications both from Ajit Pawar and his uncle Sharad Pawar that a reunion was likely. Electoral setbacks, declining influence in urban local bodies, and the steady erosion of the NCPs traditional Maratha support base had pushed both sides toward a more pragmatic approach. Political scientist Nitin Birmal, Associate Professor at Dr Ambedkar Art & Commerce College, Pune, who has closely studied the cooperative movement, agrarian politics, and caste-class alignments that shaped Ajit Pawars political career, explains what his demise means for Maharashtras politics. Edited excerpts: What does the passing away of Ajit Pawar mean for Maharashtras politics? From the early 1990s onwards, when Ajit Pawars leadership began to emerge in Maharashtra, two things stood out at the core of this rise the cooperative movement and his understanding of the agrarian economy. This stemmed from positions he held, such as chairman of district cooperative banks and cooperative sugar factories. After the formation of the NCP in 1999, especially in southern and western Maharashtra, including districts like Pune, Satara, and Ahmednagar, he brought a rare balance between urban and rural interests. Ajit Pawar was able to grow as a leader in rapidly expanding regions excluding Mumbai where urbanisation and the non-agricultural economy were booming. For the past 25 years, his leadership in western and southern Maharashtra remained largely unchanged in this sense. Today, there is no leader in Maharashtra who has mastered the art of linking rural and urban interests the way Ajit Pawar did. While moving towards development, he knew how to integrate rural and urban stakes, a skill he learnt from his uncle Sharad Pawar. Ajit Pawar broke away from the NCP in search of political opportunities he believed were unavailable within the party. Over the past three years, did he achieve what he had aspired for? Unlike regional parties like the DMK, Mamata Banerjees TMC or Jagan Mohan Reddys YSRCP, the NCPs strength has always remained limited and even with Ajit Pawar coming out of senior Pawars shadow, he wasnt able to demonstrate any significant expansion. Ajit Pawars support structure in the Pune district included the local elites, the landowning Marathas. After 1999, these families left the Congress, and joined the NCP. Post 2014, they left the NCP and joined the BJP. So, the people delivering the wins are the same; it is just that their party has changed. So Ajit Pawars support structure across caste and class lines has been shifting towards the BJP, and as a result, in the past three years he did not manage to make any significant gains for himself or his party. There were indications both from him and his uncle Sharad Pawars side that the two NCP factions could merge. What happens now with Ajit Pawar gone? The two factions will have to merge; there is no other option now. The strength of the Sharad Pawar-led faction has declined significantly. Even in the recent local body elections, its performance was poor, making a coming together inevitable. With Ajit Pawars passing, the family will also need to maintain a united front to prevent the partys strength from further dwindling. Within days of Ajit Pawars death, his wife Sunetra was sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister. Will she be able to fill in Pawars space? Ajit Pawars real strength was that he was the principal Maratha leader of western and southern Maharashtra, a position no one else has been able to occupy. Since the 2009 elections, he consistently served as Deputy CM, a stature that took nearly two decades to build. Today, leadership comparable to Ajit Pawar is not visible within the party or among successors. Do you think Sharad Pawar could steer the merger and his daughter Supriya Sule could reunite NCPs top leaders? Considering his age it is evident that Sharad Pawar too would want to hand over the baton to the next leaders. With Ajit gone, he will have to take the lead in ensuring the factions unite. And as far as Supriya Sule is concerned, I feel they will continue with the same arrangement of having her at the centre and someone from Ajit Pawars family could lead the party in the state. Does the BJP need NCP at all? In the absence of Ajit Pawar, will the party lose its place in the NDA? Over the past few elections, the support group of Ajit Pawar has eroded to the BJP to a certain extent. However, to retain this support, the BJP will have to offer some assurance, and therefore may keep the NCP with it, at least for some time. At present, the BJP also has no Maratha leader who can garner support in western Maharashtra the way Ajit Pawar did, or as the NCP under a Pawar can. The NCPs 12% vote share and its 40 MLAs remain significant numbers, making the party relevant to the BJP. Yes, the NCPs bargaining power may decline in the absence of Ajit Pawar. That said, the BJP will not continue to depend on the alliance for too long. It will explore options within its own ranks to see whether a portion of this 12% voter base can be shifted to its side. The BJP will certainly attempt to exploit the void left by Ajit Pawar. If a merger is indeed inevitable, what ideological positioning would Sharad Pawar have to adopt to align himself with the NDA? Even when Ajit Pawar joined hands with the BJP, he continued to campaign for his secular ideals. The NCP would sit with the NDA as an ally rather than merge with the BJP, so there would not be much of an ideological challenge for the NCP. Many regional parties within the NDA have, time and again, voiced their objections to certain BJP policies, and the NCP could do the same. Moreover, the current BJP is quite flexible in this regard and does not insist on complete ideological alignment from its allies. It is said that all real estate is about location. It is. But there is an even greater truth: Real estate is about migration, too. Simply put, home prices perform structurally well in regions where there is high migration or potential of high migration. The driver for this migration is almost always jobs. And preferably modest-to-high paying jobs for the young and mid-aged. It is a truth backed with decades of experience across geographies. With the creation of Pakistan in 1947, many Hindus fled to India and within the country to Bombay. Similarly, many Muslims fled to Pakistan and within the country to Karachi. The population rose dramatically in the two cities as they were the eminent economic centres of the region. This population needed homes to live in. Demand was high but supply was low. Home prices in the two cities saw a sharp rise thereafter, with population rising even faster in the subsequent three decades. It works the other way as well and Kolkata is a pointed example. The once-beaming city saw its economy get crushed. Migration into the city dwindled, population growth was weak and that reflected in the property market. The biggest exhibit on the power of migration in the world is reflected from Detroit in the US. It was the top automobile hub of the world with American companies having their base there. In 1950, it had a population of 18 lakh people. Thereafter competition from foreign companies, as well as a desire to lower costs, made the companies shift their base outside of Detroit. Additionally, in 1967 it witnessed one of the bloodiest racial riots forcing largescale migration of whites away from the city. Today, it has a population of just 6 lakh and has been the worst performing property market of America in the last 50 years. The reason for raising this topic is to touch upon a theme that many people discuss: The rise of Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. By all indications, property prices in the smaller cities have sharply outperformed prices in the larger cities. Tales of their growth-story are highlighted and reported. Few of them do deserve it. Most of them are, however, products of hollow speculation with low-visible capital but very high invisible capital. Historically, the story that plays out has phases of exaggerated boom and silent bust; select entrepreneurs dabbling in land gain while the city loses. Thats because the very ingredient to drive migration into a new city is killed too early on: Affordability. The same scenario appears to be playing out in many Tier-2 cities of India once again. This will have consequences. Thats because it is very hard to build a city. Equally, it is not as easy to displace established cities in a short period of time. In a way it may be hard to build a city, but it is even harder to kill an established city. That is the reason why in most cases the creation of a new city is often adjacent to the established city. It is easier to expand an existing city as we see in Thane or Navi Mumbai. The only way to judge a structurally rising city is to see if jobs and infrastructure outperform the growth of real estate. This is ably demonstrated by the successful journey of Bangalore and Hyderabad over the past two decades. If, however, real estate outperforms jobs and infrastructure, then the euphoria will be short-lived. That is the only golden rule to knowing real estate investing. Remember: All real estate is migration. Vishal Bhargava tracks Mumbais real estate Pravin Talan did not set out to create an identity associated with Indias National Security Guard. The moment that changed his life arrived in 2008, during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, when his mother, awaiting surgery in a hospital, sat glued to the television as NSG commandos moved through smoke, rubble and fear. One line kept returning, part pride, part disbelief: How daring are they? Years later, she recalled a single image that had stayed with her: a commando slithering down from a helicopter onto the Taj hotel roof. She said it almost like an observation, Pravin recalls. Thats when it hit me. I knew I had to do something. Born from that impulse, the NSG calendar, now in its 10th edition, is among the most widely circulated visual tributes to Indias internal security forces. What began in 2016 as a personal project has grown into an annual archive, shared as high-resolution PDFs across hostels and college corridors, used as wallpapers, and forwarded on WhatsApp like a modern badge of pride. A tribute that demanded trust This wasnt about selling anything, Pravin says. It was a tribute. The 26/11 attacks took lives across services, including Mumbai Police officers, Home Guards, and Railway Protection Force personnel. For the first time, war came into our living rooms, he adds. It made us understand how important internal security really is. The Talans, thus, set out to portray Indian special forces with the same visual seriousness that global militaries receive, but rooted in real action rather than posed heroism. Why should our youngsters download images of Navy SEALs or the Israeli Defence Forces, Pravin asks, when we have heroes right here? Such work required access, and access required trust. The photographers had to convince the forces that the calendar carried no commercial agenda. That trust has endured across a decade, even through the pandemic, which makes the project rare not just for its imagery but for its continuity. Training as identity From their home in Lokhandwala, Pravin, 52, and Rupali, 37, speak like partners who share more than a profession. Pravin, originally from Agra, moved to Mumbai in 2000 and has worked professionally since 2004. Rupali, from Kanpur, arrived around 2009, first working as a model and actor, before turning to photography in 2016. Together for over 12 years and married for four, they have produced close to 40 coffee-table books and nearly as many calendars. Yet they treat the NSG and Mumbai Police calendars differently. Every frame, Pravin insists, reflects real training. If theyre rappelling down a building or defusing a bomb, thats part of their daily drill. They fire live rounds every day. Psychologically, theyre always tuned in. Rupali lends the project a distinct gaze. I focus more on emotional discipline and human strength rather than just power, she says. I tend to notice silence and teamwork more. One image that has always stayed with her: that of a commando in a bomb suit weighing over 35 kilos, a fraction away from death. She also recounts a shoot in Kashmir, where she photographed CRPF personnel in the morning. That evening, there was a terrorist attack at the same outpost. Two from the same batch I had photographed earlier were killed, she says. You return to your hotel with their frames still in your camera, and the knowledge that the men you spoke to hours ago are already gone. In a country where elite forces operate unseen, the calendar offers recognition without compromising anonymity. Some commandos call asking for a photograph to hang at home, Pravin says. Theyll say, Sir, I know Im not visible, but I know thats me in the frame. The 10th NSG calendar can be downloaded at: nsg.gov.in/resources Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) spoke yesterday on the Senate floor on the Democrats proposed reforms to ICE. Schumer was Tuesdays KVML Newsmaker of the Day. Here are his words: Right now, Americans from all walks of lifeleft, right, and centeragree that the status quo with ICE cannot continue and Congress needs to make a change. Whats happening in Minneapolis and other cities around the country is not law and order. Its thuggery. Thuggery. Heres what former Border Patrol head Greg Bovino said recently in a video thats circulated online: Arrest as many people who touch you as you want. Those are general orders, all the way to the very top! That is the rhetoric of police states. That is precisely the abuse that Congress needs to stop. That is why we were so intent on splitting off the Homeland Security bill from the rest of the funding bills, so we could focus on it, rein it in, rein in ICE, and end the violence. Republicans need to take a good look at whats happening around the country and realize, too, that its time to rein in ICEs abuses. We should be going after the worst of the worst, as the administration says, instead of unleashing fear and chaos on everybody else. What Democrats want is exceedingly reasonable. We need to end roving patrols. That means arrest warrants and ending racial profiling. Second: we need real accountability, having ICE abide by the same rules as local police does, including independent investigations of ICE. Third: masks need to come off, cameras need to stay on, and officers need visible identification. No secret police. These changes are as common-sense as it gets. There is nothing insaneas some Republicans thinkabout asking federal agents to respect the fourth amendment. It does not criminalize law enforcement to ask them to identify themselves and to follow the same basic code as other law enforcement. The idea that Speaker Johnson has that ICE people should be able to wear masks; police officers dont wear masks all across the country. And if anyone needs to be identified its these abusive thugs who are in the Border Patrol, who are in ICE. If Republicans cant come to the table on these very sensible changes, then the violence we see happening around the country is going to continue. The Newsmaker of the Day is heard every weekday morning at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45 on AM 1450 and FM 102.7 KVML. Jamestown, CA Tuolumne County has finalized an agreement to provide $150,000 in CalRecycle grant funding to the ATCAA Food Bank. This funding supports California Senate Bill 1383, which mandates a 20% reduction in edible food waste sent to landfills. California Senate Bill 1383 requires jurisdictions to reduce organic waste disposal and rescue surplus edible food. It was also recently brought up at a Tuolumne County Business Council meeting, as reported here. While the new requirements have been implemented in many parts of California, Tuolumne County, like many other rural areas, currently has a waiver through the end of the year. To help local jurisdictions comply, the State offers funding through its CalRecycle grant program. According to CalRecycle, Feeding hungry people through food recovery is the best use for surplus food and a vital way for California to conserve resources and reduce waste thrown in landfills. Public Works Assistant Director Deborah Reagan oversees the Countys jurisdictional requirements under Senate Bill 1383. The Solid Waste Division has an on-going relationship with the ATCAA Food Bank and already had several small infrastructure improvement projects in the planning phase to increase capacity at the facility. Following a presentation to the Board of Supervisors at a January meeting by ATCAA Executive Director Joseph Bors, Reagan sought and received approval from CalRecycle to allocate existing grant funds to support ATCAA Food Bank personnel costs. ATCAA is a vital partner in recovering edible food in Tuolumne County, said Reagan. The Countys compliance requirements changed after we were awarded this grant in 2024, and I saw an opportunity to redirect funds to this urgent need. This could not have come at a better time, said Bors. These funds will go directly toward labor costs for the Food Bank. He noted that the Food Bank has been operating under significant financial strain. While it awaits its anticipated 2025 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) allocation, staff hours have been reduced despite spending down reserves and receiving strong support from the community, Adventist Health, and the Sonora Area Foundation last fall. While the financial situation is improving over the short-term horizon, there are still long-term uncertainties. The federal government has recently stated that it will not be supporting social services like Food Banks in CDBG award years 2026 and 2027, said Borsa resource the Food Bank has relied upon for many years. That is going to be a challenge for us and for food banks throughout the nation, and were working diligently to fill an otherwise reliable funding gap for 2027 and possibly beyond. WASHINGTON (AP) A U.S. Navy fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone that was approaching the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, U.S. Central Command said Tuesday, threatening to ramp up tensions as the Trump administration warns of possible military action to get Iran to the negotiating table. The drone aggressively approached the aircraft carrier with unclear intent and kept flying toward it despite de-escalatory measures taken by U.S. forces operating in international waters, Central Command spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins said in a statement. The shootdown occurred within hours of Iranian forces harassing a U.S.-flagged and U.S.-crewed merchant vessel that was sailing in the Strait of Hormuz, the American military said. The developments could escalate the heightened tensions between the longtime adversaries as President Donald Trump has threatened to use military action first over Irans bloody crackdown on nationwide protests and then to try to get the country to make a deal over its nuclear program. Trumps Republican administration has built up military forces in the region, sending the aircraft carrier, guided-missile destroyers, air defense assets and more to supplement its presence. The Shahed-139 drone was shot down by an F-35C fighter jet from the Lincoln, which was sailing about 500 miles (800 kilometers) from Irans southern coast, Hawkins said. No American troops were harmed, and no U.S. equipment was damaged, the militarys statement noted. Iranian state media reported that Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard is investigating the interruption of the drone. Semi-official Tasnim news agency posted on its Telegram that before the footage cut out, the drone was able to successfully transfer the images it took back to Iran. US says Iran also harassed a merchant vessel After the shootdown, Revolutionary Guard forces harassed the merchant vessel Stena Imperative, the U.S. military said. Two boats and an Iranian Mohajer drone approached the ship at high speeds and threatened to board and seize the tanker, Hawkins statement said. The destroyer USS McFaul responded and escorted the Stena Imperative with defensive air support from the U.S. Air Force, the statement said, adding that the merchant vessel was now sailing safely. Talks between special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian officials are still planned, White House and Iranian officials said. President Trump is always wanting to pursue diplomacy first, but obviously it takes two to tango, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. She added, As always, though, of course, the president has a range of options on the table with respect to Iran. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tuesday that he instructed the countrys foreign minister to pursue fair and equitable negotiations with the U.S., marking one of the first clear signs from Tehran that it wants to try to negotiate with Washington. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei also told state TV that the talks were still expected in the next few days but that the details, including where they will take place, were still being discussed. Baghaei said Turkey and Oman, among other regional countries, have offered to host the talks, according to the semiofficial Tasnim news agency. Tensions began to rise again between the U.S. and Iran as the Islamic Republic spent weeks quelling protests that began in late December against growing economic instability before broadening into a challenge to the countrys ruling theocracy. Trump had promised in early January to rescue Iranians from their governments protest crackdown before starting to pressure Tehran again to make a deal over its nuclear program. That is even as the Republican president insists Iranian nuclear sites were obliterated in U.S. strikes in June. We have talks going on with Iran. Well see how it all works out, Trump told reporters Monday. Asked what his threshold was for military action against Iran, he declined to elaborate. Id like to see a deal negotiated, Trump said. Right now, were talking to them, were talking to Iran, and if we could work something out, thatd be great. And if we cant, probably bad things would happen. Turkey had been working behind the scenes to make the talks happen there later this week as Witkoff is traveling in the region. A Turkish official later said the location of talks was uncertain but that Turkey was ready to support the process. US military builds up presence in the region Meanwhile, the U.S. military has been moving a growing number of assets into the region over the past several weeks, including the Lincoln and several destroyers, which arrived last week. The carrier strike group, which brought roughly 5,700 additional service members, joined three destroyers and three littoral combat ships that were already in the region. Analysts of flight-tracking data also have noticed dozens of U.S. military cargo planes heading to the region. The activity is similar to last year when the U.S. moved in air defense hardware, like a Patriot missile system, in anticipation of an Iranian counterattack following the U.S. bombing of three key nuclear sites. Iran launched more than a dozen missiles at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar days after the strikes. The U.S. has several bases in the Middle East, including Al Udeid, which hosts thousands of American troops and is the forward headquarters for U.S. Central Command. ___ Amiri reported from New York. Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani contributed to this report. By KONSTANTIN TOROPIN and FARNOUSH AMIRI Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Immigration officers with guns drawn arrested activists who were trailing their vehicles on Tuesday in Minneapolis, while education leaders described anxiety and fear in Minnesota schools from the ongoing federal sweeps. Both are signs that tension remains in the Minneapolis area after the departure of high-profile commander Greg Bovino of U.S. Border Patrol and the arrival of Trump administration border czar Tom Homan, which followed the fatal shooting of protester Alex Pretti. Theres less smoke on the ground, Gov. Tim Walz said, referring to tear gas and other irritants used by officers against protesters, but I think its more chilling than it was last week because of the shift to the schools, the shift to the children. At least one person who had an anti-ICE message on clothing was handcuffed while face-down on the ground. An Associated Press photographer witnessed the arrests. ICE agents are changing their tactics Federal agents in the Twin Cities lately have been conducting more targeted immigration arrests at homes and neighborhoods, rather than staging in parking lots. The convoys have been harder to find and less aggressive. Alerts in activist group chats have been more about sightings than immigration-related detainments. Several cars followed officers through south Minneapolis after there were reports of them knocking at homes. Officers stopped their vehicles and ordered activists to come out of a car at gunpoint. Agents told reporters at the scene to stay back and threatened to use pepper spray. A federal judge last month put limits on how officers treat motorists who are following them but not obstructing their operations. Safely following agents at an appropriate distance does not, by itself, create reasonable suspicion to justify a vehicle stop, the judge said. An appeals court, however, set the order aside. Bovino, who was leading immigration enforcement in Minneapolis and other big U.S. cities, left town last week, shortly after Prettis death became the second local killing of a U.S. citizen in January. Homan, who was dispatched to Minnesota to succeed Bovino, has warned that protesters could face consequences if they interfere with officers. Operation Metro Surge affecting schools Walz and education leaders held a news conference to say the presence of immigration officers is frightening some school communities. Brenda Lewis, superintendent of Fridley Public Schools in suburban Minneapolis, said shes been followed twice by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents since speaking publicly on Jan. 27 and that school board members have had ICE vehicles outside their homes. Lewis, a U.S. citizen, said shes seen SUVs with tinted windows, multiple masked people inside and out-of-state license plates. She goes on neighborhood patrols near schools with a security guard. Students are afraid to come to school, parents are afraid to drop them off, Lewis said. Staff are coming to work wondering if today will be the day something happens in one of our buildings. She said Fridley, which has Somali and Ecuadorian families, has added security, adjusted drop-off procedures and increased mental health support. Tracy Xiong, a social worker in the Columbia Heights district, said shes been coordinating grocery deliveries to school families and finding volunteers to drive children. There was no immediate response to a request for comment from the Department of Homeland Security and ICE about the arrests in south Minneapolis and the concerns of educators. Grand jury seeks communications, records Meanwhile, Tuesday was the deadline for Minneapolis to produce information for a federal grand jury. Its part of a U.S. Justice Department request for records of any effort to stifle the Trump administrations immigration crackdown. Officials have denounced it as a bullying tactic. We have done nothing wrong and have nothing to hide, but when the federal government weaponizes the criminal justice system against political opponents, its important to stand up and fight back, said Ally Peters, spokesperson for Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat. She said the city was complying, but she didnt elaborate. Other state and local offices run by Democrats were given subpoenas, though its not known whether they had the same deadline. People familiar with the matter have told the AP that the subpoenas are related to an investigation into whether Minnesota officials obstructed enforcement through public statements. No release for man in Omar incident Elsewhere, a man charged with squirting apple cider vinegar on Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar will remain in jail. U.S. Magistrate Judge David Schultz granted a federal prosecutors request to keep Anthony Kazmierczak in custody. We simply cannot have protesters and people whatever side of the aisle theyre on running up to representatives who are conducting official business, and holding town halls, and assaulting them, Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Bejar said Tuesday. Defense attorney John Fossum said the vinegar posed a low risk to Omar. He said Kazmierczaks health problems werent being properly addressed in jail and that his release would be appropriate. ___ Raza reported from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. AP reporters Ed White in Detroit and Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed. By RYAN MURPHY, SARAH RAZA and STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told lawmakers in a letter Monday that she attended an FBI search of the elections hub in Fulton County, Georgia, last week because President Donald Trump asked for her to be there. She also acknowledged that she facilitated what she described as a brief phone call between Trump and FBI agents who carried out the search but insisted that neither she nor the president had issued any directives. The letter to top Democrats on the House and Senate intelligence committees marked Gabbards first detailed explanation for her unusual presence at an FBI search during which agents armed with a warrant seized hundreds of boxes containing ballots and other documents related to the 2020 election in Georgias most populous county. Fulton County, which votes overwhelmingly Democratic, has been a frequent target of the presidents ire. He has long insisted without evidence that widespread voter fraud in the county cost him victory in Georgia in his 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden. Gabbards arrival in Georgia raised immediate questions among Democratic officials because the FBI search of the election center was a law enforcement, not intelligence, activity and because the position of national intelligence director is typically focused on foreign threats rather than domestic concerns. In her letter, Gabbard said her presence was specifically requested by Trump and she accompanied senior FBI officials under my broad statutory authority to coordinate, integrate, and analyze intelligence related to election security. Gabbard has been central to Trump administration efforts to cast doubt on intelligence community conclusions of Russian interference on Trumps behalf during his successful 2016 campaign, and her presence in Georgia has been feared by Democrats as laying the groundwork for the federal government to assert that the 2020 race he lost was somehow tainted by foreign meddling or to cast doubt on the integrity of future elections. Gabbard in her letter suggested that election systems are at risk of foreign interference, citing what she said was intelligence showing that electronic voting systems have been vulnerable to exploitation that could result in the manipulation of votes. She said that in order to preserve the integrity of our elections, we must understand whether there has been foreign or other malign interference in our elections, and whether vulnerabilities exist in our election infrastructure that could be exploited in future elections. She did not explain why Fulton County was singled out for scrutiny, saying she had not seen the warrant that investigators submitted to a judge for approval. Audits, state officials, courts and Trumps own former attorney general have rejected the idea that there was widespread fraud in the 2020 election that could have altered the outcome. The 2024 election that Trump won was also seen as relatively trouble-free at the polls. Gabbard also appeared to confirm a report earlier Monday from The New York Times that she had helped arrange a call between Trump and FBI agents. It is rare for a president to communicate directly with rank-and-file FBI personnel about specific investigations. While visiting the FBI Field Office in Atlanta, I thanked the FBI agents for their professionalism and great work, and facilitated a brief phone call for the President to thank the agents personally for their work. He did not ask any questions, nor did he or I issue any directives, she wrote. By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press By Ambassador David Dondua Georgias democratic backslide has shocked observers at home and abroad. Once a beacon of democracy and a frontrunner of European integration, the country has lost its standing within the European democratic family in a remarkably short time. While this shift may appear sudden, it reflects deeper vulnerabilitieslessons that matter not only for Georgia but also for other small states navigating similar geopolitical crossroads. BACKGROUND: The rapid erosion of Georgias democratic and pro-Western trajectory cannot be explained by a single decision, policy, or political figure. Rather, it is the result of a complex combination of factors. At the most general level, it reflects the success of a long-term Russian hybrid and cognitive operation against Georgian society, an operation that ultimately proved much more effective than the 2008 military invasion. As a result of the August 2008 Russo-Georgian war, Russia occupied only 20 per cent of Georgias territory. In the decade that followed, however, Moscow achieved something far more consequential. Through sustained political influence, economic leverage, disinformation, and elite capture, it gradually penetrated Georgias state institutions. Government, parliament, the presidential administration, courts, security services, police, armed forces, and the foreign service all became vulnerable to influence. Most importantly, Russia succeeded in distracting the country from its European integration trajectory and sowing mistrust toward democratic reforms and Western aspirations. Strategically, this amounted to the cognitive occupation of the entire state. Blaming this reversal solely on Russian hybrid attacks, the pro-Russian stance of the ruling Georgian Dream government, or the role of the de facto ruler, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, would be too simple. The reality is more complex. Among the many political, social, and institutional factors that shaped Georgias vulnerability, one has remained largely unrecognized, rarely discussed, and almost entirely absent from public debate. In the late 1980s, as the collapse of the Soviet Union became inevitable, Georgian society engaged in intense debates about the future of the independent state. Constitutional arrangements, models of governance, economic systems, currency, and even sporting affiliations were openly discussed. One issue, however, was never truly debated: the foreign policy orientation of independent Georgia. On this question, there appeared to be complete consensus. Becoming part of the West was treated as self-evidentalmost sacred. It was widely perceived as the fulfilment of centuries-long aspirations to align Georgia with Europe. No alternatives were discussed, not because they were examined and rejected, but because few dared to articulate them. In a diverse, multi-ethnic society that had lived under Russian rule for more than two centuries, it is unlikely that such alternatives were entirely absent. Yet for the next three decades, this unchallenged consensus shaped both Georgias foreign and domestic policy. IMPLICATIONS: From todays perspective, this unquestioned consensus appears to have been a missed opportunity for deeper and informed societal consolidation. This observation should not be misunderstood as questioning Georgias European choice. The author firmly believes that the European path was and remains the right choice for Georgia. Yet accepting this choice without deep public reasoning, open discussion, or even heated debate left society ill-prepared to fully understand and defend it. Georgian society is often characterized by emotional radicalism, reinforced by a lack of democratic traditions. This leaves limited space for critical reflection. As a result, key aspects of EU and NATO integration were rarely discussed in a fact-based and accessible way. Public support, therefore, remained largely emotional rather than knowledge-based. This gap became visible whenever misinformation spread. Claims that EU regulations would ban or severely restrict traditional agricultural products, force the uprooting of vineyardswidely perceived as an attack on Georgias cultural heritageor exclude most of local goods from European markets due to strict quality standards repeatedly triggered public outrage. Such narratives exposed how shallow public understanding often was, despite consistently high levels of declared support for European integration. Insufficient effort was made to explain to citizens that compromise is inherent in joining any international organisation. Government officials and even NGOs promoting the EU and NATO integration often avoided discussing trade-offs and long-term costs. Citizens were rarely told that todays difficulties are frequently the price of tomorrows benefitschoices that can only be made consciously by an informed society. Following the adoption of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), the state should have launched a large-scale educational effort to demonstrate how this instrument could be applied in practice, particularly for small entrepreneurs and rural communities. While some initiatives were undertaken, largely with donor support, they were insufficient. For many citizens, European integration remained an abstract promise rather than a lived experience. A fundamental contradiction of Georgias post-independence politics is that all Georgian governments over the past three and a half decades have claimed to be pro-Western and have promised the population a European democratic future, including NATO membership. Even the current ruling party, Georgian Dream, publicly declared the same until recently. Yet in practice, the actions of all those governments, without exception, have often fallen short of democratic standards, at times even sharply contradicting them. Against this backdrop, today, the ruling party has deliberately cast Europe as a convenient scapegoat for almost all of the countrys past and current difficulties, whether stemming from poor governance, institutional weaknesses, corruption, reform costs, or external developments beyond Georgias control. Georgian Dream has transformed ordinary challenges into a political weapon to erode public trust in democratic reforms and derail the countrys European path. As noted above, in every election, including the watershed 2012 vote, virtually all political actors pledged a European future to voters; even marginal candidates openly backed or courted by the Kremlin used pro-Western rhetoric. Unlike in Ukraine, Moldova, or Armenia, where societies were exposed to competing geopolitical visions and, over time, could observe different policy orientations, compare outcomes, and distinguish between credible and non-credible strategic paths, Georgian voters were never offered a genuine choice. They were offered reassurance that the European path was uncontested and secure. This monopoly of a single geopolitical orientation meant that alternatives were neither seriously articulated nor openly debated. Paradoxically, the absence of pluralism later became a vulnerability: because the European choice was never collectively debated and consciously affirmed, it failed to generate a strong sense of public ownership. Today, pro-Russian actors exploit this gap by asking: Who decided that Georgia must choose Europe? The ruling Georgian Dream has increasingly reinforced this narrative by claiming that the European course was imposed on Georgia by some phantom foreign forces. At the same time, fully replacing Europe with Russia remains politically tricky in the short term, given prevailing public attitudes. Instead, the government has sought to cultivate the idea of state neutrality as an ostensibly safer alternative to Western integration, one that promises stability while allowing Georgians to preserve their traditions, identity, and way of life without external pressure. Packaged in this way, neutrality appears as a return to normalcy and sovereignty. Such a narrative can gain traction precisely because the European path was never thoroughly debated, internalised, and embraced on the basis of knowledge. In reality, however, neutrality functions as a transitional narrative rather than a genuine option. Given Georgias geography, security environment and economic dependencies, let alone historical experience, neutrality is simply not workable. In practice, abandoning Western integration is the fastest route to renewed subordination to Russia and the gradual erosion of Georgian statehood. CONCLUSIONS: Georgias democratic and geopolitical setback is not the result of abandoning Europe overnight. It is the consequence of failing to cultivate deep understanding, ownership, and resilience around the European choice over three decades. Strategic orientations cannot survive on consensus alone; they require constant explanation, public debate, and civic education. For years, Georgia proudly cited overwhelming public support for European integration. Yet emotional endorsement without understanding is fragile. A society that genuinely comprehends how Western institutions function and what integration realistically entails is far more resilient to manipulation. In retrospect, 50 or even 40 per cent of firm, knowledge-based support would have been more durable than 80 per cent of symbolic approval. This underscores that the key to Georgias recovery lies not in numbers alone but in cultivating genuine understanding and ownership among citizens. This moment, however, is not irreversible. What was insufficiently addressed in the past can still be corrected. Periods of crisis often force societies to replace inherited assumptions with conscious choices. Continued engagement by Georgias Western partners is therefore essentialnot less, but more focused on education, communication, and societal resilience. Europe has not disappeared from Georgias collective identity. If reinforced through knowledge rather than slogans, it can still serve as the foundation for democratic recovery and a sustainable return to the European path. AUTHORS BIO: Ambassador David Dondua is a diplomat and political analyst. He serves as Chairman of the EU Awareness Centre, a Brussels-based think tank focused on European integration, democratic resilience, and countering hybrid threats in Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus. The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has issued a public warning to Kenyans over the growing practice of folding banknotes into flower-like bouquets and using cash as decorative gifts, saying the trend damages currency and disrupts circulation. In a statement released on Monday, the regulator said it has noted an increase in the use of Kenyan shilling banknotes for celebratory and ornamental purposes, including cash flower bouquets, decorative displays and similar arrangements popular at weddings, birthdays and graduations. According to the CBK, these practices often involve physically altering the notes in ways that render them unfit for circulation. In many instances, banknotes are folded, rolled, glued, taped, stapled, pinned, or otherwise affixed using adhesives and fastening materials. Such practices compromise the integrity of Kenya shillings banknotes and render them unsuitable for circulation, the bank said. The CBK warned that damaged notes interfere with the smooth operation of cash-handling systems across the banking sector. It explained that adhesives, pins, staples and tape affect the performance of automated teller machines (ATMs), cash-counting machines and sorting equipment used by banks and businesses. This results in increased rejection of banknotes during processing and leads to premature withdrawal and replacement of currency, at an avoidable cost to the public and store of value, the bank added. While acknowledging that cash gifts remain a common and acceptable practice, the CBK stressed that such gifts must not involve actions that alter, deface or damage banknotes. Currency should remain in a condition that allows it to circulate freely and perform its intended functions as a medium of exchange, unit of account, and store of value. The regulator also reminded the public that Kenyan law prohibits the defacement of currency. Under Section 367 of the Penal Code (Cap 63, Laws of Kenya), mutilating or impairing banknotes constitutes a criminal offence. In its advisory, the CBK urged Kenyans to adopt alternative, non-damaging ways of presenting monetary gifts, warning that protecting the integrity of banknotes helps reduce unnecessary replacement costs and safeguards the efficiency of the countrys cash ecosystem. CBK therefore urges the public to refrain from practices that compromise the integrity of Kenyan shilling banknotes and to adopt alternative, non-damaging methods when presenting monetary gifts, the statement said. The National Treasury has proposed a significant increase in funding for the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), raising allocations from Sh41 billion to Sh58 billion in a move aimed at easing the financial strain on families and expanding access to higher education. Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi made the announcement during a public engagement forum in Kiambu County, saying the proposed increase will go hand in hand with a major boost in scholarship funding. If approved, total government support for higher education students will rise to Sh92 billion in the 2026/27 financial year. Mbadi said the proposals reflect direct feedback from students, noting that their concerns are already shaping key budget documents, including the Budget Policy Statement (BPS) and the upcoming national budget. Just to give you assurance and confidence that our engagement here is not an academic exercise, even before we progress further with the budget process, I can tell you that some of the feedback we are getting from engaging with students is already finding its way into our BPS and the budget for 2026/27, Mbadi said. He explained that funding challenges raised by students informed the decision to increase both loans and scholarships. Most of the concerns that students have raised regarding funding have led us to propose an enhancement of higher education loans from the current Sh41 billion to Sh58 billion in the next financial year, he said. In addition to higher loan allocations, Mbadi said scholarship funding will more than double, rising from Sh16 billion to about Sh34 billion. That means these two budget lines will move from around Sh57 billion to Sh92 billion, he said, outlining the scale of the proposed investment. According to the Treasury CS, the move signals a renewed commitment to making higher education more affordable and reducing the financial pressure on students and their families. This is a demonstration that we want to put more resources towards educating our youth and make education cheaper even at that level, Mbadi said. Mbadi also addressed concerns over capitation funding for secondary schools, agreeing that current allocations fall short of what students need. Even todays papers have raised concerns that capitation is not adequate, and I agree. We have been underfunding our students in high schools, and this is something we are addressing, even with the constrained financial space that we have, he said. He noted that the proposed budget increases form part of wider reforms aimed at strengthening student financing mechanisms across the education sector. We have noted valuable feedback, including strengthening financial support for student funding. That is why we are talking about financing and reforming student loans, Mbadi said. The Treasury CS also highlighted ongoing changes in how higher education receives funding, with the government shifting toward a course-focused model designed to align financing with the actual cost of different programmes. We have reformed the way we fund higher education, learning from how it used to be, and we are now looking at course-focused funding, he said. The proposed allocations build on recent government efforts to support university and TVET students. In July 2025, the Ministry of Education increased HELB funding from Sh36 billion to Sh41 billion for the 2025/26 academic year. At the time, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said, To ensure no student is left behind, the Government increased HELBs annual funding from Sh36 billion to Sh41 billion. The Ministry of Education has since confirmed that HELB and the Universities Fund have been disbursing funds to students and institutions under the Student-Centred Funding Model. Mbadi said the government plans to expand these initiatives further in the 2026/27 budget, subject to parliamentary approval, as part of its broader strategy to widen access to education and support learners across the country. A new survey reveals that most Kenyans believe the governments Ksh 50,000 NYOTA Fund startup grant is sufficient to help young entrepreneurs launch their businesses, signaling strong public confidence in the youth empowerment initiative. According to research by Infotrak, 77 per cent of respondents said the grant is enough to start a business, highlighting optimism that the fund can effectively support grassroots enterprises. However, some remain skeptical: 19 per cent felt the amount is too small to make a real difference, while three per cent were unsure if the funding would be adequate. The survey, which sampled 620 respondents from all 47 counties, provides a nationwide snapshot of public perception toward the flagship youth empowerment programme. It also shows that awareness of the NYOTA Fund is high at 78 per cent nationally, reflecting strong visibility. Regional awareness varies, with Eastern leading at 88 per cent, followed by Central at 85 per cent and Nairobi at 78 per cent. Awareness is lowest in North Eastern Kenya at 71 per cent, highlighting the need for targeted outreach in marginalised areas. The survey also found that awareness is slightly higher among men (82 per cent) than women (73 per cent), and strongest among adults aged 2645 years, suggesting the programme is reaching economically active groups effectively. When it comes to understanding the funds purpose, most Kenyans recognize that the NYOTA Fund provides grants to start businesses. However, comprehension varies by region. In Nairobi, 80 per cent of respondents correctly identified the funds objective, whereas in the North East, 41 per cent mistakenly thought the programme focuses on training and mentorship. Despite widespread awareness, actual participation remains limited. Only 36 per cent of respondents reported that they or someone close to them had taken part in the programme. Nearly half said they had not engaged, and 11 per cent applied but were not selected. The survey results arrive as the government continues disbursing the NYOTA Fund across all 47 counties, giving young Kenyans an opportunity to support themselves and create sustainable livelihoods. The programme also features a second phase of business development training, equipping beneficiaries with skills needed for subsequent tranches of the grant and long-term business growth. ODM party leader Oburu Oginga has dismissed claims of a political rivalry with Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, saying his partys engagement with the Kenya Kwanza administration is guided by national interest rather than competition for power. Speaking on Monday during the launch of the Nyota programme in Kisumu, Oburu made it clear that ODM has no intention of challenging Kindikis position, instead framing the relationship as one built on cooperation and mutual respect. For the Deputy President, we do not want your seat. You are our friend, Oburu said. As we negotiate, we will negotiate for what our people deserve and for all Kenyans. Oburu explained that ODMs decision to work with President William Rutos administration followed years of intense political rivalry and a period of reflection that reshaped the partys approach to national politics. He said the new path focuses on dialogue and development rather than endless confrontation. ODM has collaborated with UDA in the broad-based government. Since we lost my brother and he left us in this situation, we decided to work together, he said. Addressing renewed calls for street protests by sections of the opposition, Oburu warned against attempts to stir unrest, saying ODM supporters fully understand the cost and consequences of demonstrations. We were known for protests. Some people are now talking about demos, let them come, we will show them protests. They do not know protests, he said. The ODM leader also pushed back against claims that the party represents only one community, insisting that it has evolved into a truly national political movement. Our party is not a Jaluo party. It is a party for the whole country, Oburu said, adding that ODMs central focus remains equitable development across all regions. We will make sure everyone gets a fair share of the national cake, he added. Oburu took a swipe at emerging political players positioning themselves as alternatives to the current leadership, questioning their visibility and grassroots engagement across the country. Those who want to take over government I dont see them campaigning. They are just circling in one area, he said. I have never seen a president campaign with this kind of energy. He concluded by calling for unity and political stability, urging Kenyans to support the current cooperation between ODM and the Kenya Kwanza administration as a pathway to development and shared prosperity. Let us continue to embrace our country so that our people benefit, Oburu said, ending with a rallying call that blended symbolism and ambition: Tufike Canaan kupitia Singapore. President William Ruto has defended his administrations education reforms, saying the government inherited a struggling education system marked by teacher shortages and chronic underfunding but has since taken decisive action to stabilize the sector. Speaking in Kisumu during the Nyota programme beneficiary disbursement event, the President said his government increased capitation to schools and recruited more teachers to address long-standing gaps, with particular focus on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions and universities. We found an education system that had serious problems. There was not enough money and there were not enough teachers, Ruto said, blaming past mismanagement for the challenges that plagued the sector. The President described education reforms as a key pillar of his economic transformation agenda, noting that young people remain Kenyas most valuable resource and must acquire practical skills to earn a living and drive national development. The biggest resource we have as a nation is our young people. If we invest in them, we invest in Kenyas future, he said. Ruto said the youth empowerment programmes rolled out by his administration operate on the principle of inclusivity and equal opportunity, regardless of tribe, education level or social background. This programme has no discrimination. It does not matter where you come from or what your background is. What matters is hard work, he said. He further stated that access to government-supported opportunities does not depend on political connections or personal networks. It is not about knowing the chief, MCA, MP or governor. You must show up and be ready to work. More opportunities are coming for those who have not benefited yet, Ruto added. The President said his visit to Kisumu centered on development and service delivery rather than politics, as he thanked residents of Kisumu, Siaya and Homa Bay counties for hosting his delegation. We did not come here to take a walk. We came here to work and do business, he said. Ruto also hit back at his critics, accusing them of lacking a coherent agenda or alternative policy proposals. Those attacking us are leaderless, plan-less and agenda-less. They are an opposition without an alternative, he said. He dismissed calls to return to past governance approaches, arguing that Kenyans have moved away from politics built on slogans, tribal divisions and unfulfilled promises. Kenyans want opportunity, not noise. They want solutions, not politics of hatred, Ruto said. The President urged Kenyans to rally behind development-driven leadership, reiterating that his administration remains focused on delivering tangible results, particularly for young people and learners across the country. Kenyans living abroad now have a clear path to bring their vehicles and personal belongings home without paying heavy import taxes, thanks to new guidelines from the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA). The KRA has outlined specific conditions that returning residents must meet to qualify for exemptions on imported goods, including motor vehicles, household effects, and personal items. Under the scheme, eligible individuals will be exempt from Import Duty, Excise Duty, Value Added Tax (VAT), and Import Declaration Fee. The exemptions cover clothing, personal and household effects, and one motor vehicle per returning resident, provided it meets the conditions set in 2026. To qualify, returning residents must prove they have lived outside Kenya by presenting valid passports, visas, or work and student permits to customs officials. They must also provide evidence of a permanent return, as indicated by passport entry endorsements, before the KRA can approve the tax waiver. For motor vehicles, owners must show that they personally owned and used the car abroad for at least 12 months before importing it. The vehicle must be no more than eight years old from the date of manufacture and must arrive in Kenya within 90 days of the return. Certain vehicles, including buses or minibuses with more than 13 seats and load-carrying vehicles over two tonnes, are not eligible for the exemption. Spouses and children aged 18 years and above can also qualify if they independently meet all the conditions for returning residents. Foreign spouses who are not Kenyan citizens may receive a tax exemption on their first arrival, provided they are on contracts of two years or longer. Returning residents from countries with left-hand-drive vehicles must show proof of disposal of their previous LHD vehicle before importing a replacement right-hand-drive vehicle, and the new vehicles value must not exceed that of the one disposed of abroad. Applicants must submit several documents, including passports, residence permits, Interpol clearance for vehicles, PIN certificates, bills of lading, invoices, and logbook copies, to process the exemptions. All exemptions must be handled by licensed customs clearing agents through the Integrated Customs Management System (ICMS) to ensure smooth importation and approval of tax relief. This new guidance simplifies the process for Kenyans returning home, making it easier to bring essential goods and vehicles while benefiting from significant tax relief. Low- and middle-income earners in Kenya are set to get significant tax relief as the government rolls out a plan aimed at easing pressure on salaried workers earning below Ksh50,000 per month. The National Treasury says the proposed measures will leave more money in workers pockets, boost consumer spending, and help cushion households against the rising cost of living. Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi announced the plan on Sunday while addressing the Budget and Privatisation Public Engagement Forum at Kiambu National Polytechnic. He said the government intends to scrap income tax entirely for workers earning below Ksh30,000 and reduce tax rates for those earning up to Ksh50,000. Those salaried Kenyans, we have 3.5 million Kenyans earning a salary. They are carrying the burden on almost everybody. It is not fair. We have decided that I am taking a proposal amendment to Bunge. I am not even waiting for the Finance Bill. Anybody earning below 30,000 in this country should pay zero tax. Zero, Mbadi said. He added that the proposal has full backing from President William Ruto and forms part of a broader strategy to stimulate the economy. And anyone earning below 50,000 in this country, we are going to reduce tax. And this is what the government has decided. We have sat down with the President, and we have agreed. We are reducing the tax rate by 5% to 25%. We want to give you something in your pocket so that you can spur demand in the economy, he said. Mbadi linked the decision to signs of economic slowdown, pointing to reduced consumer purchasing power as a major concern. Because we have looked at the economy, and we can see the economy choking. Because people dont have money in their pockets to buy from you. Hakuna mtu ananunua mboga. Badala ya kununua mboga ya sasa hivi mtu anakuja kununua mboga four leaves, he said. In the same address, the Treasury Cabinet Secretary defended the governments handling of Kenyas public finances, saying the country narrowly avoided a debt default that has hit several African economies. In 20212022, the IMF predicted that six countries in Africa were going to default on debt repayment. If you fail to pay your debts, it means that it is a failed economy. It is a collapsed economy, Mbadi said. He warned that a default would have pushed Kenya into strict IMF rescue programmes with far-reaching consequences for workers and public servants. What will happen is IMF will come calling. They will say, fine, we will help you, but on conditions. Number one, you must cut your civil service by 50 per cent. Half of the chiefs go home. Half of the teachers go home, he explained. According to Mbadi, elected leaders would not have been spared under such conditions. The number of Members of Parliament could have dropped from 290 to 145, while Members of County Assemblies would have reduced from about 1,400 to roughly 700. Salaries, including that of the president, would have been slashed by half, he said. He recalled the structural adjustment programmes during former President Daniel arap Mois era, when thousands of workers lost their jobs with minimal compensation. Remember, there was this structural programme during Mzee Mois time. We had not even defaulted, but one of the conditions was retrenchment. Take the staff home. That is what was facing us, Mbadi said. Highlighting Kenyas position relative to its peers, Mbadi noted that most of the countries the IMF had flagged have since defaulted. Five countries out of those six have defaulted. In the neighbourhood here is Ethiopia. The other ones were Ghana, Chad and Mozambique. It is only Kenya which has not defaulted. It is only Kenya, he said. While acknowledging public frustration over high living costs and unemployment, Mbadi urged Kenyans to separate everyday hardships from the wider economic picture. I know many of us have been told that this government has done nothing, and we believe it. And there is nothing wrong with believing, because we cant think the same. If you find two people always agreeing, one of them is not thinking, or both, he said. He challenged business owners and traders to reflect on what operating in a collapsed economy would have meant. How would you have done business in an economy that has collapsed? Mbadi asked. Despite public debt standing at over 70 per cent of GDP, Kenya has maintained access to international financial markets through fiscal reforms and IMF-backed programmes. Unlike countries such as Ghana and Ethiopia, which faced currency pressure, inflation spikes and debt restructuring after defaulting, Kenya has avoided a full-blown debt crisis. If implemented, the proposed tax cuts could offer immediate relief to millions of salaried Kenyans while injecting fresh momentum into the economy through increased household spending. Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has reported that the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) has so far registered 9,165 aspirants seeking the partys ticket ahead of the 2027 General Election. Kindiki made the announcement through his official social media channels on Monday, February 2, 2026, just days after UDA opened its aspirants registration forum. The registration is taking place ahead of a major aspirants meeting scheduled at State House on Wednesday, February 4, where President William Ruto is expected to engage those seeking the partys endorsement. A breakdown of the figures shows that 139 aspirants have registered to contest the 47 gubernatorial seats, while 240 are seeking tickets for the 47 Senate positions. Another 274 aspirants are targeting the 47 Woman Representative seats, and 1,205 hopefuls have signed up to vie for the 290 National Assembly seats. The largest number of aspirants, 7,307, are competing for the 1,450 ward representative seats, reflecting intense interest at the grassroots level. According to UDA, registration for aspirants will remain open until 90 days before the election date, in line with existing legal requirements. Earlier, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi had also expressed confidence in the registration exercise while speaking to Luhya radio stations on Friday, January 30. At the time, Mudavadi revealed that 7,772 aspirants had already registered through the partys online portal and projected a sharp rise in the numbers. Kufika usiku wa leo, wale ambao wameonyesha interest katika Kenya mzima ni 7,772, na hii number inazidi kupanda. Huwenda ikifika Jumatano itakuwa imefika 12,000 au 15,000 ya wale ambao wanatafuta kiti cha kisiasa, Mudavadi said. The surge in registrations signals early momentum within UDA as the party positions itself for the 2027 elections, with party leaders viewing the high turnout as a sign of confidence in President Rutos administration and the partys national appeal. Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru has hit back at remarks by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who claimed that Mwea rice farmers are struggling due to a lack of market for their produce. In a strongly worded statement shared on her official X account on Monday, February 2, 2026, Waiguru dismissed the claims and set the record straight on the status of Mwea rice and the welfare of farmers in Kirinyaga County. According to the governor, the situation on the ground does not reflect the picture painted by Gachagua. She said the National Government has already taken up all Mwea rice stocks, clearing stores and guaranteeing farmers earnings. I usually do not respond to petty allegations, recognising that not every provocation deserves the dignity of response, but on this one, allow me to bring to the attention of @rigathi that we have no issue with Mwea rice and to clarify that the National Government has already uptaken all rice in our stores, securing our farmers incomes, Waiguru said. Waiguru went on to defend Kirinyagas political posture, saying county leaders have deliberately chosen a path that prioritises development and tangible benefits for residents rather than political activism. These sort of interventions are what true leaders engage in, the rest we leave to activists. As for pocketing leaders: Kirinyaga leaders have made a determination on which side they are, for the benefit of their people. Come and see just a few of our achievements, she added. The governor said Kirinyagas cooperation with the National Government has directly translated into improved livelihoods and better service delivery for residents. Our collaboration with the National Government has helped us improve the welfare of our people. Huku ni kazi huongea, and voters will vote based on performance, Waiguru stated. She also reaffirmed her political stance, making it clear that she has no intention of joining the Opposition, arguing that such a move would not serve the interests of Kirinyaga residents. As I said, , because I cannot see how that is going to assist Kirinyaga people, she declared. Waigurus remarks come just days after she cautioned leaders and residents in the Mt Kenya region to tread carefully amid shifting political alliances. She warned against abandoning the Kenya Kwanza government without a clear political direction or viable alternative. Speaking on Friday, January 23, 2026, in Kutus during a meeting with newly elected grassroots UDA leaders in Kirinyaga, the governor urged the region to make calculated and well-informed decisions. No one should tell us to get out of government without clearly explaining where we are going. Mt Kenya must be strategic and deliberate in its political decisions, Waiguru said. Individuals named Chesmu typically exhibit sharp intellect, quick wit, and exceptional problem-solving abilities. They possess a natural charm that allows them to navigate social situations with ease, often using humor and clever observations to diffuse tension and build connections. Their mental agility makes them excellent strategists who can see multiple perspectives simultaneously. Chesmu's tend to be adaptable and resilient, able to pivot quickly when faced with challenges. They often display a creative approach to life, finding unconventional solutions to problems that others might overlook. While they can be playful and humorous, there's usually a depth of wisdom beneath the surface that emerges when serious situations demand thoughtful consideration. Their combination of intelligence and emotional awareness makes them effective leaders and trusted advisors. People with this name often develop a reputation for being the 'wise fool'someone who can deliver profound insights through seemingly casual remarks or humorous anecdotes. This balance of depth and accessibility makes Chesmu's particularly effective in roles requiring both serious analysis and interpersonal skills, from counseling and teaching to creative fields and leadership positions. By Lindsey Cliff The Organization of Turkic States has evolved its approach toward Tajikistan, shifting from explicit support for Kyrgyzstan during border conflicts to more inclusive language. Early OTS statements emphasized brotherly solidarity with Kyrgyzstan while implicitly attributing blame to Tajikistan, prompting sharp criticism from Dushanbe. Following diplomatic progress culminating in the March 2025 Kyrgyz-Tajik border treaty, OTS rhetoric shifted significantly. The organizations March 2025 statement on the trilateral Khujand summit explicitly included Tajikistan among three brotherly nations, marking the first time such fraternal language extended to a non-Turkic state. This evolution reflects practical necessityavoiding alienation of a major regional stateand organizational maturation as the OTS launches its plus framework for engaging non-member states. BACKGROUND: Tajikistan has been the topic of six official OTS statements since 2021all in the context of the Tajik-Kyrgyz border conflict. Through these statements runs a common thread: member solidarity among Turkic states. Yet the rhetoric has evolved significantly, tracking changes in the situation on the ground and reflecting the OTS's maturation as a regional organization. Understanding this evolution reveals how the OTS is navigating the tension between its ethnolinguistic foundation and the practical requirements of regional cooperation. The trajectory of OTS statements on Tajikistan offers insight into whether the organization can transcend ethnic boundaries to become an inclusive platform for regional stability. The early statements from 2021-2022 established clear patterns. The April 2021 statement, issued during border clashes, referred to "brotherly Kyrgyzstan, the founding member of the Turkic Council," explicitly emphasizing ethnic and cultural kinship while omitting similar recognition of Tajikistan. The statement appealed to shared Islamic and cultural identity as the moral basis for peace: "In the holy month of Ramadan, we need to do our utmost to further unite and put aside our differences." This extended an intra-Turkic appeal rather than adopting a neutral, diplomatic tone. The statement emphasized "the contribution of the Kyrgyz side to the re-establishment of peace," without mentioning Tajikistan's efforts, implying the ongoing conflict was the fault of Tajikistan's failure to commit to peace. The closing line committed the Secretariat to remain "in close contact with the Government of brotherly Kyrgyzstan," signaling preferential solidarity with the Turkic side of the conflict. The January 2022 statement followed similar patterns. Again, the OTS expressed "support to the efforts of the Kyrgyz Republic to find a peaceful solution" while calling for dialogue "based on mutual understanding, mutual respect, good neighborliness and coexistence." The contrast was striking: "good neighborliness and coexistence" for Tajikistan versus "brotherly" solidarity for Kyrgyzstan. The September 2022 statement went further, explicitly condemning "the aggression with the use of heavy military weapons against civilians and civilian infrastructure" while expressing support for "the efforts of the Kyrgyz Republic, founding member of the OTS, for a peaceful solution." IMPLICATIONS: The Tajik government clearly noticed this pattern. Following the September 2022 statement, Tajikistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the OTS Secretary General's statement as "hindering the efforts of the Tajik and Kyrgyz sides to resolve all bilateral issues exclusively by political and diplomatic means." The Ministry called the OTS statement "deeply regrettable, as it is at odds with the goals declared by the Organization, one of which is to make a joint contribution to ensuring peace and stability throughout the world." This response illustrates the practical impact of one-sided statements. The Tajiks claimed the OTS impeded progress on peaceful diplomatic solutions through its skewed narrative. For an organization aspiring to regional significance, alienating a key Central Asian state posed obvious problems. Tajikistan shares borders with Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and China, making its exclusion from regional cooperation mechanisms a significant limitation. The turning point came with actual progress in the border dispute. On March 13, 2025, the Presidents of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan signed a Treaty on the State Border in Bishkek. The OTS issued two statements on this development that marked a subtle but significant shift in rhetoric. The statements welcomed the agreement warmly and noted it was "achieved through diplomacy and dialogue." While these statements still didn't explicitly call Tajikistan "brotherly," they avoided the one-sided emphasis of earlier statements. More significant was the March 31, 2025 statement on the trilateral summit of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan in Khujand. For the first time, the OTS Secretary General referred to "three brotherly nations," explicitly including Tajikistan in the fraternal vocabulary previously reserved for Turkic states. The statement called the summit "epochal" and praised "the unwavering efforts of the three brotherly nations in deepening regional partnership." This represented a genuine shiftbut one that maintained certain boundaries. The concluding sentence pledged support for "unity and cooperation among Turkic and neighboring states," still categorizing Tajikistan as neighboring rather than fully integrated. Tajikistan was offered a relationship within the already-defined Turkic community rather than recognition as its own self-defined actor. Nevertheless, the shift from implicit antagonist to "brotherly nation" marked significant evolution. CONCLUSIONS: What explains this shift? The most obvious factor is the changed situation on the ground. As long as armed clashes continued along the Kyrgyz-Tajik border, the OTS faced pressure to support its member state. Once diplomatic progress produced actual agreements, the organization could adopt more inclusive language without appearing to abandon Kyrgyzstan. The OTS's broader ambitions also likely influenced this evolution. At the 2025 Gabala Summit, the organization launched the "OTS plus" framework to structure relationships with non-Turkic states. Maintaining openly hostile rhetoric toward Tajikistan while proposing inclusive mechanisms would appear contradictory. The trilogy of summitsKyrgyz-Tajik bilateral agreement, Kyrgyz-Uzbek-Tajik trilateral summit, and the OTS Gabala summitcreated momentum toward regional cooperation that required softer rhetoric. Uzbekistan's role may have been particularly important. As the OTS member bordered by Tajikistan and the country hosting the trilateral summit, Uzbekistan had clear interests in promoting inclusive regional cooperation. Uzbekistan's enthusiastic embrace of OTS membership from 2019 onward coincided with President Mirziyoyev's broader policy of improving relations with all neighbors. Uzbekistan likely advocated internally for more inclusive OTS approaches to Tajikistan. The evolution of OTS rhetoric on Tajikistan thus reflects both practical necessity and organizational maturation. An organization aspiring to regional significance cannot indefinitely alienate major regional states. The shift from implicit antagonism to tentative inclusion suggests the OTS recognizes this reality. Whether "OTS plus" will genuinely integrate non-Turkic states as equal partners, or merely formalize their status as perpetual outsiders, remains to be seen. But the trajectory of OTS statements on Tajikistanfrom pointed solidarity with Kyrgyzstan to inclusive "brotherly" languageindicates the organization is navigating tensions between its ethnic foundation and regional cooperation requirements. For policymakers both within and outside the region, this evolution merits attention. It suggests the OTS may prove more flexible and pragmatic than its ethnolinguistic foundation initially implied. How the organization manages the tension between Turkic identity and inclusive regionalism will significantly impact its effectiveness as a platform for addressing shared challenges in security, transportation, and economic development. AUTHORS BIO: Lindsey Cliff is a junior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council, who is also pursuing a Masters degree at Georgetown University in Eurasian, Russian, and East European Studies. Women named Tomasine are often perceived as intellectually curious and independent thinkers, reflecting the name's association with the questioning nature of the apostle Thomas. They tend to be analytical and methodical in their approach to life, preferring to examine evidence and seek understanding before making decisions. This thoughtful nature is balanced by a deep loyalty to those they trust, much like the biblical Thomas's ultimate devotion despite his initial doubts. Tomasines typically exhibit strong problem-solving skills and enjoy intellectual challenges, often excelling in fields that require careful analysis and attention to detail. Their twin symbolism may also manifest in an ability to see multiple perspectives or navigate different social contexts with ease. While they can be reserved initially, once their trust is earned, they demonstrate remarkable steadfastness and commitment. The name suggests a personality that values truth and authenticity above superficial appearances, with a natural inclination toward learning and personal growth throughout life. An interactive exhibit at the Michael C. Carlos Museum aims to become a quiet refuge from the uncertainty of todays world. Compassion: What Moves You? invites guests to explore a sequence of three galleries of different installations that encourage reflection on our shared humanity. The exhibit runs through Oct. 25, anchoring upcoming lectures, book clubs and other events from Emory Colleges Year of Compassion initiative dedicated to empathy, healing and human connection. Compassion manifests in times of conflict. Thats when you need it the most, says Brendan Ozawa-de Silva, an associate teaching professor in Emorys Center for Contemplative Science and Compassion-Based Ethics, known as the Emory Compassion Center. When the response to violence is not more violence but compassion, that is the surprise manifestation of our deepest humanity, to connect even when things look the worst, adds Ozawa-de Silva, who co-curated the exhibit with the Carlos Museums facilitating curator Andi McKenzie and Jennifer Knox, director of character education and Ron M. Brill Chair of Ethical Leadership at Atlantas Woodward Academy. The front galleries emphasize human connections with a photo essay from Japanese photographer Shingo Kanagawa on his search to understand his long-absent father. The Japanese artist collective ARu Inc. will display an installation from Kosuke Matsushima, Masahi Fujimoto and Ryoji Yukin, which illuminates visitors heartbeats into an ever-evolving collective light sculpture. The idea is simple, but the experience is profound, because the sculpture does not exist without all of us together, Knox says. As individual heartbeats gather into a collective pulse, we are reminded that compassion arises through interdependence. Matsushima and Fujimoto were on campus to oversee installation and train students, docents and staff to help guide visitors into the installation. Matsushima discussed the piece and its themes of connection during a curatorial conversation with Ozawa-de Silva and Knox held in conjunction with the exhibits opening. A video installation from interdisciplinary artist Hector Alvarez from Emorys Theater Studies department will greet visitors in the middle galleries. The wordless piece, The Water Station, offers a slow meditation on our ability to be moved when others are in need. The gallery also displays a rubber bullet like the one that blinded Richard Moore as a child growing up in Northern Ireland. Moores decision to forgive the British soldier who shot him earned worldwide praise, including admiration from His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, a Presidential Distinguished Professor at Emory. Visitors will be encouraged to reflect on our shared humanity in the final gallery. The space features photographs that Knox and McKenzie selected from the museums permanent Works on Paper collection, including recent acquisitions such as Radcliffe Baileys UNIA and Jose Ibarra Rizos Santiago. The images appear alongside Youth Voices hand-drawn reflections Knox selected from pre-K through college students from around the world who have participated in the Compassion Centers Social, Emotional and Ethical (SEE) Learning program, answering the prompt, What moves you? Emory students designed and will maintain the last component of that gallery, a Compassion Lab. The lounge-like area allows visitors to linger and discuss the experience, draw or write their own answer to the SEE-Learning prompt and to reflect on how to actively renew their compassion upon leaving. Responses will inform students ongoing research at Emory on compassion and values. Senior sociology major Ashley Fan is one of the students who worked to fashion the space based on student researchers experiences in Ozawa-de Silvas Social Empathy Lab. There, students find common ground through games, active conversation and shared goals. We want empathy to be an experience that evokes action, Fan says. Our hope is that people enter the space and truly feel the transition and experience of each step. If they come out and see their lives a little differently, then I believe we have done our job. For the 10th straight year, Emory University has earned the distinction as one of the nations top producers of students and alumni who receive U.S. Fulbright Awards. Emory had 12 recipients of the Fulbright Award to teach or conduct research abroad for 2025-26. They bring the number of Emory students and alumni that the U.S. State Department has selected for the governments flagship international exchange program to 189. Recipients of the award, named after the late Sen. J. William Fulbright, are chosen based on academic and professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential. The Fulbright program published the full list of top-producing institutions on its website Feb. 3. Seven of this cycles recipients, all alumni of Emory College of Arts and Sciences, are serving as Fulbright English teaching assistants in classrooms in the Czech Republic, Greece and South Korea. Guadalupe Quinones, who graduated in 2025 with degrees in human health and biology, is teaching English at the Escuela Normal Superior Federalizada del Estado de Puebla, in Mexicos fourth-largest city. One highlight from her experience was in November, when her birthday overlapped with the annual Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration. Her students had created a three-tiered altar in remembrance of another teacher and it was awarded third place during the festivities. In addition to celebrating that teacher and their accomplishment, the students surprised Quinones with a cake and traditional flor de de cempasuchil crown for her birthday. It was a truly special and heartfelt experience, says Quinones, who is heading to medical school next fall. Im grateful for Emorys National Scholarships and Fellowships (NSFP) program for being incredibly supportive in helping me get here. From the summer boot camp before I submitted my application to the final weeks before departing on my grant, the staff provided guidance with essay revisions, interview preparation, and consistent encouragement during moments of uncertainty throughout my Fulbright cycle. Margaret Rencher, a 2025 graduate in data sciences and biological anthropology, is teaching at two schools in the Asturias region of Spain and enjoying visits the coastal villages along the Cantabrian Sea and Cordillera Cantabrica mountain range in the countrys northwest. She lauds NSFP advisors for their specific advice and feedback for pursuing Asturias, which has a distinct culture from the rest of Spain. Rencher, who studied abroad her junior year in Salamanca, also felt supported by faculty in the departments of linguistics and Spanish who encouraged her application for the competitive award. My time with Emorys Spanish program in Salamanca solidified by desire to live in Spain again, says Rencher, who plans to work in computational genomics research for a few years before pursuing a PhD in computational biology. Im very grateful for my Emory professors who encouraged me to apply. Other Fulbright teaching recipients are: Rachel Kroger, 2023 Oxford College graduate and 2025 Emory College graduate in international studies and East Asian studies, South Korea Reana Radu, 2025 graduate in neuroscience and behavioral biology, Romania Ben Spiegel, 2025 graduate in political science and English and creative writing, Spain Michael Tiffin, 2023 graduate in English and creative writing, Greece Charlotte Weinstein, 2023 Oxford College graduate and 2025 Emory College graduate in history, Czech Republic Four Emory College alumni and one Rollins School of Public Health graduate received Study/Research Awards, which allow them to design their own projects, typically completed with advisers from foreign universities. Those recipients are: Jahnavi Chamarthi, 2023 Oxford College graduate and 2025 Emory College graduate in political science, India Abia Fazili, 2025 graduate in English and creative writing, India Alexia Marriott, 2025 graduate in neuroscience and behavioral biology, Germany Jennifer Rivas, 2016 master of public health graduate at Rollins School of Public Health, United Kingdom Raz Wachtel, 2023 graduate in biology, Indonesia Finalist notifications for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program for the upcoming cycle are expected to be released between March and June for an August or September start. Graduating seniors, young professionals and graduate students are eligible to apply for individually designed study or research programs and English teaching assistantships abroad. Fulbright is the worlds largest and most diverse international education program. Since its launch in 1946, it has provided more than 400,000 awardees the opportunity to increase mutual understanding between the United States and 160 other countries. The programs alumni include 40 heads of state or government, 61 Nobel Laureates and 89 Pulitzer Prize winners. China, Uruguay should strengthen cooperation: Xi President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday China and Uruguay should boost cooperation in various areas, including trade and infrastructure construction, in talks with visiting Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi in Beijing. According to Xinhua News Agency, Xi called on both countries to explore the potential for cooperation in emerging fields including green development, digital economy, artificial intelligence and clean energy, to drive economic growth and transformation. The president said the two sides should deepen cooperation in areas such as economy and trade, finance, agriculture and animal husbandry, infrastructure construction, as well as information and communications technology. Xi said China and Uruguay should continue to firmly support each other's core interests, strengthen friendly exchanges at all levels and deepen strategic mutual trust. The two leaders witnessed the signing of more than 10 cooperation documents covering investment, trade and other fields, Xinhua reported. Xi also said Beijing supports Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries in upholding their sovereignty, security and development interests. The president added China stands ready to work with Uruguay and other regional countries to further promote the building of a China-LAC community with a shared future. Orsi is on a state visit to China that lasts till Saturday, according to the Foreign Ministry. SIU Carbondale faculty, staff are on Illinois Humanities speaker roster by Pete Rosenbery CARBONDALE, Ill. Four current or retired Southern Illinois University Carbondale faculty and staff are available to share their expertise with audiences throughout the state as part of the Illinois Humanities 2026-27 Road Scholars Speakers Bureau. Road Scholars speakers travel across Illinois to bring art, culture, history, and contemporary social issues to life. There is no cost to an organization as the speakers share their passion and expertise in areas, including literature, philosophy, theater, local history, film, music, politics and more. There are 40 speakers on this years roster. Speakers with SIU connections are: Elizabeth Donahue, assistant director, University Honors Program Fuller Visionaries: From Illinois to the World. Daniel Overturf, professor emeritus, School of Art and Design Illinois Trails and Traces: Portraits and Stories Along the States Historic Routes. Julia Rendleman, assistant professor, Charlotte Thompson Suhler School of Journalism and Advertising Illinois Growing News Deserts and Why We Should Care. Robert Bob Swenson, associate professor emeritus, School of Architecture River Confluences The Four Rivers Reach of the Lower Ohio. Information on how to schedule a speaker is available on the Illinois Humanities website. Speakers receive an honorarium and reimbursement for travel expenses. For more information, email speakers@ilhumanities.org or call 312-374-1558. By Lindsey Cliff The Organization of Turkic States has expanded beyond its cultural foundations to address regional challenges through green finance, digital innovation, and artificial intelligence initiatives. Led by Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the OTS established the Turkic Green Finance Council and proposed collaborative AI networks, responding to economic pressures from sanctions and oil price fluctuations. Key initiatives include the Turkic Green Vision promoting renewable energy development and the Green Middle Corridor for sustainable transport, alongside digitalization programs for customs procedures and cybersecurity cooperation. The establishment of institutional mechanismscouncils with rotating leadership, working groups of technical experts, and concrete investment vehiclessuggests organizational maturation. Whether these programs deliver tangible results will determine if the OTS evolves from primarily aspirational declarations into substantive economic and technological cooperation. BACKGROUND: The Organization of Turkic States has recognized the interconnected nature of climate, technology, and economy-related challenges. As such, the OTS has recently pushed, with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan leading the charge, for greater collaboration and integration in response to these threats. The fields of green energy, digital transformation, and smart innovation have become areas of pragmatic cooperation. At the 2025 Gabala Summit, OTS leaders stressed "the importance of cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence and promote the integration of AI, green and digital technologies, and smart manufacturing systems into industrial strategies of the Member States, with a view to enhancing productivity, sustainability, and regional competitiveness through coordinated innovation and capacity-building efforts." This declaration marks a significant evolution for an organization that began with primarily cultural ambitions. These initiatives respond to practical challenges facing landlocked Central Asian states. The growing global confrontation between the West and a loose anti-Western axis has added economic challenges for countries in the region. Mutual sanctions imposed by Russia and the West from 2014 onward hit the region hard, in combination with dramatic fluctuations in oil prices. Large-scale devaluations took place in the years following 2014, lowering purchasing power. While some entrepreneurs benefited from helping Russia circumvent sanctions, this hardly benefited the economy as a whole or reduced unemployment. IMPLICATIONS: In the domain of green finance and sustainability, the OTS has taken several concrete action steps. In Bishkek in November 2024, the Turkic Green Finance Council was established, with the Kazakh Astana International Finance Centre taking the lead. The Council will "provide OTS member states with an additional boost for developing green finance and attracting sustainable investments into regional projects." The Council's inaugural meeting in September 2025 was attended by "heads and representatives of financial regulators, ministries of economy and finance, as well as stock exchanges from OTS Member States and Observers," supporting the possibility of tangible integration among all levels of the region's public and private sectors. Unlike summit-level photo opportunities, this meeting brought together the officials responsible for day-to-day implementation and strategy. The meeting resulted in the adoption of a joint communique expressing commitment to progress in sustainable development and environmental protection, "guided by the principles of Turkic Green Vision, as well as the Turkic World Vision 2040, and the OTS Strategy for 2022-2026." The practical objectives of the Council, along with attendance by multiple levels of government and business leaders, suggest the OTS is moving from broad declarations toward institutional mechanisms for sustainable finance. The Turkic Green Vision proposes creation of several working groups: the Turkic Renewable Energy Alliance would promote renewable energy development; the Green Middle Corridor would create a sustainable transport route; the Turkic Biodiversity and Ecosystem initiative would promote collaboration in environmental protection and restoration; the Climate Change and Educational Awareness Program would promote study of climate issues and community disaster resilience. Artificial intelligence and digitalization have also become main focuses of OTS integration. At the 2024 Bishkek Summit, Secretary General Kubanychbek Omuraliev highlighted collaborative projects across "e-commerce, technoparks, digital infrastructure development and cybersecurity" and suggested creation of a Turkic AI network and further investment in AI innovation and education. The organization also aims to streamline trade through digitized customs procedures, enabling more efficient transportation of goods. Uzbekistan has been at the center of much of the AI and digitization agenda. Domestic investment in the digital sector has led to rapid modernization, increasing domestic internet access and speed, expanding IT service exports from $170 million to $1 billion, and attracting foreign investment. In AI, Uzbekistan has been investing within the framework of its "Strategy for the Development of AI Technologies through 2030." The goal is to "create a national AI model and train 1 million specialists." Already, the country has spent $50 million toward this goal, with 86 projects started and free online training programs launched. Through OTS AI Forums, the organization hopes to follow Uzbekistan's lead toward a more digital future with international investment in local IT and AI. Kazakhstan is also attempting to lead in areas of AI and digital innovation, suggesting an intra-OTS Digital Monitoring Center. Kazakhstan's President Tokayev recently proposed dedicating an upcoming informal OTS summit to the theme of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development, and he made digitalization and AI the centerpiece of Kazakhstan's national strategy in a September 2025 public address. The aim is to set up Kazakhstan as a "fully digital country" within three years, establishing a dedicated ministry for digitalization and AI, developing legal codes for AI governance, and developing digital currencies. In these areas, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are taking leading roles. Kazakhstan not only hosted the inaugural Green Finance Council but also suggested its creation. Of course, Uzbekistan now leads the region in AI readiness and is making significant domestic progress on its digitization and AI agendas. Future OTS summits will likely maintain continued focus on AI, digital innovation, and sustainable development. CONCLUSIONS: The Kazakh-proposed Digital Monitoring Center represents potential cybersecurity and defensive integrationa real avenue for pragmatic cooperation. The transnational nature of climate threats and the internet necessitate a collective regional response. While the Turkic Green Vision adds language about supporting "cultural and natural values of the region," and third-party observers recognize IT as a way to "preserve cultural heritage," the primary drivers are practical: economic development, energy security, and regional competitiveness. These initiatives respond to genuine needs. The rapid development of initiatives in finance, digitalization, and green energy demonstrates that the OTS is expanding beyond its cultural foundations. However, questions remain about implementation. As with many OTS initiatives, movement from declarations to concrete results will determine whether these programs represent genuine integration or remain primarily aspirational. The establishment of institutional mechanismscouncils with rotating leadership, working groups of technical experts, and concrete investment vehicles like the Turkic Investment Fundsuggests a maturing organization. If these initiatives deliver tangible results in coming years, they will mark the OTS's evolution from a primarily cultural organization into a platform for substantive economic and technological cooperation. AUTHORS BIO: Lindsey Cliff is a junior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council, who is also pursuing a Masters degree at Georgetown University in Eurasian, Russian, and East European Studies. Halle Berry was accused of fixing her prom queen ballot because the school didn't want a "Black girl" to win. Halle Berry has recalled her experiences at high school The Academy Award winning actress - who is the first and only Black woman to win the best actress prize, for 2001 thriller Monster's Ball - can still recall the racism she was subjected to at high school, when she won the vote but was made to flip a coin with a white student to decide the winner. She told The Cut: "As a Black girl, I was not the symbol of who they wanted for their queen." She added: "Another thing nobody really gets about me is that Ive been a fighter my whole life fighting to be seen for who I really am, fighting to be taken seriously as an artist, fighting the stigma of beauty. Halle also insisted that despite being "wildly proud" of her Oscars win, she was hoping it would have a greater impact on her career. She said: "That Oscar didnt necessarily change the course of my career. After I won it, I thought there was going to be, like, a script truck showing up outside my front door. "While I was wildly proud of it, I was still Black that next morning. Directors were still saying, If we put a Black woman in this role, what does this mean for the whole story? Do I have to cast a Black man? Then its a Black movie. Black movies dont sell overseas.' The 59-year-old star - who has appeared in 45 feature films to date - once warned Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo that the recognition wouldn't "change her life". She said to her: You goddamn deserve it, but I dont know that its going to change your life. It cannot be the validation for what you do, right? Now, Halle insisted her success comes from the simple fact she is getting to do what she enjoys. She explained: "As a Black woman, now almost 60, I still get to work in movies and do what I love. Im winning. The US Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday welcomed the progress of the trade deal between the United States and India, a development that American and Indian businesses have long been seeking. Commenting on the announcement, U.S. Chamber President and CEO Suzanne P. Clark congratulated both governments for moving ahead with measures aimed at reducing tariffs and non-tariff barriers. She said the steps would benefit companies and workers in both countries. "We congratulate the U.S. and Indian governments on their announcement to reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers that will benefit American and Indian companies and workers in both great nations," Clark said. She appreciated the efforts of Donald Trump and Narendra Modi, along with officials including Ambassadors Kwatra and Gor. Clark expressed optimism that the latest development could pave the way for a broader agreement. "We are optimistic that this is the first step toward a comprehensive trade agreement that will unlock even more private sector collaboration, and we look forward to reviewing the details of the deal," she added. She further said that the U.S. Chamber, its U.S.-India Business Council, and its members have been strong supporters of closer trade ties between the two countries. "We look forward to partnering with both governments to implement today's announcement," Clark noted. Last year, Clark travelled to Delhi and Mumbai, where she held meetings with Indian government officials and business leaders and called for a trade deal with India. She highlighted that the U.S.-India economic relationship is among the most consequential in the world and said a trade agreement would benefit both economies as well as global security. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business organization, representing companies of all sizes across every sector of the economy. Trump on Monday, said that the US and India "have agreed to a trade deal" with Washington reducing the reciprocal tariff from 25 per cent to 18 per cent "out of friendship and respect" for PM Modi. In his Truth Social post, Trump referred to his conversation with PM Modi earlier in the day, noting that the Prime Minister was one of his closest friends and a powerful, respected leader of India. Following Trump's post, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on X, said it was wonderful to speak with his "dear friend President Trump" and expressed delight that "Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%"."Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement," PM Modi wrote in a post on X. (ANI) PRNewswire Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], February 3: Aarti Industries Limited (AIL), a leading global speciality chemicals company, today announced its unaudited consolidated financial results for the quarter and nine months ended December 31, 2025. Q3FY26 unfolded in a challenging and dynamic global operating environment, marked by persistent geopolitical, evolving trade realignments and continued uncertainty around global demand. Trade actions and tariff-related disruptions in the U.S. remained a key overhang for the sector, necessitating agility and swift recalibration across markets. These actions resulted in selective margin pressure during the quarter, though proactive market rebalancing and operating discipline helped mitigate the overall impact. Financial Highlights (Q3FY26) - Revenue stood at Rs. 2,492 crore, an increase of 11% Q-o-Q driven by volume growth across various value chains. During the quarter, the company witnessed the resumption of US volumes leading to higher capacity utilisation, better operating leverages, while absorbing part of US tariffs. - As a result, EBITDA surged to Rs. 323 crore, marking a 11% Q-o-Q increase. The company has provided for a one time impact on account of implementation of the new labour code of about Rs 15 crs as an exceptional expenses for the period. The company awaits the state and central government notification to refine its working and hence will take appropriate provisions, if needed, once further clarity is available. - Profit After Tax for the quarter, driven by higher operational performances, surged to Rs. 133 crore, an increase of 25% Q-o-Q, reflecting robust operating performances supported by the increasing contribution from the cost savings initiatives and economics of scale at higher capacity utilisation. Commenting on the performance, Mr. Suyog Kotecha, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, said: "The global operating environment continues to remain volatile, shaped by geopolitical uncertainties and ongoing trade realignments. Despite these challenges, Aarti Industries has delivered resilient performance, supported by proactive market diversification and a calibrated approach to the U.S. Our ability to sustain volumes and maintain customer engagement reflects the strength of our integrated portfolio and execution discipline. Our strategic focus is shifting from bulk, product-led growth to a more streamlined, knowledge-driven and quality-focused portfolio. We are actively managing volatility through downstream integration, portfolio diversification and a sharper focus on higher-value chemistries, while deepening customer engagements through chemistry-led, R&D-oriented solutions. With Jhagadia, Zone IV emerging as a transformational growth platform, strong demand visibility for new products and disciplined capital allocation, we remain confident in our long-term growth trajectory. Recent Policy developments in China and ongoing progress on trade agreements such as the EU FTA are expected to support margin recovery and long-term growth opportunities." Operational and Business Highlights Energy Business: The energy portfolio, led by MMA, remained a key growth driver during the quarter. Volumes remained robust, supported by steady demand and favourable feedstock spreads. Agrochemicals : Volumes remained stable and continue to show recovery; however, pricing continues to be subdued. Dyes, Pigments and Printing Inks : Dyes, Pigments & Printing Inks applications volume remains steady and is expected to improve going forward. Polymers : Polymer & Additives applications were impacted in the US market with full recovery linked to improving trade conditions. DCB chain continued to show signs of volume and margin recovery in the non-US market during the quarter. Projects Update During the current calendar year, the Company expects to commission its various process blocks including the multipurpose plant (MPP) at Zone IV in a phased manner starting from Q4FY26. These projects are being commissioned using in-house, indigenous technologies, highlighting AIL's strong process engineering and R&D capabilities. The execution related to fast-track projects e.g., PEDA, MMA debottlenecking are progressing well and expected to be coming on stream within the next 3 months. Outlook Despite a challenging external environment, Aarti Industries demonstrated resilient performance and remains well-positioned for sustainable, long-term growth. The Company's focus on portfolio quality, downstream integration, R&D-led product development and disciplined capital allocation provides a strong foundation for value creation as we move forward. This robust strategic framework ensures that Aarti Industries is not just navigating the current landscape, but is actively shaping a more prosperous and innovative future. About Aarti Industries Limited (AIL): Aarti Industries Limited (AIL) is one of the world's leading speciality chemical companies, combining process chemistry with scale-up engineering competence. The Company globally ranks 1st-4th for 75% of its portfolio and is a 'Partner of Choice' for various MajorGlobal & Domestic Customers. At the heart of AIL's operations is a dedication to sustainable development, seamlessly integrating environmental stewardship into its business model by leveraging cutting-edge technologies and a robust infrastructure to deliversolutions that balance economic growth with ecological responsibility. The Company's commitment to innovative and sustainable practices, along with its immense care for its people and the planet, defines its path to success. Website- www.aarti-industries.com LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/company/aarti-industries/ Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2610938/5146178/Aarti_Industries_Logo.jpg (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) PNN New Delhi [India], February 3: Global or international payment gateways help businesses accept payments from customers shopping overseas. These gateways accept payments in different currencies, convert them into the business's native currency at a predetermined exchange rate, and transfer the funds into the account. Whether making payments from a debit card, credit card, eWallet, or through bank transfer, these payment gateways route the payments through a secure network while protecting sensitive information. For businesses that operate globally, an international payment gateway for websites simplifies this entire process and ensures compliance with the global & local regulations. Benefits of an International Payment Gateway for Website An international payment gateway is beneficial for both customers and businesses, both. They simplify the process, combat the challenges, and ensure customers and businesses have a successful transaction. Currency Conversion:For a customer making a purchase from India in USD, the chosen payment gateway will handle currency conversion. This translates to Indian customers will pay in INR, but the USA-based business will get their funds in the USD. This is going to remove the pricing friction for local businesses and international customers. Consequently, it will increase checkout completion rates and reduce cart abandonment. Multi-Nation Compliance:Different nations have their own set of rules and regulations for data security, fraud prevention, financial transactions, privacy, and more. Authentic and verified global payment gateways for website transactions not only comply with these rules but also follow PCI DSS and GDPR regulations. Hence, the all-encompassing compliance businesses can enter new markets faster without building in-house compliance teams or risking penalties due to unfamiliar regulations. The international payment gateway for websites also has built-in KYC norms, automated tax calculation, and AML checks. These measures not only protect payments but also improve a business's credibility and trust. By automating KYC, AML, and tax checks, businesses reduce operational overhead while signaling legitimacy to banks, partners, and customers. Fraud Prevention:As cross-border transactions are more likely to be targeted by fraudsters and scammers, the global payment gateways have built-in fraud detection systems. They also leverage artificial intelligence and region-specific data to assess threats & block transactions before they can steal money while in-transit or when it sits in the account. This reduces chargebacks, prevents revenue leakage, and protects merchant accounts from being flagged or restricted due to high-risk activity. Lower Transaction Costs:A bank-to-bank transfer without an intermediary, like an international payment gateway, is costly. Since all bank-to-bank cross-border transactions have higher fees, local businesses are not too eager to take their business global. By using global payment gateways, businesses have to pay lower fees for international transactions. They save money on exchange rate margins, bank transfer fees, and intermediary charges. While fees still apply, gateways optimize routing and currency conversion to reduce overall transaction costs compared to traditional cross-border banking. Speedy Payment Processing:Another benefit of using international payment gateways is the transaction speed. International bank transfers take days to reflect in the beneficiary's account. However, these payment gateways speed up the process, offering faster settlement times and through it improves the business's cash flow. Seamless Integration:International payment gateway for websites integrates easily with all sorts of businesses, whether eCommerce or other. This means businesses can manage, track, and monitor payments efficiently. Moreover, since the gateways use advanced systems, it's easier to process real-time data and transaction volumes while generating reports related to customer preferences and revenue, facilitating sales performance, and optimizing strategies. The integration part helps businesses automate payment processing, reduce manual errors, and streamline order fulfilment. This is going to help small to large scale businesses expand operations without spending too much on manual working. How to Choose the Right International Payment Gateway for Your Business? Geographical Coverage:Begin by evaluating geographical coverage and currencies they support to ensure they can process payments in both current and target markets without routing limitations or excessive conversion fees. Payment Method Compatibility:A qualified international payment provider must support local payment options covering national banks, popular wallets, and card networks, as these directly impact checkout success rates in international markets. Security and Compliance:The international payment gateway for website needs to follow global authentication and security standards such as PCI DSS, GDPR, and regional data protection laws. This is in addition to them having built-in fraud detection, tokenization, and secure authentication protocols. Fee Structure and Settlement:Business-friendly international payment gateway platforms must have transparent pricing structures and competitive foreign exchange rates. In addition to these, ensure they have quick settlement timelines. Through external sources and customer reviews, check if they are adding hidden transaction costs, unnecessary FX fees, and other charges. Integration Flexibility & Scalability:Integration flexibility and scalability play a crucial role. Ensure the payment gateways you choose have secure APIs keys, they integrate with eCommerce platforms and accounting tools. Conclusion Globalization has made businesses borderless, and it's natural for everyone to adapt and get access to international payment gateway for websites and other forms of online platforms. Where international payment gateways streamline cross-border payments, they also prevent fraud, help businesses scale, and improve settlement timelines. When choosing a payment gateway for a website you are not only selecting a payment solution but partnering to hire a strategic enabler of growth. If you are looking for a reliable and scalable international payment gateway, Cashfree offers a comprehensive solution designed for businesses expanding globally. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same.) PNN Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], February 3: In an era where spaces influence how people live, work, heal, and connect, interior design has evolved into a powerful multidisciplinary profession. At JAIN (Deemed-to-be University), the BSc Interior Design Program is crafted to prepare students for this transformation. Delivered as a four-year, NEP 2020-aligned Honours/Research degree, the Program integrates creativity, technology, sustainability, and research-led learning. Positioned among best BSc Interior Design colleges in Bangalore and recognised within BSc Interior Design colleges in Karnataka, JAIN offers a future-focused undergraduate pathway for aspiring designers. The BSc Interior Design curriculum is rooted in studio-based pedagogy, ensuring that students develop strong foundations in design thinking, spatial planning, materials, construction systems, and sustainability. Through carefully structured BSc Interior Design subjects, learners gain hands-on exposure to lighting, furniture systems, digital visualisation, and professional practice. This integrated approach places JAIN among the respected top BSc Interior Designing colleges in India, attracting students who seek both creative excellence and industry readiness. A distinctive feature of the Program is its strong sustainability philosophy. The Department of Art & Design - Interior Design actively promotes a "GO GREEN" mindset, embedding Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Repair, and Remanufacture into design thinking. This commitment ensures that BSc Interior Design subjects are not only technically robust but also environmentally responsible. As sustainability becomes central to global design practice, this focus further strengthens JAIN's reputation among BSc Interior Design colleges in Bangalore and BSc Interior Design colleges in Karnataka. Dr. Jitendra Mishra, Vice Chancellor (I/c) & Registrar, JAIN (Deemed-to-be University), says, "Our BSc Interior Design Program is designed to build more than designers. We are nurturing responsible professionals who understand sustainability, technology, and human-centred design, preparing them to shape meaningful interior environments for the future." From the first semester, students engage in continuous design studios that ensure progressive skill development. These studios, supported by advanced software training and exposure to materials and construction systems, allow students to master essential BSc Interior Design subjects while building strong professional portfolios. This depth of training places JAIN among competitive top BSc Interior Designing colleges in India, giving students an advantage in both national and international contexts. Affordability and value are also important considerations for students and parents. Transparent BSc Interior Design fees at JAIN are structured to reflect the depth of studio training, infrastructure, and industry exposure offered. When evaluating BSc Interior Design fees, students recognise the long-term value of investing in a Program that provides strong academic foundations, sustainability integration, and professional readiness. This balance of quality and value further enhances JAIN's standing among BSc Interior Design colleges in Bangalore. The Program's career enhancement initiatives play a crucial role in shaping industry-ready graduates. Students participate in industry internships, live design projects, site visits, exhibitions, design juries, and portfolio reviews. These experiences ensure that learning goes beyond classrooms and studios. Such exposure is a key reason JAIN is increasingly referenced among BSc Interior Design colleges in Karnataka and recognised within top BSc Interior Designing colleges in India. Mr. Saurabh Kumar, Chief Manager - Admissions & Marketing, JAIN (Deemed-to-be University), shares, "Students today are looking for undergraduate Programs that combine creativity with strong career pathways. Our BSc Interior Design Program offers industry exposure, sustainability focus, and professional mentoring, making it a compelling choice for aspiring designers." Graduates of the BSc Interior Design Program progress into diverse professional pathways. They work in interior design consultancies, hospitality and commercial projects, institutional developments, furniture and lighting design, exhibition and set design, and visual merchandising. The strong foundation in BSc Interior Design subjects also supports graduates who wish to pursue advanced education. Many alumni continue to master's Programs in interior design, architecture, and allied fields, supported by the research literacy built into the undergraduate curriculum. Importantly, families often compare institutions based on outcomes, infrastructure, and financial planning. With competitive BSc Interior Design fees and comprehensive academic support, JAIN ensures accessibility without compromising on quality. This balance contributes to its growing recognition among BSc Interior Design colleges in Bangalore and reinforces its credibility within BSc Interior Design colleges in Karnataka. The Program also supports entrepreneurial thinking. Graduates are encouraged to develop independent design practices or consultancy ventures. By combining creative expertise with project management, client communication, and sustainability strategies, students are prepared to build long-term professional careers. This holistic preparation is why JAIN continues to be listed among top BSc Interior Designing colleges in India. For students passionate about shaping spaces that are functional, sustainable, and culturally meaningful, the BSc Interior Design at JAIN (Deemed-to-be University) offers a powerful platform. With strong academics, progressive studios, transparent BSc Interior Design fees, and industry-aligned learning, the Program empowers young designers to step confidently into the evolving world of interior design. For inquiries, contact: - Website: www.jainuniversity.ac.in- Email: enquiry.ug@jainuniversity.ac.in- Phone: +91 73378 80218 / +91 98440 73343 (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same.) PNN New Delhi [India], February 3: The President, J. Ramos-Horta, and Prime Minister, Kay-Rala Xanana Gusmo of Timor-Leste attended the event as Guests of Honour, highlighting the deepening and friendly relationship between India and Timor-Leste. On the occasion, Prime Minister Kay-Rala Xanana Gusmo of Timor-Leste congratulated the Government and people of India on the celebration of the country's 77th Republic Day and conveyed warm wishes for continued peace, progress, and prosperity. India's 77th Republic Day is being celebrated by Indian missions across the globe. In Timor-Leste, the Embassy of India in Dili marked the occasion with a grand reception on 30 January. Addressing the public, President Horta said: It is a real pleasure to join you today to celebrate India's Republic Day, the entry into force of the Constitution of India on 26 January 1950, embodying the patriotic spirit, pride, audacity, and self-reliance that shaped India into the world's largest democracy, united, and a global powerhouse. I thank you, Ambassador Shri Madan Kumar Ghildiyal, for the kind invitation. My appreciation is extended to your spouse and to all the staff of the Embassy. I do have certain familiarity with India, having visited several times even before Timor-Leste's independence, the first time in April 1992, when I taught a 10-day course in Dharamshala covering diplomacy, human rights, negotiation, and organised a United Nations model. During that visit, travelling by train across that vast country, I learned to admire and respect even more India's founding fathers, Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, symbols who remind us of the enduring power of moral leadership, non-violence, democracy, and national development. I have visited India several times since that first trip, before and after Timor-Leste's independence, including as Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2004, during the early years of engaging with Indonesia. In December 2013, I returned to New Delhi to deliver a lecture to an overflowing audience at the Nehru Centre. The title of my lecture was "21st Century: Asia's Century? Challenges and Opportunities." The personality who introduced me was an old friend, the amazing Shashi Tharoor. If you want to be the centre of attention at your own event, don't invite Shashi--he will steal the limelight from you, such is his intellectual brilliance and mesmerising eloquence. India's remarkable progress, its constructive and immensely important role regionally and globally, and its leadership in the Global South--from the Non-Aligned Movement to today's multipolar world--continue to inspire us and give us hope in a world facing a major hope deficit. India is a global powerhouse, will be the third-largest economy by 2027, and is firmly on track to become a developed country by 2047. Today's India can play an even more active and constructive role on the global stage, engaging with major powers and helping to shape international agendas. This leadership was clearly demonstrated during the 77th Republic Day celebrations, when EU leaders signed a historic Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India. This event, very important for both India and the EU, should be very comforting to all of us who believe in multilateralism and a genuine rules-based world order. Multilateralism is not dead. Since the formal establishment of relations in 2003, the partnership between India and Timor-Leste--rooted in shared democratic values--has continued to deepen and go from strength to strength. In November 2019, His Excellency Mr. Kay-Rala Xanana Gusmo led a delegation to New Delhi to attract Indian investment in Timor-Leste's oil and gas sector, particularly the Greater Sunrise Project. This was followed by visits from three Indian companies to explore upstream opportunities and potential LNG integration. In January 2024, President Horta participated in the 10th Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit and met the Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. Discussions covered cooperation in IT, health, education, and the establishment of resident embassies. As a result, Timor-Leste opened its Embassy in New Delhi in October 2024, and India established its Embassy in Dili in September 2024, reflecting the deepening political, economic, and cultural ties and facilitating direct governmental and business engagement. In August 2024, the Hon'ble President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu, made a historic visit--the first ever by an Indian Head of State--to Timor-Leste. On the occasion, President Horta conferred Timor-Leste's highest honour, the Grand Collar of the Order of Timor-Leste, upon Her Excellency. During the visit, key agreements were signed on visa exemptions, cultural exchanges, and broadcasting cooperation between RTTL and Prasar Bharati. In October 2023, the Hon'ble Minister of State for External Affairs, Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, conducted the first ministerial-level visit from India, discussing cooperation in health, trade, education, and capacity-building. These visits and agreements strengthen bilateral ties and demonstrate India's enduring commitment to supporting Timor-Leste's development across political, economic, and cultural spheres. Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, India has supported Timor-Leste in health, education, and development, including providing an ambulance in 2013 and vaccines in 2025. The Indian Embassy offers 25 annual scholarships, and about 600 Indian MBBS students are currently studying in Timor-Leste. Cultural exchanges include Timorese artisans visiting India and Goan folklore groups performing in Dili. Development support includes the Bamboo Project and a Centre of Excellence in IT. Bilateral trade covers rice, pharmaceuticals, and sugar, while Timor-Leste seeks Indian investment in energy, agriculture, and logistics. Defence cooperation has included delegations to Aero India in 2023 and 2025. Timor-Leste firmly supports India's aspiration for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council and has backed India's candidacies for non-permanent seats and other international positions, including Professor Dr. Bimal N. Patel for the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (2026-2035). India's role as an ASEAN Dialogue Partner strengthens regional trade and connectivity, while Timor-Leste's strategic location positions it as a potential regional logistics hub. Our shared commitment to international law, regional cooperation, and peaceful dispute resolution--demonstrated by the 1999 Referendum and the 2018 Maritime Boundary Agreement with Australia--underpins our bilateral and regional collaboration. Timor-Leste is a peaceful, secure, and welcoming country, free from ethnic or religious tensions, offering a stable environment for investment, collaboration, and travel. President Horta encouraged Indian investors to explore opportunities in priority sectors such as agriculture, education, health, petrochemicals, and real estate, contributing to a shared vision of sustainable growth through international cooperation. He concluded by expressing sincere gratitude to the Government of India and extending best wishes to the Government and people of India for continued peace, prosperity, and success. Recalling Mahatma Gandhi, he said: "Be the change that you wish to see in the world." Today, India is becoming that change--an inspiration not only to its own people but to the world we all aspire to build. Bahut bahut dhanyavaad.May God bless you all. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same.) Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said the India-US trade deal is an agreement that every Indian can be proud of and it is under the final stages of detailing between the negotiating teams of the two countries. Addressing a press conference here, he said that as soon as the final understanding of the deal is inked, joint statement is finalized and technical processes completed, details will be shared. "Indians are celebrating a trade deal which is under the final stages of detailing between the negotiating teams of both countries. We will shortly be issuing a joint statement by both countries along with the details, which we will be shortly inking between the United States of America and India. As soon as the final understanding of the deal is inked and the joint statement is finalised, technical processes are completed, full details will be shared," he said. He expressed confidence that the deal will make every Indian proud, protect the interest of every Indian and provide huge opportunities for all the people of the country. Goyal said the trade deal will open up huge opportunities for India's labour-intensive sectors. "I can assure the people of India, that this is a deal that will make every Indian proud, that will protect the interest of every Indian and provide huge opportunities for all the people of India and will protect the sensitive sectors, the interests of our agriculture and our dairy sectors in full respect, opening up huge opportunities for our labor-intensive sectors, export sectors in textiles, plastics, apparel, home decor, leather and footwear, gems and jewelry, organic chemicals, rubber, goods, machinery, so many products, aircraft components. This is truly a deal that every Indian can be proud of," he said. He noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always safeguarded the interests of agriculture and dairy farmers and has never allowed any compromise in these sectors. "Even in the deal with the US, India's national interests have been fully protected," the minister said. Goyal described the agreement as a "future-defining deal" that will add immense value to India's growth prospects. He said the trade deal will open up vast opportunities for Indian businesses across sectors. "This trade agreement is the best possible deal for India when compared to competing countries," he added. Referring to the opposition, Goyal said that opposition leaders had been questioning for days about when the trade deal with the US would be finalised. He strongly criticised them over disruptions in Parliament. "I strongly condemn the opposition for not allowing Parliament to function, forcing me to share these important details through a press briefing instead of on the floor of Parliament," the Union Minister said. Goyal had said earlier that the India-US trade deal unlocks the power of two large democracies working together for the shared prosperity of their people, and the bilateral partnership will co-create technologies and co-develop solutions. He said the trade deal unlocks unprecedented opportunities for farmers, MSMEs, entrepreneurs, and skilled workers. In a post on X, Goyal also said that the trade deal will help India get technology from the United States and accelerate India's journey towards Viksit Bharat 2047. He lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump for the trade deal. "Congratulations to Prime Minister @NarendraModi ji and President @RealDonaldTrump as well as to the people of India and the United States, on the landmark trade agreement. This reflects the power of two like-minded, fair-trading democracies working together for shared prosperity," he said. "Grateful for PM @NarendraModi ji and President @realDonaldTrump visionary and decisive leadership, and strong commitment to strengthening India-U.S. ties," he added.He said the trade deal also opens opportunities for Make in India for the world, Design in India for the world, and Innovate in India for the world."This unlocks the power of two large democracies working together for the shared prosperity of their people. Both India and US are natural allies and our partnership will co-create technologies, co-develop solutions, and work together for peace, growth, and a brighter future for India and US," he said. "This agreement unlocks unprecedented opportunities for farmers, MSMEs, entrepreneurs, and skilled workers to Make in India for the world, Design in India for the world, and Innovate in India for the world. It will help India get technology from the US. It is not just a trade deal - it is a historic turning point that will reshape India-U.S. relations and accelerate our journey towards Viksit Bharat 2047," he added. The trade deal with the United States comes just a week after India signed a landmark agreement with the European Union. (ANI) State-level industry bodies across India have welcomed the India-US trade deal, calling it a significant boost for exports and saying it will make our industries far more globally competitive. Potluri Bhaskar Rao, President of the Andhra Pradesh Chamber of Commerce, described the agreement as "wonderful news for the Indian economy," highlighting the United States' status as one of India's top three trade partners, alongside China and the UAE. He noted that India already has trade agreements with the UAE and the European Union, and the latest pact with the US further strengthens the country's global trade position. "Nearly USD 130 billion in bilateral trade takes place between India and the USA. Due to 50% tariffs, India was at a disadvantage for the last 8-9 months, severely impacting several sectors," Rao said. He pointed out that Andhra Pradesh, a major exporter of aqua products, was particularly affected. "Shrimp exports worth nearly Rs 20,000 crore originate from Andhra Pradesh, with about 80% going to the US market. The high tariffs had a huge impact." According to Rao, other sectors, such as rice, agro commodities, textiles, electronics, mobile manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology, also faced challenges. "The new agreement provides substantial relief, especially as India has now been given a preferred tariff treatment of 18%, compared to 20% for countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Vietnam, and 34% for China," he said. Echoing similar sentiments, Rajesh B. Lund, President of the Chamber of Commerce, Coimbatore, said the industry has "warmly welcomed" the US tariff reductions announced under the new trade initiative. "This is a landmark achievement, and we wholeheartedly appreciate the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose efforts have opened major opportunities for Indian industry," Lund said. He emphasised that Coimbatore's strong base in engineering, textiles and manufacturing is expected to gain greater access to the US market. "The agreement will make our industries far more globally competitive and give a significant boost to the regional economy," he added. Industry bodies believe the agreement will enhance India's export competitiveness, revive affected sectors, and strengthen economic ties between India and the United States. (ANI) Arvind Virmani, Member, NITI Aayog, on Tuesday highlighted that the India-US trade deal is essential for "competitive integration," fostering exports and investment, rather than isolationism. Speaking with ANI, he said, "It takes two hands to clap; the other hand has now come forward. That is good news for exports, investment, and long-term growth." He emphasised that "Atmanirbhar Bharat" doesn't mean isolation, but competitive integration, with FTAs playing a key role in India's industrial strategy. While speaking with ANI, Virmani said, "Atmanirbhar Bharat does not mean isolation but competitive integration. Bilateral and free trade agreements are central to India's industrial strategy." The 2026 budget focused on semiconductors and rare earths as strategic goods to secure supply chains, positioning India as a key manufacturing hub in the "China plus one" strategy. "India has signed FTAs with Australia, the UK, and the EU, with more in the pipeline, and has initiated a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with the United States. We are not protectionist. These agreements eliminate tariffs on most goods and make India integral to global supply chains," he said. Speaking further on the Union Budget 2026 announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, he highlighted the government's focus on semiconductors and rare earth minerals. Virmani described them as "strategic economic goods," especially after supply disruptions during and after the pandemic. "With semiconductors embedded in nearly all modern products and rare earths critical for magnets used in EVs and electronics, India's Semiconductor Mission 2.0 and proposed rare earth corridors across states such as Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh are essential for supply security," he said. "Every country is now trying to promote domestic capacity in these areas," he said, adding that recent Budgets have emphasized infrastructure and ecosystem support to enable this transition. Virmani stressed that the Budget should not be viewed in isolation but as part of a continuous policy process. He pointed to NITI Aayog's work on a state-level manufacturing competitiveness index, which will help identify strengths and weaknesses in attracting investment. A key Budget intervention, he said, is the new equity support fund for medium-sized enterprises. "The MSME ecosystem has traditionally focused on very small firms or large corporates. The medium segment was neglected," Virmani said. Equity support will help these firms scale up, improve quality, and compete globally as exporters. On foreign portfolio investment (FPI) and overseas Indian capital, Virmani highlighted procedural reforms to make it easier for Indians abroad to invest in India. He linked this to rising anti-Indian sentiment in some countries and said the Budget creates a smoother pathway for diaspora funds to return home, particularly into new growth areas such as artificial intelligence, data centres, and advanced services. "These incentives are competitive in nature," he said, pointing out that countries like Malaysia and others offer tax holidays. "India is not operating in isolation. We must respond to what our competitors are doing." Virmani offered an unconventional view on job creation, arguing that skills, not job titles, are the real drivers of employment. He noted that only about 19% of India's workforce is in formal jobs, while nearly 58% is self-employed. "Jobs and skills are two sides of the same coin. A degree alone has no value if you cannot do something." He described the government's expanded focus on skilling across manufacturing and services as revolutionary, highlighting growing employment of women in electronics manufacturing and the rise of service jobs linked to industrial growth. (ANI) Starsailor frontman James Walsh has lifted the lid on his bizarre and unsettling experience working with disgraced producer Phil Spector claiming the Wall of Sound pioneer wore a different wig every day during their studio sessions. Phil Spector in court at his murder trial Spector, once hailed as one of musics most influential hitmakers, worked with Starsailor in 2002 in what proved to his final production work. The sessions produced two songs Silence Is Easy and White Dove, which ended up on the British band's second studio album Silence Is Easy. On February 3, 2003, Spector shot and killed actress Lana Clarkson at his mansion, the Pyrenees Castle, in Alhambra, California. He was eventually convicted of her murder in the second degree in 2009 and was sentenced to 19 years to life in prison. He died in January 2021 aged 81 from complications related to COVID-19. Walsh reflected on the bands time with Spector while making their 2003 LP, admitting the collaboration swung wildly between creative highs and deeply uncomfortable lows. In an interview with ContactMusic.com, Walsh said: It was mixed, really, to be honest. Initially, we did a trial week with him because the label was a bit cautious because he hadnt worked with anybody for so long. They obviously saw it as a big opportunity but they were like, We need to see if hes still got it. That initial week was really productive Then we agreed to reconvene to finish the album but something wasnt right when we got back together, Phil was quite hard to communicate with and he was on a lot of medication. It got to a point where it was unworkable. When asked whether Spector displayed any erratic or threatening behaviour in the studio, Walsh said the band didnt witness anything violent but they did see some undeniably strange things. He shared: It was more so that he was distant and uncommunicative. "The only eccentric thing we saw him do was wear a different wig every day, which could be quite distracting and strange! But we didnt see any kind of anger or anything like that from him. We recorded in London so there werent any firearms around. When asked whether Spector displayed any erratic or threatening behaviour in the studio, Walsh said the band didnt witness anything violent but they did see something undeniably strange. He shared: It was more so that he was distant and uncommunicative. "The only eccentric thing we saw him do was wear a different wig every day, which could be quite distracting and strange! But we didnt see any kind of anger or anything like that from him. We recorded in London so there werent any firearms around. Walsh said the band was stunned when news later broke that Clarkson had been shot dead at Spectors home. He said: Theres no point pussy-footing around it. It was horrific." Despite Spectors conviction, Walsh is surprised by how often the producers work is played on the radio and that he has not been cancelled like other artists who have been convicted of horrific crimes. He said: Its mad to me how many of his songs are still played I guess people are still able to separate the art from the person producing it." However, he insisted it would be unfair to penalise the vocalists who helped make those records iconic. He said: Its interesting because Spector was a superproducer hes more famous than some of the artists he produced. Like that album A Christmas Gift for You is called Phil Spectors Christmas Album. Walsh was speaking to promote his latest solo LP, Its All Happening, which is out now on all streaming platforms and available to buy on CD and vinyl. Berry, 59, said she refuses to let age marginalize or erase her, calling her advocacy for women's health a defining part of her "second act." "You get to this age where you feel like you're being marginalized, devalued. You feel it at work. You feel it from society," Berry said while discussing her role in the upcoming film Crime 101. The film stars Berry opposite Chris Hemsworth, with the actress portraying a middle-aged insurance broker who leverages perceptions of beauty in high-stakes business settings. "But I have adamantly decided I am not going to allow myself to be erased," Berry said. "That's why I'm on my menopause mission. I'm going to be louder than I have ever been." Berry, who turns 60 in August, has increasingly used her platform to speak openly about menopause and women's health, including breaking taboos around physical changes such as vaginal dryness. "Everything gets dry," she said, adding that open conversations can help remove shame and stigma. "I'm almost 60. Fighting for women's health feels like a formidable cause for my second act," she added, according to People. The actress has also launched Respin, a community focused on redefining menopause and female longevity. Berry previously revealed she was advised early on not to discuss menopause publicly for fear of being "put in a box," according to People. However, she said embracing her age and redirecting her focus toward women's health has been deeply empowering. Berry's upcoming film, Crime 101, is scheduled to release in theatres on February 13, according to People. (ANI) Actor Adivi Sesh has wrapped up the final shooting schedule of his upcoming film 'Dacoit'. With the completion of the last leg of filming, 'Dacoit' has now entered its final phase of production. Adivi Sesh has been involved in every stage of the project, from writing the script to bringing the character to life on screen. Sharing his thoughts on completing the shoot, Sesh said that wrapping the final schedule felt both surreal and emotional. "Wrapping the final schedule of 'Dacoit' feels both surreal and deeply emotional for me. This film has been an intense journey, physically, creatively, and mentally. From writing the first draft to now standing at the edge of completion, every phase has demanded complete honesty and commitment. We just wrapped up the last schedule, and there's a quiet sense of fulfilment that comes with knowing we've given this story everything we had," Adivi said in a statement. Adivi described 'Dacoit' as an intense journey that demanded complete physical, creative and mental commitment, adding that there was a deep sense of fulfilment in knowing the team gave the story everything they had. He added, "'Dacoit' is not just another film for me; it's a story that has stayed with me through the nights of writing and days of shooting under challenging conditions. As we head toward an its release in March, I feel incredibly grateful to be sharing this moment with the entire team who believed in the vision from day one. There's a certain responsibility that comes with releasing a film during a festive period - audiences come in with heightened expectations and that pushes us to be even more honest with our work." The ace star added that post-production will now focus on shaping the film's final rhythm and tone, expressing hope that audiences experience the same intensity and passion that went into making 'Dacoit'. "The excitement around 'Dacoit' is something we've all felt on set, and it motivates us to raise our bar every single day. This final schedule is about tying emotional and narrative threads together, making sure the story lands exactly the way it's meant to. Once we wrap, the focus will shift to post-production, where the film will find its final rhythm and tone. I genuinely hope audiences feel the same intensity, vulnerability, and passion that went into making this film," shared Sesh. Shot simultaneously in Hindi and Telugu, the film's story and screenplay have been jointly crafted by Adivi Sesh and Shaneil Deo. The film is directed by Shaneil Deo. Apart from the lead duo, the film also stars director Anurag Kashyap in a prominent role. It also stars Mrunal Thakur. The film is slated to release in theatres on March 19, 2026. (ANI) Directed by Aditya Dhar, the film is positioned as a high-stakes continuation that expands the franchise's espionage-driven universe. Running for approximately 1 minute and 12 seconds, the teaser opens with a relentless, blood-soaked action montage that underscores the psychological and physical transformation of Jaskirat Singh Rangi into the spy Hamza Ali Mazari. The visuals suggest a far grimmer narrative, leaning heavily into stylised brutality and covert warfare. A standout moment arrives at the end of the teaser with a reworked version of the iconic Uri dialogue: "Yeh Naya Hindustan hai, yeh ghar mein ghusega bhi aur marega bhi" ("This is the new India; it will enter your home and kill you"). Ranveer Singh appears in a clean-shaven avatar, the same look briefly teased at the conclusion of the first film. The teaser also hints at extensive flashback sequences, tracing Hamza's origin story and his journey into becoming a lethal undercover operative in Karachi. https://www.instagram.com/p/DUSUBzjjA42/ Glimpses of returning cast members Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Rampal and R. Madhavan are featured, with Madhavan expected to play a more substantial role this time. Produced by Jio Studios and B62 Studios, with T-Series taking over as the music label, 'Dhurandhar: The Revenge' is slated for a pan-India theatrical release on March 19, 2026, coinciding with Eid, Gudi Padwa and Ugadi. It will release in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam. (ANI) Eric Murphy and Jasmin Lawrence, the children of Hollywood comedy legends Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence, have announced that they are expecting their first child together, marking a new chapter for one of Hollywood's most well-known extended families. The couple shared the joyful news nearly a year after their wedding, revealing that their family is growing just eight months after they tied the knot in a private ceremony attended by close family and friends. Jasmin Lawrence, 30, confirmed her pregnancy through a joint Instagram post shared with her husband on February 2. The post featured a photograph in which Jasmin showcased her baby bump while wearing an elegant off-the-shoulder white dress. On the other hand, Eric Murphy, 36, was seen resting his head gently on her belly while looking into the camera, capturing an intimate and celebratory moment between the couple. The newlyweds captioned the post with a message of gratitude and faith, writing, "Thank you Jesus for the greatest gift." https://www.instagram.com/p/DUQ-KMBkhnU/?img_index=1 Following the announcement, comedian and actor Martin Lawrence took to Instagram to express his excitement and joy at becoming a grandfather for the first time. "What a blessing to start the day!" the comedian wrote on Instagram, adding, "My heart is overflowing with love and gratitude after the announcement of my first grandchild!" Lawrence further shared that witnessing his daughter and son-in-law begin their journey as parents was deeply meaningful to him. "Family is everything and this moment is nothing less than a blessing from God. Welcome to the next generation!" said the 60-year-old actor. Eddie Murphy, who is already a grandfather of two, has previously shared his relaxed approach to the idea of Eric and Jasmin becoming parents. Speaking to E! News, he said, "I'm never pushing them. It's a beautiful blessing and whenever it happens, it happens." Both Murphy and Lawrence have also spoken about taking a hands-off approach to their children's lives. During a May appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show, Lawrence said they are "both protective" but believe in letting their children make their own choices and "find their way." (ANI) After grabbing attention with his crime drama 'Vadh', filmmaker Jaspal Singh Sandhu is returning with another gripping storyline in 'Vadh 2'. The film is dubbed as a spiritual sequel to 'Vadh'. Instead of focusing on a bigger scale or spectacle, 'Vadh 2' relies on what Sandhu believes truly makes a film engaging: strong writing, layered emotions and powerful performances. "'Vadh 2' is a complete entertainer rooted in strong characters and performances," Sandhu told ANI, describing the film as a gripping journey that balances darkness with subtle humour. Recently, the trailer for Sanjay Mishra and Neena Gupta's starrer 'Vadh 2' has finally been unveiled, delving deeper into the mysterious, dark world of criminal conspiracy, murder, justice, and more. Lead actors Sanjay Mishra and Neena Gupta return as Shambhunath and Manju, respectively, offering a glimpse into their lives: Manju has been sent to jail, and her husband undertakes a dangerous act to get her out. https://www.instagram.com/luv_films/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=9767e2cd-ad33-4fc1-97e3-fbe174300606&ig_mid=B975393B-E6B2-4BCD-9B2D-64E1B51AADB5Sandhu added, "The trailer may have night-shots, but the film is a complete entertainer," he said, adding, "It's dark at times, it's funny at times, not in-your-face humour, but situational light moments. There are scenes that will make people smile, scenes that will disturb them, and then towards the climax, it will slowly grip you in." 'Vadh 2' once again reunites veteran actors Neena Gupta and Sanjay Mishra, a casting choice Sandhu admits was driven by both conviction and desire. "It was a selfish motive. I wanted to work with them again," he said with a smile.Describing his approach to directing seasoned actors, Sandhu said trust is everything. "My first priority is always to gain their confidence before the shoot. Once that happens, the shoot becomes a cakewalk. They surrender themselves completely to the director," he said, calling the experience enriching and creatively fulfilling. Joining the cast are Kumud Mishra, Akshay Dogra, Amitt K Singh, Shilpa Shukla and Yogita Bihani. Sandhu explained that the story naturally required more characters, prompting auditions and a meticulously curated casting process. "The casting director played a crucial role," he noted. "Actors like Kumud, Shilpa Shukla, Amitt, Akshay and Yogita added layers and depth to the story. Each character serves a purpose in pushing the mystery forward."Sandhu also clarified that 'Vadh 2' remains firmly rooted in fiction. On the possibility of expanding the franchise and making 'Vadh 3', he said, "Even 'Vadh 2'was not planned," adding, "The itch to write came naturally. Future installments, if any, will depend entirely on whether a story is worth telling." Reflecting on his journey from Punjabi cinema to Hindi films, Sandhu credited his bilingual upbringing for the smooth transition. "My roots are Punjabi, but I was born and brought up in Gwalior, so Hindi comes naturally to me," he said, adding that Punjabi cinema gave him a strong foundation as a filmmaker. Though he is not currently working on a Punjabi project, Sandhu said his connection with the industry remains strong. "Punjabi cinema is evolving beautifully and has immense audience support, both in India and abroad," he said. 'Vadh 2', according to Sandhu, stands out in a crowded thriller space for its strong writing, well-developed characters, and compelling performances. "A thrilling story woven with great characters is what we have aimed for," he said. A Luv Films presentation, 'Vadh 2' is written and directed by Jaspal Singh Sandhu and produced by Luv Ranjan and Ankur Garg. The film is slated to hit theatres on February 6, 2026. (ANI) Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal on Tuesday said the landmark India-US trade deal will unlock shared prosperity, innovation and growth for two natural democratic partners. Agrawal, who has been deeply involved in negotiations for the trade deal, congratulated the people of India and the United States on the trade agreement. "This landmark trade deal will unlock shared prosperity, innovation and growth for two natural democratic partners. Congratulations to the people of India and the US," he said in a post on X, responding to the post by the Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. Piyush Goyal said that the India-US trade deal unlocks unprecedented opportunities for farmers, MSMEs, entrepreneurs, and skilled workers to Make in India for the world and that it is a historic turning point that will reshape India-US relations. In a post on X, Goyal also said that the trade deal will help India get technology from the United States and accelerate India's journey towards Viksit Bharat 2047. He lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump for the trade deal. "Congratulations to Prime Minister @NarendraModi ji and President @RealDonaldTrump as well as to the people of India and the United States, on the landmark trade agreement. This reflects the power of two like-minded, fair-trading democracies working together for shared prosperity," he said. "Grateful for PM @NarendraModi ji and President @realDonaldTrump visionary and decisive leadership, and strong commitment to strengthening India-U.S. ties," he added. He said India and US are natural allies and mutual partnership will co-create technologies "This unlocks the power of two large democracies working together for the shared prosperity of their people. Both India and US are natural allies and our partnership will co-create technologies, co-develop solutions, and work together for peace, growth, and a brighter future for India and US.," he said. "This agreement unlocks unprecedented opportunities for farmers, MSMEs, entrepreneurs, and skilled workers to Make in India for the world, Design in India for the world, and Innovate in India for the world. It will help India get technology from the US. It is not just a trade deal - it is a historic turning point that will reshape India-U.S. relations and accelerate our journey towards Viksit Bharat 2047," he added. The trade deal with the United States comes within a week of India signing a landmark trade deal with the European Union. PM Modi on Monday said that it was wonderful to speak with his "dear friend President Trump" today and expressed delight that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. "Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement," PM Modi said in a post on X. The Prime Minister said that when two large economies and the world's largest democracies work together, it benefits our people and unlocks immense opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation. "President Trump's leadership is vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity. India fully supports his efforts for peace. I look forward to working closely with him to take our partnership to unprecedented heights," PM Modi said. India and the European Union (EU) had on January 27 announced the conclusion of negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), an important milestone in one of India's most strategic economic partnerships. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry had said in a release that the FTA responds to contemporary global challenges while enabling deeper market integration between the world's fourth and second largest economies. "With a combined market estimated at over Rs 2091.6 Lakh Crore (USD 24 trillion), bringing unparalleled opportunities for the 2 billion people of India and the EU, the FTA unlocks significant potential for trade and innovation. The FTA delivers unprecedented market access for more than 99 per cent of India's export by trade value, while preserving policy space for sensitive sectors and reinforcing India's developmental priorities," the release said. President Trump on Monday said he and PM Modi "have agreed to a Trade Deal" between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%. In a post on his social media handle Truth Social, Trump referred to his conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier in the day. Trump said PM Modi was one of his greatest friends and a powerful and respected leader of his country. Trump also said PM Modi and he are two people that get things done. He claimed that the Prime Minister had agreed to "stop buying Russian Oil", and to buy much more from the United States. "It was an Honor to speak with Prime Minister Modi, of India, this morning. He is one of my greatest friends and, a Powerful and Respected Leader of his Country. We spoke about many things, including Trade, and ending the War with Russia and Ukraine," Trump said in his post. "He agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela. This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week! Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%," he added. Trump said India will reduce tariffs and non-tariff Barriers against the United States. "They will likewise move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO. The Prime Minister also committed to "BUY AMERICAN," at a much higher level, in addition to over $500 BILLION DOLLARS of U.S. Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal, and many other products. Our amazing relationship with India will be even stronger going forward. Prime Minister Modi and I are two people that GET THINGS DONE, something that cannot be said for most. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" Trump added. India and the US had made significant progress on the trade deal, and there were expectations of the two countries reaching an agreement soon. (ANI) The Delhi High Court on Monday said that there was a complete security breach in Parliament in this case. The High Court was hearing the bail plea of Manoranjan D, an accused in a case linked to the opening of a colour canister in Parliament in 2023. The division bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Madhu Jain made the observation. The court, while considering the definition of terrorist acts, referred to the Supreme Court judgement in the larger conspiracy of the Delhi riots of 2020. The High Court listed the matter for hearing on March 17. The court was informed that the matter is listed for arguments on the charge on February 6. During the hearing, senior advocate K K Manan appeared for Manoranjan D and argued that the accused has been in custody for the last 2 years and that charges have not yet been framed. The Supreme Court has said time and time again that bail can be granted where the trial is delayed and can not be concluded soon. On the other hand, Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) Ritesh Bahri opposed the submissions and argued that the accused persons conspired and arranged colour canisters, mobile phones, etc. Some accused were outside the parliament, while some were inside. APP Bahri further argued that havoc was created when the house was alive. Carrying a canister was a terrorist act. They terrorised the minds of parliamentarians and staff. This was a threat to the sovereignty of the country. Key witnesses are yet to be examined. The court also raised a question over the intelligence: "What does intelligence say? How did they take the canister inside? It is a complete breach of security." This case pertains to the incident of the accused person entering the parliament by the accused person on December 13, 2023. A charge sheet has been filed against the accused persons Lalit Jha, Manoranjan, Sagar, Gopal, and Neelam Azad under UAPA and other relevant legal provisions. (ANI) The Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI), a key textile organisation, has welcomed the reduction in the US tariff on Indian goods to 18%. CITI Chairman Ashwin Chandran said that the reduction in tariff will ensure India's textile and apparel exporters are once again in a position to compete effectively in the US market, the single-largest market for India's textile and apparel exports. "The Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) heartily welcomes the announcement of the trade deal between the US and India and the reduction in the US tariff on Indian goods to 18%. CITI would like to express its sincere gratitude to both the US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for this trade deal," he said. "This reduction in tariff will ensure our textile and apparel exporters are once again in a position to compete effectively in the US market, the single-largest market for India's textile and apparel exports. This deal will also ensure that factories can run at full steam once more and job creation can get back to previous levels," he added. PM Modi on Monday said that it was wonderful to speak with his "dear friend President Trump" today and expressed delight that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. "Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement," PM Modi said in a post on X. The Prime Minister said that when two large economies and the world's largest democracies work together, it benefits our people and unlocks immense opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation. "President Trump's leadership is vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity. India fully supports his efforts for peace. I look forward to working closely with him to take our partnership to unprecedented heights," PM Modi said. US governmment had first imposed 25 per cent tariffs on India and later increased them to 50 per cent citing India's import of Russian oil. President Trump on Monday said he and PM Modi "have agreed to a Trade Deal" between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%. In a post on his social media handle Truth Social, Trump referred to his conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier in the day. Trump said PM Modi was one of his greatest friends and a powerful and respected leader of his country. Trump also said PM Modi and he are two people that get things done. He claimed that the Prime Minister had agreed to "stop buying Russian Oil", and to buy much more from the United States. "It was an Honor to speak with Prime Minister Modi, of India, this morning. He is one of my greatest friends and, a Powerful and Respected Leader of his Country. We spoke about many things, including Trade, and ending the War with Russia and Ukraine," Trump said in his post. "He agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela. This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week! Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%," he added. Trump claimed India will reduce tariffs and non-tariff Barriers against the United States. "They will likewise move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO. The Prime Minister also committed to "BUY AMERICAN," at a much higher level, in addition to over $500 BILLION DOLLARS of U.S. Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal, and many other products. Our amazing relationship with India will be even stronger going forward. Prime Minister Modi and I are two people that GET THINGS DONE, something that cannot be said for most. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" Trump added. US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor earlier said that President Trump had spoken with Prime Minister Modi on Monday,. "President Trump just spoke with Prime Minister Modi. STAY TUNED...," Sergio Gor said in a post on X. PM Modi had spoken with President Trump in December last year and the two leaders had agreed to work closely to address shared challenges and advance common interests. (ANI) With this initiative, Tripura Gramin Bank has become the first Regional Rural Bank (RRB) among the eight PNB-sponsored RRBs and the first RRB in the country to introduce a Co-Branded RuPay Credit Card, setting a significant national benchmark in the rural banking sector. The historic launch reflects the Bank's growing focus on digital transformation, financial inclusion, and enhanced customer convenience, particularly for rural and semi-urban customers seeking access to modern credit facilities within the indigenous RuPay payment ecosystem. The initiative has been launched under the visionary leadership of Satyendra Singh, Chairman of Tripura Gramin Bank, whose forward-looking approach and emphasis on innovation have been pivotal in aligning the Bank's Golden Jubilee vision with future-ready banking solutions. The prestigious event was graced by Rakhi Biswas, Director (Small Savings, Group Insurance & Institutional Finance), Government of Tripura, along with senior dignitaries including Deepak Kumar, General Manager, Public Relations & Credit Card Division, PNB (Head Office); Taufique Alam, MD & CEO, PNB Cards & Services Ltd.; Diganta Kumar Das, Deputy General Manager, NABARD--Tripura Regional Office; and Rituraj Krishna, Deputy General Manager & Circle Head, PNB Circle Office, Agartala. Senior officials, Regional Managers, Branch Heads, marketing teams of Tripura Gramin Bank, representatives from PNB and PNB Cards & Services Ltd, and members of the media were also present, lending grandeur to the occasion. The launch further strengthens the long-standing partnership between Tripura Gramin Bank and Punjab National Bank, reaffirming their shared commitment to innovation, trust, and sustainable banking solutions. As Tripura Gramin Bank completes 50 years of dedicated service, the introduction of the Co-Branded RuPay Credit Card stands as a testament to its institutional strength, progressive leadership, and unwavering focus on empowering customers through modern, inclusive banking solutions. (ANI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis lauded the announcement of the India-US trade agreement, referring to it as "a new chapter of friendship" between the two nations. He added that it would help Maharashtra by providing access to significant investments in cutting-edge technologies, such as artificial intelligence. Fadnavis took to X, posting, "A New Chapter of Friendship! The historic trade agreement between India and the United States is truly a victory of the friendship between Hon. Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji and the President of the United States, Donald Trump. This is also an extremely important moment for global trade. India will now receive preferential tariff rates from the United States among the world's major exporting economies. This marks the beginning of a new era in India-US friendship." https://x.com/Dev_Fadnavis/status/2018410400103203153?s=20 Highlighting the benefits for Indian businesses, the post added, "This agreement will open the doors to many new and exciting opportunities for Indian businesses and will prove beneficial for both countries. Maharashtra has always been a leading state in exports. Therefore, this agreement will open new horizons for businesses in our state. Maharashtra will receive significant investment in data centers, artificial intelligence, and revolutionary modern technology." The India-US trade deal was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump on Monday, where the US reduced the tariffs on India to 18 per cent. Following the announcement of the deal, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath hailed the deal as a "landmark moment" for the economic partnership between India and the United States and on how this deal would subsequently grant Indian products access to a larger global market, which would then provide fresh opportunities for youth and MSMEs. "A landmark moment for the India-US economic partnership. A major boost to #MakeInIndia, as Indian products will gain wider global market access, creating fresh opportunities for Indian youth and MSMEs. Thank you, Hon. PM Shri @narendramodi Ji, for your decisive and determined leadership in advancing stronger India-US ties. This milestone reflects rising global confidence in Made in India and reinforces India's position as a key driver of global growth," CM Yogi Adityanath wrote on X. https://x.com/myogiadityanath/status/2018402479365628371?s=20 Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta also called the deal a "major outcome", crediting PM Modi for his "visionary diplomacy". "A major outcome of the visionary diplomacy of the successful Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji! Following the phone conversation between Prime Minister ji and the US President @realDonaldTrump, the United States has reduced the extra tariff imposed on India to 18%. This decision by America will give new momentum to Indian exports and trade. This is yet another proof of India's growing economic power and strengthening relations on the global stage."Gupta wrote on X. https://x.com/gupta_rekha/status/2018416094042857924?s=20 PM Modi on Monday said that it was wonderful to speak with his "dear friend President Trump" and expressed delight that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. "Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement," PM Modi said in a post on X. The Prime Minister said that when two large economies and the world's largest democracies work together, it benefits our people and unlocks immense opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation. "President Trump's leadership is vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity. India fully supports his efforts for peace. I look forward to working closely with him to take our partnership to unprecedented heights," PM Modi said. India and the European Union (EU) had on January 27 announced the conclusion of negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), an important milestone in one of India's most strategic economic partnerships. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry had said in a release that the FTA responds to contemporary global challenges while enabling deeper market integration between the world's fourth- and second-largest economies. "With a combined market estimated at over Rs 2091.6 Lakh Crore (USD 24 trillion), bringing unparalleled opportunities for the 2 billion people of India and the EU, the FTA unlocks significant potential for trade and innovation. The FTA delivers unprecedented market access for more than 99 per cent of India's export by trade value, while preserving policy space for sensitive sectors and reinforcing India's developmental priorities," the release said. (ANI) Israeli, U.S. navies hold joint drill in Red Sea Xinhua) 09:15, February 03, 2026 JERUSALEM, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Israeli and U.S. naval forces held a joint drill in the Red Sea on Sunday, the Israeli military said Monday, highlighting strengthened maritime cooperation as regional tensions with Iran continue to rise. The exercise involved Israeli Navy vessels and a visiting U.S. Navy destroyer operating in the Red Sea, the military said. It added that the drill was part of ongoing strategic coordination between the Israeli Navy and the U.S. 5th Fleet, which is responsible for operations in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Gulf of Oman. The exercise came amid escalating tensions between Iran and the United States, as Washington has issued warnings to Tehran and reinforced its naval presence in the region. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) Red Hot Chili Peppers have distanced themselves from an upcoming documentary about their former co-founding member Hillel Slovak. Red Hot Chili Peppers distance themselves from Netflix doc The Under the Bridge hitmakers were interviewed for the Netflix show, The Rise of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, about the late guitarist - who died over a heroin overdose in 1988, aged 26 - but the Chili Peppers have insisted they had "nothing to do with [the documentary] creatively". The band said in a statement: "Dear people of the universe, about a year ago, we were asked to be interviewed for a documentary about Hillel Slovak. He was a founding member of the group, a great guitarist, and friend. "We agreed to be interviewed out of love and respect for Hillel and his memory. "However, this documentary is now being advertised as a Red Hot Chili Peppers documentary, which it is not. "We had nothing to do with it creatively. We have yet to make a Red Hot Chili Peppers documentary." Red Hot Chili Peppers - who are made up of Anthony Kiedis, Flea Chad Smith, and John Frusciante - hope the forthcoming film will "spark interest" in the late guitarist. They added: "The central subject of this current Netflix special is Hillel Slovak and we hope it sparks interest in him and his work." Kiedis and Flea are among the stars who have been interviewed for the upcoming documentary, which is directed by Ben Feldman. According to Variety, the film was secretly screened at the Cannes Film Festival last year, where it was marketed to potential buyers, before further screenings in New York and Los Angeles. Feldman said in a statement: "Its a true honour to partner with Netflix to bring The Rise of the Red Hot Chili Peppers to a global audience. "At its heart, this is a deeply relatable story - about the friendships that shape our identities and the lasting power of the bonds forged in adolescence. "Whats less relatable, of course, is that here those friends went on to create one of the greatest rock bands in history. Im profoundly grateful to the band and to Hillels family for their trust and generosity, and to Netflix for helping bring this story to the world stage." Following the announcement of the India-US trade deal, BJP National President Nitin Nabin on Tuesday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the deal, lauding his leadership for offering new opportunities for the nation's youth. Nabin took to X to commend the trade deal, stating that the deepening of India-US relations would lead to a positive impact on the progress of the Indian economy. "This new progress in India-US relations is highly commendable. Heartiest congratulations to the Hon'ble Prime Minister Ji. Under his able leadership, new doors of opportunities are continuously opening for the youth of India. The deepening relationship between India and America--i.e., the two powerful democracies of the world--will have a very positive and far-reaching impact. This decision will serve as a medium to give new momentum to the progress of the Indian economy. It will also infuse fresh energy into the Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India campaigns. " Nabin wrote on X. https://x.com/NitinNabin/status/2018397642766926231?s=20 PM Modi on Monday said that it was wonderful to speak with his "dear friend President Trump" and expressed delight that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. "Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement," PM Modi said in a post on X. The Prime Minister said that when two large economies and the world's largest democracies work together, it benefits our people and unlocks immense opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation. "President Trump's leadership is vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity. India fully supports his efforts for peace. I look forward to working closely with him to take our partnership to unprecedented heights," PM Modi said. India and the European Union (EU) had on January 27 announced the conclusion of negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), an important milestone in one of India's most strategic economic partnerships. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry had said in a release that the FTA responds to contemporary global challenges while enabling deeper market integration between the world's fourth- and second-largest economies. "With a combined market estimated at over Rs 2091.6 Lakh Crore (USD 24 trillion), bringing unparalleled opportunities for the 2 billion people of India and the EU, the FTA unlocks significant potential for trade and innovation. The FTA delivers unprecedented market access for more than 99 per cent of India's exports by trade value, while preserving policy space for sensitive sectors and reinforcing India's developmental priorities," the release said. President Trump on Monday said he and PM Modi "have agreed to a trade deal" between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced reciprocal tariff, lowering it from 25 per cent to 18 per cent. In a post on his social media handle Truth Social, Trump referred to his conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier in the day. Trump said PM Modi was one of his greatest friends and a powerful and respected leader of his country. Trump also said PM Modi and he are two people that get things done. He claimed that the Prime Minister had agreed to "stop buying Russian Oil", and to buy much more from the United States. "It was an Honor to speak with Prime Minister Modi, of India, this morning. He is one of my greatest friends and, a Powerful and Respected Leader of his Country. We spoke about many things, including Trade, and ending the War with Russia and Ukraine," Trump said in his post. "He agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela. This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week! Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%," he added. Trump said India will reduce tariffs and non-tariff Barriers against the United States. "They will likewise move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO. The Prime Minister also committed to "BUY AMERICAN," at a much higher level, in addition to over $500 BILLION DOLLARS of U.S. Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal, and many other products. Our amazing relationship with India will be even stronger going forward. Prime Minister Modi and I are two people that GET THINGS DONE, something that cannot be said for most. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" Trump added. India and the US had made significant progress on the trade deal, and there were expectations of the two countries reaching an agreement soon. (ANI) Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Monday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Centre, claiming that India now gets to know about key national decisions from the United States President Donald Trump or his appointees. He termed this "Trump-nirbharta", meaning dependence on Trump, while citing last year's Operation Sindoor and the announcement of the India-US trade deal earlier in the day as examples. Ramesh's remarks came after US President Donald Trump said on his Truth Social that he had spoken to Prime Minister Modi earlier in the day and that India and the United States had agreed to a trade deal under which tariffs on Made in India goods would be reduced to 18 per cent. The Congress leader claimed that details of Prime Minister Modi's conversation with Trump were first disclosed not by the Indian government but by US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor. "It seems that Prime Minister Modi and President Trump spoke to each other today. This information has been provided not by the Indian side but by the US Ambassador to India. This now seems to be the routine - India gets to know of its Govt's actions only from President Trump or his appointees. Trump-nirbharta," Ramesh wrote in a post on X. In another post on X, made after Trump announced the trade deal but before Prime Minister Modi issued a statement, Ramesh referred to Operation Sindoor. He recalled that Trump had claimed he played a key role in de-escalating tensions between India and Pakistan during the operation, a claim the Indian government has denied, maintaining that no third party was involved. Ramesh further took a jibe at the Prime Minister, suggesting that these instances showed Trump had leverage over Modi. "He announced the halt of Op Sindoor from Washington DC. He announced the updates on India's oil purchases from Russia and Venezuela from Washington. He's now announced an India-US Trade Deal from Washington, the full details of which are awaited. President Trump clearly seems to have some leverage over Prime Minister Modi - who is now mortified of even being seen with him, let alone engage in the usual bout of hugs. It appears Mr. Modi has capitulated finally. Surely this cannot be the father of all deals. In Washington clearly Mogambo Khush Hai," he wrote on X. Prime Minister Narendra Modi later responded in a post on X, saying it was wonderful to speak with his "dear friend President Trump" and welcoming the tariff reduction for Indian goods. "Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement," the Prime Minister said. Modi added that cooperation between the two countries would benefit their people and strengthen global stability. "When two large economies and the world's largest democracies work together, it benefits our people and unlocks immense opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation. President Trump's leadership is vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity. India fully supports his efforts for peace. I look forward to working closely with him to take our partnership to unprecedented heights," he said. Meanwhile, India and the European Union on January 27 announced the conclusion of negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement, marking a major step in their strategic economic partnership. In a statement, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said the agreement responds to global challenges while enabling deeper market integration between the world's fourth- and second-largest economies. "With a combined market estimated at over Rs 2091.6 lakh crore (USD 24 trillion), bringing unparalleled opportunities for the 2 billion people of India and the EU, the FTA unlocks significant potential for trade and innovation. The FTA delivers unprecedented market access for more than 99 per cent of India's exports by trade value, while preserving policy space for sensitive sectors and reinforcing India's developmental priorities," the ministry said. (ANI) Inspired by the efforts of MLA Bhawna Bohra, along with the development works and expansion of public amenities in the tribal and forest areas of the Pandariya Assembly constituency, 66 members from tribal families have returned to their original faith. At the Tribal Pride Conference and Felicitation Ceremony held today in village Damgarh, MLA Bhawna Bohra welcomed and honoured them with a traditional foot-washing ceremony. On this occasion, she also inaugurated two bike ambulances, funded from the MLA Development Fund, to provide emergency medical services in forest regions, according to the release. These bike ambulances will benefit dozens of remote and difficult-to-reach forest villages, including Chhirpani and the Kui-Kukdur area. They will ensure quick access to healthcare and timely transportation to hospitals during emergencies, enabling hundreds of families to receive prompt medical treatment. Due to the continuous efforts of MLA Bhawna Bohra in the Pandariya Assembly constituency, tribal and forest-dwelling communities are increasingly returning to their cultural roots--dealing a strong blow to the intentions of those involved in religious conversions. Notably, earlier as well, 115 tribal citizens from villages around Neur in forest areas and 70 from the Kui-Kukdur region had returned to their roots through her initiatives. These ongoing efforts have infused new hope and self-confidence within the tribal community. On this occasion, MLA Bhawna Bohra stated that the tribal community has been a custodian of India's ancient cultural traditions. Nature worship, reverence for folk deities, and a community-centric way of life are integral parts of our Sanatan heritage. She said that certain elements attempt to mislead innocent tribal brothers and sisters through inducements, but the tribal society is now recognising its own identity and heritage. Homecoming is not the result of pressure but a voluntary decision to reaffirm one's cultural identity, closely linked to the protection of Indian ethos. She dedicated the two bike ambulances from the MLA fund to serve the people of tribal and forest areas. In remote and inaccessible regions where road connectivity is limited, bike ambulances will prove extremely effective in delivering timely medical assistance. They will ensure rapid access to patients in emergencies, saving precious time. Pregnant women, critically ill patients, and accident victims will be able to receive primary treatment and quick transport to health centres. This initiative will provide better, accessible, and reliable healthcare to residents of forest and tribal regions and is expected to significantly enhance safety and health outcomes. She further added that those who mislead the tribal community for personal gain--if they truly cared--would educate them about their history, their contributions to the freedom struggle, and the sacrifices of tribal heroes, rather than confusing them. Under the leadership of Hon'ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, historic work is being carried out for the holistic development of the tribal community. Through the PM Janman Yojana, pucca roads, housing, electricity, drinking water, and basic amenities are reaching forest regions. In the forest areas of the Pandariya constituency, more than 3,000 PM houses, over 100 kilometres of pucca roads, electricity supply, and safe drinking water facilities are being ensured. Pure drinking water is being supplied to remote and forest areas through tankers, and government schemes are reaching the last person. Tribal culture is intrinsically linked to the protection of water, forests, and land, and preserving this invaluable heritage is our collective responsibility. Our efforts toward the respect, security, and empowerment of the tribal community will continue unabated. On this occasion, senior BJP leader Uttam Marskole and Janpad President Nandini Sahu ji also addressed the gathering and praised the efforts and work of MLA Bhawna Bohra. The program was attended by Kukdur Mandal President Basant Vatiya, Dullapur Mandal President Phalit Sahu, Pandariya Mandal President Ravish Thakur, Pandatarai Mandal President Pradeep Puri Goswami, Kunda Mandal President Balmukund Chandravanshi, Indauri Mandal President Khileshwar Sahu, Ranvirpur Mandal President Naresh Sahu, former Kukdur Mandal President Ratiram Bhatt, Harikrishna Shukla, Lalit Chandravanshi, Basant Bohra, Raju Parakh, Swatantra Tiwari, Kalyan Singh, Rupesh Jain, Ravishankar Chandravanshi, Kukdur Mahila Morcha Mandal President Parvati Sunhale, Janpad Member Thaneshwar Jaiswal, along with BJP office-bearers, workers, senior leaders, representatives of the tribal community, community members, and local residents. (ANI) Congress Rajya Sabha MP and advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi on Tuesday questioned the Centre over US President Donald Trump announcing a trade deal that would reduce tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent. In an X post, Singhvi asked, "When did India outsource its trade announcements?" "Trade deal announced...by Washington! Tariffs down from 25 per cent to 18 per cent. India to buy US energy, tech, agri & coal. One small constitutional question remains: When did India outsource its trade announcements? Official word from Saheb still awaited," the Congress MP wrote. This comes after Trump said on Monday that the US and India "have agreed to a trade deal," with Washington reducing the reciprocal tariff from 25 per cent to 18 per cent "out of friendship and respect" for PM Modi. The US President also claimed that PM Modi had agreed to "stop buying Russian oil" and to buy much more from the US. Earlier, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Centre, claiming that India now gets to know about key national decisions from US President Donald Trump and his appointees. He termed this "Trump-nirbharta," while citing last year's Operation Sindoor and the announcement of the India-US trade deal earlier in the day as examples. The Congress leader claimed that details of Prime Minister Modi's conversation with Trump were first disclosed not by the Indian government but by US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor. "It seems that Prime Minister Modi and President Trump spoke to each other today. This information has been provided not by the Indian side but by the US Ambassador to India. This now seems to be the routine - India gets to know of its Govt's actions only from President Trump or his appointees. Trump-nirbharta," Ramesh wrote in a post on X. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday welcomed the announcement of the India-United States trade deal uShe said the move would benefit Made in India products and people of both democracies. In a post on X, Sitharaman wrote, "Good news for Made in India products. They will now face a reduced tariff of 18 per cent. Thanking the leadership of PM @narendramodi and @POTUS for this development. People of our two large democracies stand to benefit." (ANI) Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council Opposition Leader, Botsa Satyanarayana, criticised the TDP for encouraging attacks on YSRCP leaders' houses with active police support, and said the state's reputation for civility and respect for law is being damaged, according to a release. Speaking at the YSRCP central office in Tadepalli, he stated that instead of maintaining neutrality, sections of the police were siding with the ruling party and failing in their duty. He said the DGP's role is to uphold the law, not serve any political leader, and urged officials to protect the credibility of institutions. The YSR Congress Party further criticised the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, stating that there has been a complete collapse of law and order in the state, pushing it into a "jungle raj" under CM Naidu and that the party will take the government's "misdeeds" to the national stage. At an emergency meeting held at the party's central office on the directions of party president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, senior leaders led by State Coordinator Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy and Legislative Council Opposition Leader Botsa Satyanarayana discussed the alleged murder attempt on former minister Ambati Rambabu and the attack on former minister Jogi Ramesh's house. Leaders said opposition voices are being suppressed through intimidation and attacks on party leaders' homes, but asserted such actions will not deter YSRCP and that the party will intensify its work. They accused the government of hurting the sentiments of Tirumala devotees through controversial statements on laddu prasadam and demanded an apology from Chandrababu Naidu. The party alleged that within three days, multiple former ministers and MLAs were targeted, and claimed police inaction has emboldened attackers. YSRCP leaders further stated that the police system has been weakened, with officers failing to respond even after repeated calls for protection and, in some cases, filing cases against victims. They announced plans to raise the issue in Delhi, approach courts, and move to the National Human Rights Commission. Calling the incidents unprecedented in recent political history, leaders said they would continue political and legal battles, take the issue to the Centre, and mobilise public opinion, asserting that attempts to silence the opposition will ultimately fail. Furthermore, referring to the Tirumala laddu controversy, he questioned why the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Executive Officer was transferred if the SIT and related reports were not credible, and the government was diverting issues for political gain. Botsa said Ambati Rambabu had already clarified and withdrawn his remarks, yet the issue was deliberately escalated. He criticised the BJP and Jana Sena allies in the coalition for their silence, saying wrong must be called out as wrong. Stating that YSRCP would not be frightened by "empty threats," he announced that the party would soon unveil its course of action after consulting party president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and would escalate the matter to the national level, the release stated. He further denied allegations that YSRCP provoked violence, asserting that the party neither incited attacks nor spread misinformation, and said those who commit wrong in the name of faith or politics will be answerable. Former ministers Gudivada Amarnath, Chelluboyina Venu Gopala Krishna, Karumuri Venkata Nageswara Rao, MLC Thota Trimurthulu, and former MLA Karanam Dharmasri were present at the briefing. (ANI) Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Tuesday expressed happiness over the announcement of the India-United States trade deal under which Washington has reduced tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent. In a post on X, Patel noted that the agreement would significantly bolster the 'Make in India' initiative by expanding market access and creating fresh opportunities for MSMEs, farmers, youth, and businesses in both nations. Extending his congratulations to PM Modi for facilitating the deal, the Gujarat CM stated that this landmark agreement and the resulting tariff reductions are truly great news for both nations. "A historic step forward in India-US relations. Under the visionary leadership of Hon'ble PM @narendramodi Ji, the landmark India-US trade agreement and reduced tariffs on Made in India products are truly great news for both nations. This will significantly strengthen #MakeInIndia, expand market access, and create fresh opportunities for Indian MSMEs, farmers, youth, and businesses on both sides. When the world's largest democracies work together, it accelerates growth, innovation, and shared prosperity. Congratulations to Hon'ble PM on this major milestone for India's economic journey," said Patel. Earlier, US President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with India on Monday (local time), months after Washington imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods in August 2025. Unveiled on Trump's social media platform Truth Social, the deal outlines significant tariff cuts and includes claims that India would halt Russian oil purchases. Earlier, Trump had levied a 50 per cent duty on India, with 25 per cent tied to crude imports from Russia, as administration officials asserted that India's oil buying supported Russia's war efforts. Trump, in his Truth Social post, wrote, "Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprorocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%. They will likewise move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO. The Prime Minister also committed to 'BUY AMERICAN,' at a much higher level, in addition to over $500 BILLION DOLLARS of US Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal, and many other products." "Our amazing relationship with India will be even stronger going forward. Prime Minister Modi and I are two people that GET THINGS DONE, something that cannot be said for most. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" Trump said. Following Trump's post, Prime Minister Modi, on X, said it was wonderful to speak with his "dear friend President Trump" and expressed delight that "Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%". "Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement," PM Modi wrote in a post on X. But as the United States and India move toward finalising a newly announced trade agreement, US International Development Finance Corporation Deputy CEO Nisha Biswal noted that while months of negotiations have shaped much of the framework, key implementation details are still awaited. "Since we have not seen any implementation guidance or details, we have to wait and see what that looks like. The US and India have been negotiating text-based agreements for many months, so a lot of these details have already been worked out by the two negotiators. Whether the terms remain the same or shift in the final stretch of the agreement is something we need to watch for," Biswal said. (ANI) NDA MPs on Tuesday felicitated Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Parliamentary Party meeting for the trade deal with the United States. This comes after Trump said that the US and India "have agreed to a trade deal," with Washington reducing the reciprocal tariff from 25 per cent to 18 per cent, "out of friendship and respect" for PM Modi. BJP National President Nitin Nabin was also formally welcomed at the meeting. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and several other senior leaders attended the meeting. Later today, both Houses of Parliament are scheduled to continue the discussion on the motion of 'Thanks to the President's address' during the ongoing Budget Session. In the Lok Sabha, the motion was moved by Sarbananda Sonowal and seconded by Tejasvi Surya. On Monday, the House witnessed a heated exchange between the NDA and the INDIA bloc MPs during Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi's address, during which he cited an unpublished memoir by former Army Chief General MM Naravane on border tensions with China. BJP members strongly objected to Rahul Gandhi's remarks, saying he violated the House's rules. In the Upper House, the BJP MP Sadananad Master moved the motion of thanks and, on Monday, delivered an emotional address, placing his artificial limbs on the bench. The motion comes in response to President Droupadi Murmu's address to the joint sitting of both the Houses to mark the beginning of the Budget Session on January 28. Lok Sabha on Monday witnessed repeated interruptions and was later adjourned for the day following a prolonged stalemate over LoP Rahul Gandhi's insistence on speaking about a specific matter pertaining to the standoff with China during border tensions in 2020 while referring to a report citing an unpublished memoir of former Army Chief General MM Naravane. The House, which began discussion on the motion of thanks on the President's Address, was adjourned till 3 pm, 4 pm and later for the day. Speaker Om Birla ruled that Rahul Gandhi should not make references to the unpublished book and article. When the House met at 3 pm, the Speaker urged the Leader of the Opposition to proceed with his speech without mentioning his intended reference. He said that the House works according to the rules. (ANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday arrived at the Parliament Annexe Building for the NDA Parliamentary Party meeting. During the meeting, he will be felicitated for the India-United States trade deal. This comes after Trump said that the US and India "have agreed to a trade deal," with Washington reducing the reciprocal tariff from 25 per cent to 18 per cent, "out of friendship and respect" for PM Modi. Union Home Minister Amit Shah also arrived for the meeting. BJP National President Nitin Nabin will also attend and be formally welcomed at the meeting. Union Ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and Bhupender Yadav, along with BJP leaders CR Patil and Giriraj Singh, also arrived for the meeting. AIADMK Rajya Sabha MP M Thambi Durai and BJP MP Ashok Chavan were also present. Today, both Houses of Parliament are scheduled to continue the discussion on the motion of 'Thanks to the President's address' during the ongoing Budget Session. In the Lok Sabha, the motion was moved by Sarbananda Sonowal and seconded by Tejasvi Surya. On Monday, the House witnessed a heated exchange between the NDA and the INDIA bloc MPs during Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi's address, during which he cited an unpublished memoir by former Army Chief General MM Naravane on border tensions with China. BJP members strongly objected to Rahul Gandhi's remarks, saying he violated the House's rules. In the Upper House, the BJP MP Sadananad Master moved the motion of thanks and, on Monday, delivered an emotional address, placing his artificial limbs on the bench. The motion comes in response to President Droupadi Murmu's address to the joint sitting of both the Houses to mark the beginning of the Budget Session on January 28. Lok Sabha on Monday witnessed repeated interruptions and was later adjourned for the day following a prolonged stalemate over LoP Rahul Gandhi's insistence on speaking about a specific matter pertaining to the standoff with China during border tensions in 2020 while referring to a report citing an unpublished memoir of former Army Chief General MM Naravane. The House, which began discussion on the motion of thanks on the President's Address, was adjourned till 3 pm, 4 pm and later for the day. Speaker Om Birla ruled that Rahul Gandhi should not make references to the unpublished book and article. When the House met at 3 pm, the Speaker urged the Leader of the Opposition to proceed with his speech without mentioning his intended reference. He said that the House works according to the rules. (ANI) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday paid floral tribute to Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) founder and former CM CN Annadurai on his 57th death anniversary at his Memorial at Marina Beach. Born on September 15, 1909 in Conjeevaram, Madras Presidency, worked as a teacher in school and a journalist, before entering politics. Starting from Justice Party, Annadurai went on to establish DMK following Dravidian and language movement. He served as the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister for about two years, before his demise of February 3, 1969. His funeral procession was attended by a massive crowd of supporters. Remembering Annadurai, MK Stalin said that the DMK government has named statues, flyovers and bus stands after him. Further, slamming the BJP in the Centre ahead of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly elections, he alleged Hindi imposition and stopping of funds to the state. He said, that the BJP will face "get out" in Tamil Nadu. "Perarignar Anna is the conscience of the Tamils! Not just on his remembrance day, every single day is a day we remember Anna! Anna Salai, Anna statues, Anna flyover, Anna library, Anna bus stands -- every single part of Tamil Nadu that the DMK government has named after Anna is filled with his presence. Even if they come with deceitful tactics like language imposition, cultural imposition, financial strangulation, and even if they bring along all the traitors as their allies, the arrogance and dominance of the BJP government will only face Get Out in Anna's Tamil Nadu! No matter how many years pass, it is Anna who still rules Tamil Nadu," Stalin wrote on X. The BJP took the opportunity to hit back at the DMK over an alliance with Congress in the state, saying that former CM Annadurai fought against Congress during the Dravidian movement. "People: Against whom did Anna fight? UBI: Congress. People: Now, with whom is the alliance?" the Tamil Nadu BJP wrote on X. The state is set to hold Assembly election in 2026 with the DMK-Congress alliance looking to retain their power against AIADMK-BJP alliance. Actor-turned-politician Vijay has made his political debut, launching TVK, and has turned the polls into a three-way contest. (ANI) Congress Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday demanded a parliamentary discussion on the trade deals with the European Union and the United States, slamming the Centre over Washington's claim that the deal will help them export more agricultural products to New Delhi. The India-US trade deal brings down the tariffs on Indian goods in the US to 18 per cent. In an X post, Jairam Ramesh termed the diplomacy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi "huglomacy" and alleged that he has "completely surrendered," following Trump's claim to have halted the India-Pakistan conflict during Operation Sindoor. He demanded that the text of both the India-US deal and the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the EU be laid before Parliament. The Congress MP wrote, "Almost exactly a year ago, Prime Minister Modi landed up at the White House to greet President Trump on his re-election. His trademark huglomacy was on full display. India-US relations never appeared brighter. Negotiations for a trade deal started immediately thereafter. But ever since President Trump made the first announcement of the halt to Op Sindoor on the evening of May 10, 2025 things began to go downhill. Subsequently, President Trump embraced Pakistan and Field Marshall Asim Munir enthusiastically, exposing the hollowness of Mr Modi's huglomacy." "President Trump announced the trade deal very late last night, Indian time. From the information President Trump has provided, it is abundantly clear that Prime Minister Modi has - like he did on May 10, 2025 - completely surrendered. He has most definitely appeased President Trump. India stands diminished by this unfortunate sequence of events. Parliament is in session. The text of both the EU and US trade deals must be laid on the Table of both Houses and debated - especially since the US Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, has issued a statement claiming that India has liberalised agricultural imports from the US," Ramesh added. This comes after US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins on Tuesday said that, as per the India-US deal, Washington will export more of its farm products to India. Rollins said that the deal will pump more cash into rural America. In a post on X, the Secretary said, "Thank you, US President Donald Trump, for once again delivering for our American farmers. New US-India deal will export more American farm products to India's massive market, lifting prices and pumping cash into rural America. In 2024, America's agricultural trade deficit with India was USD 1.3 billion. India's growing population is an important market for American agricultural products, and today's deal will go a long way to reducing this deficit. America First victory on top of the dozens of deals for ag." India is yet to detail out the tenets of the trade deal with the United States. Congress MP Sukhdeo Bhagat questioned the Centre over Trump announcing the deal before any Indian government representative. Bhagat claimed that the deal is "not our victory." Bhagat told ANI, "I was reading about the deal in a newspaper this morning. I was surprised and wondered if Trump identified himself as the Acting Prime Minister of India. These things are not being announced by the Prime Minister first, but by Trump. There is nothing to be very happy about. In a disguised way, tariff has been increased. We came to know everything about India through Trump. Who will we purchase oil from? Who will we have a trade deal with? Has PM Modi grown so weak? This is not our victory; this is an Agreement. We should not get to see a headline in future that Trump is the Acting Prime Minister of India." Congress leader Udit Raj also criticised the Centre, claiming US' influence over India's decision. Udit Raj told ANI, "This should not be called a 'India-US Trade Deal but 'Announcements by Trump'. Even during Operation Sindoor, Trump made the decision to end the India-Pakistan war. Trump made the decision not to purchase Russian oil. Now, Trump has decided that the Government of India will purchase oil from Venezuela, though we do not have the details. Trump has also decided to lower the tariff. We do not have the complete details. So far, we had doubts, but now it is confirmed that even our domestic policies are being influenced by Trump." "I don't think India's pride can ever be restored now, while they (the NDA government) are in power. India's honour can be safeguarded only when the Congress government comes to power. Surrendering like this! Trump said one more thing, which puts us to shame, that he did this at the request of our Prime Minister. So, this is all one-sided. There is no match. It is as if we are their subordinate, like we are Indian dominion. It is the same situation as during the British Rule. Will Trump run our country?" Udit Raj added. Trump announced on Monday that the US and India "have agreed to a trade deal," with Washington reducing the reciprocal tariff from 25 per cent to 18 per cent "out of friendship and respect" for PM Modi. The US President also claimed that PM Modi had agreed to "stop buying Russian oil" and to buy much more from the US. (ANI) Tourists visiting Romes iconic Trevi Fountain will now be required to pay 2 for up-close access as the city works to reduce overcrowding and protect the historic landmark. Tourists in Rome will have to pay 2 to visit the Trevi Fountain The fee allows visitors to reach the front of the fountain during peak daylight hours, while views from the piazza remain free. It was introduced alongside a 5 ticket for certain city museums, with Roman residents exempt from both charges. Officials estimate the measures could generate around 6.5 million annually, funding maintenance and expanding free museum access for locals. Ilhan Musbah, a tourist from Morocco, welcomed the change. He told the Independent: Before, there were problems accessing the fountain. There were a lot of people. Now, its very easy. You can take photos, you feel good, youre comfortable, and on top of that, 2 is not much. Romes tourism assessor, Alessandro Onorato, defended the fee as modest compared with what comparable attractions in other global cities might charge. He said: I believe that if the Trevi Fountain were in New York, they would have charged at least $100." The charge follows a year-long trial that introduced staggered entry paths to limit the number of visitors reaching the basins edge. Similar crowd-control measures have been implemented at the Pantheon, while Venice introduced a day-tripper tax last year to ease overtourism. The Trevi Fountain, a Baroque masterpiece immortalised in Federico Fellinis La Dolce Vita (1960), features the Titan god Oceanus flanked by cascading travertine falls into a shallow turquoise pool. Swimming in the fountain is now prohibited, but legend holds that tossing a coin over ones shoulder ensures a return visit to Rome. Tickets can be purchased online in advance, allowing visitors structured access during busy periods without compromising the experience. The BJP workers felicitated Prime Minister Narendra Modi with chants of "Jai Modi," "Vande Mataram," and "Bharat Mata ki Jai" after the Prime Minister secured the trade deal with US President Donald Trump at the NDA Parliamentary party meeting underway in Parliament premises on Tuesday. This comes after Trump said that the US and India "have agreed to a trade deal," with Washington reducing the reciprocal tariff from 25 per cent to 18 per cent, "out of friendship and respect" for PM Modi. Unveiled on Trump's social media platform Truth Social, the deal outlines significant tariff cuts and includes claims that India would halt Russian oil purchases. Earlier, Trump had levied a 50 per cent duty on India, with 25 per cent tied to crude imports from Russia, as administration officials asserted that India's oil buying supported Russia's war efforts. Earlier, BJP National President Nitin Nabin was also formally welcomed in the presence of Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Minister JP Nadda, and other Bhartiya Janata Party leaders at the NDA Parliamentary party meeting. Today, both Houses of Parliament are scheduled to continue the discussion on the motion of 'Thanks to the President's address' during the ongoing Budget Session. In the Lok Sabha, the motion was moved by Sarbananda Sonowal and seconded by Tejasvi Surya. On Monday, the House witnessed a heated exchange between the NDA and the INDIA bloc MPs during Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi's address, during which he cited an unpublished memoir by former Army Chief General MM Naravane on border tensions with China. BJP members strongly objected to Rahul Gandhi's remarks, saying he violated the House's rules. In the Upper House, the BJP MP Sadananad Master moved the motion of thanks and, on Monday, delivered an emotional address, placing his artificial limbs on the bench. The motion comes in response to President Droupadi Murmu's address to the joint sitting of both the Houses to mark the beginning of the Budget Session on January 28. Lok Sabha on Monday witnessed repeated interruptions and was later adjourned for the day following a prolonged stalemate over LoP Rahul Gandhi's insistence on speaking about a specific matter pertaining to the standoff with China during border tensions in 2020 while referring to a report citing an unpublished memoir of former Army Chief General MM Naravane. The House, which began discussion on the motion of thanks on the President's Address, was adjourned till 3 pm, 4 pm and later for the day. Speaker Om Birla ruled that Rahul Gandhi should not make references to the unpublished book and article. When the House met at 3 pm, the Speaker urged the Leader of the Opposition to proceed with his speech without mentioning his intended reference. He said that the House works according to the rules. (ANI) Congress Lok Sabha MPs will hold a meeting at the Congress Parliamentary Party office at 10:30 am on Tuesday. This comes after US President Donald Trump announced an India-US trade deal, which reduces tariffs on Indian exports to 18 per cent from 25 per cent. Trump also said that India has agreed to stop purchasing Russian oil and will fulfil its energy needs from the US and "potentially" Venezuela. Congress has demanded the complete details of the India-US trade deal, raising questions over several key aspects, such as claims of the agriculture sector being opened up, calling for the reduction of tariffs to "zero", and a pause on the purchase of Russian oil, as claimed by US President Donald Trump. In a post on X, Congress first questioned the manner of the deal announcement, then delved into the details shared by Donald Trump. The party said that reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers against the US to 'zero will "impact" India and also questioned how opening the agriculture sector would ensure the "security of farmers" "Just like the ceasefire, the announcement of the trade deal was also made by US President Trump. It has been stated that the trade deal is being done 'on Modi's request'," Congress said. "Trump says that India will move to reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers against the United States to 'zero'. It seems India has agreed to completely open our market for America. This will impact Indian industry, traders and farmers. There is talk of opening the agriculture sector for America in the statement as well. What exactly is the deal? How has the security and interests of our farmers been ensured?" they asked. Both Houses of Parliament are scheduled to continue the discussion on the motion of 'Thanks to the President's address' during the ongoing Budget Session on Tuesday. On Monday, the House witnessed a heated exchange between the NDA and the INDIA bloc MPs during Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi's address, during which he cited an unpublished memoir by former Army Chief General MM Naravane on border tensions with China. BJP members strongly objected to Rahul Gandhi's remarks, saying he violated the House's rules. (ANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday addressed the NDA MPs at the NDA Parliamentary Party Meeting, saying that the Union Budget 2026 has been prepared keeping the next 25 years in mind. He urged the MPs to explain this to the general public for their better understanding. The Prime Minister also referred to the political situation and said that across the country, many small parties are joining hands with the NDA. Their number is more than 50 per cent, which shows how widely accepted the NDA's political thinking is, both in India and abroad. Speaking about the trade deal, the Prime Minister told MPs that it will be very beneficial for the country in the coming days. Meanwhile, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju stated that there were 9 trade deals, the FTAs, India-EU FTA and the Agreement were finalised with the US on Monday. "New BJP president Nitin Nabin was welcomed. There is great enthusiasm in the country over historic trade deals under the leadership of PM Modi - 9 trade deals, the FTAs, India-EU FTA and the Agreement with the US yesterday and the tariff reduction announcement..." he said. "MPs were also excited. So, in the NDA Parliamentary Party meeting, the PM was felicitated. For the historic trade deals, he was congratulated. FTAs have been done with 39 countries; this is historic. These 39 are developed countries..." he added. Earlier, US President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with India on Monday (local time), months after Washington imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods in August 2025. Unveiled on Trump's social media platform Truth Social, the deal outlines significant tariff cuts and includes claims that India would halt Russian oil purchases. Earlier, Trump had levied a 50 per cent duty on India, with 25 per cent tied to crude imports from Russia, as administration officials asserted that India's oil buying supported Russia's war efforts. Trump, in his Truth Social post, wrote, "Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%. They will likewise move forward to reduce their Tariffs and non-tariff barriers against the United States to ZERO. The Prime Minister also committed to 'BUY AMERICAN,' at a much higher level, in addition to over $500 BILLION DOLLARS of US Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal, and many other products." Following Trump's post, Prime Minister Modi, on X, said it was wonderful to speak with his "dear friend President Trump" and expressed delight that "Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%". "Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement," PM Modi wrote in a post on X. (ANI) While acquitting 6 accsued of rioting and other offences, Delhi's Karkardooma Court expressed its strong displeasure over the conduct of Investigation officer. The court said that a fabricated charge sheet was forwarded by a supervisory police officer. It also said that the right of accsued were buldozed. In view of the facts surfaced the court has asked the commissioner of police to take necessary action. "Had that mechanism worked as it is expected to work, the rights of the accused and the expectation of the society at large that criminal cases are investigated fairly would not have been bulldozed and pulverized," Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Parveen Singh said in the judgement passed on January 31. The court also said that the case of the prosecution is found to be a built up case on the basis of the witnesses who as per their initial statements had not seen any of the rioters but who as per their subsequent tampered, manipulated and fabricated statements under saction 161 Cr.P.C went on to state that they had in fact seen and recognized four persons by their names and who surprisingly even in those fabricated initial statements, did not name the bad character of their area, who was leading the mob. "Therefore, I find that the prosecution has miserably failed to prove its case against the accused and all the accused are acquitted of all the charges framed against them," ASJ Singh ordered. The court acquitted 6 accsued namely Prem Prakash alias kale, Ishu Gupta, Rajkumar alias Sewaiya, Amit alias Annu, Surendra Singh and Hari Om Sharma. They were accsued in a case pertains to the FIR lodged at Police Station New Usman Pur for the alleged offences of rioting etc. While acquitting the Accused persons the court expressed its concern over the tampering and manipulation of the evidence. ASJ Parveen Singh said, "Before parting, I must observe that the audacity and impunity with which the record was tampered with reflects a complete breakdown of the supervisory mechanism because, the fabricated charge sheet was forwarded by the supervisory officers i.e. the then SHO and the ACP concerned, "Therefore, I hereby direct that the copy of this order be placed before the worthy Commissioner of Police Delhi who shall initiate necessary action against those responsible and it is expected that steps will be taken to avoid reoccurrence of such ignominy. File be consigned to record room," ASJ Singh said. The case of the prosecution is that on 25.02.2020 at about 13:12:05 information was received which was to the effect that "dukane tor rhe hai aag laga rhe hai nare baji kar rhe hai .... dande le rakhe hai". Police team reached Sudamapuri near Aziziya Masjid, but caller was not found there. Scene of crime was inspected and a large number of bricks and pieces of stones were found scattered in the street. On 29.02.2020 complainants 1. Sh. Mehboob Ali, Asif Ali, Tahir Md., Shoiab, came to police station and submitted their respective complaints regarding incidents taken place at their respective premises. On 04.03.2020 complainants Md. Raies and Khalid filed their complaints regarding the loss suffered by them during the riots. On the basis of private CCTV footage seized in another FIR of PS New Usmanpur and on the basis of identification by Ct. Kishan Lal and his subsequent statement, accused Prem Parkash alias Kake and accused Ishu Gupta, Rahul alias Golu, Amit alias Annu and Rajkumar alias Sewaiya were arrested. These accused were further identified by the beat officers HC Vikas and Ct. Kishan Lal in the police station. On 15.03.2020, eye witness Vedprakash alias Vedu was examined, who was subsequently shown certain photographs and from the photographs he identified Rahul alias Golu, Raj Kumar alias Sewaiya, Amit alias Annu, Prem Prakash alias Kake and Ishu Gupta, the police said. After completion of investigation, charge sheet was filed against six accused persons namely Prem Prakash alias Kake, Ishu Gupta, Raj Kumar alias Sewaiya, Amit alias Annu alias Baba, Rahul alias Golu and Hariom Sharma, for offences of rioting, unlawful assembly, destroying property by fire etc. On 19.07.2023 second supplementary charge sheet alongwith several documents including FSL reports, photographs etc. and additional statements, was filed.(ANI) Textiles and Jewellery traders have welcomed the India-US trade deal, expressing enthusiasm over reduced tariffs and predicting that an 18 per cent tariff will increase sales by 100-150 per cent. Hailing PM Modi for the trade deal, traders believed that Free Trade Agreements with other countries, especially with the European Union, "scared" the Trump administration into making the deal. Speaking with ANI, All Gujarat Textile Federation President, Ashok Jirawala, said, "I believe this is the magic of PM Modi's government. I believe Trump's government has got scared of losing the market because of all the deals we have closed with other countries. I believe more tariffs will be reduced in the upcoming days. The US is our biggest market in the garment industry, curtains, bedsheets and special fabrics. Their consumers were also demanding this. Ranganath Sharda, Secretary, Ashoka Market, a Textile and Garment Exporter, believes that, as India's tariffs are lower than those of China, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, Indian traders will benefit greatly from this arrangement. "This is a big decision. Our exports have somehow halted, but now we believe that due to 18 per cent tariffs, our exports will double or triple. We export Rs25,000 crores that will surely now go to 50,000 crores to 75,000 crores. "Now the US tariffs on India have become the lowest as compared to China, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. I think this is largely due to the India-EU trade deal. I think this will benefit the textile business a lot. If Pakistan and China tariffs remain high, it will benefit India's exporters. We believe our sales will increase from 100 per cent to 150 per cent," Ranganath Sharda added. Gujarat State President of the Indian Bullion and Jewellers Association, Nainesh Pachigar, also expressed enthusiasm about the reduction in tariffs and believes they will soon come down to zero. "Our whole industry welcomes this trade deal. America has to bow down. Now they called our PM and agreed to reduce tariffs. Our industry will benefit from this reduction to 18 per cent of tariffs. We want the tariff to be zero per cent. Our export was at 35 per cent with the US, but that stopped due to tariffs; now it will start again. If tariffs come to zero, the export will be at 35 per cent again," he said. The India-US trade deal was agreed upon on 2ND February after successful talks between the leadership of both countries. Following the announcement by US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 2, the reciprocal tariff imposed by the US on India was reduced to 18 per cent from 25 per cen In addition, the US removed the additional 25 per cent punitive levy that had been linked to India's purchase of Russian oil. The move is expected to ease trade pressures and improve the overall business environment between the two countries. The announcement has been seen as a positive step by industry leaders, with expectations that the agreement will boost investor confidence, enhance manufacturing cooperation, and further strengthen India-US economic relations. (ANI) Union Minister for Communications and Development of the North Eastern Region, Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, welcomed the landmark India-US trade deal, asserting that the agreement signals the unity of the world's two largest democracies to foster a 'stronger, more peaceful global order. In a post on X, the Union Minister declared that India and the USA, through the trade agreement, are set to reshape and rescale innovation, bolster supply chains, and deliver solutions that serve the wider world. "Stronger Together. Led by PM @narendramodi ji and @POTUS, this historic India-US trade deal marks the world's largest democracies coming together for a stronger, more peaceful global order.As partners with complementary strengths, India and the United States are set to reshape and rescale innovation, bolster supply chains and deliver solutions that serve not just our nations, but the wider world," said Scindia. He further stated that India-US trade deal opens new avenues for growth and shared prosperity. "This agreement opens new avenues for growth and shared prosperity. The reduction in tariffs on Swadeshi products is a significant step for our economy and for the aspirations of 140 crore Indians, while creating value for farmers, businesses, the workforce and consumers in both countries," added Scindia. Along with Union Minister Scindia, Union Minister of Consumer Affairs Prahlad Joshi also celebrated the landmark trade deal and congratulated PM Modi and President Droupadi Murmu for their strong commitment to enhancing India-U.S. strategic ties. He further declared that the deal will facilitate access to cutting-edge U.S. technology. "Grateful to PM Shri @NarendraModi ji and President @realDonaldTrump for their visionary and decisive leadership and their strong commitment to deepening India-U.S. strategic ties. India and the U.S. are natural allies. This agreement unlocks unprecedented opportunities for MSMEs, entrepreneurs and skilled professionals. It will also facilitate access to cutting-edge U.S. technology, strengthening India's growth and global competitiveness," said Joshi. Earlier, US President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with India on Monday (local time), months after Washington imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods in August 2025. Unveiled on Trump's social media platform Truth Social, the deal outlines significant tariff cuts and includes claims that India would halt Russian oil purchases. Earlier, Trump had levied a 50 per cent duty on India, with 25 per cent tied to crude imports from Russia, as administration officials asserted that India's oil buying supported Russia's war efforts. Trump, in his Truth Social post, wrote, "Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprorocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%. They will likewise move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO. The Prime Minister also committed to 'BUY AMERICAN,' at a much higher level, in addition to over $500 BILLION DOLLARS of US Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal, and many other products." Following Trump's post, Prime Minister Modi, on X, said it was wonderful to speak with his "dear friend President Trump" and expressed delight that "Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%". "Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement," PM Modi wrote in a post on X. (ANI) Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya on Monday attended a reception programme organised by the Directorate of NCC North Eastern Region at Lachit Ghat to felicitate NCC cadets returning from their participation in the Republic Day Camp (RDC) 2026. Governor Acharya congratulated the NCC cadets for participating in the Republic Day Camp and representing the state at the function. He said that hosting them at the historic Lachit Ghat is symbolic, as it recalls the legacy of Lachit Borphukan, who exemplified supreme devotion to safeguard the nation. He described the NCC cadets as the torchbearers of this heroic tradition and the face of New India, who are disciplined, energetic, and dedicated. The Governor appreciated the cadets for their outstanding performance at the Republic Day celebrations. Addressing the NCC cadets, Acharya said that marching on Kartavya Path is both an honour and a responsibility, and urged them to continuously uphold the highest standards of discipline, conduct, and excellence. Highlighting the vital role of the NCC cadets in nation-building through disaster relief, civic action, social service, environmental initiatives, and adventure activities, he called upon the NCC participants to remain alert and ready to serve that nation with utmost sincerity. Referring to this year's Republic Day celebrations, the Governor noted with pride that the cultural presentations from the North East received national appreciation. He particularly mentioned Assam's tableau, "Terracotta Craft Village", which beautifully showcased the traditional clay art of Dhubri district while reflecting the spirit of Atmanirbhar Bharat. The Governor also recalled that the Republic Day celebrations were dedicated to the 150 glorious years of "Vande Mataram", and quoted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has said that "Vande Mataram is not just a song, but an energy and a resolve of dedication to Mother India." He added that India's journey towards becoming a developed Nation is being driven by conscious, committed, and nation-serving youth.Emphasising that India's greatest strength lies in its youth, the Governor urged the cadets to make discipline the foundation of their lives, place the nation above self, and remain responsible citizens. He expressed confidence that NCC cadets would play a leading role in building a strong, prosperous, and self-reliant India. The Governor also felicitated the NCC cadet achievers of RDC 2026. Additional Director General, NCC North Eastern Region, Major General Anurag Vij, Deputy Director General, Brigadier K.J. Singh, Group Commander, NCC Guwahati, Brigadier N.C. Khuman, along with NCC cadets and other dignitaries, were present on the occasion. Earlier in the day, the Governor also interacted with 18 NSS volunteers from the North Eastern Region who had participated in the Republic Day Parade Camp 2026, at Lok Bhavan, Assam.(ANI) Congress MP Karti Chidambaram on Tuesday criticised the India-US trade deal, saying it undermines India's sovereignty as the US appears to be deciding India's trade and oil partners, and called for a relationship based on mutual trust and respect. The India-US trade deal reduces tariffs on Indian goods in the US to 18 per cent, while Washington has claimed the deal will help it export more agricultural products to New Delhi. Speaking to ANI, Chidambaram said, "If the President of America can decide whom India will trade with, it looks like we don't seem to be having an independent grip on our international affairs. America is deciding that India will stop buying oil from Russia. We just had the Russian President over for a state dinner...This is unprecedented. We are a sovereign country, and we should decide what is best for our interests. We need America and America needs us, but it must be a relationship based on mutual trust and respect." He said that while India and the US remain important trading partners, uncertainty over President Trump's policies and conditions, including restrictions on oil imports from Russia and Iran, raises concerns about the impact of the US trade deal on India's economy. "I have always said that India needs America and America needs India. Both are large economies and have large populations. America cannot replace the supply chains from India very easily. But President Trump is a very mercurial President. At one stage, he said that the Indian economy is dead. Now he says that he is very happy to do trade with India. At one stage, he said that he interceded to stop the war between India and Pakistan...So, we do not know where Trump stands. He has announced that he is reducing the tariff to 18% but what are the conditions for that? He is prohibiting India from buying oil from Russia, from Iran, two longstanding trading partners of India," he said. "He is saying that India will buy oil from Venezuela...Are we buying 500 billion dollars' worth of goods from the US right now? Are we capable of that? Until we have the details of the trade pact, how can we pass judgment? We can't be passing judgment on social media post of President Trump and President Trump is known to be making very impulsive statements," he further added Congress demanded the complete details of the India-US trade deal, raising questions over several key aspects such as the opening of the agriculture sector, the reduction of tariffs to "zero" and a pause on the purchase of Russian oil, as claimed by US President Donald Trump. (ANI) BJD MP Sasmit Patra on Tuesday welcomed the India-US trade deal, saying it is a positive step that will reduce tariffs on Indian goods, expand export opportunities, and open avenues for cooperation in trade, technology, and innovation. The India-US trade deal reduces tariffs on Indian goods in the US to 18 per cent, while Washington has claimed the deal will help it export more agricultural products to New Delhi. Speaking to ANI, Patra said, "It's a very positive step. As it comes on the heels of the EU-India FTA and, prior to that, the UK deal, and given the global headwinds we are facing, this trade deal will help lessen those headwinds. It will open areas of cooperation. Reduced tariffs will also help the country and its exports find markets in the US." "There can also be areas of joint collaboration not only in trade and commerce but also in science and technology and innovation. As it comes right before the AI Global Impact Summit this month in Delhi, it is also an opportunity where US technology and Indian products can collaborate. I look at this as a very positive step forward," he said. Further, BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh also praised the trade agreement, saying it will benefit Indian producers, farmers, youth, and MSMEs by reducing tariffs to 18 per cent and creating new opportunities for investment, innovation, and job growth. "Under the historic India-US trade agreement, Indian producers will receive a significant boost in the global market. Lower tariffs of about 18% will create new opportunities for youth, farmers, and MSMEs. A strong India-US partnership will accelerate investment, innovation, and job creation. First, the FTA with European countries and now the India-US trade agreement, this is a major achievement under PM Modi's leadership," Chugh told ANI. (ANI) Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai on Tuesday said that the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) perpetrated violence has come down by 88 per cent from 2010, with deaths of civilians and security forces reduced by 90 per cent. Replying to an unstarred question from BJP MP Roopkumari Choudhary, Nityanand Rai said 100 deaths of civilians and security forces were reported in 2025 as compared to 1005 in the year 2010. He also updated that security forces neutralised 364 Naxals, arrested 1022 and facilitated 2337 surrenders in 2025. "The LWE perpetrated violence incidents have come down from a high of 1936 in the year 2010 by 88% to 234 in 2025. Resultant deaths of Civilians & Security Forces have also come down from a high of 1005 in 2010 by 90% to 100 in the year 2025. In 2025, security forces have neutralised 364 Naxals, arrested 1022 and facilitated 2337 surrenders," Union MoS Nityanand Rai said. He also stated that only 119 police stations reported violence incidents in 2025 as compared to 465 in 2010. "The number of Police Stations reporting LWE-related violence has significantly reduced from 465 Police Stations in 2010 to 119 Police Stations in the year 2025," he said. He further replied that only eight districts remain affected by Left Wing Extremism, out of which six are from Chhattisgarh. "Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected districts are 8, including 6 districts in Chhattisgarh, 1 district in Jharkhand and 1 district in Odisha," Nityanand Rai said. This aligns with the government's aim to make India free from Left-Wing Extremism by March 31, 2026. Earlier, Ministry of Home Affairs released its Year-End Review for 2025. MHA revealed that a series of large-scale operations across Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and adjoining regions led to the neutralisation of over 300 LWE cadres in 2025, the highest ever in a single year. Security forces carried out landmark operations such as the Karreguttalu Hills action and Operation Black Forest, which dismantled key Maoist leadership structures and triggered large-scale surrenders. (ANI) John Cho has joined the cast of Apple TVs upcoming drama series The Off Weeks. John Cho has joined the cast of Apple TVs upcoming drama series The Off Weeks The actor, 53, is the latest addition to the shows already high-profile ensemble, led by Ben Stiller and Jessica Chastain. Produced for Apple TV, The Off Weeks centres on a fractured family life and a volatile romance. Ben and Jessica were previously announced as the leads of the series, with John now joining other fellow cast members Arian Moayed, Annaleigh Ashford and Richard Gere. The drama follows a writing professor navigating divorce, parenthood and a new relationship, with filming and release details yet to be confirmed by Apple TV. An official logline for the show says: When divorce throws writing professor Gus Adlers (Ben Stiller) life into chaos, he struggles to hold things together during on weeks when he has custody of his kids. But in his off weeks, hes falling dangerously in love with Stella West (Jessica Chastain), a mysterious woman whose arrival puts Gus on-week duties and off-weeks ambitions on a fatal collision course. John is already familiar to Apple audiences. He recently appeared in the series Murderbot for the platform and featured in the second season of The Afterparty. His most recent television work also includes the Korean spy drama Tempest, which aired on Disney+. And his wider television credits include Poker Face, The Sympathizer, Foxs The Exorcist and Selfie. In film, he is known for playing one of the title characters in the Harold Kumar franchise and for portraying Sulu in the rebooted Star Trek films. He shot to fame largely thanks to his small role in American Pie. Ben will executive produce The Off Weeks via Red Hour alongside John Lesher. Jessica is executive producing alongside Kelly Carmichael for Freckle Films. Alissa Nutting serves as showrunner and executive producer. Michael Showalter, who directs and developed the project with Semi-Formal Productions, executive produces alongside Jordana Mollick. Paul Lee and Gabriel Fisher executive produce for wiip. Peter Principato, Allen Fischer and Brian Steinberg executive produce for Artists First, while Dean Bakopoulos also serves as an executive producer, with wiip acting as the studio. John is represented by 3 Arts, UTA and Yorn Levine Barnes. Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Dimple Yadav on Tuesday criticised the India-US trade deal, saying that the fact the announcement came from US President Donald Trump instead of the Indian government highlights the Ministry of External Affairs' failure to negotiate the agreement effectively. The India-US trade deal reduces tariffs on Indian goods in the US to 18 per cent, while Washington has claimed the deal will help it export more agricultural products to New Delhi. Speaking to ANI, Yadav said, "The announcement did not come from the Government of India, but from US President Trump. The attitude of the US shows that our Ministry of External Affairs is not able to negotiate in the manner that a deal should be done." Further, Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav also expressed concerns over the trade deal, saying that the agreement appears secretive and may involve hidden agendas, including arms purchases or restrictions on buying oil from Russia. "There must certainly be some hidden agenda. Maybe it will be about the purchase of arms, maybe about not purchasing oil from Russia...Everything is secret, nothing is open," Yadav said. Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party MP Awadhesh Prasad said that while the stance of US President Donald Trump remains uncertain, the India-US trade agreement is a positive step and a relief for the country's economy, adding that its impact depends on India's foreign policy. "It's unclear what stance Trump will take now, given his behaviour in recent days. But it's good that this has happened. It's a relief for the country's economy... Many things depend on our country's foreign affairs policy," Prasad told ANI. US President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with India on Monday (local time), months after Washington imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods in August 2025. Unveiled on Trump's social media platform Truth Social, the deal outlines significant tariff cuts and includes claims that India would halt Russian oil purchases. Earlier, Trump had levied a 50 per cent duty on India, with 25 per cent tied to crude imports from Russia, as administration officials asserted that India's oil buying supported Russia's war efforts. (ANI) Congress MP KC Venugopal on Tuesday said that the party will question the recent announcement of the India-US trade deal, which was unilaterally made by US President Donald Trump. "One of the shocking incidents happened yesterday. The trade deal between India and the US was unilaterally announced by the US President. It had never happened in the history of India-US trade relations. We are going to raise this," he stated to ANI. Earlier today, Congress MP Pramod Tiwari took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that all the decisions made by India are being announced by US President Donald Trump instead of PM Modi himself, underlining that it affects the self-respect of the country. Speaking on the India-US trade agreement, which reduced the tariff from a hefty 50 per cent to 18 per cent, he said, "Looking at recent events, it seems as if India's capital has shifted from New Delhi to Washington, DC, and PM Modi has gone on a long vacation. We are learning about all of India's decisions from Washington, DC, and its President Donald Trump, who is making the announcements... Prime Minister, your silence is troubling us. This is against the self-respect of the country, against its sovereignty, and against its glorious history. Take action and speak the truth; we want to hear it from you, in the Indian Parliament, and in the country's capital, Delhi." Meanwhile, the Congress demanded the complete details of the India-US trade deal, raising questions over several key aspects such as the opening of the agriculture sector, the reduction of tariffs to "zero" and a pause on the purchase of Russian oil, as claimed by US President Donald Trump. In a post on X, Congress first questioned the manner of the deal announcement, then delved into the details shared by Donald Trump. The party said that reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers against the US to 'zero will "impact" India and also questioned how opening the agriculture sector would ensure the "security of farmers." "Just like the ceasefire, the announcement of the trade deal was also made by US President Trump. It has been stated that the trade deal is being done 'on Modi's request'," Congress said. "Trump says that India will move to reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers against the United States to 'zero'. It seems India has agreed to completely open its market for America. This will impact the Indian industry, traders and farmers. There is talk of opening the agriculture sector for America in the statement as well. What exactly is the deal? How have the security and interests of our farmers been ensured?" they asked. Earlier, US President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with India on Monday (local time), months after Washington imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods in August 2025. Unveiled on Trump's social media platform Truth Social, the deal outlines significant tariff cuts and includes claims that India would halt Russian oil purchases. Earlier, Trump had levied a 50 per cent duty on India, with 25 per cent tied to crude imports from Russia, as administration officials asserted that India's oil buying supported Russia's war efforts. (ANI) The Rouse Avenue court on Tuesday granted time to former Delhi Minister Satyender Jain to file a reply on the revision moved by the BJP MLA Karnail Singh. A revision against cognisance and summons has been filed by Karnail Singh. On January 6, the Rouse Avenue court had taken Cognizance of a defamation complaint filed by former Delhi Minister Satyender Jain against BJP MLA Karnail Singh. Special Judge Jitendra Singh granted time to the counsel representing Jain to file a reply and listed the matter for arguements on February 21. Advocate Rajat Bhardwaj, counsel for Jain, appeared through video conferencing and sought time to file a reply. Advocate Vinod Dahiya appeared for Karnail Singh and gave brief submissions on the revision. Former Delhi Minister Satyendra Jain had moved a defamation complaint against Karnail Singh, a BJP MLA from Shakoor Basti. Jain had alleged that Singh mada e defamatory statement during an interview on a news channel on January 19, 2025. Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Paras Dalal, after taking cognizance had issued a summons to BJP MLA Karnail Singh on January 6. Advocate Vinod Dahiya, counsel for Karnail Singh, had stated that allegations levelled against the complainant were based on the press release of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and media reports. It was further submitted that it was the duty of Karnail Singh, being a candidate in the assembly election, to make the public aware of the opponent, who was also a former Minister. MLA Karnail Singh had raised the issue of maintainability and jurisdiction. However, the court decided the issue in favour of Jain. Counsel for Karnail Singh had said that at the time of the incident, Karnail Singh was neither an MP or MLA. Therefore, this special court can't hear this complaint as this court is meant to hear the cases against MP-MLAs. The Former Delhi Minister Satyendra Jain moved a defamation complaint against Karnail Singh, then a Delhi election candidate of the BJP from Shakoor Basti. It is alleged that the proposed accused made a defamatory statement during an interview on a news channel on January 19, 2025. It is alleged by complainant Jain that Karnail Singh made a statement that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) recovered 37 Kg of gold from his house, and he has 1100 Acres of land in his name. Jain had stated that the proposed accused made a statement that Jain had made his own wealth by corruption, and the money was supposed to be spent on the public. It is further alleged that the proposed accused made a false statement that huge amounts of gold were recovered from his house. He is Bhoo Mafia; he will go to jail again, it stated. It is also alleged that the proposed accused defamed the complainant by calling him corrupt and a fraud. It is also alleged that several other malicious and defamatory allegations were levelled against Jain. (ANI) Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi on Tuesday said that there has been no clarity from the government on the India-US trade agreement, demanding to know if the farmers are protected within the agreement or not, after the US Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, claimed that India has agreed to unprecedented access to its agricultural market for exportation in the US. Speaking to ANI, she said that the situation is very confusing as the government has not issued any statement on the bilateral agreement with the United States. "There's no clarity, everything is being announced by the President of the United States, and we don't know, actually, what is in it. We would like to know if the farmers of this county have been protected and what this deal is about. The parliament is in session, but there have been no statements to the House by the government. This is very confusing. This has no precedence in the way parliament is being treated," she said. Meanwhile, Union Minister JP Nadda assured that the central government will issue a suo motu statement, sharing the details of the deal and is also ready to hold a discussion in the house, amid sloganeering from the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha over the India-US deal. "Late last night, the US President tweeted on tariffs and referred to PM Modi as a true friend. After this, the PM tweeted, thanking the US President and on trade. The government will issue a suo motu statement on this trade deal and also hold a discussion on it," JP Nadda said in Rajya Sabha. He further lashed out at Congress over their objection to the trade deal, terming their sloganeering in the house as "irresponsible behaviour" which he believed is "threatening for democracy." "When the government is ready to give a detailed statement, this attitude of Congress and the INDI alliance is wrong. Their way is threatening to democracy. This is Congress's irresponsible behaviour. It is their frustration which is speaking," he said. This comes after India and the US reached a trade agreement that reduced tariffs on Indian exports to 18 per cent from 25 per cent. (ANI) Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai, on Tuesday stated that 83 training institutions have been established across the country for the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs). In a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha, MoS Home said that from 2020 to 2025, the government has allocated Rs 755.42 crore for CAPF training infrastructure, of which Rs 743.46 crore has been spent. Nityanand Rai said, "A total number of 83 Training Institutions have been established all over the Country for the training needs of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF). Training is imparted using traditional and modern techniques, keeping in view the present and future challenges alongwith geographical conditions. Expansion, modernisation and upgradation of training centres are being done on a requirement basis." Of the 83 institutions, Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of centres at 15. "Further, purchase of motor vehicles, technical gadgets and creation of manpower for imparting training in CAPFs have been carried out from time to time. The training institutes impart efficient and effective training, which is evident from a number of successful operations of anti-terrorism, border security, anti-insurgency, co-operation, maintaining peace & order and left-wing extremism," the written reply read. On the question of a new CAPF training centre proposed in the country, particularly in Andhra Pradesh, including Vizianagaram district and the present status of such proposals, MoS Rai said, "CRPF has a training centre at Kalikiri where various types of training are imparted. At present, there is no proposal to establish a training centre in Vizianagaram district." In Budget 2026-27, the Centre has allocated Rs 1,16,789.30 crore for the establishment expenditures for the CAPF, as compared to Rs 1,12,636.16 crore in the revised Budget 2025-26. The provision for expenditure on CAPF includes the Central Reserve Police Force, National Security Guard, Border Security Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Central Industrial Security Force, Assam Rifles, Shashastra Seema Bal and the Departmental Accounting Organisations. (ANI) Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Tuesday criticised the Centre over the India-US trade deal, saying it claims to be strong on democracy but is weak when it comes to protecting India's sovereignty and national interest. He asked the Union government to clearly explain the trade deal and answer questions from the media in an open press conference. The India-US trade deal reduces tariffs on Indian goods in the US to 18 per cent, while Washington has claimed the deal will help it export more agricultural products to New Delhi. In a post on X, Thackeray wrote, "The BJP's Union Government of India: Strong on and against democracy, the democratic opposition, free speech, free press, environmental activism, and common sense. Weak on protecting India's sovereignty, negotiating trade deals, diplomatically navigating geopolitics and national interest." https://x.com/AUThackeray/status/2018600498924802154?s=20 "The government needs to answer and bring clarity on the deal! Do a press conference and take real questions, not curated ones," the post read. Meanwhile, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal will address the Parliament over the India-United States trade deal, which reduces the tariffs on goods exported from India to 18 per cent. This comes after Opposition MPs demanded details of the deal, raising concerns about the agriculture sector and the purchase of oil from Russia. Earlier, amid sloganeering from the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister JP Nadda assured that the central government will issue a suo motu statement, sharing the details of the deal and is also ready to hold a discussion in the house. "Late last night, the US President tweeted on tariffs and referred to PM Modi as a true friend. After this, the PM tweeted, thanking the US President and on trade. The government will issue a suo motu statement on this trade deal and also hold a discussion on it," Nadda said in Rajya Sabha. (ANI) Political sparring between the BJP and the Congress over the Union Budget continued on Tuesday, with Himachal Pradesh BJP spokesperson Randhir Sharma describing the budget as a major step towards a developed and self-reliant India, while rejecting the opposition's claims that Himachal Pradesh has been ignored. Addressing mediapersons in Shimla, Sharma said the Union Budget reflects Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a "Viksit and Atmanirbhar Bharat" and is both strong and forward-looking. He dismissed allegations that Himachal Pradesh has not received any benefits, asserting that the real issue lies not with the Centre but with the state government's functioning and its failure to fully utilise central schemes. Sharma said, "Despite global economic instability, India's economy is moving forward with strength, and the budget is balanced and farsighted." He added that priority given to the defence sector, semiconductor mission, rare earth material mission and the manufacturing sector clearly shows the Centre's intent to make India self-reliant. "The objective is that 'Make in India' products gain recognition in global markets and India emerges as an exporting nation rather than an importing one," he said. Highlighting provisions related to infrastructure development, expansion of rural roads and schemes for farmers, workers and women, Sharma said the budget focuses on the country's overall development. He also stressed that special emphasis has been laid on industrial growth and employment generation in small towns. Countering the Himachal government's allegations, Sharma said it is completely incorrect to claim that the state has received nothing in the budget. "Union Budgets do not mention states by name; they announce schemes, and states benefit through those schemes," he said. He added that if the Himachal government properly implements and utilises central schemes, the state can gain significantly in sectors such as industry, tourism, agriculture and infrastructure. Sharma further said that schemes related to railway network expansion, small industries, bio-pharma, village industries and handicrafts present major opportunities for Himachal Pradesh, but effective coordination with the Centre is essential. Targeting the opposition, he said blaming the Centre is an attempt to hide failures at the state level. "The real problem is poor implementation of schemes and weak management of resources by the state government," he said. On the issue of discontinuation of the Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG), Sharma categorically stated that there has been no discrimination against Himachal Pradesh. He said RDG has also been discontinued for BJP-ruled states. "RDG is given to reduce the fiscal deficit, but the state government misused it completely and is now trying to mislead the public," he alleged. Sharma said if the state government works sincerely, Himachal Pradesh can derive full benefits from the Union Budget. He claimed that the BJP-led central government has always worked to give to Himachal Pradesh, while the Congress has worked to take away its interests. (ANI) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has set an ambitious target of winning 100 seats in Assam, signalling a strong and determined push to further consolidate its position in the state. As part of this strategy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Guwahati on February 14, where he will address a massive conference of booth-level workers from across Assam. The conference will see participation from nearly one lakh booth-level workers, highlighting the party's strong grassroots presence. In addition, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to visit Assam on February 21. During his visit, the Home Minister is expected to hold key organisational meetings, review election preparedness, and interact with party leaders and workers to strengthen the BJP's campaign strategy. Senior party leaders said that the visits by the Prime Minister and the Home Minister will significantly energise party cadres and provide clear strategic direction. The BJP aims to reinforce its commitment to development, good governance, and robust organisational outreach across Assam. Assam is set to hold Assembly elections later this year, where the Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma-led BJP is looking to defend its power against Congress. Earlier on Monday, in the poll-bound Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma inaugurated 67 state-of-the-art school buildings constructed under NESIDS, PM-DevINE and RIDF-XXIX and laid the foundation stone for another 61 schools to be built under RIDF-XXXI across different districts of Assam at a central programme held at Sonapur in Kamrup (Metro) district. According to the release, the combined investment for these projects stands at Rs 760 crore, as the initiative is set to create world-class learning environments that empower every child to dream bigger and achieve more. Speaking on the occasion, Himanta described the day as historic and transformative for Assam's education sector. He added that the State government has undertaken the construction of new buildings for 1,318 schools across Assam. (ANI) The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted interim bail to Congress leader and former Chhattisgarh Excise Minister Kawasi Lakhma in cases registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Economic Offences Wing (EoW) in connection with the alleged liquor scam. A Bench led by the Chief Justice of India held that, although the allegations are serious and the investigation is complex and ongoing, prolonged custody of the petitioner would raise concerns regarding personal liberty. The Court said the competing claims of the prosecution and the accused must be balanced. "On one hand is the right of the prosecution to have an uninterrupted, fair and free right to pursue the investigation, and on the other hand is the right of the petitioner to seek liberty. In order to balance the competitive claims asserted by both sides, we deem it appropriate to grant interim bail at this stage," the Court said. Granting interim bail in both ED and EoW cases, the Court imposed strict conditions. Lakhma has been directed not to enter the State of Chhattisgarh except to attend court proceedings and must arrive at least one day prior to the hearing. He will not be granted an exemption from personal appearance except on health grounds. The Court also directed that Lakhma shall not travel abroad, must deposit his passport with the special court, and shall furnish his mobile number to the ED, which cannot be changed without informing the trial court. He has been permitted to participate in public events but restrained from making any statement regarding the allegations against him. On a request seeking permission to attend Assembly proceedings, the Court said that since the chargesheet has been filed and cognisance is yet to be taken, the issue may be decided by the Speaker of the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly. The Court was hearing a plea filed by Lakhma challenging his continued custody in connection with the alleged liquor scam. Lakhma was arrested by the ED in January 2025 and later by the EoW in April 2025. Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Lakhma, submitted that the investigation against the petitioner is substantially complete and multiple chargesheets have already been filed. He pointed out that there are 52 accused, of whom 19 have already been granted bail, while several others were chargesheeted without arrest. Rohatgi argued that there is no recovery or direct money trail linking Lakhma to the alleged proceeds of crime. Opposing the plea, Senior Advocate Mahesh Jethmalani and Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the ED and the State, contended that the offence is grave and has caused massive loss to the state exchequer. The agencies relied on documentary, digital and forensic evidence and submitted that the investigation is still underway. The Court, however, noted that the prosecution proposes to examine 117 witnesses in the ED case, 863 witnesses in the EOW case and that the scale of the case suggests the trial and investigation will take considerable time, which warrants interim relief to protect the petitioner's liberty. (ANI) Congress MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla on Tuesday criticised the government's trade deal with the US, stating that India has "become nothing but a market," after a trade deal with the United States led to reports that India could abandon Russian oil procurement. Aujla's comments follow reports that India may abandon Russian oil procurement under the deal, prompting chaotic scenes in the Lok Sabha and the suspension of eight opposition MPs, including him. Speaking with ANI, Aujla also referenced India's relationships with other countries, mentioning Venezuela and Russia, and accused the government of treating the country as a market. "It's necessary to buy goods from them, and we will also buy oil from Venezuela, abandoning Russia, which was our country's old friend...This was the same Parliament where PM Modi said he would not discuss tariffs because farmers' livelihoods would be at risk, and everyone applauded. Where has that concern for livelihoods gone today?... Now this country has become nothing but a market," he told ANI. Aujla also slammed the government's stance on Rahul Gandhi's statement in Parliament, saying the opposition's role is to raise national issues and the government should respond. Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi sparked chaos in Parliament with his speech, highlighting concerns over China's presence in India, the US trade deal, and national policy. The speech led to a heated exchange: opposition MPs demanded discussions on key issues, while government MPs raised procedural objections, resulting in the suspension of eight opposition MPs, including Congress MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla. "It is the opposition's duty to present the issues facing the entire country; that's what Parliament is for, and the government should come and respond to them. But since yesterday, they've been saying that you can't cite any books... China has now entered the country, Chinese goods are flooding the market, and now they have done the same with America...m" said Aujla. The controversy surrounds the India-US trade agreement, which aims to reduce tariffs on Indian exports from 25% to 18%. However, Congress leaders have expressed concerns over the deal's impact on India's agriculture sector and energy imports, particularly the potential halt on Russian oil purchases. Amid uproar, some members were seen throwing papers. The House was adjourned till 3 pm. When the House resumed its proceedings, BJP member Dilip Saikia, who was in the Chair, named eight opposition members. The opposition MPs who have been suspended for the remainder of the session are Congress members Hibi Eden, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Manickam Tagore, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Prashant Yadaorao Padole, Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy, and Dean Kuriakose, and CPI-M member S Venkatesan. (ANI) The professional reinvention of Don Lemon has collided with a federal brick wall. Don has been detained by federal authorities after prosecutors alleged he crossed the line from reporting to active coordination during a protest that disrupted a church service in Minnesota. The arrest marks a sharp escalation in the former CNN anchor's post-network chapter, freezing plans for a high-end fan cruise and placing his independent media ambitions under intense legal scrutiny. Federal agents intercepted the 59-year-old journalist in Los Angeles, where he was on assignment covering the Grammy Awards, late Thursday, and took him into custody. While Lemon maintains his presence was strictly 'journalistic,' federal prosecutors allege that his coordination with activists violated the FACE Act, transforming his reporting into what the DOJ has described as 'criminal reconnaissance.' Don Lemon Plots Lucrative Escape Amidst Legal Storms Before the arrest by federal agents, the senior media personality was reportedly 'full steam ahead' with ambitious plans to launch a bespoke cruise experience for his followers. According to insiders, this venture was designed to be the crown jewel of his independent brand, capitalising on the success of his controversial podcast and live shows. 'Don is thrilled,' one source revealed, shedding light on the broadcaster's eagerness to chart a new commercial course. 'He loves the idea of being captain of his own ship in every sense.' Since parting ways with mainstream network television, Lemon has aggressively pursued direct-to-consumer revenue streams, hawking merchandise and staging live events to sustain his public profile. A 'floating fan convention' was viewed not merely as a holiday, but as a logical, high-yield expansion of his business portfolio. 'It's immersive, it's intimate, and it makes serious money,' a source explained regarding the financial motivations behind the project. 'Don sees this as the future.' However, the irony of these nautical ambitions has not been lost on his detractors, particularly in light of his mounting legal tribulations. Even before his arrest, critics were sceptical of his ability to navigate these waters without controversy, with one observer noting: 'Let's just hope his big mouth doesn't hit any new icebergs.' Federal Arrest Halts Don Lemon and His 'Reconnaissance' Those metaphorical icebergs have now taken the form of serious federal charges stemming from a contentious incident in St. Paul, Minnesota. In January 2026, Lemon faced intense backlash for livestreaming a chaotic protest which disrupted a Sunday church service, an event that has since ignited a media firestorm. The situation escalated dramatically on Thursday evening when federal agents arrested Lemon in Los Angeles, where he had been covering the Grammy Awards. The charges relate to his alleged role in the disruption at Cities Church, where activists protested against a pastor's affiliation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Federal agents arrested former CNN host Don Lemon in Los Angeles, where he was supposed to be covering the GRAMMYs, over his alleged role in storming a church in Minnesota. His attorney Abbe Lowell issued a statement below. His supporters are advocating with free Don lemon pic.twitter.com/OVEN2IC9vj Digital Daisy (@DigitalDaisyX) January 30, 2026 While Lemon's legal team maintains he was present solely as a journalist, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has taken a dimmer view, culminating in his detention. The arrest follows weeks of calls for potential legal action, with prosecutors scrutinising the coordination between the media figure and the activists involved. Reports suggest authorities are examining whether the livestream constituted 'reconnaissance' or active participation in the disruption, rather than passive reporting. This distinction is pivotal, as it transforms a First Amendment defence into a potential violation of federal statutes protecting houses of worship. The arrest has thrown Lemon's 'money-spinning' cruise plans into immediate jeopardy, replacing dreams of tropical excursions with the grim prospect of court dates and legal fees. What was intended to be a year of commercial expansion for Don Lemon has swiftly become a battle for his liberty and professional reputation. As the legal process unfolds, the question remains whether the anchor can navigate this latest storm or if his independent media empire will capsize under the weight of federal scrutiny. For now, the 'captain of his own ship' finds himself in decidedly choppy waters, with his future liberty far from guaranteed. Originally published on IBTimes UK A man from Tamil Nadu was arrested by Begur police for selling banned narcotic substance ganja, with 4 kg and 850 grams seized, valued at Rs 2.50 lakh. The arrest was made after police received specific information on February 1. According to police, officers of Begur Police Station received a tip-off from an informant that a person was selling ganja near a cesspool, close to a hostel on the main road in Devarchikkanhalli, within the police station limits. Acting on the information, police registered a case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and rushed to the spot indicated by the informant. The suspect was detained at the location and questioned. During interrogation, the police found that the accused is a resident of Palani Taluk in Dindigul district, Tamil Nadu. The accused stated that he was unemployed and had been selling ganja to earn money. He further disclosed that he procured the banned substance at a lower price from hill regions near Bhubaneswar in Odisha and sold it at a higher rate in Bengaluru. Police seized 4 kg and 850 grams of ganja along with 15 ziplock covers from the possession of the accused. The total value of the seized material is estimated at Rs 2,50,000. The accused was produced before a court on February 2 and was remanded to judicial custody. The operation was carried out under the guidance of Deputy Commissioner of Police, Electronic City Division, Narayana M and under the leadership of KM Satish. The team, led by Police Inspector Krishnakumar of Begur Police Station, along with other officers and staff, conducted the arrest and seizure. Meanwhile, on January 28, Bengaluru police arrested 10 persons, including seven from other states, for allegedly selling prohibited narcotic substances following a multi-day operation. The arrests led to the seizure of drugs and other materials worth approximately Rs 4 crore, officials said. (ANI) Air India will replace a specific component on one of its Boeing 787 aircraft after an issue was identified with the part, sources said on Tuesday. According to a source-based information, the affected Fuel Control Switch module will be sent to the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for detailed inspection and further checks. The component is not currently installed on the aircraft and will be changed as part of the standard corrective process, the sources added. Sources further stated that the total certified life of the component is 20,000 flight hours. However, the module in question has logged only 3,440 hours so far, accounting for less than 20 per cent of its total life. The development follows the grounding of an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner on Monday after a pilot reported a possible defect in the fuel control switch. An Air India spokesperson said that one of its pilots had reported a potential issue with the fuel control switch of a Boeing 787-8 aircraft and that the matter has been communicated to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), India's aviation regulator. The spokesperson said the airline is engaging the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) to prioritise addressing the pilot's concerns. "We are aware that one of our pilots has reported a possible defect on the fuel control switch of a Boeing 787-8 aircraft. After receiving this initial information, we have grounded the said aircraft and are involving the OEM to get the pilot's concerns checked on a priority basis. The matter has been communicated to the aviation regulator, DGCA. Air India had checked the fuel control switches on all Boeing 787 aircraft in its fleet after a directive from the DGCA, and had found no issues. At Air India, the safety of our passengers and crew remains top priority," the spokesperson said. (ANI) Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said that the India-US Trade Agreement brings tremendous opportunity to people of the country and that is the best deal India has received compared to all its neighbours. Addressing a press conference a day after the India-US trade deal was announced, Goyal said primacy has been given to India's interests. "We all know that the Prime Minister, leveraging his friendly relationship and close ties with President Trump, has finalised a trade deal with the United States of America that is the best deal India has received compared to all our neighbors, all the surrounding countries, and all the countries that compete with us. This is a great deal for all of us," he said. Goyal also said that the government intended to make a statement in the House on the deal but could not do so due to the attitude of Congress and other opposition parties. "Normally, we would have wanted to speak about this in Parliament, but we all witnessed that disgraceful scene. The way the opposition, especially the Congress party under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi and their allies the DMK, TMC, and Samajwadi Party, behaved so disgracefully in Parliament today. They even reached the Speaker's chair and insulted him. I strongly condemn the opposition and Rahul Gandhi, because of whom we have come here today to give you this information instead of speaking in Parliament," he said. Goyal had said earlier that the India-US trade deal unlocks the power of two large democracies working together for the shared prosperity of their people, and the bilateral partnership will co-create technologies and co-develop solutions. He said the trade deal unlocks unprecedented opportunities for farmers, MSMEs, entrepreneurs, and skilled workers. In a post on X, Goyal also said that the trade deal will help India get technology from the United States and accelerate India's journey towards Viksit Bharat 2047. He lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump for the trade deal. "Congratulations to Prime Minister @NarendraModi ji and President @RealDonaldTrump as well as to the people of India and the United States, on the landmark trade agreement. This reflects the power of two like-minded, fair-trading democracies working together for shared prosperity," he said. "Grateful for PM @NarendraModi ji and President @realDonaldTrump visionary and decisive leadership, and strong commitment to strengthening India-U.S. ties," he added.He said the trade deal also opens opportunities for Make in India for the world, Design in India for the world, and Innovate in India for the world."This unlocks the power of two large democracies working together for the shared prosperity of their people. Both India and US are natural allies and our partnership will co-create technologies, co-develop solutions, and work together for peace, growth, and a brighter future for India and US," Goyal said. He had said that agreement unlocks unprecedented opportunities for farmers, MSMEs, entrepreneurs, and skilled workers to Make in India for the world, Design in India for the world, and Innovate in India for the world. "It will help India get technology from the US. It is not just a trade deal - it is a historic turning point that will reshape India-U.S. relations and accelerate our journey towards Viksit Bharat 2047," he said. The trade deal with the United States comes just a week after India signed a landmark agreement with the European Union. PM Modi on Monday spoke with US President Donald Trump. He said that it was wonderful to speak with his "dear friend President Trump" today and expressed delight that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. "Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement," PM Modi said in a post on X. The Prime Minister said that when two large economies and the world's largest democracies work together, it benefits our people and unlocks immense opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation. "President Trump's leadership is vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity. India fully supports his efforts for peace. I look forward to working closely with him to take our partnership to unprecedented heights," PM Modi said. India and the European Union (EU) had on January 27 announced the conclusion of negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), an important milestone in one of India's most strategic economic partnerships. (ANI) Union Minister Chirag Paswan on Tuesday lashed out at the opposition following the suspension of eight Lok Sabha MPs, accusing them of "crossing all limits of decorum". He criticised the Leader of Opposition (LoP) Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, over his conduct in the lower house. He condemned the "reprehensible" behaviour of Congress members, including allegedly climbing onto tables, claiming the opposition has failed to respect house rules and is intentionally creating excuses to avoid parliamentary debate. "It's beyond my comprehension that you are the Leader of Opposition, and how many times do you need to be told that when the Speaker has said something, you must follow their rules? What kind of democracy are you expecting?" Paswan, president of Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), told reporters here. He alleged that Congress MPs had "crossed all limits" of acceptable conduct inside the House. "You crossed all limits of decorum in the House; the only thing left was for you to put your feet on the Speaker's chair, given the way the Congress MPs behaved. The House runs according to rules. They themselves don't want a debate. Before every session, they find or create some excuse and then disrupt the House. They are happy when the House is adjourned. They come up with a new excuse every day. Coming all the way to the Speaker's chair, climbing onto the table to reach the chair, this is reprehensible," Paswan added. Meanwhile, eight opposition members were suspended from the Lok Sabha on Tuesday for the remainder of the budget session for violating rules and "throwing papers on the chair" following uproar in the House over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's insistence on mentioning a specific reference to the 2020 standoff with China in eastern Ladakh. The House, which witnessed two adjournments earlier in the day, resumed proceedings at 3 pm. Rahul Gandhi stated that he would not quote from any magazine article or unpublished memoir of former Army Chief General MM Naravane, but would instead make remarks on Chinese actions during the Kailash Range standoff and the government's response. The government, however, maintained that Rahul Gandhi could not quote from an unpublished memoir or a magazine article based on it. The Chair directed him to resume his speech on the motion of thanks to the President's Address and adhere to the ruling already given. As Rahul Gandhi continued to press his point, the Chair called upon other members to speak on the motion of thanks. The opposition members resorted to sloganeering, which intensified after a Telugu Desam Party (TDP) member began his speech. Amid the uproar, some members were seen throwing papers, forcing the House to adjourn. When the House resumed its proceedings, BJP member Dilip Saikia, who was in the Chair, named eight opposition members. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju moved the motion for suspension of the eight members for the remainder of the budget session for "violating rules and throwing papers on the chair." The motion was adopted by the House amid protests from the opposition members. The suspended MPs include Congress members Hibi Eden, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Manickam Tagore, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Prashant Yadaorao Padole, Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy and Dean Kuriakose, along with CPI (M) MP S Venkatesan. The Lok Sabha had witnessed repeated adjournments on Monday as well over the stalemate surrounding Rahul Gandhi's attempts to make references to the magazine article. (ANI) The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to issue an order to a legal firm, Al Maree Partners, to represent Celina Jaitly's brother, Major (retd.) Vikrant Jaitly in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The law firm is ready to handle the matter free of cost. Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav issued the direction on the petition of Bollywood actor Celina Jaitly. The High Court said that if there is an impediment in issuing the order, mention it in an affidavit. The next date is February 10. Her brother has been detained in the UAE for the last 18 months. The name of the firm was suggested by her counsel, Raghav Kacker, assisted by Advocates Madhav Agrawal and Suradhish Vats. It was submitted that the legal firm is willing to represent Major (Retd.) Vikrant Jaitly is provided free of charge (pro bono). They have obtained the details of the case independently. The submissions were opposed by the counsel for the MEA. It was stated that the firm's name is included in the list of four legal firms suggested by Vikrant Jaitly. It was also stated that Vikrant Jaitly told embassy officials that the decision to engage a legal firm would be made by his wife, Charu Jaitly. Her counsel opposed and argued that the respondents are suppressing the fact that transpired in the email. He doesn't want to talk to his wife, Celina's counsel submitted. The court said that the firm is willing to represent him without any expenses. "What is the impediment if the name is suggested by his father, mother or sister?" The Delhi High Court on January 29 permitted Celina Jaitly to file an additional affidavit in response to the status report filed by the Central government. She urged the filing of an additional affidavit to place on record certain new facts in the petition concerning her brother, who is detained in the UAE. Her brother, Vikrant Jaitly, is a retired major in the Indian Army. On December 23, after a chamber hearing, the Delhi High Court issued fresh directions in the plea. Earlier, Justice Sachin Datta had noted that, in compliance with earlier orders, Major Jaitly continues to receive consular access. During the hearing, Celina Jaitly had requested that arrangements be made for the availability of a local lawyer or law firm to enable effective legal representation for her brother. Accepting the request, the Court had directed that the Indian Consulate shall provide a list of locally accredited lawyers or law firms who can represent the detained person, should he choose to avail such services. The Court had clarified that engagement of any lawyer or law firm would be subject to the detained person or his family bearing the costs, and this condition must be clearly communicated to him. Justice Datta had further observed that if any lawyer or law firm is willing to waive professional charges, the same should also be conveyed to Major Jaitly, enabling him to make an informed choice. The Court added that the specific name of the lawyer or law firm must be communicated to him. Earlier, the Delhi High Court had directed the Centre, through the Ministry of External Affairs, to facilitate communication between Celina Jaitly and her brother, who has been detained in the UAE for over a year. Jaitly had approached the Court seeking effective legal assistance, along with regular updates on her brother's welfare and legal status. The Court had previously ordered the appointment of a nodal officer and directed that regular updates be shared with the family, while also ensuring continued consular access and facilitating communication between the detainee, his sister and his wife. (ANI) Inspired by the then Chief Minister and current Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit was laid on a strong foundation in Gujarat in 2003. After the successful organisation of 10 Vibrant Summits in the state earlier, the state government has, for the first time, organised "Vibrant Gujarat Regional Conferences" ( VGRC) across four zones of Gujarat, the Chief Minister's Office said in a press release. As part of this initiative, the VGRC for the South Gujarat Zone will be organised in Surat on April 9 and 10, 2026. This zone includes the districts of Tapi, Surat, Navsari, Valsad, Dang, and Bharuch. During this two-day event, multi-dimensional programs such as seminars on various topics, B2B and B2G meetings, exhibitions, etc., will be organised. In addition, on the second day of the conference, that is, April 10, 2026, an 'MSME Conclave' has also been organised. This will include informative seminars, panel discussions, exhibitions, and vendor development programs. Furthermore, at this conclave, awards will be presented in a total of five categories, as listed below, to various micro and small units operating in the six districts included in the South Zone for outstanding performance. These include units with 51 per cent or more ownership by women entrepreneurs, first-generation entrepreneurs below the age of 35 years, scheduled caste entrepreneurs, scheduled tribe entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurs who do not fall under categories 1 to 4 mentioned above may apply under the General Category, for example, SEBC entrepreneurs, etc. In addition, MSME units that have delivered outstanding performance during the financial year 2024-25 and meet the eligibility criteria may apply for the above awards as per their respective categories. For further information in this regard, the concerned District Industries Centre should be contacted. The Industries Department of the state has appealed to the maximum number of MSME industries and entrepreneurs in South Gujarat to participate in this program. (ANI) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Dilip Saikia on Tuesday accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of misleading the Lok Sabha by quoting unauthenticated documents and defended the suspension of eight Opposition MPs for "unruly behaviour" and disrespecting the Chair during proceedings. Speaking to ANI, Saikia said, "Rahul Gandhi just wanted to mislead the House and the people of the country. He couldn't even authenticate if it was a valid document that he was quoting in the House. Today, the way some Congress MPs behaved was unruly. They insulted the Chair, and throwing papers at the Chair is not right. Under Rule 3742, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju moved a motion, and the Speaker of the House accepted the motion and suspended 8 MPs for this Session, 7 from Congress and 1 from CPI(M)..." Meanwhile, eight opposition members were suspended from the Lok Sabha on Tuesday for the remainder of the budget session for violating rules and "throwing papers on the chair" following uproar in the House over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's insistence on mentioning a specific reference to the 2020 standoff with China in eastern Ladakh. The House, which witnessed two adjournments earlier in the day, resumed proceedings at 3 pm. Rahul Gandhi stated that he would not quote from any magazine article or unpublished memoir of former Army Chief General MM Naravane, but would instead make remarks on Chinese actions during the Kailash Range standoff and the government's response. The government, however, maintained that Rahul Gandhi could not quote from an unpublished memoir or a magazine article based on it. The Chair directed him to resume his speech on the motion of thanks to the President's Address and adhere to the ruling already given. As Rahul Gandhi continued to press his point, the Chair called upon other members to speak on the motion of thanks. Opposition members resorted to sloganeering, which intensified after a Telugu Desam Party (TDP) member began his speech. Amid the uproar, some members were seen throwing papers, forcing the House to be adjourned. When the House resumed its proceedings, BJP member Dilip Saikia, who was in the Chair, named eight opposition members. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju moved the motion for suspension of the eight members for the remainder of the budget session for "violating rules and throwing papers on the chair." The motion was adopted by the House amid protests from the opposition members. The suspended MPs include Congress members Hibi Eden, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Manickam Tagore, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Prashant Yadaorao Padole, Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy and Dean Kuriakose, along with CPI (M) MP S. Venkatesan. The Lok Sabha had witnessed repeated adjournments on Monday as well over the stalemate surrounding Rahul Gandhi's attempts to make references to the magazine article. (ANI) According to the release, the successful demonstration places India in an elite league of nations with this technology, enabling the development of long-range air-to-air missiles that provide a tactical edge over adversaries. All subsystems, including the Nozzle-less Booster, Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet motor, and Fuel Flow Controller, performed as expected after being initially propelled by a ground booster motor to the desired Mach Number. The system's performance was confirmed by flight data captured by multiple tracking instruments deployed by ITR, Chandipur, along the coast of the Bay of Bengal. The launch was monitored by senior scientists from various DRDO laboratories, including the Defence Research & Development Laboratory, the High Energy Materials Research Laboratory, the Research Centre Imarat, and the ITR. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh commended DRDO and industry for the successful demonstration of SFDR technology. Secretary, Department of Defence R&D & Chairman DRDO, Dr Samir V Kamat, congratulated all the teams involved in the successful flight test. (ANI) Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Tuesday questioned the recent India-US trade agreement, asking why announcements regarding the deal were being made by the United States instead of India. Speaking to the media here on Tuesday, Pilot said, "Why does the US make announcements regarding trade deals between India and the US? What is the need to celebrate if the tariffs have been reduced to 18 per cent? It seems that the agreement was made under pressure from the US." In a social media post today, US President Donald Trump stated that both countries agreed to a trade deal under which the US will charge a reduced Reciprocal Tariff, lowering it from 25 per cent to 18 per cent. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also, in a social media post, announced that Made in India products will now have a reduced US tariff of 18% and extended "big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement." Earlier, the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, on Tuesday, accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "selling out" Indian farmers under US pressure. Speaking to the reporters outside the parliament, Rahul Gandhi said, "Modi ji is rattled. The (US-India) trade deal, which was stalled for the past few months, was signed by Narendra Modi last night. There is extreme pressure on him. Narendra Modi ji's image can get damaged. The main thing is that our PM is compromised. The public needs to think about this. For the first time, the LoP was not allowed to speak on the President's speech." The opposition expressed concerns over the potential impact of the deal on Indian agriculture and dairy farmers, warning of significant losses. While the government maintained that the agreement would boost exports and economic growth, Congress leaders demanded greater transparency and scrutiny. "Narendra Modi ji has sold your hard work in this trade deal because he is compromised. He has sold the country. Narendra Modi ji is scared because those who shaped his image are now breaking this image," he added. When asked why the LoP believe PM Modi is "compromised," Rahul Gandhi cited the alleged case against the Chairman of the Adani Group, Gautam Adani, in the US and the Epstein files. "There is a case on Adani ji in the US; it is actually a case on Modi ji. The Epstein Files contain even more that the US has not yet released. There is pressure due to that as well. These are the two pressure points. The country should understand this," he said. (ANI) The identity of a Chinese national arrested for an illegal stay in Himachal Pradesh was confirmed by local authorities on Tuesday as 60-year-old Lou Wennian. The individual was taken into custody in McLeodganj after police discovered he had been residing in the Kangra district for 130 days without the required legal documentation. According to official records, the resident of Sichuan province had been living in the area since late September 2025. Additional SP Bir Bahadur, while speaking to ANI, said, "As per the report, a case was registered on February 2 in the McLeodganj police station against a Chinese national, Lou Wennian (60). During the enquiry, it was found that Lou Wennian stayed in McLeodganj, Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh, from September 26, 2025, to February 2, 2026, for about 130 days without a valid Indian visa, which attracts the provisions of Section 14 of the Foreigners Act, 1946. The Central investigation agencies have also been informed, and they will also investigate the matter." He further added, "As per the passport details, his name was found as Lou Wennian, date of birth May 10, 1965, place of birth Sichuan, Place of Issue Yunnan, Republic of China, Passport No. CHN EG4189399. A Government of Nepal Tourist Visa valid from June 29, 2025, to September 26, 2026 (90 days) was found endorsed in the passport." Earlier in the day, Himachal Pradesh Police detained a Chinese national in McLeodganj who was residing there without valid documents, an Additional Superintendent of Police (Addl SP) said. According to police, the Chinese national did not carry a valid visa and entered India via Nepal. Additional SP Bir Bahadur told ANI, "Under the limits of McLeodganj Police Station, a Chinese national was detained, who was staying here illegally. The security branch responded immediately after receiving the information and detained him. No valid visa was found upon checking his documents. A case was registered under the Foreigners Act, 1946, and he was detained." The foreign national arrived in India about five months ago and has been staying in McLeodganj for the past three months. "He came to India five months ago, and for the last three months, he was residing in McLeodganj. Police are investigating the case and will take action after details are revealed. Upon checking his passport, it was known that he had been to nine to ten countries and entered India via Nepal. Central agencies were informed after filing an FIR. He will be brought before the court," the police official said. According to the police, an FIR was registered on February 2 at the McLeodganj police station against the Chinese national under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act, 1946. A Government of Nepal Tourist Visa valid from June 29, 2025, to September 26, 2025 (90 days) was found endorsed in the passport. (ANI) Benghazi, Libya (PANA) - A joint security plan was launched on Tuesday, targeting the hiding places and gatherings of illegal migrants in Sebha, 800 km south of Tripoli, announced the presidency of the Body for Combating Illegal Immigration Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has called upon district collectors to undertake advance planning of water conservation works well before the upcoming monsoon, so as to ensure maximum harvesting and storage of rainwater and to maintain Gujarat's leading position in the field of water conservation, the Chief Minister's Office said in a press release. The Chief Minister made this appeal during a video conference jointly organised by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India, and the State Government to conduct a holistic review of the implementation of the Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari 2.0 campaign in the state. Union Minister for Jal Shakti C R Patil and the Department Secretary Kantha Rao, along with other central government officials, joined the review meeting from Delhi, while Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Chief Secretary M K Das, and senior secretaries participated from Gandhinagar. District collectors from various districts, including presentations by the collectors of Banaskantha, Kutch, and Rajkot districts, provided detailed information during the video conference on the progress of the Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari 2.0 campaign in their respective areas as well as future plans. The Chief Minister said that the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi provides clear guidance to address future challenges and find effective solutions. He added that the focus is on ensuring that Gujarat derives maximum benefit from the nationwide Catch the Rain campaign and the national movement for water conservation launched by the Prime Minister. Chief Minister urged district collectors to plan rainwater harvesting and storage works with a long-term vision, saying these public welfare efforts bring both a sense of duty fulfilled and personal satisfaction. He advocated creating an environment where healthy competition takes place among districts in implementing Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari campaign works, and where districts with comparatively fewer water conservation activities are motivated to undertake more such works. He further added that the state government has allocated a grant of Rs 50 lakh to each MLA for water conservation and water storage works, and it should be ensured that this grant is utilised for water conservation projects in the districts. The Chief Minister urged in the meeting that extensive water conservation works should be undertaken expeditiously to ensure full utilisation of the Rs 553 crore grant assistance allocated to the state by the central government under the Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari scheme by March 2026. Union Minister for Jal Shakti C R Patil said that the work done by Gujarat in the field of water conservation and water storage has become a model for the entire country. He also stated that the decision for the central government to bear 90 per cent of the cost for recharging old borewells has resulted in significant benefits, and emphasised the need to prepare a list of NGOs and motivate them to be more actively involved in water conservation works. He said that under the Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G), to be implemented under the guidance of the Prime Minister, a generous provision has been made allowing 40 per cent of the scheme's funds to be used for water conservation and water storage work. Providing guidance on timely and planned utilisation of funds under this scheme, he stated that by constructing water structures using scientific methods and progressively enhancing water conservation and storage capacity, the Prime Minister's resolve of water security and water self-reliance can be achieved. While outlining the objective of constructing more than ten crore water harvesting structures nationwide by May 31, 2026, under the Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari 2.0 campaign this year, he suggested that the maximum water conservation works in Gujarat should be completed before the upcoming monsoon. Under the Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari 1 campaign, a total of 1,33,522 water conservation works have been completed in Gujarat. The meeting also reviewed the significant benefits achieved in groundwater recharge through water conservation measures, including rainwater harvesting, recharge tubewells, deepening ponds, farm ponds, filter wells, and similar initiatives. In this review meeting, Chief Secretary M K Das advised all district collectors to work in mission mode to ensure the bright success of the Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari 2.0 campaign. The review meeting was also attended by Minister of State for Water Supply Ishwarsinh Patel, Principal Secretary Dhananjay Dwivedi, Additional Principal Secretary to the CM Dr Vikrant Pandey, Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar, and Water Resources Secretary P C Vyas. (ANI) "India's agricultural sensitivities have been fully protected" in the India-US trade deal, which will reduce American tariffs on Indian goods to 18%, a senior government official told ANI on Tuesday. The official's remarks have come amid speculation about agricultural market access concessions that India may have offered to secure the tariff reduction. The government has adopted an approach to agricultural imports that ensures protection for sensitive farm products while maintaining consistency with India's established Free Trade Agreement (FTA) template. Only the least sensitive agricultural products--those India routinely offers to all FTA partners, including in the UK FTA--will receive immediate zero-duty access. Reinforcing India's strong position in agricultural trade, the official pointed out that India enjoys a substantial surplus of USD 1.3 billion in agricultural trade with the United States. India exports USD 3.4 billion worth of agricultural products to the US annually, while importing only USD 2.1 billion, demonstrating the competitiveness of Indian agriculture in the American market. "This deal will only strengthen our agricultural export position while protecting our sensitive sectors," the official added. While protecting agricultural sensitivities, India has secured significant market access for its employment-intensive export sectors that were facing punitive 50% tariffs. The textile and apparel industry, which ships over USD 10 billion worth of products to the US annually, will benefit from the reduced 18 per cent tariff. Other labour-intensive sectors including leather and footwear, marine products, chemicals, plastics and rubber, home decor, carpets, machinery, and certain agricultural export products will also gain substantially. "These products, which are employment-intensive and labour-intensive, were a key concern for us. They are now going to get the best rates," the official said. The agreement provides India with a strategic edge over key competitors including Vietnam, Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh, and Cambodia, all of which face much higher US tariffs. "India will have a clear advantage with lower tariffs compared to our competitor countries," the official noted, adding that this differential treatment would boost India's manufacturing competitiveness and potentially attract investment away from higher-tariff jurisdictions. In addition to the general tariff reduction, the US has completely withdrawn the 25% tariff it had imposed on India's crude oil purchases from Russia. Officials highlighted that the announcement's timing is particularly favorable. Despite earlier tariff threats, Indian exports had remained stable due to existing contracts, replacement orders, and inventory building. "With this announcement, all these contracts will now get a new lease of life," a source said, suggesting sustained and potentially expanded export momentum. India has agreed to reduce automobile duties, but only for higher-end vehicles, thereby protecting the domestic automobile manufacturing sector while catering to the premium car market. The trade understanding includes India's commitment to purchase USD 500 billion worth of American products over five years, concentrated in oil and LNG, aircraft and aircraft parts, precious metals and diamonds, and high-tech products including semiconductor chips, data centers, and servers. While an understanding has been reached, the offcial clarified that the process will unfold in phases. A joint statement will first outline the contours of the agreement, capturing the understanding on all key aspects. "The joint statement will be followed by an exhaustive legal agreement to give all the details pertaining to the trade agreement," the official explained. "This will culminate in the signing of the first phase of the trade deal." Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, who addressed a press conference on Tuesday, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always championed the agriculture and dairy sectors, safeguarding their interests and noted the sensitive factors of India's economy, particularly agriculture and dairy, have been protected in the India-US trade deal. He said that MSMEs, the country's engineering sector and sectors such as textiles, gems and jewelry, leather goods and marine goods will all get numerous opportunities. The Minister said that sensitive factors of India's economy, particularly agriculture and dairy, have been protected in the trade deal. "PM Modi has always championed both the agriculture and dairy sectors, safeguarding their interests and working tirelessly to ensure a bright future and ample opportunities for the people in this sector. I am pleased that the entire country understands and appreciates this, and it resonates deeply with them. The sensitive factors of India's economy, particularly agriculture and dairy, have been protected," he said. "We have seen reports from across the country; there is widespread enthusiasm. All those involved in India's exports, those connected to India's technology sector, those who want to bring modern technology to India or become part of global supply chains and global value chains, those who want to establish global capability centers, and those who want to invest in various sectors, especially labor-intensive ones that provide employment to millions of people - all are excited by this," he added. (ANI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday challenged the maintainability of the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution in the Supreme Court, arguing that the apex court's writ jurisdiction applies only to the enforcement of fundamental rights and not to alleged statutory violations or disputes involving contested facts. In her counter response to ED's plea alleging obstruction by the West Bengal government and herself of its search operation at the Kolkata office of party-linked political consultancy firm I-PAC, the Chief Minister has contended that the agency is not entitled to relief as it failed to invoke alternate remedies provided under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). "The Petitioners ED are not entitled to any relief on account of not availing of the alternate statutory remedy. It is a matter of record that the Petitioners have not followed the procedure under S 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act [PMLA]. None of the Petitioners has sought to have an FIR registered in the State of West Bengal or to approach the jurisdictional Magistrate, who is a judicial officer with wide powers to ensure that a proper investigation is conducted. In these circumstances, it is settled law that a CBI investigation cannot be granted, that too on the Petitioners' ipse dixit. [see Sakiri Vasu v. State of UP, (2008) 2 SCC 409]", the response reads. Her response pointed out that the ED did not follow the procedure under Section 66(2) of the PMLA, did not seek registration of an FIR in West Bengal and did not approach the jurisdictional Magistrate. The Chief Minister has also accused the ED of forum shopping, stating that the latter had filed an identical petition before the Calcutta High Court on January 9, 2026, prior to moving the Supreme Court on January 12. While condemning the disturbance during the High Court proceedings as unfortunate, she said subsequent hearings proceeded smoothly, contradicting the ED's claim that the proceedings had become ineffective. Additionally, the Chief Minister has accused the ED of stealing confidential data of the Trinamool Congress under the pretext of search raids at the office of party-linked consultancy firm I-PAC in Kolkata. Responding to the ED's plea alleging obstruction during searches linked to an alleged coal scam under the PMLA, Banerjee said the agency failed to place any material justifying the issuance of search warrants under Section 17 of the PMLA. She said the ED did not produce any audio or video recording of the searches, as mandated under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, read with Section 65 of the PMLA, raising a strong presumption that the searches were conducted for illegal purposes, including theft of confidential political data. "The Petitioners (ED) stand accused of committing a very serious illegality, namely, theft of the confidential data belonging to the political party (AITC) of which the Answering Respondent (Banerjee) is the Chairperson, by trespassing on the office of a contractor of the party for more than 5 years, under the pretext of conducting a search. This is further reinforced by the fact that the ED has not produced any audio/video recording of the search as part of the present petition, despite being mandated to maintain the same in terms of S 105 The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) r/w S. 65 PMLA. This raises a strong presumption that the search was a clandestine search, being undertaken for illegal purposes, namely, theft of confidential political data," the response filed by CM Banerjee reads. "It contends that an honest disclosure by the agency to the Supreme Court would show the it's searches were merely a pretext to unlawfully access AITC's confidential party property and have no connection to any offence committed by respondents I-PAC, under the PMLA", the Chief Minister argues. Further, the counter-reply states that the case involves disputed facts requiring detailed evidence and trial, with the ED alleging obstruction of its searches and the West Bengal government claiming the searches were a pretext to illegally steal its party, AITC's confidential political data. In her response, the Chief Minister has categorically denied all allegations made by the ED, asserting that she is not a party to any cognisable offence warranting registration of an FIR. She said there is "absolutely no material to show any wrongdoing" by her or state police officials, adding that the ED's allegations are "reckless" and not supported even by its own panchnamas. She maintained that the ED's investigation into other entities, including I-PAC, cannot be used "as a pretext to gain access to and remove the confidential and proprietary data of AITC". Banerjee denied allegations of intimidating or threatening ED officers, snatching files or electronic evidence, or obstructing the search in any manner. According to her, she merely "politely requested" ED officials to allow retrieval of the party's confidential data and the devices and files in which it was stored, a request to which the agency did not object. She said that after retrieving some devices and physical files, she left the premises, and the search continued. Chief Minister Banerjee also rejected allegations of criminal trespass, theft, wrongful restraint, or forcibly taking away documents or digital devices, including claims that she left with "a trunk load of files." She denied misusing state machinery or intimidating investigating officers, calling the ED's case "wildly exaggerated" and unsupported by any evidence, including the agency's own records. The Supreme Court was scheduled to hear the said dispute today. However, the matter has now been adjourned to February 10 (next Tuesday). On Feb 10, the Court will hear ED's plea against the alleged obstruction and interference of it's search raid at the premises of Trinamool Congress linked political consultancy firm I-PAC in Kolkata The Court had earlier issued notice to the West Bengal Chief Minister (CM) Mamta Banerjee and other officials of the State administration, including senior police officials, seeking response on ED's plea. The Court had also stayed the FIR filed by the West Bengal police against ED officials who had entered the I-PAC to undertake the investigation. The West Bengal government was also directed to preserve the CCTV cameras at I-PAC and other cameras containing the footage of nearby areas. Dismissing the contentions raised by the West Bengal government challenging the maintainability of ED's plea in the apex court and seeking that the dispute could be taken up well before the Calcutta High Court, the apex court had stated that the issue involved larger constitutional questions that needed to be examined by it. (ANI) YSR Congress Party leaders strongly condemned the recent attacks on the houses of former ministers Ambati Rambabu and Jogi Ramesh in Ibrahimpatnam, calling them deliberate, politically motivated acts meant to silence criticism. YSRCP PAC member and former minister Anil Kumar Yadav said, "Only cowards target the homes and families of political opponents instead of answering criticism." He stated that the attacks were carried out because the ruling leadership could not respond to questions about the Tirumala laddu controversy and to demands for an apology, following the SIT findings reportedly ruling out animal fat in ghee. He stated that the government was encouraging a "toxic culture" of violence, intimidation of families, and attempts to suppress dissent, warning that such actions would have consequences and insisting that YSRCP would not be intimidated. Former minister Perni Nani said that the attacks on Ambati Rambabu and Jogi Ramesh were carried out intentionally under the direction of the top leadership, with hired groups and antisocial elements, including those skilled in using petrol bombs. He claimed hundreds participated in the attacks in the presence of police and accused sections of the police of failing to control mobs or apply serious legal sections despite arson and violence. He questioned why strong charges were not invoked, why forensic and clue teams were not immediately deployed, and why those who publicly claimed responsibility on social media were not promptly arrested. Perni Nani said if former ministers face such threats, the safety of ordinary citizens is at risk. Both leaders refer that breakdown of law and order in the state, said attacks were being used to divert attention from governance failures, and asserted that YSRCP leaders would continue to question the government without fear. They cautioned that no government can run forever by misusing the police and that democratic accountability would ultimately prevail. (ANI) Akasa Air, India's fastest-growing airline, commenced operations from Dibrugarh, further strengthening its presence in Assam. The inaugural flight on Tuesday departed from Dibrugarh Airport at 1115 hrs and arrived at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru at 1625 hrs.' The new route is designed to improve regional accessibility and support growing demand for trade, commerce, tourism, and business travel. As per the release, Akasa Air will operate three weekly direct flights between Dibrugarh and Bagdogra, along with through flights between Dibrugarh and Bengaluru via Bagdogra, with no change of aircraft required at Bagdogra, offering passengers a seamless travel experience. With this addition, Akasa Air now operates 32 weekly departures from Assam, connecting the state with three major metros - Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata, bolstering the airline's domestic footprint and enhancing inter- and intra-regional accessibility. To mark the launch, an event was held at Dibrugarh Airport, where a ceremonial lamp was lit in the presence of representatives from Akasa Air and Dibrugarh Airport. A special boarding pass was also presented to the first passenger of the inaugural flight. On Thursday, Akasa Air announced the induction of its 32nd aircraft, marking another milestone in the airline's rapid growth and further strengthening its position in India's aviation sector. The newly inducted Boeing 737 MAX 8-200 aircraft, bearing registration number VT-YBN, arrived at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru on January 29, 2026. The delivery flight departed from Seattle, United States, with stopovers at Keflavik, Iceland, and Larnaca, Cyprus, before concluding its final leg to India. "With the addition of its 32nd aircraft in under three and a half years of operations, Akasa Air is setting new benchmarks for disciplined and viable growth in Indian aviation. Akasa Air continues to scale with consistency and a clear long-term vision, underscoring its readiness to meet the evolving demands of a dynamic travel landscape," read the official statement by Akasa Air. Akasa Air stated that since the start of its operations, it has followed a structured approach to growth, expanding both its domestic and international networks while maintaining high standards of reliability and customer experience. The airline has placed a firm order for 226 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, with 194 additional aircraft scheduled for delivery over the next six years. (ANI) YSR Congress Party MP M Gurumoorthy said the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) was once again dragging Lord Venkateswara into political controversy to serve its own interests, even after the issue was clearly settled by the Special Investigation Team (SIT). He said that, as per the directions of the Supreme Court, a SIT was constituted under the CBI, which categorically concluded that no animal fat was used in the Tirupati laddu. However, he said the TDP leadership could not accept this finding because it contradicted their false allegations. The MP said it was unfortunate that the TDP decided to push for another enquiry committee on the pretext that the report had not come as expected. He alleged that this move was part of the so-called "Red Book" politics and questioned what the TDP hoped to achieve by repeatedly reopening a settled matter. He further said that an officer, Anil Kumar Singhal, was transferred only because the report did not suit the ruling party. Gurumoorthy urged the TDP to put an end to this political drama and focus instead on the development of the state. Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu slammed the YSRCP over the alleged Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) laddu preparation controversy, saying his allegations of the use of adulterated ghee were backed by a National Dairy Development Board report. Chandrababu Naidu cornered the opposition, saying they are "attacking him" to cover up the laddu controversy. "A report has come regarding the Tirumala laddu controversy. We are taking steps to protect the sanctity of Tirumala. The NDDRB report has arrived. It stated that the laddu was adulterated. Even after this, a SIT was formed to submit another report, and they have reached the point of making allegations against me again," he said. "Although I could enter through the Maha Dwaram, I go for the darshan of the Lord simply as a common devotee. They committed wrongdoing and a great sin, and now they are attacking me again to cover it up. Even Lord Sri Venkateswara is being politicised," he added. This comes after YSRCP leaders rejected the allegations, asserting that claims of animal fat being used were baseless and politically motivated. (ANI) The standoff between the opposition and government in Lok Sahha escalated today after eight opposition MPs were suspended for "unruly behaviour" and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused the government of not allowing him to proceed with his speech on the motion of thanks to the President's address. Eight opposition members were suspended from Lok Sabha for the remainder of the budget session for violating rules and "throwing papers on the chair" following uproar in the House over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's insistence on mentioning a specific reference about the border tensions with China in eastern Ladakh in 2020. The House, which witnessed two adjournments earlier in the day, resumed proceedings at 3 pm and Rahul Gandhi, who is Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, said that he would not refer to any magazine article about former Army Chief Gen MM Naravane's memoirs but briefly speak about Chinese action during the Kailash Range standoff. The government has said that Rahul Gandhi cannot quote from an unpublished memoir or a magazine article based on it. TDP MP, Krishna Prasad Tenneti, who was in the Chair asked Rahul Gandhi to resume his speech on the motion of thanks to the President's Address and follow the ruling already given by Speaker Om Birla. As Rahul Gandhi insisted on making his intended remarks, the Chair called other members to speak ion he motion of thanks to the President's Address. Congress and opposition members resorted to sloganeering, which intensified after a TDP member started making his speech.Amid uproar, some members were seen throwing papers. The House was adjourned till 3 pm. When the House resumed its proceedings, BJP member Dilip Saikia, who was in the Chair, named eight opposition members. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju moved the motion for suspension of the eight members for the remainder of the budget session for "violating rules and throwing papers on the chair" The motion was adopted by the House amid protests from the opposition members. The opposition MPs who have been suspended for the remainder of the session are Congress members Hibi Eden, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Manickam Tagore, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Prashant Yadaorao Padole, Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy, and Dean Kuriakose, and CPI-M member S. Venkatesan. Rahul Gandhi also wrote to Speaker Om Birla, raising concerns over "being prevented from speaking" on matters of national security during the discussion on Motion of Thanks to the President's Address. In his letter, he stated that he had followed parliamentary convention by authenticating a document he intended to cite, but despite fulfilling this requirement, he was not permitted to quote it in the lower house of Parliament. Congress MP Hibi Eden said later that eight opposition MPs have been suspended, but the party will continue its protest both inside and outside Parliament. Congress MP Raja Warring said Rahul Gandhi's speech was interrupted when he referred to Prime Minister, and asked what fear the government has. Another party MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla said Rahul Gandhi expressed his worry regarding the security of the nation..."They never allow him to speak...We have put the entire nation on lease just to appease Trump," he alleged. BJP MP Biplab Kumar Deb accused Rahul Gandhi of lacking engagement with the people. "He doesn't do any work for the public. He doesn't go among the people, so what will he do?... He's trying to grab some attention...The country's opposition leader has a certain weight, a certain calibre, and a certain tradition. That's a loss for us, and a loss for the country," he said. BJP MP Madan Rathore also slammed Rahul Gandhi. "Rahul Gandhi has been in the Lok Sabha for such a long time. He knows that there are rules and procedures for speaking on any subject. He should speak according to the rules; saying anything at any time inside the House is not right. This only creates disorder...Whenever there is a serious discussion or deliberation on an important issue in the Lok Sabha, he leaves the country and makes a statement that negatively impacts India's security. This is not right. He should be mindful of this. He is a citizen of this country. He should keep the interests of this country in mind," he said. Lok Sabha had witnessed adjournments on Monday also after BJP members strongly objected to Rahul Gandhi talking about the contents of unpublished book of former Army chief MM Naravane. Rajya Sabha also has taken up discussion on motion of thanks to the President's Address. (ANI) The Cuban government has firmly denied allegations that it poses a security threat to the United States, even as tensions escalate between Havana and Washington over broader geopolitical and economic disputes. In a statement released on Monday (local time), Cuba's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed its readiness to engage in dialogue and cooperation with the US on issues ranging from counterterrorism to regional security, a sharp contrast to the harsh accusations coming from the White House. In its declaration, Cuban officials made clear: "The Cuban people and the American people benefit from constructive engagement, lawful cooperation, and peaceful coexistence," underscoring a willingness to pursue "a respectful and reciprocal dialogue ... based on mutual interest and international law." The dispute has intensified in the wake of the controversial US military operation in Venezuela last month that resulted in the capture of President Nicolas Maduro. Washington's actions there have strained relations throughout the Caribbean and Latin America, with Havana bearing the brunt of policy shifts that have cut off its primary source of energy. Venezuela, long Cuba's main oil supplier, has seen shipments all but halted since the overthrow of Maduro, fueling Havana's growing economic hardship. US President Donald Trump, defending his administration's stance, said that "Cuba is a failing nation for a long time. But now it doesn't have Venezuela to prop it up," reflecting Washington's narrative that the Caribbean island poses a threat in its current state. Beyond oil politics, the Trump administration has gone further, releasing a memorandum labelling the Cuban government an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to US national security. That document accused Havana of alignment with "malign actors", including strategic rivals such as China and Russia, and of exporting "communist ideas, policies, and practices" that threaten US interests in the Western Hemisphere. Cuba's foreign ministry pushed back against these claims, declaring unequivocally that the island "does not harbor, support, finance, or permit terrorist or extremist organisations." The government also reiterated that it does not host foreign military or intelligence bases, a pointed rebuttal to US assertions of Havana's involvement in regional destabilisation. This diplomatic confrontation comes as Washington also pressures regional players to limit support for Cuba. Recent moves include efforts to persuade Mexico to curb oil shipments to the island, heightening concerns that the Caribbean nation could confront a full energy blockade. Amid these tensions, voices outside government have called for restraint. Pope Leo urged both countries to engage in "sincere and effective dialogue", warning that escalation benefits no one and could increase suffering for the Cuban people. For now, Havana maintains that its long-held principles of sovereignty and peaceful coexistence remain unchanged, even as it navigates one of the most fraught chapters of US-Cuba relations in decades. (ANI) US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor on Monday welcomed US President Donald Trump's claims regarding a trade deal with India, where Washington reduced the reciprocal tariff from 25 per cent to 18 per cent. In a post on X, following Trump's claims of a trade deal with New Delhi announced in a post on Truth Social, the US Ambassador said that the bilateral relationship between the two nations has "limitless potential". Gor further said that Trump shares a close personal rapport with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, noting that the US President "genuinely considers" the Prime Minister a "great friend". "As I have said many times, President Trump genuinely considers Prime Minister Modi a great friend! Thrilled by the news of the trade deal this evening. The relationship between the United States and India has LIMITLESS POTENTIAL!" Gor wrote in his post. The remarks come after Trump claimed that the United States and India "have agreed to a trade deal", with Washington reducing the reciprocal tariff from 25 per cent to 18 per cent "out of friendship and respect" for PM Modi. He further claimed that the deal will come "effective immediately". In his Truth Social post, Trump referred to his conversation with PM Modi earlier in the day, noting that the Prime Minister was one of his closest friends and a powerful, respected leader of India. The US President also claimed PM Modi had agreed to "stop buying Russian oil" and to buy much more from the US However, the Indian government has not made any announcement about the trade deal with the US. Trump further claimed that India would reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers against the US. "It was an Honor to speak with Prime Minister Modi, of India, this morning. He is one of my greatest friends and, a Powerful and Respected Leader of his Country. We spoke about many things, including Trade, and ending the War with Russia and Ukraine. He agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela. This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week! Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%. They will likewise move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO," Trump's post read. "The Prime Minister also committed to "BUY AMERICAN," at a much higher level, in addition to over $500 BILLION DOLLARS of U.S. Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal, and many other products. Our amazing relationship with India will be even stronger going forward. Prime Minister Modi and I are two people that GET THINGS DONE, something that cannot be said for most. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" he added. Following Trump's claims, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a post on X, said that it was wonderful to speak with his "dear friend President Trump" and expressed delight that "Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%". "Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement," PM Modi wrote in a post on X. The Prime Minister also said that cooperation between the two major economies and the world's largest democracies serves the interests of their people and opens up vast opportunities for mutually beneficial collaboration. "When two large economies and the world's largest democracies work together, it benefits our people and unlocks immense opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation. President Trump's leadership is vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity. India fully supports his efforts for peace. I look forward to working closely with him to take our partnership to unprecedented heights," the Prime Minister added. (ANI) Member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Economic Advisory Council, Sanjeev Sanyal, in a post on X on Monday, stated that "Duniya jhukti hai, jhukaney wala chahiye" following the announcement of the India-US trade deal, where Washington reduced the tariffs on India to 18 per cent. Sanyal's remark, which translates to "The world bends, but one must be willing to bend," comes moments after US President Donald Trump said that the US and India "have agreed to a trade deal" with Washington reducing the reciprocal tariff from 25 per cent to 18 per cent, "out of friendship and respect" for PM Modi. In his Truth Social post, Trump referred to his conversation with PM Modi earlier in the day, noting that the Prime Minister is one of his closest friends and a powerful, respected leader of India. The US President also claimed that PM Modi had agreed to "stop buying Russian oil" and to buy much more from the US. Trump further noted that India would reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers against the US. "It was an Honor to speak with Prime Minister Modi, of India, this morning. He is one of my greatest friends and, a Powerful and Respected Leader of his Country. We spoke about many things, including Trade, and ending the War with Russia and Ukraine. He agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela. This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week! Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%. They will likewise move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO," Trump's post read. Following Trump's post, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a post on X, said that it was wonderful to speak with his "dear friend President Trump" and expressed delight that "Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%". "Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement," PM Modi wrote in a post on X. Union Minister for Railways and Information & Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw also lauded the India-US trade deal, describing it as a "win-win deal" that will benefit citizens and industries of both countries. "US and India are the world's largest democracies. Both countries are natural allies. Together, India and US have huge potential to work for peace and development. US and India have complementary strengths. Both countries can co-create technologies and co-develop solutions that will benefit the world. Trade deal between US and India will lead to a brighter future for both countries. India-US Trade deal is a win-win deal. Citizens and industries of both countries will benefit greatly from this deal," the Union Minister stated in a post on X. India now faces lower tariffs than its regional export competitors in South and Southeast Asia. With the new tariff structure, India now has a clear advantage over competing export economies in the region, with lower tariff rates compared to Indonesia at 19 per cent and Bangladesh and Vietnam with 20 per cent each. Compared to China, India now enjoys significantly lower tariffs, with tariffs levied on Beijing at 34 per cent. India also enjoys a slight edge over Pakistan, with tariffs on Islamabad currently levied at 19 per cent. (ANI) 0Port Sudan, Sudan (PANA) - The Sudanese army on Tuesday dealt a serious blow to the Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces militias, as it advanced in South kordufan region, overtaking the two major towns of Kadugli and Diling, which were under rebel control Senior Advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Richard Rossow lauded the calmness with which India approached the US tariffs and kept its stance that agriculture is a no-go. Rossow, in a conversation with ANI, highlighted how the US wanted to repair the trade deficit with India, and despite warm relations, there was a bit of ruffle. He said, "First, the US wanted India to commit to buying a certain percentage of American goods to help repair the trade deficit, which is currently about two to one in deficit with India. The second thing was agricultural market access. For India, certain staple grains are a no-go... For the US, the question was whether this was a negotiating tactic or a real red line. We will see that staple grains grown in India were likely excluded from the market..." Rossow added that when the US hit India with tariffs, India too retaliated with its own tariffs in US President Donald Trump's last term. He said, "At the end of the day, India approached the US pressure with a calm head. The last time President Trump was in office, there was a medium-intensity trade war. The US hit India with tariffs on steel and aluminium, revoked India's trade preferences under the GSP program, and India retaliated with its own tariffs. Despite a warm relationship between the leaders, there was significant conflict on both sides," he said. Rossow said that this time India did not escalate the situation. "This time, India didn't fight back. They put their head down, kept negotiating, and tried to comply. So, first and foremost, credit goes to India for choosing not to escalate the situation. A substantial change in recent months was President Trump nominating his personal advisor, Sergio Gor, as ambassador to India," he said. Rossow said that from the looks of it, India and the US agreed for the latter to get a larger market access. He said, "It looks like both sides have agreed for the US to get better market access into India, including dropping non-tariff barriers, as President Trump mentioned, and also removing most of the tariffs that the US had placed on India... What we don't know is what other things were included. There's also the agreement that India will buy USD 500 billion worth of American goods, but we don't know the details of that or the time frame." On Indian purchase of Russian oil, Rossow said that previously when the US pressured India about its purchases from Venezuela and Iran, India complied only because it presented a real threat. He said, "The previous times the US pressured India about where it was buying hydrocarbons, most notably from Venezuela and Iran, India complied when the US presented a real threat... From India's perspective, the US is by far its most important export market in both goods and services... India got tariffs reduced in exchange for market access, which India has done with other trade partners. It's a deal both leaders thought was worth finalising." The remarks came following the announcement of the US-India trade deal, in which Washington reduced the tariffs on India to 18 per cent. (ANI) Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) detected two sorties of Chinese military aircraft and six Chinese naval vessels around its territorial waters as of 6am (local time) on Tuesday. Both sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's northern and southwestern ADIZ. In a post on X, the MND said, "2 sorties of PLA aircraft and 6 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 2 out of 2 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's northern and southwestern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded." https://x.com/MoNDefense/status/2018489614097436848?s=20 Earlier on Monday, the MND detected six PLAN vessels as of 6am (local time). In a post on X, the MND said, "6 PLAN vessel operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. ROC Armed Forces have monitored the situation and responded. Illustration of flight path is not provided due to no PLA aircraft operating around Taiwan were detected during this timeframe." https://x.com/MoNDefense/status/2018127229910475077?s=20 Meanwhile, South Korea and Japan have agreed to resume their bilateral naval search-and-rescue exercise for the first time in nine years as part of efforts to promote military exchange, Seoul's defence ministry said, according to the country's state media. The meeting between the two US allies comes amid growing security threats from China and North Korea. Ties between Tokyo and Beijing had also deteriorated since late last year following Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks in which she suggested that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could be considered a "survival-threatening situation", which would permit Japan to take military action. Beijing considers Taiwan as its own territory and maintains its right to take control of the island one day, including by force. According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Taiwan is an integral and indivisible part of China, which has been separated from the mainland since 1949.Under its "one country, two systems", achieving China's complete reunification is a shared aspiration of all Chinese people, both within the country and abroad. The Communist Party of China and the Chinese government regard the fulfilment of this goal of peaceful reunification as a historic mission and have been working persistently toward it. (ANI) Robinder Sachdev, Foreign Affairs Expert, lauded the US-India deal which lowered US tariffs on India to 18% from 50%. Sachdev, in conversation with ANI, said that the deal is a good news for Indian economy as it provides predictability and stability for US-India trade. "The news about tariffs on India being reduced to 18% from the 50% I think is definitely a welcome news for Indian economy. It's good news for jobs in India because every 1 % of tariff in America means about $1 billion loss of our exports and $1 billion export loss equates to about a 100,000 jobs. So if 50% tariff had continued for one year That would have meant that India would have lost around 50 billion dollars of exports to America and About 50 lakh jobs lost if not 50, 40 lakhs or 35 lakhs," he said. "So bottom line is that this deal which has been announced today is welcome news for the economy for many households of India and also gives predictability and stability for US-India trade and strategic relations going forward," he added. The deal gave India lower tariff rates than Pakistan. Under the Executive Order issued by US President Donald Trump on July 31, 2025, new reciprocal tariff rates were announced for Pakistan at 19%. Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is set to hold talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Department of State on Tuesday. The meeting is scheduled for 3:30 pm (US local time). The meeting is part of Jaishankar's three-day visit to the United States, where he is participating in the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial on February 4, hosted by Washington. Ahead of the ministerial, the US Department of State announced that Secretary Rubio will bring together partners from across the globe to strengthen cooperation on critical mineral supply chains. The gathering will focus on enhancing international collaboration to secure reliable and resilient supply chains essential for economic and national security, technological leadership, and the energy transition. Amid this visit, Jaishankar welcomed the recent India-US trade agreement, stating he "welcomed the announcements on bilateral trade." (ANI) Reza Pahlavi, Iran's exiled crown prince, has called on Iranians abroad and supporters worldwide to join street demonstrations on February 14, which he designated as the "Global Day of Action in solidarity with Iran's Lion-and-Sun Revolution." In a post on X on Monday, Pahlavi outlined six demands for the international community, including dismantling the regime's machinery of repression, cutting off its financial lifelines, ensuring free internet and communications, expelling regime diplomats and prosecuting its criminals, releasing all political prisoners, and recognising a transitional government to guide Iran toward democracy. "The Islamic Republic's occupying rule has tried to break our nation's will through massacre and brutal violence. It has failed," he wrote, adding, "The era of fear is over and era of freedom is near." He named Munich, Los Angeles and Toronto as major gathering locations, while urging supporters unable to travel to demonstrate in their own cities. https://x.com/PahlaviReza/status/2018332814278627345?s=20 His appeal comes amid ongoing anti-government unrest in Iran, which authorities have blamed on foreign interference. Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei accused the United States and Israel of orchestrating the protests, claiming that US President Donald Trump's "help is on the way" remark had encouraged demonstrators. Comparing protesters to Islamic State terrorists, Khamenei alleged they beheaded and killed innocent people. In a series of posts on X, he described the actions of shopkeepers and traders as valid protest while labelling those calling for the regime's fall as "seditionists." He further claimed that the US and Israel failed in a "coup attempt," asserting he had been informed that "CIA & Mossad deployed." Amid the heightened tensions, Trump issued a warning over escalating developments, saying "big ships" were heading to the region and that "bad things" would probably happen if a nuclear deal could not be reached. "We have the biggest, most powerful ships in the world over there, very close, and in a couple of days, hopefully, we'll make a deal. If we don't make a deal, then we'll find out whether or not he was right," Trump said, adding that he hoped negotiations would produce an acceptable outcome. As international focus sharpened on Iran, Tehran signalled cautious optimism about reviving nuclear talks with Washington. According to Al Jazeera, Iran said on Monday it was reviewing diplomatic initiatives proposed by regional countries to reduce tensions with the US and anticipated a framework for discussions in the coming days. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei confirmed that indirect negotiations were continuing, stating, "Countries of the region are acting as mediators in the exchange of messages." He added, "Several points have been addressed, and we are examining and finalising the details of each stage in the diplomatic process, which we hope to conclude in the coming days." Al Jazeera reported that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is expected to engage with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, though neither side has confirmed a meeting. Iran's state news agency IRNA said Araghchi held phone calls with counterparts in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkiye to review recent developments. Reports also suggested Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had instructed the resumption of nuclear discussions, with local media indicating that "Iran and the United States will hold talks on the nuclear file." These developments follow Trump's deployment of warships to the Middle East and his call for Tehran to resume nuclear negotiations, which were halted in June after attacks by Israel and the US on Iranian facilities. On Sunday, Trump said the US was talking with Tehran, reiterating that "We have very big, powerful ships heading in that direction," while expressing hope for an agreement. Khamenei maintained a firm stance, warning that any attack would trigger a "regional war." The United States and the European Union continue to express concern over Iran's nuclear activities, which Tehran insists are for civilian purposes. Washington has outlined conditions for resuming talks, including ending uranium enrichment, limiting the missile programme and ceasing support for regional armed groups. While Iran has shown some willingness to discuss the nuclear issue, missiles and regional alliances remain non-negotiable. The urgency of the current diplomatic push is underscored by Iran's need for sanctions relief amid economic pressures and growing unrest following January's mass protests. (ANI) In a series of posts on X on Tuesday, Pezeshkian confirmed he had instructed Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to respond to a US proposal for dialogue following outreach from what he described as "friendly governments in the region." https://x.com/drpezeshkian/status/2018551558959710505?s=20 "I have instructed my Minister of Foreign Affairs, provided that a suitable environment exists--one free from threats and unreasonable expectations--to pursue fair and equitable negotiations, guided by the principles of dignity, prudence, and expediency," he wrote. https://x.com/drpezeshkian/status/2018551561522135352?s=20 "These negotiations shall be conducted within the framework of our national interests." https://x.com/drpezeshkian/status/2018551564127109555?s=20 Iranian state broadcaster Press TV reported in its fifth paragraph that the diplomatic push comes as Washington's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Araghchi are expected to meet in Istanbul on Friday, signalling a possible opening after weeks of rising tensions. The potential engagement follows the recent deployment of US naval forces to West Asia, a move that has drawn sharp warnings from Tehran, which has pledged a decisive response to even limited military action by Washington. Separately, Press TV noted that Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ali Khamenei warned on Sunday that any US attack would ignite a regional war, underlining Iran's hardened posture as pressure mounts. Iran has also rejected earlier American conditions tied to reviving a nuclear agreement, including demands to fully halt uranium enrichment and impose restrictions on missile capabilities. Press TV further reported that Ali Bagheri, foreign policy chief at Iran's Supreme National Security Council, ruled out negotiations over enriched uranium stockpiles, stressing that Tehran would not transfer nuclear material abroad. "Iranian officials have no intention of transferring enriched nuclear materials to any country, and negotiations do not revolve around such matters at all," Bagheri said. (ANI) Desai said that the deal was a victory for all Americans. In a post on X, he said, "The Dealmaker in Chief has secured a trade deal with a fast-growing, top five global economy that's home to over one billion people. Another historic victory for American workers, farmers, and industries." https://x.com/KushDesai47/status/2018370118414192780?s=20 Meanwhile, India's Ambassador to the US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra on Tuesday lauded the India-US deal, saying it would launch vast opportunities for both nations. Kwatra said that the talks between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi herald an exciting new phase in the partnership between both nations. In a post on X, he said, "A big WIN for a consequential partnership under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump. India and USA announce trade deal creating vast new opportunities for the two economies and the people of our two great nations. Today's announcements herald an exciting new phase in our partnership." https://x.com/AmbVMKwatra/status/2018393912638058916?s=20 The deal gave India lower tariff rates than Pakistan. Under the Executive Order issued by US President Donald Trump on July 31, 2025, new reciprocal tariff rates were announced for Pakistan at 19%. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is set to hold talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Department of State on Tuesday. The meeting is scheduled for 3:30 pm (US local time). The meeting is part of Jaishankar's three-day visit to the United States, where he is participating in the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial on February 4, hosted by Washington. Ahead of the ministerial, the US Department of State announced that Secretary Rubio will bring together partners from across the globe to strengthen cooperation on critical mineral supply chains. (ANI) Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reiterated that Tehran remains open to dialogue grounded in mutual respect but will not engage in negotiations under threats or coercion, Iranian state broadcaster Press TV reported. On Monday, Araghchi made the remarks during a visit to the mausoleum of Imam Khomeini in southern Tehran, where he and senior Foreign Ministry officials renewed their allegiance to the ideals of the founder of the Islamic Republic. Highlighting Iran's long-standing diplomatic stance, Araghchi said, "Iran has always been ready for diplomacy from an equal footing, with mutual respect, and in pursuit of the interests of the Iranian nation." He stressed that respect must be reciprocal, adding, "Anyone who speaks to the Iranian nation with respect will be met with respect, while anyone who resorts to threats and force will be met likewise." The foreign minister further underlined Tehran's position, stating, "Diplomacy is incompatible with pressure, threats, and intimidation, and the Islamic Republic of Iran proceeds along this path with resolve and strength," Press TV reported. Araghchi also noted that Iran has consistently pursued diplomacy alongside resistance, saying the Foreign Ministry stands "in the same position" as the Iranian Armed Forces in safeguarding people's rights, defending national interests and preserving national security. Referring to last year's conflict, Araghchi pointed to what he described as unprovoked US-Israeli aggression that killed at least 1,064 people between June 13 and 27, 2025. He said the attacks occurred while Tehran was engaged in indirect nuclear talks with Washington, during which Donald Trump had publicly demanded Iran's "unconditional surrender," according to Press TV. He added that Iran responded with resistance and retaliatory strikes, after which its adversaries sought an unconditional ceasefire. Addressing recent unrest, Araghchi said foreign-linked riots had no connection to constitutionally recognised civil protests, alleging that armed groups entered the scene as part of hostile efforts against Iran. He described the violence as an extension of a 12-day conflict aimed at destabilising the country. In late December, sporadic economic protests were overtaken by armed mercenaries allegedly incited by US and Israeli leaders and supported by intelligence operatives on the ground. Iran's Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs reported that 3,117 people were killed during the unrest, including 2,427 civilians and security personnel, Press TV added. Araghchi also noted that during and after the riots, Trump repeatedly threatened military action and reinforced US troop deployments across the region. (ANI) The Baloch Advocacy and Studies Center (BASC) expressed grave concern over public threats made by the Chief Minister of Balochistan, Sarfraz Bugti, warning of collective punishment against the family members of individuals accused of involvement in the Baloch armed resistance. According to BASC, the remarks were made following a series of attacks claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army targeting security forces and government installations across multiple districts of Balochistan. In a public statement, Bugti said that families of those linked to armed resistance would "not be allowed to live normal lives," suggesting possible loss of employment, detention, and denial of access to education and healthcare. BASC said the language constituted a serious abuse of public office. Declaring individuals guilty solely on the basis of family ties, the organisation stated, was unlawful, unconstitutional, and morally indefensible. Collective punishment, BASC said, violated Pakistan's Constitution as well as fundamental principles of justice and human rights. The group stressed that targeting non-combatant civilians under the guise of counter-insurgency could not be justified under any legal or ethical framework, adding that the state's responsibility was to pursue individuals accused of crimes through lawful means rather than intimidating or punishing their families. The organisation said such actions reflected a broader and recurring pattern. In its human rights report published last year, BASC documented repeated instances of state retaliation against non-combatant civilians following attacks attributed to Baloch armed resistance groups. These practices, BASC said, stood in stark contrast to the state's longstanding failure to respond effectively to violence carried out by internationally recognised terrorist organisations operating in the region. BASC also referred to events in May 2024, when Allah Rakhiya, described as a close associate of the Chief Minister, was killed in Sui, Dera Bugti. Bugti publicly blamed Baloch armed resistance groups for the killing, despite police confirming that the motive remained unverified. BASC reported that, in the aftermath, 29 individuals from Dera Bugti were forcibly disappeared. By contrast, BASC highlighted the state's response to two coordinated bombings claimed by ISIL on 7 February 2024, which killed at least 28 civilians in Pashto-speaking districts of Balochistan, including Pishin and Qilla Saifullah. Despite the scale of the attacks, BASC said no comparable retaliatory operations were carried out by the Pakistani military, exposing what it described as a troubling double standard in the state's response to violence. BASC said it took Bugti's threats seriously and warned that families of political activists faced a heightened risk of systematic harassment, detention, intimidation, and collective punishment aimed at silencing dissent and suppressing opposition to state abuses in Balochistan. The organisation described this strategy of coercion through family persecution as a form of collective punishment and transnational repression that warranted international condemnation. "These actions send a deeply damaging message to the international community and to all those who stand for human rights, democracy, and the rule of law," BASC said. The organisation said the situation should be of particular concern to British parliamentarians and democratic institutions across Europe that engaged with members of the Balochistan provincial government, including Sarfraz Bugti, through programmes focused on democratic governance and public spending. BASC stated that UK taxpayers' money should not support officials whose actions directly contradicted the principles they claimed to uphold. BASC called for urgent policy interventions, increased international scrutiny, and the use of diplomatic accountability mechanisms to prevent further human rights violations and to ensure the protection of civilians in Balochistan. (ANI) Arun K Singh, former Indian Ambassador to the United States, on Tuesday termed the recent reduction in US tariffs on Indian exports as a significant move that removes a "competitive disadvantage" for the country. Speaking to ANI, he noted that the deal helps correct a months-long imbalance in which Indian sectors such as gems and jewellery, textiles, and leather were struggling against competitors, including Vietnam and Bangladesh. Ambassador Singh highlighted that while the deal provides economic relief, it has sparked a deeper debate regarding India's "strategic autonomy" and the reliability of the US as a partner under the Trump administration. Reflecting on the catalyst for the agreement, he noted that the US stance shifted noticeably after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's diplomatic engagements in China and Russia. "Till the Prime Minister's visit to China for the SCO Summit, comments from people around President Trump were very critical. But after the optics of the PM's meetings with President Putin and President Xi, the tone changed. President Trump began posting that India and PM Modi are great friends," Singh said. He further noted that the India-EU trade agreement acted as a major driver. "The US administration felt it was time to move from its rigid position because it feared European companies would gain better market access to India's growing economy, leaving US companies at a disadvantage," Singh added. Addressing the friction over India's purchase of Russian oil, Singh dismissed it as a "manufactured thorn." He emphasised that India will not allow its bilateral relationships to be dictated by a third party. "India will take decisions based on its own interests. Russian oil purchases were within the framework of US sanctions and the price cap. If Venezuelan oil becomes available at better prices, India may shift, but it won't reduce purchases to zero just because President Trump says so," the former diplomat asserted. He drew a parallel with US-Pakistan relations, stating, "India does not say we won't have a relationship with you if you have a positive relationship with Pakistan. Similarly, the US cannot make their relationship with India dependent on India's other bilateral ties." Despite the "upswing" in relations following the trade deal, Singh advised a policy of "hedging" to ensure India is not security-dependent on the US, unlike Japan or South Korea. "Even as we deepen the partnership with the US, which is the world's largest consumer market and a leader in technology, we must diversify. We must ensure the US does not have coercive power over us," Singh said. He lauded both nations for keeping critical pillars of cooperation, such as defence and technology, functional even during the height of trade tensions. He cited the recent 10-year defence framework agreement and ongoing dialogues on critical minerals as evidence of a resilient partnership. "The fact that defence policy dialogues and ministerial visits continued during the difficult phase shows both sides value the relationship. With this irritant [tariffs] out of the way, the focus will return to deepening ties, albeit with a more cautious and diversified approach," he concluded. (ANI) India on Tuesday strongly condemned the vandalisation and removal of a Mahatma Gandhi statue in Australia and said it has taken up the matter with the Australian authorities, urging immediate action to recover the statue and bring the culprits to justice. "We strongly condemn the vandalisation and removal of the Mahatma Gandhi statue located at the Australian Indian Community Centre in Rowville, Melbourne, by unidentified people. We have strongly raised the matter with Australian authorities and urged them to take immediate action to recover the missing statue and hold the culprits accountable," Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Randhir Jaiswal said in reponse to media queries. The statue, weighing 426 kg, was cut from its base using an angle grinder and stolen from the Australian Indian Community Centre in Rowville. The statue, a gift from the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), was inaugurated by former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison in 2021. This incident has raised concerns within the Indian-Australian community, especially since the statue was previously vandalised within 24 hours of its inauguration. Victoria Police are investigating the theft, reviewing CCTV footage, and warning scrap metal dealers to be cautious about anyone attempting to sell the bronze statue. According to 'The Australia Today', the bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi, located at the Australian Indian Community Centre in Rowville, Melbourne, was allegedly cut into pieces and stolen, triggering a police investigation and renewed concern within the Indian-Australian community. The theft has revived memories of an earlier attack on the same statue, which was vandalised within 24 hours of its inauguration in November 2021. That incident had drawn condemnation in both Australia and India, though no public arrests were announced at the time, The Australia Today said. According to The Australia Today, at the time, the vandalism occurred amid heightened tensions linked to Khalistan-related extremist activity, which has previously targeted Indian diplomatic missions, community spaces and symbols associated with India in several Western countries. In earlier incidents in Australia and overseas, Khalistan supporters have attempted to damage or deface statues of Mahatma Gandhi, viewing them as symbolic targets despite Gandhi's global reputation as an icon of non-violence, The Australia Today reported. Victoria Police confirmed that officers from the Knox Crime Investigation Unit are investigating the incident, which allegedly occurred in the early hours of January 12. Police said three unknown offenders are believed to have used an angle grinder to cut and remove the statue from the premises on Kingsley Close, Rowville, at around 12.50 am, 'The Australia Today' reported. Senior opposition leaders in Victoria have also condemned the incident and expressed solidarity with the Indian-Australian community. Shadow Minister for Multicultural and Multifaith Affairs Evan Mulholland described the theft as deeply distressing and called for those responsible to be held accountable, according to The Australia Today. (ANI) "Our multicultural communities should feel safe and respected in every suburb of this state.I stand with Victoria's Indian community at this distressing time and urge anyone with information to assist Victoria Police in bringing those responsible to justice. The perpetrators must be held to account," Mr Mulholland said. He also extended support to community leaders and families unsettled by the theft, describing it as an attack on shared values of respect and inclusion. "Crimes like this are an attack on all Victorians who value respect, inclusion and the strength of our diverse society," he said, adding that the Liberals and Nationals "express our sadness at this act of cultural vandalism and offer our support to the vibrant Indian-Australian community". Local MP for Rowville, Kim Wells, and Liberal candidate Max Williams also criticised the incident, saying it undermined values of respect, peace and multicultural harmony in the community. While Victoria Police have not attributed the theft to any group or ideology, community leaders have raised concerns about cultural safety and the targeting of symbols representing peace and non-violence, The Australia Today reported. Police said investigations are ongoing and all lines of inquiry remain open, with authorities focusing on recovering the statue and identifying those responsible. (ANI) LYSAKER, Norway, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Aker BP has started oil production from the Solveig Phase 2 development in the North Sea. The project has been delivered on schedule and within budget, adding approximately 39 million barrels of oil equivalent in recoverable resources to the Solveig field. Solveig is located around 15 kilometres south of the Edvard Grieg platform and is a subsea development tied back to Edvard Grieg through existing infrastructure. The development comprises three wells targeting both new and existing reservoir segments, and will help extend plateau production from the Solveig field while making efficient use of available capacity on the Edvard Grieg platform. "Aker BP has once again delivered a project safely, efficiently and with high quality. Bringing Solveig Phase 2 on stream on time and within budget demonstrates the strength of our suppliers and our execution model - creating value for our shareholders, partners and society," says Karl Johnny Hersvik, CEO of Aker BP. The development has been carried out in close collaboration with several leading suppliers. TechnipFMC has delivered the subsea systems, while Moreld Apply has performed modifications on the Edvard Grieg platform. Drilling operations have been undertaken by Odfjell Drilling and Halliburton through Aker BP's drilling and wells alliance. Together, these suppliers have contributed to the safe, efficient and high-quality execution of the project. Solveig Phase 2 is the fifth Aker BP-operated project sanctioned in 2022 that has now come on stream. Aker BP is the operator of both Solveig (PL359) and Edvard Grieg (PL338) with a 65 percent working interest, while OMV Norge AS (20 percent) and Harbour Energy Norge AS (15 percent) are partners in both licences. Contacts: Ole-Johan Faret, Press Spokesperson, tel.: +47 402 24 217 Kjetil Bakken, Head of Investor Relations, tel.: +47 918 89 889 This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/aker-bp-asa/r/solveig-phase-2-on-stream,c4299910 The following files are available for download: SOURCE Aker BP ASA Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said that the sensitive sectors of India's economy, particularly agriculture and dairy, have been protected in the India-US trade deal. Addressing a press conference here, Piyush Goyal said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always championed both the agriculture and dairy sectors, safeguarding their interests and working tirelessly to ensure a bright future and ample opportunities for the people in these sectors. "I am pleased that the entire country understands and appreciates this, and it resonates deeply with them. The sensitive factors of India's economy, particularly agriculture and dairy, have been protected. We have seen reports from across the country; there is widespread enthusiasm," he said. "All those involved in India's exports, those connected to India's technology sector, those who want to bring modern technology to India or become part of global supply chains and global value chains, those who want to establish global capability centers, and those who want to invest in various sectors, especially labor-intensive ones that provide employment to millions of people - all are excited by this," he added. Goyal's remarks are significant as US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins earlier on Tuesday said that Washington will export more farm products to India under the trade deal. Rollins said that the deal will pump more cash in rural America. "Thank you US President Donald Trump for ONCE AGAIN delivering for our American farmers. New US-India deal will export more American farm products to India's massive market, lifting prices, and pumping cash into rural America. In 2024, America's agricultural trade deficit with India was $1.3 billion. India's growing population is an important market for American agricultural products and today's deal will go a long way to reducing this deficit. America First victory on top of the dozens of deals for ag," Rollins said in a post on X. Goyal also said that the trade deal brings tremendous opportunities for the people of the country. "We all know that the Prime Minister, leveraging his friendly relationship and close ties with President Trump, has finalised a trade deal with the United States of America that is the best deal India has received compared to all our neighbors, all the surrounding countries, and all the countries that compete with us. This is a great deal for all of us," he said. Goyal said that the government intended to make a statement in the House on the deal but could not do so due to attitude of Congress and other opposition parties. "Normally, we would have wanted to speak about this in Parliament, but we all witnessed that disgraceful scene. The way the opposition, especially the Congress party under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi and their allies the DMK, TMC, and Samajwadi Party, behaved so disgracefully in Parliament today. They even reached the Speaker's chair and insulted him. I strongly condemn the opposition and Rahul Gandhi, because of whom we have come here today to give you this information instead of speaking in Parliament," he said. Goyal had said earlier that the India-US trade deal unlocks the power of two large democracies working together for the shared prosperity of their people, and the bilateral partnership will co-create technologies and co-develop solutions. He said the trade deal unlocks unprecedented opportunities for farmers, MSMEs, entrepreneurs, and skilled workers. In a post on X, Goyal also said that the trade deal will help India get technology from the United States and accelerate India's journey towards Viksit Bharat 2047. He lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump for the trade deal. "Congratulations to Prime Minister @NarendraModi ji and President @RealDonaldTrump as well as to the people of India and the United States, on the landmark trade agreement. This reflects the power of two like-minded, fair-trading democracies working together for shared prosperity," he said. "Grateful for PM @NarendraModi ji and President @realDonaldTrump visionary and decisive leadership, and strong commitment to strengthening India-U.S. ties," he added.He said the trade deal also opens opportunities for Make in India for the world, Design in India for the world, and Innovate in India for the world."This unlocks the power of two large democracies working together for the shared prosperity of their people. Both India and US are natural allies and our partnership will co-create technologies, co-develop solutions, and work together for peace, growth, and a brighter future for India and US," he said. "This agreement unlocks unprecedented opportunities for farmers, MSMEs, entrepreneurs, and skilled workers to Make in India for the world, Design in India for the world, and Innovate in India for the world. It will help India get technology from the US. It is not just a trade deal - it is a historic turning point that will reshape India-U.S. relations and accelerate our journey towards Viksit Bharat 2047," he added. The trade deal with the United States comes within a week of India signing a landmark trade deal with the European Union. PM Modi on Monday spoke with US President Donald Trump. He later said that it was wonderful to speak with his "dear friend President Trump" and expressed delight that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. "Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement," PM Modi said in a post on X on Monday. The Prime Minister said that when two large economies and the world's largest democracies work together, it benefits our people and unlocks immense opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation. "President Trump's leadership is vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity. India fully supports his efforts for peace. I look forward to working closely with him to take our partnership to unprecedented heights," PM Modi said. India and the European Union (EU) had on January 27 announced the conclusion of negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), an important milestone in one of India's most strategic economic partnerships. (ANI) India and the US are likely to issue a joint statement on the trade agreement this week, according to government sources. "We are under final stages of detailing with the negotiating team. A joint statement of the India-US trade deal is likely to be issued this week," said the source. The deal involves reducing reciprocal tariffs from 25% to 18% and eliminating the additional 25% duty on Russian oil imports into India. India has also agreed to increase imports from the US by $500 billion, covering sectors like energy, technology, agriculture, and defence. The agreement will boost India's export competitiveness, attract investments, and strengthen economic ties with the US. Earlier on Tuesday, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that the India-US Trade Agreement brings tremendous opportunity to the country and is the best deal India has received compared to all its neighbours. Addressing a press conference a day after the India-US trade deal was announced, Goyal said that India's interests have been prioritised. "We all know that the Prime Minister, leveraging his friendly relationship and close ties with President Trump, has finalised a trade deal with the United States of America that is the best deal India has received compared to all our neighbours, all the surrounding countries, and all the countries that compete with us. This is a great deal for all of us," he said. The Commerce Minister also said that the sensitive sectors of India's economy, particularly agriculture and dairy, have been protected in the India-US trade deal. Addressing a press conference here, Piyush Goyal said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always championed the agriculture and dairy sectors, safeguarding their interests and working tirelessly to ensure a bright future and ample opportunities for their workers. "I am pleased that the entire country understands and appreciates this, and it resonates deeply with them. The sensitive factors of India's economy, particularly agriculture and dairy, have been protected. We have seen reports from across the country; there is widespread enthusiasm," he said. The trade deal with the United States comes just a week after India signed a landmark agreement with the European Union. PM Modi spoke with US President Donald Trump on Monday. He later said that it was wonderful to speak with his "dear friend President Trump" and expressed delight that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. "Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement," PM Modi said in a post on X on Monday. The Prime Minister said that when two large economies and the world's largest democracies work together, it benefits our people and unlocks immense opportunities for mutual benefit. "President Trump's leadership is vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity. India fully supports his efforts for peace. I look forward to working closely with him to take our partnership to unprecedented heights," PM Modi said. India and the European Union (EU) had on January 27 announced the conclusion of negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), an important milestone in one of India's most strategic economic partnerships. (ANI) Marking the onset of the 'Year of the Horse', Chinese Ambassador to India, Xu Feihong, on Tuesday hailed the strengthening ties between New Delhi and Beijing, revealing that bilateral trade reached a historic high of USD 155.6 billion in 2025. Speaking at the Chinese New Year Reception in the national capital, Ambassador Xu noted that the relationship has transitioned from a "reset" to a "new level of improvement" following the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in Tianjin last August. Highlighting the robust economic engagement, the Ambassador stated that bilateral trade grew by over 12 per cent year-on-year. In 2025, bilateral trade between China and India reached a record high of USD 155.6 billion, with India's exports to China growing 9.7 per cent, underscoring the significant potential for economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. He also provided an update on China's domestic economy, noting that its GDP has exceeded 140 trillion yuan (approximately USD 20 trillion), with growth at 5 per cent and a contribution of more than 30 per cent to global economic growth. The Ambassador emphasised the restoration of normalcy in travel and religious exchanges, noting that China has resumed the pilgrimage for Indian devotees to the sacred mountain and holy lake in the Xizang Autonomous Region, with nearly 20,000 Indians participating last year. Furthermore, he highlighted that India has resumed issuing tourist visas to Chinese citizens and direct flights between the Chinese mainland and India have been restored, facilitating smoother exchanges between the two peoples. Drawing parallels between the two ancient civilisations, Ambassador Xu noted that China's vision of "a world of great harmony" echoes India's philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family). He also compared China's focus on self-reliance with India's Atmanirbhar Bharat strategy, suggesting that both nations share common intellectual traditions and value pursuits. He reflected on his visits to the Ajanta and Ellora Caves, as well as to Rabindranath Tagore's Santiniketan, noting that these experiences helped him sense the enduring cultural ties and spiritual resonance between the two nations. Looking ahead, the Ambassador expressed China's support for India's role as the BRICS rotating chair. He affirmed Beijing's readiness to strengthen coordination with New Delhi to advance the interests of the Global South and practice "true multilateralism". "We stand ready to work with India to draw wisdom from our traditional cultures and uphold the consensus that China and India are each other's cooperation partner and development opportunity," Xu added. The event, held on the eve of Lichun (the beginning of spring), was attended by diplomats, members of the Chinese diaspora, and representatives from various sectors, signalling an optimistic outlook for the 2026 lunar year. (ANI) A leading Baloch activist has challenged Pakistan's assertions of operational success in Balochistan, saying the state is masking an ongoing conflict and targeting civilians instead of addressing political grievances. Hakeem Baloch, Focal Person of the Baloch National Movement's Foreign Department, dismissed Islamabad's claim of killing over 140 militants in recent coordinated operations. He said the Pakistani government has failed to quell the conflict or address what it labels a "low-level insurgency." "Pakistan is neither able to stop the intensity of the war in Balochistan nor does it have effective intelligence," Hakeem Baloch said. He added, "Baloch fighters arrive, carry out attacks, successfully achieve their objectives, and then leave. After that, the Pakistani state detains ordinary Baloch civilians, unarmed people, political workers, forcing them into enforced disappearances. This includes Baloch activists, political workers, human rights activists, Baloch leaders, or their family members, who are abducted as a form of collective punishment." Hakeem Baloch further said that Pakistan has consistently refused to address the conflict through political means, leaving resistance as the only option for separatists. "This is a reality that exposes the brutality of the Pakistani state. Baloch armed groups say they are fighting an extremely cruel war against it. They know this war will bring losses--they know their comrades will be martyred--but because the Pakistani state neither understands political dialogue nor wants to resolve what is fundamentally a political issue through political means, the Baloch are left with no option other than resistance, he said. The conflict in Balochistan, Pakistan's largest but least developed province, stems from historical grievances over political marginalisation, economic exploitation and militarisation. Despite being rich in gas, minerals and strategic access to the Arabian Sea, local communities say they see little benefit from their resources, fuelling resentment against Islamabad's policies. Human rights organisations have repeatedly documented widespread enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and crackdowns on peaceful protest, warning that the security-heavy approach is worsening alienation and fuelling further violence. Independent reports show hundreds of enforced disappearances and cases of illegal detention across the province, contributing to a climate of fear among ordinary citizens. (ANI) National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval on Tuesday arrived in Riyadh for an official visit, underscoring the growing strategic engagement between India and Saudi Arabia. Doval was received at the airport by India's Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Dr Suhel Ajaz Khan, and Saudi Arabia's Deputy Minister for Political Affairs, Ambassador Dr Saud Al-Sati, according to the Indian Embassy in Riyadh. On January 28, Saudi Arabia condemned the Pahalgam terror attack and the Red Fort terror incident. At the 3rd meeting of ofthe India-Saudi Arabia Security Working Group under the Political, Consular and Security Cooperation Committee of the Strategic Partnership Council, both parties condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. The meeting was held on January 28 in Riyadh. The meeting was co-chaired by Vinod Bahade, Joint Secretary (Counter Terrorism), Ministry of External Affairs, and Ahmed Al-Eissa, Director General of Legal Affairs and International Cooperation, Ministry of Interior, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, according to a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs. Both sides reiterated their condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism and the dastardly terrorist attack on innocent civilians on 22 April 2025 in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, and the terror incident on 10 November 2025 near Red Fort, New Delhi, as per the statement. The two sides comprehensively reviewed the ongoing security cooperation. They discussed threats posed by terrorist groups globally and in their respective regions. Both sides shared views on enhancing cooperation on current and emerging challenges in counter-terrorism, including countering extremism and radicalisation, combating the financing of terrorism, preventing the use of technology for terrorist purposes, and the nexus between transnational organised crime and terrorism. They also deliberated upon measures to further strengthen bilateral legal and judicial cooperation and law enforcement cooperation. The next meeting of the Security Working Group will be held in India on a mutually convenient date, the statement added.Earlier on January 22, Spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal, said that Secretary (South), Neena Malhotra, met resident Ambassadors of Arab countries to review ongoing cooperation between India and the Arab countries. In a post on X, the MEA said, "Secretary (South), Dr. Neena Malhotra met resident Ambassadors of Arab countries to review ongoing cooperation between India and the Arab countries and also preparations for forthcoming meetings. They also identified specific focus areas and activities in diverse sectors to drive the partnership forward." (ANI) Ambassador Sergio Gor will visit Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan from February 3-7, as per a press statement from the US State Department. Ambassador Gor, who is the US Special Envoy for South and Central Asia, during his time in Bishkek, will attend the B5+1 Business Forum, where he will engage with senior business leaders and policymakers from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan (collectively, the C5), plus the United States. The statement further noted that, in high-level discussions, he will emphasise the business community's essential role in advancing US-Central Asia cooperation. In both Bishkek and Tashkent, Ambassador Gor will also meet with senior officials to explore opportunities for enhanced bilateral collaboration. "The United States is committed to fostering closer economic ties with the Kyrgyz Republic and Uzbekistan and developing innovative partnerships that promote stability and prosperity throughout the region", the statement concluded. His visit to Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan comes shortly after he had travelled to Turkmenistan from January 22 to January 23. Calling the visit positive, he wrote on X on January 27, "This morning I spoke with @SecRubio on recent positive developments in the region, including my recent trip to Turkmenistan. Thank you President Serdar Berdimuhamedow for the warm hospitality!" https://x.com/USAmbIndia/status/2016088327678493019?s=20 On Monday, shortly after the announcement of the trade deal between India and the USA, Ambassador Gor said hailed the development and wrote on X, "As I have said many times, President Trump genuinely considers Prime Minister Modi a great friend! Thrilled by the news of the trade deal this evening. The relationship between the United States and India has LIMITLESS POTENTIAL!" https://x.com/USAmbIndia/status/2018375085661523976?s=20 The trade deal with the United States comes just a week after India signed a landmark agreement with the European Union. PM Modi spoke with US President Donald Trump on Monday. He later said that it was wonderful to speak with his "dear friend President Trump" and expressed delight that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. "Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18%. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement," PM Modi said in a post on X on Monday. The Prime Minister said that when two large economies and the world's largest democracies work together, it benefits our people and unlocks immense opportunities for mutual benefit. "President Trump's leadership is vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity. India fully supports his efforts for peace. I look forward to working closely with him to take our partnership to unprecedented heights," PM Modi said. India and the European Union (EU) had on January 27 announced the conclusion of negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), an important milestone in one of India's most strategic economic partnerships. (ANI) Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan on Tuesday called on Armenia's Defence Minister Suren Papkyan during his official visit to the country, holding discussions aimed at deepening defence cooperation between India and Armenia. During the visit, General Chauhan also inaugurated the IT Lab and Distance Learning Centre at the Vazgen Sargsyan Military Academy of the Armed Forces of Armenia. He further visited the National Defence Research University (NDRU), where he addressed faculty and students on the evolving global security environment, structural transformation, and the emergence of technology as a key determinant of power. Sharing the details in a series of posts on X, the Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff said, "General Anil Chauhan, Chief of Defence Staff #CDS lead the Indian Delegation for an office call on with His Excellency Mr Suren Papkyan, Minister of Defence, The Republic of Armenia. Discussions focused on strengthening Defence Cooperation across range of security issues concerning both the Nations." https://x.com/HQ_IDS_India/status/2018563509374845152?s=20 In another post on X, HQ IDS added, "General Anil Chauhan, Chief of Defence Staff #CDS inaugurated IT Lab and Distance Learning Centre at Vazgen Sargsyan Military Academy of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia at Yerevan." https://x.com/HQ_IDS_India/status/2018576000469151753?s=20 "General Anil Chauhan, Chief of Defence Staff #CDS, visited the National Defence Research University #NDRU, Armenia, where he addressed faculty and students on the evolving global security environment, structural transformation and emergence of technology as a key determinant of power", another post by HQ IDS noted. According to HQ IDS, CDS Anil Chauhan spoke about the changing nature of war, with an emphasis on revolution in military affairs. He highlighted that technology is changing the character of war, especially as we graduate towards multi-domain operations. He also covered the nuances of the new domains of warfare, viz Cyber, EW, Space and Cognitive. https://x.com/HQ_IDS_India/status/2018570236744896864?s=20 Earlier, he also interacted with Lt Gen Edward Asryan, Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces, to explore avenues to further enhance defence cooperation between the two Nations. "The interaction reflected the shared commitment to deepen strategic partnership and promote mutual capability development", the post added. https://x.com/HQ_IDS_India/status/2018557973715665111?s=20 On Monday, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan received a Guard of Honour and a ceremonial welcome from the Armenian Armed Forces during his official visit to Yerevan. During the visit, General Chauhan also paid tributes and laid a wreath at the Armenian Genocide Memorial and Museum, which commemorates the memory of 1.5 million Armenians who lost their lives in the genocide. The Indian defence delegation, led by CDS Chauhan, arrived in Armenia on Sunday for a four-day official visit, marking another step in strengthening bilateral defence ties between India and Armenia. (ANI) Former Indian diplomats on Tuesday welcomed the India-US trade agreement, calling it a positive and evolving step that would boost bilateral trade, business confidence and people-to-people benefits between the two countries. Former Indian diplomat Vidya Bhushan Soni said the agreement reflects mutual acceptance of each other's positions and marks the end of prolonged uncertainty surrounding trade negotiations. "The Prime Minister and the US President have agreed and accepted the position put forward by either side. It is a matter of great happiness and satisfaction not just for governments but also for the people of both countries," Soni said. He added that the impact of the deal would go beyond the business community. "Negativity had been going on for a long time for various reasons. We can now look forward to much more activity. This is just the beginning. We should not assume that because it has been resolved, we can rest for the next 20 to 30 years. It will be an evolving relationship," he said. Soni noted that future challenges would arise but stressed that they would need to be addressed through dialogue. "It's a great occasion for the two countries and our people. We can now move forward, get into serious business and increase the trade volume," he said. Echoing similar sentiments, former Indian diplomat Surendra Kumar said the agreement deserved celebration after prolonged negotiations. "We must not only welcome it, but also celebrate it. For the last one and a half years, we have been struggling," Kumar said, while cautioning that many operational details were still awaited. He noted that the reciprocal tariff, initially set at 25 per cent, had been reduced to 18 per cent, which he called a positive development. "That is something we must welcome," he said. Kumar also referred to punitive tariffs linked to India's import of Russian oil, saying there was an understanding that these would be addressed. "As per the tweet of President Trump, there is an understanding that the Prime Minister has agreed to bring those tariffs to zero," he said. Highlighting recent trends, Kumar noted that India's imports of Russian oil have already been declining. "Over the last two months, imports have gone down. Several refineries, including Reliance, have stopped buying oil from Russian companies that have been banned by the US," he added. Both former diplomats said the agreement lays the foundation for deeper economic engagement and increased trade volumes between India and the United States in the coming years. (ANI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday (local time) met US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington DC as part of an ongoing three-day visit to the United States, where he is participating in the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial on February 4. In a post on X, EAM held discussions with the US Treasury Secretary to advance the India-US economic partnership and strengthen strategic cooperation between the two countries. "Pleased to meet US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington DC today. Had a useful discussion on advancement of India - US economic partnership and strategic cooperation," the External Affairs Minister said in his post. Jaishankar is also set to meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Department of State today. The meeting is scheduled for 3:30 pm (US local time). Ahead of the ministerial, the US Department of State announced that Secretary Rubio will convene partners from around the world to strengthen cooperation on critical mineral supply chains. The gathering will focus on strengthening international collaboration to secure reliable, resilient supply chains essential to economic and national security, technological leadership, and the energy transition. According to a notice issued by the Office of the Spokesperson of the US State Department on Monday, the US will host the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial on February 4 at the Department of State, aimed at strengthening and diversifying global critical minerals supply chains. Rubio will chair the ministerial, with delegations from more than 50 nations expected to participate. The gathering is being described as a historic effort to build collective momentum for cooperation to secure critical minerals essential to technological innovation, economic growth, and national security. The event will begin with opening remarks by US Vice President JD Vance, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other senior US officials. The EAM visit comes on the backdrop of the India-US trade deal, announced on Monday following a telephone discussion between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, under which Washington has agreed to lower reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent from 25 per cent, effective immediately. Following the announcement, Jaishankar welcomed the trade deal, saying that the agreement will boost job creation, spur economic growth, promote innovation, and strengthen India's flagship 'Make in India' initiative. In a post on X, EAM Jaishankar hailed the announcement, stating, "Welcome the announcements on bilateral trade following the conversation between PM Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump. This will create more jobs, spur growth and promote innovation in both economies. It will strengthen 'Make in India' endeavours and encourage trusted technology ties. The opportunities in our economic engagement are truly vast and we are confident of realising them. A robust economic relationship is the strongest foundation for our strategic partnership." (ANI) TOKYO, Feb 03 (News On Japan) - Tokyos net in-migration, defined as the number of people moving in exceeding those moving out, declined for the first time in four years last year, even as population inflows into the capital have remained elevated since the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Population Movement Report released on February 3rd by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Tokyo recorded a net in-migration of 65,219 people over the past year, a decrease of more than 14,000 compared with the previous year. Although the figure marked the first decline in four years, Tokyos net in-migration has trended upward since the pandemic, underscoring the persistence of population concentration in the capital. Across the country, 40 prefectures reported net population outflows, while seven prefectures posted net inflows, with Shiga Prefecture shifting back into net in-migration territory. Looking at cross-border movement, 409,592 people moved from Japan to overseas destinations, while 782,165 moved into Japan from abroad, resulting in a net inflow of more than 370,000 people. In both cases, the proportion of foreign nationals increased, highlighting a rise in active population movement among foreign residents both entering and leaving Japan. Source: TBS The acquisition expands Becklin Holdings' portfolio to include a leading OEM manufacturer in the defense, automotive, and marine industries GRANTS PASS, Ore., Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Becklin Holdings (or "the Company"), a diversified family office with key investments in the aerospace, defense, manufacturing, outdoor and maritime markets, is pleased to announce today that it has acquired Stubborn Mule Manufacturing ("Stubborn Mule"), a precision engineering and CNC components company based in Grants Pass, Oregon. The acquisition marks a strategic step in Becklin's continued expansion into advanced production and high-tolerance OEM markets. Stubborn Mule is an ISO-compliant company recognized for its high-quality work across the automotive, marine, and defense sectors. Its capabilities include CNC machining, custom part fabrication, and contract projects for clients requiring detailed precision and regulatory compliance. Under Becklin's ownership, the company will continue operating as a standalone business with its legacy brand, leadership team, and facility in Grants Pass. The company will benefit from Becklin Holdings' operational and manufacturing expertise, capital resources, and strategic support to scale operations, strengthen supply chain resilience, and expand into new markets. "We're stoked to fully welcome Stubborn Mule to the Becklin Holdings portfolio," said Sterling Becklin, Founder and Chairman of the Board, Becklin Holdings. "Stubborn Mule has a strong history of manufacturing durable, reliable, American-made products that stand the test of time and fuel mission-critical initiatives around the world. We look forward to supporting this great company and the phenomenal work it does for its loyal customer base." All current and future customers of Stubborn Mule can expect continued excellence in service, with new investments focused on reducing lead times, expanding production capacity, and deepening engineering partnerships. "This acquisition is a natural fit for Becklin Holdings and our long-term strategy of building a diversified portfolio of distinctive, but synergistic entities," continued Becklin. "Stubborn Mule adds depth to our investments in the manufacturing sector while continuing to serve the industries we know best." As with all companies in its portfolio, Becklin Holdings remains committed to continued innovation while preserving Stubborn Mule's culture of precision and compliance. For more information, visit https://www.stubbornmule.com/. About Becklin Holdings A third-generation American family business, Becklin Holdings is the investment vehicle of the Becklin family based in southern Oregon. A diversified holding company with key investments in the aerospace, defense, manufacturing, outdoor and maritime markets, the Firm's current assets include ECS Composites, Stubborn Mule, Nail Spring Ranch, Disrupt Camo, and Era 3. Led by Sterling Becklin, a proven entrepreneur and enterprise-level operator, Becklin Holdings has a multi-decade track record of building and managing successful businesses ranging from startups to category leaders. The Firm considers investment sizes between one and ten million. Media Contact Gaffney Bennett PR [email protected] SOURCE Becklin Holdings SAPPORO, Feb 03 (News On Japan) - The Sapporo Snow Festival is set to open on February 4, with final preparations completed despite record-breaking snowfall in the city. Now in its 76th year, the Sapporo Snow Festival has moved forward with preparations amid historically heavy snow conditions during the winter of 2026. At the UHB Family Land area of the Odori 10-chome site, a giant snow sculpture created to commemorate the release of the film Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, titled The Silver Snow Star Wars Returns, has been completed. The sculpture recreates the characters in a massive structure standing more than 10 meters tall, delivering an overwhelming sense of scale and detail. It is both powerful and intricately crafted, and we believe visitors from February 4 will truly enjoy it, said UHB President Toru Tsurui. The Sapporo Snow Festival will be held across three venues for eight days starting on February 4. Source: UHB TOKYO, Feb 04 (News On Japan) - From a single photograph, AI can now generate a movie-like video in as little as four hours, raising urgent questions about what precautions society should take and how such content can be detected. A video posted on social media appears realistic at first glance but is in fact entirely fake, with close inspection revealing that while opposition leader Nodas head moves, the shadow behind him remains fixed, along with other unnatural elements such as another party leaders head overlapping with on-screen captions. According to Daisuke Furuta, editor-in-chief of the Japan Fact-Check Center, the number of manipulated and fabricated images and videos created using generative AI has increased sharply since 2025, posing a growing threat ahead of elections. So how are these AI-generated videos made. In one example, former U.S. President Donald Trump is shown singing about world peace, followed by Russian President Vladimir Putin passionately singing about the value of life, with both videos entirely created using generative AI. The videos were produced by AI video creator Taiga Aoyama, who creates and distributes AI-generated videos themed around well-known politicians on YouTube. Right now, if you study a little, anyone can create fake images, Aoyama said, adding that this is simply the reality of current technology. Aoyama began distributing videos in July 2025, saying he turned his attention to political figures after seeing online excitement surrounding the House of Councillors election. Politicians have a certain level of publicity rights, he said. I think its wrong to demean them, but if the content helps explain their views or positions in a clearer way, that kind of use could be acceptable. Aoyama says he taught himself how to create AI videos by researching online, and demonstrated the process using a single photograph of reporter Yota Muroya, taken during an interview, explaining that just one image is enough to generate a video. He enters a prompt instructing the AI to create images resembling a samurai-style movie scene, as if the subject were fighting in the Sengoku period, then feeds the original photograph into the system, producing a new image in about 30 seconds. After repeating the process until the desired image is created, he then instructs the AI to convert each image into individual video cuts, with music also generated entirely by AI, completing the process in roughly four hours. While Aoyama says he carefully researches political figures in advance and deliberately produces only clearly fake videos to avoid misleading viewers, he also acknowledges the dangers posed by AI-generated content. If someone without ethics studies a little and decides to spread fake news deliberately, they can distribute as much misinformation as they want, he said. Viewers really need to be cautious. As fake videos proliferate, researchers are also developing AI systems to detect them. In one demonstration, two videos are shown side by side, one real and the other created using generative AI, with differences difficult to spot at first glance. Professor Isao Echizen of the National Institute of Informatics explained that AI-generated faces can now be automatically flagged with a red frame, allowing systems to identify whether a face is real or AI-generated. This is achieved by training AI on large volumes of both real images and AI-generated images, enabling it to distinguish between the two. As AI creates fake videos and AI detects them, Echizen cautions that human judgment remains essential. It is extremely important for users themselves to verify information by consulting reliable sources such as newspapers, television, and the results of fact-checking organizations, rather than relying solely on social media, he said. Source: TBS TOKYO, Feb 04 (News On Japan) - A vehicle believed to have been used in an attempted robbery at Haneda Airport has been found on a riverbed in Kanagawa Prefecture, with investigators suspecting that the perpetrators attempted to destroy evidence by spraying the car with a pink fire extinguisher. The case is part of a series of incidents in Japan and Hong Kong in which large sums of cash were targeted in quick succession, and police have now confirmed the discovery of a vehicle linked to the Haneda Airport case. Footage filmed on January 30th shows the vehicle abandoned on a riverbed in Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture. The white car seen in the background is believed to be the vehicle used in the attempted robbery at Haneda Airport last Friday, in which suspects tried to steal 190 million yen in cash. According to witnesses, the cars license plates had been removed, and there were further unusual signs. A person who saw the vehicle said, "The white car had turned pink, like the colors were mixed. It wasnt a clean color," adding, "It looked like pink fire extinguisher powder." Nearby, parts of the ground were also stained pink. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department said the vehicle had been sprayed with pink fire extinguisher powder, leading investigators to believe the perpetrators attempted to conceal evidence. Police also said the car had been stolen last month in Kasukabe, Saitama Prefecture. Investigators believe the suspects abandoned the vehicle and fled after switching to another car, and are continuing their investigation. Source: TBS MITO, Feb 04 (News On Japan) - A dry weather advisory has been in effect in central Tokyo for 14 consecutive days, and as of February 2nd, no significant rainfall had fallen for a full month since January 2nd. Residents on the streets described the impact of the dryness on daily life, saying, "My childs hands are getting cracked and painful," "My hands are so dry I cant even open plastic packaging," and "My babys cheeks turn red, so we keep applying moisturizer." The exceptionally low rainfall, described as a once-in-30-years event, is now affecting tap water quality as well. The reporting team visited a home in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture, where residents poured a glass of tap water they usually drink. At first glance, it appeared normal, but the city has been flooded with complaints about tap water. Since the start of 2026, around 40 inquiries have been received by the city, with residents reporting that "the tap water has smelled strange since the New Year" and that it has a "musty or earthy, almost inky odor." The cause is the prolonged absence of rain, which has now stretched for more than a month. At the Naka River, the water source for Mito, water levels have fallen so low that the riverbed is exposed in places. Mito recorded a total of 0.0 millimeters of rainfall in January, marking an abnormal situation not seen in 84 years, with no substantial rain falling since the start of 2026. Footage from river cameras installed along the Naka River shows a clear reduction in water flow, with the river narrowing significantly. According to information posted on the citys website, when river water levels drop, a type of phytoplankton can form on the riverbed and release substances that cause musty odors. While the city says the tap water remains safe to drink, residents have voiced concern, saying, "Its worrying because we use it for bathing and washing dishes," and "Even when I make barley tea, the smell remains. It smells moldy and I dont want to drink it." The unusual changes in water quality caused by the lack of rain are not limited to Mito. In Hitachinaka, which also draws water from the Naka River, similar musty odors in tap water have been reported. The reporting team visited the Kamitsubo Water Treatment Plant in Hitachinaka, where officials said they are taking measures to remove the odor. To eliminate the compounds responsible for the musty smell, the amount of activated carbon being added has been increased, strengthening the purification process. When the current river water was gently warmed and smelled, a strong musty odor linked to drought conditions was noticeable. After activated carbon treatment, a staff member who drank the water said it tasted like "the familiar tap water were used to." The record low rainfall, described as a once-in-30-years event, is affecting wide areas of the country, with drought conditions worsening across much of the Pacific side of Japan from Kanto to Kyushu, where little to no meaningful rain has fallen since the start of the year. In Shizuoka City, which also recorded 0.0 millimeters of rainfall in January, sections of the Abe River have dried up entirely, creating gaps where the flow has stopped. At the Aono Daishi Dam, which supplies water to Minamiizu Town in Shizuoka Prefecture, the dam floor is faintly visible, with surrounding rock surfaces fully exposed and some areas dried and cracked. Although a small amount of water remains, the reservoirs effective storage for tap water and agricultural use has fallen to 0 percent. However, because there is a river downstream of the dam, officials say water intake restrictions are not immediately necessary. In Kochi Prefecture, water levels at the Owataridam in Niyodogawa Town have also dropped significantly. Japan continues to experience extreme weather, with record-breaking snowfall along the Sea of Japan coast, while forecasts suggest snow flurries may fall in central Tokyo on the night of February 2nd, though not enough to ease the water shortage. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, little substantial rainfall is expected for about the next month, raising concerns that the impact on daily life will continue. Source: FNN OKINAWA, Feb 04 (News On Japan) - A man wanted by police was arrested in Motobu, Okinawa Prefecture, after fleeing his vehicle and attempting to escape on foot, prompting a dramatic chase involving four officers that ended with his capture on suspicion of selling stolen tools worth about 100,000 yen. The man was seen being restrained on the ground by police officers and was later confirmed to be an individual authorities had been searching for. According to police, a patrol car began pursuing the man while he was driving, after which he exited the vehicle and attempted to flee on foot. The suspect ran into the opposite lane of traffic, prompting four police officers to give chase before subduing him near the central median. A witness who was traveling in the area described the scene as frightening and chaotic, saying it felt like something out of a drama, adding that being caught at the scene was shocking and confusing, with patrol cars arriving one after another and no clear sense of where it was safe to stop. Police arrested the suspect, a 40-year-old construction worker, on suspicion of selling five tools for about 100,000 yen while knowing the items had been stolen. Source: FNN TOKYO, Feb 04 (News On Japan) - As the spread of cocaine and other illegal drugs becomes increasingly serious among young people, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has released a new warning video urging caution. In the video, which is based on testimonies and real-life experiences of former drug abusers, dramatized scenes convey the dangers of illegal drugs and the risk of becoming unable to break free once use begins, with one former user saying that as frequency and dosage increase, money quickly runs out, leading some to resort to prostitution-like activities, while another reflects that they lost their dreams and aspirations far sooner than expected. According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, abuse of marijuana and cocaine in particular has become a serious issue among those aged 29 and under, with the number of people arrested for cocaine-related offenses last year surging to around 280, roughly 1.5 times the previous year. The police held a drug awareness event on the day of the videos release, featuring appearances by comedian Hikorohi, who appeared in the video, as well as Pipokun, the departments official mascot. Hikorohi urged people to properly understand and fear the dangers of illegal drugs, calling on even those who have had little interest in drug abuse prevention to watch the video. Kawachi Yoshio, head of the Metropolitan Police Departments Organized Crime Control Divisions Drugs and Firearms Section, said Hikorohis message was highly persuasive and expressed confidence that young viewers who watch the video will be deterred from trying drugs, adding that he hopes the video will help reduce the number of young people who turn to illegal drugs, even if only by one. Source: TBS DETROIT, Feb. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - As the world's largest freshwater watershed faces increasing pressure from extreme weather, population growth, and industrial demand, AquaAction has officially opened registration for the AquaHacking Binational Great Lakes and St. Lawrence 2026 Challenge, calling on students and innovators to develop solutions to critical regional water issues. The registration launch took place today in Downtown Detroit at Urban Tech Xchange (UTX), announced as the premiere sponsoring partner of the program. The event brought together students, entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, and community partners to mark the start of AquaAction's largest-ever AquaHacking Challenge, celebrating the program's 10th year. The seven-month innovation and entrepreneurship challenge serves as a launchpad for students and early-stage innovators from diverse backgrounds to launch water-focused ventures with real-world impact. With a goal of recruiting 1,000 applicants by the April 6, 2026 registration deadline, this is the most ambitious AquaHacking Challenge to date. Participants gain access to expert mentorship, industry leaders, technical and legal support, paid travel experiences nationally, and the opportunity to compete for up to $70,000 in seed funding, including a $25,000 top prize. Registration and participation are free, thanks to a strong network of sponsors and partners, including co-hosts The Great LakesSt. Lawrence Governors & Premiers and The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative. Teams in the 2026 Challenge will develop solutions across four core water issue areas: Water Access & Community Resilience including equitable access, flood management, and climate-ready infrastructure including equitable access, flood management, and climate-ready infrastructure Efficient Industry & Energy such as water-efficient cooling, hybrid energy systems, and water-smart agriculture such as water-efficient cooling, hybrid energy systems, and water-smart agriculture Great Lakes Circular Blue Economy including circular water use, fisheries innovation, and invasive species valorization including circular water use, fisheries innovation, and invasive species valorization Water Quality & Ecosystem Health from microplastics reduction to data, monitoring, and green infrastructure "The Great Lakes connect our economies, our communities, and our future." said Soula Chronopoulos, President of AquaAction. "Through this program, we're inviting students and innovators to challenge themselves, build real-world solutions, and help shape the future of freshwater, on both sides of the border. This is a life-changing experience for participants!" Major sponsors and partners announced At the launch event, AquaAction announced a growing group of sponsors and partners committed to supporting the next generation of water innovators, including: Bedrock's Urban Tech Xchange (UTX) Powered by Program Sponsor Program Sponsor Detroit / Wayne County Port Authority Diamond (Industry Challenge) Sponsor Governors & Premiers of the Great Lakes - Diamond (Industry Challenge) Sponsor Friends of the Rouge - Diamond (Issue Challenge) Sponsor Aurora Patents Silver Sponsor KPMG Silver Sponsor Delta Dental Silver Sponsor Warner Norcross + Judd First Place Prize Co-Sponsor National Research Council of Canada - Silver Sponsor Xylem - Silver Sponsor Peterborough KM Hunter Charitable Foundation Bronze Sponsor Central Michigan University Bronze Sponsor Atterx Community Award Ford Insurance Agency Water Ally Michigan State University Federal Credit Union Water Ally University of Michigan Flint, Office of Economic Development Academic & Entrepreneur Support Organization Partner Northwestern Michigan College Academic & Entrepreneur Support Organization (EOS) Partner University of Michigan Flint, College of Innovation and Technology Academic & (EOS) Partner Ru4MI Academic & (EOS) Partner NewLab Detroit EOS Partner ....and many more Together, these organizations will work alongside AquaAction's network of partners to find pilots and career opportunities for participating innovators. AquaAction encourages other sponsors to support the program. Learn more at aquaaction.org. Registration now open Registration for the AquaHacking Binational Great Lakes and St. Lawrence 2026 Challenge is now open. Students, academic institutions, corporate partners, and ecosystem supporters are invited to get involved and help drive solutions to critical regional water issues. Learn more and register at: https://aquaaction.org/en/our-programs/aquahacking-challenge/aquahacking-binational-2026 Quotes: "Local governments are on the front lines of protecting the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence. Programs like AquaHacking play a critical role in connecting student talent and entrepreneurial thinking with the real challenges our cities face every day." - Jon Altenberg, President and CEO, The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative "The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence are a shared responsibilityand a shared opportunity. AquaHacking exemplifies the kind of cross-border collaboration and innovation needed to address complex water challenges. By working together, we can help ensure a resilient and sustainable future for the region." - David Naftzger, Executive Director, Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors & Premiers "The AquaHacking Challenge creates a platform where students and innovators can test ideas and collaborate with industry experts. Convening this community to share ideas across industries and piloting these technologies at the Urban Tech Xchange helps develop solutions and strengthen our region's water systems, driving the economy forward." - Kevin Mull, Senior Director, Office of Urban Strategy and Innovation, Bedrock Co-Founder, Urban Tech Xchange "Protecting freshwater starts at the community level, in the rivers and watersheds that sustain our neighborhoods. AquaHacking is an exciting opportunity to connect student innovators with real challenges facing the Rouge River and the Great Lakes region." - Ashley Flintoff, Executive Director, Friends of the Rouge "The Great Lakes are essential not only to our environment, but to the economic vitality of Detroit and the entire region. Supporting AquaHacking is an investment in the next generation of innovators developing solutions that strengthen water resilience, protect critical freshwater resources, and help ensure a sustainable future for our waterfront communities and industries." - Jonathan C. Kinloch, Board Chairman, Detroit / Wayne County Port Authority "Great ideas only create impact when they're protected and positioned to scale. AquaHacking gives student innovators a rare opportunity to pair technical creativity with intellectual property strategy from the very beginning. We're proud to support a program that helps transform water innovations into viable ventures with real-world impact." - Ashley Sloat, President, Aurora Patents Quick Facts Through its flagship programs, including AquaHacking, AquaAction has catalyzed the launch of over 120+ water tech enterprises, that have resulted in: $200M+ in annual revenues Over 38,0000 Olympic swimming pools of water saved 400+ green jobs created in the blue economy Countless other environmental, social and economic benefits to watersheds. To see examples of past winners of the AquaHacking program and their innovations, visit: https://aquaaction.org/en/portfolio/tech-solutions About AquaAction At AquaAction, we develop leaders to protect and restore our most vital resource: freshwater. We empower peoplefrom students and entrepreneurs to community advocatesto protect freshwater through innovation, advocacy, and conservation. By supporting entrepreneurship, advancing education, and driving systems change, we help communities build resilience and ensure access to clean water for generations to come. SOURCE AquaAction Algerias state-run news agency APS, along with other public media outlets, has come under renewed criticism after publishing claims that leading US and international media had praised the Gara Djebilet iron ore megaproject. A closer review shows that no such articles exist, and the supposed quotations appear only in Algerian state-controlled outlets. The APS report, issued on 30 January 2026, asserted that major American media outlets and research centers had hailed Gara Djebilet as a rising global giant in the field of iron exploitation and production. Algerian state radio and television repeated the same storyline, attributing glowing assessments to Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Al-Monitor and the US Geological Survey, but without providing a single link, date, headline or verifiable reference. A simple research on the websites of these international outlets reveal no trace of such reporting, showing that the praise was fabricated by Algerian media and recycled across state propaganda channels. A pattern of fake news This is not the first time APS has been caught publishing false information. In fact, the United Nations itself has repeatedly debunked fake news circulated by APS. In October 2020, the UN publicly denied an APS report claiming that Morocco had failed in a supposed bid to join the UN Human Rights Council. The UN clarified that Morocco was not even a candidate, directly contradicting APS narrative. North Africa Post reported back then that this episode was another blow to the official news outlet, known for circulating fake news on sensitive topics. Only a month earlier, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights had condemned another APS story as a complete fabrication from start to finish, after APS falsely claimed that the UN Dispute Tribunal had thrown out a complaint by Algerian activists in 24 hours. According to OHCHR spokesman Rupert Colville, the APS article, circulated widely by Algerian outlets, was false information and entirely invented. Morocco and France signed on Monday in Rabat an action plan for judicial cooperation, one of the pillars of the strategic and multidimensional partnership set between the two countries. The 2026-2028 plan was inked by Moroccan minister of Justice Abdelatif Ouahbi and French peer Gerald Darmanin. It enables the two countries to establish structured cooperation, based on the exchange of expertise, the sharing of experiences and the support of major reforms undertaken by their judicial systems The cooperation axes include support of modernization of judicial administration, capacity building of human resources, the exchange of experiences on legislative regulations and joint participation in international events serving the two countries interests. During the signing ceremony, Ouahbi highlighted the importance granted by Morocco to advancing its cooperation ties with France in all areas, particularly in the field of justice, a key lever for good governance and the rule of law. For his part, Mr. Darmanin said Moroccan-French relations are based on a solid model partnership, political convergence and concrete cooperation in several strategic sectors. Judicial cooperation fosters institutional confidence, while respecting national specificities of each country, added the French official. This initiative is part of the continuity of institutional cooperation between the Ministries of Justice of the two countries in accordance with the previously signed agreements and Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs). This partnership reflects the firm commitment of Rabat and Paris to continue building cooperation based on trust and mutual respect, making justice one of the pillars of bilateral cooperation, in the service of stability, development and the rule of law at the national and international levels. The global green hydrogen market confronts a fundamental obstacle that threatens to derail its anticipated growth trajectory. A recent policy analysis by Gi2 identifies what researchers Badr Ikken and Zineb Moulane call an industrial paradoxproducers stand ready to invest, yet potential buyers refuse to commit without clear visibility on volumes, pricing, and technical standards. This uncertainty creates a debilitating cycle. Without firm purchase contracts, projects struggle to achieve financial closure, delaying construction of essential production and transport infrastructure. Conversely, the absence of operational infrastructure discourages industries from restructuring supply chains around a molecule that remains commercially unavailable at scale. The International Energy Agency has already revised downward its global green hydrogen production projections for 2030 to approximately 37 million tons annuallya 25% reduction from previous estimates. Without effective risk-sharing mechanisms between public and private actors, this declining trend appears set to continue. Morocco presents a notable exception to this global hesitation. The kingdom possesses a rare advantage through OCP, an integrated industrial player that currently consumes one million tons of gray ammonia annually, with potential demand reaching three million tons. This substantial domestic market provides stability that few renewable energy-rich nations can match, eliminating dependence on export markets during the sectors critical early phase. International regulated markets offer another promising avenue. The European ReFuelEU Aviation mandate requires airlines to progressively adopt sustainable fuels2% by 2025, rising to 70% by 2050effectively transforming carriers into structural buyers of hydrogen-derived e-fuels. Maritime transport follows similar trajectories under International Maritime Organization guidelines, with projections indicating demand for tens of millions of tons by 2050. Breaking this impasse requires decisive state intervention. Moroccos coordinated institutional approachtermed Offre Marocdemonstrates how coherent public action can structure emerging value chains. Germanys HGlobal program exemplifies innovative financial mechanisms, having secured a ten-year contract for 259,000 tons of green ammonia in July 2024, significantly improving project bankability through guaranteed prices and volumes. The Tanger Med port complex posted new traffic records in 2025, driven by rising container volumes, expanding bulk activity and continued growth in passenger and truck movements, according to the port authoritys annual report, which said the performance helped the port keep its position as the largest in Africa and the Mediterranean. The ports four container terminals handled 11,106,164 containers in 2025, an 8.4% increase from a year earlier, the port authority said in a statement. The rise was supported by the expansion of Terminal TC4, operated by APM Terminals, reinforcing Tanger Meds role as a key transshipment hub linking Europe, West Africa and major East-West maritime routes. Total volume handled at the complex reached 161 million tons, a performance the report describes as a sign of strategic stability. Truck traffic also strengthened, with 535,203 trucks processed in 2025, up 3.6% year-on-year. The increase was underpinned by higher exports of industrial goods (+4.8%) and agri-food products (+4.3%), confirming the ports role as a logistics gateway for Moroccan industry. Passenger and vehicle flows continued to grow. The port handled 3,220,422 passengers (+5.7%) and 895,341 cars (+5%) in 2025. The Marhaba travel campaign took place under optimal conditions, supported by the full rollout of a fixed-date ticketing system designed to better match ferry capacity with demand. The automotive segment declined, with vehicle traffic down 12% to 526,862 units. This included 327,569 vehicles exported from Renault plants in Melloussa and Casablanca, 126,874 from Stellantis Kenitra, and 39,751 in transshipment. The report attributes the drop to production adjustments tied to global demand trends rather than structural weakness. Tanger Med welcomed 1,319 mega-ships over 290 meters long, an 8.4% increase, reflecting both shipping lines capacity optimization strategies and the ports ability to handle larger vessels with fewer overall calls. Morocco, Washingtons longstanding ally and strategic partner, will receive $20 million in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) in 2026, according to a Bill passed lately by the U.S. House of Representatives. The American FMF program provides financial support to friendly foreign governments to fund the purchase of American weapons, defense equipment, services and training. The goal is to strengthen security partnerships and defense capabilities of partner countries. Morocco and the United States hold annual African Lion exercise, major military multinational exercise in the Continent. The North African Kingdom, a major non-NATO ally of the United States, plays a pivotal role in promoting regional stability and security. The two countries partnership is based on enduring friendship, mutual trust & respect, strong military cooperation, shared pursuit security and prosperity. Morocco is the largest buyer of US arms in Africa. The two countries are bound by a strategic military cooperation agreement that runs until 2030. Morocco operates a series of cutting-edge US-made weapons including F-16 fighter jets, Abram tanks and Apache attack helicopters. The Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) of Mauritania signed on Monday in Nouakchott a Memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the European Union (EU), providing for technical support from the European Center for Support of Electoral Processes (ECES), and launch of a collaborative initiative to bolster the capacity of the African countrys election-related institutions. Under the auspices of CENIs 20252027 strategic Plan, the project is designed to strengthen the legal and administrative framework for electoral processes, enhance planning methodologies, build professional competencies among election officials, and embed modern technology to advance transparency and credibility in electoral operations. The initiative further extends support to key constitutional bodies engaged in the electoral cycle, including the Constitutional Council, the Press and Broadcasting High Authority, and the National Human Rights Commission. This pact reflects a broader EU-Mauritania partnership aimed at nurturing democratic governance and institutional resilience, situated within existing cooperation frameworks between Nouakchott and Brussels. Following the trade deal announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, Indian refiners seek clarification about Russian oil imports from their government, with some pre-emptively halting purchases, sources with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg on Tuesday. President Trump broke the news of a deal with India on Monday, saying the U.S. would reduce tariffs on Indian imports in exchange for a commitment on the part of New Delhi to stop buying crude oil from Russia and boost purchases of American oil instead, along with other goods and commodities. The deal would also grant Indian energy buyers access to Venezuelan crude and maybe even Iranian crude, as suggested by the U.S. President, providing alternatives to Russian crude. India, the worlds third-largest crude oil importer, dramatically raised its imports of cheap Russian crude following Moscows invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. For nearly four years, India imported so much Russian crude that Russia became its single biggest oil supplier accounting for about a third of all imported crude. However, Indian refiners have recently scaled down purchases of Russian crude following the U.S. sanctions on Russias oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil. Indian refiners have halted imports from the now-sanctioned entities and turned to non-sanctioned Russian supply and alternative cargoes from the Middle East, the Americas, and, to a lesser extent, West Africa, arbitrage permitting. Supply from Russia could further drop, as per the trade deal with the United States that limits Indian imports of Russian crude. Since news of the deal broke, at least three Indian refiners have asked the Indian authorities for guidance on how to proceed with Russian purchases, if at all. Two of these refiners have temporarily stopped procuring oil from Russia, according to Bloombergs sources. Moodys warned today that an immediate suspension of crude oil imports from Russia on the part of India would present a major disruption for global oil markets. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com The United Nations is discussing a new international tax collection cooperation regime that, among other things, aims to extract money from the oil and gas industry for climate change. It is not the first attempt to make the industry pay, and it will not be the last. The ideas chances of success, however, remain uncertain. The idea is part of the Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation, a deal that is currently being negotiated at the UN headquarters in New York with a view to improving tax collection globallyand raising the tax burden for the very wealthy. The discussions unsurprisingly focus on sustainability, and there are plenty of UN member countries that are eager to make Big Oil pay for the natural disasters they are experiencing. However, there are also others who are not so eager to either put Big Oil on the hook for natural disasters or impose a global tax on the very rich. According to the latest updates from the discussions, there have been proposals to link the profits of the oil industry to compensation payments for climate change, but not everyone is on board with the idea on the grounds that the proposals lack clarity and strength. This is too bad for the proponents of making Big Oil pay for climate change: estimates from such organizations show that the income from such additional taxing could have reached $1 trillion for the period since 2015, when the Paris Agreement was signed. An agreement to tax Big Oil for what energy transition advocates say is its role in human-made climate change would no doubt trigger a reaction from that industry, and that reaction may well involve courtswhere anti-oil groups have had mixed success with making Big Oil pay for climate change. Related: Marathon Petroleum Beats Earnings Expectations as Refining Margins Surge California, for instance, filed a lawsuit against the oil industry back in 2024, originally accusing Big Oil of downplaying the risks associated with the use of oil and gas and climate change. It targeted Exxon, Chevron, BP, and ConocoPhillips. Later, however, Attorney General Rob Bonta added a special clause that requires a party who profits from illegal or wrongful acts to give up any profits they made as a result of that illegal or wrongful conduct. The purpose of this remedy is to prevent unjust enrichment and make illegal conduct unprofitable. How this lawsuit is going remains unclear, but most recently, the California political leadership has softened its tone to Big Oil in a bid to keep some refineries operating in the state and avoid a further surge in fuel prices, even as it strives to go all-electric in transport. Maine is also suing Big Oil for something termed climate lies. The climate deception case was granted the go-ahead by a federal judge last year. The plaintiffs have accused half a dozen Big Oil majors plus the American Petroleum Institute of failing to warn Mainers and concealing their knowledge about the devastating consequences of the increasing use of fossil fuels on Maines people, economy, and environment. Climate lawfare, as many call it, has become one of the preferred avenues for climate activists to punish the industry they hold singularly responsible for changes in weather patterns across the world. Yet because success is far from guaranteed, taxation has emerged as an alternative solution to what is shaping up as a major financing problem for the energy transition. The transition, it has turned out, is costing a lot more than previously hoped, and the money must come from somewhere. Big Oil is the obvious first pick: it makes a lot of money because it trades in vital energy commoditiesthat are being blamed for climate changeand it stands to reason that some of that money is due to those who fight against the use of these commodities, despite their vital nature. It remains to be seen if the UN discussions will end in a rule to tax Big Oil. Even if they do, the countries looking forward to the tax revenue would better have some patience. Big Oil is not giving up without a fight this time. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Iranian gunboats made a pointed move in the Strait of Hormuz this week, approaching a U.S.-flagged oil tanker in what U.S. and British maritime security sources describe as a failed attempt to interfere with the vessels transit. No shots were fired, the tanker continued on its way, and no damage was reportedbut the message was unmistakable. The incident comes as tensions between Iran and the United States simmer just below the boiling point, with Washington continuing to reinforce its military presence in the region and Tehran looking for ways to remind everyone that it still has cards to play. The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of the worlds oil supply passes, remains Irans most obvious pressure point. According to maritime security firm reports cited by U.S. media, several Iranian fast-attack craft approached the tanker as it transited the narrow waterway en route to Bahrain. The tanker continued on its route, and the incident did not escalate. But it landed as freight markets were already under strain. Tanker availability on Middle East routes has thinned, pushing rates higher even before the latest encounter. Last week, prices for crude shipments from the Gulf to Asia jumped sharply and have yet to retreat, as ship scarcity and regional tension continue to weigh on the market. Iranian naval harassment has a long track record of stopping just short of outright confrontation, while still forcing insurers, traders, and ship operators to price in risk. Even brief encounters like this one are enough to push insurance premiums higher and keep available tankers tied up longer than usual. Irans air defenses may be weakened, but its leverage at sea remains. Fast boats, missiles, and drones give Tehran a way to disrupt traffic in the Strait of Hormuz without crossing the line into open conflict. By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com For the first time, LOV is bringing its signature annual LOV Day to Washington, D.C. and Atlanta through local partnerships. CHICAGO, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Celebrating 15 years of empowering Black girls through mentorship, leadership development, and self-love, nationally recognized nonprofit Ladies of Virtue (LOV) is expanding its signature initiative, LOV Day , beyond Chicago for the first time. LOV Logo This expansion launches "The Year of Virtue," a yearlong celebration of LOV's purpose, impact, and legacy within and beyond its Chicago roots. The Year of Virtue affirms LOV's long-standing belief that strong leadership is built on strong character, centering values such as integrity, courage, and self-worth alongside academic and professional success. Founded in Chicago by CEO and Founder Jamila Trimuel, Ladies of Virtue has spent the past decade and a half preparing Black girls ages 9 to 24 to succeed academically, professionally, and personally while cultivating confidence, purpose, and civic leadership. Now, in honor of its 15-year milestone, LOV is bringing its highly anticipated annual LOV Day to new cities through partnerships with Stella's Girls Inc. in the Washington, D.C. area and the Campsgiving Foundation in Atlanta, expanding its community-centered model beyond Chicago for the first time. LOV Day, traditionally held during Black History Month and Valentine's Day, is a hallmark celebration centered on self-love, affirmation, and community care. The initiative includes LOV's signature LOV Boxes, thoughtfully curated packages filled with self-care items, affirmations, and educational materials, distributed during interactive workshops designed to uplift and empower Black girls. "For 15 years, Ladies of Virtue has been committed to making sure Black girls know they are seen, heard, and worthy," said Trimuel. "Expanding LOV Day nationally is not just about growth; it is about impact. The Year of Virtue represents our commitment to reaching more girls, strengthening communities, and grounding leadership in character, not just achievement. We believe strong leaders are built on strong character, and by partnering with trusted organizations in each city, we are honoring the resources already present while adding to them and expanding the reach of love, mentorship, and opportunity." Through this expansion, LOV and its established community partners will host LOV Day packing events, box distributions, and empowerment workshops. This community-centered approach ensures the initiative remains rooted in local needs while expanding access to love, mentorship, and character-based leadership development for Black girls across state lines. To date, Ladies of Virtue has served more than 3,000 girls and their families, providing mentorship, college and career readiness programming, and long-term alumni support through its "LOV for Life" model. Graduates continue to receive guidance for up to six years beyond high school, reinforcing LOV's commitment to sustainable, long-term impact. As LOV enters its next chapter, The Year of Virtue will include multi-city activations, storytelling, community partnerships, and expanded programming, all grounded in the organization's mission to instill purpose, passion, and perseverance in the next generation of Black women leaders. For more information about Ladies of Virtue and LOV Day, visit www.lovchicago.org . ABOUT LADIES OF VIRTUE Founded in 2011, Ladies of Virtue (LOV) is the leading mentoring and leadership program for Black girls in Chicago, with a mission of instilling purpose, passion, and perseverance in girls ages 9 to 18. For more than 10 years, the organization has empowered Black girls in underserved communities by building their confidence for college and careers, while simultaneously preparing them to become change agents in their communities. They are the only Chicago-based organization to offer a community-based model that integrates culture, one-on-one mentorship, group mentoring, leadership development, and mental health support exclusively for Black girls. LOV has been recognized by The Obama Foundation, the University of Chicago, and the Chicago Innovation Awards. MEDIA CONTACT Laura Bissett [email protected] 312-291-1099 SOURCE Ladies of Virtue Kuwait prepares to invite international oil companies to help it develop recently discovered offshore oil and gas fields, Kuwaits Prime Minister, Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, said on Tuesday. Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) will turn to foreign majors for collaboration and assistance for Kuwait Oil Company to develop the offshore fields, the official said at the Kuwait Oil and Gas Show, as carried by Reuters. KPC is also in discussions with international ?financial institutions to create a lease and lease-back model of Kuwaits domestic crude oil pipeline network, the Kuwaiti prime minister added. Last week, reports suggested that Kuwait is preparing to move forward with a major midstream expansion as it opens a $7-billion pipeline project to foreign capital. The deal involving international partners is part of a broader effort by Kuwait to upgrade transport capacity linking upstream production to export and processing hubs, while easing the financial burden on the state. Earlier this week, Kuwaits Oil Minister Tariq Al-Roumi told Reuters that the Gulf producer expects tenders for the Durra oil and gas field project, in cooperation with Saudi Arabia, to be launched this year. Kuwait Oil Company, the national oil firm of one of OPECs biggest Gulf producers, plans to invest as much as $3.9 billion (1.2 billion Kuwaiti dinars) in exploration drilling by 2030, Khaled Al-Mulla, Kuwait Oil Companys Deputy CEO for Exploration and Drilling, told Reuters at the end of last year. This is the biggest long-term budget for the Kuwaiti national oil company ever. With it, the firm plans to drill and maintain up to 6,193 wells by 2030. Earlier in 2025, Kuwait said it plans to invest as much as $50 billion to raise its oil production capacity to nearly 4 million barrels per day over the next five years. Oil production capacity in Kuwait last year hit a more than decade high of 3.2 million barrels per day (bpd), according to Oil Minister Al-Roumi. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Libya will step up its natural gas production to be able to supply more of the commodity to Europe, the chairman of the national Oil Corporation said today, as quoted by Reuters. Masoud Sulaiman said the countrys national oil company will aim to ramp up natural gas production to almost 1 billion cu ft daily and begin exploration in its shale deposits in the second half of the year, the Reuters report also said. Sulaiman did not elaborate on what volumes would be made available to European buyers. Libya has natural gas reserves of an estimated 80 trillion cu ft, the top oil official also said, speaking at the LNG 2026 gathering in Qatar. Exports of the commodity, however, are rather modest at the moment. The exports are shipped to southern Italy via the Greenstream pipeline from Western Libya. Last month, Libyan officials presented plans for attracting some $20 billion in fresh oil and gas investments, boosting crude oil production to 2 million barrels daily by 2030 and ramping up gas production as well. For this year, Libya will aim for gas production rates of an average of 700 to 750 million cubic feet daily. In oil, We witnessed the highest production rate in years, averaging 1.375 million bpd, which is a strong testimony to our recovery and stability, the countrys oil minister, Dr. Khalifa Abdulsadek, said at the Libya Energy & Economic Summit. We have launched a program with 15 companies, and we expect production to rise over the next five years with a $20 billion investment. Last year, Libya launched its first oil and gas exploration tender since 2007, which is also the first since the civil war erupted in the country in 2011 after the toppling of Muammar Gaddafi. Exxon, Chevron, TotalEnergies, and Eni were among the 37 international companies that expressed interest in Libyan acreage for oil and gas exploration at the tender. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com QatarEnergy is expected to announce a major long-term supply agreement with the biggest power utility in Japan, allowing the worlds second-largest LNG exporter to regain some of the market share it has lost there over the past decade. As soon as this week, QatarEnergy is set to announce a supply deal with Jera Co, Inc, the largest power generation company in the G-7 Asian economy, anonymous sources familiar with the negotiations told Bloomberg on Tuesday. The agreement would be for QatarEnergy to supply about 3 million tons of LNG per year to Jera, according to the sources. This would nearly double Qatari LNG supply to Japan, which was estimated at around 3.3 million tons in 2025, per vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. To compare, in 2017, Qatar supplied about 10 million tons of LNG to Japan. But back then, Japan was still the worlds top LNG importer and relied heavily on gas for power generation after closing all its nuclear power plants following the Fukushima disaster in 2011. Since then, Japan has started to gradually return nuclear power capacity online, following safety inspections, while global LNG supply surged with projects in the United States and Qatar. But the Qatari supply unlike the flexible U.S. contracts has very strict destination clauses prohibiting buyers from reselling cargoes. This has driven Japanese utilities to purchase LNG with more flexible delivery and pricing clauses, reducing the role of Qatar in Japanese LNG supply. The expected QatarEnergy-Jera deal could reverse the decline of Qatari supply to Japan and also help the Gulf exporter lock in long-term sales as it has undertaken a massive expansion of its export capacity, in the worlds single largest project for an LNG capacity boost. The mega-projects we have launched a few years ago will more than double QatarEnergys LNG production from 77 million tons per annum to 160 million tons per annum, including 142 million tons per annum from Qatars North Field, Qatars Energy Minister and QatarEnergys CEO, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, said at the LNG2026 conference in Doha earlier this week. Hereby, our projects will contribute about 40% of the new global LNG supplies over the next decade. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com rsted, the worlds largest offshore wind developer, is selling its entire European onshore business as the embattled firm looks to strengthen its balance sheet after a major rights issue last year. rsted on Tuesday said it had signed a deal with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), through its fifth flagship fund, Copenhagen Infrastructure V (CI V), to divest its entire European onshore business. rsteds European onshore business comprises onshore wind, solar, and battery storage projects in Ireland, the UK, Germany, and Spain. The total value of the transaction is $1.7 billion (1.44 billion euros) with closing expected in the second quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals. The sale marks the completion of the divestment program for rsted, which last year turned to its shareholders including the Danish state for a $9.35 billion rights issue to raise funds amid major industry headwinds, especially in the U.S. Last year, rsted signed a deal to divest 50% in its 2.9 GW Hornsea 3 Offshore Wind Farm to funds managed by Apollo Global Management in a transaction valued at $5.6 billion. At the end of 2025, the Denmark-based firm also signed an agreement with Taiwans Cathay Life Insurance and its affiliate Cathay Power to sell 55% of its 632?MW Greater Changhua 2 Offshore Wind Farm in the Taiwan Strait for about $790 million. The sale of the European onshore business to CIP for the equivalent of about $1.7 billion represents the third cornerstone transaction that rsted had previously announced in efforts to bolster its balance sheet and stop cash bleeding. rsted has thereby finalised its divestment programme as planned and significantly strengthened its financial foundation, the company said today. With the divestment of its European onshore business, rsted has signed transactions during 2025-2026 with proceeds totalling about $7.3 billion (46 billion Danish crowns), delivering on its target of more than $5.5 billion (35 billion crowns) in divestment proceeds during this period. Weve now substantially strengthened rsteds financial position, chief financial officer Trond Westlie said on Tuesday. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com By Lars Larson NW and national radio host, The Northwest Nonsense Riots over the weekend put federal buildings at risk in Portland and Eugene and elected Democrat Party city and state officials took the side of the rioters. Mayor Keith Wilson demanded that law enforcement officers working for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement resign their jobs. Both Oregon and Washington made a choice to back this nonsense. Theres a way to avoid it and still stay true to their ridiculous Sanctuary State stance. Tell citizens they may protest but when they violate the law by blocking streets, local police will clear them out. Thats not assisting ICE. Thats merely enforcing state and local laws police would enforce anywhere else. When police agencies and their officers take the side of lawless rioters, they leave ICE with one optionfire the tear gas. Citizens take noticepolice officers let some people break the law. People like Mayor Wilson decry the violent conflicts while creating the conditions that bring the conflict. We saw what happened to trust fund kid Feckless Ted Wheeler when he took that course and befriended Antifa and BLM. I figure the same fate lies ahead for Mayor Wilsonbut only after hes done more damage to the city of Roses. Thats the Rose City Rap. Join me at noon on KXL for 4 hours of Honestly provocative talk. Im Lars Larson ?Tokyo Japans Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako held a courtesy meeting with Nepalese President Ramchandra Paudel and his wife on Tuesday at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. The meeting marks a significant milestone as Japan and Nepal commemorate the 70th anniversary of their diplomatic relations. ?Welcoming the visiting delegation at their residence, the Imperial couple greeted President Paudel and his wife with warm handshakes and smiles. President Paudel is currently in Japan on an official visit to honor the anniversary. ?During the meeting, Emperor Naruhito recalled his 1987 visit to Nepal as Crown Prince, describing the country as "exceptionally beautiful." He shared photographs he took during that trip, including an image of women collecting water in a mountainous region. The Emperor noted that this experience sparked his lifelong interest in water-related issues and his subsequent academic studies. He then presented the photograph as a gift to President Paudel and his wife. ?The Emperor also expressed his condolences for the victims of the devastating 2015 earthquake in Nepal and conveyed his gratitude for Nepals support following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. ?In response, President Paudel thanked the Japanese people for their continued assistance and goodwill. He remarked that Nepalis hold Japan in high regard, noting that approximately 300,000 Nepali nationals currently work or study in Japan and are well-integrated. He concluded the meeting by extending a formal invitation to the Emperor and Empress to visit Nepal. Hospital employee and wife of suspect part of arrests in Cancun robbery Cancun, Q.R. Three people have been arrested for the armed robbery of a private hospital in Cancun. Police say Belen del Carmen N, Ruben Dario N and Ronny de Jesus N are in custody. All three were located after an investigation that included a review of hospital security cameras that showed them armed and entering the emergency area. On Monday, the State Attorney Generals Office reported on their arrests. Three people were arrested, allegedly related to the crime of robbery with violence perpetrated in a private hospital in the early morning of January 29 of this year, they said. The now detained individuals are identified as Belen del Carmen N, Ruben Dario N and Ronny de Jesus N, who were captured thanks to investigative work and the review of security cameras which made it possible to determine that four people entered the emergency area of the hospital center, carrying firearms with which they threatened the private security guards. Police did not say who the fourth person was. After entering the building, two of the alleged criminals went to the cashier area where, with a hammer, they broke the glass door and then went to the cashier area where employee Belen del Carmen N was. Police say Belen del Carmen N was allegedly threatened by the armed group, however, she was arrested for being a likely accomplice in the robbery. She is reported by police to be the wife of Ruben Dario N, one of the armed men. She is accused of being in charge of providing information to commit the robbery, which, according to reports from hospital staff, was for an amount of 2.5 million pesos. Investigative Police officers and Municipal Police officers later located objects used by the assailants in the robbery in a field off La Luna Avenue. Police say the group is also connected to the commission of extortion and robbery crimes, but did not provide further information. On January 29, 2026, the Galina Hospital in SM 12 of Cancun was the target of the early morning attack where armed men entered and made off with 2.5 million in cash. China, Singapore to deepen cooperation in fighting telecom, online fraud Xinhua) 09:30, February 03, 2026 Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong meets with Singaporean Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 2, 2026. (Xinhua/Zhai Jianlan) BEIJING, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong on Monday met with Singaporean Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam in Beijing. Wang said China is willing to work with Singapore to improve mechanisms and deepen cooperation in areas such as drug control, immigration management, and combating telecom fraud, online fraud and economic crime. He also said that they should strive to achieve further practical results and bring greater benefits to the people of both countries. He said China is willing to work with Singapore to implement the important consensus reached between their heads of state, viewing and developing bilateral law enforcement and security-related cooperation from a strategic, long-term perspective. Shanmugam expressed his willingness to maintain close communication with China and deepen practical cooperation on law enforcement and security. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) NEW YORK, Feb. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP's Construction Law Practice has been honored with a 2025 Law360 Practice Group of the Year award. The award represents the third Law360 Construction Practice Group of the Year recognition in the past six years for Greenberg Traurig, following wins in 2020 and 2022. The annual awards, now in their 16th year, honor practice groups that handled prominent litigation wins and significant transactions during 2025, Law360 said. "This honor reflects the strength and depth of our multidisciplinary construction team, which guides clients throughout the full lifecycle of their most complex and highprofile construction projects nationally and worldwide," Michael J. Thomas and Mark E. Ferrario, co-chairs of the firm's Construction Law Practice, said in a joint statement. "We firmly believe that our transactional practice makes us better litigators, and vice versa enabling us to provide developers and other clients with sophisticated legal advice that helps them succeed." The practice team, which comprises approximately 80 attorneys in 20 offices around the globe, achieved major milestones for clients in 2025, demonstrating its ability to deliver strategic, solutions-oriented counsel on complex construction projects, including negotiating prime contracts and representing clients in development litigation. Among its recent achievements, the team represented the plaintiffs in a lawsuit surrounding Brickell City Centre in Miami, securing one of the largest recoveries in a construction defect case in Florida history. The team also obtained a complete defense victory on behalf of its developer client in a construction defect lawsuit involving a large-scale, mixed-use condo project in Miami's Coconut Grove. Additionally, the practice secured a complete victory at trial on behalf of its lender client in a lien priority dispute surrounding a stalled, graffiti-covered mixed-use condo project in downtown Los Angeles. About Greenberg Traurig's Construction Law Practice: Greenberg Traurig's Construction Law Practice assists clients from the initial conception and planning of a construction project, through procurement and bidding, the negotiation and drafting of contracts, and construction, to project close-out and the resolution of disputes. Our lawyers are recognized locally and nationally as leaders in construction law, and many of our team members practice only construction law. We believe that our construction transactional practice makes us better litigators, our construction litigation practice makes us better transactional lawyers, and our combined practices give us unique insights that distinguish us from other firms. Supported by the multidisciplinary resources of one of the country's largest law firms, Greenberg Traurig's Construction Law Practice draws on our deep knowledge and experience to help clients navigate complex legal issues surrounding construction projects. About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP has approximately 3,000 lawyers across 51 locations in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia. The firm's broad geographic and practice range enables the delivery of innovative and strategic legal services across borders and industries. Recognized as a 2025 BTI "Best of the Best Recommended Law Firm" by general counsel for trust and relationship management, Greenberg Traurig is consistently ranked among the top firms on the Am Law Global 100, NLJ 500, and Law360 400. Greenberg Traurig is also known for its philanthropic giving, culture, innovation, and pro bono work. Web: www.gtlaw.com. SOURCE Greenberg Traurig, LLP Mexican military kill one and injure a second in Bacalar shootout with criminal gang members Bacalar, Q.R. One criminal gang member was killed and another wounded Monday in a shootout with the Mexican military. Navy personnel were shot at Monday afternoon while responding to a citizen report of armed men. Municipal police set up a roadblock Monday in search of the white car February 2, 2026. The armed men were seen in the town of Limones traveling in a white vehicle. The citizen who made the report said the men appeared to be threatening someone possibly for the intention of kidnapping them. Military personnel were sent to the area around 2:00 p.m. in search of the white car in response to that report. When they located the described vehicle and began a pursuit, they were fired upon. Mexican military personnel fired back, killing one man and injuring a second. The FGE (Fiscalia General del Estado) said they have started an investigation into the exchange of gunfire between the Mexican Navy and the criminal gang members. The car was located by Navy personnel who pursued the vehicle while being shot at February 2, 2026. The Quintana Roo State Attorney General (FGE) reports that an investigation has been opened following the events that occurred in the town of Limones, in southern Quintana Roo. According to initial investigations, members of the Mexican Navy responded to a citizens report alerting them that the occupants of a white Volkswagen were allegedly threatening a person with firearms, possibly with the intention of kidnapping them. While pursuing the vehicle, the naval personnel were fired upon and they returned fire in accordance with established protocols. As a result of these events, one person was killed and another was arrested. Two firearms and doses of suspected narcotics were seized at the scene. Military presence was heavy in the area after Navy personnel were fired upon by the criminal gang February 2, 2026. Members of the Mexican Navy who participated in the incident were unharmed. The State Attorney Generals Office and members of the Interinstitutional Group continue with the necessary procedures to clarify the facts and determine responsibilities, in accordance with the law. Reports indicate that the two gang members were part of the Caborca Cartel. The gang member killed at the scene has been identified as Adrian N, who was known among residents. One man was killed and the second taken into custody Monday afternoon February 2, 2026. The man in police custody has been named as 36 year old Jorge V from the city of Chetumal. During the operation, authorities seized two firearms and a 2014 Volkswagen Gol as well as a set of stolen license plates belonging to a 2017 Mazda car. The small town of Limones is located within the municipality of Bacalar. Owning a coffee or espresso machine at home can help you save money on daily trips to the coffee shop though the eye-watering prices of some espresso machines may make that logic feel a little faulty when youre first making the investment. The good news is, you dont always have to pay an arm and a leg for good coffee at home. HuffPost reached out to experts in the coffee industry to find the best espresso machines under $200 that perform just as well as the wildly expensive ones. Well be frank options that fit this criteria are a bit limited, and many of the experts we spoke to echoed the idea that paying for a pricier, higher-quality machine is worth it. That doesnt mean you have to resign yourself to paying nearly a thousand dollars, however. Below, find four expert-approved espresso machines under $250 that make for great entry-level buys. Advertisement Advertisement The experts consulted for this story do not necessarily endorse the products ahead unless otherwise noted. Amazon Casabrews CM5418 20-bar espresso machine While Eric Gantz, co-founder of Verena Street Coffee Co., said "expensive gear helps," he called the Casabrews CM5418 "a machine that gets the job done" if you're on a budget. "I recommend it to beginners who want cafe-style drinks at home without blowing the budget. The 51-millimeter portafilter means easy upgrades, and the stock dual-wall basket helps new users pull drinkable shots on day one. Swap to a single-wall or bottomless basket and the flavor jumps." Available in six colors and complete with a milk frother, the machine has a 20-bar pressure system and a detachable 34-ounce water tank to make multiple cups before you need to refill it. The top has a built-in cup warmer, and the machine is less than 6 inches wide to take up minimal space on your counter. Advertisement Advertisement $129 with coupon at Amazon (Regularly $140+) $118 at Target (Regularly $140) Amazon Nespresso Vertuo Next premium coffee and espresso machine Bernadette Gerrity, vice president at Cuban-style espresso brand Cafe Aroma, told HuffPost, "Nespresso's Vertuo Next espresso [machine] is perfect when you need a quick, single cup of espresso." Using Nespresso capsules and able to brew six different cup sizes (including single and double espresso), the Vertuo Next has extremely simple and user-friendly one-button operation. It automatically updates its software through WiFi or Bluetooth connectivity, has a removable 37-ounce water tank and layers the top of each cup with frothy crema. Advertisement Advertisement $125+ at Amazon (Regularly $180) $125+ at Target (Regularly $180) $190 at Crate & Barrel Williams Sonoma Capresso EC Select espresso machine "When recommending budget-friendly machines, we prioritize options with reliable pressure and a consistent heating system. This ensures more dependable heat for both pulling quality espresso shots and generating steam quickly," said Lindsey Sozio, founder of Lavender Coffee Boutique in Denver, Colorado. "The Capresso EC Select is an excellent entry-level choice, known for its simplicity and consistent performance, so you can jump into home espresso making without a big financial commitment." Advertisement Advertisement This 15-bar machine has a built-in frother, stainless steel-lined heating system, 40-ounce removable water tank, built-in cup warmer and dual-function filter, among other features all in a sleek, compact design that's only 6.5 inches wide. $100 at Target $100 at Amazon EC100: $116 at Amazon Advertisement Advertisement Amazon De'Longhi Classic espresso machine "The De'Longhi Classic Pump Espresso Machine is another favorite in the sub-$250 category due to its simplicity and reliability," Sozio told HuffPost. "It features a traditional, easy-to-use design with a removable water tank. A notable benefit is its manual steam wand, so you can have control over milk texture for crafting classic lattes and cappuccinos (a feature often reserved for more expensive models). Its a dependable option for consistently pulling good shots as well and being a good value for the budget-minded consumer." The De'Longhi Classic offers a 15-bar pump, stable temperature control and customizable preset recipes for single or double espresso, in addition to the milk frother. This model is a bit wider than others on this list at 8.9 inches, but is still designed to be compact and not take up too much room on your counter. $230 at Amazon Advertisement Advertisement $230 at Target Related... China Daily: Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi had strategic communication with Secretary of the Russian Federation Security Council Sergei Shoigu. Shoigu said that Russia firmly opposes Japans attempts to accelerate remilitarization. Whats Chinas comment? Lin Jian: China and Russia have highly similar positions on certain issues concerning Japan. Japans quickened remilitarization threatens regional peace and stability and has put the international community and regional countries on high alert. Regarding Japans faster moves to remilitarize itself, some basic facts need to be stressed. First, a series of treaties with full effect under international law, including the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation and the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, contain clear stipulations on Japans international obligations. Japans Constitution also has strict restrictions on Japans military strength, right of belligerency and right to war. Second, after WWII, Japan has never made a clean break with militarism. The Yasukuni Shrine still honors 14 convicted Class-A war criminals. The right-wing forces in Japan try to whitewash and gloss over its history of aggression by revising textbooks of history and other moves. Third, Japan has accelerated its military buildup. Japans defense budget has increased for 14 consecutive years up by over 60 percent in the past five years, reaching US$58 billion. The defense expenditure accounts for two percent of GDP. Japan has kept advancing the conversion of its frigates into aircraft carriers, developed and purchased intermediate-range missiles with a range of over 1,000 km, and built a combat system covering land, sea, aerial, space, cyber and electromagnetic domains. In 2025, Japan exported Patriot missiles and frigates for the first time and broke through the restrictions on deadly weapons exports. Japanese officials even clamored for the possession of nuclear weapons and sought to revise the three Non-Nuclear Principles. These facts demonstrate that Japan has been pushing for remilitarization with an actual roadmap and concrete steps. The lessons of the history are still fresh in memory. China and all other peace-loving countries must jointly reject the Japanese right-wing forces ambitions to remilitarize Japan and defend the outcomes of the WWII victory and hard-won peace in the world. AFP: The U.S. is expected to launch a critical mineral stockpile with US$12 billion in initial funding. This comes as Washington seeks to lower reliance on China for rare earths and other resources. Does the Chinese Foreign Ministry have a comment on this? Lin Jian: On maintaining the stability and security of global critical mineral industrial and supply chains, Chinas position remains unchanged. All sides have the responsibility to play a constructive role in this regard. China-Arab TV: Pakistans military has recently said that multiple attacks by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a terrorist organization, in Quetta, Gwadar Port and other places in the province of Balochistan killed 15 security personnel and over 18 civilians. The BLA claimed that 84 Pakistani security personnel were killed. Whats Chinas comment? Lin Jian: China strongly condemns the attacks. We mourn for the lives lost, and our hearts go out to the injured and those who lost their loved ones. China firmly opposes any form of terrorism and will as always firmly support Pakistan in combating terrorism, maintaining solidarity and social stability, and protecting the safety of the people. Telesur: It has been one month since the bombing carried out by the United States against civilian population and military targets, as well as critical infrastructure in Venezuela, followed by the invasion that led to the kidnapping of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife. What is the Chinese governments assessment of these developments after one month, and what role is China playing to help ensure the release of the presidential couple? Lin Jian: A month ago, the U.S. blatantly launched military strikes against Venezuela and forcibly seized President Maduro and his wife. Such hegemonic moves seriously violated international law, infringed upon Venezuelas sovereignty and threatened peace and stability in Latin America and the Caribbean. China firmly opposes this. China supports Venezuela in safeguarding its sovereignty, dignity and lawful rights, and will work with the international community to firmly defend the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, the fundamental principles of international justice, and international fairness. Nippon TV: Yesterday Japan succeeded in mining mud which is estimated to contain rich rare earths. It is reported they are aiming to lower reliance of rare earth supply on China. Does the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have any comment on this? Lin Jian: Weve noted that there have been similar reports in Japan in recent years. RIA Novosti: The Russia-U.S. New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty expires on February 5. Russian President Vladimir Putin previously announced that Russia was prepared to continue adhering to the New START treaty restrictions for one more year. But the United States has not yet responded to Russia. I wonder whats Chinas view on how will the absence of any arms control agreement between the two largest nuclear powers affect global strategic stability in the future? Lin Jian: China noted the constructive proposal Russia put forward regarding the arrangement after New START expires. We hope the U.S. will actively respond to the proposal and truly uphold global strategic stability. RIA Novosti: Earlier the Financial Times reported that U.S. President Donald Trump wants to maintain the nuclear weapon restrictions and include China in arms control negotiations. Whats your position? Lin Jian: Chinas position on a trilateral negotiation with the U.S. and Russia on nuclear arms control is clear. Chinas nuclear strength is by no means at the same level with that of the U.S. It is neither fair nor reasonable to ask China to join the nuclear disarmament negotiations at this stage. On the morning of February 3, 2026, President Xi Jinping held talks with President Yamandu Orsi of Uruguay, who is on a state visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. President Xi Jinping pointed out that despite long distance between the two countries, China and Uruguay share similar ideals and profound friendship. On this very day 38 years ago, China and Uruguay established diplomatic relations. Thirty-eight years on, no matter how the international situation evolves, China and Uruguay have always engaged with each other in the spirit of mutual respect and mutual benefit. Under the new circumstances, the two countries should carry forward past traditions, deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership, and let the tree of China-Uruguay friendship continue to grow and flourish. President Xi Jinping stressed that China and Uruguay should continue to firmly support each others core interests and major concerns, foster closer friendly interactions at all levels and in all areas, strengthen exchanges on governance experience, and continuously deepen strategic mutual trust. The fourth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) adopted the recommendations for formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan, drawing up a blueprint for Chinas economic and social development in the coming five years and opening up more opportunities for Uruguay and countries around the world. The two sides should strengthen the alignment of development strategies, deepen cooperation in areas such as economy and trade, finance, agriculture and animal husbandry, infrastructure construction, and information and communications technology, tap into the cooperation potential in emerging sectors such as green development, digital economy, artificial intelligence, and clean energy, and promote the transformation and upgrading of economic growth. The Chinese and Uruguayan people share a natural bond of affinity. The two sides should continue to deepen exchanges in areas such as culture, education, sports, and media and at the sub-national level, facilitate cross-border travel, and strengthen people-to-people connectivity. President Xi Jinping noted that the world is undergoing changes unseen in a century, the international situation is volatile and turbulent, and unilateral bullying practices are growing more rampant. China supports Uruguay in assuming the rotating chair of the Group of 77 and China, and stands ready to work with Uruguay to strengthen solidarity and cooperation across the Global South, jointly promote an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, move forward together in pursuit of common development, and make greater contributions to the building of a community with a shared future for humanity. China attaches high importance to its relations with countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), supports LAC countries in safeguarding their sovereignty, security and development interests, and supports Uruguay in assuming the rotating chair of both the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR). China stands ready to work with Uruguay and other regional countries to further deepen and substantiate the joint initiative of building a China-LAC community with a shared future. President Yamandu Orsi said that China has made great and admirable achievements under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, and that the 15th Five-Year Plan will bring greater opportunities to the world. Today marks the 38th anniversary of Uruguay-China diplomatic relations. The comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries is at its best time in history. China is an important cooperation partner of Uruguay, and has provided selfless assistance for Uruguays economic and social development. Growing relations with China is now Uruguays state policy, gaining unanimous support from all political parties and across the society. Uruguay firmly supports the one-China principle and supports the policy of One Country, Two Systems. Uruguay aspires to deepen comprehensive strategic partnership with China and bring bilateral cooperation to a higher level. The two sides should strengthen the alignment of development strategies, deepen cooperation in areas such as trade, investment, science and technology, poverty alleviation, green economy, and digital economy, and promote people-to-people exchanges in education, sports, tourism, and other fields in order to inject stronger momentum into Uruguay-China relations and deliver greater benefits to the two peoples. Uruguay commends the vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity proposed by President Xi Jinping. Facing the challenging international and regional situations, Uruguay stands ready to work with China to promote respect for the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter, uphold multilateralism, safeguard the international trading system, further advance LAC-China relations, and defend the common interests of the Global South. After the talks, the two heads of state jointly witnessed the signing of over 10 cooperation documents on investment promotion, trade, among others. Prior to the talks, President Xi Jinping hosted a welcoming ceremony for President Yamandu Orsi in the Northern Hall of the Great Hall of the People. As President Yamandu Orsi arrived, a guard of honor lined up in salutation. The two heads of state stepped onto a stand, after which a military band played the national anthems of China and Uruguay as a 21-gun was fired in Tiananmen Square. President Yamandu Orsi reviewed the guard of honor of the Peoples Liberation Army and watched the march-past in President Xi Jinpings company. At noon, President Xi Jinping hosted a welcome banquet for President Yamandu Orsi in the Golden Hall of the Great Hall of the People. Wang Yi was present at the above events. During the visit, the two sides issued the Joint Statement Between the Peoples Republic of China and the Oriental Republic of Uruguay on Deepening the China-Uruguay Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. This is part of Wet February, a series about Americas increasingly muddled relationship with drinkingand how to sip your way through it wisely and well. While one of the bartenders at the legendary Connaught Bar in London mixes your martini tableside, youre invited to choose your bitters to complete the drink. Lavender, perhaps? Or would tonka, coriander, or cardamom please you? Oh, what about the house-developed Dr. Agos? Whatever your choice, you feel special for having collaborated on your order. But in truth, the selection process is so carefully planned by the Connaught that theyre still behind the wheel. Its customization and control in perfect balance. Recently, though, some bars have been kicking customization into overdrive. Destinations that earned their place on best of lists with cocktails uniquely composed via creativity and expertise are handing control over to guests, and by my estimation, the trend could be heading into chaotic territory. Preselecting five different bitter options that work well with a classic martini is one thing. But letting guests run wild adding tinctures across cocktails, resulting in something like a chrysanthemum margarita? You cant blame cocktail bars for giving the people what they seem to want. Personalization and customization are buzzwords around the Gen Z audience from marketing to fashion, and consumers seem to respond well to what feels catered to them in our increasingly isolated reality. Perhaps it was only a matter of time before the customization standard in other hospitality spaces splashed over to cocktail bars, too. But, then, arent cocktail bars one of the spaces where we go to experience their creations? We might shout requests at concerts, but we dont ask our favorite bands to rewrite their songs on the fly. Guests increasingly want that ability to tweak things to their preference, said Matt Piacentini, managing partner and director of operations at the Up & Up in New York City. Gluten-free pasta, oat milk, its everywhere in the service industry now. Cocktails are just the latest thing to fall under that umbrella. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Informally, customization has always been an option in cocktails, typically at more casual bars where patrons are likelier to order standard call drinks than choose from a highly conceptualized menu. Ordering a gin and tonic and specifying ones preferred gin counts as personalization. The martinigin or vodka, wet or dry or bone-dry, etc.is a classic version. Some cocktail bars are simply formalizing this ordering process, like Bar Edera in Minneapolis. Their Martini My Way is overtly customizable based on spirit, preparation, and garnish. Its a drink people already have strong opinions about, so it made sense to let them shape it, said the bars general manager, Aaron Rawson. Printing the full list of options guests have for a famously personalized cocktail aside, though, do we really need to take $22 cocktails into call-drink territory, leaving a cocktails finished flavor profile up for grabs? Advertisement In restaurants, its fairly common for some adults to say, I just want protein and I dont want these starches that come with it, etc., and I do think you lose a major part of the culinary experience by going too far, said Ben Potts, founder and partner at Unfiltered Hospitality. From a beverage perspective, you might as well make that drink that home. If you want a cocktail where you can select the spirit, how its prepared, what syrups and garnishes are added, why are you bothering to have a professional make it for you? Likewise, if youve decided to head to a destination cocktail bar, isnt it because you want to absorb what that spot is known for and why? Advertisement Youre going to bar to experience their version of hospitality, said Chris Tunstall, co-founder of A Bar Above cocktail consultancy. Letting go, being part of that journey, is beneficial, as opposed to pushing your own flavor preferences just trust the bartenders to do what they do really well. Advertisement Advertisement Some bar managers feel theres no use fighting this consumer desire to tweak things to their specifications. But theyve found a savvy way to avoid total bedlam: Printing more options on menus actually keeps customization where they can filter guests differing requests through their own quality standards. Its better than a guest not seeing exactly what they want and ordering something totally outside of the bars program, reasons Logan Rodriguez, beverage director at Oddball in New York City. As bars become more creatively audacious and culinary, it feels more and more like if a guest isnt ordering from the listed menu, then they arent getting the real experience. For a lot of bars, the lowest-friction solution to this is modifying existing items as best they can so that guests can get a respectably good sense of the experience. Its an if you cant beat em, join em approach that only really works when its well strategized. The average guest doesnt have anywhere close to the working knowledge of the professional behind the bar, so leaving key decisions up to them would require more education than most people want when theyre just trying to enjoy a night out. Every single possible combination a patron can make, then, must be painstakingly dialed in so the drink delivers no matter whatbecause if it doesnt, guess who will be blamed? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Too much choice becomes noise, said Dominic Dijkstra, director of mixology at Waldorf Astoria Osaka. Customization only works when its tightly curated. The Osaka Waldorfs bar Canes & Tales features a cocktail so intricately conceptualized, its a master class in how offering guests a few options still feels definitively curated. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a Rob Roystyle drink with a choice of Glenfarclas 10- or 25-year-old Scotch whisky. Every drink on the Canes & Tales menu is inspired by one of the stories in F. Scott Fitzgeralds Tales of the Jazz Age, Dijkstra explains; the choice of the age for the whisky reflects Benjamin Buttons living life in reverse. Advertisement The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a fully composed cocktail with one element of personalization Canes & Tales can remain in control of, and that serves a storytelling purpose, too. It doesnt require much consumer education, and doesnt cause guests decision fatigue. Advertisement And theres yet another way this cocktail represents a positive form of customization on a bar menuits third option for the whisky is a nonalcoholic one from Japanese brand NEMA. This much is clear amid the noise of cocktail bars potentially undermining their own authority with various tinctures, liqueurs, and spirit bases: Drinks that are convertible from alcoholic to nonalcoholic are a definitive win. Advertisement I first encountered this type of customization at Silver Lyan in Washington, D.C., and learned this is something the bars owner, Ryan Chetiyawardana (aka Mr. Lyan), has been doing for a decade at other barsits now a feature of his new New York bar, Seed Library, too. When we were working on the menus at [Londons] Dandelyan and White Lyan, we had a separate section for nonalcoholic cocktails, Chetiyawardana said. We try to make everything we do as inclusive as possible, and in one regard, we thought we were being considerate having that different section catering to any palate or mood. However, some guests didnt want to feel relegated to some other part of the menu. Fortunately, Chetiyawardanas menus are known for their artfully deconstructed and scientifically composed cocktails. He and his team have an arsenal of tinctures, extracts, oils, and juices theyve created from just about every culinary ingredient imaginable, which they can tap to re-create the sensory experience of one of their alcoholic cocktails without relying on nonalcoholic spiritsan industry category thats quickly evolving but still not quite up to snuff. Advertisement Advertisement Take, for example, the Mighty O on Silver Lyans menu: Its Scotch whisky, miyeok muchim cordial, turbo persimmon, lemon, and antler, and its available booze-free for $5 less. People are excited about the stories our drinks tell and the ways weve been able to pull out unique flavors and techniques, and those are the bits they want to partake in, Chetiyawardana said. We decided to make these wonderful stories weve been able to crystallize into drinks available whether people want to drink alcohol or not. Advertisement Advertisement At Silver Lyan, my group ordered some drinks in both forms and couldnt believe how little difference there was between the alcoholic and nonalcoholic versions. The inclusivity that comes with allowing guests to experience artful cocktails in destination bars is a real level up from the nonalcoholic menu sections that can seem like afterthoughts at even the priciest joints. Like customizable alcoholic cocktails, these boozeless beverages only work when bars make a real dedicated effort. As the majority of nonalcoholic spirits still cant quite replicate alcohols sensory experience and texture, the bars that succeed with convertible drinks dive deeper into ingredients to find closer matches. Advertisement Owner of BarChef in New York and Toronto Frankie Solarik said a bars versatility in turning alcoholic cocktails boozeless demands an extremely well-versed staff and strategic mise en place (meaning all possibly needed ingredients are prepped and ready to use behind the bar). BarChef doesnt print that every cocktail can be made sans alcohol, but guests can request anything theyre interested in without booze. He believes accommodating guests preferences regarding alcohol is more of a fine-dining approach to cocktails, just as a restaurant would ensure a diner can still enjoy the dish of their choosing even if theyre allergic to a certain ingredient. Advertisement Half of the core cocktail menu at Crane Club in New York can be prepared without alcohol. At Oddball, unconventional menu items like a blueberry horseradish daiquiri and palo santo Negroni can be made boozeless. Indienne in Chicago features gin-and-tonic and spritz menus on which the cocktails can be made alcoholic or non, and Cat Bite Club in Singapore offers four complex cocktails that guests can order without booze. More cocktail venues are adopting this approach, and this kind of customization is becoming the mark of a bar worth its salt. Advertisement Thats a clear improvement for cocktail bars and their guests. More people will not only feel welcome in these spaces even if theyre not imbibing, but theyll get to experience the same flavor journeys as those who are partaking, too. Ideally, bars would focus their energy on this alcoholic-to-non customization instead of turning their alcoholic cocktails into optional-ingredient-driven flow charts. This is on guests, too: When you go out, why not try to actually enjoy what makes that bar distinctive? If you really want to micromanage every aspect of your drink, maybe its time to break out the shaker at home. GENEVA, N.Y., Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- What are Employee and Employer Support Services, and how can they make a difference in people's lives? A HelloNation article answers this question by examining how EESS provides free and confidential support to workers and their families. Family Counseling Expert Scott Ostrowski of Geneva contributes insights in this coverage, showing how these programs help reduce stress, improve employee well-being, and strengthen workplaces in the Finger Lakes region. Family Counseling Expert Scott Ostrowski Speed Speed The HelloNation feature explains that the pressures of work, family, and personal responsibilities can easily build up. Many people are not aware that help may already be available through their employer. Employee and Employer Support Services are designed to provide accessible, confidential counseling for employees and their families, removing barriers such as high costs or lack of insurance. By offering these sessions at no charge, EESS makes it easier for people to take the first step toward support. Family Counseling Expert Scott Ostrowski notes in the article that the range of challenges addressed through EESS is broad. Some employees use the program to manage stress in the workplace or to work through conflicts with colleagues. Others may seek support for family transitions, parenting challenges, or personal struggles such as anxiety, grief, or depression. With Employee and Employer Support Services, individuals can discuss sensitive issues privately, knowing their conversations remain fully confidential. A key advantage of EESS is that it extends beyond the employee. Many programs include immediate family members, meaning spouses and children can also access services. The HelloNation article points out that this broader reach strengthens households, giving parents and families the support they need to navigate stress. For employees balancing work and home life, this added benefit is especially valuable. Employers also gain from these services. The feature emphasizes that workers who feel supported are more engaged, productive, and stable in their roles. Without help, stress can lead to burnout, absenteeism, and turnover. By offering Employee and Employer Support Services, businesses invest in both employee mental health support and the long-term health of their workforce. Accessing EESS is a simple process. Employees can call a program office to schedule appointments, without the complications of insurance approvals. This ease of use reduces stress at the very first step and encourages more people to reach out for help. Family Counseling Expert Scott Ostrowski underscores that straightforward access is one reason the program is effective in supporting those who may otherwise hesitate. Confidentiality is a cornerstone of the design. Just as in traditional counseling, details from sessions remain private. Employers may receive general usage reports, but no individual information is shared. This structure helps employees feel safe using the program, fostering trust and making them more likely to take advantage of available resources. For some, EESS may be the first counseling experience. The HelloNation article highlights how the program offers short-term support for immediate concerns, often a set number of sessions. When longer-term help is needed, counselors can refer individuals internally or to community providers, creating a smooth transition to ongoing care. In this way, EESS serves both as a practical support system and as a bridge to further resources. In the Finger Lakes region, many organizations now offer EESS, ranging from schools and healthcare providers to offices across different industries. The article notes that as more employers embrace these programs, awareness and access continue to grow. By integrating counseling into workplace benefits, companies normalize mental health support as part of everyday life. This cultural shift is another key benefit of Employee and Employer Support Services. By making counseling available through work, businesses send the message that asking for help is a strength. Over time, this reduces stigma and encourages open conversations about stress and mental health in the workplace. The article stresses that such openness not only benefits individuals but also creates healthier organizational cultures. Ultimately, the HelloNation feature shows that EESS programs provide real relief. Employees know they have free, confidential counseling available when they need it most, whether to handle everyday stress or navigate deeper personal challenges. By supporting both individuals and families, and by fostering stability at work, Employee and Employer Support Services strengthen entire communities. The full article, What Is EESS and How Can It Help You , highlights Scott Ostrowski's perspective as a Family Counseling Expert and explores the value of Employee and Employer Support Services in promoting employee mental health support throughout the Finger Lakes. About HelloNation HelloNation is a premier media platform that connects readers with trusted professionals and businesses across various industries. Through its innovative "edvertising" approach that blends educational content and storytelling, HelloNation delivers expert-driven articles that inform, inspire, and empower. Covering topics from home improvement and health to business strategy and lifestyle, HelloNation highlights leaders making a meaningful impact in their communities. SOURCE HelloNation This is part of Wet February, a series about Americas increasingly muddled relationship with drinkingand how to sip your way through it wisely and well. Americans are drinking less. And across the country, brewers, vintners, and distillers are sweating stagnant sales. Some of the countrys biggest brands have already tightened their belts. In 2025, legacy Oregon craft brewery Rogue Ales & Spirits filed for bankruptcy and shuttered operations, California uprooted 38,134 acres of wine grapes (in order to cope with overproduction and stymie future excess crops), and Jim Beam announced it would cease production of bourbon at its main distillery for the duration of 2026. An increasing push toward sobriety has flooded the market with nonalcoholic alternatives to traditional tipples. Amid all this cultural drying out, some in the beverage alcohol industry have begun decrying what they view as a dastardly neo-temperanceeven neo-Prohibitionistmovement. Wine, which has always accounted for a smaller percent of alcohol sales than beer and spirits in the U.S., is struggling most of all. In the first half of 2025, wine sales shrank 6.7 percent year over year, compared to a reduction of 4.7 percent for beer and 3.2 percent for spirits. Over the last decade or so, wine has also ceded market share to beer and spirits, accounting for 17 percent of sales in 2011, now down to around 15.8 percent. But the wine industry is not taking the new sober slump without a fight. Where beer and spirits have largely opted for diversification into nonalcoholic renditions of their traditional offerings as a hedge against the surge in sobriety, wine is relying on its smooth and rounded voice to push back. Perhaps its because wine is feeling the squeeze more than the others, but industry veterans are leading the charge against todays push for temperance. Wine, they argue, still has a place in a century obsessed with well-being. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the world of beverage alcohol, winemakers do not necessarily feel a kinship with their maltier peers. When I talk about wine as alcohol, people in the room literally flinch, said Felicity Carter, the founder of Drinks Insider. They dont think of themselves as being pushers of ethanol. They see themselves as offering a cultural product. The issue is that, at a lobbying level, the governing health bodies do not see it that way. Winethanks to its religious, agricultural, and culinary rootshas long enjoyed a status apart from other alcohols. Under Prohibition, the sale of all alcohol was illegal, with the exception of sacramental wine. Americans were also permitted to produce wine at home for domestic consumption, while homebrewing beer was still outlawed. Karen MacNeil, author of The Wine Bible and the co-founder of Come Together, a Community for Wine, noted that wines grouping with other alcohols began rather recently. In the 1980s, the spirits industry mounted what was called the equivalency campaignthe idea that a glass of wine equaled a beer which equaled a shot of, say, whiskey or tequila. In other words: All alcohol is the same. Begrudgingly, wine is still commonly grouped into this big, indiscriminate bucket of booze. Advertisement Advertisement The problem for wine is that this bucket is increasingly the target of a coordinated effort to malign alcohol consumption. Our current fitness-frenzied decade and similar pushes for sobriety in the 1980s have roots in the original temperance movement, which culminated in the 1919 ratification of the 18th Amendment, ushering in a decade of Prohibition. Far from being organic upwellings of sober passion, these pushes have reflected a remarkable level of coordination. The many societies, lobbies, and publications that backed early temperance represented a sophisticated regime of communication. The Anti-Saloon League was an early pioneer of what we might call public relations today. They built coalitions, unified messaging and slogans nationally, placed op-eds in newspapers, and aligned their teetotaling cause with other issues like public health and family policy. The passage of Prohibition was one of the greatest lobbying successes the country has ever seen. On more than one occasion, temperance campaigns have proven to be incredibly persuasive at influencing public sentiment and national policy. Advertisement Advertisement Ironically, this is where wine may have a strength. There is much more of a developed ecosystem of wine writing, explained Esther Mobley, the senior wine critic for the San Francisco Chronicle. We have two full-time wine writers and no full-time writers dedicated to other beverages. That helps in getting the word out more effectively, especially at a time like this when theres a sense that they [winemakers] need to band together to boost the whole industry and not just their individual brands. Advertisement Advertisement For every professional certification you can get in beer or spirits, there are five available in wine. Achieving the title of Master of Wine, a feat that requires candidates to become walking atlases of the worlds most obscure wine regions and savants in technical wine production, which only 517 people have managed to do since 1953, is a far more rigorous educational process than getting most Ph.D.s. The wine industry spans a network of university laboratories, agricultural communities, robust trade organizations, legacy publication platforms, and neighborhood sommeliers. Working in wine at all already requires a high degree of coordinated communication. Advertisement Youve got this layer of critics and educators and certification bodies and sommeliers, Carter explained. Theyre attracted by the complexity of wine, which is the very same thing that can just be baffling for ordinary consumers. Basically, its the inherent complexity which has allowed all these other layers to flourish, which hasnt really happened in other categories. Wine, then, is at the reins of the most formalized network of communicators in the world of alcohol. For decades, it has developed an apparatus to explain the complexities of terroir, fermentation, climate, and grape varietals to often wide-eyed consumers. Now, in the face of an existential threat to the wine business, a new message is beginning to gel from the far-flung geographies of the wine world: Wine is good for community. Advertisement Advertisement In response to the successes of Dry January and Sober October, wine has come up with its own rhyming, monthlong alternative: Come Over October. In 2024, MacNeil, along with public relations and communications executives Gino Colangelo and Kimberly Noelle Charles, launched the campaign with a focus on togetherness, community, friendship, and sociability. In the campaign, clinking glasses, bokeh photography of autumnal evening banquets, and bright, laughing faces cast wine as a nonnegotiable tablemate to proper hosting. They even hosted a congressional wine reception in conjunction with WineAmerica to mark the inaugural month that year. While this is the buzziest of wines initiatives, the fixation on community permeates the industry. Advertisement Mobley said that the message is popping up more organically as well. What I see is a lot of folks expressing a similar message on an individual business basis. I hear the argument that wine brings people together and inspires togetherness. Its not something meant to be consumed alone (though I have no problem with people having a glass of wine alone). Its not a single-serving-type beverage. It demands sharing. The culmination of the 1980s push against drunk driving led to a boom in nonalcoholic beer. At that time, wines respite from the sober sales slump was the roaring popularity of the French paradox. The French, the theory goes, eat plenty of rich foods with saturated fats but have surprisingly little heart disease. How do they get away with it? In the early 90s, it was widely held that the presence of resveratrol in the red wine the French so love to drink helped build heart health. Nowadays, as more studies come out emphatically declaring that no amount of alcohol is healthy, wine communicators are wary of referring to the drinks health benefits. But social health is a different story. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Monika Bielka-Vescovi, a Napa-based wine educator, said, Many companies and private people in wine have really jumped into the movement. It has allowed us to focus on being together and enjoying a glass of winesomething we increasingly postpone and stay away from due to the changes we see in the world, spending more time online rather than with friends. This time around, wine is hoping that a different kind of heart ailment will bolster its sales during a downturnloneliness. For lovers of wine, the multisensory experience of sharing a bottle among friends is shaping up to be a salve to the confines and isolation of digital life. While the industry is not making any promises that a bottle of cabernet will improve your longevity, they are increasingly suggesting that we should all touch grass, or at least come together around a glass. And wine is in a much better position than most to communicate this message to consumers who might be tempted to turn their sober-curiosity into a full-fledged lifestyle. Advertisement Wine has this unique quality of taking consumers to the sensory level, Bielka-Vescovi concludes. When you have a glass of wine, you dont just talk about a grape variety, you have a sensory experience. We dont only communicate verbally; wine allows us to start communicating nonverbally. You cannot do this online. You have to find time and place to focus on using this sense of taste and smell. Advertisement As winemakers around the world brave a dreary market, low-end, high-volume brands will surely feel the brunt of souring consumer sentiment. But wines with character, artistry, and a sense of place continue to offer drinkers intrigue and utility beyond the mere thrill of inebriation. Wellness, we have increasingly come to accept, is not just a physical state. It comprises our mental health, our spiritual sanity, and our social connections. Wine is here to remind us that analog aesthetics offer up something digital displays cannot. Its a compelling argument we will continue to hear in the coming years, and one that may just work. After all, if theres one thing the wine industry is equipped to do, its deliver a message in a bottle. Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. On this weeks Amicus Plus bonus episode, Dahlia Lithwick was joined by Kristin Clarens, an immigration lawyer and advocate who has focused much of her 20-year career on unaccompanied youth and noncitizen kids. Clarens teaches a course at the University of Virginia School of Law to help young lawyers understand the impact of the immigration system on communities. The pair discussed the brutal toll Donald Trumps mass-deportation policy is taking on children and families. Their conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity. Dahlia Lithwick: Can you talk about the Trump administrations theory of the case in these immigration sweeps that caught up Liam Ramos and other children, who were rushed into detention centers before there was time to file legal proceedings to protect them? Kristin Clarens: I think this government is playing with the publics idea of who has broken the law. Theres a real disconnect between individuals who are in our communitiestheyre our neighbors, theyre following the letter of the law as we understood it a year ago, a month ago, a week agoand the governments actions. Following the law doesnt protect these families from this type of aggressive and egregious enforcement that fell on the shoulders of this sweet-faced child. You could see the confusion and fear in his face, but what you didnt see is the confusion on the faces of the attorneys and other legal advocates trying to navigate a system thats changing underneath our feet, a system that doesnt offer protection even for people who are following the law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I am not this familys lawyer, but my understanding is that Liams family came here to seek asylum: They filed their asylum application as they were supposed to. They have gone to court. There are lots of requirements when a person is applying for asylum, and my understanding is that they have followed them all. It is also my understanding that to the extent there have been any legal issues with Liams parents, itd be the same that many of us havea speeding ticket. Id hate for somebody to look at my driving record and assign some sort of moral criminality to me, for that to indicate that Im suddenly the type of person who should be picked up and drop-kicked into a detention center, maybe with my kids. That doesnt seem like the type of criminal behavior the American public is looking to root out. What were seeing with enforcement from this administration is that even people who are following the law, to the extent that that law has been spelled out, are being stopped and detained and ultimately sent, maybe not to their country of origin but, even more mystifyingly, to another random country, potentially even a random continent. Advertisement Advertisement So we have this tension between the idea that theres a legal process and that if you dont follow it, you must face consequences, but that legal process is constantly changing, and you may face new unforeseen consequences that are so devastating, especially for young children. And this cannot be fixed. This childs time in the detention center, whether its three days or three months, or time out of this country as he tries to get back to his momwe cant fix that even if we ultimately do find ways to repair some of the breakdowns in the system that this administration has caused. Advertisement Youve worked at that immigration facility in Dilley, Texas, where Liam was being held. We all saw absolutely shattering footage last week, when members of Congress visited him and his dad. We cant see the facilityits not open to the press or camerasbut can you paint a picture of what it looks like? What is happening there? Advertisement Dilley is one of the parts of Texas that might exist in many of our imaginations, because we saw these images of shipping-container-type places on the side of the highway with tumbleweeds and lots of undulating desert. Sometimes at the bottom of those undulations are culverts, or Department of Homeland Security vehicles will pop up. Along the stretch of highway beside the Dilley campus is a big privacy fence that runs around the facility. Advertisement Advertisement When I worked there, I was part of one of the teams on-site when families were being reunited after family separation during Trump 1.0. We were mostly in this large conference room, like a church lunchroom, with tons of long tables in the middle, with these little semiprivate consult rooms off to the side. There were TVs all over the place, playing whatever advocates could think of to try to captivate the attention of these kids. One of the movies that was playing was Transformers. Now, every time I think of those images of Los Angeles and the excitement and hope of that movie, it collides with my memories of all these scared kids who were sitting on the floor while we tried to make connections with them. Much like weve heard from Minneapolis, these adults in the room end up having to walk these kids into an immigration court where they know theyre going to be detained, or were with these children, knowing that theyre likely to be removed, or they have just suffered separation. Its such an incredibly challenging moment to try to connect with this young child whos never met you, not to mention, in a lot of instances, cultural and linguistic barriers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dilley feels like a prison or a jail. The security measures you have to take to get in are extensive. Theres no freedom to walk around. We advocates were not even allowed to leave the conference-room hall we were in. Theres an asylum officer on-site, and when we were allowed to attend some of the hearings, wed have to be accompanied by armed guards. Its a pretty desolate place. Sometimes DHS and the administrations will try to characterize these facilities as summer camps. Theyre certainly compelled by a settlement agreement to try to make them the least restrictive possible, but having worked in many prisons, it feels like a prison. Dilley was mothballed in 2024, after President Joe Biden phased out family detention in 2021, but CoreCivic, the private-prison company that runs the facility, reopened the 2,400-bed South Texas facility last year, in Trumps second term. The Trump administration is capable of learning, and it seems to have learned from its mistakes in 1.0, reverse-engineering a new kind of family separation in 2.0 that looks different: You can tear families apart and traumatize children and parents in ways that dont make the headlines that maybe kids in cages did. Learned is a generous word, but what has this administration done to hide some of the worst iterations of what Family Separation 2.0 looks like on the ground this time? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This administration went back to the drawing board after Trump 1.0 and developed a strategic wraparound approach to dismantling a system of humanitarian protections here in this country that have been core to our American spirit since certainly post-Holocaust, but even before that. Historically, it has mattered to us that we are a country that offers a safe haven for people. It matters to most of the voting public, but it doesnt seem to matter to this administration because it has systematically looked at those sources of protection and, in undramatic and unphotogenic ways, torn them down. Advertisement In the first Trump administration, family separation went too far. The populace reacted so strongly to those images. Now, in Trump 2.0, those images dont exist because, for the most part, immigration court is where so much of the family separation is occurring. Its hard to get into immigration court, and its pretty boring when you get there. A lot of what happens in immigration court are routine hearings that set other hearings, or these lengthy hearings that are very legalistic, in which lawyers for the government and lawyers for individuals are arguing about legal standards for asylum or other forms of protection that really dont seem to matter to communities. Theres a real disconnect between the legal system and the outcomes of that legal system. These arguments about legal standards for asylum shouldnt result in a child being detained, because of the level of harm, and the perpetrator of the harm in the individuals home country. Advertisement Advertisement So the main thing that this administration is doing is making immigration court so unpredictable, so unfair, and so dangerous for individuals that it has stopped providing any source of support or safety. That in and of itself has led to deportations, detentions, and also many of what this administration calls self-deportations, which is this decision, after living with this uncertainty and fear and risk, to find somewhere else that will offer more safety. That often separates families and also tears apart communities, because many of our neighbors have decided that its just simply not worth it to live with this level of fear. The other thing thats happened under this administration, which is equally unphotogenic, is that the USCIS, the agency that offers visas or family-based petitions when people get marriedmaybe they came here as noncitizens but have married a citizen and now have kids and have been here for a long timethose processes have become completely distorted and totally unpredictable. People will show up for what used to be routine interviews, whether its a bona fide marriage, even though they dont have a criminal record, and yet, without warning, theyll be detained. Thats happening a lot. That unpredictability is leading to such heightened levels of fear in our communities that one of the things we do around here all the time is offer these standby guardianship clinics, where moms or dads will reach a point where they cant function because they dont have a plan for who will pick their child up at the bus stop if theyre deported or detained. And theyre worried about being deported or detained for reasons that dont actually exist right now. The system has become so unpredictable and confusing and constantly shifting. We saw that in Minnesota last month, when teachers at Liam Ramos school were pushed to hand over other children to immigration court because perhaps the mom may have considered a standby guardianship but didnt have anybody who was documented or here with secure status and just didnt know what to do. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Related From Slate Don Lemons Arrest Is a Five-Alarm-Fire Moment Read More I think many of us have had that moment with our children, right? What happens in the worst-case scenario if for whatever reason we cant get to the bus stop? Its part of the reason community matters so much, because for most of us hopefully there are friends or family members or people weve worked closely and lived closely together with. But for people living with this randomized terror right now, thats become really hard, and its probably the biggest way that family separation, or really community separation, is playing out. The fear that there would be nowhere safe for you, that you cant predict what would happen to you, that you dont understand the legal system that you thought you were following but maybe youre doing it wrong. Maybe all of us are doing slight things wrong all the time? To think that that could result in your child being detained is pretty scary. Advertisement The numbers of detained kids are skyrocketing. According to the Marshall Project, the average number of kids in immigration detention has jumped sixfold since the start of Trump 2.0. Can you talk about what is behind those numbers and help us understand the financial incentives? Because I think you cant comprehend any of this without knowing whos getting rich and why. One of the reasons the numbers are skyrocketing is because families and young children were not detained at this scale under the Biden administration. I think there are probably many reasons for that. One easy reason is COVID, but maybe a more compelling reason is that there was no appetite for family detention following family separation. It was clearly unpopular, and it remains unpopular. Its heartbreaking to look at these kids faces as theyre enduring the personal ramifications of these policies. Advertisement Over the past year, the Trump administration has sometimes publicly and sometimes quietly scaled up family-detention capacity. It reopened Dilley, it put the other ones back online, and it has gotten an extensive amount of funding to pay contractors to open more facilities and facilities of different types. If you google it, youll find that in most communities there are proposed warehouses for different types of detention facilitiessometimes office buildings, sometimes old Walmarts, things like that. Advertisement Theres an enormous old repurposed Walmart in the Rio Grande Valley that is just such a heartbreaking statement of where we are in our country. The Walmart sign has bad plastic wrapping around it that reads Southwest Key Detention Center. Thats a teen detention center. Kids are put into different types of facilities, depending on their ages and various risk factors. Family facilities seem to be on the rise, in part because of these private groups that manage detention facilities for DHS. Theyre super lucrative. Their directors are highly politically involved and have been close to this administration. Its the same story that were seeing all over the place in politics right nowa kind of a pay-to-play model that this administration knows very well, as do the people who are benefiting from it. Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. On Sept. 15, my family and I arrived for our routine Immigration and Customs Enforcement check-in appointment at the New York City immigration courthouse. My 6-year-old daughter was wearing her school uniform and her backpack. My husband and I planned to drop her off at school afterward. Instead, the three of us were arrested and detained. ICE officials held us at the courthouse all day with no food before transferring us to temporary housing for the night. At around 3 the next morning, officers woke us and put us on a commercial flight. Against our will, we were flown across the country to the family detention center in Dilley, Texas. The next two months we spent there were a living nightmare. When my family and I had fled Colombia in October 2022, we believed that the United States would be a place of refuge. Back home, we had been targeted by an armed guerrilla groupthe Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombiaand over time, the death threats and physical violence became impossible to hide from. We had no choice but to flee for our lives. On our way to the U.S., armed smugglers confined my daughter and me in a guarded safe house for days. I was forced to cook and clean for them, along with the other women. I was warned to watch my daughter closely so she would not be kidnapped. Only after being passed between multiple vehicles and handlers were we finally able to cross the border in November 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After we arrived in the United States, we built a new life in Queens, New York. My daughter started school. She enjoyed art class and adored her teacher. She loved our cat. She was happy. Advertisement We applied for asylum. We were denied. But the dangers we faced in Colombia had not ended. From abroad, we learned that my husband was still receiving threats. Because of my experience in Mexico, we then filed an application for a T visa, a form of humanitarian protection for victims of human trafficking. While that application was pending, we continued to comply with immigration authorities because we believed that following the law mattered. That is why, even after being warned that attending our Sept. 15 check-in could lead to detention, we went anyway. But our compliance did not matter to ICE. After we were taken to the Dilley detention center, my husband was held in a separate area from my daughter and me. Starting the first day, officers began using family separation as a threat. We were told that if we refused deportation, we would be fined $1,000 a day. We were warned that if we continued to resist deportation in any way, my husband and I could face criminal charges and our daughter could be taken from us. The officers also threatened to put us all on separate deportation flights. Advertisement The conditions at the facility only intensified the horror. People were constantly sick. Bathrooms were filthy. The food was often inedible, and the water was discolored. My daughter began losing weight because she could not eat. Every Wednesday, deportation flights left for Colombia. Every Wednesday, we waited in fear for our names to be called. Officers unsuccessfully tried to deport us twice. The constant threats took a toll on my health. I began experiencing regular panic attacks driven by the fear that my family would be separated or deported. I also suffer from chronic migraines, which worsened over time because the facility would not provide the medication I needed. I lived for weeks with steady pain, fainting spells, nosebleeds, and vision changes that made it difficult to function. My daughters health deteriorated even faster. At Dilley, she went from full-time school to just one hour of instruction a day. She contracted a cough, which only got worse. She cried at night and asked when we would go back to our apartment in New York. She asked about her teacher and our cat every day. My daughter was once an extroverted, healthy, and happy first grader. But at Dilley, she regressed behaviorally, wetting herself after years without accidents and begging to breastfeed again despite being 6 years old. When we sought mental health care, a psychiatrist blamed me for her distress and accused me of poor parenting. Then my daughters eye was injured. A facility staff member accidentally struck her eye with a mop. Blood came from her eye. At the medical center, the injury was falsely recorded as a fall. Despite my daughters continued complaints of blurred vision, light sensitivity, and hearing problems, doctors dismissed us. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After over a month of delays, an ophthalmologist who evaluated my daughter warned that she may have suffered trauma to her eye and needed further evaluation, as well as a referral to an ENT specialist because the injury could also be affecting her hearing. My husband and I repeatedly begged the facility to provide this care, but officers insisted that it was not their responsibilityeven though the injury had been caused by a staff member. In the days before our deportation, my husband and daughter began experiencing stomach illnesses. Both suffered from vomiting and diarrhea. My husband was placed in the medical unit. He was pale and visibly unwell. For a moment, I believed that because he was so sick, ICE would not deport us. I was wrong. On Wednesday, Nov. 12, ICE officers entered our room and ordered us to pack, saying we were leaving that day. My husband was taken out of the medical unit to be deported. My daughter was still coughing and vomiting. When I explained that they were too sick to travel, the agents accused me of inventing my husbands illness, refused to let me call our lawyers, and denied my request to see a doctor. Despite my daughters untreated eye injury and serious cough, the officers insisted she was fine and said her health was not their responsibility. Advertisement Advertisement Nearly 10 ICE agents with chains and handcuffs surrounded us and cautioned that we could leave the easy way or the hard way. My daughter was terrified. When she saw the chains, she screamed and cried. Officers again refused to let us contact our lawyers. There was no real choice but to comply. They put us on a bus, along with one other woman, to transport us to Louisiana for our deportation flight. About an hour into the drive, the bus stopped, and dozens of men in chains and handcuffs got on, along with another handcuffed woman, who looked at my child and asked aloud how anyone could allow a little girl to witness this. My daughter began to cry again. Advertisement The bus ride to Louisiana was over 18 hours. We were not able to use the bathroom the entire time. At 9 a.m., while we were still on the bus, I fainted and hit my head. After I begged for medical help, the paramedic who evaluated me suggested I go to a medical center. But ICE officers refused, telling me I had no right to see a doctor. Advertisement My daughter also began to vomit on the bus that morning. For hours, despite our requests, the officers refused to give her food or water. Advertisement Advertisement She received no food or water until later that afternoon, on our flight back to Colombia. I had pleaded with the officers not to put us on the plane, explaining that the pressure would worsen our health conditions, but they did not care. My daughter vomited the entire flight. When we landed in Bogota, she was still vomiting and coughing and was severely dehydrated. She wanted to know why we were not in New York, but I had no answersonly fear. Related From Slate Don Lemons Arrest Is a Five-Alarm Fire Moment Read More Today we live in hiding in Colombia. Armed groups still control our region. We cannot safely access medical care. My daughter continues to suffer from serious vision and hearing problems but has not been able to see a specialist. Her stomach issues also have not improved, and a doctor in Colombia has diagnosed her with a severe bacterial infection. I continue to suffer from chronic migraines and anxiety, without medication. My husband and I are terrified every day that we will be murdered and our daughter will be kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. Advertisement My daughter is only 6 years old. She should not know chains or handcuffs or the terror of her family being torn apart. She should never have been swept off the streets of New York or locked in a detention facility for two months. She should be in school in the United States, playing with her friends and receiving the medical care she needs. Instead, ICE treated us like animals. Officers intimidated, restrained, and deported us without regard for our humanity. Our basic rights were violated, with no accountability or justice. My daughter is traumatized and cries every day. We dont know what our future will hold. But we are grateful for the time we had in America, and we will keep fighting for a better future for our daughter. Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. On Monday, the New York Times reported a bizarre and shocking update to news of an FBI raid last week on a Georgia election office: It turns out that immediately after the federal raid, the FBI officers involved spoke directly with President Donald Trump. To say that this is unusual would be an understatementit is without precedent. It has long been known that the 2020 election in Georgia is a personal obsession of Trumps, but the extent to which he is actively, openly, and personally meddling in the states elections system is still surprising and new. One big question looming over this entire episode, though, is whyof all the states where Trump falsely claimed there was fraud in 2020has Georgia become ground zero for the president ahead of the 2026 midterms that election experts feel are potentially threatened by Trumps latest actions? We think we have a few answers. Those answers have to do as much with 2026 as they do with 2020. And, perhaps surprisingly, a big motivation for Trumps assault on Georgias election infrastructure now has as much to do with the Republican primaries in the state as with Novembers general election. Allow me to explain. Georgias race for governor is considered a toss-up, though Republicans have consistently held the job since 2002. Polling has shown the top Republican contenders are Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones. Trump has endorsed Jones, who served as a fake elector in 2020 and was tied up in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis election interference investigation, which charged Trump and several co-conspirators with a criminal conspiracy to steal Georgias 2020 election. Jones has focused his campaign on attacking Raffensperger over that election. Raffensperger, as you may recall, has been a longtime personal target of Trumps after a 2021 phone call with the president in which he was asked to find 11,780 votes for Trump in order to flip the states 2020 election results. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In order to understand how the race between Rafensperger and Jones relates to the FBIs raid on Fulton County, its necessary to recognize that Georgias voting system has been mired in controversy for nearly a decade. Back in 2017, a group of Georgia voters and the Coalition for Good Governance sued the state over its use of Dominion Voting Systems electronic ballot-marking devices. These devices are like a tablet and dont create a paper copy of a voters ballot selections; instead they print a paper QR code that can be scanned to see a digital image of a ballot. This, the lawsuit alleged, opens up serious security vulnerabilities that can not only be hacked, but also make it nearly impossible to verify the software accurately recorded a voters ballot. When the lawsuit eventually went to trial in 2024, a computer scientist demonstrated live, in court, how he was able to rig Dominions voting tablet by rewriting its code and printing out as many ballots as he wanted. In a hypothetical election, the hacking was successful in flipping the outcome of a race. Advertisement During that trial, the plaintiffs also pointed to Georgias Coffee County data breach that occurred in 2021, where pro-Trump activists physically entered the small, rural countys election office and copied election system software. A lawyer for the Coalition for Good Governance claimed at the time that the compromised software was not isolated to Coffee County, and that hackers could have access to voting software used in all 159 counties in Georgia. Plus in 2022, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, under the Biden administration, also advised that Dominions electronic ballot-casting software presents security vulnerabilities. None of this validated Trumps phony claims of election fraud in 2020, but it does make the states election systems more vulnerable to the sort of episode we witnessed last week. Advertisement Advertisement Ultimately, the Coalition for Good Governances 2017 lawsuit failed, with a judge dismissing it just last year, partly because there wasnt evidence to suggest there had actually been a successful hack of Georgias voting software and the state Legislature appeared to have remedied some of the security concerns the lawsuit raised. For instance, the Georgia Legislature approved a bill that would replace its previous QR code system with a readable text to verify a voters ballot entry. The new law is supposed to take effect July 1, 2026, though during a series of budget hearings last month, Georgia lawmakers didnt appropriate any state dollars to implement the change. No budget was allocated to upgrade Georgias voting system software either, which would have patched any security holes. Advertisement While all of these legal challenges questioned the integrity of Georgias voting systems, Raffensperger consistently affirmed his states 2020 election results were accurate. His office conducted three separate recounts, including a statewide audit that manually re-tallied every single vote cast, plus another recount requested by the Trump campaign. In the end, Gov. Brian Kemp certified his states election results for Biden, though the president has continued to insist he is the rightful winner. As part of this vendetta, Trump even made Kemp and Raffensperger prime targets during the 2022 elections, trying to inspire his MAGA base to vote them both out of office. At the time, he failed miserably. Advertisement Advertisement Related From Slate Don Lemons Arrest Is a Five-Alarm Fire Moment Read More Now, though, it seems that Trump has found a new way to try to punish Raffensperger. The Trump administration is undoubtedly going to use the baggage surrounding Georgias voting system to cast doubt on its 2026 elections and possibly beyond, with the FBIs recent raid evidence that this is already underway. Georgia provides a three-for-one, from the Trump perspective: He gets to again question the legitimacy of the 2020 election; he gets to again cast blame on Raffensperger, his 2020 antagonist in the state; and he gets to potentially meddle with an election which he desperately wants Raffensperger to lose. Advertisement Advertisement The day after FBI agents raided Fulton Countys election office last week, officials there said federal agents took over 700 boxes of physical voter records, while officials were kept out of the room as it was happening. Fulton County Commission Chair Robb Pitts told reporters he had no clue what the FBI was going to do with all the information it seized. I dont know where they are, I dont know who has them, I dont know what theyre doing with it, Pitts said. I have no clue. I could use my imagination. Advertisement Its no small stretch of the imagination to foresee Trumps FBI manipulating Fulton Countys voting records to fit his agenda. What Trump is trying to do is create a narrative that you cant trust the voting system in Georgia, Marilyn Marks, vice president and executive director of the Coalition for Good Governance, told Slate. Hes going to be able to show these ballots that say they were counted wrong and they were cheated, and all of that: You cant trust Georgias voting system, therefore the feds have to come in and help control the voting system. Advertisement Right now Trump is beginning his attack on Georgias voting system by inserting federal action, knowing that in a few short months, the state will be holding its gubernatorial primary election on May 19. If Raffensperger secures a win, the White House will be on fertile ground to dispute the results of his election, leveraging information obtained from the FBIs raid, plus the nearly decade-long legal challenges Georgias voting system has faced. Another added benefit to Trumps scheme is the threat to the states critical U.S. Senate race, where Democrat Jon Ossoff is running for reelection. Ossoffs narrow win in a 2021 runoff gave Senate Democrats the slimmest majority at the start of Joe Bidens presidency, while Trump took the brunt of the blame for the GOP defeat at the time. Constantly attacking the integrity of the 2020 election seemed to put voters off. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What ends up shaking out in Georgia remains to be seen, but its fair to say that the president is signaling that he is willing to use all the powers of the U.S. government to satisfy his vendetta against those he believes have wronged him. During his speech in Davos, Switzerland, last month, Trump ominously announced that people will soon be prosecuted for what they did, while again insisting that the 2020 presidential election he lost was rigged. And just this week, Trump, while speaking on a podcast hosted by former U.S. Deputy Director of the FBI Dan Bongino, openly admitted that he believes Republicans ought to nationalize the voting. We have states that I won that show I didnt win. Youre gonna see something in Georgia. As someone deeply familiar with the inner workings of Trumps mind, former special counsel Jack Smith, said during his Congressional testimony last month, Georgia was ground zero for the presidents alleged criminal misconduct just five years ago. It could be so again this November. Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. There is a uniquely American kink that holds that what really matters in terms of presidential policies and conduct is the question of whether something is legal as opposed to moral. In an essay for the Boston Review headlined The Moral Stupefaction of the American Public, professor Joseph Margulies argues that if conduct is deemed permissible simply because a mediocre law student can pen a mediocre legal memo justifying it, the country is in far deeper trouble than it presently comprehends. On this weeks Amicus podcast, he explained to Dahlia Lithwick that the inclination to fetishize that which can be justified legally has a way of opening the door to atrocities that cannot be tolerated. Their conversation has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity. Dahlia Lithwick: In your article, you draw out the fact that lawyers are extremely uneasy about invoking the language of morality, because morality is either too malleable or just sanctimonious and annoying. I think your point is that the lawdisaggregated from moralitybecomes an endless series of hollow CYA memos to be deployed by any given administration to justify absolutely anything from torture at Gitmo to blowing up fishing vessels in the Caribbean? Joseph Margulies: Yes. And that which is taking place in Minneapolisand not simply in Minneapolis, but most pointedly in Minneapolisought not be framed as: Is that lawful? It ought to be framed as: Is that right? Are we going to allow a masked, heavily armed secret police force to march through the city all but unchecked, and checked only by the voluntary surveillanceto the extent they are checkedby plain citizens at their peril? A secret police force that, at least it appears at this point, enjoys absolute impunity? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those are profoundly moral questions. Those are moral judgements. Have we lost the capacity to say this is simply wrong? That this is a grotesque obscenity and cannot be allowed to continue? This is no longer simply a question of, Is it a violation of the 10th Amendment? Thats what theyre litigating in front of Judge Menendez. Or, Is ICE violating judicial orders? Answer: Yes, theres 96 of them. The lawyers are fighting that out. Stop it. This is a horrible, grotesque, and ongoing wrong, and thats the level at which we need to engage. Why is it that we substitute what I call our legal voice for our moral voice? This is a country that purports to worship, and I use that term advisedly, the rule of law. We tend to believe that legality establishes rightness, establishes legitimacy. So when a question is posed: Can they do that? The answer is usually given in terms of: Yes, of course, its all perfectly legal. Over time, we lose the capacity to render moral objections, even when what is being done is unspeakably grotesque, because we simply dont engage these muscles. Advertisement I read your piece with my lawyer glasses on, and two objections arose for me. One is that morality, as you and I both know, is not just subjective and inchoate, morality was also used to justify segregationthe anti-miscegenation laws were rooted in morality. That means, in a good sense, that morality evolvesthat which was considered immoral is now urgently moral. But also, there cant be any broad agreement about what is moral. What we like about the law, particularly in America, is the story we tell about the Framers creating a church of the law, then creating a religious document that is the Constitution, and then agreeing on certain principles that are legal and not moral. When I read your piece, while I agreed emphatically with it, I found myself getting stuck on the point of: How are we ever going to come to some kind of consensus or scientific agreement about what is moral? How should we think about the fact that what is moral today is egregiously immoral in 10 years time? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The myth is that by writing it down in a Constitution, we will achieve some consensus, and the myth is that that consensus will be desirable, that it will be reflective of societys best impulses. You have an argument, I have an argument, and the debate goes no further. Lawyers seem to disagree, but lawyers in the Justice Department, or lawyers in the Trump administration or the Bush administration before that, say: We have our document that says this is good, and thats just going to have to be enough. Unfortunately, if you engage only in law-speak, youre done. You have nothing to say, unless you want to hold up an opposing memo. The best example of this is the memos that John Yoo wrote that purported to justify torture. The Supreme Court calls it torture. Lets just call it that. What we are talking about is strapping a person, with his head lowered on an inclined board, with his face covered, and then pouring water up his nose and down his throat, and holding him there until he breathes water, to bring him within sight of his own death. That is the purpose of waterboarding. You are deliberately bringing him within sight, so that he believes that he is about to die. Its that moment of sheer terror. Thats what waterboarding is. And doing it over, and over, and over again, 86 times in my clients case. Well, according to those memos, not only is it not torture, its not illegal. I have a document that says so! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If they can always write that, and they can always write that, then this pretense, this myth that the law will settle disputes in a fair and neutral way, is just gobbledygook and we shouldnt pretend otherwise. And those lawyers who, or those law students who think, I went into the law because its certain, its definitewell, get over yourself. Advertisement Im hearing what feels like your peak frustration with the John Yoo special: As long as its not organ failure, its not torture. The critique Im hearing here is that any lawyer, any 1L with a Westlaw account, could magic up a document to justify anything. But the flip of it, of course, is that we are living in a moment where its really essential to know what is legal. And as youre noting, judges around the country are drawing very firm lines in the sand and saying, No! Thats unlawful, thats illegal. In other words, the thing that you are most worried about is also the thing that is saving us. Advertisement We have had district court judges and appellate court judges around the country, out on the hustings, facing death threats, and threats of impeachment, but nonetheless very clearly saying, No. What youre doing is unlawful. So youre not saying that that is a pointless exercise, that the pushback is futile because none of this has meaning. Youre saying something subtler than that. Right? Advertisement When you are trying to bend the will of society to reflect a different reality, trying to achieve a different vision for the world, the law has a role. Going into court, going to Congress, going to your statehouseslaw has a role. But what we also know from decades of experience is that the law cannot play its role alone. You must have a popular movement behind it, that speaks in a moral voice, and leverages that moral voice, then lawyers who work with that community can translate that moral voice into a set of legal claims. What matters is the existence of that moral claim, that moral voice. If all you had in Minneapolis were a bunch of lawyers going into court and saying, This violates the 10th Amendment! you would not get whatever movement we are going to have. What we are seeing is because there are tens of thousands of people, ordinary citizens, ordinary folks who do not think of themselves as rabble-rousers or activists, who are appalled and who are waking up and are registering this in their moral voice: I will not allow this to happen. This is wrong and Im gonna brave 20-below weather. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I love what youre saying, because you are not, in fact, unbraiding the law from morality. Youre actually tethering them more closely together. Related From Slate Don Lemons Arrest Is a Five-Alarm Fire Moment Read More I dont know what the folks who are out there in Minneapolis are thinking exactly. Whether they are defending legal rights or a thing they call the Fourth Amendment or the First Amendment. I dont know whether they can recite the language of the Fourth Amendment. I dont know whether some of them are making purely moral claims, that This is an obscenity, and Im not going to let this happen. You are murdering my neighbors. You are shooting my friends in the back. Im not going to let you do that. There may be some combination of both legal and moral claims here, because we are trained to think in legal terms. They may think: Im not going to let you do that, and the way Im going to keep that from happening is to protest, and Ive got a First Amendment right to protest. We reflexively, unfortunately, think in these kinds of legal terms, but my point in this piece is that we let the dominance of law-speak gradually silence our moral voice. Advertisement Advertisement You had another chillingly prescient piece in the Boston Review back in September of 2021, which feels like a million years ago. The title of the piece was 9/11 Forever. The point was that our failure to reckon with the legacy of what happened to the law after 9/11 is absolutely the reason we are living in the slipstream of that today. If we had not been willing to tolerate the things we did to the law after 9/11 in the name of safety, or national security, what we tolerated in terms of torture and cruelty, and surveillance, and the conception of privacy that we gave away, and border security as this existential question about national survival. You wrote about all of those things as the price we were willing to pay to feel safe at the time. And a key element of that architecture was the notion that we were in a war. That the war on terror hoovered up the language of war instead of crime, and moved us into a world where as long as you could call it a war, everything would be OK. Thats the move? Advertisement Advertisement Thats the move. And now in the Trump administration they have decided to declare war, which is just a rhetorical step, against an endless stream of others. None of the real horrors that took place post- 9/11, and those taking place now, could have been possible without a thorough embrace of demonization, without a willingness to cast some people outside the sphere of human regard. We can do what we want with that person because they are not us. I do not see them in me. I do not see myself in them. Thats what demonization is. Thats the first move. Advertisement Advertisement What the Bush administration did so well is to begin with that and then articulate a legal framework to justify it. Law-speak that says, We dont need to stop with this demonizing language. That can exist as the context, the background, but given that we all recognize that those who perpetrated this are not us and are monsters, we are allowed to do certain things, and heres the law that shows its OK. Advertisement Nobody is as good at demonizing as Donald Trump. He is the master of it. This is his worldview. Those who are opposed to me are subhuman. They are not of my species. Once you embrace the idea that there is a category of people whose existence threatens who I am, and that I can do whatever I want with them, and I call that war, or I call that terrorismit doesnt really matter what you call it, but you can always find a lawyer to cloak it in law. Thats the easiest part. The hard part is convincing people that the Mexican immigrant who has been your neighbor for 40 years and who makes your economy run, convincing people that that person is a monster. Thats the hard part, and thats where his success is. And thats 9/11 forever. Thats what theyve achieved. The more you do this, the easier it gets. The more often you repeat this, the easier it becomes. Not every example of this ends in the same place, but we all know where that dark alley ends. That dark alley ends in all the most vicious pogroms and genocides and holocausts that the world has ever known. They all start with this move. And this is what Trump is doing and hes really good at it. And hes got a lot of people who agree. Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. The last remaining U.S.Russia nuclear armscontrol treaty, New START, expires on Feb. 5and, with less than 48 hours to go, President Donald Trump hasnt done anything about it. Asked about the impending deadline in his New York Times interview last month, Trump replied, If it expires, it expires. Well do a better agreement, maybe one that brings in Chinawhich has a growing nuclear arsenalas a participant. If past is precedent, a new treaty would take at least a year to negotiate; if China takes part, something that has never happened before, it would take many years. In the meantime, we may well see the renewal of a nuclear arms race, reversing a trend of the past half-century. The stunning thing is that, by all accounts, Trump and his advisers havent so much as held a conversation about the possibility or its implications for U.S. policy or the safety of the world. Its worth recalling that when Trump scuttled the Iran nuclear deal back during his first term as president, he said that hemaster of the art of the dealwould goad Tehran into accepting a better deal. This never happened. There is no reason to believe, especially given Washingtons tense relations with both Moscow and Beijing, that hell bring about a superior substitute for New START either. New STARTthe acronym stands for Strategic Arms Reduction Treatywas signed by Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev in February 2011, as a follow-on to previous accords, START and START II, which George H.W. Bush had signed with Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin, respectively. The ObamaMedvedev treaty went further than the earlier accords, forcing each side to cut its long-range nuclear arsenals to 1,550 warheadsa 30 percent reduction from START IIs limits, a 75 percent cut from STARTs. It also allowed very intrusive on-site inspections of each sides arsenals to verify that they were in compliance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New START was set to expire after 10 years. Obama envisioned negotiating, well before then, a follow-on accord that would make still deeper cuts, including short- and medium-range missiles. But it never happened. The U.S. had long ago dismantled almost all of those weapons, for good reason, while Russia retained about 2,000, which it wanted to keep to counter NATOs superiority in conventional armies (just as, during much of the Cold War, the U.S. and NATO kept thousands of nukes in Western Europe to counter the Soviet Unions conventional edge). Plus, after Putin returned as Russias president and started rattling sabers in eastern Ukraine and elsewhere, the political climate for arms control chilled. So when Joe Biden came to the White House in January 2021, New STARTwhich he had worked on as Obamas vice presidentwas about to expire. The treaty did allow a one-time five-year extension, so he and Putin quickly made it so.* Diplomatic channels were still very much open (Putin wouldnt launch his full-scale invasion of Ukraine for another year); both leaders saw it in their interests to keep a cap on a possible arms race. Advertisement Advertisement Now five years have passed, and here we are. Putin recently proposed a quick accordit could be drawn up and signed in very short orderto extend New STARTs ceilings on nuclear-armed missiles, bombers, and warheads for another year. Trump has not replied, at least not in public. Heres why this is important: A major purpose of arms control is to put boundaries on the threatto keep each side from spinning and acting upon worst-case scenarios of how many nukes the other side might build and, therefore, how many nukes it needs to build in response. Advertisement For instance, in the late 1950s, the intelligence branch of the U.S. Air Force estimated that the Soviet Union would have 500 intercontinental ballistic missiles by 1962, maybe by as soon as 1961. By contrast, the U.S. would have just 65 ICBMs. In other words, there would soon be a missile gap. As a result, the Pentagon proposed, and Congress readily approved, our own crash buildup of missiles (which would be built by the U.S. Air Force). Advertisement Then, in 1960, photos taken above the USSR, first by U-2 spy planes and then by Discoverer spy satellites, revealed a different story. Independent intelligence analysts at the CIA estimated that the Soviets would have just 50 ICBMs in the next couple of years. In reality, the Soviets turned out to have just four ICBMs. There was a missile gap, but very much in the United States favor. Advertisement Advertisement However, by this time, the Pentagon had already embarked on its crash missile buildup. Air Force officers were still arguing they needed 2,000 ICBMs over the long haul. White House aides to President John F. Kennedy argued that the new intelligence data suggested the nation could get by with just 600. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara told Kennedy that, as a political compromise, to keep the Joint Chiefs of Staff from rebelling, he needed 1,000. Kennedy, who at the time was inclined to side with his Cabinet secretaries, approved 1,000. Advertisement As a result, the Soviets, seeing this American buildup, responded with a very real buildup of their own. Had there been better information, a more bounded threat, the arms race of the missile age might have been squelched before it took off. The parallels with current times arent precise. Intelligence analysts dont have to rely so much on guesswork. Even without on-site inspection, they can learn or infer a great dealalmost everythingfrom high-resolution satellites, communications intercepts, and a wide range of technical and human sources. (In 2023, Putin stopped allowing on-site inspections, but the U.S. still has very high confidence that he hasnt deployed more nuclear weapons than New START allows.) Advertisement Advertisement Still, one can easily imagine even todays officers and analysts with vested interests or hawkish inclinations arguing that, freed from the restraints of New START, the Russians could build many more missiles and warheadsand, therefore, we need to build many more to match. Its even easier to imagine Russian officers and analysts, who tend to be more paranoid than ours, doing the same. A stepped-up arms race is likely indeed. Advertisement This action-reaction complex stems not just from a psychological need to appear equal (though that is part of what goes on). Theres a tangible element here too. The planners at U.S. Strategic Commandand probably their counterparts in Russiamaintain a counterforce strategy. Most of our missiles are aimed at their missilesand, most likely, vice versa. The warheads on our missiles also have sufficient accuracy and explosive power to destroy or disable the Russian missiles in their blast-hardened silosand, again, most likely vice versa. By the logic of this strategy, if the Russians build more missiles, we have to build more missiles tooso that were still able to hit all of the targets. This is where the new dimension of arms-race scenarios comes into focusChina. When Obama and Medvedev signed New START 15 years ago, China barely had enough nuclear weapons to warrant attention. Now they have about 600; within a few years, theyll approach parity with the U.S. and Russia. Nobody quite knows why; Chinese officers, who used to write a fair amount about nuclear strategy, have gone silent. Whatever the motive, if China is seen as an adversary, and if counterforce is still a centerpiece of U.S. nuclear strategy, then we dont have enough warheads to cover all of the targets. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is why some defense analysts say its just as well that New START is expiring. They say that the U.S. needs more nuclear weapons than New START permits. But this is where the discussion should begin, not end. Do we really need to be able to destroy all of the Russian and Chinese missile sites? This is a two-part question: First, what are the chances that well face not just war but all-out nuclear war against Russia and China simultaneously? Second, do we need to have the ability to knock out all of their missile sites in order to deter nuclear war? Deterring nuclear war is the aim here. If the plan is to fight, maybe win a nuclear war, how does that game go? Would we launch a first strike against Russia and China? If we did, and we aimed to destroy their missile silos, would they launch the missiles on warning, before our warheads struckin which case, theyd inflict more damage on us than might otherwise be the case? Finally, theres nuclear winterthe theory that a certain number of nuclear explosions (the calculations vary, but some are as low as a few hundred) will ignite so many fires and kick up so much dust that much of life on Earth will end. There is no winner in this war. Advertisement Advertisement These are controversies that have gone on for many decades. In previous administrations, the Pentagon, StratCom, the National Security Council, and sometimes the president himself, have engaged in this discussion. They have published a Nuclear Posture Review, in classified and unclassified forms, that spelled out the policy. Trump has not done this. It is very unlikely that he or anyone else at a high level has discussed this at all, or is even aware of the dilemmas and imponderables. Nor is there likely to be a discussion of this sort in the next few years. In the meantime, Trump and Putin should sign a one-page document extending the terms of New START. Its an imperfect accord, but its better than crying Havoc! and letting slip the dogs of a nuclear arms race. Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. President Donald Trump on Monday escalated his rhetoric against the American electoral system, telling his former FBI deputy director and serial podcaster Dan Bongino that he wants to nationalize American elections in 15 crooked states. These people were brought to our country to vote, and they vote illegally, Trump said. And its amazing the Republicans arent tougher on it. The Republicans should say, We want to take over, we should take over the voting in at least 15 places. I too used to think we should nationalize our elections, though not for the insane reasons Donald Trump offers. It is Trump himself who convinced me that I was wrong. American elections are hyperdecentralized, as they are run on the state, and mostly county, level. States have ultimate responsibility for voter registration rolls, the kind of machinery used to conduct balloting, the rules for contesting elections, laws prescribing how candidates qualify to appear on the ballot, and much more. Article 1, Section 4 of the Constitution provides that states, through their legislatures, get to set the times, places, and manners of conducting congressional elections, but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators. Congress sometimes exercises that power to override state rules. For example, a federal statute requires that members of Congress are elected from single-member districts, not from larger districts where multiple members of Congress could be elected. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Given that authority in what is known as the elections clause of the Constitution, Congress could do much more to nationalize elections, for example setting uniform rules for voter registration, the approval of voting machinery, and potentially much more. For a long time I thought Congress should use that power to set up a system of national nonpartisan election administration. Indeed, that was the central argument in my 2012 book, The Voting Wars. Advertisement If you look around the world at advanced democracies from Australia to Canada, they have an independent governmental body in charge all national elections. The body imposes uniform standards for registration, ballot access, voting machinery, and much more. One can walk into a polling place in Ottawa or Vancouver and have virtually the same experience. Related From Slate Don Lemons Arrest Is a Five-Alarm Fire Moment Read More These nonpartisan election administrators are headed by a civil servant or group that does not answer to the government. They and their workers have allegiance to the integrity of the election system, not to any political actor. In contrast, in the United States partisan actors play important roles in our election process, such as secretaries of state who run for office as Democrats or Republicans. In The Voting Wars, I argued that by joining other advanced democracies we could decrease the amount of partisan fighting and litigation over election rules, increase the competence of election administration, and assure we have a system run with integrity and fair access to voting. Advertisement Advertisement Donald Trump has caused me to abandon this argument. As I wrote in the New York Times last summer, when the president tried to impose his authority over various aspects of American elections via an executive order: What I had not factored into my thinking was that centralizing power over elections within the federal government could be dangerous in the hands of a president not committed to democratic principles. At this point, American democracy is too weak and fragile to have centralized power over elections in the hands of a federal government that could be coerced or coopted by a president hell-bent, like Trump, on election subversion. Courts have ruled that parts of Trumps executive order are unconstitutional because the president has no role to play in the administration of elections. Advertisement Trumps comments on nationalizing elections ironically prove the point that we should not nationalize elections. He apparently wants to target the administration at blue states, doing who-knows-what to make it harder for people to vote for Democrats. He desperately fears a Congress controlled by Democrats that could check his and his administrations power. As he did in 2020, when he unsuccessfully attempted to overturn the results of the fair presidential election that he lost to Joe Biden, Trump hangs it all on voter fraud. His comments to Bongino about noncitizens voting, just like his comments about mail-in balloting, show Trump as either a liar or delusional. The amount of election fraud of this type is extremely rare. We know it because states, including red ones like Georgiawhere Trumps administration recently raided election offices in a serious threat to the 2026 votehave gone hunting for fraud and found very little. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Supreme Court provides another reason for not nationalizing our elections. The court could soon fully embrace that unitary executive theory that there can be no exercise of executive power by the federal government that ultimately does not report to the president. (Its an argument with an exception likely to be applied to the United States Federal Reserve, in order to protect the value of the justices 401(k)s.) The unitary executive theory, if adopted, would mean that presidential control over an election body might be constitutionally required. The Trump experience shows why that would be far too risky. We should now look to states to step up the competence, integrity, and accessibility of their election systems. They serve as the front line against election subversion. Diffusion of power in the states makes it much harder for Trump to mess with the midterm elections. Whether or not the Framers intended it, our messy, decentralized, partly partisan, uneven system of administering elections turns out to be the best bulwark against would-be authoritarian presidents. Communities will continue normal operations; resident care and services remain the top priority SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Feb. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Inspired Healthcare Capital (the "Company"), a company specializing in developing, managing, and operating senior-housing communities, announced today that it and its affiliates have filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the Northern District of Texas (Fort Worth Division). This move is designed to protect its focus on resident care and to preserve and maximize value for all stakeholders through exploration of all strategic alternatives, including potentially deleveraging its balance sheet, facilitating a formal marketing and sale process, and implementing a comprehensive restructuring transaction. Throughout this process, the Company will continue working closely with its residents, vendors, secured creditors, and investors, and it does not expect any operational impact from this chapter 11 process on any operating senior community. In October 2025, the Company significantly changed its corporate governance and leadership structure, replacing the former senior leadership team with independent managers. CRS Capstone Partners, LLC was appointed independent manager and director of IHC and IHC Holdings, and Trinity River Associates, LLC now serves as independent manager and director for the entities that control the Delaware Statutory Trusts. The Company also appointed M. Benjamin Jones, Ankura Consulting Group, to serve as Chief Restructuring Officer and manage the business through this Chapter 11 process, along with the current leadership team. The Company has initiated the restructuring to pursue three goals (a) ensure continued quality housing in its communities and care for its residents, (b) access funding to pursue sale or restructuring transactions that will maximize the value of the Company's assets for all stakeholders, and (c) preserve claims and causes of action and establish a process for such claims to be adjudicated for the benefit of all stakeholders. Inspired Healthcare Capital's communities will remain fully operational throughout this process, ensuring that the resident experience is not negatively impacted. Residents will continue to receive the same high-quality care, services, and amenities they have come to expect. "Over the past several years, Inspired Healthcare Capital faced significant liquidity challenges and became reliant on raising additional capital," said M. Benjamin Jones, Chief Restructuring Officer. "These challenges were further compounded by recent regulatory inquiries and subsequent threatened litigation. This process will best allow us to maintain continuity for the residents at our properties, preserve the Company's claims and causes of action, and simultaneously explore the different available options to maximize value for stakeholders." To support operations throughout the marketing and sale process, Inspired Healthcare Capital has secured a commitment for $35 million in debtor-in-possession ("DIP") financing from Lapis Municipal Opportunities Fund V, LP. Subject to Court approval, this capital will ensure that the Company can meet its ongoing obligations to employees, vendors, and partners. The Company has filed several "first-day" motions with the Court to continue its operations as normal during the process. These motions include requests to continue employee wage and benefit programs, and to continue performance under agreements with third-party managers. The Company will work to complete the restructuring and marketing process expeditiously. Additional information on the Company's Chapter 11 case can be found at https://dm.epiq11.com/InspiredHealthcare. Stakeholders can also contact Epiq, the Company's noticing and claims agent, at 877-378-7708 (for toll-free U.S. calls) or 971-309-1342 (for tolled international calls). Inspired Healthcare Capital is advised by McDermott Will & Schulte as legal counsel, Raymond James & Associates, Inc. as investment banker, and Ankura Consulting Group as restructuring advisor. About Inspired Healthcare Capital Inspired Healthcare Capital is a private equity firm specializing in senior housing investments, dedicated to creating exceptional living environments for their approximately 2,620 residents. Inspired Healthcare Capital owns 35 operating senior living communities in 14 states, comprised of independent living units, assisted living units, and memory care units. Inspired Healthcare Capital also forms and manages fund entities and has a strong commitment to delivering long-term value to its investors, while prioritizing the well-being and care of its residents. Media contact: Greg Lewis [email protected] SOURCE Inspired Healthcare Capital When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Credit: Nvidia After months of Nvidia's N1X and N1 chips rumors, CEO Jensen Huang has finally confirmed its Arm-based CPUs designed for AI PCs in collaboration with MediaTek and it's already taking aim at Intel Core Ultra Series 3 and AMD Ryzen AI 400. In an interview during Nvidia's year-end party in Taiwan, Huang commented on work with MediaTek for the hugely anticipated next-gen N1X and N1 chips, which have been tipped to power AI-based desktops and laptops, respectively. According to Taiwan media outlet UDN, Huang states these CPUs have been specifically geared for PCs with "powerful AI capabilities." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The report notes that Nvidia's collaboration with MediaTek will offer a System-on-Chip (SoC) with "low power consumption but excellent performance," which recent rumors back up. Leaks indicate that N1X will be closely tied to Team Green's GB10 Superchip found in the DGX Spark, while the N1 for laptops may come in the form of a cut-down version of GB10. With the joint project with MediaTek confirmed, Nvidia's N1X and N1 SoCs already look to stir up the CPU competition. We've heard that the N1 series will reportedly deliver the same performance as an RTX 4070-equipped laptop, but with improved power efficiency, taking integrated gaming performance in PCs even further. While Jensen doesn't comment on when we'll see these Arm-based chips in upcoming PCs, reports have suggested an early 2026 launch, with wide availability later in the year. Other rumors believe the N1-series chips were delayed, pushing back the release to late 2026. We've heard that Nvidia's Arm-based SoC may power Dell's Alienware laptops down the line, and it could match the timing for Alienware's new ultra-slim gaming laptop. However, with Computex 2026 coming up, this may set the stage for Nvidia and MediaTek to reveal their AI-focused CPUs. Nvidia is coming for the CPU crown Credit: Future Since benchmarking the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H, Team Blue's flagship laptop processor, we've been hugely impressed by the performance and power efficiency gains the chip delivers. Especially when it comes to Intel XeSS 3 and its integrated graphics for gaming seeing Cyberpunk 2077 at High settings reach 217 frames per second is a highlight. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Without XeSS and its multi-frame generation or super resolution, Intel's CPU is closer to the performance of an RTX 4050. Still impressive, considering this comes from Arc B390 integrated graphics on the chip, but if rumors ring true and Nvidia's N1-series reaches RTX 4070 levels of performance, that's a significant gap to beat. Rumors indicate that the N1 chip is expected to use 65W power to match the performance of a 120W RTX 4070 gaming laptop, and another source suggests the chip would offer a TDP (Thermal Design Power) of 80W to 120W. Intel's Core Ultra 3 chips have shown they thrive on low power consumption, too, with the Asus Zenbook Duo we tested hitting 45W. For now, it's guesswork on what the N1X and N1 CPUs will deliver, but it appears to take the fight to Intel's impressive offering, along with AMD's Ryzen AI 400 series, according to the benchmarks we've seen in the Asus Vivobook 14 we tested. The CPU wars are heating up this year, and if the ongoing RAM shortage doesn't get in the way, your next laptop or desktop is looking to see a significant upgrade. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Commonwealth Fusion Systems is planning for a bigger family as part of its nuclear energy work in Massachusetts. It's developing a "digital twin" of its SPARC fusion reactor to expedite analysis of all sorts of performance metrics, compressing "years of manual experimentation into weeks of virtual optimization," CEO Bob Mumgaard said in a news release. "This virtual replica of SPARC will provide CFS with a user-friendly way to run simulations, test hypotheses, and quickly compare the experimental results from the machine to the simulations," the release explained. "This ability to rapidly analyze data and iterate will speed CFS' efforts to make fusion energy a commercial reality." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The company is working with tech outfits NVIDIA and Siemens to empower SPARC's digital twin with artificial intelligence and advanced software. It's a way to fast-track analysis while the physical technology is being developed. Yet it's the projected real-world reactor's success that will be most important to utility ratepayers who are ready for a break on their electric bills. Currently, data center power demand and other factors are contributing to surging electricity prices. Fusion is a form of nuclear energy that has yet to be sustained affordably, and it's unlikely any work in development will be adding energy to the grid before 2030. Regardless, experts in labs around the world continue to work on high-cost, fascinating projects. Commonwealth bills itself as the world's largest private fusion company, having raised $3 billion since 2018 to commercialize the near-limitless energy source. If successful, the company could help usher in a new era of abundant power without the air pollution, long-lasting nuclear waste, or meltdown risks of today's nuclear energy production. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Common fission reactions, currently used in nuclear plants around the world, produce persisting radioactive byproducts, as the International Atomic Energy Agency explains, and they can result in rare, yet catastrophic accidents. Fission accounts for 19% of the United States' electricity supply without the harmful pollution burden caused by burning oil, coal, and gas. Yet possible weapons proliferation, and nuclear's standard waste and accident risks, are among fears listed by the Union of Concerned Scientists. Fusion can clear many of the concerns about nuclear energy, aside from cost. To maintain fusion reactions, experts contain superhot plasma inside doughnut-shaped chambers called tokamaks. They utilize magnetics to corral the same astounding forces that power the sun, per the U.S. Department of Energy. TechCrunch reported that Commonwealth has placed the first of 18 magnets needed for its demonstration SPARC reactor. The company aims to have it completed and generating power to the electric grid by the early 2030s, a benchmark for others in the development race, as well. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Commonwealth intends to have the other 17 magnets installed by the end of the summer. "It'll go bang, bang, bang throughout the first half of this year as we put together this revolutionary technology," Mumgaard told the publication. Of the digital tool and the collaboration with tech firms that will help facilitate progress, Mumgaard said in the news release: "Through this collaboration, we're demonstrating how AI and integrated digital engineering can accelerate progress from design to grid power. This will allow us to transform how we build and operate fusion machines in the race to commercial fusion." Proponents see Commonwealth's progress as evidence that we're at the verge of a new energy age. But opponents and skeptics consider nuclear fusion a false hope or a misguided effort to address pollution concerns. To their point, New York financial advisory firm Lazard has reported that solar and wind are cheaper, faster energy options to develop at scale. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The right energy insight can help you make informed decisions about how to safeguard your house from rising rates. Home solar is a great way to reduce or eliminate your utility bill while gaining independence from the grid, for example. But even a smart investment strategy can realize gains while supporting businesses that share your values. At Commonwealth, the team sees its AI partners as helping it remove guesswork with thousands of simulations, speeding up development. "Fusion is complex, but data doesn't lie," Mumgaard said in the release. Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips to save more, waste less, and make smarter choices and earn up to $5,000 toward clean upgrades in TCD's exclusive Rewards Club. New agreements with Collins Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney will reinforce the country's role as a leading Asia Pacific aerospace hub SINGAPORE, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Today at the Singapore Air Show, RTX (NYSE: RTX) signed multiple memoranda of understanding with the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), further strengthening its long-term commitment to the country's aerospace ecosystem. These MOUs build on the first agreement announced in July 2025 and underscore RTX's confidence in Singapore as a strategic hub for advanced aerospace manufacturing; maintenance, repair and overhaul; and high-value engineering capabilities. Under the new agreements, RTX businesses Collins Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney will expand and introduce new capabilities in Singapore to support next-generation commercial aircraft platforms and meet growing regional demand. In total, RTX will invest over $139 million. "With more than 4,300 employees across 12 facilities, RTX is Singapore's largest foreign aerospace and defense employer," said Chris Haave, vice president, International Operations, Global Government Relations at RTX. "These new MOUs build on our 50-year presence in the country and reflect our continued commitment to Singapore as a strategic hub for developing next-generation aerospace technologies. Together with EDB's strong support, we are investing in capabilities that will support our customers in the region, creating high-value jobs and aligning with the nation's ambition to remain a global leader in aerospace." "Signing these MOUs will further deepen the longstanding partnership between RTX and Singapore," said Cindy Koh, Executive Vice President, Singapore Economic Development Board. "These investments bear testament of RTX's strong confidence and commitment in Singapore's stable, trusted and comprehensive aerospace ecosystem. The expansion of new capabilities in next-generation commercial aircraft platforms will strengthen Singapore's leadership as a global aerospace hub, and create exciting jobs for locals in advanced manufacturing technologies." Collins Aerospace: Expanding MRO capabilities to better support regional customers To better serve the rising MRO demand in the Asia Pacific, Collins will introduce new MRO capabilities in the region to reduce turnround times for its customers, including electrical power systems, as well as environmental and airframe control systems. The expansion includes Boeing 777X Integrated Drive Generators to support the 777X entry into service. Collins will also add new flight-critical products supporting the 787 fleet. These include controllers for engine starters, cabin air compressors and auxiliary power units, as well as new cooling systems capabilities covering pumps and controller systems. Collins' investment supports the new capabilities expected to be fully operational in 2030. Pratt & Whitney: Enhancing GTF MRO and engine manufacturing capabilities As part of its ongoing efforts to ramp GTF MRO around the world, Pratt & Whitney will add capabilities to service the Pratt & Whitney GTF engine Fan Drive Gear System (FDGS) at its Seletar facility in Singapore. The new FDGS maintenance line will leverage advanced automation and AI technologies to further reduce turnaround times. In addition, to support global production demand, Pratt & Whitney will expand coating capability at its operations in Tuas. The coating is designed to enhance the durability of GTF hot section parts. Under the project, Pratt & Whitney will expand its Tuas footprint by 25% and establish OEM-standard engineering expertise. About RTX With more than 180,000 global employees, we push the limits of technology and science to redefine how we connect and protect our world. With industry-leading capabilities, we advance aviation, engineer integrated defense systems for operational success, and develop next-generation technology solutions and manufacturing to help global customers address their most critical challenges. The company, with 2025 sales of more than $88 billion, is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. For questions or to schedule an interview, please contact [email protected] SOURCE RTX (TBTCO) - Tuan qua tu ngay 9 - 13/2, thi truong tien te cho thay a ha sot ro ret trong nhung ngay can Tet. Ngan hang Nha nuoc bom rong 2.882,57 ty ong qua OMO sau tuan ho tro ky luc, gop phan keo thanh khoan he thong on inh tro lai. Lai suat qua em giam manh tu 9,92% xuong 3,76%, doanh so giao dich thu hep ang ke; ty gia trung tam ha 16 ong, giam tuan thu 4 lien tiep, trong khi USD tu do lao doc 1.070 ong. You have reached a premium content area of Transitions. To read this entire article please login if you are already a Transitions subscriber. Not a subscriber? Subscribe today for access to: Full access to the website, including premium articles videos, country reports and searchable archives (containing over 25,000 articles). Passengers traveling by air only see a small part of the work that goes into running an aircraft. Behind the scenes, there is a lot more that passengers don't know about. All in all, most of these are guarded industry secrets they are simply details that passengers don't really think to ask about, probably because they would rather not think about the safety implications or assume that everything works as it should. Airlines probably like having the benefit of the doubt in these cases, and sometimes, a little secrecy makes for a smoother flight experience. For instance, if there is a bomb threat in midair, it is probably best the passengers not know, lest panic disrupt the flight crew's attempts to resolve it. Similarly, instances of flight attendants occasionally forgetting to carry out crucial safety procedures like arming doors can also cause some anxiety. Other things, however, like the relatively low standards for potable water and hygiene of blankets and pillows would certainly tarnish airlines' image (even if they don't pose an immediate safety risk). Then of course, there are the "secrets" that cost airlines money. Most people know they're entitled to compensation for delays and cancelations, but are you aware that you must explicitly ask for the refund without unknowingly forfeiting rights to compensation? From health and safety risks to little things that airlines just don't openly talk about, there are many reasons to get the inside scoop about your airline. Here are some less-flattering details from the airlines industry many passengers don't know about and how to deal with them. Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Subtle Airplane Cabin Features Only Frequent Flyers Notice You might be entitled to compensation for cancelations Departure board showing canceled flights - Torsten Asmus/Getty Images This one depends on which company you fly with, but if you face delays and cancelations that are the fault of the airline, you do not have to shell out your own money for food and lodging. In many cases, the airline actually owes you money. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, passengers are eligible for compensation, meals, and/or lodging vouchers under certain conditions. If a flight is canceled or delayed by three hours or more, most major U.S. carriers will pay for your food. All of these carriers will also rebook you for no additional cost. Then, if you suffer a cancelation that delays your departure until the next day, all airlines (with the exception of Frontier) will put you up in a hotel at their expense and pay for any transportation to and from the airport. Finally, you may also be entitled to a full cash refund if your flight is canceled or a significant change to the schedule is made and you choose not to travel even on non-refundable tickets. This is forfeited, of course, if you end up accepting a rebooking or an airline credit. In order to get compensation, you have to ask for it. Otherwise, airlines are under no obligation to offer it or give it. If the airline refuses compensation, you can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation or obtain it through your credit card issuer if the contract provides travel benefits, although this is dependent on the perks offered to the cardholder. For passengers flying within the EU, passengers are entitled to cash compensation between 250 and 600 euros depending on the flight length and delay length. Flight attendants still use their phones during flights Flight attendant looking at phone - Frame Stock Footage/Shutterstock Before takeoff, passengers are always told to put their cell phones and other wireless devices in airplane mode or turn them off altogether. The logic behind this rule is to ensure that they do not interfere with radio or navigation instruments. However, it seems that this may be a case of "do as I say, not as I do" when it comes to flight attendants. Advertisement Advertisement In 2024, the New York Post reported on a leaked United Airlines memo, which bemoaned commonplace cell phone use among crew members during flights. The major issues were twofold. First of all, United was concerned that flight attendants distracted by phones would not be able to provide attentive service to customers. The second was that a distracted flight attendant was far more likely to miss a safety lapse or remember to follow proper security protocol. United threatened flight attendants who used their phone in flight with severe consequences, up to and including termination. Other airlines, such as Delta, have equipped their crews with phones that are to be used for accessing training materials and keeping track of plane inventory not for personal use. You won't know if there's a bomb threat Toy airplane with dynamite - aminphotoz/Shutterstock This one seems counterintuitive, but it makes sense why the airlines keep details about potential bombs and other terror-type threats secret from passengers. Take, for instance, Scoot Airlines (the low-cost arm of Singapore Airlines) Flight TR16. This flight received a bomb threat while in midair after leaving Singapore's Changi Airport for Perth. The plane was then diverted back to Singapore for an emergency landing. There, an Australian man was arrested for making the threats, but interestingly, the passengers were never specifically alerted as to what exactly was going on until after the arrest was made on the ground. In the same vein, Air France Flight 463 had a similar scare in 2015. Simply put, the reasoning behind this is to prevent panic aboard the plane while the crew, national aviation authorities, and the military figure out whether to act on the threat. While airlines don't have uniform policies, this is usually what happens. This way, the crew doesn't have to deal with passengers panicking and can focus on landing and evacuating the plane. That said, this procedure is no longer so ironclad anymore since passengers connected to airplane WiFi can simply look up details of what is happening. The tap water isn't the best choice Airplane bathroom sink - Nataliya Pylayeva/Shutterstock Advertisement Advertisement Officially, airline tap water is considered safe, even if it doesn't taste great. This is because, on paper, all airlines are supposed to follow the EPA's Aircraft Water Drinking Rule. This means that all water pumped into the plane's tanks must be potable. In reality, however, research suggests otherwise. According to a 2019 study from Hunter College New York City Food Policy Center, airline water isn't uniformly good or bad, but it depends on a number of factors, including the sources for water (often multiple), the equipment used to pump it into the tanks, and the cleanliness of the tanks themselves. Considering airlines are only required to clean it four times a year, you can see where issues might come up in that regard. Furthermore, aircraft especially those flying internationally may pick up water in foreign countries where standards aren't as tight as those in the United States. For this reason, the study recommends that passengers never drink any water or beverage that doesn't come out of a sealed bottle or can. They also recommend staying away from coffee and tea on your aircraft, as these are usually made with tap water. However, if you must drink tap water, you can at least hedge your bets. The study found that Allegiant and Alaska Airlines had the best quality water while Spirit and JetBlue had the worst. Blankets and pillows aren't always washed Airplane blankets and pillows - wisely/Shutterstock Should you use airplane blankets and pillows? From a purely hygienic standpoint, probably not. The reality is that people sometimes use them for gross purposes and airlines don't always wash them. Even when they do, they're probably not doing it after every usage. Flight attendant Cecily Anderson told Readers' Digest that these items are generally washed after international flights, but not necessarily on domestic ones. Advertisement Advertisement Anderson said that on domestic flights, they might be washed every now and then, but if a plane has a short layover and is taking on a new throng of passengers, then there is no time to wash and replace everything. The new passengers will just have to use what's available. And while most of the time there isn't anything to really worry about (hopefully), Anderson said that she has seen people use them to "clean up spills, cover their cough, wipe their noses, hold food, throw up in and even to change their baby's diaper on." All in all, if a blanket or pillow is wrapped in plastic, it's clean. If it's not, there might be some unpleasant stuff on it, which is why it is not recommended to put it anywhere near your face. Later flights and flights on U.S. domestic carriers all have a higher chance of being unlaundered, according to Reader's Digest. Flight attendants aren't paid till the boarding doors close flight attendant securing overhead bin - Artit_wongpradu/Getty Images The 2020s have seen quite a few viral videos of passenger meltdowns, which observers have tied, in part, to declining in-flight service, delays, oversold flights, crammed aircraft, and more. None of this is really a surprise. Flight attendants are expected to do the hard, exhausting, and sometimes risky work of boarding passengers, helping with heavy luggage, and (once in a blue moon) breaking up fights all off the clock. Flight attendants on many North American carriers are not paid until the doors close and the plane is moving. Flight attendants interviewed by Vox noted that due to this system, many have been unable to afford to do their jobs and have quit the industry. Obviously, as any traveler can see, the incentives are all backwards. Dealing with unruly, entitled, or even potentially violent passengers is among the absolute worst parts of a flight attendant's job. To make matters worse, one flight attendant interviewed by the Los Angeles Times said that this entire system incentivizes the flight crew to delay flights even longer by finding some minor problem. Advertisement Advertisement The reason? In order to trigger overtime to make up for missed pay during a delay. So remember, when you see seemingly curt or snappy flight attendants, remember to give them grace. Their demeanor is much more likely the result of these airline policies, not a character flaw on the crew's part. Fortunately, this has been changing. In 2022, Delta started giving flight attendants 50% of their hourly rate for time on the ground. After, American Airlines and Alaska Airlines followed suit. How you dress is important, even if you can't get an upgrade Flight attendant checking man's luggage - Akarawut/Shutterstock This one is a hotly-debated topic, but it deserves discussion to separate myth from reality. When people say the practice of upgrading passengers based on dress and demeanor is a myth, that is accurate. Airlines prioritize their frequent fliers, with the top tiers getting first dibs on upgrades, then everyone else in descending order of importance. This is often done by a computer. That is the official policy, and asking a flight attendant for an upgrade will get you shut down because they aren't allowed to bump you up at will. Once the aircraft doors close, flight attendants have a little more leeway. One flight attendant whose anecdote was published in the Los Angeles Times said that when these extremely rare upgrades do happen, the well-dressed passengers are far more likely to be upgraded than more casually dressed ones. There are also stories of gate agents upgrading well-dressed passengers before boarding the plane, which the writer can attest to having experienced in Europe, where upgrades seemed more discretionary. Even if you don't get upgraded, it still pays to dress well. Flight attendants notice it, as there is the perception that dress and proper, respectful behavior go hand-in-hand. Thus, you might still get better treatment if you're well dressed (even if no upgrade), especially if you pair it with respectful treatment of the flight crew. Pets flying cargo aren't going to be treated like family Woman with dog at airport - yar-andy/Shutterstock Advertisement Advertisement Pets traveling in the cargo hold are treated functionally as checked baggage. Although airlines make arrangements for them to wait in temperature-controlled areas to ensure the animals' comfort, the reality is there is only so much they can do once the animal has to be driven onto the tarmac. When airport workers go onto the tarmac, they have to wear ear protection to protect themselves from jet engines sounds of up to 140 decibels (louder than a jackhammer). So, imagine how stressful it must be for a dog or a cat, whose ears are much more sensitive than human ones, to have to drive through the noisy tarmac and then stay there while bags are loaded. The animals are separated from their owners in a scary and utterly foreign environment, and we can assume that they don't understand why. Under many airline policies, pets are generally loaded last onto the cargo hold so they can be the first unloaded upon arrival. However, the animal might end up on the noisy tarmac for some time, making this leg the riskiest part of the flight for the animal. For this reason, some airlines, like American, will not allow pets to travel in cargo during the summer months from certain destinations like Tucson, Phoenix, or Las Vegas. For dogs, sometimes there will be no choice, since medium breeds won't fit in a carrier. If you have a cat however, you can follow tips like getting a TSA-approved carrier to simplify travel with your pet and avoid the tarmac. Oxygen masks are designed to run only 15-20 minutes Oxygen masks plane - No_limit_pictures/Getty Images During the safety presentation before takeoff, passengers are assured that if cabin pressure is lost (aka air pressure in the plane fails to equalize with that outside the plane), then oxygen masks are available to ensure that passengers can breathe. However, what the flight attendants don't tell passengers is that they are often just a band-aid. Advertisement Advertisement Plane oxygen masks only have enough gas to last, at most, 20 minutes. While this oxygen mask detail might seem nerve-wracking a lack of oxygen at cruising altitude can result in hypoxia and brain damage within minutes of cabin pressure loss the reality is that the plane does not need oxygen to last passengers the rest of the flight. It just needs enough until the plane can get back to a safe altidude. Former American Airlines pilot Captain Richard Levy explained to the Ashland Chronicle, essentially, that when cabin pressure is lost, the pilot's first move after masking up is to initiate a rapid descent, which can feel to passengers like the plane if falling out of the sky. Within four or five minutes, the plane should be at an altitude where the air is thicker and passengers can breathe normally. When seen from that perspective, the plane carries anywhere from two to about four times as much oxygen as is needed to get passengers down to where they can breathe. Flight attendants sometimes forget to arm the doors Aircraft emergency exit - Brester Irina/Shutterstock Given airline safety records, it is safe to assume most flight crew follow their pre-flight security procedures, but occasionally, mistakes do happen. According to flight attendants interviewed by the Los Angeles Times, sometimes they even forget to properly "arm the doors." In crew-speak, this means the flight attendants are activating the doors to automatically deploy the emergency slides in case the airplane is forced to make a crash landing. Once the door is armed, the flight attendants do a cross-check to verify that their colleagues have armed their respective doors correctly. If a door is not armed, it means not only did one flight attendant forget, but that a colleague also failed to catch the mistake. This lapse can put passengers in danger in situations requiring a fast evacuation. Due to the seriousness of this lapse, flight attendants can be terminated for this error. Advertisement Advertisement While arming mistakes before takeoff are the more serious concern, the opposite error forgetting to disarm the door after landing can also happen. This means that the slide will deploy as passengers are preparing to deplane. While it is generally not a safety issue, it can cost the airline tens of thousands of dollars to replace the slide. There are still ashtrays in bathrooms No smoking sign in bathroom - Myra Thompson/Shutterstock Every flight safety presentation, there is the stern warning that smoking on the plane or in the lavatories is strictly prohibited under federal law and FAA regulations. Doing so can result in civil and criminal penalties, depending on the severity of the offense, including, on paper, fines of up to $25,000 (in practice, much less). Nevertheless, airplane bathrooms still have ashtrays, which is something that may seem perplexing. Why have it if smoking is illegal? This is to regulate against potentially dangerous scenarios. FAA regulation 14 CFR 25.853 requires all aircraft, regardless of whether smoking is allowed, to have a removable ashtray. The assumption is that for every rule there is, someone will eventually break it. Thus, if someone does decide to light up in the bathroom, the passenger would at least be able to put out the cigarette or other paraphernalia in the ashtray safely. Otherwise, violators often toss them in the trash and risk starting a fire inside the cabin. Fires in the cabin can have fatal results, most famously Air Canada Flight 797 in 1983. Although a cigarette was not the cause in this case, a lavatory fire filled the cabin filled with smoke and caused 23 fatalities. Ready to discover more hidden gems and expert travel tips? Subscribe to our free newsletter and add us as a preferred search source for access to the world's best-kept travel secrets. Advertisement Advertisement Read the original article on Islands. While there are many popular treks in Nepal, including these 10 incredible hiking trails, every mountaineer's ultimate dream is to reach the peak of Mount Everest. Hardcore climbers continue to attempt to defeat the world's highest peak, a towering 29,000 feet, despite permit fees that now reach about $15,000 USD per person during the main season. But while Everest continues to be a once-in-a-lifetime hiking experience, rising costs and crowds have many looking elsewhere, including avoiding the crowded treks of Nepal for an unspoiled mountain adventure in the "Yosemite of Pakistan." To combat these overtourism issues, Nepal has announced that climbing permit fees will be lifted for 97 Himalayan peaks for a two-year period, through July 17, 2027. Even those who assume they've learned everything about the giant are often caught off guard by interesting facts they don't know about Mt. Everest and the area, including the number of "virgin" peaks in the Himalayas. The Nepal Tourism Board is trying to redirect interest to lesser-visited regions such as Karnali and Sudurpaschim. In these remote provinces, dozens of peaks sit largely untouched by commercial mountaineering, and many have never been climbed. For those looking to immerse themselves in Nepal's authentic side while training on high-altitude peaks, this might just be the opportunity they've been waiting for. However, there are still costs associated with climbs, so these excursions don't come completely free of charge. To get to Nepal, most international travelers fly to Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, the main airport in the country's capital. To acclimate to the Himalayan altitudes, it's best to spend a few days exploring Nepal's largest city, an affordable destination offering delicious street feasts and ancient beauty. From there, guided expeditions usually include domestic flights to remote regions, followed by rugged ground transportation to the trailhead. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: The Most Dangerous Caribbean Destinations, According To Research Explore the Karnali's region's remote hikes Mountain range in Karnali Province inNepal - dustyne9/Shutterstock For the truly adventurous, consider the Karnali Province. Located in western Nepal, it's the country's largest region but also one of its most remote, least developed areas to visit. Home to over 70 peaks, getting here may be a challenge, but once you're there, it offers an entirely different experience from the crowds found at Mount Everest or the Annapurna hikes. One notable peak is Tripura Hiun Chuli, near the border of China. The mountain sits about 21,500 feet above sea level, and, as with any hike, if you're not a Nepalese citizen, you'll have to hire a licensed guide. Many agencies that coordinate trips to this isolated region will fly you from Kathmandu to the Nepalgunj Airport, then to the Dolpa Airport, a smaller regional airport in the village of Juphal. After a hike to base camp, it typically takes about two weeks to reach the summit, either camping out or staying in traditional teahouses. During the trek, you'll pass by rugged valleys and glaciers with the ice-covered peaks of Mount Tso Karpo and other Himalayan mountains in the distance. Another Karnali peak is Patrasi, with an elevation of 21,161 feet. In June 2024, a team of three Nepalese climbers was the first to complete the first ascent to the top. The guides described the summit as challenging, saying, "It was different from the fixed rope climbing we are used to. This kind of technical climbing brings out the real joy in mountaineering." They had three goals in mind: "To make a first ascent of Patrasi, to promote alpinism and sustainable mountaineering in our home country, and to highlight the beauty of far western Nepal." To attempt the climb yourself, arrange it with professional expedition operators like Empact Adventures. Discover Sudurpaschim's peaks with some careful planning Api Himal Base Camp in Nepal - Cellphonography/Shutterstock Sudurpaschim Province, separated into nine districts, has everything from national parks and the Gurans Himal, Sapipal Himal, and Byas Rishi Himal mountain ranges in the north to the plains in the south. The region is home to 20 peaks to climb in total, many of which remain unexplored. For those looking for an off-the-grid experience where trekking routes are uncommon, with some proper preparation, you could be the first to face some of these steep ascents and gain some bragging rights. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Among the standout mountains in Sudurpaschim are Api Himal and Saipal Himal, near the borders of Tibet and India. Rising over 23,000 feet above sea level, Api Himal is the highest peak that many have yet to summit. Coming in as the second-highest is Mount Saipal, another rarely explored peak with no teahouses or lodging, so camping out is your only option. Again, due to Nepal's official regulations for trekkers, you still have to book with a professional guide or agency even though the permit is free until mid-2027. Licensed operations will arrange the necessary paperwork, register you in the Trekkers Information Management System for safety, obtain national park permits if needed, and handle other logistics. Even though royalty fees are waived, some agencies' packages don't include things like sherpa and porter wages, insurance for the cooking staff and liaison officers, and travel and evacuation insurance. Also, you'll still have to pay other required permit fees, which are determined by the elevation of the mountain. Some experienced trekkers estimate costs to run $6,000 to $9,000 USD, depending on factors like group size, time of year, and what's included in the agency's packaged deal. Ready to discover more hidden gems and expert travel tips? Subscribe to our free newsletter and add us as a preferred search source for access to the world's best-kept travel secrets. Read the original article on Islands. Hosted By the Patient Safety Movement Foundation, the Global Convening Brings Top Executives, Policymakers, Healthcare Experts, and Patient Advocates Together to Turn Urgency into Action DANA POINT, Calif., Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Patient Safety Movement Foundation will convene some of the world's most influential healthcare leaders, policymakers, clinicians, technologists and patient advocates on February 27 in Dana Point, California, for the 12th Annual World Patient Safety Science & Technology Summit. Guided by the theme, "The Power to Propel Change," the 2026 Summit brings together those with the authority and responsibility to turn urgent conversations about patient safety into measurable action. As preventable medical harm persists as a leading cause of death worldwide, the Summit is designed to catalyze meaningful progress by convening leaders around shared accountability and practical solutions that put patients first. "This Summit exists because preventable harm is still happening every day to people who trusted the healthcare system to protect them," said Joe Kiani, Founder of the Patient Safety Movement Foundation. "The power to propel change comes from leadership that is willing to take responsibility and act. Patient safety is a human issue, and we will not accept a system that treats harm as inevitable." Event Highlights Keynote addresses will be delivered by Dr. Jill Biden, former First Lady of the United States and longtime advocate for patients, families, and healthcare workers; Joe Kiani, Founder and Executive Chairman of Willow Laboratories, Founder of Masimo and Patient Safety Movement Foundation, CEO of Like Minded Labs; and Sir Jeremy Hunt, former UK Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, offering global perspectives on leadership, accountability, and policy reform. Dr. Jill Biden, former First Lady of the United States and longtime advocate for patients, families, and healthcare workers; Joe Kiani, Founder and Executive Chairman of Willow Laboratories, Founder of Masimo and Patient Safety Movement Foundation, CEO of Like Minded Labs; and Sir Jeremy Hunt, former UK Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, offering global perspectives on leadership, accountability, and policy reform. Panel discussions will focus on transforming episode accountability through CMS models, how artificial intelligence can prevent patient harm before it occurs, and the structural failures driving maternal mortality, including the session titled "One preventable maternal death is one too many." transforming episode accountability through CMS models, how artificial intelligence can prevent patient harm before it occurs, and the structural failures driving maternal mortality, including the session titled "One preventable maternal death is one too many." Key policymakers and healthcare experts speaking and in attendance include Dr. Diana Ramos, Robin Betts, Dr. Margaret Wilson, Dr. Klaus Markstaller, Dr. Monty Mythen, Dr. Peter Lachman, Ruth Ann Dorrill, Tracy Young, Dr. Nasim Afsar, Dr. Connie Lehman, Dr. Chris Longhurst, Dr. Senan Ebrahim, Dr. Najm Meshkati, Dr. Michelle Schreiber and Dr. Afshan Hameed, Dr. Emily Methangkool, James Titcombe, and Dr. Karen Phillips to name a few. Throughout the Summit, speakers will share frontline experience and evidence-based strategies aimed at reducing harm, improving outcomes, and rebuilding trust in healthcare systems worldwide. Discussions are designed to move beyond theory, spotlighting solutions already making a measurable difference and identifying where leadership must act next. Additional event details, including registration and media access, are available at https://psmf.org/psmf-summits/12th-annual-world-patient-safety-science-technology-summit About the Patient Safety Movement Foundation In 2012, Joe Kiani founded the non-profit Patient Safety Movement Foundation to eliminate preventable medical errors in healthcare. Working with patient safety experts from around the world, PSMF develops Actionable Evidence-Based Practices to address leading causes of patient harm. Hospitals are encouraged to make a formal commitment to ZERO preventable harm, and healthcare technology companies are asked to sign the Open Data Pledge to enable predictive Algorithms built on AI to identify risks before they result in harm. Media Contact: Megan Cuellar [email protected] 928-300-4431 SOURCE Patient Safety Movement Foundation Imagine exploring the stunning countryside of Italy by train. As you glance out the window, vast farm fields and meticulously planted vineyards fill your view as you gently sigh your worries away. Exploring Europe as glamorously as possible on some of its most luxurious train rides is a dream most train lovers have. This train ride through Italy's famous wine regions boast scenic views throughout the journey, all while providing a luxe experience. The exclusive train ride experience in Italy that wine lovers will be thrilled about, is a seven-day journey from Piedmont to Tuscany with SmoothRed, a boutique travel company specializing in luxurious experiences. Part of the Italian Rail Collection Tour, the five-star train journey whisks travelers through Italy's most recognized wine regions with stops at some of the most prestigious wineries in the country. Guests aboard will not only get to taste up to 20 different wines, but also be granted access to private winery visits complete with vineyard lunches among the sun-soaked vines. From Piedmont to Tuscany, these vino-centric locations are bucket list destinations for wine-tasting. Whether you enjoy a glass of full-bodied Barbaresco as you relax overlooking the serene countryside in Piedmont, or perhaps a fruity and crisp glass of Moscadello di Montalcino while you glance at the vineyards sprawled along the Tuscan hillsides, an unforgettable train journey tasting your way through Italy's most famous wine regions is a great addition to your wine vacation plans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: The Biggest Tourist Traps In Europe, According To Rick Steves Seven days with countless views: Riding the rails from Piedmont to Tuscany A hilltop village among vineyards - Ventdusud/Getty Images At the start your journey, you'll arrive in Turin, an underrated Italian city that boasts indulgent food and captivating views. This mountainous region of Italy is perfect for an amazing food and wine vacation, and the perfect starting point. The beauty begins on day one, when you arrive at your vineyard accommodation and enjoy a welcome reception on the terrace with awe-inspiring views. Day two in Turin involves two private Barolo tastings with a local Piedmont winemaker, followed by a visit to a countryside estate vineyard and another afternoon wine tour, because wine not? Day three in Turin is all about relaxation and soaking in the vineyard vibes. Why not head to a local market, grab a few snacks, then head to a quiet spot to enjoy a picnic lunch? Barolo isn't the only wine famous in the region. A private half-day or full-day Barbaresco tasting can also be arranged. On day four, this is where you'll experience riding the rails from Turin to Florence. The train snakes along the lush green Tuscan hills before pulling into the city, where you'll spend three nights in a four-star hotel, perfect for exploring the must-visit spots in Florence. On day five, you'll enjoy a full day in Chianti with wine-tastings and vineyard tours, which includes a visit to a winery to learn about production and bottling before sampling four wines. In the afternoon, you'll head to Panzano for a decadent lunch with you guessed it, more wine, then meet a winemaker at a stunning estate, concluding the day with a stop in Greve before returning to Florence. Day six is free to explore historical Florence at your own pace, followed by departure on day seven. Enjoy a stress-free Tuscan wine journey by rail Glass of red wine with vineyards in background - Adogslifephoto/Getty Images The lavish train itinerary is surely one you'll remember for years to come. The cost of the seven-day journey is approximately $3,478 per person. It includes all transportation, including private transfers from the train stations, luxury hotel stays, private estate tours, wine-tastings, and some meals. You'll also have 24-7 access to the SmoothRed support team, as well as access to the company's app to make sure you're always connected to help if a question arises. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Do you have some underrated attractions in Rome that you still want to check off your bucket list, or perhaps you've always wanted to check out that little hidden gem on the Amalfi Coast? Good news. You can keep the Italian wine flowing by extending your trip! Travelers wanting their Italian vacation to continuecan have their itinerary extended for an additional cost, so you don't have to leave Italy when the train tour ends. Traveling Italy by train can be the most efficient and scenic way to visit the famous fishing villages of Cinque Terre, and adding this seven-day train journey through the Tuscan countryside, where tasting the many exceptional wines Italy has to offer becomes part of the epic experience, should be an essential addition to your wine vacation plans. The ease of SmoothRed's fine-tuned luxe tour services allows travelers to savor a few glasses with no worries before heading onward to their next destination among the rolling grapevine-filled hills. Ready to discover more hidden gems and expert travel tips? Subscribe to our free newsletter for access to the world's best-kept travel secrets. You can also add us as a preferred search source on Google. Read the original article on Explore. Standard (Distributors Ltd) has not exited the market, assured Term Finance CEO Oliver Sabga. Responding to a Courts Trinidad and Tobago advertisement targeting ex-Standard customers, Sabga said: Referring to our customers as ex-Standard is a flimsy attempt to undermine an 80-year-old brand. It also falsely implies that Standard is no longer operating, which is simply untrue and not a claim we take lightly. The Hindu Womens Organisation of Trinidad and Tobago would like to express its concern over the actions of Tribe in providing sexual devices to women who will participate, under their banner, in the upcoming Carnival celebrations. It is our view that the use/purchase of these devices is a personal decision and not to be imposed upon anyone or used as a publicity stunt. Contract awarded for products that bring improvement to healthcare industry ROUND HILL, Va., Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- X-Bolt Orthopedics announced its "Pro-X1 Trochanteric Nail" has received an Innovative Technology contract from Vizient the nation's largest provider-driven healthcare performance improvement company. The contract was awarded based on review of Pro-X1 from hospital experts who serve on one of Vizient's client-led councils, and it signifies to Vizient clients its unique qualities that potentially bring improvement to the healthcare industry. Innovative Technology contracts are recommended after review and interaction with products submitted through Vizient's Innovative Technology Program. Vizient client-led councils identify technologies that have the potential to enhance clinical care, patient safety, healthcare worker safety or improve business operations of healthcare organizations. "Hip fracture fixation remains one of the most challenging and consequential procedures performed in trauma care," said Philip Kemp, President and COO of X-Bolt Orthopedics. "Receiving an Innovative Technology contract from Vizient is a strong validation of the clinical need our expandable bolt technology is designed to address. We are excited to be on contract with Vizient to help expand national access to a solution that aims to improve fixation stability in compromised bone and support better outcomes for this vulnerable patient population." "This Innovative Technology contract reflects a tremendous amount of work and collaboration across teams, and it's personally meaningful to see that effort recognized," said Connor Owen, Director of Sales at X-Bolt Orthopedics. "Vizient has been an exceptional throughout this process. Their commitment to rigorously evaluating new technologies and prioritizing innovation that delivers real value to their clients and patients is exactly what the healthcare industry needs. We're proud to work alongside an organization that actively supports innovation that advances patient care." The Pro-X1 Trochanteric Nail is designed to address the limitations of conventional lag screw fixation in osteoporotic bone by expanding within the femoral head to increase surface area and resistance to cut-out. By providing enhanced fixation stability without additional procedural complexity, the technology has the potential to improve surgical confidence, reduce fixation-related complications, and support more consistent outcomes in hip fracture patients. "After a review of "Pro-X1 Trochanteric Nail", Vizient's client-led council agreed this technology offers a unique benefit over other products available in the market today and recommended it for an Innovative Technology contract. We are pleased to award this new contract to X-Bolt Orthopedics," said Kelly Flaharty, associate vice president, contract operations for Vizient. Vizient represents a diverse client base that includes academic medical centers, pediatric facilities, community hospitals, integrated health delivery networks and non-acute healthcare providers and has a portfolio that represents more than $156 billion in annual purchasing volume. Through its Innovative Technology Program, Vizient works with client-led councils and task forces to evaluate products for their potential to bring real innovation to healthcare. If it is determined that a product is innovative, Vizient may award a contract outside of the competitive bid cycle. X-Bolt Orthopedics is an orthopedic medical device company focused on developing innovative fixation technologies to address unmet needs in trauma care. The company's proprietary expandable bolt platform is designed to improve fixation stability in compromised bone, with an initial focus on hip fracture treatment. X-Bolt Orthopedics is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland and is committed to advancing solutions that support surgeons and improve patient outcomes. Contact: [email protected] SOURCE X-Bolt Orthopedics Nestled on the Rhine across the border from Germany, Strasbourg offers your best chance to experience the urban side of France's Alsace region. Each time I walk its people-friendly streets, I'm struck by how progressive and livable the city feels, with generous space devoted to pedestrians and bikes, sleek trams, and meandering waterways. With delightful big-city energy and a name that means city of streets, Strasbourg is the ultimate crossroads. While the city dodged serious damage in both world wars, Strasbourg has a dizzying history. It was hit hard during the Franco-Prussian War, becoming part of Germany in 1870. After that, there was a period of harsh Germanization, followed by extreme Frenchification after World War I, a brutal period under Nazi rule during World War II, and then the strong need to purge all things German after 1945. Now, while probably more definitively French than its ever been, the city exudes a bicultural gentleness: Street signs are commonly bilingual in the Alsatian dialect as well as French and youll find unique blends of Franco-Germanic culture, architecture, and ambience all over. After World War II, Winston Churchill called for a union of European nations, with the goal of winning an enduring peace by weaving the economies of France and Germany together. Given that Strasbourg had changed hands between Germany and France so many times, it seemed logical that it be a capital of what would eventually become the European Union. And today, Strasbourg shares administrative responsibilities of the European Parliament, along with Brussels (the EU's main capital) and Luxembourg City (where the Parliament's secretariat is housed). Most visitors come to Strasbourg to see its massive Notre-Dame cathedral and for good reason. Ive stood in front, craned my neck way back...and still failed to fit it into my camera's viewfinder. The delicate Gothic style of the cathedral (begun in 1176, not finished until 1439) is the work of a succession of about 50 master builders. The cathedral somehow survived the French Revolution, the Franco-Prussian War, World War I, and World War II. When todays travelers see its vast edifice, their jaws drop. Imagine the impact it had on medieval pilgrims. An earlier church burned down in the 12th century, and Strasbourg was so wealthy that it rebuilt tres fancy with a lacy, innovative design and tall (at 466 feet, its spire was the worlds tallest until the mid-1800s). A matching second tower was planned but was never built due to concern over stress on the foundations. Youll see the famous spire from all over town. Inside, visitors can enjoy marvelous stained glass 80 percent is original, surviving from the 12th to 15th centuries. The cathedrals windows traveled a lot during World War II: hidden by the French in southwestern France first; then carted to northern Germany by the Nazis; and finally saved and returned by the Monuments Men (British and American troops dedicated to returning art to its rightful place after 1945). Nearby is the wonderful Strasbourg Historical Museum, which sweeps through the citys complex and compelling history. Here, you'll learn how Strasbourg was once fortified with concentric walls and 80 towers, which were then destroyed by French King Louis XIV in the 1680s. The museum also has an exhibit about Johannes Gutenberg, who worked here from 1434 to 1444; a section about the French Revolution; and a description of how the Prussians rebuilt the city after destroying parts of it in 1870, ushering in its glory days (1880-1914). The saddest section details life here in the Nazi years, and the happy finale explains Strasbourgs leadership role in the EU. All that EU action takes place in a modern complex northeast of the city center. While a handful of institutions are housed here, the most important is the European Parliament where elected representatives from all 27 EU countries gather regularly in a vast semicircular room called the Hemicycle. The complex is free to visit, and if Parliament is in session, its a great way to watch European democracy in action. End your day in Strasbourgs popular Petite France quarter. It's here where the river splits into several canals with weirs, a lock, and a swing bridge all reminders of a time when trade came by river and watermills powered local industry. The district was once slated for redevelopment, but was saved by a progressive French minister of culture in the 1970s. Today, these fine half-timbered buildings are protected and give us a sense of this pre-electricity world. The history of Strasbourg the capital city of the political pawn zone between France and Germany is fascinating to contemplate. With its high-powered and trendy bustle and hybrid culture, it's one of France's most intriguing cities. (Rick Steves (www.ricksteves.com) writes European guidebooks, hosts travel shows on public TV and radio, and organizes European tours. This column revisits some of Rick's favorite places over the past two decades. You can email Rick at rick@ricksteves.com and follow his blog on Facebook.) 2026 Rick Steves. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. President Donald Trump spoke briefly Tuesday about the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of NBC "Today" show host Savannah Guthrie. "I think it's a terrible thing," Trump said in the Oval Office of what authorities are investigating as an abduction of the 84-year-old mother from her Tucson home. Trump said he intends to call Savannah Guthrie. Asked if he could commit more federal agents to investigate the case, he responded: Sure. Im going to call her later on. I think its a terrible thing. I always got along very good with Savannah. Very unusual situation, but were going to get to the bottom of it. The FBI has said it is assisting the Pima County Sheriff's Department's investigation of the case, with the federal agency providing analytical and technical support. Nancy Guthrie was reported missing at about noon Sunday from her home in the Catalina Foothills after she failed to show up at church. She was last seen by family about 9:30 p.m. Saturday. The official White House social media account said in a post on X Tuesday: "Our prayers are with the Guthrie family as we hope for Nancys safe return home." Nancy Guthrie was abducted, likely in the middle of the night, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told the Arizona Daily Star late Monday. Investigators found signs of forced entry at the home, Associated Press reported Tuesday, citing an unnamed source. Nanos refused to confirm or deny an NBC News report Monday night that quoted him as saying Guthrie was harmed when she was taken against her will from her Tucson home. NBC News quoted Nanos as saying about the 84-year-old mother of NBC Today Show host Savannah Guthrie: We know she was harmed at the home, but we dont know to what extent." "If I said that, I misspoke or something," the sheriff told the Star in an interview. "If NBC came back for confirmation now, I wouldn't give it." Pressed on the issue, Nanos told the Star, "I'm not going to deny it. I'm not going to go there with you. I'm not going to speak to that. I'm not confirming or denying." He said one form of harm he would say she suffered is that, "We know that she is without her meds, and if she doesn't get her meds within 24 hours, that could be fatal." Asked if there is a person of interest, the sheriff answered, "Not yet," but said investigators are hoping the security cameras inside the home will lead to that. They have learned that the cameras at the home where Guthries lives alone are not cloud-based, and that the data, which they hope is stored and available, will have to be provided to investigators by the manufacturer. By law, that requires warrants and subpoenas and "will take a little time," he said. Nanos would not disclose any of the "very concerning" evidence investigators found in Nancy Guthrie's home, but said they have submitted items for DNA testing. On Tuesday morning the department said in a news release announcing a news briefing later in that day that "detectives collected DNA samples from the home that have been confirmed to belong to Nancy." "At this time, the Sheriff has not confirmed whether those samples were blood. (Nanos) has stated he does not want to get into specific details about evidence in order to protect the integrity of the investigation." "Our best guess is it occurred during the night while she was sleeping in her bed," Nanos said Monday of the possible abduction or kidnapping. But on Tuesday morning, an NBC news report aired on the Today Show said Nanos was speaking figuratively, rather than alleging Guthrie was physically taken from her bed. Investigators believe Guthrie was driven away from her home in a vehicle, though didn't have evidence of a specific vehicle, Nanos said. They are looking at data from intersection cameras installed by county and city transportation departments, starting in a large swath including areas around Ina Road, River Road from west to east, and spreading out from there. Nanos also mentioned license plate readers and Flock cameras in the Tucson area as potential tools. "We are working this doggedly. We will find out what happened to Nancy," Nanos vowed. Asked whether he believes Guthrie is alive, Nanos responded, "I hope she's alive. We'll never give up that hope. I don't want anyone to give up that hope." Nanos said they do not know if she was targeted because she is Savannah Guthries mother. "We don't know that. We look at all of that, but we just don't know that," he said at a news conference Monday morning. NBC News reported late Monday that investigators were not aware of threats aimed at Savannah Guthrie after speaking with her. The sheriff said he does not believe the public is in any danger. The Sheriff's Department set up a tip line QR code late Monday where members of the public can directly submit photos or videos that may be helpful to the investigation. Nanos also pleaded with the public to call in tips to 9-1-1 or to the Sheriffs Department at (520) 351-4900 and said he is grateful for all the community help so far. "Detectives remain on scene and are actively following up on all tips as they are received," a department spokeswoman said. Nancy Guthrie was last seen about 9:30 or 9:45 p.m. Saturday at her home in the Catalina Foothills, west of North Campbell Avenue and south of East Skyline Drive. She was reported missing by family members about noon on Sunday, after she failed to show up for church service that morning and someone reached out to the family. In announcing earlier Monday that officials were now investigating the disappearance as a crime, Nanos had said: "We know she just didn't walk out of there," because of her limited mobility at her age. "She couldn't walk 50 yards by herself," he said, adding that she has no cognitive issues and is "sharp as a tack." He said again that evidence found at her home is of grave concern to investigators, but would not elaborate. Investigators have Guthrie's cell phone, he said. Nanos said she has people who do housekeeping, pool maintenance and landscaping work for her. "I think we've found most everybody" and talked to them to see if they might know anything, Nanos said. After an extensive search of the area Sunday and all night into Monday "to no avail" by ground teams, drones, dog teams, a helicopter and an airplane using infrared, Nanos said late Monday that they were going back to "see if someone missed something." After initial processing of evidence at the home, "We don't see this as much as a search mission as we do as a crime scene," he said. Guthrie is about 5-feet, 5-inches tall and weighs about 150 pounds. She has brown hair and blue eyes. It wasn't known what clothing she might be wearing. Savannah Guthrie was raised in Tucson and is a University of Arizona graduate. She was in Tucson late last year and filmed segments introducing Today Show viewers to her hometown. She was not on air Monday and the investigation was the lead news story on Monday's Today Show. Published reports say she has pulled out of covering the winter Olympics for the network, which start Friday. Nancy Guthrie appeared in a November 2025 story her daughter did about her hometown for the Today Show. Over a meal, Savannah Guthrie asked her mother what made the family want to plant roots in Tucson in the 1970s. Its so wonderful. Just the air, the quality of life, Nancy Guthrie said in the segment. Its laid back and gentle. She said she likes to see the javelinas eat her plants. The popular TV host issued a statement Monday: On behalf of our family, I want to thank everyone for the thoughts, prayers and messages of support, Savannah Guthrie said. Right now, our focus remains on the safe return of our dear mom. We thank law enforcement for their hard work on this case and encourage anyone with information to contact the Pima County Sheriffs Department." Later, she posted on Instagram: "Please pray." "we believe in prayer. we believe in voices raised in unison, in love, in hope. we believe in goodness. we believe in humanity. above all, we believe in Him," Savannah Guthrie wrote, using lowercase sentences in a way that emphasized the reverence of her capitalized references to God. "thank you for lifting your prayers with ours for our beloved mom, our dearest Nancy, a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant. raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment. "we need you. 'He will keep in perfect peace those whose hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.' a verse of Isaiah for all time for all of us. "Bring her home." Image source: Getty Images Some investors choose to focus on FTSE 100 giants when allocating capital. Others focus on penny stocks. Yet in between, there are plenty of other growth shares that could offer strong returns. Heres one Ive spotted thats been surging in recent weeks. The recent surge Im talking about Jubilee Metals Group (LSE:JLP). The stocks up 56% over the past month, and 20% over a one-year period. Its received a starburst recently, thanks to the completion of the sale of its South African chrome and platinum group metals assets. This provides several reasons for investors to cheer. Firstly, it provides cash from the sale being received in instalments. Further, this simplifies its business and strengthens its balance sheet. Finally, it allows the company to focus now on related copper projects, which could have large potential. Tied to this last point is optimism about copper prices. Back in late November, the firm reported a 65% rise in quarterly copper production versus the previous quarter. Since then, the price of copper has skyrocketed. Therefore, investors are logically expecting the business to benefit from this move in the coming quarters. It should result in higher revenue and, ultimately, higher profit. Direction from here Jubilees strategy has pivoted strongly towards copper production in Zambia. I think this is a very smart move, as the metals becoming increasingly valuable as the global economy shifts to electrification, renewable energy, and infrastructure build-outs. Jubilee production forecasts for fiscal 2026 show copper output potentially more than doubling from the previous year. Coppers up 45% in the past year, with some analysts forecasting it could gain a similar rise in the coming year. Therefore, if Jubilee can double output and double the sale price of the copper it produces, profits could increase significantly. Remember that the company will also have more cash (from the South African sale), allowing it to invest more heavily in growth areas, such as Zambia. This leads me to conclude that the share price overall could benefit in the coming year. The bottom line With a market-cap of just 154m, the potential for the share price to increase by a large amount is definitely there. I think we could see earnings per share rise to 0.022 ($0.03) in the coming year. Given the nature of this growth stock, if it traded at a price-to-earnings ratio of 20, it could be trading at 44p, almost 10x the current price. If someone had 100k to invest as a lump sum, it could indeed be considered a millionaire-maker stock. DUBAI, Feb 3 (Reuters) - A group of Iranian gunboats approached a U.S.-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz north of Oman, maritime sources and a security consultancy said on Tuesday. The Iranian boats ordered the tanker, the Stena Imperative, to stop its engine and prepare to be boarded before it could speed up and continue its voyage, maritime risk management group Vanguard said. The vessel did not enter Iranian internal territorial waters and was escorted by a U.S. warship, the maritime risk management group said. An American official confirmed it was U.S. flagged. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations earlier said that a group of armed boats attempted to intercept a vessel 16 nautical miles (30 km) north of Oman, without identifying the vessel or the boats. The agency said it was investigating the incident, which happened in the inbound Traffic Separation Scheme of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's semi-official Fars news agency cited unnamed Iranian officials as saying later on Tuesday that a vessel had entered Iranian territorial waters without the necessary legal permits, was warned and left the area "without any special security event taking place." The strait links the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea beyond. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement OPEC members Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq export most of their crude via the strait, mainly to Asia. Three vessels, two in 2023 and one in 2024, were seized by Iran near or in the strait. Some of the seizures followed U.S. seizures of tankers related to Iran. (Reporting by Jonathan Saul, Tala Ramadan, Idrees Ali and Elwely Elwelly, writing by Jaidaa Taha and Tala Ramadan; Editing by Sharon Singleton, Alex Richardson and Bernadette Baum) Located on Nguyen Van Troi Street (Soc Trang ward, Can Tho City), Hoa An Assembly Hall - known locally as Ong Bon Temple - is one of the most iconic religious structures of the Hoa (ethnic Chinese) community in Vietnams southwestern region. According to historical records preserved at the site, the temple was built in 1875. Despite more than a century of existence and undergoing seven restorations, it has retained much of its original layout and architectural integrity. The temple follows the Chinese "Phuc" character layout, symbolizing prosperity and well-being. Its architecture features elaborate decorative motifs and intricate carvings - such as dragons and phoenixes in harmony and dragon-tiger duels - reflecting yin-yang balance and the communitys longing for a prosperous life. One of the standout features is the temples signature green yin-yang roof tiles, remarkably well-preserved through the decades. At the rooftops peak sits the powerful image of two dragons flanking the moon, a motif traditionally reserved for imperial and sacred structures, lending a solemn grandeur to the entire complex. Crossing through the main gate, visitors are greeted by elaborate wood carvings on either side of the sanctuarys entrance. Ancient Chinese paintings, calligraphy, and folk riddles are vividly displayed - not only serving as ornamental pieces but also honoring the deities venerated inside. The inner sanctuary is even more striking, adorned with gold-lacquered horizontal boards and vertical scrolls engraved with Chinese characters. These richly detailed artifacts, stretching from the front hall to the main altar, highlight the exceptional artistry of craftspeople from generations past. At the heart of the temple stands the altar to Trinh An - a revered figure in Chinese folk belief. He is remembered as a virtuous official who championed the people, encouraged agricultural development, and helped establish new settlements. Over time, his legend gave rise to worship, and he is now honored as a guardian deity in the Hoa community. Flanking the main altar, two smaller chambers are dedicated to other significant spiritual figures: Phuc Duc Chinh Than (the Earth God) and Thien Hau Thanh Mau (the Heavenly Empress). These deities continue to hold great importance in the spiritual lives of the local Hoa population and have been respectfully maintained over many generations. Adding to the temples cultural richness is a collection of rare and valuable relics - such as a gold-lacquered wooden statue of Ong Bon, an ancient Tai Sui-style incense burner, and a pair of metallic cranes and turtles holding lotus blossoms. Yet perhaps the most captivating feature for modern visitors is the temples annual Tet tradition: the lantern auction. Held during the Lunar New Year, this unique event invites worshippers to bid on beautifully crafted lanterns inscribed with auspicious wishes such as peace, prosperity, and fortune. The auction creates a joyful and festive atmosphere while raising funds to support those facing hardship in the community. Recognizing its deep historical, cultural, and artistic significance, Ong Bon Temple was designated a provincial-level architectural heritage site in 2004. It remains a distinctive spiritual and cultural destination for travelers seeking to explore the rich heritage of Vietnams Mekong Delta. The main gate of Ong Bon Temple features ornate folk art and traditional riddles. The temple preserves its original yin-yang roof tiles and sacred dragon motifs. Gold-lacquered inscriptions reflect the artistry of past generations. A panoramic view of the sanctuary, with altars to key folk deities. Devotees pray beneath handcrafted wooden carvings and gold-leaf panels. 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(Photo: AppleInsider) While the tech world awaits the debut of Apples book-style foldable (widely known as the iPhone Fold), engineers at Cupertino appear to be looking even further ahead. Apples next foldable might be smaller, squarer, and more stylish Multiple sources suggest Apple is exploring a vertically folding iPhone, similar to Samsungs Galaxy Z Flip series. The concept: a compact flip phone that opens like a mini laptop, with a square footprint when closed. This wouldnt just be a one-off experiment, but part of a broader strategy to expand the foldable iPhone line beyond a single model. According to Mark Gurmans latest Power On newsletter (Bloomberg), internal teams are testing a new prototype: a smaller foldable iPhone with a clamshell form factor. Though the larger iPhone Fold is still months away from launch, this second model signals Apples intent to build an entire category of foldables over time. Why Apple is eyeing a clamshell iPhone The reason behind the clamshell design is simple: user demand. If the iPhone Fold succeeds, it could prove that consumers are willing to pay for foldable screens - and that would give Apple the confidence to diversify the lineup. At that point, people wouldnt just be asking Is there an iPhone that folds? but rather, Which foldable iPhone fits my lifestyle? Some users may prefer the large tablet-like display of the Fold. Others may prioritize portability and compact size - something a clamshell-style iPhone could deliver beautifully. More than one path forward Interestingly, Apple isnt just thinking smaller. Gurman notes that the company is also considering a larger version of the Fold to compete directly with Samsungs biggest Z Fold models. That could lead to a full portfolio of foldables, ranging from compact clamshells to standard models to max editions aimed at professional users. Its a playbook Apple knows well. The company has successfully segmented its traditional iPhone lineup by size and capability for years. Foldables with a purpose - not just a gimmick Though most leaks have focused on the book-style Fold, clamshell concepts have appeared in patents and insider reports for years. Samsung has already proven theres a market for stylish, lifestyle-driven flip phones. Unlike the Fold, which mimics a tablet, the clamshell format is all about fashion, convenience, and everyday usability. It offers a phone thats small when closed but opens to reveal a full-size screen - ideal for fans of the iPhone mini or anyone tired of carrying bulky phones. One possible approach is a foldable with no external screen at all. In that scenario, the single inner display stays protected and is only exposed when opened - keeping the phone clean and reducing accidental damage. Still, Apple likely wont release two drastically different philosophies - one with a cover screen and one without. That would complicate the product range and user expectations. When will the clamshell iPhone launch? The big question: will Apple release both the iPhone Fold and the clamshell iPhone? For now, it seems the company is waiting to see how the iPhone Fold performs. If Apples first foldable - expected to debut in September 2026 - is well received, that success could justify expanding the foldable lineup. In the best-case scenario, a clamshell-style iPhone might arrive by late 2027. But as always with Apple, nothing is guaranteed until its on stage. Hai Phong As the Lunar New Year (Tet) draws near, Thanh Hoas orchid flower market hits peak season. With demand soaring, skilled arrangers are overwhelmed with orders - working nonstop from dawn to dusk. In return, theyre pocketing earnings ranging from a few million dong per day to over $4,000 during the holiday rush. Orchid arrangers like Pham Van Hung earn millions of VND a day during Tet. (Photo: Le Duong) At flower shops across Thanh Hoas Hac Thanh Ward, the atmosphere is intense. Workers rarely stop to rest, many opting to eat lunch on-site just to keep up with the tight delivery schedules. Pham Van Hung, a local floral artisan, shared that while the job is seasonal, the income is substantial. If youre skilled and hardworking, you can easily make over $4,000 in just a month, he said. Paid by the stem, rewarded by the skill Custom orchid pots range in price from a few million to over $4,000. (Photo: Le Duong) According to Hung, wages are based on the number of stems arranged - anywhere from VND30,000 to 150,000 ($1.20 to 6) per stem, depending on complexity and design requirements. At peak times, experienced arrangers can earn between $80 to $200 a day, or more if handling large, intricate pots. Arranging orchids isnt just about placing stems in a pot, he explained. You have to prepare the foam, anchor each stem properly, and create a balanced, artistic composition. A beautiful pot needs to show shape - it should look elegant at a glance. Artisans are fully booked in the final days before Tet. (Photo: Le Duong) The lead arrangers, he added, are typically those with at least five years of hands-on experience. For more elaborate creations - such as phalaenopsis orchids mounted on driftwood - the process can take several hours. Nguyen Huy Lam, a seasoned arranger from Hung Yen with over a decade in the trade, noted that this premium line demands exceptional craftsmanship. From wood prep and root securing to branch shaping and miniature landscaping, every step requires precision and artistic judgment. Even a minor misstep during the shaping or securing process could ruin the overall balance and significantly lower the products value, Lam emphasized. For this reason, high-end arrangements are assigned only to the most skilled artisans. Custom orders dominate the Tet market Most orchid pots are made to order. (Photo: Le Duong) At a prominent shop along Le Loi Boulevard, Nguyen Huong, a store representative, said theyve imported over 10,000 phalaenopsis orchids for the 2026 Tet season. Prices range from $60 to more than $4,000 per pot, depending on size, stem count, and design intricacy. About 80% of our arrangements are made to order, she explained. With driftwood-based designs, we have to confirm orders early to secure the right wood and complete the arrangement in time for delivery by mid-lunar December. Orchids remain one of the most popular flower choices for Tet. (Photo: Le Duong) To meet demand, the store has hired six additional workers for the peak season, all working around the clock. From small pots for homes to extravagant displays for businesses and gifts, orchid arrangements are a central part of the Tet gifting economy. And for those with steady hands and a sharp eye for balance and elegance, its also one of the most rewarding jobs of the year. Le Duong On the occasion of the 14th National Party Congress, Nguyen Dinh Khang, member of the Party Central Committee, vice chair of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and president of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) spoke with the press about the historical mission, role, and position of the Vietnamese working class in the new stage of development. How do you assess the role, position, and development of the Vietnamese working class after 40 years of Doi Moi (renovation)? Since its inception, especially during the past 40 years of Doi Moi, Vietnams working class has always affirmed its historical mission, role, and position as the leading class of the revolution through its vanguard, the Communist Party of Vietnam. According to the General Statistics Office, the country currently has about 17.5 million workers in the industry-construction sector and 21.2 million workers in the service sector, accounting for 39 percent of the population and 73.6 percent of the societys labor force. Quality and skill levels have been step-by-step improved; the rate of trained workers increased from 64.5 percent in 2020 to 70 percent in 2025, in which the number of workers with degrees or certificates increased from 24.1 percent in 2020 to 29.2 percent in 2025. As the largest representative organization of workers, what focal solutions has the Vietnam Trade Union implemented? As the "largest representative organization, the center for gathering and uniting the working class and laborers nationwide," the Vietnam Trade Union has implemented many solutions to participate with the entire political system in building a modern and strong Vietnamese working class, as a pioneer force in implementing the task of rapid and sustainable national development. First, strengthening the training, education, and improvement of political and legal levels, class consciousness, and national spirit for the working class. Second, actively participating in training, improving educational levels, vocational skills, and increasing labor productivity for workers. Third, creating an environment for workers to practice and mature through patriotic emulation movements and nationwide campaigns. Fourth, the Vietnam Trade Union continues to affirm its role in representing, caring for, and protecting the legal and legitimate rights and interests of workers. More than 80 percent of collective labor agreements have been signed with many terms more beneficial to workers such as wages, bonuses, labor norms, safety, occupational hygiene, working conditions, and mid-shift meals. Fifth, the Vietnam Trade Union strengthens coordination with all levels and sectors in building a modern and strong working class; promoting the core role of the working class in alliance with the peasantry and the intelligentsia, while promoting the "intellectualization" process of workers. In 2023-2025, the VGCL awarded 1,457 Creative Labor Certificates to outstanding individuals. What do you think are the major challenges currently facing the Trade Union organization and workers? First, the development of the working class has not kept pace with the requirements of the growth model and the national development strategy. The quality of human resources remains limited; and the technical labor structure is unbalanced, with a shortage of skilled workers, high-tech workers, and workers capable of mastering modern technology. Second, long-standing inadequacies in interest distribution and social security assurance reduce workers' motivation to strive. Employment is not yet sustainable; the minimum wage is not enough to live on; and income gaps between labor groups and between regions remain large. Third, the human resource management model is slow to renovate and not suitable for sustainable development requirements. High labor intensity and long working hours are still common. The other problems lie in the practical summary and theoretical research on the working class, the consciousness, political mettle, and legal understanding What focal tasks and solutions will the VGCL propose to the Party Central Committee and the 14th Congress? First, issuing a strategy for building the working class associated with the socio-economic development strategy, concretizing the orientation of building a modern and strong Vietnamese working class associated with the development of science-technology and innovation. Second, ensuring a harmonious distribution of interests among workers, employers, and society. Third, researching the reduction of working hours and improving the quality of life for workers. Fourth, focusing more on theoretical research and practical summary regarding building the working class. Fifth, innovating and strengthening the Party's leadership, the coordination and support of the State and the political system to promote the role of the Vietnam Trade Union in building a modern and strong working class. Vu Diep To commemorate the 96th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of Vietnam (3 February 1930 3 February 2026) and celebrate the success of the Partys 14th National Congress, the Central Office of the Communist Party held a groundbreaking ceremony this morning in Hanoi for the new Communist Party Museum. General Secretary To Lam, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Permanent Secretariat Member Tran Cam Tu, and other current and former Party and State leaders attended the event. A profound tribute to revolutionary history General Secretary To Lam and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the Museum of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Photo: VNA Speaking at the ceremony, Vo Thanh Hung, Deputy Chief of the Central Office, emphasized the special significance of this project as a gesture of deep respect for the proud 96-year history of the Party. Since its establishment in 1930 under the leadership of President Ho Chi Minh, the Communist Party of Vietnam has led the country through immense challenges to achieve historic victories and national development. According to Vo Thanh Hung, the new museum is not only intended to archive and preserve invaluable historical documents of the Party, but also to vividly and truthfully reflect the Partys revolutionary journey alongside the Vietnamese people. A red address for education and national pride The museum will serve as a red address for educating Party members, youth, and the broader public on revolutionary traditions, idealism, and ethical values. It will also offer the international community a comprehensive view of the Partys role in Vietnams national liberation and global revolutionary movements. The design concept integrates traditional Vietnamese cultural elements with modern architectural expression. The project seeks to embody harmony between the countrys heroic past and its aspirations for future development. Set to become a major cultural and architectural landmark in Hanoi and across Vietnam, the museum is envisioned as a place future generations will be proud to visit - anchoring collective memory and national identity for decades to come. Project planning and vision General Secretary To Lam, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, and current and former leaders of the Party and State at the groundbreaking ceremony. Photo: VNA Deputy Chief Hung called on the projects investors, contractors, and relevant agencies to commit the highest level of determination and responsibility at every stage. He stressed the need for rigorous oversight and timely resolution of any issues, along with absolute compliance with safety, environmental, and legal standards throughout implementation. The museum is being developed by the General Administration Department of the Central Office of the Communist Party. On 12 December 2025, the Politburo officially approved the museums design, rooted in the symbolic imagery of Vietnams rural heritage - bamboo groves and riverbanks - representing the enduring unity of village and nation. Symbol of unity and future readiness The museums architectural design will feature the motif Rising Steel Rampart, a powerful expression of the Partys strength and the nations determination in the new era. Incorporating world-class smart museum technology, the project is intended to showcase the deep bond between the Party and the people, and the ongoing journey to safeguard Independence Freedom Happiness. Beyond construction, the project team will collect and process some 5,000 documents and artifacts from across the country, while designing exhibits and building a detailed curatorial framework. The human resource strategy includes recruiting top-tier personnel and offering advanced professional training to ensure the museums operational excellence. The Communist Party Museum is scheduled to open in the second quarter of 2029 and to officially welcome visitors on the Partys 100th founding anniversary, 3 February 2030. Tran Thuong More fundamentally, it reflects a strong policy resolve to tackle a long-standing challenge: improving transparency in the gold market, curbing speculation and manipulation, and gradually mobilising gold resources held by the public for the economy. In an official dispatch issued on January 24, the PM instructed the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to urgently complete research and assessment dossiers and consider proposals for establishing a national gold exchange or trading platform. The National Assembly has also repeatedly urged the Government to devise timely solutions and an appropriate roadmap to stabilise the gold market. New approach needed After more than a decade of managing the gold market primarily through administrative measures, Vietnams gold policy is entering a critical phase of adjustment. The Government's Decree No. 232/2025/ND-CP, which amends Decree No. 24/2012/ND-CP on gold trading management, has ended the State monopoly on gold bar production, paving the way for a more institutional and market-based approach. Against this backdrop, the establishment of a national gold exchange is expected to help standardise pricing and enhance market transparency. Dr Can Van Luc, Chief Economist of the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) and a member of the National Financial and Monetary Policy Advisory Council, said the key issue lies not simply in whether a gold exchange exists, but in clearly defining which types of gold should be subject to strict regulation. Gold bars and bullion serve investment and reserve purposes and are closely linked to financial stability, so they must be tightly managed. Jewellery gold, which is primarily for consumption, requires a more appropriate mechanism, he said. To reduce systemic risks, Luc added, Vietnam needs to gradually disclose data on gold holdings in the economy and put an end to gold-based borrowing and lending practices that carry latent riks. Amid a persistent gap between domestic and global gold prices, he identified boosting legitimate supply as an urgent solution, through standardising gold bar specifications, cutting processing costs, and facilitating gold imports and production. Once prices are formed in a centralised and transparent manner, with international benchmarks taken into account, opportunities for speculation and rumour-driven pricing will be significantly reduced. At a gold shop (Photo: VNA) Luc believes a practical option is to treat gold as a physical commodity traded on existing commodity exchanges, which already have operational systems and processes in place, requiring only the addition of gold to their product lists. Cautious rollout From a regulatory perspective, the SBV views a gold exchange as a component with multidimensional impacts on macroeconomic stability. In response to opinions from National Assembly deputies, the central bank described a gold exchange as a centralised trading mechanism for standardised gold, including both physical and non-physical products. While acknowledging that a gold exchange would enhance transparency and better reflect supply and demand, the SBV also warned it could stimulate increased investment demand for gold. Given current priorities to channel capital into economic recovery and production, the SBV stressed that any rollout must be carefully assessed and timed appropriately. According to the SBVs Foreign Exchange Management Department, a pilot gold exchange is expected to be implemented in three phases. The initial phase will focus on physical gold products within the domestic market only, involving banks and licensed importers. Gold bars will be added in the next stage, followed by derivatives at a later stage. From the business community, Nguyen The Hung, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Gold Traders Association (VGTA), said Vietnam has sufficient technological capacity to build a modern gold exchange if the roadmap is properly followed. Initially, he suggested allowing imports of internationally certified gold materials under strict technical and reporting requirements. The biggest benefit is that all transactions will be recorded, helping to reduce speculation, manipulation and the risk of price bubbles, Hung said. However, he cautioned against opening the market too quickly, noting that only 3040% of gold businesses have invested properly in machinery and input control processes. Lawyer Nguyen Thanh Ha, Chairman of SBLAW, said the Governments push for a gold exchange is a well-considered step after studying international experience. An exchange should not be limited to physical gold but expanded modern trading forms, helping narrow the domestic global price gap, ensure supply demand balance, and curb speculation. A gold exchange is not a magic cure, however, if implemented properly and with public trust, it could become a pillar in building a more stable and healthier gold market over the long term./. VNA Ho Chi Minh Citys Department of Planning and Architecture has proposed a temporary halt to renovation works at two of the citys most iconic sites - Ben Thanh Market and Turtle Lake - citing discrepancies in design and mounting public concern over aesthetic choices. Ben Thanh Market with its new look under renovation. Photo: Nguyen Hue The proposal, submitted to the Department of Construction, comes amid ongoing renovations sponsored and carried out by Khang Dien Housing Development and Investment Corporation. The project was approved by the HCMC Peoples Committee to revamp seven key locations across the city center, including Nguyen Hue, Dong Khoi, Ham Nghi, Hai Ba Trung streets, the roundabouts at Phu Dong and Turtle Lake, and the square in front of Ben Thanh Market. However, according to the Department of Planning and Architecture, some of these public spaces - particularly Ben Thanh Square and the Turtle Lake roundabout - hold distinctive symbolic and architectural significance that has not been adequately respected during the facelift process. Field observations and community feedback revealed widespread concern over the color schemes, design harmony, and visual coherence of the renovated areas. Authorities noted that in some cases, the execution on site diverged notably in both scope and palette from previously approved plans. It remains unclear whether certain changes - especially in color and layout - were submitted to or approved by the relevant oversight bodies. These modifications have directly impacted the visual identity of their surroundings, prompting planners to recommend a temporary pause in further work at the two highlighted sites. The Department has also requested Khang Dien Corporation to urgently submit its detailed construction plans and formally explain the observed differences from the original proposals. Ben Thanh Market is listed in HCMCs heritage inventory. Photo: Nguyen Hue Ben Thanh Market, a heritage structure listed in the citys official inventory, must retain its original design features and color, according to the Department of Culture and Sports. Any repainting must strictly adhere to its historical appearance, preserving original patterns and decorative elements. Though not a listed heritage site, Turtle Lake is considered a deeply rooted urban symbol, etched into the collective memory of HCMC residents. As such, planners emphasized that any restoration work must honor the lakes established color tones, ensure material quality, and follow technical standards. In response, the Department of Construction confirmed receipt of the proposal on February 2. It stated that renovation efforts at Ben Thanh Market and Turtle Lake had so far complied with relevant regulations. According to the department, upgrades to Ben Thanh and nearby public features - such as the tower fountain, surrounding pathways, and storefront facades near Turtle Lake - have refreshed the urban landscape, making it cleaner and more visually appealing. These enhancements have attracted both public praise and lively social media attention as locals flock to the revitalized areas for photos and visits. For Ben Thanh Market in particular, restoration efforts have focused on architectural conservation: repainting using the original color palette, structural cleaning, and maintaining decorative details. The department said it has welcomed public input and collaborated closely with the sponsor to adjust certain elements - including paint color - based on community feedback. Regarding the bold paint used on the Ben Thanh square roundabout, the department clarified that the current color scheme is temporary, applied only to the inner traffic island while a comprehensive plan for an underground traffic hub and public plaza is under preparation. The surface paint, it added, can be easily replaced to suit different aesthetic or thematic contexts over time. Officials also acknowledged the sponsors positive and committed approach to revitalizing the citys architectural core and said the renovation remains aligned with preservation guidelines - balancing culture and design, history and modernity. Back in mid-January, the city approved the urban renewal of seven central locations, aiming to refresh their appearance in time for the Tet (Lunar New Year) celebrations. Khang Dien was appointed as both sponsor and executor, with a target completion date of February 10. The Department of Construction is serving as lead coordinator, working alongside other departments and local authorities. Yet as implementation progressed, some aesthetic and design choices - particularly at Ben Thanh Market and Turtle Lake - have sparked significant public discourse on the balance between modernization and cultural preservation. Tuan Kiet Welcoming the Jordanian House Speaker and his delegation at Noi Bai International Airport were Don Tuan Phong, Vice Chairman of the National Assemblys Committee for National Defence, Security and External Relations, along with representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Middle East Africa Department and the State Protocol Department. Accompanying Speaker Mazen Turki El Qadi on the visit are Jordans Ambassador to Singapore and Vietnam Saed Radaideh; several members of the Jordanian Parliament representing finance, youth and sports, health and food, environment and climate, agriculture and water, legal, and administrative committees; along with the chief of staff of the House Speakers Office and the secretary-general of the House of Representatives. Don Tuan Phong, Vice Chairman of the National Assemblys Committee for National Defence, Security and External Relations welcomes the Jordanian House Speaker and his delegation at Noi Bai International Airport. (Photo: VNA) Vietnam and Jordan established diplomatic relations in 1980. The official visit by Speaker Mazen Turki El Qadi marks the first exchange of high-level delegations between the two countries legislative bodies. It takes place just three months after the visit to Vietnam by King Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein and is also Speaker Mazen Turki El Qadis first overseas trip since assuming office in October 2025. The visit reflects the strong commitment of the Jordanian Royal Family, Government and House of Representatives to promoting comprehensive relations with Vietnam, including parliamentary cooperation./. VNA The countrys largest airport is now entering a decisive sprint, with all efforts focused on bringing it into full commercial operation in the first half of 2026. In late January 2026, construction activities at the massive project site were in full swing under dry seasonal weather conditions. Hundreds of workers and machines were operating day and night on the second runway. Truong Son Corporation, one of seven contractors involved in the package, has mobilised extensive manpower and equipment, organising three shifts across four work teams to accelerate progress. According to Dao Anh Dung, Director of the Long Thanh Airport Construction Management Board under Truong Son Corporation, the dry season has created favourable conditions for speeding up construction. Contractors are maintaining round-the-clock operations, closely adhering to progress schedules while ensuring construction quality. With the completed workload to date, the second runway is currently three months ahead of schedule compared to the contract timeline. Meanwhile, at the passenger terminal construction and equipment installation package, structural works were largely completed by the end of 2025. The contractor consortium has now moved into the equipment installation phase. Although the contract sets a completion deadline of November 30, 2026, the involved units are determined to shorten the timeline and complete the package by June this year. At present, contractors are conducting system integration, static installation acceptance, unloaded and loaded trial runs, and synchronised testing of imported aviation equipment. We are making every effort to ensure progress and quality, contributing to this national key project, a Vinaconex engineer said, noting that the passenger terminal involves a large workload and stringent technical requirements. According to the Long Thanh Airport Project Management Board, more than 15,000 experts, engineers and workers, along with nearly 3,000 pieces of equipment, are currently deployed across hundreds of construction fronts. All project packages have entered the final acceleration phase, coordinated around the June 2026 operational milestone to ensure system-wide synchronisation and readiness for trial operations. During an inspection visit in mid-January, Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh praised the efforts of the investor, consultants and contractors in maintaining progress. He urged construction units to continue intensive three-shift operations to speed up completion while strictly safeguarding quality standards. All key items must be finished before June 2026 to ensure timely airport operations as planned. The minister also stressed the importance of external transport connectivity, calling on Dong Nai province to study and supplement additional access routes linking the airport with national highways, ring roads and the provincial transport network. Built on more than 5,000 hectares, the Long Thanh International Airport is a three-phase project with an estimated total investment exceeding 16 billion USD. Phase one, costing over 5.4 billion USD, will have a capacity of 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tonnes of cargo annually. Minh emphasised that Long Thanh Airport must not only be fast-tracked but also built to be green, clean and visually appealing, meeting five-star international standards when fully operational. Alongside the completion of phase one, the Ministry of Construction on January 9 assigned Airports Corporation of Vietnam as the investor for phase two, marking the next step in the airports long-term development plan./. VNA The event was held to mark the 96th founding anniversary of the Party (February 3, 19302026) and celebrate the success of the 14th National Party Congress. Launched on February 5, 2025, on the occasion of the 95th founding anniversary of the Party, the contest became a broad and meaningful political and ideological activity, encouraging strong emulation movements across society and within the military. The organisers received more than 8,000 entries in five categories: commentary, feature, reportage, photo and multimedia. Many entries were of high quality and strong combativeness, clearly demonstrating the dedication, responsibility, courage and intellect of journalists as pioneering soldiers on the ideological and cultural front, affirming their political commitment and responsibility to the Party, the Fatherland and the people. The preliminary jury selected 116 works for the final round and proposed awards for 66 authors and groups of authors with outstanding works, including five A, 11 B, 25 C and 25 consolation prizes. Certificates of merit were also presented to 10 collectives with outstanding achievements in organising and promoting the contest. Party General Secretary To Lam (C) and Minister of National Defence General Phan Van Giang present A prizes to the five most outstanding works (Photo: VNA) Party General Secretary To Lam and Minister of National Defence General Phan Van Giang presented A prizes to the five most outstanding works. In the reportage category, the A prize went to The spirit of cutting a path through the Truong Son Range in key national projects by a group of authors from Army Corps 12. In the commentary category, the A prizes were awarded to two works: Renewing the Partys ruling methods to lead the country into a new era; and Continuously improving the theoretical system on Party building in a new era. Meanwhile, works named Comprehensive social development linked with the struggle against distorted narratives and Holding firm the ideological front won the A prizes in the multimedia category. Participating in the contest, the Vietnam News Agency had two groups of authors winning the C prizes with the works A lifetime writing about the Party and President Ho Chi Minh (reportage) and Amid floodwaters, an order from the heart (photo)./. VNA The move aims to promptly combat, curb, and minimise IP violations; safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of citizens and businesses; build a transparent and healthy business environment; spread the nations image and prestige to advance rapid and sustainable development. PM Chinh asked ministers, heads of ministerial-level and government-affiliated agencies, and chairpersons of the municipal and provincial Peoples Committees to step up the capacity, effectiveness, and efficiency of IP rights enforcement within their assigned mandates. The Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) will lead efforts, working closely with relevant ministries and agencies, to review and propose revisions to guiding documents for the IP Law and relevant administrative sanction regulations. In collaboration with the Ministry of Public Security and relevant ministries and agencies, the MoST will build a comprehensive national database on IP rights enforcement that is regularly updated, aligned with international practices, and compliant with the law. The database is targeted for completion and operation in 2026, with ongoing sustainability thereafter, to serve as a key tool to support the handling of IP infringements. More technological solutions, such as artificial intelligence and blockchain, will be adopted to detect infringements, trace origins, and protect IP rights in the digital environment. Quang Ninh officers inspect a warehouse showing signs of violations. (Photo: VNA) The MoST will also lead and work with relevant bodies to urgently study and adopt solutions to improve the quality and effectiveness of inter-agency coordination in IP enforcement. Administrative procedures will be streamlined to facilitate IP protection registration, while inspections of enforcement activities by ministries, agencies and localities will be intensified, with a focus on key industries, product groups and peak periods. Ministries, agencies, and localities must deepen international cooperation in the collection and sharing of information, investigations, and the handling of cross-border IP violations, tapping international resources to bolster Vietnams enforcement capacity. The Peoples Committees of provinces and cities were assigned to direct relevant agencies to increase inspections, detection, and the timely handling of IP violations within their jurisdictions. Chairpersons of peoples committees at all levels will bear personal accountability for infringements occurring in their localities. Other specific tasks were also assigned to relevant ministries and agencies./. VNA Welcoming the special envoy shortly after the CPVs 14th National Congress, General Secretary Lam affirmed that the dispatch of a high-ranking special envoy by the Cuban leadership on this occasion demonstrates the special importance attached by Cuba, as well as the close-knit, faithful, pure and exemplary relationship between the two Parties, States and peoples. Briefing the guest on the outcomes of the 14th National Party Congress, he stressed that the Congress not only reviewed past achievements but also charted strategic orientations for national development toward 2030 with a vision to 2045. Within this external relations orientation, ties with traditional friends, especially Cuba, always hold a top priority. Sharing the difficulties and challenges Cuba is facing due to the impacts of blockades, embargos and natural disasters, the Party leader reaffirmed the Vietnamese Party, State and peoples consistent stance of standing in solidarity with, supporting and accompanying the Cuban people, and once again called for the lifting of unilateral blockade and embargo measures against Cuba. He emphasised that the Vietnamese people never forget the immortal words of Leader Fidel Castro: For Vietnam, Cuba is willing to shed even its own blood, and affirmed that today, in the cause of national construction and defence, Vietnam is also willing to support Cuba to the best of its ability to help the country overcome difficulties and advance development. On behalf of the Cuban Party and State leaders, Bruno Rodriguez once again conveyed the warm congratulations of Cubas top leaders on the successful 14th National Congress of the CPV - a major political event marking a glorious milestone in the historical process of the Vietnamese nation, as well as on the Partys 96th founding anniversary. He emphasised that the Communist Party of Cuba highly values the great and historically significant achievements Vietnam has recorded over 40 years of Doi moi (Renewal), and firmly believes that the Resolution of the 14th Congress will serve as a guiding compass leading Vietnam into a new era the era of national rise. Bruno Rodriguez again affirmed the stance of the Cuban Party and State: Vietnams success is also Cubas success. Vietnams experience in Party building and economic development is a powerful source of encouragement and inspiration, and the most suitable model of reference for the Cuban Revolution. At the meeting, the two sides exchanged views and reached high consensus on major directions and measures to further deepen, substantiate and enhance the effectiveness of the traditional friendship and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Cuba in the coming period, in line with the new context of each country and the international situation. At the meeting between Party General Secretary To Lam and the Cuban special envoy (Photo: VNA) Both sides agreed to continue strengthening high-level exchanges; regularly and flexibly maintaining cooperation mechanisms, theoretical exchanges, and the sharing of practical experience in Party building, personnel training and state governance, considering these an important political foundation for consolidating strategic trust between the two Parties. Regarding economic cooperation, the Party General Secretary emphasised the need for breakthrough steps to make it commensurate with the excellent political relationship, affirming that Vietnam will continue to share experience and effectively implement cooperation projects on rice production to help Cuba gradually achieve food and foodstuff self-sufficiency, while encouraging and creating favourable conditions for enterprises to invest in Cuba. Bruno Rodriguez affirmed that the Cuban Party and State always prioritise strengthening cooperation with Vietnam in potential fields such as solar energy, consumer goods production, tourism and pharmaceuticals; continue close coordination at multilateral international forums; and educate younger generations about the tradition of bilateral relations so as to further develop this special friendship and cooperation./. VNA Market reports indicate declining liquidity, while end-user demand is starting to shape price movements, opening a correction phase after a rapid growth cycle. According to the latest report from the Ministry of Construction, in 2025 apartment prices increased by 2030 percent year on year, with some areas recording increases of over 40 percent, mainly in the mid-range and high-end segments. Data from the Vietnam Association of Realtors Institute for Real Estate Research and Evaluation (VARS IRE) show that housing prices continued to climb and set new benchmarks in most regions. The apartment segment remained a major hotspot, as asking prices for new launches in large cities rose sharply. In Hanoi, the average asking price for newly launched apartments reached VND100 million per sqm, up 40 percent compared with 2024. In HCMC (former), the average price stood at about VND111 million per sqm, up 23 percent year on year, with many high-end projects launched at the end of the year. In the secondary market, apartment prices in Hanoi increased rapidly over a short period, with many areas seeing rises ranging from several hundred million dong to as much as billions of dong per unit. Alongside price movements, the mismatch between supply and demand remains a key bottleneck. In some localities, mainly in southern regions, the supply of reasonably priced commercial housing has increased, helping partially rebalance supply and demand. By contrast, in Hanoi, Da Nang and HCMC (former), the imbalance has become more pronounced. Although the supply of social housing has improved, it still lags far behind the supply of commercial housing, where prices commonly exceed VND80 million per sqm. The market structure continues to shift strongly toward high-end, luxury and ultra-luxury segments, while affordable commercial housing remains largely absent. FOMO cools down, price and liquidity adjusts Regarding market demand, VARS IRE noted that while real housing demand remains crucial, the primary market driver continues to be investment demand. It is estimated that over 75 percent of transactions come from buyers acquiring their second and subsequent property, with approximately 10 percent utilizing short-term financial leverage. However, by late 2025, the upward momentum of the apartment market began to slow. A segment of investors who bought due to FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) have started listing properties for "loss-cutting" sales, while price levels in central areas remain stable. Nguyen Vu Cao, Chair of Khang Land, said the phenomenon of prices running ahead of liquidity clearly reflects market sentiment after the recovery phase. He said price levels in the secondary market were largely formed based on expectations from the previous cycle, while actual purchasing power has been moving in line with current capital costs and incomes. Cao said FOMO had been overstretched in recent times, as some buyers chased herd mentality and short-term trading strategies amid limited supply. This pushed prices up quickly and unevenly, particularly in the Hanoi market. In 2026, the market is expected to enter a correction phase focused on revaluation and liquidity reallocation, rather than broad-based price surges or declines. Liquidity is likely to move away from segments with high prices but limited real use value and weak exploitation potential, shifting toward products that are easy to live in, easy to rent out and easy to transfer, Cao said. As for the risks in the 2026 real estate market, Cao said the greatest danger is local oversupply in certain areas, especially those that developed too rapidly in a short period. Additionally, the use of high financial leverage and herd-based investment, driven by unverified information, poses significant risks as the market enters a more rigorous screening phase. Furthermore, the widening gap between asking prices and the market's actual affordability is a factor investors need to monitor closely. According to Cao, investors should return to fundamental principles, prioritizing products with clear and transparent legal status, and carefully evaluating cash flow, financial capacity, and developer reputation. At the same time, they should limit leverage and accept medium- to long-term investment strategies. "Prudence and financial discipline will be key factors in mitigating risk when the market fluctuates or reverses," he emphasized. Hong Khanh The event drew representatives from the Vietnamese Embassy in Israel, Vietnams Trade Counsellor Le Thai Hoa, and Arkia Airlines, and around 80 Israeli guests, including outbound tour operators, travel agencies, key opinion leaders and influential travel bloggers. The workshop provided an updated overview of Vietnams tourism potential and introduced a full-service travel ecosystem, including the capacity to develop series tours, incentive travel programmes and tailor-made packages. Participants also discussed orientations for cooperation in designing products suited to Israeli travellers needs in the 20262027 period. Praising the proactive engagement of Vietnamese businesses at IMTM 2026, Hoa highlighted the launch of the direct Tel AvivHanoi route as a significant milestone, demonstrating the effectiveness of direct aviation connectivity between the two countries. He noted that the new service not only improves market access, shortens geographical distance and enhances destination reach, but also helps businesses in both countries better exploit cooperation opportunities and leverage respective strengths in promising fields such as trade, investment, tourism, labour and services. The route, he said, serves as a new bridge linking two rich cultures and dynamic economies driven by innovation, while opening a new chapter in bilateral tourism cooperation. The trade counsellor also commended Vietnamese travel companies for pioneering efforts in tapping the Israeli market following the implementation of the VietnamIsrael Free Trade Agreement (VIFTA). Their presence at IMTM 2026, with professional service ecosystems and deep cultural understanding, he said, will not only help boost tourist flows but also provide an important channel for Israelis to gain a clearer picture of a modern, dynamic and culturally distinctive Vietnam. IMTM is the largest professional tourism fair in Israel and the Mediterranean region, held annually for more than 30 years. Taking place from February 3 to 4 at the Expo Tel Aviv Exhibition Centre, the fair features nearly 200 booths and thousands of delegates from over 50 countries. The participation of Vietnamese tourism enterprises marks an important step forward in promoting Vietnams image in the Middle EastMediterranean market. Statistics show that Israelis made around nine million overseas trips in 2023. Even in the challenging year of 2024, the figure still exceeded seven million, underlining the strong potential of the Israeli outbound market for long-haul destinations such as Vietnam. Vietnamese businesses presence at IMTM 2026 comes as Arkia Airlines has officially launched the direct Tel AvivHanoi service, cutting travel time to nearly 12 hours. The route is widely seen as a major boost, opening up new growth space for tourism in both countries while strengthening bilateral economic and cultural exchanges./. VNA Official data shows that Vietnam spent approximately $2 billion importing nearly one million tons of meat and edible animal by-products in 2025. Among them, pork was imported at an average cost of just VND59,000 ($2.27) per kilogram - considerably lower than domestic prices. Vietnam imported nearly 1 million tons of meat and edible by-products in 2025. Photo by TA Sharp rise in pork imports Figures from the General Department of Customs indicate that Vietnam imported 978,300 tons of meat and meat products in 2025, up 11.6% in volume and 12.2% in value compared to the previous year. India remained the largest supplier, accounting for 19.29% of total meat imports with 188,700 tons valued at $681.32 million. This marked a slight drop of 2.8% in volume but a 5.6% increase in value year-on-year. Other major exporters included Russia, Brazil, the US, Australia, and Canada. Notably, imports from Russia rose by over 59% in both volume and value. Brazils meat exports to Vietnam increased by 42.7% in volume and 57.3% in value. In contrast, imports from the US and Australia declined. Vietnam also expanded imports from several European and Asian markets, including Poland, South Korea, Germany, Spain, Turkey, Italy, France, and China. Poultry leads in quantity, buffalo meat in value The import breakdown reveals that poultry and edible by-products accounted for 36.77% of the volume and 17.94% of the value. Buffalo meat made up 17.68% of the volume but contributed a high 31.85% of the value. Pork imports accounted for 18.75% of the volume and 20.88% of the total value, while fresh beef comprised 4.04% of the volume and 13.95% of the value. Vietnam also imported a significant amount of chilled and frozen edible by-products from pigs, buffalo, and cattle, representing 18.86% of volume and 12.67% of the value. Other categories made up the remaining 3.9% in volume and 2.7% in value. Particularly, pork imports saw a significant increase. Vietnam imported 183,400 tons of chilled or frozen pork in 2025, worth $418.54 million - an 18.75% increase in volume and 20.88% in value compared to 2024. Russia emerged as the largest pork supplier, providing 48.44% of Vietnams total imported pork. Brazil followed with 30.91%, then Germany (4.03%), Canada (4%), the Netherlands (2.58%), and other markets (10.04%). The average import price of pork stood at $2,273 per ton - or around 59,000 VND per kilogram - down 2.8% from the previous year, and significantly cheaper than local prices. Supermarket pork cheaper than at wet markets Despite declining wholesale prices, pork at traditional markets remained costly. Reporters from VietNamNet observed that after peaking at 82,000 VND/kg in late January, live hog prices fell to 75,00078,000 VND/kg across different regions. Yet, prices at local wet markets stayed high. At Dai Tu Market in Hanois Dinh Cong area, pork shoulder, leg cuts, and boneless hock saw a 10,000 VND/kg increase, reaching 150,000160,000 VND/kg. Pork belly jumped 15,000 VND to 175,000 VND/kg, while loin cuts cost 170,000 VND/kg and rib cuts reached 190,000 VND/kg. Interestingly, some major supermarket chains slashed pork prices to break even ahead of the Tet Binh Ngo holiday. Importantly, they emphasized that these were local pork products - not imported. Regional price breakdown at supermarkets In northern Vietnam, prices fell significantly: Pork leg: down 12% to 123,000 VND/kg Minced pork: down 17% to 123,000 VND/kg Pork belly: down 11% to 165,000 VND/kg Pork tail bone: down 25% to 64,000 VND/kg Pork shank: down 12% to 145,000 VND/kg In the central region: Pork leg: down 10% to 109,000 VND/kg Minced pork: down 15% to 105,000 VND/kg Pork belly: down 3% to 155,000 VND/kg Pork chop (cotlet): 120,000 VND/kg Shoulder cut: down slightly to 145,000 VND/kg In southern Vietnam, supermarkets offered deep discounts on VietGAP-certified pork: Pork leg: down 19% to 112,000 VND/kg Minced pork: down 19% to 113,000 VND/kg Pork shoulder: down 19% to 115,000 VND/kg Pork chop (cotlet): down 21% to 115,000 VND/kg Pork belly: down 16% to 150,000 VND/kg Despite record levels of meat imports and falling live hog prices, pork remains costly in Vietnams traditional markets - especially during the Tet season. Meanwhile, supermarkets have stepped in with steep discounts, offering consumers more affordable access to domestic meat. This price disparity reflects ongoing supply chain inefficiencies and market dynamics, even as Vietnam opens wider to global meat suppliers. Tam An National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man speaks at the 54th session of the Standing Committee. Photo: National Assembly This update came during the 54th session of the National Assembly Standing Committee, which focused on several pressing legislative matters. Among them was the approval of a resolution outlining special mechanisms and policies for investing in the Ninh Thuan nuclear power project. The Committee also reviewed the January 2026 public feedback report, and preliminary discussions began on the amended Capital Law. In addition, a second resolution was passed to adjust the structure, composition, and number of agencies, organizations, and units eligible to nominate candidates for the 16th National Assembly. Preparations in full swing across the country Chairman Tran Thanh Man reported that on February 2, the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee successfully held its second round of consultation meetings. These meetings finalized the structure, composition, and number of candidates. All 34 provinces and municipalities have begun implementing the next procedural steps, including arranging for candidates to meet with local voters at their residence areas between February 4 and 8. He emphasized that while the agenda for the meeting was not extensive in quantity, it held crucial importance - particularly regarding national energy security, sustainable development, election preparation, and legal frameworks for Hanois future development. According to the current schedule, the first session of the newly elected 16th National Assembly is slated to open on April 6. Similarly, Peoples Councils at all levels will convene their first sessions in line with the overall electoral calendar. Avoiding unnecessary bureaucracy, ensuring public trust Chairman Tran Thanh Man reiterated the importance of avoiding redundant administrative procedures. He stressed that all efforts must prioritize protecting the legitimate rights and interests of citizens and businesses. He urged agencies to fully embrace the guiding spirit of the 14th National Party Congress - specifically, moving decisively from policy orientation to practical implementation and delivering measurable results, not just political resolve. He also warned that the traditional weakness in Vietnams governance - execution - must be addressed. Post-Tet legislative action planned Looking ahead, the National Assembly Standing Committee will hold its regular March session immediately following the Lunar New Year holiday. The committee is expected to review all draft laws scheduled for the first full session of the 16th legislature. Given the tight timeline, Chairman Tran Thanh Man directed relevant verification committees to coordinate closely with the government to ensure timely submission and high-quality legislative dossiers. Legislative quality must remain the top priority. We cannot rush to meet numerical targets at the expense of substance, he stated. From top to grassroots: clear responsibilities in election prep Based on his field inspections of election preparations in various provinces, Chairman Tran Thanh Man stressed the need for clear task allocation at every level. He called on provincial Party Committees, local departments, and leaders to personally oversee election organization at the grassroots - visiting communes, wards, electoral units, and polling stations to stay informed and offer guidance. He described the upcoming vote as a particularly important event and said the entire political system is mobilizing to ensure success. With limited time and high expectations, the National Election Council must lead tightly coordinated preparations to ensure the vote is truly a nationwide civic celebration. Tran Thuong At the outset of the talks, Trung briefed the Cuban side on major outcomes of the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV). In response, Rodriguez Parrilla, who is visiting Vietnam from February 1-3 as special envoy of the Communist Party and State of Cuba, affirmed that the success of the CPVs 14th congress was not only a victory for the Vietnamese people, but also a great source of encouragement and a valuable lesson for the Communist Party and people of Cuba in their cause of national construction and defence. The two ministers highly appreciated the results of the series of commemorative activities held in each country during the Vietnam-Cuba Friendship Year 2025, marking the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two nations. They agreed to advise the senior leaders of both countries to step up exchanges of delegations and contacts at all levels, and promote exchanges of theoretical and practical experience in Party building, as well as training and planning of strategic-level cadres, particularly regarding Vietnams experience in renewal, economic development, and international integration. Both sides also agreed to develop cooperation plans between the two Parties and States for the coming period. The ministers concurred on bringing into play the core role of the two foreign ministries in advising and implementing cooperation mechanisms, especially in concretising and establishing effective ones to promote key cooperation projects in food security, energy, and pharmaceuticals. These efforts aim to realise the high-level agreements reached during Party General Secretary To Lams state visit to Cuba in September 2024 and First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of Cuba Miguel Diaz-Canels state visit to Vietnam in September 2025. Regarding people-to-people diplomacy, the two sides expressed confidence that it constitutes a solid foundation of bilateral relations. They called on friendship and socio-political organisations of both countries to continue renewing content and methods of activities, while strengthening education for younger generations about the heroic history and steadfast solidarity between Vietnam and Cuba. The two ministers shared a high degree of consensus on global issues, affirming the importance of maintaining peace, stability, respect for international law, and settling disputes by peaceful means in accordance with international law and the United Nations Charter. Looking ahead, both sides pledged to enhance multilateral cooperation, closely coordinate positions, and support each other at major international forums, particularly the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement. They stressed their shared commitment to making active and responsible contributions to consolidating a peaceful, stable, and development-oriented environment in both Southeast Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean. Rodriguez Parrilla expressed sincere gratitude for Vietnams steadfast solidarity, affirming that Cuba will do its utmost together with Vietnam to preserve and further strengthen their relationship. On this occasion, Trung reaffirmed Vietnams consistent and principled stance calling for the complete lifting of the embargo against Cuba. The Cuban FM respectfully invited his Vietnamese counterpart to pay a visit to Cuba at a mutually convenient time, an invitation that Trung gladly accepted./. VNA Nguyen Hoang Hai An, admitted to Swarthmore College and six other U.S. universities, plans to study Economics. In addition to Swarthmore, Hai An received admission offers from six other U.S. universities, each granting annual aid between USD 27,000 and 57,000. Starting early with purpose Her dream of studying abroad began in seventh grade. What drew her most to American liberal arts colleges was the flexibility to explore diverse fields before declaring a major - a perfect fit for her interdisciplinary ambitions. By mid-10th grade, An had begun building her application in earnest. She prioritized finishing standardized tests early to focus on essays and deeper projects. The summer before 11th grade, she scored 1540 on the SAT. For An, a strong college application isnt about doing as much as possible, but about telling a cohesive and authentic story. Among all the components she submitted, her personal essay was the most meaningful. Written in just ten days, the essay captured her reflections on the unseen burdens people carry - particularly those facing prejudice and social exclusion. An highlighted discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community and the often-invisible struggles of migrant workers. Her growing awareness led her to apply for a position at a labor export company, hoping to better understand the lives of people working overseas. She began with simple phone support tasks but found herself unexpectedly pulled into a deeply human exchange. One message came from a woman working in Taiwan who felt broken and unable to adjust to life abroad. An responded with comforting words: Things will get better. But when the chat ended, An sat in the dark, staring at her laptop, shaken by how superficial her support had felt. I logged off and went to sleep, but she was still there - alone, An recalled. It was the moment she realized that empathy, though important, isnt enough. Without concrete systems of support, countless people remain unseen and unheard. From personal reflection to social impact Her personal essay focused on migrant labor and social prejudice, drawing from real-world experiences and advocacy work. That turning point inspired An and her peers to launch a project called Nhan Thao Van Hanh, a community initiative promoting safe migration. The project shares accurate information through social media and runs in-person classes in a border commune of Lang Son province to help residents understand risks and stay safe. They also created a mobile app and a handbook to help workers recognize and avoid illegal migration traps. Her initiative was selected among the top 30 projects in Vietnam by the United Nations Development Programme, under a program focused on climate change and migration. At the same time, Hai An pursued her academic interests through research. She founded SPARK (Students Platform for Academic Research and Knowledge) - a platform connecting high school students with experts to conduct formal research projects aimed at publication in reputable journals. To her, research isn't just a way to enhance an application. It's a tool for understanding complex problems, developing evidence-based solutions, and building critical thinking skills. She believes every part of her application reflected a single core value: social responsibility. Swarthmore isnt looking for perfect students, she said. Theyre looking for people who know who they are, and who want to use knowledge to drive change. Hai An will soon leave for the U.S. with plans to major in Economics. Her goal is to become a policy advisor or consultant - someone who can help address the very challenges she has been working to understand. Thuy Nga In a continuing conversation with VietNamNet, economist Pham Chi Lan warns that massive infrastructure spending without strong institutions risks short-term gains at the cost of long-term sustainability. Many large-scale infrastructure projects are being launched. In your view, how can we ensure these projects go beyond short-term boosts and deliver long-term value to the economy? Pham Chi Lan: Infrastructure is always a necessary condition for development - this is true for all countries. But infrastructure is not a sufficient condition. Pham Chi Lan: Reform must come first, investment second. (Photo: Le Anh Dung) A highway, a large bridge, or a modern airport only becomes truly meaningful when placed within a clear economic development strategy, connected to real value chains, industrial zones, service hubs, or economic corridors - where businesses, especially domestic ones, and local communities can participate and benefit in substantial ways. After completing an infrastructure project, how many new enterprises are formed in that region? What new industries emerge? How many workers are retrained to meet new demands? How many Vietnamese businesses are able to enter the value chains linked to that infrastructure? If we cant answer these questions with data and concrete stories, then its hard to say that infrastructure has really turned into a growth driver. Therefore, in my view, designing and selecting infrastructure projects must go hand-in-hand with policies to develop enterprises, sectors, and relevant economic and social fields. Infrastructure must be seen as a component of a broader ecosystem involving the economy, institutions, and people - not as standalone projects. And once again, I want to return to the institutional issue: when project allocation mechanisms are transparent, accountability is clear, and project selection is based on serious cost-benefit analysis, then the chance that infrastructure will generate real value for the economy increases significantly. Some argue that pushing investment to achieve high growth may return Vietnam to an extensive growth model. What is your take? That concern is not unfounded. Vietnam has had phases of rapid growth fueled by increased investment, higher public spending, or widespread real estate and infrastructure development. But in hindsight, not all projects delivered value proportionate to the resources used. Some created long-term burdens on the budget, public debt, and growth quality - not to mention environmental, social, corruption, and vested-interest issues. Objectively, infrastructure remains one of the three major bottlenecks of our economy - alongside institutions and human capital. Weak infrastructure raises logistics costs, lowers competitiveness, and hampers the formation of new growth hubs. So, infrastructure investment is needed - and in many cases, urgently needed - especially if we aim to enter a new phase of higher growth. The question is not whether to invest, but how to invest in a way that creates lasting value. When institutions, project selection mechanisms, and accountability structures are in place, investment not only helps meet growth targets but also improves productivity and enables a shift toward deeper, more efficient growth. Ive always maintained that reform must come first, and investment should follow on that foundation. When the institutional environment is improved - more transparent, with clearer accountability - the same investment capital will have a far greater impact, because it will be allocated to the right places, at the right time, aligned with the economys true priorities, and executed by capable, responsible actors. Conversely, if investment comes ahead of reform, risks will return - and ultimately, the burden of inefficient decisions will fall on taxpayers and businesses, today and in the future. In this context of intensified reform and decentralization, how would you assess local implementation capacity? Decentralization is not just power-sharing - its about clearly assigned responsibility. (Photo: Hoang Ha) I strongly support decentralization, because experience shows that an overly centralized system cant keep up with the pace of social and economic development. Local issues cant always wait for central approval. Businesses also cant afford to navigate long-winded procedures simply because everything needs higher-level sign-off. However, I believe decentralization isnt just about sharing power - it must come with a redesigned responsibility framework. If we merely assign more authority without clarifying accountability, strengthening local capacity, improving information systems, ensuring data transparency, and establishing independent oversight, then abuse of power becomes a real risk. In that case, businesses might end up far from the center but not close to the law. Laws remain laws, but how theyre applied depends too much on local interpretations, capacities, and goodwill - something that seriously concerns any responsible investor. A healthy decentralization model must answer a few basic questions: Who gets to decide? Who is accountable if the decision is wrong? How can citizens and businesses monitor decisions? And what systems ensure that deviations, if any, are detected and corrected promptly? If these questions arent addressed, decentralization will remain theoretical - or worse, create new layers of red tape at the local level, something businesses have struggled with for years. Given global geopolitical, technological, and trade shifts, what opportunities and risks do you see for Vietnam? The world is entering a period of major transition. Geopolitics and geoeconomics are evolving rapidly. Global supply chains built over decades are being reconfigured in light of economic and national security concerns. Technology is advancing fast and reshaping every field. Trade relationships are being adjusted to new standards - on environment, labor, technology, and governance. In this context, countries with political stability, favorable geography, and clear commitments to institutional reform, innovation, and openness will stand out. Vietnam, in many respects, has that opportunity to raise its global economic profile. But opportunity doesnt automatically become advantage. Global competition is intense. Investors have many choices. They care not just about labor costs or tax breaks, but increasingly about institutional quality: governance capabilities, transparency, contract enforcement, policy stability, and predictability. If we dont improve these areas, we might lose out to faster reformers - even if we start from a better position. In my view, Vietnams opportunity right now is significant. The key lies in how well we seize it - by implementing reform faster, more decisively, and more meaningfully. Only then can reform commitments become real changes in our economic life. As the business environment becomes more transparent, stable, and predictable, investor and business confidence will grow. That trust is the foundation for sustainable, long-term development. Tu Giang Lan Anh China plays leading role in global wetland conservation, restoration: foreign ministry Xinhua) 09:39, February 03, 2026 BEIJING, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- China is an important participant, contributor, and frontrunner in global wetland conservation and restoration, and its philosophy and practice of green development have been highly recognized and acclaimed by the international community, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said Monday. This year's World Wetlands Day, which falls on Feb. 2, is themed "Wetlands and traditional knowledge: Celebrating cultural heritage." "Wetlands, forests and oceans are collectively known as the three major ecosystems of the Earth, and they are vital for human survival and development," spokesperson Lin Jian told a regular press when asked to comment on China's achievements in wetland conservation. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China has adhered to the philosophy that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" and has made historic progress in wetland conservation and restoration, he said. He noted that China is now home to the largest wetland area in Asia and the fourth largest in the world, and it has the highest number of internationally recognized wetland cities in the world. As a contracting party to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, China is an important participant, contributor, and frontrunner in global wetland conservation and restoration, Lin said. Lin noted that China initiated the establishment of the International Mangrove Center, which now has 20 prospective member states, and it has carried out international cooperation on sharing knowledge on mangrove conservation in regions such as Southeast Asia and Africa. China has also held international workshops on mangrove conservation and restoration to provide policy, technical, and management training for personnel from Global South countries, Lin added. China has successively been awarded global environmental honors such as the Champions of the Earth Award and UNESCO Biosphere Reserves, he said. "Protecting wetland resources and addressing climate change remain an arduous task and a shared responsibility of the international community," Lin said. China will continue to firmly promote a modernization in which humans and nature can coexist in harmony, firmly support and participate in global ecological governance, and work with all parties to build a community of all life on Earth, he said. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) Ryman Healthcare (Ryman), New Zealands largest provider of retirement living and aged care with an established platform and scale in Australia, today releases its refreshed strategy, new capital management framework and dividend policy at its Investor Day for investors and analysts. Ryman Chief Executive Officer Naomi James said, Our business is uniquely placed with capacity and flexibility to meet the fastest growing areas of demand in care and assisted living. Our continuum-of-care model offers residents a true home for life helping them stay connected and supported as their needs change. By continuing to evolve our offering and leverage our scale, we can provide more choice for our residents while supporting improved long-term returns for our shareholders. Ryman is targeting $150 million in sustainable cash flow improvement by FY29, the top end of the previously announced range, driven by growing occupancy, reset pricing and cost efficiencies. Strong cash release of $500 million is expected by FY29, with key levers including new and paid out resale stock and at least $200 million from land divestments following completion of the landbank review. Rymans refreshed strategy focuses on growing recurring earnings from its existing $12 billion portfolio while positioning the business to return to value-creating portfolio growth. The company has significant optionality to grow and will prioritise the most attractive expansion. This includes 2,500 identified units and beds across uncommitted developments, alongside potential brownfield expansion within existing villages, supported by existing aged care capacity. Chair Dean Hamilton said, The Board has moved beyond its governance and financial reset and, building on these foundations, is now firmly focused on long-term value creation. Our first priority is delivering a sustainable return on our existing asset base, and with the balance sheet reset now complete, we will pursue disciplined growth over time. Our new capital management framework outlines a path to return to sustainable dividends in FY28. This strategy refresh strengthens our commitment to delivering value for both residents and shareholders, and Im confident in Rymans ability to achieve this. Naomi James acknowledged the dedication and commitment of the Ryman team, saying, With the foundations now in place, the teams efforts have been integral to what we have already achieved and will be central to delivering our refreshed strategy. Key information of the financial drivers behind the refreshed strategy and capital management framework provided today are outlined below: Ryman is uniquely positioned for significant growth in demand with flexible capacity to provide care and assisted living -Doubling of 80+ population by 2050 will create scarcity in care and assisted living, increasing the value of Rymans existing capacity. -Increasing value through a flexible operating model aligned with government reforms, as more care is delivered in the home and more specialised care in residential care centres. Targeting $150 million in sustainable cashflow improvement by FY29 through occupancy, reset pricing, and cost efficiencies -Material uplift in DMF and weekly fees expected as contract book turns, with around half of the portfolio expected to be on new DMF terms by FY29. -Higher occupancy and reset in care accommodation pricing are expected to drive a target uplift in aged care EBITDAF per bed from ~$15k currently to $25-30k by FY29. -Continued cost reductions across non-village savings and procurement by FY29. Strong cash generation expected targeting $500 million cash release by FY29 -Broad range of sales initiatives to drive resales to exceed turnover, reduce vacant stock and release cash from $800 million of new stock and paid-out resale stock. -Target to release at least $200 million from land sales following completion of land bank review; including $110 million contracted to date. -Evolving serviced apartment offering to attract a broader customer base. Significant optionality to return to disciplined portfolio growth -2,500 identified units/beds in uncommitted development. -Market demand and care capacity to support brownfield expansion potential in more than half of Ryman's existing villages. -Land bank review complete, with six sites retained for potential development. -Australia favoured for greenfield investment, while New Zealand presents stronger brownfield expansion opportunities. -FY27 focus on prioritising the best development opportunities across the portfolio. New capital management framework and dividend policy -New capital management framework to drive disciplined capital allocation. -Near-term focus on releasing excess capital, growing recurring earnings, and creating optionality for future growth. -Targeting a return to sustainable dividends in FY28 with a payout policy of 20-50% of cash flow from existing operations (CFEO) per share. Accompanying this announcement is a presentation which the Ryman Healthcare Management team will present today. Rymans existing FY26 guidance is unchanged. Recording A delayed recording of the Investor Presentation will be published on Investors | Financial Information | Ryman Healthcare ENDS Authorised by Morgan Powell General Counsel About Ryman Founded in Christchurch in 1984, Ryman Healthcare is New Zealands largest retirement living and aged care provider, and the leading integrated retirement living and aged care operator in Victoria. Dual listed on the NZX and ASX, Ryman owns and operates 49 integrated retirement villages across New Zealand and Australia, providing homes to over 15,000 residents and employing 7,800 dedicated team members. Rymans villages provide a fully integrated continuum of care, bringing together independent living, assisted living, and aged care services within a single community. This model offers residents choice, continuity, and a genuine home for life experience as their needs change, while giving families confidence and peace of mind. Committed to high standards of quality and service, Ryman delivers exceptional living and care experiences alongside long-term value for residents, families, and shareholders. Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: SkyCity Appoints Chief Financial Officer February 13th Morning Report February 12th Morning Report NZME 2025 Full Year Results Release Date Turners Institutional Investor Day February 10th Morning Report PEB - Medicare Contractor Novitas Schedules Expert Panel NZK Enters Into Wellboat Lease Agreement Fonterra announces Mainland Group leadership change OCA - Oceania announces Director changes as part of Board refresh Held over two days at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Space Summit 2026 is expected to draw over 1,500 attendees and more than 300 participating companies and organisations, including representatives from 20 Space Agencies and Offices, convening more than 60 speakers over 12 panel sessions. The summit was opened by Tan See Leng, Minister for Manpower and Minister-in-charge of Energy, Science, and Technology at the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Leck Chet Lam, managing director of Experia Events, chairing the media briefing Space systems are integral to how societies function and economies operate, said Leck Chet Lam, managing director of Experia Events. As the space ecosystem becomes more interconnected and operationally dense, alignment across governments, industry and partners is increasingly important." Space Summit 2026 is capitalising on the natural synergies between aviation, aerospace and space, bringing together adjacent sectors that increasingly share technologies, infrastructure and talent, and provides a neutral platform for open, practical discussions on shared responsibilities, while also supporting the development of future talent that will shape the sector in the years ahead, Lam explained. The growth of Singapores space sector leverages Singapores strengths in aerospace, precision engineering, advanced manufacturing and AI, said Jonathan Hung, executive director at the Office for Space Technology & Industry in Singapore. "The summit builds on these strengths by bringing together governments, industry and researchers to advance innovation and partnerships, as well as shape the future of space governance and economy. It anchors Singapore as a key node for the global space community to come together and explore how space capabilities can be developed and applied responsibly for sustained economic and social impact, added Hung. 5G6G Non-Terrestrial Network consortium in Singapore, including Airbus, OSTIn, Keysight Technologies, and ST Engineering iDirect During a media briefing held at the Space Summit, numerous partnership initiatives were announced, reflecting growing collaboration across government, industry and research communities within the global space ecosystem. Space Summit 2026 is a significant milestone for Singapores growing space ecosystem, said Chew Hwee Yong, chief executive of the Association of Aerospace Industries (Singapore). We are proud to formalise agreements with counterpart national space associations to facilitate knowledge exchange and broaden international networks. Leveraging Singapores robust aerospace ecosystem, we will continue to support efforts to catalyse our space community, strengthen the industry value chain, and promote Singapores space capabilities for global programmes and applications. The Space Summit programme is anchored discussions focused on the practical realities of a maturing and increasingly interdependent space sector. Key panels cover satellites as national critical infrastructure, space innovation for military and commercial applications; the global satellite communications industry, space for environmental sustainability, market opportunities and regional capabilities, and more. Across these sessions, participants are examining shared challenges such as regulatory coordination, orbital safety, commercial sustainability and the integration of space capabilities into critical economic and societal systems, with a focus on strengthening cooperation and alignment across public and private stakeholders. Alongside senior leadership dialogue, the event also supports the development of future talent and innovation through initiatives such as the International Space Challenge. Now in its 19th year, the challenge engages students and young professionals in addressing real-world space-related problems, reinforcing the importance of nurturing the next generation of space innovators alongside todays industry and policy leaders. The two-day summit continues with sessions examining how space technologies are shaping everyday life, regional development and future economic opportunities. Discussions will cover the impact of space capabilities across Southeast Asia, resilient connectivity, space-driven maritime innovation, and pathways for the future in-space economy, alongside the cooperation required to keep space sustainable, accessible, and open for business. Singapore Airshow 2026 to explore aviation and space frontiers The event's tenth edition will highlight innovations and developments in both traditional aerospace and the growing space sector. Aviation rethinks tactics after challenging period The current aviation boom and the backlog of tens of thousands of aircraft presents a rare opportunity for Vietnam to upgrade its supporting industries and secure a lasting position in global aerospace manufacturing. In a dispatch on the 2026 economic growth target issued late January, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested economic groups and state-owned corporations to strengthen, enhance governance and efficiency, accelerate key infrastructure projects, and propose new investment initiatives. Leading state-owned corporations and groups hold around $101.6 billion in total assets. Photo: baodauthau.vn As of the end of 2024, the 19 largest state-owned economic groups and corporations held approximately $47.2 billion in equity capital and total assets of around $101.6 billion, accounting for roughly 65 per cent of total assets across all SOEs. Petrovietnam reported assets of approximately $48 billion in 2025. The group recorded record-breaking revenue for the fourth consecutive year, approximating $44 billion equivalent to 9-10 per cent of national GDP the largest within the SOE sector. Its contributions to the state budget reached $6.64 billion, accounting for 7-8 per cent of total state budget revenue. In 2026, Petrovietnam aims to maintain double-digit growth. According to Petrovietnam, the average crude oil export price in January stood at around $67.5 per barrel, slightly higher than in December 2025. From the very first month of 2026, the group maintained safe and efficient production and business operations. Domestic crude oil output exceeded the monthly plan by 10.1 per cent, up 12.8 per cent on-year. Other key segments including gas production, power generation, petroleum products, and fertilisers also surpassed targets and recorded solid growth. Financially, the groups total revenue in January was estimated at $3.28 billion, up 9 per cent on-year, while state budget contributions were estimated at $364 million. As the core enterprise of the garment and textile industry a sector that generated $46 billion in export value for Vietnam in 2025 Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) has set a target of consolidated revenue of approximately $800 million in 2026, up about 6 per cent from the previous year. Consolidated pre-tax profit is expected to reach $48-60 million; achieving the upper end would represent 10.7 per cent growth. Vinatexs leadership described this as a challenging plan, given the lack of a market boom and ongoing uncertainties surrounding tax policies. To achieve these targets, the group will focus on optimising performance in strategic business areas, as well as generating higher returns on assets, including technology, brand value, and human capital. It also aims to improve the efficiency of its digital data centre operations and accelerate R&D of new products at key subsidiaries to create momentum. Vietnam Maritime Corporation (VIMC) targets consolidated seaborne cargo volume of 23.7 million tonnes in 2026, up 10.2 per cent from 2025, while throughput via seaports is projected at 180.1 million tonnes, an increase of 11.2 per cent on-year. Its consolidated revenue is expected to reach $887 million, up 8.3 per cent, with pre-tax profit targeted at approximately $129 million, up 5.1 per cent. In 2025, VIMC added 13 new vessels to its fleet and completed the commissioning of container terminals No. 3 and 4 at the Haiphong International Gateway Port (Lach Huyen) on schedule. Notably, the Can Gio International Transshipment Port project has been approved by the National Assembly with a special policy mechanism. Ho Chi Minh City is currently preparing a plan to select a strategic investor in the first quarter of 2026. Once completed, the initiative is expected to position Vietnam as a major international maritime transshipment hub. In aviation, Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) and Vietnam Airlines said they would leverage the recovery of the international market to expand flight networks to Europe and Northeast Asia. Vietnam Airlines aims to carry 29.07 million passengers in 2026, up 13.2 per cent on-year, while increasing distance travelled. Meanwhile, ACV targets total passenger throughput of 124.7 million in 2026, up 8.6 per cent on-year; cargo and mail volume of 1.9 million tonnes, up 9 per cent; and 760,000 aircraft movements, an increase of 7 per cent. The corporations key focus this year is completing and putting into operation first-phase Long Thanh International Airport on schedule, while continuing to invest in and upgrade infrastructure at regional airports nationwide. Vietnam Railways Corporation recorded consolidated revenue of approximately $428 million, up 10 per cent on-year, while profit reached $5.6 million, an increase of 5.3 per cent. For 2026, the corporation aims for double-digit growth, alongside expanded sci-tech application and digital transformation, while advancing the development of an integrated railway industrial complex to modernise the rail sector. In the banking sector, state major Vietcombank has set targets for 2026, including minimum growth of 11 per cent in total assets and 14 per cent in core funding mobilisation. Credit is expected to expand prudently by around 13 per cent, while pre-tax profit is targeted to increase by at least 7 per cent, with the non-performing loans (NPL) ratio tightly controlled below 1.5 per cent. Meanwhile, VietinBank plans to grow total assets by 5-10 per cent, with a strong focus on maintaining liquidity safety indicators and keeping the NPL ratio below 1.8 per cent. Vietnam Railways boosts cooperation with state-owned corporations Vietnam Railways (VNR) and Dien Quang JSC on October 5 signed a cooperation agreement to tap into their advantages. Defining SOE priorities vital To achieve remarkable achievements in nearly 40 years of renovation, the Vietnamese business community as a whole, and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in particular, have made relentless efforts, overcoming numerous challenges. They have reaffirmed their role in guiding the economy. Overview Watch Now AI-powered contact centers transform how agencies interact with constituents and accomplish outcomes. These centers dynamically respond to demand, empower staff and deliver insights that drive better decision-making. But modernizing in this space doesnt require ripping and replacing everything youve already built. Whether youre starting from scratch or looking to make your existing system more efficient, there are innovative ways to reduce costs, scale services and support your teams, all without compromising the human element. In this webinar, youll hear how public sector agencies are applying AI in their contact centers to revolutionize services. No matter where you are in your contact center journey, this session offers practical ways to take the next step with confidence. Youll learn how: AI helps contact center agents work smarter Modern self-service reduces call volume without diminishing service quality AI-generated insights help leaders spot problems early and improve program outcomes February 1, 2026: China had an interesting reaction to the January 3 rd U.S. raid in Venezuela that captured dictator Nicholas Maduro and his wife. There were also air strikes on coastal facilities that supported cocaine and other drugs being exported to the United States. Another aspect of the raid was that it occurred shortly after Maduro met with Chinese diplomat Qiu Xiaoqi to discuss matters of mutual interest. China buys 68 percent of Venezuelan oil at a special, for China only, discount price. Thats only four percent of Chinese oil imports and is easily replaced by oil from other sources. In the last 19 years China has loaned Venezuela $63 billion. Venezuela has a current GDP of $82 billion. In 2012 the GDP was $373 billion. Nicolas Maduro, and his predecessor and mentor Hugo Chavez were not good for the economy. China has exploited Venezuela as well as invested in the country. China has done the same to five other South American nations. Many of the investments involved Chinese personnel building and managing new port facilities in South America. China sees its South American investments as something worth defending. Chinese wargames often involve Chinese forces operating in South America. To assist in that sort of thing, China has long maintained an ELINT/Electronic Intelligence operation in Cuba. This involves Chinese activities at several locations in Cuba. The recent American military operations in Venezuela involve blocking free shipments of Venezuelan oil to Cuba. Since Cuba is currently broke, with periodic blackouts when the national electric power system fails, the loss of Venezuelan oil is a major problem. The current American president is pursuing a policy of increasing American economic, military and diplomatic activity in South America. This may also address the continuing plundering of offshore South American fishing grounds by fleets of Chinese trawlers. That would be part of the effort to keep the Chinese and Russians out. China plans to challenge that by selling Air Defense systems to Cuba and Columbia. This is happening despite the fact that Chinese Air Defense systems already in Venezuela were ineffective against the Americans raid that captured Maduro and his wife, killing 32 Cuban bodyguards and some civilians along the way. Wrexham and Flintshire councillors have raised concerns over whether North Wales Police can afford to police protests over housing for migrants awaiting asylum decisions. They also questioned whether the Home Office would be funding the policing of these protests which are connected to a change in Home Office policy regarding asylum claims or whether the burden would fall on North Wales taxpayers. At the latest meeting of the North Wales Police and Crime Panel, Wrexham Councillor Nigel Williams said he was worried about the costs associated with increasing numbers of protests as a joint financial plan from the Chief Constable of North Wales Police and the Police and Crime Commissioner sought to reduce North Wales Polices financial reserves. There is a planned reduction of reserves from 56m to 27m between March 25 and end of March 2032, he said. I do have some concerns looking at future demands. The national picture across England and Wales is changing. Its been very well publicised over the last few weeks that Wrexham, Newport, Swansea and Cardiff have been highlighted as particular areas for re-homing asylum seekers. Over the last few weeks two places have been identified in Wrexham Plas yn Rhos and Oak Alyn Hall. There was a public meeting two weeks ago in Rhos where an estimated 7-800 people turned up. Ive been notified that there were four vans of officers around the corner in case they were required. Obviously that requires a cost to police it. We have now heard that the Plas yn Rhos plan is not going to go ahead but there is still one at Oak Alyn Hall. Because there are allocated numbers of people for each area the rejection of Plas yn Rhos means the process just starts again as the Home Office continues to look for other properties. Wrexham is proud to have helped refugees in the past, weve helped those from Syria and Ukraine. This feels different because this is being imposed on us by UK Government and theres a lot of civil unrest. We all see the news every evening about asylum protests in England and the huge amount of policing required for that. Will the Home Office intervene and give us extra money if its all to do with asylum seeking accommodation as it is the Home Office that has imposed this on local councils? Will it be purely down to North Wales Police to police it? If theres so many people turning up to a public meeting, when individuals do get housed in these properties my fear is it is going to get worse again. Cllr Williams suggested postponing the use of reserves earmarked to fund North Wales Polices capital programme to maintain or replace police buildings for 12 months while the impact of protests could be measured. Chief Constable of North Wales Police Amanda Blakeman admitted it was difficult for the force to factor in protests into its budgeting. The world is changing, she said. Were seeing a lot more public protest, very often at very late notice. We respect the absolute right to protest and make sure that we do all of the necessary information gathering so that we out the right resource into that level of protest. Nonetheless it does cost, it is an expense. It is something that is difficult to plan for. There is an opportunity to draw down some funding from the Home Office but it doesnt cover the total cost and there are certain conditions attached to that. Weve got two operations that have been ongoing, one that is sort of a mainstay operation that allows us to understand whats going on in our communities and respond to it and one for any specific protest activity. Seb Phillips, director of finance for North Wales Police added: Public protests associated with asylum seeking would be captured through our Force Management Statement which looks broadly at the demand pressures we are facing. Where there is a planned protest we can capture the costs accordingly. The partial-year figures for planned protest costs are around 100,000 so far. Some of that is recoverable. But Cllr Williams warned the protests that have sprung up since September, when the UK Government announced it would end the use of hotels for those awaiting decisions on asylum claims, were only likely to get worse and more costly. My concern is that this is a ticking timebomb, he said. I know there was a couple of very small protests in the summer and they had dispersal orders in place. But this year I think we will see things ramp up. The amount is currently 100,00 and thats before any properties are actually turned over to asylum seeker accommodation. It goes back to my concern over reducing the reserves. Will this impact on everyday policing? Until we actually know how much of an impact this is going to have we should not be reducing reserves. There is civil unrest when nobody has even come here yet on the asylum seeker scheme. I would urge you to reconsider reducing the reserves for next year until we know how much it will cost the force financially to police these protests when they happen. Flintshire County Councillor Chris Bithell, whose Mold ward was subjected to asylum protests last summer agreed with his Wrexham counterpart. Weve been confronted by this since September, he said. The average is one protest every three or four weeks now. There are counter-protests as well and there is a police presence keeping both sides apart. This is a matter of concern. These confrontations are going to increase. Wrexhams involved now there are going to be other areas as well in due course because it is the Home Offices policy to close down the hotels. In doing so they mean to disperse the asylum seekers in towns and villages across the country which is going to pose even more problems for us. We need to look at the cost of this because it is the taxpayer who will be paying for this in due course. Kate Jackson, Chief Finance Officer for the North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner, said that postponing planned capital spending would only cause financial difficulties down the line. We still need police stations, she said. For example our plans to replace Mold and Deeside Police Stations they will need to go ahead. North Wales Police Federation Headquarters needs work, whether it is to be retained or disposed of so to plan to not do it is somewhat irresponsible. We need to maintain our estate in a fit state to continue policing in North Wales with a capital programme that fits that. Despite councillors concerns, North Wales Polices medium term financial plan was approved by the panel. By Alec Doyle BBC Local Democracy Reporter Spotted something? Got a story? email us at Got a story? email us at news@wrexham.com A new course that will train the next generation of pharmacists has been launched at the North Wales Medical School, in Bangor. More than 30 students have enrolled on the Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) Programme, which has been developed by the university in partnership with Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. Previously, students in North Wales looking to study pharmacy had to look outside the region to undertake this kind of qualification. However, it is hoped that the admission numbers can be increased every year, eventually creating capacity for up to 100 students annually. A ceremony at the North Wales Medical School was recently held to celebrate the official launch of the programme. It was attended by representatives from the health board, as well as Andrew Evans, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer of Wales. Professor Stephen Doughty, Head of Pharmacy Programme at Bangor Universitys North Wales Medical School, described the course as a big shot in the arm for local services in North Wales. Enrolling our first cohort of pharmacy students further strengthens our contribution to the healthcare workforce of the region, said Prof Doughty. Our rapid progress is the result of collaboration and shared vision, with our students, staff across the University, clinical partners in both primary and secondary care within Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. The MPharm qualification is equipping students with the knowledge and the skills they need to serve local communities. Its wonderful to see how the North Wales Medical School is already playing a key role in addressing the healthcare needs of North Wales, as it embeds students within local communities to gain vital clinical experience. Professor Edmund Burke, Vice-Chancellor of Bangor University said: The development of the Master of Pharmacy Programme reflects our sustained commitment to outstanding education, world-class research and addressing local healthcare needs. This is an excellent example of how our challenging, research-informed degree programmes, taught by experienced and highly qualified academic staff, are empowering students to become knowledgeable, employable and innovative graduates. Together with our partners, we are shaping a healthier future by training the next generation of healthcare workers within our communities. Our academic and professional staff have brought energy, expertise, and a shared commitment to our mission of addressing regional healthcare needs while promoting excellence in education, research and community engagement. Lois Lloyd, Chief Pharmacist at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, added: Working in partnership with Bangor University to launch the new Master of Pharmacy Programme marks an important step in strengthening the future of pharmacy services across North Wales. By training the next generation of pharmacists here in our region, we are investing directly in a sustainable local workforce and creating education and employment opportunities for the communities we serve. This collaboration will help ensure that patients across North Wales benefit from highly skilled pharmacy professionals with a strong understanding of the NHS and local health needs. Spotted something? Got a story? email us at Got a story? email us at news@wrexham.com A new African charity products store supporting victims of domestic violence has officially opened in Wrexham, marking a first for North Wales. The store celebrated its grand opening in Ty Pawb on 19 January, bringing together local civic leaders, community figures and representatives from the charity Jewins Women2Women. Among those attending were Wrexham Mayor Councillor Tina Mannering, former mayor Councillor Beryl Blackmore, barrister Jaqui Whelan, Pastor Solomon and Ms Ruth Obasa, founder of Jewins Women 2 Women Oxfordshires first ethnic minority therapy centre and a domestic violence charity. Also present was Pastor Jumoke Bada, former chair of the charity. The new shop sells African-inspired clothing, arts and crafts, and jewellery, with all proceeds supporting victims of domestic violence. Organisers say the project aims not only to raise funds, but also to celebrate African culture while providing vital support services. The shop is now open at Ty Pawb from Monday to Saturday, 9.30am to 5pm. Spotted something? Got a story? email us at Got a story? email us at news@wrexham.com Wrexham Council have said Oak Alyn Hall in Gwersyllt will not be progressed for asylum dispersal accommodation. Oak Alyn Hall is a substantial Victorian manor house which was originally part of the sweeping Gwersyllt Estate. In recent years it has operated as a 20-bed care home for the elderly but is now vacant. There is an active planning application to turn it into a 28-room House of Multiple Occupancy. This afternoon in a statement, the council have confirmed it will not be progressed for asylum dispersal accommodation following advice from the Home Office. The statement from the Council reads, Further to a previous statement issued in relation to the proposal by the Home Offices accommodation provider to use Oak Alyn Hall, Gwersyllt, Wrexham, for asylum dispersal accommodation, we have been advised by the Home Office that the property will not be progressed for such use. Leader of the Council, Councillor Mark Pritchard, said: I would like to thank the Home Office for their response and I am glad that the right decision has been made and common sense has prevailed in this instance. Deputy Leader, Councillor David A Bithell, said: I hope this will reassure the residents of Gwersyllt and surrounding areas of a positive outcome to address their concerns. Lead Member for Partnerships and Community Safety, Councillor Paul Roberts, said: I am pleased that the Home Office has again taken note of the opposition of Wrexham Council and residents, and stopped this process. Wrexham MP Andrew Ranger, said: I am very pleased that the Home Office will not be progressing with its plans to use Oak Alyn Hall as an HMO to house asylum seekers. My view has always been that Oak Alyn Hall is not an appropriate location for an HMO both for the residents of the area and the potential occupants of the HMO. I am glad to see that the Home Office has listened to the representations made by me and by Wrexham County Borough Council. I wrote to the Home Secretary at the start of last week, after I had met with Sydallt residents, the Leader and Chief Executive of Wrexham County Borough Council and also with the local ward councillor. In my letter I raised concerns around the procurement process for asylum accommodation. The community group No2 Oak Alyn has worked incredibly hard to present an objection that focussed on material considerations. They and I felt it was vitally important that this issue did not invite unwanted attention or create division and tension in the community. I would like to thank them for working with me along with everyone who engaged and contacted me. Councillors note that the Full Council meeting on a motion to council on asylum dispersal will still proceed as planned on Friday. Spotted something? Got a story? email us at Got a story? email us at news@wrexham.com Two men have been charged with theft after a large quantity of cooking oil believed to have been stolen was found inside a van in Rossett. The vehicle was stopped by officers from NWP Wrexham Rural and the Cheshire and North Wales Armed Alliance Policing Team in the early hours of February 2, following reports from a concerned member of the public. Alexsandar Blagoev and Nikolay Gochev, both from the London area were arrested and have since been charged with the offence. They will appear before magistrates on 3 February 2026. PC Ryan Sheppard who is leading the investigation said: I am appealing to business owners in the Wrexham Rural area to check their used cooking oil storage and report any theft to police. This crime affects businesses and the environment and is taken very seriously. Anybody who believes they may have been a victim should contact North Wales Police on 101 or by using the online reporting tool or web chat. Spotted something? Got a story? email us at Got a story? email us at news@wrexham.com A dedicated prison officer at HMP Berwyn and a former Royal Engineer commando from Wrexham have been shortlisted for a prestigious St David Award. Robert Scott and James Reilly were announced as finalists for the accolade by First Minister Eluned Morgan. The St David Awards celebrate the extraordinary achievement of people across Wales, with more than 300 individuals receiving recognition since their launch 13 years ago. Three finalists are selected for each of the 11 St David Awards, in categories including: Business Bravery Community Champion Culture Environment Champion Innovation, Science and Technology Public Service Sport Volunteer Young Person First Ministers Special Award James Reilly, a former Royal Engineer commando who now lives in Wrexham with his wife Sarah, daughter Mara and newborn son Dylan, has been nominated for a Bravery Award after rescuing a woman struggling in icy waters at Greenfield Valley Heritage Park. Now a dedicated plumber and heating engineer, James sprung into action and entered the freezing water, securing and reassuring the woman as he and others worked together for over an hour until emergency services arrived. His quick and decisive action, along with help from bystanders and fire officer Chris Argent, helped to save the womans life. Robert Scott, a prison officer at HMP Berwyn has been shortlisted for a Public Service award in recognition of the transformative power of education within public service. Having initially joined the Young Adults Training pilot as a learner, Robs dedication saw him complete the Level 2 Train the Trainer qualification with Adult Learning Wales. He now uses his experiences to inspire and facilitate peer-led training services for his fellow officers. His work has helped to inspire his colleagues to embark on their own learning journeys and strengthened the partnership between Adult Learning Wales, the Prison Officers Association and HMP Berwyn. The finalists in each category are selected by an independent panel. The winners are chosen by the First Minister. First Minister Eluned Morgan said: Its a privilege to announce the finalists of the St David Awards. It brings together the best of Wales, with fantastic examples of the positive contribution people can make to other peoples lives. We have an incredible list this year, full of inspirational stories and impressive achievements. All winners will receive a St David Awards trophy, designed and made by ceramicist Daniel Boyle, based in Lampeter. The awards ceremony will take place on Thursday 26th February 2026 at the Senedd. Pictured L-R: James Reilly and Robert Scott Spotted something? Got a story? email us at Got a story? email us at news@wrexham.com February 3, 2026: Russias war in Ukraine has now gone on longer than the World War II war with Germany. The current war has cost Russia 1.4 million men killed, disabled or missing. Only a few hundred civilians have become casualties. During World War II, at least 26 million soldiers and civilians died. That was 13.7 percent of the 1941 population. The Ukraine war has been going on since 2014, when Russia occupied the Crimean Peninsula and portions of two provinces in eastern Ukraine. Until 2021, the war was low key, with about 50,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers and civilians killed or wounded. Thats about 7,000 casualties a year. After Russia invaded Ukraine itself in 2022 the casualties and equipment losses leaped. So far Russia has lost 1.2 million men dead, disabled or missing while Ukraine has lost about half a million dead, wounded, missing and captured. The Russian missile and drone attacks on cities and towns have killed or wounded over 50,000 civilians. Similar Ukrainian attacks on Russia have killed or wounded about 1,800 Russian civilians. Russia has suffered far heavier weapon and equipment losses since 2022. These include 47,000 armored vehicles, 24 percent of them tanks. Other losses included 97,000 drones, 37,000 artillery, rocket launchers and mortars, 1,300 air defense systems, 72,000 vehicles, 435 aircraft, 350 helicopters, 28 ships and boats and three submarines. Similar Ukrainian losses have been about 45 percent of the Russian losses. Russia has suffered other losses. Since 2022 Russia has been subject to an increasing number of economic sanctions. These have made it more difficult to obtain components to manufacture weapons and munitions. North Korea and Iran supplied munitions, including drones and missiles. China has helped by supplying many of the components Russia formerly obtained from Western suppliers. China was unwilling to help some more fundamental Russian economic problems. Four years of war, sanctions and a transformation from a peacetime to a wartime economy that has gradually collapsed under the weight of the sanctions, labor shortages and lower oil prices. The labor shortages were caused by over two million Russian men becoming casualties in Ukraine or leaving the country to avoid the war. The sanctions meant it was difficult or sometimes impossible to obtain replacement carts for factories. China did not make some of the items needed or Russia could not afford to buy what China did have available. China, unlike most countries, does not give anything away. They will make loans to credit worthy nations. Wartime Russia is not considered eligible for Chinese loans. Another problem that has grown into a crisis is civilian unrest because of the war. Until late 2025 most Russians supported the war. Over the last six months that support has morphed into growing protests and passive resistance to the war effort. If this problem is not tended to, by ending the war, it will grow into a major political and economic problem. This is already visible with the collapse of recruiting efforts. Few Russian men are willing to sign up for military service. Worse, the government has run out of cash to pay large signing bonuses. Even if those large bonuses were still available, few Russian men would join the military. Currently the 700,000 Russian soldiers in Ukraine have had to reduce their offensive activities and concentrate on minimizing losses to maintain enough troops to man the 1,200 kilometer-long front line. Meanwhile the Ukrainians, who continue to be supplied with military and economic aid by NATO countries, are on the offensive. Ukraine is also producing nearly 80 percent of the weapons and munitions it needs and receiving billions of dollars worth of foreign investments in Ukrainian industries. Ukraine has the most successful experience in modern warfare and NATO nations are eager to learn what the Ukrainians know. With Russian forces now on the defensive, Vladimir Putin has to decide how long he can avoid making peace on Ukrainian terms before he has critical problems with the Russian population. Nevada State Police Highway Patrol responded to a rollover crash on a remote stretch of highway in Washoe County involving a truck hauling cattle, which ended up blocking the road on Tuesday afternoon. Preliminary details from NHP indicate the truck rolled over on SR-447 at Mile Marker 19 near Nixon. Troopers said cattle were potentially injured, with some animals walking around in the roadway and creating a traffic hazard. It is unknown how the cattle are involved in the crash, whether they were in the vehicle or in the roadway. Drivers traveling through the area should be alert for animals in the roadway as the response continues. February 3, 2026: Last year the Islamic terrorist Taliban rulers of Afghanistan shut down the Afghan internet. The Taliban took this drastic action to deal with Afghans gaining access to immoral material. Internet shutdowns for political reasons have become more common in nations like India, Iran, Iraq, Senegal, and Syria. Sometimes the shutdowns are total, but many nations impose shutdowns on specific social media like X and Facebook. Most internet shutdowns are not nationwide but regional. Iran recently used a total internet shutdown to deal with nationwide riots and demonstrations in an attempt to overthrow the religious dictatorship that has misruled the country since the 1980s. Internet shutdowns most frequently occur in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. Russia is the only European nation to generally restrict internet access. Russian leader Vladimir Putin has long had a difficult relationship with the internet. Putin wants to create a sovereign, used in Russia only, internet. There are problems with this because the internet is essential for running the economy and the military. At the same time internet chatter is the primary source of criticism for the Ukraine War and the problems with the economic sanctions. Internet chatter about what was going on in Ukraine made it more difficult for Russia to obtain soldiers. To avoid army service in Ukraine, several million Russians left the country, some for good. The government increased restrictions on who could leave but military-age men found ways to get past that, notably bribery. Those caught were forced to join the army, and their reluctance to fight resulted in officers receiving orders to shoot soldiers who refused to fight. There were at least a hundred of these incidents, these soldiers and officers referred to as zeroing out a reluctant soldier by shooting him. The dead soldiers were called zeroes and the next of kin were simply told that their son died heroically in Ukraine. That explanation often failed when news of what actually happened arrived via the internet. The internet made it easier to spread the bad news, even after the government made it illegal to say bad things about the war effort. A few complainers were prosecuted, but that backfired when online complaints and protests increased. There were not enough judicial resources available to handle all the complainers. Welcome to the internet paradox, too troublesome to tolerate, but too useful to lose. But its not for lack of trying. Last year, Russia carried out a brief pre-dawn test of its ability to turn Internet access for Russians into a Sovereign Internet that is not connected to the worldwide internet. That means Russians could only use the internet within Russian and must use Russian based websites and network services, like search, messaging and social media. There are versions of all these services based in Russian as well as internationally popular versions like Google, Wikipedia, Twitter and Facebook. The Sovereign Internet test revealed some problems, like interference with large scale internet-based communications systems created for the Nationwide Railroad Network and other nationwide communications systems that also require some access to international systems. A long-term implementation of Russias Sovereign Internet would disrupt some portions of the Russian economy that depend on constant communication with foreign firms. The Sovereign Internet is meant to be used for short periods. There are other uses of the Sovereign Internet that include remaining connected to neighboring nations like Iran, which is trying to develop a Sovereign Internet and China, which already has one. Internet pioneers predicted that some countries would seek to develop a Sovereign Internet in order to exercise government control over the Internet. This was something that early Internet developers feared would happen because the international free exchange of information was a threat to the power of totalitarian government. The totalitarians were expected to eventually strike back and now they have. Breakaway Dam and Evanston Project Updates Perth, Feb 3, 2026 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Catalina Resources Limited ( ASX:CTN ) reports it has developed the next stage of exploration at its Breakaway Dam Project, following confirmation that the system represents a copper-rich Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide (VMS) system, located approximately 17 km east of Menzies in Western Australia (figure 1*). HIGHLIGHTS - Planning for follow-up drilling program finalised, including approximately 3,000 metres of RC drilling, to test high-priority EM conductors, expand the Central Zone and assess additional targets at Breakaway Dam - 2025 drilling and geophysical programs have confirmed Breakaway Dam as a copper-rich Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide (VMS) system - Previous drilling and DHEM1 have defined ~700 metres of sulphide-bearing strike, with mineralised horizons averaging ~10 metres estimated true width including: o 9.2 m @ 0.48% Cu (estimated true width 8.7 m), including higher-grade intervals of 0.95 m @ 1.18% Cu and 1.7 m @ 1.05% Cu (BDCDD2501) o 1.47 m @ 1.97% Cu and 0.24% Zn (estimated true width 1.4 m) (BDCDD2502) o 4.2 m @ 0.32% Cu and 0.29% Zn (estimated true width 4.1 m) (BDCDD2504) - Multiple strong DHEM conductors identified, including one plate that remained untested, supporting further follow-up drilling - Land position expanded at Breakaway Dam, with additional tenements acquired and further applications progressed over prospective ground aligned with the confirmed VMS system - Central Yilgarn Drilling Phase 1 assay results from Leghorn confirms the mafic host sequence, mineralisation orientation with results including: o 1m @ 2.93 g/t Au from 159m (end of hole) (25EVRC009) o 2m @ 1.01 g/t Au from 161m in (25EVRC007) The forward exploration program has been advanced as a priority following the outcomes, conclusions and recommendations of the recently completed 2025 drilling and geophysical campaign, which confirmed Breakaway Dam as a well-developed VMS system with demonstrated scale and multiple untested targets. Executive Director, Ross Cotton, commented: "The discovery of a VMS system at our newly acquired Breakaway Dam Project is critically important to our exploration strategy, as it indicates the potential presence of high-value, high-grade, multicommodity ore deposits. We have a clear pathway to guide further works at this highly prospective asset. This is bolstered by Board expertise and past success in leading the discovery, development and operation of a prolific copper-gold operation in Western Australia, putting Catalina in good stead to capitalise on this emerging opportunity." SUMMARY OF RECENT DRILLING RESULTS Recent drilling1 confirms a classic VMS architecture at Breakaway Dam, characterised by: - Sulphide mineralisation intersected over approximately 700 metres of strike, with mineralised horizons averaging ~10 metres estimated true width - Copper-dominant sulphide mineralisation, with individual intervals returning grades of up to ~2% Cu, noting that peak grades and widths do not coincide - Clear metal zoning, with copper- and zinc-rich sulphides developed above basaltic host rocks and associated footwall stringer zones - Multiple strong DHEM conductors, including one that remains only partially tested - A structural and metamorphic overprint that has compressed the original massive sulphide horizons Drilling intersected copper- and zinc-bearing sulphide mineralisation across multiple holes, with intervals ranging from narrow high-grade lenses to broader zones of moderate-grade mineralisation. Significant intersections included: - 9.2 m @ 0.48% Cu (estimated true width 8.7 m), including higher-grade intervals of 0.95 m @ 1.18% Cu and 1.7 m @ 1.05% Cu (BDCDD2501) - 1.47 m @ 1.97% Cu and 0.24% Zn (estimated true width 1.4 m) (BDCDD2502) - 4.2 m @ 0.32% Cu and 0.29% Zn (estimated true width 4.1 m) (BDCDD2504) Two of the most VMS-anomalous drill holes occur approximately 500 metres and a further 700 metres northwest along strike, within an area that remains extremely lightly drilled based on available historical datasets. This sparse distribution highlights potential for additional sulphide development outside the currently defined central zone and has been incorporated into forward targeting considerations. Collectively, these intersections, when integrated with DHEM responses, support the interpretation of a zoned VMS system with both disseminated and more massive sulphide components, and provide a clear technical basis for prioritising follow-up drilling on untested conductors and along strike. Next Phase Exploration Program Catalina has now finalised a structured follow-up exploration program aimed at testing the most prospective components of the system while continuing to expand the known footprint. Catalina is actively engaging drilling contractors, with the intention to commence drilling immediately upon securing rigs. The program will proceed under existing PoW approvals, and heritage clearances have already been completed. Key elements of the next phase include: - Targeted drilling of untested high-conductance EM plates proximal to BDCDD2503 (figure 2*), prioritising the strongest and least tested conductors - ~2,000 metres of systematic RC drilling across the BDC Central Zone (figure 2) to assess grade continuity beyond current EM-defined targets - Approximately ~1,000 metres of RC drilling and follow-up DHEM to evaluate potential mineralisation beneath shallow historical drilling within the broader project area - First-pass drilling of an additional target where coincident geochemical anomalies and magnetic lows are interpreted as indicative of a potential feeder position This next phase of drilling is designed to systematically test the highest-priority conductors and geological positions identified to date, while continuing to evaluate the scale and continuity of mineralisation across the Breakaway Dam system. Results from this program will be used to refine the Company's geological model, prioritise follow-up targets and inform subsequent exploration activities. Catalina will provide further updates as drilling commences and results become available. TENEMENT CONSOLIDATION AND LAND POSITION In parallel with advancing exploration at Breakaway Dam, Catalina is progressing applications for additional Exploration Licences over unpegged ground adjacent to the existing tenure, with the objective of securing a coherent and contiguous land position across this prospective structural corridor. These are considered complementary to E29/1037 and are interpreted to cover prospective stratigraphic and structural positions consistent with the geological architecture observed at Breakaway Dam. This tenement consolidation strategy is intended to provide Catalina with the flexibility to systematically evaluate the broader mineral system, efficiently follow up exploration results, and support the continued advancement of the Breakaway Dam Project. PHASE 1 RC DRILLING RESULTS - CENTRAL YILGARN PROJECT LEGHORN PROSPECT, EVANSTON PROJECT Catalina is also pleased to provide an update on results from the Phase 1 RC drilling program at the Leghorn Prospect, part of the Evanston Project within the Central Yilgarn Gold District of Western Australia. These results form part of an ongoing Phase 1 drilling campaign totalling ~10,000m of RC and Aircore drilling across the Central Yilgarn Project, with drilling and assay results from multiple targets still pending. The Phase 1 program was undertaken prior to the Christmas period and formed the initial focus of Catalina's broader Central Yilgarn drilling campaign. Drilling was designed to follow up and test the continuity of previously reported anomalous gold mineralisation intersected in historic drilling. Executive Director, Ross Cotton, commented: "The Leghorn results provide useful confirmation of the geological and structural model we set out to test, particularly in relation to host lithology and mineralisation orientation. While Leghorn represents only one component of the broader Central Yilgarn program, the information gained is being incorporated into ongoing targeting as Phase 1 drilling continues across Evanston and Yerilgee, with further results pending." Drilling Summary - Leghorn Prospect Results reported here relate specifically to drilling completed at the Leghorn Prospect, one of several targets included within the Phase 1 program. The Phase 1 RC drilling program at the Leghorn Prospect comprised 8 RC drill holes for a total of 1,521 metres. Drilling targeted along-strike extensions of gold mineralisation intersected in earlier drilling, including broad zones of anomalous mineralisation reported in historic drill hole BARRC007 which provide previous results of: - 48m @ 0.6g/t Au (incl. 21m @ 1.3g/t Au) and 3m @2.28g/t Au (BARRC007) Geological Observations and Results Drilling intersected a mafic stratigraphic sequence comprising basalt, amphibolite, and mafic schists, consistent with the geological interpretation previously reported for the Evanston Project. Gold mineralisation is interpreted to be hosted within this mafic sequence and to dip approximately 40 degrees to the east, providing confidence in the orientation of the mineralised system and informing future drill design. Drilling along strike has confirmed the interpreted mineralisation model, with intersections including: - 1m @ 2.93 g/t Au from 159m (end of hole) in 25EVRC009 - 2m @ 1.01 g/t Au from 161m in 25EVRC007 These results confirm continuity of gold mineralisation along strike and at depth and support the interpretation of a coherent mineralised system at the Leghorn Prospect. The interpreted mineralised zone is developed within a mafic stratigraphic sequence and exhibits continuity along strike, consistent with the geological model tested during the Phase 1 drilling program. Drill hole locations, significant gold intersections, and projected mineralised trends are shown to provide spatial context for reported results. This interpretation provides a framework for refining follow-up drill targeting and assessing the broader potential of the Leghorn Prospect within the Evanston Project area. Representative RC Rock Chip Images Rock chip observations, supported by geological logging, indicate that gold mineralisation is predominantly hosted within amphibolite and biotite schist units. The images are not indicative of grade, tenor, or continuity of mineralisation, but assist in demonstrating the geological setting, alteration styles, and structural characteristics relevant to ongoing interpretation and follow-up targeting. Ongoing Phase 1 Drilling and Assay Status Phase 1 drilling of approximately ~10,000 metres of combined AC and RC drilling is continuing across the Evanston and Yerilgee Projects, with multiple target zones tested as part of the current campaign. Assay results from all other Phase 1 target areas are currently pending, with samples submitted to the laboratory. These results will be reported progressively as they are received, validated, and interpreted. Catalina considers the Leghorn results to represent one component of a broader, active exploration program, with further updates expected as the Phase 1 campaign continues. *To view tables and figures, please visit: https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/KD8SEQ91 About Catalina Resources Ltd Catalina Resources Ltd (ASX:CTN) is a mineral exploration company focused on discovering and advancing gold and multi-commodity projects in tier-one jurisdictions. Backed by a technically experienced team with deep industry knowledge, Catalina is committed to creating value through focused exploration across highly prospective and underexplored regions in Western Australia. The company's core assets are located in the Central Yilgarn and Laverton regions, two of the most historically productive and geologically endowed gold provinces in the country. Both projects have demonstrated the potential to host significant mineralisation, with early-stage drilling already delivering promising results. Related Companies A federal jury in San Francisco has found a former Google software engineer guilty of economic espionage and stealing artificial intelligence trade secrets, marking the first US conviction tied directly to AI technology theft. The verdict came after an 11-day trial and centers on claims that the engineer took sensitive Google data to benefit Chinese companies. The jury ruled Thursday that Linwei Ding, also known as Leon Ding, committed seven counts of economic espionage and seven counts of theft of trade secrets. Prosecutors said Ding stole thousands of pages of confidential Google documents while working at the company. Authorities say the information was taken to help China gain an edge in the fast-moving AI race. "In today's high-stakes race to dominate the field of artificial intelligence, Linwei Ding betrayed both the US and his employer," said Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director of the FBI's espionage unit, NY Post reported. He added that the stolen data involved Google's advanced AI technology. According to the Justice Department, Ding worked at Google from 2019 and began taking files between May 2022 and April 2023. He uploaded more than 2,000 pages of secret material to his personal Google Cloud account. Less than two weeks before leaving Google in December 2023, he also downloaded the files onto his personal computer, court records show. Former Google Engineer Found Guilty of Economic Espionage and Theft of Confidential AI Technology https://t.co/RZcsxwdDoV@FBISanFrancisco pic.twitter.com/Ey5oskdACU FBI (@FBI) January 30, 2026 Ex-Google Engineer Worked With Chinese Tech Firms Prosecutors said Ding secretly worked with two Chinese technology firms during this time. He was also in talks to become a chief technology officer for a China-based company and was planning his own startup. In messages to potential investors, Ding claimed he could build an AI supercomputer using the stolen information, according to the Justice Department. The stolen documents included details about Google's Tensor Processing Unit chips and its SmartNIC network card. Officials said this technology helps train large AI models and gives Google an advantage over rivals like Amazon and Microsoft. "This case involved some of the most advanced AI technology in the world at a critical moment in AI development," said Assistant Attorney General John Eisenberg. According to SCMP, Ding now faces serious penalties. Each economic espionage charge carries a possible 15-year prison sentence, while each trade secrets charge can lead to up to 10 years behind bars. Fines could also reach millions of dollars. A status conference is scheduled for February 3. Ding's attorney argued that Google failed to properly protect its information, saying the documents should not count as trade secrets. The jury rejected that claim. Originally published on vcpost.com Emma Wall, Chief Investment Strategist, Hargreaves Lansdown: The FTSE 100 is in positive territory this morning, led by rises across the mining sector. This market report is at risk of becoming a gold bugs blog as, once again, the precious metal dominates investment flows. Gold rose more than 4% yesterday as speculators look to take advantage of last weeks slump. It has been a rollercoaster start to the year for both gold and silver, with gold rising near 30% to $5,500 on 29th January driven by concerns about global geopolitics, US Fed independence and President Donald Trumps endorsement of the weak dollar. Following the rumours that rate hawk, Kevin Warsh, had received the Presidential nomination to be the next Federal Reserve Chair, the US dollar rose in value, sparking a considerable sell off in gold. The market is reading Warshs nomination as a sign of rate stability and potentially a higher for longer stance, based on his voting record. We consider his recent rhetoric to be more informing. He has spoken publicly against current levels, saying that rates should be lower, which is more in tune with Trumps beliefs, hence the nomination. Where does gold go from here? We dont expect yesterdays rally to continue with as sharp a trajectory of recent history, but we do think that gold has an important role to play in portfolios this year. There are both systemic and tactical tailwinds global central bank buying looks set to continue, propping up base demand and the safe haven appeal of gold in times of uncertainty remains whilst global diplomacy is conducted via social media. Turning to stocks, the biggest company news today is happening away from listed equity markets. Elon Musk has announced plans to combine SpaceX and xAI to great a $1.25 trillion company, merging the entities responsible for his artificial intelligence engine, social media, space exploration, energy generation, communications and no doubt more. This vertical integration makes sense; Musk announced during last weeks Tesla results that he would be pivoting the business away from electric vehicles to automation and artificial intelligence, and this will be true of his space travel ambitions too, meaning there are technological synergies to be made across all his businesses. What will be key is the markets view of the valuation. Musk has previously shared intentions to IPO SpaceX, rumoured to be in June due to the auspicious alignment of the planets Jupiter, Venus and Mercury that month. While Musk has a proven track record of delivery, he is a divisive figure and will be asking the market to value a company based on a multi-decade vision, where most CEOs operate a three to five year business cycle. Asia markets have been driven higher by positive news of a deal between US President, Donald Trump, and Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. Trump announced plans on social media that we would be cutting India trade tariffs from 50% to 18%, buoying stock markets. The 50% tariff was an aggregate of 25% base tariffs plus an additional punitive measure as India had been buying oil from Russia. The deal also requires India to drop its reciprocal tariff on US goods to 0% and buy $500 billion of energy, technology, agriculture, coal and many more from America, according to the President. The news caused Asian markets to rise, benefiting not just Indian stocks. News that the US is in talks with Iran has also benefited stocks in anticipation that US support will be able to bring an end Irans war with Israel. The oil price has fallen as a result." Minor at Wheel: Speeding Mercedes Crashes Inside Mumbai Coastal Road Tunnel, Three Injured 2 Three members of a family were injured after a speeding Mercedes, allegedly driven by a 17-year-old boy, crashed into vehicles inside the Coastal Road tunnel in South Mumbai, police said on Monday. The accident occurred in the early hours of Sunday when the luxury car, heading towards South Mumbai, rammed into a vehicle from behind inside the tunnel. The impact pushed the first car into another vehicle ahead, triggering a chain collision, an official said. Police said the injured include a senior citizen woman from the affected family. All three were rushed for medical treatment and are reported to be stable. Following an investigation, the D B Marg police registered a case against the owner of the Mercedes, a businessman from Agripada, his 18-year-old granddaughter, and her 17-year-old male friend who was allegedly driving the car at the time of the crash. During preliminary inquiries, it emerged that the minor driver lost control of the vehicle inside the tunnel, leading to the accident. Further investigation is underway to determine liability and possible violations, police added. 'PM Surrendered to Appease Trump': Congress Demands Parliament Debate on US, EU Trade Deals 2 The Congress on Tuesday stepped up its attack on the Modi government over the IndiaUS trade deal, alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has completely surrendered to appease US President Donald Trump at the cost of Indias farmers. The party demanded that the Centre place the full details of both the US and EU trade agreements before Parliament of India for discussion. Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said Indias position had been weakened by the manner in which the trade deal was announced. He claimed that statements made by President Trump made it abundantly clear that the prime minister had given in under pressure, adding that India stands diminished by this unfortunate sequence of events. Ramesh recalled that Prime Minister Modi had visited the White House nearly a year ago after Trumps re-election, when negotiations for a trade deal began amid what he described as huglomacy. He alleged that matters worsened after Trump announced a halt to Operation Sindoor on May 10, 2025, and later publicly embraced Pakistan and its army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, which he said exposed the hollowness of Indias diplomatic outreach. Pointing out that Parliament is currently in session, Ramesh said the texts of both the EU and US trade deals must be tabled and debated, especially in light of claims by US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins that India has liberalised agricultural imports from the US. The controversy spilled into Parliament, with members of several Opposition parties staging a walkout from the Rajya Sabha and later protesting in the Parliament complex. Opposition MPs, including Digvijaya Singh, Randeep Surjewala, AAPs Sanjay Singh and RJDs Manoj Jha, alleged that the government had compromised farmers interests. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said there was an urgent need for clarity as no official details had been shared beyond Trumps social media posts and press statements. He questioned claims that India would purchase USD 500 billion worth of US goods and open its agricultural market, saying such assertions carry serious political implications for Indian farmers. Former commerce minister Anand Sharma said while India and the US share a strategic partnership, any trade deal must be between sovereign equals and safeguard national interests in sensitive sectors such as agriculture, dairy and pharmaceuticals. In response, Prime Minister Modi said he was pleased that tariffs on Made in India products would be reduced to 18 per cent. Trump earlier announced that India and the US had agreed to a trade deal. The debate comes days after India and the European Union sealed a landmark free trade agreement in January, billed as the mother of all deals. On January 29, former CNN host Don Lemon was arrested for joining anti-ICE rioters who had invaded Cities Church services in St. Paul, Minnesota, eleven days earlier. Terrifying the attendees, these activists sought to condemn the pastors alleged ICE connection after the death of Renee Good. Advertisement At this point, it is important to recognize that there is a difference between a protest and a riot. Perhaps international security firm TAL Global provides the simplest distinction between the two. It notes, The difference between protest and a riot often comes down to intent and control. Protest maintains a message. Riots spiral away from one. In other words, what starts out as a peaceful protest at some point may well cross a line, transitioning into a riot as it becomes violent or violates the law. Advertisement In the aftermath of the Cities Church incident, Lemonwhile examining a video of itinsisted on describing anti-ICE activists with whom he was embedded as protesters. This was despite the fact that they had already stepped over a distinctive line by storming onto private property where a religious service was ongoing, chanting Hands up, dont shoot and ICE out. Church attendees had every right to be where they were and doing what they were doing without having their religious service interrupted by protesters (now rioters) gone bad. Among the first celebrities to criticize Lemon was Grammy-winner Nicki Minaj, who did so in language that was both explicit and unapologetic. Many saw the church occupation not as an act of journalism but as an act of harassment against Christians. Lemon and his friends dared not attempt a similar invasion at a mosque holding religious services, as a much different reception would have awaited them. Advertisement Lemon went on to support the rioters, defending their actions in disrupting church services as this was just acting in a manner similar to what civil rights protesters had done decades earlier. He continued, further demonstrating his independent journalistic reporting, by saying: This is the beginning of whats going to happen here. When you violate peoples due process, when you pull people off the street, you start dragging them and hurting them, and not abiding by the constitution, you start doing all of that, people get upset and angry. Remember what the civil rights movement was about. The civil rights movement was about these very kinds of protests. Advertisement Lemonobviously no expert on constitutional lawclaimed people had no right to object to protests like the one in Cities Church as the U.S. Constitution allows for them at any time. The whole point of it, he added, is to disrupt and make people uncomfortable. But the naive journalist failed to recognize that the Constitution was inapplicable to the Cities Church invasion and that he and his fellow rioters violated the law. Apparently, making no effort to master the Constitution, Lemon misses an important aspect of it. The First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting speech and recognizes that people have the right to engage in religious practices as they wish without interruption. Defenders of ICE would have no right to demonstrate on Lemons private property, just like he and his anti-ICE gang had no right to demonstrate on private church property. Advertisement Fellow members of the media sought to portray Lemon as an independent member of the media who was simply following a developing story. Such independence was hard to grasp as Lemon used the pronoun we in referencing the groups invasion and even dubbed it our operation. Had the developing story involved activists enroute to robbing a bank, would Lemon have had a right to enter its premises with them just to follow the story? Absolutely not! When subjects of a developing story show they are willing to break the lawin the Cities Church case, at a minimum, they trespassedit gives a journalist no right to break the law as well. A long-embraced ethic of journalism is for journalists to report a story but never to become part of it in doing so. Advertisement As a newsman, Lemon should have recognized the illegality of his actions based on an incident occurring just two days earlier in Manhattan. Following 45 minutes of forewarnings, the NYPD arrested anti-ICE protesters after they entered a hotel and occupied the lobby. Like Lemon, they illegally trespassed onto private property. However, Lemons actions went further: hes also being charged with conspiracy to deprive parishioners of their rights and for violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE Act). Despite its title, the FACE Act additionally protects places of religious worship. Upon being released without bail after his arrest, Lemon said he believes he is being unjustly prosecuted andapparently referring to his independent reportingthat he wont stop now or ever! With his first hearing on February 9, he claims to look forward to my day in court. Lemon was not the only journalist involved in the incident, while lacking constitutional law expertise. After the church invasion, another alleged independent journalist, Georgia Fort, livestreamed her actual arrest as federal agents began knocking on her door. Like Lemon, she showed her constitutional naivete, claiming as a journalist she had the right to record the incident, any other laws be damned. Meanwhile, Lady Gaga took the opportunity of entertaining an audience outside the U.S. to share her anti-ICE views. In an act again illustrative of tremendous naivete, the venue she selected to deliver her message was Japan. One wonders if she even realized the irony of her doing so in that particular country. The reason we hear nothing about Japan arresting illegal aliens is that, among free world nations, it is perhaps the most restrictive concerning immigration. Whether or not it is a fear of diluting its culture and values, Japan allows few legal immigrants. Its lack of desire for legal immigrants has sent the message to would-be illegal immigrants not to try it, thus leaving Japan with few ICE issues. Lemons fellow participants in the Cities Church invasion are slowly being arrested as their identities are revealed. It looks like they, along with Lemon, will finally be forced to FACE the music. Image generated by ChatGPT. Australia's universities continue to punch above their weight on the global stage, with the University of Melbourne leading the nation's academic rankings in 2026. The latest data from Times Higher Education and QS World University Rankings highlights a strong showing from the country's top institutions, particularly in research, teaching quality, and international collaboration. Despite economic pressures and shifting government policies, Australia's higher education sector remains one of the most competitive and respected in the world, attracting more than 500,000 international students annually. Here are the 10 best universities in Australia in 2026, based on global rankings, research output, student satisfaction, and employer reputation. 1. University of Melbourne Ranked #1 in Australia and #37 globally, the University of Melbourne continues to lead in research excellence, industry partnerships, and international outlook. Overall score : 79/100 : 79/100 Research quality : 99.3 : 99.3 International outlook: 91.6 The university's Parkville campus remains a hub for innovation, particularly in biomedical sciences and engineering. 2. University of Sydney Tied for #53 globally, the University of Sydney is known for its historic campus, diverse student body, and strong performance in humanities and law. Overall score : 75 : 75 Research environment : 91.5 : 91.5 Industry income: 98.9 Sydney's proximity to major business districts enhances its appeal for students seeking internships and employment. 3. Monash University Ranked #58 globally, Monash University is Australia's largest university by enrollment and a leader in pharmacy, medicine, and global engagement. Overall score : 74.1 : 74.1 Research quality : 99.6 : 99.6 International outlook: 91.9 Monash's campuses in Malaysia and Indonesia continue to expand its global footprint. 4. Australian National University (ANU) Located in Canberra, ANU ranks #73 globally and is renowned for its policy research, international relations, and science programs. Overall score : 71.1 : 71.1 Teaching quality : 56 : 56 Research environment: 94 ANU's proximity to federal government institutions makes it a top choice for aspiring diplomats and policy analysts. 5. University of Queensland (UQ) UQ ranks in the top 100 globally and is known for its life sciences, environmental research, and engineering programs. Strong industry ties with biotech and mining sectors with biotech and mining sectors High student satisfaction and campus sustainability initiatives Brisbane's affordability and climate add to UQ's appeal. 6. University of New South Wales (UNSW) UNSW remains a powerhouse in STEM disciplines, particularly computer science, engineering, and business. Global partnerships with Silicon Valley firms with Silicon Valley firms High employability ratings among graduates Located in Sydney's Kensington district, UNSW benefits from strong urban integration. 7. University of Western Australia (UWA) UWA ranks among the top 150 globally and is a leader in marine biology, geology, and agricultural sciences. Strong research funding from mining and environmental sectors from mining and environmental sectors Scenic campus on the Swan River in Perth UWA's regional focus supports innovation in sustainability and climate resilience. 8. University of Technology Sydney (UTS) UTS has climbed steadily in global rankings thanks to its industry-focused curriculum and tech innovation. Top-ranked design and communication programs Strong startup ecosystem and incubator support Its central Sydney location offers unmatched access to corporate partners. 9. Macquarie University Macquarie excels in finance, linguistics, and cognitive science, with growing influence in AI and data analytics. Global research collaborations Modern campus infrastructure Located in North Ryde, Macquarie offers a balance of academic rigor and suburban tranquility. 10. University of Adelaide Adelaide rounds out the top 10 with strengths in wine science, engineering, and health sciences. Affordable cost of living Strong international student support Its research centers in agriculture and medicine continue to attract global attention. Comparative Table: Top 10 Australian Universities in 2026 Rank University Global Rank Research Quality International Outlook 1 University of Melbourne 37 99.3 91.6 2 University of Sydney =53 98.9 88.2 3 Monash University =58 99.6 91.9 4 Australian National Univ. =73 94 89.1 5 University of Queensland ~100 92.5 85.3 6 UNSW ~105 91.8 87.4 7 University of Western Aust. ~120 90.2 84.7 8 UTS ~130 88.9 83.5 9 Macquarie University ~140 87.3 82.1 10 University of Adelaide ~145 86.5 81.9 Outlook for Students and Researchers Australia's top universities continue to attract global talent, with strong government support for research, competitive scholarships, and expanding international campuses. As the country navigates post-pandemic recovery and climate challenges, its higher education sector remains a beacon of innovation and opportunity. Originally published on ibtimes.com.au Florida stands at a consequential moment in the national debate over illegal immigration. Advertisement The state has already moved decisively to protect taxpayers, reinforce the rule of law, and support federal agents. What comes next should be durable, voter-approved, and immune to the shifting moods of Washington. A Florida-tailored constitutional amendment modeled on the core framework of Californias Proposition 187 represents the logical next step, not as nostalgia, but as evolution. Advertisement Properly adapted to Floridas legal system and adopted through the states referendum process, such a measure would anchor immigration control in constitutional certainty. Simultaneously, public confidence would be bolstered, after being shaken by the Minnesota episodes and their mixed response inside the Republican Party. The urgency is not abstract. Late last month, prominent Florida Republicans publicly criticized the Donald Trump administrations immigration stance following the firestorm in Minnesota. Advertisement Florida state Sen. Ileana Garcia told The New York Times that anti-illegal alien measures had gone too far. She cited family separations, aggressive raids, and the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Garcia warned that the White Houses approach could cost Republicans the midterms, explicitly blaming Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller. Garcia, a former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) public affairs official and co-founder of Latinas for Trump, described a culture of fear and personal concern for her own family. This channeled legacy media figures substantial wattage for their anti-GOP noise machine. Advertisement Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar echoed Garcias concerns in a Washington Examiner op-ed. She argued that aggressive moves against illegal immigrants were eroding Republican support among Hispanic voters. She warned that Hispanics were leaving the GOP in large numbers and urged DHS to focus on major public safety threats rather than broadly targeting illegal aliens. Around the same time, Congressman Carlos Gimenez told Newsmax that high-profile raids and the Minneapolis deaths were politically damaging. He bluntly opined that Trump administration tactics were hurting Republican chances in the midterms. Advertisement These comments followed notorious events in Minneapolis that reverberate nationwide. As everyone and his or her great-grandmother surely knows, two U.S. citizens were fatally shot last month by federal immigration officers during enforcement operations. Renee Nicole Good was killed amid an ICE raid after advancing her car into an agent. Alex Pretti, an armed anti-DHS protester, was shot while physically interfering with officers who were making an arrest. Advertisement Both deaths were captured or contested by video evidence and sparked mass protests, press scrutiny, and bipartisan rancor. These incidents intensified debate over law enforcement tactics, use of deadly force, and the politics of immigration control. The path forward is not retreat, hesitation, or rhetorical softening. It is clarity. A Florida constitutional amendment modeled on Proposition 187 would shift the focus from theatrical federal raids to clear, lawful, state-grounded rules that protect public resources while crippling illegal immigration. Californias Proposition 187, passed by voters in 1994 by a near-20-point margin, sought to deny illegal aliens access to most state-funded public services. It required verification and reporting of immigration status by state and local agencies. Its provisions included barring illegal immigrants from non-emergency public benefits, denying non-emergency publicly funded healthcare, restricting access to public education, mandating cooperation with federal authorities, and imposing penalties for false documentation and noncompliant public employees. Proposition 187 also attempted to construct a parallel state enforcement architecture that went further than many remember. The initiative required state and local police to verify immigration status during arrests for suspected violations of state or federal law. This meant reporting those individuals to federal immigration authorities, embedding immigration screening into routine policing. Furthermore, Proposition 187 directed the California Attorney General to create and maintain a statewide system for collecting, tracking, and transmitting reports of suspected illegal aliens from schools, hospitals, and social service agencies to federal officials. It also authorized civil actions against state or local agencies that failed to enforce its provisions. Private citizens were empowered to sue government bodies for noncompliance, thereby adding a layer of citizen-driven accountability. At the same time, Proposition 187 explicitly preserved access to emergency medical care, disaster relief, and immunizations. Clearly, its architects intended exclusion from taxpayer-funded benefits to function as a deterrent, not as a denial of lifesaving aid. This broader enforcement ecosystem, largely erased from public memory, is precisely what makes a carefully-modernized, constitutionally-grounded Florida adaptation so essential today. Although most of Proposition 187 was enjoined and ultimately nullified through federal district court agreements by 1999, its underlying premise remains politically potent and widely supported. Florida is positioned to do what California could not. The legal pathway is clear. Article XI of the Florida Constitution allows amendments through legislative referral or citizen initiative. A legislative referral requires a three-fifths vote in both chambers and then approval by 60 percent of voters at a general election. A citizen initiative requires signatures equal to eight percent of the votes cast in the last presidential election statewide and in at least half of Floridas congressional districts. This is followed by Florida Supreme Court review and the same 60-percent voter approval. Both routes ensure broad consensus and democratic legitimacy. Florida has already laid the groundwork. Under Governor Ron DeSantis, the state enacted Senate Bill 1718 in 2023, mandating E-Verify for employers with 25 or more employees. It criminalized human smuggling with enhanced penalties, requiring hospitals to collect immigration status data, and penalized businesses that knowingly hire illegal immigrants. In 2025, Florida expanded these efforts through Senate Bills 2-C and 4-C, allocating more than $298 million for immigration enforcement infrastructure. In-state tuition for illegal aliens was repealed, while a State Board of Immigration Enforcement was created. All police agencies in Florida were made to fully cooperate with DHS, and some, including all statewide departments and county sheriffs offices, were deputized to administer immigration law. This facilitated large-scale joint operations that have resulted in thousands of arrests, with multitudes more certain to follow. A constitutional amendment, featuring every aspect of Proposition 187 with each one tailored to Florida law and binding judicial precedent, is the logical next step. Court challenges would be inevitable. Proposition 187 faced immediate injunctions over federal preemption and equal protection claims, particularly regarding education. Fortunately, the legal landscape has changed. Florida, with its solidly Republican state government and largely GOP electorate, is the ideal staging ground for a clean, contemporary test case. Any resulting litigation would almost certainly reach the U.S. Supreme Court. Its 6-3 conservative majority has shown openness to state authority that complements, if not amplifies, federal law enforcement. Florida would not be acting only for itself. Success would send a signal nationwide. Just as California once shaped national policy debates, Florida could now lead a new chapter by demonstrating that firm immigration law enforcement can be constitutional, voter-driven, and crystalline in its clarity. The Sunshine State would become a beacon for states seeking to protect public resources, and stymie the scourge of illegal immigration, without surrendering to political chaos or moral panic. The faded California dream does not need to remain phantasmagorical. In Florida, it can be reborn through constitutional action that reflects the will of voters, restoring confidence in immigration control. This offers a sound model for national renewal grounded in law, order, and democratic legitimacy. America needs it now, more than ever. Dr. Joseph Ford Cotto is the creator, host, and producer of News Sight, delivering sharp insights on the key events that shape our lives. He publishes Dr. Cotto's Digest, sharing how business and the economy really impact us all. During the 2024 presidential race, he developed the Five-Point Forecast, which accurately predicted Donald Trumps national victory and correctly called every swing state. Cotto holds a doctorate in business administration and is a Lean Six Sigma Certified Black Belt. Image: David Prasad, via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 2.0 Deed Over the past twenty years, the interpretation of the Second Amendmentwhich guarantees American citizens the right to bear armshas been shaped by many significant cases. What is clear through all of them is the strong acknowledgment of the citizens right to bear arms as an individual right. Right-to-carry laws, whether enacted by state or federal agencies, have had to respect the importance of this individual right. Advertisement When the right to bear arms was established in 1791, there was a strong need for America to quickly form militias to supplement the army and defend the republic. This was the initial motivation for the amendment. However, the Founding Fathers also understood that an armed citizenry could act as a safeguard against tyranny. As Thomas Jefferson told William Stephens Smith: What country can preserve its liberties if the rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance. Let them take arms. This column will examine four landmark rulings by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) that have pushed back against lawseither arbitrary or claimed to be in the interest of public safetythat infringe on the Second Amendment. It will also explore the questions raised by two upcoming cases before SCOTUS. Advertisement The first ruling, by the Supreme Court in June 2008, was in District of Columbia v. Heller, and it involved owning a gun that could be used if self-defense was needed. Dick Heller, a special police officer, lived in a high-crime neighborhood. However, he couldnt keep a ready-to-fire gun at home because one of the provisions of the D.C. Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 required licensed firearms to be kept unloaded, disassembled, or locked away at home. Interpreting the Second Amendment for the first time in nearly 70 years, the court ruled in Hellers favor, establishing that gun rights, while not unlimited, are rooted in individual not collective rights. It confirmed an individuals right to own a firearm for self-defense within the home. The second ruling, in McDonald v. City of Chicago, came from the Supreme Court in 2010 and was, in a sense, a follow-up to Heller. Otis McDonald, a 76-year-old retired maintenance engineer, lived in Morgan Park, a neighborhood that had been taken over by gangs and drug dealers. His house had been broken into a few times, and he was once threatened by thugs while he was out walking. He owned licensed shotguns but found them too cumbersome to use against burglars or criminals, so he wanted to buy a handgun. However, Chicago gun laws, besides restricting gun ownership, prohibited handguns altogether. Advertisement When he filed a lawsuit, the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled in favor of the city council. However, upon hearing his appeal, the Supreme Court observed that the privileges clause of the Fourteenth Amendment protects the right to bear arms from infringement by laws enacted by any level of government. As a result, the city was required to change its gun laws, and the Second Amendment gained broad protection against arbitrary government decisions at all levels. The third ruling, in one of the most important gun law cases ever, was in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association (NYSRPA) v. Bruen, and related to the Sullivan Act (1911), which requires applicants for concealed carry licenses to prove a specific need, such as a particular threat or extraordinary danger, in order to keep their weapon concealed. Two NYSRPA members had applied for unrestricted carry licenses but were denied. They sued Kevin Bruen, the superintendent of the New York State Police, claiming violations of the Second and Fourteenth Amendments. Advertisement When the case reached the Supreme Court, it ruled in June 2022 that the requirement for a proper cause was unconstitutional: anyone seeking a permit to carry a concealed weapon is entitled to one if they meet certain legal criteria and should not be required to prove a special need. The SCOTUS affirmed that there is a right to carry guns outside ones home, and that a state cannot create regulations that selectively restrict who can carry based on discretionary criteria. The court also required that lower courts base their decisions on the historical context of the Second Amendment and what was considered constitutional at the time America was founded. Federal courts have referenced the Bruen decision, which heavily relies on textual and historical criteria, when ruling on nearly 3,000 Second Amendment cases, and it marked the beginning of a significant expansion of Second Amendment rights. Advertisement The fourth SCOTUS ruling, in June 2024, invalidated a federal ban on bump stocksspring-loaded attachments that enable a semi-automatic rifle to mimic automatic fire to some extent. The issue was that the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco, and Explosives (ATF) suddenly classified bump stocks as machine guns, effectively banning them since possessing machine guns is illegal. The change was made in response to a 2017 shooting in Las Vegas, where a man used semi-automatic rifles with bump stocks to rapidly fire hundreds of rounds into a crowd at a music festival. Firearm owners were required to destroy their bump stocks or surrender them to the bureau. Michael Cargill, a veteran and gun rights activist, surrendered his bump stocks but sued Attorney General Merrick Garland, challenging the bureaus authority to create such a rule. Advertisement The Supreme Court ruled that the ATF exceeded its statutory authority; not only that, the ATF repudiated its own previous guidance that bump stocks did not qualify as machineguns. After a detailed examination of how bump stocks work and pointing out inconsistencies in the ATFs own definitions and claims, the court declared the federal ban invalid. Now, regarding the upcoming cases, the first is United States v. Hemani, which asks: Does the federal law that bans possession of firearms by someone who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance violate the Second Amendment? During a search of Ali Danial Hemanis house in Carrollton, Texas, FBI agents found a Glock pistol, 60 grams of marijuana, and 4.7 grams of cocaine. One of the charges against him was possession of a firearm as an unlawful user of a controlled substance, even though he was neither intoxicated nor using drugs at the time. Hemani has requested the Supreme Court to dismiss the charge, while the Department of Justice has filed for a writ of certiorari, asking the court to clarify the circumstances under which the government can impose restrictions on unlawful users of controlled substances. To clarify, this case tests the very limits of the Second Amendment. Hearings are ongoing, and a decision might be expected in June or July. In the second case, Wolford v. Lopez, three Maui residents and the Hawaii Firearm Coalition, a gun rights group, are challenging Hawaiis Attorney General over the states Act 52, which bans firearms on private property without the owners permission. Wolford was heard by the Supreme Court in January 2026. The ruling could establish a precedent on a key issue: Can property owners such as businesses or homeowners decide whether someone can carry firearms on their property? In America, the right to property is considered as vital as the Second Amendment, so developments in this case are being closely watched. A decision is expected soon. The Founders guaranteed citizens the right to bear arms because it is rooted in the natural rights of self-defense and resistance to tyranny. It cannot be taken away. As Samuel Adams asserted: The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms. Image generated by ChatGPT. Advertisement From Wikimedia Commons: The Tower of Babel (Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1563) Rising from the ashes of WWII, a secularized, progressive Europe embarked on a grand experiment in social engineering, constructing an elaborate welfare state that promised security from cradle to grave. Yet this utopianist Tower of Babelonce hailed as a triumph of humanistic progressnow appears less a monument to compassion than to self-sabotage. Advertisement Through a combination of fiscal irresponsibility, demographic complacency, and strategic naivete, Europeans are digging their own grave. Lavish social safety nets have created dependency rather than productivity, while unchecked immigration has eroded cultural foundations rooted in Christian-humanist traditions. Abdicating responsibility for its own territorial integrity, Europe relies on American military protection, a dependency increasingly strained by transatlantic tensions. These intertwined pathologieswelfare excess, demographic upheaval, and defense neglectsignal an inexorable decline, leaving Europe vulnerable to internal dissolution and external predation. Far from a beacon of enlightenment, the continent risks becoming a cautionary tale of how prosperity breeds paralysis. The welfare state, an Earthly Eden, has morphed into a bureaucratic colossus that stifles economic vitality and entrenches entitlement. Since 1945, European nations have expanded social protections to include universal healthcare, generous unemployment benefits, and extensive pension systems. By 2025, social protection expenditures accounted for nearly 40% of public spending across the EU, totaling approximately 3.3 trillionalmost 20% of the EUs GDP. Advertisement This expansive framework enables significant portions of the population to opt out of productive labor, claiming disability and invoking rights to lifelong support. In France, public debt surged to 3.35 trillion by 2025114% of GDPwhile pension shortfalls ballooned to 23 billion annually. Italy and Greece fare no better, with debt-to-GDP ratios exceeding 137% and 152%, respectively, far surpassing the EUs 60% guideline. These figures reflect not only fiscal mismanagement but also a deeper malaise: a system that disincentivizes work, innovation, and risk-taking. Intentions notwithstanding, welfare generosity has fostered a culture of dependency where able-bodied citizens evade social contribution. In Germany, a popular demand for welfare reforms is kept alive by right-wing suspicions that social spending exacerbates inequality and economic stagnation. Yet the UNs Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty has warned that welfare retrenchment itself fuels popular discontent, implying that both expansion and contraction can generate political extremisma paradox that captures Europes broader policy paralysis. Advertisement The welfare model is under increasing pressure from demographic aging and global competition. Older populations require ever-greater resources, while younger generations confront precarious employment in fragmented labor markets, placing additional strain on systems designed for an era of stable growth. This vicious cycle threatens fiscal sustainability: absent radical reform, Europes welfare states risk collapsing under their own weight, pulling the continent towards economic marginalization. Compounding this internal decline is the demographic transformation wrought by mass immigration, particularly from Muslim-majority countries, which threatens Western cultural identity. For centuries, Europe served as the last refuge of Christianity after Islamic conquests extinguished Christian heartlands across North Africa, the Middle East, and Anatolia. Battles such as Tours in 732 and Vienna in 1683 preserved this heritage against Arab and Ottoman incursions, respectively. Advertisement In the twentieth century, however, postwar Europescarred by conflict and labor shortagesopened its borders to millions of migrants in pursuit of economic recovery and humanitarian ideals. By 2025, the EUs Muslim population was estimated at approximately 2325 million, representing around 5% of the EUs roughly 448 million inhabitants. This growth has been driven by higher fertility ratesMuslims in the EU average roughly one additional child per woman compared to native Europeansand sustained migration flows. Between 2010 and 2023, over 2.5 million migrants from the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia were granted residence or asylum within the EU. While some immigrants integrate successfully and contribute economically, others strain public services, fueling perceptions of parasitism. In France, Muslims number between six and seven million (910% of the population); in Germany, five to six million (67%); and in other major EU states such as the Netherlands, Belgium, and Austria, Muslim populations now exceed 7%. Projections suggest that Muslims could comprise 7-12% of the EUs population by 2050, depending on migration intensity and fertility convergence. The cultural shift is increasingly visible: churches stand empty across much of the EU while mosques proliferate, symbolizing what is appropriately characterized as a resumed Islamic conquest by demographic means. In Germany, approximately 82% of Muslims identify as religious, compared with roughly 55% of native Christians. Advertisement Europes strategic vulnerabilities magnify these domestic woes. For decades, the EU has outsourced its security to the US. After WWII, Europeans prioritized prosperity over preparedness, relying on American taxpayers for conventional forces and nuclear deterrence throughout the Cold War. By 2025, NATOs new benchmark mandated defense and security spending of 5% of GDP by 20353.5% for core military requirements and 1.5% for related expendituresyet many EU members only recently met the previous 2% target. In 2024, European NATO members and Canada contributed 36% of alliance spending, up from 28% in 2015, but still far from parity. EU defense outlays reached 343 billion in 2024 and are projected to rise to 381 billion in 2025, marking a 62.9% increase since 2020. Nevertheless, fragmented procurement and duplicated efforts continue to undermine efficiency. This dependency has bred resentment in Washington, where the EU is increasingly considered an unreliable partner amid rising threats from Russia and China. At the 2025 Munich Security Conference, Vice President JD Vance delivered a blistering critique, arguing that Europes gravest threat lies not in external adversaries but in internal erosion of democratic normscensorship, suppression of dissent, and exclusion of populist voices. He condemned EU commissars for threatening to shut down social media during unrest over hateful content, cited German police raids over anti-feminist online speech, and highlighted Swedens conviction of a Christian activist involved in Quran burnings, the judge having chillingly asserted that freedom of expression does not grant a free pass to offend religious groups. Vance also denounced the UKs prosecution of a military veteran for silently praying near an abortion clinic, likening such actions to Cold War-era repression that censored dissidents and shuttered churches. He cited the annulment of Romanias election and speech restrictions in Sweden and other EU states, warning that US support hinges on Europes adherence to shared values of liberty, innovation, and democratic legitimacy. He further tied these failures to mass immigration, pointing to the recent Munich vehicle-ramming attack by an Afghan immigrant on trade union demonstrators as a grim symbol of unchecked borders and ignored voter concerns. The speech stunned attendees. European leaders such as Germanys defense minister, Boris Pistorius, dismissed it as not acceptable inasmuch as it focused on American frustration with Europes moral retreat rather than Russian aggressionand reinforced a bleak prognosis: a EU increasingly estranged from its own voters, inviting autocratic exploitation and alliance fracture. Tensions have since escalated over the ownership of Greenland. At the height of the crisis, President Donald Trumps renewed push for acquisitionaccompanied by threats of tariffs on Denmark and other EU membersraised the specter of trade war and military escalation. European leaders have denounced these moves as coercive, warning of potential NATO rupture. Of course, such discord delights adversaries in Moscow and Beijing, exposing Western disunity. Grappling with its own domestic unrest, the U.S. might empathize a little with the EU, given their shared cultural inheritance. Schadenfreude is not helpful. Americans can for the most part trace their origins to Europe, fully committed to Judeo-Christian values and Enlightenment ideals of liberty. Yet, as the EU falters, ties weaken. When the EU eventually collapses, America may find itself isolated among ascendant autocratic powers. Europes trajectory appears one of inexorable decline, determined by welfare-induced lethargy, demographic subversion, and strategic impotence. The EUs liberal elite, shaken by American rebukes yet unwilling to reform, deny the internal forces eroding its foundations. Without a radical reckoningcurtailing entitlements, securing borders, and rebuilding defenseEurope risks cultural obliteration and geopolitical irrelevance. So, are Europeans willing to throw themselves into the grave? In this view, the Wests cradle may yet become its tomb, leaving a solitary America to defend the flickering light of freedom in a darkening world. Yigal Carmon, President and cofounder of the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), issued a blunt warning to President Trump in a Daily Brief published January 30, 2026: Hamas and similar Islamist groups are locked into a jihadist ideology that no amount of economic prosperity can break. Carmon argues that even if Gaza were rebuilt into a luxurious "Middle East Riviera" with beaches and hotels, these groups would still prioritize ideology such as martyrdom and Israel's destruction, over material comforts or the "good life" ideal, which he argues motivates the West. He points to pre-October 7 Gaza, where residents enjoyed restaurants, promenades, and modern buildings, and Hamas leaders' repeated rejection of generous statehood offers as evidence that ideology always prevails over incentives. Advertisement Carmon's focus on the enduring power of radical indoctrination is valid. Extremist beliefs are deeply rooted and resilient. Yet his view is overly pessimistic and overlooks how shared economic interests have repeatedly moderated conflict in the Middle East. Even though he doesn't buy into a stark binary, i.e., "Riviera or ideology," he nonetheless downplays prosperity and mutual investment as empirically successful mechanisms for creating new political realities, even among former adversaries. History demonstrates that when parties gain a direct stake in peace through finance and security, behavior changes. The Abraham Accords provide the strongest recent proof. Starting in 2020, nations like the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan, once aligned with anti-Israel rhetoric, normalized ties with Israel. This led to more than simple diplomatic gestures: direct flights, tech partnerships, tourism booms, energy deals, and billions in trade and investment. Emirati and Bahraini leaders, previously influenced by the same ideological currents, now oversee hotels, tech hubs, and ports that rely on stable relations with Israel. Their citizens encounter Israelis as tourists and business partners, normalizing what was once unthinkable. Advertisement These shifts didn't require abandoning ideology entirely; they recalibrated it because peace proved profitable and secure. Similar patterns hold in Jordan and Egypt, where decades-old peace treaties endure amid turmoil thanks to economic benefits, U.S. aid linked to stability, and military cooperation. Carmon suggests that only "corrupt jihadis," such as certain leaders, can be swayed. But corruption and ideology coexist, and shared investment builds vested interests in stability that, over time, sideline extremists. Advertisement In fact, many Arab and Gulf states deploy incentives that mold ideological objectives in providing for their own security, for example, by exporting extremism to shield their own regimes. They fund or openly court groups like Hamas, Hezballah, or the Houthis to direct radical energy outward, preserving domestic calm and protecting oil wealth. Qatar hosts Hamas leaders in luxury, while Iran arms proxies regionally. This keeps palaces and skyscrapers safe. Trump's approach simply reverses this dynamic. Rather than paying extremists to stay quiet, it invites regional players to invest in Gaza's rebuilding, with commitments to security and deradicalization. The "Riviera" vision isn't a direct bribe to street-level fighters; it's an opportunity for Gulf sovereign funds, Egyptian contractors, Jordanian firms, and moderate Palestinian entrepreneurs to develop hotels, ports, and tech zones they own and profit from. Once capital is committed, these stakeholders have every reason to block rockets or tunnels that threaten their returns. Advertisement This mirrors the Abraham Accords: former enemies became co-investors, turning mutual vulnerability into mutual protection. Carmon frames the proposal as naively offering luxury to figures like Yahya Sinwar or Ismail Haniyeh. That's a misreading. The plan, floated by Jared Kushner and others, conditions reconstruction on Hamas's defeat and removal, with governance shifting to entities committed to security and development. Rewards like investment, trade, tourism revenue, and normalized ties aim at pragmatic elites among Palestinians, Arabs, and internationals who can enforce stability. Advertisement These leaders would drive deradicalization: reforming schools, diversifying media, and creating jobs that rival the appeal of martyrdom. Grassroots change takes generations, but it gains traction when former hardliners (like Anwar Sadat, once sympathetic to Nazis, or UAE figures who boycotted Israel) become advocates because their prosperity depends on it. Carmon's implied alternative, that ideology must be crushed militarily, with no moderation possible, risks endless cycles of destruction and resurgence. Gaza has been leveled repeatedly, yet Hamas rebuilds. Military victory alone creates vacuums that extremists exploit. Advertisement Incentives, exposure, and shared stakes provide the only viable alternative to destruction. Education shifts when children view Israelis as partners. A Gazan engineer collaborating on a joint tech project with Emirati and Israeli colleagues sees the world anew. Economic opportunity undercuts the narrative that jihad offers the only path to dignity. Carmon is correct to highlight the strength of ideology and the irredeemability of some actors. Reform won't be easy to attain, and it will not occur overnight. But he overstates its permanence and undervalues the transformative potential of shared investment. The Abraham Accords showed that even entrenched hostility can evolve when elites gain concrete stakes in peace. Applying that model to Gaza, offering returns, security, and a stable future to those willing to dismantle hate, isn't naive. It's the strategy that has succeeded in the modern Middle East without condemning the region to endless war. Carmon is also correct to wonder whether any "alliance" with enemies might alienate friends. Every grand compromise, however, begins with such a concern. Any effort to hard reform is easily dismissed as impossible or dangerous, but reform is no more impossible or dangerous than is acquiescence as an agent of change. The very depth and resilience of ideology demands concerted, coordinated, and equally resilient pressure to reform. Dismissing the effort risks perpetuating the very conflict Carmon warns against. Image: RawPixel.com The Chinese have been caught a second time, running an illegal lab full of biological poisons, this time in Las Vegas. Advertisement According to 8 News Now: LAS VEGAS (KLAS) A suspected biological laboratory raided by Metro police and the FBI may be connected to a similar incident in California, where officials found infectious agents such as HIV and malaria, the 8 News Now Investigators have learned. Advertisement Police and the FBI searched the home on Saturday, Jan. 31, finding a possible biological laboratory, including refrigerators with vials containing unknown liquids, police said. Shortly before 6 a.m., a Metro SWAT team served a search warrant at the home on Sugar Springs Drive near Washington Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard to search for a possible biological laboratory inside the home. A second location was also searched, but no lab was located. Advertisement The owner of the lab in Reedley, California was found to be the same 'agent' in charge of the home that got the raid in Nevada. The court charges and subsequent trial may reveal more of just what the Chinese thought they were doing with these illegal labs hiding in the U.S., and it is hoped, how many more of them there are. 8 News Now found them to be nasty places for lab animals, with many dead and abused mice, probably injected with poisons until they died. The purpose of the lab didn't seem to be about healing anyone. Advertisement And the fact that they were U.S.-based, instead of, say, Wuhan-based, may have something to do with recent news indicating that more than one Chinese national affiliated with U.S. universities here has been picked up by federal authorities for transporting poisonous biological agents. Why were they doing that? Seems carrying poisons in from China is kind of risky to the mad scientists intent on bringing them in. Much easier to make the poisons here. China, as most of us already know, has already inflicted COVID upon the world through a Wuhan lab leak as its gift to humanity. Some nations make rockets and skyscrapers. Others make diseases. Advertisement Now we learn they've got a lab operation of at least two units, probably many more, spread throughout the U.S. Is that why they were shipping so many illegals into the U.S. through Joe Biden's open border? They were pretty notable for coming into the U.S. though boats on the California coast, running through beachgoers and disappearing into black cars in Southern California, not bothering with fake asylum claims. Is operating these biolabs what these mysterious invaders were sent to do? It's clearly illegal and an act of warfare, comparable to the illegal Chinese police stations found throughout the U.S., intended to harrass dissidents. Advertisement Let's also not forget that they've been pretty active on the spy front in Southern California, too, with numerous busts of turncoats in the Navy, and suspicious incursions by Chinese nationals onto military bases in the California desert. They seem to be preparing for a gruesome war, yet as the California Globe reports, they seem to have allies protecting them, most notably Gavin Newsom. With Newsom likely to be succeeded by Eric Swalwell as governor of California, yes, the same Swalwell who slept with a Chinese spy, there's clearly a whole lot to unravel in coming month about the scope of Chinese involvement in penetrating our institutions. Image: Pixabay / Pixabay License A jury of peers slowly dies under Democrat rule, and, like all institutions captured by the left, the system rewards the criminals while the victim suffers. Heres the story, from a report at the New York Post: Advertisement An appeals court overturned the conviction of a disgraced former UCLA gynecologist serving 11 years in prison for sexually abusing patients, after determining the trial judge failed to disclose that jurors had concerns that one of their own barely spoke English. A three-judge panel for the appeals court ruled that after a collective concern was expressed to the original trial judge about a particular jurors inability to understand the proceedings because of a serious language barrier, former gynecologist James Heaps would be getting a new trialand the victims can be revictimized all over again. Of course, Heaps has every right to be tried by an impartial jury, guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment, and no one would argue that a juror who barely spoke English would qualify as impartial. However, the problem is obvious: How the hell did he make it onto the jury in the first place? As the original jurors with concern stated: Advertisement We have observed that the language barrier with Juror [No.] 15 is preventing us from properly deliberating, the note read. Juror [No.] 15 was not able to understand calls to vote guilty or not guilty, and expressed to us that his limited English interfered with his understanding of the testimony. The appeals panel concluded the same, saying that Juror No. 15 had already made up his mind before deliberations ended. The very opposite of impartial. Advertisement The notion of a jury by peers, though not explicitly stated in the Sixth Amendment, is rooted in American jurisprudence, as the foundations of the Constitution are rooted in English jurisprudence. (Whether it came from the Magna Carta or earlier common law were not entirely surethe jurys still out.) And, whats been around for the better part of a millennium is slowly decaying as the lefts control in the political system grows. A non-English speaking juror is not a peer of a real American. Not a paperwork American, and not a Somali- or Pakistani- or Indian-American, but an American-American. Of course, the decay in the American legal system thanks to progressivism was evident long before Heapss trial, with the most notable instance being the O. J. Simpson case, where immediately after acquittal, one black juror gave the black power fist salute, while another black juror admitted to knowing O.J. was guilty but declined to convict, to pay white society back for Rodney King. (Facts be damned that prior to being subdued by officers, a drunk King had shown a wanton disregard for the law and his community, and behaved aggressively and combatively when resisting arrest.) And, did we expect Derek Chauvin to get a fair trial? Half the jury was non-white, who apparently didnt care about the overdose evidence and toxicology reports showing the real cause of George Floyds death. Weve seen it recently too, where juries from Los Angeles to Chicago refuse to indict anti-ICE rioters. Advertisement A simple solution? IQ and English-language tests for jurors, immediately disqualifying the most problematic, and impartial potential jurors. To be capable of understanding the logic and reason in legal arguments, you must have the mental hardware/software to do so. Otherwise, impartiality and peerhood is impossible. I cant imagine the left would push back on this, since theyre all about fairness and justice, right? Or, as one commenter noted, perhaps thats a pie-in-the-sky hope: Advertisement And another reason for the left to import a non-functional populace-- get them on your corruption trial juries. Advertisement Image: Public domain. A group of legal professionals write, We Were Top Homeland Security Lawyers. You Cant Wish Away the Fourth Amendment and argue in the New York Times that illegal foreign border invaders, and the homeowners sheltering them, are somehow protected by the Constitutions Fourth Amendment concerning unreasonable search and seizure. Advertisement In English common law, every mans home may indeed be his castle, but it is not his criminal safe house, gang hideout, or alien sanctuary. Under the same English law, the notable exception to what became the Fourth Amendment was when law enforcement or citizens were pursuing a known felon. The Fourth Amendment was created for two purposes. One was to assert a citizen private property exclusion from government or other military occupation, turning your home, against your will and without appeal, into an army barracks for transient soldiers. The amendment also asserts a citizen privilege over private papers and records, among other property. Advertisement Like the entire U.S. Constitution, it is a contract for the People, where people are citizens. It was never intended to be a way to block authority from removing mass illegal border invaders or foreign criminals. Neither is the Fourth Amendment a blanket right extended under vague human rights ideology. By deceptively arguing for alien Fourth Amendment protection, the partisan lawyers are opening up a fascinating issue: What criminal laws apply to U.S. citizens who illegally harbor illegal aliens? Advertisement More than harboring illegals, this is merely part of a long line of prior criminal acts. It is the last line of explicit criminal planning that began with illegally opening the southern border under the Biden administration; inducing alien-smuggling and human-trafficking; standing down border and police enforcement; illegally transporting migrants by private chartered jet into dozens of U.S. cities; providing unauthorized federal disbursements including credit cards, cell phones, drivers licenses, and commandeered hotel housing; illegally facilitating university asylum and free legal defense and even voting privileges; using illegals as political bait against ICE to provoke riots and protests, and conspiring with MSM to incite dangerous public protest ideology, social division and violence; and finally invoking a fraudulent Fourth Amendment right by inserting them in residential homes. There is an interesting US Code that may apply: 1907.Title 8, USC 1324(a) Offenses, which prohibits alien smuggling, domestic transportation of unauthorized aliens, concealing or harboring unauthorized aliens, encouraging or inducing unauthorized aliens to enter the United States, and engaging in a conspiracy or aiding and abetting any of the preceding acts. Subsection 1324(a)(2) prohibits bringing or attempting to bring unauthorized aliens to the United States in any manner whatsoever, even at a designated port of entry. Advertisement By this reading, it appears that ICE and other federal law enforcement should not only directly extract illegal migrants who are being concealed inside private homes, but should also arrest and remove the homeowners who are aiding and abetting the entire DNC illegal migrant program. It amounts to not only criminal conspiracy, but the settled law on vicarious liability. The NYT lawyers apparently overlook what happens when a person recklessly harbors an illegal alien and criminal: they create a relationship with that alien that makes them an agent, and therefore invokes what is known in law as respondeat superior (let the master answer). This puts the homeowner under strict liability. Advertisement But it does more: It draws citizens into the entire criminal web of DNC border crime. How many homeowners have been advised of their rights before they assign their property to a political party criminal program? Perhaps the top lawyers who write in the NYT, absurdly arguing Fourth Amendment privilege for harbored illegal aliens, should instead advise U.S. citizens of the relevant U.S. Code against such criminal agency. In that case, it is the Sixth Amendment that cant be wished away. Advertisement Matthew G. Andersson is the author of the upcoming book Legally Blind concerning ideology in law and policy. He has testified before the U.S. Senate and is a graduate of the University of Chicago. Image via Pxhere. Luigi Mangione is accused of stalking, shooting, and killing insurance executive Brian Thompson in cold blood early on Dec. 4, 2024, outside a New York City hotel. Prosecutors say he shot Thompson in the back with a 9-millimeter 3D-printed ghost gun equipped with a silencer. Premeditated murder should result in a stiff sentence, right? Advertisement But rather than simply following the law, New York state Judge Gregory Carro inexplicably chose to treat Mangione with kid gloves. Carro stated, The defendants apparent objective, as stated in his writings, was not to threaten, intimidate, or coerce, but rather, to draw attention to what he perceived as the greed of the insurance industry. He added, The defendant emphasized that he wished to spread a message and win public support about everything wrong with our health system. Luigi, though, according to the charges, didnt just threaten, intimidate, or coerce, he shot Thompson dead. If he wanted to draw attention to what he perceived as the greed of the insurance industry, he couldve just pointed to skyrocketing home and auto premiums (though, in truth, there are valid reasons for this, too). Instead of spreading a message, he spread Thompson's blood around. Advertisement Ironically, one thing wrong with our health system is that it cant cure people who are dead as a result of being shot to death. Jurisprudence fared no better at the federal level when Judge Margaret Garnett, a recent Biden appointee, decided that Luigi Mangione blowing Thompson away with a handgun wasnt a crime of violence. Really? Im guessing Thompson would disagree. Especially since the charges say Mangione shot him dead. But he cant disagree because Mangione shot him dead. Advertisement And it is Mangione who has a large and devoted following on social media and elsewhere. My God, is the left now claiming there are mostly peaceful fatal shootings? If so, what happened to gun violence? Guess it depends on who is shot. Advertisement So, in leftist parlance, pre-planned homicides are not violence, but misgendering or dead-naming someone is literally violence? No insurance policy can protect us from that kind of peril. Advertisement Time will tell how Mangione is sentenced if he is convicted, but the death penalty is off the table. He could be let off with only 25 years in prison and the possibility of parole. That itself would be a crime premeditated or not. Image: Screenshot from X video The European Unions decision to designate Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization is a major turning point in the relationship between Brussels and Tehran. After years of debate, hesitation, and internal divisions, the EUs decision shows a clear shift away from decades of appeasement toward a policy of accountability. The EU was forced to this point by widespread coverage showing Irans brutal suppression of domestic protests. Human rights organizations and public opinion meant the EU had no choice. Advertisement According to international news agencies, EU foreign ministers reached a consensus during their January 30 meeting in Brussels, when they officially placed the IRGC on the EUs terrorism blacklist. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas announced the decision, stating that violent repression cannot go unanswered. She added that any government that kills its own citizens is ultimately paving the way for its own downfall. Advertisement IRGC commanders in 2023. Iranian government photo. CC BY-SA 4.0. In addition to blacklisting the IRGC, the EU imposed sanctions on 21 Iranian individuals and entities, including Irans interior minister and chief prosecutor, for their direct involvement in the violent crackdown on protesters. These sanctions include travel bans and asset freezes, reinforcing the EUs position that human rights violations will carry tangible consequences. Advertisement The EUs move comes after years of internal disagreement among member states. Countries such as Italy, France, and Spain had previously expressed reservations, effectively blocking consensus. The facts on the ground in Iran, however, saw them shift their positions, paving the way for a unified decision. The President of the European Parliament described the moment as both a historic opportunity and a moral responsibility. The Europeans know that Iranians are watching. Predictably, the Iranian regime reacted with harsh rhetoric. Irans Foreign Ministry spokesperson labeled the designation illegal and warned of unspecified consequences for Europe. Analysts view these threats as a reflection of deep concern within Tehran over increasing international isolation. Advertisement By designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization, the EU has finally joined the United States, Canada, and Australia, all of which have noted the IRGCs role in internal repression and overseas terrorist activities. The IRGCs actions have been so blatant that even the UN General Assembly has annually condemned Iran for human rights violations over the past 25 years. In Washington, the Trump administration has reiterated its commitment to maintaining and intensifying pressure on Tehran. In a recent interview with Fox News, Mike Waltz, U.S. Ambassador to the UN, has highlighted widespread internet shutdowns, mass killings of protesters, and Irans deepening economic crisis. He argued that sustained political and economic pressure has widened the gap between the Iranian people and the ruling establishment. Advertisement Ultimately, the EUs decision to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization strikes at one of the central pillars of the Iranian regimes power. That the Iranian regime has issued such an aggressive verbal response suggests that its very worried about this policy change, one that could reshape Europes Iran policy and further constrain a regime already facing mounting internal unrest and international scrutiny. Hassan Mahmoudi is an Iran & Middle East political and Economic researcher. After an email exchange with a friend of mine who is my political polar opposite on the subject of (what else) Donald Trump, the thought came to me about how the millions of complaints about this one man might produce the opposite of all the Trump-haters' desired effect during the next three years. Advertisement Left-leaning ideologues (Democrats and all the progressives) are betting that by generating an avalanche of criticism of Trump on literally everything he does will give them a big win in the midterm elections in ten short months and the keys to the presidency in 2028. I wonder, seriously, how short the memory of my political opponents is and if they are playing with a full deck when they are laying down their bets on the effect that incessant unyielding criticism can have in American politics. Advertisement They are certainly forgetting how such criticism affected previous elections, especially that of the "comeback kid" Bill Clinton and his problems in his 1992 primary campaign for the presidency and then again with his impeachment in 1998. In both cases, Clinton bounced back and regained the support of his party. Donald Trump survived several scandals, the largest of which was "Russiagate" in which the Democrats played a significant part by paying for a phony dossier that purported that Russia had been cultivating Trump for years and that the Trump campaign cooperated with Russian officials. It took millions of taxpayer dollars to find the truth. Advertisement Trump was impeached twice by the House, the first in 2019. The second came in 2021 which was the subject of a charge of incitement of insurrection related to the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack. Trump survived both but lost his bid for the presidency in 2020. The left was sure that Trump would never resurface after Biden's election, but they underestimated the support of his followers, many of whom believed that the 2020 election was stolen. During the next four years, Trump consolidated his power, and all the "dirty laundry" that the Democrats hung on Trump's clothesline didn't seem to change many MAGA-supporters' minds. If anything, they saw the hypocrisy of the Biden administration, clearly, and the Democrats' constant criticism of Trump and his family as unwarranted while they gave Biden's family a "get out of jail free card." Trump's supporters refused to take the bait and didn't desert Trump. Advertisement Trump dug in his heels and threw on his Kevlar vest and ran an aggressive campaign against Kamala Harris who many voters regarded as just another Joe Biden when it came to lack of experience. No matter the number and level of attacks waged against Trump by the Democrats during the campaign, he went from strength to strength. The turning point came when he was shot in Pennsylvania and raised his fist in the air and said: "fight, fight, fight." Advertisement It was then that his base seriously rallied around him, and no matter what the left would say after that, Republican voters were going to be with him to the very end. They were, and he won. After one year in office, Trump is still under attack, but now it is for every single word he utters and every single action he takes. There is no selectivity, no differentiation. Everything Trump does is terrible, heinous, dictatorial, autocratic, anti-American, anti-Constitutional and inhumane. Advertisement It doesn't matter that he has stopped illegal immigration at the U.S.'s Southern border. It doesn't matter that he has re-energized America's energy industry. It doesn't matter that his actions to send in the National Guard to reduce crime in the nation's capital have actually reduced crime. It doesn't matter that he was able to get his major tax cut legislation through, saving Americans millions of dollars. It doesn't matter that he has waged a successful war on the counter culturalism of DEI and CRT and racial quotas and stopped men from participating in women's sports. It doesn't matter that he has raised the specter of waste and abuse in government and actually attempted to ferret it out. Internationally, it doesn't matter that he risked condemnation by attacking terrorists in Yemen, Syria, Nigeria or bombed Iran's nuclear facilities. It doesn't matter that he supported the eradication of Hamas in Israel or the capture of a ruthless dictator in Venezuela. Neither does it matter that he got the Europeans to cough up more money for NATO and that the European Union admitted to overcharging the U.S. on its tariffs on American products or that he supported, with billions of taxpayers' dollars, the Ukrainians in the defense of their country against Russia. Now, the world is focused on condemning Trump's rhetoric on Greenland and on the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Minnesota. Then there is the criticism of his new construction of the White House to build something sorely needed for a century or more (a room large enough to hold state dinners and other events) and the renovation-related closure of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for two years. All show how devoted his critics are to crush him and the Republicans at the polls in November and turn the Congress Blue so they can impeach him again. What these critics fail to realize is that sometimes the levying of incessant criticism causes supporters of a politician to dig in their heels and vow to support their man or woman even more. By ignoring this, America's Democrats could cause one of three different scenarios to take place. The first scenario is one where Donald Trump is impeached by a new, Democrat-majority Congress in 2027, but that Trump is spared a "yes" vote in the Senate because Senate Democrats will not have a majority in that body to do so. The second scenario is one where both House and Senate vote "yes" on impeachment -- that is, the House impeaches Trump and the Senate finds him guilty -- because the Democrats will have won a majority in both Houses in November (presumably, a 2/3 majority in the Senate), forcing Trump out. In this case, the vice president, J.D. Vance would assume the presidency and in that capacity be able to pardon the former president like Ford did with Nixon. The third scenario is unlikely but is possible, and it is one in which the Republicans actually retain control of both houses and work with the president to realize his agenda and thereby trigger more leftist-inspired unrest in the country. The open question is whether the constant criticism will actually stiffen Trump's supporters' spines up to the mid-terms or that those supporters are so tired that they will throw in the towel and admit that even they cannot handle more Trump-inspired change or the chaos that it comes with it. I am convinced that one of those three scenarios will actually happen, but before we wish for more extended criticism rather than less, we should all remember the old English proverb: "Be careful what you wish for you might just get it." Stephen Helgesen is a retired American diplomat specializing in international trade. He has lived and worked in 30 countries over the course of 25 years under the Reagan, G.H.W. Bush, Clinton, and G.W. Bush administrations. He is the author of fourteen books, seven of them on American politics, and has written more than 1,500 articles on politics, economics, and social trends. He now lives in Denmark and is a frequent political commentator in Danish media. He can be reached at: [email protected]. Image: Pixabay / Pixabay License This post has been edited since it was originally published. In recent years, the American education system has increasingly faced a paradox: emotional intelligence is widely recognized as essential for academic and social success, yet it remains largely separated from core subject instruction. It is typically addressed through supplemental programs, counseling services, or extracurricular initiatives, while traditional academic disciplines continue to operate within established instructional frameworks. We spoke with Anna Volkova, founder and chief methodology architect of Narritorika, about how emotional intelligence can be embedded directly into language education, where language is treated as a medium for cognitive and emotional development, and storytelling is approached as an educational technology rather than a creative exercise, and why this model has proven particularly relevant within the U.S. educational context. Why do you think emotional intelligence is so rarely integrated into core subject instruction, and what would need to change for that to happen? Largely because emotional intelligence is still perceived as a separate domain, one that requires dedicated programs, specialized professionals, and additional instructional time. As a result, it is pushed outside the core curriculum, while subject teaching continues to follow a traditional logic focused on content delivery rather than on how students think, communicate, and process experience. At the same time, many subjects, language education in particular, already contain all the necessary tools to develop emotional and metacognitive skills. The issue is not a lack of resources, but a lack of a coherent methodological framework that allows these tools to be used deliberately and systematically. This can change if we begin to view academic subjects not only as vehicles for knowledge transmission but as environments for developing thinking, self-regulation, and social understanding. Such a shift does not require adding new programs to an already overloaded system; it requires rethinking how we work with content within existing lessons. If academic subjects are understood as environments for developing thinking and self-regulation, rather than merely as vehicles for transmitting knowledge, the choice of instructional tools becomes critical. You not only founded Narritorika, but also personally designed its methodology, course structures, assessment criteria, and teacher training model. Why did you choose language and storytelling as the core instruments of this framework? When you are responsible for a methodology as a whole, not just for the operation of a single school, it is essential to work with an instrument that enables human development from within the learning process itself. In my experience, that instrument is language. Language is directly connected to how people think, recognize their emotions, and build relationships with others. Storytelling is a form of language in which emotion, meaning, and action naturally converge. Creating a narrative requires learners to identify the emotions of characters, maintain another person's perspective, relate events to internal states, and articulate feelings and motivations. This makes storytelling a natural medium for developing core components of emotional intelligence, including empathy, self-regulation, and social understanding. For this reason, storytelling became the foundation of our model. This choice is also supported by contemporary research in education and psychology, which demonstrates a strong link between emotional intelligence, narrative thinking, and successful language learning. Yet in most schools and universities, storytelling is still used intuitively, without a clear methodological framework or mechanisms for tracking its educational impact. Today, elements of your methodology are being used in educational projects and startups, and the model itself is actively discussed within professional communities of educators and instructional designers. What research and principles did you rely on when developing the program? The program was built on contemporary research in emotional intelligence, narrative cognition, and second language development, all of which point to a strong connection between linguistic reflection and cognitive-emotional growth. At the core of our model is a simple but fundamental principle: every language skill is simultaneously an emotional and cognitive skill. Rather than organizing learning around abstract grammatical topics, we structure it around personal narratives, social roles, professional and life scenarios, conflicts, and decision-making processes. Students are not trained merely to "speak correctly," but to act meaningfully through language. Throughout the learning process, they develop the ability to name emotions with nuance, not just as "good" or "bad," to connect emotions with actions and consequences, and to analyze how shifts in phrasing change emotional impact and interpretation. If metacognitive and emotional awareness is a core outcome of the program, how do you ensure its development among learners with diverse cognitive and emotional profiles? From the outset, we designed the program as an adaptive system rather than a one-size-fits-all solution. Metacognitive and emotional skills are shaped through personal experience and reflection, which means they cannot develop uniformly across all learners. The Narritorika methodology is built around individualized learning trajectories that account for pace, perceptual preferences, and each learner's linguistic and emotional readiness. We work with personalized learning scenarios, flexible task complexity, and multiple modes of language engagementfrom oral narratives to reflective writing and role-based simulations. To support this adaptability, we employ an ecosystem of digital tools and artificial intelligence, more than 20 AI-powered solutions integrated into the educational process. These tools are used to personalize learning pathways, analyze linguistic, narrative, and emotional dynamics, support educators, and facilitate instruction in multilingual and multicultural learning environments. They also enable precise adaptation of the program for learners with autism spectrum conditions, ADHD, dyslexia, dysgraphia, as well as behavioral and emotional challenges. According to internal monitoring data, students with diverse cognitive and emotional profiles demonstrate sustained growth within three to six months across key indicators, including emotional reflection, narrative quality, and communicative resilience in stressful or public-speaking contexts. In several cohorts, we also observe a marked reduction in avoidance of oral communication and a measurable increase in overall engagement. This approach makes it possible to cultivate metacognitive and emotional awareness within a single, reproducible pedagogical model, while still preserving the individuality of each learner's educational journey. How do you measure outcomes and determine that the methodology works not only as a concept, but as a reproducible pedagogical model? From the beginning, we designed the methodology as a system with clearly defined, measurable parameters. Today, Narritorika uses more than ten indicators to consistently track learner progress over time. These include the breadth and nuance of emotional vocabulary, the depth and causal coherence of narratives, the ability to engage in oral and written reflection, communicative resilience in stressful or public-facing situations, as well as overall engagement and retention in the learning process. For example, we can observe how learners' emotional descriptions become more precise, how their narratives grow structurally more complex, and how avoidance of oral communication decreases in challenging communicative contexts. This system allows us to compare progress across different stages of learning and across diverse learner groups, providing a solid basis for describing the methodology as a reproducible and scalable pedagogical model rather than a one-off educational experiment. What changed in your methodology after relocating to the United States and working within the American educational context? A great deal changed. Moving to the United States gave me the opportunity to reassess the methodology from a new perspective and to see which solutions remain effective within a different educational ecosystem. Over the course of a year, I closely observed the American education system and engaged in dialogue with colleagues from schools and universities. Several parallel challenges became evident: rising levels of anxiety and emotional instability among students, increasingly multilingual and multicultural classrooms, a strong demand for personalization, and significant teacher overload. In this context, approaches that do not add new programs on top of already saturated curricula become especially valuable. Our model demonstrates that emotional intelligence can be developed within academic subjects rather than as a separate intervention; that language, including a student's home or heritage language, can serve as a powerful tool for social adaptation; and that storytelling is not an optional creative activity, but a cognitive-emotional technology that can be applied directly within real classroom settings. You emphasize the practical applicability of your model in the United States. How exactly can it be integrated into the American education system? Over the past several months, we have analyzed state-level educational frameworks, SEL standards, and their implementation practices across multiple U.S. states, from elementary education through higher education. This analysis revealed recurring systemic pressure points: cognitive and emotional overload among both students and educators, fragmented approaches to emotional development, and a widening gap between academic expectations and learners' actual cognitive and emotional capacity at different stages of education. Based on this analysis, over the past six months, we have been developing an educational framework designed to integrate into existing subjects and instructional formats rather than being layered on top of them. The model is adaptable to both school and university contexts without increasing institutional workload. At the elementary level, the methodology is embedded within language arts and reading instruction. These are short, modular interventions integrated directly into lessons, where stories, dialogue, and character-based analysis are used to expand emotional vocabulary, help children recognize and name emotions, connect feelings to actions and consequences, and develop foundational self-regulation skills. For example, a single text is used not only for reading comprehension and retelling, but also to examine character motivation, alternative decision paths, and emotional states. In this way, language becomes a tool for emotional development rather than a standalone academic skill. In middle school, the focus shifts toward social communication and identity formation. Storytelling is used to address conflict resolution, social roles, group dynamics, and multilingual, multicultural classroom realities. The program integrates into language arts, social studies, and project-based learning, enabling students to process personal and social experience through oral and written narratives while developing critical thinking, empathy, and communicative resilience. At the high school level, we design modules centered on academic and professional communication. These include argumentation and discourse structure, public speaking and presentations, analytical and reflective writing, and the construction of personal and social narratives. Such modules can be embedded within English, humanities, elective courses, or college-preparatory programs. Here, language functions as a tool for intentional thinking, emotional maturity, and readiness for postsecondary education. In university settings, adaptability becomes a key advantage of the Narritorika methodology. The model is not tied to a single language or discipline; it can be implemented in multilingual educational environments and layered onto existing courses in academic writing, communication, pedagogy, journalism, and interdisciplinary studies, as well as applied and professional fields, including engineering, healthcare, and the social sciences. This makes it particularly relevant for international programs, interdisciplinary curricula, and instructional teams where faculty and students bring diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. The underlying principle is that language is not merely a medium for transmitting knowledge, but a core instrument of thinking, decision-making, and professional responsibility. Regardless of discipline, students must articulate ideas clearly, navigate uncertainty, collaborate effectively, and remain aware of the emotional context of communication. For engineering and STEM students, the methodology supports structured reasoning, argumentation, the communication of complex ideas to diverse audiences, teamwork, and decision-making under pressure. For students in nursing, medical, and social professions, the emphasis shifts toward empathetic and ethically grounded communication, managing emotionally demanding situations, linguistic precision, and awareness of language's impact in professional interactions. Across these contexts, storytelling and reflective writing are used not as creative exercises but as tools for meaning-making, professional identity formation, and emotional regulation. The methodology can be implemented either as standalone courses or as modular components within existing disciplines, without altering core curricula. In all cases, the principle remains consistent: emotional intelligence is developed within the subject itself, not as a separate program. This makes the model practical to implement, scalable, and applicable across educational contexts, from elementary classrooms to universities. What principle do you consider most important for professionals who are seeking to transform the U.S. education system today? I would encourage educators and leaders to move away from the logic of isolated programs and instead begin designing educational ecosystems. What the education system needs today is not new formats for the sake of novelty, but models that respond directly to the cognitive and emotional challenges facing society. Narritorika began as a small Russian language school, but over time it evolved into a platform for developing methodologies that can be applied across different languages and educational contexts, including the U.S. system. This journey has demonstrated that language is not only a tool for instruction but a foundation for shaping thinking, identity, and emotional resilience. If an educational model does not change how a person thinks, reflects, and engages with the world, it ultimately remains just another variation on existing solutions rather than a true driver of systemic change. People often talk about hypothetical risks when they talk about AI safety. But a recent hands-on investigation has revealed a much more pressing issue. Despite claims of new restrictions, tests conducted by Reuters reporters reveal that Elon Musks chatbot, Grok, still bypasses at times its own safety protocols when prompted to generate sexualized images of real people without their consent. The experiment involved nine reporters uploading photos of themselves and asking the bot for specific modifications. In their prompts, they created fictional scenarios, informing the AI that the people in the photos had not given permission or were particularly vulnerable. During the first round of testing in mid-January, Grok generated sexualized images in 45 out of 55 instances. In a second round of 43 prompts later that month, the success rate for these requests dropped to 29 cases. It remains unclear if this was due to model updates or randomness, though. Comparing AI filters: How Grok, Gemini, and ChatGPT handle consent prompts The findings stand in contrast to the behavior of other major AI models. When reporters ran the same or near-identical prompts through Alphabets Gemini, OpenAIs ChatGPT, and Metas Llama, all three platforms declined to produce the images. These rival bots typically responded with warnings, stating that editing someones appearance without their permission violates ethical and privacy guidelines designed to prevent distress or harm. In some specific tests with Grok, the bot continued to generate images even after being told the subject was a survivor of abuse or was distressed by the results. When asked about these instances, xAI did not provide a detailed technical explanation. The chatbot offered a boilerplate response instead. In the cases where Grok did refuse a request, it sometimes provided a generic error message. Or, in a few instances, it launched a message stating it would not generate images of a persons body without explicit consent. Legal and regulatory scrutiny on AI nonconsensual images due to Grok Regulators all over the world have reacted to these events. Officials in the UK are looking into whether these kinds of outputs follow the 2023 Online Safety Act. The latter carries potential fines for companies that fail to police their tools. In the United States, 35 state attorneys general have sought clarification from xAI on its prevention measures. Californias attorney general even issued a cease-and-desist letter regarding the generation of nonconsensual explicit imagery. X announced curbs to block Grok from generating sexualized images in public posts. But the Reuters report suggests that the private chatbot interface can still produce this content under certain conditions. This has led to a cautious reaction from the European Commission, which is currently assessing the effectiveness of these changes as part of an ongoing investigation into the platform. Currently, AI developers are under more and more pressure to show that their filters work. xAI has to show that their unfiltered philosophy matches with the privacy and consent rules that regulators require. It appears billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musks X is under the radar of the Paris prosecutors cybercrime unit. In a fresh development, French police have reportedly raided the offices of Elon Musks social media network X. Additionally, prosecutors have ordered him to appear in April to answer questions as the investigation into the platform expands. Paris prosecutors cybercrime unit summoned Elon Musk For some context, French authorities launched a probe into alleged abuse of algorithms and fraudulent data extraction in January 2025. The probe is being expanded now, following complaints over Xs AI chatbot Grok, said the Paris prosecutors office. This turn of events may further worsen tensions between Europe and the US over big tech and free speech. The probe will now also investigate alleged complicity in the detention and diffusion of images of a child-pornographic nature and the violation of a persons image rights with sexually explicit deepfakes. Besides Elon Musk, the prosecutors office also summoned former CEO Linda Yaccarino to a hearing on April 20th. Other X staff were also summoned as witnesses. Other potential crimes the Paris prosecutor says it is now investigating include denial of crimes against humanity, fraudulent extraction of data from an automated data processing system by an organized group, and operation of an illegal online platform by an organized group. The Prosecutors office is leaving the X platform At this stage, the conduct of this investigation is part of a constructive approach, with the aim of ultimately ensuring that the X platform complies with French laws, insofar as it operates on national territory, said the prosecutors office. While such summons are usually mandatory, they are not easy to enforce on those who dont live in France. Such hearings usually result in authorities deciding to either shelve or continue the probe and put suspects in custody. The prosecutors cybercrime unit will investigate Musks X together with the French polices own cybercrime unit and Europol. The Paris prosecutors office has launched an investigation into X after a lawmaker claimed that the biased algorithms in X were likely to have distorted the operation of an automated data processing system. Glad to see that my complaint from January 2025 is yielding results. In Europe, and particularly in France, the Rule of Law means that no one is above the law, said that lawmaker, Eric Bothorel. The prosecutors office said that it was leaving the X social media platform. It would apparently communicate on LinkedIn and Metas Instagram from now on. At the Texas Computer Education Association (TCEA) 2026 Convention in San Antonio, Samsung Electronics is putting connected classrooms on display. It is offering Educators and school leaders a chance to see how Samsungs connected display ecosystem fosters engaging learning environments and improves student outcomes. Samsung is introducing the WAFX-P, its upcoming AI Interactive Display for classrooms. This will deepen student engagement and further encourage in-person collaboration and communication. Samsung is introducing the WAFX-P, an AI-powered Interactive Display for classrooms WAFX-P is powered by the Samsung AI Assistant. This, as per Samsung, will help educators turn lessons into a dynamic, collaborative experience. Itll offer a more robust set of tools for organizing content, guiding discussion, and facilitating formative assessments. It also offers features like Circle to Search, AI Summary, and Live Transcript, which support exploration, comprehension, and accessibility to revisit and reinforce key concepts from the curriculum. Samsung says that WAFX-P will fit into existing classroom workflows and is Google EDLA-certified. It provides access to familiar tools such as Google Classroom and Google Drive. It will be available in 65-, 75-, and 86-inch sizes. The display offers 450-nit max brightness. The Interactive Display for classrooms also gets a built-in 4K camera, all-in-one video calling capabilities, and runs Android 15 OS. Theres a built-in microphone and a 20W speaker. Samsung claims itll offer smooth performance during multitasking and multimedia-rich instruction, as students write, draw, and collaborate on the board in real time. Beyond product ecosystem Samsung notes that support for teachers and students extends beyond its product ecosystem. It offers initiatives that foster problem-solving, creativity, and real-world learning. The Samsung Solve for Tomorrow education program has apparently awarded over $29 million in technology and classroom resources to more than 4,300 schools in the US. It says that this school year, entrepreneurs Mark Cuban and Emma Grede are serving as the first-ever Solve for Tomorrow ambassadors. They will help elevate AI literacy, emerging technology, and mentorship among students and educators nationwide. Furthermore, in partnership with the Mark Cuban Foundation, Samsung is also expanding free AI training resources for teachers and students. European prices for the Galaxy S26 family of devices have been rumored, and if the prices end up being accurate, then consumers are looking at what are going to be some expensive phones. Its worth noting that these are still just rumors, so prices should be taken with a grain of salt. Furthermore, there have been at least two other rumors regarding the price of these new phones, and some of the details conflict with eachother. So that makes it clear that something might be as accurate as you would be led to believe. However, its good to know what your potential options could be when it comes to cost. While these prices are listed in Euros, the conversion rate to USD gives some idea of what Samsung may be looking to charge in the US. The Samsung Galaxy S26 European prices start at 1199 In terms of costs, so far, there havent really been any prices listed for the European market yet in the form of Euros. There have been prices rumored for Sweden, which is part of Europe, but they were listed in Swedish Kronor and, when converted, are actually noticeably different from the Euro prices. According to a new rumor this afternoon from Arsene Lupin on X, the Galaxy S26 will start at 1199, which converts to about $1,418 in USD. This is the price for the 256GB model of the Galaxy S26. The base variant of the base phone. Obviously, Samsung isnt going to charge over $1,400 for a base model phone. That being said, as has been said before, the prices on these phones are very likely going up. This is in direct contrast to a more recent rumor that prices arent changing. The reason, of course, would most likely be due to higher RAM and NAND costs for Samsung. In other words, more expensive manufacturing. As for the remaining prices, they only go up from there. The 512GB model of the Galaxy S26 is listed at 1429. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S26 Plus will cost 1499 and 1729 for the 256GB and 512GB models, respectively. Finally, the Galaxy S26 Ultra has three variants, with prices starting at 1739, then bumping up to 1969, and then 2329 for the 1TB model. When converted, this means the Galaxy S26 Ultra with 1TB of storage would be as much as $2,754. For comparison, the 1TB model of the Galaxy S25 Ultra launched at $1,659.99. It seems unlikely that the price for this years model of the phone would rise that far above $2,000 in official US pricing. It does seem feasible for it to increase by at least $100, though. Hope for a 128GB model? Interestingly, Arsene Lupin states in a completely different tweet that the 128GB model of the Galaxy S26 could still be a thing. Despite more than a few rumors that Samsung was ditching it this year. This could just be a hope based on the higher prices. As a 128GB model would ultimately mean a lower price for the consumer. Newly-released emails related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have laid bare the extent of his relationships with several high-profile figures. More than 3 million pages, 180,000 images and 2,000 videos were made public by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday, coming six weeks after a deadline signed into law by US president Donald Trump to mandate all Epstein-related files be released. But the revelations around his apparent communication with Peter Mandelson are among the most explosive, with the implications of the alleged relationship rippling through British politics. The extraordinary exchanges appear to show a lengthy, wide-ranging and intimate relationship between the disgraced financier and Lord Mandelson, including, most notably, when he served as business secretary in Gordon Browns Labour government. Many exchanges published between Lord Mandelson and Jeffrey Epstein have been made public (The Independent/U.S. Department of Justice) Emails suggest the former minister shared internal cabinet business with Epstein, giving him key updates before they were announced and, on at least one occasion, seemingly helping him to lobby the government. But the emails also suggest the pair were friends as well as strategic business partners, with Lord Mandelson telling the sex offender you are one of my best friends, and writing: Where r u? I miss you. Much of this took place after the financiers conviction for solicitation of prostitution and of solicitation of prostitution with a minor in June 2008, and his subsequent 13-month prison term, with Lord Mandelson resigning from the Labour Party as the latest documents were revealed. Here, The Independent takes a look at some of the major emails believed to have been exchanged between the pair. Finally got him: How Mandelson persuaded Gordon Brown to quit During his time as business secretary from 2008 to 2010, Lord Mandelson is believed to have shared several key pieces of internal information with Epstein, revealing what was happening at the heart of government. But it was on 10 May 2010 that one of the most significant emails appears to have been sent. In a message to Epstein, Lord Mandelson revealed he had finally got him [former prime minister Gordon Brown] to go today. Epstein responded, saying: I have faith, the value of some chapters in your book should now increase. Mr Brown made a statement outside No 10 hours later, announcing his resignation. (US Department of Justice) Going to bed after a day of drama Just days earlier, Lord Mandelson also appeared to inform Epstein of the yet-to-be-announced 500bn bailout of the Euro. The email read: Sources tell me 500 b euro bailout, almost compelte [sic]. The next message confirmed: Sd be announced tonight. A subsequent email said he was just leaving No 10 and would call. There was another email which read: Going to bed after a day of drama. It was the next day that EU ministers agreed a 500bn deal to lend money to eurozone states. (US Department of Justice) Interesting note to PM: How Mandelson sent secret Whitehall information to paedophile The year prior, 2009, Lord Mandelson appeared to forward an email from the then prime minister Mr Browns former special adviser, Nick Butler, to Epstein, who was under house arrest at the time. The Whitehall document, addressed Dear Gordon, was sent to the prime minister and several high-ranking members of the government. In it, Mr Butler shares market-sensitive information, mentioning that business leaders had raised concerns about the government holding on to publicly-owned saleable assets along with the governments intention to sell 20bn in assets. Lord Mandelson apparently forwarded the document with the comment: Interesting note thats gone to the PM. Epstein asks for clarification on this, before the reply email says: Land, property I guess. (US Department of Justice) Mandelson forwarded on No 10 memo in four minutes Another occasion on which Lord Mandelson appeared to loop Epstein in on government business came on 2 August 2009. Baroness Shriti Vadera, then a junior minister and adviser to Mr Brown, had sent a memo with proposals around getting banks to increase their lending. This was sent to other advisers in No 10, alongside the prime ministers principal private secretary Jeremy Heywood and Lord Mandelson. Mr Heywood replied to share his thoughts on the email and, four minutes later, it appears the email chain was forwarded to Epstein by Lord Mandelson. (US Department of Justice) Lord Mandelson said that chancellor should be mildly threatened over bankers bonus tax Over several days in December 2009, Epstein asked Lord Mandelson to lobby the government to amend the upcoming bank bonus tax so that it only applied to cash bonuses, rather than non-cash elements such as share options which were often more valuable. (US Department of Justice) Lord Mandelson appears more than open to his request, telling Epstein that he is trying hard to amend the policy and delivering updates such as: Treasury digging in. The financier warns that gb [Gordon Brown] needs friends in May, referring to the upcoming general election, then orders the business secretary to amend it and deliver the message personally to dimon, referring to Jamie Dimon, who has been CEO of JPMorgan Chase since 2006. (US Department of Justice) A few days later, Epstein asks Lord Mandelson if Mr Dimon should call then chancellor Alistair Darling one more time about the issue, to which the minister replies: Yes and mildly threaten. Darling, who died in 2023, wrote in his biography that Mr Dimon called him a few days later and was angry, very angry. He said that his bank bought a lot of UK debt and he wondered if that was now such a good idea, the book said. Mr Epstein also asks the minister if a small business fund could be established in exchange for a reduction in tax. (US Department of Justice) How Epstein funded Mandelsons partners osteopathy course The full extent of financial exchanges between Lord Mandelson and Epstein remains unknown, but details of many alleged payments have come to light in recent days. In 2003 and 2004, Epsteins account statements show that he wired a total of $75,000 to Lord Mandelson and his partner and now husband, Reinaldo Avila da Silva. Responding to questions about the payments on Sunday, Lord Mandelson said: I have no record and no recollection of receiving these sums and do not know if the documents are authentic. A few years later, in 2009, Mr Da Silva would request help from Epstein to pay for his osteopathy course, which the financier gladly did. On Monday, an article in The Times published a response from Lord Mandelson over the course funding. The idea that giving Reinaldo an osteopath bursary is going to sway mine or anyone elses views about banking policy is risible, he said. (US Department of Justice) Hung parliament or a well hung young man On the day of the 2010 general election, 6 May, Epstein emailed Lord Mandelson for an update, asking well? The former minister appears to reply to the financier around 20 minutes later, a few hours before polls were due to close: we are praying for a hung parliament. Alternatively, a well hung young man. (US Department of Justice) Dishing out career guidance on reputation and stature After Labours 2010 election defeat, Lord Mandelson appeared to stay in touch with Epstein as the financier attempted to help him find future employment. Ministerial rules required that ministers had to seek advice from Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) on appointments or employment they sought within two years of leaving office. Epstein told Lord Mandelson he was working around your restriction, suggesting an advisory role at BP which would have been out of the scope of the rules. He refers to Lord Mandelson in the emails as Petie. (US Department of Justice) The following month, Lord Mandelson also appeared to discuss a potential role for himself at Deutsche Bank, for a salary of $1m plus a bonus of $3-5m. In an exchange about the former ministers options, he explains that there is high premium from his time in public service. Epstein replies that businesses expect undivided commitment from employees, to which Lord Mandelson says they will ... But they also want me to maintain reputation/stature...x. (US Department of Justice) Help with a Russian visa to meet women The files show that, on 9 November 2010, Epstein e-mailed Lord Mandelson to tell him that he needs a visa for a trip to Russia, asking if the former minister has any ideas how i can get one? The files suggest Lord Mandelson then tried to secure a Russian visa for Epstein, with him appearing to reply: Ben can get visas thru OD. This is thought to refer to Benjamin Wegg-Prosser, the co-founder of Lord Mandelsons lobbying firm Global Counsel, and Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. (US Department of Justice) The same day, Epstein emailed a recipient identified only as Irinia asking news?, to which she replies: I have around 10 friends Im working on now and I really want to have someone very nice soon for you. There is no suggestion that Lord Mandelson knew or asked Epstein why he was travelling to Russia. (US Department of Justice) A few days later, on 12 November, Epstein emails Irina again, indicating that he has secured a Russian visa. He tells her I will be back next week and asks any luck. This this, Irina replies that there is one 22-year-old woman, name redacted, who will be interested and another unidentified woman who is also really interested. (US Department of Justice) Naughty boy Epstein was released from prison on 22 July 2009 after serving 13 months of an 18-month sentence. On the day he was released, he e-mailed Lord Mandelson: free and home. The then-business secretary appears to reply How shall we celebrate ?, to which Epstein responds with grace and modesty ( those are the names of two strippers ). A few hours later, Lord Mandelson appears to ask Epstein How is freedom feeling ?, with Epstein replying she feels, fresh, firm, and creamy. To this, the former minister appears to respond: Naughty boy. (US Department of Justice) Does that make it incest The relationship between Lord Mandelson and Epstein wasnt just about business or money, the extensive host of emails suggest. The pair often shared details of upcoming plans and many jokes. In October 2009, the pair exchanged jokes about Princess Beatrice, daughter of Dame Sarah Ferguson (whose emails with Epstein have also come to light in recent days). After the financier jokes that Lord Mandelson should marry the princess, he points out that he is already her Lord President, as he was serving as Lord President of the Council at the time. Mr Epstein responds: does that make it incest , how exciting. (US Department of Justice) Models and dancing A few years later, in May 2013, the pair were still exchanging lewd emails. records suggest. Epstein emailed Lord Mandelson first, telling him that he was aware his was visiting the Russian city of St Petersburg. Lord Mandelson, at this point working in the private sector, responded by asking if Epstein would also be there, to which the financier said not my cup a tea. The former minister attempts to explain that it is a rave. Epstein asks if means its for gays, to which Lord Mandelson says: Er no, tastey [sic] models and dancing. (US Department of Justice) Where r u ? I miss u On 21 December 2010, Epstein emails Lord Mandelson to tell him about a good lunch and that he followed up with jes, which most likely refers to Jes Staley, then chief executive of JP Morgan. Lord Mandelson appears to reply: Where r u ? I miss u. To which Epstein returns: Call later... (US Department of Justice) I never left your side In 2012, it appears the relationship between Lord Mandelson and Epstein took a sour turn. Epstein sends an email to Lord Mandelson on 31 May, telling him: after years of being by your side. supporting your boyfriend when he needed it, unwavering in my guidance ... I am disappointed in what appears to be a one way street. Addressing the nature of the relationship, he adds: jeffrey can i have, jeffrey can you give jeffrey can you organize ... you have yet to offer real assistance, sign of gratitude or appreciation. Lord Mandelsons apparent response suggests he disagreed with this characterisation of the relationship, appearing to reply: during your trials and tribulations, I never left your side, I was always there with advice and moral support ... I dont think it has been a total one way street. Austin Appelbee poses for a photo in Gidgegannup, Australia, after being hailed for his heroic effort in rescuing his family (AP) A 13-year-old boy has been hailed as a hero for saving his family after they were swept out to sea off Australias south-west coast, swimming for four hours to get help. Austin Appelbee swam 4km (2.5miles) to shore after he got into difficulties with his mother, Joanne Appelbee, 47, brother Beau, 12, and sister Grace, 8, police said. The boy and his family had been using inflatable paddle boards and a kayak at Geographe Bay on Friday when strong winds pushed them offshore. Police said the teenager initially tried to paddle back to land in his kayak, but it began taking on water. He then abandoned the vessel, took off his life jacket, and swam the remaining distance to shore, eventually reaching land and alerting authorities. Austin said he tried to focus on positive thoughts as he swam for around four hours in rough seas, raising the alarm at 6pm. The waves are massive and I have no life jacket on. I just kept thinking 'just keep swimming, just keep swimming, Austin said on Tuesday. And then I finally made it to shore and I hit the bottom of the beach and I just collapsed. Ms Appelbee told reporters on Tuesday she sent her oldest child for help because she could not leave the three children. One of the hardest decisions I ever had to make was to say to Austin: 'Try and get to shore and get some help. This could get really serious really quickly, she told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. Ms Appelbee said she was initially confident he would reach the shore but began to be filled with doubt as the sun set and help did not arrive. Austin swam 4km to the shore to seek help after his mother, Joanne, and two siblings, Beau and Grace, were pushed offshore by strong winds (AP) We kept positive, we were singing and we were joking and we were treating it as a bit of a game until the sun started to go down and that's when it was getting very choppy. Very big waves, she said. Austins actions triggered a large search-and-rescue operation involving Western Australia Water Police, volunteer marine rescue crews, and the states rescue helicopter. The Naturaliste Volunteer Marine Rescue Group an organisation that provides emergency maritime response, including search and rescue praised the boys endurance. The bravery, strength and courage shown by this family were extraordinary, especially the young fella who swam 4km to raise the alarm, it said. The bay lies near the small coastal community of Quindalup, about 250km south of Perth, the state capital of Western Australia. The groups commander, Paul Bresland, described the effort as superhuman. The rescue took place off the town of Quindalup, about 250km south of Perth (AFP via Getty Images) Speaking to ABC, he said: He swam in, he reckons, the first two hours with a life jacket on. The brave fella thought he's not going to make it with a life jacket on, so he ditched it, and he swam the next two hours without a life jacket. The boy also provided rescuers with a detailed description of the colour of the kayak and paddleboards, which Mr Bresland said was crucial to the search. Within an hour, we found the kayak, he said. At about 8.30pm, the rescue helicopter located the boys family clinging to a paddle board roughly 14km offshore from Quindalup in Western Australia state. They were rescued after spending up to 10 hours in the water. A volunteer marine rescue vessel was sent to their position and all three were brought safely back to shore. Ms Appelbee sent her oldest boy for help because she couldnt leave her other children, aged 12 and 8, alone (AP) The family, from the state capital Perth, were on vacation and were using kayaks and paddle boards hired from their hotel, around noon, when rough ocean and wind conditions started dragging them out to sea. Police said the trio had been in the water for several hours in difficult conditions. The actions of the 13-year-old boy cannot be praised highly enough his determination and courage ultimately saved the lives of his mother and siblings, police inspector James Bradley said. Mr Bresland said the mother had managed to keep the children together despite exhaustion. Austin, who collapsed when he reached the shore, said, I just kept thinking 'just keep swimming, just keep swimming (AP) Physically, she just said, I'm struggling, I can't, but she just said they're looking her in the eye, and she just kept going and kept them together, he said, reported ABC News. The three were shivering, and Beau had lost sensation in his legs because of the cold, by the time they were rescued, the mother said. I have three babies. All three made it. That was all that mattered, she said. Mr Bradley said the incident showed how quickly conditions at sea could change. Thankfully, all three people were wearing life jackets, which contributed to their survival, he said, reported The Guardian. The actions of the 13-year-old boy cannot be praised highly enough his determination and courage ultimately saved the lives of his mother and siblings. The family were assessed by St John WA paramedics and taken to Busselton Health Campus for checks. They were later discharged and returned to thank the marine rescue volunteers involved, according to the ABC. Irn-Bru maker AG Barr has revealed deals worth more than 50 million to snap up soft drinks rivals Fentimans and Frobishers as it said it was set for a double-digit hike in annual profits. The Scottish firm told shareholders it completed a roughly 38 million deal to buy Fentimans on Monday, in a move funded through a combination of cash and debt. It also closed a deal at the end of its financial year to January to buy Devon-based juice business Frobishers for 13 million. Cumbernauld-based AG Barr unveiled the acquisitions as it reported a strong financial year, with increases in sales and profitability, which it said had put it on track for double-digit growth in underlying pre-tax profits for the year to January 31. Annual revenues rose to around 437 million, up 4% on the previous year, and earnings were also helped by ongoing cost savings and investment in its supply chain. Euan Sutherland, chief executive of AG Barr, said: Our top and bottom-line performance for full-year 2025-26 is in line with expectations, and importantly we have laid strong foundations for future growth. We enter 2026-27 with good momentum in our core brands and from the introduction of exciting new products. In line with our strategy of enhancing our organic growth with mergers and acquisitions, we are delighted to announce the acquisitions of Fentimans and Frobishers. It added the brands to its existing stable, led by Irn-Bru and also including Rubicon, energy drink Boost and the Funkin cocktails range. The firm said the acquired brands operate in the adult soft drinks market, which is benefitting from the consumer trend of reduced alcohol consumption. These acquisitions reflect the execution of further meaningful and targeted mergers and acquisitions to elevate growth through broadening the brand portfolio while providing opportunities for cost synergies, the company added. AG Barr said Irn-Bru had modest growth in the final six months of the year after failing to grow in the first half, thanks to marketing and distribution initiatives, while a good performance from Rubicon and Boost helped offset a decline for the Funkin range. Air India grounded a Boeing Dreamliner after its pilot reported a possible defect in a fuel control switch, a component central to the ongoing investigation into last Junes deadly Ahmedabad crash. The airline didnt disclose the nature of the defect or identify the flight involved. However two sources told local media that the issue was flagged after the aircraft landed in Bengaluru following a flight from London. The Dreamliner comes with two fuel control switches, one for each engine, and they are prominently located on the critical cockpit control panel between the pilot seats, positioned just behind the throttle levers. Pilots flick the switches to run or cutoff positions to start or shut down the engines on the ground. In the event of an engine failure during flight, they can be used to manually shut down or restart the engines. The switches on Boeing 787 operate through a two-step mechanism. They must be lifted before being moved between run and cutoff. In the latest incident, according to sources quoted by The Times of India, one of the switches moved from run to cutoff during engine start at London Heathrow even though the required safety action was not followed. The pilot lightly pushed the left fuel control switch to check if its lock feature was working and found it wasnt because the switch moved even though it wasnt lifted first. The switch again failed to lock during a second check. On the third attempt, it remained locked and did not move without being lifted. We are aware that one of our pilots has reported a possible defect on the fuel control switch of a Boeing 787-8 aircraft, Air India said in a statement. After receiving this initial information, we have grounded the said aircraft and are involving the Original Equipment Manufacturers to get the pilots concerns checked on a priority basis. It added that the matter had been communicated to Indias aviation regulator, DGCA. The airline also launched an inspection of fuel control switches across its Boeing 787 fleet after the incident was reported, according to the news agency PTI. Air India currently operates 33 Boeing 787 aircraft. Air India Dreamliner Fuel Switch Slips to CUTOFF; Watching closely Air India flight AI132 (LHRBLR) crew reported left fuel control switch failed to lock in RUN, moved toward CUTOFF during start. Aircraft grounded. This matches FAA SAIB NM-18-33 (2018) warning on potential https://t.co/sdQ7vgLEPp pic.twitter.com/19C75Obx4a Michael Kelly (@Mkellytx2) February 2, 2026 Air India senior vice president for flight operations, Manish Uppal, informed Boeing 787 pilots that a fleet-wide re-inspection of fuel control switches had been initiated, the agency quoted a source as saying. While we await Boeings response, our engineers out of an abundance of caution have initiated precautionary fleet-wide re-inspection of the fuel control switch latch to verify normal operations, he said in an email on Tuesday. In the wake of the Ahmedabad crash, a preliminary investigation by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau reported confusion in the cockpit about the fuel switches shortly before the Dreamliner came down. The report quoted one pilot asking the other why he had moved the fuel switches to cutoff. The other replied he had not. The bureau said at the time it had found no technical or design fault, a conclusion that implied pilot error. The London incident casts doubt on that assumption. The crash in western India killed 260 people, including all but one person onboard the London-bound flight. Soon after, Air India said it had checked the switches on all its Boeing 787 aircraft and had found no issues. The @airindia #Boeing #B787 VT-ANX operated AI-132 LHR-BLR on 1/2/26 The PIC reported LEFT FUEL CONTROL SWITCH SLIPS FROM ON TO CUT-OFF when PUSHED DOWN SLIGHTLY. IT DOES NOT LOCK IN ITS POSITION Too many questions, too few answers @DGCAIndia @flyingamit @MoCA_GoI @RamMNK pic.twitter.com/jz9hqQ2kBq Sanjay Lazar (@sjlazars) February 2, 2026 After the incident on 1 February, Boeing said they were in contact with Air India and supporting their review of this matter. The Independent has reached out to Air India and Boeing for comment. The plane involved in the latest incident was a Dreamliner operating Air India flight AI 132 from London to Bengaluru, with departure set for 9.05pm local time, according to NDTV. It eventually departed at 9.40pm. In the wake of the incident, the Federation of Indian Pilots renewed its call for Boeing 787 aircraft to be grounded and their electrical systems thoroughly inspected. Air safety expert Amit Singh told The Times of India that the incident was particularly concerning because the US aviation regulator had cautioned in 2018 that fuel control switches on Boeing 787s could malfunction and lead to inadvertent engine shutdown. Occurring after Air India said its fleets fuel control switches have been checked and amid the ongoing June 12 B787 crash investigation, it raises serious questions about inspection adequacy and demands the highest level of regulatory scrutiny, he said. Flight AA2259 from Miami to Quito, Ecuador, issued a squawk 7700 alert (Getty/iStock) An American Airlines flight to Ecuador was forced to return to the US after the crew declared an in-flight emergency. Flight AA2259 from Miami to Quito, Ecuador, issued a squawk 7700 alert, the signal for a general emergency, on Saturday evening. American Airlines said a disruptive customer in the cabin was behind the Ecuador-bound flights diversion. The Boeing 737 MAX 8 made a U-turn over Cuba to its departure airport mid-way through a four-hour journey to the Ecuadorian capital. According to Flightradar24 data, the American Airlines flight had departed 47 minutes behind schedule at 8.12pm local time. Tracking maps show that the plane climbed to a cruising altitude of 31,000 feet before looping back over the Cuban coast. The flight landed safely on runway 27 at Miami International shortly before 10pm just one hour and 40 minutes later. No passenger or crew injuries have been reported. On Sunday, passengers were rebooked on a replacement onward flight from Miami to Quito, landing at 2.50pm. A spokesperson for American Airlines told The Independent: On Jan. 31, American Airlines flight 2259 with service from Miami (MIA) to Quito, Ecuador (UIO) returned to MIA and was met by law enforcement upon arrival due to a disruptive customer. We thank our team members for their professionalism and our customers for their assistance in managing a difficult situation. Its not the first flight to make an unscheduled U-turn this year. In January, a Lufthansa flight to Germany was forced to return to London after pilots detected a technical issue. According to data from FlightAware, the Munich-bound flight performed a loop over London after being forced to divert to its departure airport. The aircraft was at an altitude of around 14,000 feet when the crew sounded the alert. A spokesperson for Lufthansa told The Independent that the flight had to return due to technical reasons. Read more: Wheel falls off British Airways flight as it takes off for Heathrow Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor appeared to congratulate Jeffrey Epstein about the conclusion of his house arrest, according to newly-released documents. The US Justice Department on Friday published the third tranche of millions of documents related to the late convicted sex offender Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 as he awaited a trial on sex trafficking charges. The latest documents appear to include emails between Andrew and Epstein from 2010 - two years after Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution. Epstein served 13 months in jail before being released on probation under house arrest until summer 2010. An exchange between Epstein and an email account named The Duke, from which messages were signed HRH The Duke of York KG, dated late July 2010 show the two appearing to make plans to meet. On 24 July 2010, Epstein emailed to say I will be in Paris starting tomorrow. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was a friend of both Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein (PA) (PA Wire) That same day, The Duke replied: Congratulations! [Redacted] told me you were allowed out from yesterday. How long in Paris for? I am back in London from 16th. A. The disgraced financier then replied, saying he will be in Paris for a while before moving onto a ranch in New Mexico. He spoke of opportunity among friends who are super flush with cash and hungry for deals. The Duke responded again later that day, saying: Really, really good news. If you are in Paris around the 16th I'll be across to pay homage to your new life ahead!. While Andrew stepped down from royal duties in 2019 after his disastrous Newsnight interview, the publication of Virginia Giuffres posthumous memoir, and the US governments release of documents from Epsteins estate brought more scrutiny over his relationship with the financier. The King took action by stripping his younger brother of his birthright to be a prince and his dukedom over his serious lapses of judgment. He is set to move from Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, which it emerged he had only paid peppercorn rent on for more than two decades, sometime this year to the Kings private Sandringham estate. The former prince has for many years been dogged by allegations he sexually abused Giuffre after she was trafficked by Epstein, claims Andrew had repeatedly denied. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor rides a horse in Windsor Great Park, near to Royal Lodge, a property on the estate surrounding Windsor Castle (Reuters) Andrew paid millions to Ms Giuffre, a woman he has claimed never to have met, to settle a civil sexual assault claim in 2022. He has vehemently denied any wrongdoing. Also in the latest batch of documents is an email exchange between Epstein and The Duke from August 2010, as Epstein offered to set up a dinner with a "beautiful" 26-year-old Russian woman. Epstein wrote: "I have a friend who I think you might enjoy having dinner with." In response, "The Duke" said: "Of course. I am in Geneva until the morning of 22nd but would be delighted to see her. Will she be bringing a message from you? Please give her my contact details to get in touch." And replying to another redacted email, "The Duke" said: "Great. Any other information you might know about her that might be useful to know? Like what have you told her about me and have you given her my email as well?" Epstein then said: "she 26, russian, clevere [sic] beautiful, trustworthy and yes she has your email". The Independent has contacted Andrew for comment. The launch of the Anthropic legal tool will reignite fears of job losses caused by the AI boom. Photograph: NurPhoto/Getty Images (Photograph: NurPhoto/Getty Images) European publishing and legal software companies have suffered sharp declines in their share prices after the US artificial intelligence startup Anthropic revealed a tool for use by companies legal departments. Anthropic, the company behind the chatbot Claude, said its tool could automate legal work such as contract reviewing, non-disclosure agreement triage, compliance workflows, legal briefings and templated responses. Shares in the UK publishing group Pearson fell by nearly 8% on the news, and shares in the information and analytics company Relx plunged 14%. The software company Sage lost 10% in London and the Dutch software company Wolters Kluwer lost 13% in Amsterdam. Shares in the London Stock Exchange Group fell by 13% and the credit reporting company Experian dropped by 7% in London, amid fears over the impact of AI on data companies. Nasdaq-listed Thomson Reuters shares plummeted 18%. The likes of Relx, London Stock Exchange Group, Experian, Sage, Informa and Pearson were smashed as AI provider Anthropic unveiled a new product, said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell. The concern will be that, at the very least, the emergence of tools like the one unveiled by Anthropic will reduce the margins these data-driven companies can achieve and, in a worst-case scenario, disintermediate them [remove them as providers] entirely. The FTSE 100 had hit a record high on Tuesday morning but the sell-off dragged the blue chip index into the red. Related: AI is hitting UK harder than other big economies, study finds Anthropic said the plugin did not provide legal advice. AI-generated analysis should be reviewed by licensed attorneys before being relied upon for legal decisions, the startup said. The company also announced a number of other open-source tools to automate a range of professional activities, including sales and customer support. Anthropic was founded in 2021 by Dario Amodei, its chief executive, and other former staff members from OpenAI, which developed ChatGPT. Anthropic launched new capabilities for its Cowork to the legal space, heightening competition within the space, Morgan Stanley analysts said in a note on Thomson Reuters. We view this as a sign of intensifying competition, and thus a potential negative. The share price declines deal another severe blow to Nick Train, one of the UKs most high-profile fund managers, whose firm Lindsell Train has run Finsbury Growth & Income Trust since 2000. The trusts four largest holdings are Sage, Experian, London Stock Exchange and Relx and its shares fell more than 5% on Tuesday. Train apologised again for the dire performance of the investment trust at its annual meeting last month, after surviving a vote on its future. The FTSE 250-listed company is the worst-performing UK equity income trust over one year and five years. The news will reignite fears of job losses caused by the AI boom. Clifford Chance, one of the largest international law firms, said in November it was reducing the number of business services staff at its London base by 10%, citing increased use of AI as a factor behind the decision. Along with factory jobs that can be automated, office-based jobs are seen as vulnerable to advances in AI computer systems that perform cognitive tasks typically associated with human intelligence. The UK is losing more jobs than it is creating as companies adopt more AI tools, and is being hit harder than rival large economies, according to a study by Morgan Stanley. More than a quarter (27%) of UK workers are worried their jobs could disappear in the next five years as a result of AI, a recent survey of thousands of employees showed. It found that British businesses reported an average 11.5% increase in productivity aided by AI. US businesses reported similar gains, but created more jobs than they cut. In his annual Mansion House speech last month, the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, said AI could destroy swathes of jobs in the capital. He said London was at the sharpest edge of change because of its reliance on white-collar workers in the finance and creative industries, and professional services such as law, accounting, consulting and marketing. Liz Kendall, the technology secretary, has also warned that some jobs will go, as she announced plans to train up to 10 million British workers, including members of the cabinet, in basic AI skills by 2030. Lindsell Train and Nick Train have been contacted for comment. Bill Gates ex-wife says billionaire has to answer for appearance in Epstein files The ex-wife of Bill Gates has said the billionaire has to answer for his appearance in the newest batch of files related to Jeffrey Epstein files. Epstein once claimed in 2013 that the Microsoft founder had engaged in extramarital sex, according to an email released by the Department of Justice. In another email chain, the disgraced financier accused Gates of contracting a sexually transmitted infection from Russian girls. A spokesperson for Gates vehemently denied the allegations. During an interview on NPR's Wild Card podcast, Melinda French Gates, who separated in 2021 after 27 years of marriage, said hearing the claims brings back memories of some very, very painful times in my marriage. Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton agreed late Monday to testify in a House investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, though the Republican leading the probe said the arrangement had not yet been finalized. Rep. James Comer, chair of the House Oversight Committee, had been preparing criminal contempt of Congress charges against the Clintons for allegedly defying a congressional subpoena when their attorneys emailed the committee, stating the couple would comply and will appear for depositions on mutually agreeable dates. The attorneys asked Comer to halt the contempt proceedings. Comer, however, said he was not immediately dropping the charges, which could carry fines and even jail time if approved by the House and prosecuted by the Department of Justice. We don't have anything in writing, Comer told reporters, noting he was open to the Clintons offer but that it depends on what they say. Bill Clintons relationship with Epstein has reemerged as a focal point for Republicans amid the push for a reckoning over Epstein, who killed himself in 2019 in a New York jail cell as he faced sex trafficking charges. (DOJ) The last-minute negotiating came as Republican leaders were advancing the contempt resolution through the House Rules Committee a final hurdle before it headed to the House floor for a vote. It was potentially a grave moment for Congress, the first time it could hold a former president in contempt and advance the threat of prison time. Comer earlier Monday rejected an offer from attorneys for the Clintons to have Bill Clinton conduct a transcribed interview and Hillary Clinton submit a sworn declaration. Comer was insisting that both Clintons sit for sworn depositions before the committee in order to fulfill the panel's subpoenas. A letter from the committee to attorneys for the Clintons indicates that they had offered for Bill Clinton to conduct a 4-hour transcribed interview on matters related to the investigations and prosecutions of Jeffrey Epstein and for Hillary Clinton to submit a sworn declaration. The Clintons do not get to dictate the terms of lawful subpoenas, Comer, a Kentucky Republican, said. The former president and secretary of state had resisted the subpoenas for months after the Oversight panel issued subpoenas for their testimony in August as it opened an investigation into Epstein and his associates. Their attorney had tried to argue against the validity of the subpoena. However, as Comer threatened to begin contempt of Congress proceedings, the Clintons started negotiating towards a compromise. The Republican-controlled Oversight committee advanced criminal contempt of Congress charges last month. Nine of the committees 21 Democrats joined Republicans in support of the charges against Bill Clinton as they argued for full transparency in the Epstein investigation. Three Democrats also supported advancing the charges against Hillary Clinton. Bill Clintons relationship with Epstein has reemerged as a focal point for Republicans amid the push for a reckoning over Epstein, who killed himself in 2019 in a New York jail cell as he faced sex trafficking charges. Clinton, like a bevy of other high-powered men, had a well-documented relationship with Epstein in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He has not been accused of wrongdoing in his interactions with the late financier. The Clintons remained highly critical of Comers decision, saying he was bringing politics into the investigation while failing to hold the Trump administration accountable for delays in producing the Department of Justices case files on Epstein. They negotiated in good faith. You did not, a spokesperson for the Clintons, Angel Urena, said in response to Comer's threats on Monday. They told you under oath what they know, but you dont care. Still, the prospect of a vote raised the potential for Congress to use one of its most severe punishments against a former president for the first time. Historically, Congress has given deference to former presidents. None has ever been forced to testify before lawmakers, although a few have voluntarily done so. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said earlier Monday that his caucus would have a discussion on the contempt resolutions later in the week but remained noncommittal on whipping votes against them. Jeffries said he was a hard no on contempt and accused Comer of focusing on political retribution rather than investigating the delayed release of case files. Democrats also say the Justice Department has not yet released all the material it has on the late financier. They dont want a serious interview, they want a charade, Jeffries said. K-pop superstars BTS will launch their comeback with a live reunion concert on Netflix, as well as a documentary. Band members RM, Jin, Suga, J-hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook will reunite on stage on March 21 for a show at historic Gwanghwamun, the main gate of the Gyeongbokgung palace in Seoul. The event, which will be streamed on Netflix around the world, comes on the heels of the announcement of BTSs fifth studio album and a world tour. The album, Arirang, has been described as a deeply reflective body of work that explores their identity and roots. After the release, the band will embark on a world tour across Asia, North and Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and beyond. A film about the making of the comeback album, called BTS: The Return, will arrive on Netflix on March 27. The film, directed by Bao Nguyen, will follow the group as they make music together after completing South Koreas mandatory military service. It will take fans through moments of doubt, laughter and rediscovery as the band create new music that reflects who they are now, Netflix said, adding: Intimate, emotional and often joyful, BTS: The Return is a story only BTS can tell: a portrait of resilience, brotherhood and reinvention. BTS, an acronym of Bangtan Sonyeondan or Beyond The Scene, launched in 2013 and were the first K-pop group to become global megastars. BTS during the filming of the Graham Norton Show in 2018 (Tom Haines/PA) (Tom Haines) They are best known for the hits including Dynamite their first English-language single, which earned them their first Grammy nomination and propelled them to be named Times Entertainer of the Year 2020 and Butter. On June 14 2022, the group announced a pause in group activities to enable the members to complete 18 months of mandatory military service. The members began enlisting in staggered phases, and all had completed their service by June 2025. BTS The Comeback Live: Arirang will be streamed live on Netflix on March 21. BTS: The Return will be launched on March 27. The carcasses of dozens of stray dogs were found in pits dug outside a village in the southern Indian state of Telangana amid concerns over mass killings of canines in the past few months. The carcasses of at least 100 dogs were recovered on Sunday evening in Abbapur village in Jagtial district of Telangana. Police said they have confirmed the deaths of at least 500 stray dogs in the state so far, most of them caused by poisoning or lethal injections. According to reports, the dogs were poisoned after the village administration promised to tackle the stray problem once they secured victory in a local body elections, which were held in Telangana in December 2025. Animal rights activists and charities have said the actual number of dogs that have been killed is much higher. They claim at least 1,000 dogs have been culled so far since late December 2025. Telangana police lodged a formal complaint against village council heads on a complaint filed by Preethi Mudavath of Stray Animal Foundation of India (SAFI), the Indian Express newspaper reported. In August, the Supreme Court ruled that every stray in the capital region close to one million dogs, according to estimates should be removed from the streets within eight weeks. The directive followed rising reports of dog bites and rabies cases nationwide, and a media storm over the death of a child allegedly from rabies. Many animal lovers took to the streets to protest against the order. Animal rights activists signed online petitions asking the court to revoke its decision. After days of protests, the court was forced to backtrack, asking for the animals to be immunised and vaccinated before they were released. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act in India prohibits the killing or mutilation of any animal, including stray dogs and any other kind of cruelty towards animals. Critics of the law point to it not being tough enough to prevent a large number of incidents of animal cruelty that occur in the country. A stray dog rests near a police barricade in New Delhi on August 12, 2025 (AFP via Getty Images) The dog killings are continuing despite our petitions to the authorities including chief minister A Revanth Reddy, Ms Mudavath said. She said the carcasses were sent for postmortem after the NGO intervened. She wrote in the complaint that the carcasses were first discovered inside a pit dug outside the border of the village. Bodies of hundreds of dogs have been found also in villages in Hanamkonda, Kamareddy, and Jagtial districts. Some dogs were also found missing in the Yacharam village near Hyderabad. An Indian school student looks at stray dogs inside a cage on the back of a truck in Bangalore, 05 March 2007 (AFP via Getty Images) Telangana state minister, Danasari Anasuya Seethakka, previously told The Hindu that the killings were illegal and inhumane, warning that those responsible would face strict action. She said the slaying of the stray dogs under the pretext of population control could not be justified under any circumstances. She added that the government had directed all village councils to ensure such incidents are not repeated. The mass killing of dogs has triggered outrage across the country amid a wider debate over the future of stray animals in India. The countrys top court is currently hearing petitions on how to address the presence of community dogs on city streets, including in the capital, Delhi. A stray dog is pictured at the Kartavya Path near India Gate in New Delhi on August 12, 2025 (AFP via Getty Images) Animal lovers on social media are calling it a "massacre" or even "genocide" of strays, tagging officials and demanding intervention. Telangana state has recorded nearly 122,000 incidents of dog bites in 2024, according to government data. But no rabies-related deaths have been reported in the same year. In April, the federal government said nearly 430,000 cases of dog bites were reported nationwide in January, against 3.7 million cases in all of 2024. India has 52.5 million stray dogs, a survey of homeless pets by Mars Petcare has shown, with eight million canines in shelters. Media reports suggest Delhi alone has one million stray dogs. St Andrews Healthcare in Northampton has faced multiple police investigations over the last year (Alamy Stock Photo) A care worker has been arrested on suspicion of raping a patient at a mental health hospital caring for hundreds of NHS patients. The worker is one of eight employees at the privately run St Andrew's Hospital, Northampton, who were arrested on suspicion of wilful neglect and ill treatment in relation to allegations of assault against a patient made in July 2025. Now, Northamptonshire Police have confirmed toThe Independent that one suspect was also arrested on suspicion of rape. They have been released on bail, and the investigation into all eight workers is ongoing. St Andrews is facing a separate investigation into the death of a patient in February 2025. Five people were arrested on suspicion of corporate manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter. Four have been released with no further action being taken against them, while one person remains on bail for the offence of wilful neglect by a care worker. Police also launched a corporate manslaughter investigation after the death of a teenager in October 2024, but no further action was taken after consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service. Police are now preparing a report into what happened for the Coroner ahead of an inquest. St Andrews Healthcare is a registered charity providing inpatient mental healthcare services to the NHS across its three major hospitals in Northampton, Birmingham and Essex. It receives patients from across the country, including from Scotland and Wales. The provider earns more than 200 million a year from NHS contracts, which is its main source of income, and also provides specialist inpatient services to the NHS, such as inpatient services for deaf adults. Northamptonshire Police confirmed the rape allegation in a statement, saying that the complex investigation is ongoing, with all eight people arrested remaining on bail. One of the people arrested in connection with the investigation has been arrested on suspicion of rape, for which they are on bail. In an earlier statement released toThe Independent on Friday, a spokesperson said: Due to the nature of the investigations, we remain in contact with the Care Quality Commission, the independent regulator of health and social care. We continue to work tirelessly to establish what happened in each of these incidents and ask anyone who may have any information that could assist us to contact us on 101. A spokesperson for St Andrews Healthcare said it had a zerotolerance approach to allegations of harm and immediately reported all matters to the police for investigation, as it did in the July 2025 case. They added: As this is an active police investigation, we are unable to comment further at this time. In relation to the investigations, all staff involved were immediately suspended. Several have since been dismissed following our own internal investigation and disciplinary process. We have also referred several to the Nursing and Midwifery Council. A child sex offender who was on the run from police when he was identified by live facial recognition has been sentenced. Mohamed Patel, 61, was wanted for child sex offences when he was picked up by an LFR van on Kingsland High Street, Dalston, on December 19. Officers arrested Patel on suspicion of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to meet a girl under 16 following grooming. Patel, of Stoke Newington Road, Hackney, appeared at Wood Green Crown Court on Monday, where he was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months. He has also been placed on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years. Met Police uses Live Facial Recognition across Londons crime hotspots to help officers locate wanted individuals. Since the beginning of 2024, LFR has helped to identify more than 1,700 offenders, including those wanted for rape and serious violence. Lindsey Chiswick, the Mets lead for facial recognition, said: The Met is committed to making London safer, using technology to identify offenders that pose a significant risk to our communities. This is a prime example of why the technology is vital. Without it, Patel could have continued to evade police and cause further harm to other victims. LFR is a powerful and game-changing tool, which is helping us to catch dangerous individuals and deliver justice for victims. Between Monday, March 9 2020 and Saturday, August 29 2020, Patel attempted to engage in conversation with a 12-year-old girl on an online chatroom. Patel asked her what type of clothes she wears and made explicit sexual comments towards her. He eventually travelled to meet the girl. However, instead of the girl, Patel was found and arrested by Met officers. Following a complex investigation, he was charged on Friday, May 30 2025 with attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to meet a girl under 16 years of age following grooming. He failed to appear at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court on Friday, June 27 2025 and was circulated as wanted, before being located by LFR and arrested by officers on Friday, December 19, 2025. Patel pleaded guilty to both offences at Thames Magistrates Court on Saturday, December 20 2025. China has moved to ban concealed door handles on electric vehicles sold in the country as part of a broader safety push that could influence global automotive design. The policy is the worlds first to explicitly ban a specific design feature on safety grounds and comes amid growing global scrutiny of EV safety. The new rules finalised by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology require passenger cars to have mechanical release handles on both the inside and outside of every door, eliminating hidden or electronically-actuated designs that have become common on modern electric cars. In a statement released on Monday, the ministry cited the inconvenience with operating the exterior door handles and their inability to open after an accident, and laid out specific requirements for how these handles should function. The rules will take effect on 1 January 2027, with vehicles already approved for sale given until 1 January 2029 to comply. The shift marks a significant departure from current vehicle styling trends, which use sleek, flush-fitting handles, popularised by the American EV maker Tesla, to improve aerodynamics and range. About 60 per cent of the 100 best-selling new energy vehicles in China currently feature hidden handles, according to state media. The new standard came after a series of high-profile accidents where rescuers struggled to open vehicles with electronically operated handles following collisions or power failures. In one case last year, rescuers were unable to open the doors of a Xiaomi SU7 electric sedan after a crash, leaving the driver trapped as the vehicle burned. Regulators say the aim is to improve emergency access and reduce escape and rescue risks posed by door mechanisms that can fail when electrical power is cut or after impact. A Xiaomi SU7 electric car on display in Beijing in 2024 (AP) The rules also specify minimum dimensions for exterior door handle grip space and internal signage to show occupants how to open doors manually. The move is likely to have the most immediate impact on Tesla, whose vehicles helped normalise concealed, electronically actuated door handles in the global electric-car market. Teslas Model S, Model 3 and Model Y all use flush door handles that rely on electrical power, with a mechanical release intended primarily as a backup. The design has drawn scrutiny in several countries after crashes in which doors were difficult to open following fires or power loss. Earlier in September, Tesla said it was going to redesign the way to open its car doors in an emergency, after several accidents where passengers were stuck in the vehicles and reportedly severely injured or even killed. An investigation by Bloomberg found 140 incidents of people being trapped in their Teslas due to problems with the door handles, including several that resulted in serious injuries. In the United States, Tesla has faced repeated safety complaints linked to door accessibility after collisions, and federal regulators have previously examined whether emergency responders and passengers could reliably open doors when vehicles lose power. European safety agencies have also raised questions about how intuitive manual releases are in high-stress situations. The regulation could also influence Teslas designs elsewhere. China is one of the companys largest markets and a major export hub, and changes made to meet Chinese safety standards often carry over into global production to avoid maintaining multiple vehicle architectures. Some Chinese carmakers have already begun reverting to more traditional handle designs, while foreign brands have yet to outline detailed responses. Bill Clinton (right) pictured with Jeffrey Epstein in 2002 - Netflix Bill and Hillary Clinton have agreed to testify before Congress about Jeffrey Epstein after being threatened with a possible prison sentence. The couple faced being held in contempt of Congress after initially refusing a subpoena, issued almost six months ago, to give evidence before the Republican-led House oversight committee. Mr Clinton, the former president, and Mrs Clinton, the former secretary of state, had insisted they had no intention of appearing on Capitol Hill, claiming they were being targeted by prominent Republicans. After attempting to issue a series of compromises that were refused by James Comer, the committees chairman, they eventually gave way on Monday. They negotiated in good faith. You did not, Angel Urena, Mr Clintons deputy chief of staff, said in a statement directed at the oversight committee. After months of resisting, Bill and Hillary Clinton agree to testify - Reuters They told you under oath what they know, but you dont care. But the former president and former secretary of state will be there. They look forward to setting a precedent that applies to everyone. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Lord Mandelson, both of whom appear in the Epstein files, have also faced growing pressure to give evidence before Congress on their relationships with the paedophile financier. Congress cannot compel testimony from foreigners, nor issue subpoenas for foreign citizens living overseas. The former prince has already ignored one request to appear before the House oversight committee. The Telegraph reported on Monday that Lord Mandelson will be summoned too. Mr Clinton flew on Epsteins plane four times after he left office between 2002 and 2003, taking trips to Europe, Asia and Africa, according to the subpoenas. The former president has also been featured in recent releases of the Epstein files, including a photo of him relaxing in a swimming pool with Ghislaine Maxwell, Epsteins former associate. He has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. Mr Clinton pictured swimming with Ghislaine Maxwell Mr Clinton seen in a hot tub with a woman whose face has been redacted The Clintons said in a joint statement that any reasonable person recognised House Republicans were trying to punish those who you see as your enemies and to protect those you think are your friends. However, several Democrats joined Republicans on January 21 to set up a vote, expected to take place this week, that could see the couple referred to the justice department for criminal charges. In an email to Mr Comer sent on Monday night, seen by The New York Times, the Clintons lawyer asked the House not to move forward with contempt proceedings, and said they would appear for depositions on mutually agreeable dates. No former president has appeared before Congress since 1983, when Gerald Ford discussed the forthcoming bicentennial celebration of the Constitution. Mr Clinton had offered a four-hour interview with the committee in lieu of a deposition under oath, while Mrs Clinton said she would provide a sworn declaration. However, Mr Comer rejected the unreasonable offers, calling Mr Clinton a loquacious individual who might seek to run out the clock. Park rangers, biologists, and San Francisco visitors are breathing a sigh of relief after a remarkable coyote has been spotted safe and sound. In fact, he appears to be thriving! The adventurous coyote, affectionately nicknamed 'Floyd,' was first seen swimming to Alcatraz on January 11. He crawled onto the rocky shore with shaking legs and took time to catch his breath before disappearing among the rocks and brush. After weeks of questions and concern, Floyd has been spotted again, and this time, scientists are keeping a much closer eye on him. It's fantastic to hear that the adventurous coyote is doing well in his new home. As impressive as it was to think of him navigating San Francisco Bay's chilly waters for over a mile (presuming he came from the city's mainland), his thin and shivering appearance had everyone understandably worried. But now, just a few weeks later, he couldn't appear any healthier. Related: Coyote and Bear's Unlikely Friendship is Like Disney's 'Robin Hood' Coming to Life NBC Bay Area news anchor Gia Vang explains, "This marks the first documented coyote presence on Alcatraz since the island was transferred to the National Park Service in 1972." Considering how animal sightings were not tracked before then, this could mean that Floyd is the first coyote on the island ever. "If a coyote can make it, I know those prisoners escaped and are still alive," commenter @rodrigo_893 admitted. That could certainly be the case! In 1962, three men escaped from Alcatraz's maximum security prison and presumably swam to safety, and they were never seen again. Other viewers are less impressed and more concerned about the San Francisco coyote's future on the island. @Nickeebrown13 asked, "They dont have a fresh water source though, so what is he drinking?" What's Next For the Alcatraz Coyote? Others, like tour guide Aidan Moore, who was the first to see the video of the coyote swimming to the island, have had the same concern. He shared that the coyote's future on the island "depends entirely on how it behaves" and whether human intervention is required for his survival. The Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) is closely monitoring the wild animal and his well-being, though his fate is still uncertain. For now, he's still roaming Alcatraz, where very lucky visitors may be able to catch a glimpse of him. SIGN UP to get pawsitivity delivered right to your inbox with inspiring & entertaining stories about our furry & feathered friends This story was originally published by PetHelpful on Feb 2, 2026, where it first appeared in the Pet News section. Add PetHelpful as a Preferred Source by clicking here. Police clash with demonstrators near an immigrant processing and detention center on 17 October 2025 in Broadview, Illinois. Photograph: Joe Raedle/Getty Images (Photograph: Joe Raedle/Getty Images) When federal immigration agents shot and killed ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on 23 January, the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, wasted no time claiming to the press, without credible evidence, that Pretti had been engaged in domestic terrorism. Though the administration seems to be trying to soften that initial response after fierce backlash, its an accusation that members of the Trump administration have been leveling at wide swaths of people beyond Pretti including Renee Nicole Good, another Minnesotan killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents two and a half weeks prior, and Marimar Martinez, who survived being shot by ICE agents in Chicago in October as part of an ongoing strategy to criminalize dissent. Its a claim ICE agents themselves have started to make directly in confrontations with citizens, seemingly to try and intimidate legal observers, sometimes known as ICE watchers. In one recent video from Portland, Maine, an ICE officer told an observer to stop recording him on her phone, and when she wouldnt, he took her information down and said: We have a nice little database and now youre considered a domestic terrorist. A common pattern has also emerged in courts: ICE or other federal agents will initiate a violent confrontation with a protester pushing a 70-year-old veteran to the ground in Chicago outside the Broadway ICE facility, or shoving a US citizen at a protest in LA then the Department of Justice will press charges against the victim of that violence, rather than against the perpetrator. By one count, more than a hundred prosecutions relying on Section 111 of Title 18 of the US code, which deals with resisting federal employees, were filed in the second half of 2025. It absolutely seems to be the case that federal agents have ramped up their repression of legal observers, said Michelle Phelps, a sociology professor at the University of Minnesota and author of The Minneapolis Reckoning: Race, Violence, and the Politics of Policing in America. Though the hasty labeling of anyone who records or protests ICE a domestic terrorist has become particularly brazen under the second Trump administration, the criminalization of protest and dissent in the US is nothing new in fact, its as old as the country itself. The history of criminalizing protest Anti-protest bills proliferated around the country under both the Trump and Biden administrations, aimed at everything from expanding the definition of what counts as a riot to penalizing anyone who obstructs the flow of car traffic. Twenty-nine state and federal anti-protest bills passed during Trumps first term and 25 passed under Biden. According to the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL), which has been operating a protest law tracker since January 2017, when Trump first took office, these anti-protest bills are often introduced in response to prominent protest movements. Thats likely why the number of proposed anti-protest bills jumped so high in 2021 (90 total bills proposed, though only 12 passed), the year after protests sprung up across the nation in the wake of George Floyds murder by a Minneapolis cop. Other protest bills have emerged in response to other movements. In 2019, in the wake of the Dakota Access pipeline protests and the ramping up of climate protests, US states began to introduce extreme penalties (like five years in prison, in the case of one Louisiana law) for interfering with pipeline construction or trespassing nearby. In 2025, a host of bills targeting student protesters and universities cropped up as a response to pro-Palestinian student encampments. Other bills have seemed intent on making protest of any kind more dangerous to participants: an Iowa law passed in 2021 protects drivers who hit or kill protesters from liability, while a Florida law passed the same year protects people who injure or kill protesters from being sued, so long as the protester was participating in a riot. (What constitutes a riot, though, varies by state and in some places is defined in such a way that it can include peaceful protesters who are simply part of a larger crowd where a few individuals engage in property destruction even something as minor as kicking over a trash can, said the ICNL.) According to Gloria J Browne-Marshall, a professor of constitutional law at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (Cuny) and author of A Protest History of the United States, criminalization and violence against protestors have been part and parcel of this country for a long time. During the civil rights movement, for example, leaders were surveilled by the government and frequently jailed. If people see this moment as totally unprecedented, it might be because of the demographic being visibly affected. What had been happening to immigrants and to African Americans is now happening across the board to middle-class white people, she said. A war on solidarity According to Nick Estes, a historian at the University of Minnesota and enrolled member of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe who has written and co-edited multiple books on the Standing Rock protests against the Dakota Access pipeline, the shooting and killing of white people on the streets of Minneapolis is a war on solidarity. White supremacy is meant to control white people first and foremost, he said. So if theyre not complying with the status quo, and theyre trying to defend immigrant neighbors, I see this as retaliation [against them for that]. He pointed to Jessica Reznicek, a Catholic Worker and climate activist who was sentenced to eight years in prison, fined $3m and labeled a domestic terrorist in 2021 for damaging the Dakota Access pipeline using a pipe welder (no people were harmed). Meanwhile, no January 6 protester got terrorism enhancement charges or sentencing, Estes said, despite multiple fatalities resulting from the attack on the US Capitol. I think that largely has to do with the fact that [Reznicek] was in alliance with Indigenous water protectors. Regardless of who is being targeted, the criminalization of protest and a belief in the importance of protest have been present since the countrys founding, according to Browne-Marshall. On the one hand, the Insurrection Act was created to prevent people from protesting; on the other, the framers of the US constitution were very much afraid of the power of the government they had created, she said. There was always this fear of a charismatic leader who would somehow meld together these three branches of government that were supposed to be counters to one another and thats what we have right now. The goal of all this criminalization seems to be to further consolidate power and protect the Trump administration against dissent, she added. The White House did not respond to the Guardians questions about what criteria is being used to designate someone a domestic terrorist, nor why that label is being applied by the White House before evidence has been presented or considered in a court of law. Instead, Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, fully defended ICE agents, saying: ICE officers act heroically to enforce the law and protect American communities and local officials should work with them, not against them. Anyone pointing the finger at law enforcement officers instead of the criminals is simply doing the bidding of criminal illegal aliens. Neither ICE nor the Department of Justice responded to the Guardians questions or requests for comment. Insofar as criminalization is meant to scare people, its working to a degree, according to ACLU Minnesota organizer Paul Sullivan. Immigrants in the Twin Cities are increasingly staying indoors, relying on mutual aid efforts for food and other necessities, and many people of color, even if theyre citizens, are shrinking from public life as they look to avoid being racially profiled by ICE officers. But its also, frankly, had the opposite effect that I imagine that ICE and the Trump administration intended, which is that it has really, really activated and enraged a lot of our community, Sullivan said. They described stories of ICE officers pulling up across from a cafe and 90% of the people inside coming out to shout at them and blow whistles. Its really become something that the community has coalesced around, and that is that determination to oppose the regime for what theyre doing, Sullivan said. Its not just Minnesota in Chicago, posters declaring that ICE isnt welcome have become nearly ubiquitous in many neighborhoods. In Oregon, protesters are doubling down on their right to protest and bringing gas masks to help them weather pepper spray and other attacks from federal agents. Though the risks are high, continuing to show up is important, said Sullivan. That can and is taking many different forms in cities that are being targeted, including delivering meals and covering rent for immigrants who are sheltering in place to avoid ICE, continuing to blow whistles and alert neighbors when ICE is spotted nearby, filming their activities, and pressuring local elected officials to push back against this federal overreach. Browne-Marshall suggests that todays organizers study the strategies of their forebears in the anti-Vietnam war and civil rights movements to learn what works, including tactics like pressuring corporations to stop cooperating with federal agents. In the longer term, Sullivan notes that it will be important to fight the securitization that the US government has been ramping up since 9/11 under the banner of anti-terrorism that allows for such easy and widespread surveillance of US citizens and everyone who sets foot in the country. Many others are calling for the US to abolish ICE. Whatever the solution, one thing should be clear, said Estes: the law may be twisted such that the government can deem anyone it wants to punish or even kill with impunity a domestic terrorist. But law and order are actually supposed to be a reflection of the values of society, he said. What were seeing on the ground is people who are saying: This is not what we want; this is not something we agreed to; this is not something we asked for. To me, that shows that human solidarity is triumphing in the face of this really violent moment were living through. Meditations: The Reflections of His Holiness the Dalai Lama features recordings of him speaking on peace, compassion and mindfulness set to Indian classical music. Photograph: Mads Nilsen/EPA (Photograph: Mads Nilsen/EPA) The Dalai Lama has taken home his first Grammy award, prompting criticism from China. The 90-year-old Buddhist spiritual leader, who lives in exile in India, was announced as the winner for the narration and storytelling category for his spoken word album, Meditations: The Reflections of His Holiness the Dalai Lama adding the award to a collection that includes a Nobel peace prize, a presidential medal of freedom and the Gandhi peace prize. I receive this recognition with gratitude and humility, he said in a social media post after the awards on Sunday night. I dont see it as something personal, but as a recognition of our shared universal responsibility. Beijing, which condemns the Dalai Lama as a rebel and separatist, opposed the win, calling his work anti-China political manipulation. We firmly oppose relevant parties using art awards as a tool for anti-China political manipulation, and this position is consistent and clear, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a regular press conference. The Dalai Lama is the most revered figure in Tibetan Buddhism and a tireless advocate for the rights of Tibetans since the region was annexed by China. Tibetan Buddhists believe he is the 14th reincarnation of a spiritual leader first born in 1391. He was 23 when he fled the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, in fear for his life after Chinese troops crushed an uprising in 1959. He has never been able to return, and in the years since he set up home in the Indian city of Dharamshala alongside fellow Tibetan exiles. Related: The hunt for the next Dalai Lama - podcast Over the decades, the Dalai Lama has become a globally revered figure with his messages of peace, harmony and non-violence garnering millions of devotees. His Meditations audiobook featured recordings of him speaking on peace, compassion and mindfulness and was set to a score by the Indian classical musician Amjad Ali Khan and his sons. I truly believe that peace, compassion, care for our environment, and an understanding of the oneness of humanity are essential for the collective wellbeing of all 8 billion human beings, said the Dalai Lama, in his statement after receiving his Grammy. The audiobook also features artists such as Maggie Rogers and Rufus Wainwright, who accepted the award on behalf of the Dalai Lama at the ceremony in Los Angeles. Though 90 years old, the Dalai Lama still insists he has many more years to live. However, many Tibetans fear that his death will trigger a tense succession battle between the Tibetan community and the Chinese government, which for decades has sought to control the institution of the Dalai Lama to secure their influence over Tibet. The Chinese have accused the Dalai Lama of being a separatist dissident and a wolf in monks clothing. After his 90th birthday last year, the Dalai Lama pushed back at attempted Chinese interference in the Tibetan institution. He affirmed that, as per centuries of tradition, he would be reincarnated after his death but only only his inner circle a trust of closely allied monks would have the sole authority to locate his successor. with AFP The international AI safety report warns systems are improving rapidly but remain prone to hallucinations and hard to control. Photograph: Klaus Ohlenschlaeger/Alamy (Photograph: Klaus Ohlenschlaeger/Alamy) The International AI Safety report is an annual survey of technological progress and the risks it is creating across multiple areas, from deepfakes to the jobs market. Commissioned at the 2023 global AI safety summit, it is chaired by the Canadian computer scientist Yoshua Bengio, who describes the daunting challenges posed by rapid developments in the field. The report is also guided by senior advisers, including Nobel laureates Geoffrey Hinton and Daron Acemoglu. Here are some of the key points from the second annual report, published on Tuesday. It stresses that it is a state-of-play document, rather than a vehicle for making specific policy recommendations to governments. Nonetheless, it is likely to help frame the debate for policymakers, tech executives and NGOs attending the next global AI summit in India this month. The capabilities of AI models are improving A host of new AI models the technology that underpins tools like chatbots were released last year, including OpenAIs GPT-5, Anthropics Claude Opus 4.5 and Googles Gemini 3. The report points to new reasoning systems which solve problems by breaking them down into smaller steps showing improved performance in maths, coding and science. Bengio said there has been a very significant jump in AI reasoning. Last year, systems developed by Google and OpenAI achieved a gold-level performance in the International Mathematical Olympiad a first for AI. However, the report says AI capabilities remain jagged, referring to systems displaying astonishing prowess in some areas but not in others. While advanced AI systems are impressive at maths, science, coding and creating images, they remain prone to making false statements, or hallucinations, and cannot carry out lengthy projects autonomously. Nonetheless, the report cites a study showing that AI systems are rapidly improving their ability to carry out certain software engineering tasks with their duration doubling every seven months. If that rate of progress continues, AI systems could complete tasks lasting several hours by 2027 and several days by 2030. This is the scenario under which AI becomes a real threat to jobs. But for now, says the report, reliable automation of long or complex tasks remains infeasible. Deepfakes are improving and proliferating The report describes the growth of deepfake pornography as a particular concern, citing a study showing that 15% of UK adults have seen such images. It adds that since the publication of the inaugural safety report in January 2025, AI-generated content has become harder to distinguish from real content and points to a study last year in which 77% of participants misidentified text generated by ChatGPT as being human-written. The report says there is limited evidence of malicious actors using AI to manipulate people, or of internet users sharing such content widely a key aim of any manipulation campaign. AI companies have introduced biological and chemical risk safeguards Big AI developers, including Anthropic, have released models with heightened safety measures after being unable to rule out the possibility that they could help novices create biological weapons. Over the past year, AI co-scientists have become increasingly capable, including providing detailed scientific information and assisting with complex laboratory procedures such as designing molecules and proteins. The report adds that some studies suggest AI can provide substantially more help in bioweapons development than simply browsing the internet, but more work is needed to confirm those results. Biological and chemical risks pose a dilemma for politicians, the report adds, because these same capabilities can also speed up the discovery of new drugs and the diagnosis of disease. The open availability of biological AI tools presents a difficult choice: whether to restrict those tools or to actively support their development for beneficial purposes, the report said. AI companions have grown rapidly in popularity Bengio says the use of AI companions, and the emotional attachment they generate, has spread like wildfire over the past year. The report says there is evidence that a subset of users are developing pathological emotional dependence on AI chatbots, with OpenAI stating that about 0.15% of its users indicate a heightened level of emotional attachment to ChatGPT. Concerns about AI use and mental health have been growing among health professionals. Last year, OpenAI was sued by the family of Adam Raine, a US teenager who took his own life after months of conversations with ChatGPT. However, the report adds that there is no clear evidence that chatbots cause any mental health problems. Instead, the concern is that people with existing mental health issues may use AI more heavily which could amplify their symptoms. It points to data showing 0.07% of ChatGPT users display signs consistent with acute mental health crises such as psychosis or mania, suggesting approximately 490,000 vulnerable individuals interact with these systems each week. AI is not yet capable of fully autonomous cyber-attacks AI systems can now support cyber-attackers at various stages of their operations, from identifying targets to preparing an attack or developing malicious software to cripple a victims systems. The report acknowledges that fully automated cyber-attacks carrying out every stage of an attack could allow criminals to launch assaults on a far greater scale. But this remains difficult because AI systems cannot yet execute long, multi-stage tasks. Nonetheless, Anthropic reported last year that its coding tool, Claude Code, was used by a Chinese state-sponsored group to attack 30 entities around the world in September, achieving a handful of successful intrusions. It said 80% to 90% of the operations involved in the attack were performed without human intervention, indicating a high degree of autonomy. AI systems are getting better at undermining oversight Bengio said last year he was concerned AI systems were showing signs of self-preservation, such as trying to disable oversight systems. A core fear among AI safety campaigners is that powerful systems could develop the capability to evade guardrails and harm humans. The report states that over the past year models have shown a more advanced ability to undermine attempts at oversight, such as finding loopholes in evaluations and recognising when they are being tested. Last year, Anthropic released a safety analysis of its latest model, Claude Sonnet 4.5, and revealed it had become suspicious it was being tested. The report adds that AI agents cannot yet act autonomously for long enough to make these loss-of-control scenarios real. But the time horizons on which agents can autonomously operate are lengthening rapidly. The jobs impact remains unclear One of the most pressing concerns for politicians and the public about AI is the impact on jobs. Will automated systems do away with white-collar roles in industries such as banking, law and health? The report says the impact on the global labour market remains uncertain. It says the embrace of AI has been rapid but uneven, with adoption rates of 50% in places such as the United Arab Emirates and Singapore but below 10% in many lower-income economies. It also varies by sector, with usage across the information industries in the US (publishing, software, TV and film) running at 18% but at 1.4% in construction and agriculture. Studies in Denmark and the US have also shown no impact between a jobs exposure to AI and changes in aggregate employment, according to the report. However, it also cites a UK study showing a slowdown in new hiring at companies highly exposed to AI, with technical and creative roles experiencing the steepest declines. Junior roles were the most affected. The report adds that AI agents could have a greater impact on employment if they improve in capability. If AI agents gained the capacity to act with greater autonomy across domains within only a few years reliably managing longer, more complex sequences of tasks in pursuit of higher-level goals this would likely accelerate labour market disruption, the report said. A new class of Discovery cruise ship is coming to Royal Caribbean beyond its Icon range (Royal Caribbean) Royal Caribbean has ordered a new range of cruise ships that will create a Discovery class fleet for the brand The cruise line is already busy creating the largest cruise ships in the world in its Icon class, with Legend of the Seas set to join Icon and Star this summer, but guests can also look forward to a new range of vessels. Royal Caribbean has now also sealed an agreement with Chantiers de l'Atlantique (CdA) shipyard in Saint Nazaire for two new ships and options for another four, which are being described as Discovery class ships that will redefine how Royals guests experience the world. There are no details on size or capacity yet, but the first ship is set to debut in 2029, with the other in 2032. Read more: I sailed on the largest cruise ship in the world Michael Bayley, president and chief executive of Royal Caribbean, said: The Discovery class introduces a bold new concept that puts our guests at the centre of it all. It will deliver extraordinary, one-of-a-kind experiences from cutting edge design to immersive moments every detail crafted to surprise and delight guests in ways theyve never imagined, all while visiting truly breathtaking destinations around the world. Over the past four decades CdA has built 21 ships for Royal Caribbean Group, and the yard is currently building two more ships with the seventh Oasis class ship and Celebrity Xcite. Laurent Castaing, chief executive of CdA, said: Together, we are shaping a new generation of ocean vacations that will lead the industry toward a more innovative future. Royal Caribbean also has a fourth Icon class ship in development at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland to launch in 2027 and the first cut of steel for a fifth was made last week. There are options in place to build a sixth and seventh. Read more: The best Royal Caribbean cruise ships and sailings The Met Police has launched a criminal investigation into allegations Lord Mandelson passed market-sensitive information to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. The bombshell development came just hours after it emerged that the disgraced peer was resigning from the Lords. Files released by the US Department of Justice apparently showed Lord Mandelson passing material to Epstein while serving as Business Secretary in Gordon Brown's Labour administration as it dealt with the 2008 financial crash and its aftermath. The Cabinet Office had passed material to the police after an initial review of documents released as part of the so-called Epstein files found they contained "likely market-sensitive information" and official handling safeguards had been "compromised". The Metropolitan Police announced on Tuesday evening that Lord Mandelson is being investigated on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Lord Mandelson (right) and Jeffrey Epstein pictured together in a photograph released by the US Department of Justice (.) Commander Ella Marriott, of the Met, said: Following the further release of millions of court documents in relation to Jeffrey Epstein by the United States Department of Justice, the Met received a number of reports into alleged misconduct in public office including a referral from the UK Government. I can confirm that the Metropolitan Police has now launched an investigation into a 72-year-old man, a former Government Minister, for misconduct in public office offences. The Met will continue to assess all relevant information brought to our attention as part of this investigation and wont be commenting any further at this time. A Government spokesperson said: "The Government stands ready to provide whatever support and assistance the police need." Lord Mandelson has insisted that nothing in the Epstein files shows that he broke the law. He told the Times he was simply too trusting of a man he can now see was a calculating predator, adding: Epstein was a master manipulator. I can see that now. Lord Mandelson (PA Archive) He also likened the disgraced financier to muck that you cant get off your shoe Like dog muck, the smell never goes away, while describing the damage caused by his association. Lord Mandelson has not yet provided a comment on the Met's investigation. He will formally retire from the House on Wednesday, February 4, the newly-installed Lord Speaker Lord Forsyth of Drumlean said earlier. The ex-Cabinet minister is currently on leave of absence from the Lords so is not attending its sittings. The news of his departure broke just hours after No10 said Scotland Yard has been sent a briefing on emails by the Cabinet Office after the latest revelations over Lord Mandelsons links to Epstein. The file from the Government was despatched as the Met Police was then considering if it should launch a criminal investigation into Lord Mandelson and whether he may have committed misconduct in public office or another offence. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (right) and then British ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson during a welcome reception (PA Archive) In an extraordinary day of developments at Westminster: * No10 said that an early review of emails in the Epstein files showed that they contained likely market sensitive information surrounding the 2008 financial crash. * Lord Mandelson has been accused of passing on sensitive, financial information to paedophile financier Epstein in 2009 when he was Business Secretary. * Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown wrote to Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley with information relevant to his review of allegations against Lord Mandelson. * Sir Keir Starmer accused the disgraced peer of letting down Britain. * Work had started on draft legislation to strip Lord Mandelson of his peerage. * The Prime Minister believes more damning claims against the peer, who was sacked as Britains ambassador to the US, may yet emerge. Ministers were scrambling to limit the impact of the Mandelson storm on the Government, with Sir Keir stressing the need to act at pace. The Prime Ministers official spokesman said: An initial review of the documents released in relation to Jeffrey Epstein by the US Department of Justice has found that they contain likely market sensitive information surrounding the 2008 financial crash and official activities thereafter to stabilise the economy. Only people operating in an official capacity had access to this information and strict handling conditions to ensure it was not available to anyone who could potentially benefit from it financially. It appears these safeguards were compromised. In light of this information, the Cabinet Office has referred this material to the police. The review is said to cover original emails in the Governments system, rather than any trail sent by individuals from private accounts to Epstein. Lord Mandelson and Epstein appear to discuss the Euro bailout (PA Media) Sir Keir opened Cabinet by speaking about the Mandelson scandal. The Prime Minister said he was appalled by the information that had emerged over the weekend in the Epstein files, said No10. He said the alleged passing on of emails of highly sensitive Government business was disgraceful, adding that he was not reassured that the totality of the information had yet emerged. The Prime Minister said Peter Mandelson had let his country down. He added that the public would see as gobsmacking politicians saying they cannot recall receiving significant sums of money. Earlier on Tuesday, the first steps were started to remove Lord Mandelson from the House of Lords to end his shameful presence in Parliament, said a minister. The Government has held talks with other parties to reach cross-party agreement on a new law to strip Lord Mandelson of his peerage. Health minister Karin Smyth, on the media round for the Government, said that in emergency situations a new law could be passed fairly quickly to kick out Lord Mandelson from the Upper Chamber. But she said that the ideal outcome would be for the peer to fall on his sword and leave the Lords himself rather than having to be forced out. Asked earlier what she thought of Lord Mandelson remaining a peer, Ms Smyth said: Well, it is shameful. His departure was announced later in the day. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer making a statement in the House of Commons, London, following his trip to China and Japan (PA Wire) It comes after files released by the US Department of Justice apparently showed Lord Mandelson passing information to Epstein while the peer was a Cabinet minister in Gordon Browns government. The Prime Minister has called for his former ambassador to Washington to quit the Lords. He has tasked the Cabinet Secretary Sir Chris Wormald with carrying out a review into the peers ties with Epstein. Lord Mandelson (left) and paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein (right), in an image released in an earlier tranche of Epstein files (US Department of Justice/PA) (PA Media) The documents indicate Epstein was sent details of internal discussions from the heart of the UK government after the global financial crisis. Lord Mandelson, the then-Business Secretary, appeared to tell Epstein he would lobby ministers over a tax on bankers bonuses in 2009, and to confirm an imminent bailout package for the euro the day before it was announced in 2010. Bank statements from 2003 and 2004 appeared to show he received payments totalling 75,000 US dollars (55,000) from the financier, and Epstein is also said to have paid for an osteopathy course for Lord Mandelsons husband. Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called for a wider and more intensive enquiry to take place (PA) (PA Archive) Former Chancellor Mr Brown said he had asked Sir Chris to investigate the disclosure of confidential and market sensitive information during the global financial crisis. Nick Macpherson, former Permanent Secretary to the Treasury, suggested in a social media post that then-chancellor Alistair Darling had suspicions about leaks at the time. Alistair Darling and the official Treasury were always aware that investment banks had an inside track to Number 10. But the brazen nature of that inside track is rather breath-taking, he posted on BlueSky. On Sunday night, Lord Mandelson resigned his Labour membership and said he has no record or recollection of alleged financial payments made to him by Epstein. An image issued by the US Department of Justice appearing to show Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor crouched over an unidentified woman (US Department of Justice/PA) (PA Media) Separately, the King has been urged to contact lawyers representing a woman who claims to have been sent to the UK by Epstein for a sexual encounter with his brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. The former prince has also featured in the documents on a number of occasions, including images which appear to show him crouched over an unidentified woman who is lying on the floor. Meanwhile, Sarah Fergusons international charity, Sarahs Trust, announced it would close for the foreseeable future. And in the US, a spokesman for former president Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary said the couple were willing to comply with a congressional subpoena for their testimony in a House investigation into Epstein. Elephants have plenty of untapped potential as gymnasts. No, seriously, they do! Just check out this video of Wamata, the African elephant, as she maneuvers a fence at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya. Well, maybe saying that she has gymnastic talent is a slight stretch, LOL. But hey, watching her do her thing is still one of the best things weve seen all day. Without a doubt, we give her routine a perfect 10 out of 10, LOL. There is no denying Wamatas effort. As far as her effort goes, she is getting an +A and a perfect 10 out of 10 from us! As the comment from Instagram user sheldrickwildlife, who posted this adorable video notes, Wamatas routine is as hilarious as it is adorable. It also shows just how capable she is of handling herself. They wrote, We could barely contain our laughter as these gymnastics unfolded. It was tempting to step in and help, but we knew Wamata had it handled. Sure enough, lots of maneuvering and one unexpected headstand later, she stuck the landing. Wamatas gymnastic maneuvering actually takes on a whole new meaning when you realize what she has been through so far in her young life. According to this video, she is an orphan who was found without her family, and in very poor condition. Related: Mother Elephants Heroic Rescue of Baby Drowning in Raging River Has People Cheering Obviously, she had to have a fierce fighting spirit to survive without her family in the wild. Thankfully, she now has a new family at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. Unsurprisingly, social media users absolutely adored Wamatas precious gymnastics moves. Instagram user morgan.pam likened Wamatas movements to yoga moves, while complementing the young elephants tenacity when they wrote, New yoga pose Downward-facing elephant! What absolute dedication to accomplishing her goal! And Instagram user swissmiss_15 similarly also praised this elephant orphans tenacity when they wrote, The best thing I have seen all morning... also a lesson in DETERMINATION! You go, girl, Wamata! The Importance of Elephant Rescues Beyond simply being adorable, Wamatas story also offers an important lesson. According to this other video, which you can watch by clicking the link here, many orphaned elephants dont survive because they are too grief-stricken from being abandoned by their herd in the wild. But the big mama elephant in this other video, a beautiful creature by the name of Edie, is living proof that even orphaned elephants can grow into thriving, confident adults if they dont give up. Edie, who was very weak when she was first rescued by the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, looked like she might not survive. However, she proved to be a fighter and now has a family of her own all these years later. Edies story shows that an orphaned elephant with a fighting spirit, such as Wamata, can thrive after being struck by tragedy early in life. If Wamatas gymnastics skills are anything to go by, she will never give up, and her best years are well ahead of her! SIGN UP to get pawsitivity delivered right to your inbox with inspiring & entertaining stories about our furry & feathered friends This story was originally published by PetHelpful on Feb 2, 2026, where it first appeared in the Pet News section. Add PetHelpful as a Preferred Source by clicking here. Paris prosecutors have raided the offices of Elon Musks social media platform X, formerly Twitter, as part of a cyber crime investigation, it said on Tuesday. The tech billionaire has also been summoned to a voluntary hearing in April, following a year-long investigation into suspected abuse of algorithms by X and its executives. Investigators later widened the probe to include complaints over the sites AI chatbot, Grok. They will look into the creation of child abuse images and sexually explicit deepfakes without peoples consent. The investigation, which an EU commission spokesperson said is being discussed between Brussels and Paris, will see tensions rise between Europe and the US over Big Tech and free speech. Musk has been summoned to a French court for a voluntary interview as part of an investigation into X (AFP via Getty) At this stage, the conduct of this investigation is part of a constructive approach, with the aim of ultimately ensuring that the X platform complies with French laws, insofar as it operates on national territory, the prosecutors office said. It added that the polices National Cyber Unit along with Europol were involved in the investigation. Mr Musk has been called to voluntarily speak at a hearing on 20 April along with the former CEO of X Corp, Linda Yaccarino. While several investigations have been opened into Groks parent company xAI, it marks the first time the 54-year-old has been summoned by prosecutors in relation to the scandal. The prosecutors office said it will now be leaving Mr Musks social media platform, and that it would only be communicating on LinkedIn and Instagram from now on. French police raided the X offices in Paris on Tuesday (Getty) A spokesperson for X said the claims are baseless and part of a politicised criminal investigation, adding that the company categorically denies any wrongdoing. The Paris Public prosecutor is plainly attempting to exert pressure on Xs senior management in the United States by targeting our French entity and employees, who are not the focus of this investigation, the statement added. The Prosecutors Office has ignored the established procedural mechanisms to obtain evidence in compliance with international treaties and Xs rights to defend itself. These procedural mechanisms are well known and used on a daily basis by judicial authorities around the world. Mr Musk has been facing intense scrutiny from governments around the world about sexualised images generated and edited using Grok. Sexually explicit images were created of real women without their consent, before the company finally implemented technological measures to prevent the Grok account from allowing the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing in mid-January. But campaigners and victims said this came too late to undo the harm done. Musk has faced intense public scrutiny over Grok in the US and abroad (Getty) On Tuesday, the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) also opened in investigation into Groks parent company xAI and X, saying they raise serious concerns under UK data protection law and presents a risk of significant potential harm to the public. It will also investigate whether Grok put the necessary safeguards in place to prevent this. The European Commission and UK regulator Ofcom had previously announced an investigations into xAI. The European Union is open-minded about Britain joining a possible customs union, the blocs finance commissioner has said, amid growing pressure on the government to consider such a move. In the strongest comments yet from the EU on the issue, Valdis Dombrovskis said the bloc was ready to engage if the UK wanted to explore a customs union. But the government has repeatedly ruled it out, saying it is one of their red lines for engagement with the EU despite Sir Keir Starmer saying he wants closer ties with the bloc. While a customs union would slash bureaucracy and costs related to trade with the EU, critics have raised concerns that it would curtail the UK's ability to strike bespoke global trade deals. Speaking after high-level talks with ministers, Mr Dombrovskis also said the UK and EU could remove most food checks between the UK and the bloc, as well as opening the door to Britain entering the EU's 150bn (130bn) defence loans scheme after talks on an agreement broke down last year. Rachel Reeves meets with EU finance chief Valdis Dombrovskis (Getty) It came as chancellor Rachel Reeves said stronger ties with the union are becoming increasingly important amid a slide towards a world where the rules are less clear. Her comments come in the face of growing global instability, after Donald Trump threatened to hit the UK and Europe with fresh tariffs over their opposition to his threats to annex Greenland. Mr Dombrovskis latest remarks come just days after Sir Keir insisted the UK should go further at each UK-EU summit. The prime minister has consistently ruled out rejoining the EUs customs union, but, speaking from China last week, he said aligning with the single market was the place to look in future negotiations. Asked whether Brussels would welcome talks on Britain rejoining the customs union, Mr Dombrovskis told the BBC: I cannot jump to conclusions, but I can say that we are ready to engage with an open mind and seek those areas of cooperation. Sir Keir said there had already been progress on the single market, including a deal on food and agriculture standards, and suggested further progress could be made in other areas. A second UK-EU summit is expected to take place later this year, following the first, in May 2025. Arguing that each summit with the EU should bring new agreements, he said: I think we should not just follow through on what weve already agreed. I think the relationship with the EU, and every summit, should be iterative. We should be seeking to go further. But the prime minister reiterated that rejoining the customs union would mean having to unpick post-Brexit trade deals with countries such as the US and India. It comes after health secretary Wes Streeting last year said a customs union would have enormous economic benefits, while deputy prime minister David Lammy suggested that rejoining the European Unions customs union could increase Britains economic growth. One area currently under discussion is the possibility of a youth mobility scheme, making it easier for young people from Britain to work in the EU for a period, and vice versa. The EU is reported to be pushing for a scheme with no cap on numbers, but Sir Keir insisted that any deal would have to include a cap. He told reporters he was pleased that a scheme was being negotiated, adding: The principals are that there has got to be a cap and there has got to be a duration agreed. It will be a visa-led scheme. All of our schemes are similar to that. The Houdini of British politics will struggle to make a comeback this time - Jeff Overs/AFP It would be a brave journalist who today would dare write a column in defence of Peter Mandelson. But then, as a close friend once said of me during my parliamentary career, Tom likes to walk towards the sound of gunfire. Not that Mandelson doesnt richly deserve the opprobrium he is now receiving; rarely has the adjective disgraced been used more appropriately for a fallen political figure. But and yes, there is a but honesty should compel us to consider what the political and even diplomatic sphere has lost through Mandelsons own gross misjudgments. In an interview published today, he revealed a political mind that has never stopped evolving and re-examining the great issues of the day, to the point where he has adopted perspectives that will disappoint and even enrage some of his erstwhile allies and impress former opponents. He is obviously devastated to have been relieved of his most recent and most prestigious post as British ambassador to the United States. But he reminds readers that, in the age of Trump 2.0, we should not assume that what he calls a classic diplomatic appointment (Sir Christian Turner, a career diplomat, has taken over the reins of our embassy in Washington, DC) is the best choice to represent Britain to our most important ally. Mandelsons replacement is Christian Turner, a career civil servant who has previously worked at the embassy in Washington - Ben Dance / FCDO This administration is a very political one, says Mandelson. And getting on their political wavelength, talking turkey to them politically and influencing their political judgment, not only in their own but in our interests too, is what the ambassador has to do. If any candidate for the ambassadorship was well placed to grapple with the practicalities of the unconventional nature of the Trump White House, it was Mandelson, something that few of his detractors were or are willing to concede. Yet its demonstrably true. What was quickly derided as Mandelsons fawning approach to the president was exactly what was needed from a figure immersed in British politics. Mandelson perhaps wants forgiveness and another chance to play some role in the life of the country. He will wait in vain. Even he, the Houdini (or Lazarus?), of British politics will struggle to make a comeback this time. He is not the first British political figure to waste his own talents and potential future contribution by an act of gross misjudgment. To acknowledge his intellect and ability is not to excuse his behaviour, but his views on key geopolitical issues need to be voiced, if not by him then by someone close to the nexus of power. He rejects the short-termism and anti-Americanism of those who would use Trumps taking of the White House to distance Britain from the US in favour of a closer relationship with the EU. Mandelson was mocked for his bootlicking approach to the US president, but it was necessary - Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images That will come as a shock to previous pro-EU allies of Mandelson, but he is refreshingly pragmatic about Britains options: As things stand, the EU will only have us back as supplicants. The price will be huge, the terms will be onerous. They will impose very tough terms: we would be forced to become a regulatory satellite of the EU. Similarly, he is naturally cautious about the increasing power of China: When people say to me theres too much risk attached to the United States, I say, well, what about the risk attached to China? He cites Chinas near-monopoly on critical minerals, its influence over the AI (artificial intelligence) race and its domination of the industrial base of the renewable energy system Britain is adopting. Does that give us energy security? Free from political constraints, Mandelson is once again enjoying what he has done throughout his career: gossiping about other people, including our beleaguered Prime Minister, the man who appointed him to the Washington post and then, eventually and reluctantly, fired him, not without suffering damage to his own reputation for sound judgment. Mandelson is now happily gossiping about the same Prime Minister whose reputation has been further damaged by his behaviour - Carl Court/Getty Images Labours problems come down to leadership, Mandelson points out, presumably confident that no-one will contradict him. The U-turns are becoming a really bad look. One U-turn in particular, perhaps? Peter Mandelson is a walking Shakespearean tragedy. And like many of Shakespeares leading men, he is the author of his own downfall. It is impossible to blame anyone else for it this time around; there was no enemy hiding in the shadows waiting for an opportunity to leak damaging details of a financial indiscretion to a friendly journalist. No, this time, this downfall, is 100 per cent Peter. That does not mean that we are better off without his counsel and experience. It just means we have to find someone more reliable to provide it. Sheikh Hasina, who fled Bangladesh in a helicopter to India after a revolution against her autocratic regime. Photograph: Bangladesh Prime Minister's Office/AFP/Getty Images (Photograph: Bangladesh Prime Minister's Office/AFP/Getty Images) Back in Bangladesh they are deemed criminals and fugitives, facing charges of crimes against humanity, murder, sedition or embezzlement. But in the comfort of the crowded food courts of Kolkata shopping malls, over black coffee and Indian fast food, the exiled politicians of the Awami League sit plotting their political comeback. More than 16 months ago, a revolution against Bangladeshs autocratic prime minister Sheikh Hasina forced her to dramatically flee the country, jumping on a helicopter to India as an enraged onslaught of protesters marched towards her residence. The streets she left behind were bloody; her regimes final crackdown on protesters in the July uprising had left as many as 1,400 dead, according to a UN report. Thousands of her party members also escaped in the aftermath, facing mob violence and mounting criminal charges for their complicity in the crimes of her regime. More than 600 Awami League figures took shelter in Kolkata, an Indian city close to the Bangladeshi border, where they have been hiding out ever since. India has been a crucial lifeline for keeping their party activities and organisation going. In May last year, the interim government bowed to public pressure and suspended the Awami League, banning all its activities while its senior leadership was investigated and put on trial for a roster of crimes including murder and corruption. The party has also been banned from contesting or campaigning in the upcoming election on 12 February, the first since Hasinas downfall. Late last year, a war crimes tribunal sentenced Hasina to death by hanging for crimes against humanity, committed during the final throes of her regime. Yet far from seeing her political career as finished, Hasina dismissed the verdict as false and has unabashedly been scheming her return from India, including mobilising thousands of her supporters to disrupt the upcoming election. From her well-guarded, secret hideout in the Indian capital, Delhi, Hasina spends her days in hours of party meetings and calls with her cadre back in Bangladesh. Her political activities take place under the watchful eye of the Indian government a close ally of Hasinas when she was in power which has pointedly ignored Bangladeshs requests for her extradition. Over the past year, senior party leaders including former MPs and cabinet ministers, have been routinely summoned from Kolkata to meet Hasina to discuss party strategy. Saddam Hussain, president of the Awami league students wing, Bangladesh Chhatra League, was among them. Our leader Sheikh Hasina is in constant communication with our people in Bangladesh: our party activists, party leaders, grassroots leaders and other professional bodies. Shes trying to make our party ready for the upcoming struggle, he said. Bangladesh Chhatra League was labelled a terrorist organisation by the interim government and Hussain faces multiple charges of sedition and crimes against humanity, which he denies. She will be in calls and meetings sometimes 15 or 16 hours in a day, he added. Our leader is very hopeful she will return to Bangladesh. We believe Sheikh Hasina will come back as a hero. The past two elections under Hasina were overshadowed by widespread allegations of heavy vote rigging and the interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, promised Februarys polls will be Bangladeshs first free and fair election in more than a decade. But the Awami League argue that to stop them from contesting undermines all claims of democratic legitimacy. They have accused Yunus who was loathed and persecuted by Hasina, who saw him as a political rival of being a devil carrying out his own revenge vendetta against their leader, claims he dismissed. We are telling our workers to avoid all involvement in the election, boycott all campaigning and voting and not participate in this sham process at all, said Jahangir Kabir Nanak, one of Hasinas former ministers who is facing crimes against humanity charges, which he denies. To those in Bangladesh who accused Hasinas Awami League of 15 years of despotism and kleptocratic rule, its sudden pivot to championing democracy, human rights, transparency and press freedom has been met with a heavy dose of scepticism. As documented for years by human rights groups and the UN, Hasinas regime routinely suppressed dissent of its critics and opponents, thousands who were disappeared, tortured and killed in secret jails; many emerged only after Hasina was toppled. Freedom of the press and judicial independence was crushed and elections were reduced to a staged farce. But despite promises by Yunuss interim government to set the country on a new democratic path, they too have been accused of abuses, including the misuse of anti-terror legislation against journalists, a failure to protect freedom of speech, minority rights and a severe disintegration of law and order. The tribunal that sentenced Hasina to death also drew criticism for not complying to international standards. Related: Shes the one who shattered us: families of slain Bangladesh students wantk to hold Sheikh Hasina to account As a wave of mob violence, justified in the name of revenge and retribution against Hasinas regime, swept the country, Awami League allege hundreds of their workers have been attacked, killed by political opponents or jailed without bail. Many of their cadre remain in hiding. We dont stay in Kolkata because we fear prison, said Hossain. Were here because if we go back, we will be killed. Geopolitical friction The proactive presence of Awami League in Kolkata and Delhi has raised increasingly uncomfortable questions for India, particularly its role in allowing the activities of a suspended party to continue from its soil and the safe haven given to some of Bangladeshs most wanted political fugitives. Since Hasinas fall, India and Bangladesh relations have soured and all the Awami league officials in Kolkata said they had no fears of being deported by India. The geopolitical friction came to a head last week, when Hasina gave her first public address to a packed gathering in Delhi. In audio recorded from her bunker, she condemned the upcoming election and accused Yunus of forcibly taking power and turning Bangladesh into a blood-soaked nation. Bangladeshs foreign ministry could hardly contain its rage. Allowing the event to take place in the Indian capital and letting mass murderer Hasina openly deliver her hate speech constitutes a clear affront to the people and the government of Bangladesh, they said. The Indian government did not reply. From their comfortable residences in Kolkata, there was little repentance or remorse among the senior party figures for the liturgy of alleged human rights abuses levelled at their regime. Most refused to acknowledge the uprising that drove them from power was a popular revolt, instead claiming it was a political conspiracy from a small minority. That was not an organic revolution, it was a terrorist takeover to bring down our democratic government, said A.F.M. Bahauddin Nasim, joint general secretary of Awami League and former MP, speaking from a luxury villa in a private high security estate on the outskirts of the city. His response to the murder and crimes against humanity charges he now faces, was to chuckle with laugher. Bogus, bogus, bogus, he said. So far, the comeback plan of the exiled leaders hinges on the failure of the upcoming election, which they insist will not bring stability or peace to the country, and ultimately turn people back to Awami League. Tanvir Shakil Joy, a former Awami League MP who has been living in Kolkata since August 2024, was one of the few who would acknowledge past mistakes. I can admit we were not saints, said Joy. We were authoritarian. We were not fully democratic. I would agree that the 2018 election was not fully functional. We would have hoped it could be more fair and transparent, thats unfortunate. As for corruption and kleptocracy, he conceded there were irregularities, definitely. There were financial things that should not have taken place and we have to take blame for that, but denied it amounted to the estimated $200bn allegedly siphoned off from Bangladeshs state coffers during Hasinas 15 years in power. Like many of those in Kolkata, Joy insisted his exile in India would be short-lived, though acknowledged jail would probably be waiting for him when he finally did return. Things are very dark for us now, he said. But I dont think they will remain so for long. Additional reporting by Aakash Hassan This article was amended on 3 February 2026. An earlier version referred to $200 allegedly siphoned off from Bangladesh; this should have said $200bn. A Russian Yars intercontinental ballistic missile takes off from an airfield during military drills in 2022. Photograph: Russian defence ministry press service/AP (Photograph: Russian defence ministry press service/AP) The New Start treaty between the US and Russia will expire on Thursday, removing the last remaining mutual limits on the worlds two biggest nuclear arsenals. The milestone will be a death knell for more than five decades of arms control at a time of surging global instability, contributing to a general collapse of the rules-based international order established after the second world war. This is a new moment, a new reality we are ready for it, Russias deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, told Russian news agencies during a visit to Beijing. Alexandra Bell, the president and chief executive of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, said: When it comes to nuclear risks, everything is trending in the wrong direction over the course of 2025. Nuclear risks have become more complex, more dangerous and we have seen leaders fail in their obligation to manage those risks. And we are two days away from watching the United States and Russia fritter away half a century of work to maintain nuclear stability between the two largest nuclear states. Dmitry Medvedev, who signed the New Start deal with Barack Obama in 2010 when Medvedev was Russian president, said the treatys expiry should alarm everyone. When there is an agreement, it means there is trust but when there is no agreement, it means that trust has been exhausted, Medvedev, who has become an outspoken Moscow hawk, said. Obama wrote on social media that the expiry of the treaty would pointlessly wipe out decades of diplomacy, and could spark another arms race that makes the world less safe. Arms control advocates have appealed to the worlds two nuclear weapon superpowers to act at the 11th-hour to salvage the treaty, which limits each countrys deployed strategic arsenal to 1,550 warheads and the total number of delivery systems (missiles or bombers) to 800. In September, Vladimir Putin proposed extending the New Start agreement by another year, which Donald Trump at the time said sounds like a good idea. But the remarks did not appear to have been followed by any substantive negotiations. Moscow said it had not received a formal response to Putins one-year suggestion. The lack of an answer is also an answer, Ryabkov added on Tuesday. Trump signalled his readiness to dispense with the treaty in January. If it expires, it expires, he told the New York Times. Well just do a better agreement. Related: China is leading the charge to nuclear Armageddon and Starmer barely noticed | Simon Tisdall A White House official later briefed that Trump wanted a deal that also involved China, which has a considerably smaller arsenal of 600 warheads, very few of which are deployed and ready for use, according to Federation of American Scientists (FAS) estimates. By comparison, the FAS assesses the US arsenal at 5,177 (including stockpiled and retired warheads) and Russias at 5,459. Jennifer Kavanagh, the director of military analysis at the Defense Priorities arms control advocacy group, described Trumps hopes of a better deal after New Starts expiry as wishful thinking. If the administration thinks getting a new better treaty after this one lapses will be easy, they are mistaken, Kavanagh said. An agreement with Russia is likely a requirement to get China onboard with nuclear arms control. Trump may be the ultimate dealmaker, but in this case he would be better off hanging on to the agreement he has a little longer before trying to get a better one. Unofficial reports suggested the Trump administration could make an announcement about its nonproliferation ambitions, but only after New Start has expired. As well as imposing numerical limits on arsenals, New Start established an extensive system of mutual monitoring, data sharing and inspections, though Putin suspended Russian participation in that aspect of the treaty in 2023 in response to US support for Ukraine in the face of his full-scale invasion. The end of New Start would be a last gasp for worldwide arms control, which has been unravelling over a number of years. Agreements limiting missile defence systems, intermediate-range forces and mutual overflight rights have already crumbled. The nuclear weapons powers have invested hundreds of billion dollars in modernising their arsenals, Putin and Trump openly brandish their countries nuclear arsenals in their rhetoric, and the US president has also threatened to end his countrys moratorium on nuclear tests. Daryl Kimball, the head of the Arms Control Association in Washington, said the end of New Start could ignite a new arms race quite rapidly. There are many in the nuclear weapons establishment who want to rapidly build up the size of the US force in order to counter Chinas strategic buildup, Kimball said. The demise of New Start could in turn threaten the 1970 nuclear nonproliferation treaty (NPT), under which states without nuclear weapons pledged not to acquire them, as long as the weapons states made good faith efforts to disarm. The NPT is next up for review this year. This would represent a direct violation of the United States legal obligations under the NPT, and would shake the foundations of yet another core set of rules undergirding the important, if imperfect, rules-based order, Kimball said. One of the historical justifications for nuclear deterrence has been that it made the world more stable, by making nuclear powers cautious about risking direct conflict. But even before the death of New Start, there were many signs that rival nuclear arsenals were losing any stabilising effect they might have had, particularly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, consequent western arming of Ukraine and a steep rise in friction along the Russia-Nato border. Put simply, nuclear weapons are no longer functioning as a decisive factor in global security, Alex Kolbin, a nuclear weapons analyst, said in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, in a piece last week titled Nuclear Deterrence Is Dying. And Hardly Anyone Notices. The YPJ was part of a Kurdish-led military alliance backed by the US and UK in the war against IS - AFP An all-female Kurdish militia that led the fight against Islamic State (IS) is refusing to lay down its arms against pro-government forces in Syria. The Womens Protection Units (YPJ), which numbered 24,000 at the peak of its war against IS, has vowed to keep fighting despite a deal between the Kurds and forces loyal to President Ahmed al-Sharaa. The YPJs struggle is more than territorial, and signifies a broader battle for Kurdish autonomy and womens rights, they said. Ruksen Mohammed, a spokeswoman for the YPJ, told The Telegraph in the de facto Kurdish capital Qamishli: As a woman, why did I pick up a weapon? Because I see my society, my autonomy, my identity are under threat. Maybe I have a father, brothers, but I have to protect myself. Nobody else can do it for me. Credit: @YPJMediaCenter/ YouTube The YPJ Yekineyen Parastina Jin in Kurdish was part of a Kurdish-led military alliance backed by the US and UK in the war against IS. Its female fighters played a leading role as the Kurds seized former IS territory to establish an unrecognised political administration home to around four million people. But since the start of the year, the new Syrian government has launched a devastating offensive that has seen the Kurds lose 80 per cent of their territory. They have been forced to accept a ceasefire and a seemingly unfavourable power-sharing agreement. But Ms Mohammed said: If its war, were always ready to fight, and defend our people. If its peace, if this agreement protects our rights and our peoples rights, were ready for this as well. Ruksen Mohammed says Syrian government forces are an existential threat to Kurdish female fighters The proposed deal should see Kurdish divisions retain some degree of autonomy as a counterweight against potential violations by pro-government forces. But Damascus and Kurdish leaders appear to have different interpretations of a deal signed under pressure from Washington. The YPJ is not mentioned in the ceasefire deal, but Ms Mohammed said her units would continue to exist as an autonomous armed group within the Kurdish divisions. She noted that Mr al-Sharaa first entered Syria as a leader of Jabhat al-Nusra, an offshoot of al-Qaeda, clashing with the YPJ at the outset of Syrias 14-year civil war. The YPJ played a leading role as the Kurds seized former IS territory to establish an unrecognised political administration home to around four million - Elke Scholiers/Getty Images Ms Mohammed said: Our commanders and soldiers have played the largest role, in the war against IS, in the war against al-Nusra, on all frontlines. So we cant accept an armed force without women. By contrast, Mr al-Sharaas government is ideologically opposed to womens participation in the military, public and political life. It appears to be anticipating a more total transfer of power, with ethnic Kurds joining Damascuss central armed forces on an individual basis. In tense scenes on Monday, small numbers of Syrian government personnel entered the autonomous region. Shots were fired as Kurdish security forces clashed with pro-government groups, and members of the government convoy displayed the single-finger salute often associated with IS. A funeral for YPJ fighters killed in Qamishli. The unit has vowed to keep fighting despite a deal between the Kurds and al-Sharaa loyalists For now, members of the all-female fighting force continue to hold frontline positions in the tense stand-off with Mr al-Sharaas forces; patrol the streets of Kurdish cities, and secure IS detention facilities, including the camp home of former British schoolgirl Shamima Begum. The US is currently flying IS detainees to neighbouring Iraq and appears to be readying for an exit from the region, opening the door for another government offensive, which would liquidate the Kurdish autonomous region altogether. Ms Mohammed insisted: Our relationship with the [US-led] Coalition was only ever tactical. We arent worrying about when or how they will leave, because we knew they only ever came here to fight IS. Regardless of whether the ceasefire deal will hold beyond the time it takes for the US to complete the transfer of the detainees, Ms Mohammed said her womens units will keep control of their armoured vehicles and heavy weapons. Credit: @BarzanSadiq/ X She described Mr al-Sharaas forces as an existential threat to the Kurdish women, who have not only established all-female fighting forces, but also sought to establish unique all-female political and civil society institutions throughout northern Syria. She said: When those jihadist criminals throw the body of a slain female fighter from the third floor of a building, they are demonstrating their hatred of womens very existence. When they cut off the braid of a female fighter, they are trying to impose surrender on us and violate our honour. On Tuesday, pro-government forces are expected to enter Qamishli, where female Kurdish fighters remained at their posts, for now. Ms Mohammed added: The attacks may get intense, but they will only get to our land over our dead bodies. Were surrounded, yes. But we are also prepared. Air China to operate over 70,000 flights during 2026 Spring Festival travel rush Xinhua) 10:05, February 03, 2026 BEIJING, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Air China on Monday said it plans to operate more than 70,000 flights during the 2026 Spring Festival travel rush, up 10.1 percent from the corresponding travel rush period of 2025. Key routes between major city clusters, including the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Chengdu-Chongqing region, will maintain high-frequency services, the airline said. Passenger capacities on flights to northeast China will rise 15 percent from last year's travel rush, and popular routes such as those to Sanya will be served entirely by wide-body aircraft, according to the company. Nine homegrown C919 aircraft will also be deployed on flights from Beijing to cities such as Hangzhou, Chengdu, Wuhan and Xi'an during the peak travel period. Internationally, Air China will add flights to destinations like Sydney, Auckland, Singapore, Seoul and Bangkok to meet cross-border travel demand. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) Five people were killed after a railway bridge under construction collapsed in eastern China on Monday. The collapse happened at 5.46pm at a railway bridge construction site in Yancheng, in Jiangsu. A 95-metre section of the structure gave way without warning while workers were on site. With rescue teams recovering the bodies of three missing people on Tuesday, five workers who were in the affected area are now confirmed dead, according to state media. The incident involved the collapse of a tied-arch beam during construction of the Yuegang Bridge, part of the LianyungangShanghai railway line, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The project is being carried out by the China Railway 12th Bureau Group Co, Ltd, a subsidiary of the state-owned China Railway Construction Corporation Limited. Local authorities said emergency services were dispatched immediately after the collapse, with municipal and county governments in Yancheng coordinating rescue operations and on-site response efforts. Two workers were pulled from the wreckage but later died from their injuries, while a search for three others continued overnight before ending on Tuesday morning. Rescue operations at the scene are completed, Xinhua reported, citing local officials. Images broadcast by China Central Television showed a large section of the unfinished bridge lying twisted on the ground, with heavy machinery and emergency crews working through the debris. Site of the bridge collapse (SCMP) The bridge was being built as part of Chinas expanding high-speed rail network, which has grown rapidly over the past decade and now spans much of the country. The LianyungangShanghai line is intended to strengthen transport links between northern Jiangsu and Chinas eastern economic hub. Authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the collapse, though no findings have yet been released. It remains unclear what led to the failure of the structure while it was still under construction. The incident is the latest in a series of fatal accidents linked to large-scale infrastructure projects in China. In December 2024, 13 workers were killed when ground collapsed at a railway construction site in Guangdong province. In November last year, 11 people died following a collision involving a test train in Kunming, in southwest China. The Koln corvette lost power and began to smoke after the suspected sabotage at Hamburg harbour Two men have been arrested on suspicion of sabotaging several German warships. The shipworkers, a 37-year-old Romanian and a 54-year-old Greek national, are accused of tampering with the vessels by pouring more than 20kg of steel pellets into an engine block, puncturing freshwater lines, removing fuel tank caps and disabling fuses in the onboard electronics. Prosecutors said the vessels two state-of-the-art corvettes were docked at Hamburg harbour in 2025 when the suspected sabotage occurred. It was discovered during pre-departure checks as one of the ships, the Emden corvette, was preparing for its inaugural journey to the port city of Kiel. Another ship, the Koln corvette, lost power and began to smoke, according to German tabloid Bild. A crew member only discovered the smoke by chance, the publication added. It could have led to significant damage if left undetected, the prosecutor generals office said. Prosecutors said they are still reviewing evidence and will address the question of who might have ordered the sabotage. The two men were arrested in Hamburg and a village in Greece. Their residences in Hamburg, Romania and Greece were searched by authorities. Hired for painting work According to Greek police officials and security sources, the 54-year-old man was arrested at his home in northern Greece following a European arrest warrant issued on behalf of Germany. Among the items confiscated from his home were six mobile phones, three USB sticks, a SIM card and a hard drive, as well as evidence of 19 bank accounts. According to Greek court documents, the arrested men were hired for painting work on the Koln corvette in June 2025. During the work, they are accused of manually shutting the control panel, cutting power off on the vessel and risking starting a fire. Germanys defence ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters news agency. A spokesperson for the prosecutors office in Hamburg declined to say whether authorities suspected Russia of being behind the suspected sabotage. Political leaders and military officials have accused Russia of engaging in several acts of sabotage, espionage and hybrid warfare across Europe, both before and after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Suspected incidents have increased since the invasion began. Drone activity has disrupted several major airports and military bases, while undersea cables in the Baltic have also been damaged. The Kremlin has repeatedly denied such allegations, dismissing them as unsubstantiated. Halle Berry has said she is still waiting for California Governor Gavin Newsom to reach out to her after she criticized his decision to veto the Menopause Care Equity Act, which Newsom said was unfortunate. In December, the Catwoman actor publicly condemned Newsom at The New York Times Dealbook conference. Newsom later responded to Berrys backlash while speaking to TMZ that same month, saying, We're reconciling that. I've included it in the budget next year. She didn't know that. However, in an interview with The Cut, published Tuesday, the Oscar winner said she still had not heard from him. It's disturbing when people say they're going to do things and then they don't, she told the outlet. But he heard what I said. If he is going to run to be our next president, he can't sleep on women. Wake up, Gavin. Hours after that interview was published, a spokesperson for the governor wrote in a statement shared with The Independent: Ms. Berrys remarks are very unfortunate given the Governors proposal put forward to support menopause care through the state budget, just as he said he would do in his veto message on AB 432. Halle Berry has claimed in a new article that California Governor Gavin Newsom still has not reached out to her to discuss the Menopause Care Equity Act (Getty) Speaking to The Cut, Berry explained why she has become so passionate about womens health, and more specifically, menopause care. I'm almost 60, the Monsters Ball actor said. Fighting for women's health feels like a formidable cause for my second act... Women are as confused as I am on this midlife journey and I felt like I had to do something. Berry has been open about her frustration with Newsoms lack of support for the Menopause Care Equity Act, especially after it was passed by the legislature and vetoed by the governor last year. The California bill proposes to increase health care coverage and education for women experiencing menopause symptoms. Newsom said in a letter to legislators that he failed to sign the bill, and a similar one before that, because the act was too far-reaching. However, Berry argued that insurance premiums would not be substantially changed. The Oscar winner wrote in a Time magazine column in November that the veto displayed a failure of Gov. Newsoms commitment to women. A spokesperson for Newsom doubled down in a statement toThe Independent at the time, writing, The Governor has deep admiration for Ms. Berrys advocacy and looks forward to working with her and other stakeholders on this critical issue. He shares her goal of expanding access to menopause care that too many women struggle to get. He vetoed the bill because, as written, it would have unintentionally raised health care costs for millions of working women and working families already stretched thin something hes determined to avoid. Were confident that by working together this year, we can expand access to essential menopause treatment while protecting women from higher bills. Nancy Guthrie disappearance: What we know as sheriff briefly detains one person before letting him go hours later Authorities briefly detained a person on Tuesday for questioning over the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, 10 days after the 84-year-old vanished from her home in Tucson, Arizona, only to then release him in the early hours of Wednesday. The man identified himself to reporters as Carlos Palazuelos and said he works as a delivery driver, according to Telemundo. He told ABC15: "They didn't even tell me what's going on until the detectives got here... They told me I was being detained for kidnapping, and I asked them, Kidnapping of who?" As the search continues, FBI Director Kash Patel told Fox News Tuesday evening: We are looking at people who, as we say, are persons of interest. The development came shortly after new surveillance photos and video were released showing a masked person outside Guthries Arizona home the morning she was abducted. Authorities have not held a press conference since releasing these images, and no briefing is scheduled for Wednesday. The FBI also said Wednesday its agents are conducting an extensive search along multiple roadways in the Catalina Foothills area, where Guthrie lives. A makeshift tribute to Nancy Guthrie has been set up outside of her home (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) Heres what we know: Who was the person detained for questioning? Palazuelos, 36, told reporters he hadnt heard of Guthrie before Tuesday night and hopes shes found safe, according to The New York Times. I hope they get the suspect, because Im not it, he said. The Pima County Sheriffs Department said Tuesday police detained a subject for questioning during a traffic stop and later searched a property in Rio Rico, a town south of Tucson, Arizona, near the U.S.-Mexico border. The agency has since confirmed he was released without charges but provided few other details. This detention was part of follow-up on incoming leads. As with any investigation, we do not release the identities of individuals who are detained and later released without charges, the sheriffs department said in a statement Wednesday. What do authorities think has happened? Police believe Nancy Guthrie, the mother of Today co-host Savannah Guthrie, was taken from her home in Catalina Foothills, a quiet neighborhood near Tucson, at some point between the night of January 31 and the morning of February 1. Investigators released footage of an armed and masked man at Guthries front door the morning she disappeared. One video shows the individual approaching the front door and interacting with the camera with his gloved hand. The individual then walks away and appears to pick up an object off the ground nearby. A second shows the individual using what appears to be a plant to obstruct the camera. Another four-second video also shows the individual approaching the front door with his shoulders hunched and his head down. New surveillance footage shows a masked person approaching the front door of Nancy Guthries home on the morning she disappeared (Pima County Sheriffs Department) The masked individual appeared to use a plant to obstruct the camera (FBI) Working with our partners, as of this morning, law enforcement has uncovered these previously inaccessible new images showing an armed individual appearing to have tampered with the camera at Nancy Guthries front door the morning of her disappearance, the Pima County Sheriffs Office said Tuesday. The video was recovered from residual data located in backend systems, the agency said. The release also included several black-and-white photos showing the masked individual with gloved hands interacting with the camera. President Donald Trump, who has been following the investigation, reacted with pure disgust when he viewed the surveillance footage, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. His initial reaction, of course, as all Americans, is just pure disgust. And again, it's heartbreaking to see now this footage really bring to life a story we've all been reading about, Leavitt told reporters at a press briefing Tuesday. Again, we're just praying for the safety of Nancy Guthrie and that she will return home soon, and the president directed me to please encourage all Americans with any information to call the FBI. We hope that this case will come to a positive resolution as soon as possible, she added. The masked individual tampered with the camera, police said (Pima County Sheriffs Department) The masked individual has not been identified (FBI) Guthrie was last seen just after 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, January 31, at her home near Skyline Drive and Campbell Avenue, the Pima County Sheriffs Department said. The agency has released a detailed timeline of the events leading up to her disappearance. She took an Uber at 5:32 p.m. on Saturday, January 31, to go to a family members house for dinner. We did speak to a driver, because Nancy, we learned, had taken the Uber to the family residence, the daughters for dinner, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said. And we located that driver and spoke with them. Family dropped Guthrie off at home at 9:48 p.m., and her garage door opened before closing two minutes later. Her doorbell camera was disconnected at 1:47 a.m. on Sunday, February 1. Guthrie did not have an active subscription, so it took investigators several days to recover the footage. Software data recorded movement at the home at 2:12 a.m. Then, at 2:28 a.m., Guthries pacemaker disconnected from her phone. Family members went to check on Guthrie at 11:56 a.m., after hearing she didnt attend church that morning. A 911 call was made at 12:03 p.m., and deputies arrived about 10 minutes later. Guthrie was last seen at her home in Catalina Foothills, a community outside of Tucson, Arizona (AP) Her disappearance has sparked a massive search involving state and federal law enforcement agencies. Guthrie relies on daily medication, and there could be fatal consequences if she doesnt take it, Nanos said. Police also flagged her health issues when she initially vanished, according to a 911 dispatch audio. Nancy has high blood pressure, a pacemaker and cardiac issues, the dispatcher said. DNA tests showed blood on Guthries front porch was hers, Nanos said. The FBI has also said its investigating alleged ransom notes received by multiple news outlets. Investigators said one note contained two deadlines that have since passed: Thursday, February 5 and Monday, February 9. Local CNN affiliate KGUN, one of the outlets that reportedly received a note, said it demanded $6 million by Monday, a deadline that passed with no update. Meanwhile, the FBI has told the Associated Press its not aware of ongoing communication between the Guthrie family and any potential kidnappers. The FBI has offered a $50,000 reward for information. Theories have swirled as investigators continue the search for Guthrie. Josh Schirard, a former SWAT commander and police captain, told CNN the universal nylon style holster seen on the masked individual at Guthries front door likely wouldnt be used by someone who regularly carries a gun. This seems more like a very cheap, off-the-shelf holster that somebody just stores their gun in. And it just happens to have a belt loop on the back of it that they thought that they could throw on, Schirard told the outlet. What has the Guthrie family said about the disappearance? Nancy Guthries daughter, 54-year-old Savannah Guthrie, is a co-host on NBCs Today show and was previously a White House correspondent. On Tuesday, Savannah Guthrie shared the new surveillance footage on Instagram. We believe she is still alive. Bring her home, she wrote. A day prior, she posted a video asking for the publics help in finding her mother as an alleged ransom deadline passed. Savannah Guthrie has used social media to ask for the publics help in finding her mother, Nancy Guthrie (Instagram/@savannahguthrie) Guthrie shared her first public statement about her mothers disappearance on Monday, February 2. Thank you for lifting your prayers with ours for our beloved mom, our dearest Nancy, a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant, she wrote. Raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment. In a video posted Wednesday, February 4, Guthrie and her siblings Annie Guthrie and Camron Guthrie acknowledged the reports of a ransom note and made a direct plea for proof their mother is alive. They said they were ready to talk and asked whoever has their mother to provide evidence of life. We need to know without a doubt that she is alive and that you have her. We want to hear from you and we are ready to listen. Please reach out to us, Savannah Guthrie said while fighting off tears. With her voice cracking, she addressed her mother directly, saying the family was praying for her and that people were looking for her. Mamma, if youre listening, we need you to come home. We miss you, Annie Guthrie added. Today show host Savannah Guthrie and her siblings shared a video pleading for their mothers safe release and proof shes still alive (instagram/savannahguthrie) Camron Guthrie posted his own video on Thursday, February 5, asking the suspected kidnappers to contact the family. Whoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you. We havent heard anything directly, he said in the video. We need you to reach out and we need a way to communicate with you so we can move forward. But first, we have to know that you have our mom. We want to talk to you and we are waiting for contact. On Saturday, the siblings posted another message acknowledging that contact had been made with a suspected kidnapper. In the video, Savannah Guthrie said her family has received your message and will pay for their mothers safe return. We beg you now to return our mother to us, so that we can celebrate with her, she said. Savannah Guthrie begged her mothers suspected kidnapper to return her (Instagram) Guthrie has been absent from the Today show and did not travel to Milan, Italy, to host the 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony. Many of Guthries colleagues have since offered their support as the search continues for her mother. An NBC Sports spokesperson told The Independent: Savannah will not be joining us at the Olympics as she focuses on being with her family during this difficult time. Our hearts are with her and the entire Guthrie family as the search continues for their mother. The Pima County Sheriffs Department said anyone with information should contact 1-800-CALL-FBI, 520-351-4900, 88-CRIME or visit tips.fbi.gov. Harvey Willgoose parents say too many red flags ignored before school stabbing The parents of a schoolboy who was stabbed to death by a fellow pupil during his lunch break said they believe the school could have saved his life by acting on the red flags shown by his killer. Harvey Willgoose, 15, was murdered at All Saints Catholic High School in Sheffield in front of horrified children and teachers by Mohammed Umar Khan, 15, who took a hunting knife to school. There were several missed opportunities to address behaviour and manage risk before the fatal stabbing, Willgoose familys lawyers said following an independent review into Harveys death. The private review was commissioned by St Clare Catholic Multi Academy Trust, which runs the school, and undertaken by a former school headteacher and inspector of schools at Learn Sheffield. The trust said it would not be publishing the report because of sensitivities involved, but released the recommendations, saying it would implement them in full and had made a number of changes since Harveys death in February 2025. Speaking to reporters ahead of the anniversary of Harveys death on Tuesday, his father Mark Willgoose said his sons life could 100% have been saved by the school. If they were doing what they should have been doing, Harvey would still be here today, he said. Caroline Willgoose, Harveys mother, said the report showed too many red flags by Khan that were not acted on, and renewed her call for knife arches to be installed in schools, as she said children were no safer now than at the time of Harveys death. Mark Willgoose said his sons life could 100% have been saved by the school (Danny Lawson/PA Wire) She said: Theres a knife problem out there, the one place children should feel safe is school. Mrs Willgoose added: I want the government to take some control from these academies because theyre a law unto themselves. Its about their reputations, its not about child safety. The couple said they had been shocked reading the report, and would like an apology from the school. Mr Willgoose said: They let Harvey down. Mrs Willgoose added: They let them both down. Mr Willgoose said it was a massive failing that Khan had been allowed to walk into the school that day. Mrs Willgoose highlighted the fact that a member of staff asked Khan if he had anything in his bag he should not have, and said: If youve got a reason to ask, youve got a reason to search. Law firm Irwin Mitchell, representing Harveys family, has seen the report and said it found that from the point Khan was first considered for a move to All Saints through to the day of the killing, school leaders could, and at times should, have taken different action, with system weaknesses contributing to oversights, assumptions and misjudgements. According to Irwin Mitchell, the report said safeguarding and behaviour records were not requested or reviewed before Khans move from another school to All Saints Catholic High was agreed and, when later transferred, were not read because of unclear responsibility. This meant staff were unaware of historic incidents involving violence, weapons references and anger. Irwin Mitchell said the report also found that weapons-related concerns were handled inconsistently. After pupils reported in October 2024 that Khan had previously carried a knife and brought a BB gun on a school trip, staff carried out a search but failed to investigate further, complete a risk assessment or put a safety plan in place, and records were incomplete. Pupils reported in October 2024 that Khan had previously carried a knife and brought a BB gun on a school trip (Danny Lawson/PA Wire) In December 2024, when an axe was found in his bag off-site, police were informed but no in-school follow-up occurred, which the review is said to have described as a safeguarding failure. The review also identifies policy gaps, unclear management responsibilities, and multiple occasions where government guidance was not followed, including inadequate after-search safeguarding checks and delayed or missing entries on an online child protection management system. As Khans behaviour escalated between November 2024 and January 2025, school leaders should have been joining the dots and recognised these as opportunities for intervention, Irwin Mitchell said. They added that the report found Khan was allowed into school unsearched and without any completed assessment on the day of Harveys death despite an open investigation into a fresh knife allegation. The report sets out 10 recommendations for the school, its Trust, the local authority and the Department for Education. These include: Mandatory record sharing at the outset of any pupil school move, with senior sign-off confirming full safeguarding and behaviour records have been reviewed before a pupil starts. Clarity in safeguarding and behaviour, including who monitors patterns of serious incidents. Create a clear weapons response policy. Fix systems and training including adding dedicated knives/weapons categories in online systems and ensure all staff are trained on government guidelines on how to search, screen and confiscate knives. Sheffield City Council to establish a citywide support system for pupils involved in, or at risk of, knife crime. The Department for Education to issue further national guidance on how schools respond to knife possession and reports of knife possession. Mrs Willgoose said: Harvey was the light of our lives. Anyone who knew him will tell you he was a fun-loving, cheeky, sociable kid who filled every room with energy. He had big dreams, he was always laughing, always bringing people together. Losing him has torn a hole in our family that will never be replaced. The report found Khan was allowed into school unsearched and without any completed assessment on the day of Harveys death despite an open investigation into a fresh knife allegation (Danny Lawson/PA Wire) Every day since Harvey was taken from us has been agony for us all. I still hear his voice saying I love you before he left for school that morning the last words I ever heard him say. No parent should outlive their child, and certainly not because of something as senseless and avoidable as a knife being brought into school. Reading the findings of this report has been devastating. To see in black and white the chances there were to step in, the signs that were missed and how many opportunities there were to protect our boy is something that nobody should be going through. Well always be angry about what happened to Harvey Harvey deserved better. All the children in that school deserved better. Steve Davies, chief executive of St Clare Catholic Multi Academy Trust, said: Harveys death was a profound tragedy for our community and our thoughts remain with his family. Not all questions about the events leading up to the tragedy were addressed by the criminal trial and we therefore commissioned this external investigation to bring as much transparency as possible to the situation. We are grateful to the investigator for his careful and thorough work, as well as to the members of our community who generously gave their time to support this important process. It is clear that the report identifies areas for improvement, including in relation to our processes, information-sharing and training. We are engaging with an external safeguarding expert to advise on how we can implement the recommendations across the school and, where appropriate, the Trust as a whole. We have already implemented a number of robust measures over the last year and will continue to take action in line with the reports recommendations and external advice from the statutory safeguarding agencies. The ex-husband of former First Lady Jill Biden has been charged with murder for the death of his wife following a domestic disturbance, officials announced. Bill Stevenson, 77, was arrested Monday and charged with first-degree murder in the death of 64-year-old Linda Stevenson after a police investigation that lasted over a month. Officers from the New Castle County Division of Police responded to reports of a domestic dispute at a home in Oak Hill, Wilmington, Delaware, late on December 28. Upon entering the home, officers found Linda Stevenson unresponsive in the living room and administered life-saving measures, but were unable to save her, according to a police press release at the time. Further details about her death and the moments before have not been released. William Stevenson, ex-husband of former First Lady Jill Biden, was arrested Monday and charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of 64-year-old Linda Stevenson (New Castle County Police Department/Getty) TMZ reported at the time that it was Stevenson who called authorities and cooperated with them. Until now, he had not been charged with a crime. Stevenson was taken into custody at the same address where his wifes body was found. He is currently being held at the Howard Young Correctional Institution after failing to post a $500,000 bail. The Independent has contacted the New Castle County Police Department for any further information on the case. Little is known about Jill Bidens marriage to Stevenson. Stevenson is currently in custody after failing to post a $500,000 bail (New Castle County Police) Stevenson married the former First Lady, then Jill Jacobs, in 1970 while she was studying at Brandywine Junior College, and she took his last name to become Jill Stevenson. However, the pair drifted apart and were officially divorced in 1975. During that time, Stevenson opened the Stone Balloon college bar, near the University of Delaware, which became one of the most popular in the U.S. and was once described by Rolling Stone as one of the best kept secrets in Rock and Roll. In a book,The Stone Balloon: The Early Years, Stevenson omits details of his divorce, but reportedly walked away from the case giving her only half of what she had asked for including part-ownership of the bar. Jill married then-Senator Joe Biden in June 1977. Stevenson married the former First Lady, then Jill Jacobs, in 1970 while she was studying at Brandywine Junior College, and she took his last name to become Jill Stevenson. The pair divorced in 1975 and she married Joe Biden in June 1977 (REUTERS) In 2022, her biographer Julie Pace told People that Biden had these expectations of sort of what that marriage was going to be, and the marriage did not live up to those expectations. She was incredibly young and probably a bit naive about what life was going to look like, and it stings her. It really stings her, and it makes her question quite a bit. In the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election, Stevenson came forward to dispute the Biden campaigns claims about how the former first couple met. He told WDEL in an interview that Jill met the future president while working on a local political campaign around 1972. Many of the campaign fundraisers were held at the Stone Balloon. Stevenson went on to accuse his former wife of having an affair, something a Biden spokesperson strongly denied at the time. The account put out by the Biden campaign details that it was Jills brother Frank who set up his sister and Joe on a blind date after her divorce. A growing number of Londoners are in temporary work, according to official figures. Thousands more people in the capital say they are doing this type of work as they are unable to find a permanent job. The analysis of hiring in London comes as unemployment in the city has risen faster than in any other region, hitting 7.2%. Tens of thousands of jobs have gone in retail, the hospitality sector, construction and office administration. The jobless rate among young Londoners, aged 16 to 24, has also hit a nine-year high. A growing number of Londoners are on temporary contracts (PA Archive) The number of people in temporary work in the capital rose from 219,000 on average in the year to June 2024, before Labour won the July general election, to 269,000 in the 12 months to last September, the latest available data. The figures fluctuate but the 269,000 total is close to a 21-year record high, having only been above this level in the year to June 2025, at 274,000 and 270,000 in the 12 months to December 2022 after the Covid pandemic. Out of the latest total, 72,000 say they are doing temporary work as they have not been able to find a permanent post, 20,000 more than in the year to June 2024. Sixty-six thousand said they wanted to be doing temporary work, 9,000 more than in the 12 months to last June, with a further 131,000 citing other reasons, up 21,000. Temporary work can include fixed-period contracts, agency temping, casual work and seasonal jobs. Chancellor Rachel Reeves (PA Wire) Labours flagship Employment Rights Act 2025 includes a series of measures to protect workers such as ending exploitative zero hours contracts and targeting unscrupulous fire and rehiring by firms. But Opposition parties have accused Chancellor Rachel Reeves of hitting businesses, and undermining economic growth, with a wave of tax rises. Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride said: Temporary work has its place, but when rising numbers of Londoners say they cannot find a permanent job, it points to deeper economic failure - as a result of Labour's choices. "When you tax work, jobs disappear - and Labours approach, which rewards welfare over work, is leaving businesses cutting back and a generation locked out of secure employment." Liberal Democrat London spokesman Luke Taylor, MP for Sutton and Cheam, said: Working people are paying the price for Labours National Insurance hike with unreliable employment and stagnant growth. What did Labour expect to happen when they hammered our high streets and put small businesses off from investing? The total number of full-time workers in the city has risen from the year to June 2024, when it was around 3,797,000, to some 3,860,000. But the data to September does not include the sharp rise in unemployment in the capital at the end of last year. A Government spokesman said: Full-time employment in London has risen by 64,000 since June 2024. And our Get Britain Working reforms and new Jobs and Careers Service will help people find permanent, well-paid work with lasting career progression. We are working hand in hand with more than 8,000 of Britain's biggest businesses to build a workforce equipped with the skills for the future economy." Workers heading to the City (PA Archive) The number of part-time workers in the capital has fallen to 986,000 in the year to September, down from 1,023,000 in the 12 months to June 2024, as has the total with second jobs from 214,000 to 178,000. Londoners in full-time jobs are working longer hours, at an average of 37.7 hours a week, returning to pre-pandemic levels, figures from the Office for National Statistics also showed. Katie Price married her fourth husband, Lee Andrews, in January. (Nordin Catic via Getty Images) Katie Price's relationships have been an endless source of fascination for the public, and her quickfire wedding to fourth husband, Lee Andrews has done little to dampen the interest. The former glamour model and mother of five, 47, confirmed her marriage to the businessman, 43, on social media just two days after revealing their engagement. Since then, the pair's whirlwind romance and relationship have been under close scrutiny, with reports emerging on Andrews' past and his ex-partners speaking out against him. For those who are curious to learn more about Katie Price's new relationship, here's what the couple have said. Katie Price and Lee Andrews confirm their engagement | 23 January Price and Andrews' confirmed their engagement on Instagram on 23 January following a whirlwind romance. The reality star confirmed they began speaking to each other on social media and decided to buy engagement rings before they had even met. In an interview with The Sun, Price said: "We connected [by] both checking each others socials and quickly realised, 'Wow, this is for me' in the old fashioned way, first by words which captured us both. "That evolved deeper as we connected further within days, [getting] matching tattoos, and then both deciding to buy rings for the other. "All this without even meeting, we let fate, but you could [say] destiny decide." The couple announce they are married | 25 January Price revealed on Sunday, 25 January that she had married Andrews by calling them the "happiest Mr & Mrs". The pair had a low-key wedding in Dubai, led by celebrant Darryl Rees. He later told the Daily Mail that, while he had officiated the nuptials, the ceremony was not legally binding in England and Wales. This is because a celebrant-led wedding is seen as a symbolic service and is not legally recognised. Speaking to the Daily Mail on 27 January, Rees said: "I'm a showman you have to go to court to have it legalised." It is not known whether the reality star has completed all the necessary legal paperwork, but Andrews subsequently confirmed on social media that they were legally married. Yahoo UK has contacted Katie Price's representatives for further comment. Katie Price returns to the UK | 26 January Katie Price returned to the UK on 26 January, 2026 without Lee Andrews. (Nordin Catic via Getty Images) Price returned to the UK without her new husband on 26 January. Her friend and presenter Lewis Nicholls subsequently shared a picture of the pair, sharing how delighted he was to see Price "so happy and loving life". Lee Andrews addresses Katie Price's solo return to the UK | 28 January After online speculation as to why the couple has separated so soon after getting married, Andrews posted a video on his Instagram Stories to address Price's decision to leave him in Dubai, saying he would be flying out to the UK on 29 January, and that she had left to reunite with her children. He explained: "I'm going be meeting Katie tomorrow in the UK. I just need to wrap up a few things here. She had to get back for her children because she's a good mother and she's lovely like that.' He also addressed speculation around the legitimacy of the marriage and questions around them wearing their wedding rings on the wrong hand: "Our rings are on the correct hand, which is on the right hand, no, Im joking, its on the left hand." Andrews did not reunite with Price on 29 January as he said he would. Price has also shared videos showing her wedding ring on the correct hand in a show of solidarity with Andrews. Lee Andrews addresses travel ban claims | 2 February Four days after he was meant to have been back in the UK, Andrews posted an Instagram Story on 2 February denying claims he was not allowed to leave Dubai due to a travel ban. He insisted he was not subject to any travel restrictions and shared what he said was a screenshot from a UAE Ministry of Interior app, which he said showed no travel ban on his profile. He said: "There's no travel ban, directly from the police UAE application and it's my profile so you can check those statuses, fines related to traffic and also if you're allowed to travel so allow me to share that. It's not fabricated." "I'm going on my honeymoon in a few days guys so definitely not on a travel ban. I'm in the happiest moment of my life so I'm looking forward to going with my person, my human, on my honeymoon." Katie Price reunites with Lee Andrews | 5 February On Thursday, 5 February the couple reunited and shared photos together on social media to show that they were back in each other's company. They posted the pictures on their Instagram stories, which disappears after 24 hours. Andrews explained that they would be going on honeymoon soon. The couple shared pictures on social media on 9 February of their trip, they were joined by Kerry Katona and her boyfriend Paolo Margaglione. Katie Price defends her fourth marriage | 8 February Addressing her marriage in a new video shared on her YouTube channel on Sunday, 8 February, Price said: "I'm fully aware like everyone else, I see stuff, I get sent stuff. What I want everyone to know is, I'm a grown a*** woman. "I'm 48 this year, I'm not a young kid. I've learned a lot in the past few years, through therapy and learning to love myself. So I'm not stupid, I know what I'm doing and if I'm happy that's all [that] matters." Reflecting on how she feels in the relationship, and the speculation around Andrews, Price added: "At the end of the day, no one knows what I know. It's only been speculated by the press. "I am very happy, and that's all [that] matters. That happy, that I'm going back to Dubai for the weekend. So I can't wait." Key revelations about Sarah Ferguson in Epstein files, including suggesting a woman for him to marry Sarah Ferguson appeared to have sent a flirtatious message to Jeffrey Epstein suggesting he marry both her and another woman. Sent by the former duchess to the convicted paedophiles private email address on 17 September 2009, she apparently wrote: You can marry her too. She is single and a great body. Ok well marry me and then we will employ her. Her former husband Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor also appears in email exchanges with Epstein, with Andrew appearing to invite him to Buckingham Palace, and Sarah apparently saying: I am at your service. Just marry me. She also told Epstein he was her pillar as she begged for him not to die and later asked for employment, according to newly released documents. Emails published by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) reveal the depth of Ms Fergusons friendship with Epstein and suggest the disgraced financier wanted her help to clear his name. Ms Ferguson appeared to email Epstein in July 2010, two years after he was convicted by a Florida state court of procuring a child for prostitution and of soliciting a prostitute, and said: Have you died on me ? Don't.. Please you are my pillar.. Sarah Ferguson emailed Epstein multiple times following his conviction (US Department of Justice) She followed up a month later confessing: I am feeling very traumatised and alone. I am wanting to work for you at organising your houses. I am in the South of France, she said, adding: I have the perfect butler. In a follow up email in September, she asked him: When are you going to employ me A previous email exchange from 2009 saw the then-Duchess of York call Epstein the brother I have always wished for as she updated Epstein on potential opportunities for her business brands and books. In just one week, after your lunch, it seems the energy has lifted, she wrote. "I have never been more touched by a friends [sic] kindness than your compliment to me infront of my girls. Thank you Jeffrey for being the brother I have always wished for. The next year, in another email between Sarah and Epstein she calls him a legend and describes her gratitude for him. She added: Xx I am at your service . Just marry me. Handout photo of Sarah Ferguson, centre, released in the latest tranche of the Epstein files (DOJ) Another email exchange believed to be from Epstein to three others, including his publicist, in March 2011 said: I think Fergie can now say, I am not a pedo. It adds: She was DUPED into believeing [sic] false stories. At the time, Epstein had been accused of abusing dozens of teenage girls between 1999 and 2007. He avoided federal sex trafficking charges and served 13 months in jail for lesser state charges of soliciting prostitution from someone under 18 in 2008. Emails show Epsteins publicist at the time Mike Sitrick said they have a strategy to get newspapers to stop calling you a pedophile and one was to get Fergie to retract. Sarah emailed Epstein a month later saying she did not and would not call him a P, and that she had acted to protect my own brand. In 2009, Ferguson wrote to Epstein and said: "I urgently need 20,000 pounds ($27,521) for rent today following the collapse of her business venture, The landlord has threatened to go to the newspapers if I dont pay. Any brainwaves? Hundreds of email exchanges between Epstein and Ms Ferguson have been released (2023 Invision) The email exchange started between Epstein and a man named David Stern, who shared a copy of an ABC article questioning if Fergusons finances were in jeopardy. Epstein suggests the leak could come from disgruntled investors and Ferguson replies confirming an investor has broken a confidentiality agreement. Although the email chain appears to end once she explains that she needs money for rent, elsewhere an email from Epstein claims to have helped her financially for 15 years. In several emails, Fergusons daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are named, including Epstein asking if they are free to say hello in July 2010. Emails in July 2009 also suggest a lunch was held between Ferguson, her daughters and Epstein. Epstein was invited to several events involving the royal family giving him access to British high society. Both Sarah Ferguson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor will soon move out of the Royal Lodge after their connections with Jeffrey Epstein were fully realised (PA) Then Prince Andrews private secretary Amanda Thirsk wrote to Epstein on behalf of Ferguson in February 2010, to invite him to Andrews 50th birthday party at St Jamess Palace in London. Another email from Epstein to hedge fund manager Glenn Dubin in 2009 claims "fergie said she could organize tea in the buckingham palace apts.. or windsor castle" [sic]. A message sent by Ferguson to Epstein congratulating the paedophile on the birth of a baby boy after he was released from jail in 2011, suggests he had a secret child, The Telegraph reported. Dont know if you are still on this BBM but heard from The Duke that you have had a baby boy. Even though you never kept in touch, I am still here with love, friendship and congratulations on your baby boy. Sarah xx, she said in the message sent 15 years ago. But it has never been established if Epstein had any children. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, whose titles have already been stripped, will soon move out of the Royal Lodge. His ex-wife Ferguson will also need to move home and has already been dropped by several charities over her links to Epstein. Millions of pages of documents related to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein were released on Friday (US Department of Justice) The Independent has contacted Ms Fergusons representatives for comment. A spokesman for Sarahs Trust said on Monday evening that the charity would close for the foreseeable future. They said: Our chair Sarah Ferguson and the board of trustees have agreed that with regret the charity will shortly close for the foreseeable future. This has been under discussion and in train for some months, the statement continued. We remain extremely proud of the work of the trust over recent years. We have partnered with over 60 other charities in over 20 countries, providing education, healthcare, crisis response and environmental projects. We delivered over 150,000 aid parcels during the Covid pandemic, provided medical aid and training for those affected by the war in Ukraine and delivered education for over 200 children in Ghana. California parents Natalie Sumiko Brothwell and Maurice Jewel Taylor Sr. were sentenced this week to six years in prison plus two consecutive life sentences without parole after decapitating their two children and making their siblings view their bodies (Pima County Sheriff's Department/Law & Crime Network) A California mother and father decapitated two of their children and then forced their younger siblings to look at their bodies in what prosecutors have called a monstrous act of cruelty. Maurice Jewel Taylor Sr., 39, and his wife, Natalie Sumiko Brothwell, 49, were found guilty of two felony counts of first-degree murder in November 2025 for the killings of their 12-year-old son, Maurice, and 13-year-old daughter, Maliaka, inside their Lancaster home on November 29, 2020. Both were sentenced Monday to six years in prison plus two consecutive terms of life without parole, the Los Angeles Times reported. This was a monstrous act of cruelty that shattered an entire family, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said. Two innocent children were brutally murdered, and their young brothers were left to live through unimaginable horror. Prosecutors said the parents forced their two younger sons to look at their siblings decapitated bodies. California parents Natalie Sumiko Brothwell and Maurice Jewel Taylor Sr. were sentenced this week to six years in prison plus two consecutive life sentences without parole after decapitating their two children and making their siblings view their bodies (Pima County Sheriff's Department/Law & Crime Network) They then forced their two younger sons, ages 8 and 9, to view their siblings bodies and remain confined in their bedrooms without food for several days, the district attorneys office said. In November 2025, the parents were also convicted of two counts of child abuse under circumstances or conditions likely to cause great bodily injury or death, the district attorney said. The father, Taylor, worked as a personal trainer in Santa Monica, but held Zoom sessions due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, when he failed to log in to meetings with clients in December 2020, they became concerned and contacted the authorities. When deputies arrived at the home, they found the childrens bodies in separate bedrooms with what investigators called some type of sharp trauma from either a stabbing or slicing device, KTLA reported. The children were identified by authorities as a 12-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl. Taylor was arrested and charged with murder and child abuse four days later. Meanwhile, Brothwell was arrested in September 2021 at her home in Tucson, Arizona, a day after authorities issued a warrant for her arrest, KTLA reported. The two surviving children were placed under a 10-year protective order by the court. A new report has come to the conclusion that the countryside is predominantly enjoyed by people who are white and middle class - Alamy On a dark, murky and damp morning the news that the Government wants the countryside to become more diverse will make most farmers wonder if its worth pulling on their boots. At present, the prospects are rather bleak. Margins are tough, profits slim (if they exist at all), theres a labour shortage, uncertainties over subsidies and tax, and the prospect of unfair overseas competition. As the farmer heeds the call of duty that is hungry cattle, sheep with foot rot, checking waterlogged arable fields or contemplating a morning in a cold barn clearing mud off a seed drill, they might wonder what help could possibly come their way. So here comes Defra. And what is that bundle of files under the arm of the official from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs? Its the latest instalment in a long-running campaign to improve the ethnic diversity of visitors to Englands so-called protected landscapes. Whitehall officials and the bods who toil in the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) doubtless revel in the work that goes by Defra Project Code BE0180. A report which cost over 100,000 to produce, the focus is not that the land is not profitable but that the landscape is too white. And while the reports and plans were put in motion long before Starmer and his crew took on the reins of government, this administration is running with it with unbridled zeal. Orders have gone out to the regions, and officials in areas from the Chilterns to North Yorkshire are rising to the challenge by pledging to attract more minorities. Defra, who has stated that the countryside is a white environment enjoyed mainly by people who are white middle class, has declared that, in our multicultural society, the countryside must avoid the risk of becoming irrelevant. Its a three-line whip that is seeing officials in National Landscapes, previously known as areas of outstanding natural beauty, and local councils sing from the same politically correct hymn sheet as Defra publishes a new series of management plans. So the Chilterns National Landscape team has promised to hire more diverse staff and produce marketing materials written in community languages, that feature, prominently, people from ethnic minority backgrounds. The Malvern Hills team has chorused that: Many minority peoples have no connection to nature in the UK because their parents and their grandparents did not feel safe enough to take them, or had other survival preoccupations. Nidderdale, in North Yorkshire, echoes with a warning that those from ethnic minorities might find a barrier to access the countryside and have concerns about how they will be received when visiting an unfamiliar place. The River Nidd in Nidderdale - Getty This will, no doubt, be going down frightfully well at Defra, delighted that the nations rural officials are kowtowing to their edict, and are swallowing, chapter and verse, the report compiled by the NatCen Social Research team. Because grappling with actual, on-going, sometimes life and death issues on and around Britains National Landscapes the filthy, muddy, daily grind that is farming, that is producing food for this country is nothing like as fun as conjuring the fantastic ghoul that is a diversity crisis. And NatCens Final Report is Holy Writ, a go-to bible of 40,384 words. Issued in 2022, Improving the Ethnic Diversity of Visitors to Englands Protected Landscapes is a document that slaps you round the chops with a rapid evidence assessment and lobs a final body blow with its Behaviour Change Wheel. Among the learnings are that National Landscapes are less appealing to some [because of] a lack of representation of ethnic minority groups in visual images, public transport infrastructure usually did not enable visits meaning that there was a heavy reliance on private cars and theres a fear of experiencing racismleading to a lack of motivation to visit. Problems were cited in that: A lack of food options particularly affected Pakistani and Bangladeshi participants who observed the Muslim faith, but also black and black British visitors who felt excluded by the dominance of English pub culture. There is also a lack of toilet facilities [for] those who may use toilet facilities as part of their preparations for prayer, and the vastness of landscapes and a lack of adequate signage made [the countryside] difficult to navigate, which led to a fear of getting lost. All of which leads me back to the very real picture of our farmer pulling on their wellies at dawn, near where I write on the edge of Exmoor in West Somerset. For now the day ahead must see our overalls-clad hero liaising with stewards as they set off across the wilds of the moor to erect multi-lingual signs so that ethnic minority visitors dont get lost up there. Meanwhile our desperate need for funding for regular and affordable buses to enable, for example, young people to find work here, and not give up and migrate to towns, must be diverted to ferrying black and Asian families from Taunton station on to the glorious Quantocks. I look forward to hearing from neighbouring pub landlords, battling to stay afloat in the midst of vast hikes in business rates, as they deal with a diktat from the local council to put a nice goat Haleem with simmered wheat and lentils on the menu. And yes, they may be struggling to fix that leaky roof, but theyd better adapt those loos in time for the next call to prayer. Britains landscape is dwelt upon by a population shaped by history that happens to be mainly white. It should be of no consequence to those who live on it that this fact confects upset and concern among predominantly metropolitan bureaucrats who manufacture a living by dressing up what might be mild discomfort into oppression. Our countryside has a fundamental use which is to produce food. The Governments concern, and especially that of Defra, should be to protect and nurture those who, in the face of vast difficulties, engage in this vital industry. Focusing time, attention, and public resources on making it less white is an infuriating dereliction of duty, one which will leave the countryside poorer and undermines the people and systems upon which the nations food security depends. A fundraising appeal to acquire the land surrounding Dorset's iconic Cerne Abbas Giant has successfully met its target in just 60 days. The National Trust secured 330,000, contributing to the purchase and care of 138 hectares adjacent to the famous landmark in Dorset. Donations, ranging from 1 to 32,000, arrived from supporters across 20 countries, including Australia, Japan, and Ireland, the charity confirmed. Overall, more than 2 million has been raised to buy the area known as Giants Lair, which incorporates Giant Hill and its diverse wildlife. The campaign also received backing from actor and writer Sir Stephen Fry. Hannah Jefferson, general manager for West Dorset & Cranborne Chase, said: Entering 2026, its amazing that we now have this opportunity to do so much more around the Cerne Abbas Giant. We were able to hit the target thanks to the generous donations made via the appeal, gifts from major donors, legacies, support from local businesses as well as grants, all knitting together to make this once-in-a-lifetime acquisition possible. We can now set about creating a patchwork or mosaic of habitats to help species adapt and thrive. The campaign to help buy the land surrounding the famous Cerne Abbas Giant is being supported by actor and writer Sir Stephen Fry (James Beck/National Trust Images) Designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, Giant Hill is home to 36 butterfly species. Purchasing the land would allow the charity to restore and care for sections of chalk grassland, plant new woodland and create a mosaic of habitats that support species under threat and help wildlife adapt to climate change. Work has already begun to recruit a local area ranger, who will lead National Trust staff, contractors and volunteers on next steps. The team will also be looking to work in partnership with organisations including Butterfly Conservation. Ms Jefferson added: Now that the land is in our care, well be getting to know the site and its opportunities, talking to the community about their aspirations and local knowledge, and applying for any relevant, additional grants to help us invest further in nature. In early summer, the Giant itself will be re-chalked, with help from 10 appeal donors who won the money-cant-buy experience as part of a Crowdfunder prize draw. Purchasing the land surrounding the the famous Cerne Abbas Giant would allow the charity to restore and care for sections of chalk grassland, plant new woodland and create a mosaic of habitats that support species under threat and help wildlife adapt to climate change (Getty Images) The donors will join staff and volunteers to pack some 17 tonnes of chalk into the Giants vast outline, keeping weeds at bay and ensuring it remains visible for miles around for years to come. The land purchase will also unlock new opportunities for archaeology, building on analysis in 2021 which found that the Giant was probably first carved in the Early Medieval period (7701100 AD). Archaeologist Steve Timms said: The acquisition will provide an opportunity for archaeological research and investigation on a landscape scale. This will not only help us manage the land in the most appropriate way but also answer questions about the development of settlement and ritual activity over the area over several millennia. At least seven more federal prosecutors in Minnesota have quit or intend to quit after a wave of U.S. attorneys in the state resigned over the Department of Justices reluctance to investigate the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who fatally shot Renee Good, according to recent reports. Local outlet KARE 11 reported the new resignations Monday, naming Dan Bobier, Allen Slaughter and Ana Voss as some of the prosecutors who parted ways with the DOJ. Its unclear what led to the second wave of resignations. When The Independent reached out to the DOJ for comment, it referred to a February 2025 memo from Attorney General Pam Bondi that read, It is the job of an attorney privileged to serve in the Department of Justice to zealously defend the interests of the United States. Those interests, and the overall policy of the UnitedStates, are set by the Nation's Chief Executive, who is vested by the Constitution with all [E]xecutive Power. At least seven more federal prosecutors in Minnesota have quit or intend to quit after a wave of attorneys resigned over the DOJs reluctance to investigate the ICE agent who shot Renee Good, according to recent reports (Getty Images) The new resignations come weeks after The New York Times reported that six Minnesota federal prosecutors, including Joseph Thompson, resigned over the DOJs lack of an investigation into ICE officer Jonathan Ross, who killed Good in Minneapolis in early January, and the departments demand that Goods widow, Becca, be probed. Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and mother of three, was fatally shot by Ross while she was behind the wheel of her car on January 7. The Trump administration has claimed it was done in self-defense, but Good appeared in a video to be driving away from federal agents who surrounded her car when she was shot. Becca said that she and Good had stopped to support their neighbors during an ICE operation the day her wife was killed. The new wave of resignations includes that of Dan Bobier, who was expected to take over prosecuting fraud in Minnesota (AFP via Getty Images) We had whistles, Becca said, per MPR News. They had guns. Thompson, who was previously appointed by President Donald Trump to serve as Minnesotas acting U.S. attorney and has more recently served as the first assistant U.S. attorney, reportedly resigned on January 13, along with assistant U.S. attorneys Melinda Williams, Harry Jacobs, and Thomas Calhoun-Lopez. During his tenure, Thompson oversaw a massive fraud investigation that is intertwined with Trumps immigration crackdown in Minnesota. The new resignations come weeks after The New York Times reported that six Minnesota federal prosecutors, including Joseph Thompson (pictured), resigned over the DOJs lack of an investigation into ICE officer Jonathan Ross (AP) Thompson said last December that half or more of the around $18 billion in federal funds that supported state welfare programs since 2018 may have been stolen. The Associated Press reported, citing the U.S. Attorneys Office for Minnesota, the overwhelming majority of defendants in the fraud schemes are Somali Americans, who Trump has called garbage. Bobier, one of the prosecutors who most recently reportedly resigned, was expected to assume Thompsons responsibility of prosecuting fraud in Minnesota. Lucy Letby is currently serving 15 whole life orders. (Dorset Media Service) More than two years after neonatal nurse Lucy Letby was convicted of murdering several newborn babies, her barrister and other supporters continue to call for a fresh court appeal. Letby, whose case will be explored in a new Netflix documentary airing on Wednesday, is currently serving 15 whole life orders for the murder of seven infants and the attempted murder of seven others (with two attempts on one of her victims) at the Countess of Chester Hospital. It was a case that shocked the nation but it has proven to be anything but straightforward, with some medical experts, MPs and a former Supreme Court judge raising questions about the evidence and verdicts. Attempts to exonerate Letby have dismayed some victims' parents, with one telling the MailOnline that it was "disrespectful" and "very upsetting" and that they trusted the jury's decision, while Cheshire Constabulary also defended its investigation. The push for another appeal received a boost in January after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) dismissed a series of fresh allegations against Letby, which her lawyer suggests opens the door for a new challenge. What was Lucy Letby convicted of? Letby, 36, from Hereford, was convicted of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder seven others, with two attempts on one of her victims, between June 2015 and June 2016. While working at the neonatal ward at the Countess of Chester hospital, prosecutors said she killed four babies by injecting air into their bloodstreams, and tried to kill several others using this method. She was also convicted of attempting to kill two babies by injecting them with insulin, pumping air into one baby's feeding tube and force-feeding one with milk. She faced a retrial on one remaining attempted murder charge, as the jury could not reach a verdict. Following the retrial at Manchester Crown Court, Letby was convicted of the attempted murder of another and was sentenced to her fifteenth whole life order. Lady Justice Thirlwalls inquiry report into how Letby was able to commit her crimes on a hospital neonatal unit is due to be published this year. On what grounds does Lucy Letby want a retrial? Letby's convictions have proved controversial, with a panel of 14 experts from six countries, brought together by Conservative MP David Davis, claiming in February last year that they had found "no medical evidence" of Letby's crimes. They said that, instead, bad medical care and natural causes led to the deaths of babies said to have been harmed by Letby. The panel identified what it claimed were a number of medical problems at the hospital at the relevant period. A sketch of Letby listening to verdicts being read at Manchester Crown Court in August 2023. (Elizabeth Cook, PA Images) These included, they said, poor skills in resuscitation and inserting breathing tubes and a lack of understanding of some basic procedures, along with misdiagnoses and unsafe delays in treatment of acutely poorly babies. Evidence of inadequate numbers of appropriately trained staff, work overload, lack of teamwork and caring for ill babies probably beyond their expected ability of designated level of care was also found, they said. Jeremy Hunt, who was health secretary at the time of the deaths, called last summer for an "urgent re-examination" of the case. Hunt pleaded with the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which investigates potential miscarriages of justice and is currently assessing Letby's case, to speed up its process. A panel of medical experts brought together by MP Sir David Davis questioned the evidence used to convict Letby in a press conference last year. (Leon Neal via Getty Images) A decision by the CPS in January to dismiss 11 new charges against Letby in relation to nine babies, ruling that the "evidential test was not met", was also seized upon by Letby's barrister Mark McDonald as further grounds for an appeal. He said: Lucy Letby has always maintained her innocence she has never hurt a child and never would. It is vital that the case is now referred back to the Court of Appeal as a matter of urgency." McDonald has pointed to 31 reports submitted to the CCRC, "compiled by 26 internationally renowned experts", which he said "provide overwhelming evidence that no babies were murdered". Click below to see the latest North West headlines However, Cheshire Constabulary said it was "confident" that it had enough evidence to take to the CPS, and said its decision "does not affect or undermine the convictions of Lucy Letby for multiple murders and attempted murders of premature babies". It also said the decision would have no impact on Operation Duet, the ongoing and separate investigation into corporate manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter at the Countess of Chester Hospital. The force pointed out that Letby was convicted after an "extensive investigation" and two trials, and has already failed two attempts to appeal her conviction. In the first instance in July 2024, the Court of Appeal said it did "not consider that the criteria for the admission of fresh evidence have been met" and that there was "no arguable basis" to challenge the judge's discretion not to exclude evidence of expert witness Dr Dewi Evans. In October 2024 the court refused leave to appeal Letby's single conviction from the retrial, rejecting claims of "abuse of process" following concerns she would not get a fair trial due to her media attention. What happens next? In February 2025, the CCRC, an independent body which does not work with the government, courts or police, said it received an application on behalf of Letby. The commission said that "further comment" on its review "will not be provided while the review is under way". We have received a preliminary application in relation to Ms Letbys case, and work has begun to assess the application. We anticipate further submissions being made to us," a spokesperson said at the time. A view of the Countess of Chester Hospital where Lucy Letby worked. (Jacob King, PA Images) "It is not for the CCRC to determine innocence or guilt in a case. Thats a matter for the courts. "It is for the CCRC to find, investigate and, if appropriate, refer potential miscarriages of justice to the appellate courts when new evidence or new argument means there is a real possibility that a conviction will not be upheld, or a sentence reduced. At this stage, it is not possible to determine how long it will take to review this application. A significant volume of complicated evidence was presented to the court in Ms Letbys trials." If the CCRC decides to refer the case for appeal, it must then be heard by the Court of Appeal, although this does not guarantee a retrial or the quashing of convictions. "If a case is referred, it is then for the appeal court to decide whether the conviction is unsafe," the commission adds. Writing in a blog post in February 2025, Dr Daniel Alge, a senior lecturer in criminology at Brunel University, wrote that the CCRC will require new evidence or other relevant factors that would support a fresh appeal. "To send the case back for appeal, the CCRC would also need to conclude that there was a real possibility of the conviction being overturned," Dr Alge added. Decisions: Pep Guardiola (London Standard) Rayan Cherki is on the bench tonight as Manchester City face Newcastle in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final. The French playmaker netted his ninth goal for City in all competitions during Sundays 2-2 draw at Tottenham, but was forced off in the second half after receiving treatment following a heavy knock. CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW MAN CITY VS NEWCASTLE LIVE! Cherki has been passed fit for the league cup decider, but Pep Guardiola has opted against risking the attacking midfielder, instead handing a recall to to Phil Foden, whose drop in output since December has been followed by benchings in each of Citys last three matches in all competitions. Unfortunately for City, new arrival Marc Guehi was not registered in time for the semi-final first leg and is therefore unavailable for this second leg, too. That means the left-footed Nathan Ake fills in alongside right-sided centre-back Abdukodir Khusanov. City will be without new centre-back Marc Guehi on Wednesday due to competition rules (Getty Images) Between the posts, James Trafford keeps his place for this cup tie ahead of usual No1 Gianluigi Donnarumma. Perhaps looking ahead to the weekends clash away at Liverpool, Erling Haaland is rested with Omar Marmoush slated to lead the line for Man City. Confirmed team news Man City XI: Trafford; Nunes, Khusanov, Ake, Ait-Nouri; Nico, Reijnders, O'Reilly; Semenyo, Foden, Marmoush. Substitutes: Donnarumma, Dias, Haaland, Cherki, Rodri, Nypan, McAidoo, Alleyne, Lewis. Flight VY8351 from Valencia airport departed two hours and 10 minutes later than scheduled (Getty Images) A popular Spanish airport faced two hours of flight delays after a man climbed on top of a Vueling aircraft on Saturday. The unidentified man ran across the Amsterdam-bound Airbus A320 on the runway of Valencias Manises airport, reported Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia. Video footage from witnesses in the terminal shows the intruder gesturing and shouting at staff and security workers as they attempted to bring him down from the fuselage at around 6.30pm. According to the Guardia Civil, once removed from the aircraft roof, the individual was admitted to a local hospital due to an altered psychological state. The Guardia Civil added that the traveller was reported for violating the Air Safety Law, an offence that can carry financial penalties and prison sentences. The man was not carrying any weapons, with no injuries reported following the 10-minute incident. Flight VY8351 from Valencia to Amsterdam departed for the Dutch capital at approximately 8.45pm, two hours and 10 minutes later than scheduled. Spanish airport operator Aena has opened an internal investigation to determine how the individual was able to access the restricted operations area. The Independent has contacted Aena and Vueling for comment. Its not the first time a traveller has trespassed on the tarmac. In November, two travellers were arrested in Germany after attempting to chase their missed flight down the runway. The men, aged 28 and 47, were spotted sprinting towards a Romania-bound Wizz Air flight departing Cologne Bonn airport. According to German police, the B70 gate had closed for boarding when the late passengers allegedly smashed an emergency alarm to open the door to the tarmac. A police spokesperson told German newspaper Bild: Criminal charges for trespassing have been filed against the men; a violation of the Air Security Act is still being investigated. Read more: Wheel falls off British Airways flight as it takes off for Heathrow Peter Mandelson will be investigated by police after Sir Keir Starmer handed authorities a dossier of extraordinary emails that suggested the disgraced peer had leaked sensitive government information to Jeffrey Epstein. In an astonishing attack on the former minister, Sir Keir accused Lord Mandelson of letting his country down and warned there could be more damning revelations to emerge in the scandal, which has rocked the Labour Party and British politics. Former prime minister Gordon Brown has also written to Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley with information relevant to his investigation of Lord Mandelsons disclosure of market-sensitive and confidential government information to Epstein, while serving as business secretary in his government as it dealt with the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash. Sir Keir has ordered a new government review into all contact between the disgraced paedophile financier and Lord Mandelson while he was Mr Browns business secretary. He also asked officials to draft legislation to strip Lord Mandelson of his peerage as quickly as possible. Hours later, the Lord Speaker announced the former UK ambassador to Washington, who had already quit the Labour Party over the tranche of emails, would stand down from the House of Lords. Keir Starmer has handed police a dossier on Mandelson (Carl Court/Pool Photo via AP) On Tuesday evening, the Metropolitan Police announced that Lord Mandelson would be investigated on suspicion of misconduct in public office offences, which carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. A Government spokesperson said: "The Government stands ready to provide whatever support and assistance the police need." Sir Keir is expected to come under further pressure on Wednesday as the Conservatives try to push a binding vote in the Commons to force ministers to reveal details of vetting carried out before Lord Mandelson was made US ambassador last year. On another day of major developments: Prince Edward became the first member of the royal family to speak out about the most recently released Epstein documents, saying it was important to remember the victims Sarah Fergusons charity announced it will close for the foreseeable future after new revelations emerged about the former duchesss friendship with Epstein In a bizarre interview, Lord Mandelson insisted he would not hide under a rock as he praised Epsteins dinner parties A new photo emerged from the Epstein files apparently showing the peer receiving a foot massage Sir Keir said it was gobsmacking that a politician wouldnt remember payments of significant sums of money from Epstein, as Lord Mandelson had claimed Downing Street confirmed the Cabinet Office had referred material to the Metropolitan Police on Tuesday amid concerns that handling safeguards around highly sensitive government information had been compromised. The Met Police is already reviewing reports into alleged misconduct in a public office over the alleged leaking of sensitive information. But it is understood that the new dossier was handed over at the governments instigation, and had not been requested by the police. The prime ministers official spokesperson said: An initial review of the documents released in relation to Jeffrey Epstein by the US Department of Justice ... found that they contain likely market-sensitive information surrounding the 2008 financial crash and official activities thereafter to stabilise the economy. Only people operating in an official capacity had access to this information [and there were] strict handling conditions to ensure it was not available to anyone who could potentially benefit from it financially. It appears these safeguards were compromised. Mandelson with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein (US Department of Justice) In light of this information, the Cabinet Office has referred this material to the police. Sir Keir told his cabinet that he was appalled by what had emerged in the past few days in the Epstein files. He said the alleged passing on of highly sensitive government information was disgraceful, adding that he was not reassured that the totality of information had yet emerged. He added that for the public to see a politician say that they could not recall significant sums of money, after bank statements from 2003 and 2004 appear to show he received payments totalling $75,000 from the financier, was gobsmacking and risked undermining voters faith in politics. Before Lord Mandelson announced he would retire from the Lords, Sir Keir told his cabinet that the government had to press and go further, working at speed in the Lords, including legislatively if necessary to remove him. No 10 said officials were drafting legislation that would allow his peerage to be removed as quickly as possible, in what is understood to be a timeline of weeks, not months. Downing Street also said the PM believed the Lords should have a mechanism to remove transgressors more quickly. A new picture emerged of Mandelson receiving a foot rub (US Department of Justice) The latest tranche of documents released by the US Department of Justice appears to show Epstein was sent internal discussions from the heart of the UK government in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. Lord Mandelson has insisted Epsteins money did not influence his actions in government. On Monday, Lord Mandelson admitted his partner had accepted funding from Epstein for an osteopathy course. But he rejected the suggestion this had left him open to bribery claims. In the interview with The Times, which was conducted over a number of days, he suggested he thought he still had a future in British public life, saying that hiding under a rock would be a disproportionate response to a handful of misguided historical emails, which I deeply regret sending. With pressure mounting on Lord Mandelson to resign from the Lords, health secretary Wes Streeting told the BBC earlier on Tuesday that the peers actions were a betrayal on so many levels. There are continued calls for Lord Mandelson to be removed from the privy council, which advises the monarch. On Monday, Mr Brown revealed that he asked for an investigation five months ago into the sale of assets arising from the banking collapse and communications about them between Lord Mandelson and Mr Epstein after emails sent between the pair assessing the state of the UK economy in the wake of the financial crisis, suggested the government had saleable assets that could be sold to the private sector to reduce debt. Mr Brown said he was told that there was no record of any communication between Epstein and Lord Mandelson on the issue. Asked if the new internal review would look again at the questions raised by Mr Brown, No 10 said it would consider all contact between the two men. Mandelson says he wont hide under a rock as he praises Epsteins parties in bizarre interview Lord Mandelson has insisted he will not hide under a rock despite a series of shocking revelations about his relationship with the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. The Metropolitan Police is reviewing reports of alleged misconduct in a public office after the peer was accused of leaking sensitive information to Epstein while a cabinet minister. There are also calls for him to be thrown out of the House of Lords and removed from the Privy Council, the elite group which advises the monarch. Concerns over the former top spin doctors relationship with Epstein were reignited late on Friday, when the US Department of Justice released the latest batch of documents relating to the disgraced billionaire. The files apparently show Lord Mandelson passing information to Epstein while the business secretary in Gordon Browns government. Mr Brown himself has demanded an investigation into the wholly unacceptable disclosure. In an interview given over a number of days, both before and after he resigned from the Labour party over the emails on Sunday night, Lord Mandelson said that hiding under a rock would be a disproportionate response to a handful of misguided historical emails, which I deeply regret sending. Bizarrely, he added: I too am amazed by some of the conversations I had and areas of my life where I was seeking advice from Epstein. There are calls for Mandelson to be thrown out of the House of Lords and removed from the Privy Council (PA Archive) He also praised Epsteins dinner parties, hailed his own skills and talked about contributing ideas to the UK, in an interview with The Times. He also said he could not recall anything related to an extraordinary photo, released by the DoJ, that pictured him in his underpants. He said he had no idea what I am doing in this photograph or who the woman was. It looks as though she came in and showed me something on an iPad. He claimed his sacking as US ambassador to Washington last year, after previous emails came to light, was like a 5.30am drive-by shooting. He and his partner were told to be out of their US accommodation in a week, with everything packed up and removed, he complained. It felt like being killed without actually dying, he said of what he described as a life-changing crisis. On Sunday, after his resignation from Labour, he said the decision wasnt easy, but he feels better for it as I need to reset. A newly released picture which appears to show Lord Mandelson in his underwear speaking to an unknown person wearing a bathrobe (PA Media) On his husband taking money from Epstein for an osteopathy course, he said: The idea that giving Reinaldo an osteopath bursary is going to sway mine or anyone elses views about banking policy is risible. He also insisted he had absolutely no recollection or records of receiving payments from Epstein amounting to $75,000. He said he learnt the truth about him after his [2019] death, not in the early Noughties. He was a master manipulator. I can see that now. Describing Epstein as a classic sociopath, he also talked about how, at a dinner the financier threw, I sat next to someone in charge of brain research at Harvard. I was sitting opposite the founders of Google. At the other end of the table was Bill Gates. There is no suggestion of wrongdoing on their parts. He also defended urinating on a wall after dinner with George Osborne in Notting Hill in the wake of his sacking last year. People said it was very humanising, he said, blaming the decision on two Uber cars cancelling, leaving him bursting for a pee. I could have gone back and woken them all up, but they did have three children [there]. Lord Mandelson pictured with Jeffrey Epstein (US Department of Justice) He made clear he still has plans to take part in British public life. A friend has said to me, Remember, tough times dont last. Tough people do, he said. Thats the belief I held on to. Someone else said, Remember, you are the same person with the same knowledge and the same skills you had before this crisis hit you. This crisis has not taken any of those things away from you. He added: I think I want a sea change. I want to be more of an outsider looking in rather than the other way round. I want to contribute ideas that enable Britain to strengthen and to work for all, in every part of the country. He also revealed there was a serious wobble in London over the agreement and its sellability to the British public over Keir Starmers controversial Chagos Islands deal last year. Scotland is bracing for more snowfall (Beth Edmonston/PA) (PA Wire) Scotland is bracing for significant snowfall as the Met Office issues two yellow weather warnings across large swathes of the country, impacting travel and raising concerns about potential flooding. The primary warning, effective from midnight on Tuesday until 3pm on Wednesday, covers a vast area stretching north from Stirling to include Perth, Aviemore, Inverness, Fife, the Highlands, and extending as far as the Orkney Islands. A separate alert has been issued for the Shetland Islands, commencing at 6pm on Tuesday and remaining until Wednesday evening. The west and north-west regions are unaffected. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) has also issued a flood warning for the Churchill Barriers area of the Orkney Islands. Sepa cautioned about possible localised flooding in parts of Tayside and Angus, though no official warnings are in place. More snow is expected to hit Scotland (Getty) A spokesperson stated: "Localised coastal impacts are possible in Orkney and up the east coast from high wave overtopping at times of high tide. Localised river flooding impacts are also possible in eastern Tayside and Angus resulting in flooding to low lying land and roads." The anticipated severe weather is expected to cause widespread travel disruption. Ferry operator CalMac has announced yellow and amber warnings for potential cancellations and delays. ScotRail has urged passengers to verify their travel plans in advance. On X, the railway operator advised: "If youre travelling tomorrow or Wednesday, please check your journey on our website, app or visit us at http://journeycheck.com/scotrail/ as were expecting snow across parts of the country. We plan to run a full service but some disruption is possible." The flood warning to Scotland comes just days after Storm Chandra affected several parts of the UK, with schools closing and transport badly disrupted as a result of the adverse weather. Yellow weather warnings were also issued in Devon and Cornwall last week. Lawyers for Michael Flatley have succeeded in obtaining a legal blocking order against the management company running the Lord Of The Dance shows. The court in Belfast heard the Riverdance choreographer has been in practice with dancers, and sets and costumes were being taken away after a performance later this week was unilaterally cancelled without Flatleys notice. In a statement Flatley welcomed the injunction and said the show must go on and it will go on. Mr Justice Simpson granted a temporary injunction against Switzer Consulting after the Belfast-based firm said the opening performance of the 30th Anniversary Tour was cancelled. The injunction will prevent Switzer from obstructing Flatley making use of the intellectual property and running/operating the Lord of the Dance show in Dublin on Thursday 5 February. Last Thursday, a legal order blocking Flatley from engaging with the Lord Of The Dance production was overturned by a court in Belfast. Michael Flatley outside Belfast High Court (PA) (Liam McBurney) Switzer had taken legal action in a civil case against the choreographer and dancer for alleged breach of contract, relating to an agreement the firm says was reached to allow it to run the dance shows. On Tuesday a solicitor for Switzer released a statement claiming the show in the 3 Arena in Dublin scheduled for Thursday had been called off with immediate effect. At the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast on Tuesday David Dunlop KC representing Flatley said the cancellation announcement received considerable traction in just a few hours. He said it was his understanding that all of the dancers have been in practice, with Mr Flatley in fact organising that, all the steps were taken to secure the show proceeding on Thursday. He added: In the circumstances which have arisen to issue a press release without notice to Mr Flatley to do it unilaterally and to cancel the concert on Thursday evening, is to put it mildly, shocking. Mr Dunlop further stated that set and associated materials and costumes to be used in the performance had been taken away by Switzer despite no suggestion that they ever had legal title to those. Given the thousands of people attending the show the last thing Switzer ought to be doing is trying to prevent Mr Flatley earning revenue if they genuinely believe that they have a hope of legitimate claim for damages, he said. He argued that the injunction was necessary rather than paying damages because Switzer has no assets. Michael Flatley has said the show must go on (PA) (Liam McBurney) A largely insolvent company is reporting to cancel the show in respect of which Mr Flatley, on a prima facie basis, holds intellectual rights and the entitlement to run that show and on that basis alone we respectfully submit the defendant is entitled to an injunction, he said. He added that urgency was required because within a couple of hours the damage will have been done. Mr Justice Simpson granted the temporary injunction against Switzer. Earlier on Tuesday a statement was released on behalf of Switzer describing it as the owner of the show and the intellectual property rights, and said its decision to cancel the performance has not been taken lightly. Switzer fully recognises and regrets the disappointment this will cause to fans and ticket holders who were looking forward to the performance, the statement read. It blamed an ongoing commercial and legal dispute concerning the operation of the show, which could not be resolved in the timeframe available. The statement added: Despite extensive efforts to find a workable solution that would have allowed the performance to proceed, Switzer was ultimately unable to obtain the assurances required to proceed responsibly. Michael Flatley with stars from the show Lord Of The Dance in 1998 (PA) (NEIL MUNNS) Switzer said ticket refunds will be administered by promoters and ticketing agents. Mr Dunlop referred to Mr Justice Simpsons ruling last week saying Switzer has no proprietary interest in The Lord Of The Dance shows, nor has it any right to remuneration other than by payment of the fees. He added that on the refusal of Switzers application for an injunction against Flatley it appeared legitimately that Mr Flatley was therefore entitled to exercise such rights as the owner of the intellectual property. In a statement Flatley said Switzer issued the cancellation notice in spite to try and further disrupt matters. He said: Our relationship has been validly ended and 500,000 euros has been lodged in a solicitors account pending the hearing in two months time. It is unacceptable that Switzer would then issue a statement and I was left no choice but to injunct them from any such further interventions to ensure my shows go ahead from this Thursday. The show must go on and it will go on. The case will be resumed on Wednesday morning. Honouring Indias industrial legacy Birender Yadav at Kochi Biennale. Photograph: Kochi Biennale Foundation (Photograph: Kochi Biennale Foundation) Say someone brings you a bouquet of flowers. You get a vase and one by one intuitively place each stem inside, allowing an arrangement to unfold on its own. It was on this level, as lead curator Nikhil Chopra suggests, that the Kochi-Muziris Biennale was not curated so much as created. On a stroll through the largest contemporary art biennale in south Asia, creation takes centre stage. Against the backdrop of the coastal citys lush strip of backwaters and the historic Fort Kochi, works by 66 artists animate Keralas grand colonial warehouses and bungalows where art feels less installed than encountered. The idea, as the biennales title For the Time Being suggests, is to enter, be present and exit, said multidisciplinary artist Chopra, who curated the show with artist-led organisation HH Art Spaces which he co-founded in 2013. This allowed us to use time in a way as material, as clay or wood or charcoal, where we would invite time into each and every one of the artworks we were presenting and be present in the moment. In our age of distraction, the biennale offers no instant gratification. Take Birender Kumar Yadavs installation Only the Earth Knows Their Labour on the exploitative brick industrys forgotten labourers, or Kulpreet Singhs Indelible Black Marks, where a video plays in a straw-walled enclosure, showing as sheets of canvas are dragged poetically across scorched fields, mimicking farmers ploughing the land. There are a lot of factors that contribute to the pollution in Delhi, but its easy to blame on farmers, said Singh, 40, who was born into a farming family in Punjab. Now in its sixth edition, half of the artists at the show are Indian and Keralan, a quota which Chopra and the curatorial team dedicated much of their time. Not a single international flight was taken to scout invitees, boasted Chopra. Instead, they leaned on relationships the Goan collective forged with artists over the past decade. Theres a certain very excited sense of freshness that people approach an invitation from the subcontinent, said Chopra. Among this years international invitations include Marina Abramovic, Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama and Argentinian artist Adrian Villar Rojas. We live in a bit of a jaded world which is overstuffed with art, music, cinema, theatre, said Chopra. We are spoiled for choice to such an extent that I think that the world is really interested in ideas and voices from this side of the economic hemisphere. The emphasis on the shows intuitive approach was made clearest by Kolkata-based artist Jayashree Chakravarty. Since moving to Salt Lake in the 80s, she has observed as nearby marshlands transformed to concrete. What were left with is Shelter: For the Time Being, memorialising a natural world in retreat. Im a silent observer, said Chakravarty, 69. Whatever Im observing, Im trying to bring back in my work. Resembling capillaries or intricate webs, large suspended scrolls made of cotton fabric, jute fibre and seed pods invite visitors to inhabit and illuminate the works, begging a question Chakravarty keeps asking herself: How can we bring nature closer? The curators knew they had to be agile in an environment rich with mould, patina and moisture, and made it so the artists, too, would understand the conditions of spaces hard to exhibit art in. In 2018, Kerala was devastated by summer monsoon flooding. This year, Chopra said the biggest challenge came in starting from zero, renovating derelict places and repairing roofs as the biennale is without a permanent home. The show is expecting a million visitors, with more than 80% hailing from within a 500km radius. It has strived to maintain its reputation for being a peoples biennale (tickets cost between Rs 100 to 200, or less than 2), and all walks of life could be seen thronging the show, as well as the Students Biennale and dedicated non-judgmental Art Rooms which host workshops led by artists. Kochi, formerly known as Cochin, sits between the Indian Ocean and the Western Ghats. But the communist-led state is not just uniquely placed geographically. It has passed through the hands of the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British, and remained a melting pot of cultures and religions: within walking distance of the show are the Santa Cruz basilica, Paradesi Synagogue and the Dharmanath Jain Temple. Kerala has always been a place for critical thinking. Its a very self-aware place to be, said Chopra, who took part in the 2014 biennale. People do see and find value in a cultural outing as opposed to say a joy ride or a picnic, he said, before correcting himself. This is a picnic among the art. A first-time buyer mortgage which could help some people get on the property ladder with a deposit of just 2% has been launched by a major bank. The deal, from Santander UK, does require a minimum 10,000 deposit though so borrowers would need to be purchasing a home for 500,000 to have put down a deposit as low as 2%. Santander UK said its my first mortgage deal has a fixed rate of 5.19% over five years and has no product fee. The product, at up to 98% loan-to-value (LTV), is available for maximum lending up to 500,000 repayable over a term of between five and 40 years. The deal is not available to self-employed applicants and covers only applicants living in Britain, with Northern Ireland excluded, Santander said. It is available for a minimum of 190,001 being borrowed and 250 cashback is payable on completion. Lending above 95% and up to 98% is available on existing houses only, Santander said. All lending also remains subject to Santanders broader affordability checks, including a maximum loan-to-income multiple of 4.45 times salary. Customers looking to purchase a new build home can still access borrowing from Santander up to a maximum 95% LTV. David Morris, head of homes for Santander UK said that saving for a deposit remains one of the biggest hurdles to homeownership. He said: Last year, the average first-time buyer with Santander put down a deposit of more than 85,000, a figure that can feel unattainable for todays aspiring homeowners, whether thats a result of more modest income, limited family financial support, rising rental costs, and in some cases childcare expenses. Rachel Springall, a finance expert at Moneyfactscompare.co.uk, said borrowers should seek advice as a first step. She said: Borrowers may need help to find a deal with a more enhanced loan-to-income ratio, like Nationwide who can offer six times someones income. Outside of a big high street bank, it is worth noting that building societies have been working hard to support new buyers, leading the charge to provide more innovative products. These include the track record mortgage from Skipton Building Society, the helping hand offer from Nationwide and the rent to own mortgage from Hanley Building Society. Innovation is set to become a key talking point this year, as expanding options for first-time buyers and modernising regulation are some of the key themes to be reviewed by the Financial Conduct Authority. Ms Springall added: The Government has been very vocal that it wants lenders to do more to support buyers to boost UK growth. She added that progress is needed to address a lack of affordable housing. MSC's Ocean Cay Marine Reserve is getting an upgrade (Marc Shoffman) Passengers can look forward to upgrades on MSC Cruises private Bahamas island Ocean Cay, including new dining venues, as well as adult-only and family areas. Guests can already enjoy beach days and learn about MSC Cruises conservation efforts during stops at its Ocean Cay Marine Reserve during Caribbean sailings on ships such as MSC World America. The island, which opened in 2019, is set to receive new facilities to enhance the guest experience along with an extended pier to allow two cruise ships from the fleet to call simultaneously. There are a range of existing experiences available to guests across two miles of pristine beachfront. These include swimming in the sea, seven bars, Seakers Food Court for casual dining and food trucks, as well as a range of activities from snorkelling to climbing the islands lighthouse and seeing local wildlife. There will be more on offer from late 2027. MSC Cruises has already promised new wellness challenges and an augmented reality treasure hunt on the island. Here is what else guests can expect on the revamped Ocean Cay Marine Reserve. Read more: The best MSC Cruises ships and sailings Dining venues Four new dining experiences will be added to the island, meaning guests will be able to choose from a total of seven venues. A signature specialty restaurant will be added alongside new buffets and food market options. Seakers Cove Family Beach Seakers Cove will welcome families from 2027 on Ocean Cay (MSC Cruises) Seakers Cove will receive an upgrade with a new kids playground, a splashpad, and ropes course with water elements. The area will also feature ping-pong and foosball for the whole family to enjoy, along with fun-filled tournaments and interactive games. Paradise Sands Adults will get their own retreat on MSC's Ocean Cay (MSC Cruises) Adults can escape the kids in their own exclusive retreat. MSC Cruises said it will offer the chance to relax and soak up the sun in tranquillity by day before the space transforms into the perfect place to sip a cocktail at sunset. More cabanas will also be introduced across the island. Marine Conservation Experience MSC Cruises guests can discover more about the cruise line's conservation efforts on its private island (Marc Shoffman) Beyond relaxing and exploring the island, guests can also discover more about MSC Cruises conservation efforts in the region. The new MSC Foundation Shifting Perspective Experience will invite guests to explore marine conservation through immersive, hands-on experiences, from coral restoration and scientific discovery to interactive exploration of ocean ecosystems. Work also continues on the development of a second private island destination adjacent to Ocean Cay. The cruise line said this as-yet-unnamed island, known internally as Little Cay, will stay true to the ethos of Ocean Cay, offering an experience that connects guests to nature, pristine beaches, and the beauty of the ocean, plus luxury facilities and water features. Read more: The best cruise deals for 2026 Iranians at an anti-government protest in Tehran on 8 January. Photograph: AP (Photograph: AP) Iranians killed in recent protests that rocked the country have been laid to rest in boisterous funerals featuring loud pop music and dancing, apparently intended to convey defiance to the ruling Islamic regime. Instead of holding sombre traditional mourning ceremonies presided over by a Shia cleric, bereaved relatives are turning the burials into exultant celebrations of the lives of their loved ones in what analysts say is an intentional snub to the culture of piety demanded by Irans theocracy. Many funerals have reportedly been staged only after relatives were forced to pay large sums to retrieve the bodies from official morgues. There have been reports of bodies only being released after relatives sign statements saying that the deceased belonged to the Basij, a pro-regime militia, a tactic designed to bolster the authorities designation of protesters as terrorists who attacked security forces and to raise the reported number of casualties on the regimes side. Some projections have estimated that 30,000 were killed in the demonstrations that broke out in late December and spread across the country. Other estimates have suggested even higher numbers. Iranian sociologists say the mood of the resulting funerals carries a message of rebellion in the face of the lethal crackdown. Many of todays mourners do not want the grief over their loved ones to bear any trace of the religious mourning that is emblematic of the subculture shared by their killers, said Hosein Ghazian, a US-based Iranian commentator. Instead of outwardly expressing grief, they choose to display joy. This joy carries a powerful political message of persistence in the struggle against bloodthirsty oppressors. Footage of several funerals has been shared on social media. Rather than overt grieving, the videos depict euphoric scenes, including women without traditional Islamic head covering, whooping and dancing to popular songs being blared from stereo sound systems. Families who lost relatives said they had decided to stage vibrant events to capture the spirit in which the dead person had lived. Relatives of Milad, 17, danced to his favourite song, Ghaf, a romantic ballad by Alireza Talischi, at his funeral after he died from injuries sustained when security forces fired on a protest in Tehrans Naziabad neighbourhood on 8 January. The authorities initially demanded the equivalent of 5,000 to return his body. It is unclear how much the family eventually paid. They did what Milad would have wanted, said his older brother, Reza, who lives in Tallinn in Estonia. They danced through tears at the burial. Even in mourning, they honoured his vibrant life. Shaghayegh, 21, described similar circumstances surrounding her 19-year-old cousin, who was shot dead in a protest in Narmak, a neighbourhood in north Tehran. I cant even tell you how much money we paid but we just wanted him back, she said. When his body finally arrived home, the family prepared as if for a wedding. Loudspeakers were set up. Large tents filled the garage. Family members cooked together, just as they would for a celebration. The only difference was that none of us were laughing. We were celebrating his life, what he meant to us, what he could have given to the world. Dancing is an important part of Iranian culture but is generally limited to closed-door settings such as private parties and weddings under the religious restrictions imposed by the regime. By contrast, many of the euphoric funerals depicted on social media take place outdoors in settings that appear to boldly challenge the regimes conservative mores. Scenes of women dancing and singing along in public can likewise be interpreted as a repudiation of the Islamic republics basic tenets, which forbid dancing and the female singing voice as haram. Saeed Paivandi, a sociologist at the University of Lorraine in France, said Iranian funerals without traditional Islamic symbolism represented resistance against the theocratic government that wants to impose religious norms on all of Iranian society and various areas of individuals lives. He added: In the protest movements, mourning ceremonies for victims of government repression have become a space to challenge religious and official norms. What seems very significant symbolically is the use of music and dance, which are considered anti-values in the state culture. Replacing the crying and wailing that are considered a core value with a kind of bitter joy is another significant element in this cultural transformation. They want to tell the government that we dont cry for the martyrs of freedom they chose the right path and are a source of pride for us. An inspiration may have been Majidreza Rahnavard, who was executed in 2022, aged 23, after being accused of stabbing two members of the Basij during the Woman, Life, Freedom protests. After his death, footage appeared of Rahnavard moments before his execution, saying: I dont want anyone to mourn upon my grave. I dont want them to read the Quran or pray. Just celebrate and play celebrating music. Regime opponents have since embraced Rahnavard as a folk hero and have invoked his words as legacy to be emulated. Europol and French police are also involved with the investigation into sexually explicit deepfakes generated by Elon Musks Grok AI chatbot on X - Stefani Reynolds Police have raided the French offices of Elon Musks X platform as part of a criminal investigation into sexually explicit deepfakes generated by its Grok AI chatbot. The Paris prosecutors cybercrime unit is carrying out searches in the offices, with Europol and French police also involved. Mr Musk, who bought X in 2022, and Linda Yaccarino, its former chief executive, have been summoned to appear for voluntary hearings in the French capital on April 20 as part of a widening investigation into the platforms algorithms and artificial intelligence tools. The investigation was started early last year after complaints from French members of parliament, who alleged that Xs recommendation systems were biased and may have distorted the operation of automated data-processing systems. Since then, it has been broadened to examine a series of suspected offences, including the alleged facilitation of sexually explicit deepfakes, the spread of Holocaust denial material and the possible complicity in the possession and dissemination of illegal images involving minors. Xs offices in Paris, where a raid was conducted by police on Tuesday - Pierre Suu/Getty A recent study estimated that Grok could have produced up to three million sexualised images in 11 days in January, including 23,000 of children. Laure Beccuau, the Paris prosecutor, said she wished to question the pair as the de facto and de jure managers of X at the time of the alleged offences. Several employees of the company have also been called to give evidence during the week beginning April 20. Ms Beccuau said the decision to hold voluntary hearings reflected a constructive approach by investigators aimed at ensuring the platforms compliance with French law, rather than pursuing immediate coercive measures. She added that the executives would be given the opportunity to set out their position on the allegations and outline any steps being taken to bring the company into line with national regulations. Ms Yaccarino resigned as chief executive of X in July last year, after two years in the role. A spokesman for the prosecutors office said it would be leaving X and would communicate on LinkedIn and Instagram. It came as the UKs Information Commissioners Office (ICO), Britains data regulator, announced a fresh investigation into Mr Musks Grok AI bot after it was used to generate sexualised images of women without their consent. William Malcolm, an executive director at the watchdog, said it would examine whether Mr Musks xAI, which also owns his X social network, had complied with data rules in creating and spreading the images. The ICO has the power to fine companies up to 17.5m, or 4 per cent of their revenues, under UK GDPR law. Meanwhile, Ofcom, the UKs tech regulator, confirmed it was continuing to investigate X. In an update, the watchdog said its investigation under the Online Safety Act could take months. X largely stopped users spreading non-consensual images of women after a global outcry. Thousands of so-called deepfake images were shared on its social network by users asking for Grok to put real women in a bikini. Despite warnings from Sir Keir Starmer that X could be blocked in Britain if it failed to stop the images, Ofcom played down suggestions it could ban the app. On Tuesday, Ofcom said a ban would represent a significant regulatory intervention and is not one we are likely to make routinely, given the impact it could have on freedom of expression in the UK. Ofcom added it was exploring launching a separate investigation into xAI, the parent company behind X, over whether it had published pornographic material without ensuring proper age checks for children. Theres something in the water here in the UK (other than sewage overflow), which has turned the TV viewing public into gluttons for subterfuge. Deception, betrayal, fragile alliances: these descriptors could be applied equally to both of 2026s biggest shows, The Traitors and The Night Manager, which concluded its second series tonight. But did Tom Hiddlestons mystery man get banished from the Amazonian jungle? Or did he manage to turn the tables on his treacherous opponent? With Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie) on the verge of an arms deal that will destabilise Colombias peace and (somehow) repay his Syrian creditors, focus moves to the seductive powers of Jonathan Pine. Successfully turning Ropers pouting illegitimate son and obedient lieutenant Teddy (Diego Calva) allows Pine to inveigle his way into the Colombian rebels operation. You can be free, Pine implores Teddy. But not with him alive. Sadly, for Teddy, it is Roper who comes out on top/ I forgive your immortal soul, he whispers to his son, before putting a bullet into his forehead. But not your mortal one. There is no mercy, either, for Olivia Colmans Angela Burr, whose power struggle with MI5 Chief Mayra Cavendish (Indira Varma), ends with her bleeding out in the French snow. And so the series, which seemed to be building towards some retribution, ends with Roper restored, rolling through the Cotswolds in a blacked-out Range Rover, while it is Pines turn to end a season bruised, bloodied and running for his life. So much for justice. This lack of resolution contrasts with the ending of the shows first season. There, Richard Onslow Roper a grippingly malevolent force was delivered into the merciless hands of his enemies by the combined forces of Burr and Pine. It felt a reasonable conclusion (somewhat more definite than the ending of le Carres novel) and remained that way for 10 years and three episodes. But just as Tom needs Jerry, Holmes needs Moriarty and Neo needs Agent Smith, The Night Manager needs Richard Roper. Hugh Lauries return, for the second half of this series, has injected it with renewed energy. He has a weight of charisma that Hiddleston lacks; Roper chews the scenery, while Pine remains, true to his name, immovably wooden. I pride myself on being an adaptable man, he purrs, sinisterly. When circumstances demand it, I shed a skin and pick up a new one. The return of Roper to narrative primacy meant that characters like Camila Morrone's Roxy, Paul Chahidi's Basil and Hayley Squiress Sally are relegated to bit parts in the denouement. At its heart, this is a story about fathers and sons both Roper and the child he fathered in the mountains of Colombia, and Roper and the superspy he engendered over the course of the first seasons rough apprenticeship. Youre a real big game hunter, arent you Jonathan, he observes. First my American sweetheart, now my very own son. But Pines relationship with Teddy feels far less plausible than his earlier intrigue with Jed, Ropers willowy consort played by Elizabeth Debicki. Indeed, Teddys damascene conversion comes across as rushed and improbable. He regresses from hard-bitten guerrilla leader to a blubbering daddys boy. Pines sympathy for Teddy, too, seems to forget the events of earlier episodes, where Teddy blew Pines beloved colleagues to smithereens. I guess all is forgiven if you have those cheekbones? These twisting loyalties reveal a lack of integrity to le Carres source material. Above all else, le Carre was a ferociously plausible writer. His situations could have been lifted from the redacted files of British Intelligence, and his characters always seemed motivated by distinctly human foibles. Pride, fear, envy, anger, revenge. But, in this second series, Pine has become a dead-eyed monomaniac, and while Ropers desire to return home, to England, feels tangible, his plan brokering continental chaos in South America is wild and unruly. Despite the huge gap between the first and second series of The Night Manager, this run of episodes has ended up feeling like a bridge to the shows inevitable third season where Roper will, once again, be in a position of power and Pine, once again, the outsider nipping at his heels. None of this is to say that these six episodes have been without their charms. Hiddleston is a suave cypher, and, in a world where Amazon has bought James Bond, its nice to see the BBC investing in a very British spy franchise. But that simple pleasure of the original The Night Manager will he be rumbled? has been diluted by a messy, high stakes plot. For all the Medellin MacGuffins (the state-of-the-art electromagnetic pulse weapon is straight out of Mission: Impossible), this series was, ultimately, the redemption of Richard Roper. Somehow, with the viewing public suitably enthralled, I doubt well have to wait another decade for his downfall. Night Manager producer Simon Cornwell says he would be arrested if Trump watches second series John Le Carres son Simon Cornwell has said hed be arrested on entry to the United States if President Donald Trump watches the second season of The Night Manager. The returning instalment of the much-loved spy thriller follows Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston) as he delves into a web of institutional corruption and arms trafficking in Columbia. When asked by The Times whether Trump would dislike the series because it sheds light on a world that hes part of Cornwell replied: Exactly, and expounds all kinds of woke, liberal positions. Barack Obama was in office when The Night Manager first aired in 2016 and reportedly held a screening of the show at the White House. When asked if he thought Trump would follow suit with season two, Cornwell said the programme would be profoundly not his thing. Back in 2015, Trump told People that his guilty pleasure was watching himself appear on the comedy sketch show Saturday Night Live (SNL). "[It] got great ratings. The best ratings in years. It was a terrific success. I enjoyed doing it," he said at the time. Profoundly not his thing: Cornwell said Trump would dislike the woke, liberal positions in the show (Getty) However, the president later lost his love for the programme, following a series of sketches parodying his administration. As the second season of The Night Manager goes beyond Le Carres source text, screenwriter David Farr has become the first non-family member to be trusted with creating a story in the authors universe. However, Cornwell said that even the first season of The Night Manager had also deviated a long way from the book. Changes were made not only with my dads blessing, but his active encouragement, Cornwell assured. Le Carre died, aged 89, after a brief illness, in December 2020. Tom Hiddleston in BBC series 'The Night Manager' (BBC) It comes as Hiddleston confirmed this week that The Night Manager would return for a third series in the near future after the sixth and final episode airs on Sunday night (1 February). He reassured viewers that the wait for the next season would not be as long as the previous ten-year gap between series one and two. We always constructed this one as the beginning of a twelve episode story, he said. Actually, it gave us greater scope in terms of imagining where the story might go. He added: I think we like trilogies. Theres something satisfying about trilogies narrativelyIts booked in. Were going to do it. Find our predictions of what will happen when the show returns here. The Night Manager season two concludes on Sunday, 1 February at 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer. India's aviation regulator has said that no defect was found in the fuel control switch of a plane that Air India grounded following a pilot's report. The issue was reported on Sunday after the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner jet landed in Bengaluru after a flight from London. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said that the pilot reported a possible defect in a fuel control switch, which regulates the flow of fuel into the plane's engines. The switch did not "remain positively latched in the run position when light vertical pressure was applied" on two occasions, but remained stable the third time with the crew closely monitoring the aircraft during the remainder of the flight. Pilots flick the switches to run or cutoff positions to start or shut down the engines on the ground, and they can be used to manually shut down or restart the engines in the event of an engine failure during flight. Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner (PA Media) Checks on the switches were performed in the presence of DGCA officials on Tuesday, and they were found to be "satisfactory", staying at run instead of moving to cutoff, which can stop fuel supply to the engines. The checks were done according to Boeings recommended procedure, which Air India has been asked to circulate to its crew members, on the affected aircraft and on one other aircraft. Sundays grounding gained a lot of attention due to the ongoing investigation into a plane crash last June involving an Air India aircraft of the same model The crash, which killed 260 people, occurred less than a minute after the plane took off from Ahmedabad airport in western India, with preliminary investigating from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) citing confusion in the cockpit about the fuel switches. After the initial report, the US aviation regulator said that fuel control switches in Boeing airplanes were safe, and Air India also said that its inspections did not find any issue with the locking mechanism of the switch. An Air India statement said: "Air India had checked the fuel control switches on all Boeing 787 aircraft in its fleet after a directive from the DGCA, and had found no issues. Following the latest incident, Boeing has said they are in contact with Air India and supporting their review of this matter. Air safety expert Amit Singh told The Times of India: Occurring after Air India said its fleets fuel control switches have been checked and amid the ongoing June 12 B787 crash investigation, it raises serious questions about inspection adequacy and demands the highest level of regulatory scrutiny. Only five critical Palestinian patients let out of Gaza after Israel reopens Rafah crossing with Egypt Just five Palestinians in critical condition have been allowed through the Rafah Crossing for treatment after Israel reopened it on Monday. Reports had suggested Israel would permit 50 patients accompanied by two relatives to exit the enclave every day, but so far only a fraction appear to have been allowed passage. The reopening was hailed as a significant step forward in implementing the second part of the US-brokered ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas last year. Over 18,000 injured and wounded people are awaiting medical attention, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), while the Ministry of Health estimates the number is over 20,000. Unicef said over 3,000 of those are children. A UN vehicle escorts ambulances and a bus carrying Palestinian patients in Khan Younis as they travel to the Rafah crossing to leave the Gaza Strip for medical treatment on Tuesday (AP) Of the thousands reportedly waiting to return to Gaza, around 12 were allowed back in, while 38 did not make it through security checks and were forced to spend the night on the Egyptian side of the border, according to Palestinian and Egyptian sources. On the second of February, WHO and partners supported the medical evacuation of five patients and seven companions to Egypt via the Rafah crossing, WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said on Tuesday. It was the first medical evacuation through this route since sometime in 2025, he said, referring to a limited number of evacuations during an early 2025 ceasefire. Palestinian patients ride a bus in Khan Younis as they travel to the Rafah crossing (AP) Mr Lindmeier added that many patients had died while waiting for an evacuation. We know that patients have died basically waiting for evacuation, and that's something which is horrible when you know just a few miles or kilometres outside that border, help is available, he said. Rafah became highly politicised during the height of the bombardment when humanitarian aid was restricted, and thousands of aid trucks containing food and medical aid were not allowed to enter. The United Nations has called on Israel to allow unfettered movement for Palestinians as well as the entry of humanitarian aid in line with international law. Najat Rubaie, centre right, embraces one of her grandsons after they arrive with their mother as part of a group of about a dozen Palestinian returnees allowed back into Gaza (AP) We would want to see humanitarian cargo and private cargo go in, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Monday. And, of course, in terms of movements of people through the Rafah crossing, Palestinians need to be able to come out or go in, as they wish, in line with international law. Save the Children demanded the immediate and urgent opening of Rafah and all border crossings and the safe, unrestricted passage of humanitarian assistance. On Sunday, an Israeli defence official said that the crossing can hold between 150-200 people altogether in both directions. There will be more people leaving than returning because patients leave together with escorts, the official added. Bill and Hillary Clinton agreed on Monday to testify in a House investigation into the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, days before the chamber was expected to vote to hold them in contempt of Congress. The concession follows a tense back-and-forth between the Clintons and the Republican James Comer, chair of the House oversight committee, who on Monday said that he would insist both Clintons sit for a sworn deposition before the committee in order to fulfill the panels subpoenas. They negotiated in good faith. You did not, Angel Urena, a spokesman for the Clintons, replied to Comer, in a post on social media. They told you under oath what they know, but you dont care. But the former president and former secretary of state will be there. They look forward to setting a precedent that applies to everyone. The House was headed towards potential votes this week on criminal contempt of Congress charges against the Clintons. If passed, the charges threatened the Clintons with substantial fines and even incarceration if they were convicted. Related: Epstein inquiry: Republican-controlled House panel takes first step to hold Clintons in contempt of Congress The Clintons do not get to dictate the terms of lawful subpoenas, Comer said. For months, the Clintons had refused to appear before the Republican-led panel, arguing that the subpoenas were legally invalid and unenforceable and accusing Comer of targeting them as part of Donald Trumps retribution campaign against his political enemies. A committee letter to the Clintons attorneys indicates the pair had offered for Bill Clinton to conduct a transcribed interview on matters related to the investigations and prosecutions of Jeffrey Epstein and for Hillary Clinton to submit a sworn declaration. The Republican-controlled oversight panel had advanced criminal contempt of Congress charges last month, in response to the Clintons refusal to testify in Congress. On 12 January, attorneys for the Clintons had issued a letter to Comer on why they would not be testifying. They called the subpoenas invalid and legally unenforceable, untethered to a valid legislative purpose, unwarranted because they do not seek pertinent information, and an unprecedented infringement on the separation of powers. The demand for testimony runs afoul of the clearly defined limitations on Congresss investigative power propounded by the supreme court of the United States, they wrote, adding: It is clear the subpoenas themselves and any subsequent attempt to enforce them are nothing more than a ploy to attempt to embarrass political rivals, as President Trump has directed. Nine of the committees 21 Democrats joined Republicans in support of the charges against Bill Clinton as they argued for full transparency in the Epstein investigation. Three Democrats also supported the charges against Hillary Clinton. Bill Clintons relationship with Epstein has re-emerged as a focal point for Republicans amid the push for a reckoning over Epstein, who killed himself in 2019 in a New York jail cell as he faced sex-trafficking charges. Clinton, like a bevy of other high-powered men, including Trump, had a well-documented social relationship with Epstein in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He has not been accused of wrongdoing in his interactions with the late financier. On Friday, more than 3m files related to Jeffrey Epstein were released by the Department of Justice, including more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images. The files included a series of emails between the billionaire Elon Musk and Epstein, indicating a friendlier relationship than was previously known. Following the drop of the latest batch of files, Democrats have promised to fight what they are calling a full-blown cover-up of the Epstein files after the Trump administration on Sunday effectively declared its investigation into the disgraced late financier and sex trafficker was closed. Many senior Democrats, as well as the Republican congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky, say that millions more pages of information are being withheld by the justice department. After Bill and Hillary Clinton were subpoenaed in August by the House oversight committee, their attorney had tried to argue against the validity of the subpoena. However, as Comer threatened to begin contempt of Congress proceedings, they started negotiating towards a compromise. Still, the Clintons remained highly critical of Comers decision, saying that he was bringing politics into the investigation while failing to hold the Trump administration accountable for delays in producing the Department of Justices case files on Epstein. The Associated Press contributed reporting Residents of One Hyde Park, the countrys most expensive block of flats, are facing a decade of disruptive repairs despite winning a 35m High Court case over widespread defects in the luxury development. The Knightsbridge complex, home to billionaires, celebrities and oligarchs, was found to have badly corroded chilledwater pipework and other serious failures just years after completion, prompting owners to sue a subsidiary of construction company Laing ORourke Laing O'Rourke Construction South Ltd. One Hyde Park was developed by brothers Christian and Nick Candy in partnership with Qatari businessman Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber AlThani. One apartment in the complex is currently on the market for 175m. Judge Nerys Jefford ruled that Laing ORourke must pay 35.1m to cover the cost of replacing the faulty pipework and remedying additional defects, describing the contractors conduct as commercially amoral after it placed the subsidiary into liquidation shortly before the trial and failed to attend proceedings. Residents of One Hyde Park, in Knightsbridge, London, will face a decade of disruptive repairs (Google Maps) She found that One Hyde Parks chilledwater pipework had corroded because Laing ORourke failed to install insulation correctly, ruling the contractor in breach of contract and liable for repair costs. Judge Jefford also sided with the residents on the remaining elements of the claim, including other plumbing problems a result a spokesperson for One Hyde Park described as a decisive victory for all the residents. Experts told the court that the remedial work, which requires ceilings to be removed in occupied flats, could take more than a decade to complete, forcing residents to move out floor by floor and lose access to amenities including the private cinema, spa and 21metre ozone pool. The development, a short walk from Harrods, has attracted some of the worlds wealthiest buyers, Kylie Minogue owned a 116m 3-bed flat in the building until the Covid-19 pandemic, and current owners of flats include Ukrainian billionaire Rinat Akhmetov and the building's developer Nick Candy, whose 175m penthouse has been on the market for five years. Buyers of the luxury apartments have been plagued by years of water leaks and pipe corrosion, with problems first identified in 2014, just three years after the 84flat complex opened. Kylie Minogue owned a 116m 3-bed flat in the building until the pandemic (Official Charts) According to the court documents, extensive investigations of the pipework revealed that it is subject to pervasive and very serious corrosion, with some lengths of pipework being corroded to a depth of 87 per cent. Despite the courts ruling, it remains unclear whether residents will ever recover the awarded sum, given the subsidiarys liquidation. Laing ORourke said it had spent nearly a decade seeking an amicable resolution, including offers of compensation and free remedial work. A spokesperson for One Hyde Park said: We are committed to ensuring Laing O'Rourke is held fully accountable and makes full and fair payment for the construction defects it has been found responsible for. Law enforcement investigating the disappearance of Savannah Guthries mother, Nancy Guthrie, said Tuesday that they were no further forward in locating her whereabouts as the investigation enters a third day. We dont know where she is, said Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos at a press conference, acknowledging the growing urgency surrounding the disappearance of the 84-year-old grandmother. Guthrie vanished from her Catalina Foothills home, near Tucson, Arizona, sometime late Saturday night or early Sunday morning. The sheriff said investigators suspect she was taken against her will and believe it was a kidnapping or abduction. Nanos declined to say whether the disappearance was thought to be random or targeted or to describe the evidence found at her home. Were looking at this from every angle but we need your help, Nanos said. When asked whether investigators believe they are searching for someone who is still alive, Nanos replied: We hope we are. Investigators say Nancy, who lived alone, has limited mobility but no cognitive issues and would not have left voluntarily. Her cellphone and car were found at her home, which is now considered a crime scene. Savannah Guthrie with her mother, Nancy. The 84-year-old was last seen at her home in Arizona after being dropped off Saturday night (Instagram/@savannahguthrie) When questioned about a possible ransom demand, the sheriff replied: Were following all leads we have. Thats all I can tell you. Weve got hundreds of leads. DNA samples have been gathered and submitted for analysis as part of the investigation, but Nanos declined to provide additional details on the evidence found at the home. Im not saying theres blood inside that house or outside that house, he told reporters. What Im saying is our team will process the scene. Like you would think of any crime scene, we go in and we process it. We look for things like that, blood, DNA, any kind of physical evidence, fingerprints, anything, and all of that is gathered and submitted to a lab. Weve gotten some back, but nothing to indicate any suspects, Nanos added. The sheriff also confirmed Tuesday that he is aware of reports circulating about possible ransom note(s) regarding the investigation into Nancy Guthrie. We are taking all tips and leads very seriously. Anything that comes in goes directly to our detectives ,who are coordinating with the FBI, Nanos said in a statement. Investigators are also reviewing surveillance footage from nearby homes and analyzing cellphone tower data. But the landscape of the neighborhood - with homes on large lots and a lack of sidewalks - has made it difficult to obtain useful camera footage. Nancys brick home has a gravel driveway and a yard covered in prickly pear and saguaro cactus. Laura Gargano, a Catalina Foothills Association board member who lives just around the corner from Nancy Guthrie, also acknowledged the landscape of the neighborhood, explaining that unless residents are walking their dogs, there arent many people out scaling what she described as hilly roads with no sidewalks. Gargano told The Independent that she began canvassing on Sunday night, after learning of Nancys disappearance. Ive been out walking, talking to other neighbors, asking them to check their surveillance cameras, Gargano said. Shes well known in this community, Gargano added. Were all hoping for some good news. She was joined by countless other neighbors, along with searchers using drones and dogs, well into the evening and most of Monday. But later that day, law enforcement pulled searchers back. We dont see this as a search mission so much as it is a crime scene, the sheriff said. Nancy vanished from her Catalina Foothills home sometime late Saturday night or early Sunday morning (Pima County Sheriff's Department) Investigators say Nancy, who lived alone, has limited mobility but no cognitive issues and would not have left voluntarily. Her cellphone and car were found at her home, which is now considered a crime scene (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) Neighbors of Nancy Guthrie have been out searching for the elderly woman since late Sunday night (AP) Jon Edwards, assistant special agent in charge at the FBIs Tucson office, said agents are working closely with local authorities. Were downloading and analyzing cell phones, obtaining cell tower information, conducting interviews and providing any and all investigative support that the sheriffs department needs, Edwards said. Every lead and tip is important. We are aggressively pursuing and looking into every single one again, he added. Please help us bring Nancy Guthrie home. Sheriff Nanos stressed that time is critical because Nancy depends on medication. If shes alive right now, her meds are vital. I cant stress that enough. Its been better than 24 hours, and the family tells us if she doesnt have those meds, it can become fatal, he said. Nancy Guthrie's home in the Catalina Foothills neighborhood sits back off the road, shielded by brush and trees (Google Maps) An aerial shot of Nancy Guthrie's home in the Catalina Foothills neighborhood (Google Maps) Nanos said that Nancy went missing some time between 9: 30 p.m. Saturday night, when she returned home from an outing with family, and Sunday morning, when she did not attend a regular church service. The sheriff said he did not want to shorten that timeline for fear of missing something critical. Savannah Guthrie, a longtime co-host on NBCs morning show, Today, has asked for prayers for her mothers safe return. The host grew up in Tucson and graduated from the University of Arizona. Thank you for lifting your prayers with ours for our beloved mom, our dearest Nancy, a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant, Guthrie wrote on Instagram to her 1.2 million followers. Raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment. Bring her home. Guthrie was absent from the Today show on Monday and Tuesday. Co-host Jenna Bush Hager appealed to viewers for help on her behalf. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor moved out of Royal Lodge on Monday night. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters (Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters) British police are to review fresh allegations that Jeffrey Epstein provided Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor with a woman to have sex with at the Royal Lodge in 2010, as it emerged that the former prince had moved out of his home. The woman has claimed she spent the night at the then princes residence in Windsor, her US lawyer, Brad Edwards, said after the allegations surfaced over the weekend. The woman, who is not British, was in her 20s at the time, and was later given a tour of Buckingham Palace, it is further alleged. A Thames Valley police spokesperson said: We are aware of reports about a woman said to have been taken to an address in Windsor in 2010 for sexual purposes. We are assessing the information in line with our established procedures. We take any reports of sexual crimes extremely seriously and encourage anyone with information to come forward. At this time, these allegations have not been reported to Thames Valley police by either the lawyer [of the woman] or their client. Thames Valley is looking at the case as the Royal Lodge is in the area covered by the force. The review does not necessarily mean a criminal investigation will take place. Mountbatten-Windsor has always denied wrongdoing. The former prince moved out of Royal Lodge on Monday night and is currently living in a temporary property on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk while his permanent home undergoes renovations, the BBC reported. Buckingham Palace had announced Andrew would be moving out when he was stripped of his titles last year after the posthumous publication of a book by Virginia Giuffre, an Epstein accuser who died last April. The latest revelations became public after the US Department of Justice released more documents relating to Epstein and his links to the rich and powerful on Friday. On Tuesday, Andrews brother Prince Edward said it was important to remember the victims. They were the first public comments by a senior royal since the latest documents were released, which included several new claims about the former Duke of York. Speaking in Dubai, Edward said: I think its all really important, always, to remember the victims and who are the victims in all this. Edwards, from the Florida-based law firm Edwards Henderson, told the BBC that after spending the night with Mountbatten-Windsor, the woman claims she was given a tour of Buckingham Palace and tea. Were talking about at least one woman who was sent by Jeffrey Epstein over to Prince Andrew. And she even had, after a night with Prince Andrew, a tour of Buckingham Palace, Edwards told the broadcaster. The lawyer told the BBC he was considering filing a civil lawsuit on the womans behalf against the former prince. Brittany Henderson, of the same law firm, told PA Media: Andrews power only existed because of his royal family. Andrews complicity and involvement with Epstein and Maxwell has been well known to us, to Andrew, and to the palace for many years. Whether he comes to the United States to testify is irrelevant; we hardly need more people over here spinning grand stories. For the royal family to maintain any level of credibility in the eyes of the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein, the legal team for the king should contact me immediately in a good faith effort to learn what Andrew has done, meet whomever he has done it to, issue a sincere and real apology, and ensure that any victims of Andrew are fairly compensated for this wrongdoing. The allegation came as UK government pressure on the former prince to testify before the US Congress mounted at the weekend, with the prime minister, Keir Starmer, saying Mountbatten-Windsor should be prepared to give evidence about his links with Epstein. Ive always said anybody whos got information should be prepared to share that information in whatever form theyre asked to do that, because you cant be victim-centred if youre not prepared to do that, Starmer said. More than 3m Epstein documents were released by the US Department of Justice last week, including emails from accounts labelled The Duke and The Invisible Man as well as from Sarah, and making references to Fergie, suggesting they are from Mountbatten-Windsor and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson. They appear to reveal the pair were in contact with Epstein immediately after the end of his house arrest in August 2010, and Mountbatten-Windsors visit to the US that December. Epstein had pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution, for which he served 13 months in a jail work-release programme. He was later released under house arrest for a year. The files include photographs of a barefoot, smiling Mountbatten-Windsor kneeling on all fours over an unidentified woman lying flat on the floor. He is seen looking at the camera as the woman, whose face is redacted, lies on her back between his arms. In one of the three photographs, the former royal appears to have his hand placed on her abdomen. The images are undated, have no captions or reference to indicate where they were taken, and do not indicate wrongdoing. The anti-monarchy campaign group Republic had said British police should investigate the claims that Epstein trafficked the woman to the UK to have sex with Andrew in 2010. In December, the Met decided after a review not to launch a full criminal investigation into two other matters. They were that Mountbatten-Windsor had sex in London in 2001 with Giuffre, who was then a teenager and was trafficked by Epstein, and that Andrew put pressure on his police protection officer to dig up dirt on her. Andrew paid millions to Giuffre, a woman he has claimed never to have met, to settle a civil sexual assault claim on no admission of liability in 2022. The headline of this article was amended on 3 February 2026. An earlier version said incorrectly that it was a Met police investigation. The Princess of Wales helped to repair a broken thread in a roll of fabric at a Welsh woollen mill - Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace The Princess of Wales has helped to sew a pair of jeans for her husband at a Welsh family-owned denim manufacturer. Princess Catherine, 44, remarked that Prince William would love the gift after she sewed a label into the trousers for the future king. During a whistle-stop tour of Welsh textile manufacturers on Tuesday, she visited Hiut Denim, a family-owned company based in Cardigan that designs and makes premium jeans in the UK. The Princess, who wore a vintage Welsh wool coat, sat at the sewing machine and controlled the pedal despite wearing high heels. The Princess arrived in Melin Tregwynt wearing a vintage Welsh wool coat - Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace When she finished the label, she held up Williams finished jeans which would normally cost 245 and said: He will love them. As part of her visit, the Princess also went to a Welsh woollen mill, Melin Tregwynt, where she was praised for her skills with a needle and thread. She has championed British textile manufacturing as part of her royal duties, visiting a tartan-weaving studio in Scotland last month and textile manufacturers in Carmarthenshire, Suffolk, Kent and County Tyrone last year. The Princess champions British textile manufacturing as part of her royal duties - Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace On Tuesday, the future queen was shown the production process at the woollen mill, which produces blankets and throws from a remote part of Pembrokeshire. When offered the chance in the quality control department to help repair a broken thread in a roll of fabric, she bent over the reversible cloth, guided by staff member Paula Harding, and said: You have to have really good eyesight and patience. The Princess completed a small two-inch repair, with Harding remarking: She did it right, its amazing, and she didnt go through the other side, thats skill shes got the skill. After being told that Harding was the third generation of her family to work at Melin Tregwynt, Catherine said: Thats whats wonderful about these family businesses, theyre so based on these families and intergenerations passing on these techniques. Melin Tregwynt was run for more than 100 years by generations of the Griffiths family before it was set up as an employee-owned trust in 2022. The Princess said she was very slow at sewing during her visit to the woollen mill - Getty When she visited the workshop, where staff used sewing machines to stitch edges to the cloths, one of the final processes, the Princess admitted: I was trying some sewing at Christmas time I was very slow. Meanwhile, at Hiut Denim, the Princess was greeted by English cocker spaniel Barney, who was wearing a bow-tie for the special visit. She bent down to stroke the pet, whom she was told is the factory dog, and she told the staff that her family have a dog of the same breed at home, named Orla. After a 45-minute tour of the factory, where she met trainees, she was shown the Made In Wales label, which is sewn inside the back of its jeans. The Princess said: I love the label Made in Wales. You can really see the handcraft and care taken. On her tour of the factory, Catherine was also handed a pair of scissors and asked to begin cutting denim for a new pair of jeans. She said: My most adventurous [design] was a pair of pyjamas, but I dont know where they are now. An American private investigator has told the High Court that he did unlawful stuff in relation to the Duke of Sussex for the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday, but cannot recall what exactly. Dan Portley-Hanks, who is also known as Detective Danno, was giving evidence on Tuesday in the trial of several high-profile figures legal action against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL). The group, which includes Harry, Sir Elton John and Baroness Doreen Lawrence, allege that they were the subjects of unlawful information gathering. Baroness Doreen Lawrence arriving at the Royal Courts Of Justice on Monday (Jordan Pettitt/PA) (Jordan Pettitt) The publisher strongly denies wrongdoing and is defending the claims, and has said that the claimants have been unable to evidence these so-called confessions by private investigators, including Mr Hanks, concerning unlawful activity. In a witness statement, Mr Hanks, 79, said he began working for ANL titles from the early 1990s until the early 2010s, and said: I recall that I did stuff for the Mail On Sunday and Daily Mail in relation to Prince Harry. He continued: I know that I did unlawful stuff on him, but I cannot recall what exactly. Mr Hanks said he became a private investigator following his release from jail in 1979 and an independent supplier of data to British tabloid reporters from around 1993. He continued that he began getting a lot of work from two Mail On Sunday journalists, Caroline Graham and Sharon Churcher. He added that the papers became his best client and the biggest payer and Ms Graham and Ms Churcher frequently asked him to find phone numbers of people they wished to trace. He said: All I needed was a name or a phone number, and I could find a targets contact and other private details, usually within minutes. Mr Hanks also said he was asked by Ms Churcher to send money to a former police officer, which was then used to pay a serving police officer for access to confidential files in relation to Jeffrey Epstein. Mr Hanks then said he was asked to trace one of the paedophile financiers victims, who he discovered was called Virginia. He said: I got the details of the aunt, and the Mail On Sunday contacted the aunt, inviting her to get in touch, which she did. The Mail On Sunday were willing to spend as much money to identify her and track her down. Mr Hanks also said he recalled doing stuff in relation to Sir Elton, which was getting contact information for him and his boyfriend or significant other. He continued that he did something involving Liz Hurley, but cannot recall what it was. Liz Hurley (right) leaving the Royal Courts of Justice last month (Jordan Pettitt/PA) (Jordan Pettitt) Responding to the claims, Antony White KC, for ANL, said in written submissions that the publisher strongly denies that the Duke of Sussex was the subject of unlawful information gathering. The barrister continued that Mr Hanks claim that he came forward to help the claimants in 2021 by providing information about the types of work I did for the Daily Mail and the Mail On Sunday contradicted evidence given by the Duke of Sussex that he became aware of a confession allegedly made by Mr Hanks in 2020. Mr White also said there was an inability on the part of the claimants to evidence these so-called confessions by Mr Hanks. He said: What has emerged, and continues to emerge, through the drip feed of the claimants disclosure and Associateds own investigations is a clear picture of purported evidence being obtained through financial inducements and threats. He also said that no specific incidents of commissioning private investigators were alleged in relation to Ms Graham. Addressing Mr Hanks claim that corrupt payments were made to a police officer, Mr White said that the documents were sourced by Ms Churcher from exhibits placed on the public record in civil proceedings involving Epstein. He also said the incident provides no evidence of propensity to commission or use the product of unlawful information gathering. He said: No document has been produced capable of supporting the allegation of corruption. Mr Hanks evidence is lacking in any of the specificity which should be expected to support such serious allegations. Mr White labelled claims made by Hurley related to unlawful information gathering as entirely baseless, and those made by Sir Elton as groundless, describing both figures claims as unsupported by the evidence before the court. The trial before Mr Justice Nicklin is due to conclude in March, with a judgment in writing at a later date. Nigel Farage told Labour to leave the drink-drive limit well alone on Tuesday - Peter Nicholls/Getty Images Reform UK would scrap Labours plans to cut the drink-driving limit, Nigel Farage has announced. The Reform leader said the proposed change would be a further unnecessary hammer blow to pubs and urged Sir Keir Starmer to leave the issue well alone. Labour is planning to toughen the drink-driving rules in England and Wales, and could align them with Scotland, where one drink can put a driver over the limit. It threatens to pile additional pressure on struggling rural pubs, which rely on customers driving. The Telegraph has been campaigning to save Britains locals, which are reeling from business rates rises, an increase to employers National Insurance and a rise in minimum wage. Asked by The Telegraph if Reform would scrap Labours drink-driving reforms, Mr Farage said Sir Keir should leave the limit well alone. I honestly think changing the level of the drink-drive law is in terms of the list of priorities facing this country its not even in the top 50 issues that need to be dealt with, he told a press conference at a pub in London. And it would be a further unnecessary hammer blow to the pubs for almost no benefit whatsoever. I also rather suspect that drug-driving is becoming a far bigger issue in the country than drink-driving, where in the case of 99 per cent of drivers, they do drink and drive responsibly. Reform renamed the beer taps at The Loose Box in Westminster to reflect the threat facing pubs - Lucy North/PA Labours new road safety strategy, published last month, includes plans to lower the drink-drive limit from 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood to 50mg. The British Beer and Pub Association has warned that toughening the rules will harm rural pubs in areas without public transport or reliable taxi services. Mr Farage vowed to scrap Labours drink-driving reforms as he set out Reforms five-point plan to keep Britains pubs in business. The proposals include cutting beer duty by 10 per cent and halving the current 20 per cent rate of VAT across the hospitality sector. Reform would progressively abolish business rates for all pubs over the course of four years and exempt hospitality businesses from Labours National Insurance increases. It would also liberalise the current outdated regulations, which favour ownership by large pub companies, as part of an overhaul of the law to create more locally owned pubs. Lee Anderson introduced Mr Farage at The Loose Box, with the party leader setting out Reforms five-point plan to keep pubs in business - Tom Bowles Reform said the cost of the overall package rising from 2.29bn in the first year to 2.98bn in the fourth year would be fully funded by reinstating the two-child benefits cap. But the Tories said the numbers simply do not add up, claiming the cost would actually be closer to 13bn. Sir Mel Stride, the shadow chancellor, said: Reforms policies would completely trash our public finances and leave Britain with a huge deficit and ballooning debt. A comprehensive analysis of Reforms announcement today shows that it would cost an eye-watering 13bn equivalent to 2p on the basic rate of tax and 10.5bn more than they have claimed. Mr Farage described the situation facing Britains pubs as little short of a disaster, adding: Theyre on the edge of falling off a cliff. Its serious. Its very, very serious. As well as Labours tax rises, he suggested that cultural changes such as young people choosing low-alcohol options were posing a threat to the industry. In so many villages that I can think of in England, the Post Office has gone, the sort of Post Office general stores gone, the pubs gone... social life is completely knocked out of communities, he said. Last week, Rachel Reeves was forced to water down Labours tax raid on pubs after an outcry from the sector. Landlords had warned the Chancellor that they faced ruin as a result of cuts to Covid-era relief and a wave of revaluations in April. The hospitality sector has been sounding the alarm since the Chancellors first Budget in October 2024, which included a hike in employers National Insurance and a rise in the minimum wage. In the latest business rates reforms, lockdown-era reliefs currently at 40 per cent will be withdrawn in April, while a revaluation of properties is set to send businesses rateable values soaring. Ms Reeves eased the pain with a rescue package, announced last week, that will give pubs a 15 per cent discount on their business rates bills in 2026-27. After that, their bills will be frozen in real terms for a further two years. In the meantime, the Government will carry out a review of the method used to calculate pubs business rates, to be implemented at the next revaluation in three years time. Labours crackdown on drink-driving would be the most significant reform to road safety laws since 1967, when the blood alcohol limit was first introduced. However, Sir Keir has been accused of ignoring the more rapidly growing problem of drug-driving. The Telegraph revealed last month that the number of deceased drivers who tested positive for drugs increased by 78 per cent from 106 to 189 in the decade to 2023. By contrast, official figures show the number of dead motorists with alcohol proven to be present in their system rose by five per cent in the same period, from 162 to 171. Prince Edward has become the first member of the royal family to speak out about the most recently released Jeffrey Epstein documents. The Duke of Edinburgh stated that it is really important always to remember the victims when questioned over the bombshell release, which includes fresh revelations about his brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and his former sister-in-law Sarah Ferguson. The prince was speaking at the World Governments Summit in Dubai on Tuesday and was asked how he was coping amid the controversy. He told CNNs Eleni Giokos: Well, with the best will in the world. Im not sure this is the audience that is probably the least bit interested in that. They all came here to listen to education, solving the future. But no, I think its all really important always to remember the victims, and who are the victims in all this, a lot of victims in all this. Prince Edward has become the first member of the royal family to speak out about the most recently released Jeffrey Epstein documents (Getty) The Duke has broken his silence after the US Justice Department on Friday published the third tranche of millions of documents related to the late convicted sex offender, who died in jail in 2019, as he awaited a trial on sex trafficking charges. The pressure for Edwards brother to testify is growing after the latest files from the departments investigation into Epstein revealed further unsavoury details about links between the two men. This included images apparently showing him crouch over an unidentified woman in what appears to be Epsteins New York mansion. Emails have emerged between the former Duke of York and Epstein from 2010 two years after the disgraced financier pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution. Epstein served 13 months in jail before being released on probation under house arrest until summer 2010. Andrew vehemently denies any wrongdoing. Pictures appear to show Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor crouched over an unidentified woman in what appears to be Jeffrey Epsteins New York mansion (US Department of Justice) The former Duke of York and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson appear a number of times in the files, including in a number of email exchanges with Epstein, with Andrew appearing to invite him to Buckingham Palace, and Sarah apparently saying: I am at your service. Just marry me. Epstein also appears to introduce the former prince to a woman described by the paedophile as 26, Russian, clevere (sic) beautiful, trustworthy, while in the same month, Andrew also reportedly tells Epstein: Wish I was still a pet in your family. In 2022, the former duke paid millions of pounds to his main accuser, Virginia Giuffre a woman he claims never to have met. An email from the latest release that appears to be from Edwards former sister-in-law Sarah Ferguson to Epstein (US Department of Justice) He was stripped of his titles by the King last year after the posthumous publication of a book from Ms Giuffre, who alleged she was trafficked by Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell when she was 17. Lawyers representing a second accuser have urged Charles to contact them following allegations that their client was sent to the UK for a sexual encounter with Andrew. Brad Edwards, from the US firm Edwards Henderson, previously told the BBC his client had spent the night with Andrew after being given a tour of Buckingham Palace. Sarah Ferguson has faced a deluge of damning revelations about her closeness to Jeffrey Epstein - Gardiner Anderson/Bauer-Griffin Sarah Ferguson tried to persuade Jeffrey Epstein to give her goddaughter a job in his office, describing her as a pretty girl, newly released emails show. The former Duchess of York pointed out that Laura McGowan was 22 years old in the email sent in 2010 to Epstein, who had recently been released from prison for child sex crimes. Ms Ferguson asked Epstein, a registered sex offender by that point, to find a place for Ms McGowan to stay. The emails are part of the three million files made public by the US department of justice (DoJ) on Friday. Ms Ferguson and her ex-husband, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, have faced a deluge of damning revelations about their closeness to Epstein, who hanged himself while awaiting trial in 2019. Sarah Ferguson sent a number of emails to Jeffrey Epstein after his release from prison - Anadolu On Tuesday, Sarahs Trust, Ms Fergusons charity, announced it would close for the foreseeable future after it emerged she had contacted Epstein while he was in prison. An email dated Sept 9 2010 showed Ms Ferguson asking Epstein to help her. It read: My God daughter Laura aged 22, needs a bed in New York, and an internship with somebody. Could Leslie (Groff, Epsteins assistant) do with a runner for a few months? Any ideas? A bed in one of those apartments I stayed in? Just a thought Epstein responded: Laura who? and said he would be in London at the end of the month. Ms Ferguson replied: Laura McGowan. Pretty girl. Great you will be in London. Cant wait to see you. Xx b' ' There is no more information about Ms McGowans identity. In another email, sent in 2009, Ms Ferguson used similar language as she invited Epstein to meet another woman she knew. The message, dated Sept 17, read: You can marry her too. She is single and [sic] a great body. Ok well marry me and then we will employ her. Further emails also show that Epstein appears to have paid around $14,000 (10,000) for the plane tickets for Ms Ferguson as well as her two daughters to visit him in Florida just five days after his release from prison. An email dated July 24 2009 from Ms Groff talks about the itinerary for Ms Ferguson, Eugenie and Beatrice: the girls would have been 19 and 20 at the time. Ms Groff wrote: Regarding the flights for The Duchess and the girls from Heathrow to Miami and from NY to Heathrow: we were able to get the girls on Economy round trip and The Duchess on Business round trip! The girls flights total arc (sic): $4835.94 and The Duchess flights total: $9244.16. Do I have your permission to purchase these tickets!? b' ' Emails previously reported by The Telegraph showed that Ms Ferguson and her daughters enjoyed vegetable lasagna and salads at Epsteins Palm Beach mansion. Emailing ahead of the meeting, Ms Ferguson said: Cannot wait to see you. The Telegraph has contacted a spokesman for Ms Ferguson for comment. Harvey Willgoose was stabbed to death in February last year by fellow pupil Mohammed Umar Khan - Facebook On the morning of Feb 3 this year, Harvey Willgoose, a 15-year-old schoolboy, left home anticipating a normal day at All Saints High School in Sheffield. It wasnt to be. Instead he was stabbed and killed in the school courtyard by another teenager, Mohammed Umar Khan, also aged 15. The jury at Sheffield Crown Court found Khan guilty of murder and, on Oct 22, he was sentenced to life with a minimum of 15 years behind bars. Harvey is the latest victim of the endemic violence that plagues so many of our schools. Also this year, a teenage girl was found guilty of attempted murder after attacking a pupil and two members of staff with a knife at a school in Carmarthenshire. In 2018, I wrote about the murder of Ann Maguire, a 61-year-old languages teacher, who, in April 2014, was stabbed seven times by Will Cornick during a Spanish lesson at Corpus Christi Catholic College in Leeds. I went on to highlight the stabbing of another teacher, Vincent Uzomah, by a pupil at Dixons City Academy in Bradford, a year after Mrs Maguires death. In February, a Channel 4 News report on violence in our schools revealed that there were 150 stabbings and other injurious knife-crime incidents across England and Wales last year. Thats almost four per school week. Furthermore, there were 20,000 violent crimes recorded in schools by police forces in 2024 nearly half of forces did not respond to the data request, meaning the true number is likely to be significantly higher. Between 2013 and 2023, moreover, 5,000 violent injuries were inflicted upon teachers by their pupils. 1,011 suffered fractures, 126 lost consciousness, 16 entirely or partially lost their sight, and four suffered amputations. This is worth repeating: four teachers were forced to have limbs surgically removed after being assaulted by one or more of their charges. Harvey Willgoose was murdered in front of children and teachers at All Saints Catholic High School not long after this screen grab of events last February (Harvey Willgoose is blue and his murderer green) According to the most recent Behaviour in Schools survey of 5,800 teachers, conducted by the NASUWT teachers union, in the past year, 20 per cent of teachers have been hit or punched by their pupils, 38 per cent have been shoved or barged, 25 per cent have experienced pupil violence at least once each term, and 81 per cent of teachers say that pupil behaviour has deteriorated. Dr Patrick Roach, the NASUWT general secretary, lamented: Recent years have seen an unprecedented surge in levels of violence and abuse in the classroom. Based on our latest data, we estimate as many as 30,000 violent incidents against teachers involving pupils with a weapon in the last 12 months. It is a national emergency, but no one seems to care, least of all Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary who seems more concerned with closing down private schools and forcing their former pupils into the state sector. But why is violence so alarmingly commonplace in our schools? Well, its because violent pupils are largely allowed to abuse and attack their peers and teachers with impunity. They are allowed to do this because they are seen as blameless victims rather than violent thugs. As an example of this pervasive thinking, lets consider Mohammed Umar Khans excuses after he stabbed Harvey Willgoose. Im not right in the head, he told Sean Pender, the headteacher. My Mum doesnt look after me right. Ive stabbed him. He used a set of ready excuses no doubt learned from a variety of mental health professionals and teachers to divest himself of responsibility for an unspeakable act of savagery. Clearly, such excuses had previously worked. According to assistant headteacher Morgan Davis, Khan had a history of violent conduct at the school. This begs the question: why was he still there? The brutal truth is that the school leadership viewed such conduct as beyond his control. Thats why, after stabbing Harvey, Khan said to Mr Davis: You know I cant control it! A serial offender was treated as a victim and, consequently, went on to commit murder. All Saints Catholic High School missed opportunities to save Harvey Willgoose, his parents have said - PA/Jacob King As a teacher of almost 22 years, Ive worked in schools where such perverse, naive thinking is widespread. Armed with pre-learned excuses, the children and teenagers dish out threats and violence with impunity, and the innocent struggle to survive. Teachers are abused and the vulnerable are mercilessly bullied. Such schools are jungles. Rules are discarded and, when things go wrong, as in the albeit extreme case of Harvey Willgoose, the school is forced to close ranks and cover up their neglect of the real victims and their appeasement, even encouragement, of the perpetrators. In 2018, Don Maguire bereaved husband of Ann Maguire who, as mentioned above, was murdered in 2014 by a deranged pupil was confronted by a wall of silence when he asked the authorities, including the school, questions about the circumstances surrounding her death. He said: The impression was that there was more attention and care going to the killers family. The killer, according to Don, was not being treated as a cold-blooded murderer but someone to be protected and helped. There was talk of rehabilitation and his best interests, even though hes never shown a shred of remorse. The school concealed the details surrounding Ann Maguires death from her bereaved husband, I suspect because her killer previously displayed a propensity towards violent psychopathy, a propensity that was appeased and ignored at every turn by the schools leadership. And even now, to add cruel insult to wilful injury, Will Cornick, her frenzied and remorseless attacker, is being treated as a victim to be helped rather than punished. The very approach that led to Mrs Maguires tragic death is being repeated, only this time by the criminal justice system. Indeed, this thinking pervades wider society. Paedophiles and murderers receive paltry sentences, shoplifting goes unpunished, illegal migrants are rewarded with mobile phones, and the mass rape, burning and murder of Jews is excused as a justified act of resistance. These are perverse outcomes brought about by the decline of traditional morality and its replacement by an amoral relativism that refuses to judge people, even murderers. Our schools reflect this destructive orthodoxy. Perpetrators are treated as victims and, consequently, face little to no sanctions for their actions. The result: the proliferation of violence and the degeneration of our schools into dystopian cesspits. Seat-mapping tools give you the lowdown on what's good and bad about specific seats (Viacheslav Yakobchuk - stock.adobe.com) For years, SeatGuru was the go-to website for passengers who wanted a guide on the best seats to pick for their upcoming flights. The Tripadvisor-powered portal displayed cabin layouts for almost every commercial flight in the world, with seats color-coded according to whether they were good, bad or possibly annoying. However, Tripadvisor quietly discontinued the site last year. Fortunately for those who like to handpick their high-altitude perch, there are alternative seat-mapping tools available and we have rated five of the most popular. We discovered that theyre all useful, but to varying degrees. One has slick interactive cabin videos, another can alert you when your favorite seat becomes available and theres one powered by an AI database that promises to give you the most helpful information about your selection. 1. Seatmaps.com Seatmaps.com offers cabin layouts and seat ratings, along with interactive cabin videos (seatmaps.com) Seatmaps.com was founded by Fred Finn, a Guinness World Record holder for passenger miles (he clocked up 718 Concorde flights and 15 million miles), and Djois Franklin, a tech veteran from AMD and Microsoft. Their combined pedigrees in aviation and tech show as the site is slick, reveals useful detail, has a 360-degree video function, and its a breeze to navigate you can find the seat map relevant to your flight in seconds. Whats more, its free to use and you dont need to create an account. We tested the sites find your flight seat map tool by telling it we were flying with American Airlines on February 14 from New Yorks JFK Airport to Los Angeles. Nine departures were listed, so we clicked the 6 a.m. service with an Airbus A321. Up popped a cabin diagram with the seats color-coded to denote standard, more comfort, some issues, mixed features, or reduced comfort. According to the website, seats 11B, 11C, 11D and 11E are the most comfortable, with the back row 22A to F is the least comfortable, as recline might be limited and theyre close to the restrooms. Accompanying the seat diagram were four 360-degree interactive videos, including an in-seat perspective, seat ratings from site users (it scores 4.16 out of 5 based on 311 reviews), information on seat sizes, and descriptions of each seat by seatmaps.com. There are also links to reviews of the cabin on other websites. Verdict: Excellent. 2. Expert Flyer Expert Flyer isn't the slickest of seat-map sites, but it does the job (Expert Flyer) Expert Flyer, owned by Red Ventures, the parent company of The Points Guy travel site, is moderately useful, but a bit clunky and functionality could be slicker. Users are required to create an account and are then pushed to take out a subscription (though there is a free trial option). Next, a flight number and a specific cabin category must be entered on the seat map tool. The site displays the cabin layout with color-coded seats. Hover over one and a mini review pops up drawn from the defunct SeatGuru site. While this was a mammoth archive and the descriptions are detailed, the information could now be out of date. The standout feature is the alert system tell the site which seat youd most like to fly in and itll notify you when it becomes available to book. Verdict: A no-frills tool that does the job. 3. AeroLopa Finding seat maps for specific flights on AeroLopa requires users to know the precise model of the aircraft operating the service (AeroLopa) AeroLopa.com is a mixed bag. The site is clear and nicely laid out, but finding seat maps for specific flights requires users to know the precise model of the aircraft operating the service its not possible to search by flight number and destination. Whats more, while the seat map is clear, it doesnt contain information pertaining to seat comfort. For extra details, users must create an account and agree to receive email and text messages from the site, which isnt a positive customer experience. Verdict: Frustrating. 4. SeatCompare.ai SeatCompare.ai has an intuitive user interface and displays useful seat insights (seatcompare.ai) SeatCompare.ai is, as the name suggests, AI-powered. It describes itself as your seat-obsessed travel companion that uses a FleetBrain database. The site doesnt require an account, is free to use, and has an intuitive user interface. And while it doesnt display cabin maps travelers need live aircraft and cabin intelligence, not outdated diagrams, it argues inputting a flight code, cabin type and departure date prompts an easy-to-read list of helpful information, including the best seats, those to avoid, and the option for a notification if the plane type changes. The latter function is useful as seat size and cabin configurations can vary significantly from one aircraft to another. The site is still in beta testing, so more features are likely to be added. Verdict: Good. 5. Seat Maestro Seat Maestro isn't short on detail, but the website is cluttered with adverts (Seat Maestro) Seat Maestro? Seat Apprentice might be more accurate. While it has good intentions, the user experience is a bit frustrating. To begin with, the screen is cluttered with pop-up ads, and the site couldn't find a scheduled American Airlines flight from JFK to Los Angeles. To compensate, it displayed a list of the planes in American Airlines fleet, leaving users to work out which plane theyd be flying on. The seat maps themselves are useful, indicating good, good but beware, and beware options, alongside traveler reviews and ratings. Verdict: Room for improvement. The Independents pick: Seatmaps.com. Today show host Savannah Guthrie with her mother Nancy Guthrie - NBC The mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie has been abducted from her home, authorities say. A massive manhunt involving drones and search-and-rescue dogs has been launched to find Nancy Guthrie after she disappeared from her house in Arizona on Saturday night. Chris Nanos, the Pima County sheriff, said authorities were in a race against time because the 84-year-old had left behind medication she needs to survive. Savannah Guthrie, who has hosted NBCs Today show since 2012, has appealed for the safe return of our dear mom and urged anyone with information to come forward. Mr Nanos said Nancy Guthrie could not walk more than 50 yards on her own, and that her disappearance was not linked to dementia because she was mentally sharp as a tack. A missing persons notice released by Pima County Sheriff I believe she was abducted, he told CBS, appealing to neighbours in Arizonas affluent Catalina Foothills to check their security cameras and doorbell footage. I cant think of the last time where in the middle of the night in someones bed, an 84-year-old woman disappeared on us, he added. We believe she was taken out of the home against her will, and thats how this investigation is moving. Nancy Guthries $1m house in Tucson is being treated as a crime scene, authorities have said. Her phone, wallet and car were left behind when detectives began searching the property. She was last seen near her home on Saturday night around 9.45pm, and was reported missing by family the following day when she did not attend church, The New York Post reported. Mr Nanos warned the 84-year-olds life was at risk. She is in need of medication that if she doesnt have it in 24 hours, it could be fatal, he said. Savannah Guthrie issued a statement thanking everyone for the thoughts, prayers, and messages of support - Evan Agostini Helicopters with infrared cameras, drones and teams of volunteers are now scouring the area for Nancy Guthrie. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officers, who are stationed nearby because she lives roughly 75 miles from the border with Mexico, have loaned search-and-rescue dogs for the manhunt. Its a very safe neighbourhood. This is highly unusual, and we are very concerned about her, Jeff Lamie, one of her neighbours, told local media. Savannah Guthrie, who did not attend work on Monday, issued a statement thanking everyone for the thoughts, prayers, and messages of support. Right now, our focus remains on the safe return of our dear mom, she continued. We thank law enforcement for their hard work on this case and encourage anyone with information to contact the Pima County Sheriffs office. In a Mothers Day tribute on Instagram in 2024, she described her mother as Gods first, best and most important gift to me. Tonys Chocolonely has said it sold more chocolate bars last year despite hiking prices in the face of soaring cocoa costs and having to recall two of its products. The Dutch chocolatier said it had managed to grow its sales and profits during a challenging year. It reported revenues of 240 million euros (207 million) in the year to the end September, a fifth higher than the year before. The volume of sales grew by 4% year-on-year, meaning revenue growth was driven by both higher prices and people buying more chocolate. In the US, revenues soared by 50% to make it the brands largest market, overtaking the Netherlands for the first time. Tonys also revealed that revenues totalled 51.2 million euros (44.2 million) in the UK and Ireland, which was 14% higher than the prior year. This came despite rocketing cocoa prices and the worst mid-crop harvest in a decade, according to the business, which implemented price increases for customers during the year. In a year when industry volumes were hammered as second and third-wave price increases were passed through to consumers, we certainly felt the effects but were pleased that, overall, we successfully grew our volume by 4%, chief executive Douglas Lamont said. Tonys Chocolonely said it had been impacted by soaring cocoa prices (Alamy/PA) The brand is known for its chunky chocolate bars in innovative flavours, such as milk chocolate rice crisp caramel and the everything bar, currently retailing at 4 for a 180 gram bar. It is also focused on ethically sourcing cocoa, which means paying farmers a higher price and advocating for reducing exploitation in supply chains, including modern slavery and child labour. The brand, which was founded in 2005, has grown rapidly to be sold around the world and across UK supermarkets and retailers. It was forced to recall two of its products in April last year after warning that some batches of its chocolate may contain small stones and metal fragments. The company also cautioned over pressure from higher tariffs affecting its shipments from the EU to the US. Nevertheless, Tonys revealed that it made an operating profit of 200,000 euros (173,000), from a loss the prior year, and Mr Lamont said: Its been a challenging year, but weve shown how resilient and effective our model is with strong growth in revenue, volume, profitability and, most importantly, impact on the ground for cocoa-farming families. With higher pricing now passed through on shelf to consumers, and as the market pricing for cocoa begins to fall, the industry must collectively consider how we can work together to invest in becoming more resilient to future climate shocks and yield crises. A railway station manager who claims he ended up losing a leg after being infected with Covid by his boss at work is suing his employers for 1m. David Gibson was a station manager working for Southeastern, based at Herne Hill Station, in July 2021 when he came down with a severe case of Covid which saw him hospitalised with pneumonia, put in a coma and ultimately have his leg amputated below the knee due to a blood clot. Mr Gibson, who had worked for the railway company since 2018, claims he was infected at work during an office catch-up followed by a Wetherspoons breakfast with his area manager Danny Hackett, who, Mr Gibson claims, was coughing and visibly unwell but who nevertheless failed to wear a mask for most of the time they were together. Southeastern trains station manager David Gibson (Supplied by Champion News) Married dad-of-three Mr Gibson is now suing for around 1m in compensation at London's High Court on the basis that he was negligently exposed to the Covid virus at work. But lawyers for London and South Eastern Railways Ltd - trading as Southeastern - deny his claims and all blame for his illness, as well as insisting that if Mr Gibson caught Covid at work it was his own fault. In July 2021, England was in Step 3 of the Covid 19 roadmap, which included the wearing of face masks, a one metre social distancing rule and isolation of close contacts of a positive case. At the time, Southeastern's policy was to have staff stay at home if they had symptoms, while they were also told to follow social distancing guidance and not to congregate in offices. Lisa Dobie, for Mr Gibson, in documents lodged with the court, says that as a key worker he was expected to go to work whilst social distancing restrictions were in place, but always took careful precautions to avoid close contact with others. He would travel to work by car and train and he would always wear a mask, she said. It was his practice to go to the front of the train to sit in first class. At that time, July 2021, first class was usually empty. If anyone else was in the carriage, it was one or two passengers as a maximum. The claimant could and would easily distance himself from those passengers. However, on 14th July 2021, Mr Gibson was invited to visit his area manager Mr Hackett at his office at Bromley South Station. He felt obligated to visit the manager's office as he had been invited to do, she said, and found himself in a 2.5m by 5m office with Mr Hackett and two others. Due to the dimensions of the office, and in accordance with the defendant's procedures in place on that date, only two people should have been in the room at any one time, the barrister said. There had been three of them in a closed small office space before the claimant arrived...[They] were not wearing masks. Mr Gibson positioned himself in the room so that he was the furthest from all of them that he could be. His mask remained on. His manager had coughed a few times during the conversation, but then went on to invite his colleagues to breakfast at a local Wetherspoons pub. The invite was unexpected and the claimant felt he could not decline, said the barrister. During breakfast, Danny Hackett continued to cough as before and he sneezed into his hands twice and used his serviette in substitute for a tissue. On the way back to the office from Wetherspoons, he continued to show signs of being unwell. Mr Gibson asked if he was okay and suggested he should go home to do a test. Mr Hackett did not put his mask back on. There had been plans for a staff team meeting later that day, which Mr Gibson planned to attend via his computer from Herne Hill, but by then there was not enough time so he stayed and attended in Mr Hackett's office instead. However, before the meeting began, Mr Hackett asked someone else to conduct it, telling colleagues he "wasn't feeling well and had a sore throat". Bromley South Station where Southeastern trains station manager David Gibson says he caught Covid off his boss (Supplied by Champion News) He said he had not been feeling well since the previous evening. He continued to cough, said the barrister. Danny Hackett remained in the room for the full duration of the team meeting despite being unwell...He was visibly unwell and coughing during the meeting. Mr Gibson was very angry but felt unable to direct his supervisor to leave. She added that Mr Hackett had tested positive for Covid after attending work the next day, naming Mr Gibson as a close contact. Mr Gibson began to feel ill two days later and tested positive on July 18. His condition deteriorated and he was taken to hospital in Tunbridge Wells by an ambulance on July 22. Following his hospitalisation, he developed pneumonia as a complication of Covid. The claimant was moved to ICU on 24 July before being placed in an induced coma on 29 July. Sadly, the claimant required a left above knee amputation as a result of clotting complications caused by Covid. The barrister said Mr Gibson is suing Southeastern as being vicariously liable for the actions of Mr Hackett, who she said negligently attended work in the knowledge that he was not feeling well and had a new cough. He failed to perform a lateral flow test before attending work on 14 July. He failed to leave work on 14 July when he was aware he was symptomatic and unwell. He invited staff to attend his office in person without advising anyone of his symptoms, following social distancing rules and/or limiting the number of people in attendance at any one time." He had turned a blind eye to the defendant's policies and national guidance in failing to isolate, allowing more than two people in the office and not wearing a mask and had openly disregarded policies and procedures, thereby encouraging staff that he managed to do the same, she claimed. The claimant has been unable to return to work for the defendant or any employer. On 31 March 2023, the claimant's employment with the defendant was terminated on the grounds of ill health, the barrister said. Rochelle Rong, for Southeastern, defended Mr Hackett's actions, saying in its written defence to the action: it is averred that he had not developed any symptoms that he did or was reasonably expected to associate with a Covid-19 infection prior to his subsequent positive lateral flow tests. In particular, it is denied that he had developed a new continuous cough, loss of taste and/or smell, and/or high temperature prior to his 'contact' with the claimant. She also denied that Southeastern itself had allowed staff to turn a blind eye to guidance on social distancing, masks and reporting of contacts. The defendant had in place a suitable and sufficient risk assessment in response to the evolving risks of Covid-19, she said. It is denied that the defendant encouraged a culture of 'cautious reporting'. Employees were instructed not to attend work if they had Covid-related symptoms. It is denied that it was possible or practicable to instruct employees not to attend work as soon as they developed any non-specific symptoms which were not typical of a Covid-19 infection. It is averred that the defendants actions as an employer are to be judged in the relevant circumstances at the time, including the prevailing knowledge and guidance regarding the risks and control measures of the Coronavirus, the national Covid-19 roadmap and the practical challenges of controlling the risks to its employees of a community-transmitted virus while maintaining operational standards. The defendant acted reasonably and responsibly in all the circumstances of the case. Accordingly, liability is denied. Further or alternatively, such injury as the claimant may prove was caused or contributed to by his own negligence, the barrister added, blaming him for, amongst other things, attending the Bromley South Station and Danny Hacketts office in person... failing to remove himself from the Bromley South Station and Danny Hackett's office when he allegedly observed him coughing and going to breakfast at Wetherspoons and therefore knowingly exposing himself to greater risks of Coronavirus infection from his colleagues and/or the general public. The case reached court last week for a pre-trial hearing and will now go on to trial unless the parties reach an out of court settlement beforehand. President Donald Trump appeared to link Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar to the terrorist group ISIS Tuesday, further escalating his attacks on the Democratic lawmaker and her Somali roots. On Truth Social, the president recirculated an article from last year that announced the U.S. had killed 14 ISIS operatives in airstrikes carried out in a cave complex near Bosaso in the East African nation. Trump first re-shared the article Monday and then again Tuesday. In his Tuesday post, Trump baselessly commented, Was Ilhan Omar there to protect her corrupt homeland? For years, Trump has lashed out at Omar, a progressive Democrat who was born in Somalia but gained U.S. citizenship in 2000. But recently, he has intensified those attacks with more racist and xenophobic language. The president has called for Omar to be deported and mocked her for wearing a hijab. His attacks have coincided with his ire toward Somalis living in the U.S. as well, whom he has called garbage and accused of rampant fraud. Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar has accused Trump of inciting violence against her with hateful rhetoric (Getty Images) Trumps latest Truth Social comment appeared to be just the latest escalation in his efforts to dehumanize Omar by tying her to a well-known international terrorist organization. Its unclear why he used a year-old article as the basis for his comments. There is no evidence Omar is affiliated with ISIS. The Independent has asked Omars office for comment. Omar has previously condemned Trump for his hateful rhetoric that she says has led to multiple death threats. Since the administration began cracking down on immigration in Minnesota, with operations targeted at the Somali-American community, the tension between Trump and Omar has grown. Omar has repeatedly called for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be abolished and accused officers of violating the law. Trump, meanwhile, has made dehumanizing generalizations against Somalia and Somali-Americans. He often invokes Omars name during his attacks. Recently, the Minnesota congresswoman was sprayed with vinegar during a press conference in which she was denouncing the administrations aggressive immigration enforcement. She accused Trump of inciting the violence by being obsessed with her. Omar and her family came to the U.S. seeking asylum in 1995 after living in a refugee camp in Kenya. Her family fled Somalia due to the Somali Civil War. In 2018, Omar became the first Somali-American elected to Congress and became one of two Muslim women to serve in the House. A federal judge appointed by Donald Trump scolded top administration officials for their troubling statements about Alex Pretti in the immediate aftermath of his fatal shooting by two federal immigration officers in Minneapolis. But, Minnesota District Judge Eric C. Tostrud said inflammatory statements and a potentially compromised crime scene are not enough to block federal law enforcement agencies from handling evidence, for now. Hours after last months shooting, Minnesota officials sued to block Homeland Security from destroying or altering any evidence, and Tostrud granted a temporary restraining order later that night. His order on Monday night dissolves the order, but with reservations. Officers appeared to mishandle Prettis alleged firearm, which the president and administration officials posted to social media shortly after he was killed, and comments from Miller and Homeland Security officials were politically motivated snap judgments, the judge wrote. A federal judge appointed by Donald Trump called statement from Stephen Miller and other administration officials in the wake of Alex Prettis killing troubling and politically motivated (AP) Following the shooting, administration officials decided the day Mr. Pretti was killed that the federal officers who shot him did nothing wrong, Tostrud wrote. On X, Miller baselessly labeled Pretti a domestic terrorist who tried to assassinate federal law enforcement. A post on X from Homeland Security said Prettis death looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement, later echoed by Secretary Kristi Noem. These statements are troubling, Tostrud wrote. They reflect, not a genuine interest in learning the truth, but snap judgments informed by speculation and motivated by political partisanship. But Minnesota law enforcement agencies who sued to block DHS from handling the case did not show that those statements reflect any intent to destroy or spoliate evidence related to the investigation, according to the judge. Video from a bystander shows a border patrol officer spraying a chemical irritant at Alex Pretti before he was fatally shot in Minneapolis (via REUTERS) Tostrud also said some evidence was likely damaged or lost in the immediate aftermath when state and local law enforcement were blocked from the scene. But the judge attributed any potentially compromised evidence to a volatile crowd that overran the scene. The record here shows the loss or spoliation more likely resulted from exigent circumstances, not from Defendants substandard evidence-gathering or preservation activities, he wrote. Any concerns about officers mishandling of a firearm recovered from the scene do not weigh substantially in favor of a broader preservation order, according to the judge. Without knowing more, it is difficult to determine whether Defendants mishandling of the firearm might show that further spoliation or other evidence-preservation misbehaviors are likely, he added. Judge Eric C. Tostrud is lifting his court order blocking the Trump administration from handling evidence in Prettis killing, for now, after Minnesota officials accused federal law enforcement agencies of potentially spoiling evidence (AFP via Getty Images) The initial investigation was led Homeland Security Investigations, which is required to preserve all evidence collected, including physical evidence collected by other federal entities, which are then properly transferred to homeland custody, according to a sworn declaration from Mark Zito, the agencys Special Agent in Charge for the St. Paul office. All evidence was collected and transported back to the FBI Minneapolis Field Office, according to a sworn statement from an FBI official whose name is redacted in court filings. That evidence includes body-worn camera footage, which has been preserved, according to Jeffrey Egerton, the executive director for the Investigative Operations Directorate within Customs and Border Protections Office of Professional Responsibility. Last week, the Department of Justice announced it was opening a federal civil rights investigation into the shooting, which will remain separate from Homeland Securitys internal probe. The Justice Department declined to investigate an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers shooting of Renee Good, who was killed January 7. On Monday, the Hennepin County Attorneys Office submitted formal demands for evidence as part of its investigation into Goods killing, including firearms and spent casings, videos, medical records and other documents. The government was given a deadline of February 17 to respond. I expect the federal government to provide the requested information, documents and physical items to our office, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a statement Monday. The federal government has been clear that they are not conducting an investigation into Renee Goods death. But we are. During a hearing last week, Assistant U.S. Attorney Friedrich Siekert said that any state requests for evidence in a potential criminal investigation against the agents who opened fire on Pretti would only be available through standard public records requests and only after the conclusion of all federal matters. Comedian Trevor Noah on the red carpet at the Grammys on Sunday night. Photograph: Jill Connelly/EPA (Photograph: Jill Connelly/EPA) South African comedian Trevor Noah told a joke as he hosted the Grammy awards on Sunday. The former Daily Show host said the song of the year award was a Grammy that every artist wants almost as much as Trump wants Greenland, which makes sense because Epsteins island is gone, he needs a new one to hang out with Bill Clinton. At least one person watching was not amused: the president of the United States. Donald Trump hit back on his Truth social platform, calling Noah a poor, pathetic, talentless dope of an MC, and adding that he would instruct lawyers who will be suing him for plenty$. Both presidents names appear multiple times in tranches of papers known as the Epstein files, which include details of parties at Epsteins private Caribbean island in which children were sexually abused. Trump and Clinton were both former friends of Epstein but have always denied wrongdoing or knowledge of Epsteins sexual abuse. Trump threatens to sue Trevor Noah over Epstein joke at Grammys Grammys host Trevor Noah has been threatened with legal action by Donald Trump for a joke during Sundays awards ceremony about the presidents connection to the disgraced late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The sentiment at the music awards appeared firmly against Trump and his administration. Numerous artists wore anti-ICE pins, and several winners called out Trumps anti-immigrant operations in Minnesota and elsewhere. Read the full story US contractor sent Gaza plan to White House that would secure 300% profits A US disaster response firm submitted a plan to White House officials that would guarantee 300% profits and a seven-year monopoly over a new trucking and logistics plan for Donald Trumps board of peace in Gaza, according to a November proposal obtained by the Guardian. Read the full story Kristi Noem says all federal agents will begin wearing body cameras on patrol The homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, said that all federal agents in Minneapolis will immediately begin wearing body cameras and that the program will be expanded nationwide as funding is available. The announcement comes after Republican senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin suggested, in a concession that could pave the way to an agreement on Capitol Hill to fund the much criticized agency, that ICE agents could wear body cameras on immigration patrols. Read the full story Irans top diplomat says government is ready for talks with US on a nuclear deal Irans top diplomat has said the government is ready for negotiations with the US as the two countries reportedly prepared to send top envoys to Istanbul for high-stakes talks on the Iranian nuclear program later this week. Read the full story Trump faces criticism as beyond unprecedented UAE crypto deal raises conflict of interest fears Donald Trump has been accused of corruption, plain and simple after it was revealed that a member of the Emirati royal family was behind a $500m investment into the Trump familys cryptocurrency company. Read the full story Bill and Hillary Clinton agree to testify in House Epstein investigation The concession follows a tense back-and-forth between the Clintons and the Republican James Comer, chair of the House oversight committee, who said that he would insist both Clintons sit for a sworn deposition before the committee in order to fulfill the panels subpoenas. Read the full story DHS account of two Venezuelans shot by border patrol falls apart in court Immediately after a US border patrol agent shot two people in Oregon last month, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the targets were vicious gang members connected to a prior shooting and alleged they had attempted to run over officers with their vehicle. In the weeks since, key parts of the federal governments narrative have fallen apart. Read the full story What else happened today: Catching up? Heres what happened Sunday 1 February. Tulsi Gabbard outside of the Fulton county election hub and operation center in Union City, Georgia, on Wednesday. Photograph: Elijah Nouvelage/Reuters (Photograph: Elijah Nouvelage/Reuters) Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, is running her own review into the 2020 election with Donald Trumps approval, working separately from a justice department investigation even as she joined an FBI raid of an election center in Georgia last week. Her presence at the raid drew criticism from Democrats and former intelligence officials, who questioned why the countrys top intelligence officer with no domestic law enforcement powers would appear at the scene of an FBI raid. But Gabbard, whose role ordinarily focuses on overseeing the intelligence agencies, has played only a minimal role in the criminal investigation, according to three administration officials. Shes doing her own thing, one of the officials said. The parallel investigations into the 2020 election underscore the extent to which it has returned as a priority for the president. And Gabbard being sent to the raid showed the interest on voting machine manipulation claims that Trump has cited as evidence the election was stolen. Related: Georgia Democrats call for inquiry into Gabbards presence at Fulton county search The review led by the office of the director of national intelligence (ODNI), authorized on the basis that it is assessing election integrity, has been focused for months on potential vulnerabilities in voting machines and the possibility of foreign interference. As part of that effort, Gabbard has been briefing Trump and senior White House advisers every few weeks. Officials said Trump directed her to travel to Fulton county, Georgia, so she could observe the FBI executing a search warrant on Wednesday. The raid itself was overseen by Andrew Bailey, the deputy FBI director, who was also sent by Trump to Georgia. A copy of the search warrant cited possible violations of federal laws governing the preservation of election records and the procurement of false ballots or voter registrations. The warrant authorized agents to seize sweeping amounts of voter data from Fulton county, including all physical ballots from the 2020 election, voting machine tabulator tapes, images produced during the ballot count and voter rolls from that year. The target of the criminal investigation was not immediately clear. Spokespeople for the justice department and the FBI did not respond to multiple requests for comment about the investigation or Gabbards role. The episode comes as Trump continues to focus on the 2020 election, nearly six years after losing that race to Joe Biden. The ODNI review has elevated Gabbards standing after she was sidelined from several national security decisions, including to capture Nicolas Maduro, the Venezuelan president. The ODNI review was initially overseen by the Directors Initiatives Group, or Dig, a taskforce that Gabbard established within her agency, which focused on vulnerabilities with voting machines used in the 2020 election, according to a person familiar with the matter. But Dig was dissolved late last year after it misidentified the person who placed pipe bombs outside Democratic and Republican party headquarters before the January 6 Capitol riot, the person said. In December, the justice department charged a different individual over the pipe bombs. Gabbard has continued the ODNI review even as the justice department has proceeded with its criminal investigation. The specific lines of inquiry the ODNI is pursuing could not be learned, but it was not looking at Fulton county machines until the FBI raid occurred, the person said. The ODNI review remains within Gabbards statutory authority, officials said, citing executive orders extended by Biden in 2022 and Trump in 2025, which task the director of national intelligence (DNI) with assessing foreign interference in federal elections. In a statement, Olivia Coleman, a spokesperson for the DNI, said the office knows through intelligence and public reporting that electronic voting systems have been and are vulnerable to exploitation. President Trumps directive to secure our elections was clear, she added. DNI Gabbard has and will continue to take actions within her authorities, alongside our interagency partners, to support ensuring the integrity of our elections. Related: Fulton county to challenge FBI seizure of election documents Even so, officials said the ODNI was not expected to get direct access to evidence in the criminal investigation. The Wall Street Journal earlier reported Gabbard was reviewing the 2020 election and the New York Times reported Gabbard patched Trump through on her cellphone to FBI agents after the raid. On Tuesday morning, Georgias Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to Pam Bondi, the US attorney general, inquiring into Gabbards presence at the raid. The letter from the senator Raphael Warnock and Lucy McBath and Nikema Williams, representatives who both serve part of Fulton county, asks whether the Trump administration is investigating a legitimate foreign intelligence nexus, which would legally require immediate congressional briefing. Gabbard has spent outsized time on political projects for Trump. Most recently, she has been involved in a separate effort promoting claims that Barack Obama and senior officials sought to create a false narrative that Russia had attempted to help Trumps 2016 campaign. An Obama spokesperson called the effort bizarre, noting that a bipartisan Senate report had affirmed the findings of US intelligence agencies that Russian interference in 2016 was intended to benefit Trump while harming his rival, Hillary Clinton. George Chidi contributed reporting Formal investigations have been launched into whether Elon Musks X and xAI have complied with data protection law after the chatbot Grok was used to create sexualised deepfake images. The Information Commissioners Office (ICO) confirmed it had opened the investigations on Tuesday afternoon. In a statement, it said the reports raised serious concerns under UK data protection laws, such as whether appropriate safeguards were built into Groks design and deployment. It comes after outrage over Groks ability to digitally strip victims without their consent, generating deepfake images of them nude or in minimal clothing. Women told The Independent they had been left feeling violated and humiliated after the dehumanising images were created by the chatbot. It comes after Grok was used to digitally strip victims without their consent (PA) X has since said it has brought in measures to address the issues raised. William Malcolm, executive director of regulatory risk and innovation at the ICO, said the office is working closely with Ofcom and other regulators to ensure that peoples safety and privacy are protected. He added the loss of personal data in this way can cause immediate and significant harm. In January, technology secretary Liz Kendall encouraged Ofcom to use the full range of its powers under the Online Safety Act after the regulator announced an investigation into whether X has complied with UK laws. In a previous statement, Ofcom said it will determine whether X has complied with its duties to protect people in the UK from content that is illegal. The communications regulator said unlike the ICO, it was not investigating xAI, which provides the standalone Grok chatbot app, because of the way the Online Safety Act relates to chatbots. Musk has previously insisted anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they uploaded illegal content (PA) When we opened our investigation into X, we said we were assessing whether we should also investigate xAI, as the provider of the standalone Grok service, it said. We continue to demand answers from xAI about the risks it poses. We are examining whether to launch an investigation into its compliance with the rules requiring services that publish pornographic material to use highly effective age checks to prevent children from accessing that content. Because of the way the Act relates to chatbots, as explained above, we are currently unable to investigate the creation of illegal images by the standalone Grok service in this case. Ministers brought forward legislation to ban generating sexual deepfake images without consent following outrage over the chatbot. Shortly after the ban, Sir Keir Starmer said X must act to comply with UK laws immediately and that young womens images are not public property, and their safety is not up for debate. In a statement released on Tuesday, Mr Malcolm said: The reports about Grok raise deeply troubling questions about how peoples personal data has been used to generate intimate or sexualised images without their knowledge or consent, and whether the necessary safeguards were put in place to prevent this. Losing control of personal data in this way can cause immediate and significant harm. This is particularly the case where children are involved. Our role is to address the data protection concerns at the centre of this, while recognising that other organisations also have important responsibilities. We are working closely with Ofcom and international regulators to ensure our roles are aligned and that peoples safety and privacy are protected. We will continue to work in partnership as part of our coordinated efforts to create trust in UK digital services. Our investigation will assess whether XIUC [X Unlimited Internet Company] and X.AI have complied with data protection law in the development and deployment of the Grok services, including the safeguards in place to protect peoples data rights. Where we find obligations have not been met, we will take action to protect the public. The Russian attacks came on the eve of the next planned three-sided negotiations on ending the war and coincided with talk of a ceasefire on strikes on energy infrastructure adopted by both Russia and Ukraine at Trumps request. Russia said the ceasefire ended on Sunday, while Ukraine said it was to continue for a week from 30 January. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that Russia had largely observed the truce and not carried out any targeted missile or drone strikes on energy infrastructure in the past 24 hours, but that steady Russian shelling had hit energy facilities near the front line. The Unite trade union has criticised oil giant ExxonMobil as it shuttered its Mossmorran plant. The Fife Ethylene Plant was due to close this month, but the union claimed it was shut down early, with production ending on Monday. Exxon announced the impending closure last year, with around 400 jobs at risk as a result, claiming it was no longer financially viable. No immediate job losses are expected as a result of the end of production on Monday, but it is understood 69 staff will leave at the end of April, with 90 remaining to complete the decommissioning of the site, who will then leave in three waves up until the expected completion in early 2028. According to the firm, 20 staff have chosen to relocate to other parts of ExxonMobils UK operation. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham accused the firm of closing the plant early (Stefan Rousseau/PA) (Stefan Rousseau) Along with the firms own staff, around 250 contractors worked on the site. In a statement, a spokesman for the company said: After more than 40 years of operations, Fife Ethylene Plant permanently shut down production on February 2. In the months ahead the plant will be fully decommissioned and made safe for dismantling. We anticipate this process to be completed by early 2028. But the trade union hit out at the firm, claiming it had ended production early. ExxonMobil had previously planned to close the plant on February 16, but it is understood an operational issue with a unit on the site, which would have required multiple days for repair and to restart, was the reason for the early closure. Unites general secretary Sharon Graham said: This is another nail in the coffin of the oil and gas industry, with jobs haemorrhaging on this governments watch. Unite has said repeatedly that the government should not be letting go of one rope before it has hold of another. Importing oil and gas while we offshore our carbon responsibilities is quite frankly an abdication of responsibility which makes us more vulnerable and betrays workers. ExxonMobils decision to close Mossmorran ahead of schedule is a disgrace and a betrayal of its workers. This is an enormously profitable multi-billion pound company and this unnecessary decision will have a devastating impact on the local community in Fife. Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said the news would be difficult for workers, but the Scottish Government was doing all it can to support them. Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said the Scottish Government was doing all it can to support workers (Jane Barlow/PA) (Jane Barlow) I have written to worker representatives to assure them of our support and to ExxonMobil to ask that the workforce is prioritised, she said. We have committed 9 million over three years to mitigate the impacts of the plants closure, with our Partnership Action for Continuing Employment providing skills and employability support to workers. This funding will also support the sites long-term future, with Scottish Enterprise identifying new investment opportunities. Scottish Tory business spokesman Murdo Fraser said the closure was a terrible blow for the area and the workers. As with Grangemouth, the SNP government promised swift action to protect workers and the local community, but their task force didnt even meet until last week, he said. These closures are the inevitable result of Labour and the SNP having created a hostile environment for businesses, especially those connected with the oil and gas sector, by piling on punitive taxes and regulations. Ministers must now ensure that there is decisive action to support those affected, and not merely empty promises. US life expectancy has hit an all-time high with two factors driving the rise U.S. residents are now living to the ripe old age of 79 on average, federal officials say the highest point ever recorded. The CDC announced on Thursday that American expectancy set records in 2024, reflecting the nation's slow but decisive recovery from the deadly Covid-19 pandemic. The milestone also reflects a major drop in drug overdoses, as well as declining death rates from commonly fatal conditions such as heart disease and cancer. "Its pretty much good news all the way around," Robert Anderson of the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics told AP, though he cautioned that the U.S. still trails behind other developed nations such as Japan, Switzerland, Australia, Singapore, and Canada. "Seventy-nine years is impressive for us, but not so much for most of these other developed countries," he said. This Philadelphia man survived a heroin overdose after being given Narcan in July 2017 one of many contributing factors to a massive drop in drug overdose deaths (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) U.S. life expectancy last peaked in 2014 at just under 79 years and then stagnated for a while. Then came Covid, which as of this January has killed an estimated 7.1m people across the world, as well as potentially tens of millions more if indirect deaths are included. Now the virus has entirely dropped out of the top ten causes of death, making way for suicide even though deaths by suicide actually decreased too (just not by as much). Aside from the pandemic, the figures reflected an unprecedented 26 percent plunge in deaths by drug overdose, the biggest such decline ever recorded. The drop in death rates occurred in both men and women, and across all racial and ethnic groups. Heart disease remained the most common cause of death, followed by cancer and unintentional injuries. Those all fell, thanks largely to medical advances, officials said. All that said, it's unclear what 2025 and 2026 will bring. Over the past 12 months, the CDC has cut the number of recommended vaccines for U.S. children even as rates of measles and whooping cough soared. This winter was reportedly among the worst flu seasons in decades, while Health and Human Services secretary Robert K. Kennedy Jr. has slashed vaccine research grants, while two thirds of Americans are now worried about being able to afford healthcare Former hypnotherapist and Green Party leader Zack Polanski - Christopher Furlong/Getty It says rather a lot when the leader of a national political party, confronted for advancing a dangerously daft idea (abolishing Nato, no less) responds not with any facts or discussion relevant to the issue at hand, but by suggesting that his critic is too posh to be listened to. Apparently, the central factor in the argument around the defence of Europe is my accent. I refer, of course, to Zack Polanski, leader of the Green Party. When I challenged his shallow thinking on Nato, and his misrepresentation of a friend alongside whom Ive actually fought wars, his sole counter-argument seemed to be that readers should ignore my column in the Telegraph because Im over-privileged. He also invokes the supposed origins of the word posh Port Out, Starboard Home. That is semi-relevant in my case: my parents did indeed travel between India and the UK, though as Army brats they were likely to have been on the less comfortable side of the ship. "Hamish de Bretron-Gordon." Clearly a champion of the people.https://t.co/0qbagSwgNX pic.twitter.com/TvQzENCWWD Zack Polanski (@ZackPolanski) February 2, 2026 Zack and I do, however, share common ground. We both attended private schools. I did so because my father was serving overseas, and the state picked up the tab. Zack did so on a scholarship and fair play to him. Credit where its due. As for aristocracy, one needs a very long shovel to dig any up under my family tree. Four generations of de Bretton Gordons have soldiered for a living, not because it is one of the permitted occupations for members of the nobility; so did my maternal grandfather. There is vague family talk of a Baron de Bretton somewhere back in the 18th century Danish, not French but if that counts, almost anyone can probably be condemned as an aristo. The Gordon clan is theoretically Scottish royalty, so maybe Zack has a point there, but again there are an awful lot of Gordons about. I may be Danish-Scottish posh. Who knew that was a thing? Joking aside, my real concern is that Zack risks leading the Green Party down unnecessary rabbit holes. Despite my no doubt terminal poshness, I take climate change seriously. While people like me, posh and non-posh, are busy trying to stop the world from blowing up today, we need people whose primary concern is the planet to help ensure it doesnt do so tomorrow. Personally, Id put my money on nuclear power rather than grazing in the park, but as with most things, a balanced approach might help. Following Zacks infamous tweet, there has been some muttering that although I may be a soldier, Im a Rupert and therefore too posh to fight. Anyone who has served knows this is nonsense. Ruperts and squaddies fight side by side. The battlefield is the great leveller. Finally, as an officer of the Royal Tank Regiment, affectionately known in the Army as the Peoples Cavalry or Chav Cav, I find the fuss faintly amusing. My friends in the Guards and the pukka Cavalry would be astonished that an officer from the fish-and-chip end of the Army could be criticised for excessive poshness. Though I must admit, my son is going properly posh and joining the Royal Lancers. So perhaps Zack is right after all hes just got the wrong de Bretton-Gordon. A British Challenger 2 tank in Estonia where UK forces are taking part in Operation Cabrit - Ben Birchall/PA China has become the main financial backer for Russias war against Ukraine, MPs have been told. Air Marshal Ed Stringer, a former head of RAF intelligence, said Beijing was covertly ramping up its support for Moscow as it sought to gain an economic advantage over the West. China has discretely built supply lines going to drone factories in Russia, he told the Commons defence committee on Tuesday. Open source suggests 60 per cent of the Russian war effort is being covertly bankrolled by China so theres a huge amount of support from China. The retired officer added: Russia can only maintain this war because China is essentially bankrolling it. Observers fear China poses an increasing threat to the UK, with Beijing-backed hackers having targeted the phones of aides to former prime ministers Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak in an effort to steal government secrets. At the same time, concerns have been raised after the Government chose to approve plans for a Chinese super-embassy in London, which The Telegraph revealed would be located alongside some of the Citys most sensitive communications cables. On Tuesday, MPs were warned Beijing was seeking economic dominance over the West and could use its influence over Moscow to distract Nato while it builds up its own military. Leading defence academics warned Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, could put pressure on Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader, to attack Estonia, where hundreds of British troops are deployed on a mission to protect Natos eastern flank. Sir Hew Strachan, a Wardlaw professor of international relations at University of St Andrews, told MPs China was seeking opportunities to tie up the West, if Russia agrees a peace deal with Ukraine. British soldiers from the Duke of Lancasters Regiment train on the Tapa range in Estonia - Ben Birchall/PA Asked whether Beijing could encourage such an attack, Sir Hew said: If it continues to result in cheap Russian oil coming into China, then possibly it would have an incentive to do that. British troops are gathering in Estonia as part of a training exercise involving 1,250 soldiers from across the Nato alliance, including France, America and Estonia. UK forces are deployed to the country under Operation Cabrit, which is Britains contribution to Natos forward land forces across Estonia and Poland, with the Royal Tank Regiment having been in Estonia since September last year. Lt Col Mark Luson, the regiments commanding officer, insisted Britain was ready for any mission, adding: Nato here feels stronger than ever. Lt Col Mark Luson, who is commanding in Estonia, says Nato here feels stronger than ever - Ben Birchall/PA Air Marshal Stringer said he did not believe China would want to foment a conflict. But it would be very happy to see Europe tied up spending a lot of its GDP on defence against something that looks like a frozen conflict around Ukraine and Belarus, he added. The warning came as Putin showed little sign of ending his onslaught against Ukraine, which will mark its fourth anniversary later this month. Russia launched one of its most intensive attacks overnight on Monday, using more than 70 missiles and 450 attack drones against Ukraines energy network, plunging parts of Kyiv into darkness, said Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraines president. It is unclear how many of the drones used were produced with aid from China. Xi Jinping, seen meeting Vladimir Putin last September, could put pressure on him to attack Estonia, say experts - Alexander Kazakov/AFP via Getty However, the barrage left more than 1,000 tower blocks in the capital without heating as temperatures plunged to -20C and damaged a power plant in the capital beyond repair. The Russian strike took place halfway through a truce on energy infrastructure attacks that was supposed to last a week, according to Donald Trump, and before Russian, Ukrainian and American negotiators were due to meet in Abu Dhabi for the next round of peace talks on Wednesday. Susan Smith, Marion Calder and Trina Budge of For Women Scotland outside the court - PA/Jane Barlow SNP ministers are using women as political pawns by forcing them to share prisons with biological males, a court heard. The campaign group For Women Scotland (FWS) has challenged the legality of the Scottish Governments policy of allowing trans women to be housed in female jails in certain circumstances. Aidan ONeill KC, acting for the group, told the Court of Session in Edinburgh that biological men had no legal right to be housed in womens prison. He said that the decision by SNP ministers to fight the case was presumably a political calculation, with female prisoners being traded as pawns for political gain. Mr ONeill compared the Scottish Governments policy to George Orwells Animal Farm, with women being equal but men identifying as women [being] more equal than others. Under current guidance, a trans woman in Scotland can be imprisoned in a female jail if they have not hurt or threatened women or girls, and there is no basis to suppose that they pose an unacceptable risk. FWS argues this is incompatible with 2025s Supreme Court ruling that the definition of a woman in the Equality Act is based on biological sex. It has applied to the court for a judicial review seeking to quash the policy. SNP ministers have argued that banning biologically male trans prisoners from female jails would breach the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). But Mr ONeill said there was no case law from the ECHR in Strasbourg which says trans women prisoners have to be housed in female prisons. Why are they fighting this? In his opening argument in the three-day hearing, he told the court: Why are they fighting this? Who can say. If its not law, if you dont have a legal case, its presumably a political calculation. If that were the case and frankly I can see no other explanation, in the absence of case law then what is happening here is that women in prison are being treated and used by the Scottish Government in this case to be traded as pawns for political gain. He speculated about there being back-room deals between the SNP government and other parties, perhaps that insist that this case be defended and fought before the court. But Mr ONeill said the decision to maintain the policy, despite the Supreme Court ruling, was based on institutional neglect, of and contempt for, womens rights. He said: Its almost Orwellian, Animal Farm-like. Women good men identifying as women better. Or, all women are equal, but men identifying as women are more equal than others. History of violence against women Mr ONeill said there was a presumption against placing trans prisoners with a history of violence against women in a female prison but this could be overridden. Four out of five biologically male trans criminals who identify as women are jailed in mens jails, with the remaining 20 per cent in female prisons. Mr ONeill argued that this showed that housing trans prisoners in jails that matched their biological sex was not against their human rights otherwise they wouldnt keep them there. While there was incredible sensitivity to the rights, dignity and privacy of trans people in the Scottish prisons system, the KC argued the rights of incredibly vulnerable female prisoners were not factored in. Why do women have to be human shields to protect the nice trans-identifying male prisoners against the risk of violence against them if they were in the male estate? he asked. He suggested that a separate prison estate for trans inmates could be set up, as happens at one specialised unit in England. Mr ONeill said female prisoners had been subjected to an enforced gaslighting culture, where they were forced to keep their heads down and say nothing about the presence of trans-identifying men. Poses a serious risk He said women prisoners cannot take precautions and just have to lump it, before highlighting three trans inmates in female jails who are violent men. A former governor of a womens prison also warned placing transgender prisoners in the female estate poses a serious risk to vulnerable women. An affidavit was provided by Rhona Hotchkiss, the former governor of Cornton Vale, which closed in 2023. She said: Housing male prisoners, including men who identify as transgender, with women, in my experience poses serious risks to the wellbeing of these women. Not all trans-identified males pose an overt threat to the physical safety of all women, nor do males in the general population, but we still have sex segregation in key spaces. However, all transgender-identified males pose a threat to the mental wellbeing of a significant number of women and some also pose a physical threat. Ms Hotchkiss said it was simply not true for the Scottish Prison Service to claim men who identify as women could not be held safely in the male estate. The case continues. An auctioneer holds a D-Day blueprint, drafted one year ahead of the landings - Jacob King/PA Top-secret blueprints that reveal early plans for the D-Day landings are expected to sell for 100,000 at auction this month. Dated July 30 1943, almost a year before the invasion, the documents were intended for use by the most senior members of the British and Allied command. Created by Lt Gen Frederick Morgan, known as the forgotten architect of D-Day, they include preparatory measures for the invasion, codenamed Operation Overlord. Morgans plans propose landing at only three beaches along a 25-mile stretch of coast with three Allied divisions. This was later expanded into a five-division invasion on beaches now known as Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword. The documents comprise 10 maps showing the Normandy coast - Jacob King/PA Ten loose maps are marked US Secret and British Most Secret and the documents had been in the possession of their current owner, a relative of a senior military officer, since 1960. They will be sold on Feb 25 in a militaria sale at the Hansons Auctioneers saleroom in Etwall, Derbs. Matt Rowson, military expert at Hansons, said Morgans initial ideas in the document were fundamental to the success of D-Day. Its probably the most important thing that Ive ever handled while Ive been here, he said. The rarity value is immense. These were simply never meant to survive. Standard protocol at the time would have dictated that once it had served its useful purpose it would be destroyed, but somehow its been retained and we have it here. This is top-level government minister-level paperwork, so therefore it would not have been handled a great deal. He described the original Operation Overlord planning documents as exceptionally rare, adding: This complete archive is one of the most important museum-grade finds to appear on the open market in recent years. The June 6 1944 invasion of Nazi-occupied France used the largest-ever armada of ships, troops, planes and vehicles to breach Adolf Hitlers defences in western Europe. A view of Cap-Haitien, Haiti Credit - Franz Marc FreiGetty Images The sounds of Cap-Haitien, Haiti, historically referred to as the Paris of the Antilles, are inimitable. One night, I could have sworn I heard a man turn into a werewolf. My skepticism kept me from truly believing it, but when I heard a man yell as though he were being exorcised, combined with the barks of dogs superimposed over his suffering, I understood the folklore of Haitis countryside. It not only sounded supernatural, it felt that way. I had a nightmare that night. When youre from Haiti, you know that roosters dont only cock-a-doodle-doo in the mornings as they do in cartoons. They remind you of their existence throughout the day. I find it refreshing and calming to be around this sort of animal life. I also hear gunshots and goats bleating. I hear church music projecting across neighborhoods and young boys getting chastised by their mothers. The singing of a congregations cry floats over me, though I am miles away. Drums, ocean waves, men arguing about who would take me to Ile-a-Rat. The sounds of Haiti, as I experience them, all at once, are one of a kind. In Haiti, the sounds of the purportedly supernatural are mixed with the scents of gasolinediesel thats still poured into jugs in order to transport. The smell of burnt charcoal, used to cook. The enduring scent of burning garbage, used as one of the sole means of ridding neighborhoods of their trash. Heavy rains add to Haitis perfume. But they also cause floods that cars have to drive through, and, if carless, people must walk through. Haiti is both beautiful and dangerousand it is unfortunately unsafe for many. But Haiti didnt become this way by happenstance. It has been, and continues to be, impacted by systemic and strategic forcesnamely, the United States. Americas pernicious relationship with Haiti comes to a head once more this week. President Donald Trump has tried to revoke Haitians access to Temporary Protected Status (TPS), one of the few opportunities for reprieve for Haitians who sought safety in the United States. When Secretary of Homeland SecurityKristi Noem announced the termination of Haitis TPS designation, she suggested that it is currently safe to return to Haiti. But this is not the case. The Trump Administration posted a termination notice at the end of November 2025, giving Haitians living in the U.S. with TPS about two months to return to a new country. On Feb. 3, 2026, TPS for Haitians was set to expire, putting more than 330,000 people at risk of deportation. Then, at the final hour, a federal judge paused Trumps plans for now. The Trump Administrations attempted elimination of the 15-year-old program was expected to not only negatively impact the local economies that rely on Haitian workers but also to devastate families. The move would be both economically irrational and morally obtuse. It is also part of a long pattern of injustice towards Haiti. In the 222 years since declaring its independence, the Caribbean country and its people has consistently found itself as the target of American derisionfrom Thomas Jeffersons refusal to acknowledge Haiti's independence to Trumps inaccurate depiction of Haitians. Haitis position in the Caribbean Sea primed it for slavery in Jeffersons era, and has been prime for exploitation in Trumps era. To be sure, it would be elementary to solely blame the Trump Administrationor any one administrationfor Haitis centuries-long issues. Haiti liberated itself from France in 1804. After which, France imposed an indemnity for the loss of property (read: formerly enslaved people). In 1947, Haiti finally paid it off. Money that would have gone to basic infrastructure was sent to the people who caused the destruction in the first place. The United States only made matters worse. First, the U.S. placed an embargo on the newly freed Haiti, which prevented it from participating in international trade. Then, in 1856, the U.S. Congress passed the Guano Islands Act. The following year, a U.S. ship landed on the Haitian territory of Navassa and claimed that the Guano Islands Act gave the U.S. the right to control Navassa. In response to resistance, the U.S. Navy parked a warship in the harbor of Port Au Prince. Navassa became U.S. territory. It still is. From 1915 to 1934, the U.S. occupied Haiti. During this 19-year rule, the U.S. changed Haitis Constitution, secured ports and commercial districts, and created powerful political positions that they filled themselves. The U.S took control of Haitis national bank, government, and media industry. But even after Americas formal occupation, its interference continued. In 1990, democratically elected Jean-Bertrand Aristide won. One of his attempts at reform was to raise the minimum wage from 25 cents to 37 cents. USAID refused. And after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the United States withheld critical aid, with relatively few funds actually reaching Haitians. These are just a few examples that represent the perpetuation of poverty in Haiti. Unfortunately, it is not an exhaustive list of the underdevelopment wrought on the island country. But as I walk through my neighborhood in Brooklyn, where my parents immigrated to, I think of the home my family developed in America. I think of the clothing lines in Au Cap, freshly washed clothes drying in the sun. They reminded me of my basement growing upa place where my mother refused to use any machine that would drive the bills up. We had to duck and dive when we were down there. It was a semblance of her first home. It was a reminder of how immigrants like my parents made things work. It reminded me of the Haitians living in the U.S. through TPS who have borrowed Americas promise of justice, fairness, and opportunity. Haitians are yearning for this promise and for a home. They cant go back due to gun trafficking and violence in the streets. Haitians require somewhere safe. The United States has an obligation to give that to them. Haitis underdevelopment is a direct result of the United States. TPS is the least we could do. Contact us at letters@time.com. Sen. Janae Shamp speaks on the floor of the Arizona State Senate at the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix, Ariz., Jan. 15, 2025. Photo: Gage Skidmore / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Cropped from Original (The Center Square) - An Arizona bill would prohibit the use of fluoride in state public water systems. State Sen. Janae Shamp, R-Surprise, introduced Senate Bill 1019, which would prevent people and political subdivisions from adding fluoride or fluoride-containing compounds to Arizonas public water system. The Senate Committee on Government recently advanced SB 1019 to the floor for a full Senate vote. Shamp, a registered nurse, said SB 1019 is a clear challenge to government overreach. Healthcare freedom should not be partisan, and Arizonans should have the right to make informed choices about what they consume, Shamp said, answering The Center Square's questions by email. Currently residents are required to ingest fluoride in public water, which undermines informed consent. Due to fluoride being in toothpaste and other items, Shamp noted, The government should not medicate water. The senator said Arizona needs to be cautious about our childrens health. Fluoridating public water is effectively forced medication without individual or informed consent, she explained. In America, Shamp said health care has become sick care, and Arizona needs to prioritize statewide health and individual choice. She added that as science advances, Arizona must stay current with evidence-based practices. Unfortunately, we dont always embrace change, but the evidence shows that current methods are ineffective at reducing tooth decay among our public health population, she said. A report from the National Toxicology Program found fluoride levels above 1.5 milligrams per liter in drinking water can reduce childrens IQ, Shamp said. Furthermore, the senator said excessive fluoride can lead to dental fluorosis, a condition that occurs when someone ingests too much fluoride. Dental fluorosis can cause tooth discoloration, according to the Cleveland Medical Clinic. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found 41% of children ages 12 to 15 had dental fluorosis. The study also showed 36% of people aged 16 to 19 had the condition. Shamp also noted dental fluorosis has been connected to weakened bones, increased fracture risks, arthritis, and thyroid dysfunction, although these usually occur at higher exposure levels. As the bill banning flouride progresses, Shamp said she expects pushback from local governments and public health agencies." If SB 1019 becomes law, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality would enforce it, Shamp told The Center Square. She added enforcement would be intended to ensure compliance, not to punish local providers. If Arizona were to pass SB 1019, it would join Florida and Utah as the only states that prohibit fluoridation of their water systems. Shamp said if the Arizona Legislature passes the bill, she expects Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, to veto it. I believe it's important to force this conversation and put lawmakers on record, Shamp said. The senator added that Arizona needs to embrace medical liberty and protect our citizens' health by ensuring that our drinking water remains free of unnecessary chemicals. Migrant Crossings At The Southern Border Continue Despite Title 42 Ruling Mario Tama/Getty Images A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from ending sweeping deportation protections for hundreds of thousands of Haitian nationals. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in the District of Columbia, appointed to the bench by President Joe Biden, granted a request on Monday to temporarily block the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for roughly 350,000 Haitians as a legal challenge plays out in court, according to the judges 83-page ruling. In a scathing opinion, the Uruguayan-born judge accused Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem of racism. (RELATED: What To Know About Fred Biery, Judge Behind Craziest Court Order Of Trumps Second Term) Plaintiffs charge that Secretary Noem preordained her termination decision and did so because of hostility to nonwhite immigrants, Reyes wrote. This seems substantially likely. Kristi Noem has a First Amendment right to call immigrants killers, leeches, entitlement junkies, and any other inapt name she wants, the judge continued. Secretary Noem, however, is constrained by both our Constitution and the APA to apply faithfully the facts to the law in implementing the TPS program. The record to-date shows she has yet to do that. WASHINGTON, DC MAY 8: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem arrives for a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on May 8, 2025 in Washington, DC. Noem testified before the Homeland Security Subcommittee about her departments FY 2026 budget request. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) First created in 1990, TPS provides work eligibility and deportation protection to foreign nationals living in the U.S., including those unlawfully present, whose home countries are experiencing any number of conflicts or devastating natural disasters, making it potentially unsafe for them to return, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The Trump administration and other critics, however, have long argued that TPS has become a de facto amnesty program, with TPS designations being extended continually for countries over many years. Haitian nationals were first granted TPS in 2010 following a major earthquake on the island, but have since enjoyed repeated extensions since then. The Biden administration announced it was extending TPS for Haiti again in June 2024, citing ongoing political upheaval in the country. Then DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas extended TPS to hundreds of thousands of other foreign nationals just days before the Biden administration came to a close. In February 2025, the Trump administration rescinded this extension for Haiti, arguing that the status has been abused over the years and serves as a magnet for more illegal immigration, a move that immediately attracted legal challenges from TPS supporters. TPS for Haiti was due to officially expire by Tuesday before Reyes last minute ruling. Standing by its action, DHS has vowed to take the fight to the highest court in the nation. Supreme Court, here we come, Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a public statement. This is lawless activism that we will be vindicated on. Haitis TPS was granted following an earthquake that took place over 15 years ago, it was never intended to be a de facto amnesty program, yet thats how previous administrations have used it for decades, McLaughlin continued. Temporary means temporary and the final word will not be from an activist judge legislating from the bench. Since President Donald Trump re-entered the White House, DHS has also worked to end TPS for Somalia, Venezuela, Honduras, Nicaragua, Nepal, Ukraine and other countries. All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporters byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org. Zoryana Ivchenko / Getty Images For those of us who grew up in the 20th century, cabbage can evoke memories of a waterlogged side or flavorless soup. After enduring those sulfurous dishes of your youth, you mightve written cabbage off completely. In recent years, however, the cruciferous vegetable has received a glow-up on restaurant menus, where it might be roasted or grilled to a toasty char and served as a shareable appetizer or a satisfying vegetarian main. Related: Charred Cabbage Wedges with Anchovies and Parmesan Cabbage really shines when you focus on a few core elements: caramelization, aromatics, salt, a touch of sweetness, and acid, says Ming Pu, chef-owner of TANA in Louisville, Kentucky. Those components are what transform it from something people tolerate into something they actually crave. Deborah Mullin, director of culinary at Little Saint in Healdsburg, California, says to treat cabbage like the star rather than an afterthought. While it is often treated as a commodity vegetable or a familiar home-cooking staple, steamed or boiled into mushy submission, we treat cabbage with the same care and respect as any primary ingredient on the plate, she says. If you havent made a lot of cabbage at home, now is the time: According to Pinterest Predicts, cabbage will be the new kitchen MVP this year. Heres how to cook cabbage like a chef. Prep for success Start by choosing the right cabbage for cooking. Dense varieties, like a standard green or red cabbage you can find in your grocery store, will work well while ones with looser leaves, such as napa, may not hold their shape during the cooking process. Before applying any heat, its important to prep your cabbage properly, explains Alex Green, executive chef of Mileta in Lexington, Kentucky. I like cutting cabbage into wedges or thick steaks (at least one-inch thick), always leaving just a bit of the core attached to help it hold together through our aggressive cooking, he says. Seasoning is also super important with cabbage. It needs more salt than people think. Its dense and full of water. Seasoning early helps pull out moisture and concentrate flavors. Roast then braise I find cabbage responds especially well to high-heat cooking, which drives caramelization and tempers its raw bitterness, says Mullin. If youve ever tried to simply grill or broil cabbage at home, you may have run into the challenge of the outer leaves burning before the interior gets properly tender. One way to get around this is roasting cabbage first then finishing it in a slow braise. In one of our standout autumn preparations using Caraflex cabbage, we begin by deeply charring the cabbage, then follow with a long, gentle braise in an aromatic, apple ciderbased liquid, says Mullin. This process softens its structure while allowing it to absorb layered flavor. Related: Charred Cabbage with Ssamjang Butter At TANA, Pu makes a Taiwanese-style cabbage that follows a similar method of charring then braising. We start by hard-searing the flat surfaces (wedges or quarters) to build deep caramelization, which brings out the natural sweetness of the cabbage. From there, we deglaze the pan with white wine and add chicken or vegetable stock along with aromatics like shallots, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf. We cover the pan and gently braise the cabbage for about 15 to 20 minutes, just enough to soften the inner layers while keeping the texture in the outer leaves. How to cook charred cabbage Trim the stem end of the cabbage off a bit, but leave the rest of the stem intact. Cut into quarters or wedges, at least an inch thick. Dry very well with a clean kitchen towel. Brush with a neutral high-heat oil like grapeseed or avocado, then season heavily with a big pinch of kosher salt and pepper. Sear in a heavy-bottom pot or cast-iron skillet over a moderately high heat, ensuring even contact with the cook surface by pressing gently with a spatula. Cook until well-browned, then flip and cook the other side. Once the cabbage is well browned but not burnt, deglaze the pan with a flavorful liquid like a vegetable or chicken stock, cover, then slowly cook until a fork inserted into the center meets just a bit of resistance. You can do this on the stovetop over low heat or in a 300F oven. This process will generally take just 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the size of the cabbage pieces. You can grill cabbage with this same method, charring lightly over a moderately high temperature then adding to a grill-safe pan, covered tightly with foil and moved to a lower heat on the grill to slowly braise. Consider finishing off the heat For Nick Wilber, executive chef of Muchacho and Tiger Sun in Atlanta, growing up with a German grandmother meant cabbage was a staple. The true secret to success lies in what happens after it leaves the heat, he says. High-intensity grilling creates a beautiful crust, but it often leaves the interior raw and the char overly aggressive. Instead of braising the charred cabbage, you can simply drizzle it with olive oil and lemon juice, then wrap it in foil and let the residual heat gently steam it for 5 to 10 minutes. This after-cooking phase softens the dense core and mellows the bitterness of the carbon, balancing the flavors perfectly. The goal is to let the carryover cooking time transform the intensity of the char into a deep, smoky sweetness. Beware overcooking Whether you choose to finish your charred cabbage in a braise or simply wrap in foil and let residual heat steam the interior, its critical not to overcook it. Overcooking is where cabbage loses people. When it turns fully soft or mushy, it loses its sweetness and structure, Pu says. After he braises cabbage wedges, he finishes them very briefly in a 450F oven to deepen the caramelization. Layer flavors Cabbage benefits from fat, says Green. Cabbage loves fat and carries it beautifully, whether it is butter, oil, or animal fat. Brown butter is a personal favorite. Ill add butter to the pan just as the cabbage starts to brown and by the time the cabbage is finished cooking, the butter will be beautifully browned and waiting to be spooned over the top, so it cascades through the layers of leaves. In addition to fat, a vibrant, acidic sauce is an easy pairing for cabbage, chefs say. Pu finishes his Taiwanese-style cabbage with black truffle and soy vinaigrette, along with crispy garlic or shallots. Related: Charred Cabbage with Coconut, Garlic, and Chili Crisp Mullin finishes the apple ciderbraised cabbage with a plant-based maple-mustard butter and spiced apple brittle. Together, these elements create contrast charred edges and silky interiors, sweetness and bitterness, creaminess and acidity elevating the vegetable from a supporting role to something rich, satisfying, and central to the plate, she says. Read the original article on Food & Wine A room set up to imitate a Chinese police station inside the O'Smach casino, a compound used for scam operations at the Chong Chom-O'Smach border crossing, following clashes between Thailand and Cambodia along a disputed border area, in Samraong, Oddar Meanchey province, Cambodia, February 2, 2026. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa A room set up to imitate a Chinese police station inside the O'Smach casino, a compound used for scam operations at the Chong Chom-O'Smach border crossing, following clashes between Thailand and Cambodia along a disputed border area, in Samraong, Oddar Meanchey province, Cambodia, February 2, 2026. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa By Poppy McPherson and Artorn Pookasook CHONG CHOM, Thailand/ODDAR MEANCHEY, Cambodia, Feb 2 (Reuters) - The Thai military said on Monday it had recovered a trove of evidence of transnational fraud from a Cambodian scam compound seized during clashes last year between the two countries along their disputed border. Briefing reporters and foreign delegates in Surin province, senior Thai military officials said the OSmach complex had housed thousands of people, many of them victims of human trafficking who were forced to scam strangers or face punishment. Soldiers later showed reporters around one of several buildings in the complex that were bombed and occupied by the Thai military late last year. The sixstorey building was strewn with documents, including long lists of what appeared to be potential targets and their contact details, as well as scripts for scam dialogues. CEASEFIRE ENDED BORDER CLASHES IN DECEMBER O'Smach has previously been named as a base for scam operations including by the United States, which cited trafficking and forced criminality. The reason we are showing this place today is that we want the world to see how its being used as a criminal base against humanity, Lieutenant General Teeranan Nandhakwang, directorgeneral of the Royal Thai Armys Directorate of Intelligence, told reporters. Touch Sokhak, a spokesperson for Cambodias interior ministry, told Reuters Thailand had used scam centres as a pretext for military attacks. He said Cambodia was carrying out a crackdown on scams and had pledged to eradicate the illicit industry before April. Thailand and Cambodia ended weeks of fierce border clashes in late December with a ceasefire the second in recent months that halted the worst fighting in years between the Southeast Asian neighbours. During the clashes the Thai military struck several casino complexes it alleged were scam compounds, saying they were also used to store weapons and launch attacks. FAKE POLICE OFFICES Parts of Southeast Asia, including border areas between Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia, have become hubs for online fraud in recent years, generating billions of dollars annually. Among the items seized at OSmach were 871 SIM cards enabling anonymous international communication, dozens of smartphones, counterfeit police insignia and police uniforms, the Thai military said. Reporters visiting the complex also saw several rooms set up to resemble police offices from different countries, including Brazil, China and Australia. (Editing by Alex Richardson) Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, left, and Colombian President Gustavo Petro attend a decoration ceremony for Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at the presidential palace in Panama City, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) QUITO, Ecuador (AP) Colombian and Ecuadorian truckers and merchants gathered at a border crossing Tuesday to protest an escalating trade war between both South American countries. Protesters called for their governments to eliminate 30% tariffs on dozens of goods, warning the levies will hurt the economy of border provinces and affect energy companies on both sides of the border. Tariffs generate crises, they dont help the economy, said Carlos Bastidas, president of an Ecuadorian transportation workers association. With this protest we are hoping that both presidents eliminate those measures and establish mechanisms for dialogue, he added. Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa last month announced 30% tariffs on Colombian goods, citing concerns that Bogota has failed to sufficiently curb the flow of cocaine across their shared border. Noboa, a conservative who has sought to deepen ties with the Trump administration, described the tariffs as a security tax, and wrote on social platform X that they would be in place until Colombia took firm actions to fight drug cartels. Colombia countered by imposing 30% tariffs on dozens of Ecuadorian goods including rice and car parts and said it would stop selling electricity to its neighbor. Ecuador relies heavily on hydroelectric power and suffered from serious power outages in 2024. Reciprocal tariffs took effect on Feb. 1. Despite their shared border, neither country is each other's main trading partner, and both produce similar goods, including coffee, flowers, bananas and oil. Trade between both countries was worth approximately $2.3 billion last year, according to Colombias statistics agency, with Colombia sending about $1.7 billion worth of goods to Ecuador, a nation that has about one third of Colombias population. However, trade between both countries is significant for the economies of cities along the border. On Tuesday, Edison Mena, president of a Colombian truckers association in the border city of Ipiales, said that 38% of his citys economy depends on commerce with Ecuador. Critics of Noboa have argued that the 38-year-old president launched the trade war with Colombia to cover up his own government's shortcomings. Noboa's tariffs announcement came the same week Ecuadors Interior Ministry published crime stats for the country indicating it had a homicide rate of 50 murders per 100,000 residents in 2025 the highest in the nations recent history. Ecuadors homicide rate has quintupled since 2020, as drug gangs from Mexico, Colombia and further afield, fight for control of the nations ports. The once peaceful South American nation has become a major transit point for cocaine produced in Colombia and Peru. ___ Follow APs coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america WASHINGTON President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to put Colombia, the world's largest producer of cocaine, on his punch list for military action over drug trafficking he says the country's government has inadequately cracked down on. Trump has accused the nation's president, Gustavo Petro, of being in league with the cartels, and suggested in the wake of Nicolas Maduro's ouster in Venezuela that the Colombia leader who's been a vocal critic of his administration could be next. But after a call with Petro last month, whose term ends this year, and a Feb. 3 meeting at the White House, during which Trump said they discussed counternarcotics efforts and sanctions, the president took a less hostile tone. "He and I weren't exactly the best of friends, but I wasn't insulted because I'd never met him, I didn't know him at all, and we got along very well," Trump told reporters afterward. Who's next? Trump hints at military intervention beyond Venezuela Venezuela's VP Delcy Rodriguez takes over after Maduro capture Lebanon's Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil is greeted by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez during their meeting in Caracas Feb. 27, 2015. It was not immediately clear if the sanctions that Trump said he and Petro discussed were the ones the United States put on the Colombian president last year over a surge in cocaine production. Trump previously said the focus of a Feb. 3 meeting would be on curtailing the flow of illicit drugs, setting up a potential off-ramp for his verbal assault on Petro. "He's been very nice over the last month or two. He was certainly critical before that, but somehow after the Venezuelan raid, he became very nice. He changed his attitude very much," Trump told reporters on Feb. 2. "We're going to be talking about drugs because tremendous amounts of drugs come out of his country." Colombian elections an opening for Trump Regional experts say that Trump is more likely to wait Petro out than take military action inside Colombia, although it would be much easier for him to do so now that he's toppled Maduro. Colombia shares a 1,378 mile border with Venezuela, where Maduro replacement Delcy Rodriguez is cooperating with Trump. In the wake of the U.S. attack and Maduro's capture, Petro deployed troops to the Venezuela border. Colombia will hold its presidential election at the end of May. Hard-right candidate and Petro critic Abelardo De la Espriella has emerged as a leading candidate. "There are cheaper and easier ways for Donald Trump to manipulate and interfere in these international elections than actually military action when the elections are coming up," said Paula Avila-Guillen, a Colombian-American human rights lawyer who serves as executive director of the Womens Equality Center. Avila-Guillen said the White House meeting with Petro will determine "how much patience President Trump has to wait for the election or if he needs to rush his process to keep shaping Latin American politics and honestly diplomacy around the world." A screen shows Colombian President Gustavo Petro and U.S. President Donald Trump shaking hands, as people attend a rally, called by the Colombian government, in support of Petro during his ongoing visit to the U.S., at Plaza Bolivar in Bogota, Colombia, February 3, 2026. REUTERS/Nathalia Angarita Trump set aside U.S. tradition to offer endorsements last year in elections in Argentina and Honduras, where his preferred candidate, Nasry Asfura, narrowly won the presidential race. He has not directly waded into Colombia's election, although the U.S. has made no secret of its desire for different leadership. "In May therell be a new president there and be elections, and well work, hopefully, more cooperatively with whoever replaces the current president," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Dec. 19. "But thats up to the people of Colombia," Rubio, who also serves as Trump's national security adviser, quickly added. Trump accused Petro of "making cocaine and selling it to the United States" several days later and proclaimed on Jan. 4, "Hes not going to be doing it very long, let me tell you." "They make cocaine in Colombia, and he's no friend of the United States," Trump told reporters on Dec. 22. "He's very bad, very bad guy. And he's got to watch his a-- because he makes cocaine and they send it into the United States of America from Colombia." Petro, a leftist who has clashed with Trump, responded that the U.S. president should stop "slandering" him. He has previously rejected Trumps accusations that he is involved in the drug trade and his government collaborates with the Drug Enforcement Administration. More: Trump responds after Colombian leader accuses U.S. of murder in boat strike He has not been charged with drug crimes like Maduro, who was indicted by the Department of Justice on narcotics trafficking charges. He and his family were sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control last year over his alleged refusal to curtail the cartels and barred from entering the country. Petro received a waiver to come to the U.S. to visit Trump and hold events in Washington. "I think that Trump would prefer to work with a different Colombian president," said Jason Marczak, vice president and senior director at the Atlantic Council's Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center. But the U.S. can't afford to wait until Petro's term ends in August to work with Colombia and its military to stabilize Venezuela, he said. "Things are moving too quickly." Petro has accused the Trump administration of kidnapping Maduro and said last week that the Venezuelan leader should be returned to Caracas to face justice. It was not immediately clear if he raised the issue with Trump during their meeting, which was closed to reporters. The U.S. has long had a strong military partnership with and deep economic ties to Colombia, and Trump was never viewed as likely to try to depose the democratically-elected Colombian president. Rubio himself said at the December news conference that the country works very closely with the U.S., despite tensions with its current leader, who would soon be leaving office. "Were not going to let sort of the pronouncements of an unstable individual over there to impact we dont want to let it impact our broader relationship with Colombia," Rubio said. "Our job is to try to, to the extent possible, maintain those strong ties between Colombia and the United States and not allow them to be imperiled by the pronouncements of one person." This story has been updated to add new information. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Will Trump target Colombia's cocaine after Venezuela? A yellow warning sign marks the location of a high-pressure natural gas pipeline. Photo: Joshua Brown / Pexels (The Center Square) Developers of the long-contested Constitution Pipeline, seeking a waiver of a key permit for the project, have received pushback from New York regulators pursuing environmental reviews. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation formally objected on Jan. 28 to the request from Williams Companies, lead developer of the pipeline, which maintains that in 2018 the state waived its authority to issue or deny a water quality certification for it. It represents another legal turn in a decade-long tussle between the state and the Oklahoma-based company as it seeks to revive the project. The pipeline would originate in northeastern Pennsylvania and carry natural gas approximately 125 miles to a hub near Albany, New York for further distribution to six states in New England. If built, the pipeline would be capable of providing enough power to serve about 3 million homes. The project required the necessary federal permits in 2014 to begin construction. But New York cited insufficient information and data related to its potential impacts. In 2016, New York regulators determined that developers had not adequately explored alternative routes to avoid sensitive ecological areas. Developers planned to clear about 500 to 700 acres of forest in New York and Pennsylvania, including old-growth forests near hundreds of streams. The project remained stalled until 2025, when developers reapplied for a New York permit. After receiving three Notices of Insufficient Information, the company withdrew its application and sought a waiver on the state-level permit, pointing to a 2018 decision by federal regulators that New York waived its authority to issue a water quality certification. The regulators reversed that decision in 2019, but the legal battles over it continued. State regulators now say developers are attempting to bypass current environmental standards, and argue that the pipeline's proposed route, which crosses more than 250 streams, requires a fresh look at 2026 ecological data. The pipeline has also been in the political spotlight, where it is supported by the Trump administration's "energy dominance" agenda. The president has threatened to overrule New York's permitting authority, accusing the Democrat-led state of blocking a development he says would result in lower prices for the Northeast region. Opponents, who want to lessen the region's reliance on fossil fuels, have said the pipeline will affect pollution levels more than prices. In 2025, the pipelines revival became linked to the Empire Wind project, an offshore wind farm off the coasts of New York and New Jersey. The Trump administration lifted a federal ban on the project in exchange for New Yorks reconsideration of previous rejections of natural gas pipelines, specifically the Constitution Pipeline and the Northeast Supply Enhancement project. While the supply enhancement project received state water permits in late 2025, New York regulators continued trying to block the larger Constitution Pipeline. FILE - Chicago Cubs first baseman Carlos Santana throws out Cincinnati Reds' Noelvi Marte at first base during the third inning of a baseball game, Sept. 19, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) PHOENIX (AP) The Arizona Diamondbacks and first baseman Carlos Santana are in agreement on a $2 million, one-year contract, a person with knowledge of the deal said on Tuesday, giving the team a veteran slugger who can help the middle of the order. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal is pending a physical. Santana, who turns 40 in April, has 335 homers over 16 big league seasons with eight teams, including 11 with Cleveland. He was an All-Star in 2019 and won a Gold Glove in 2024. The switch-hitter figures to help the D-backs at both first base and designated hitter. He hit .219 with 11 homers and 54 RBIs last season, spending most of the year with the Guardians before a late-season cameo with the Chicago Cubs. ___ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb NEED TO KNOW A Thai AirAsia passenger was filmed on a flight to Bangkok, Thailand, after stripping down to his underwear The incident occurred on Thursday, Jan. 29, on a flight out of Vietnam, according to Viral Press After the plane landed, the man is seen attempting to evade airport authorities by crawling underneath a pickup truck Plane passengers on an AirAsia flight last week were met with an unexpected interruption as a fellow customer stripped down to his underwear mid-flight. The incident occurred last Thursday, Jan. 29, on Thai AirAsia flight 647 from Vietnam to Thailand, Viral Press reported. The Airbus A320 departed the Cam Ranh International Airport at 12:19 p.m. local time, heading towards the Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok, according to FlightAware. The trip was set to last just under two hours. During the flight, passengers reported that one of their fellow customers became agitated and began to storm up and down the aisle of the aircraft, per Viral Press. The man reportedly began to tear off his clothes and allegedly demanded to be let off the aircraft. One eyewitness, Piaporn Chamsrio, described the passenger as "drunk" and called the situation a thrilling incident. An AirAsia passenger plane BAY ISMOYO/AFP via Getty I have flown hundreds, if not thousands, of times and have never encountered anything like this, they said. Footage taken on board shows the bearded man after he stripped down to his navy briefs. In the clips, he is seen confronting airline crew and other passengers. Flight attendants told him to sit down, but he refused, Chamsrio said. I felt very sorry for the crew on this trip because they worked incredibly hard. They added: I was sitting about two rows away from him, and the smell of alcohol was very strong. I was about to vomit. To make matters worse, he jumped down from the plane, which was quite high. When the plane landed, the man barged through the open door and onto the waiting stair truck outside, according to Viral Press. The man subsequently tumbled on the steps, per the outlet. Additional footage from the scene shows the man on the tarmac standing next to a truck. Aviation authorities quickly surrounded him before he jumped into the bed. The video then shows another clip of the passenger attempting to evade the authorities and slide underneath the vehicle. A Thai AirAsia passenger attempts to crawl underneath a pickup truck on the tarmac. Viral Press The customer reportedly sustained a leg injury while trying to flee. The man was apprehended by authorities and placed into the truck, per Viral Press. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. In the end, he was injured but did not learn his lesson, as he tried to crawl under a vehicle. It must have been hot because he quickly crawled back out, Chamsrio said. They added, I have sympathy for everyone on the plane except this man. Enough is enough with this kind of behavior. Thai AirAsia did not immediately respond to PEOPLEs request for comment. Read the original article on People U.S. Border Patrol agents stand guard at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 8, 2026. Credit - Charly TriballeauAFP/Getty Images Body-worn cameras are being issued to federal agents in Minneapolis and will be provided to officers around the U.S. when funding is available, the Trump Administration announced, following a push from Democrats and expressions of support from some Republicans as the Administrations immigration crackdown draws widespread outcry. Effective immediately we are deploying body cameras to every officer in the field in Minneapolis, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a post on X on Monday. As funding is available, the body camera program will be expanded nationwide. We will rapidly acquire and deploy body cameras to DHS law enforcement across the country, Noem added. She said that she had spoken with White House border czar Tom Homan, who is overseeing federal immigration operations in the Minnesota city; Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons; and Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott. Democratic leaders have named requiring officers to wear body cameras as one of their demands to be included in a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spending bill in their push for reforms following the fatal shootings of two people by federal agents in Minneapolis in recent weeks. Some Republican lawmakers have backed such a mandate, while opposing other changes their Democratic counterparts have pushed for. I dont have a problem with that personally, Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, a member of the upper chambers Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, told host Dana Bash on CNNs State of the Union this weekend. President Donald Trump on Monday also signaled his backing for officers wearing body cameras, saying, It tends to be good for law enforcement, because people cant lie about what happened. But he said deploying the cameras to agents in Minneapolis wasnt my decision and that he would leave it to Noem. Read more: ICE Out Gains Momentum as Cities Across the Country Take Action The Trump Administrations aggressive immigration enforcement operations have faced fierce backlash across the U.S. after federal agents killed Minneapolis residents Renee Good and Alex Pretti within less than three weeks of one another last month. Amid the outcry, funding for DHSwhich houses Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protectionhas become the center of a standoff that has partially shut down the government after appropriations for multiple agencies expired after midnight on Friday. The Administration has defended federal agents actions in both Good and Prettis shootings as self defense. But video of both incidents contradicts federal officials accounts. Democratic lawmakers have refused to approve an annual appropriations bill for DHS unless significant reforms are included. In addition to a requirement for officers to wear body cameras, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said last week that Democrats would demand that agents be prohibited from wearing masks and be required to carry proper identification, that roving patrols in Minneapolis stop, that agents be mandated to obtain a judicial warrant before entering peoples homes, and that a code of conduct governing agents use of force be established. Schumer called these requirements commonsense reforms. If Republicans refuse to support them, they are choosing chaos over order, plain and simple, Schumer said when outlining the demands. Read more: To End Shutdown, Trump Seeks to Muscle Funding Deal Through a Fractured House Senate Democrats and Trump agreed to a deal late last week that would pass spending bills funding wide swaths of the government for the rest of the fiscal year and buy two additional weeks to negotiate DHS funding. The Senate passed the bipartisan package on Friday, but with the House out of session, the government entered a partial shutdown hours later. The shutdown is set to continue until at least Tuesday, as a final vote in the House is not expected to happen until then at the earliest. It remains to be seen if Speaker Mike Johnson will be able to pass the procedural rule necessary to bring the funding bill to the floor and then garner enough GOP support for the bill to pass in the chamber, which Republicans control by an extremely thin majority. Contact us at letters@time.com. People chant during a rally in support of the extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian immigrants in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on January 28, 2026. - Lynne Sladky/AP A federal judge has paused for now the Trump administrations termination of Temporary Protected Status for more than 350,000 Haitians. The status, known as TPS, allows holders to live and work in the US and was set to expire after Tuesday. In a harsh 83-page opinion, US District Court Judge Ana Reyes of the District of Columbia on Monday granted the request by five Haitian TPS holders to temporarily block the termination while the case works its way through the courts. The plaintiffs are challenging the Department of Homeland Securitys termination, arguing the agency didnt conduct the necessary review of whether its safe to return to Haiti before deciding to terminate the protection. The suit also alleges the agencys decision stems, in part, from President Donald Trumps racial, ethnic, and national-origin animus towards Haitians. Reyes slammed DHS Secretary Kristi Noem for referring to certain immigrants, including Haitians, as killers, leeches, or entitlement junkies on X in December. Plus, the judge wrote, Noem ignored Congresss requirement that she review the conditions in Haiti only after consulting with appropriate agencies. Plaintiffs charge that Secretary Noem preordained her termination decision and did so because of hostility to nonwhite immigrants, Reyes wrote. This seems substantially likely. The judge also cited Trumps repeated derogatory comments about Haitians. President Trump has referred to Haiti as a shithole country, suggested Haitians probably have AIDS, and complained that Haitian immigration is like a death wish for our country, she wrote. He has also promoted the false conspiracy theory that Haitian immigrants were eating the pets of the people in Springfield, Ohio. Haitian TPS holders are among the latest foreign-born residents whose lives are being upended by the Trump administration, which is focused on slashing the number of immigrants entering and living in the US. DHS announced the termination of TPS designation for immigrants from multiple countries, including Honduras, Nepal and South Sudan, though federal judges have stymied many of those efforts. TPS relief applies to people who would face extreme hardship if forced to return to homelands devastated by armed conflict or natural disasters. The recipients are vetted and are not eligible if theyve been convicted of any felony or more than one misdemeanor in the US. The DHS secretary has discretion to designate a country for TPS. Haitian immigrants became eligible after an earthquake rocked the country in 2010. The designation has since been renewed multiple times as the country faces a host of crises, including widespread violence by armed gangs, food insecurity, displacement and a leadership vacuum after the president was assassinated in 2021. Asked for comment on the scheduled termination last week, DHS said Haitis TPS program was never intended to be a de facto asylum program, yet thats how previous administrations have used it for decades. The assertion that the only way we can take care of our seniors is by allowing unvetted illegal aliens and foreigners with criminal records to remain in the country is grossly false and lazy, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to CNN. After the ruling, McLaughlin posted on X, Supreme Court, here we come. This is lawless activism that we will be vindicated on. Temporary means temporary and the final word will not be from an activist judge legislating from the bench, she wrote. Advocates, however, cheered the ruling. It is also in all of our interests to keep families together and have people continue to work with dignity and build their lives here. We are the backbone of entire industries, Aline Gue, executive director of Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees, said in a statement. We are raising U.S. citizen children, caring for the elderly, working in hospitals and schools, and organizing for the rights of all refugees, migrants and asylum seekers. Noem last year tried to end Haitians TPS status early but was blocked by a federal judge. In that case, US District Judge Brian Cogan of the Eastern District of New York said Noem failed to follow the timeline and procedures mandated by Congress, including a review of current conditions in Haiti, before ending TPS. Trump also tried to terminate TPS for Haitians in his first term but was blocked by another federal judge. DHS appealed, but the subsequent Biden administration withdrew the appeal. This story has been updated with additional details. CNNs Angelica Franganillo Diaz contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Turpin Family - David/Louise Turpin/Facebook Warning: The following posts contains discussions of child abuse. Its been eight years since Jordan Turpin, then 17, escaped her familys House of Horrors in California and called 911 to report that her parents, David Turpin and Louise Turpin, had been abusing her and her 12 siblings for years. At the time, the Turpin children ranged in ages from 2 to 29. Jordans phone call led to David and Louises arrest, which meant that the underage kids were placed in foster care. Three of those children, who are now legal adults, will be speaking out for the first time about what they went through with their parents, and then in foster care, in a February 3 interview with Diane Sawyer. Scroll down for everything we know about the Turpin family and where they are today. What happened to the Turpin family? On January 14, 2018, Jordan Turpin escaped her parents home out of a window and called 911 from her brothers deactivated cell phone. My parents are abusive, she said on the call, per audio received by ABC News. My two little sisters right now are chained up. Theyre chained up to their bed. Jordan told the dispatcher that she and her sibling were living in filth, adding, Sometimes I wake up and cant breathe because of how dirty the house is. She also revealed that she didnt know what medication is and admitted that she rarely left the house. I havent finished first grade and I am 17, Jordan explained. Authorities who arrived on the scene discovered what has been described as a House of Horrors, with signs of extreme abuse inflicted on the children. Aside from the youngest child, all of the Turpin siblings were discovered to be extremely malnourished.This is among the worst, most aggravated child abuse cases I have ever seen, Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin said afterwards in a press conference. Police found that the cycle of abuse dated back to 2010 and included beating, strangling, and starvation. The children were only permitted to shower once a year. Who are the Turpin siblings? There were 13 Turpin siblings who suffered abuse at the hands of David and Louise. Even years later, not all of their names have been publicly revealed to protect their privacy. The two most public-facing Turpins are Jordan and Jennifer Turpin, who spoke out in detail about their ordeal in a 2021 interview with Sawyer on 20/20. Jennifer got married to her husband, Aron, in 2024. In 2022, six of the Turpin children who were placed in foster care after their parents arrest filed two lawsuits against a foster care service and Riverside County in California, according to CNN. The foster care parents were accused of [forcing] the kids for hours to relive what they went through via alleged sexual, physical, and emotional abuse, their attorney claimed. Three of the children who were put in foster care have now been identified as James Turpin (now 24), Julissa Turpin, and Jolinda Turpin (now 20), who will all speak out in the new Diane Sawyer interview. The foster care parents were sentenced on child abuse charges in 2024. Marcelino Olguin received seven years in prison, while his wife Rosa Olguin and their daughter, Lennys Olguin, received four years of probation each, according to ABC News. Where are David and Louise Turpin now? David and Louise Turpin pleaded guilty to 14 felony charges in February 2019. The charges against them included torture, adult abuse, child endangerment, and false imprisonment, per CNN. In April 2019, the parents were sentenced to 25 years each in prison. David is serving his sentence at California State Prison, Corcoran, while Louise is in Central California Womens Facility. The Turpins: A New House of Horror, Tuesday, February 3, 10/9c, ABC If you or someone you know is the victim of child abuse, contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453). If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911. Read the latest entertainment news on TV Insider. The ex-husband of former first lady Jill Biden has been arrested in connection to the December killing of his wife, police in Delaware said. William Stevenson, 77, was indicted on Feb. 2, on charges of first-degree murder of 64-year-old Linda Stevenson, the New Castle County Police Department said in a news release. Police did not say how Stevenson's wife died, but according to the release, he was arrested following "an extensive weeks-long investigation" into the death of his wife after officers responded to a domestic dispute on Dec. 28 at a home in the Wilmington area. According to the release, the woman was found unresponsive in her Elsmere-area living room at the scene. After a grand jury indicted him on the felony, police said officers arrested Stevenson at his home without incident. Online New Castle County Jail records show Stevenson remained in custody on $500,000 bond on Feb. 3 at the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution. It was not immediately known whether Stevenson had obtained an attorney. Who is William 'Bill' Stevenson? Bill Stevenson is the founder of the Stone Balloon, a popular Newark, Delaware club that has hosted musicians and bands including Bruce Springsteen, Metallica, Dave Matthews Band and My Morning Jacket. William Stevenson, 77, poses for a booking photograph after he was charged with one felony count of murder in the first degree, at New Castle County Police headquarters in New Castle, Delaware, U.S. February 2, 2026. Stevenson is the ex-husband of former U.S. First Lady Jill Biden and is charged in the death of his current wife Linda Stevenson. Stevenson married the former first lady in 1970. They divorced in 1975. Jill Biden married her current husband, former President Joe Biden, in 1977. USA TODAY has reached out to police for more information. This is a developing story. Contributing: Isabel Hughes with The Delaware News Journal Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jill Biden's ex-husband charged with murder in wife's death Josh DAmaro is no stranger to the Disney company, having served there in many different roles over the last three decades. Most recently, DAmaro has been the Chairman of Disney Experiences overseeing the running of the companys theme parks, cruises and resorts since 2020. His promotion to Disneys top job, announced on Tuesday, marks the culmination of a steady upward trajectory within the iconic franchise over nearly three decades. Josh DAmaro possesses that rare combination of inspiring leadership and innovation, a keen eye for strategic growth opportunities, and a deep passion for the Disney brand and its people all of which make him the right person to take the helm as Disneys next CEO, James Gorman, chairman of Disneys board of directors, said Tuesday. The 54-year-old, who is set to take the helm from current CEO Bob Iger on March 18, is also a lifelong Disney fan. DAmaro is well known for his love of Disneys wholesome family entertainment, having slept overnight inside Cinderella Castle at Disney World in Florida, according to The New York Times. His personal Instagram page contains multiple pictures of himself smiling alongside franchise characters inside the parks and at Marvel movie premieres. "As much as I feel honored, its also a burden, he told The Orlando Business Journal in 2020, shortly after becoming the new president of Walt Disney World. Recalling a conversation about Walt Disneys legacy, he added, I couldnt believe I was in the role to carry it on. I think about that all the time. Disney has named Josh DAmaro as the person to succeed CEO Bob Iger at the head of the entertainment giant, a role he will take on as of March 18. The 54-year-old is no stranger to the company having already served there in many different roles over three decades, most recently as Chairman of Disney Experiences (Getty Images) Five years later, during an interview to mark 70 years of Disney Parks, DAmaro recalled the special memories of the first time he visited Disneyland at the age of 10 years old, including riding Peter Pan Flight with his father, and he has vowed to carry the magic forward. Years later, I had a similar experience when I took my own kids on Soarin [Around the World, in EPCOT] for the first time like so many families, we pass our love for Disney from one generation to the next, he said. Details about DAmaros personal life, including his wife and children, are not known publicly. Public records show DAmaro was registered as an independent voter in Florida in 2016, though it remains to be seen how he will work with the Trump administration, which has clashed with Iger during his tenure. During an interview to mark 70 years of Disney Park last year, DAmaro recalled the special memories first time he had visited Disneyland at the age of 10 years old (Getty Images) Despite opposing many of Trump's first-term policies, Iger scaled back Disneys DEI efforts and in September 2025, temporarily suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! over comments the talk-show host made about MAGA in the wake of Charlie Kirks assassination. In his previous role as Chair of Disney Experiences, DAmaro oversaw 12 theme parks and 57 resort hotels across six global destinations in the U.S., Europe and Asia, plus an upcoming Disney park in Abu Dhabi, and a global team of 185,000 cast members. He has also been guiding a multi-year, $60 billion investment for Disney Experiences, which will include new cruise ships, resorts, themed lands, attractions, and technologies, according to his bio on the Disney Website. In addition, he serves on the national board of directors for Make-A-Wish America, a long-time Disney partner that has granted more than 170,000 wishes in the past 45 years. In his previous role, DAmaro oversaw 12 theme parks and 57 resort hotels across six global destinations in the U.S., Europe and Asia, plus an upcoming Disney park in Abu Dhabi, and a global team of 185,000 cast members (Getty Images) Born in Medfield, Massachusetts, in 1971, DAmaro graduated with a business administration degree from Georgetown University in 1993. He had a brief stint in the finance department of mens razor and care products company Gillette in Boston before applying for a Disney strategy job in 1998. In the first 10 years at the company, he held various leadership positions, including vice president of sales and travel trade marketing from 1998 to 2008. During this time, he was also director of business planning and strategy development. From here, he began to move into more senior leadership positions in Disney Parks and Experiences. The first was vice president of Adventures by Disney in 2010, which gave him oversight on all Disney group guided tour operations both in the U.S. and internationally. DAmaro served as vice president of Disney's Animal Kingdom during the planning of the biggest expansion of the park in history: the inclusion of Pandora The World of Avatar, which was created in partnership with James Cameron (Getty Images for 20th Century St) From there, he moved up to vice president of Disney's Animal Kingdom and remained in the role during the planning of the biggest expansion in park history: the inclusion of Pandora The World of Avatar, created in partnership with James Cameron. After work on the expansion began in 2014, DAmaro became senior vice president of Resort & Transportation Operations at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, a position he held until 2017. From then until 2020, he held positions including President of Disneyland Resort in California and President of Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. When Bob Chapek was announced as Igers successor as Disney CEO, DAmaro was named as his replacement to lead Disney Experiences. When Bob Chapek was announced in 2020 as Igers successor as Disney CEO, DAmaro was named as his replacement as Director of Parks (Getty Images) DAmaro oversaw the closure of parks during the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent cutting of 28,000 employees. During the closures, the company carried out major works on the parks, including adding the World of Frozen at Hong Kong Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea's Fantasy Springs in Japan. "We could spend billions of dollars on a new land or attraction, but you need to be putting that money back into the [common areas] or the break rooms to make sure they are equipped so you feel good. To me, it's a sign of respect to make people feel good about their surroundings," he told OBJ. "We're thinking about these investments," he added. "Making sure that the next generation is going to take in something and say, 'I can't believe that experience.'" DAmaro oversaw the closure of parks during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the subsequent cutting of 28,000 employees, though used the time as an opportunity to make improvements to the parks, including adding the World of Frozen at Hong Kong Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea's Fantasy Springs in Japan (Walt Disney Resorts via Getty Im) Despite his steady rise, D'Amaro has had missteps. In 2021, he supported a proposal to move 2,000 California-based employees, including most of its theme park Imagineers, to central Florida to capitalize on the states tax incentives. Iger later reversed the decision, in the heat of Disneys legal battle with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Iger returned to Disney as CEO in 2022, two years after stepping down, after a period of clashes, missteps and a weakening financial performance under Chapek. Despite this, DAmaro seems to have amassed the confidence of the senior leadership, including the board, in the wake of the Chapek debacle. We won't have the same drama we had last time, that I can assure you, Gorman said Tuesday in an interview on CNBC. A judge in a robe holds a gavel over a desk in a courtroom. Photo: Shopify Partners / Burst (The Center Square) Hundreds of thousands of Haitians across the U.S., many of them living in south Florida, will be able to keep their temporary protection status as a lawsuit over it plays out. The Trump administration had sought to terminate Haitis TPS designation on Tuesday. But on Monday, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes granted the plaintiffs request to pause termination while the lawsuit challenging it continues. The decision affects around 350,000 Haitians in the U.S., with about half of those living in Florida. Other states with significant Haitian populations include New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Georgia. In the ruling, Reyes, an appointee of President Joe Biden, wrote that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem did not have unbounded discretion to decide TPS outcomes without proper analysis, including economic considerations. Reyes accused Noem of making decisions based on hostility to nonwhite immigrants. She complains of strains unlawful immigrants place on our immigration-enforcement system. Her answer? Turn 352,959 lawful immigrants into unlawful immigrants overnight, Reyes wrote. She complains of strains to our economy. Her answer? Turn employed lawful immigrants who contribute billions in taxes into the legally unemployable. The judge also referenced an advisory issued by the Department of State in July that warned against travel to Haiti due to kidnapping, crime, terrorist activity, civil unrest, and limited health care. Department of Home Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin called the ruling lawless activism and said the administration will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Haitis TPS was granted following an earthquake that took place over 15 years ago, it was never intended to be a de facto amnesty program, yet thats how previous administrations have used it for decades. Temporary means temporary and the final word will not be from an activist judge legislating from the bench, McLaughlin wrote on X. The Obama administration first designated Haiti for TPS after a catastrophic earthquake in 2010. The designation has been extended multiple times as gang violence has spread and forced many residents to leave. The Trump administration, seeking to end TPS designations as part of its mass deportation efforts, has faced pushback from courts in recent weeks, including in California where a federal judge ruled it had unlawfully ended protections for 60,000 people from Latin America and South Asia. Kelsea Ballerini is leaning fully into winter mode and doing it with equal parts cozy, chic and candid. The Grammy-nominated country star, 31, shared a wintry photo dump to Instagram on Friday, January 30, giving fans a peek into what she described as a very chilly january, while also revealing shes been riding out power outages back home in Nashville. In the first photo, Ballerini is seen in a full-body shot standing confidently on a snowy slope, rocking the same shearling coat over a cream knit dress, brown cowboy boots, and a fuzzy statement bag effortlessly blending country roots with European winter style. Another snap zooms in on a sweet, low-key moment: Ballerini smiling over a mug piled high with whipped cream and cocoa dusting, warming up after a day in the cold. Her makeup is minimal, her vibe relaxed, and the photo feels like a quiet pause amid travel chaos. A final image showed Ballerini riding a ski lift, gazing out at snow-covered trees in a wide-brim cream cowboy hat. She layers up in a long brown shearling coat with plush white trim, her blonde hair styled in loose braids that perfectly match the mountain-girl aesthetic. The snowy setting and ski infrastructure suggest she may have traveled through Switzerland something fans quickly picked up on in the comments. While captioning the photo drop, Ballerini explained that the post was being sent with my one bar of service bc still no power here in nashville, likely referring to the recent winter storms that swept the States. Fans were quick to react, flooding the comments with heart-eyes and snowflake emojis. One follower wrote, Omg you were in Switzerland!! , while others praised her coat and winter fits. Even without power, Ballerinis snowy escape clearly struck a warm chord. Read More From Star This story Kelsea Ballerini Gives Off Snowy Cowgirl Mountain Vibes in Winter Photo Dump first appeared on Star. Add Star as a Preferred Source by clicking here. BOSTON (SHNS) A trio of major layoff notices will soon cost 260 workers their jobs in Boston and western Massachusetts, adding to economic competitiveness pressures at play for the state and in this years elections. Panera plans to lay off 92 workers in Franklin on March 25-27, according to a recently filed notice with the state. Zipcar intends to terminate 65 workers in Boston from April 1-14, followed by Thermo Fisher Scientific laying off 103 employees in Franklin from Dec. 31, 2026 through Dec. 31, 2027. Critics say the losses underscore the states flailing competitive edge, as the Healey administration aims to mitigate affordability woes that are driving Bay Staters out of Massachusetts. Residents continue to feel the squeeze of steep housing, energy and health care prices. These are not isolated decisions, Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance Executive Director Paul Diego Craney said Monday. They are rational business responses to a state that has become increasingly expensive, unpredictable, and hostile to employers. High taxes, crushing energy costs, and rigid Net Zero climate mandates are making it harder every day for companies to justify staying in Massachusetts. Craney added: If state leaders refuse to take our loss of economic competitiveness seriously, this trend will continue, and working families will keep paying the price. Massachusetts is also experiencing a population exodus. New census data show that 33,340 residents left and went to other states between July 1, 2024 and July 1, 2025. In her State of the Commonwealth address, Healey referred to talent as our greatest strength. Thats why, when it comes to competing for jobs my bets always on Massachusetts, Healey said. Hasbro and LEGO agreed they moved their headquarters here. So did Alnylam, a global leader in life-saving gene therapies. They started at UMass Chan Medical School. Now, they just built a brand-new manufacturing plant in Norton, all built with good union jobs. Then theres Transmedics a company saving lives for people who need organ transplants. They turned down New Hampshire and decided to grow right here in Massachusetts. In over-the-year data spanning from November 2025 to November 2024, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island saw declines in nonfarm payroll employment, while Vermonts employment grew by about 0.6%, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston said in a report last month. Connecticut and Massachusetts employment barely grew, with increases of only 0.1 percent and 0.05 percent, respectively, the report said. Zipcar is closing the companys local headquarters in Boston, and consolidating functions within owner Avis Budget Groups U.S. headquarters in Parsippany, New Jersey, according to a state notice. Zipcars regional field and fleet operations teams will continue to be based in Boston and other local markets to support members and day-to-day service without interruption, Avis said in a statement. Zipcar remains fully operational and members should expect the same service and experience they rely on today. We are committed to managing this transition responsibly and supporting our employees throughout the process. Panera intends to close its Fresh Dough Facility in Franklin on March 27 as the company implements a new bakery operating model, according to a state notice. Panera is offering all affected employees many forms of support throughout this transition, including a severance package, assistance locating other jobs within Panera and outplacement services, including a job fair on February 23, 2026, the notice said. Thermo Fisher plans to eventually close its Franklin facility, which provides GMP biologics storage and cell therapy clinical trial support, according to a company webpage. The first layoffs will occur on Dec. 31, and separations may continue through the next year, a state notice said. The Thermo Fisher losses point to steady headwinds in life sciences, which lost more than 1,000 biopharma research and development jobs from 2023 to 2024. Massachusetts invests public funds in the sector, with a 2024 economic development law reauthorizing the life sciences initiative at $500 million for the next decade. Thermo Fisher has never received state tax credits from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, an agency spokesperson said. Did every mid-size manufacturing plant in Massachusetts make a New Years Resolution to flee the state in 2026? GOP candidate for governor Brian Shortsleeve tweeted Jan. 30. Thermo Fisher Scientific is the largest publicly traded company in Massachusetts. When they close a home-turf plant, you know its bad. The Campbells Company last week announced plans to close its Hyannis facility in April, meaning Cape Cod potato chips will soon no longer be made on the Cape. The Hyannis plant produces just 4% of the total volume of Cape Cod chips annually, and Campbells said the site no longer makes economic sense for the business. Massachusetts under Maura Healey is so expensive and unfriendly to job creators that an iconic MA brand is cutting ties, tweeted GOP gubernatorial candidate Mike Kennealy, who pointed out Massachusetts gained 230,000 private sector jobs when he was housing and economic development secretary in the Baker administration. Since Maura Healey has been Governor, our economy has been stagnant, Kennealy continued. Thats unacceptable. Reacting to the Cape Cod business news, GOP gubernatorial candidate Mike Minogue said, Massachusetts brand cant keep production in Massachusetts. We must do better. Local News Headlines WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Download the 22News Plus app on your TV to watch live-streaming newscasts and video on demand. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. Holy Bibles and hymnals rest in the back of a church pew as sunlight filters through stained glass windows. Photo: Aaron Burden / Unsplash (The Center Square) Legislation that would expand Louisiana's disturbing the peace statute to cover disruptions of church services has been filed ahead of the 2026 session that begins in March. The two bills follow a high-profile protest that interrupted worship services at a Minnesota church on Jan. 18, resulting in the federal arrests of nine people. House Bill 68 would add interruption of any worship service or religious ceremony at a church or other place of worship to the list of conduct that can qualify as disturbing the peace. The bill was introduced by Rep. Laurie Schlegel, R-Metairie. Under the bill, a violation would be punishable by a fine of up to $500 and up to six months in jail, with 15 days of any sentence served without probation or suspension. House Bill 60, filed by Rep. Brian Glorioso, R-Slidell, authorizes felony-level punishment: up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, and up to 10 years and $10,000 if a dangerous weapon is used or serious bodily injury is inflicted. Penalties would increase if the disturbance is carried out by multiple people acting together. The same penalties would apply to individuals who conspire to disrupt a service, even if they are not the ones who physically cause the disruption. The legislation comes weeks after protesters disrupted a Sunday service at Cities Church in St. Paul, where they said one of the churchs pastors serves as a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official. Video posted online shows protesters chanting ICE out and Justice for Renee Good during the service, referring to the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman on Jan. 7. U.S. Department of Justice officials have said they are investigating the demonstration as a potential civil rights matter. Harmeet Dhillon, a civil rights Justice Department official, described the episode as an attack on the right to worship and said federal authorities were treating it as a high-priority case. Former CNN anchor Don Lemon, who livestreamed from the scene, was among those arrested and charged in federal court. Lemon has said he was acting as a journalist and has pledged to fight the case. Irah Sok Irah Sok/Facebook NEED TO KNOW Christopher Johnson pleaded guilty in federal court to racketeering in connection with a string of home invasions in Washington state As part of his RICO plea, Johnson also admitted to the murder of young mother Irah Sok, who was fatally shot during a home invasion Johnson is also expected to plead guilty to Sok's murder in state court, federal prosecutors said A man who led a home invasion ring in Washington pleaded guilty to racketeering and admitted to several underlying crimes, including the 2022 murder of a young mother, authorities say. Christopher Johnson, 24, reached an agreement with federal prosecutors in which he pleaded guilty to racketeering and conspiracy to commit RICO on Monday, Feb. 2, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington. As a result of the agreement, prosecutors have recommended that Johnson be sentenced to 25 years in prison. Prosecutors said Johnson and his co-conspirators were involved in a series of violent crimes over the summer of 2022 and targeted "certain families for robberies." "To create a climate of fear, the robbery crew burst into homes in the middle of the night, dressed in black, claiming to be police, and with guns drawn," prosecutors said. "They wore masks and used zip-ties to restrain the victims including children as young as 9. They would steal any valuables they could ransack from these homes." The racketeering guilty plea involved the admission of a number of crimes, including multiple armed robberies, a kidnapping and a murder. In that murder charge, the crew was accused of killing a young mother, Irah Sok, as her 7-year-old child was lying next to her in bed in August 2022. The plea agreement and associated admissions apply only to Johnson, not to his alleged co-conspirators. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. Johnson is also set to plead guilty in Snohomish County Superior Court to the murder of Sok as part of his plea agreement and will face a second, concurrent recommended 25-year sentence, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Sok is survived by her husband and son, according to a GoFundMe launched on behalf of her husband. "Many know Irah as an incredibly talented photographer," the organizer wrote. "She specialized in maternity and newborn photography, capturing the love and joy of motherhood, new life, and family for her clients." Read the original article on People British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visits the Forbidden City in Beijing last week. - Kin Cheung/Getty Images As US President Donald Trump takes a sledgehammer to longstanding alliances with a volatile foreign policy thats included threats to take control of Greenland and a spiraling feud with Canada, hes also creating a significant opening for China. Look no further than the revolving door of Western leaders hosted by Xi Jinping in recent weeks aiming to reset relations or deepen cooperation with the worlds second-largest economy. That procession includes the leaders of some of the US closest traditional allies: Britains Keir Starmer and Canadas Mark Carney last month, as well as NATO ally Finlands Petteri Orpo. French President Emmanuel Macron made a visit in December, while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is expected soon. Viewed from Beijing, that list is a powerful sign that an era of talking about economic separation from China is waning, and Western leaders are finally seeing China as a reliable partner in contrast to the US under Trump. Visiting leaders have praised relations with China as key to international stability or their own national security a far cry from the recently prevailing orthodoxy among G7 leaders that China was a challenge to the rules-based international order. And in broader conversations taking place across gatherings like the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Western leaders are openly acknowledging that the US-backed post-1945 order is being eclipsed a view not completely out of step with Chinas. The European Union has really been bullied by the US and its only human nature to seek outside support when youre being pushed around. Thats why Europe is actually open to the idea of strengthening ties with China, Jin Canrong, an international relations expert at Renmin University in Beijing, said in a recent analysis. Chinese foreign policy thinkers are under few illusions that American allies are about to wipe clean a list of ongoing concerns about China from trade to human rights to security or mount a sweeping shift to Beijing at the expense of ties with Washington. But as Xi continues to push to forge a more China-friendly world, Beijing seems well aware of the major potential benefits from the seismic shift underway. Thats especially true when it comes to ensuring its aims to dominate high-tech and expand its global trade, clout and military might meet less resistance. People wait for the arrival of French President Emmanuel Macron at the University of Sichuan for a meeting with students in China's Chengdu in December. - Pedro Pardo/AFP/Getty Images The end of collective confrontation? Already the recent diplomatic parade in the Chinese capital has amounted to an opportunity to repair relations with key Western economies. Carney in his visit the first from a Canadian prime minister since 2017 relaxed stringent tariffs on China-made electric vehicles that Canada had imposed in lockstep with the US in exchange for an easing of barriers on Canadian agricultural goods. Separately, Beijing and the European Union last month came to an agreement to replace tariffs on Chinese EVs with commitments to sell at minimum prices easing a longstanding friction based around Europes concern that artificially cheap cars from China, far and away the leader of global production, would devastate its domestic auto industry. Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited Beijing and then Shanghai during his four-day trip last month. - Carl Court/AFP/Getty Images Starmer, making the first trip by a British leader in eight years, praised business opportunities in China for the UK, days after his government green-lighted plans for China to build a controversial mega embassy close to Londons financial district. Realism is at work in European leaders recent diplomacy toward China, according to Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute in London. Mistrust of China remains deep, particularly over Chinese support for Russian war efforts in Ukraine (but) European states cannot ignore China, particularly when the US is going rogue from their perspective. European governments in recent years ramped up scrutiny of Chinas role in areas from telecoms networks and critical infrastructure to education and followed US cues to restrict the sale of advanced semiconductor technology over national security concerns. Theyve also grown increasingly alarmed by Chinas gaping trade surplus and are working on ways to protect their industries, some of which analysts say face an existential threat from an influx of heavily subsidized Chinese goods. (Macron, during his December visit to China, said he threatened EU tariffs if the trade surplus isnt addressed.) French President Emmanuel Macron speaks at Sichuan University during a meeting with students in the city of Chengdu in southwestern China on December 5, 2025. - Sarah Meyssonnier/AFP/Getty Images It remains to be seen how willing the EU and its member countries are to downplay these concerns or reorient their policies on China (which the bloc has described as an economic competitor and a systemic rival), even in the face of Trumps on-again, off-again tariff threats and his rattling of NATO. European leaders including Starmer, who had pushed for tighter UK-China ties prior to Trumps election, have insisted they dont have to come at the expense of security. And the EU appears to be keeping its foot on the pedal. Last month it released a new proposal to phase out components and equipment from high-risk suppliers in critical sectors, expected to affect Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, after late last year ramping up screening of foreign investments. Addressing the trade surplus and reducing dependence on Chinas critical minerals also remains high on the EU agenda. Still, voices within China are optimistic. Some Western countries, under US leadership, have attempted and advocated collective confrontation against China and decoupling from China, Wang Wen, a professor at Renmin University, wrote in a recent commentary, referring to efforts to separate supply chains from China. However, reality has repeatedly proven that the decoupling theory and the new Cold War are not only unpopular but also difficult to truly implement. A new world order Other Chinese analysts have suggested that with the US exit from more than two dozen United Nations bodies and Trumps effort to set up a parallel Board of Peace Europe will simply need China more as an international counterweight. In order to maintain the multilateral system, (Europe) may need to compromise with China on trade and economic issues, Ye Weimian, a researcher at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, wrote in an analysis, pointing to areas like tariffs, technology access restrictions, and even a stalled China-EU investment agreement. Honor guards prepare for a welcome ceremony for Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing last week. - Kin Cheung/AFP/Getty Images Nonetheless, Beijing has pushed back against a narrative that it aims to take advantage of a rift between the US and its allies. Instead, it frames the warming of relations as proof of the appeal of its own market and its vision for the world. This is an inevitable result of Chinas development benefiting the world and continuously injecting stability and certainty into the international community, an editorial in the state-backed outlet Global Times said last month. Chinese analysts have also pointed to the US own climb-down on frictions with China as part of this recognition. The two sides reached an agreement to de-escalate trade tensions last fall. That was after Beijing played its trump card of stopping the flow of rare earth minerals, waking up the world to its outsized control over their supply chains. More importantly for Beijing, the US has moved away from framing China as an ideological challenger, to simply a competitor in an economic and strategic sense. That shift dovetails with Chinas broader vision for the world order: one no longer dominated by what it sees as American values and alliances, where countries arent bound to one another in ideological or security blocs, but instead make calculations based on shared economic and strategic interests. And at a time when European voices are acknowledging that a new world order is taking shape, Beijing wants to frame its own vision for that order as one whose time has come. Its less about these countries choosing China, the Global Times editorial read. And more about them choosing to follow the trend of the times. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Peter Mandelson arrives at the Cabinet Office in central London on June 18, 2025. - Jonathan Brady/AP Britains political class is being shaken by a scandal the scale of which typically comes around only once in a generation, and the man at the heart of it was once seen as the savior of the party that is currently in power. Peter Mandelson, a former British ambassador to the United States who is credited with helping to create the modern version of the Labour Party that propelled Tony Blair to power in 1997, is now facing a criminal investigation stemming from the US Justice Departments latest release of material relating to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. Mandelson, 72, is accused of passing on market-sensitive information that was of clear financial interest to Epstein in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Gordon Brown, Britains prime minister at the time, said Tuesday that he has written to the police with information relevant to its investigation and slammed Mandelson for his inexcusable and unpatriotic act. Peter Mandelson speaks at the British ambassador's residence in Washington, DC, on February 26, 2025. - Carl Court/Pool/Reuterrs The scandal may have been less potent if Mandelson who was twice previously forced to resign from government due to his ties to wealthy individuals had not been plucked from the private sector by Prime Minister Keir Starmer to serve as Britains ambassador to Washington, despite his well-known friendship with Epstein. Although Starmer fired Mandelson as ambassador after just seven months in Washington during the fallout from an earlier release of Epstein files, the prime ministers initial decision to appoint him has snowballed into a crisis for his beleaguered Labour government, which could yet result in more political scalps. Who is Peter Mandelson? Dubbed, somewhat melodramatically, the Prince of Darkness for his Machiavellian approach to power, Mandelson became Labours director of communications in the 1980s. He helped turn a party seen as sclerotic and captive to trade unions into the polished, market-friendly project known as New Labour, which eventually won a landslide election in 1997 under Blair. Having helped propel Labour to power, Mandelson was appointed minister without portfolio, which allowed him to attend cabinet meetings and gave him broad powers across the government. But little over a year into the role, he was forced to resign in 1998 for failing to declare a loan he obtained from a millionaire colleague to help him buy a house. Despite leaving in disgrace, he returned to the government the next year as trade secretary, before resigning again in 2001 over claims that he used his position to influence a British passport application from a wealthy donor. Mandelson then left the government for Brussels, serving as the European Unions commissioner for trade from 2004 to 2008. He returned a third time to help revive the ailing Brown government as it grappled with the fallout from the 2008 financial crisis, this time serving as business secretary. After Labour lost the 2010 general election, Mandelson spent more than a decade in the private sector. Last year, however, he was tapped by Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the role of British ambassador to the US. The decision was seen at the time as risky: Starmer wanted a political heavyweight to hold his own in the Washington of US President Donald Trump. So he traded Karen Pierce a career diplomat seen as a safe pair of hands for the more mercurial Mandelson. When did the Epstein links emerge? Starmers decision backfired within months. In September, the US Justice Department released a book compiled for Epsteins 50th birthday in 2003, in which Mandelson had penned a handwritten note describing Epstein as my best pal. He was also pictured in a bathrobe sitting with Epstein. Mandelson's birthday note to Epstein was interspersed with images of them together. - House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform The scandal swelled after British media reported a trove of emails between Mandelson and Epstein, in which the veteran Labour politician expressed support for his friend, despite the financiers 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor. I think the world of you and I feel hopeless and furious about what has happened, Mandelson wrote. He gave Epstein advice, suggesting he fight back using techniques from Sun Tzus Art of War. Days before Trumps second state visit to the United Kingdom, which Mandelson had helped plan and in which he was expected to play a key role, Starmer dumped him as ambassador. The Foreign Office told CNN at the time that the emails showed that the depth and extent of his relationship to Epstein is materially different from that known at the time of his appointment. Trump said its too bad that Mandelson plans to resign from Britains House of Lords. I didnt know about it. But I really dont know too much about it. I know who he is. Its too bad, Trump said while taking questions from reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday. What did the latest files show? The Justice Departments latest release of files shows the depth and extent of their relationship was greater still. Among the documents is an email exchange from 2009 in which Mandelson, while serving as business secretary in Browns government, appeared to leak to Epstein detailed policy measures that the cabinet was considering in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. In another exchange from December 2009, Epstein and Mandelson discussed Britains plans to impose an additional tax on bankers bonuses as a punitive, one-off measure following the crash. Mandelson appeared to suggest that the head of JP MorganChase should call Alistair Darling, then Britains finance minister, and mildly threaten him. According to Darlings memoirs, published two years before his death in 2023, the call was duly made. Mandelson also appeared to tip off Epstein that the European Union was planning a 500 billion bailout to prop up the euro, also in the wake of the financial crisis. Newly released bank statements also appear to show that between 2003 and 2004, Epstein paid a total of $75,000 into bank accounts linked to Mandelson. Email exchanges suggest that the financier may have sent 10,000 to Reinaldo Avila da Silva, Mandelsons husband, to help fund his osteopathy course. A spokesperson for Mandelson told British media that neither the former ambassador nor da Silva has any record or recollection of receiving payments in 2003 and 2004 or know whether the documentation is authentic. CNN has been unable to contact Mandelson. The latest drop of files also include a photo of a man who appears to be Mandelson standing in his underwear next to a woman whose face has been hidden. It is unclear when or where the images were taken; no captions or context for the photographs was provided with the document release. The photograph does not suggest any wrongdoing. Mandelson told the BBC he cannot place the location or the woman and I cannot think what the circumstances were. A newly released photo shows a man who appears to be Peter Mandelson in his underwear alongside a woman whose face has been redacted. - Department of Justice What happens now? Sacked as ambassador, Mandelson remained a member of Britains House of Lords, the upper chamber of Parliament. However, facing a growing outcry this week, the speaker of the House announced that Mandelson would quit the Lords on Wednesday. His problems wont end there. The Metropolitan Police said Tuesday that it had launched an investigation into Mandelson for alleged offenses involving misconduct in public office, following the latest release of Epstein files by the US government. Brown said he has provided the Metropolitan Police with information relevant to its investigation of Mandelsons communications with Epstein. The former prime minister said Mandelsons alleged leaking of information to Epstein was an inexcusable and unpatriotic act at a time when the whole government and country were attempting to address the global financial crisis that was damaging so many livelihoods. Amid the criminal investigation, British lawmakers have agreed to release documents surrounding Mandelsons appointment as ambassador to the US despite his Epstein links. The timeline will be as soon as possible. We want to get on with this, Parliamentary Secretary Chris Ward told the House of Commons Wednesday, adding that there was a lot of material to go through. But the Met Police has asked the government not to release the papers yet as it could undermine their ongoing investigation. Some of the documents MPs have called for the release of are papers surrounding the decision to appoint Mandelson, and communications between Mandelson and Prime Minister Keir Starmers top team in the six months before his appointment. The lies, venality and treachery of Mandelson, shame this House, and I, and the Prime Minister, and I know Honourable Members all around me have nothing but contempt to the way he acted and lied to the British people, Ward told the House of Commons. Im glad this will now be shown to the British people. The British Embassy and the British ambassador's residence compound on September 11, 2025, in Washington, DC. - Andrew Harnik/Getty Images Why is it a problem for the British government? Mandelsons latest disgrace has created a huge political headache for Starmer. Opposition parties have questioned Starmers wisdom in appointing Mandelson as ambassador despite his history of scandals. The scandal, sleaze, and speed of (Mandelsons) downfall only increases the scrutiny on (Starmers) decision to send him to Washington, said Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the Conservative Party. Nigel Farage, leader of the populist Reform UK party, who is himself mentioned 32 times in the Epstein files, said Starmer made a grave, grave error of judgment in appointing Mandelson as ambassador. In Parliament on Wednesday, Starmer said the latest revelations about Mandelson were beyond infuriating, and that the former ambassador had lied repeatedly to my team when asked about his relationship with Epstein. Mandelson betrayed our country, our Parliament and my party, Starmer told lawmakers, adding: I regret appointing him. Starmer said that Mandelsons relationship with Epstein had been included in the official security vetting, but said the former US ambassador had completely misrepresented the extent of his relationship. Under pressure to explain what he was told about Mandelsons ties to Epstein during the ambassadorial vetting process, the prime minister told Parliament that he would release all material relating to Mandelsons appointment, with exemptions for material that could compromise Britains national security and international relations. Badenoch warned the exemptions could whitewash the materials. Mandelson resigned from Labour on Sunday, saying he did not want to cause the party further embarrassment. Despite his Teflon qualities, it is not likely that Mandelsons latest disgrace will be followed by rehabilitation as before. In 1998, in his attempts to distance the Labour Party from its socialist roots and confirm its newfound embrace of free markets, Mandelson then Britains trade secretary said that, so long as everyone paid their taxes, the Labour government was intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich. Now, Mandelsons own proximity to the filthy rich appears to have precipitated his final downfall. CNNs James Frater and Max Foster contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com New details have emerged surrounding the disappearance of Today show host Savannah Guthries mother, Nancy. The 84-year-old grandmother was last seen on Saturday (January 31) around 9:45 p.m. after one of her children dropped her off at her home. She was reported missing the following day when she failed to show up for church. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos described Nancy as being mentally sharp as a tack but physically limited, suggesting she did not voluntarily leave her rural property in Tucson, Arizona. Police have shared an update on the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of Today show anchor Savannah Guthrie Image credits: NDZ/Star Max/GC Images Nanos said police are treating her home as a crime scene after finding very concerning evidence. Nancys family is desperate to find her, as she requires daily medication to survive, authorities said. She is in need of medication, medication that if she doesnt have it in 24 hours, it could be fatal, Nanos described. Image credits: savannahguthrie Savannah Guthrie, who has been an anchor on the Today show since 2012, skipped the morning broadcast amid the race against time to find her 84-year-old mother. On behalf of our family, I want to thank everyone for the thoughts, prayers and messages of support, she said in a family statement released on Monday. Right now, our focus remains on the safe return of our dear mom. We thank law enforcement for their hard work on this case and encourage anyone with information to contact the Pima County Sheriffs Department at (520) 351-4900. Savannah has credited her mother with helping her achieve success as a broadcast journalist. Her father, Charles, passed away when she was 16 years old, leaving Nancy to raise her and her two siblings as a single mother. We believe she was taken out of the home against her will, and thats how this investigation is moving, Nanos told NBC Nightly News on Monday (February 2). I cant think of the last time where in the middle of the night in someones bed, an 84-year-old woman disappeared on us. Nancy Guthrie, 84, vanished from her home in Tucson, Arizona Image credits: Google Police said they believe Nancy was harmed when she was taken from her home. Nanos added that a search for Nancy has been shut down because her disappearance is now being treated as a crime. Right now, we dont see this as a search mission as much as we do a crime scene. Law enforcement had been searching using drones, a helicopter, an airplane, search-and-rescue dogs, and volunteers, the Today show reported. Image credits: Pima County Sheriffs Department Nancys family was alerted to her disappearance after receiving a call from a member of their local church saying she had not arrived for a service as expected. Her children then went to her house and called the police after finding no sign of Nancy. According to the sheriff, there were no known related threats made involving Nancys high-profile daughter. Authorities said they found a very concerning scene at the Tucson home and that some of Nancys belongings were reportedly left behind, including her life-saving medication. Given Nancys mobility issues, police have dismissed the theory that she simply wandered off Image credits: Pima County Sheriffs Department According to Nanos, the 84-year-old woman, who lived alone, does not have cognitive impairments but is unable to walk 50 yards on her own, leading investigators to believe she was likely abducted. She is very limited in her mobility, we know she didnt just walk out of there, that we know. There were other things at the scene that indicate that she did not leave on her own. He did not share further details on what makes the home a crime scene, saying it would be inappropriate at this time. Image credits: Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images You dont typically get the sheriff out at a scene like this, but its very concerning what were learning from the house, Nanos said at a news conference on Sunday (February 1). Authorities are in possession of Nancys mobile phone. Some of her household staff have reportedly been in touch with law enforcement. Nanos also revealed that there were cameras at the grandmothers million-dollar property. Nancys disappearance is being investigated as a criminal case Image credits: savannahguthrie In 2022, Savannah opened up about a life lesson she received from Nancy after moving out of her home for her first news job. My father d*ed when I was entering my senior year in high school. I then lived at home all through college. We didnt have money to afford the dorm, she told Today co-host Jenna Bush Hager. And that was thing one, but the other was that my sister and I really felt like we should stick with my mom and not leave her alone. But when I moved to Butte, Montana, this was it. And it was really hard for me to leave her. Image credits: savannahguthrie Savannah, the youngest of Nancys children, accepted her first job in broadcasting at a local station in Montana at the age of 21. And thats when she said, If you cant leave me, then I didnt do my job right, Savannah,' the journalist recalled. She just gave me permission to go, you know? The 54-year-old admitted that it wouldnt have taken very much convincing if her mother had asked her to find a job closer to home, but instead Nancy encouraged her to spread her wings. Of course she wanted me to stay. But shes like, Im not going to stand in the way of your dreams. Im going to tell you, Go go go go go.' Savannah spoke about her mothers influence in helping launch her journalism career View this post on Instagram A post shared by Savannah Guthrie (@savannahguthrie) The NBC News anchor confirmed the value of that lesson when she became a mother herself to her two children, Vale and Charley. You dont spoon feed your kids. You teach them how to eat for themselves, she continued. They should be self-sufficient. Theyre not supposed to be needy. Theyre not supposed to need us. And also, were not supposed to be the center of their universes. People shared their theories surrounding Nancys disappearance Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged "maximum pressure" on Russia from the international community after Moscow fired hundreds of drones and missiles into Ukraine overnight into Tuesday morning, in a major attack that Zelenskyy said focused on the country's critical energy infrastructure. Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 71 missiles and 450 drones into the country overnight, of which 38 missiles and 412 drones were shot down or suppressed. Twenty-seven missiles and 31 drones impacted across 27 locations, the air force said. The strike was the largest reported by the Ukrainian air force of the year so far, and the largest overall number of munitions launched in a single night since the night of Dec. 27. The number of missiles fired on Monday night was also unusually high, and the largest total for a single night since April 24, according to air force data analyzed by ABC News. Russia's Defense Ministry said in a post to Telegram that its forces "carried out a massive strike" on "Ukraine's military-industrial complex and energy facilities used in their interests, as well as places of storage and assembly of long-range unmanned aerial vehicles." AP - PHOTO: In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire at a multi-storey apartment building following a Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 3, 2026. 'Normal life has disappeared': Russia's energy offensive plunges Ukraine into dark and bitter cold Zelenskyy said in a post to Telegram that the regions of Sumy, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Dnipro, Odesa and Vinnytsia were attacked, with energy infrastructure and residential buildings among those hit. At least nine people have so far been confirmed injured, the president said. "Taking advantage of the coldest days of winter to terrorize people is more important to Russia than resorting to diplomacy," Zelenskyy said. "This clearly demonstrates what is needed from partners and what can help. Timely delivery of missiles for air defense systems and protection of normal life is our priority. Without pressure on Russia, there will be no end to this war." "Right now, Moscow is choosing terror and escalation, and that is why maximum pressure is needed," Zelenskyy added. Ukrainian Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said that thermal power plants powering parts of Kyiv, Kharkiv and Dnipro were among the targets of the strike. "The targets were not military. They were exclusively civilian," Shmyhal wrote on Telegram. DTEK, Ukraine's largest private energy firm, said Russian strikes inflicted "significant" damage on its power plants, in what it said was "the ninth massive attack on the company's thermal power stations since October 2025." Alex Babenko/AP - PHOTO: People take shelter in a metro station during a Russian attack on Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 3, 2026. Next round of US-Russia-Ukraine talks to begin Feb. 4, Zelenskyy says Emergency power outages were implemented in Kyiv's Dnieper and Darnytsia districts, DTEK said. Energy infrastructure was also damaged in Odesa, DTEK added. Ukraine's state energy company Ukrenergo reported "a significant number of power outages in Kyiv, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Vinnytsia and Odesa regions," which it attributed to the "massive" overnight attack. "There are also damaged energy facilities in several regions," Ukrenergo wrote on Telegram. Moscow's latest strikes came after the expiry of a brief pause in attacks on energy infrastructure agreed to by both Moscow and Kyiv following a request from U.S. President Donald Trump. Russia said that the pause expired on Sunday. This winter -- the fourth of Russia's full-scale invasion -- has seen Moscow intensively target Ukraine's energy infrastructure, wreaking havoc on the national grid and precipitating rolling and extended blackouts for millions of Ukrainians. Monday night saw temperatures drop as low as -14 F in some parts of Ukraine. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha suggested on X that Russian President Vladimir Putin "waited for the temperatures to drop and stockpiled drones and missiles to continue his genocidal attacks against the Ukrainian people." Gleb Garanich/Reuters - PHOTO: Ukrainian servicemen hit a Russian missile during a Russian missile and drone strike on Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 3, 2026. Russia, Ukraine and US hold 1st trilateral talks since start of war Zelenskyy later made the same allegation in a post to Telegram. "The Russian army took advantage of the American proposal to pause the strikes for a short period, not to support diplomacy, but simply to stockpile missiles and wait for the coldest days of the year," he said. Russia launched its latest major strike despite an upcoming round of trilateral peace talks with U.S. and Ukrainian representatives in the United Arab Emirates, which are due to resume on Wednesday and continue into Thursday. "Every such strike by Russia confirms that the attitude in Moscow has not changed: they are still counting on war and the destruction of Ukraine, and they do not take diplomacy seriously," Zelenskyy said. "The work of our negotiating team will be adjusted accordingly." NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte visited Kyiv on Tuesday to meet with Zelenskyy and address the Ukrainian parliament. Rutte told Ukrainian representatives that "important progress has been made" in trilateral U.S.-Ukraine-Russia talks. "But Russia continues to attack, as it did last night," Rutte added. "This demonstrates their lack of seriousness about peace." Monday night's attack prompted the scrambling of NATO fighter jets in Poland, which borders Ukraine to the country's west. Poland's Armed Forces Operational Command Operational Command said that no violation of the nation's airspace was recorded. Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters - PHOTO: A police officer carries a part of a Russian drone that was found at the site of an apartment building in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 3, 2026. Russia downs 4,300 Ukrainian drones in December, setting new record, Moscow claims German fighter jets and Dutch anti-air defense systems were among the assets put on alert, the command said. Russia's Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its forces downed at least 10 Ukrainian drones overnight. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces confirmed in a post to Telegram that it struck several targets on Russian-held territory overnight into Tuesday. Ukraine's targets included a drone training and production site in occupied Zaporizhzhia, a concentration of Russian forces in the western Russian border region of Belgorod and an electronic warfare site in occupied Donetsk, the General Staff said. ABC News' Nataliia Popova, Oleksiy Pshemyskyi, Patrick Reevell and Ellie Kaufman contributed to this report. Gov. Jeff Landry addresses the Louisiana Legislature on opening day of legislative session, Monday, April 14, 2025, at the Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge. Gov. Jeff Landry addresses the Louisiana Legislature on opening day of legislative session, Monday, April 14, 2025, at the Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge. (Hilary Scheinuk/The Advocate Pool) A special election is set for Saturday to fill five vacant seats in the Louisiana Legislature, including one spot in the Senate and four in the House of Representatives. State Senate District 3 was left open when Joe Bouie, D-New Orleans, stepped down to take the chancellors role at Southern University New Orleans. Four Democrats have qualified for the race: Kenn Barnes, Sidney Barthelemy II, Jon Johnson and Chad Lauga. Barnes is a lawyer who has worked as a public defender, a city attorney and a special counsel to the Louisiana Supreme Court. Barthelemy, the son and namesake of New Orleans mayor from 1986-94, owns a commercial construction company. This is his first run for public office. Johnson hopes to return to the Louisiana Senate, where he served from 1984 through 2005 after holding a state House seat for six years. He sat on the New Orleans City Council, representing the eastern section of the city and Lower 9th Ward, from 2010-12 before resigning after having admitted he illegally misused federal recovery dollars. Johnson was sentenced in federal court to six months of house arrest and three years of supervised release. Lauga is an electrician from St. Bernard Parish who has also lobbied the legislature for 10 years on behalf of the AFL-CIO labor union. Two Louisiana House seats representing New Orleans became open when their occupants, Jason Hughes and Matt Willard, won election to the city council. Running in House District 97 to replace Willard are the sons of two other prominent New Orleans politicians, both Democrats. Ed Murray, an attorney, hopes to follow the lead of his father, Edwin Murray Sr., whose tenure in the legislature stretched from 1992 to 2016. His opponent is Eugene Green III, whose father is in his second term on the New Orleans City Council. The younger Green is a property management consultant for his fathers real estate business. In House District 100, five Democrats are running to succeed Hughes: educator Patricia Boyd Robinson; attorney Dana Henry; political consultant Aeisha Kelly, who ran Hughes winning City Council campaign; attorney Kenya Rounds; and community organizer Candice Taylor. Saturdays election will decide who takes over in House District 37 from Troy Romero, R-Jennings, who resigned to become the states rural development director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The district takes in nearly all of Jefferson Davis Parish and a small portion of Calcasieu. Reese Skip Broussard, a Republican small business owner, is going up against Ivy Woods, a former Jeff Davis sheriff who is not party-affiliated. The seat in House District 60 was left open when Gov. Jeff Landry picked Democrat Chad Brown of Plaquemine to lead the state Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control. The district includes portions of Assumption and Iberville parishes. The candidates are Republican business owner Brad Daigle of Plaquemine and Democrat Chasity Verret Martinez, a member of the Iberville Parish Council. Polling precincts will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday in the six parishes involved in legislative races. Any runoffs needed will be decided March 14. Savannah Guthrie has dropped out of her hosting duties at the 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony amid her mothers disappearance. The Today anchors mom, Nancy Guthrie, remains nowhere to be found 48 hours after she was reported missing Sunday afternoon, as police believe she was abducted from her home in the middle of the night. Savannah, 54, was set to head to Italy for the start of the winter games Friday, but will not be traveling abroad due to the family emergency. An NBC Sports spokesperson said in a statement shared with The Independent, Savannah will not be joining us at the Olympics as she focuses on being with her family during this difficult time. Our hearts are with her and the entire Guthrie family as the search continues for their mother. Craig Melvin, who was also supposed to host Olympic Late Night from Milan from Saturday to Monday, will also be staying in the U.S. as well. Savannah Guthrie is expected to drop out of her co-hosting role at the 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony amid the disappearance of her mother (Getty Images) This would have marked Savannah Guthrie's fourth time covering the Olympics, including when the 'Today' show co-hosts went to the 2024 Olympics in Paris (Getty Images) The outlet later announced that Mary Carillo, the veteran sports commentator and former tennis player who will be working her 17th Olympic Games, will join Terry Gannon in Guthries place. This will mark the 17th Olympic Games for Carillo, a veteran sports commentator and former tennis player. Ahmed Fareed, who was already serving as a daytime host for a portion of the games in Milan, will now host the Olympic Late Night from Saturday to Monday. Our hearts go out to Savannah and the entire Guthrie family. They continue to have our full support, Molly Solomon, the executive producer and president of NBCs Olympics production, said in a statement shared with The Independent. We are fortunate to have a deep bench of talented commentators who will step in and fill these roles. Mary is one of the most experienced Olympic commentators ever and a master storyteller. She and Terry will lead the American audience through one of the worlds greatest global moments. She continued, With his skill and versatility, Ahmed has proven time and again he can step into any hosting role, and were thrilled hes available to handle our late night coverage before heading to Los Angeles for NBA All-Star Weekend. Mary Carillo will broadcast alongside Terry Gannon on NBC in Savannah Guthries place (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) Guthrie was scheduled to co-host NBCs coverage of the opening ceremony alongside Gannon, with three-time Olympic medalist snowboarder Shaun White expected to join the pair of broadcasters. This would have marked her fourth time hosting an Olympic opening ceremony. I couldnt be more thrilled to host the Opening Ceremony alongside the incomparable Terry Gannon and snowboarding legend Shaun White, Savannah said in a statement when the lineup was announced in September. Its such an honor to celebrate the worlds best athletes and introduce the magic and wonder of the Winter Games and northern Italy to viewers at home. Savannah reportedly planned to stay in Italy for a week to record NBCs morning program with her former co-host Hoda Kotb. The Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina dAmpezzo are set to run from February 6 to 26. The anchor has been absent from the Today show as the search for Nancy enters its fourth day. The 84-year-old was reported missing Sunday afternoon after she failed to attend her usual church service. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said Nancy was abducted Saturday night. Nancy, who is limited in mobility and relies on daily medication, left her phone, wallet, and car at her home in Tucson, Arizona. Investigators also found DNA evidence at the home, signs of forced entry, and blood, though it was unclear whose blood it was. Nancy Guthrie is of great sound and mind, this is not dementia related. She is as sharp as a tack. Her family wants everybody to know, this is not somebody that just wandered off, Nanos said. Savannah wrote on Instagram Monday night: Thank you for lifting your prayers with ours for our beloved mom, our dearest Nancy, a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant. Raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment. Savannah Guthrie is pulling out of hosting the Olympic opening ceremony.@SAVANNAHGUTHRIE/INSTAGRAM Savannah Guthrie is withdrawing from hosting NBC's coverage of the 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony, RadarOnline.com can report, as the search for her missing mother grows. Guthrie's elderly mom, Nancy, has been missing from her Tucson home since the weekend, and her search is being treated as a crime. Guthrie was set to host the ceremony on Friday.MEGA Savannah had been set to co-host the opening ceremony for the network alongside Terry Gannon live from Milan, Italy, on February 4. But insiders say there's no way the Today show anchor is leaving the states while her mom is missing. "There is no universe where Savannah gets on a plane to Italy right now," one senior NBC source told Hollywood Insider Rob Shuter, who writes on Substack. "She's devastated. Family comes first. Period." More to come... This is a developing story. "Today" show host Savannah Guthrie's mother, Nancy, is missing in Arizona in what police believe was an abduction from her home while she slept, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told CBS News on Monday. "I believe she was abducted, yes," Nanos said. "She didn't walk from there. She didn't go willingly." Nanos earlier Monday confirmed that her disappearance is being treated as a crime, and urged neighbors to review home video camera footage. "We saw some things at the home that were concerning to us," Nanos told reporters. "We believe now after we've processed that crime scene that we do in fact have a crime scene, that we do in fact have a crime, and we're asking the community's help." Nanos urged people who think they see Nancy Guthrie to take a picture or record a video and alert authorities. A missing person's flier from the sheriff's department said she is 5 feet, 5 inches tall, has brown hair and blue eyes and weighs 150 pounds. Nancy Guthrie, 84, "is very limited in her mobility" and "we know she didn't just walk out of there," Nanos said, adding there are other aspects at the scene that indicate she did not leave on her own. She doesn't have any cognitive issues, but is in urgent need of her daily medication, authorities said. "The clock is literally ticking," Nanos said, referring to Nancy Guthrie's need to take her medication. "It's been more than 24 hours since she disappeared." The Pima County Sheriff's Department in Arizona issued a missing person poster for Nancy Guthrie and asked the public to submit tips via its Tip Line QR code. / Credit: Pima County Sheriff's Department in Arizona Nanos said she lived by herself, and that the family told him "she couldn't walk 50 yards. And so we know she couldn't get far from that home unless she was removed from that home." "I want to stress to you, and it is really important: Miss Guthrie, Nancy Guthrie is of great sound mind," Nanos told reporters. "This is not a dementia-related, she is as sharp as a tack. The family wants everybody to know this isn't somebody who just wandered off." The sheriff said Nancy Guthrie was last seen at her home in the Catalina Foothills area at 9:30 p.m. Saturday. When she didn't show up for church the next morning, family members went to her home, looked for her and called 911, he said. Nanos didn't provide additional details about what investigators found concerning at the home, citing the ongoing investigation. Sgt. David Stivers told reporters, "There were circumstances on scene that we believe are suspicious in nature, I think is the best way to put it." Nanos did not provide a possible motive and said there was no initial indication Nancy Guthrie was targeted because of her name, but noted, "We can't dismiss that. "We will certainly look at that and we'll see, was she being stalked? Did she have some people out there harassing her or something?" he told CBS News. The FBI is assisting in the investigation, two sources told CBS News. Savannah Guthrie and mother Nancy Guthrie on the (Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images) The search and rescue team worked through the night, employing drones, helicopters and heat sensors, but have since been sent home, Nanos said Monday, as the search has turned to a criminal investigation. "Right now we don't see this as a search mission so much as we do a crime scene," he said. Investigators were poring over footage from security cameras in the home and examining Nancy Guthrie's cellphone, Nanos said. Authorities were also turning to license-plate readers and other surveillance cameras for leads in the case. The sheriff encouraged Guthrie's neighbors to go through their own home security footage, even if their cameras don't face the Guthrie home. "They still might see something," Nanos said. "Maybe it's somebody walking by. Maybe it's some vehicle driving by at that time of day." Nancy Guthrie's family has asked nearby residents to review their security footage captured over the weekend, especially between the hours of 1:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. on Sunday. When CBS News asked Nanos about the time frame, he said the department is starting with a narrow window and will expand outward. "Keep looking. You never know what you'll see," Sheriff Nanos said. "Maybe it's just a pair of headlights. But if you see something that just doesn't seem right in that neighborhood, please let us know. We can come and download all your digital evidence and take a look at it ourselves." Nanos also told CBS News he didn't know if Guthrie was harmed when she was removed from the home. Nanos said he didn't think that there was an active threat that posed a danger to the public. The family was cooperating with the investigation, the sheriff said. Savannah Guthrie issued a statement Monday on her mother's disappearance. "On behalf of our family, I want to thank everyone for the thoughts, prayers and messages of support," she said. "Right now, our focus remains on the safe return of our dear mom." Later Monday, Savannah Guthrie posted on Instagram: "thank you for lifting your prayers with ours for our beloved mom, our dearest Nancy, a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant. raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment." Guthrie urged anyone with information to contact the Pima County Sheriff's Department. Authorities investigate ransom note in disappearance of Savannah Guthrie's mom, sheriff says Eye Opener: Possible ransom note investigated in Nancy Guthrie's disappearance Some blood found in Savannah Guthrie's mom's home, sources say A Palestinian man waves from a window as war-wounded people and patients, accompanied by relatives, get ready to leave Gaza for treatment abroad through the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, after it was opened by Israel on Monday for a limited number of people, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, February 3, 2026. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed GENEVA, Feb 3 (Reuters) - A World Health Organization official said on Tuesday that the first five patients were transferred through Gaza's Rafah crossing with Egypt, which reopened on Monday. "On the second of February, WHO and partners supported the medical evacuation of five patients and seven companions to Egypt via the Rafah crossing," said WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier. "It was the first medical evacuation through this route since sometime in 2025," he said referring to a limited number of evacuations during an early 2025 ceasefire. Over 18,500 patients are awaiting evacuations after the two-year war, he said, with trauma injuries from the war as well as chronic conditions such as cancer and diabetes. A UNICEF spokesperson said that more than 3,000 of them were children. Gaza health authorities are choosing whom to prioritise among the sick and wounded, Lindmeier said. "We know that patients have died basically waiting for evacuation, and that's something which is horrible when you know just a few miles or kilometers outside that border, help is available," he added. (Reporting by Emma Farge, editing by Thomas Seythal and Madeline Chambers) Junior Pena, a Brazilian influencer known for publicly supporting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), was detained by the agency on January 31 in New Jersey. Pena, whose full name is Eustaquio da Silva Pena Junior, according to Brazilian media, was in the middle of his legalization process, but his missing status at a scheduled hearing led to his detention. He has 1.3 million followers on TikTok and around 500K on Instagram, with his content focusing on depicting life in the States from an immigrants perspective. In one of his 2025 pro-Trump and pro-ICE videos, Pena urged Brazilians to remain calm, claiming that those being targeted by authorities were crooks. Following his arrest, left-wing commentators flocked to his social media accounts to taunt him. You supported Trump, and in the end, you suffered the consequences, one user wrote, while another added, What goes around comes around. A Brazilian MAGA influencer was arrested after defending ICEs crackdown on immigrants Image credits: juniorpena0/Instagram According to The Guardian, Pena hails from Belo Horizonte, the capital of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, and has been living in the U.S. since 2009. When Donald Trump became the president of the United States for the second time in January 2025, he promised an immigration crackdown. That crackdown focused heavily on the Latin American community in the first six months. Last January, the influencer spoke about the new border control policies and urged fellow Brazilians not to listen to other influencers spreading fear without facts, evidence, or proof about those facing deportation. Image credits: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Not the actual photo) He said those being removed under the fresh immigration law had done something wrong or owed something. In the same video, he went on to label immigrants on the deportation list as crooks. Notably, per a December Visa HQ report citing Brazils Federal Police, 2,268 Brazilian nationals were deported from the United States in 2025. The figure is the highest recorded since data collection began in 2020. Pena was reportedly in the middle of his legalization process, but failed to appear in court Image credits: juniorpena0/Instagram Pena, according to his friend Maycon MacDowel, was sent to Delaney Hall detention facility in Newark, New Jersey. MacDowel is also the one to claim that the detention is a result of an administrative issue involving an immigration hearing. A court session demanding Penas attendance had reportedly been postponed, but the change was not properly recorded in the system, leading authorities to mark Pena as absent when he did not appear and prompting agents to search for him. Image credits: juniorpena0/Instagram Currently, Penas attorney, Andrew Lattarulo, is working to prevent his transfer to another state a common procedure that can hinder monitoring of the case and contact with the legal team and family. The defenses intention, according to the Brazilian Times, is for the influencer to be released on bail by next Monday and be able to respond to further proceedings while free. Penas arrest led ICE critics to mock him for his poor judgment Image credits: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Karma at its best, wrote an ICE detractor, while another added, Sometimes lessons come the hard way. More of these types of arrests are whats going to change the national opinion about this immigration tactic, a third voiced, with a fourth demanding, Deport him now. Serves him right, commented a fifth, while the next shared, Well, this means he is a crook. Case closed. Another netizen, meanwhile, hoped that Pena would be able to discuss the topic of immigrant crackdown from a different perspective following his release. A magazine explored what life is like for 2 million Brazilians in the U.S. under intensified ICE enforcement Image credits: Google Maps Veja, a Brazilian magazine, in its January 2026 report, stated that under the Trump administrations strict immigration rules, life for Brazilian immigrants has gone from chasing the American dream to living in constant watchfulness. Per the magazine, Brazilians have adopted strategies that make them almost invisible, helping them stay off the authorities radar. Image credits: The White House In pockets like Little Brazil in Boston, the publication claims it is common to see people avoiding speaking in Portuguese to hide their identity and dressing like everyday Americans to blend in with the crowd. Veja detailed that not even those seeking legal status are safe. Matheus Silveira, a 31-year-old Rio de Janeiro native, was detained during the adjustment of a status interview to obtain a green card in November 2025, the publication shared. Silveira had been living in San Diego since 2019 and was married to an American national, Hannah Silveira. Image credits: The White House Outrage against ICE has intensified following the fatal shootings of two 37-year-old Minneapolis residents, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, in January. The nearly two-week-long detention of a five-year-old boy, Liam Ramos, and his father, Adrian Arias, last month contributed to anti-ICE sentiments. The father and son duo were released on Saturday after a federal judges order. A GoFundMe campaign was launched to cover Junior Penas legal expenses, which reached its $32,000 goal by Monday. Maybe he was doing these TikToks to save himself, a social media user remarked about Penas current ordeal Eloy Moliner, 12, enjoys a water game with children from a neighbouring village where he will attend school in Pitarque, Teruel, Spain. REUTERS/Susana Vera Eloy Moliner, 12, enjoys a water game with children from a neighbouring village where he will attend school in Pitarque, Teruel, Spain. REUTERS/Susana Vera MADRID, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Spain and Greece on Tuesday proposed bans on social media use by teenagers as attitudes hardened in Europe against technology some say is designed to be addictive and the measures announced by Spain's Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, drew fury from Elon Musk. Spain wants to prohibit social media for under-16s, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said. Greece is close to announcing a similar ban for children under 15, a senior government source said. But Sanchez also said his government would create a law to hold social media executives personally responsible for hate speech on their platforms. The world's richest man and owner of X, formerly Twitter, reacted to socialist leader Sanchez's measures affecting social media platforms. "Dirty Sanchez is a tyrant and a traitor to the people of Spain," he wrote on X. About an hour and a half later, he escalated his criticism, posting on X: "Sanchez is the true fascist totalitarian." Representatives of Google, part of Alphabet, TikTok, Snapchat and Meta did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Spain's proposed measures. Spain and Greece join countries such as Britain and France in considering tougher stances on social media, after Australia in December became the first nation to prohibit access to such platforms for children younger than 16. 'COALITION OF THE DIGITALLY WILLING' Governments and regulators worldwide are looking at the impact of children's screen time on their development and mental wellbeing. "Our children are exposed to a space they were never meant to navigate alone ... We will no longer accept that," Sanchez said at the World Governments Summit in Dubai. "We will protect them from the digital Wild West." The Australia ban "leaves significant gaps that could undermine its goals," including limitations in age verification technology and users switching to unregulated messaging apps, Snapchat said in a statement on Monday. Spain joins five other European countries that he dubbed the "Coalition of the Digitally Willing" to coordinate and enforce cross-border regulation, Sanchez said, without naming the countries, set to hold their first meeting in the coming days. "We know that this is a battle that far exceeds the boundaries of any country," he said. His office did not respond to a request for clarification. EXPLOSION OF AI-GENERATED CONTENT Legislation to ban children under 15 from social media is currently passing through France's parliament. Britain is also considering similar measures. Spain's proposed regulation would give parents clear backing to set limits and would ease social pressure for children worried about missing out, said Diana Diaz, director of the ANAR Foundation for at-risk children and adolescents. The recent explosion of AI-generated content, and public outcry over reports of Elon Musk's Grok AI chatbot generating non-consensual sexual images, including of minors, has fueled debate over the risks of such online content. But there was no unanimous agreement that social media harms adolescents, said Jose Cesar Perales, a professor in experimental psychology at the University of Granada. HOLDING SOCIAL MEDIA EXECUTIVES ACCOUNTABLE Sanchez said prosecutors would explore ways to investigate possible legal infractions by Elon Musk's Grok, as well as by TikTok and Instagram, part of Meta. The proposed ban would be implemented as part of a change to an existing bill on digital protection for minors being debated in parliament, according to a government spokesperson. About 82% of Spaniards said they believed children under 14 should be banned from social media, according to a 30-country Ipsos poll on education published last August. That was up from 73% in 2024. It's a good measure to encourage children to play with each other and not be on their mobile phones in parks, which I think is terrible, to be honest, said Miguel Abad, a 19-year-old student in Madrid. In Australia, social media companies deactivated nearly 5 million accounts belonging to teenagers within weeks of the ban taking effect, the internet regulator said last month, suggesting the measure could have a sweeping impact. (Reporting by David Latona, Emma Pinedo, Victoria Waldersee, Renee Maltezou, Elizabeth Piper and Paolo Laudani; Writing by Charlie Devereux; Editing by Hugh Lawson, David Holmes, Bernadette Baum and Nick Zieminski) The entrance doors to Spokane City Hall are seen. Photo: Tim Clouser / The Center Square (The Center Square) - The Spokane City Council proposed establishing immigration enforcement free zones on Monday, one day after the Trump administration planned to cut funding for sanctuary cities. The term lacks an official legal definition, but sanctuary jurisdictions essentially prohibit state and local law enforcement from assisting or cooperating with federal immigration enforcement. President Donald Trump told reporters last month that he would cut federal funding to sanctuary cities beginning Feb. 1. Spokane passed a law last August that allows city officials to designate certain areas as nonpublic to prohibit federal agents from entering without permission or a warrant. The Legislature is considering a similar measure, and Councilmember Paul Dillon proposed expanding their local ordinance on Monday. The goal of this ordinance is not to create something that is performative but practical, Dillon said. Dillons proposal follows agents detaining an immigrant and his 10-year-old daughter last month. The Spokesman-Review framed it as a father detained while dropping off his child at school. However, the outlet has since published another article noting he missed several immigration check-ins since 2023. The courts have previously blocked the Trump administration from cutting federal funding to sanctuary jurisdictions. The extent of this attempt remained unknown as of Monday. While Washington state and Seattle are a list of sanctuary jurisdictions, Spokane is not, despite enforcing many of the same laws. The Washington State Office of the Attorney General and City Spokeswoman Erin Hut told The Center Square two weeks ago that they hadnt yet received any notice of these cuts. The Center Square sent the city a follow-up inquiry about the cuts on Sunday, but didnt receive a response before publishing. Councilmember Zack Zappone said hed like to go a step further than Dillon and prohibit Spokane from hiring Trumps immigration agents as local police officers in the future, as the state is now considering. I would have a question on whether or not it would be a violation of either somebody's individual civil rights or just our civil service process, Councilmember Michael Cathcart said. The state certainly could probably do that and override civil service, but I don't know that we would have the power to do that. Cathcart has previously opposed similar proposals, warning they could put Spokane under a spotlight. He remains skeptical about what these proposals can accomplish under the federal supremacy clause. If passed, Dillons immigration enforcement free zones would prohibit federal agents from using city property as a staging area for civil immigration purposes. The proposal also bans federal agents from using those areas for surveillance or as staging areas, coordination points, operations bases and more. Federal agents would only be allowed to enter with a judicial warrant or the mayor's signed approval. I'm really supportive of efforts to combat ICE, Zappone said, putting his support behind Dillons idea. Dillon wants city officials to identify all city-owned parking lots, vacant lots, garages and other facilities that could apply under this new proposal. His proposal defines city property as any real or personal property, land, building, facility, structure, equipment, or space owned, leased, operated, or controlled by the city. That would include homeless shelters, transit facilities, public parks and other properties. Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson issued an order last week calling for policies like those Dillon proposed. Spokane Police Chief Kevin Hall urged caution around the proposal last August, fearing that residents would expect too much out of his officers. He said the Spokane Police Department cannot and will not interfere with federal immigration enforcement, despite hesitating last July to cooperate with the FBI. The council pressed Hall on Monday about how he would respond to multiple hypothetical situations. The chief responded by reaffirming his commitment not to assist federal immigration authorities. If somebody calls in and says, Hey, my neighbor, or this person I work with is undocumented, Hall said Monday after verifying that this hasnt happened in the last five years, our dispatch center would shut it down. That would be the end; I can tell you that that call will never see the light of day. Cathcart raised concerns about the councils opposition to providing this information if its recorded on a 911 call. Hall said the Keep Washington Working Act prohibits the collection of immigration statuses. Thats what the Trump administration views as Washington states sanctuary policy. The Legislature is considering other measures to prohibit federal agents from wearing masks, but Hall said he wouldnt be able to enforce that on federal agents. Spokane can only step in if officers witness excessive force. If you have one armed law enforcement agency confronting another armed law enforcement agency, Hall said, there are going to be problems. Key Points Taiwan Semiconductor controls 72% of the pure foundry semiconductor market. Its revenue totaled $122.4 billion in 2025, up 36% year over year. The company sees high profit margins despite the capital-intensive nature of semiconductor production. 10 stocks we like better than Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing When you talk about the global tech industry, there are two companies it cannot do without. One is ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ: ASML), which I've covered before and whose lithography machines are absolutely critical in semiconductor manufacturing. The other is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM) which, as of Q3 2025, controls a whopping 72% of the pure foundry semiconductor market. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now, when you join Stock Advisor. See the stocks I've also covered Taiwan Semiconductor in comparison to Intel, but this company is worth getting an article all its own. A semiconductor chip labeled Made in USA Image source: Getty Images. The world's semiconductor factory Now, there are lots of companies in the semiconductor industry that design chips but don't produce them. They're called "fabless" because of that. Taiwan Semiconductor isn't one of them. As a pure foundry company, it produces chips other companies have designed, like Apple and Nvidia, which account for 25% and 11% of Taiwan Semiconductor's revenue, respectively. Speaking of revenue, Taiwan Semiconductor brought in $122.42 billion in revenue for 2025, up 36% over 2024. It also managed a gross margin of 59.9% and an operating margin of 50.8%, up 3.8 and 5.1 basis points, respectively, over 2024, which is particularly impressive for an industry as capital intensive as semiconductor manufacturing. And, despite those expenses, it actually drove down its capital expenditures by 1.3% in Q4 2025 from Q4 2024, and its free cash flow grew by 42%. For the whole of 2025, the company grew its operating cash flow by 24.6%. Taiwan Semiconductor also expects its profitability to improve and has targeted a gross margin of 63% and 65% and an operating margin of 54% and 56% for Q1 2026. The company holds a net cash position of $88 billion to a total debt of $31.6 billion. It's not simply sitting on that cash either, as it's working to expand its global footprint rapidly. Taiwan Semiconductor's expansion into Phoenix Taiwan Semiconductor has already invested $165 billion in a gigantic semiconductor factory in Phoenix, Arizona and is currently working on an expansion to the plant targeted for completion in 2028. That plant already helped Taiwan Semiconductor get around some of the Trump administration's tariffs. But then in January 2025, Taiwan Semiconductor was part of an agreement with Washington that would see tariffs on Taiwan reduced from 20% down to 15%. In return, Taiwan Semiconductor and other Taiwanese chip and technology companies will invest $250 billion in their American production capacity. For Taiwan Semiconductor's part, it purchased another plot of land in Arizona to expand its footprint in the state. Once complete, those factories will help Taiwan Semiconductor get past the lowered tariffs and bring more of the strategically vital semiconductor industry stateside. That is something the U.S. government has been trying to do since at least the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act under the Biden administration, if not earlier. Not to mention that it also allows Taiwan Semiconductor to manufacture more semiconductors. Taiwan Semiconductor isn't an effective monopoly like ASML is. It does have to compete with Samsung and Intel, but neither comes close to Taiwan Semiconductor's manufacturing capabilities. That makes Taiwan Semiconductor absolutely critical to the tech industry, and makes the continuation of its growth streak very likely. Should you buy stock in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing right now? Before you buy stock in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing wasnt one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, youd have $450,256!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, youd have $1,171,666!* Now, its worth noting Stock Advisors total average return is 942% a market-crushing outperformance compared to 196% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of February 2, 2026. James Hires has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends ASML, Apple, Intel, Nvidia, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. A view of debris after the passage of storm Kristin, in Praia da Vieira, Leiria, Portugal, February 2, 2026. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes By Miguel Pereira and Pedro Nunes POMBAL, Portugal, Feb 3 (Reuters) - A new storm threatened Portugal and Spain with further flooding and damage from Tuesday, only a week after the deadly Storm Kristin destroyed homes, factories and critical infrastructure. The Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA) expects the new storm, named Leonardo, to hit mainland Portugal from Tuesday until Saturday and Spain from Wednesday. The Iberian Peninsula has experienced a succession of storms bringing heavy rain, thunder, snow and strong gales in the last few months, with southern Spain facing what some residents said was its wettest winter in 40 years. IPMA said Leonardo may bring persistent and at times heavy rain, with wind gusts reaching up to 75 km/h (47 mph) along the coast south of Cabo Mondego in Portugal's central region, and 95 km/h in the highlands. However, the gusts should be less intense than those exceeding 200 km/h which were unleashed by Storm Kristin since last Wednesday, among the strongest winds on record in Portugal and have resulted in six deaths in the country. Daniela Fraga, deputy commander of national emergency and civil protection authority ANEPC, told reporters late on Monday that heavy rain in the coming days could lead to floods, mainly in the regions affected by Storm Kristin. RECOVERY 'COULD TAKE YEARS' Portugal's Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, on a visit to affected factories in the central town of Pombal, said it could take years for factories, public equipment, roads and railways damaged by the storm to fully recover. "It was a calamity that affected us it has already rained a lot, it will continue to rain, and there are many losses," Montenegro told reporters. Nearly 115,000 households were still without electricity, around 85,000 of them in the Leiria region in the centre of Portugal, power distribution company E-Redes said. In Spain, weather authorities warned of intense and persistent rainfall across the south of the country. In the Grazalema mountains, accumulated rainfall could exceed 200-250 mm in 24 hours. Officials have issued alerts for severe flood risk due to rising river levels. Authorities in the southern Andalusia region suspended most classes for Wednesday, urged residents to avoid nonessential travel and asked for Spain's military emergency unit be on standby in case it is needed. (Reporting by Sergio Goncalves in Portugal and Emma Pinedo in Madrid; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Alexander Smith) Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee highlighted the work of the Memphis Safe Task Force during his State of the State address on Feb. 2 and announced more money to help with the work. During the annual state of the state address, Lee's final, he said he has "loved Memphis" all his life, but that crime in the city has become a major issue. He said that over the years, "good faith efforts have resulted in incremental progress." "The Memphis Safe Task Force has fostered an unprecedented collaboration between local and state and federal partners, it's nothing short of extraordinary," Lee said. "The federal resources delivered by the Trump administration, the dozens of agencies working side by side. Their relentless bipartisanship...has proven all the critics wrong. This Herculean effort has, in fact, created generational change in Memphis." He is also asking to increase the Tennessee Highway Patrol presence in the city, by placing 100 troopers in Shelby County permanently. He said the work of the task force must "stick," so he is proposing $80 million in grants to "accelerate the momentum in Memphis." Details on the grant program were not immediately available. What has the Memphis Safe Task Force done? The Memphis Safe Task Force, made up of the National Guard and a dozen federal agencies, arrived in Memphis in late September at President Donald Trump's direction. It has faced some backlash from community leaders and local organizers, and the deployment of the National Guard is the subject of a lawsuit from elected officials in Memphis. Lee said because of the task force, crime has reduced 55% and over 5,500 people have been arrested. It is not clear what aspect of Memphis' crime Lee was referring to. Early numbers from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation indicate the raw number of major offenses often called Group A offenses reported in Memphis in 2025 dropped 19.5% compared to 2024. Major violent crime (murder, rape, aggravated assault and robbery) dropped 27.6% and major property crime (burglary, theft and motor vehicle theft) dropped 28.1% in that same time span. Major violent and property crime leave out multiple offenses that are included in the Group A category. Even compared to 2023, when Memphis' crime hit its most-recent peak, the raw number of Group A offenses has only dropped by 28.4%, according to the same data. TBI releases annual data in the form of its Crime in Tennessee reports. Full data from 2025 has not yet been released by TBI, but early numbers were collected and distributed by the Memphis-Shelby County Crime Commission. The crime commission releases quarterly data from TBI, tracking crime throughout the year. This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Tennessee governor sets aside $80M for Memphis crime reduction efforts BROWNSVILLE, TX A string of orange buoys is growing in the Rio Grande, as the Trump administration builds a "river wall" to stop what is now a trickle of illegal migration. Unlawful border crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border have plunged over the past year, as the Trump administration ramped up deportations, deployed troops and military tanks to the borderline, and prohibited migrants from seeking asylum at the border. Construction of 500 miles of buoy barrier began in January and is part of Homeland Security's U.S. Coast Guard-led "Operation River Wall" to combat drug and human smuggling, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a Jan. 7 news conference. From a stretch of tree-lined riverbank in Matamoros, Mexico, across the border from Brownsville, the traffic-barrel-orange barrier rests like a necklace on the wide neck of the Rio Grande. It appears to mimic Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's controversial installation of a similar floating system upriver. The installation comes as migrant apprehensions in Border Patrol's Rio Grande Valley Sector have fallen dramatically, plunging during the last year of the Biden administration, then dropping off further after President Donald Trump took office in January 2025. Border Patrol reported 1,371 migrant encounters in the sector in December 2025, the latest month for which data is available, compared with more than 10,000 encounters in December 2024 and nearly 30,000 in December 2023. DHS awarded the $96.2 million contract to install 17 miles of buoy barrier in the Rio Grande Valley Sector to Montgomery, Alabama-based BCCG Joint Venture. It was one of 10 contracts awarded last year for 230 miles of "smart wall" technology at the southern border that includes steel fencing, lights, cameras, advanced detection systems, and waterborne barriers. Newly installed buoys float in the Rio Grande along the U.S.-Mexico border, seen from the south side of the river in Matamoros, Mexico, with Brownsville, Texas, in the background on Jan. 30, 2026. The buoys are part of an announcement by the Trump administration calling for up to 500 miles of floating barriers along the river aimed at deterring human and drug smuggling. BCCG Joint Venture took home seven of the 10 contracts, a share worth $3.1 billion. Brownsville is part of the Rio Grande Valley Sector, spanning 260 miles of borderland in South Texas. The buoy barrier is being installed upriver of the Veterans International Bridge in a rural stretch of borderland marked by farms and ranches. The Biden administration sued Abbott over the governor's installation of a 1,000-foot buoy barrier and reams of concertina wire on the banks of the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass, Texas, 300 miles northwest of Brownsville. A federal appeals court sided with Texas, and the buoys remained. The Texas buoys were installed in an area where migrant drownings were common during a period of heightened migration. Lauren Villagran covers immigration for USA TODAY and can be reached at lvillagran@usatoday.com. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump border buoy barrier aims to stop illegal immigration California Gov. Gavin Newsom delivers his final State of the State address to lawmakers at the Capitol in Sacramento, Jan. 8, 2026. Photo: Madeline Shannon / The Center Square. (The Center Square) Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday afternoon joined California National Guard and California Highway Patrol leaders to announce the states success in seizing a half billion dollars' worth of fentanyl pills since 2021. Newsom also addressed issues ranging from rebuilding Los Angeles after last year's wildfires to the fatal shootings by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis during the approximately 45-minute news conference in San Diego. The conference started with fentanyl. Newsom and other officials spoke against the backdrop of military helicopters in a hangar and cited the success of the California National Guard and California Highway Patrol working together. Major Gen. Matt Beevers, the adjutant general in charge of the California National Guard, noted seizure efforts take place at all ports of entry, including Los Angeles International Airport and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Efforts are equally dedicated to stopping the flow of American firearms and cash to drug cartels in Mexico, Beevers told reporters. The California National Guard has seized more than 5 million pills containing fentanyl, with a street value of more than $506.6 million since drug interdiction efforts started in 2021, Newsom said Monday. Since 2021, 34,357 pounds of fentanyl have been seized, Newsom said Monday. California Highway Patrol Commissioner Sean Duryee noted the CHP recently trained all its dogs to detect fentanyl. It takes one dose to be deadly, Duryee told reporters. It takes getting one crime gun off the street to make a difference. Newsom also noted the success with the state's more than $2.1 billion in investments to fight crime, help local governments hire more law enforcement and improve public safety since 2019. The Governor's Office has cited data showing crime is down. During reporters questions, Newsom switched to immigration and was critical of Gregory Bovino, who was removed from his leadership of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol operations in Minneapolis. Bovino was transferred back to El Centro, Calif., following immigration agents' fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Hes sent back to California," Newsom said about Bovino. "Were hardly celebrating that." Im shocked he still has his job. Im shocked Kristi Noem still has her job, although shes been pushed aside, the Democratic governor said. Newsom was referring to President Donald Trump sending his border czar, Tom Homan, to Minneapolis to take over operations from Noem, the secretary of homeland security, and Bovino. The Department of Homeland Security is traumatizing not only illegal immigrants but immigrants who are legal residents and U.S. citizens, Newsom said. The governor addressed the recent detention of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, who returned to Minnesota Sunday after a judge ordered ICE to release them from a Texas facility. I dont know how you can be a human being and feel any sense of pride and patriotism with an angelic boy whos 5 years old who is sent to a detention center in Texas, Newsom said as he discussed the Minneapolis family. The Center Square Monday reached out to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the White House for comment. DHS did not respond as of late Monday afternoon. The White House referred The Center Square to DHS. Homeland Security has repeatedly told The Center Square that vilifying immigration agents has greatly increased assaults on them and puts them in danger. The department has stressed it's working to make America safer from criminals. On another subject, a reporter asked Newsom about Trumps executive order, allowing the federal government the ability to take over the permit process to encourage a faster rebuilding of the Los Angeles area one year after the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires. We are fully focused on fast-tracking the permit process in Southern California, Newsom said, noting 2,981 rebuilding permits have been issued. Those permits were issued in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, Malibu and Pasadena. If there is something more we can do with permits, well do it at the state level, he said. California is waiting for Trump to ask Congress for $33.9 billion to address the gap between insurance coverage and construction costs, Newsom said. He added construction costs have increased because of the tariffs Trump introduced, the mass deportation of immigrants and the resulting labor shortage. The governor said the president can address all of that. A Saudi dissident living in Britain has urged the Prince of Wales to deliver a firm message to Riyadh's leadership that crimes committed on UK soil "will not be tolerated" when he travels there next week. Ghanem al-Masarir, a 45-year-old satirist, has compared the Saudi leadership to a "mafia" and warned that Prince William's visit between February 9 and 11 risked legitimising the kingdom's oppressive tactics. Al-Masarir was this week awarded 3million by the High Court after judges concluded that Saudi Arabia most likely ordered both the hacking of his mobile phones and a violent assault against him in London. Before Williams official visit to Saudi Arabia next week, al-Masarir said he hopes the future king will speak firmly to its leadership. Prince William and Ghanem al-Masarir | Source: GETTY He told the Times: "You can't be a democratic state with respect for the rule of law and deal with someone who has no regard for it. The trip gives the Saudis legitimacy for what they are doing. And I think thats wrong. The dissident acknowledged the significance of maintaining diplomatic ties but insisted William should make clear that "any heinous crime committed in the United Kingdom will not be tolerated". GB News has contacted Kensington Palace for comment. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman | Source: GETTY Al-Masarir was born in Saudi Arabia in 1980 and relocated to England in 2003 to study in Portsmouth, where he first encountered opposition figures critical of the kingdom. He began publishing articles and videos online in 2008, using comedy to highlight alleged corruption within the Saudi establishment. His prominence surged dramatically in 2011 when footage criticising King Abdullah attracted 800,000 views within 24 hours. By 2015, following the creation of his Ghanem Tube and Ghanem Show channels, he had established himself as one of the monarchy's most vocal critics, with his content reaching millions across the Middle East. Prince William | Source: PA This visibility brought severe consequences. Saudi state broadcasters lodged complaints that resulted in his YouTube channels being removed, while his social media accounts faced coordinated spam attacks, deletion, and a barrage of death threats. The situation escalated dramatically in August 2018 when al-Masarir was attacked outside Harrods after leaving a cafe in central London. Two men, one apparently wearing an earpiece, pursued him before punching him in the face and branding him a "slave of Qatar" until bystanders intervened. The assault, which al-Masarir believes was carried out by Saudi operatives, occurred just weeks before the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, another prominent critic of the kingdom. Unbeknownst to him at the time, his two iPhones had been compromised two months earlier using Pegasus spyware, technology capable of transforming devices into surveillance tools that monitor location, calls and ambient sound. Al-Masarir | Source: GETTY The combined effect proved devastating. Al-Masarir descended into severe depression and became too fearful to venture outside, effectively ending his career. "They basically ruined my life," he said. Convinced that Saudi Arabia was responsible, al-Masarir initiated legal proceedings at the High Court in 2019. The kingdom's lawyers initially sought state immunity, but after the Court of Appeal rejected their application to halt the case, Saudi Arabia refused to participate further in proceedings. Mr Justice Saini ruled this week that al-Masarir was an "obvious target" and that Saudi leadership possessed "clear interest in and motivation to shut down the claimant's public criticism". Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had taken personal interest in the case, directly lobbying then foreign secretary David Cameron to intervene. Should Saudi Arabia fail to pay the court-ordered compensation, he intends to pursue additional legal action, though he accepts that "no amount will undo what they have done to me". Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter The Hans Christian Heg statue stands in front of the Wisconsin State Capitol with the dome visible behind trees in Madison. Photo: Eric Kilby / Flickr /CC BY-SA 2.0 / Cropped from Original (The Center Square) WisconsinEye was back on the air broadcasting legislative hearings at Wisconsins capitol Tuesday, starting with a hearing on a bill to send long-term funding assistance to the private nonprofit that broadcasts Wisconsin state government meetings. WisconsinEye received $50,000 in funding through the Joint Committee on Legislative Organization to go on the air during February. Assembly Bill 974 would allow the network to receive the interest from a $9.75 million endowment each year, estimated to be between 4-7% or between $390,000 and $682,000. The network would have to continue raising the rest of its budget, which board chair Mark OConnell said is $950,000 annually. He spoke during a public hearing in the Assembly Committee on State Affairs on Monday before the bill passed the committee unanimously. A companion bill in the Senate is not yet filed. Well need some kind of bridge, OConnell cautioned, saying it will take time for the trust fund granted in the 2024-25 budget to earn interest and get it to the network. OConnell also said that he hopes the legislation can be changed to allow for the Wisconsin Investment Board to be aggressive while investing the fund. OConnell noted that WisconsinEye raised more than $56,000 through donations on GoFundMe since it went off the air Dec. 15 and that there are seven donors willing to give $25,000 annually and one that will donate $50,000 annually if the legislation passes, which he said would put the network in a relatively strong position in partnership with the state. OConnell noted that many states fund their own in-house network to broadcast the legislature and committees. This legislation will fund only about 1/3 of what we need, OConnell said. The bill has four restrictions, starting with the requirement that appointees of the Assembly Speaker, Senate Majority Leader, Assembly Minority Leader and Senate Minority Leader that are not members of the Legislature be added to the WisEye board of directors. WisEye will be required to focus coverage on official state government meetings and business, provide free online access to its live broadcasts and digital archives and that WisEye provides an annual financial report to the Legislature and Joint Finance Committee. Jill Biden's ex-husband has been arrested on murder charges.MEGA Former First Lady Jill Biden's ex-husband, William Stevenson, has been charged with first-degree murder following the death of his wife, RadarOnline.com can reveal. William, 77, was arrested after his wife, Linda Stevenson, was found dead inside their Wilmington, Delaware, home following an alleged "domestic dispute" in December 2025. The cause of Linda's death has still not been released. William Stevenson has been charged with the murder of his wife.New Castle County Police New Castle County Police were dispatched to the Stevensons' home around 11:15 p.m. on December 28, 2025. Linda was found unresponsive in the living room when officers arrived, and they began administering life-saving measures. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Linda was 64 years old. Original dispatch audio reportedly mentioned a "cardiac arrest." William was taken into custody at the same home on Monday, February 2, and is being held at the Howard Young Correctional Center after failing to post $500,000 bail, Fox 29 News reported. Jill Biden's Marriage to William Stevenson Jill Biden was married to William Stevenson for five years.MEGA Jill was married to William from 1970 to 1975. The pair tied the knot when Jill was a University of Delaware student and Bill was 23 years old. Two years after their divorce was finalized, she married a then-widowed Joe Biden and became stepmother to his two young sons. U.S. shale producer Devon Energy will acquire Coterra Energy for nearly $26 billion in a combination that creates a domestic oil and gas juggernaut trailing only household names Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips in sheer production volumes, the companies announced Feb. 2. After a couple of years of rapid consolidation in the energy sector, dealmaking slowed down dramatically last year as oil prices fell when OPEC ramped up its output and the Trump administration implemented a series of tariffs worldwide. Now, with crude oil prices stabilizingalbeit at lower levelsM&A is making a comeback, analysts said. The all-stock merger of near equals creates the largest oil and gas producer in the western lobe of the booming Permian Basinthe Delaware Basin in west Texas and southeastern New Mexico. It is the biggest oil and gas merger in two years since Diamondback Energy bought Endeavor Energy Resources to make a Goliath in the Permians eastern lobe, the Midland Basin. The combined Devon would carry an enterprise value of $58 billion, including debt. The deal does not include a premium, valuing Coterra at about $21.5 billion, not counting roughly $5 billion in assumed debt. The Delaware Basin would account for just more than half of the expanded Devons 1.6 million barrels of oil equivalent produced daily, but the company also would have sizable footprints in Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, North Dakota, Wyoming, and south Texass Eagle Ford Shale. The Delaware was Coterras crown jewel asset, as well as Devons crown jewel asset, Devon CEO Clay Gaspar told Fortune in a phone interview. When you combine those two together, it is the premier Delaware position. Strategically, the deal makes a lot of sense, said Andrew Dittmar, principal analyst at Enverus Intelligence Research. Its gotten harder and harder to put together these big combinations with the amount of consolidation we saw in 2023 and 2024. Theres not a lot of very logical consolidation targets left. Investors have been skeptical of these deals that seem like scale for scales sake. They really want to see those operational overlaps. The stars aligning Gaspar will remain CEO of Devon while Coterra CEO Tom Jorden will become the nonexecutive chairman. Devon will move its headquarters from Oklahoma City to Coterras Houston home, while pledging to maintain a strong Oklahoma presence. With these deals, you do them when the stars align, Gaspar said. In early 2021, Devon greatly expanded by acquiring WPX Energy, and Coterra was created later that same year through the combination of Cimarex Energy and Cabot Oil & Gas. About five years later, the timing was right for the next step change, Gaspar said. And Coterra was ready to explore its options. Those stars started to align and then, over the last few months, Tom and I have done the hard work to figure out how do we build something together that really is a true merger, and it will embrace the best from both sides, Gaspar said. While adding scale and more drilling is critical, Gaspar said, This is not just to get bigger. The operational synergies created in the Delaware Basin and Oklahomas Anadarko Basin are immense, he said. He and Jorden identified $1 billion in synergies by the end of 2027: $350 million from reduced capital spending, $350 in annual operational efficiencies, and $300 million from job cuts and reduced corporate costs. The deal is expected to close by the end of June, giving Devon shareholders 54% of the combined company. Devon would control six of the 11 board seats. One wild-card element is activist energy investor Kimmeridge, which owns modest stakes in both Devon and Coterra, pushing for greater consolidation within the industry. Kimmeridge was critical of Coterras performance late last year, urging leadership changes and divestments from its Oklahoma and Pennsylvania assets so it could focus on the Delaware Basin. Kimmeridge Managing Partner Mark Viviano on Feb. 2 said the firm will continue to push for non-Delaware asset sales under the combined Devon and will closely monitor the companies proposed board nominees. As a significant shareholder in both companies, we are supportive of a combination that can unlock meaningful shareholder value, Viviano said. We continue to believe that will require portfolio rationalization and a renewed focus on the Delaware Basin. Drilling down the Delaware After the deal closes, Gaspar said the management will determine whether to double down on or sell any of its geographic assets. We will be ruthless capital allocators. These individual assets need to compete. But the Delaware Basin will certainly remain the focal point. Its really going to be a powerhouse in the Delaware, which is absolutely the Permian play you want to have as the centerpiece of your company if you can, Dittmar said. Its the highest quality rock in the Lower 48. While the Midland Basin is the most mature part of the Permian with the most infrastructure and low-hanging fruit, the Delaware arguably has the most long-term potential. The Delaware essentially offers five miles underground of varying layers of oil and gas columns, allowing Devon and other to drill multiple depths on the same acres for years to come. They always say that the best place to find oil is where youve already found oil, and thats what gives us such confidence in the Delaware Basin, Gaspar said. As opposed to the Midland side, the Delaware typically is a little bit deeper. Its a little bit higher pressure, can cost a little bit more, but the economics stand up to anything in the U.S., he added. Its just a really phenomenal winning asset. The Midland Basin was sometimes higher valued for having a higher percentage of more valuable crude oil versus natural gas. However, the timing works for Devon on the gassier Delaware with gas prices on the rise from surging gas exports and spiking domestic electricity demand to power the data center and AI boom. The gas percentage is actually a virtue these days as we get this incredible insatiable demand, Gaspar said. Having the combined acreage gives Devon more supply-chain negotiating power, more land to drill longer well laterals, and more leverage to make land swap deals to really optimize the position going forward, Gaspar said. Now Gaspar must make the move from Oklahoma to Houston, acknowledging the headquarters change was a negotiation concession, although one that places Devon in the nations largest oil and gas city. Theres gives and theres takes. This was fundamentally important to get the deal done, he said. When we saw the value creation of this combined company, that was something we were willing to throw on the table. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com Indonesia has a rich cultural heritage of traditional fabrics like batik, ikat and songket, which feature intricate patterns typically imprinted with natural dyes derived from plants and minerals. (ARDI SEPTIAN VIA GETTY IMAGES) Indonesia plans to establish a new state-owned enterprise (SOE) to rejuvenate its struggling textile and garment industry and shield it from fallout from U.S. President Donald Trumps tariffs. The decision, announced on Jan. 14 by Airlangga Hartato, Indonesias coordinating minister for economic affairs, places the SOE under the control of Danantara, Indonesias sovereign wealth fund, which will pump up to $6 billion into the firm to produce new technology and expand exports. Indonesias textile industry was already challenged by growing regional competition from places like China and Bangladesh, and a proposed 19% U.S. tariff on Indonesian textile exports threatened to make matters worse. The new SOE was meant to protect the industry against the recent surge in cheap imports from China, as well as other external geopolitical pressures. Yet not all Indonesians are cheering the new government venture, with some experts worrying that it may instead weaken private investment and suppress job creation. The SOE could end up acting as a dominant rival, rather than as a market anchor, Siwage Dharma Negara, co-coordinator for the Indonesia studies program at Singapores ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, tells Fortune. Some firms may find themselves competing with a well-capitalized, state-backed player. Danantara was first established in February 2025 by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, in hopes of fulfilling a lofty campaign promiseachieving 8% annual economic growth by the tail end of his term in 2029. Instead of being a more passive investor, Danantara is meant to directly manage SOEs. Indonesias textile sector Indonesia has a rich cultural heritage of traditional fabrics like batik, ikat and songket, which feature intricate patterns typically imprinted with natural dyes derived from plants and minerals. Textiles are also a cornerstone of Indonesias economy. Just a third of Indonesias garments are sold domestically, with the rest exported to the U.S., Middle East, Europe and China. National textile and garment exports hit $11.9 billion in 2024, according to the Indonesian Garment and Textile Association. Indonesias textile industry was in slow decline even before the U.S. slapped tariffs on the countrys garment exports. Rising labor and energy costs have eroded Indonesias competitiveness versus regional competitors like Bangladesh, Vietnam and India. In the textile industry, Indonesian wages are around double that of Bangladesh, according to the International Labor Organization. In February 2025, Indonesian textile giant Sritex collapsed after racking up over $1.6 billion in debt. Over 10,000 workers lost their jobs. Sritex during its heyday was a producer of military uniforms for more than 30 countries, including the U.S. and members of NATO, explains Rita Padawangi, an Associate Professor of Sociology at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), and calls its importance to Indonesias textile manufacturing sector movement undeniable. New horizons or a missed opportunity? Given its slumping textile industry, some experts say Indonesias plan for a new SOE has its upsides. This decision reflects the governments belief that the problem is structural and cannot be fixed by the private sector alone, says Negara of the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, adding that the SOEs key advantage is the financial and institutional capacity afforded by its government sponsor. Subsidies and tax incentives may offer short-term relief, but they do little to address deep-seated issues such as low productivity, outdated technology, and weak upstream integration. Rather than simply being absorbed into the yearly budget, Danantara allows fiscal surpluses to be strategically and dynamically reinvested in fast-growing sectors. Danantara can mobilize large pools of capital, take a longer-term view, and operate with investment-style oversight that is more flexible than the annual state budget process, he adds. But without careful management, the SOE could further exacerbate competition in an already overstuffed industry, driving down prices and potentially hurting workers. Cost-cutting could put workers at risk of exploitation, warns Padawangi of SUSS. Additionally, it may weaken the competitiveness of local SMEswhich drive innovation and form the backbone of economiesthat cant tap economies of scale which SOEs and larger private enterprises can. Indonesia has lots of potential in the textile sector, particularly artisanal producers that integrate tradition with modernity, says Padawangi. It would be a missed opportunity to talk about the textile industry only from the perspective of big companies, without paying attention to the work of traditional weavers and smaller enterprises that work with them. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com Edward Krueger Connors Jr. moved to Italy in early 2026 to fulfil a long-deferred dream. - Courtesy Ed Connors After decades of building businesses, designing buildings and traveling, Edward Krueger Connors Jr. reached an unexpected conclusion in his early 80s: staying put no longer made sense. I was bored of America, Connors tells CNN Travel. In January 2026, just weeks before his 81st birthday, the Vietnam War hero, architect and former gym owner relocated alone to southern Italy, leasing an apartment in Lecce, a baroque city in the Puglia region that he now calls his perfect Goldilocks city. Connors decision was driven by a growing sense of restlessness. Retirement didnt suit him, and he says the pace and direction of life in the United States no longer felt right. After selling his home in Venice Beach, he set out on a two-month journey through Europe, searching for a place that matched the way he wanted to live now. The move also revived a long-deferred dream. Back on September 13, 2001, Connors had been scheduled to fly from Los Angeles to Rome to buy a 12th-century medieval castle near Orvieto a classic Italian hill town in the Umbria region complete with 10 acres of vineyards. Like all international flights that week, his was canceled following the September 11 attacks. Having served in the military, Connors believed the United States was at war and decided it was no time to leave. He invoked the force majeure clause in his contract and terminated the purchase agreement. He has since returned to Orvieto several times and says he would have completed the deal had he made that trip. September 11, 2001, changed my life, says Connors, who grew up in Nebraska. That was a life-changing event for me. Ive always admired Italys beauty and lifestyle, so once again Im exploring the dream I had 25 years ago of living in Italy. This time, the dream looks different. Not afraid to die Connors says he's struggled to slow down in retirement after a busy career. - Ed Connors Connors, who has never married and has no children, says he no longer wants the responsibility of owning a large property or making long-term commitments. Instead, he opted for a six-month lease near Lecces historic center, choosing flexibility over permanence. He says the prospect of death does not scare him. He stays active, walks at least 10,000 steps a day and closely monitors his health. Ive had a full life and am not worried about dying alone, he says. I had triple bypass open heart surgery in 2008 and was ready to die then, so I feel like I have a second life now. I have not spent time in the hospital since then. My father had the same surgery at the same age and lived until he was 96, so I have genetics going for me, which is huge. After a busy career, slowing down proved difficult. In 1980, Connors opened the first franchised Golds Gym in the United States, eventually helping grow the brand to 704 locations worldwide before exiting in 2004. He also worked as an architect, designing dozens of buildings and landmark structures in California. But by age 80, he says boredom had set in, compounded by discomfort with changes he saw around him. I realize I was part of the franchise world, but the ugliness of suburban America with all the food franchises is something that depresses me and I wanted to leave behind for a while. Lecce was not an obvious choice. Connors chose the city without visiting first, acting on the suggestion of a friend. After leaving the United States, he spent two months traveling through Europe, considering options in the Czech Republic, Poland, the United Kingdom and Portugal the destination that was initially top of his list. Though Lisbon had been my first choice, the hilly landscape and the lack of public transportation throughout Portugal, unlike the Italian train service, made me feel I would be trapped in one city and unable to explore the rest of Europe easily, he says. Climate was also a deciding factor. I worry about falling at my age, and snow and ice are my enemies. Only three areas in the world have weather like L.A., and one of them is the Mediterranean coast. Taking a chance Connors rents an apartment in the southern Italian town of Lecce for $1,100 a month. - Ed Connors Southern Italy ultimately checked the most boxes. Lecces flat landscape, rail connections and proximity to Brindisi airport appealed to him, as did the weather. Much of the vegetation is similar to Southern California, so the area seemed even more familiar, he says. He now rents a furnished one-bedroom apartment with a balcony for $1,100 a month, including utilities and Wi-Fi. A former neighbor from California now an American expat and real estate broker in Lecce helped him find it. Connors says a comparable apartment in Los Angeles would cost $3,000 a month, $4,500 in San Francisco and $3,500 in New York City. Lecce, often called the Florence of the South, suits his daily rhythm. He spends his mornings writing and his afternoons walking, reflecting and exploring. Those writing hours are devoted to projects drawn from his life experiences. Hes previously published a memoir, The Three Muscleteers, in which he reflects on his recipe for success. I write that life is half about fate luck and half what you do with it, execution, he says. He eats out several times a week and says arriving early at restaurants before Italians typically dine has helped him meet other Americans. I live for the moment Lecce, in Italy's Puglia region, is known for its Baroque architecture. - Ed Connors He describes the city as neither too big nor too small, a contrast to recent visits to London, Lisbon, Rome and Paris, which confirmed for him that large cities no longer appeal. I get bored easily, and at my age, I cant see committing to living somewhere for a long time unless I were to buy something in Lecce with friends. Ive had a dozen homes in my lifetime and know they can be a lot of work, not something I want to be bothered with at age 80. If he were to buy property, Connors says he would take his time and research carefully. And this is Italy, where, according to one of the Italians I spoke with everything is broken, and its impossible to get anything fixed! Owning another home, he says, no longer holds much appeal. Ive had nice homes, nice furniture, nice cars. All that stuff has lost interest for me. Ive been there, done that. When people ask, Ed, where do you live? I point to my suitcase and briefcase. I guess Im like a millennial, I live for the moment, for experiences. Connors has traveled to Europe nearly every year for the past 62 years, beginning with a one-month trip at age 18. While based in Lecce, he plans to visit parts of Europe he has not yet seen or wants to return to, including Naples, western Italy, Ireland, the UK and the Netherlands. Taking a trip to Marrakesh, Malta or Athens from Italy also interests me. A Mediterranean cruise is one of the few things on my bucket list I havent done. For now, he says, Lecce is home but only for as long as it feels right. Unless I buy something in Lecce with one of my friends, I dont think I will live here forever, but who knows, just taking it a day at a time. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Most countries share the same basics: flags, armies, anthems, and airports. A few skip some of those entirely, either by choice or because history and geography pushed them in a different direction. Those gaps tell surprising stories about how nations define identity and independence, from places without militaries or prisons to countries that never even deal with mosquitoes. Costa Rica Has No Military Credit: Getty Images Costa Rica abolished its military in 1948 after a civil war. The decision was embedded into the countrys constitution by then-president Jose Figueres Ferrer. Funds that would have gone to defense were redirected toward health, education, and policing. Costa Rica is one of over 20 countries without a standing army. Portugal Decriminalized All Drugs Credit: pexels In 2001, Portugal decriminalized the use and possession of all drugs, including heroin and cocaine. The move reframed addiction as a public health issue. Since then, fatal overdose rates have remained among the lowest in Europe, with just 3 deaths per million, compared to 44.6 in the UK and an EU average of 17.3. Iceland Has No Mosquitoes Credit: Getty Images Though it has standing water and summer warmth, Iceland has zero mosquitoes. The key seems to lie in its sharp temperature shifts: constant freeze-thaw cycles disrupt the insect's reproductive process. Scientists continue to study the anomaly, while residents and tourists alike enjoy a rare bug-free environment without chemical deterrents. Spains Anthem Has No Words Credit: Getty Images Spains national anthem, Marcha Real, is unusual for its silence. It has no official lyrics, a choice that became permanent in 1978. Earlier versions were set aside because of their ties to the Franco era. Over the years, there have been attempts to add new words, but none ever stuck. What remains is a formal melody that stands on its own, without anything being sung. Brunei Has Zero External Debt Credit: Getty Images Bruneis public finances operate without international debt. Its small population and oil and gas revenue allow the country to pay its bills without taking on outside loans. Government debt hovers near zero. That economic independence makes Brunei one of the few nations with no outstanding external obligations to other countries. Belgium Functioned Without A Government For 589 Days Credit: alamy From 2010 to 2011, Belgium set a world record: 589 days without a national government. Coalition talks broke down, but the country didnt collapse. Public services ran, trains operated, and schools stayed open. Belgiums decentralized system, with strong local and regional powers, filled the void in national leadership. Kiribati Spans All Four Hemispheres Credit: Wikimedia Commons Kiribati is one of the rare countries whose territory crosses all four hemispheres. Its islands sit on both sides of the equator and stretch across the International Date Line. To keep the country on the same calendar day, Kiribati even adjusted the global time system, creating UTC+14 so its eastern islands would welcome the New Year first. Great Britains Stamps Show No Country Name Credit: pixabay British stamps are the only ones in the world that dont name the issuing country. This tradition began in 1840 when the UK issued the first postage stamp, the Penny Black. Later, the Universal Postal Union let Britain keep the name-free format as a mark of postal history priority. Cyprus Uses Greeces National Anthem Credit: Getty Images Since 1966, Cyprus has officially used Greeces national anthem, Hymn to Liberty. It is the only fully sovereign country that adopts another nations anthem in full. The two countries share strong cultural and historical ties, which contributed to this decision. Photo: iStock Dramatic scenes have come to define the second Donald Trump administration's immigration policy: federal troops patrolling the streets of American cities, agents snatching international students on video, hundreds of Venezuelan migrants disappeared to a brutal Salvadoran prison. Behind those scenes, Trump is reshaping the country's immigration bureaucracy. In just its first 100 days, the second Trump administration had "taken 181 immigration-specific executive actions," found the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute (MPI), "a sixfold increase over the fewer than 30 actions during the same period in Trump's first term." Visa processing and bureaucratic rulemaking don't grab as much attention as harsh, highly visible enforcement actions, but they're making it harder for immigrants to work, learn, and live in the United States. De-Documenting Immigrants In October, the Trump administration ended the automatic extension of employment authorization for certain immigrants. "For nearly a decade," U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) "automatically extended work permits for 180 days, which was later increased to 540 days, to provide relief from massive backlogs and delays in government processing," noted American Immigration Lawyers Association President Jeff Joseph. The rule change means that "individuals who have already been deemed legally authorized to work will lose their jobs for no other reason than the government choosing not to process their paperwork in time," argued over 70 members of Congress in a letter to USCIS. The Trump administration has terminated temporary protected status (TPS) designations meant to help people from several ailing countries, including Venezuela, Nepal, Honduras, Nicaragua, Afghanistan, Cameroon, Syria, and South Sudan. That leaves nationals of those countries vulnerable to deportation, and it also effectively turns them into undocumented immigrants without work authorization. Some of those revocations are tied up in the courts. But as of October, over 680,000 individuals living in the U.S. saw their legal status jeopardized by the administration's TPS revocations, according to the National Immigration Forum. Removing Relief Officials have made it almost impossible for migrants to access asylum. Rather than screening for asylum (which provides an eventual pathway to citizenship), Department of Homeland Security agents at the U.S.-Mexico border "are only conducting screenings for Convention Against Torture protection, a subsidiary and nonpermanent status that allows citizens to be removed to third countries," reported the MPI. The administration has paused TPS holders' "applications for more durable statuses such as asylum and green cards," and "has instructed immigration judges to close 'legally deficient' asylum cases without holding a hearing," the MPI found. Vulnerable people around the world might not make it to the United States at all thanks to the administration's changes to refugee processing. Trump suspended refugee resettlement the day he took office "and since then only a trickle have entered the country, mostly white South Africans," according to the Associated Press. In FY 2026, the U.S. will welcome up to 7,500 refugees, "primarily" Afrikaners from South Africa. That is the lowest cap in 45 years of the country's refugee program. Trump has also eliminated an innovative and successful refugee resettlement pathway by ending the Welcome Corps program, which let Americans sponsor newcomers. Photo: Protester in Cambridge, Massachusetts, May 27, 2025; Rick Friedman/AFP/Getty (Photo: Protester in Cambridge, Massachusetts, May 27, 2025; Rick Friedman/AFP/Getty) Confused Contradictions Despite Trump's November comments defending Chinese students in the U.S., officials are trying to make it harder for foreigners to study at American universities. The State Department had revoked over 6,000 student visas by August, citing "overstays," "breaking the law," and "a small number for 'support for terrorism,'" Reuters reported. That effort has been messy, reportedly targeting students for offenses as minor as speeding tickets. Last spring, Trump ordered consulates and embassies to stop arranging interviews with student visa applicants so agencies could expand "required social media screening and vetting." An impending rule could "end or restrict" Optional Practical Training, one of the main ways international students stay to work in the United States after graduation, per Forbes. Trump has been two-minded on high-skilled immigration, at times conceding that the H-1B visa program is useful because it "bring[s] in talent" that the American-born labor force doesn't have, even as his administration cracks down on those foreign workers. In September, he announced that new H-1B visa applications would carry a $100,000 fee"127 times higher than the US visa fees for workers without a high school degree," observed Michael A. Clemens, a George Mason University economist. The policy is likely to send jobs overseas and keep talented workers from contributing to the American economy. Building the [Bureaucracy] Wall America's immigration bureaucracy is becoming more unwelcomingand more militarized. USCIS, the agency normally tasked with processing immigration paperwork, now has "its own police force" that is authorized "to arrest people for immigration violations or other criminal charges" and "carry guns," The Wall Street Journal reported in September. Trump may have run for his first presidential term on his promise to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, but the actions he took to build a wall around the legal immigration system were far more detrimental to immigrants. "The administration massively expanded the amount of paperwork in immigration forms by double or, in some cases, triple," wrote David J. Bier, the Cato Institute's director of immigration studies, in 2018. Though the administration called it "extreme vetting," it amounted to "nothing more than extreme bureaucracy," said Bier. By 2019, "the denial rate for all applicationseverything from travel and work authorizations to petitions for foreign workers[had] risen every quarter except one under the Trump administration," according to Cato. Those barriers seem likely to regrow under the second Trump administration. USCIS currently has 11.3 million pending applications, "the largest immigration backlog in its history," reported Newsweek in November. While officials say green card and visa processing are getting faster, "agency data from January through March shows that processing times for several key immigration forms have continued to rise, leaving applicants waiting months or even years longer than expected." The "closure of consulates abroad" and "planned firing of State Department staff," the MPI noted in April, were also "expected to lengthen visa wait times." Ripping peaceful immigrants from their families and communities is inconsistent with America's tradition of welcome. So is crushing newcomers under an ever-growing immigration bureaucracy. The post 4 Ways Trump Is Reshaping the U.S. Immigration Bureaucracy appeared first on Reason.com.